Foreword & Credits

Foreword

Hello, dear reader,

My name is Tio or Truekry. I'm a German brony in my mid-twenties who apparently has too much free time. I discovered My Little Pony by accident when I had checked what TV shows the next generation were being raised on for my YouTube channel (I can proudly say I had around 50,000 subscribers at the time). I think you can guess what happened: watched a few episodes, got hooked, and here I am. However, it wasn't the show alone what convinced me to stay. It was the fandom—the huge amount of art, music, and you guessed it: fanfictions.

The first fanfiction I ever read was "My Little Fantasy" by a fellow German brony and author. It was a story of how humans found Equestria, enslaved all of ponykind, and started to breed them in their favour. The protagonist of the story, who was rather antagonistic to be purely labelled as such, was a man whose company bred ponies and sold them. One day, coming out of a strip club, he ran over a pony with his car. It was a fancy one, most likely very expensive, with a shiny blue coat, rainbow mane, and seemed to be very strong. Yeah, he ran over Rainbow Dash, one of the last free ponies of the world. Fearing that he would be sued, he first wanted to put the hurt pegasus on the railway tracks and let nature take its course. However, he could not bring himself to do it, and ended up taking her home. He cared for her and learned a lot about Equestria in the process. I don't want to bore you with every detail, but in the end, the man was executed after a resistance movement stormed his company building to free the ponies. In his last moments, he said that he saw what he did was wrong, what humanity did was wrong, but nobody believed he had changed except Rainbow Dash. The man later woke up in the hospital. A scientist and friend of his utilized the technology they used to breed ponies in labs to make a new body for him and copied his conscious into it. The man who had seen ponies as nothing more than livestock and slaves became one himself and was fine with it.

I know it doesn't sound like the epitome of fiction writing, but it was the first one I had ever read and was most likely the reason I picked up writing myself. It was well-written and emotional. I would compare it to 'My Little Dashie', which was the second fanfic I read.

For half a year I was content with just reading stories, mostly the ‘Human in Equestria’ genre. After a while though, I began to note the flaws the stories had. It somehow always was the same. Le human jumped out of the Everfree, got the welcome party by Pinkie Pie, became friends with the other Mane Six, and so on. When my girlfriend at the time broke up with me, it was the moment when I said: "I want to make something different."

I started making notes for my first story: The Precious Life - Nightmare. I know the start is not that different from most stories, but I can guarantee the rest of the story was something that didn't exist at the time. And it was a huge hit, at least in the German version. I had so much fun writing it that sometimes I published three chapters a day. I just couldn't stop. In the end, Nightmare was eighty chapters strong and one of the most read fanfics in the German fandom. I remember the moment when I pressed the save button for the last time and the story was finished. I was exhausted. I was tired and was near tears. At the same, I was happy, so damn happy...

After that, I sat on my bum for a few months, doing nothing. I thought at the time I would never write such a long story ever again. I mean, eighty chapters had been a lot of work, with most of them around five thousand words strong. That was about one and a half Harry Potter books, and I wrote that in little more than a year. Alas, my muse was a bitch. She struck me full force again and this story, My Little Pony - Journey, started to form in my head. Again I took notes, one hundred and fifty pages full of them. Only a month after did I then started to write again. The first Act I finished in less than a week. I was back in business.

I knew that Journey would be big. I knew that I wanted it to be my masterpiece. So, I did the math. I compared my notes with the progress in each Act and came to the conclusion that Journey will be around one hundred and eighty chapters long. It will be a lot of work, but I think it will be worth it. So I picked up my laptop and jumped down the rabbit hole.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCqjZIGKR0M

Darth Keks & Beks - The two people who are helping me with the translation. Writing and translating at the same time would be nearly impossible and without these two it would take much longer to bring any chapters to you guys here.

Gron - It's somewhat difficult to translate and write at the same time? Who you gonna call? No, not Bill Murray. He started to help at act 5.2 and just didn't stop. Not that I will tell him to do so.

faktopus - My faithful proofreader. He takes care of any leftover mistakes and other little things. Without him you wouldn't have the reading experience you have now.

JBL - Who took up the task as my proofreader after faktopus miraculously vanished. He not only takes care of any leftover mistakes, he also adds things to improve your reading pleasure.

Tango Sierra - The guy who drew the cover and the other artworks you will find in the chapters. Up to today only the first few acts have artworks, but the others will follow.

Bronies.de - The biggest german message board for bronies. I published my first stories there and without the massive feedback from nearly 600 readers this story would not exist. If you want to read the original german version of this story, you find it here.

Chapter I - Welcome to Albion

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Chapter I - Welcome to Albion

Chapter I - Act 1.1 - A Strange Couple

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Sand, sand and even more sand was all the inhabitants of Round Rock were able to see, at least at first. A shadow slowly approached the entrance and grew taller with every passing second. Everyone who was able to see it were fiercely looking in its direction and asking themselves who was crazy enough to leave the city and walk into the surrounding desert in this storm. But it quickly became clear that it couldn’t be an inhabitant of this fine place. The approaching form was unusually tall, and it seemed to be walking on just two legs. No one had ever seen a creature that could do that or even heard of one. Slowly, panic spread. What kind of thing was it, walking through the storm and in such a strange way?

A few tense seconds passed, and with each one, more of the strange newcomer became clear. Whatever it was, it was walking, as expected, on two legs. Two long appendages were hanging down from what seemed to be its shoulders and ended in something that resembled claws. The biggest part of its body was covered by a hooded cloak. At least it seemed to be smart enough not to remain uncovered.

Strangely enough, the rest of its body was covered in clothing as well. Its legs were inside a pair of blue pants which looked very used - holes everywhere and made of a cloth no one had ever seen before. On its back was a small brown backpack with apparently not much inside. It held in its claw something like a staff and leaned on it, perhaps because of exhaustion. Its steps were becoming increasingly audible, and it was becoming clearly visible for every habitant, moreover as it threw back its hood. This revealed a face no one had ever seen before. In the middle of its face, it seemed to have something that resembled nostrils, but they were separated by the mouth underneath. The eyes were small and beady looking, but still gave away their blue color for everyone close enough to see them. On its head, it had something one could call a mane. Long, brown, greasy hair hung down to both sides of its head.

The aforementioned head was now turned around to look at the staring habitants. No one said anything as they remained silent, mutely observing the interloper. It seemed to take the attention it had garnered with aloofness; indeed, it was accustomed to it and had learned to ignore it for the most part. Finally, it found what it was looking for and quickly went to the building to its right. They all cleared the way.

“Water! Thanks!” it shouted with a masculine voice and strong accent as one would expect from someone whose native language was not Equestrian. With a loud splash, he dunked his head into the dew pond. Since everyone still had their eyes on the stranger, which they now knew could speak and sounded male, no one paid attention to the small orange foal with a white mane that was walking behind him.

“Don’t mind him!” she called out to the still staring audience. “We kept a fine distance to the last waterhole since this gentleman here can’t even read a map.” With that, she pointed to her strange companion who was still busy emptying the dew pond.

tio presents

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 1.1 - A Strange Couple ~

When the foal started to drink as well, the tension started to loosen up, and most of the habitants continued their everyday work. For one, it was an ordinary occurrence to handle things like the sudden appearance of strangers. With one hoof, he brought the star on his chest into position and made sure his hat was still on his head before he slowly approached. Visitors in Broken Leylands were rare enough as it was, and the fact that one of them was an unknown creature didn’t improve the situation.

Step by step, he came closer, always on the watch in case of an attack. Since nothing happened besides the dew pond becoming emptier, he walked a little faster and stood beside it. He knocked on the wood. “Hello?”

A bit startled, the creature got up and stared into his eyes, first with surprise, then with... relief? His now soaked mane hung in his face and made it even harder to read his expression. “Are we in Equestria yet?” he asked, water dripping on his clothes.

“First off," the sheriff was a bit perplexed, partly because of how sudden the creature had gotten up, and partly by how excited he seemed to be, “not at all. This is Round Rock. Equestria is still two weeks away, at least walking by hoof.” He was ashamed to admit that he got scared when the stranger let out a terrible moan and threw his head back into the now nearly empty dew pond.

“Dammit,” he said with his mouth underwater, which made it sound a little bubbly. “Looks like I owe you a sundae,” he added and turned to the foal.

“All I’m saying,” the filly wiped her mouth with her leg before continuing to talk, “is that even a foal would know more about reading a map than you. Any moron could see that this can’t be Appleloosa yet.”

“Whatever.” The stranger got up by leaning on the dew pond and bringing his legs under his body again before he reached for the staff he had dropped into the dust. The sheriff wasn’t small, but his horn still just reached to what he would call the stranger's chest.

“Err...excuse me, stranger, but may I ask you some questions?" Although the newcomer seemed to be friendly, he still had to be sure. What relationship did he have with the foal, and what did they want in Equestria? It was the simply the natural curiosity of a sheriff. Both were looking at him, and the big guy just nodded. “Who or what are you?”

The creature had heard this question often enough in the past that he had developed a routine to answer it. “Well, my name is Lucky Luke, and I’m a brain sucker from outer space.” With that, he pointed one of his claws into the sky. When the sheriff’s eyes lowered again, he found the stranger unusually close to his face and he was... sniffing him. Instantly, he jumped back. “Don’t worry, you’re safe,” he said with a smirk.

“If you are here with foul intentions, I am going to have to ask you to hand over the foal and leave the city,” he threatened and got ready to use every spell he had ever learned, which wasn't much but surely enough to defeat his opponent. Said opponent just blinked a few times, and then pointed to his small companion with both his claws.

“But she’s my breakfast,” he said with a begging tone that almost triggered the sheriff’s pity, but just almost. He was almost ready to fire his first spell, his horn starting to glow, when the foal just pushed her companion away.

“Don’t mind him. He likes to joke around, and he can hardly be taken seriously.” She looked a bit embarrassed while she kept her companion down with her hind legs. She may have been small, but she knew how to handle him.

“Okay, then tell me, sweetie, who are you and what are you doing with such a strange guy?” He didn’t like to interrogate children, but today seemed to be one of those days that just didn't want to end quietly.

“I’m Aura and this here,” she kicked the creature, “is just my moron dad who doesn’t know when to shut his yapper.” The person in question now had a big smirk on his face while he seemed to make himself comfortable on the floor. How this was possible with his legs in that strange position wasn’t quite clear to the sheriff. “We’re on our way from Boardor to Equestria and might have lost our path a bit.” He couldn’t believe what the little foal, Aura, had just said. Boardor, the kingdom of boars, was way south in Albion. If it was true, those two had travelled through the tundra, which, without a proper team, was nearly impossible. There was a reason why it was among the seven deadliest places in the known world.

“My pleasure, Aura. I’m Dusk Star, sheriff of Round Rock.” Dusk looked up to her still sitting father as she had called him. He wondered what mare would... “And that’s really your dad?” She followed his eyes, and as soon as she turned around, the smirk on Lucky’s face disappeared as he pretended to watch the sky.

“Mmhm,” she hummed as an answer and nodded. “He's looked after me since we met, although it sometimes seems hard to believe.” Dusk analysed the sentence. There was no fear in it, just the voice of a loving daughter.

“So, can I rely on him not causing any trouble?” The question seemed to shake her confidence a bit, and she was now a little insecure.

“Uh, sure. Just show us the nearest hotel, and we’ll be done for today.” He could imagine quite well how exhausted they had to be after walking around in the storm. He pointed at the building they were standing in front of the whole time.

“This is the saloon. Since our town isn’t really big, it serves as a hotel as well. There are a few free rooms upstairs.” The foal nodded thankfully and started to pull and push her father towards the entrance. When they were through the door, Dusk noticed something. “Damn, they didn’t tell me what he really is.”

***

The room was small and dusty, but it was the best they could afford. The beds were always either too big or too small, depending on which of them you asked. The old yellow curtains had seen better times as they dimmed the already dark room even more. Next to the beds, each with a little nightstand, two small closets were the only furniture in the room. An open door led to a small bathroom with only the most necessary equipment. The little foal jumped on the bed at the window and laid down. “You can't even be serious for a single second, can you?"

The person in question had just placed down his staff and was busy getting rid of his backpack. “Can’t a man have a little fun?” he replied with exaggerated sadness. “It’s boring to always have to say, ‘Hey, I’m a human. You know, the creature from your horror stories, but I’m friendly. Oh, and the name’s Bilbo, Bilbo Baggins.’” The monotone voice he said it in made it more than clear that he did the routine way too often.

“But your name is not Bilbo,” Aura made clear and watched as her father hung the cloak in the closet.

“It is for now. Like I was 'Bananarama the monkey god' for the deer. The camels knew me as Indiana Jones, and the zebras knew me as Simba. And those were just my good ideas.” He fell on the bed and stretched his arms and legs which were hanging down from each side of the bed. He sighed. “I already despise ponies; their beds are way too small. The camels at least had futons big enough for me.” He thought back to the time they had travelled through the desert with the caravan to reach the zebras. Sure, at day it was terribly hot and terribly cold at night, but in the tent, it had been comfortable, and he had a bed fitting to his size.

“Does anyone, besides me, know your real name?” She brought the pillow in position, turned around a few times, and coiled up like dog. Her father thought that that was just adorable and watched her with a big smile.

“No, and you know why. As long as they’re after us, it is best for us not to tell anyone our names. You know that, which is why I wonder why you told the sheriff your name.” If she hadn’t been coiled up, he would have seen her rolling her eyes.

“He is the sheriff. He hardly will tell around who we are. Furthermore, Thiemo, your description is already enough for any pursuer.” He twitched when he heard his real name and shushed her.

“How often do I have to tell you? Call me Darkwing.” She rolled her eyes again, unseen.

“No, I won’t. You don’t even have wings,” she replied with a yawn and coiled up even more.

“What my foes don’t know.” He laid on his side and looked at the foal lying next to him. Since she didn’t give another reply except for a quiet snore, she had to be asleep. The perfect moment for him to care about more important issues, namely the saloon’s bar. Water was nice and fine, but after two weeks with nothing but sand and water, he needed something else. Silently, he got his feet on the floor. He opened his backpack and got a small, dark, cloth bag and tied it to his leather belt. It jingled a bit due to its contents, but not as much as he would prefer. Maybe he could even earn some here.

Carefully, he sneaked out of the room, which was actually easy due to the fact that he had feet and not hooves. Though he was wearing leather boots the zebras had made him, they weren’t nearly as loud as hooves on the wooden floor.

Quietly, he closed the door and went down the stairs leading straight into the saloon. It was one of those typical western clichés, but he saw those around every corner in this world. Stags who decorated their antlers with flowers and lived in the woods. Camels who travelled the desert as merchants, and zebras who knew shaman magic and only spoke in rhymed riddles. Yes, this world was one big cliché. Last but not least, there were the boars with Russian accents and the appropriate hat and mantle to fulfil the communist stereotype. At least they were out of the freezing cold.

When Thiemo went down the stairs, he looked around again. Although they were just at the bar to rent a room, he didn’t really pay attention. The bar itself was what anyone would expect. A long counter with a bored barkeeper behind it, who was busy polishing the technically already clean glasses, and a mirrored cupboard filled with every kind of liquor. The rest of the room was made up of five large tables which were already behind their prime. Some were missing a piece, some were carved on. The only source of light, aside from the dirty old chandelier hanging from the ceiling, was the openings underneath and on top of the entrance. The room itself smelled like the business in here, with a hint of tobacco, although Thiemo was sure that it didn’t exist here.

He reached the bar and leaned against it due to the lack of stools, and the counter itself was a bit too small, causing him to crouch down a bit. “What can I get you?” the old brown stallion asked and placed a glass in front of him. Thiemo’s eyes scanned the offer before he finally pointed at a white bottle.

“I’ll have vodka with apple, half’n’half.” Normally, he wasn’t a vodka drinker - he actually wasn’t a drinker at all - but everyone had their moments. There was still sand in every pore of his body, and he had sore muscles he didn’t even know he had. Since he knew that there wasn’t any medicine for him here, he welcomed the numbing effect of alcohol.

“Sorry pal, they are just decorative. Those bottles are all empty.” He tried to resist the urge to drop his head on the counter and failed miserably.

“What do you have then?” he asked without looking up.

“We have mead, cider, and uh...” He heard the barkeeper looking for something under the counter. “That’s it, actually. We are waiting for the train to bring new supplies.” Instantly, Thiemo’s head snapped up, and he reached over the counter to pull the barkeeper in front of him.

“Did you just say train?” The barkeeper was totally confused and just nodded heavily. This led to a manic smile on Thiemo’s face which scared the barkeeper even more. Suddenly, he released him, stepped back, and started what seemed to be a dance. “Yes! God damn it yes!" he shouted. While he was busy dancing and cursing, the old stallion corrected his mane and took a deep breath. When he saw his guest’s teeth, he thought that this was it for him.

After a minute of dancing, cursing, and other expressions he couldn’t really name, Thiemo calmed down and got back to the bar. “Excuse me, but that was the best news I've heard in a long time. Where exactly does this train go?”

“Here is end of the line. It runs back to Dodge City, after that, Appleloosa.” As soon as he finished his sentence, he could see the spark in his guest's eyes again. But he didn’t intend to pull him over the counter this time and reached for his purse instead.

He smashed his hand on the counter. “A bottle of cider.” He pulled back his hand, and two golden coins appeared. “Or the amount of cider I can get for this.” He smiled again, but this time, the barkeeper knew that his guest was just glad about the news of a train arriving. Thiemo knew the kind impression he made on the inhabitants of this world, and most of the time, he considered that. Every now and then, on the other hand, he shamelessly used it.

“This should be enough for one bottle, especially since they are a bit older. The last train arrived here a month ago.” He pulled out the bottle, opened it, and poured out the foamy brew.

“When exactly will the train arrive?” As soon as the glass was full, he grabbed it and emptied it in one gulp.

“One to three days, depends on the sandstorm.” With a deep sigh, placed put the glass down and refilled it himself.

“Then that's how long we'll stay. What will it cost?” Unfortunately, the conversation was ended at that point by the sound of the door. Both turned around to see who came in. But it wasn’t just one, but three creatures no one would have expected here: gryphons. Thiemo hated gryphons. Every encounter with those creatures had ended with him being hurt, robbed, or worse. Thus, he tried to avoid the contact. Sadly, they blocked the only exit, and there was still his filly upstairs, probably asleep. He swallowed down his escape-instinct and tried to ignore them.

But, as it often went in life, it didn’t work. The fact that he was an abnormality either attracted or repelled people. The bad thing was that it attracted the wrong, and repelled the right. He heard claws dragging over the wood as they approached the bar. One stepped up to his left, the other ones to his right, and from the corner of his eyes, he could see that they were up to no good. The two to his right were the typical gryphon: white head, brown body. While the head was feathered, the body from the neck down was covered in fur that only stopped at the claws on their forelegs. The last one was a bit different, but not by much, at least for Thiemo. He never really cared about anatomical details, so he just differentiated in colours and voices. With ponies, it was easier since they practically gave away who they were at the first sight. Anyway, the last one had dark grey fur with a few bright spots.

“Mead, the strongest you have,” the one on the left mumbled and smashed his claw on the counter, leaving an ugly dent. The barkeep instantly started to pull out one bottle after another, but apparently not fast enough for the gryphon, who grabbed the first bottle and knocked it down in one draw. Not that much was left. The first thing Thiemo learned about gryphons was that they usually just took what they wanted as long as no one claimed it. If it was claimed, the dispute was usually settled in a fight. Something he had to learn the hard way. “Watcha lookin’ at?”

That was the last thing he wanted, annoying poultry looking for trouble. He had already been involved in a lot of confrontations in the past, so he knew the difference between someone looking for trouble, and someone causing it. The latter applied to the gryphon on his left. “If those chicken wings aren’t for me, you should shut your beak.”

The gryphon was a bit surprised that his victim had the courage to talk back to him in presence of his companions, but that didn’t last long. “Did you just call us chickens?” His right claw tightened its grip around the bottle while the other one got ready to slice his throat.

“No, but since you feel obligated to—” Perhaps it wasn't only their fault that they didn’t like him. But only perhaps.

Chapter I - Act 1.2 - A Comfortable Bed

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 1.2 – A Comfortable Bed ~

Every species he had encountered so far had reacted differently to him. The deer had worshipped him. Or at least they had brought bananas as an offering, which was, when one considered that they were perceived as a rare delicacy, quite an honour. In contrast, the camels had treated him the way you’d expect: neutral and bored. Maybe they had also been simply uninterested. They hadn’t cared for what he was, only what he had to tell. As a travelling culture, stories were valued, and since Thiemo had a respectable knowledge of film and television, he had more than enough to pay for food and drink. The zebras had examined him curiously. They took samples of his hair, his skin, and even his saliva. As they made moves toward taking even more, he had ended the testing, leaving the zebras unsatisfied. They were masters of alchemy and were always exploring new ingredients for their potions. An unknown being meant a lot of combination possibilities, meaning the samples got burned, cooked, crushed, and what not.

Then there were the griffons. He might have never been to their land, but he had heard them being described as militant folks. Easily enraged, hard to calm, and always out for a fight. These rumours had been confirmed when he met them the first time. Back then, he didn't have Aura at his side. Some of these gryphons had been hunting in the steppes of Zebrecia when their eagle eyes had spotted him. They had been curious, but not interested in what kind of creature they had before them, no. They had only desired to taste the flesh of a foreign creature. So Thiemo had found himself, together with three warriors of the zebra tribe who had accompanied him, in a fight against five gryphons. They had expected resistance - all of them were armed - but they couldn’t have known that the youngest warrior had been a shaman trained in the arts of magic. Fire, earth, wind, and water were her weapons and the gryphons her targets. It would save the day, and he learned that although gryphons, when struck by lightning, may smell like chicken, they didn’t taste as good.

The second encounter with gryphons had happened during the passage from Zebrecia to the small island of Dragmire. The look-out on the ship had been a gryphon and stereotypically unfriendly. Not that, until today, there ever had been one who wasn’t. Said look-out had tried to get a piece of him, literally, for some kind of weird delicacy, since rare meat was more precious. He had challenged Thiemo in all kinds of games and bets. Anyway, he had been pretty insulted and felt like his pride or honour or whatever had been hurt when Thiemo had declined all his challenges.

When the ship had crossed halfway, he came to the conclusion that when wielding his sabre, nobody could stop him from taking what he wanted, and so he had threatened Thiemo. In the end, Thiemo had been forced to accept the challenge, but he had insisted on choosing the game. An old trick which no one in his world with at least a tiny bit of sanity would fall for. Unfortunately for the griffon, he hadn’t known that trick. So they had played a round of 'I drink my five beer jugs faster than you drink your ten shots', the wager being one of his arms against all his opponents’ bits - he had somehow found out that every country accepted the same form of currency in this world. The most important rule of the game was that one could not touch the glasses of the other or move the table in any way.

Stupid as the gryphon was, he had agreed. Since there had been no beer around, he had to drink salt water instead, but that hadn’t mattered to either of the two. Sure of his victory, the gryphon had started to drink and emptied his fourth shot when he found a jug standing on the fifth. As he was then unable to drink all his shots, Thiemo had taken his time to finish his jugs and thus won the game and the bits. Sadly for him, gryphons weren’t the best losers. Thiemo wasn't either, but that wouldn't cause him to hurt the shoulder of the winner with his claws. The gryphon had spent the remaining passage in a small cabin under deck as did Thiemo since he had to heal his wounds. At least he had made some money.

His last time meeting gryphons had been in Boardor; Pretuskria to be exact. It was the capital of the empire ruled by a dictator. His visit to the city had lasted longer than he had anticipated, as his face, or something else about him, hadn’t appealed to the gryphons hired as mercenaries, so they had just locked him in the dungeon. A month of eating strange mushroom soup, a bit of torture, and harassment until he got an audience with the regent. Said regent gave him the opportunity to buy himself free for a mite, consisting of only half of his belongings. Luckily, they had no interest in his old staff he had kept since the beginning of his journey, but one thing he had learned in all of those encounters was that gryphons only fought with two things: their claws and their beak. By doing so, they tried to defend their vital areas like wings and their rather weak ribcage.

This knowledge helped him now as he dodged the thrown bottle, which was shortly followed by the claw. Thiemo quickly placed his hand into his other and let them crash into the head of the gryphon. The confused gryphon bowed his head in pain while Thiemo shoved his knee upwards as compensation.

One would expect birds and birdlike creatures to have hollow bones. Sadly, this didn't apply to gryphons. His hands and knees cracked under the force of the hit while his opponent fell down, unconscious.

“Gah! I'll still feel that next week," he spat out in pain. Completely perplexed, the remaining audience stared at the stranger who jumped with one leg on point while holding his hand and whining like a foal, even though he had just knocked out a gryphon. No one had expected that, although for different reasons. The barkeeper was smart enough to not piss off the most intelligent predators of Albion, and that was basically the reason for the gryphons' confusion as well. Who was stupid enough to attack them? They were the most warrior-like race on the planet and naturally supreme to the naturally weak ponies, zebras, or any other species. "Goddammit, anyone got an ice bag?” Thiemo finally asked, still rubbing his hand and sympathizing with his knee. The old stallion was the first one to react.

“Yeah, umm... sure. I'll be right back,” he said as he left for the backroom to get an ice bag and an aid chest. The stranger surely would need it soon enough. In front of Thiemo, the remaining two were still standing without moving a muscle, their wide open mouths gaping at the knocked out gryphon, who seemed to be their leader.

“Anyone else? I’m sick of you thinking you can do with me whatever you want.” His look jumped from one to the other until one of them shook his head. “Good, then get your friend and piss off. And by the way, you owe me two bits for my cider.”

Without further ado, they obeyed and dashed over to their friend, pulling him over the ground and out of the bar. The one nearer to him let two coins fall on the ground before they disappeared through the exit. As the door closed, Thiemo released the breath he held in. He knew that he was more than just lucky. If the remaining gryphons hadn’t been so dumb, he wouldn’t have had a chance. At least, not without his staff. Keeping two claws and a beak in his field of view was doable, but four claws and two beaks with just two eyes were way more challenging.

“I got the... ice.” The barkeeper returned, and in his hoof, he held an old rag wrapped around several ice cubes. He stopped when he saw only his customer all alone without a trace of the gryphons. Thiemo took the bag and sat himself on a smaller table which had just the right height for him to sit properly, placing the ice on his knee. Onto the ice he added his right hand so that both injured body parts were treated at the same time.

“Thanks. I hope you don’t mind that I use a table for sitting.” The stallion shook his head and searched the room confusedly, wondering whether the gryphons had just pulled a bad joke on him.

“Where are the gryphons?” Not that it would bother him to not be robbed of his remaining stock since he heavily doubted that they had planned to pay. Thiemo only pointed at his mouth and grinned.

“Ate them for lunch.” His sarcasm was obvious for anyone who saw. But quite frankly, he didn’t care what the stranger did to them. He paid, and his furniture was unharmed.

“Well then I hope they tasted good to you, boy." Thiemo liked the old stallion for playing along with the joke.

“Nah, I don’t like that kind of poultry at all. Spreads bad karma.” Not that he believed in a concept as karma, but it was the best explanation for the trouble that accompanied his very existence. “So, how much was the room again?”

“Ten bits for the three days, depending on the arrival of the train. Deal?” He went through the offer in his head. For the first night, he had already paid three bits, excluding breakfast or any other kind of service.

“Breakfast inclusive?” The old stallion put a hoof on his chest and faked a heart attack.

“Are you trying to ruin me?” Both laughed briefly before they went back to business. “But I like your style, so deal.” He took his hand off the ice bag and pulled out eight golden coins and pushed them with the two from the gryphon onto the bar.

“Here, oh and another cider; the last one went down the drain.” He pulled out another two coins and counted with his hand how many he had left, guessing a little more than thirty bits. All in all, not that bad, but far from a fortune.

The barkeeper brought up another bottle and moved the two additional bits back.

“This one’s on the house. But I have a question. Who are you, and more importantly, what? I have seen many creatures come through these doors but never something like you. No offence.” Thankfully, he took the money and leaned over the bar.

“Sure you can handle the truth?” The old stallion only responded with a tired laugh as he grabbed a glass and started to clean it. “I am the horror flapping through the night. I am the most persistent stain at the bottom of every glass. I am Darkwing.” The barkeeper didn’t really care, only humming his acknowledgement and saying nothing anymore. “What? No shivering? No panicked attempts to escape?

“When you are this long in this business, you recognize a lie when you hear one. So if you don’t want to tell me who you are, I won’t push you to it any further.” With newfound respect for the old geezer, he nodded and started again.

“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you because not all of that was a lie. You ponies have some horrifying stories over my kind. I am what you call a human.” Immediately, the barkeeper stopped cleaning the glass, and with a raised eyebrow, he looked up to him.

“And I thought with my age I would have seen everything," he mumbled and had himself a better look at Thiemo. “And what is your name, young lad?”

“Sorry, but my real name is a secret. I know that there are not many humans here in Albion, but I want to keep some anonymity. Nobody has to know which human was here, right? If you want to give me a name, try Lucky Luke.” That was the first name he had in mind when he spotted this western town, as it looked just like one from the comics, a town that appeared as though it was taken out of one. He had only heard tales of other humans or vague suggestions that someone had seen one. Some information seemed to be older than him; that was why he was curious whether they were still alive. Other stories had been so twisted, since they were passed from mouth to mouth, that identifying a human in it was hard.

“And your small companion?” Thiemo glanced at the stairs, sighed, and lowered his shoulders, shifting his weight on the bar.

“Jolly Jumper? Ran into my arms some time ago. I had to take care of her, didn’t I?” Of course, the bartender knew that it wasn’t the correct name of the foal, but he played along. A human saying he would care for her was enough to know she’d be fine. For anyone else, it would be enough knowing a legendary creature was protecting you. He had gotten rid of the gryphons without much of a fight after all. But once again, the swinging door interrupted the conversation, and both occupants looked to see who had entered the saloon this time. Thiemo recognized the unicorn. It was the same one who had told him about this place - the sheriff. A stallion with sand-colored fur and a brown mane holding an old Stetson in its place. In the bulge of his hat, his horn stood out. With that, he wore a brown vest, showing his golden star, and to top it all off, he didn’t look too happy.

Slowly, he walked towards the bar, never taking his eyes off Thiemo, the human doing the same. “I thought we had an agreement that you wouldn’t cause any trouble?” Thiemo pointed a finger at himself and gave the unicorn a confused look. “Is everything alright with you, Bronze Mug? He isn’t causing you trouble, is he?” Both looked to the still perplexed human who was sitting on the table and staring back at them, disbelieving.

“Not more than any other customer.” The harsh look of the sheriff loosened a bit, but he still turned to the one who was a stranger to him.

“I still don’t know what you are," he remarked in a demanding tone. After waiting a few seconds for an answer, a smile formed on the face of the stranger. Thiemo had just too much of an allergy against authorities to resist. There were only a few he would really obey. God, Satan, Spiderman, the Hulk, and his grandma, exactly in that order, though only the last one was real and she wasn’t here. He had also almost forgotten Deerling, a doe who had been his servant when he had played the monkey god. Although she had been just his servant, she had this determined character, and to his dishonour, he liked women who wore pants, not speaking literally. Equal partners, not the dominating kind. Even though that sure was worth an excursion...

“As I said, I’m Lucky Luke, brain sucker from out—” He wasn’t allowed to continue further since the bartender interrupted by banging the glass he was just washing on the bar.

"He’s a human, Dusk. Also my guest.” Did he just get defended by the old pony? Things like that just didn't happen these days. Only Aura would find herself having to do it. Thus, he was even more confused that this old stallion geezer stood up for him.

“Doesn’t matter, Bronze, you know the law. He has been drinking - his breath is more than proof enough.” Thiemo put a hand before his mouth and exhaled, sniffing the hand. The scent of cider was clear. “And he was involved in a brawl.” Not exactly the way he’d put it. It was more of a little disagreement over whom the bottle of cider belonged. Calling it a brawl was exaggerated in his opinion. “He gets to spend the night chilling in a cell.” His grin disappeared instantly, and he looked over to the sheriff, who looked tensed and was ready to use his horn if needed.

“But I already paid for the bed...” he whined, his finger pointing upstairs. It was a small bed, an old bed, but it was a bed. For the last two weeks, he had been sleeping in the sand with nothing but a thin sheet beneath him and an even thinner tent above. He wanted this bed. No, this bed was his legitimate right and belonged to him by all the gods.

“Not my problem. You make trouble, you spend the night in the jail. It’s as simple as that.” One sentence and his right got eradicated. Sometimes, the world really was cruel. He shoved the half-melted ice bag on the bar.

“Could you tell the little one where she can find me?” He thought over what he just said and wanted to slap himself. “Forget that; just tell her I’ll be back tomorrow and that we’ll take the trains to Appleloosa in a few days.” The pony nodded and put the bottle back with the others before he went back to cleaning the glasses. Now that Thiemo stood upright, he could solve the mystery of the pony cleaning glasses while standing on two legs. The bartender leaned on a small work surface that was like a counter behind the counter.

“No problem. Watch yourself, boy.” Thiemo tapped his forehead with two fingers and saluted to Bronze before he turned around and faced the thief of his bed.

“Well then, let’s get going since I already have to spend the night in jail then. I am tired.” The unicorn apparently had no problem with his desire to sleep and signalled with his hoof that he should go in front, and the two got moving.

Outside, it wasn’t nearly as bright as it was back when they had arrived. The sun was on its way towards the horizon, meaning that soon the chilly night would dominate this world. That reminded Thiemo of something interesting he had found out about this world. Although the world was shaped like Earth, at any given time, the time would be exactly the same no matter where you were. Same applied to the seasons. If it was spring where you were, it was spring everywhere and so on. One of the mysteries he wanted to solve, one of the many.

With the dying sun, the life on the street went dormant. Only a few citizens were still busy. Some ponies, a couple of horses, goats, and cows. There were also one or two gryphons he saw walking through the dusty road but none of the three troublemakers. The town was just as he expected it when he had seen the first couple of buildings when he approached it. Wooden sheds and small houses with tiny overhangs provided shadows for those who wanted to avoid the sun. The houses were so close to each other that he had to go sideways to get through them.

“And you are really a human?” The question dragged him out of his perusal as he and sheriff crossed the broad street. Some inhabitants of the small town gave him weird looks again, but due the accompanying sheriff, they let him be. Otherwise, they’d probably barricade themselves in their houses; at least the easy scared ponies would.

“Would that change my situation in any way?” Although he couldn’t see the face of the sheriff, he knew, due to the pause, that the pony knew the stories of his kind.

“No,” the sheriff responded as they walked by. You could hear the prejudice in his voice. “Just don’t give me any more reason to keep you longer, and you’ll be out by morning.” He could live with that. A night on a hay bale was still better than sleeping in the sand. He only wished that he could’ve used the shower in their room.

Finally, after they had walked past something which seemed to represent a bank, judging by the sign which showed a big bag of golden coins, they got into the bureau of the sheriff. Just like the bank, it was marked by a large sign on the outer wall depicting a sheriff star. Dusk Star walked past him and opened the closed door with a hoof rather than magicking it open, but he disregarded that. The building itself was not much. In the entrance, there was an old desk designed for a pony. On it, numerous papers, letters, and notes covered most of the work space. There was also a magical telegraph he had already seen once. They served for long distance communication and were a rather new invention from Equestria. A lot of the magic gadgets came from there. His magical lamp in his backpack was one of them. It wasn’t very large and delivered just enough light for reading. It got its power out of the magic which flowed through the entire world, so it was unreliable as a power source. Larger versions, though available, cost a fortune. He also noticed the wanted posters on the wall behind the desk. All of them were drawn by hoof or mouth onto the yellowed paper and showed a dozen criminal faces.

That most of them were gryphons was rather logical when one considered their natural behaviour. Then there were jackals, a zebra, and even a pony, which was more than unusual since they were of a friendly nature. He had never encountered any sort of violent pony. One could have classified them as pacifists if it weren’t for the Royal Guard, an elite troop of trained ponies that ensured the safety of the princesses. They consisted of unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies in equal numbers, each one as deadly as the next. The camels had told stories of them that he couldn’t believe at first. Supposedly, they could kick with their hooves so hard that they’d break the neck of any attacker with one hit. Even today he didn't believe them completely, but every story had its true core. He reasoned that they were well trained soldiers who could probably easily take out a gryphon. The rest, they probably spread by themselves to scare potential opponents.

However, it was the next wanted poster that made him hesitate. It showed himself, though it was an older picture. In it, he was wearing his old clothes, his old hay hat, and the pilot glasses. His hair was short and his beard in bloom. Underneath, it said Captain Baloo, the name he had used during the voyage to Dragmire.

The sheriff didn’t recognize him, and how could he? Thiemo guessed the picture was more than a year old. In general, he'd changed much since his arrival. Not much was left of the small IT-technician he once had been. Due to the constant travelling, his natural brownness had made place for a real tan. Thiemo wouldn’t describe himself as freakishly muscular or strong, especially since he was only five feet eight. There was no six-pack spicing up his belly but no unneeded ballast either. He was satisfied with himself.

“What did that pony do?” Thiemo pointed at the wanted poster to get his eyes off his own. A few seconds more staring and the sheriff would have noticed for sure.

“That’s Billy the Colt. He robs banks in the whole Leylands and disappears with the money. Nobody’s ever heard of him spending it anywhere. Why?” He shrugged his shoulders.

“Just because I’ve never heard of a criminal pony.” The sheriff mumbled his agreement.

“Rarely, but we all have our black sheep.” A saying that was meant to be taken literally. The zebras raised sheep for milk and wool, and there were some black ones. These were often aggressive, attacked the others without reason, and had to be separated from the herd.

“Come, I’ll show you your cell.” The stallion nodded towards the door that led to the cell row.

“How did you even hear of the fight?” A reasonable question as Thiemo didn’t believe they’d be snitches.

“Two whining griffons came into my office and told me a big two-legged thing had harassed them in the saloon, knocked out their friend, and took money from them.” Or maybe they were. “But don’t worry; I know gryphons, and I can imagine what really happened. Otherwise, you’d enjoy my hospitality for longer.” From how he said the last sentence, it was easy to see he didn’t believe their words but had to follow his protocols. “Now get going; my wife's waiting for me.”

This time, he magicked the door open and revealed a small room with a single cell in. It wasn’t the cell itself which cheered him up but what was inside: a bench, a big, very comfortable-looking bench with clean sheets. It was so big that two humans of his stature could have fit on it, probably because it was developed for gryphons and other large creatures, but that didn’t bother him. With a spring in his step, he walked through the iron door which snapped immediately behind him. He then proceeded to jump onto his new bed with a grin from ear to ear, for the bench was as comfortable as it looked.

“Okay, how many times do I need to punch you to book this thing for the next few days?” He turned to his side and faced his host. The sheriff didn’t get the joke and carefully stepped a few steps back.

“Attacking an officer will be treated in court and is punished by either a fine or a long stay in the jail of Junk Town,” he quoted in a quivering tone, afraid that the human would reach through the iron bars and carry out his threat.

“Relax. I was kidding, but this is the most comfortable bed I've had in a long time. So, thank you for that.” In all his time, it rarely— No, it never happened for an inmate to thank him for being thrown in jail. Thus, his response was a bit hesitant and rather sounded like a question.

“You’re welcome?” The sheriff shook his head, left the room, and locked the wooden door with his magic. Thiemo sighed and stood up to prepare the sheets for the night. While doing so, he had a look at the iron bars. They were made for ponies and other inhabitants of this world, not for humans. They had wide gaps between them, at least wider than they should have been for him. If he wanted, he could probably have just squeezed himself through them. But the comfortable bed was simply superior to the one in the saloon, and if he hurried tomorrow, he’d be back before Aura would notice anything. Yes, that sounded like a plan.

Chapter I - Act 1.3 - Easy Prey

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 1.3 – Easy Prey ~

Slowly, step by step, he approached his destination. He only had to be quiet now so the guards in the stairwell wouldn’t notice him. No, such a beginner's error, breaking into the palace was too difficult. The harem full of willing women was only a few meters away, and nothing would stop him from entering. Quietly, he pushed the curtain away. It revealed the corridor, and he was lucky. Just a single guard, sabre in his belt with his back turned to him. If he could approach the guard unnoticed, he could take him out, and nobody would notice anything. He made a cautious first step and avoided making any noise. Then a second one. A loud chink sounded and made him flinch.

Quickly, he looked around but couldn’t find the source of the noise. The guard seemed to have heard it as well, but disregarded it. Just like Thiemo, he believed it was a one-time abnormality, so he quietly proceeded. But there it was again, and this time, the guard also got curious and grabbed his sabre. Without making a sound, he looked under his shoes but they were made of simple fabric; they were more sandals than anything else. But now he had to hurry. He took another step, and as before, there was the noise.

The guard turned around. “Who dares sneak into the royal harem?” At first he didn’t see the intruder, but then he looked to the ground. “Intruder!”

“Listen now! I am the prince of Persia and—” He was interrupted by the sabre which separated his head from his shoulders.

Thiemo jumped awake. Just as he realized he didn’t just die, something hit him in the back of his head. “Hey! What the hell?” Still slightly sleepy, he looked around in the small room he was in. “Ah right, in a cell.” He rubbed his hurting head and took a deep breath. “What a strange dream.” But there it was yet again, the weird chink. Scared, he looked around and found several small stones lying around on the wooden floor. He looked to the barred window and concluded that someone wanted his attention. With both legs on the bench, he stood up and peered through the tiny window. “Ouch!” he cried when another stone hit him right on the nose and fell into the sand beneath the window. With one hand, he held his nose and looked for the one that had interrupted his beauty sleep. Unfortunately, it wasn’t just one; it was three. Much to his displeasure, it was three very annoying chickens.

“You again? What do you vultures want this time?” he yelled to the gryphons. The high-standing moon allowed him to see that the grey one, the one he knocked out, was wearing a bandage around his head, causing him to chuckle.

“Well look at that; he`s awake. I hope we are not interrupting.” In one of his claws, the mutated chicken played around with another stone. “We are only here to let you know that we’ll get our revenge.” He threw the stone at Thiemo, who was still too sleepy to avoid. To his unbelievable luck, it bounced off the bars and made that well-known clinching noise.

“And how are you going to do that? I am in here, and you are out there. Or do you plan to take revenge by depriving me of my beauty sleep?” He put his hands on his cheeks. “Oh, I am so scared.” The gryphons just grinned maliciously. “Dear ladies and gentlemen - actually just ladies - Macaulay Culkin!” he added and his mouth formed an oval.

“Stop with your stupid games! We’ll take your little foal,” the grey one snapped and drilled his claw into the wood to lift himself up so that his face reached just beneath the window. "We’ll take her out of her small bed in the saloon, fly her to our hideout, and then we'll devour her with pleasure." The two looked each other deep in the eyes. Not even a single muscle twitched.

"Really? Have fun." And with that said, Thiemo turned away and stepped off the bench. It took the gryphons some time to understand what was happening, but the leader of the group finally threw another stone after the human.

"Don't you understand? We will kill your friend and eat her!" he shouted through the bars he now was holding with his claws. His wings were slowly flapping to hold him at the height of the window. Thiemo only stretched and laid himself back on the bench.

"And I said to go have fun." The gryphon was speechless and slowly lowered himself to the ground. "Send her my kind regards," he said as the gryphon reached the ground.

"You'll see soon enough what you have, human!" was the response Thiemo got, soon followed by the flailing wings of chickens disappearing into the night. He covered himself with the sheet since the night was uncomfortably cold even in the building. At first, he thought about Aura. The gryphons would have to get past the barkeeper which, when considering his age, surely wouldn't be a problem for them. The filly herself was tough and strong, unbelievably strong for her young age. Well, she was an earth pony, who were said to have immense strength, but since he had no comparison, he perceived it as unnatural strength. She could even pull him in his full outfit all over the place without him being able to do much against it. She had also shown that strength on several other occasions. Surely she would give a good fight and break one or two bones. How the gryphons knew of her was no mystery to him either. One of them must have followed the loyal servant of the law and had eavesdropped on the conversation.

Although he played it cool, he didn't want her with the three alone, meaning he had to get out of here. With a sigh, he stood up, put the sheet as a provisional cape around his body, and inspected the thick bars before he just squeezed himself through. "That always looked so difficult in those western movies. I really don't know what the fuss was about," he mumbled into his patchy beard and walked towards the wooden door segregating him from the office. He reached out his hand, grabbed the knob, and got the shock of his life. It was as if he had placed his hand into a power socket, and he was instantly flung back and fell to ground. "Whoa! Holy shit! Damn! Fuck!" he yelled as his extremities twitched uncontrollably. "Unicorns and their shitty magic." At least he now knew why Dusk Star didn't open the door with his hoof.

It took a few minutes, but he had his hands somewhat under control again by then. "Good thing I sweated out all the cider in bed." The old blue jeans were the last one he had, after all. But now he had a different problem: getting past the door. If he had his staff in hand, it would have been no problem, but now he had to be creative. He came to the solution that he was too tired to think and decided to go the way of the brute. He would kick it in. One step back, weight on his left leg, the other one bent, and he now stood in front of the door and took a deep breath. "On three. Three!" And he kicked.

***

Aura would never describe herself as a pony who slept deeply. But she was one. She wouldn't say that she snored either, but she did, although only a bit. Those factors stopped her from noticing the tumult. Three dark beings, covered by the night, entered the saloon and were busy locking the old barkeeper in the closet. The barkeeper had been polishing the mirror in his glass case when they had knocked him into unconsciousness. They were not aware that if they had waited ten minutes longer, the barkeeper would have gone to bed by himself.

"So now we only have to find the room of the little one," said the grey griffon to the other two. They were looking more towards the closet than to their leader though.

"But Olgeir, why don't we just eat the barkeeper too? The foal will hardly be enough for all of us," one of them asked and immediately got his answer. The boss, whose name was obviously Olgeir, hit the whiner with his claw.

"You are a fool, Ganti. They will look for the old pony but not an unknown foal which belongs to a human." He turned to the other one who was staring at the ground, shamefaced. "Furthermore, do you think his flesh is still juicy and tender?" He pointed his claw towards the gryphon.

"No, boss." As he got approval of his second companion, he smiled contentedly.

"See Ganti, your brother Hagall here still has at least some sense in his tiny head." Ganti, though, was busy rubbing his wounded face and only nodded halfheartedly. "So let's go upstairs." Both brothers went back into the main room of the saloon and awaited their boss, who slowly stalked past them and set feet on the stairs. He was the leader; the prey belonged to him. If they were lucky, they'd get a flank or a rib when he was finished.

"Stop right there!" demanded a familiar voice from the entrance. In front of the still swinging door stood or rather crouched the human. His arms rested on his knees while he breathed heavily. Some sort of wooden leftovers were hanging around his right leg which jerked from time to time. "You featherbrains have a problem with me, so take this out on me." The brothers looked to their leader who was smiling confidently. He rather looked forward to the sweet flesh of the foal, but the human had more to offer. Years later, he could still brag about killing one of the feared humans and tasting their flesh.

"So you wanted meat?!" he shouted towards him. "Get him, boys!" The two spread their wings and jumped in a glided flight over the few tables in the room, talons extended and ready to shred their opponent. Olgeir could see how the two touched the ground, the human most likely burrowed beneath them. He turned around on the first step of the stair and slowly walked over to them. "And? Is he dead?"

"Nope, here I am." All three looked at the right corner of the room in surprise, where the human, still in the same position, gasping for air. The only difference was that he held his claw towards them, a fleshy talon raised.

"One second, guys, let me just catch my breath." The two gryphons looked to their boss again, not exactly sure how to react.

"Don't just stand there... Attack!" Immediately, the two readied themselves for another spring. The human saw the attempt and now stuck out the longest talon. That this was also an insult wasn't known by the gryphons.

"Fuck you! Do you even know how hard this is without my–” They jumped and once again glided through the air. Olgeir could already taste the meat when the brothers crashed into the wall.

"Can't you even let me finish my sentence? Did your mommy forget to teach you some manners before she threw you out of her nest?" The grey gryphon spun round. The human was standing right behind him, not in the cowering position but upright and staring down at him. He quickly remembered what he had learned in training. He turned around to get an angle with his claws while trying to hit the opponent with his tail. It wouldn't hurt but was enough to confuse unprepared enemies. To his displeasure, he felt that he missed and jumped forward with his beak, only to hit air where the head of the human had just been. Said human didn't disappear again, but had only moved his head slightly. A wide smile showed several teeth, and before he could react, he felt wood being rammed into his chest. He felt a short pinch of pain but no real damage to his body.

"Is that all you can do, human? Evade?" The smile remained, and the human held a hand with three dull talons stretched out. "Oh, am I supposed to be afraid of your talons or what?" The human lowered one.

"Not really..." He lowered another. "And they're called fingers." And with that said, the last one fell, and a terrible pain, reminding the gryphon of how he had been struck by lightning a few years ago, surged through his body. His wings quivered and pressed against his body as did his other extremities before he hit the ground. With his mind dimming and his whole body jerking without control, he lost consciousness.

***

As Thiemo saw the gryphon go down, the second time in the last twenty four hours, he took a relieved breath. Maybe a bit too soon. The others, who had crashed into the wall, were far from joining their boss in the land of unconsciousness. He barely saw the creature jump before he felt the claw pierced his left shoulder and caused him to scream in pain. At least no neighbour would complain about being awoken by poor music. He forced himself to open his eyes despite the pain and saw that talon was sticking into the joint. "Now we’ve got you!" yelled the gryphon in front of him, so close that he could smell its foul breath.

"What’s going on here?" The gryphon looked towards the source of the voice just as Thiemo did, even though he knew who it belonged to. Up on the stairs stood Aura with a very messy mane, rubbing her eyes with a hoof.

"Nothing, I'm just having a nice talk with my new friends." To fortify his point further, he petted the gryphon’s head, only to be rewarded with the claw being thrust in deeper, causing another scream. He faced his opponent again and used the fact that his hand was already on the head of the gryphon. With force, he used the combination from earlier today. His hand pressed the head of the attacker down while he kicked his knee upwards. It had the appropriate effect on the gryphon as well as his knee. The gryphon withdrew, pulling his claw out of the shoulder as it stumbled back while at the same time, the remaining wooden leftovers of the door crumbled off his leg. "Shitty poultry!" he shouted at the large bird while kicking him in the chest so that he now fell on his boss, also out of the game.

"Do you need help or can I go back to sleep?" asked the very tired foal, who watched the entire scene from the highest step of the staircase. Thiemo checked how the last gryphon was doing. He was busy recovering from the crash into the wall and was using one of the tables for support. Judging by his calmness, he hadn't exactly realized that he was the last one standing.

"Only one is left anyway." He pointed at the gryphon who now realized he was in focused. "But my staff would be nice." The sleepy filly nodded and vanished in direction of her room. Thiemo, on the other hand, concentrated his remaining attention on the final gryphon. The wound in his left shoulder was screaming in agony, and he was sure his attacker hadn’t washed his claw before drilling the additional hole. He had to disinfect the wound and dress it as soon as possible.

"What have you done with my brother and my boss?" Deciphering the obvious was apparently not his strength.

"Put them to sleep, and I'll do the same to you." Immediately, the gryphon went into an attacking stance. His front legs crouched, claws drilled into the ground to get a better start, wings spread, and tail raised to help balance the massive body. Gryphons were not tall, at least not on all fours, but some even were taller than Thiemo when upright. This particular gryphon wasn't one of them though; upright, he maybe reached his chin. Expecting his weapon, Thiemo held his hand towards the stairs and was not disappointed.

"Here, catch!" the voice of his daughter sounded, and his fingers gripped the metal staff at the next moment. At the start of his journey, the deer had given it to him since they had found it with him. In the middle, there was a grip, with the vertical length on either side being around a meter. On each side of the staff were carvings etched into it. The staff itself proved handy on many occasions and had a myriad of uses, but he only needed one at the moment. The gryphon jumped as he received the staff, and with a skilled turn, he exhaled and banged the side of the staff against the large bird's head. The bird in question fell against the bar and slumped downwards, motionless. His head was decorated by an open flesh wound.

"Homerun!" Thiemo rejoiced and did a little winning dance. "Game, set, and match to the master. And what is his name?" He put a hand behind his ear while facing Aura to get the fitting answer.

"I'm going back to bed," she said and waved off the nonsense that she knew came from the human all too often. The arm of the man fell disappointedly.

"Oh come on. Look, no table is worse than before," he declared, but the only answer was the forcefully shut door. "You are a crabber, do you know that?" he yelled after her before he once again gazed at his work. At his feet, two gryphons laid over each other, one a bit roasted and with a fractured skull, the other one only with the latter. The third probably had a crack in his skull, so all in all, a productive day. "Then let’s see where the old barkeeper got to," he said more or less to himself, an old habit. Carefully, he stepped over the two gryphons and went behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of cider while aiming for the back door. Surely the barkeeper wouldn't mind a single bottle too much.

With the bottle in one hand and the staff in another, he used his feet to push open the door and found what one could perceive as a normal flat. A couch stood in the small living room, a cooking niche with an old wooden stove which stood in the corner, and two more doors that probably led into the bath and bedroom. "So where would three idiots hide an old pony?" He took a few more steps into the small living room and saw, on the other side of the couch, a closet probably used for mantles and similar junk. "Bingo." Sure of his detective skills, he turned the tiny key which locked said closet. The door sprang open, and the barkeeper rolled out, sighing.

"I thought I'd have to spend the whole night in there," he explained and looked up to see who had freed him. Judging by his face, he didn't expect the human. "Boy, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be sleeping in your cell?"

"I can lock you back into the closet and go there if you prefer that." He pointed with his thumb towards the door of the closet and grinned. The barkeeper only waved a hoof.

"Help an old pony to get back on its hooves, will you?" Thiemo did as asked and helped the old one get back on his legs. As he began stretching his whole body, one could hear the cracking of several bones.

"So who let you out?"

"I did it myself. Your prisons aren't exactly made for my kind." Bronze Mug nodded and looked at his saviour more closely. First he noticed the bottle and got a bit grumpy, but then he saw the wound.

Immediately, he went into the kitchen. "Sit down on the couch. I'll get the dressing." He waved with his hoof roughly to where the couch was while his head disappeared in a cupboard. Once again and with pleasure, he did what the old pony said and fell on the couch. "I suppose the gryphons did that to you?" It was rather a rhetorical question, and he didn’t wait for an answer. "I suppose they are gone now?" Thiemo had put the staff aside and was scratching his chin. He should shave from time to time.

"Well actually, they're still lying in the bar; had no time to get them out of the saloon yet." The sound of the barkeeper’s head bumping into the ceiling of the cupboard was unmistakable.

"You didn't kill them, did you?" Thiemo chuckled and shook his head, ignoring the fact that nobody could see.

"No, but I can guarantee that the hospital bill won't come cheap." The relief of Bronze was obvious by the air he exhaled. Then he pulled his head back, and between his teeth, he held the grip of a red emergency kit. Quickly, he rushed over to the couch and laid the kit down.

"So then, show me." Thiemo took another large gulp before he placed the bottle on the ground and stripped himself of his provisional cape and t-shirt. The old brown thing was made of a material similar to a potato sack, but the leftovers of several escapades formed a nice pattern. "Doesn't look that bad." The old stallion took out a bottle with a clear liquid inside and opened it before grabbing the forceps and a pad. He said something impossible to understand. If Thiemo had to guess, it would be something along the lines of, "This is going to hurt a bit." The pad was dipped into the liquid and pressed on the wound. He dabbed it a few more times then held it on the wound before laying the forceps on the couch. "So, now a bandage and you are good." He pulled a roll of gauze, but Thiemo took it from his hooves.

"No offense but I'd rather do this myself." Not that he was afraid of contact or hooves in particular. It was only that ponies walked on them all day long, and using them now to get the band aid into position would make the whole disinfection useless.

"Bronze Mug?" someone yelled from out of the saloon. "Bronze Mug, where are you? Are you alright? What’s going on?" It was the voice of the sheriff. Meaning that somebody had to have heard the screams he'd made a few minutes earlier and called the police. As usual, however, he came too late when everything was already done. Some things never change, no matter which world you were in.

"I’m back here, Dusk!" the old stallion replied while Thiemo aided himself. Not easy, but his arms were agile enough for the task. A couple of seconds later, a very pissed-off looking sheriff stood in the doorway, first looking at the barkeeper then at the human.

"Didn't I lock you into a cell?" Thiemo bit his lip.

"Well, concerning that..." Somehow he had the feeling that he wouldn't get his his desired sleep time anymore.

Chapter I - Act 1.4 - Tip

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 1.4 – Tip ~

The first rays of sun shone through the yellowed curtain, causing the sleeping inhabitant of the small double room to awaken. First she shielded her eyes because she was used to the darkness, then slowly opened them. Tired, and with a moan, the filly turned around and looked to the second, empty bed in the room. Surprised, she blinked a few times. “Where is Dad?” When she had first met that irresponsible being, she had never thought she would consider him as a part of her family, but no one could see the future. Yes, Thiemo was often childish, even more childish than her with her eight years, but he had always defended and cared for her. It was the nearest thing to a father she had ever had, and after they had been traveling together for a more than a year, he more or less became one.

She sat up and shook her head like crazy to get her mane out of her view. Slowly, her brain woke up as well, and she remembered how her dad had patted a gryphon's head. She groaned, mumbled, and left for the bathroom. By her assumption, her dad had allowed himself to get roped up in something and was either sitting bleeding in a corner of the saloon, or she would have to pick him up later from the sheriff's office. He had this unbelievable talent to either be totally likeable or incredibly annoying. For her, it was a mixture of both. For most other people, it was the first, but to the kind of people one didn’t want to anger, he appealed to them in the more unfitting way.

After she finished her daily routine and tamed her mane, she went to the backpack near the empty bed and scavenged for coins to pay for breakfast. Sadly, the black bag of coins was missing. “I swear if he wasted it all on more of his junk...” The small reading light was already unnecessary especially since they didn’t even have a book, and for a normal lamp, the light was too weak. Then there also was the antique junk he bought at every corner, claiming he could repair it. Until now, he'd only managed to blow up half of it.

She left her room and walked down into the saloon. Even before she reached the end of the stairs, she saw the old barkeeper mopping the floor. He noticed her as well and waved at her. “Good morning, young lady. Slept well?” he greeted her.

She yawned, covering her mouth with a hoof. “Sorta. It was a bit loud down here for a while. I hope my father didn’t cause you any trouble.” Until now, she was always the one who had to clean up his mess, and at times, she asked herself which of them was the adult.

“Well, your father did cause me trouble, but he also defended my stock. I’d say we are even.” The stallion put the mob back into the bucket and shoved both aside. “So how about some breakfast?” Aura slowly circled her hoof over the freshly cleaned floor and spoke without looking up.

“Umm... I have no money here, and I don’t know where my father is.” She didn’t want to admit, but she had taken the human into her heart. He had become a part of her life. She was a foal, physically and mentally, and she needed a father figure. Thiemo was smart, logical, and strong in his own manner. She wanted to keep up with him, show him that she could be just as strong as him, that she was also there for him. But that was only a charade. She relied more on his help than the other way round. He just saw it as the typical smart-aleck behaviour of eight year old fillies.

Bronze smiled at her while ruffling her mane. “Don’t you worry; your father paid already for it yesterday, as well as for the next few days you’ll be staying.” Immediately, the foal was happy again and beamed in anticipation. “So what would you like?”

“Ice cream!” she demanded without even thinking. She was a foal, so of course she loved ice cream, and there was nothing she would rather have for breakfast... or lunch… or generally at any time of the day. Except maybe lollipops; she loved lollipops. Especially the ones with a strawberry flavour. Her hope for a breakfast that would resemble a sugary feast was high.

“Ice cream ain’t no breakfast, young lady.” And with a single sentence, that hope was crushed.

“Aww,” she whined louder than necessary to tell the world of her disappointment. Or at least to the barkeeper. In that moment, she could relate to how Thiemo felt when she didn’t fulfil his wishes or didn’t participate in his jokes. Only that she didn’t care. She wanted ice cream!

“I don’t think your father would like it if I gave you ice cream.” He patted her head again. “How about something hearty, but still sweet instead?” It was no ice cream, but it was a new beginning. She looked at the barkeeper again, her eyes glowing with high hopes once again, although not as bright as before. “I thought hay-pancakes with raspberry jam sounded good.” In an instant, she was herself again, happy and not caring for anything. In the end, her biggest sorrow was about ice cream and not her missing dad.

“Oh yes, that sounds good. Not as good as ice cream, though, but still good.” She licked her lips, and her tail waved around in joy.

“Then pick a table. Food's coming.” With that, he left her in the saloon and disappeared through a door behind the counter. With the most important question at that moment cleared, the curiosity about that strange smell grew stronger. Her nose led her to the bucket, and she risked a cautious glance at the inside. The liquid was a strange mixture of white froth from the cleanser and a dark red. She sniffed one more time and hastily pulled her head back. Yes it was, without doubt, the source of the smell. She chose the table near the entrance in order to be as far away as possible from the bucket.

Sometime later, after licking off the remaining jam from her plate, her stomach was filled. It was time to take care of more important things. The stallion had been watching her eat and realized that she was finished. “Did you enjoy it?”

To really ensure that she had gotten everything, she licked the clean plate once again. “Mmmm.” And to be really, really sure, one more time. “This was the best breakfast I've had in a long time.” In the desert, she had lived off dried fruits and stale water that was also rationed. That she got more than Thiemo escaped her notice.

Bronze smiled contentedly that his cooking skills were praised by the small filly. “Glad that it tasted good.” He changed his clean glass for a dirty one and started cleaning it.

“Do you know where my father went?” The barkeeper nearly dropped his glass. Lucky Luke had asked him to not tell her that he’d probably spend the whole day in his cell until the sheriff finished the paperwork for the argument yesterday. Since the sheriff’s sleep was stolen, he wanted to make up for it. That meant he would take his time doing the papers.

“Listen kid, your daddy is very busy today and...” He tried to make up an excuse.

“He’s behind bars again, right?” The stallion only nodded while Aura sighed. “Has it got something to do with the three gryphons here yesterday?” Again a nod. “I think I’ll pay him a visit. Where is the jail?” He placed his glass down.

“We don’t have a jail here in Round Rock. He is in the only cell we have, in the bureau of the sheriff. That’s right next to the bank.” Aura went to the door.

“Thanks, I’ll come back later,” she yelled and waved at Bronze before she stepped out on the street. It was still early morning, about eight o`clock, and most villagers were still in their houses. Across the street, she saw an old mare cleaning the window of the village store and waving at her. She returned the greeting politely and followed the dusty road through the town, which wasn't very large. It consisted of two roads which crossed and a couple of houses on the sides of them. Certain that she couldn’t get lost, she trotted a little faster, passing stores for hats, groceries, stone, wood, and other materials for handcrafts, and even a store for furniture. Most were still closed though.

When she reached the crossroads, she got a free view out of the city and noticed that the storm had ceased. But she also noticed something else: rails. And where rails were, trains were nearby, and when there were trains nearby, she wouldn’t have to walk. She jumped in joy and rushed to find the bank. Her father surely would be just as happy about the news. She ignored the greetings from some peasants as she quickly trotted by. Finally, she stood in front of the large building that had to be the bank. The sign made it more than obvious, even for foals.

Suddenly, a bang sounded from inside, and she could hear someone screaming. She quickly went behind one of the thick beams supporting the roofing of the building. Something she had learnt from her father. If you didn’t know what was going on, get into cover, wait until you know, and act accordingly. She looked around and checked the situation, but nobody except her seemed to notice anything. The other inhabitants were too far away or in their houses. She waited a couple of seconds, but there was no further sound. What if someone was hurt or even worse? She had to look into it if only for the sake of her curiosity.

Aura came out of her cover before she crept to the massive wooden door. A small sign over the knob said to press, and so she did, yet nothing happened. “Huh?” She pushed a little harder, but the door didn’t move an inch. “Stupid door.” She checked whether she could look through one of the windows, but they, sadly, were too high for her. Another lesson from Thiemo came to mind. It was better to apologize than to ask for permission, which, in her opinion, fitted the situation pretty well. Either she would rescue someone and get thanked or would have to explain that she thought that someone was in danger because of the bang and scream. Either way, someone surely would compliment her for her good behaviour. Yes, she was a good little filly.

She turned her hind legs to the thick door, flexed them, turned her head around for better aim, and kicked. She hit the door just beneath the knob, and the lock bulged, but nothing else happened for at least for a couple of seconds before the door slowly swung open. She looked inside cautiously. On the left side behind the door, there was a long counter, like the one in the saloon, which reached through the whole room. On the other side, there were pillows for waiting customers. Then she realized what was going on here. In the center of the room stood a stallion with beige fur, red mane, and a full beard. His horn glowed in the same green as his eyes. He levitated a sack in the air while coin by coin slowly flew in. To his feet lay another stallion and a mare, both seemingly unconscious.

She stood eye in eye with the unicorn. ”Umm… hello. I hope I`m not interrupting anything?” she asked uncertainly, taking a step back. The unicorn kept staring at her a bit longer before laughing hysterically.

“Oh Celestia! And I thought today wouldn’t be my day.” He stomped like crazy on the floor while laughing like a maniac. Aura, on the other hoof, didn’t feel like laughing. The guy was scary to her, and with her belief that he had attacked the two other ponies, her subconscious was telling her to run away. But at the same time, she also wanted to know what was so funny. “When the guy triggered the safety spell, I thought it would be over.” She still didn’t understand what was going on. “I don’t know how you did it, but thanks, kid.” He turned to her, but she only jumped back further. “Don’t be scared. I may be a bandit, but I would never harm a foal.”

Without thinking, she asked, “Really?” The bandit only nodded and looked to his bag which was now filled up with bits, although some were still being levitated in the air. His eyes widened suddenly, and he pulled another bag out of his saddlebag. The remaining coins flew into the new bag until all of them disappeared. Then he levitated the bag to her. “Take this as thanks.” She hesitated, and due the lack of her doing something, he pushed the bag again in her face. “Take it already. I give it to you. Buy yourself an ice cream or something.”

Cautiously, she took it with her mouth, causing the unicorn to grin, satisfied. “Well-behaved kid, but excuse me now. I am kind of in a hurry.” Before she could react, the door swung open completely. The unicorn took a hat off the ground, put it on and went past her outside. “A beautiful day, little miss,” he said, tipped his bowler hat, and vanished down the road.

“Ahhh, there! It’s Billy the Colt!” a mare near the end of the street shouted hysterically. Aura turned around to the bank where the two employees had just regained consciousness.

“What— Where is the robber?” The stallion noticed Aura in the door and the bag she held. “You! Are you his accomplice?” Her eyes widened in shock, and she shook her head. “Was it you who opened the door?” he further pressed and pointed at her. Aura dropped the bag to speak.

“No! I heard a bang and wanted to see what it was,” she explained hysterically. “The windows were too high for me, and I didn’t have a choice. What if... if somebody was hurt?” She started to cry. “So— So I kicked in the door and—and... I'm sorry.”

“Aha!” yelled the employee and narrowed his view on her. “So you helped Billy the Colt get away. You are his accomplice!” At that moment, she was totally unable to cope with the situation. She had done what she thought was right, and suddenly she was the evil one? She simply couldn’t understand it. She slowly started to creep backwards. “You stay here until the sheriff comes!” the stallion shouted while helping his co-worker get back on her hooves. But his words only caused her to run, but not far - one house to be precise. This wasn’t right. She shouldn’t be the one getting into trouble; her father would able to deal with them. Thus, he was the first one to come to her mind and the reason she burst into the sheriff's office.

“Dad!” she cried. “Dad, where are you?”

***

Thiemo sat comfortably on the bench, his back leaned on the wall. He had been able to get some sleep after Dusk Star had asked him why the local doctor's beds were taken by three wounded gryphons. He had told him his version of the story and used the stones in his cell as evidence. Together with the statement of Bronze Mug in the saloon, the positive deeds should overshadow the bad ones, meaning he would get away with a warning. However, be it personal hate or not, the sheriff was just as pissed as Thiemo himself that he didn’t get any or little sleep. Thiemo’s assumption, though, was that Dusk Star had been called when he was in bed with his aforementioned wife. Thiemo was also grumpy because of the lost sleep, but the sheriff was near bloodthirsty towards him.

Continuing his string of bad luck, the cell was even more unbearable during the day than in the cold night. The heat gathered in the room, and although the magical door was destroyed, it was unbearable. The door was spread in little pieces over the floor. After his genius idea to kick it in, his leg had gotten stuck in it, shocking him every couple of seconds. Small miracles be praised, the sheriff had adjusted the spell so that the shocks would get weaker. In the end, he wanted to keep people from fleeing and not accidentally kill them in case someone had an idea as mindless as his. The hardest part of his punishment was, amongst other things that he had to replace said door. And so once again, they were ten bits poorer.

He heard the sound of the door being opened, and for a couple of seconds, he thought the sheriff wouldn’t keep him waiting the entire day.

“Dad!” he heard the voice of his daughter. She didn’t sounds happy at all. Rather, it was as though she was crying. “Dad, where are you?”

“I am back here, dear.” Regarding Aura, he had a soft spot. The small filly had really grown on him. In a way, she really became his daughter, and who could resent him for it? She was simply a sweetheart. At least when she was in a good mood.

A moment later, she came through the open door, ignoring the bars and jumping onto his lap. “Dad! They said I did something evil!” she cried. She was drenched in tears, meaning something was definitely wrong. He wiped her off and stroked her mane. Normally she was tough and tried to be strong. He liked that, so her acting like this was very unusual.

“There she is, sheriff! That was his helper!” Surprised, he looked over his daughter’s head and back to the entrance. There stood an earth pony stallion, glasses on his nose and with messy hair. Next to him was the sheriff in question, who had his pissed face on again. “She helped Billy the Colt to get away.” Thiemo lifted an eyebrow.

“Hey now, wait a second. Let’s start from scratch. What is she accused of?” While he spoke, he didn’t stop comforting his daughter. The sheriff stepped ahead.

“She is accused of opening the safety door of the bank for the criminal, Billy the Colt. He was locked in the bank, and we would have gotten him if it hadn’t been for her.” His voice sounded poisoned, and Thiemo realized that the sheriff was about to explode. He put his hand beneath Aura’s chin and made eye contact.

“Now I would like to hear your version.” She sobbed, snivelled shortly, and took a breath. Then she spoke with quivering voice.

“There was a bang.” She paused and sniffed. “And I wanted to look after it, but I was too small for the window, and the door was closed.” She raised her voice in despair. “I thought someone was hurt, and I wanted to check, but the door wouldn’t open. Then I.... I thought someone was in danger.”

“Shhhh...” he stroked over her head and laid her on the bench before extending to his full length. “The way I see it, my daughter did nothing wrong. She thought somebody was in danger and wanted to see if she could help. It was a misunderstanding.”

The earth pony pointed at Aura. “That doesn’t change the fact that she helped him escape. She even got a part of the loot in her mouth.” Thiemo said nothing, just kept standing upright, arms crossed behind the cell door. The sheriff pushed the raging banker back a bit.

“And you think a foal, who has been in the town only since yesterday, already hooked up with a local criminal and only waited to help him out?” Judging by their looks, they really did.

“I have my own theory,” the sheriff interjected, pointing at Thiemo. “I say you belong to his gang and are here only for distraction. I mean, first you start a fight with three gryphons and take my attention, then you break out of jail and deprive my sleep just to beat up the same three gryphons again.” His horn started glowing. “So I was too tired this morning and not on position in time, and the foal just waited to open the door from the outside.”

He had to admit that sounded like a good plan if there ever would have been one. They never met Billy the Colt or made a deal with him. Thiemo had only seen his picture yesterday for the first time.

“Nice theory, but wrong.” He gave the idea a thumb down. “We are only travellers wanting to take the train to Appleloosa.” At least now that they knew of it. “So it’s just a stupid accident and misunderstanding. Adding the fact that she's a foal, I bet there are laws against punishing her.” Not that he ever saw the need to inform himself about local laws in any country. The inhabitants of the world did when he broke one.

“That may be the case in Equestria or somewhere else, but we are not in Equestria or somewhere else. Here, we bring everyone to justice.” The sheriff stepped towards the cell. “So I have to demand you to hand the foal over so we can question her.” Thiemo sighed. He had hoped for a couple of peaceful days. With his right hand, he grabbed the staff and his left moved into his pocket and grabbed its contents.

“Sorry, I won’t. My daughter stays with me. You heard her testimony and that’s all.” It looked like the sheriff had lost his nerves after all and tried to magick the staff. He attempted to disarm the human and failed miserably. The staff held its position without a single of Thiemo’s muscles being used, confusing the sheriff.

“What the. . .?” he mumbled and tried again with the same result. Thiemo went to the bench, picked up the still sobbing Aura, and laid her over his shoulder.

“I think we have overstayed our welcome,” he said to the sheriff and placed the end of the staff on the lock. The lock flashed and melted like butter. With ease, the door opened as he pushed the staff against it. Both ponies jumped back.

“Not a step further or I'll be forced to disable you.” Normally, he wouldn’t care what kind of spells a unicorn would throw at him; he could fend them off. However, on his shoulder was Aura, and she was in no condition to evade or run by herself. That the sheriff was willing to use harmful magic in a room with a foal enraged him. His eyes darkened and his blood boiled in anger.

“I’ll say it only once.” The earth pony twitched as he heard his angered voice. Even the more courageous sheriff was afraid. “If you hurt my daughter, I’ll show you how much truth is in the horror stories about my kind.” They gulped and he used their immobility to walk out the room. It wouldn’t take them long to recover and to follow him. Until then, he wanted to have his things out of the saloon. “Damn it,” he said to himself. With fast paced steps, he went down the road and pulled the talisman out of his pocket. The grey stone, which was wrapped in the chain, crumbled in his hand. No sign that it had once been a fire ruby. His use of his things in the past two days was just too much, and he hadn’t many left. If the sheriff had decided to fire at him, he would have had a problem. Fending off magic was the one thing but coming close enough to the enemy to hit them with his staff without magic was difficult.

He had the attention of everyone as he threw the rest of the ruby into the dust. It seemed the city had experienced the tumult over Billy the Colt and had assumed that he or his foal had something to do with it. Thus, some barricaded their houses as they saw them coming. At least it didn’t take him so long to get to the saloon.

The first thing he noticed was the oodles of chests in front of the counter and the many bottles on it. Suddenly, the head of the barkeeper appeared and saw him. “Hey, there you are again, kiddo. I think I have good news for you. The train arrived sooner than planned. About ten minutes ago, they started offloading.” He only nodded and ran up the stairs under the curious looks of Bronze. At least something was going right.

Chapter I - Act 1.5 - Departure

View Online

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 1.5 – Departure ~

Thiemo wouldn’t describe himself as someone who was law-abiding. In the Forgotten Realms, he would be “chaotic good”. He loved to bend the rules and form them as he pleased. However, he was not one to deliberately make people suffer. He would do the right thing, whatever it might be, if it was necessary. Unfortunately, he had passed the point where this was possible. He had a pissed sheriff, a freshly robbed banker and, probably in the near future, his customers who were waiting to get their hands on him. It was time to get to the train and get said train to move.

He opened the door to their room, threw Aura softly on his bed, and got his coat out of the closet. “Don’t worry, it’ll all end well,” he assured her while throwing his coat over his back and closing the leather buckle around his neck. “The train to Appleloosa is here, and we are leaving.” He heard her sobbing as he got another talisman out of his pocket and placed it around his neck. It was his last sapphire. He had used the other one in the fight against the gryphons.

“I’m sorry Dad. If I had known what would happen—” He interrupted her by gently placing a hand on her head and crouching down next to her so that he was at eye level.

“Hey, calm down. You did nothing wrong. You should know that.” She thought about it for second and nodded. “So stop crying about it, alright? I don’t like it when you cry.” She wiped the tears out of her eyes and managed a smirk. “That’s better.” He clapped his hands. “Okay, pack your stuff. We’re leaving!” he exclaimed and grabbed his backpack, placing it next to Aura on his bed.

He wanted to wait until her birthday to give it to her, but now was a good moment as well. He pulled out a small saddlebag, obviously made to be worn by a foal. It had an additional belt that went along the chest to keep the bag in place in any situation.

“What’s that?” he heard a curious voice asking right next to him. He opened the belt, threw the saddlebag over her back, and smiled.

“This, my dear, is your birthday present. When we were in Junk Town, I remembered you saying you wanted a backpack just like mine, and then I saw this one." She looked at her gift, and all sorrows were just blown away. As she tried to see more of the bag, she turned her head around, but her body kept automatically turning as well. She looked as if she was chasing her own tail. Thiemo couldn’t help it; he had to laugh.

“Why didn’t I see it when I looked into the backpack this morning?” she asked, still busy turning around. He, on the other hand, closed his backpack again and threw it on his back.

“Simple. I hid it under all the ‘junk’...” he made quotation marks with his hands “...as you call it.” Well, junk together with some reading material that wasn’t meant for foals her age. He was still a man and had his needs. Not that the illustrations were interesting for him, but the erotic stories had a sufficient effect, at least for someone with enough imagination. “Enough of this. We should see that we get some land between us and this town.” He picked up his staff and opened the door but stalled when he saw Aura still sitting on the bed. “What’s wrong?”

She hesitated and rubbed her hoof back and forth. “Umm... I have no stuff.” He was surprised. “Stuff I can pack.” He fought the urge to facepalm. Ponies didn’t wear any clothes like humans did, and all their washing equipment was in his backpack. Then he remembered the necklace and pulled it out of his pocket, went over to her, and put it in her bag.

She looked at him in surprise. “At our next stop, I’ll make you a talisman, okay? So watch out for the necklace in order to wear it.” He winked at her, and the result was instant. She jumped into his arms, and he caught her. Thiemo would have loved to play with her now, but time was running low. Slowly, he placed her on the floor. “Now for real, or the sheriff will cause us even more problems.” They left the room, closed the door, and hurried down the stairs. Old Bronze was still busy stashing a huge amount of bottles.

“I see you’re in a hurry. Bon voyage.” Thiemo saluted with two fingers while Aura preferred to wave with her hoof. They went out the door and down the road.

“Strange, where are all the ponies?” the foal asked just before they reached the crossroads. They stopped and looked around. There were no inhabitants around, and most of the doors were closed.

He sighed. “If I turn around and the sheriff is standing there, I’m gonna slap myself.” That would just be too cliché. And how could it be any different. Dusk Star was indeed standing behind him.

*SLAP*

Unfortunately, he wasn’t alone. Next to him stood, a bit over two meters tall, a minotaur with shoulders appropriate to his height. The creature, half human, half cow, had light brown fur, two thick hooves scraping the dust, and two mountains of flesh that might be called arms. Thiemo gulped heavily.

“You guys are going nowhere,” the sheriff said. “You will lay down your weapons and follow me into my office.” He wasn’t afraid of the sheriff, but minotaurs made him nervous. His staff was only useful against magic, not muscle power. Minotaurs were not magical by nature, and thus there were no passive abilities like pegasi and earth ponies possessed that he could block. They were just raw violence with the brain of a walnut.

Although he knew the answer, he had to ask. “Or else?” If it was already raining cliché, why stop now?

The sheriff grinned. “Or else my wife and co-sheriff here will bring you back.” He stared at the unicorn, then at the minotaur, or minotauress as she would be called. It was hard to tell with all that muscle. Only now did he notice her wearing a way-too-small vest with a small silver star attached to it. He swallowed his answer about the sheriff’s taste in women.

“Is there any other way to handle this situation?” Both husband and wife shook their heads. “You’re sure? Because we have a train to catch.” He slowly pushed Aura behind him. Just like him, she kept her eyes on the minotauress.

The large cow-like creature reached out with one of her huge hands, which by itself was already bigger than Thiemo’s head, and pointed at him. “You come or else ouch!” The linguistic skills of Brunhilde, as he decided to call the graceful young lady, were something a gentleman would not speak of directly. That deep voice on the other hand...

“And you’re sure that that is your ‘wife’?” The moment the words left his mouth, he knew it was a more than moronic idea. Rage was written all over the unicorn’s face, and although the minotauress didn’t seem to get the insult, she knew from her husband’s face that she had to be angry. She stomped towards them and got ready to grab Thiemo. He managed to duck in time so that her fingers only grabbed thin air. He picked Aura up, pressed her against his chest, and started running head over heels.

“Get ‘em, Hildegard!” He almost fell when he heard her name and had to fight the urge to burst into laughter. This world knew how to surprise every day.

Suddenly, there was an explosion when they got around the corner. The roof above them was no longer supported and collapsed. Thiemo threw himself to the ground to avoid being smashed to death, raining sand and chunks of wood striking him. He would have used his hands, but his left hand was busy holding the staff while right hand was busy holding Aura, so there wasn’t much left to protect his face. “Damn it!”

Thiemo shook his head and looked back at the corner that Brunhilde and Dusk Star had just gotten around. The sheriff’s horn was still glowing, which meant that he was responsible for the falling roof. Thiemo got up again and looked around for the train station. Before he could spot it, another magical bullet flew over their heads and made one thing clear: Dusk Star was a horrible marksman. Thiemo stood with no cover on a front porch and hadn’t moved for a few seconds. Even he could have hit himself, even though he couldn’t even hit an open barn gate from one hundred meters away. But he didn’t want to push his luck which, of course, had nothing to do with the attacking mintauress. At least he knew now why the inhabitants had stayed in their houses.

“Dad, what are we gonna do now?” Aura asked nervously as Thiemo dodged another bullet which exploded in the sand in front of him. He quickly turned his back towards the explosion so his cloak caught the majority and protected Aura.

The explosion almost made him fall. “Run!” he answered and saw an open door. An older cow was standing on the porch and swiped over it with an old broom. Apparently, she hadn’t heard the news of a dangerous human roaming the streets. He would have to use this to his advantage. He went past the cow, closed the door with one foot, and barricaded it with the coat rack next to the door. “Quick, out the back!” They went through something one might describe as a living room, into the bedroom, and found what he hoped to find: a window. He hurried over the bed and tried to open it, but it was stuck.

“We know you’re in there! Come outside, or we’ll kick in the door. You’re not helping your situation.” So there was not much time. It was not his actual plan to destroy others’ property, but on the other hand, he was no saint. He rammed his staff through the glass and went over the frame to get rid of any sharp edges. Then he got a hold of Aura and threw her outside.

“Hey...” was all she could say before she landed head first in the sand. He quickly followed her and freed her from her miserable situation. “You could have warned me...” she grumped while spitting out sand. Suddenly, there was a deafening sound which only Brunhilde could have caused by relocating the door plus frame.

Panicked, he poked the small filly. “Quick, go on!” They ran along the back of the houses, still looking for the train station. Since they saw rails in front of them, they couldn’t be far away.

“There they are!” Thiemo looked back and saw sheriff’s cow-loving head poking out of the smashed window. His wife, on the other hand, seemed to have the opinion that it was easier to smash into the wall instead of walking around the house. Too bad her husband was still stuck in the window and now had to share the destiny of the wall. It looked really painful, especially when the minotauress stepped on the wall. Thiemo actually empathized with the sheriff for a few seconds. Really.

Brunhilde noticed her mistake when her husband’s whining reached her ears and stepped off the wall. “Sorry darling,” she said as she lifted the former wall with one hand to free him.

“No harm done, sssssweety,” he managed to say. “Just get ’em.” She nodded and released the wall which, of course, buried the sheriff again. If it hadn’t been for the minotauress on his heels, he would have had to stop for a minute to laugh his lungs out, but that had to wait. The minotauress started chasing them again and was remarkably faster than them.

“Dad, I’m scared.” Aura had even more problems running than he did and fought for every step. He mentally agreed with his daughter but would never say it out loud. He quickly picked her up and carried her on his shoulders.

Then he saw a small corridor between the houses on his right. “Hold on tight!” She grabbed his forehead. He held his breath, made himself as tall as possible by standing on his toes, and forced himself into it. With small, hasty steps, he reached the centre of the corridor just in time to be out of reach for the minotauress. She reached out for him. There were mere millimetres between his cloak and her fingers.

“Hulk, uh... Hildegard smash puny human!” She tried to force herself inside the gap. Thiemo, on the other hand, took a relieved breath. He needed a short break to focus his strength again. Unfortunately, he was only allowed a short break because the wood started to surrender to the force of the minotauress.

He instantly started to move again. “Motherf—!” With new motivation, he forced himself through the remaining corridor and came out to the main road. His pursuer was still trying to follow on his path and was now stuck between the houses. “Ha, a sandwich!” he said with a smirk when the oversized cow got stuck between two brown houses. She didn’t understand what he meant, but his tone didn’t leave any room for interpretation. She turned red and rammed her shoulders into the wood, which once more surrendered to her. She literally smashed in the houses to her sides and dashed towards the human who was still on the ground but not laughing anymore. “Motherf...!” he repeated but louder than the first time and crawled a few meters before he was on his feet again. Aura was still holding tight, and he felt her trying to get her legs on the backpack. “Hold on tight!” He didn’t have to look back to know that the minotauress was one arm’s length behind him. Her arm length, by the way. It was quickly becoming a futile endeavour: he was out of breath and a lot slower on sand. Moreover, they were on an open street with no chance to hide.

So the inevitable happened. Brunhilde managed to get a hold of his cloak and pulled, causing him to land on his rear end. As soon as he fell, she pulled again and threw Aura overboard, who landed in the sand. The enraged Brunhilde held the human in front of her face. “You lucky, Hildegard angry, very angry. You make Hildegard hurt husband. You lucky Hildegard not smashing puny human.” Thiemo hung in the air, held by his cloak, and in front of him was a furious cow. We will never know why he thought it was a good idea to hit her with his staff. Of course, it didn’t affect her at all, and even more hot air came out of her nostrils. “You want face smashed, small human?” In alarm, he looked first at the cow, who was about to help him with his teeth issues, then at his staff. The engravings were glowing.

“Yes, goddammit yes!” he yelled out of joy and looked again at the minotauress. She took that as an answer. She held him away a little more and lashed out with her left. The fist came closer, but at the same moment, Thiemo managed to yell, “Teleport!” The staff glowed for a second, and Hildegard disappeared. The only thing left were some sparks of magic falling on the floor.

***

A lonely vulture circled next to an oasis that was a day’s travel from Round Rock. It had been days since he last saw a dead animal, and he was frustrated. Hunger was even worse than thirst when prolonged for a few days. He was tired with every flap, and he soon had to land. A small burst startled him, and he looked up. There was a small dot above him, quickly growing. Curiously, he stared at it until he realized that it was right above him and quickly hurtling towards the ground.

Unluckily, he realized this too late, and a second later, his wings were pressed against the chest of a minotaur, and he saw the water beneath him quickly approaching. At least he would die in the water, and his rotting guts would bring death to a lot of animals. The feeling was a small compensation for the rapidly approaching end of his short life. The animals living around the waterhole would long remember the sudden end of their source of life, which rained down on them.

***

Thiemo fell on his rear end again. The pain from the landing that crawled up his back was still better than the damage the minotauress would have done to his face. His staff had three functions. First, it absorbed magic like a sponge. Small amounts, like levitation or similar, were negated. More powerful spells, like strong magical bullets, were at least weakened. The staff absorbed the magic and saved it inside. When it had absorbed enough, he was able to cast one of two spells corresponding to the engravings: teleportation and a magical shield. It wasn’t even necessary to absorb spells. In Albion, magic was everywhere, even in the air. However, this process took a considerable amount of time. Magical bullets were hard to catch, and it took even longer with smaller spells. The teleportation spell had the disadvantage that he could only visit places where he had already been or at least close to those spots.

He took a relieved breath. “That was close, too close.” Aura, recovered from her fall, ran over to him.

“Dad, are you alright? She didn’t hurt you, did she?” Thiemo let himself fall back into the sand and held on to his staff. His hands were still shaking a little.

“Yeah, I’m alright. You know me, not a problem.” He forced himself to smile and took a deep breath. He was more than aware that he had more luck than brains, and he didn’t like to rely on them. His mother had always told him that God was with the stupid and helped the really stupid. As an atheist, he had his problems in believing this. “We have to catch a train, don’t we?” The whistle of the train sounded in the background. With the thought in the back of his head that he was getting too old for this shit, he lifted his injured body and continued his way. After a minute of following the rails, they saw the train station. It consisted of a small house for the attendant and a crane for setting and removal. With their last bit of energy, they took it up a notch, and Thiemo knocked at the small barrack. It slowly opened.

A stallion, about a thousand years old, opened the door. “Yes?” There was an ear-trumpet, apparently only held by crusty earwax since he didn’t use a hoof to hold it up. On his snout was a pair of glasses thick enough to stop a bullet. His fur was of a light, washed-up green, and his mane was almost completely gone. Several single white hairs were the last hint that he once might have had hair.

“Umm, we would like to buy tickets for the train.” Thiemo was too tired for any conversation and just wanted to leave this place behind. In the desert, he had slept more and far better than here. And he had to watch out for scorpions, spiders, and snakes there. Which he actually preferred over gryphons.

“Huh?” The old-timer leaned further outside.

“We would like to purchase two tickets to Appleloosa!” he shouted directly into the trumpet. The old stallion blinked once. Slowly, very slowly.

“What?” That was the end for Thiemo’s nerves. First the gryphons, then the sheriff, then the gryphons again, then the sheriff again with his wife, a fucking minotaur which chased them through the whole town. He pushed the attendant aside, looked inside the barrack, and found what he was looking for. Thiemo ripped two tickets from a small role. “Hey, you can’t just...” He ignored him and checked a board with prices. He threw five bits on the table, three for him and two for Aura. “You could have just said that you wanted tickets.” He pushed him back inside and closed the door.

He looked down to Aura. “Don’t take me as a role model.” She nodded. The door opened again.

“If you want to catch the train, you should hurry.” Surprised, he turned around and saw... nothing. His eyes followed the rails and saw that the train had already started moving.

Immediately, he started running. “Shit! Shit! Shit!” His legs flared up in pain from all the running. Aura was just a few meters behind him. She had no problem keeping up with him on proper ground. She was a pony, a creature made for running.

“Stop!” Of course it was him. Thiemo looked back over his shoulder and saw the sheriff chasing them. “What have you done to my wife?” Thiemo didn’t answer and focused his energy on keeping up with the train. Said train steamed down the rails and kept gaining speed. He had wanted to save this talisman, but this wasn’t the time to be cheap, otherwise he would have to deal with the sheriff until the next train arrived. Or they could walk through the desert for a few weeks longer. He didn’t like any of those thoughts. He slowly ended his run and stopped. Aura followed his example. “Finally found reason again?”

Thiemo picked up Aura, placed her on his shoulders, and turned around to Dusk Star. Said unicorn stood there in a crouched position, his glowing horn pointed at him. “Nope, just wanted to say goodbye.” With a quick move, he touched the horn with his staff and turned it off. Another quick movement later, he took the sheriff’s black Stetson. Then he used the sapphire in his hand. The stone contained the element of wind and would accelerate him for a short period of time.

Thus, it was no problem for them to reach the train, and the next thing Dusk Star could see was Thiemo standing on the end of the last wagon. Sadly, this was his last talisman, and he would now be forced to make new ones. He hated to continue his way without any security, but the sheriff didn’t need to know that. With a huge smile on his face and his daughter on his shoulder, he put on his hat, reached out his arms, and yelled:

“I am king of the world!”

*** ~ [Smash Mouth – All Star] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter I - Intermission 1 - All Hail The Monkey King

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Nervously, he looked around his cell. The cold stone floor was solid. Knees bent, arms resting on the floor, he sat and waited for something to happen. The questions kept spinning through his head like a vinyl record. He had been sitting at his computer— No, he had stood up to get himself some coffee, right? It had been one of those endless nights in which he’d wanted to finish one of his projects. Yes, but what had happened then? After that, everything had gotten black before the light had hit him.

He stacked up the straw to a pile and rested his head on it. Fear and nervousness rampaged through his thoughts. How did he get into those ruins? He could still hear the echoes of the shovels and pickaxes in his head that had freed him out of that small room in the old temple. But it was not those things that scared him but the ones who had wielded them: deer. Talking deer, and if their eyes only remotely reflected their mind, they had been just as surprised to see him as he was.

They had finally seemed to realize what he was, and panic had broken loose. They had stumbled over each other as some ran away. It seemed like they had been yelling something, but he hadn’t understood a word. To him, the words were only nonsense. A very tall deer, with a long goat beard and small glasses on his snout, had finally eyeballed him, spoke a few words, and then he had ended up in this cell. The walk to said place was a very blurry experience. What was going on? How did he deserve this?

He slowly dragged a hand down his face and noticed that something was missing. His loyal companions, his glasses. That explained the blurry tour. Slowly, he started recovering from the first shock and tried listening to his clamouring senses. The darkness flooded his mind once again. It was as if he had been holding his breath the entire time and breathed for the first time when the light came.

A muffled knock sounded, as though stone had struck wood, and he looked around nervously. They were returning. They were coming to take him. In the distance, he could see the light of a torch that was coming closer. It was more than one, at least three or four. He forced himself into the corner of his cell as far as he could, but they would find him anyway.

A deer, accompanied by two others, entered the room with his cell. It didn’t have antlers like the other two, who had actual crowns resting on their head. Instead, it had a necklace of flowers around its neck and papers in its mouth. He couldn’t see what it was, but this deer had a couple of sheets with writing on it. Now it nodded to the other two and said something with a light and pleasant voice. It was a female, and the word doe went through his mind. One of her escorts hung the torch into a sconce in the wall.

Slowly, he focused on the doe again, who slowly, very slowly, took a few steps towards him, and then.... bowed down? He didn’t understand what was going on, not at all. She lifted her head again, laid the paper on the ground, and sat down, similar to how a dog would. Although he had no knowledge of the anatomy of a deer, he knew that this shouldn’t be possible. Her eyes went a few times across the paper, and then she opened her mouth. “You... me, understand?”

He stared back, his mouth agape. Did this being, this animal, really just talk to him? That was incredible! Animals shouldn’t be able to speak, and yet here he was, seemingly facing a talking doe! The fear was gone and made room for the curiosity. Quickly, he moved towards the bars and closer to the doe. “Yes,” he replied to her.

Her smile went over both ears, which, according to his memories, shouldn’t be possible either. Quickly, her eyes focused the paper again, and he tried to get a glance at it. On one of the sides were unknown symbols, and something was written on the other one. He tried to read it but failed. Out of pure habit, he tilted his head and finally realized that it was upside down. The opposite of the hieroglyphs were simple English words. They were translations! “How your name?” the doe asked. He was still fascinated by the paper. These beings seemed to have their own language. Calling them deer, he therefore found, was rather unfitting. They had a language and obviously a culture. No matter how he had arrived here, he wanted to know more. The curiosity of his human nature was awoken. “Name?” she asked again.

Like waking from a dream, he looked up to her and blinked. She wanted his name, and like he learned from every bad movie, he pointed his hand at himself. “Timo.”

The doe faced him fiercely and repeated. “Thiemo?”

He lifted an eyebrow and again pointed at himself. “Timo.”

“Thiemo?” the doe repeated. He got a tad annoyed but calmed himself instantly. She didn’t want to mock him like his former English teacher. She had called him, because of defiance or because she just couldn’t stand him, only Tino, no matter how often he corrected her.

“Fine, Thiemo.” He waved it off with his hand. Something else, something new had priority. He wanted to get out of here and see what was outside, to see where exactly he was stranded. This wouldn’t happen if he kept discussing his name with his new acquaintance. In the past, he had complained about his mother’s creativity while giving names anyway, and Thiemo already sounded a bit better than Timo.

“Fine Thiemo,” the doe responded and pointed a hoof at him. Yes, this would take a while.

tio presents

My little Pony

Journey

~ Intermission 1 – All Hail The Monkey King ~

“Thanks,” he said to the two deer who escorted him back into his room. They only nodded and closed the heavy pair of doors behind them. Tired as he was, he fell on the bed, freed his feet from the wooden sandals, and threw them in the corner.

Somebody cleared their throat. “Are you doing that on purpose?” It was the same doe who visited him more than five months ago in his cell. She stood in a corner of the room with a dark look on her face. A lot had happened since that day, but the most important thing for him was that his situation had changed a full one eighty degrees. The temple he was found in was built by an extinct species of this world. Albion was its name, and it was not only populated by deer but also other creatures, some more and some less mystical. There were gryphons, minotaurs, diamond dogs, ponies, horses, cows, and many more. It was just like a fantasy novel. Magic existed, or at least Deerling told him it did. Sadly, the deer relied on technology as they couldn’t use magic. The zebras in the far south were the nearest folk that were capable of using it. “I don’t want to always have to clean up after you.” She was not only the one who was teaching him the Equestrian language, which was spoken everywhere on Albion, but also the servant the king of the deer had commanded to aid him. Even more, she was a friend, a very good one.

The reason behind all this luxury still made him smirk. The temple was thousands of years old and was located in a chamber which was, at least for the same time, sealed. Thus, they saw him as an immortal god of an ancient race. A race of monkeys. At least the figures suggested it. He was, accordingly, quickly transferred from the cell into the biggest guest room in the gigantic palace.

Actually, it was more of a palace university. The technological deer held a high value on knowledge and education, and thus two central facilities were merged into one. The whole thing was a complex of multiple hollows with connected trees, immense in height and width. Bridges connected the single trunks and broad stairs closed the gap between floors. They were located in a perfect circle as if they had been grown for this very purpose. In the middle of all this was the tree with the royal instalments. It was so large that its crown scraped the sky. When he had heard for the first time that he had to go up there, he had nearly fallen unconscious. Luckily, there was a primitive lift: a scaffold made of wood, some thick ropes, and a large stone as counterbalance. Just what the deer called technology. He would have bet all his money that the hoist was the newest toy, except that he didn’t have any money.

So the deer treated him like a god and brought oblations and bananas, one of the first words he had learned in the local language. Due to a funny misunderstanding, it was now part of his new name. When he was presented to the king of the deer, a stag by the name of Rehgard, he found he was only able to understand a tiny portion of their language. When he was asked for his name, he interpreted it as being asked whether or not he wanted something to eat. He had responded with the only word he thought he knew: Bananarama. From that day on, he had been known as the monkey god, Bananarama, living and learning about the world of Albion in the palace-university of the deer as their guest. Deerling knew that he was no god but a rare being nonetheless, one who was worthy of being studied. Therefore, she had failed to correct the king on the misunderstanding.

“Sorry, Deerling, but I ran multiple times over the whole complex. I’m done.” She only sighed in annoyance, collected the sandals, and stored them away. He had learned the language quickly, though he had not completely mastered it. All he needed was practice. It was similar to the Japanese - written as spoken. Speaking was easy when you first had the right vocabulary in your mind and knew how to arrange them in sentences. The writing was more complex than some math exercises, a mixture of strokes, curved lines, and accents here and there. By his current speed, he would be eighty before he could even read or write a single phrase. The numbers were an exception. For some strange reason, they were the ones he knew.

She sighed. “It’s okay. I used to be a student here just like you. The campus is gigantic, and untrained bodies quickly lose their breath.” She was right. His body had already visibly changed. The new vegetarian diet and the running showed their effects on the untrained body of the former Informatician. “Still, you could help me a little with my tasks. You are no fawn after all.” He waved her off with his hand, signalling that he understood. “About what did professor Krone talk to you about today?” He loved philosophizing with her over the new things he learned and to exchange opinions. She had studied old languages and the history of Albion here.

“We got a glimpse of the magic and which beings have a natural access to it.” Magic had quickly become his favourite subject. Which human would feel any different? The two of them had also agreed that magic was the reason he had landed here. So if there was a way back for him, then magic was the key to finding it. “Too bad deer don’t have magical powers.”

Deerling jumped next to him on the bed and laid down. “Yes, sometimes I pity it as well, but we can’t change it. But what exactly fascinates you so much about magic? You said the beings of your world don’t have any.” Quickly, he sat upright and looked in her eyes.

“It is a dream of humans. Our “magic” is only illusion, more tricks than anything. But here, it is real. Although I miss my family and friends, this is also an opportunity to learn something new. Something that no human before me has done.” They stared at each other in silence. He knew where this topic led. She knew where this topic led.

“Magic is something nobody here can teach you,” she finally said. “You'd have to travel to the zebras. They found a way, without horn or anything similar, to make use of these powers.” And that meant that he would have to leave the kingdom Cervidas and the city Concordia behind him and charter into an unknown world. Alone. The thought depressed him.

“Maybe I really should,” he answered lost in his thoughts. “I mean, I’ve learned a lot here about the world, but to see it is different.” He loved books, but he still was a man who learned more when he could touch something. Maybe that was also caused by his impatience, not wanting to spend time on investigations but to just simply do.

Deerling leaned towards him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Think of what you want to do. All you would have to do is ask King Rehgard for a map and some supplies. I am sure he would support your decision.” She rose from the bed and walked to the door. “I wish you a good night.”

He waved to her. “Good night.”

***

The idea of exploring the world had haunted him for quite some time already. But since the talk with Deerling about a month ago, it had turned into a plan. He just didn’t know when the right time was to execute it. “Sorry prof, I can’t really remember much.” At the moment, he was sitting alone with Krone in the large lecture hall, inspecting an old relic. The staff of unknown metal, a leather grip in the middle and with different engravings, was found next to him in the chamber. Since that day, they had been trying to find out what it was good for. Until now, without success.

“Don’t worry, kid. Not even gods can be all-knowing. Especially if they have been sleeping thousands of years.” His sad voice had a vapid aftertaste. Thiemo was no god and definitely not a thousand years old. Even if he keep staring at the staff, it wouldn’t recall any memories. “Maybe you should take hold of it for a while,” he suggested. “It could help your memory come back if you have your staff with you.”

He only nodded. “Prof, may I ask something?” The old deer signalled that he was open for everything. “Do you think it is possible that magic was involved? I mean, in what got me into this position?” He only scratched his chin and looked at the staff again.

“This staff may indeed be a magical artefact. It would explain why we couldn’t find out anything.” He began walking around the desk. “That would be likely. After all, you’re still a god. I can’t imagine any other force being able to.” Aside from the fact that he was none, he couldn’t imagine something else either.

“Wouldn’t it be wise, then, if I studied a bit of magic?” The old deer sighed shortly but followed by a grin. He went over to Thiemo and laid a hoof on his shoulder. It was no problem for him since the deer were nearly as tall as a human. Rehgard was nearly twice as tall as he. Deerling, on the other hand, reached up to his throat. Sometimes literally. What would good friends be if they wouldn’t go for your throat now and then?

“I have waited for the day you would ask.” Surprised, Thiemo looked at the professor as he released him and steered towards a cupboard on the wall. “Do you think I haven’t noticed how your eyes brighten up when the subject of magic comes up?” He chuckled. It must have been really obvious. “Therefore, I talked to the king for you. He shares my opinion that you should learn as much about this world as possible so that you can retake your rightful place.” With his snout, he pulled out an old book and placed it on the table. “This is a book about the culture of the zebras in the south. If you really want to learn something about magic, this would be a good start.”

Cautiously, he picked up the book and skimmed the first few pages. They were filled with illustrations of plants, some gems, and things like tribe-specific jewellery, “Thanks, professor.” He clapped the book and clamped it under his arms. ”I think I’ll ready myself for a little journey, eh?”

Again, the old deer smirked. “Apparently.” He handed over the staff as well and said, “Maybe the zebras also know what to do with this. Just remember to bring us the results when you return.” Content, he accepted the staff. “I think we are finished for today. Come to my office tomorrow, and then we will talk further about your journey, alright?”

“Sure, professor, see you tomorrow.” With full hands, he waved at him and made his way out of the room. In his head, one thought chased the next. But above all was pure excitement because he would travel. But the worst was that he would have to do so alone. Could he ask Deerling to accompany him? Would she be interested? There was so much open and so much left to settle. “I hate investigations," he muttered. He wouldn’t get around them in the next days and weeks though.

*** ~ [The Offspring - You're Gonna Go Far, Kid] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original character, background, design and theme © at Hasbro and the righteous owners. Please support the series and its creators.

Chapter I - Act 2.1 - The Run

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Hard Labor and his wife, Cure, were standing together with their foals at the train station of Dodge City. It was their first vacation as a family in more than a year, and they wanted to visit his sister in Appleloosa.

“Daddy? When does the train arrive?” his daughter asked for the tenth time in the past five minutes. It was her first holiday since she visited school, and she was really excited.

“It arrives when it arrives, honey,” Cure answered in place of her husband. His wife was already visibly annoyed. He really hoped that the train would come in time before a disaster happened.

“Coal, can’t you take care of your sister for a while?” His son was in the middle of his rebellious phase. The last year of school was still in his bones, and he nearly died every time someone talked to him. Hard Labor felt sympathy for his parents. He hoped he had ever been like this.

“Do I have to, dad? She only wants to play with her puppets anyway.” He gave him a stern look which was instantly followed by a moan. “Come on, Ruby, the old folks want some peace,” he said to her.

“We are still your parents, young stallion, so watch your tone!” he yelled at him as he and his sister walked down the train platform.

“Darling, don’t you think it would have been better to leave him at home?” Cure asked with a concerned look on her face. “You know how young stallions are, and I don’t want him to ruin Ruby's vacation.”

Gently, he put his hoof around her neck. “That’s exactly what he wants - to stay here and throw a party with his friends in the empty house. No, it's our last vacation as a family. About this time next year, Coal will have graduated already and will work or study and left the house.” He had his doubts about the studying part. Not that Coal was stupid, but all stallions in his family had a job with hard and honest work. One could even say it was some sort of family legacy.

His wife nuzzled into him and closed her eyes. “I know, and it also concerns me.” Out in the Broken Leylands, there were not many opportunities for the young. They had come here years ago because Hard Labor had gotten a job in the local mine. In time, he became the foreman and made good money. “Have you thought about my suggestion?” Coal still had friends in Hoofington where they had lived before. He could live with them until he found a job. Or they could pay for a small flat for him. That, at least, was the idea. A loud whistle attracted their focus as the train slowly rolled into the station. Care waved for the foals to come, and everyone lifted their bags off the ground. Finally, the train stopped and the doors opened. Some ponies, a diamond dog, and a bull left and walked down the stairs to the main building of the train station.

“All aboard.” Labor directed his family even with the baggage in his mouth. He went ahead, followed by his son, his daughter, and his wife in last. In front of them was the corridor with compartments which they squeezed themselves through.

When he reached the last one, he decided to take it. His foals tended to be a little noisier, and he didn’t want to disturb other passengers. Slowly, he put his bag down. “This compartment looks alright.” With that, he opened the door.

In front of him, a face stared right back at his. However, this was one he had never seen before. Small blue eyes, a mane covered by a black Stetson, a pointy something with nostrils, and a muzzle with a big grin. He could see some sharp teeth in it. “Boo!” it said quietly, but still loud enough that his family heard it. His wife screamed, his daughter screamed, even his son, and he himself let out a silent but panicked whimper. Quickly, he picked up his bag and ran off with his family, followed by maniacal laughter.

tio presents

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 2.1 - The Run ~

More than a little pleased with himself, Thiemo laid back in his seat. They were now into their third day on the run, and in one more they would reach Appleloosa. Much to his comfort, the sooner they reached Equestria, the sooner the amount of gryphons they would meet would decrease. At first he hadn’t noticed, but the wound the gryphon had given him in Round Rock had opened up again while fleeing from Brunhilde.

“Dad, you are impossible.” Contrary to her complaint, Aura was chuckling.

“Yes, but that's only one of my numerous good qualities.” Their tickets actually didn’t account for a whole compartment, but the employees thought it would be best that way. Something about how he would make the other passengers nervous. He didn’t mind it though; after all, he got to experience the comfort of first class travelling. His feet rested on the seat on the other side of the cabin, right next to his daughter who made herself comfortable on her seat. The thick pillows on the low benches were designed for it. That led his thoughts onto a different subject. The closer they got to Equestria, the more everything was designed for ponies. No matter where he had been so far, everything had been at a comfortable size, but he was slowly starting to feel like Gulliver. Aura, meanwhile, was in her element. After all, she belonged here.

With a whistle, the train pronounced its departure, and the heavy machinery set into motion. That also meant that the service carts would come once more. In their hurry, he had forgotten to buy new supplies, and so they had lived on the snacks which were offered on the travel. “You hungry?” he asked his daughter. Her grumbling belly took over the answering part. “Well, that answers that.” Carefully, he loosened the bag on his belt and counted the bits. There weren’t a lot left, but it would be enough until they reached Appleloosa. In case there was a more famous bar, he could surely tell some of his tales and earn a couple of bits. That was his profession: a storyteller. He went to pubs, asked the barkeeper for an empty glass, and started to entertain the crowd. For him alone, his income always made the cut; when Aura had joined him, it got a little bit trickier. Not that he ever regretted his decision to take her with him for a moment.

“Can I get a candy cane? Or maybe some cookies?” The thought of eating something woke her tired mind, and the small foal bounced excitedly on her seat. “Maybe some muffins as well? I know you like them too, especially with blueberries.” Back when he was with the zebras, he could eat meat. They didn’t care since, according to their belief, it belonged to the circle of life. He knew he'd heard that mentality before, but he couldn’t remember where. Anyway, he had caught himself the occasional squirrel or rabbit, but ever since he came together with his foal, the time of eating meat was over. He just couldn’t bring himself to eat any in her presence, and he didn’t have the money to. Buying something different for everyone just didn’t work with their limited budget.

Thiemo thought about the suggestion and listened to his stomach. “Yes, a couple muffins would be nice.” He took out four bits and arranged the bag to the belt. The food on the train was pricey.

Impatiently, Aura jumped off her seat and snapped up the bits with her mouth. “I'll be right back,” she said, or at least tried to, as she vanished in the corridor. Sighing, he closed the door behind her. The noise of the train got muted, and he shoved his head into position to blend out the incoming midday sun. Maybe he could sleep a few more hours after eating.

After a couple of minutes, the door opened again and Aura re-entered, a muffin in her mouth, another one on her back. Thiemo took the last one as she walked past him. For her, a muffin may be a complete meal, but it only lasted a few hours for him.

“Dad?” He looked up to his daughter, taking the hat out of his vision and stroking his long hair out of his face. “It smells.” With a questioning look, he sniffed the air but couldn’t find a scent. Curiously, he lifted his coat and smelled his armpit, and yes it smelled. Not really unusual though, seeing as he hadn't had the chance to bathe in a week or change his clothes. It was a good thing that he didn’t wear any underwear anymore, which would be an even more disgusting matter.

“Yeah... I can imagine.” With that, a bath was on top of the list of the things he had to do in Appleloosa. Aura crawled over his legs to the window and tried to open the bolt with her mouth. “Shall I help you?” Just as he was about to reach out, there was a jerk forward, and a loud screech sounded through the train. Aura got thrown back into the soft pillow while he landed on the edge of the bench ahead of him. He noticed how the train quickly lost speed and finally stopped.

Thiemo looked up and saw his daughter as she got back on her hooves shakily. “What was that?” she asked as she jumped off her seat. He did what she intended to do before and opened the window. The warm air of the steppes swooshed around his nose as he leaned his head out to try and see what was going on.

“A full braking,” he answered. “But I can’t see why.” He tried leaning further out the window, but it didn’t help. Then somebody in the front left the train and walked toward the rails in front of the train. Either it was damaged or something was on them, nothing that should take too long. “I think something is blocking the rails,” he informed Aura. “But I still can’t see what.” He noticed how his body began shaking like the pillow he stood on. “Hey, what are you doing, Aura?” As he looked at her, he saw that she was shaking as well, just like the bench and the whole cabin. “An earthquake?” Aura pointed out of the window.

“There!” she yelled excitedly. Thiemo climbed back into the train and looked to where she was pointing. In the distance, he could see a dust cloud slowly getting larger. Lots of small points seemed to have caused it. Quickly, he climbed back in completely and shut the window. Then he heard the commotion on the corridor. Seemingly, the other passengers also had a problem with the unplanned stopover and the shaking train.

Knowing that trouble lay ahead, he grabbed the bags off the shelf and threw Aura hers. “We better see that we get out of the train. I got a bad feeling about this.” That feeling was based on experience. As he threw his backpack on, he looked to his daughter. Said daughter still sat on her seat and stared out of the window.

Again, he pressed his nose against the glass and saw what was coming for them.

“Buffalo, a lot of buffalo.” Aura was only the first to put it in words. Buffalo, about a head taller than Thiemo, were creatures which were, in some way, related to cows. He didn’t know how though. They lived in nomadic tribes and mostly weren’t too open towards foreigners, but not aggressive. A diamond dog in Junk Town had told him that they ignored unknowns for the most parts once they didn’t attack.

Light brown to black fur were the dominating features, along with small but very pointy horns on their heads. And now a whole spectrum of these was headed for them. The less distance separated them, the more the ground shook, and with it the train as well. Panicked and looking around, he couldn’t think of anything. The exit was in direction of the buffalos, and they wouldn’t make it around the train in time. But if they rammed it, it wouldn’t be safe inside either. “Dad? Is that a pony?” He watched where she was pointing her hoof at, and indeed, in the very first row, a pony ran along with the buffalos.

Curious, he watched how the herd approached until he had a better view on them. The buffalo wore all kinds of feathered headdresses, the pony contrasting as it was a beige unicorn with a full beard and a black bowler resting on his mane, which was as red as his beard. Thiemo gulped because it was now too late to run. Suddenly, the buffalos slowed down, throwing up even more dust, this time in their direction, and thus blocking their view.

“Aura, whatever happens, stay with me.” All his senses were tingling. However, nobody had this much bad luck. Surely they saw them from the distance, thought the train was having difficulties, and came to help. Maybe they were even part of the repair troop which was stationed along the tracks. The dust settled down, and the earth calmed again. Right in front of the train, he saw hundreds of buffalos through the window, all looking grimy and armed while holding axes with their teeth.

In the first row was the beige unicorn, who now used his horn and opened all windows of the train. So much for the repair troop. “My dear travellers,” he greeted the passengers through a megaphone. “I am most unfortunately sorry to bring your trip to such an abrupt ending.” His horn didn’t stop glowing; no, instead he now also opened the doors. “I have to ask you all to leave the train and gather out here.” He nodded to some buffalos which then quickly went towards the steeple cab.

“Dad!” He looked at Aura. “I know that stallion! He was the one who gave me the bits in the bank!” Thiemo looked back outside where the first of the passengers came together. With her hint, he now remembered where he had seen him before: on the wanted poster in the office of the sheriff. This was Billy the Colt.

“Come on, we should go out.” He turned around, and just as he touched the door, another sudden eruption rang through the whole train. A few screamed outside. Thiemo strengthened his grip on his staff and lifted Aura on his shoulder. “Stay there and not a single sound, okay?” She nodded as he walked through the floor to the open door.

His boots made contact with the dusty ground, and he stared into the eyes of the buffalo he faced. In them was no fear, no curiosity, nothing he could use against him. They were faster than him, stronger than him, and to worsen his situation, he was all out of talismans. At that moment, he saw no way out. He attracted the looks of the passengers and even the gaze of Billy as he approached the group. There was also the small family he had scared at the station in Dodge City. They still looked at him with fear but unmatched with the fear they had towards the unicorn and the buffaloes. “Well look at that. What kinda strange thing are you?” the bandit spat at him.

He decided not to say a word and walked to the other passengers. They made space for him so that he, again, stood aside from the group although he had stood right next to them at first. “Not very chatty huh?” the unicorn mocked. “But what are my wounded eyes seeing? I know you.” He pointed at Aura and took several steps towards her. Said filly started shivering immediately.

“Stay away from my daughter, or I’ll get really uncomfortable,” Thiemo spat, and the buffalos immediately took a step towards him. Billy turned around and stopped their advance.

Then he turned to the human again. “Chill, Big Daddy. I’d never hurt a foal. I am a bandit, not a murderer or anything of the sort. I only seek objects of value. Primarily bits.” He shortly lifted his forehooves before falling back on all four. “So no hard feelings, okay?” Two buffalos rejoined the rest, and Thiemo surveyed the direction they came from. At least he now knew what the motive was. The locomotive was thrown over, and all the wood for firing up the boiler was lying all over the place. “Now that I have your unrivalled attention, my friend Schneidender Wind here-” he gestured towards a big buffalo with a bag between his teeth “-will now ask you to put all your bits, articles of value, and so on into his bag. I’d prefer if you all would comply with this request because we will check it.” Thiemo had an idea, and what was the worst that could come out of it? The train wouldn’t proceed. So either they had to run back to Dodge City by foot, or without supplies worth noting, to Appleloosa through the desert. Furthermore, he doubted that there was enough water for a week in the dining compartment.

So it was all or nothing. “I have a suggestion,” he interrupted Billy before he could signal the buffalo to collect the stuff. “Since we probably can thank you for not reaching Appleloosa, I’ll exchange my bits if you accompany us in that direction, as it seemingly is your destination as well.” There were no others out here. Why else should the criminal have followed them from Round Rock to up here? Everyone who took this route wanted to get to Appleloosa.

Billy looked at him and laughed. Thiemo waited calmly until the stallion realized that he was serious. “I can’t believe it... He's serious,” the bandit said. “And what would we get out of that? We’ll get your bits either way.” The buffalos chuckled as they couldn’t laugh without losing their axes.

“The difference is that I won’t resist.” Thiemo grinned and pointed with his staff at the unicorn, readied for a fight. He bluffed and bluffed hard. Without talismans, even he'd have problems against the unicorn, not to mention the buffalo. He couldn’t count on the staff either. It was just him, and without powerful magic, it would take up to a week until it was charged again. But this was his best bet. He dashed forward and knocked the staff against Billy’s horn. He staggered aside, and the megaphone he levitated fell down.

Instantly, three buffalos charged at him. “Stop!” The three stopped at once but slid a few more meters over the ground. Billy the Colt caught himself, picked up the megaphone, and stepped up to him. “You got courage, Big Daddy.” He felt how Aura started shivering again. Unfortunately, she had to bear it. “So what do we do with you?” He walked up and down in front of him, the three buffalo right behind him. “How many bits do you have?” he finally asked.

Thiemo took the bag off his belt and threw it to the stallion. “Should still be about ten to twelve bits.” Perplexed, the bandit stared at him, and then laughed again.

“You make such a scene over a couple of bits? Are you crazy?”

Thiemo stroked Aura’s back and tried to make the next sentence sound as threatening as possible. “I am a father. Every one of those bits means a meal for my daughter.” Billy said nothing, nor did the buffaloes moved, and even the other passengers stopped for a moment with their quivery whining. Finally, he nodded to one of the buffaloes who walked over to them slowly. Out of the big bag on his back, he pulled another bag, and without Thiemo realizing it, threw it over him. “Hey, what are you doing!” he and Aura yelled simultaneously, and in the next instant, they got lifted off their feet. He struggled furiously, but it was of no use. The dark fabric of the bag was too thick for him to tear it up barehanded.

His back settled against the bottom of the sack, and he felt a sudden movement as the bag got thrown over someone's back. Luckily, he had taken Aura off his shoulder earlier and held her tight in his arms. “Everything will be fine, I promise,” he said quietly to her, although he slowly had his doubt about his plan. How long would they have had to wait in Dodge City until the tracks were cleared? A day, maybe two? But then they wouldn’t have had sufficient money anymore. In that moment, he cursed the miserable situation he had gotten them into.

“Now, all your belongings into this bag here,” Thiemo heard from outside, followed by the sound of metal clanging on itself. More and more became property of the robbing buffaloes.

“That’s all we have; can we go now?” a feminine passenger asked. He tried to get a glance through the cloth, but it was too dense. He couldn’t see anything but blurry lights.

“Sure, we have everything we want.” At least Billy the Colt held his promise, and it was audible how the passengers withdrew. Then the windows and doors got closed. Nervously, he listened to what would happen now. “Everything all right in there?” He felt a hoof poking his back.

A bit surprised that he actually cared for them, he answered, “Uhm… sure, just a bit stuffy in here.” Aura looked at him with the same surprised look he had on his face, but he only shrugged his shoulders.

“Sorry for the inconvenience, but we can’t risk that you know the exact position of our camp.” On the inside, he laughed just at the thought. Maps already were a mystery to him. Calculating his positions with anything resembling precision when he was not in town was a thing of impossibility.

“My father can’t even read a map.” Aura was simply the good-hearted foal and always was in favour of him.

From the outside, he heard short laughter again. “Nice that you two came along so well.” He cleared his throat. “Okay guys, we are done here, so let’s go!” his voice sounded through the megaphone, and the herd set in motion. It took a short moment, but then the bull to whose back they were attached started running, and with every step, he bounced against his hip bones. Adding the fact that the sack was connected with a rope, which tingled more and more, made them get worked by every side. Well, at least they cared that no other buffalo ran into their carrier’s flank.

“Ouch!” Spoken too soon. He closed his arms around Aura and hoped that the torture would find a good end. “Watch out!” Not that anyone could hear him through the stampeding.

Chapter I - Act 2.2 - Natives

View Online

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 2.2 - Natives ~

The rope around the sack loosened, and a human and foal tumbled out. Both had been shaken thoroughly by the hour-long ride through the hot afternoon sun of the prairie. The last minutes or hours - Thiemo couldn’t really say how long it was - were rather stuffy, and both were drenched in sweat. “Well then.” Thiemo looked up and saw the bandit, Billy the Colt, standing in front of him with a big smile on his face as he inspected them. Aura settled next to him on her stomach, with all her hooves extended away from her.

“I'm thirsty,” she whined while inhaling the warm but fresh air. He didn’t feel any different but someone else had top priority.

“Excuse me, where are my manners. This way.” Billy stepped aside and revealed the view of a village. As far as the eye reached, there were hundreds of tents. To Thiemo, they looked like wigwams. Buffaloes of every color and size were going about their everyday business. Calves played with each other, and cows stood near the tents while cooking something or beating carpets with wooden sticks. All of this was surrounded by high rock walls. He looked back and saw someone close a gigantic door behind him. On its front side, it was covered in rocks so that it would be probably indistinguishable from its surroundings. Then something in the sky attracted his attention; something that shimmered in the air. He couldn’t say what it was, only that it was not natural. “You coming, Big Daddy?” He watched the unicorn who had went ahead.

Aura did the same and lifted herself from the dusty ground. Thiemo jerked as a buffalo let out a snort. Due the fascination this place had instilled in him, he had almost overlooked the buffalo behind him. “Uhm... Thanks for the ride?” He scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. The buffalo nodded, satisfied, and walked away.

Aura tapped with her hoof against his knee. “Dad, I'm still thirsty.” Focused again, he picked up his staff and took a few steps towards Billy, who seemed very patient.

“I have to excuse myself for my appearance earlier,” he started as the two walked by his side, “but I think asking nice wouldn’t have made them give me their bits.” Thiemo nodded in agreement. “I see. Still cautious, hmm?” Who wouldn’t resent him? “Let me show you something.” Billy raised his hoof and signalled them to wait as he walked towards a buffalo who sat in front of his tent. After a couple of words from the unicorn, he lifted one of the axes out of the rack and handed it over to him. With said weapon in his magic, he walked back to the two. “This," he said as he levitated the weapon in front of Thiemo's face, “is one of the axes we used during the raid. Touch the blade.” Aura, just as curious as him, lifted her head to get a better view. The human did as he asked and slid a finger contemplatively over the edge.

It was blunt and made of stone, just covered with silver paint. “It’s not real, just a mock.” He took the weapon in his hand and slammed it into the ground. It splintered, and only the wooden shaft survived the impact.

“See?” Billy grinned, more than just content. “Like I said, bandits, not murderers.” The former weapon floated back to its owner, who obviously didn’t care at all that it was broken since he was busy with painting decorations onto his tent with the brush he held in his mouth. Thiemo understood the irony of the situation. Both he and the bandit had bluffed. Intimidation but no real violence.

He couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re good, so props for that.” They continued their walk and finally arrived at a small place in the middle of which a fireplace was located. It was surrounded by large pillows made of some kind of weird fabric. It seemed to be the same as the kind the tents were made of. Billy sat down and signalled for them to follow his example. Just as he made himself comfortable with Aura on his lap, a cow left one of the surrounding tents. She had auburn fur and, as was the usual for cows, very small horns. Around her back was a mount which held two chalices possibly filled with water.

“Now that everypony is loosened up, this is my wife, Lachende Sonne.”

“Some water for you and your guests,” she said in a deep but still feminine voice. Billy nodded shortly, and with the aid of his horn, bowls flew over as he filled them with the clear liquid.

Both Thiemo and Aura accepted them gratefully. “You know," he started as he took a sip, “you are already the second pony I got to know in the last couple of days who married another species. Is that some kind of insider tip out here?” Now that most of the tension fell off and he knew that he wouldn’t end up on a post, some of his composure had returned.

Billy looked to his wife, smiled, and laughed. “I suppose you ran into Dusk Star?” Billy surely had to deal with him a couple of times, but Thiemo was still surprised that he immediately thought of the sheriff. Seemingly it was written on his face as well. “The hat.” The unicorn pointed at the black Stetson on his head. “I’d recognize that one everywhere.”

Thiemo took it off and eyed it but couldn’t find anything special about it. “Why?” he finally asked.

“Well duh, because I made it,” he said proudly as he lifted the bowler off his head and held it towards the guests. “Just like mine. I suppose one could call it a hobby of mine.” Both put their hats back on their former places.

“Then... the sheriff stole one of your hats?” The unicorn waved him off as he laughed again.

“No, I gave it to him as a present. Dusk Star’s my brother.” Thiemo and Aura stared in stunned silence at the chuckling bandit. At least he now knew why the sheriff was so bitter when he had asked about the wanted poster.

“Crazy family background,” he remarked as he gave back the bowl to Lachende Sonne, who smiled at them and returned into the tent she came out of. While most of the tents seemed typical of their kind, this one seemed rather like a house-like construction. Some wooden poles had been used to build a frame that gave the whole thing more stability. Judging by the set-up, there had to be about three rooms.

Billy nodded in agreement. “At least the family reunions never get boring.” Billy stood up and made to follow his wife. “But now I have other things to take care of. Tomorrow morning, I’ll ask Schnelle Schwalbe to bring you to Appleloosa, so you should be in its reach by dawn. Unfortunately, we can’t risk being seen until the dust has settled.” He turned to his guests once again. “Use the time until it’s time for supper to look around a bit. No one will do you any harm.” With that said, he disappeared as well in the big tent, and Thiemo breathed a sigh of relief. They didn’t get tied to a pole or have axes thrown at them, and they didn’t get caged either. His view shifted to the surrounding rock faces. Well, at least not in a small cage. He wanted to turn to Aura to see whether she was still as scared but said filly was already busy. She watched a couple of calves who all were at least twice as big who played around with wooden toys.

He cautiously tapped her back, and she turned around to him. “Don’t you wanna ask whether you can join them?” His question wasn’t honoured with an answer as she was gone in a flash. That would give him time to explore on his own without having to keep worrying about her.

***

Thiemo chose to walk around the village near the rocks. The culture had strong similarities with the Native Americans; of course, only if his history knowledge was right. The female population seemed to be mostly tasked with the maintenance and work for the domestic economy. He saw a couple of them producing baskets and carpets before finally exchanging one for the other. Others produced little accessories also for changing or for personal use. Right now, he looked out of the corner of his eye at a cow who worked a couple of stones with others to get them into the desired shape. Maybe they had some gems he could acquire; he only had nothing to exchange them for yet. Then there was also the mean-looking bull next to her who, in turn, had an eye on him. He was knotting multiple pieces of lumber with thick ropes and was seemingly building either a frame or a different construction. Thiemo had seen a similar construction over the fountain he had walked past a while ago.

True to Billy’s word, and with Thiemo trying to stay out of sight, none of the buffaloes tried to attack him, but no one fled either. They didn’t show any awe like the ponies or curiosity like the zebras. Their temper reminded him much of the camels he travelled with. Standing around wouldn’t get him anywhere, and thus he went out of his way and steered towards the craftswoman. She saw him coming to her but didn’t say anything and kept on working. “Good day." Thiemo tried to appear as friendly as possible and reached out his hand balled into a fist.

The bumping of the hooves was a common greeting in a lot of places he had been to yet. Since he didn’t have any, his hands had to do the job. He knew that it was important to have a good connection to a potential business partner. In Albion, there were no regulated prices for anything, and the merchants could decide their own. He often felt the aversion of several salesmen towards him if the customer before him only had to pay half the price.

She didn’t answer, and for a while Thiemo thought he didn’t have any luck here either, but then the buffalo responded, “How can I help you, traveller?” For him, that was a refreshing change to all the titles like monster, beast, or simply screaming and running away.

Satisfied that someone was willing to speak with him, he addressed the bull. “I have noticed that your wife here - at least that is who I assume she is - is working jewels.” The bull only nodded and let him proceed. “I am on the hunt for gems and thought that perhaps you had some to spare.” They looked at each other with surprise, and then the cow pointed to a big basket in the entrance of their tent.

“Help yourself. The stones you are searching for have no value to us,” she said with clear sadness in her voice. Her husband patted her on the shoulder and faced Thiemo again.

“If they are really important to you, we are happy that they are of use.” With that, the conversation was obviously ended, and both returned to their work again. Thiemo, on the other hand, was really curious what that was about. The gems were not worthless, but not worth a fortune either. However, he didn’t want them to change their mind now. He felt like he was about to take advantage of them, but right now there was no way around it. In the event that they got into danger again and he didn’t have anything to defend them, they wouldn’t be able to escape that easily. Thus, he dismissed the thought and walked over to the basket which supposedly contained the desired goods. It really was filled with dozens of blue sapphires, rubies, and some lapis lazuli. Most of the gems were the size of pebbles and were mostly rough and covered by dirt. In this condition, they were even worth less as wares, and he needed the very best.

He started picking out the best stones and stored them in the front bag of his backpack. Shaping them into talismans would still be a lot of work, which would cost him his sleep tonight. “Ever thought of bringing these to a dragon?” he said over his shoulder to the buffalo. Dragons were masters when the topic came to growing gems, working them, and eating them of course. A dragon could, with a small trade-off, make them a lot more valuable. Giving it a small part of them would be easiest.

“There are no dragons up here, traveller,” the buffalo remarked. Thiemo had noticed as well. They had certainly become rarer to spot. The dragons lived in the Scorched Lands, a region behind Boardor which mostly consisted of volcanoes. Some of them resided in Dragmire, thus the name. Without further pursuing the topic, he poured a last couple of stones into his bag and closed it.

Happy with his booty, he walked on past the buffaloes, who were still focused on their work. “Thanks," he said as he left.

***

She didn’t know why it was fun, but it was. She rarely had the opportunity to talk to others her age, which was why she enjoyed this more than everything else. Aura chased a wooden tire along with three calves, Kleiner Rabe, Falscher Hase, and Echter Hase. Each of them had a stick in their mouth to keep the tire running. They took turns and whoever let the tire stop lost. This was repeated until only one was remaining who could then decide the next game. Before that, they had played hide and seek. It was Falscher Hase who wanted this game. It was not easy to keep the tire running since the ground was bumpy and they had to avoid the tents and buffaloes which stood around. This also was quite the task for Aura as she was way smaller than the calves.

She could only push the tire from behind or the front while the others could also thrust the top of it. And now she was sick of it as the tire collided with a small stone on the ground and fell down. “Not fair!” she yelled. In doing so, she dropped the stick. “You are bigger and can hit the tire better.” She had to tell them sometime as it was better than sulking quietly about it.

The three calves stopped immediately, and the tire ran into the behind of an elderly buffalo who correspondingly kicked it into the air and out of sight. “Oh! My tire!” yelled Kleiner Rabe and followed it. “My father just made it for me.” With that, his form melted between the tents.

The other two also threw their sticks away. “We are sorry,” the twins spoke simultaneously. “How about carving?” Falscher Hase had already suggested this, but since Aura couldn’t handle any kind of knife, they had abandoned the idea quickly. Due the look she gave him, he now recalled the suggestion. “Sorry, I had forgotten.” The group of three walked between the tents, thinking of what they could play now until they came back to the place where Aura had just eaten with her father and Billy. They sat down and lingered in their boredom.

“We could tell tales,” Echter Hase proposed. It was now already the fifth idea but the best one by far. Aura and Falscher Hase agreed with a simple nod. “Billy told us that he once won against five other ponies without using his magic.”

The two were astonished, and their mouths formed a big oval. Although Falscher Hase knew the story, he liked hearing it over and over again.

“That’s nothing,” interrupted Aura. “My father won against three gryphons all alone. He put all of them in the hospital for a long time.” Proud, she pranced before the others, waiting to hear their amazement and how awesome her dad was, but nothing came.

A bit surprised, she opened her eyes and saw how the two looked at her condemningly. “Billy always says that a true fighter wins without hurting his enemies.”

The three exchanged a couple of looks. When Aura asked, “And how is that supposed to work?” the two only shrugged their shoulders. They didn’t know what it meant either.

***

Thiemo was the last to return to the small place. The only difference to it from this afternoon was that the fire in the middle was burning now. On it, a big pot with some kind of soup was brewing. Around the fire, Billy, his wife, and a couple of buffalo and calves sat in a circle. Next to the latter, Aura sat with her snout dug deep in a bowl. Thiemo had seen a setup like this multiple times across the village. They seemed like social meeting points of the surrounding tent inhabitants. The village was a tightly knit community but gathering around a single fire was probably impossible.

“You are late,” remarked Lachende Sonne, who took a ladle and filled another bowl with the soup for him. Gratefully, he accepted the bowl and sat in the free space between Aura and Billy. With a sigh, the bandit leaned back and pushed the bowl away from him. Said bowl was emptied until the very last drop. “Eat, it’s really good," he said to the human beside him. Thiemo smelled the soup and took a sip. It was a simple pottage. Happily, he emptied the bowl off the reel. “See?”

“Thanks for the food,” he said to Lachende Sonne, who only nodded contently and turned to her own bowl again.

Billy cleared his throat. “So, what do you think of our housing? I saw you a couple of times during your lap.” He had made several observations. The first and most important was obvious. Like many cultures of this world, they were similar to one on his. But as buffalo were herbivores like ponies, there were no hunters, only gatherers. He would also bet that they would have cultivated the land if it weren’t for the limited space in between the rocks. That brought up the question of why they stayed here in the first place. The desert was large, and even if all of them were wanted, it was unlikely that they would be found fast. Pegasi would have problems with the sand and the sun and couldn’t stay long in the air.

Thiemo summarized his impressions. “It’s a fortress, that’s for sure. But I see that the lifestyle isn’t optimized for this environment. Thus, you are not here for long. It is missing space to cultivate food, and because of that, I have an assumption.” Billy nodded and applauded him by clapping his hooves on the ground.

“Very well, you are no fool.” A fact Thiemo was very well aware of. He wouldn’t have survived very long without his fast comprehension and his ability to adapt, a combination of skills without which humans probably never would have colonized their whole planet. “So, what is your assumption?”

Thiemo smiled. He loved being challenged and being able to show that his mind was as quick as his tongue. The last one who had always challenged him had been Deerling. “You rob banks and trains to buy the food in other settlements. You are the scapegoat, so a buffalo goes to buy with the money. Everyone searches for you but not for a buffalo, thus no one ever sees what you do with the booty.” Billy didn’t respond but only nodded and passed the bowl to his wife. “But one thing makes me curious. Why do you live here if you are relying on the robbing?”

Thiemo noticed that this was a difficult subject simply because the good-natured attitude of Billy the Colt now got strangely serious. “I know that you are a stranger here. So if you really want to know what happened here, I have to ask you to keep it to yourself. I won’t tell anything that endangers us but nonetheless…” He nodded understandingly, and Billy took a breath. “About three years ago, diamond dogs came into this region. They may not be the smartest, but they have a sense for rare metals and gems. Of course they found natural caves and formations which contained many of these. To their displeasure, they were on the land of the buffalo who lived in the Leylands, and they denied them permission to dig. The land is sacred to them, since according to their belief, the ghosts of their ancestors live there. So the dogs got gryphons to help them.”

That explained why they saw so many around here. “But even they had trouble fighting the strong buffalo.” Just as he finished the sentence, the chests of some buffaloes started to swell. “But they were smarter than the diamond dogs. They offered the buffalo a trade-off. They told them that the sparkling stones were very valuable and that they could buy everything from the ponies for it.” An obvious lie, but for a folk that merely had contact to the culture of the ponies, it was not recognizable as such. “They accepted the deal and signed the contracts with the gryphons. Unfortunately, they didn’t understand what they were signing.” Now Thiemo interrupted him as he raised his hand.

“I can imagine the rest very well. When the buffalo noticed that the ponies didn’t want their stones, or at least didn’t pay as much as promised, they wanted them to leave their land, which they didn’t do of course.” Billy confirmed this with a sad nod. “They stayed, and since it was legitimate, they even got aided by the ponies who seemingly didn’t know the whole back story or ignored it.” Again Billy nodded.

“Some know the back story but ignore it. They can’t change it, and that’s the excuse most use. This isn’t Equestria, after all. But the princess is still forced to send out soldiers to enforce the right of the diamond dogs and gryphons. And that's why I ended up down here.” The two stared at each other for a bit.

“Didn’t think you’d be a soldier… no offense.” The stallion smiled briefly and waved it off with his hoof.

“I’m not anymore.” He looked over to his wife, who nodded to him. “I left the Royal Guard as soon as I knew what happened here. Sadly, it was too late for Stiller Bär.” The question of who he was was carved into Thiemo’s face.

“He was my first spouse and the father of Echter Hase and Falscher Hase,” answered Lachende Sonne. “He was one of our strongest warriors.”

“But he fell fighting against me.” It got silent as Billy said this, and it lasted for several minutes where only the murmuring of the kids, who had sunk in their own conversation, was audible.

Finally, it was Billy who continued. “Anyway, I learned the truth shortly after and decided to help the buffalo. Since then, I've lived here.” Thiemo nodded sympathetically and looked over to Aura. He understood it more than well; standing up for your principles even if that meant doing wrong. “I saw the desperation in their eyes but also their will to fight for their rightful freedom. What they were missing was a plan. Someone who knew the enemy. They may not all be fighters but if my time in the Royal Guard taught me anything, it is that one defending his home is always stronger than ten attacking soldiers. Thus, I promised them something. As long as they want to be free, we will win even if it takes years.”

Thiemo couldn’t add anything anymore, and he understood why he shouldn’t tell anyone of this. It was not his fight, nor was it someone else's. It was solely theirs, and Billy wanted that no one thought that he had to interfere. At the same time, he tried to be a father for a family he had robbed of theirs. At least he now understood how he convinced the stallion to help. It was not the demonstration of strength or the intimidation; it was the passion the two shared. Trying to be a good father although Aura wasn't his own flesh and blood.

“I’ll hit the bed, and you should do the same. Your journey tomorrow begins before sunset.” Thiemo had nothing to add. Everything that needed to be discussed had been said.

Chapter I - Act 2.3 - Abyss

View Online

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 2.3 - Abyss ~

“This is the point where we have to bid each other farewell, stranger." Thiemo and Aura had spent the entire day on the back of Schnelle Schwalbe, and now the sun was setting. They had stopped at a small oasis. “Unfortunately, I can’t accompany you any further.” Both climbed down off his back, and Thiemo patted his shoulder in gratitude.

“You brought us further than I could ever hope you would, assuming your information was correct.” Angrily, the buffalo stamped on the ground and shoved Thiemo lightly with his head.

“Of course my information is correct. Appleloosa is half a day to the north from here. I spent my whole life on this prairie and know every patch of grass.” Thiemo doubted this statement, but he wasn’t in the mood to discuss the condition of his homeland. They would camp here tonight and head towards Appleloosa first thing tomorrow to get the Leylands behind them. He was no fan of deserts. They meant sand in his clothes, sweat running down his face, and freezing temperatures at night-time. The weather in Equestria would be a welcome change; at least, if it was really fall there right now. It was hard to keep track of the seasons in a desert. In addition to that, they had spent the last three quarters of the year in the extreme climatic zones of Albion. It was a mystery how an icy tundra could be directly next to a desert, but that was one Thiemo hoped to solve someday.

Since neither Thiemo nor Aura responded to Schnelle Schwalbe, he turned and disappeared into the direction they came from. Without a human and pony on his back, he was significantly faster, so he could be home at dawn. “Why is he crossing the desert when it’s already turning night?” Aura looked at the shrinking form of the buffalo.

Thiemo used the time to get the blankets out of his backpack and threw them to his daughter. “Buffalos have a thicker fur than ponies.” Something he was able to feel before. “He doesn’t get cold as fast as we do.”

But that didn’t satisfy the little foal. “Wouldn’t he sweat terribly in this sun?” Thiemo hesitated with levelling the sand and thought about it for a second.

“To be honest,” he took off his hat and scratched his head, “I have no idea.” He had no fur, so how would he? “You’re the one with fur, so you tell me.” While he was busy preparing his bed, the foal was busy inspecting her fur. Thiemo watched her from the corner of his eye. He knew she couldn’t stay with him forever. He had known it the second he had taken her with him. Lately, he managed to zone this fact out, for his sake as well as hers. But now that Equestria came closer with every day that passed, those thoughts began to crawl back into his mind. He would never be able to teach her what a pony would need to know. She should live with other ponies, learning from them, in a family, and not drift through the world, trying to solve the little riddles of Albion with a vagabond human.

Thiemo wasn’t so arrogant to believe that his questions and his quest would surprise someone. There had to be others who had asked the same questions before him. He was just a mystery himself, looking to solve others. Even if he was to settle down somewhere, he would always remain a mystery. “Dad?” Aura’s voice snapped him out of his darker daydreams and back into reality. The sun had descended even further behind the horizon, and the first waves of the cool night wind blew through the grass around them. That was another sign that they were closer to fertile land.

“Yeah?” he asked, a bit confused as he spread his blanked on the ground. He didn’t always get lost in his own thoughts, but when he did, it hit him hard.

“Why did Mister Billy say we shouldn’t help?” It wasn’t surprising that she had overheard yesterday’s conversation. She hadn’t exactly been that far away.

Thiemo settled down on his blanket and grabbed his backpack. “It’s just between the diamond dogs, the buffalos, and the gryphons,” he started to explain while getting some gems out of his backpack. Last night, he had managed to make some talismans, but they were not enough in his opinion. The rare lapis lazuli would prove very useful here. Not for fighting or defence, but simply for water. With those, they weren’t forced to pack water but were able to summon it. “If more started to interfere in this conflict, it might give even more the idea. Think about the jackals here.” Jackals were similar to diamond dogs, or at least they seem to have the same ancestors. Like the huge dogs, they walked on two legs, but they had long, pointy snouts. While one would describe diamond dogs as bulldogs, jackals were the raging doberman. Their black fur was often coloured red with the blood of a poor creature, mostly zebras. Those two races had some deep conflict that outsiders didn’t know much about. “So, when they get help, the others would do the same, and there would be even more fights and victims.”

Aura nodded in silence and spread herself out on the blanket. Thiemo stretched out, got some of the small stones surrounding him, and placed them in a small circle between the blankets. Next, he placed one of the prepared rubies in the middle, which made it glow radiating warmth. This had the additional effect of keeping wildlife away. When there was magic, there were unicorns. No problem for gryphons or other intelligent predators, but other, more primitive animals seemed to be afraid of magic. Somehow, they managed to sense the magic and avoided it. “That’s nice and warm.”

Thiemo agreed with her, rubbed his hands, and held them against the stone. “Too bad our tent was destroyed by the sandstorm.” A day before they had reached Round Rock, the storm had kicked in, and the bigger grains of sand had torn the tent apart. “But enough of that. If we sleep now, we’ll be in Appleloosa by noon.” Early to bed, early to rise, that was the secret of the camels. The temperature was the best in the early morning hours, and skilled travellers were able to get a lot of ground behind them in the short time they had. Moreover, they would avoid the heat of the day this way.

***

The night passed without any incident, at least for Aura. Thiemo, on the other hand, didn’t pass the buffalo’s soup the way he intended, and he had to seek a bush several times that night. The fact that there was no paper shrunk his storage of reading material. Since he was awake anyway, he used those hours to make more talismans. The process had become something of a routine for him. Magic was everywhere on this planet, and gems seemed to attract it. All he had to do was engrave the runes with a small file he got from the zebras and let them load for some time. In his rather short training, they had built altars and put the gems on them for a few days so they could fill with magic. He had no time for this, so he had worked out his own system. His staff was like a sponge — a big sponge. The amount of magic it needed for one of the two spells was enormous. However, it was more than enough for the small talismans. He just touched the gems with the staff and let the magic flow. Apparently, the passive suction of the staff was weaker than the one from the gems, otherwise they wouldn’t fill up. He knew that a talisman was done when he picked it up. They tingled a little bit, like licking a battery.

Mostly, talismans were only good to cast the engraved spell once. Some could even be used twice, once they were loaded and sturdy enough. Thiemo could use larger gems, which were better quality, but that wouldn’t work since it would increase the chances of someone noticing or sensing them. It was no secret that those learned in the arcane arts were able to sense magic. This way, he had the element of surprise on his side. Physically, he was weaker than most creatures here, including ponies and even Aura. Earth ponies were very strong, and a kick from one of them didn’t let you miss a real horse, something he had to learn the hard way from his daughter.

While he was thinking about her, she started moving. The sky got remarkably brighter, and he could tell that dawn was just a few minutes away. “Good morning, sleepyhead,” he greeted her. Appleloosa was already waiting for them, together with a meal, a shower, and probably a chance to wash his clothes. If he was lucky, he could make some money. Billy had given them back their bits but couldn’t spare any more. Not that he was expecting it — the unicorn had to provide for an entire herd.

A bit sleepy, the orange filly rubbed her eyes and brushed her mane out of her face. “Huh? This early already?” With a yawn, she got up and stumbled towards the small waterhole. Thiemo did the same, rising up and putting the tools back into his backpack and the new talismans into his cloak. Since they had to wait a while before having breakfast, he went over to the waterhole and dunked his head in it.

He took a few deep sips and got his head out of the pleasantly cool and wet water. “Puh!” he said, now more than awake. Shaking his head to get his long hair as dry as possible, he went back to their camp and folded his blanket. Minutes later, he was ready to go, but not his daughter. She was still somewhere between the bushes. “Everything alright, Aura?” he called in her direction. Thiemo didn’t want to disturb her privacy, which seemed kind of ridiculous given the fact she was naked all the time. But that was the way humans were raised. On the throne, there was one rule: quiet on the can. Still, he slowly approached the bushes to look after her.

She just stood there as though she was petrified and didn’t move an inch. Watching his step, he approached even closer and eventually picked her up. Like a cat, his hands found its way underneath her forelegs and held her face to face. Her eyes were strange. The usual light-blue of hers had a greenish touch, and it looked as though she was staring right through him as though he didn’t exist. “Aura?” She didn’t react, and her head fell to the side as if she was sleeping, which was obviously not the case since her eyes were still wide open without blinking. “Aura?” Thiemo repeated and shook her softly, feeling his stomach clench in worry. He knew that shaking kids was bad. No matter if this wasn’t the case for foals, he didn’t want to risk anything.

However, it was of no use. The foal didn’t awake from the trance, and he was running out of ideas for what to do or what had even caused it in the first place. Was she bitten by a snake or stung by a scorpion? He had no idea what effect their venoms had in this world. Finally, he used the simplest method. Normally, this was reserved for best friends, but it was time for the exception of the rule. He reached out and slapped her right in the face. “Hey!” Aura yelled instantly and rubbed her right cheek with her hoof. “What the hay?” Relieved, he released his breath.

“You were in some kind of rigor. I tried everything.” Thiemo especially emphasized the everything. “And that was my last idea.”

The foal in his hands seemed grumpy and kept rubbing her cheek. “Your last idea was slapping me?” Saying it like that didn’t make it sound like such a good idea anymore.

“Hey, I was worried. What happened?” The pony stopped any kind of movement, and her eyes widened again but without the green.

“I went into the bushes to...” She thought about it and turned her head towards said bushes. “But then everything turned black. I have no idea what happened.” On the one hand, he was relieved she was better; on the other hand, he was worried she could get sick. They could hardly afford food and shelter, not to mention a doctor. He had just a poor knowledge of medicine, and that was just about humans, not colourful, speaking, magical pony foals.

But it was of no use, just another reason to get to Appleloosa as soon as possible. Thiemo sighed and took a last look at his daughter. She held her hindlegs in a weird position, and he quickly put her down. “We’ll take care of that later. Now get your business finished, and we’re outta here.” She nodded and again disappeared into the bushes around the oasis.

***

“Freaking sand, freaking sun, freaking Leylands!” Thiemo was pissed and on the edge of both his nerves and powers, both from cursing and travelling. Noon had come and gone in a matter of what felt like seconds, but there was not a hint of Appleloosa. On the contrary, they again exchanged plain fields for hot sand and blazing heat. “If I ever meet this God, I’ll go all peppermill on his neck, with his...” He looked down on Aura silently watching him. “...make some scrambled eggs and put a toothless smile on his face.” He imagined that somewhere there was an almighty being that was playing him like a puppet on strings through this world. Only that this being was three years old and spent most of the time sucking on his thumb.

“Dad.” Again, he looked down at Aura and fought the urge to smack his fist into his palm. “I’m certain we’re on the right way. Schnelle Schwalbe pointed us in this direction. Maybe we just need to go longer than he thought?” Surprised about such logical thinking at her age, he felt relieved. Her words made sense. They just had to. For the rest of his life, he had enough of deserts. If he had to see sand, then it would have to be only in combination with water, palm trees, and women in too small bikinis.

At least there was no storm. “You’re right, we should just hurry up.” Thiemo put some more weight on his staff and took it up a notch. He knew that when he stopped, there was no way he could start again.

Aura, on the other hand, seemed to be just fine, untouched by heat and fatigue. “Come on, it can’t be far anymore.” She seemed to be excited and kept jumping around in front of him. “I bet it’s right behind this dune.” Thiemo would love to believe that, but cities didn’t just hide behind dunes. It was high and wide but not enough to hide a whole city. Slowly, step by step, he walked through warm sand, water in his boots and on his forehead. What would he have given to finally escape this oven and to sit in a cool bar or restaurant, enjoying a fresh fruit salad or maybe even fresh strawberries with whipped cream, something so delicious that it was enjoyed in different worlds. With a small jump, he reached the top of the sandy hill and got ready to slide down on the other side. Aura was already ahead. With another jump, he followed her and used both hands to keep his balance. A fall, even in warm and soft sand, was not something to enjoy.

Then he saw it. At the end of the dune was no ground, and the sand kept falling into a big crack. From the top, it looked normal since the crack was in a blind spot. But now he could clearly see it and reached out for his daughter. “Aura, watch out!” But it was too late, and he saw her falling into the gap. Cursing inside, he tried to stop, but his momentum was too much now. Quickly, he rammed his staff into the sand and tried to stabilize. He succeeded for a short moment, his feet now hanging down the abyss. He couldn’t see the bottom, and from what he saw, he concluded that there were no ledges. If Aura fell, she fell straight down. “Crap, just when I thought we had it all.” With one hand, Thiemo got one of his talismans, got it around his wrist, and released the staff from the sand.

He instantly fell down and got ready to use the talisman to slow down his fall. He could use the sapphire to condense the air beneath him, which would function as a cushion. Since there was some sand as well, he shouldn’t get badly injured. At least that was his hope. Despite all his planning and thinking, he couldn’t help but scream his very soul out. The sunlight got rapidly dimmer, but the reflecting sand was enough, so he could see that he was approaching the bottom. He activated the talisman, and when it kicked in, his screams died as he got slower, which didn’t stop him from falling down in a bad position when he touched the sand. His staff flew away, and his right leg turned at a very unhealthy angle. Exquisite pain. “Ah, godfuckingdammit! Shit! Shit!” he yelled out and straightened out his hurt limb. That resulted in some pain fading away but not the feeling of just having pulled off a full split. He had probably pulled a muscle or even worse. Right now, he couldn’t find out more. He knew just one thing: it hurt. Like hell.

Crawling on the floor, he used the spare lighting to find his staff. Not far from it, he found Aura. “Hey, Aura!” He crawled over to her and examined her body. There were no injuries visible to the naked eye, but he was no doctor. She could have fractures or internal bleeding. They had to get out and quickly. But something seemed strange. She didn’t try to escape, she didn’t try to grab his hand, and she didn’t yell or scream like he did. Carefully, he opened one of her eyelids, and they were again the same green color like this morning. So it was no venom — it was some kind of spell. She had been attacked or bewitched in that bush and probably was made to lead him here. Instantly, his instincts perked as he got up to sit on his butt so he could use his arms. The now spent talisman was thrown away, and he got another one of his pocket, this time a ruby. Again, he wrapped it around his wrist with the chain and summoned a small light. He wasn’t as skilled with fire as he was with wind or water, but smaller spells were no problem. However, if he were to use fire or earth in a fight, he would probably end up hurting himself.

His eyes scanned the gulch and saw that they were surrounded by clean, sheer rock. This was no natural rock formation - someone built it. Due to this fact and his injured leg, there was no climbing out of it, even less so with a foal on his shoulders. He kept looking around and saw two tunnels, one in front and one behind. He knew just one race that used tunnels as underground homes, and that was the diamond dogs. However, they had no magic and didn’t know anything about shamanism. Thiemo would never describe himself as a shaman, maybe an apprentice. His teacher had been able to cast lightning storms with a combination of wind and water, or she could create a hot spring with water, earth, and fire. Every time he had tried to combine elements, it blew up, and he had burned himself with hot steam or electrocuted himself.

What creature had the power to manipulate another creature? The only creatures that came to Thiemo’s mind were unicorns, but they were too peaceful to do such a thing. Even those who were called bandits were actually benefactors, although in twisted way. Minutes passed without his sight leaving the tunnels. If someone set up this trap for them, he had to show himself sooner or later. As long as he stayed alert, he had an advantage. There were only two possible ways for the hostage-taker to enter this room, but Thiemo could be everywhere in the room. This way, he could see him first, knock him out, and turn the situation around. Then he could make him show them the way outside and all would be fine. If necessary, he could accelerate things if the host was not cooperative.

With another talisman in the other hand and his staff ready, he pushed himself and Aura into the exit in front of him. That way, he could hear anyone coming and would spot them first. His leg hurt with every move, but it was bearable, and he assumed again that he had just pulled a muscle. He took a last deep breath and started breathing through his nose, short, quiet breaths to make as little noise as possible.

Minutes passed, but nothing happened. Then, after a few minutes, there was a sudden noise. It was a humming sound and echoed through the whole gulch, making it impossible to track to its source. He quickly looked around, but he couldn’t find anything. He quickly extinguished the ruby to make himself harder to spot. The humming got louder and clearly came closer, and then he noticed that he had forgotten an opening. He looked up and saw ten to twenty small pegasi, but pegasi didn’t hum. As they came closer, he saw they were all pitch black with wings like an insect. Blue, segmented eyes were staring at him as they quickly approached. They thought him an easy prey, but he wouldn’t surrender without a fight.

Chapter I - Act 2.4 - What Lays In The Dark

View Online

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 2.4 – What Lays In The Dark ~

Like projectiles, the attackers came closer, and Thiemo barely made it in time to throw Aura out of the way before rolling to the side. The foal rolled, still unconscious, over the stone floor and finally stopped near the wall. Thiemo, on the other hand, was now more in the middle of the room and thus probably even easier to spot.

Small rocks flew over him as the strange creatures clashed on the ground. On the inside, he hoped that it hurt and that they were killed by the kamikaze, but he knew better. No being would dare use such a move without being sure that it could survive. The three attackers stepped out of the raised dust. They had a body which was similar to a pony, covered either in short black and shining fur or a leathery skin - he couldn’t really see. On their backs, where the wings connected to the body, was something which resembled a natural shell. It was something that only appeared on insects, and he hated insects.

It had started with the annoying mosquitoes which Noah just had to take two in his damned Ark, and it didn’t stop at spiders. Back in his flat, they would not have survived for longer than ten seconds after their spotting. Wasps were his sworn enemies, and it seemed to be mutual. But these insects in front of him were significantly bigger than wasps, had sharp teeth instead of a stinger, and dozens of holes in their legs.

Thiemo had read a lot about countless creatures during his time at university, but he couldn’t assign any of the descriptions or illustrations to the attackers. They hissed and spat at him as they readied for the jump. He was forced to roll to the side again as the hooves narrowly passed in front of him. Now he could see that they had small horns on their heads like unicorns, but they were curved and twisted as though they had been broken several times without straightening it to heal correctly.

Quickly, he took his chance and got the three off their feet with a gust. They collided harshly with the rock face, leaving behind green liquid where they had struck the unforgiving surface. Before he could even begin to consider what to do next, Thiemo was suddenly lifted and hurled violently through the room himself. More of the insects landed behind him unnoticed. One grabbed him by the neck and launched him in the air. Shoulders first, he landed ungracefully to the ground and bounced on the rough floor. With the shock of the attack and the surging pain that flowed through his battered form, he unwittingly released his staff.

Just before he could try to grab for it again, more insect-ponies arrived and sunk their fangs into him before he could react. The agony spiked, and he had to bite back a pained gasp as he tried to free himself. With his left hand, he swung at the creature that had pinned down his right arm but only managed to hurt himself more in the process. Another hurried in and sunk its fang into his left arm and extended itself. He was now completely rendered immobile. His three relatively good limbs were now firmly held by the creatures so that he couldn’t move any without them drilling their sharp deeper into his flesh. On the other hand, he was happy they disregarded his wounded leg. Even if he would end up as food, he would not have to suffer unnecessarily because an overgrown cockroach had pulled it.

“What are you doing?! Don’t you know who you have here?” The fight was over, so now he switched to trying to persuade them to release him although he doubted that he was understood. To his surprise, their bite loosened a bit, and he immediately used the moment. With a swift and very painful movement of his free leg, he moved his staff back into his reach and wrenched his right arm free. Skin, cloth, and specks of blood were left behind, but he ignored it as his hand made contact with the well-known metal, and he quickly lashed out at the insect on his other leg with it. Said bug recoiled from the blow, and Thiemo repeated the move on the opponent to his left, but it still managed to tighten its bite before its head also made contact with his staff. “Anyone else?” he yelled and swirled the staff around while he confronted the others.

Ahead of him were still twelve more of the insect beings staring at him, their facets formed to slits. On one of their backs was Aura, deeply delved into the realm of dreams. They had his daughter, and as they gathered around her, one of them committed to biting into her flesh. “Stop!” he screamed and dropped the staff. “Don't harm her.” The attackers seemed content with his response. Faster than he could see, one of the just beaten drones dragged the staff away from him. The others slowly approached him and bit again, this time more painful due to his exposed wounds. They wanted to capture them, so not everything was lost. However, as long as Aura wasn’t in her right mind, and with his lame leg, they had no chance against the horde of enemies, although they seemed not that strong individually.

With a dull sound and some raised sand, a larger version of the insects landed right in front of him. It looked just like the others, just more muscular and wore a helmet of seemingly the same material as their shells. With the assumption that this was some kind of leader, he tested his luck once again. “What is the sense of this? Why did you lure us into this trap?” The commander didn’t respond, only eyed him sharply. With a jerk of his head, he gave a silent order, and Thiemo got his backpack ripped off. Together with the staff, it was now lying at the commander’s feet.

However, he didn’t bother with the backpack; instead, he had a closer look at the staff. With one of his cheesy hooves, he rolled it over the ground left to right until he finally kicked it into a corner. “Long time since a human last found his way into our land. The queen will be most satisfied.” The voice of the leader was rough and sounded hoarse as if he had a frog made of glass shards in his throat. At least he knew that he would end as meal for a queen of pony-insects. Far better than a car crash, but sadly, that was not how he had hoped it would end.

He wanted to either die of old age next to a twenty year old, smoking hot, naked blonde in bed, or at least in a way that it was cool but not painful. At best, with a guitar in the one hand and a sword the other. Being eaten by some gigantic bug in a dark hole under the desert was far down on his list concerning coolness of death. Then there was also the filly he had to protect. However, right now he could only wait and see what would happen next.

They began dragging him down the tunnel, through the entrance he had waited in front of. The first seconds had him in darkness, but then the horns started to glow in a toxic green whose light was then reflected by the shining wall. “Do you know Xenos?” he asked the insect on his left arm but only got a mean look as response. “I’ll take that as a yes.” The creature punched him.

“Stay silent, or I will silence you,” the leader warned without turning around. Annoying them could end either well or bad. Good if they were so annoyed that they wouldn’t search him more carefully, and worse if they did so for exactly that reason.

However, since he was already imprisoned, things couldn’t get much worse. “Well, since you are already so good at covering my body with saliva, back there between my cheeks is a spot which needs special caretaking.” He could only giggle at their first wondering then horrified faces. The innuendo didn’t pass over their heads, and one of the creatures even let go of his thigh and bit his shin instead. “Harder, that turns me on.” The three seemed even more disgusted but didn’t let go.

The whole group made a sudden stop, and the commander, visibly pissed that his prey wouldn’t shut up, stepped up right in front of him. “If you don’t shut your mouth immediately, I’ll make sure you never open it again." His hoof was dangerously close to his jaw, and there were only a few guesses as to what he meant. Seemingly happy that only silence followed, they continued their walk. After some time, he noticed that the surface of the rocks had changed. It was longer shiny, but covered by a black material that looked somewhat… organic.

The hooves also didn’t knock on the ground anymore, making a sound as if they were going through mud. With his butt, he touched the surface, and contrary to his assumption that his trousers would get wet by sticky slime, it was dry. But one thing was for sure - they had now reached the lair of the insects. Again he heard the humming of many wings, way louder than when the twenty or so had attacked. Of these, there were only about fifteen left, and he realized that the three he had knocked against the walls were missing. They had just left them behind. Meanwhile, Aura was still on the back of one of the insects, still not awake. That was probably due to that strange spell on her.

Deeper and deeper they delved into the lair before they got to some kind of turnoff. The way before them split into more than five different paths, and the insect that carried Aura and a couple others separated from the group and disappeared down one of the paths. “Where are you taking her?” Thiemo tried to free himself and go after her, but the hostage-takers only bit harder, forcing him to remain still.

Not one of them cared to respond as they carried him down another way. He tried his best to keep the layout in mind, but they reached more branch-offs, and without leaving behind marks, he had no chance. His nightmares were now centred on being trapped in a labyrinth without a map. Never had he thought that this would ever happen. That said, he never thought that he would also be swarmed by black pony-insects. He hoped with everything he had that Aura wouldn’t be harmed and was only in another cell.

Finally, they reached a large door which was also of organic origin. It consisted of several leaves which were twisted into each other to block the way. However, as they approached, the leaves cleared and revealed the view of a gigantic hall. Hundreds of the insects flew around, carrying something in their grotesque snouts or their backs. Others had armor like the leader of their little group, and some seemed small, like larvae or foals, depending on how this species called its offspring. They dragged him into and down some stairs which led to the centre of the oval-shaped room. Under the roof were big green crystals which reflected a light similar to the horns of the insects. However, these were lapsed as they entered the room.

Fortunately for him, the strange material on the ground was soft, otherwise the journey down the long stairs would have been way more painful. Down in the middle of the room, Thiemo saw the shape of a gigantic insect. It was on all fours and bigger than he on his two legs. There was a long and very warped horn on its head. On its back, the same wings as the others were present, just at an appropriate size. The biggest difference was the mane and the tail this one had. Long, matted, green hair hung down its neck and to the shoulders, leaving the question of gender clear. This was obviously the aforementioned queen. The crown in her mane left no room for doubt as she turned around to Thiemo and his guards. Her eyes were also different as he now realized. They were green and resembled a cat’s.

The insects released him, and he fell on the muddy black surface which seemed to cover everything here. “My queen, we bring you a prisoner.” The leader stepped aside so that Thiemo was only separated by a few steps from the queen.

Both looked at each other for a few seconds. A long tongue went over her lips and her pointy teeth. “Your queen is content with such a rare catch.” Her voice was similar to the soldier, just audibly more feminine and somehow gave impression of her status.

“Not that I am not feeling honoured, which I’m not, but I’d like to be somewhere else right now,” Thiemo remarked, and all the creatures in the room fell into silence. Nothing hummed anymore; none of the creatures even seemed to breathe. The queen lifted her hoof, and as if the ground would fortify itself, she slammed it on the ground.

“Silence, you maggot!” She yelled so loudly that surely everyone had heard her even on the other side of the lair. Thiemo's ears rang although he covered them with his hands. “Don’t you know who you are up against?”

He tried to sound as normal as possible although he felt overwhelming panic. The organic material everywhere seemed to be controlled by her will, and her horn didn’t seem dull either. “Well, as your hideousness may have realized, I’m not really from the region.” Silence again. “No, I have no clue. Should I?” The queen seemed in highly offended; her subjects outraged. Never before had he pissed off so many creatures at once. If this wasn't such a dangerous situation, he would have given himself a congratulatory pat on the back.

The horn of the queen glowed in the familiar green, and the same color enclosed him. In the next moment, he felt incredible pain, something that he had been introduced to too often recently, as an invisible force tried to squeeze his body into a ball. “I am Queen Chrysalis, ruler of the changelings and scourge of the Leylands.” Her voice echoed through the room as she triumphantly posed with a hoof on her chest.

As she ended her sentence, the pain faded, allowing him to suck in a few ragged breaths. “Shouldn’t I have heard of you then? I have been in these lands for quite a while a—” She didn’t hesitate to inflict the same spell upon him again, and he felt the overwhelming pressure trying to cave in his chest. If he had been able to open his mouth, only some painful cries would have gotten out.

“I have conquered Canterlot and defeated the Goddess of the Sun. My kind is older than time itself, and you dare insult me, human?” It was probably not so good an idea to piss them off, but he still considered himself too proud to kiss ass.

Furthermore, he wasn’t good at it since his mouth often worked to betray his mind. “And yet we sit in a cave in this no man's land.” The agitated twitching of one of her eyelids told him that he hit a nerve and braced for another round of pain, but it failed to appear.

He slowly looked up cautiously at her. The other insects also seemed to expect the same reaction as he did. “We are about to leave this place anyway. Nothing holds us any longer in this lair.” That explained all the packed changelings, which seemed like a rather strange name for a species. They were setting out.

Aside from the sort of unlucky position of the lair, nothing seemed wrong with it. At least not for Thiemo's limited knowledge of homes of insects. Said knowledge he only had because, as a kid, he found it funny to destroy the housing of the ants in their garden. Magnifier, hose, and shovel were his instruments of torture. Maybe these insects could get to know them as well. If they left him alone with his talismans in a cell, he would make sure of it if only because of Aura. “Why the road trip? Is the exterminator coming?”

She was more than obviously unnerved by him, but for some unexplainable reason, he was still alive and not in her stomach… yet. Or in a cell. “No sane being would stay near Equestria. Not after the wave of chaotic magic which was set off a month ago.” Her snout was nearly in his face. ”I am only bringing my kin to safety before it is too late."

It was more than clear. Queen Chrysalis was afraid. It was written in her face, at least there where he could read. The anatomy of the creatures of this world was still partially a mystery to him. A combination of pony and insect features did not make it easier either. “Actually, we were on our way there. So how about you let us go and we never see each other again?” She seemed to seriously consider it.

She looked across the room and then back to him. “I have no practical use of you, human. At this point, I have tried several times to consume your love, but nothing happens although I can feel it. Your love for your friend Deerling and the foal named Aura.” She knew much, and he was stunned. Was that part of her spell she had just used on him? “I also know that zebras showed you the way of the shaman and that you have dozens of talismans under your coat.” Instantly, the armoured changeling ripped said coat off.

“My apologies, my queen.” Thiemo wanted to grab the coat and beat the changeling while doing so, but he knew that he was in no position to do that and settled for grumbling curses under his breath. Together with the coat, the changeling walked up the stairs they had come down. Now his ace was taken too.

“However,” she continued, “you know the position of our lair. Even if we don’t come back in the next thousand years, it’s still a secret base.” Again she slid her tongue over her lips. “Also, it has long been since a human last got lost to us. And no one could resist my charm.” Thiemo asked himself what she could mean, as her charm was more like a screeching chainsaw.

“First of all, it was your people who hypno-spelled my daughter,” He knew that that was no word, but still, “to lure us here, and now you don’t have any use for us?” She started circling Thiemo, and the changelings made way for her.

“Humans have gone rare in these days.” Her tongue circled around her lips again in what apparently was supposed to be a sensual fashion. “And they have some characteristics which can benefit my race to offset the fact that we can’t feed off of them.” So she meant literally eating love. He was frightened just by the thought how she could drill her fangs into his throat. On the other hand, it was better than a sparkling vampire. “You should know I have a special ability from that which gives us our name.” Her whole body burst into green flames. Instinctually, he covered himself with his hands. Heat and searing burning failed to appear though, and he looked up in astonishment as Deerling had now taken her place. “We can change into any being that inhabits this world," the deer said with the same rough voice as the queen. “This helps us to feed and to naturally increase our population.” His brain was on its way to overheating. A species which fed off love had to create more?

How could they achieve that? Just change into an already loved person and take their place. Evolution wouldn’t be what it was if they couldn’t make an advantage out of that and kill two birds with one stone. The genes of this race had to be very adjustable, and even if it weren’t, they all had magic.

He gulped. “Do you mean to say you’re compatible with every race?”

The smile on her face grew wider. “We are a smart cookie, aren’t we?” Slowly, she continued her round. “Although sex may be only a side product, the means to an end, it doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it.” He prayed to God, even as a self-confessed atheist, that it wouldn’t end with what she was suggesting. “Stallions, though, barely hold out for three minutes, which is rather unamusing for us mares.” She focused him again. “Humans instead have proven to me that they last much longer. It makes it so much more fun if both parties profit, don’t you think?” Again she covered herself in flames and took her old form.

Thiemo's mind was empty. He forced himself to not imagine what this thing was asking him to. “And what if I refuse?” She seemed a little surprised since she usually was probably not used to resistance. On the other hand, he was surprised too. Clichés really were an annoying thing.

“Well, as you won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, you’ll have all the time of the world to think about my offer.” She nodded to the changelings on the stairs and again he was escorted. “In a cell.” Of course not in a comfortable suite with a big ass bed and swimming pool. Not that he had his hopes high. Again they bit his limbs and dragged him up the stairs.

Chrysalis turned around, and with a swift move, she waved her tail aside with what seemed to be a wince. He had seen dozens of naked ponies and other creatures for that matter. Clothes were not standard after all, which is why he also was untouched by it. However, it was new for a creature of this world to offer herself to him. For most, he was the monster.

They went back through the door of leaves and down another corridor. Just as the humming disappeared in the distant, he fell down. “No one talks like that with our queen,” spoke one of the insects, and hard hooves made contact with his ribs, then met his face, and finally got to know his wounded leg. Up until then, he tried to not make it a pleasure for them and clenched his teeth, but as they hurt his leg, he couldn’t hold it in any more. After some minutes and dozens of new bruises, they started to drag him down the path again. Their teeth were hardly distinguishable from the other injuries which were calling for his attention with fresh, pulsing pain.

The tunnels passed by as a single colour before they arrived at multiple strange doors, only that these were smaller. As they reached the last, the door opened, and he was thrown roughly inside. The laugh of the changelings was still audible as the door closed, and he slumped down, exhausted and beaten, on his back. “Great, the day can only get better.” He raised his right arm, and with the other hand, he slid over the bruises and bite wounds.

“Who dares to enter the cell of the Great and Powerful Trixie?” He twitched. Anything but this. He knew the voice, the name, and the annoying, bull-headed, and self-loving mare to which it belonged.

Thiemo sighed and facepalmed as the arm was already up.

“Me and my darn big mouth.”

*** ~ [Apple Bloom & BlackGryph0n - Beat It] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original characters, background, designs and theme © at Hasbro and the rightful owners. Please support the series and the creators.

Chapter I - Intermission 2 - Obscure Business

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The activity in the marketplace of Dragmire reached its peak by mid-day. Thousands of possible clients ran around the booths of the merchants. Old magical artefacts banned by the very goddesses of Equestria, rare gems of doubtful origins, or life itself - everything could be purchased with the right amount of bits, something a small blue unicorn with a whitish mane was trying to gain.

Trixie, the Great and Powerful, stood on her tiny wooden stage and cried out, “Come and see magic the likes of which you’ve never seen before! Gaze at the arcane arts of the inimitable," fireworks flew into the air, highlighting every boast, “talented Great and Powerful Trixie!” The lights transitioned into a massive finale and set the night sky on fire.

As they faded, the unicorn waited for the rapturous applause that she was more than certain would come, but all she got was the ever-constant mumbling. In front of her stage stood two gryphons, who eyed her sceptically. “Perhaps I can enlighten your simple minds?” She leaned downwards to them. “Or do you doubt my power?” The two exchanged a quick look and laughed.

“That’s not even real magic," one said and tapped his buddy’s shoulder with his claw. “I have seen diamond dogs create better lights with gems.” The other nodded his agreement.

Trixie's light-blue fur around her face grew red with anger, but she caught herself as she cleared her throat. “You think I am no mighty magician?” Their grins were a clear sign that they did, in fact, think so. “I say that I can do any and everything you can, just better. Come! Test my power.” She was sure of herself. They were gryphons, and just like pegasi, they were not able to cast magic. Actually, they were even less talented than pegasi since they could only move clouds but was unable to make them rain or use them to create lightning. She was more than confident that she could beat them in every discipline, any challenge their feeble minds could manage to dredge up.

The gryphons brought their heads together and began to confer amongst themselves. Filing her hooves, she patiently waited for them to come up with something. Finally, both grinned and went back to the stage. “Well then, let’s see you even try to do this, little pony,” said one while the other flapped into the air and made a loop. As he landed, he gave his buddy a high-five.

“Ha! That’s supposed to be a challenge?” Trixie asked tauntingly and smirked. Beating these two idiots would be easy. Both eyed her as she activated her horn, waiting for her to take off into the air.

Instead, the stunt pilot began to yell. “Hey! What are you doing?” His buddy, who just had a confident smirk all over his face, looked in astonishment to him as he noticed that he wasn’t there anymore. Instead, he hung in the air, held there by Trixie’s magic. “Let me down!” He struggled to move his limbs, but couldn’t fight off her magic. Trixie then proceeded to increase the magic, and her victim suddenly started moving. Slowly, he started spinning on the spot, and with a nod of her head, the gryphon followed her movement, spinning high up in the air while doing loop after loop.

She ignored his panicked screams since he had wings. The gryphon would catch himself before he’d hit the ground, whenever that may be. “That was clearly more than just a loop, and furthermore, he flew much further. The Great and Powerful Trixie wins this round," she declared triumphantly and let another firework off.

The remaining competitor was busy trying to comprehend what had happened as she celebrated. However, as gryphons were wont to do, he found his voice back quickly. “That was mean, and you cheated.”

The unicorn looked from her stage down at him so that her snout nearly made contact with his beak. “Were rules mentioned?” Again she reared up and set off fireworks. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is too great and powerful to play along with rules!” The young gryphon was visibly angry but seemed to have enough respect for her to hold back. She inwardly burst into joy when he turned around and ran off. “See the Great and Powerful Trixie who just defeated two gryphons on her own!” She looked at the surrounding crowd, but they were busy with other things. “Hey!” she yelled and tapped a dragon on his shoulder. “What’s going on here? Why does no one care for Trixie?”

But what she got was only him pointing at a being as tall as he. Never before had Trixie seen such creature. On its head rested a straw hat, the eyes covered by goggles like the kind pegasi often wore. It had no fur, only a brown mane which grew over his strangely round ears. It seemed strange to her that the ears were at the side of the head, not on top of it. Maybe it was a monster? The rest of the body was covered with cloth; the biggest part was an orange cape. In the one hand, it had a metal staff, and with the other, he shoved himself through the crowd. Since that thing gathered attention solely through its presence, she made a decision: she’d defeat it, no matter what.

tio presents

My little pony

Journey

~ Intermission 2 - Obscure Business ~

Thiemo was sort of disappointed. After all the tales from the captain about the gigantic black market around which a city emerged that covered the whole island, he had imagined more. Yeah, the market was big, but definitely not as big as he expected in a magical world. He'd already seen similar markets from the camels and zebras, only that this was more colourful. Dragons, gryphons, jackals, and diamond dogs inhabited the place. Besides that, the offered goods were the only difference. The prices were more than reasonable, a clear indicator of stolen stuff. He had already bought a couple of things, a magical lamp among others. He had no fear of law enforcement. He had been told that this island belonged to dragons, and not even the godlike princesses of Equestria dared to order the dragons. They were simply happy when they stayed away from their kingdom.

So, all in all, he only had to care for himself. He was told to avoid dark alleys like all visitors. It was one of the two big rules here. The second one was just as logical. Don’t mess with dragons. Gryphons were violent, and their claws were so sharp that they could tear through light armor. Make that ten times larger, add the ability to breathe fire, and you would get a dragon. It was one hell of a reason to not start a fight. It was probably this fear which kept the place running. In a city full of criminals, order had to be maintained, and breaking the law was their profession. So why not just skip the trials and execute the judgment?

He again turned around one of the many corners in the city. Everyone who had wanted to settle here seemingly had just built where they felt like it, causing the city to resemble a labyrinth. 'The perfect place for someone without orientation,' the human thought to himself as he inspected the goods of one of the infinite amount of booths.

The whole thing reminded him of the Middle East. The houses were made from some kind of mud and clay and were supported by massive wooden frames. The booths in front of them were of the same material, just much slighter. A burning match could transform most of them into dust with ease. They all were roofed by a bright canvas, more to protect from the sun rather than rain. The only thing that wasn’t present was dust. The roads were tamped down, the stones looking close to a piece of art that way. All in all, he couldn’t have said what this city resembled if he hadn't been told. “How much for some sapphires?” he asked the diamond dog behind the goods he had just finished browsing. In his hand, he held three adequate stones he would turn into amulets later on as he was always low on them.

The old dog slowly opened his eyes, estimating the cost. “Four bits. Ten for all.” Thiemo nodded and handed over the money. The golden coins were bitten to prove its authenticity and disappeared under the table before the dog dozed away again. Happy with his purchase, Thiemo went his way, reaching a larger plaza eventually. The town consisted solely of large broad streets which led from one place to the next. On this one, some traveling artists had settled. Music reached his ear, and he saw audiences gathered around a couple of booths. It came like it always did. In a place where the visitors desired exotic entertainment, he was spotted within seconds by someone, who then continued to alarm his buddy. Like a wildfire, the news of his arrival had spread around, and soon he was the centre of attention.

“Uhm, excuse me.” He carefully started making his way through the gawking crowd. “Sorry.” In every city he had been to so far, it had become a familiar experience. The moment when the inhabitants realized that something unknown had walked right under their eyes could be disconcerting. The first times it had happened, Deerling and a couple of soldiers accompanied him to calm the local population. The last time he had this feeling was when his friend had introduced him to the leader of the caravan, Kamal.

After some minutes of pushing and offering apologies, he found a rather empty spot on the plaza and sighed. The attention peeled off him when the performing artists had seen enough and continued their work. “Make room!” he heard from the direction he had come from. “Out of the way!” Judging by the voice, it was a female of unknown race. She had probably tried, like him, to force herself through the crowd, only that she had less success. “Stand aside, you brute.” A diamond dog was shoved aside, and a pony stepped out. Thiemo had already met some ponies, but only pegasi. They were stationed everywhere to control the weather, passively giving Equestria power over the other races.

However, this time it was a unicorn, the first one he had ever seen. The books back in the university had described them as noble exemplars. However, the way the mare just pushed her way through and nearly tripped gave a different impression. In the last moment, her forehooves prevented said fall, and with the yelling of an angry dog behind her, she marched further towards him. Her face was filled with enthusiasm. Thiemo was no different, as his whole journey was to find a unicorn he could ask about magic, and this mare was virtually the definition of magic. Her light blue fur in combination with her white mane resembled the color humans usually visualized magic as. Her blue, star studded magic hat and cape completed the picture.

Thiemo thought that maybe his quest had already found its end here. This pony could know a spell to get him home. Or she could even teach him some magic so he could develop the spell himself. Either way, it was the first step in the right direction. “You there, creature!” She pointed her hoof at him and made large, confident steps towards him. “I challenge you to a magic duel!”

He had expected many things. Maybe she would have wanted samples like the zebras. Or even simpler, she would only want to know what he was. Maybe she even sensed his unique potential. One could always dream after all. He expected much but not a challenge. “What?” he answered confusedly. She had spoken so loudly that they were the focus of attention once again.

“Are you deaf, creature? I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, challenge you to a duel.” Every word was punctuated by a hail of fireworks set off by her magic. The unicorn looked around, her grin growing wider. Unlike Thiemo, she seemed to enjoy the attention.

He adjusted his hat so that his eyes were in the shadows and lifted his hands in defence. “I don’t know what I’ve done to provoke you. I don’t want to fight you. However, I’ve been searching for a unicorn to teach me about magic.” She bowed forward, the horn aimed at him.

“Trixie shares her knowledge with no one. If you want it, you must defeat Trixie first.” That sounded rather logical. What master would accept an apprentice who didn’t prove that he was worthy? At least that was what Thiemo thought as he shrugged his shoulder, activated the talisman around his neck, and shot an ice ball at her. He still stood with his outstretched hand as the lapis lazuli faded. The projectile hit its target, and the mare went down. It struck her head straight on and curved into her shoulder. The right leg then failed to hold the weight. The audience was perplexed but started to applaud and laugh.

“See how great and powerful the little pony is," a red dragon with yellow spikes yelled. “All it took was one ice ball from this thing here.” Now the applause faded completely, leaving only the laughter behind. Thiemo was still astonished that that was all he needed to disable a unicorn. Unicorns were known as good magicians, and a shield spell or short-range-teleportation shouldn’t be a problem for them.

Hesitantly, he walked over to her and stooped down. “Hey, are you okay?” Carefully, he poked her with his staff, whereupon her eyes burst open. The public was still laughing as she started to once again become aware of her surroundings.

Her eyes narrowed to slits as she stood up. “How dare you attack the Great and Powerful Trixie, you ruffian?” Her horn flashed, and Thiemo was thrown through the air, landing roughly. His bag pressed into his back, and he moaned in pain. The wounds the gryphons had afflicted on the Setting Sun hadn't quite healed yet.

The audience fell silent and waited for what would happen next as Thiemo picked himself up. “You challenged me to a duel, didn’t you? So what’s your problem?” Thiemo threw his backpack off and readied himself to fight off further attacks with his staff.

“Has no one ever told you what a magic duel is?” Trixie asked angrily. Thiemo just shook his head, which caused her to sigh. “A magic duel is a duel of the arts, not of force. First Trixie casts a spell, and you’ll do the same spell afterwards. Then you use a spell, which Trixie will, of course, be capable of matching. That is repeated until you fail, which won’t take long.” She stroked through her mane and stuck her nose up in a snooty fashion. “Since you disrespected Trixie, I, for once, will settle with being second in order. You can consider yourself lucky.” Her horn glowed again, and a shadow suddenly fell over him. He looked up. Where the sun had just been, a single dark cloud now took its place. He could still hear Trixie laughing before a pebble-like volley came down on him. Instinctively, he protected his head with his arms as the icy hailstones dashed down. They were so cold that they burned and fell too fast to avoid. Of course, that was also because the cloud followed him as he stepped aside.

Until now, Thiemo had tried getting along with the unicorn. Maybe she knew something or someone who could help him, but now he was done. She had forced him to duel and then complained when she lost, just to do the same thing afterwards as he just did? Adding the fact that she was arrogant and stuck-up, he didn’t want to put up with any of that. He reached his staff upwards and stirred the cloud, which disappeared shortly after. “Okay, I’m done. I’m not playing along with you anymore. I came here to learn about magic, not to get hit on by some third-class street magician.” He reached for another talisman that hung around his wrist and released the power of the sapphire. Trixie, on the other side, was packed with anger, made visible by the quick attack which followed up the insult. Before Thiemo could react, he was hit in the stomach region by a magical ray. He had to step back to avoid falling over, but that was about it. “What? That was all?”

Trixie fired more rays, and all hit their target without doing serious damage. It was rather like a five year old who tried fighting with an adult — somehow cute but rather annoying, especially when the attacks accidentally found their way into a region where getting hit was always unpleasant, no matter the force. That was the moment where Thiemo used his talisman and accelerated twice as fast towards her and smacked her with his staff. Immediately, the magical attacks stopped, and she looked at her opponent, jaw dropped. “What have you done?” She closed her eyes, concentrating to cast a spell, but other than a few sparks, nothing happened. A hit on the horn of a pony disarranged the magical system in their bodies due to the sudden pain. Thus it took some time until they recovered.

“I blocked your magic, at least for a few minutes.” He pulled the staff back and laid it over his shoulder. “Would you now please explain to me what the purpose of that was?” The crowd that had gathered now broke up as they realized that the fight was over.

“I am the Great and Powerful Trixie! Trixie challenges everyone to prove how great she is!” she explained. Thiemo took a step back when she stood up on her hind legs and kicked her forelegs, this time without fireworks.

He waited until she settled. “And have you already defeated someone?” Thiemo slowly started understanding the character before him. It was all just show. More mirrors than real magic. This unicorn probably didn’t even know a handful of spells. Probably just enough to entertain a children’s birthday party. She reminded him of those people who wore their trousers around their knees and talked as much as the day was long, so long as they had twenty buddies behind them. “I mean, your attacks didn’t even injure me.”

She started to become visibly nervous, if the darting eyes and sweat were any indication. “Of course! I would never hurt an opponent in front of an audience. It would harm my reputation.” She took a deep breath. “But of course, Trixie has defeated enemies. She has not only fought off one, but two Ursa Majors and has also won against the personal student of princess Celestia in a duel.” Although he had no clue what exactly an Ursa Major was, guessing by the name, it was some kind of bear. However, defeating the student of one of most powerful and known magical creatures was different.

Maybe he could learn from her after all. “You wouldn’t mind telling me, over lunch, one or two things about magic? I am on a journey to study it.” She may not have been strong, but weaker enemies were usually artful and clever. Even if her experience was just second class, she could teach him the one or two things for sure. Although her mannerisms annoyed him to no end. “I'll pay.”

The unicorn thought for several seconds with her hoof at her snout but finally relented. “Trixie accepts your surrender and is satisfied with your offer as redemption for your sudden attack.” Yes, his assumption was pretty close. With a sigh, he turned around and looked for his backpack. However, it wasn’t where he had left it.

“Hey Trixie, did you do something with my backpack?” he asked her over his shoulder.

“Trixie is not interested in what a strange creature like you calls his own,” she replied coldly as he searched the ground, worried that a spell had sent it away. Still, he couldn’t see it anywhere due to the sheer amount of people in this place. Someone could have kicked against it when they fought, or it had got stuck somewhere. He facepalmed. Or it had been stolen, which was pretty likely when considering what this town was famous for. Quickly, he jumped on a pile of chests near one of the booths and took in an overview the place.

Then he saw it. In a gap in the crowd, a small orange something had his bag. “Hey, you there!” he yelled and aimed his staff at the thief. “That’s my backpack!” As the thief realized that it was spotted, it vanished into a smaller side street. “Damn.” He jumped off the pile. “We'll meet here later, Trixie. I've got to get my money back,” he said as he dodged and squeezed his way through the crowd towards the small alley.

*** ~ [Lostprophets - Everyday Combat] ~ ***
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Chapter I - Act 3.1 - The Love Nest

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Amaryllis was bored. Sure, watching over her brothers and sisters was an honour and a joy, or at least that was what her mother had said. Still, it was not what she had hoped for in life. She was young but certainly not a hatchling anymore. She wanted to leave the hive to see what the world had to offer. But she couldn’t, not when her kin was so weak, not when her mother needed her. Torn between her thoughts, she sat on the throne from where she could oversee the main hall and watched the black figures doing their daily work.

Some swarmed out to renew parts of the hive while others were filled with freshly harvested love on their way to the brood chambers. One day, it would be her eggs they would nourish, others, her nymphs. But as of now, it was those of her mother, and they would stay that way for a long time. Changelings didn’t age like other beings; not the drones, not her, and not her mother. The drones lived as long as they had enough love, but without it, they would decay to dust. They literally dried out until only a chitin husk was left behind. Her mother had made her watch the process multiple times to show her how subjects should be treated if they were to fail.

For weeks she had had nightmares until her wet nurse had told her that she was different. She was her princess, the daughter of Queen Chrysalis. She and her mother could survive without love for quite some time. Only her powers would suffer. A queen was way more durable than a drone after all.

“My Princess.” A soldier had, without her noticing, entered the hall and bowed before her. “Queen Chrysalis wishes for you to join her in the landing bay. She says she has very good news for all changelings.” Curious of what good could happen in this wasteland, except that somebody got lost, she stood up.

“Bring me to my mother," she commanded her brother, even if it was more of a symbolic relation. Queens could give birth in two ways. One way was to create drones and soldiers. They could lay eggs, out of which larvae hatched, which would evolve into what she currently glared at. Then there was the option to reproduce like every other species, only that then a new queen would always emerge. However, they always led to problems since wanting to be the sole ruler was in their very nature. Thus it was more than just natural that she had begun to argue with her mother more frequently as time went on. It meant that her time was near. Either she would leave the hive with a few workers and build her own or kill her mother in a fight for control. Still, Amaryllis couldn’t see herself doing that. She wasn't her mother, and the bond to her was strong although Chrysalis had always seen this as a weakening side effect of her origin.

After a short walk through the comfortable dark halls, they reached the landing bay of the hive. The crack which created the path was not far from here, and everything that wanted to pass had to go through this chamber. This way, they ensured that threats wouldn’t enter unnoticed. “You called for me, my queen?” She bowed and looked in her mother’s eyes. Long gone was the time where she could address her as such.

The queen turned around with a satisfied grin on her face. “Ah, my daughter. My joy could hardly be any greater, and I want to share it with you.” She applied her horn to her daughter’s, and a tiny spark of love jumped from the queen. It was more than rare that she did so. Usually drones were the ones who distributed food.

“Thank you, my queen. To what do I owe the honour and your rather content temper?” For the last couple of weeks, she had been almost desperately trying to get as far away from Equestria as possible, and her temper showed so more than clearly. Changelings were very emphatically gifted, but reading the emotions of the queen was out of their ability. Only another real queen was able to do so.

“A glorious new era dawns, for a being that will help me regain our old strength walked into a trap of my soldiers.” Amaryllis only rolled her eyes as Chrysalis broke out into maniacal laughter. “A human is locked in one of our cells at this very moment,” she said after she recovered from her fit.

A human was one of the rarest creatures in Equestria. Precious little was known about them, but it was known that they were immune against the changelings' ability to drain love. Ponies had all kinds of tales about them, the most common being that they were dark creatures who had escaped Tartarus. However, her mother had told her how things really were. A human could be the best thing for a queen. Due to their immunity, they could be used as a long-term partner to boost the population. “A human? What do you plan to do with him?” The answer was obvious.

“Hmph, it should be obvious. I’ll use him to build an army, with whose help I’ll conquer a land and make it our home.” Once again, a gleeful smile crossed her face. “A land far away from those ponies and their disgusting magic of friendship. But first, dear daughter, I want you to show him his new home.” Amaryllis was a bit surprised, but it was better than sitting around all day and playing princess. “Show him the family he’ll spend the rest of his days with. Make him familiar with our kind and especially make him ready for me.”

tio presents

My little pony

Journey

~ Act 3.1 - The Love Nest ~

Her mother's laughter was still ringing in her ears long after she had left the landing bay and the first crossings. It was a rare occasion to see her in such a good mood, but after some time, it had quickly become tiring. The laughter and the never ending talks about her plans didn’t only annoy her, but also her siblings. As usual, the drones had to endure it without complaint.

She turned onto the passage that led to the cells and asked one of the soldiers who guarded her, “What can you tell me about the human?” Neither of the two answered, unsure as to who had been addressed. As she looked to the right one, he stiffened, suddenly finding walking a challenge. “I ask again: what can you tell me about the human?”

The changeling seemed young, probably just out of training. “Uhm... General Switch found him with his unit in the desert and hexed the foal he had with him. He followed her right to our hive and fell down the cliff.” They again turned around a corner and finally reached the cells. “When his unit returned a bit later, the human seemed merely injured and defended himself with a staff and something like magic. He was able to put three soldiers out of combat.” Should a soldier lose in a fight, he was useless to the swarm. He had to prove himself again by offering something that would make him worthy again. Oftentimes, that translated into a lot of love or even a being they could feed off of for some time. So she lost three brothers; that didn’t really trouble her. What was more interesting was that the human had supposedly used magic. Never had her mother mentioned that they were capable of such. Had this one found a way to use it despite his natural disability? The day was quickly becoming increasingly interesting by the second.

The other soldier opened the door, and the cells became visible. They were also locked through the same chitin mechanism, the material their shells were made of. The workers learned to produce it and used it for the hive. Thus, most doors were made of this rather hard material. Still, Amaryllis never understood why this appealed to her siblings. Due to her origin, she was different. Not like her mother, but even more deviant. Oh, she had no doubt gotten her figure from her mother, but the rest of her appearance was clearly from her pony father. For starters, her black skin was covered by a just as dark hair, even if it was not that long. Also, she had none of the holes in her hooves like any of the other changelings. Finally, she lacked the crown. Every changeling queen grew one naturally, but she was an exception. If it wouldn’t be for her bent horn, the wings on her back, and the fangs in her mouth, she could be disguised as a pony even without any transformation. She wasn’t much taller than ponies, reaching just to her mother’s chin, whereas her siblings reached her chest.

Why she was like this was known by neither her nor her mother. Maybe Chrysalis had been too weak while she was pregnant, and her genes hadn’t really kicked in. Maybe it was because of the spell which threw her out of Canterlot. No sane changeling would ever mention it before the queen, and she had accepted her differences long ago.

Slowly, they approached the last cell. Before they reached it, they heard arguing. “... And is it my fault that your plan failed? The Great and Powerful Trixie makes no mistakes! It was obviously your bad plan since the...” The princess faced the soldiers questioningly. Didn’t they catch a male? The voice she had just heard from the cell clearly sounded like a female. That would enrage her mother and certainly cast a damper on her good mood, as such a find would be useless.

“Sorry, Princess,” the soldier said, “but all our cells were taken, and thus we had to house him with another prisoner.” Now that the confusion was solved, she signalled for him to open the door. Cautious, and probably a bit intimidated due to the yelling in the cell, the young soldier stepped up to the door and magicked it open. Immediately, he got hit in the face, fell to the ground, and remained there. Next to him was a piece of wood which probably belonged to one of the beds in the cell.

“Damn.” This time Amaryllis could clearly hear the masculine voice. “You can’t just dodge! I could have injured that poor changeling there.”

“Do you mean to say that you put a changeling's safety above that of the Great and Powerful Trixie's?!”

“Always! At least they don’t backstab you.” The princess was stunned, though not in a bad way. She had to suppress the urge to laugh. Curiously, she hopped over the unconscious guard and looked into the cell. The few pieces of furniture, comprising of a bed and a small table, were destroyed far beyond the point where they could be repaired. The empty plate that was also made of chitin had a dent, judging by the form, of a hoof it had blocked. In the middle of the chaos stood the human, a long orange cloak that was more like a cape around his neck. It also wore a brown robe and a pair of blue trousers that succeeded in concealing most of its strange body from her eyes. His right leg was on another bed post, just like the one the soldier just took to the face. He bent forward, pressing his nose against the snout of the mare. She had light blue fur, a nearly white mane, and a cape. Furthermore, she had a hat of the sort unicorns had worn a few hundred years ago. Amaryllis had found several illustrations of such in the books of her mother when she was younger.

“Trixie didn’t know you! How would Trixie have known that you wouldn’t sell her out? Humans don’t really have the best reputation,” she shot back and shoved her snout against his nose.

“You didn’t have problems trusting me when you didn’t know what I was.” He tapped a finger of his against her chest, whereupon she struck his hand away.

“Excuse me?” As entertaining as all this was, her mother had given her a task, and she wanted to execute it sooner rather than later.

“What!?” they yelled simultaneously and turned their angry faces on her. They looked at her and she stared back, a bit out of contempt. She didn’t know what to say since no one had ever spoken like that to her. In the seconds of awkward silence, one of the soldiers made his way into the cell. While doing so, he nearly tripped, as the larger Amaryllis used up most of the entrance space.

“Show some respect towards the Princess.” He pointed his spear at the inmates of the cell. “Or I’ll teach you some.” The human straightened and looked from the soldier and back to Amaryllis, who looked back with similar confusion.

“Great, first the Queen and now the Princess. Tell the king that my ass stays a virgin!”

***

Thiemo was done. His mangled leg throbbed in pain, he was imprisoned by bugs, Aura was god knows where, and it still wasn’t enough that a changeling queen wanted to use him as a slave for her perverted desires. No, her daughter seemed to want to jump right on the bandwagon. At least she looked more like a pony and less like an insect that would lay her eggs in his stomach.

“King? We have no king.” At least a part of him was safe, and so he made himself a promise. Should he get out of here, he would burn his magazines. Alone, the imagination of what must have happened down here was enough for a long time, and that didn’t account for his trauma.

But something else really bugged him right now. “But you have a father?" he asked the princess, and she nodded. “Thus you have something like a king if you are a princess.” A light growl came to his ears, and he looked to the soldier again who still had his spear targeted at them. He obviously didn’t like the way he spoke to his princess. Slowly, Thiemo moved the weapon with the tip of his finger toward the mare next to him.

“My mother is the only ruler. We are not known for having a partner for long since we feed off emotions. They usually don’t last very long.” Thiemo saw her sharp teeth as she spoke and thought of another reason they didn’t last very long. “Besides, queens search for males of other species to use their characteristics.” Great, regarding their ruler, they were Americans. Only one who was born a changeling could be a ruler. Well, and seemingly a queen. At least they were, unlike others in the room, not xenophobic.

With this new information in mind, he eyed the princess again. “Then I suppose your father was a pony?” She almost looked like an over-dimensional pony, or had just really grown tall, thus the assumption seemed likely.

“I, though, am not here to mate with you. I am not entitled that right. My mother only asked me to introduce our family and to also prepare you for what awaits you.” Seemingly they thought that he would just accept his fate, but since he had no plan yet, he had to play along.

“What’s with all this talk about mating?” Trixie asked, visibly confused.

“It seems the queen has fallen for my charms and elected me as her new partner.” Her jaw dropped wide open.

“It is rather the qualities of your species which—”

“Halt!” he interrupted the princess.

“What?”

“Let me have some fun.” He nodded over to Trixie who was still staring bug-eyed at the air in disbelief. Amaryllis sighed.

“Then follow me now, human; we still have a tour to do.” Walking with his aching leg didn’t really appeal to him, but at least he’d get out of the cell and be rid of Trixie. Maybe he could also find out how Aura was doing. Thiemo hobbled more than walked past the guard and stood up to the princess.

“Uhm... Ripley.” He reached out his hand.

“Hey!” And there it was again, the annoying, grating voice of Trixie that could cause any sane man to feel the need to strangle something. “You told the Great and Powerful Trixie your name is Baloo. Captain Baloo.” He had already forgotten about that. Back then, it was more or less of a joke to him, especially since he didn’t want to tell any of the smugglers his real name. Not much had changed since then.

“I have requested a change of name. I didn’t like the old one anymore,” he said dryly as he held his hand out to the princess.

“I am Princess Amaryllis,” she introduced herself. “I am happy to welcome a new member in the ranks of our family.” Thiemo didn’t know where or when he had signed, but he knew the exit. As soon as he had even a vague guess where Aura was, he would buzz off. Too bad that Chrysalis had taken away his talismans. Now it looked like he had to climb if he wanted to leave the cell again. Even with his leg, he was sure he would be able to do so.

The behaviour of the queen made it clear that she wouldn’t mate in his cell. The mere thought of that made him gulp. She would surely bring him into her chamber, especially since not much of the bed in the cell was left. If that happened, he only would need to get rid of the guards and free he would be. At least Trixie would not be there to witness his potential humiliation. Small comforts.

“Follow me...” The princess turned around and cleared the entrance. Thiemo did as asked and followed her into the hallway. At least these strange doors were big enough for him; they were probably made for their queen when she… visited her prisoners. “Not you.” He looked back and saw as she ordered the second guard to hold his distance. “Care for your brother and make sure he’s conscious when you leave the cells.” With that said, the door closed, and Amaryllis caught up to him.

“Why is he getting taken care of but not the other three I injured?” Somehow he had some sympathy for them. They had only executed their orders, and even Chrysalis, from what he had heard of her, didn’t seem bad per se. Maybe a bit self-opinionated, megalomaniacal, and a sex-hungry beast – literally - but vicious? That was rather a description for lesser beings or for gryphons.

The princess' horn glowed, soon being enveloped by the same pinkish-purple aura as her mane and eyes. Shortly, the door which led out of the cell wing opened. “Well,” she started as she stepped into the next hallway. Thiemo followed her, wondering why she would make such a long pause. When they crossed half the way, and the door behind them closed, she continued, “My mother acts without mercy. Those who fail her are banished or locked into a cell to dry out. Even if that was only an accident, he’d suffer the same fate as any other changeling. I wanted to spare him from that death.”

“Dry out?” Actually, he was busier studying the way than listening to her. Somewhere in here was Aura.

“We feed on love as I’ve said already. If a drone runs out of it, she dries out and dies. Mother guaranteed me that it is painful.” So he had signed three, nearly four changeling’s death sentences. Usually, violence didn’t disturb him as long as it wasn’t directed at him, but killing, even if indirectly, was sort of different. Killing just wasn’t his way. Although he had learned in his shaman training that death was a part of life, he felt uncomfortable. He was no religious man, but believed that he should treat others the way he wanted to be treated. In his defence, the gryphons always started the fights, and Trixie was Trixie. She deserved it, in his opinion. One more reason to regret missing her.

“Aha...” His view lowered to the mud-like ground. “On what are we walking on by the way?” Somehow, he refrained from touching it. The way it appeared made it seem almost alive.

Again her horn glowed, and the ground started radiating in a bright green. “Moss. It illuminates the hive in the darkness of the night.” It was disgusting and cool at the same time. What kid didn’t love playing with green slime? He just couldn’t remember the name of that stuff. Silently, they walked through the corridors. Most of his questions were answered. He knew where he was, at least roughly, what his hostage-takers wanted from him, which caused a shiver to run down his spine, and that he now was being introduced to his new family.

However, one thing had yet to be clarified. “How exactly do you feed on love? I mean do you suck it out or...?” Brain suckers from outer space up the ass; these came out of the earth, beneath the earth, or somewhere in between.

“Every being creates love for the ones they care for. We take the place of such a loved being. That way, the love is given to us, and so we absorb it, save it, and distribute it to our brothers and sisters.” He paused for a moment.

“I don’t want to sound mean or anything,” maybe a bit, but the last thing he needed was further injuries, “but you don’t really look like a changeling. Not that I am the best to judge since they all look the same to me, but still, the difference is there.”

Amaryllis only giggled and turned around another corner. For a moment, Thiemo was sure that she had just led him past the hall where he met Chrysalis. “We are very well aware of that fact. We change.” He only gave her an inquisitive look as she stopped. “Take a step back.” He did as she asked, and a second later, her figure was enclosed by green flames that radiated an uncomfortable heat. Quickly, he shielded his face and already began to think of how he could explain to her mother that spontaneous combustion was no myth. Then he asked himself whether sex with an alien wasn’t better than death through said alien.

As quickly as the flames came, however, they vanished again, and a young white mare with pink mane and tail took Amaryllis’ place. Thiemo gulped. They were shape shifters. In that same moment, he wanted to slap himself. Changelings - the name was more than explanatory. Like many in this world.

“As you can see, we know to disguise ourselves.” Her voice had changed a bit too. It was higher, making her sound as young as she looked. He waved about her head, only getting weird looks.

“Well, at least no mirrors.” Again Amaryllis giggled. “If you control magic, you surely have books about it, right?” He actually thought that only the queen could transform, but if others could, it was probably some kind of spell.

The princess nodded. “Sure, quite a few actually. Why?” Maybe a short stay wasn’t that bad. If only the sex-hungry queen wouldn’t be so… demanding.

He sighed. That was something he never thought he would mourn.

Chapter I - Act 3.2 - Love Goes His Own Ways

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 3.2 - Love Goes His Own Ways ~

Thiemo couldn’t help but be astonished by the hundreds of changelings emptying the shelves of the gigantic library. The room was lit by the same green moss he had found in the darker tunnels. The shelves, which contained the self-bound books, seemed to be carved into the walls. It was the same with the seats: stones in which holes were carved to fit one’s behind. Naturally, only to fit the hard chitin-covered backs of the changelings.

“That is a lot of books,” Thiemo said in amazement as he temporarily forgot what danger he was actually in. “Are all of these written by changelings?” He took a book from a passing drone’s pile. It showed him an unknown language with countless diagrams as well as illustrations.

“No, our people collected them over thousands of years during their crusades. We gather the knowledge and teach our young only what they need to adapt to every existing culture.” The book flew out of his hand back to the changeling who had already been waiting for it at the exit. Amaryllis was still in her changed shape, but all the changelings who encountered her seemed to recognize her immediately.

“Is it normal to run around in a different shape?” For a race which did so to survive, that was possibly courteous, although he hadn’t seen anyone else like that. Then again, they were all busy moving stuff around since they were about to move. It served as a reminder that he should quickly find a way out of this miserable situation.

“Oh,” Amaryllis said and again was devoured by green fire. Once more, it burnt hot enough that he covered himself with his hands.

“Please be careful; that looks like it could hurt.” The princess blinked at him a few times and giggled. Then she stepped towards him and put her hoof on his shoulder. Shortly after, it was covered in flames again. Thiemo screamed in fear and shook off the hoof while he jumped back.

“Our magical flames may look harmful but are no threat. They are mostly for deterrence. Although changelings have sharp teeth and hard shells, we are neither carnivores nor very persistent.” The princess had to be very confident. Even when her subjects and soldiers were all around, giving out obvious weak spots seemed unwise. The green fire was, until now, the only reason he wouldn’t use physical force against them. Now, as soon as he could get his hands on a weapon or a gem, he could fight his way out. Only Aura was a concern now, and they hadn’t even mentioned her yet. It was a sign that they knew she was the only one who held him at bay.

“So just intimidation?” Amaryllis nodded again.

“Don’t think, though, that we can’t defend ourselves.” This time she had a smirk on her face, revealing her teeth while she leaned towards him. “If we want, we can bite.”

“Are you hitting on me?” Thiemo asked confusedly, now that he had recovered from the shock from not being burned alive.

“Did it work? Mother says stallions are into that. It’s called foreplay.” He blinked, she blinked, and then he blinked again.

“How old are you?” he asked with a stern look. It was a justified question since she reached to about his chin, and when adding the horn, she was as tall as he.

“Ten," she answered and grinned proudly. “I turn eleven this year.” Thiemo rubbed his forehead to fight the slowly coming headache.

“So just to clarify that," he started and faced her with a serious look on his face, “you are ten years old? Basically a half foal?”

Amaryllis calculated. “And fifty additional days to be exact. But I’m not a foal anymore. Our species is mature at the age of eight. From that age, drones set off to gather love, and soldiers fight intruders who could threaten the lair.” Slowly, Thiemo started to understand that these creatures were as similar to insects as to ponies. Quickly growing drones and workers were necessary to build up a hive and an army. Something many insects did. Ants in particular jumped to his mind. “If it interests you, I’ll show you more.”

Thiemo shrugged his shoulder. On the one side, he really didn't want to see any more, but then again, it was his only opportunity to have a look around. “Sure, why not?” They left the library and walked past legions of changelings who carried books and walked in single file. Again, they reminded him of ants that strictly followed a set path.

Amaryllis lit the tunnel ahead, and they walked side by side through the cavernous corridors. This time, it seemed to lead toward the center. Only a few other changelings were around. "This is the school." She pointed at multiple large doors they passed. "Here our nymphs get taught everything they need for life, depending on their predetermined role they have to fulfill." Thiemo couldn't exactly imagine a bulk of these cheesy creatures going to school every morning like well-behaved kids, but this world surprised him every day. Furthermore, if they had as much in common with ponies as it seemed, it was very well possible. At least they only stole love, with the casual exception of a conquest, which had to be some kind of magic. Chrysalis mentioned that she had tried it multiple times during the conversation. So they didn't need to ram their teeth into someone's throat for that.

"How exactly does that work, the draining of love? It just doesn't make sense to me that you can feed off of emotions." They came to yet another crossroad and took the way deeper into the lair. Slowly, he began to feel like the whole lair was just a spiral which drilled deeper into the ground, as he felt the grade of the path the entire time.

Amaryllis stopped in front of another door. "Maybe it's better if I show you." She used her horn and the door retracted. They entered a massive room which contained multiple changelings and what seemed to be the aforementioned nymphs. The older ones were dipping the younger ones into a green liquid. "These are the nurses. They care for the nymphs and feed them." As she spoke, the changelings bowed down before scurrying back to their respective duties. One of the nymphs, who sat in a hole filled with the strange liquid, struggled, and some of the liquid touched the ground. It made a sizzling noise as the liquid burnt into the stone.

"Is that acid?" Thiemo asked while already backing off towards door.

"A harmless one, at least for us. We clean our shells with it." This was some kind of baby bath station, just with acid. "But look." Amaryllis pointed at a nurse on the other side of the cave. She bowed over a young changeling, and her horn projected a constant green ray which connected with the other changeling. This lasted for about ten seconds before it faded, and they proceeded with the bathing. "All emotions create energy, but none more than love. We live on that energy. Even your food has some of it, but it's not efficient. A normal changeling would have to eat thousands of apples to cover his daily dose. And that's what we did until our predecessors discovered that this energy could be syphoned from others. It allowed us to settle instead of scavenging." Ants were maybe not that precise, so maybe locusts? Maybe a mixture of all insects.

"Do your victims suffer?" Amaryllis trembled visibly.

"We don't call them victims. It's true that we are parasitic, but we often also give. We take the place of the recently deceased and stay with the family without them noticing. We let them think they never went away. When the lives of their family end, we return to the lair and share the collected love with our brothers and sisters."

"Shouldn't changelings, then, live much longer than ponies?" He assumed that most had a rather short lifespan considering they were adult within eight years.

Amaryllis opened the door, and the two continued their tour. "Indeed, a changeling is immortal as long as he has energy." Thiemo gulped as he thought of what that would mean. These creatures were so tightly connected to their magic that it affected their lifespan. It could be a curse or a blessing.

"But you still didn't answer my question. Does it hurt the.... donors?" Well, aside from the trauma of the family if they found out that their loved one had been dead and replaced by a bug for who knew how many years.

Amaryllis didn't look at him, nor did she say anything. Finally, as they merged into a side tunnel which was much smaller than the main corridor, she sighed. "It depends…" again silence “… on the changeling. If he forcibly takes emotions, then yes it is harmful, and it kills the host. Slow but steady. It is something that is against our nature though. The longer the pony lives, the longer we feast off their emotions, right?" Thiemo nodded only when she looked around at him. "Normally we don't have to do that because the emotions are directed towards us or rather our imitations of the ponies whose shape we acquired." Here he saw his chance for a start.

"Are you going to do that with the other prisoners?" Honestly, he didn't care for them. He didn't know them, and in Trixie's case, he felt like a long stay in prison wouldn't hurt her character. Quite frankly, she deserved it.

The door at the end of the corridor came closer and opened as soon as they were in reach. This room was significantly bigger - Thiemo only noticed because he couldn't see the wall at the other side. Carefully, he stepped inside and saw what had to be the brood chamber. The moss covered nearly every inch of the chamber. Everywhere, changelings flew through the air, and hundreds of green eggs lay on the ground, embedded softly in the moss. The wings of the changelings made near to no sound, as if they were trying to be quiet. The room itself was a big round chamber, different than the others. It had probably formed naturally and was once filled with water.

One of the nurses came over to the two and eyed them. The princess spoke to her, "No danger, broodmother. I am only showing the new prisoner of the queen around the lair." The changeling nodded and flew off. "She is the supervisor, the mightiest after me and my mother. She commands the nurses and ensures that the eggs are not harmed." Amaryllis walked over the moss through the eggs and put her cheek against the first pod. "Come here and feel the life." Thiemo was too fascinated to resist, so he followed her. For a moment, he nearly slipped but caught himself on the back of Amaryllis. Only then did he realize how much his leg was hurting. It had actually slipped his mind most of the time until now. Amaryllis didn't seem bothered by the contact and kept her cheek against the egg. Carefully, he reached out his hand and turned it on the other side. It pulsed. It was as if the slim shell would expand and contract, although he couldn't see any movement. It was warm and a bit moist, covered with a small film which didn't leave the egg as he pulled back his hand. Some sort of natural incubator, he guessed.

Amaryllis lifted her head and inspected the dozens of eggs. "These are the last mother could lay. As soon as they've hatched, we will set off and build a new lair far away from Equestria. With your help, mother will lay new eggs and our family will get even bigger." She said it in the same tone as her mother but, at the same time, didn't sound as happy as Chrysalis. Thiemo let go of her back and fell down immediately into the soft moss. "Is everything alright?" Amaryllis asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah, only afraid for my second and third leg...." he mumbled as he rubbed the aching spot.

She looked at him confusedly. "Third leg? Mother told me that humans have only two legs and two...." she thought a bit "… arms, yes that's the word." On the one hand, he was happy she didn't get the innuendo; on the other side, he could only laugh at her innocence. She was like a doll princess. Nice to look at but locked in her innocence, secluded from the world. All her knowledge seemed to be from books or what Chrysalis told her, and he saw his chance in her naivety.

"Oh look, one's hatching!" She pointed at an egg right next to Thiemo which moved slightly this time and then cracked. It split more and more, and finally rolled around in the moss. Over their heads, nurses watched the act, but no one tried to help the nymph. Even Amaryllis just stood there and watched how it fought for its birth. Thus Thiemo picked up the egg, laid it in his lap, and flexed his index finger. Without watching the reactions of the others, he used his other hand as a hammer and pierced through the shell with his finger. The surprise and outrage of the others was heard as the shell cracked, a white liquid ran down his trousers, and only a small black thing stayed.

The nymph freed her wings, which stuck to her soft shell, and shook in its small hooves. She was not much larger than a newborn whelp of a dog, and although Thiemo knew what that thing would become one day, he couldn't help but find it adorable, an effect babies have on adults, no matter the race. With a finger, he stroked carefully over the head of the young. The chitin was similarly soft to the rest of the body, like the head of a newborn human. He was afraid of applying too much pressure and hurting it.

"Would someone please take it?" Expectantly, he looked around, but no one moved a muscle. "I don't want to hurt it." Still everyone looked at him in shock. "What? Have I got some of the slime on my trousers?" Said trouser was completely drenched by the strange smelling stuff.

"Princess! You said he wouldn't be any danger!" The broodmother looked at the two angrily and at the nymph Thiemo held like a cat. "Why didn't you stop it?"

"I didn't think he'd interfere." Amaryllis was visibly unsure, while Thiemo still didn't understand why they were angry.

"Have I done something wrong?" The looks the broodmother and the other nurses shot him, he felt both his own trembling and that of the nymph in his arms.

Amaryllis turned back to him and lifted the young one out of his arms. "It is tradition that the nymphs face the light of the world by themselves. It tests their strength and will. Due your interference, we have no other choice but to banish it since it wouldn't be recognized by the others." She levitated he nymph to the broodmother, but before it reached her, Thiemo grabbed it abruptly out of the air. Scared and a little bit hurt, it squeaked as he took it into his iron grasp.

Normally, he didn't care for others, and especially not for their fate. It was not of his concern what became of them, and they wouldn't care for him either, but this was his fault. If he hadn't acted so rashly, a baby, or nymph, wouldn't be condemned to certain death. He had seen many beings die in his journey and never cared. They were adults that had lived a life, but children were different. Their destinies were important for him, no matter how hard he tried to block it out. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't be travelling with Aura today.

"I wouldn't relinquish it if the devil himself told me to hand it over. How can you talk of solidarity and family, and at the same time abandon one of your own so easily?" The whole tour was to show that they were a family, so why were they like that?

"It's the best for her." A sentence Thiemo had heard often enough in his life, mostly from his parents. They had always thought they knew what was best for him. Sadly, they mostly came out right, but here it was about a still innocent life. Even if he was only acting out of responsibility.

He took the little one in his arms, but again it was encased in the pink aura of Amaryllis and slowly escaped his grasp. Thiemo strengthened his grip by crossing his fingers behind the back of the nymph, but it was of no use. Without his staff, he had no chance against magic, and she finally slipped away. The broodmother immediately took it off Amaryllis and disappeared with some other nursemaids in the hind sections of the room.

"Do you really think it's best for a life to be destroyed?" he spat at her as he lowered himself into the moss. He had to fight the tears as he heard the nymph squeak in panic. It got more and more quiet, hooves trotting on stone audible, and then it got dead silent.

Even Amaryllis winced at the noise. "No, but those are our rules. Only the strongest survive. Isn't it like that everywhere?" She had a point. Humans had held back their own evolution by letting the weak survive. Still, they reached a point where nature was not needed to carry on. However, this way the question would stay, whether he was guilty of this child's death. Would the nymph have been able to hatch alone or not? Thiemo hated questions which he'd never get an answer. It was against his nature. His life's dedication had been finding answers to his questions since they were the reason behind his journey after all.

"I want to return to my cell," he said tonelessly, wiping his face of any emotion and tried to stand up. Amaryllis nodded but didn't help him, even when a small twitch signalled that she wanted to. Thiemo saw that she was a good soul, but the rules of her folk had her indoctrinated. Together, they walked up to the door again and left the brood chamber. As they reached the tunnel, Thiemo noticed how stifling the air had been. The cold air was a welcome change.

Neither of the two said or asked anything as they walked back the way they came. Thiemo had lost the lust for knowledge, and Amaryllis didn't put the incident with the nymph away that well either. She seemed lost in her thoughts.

They kept up the silence until they reached the cells where the two guards were waiting for them. "Is everything alright, Princess?" asked the changeling without visible injury. The other one had a small crack in his natural shell around his snout. Maybe he could tell the others he ran into a wall.

Amaryllis nodded. "Everything is fine. Guide our guest back into his cell." With that, she turned around and disappeared into the corridor.

The two guards eyed each other, and then pointed the spears at him. "You heard the order, get going." Thiemo obeyed and walked slowly down the cell block to the fortified door behind which Trixie waited for him. At least his mood couldn't get worse now. The door opened, and Thiemo and one of the soldiers stepped inside. Trixie laid on the repaired bed and watched, bored, as he was brought back. The soldier stepped outside again and locked the door. Quickly, Thiemo turned around.

"That's useless. Not even the magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie can do anything against these doors," she said, her voice in a monotone. But Thiemo wasn't planning on opening the door with sheer force. He had seen how hard this chitin was and how it could even resist acid. But luckily, he had learned to engrave diamonds with other diamonds. All other gems too, but that didn't work in this case. The knowledge of his shaman training was what would get him out of here.

"Be quiet, Trixie, and I may just take you with me if I'm forgiving." He counted the seconds until she'd destroy his offer.

"As if Trixie has to accept the help of a human." He was surprised - a full three seconds.

"Then rot in here," he growled. Thiemo pressed his ear against the chitin and heard as the guards walked off through the moss, which splashed with every step as if it was a fully soaked sponge. When he couldn't hear them anymore, he looked around. As he found what he was looking for, he walked over to Trixie and broke off the bed post once again.

The bed lost its stability, and Trixie rolled down. "Hey! How dare you destroy the Great and Powerful Trixie's bed! Do I have to teach you a lesson again?" Thiemo didn't even look at her and walked back to the door.

"If I recall correctly, I won the first fight back then, and we couldn't even begin the second one since we got interrupted." One of four bedposts missed, and it wasn't like Trixie had much room to dodge. He could be in her face before she could even think of a spell. At least if his leg would stop hurting.

Trixie said nothing and sulked on the ground. Happy that he made her mute for the moment, he turned back to his plan. In the door was a small slit caused by the eggshell he hid in his pockets. Carefully, he split the bedpost into two and started using the arm. Without too much effort, the door opened, and he slid through. Thiemo looked back and saw Trixie gazing at him with an open mouth.

"Careful, otherwise you might catch yourself some flies." Just as she stood up and was about to follow him, he let go, and the door closed. A dull thud told him that Trixie had ran straight into it. Happy, but with the severe pain in his leg to offset it, he set off to find Aura and his staff.

Chapter I - Act 3.3 - Welcome To The Labyrinth

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 3.3 - Welcome To The Labyrinth ~

Amaryllis fell on her bed, exhausted and confused. Why was she so confused; why were these new feelings of indecision and helplessness now assaulting her? She knew how her brothers and sisters were born, and she knew what happened when they showed weakness. She had always known this, so what was different now? Was it because of her own uncertainty of whether or not she would have been too weak to escape an egg had that been the circumstance of her birth? Would she be here now if she had been born as a drone? Would she have been thankful for the chance the human would have provided? She sensed the drones’ emotions – they were full of thankfulness and affection. Even so, she still couldn't wrap her head around the human's emotions: confusion, then anger and sadness. About what? It was just a nymph, a servant, one of many.

“You look disturbed, Amaryllis.” She turned as her nurse entered the room. This was the being who had looked after her since she was born, as her mother had always been too busy. Changelings, especially the ones of lower status, had no name. Thus, she was known as simply ‘wet nurse’.

And that was what she called her. “It's nothing, wet nurse, just this human. He is so disturbingly different.” She closed the door behind her and sat down on the floor in front of Amaryllis' bed.

“I heard he angered the broodmother. Do you want to talk about it?” The concern she received from her wet nurse was soothing and more than welcome. To say she was confused was an understatement.

***

“Why does everything here look the same?” Thiemo grumbled as he felt his way through the dark corridor. Since there was no changeling here to activate the glowing moss, he had to contend with the constant darkness as he slowly proceeded. Still, it did provide him with an advantage since it showed him the presence of his enemies early enough to allow him to hide, even with his hurt leg slowing him down. Small gaps or other corridors were usually enough to get away. One patrol had waited a long time at a crossing, and he had been afraid they would come into his corridor, but they had kept going. “Black, grey, and oh, look at that, even more black,” he commented on his field of view. He had made very slow progress as he tried to make as little noise as possible, stopping after every step to ensure he was still alone. Everything remained quiet around him before he finally reached his destination: the landing bay. He saw light at the end of the corridor, the place where he had taken a hard fall some hours ago. He checked his surroundings one last time before he stepped outside.

The time must have passed faster than he thought. The light he saw wasn't from the sun but from the moon. From the inside, there was no way to tell. Thiemo looked at the steep wall and the flowing sand that fell down at intervals. There was no way to climb this wall, and so he would have to use his talismans, but those were taken away from him by Chrysalis and hidden somewhere in the hive. Maybe she even threw them away, but that was a thought he didn’t want to entertain. Searching for gems would be useless since his tools was in his backpack, which was probably in the same place as his cloak.

Thiemo kept looking around and finally found what he was looking for: his staff. Quickly, he stumbled across the open expanse and grabbed the handle. He couldn’t remember the last time he had gone so long without it that it actually felt cold. This was his guarantee for survival. There were so many dangers in this world, and he had nothing else to protect himself with. Thiemo swung it experimentally a few times. The staff wasn't damaged or anything, and he steadied himself with it. Until he met any changelings, it could serve as a cane. Of course, enough time hadn’t passed for the staff to recharge – it would have been too perfect to just teleport away. Now it was time to start up his brain again and find Aura and the rest of his equipment. The latter was probably in some kind of armoury or storeroom. Aura, on the other hand, was taken somewhere else, but at least now he had something to work with. Thiemo went back into the corridor and was surprised that when his staff touched the moss, it shrank, shrivelled, and turned brown.

“A magical plant?” he wondered to himself and tried another place. Same result. If he didn't want to leave a trace, he would have to avoid using the staff. Sulking about the fact that he had to dispose of his newly acquired help, he continued on his way. He now took the right corridor instead of the one he came out of, and for a while, nothing happened… until he heard voices. There weren't just two or three – it rather sounded like ten or twenty. Thiemo stood there for a while, and when he was certain that they weren’t getting louder, he kept on going, now with an idea of where it might lead. Somewhere there had to be living areas for the thousands of changelings and nymphs. It was certainly a bad idea to approach them.

“Who's there?” he heard a voice behind him, causing him to whirl around. The corridor behind him was slightly glowing, but just enough to barely see it. The voice sounded masculine, so he was probably dealing with a soldier. Thiemo kept quiet so the guard might think he was mistaken. “I clearly heard you. Show yourself.”

“I... uh... I'm just going for a walk?” he answered and crouched down a bit.

“All soldiers are supposed to be in the barracks when they are off duty. You can thank your lucky gods I'm not the general.” The light came closer, and Thiemo looked for a way to escape, his panic quickly climbing.

The light kept coming closer. “Hey! Why don't you light up the way?” He heard a clank of metal, probably the weapon of the approaching changeling. Thiemo tightened the grip around his staff and put everything on one card. If the moss was of magical nature, he might be able to let it glow with magic from his staff. He put his hand on the moss, and for the first time in a long time, he channelled energy as he had learned it. Shamans were only able to move energy or form it, but it was more exhausting than doing it with the staff. At first it was weak, but then the moss started glowing.

The guard stopped. “I just didn't want to get caught as you said. If the general... you know.” He was far enough away so that it was still too dark for him to recognize Thiemo as human.

“Mmmmm,” he heard the soldier agreeing. “Get outta here. If I catch you again, I will have to report you.” The soldier turned around, and Thiemo fell into the moss with relief as it turned darker again. That was too close for his taste. Carefully, he leaned against the wall, caught his breath, and allowed his leg some rest. He again heard voices, and he tried to hear what they were saying, but they were too many and too far away. Single words here and there, but no context. He took a deep breath. The last few days had been the most exhausting of his journey, not only physically, but mentally as well. When he was done here, he would rent a room somewhere in Equestria, relax, and read one book after another in the library to learn as much about magic as possible.

Again, it was light that caught his attention, only this time it was white and by far not as bright as the moss. Confused, he looked around and found the source. A soul. He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes.

“Well, I think the fall damaged more than just my leg.” All shamans had a thing for transcendental stuff. His teacher had always talked about them and had said that he would see them as well when he was ready. One day, they had given him some kind of elixir, and after that, some kind of alcohol. He had drunk with the zebras until he had been plastered like a wall. But Zarni was right in one point. As soon as she threw a powder into the fire, countless souls had flew around their heads, although he thought it was just a result of the elixir. Now, here was one, and he was sober. The last possibility was to be close to death. Which was why he was now worried about his condition. Did he have internal bleeding he didn't know of?

The soul flew up and down in front of his nose in all its glory. They weren't much more than warm white lights. Humans often saw them when they died. Well, they actually saw thousands of them because they came to greet a new one. This one, on the other hand, was alone. Maybe he wasn't badly wounded. The question was still of what it wanted. According to its movements, he should probably get up, which he painfully did. The soul instantly changed its movements and flew down the corridor in the direction he was going to take. Did it want to help? But who was it? A pony that had been caught here and died and now wanted to avenge its death by helping him? Maybe a changeling who was still loyal to his queen and was about to lead him into a trap? Over all this thoughts, he stopped, and the soul came back, dancing in front of his nose again. “Alright.” He swiped his hand after it, but it went through. No surprise, as they were not made of matter. But in that way, he felt a familiarity, something that said to him that he had met this being when it was still alive. Maybe it had been on his journey and had followed him?

Slowly, he followed the soul, and together they reached the end of the corridor. They entered something which had to be a giant living room. Thousands of changelings were here in this room, which had to be as tall as a ten-story building and just as wide. It was round as the brood chamber, but more oval, and had a stone spiral going up the rim and leading through the whole complex. It was covered in moss that shone brightly. Hundreds of corridors led in all directions outside the room. It was like a small city, hidden underground.

The changelings were flying around, walking around on the soft moss, talking to each other, and nymphs were playing here and there. It was as if he had just entered a normal city. When the first impression was processed, he quickly went back into the corridor. The soul just kept making its way down the stone spiral. Thiemo thought for a moment. If he waited any longer, he would lose his guide, but if he followed the soul, there was no way around being noticed. He decided to wait; the soul would turn around if it really wanted to lead him. It was more important since Aura might be here somewhere. He had to find a way in any case – he just had to stay calm. The few changelings at his arrival already were a big problem, now he was out of talismans and there were thousands of them.

He wouldn't rely on his luck, especially since his luck wasn't all that reliable.

He risked another look over the levels above him. It seemed to be one big living area, no shops or stalls, but what would changelings need other than the energy that nourished them? No money, no goods – only social interaction. Thiemo had to smile at his thoughts because if this were all humans, they would jump each other’s throats in no time if only to literally fight the boredom. Well, some would have gone to a more private place to do "the dance with no pants". Speaking of which, it was the first time he really paid attention to the outer mannerisms of normal changelings. Chrysalis and Amaryllis were rather open with their looks as most creatures in this world, and it was hard to misinterpret someone’s gender. Another thing that wouldn't work on Earth.

In contrast to the queen and princess, all the drones seemed to lack any sort of visible sexual organs. All there was to see was black chitin. Amaryllis' talk about her brothers and sisters seemed to make less sense. Also, Chrysalis seemed to have been pretty busy over the years, of which she might have experienced thousands, considering the number of drones.

He ended his perusal at the spiral where the soul had disappeared. It hadn't returned yet, and Thiemo thought it might have given up. He leaned against the wall again and put some weight on his staff. Suddenly, he slipped away and fell face-first onto the rock. "What was that?" he heard a voice ask as the pain radiated from his nose throughout his entire body. He heard the familiar sound of several changelings walking in his direction to check the entrance and his position. Still a bit dazed, he looked around and did the first thing he could think of. He crawled under the loose moss and lied there as flat as possible. The steps came closer and stopped about half a meter in front of him. He tried to slow his breath and made a fist. For a moment, he didn't breathe at all. Where was his staff?

"Did you hear that?" a higher-pitched changeling voice asked.

"Yes, did a rock fall down again?" It was quiet for a second, and Thiemo imagined them all looking up to the ceiling. He carefully lifted the dried moss and saw his staff lying at the rim. Slowly, he reached out a hand and very gradually pulled it under his camouflage.

"Hey!" Thiemo instantly froze. "The moss is rotten..." A changeling came over and he felt his hooves on his back.

"Maybe a nymph tried to gnaw on it?" someone suggested.

"Shouldn't the nurses be watching after them?"

"I don't know; I'm a soldier. But at the moment, we are deconstructing everything. Queen's order."

The hooves kept poking his back. "Do you feel that? Is there a stone beneath?"

"No idea? Normally, the mucus keeps everything in place." Mucus? He felt around. There actually was mucus; it had the same consistency as the mucus around the eggs, just that this one stuck the moss to floor.

"If so, it's a rather soft stone." Thiemo tensed his muscles. Well, the few he had. Since hiking was his only activity, there wasn't much to flex.

"You think there's someone under the moss? It suddenly hardened a little." Again, pressure on his spine and finally his patience. The weight of the changelings was hard to ignore, with that chitin and all.

"We should call for support and see what's under there." That was his cue. Thiemo jumped up, threw the loose moss over the changelings, who fell on the ground, and dashed away. The second he stepped out of the corridor, he felt hundreds of eyes upon him before the screaming started. They called for soldiers and screamed at him to stop. Of course, he ignored them and reached the spiral before the first changeling.

"See ya!" he yelled and slid down the spiral as he rammed his staff in the moss behind him before he quickly cut through it like a knife. It got dark. The only problem now was that he couldn't see anything himself when he had to stop or see how deep this spiral would go. There was still some light, but he quickly recognized it as the glowing horns of the changelings. "Well damn..." He somehow didn’t really get that they were able to do this. He slipped through the second turn and saw hundreds of glowing horns following him. At least they couldn’t see him as long as he kept to the edge.

The wind in his face got stronger, just as the rapid flaps of wings behind him got louder. They were surrounded by green light and quickly approached him. Somehow, the green light seemed to minimize the friction of air. He tried to gain speed by using his arms, but it was of little use. Desperately, he looked for an exit and hardly saw the soul in front of one while swooshing down. Thiemo now concentrated again on the way ahead and the enemies behind. Aura would have to wait. He couldn't handle that many insects. He had to get rid of them and then get back here.

Without a warning, the sliding ended when his feet met resistance; he rolled over and landed on his back. Again he felt the moss under him which prevented him from another crash-landing. That stuff was really useful and would make for a great rug.

He quickly grabbed his staff and got himself up, hat strapped on his head, a strand of hair sticking to his face, and the mighty beard, lit by the light of approaching changelings. They landed around him again, and he quickly kept turning, expecting an attack. But nothing happened, and he realized that they were going to surround him. With slow steps, he tried to escape the circle but was soon greeted by the wall. "Drop your weapon and surrender, human," one of the changelings demanded.

He wouldn't lose his staff again because this time they would certainly lock it away. "You'll have to come and get it." Empty words since there wasn't much he could do against them. His attackers tried levitation, but the spell was immediately negated. A little surprised, they started an attack, and Thiemo took a swing. The metal hit the chitin-horn, and the staff did its work. The changeling cried as the magic was sucked out of him and went to the ground, his light extinguished. No one moved and everyone stared at the dry leftovers. Thiemo quickly added up the information. He stood there with a magic-eating staff in the middle of energy-eating creatures. Magic is energy. Ding!

"Alright, who wants a piece of me?" Thiemo grabbed the end of the staff and presented its full length. The changelings took all a step back, but instantly got ready for a counter-attack. The green light got weaker as they all charged their energy in their horns, ready to shoot. Thiemo looked at the thirty to forty enemies in front of him, then the countless crowd above him. No way in hell he could defend himself from this attack, so he did what anyone would do in this situation would do – he crouched down like a little bitch and prayed for a miracle.

Energy hissed through the air, then an explosion and smoke. Everything was shaken. Some stones fell on Thiemo, but aside from that, he wasn't hurt. Although a bit confused, he did his best to get some room between him and the changelings as long as the smoke was still in the air. He stood up, made a one-eighty turn, and inspected the hole the changelings created.

He stepped out of the room and found himself in a small storage room. Boxes of unknown material stood everywhere, and the room was again lit by moss from the ceiling. Thiemo went to the door, which opened when he channelled some magic into it. The changelings didn't seem to think that a stranger would find this. Or Trixie was such a bad sorceress that she couldn't open the door. Said door now closed behind him, and he found himself in corridor full of doors. One of which immediately caught all his attention with a changeling-bum sticking out of it and a spear leaning next to him. There was a good chance that this was the armory, and even if not, he could take the changeling hostage and maybe get some information about Aura and his equipment. He quickly got behind him, and the changeling was shocked when he saw the iron of the staff in front of his throat. "Calm down and you will live."

Unfortunately, he didn't listen to Thiemo and tried to bite him. The human quickly reacted and sucked all the magic out of him. He went down like his colleague, in a state reminding Thiemo of mummification. He kicked the remains away and entered what was actually an armoury. There were spears with black chitin-tips as well as some which seemed to be out of other material. Furthermore, there were swords, axes, and other weapons, although not in the same diversity. He passed the shelves and finally found what he was looking for. In front of him was a locked chest. If his things were anywhere, they were here. He grabbed a sword and smashed the lock in, and it fell down. "Well, you ask for talismans and get this." He smiled ear to ear. "Sometimes you just gotta love mankind."

Chapter I - Act 3.4 - Thousandlings

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 3.4 - Thousandlings ~

Thiemo inspected the small treasure he had just found. Next to his cloak, which seemed to be just stuffed inside with his backpack, there were a lot of parts. Parts he occasionally found on his journey, although they hardly worked. He was no engineer, but even in toasted form, he knew a circuit board when he saw one. Technology, real technology, and the ones in front of him weren't just some modules; they seemed to belong to the same device. The changelings must have disassembled the device to analyse it. He quickly grabbed all his things and put the circuit boards, which seemed to just be connected by small cables, into his backpack.

He looked inside the chest again and was pleased to note that there was, as a matter of fact, another gift inside. A knife handle poked out of some rags, and he duly grabbed it. His excitement died when he found that it was actually just a handle. It seemed that there never was a blade since there wasn't even a slit to insert one. He put it in his pocket and looked over the rags. There were clothes he had never seen before, but they seemed to be made of common fabric, at least common for this world. Not that he remembered any names, but the difference to clothing from Earth was more than obvious. Moreover, they were much too big for Thiemo. He started to think that he might have found the possessions of the last human Chrysalis had gotten hold of. These things could have been here for half an eternity, protected by the chest.

Still, he took out the sweater and ripped it into long strips. Then he took one of the swords that didn't lean against the chest and fixed it at the tip of his staff. Thiemo tied a knot and tested his improvised spear. He had no idea how hard chitin actually was, but this sword would surely be of some use. After all, it was made by changelings. Sword might be the wrong term here – toothpick would be Thiemo's choice. For one of these insects, it might be mighty weapon, but for him it was just a too-long dagger. The handle, now covered in green linen around his staff, was made of chitin and constructed to be held between the teeth. The blade was curved, but slender, and made of steel.

Thiemo kept an ear open as it was inevitable that the changelings would notice that he wasn't buried by rocks and continue pursuing him. For now, it was still quiet. A last look around told him that he had everything he needed. More of the doors probably led to more armouries since they were connected with this one. It would be smarter to avoid the corridor as it was still lit by the moss. The problem was that he would now lose his orientation pretty quickly. Furthermore, he could hit an end at some point and would have to use a door without knowing what was behind it. The best thing would be to take the corridor and somehow seal the armoury. The last thing he needed was changelings literally armed to the teeth. That was like showing a rabid dog how to use a handgun. There were enough videos on YouTube showing people who were crazy enough to try. While thinking about the relaxed times he had spent in front of his computer, he exited the room and closed the door. Now that he was in possession of his cloak, talismans, and backpack again, it would be much easier from here on. Thiemo drew a fire ruby and concentrated. The last time he had tried to concentrate for too long, he had lost the major part of his facial hair. If it hadn't been for the smell, he wouldn't have complained.

The ruby lit up and Thiemo pressed it against the closed door. The chitin plates heated up and started to melt to one mass. “This should keep them busy for a while.” He grinned. Dropping the used ruby, he grabbed his backpack and improvised spear and went down the slightly curved corridor. It must have been right beneath the living area. Surely there had to be other ways aside from the spiral that was no longer viable.

“The armory is sealed!” Thiemo shrugged as heard that. He hadn’t heard them coming. It was their hive, so they had a clear home-field advantage there, but that they were able to move without a sound was not a good sign, especially since his hurt leg was still burning with pain, and he was significantly slower than normal. Yet he went faster and almost walked into the changeling coming out of one of the many doors. They both stared at each other for several seconds.

“Uhm... where do you put prisoners such as foals? Especially hurt ones?” Thiemo could see the changeling gulp and slowly point a shaky hoof down the corridor.

“D... Down there o... on the l... left,” she stammered. At least Thiemo thought it was a 'she' from the higher pitched voice. From the way she behaved, she had to be either a drone or a nurse. Slowly, Thiemo started to understand the way it worked down here. The soldiers were mostly masculine, naturally of strong build, and well trained. The rest was either appointed as workers or drones, and a small part as nurses. If they weren’t fit for one of these tasks, they weren't fit for the hive.

“Thanks.” With that, he passed the drone, who crouched down and held her hooves over her head. He was used to this, but this time it was actually justified. It was him or her. But since a drone didn't pose a real threat, he let her be. Thiemo was no random killer. He followed her directions without hesitating. She was too frightened to lie.

Wrong information wasn't the problem, but the two guards at the entrance of said corridor were. At least they weren't as stupid as diamond dogs to drop everything to check on a noise. But they seemed so focused on something that they didn't see him coming. There wasn't much time for planning since the changelings were close. This time he would have to start the fight. It was a rule of the shamans he already broke many times, but every time it had been for a higher, though not necessarily honourable, goal.

He still had two fire rubies, three sapphires, and one lapis lazuli. The last he wanted to save for another purpose, which left him with five stones. With some luck, this would make for ten attacks max; without luck… exactly five. Quickly, he tied a sapphire to his left arm and the rubies to his right. That way, he would have control over which one to use. If he could get the first one without being noticed, it would be a one on one scenario. The question was whether to risk a fireball – even though he was not very good with fire, he could still be deadly at range – or to quickly approach with a sapphire. Thiemo checked his spear and decided to go with speed, although his leg wouldn't thank him for that. In this way, he would surely land a hit.

Thiemo got into position and concentrated on the sapphire. He released his breath and started sprinting. Instantly, the magic kicked in, and every step became more of a low jump. In a blink, his spear went through the throat of the first guard. Green blood stuck to the blade as the changeling went down. His comrade was perplexed about the sudden appearance of a human but instinctively grabbed his spear. Thiemo took another swing with his weapon but slightly missed and instead hit the guard's helmet. He countered, jabbing his spear towards Thiemo's chest. He quickly turned on his healthy leg and used the swing to hit the changeling with his staff and suck some energy. The effect was clearly visible when the changeling went down since he looked dried out. “Stay down and you will live!” Thiemo called out, but all he got as an answer was hissing followed by a desperate spear attack. With his bare hands, he knocked the spear out of his hooves. The changeling hissed again and tried to bite him, but Thiemo hit him again with his staff and sucked the rest of his life out. He quickly checked his surroundings but saw no support approaching. Thiemo went down the corridor and checked his left arm. The sapphire was still intact and thus good for another use.

A bit exhausted but content, he looked around, and at first glance, he couldn't see any differences to the other corridors. Then he heard squeaking. The same squeaking the newly-born nymph had made. He quickly followed the sound and reached a door— no, two doors. They were so close to each other, they just had to lead into the same room. Again, he was forced to channel magic from his staff into the door, something that got harder each time for him. Not only did he have to fight the suction of the staff, but also his natural resistance. As well as many other creatures of this world, he had no magical system, and to channel energy through ways which were not made for this was more of an act of power than anything else. But it worked again and the door opened.

The room was huge and covered in moss. The air was as stuffy as in the brood chamber, and there seemed to be little nests everywhere. There were small dents in the floor filled with... something. What hit his psyche the hardest were the thousands of blue, iris-less eyes looking at him. Nymphs, thousands of nymphs were living here almost on top of each other, and every single one just stopped in the middle of everything to look at him.

“Dad!”

Something moved in the mass of black chitin, and Aura fell out of a small pile of nymphs. She seemed unharmed and in a good mood. “Aura!” he called out excited and went down on his knees to embrace her in his arms, but in the next moment, his view was interrupted by green fire. This time he didn't cover his eyes, but couldn't help but to close them because of the bright light. When he opened them again, he regretted it. There was not one Aura, but thousands. “Aura?” he carefully asked.

“I'm here, dad!” yelled not one but every one of them. Thiemo stood up and looked over the room. Every single nymph in this room had turned into Aura.

“Okay! Would only the real Aura lift a hoof?”

“Here!” Well, it was worth a shot, but of course all of them lifted their hoof.

Thiemo rubbed his forehead. Normally he wasn't annoyed by Aura's voice, but multiply it by a thousand times and even the nicest voice on Earth would be grating at best. “Aura, just come here. We're outta here.” Naturally, they all came. “Stop! Stay there.” All stayed. There was no time for this game, and he had to quickly think of something, otherwise the escape would end here. “Alright, every nymph that wants to be alive tomorrow now takes a step back!” He pointed his spear at them, knowing very well that the guards’ blood was still sticking to it. Normally, he would be against hurting them or even threatening them, but it didn't work anyway. Some of them walked up to him and rubbed against his leg like a cat. Small pieces of chitin fell off. Apparently, their husks grew with them, and old parts were just shed. Thiemo reached down and petted one of the Aura doppelgangers. “You don't happen to have the courtesy to transform into your normal form?” he asked and picked up the chitin. After all, it was hard material and already served him well. He put it into the pocket with the knife without the blade.

However, the nymph didn't seem to understand and just leaned against his hand. Again Thiemo sighed and looked into the eyes of a thousand Auras, all with a confused look. It was probably inspired by the original. Suddenly, something swooshed beside him and flew in a zigzagged pattern through the room. It was so fast that Thiemo couldn't make it out, but when he realized that only he could see it, he knew it was the soul. Due to the speed, it was more of a transparent fog. It seemed happy and circled the thousands of nymphs. “Of course! You're the nymph from the brood chamber!” The soul ignored him and tried to play with its brothers and sisters, which was impossible of course. Not only were they not able to see it, they couldn't feel it either. “I'm sorry, but your life ended faster than it should have.”

“Dad! Are you gonna leave me here?!” Aura’s voice sounded through the room, frightened and very loud.

“I'm not talking to you, Aura.” Once more, the confused look in all these faces assailed him. The soul stopped and stayed above the mass. It was as if it was looking at him, but he wasn't sure. Thiemo had no idea how souls experienced the world of the living. Zarni had never talked about it, or maybe she had never meant to. Maybe she didn't know herself. You could never be sure with the old zebra. Not that she was old, but Thiemo tended to see all his teachers as old, if only because of the simple fact that they tended to talk as much as his grandparents. If Zarni found a topic, the day was over in no time. Unfortunately, she could easily lose track and would often talk about something entirely different for about two hours.

After a few seconds, the soul started moving again and circled a specific Aura. Thiemo's and the circled Aura's eyes met, and he understood what the soul was doing. It knew who was a changeling and who wasn't. He was no changeling and was apparently looking for someone who wasn't either. This logic would be understood even by a child. Like putting the square block through the square hole. “Thank you,” he said to the soul as he went through the copies and embraced his daughter.

“Dad!” She threw her hooves around his neck, at least as far as her short legs would let her as he pressed her against his chest. “How did you know it was me?” The nymphs stopped saying everything she said and just smirked at them. For them, it was a mere game.

“Let's just say a friend gave me a hint.” Thiemo looked for the soul but it had already disappeared. Maybe it continued its own journey, or it was ready to start a new life which hopefully would last a little longer.

“Dad?” He let her go and looked at her.

“Yes?”

“You smell.” Yes, this was the real Aura. Thiemo lifted his arms and sniffed. Next to the usual odour of clothes and a body that had gone unwashed for a month, there was something else. But this didn't come from his armpits but a place more lower down: his pants.

He put Aura down and felt over his old jeans. “This must be the stuff from the egg.” And now he realized why the nymphs weren't afraid of him. He smelled like them. Maybe that was also the reason the changelings had problems pursuing him and why the guards hadn't recognized him as a threat at first.

“They served you eggs? They fed me some strange berries.” She rolled her tongue out and made a gagging sound. “They were red and covered in green spots. They tasted weird.” They gave her strawberries? Strawberries! Thiemo grabbed Aura and threw her over his shoulder as he stepped to the nest she had crawled out of. There, in a small bowl, were about ten strawberries. One was gnawed on, probably by Aura, but that didn't matter to him now. He instantly stuffed one after another in his mouth and moaned with every bite. “Eewww, dad! That's gross.” He ignored her, and about ten seconds later, they were all gone.

“That's exactly what I needed...” There were many fruits that grew in the desert, but the last time he had seen strawberries had been in Zebrica. A merchant that sold them had rare goods for ten bits a piece. A large part of Thiemo's money found a new master that day. He never was someone who cared much for fruits and vegetables - he didn't even know the difference - but strawberries were the Holy Grail for him. No whipped cream, just a little sugar.

“How was it?” Thiemo turned around, Aura doing the same. Princess Amaryllis and two of her guards were standing in the door. All three didn't look very happy to see him.

“If you have to know, it was delicious.” The guards came into the room and all the nymphs made room. They stopped next to Thiemo and held their spears in his face.

Amaryllis slowly followed them. “Mother is not going to like this. Why did you do that?”

Thiemo rubbed his chin and pretended to think. “Maybe I don't like being held prisoner?” he posed the rhetorical question which didn't hit the oblivious princess.

“You wouldn't be a prisoner! You'd be treated as one of us. We would have taken care of you, and you would have your own place in our family.” She pointed her hoof at the confused nymphs, who probably didn't get a word that was said.

“A family that kills each other when someone makes a mistake or doesn't behave like they want? Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather join the Nazis.” Of course no one got the reference, but the essence was clear. “I see where this is going. Didn't they just want to kill me?” Thiemo pointed at the spears aimed at him.

“Can you judge them for that? You attacked their brothers and sisters and even killed some.” Amaryllis stopped and looked at a nymph circling her leg. For a moment, she seemed totally lost in her thoughts.

“That one nymph won't let you go either, will it?” Thiemo asked. The nod of the princess was barely perceptible.

“Why?” Amaryllis kept staring while she was surrounded by her siblings.

“Because every life is precious, and I can see that you care about that. If I can give you one piece of advice: should you ever have your own hive, teach that to your children.”

“I'll never have my own...” That was as far as she got before she felt a breeze next to her. Thiemo used her distraction and now stood next to the princess, staff to her throat. He had instantly reacted when he saw more guards at the door.

Both guards now stormed at him. “Back up if the princess' life means something to you.” The soldiers stopped and kept their distance to him. He couldn’t see the newcomers, but he imagined them doing the same since he heard nothing of them.

“What are you doing? Get him!” The queen entered the room, and Thiemo, Aura, and Amaryllis turned around to look at Chrysalis. She crouched through the door and stood up to her full size. “Alive! We need the human.”

Thiemo held the staff now even closer to Amaryllis, and he felt how the staff slowly started to suck magic from its surroundings. “Mother!” Amaryllis begged, fear in her voice. She must have seen what he did to other changelings because she started to shake.

“Silence, Amaryllis! You know our laws.” Chrysalis gave the guards a sign, and they continued attacking him. Thiemo quickly reacted and used another sapphire to dash past the queen. Amaryllis was still in his grip, and he had to admit that she was lighter than she looked. Without looking back, he pulled her with him while he ran down the corridor.

“Let me go!” she cried, but Thiemo ignored her. He was busier with finding a way outside. At least for himself and Aura. The foal held on to Thiemo with all her strength, which was very useful for him. That way, he didn't have to check for her every other second. Of course, something had to negate that in the form of the griffon wound starting to flare up.

“Why did she attack us? I thought you're her daughter.” He still pulled her with him, but in the meantime she started running herself.

“You defeated me, thus I'm unworthy to stay,” was the despondent response. He mentally smacked his forehead. He totally forgot that rule. But he had to admit that it made sense. By negating hostages, they preserved their oh so glorious strength.

“Don't you think that it would now be a good idea to help us?” Thiemo had no time to look back, but her silence was a sign that she thought about it. “Don't all young queens leave the hive at some point?” At least that was the case with bees. A shot in the dark, but they needed any help they could get. They reached the main hall with the big spiral. “Damn! Where to now?” Thiemo asked Amaryllis, who still seemed to be caught in her own thoughts. “Hello! Get yourself together!” He shook her a little, which seemed to work.

“Huh? What?” She seemed a little confused, which was understandable. Unfortunately, this wasn't the right time or place as the soldiers and Chrysalis were catching up.

“We have to get out of here!” he screamed into her ear and pointed his spear towards the oncoming army.

“Get up!” Amaryllis crouched down a bit.

“What?”

“Get up!” Without asking again, he did as told and threw his leg over her back. “Hold tight!” In the seconds before Amaryllis pushed herself up, Thiemo thought about how this was possible, but then it just happened. They quickly gained height as the wings of the insect princess carried them upwards.

Chapter I - Act 3.5 - Crash Landing

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 3.5 – Crash Landing ~

Every changeling in the hive could hear it. A cry – a manly cry. The cry of a creature fearing for its life. If you listened closely, you could hear an even higher pitched cry. This one wasn't of a grown stallion, but of young foal. If you listened even more closely, you could hear the cries weren't of fear but of joy and excitement.

Thiemo used all his strength to hold himself onto the neck of the changeling princess, his legs angled at her sides so as to not disturb her. Aura did the same with him, just that she held her head high out of joy and satisfaction. She squeaked and laughed as they passed the levels of the living area. Amaryllis flew through another tunnel that Thiemo had used when he entered. Except in this case, she went much higher and thus closer to the exit. But what really astonished him was Amaryllis stopping and landing.

“What's going on? We have to keep going!” he screamed as if he had to still fight the wind.

“What? Why?” Amaryllis looked around and behind her passengers before she saw her mother and the soldiers approaching.

“That's why!” Instinctively, Thiemo kick her in the sides, resulting in her starting to run and fly again. Beneath them, the moss glowed, lit by the princess' horn. Thiemo thought of telling her to stop that, but with this speed, they might hit the next wall like flies smashing into windshields without it. Furthermore, Chrysalis wasn't stupid. She probably knew that they were trying to get outside.

They kept flying through one corridor after another, so quickly that only the pilot could know where they were. They were chased by the ever present buzzing of hundreds of wings and the green light of moving changelings. With all the turning, they managed to win some distance. “How far until we reach an exit?” he screamed against the wind into her ear.

“Exit?” Amaryllis slowed down and looked back. “I thought my room would be a better place to hide until mother calms down...” On the one hand, Thiemo wanted to tear her a new one; on the other hand, he could understand her. Her mother had always taken care of her, more or less, and in less than a second, she had been banished. It was clear that she wasn’t thinking too rationally at the moment.

“Exit, now!” She nodded and took the first turn, leading into a corridor that descended again. Soon, he recognized where they were – the other side of the landing bay. The door in front of them opened at the last second, and they now were in the middle of the great hall, where Chrysalis greeted him. Hundreds of changelings stared at them.

“They don't know that they are supposed to capture us, do they?” Thiemo carefully asked as some started to growl.

“Mother was probably loud enough...” Amaryllis’ theory turned out to be right. The drones and soldiers got into the air and swooshed down towards them. Thiemo felt the princess' tension and gave her another slap to get her back into reality. He almost fell off her back as she dashed away towards the exit with a small cry. The changelings pursued them again, but the princess was significantly faster. What Thiemo really was astonished about was Chrysalis. She had to be quite as fast, but she stayed in the mass of her people. Did she want her daughter to escape? Probably, which raised the question of what she wanted to do with him now. It seemed that he was very valuable for her, more than Thiemo had thought at first. After all, he had killed her children and yet she wanted him alive. Maybe for torture, maybe not.

They flew through the door at the end of the landing bay and into the next corridor that had to lead to the crack. The air almost immediately freshened up, and he then saw it. Without any problems, they ascended towards the night sky, far over the ground. Contrary to his instincts which told to hold on for his life, he looked down to see the crack from above. It was exactly between two dunes. Even in daylight, it was almost invisible. He knew that from experience.

A dark cloud of changelings, all with glowing horns and eyes, ascended from it. Thiemo knew that they were very visible. Amaryllis was fast, that was not in question, but sooner or later she'd need a break. In front of them were the open plains – no possibility to hide. “Careful, I'll give us a boost!” Aura tightened her grip since she knew what that meant, but Amaryllis didn't. He awakened the sapphire.

***

The only thing Amaryllis felt was panic. The situation was too much for her, and all she could do was follow her instincts. Mother had banished her within a heartbeat, not even hesitating to declare her daughter no longer wanted. Even the human seemed more important to her. She knew the rules, and yet it hit her unexpectedly. Amaryllis always kind of knew that she would have to leave at some point, but this never seemed real. Even in the situation they now found themselves in, a part of her mind continually tried to make sense of all that had happened, yet it kept slipping out of its grasp.

The human called something out, but it was just noise that her overactive mind paid little attention to. Suddenly, she was catapulted forward. It wasn't wind but the object on her back pushing her forward. She cried out in pain as her wings bent backwards and the wind hit her face like a wall. This took just a few seconds, then the sudden boost faded, and she began to dip in and out of consciousness. The human called out something again. She shook her head but could not understand a thing. Moreover was this aching for salvation from the pain caused by her wings and fatigue. The combination of factors ensured that it wasn’t long before she began to falter and then fall. That was the last she felt before the wind hit her face again. They accelerated again, just this time she was pulled, not pushed. But again the velocity died, and gravity kicked in again. She clearly saw the ground coming closer but couldn't do anything about it, her wings beating tiredly at her side. Just before they hit the ground, there was another boost, and moments later they actually hit the dirt. She flipped over, felt the other bodies sliding across the ground with her, and finally crashed into something and stopped. Then she lost consciousness, dimly thankful for the respite from her troubled thoughts.

***

The first thing she felt when she awoke was pain, then the sun that, though weakened by the shade of a tree, still burned over her body. She moaned, freed one of her legs that was slightly twisted under her body, and looked around. Their crash landing had left a clear trench in something that seemed to be an apple orchard. Next to her was the human, unconscious like the foal in his arms. Apparently he took most of the fall for her. Amaryllis tried to stretch, but another wave of pain made her wince. When it stopped, she tried to look at the source of the pain: her back. Her wing roots to be precise. What she saw took her breath away. Her wings were...gone, ripped off. The only thing that gave a hint that they had even existed was the small trail of blood in her black fur. Tears ran down her cheek.

The pain, the memories of why she was lying here, the uncertainty as to what would happen now was just too much for her. Her wings would regrow, but her home, her brothers and sisters, her mother wouldn't. For the first time, she actually realized why this was the gravest sentence for a changeling. All she knew was the security of the hive, and that was gone now.

“This is all your fault!” she cried at the human, though he couldn't hear it. “Why did you have to turn up? In a week or two, the eggs would have hatched, and we would be long gone. Why just now, why?” She wanted to hurt him, damage him, and smashed her hoof on his leg. She wanted to do more, but she couldn't move.

“You done?” Frightened, she pulled her hoof back and looked at the human. He didn't meet her look but looked at the foal and sighed in relief as he saw that she was unharmed. Just like her, he stretched and rubbed his back. “Man, what a landing....” His eyes suddenly widened, and he pulled the bag from his back which had been stuck between him and the tree until now. He quickly looked through it and smashed his fist into the ground. “God fucking dammit!” He took out some strange-looking plates which seemed to be broken. He looked at them for a minute, held them against the sunlight, and put them back again. Now he really looked at Amaryllis. “Are you alright?” He tried to stand up. He stumbled and leaned against the tree but managed to keep upright.

Amaryllis said nothing, just wept and wiped the tears off her face, though more were quick to take their place. How could he be so calm right now? Then again, it wasn't his life he ruined. The urge to hurt him flared again, but she still did nothing to act upon it. “Nothing's right! My family banished me!”

“That wasn't my intention, but for me, my family comes first.” He pointed at the sleeping foal in his arms. “But we have the same problem now. Heading this direction are thousands of pissed changelings that neither of us wants to meet now.” Amaryllis knew what he meant, at least in her case. Despite that, she glared at him, a look meant to convey the despair and bitterness that she had towards the human at that moment.

“We greeted you with open arms. Why did you refuse to be part of our family?” She couldn't think of a reason to not be part of a whole. It was all she was and every changeling embodied. To her, the way he had completely rejected that ideal came across as callous.

“Maybe I didn’t want to hook up with an insect queen?” He checked to see if his words had woken the foal. “Maybe I like my freedom? Maybe I don't want to be executed for a mistake I might make?” Amaryllis shrugged with every sentence. It wasn't news for her that other creatures were repulsed by her appearance. It was the last two points that made her stumble. Freedom, she always dreamed of it. Not that she felt imprisoned, but she wanted to see the world. About the last point she talked with her nurse once. She was old, almost as old as her mother, and she had even known her grandmother, Echidna. She described her as a generous queen, who reigned differently than her mother. No banishing, no sentences, just love and warmth that she gave to her children. It was Chrysalis who had introduced the new rules when she took over thousands of years ago. Only a few changelings were old enough to remember it.

“But what will happen to me now? I have nothing! Nothing!” As the realization sunk in, fear began to tighten its grip on her.

The human thought for a second. “You said your father was a pony.” She nodded weakly as tears began to leak out of her clenched eyes. “How about you go to him? Until then, you can tag along. One more or less makes no difference. I'm out of money anyway.” With that, he plucked some apples and threw one in front of her before he took one himself.

“You have no problem with stealing but complain about my kind?” She opened her eyes, inspected the apple, and took a bite. “And this won't sate my hunger.”

“If I had any money, I would pay, but like this, I have no choice,” he said between bites. “Moreover, I never did complain about the way you feed. I just don't like the idea of harming others for it. One or two apples won’t do any harm to anyone. But you're right, you need something to eat. I suppose you can't bypass this blockade?” She felt the emotions of the human: a mixture of pity and compunction but also contentment. They were very complex.

“I can feel your emotions, but...” She swallowed. Warm energy went through her body and she quickly reached for it. She needed power, and she was hungry.

“What's wrong?” The stream died and she released the energy, now well fed. Pity was not love, and weaker, but better than nothing, and after all what had happened, she was satisfied with anything.

“I could... I could feed myself on your pity,” she said, a bit confused herself. “Mother always said that it was impossible to feed from a human.”

“Nothing against your mother, but she didn't seem like the type one would voluntarily have feelings for. Except for that, maybe. Besides, you said yourself that it makes a difference whether you receive emotions or just take them. Maybe humans can just protect themselves from it.” They both thought about it for a second and just shrugged their shoulders. “So much for that. Do you have an idea where we are?”

Amaryllis had a hint. “If the stories of my brothers and sisters are right, then this is the apple farm of Appleloosa. Our hive is one, maybe two hours away from it.

“Are you telling me we are in Equestria?” She nodded. He slowly laid down the foal and started to dance with joy, which didn't last long before he held his back again and sat down. “God dammit. First my leg, now my back...”

***

Thiemo wasn't the only one in pain. He saw the shaking picture of misery that once was the princess. Her wings were missing, probably ripped out from the air pressure or the crash landing. One of her forelegs was swollen, given away by the fact that it was twice the size of the other. At least her tears had stopped when she was fed. It was a strange feeling, like water running down your skin but taking all the dirt with it. Not the best feeling in the world, but there were worse.

Since they were now in Equestria, they had new problems. Changelings were about as popular as him. “We have to disguise ourselves,” Thiemo thought aloud. To disguise himself as a diamond dog was why he grew his hair out. “Last thing we need is even more attention.” The princess nodded before she was surrounded by fire. Now she was the white pony with a purple mane again. Her horn straightened, but what instantly grabbed his attention were her wings. They now had feathers and were in a miserable condition. They hung there like they were broken, and many feathers seemed to be missing.

“Is this enough?” He nodded. Now, at least two out of three were disguised. Thiemo carefully put down Aura, got up again, and tightened his cloak, brushing his hair to a mess and bending over to look like he had a hump.

“Do I look like a diamond dog?” He waited an answer but didn’t get one. With one hand, he removed the hair from his face and saw the giggling princess.

“Not really. You look more like a yeti, but they have white fur.” And that was the end of that plan. “Why don’t you use magic? I could teach you our disguise spell.”

“I can’t cast magic since I’m a shaman. I use the given energy around me and form it the way I need it.” He showed her his right arm. “I use talismans in which I carve the spells.”

“Then why don’t you carve in this spell?” She might know something about magic, but shamanism was no magic, at least not in the traditional sense of the word. The spell had to fit the stones’ element like a chemical formula, else nothing would happen, or even worse, something unpredictable would happen.

“Putting the fact aside that I need the runes, I don’t have the right element. I doubt that your magic even has one.” He put his hand in his pocket and fondled the handle until his hand touched something else. He held the piece of chitin. “Hold it! Can you draw me the rune?” Amaryllis nodded and started to draw the rune in the ground with her healthy foreleg. In the meantime, Thiemo got out his tools and the biggest piece of chitin he had. Then he started to carve the rune in it.

Ten minutes later, he was finished, and then he noticed something. “Where is my staff?” He looked around and found it some meters away on the ground. According to the cut in the tree, it had smashed against it and lost the sword along the way. The sword was nowhere to be seen, but the piece of clothing was still wrapped around the staff. He took it off and went to Amaryllis. “Could you stand up for a second?” She split her weight between her three good legs. Thiemo wrapped the sweater around her body so the wings were now fixed beneath it. “No matter how well disguised we are, if we look like we just came out of a battle, we’ll still be the centre of attention.”

“Thanks...” She lied down again, looking slightly relieved at being able to take the weight off her injured body.

“Don’t mention it. It’s my fault anyway.” She didn’t say anything as he sat down in front of her. It was just as well. “Well then, let’s hope that your shell is more magical than my staff.” Thiemo placed the tip on the chitin and waited. The piece didn’t glow like the gems, so all he could do was wait.

“How long is this going to take?”

“That depends. How much magic does this spell need?” Why overcharge it when it didn’t need much?

“This spell is like an extra leg or a wing. It takes us little to no effort.” Thiemo thought about it for a second. The chitin had to be very responsive to this kind of magic.

“Then this should already be enough, at least for one use.” Luckily, he had taken several pieces with him. If this really worked, they would have one problem less to worry about in the upcoming weeks. “Well, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.” He gulped and held the chitin in both hands while he sat there, cross-legged.

“Uhm... Thiemo, was it?”

“Yes?”

“You should take a position that comes close to the form you want to transform into, and this...” she pointed a hoof at his legs “...does not look healthy, neither for a pony nor a diamond dog.” He didn’t even think about that. What should he become? As a diamond dog, he would have the advantage of fingers, but they weren’t really popular, though from Thiemo’s experience, it wasn’t all that surprising. As a pony, he would have more freedom but would get problems when using his staff. Furthermore, a diamond dog who would enter a library to learn about magic would draw attention. A diamond dog simply approaching a library would already draw attention. The thing with learning magic would just be the cherry on top of the sundae. The ponies were weirdly sceptical.

“You have to picture it. That’s all.” Always easier said than done with this sort of thing. He didn’t know to what degree he had to picture his new form. Would form and color be enough, or did he have to get more into detail? Well, if he had been more careful with those experiments, then he wouldn’t have branded his thigh or broken his feet several times when he tried to move the earth. At least he took turns with the feet. With a shrug of his shoulders, he stood up and concentrated on the chitin in his hand. The energy reacted for a few seconds, but nothing happened. Then his hand burst into a green flame and quickly covered his forearms. Thiemo fought the reflex to drop it like it was hot, although it was actually cosily warm. Slowly, the fire reached up his arms and shoulders and covered his entire body.

“Dad! You’re on fire!” Aura screamed. She must have woken up. He tried to answer but couldn’t make a sound as his daughter stared at him, her eyes wide with fright.

“He is not on fire, child; he is casting a spell.” Apparently Amaryllis still didn’t understand that he couldn’t cast magic because he was a shaman. Wasn’t that big of a surprise since he had never finished his training.

“AH!!!! The changeling is still here!” Apparently it was only then that the small filly noticed the injured princess, and she scrambled back. Everything around Thiemo turned quiet, and he tried to concentrate again. Colour didn’t really matter to him if he was going to be a pony. A unicorn, so he had an excuse to ask about magic. He felt his body changing. His legs shortened and hair grew where it never had before and probably never should on a human. Then the flames were extinguished as quickly as they had come.

Puzzled by the new point of view, he blinked a few times and looked to Amaryllis. She had a similar puzzled look on her face. “Well, that is not exactly what I expected...” she said. Until now, it was Thiemo looking down on her, but now it was the other way around. She was probably five to ten centimetres taller than him now.

“Am I a poodle or what?” Frightened, he looked at the hoof in front of his snout when he heard his own voice. The hoof hit his face and he fell down. He wanted to hold his face with his other hoof but hit himself again. “Ow, shit...”

“Dad?” Thiemo saw Aura coming from behind the tree and looking for him. For him as human. “Dad? Where are you?”

“Here!” He waved his hoof. “Although I might not look the part.” He wrinkled his now very long nose to get the feeling of it, sadly without success. He stood up and saw Aura standing right in front of him, eye to eye. “What the fuck...?”

“Dad? Is that you?” Thiemo was still a bit drowsy but managed to nod. “You’re a pony!”

"That was the general idea of this operation. This way, we won’t draw so much attention in Equestria.”

“And you’re a foal!”

“What?!” He looked around, confused at the situation. The trees were taller, Aura was taller, and Amaryllis was taller. “How could this happen?” His thoughts went from false runes to his picture of a pony, which was imprecise. Then there was the medium, the chitin. It was from a nymph. The source of the malfunction was impossible to discern. He kicked a stone with his blue hoof. “Blue? I thought about something yellow or beige-ish.” With one hoof, he felt his forehead and, of course, did not find a horn, only white mane. “I think there is still lots of room for improvement,” he said to Amaryllis who still was giggling.

“This might be my fault,” she said, still smiling. “Out of habit, I gave you my version of the spell. It allows the caster to appear the way he’d look as a pony.” Thiemo couldn’t help but facehoof. This was better than nothing, or the alternatives.

Chapter I - Act 3.6 - Fear And Loathing In Appleloosa

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 3.6 – Fear And Loathing In Appleloosa ~

Two fake foals and a real one snuck around the apple trees of the farm. Not that it was necessary; Thiemo just wasn’t used to running on hooves. “The spell should help you a bit,” Amaryllis repeated for the tenth time as Thiemo cursed silently.

“I tripped for the third time. I am foal and tired! Oh yeah, and I’m naked by the way.” At least he didn’t have to carry all the stuff. His clothes and most of the gems were stored in Aura's small bag, while Amaryllis levitated the backpack and the staff. For this to work, the staff hung in the straps, so it wouldn’t absorb the spell. His remaining talisman, a sapphire and a lapis lazuli, were in his necklace around his throat. With his new stature, it looked almost comically large.

“But we’re always naked.” The two mares stopped and looked down at themselves. “I don’t see why you are so uncomfortable with that.” While Amaryllis probably now had a slight idea why Thiemo always wore clothes, Aura kept her childish innocence.

“So you are into ponies after all, huh?” the princess whispered into his ear with a bewitching undertone.

“Would you stop that? This whole thing is bad enough already.”

“I’m sorry.” Amaryllis backed off and walked behind the smaller ponies.

The city came into view of the small group. Different than the other cities in the desert, it was built of multiple wooden buildings. It was obvious that Appleloosa had been like them at one time, but it had evolved beyond that. The simple facades were supported with grey stones, and only occasionally was the presence of wood visible, the only exception being the rooftops. The city also seemed much more vivid. Carriages transported ponies in and out of the city. At the train station, a locomotive was being loaded with fresh wood. Dozens of pegasi flew around. “You immediately know when you’re in Equestria,” Thiemo remarked snappishly. A lot of the outer cities had not been given enough support by the pegasi, either through incompetence, laziness, or lack of staff, meaning that the inhabitants had had to rely on the ground water. Here, however, there were a lot of clouds that had probably been produced at a weather factory.

That was a fact he simply hadn’t been able to get into his head during his time at the University. The weather and the seasons were more or less artificial, created and distributed by ponies. None of the other races seemed to be bothered by this, but Thiemo couldn’t stand the idea. It was a very cheap way to make other nations dependent on them, meaning that they could exert dominance and influence over them. Furthermore, the unicorns had their magic and control over the sun and the moon that were moved by their princesses. Supposedly, they were some sort of living goddesses incarnated as ponies. Although he had not yet seen pictures of them, he imagined them as snobbish aristocrats who had assigned themselves those fantastical powers. Humans had done so over thousands of years. Not that he planned to cross their ways, but the biggest library on the whole planet was basically under their golden asses.

The royal archives of Canterlot were known even in other continents, overflowing with knowledge about magic and records of all that had happened on this world. His new form had a significant advantage of making things easier. Who would think a foal was secretly a human? He wouldn't have a better disguise without the changeling's interference and subsequent aid.

Silently, they trotted the last meters to the city and entered a narrow side street. Even here, it was extraordinarily clean. No trash lying around, and even the trash bins were sorted. At least these inhabitants cared for their city. He hoped they wouldn’t care for them as much. “So this is the plan," he told his companions. “We three are here with our parents on a vacation.” He hesitated. “Ponies do go on vacations, don’t they?” The two looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

“No idea, I never was in Equestria.” Thiemo recalled she had said something like that, only he had been too busy back then finding an exit.

“Me neither.” He didn’t expect any different from Aura. She had spent most of her short life on Dragmire with diamond dogs and dragons. It was likely that even he knew more about ponies than her.

“There exists a word for it in your language, so we just expect the best. So like I said, we are vacationing here with our parents and were playing outside of the city.” Amaryllis raised her hoof like in school. “Yes?”

“We don’t really look alike, do we?” Thiemo looked at them. A pony with horn and wings, white fur, and purple mane. An earth pony with white mane and orange fur, and finally himself with blue fur and white mane. She had a point.

“Okay, me and Aura are siblings; you are our cousin. Better?” The princess nodded approvingly.

“So where was I?” He looked at Amaryllis.

“Oh right, you fell out of the tree whilst we played.”

“Wouldn’t I simply fly?”

“It was too quick.”

“But I can fly very well.” Thiemo had to fight the urge to slam his hoof against his head. He knew that hooves were harder than hands.

“We only pretend it happened.” Amaryllis shrunk visibly and nodded. “Good. We are on our way to the train station, and from there we can take the next train. Our parents is waiting for us at the train already. Just in case someone asks.” He stopped.

“Yes Amy?”

“Amy?”

“It’s shorter.”

“All right. Umm, where is the train going?” Luckily, Thiemo read the sign.

“Fillydelphia. From there, we can travel further towards Canterlot. But don’t get your hopes up for a comfortable journey. We have to hide in one of the cargo wagons. We have no more bits.” Actually, they had the bits Billy had given them, but they would never cut it for three tickets. Furthermore, it was doubtful that they could go straight to Canterlot from there, but they had to get away from the border. The changelings surely wouldn’t just give up so easily. It could very well be that they had settled here in the past and were hidden amongst the population. “Err… Amy, can changelings see each other even if they are transformed?”

“Yes, we can feel another’s energy.” So they could tell when one was near but not who. At least that was something.

“Okay then, we should make sure that you have as little contact with other ponies as possible.” Finally, the princess seemed to understand and nodded. They stepped out on the lively street and were instantly eyed by ponies. However, as they saw that they were only foals, they quickly lost interest. Thiemo signalled the others to follow him, and they snuck around the corner, pressing themselves against the wall. The last thing they needed was losing each other in the crowd. They didn't get very far before Thiemo spotted something in a window and stopped abruptly.

He felt that the others didn’t expect this as they bumped into his back. Right now, however, he had more important things to care about than how close that was to his private parts. The shop they stood in front of sold sweets of all kinds, only it wasn’t these that drew his attention. In the window was a wreath, but not just any wreath. It was a Christmas wreath. With candy canes galore and other decorations, the shop was decorated for Christmas.

“You see this too, right?” Thiemo didn’t turn around, afraid this would all vanish. By doing so, he couldn’t see the querying looks of his companions.

“What do you mean?” Amaryllis asked and put down the bag together with the staff. She walked up to him and viewed the shop window for herself.

“Can we buy something?” Aura was now at his right. The tongue hung out of her mouth. Just an inch closer to the window and she’d be licking it.

“The Christmas decoration. I didn’t know ponies celebrated it.” Thiemo leaned with his front hooves against the window to see better. Like the shop window, the whole store was decorated appropriately. Even a small Christmas tree stood on the counter, full of ornaments. “It’s a human holiday.”

“Christmas? Never heard of that, but I recognize the decoration.” Thiemo, as well as Aura, stared at Amy. “From the library. According to our texts, it’s part of Hearth’s Warming. It celebrates the founding of Equestria.”

“On which day?”

“It’s the twenty-fifth of the Hearth’s Warming month. The twenty-fourth is called Hearth’s Warming Eve.” Thiemo's eye twitched.

“Wait, the ponies call this month Hearth’s Warming?” Amaryllis nodded.

“They created the calendar. Most races just changed the names of the months.” Thiemo had long wondered about the concept of four seasons that existed here, even if it was more or less artificial. Albion was much larger than Earth, at least according to the academics. No one had ever measured the planet, and everything was just estimates, but all in all, Albion was roughly three times larger than Earth. It also orbited around the sun differently, or the sun around Albion for that matter, depending on whether it was true that ponies controlled them. Thus there were twelve months. The deer had a simple system. The third of March was, for them, simply the third day of the third month in the year one thousand and fourteen ALB. The abbreviation was still a mystery to him. Allegedly, the ponies had started a new calendar thousands of years ago, though not even the professors knew why. Hearth’s Warming was the second to last month in the calendar.

“And what is next month called?” Now Thiemo was curious, and the especially literate Amaryllis was quite useful even if she had spent her life in a basement... of sorts

“Year’s end.” Fitting. At least the ponies had that going for them.

“I think I’ll stick to my system.” Thiemo didn’t want to learn the months again in every country. Until now, everyone had understood the system of the deer if necessary. “Then let’s continue.”

“But Dad, I want some cookies.” That stopped not only Thiemo in his tracks, but the ponies that surrounded them.

“Just because Dad said that you should listen to me as if I was him doesn’t mean you have to call me Dad.” He scratched his head and smiled embarrassedly at the sudden audience. They seemed satisfied with the answer at first but kept staring. He checked to see if their cover was blown, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Apparently the ponies thought differently as they continued to stare at them, scrutinising them intensely.

“Are those wings?”

“Do you think?”

“It’s been years that a new alicorn appeared.”

Thiemo didn’t like the mumbling. Amy’s form seemed to represent something called an “alicorn”, and thanks to his bad luck, it appeared to be something very rare. Furthermore, a crowd like the one building up around them right now would soon attract the attention of authorities.

“What’s going on here?” As if he had summoned them, three stallions armed with sword and leather armor forced themselves through the gazing crowd. All around them were ponies; behind them, the shop window.

“The guards!”

“Shouldn’t they be looking for changelings?”

“Do you think these three foals are changelings?”

“Which changeling would be stupid enough to disguise as an alicorn?”

Obviously Thiemo had a real winner on his side. He pushed himself against the wall with all the force he could summon in his tiny form. Aura backed up too. The two of them were often in dangerous situations, and Thiemo knew that Aura had grown accustomed to it. Admittedly, he was scared too. He had to concentrate to transform back, and in this form, he could barely move. A fight was out of the question, especially against three armed unicorns. Thiemo was way too exhausted to get anything significant done. Into the city, in the train, and sleep – that had been his plan. The only thing they were supposed to watch out for was being spotted, which they failed after only a couple of meters.

“So what do we have here?” A guard, a star on his armor, stepped up to them and looked down at them. “Hm?” He lifted an eyebrow, obviously expecting an answer.

“Uhm... we are on our way to the train station...” Thiemo saw no reaction in his mimic “… to meet up with our parents.” Still nothing. "My sister and I,” he pulled Aura to him, “and our cousin.” It was dead silent. Even the whispering stopped so the audience could hear what he said.

“And what are your names?” He cursed internally. He couldn’t introduce himself as Thiemo or something else that didn’t sound like pony. It would only create more attention.

“My sister’s name is Aura.” She waved nervously. “And my cousin is Amaryllis.” She only nodded while still pushing herself against the wall. “And I am...” He needed a name, fast. “Blue...”

“Commander Iron!” The crowd to their left parted, and another armed guard galloped through. “Commander Iron, we have confirmed the sightings.” Thiemo twitched. Had they seen someone in the fields?

Iron turned around to the soldier. “Report," he demanded with an authoritarian voice. It was a wholly different tone from what he just heard during the questioning.

The soldier stopped in front of the commander, clicked his hooves, and saluted. “Sir, we have found a changeling's sword in the orchards and a sighting just outside of the city afterwards. They are probably waiting behind the hills.” At first he didn’t react but then finally nodded.

“You heard him, comrades, get ready.” His companions ran back through the breach, followed by the messenger, and then he turned back to the three foals. “And you three, if you make trouble, I’ll find out.” With that said, he followed his soldiers and disappeared. For a couple of seconds, no one did anything, neither the viewers nor the accused. Then, as if someone gave an invisible signal, everyone began moving again. Thiemo exhaled air he didn’t even know he had been holding in. At least he now knew where the sword went and that the changelings were really on their heels.

“Changelings, disgusting creatures.”

“Monsters. I hope none of them makes it past the soldiers.”

“They’ll teach them a lesson.”

And they were not topic number one anymore. The luck was surprisingly often on their side in the last few days. Thiemo turned around, visibly relieved. Amaryllis still stood against the wall, her view straight down. ”We are no monsters...” she whispered. Somehow he felt even worse for her now. For her, it must be bad to be able to physically feel the disgust. “We are no monsters...” If he had been a human right there, he would have just taken her under his arm, but in the form he was in now, he had to find different ways.

“Amy, they don’t know any better.”

“You don’t understand!” She started getting louder. “What do you think my father will see in me?” He had never considered that point of view. However, if there was one thing he was sure of, it was this.

“Every father has affection to his daughter, no matter what the problem is. Look at me and Aura. I am a human,” he made sure that no one overheard him, “and she is a pony. I don’t care, and neither does she, and I’m also viewed as a monster.” Well until now, he had mostly made an advantage out of it even if it was annoying sometimes. But here in Equestria, it was smarter to not pull that card. A unicorn was no problem, maybe even two, but at three was where it got complicated. That he now was travelling to their capital would not make it any better.

“You really don’t care?” she asked Aura, still a bit hysterical. The filly had her attention more focused on the sweets than the conversation.

“Uh? Not really. Dad likes me and cares for me.” And immediately she had her face pressed against the window again.

“And I’m not bothered by what you are either. Okay?” She nodded as she levitated the backpack into the air again. “Aura, come. We gotta catch a train.”

***

The city was bigger than it seemed at first. They had to ask for directions multiple times, but finally the train station was ahead. The train was already heavily loaded with wood and seemed ready to start off. But instead of searching an empty cargo wagon, he walked towards a panel with a timetable and a map. It seemed as though a unicorn had tried his hoof at calligraphy. The timetable was so squiggled that it was barely readable, but the map was all he needed. The train went from here to Fillydelphia, the sign said. From there on, the rail parted. One track made a small detour.

“Ponyville?” Amaryllis asked, following his view.

“That’s a town?” Thiemo squinted his eyes, but he was too low to see it clearly. “I thought a fly shit there.”

“I think the place sounds nice,” Aura joined in. Thiemo followed the other track. It was a night's travel and went around the mountain the city was on.

“Yes, very creative.” If another city had been on the way like Las Pegasus, he would have considered a pause. He had heard good things of the city in terms of entertainment and opportunities to make money. The latter was something they sorely needed, and the first was never bad. But a village in the middle of nowhere would not be worth a pause. They probably didn’t even have a library where he could search for spells. “We take the night train from Fillydelphia to Canterlot. Means we have one day in the city.” The two nodded and followed him as he walked to the back of the train. It didn’t take very long, and they reached the first cargo wagon. Sadly, his new form wasn’t tall enough. “If you would be so kind?”

Amaryllis walked past him and covered the grip in her purple aura, but nothing happened. “The door is locked.”

Thiemo sighed, already wanting to go to the next one when he got an idea. Again he went up to the wagon, and this time he knocked the door. “We are no conductors; we simply want to get to Fillydelphia.” A clack was audible as the door opened a bit.

“Huh? Foals?” An old stallion with a scraggly beard stuck his head out, looking from left to right. “Are you alone?”

“Yes, and we need to get to Fillydelphia.” The homeless stallion seemed to think, looked around one more time, and finally made way. Thiemo jumped in, followed quickly by Aura and Amy.

“Who’s there, Mender?” the voice of a mare asked from a dark corner. She was covered in sheets and looked sleepily with a leg before her face.

“No one, Glitter, only some foals that want to get to Filly,” Mender responded. Both were obviously living on the street. Mender’s fur color could only be speculated, an old cap hiding his greasy brown-grey mane. Of Glitter, he only saw that she was a unicorn.

“Then close the door! Some of us are trying to sleep,” she said and turned around again.

“You heard the lady. Make yourself comfortable in a corner.” Thiemo didn’t need to be told twice and grabbed his backpack, threw it in a corner, and placed himself on top of it. A second later, Aura joined him. He was way too tired to make up his mind about anything. Over the next two days, he’d sleep wonderfully.

*** ~ [dropkickproductiontx - Love as a Life Source] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original characters, background, designs and theme © at Hasbro and the rightful owners. Please support the series and the creators.

Chapter I - Intermission 3 - Barking Dogs Never Bite

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“So one more time, Bado.” The diamond dog was getting frustrated. It was the third time he had told his buddy the plan. While he, himself, was not exactly what one would call smart, Bado just took it to another level. “We block everyone who wants to pass by unless they pay us a fee, understand?” The large diamond dog nodded. He was about twice the height of the dog in front of him and twice as broad.

“All right, Rufus, uhm Boss.” Bado saluted and tried to knock his hind legs together. He somehow managed to hit his left leg with the right one so hard that he lost his balance and fell on Rufus. Both dogs moaned.

“Get off of me, you dumbass.” Desperately, he tried to move the heavy weight on top him without success. “Sometimes I really can’t believe we’re related.”

“Sorry...” Both stood up and looked to see whether anyone had observed their little slip up. The path was not just any ordinary track but the one you had to take from the market to the lower living areas. Rufus' plan was simple: everyone who was smaller than Bado had to pay if they wanted to keep their teeth. Quick money to spend on diamonds.

“Now watch out already – I think someone’s coming.” The big one nodded and stared down the narrow street. For a few moments nothing happened, the only sound coming from the distant market. Finally, just as they were starting to become restless, they heard the tapping of small hooves as they spotted a young pony rushing around the corner. While Rufus smiled maliciously, Bado set himself up in the middle of the path. The small foal quickly reached them, and the diamond dog readied himself to catch her, but she just ducked through his broad legs. “Bado, you idiot! What the heck was that?”

“Sorry, but that thing was so tiny....” Yet again he got smacked by his brother.

“Care more!” Rufus' ears twitched as he turned towards the direction the foal had come from. “I think there's someone else coming. Sounds like something bigger. Maybe a dragon or a jackal.” They both nodded at each other, readying themselves in anticipation. However, what dashed around the corner was none of the two. The being was instead one which they had only heard of in legends. It was big, brandishing a staff in its hand, and seemed exhausted.

“Is that... a human?” Bado seemed unsure as the thing rapidly approached them.

“It doesn’t matter! Stop it!” his brother yelled at him as he quickly took cover behind him. The human seemed to realize what they were planning, as his face darkened and something in his hand shined. “Rufus, what is he doing...” He didn’t get any further as a leather boot lashed out and struck his face. The human suddenly vaulted at them with intense speed and used the face of the diamond dog to get past him, running down the same street the foal had taken just seconds prior.

“Can we now go home?” Bado, who was now lying down with a dazed expression, rubbed his nose and all in all seemed very done. It hadn’t exactly been a very successful day for the two bandits.

tio presents

My little Pony

Journey

~ Intermission 3 – Barking Dogs Never Bite ~

Thiemo used the new boost in speed from the diamond dog to keep pursuing the thief who had stolen his bag. The small thing, whatever it was, was much faster than he, at least without him using his sapphire. Unfortunately, he only had a few still loaded, which was still better than when he had none, a scenario he had found himself in more than he would have liked. Too bad he only ever seemed to realize in the worst moments. Maybe I should learn better resource management, he thought to himself as he continued his pursuit.

Right now, however, he had a bigger problem on his hands: those very resources were moving into a part of the bandit town he had wanted to avoid. The two dogs in the street were first signs of the area becoming more and more unfriendly. Thiemo had trouble keeping up with his bag, but fortunately he managed to keep track of which way it turned.

To get around the next corner faster, he pushed off the wall, ramming a jackal that held a large jar. It yelled at him furiously, spewing obscenities at him that were disregarded as he kept up his brisk pace. He tried to avoid further confrontations, mostly from diamond dogs as this seemed to be their territory. Sadly, it was an exercise in futility as he had to constantly ensure that he kept some distance from them. Some tried to catch him as he rammed them while some even tried snapping at him with their mouth. The thief had the advantage in that it was much smaller and faster. Soon, his fears came to pass as he lost all sight of his target. Slowly, he came to a stop, his momentum and energy all but depleted as he placed his hands to his knees to brace himself to keep from toppling over, panting heavily to get air quickly into his lungs. While he had become much fitter, he was nowhere near a marathon runner, a fact he wryly acknowledged as he struggled to get back to his feet.

Out of the corners of his eyes, he could exactly see where he had ended up – in the middle of the slums. Shabby houses, dogs in tattered clothes, and garbage everywhere. He slowly kept moving, looking out in order to avoid stepping into the piles of dog shit that seemed to be a permanent fixture. Only the typical busted sewer on the side was missing. A quick perusal of the area and he spotted just that, making his nose wrinkle in disgust. What really bothered him though, were the weapons that were poorly concealed under their coats. There were a variety of weapons here, all sorts of daggers, small swords and even pistols. Luckily, the development of weapons seemed to have stopped at what had existed in the Medieval Age back on Earth. They were old guns, the type you had to reload with powder and bullets every shot. More moderns ones did not exist, probably because magic was more effective.

“What has lost itself in our corner?” An old dog woman eyeballed him from the side. He tried to ignore her but she smelled too much, and as she started rubbing her head against his coat, he pulled her back. That only served to make her angrier, and she growled loudly, drawing further attention to him.

“Let me go, bitch, you don’t want to make me uncomfortable.” In response, her black claws flashed over the cloth of his coat, tearing a good chunk of it as she grabbed it and ran away. Cursing to himself, he inspected the damage but knew that he had to save his anger for later. Another diamond dog came closer. This one was younger and armed, a malicious glint in his eyes as he stared down the human. Quickly, Thiemo straightened himself and rushed off before the dog could do anything else, pushing away everyone who was in his way. Since he was a head taller than most here, it had the expected intimidating effect as he quickly created distance between his would-be assailant and himself. Confident that he was relatively safe for now, he slowed down once again, keeping a steady pace as he moved onward, his eyes peeled on his surroundings. Wherever the thief went, it had not come out into the open. Indeed, it could be in any of these houses, disappeared deeper into the slums or even into the sewers.

“Yet another victim of the Thieves Guild?” Startled, he spun around to face the source of the noise, coming face to face with an elder diamond dog standing there, looking at him amusedly. Thiemo stared at it, closely examining it. It was old but no less intimidating. He was as big as Thiemo and strongly resembled a bulldog, while the knife in his paw shined dangerously, another potential weapon to use against the human. “One should think that they would be afraid of a thing like you,” it casually said, spinning the knife around in its paws. Thiemo tightened his grip around his staff so he could lash out immediately just in case it tried something.

“What do you mean? Do you know where they bring their loot?” he asked cautiously. The old dog nodded and lazily pointed at a multi-story building that was a bit taller than the others. Thiemo nodded thankfully and walked past him, never taking his eyes off the old dog until he disappeared amid the throngs of the homeless inhabitants of the slums as he walked towards his destination. His alarm senses were tingling, and he knew he was watched. He basically always was, but here it was twice as bad. He couldn’t simply adapt himself for moving through these areas on such short notice. From the excursions into the wide steppe of Zebrica to the ruins of the desert, he had days beforehand to prepare. The nearer he got to Equestria, a seemingly safe zone, the more hazardous it seemed to get.

As he got closer to the tall building, he started looked out for a way to check out what was happening in there. “Altair, what would I do without you?” He sighed and moved between two downtrodden buildings. They were close enough to each other that he could push himself to the roof. He put his legs against the one and his back against the other one. Slowly, inch by inch, he worked himself upwards and finally came out on top.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t be a good assassin,” he concluded as he knocked the dust off his coat. Someone like his old friend, who used to do parkour, would’ve only needed seconds for this. The houses were not much higher than two meters after all. Unseen by the pedestrians in the grimy streets below him, he now hopped from roof to roof before finally stopping before his target. The only thing that still separated him from the open window was about a meter broad and three meters deep creek, a literal hole in the ground. Falling here would surely mean broken bones, if not worse. But he needed his backpack, not only for his money, but also his remaining gems were in it, along with all his other important stuff.

Thiemo gulped and went back a few steps to create what would hopefully be enough forward momentum. “Well then, Leroy...” He suppressed the scream that bubbled in his throat and dashed off. Everything seemed like it was in slow motion as his feet left the ground. The window came closer, but just before he could safely reached it, he seemed to suddenly hang in the air, the momentum he had built up quickly vanishing. Slowly he began to fall, his eyes wide in terror as he gaped wordlessly. Just at the very last moment, however, he managed to get his left arm around the sill while his right arm, still holding the staff, dangled perilously over the creek.

Desperately, he tried to get a grip at the dry clay of the building to no avail. Quickly, he tried to find a hold with his other hand, but before he could, his luck seemed to have come to its end as once again he felt himself beginning to fall. He shut his eyes and awaited the impact, but he only felt a jerk in his shoulder. Quickly, he looked up and saw that his staff that he had managed to put through the window with his hand now worked like a hook, since it was longer than the window. Now, he threw his left hand up to the staff and slowly pulled himself into the room. He fell forward and landed with a roll in his destination. “In movies, that always looks so simple”, he grumbled, staring at the dull ceiling as he gasped for air, feeling utterly exhausted from his exertions. Sighing, he propped himself up on his elbows, knowing that he had no time for complaining. He was now in the alleged bandits’ lair.

The room he was in seemed to be a sleeping place. A large number of beds stood at both sides of the room. Rags seemed to be a substitute for proper pillows, and the sheets and the wooden frames of the beds themselves had seen better times too. The floor, which was also made of wood, didn’t look very trustworthy either. Thiemo was lucky that he didn’t crash through it when he made himself enter, a fact that he was very grateful for.

“I am sure I heard something,” came a voice from outside the door and without thinking, he threw himself under one of the beds near the window. He even pulled the rags down a bit so they blocked the sight of him. From his concealed spot, he was able to see the door opening and two pair of paws entering the room. They weren't the browns, greys, and blacks that were typically associated with diamond dogs, but rather red and orange. Jackals. More stupid than the other dogs but decidedly more violent. They were the sworn enemies of the zebras and tended to hunt them only too well. It went without saying that he had seen these creatures more than just once. Their pointy ears and snouts always reminded him more of bull terriers than jackals. Somehow they were related to the diamond dogs but he didn’t know how, and he wasn’t particularly keen on finding out.

“The ponies are all downstairs. You only imagined that,” said another voice, its tone dismissive. “Come, the loot is getting split.” The door closed again and Thiemo was alone. Still, he waited before he left his hiding place, a trick he had learned from the zebras. Often foes came back quickly, so one should always be sure that they had gone for certain. Sometimes he felt like an ass for simply leaving them without notice. But he couldn’t learn from them, not what he wanted. They taught him to survive in this world, not how he could find a way home.

With the information that he had found the right place, he snuck towards the door. He had to watch out to not make noise, and gods forbid that he broke through the floor. Thiemo couldn’t say how thick the floor really was, or how well it was supported. So, not wanting to take any unnecessary risks, he made big, slow steps to distribute his weight. Additionally, he used the staff as a third supporting leg. It took some time but finally he reached the door and risked a look through the keyhole. The small hallway behind was illuminated by a lamp and showed only one other door, but from what he could see, there no guards or other occupants in the vicinity. Slowly, he opened the door and had a better look around. The other doors were equipped with additional padlocks. The door to the room he was in was also equipped to have a padlock on it. “Why would someone put this on the outside?” he asked himself quietly while he slipped through the gap as silently as possible. It didn’t make much sense. Unless of course you wanted to imprison someone.

Not hearing any sounds from any of the other rooms, he cautiously moved to the stairs. Downstairs was another floor and multiple doors. From one of the rooms, he could clearly hear voices, but he couldn’t tell from which they came. Halfway down the stairs, he noticed that this building was actually part of an expanded structure. On the old flat roof, they had simply built a second house and thus there was a gap between the roof and the floor. Just big enough for him, but it was dark and God knew what manner of creatures lived there. However, it was that or risk eavesdropping at the doors. diamond dogs had good ears and noses, so unfortunately his only viable option was to crawl through the gap. Thiemo took off his straw hat and climbed into the darkness. It was tighter than he had imagined and the cobwebs which fell into his face weren’t very helpful. Carefully, he reached out with his staff to try and feel for anything that might spring upon him and to prevent any possible further attacks on his nerves.

Thiemo crawled a while until he realized that the voices were right below him. With a finger, he slowly tapped into the floor and managed to clear a crack in the wood. Beneath him was some kind of living room with a fireplace and some seats. Otherwise it was vacant of any kind of furniture; only a carpet in the middle of the room decorated it. On it stood two jackals and three diamond dogs, their attention drawn to a pile of loot in their paws. On the other side of the stack sat beings he had rarely seen yet. Ponies, six in number, and from what he could, not very old. If the pegasi and Trixie, who were his only references, were fully grown, then these must be foals, maybe six, maybe fifteen years old. Some looked just old enough to go to school. “Did you bring this one?”

One of the dogs held up a saddlebag. “Yep,” it answered in a light but definitively masculine voice. “Got it from a showman in the market.” The dog started rummaging around in it and began pulling out its contents: a little bag of money along with things up like makeup and other tools that a clown would need, right up to a fake red nose.

“Garbage, but at least some bits.” The bag was thrown into the corner and the bits got counted. “Twenty bits…,” someone finally grumbled. “Give him his share.” One of the jackals pulled out a bag and threw towards the young stallion that snapped after it like a hungry dog and started devouring the meal as if he hadn’t eaten in days. Without further regard for the stallion, the diamond dog took the next bag off the pile. This one seemed to resemble a backpack, but was made of a fabric Thiemo hadn’t seen before.

“Which of you idiots stole from a dragon?” it yelled. One of the smaller ponies, a stallion with blue fur and mane lifted its hoof weakly, fear in his eyes. Immediately, he got struck with the strange bag as the diamond dog flung it violently at him, falling over with a pained grunt before lying there almost motionlessly. “I hope the risk was worth it.” The bag was searched and thrown into the corner. “Put number four into the chamber. There he can think about what he did.” The second jackal grabbed the unconscious colt with a foreleg and dragged him out of the room to the door. Now Thiemo knew that the gap was the better decision.

The next object in the paw of the dog was a jeweled cloth. This also belonged to one of the smaller stallions. Content with the loot, he also received a carrot. “So who brought this backpack?” There it was and now he saw the thief too.

“Me!” She was a small orange earth pony like the others and had a white dirty mane. Her voice sounded rough as if she needed some water. “It belonged to a big something on the place. It put the bag down as it fought a unicorn.” The dog didn’t seem to care as it slowly rummaged through the contents. Thiemo saw how his purse, his new lamp and his gems were inspected.

“Good work number six. It was about time you bring something useful.” The diamond dog nodded towards the jackal and two carrots were thrown to the hoof of the little pony. Before she could react, however, one of the colts snapped one away.

“Hey that’s mine!” But her protest was disregarded and just as she was about to eat the remaining carrot, the colt on the other side snatched it away. She jumped after her food but only got smacked and had to watch from the ground as the others ate her meal. Thiemo, meanwhile, had seen enough. These ponies were probably kidnapped by the dogs or snatched up from the streets and now had to steal for them. Whoever didn’t bring anything in got nothing to eat. The whole thing reeked of Oliver Twist.

He was just about to crawl back when the little filly screamed. She had seemingly bitten the other colt to free herself, who had then struck her down. Lying on her back, she had managed to see directly into his eye that spied through the crack in the ceiling. “There is something up there!” The dogs, who were up till now busy with the loot, looked up and got the last glimpse of his eye moving back from the crack.

“There is someone in the ceiling!” yelled the dog who had searched through the loot and was obviously the leader. Thiemo tried to hurry away but as soon as his legs were out, his foes were pulling out the rest of him. Roughly he landed on the stairs and fell down them. Quickly, he tried to catch himself and straightened himself, only to face the wondering looks of four dogs. Then a door upstairs was opened and the last of the pack joined the collective gazing. Thiemo readied himself for fight but with only a sapphire and an uncharged staff, he wouldn’t get far. “What are you?” asked the leader.

“A human,” he answered without thinking. As quick as his answer came, just as quickly came a reaction. Panic. The two jackals tried to run away and ran into the diamond dogs who stood there, rooted to the spot, and the four dogs fell to the ground and down the stairs, like Thiemo before. The leader meanwhile decided to bow on his knees.

“Please! Please don’t eat us! We have ponies! They are much more tasty!” Thiemo blinked and relaxed his fighting stance slightly, sighing inwardly with relief before allowing himself a tiny smile. This would be fun.

*** ~ [Nickelback - Animals] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter I - Act 4.1 - Layover

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Sharp, pointy teeth shining in the light fell through the old wood of the wagon. Blunt and fleshy claws slowly stroking the orange fur. A robe, its weathered and beaten state that came from seeing a number of conflicts. The color didn't give away the number of victims it had claimed since it's the same as the juice of life inhabiting every creature in Albion.

Next to it sat a young white mare. Slender, an almost elegant nature to her every move. A long, flowing pink mane that seemed to be perpetually trailing behind her. Her wings fluttered and twitched almost unconsciously with her every breath. And on her head a horn, curved, bent, sharp and looking positively wicked, surrounded by a green aura.

Two monsters which could hardly be more horrifying sat there together, exchanging stories. Between them lay a filly, apparently unaware of the danger, looking almost bored. The fleshy claws of the human kept following her form, always seeming as though it was ready to grab her and devour her right in front his eyes.

Mender kept watching the two, horrified but fascinated. When awakened this morning, on the second day of their journey, he had not seen the blue earth pony. What he had spotted was the massive, snoring visage of the terror known as a human. Unfortunately, his screams had not just woken his marefriend Glitter but also the human and the other monster. Until a few minutes ago she hadn't even show herself. Only when she had spoken to the human about food did she transform back into her real form right before his already wide and frightened eyes. Black chitin replaced the previous white fur and insect-like wings, although in bad condition, took the place of white feathered ones. She was a changeling.

Out of fear, Glitter had tightly held on to him for about an hour now even though the monsters had so far acted as though they didn’t give a damn, hardly sparing them a cursory glance every now and again. But that was just right for Mender. He was sane enough to not draw any unwanted attention to them. No, he would hold out in the dark corner with Glitter clinging on to him and stay this way until they reached Fillydelphia. At the first opportunity, when the train would slow down enough, they would jump out of the wagon. Perhaps it was not very heroic but Mender figured surviving an encounter with a human and a changeling at the same time had its own merits.

“Thanks Thiemo, I'm stuffed,“ the changeling said as her horn stopped glowing. The green light slowly flickered out, leaving only a few patches of sunlight that came through the cracks in the wood to illuminate the wagon. At her words, the human leaned back again and exhaled loudly, sounding both relieved and tired.

“Now, where was I?” he asked, wiping a palm over his forehead even though he wasn’t sweating all that much.

“You were talking about you and some of your friends being on a fair,” she reminded him, getting a thankful, if somewhat distracted nod of acknowledgement.

“Right. So, two buddies of mine and I spent the day watching the fair on a field and drank a little alcohol. A fine mixture of cola and vodka, mixed three to one point three parts vodka of course.” He stopped and looked at the changeling. “You know the effect of alcohol?”

She shook her head. “I don't think that this substance has the same effect here. But I know about it, it's a side product of drinks refined with salt.” The human made a clicking sound with two of his claws and pointed at his partner of conversation.

“Exactly, salt! I heard it has a similar effect on ponies. Does this also relate to changelings?” She nodded. “Anyway, one of my buddies was so woozy that he climbed on the, uh...” He hesitated and thought about it for a second. “I think carriage would be a proper comparison. Anyway, he climbed the carriage of the local policeman and took care of his business up there.” The human slapped his leg with his claw and chuckled heartily, although he did try to do it as quietly as possible. He seemed to be trying to avoid waking the foal who was still sleeping.

“Why would one desire to poison yourself in a manner that you lose control of yourself and do things like that?” Mender had the same question, although he smartly stayed silent. He tried not to imagine a herd of those walking around, salted out of their mind. He couldn’t help it however, and the images that came to mind caused him to shudder, and he had to bit his lip to keep from whimpering.

“Well for one thing, it’s a hell of a lot of fun. Also, it loosens you up, especially the women.” He grinned, ear to ear, winking at her as though she was in on a grand joke.

“Women?” By the confused tone in the changeling’s voice, it was clear she did not follow or share the human’s enthusiasm or understanding of his words, causing him to deflate a bit.

“Eh, you know, human mares,” he explained, waving a hand in her direction.

“That's horrible!” Mender turned around startled. It wasn't the changeling who had spoken up but Glitter. She had freed herself from his grip and was now walking, no, marching towards the monster. He did not have any hope for her by now. She had been pleasant company for the time they had been together. Mender promised himself that he would always remember her bravery in this moment. “You deliberately take away your mares’ wills just to get them into bed?” she spat, looking at him disgustedly.

The human reached out with his claws and while Mender’s brain screamed at to look away from the coming horror, he simply could not. Maybe he felt that he owed it to Glitter to see her take her final breath standing hoof to hoof with a monster. To his shock, a feeling that he had been intimate with all too well for very recent past, the human just held the flat inner side while shrugging that seemed to signify casual disagreement. “No, nothing like that. It just made them more…. receptive. I don't know how it is with ponies, but humans have endless mating rituals. You have to take her out on so many dates and give her gifts and so on. I'd call it a shortcut."

“All that for twenty seconds of fun?” Glitter judgingly held a hoof in his face, frowning her disapproval. Mender was mildly surprised he hadn't eaten her yet.

“Twenty seconds?” He blinked, before snorting in laughter. “My dear, I think you misunderstand some things here. I'm no stallion. With humans, the fun really starts at thirty minutes plus. Multiple times, with some short breaks and if both are up for it.” Mender couldn't see Glitters' face, but he still saw the way her jaw dropped.

She sat down next to the monsters. “And how much alcohol does a male need until he is willing?” She slowly leaned towards the human.

Suddenly Mender began to worry that he would lose his marefriend in a different, though no less unpleasant way.

tio present

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 4.1 – Layover ~

“You wouldn't do that to me, would you?” It was a relief to not have to look up to Amaryllis anymore. Since Glitter had pointed out half an hour ago that they would soon reach Fillydelphia, he once more used the new spell from his changeling friend.

He was now occupying himself by trying to put his clothes away again, which was quite hard only using the mouth. “What do you mean?” he asked as he pulled his head out of the backpack. The last time he had used the spell, it had lasted for a bit more than a day. Fortunately, he didn't even plan to stay that long.

“The thing with the alcohol.” They had both spent most of yesterday talking about a variety of things. Amaryllis was interested in where he and Aura have already been but also in learning more about humans. Thiemo was more interested in learning about her kind and their magic. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough chitin left to transform more than two or three times again. On the other hand, the better understanding did help him to be able to transform while appearing to look older. Now he was not a foal anymore, but a young stallion, a teenager.

He felt faintly insulted by her question. He respected Amaryllis. After what he heard from her and saw what she could do, he knew she was both smart and intelligent. Two things that a lot of people think are the same. She was someone he could enjoy talking to, although she did lack life experience. “No, why?” he asked, trying to keep his voice neutral.

“I’d say he is not the brightest,” Glitter injected herself into their conversation again. Thiemo on the other hand just rolled his eyes and put on his backpack. “Some just don't know how to enjoy the company of a mare.”

“I assure you, Miss Glitter, that I know very well how to enjoy the company of a mare. And Amaryllis is very pleasant company. I just don't...” Thiemo stopped as the cruel reality started to creep up on him again, one he had always tried to avoid thinking about. There were very few humans on this planet; probably no more than a few hundred, but that was only a guess. To find a partner of his own race was more than unlikely. “I just don't think I have to talk to you about this,” he stated, unable to keep the hostility entirely out of his voice. Once he started to talk to her like that it was hard to stop.

“A shy one, ain't we?” Thiemo didn’t answer her and went over to Aura. She was still sleeping in the corner. Conversations bored her and this was just her way of dealing with boredom.

He shook her a little with his hoof. “Aura, wake up. We're almost there.” As soon as he said that, he heard the brakes and the train began to slow down. At least this time they weren't being thrown around in the wagon since there weren’t any logs on the rails in the train station, a fact Thiemo was grateful for.

Aura slide on floor, bumping the wall, causing her to jerk awake. “Uh? What's up?” she said in a sleepy voice and rubbed her eyes before yawning. It would take days to get her in a proper sleeping rhythm for a filly again. It was later afternoon now which meant that she would be up until late at night.

“We are entering the station. Get ready.” Amaryllis took the backpack from Thiemo and put the staff into its straps. For a pony it was more than useless. It was long to use it with the mouth and due to its affinity for magic, impossible to levitate. Thiemo was working with the theory that whoever made the staff did not intend it to be used by ponies. Experiencing the disadvantages made it even clearer for him.

“What's the deal with our mute friend here?” All eyes, at least the ones not sleepy, were now on Mender who was still huddled in his dark corner. The shaking pony whimpered as he saw that their attention was now focused on him. “Come on! We’ve been together for two days now, if I wanted to eat you, you'd have already been between two slices of bread with some lettuce and tomatoes. With some carrots. Maybe with some mustard.” His words caused the stallion to whimper again as he shook his head furiously, refusing to budge from the spot where he has been all day except for the time he had used the chamber pot.

Glitter put a hoof on his shoulder comfortingly. “Really Mender, I think our friend more than proved that not all humans are monsters. He's quite charming actually.” Thiemo laughed on the inside at her words. As if old drinking stories of drunken human behavior and etiquette was stimulating conversation.

He smiled at her. “Don't thank me, my buddies were the ones who made it possible for me to tell these tales.”

Thiemo felt the train finally coming to a halt. “What I've been meaning to ask, why do you always call them buddies? Were they not your friends?” Amaryllis asked. He had to think for a moment how to answer her.

“Humans don't just simply become friends. A lot of us just think about themselves and those should be sorted out at first. It can take years until humans really trust each other. I also think the word 'friend' is used much too often these days, mostly in the wrong context.” Glitter looked absolutely shocked by his words, or perhaps it was the calm demeanour in which he had just delivered them. Amaryllis, on the other hand, just nodded her understanding instead. “In my life, I’ve maybe had two real friends I would trust my life with, aside from my family. Today, I have one more who I can count in.” He pulled Aura to him and hugged her fiercely, which she was glad to reciprocate. “But enough of that, I want to see the first real city of Equestria.”

“You have never been to Equestria?” Glitter asked, trying to focus on the change of subject. The small group looked at each other and shook their heads. “Oh, you're just gonna love Fillydelphia then. The city is just great. Countless shops, houses bigger than most mansions and pure life in the streets! It's really a metropolis.” Glitter said, the last remnants of the shock she had felt melting away into a wistful tone. “Oh, now I'm yearning. Shall we stay for a few days, Mender? We can take another train to Los Pegasus,” she urged, trying to convince the stallion.

“No!” the stallion barked. “I won't stay in a town which has a monster walking around for even one second.” Even as the last words left his mouth, Mender seemed to realize what he said, judging from the way his already comically large eyes seemed to widen even more as he took a few steps back in nervousness.

“Buzzkill,” she pouted, folding her forehooves in disappointment.

“Well, we're leaving then.” Thiemo went over to the door and was just about to put a hoof on the handle when Glitter pushed him aside.

“Not so fast.” She put an ear at the door and listened. He had no idea what she was listening for. “If there's a conductor walking around, you might get in trouble.” Aura passed him and did as Glitter. “I think it's all clear now.”

“Me too,” the filly said and got a friendly pad on the head for that from Glitter. Without further ado, she pulled open the door and daylight flooded the wagon with all its blinding power. They all flinched as it struck their eyes since they spent the last few days in relative darkness. Soon enough though, they were able to make out forms and colors surrounding them as their sight slowly returned. They stood in front of an old, three story brick building that would need some repair work sooner rather than later, which Thiemo guessed to be the station. By his estimation, it had the area of several football fields. The platform itself, which was equipped with a wooden roof, was overflowing with ponies. Other than the Leylands, one instantly knew which race was native to this city. Due to the masses, no one noticed them climbing out of the wagon and saying their goodbyes to their fellow travelers.

“Thanks for the pleasant company, Glitter. I wish you a nice journey.” Thiemo said as she handed Aura to him. She had hardly reached the ground when her attention was diverted to somewhere entirely else, drinking in the new sights around her.

“My pleasure, a safe journey to you as well.” With that, she closed the door and they were now on their own again. Amaryllis wore the backpack, which also covered her wings. They did not miss how much attention they had garnered in Appleloosa. The staff was strapped to it so she had to be careful to avoid touching it by accident. She nudged him in the side since he had joined Aura in being amazed by the scenes around then. He had never seen so many ponies in one area; even the market on Dragmire seemed poorly visited in comparison.

His rapture was finally broken when Amaryllis nudged him again, this time a bit harder. “Never have I seen so many ponies.” Thiemo saw her making a face and she started to sway slightly. “So many emotions.”

“Hey!” He knew what to do. He had had the same problem when he started his training. “Focus on me.” She nodded and took a deep breath, concentrating on the human before her. “Better?” This time she nodded, opening her eyes to look at him.

“Thanks,” she mumbled before once again breaking eye contact with him.

“My pleasure, I told you I'm here for you.” This issue now resolved, there was still the foal left. A foal that was apparently not where it was five seconds ago. “Aura?” He looked around, starting to feel a bit panicked.

“Aura?” Amaryllis shouted as well, also noticing their small companion was missing.

“Over here!” they heard her distant voice calling to them. Hurrying to where the voice had come from and saw her bouncing up and down and waving her hoof. “Come here, you've got to see this!” she enthused, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Without further hesitation, the human in pony disguise and changeling in pony disguise went down the platform where she was waiting for them impatiently. The view was breathtaking. Tall buildings which reminded Thiemo of a European town in the late renaissance period gleamed in all their glory. Separating them were broad cobbled streets which were mainly inhabited by carriages ironically driven and drawn by ponies. To Thiemo, it was almost like seeing a pony riding another pony, the scenes making him shake his head in slight disbelief. But the most astonishing thing were the colors. In contrast to the rather dull station, the houses looked as if a 3-year-old wanted to use every last crayon he owned. Yellow walls, blue roof, red walls, green roof, purple walls white roof, it seemed as though every combination was represented. To finish the picture, there were even more inhabitants than on the station, each of them vivid and bright, making it seem as though there was a moving mass of rainbow marshmallows right in front his very eyes .

“C-Civilization,” Thiemo stammered. “I lost hope I would ever see a real city again!” His outburst garnered several confused looks from other pedestrians but he wasn’t in the mood to care. The biggest building the deer had was the university, surrounded by a few small villages. The camels didn’t even have something you could call a village and the zebras lived in their tribes in the savannahs. Dragmire, although almost a city, was more along the lines of something you would call a third-world hole and all he saw of Pretuskria was the city walls and the dungeon. This was the first city he saw since he appeared on Albion. It did not help the confusion of the surrounding ponies that mare and foal next to him had a similar facial expression.

“Culchies.” Thiemo heard a comment next to him as a stallion in a suit pushed past him, snorting derisively.

“A foal at that age? Today’s youth…” That comment got Thiemo back into reality quickly and he pushed his companions forward, trying to hide the faint blush that had appeared on his muzzle. For one, he didn’t want to let the ponies around him get even more stupid ideas about them plus attention the last thing they wanted to gain.

“What are we going to see first?” Aura asked, jumping around in front of them, either oblivious or not caring about the comments that had been thrown their way. They stepped on the sidewalk and started working their way through the crowds. The foal looked in all directions and occasionally bumped into someone. Since she was significantly smaller, none of the ponies seemed to care. With her little saddlebags and her wide eyes, she was the perfect image of a tourist.

“Since some of us need more than just love and air to survive,” He totally did not look at Amaryllis as he said that, “I suppose we should look for a restaurant.” They looked around on the tables they passed. Ponies in fancy suits and dresses were sitting there, enjoying their dinner. “Maybe one that we can afford,” he amended. The establishment was clearly not in their price-range; he could almost feel his gem pouch shrinking just by continuing to look at the place. Indeed, Thiemo doubted that they would find anything affordable in this entire section of the city.

Thus they made their way further towards the center of the city, Aura’s stomach approving the plan with a growl, not surprising since their last supplies had not survive the train ride. “Can I have a daisy sandwich?” At least she thought in their budget.

“Sure, why not. But we should look for that downtown.” They followed the signs leading them into the heart of the city. Although the variation of colors became less and less the further away the station was, the masses of ponies did not. The city had some similarities with the Paris Thiemo knew from his history books. The gleam that had seemed to hold sway over the building seemed to diminish noticeably in this section of the city. While most looked presentable, there were a few shabby and ill-maintained homes that desperately needed a few coats of paint, for starters. While the streets were mostly passable, there were more potholes here and even garbage strewn about in some places, forcing the carriages to swerve sharply around it. The streetlamps were grey poles with two lanterns on the top. It wouldn’t surprise him if there actually some ponies whose job it was to light them up every night, magically of course. At least every now and then the sidewalk was decorated with trees or flower boxes, giving the area a more natural cheer.

They hardly talked while watching the city and other pedestrians as they weaved their way through them. The suits made way for simple sweaters, made for ponies of course, not that Thiemo was particularly surprised about that. This world did not hesitate to keep popping up with similarities to his own world. So why shouldn’t a pony ward itself against the cold weather of the fall? He hardly felt anything himself, probably since he wasn’t used to the fur yet. That still didn’t count for his entire body; some other parts that weren’t as furry were a little cold sometimes. This included his knees as well as his backside. His tail somehow did what he wanted as long as he concentrated on it, but sometimes it just gave way for the wind to reach an otherwise protected area. Just how the mares managed this was beyond him. Maybe it’s because they were born this way.

As the crowds started to thicken and walking space became a momentary premium, he almost ended up losing his temper, not being used to being pushed and jostled so often. As a human, no one even had dared to. He was starting to miss his human form, especially now, when another big earth pony pushed him aside. “Watch it!” Thiemo yelled after the disappearing back of the earth pony as he vanished in the masses. “Not even two hours and I already miss the silence.” The way he changed his mind, he was starting to think he was becoming bipolar.

“What are you talking about dad? Isn’t it great here?” Aura, on the other hand, was having the time of her young life. It was as if she was looking for some sort of connection with other ponies. Thiemo thought that this might be her herd instinct. After all, they seemed to be related to the horses on Earth.

Amaryllis was euphoric as well. “This is so different to the hive. So much chaos, no order and yet everything seems to work the way it should, even without a queen actively controlling.” Both were watching everything, paying attention except for the way they were walking. Thiemo was just glad that they both didn’t seem to be focusing on the events of the past few days. Especially Aura. He was unsure about the changeling princess. He liked her, there was no question about that, but she wasn’t with them out of free will. Maybe she had some kind of Stockholm Syndrome?

Before he was able to reflect a little more about this topic, his stomach gave that universal demand for refill and conveniently he spotted a tavern. “Perfect!” he called out and tapped his companions to gain their attention. They followed his hoof to the pub on the other side of the street. They waited for a gap between the carriages before hurrying across to the entrance.

Just as the rest of the city, it was old and rustic looking but had a charming air about it. While the walls were made of stone, the rest was made of wood. There were several solid pillars supporting the ceiling that looked to be made out of marble while the squared counter in the middle of the room housed several bartenders serving the customers around them. Walking briskly around the tables where several diners were seated were several waitresses walking around, wearing aprons and had a notepad behind one ear and a pencil behind the other.

Thiemo stepped forward but was immediately stopped by a hoof. “No salt for foals.” He looked into the eyes of a brawny earth pony. His dark red fur and gray mane were somewhat intimidating. Or perhaps it was the cords of muscle that were visible to him even under that thick coat that gave him that feeling.

“Good thing there are no foals here.” He pushed the hoof aside but it immediately sprung back to his chest. The stallion pointed his head towards Aura. “If I’m old enough to have her, I’m old enough to dine here. Do you want my daughter to wait outside like a dog on a leash?” The bouncer seemed to be unsure for a second but then shuffled inside to let them in.

Satisfied, they went to an empty table and sat down on the cushioned benches. “I cannot believe that worked.” Amaryllis said as she put the backpack underneath the table. With her wings against the back, she wouldn’t draw as much attention, especially since the place was pretty busy and no one really cared to give them more than just a cursory glance.

“It’s all about being convincing. If you can’t believe your own lies, how could someone else?” Amaryllis snickered while Aura opened the menu on the table.

“You sound like my mother. She always tried to lecture me about lies. It’s essential for us should we be in a dangerous situation,” she explained, causing Thiemo to smile faintly.

“Your mother might be a lot of things but dumb isn’t one of them.” At that moment the waitress came to their table. Aura ordered her desired daisy sandwich and Thiemo ordered a salad while Amaryllis stayed with water. When she was gone, they continued their conversation. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.” He stopped, his smile vanishing as he looked down pensively. “Can you fly faster than your mother?”

Amaryllis seemed astonished at the question. “Faster than mother? I don’t think any changeling can.” Thiemo nodded his head, her words confirming his thoughts.

“Isn’t it strange then that we managed to escape while you had to carry us both?” She seemed to realize it for the first time as well, judging from the thoughtful look on her face.

“What does this mean? She wanted us to escape?” she wondered aloud.

“That’s how it looks to me,” he said quietly.

“The big evil bug wanted us to escape?” Aura asked from aside.

“For whatever reason, maybe…” He lost track of his thoughts as a tall figure entered the room. At first he thought it for a Diamond Dog. It was covered with pelts, even on the head, but then he looked a second time. On its back there was a backpack, similar to his. The face was covered with hair, but it was more of a beard than fur. A fleshy nose poked out of it, with two small brown eyes above it. Thiemo was surprised that no one seemed to notice as it sat down two tables away. The beard was red while everything else was grey. Did a human really just enter the tavern?

Chapter I - Act 4.2 - History Lesson

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 4.2 – History Lesson ~

Open mouthed, Thiemo watched as the human made himself comfortable at the table, putting down his backpack on the ground. As he got up, the barrier blocked his sight on the newly arrived guest. “Aura, you see that too, right?” he whispered urgently to his daughter, jabbing a hoof across to where the human was seated.

The foal looked across to where Thiemo had pointed and nodded, her eyes widening slightly as she instantly recognized the creature. “That was a human just like you, wasn’t it daddy? I have never seen another before, but he has so much more hair than you. It’s almost like he has fur.” And that was one of the main things that was troubling Thiemo; he had never met any other human in all his travelling. He knew that they existed in this world from the tales furtively whispered amongst the different races on this planet and occasionally from the sketches and carvings that depicted them that each race possessed. While he would definitely call them humans, there was something about them that seemed so foreign from himself; not just their physique or rumoured powers as the stories claimed, it was something he couldn’t put his finger (or in this case, his hoof) on yet.

“Do you want to talk with him?” Amaryllis asked, causing him to jump slightly as he was jerked out of his thoughts, nodding his head in silent confirmation while inwardly rolling his eyes. Of course he wanted to talk to the only human he had found since he arrived in this world. The only question for him was how he would do it. For one thing, he was currently in shape of a pony and he had no clue whether he should or even could turn it into an advantage. If did he end up revealing himself, there was a greater chance that he would be more willing to talk. On the other hand, doing so could make the other human try to glean information from him that he was rather reluctant to share so easily. After all, learning that he was a shaman could give the other human some rather unpleasant ideas. The question that played most on his mind was deciding what was more important to him: his secrets or the potential information he could gain.

For a few moments he remained silent, distractedly beating a small rhythm on the table with his hoof, mulling it over in his mind while remaining oblivious to the curious looks aimed at him by his companions. Finally, he decided that while it was a risk, it was almost necessary to take it. After all, it was impossible to say when or even if he would ever meet another human.

His mind made up, he turned to Amaryllis who was still patiently waiting for him to speak. “Is there any chance you can find out something about him? I mean, can you access his feelings or emotions?” he asked. She closed her eyes and concentrated for a few moments, her horn faintly glowing.

“No, he is protected, just like you are. If you wouldn’t let me in, I couldn’t access yours either,” she finally admitted, shaking her head. He sighed; he had hoped to gain more of an advantage by getting at least a small hint of the human’s current state of mind before approaching him but apparently that would not be happening.

“Okay, then don’t wait for me with the dinner. This may take a while.” Thiemo hopped off the bench and started to walk straight over to the human, who had apparently just finished giving his order to a nervous looking waitress. As Thiemo approached closer, he was able get to a clearer look of the man. Under his hood, which seemed to be disturbingly made of a diamond dog’s scalp, was long red hair that hanged limpidly out of the hood, looking dull and greasy. His beard, just as red and dirty looking as the hair on his head, grew thickly on his face, covering most of it. In contrast to his hair, his cloak was grey, reaching down to the ground, enveloping and hiding most of his body in all its worn and tattered glory. By his estimation, the man looked to be in his thirties or early forties, his face looking weathered and beaten and his eyes seemed to be constantly warning anyone from daring to approach. They seemed weary and tired, belonging to one who had seen and lived through much, but now they only seemed to want one thing - a break.

“Hi!” His excitement and nervousness made his voice crack as he called out to the human and now sounded way too high and pipsy, making Thiemo wince as he heard it himself.

The bearded man raised his head slightly, looking as though he was trying to filter out the voice of the dozens of guests, before he spotted Thiemo standing before him. From the way he sat at the table which was made for ponies, he looked like a giant. Even from an average human’s perspective he was well over two meters. For a moment, his eyes held Thiemo’s in his own, silently looking him over before snorting dismissively. “Be quiet and go back home, kid,” the man said, turning away from him.

If the human wanted to be left alone then that was too bad, since Thiemo could be stubborn and persistent when needed. “I want to ask you a few questions,” he shot back, while sighing to himself. Since he started this whole young pony farce, he might as well see it through. He leaned his front hooves against the table to get closer to the human’s face, peering up at him. “You are a human, right? Am I right?” That certainly got his attention as his eyes shot wide open and he quickly pulled Thiemo to the other side of the bench.

“Watch what you say, alright kid? Not everybody needs to know that.” His voice was deep and rough, rumbling on as though he hadn’t tasted water in weeks. “So what do you want to know? No, we cannot run through walls and no, we can’t read your minds to make your nightmares come true either,” he grumbled, sounding both exasperated and irritated. It seemed as though this human had heard the horror stories constantly repeated about humans and didn’t take too kindly to them.

Thiemo shook his head. “I know that, but I have a couple of different questions. Are there more humans? How did you come to Albion, and what is your name?” he fired off. This time he didn’t even have to fake his childish way, the questions just flooded his mind as he blurted them out.

The human leaned back, drumming his fingers on the table as he considered how best to answer him. “Names can be a very powerful thing to know, boy,” he said, a hint of maliciousness riding the tone of his voice. “However, you may call me… Aschlant. With whom do I have the pleasure?” he asked almost mockingly.

“I’m Blue,” was the first name that came to his mind again and for the moment it had to be enough.

“Ponies and their names,” the man, now known as Aschlant, mumbled in English, causing Thiemo to smile despite himself, feeling a brief surge of joy at hearing those words. Not because of its contents but because it wasn’t Equestrian like they spoke before but real, good ol’ English. “So then Blue, of course I’m not the only human. Otherwise we hadn’t survived the last thousand years.” Those words certainly grabbed Thiemo by surprise. The last thousand years? That answered the question how he came here; he must have been born here, but then… where did he learn English then? Sighing, Thiemo rubbed his head with his hoof; without revealing himself, he couldn’t go further into this matter.

***

Amaryllis sat at her table and watched how Aura slowly devoured, bit by bit, every of her entire sandwich, relishing each bite. She didn’t feel any hunger since one of her new friends had supplied her with what she needed. Friends. The word sounded and felt so strange and exotic every time she thought about it, it seemed to roll so smoothly in her mind. It was only a few days ago that she knew this human and his young foal and now she was already called them her friends.

On the other hand, she had talked a lot with Thiemo the last two days they had spent in the wagon, both of them exchanging stories about themselves and their experiences. Well, his experiences mostly; she didn’t have any of note to speak of until recently. He had told her of all the places he had been to on Albion and what he did before he came to this planet. His voice had sounded so melancholic and yet there had been some warmth under the sadness as he told stories about his family and his friends before moving on to Aura, recounting the manner in which he had found her and why exactly he took care of her. In return, she had shared what knowledge she had of magic with him, stories about the everyday operations in the hive and even some of the history with the changelings, although she was careful to omit certain details. They had laughed, philosophized and simply exchanged views on the most trivial of things. While she didn’t know how Thiemo felt about it all, for her it felt so…. invigorating, so refreshing, to speak with someone so openly. The only person she had ever spoken with before this was her wet nurse, and that was a rarity.

“What do you want to do in Canterlot?” Aura has just eaten the last few bites of her meal, which drew her attention from the plate to Amaryllis, who was jerked out of her thoughts.

She blinked a few times, trying to recall what the filly had just said. “Uhm, Thiemo wants to help me search for my father.”

“Do you know your father?” Amaryllis wanted to answer but no words left her mouth. No, she didn’t know her father and she knew only the barest of details about him. All she knew was that he was at the castle at the time of the invasion and he had something to do with the bride. That brought up another depressing thought: there was a good chance he could be married now, he might have even had other foals and would not want her around. That possibility seemed even more likely when she threw in the fact that she was a changeling. She wondered if a pony could truly love and accept a changeling, even if that pony was her own father. While Thiemo had assured her on more than one occasion that everything would be all right, she doubted that it would be so easy, so simple.

“Sorry that I asked,” she heard Aura say quietly, drawing her away from her thoughts. “If you don’t know him, it’s not so bad. I don’t know my real parents either.” For a few moments it was quiet, before the filly continued, her voice, sounding older to Amaryllis’ ears. “I never got to meet them, you know. All I knew were the other foals and the Diamond Dogs, who were really mean. Actually, they all were mean,” she amended, laying her hooves on the table as she stared at them contemplatively before continuing. “Then one day, just like that, Thiemo came to us. The dogs were afraid of him and so were we. I mean, anything that scared them would have to be really scary.” Amaryllis thought back to Thiemo’s appearance when she had first seen him. He was tall, even a bit taller than her. His form was strange and he didn’t seem to have any natural weapons to attack or defend himself; no claws or paws, just those squishy little things he called hands. He had no mane or fur, he called it hair and even then he only had it on his head and a bit in his face. Well, there was some in another place but she quickly tried to shove those thoughts out of her mind, hoping the filly across from her didn’t notice the faint blush that appeared on her face.

Yes, he was certainly not someone who would be called ordinary, but she couldn’t see herself being so afraid of him. Even when she was hurt and was lying on the ground, completely exposed to whatever he had in mind for her and at his mercy, he had cared for her even though her swarm had kept him captive. “I think every species has individuals you should be afraid of,” she stated carefully, turning her head slightly so Aura could not see her face. “Thiemo isn’t one of them, I think. Did he ever start a fight?”

The foal thought for a moment but shook her head. “Not that I know of. He may use his stones to light fires and things like that, but in fights he only fights back when they attack first. But often he helps to get them angry when he’s trying to be funny.” They both giggled for a while before it petered out.

Amaryllis used the silence to respond to her. “To answer your question, I don’t know my father, no. But that is exactly what I want to change. Even if he can’t help me or doesn’t want to see me, I would like at least to know where I’m from.” She raised her glass and took a sip.

“Dad always said that he wants to look into whether I have relatives in Equestria, but ever since a couple of weeks ago he doesn’t even mention it anymore.” Amaryllis knew what she meant, she had felt it herself. What Thiemo wanted was for Aura to be happy and to grow up in peace and safety with her relatives. At the time he told her about it, sadness had seemed to settle onto his features prominently. He didn’t want to leave her or Aura either, but he would if he knew they would be better off. Yes, she had felt it more than clearly. Now, the question for her was whether she had the right to stick her nose in.

***

Thiemo couldn’t seem to draw any conclusions from the information he had gained at all. While Aschlant had revealed a lot about the humans here, he didn’t mention how they got here. He couldn’t be the only one who had appeared here simply out of the blue, that possibility was simply too small. What would teleport a single individual from one planet to another? The humans on earth didn’t have the technology. The ponies quite possibly had the magic to do so, but no one knew him here, so why him?

Aschlant had spoken at length with him about the village of humans on a small island named Ti. Where this name originated from was unknown, only that they had lived there ever since they began to record history. From what he had told him after, they were roughly on the same level of technological development as every other species, aside from the fact that they did not possess any magic. Thus, much of what they had invented was driven by steam power. He personally never was a fan of steampunk, but here this had become reality.

“And that was the moment the fire nation... I mean Equestria attacked?” Aschlant had just told of the war which had happened a thousand years ago on Albion. Why exactly it had happened he didn’t know, but the outcome was that the humans were banned and restricted to their island, not allowed to leave for the mainland.

“Exactly, all we know is what the recordings of that time say. Humans used to be elsewhere. Something must then have happened and in the next moment Equestria was at our doorstep and threatened us with war.” From the way he made it sound, one would think that the humans were completely innocent, something that Thiemo sincerely doubted. If they were similar to humans on Earth then it was probably the opposite, but he didn’t want to anger his source of information. “Since I’ve answered your questions, could you go away? I want my rest,” he growled, folding his arms in annoyance.

“Before I do that, I’d like to show you something.” Thiemo stood up and went back to his table. Aura and Amaryllis were talking to themselves in low voices and paid him a cursory glance as he pulled out one of his findings out of his bag. With it in his teeth, he went back and laid it on the table. And then came the silence. Thiemo was silent because he wanted the opinion of the human and Aschlant because he was shocked. Or at least that was the impression he gave, judging by his wide open eyes and his slackened jaw as he gave a decent impression of a fish out of water. To say that Thiemo was rather pleased at catching the human so off guard would be an understatement.

“By the gods and everything that is sacred,” he mumbled once more in English. Slowly he reached his hand out to the grip and held it in his hand. It seemed as though he knew more about the knife without blade. “Where did you get this trash?” he asked in Equestrian.

“Let’s both act for a moment as if you were not talking to a stupid little pony but instead a conversation between two adults,” Thiemo responded in English, which once again made his opponent drop his jaw. He decided it was a much better look for the other human to have. “I may have objects which could interest you but I have few clues as to what they are or can do. How about you change that?”

Aschlant leaned forward and held the grip between their faces, his eyes gleaming fiercely. “This, my little friend, is a relic of the ancients. A leftover from the times before the war. I have no idea what it is good for or what it can do, but the educated ones on Ti would make you a done man if you show them something like this.” So maybe it was an antique human weapon without a blade, but maybe that simply wasn’t all there was to it. But then again, there would have still been a place for the blade. He sighed; he couldn’t sell it and it wasn’t as though he could simply waltz into Ti.

Sighing again, he nodded to the weapon. “I have a proposition for you,” he began, watching as Aschlant nodded his interest. “I give you this relic and you give it to your educated ones. If they find something, you send me the results to the university in Concordia. Does that sound fair?” The way Thiemo saw it, what use would an object be if he didn’t know how to use it or even whether it still worked at all. No, knowledge would be a more realistic approach and this way he could get it. Sooner or later he would surely return to Cervidas and visit the deer again and then he would get the information he wanted. For now, it was simply a matter of patience.

“You know I would’ve taken that thing either way?” As the human said that, he realized that his left hand went under the table. Before he could do anything further, Thiemo saw the knife that was just inches away from his stomach. Yep, he had hugely miscalculated this. “Tell me, what else is in your little backpack? I’ve been travelling on this damned continent for a year and never found anything nearly as worth as this.”

If Thiemo had dared to make any sudden movements, he would have slapped the back of his own head in annoyance for his own stupidity. This man was a damned treasure hunter, albeit not a very successful one. “To quote an important person on this matter, trash,” he replied, his attempted bravely undermined by how much he was sweating.

The knife touched his belly briefly, causing him to hold his breath. “Would you mind showing me this trash? I’m just very curious.” Thiemo had a small look around in the tavern. No one seemed to notice what was happening, but then he saw Amaryllis’ look. She was staring at him questioningly, as if she only awaited a sign. Maybe it isn’t that bad having a changeling reading your emotions, Thiemo thought.

“What would stop me, as soon as I stood up, from simply not coming back? The moment I’m out of your knives reach, you would lose your position. Sure, you might get to me but I doubt you would make it out of this place so easily. I’ve got what I want, but I still got stuff you want.” Aschlant seemed to think over what he just said and looked around, spotting how Amaryllis and now Aura was staring at their tense exchange. Slowly, he pulled back the knife, causing Thiemo to breathe easier.

“I have met many ponies, but none ever showed so little fear of me.” Thiemo saw how the human put the knife into his belt as he shook his head, smiling ruefully.

“Did I ever claim to be one?” He couldn’t help himself but grin. Being mysterious and speaking in riddles just to see the clueless faces of others was priceless. “I think we are done here.” The treasure hunter remained calm as Thiemo stood up and walked back to his table. As he sat down where the salad was still awaiting him, he met the expecting looks of the others.

“And?” asked Aura.

“We visit the Canterlot castle first,” Thiemo answered in between chews. “Seems like it is without its two regents at the moment.” Yes, Aschlant had told him useful information. Too bad that now he would never know what the relic really was. Something told him ever since Aschlant had pulled the knife on him that the human would probably not keep his end of the bargain.

Chapter I - Act 4.3 - No money? No problem!

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 4.3 – No money? No problem! ~

Until now, Thiemo had never worried much about money. Whenever he had found himself without a coin to his name, he had either stolen some or directly pilfered the desired goods he needed. Luckily for the public, his needs were low and his skills were embarrassingly restricted. The only trick he had in his repertoire was where he would roll his feet in order to create less noise. Because of this inability, Aura often ended up being the thief while he did the one thing he was good at: creating a distraction. For the most part, he only had to stand on the street in full view for that to happen.

However, this was only an option when there was no other way to get money. He usually did this mostly by telling tales, not his own ones; they were much too common for this world. After all, what could you tell people who were used to mysticism and magic along with a plethora of mythical monsters? Science Fiction was the simple answer. As often as he had told of the adventures of Captain James Tiberius Kirk, it was likely that there were already fan clubs in some regions already. Sadly he didn’t know more than one or two episodes so that he was usually forced to improvise something.

What he had never realized was that his own appearance and what he was played a big part of the credibility and believability of his tales. A pony, in a city full of ponies, who told a story about an incredible adventure between the stars would be mildly interesting to a few ponies, but it would remain a story, something they might have forgotten by the end of the day. When told by a large two-legged creature out of a foal’s nightmare however, it made things somehow more believable and frightening, the tale and the storyteller etched in their minds for a long time. However, since he was still a pony and his stories hadn’t gone down well with the locals, it didn’t come as too much of a surprise to Thiemo when Amaryllis, Aura and himself got kicked out of the third tavern in Fillydelphia after they had tried to gain an audience inside. To add to his never ending list of problems, even though he didn’t want to admit it and had tried to bury it under his immediate priorities, fears about their finances did play upon his mind. It wasn’t so much about their immediate financial security he was worried about but for the time they would have to spend in Canterlot. He wanted to learn much about magic, Amaryllis wanted to search her father and in between he would search for Aura’s relatives. In other words, it was nothing that could be accomplished in a few days or even weeks’ time.

Stealing was always an option but Canterlot was the capital of the empire. Aside from the guards being relatively well trained when compared to the smaller towns, he would also not being able to disguise as a pony anymore since the chitin was only enough for one more use. He cursed internally that Aura had not taken the bag from the bank in Round Rock even though he knew it was the right thing to do. Well, in the end they were chased out of the city anyway.

With a loud bang, the door of the Tipsy Mare behind them slammed shut and once again they found themselves in the bright glare of the afternoon sun in Fillydelphia. “Well that could’ve gone better,” Thiemo dryly remarked, trying to shake the dust off him.

“I don’t know what their problem is, I like your stories the best, Dad.” Once again, Aura tried to cheer him up as she had done ever since they had first been thrown out of a tavern. She was lying though, she genuinely seemed to love his stories. Be it the stories of Spacefish Surprise, Black hole Extreme or the tales of the Grimm brothers, the child friendly version of course. Even though his daughter was mature for her age (or simply more jaded, even if he refused to acknowledge it), he wanted to preserve what childlike innocence she had remaining.

“I must say, they are very special,” Amaryllis agreed with a nod of her head. “I never thought of traveling between the stars with a ship. I mean, there isn’t any wind in space, is there?” Well, his attempts to explain warp machines seemed to have failed horrendously. Of course, that may have been due to the fact that he didn’t understand most of the theories and mechanics behind it. The only thing he was relatively sure of was that space and time bended.

“It’s… not really a sailing ship like the ones you know,” Thiemo sighed and looked into the confused faces next to him. “Never mind. That doesn’t change the fact that we need money, at least a bit to survive the first few days in Canterlot. Any ideas?” They were currently walking down one of the side streets, so they could talk relatively freely without being afraid of someone hearing something his ears were not supposed to.

Both said nothing at first, the only sounds their footsteps (or hoofsteps in this case) dully echoing as they walked. Just as Thiemo was about to ask again, Aura stopped, brightening up considerably. “I could go uh… empty some pockets,” she suggested, jumping around excitedly. “I’m so fast that they would never get me, that always worked,” she said, a hint of cockiness in her voice. What a foal considered fast was far from what fast meant for grownups. In response, Thiemo merely raised an eyebrow at her statement. While it was certainly true that she was agile, almost any adult pony would be able to outrun her stamina-wise. Ponies weren’t like humans; they got faster the older they aged. Only when they became elderly did they start slowing down considerably.

Thiemo coughed and pointed at himself. “If you were that good I wouldn’t be here,” he dryly noted, causing her to hang her head, feeling somewhat abashed. “Besides, it’s not as though I would be able to distract anyone like this.”

“I could distract them,” Amaryllis suggested, causing them to turn towards her. “I mean, we changelings are masters of camouflage and disguise. I could just transform into a beautiful mare.” Without waiting for a response, fire seemed to consume her body, burning brightly for a few seconds before it died down. Out came not the white young mare with purple mane, wings and horn from before but a yellow pegasus whose mane seemed to be perpetually aflame. Thiemo noticed as she turned that her cutie mark looked like a phoenix of flame. “Something like this?” To underline her offer she twirled her tail as she walked, making sure she placed more emphasis on the way she walked so that her flank seemed to bounce and tremble with every sultry step she took.

Aura giggled a bit as Thiemo tried to detach his gaze to look at something other than the swaying flank in front of him, his efforts only partially successful. “Sure uhm… and who are you imitating?”

“I’ve seen this pony on a poster a drone brought in once. She is called Spitfire, I think.”

“Well I admit that could work.” And how it could, it had even affected him, though he would never admit to it. “However, since this pony was on a poster, she’s probably famous. So what’s your exit plan?” he asked.

Amaryllis blinked with her orange eyes, looking at him confusedly. “My what?”

“How would you get rid of the attention once we’re finished? Also, this Spitfire is a pegasus and judging by her name and this poster, she’s apparently famous for her flying skills. Can you fly at the moment?” Hesitantly, she gave her wings a few flaps before jerking from the unexpected and sudden pain. In his own mind, Thiemo was secretly happy for this, since it meant that Aura would not be involved. “Well, I guess we’ll have to abandon that idea for now. By the way, if you transform back, spare the wings. You can’t use them and Aschlant told me that the pony princesses have both horn and wings too, but I haven’t seen a normal pony with both. It would explain the trouble back in Appleloosa.” She nodded and transformed back to her old form without the wings this time. “I think I’ve got a better idea. Can you use magic without someone seeing it?”

Amaryllis gave him a look that seemed to seriously question his sanity. “What do you mean? I have never heard that magic is visible. Of course you can see the consequences like a levitating object, but you can’t actually see magic itself. I think you need to be more precise.” Thiemo’s eyes widened and he turned away from them, his mind racing. Could they not see the auras around the horns of unicorns when they used magic? If they could not, then why was he able to? The most likely answer swam to the forefront of his mind a few moments later. He was a shaman and Zarni had trained him to see energies. Unicorns and other magical creatures were always surrounded by this special energy so they unconsciously filtered them. All ponies had some sort of magical nerve system at least, so perhaps that was why they seemed to be unaware of it. “Okay!” he stated firmly and turned around again. “I will distract the ponies. But let’s get two things straight. We take only what we need and only so much that it is not missed. The last thing we want are guards on our tails.”

***

Should Thiemo have ethical worries that this way was almost too easy? Probably. Stealing a little child’s balloon should be harder than taking money from pony’s pockets. “There’s a UFO!” he screamed and pointed his hoof towards the sky. All ponies near the booth looked to where he pointed and slowly a couple of bits flew from the open cash register of the cherry booth into the backpack on Amaryllis’ back. Thiemo figured the merchant somehow deserved it because he charged ridiculous ten bits for a fruit. Playing a dispenser of karma didn’t help to ease the guilty feeling in his stomach every time he did this.

“Hey, there is nothing there,” came the bewildered voice of one of the surrounding ponies and turned to Thiemo. The others turned their gazes towards him shortly after but Amaryllis had already taken her share.

“Excuse me, I must’ve been mistaken, it was probably just a fat pegasus,” he said, allowing some sheepishness and embarrassment to leak into his voice. With that, he quickly walked off, followed by his accomplices.

“Wait a minute… what is a UFO anyway?” he heard someone ask in the background before they turned around the next crossway. He didn’t know how many bits they had swiped, that was Aura’s job.

And so they continued, one distracted the ponies, the other one magicked away a few bits from the unsuspecting merchant and the last one counted. In case anyone approached them, they could always say Aura was simply counting his money for him. “Add in the last twenty bits which makes…” She chewed on her lip unconsciously as she calculated. “Sixty two bits in all.” Not a bad haul for an hour’s work. His stories earned them, if he was lucky, a bit less than half of this and that was for an entire evening’s work. Until now their victims were mostly the big booths surrounded by ponies; it was rather obvious that the more customers they had, the more money they could get away with. While he did not have a real limit, Thiemo thought getting around one hundred bits would be sufficient.

They continued walking through the crowded marketplace. Aura seemed eager to contribute more significantly and every now and again she made a move to nick something from a pony’s saddlebags but every time she was met with Thiemo’s disapproving look and resisted the urge. She had been raised as a thief and the relative short time she had been travelling with him didn’t make her forget old habits. From time to time he had even had problems explaining to her exactly why stealing was wrong even while they did it. The concept of ‘necessity’ was probably too much to explain to a young filly; even Thiemo had a hard time justifying what they did to himself.

Amaryllis poked Thiemo in the side, abruptly interrupting his self-recriminations. Seeing she had his attention, she nodded towards a booth nearby. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it belonged to a jeweller. Whether ponies wore clothes or not, they seemed to jewellery, well, at least the mares, something Thiemo wryly noted was something they seemed to share with their counterparts on Earth. The difference was that in this world, gold and silver were used to decorate and highlight jewellery made of gems since these precious metals were much more scarce and valuable while on Earth it was the other way round, where humans used gems to highlight jewellery made of gold and silver. It didn’t really come as a surprise to Thiemo, considering that gems were like weeds in some areas.

While this potential target seemed promising, one considerable problem was that not one pony manned the booth but three. Three unicorns to be exact. One of them was binding different hoof rings around the legs of a customer while she flashed them into the sun to see how good the contrast to her fur was. At least, that was the only explanation for why they held them into the air with their legs. The second one was supplying the first with choices from a small cart behind the booth. The third and last one was also the oldest and judging by the similarities she shared with the first two, she was probably the mother of the other two. All three had a silver fur with slightly different tones and green manes. The mother was watching her booth and everyone around it with a hawkish gaze and Thiemo doubted that she would be as easy to distract. Unfortunately Amy and Aura went ahead and also watched the goods.

With a sigh and a roll of his eyes, he pushed himself through the crowd of mares to the ones who were travelling with him. It was at that exact moment that he wished he had a male companion. “Look at all this beautiful jewellery!” Amaryllis said excitedly as he stopped next to her. Thiemo sighed; she seemed to have forgotten why they were here, so he did the only thing he could and also looked at the wares laid out to catch a potential customer's eye. There was a variety of horseshoes with all sorts of patterns here and there with little gems for decoration. There were also smaller ones, which looked like rings but were too big for a finger; he guessed that they were probably for horns. Then there were hairclips, medallions, earrings, brooches and buttons, all of which seemed to be made of either silver or golden or other metals he didn’t know and couldn’t identify. He had to admit, some of the pieces were quite attractively and beautifully done. When he was home on Earth, the only jewellery he had always worn a chain, a gift from his aunt. It was golden and had a little dolphin on it, a present for his third birthday.

“And just how can I help this lovely young couple?” He looked from the jewellery to the voice who had addressed him, spotting the elder mare. Confused what she meant, he looked to the side and realized that he hadn’t even noticed that Amy had leaned on him to view some pieces. “Uh, no thanks. We are just looking and furthermore we aren’t-” Amaryllis chose this moment to pull her head back, a single earring dangling in the air.

“How much is this fine piece?” Thiemo gave her a sharp look that totally sailed over her head as she was busy haggling over the earring. As soon as she was told a price, she immediately started butchering it down. Very changeling-like of her, he thought sourly. Did she really completely forget that they were here to make money, not to spend it? Especially on something as trivial as jewellery! Just as he was about to stop her and if necessary pull her from the booth, she turned back to him. “Look darling! Isn’t this earring absolutely wonderful? And it costs only fifteen bits!” She shoved it so close to his eyes that they started to derp.

“Miss, I thought we agreed to twenty bits,” the salesmare interrupted and her horn glowed slightly. It seemed she was to regain her jewellery thought Amaryllis wasn’t so eager to comply as Thiemo saw a purple and green aura fight over the earring.

“Look, my poor friend just wanted to buy me a nice present.” The two stared a couple seconds at each other, the earring dangling in front of them.

“Seventeen bits my last offer,” the elder mare finally said. Content, Amaryllis nodded and looked at Thiemo expectantly.

Thiemo, for his part, was completely perplexed at this chain of events. “Uhm… yeah sure, give me a moment.” He walked to her backpack and numbly took out a purse. They exchanged the money for the earring, Amaryllis cooing in delight all the while before they walked out. As soon as they were out of sight, Thiemo pulled her into one of the many streets. “What was that all about?” he hissed, unable to control the anger leaking into his voice. “We are here to make money and now you trick me into buying you an earring?”

Amaryllis jumped a bit at his words, not expecting him to be so mad. “N-No…. but we needed a distraction so that Aura…” He didn’t let her finish as he realized that he had completely forgotten about her. Panicked, he looked around wildly. “Aura? Aura, are you there?” At that exact moment, said filly came to them from the main street, holding a bag which seemed to burst with the amount coins in it with her mouth.

She let it drop and grinned at Thiemo and Amaryllis. “Didn’t I say that I’m good?” she said smugly. Unsure, he looked at her and then checked the content of the bag. It was too much to count here but even with the expenses their money had just been doubled. “And that was just one of the bags, they had five or six hidden in the cart,” she said, puffing out her chest in obvious pride.

Thiemo fought with himself. On the one side he wanted to praise her, knowing what she had done would save them a lot of trouble yet on the other hand he knew that he could not encourage her, fearing she would become even bolder. “Aura, how often have I told you that stealing is nothing to be proud of?”

She tapped on the paving stones with her hooves, hanging her head. “A lot…” she mumbled, looking dejected.

“Good. But today, just for today….” Thiemo walked slowly towards her and put his right hoof around her neck. He had no clue how ponies hugged or if they did it at all. But since Aura also leaned on him, the gesture didn’t seem to be for nothing. “Thank you. You don’t know how much this will make it easier for us.” They let go of each other and met the big smile of Amaryllis. “How about we relax for the rest of the day? I’m sure we have enough for an ice cream or two,” he said, jiggling the bag. From the cheer of his companions, he knew that a verbal answer was unnecessary.

Chapter I - Act 4.4 - Just The Beginning

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 4.4 – Just the Beginning ~

Thiemo sat together with Amaryllis on one of the many benches that were littered around the entirety of Fillydelphia’s city park. The promised ice cream had been devoured long ago and while they sat there chatting amicably about a variety of topics (although they always strayed back towards something related to magic), Aura was busy running around and playing with some fillies and colts, making full use of the playing equipment that the park had to offer with an exuberance and energy that Thiemo was envious of. There were a few swings, a climbing castle with slide and the staple of any playground, a sandbox. He had allowed her to play relatively unhindered except for the sandbox, fearing that cats had left some nasty surprises in the sandbox, so he had told Aura to avoid it. She had agreed quickly, impatient to be playing with ponies her own age.

He turned from watching his daughter playing, trying to focus on what Amaryllis was saying yet unable to stop a feeling of sadness crawl upon him. It seemed as though the chance to be able to see Aura act like a little filly her age happened more and more rarely and he knew it was partly his fault. She had been forced to mature at an early age; the cynicism that sometimes shone through should have had no place on the face of a young pony like her. He hadn’t helped the problem either, travelling from place to place so regularly could not beneficial to a child’s social upbringing. Throw in the fact that he had allowed her to continue stealing and Thiemo found himself with guilt and worry gnawing at him hungrily. The least he could do now was to search for her relatives and hopefully secure a safe, secure home for her.

Sighing, he turned back to Amaryllis, who had not noticed his wavering attention and had kept on speaking. “…So the mana flow in that part of the planet ended up a little bit weird. That’s why it’s called the Broken Leylands,” she said, pausing to take a breath. Thiemo nodded a bit absentmindedly; now that he had gotten some rest, he had been able to tell that the magical energy in Equestria had somehow felt different. “As a result of this disturbance, the weather also behaves differently over there."

“So, because the Broken Leylands are a desert, the weather depends on raw, natural magic?” he tentatively ventured, hoping his guess from the snippets he had picked up from their conversation was correct. If there was one thing Thiemo knew, it was to never let a woman even think that you weren’t paying to her, human or pony, it didn’t make a difference. Thankfully, Amaryllis nodded and smiled at his answer while he simply sighed in relief.

“We used that disturbance in order to, among others things, disguise our hive and keep it safe from potential invaders. Otherwise, such a large group of magical beings would have easily been found by any unicorn,” she said, sounding despondent. Her explanation made sense to Thiemo; well, as much sense as most things in this world. While he could feel and see the magical energy around him, he was far from being anything resembling an expert. To locate something specific with his abilities (or lack thereof) was simply out of the question, something he had rued on more than one occasion.

Restless, he twisted around on the bench to try and make himself more comfortable, only being partially successful. He would be so happy to finally be back in his own body soon, but that was currently still not an option. “Alright, but I have one more thing I’d like to ask you abo-“ was what he managed to get out before he stopped as someone cleared their throat right next to him.

They both turned their heads to the source of the noise. “Is this your foal?” A grey mare, who looked as though she was in her middle ages (Thiemo still had trouble telling how old ponies were and he wasn’t going to ask a mare her age) was glaring at him, wrinkling her nose in poorly concealed disgust. On one side of her stood Aura, on the other was a young colt, both of them glaring murderously at each other. “She tried to steal my sweet little baby toys,” she spat, turning her withering glare to the filly instead.

“That's not true! He was harassing me and I only took his toys away so he would stop!” Aura protested loudly, scowling back at the mare. Unfortunately, Thiemo knew that complaints would be useless in this case.

“First off, don’t yell, Aura. Yelling doesn’t mean you’re right.” Thiemo looked more closely at the little colt. He had a wide and satisfied smirk on his face. His whole attitude screamed that he was a little spoiled brat. “Secondly, it is wrong to take something that isn’t yours to begin with,” he continued pointedly, his thoughts that had plagued him for continuing to allow her to steal coming back full force. The grin on the little colt widened even more while Aura hung her head further, her ears flat against her skull, avoiding looking at Thiemo. The sight made his heart break a little more. “On the other hand,” he added and looked the colt dead in the eyes, causing his shit-eating grin to vanish quickly, “you don’t make fun of others.”

“But I didn’t!” the colt spoke up loudly, though his bravado was quickly failing his as his voice cracked at the end while he took a step back in nervousness.

“How DARE you even think that my little Fine Cut would do something horrible like that!” she snapped at Thiemo, causing him to shake his head in bemusement. The tempers of mother and colt were rising higher and if he didn’t stop this from escalating too far, they might end up doing something stupid and draw attention to his group. And these two seemed like the type to do something stupid.

“You mean how could I claim that a fine little pudge like yours would ever do something like that?” If he was just a little bit more sarcastic, someone would think he really believed what he just said.

“Watch out, you stupid blank flank! Mum says I only have heavy bones,” the little (age wise, not belly wise) colt shrieked. Thiemo only grinned and pointed at the colt. Only then did the colt notice that the mistake he had made and slowly looked up, horrified, at his mother.

She only stared back with an angry look. “This isn’t how I raised you, young colt!” she barked at him as she began to pull him away, clamping her teeth on his ears, ignoring his loud shrieks and protestations. “You just wait until we reach home and I find the soap!” Thiemo wasn’t able to hear anything further of her lectures since Aura drowned it out with her giggles.

“That was awesome, daddy!” She hopped up next to them on the bench and lay down beside him. “Did you see the look on his face?!”

“So, why did he make fun of you?” he asked. Aura snuggled up to him, which was a bit unusual since he was without clothes, even with his new fur. Somehow it felt wrong in his head, though he wisely didn’t voice those thoughts.

She sighed. “He was laughing at me because I didn’t have my cutie mark,” she pouted. Thiemo pondered a few seconds, wondering what she meant. “You know, the things you call tramp stamps,” she elaborated.

Thiemo coughed loudly. “Oh, yes. Those. Umm, please don’t use my wording,” he asked, turning slightly red in the face. To be blunt, he did not have the slightest idea about these cutie marks and their usage. He only knew that for ponies, these marks were important and that every mark was supposed to be unique. “You know, if it’s so important to you, we can go look around to see where you could get one. It can’t be that expensive,” he offered.

“You can’t buy cutie marks,” Amaryllis said without looking at them. Thiemo turned to her in surprise. She had remained silent since the mare and her dumpling of a son had confronted them. “They appear if and when you find your special talent, the thing that you especially excel and love doing.” Her voice sounded a little sad when she said this.

“Changelings get these cutie marks too?” Thiemo asked curiously.

Amaryllis sighed before she answered. “No, but that did not stop me from trying it when I was younger. I read about them in our library and tried for months. My wet nurse encouraged me again and again, until my mother told me truth,” she said, the bitterness from old wounds rising up from where she had kept them buried.

A fascinating thing about children was that they could and would keep surprising you, and sometimes those surprises were actually for the good. Fortunately, Aura seemed to have noticed the bad mood Amaryllis was in and changed the subject. “Dad, why don’t you want to stay a pony?”

Thiemo was a little surprised and took a few seconds to catch himself. “Well…” He pondered the question for a few moments, looking around as if some tree or the hedge could give him an answer, which they couldn’t. If they could, then maybe he wouldn’t have gotten lost on more than one occasion. “I don’t know exactly what to say except that this isn’t my real body. It feels alien, wrong, unnatural. I’m used to a life on two legs, not four. This isn’t me, you know. Not that it is bad to be a pony of course. You rarely need clothing.” Although this was rather unpleasant to him, he kept to himself. “You can hear and smell better and most importantly, you fit in every bed.” With a hoof, he poked Aura between the ribs, which caused some giggles. “But in the end, it wouldn’t be me, you know?”

Aura recovered from the attack on her ticklish stomach and nodded. “I only thought, if you would stay a pony, you could be my real dad. So we don’t have to search anymore,” she said quietly. It was like being punched in the stomach, that statement. He loved Aura so much, but she belonged in a good home where she could grow up peacefully. He would move on when everything was done in Canterlot and for the first time the realization truly dawned upon him that he would be alone from then. Not only Aura would be staying here, but Amaryllis too. He was so used to their company that everything that had happened before them was in a grey fog. Walking for days through the savannah alone, talking to nobody. Nights spend alone, sitting by the fire and to hear nothing besides the crackle of the wood and the animals around him. Thiemo was not afraid in the dark, he was afraid to be alone in the dark.

***

The last remnants of the day were slowly coming to an end as the train started to move. Thanks to their enhanced income, they could afford tickets and now sat in one of the cabins of the night express to Canterlot. They had made it just in time too; as soon as they were out of the station, Thiemo’s spell had stopped working. Now, once again, a human sat again next to the filly.

“Well, this is my last piece of chitin. Only one transformation left and I’ll have to use it tomorrow.” He held it between his fingers and looked at it. “The size of it should be enough for a few hours. So, one of the first things we need to do is looking for a hideout or a hotel that doesn’t care much about his guests. Humans are not allowed in Equestria after all. Aschlant told me they would be imprisoned immediately and then banished back to Ti.”

“Wouldn’t it be wiser to look for something outside the city?” Amaryllis asked while she closed the bag again, after Thiemo had retrieved his clothes.

“Not necessarily. The gates to the city are surely guarded. It would be a pain in the ass to sneak in the city every time.” He looked at Aura, who mumbled something in her sleep. “Plus it can’t be avoided that you two will have to help me out for a while. After the first visit in the archives, I can’t just begin wandering around in broad daylight.

“So, the first thing is the archives after all?” she asked. Thiemo nodded in response, running his hand on Aura’s soft fur, causing her to snuggle up closer to him.

“You got it. If these princesses are not in their castle, hopefully the guards will take the opportunity to relax. So, if we don’t strike now, we will miss our chance. No better time than here and now and we don’t know when next we’ll get as good an opportunity as this.” Amaryllis let the bag float in the space above the seats and lay down on her side of the cabin. As in any other train, the soft pillows were also suitable as a comfy bed. For Thiemo, the other side the bench wasn’t long enough. He had to sit cross legged or had to put his feet on the other bench where Amy was. As his hand moved slowly through Aura’s mane, he thought about the near future. Would the Canterlot archives have a spell to bring him home, or at least an answer why he was here? He would still need a unicorn that would cast the spell for him even if he did find one. That, however, was a problem he would have to worry about later.

He looked out of the big window, watching the landscape passed by as the train picked up speed. It reminded him about taking similar train rides back on Earth. Wide fields, the last rays of the sun splayed across the land and the quiet breathing in the background, except back then it was from his cat instead a small filly.

“Far over the misty mountains cold.” He didn’t know why this old poem came to his mind now or why he sang quietly instead of reciting it. “To dungeons deep and caverns old. We must away ere break of day, to seek the pale enchanted gold.” He continued quietly, singing some parts and humming the rest.

"What language is that?" Amaryllis looked at him curiously when he paused to take a breath.

“A language from Earth,” he answered quietly, succumbing to silence until Amaryllis nudged him, motioning for him to continue. “The pines were roaring on the height.” Funny how, at that moment, they begun to zip pass a small forest. “The winds were moaning in the night.” He looked out of the window once again; the sun was touching the horizon, setting the sky aflame. “The fire was red, it flaming spread, the trees like torches blazed with light.”

“That sounds rather…. eerie. What is the song about?” Thiemo could not help but give her a small smile, the nostalgia making him more relaxed than he had been in a few days.

“It comes from a very famous book from my world. A mighty dragon attacked a big kingdom and claimed their land, their castle and all their treasures for himself. The people of the kingdom didn’t like that of course, but they were too weak. They fled to live and fight another time. But as time passed, they started to forget. Forget about all their land, kingdom and treasures. This was the song they made to remember and pass down to each coming generation. They taught it to their children and their children taught it again their own children.” Thiemo gave a soft laugh. “Shortly before I was taken from Earth, they were talking about making a movie out of the book,” he said, more to himself then Amaryllis. The movie must be old by now anyway.

“If a dragon succumbs to the greed, they tend to get very unpleasant. At least, that what mother told me. I have never met a dragon myself.” Amaryllis followed his gaze out the window. “Mother, however, has seen so much.”

“On silver necklaces they strung.” He touched the chain around his neck. “The flowering stars, on crowns they hung the dragon-fire, in twisted wire. They meshed the light of moon and sun.” Thiemo didn’t know the whole poem by heart, but he did know a few verses. “Far over the misty mountains grim, to dungeons deep and caverns dim. We must away, ere break of day, to win our harps and gold from him!”

"What made you bring up that story?" she asked. Thiemo again could only laugh.

“Well, I noticed that we will do the same thing as the leader of the kingdom did. We’ll travel to the lion’s cave and steal his treasure from under his nose, only that in this case, the lion are the princesses and the treasure is wisdom. I’m betting that they would share their wisdom with me as involuntarily as a dragon his hoard too.” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Also, the poem is the start of a long journey, not the end.” The trees outside the window thinned out and the view of the countryside came into view again. However, if he strained, he could make out a mountain in the distance and…. there seemed to be an entire city atop it. No, that couldn’t be right. Thiemo didn’t quite realize what he saw at first, but then he let it sink in and he was flabbergasted. “Is Canterlot the former city of Gondor?” Of course, Amaryllis didn’t understand his reference about the city on top of the mountain. Her gaze was fixed to the mountain, it seemed as though she didn’t even hear him. “Only thing missing is a big cave of gems under the city. They should be happy that the dragons live so far in the south.” Dragons and gems were like Americans and oil. If you found one, the other wasn’t very far away.

“The city is… beautiful,” Amaryllis said, her voice filled with wonder and awe, her muzzle practically stuck to the window.

As much Thiemo tried, he couldn’t make another joke. The city was truly a sight to behold. He had thought that it was merely an illusion, that the distance from the city had distorted his view and so he thought the city was next to the mountain, not really atop of it, yet it was no distortion as they came closer to it. The towers of what he guessed to be Canterlot Castle seemed to almost be touching the evening clouds. The white walls of the city sparkled, almost like the soft light of a candle especially as the evening slowly turned to night. It was like Amaryllis said: beautiful. They stared on in silent admiration for so long in quiet companionship that Thiemo didn’t notice as his eyelids slowly closed.

*** ~ [Howard Shore - Misty Mountains] ~ ***
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Chapter I - Intermission 4 - The Family

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The door to his office opened for the tenth and hopefully last time today. Not only his patience, but also his resources were about to reach the point of exhaustion. Well, technically it wasn’t his resources but rather those of the diamond dogs, not that it mattered or made much of a difference. He was now their boss, alpha or godfather, depending on who you asked. In any case, they were more or less now his to do with as he pleased.

Thiemo put both hands around the seat of the old wooden chair he was sitting on and began to turn with little hops. Every little hop made a small bang sound when the chair made contact with the floor again. His next purchase would definitely be a comfortable leather chair with rollers, that much was certain. For the moment, however, this chair was the best he had. There were two advantages he had with this chair at the moment; first for him to sit on and the second for him to help him break the ice with his… visitors, so to speak.

Unfortunately for Thiemo, it wasn’t only the dogs that feared him, but also the small foals. Not just the six he saw yesterday either, but also another one who had come home later. There was one thing he had managed to coax from one of the foals, a bright little colt by the name of Twist. None of them had worked for the dogs out of free will. Their parents lived somewhere in the slums of Dragmire and owed the dogs a lot of money, so much so that they had been forced to ‘help’ the diamond dogs with whatever racket they wanted to pull. Now that he was their ‘leader’, he had his own little Mafia to play with.

For now, however, he had the last foal in front of him to deal with. With a last hop, he was directly behind his weathered desk and looked down to the foal with a smile. The only problem was that it wasn’t there. He looked around and found her huddled next to the door. To put it bluntly, she was a mess. Her whole body trembled, her white mane was dirty and devastated and hung over her eyes limpidly. Even through her orange coat he could practically count each rib that poked out from her body.

The other foals had laughed or at least giggled as he struggled with his chair act, but not this time. Tears dripped down in front of her and darkened the dusty wooden floor. Thiemo jumped from his chair and wanted to rush over to her but she only scrambled back even more in the corner as he attempted to approach her. “Hey…”

Thiemo went into a crouch and put his straw hat on the table that was now next to him. “Please, don’t eat me!” she bawled, trying to hide from the world with the help of her mane

“Don’t worry, I won’t eat you. I’ve eaten already,” he said, smiling and holding out his hands. His words didn’t have the effect he hoped for; like a flash, the foal ran under one of the old armchairs in front of the desk. The iron springs were already poking out of them, so sitting on them would most likely be torturous.

He waited a few seconds, unsure how to approach her now. The sobbing that came from under the armchair was heart-breaking. The last thing that he had ever seen so terrified was his old cat, Barney. He was an emaciated, weak stray kitten who had followed him for over ten miles to his home. However, he had been on a bike and he had not noticed the kitten earlier due to the music from his cell phone, but Barney was afraid for his life and was desperate, so he turned to the first being he saw. Now, here was a foal that feared him, especially since he was a human.

In the corner of his eye, Thiemo spotted an apple that had remained uneaten from his breakfast. “Hey, look. Are you hungry?” He held the apple in front of the little gap between the armchair and the floor. “It’s really delicious. I ate four already.” Blue glowing eyes peeped out and followed the apple in his slightly moving hand. Carefully, he took a bite. “See?” he smacked his lips in an exaggerated fashion. “Really delicious.”

With another choked sob, the head of the foal slowly, cautiously came out. “S-So, you didn’t eat the others?” she managed to get out, rubbing her eyes with her hooves and regarding him with extreme wariness. At first Thiemo was dumbfounded, but then he realized how it must have looked like from the outside. One foal after another had stepped into the office but none had left it. He had never told the dogs or the foals what he was planning. However, he could use this accusation to boost his reputation.

“No, of course not. I gave them a share of the booty and sent them on their way.” With a finger, he pointed towards the only window in the room that was behind his desk. It wasn’t big, but still had enough room for every slightly emaciated foal to pass through. It hurt for him to acknowledge that two fillies the size of the one in front of him could fit through it quite easily at the same time. “Here, eat this.” Thiemo broke the apple in half and put one half before her on the floor. It was important, at least with humans who had to survive long without food, to get them slowly used to it again. Her body would not be able to process large quantities. The foal hesitated for a moment and looked between him and the apple as though wondering if she could trust him, as though she wanted to make sure that he didn’t grabbed her and devour her if she made a false move. Then, with a speed that belied her ragged appearance, she reached out and grabbed the half of the apple he had left her, shoving it in her mouth in case he changed his mind and took it back. With big bites, loud smacking and flying pieces, the apple vanished in mere seconds. “So, my name is Thiemo. What’s yours?”

The foal, now halfway out of her hiding place, seemed to consider again whether if she could trust him. “Aura,” she finally muttered after a few tense seconds of contemplation, keeping her eye on him. The ensuing silence was broken by the rumble of her stomach. With a smile, Thiemo gave the second half of the apple to her. Like the piece before, it vanished in seconds.

“Sooooo… you’re not evil?”

tio presents

My little Pony

Journey

~ Intermission 4 – The Family ~

“Luigi, how often do I have to tell you that we do not want this worthless junk?” Thiemo was sitting comfortably in his chair and leaned back. On his lap was the filly, Aura, whose fur he stroked methodically, to the delight of both of them.

“Yeah Luigi, how often?!” she repeated without even looking up, snuggling into him more.

The diamond dog, who sat in front of the desk on one of the old armchairs that had the biggest iron spring exposed, shifted a bit. “My name is Waldemar,” he grumbled.

“Luigi, Waldo or Waldemar, what’s the difference?” Thiemo gave his new chair a little momentum and spun himself around towards the desk. Aura skilfully jumped off his lap and landed on the table. Both of them looked grimly at the mutt. “What should we do with junk like this?” He lifted the bag made of shed dragon scales into the air. “We can’t even sell this. Every dragon would instantly know it was stolen if a diamond dog tried to sell it.”

“Sorry Alpha”. Thiemo cleared his throat loudly, causing the diamond dog to jump before adding hastily, “I mean Don, sorry Don.”

“Better.” He threw the bag into the dog's paws. “Throw it in the ocean or something. Try to sell the contents at least. Don’t you dare to come back without at least twenty bits.”

Waldemar looked up, startled. “But the contents are only worth five bits at best.”

“Then I would hurry if I were you. I haven’t eaten meat for quite a while now,” he said, smacking his lips and baring his teeth in a wide grin. The diamond dog was in such a rush to escape the room that the heavy armchair tilted backwards, as he managed to jerk the door open in panic and ran out. With a loud crash, the door slammed shut behind him. Thiemo looked at Aura, who silently returned his gaze evenly. They waited a few seconds to be sure that no one would hear them and then they started to laugh uproariously. “Did you see his face? Beautiful!”

“I thought he would pee on the armchair,” the filly laughed while rolling on the desk. Thiemo could not help but marvel at how much she had changed in the last five months. At first he had not even planned to stay a week on Dragmire, but this little creature had woken something in him. There was also the fact that he had managed to build something in his time here to consider. He now commanded around thirty diamond dogs and jackals. He was their alpha or leader of the pack, but he preferred to be called Don.

Of course, the stealing and general underhanded activities of his pack hadn’t remained undetected for long. Only one week with him as leader had passed and he was able to push the dragons so far that they wanted to get rid of him, some of them apparently wanted to do so permanently. Fortunately for him, the dragons were at least as corrupt as any being on this island, which was to say a lot. A charming dragoness who went by the name of Esmeralda owned the part of the island they were living and operating in. The dragons fought over parts of the island on a regular basis but she defeated anyone who had dared to try so far. In contrast to the commonly held beliefs, female dragons were much stronger than the males. In other words, she practically owned every male dragon on her part of the island. However, instead of directly confronting her, as the saying goes, Thiemo made her an offer she couldn’t refuse, so to speak.

In retrospect, it had been a smart move to draw the inhabitants of the slums to his side. He shared stolen food with them, let his dogs repair a hut here and there and so on. If there was one group of creatures who knew everything was in the city, it would have to be the rats. They were the dwellers of and under the streets and on this particular island, they were the inhabitants of the lowest section of the city. The city itself was divided in eight parts, one layer on top the other, spiralling towards the sky. Despite the time Thiemo had spent here, he still hadn’t visited all eight levels of the city.

Because of how he had helped them out, Thiemo knew from these residents where Esmeralda had hidden her hoard; all her gems, gold and most importantly, her eggs. As proof of what he was capable of, he stole one single stone in which she had carved her insignia, a favourite piece of hers. Therefore, he did not have to worry about the authority of the dragons at this time; the local population wouldn’t give away their hideout since his little mafia didn’t steal from them (they only stole from the wealthier creatures who inhabited the higher levels of the city), and even though he knew that she could basically burn the entire slums to the ground, she would not risk damaging her gem in her rage.

One of the reasons he did all this was to have a (relatively) safe environment for Aura. Sure, living in moderate luxury was a nice side effect, but he actually had other plans. For a long while now he had wanted to be somewhere in the vicinity of Equestria. He had managed to get his hands on some books about magic that had found their way down here, but they contained nothing that would help him to achieve his goal. However, they were at least well written enough to be used as reading practice for him and Aura, so he tried to teach her at least a bit, though his efforts were restricted mainly due by the fact that he himself sometimes still had problems with the written language of Albion.

Suddenly, a knock on the door interrupted the happy atmosphere in the room and Biggs burst in. He was one of the mutts that had surrendered immediately when Thiemo first came into this building. “Don, we have a pony!” Thiemo blinked surprised and pulled his finger away from Aura’s belly. “Please excuse me, Don,” the dog added and fell on his knees, “I didn’t know you were about to eat.”

“Eating? Err… oh yeah, sure.” He looked at Aura and the deadpan look she was shooting at him. “I mean no. I was just checking how fat and juicy she got,” he said, patting Aura’s belly, the filly having to stifle her giggles. “I think I still will have to wait a bit. When she’s a bit older there will be more to eat after all, am I right?” Biggs gulped but Thiemo didn’t give him a chance to respond. “So, what about this pony you mentioned?”

“It’s a unicorn and it just came through the front entrance of our hideout. Blue coat and really annoying. Thinks she is Alpha, Don.” Thiemo thought for a moment, but he didn’t know anyone who would fit the description.

He reached for his staff and put his hat on his head. “Take me to her.” Thiemo hurried around the table and grabbed the knob of the door from the outside. “And you… stay put,” he directed at Aura. More of his dogs waited in the hall and looked around, seemingly unsure of what to do. Two of them he didn’t know by name were going to be patched up by another. Apparently they had tried to block the path of the uninvited unicorn who had entered the building. Thiemo nodded towards them to lift the morale a bit, to show them that he was still in charge here. He wouldn’t let one unicorn destroy everything he had worked for. Biggs led him further down the hallway where the intruder was surrounded by Jessy and Wedge. Wedge was a bear of a dog and Jessy one of the few bitches under his command. The two kept their distance from the blue unicorn, so if it attacked one, the other could grab it. After all, now and then it was good to show some old dogs a few new tricks. “So, what do we have here?”

Both dogs stepped away a bit further so Thiemo could see the unicorn in the entrance. She had a light blue coat and a silver curly mane. She was wearing a cloak on her back and a wizard’s hat on her head. Both pieces of clothing were a dark blue and littered with stars. “At last, the great and powerful Trixie has found you!” she exclaimed and pointed at him.

Thiemo looked behind his back, just to be sure she meant him. “Do we know each other?”

Anger was now clearly written on her face. “Trixie had challenged you to a duel, but you just vanished, you coward!” she growled.

Now he remembered. This was the unicorn over which he had stumbled upon entering the city. Oh how the time just seemed to fly by. “Ah, yes. Now I remember. We were supposed to meet up in a tavern, right? Sorry, I just forgot about you.” Well, that made her even angrier, judging by how red her face was getting, though he wondered, not for the first time, how it could show through thick fur such as a pony’s coat. It seemed as though being forgotten wasn’t sitting well with her. “How long did you wait? An hour? Two?” She mumbled something. “What?”

This time Trixie inhaled before she spoke. “The whole day.” Thiemo noticed that she didn’t mumble, she just was gnashing her teeth all the time.

“That’s smart.” Somehow, she made feel him a little guilty. “How about this? I give you an apple and a bottle of cider and we call it even? Alright?”

She just continued with the gnashing of her teeth while Jessy leaned over to him. “Don, you want to just let her go after how she hurt Whisky and Rufus over there?” She had a point. If the rumor got out that you could attack his pack without consequences, it wouldn’t take long until the dragons were at his door again.

“Nothing is alright!” Trixie shrieked, succeeding in getting the attention back to her. “You left Trixie on the street and ruined her entire show! After that I had to search for you for months!”

Thiemo’s head jerked when he heard that. “Wait, you needed several months to find me? The only human on the entire island?” he said incredulously. Maybe she wasn’t as smart as he thought. After all, she had just marched in a bandit camp.

“That’s beside the point!” Well, at least she noticed how stupid she was.

“Hey, watch out how you’re talking to Don,” Wedge jumped in to say. “It's been a while since he had pony for lunch.” This time Trixie blinked in surprise. Thiemo on the other hand just bared his teeth.

“Are you all stupid? Do you all really believe the stories about the humans? He couldn’t even cut your fur with teeth like that, let alone get his jaws wide enough apart to swallow some of you whole!” At this point, things got nasty. All the present diamond dogs looked at Thiemo as if they were waiting to proof the unicorn different. “He isn’t even stronger than you. How did he defeat the old pack leader in the first place?

Now Thiemo knew what Biggs meant with annoying. “Hey Trixie! You better shut up now,” he hissed at her. What he had not expected was an attack. Trixie threw him across the room faster than he could react, especially over the short distance.

“See? The great and powerful Trixie defeated you pack leader. So, is Trixie your pack leader now or what?” Thiemo rose slowly from the floor and freed his body from the wood chips that had come from the broken shelf into which he had flown. Without hesitation, he grabbed the talisman around his neck and Trixie made, for the second time in her life, an acquaintance with a ball of ice. It flew directly through between the dogs, smashed Trixie in the face and carried her straight out of the building.

It then struck Thiemo that he maybe should have done this in the first place. More dogs had come from upstairs and they now saw their chance to become pack leader themselves. Leading the group was Puck, his predecessor. “Retreat or I will show you how fearsome a human can be,” he warned. Thiemo stood straighter, trying to make himself look larger and more intimidating while holding a new gem in his hand, but none of the dogs made any move to withdraw. “Guys, come on! Isn’t pack more successful than ever?” he pleaded, backing away slightly.

“We work. We steal. We have to do what Don says. Everything was better before human. Ponies did the work. We could just lie around.” Puck’s words were followed by a general murmur of assent. “I say we make everything better again.” This time there was scattered applause from around the room. “If a small pony can beat Don, so can we. A pack is only as strong as his weakest member!” While Puck made his speech, Thiemo had used the distraction and slowly snuck back into his office. “Let’s catch the human and then… Hey? Where did he go?”

With that, Thiemo closed the door behind him and pushed the bolt shut. He then added a small layer of ice over it in order to buy some time. At best it would stop them for only a few minutes. “Aura, time to go,” he called urgently.

The foal had apparently been asleep but was startled awake with the sound of his voice. “What happened?”

“You remember that I said that the dogs were never allowed to know that I’m nice?” She nodded. “That happened!”

Meanwhile, Thiemo grabbed his backpack which always sat in the corner and threw it over himself. "Do they also know your name isn’t Baloo?"

“No, but that is not important right now.” He quickly picked up the filly and ran to the window behind the desk. With one quick movement, he swung it open and he let Aura fall outside, throwing his backpack after her before he tried to do so himself.

He was just half through the window when he got stuck, his ass wriggling desperately to get through. “Now, now, now. Look what we have here.” Thiemo gulped and looked up. He knew that voice, so he wasn’t really surprised to see Esmeralda. “If it isn’t the big Baloo himself. Why in such a hurry?”

“Well, there are around twenty dogs behind that door who want to skin me alive and now an ugly dragoness who would love to crush my head like a ruby.” Esmeralda grinned. She was around two meters tall, with red scales and big green eyes that shimmered in the darkness. Just like her teeth.

“Oh no, I don’t want to spoil my appetite,” she waved off his words dismissively. “However, it's been some time since I last grilled something for fun.” Thiemo’s eyes widened as the dragoness inhaled. He knew exactly what would follow and shielded his face with his hands. A small flame flew over his head, but only for half a second before Esmeralda cried out in pain. Surprised, Thiemo freed himself from the charred remains of what was once a house wall with small window; doing so had become much easier since the clay had become brittle due to the heat.

Unfortunately, a well-known but unpleasant smell hit his nose and out of reflex he threw his hat to the ground, not that there was much left of it. His gaze shifted then to Esmeralda, who was trying to grab something between her legs and tail. “What the hell?” He looked for Aura and finally found her sitting next to him, grinning.

“I put a big stick there where the sun never shines.” Thiemo shivered slightly as he imagined that visually. He had taught her, if she was ever in danger, to always strike between the legs of her attacker. Apparently she had learned that lesson with great success and had taken it to heart.

At that moment, the door to his office burst open and several diamond dogs stormed in, roaring at them. “Maybe we should be going.” He picked up Aura and placed her on his shoulder before he started running toward the harbor.

*** ~ [Nickelback - If Everyone Cared] ~ ***
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Chapter II - A Land Of Milk And Honey

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Chapter II - A Land Of Milk And Honey

Chapter II - Act 5.1 - Chaos with a Chance of Potato

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All signs pointed to the possibility that this would be another normal morning, but Humble Care knew better. For many years this had been the case, but ever since that day, the day when a particular young alicorn had moved into the old library tower, there hadn’t been anything resembling a normal day. After all these years, during which she had cleaned after the little alicorn and her pet dragon, she thought that peace would eventually return to Canterlot Castle. No more failed magic spells that she had to clean up after, no more alchemical experiments that left all the rooms in shambles and desperately needing a new coat of paint, and most importantly, no more three hour long bubble baths from the dragon that used up all the warm water from half the castle.

But of course her luck would not improve, oh no, that would have been too easy. Princess Celestia simply saw it fit to just replace one evil with another. In this case, she replaced her daughter with her sister. Yes indeed, almost immediately after her daughter had left, her sister had decided to make her grand return to Equestria. Said sister at least knew how to cast a spell without making a mess, but she was certainly not up to modern living standards. Humble Care couldn’t find the nerve at first to tell the returning princess that baths were now possible every day because there was now running water available. Consequently, you could easily track her down everywhere where she went, you had just to follow the mud. She also hadn’t dared to explain to her that the chamber pot had gone out of fashion a long time ago thanks to the invention of the toilet. Then there was her habit of spreading the remains of her night snacks all throughout her chambers. And that dreadful yelling! To call that yelling a royal way to speak had to be cruel joke, a joke that left her, more often than not, with a throbbing headache and regrets for choosing this line of work.

But everything they had thrown at her, she had taken it all with pride. She was finally one of the best maids in the service of her Majesty. Humble hadn’t even flinched when the little crumbs monster and her dragon returned. However… even she could not take in the newest addition to the castle household. She had gotten used to Princess Luna and Princess Twilight, but she would never EVER get used to the formerly stone-imprisoned being called Eris, Goddess of Chaos.

With a sigh, Humble now pushed her little cart with fresh towels, soaps and other products that would need to be replaced daily, in front of the door which led to said goddess. Carefully, she knocked several times on the big, white doors made of solid oak. “Hello? Miss, are you up yet?” She waited a few seconds, but no answer was forthcoming. With another sigh, she prepared for the worst. Again and again, all her co-workers had warned her about Eris, that besides the inevitable disorder, a prank awaited every visitor in the chamber.

Silverware, one of the older butlers in the service of Her Majesty, had ‘found’ a bucket over the entrance. By found, it meant that the bucket had fallen on him when he had opened the door, which by itself would have be a harmless albeit embarrassing prank, if only Eris hadn’t used it as a bell afterwards. The poor stallion had needed a few weeks’ vacation after that. Even after the vacation he had still complained about a loud ringing in his ears. Feather Touch, the maid who had had to substitute for Silverware, had fared similarly. As she was attempting to wake the draconequus up one morning, Feather had turned her around and instead found herself face to face with a cockatrice. She had had to spend the entire day imprisoned in stone until the Royal Guard was able to catch the cockatrice and force it to turn her back. The only problem was that there were not one, but four other cockatrices that were spread across the castle grounds. Fortunately, they had caught the first one marked as “Two”, number “Three” was captured soon enough and while number “Five” had put up an admirable effort to evade them, it too was soon detained. It had taken an entire week until anypony had noticed that there was no cockatrice with the number four, it was as if it had never existed.

Over the years Eris had lived in the castle, there had been many more victims and rarely a break in between her pranks. The quiet days only came when she visited her marefriend in Ponyville. While she tried not to judge, Humble simply couldn’t imagine which mare would be crazy enough to get herself involved in a relationship with such a being. Then again, she could also say that about Prince Blueblood, who could be a pain in the flank in his own… unique ways. Humble thought back to Royal Service, who had left her this duty upon retiring. With his last warning words in her mind, she gripped the handle of the door and opened it. The room was dark, but not dark enough to completely shroud the entire room in gloom, the pink curtains allowed some light to filter through, creating pretty, colored shadows that shifted whenever the curtains moved.

As she now took in the room, with the large bed, the two wardrobes and a desk, she found herself rather relieved - it wasn’t as messy as she had initially feared. Sure there was popcorn all over the floor, so much so that anyone would have problems to see the carpet beneath. The sheets and pillows, together with some chairs, were also assembled in such a way so as to create a small fort where the permanent guest had probably spent the night rather than in the bed. Then there was the curtains, which were smeared with some unknown substance, books that were scattered everywhere and something that suspiciously looked like a cannon hung dangerously like a lamp from the ceiling.

Yes, the mess was bad, but it was nothing that a skilled maid such as she couldn’t handle. “Miss? I’ve come to clean up your room.” Although on closer inspection, to simply incinerate everything and rebuild would probably be easier. Then again, the ponies that made up the staff of the castle were not known for their construction skills.

Humble Care turned around and pulled her small cart over to the entrance of the bathroom. Like any of the other large guestrooms in the castle, this one also included two smaller rooms: one big bathroom and a small study, where the books had probably come from. She quickly decided on her plan of action; she could clean the bathroom first and while it dried, she could start on the bedroom. As the door to the bathroom was ajar, she pushed on it and then abruptly stopped. Before her was a gigantic mountain of fur that she had just collided with. A growl reverberated throughout the room as the massive mountain slowly rose from the ground. Humble could only stare with wide eyes as thick paws appeared under the mountain of fur, as it spread bat-like wings and as the tail of a scorpion rose to the air. Then the manticore turned around. For a few seconds they looked at each other silently, and then the manticore roared in her face.

Slightly annoyed, the maid wiped some spit from her face. “Really, Miss Eris? We are getting tired of your pranks. They’re only giving us more work to do,” she huffed.

“Hello?” came a voice from elsewhere. “I'm just in the study. If you’re here with my breakfast, just put on top of the fort. I hope you have not forgotten an extra portion of glass for my cocoa.” Humble's head turned slowly back to the great beast before her. She swallowed and patted gently with a hoof the nose of the manticore.

“Erm…. good kitty.” Once again, the monster roared at her and she immediately gave into her instincts. Humble rushed out of the bathroom, with the door slamming against the wall, ignoring her cart and left the entrance door wide open as she sought her safety in flight. Mocking laughter was heard down the halls as she ran.

tio presents

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 5.1 - Chaos With A Chance Of Potato ~

Eris, proud goddess of Chaos, Disharmony and other little things which not even she could give a shit about, tried to support herself in the entrance of her study unsuccessfully. Her pair of mismatched legs could no longer keep her long, narrow, snake-like body upright as she slumped in the doorway, laughing raucously. “That was great Eri! Did you see her face?” The pink bundle that had jumped out a few seconds ago from the pillow fort was now next to her, bouncing frenetically. Every word she managed to utter had to be squeezed out from her own peals of laughter. “First it was all like this!” She used both forehooves to pull up her eyelids. “And then she was like ‘Ahhhhhh!’ and her eyes were going like this and…”

“We know, Pinkie, we were here too,” the manticore with a scratchy female’s voice said as it stepped out of the bathroom. “But her face was really priceless. How do you always get such ideas?” Eris was still gasping, trying to catch her breath while wiping a tear with her eagled claw out of her eyes, her paw still holding onto her belly.

“W-Well, it’s my job. Just because I’m not allowed to make a whole lot of chaos doesn’t mean that I can’t spice life up here and there a little.”

The manticore nodded and turned his head to look at his wings. “Man, these babies are big. It’s a shame that they come along with this bulk of a body. I could do a lot of stunts with these. Hey, maybe I could even do a double rainboom!”

“Oh oh oh!” Pinkie hopped beside her transformed chromatic friend. “Just think about the party I had to throw if you did a double rainboom!” She made a pause and inhaled deep. “It would be so big, bigger than any party, maybe even bigger than the one I did last week!” Pinkie pressed the large nose of the manticore against her own. The manticore grinned in such a way that all its teeth were visible.

“You know Pinkie, you smell different today,” it said and licked its lips.

Pinkie pulled down a lock of her mane and sniffed at it. “I use the same cotton candy as always.” Eris laughed again, while the manticore looked mildly shocked at Pinkie Pie.

It shook its big head and smiled again. “No Pinkie, I mean you smell delicious. Come on, crawl in my mouth and let me taste you.” Her long tongue snaked around Pinkie’s neck, then up to her cheek. However, Eris interrupted the fun at this point and with a flick of her wrist and with a short flash of light, Rainbow Dash returned to her natural shape. The only thing that remained the same was that her tongue was still locked onto Pinkie’s cheek.

“Oh Rainbow,” Pinkie whispered seductively in Rainbow Dash’s ear. “What would Soarin say if he would know what you’re doing here?” The blue mare turned slightly red around her muzzle as Pinkie and Eris erupted into laughter again.

“Ha ha ha, Eris. Very funny. But I have to go anyway. Otherwise I’ll have to listen to Spitfire’s ranting again about how I missed training.” She waved to the other two, as she walked over to the window and opened it. “See you all later!” With that, she left the room in a rush, a rainbow trail following her as she sped towards Canterlot Stadium.

“Well, I gotta go too. The Cakes need my help in the shop. See you later Eri!” Before Eris could say anything, Pinkie pulled in into a brief bone crushing hug and was then out of the door. She knew from experience that it would be useless to follow her. For all she knew, Pinkie Pie could already be back to Ponyville by now. Even if Eris was the Goddess of Chaos, it didn’t mean she could explain something like that. It was Pinkie Pie after all. Or maybe it was because she couldn’t care enough to investigate it.

“Aaaaaaand now I’m bored.” She flicked her claws once again and with a flash, all the objects in the room were back in its proper place. Just what could be the last thing everypony would expect from the Goddess of Chaos? Tidiness of course! "And I had put in so much effort to get everything just right,” she pouted to herself as she thought about the sacrifices she had had to make to stay in her element. But it was worth it, if only because that she didn’t have to listen to Celestia prattle on about how she was right about her. She hated it when Celestia did that.

For the last nine years, she had spent her time doing good with her powers. Somehow, she had to give her chaotic side an outlet. “I could visit Twilight in the throne room, maybe she has something for me to do.” Eris liked to speak with herself, especially if the many voices in her head answered back. It didn’t happened often, but most of the time the answers were just a melody or potato, which was a legitimate response in various dimensions. Today, however, there was consent from them all.

The throne room was not very far from her chambers, if you knew the right way. You just had to quickly slip down the hallway, preferably on a sled, then teleport through a wall, directly into the showers of the Royal Guard. If you were already there, you could also steal all the towels and place soap in the most appropriate location: the floor (with superglue and not only at the bottom.) Then you went through another wall into the kitchen, where the fast rotating pancake was plucked from the air. With the remnants of the food still in the claw, you then teleport back to the very other end of the large castle in front of the princess and spilled maple syrup all over the document she was reading, before you devoured the bottle from which it came along with the rest of the pancake. “Good Morning Equestriaaaaaaa!” Eris cried out as some pieces of pancake splashed at the magic shield in front of Her Royal Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle.

“Eris,” she growled and started to wipe the syrup away from her document. “My mother and aunt are gone from the country for two weeks.” She paused and Eris just hummed in confirmation while removing shards of glass that were stuck between her teeth with a toothpick. “And you have nothing better to do than to make my first period of office absolutely miserable?” Eris could do nothing but grin. Celestia and Luna, both passionate pranksters and always open for a little fun, didn’t tell little Twilight that she could have shielded the throne room with a spell that would have made it impossible for her to use her powers. Of course, she used this advantage to the fullest, especially since Twilight had brought most of her friends to support her. Good thing she had at least some of them on her side. Well, at least Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash.

“Hmmmm, let me think.” She slowly began to tap a claw against her chin. She then slithered down like a fur around Twilight's neck and lowered her body slowly behind her back on the throne. This inevitably led to Twilight landing on the ground with an grunt, her jeweled tiara slipping down over her face “No, nothing better to do in good old Equestria. But what kind of a friend would I be if I didn’t offer at least a bit of help. Look, I’ll even warm up the throne for you.” She gleefully dug deeper into the big, red and fluffy pillow that rested on the golden chair.

The alicorn on the floor started to growl again while her face began to turn a deep red. Eris knew that she could do almost everything while Fluttershy wasn’t around. Well, at least if she didn’t take things too far, otherwise said mare would give her a good scolding. There were few things worse than getting a scolding from your own marefriend, because it meant that she would have to spend the night on the sofa on her next visit. “Eris…” Twilight grinded out between her teeth. She sounded like the fuse of a bomb that was about to reach its end. “GET OUT AND GET LOST!” she yelled, her voice so loud that the walls vibrated, mugs fell from the tables on which they stood and every guard at the castle was alarmed. They now rushed through the large entrance door to the throne room, spears ready to remove any and every troublemaker who dared to resist.

Eris decided that she had done enough for now; after all, the day was still young. “Well, I think I just noticed that somepony is performing a dark ritual to summon my humble self. Maybe I should go check.” And with yet another flick, she was gone. Not that she had to flick, it was just something that ponies couldn’t do and served as a constant reminder for them of how handy it was to have something like claws or fingers.

***

“Wow…. I still can’t believe it.” For Thiemo, it didn’t matter how many flies got lost in his mouth. Since they had entered Canterlot, the little group hadn’t stop to be astonished or humoured by all the ponies wearing their fancy clothing and ridiculously fancy hats. Thiemo, with his everlasting luck, had a fly zipping into his throat as they did stop this time, standing and gawking in amazement at the large market place with an ornate fountain.

Fillydelphia had given them a glimpse of what they could expect from Equestria, but the capital had surpassed the city a few times over. They were high up on a mountain, but it was neither cold nor windy behind the walls. The city and its buildings shared the same bright gleam of the stone from the mountain, so much so that it looked as though someone had carved the city practically out of the mountain. Magic was on full display, the sheer quantity almost matching the number of unicorns on the streets. They gawked at the strange displays and objects that seemed to be of everyday use, oblivious to the sneers and looks of disdain that were directed at them by the ponies around them. There were lanterns that had little magical lights in them that changed every time the wind blew, there were carriages built like a big tricycle that seemed to pull itself along the streets. Bright advertising in all different colors of the rainbow adorned the various shops, among them a donut shop, a delicacy that he never expected to enjoy again or find on this planet and so they had made a quick stop for a hearty breakfast.

There were also various sign of modern structures that were lacking in some of the previous places Thiemo had been to. The city seemed to have a sewer system, for example, judging by the fact that he didn’t spot any ponies throwing the contents of their chamber pots out their windows. Then there were the things for sale in the shop windows: record player, speakers, radios and cameras (though they looked like they were the old kind that used phosphorus and flash) were all in full view to try and catch the eyes of potential customers. It was almost as if he had walked out of the Dark Ages directly into the early modern era. Even though he recognized most of the technologies on display, it had been so long since he had seen anything resembling them that he felt like he was like a caveman that saw fire for the first time, especially since ponies had no electricity, so everything was run with magic. They stored their magic in crystals as though they were batteries, just like he did. Presumably he could go to the nearest store and buy twenty already charged rubies at half price, which was exactly what he had done the earliest chance he got. He didn’t only buy rubies but also sapphires, lapis lazuli and rock crystal, the latter he had received practically as a gift, the way how cheap it had been.

What also was surprising was how friendly these ponies were. Even when he had taken the shape of the blue, white-maned earth pony stallion, very few of the ponies in Fillydelphia had been so friendly. Apparently, the closer they were to the capital, the friendlier the ponies got. Or perhaps it was because Thiemo had gotten accustomed to the stares and misconceptions of being a human, so the fact that they left him alone now was something he took as a well-meaning sign. Another thing that worked in his favour was that he had managed to transform into an adult stallion this time around, a bit smaller than Amaryllis, but significantly larger than Aura.

Now, however, they stood in front of the castle, a building that could not look any grander and more confusing for him, for it seemed to combine a variety of different architectural styles. The towers looked as though they had come from some of the ancient building from the Middle East or maybe even India. The walls, however, were like some of the castles Thiemo had seen in his European history books. They were thick, made of natural stone and ready to restrict anyone who wanted to pass if they were not welcome there, their silent countenance seemed to almost dare any would be trespasser from trying to do otherwise. Then there was the castle itself, imposing to the group standing before it, but at the same time almost delicate like a flower. Some places looked structurally so weak that it looked like they would collapse upon itself should someone dare to enter. To Thiemo, the building was a contradiction of itself, the only explanation he could come up with in the short term was “magic”.

“Well... do you have to register here or something?” Thiemo stretched his long neck in both directions. They stood before what obviously was some kind of gate. The main street of the city had led them to this gate after all, but it also could be a back entrance. There was only a small guardhouse placed on both sides of the large archway, something which reminded him of England, except for the fact that there was a lack of visible guards anywhere. He wondered if his assumption was true and this was a back entrance, or perhaps the guards indeed had become lax in their duties when the princesses weren’t present.

Taking a few steps forward, he cautiously looked around the yard, still spotting no ponies anywhere. “No idea,” Amaryllis responded, coming forward to also search for any sign of life. “Maybe it’s an Open House Day?” They both looked at each other and just grinned. The speed with which the changeling had adapted to his way of thinking was a little scary, but it seemed to be in her nature. Adjusting meant survival and no one said survival couldn’t be fun.

“Dad, do you think we find here Amy's father or my family?” Aura interjected, her tone sombre. While he didn’t have a shoulder for Aura to sit on, he did have a broad back which she could ride on. The city was large and had taken its toll on the filly. Not that she was anywhere near sleepy. She didn’t want to miss any of this.

Thiemo knew that this issue was gnawing at his companion, both of them. “Well, governments tend to keep records for nearly everything. Things like birth certificates are usually stored in archives.” He pointed with a hoof at the castle. “Which I’m betting is in there. One hundred meters further and then you will have achieved your goal,” he said with his best imitation of a navigation system. Eventually he should learn that no one understood these allusions here, or maybe he could do that later. To see confused faces now and then could be fun.

“So… we just go in?” Amaryllis asked a little uncertain. “Won’t we get in trouble?”

“I do not see any sign prohibited enter and the lack of guards is a very clear invitation that rings true to the motto: mi casa es su casa.” Again, both filly and changeling didn’t understood what he said.

“Dad, how many languages do you even speak?” Thiemo counted them to himself in his head. There was his mother tongue, English, a bit Polish, Japanese, Latin and Spanish. He wondered if Equish would have somehow helped him with job applications at home.

“A few. My planet has many countries and most of them have their own language. I grew up in two different countries and learned three more languages at school. I guess you could say I’ve always had a talent for languages.” It was something he wasn’t able to explain or capitalize on, and in the end he had decided on a career in the field of mathematics. Just like his training to be a shaman, he had never been able to complete his training on Earth, the difference being that he didn’t just up and left his job training, he was teleported to Albion. “Anyway, beggars can’t be choosers. No guards, no princesses, what could stop us?”

No sooner than they had covered the small path to a large open entrance of the palace and began staring into the wide corridor that he began to regret those words. He really should stop goading the universe in trying to bitchslap him. The thing was built like a damn maze, corridors and stairs everywhere. Although it was an architectural masterpiece from the inside just like the outside, the architect still should have been killed or committed to an asylum, whichever was more convenient. White marble that looked similar to the type used on the exterior adorned the immaculate floor, royal red tapestries and intricately decorated armor adorned the walls while golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling. However, all that didn’t change the fact that at the grand staircase at the end of the hall, there were ten different paths they could potentially take, five on each side. While they still stood and considered where they could probably find a map, there was a loud rumble and a brigade of ponies shot out of one of the corridors. Twenty stallions, all pegasi, all in full armor and armed with spears, galloped across from the startled group, passed the entrance hall and disappeared in one of the corridors on the opposite side, not even stopping to give them a second glance.

“I say we go any place where they aren’t.” The nodding of his companions was all the confirmation he needed. With a quick ‘Eenie Meenie Minie Moe’, Thiemo then decided in his mind what corridor they would take. “This one!”

Aura jumped off his back and took the lead, Amaryllis following and Thiemo taking up the rear. Something strange was going on, he could feel it in his bones. Then he remembered what Chrysalis had said to him: No sane being would stay near Equestria. He repeated her words to him silently as they picked up their pace. Did her words have something to do with all this? Why were the princesses not here again?

***

Eris hovered under the ceiling, invisible to the group below her, all the while grinning from ear to ear. She couldn’t believe how damn lucky she was today. First there was the highly successful morning prank and now this. While it sounded like the beginning of a bad joke, a human, a changeling and a pony had just walked into the castle liked they owned the place. They had used the chaos she had made from her morning greeting to Princess Stick in the Mud and had snuck through the corridors. She had overheard their conversation and joyfully rubbed her two different paws together in glee.

This called for something special. Something big. Those three could entertain her for weeks, maybe even for the months to come. Oh how she loved new toys! The only question was what to do with them. Maybe if she stuck a little to them she would find out exactly why they were here and could use that against them. Hmmm, when was the last time she had been so excited? She snapped her claws as she remembered. It had been when she had made Ponyville fly through the air and had muscular buffalos dance the dying swan in pink tutus. She sighed in contentment at the memory. What glorious day that had been! Unfortunately, it had marked the beginning of another year in stone, but that was forgiven and forgotten. Although….. she did have something to prove to Celestia. Maybe she could combine the two things together.

“How did an old friend of mine used to say it? Allons-y!” And with a giggle, she began her hunt.

Chapter II - Act 5.2 - From Smoke to Smother

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 5.2 - From Smoke to Smother ~

“One hundred and twenty-two.” Confused, Aura and Amaryllis turned around to Thiemo. “That’s how often we have passed this vase already.” With his right hoof, he tapped lightly against the stony pedestal the flower-filled antique rested upon. Well, at least it looked like one, he wasn’t exactly what one would call an expert on vases.

“Really?” The two trotted over closer, inspecting the fine piece that was decorating the hallway of the palace. “I also noticed that the hallways do look very alike but to think that they were all the same…” Amaryllis digressed and bit off one of the buds. “So sweet!” she exclaimed between her chewing.

Thiemo rolled his eyes, at the display. “Yes, I’m pretty much certain of it.” He pointed at a bit of soil piled up next to the pedestal on the fine carpet. “I put that pile up there about ten rounds ago. We’ve been going around in circles!”

“Wouldn’t we have had to take the same turn for that to happen, dad?” Aura asked, still inspecting the pile of soil. “And as far as I recall, that’s not what we have been doing. The soil could have been put there by someone who also happened to come along,” she offered, causing Thiemo to snort in derision at her weak reasoning.

“Riiiiight, that’s a likely story. So you’re telling me someone else took some soil from the flowerpot and placed it here. Behind the pedestal. Where you even have to search for it.” He felt like continuing his annoyed muttering but the saddened look on Aura’s face snapped him right out of his foul mood, leaving him feeling to kick himself for taking his frustrations out on the filly. “Sorry sweetie,” he said, going up to her and putting a hoof over her shoulders and pulling her into an awkward yet brief hug. “I just can’t get rid of the feeling that something’s not right here. It’s like the palace itself knows that we don’t belong here and is trying to stop us. Think about it. We haven’t seen not one pony since we were at the entrance hall and that was hours ago.” Both changeling and filly stared at each other and then turned to Thiemo, looking rather shocked and disturbed at his statement.

“Now that you mention it, I don’t sense any ponies nearby either.” Amaryllis lifted her head a little higher and looked around, closing her eyes as she concentrated. “Nope, nopony except the two of you. No other emotions.” Thiemo didn’t need any more proof to confirm his theory and gut feeling. Someone was aware of their presence and was hindering their progress. He did the only thing he could in this situation and sat down and made himself comfortable on the carpet. The two others stared at him for a few seconds, but then followed his example. “What are you doing, Thiemo?” Amaryllis asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice as he began taking in deep breaths, closing his eyes as he tried to concentrate.

“Well whatever or whoever is creating this paradox, one thing I’m almost certain of is that it’s of magical origin, so I’m trying to adjust.” He had managed to do so with the changelings already. To see magic was something different than doing so with a soul, but both were energies. If he could see what was going on, then maybe he could do something to stop it. Or to be more exact, his staff would stop whatever was impeding their progress.

Slowly but steadily, he shut off everything around him. The background noises like the steady breathing of his companions, the light that fell in through the windows as well as the natural magic that were a part of Albion. The way he saw it, once everything logical got shut off, then whatever remained must be the solution or at least a hint of the right direction to take.

“Oh come on! Move! Ugh, this is so boring!” His eyes shot open and he looked around confusedly as an unfamiliar voice whined its complaints. Amaryllis and Aura did the same, which meant both of them had heard the voice as well and he hadn’t finally gone off the deep end. Not today, at least. “I said that out loud, didn’t I?” Thiemo couldn’t make out where the voice was coming from, but it was definitely female. Suddenly, a small lightning bolt flashed across in the small hallway and instinctively he covered his eyes. The next thing he was aware of was the terrified screams of his daughter.

“Aura!? What’s going on?” Thiemo forced himself to open his eyes, trying to see anything despite the pain that it brought him. Try as he might, however, everything looked like he was staring through a glass of milk someone had put in front of his eyes. He tried to feel his surroundings and hit something. His hooves made contact with a smooth, cold object and as he groped his way he found out what it was. Someone had actually put a glass of milk in front of his eyes.

With another small flash of lightning, it disappeared and laughter sounded above their heads. “Oh boy! You should have seen your faces. Absolutely delightful!” the voice crowed. Ready to jump on the joker, he shifted his gaze upwards but the murderous glare he had intended for whoever it was shifted into something resembling shock and surprise. Below the ceiling hung something that loosely similar to a snake, one of the differences being that it had limbs as well. They were mismatched too, consisting of most of the colors one could imagine. Its head was one of a mare, with the only difference of a long sharp tooth that stuck out of its mouth, past the lopsided grin that was etched on its face. On top of the head were two horns peeking out from underneath the long white mane that looked as though it had never been introduced to a comb. One of the horns appeared to be a unicorn’s, though it was slightly hidden; the other looked more like the antler of a deer. Where the neck ended, the grey coat changed it color into brown, which covered the rest of the body. Two wings were attached to the back of the strange, snake-like creature; just like the horns, they were of two different kinds. One from a pegasus, the other one from a bat. The same differences was also evident in its limbs. The claws on the arms belonged to a lion and an eagle, while the legs were from a goat and even a dragon, just like the tail, which was scaly and at least half as long as the creature itself.

“Man! That must have been one hell of an orgy!” he blurted out. The laughter abruptly stopped and the gazes of the others in the room shifted towards Thiemo. “What? I know that the folks in Albion don’t always tend to stick with their own kind but this is downright ridiculous.” The laughter restarted, even more uproariously this time, only not from who he expected it from. He thought that it would be Aura, maybe some chuckles from Amaryllis, but he didn’t expect the creature he just had insulted to laugh.

“Ha ha ha! I like you, human!” the creature exclaimed, literally shaking with mirth as it tried to stop itself from laughing, stopping for a few seconds before bursting out again. After a few tense moments where Thiemo’s group watched silently, wary of any sudden movements towards them by the creature, it finally subsided, wiping the tears from its eyes. They fell onto the carpet with a muffled thud; to Thiemo’s eyes they seemed to be some sort of diamond gem. He tore his gaze away from them as the creature once again spoke, this time sounding more serious. “Very few people have the guts to say something like that to my face. Or when they did, they didn’t live long enough to tell anyone about it. But what am I doing talking about the old days like this?” The creature focused its sharp look down on them. This was the first time Thiemo noticed its eyes. There was no white, only yellow with shining red balls as pupils. The kind of eyes no one wanted to have on his tail in the darkness.

“Don’t you know who that is?” Amaryllis asked, shock evident in her voice, even looking slightly panicked. Before she could continue, however, a rope appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around her muzzle, effectively shutting her up.

“Now now now, snitching is bad manners as well as ruining the entrance of a lady, my dear. So be nice and quiet now, will you?” The claws of the creature spun in circles, like the rope around its victim. “My name is Eris, Minister for shenanigans and politics. And just between you and me, politics is a joke.” She bowed slightly. “And I couldn’t help but notice the unannounced guests in my castle. Which, if you haven’t noticed, are you three.”

“T-This is not the princesses’ castle?” Aura stammered but couldn’t help but looked curiously from beneath Thiemo’s legs. He hadn’t even noticed when she hid there.

“Eh, that is all very trivial.” Eris waved it off with her lion paw. “So tell me, what are a human, a changeling and a foal that is far too curious for her age doing in my humble summer residence?” Thiemo hesitated for a moment and looked down at his legs. He was still disguised in his pony form. That meant she was able to see straight through their magic like it was non-existent. Quickly, he peeked over to Amy, who was still struggling with freeing herself from the rope without much success. She as well was still in the form of a white mare with a two-colored violet mane. His backpack was still on her back and out of reach, just like his staff.

“Ummmm….. we lost our group during the tour?” It was worth a try. Unfortunately, the creature now known as Eris only raised a brow and frowned, showing she didn’t buy his poor and flimsy excuse. “Well, there is supposed to be a library somewhere. With books and stuff. We just wanted to take a quick peek and we will be on our way again. Just learn a little bit about magic, that’s all,” he continued, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Again Eris waved away his words dismissively. “Books. Boring. You could ask me; after all, I’m one of the most powerful beings in the world.” This time it was Thiemo who had to chuckle. Without any doubt this creature could use magic, but nothing she had done was able to really impress him so far.

“Excuse me, but the last one I heard saying that is probably still sulking inside the changeling lair. And I escaped without the help of any magic.” Eris descended from the ceiling and elegantly landed on her two legs, meaning that Thiemo was right in his speculation that she was bipedal, just like him. It became a habit for him to examine every new creature he met. Again, this was something he had learned from Zarni and it has saved his ass more than once.

Eris leaned forward until she could look him in the eyes. In full height she was at least two heads taller than Thiemo. “You want a proof? Catch!” He kept his eyes on what she threw in the air and was flabbergasted when his forehooves made contact with the object. He sat down on his flank and inspected what he just had caught. It was a blue ball of water with a few green patches. Then he looked at the latter a bit more carefully. America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia. He knew these patches, how could he not when they had been printed on every globe on Earth.

“Earth!” Nervously, he tilted the ball between his hooves. “That’s Earth! That’s my home world!” Aura, who was trapped between the ball and her father by now, tried to move the former further away from her to get a glimpse at it as well. In the end she pushed so hard that Thiemo couldn’t hold it any longer and it rolled down the hallway. “How do you know my planet?”

“Oh I’ve been there a few times over the years,” she said, waving a claw airily, seemingly oblivious to the shocked looks he was sending her way. “Truly a quite boring place. But I think that should show you that I don’t stand for any nonsense. Nonsense.” Again she laughed. “What is the point in making sense anyways?” Meanwhile, Thiemo was flabbergasted. He couldn’t believe someone here had knowledge about Earth. In the best case he had hoped that there, in some celestial map, he could find it or there was a spell to send him home, wherever that may be. But right now he had a creature that had been there! A slight cough interrupted his thoughts. “Very well then. May I get your names as well?”

“My name is Thiemo, this is my daughter Aura, and that over there is Princess Amaryllis.” Eris examined each of them briefly as he introduced them.

“Well, Thiemo,” she turned towards him again. “Much to my chagrin, I have to say that I’m terribly bored at the moment. Especially since you decided to not play along in my last game,” she stressed the last part for emphasis. He wanted to retort something along the lines of just where she could stick her games, but her claw came around his muzzle and tightened itself, preventing him from doing so. “We both know that this is unacceptable, right?” With a little force she made him nod his head. “I’m glad we are on the same level here.” She let go of his muzzle once again. “So, we need a new game and I just happen to have an idea for that.”

“And if we don’t want to play your game?” He immediately felt the desire to punch himself for asking the question as soon as he heard himself say it.

“Weeeeeell, unlike you I am welcome here,” she reproached him in a singsong voice. “I’m sure some guards are just around the corner.” Oh, he just had to ask. “So, here’s the plan. If you win, I’ll teach you something about magic. That’s what you’re here for, right?” Thiemo nodded reluctantly. “Great, here are the rules. Don’t worry, it’s nothing too bad.” Somehow he doubted that. “We will all have fun together.”

“All?” he asked, confused.

“Yes, the three of you. Either all of you play or no one does. And really, what would be the fun in that? Can I explain the rules now?” Thiemo remained silent and the only sound came from Amaryllis, who was still trying to free her snout frantically. “So… outside in the garden is a giant maze. I want you to go inside there and look for five amulets and a crown. There will be a few ponies trying to guard their worthless trinkets. Shouldn’t be much of a problem for you, right?” Thiemo considered it. Should he go into a maze in search for six artefacts for Eris? Why does this sound so familiar? At least it was just a maze inside a castle courtyard. Probably only built as decoration not to be used as one. And ponies? That shouldn’t be much of a problem. “Deal?” Eris reached out her paw.

“Deal.” Thiemo reached up and shook the creature’s paw and at that same moment he noticed his field of view changing. Confused, he looked towards Amaryllis, who had watching the whole scene so far and noticed that there was hint of red on her cheeks and she had shifted her gaze away from him.

“I must say, you humans are fascinating beings.” Thiemo followed Eris’ gaze and only now he noticed that he had no more fur on his skin. Quickly, he rushed over to Amaryllis to open the backpack and began pulling out his clothes hurriedly. “You can do this in the garden as well.” She clapped her paw and claw together. “I hope you’ll enjoy your time.” She chuckled to herself and with a final spark, the scenery in front of Thiemo’s eyes changed and only Eris remained in the hallway. “Time for my big appearance.” She grinned and flew off.

***

Twilight sat on her throne, listening to the words of a pony named Coin as he droned on boringly. Apparently, he owned a small chain of shops in Canterlot and Manehatten. “And that is why I am bid you, my majesty, to lower import and export taxes. Despite the close distance to the griffon kingdom, we can’t take any advantages out of it.”

Her eyes once again skimmed through the documents Coin had presented her. There were numerous tables with detailed calculations showing the effects of a tax reduction for his business and Equestria. “Well, Mr. Coin, this does good look on paper…” She pulled out a second sheet of paper, a file about her visitor. According to this, it was not the first time he came here to ask to lower the taxes. “… but have you ever tried looking beyond your own purse?”

“Of course, princess! As you can see, there are prognoses on the impact of lower prices for the population.” The stallion took a few desperate steps forward, but got stopped shortly by the two guards at the foot of Twilight’s throne.

“And how do you plan on stopping the smuggling?” Coin blinked a few times. “What do you think we are using the taxes for? The borders are large, Mr. Coin. What would stop a group of smugglers to elude the border post to bring their goods into this country? The guards who are getting paid by the taxes you want to lower. As Princess Celestia and Luna have told you numerous times, this is not possible. Furthermore, I am only their substitute and do not plan on acting against their will. Therefore, your application is denied.”

She let the paper with the calculations fly back to the stallion who grabbed them out of the air with his wings. “This is not the last thing I have to say in regards to this cause. I will show this to the parliament.” With that, he turned around on his heels and marched with his head held high out of the room.

As soon as the door had closed, Twilight breathed out in relief. “I hate it when it has to be so formal.” One of her guards giggled. At least, until he turned around and noticed Twilight’s look, causing him to quickly spin around again.

“Pardon me, my princess,” he stammered shortly after.

“What was so funny?” Twilight was not mad. It was nice to see that behind their stoic faces and all this metal, they were just ponies.

“Well, Princess Celestia often said something similar. Especially on a long day like today.” Twilight giggled as well at the thought. But her guard was right. Even if it was just shortly after lunch, she felt like she could drop straight into her bed again. The excitement with Eris earlier today didn’t just exhaust her, but many of the Royal Guard as well. She had to think of a solution for this problem. She would send a letter to Celestia or Luna, but they had explicitly told her that they did not want to be disturbed during the negotiations in Ib’xian with the Capricorns. The situation there was complicated enough already.

At that moment the two doors of the throne room swung open again. To Twilight’s delight, it was not another applicant but her two friends Rarity and Fluttershy. “Hello Darling. I hope we are not too late?”

“Oh, if we are late, it is my fault. I met Rarity on the way and…” Fluttershy explained faintly.

“Oh don’t worry, my dear. If it was as important as the note made it sound, Twilight would no longer sit idly by.” Her friends came to a halt in front of the throne. “What is so important, Twilight? I was in the act of creating a new design and Fluttershy flew all the way up here from Ponyville, the poor dear.”

Before Twilight could even ask what the two of them were talking about, they got interrupted by another voice. “LOOK OUT BELOW!” Rainbow Dash flew in through one of the (luckily) open windows. She tried to slow down her, as always, way too fast descent by taking a turn at a pillar, but it only ended in a crash landing on the long red carpet that had rolled up in front of her. Rarity and Fluttershy, as well as the two guards, managed to jump aside in time before Rainbow came to halt at the foot of the throne. She shook her head and jumped up on her hooves. “So, where’s the danger? Did a manticore escape a circus? Is the city falling of the mountain?” She gasped nervously. “Did Chrysalis or Sombra return?”

“Easy there, Rainbow.” Everybody looked at Applejack in surprise, who had just trotted in through a door on the left of the throne. “Twilight will sure as sugar tell us why I couldn’t finish baking my pie.” That she had been in the act of doing just that was clear. The remains of the batter were stuck to her muzzle and hooves. Then Twilight noticed that Applejack was staring at her, just like the others.

“Huh, what?” She said, mildly confused. “I did not call for you. I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“About that, silly filly.” Twilight screeched shortly as a pink hoof, wielding an invitation, waved in front of her face.

“Pinkie Pie! How many times do I have to tell you to not startle me like that?” Said pony was bouncing down from the large backrest of the throne where she had just appeared. Twilight had stopped trying to question this ability of hers a long while ago and just grabbed the invitation with her magic. “Hello Pinkie! I hereby invite you to a The-Afternoon-Is-Boring Party. Regards, Twilight.” She looked on the backside. It was empty. “I never wrote anything like this!” She did had a suspicious feeling as to who it might have been.

Just as she was on the edge on speaking it out the door to the throne room opened again, only this time distinctly more forceful, so strong that the door slammed against the wall, causing cracks to appear around it. From the other side a draconequus tumbled inside. “Oh no, it is horrible! A disaster, so to say!” she declared in a dramatic tone and hold her claw and paw to her chest. “Unspeakable!”

Fluttershy immediately flew over to her friend. “Eris, oh my, are you alright?” She took her paw to the side and a thick, red fluid dropped on the floor. Everypony in the room gasped in fright while Fluttershy quickly hid beneath the nearest pillar.

“Eris, what happened?” Twilight wanted to know, completely forgetting all her previous worries about a possible prank.

“A monster! In the garden! In the maze!” she explained and spun around on one leg before a very well-known couch appeared out of the thin air where she promptly dropped heavily on.

“A monster?” Rainbow was next to her in an instant. “Show me where it is and I’ll make mush out of it!” Her rear legs kicked into the air a few times.

“This is no regular monster. It’s a human!” Another gasp went through the ponies. “Accompanied by a changeling!” Another gasp could be heard. “And they have taken a foal as hostage!”

The gasp found its apex and Rarity dramatically lifted her forehoof to her forehead and struck a pose that seemed to radiate despair and woe. “The poor thing! It must be scared to death.” At that moment Fluttershy came back from behind the pillar, holding a large red bag in her mouth. She put it down next to Eris and began picking out various materials to dress wounds.

“A human? That’s terrible,” Applejack mumbled to Pinkie.

“Yeah! A Meany MacMeanypants human,” she agreed.

“’scuse me,” Rainbow threw in. “What’s a human?”

Pinkie grabbed Rainbow’s face and pulled her closer. Her eyes widened as she shouted, “You don’t know that? Humans are evil monsters that eat ponies. But even worse! They don’t like parties. NO PARTIES!” Rainbow looked over to Applejack who gave a curt nod as response.

“That is not all, Rainbow.” Twilight descended from her throne. “Humans are downright cruel. They torture, murder and plunder. All that only for their own amusement. Do you know the story of the headless horse?” Her friends nodded. “Do you know why he is headless?” Rainbow thought about it for a moment but shook her head. “Legends say that he was a general who served under Princess Luna, sent out to protect a village from plundering humans. Supposedly, he was killed by the leader of the humans that day. This human took, as proof of his victory, the head of the general with him and since that day he was wandering around Equestria, searching for what is his to finally find peace.” Twilight noticed Fluttershy’s trembling and that she had dropped the bandage she had prepared for Eris. “Of course this is just a legend. But unlike griffons, humans have no limitations when it comes to barbarity. They are extremely dangerous and not welcome here in Equestria.”

Suddenly AJ stomped her hoof on the ground. “I knew I heard this story before. Lyra!” Everyone stared at the orange mare. “You know, that one unicorn that’s sitting in the park all day, playing music to earn some bits.” The group thought for a moment before nodding. “She told me once she would be studying humans. But why would you want to study such nasty things?”

“We can’t care about that now, Applejack.” Something else was more important now and Twilight knew it. “We can’t allow a human to run around freely, even in the maze. We have to go there and catch him!”

“You will need the Elements for that,” Eris piped up from the couch.

“What? For a human? Even if they are as terrible as you all say, a few kicks and blows and he will wish that he never came here in the first place.” Again Rainbow performed a few kicks in the air.

“Ummm, hello! He injured me of all beings because they are immune against magic. Only the Elements can do something against him.” Twilight gave an approving nod.

“Then let’s go get them and…” Eris snapped her claws and the box with the amulets and the crown promptly appeared in Twilight’s hoofs. “That works too.” She opened the box with her magic and passed around the magical artefacts to the according pony. “Eris, can you teleport us down to the maze where you last saw him?”

Fluttershy coughed and panted. “Uhm… I would rather stay with…” Before Fluttershy could even make a step, Twilight pulled her back into the group.

“We need you, Fluttershy. Eris is strong, she can help herself. And it won’t take very long. We just go in, use the Elements once and we are done. Everything’s going to be alright, I promise.” Fluttershy gave a barely noticeable nod and got back into her spot. “Guards! Call the other units to the maze.” The two guards saluted and galloped out of the room. “So, Eris, can you teleport us now?”

Eris nodded. “Sure, everything to help.” She snapped once more and the world before Twilight’s eyes disappeared.

Eris looked at the slightly scorched ground where only a few seconds ago her friends had stood. Then she laughed. “That went better than planned.” She holds her sides in laughter and accidently touched the red liquid. Quickly, she pulled back her claw and looked at it for a moment before licking it clean. “Yummy, Ketchup!”

“Eris!” And there was Twilight Sparkle’s scream from the depths of the maze as soon as she had realized that not everything went according to plan. Now she just needed a good spot and enjoy the show that was about to start.

Chapter II - Act 5.3 - A Dance with the Rainbow

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 5.3 - A Dance with the Rainbow ~

Thiemo sat on the dry grass, the early afternoon sun shining down on him as he checked his supplies. It had only been half an hour ago that he suddenly found himself alone in the gigantic hedges which appeared to form a maze. It seemed that both Aura and Amaryllis were out of hearing range; he had come to that conclusion after he had almost screamed his head off calling their names, silence his only response so far. This wasn’t what he had expected at all. What he had planned on was for the three of them would go after the other ponies together, take their trinkets and then search for an exit.

Since he had more or less gotten lost in the attempt of finding his friend and daughter, he had decided to take a quick break to prepare himself for what was to come. Thiemo considered himself lucky for managing to hold onto his backpack in his hands right before Eris had teleported them here. If not, he was sure he wouldn’t have found it with him now. Besides his clothes and staff, he also had the gemstones with him. Unfortunately, they weren’t primed yet so he had to take care of that now. Doing so meant he had to be doubly cautious when charging them. Nothing was more dangerous than a half-finished gemstone that could blow up in your face.

While he could certainly wander around the labyrinth hoping to run into someone sooner or later, he didn’t have the supplies to last inside here for a long time, and neither did Aura or Amy. The last thing was what had been giving him a headache. Not only had Amaryllis been desperately trying to tell him something important the whole time, she also needed something different than food to survive. From time to time he had caught her in the act when she started to take a snack from his emotions. It would have been hard not to notice as it was similar to how one would feel drinking warm water through a straw out of a bathtub. Especially the slurping sound right at the end. At some points it went on to the extent that it felt like the water in the metaphorical bathtub was so low that he began to feel exposed and started freezing.

That had told Thiemo just how much she depended on him, as a source of food more than anything else. He figured the healing of her injured wings took a lot of energy. “Maybe some ambers,” he mumbled quietly to himself and put the finished lapis lazuli back to the other finished gems. Most of them were sapphires. After all, water and air were the two elements that he could control the best.

***

“Eris,” Rainbow Dash seethed silently to herself as she wandered beneath the well-known, large hedges of the maze. The mere thought of that name made her want to do some particularly violent things to a particular draconequus. Just like the last time, she had been separated her friends, in more ways than one. “We should have known better, we should have realized that this was just one of her stupid pranks.” Rainbow wanted to slap herself at that moment for being fooled so easily by that wretched being.

All it had taken for her to become aware of Eris’ treachery was Twilight’s angry scream, which surely had been heard all over Canterlot. That particular scream wasn’t the first the city had heard in the last couple of weeks, and so she had attempted to fly out of the maze. Unlike the last time they had tangled with Eris, she still had her wings. However, as soon as she reached the outskirts, she had simply found herself back on the inside again. When she then tried flying directly upwards, the world had started to spin around and before she even knew what happened, she was descending again. “Where the buck is the egghead when you need her? Twilight surely knows a way out of here,” she muttered foully. She had attempted to reach her friends by calling out for them, but despite her best efforts, nopony had replied to her.

Now she had to force herself to take a break. Rainbow Dash had been training all morning and she hadn’t gotten any chance to take any of her usual naps in order to recharge her energy reserves. She hated to admit it, but running seemed to be the better option than flying now. Something she learned in the last two years as a Wonderbolts trainee were ways to ration her energy, such as knowing which part of a stunt you had to put how much effort and so on. She had never thought she would end up being in a situation where it was almost as though she was back in school, learning how to fly.

And then Soarin had come in her life. Of all the places she had thought to meet the stallion, Sweet Apple Acres had never crossed her mind. Usually the trainees and the veterans would barely see each other; sometimes they never meet at all. Spitfire was something of an exception, but then again she also was their instructor. Soarin had apparently come to the farm to buy some apple pie and, of all the potential ponies he could choose, asked Applejack out on a date. Up to this day, Rainbow Dash didn’t hesitate to tease him about it from time to time. AJ had firmly and unequivocally rebuffed him, which led to Rainbow Dash trying to cheer up the depressed stallion again. That particular exercise had basically boiled down to her challenging him to a race and afterwards shovelling hay fries down each other’s throats until their stomachs had been ready to burst. Since that day they had hung out frequently, and after about one year he had asked her out on a date. She already was in the team at this point, so nopony could say she cheated or slept her way up the ranks. Also, he was a very pleasant company, so why not?

Well, if she was being honest with herself, she had actually been on the verge of fainting when he finally asked her and had almost burst from the ensuing happiness, but she would never let anyone know about that nugget of information. One thing led to another and they had been together for about a year now. Even after training this morning, when they had met each other in the hall, both still in their tight flight suits and soaking with sweat, the two of them had disappeared in a storeroom faster than she could shout ‘Sonic Rainboom’. All in all, she was very, very tired now.

“Hey, you… human thing! Come out so I can kick your flank and finally get some sleep!” If he didn’t hear her, then maybe one of her friends would. As a result, she kept on calling out during her trail through the maze, taking a turn to the left or right every now and then. The maze itself hadn’t changed; the hedges were so thick that it was sure to be virtually impossible to slip through them. They were still so green despite it being autumn already. Rainbow Dash had never bothered visiting the castle’s garden’s during the winter, but she was certain everything would be green there as well. Again, that was something Twilight could no doubt carry on a lecture about for hours on end. “This mare needs her sleep and I promise you that I’m going to make it quick and not too painful if you come out now!” she shouted, her agitation rising.

Bored, she trotted around the next corner where one of the numerous stone statues that littered the gardens stood. She had noticed them the last time as well, but was too busy to care about them back then. Missing wings and the world about to end in the form of pink cotton candy and chocolate milk had been a higher priority at that point in time. The statue in front of her was a weird creature. It reassembled an alicorn with six wings and three horns. Rainbow could just about understand why Celestia and Luna had dumped this thing here. She would not put something this hideous and wretched-looking in her garden as well. Surely it was a present she couldn’t get rid of easily, otherwise she would have been quick to dispose of it. “Human, human, human… come out little human.” Even she could tell by the pitch of her voice that she was starting to get desperate. She had even resorted to trying to speak and act like Fluttershy, but she didn’t even know the sounds humans made. She left the statue behind to its own gruesome fate and decided to turn left on the next crossway. “Come out, you stupid creature!”

“No, YOU come here!” Rainbow had to take a few seconds to process the fact that she had actually gotten a response. Confused, she stopped where she was and listened in case there were more words forthcoming, but nothing happened. The voice had sounded male, so it wasn’t any of her friends, which only left the human as an option. Rainbow Dash groaned; Twilight had never told her that they could talk.

Quickly, she leaned a bit into the hedge. “We’re gonna be making this simple, human. You’re gonna come over here, I get to slap you once or twice, drag you in the dungeons and then I’m gonna take my nap. Everyone gets what they deserve.” She wasn’t stupid. The human was surely trying to do what she was attempting to do - locating her position by her voice. Her advantage was that she had an additional avenue for locating and securing the human, and that was from above.

***

Thiemo didn’t quite know what to make of his new surroundings. Eris had taken the game to a new level by warning the damn ponies about him. Much to his frustration, this new development had rendered the silent, stealthy plan that he had scraped together about ten minutes ago while he was wandering around, to nought. That was until a voice that seemed to come from somewhere nearby impatiently called for a human. No name, just for a human. He had tried to eavesdrop on the voice to see if he could somehow acquire an advantage for himself, but then the voice got quieter. He couldn’t accurately pinpoint her location, so he had the pony to get talking again, which was what he did.

The biggest question now, while he quietly sneaked through the maze, was whether his opponent was a mare or a stallion. The voice was rough, in a tone that could more or less belong to either gender. Knowing what gender the pony belonged to would at least allow him to have a preliminary gauge on how strong his opponent would be. Stallions usually had more muscles, were more sturdily built and had larger hooves, which they could use to effectively stun an opponent. However, they seemed to generally lack the agility of their female counterparts. It was something he had learned from his observations in Fillydelphia and Canterlot, but especially from his own first-hand experience when he had been transformed into a pony. While there were obviously more differences, these were the most obvious ones. Additionally, the whole thing would be much easier if he could kick his opponent in the nuts. It would be an easy target to hit, seeing how revealing the ponies were, and could quickly end the combat. Sure, it would be a very cheap shot and would leave him feeling some phantom twinges of sympathy down below, but nobody said it would be against the rules.

He also wanted this whole fiasco to be over with as quickly as possible. Ever since he had realized that their opponents already knew they were here, the worry and concern gnawing at his insides had only increased as he thought about Aura. Amaryllis would surely be able to handle to handle a pony or two; she was a changeling princess after all and had magic and wings to aid her. “We’re gonna be making this simple, human. You’re gonna come over here, I get to slap you once or twice, drag you in the dungeons and then I’m gonna take my nap. Everyone gets what they deserve,” he heard the voice shout again. At least his opponent seemed to have a sense of humor, he had to admit.

Thanks to her opponent’s frustrated rant, however, he now had a slight clue where he or she was and so he began to concentrate. If it was a unicorn then he should be able to feel their magic aura, but after a few moments, none of the tell-tale signs of a magic user could be felt. That meant it was either an earth pony or a pegasus. “Got ya!” he heard a voice shout triumphantly. His head whirled around and instinctively he made leapt aside. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a blurry blue figure, followed by a rainbow, whooshing past him and breaking through the hedge. The wind itself that hit him was almost enough to knock him off his feet. If the pegasus (for it was unlikely it could be anything else) had hit him, then things would definitely not be looking up for him right now. Lucky for him, his opponent had idiotically announced itself before trying to pounce on him. “Owww…” And apparently it had crashed on the other side.

With the staff in one hand and his chain with a few gems in the other, Thiemo started sprinting, his feet beating down on the ground below him. If he was fast enough, he could reach the pegasus before it would be able to recover and it would be an easy game. The problem was that there appeared to be no direct way to it in sight. “Well, if it doesn’t fit, use a bigger hammer… or staff.” With these words, Thiemo tried to make his way through the hedge as well. Using his staff, he started breaking the branches ahead of him, while his other hand was busy widening the hole. It seemed, however, that something didn’t want to let him pass, for suddenly he felt something grabbing his backpack and roughly pulling him out of the hedge again. He landed roughly on his coccyx and looked around to try and see what had grabbed him, while gently rubbing his posterior. In front of his face was a long branch that seemed to have come out of the undergrowth, whipping at him from its end, its agitated movements reminding him of someone scolding a small child. The angry foliage then pointed directly at him and then to the ground before it turned back to the hedge to merge with its comrades, but not before giving him a quick whip on his face. “Oooo…kay… then,” was all Thiemo was able to stammer, flabbergasted at the sight.

“This time you won’t escape me!” He looked above him and for the first time, he made visual contact with his opponent, a cerulean pegasus.

To him, it was a pegasus with a rainbow mane, tail and doubtful sexuality. “Please don’t tell me your name is Gay Pride or something like that.” Maybe he should have stood up before taunting his more-than-just-fast enemy. The blue fur of the pegasus turned into a deep crimson, and again he or she aimed at him with breath-taking speed. His eyes widened and he was only just able to throw himself flat on the ground to avoid her attack. His backpack was not so lucky. The once durable and expensive fabric was literally torn apart and its contents - old boards, bathroom accessories and all his other stuff – were scattered around him. His lamp splintered as it crashed on the ground, causing several shards to gleam brightly on the ground around the area of impact. His small collection of adult books was caught by the violent wind that followed his attacker and was pressed flat against the hedge before they fell on the ground with a dull thud, now damaged and with a few missing pages. As soon as Thiemo noticed the wind was fading, he quickly got up and monitored the sky for the next attack, but found nothing. There was no pegasus of a sexually ambiguous nature up in the sky swooping down to try and kill him, and it was deadly silent as well. A few minutes ago he could hear the rush of the wind and the sounds of some animals in the distant, but now it was like he was in the eye of a storm.

Thiemo started running to change his position and grabbed onto one of the broken shards from his lamp from the ground. The beginnings of an idea had started forming in his mind, but he needed to find something more solid than these hedges for that. Apparently, they seemed to only dislike him, since they had left his opponent untouched so far. He rushed around the next corner and came to a halt in front of something that looked like a memorial, the only thing marring that image was the fact that it looked as though someone had dug something here. Whatever markings that used to be on the stone wall were now unreadable, but that was just what he needed. “Dead end, fella!” Perfect timing. Thiemo spun around at the now familiar voice and saw the pegasus approaching again.

It appeared to have built up a head of steam and was dashing straight towards him. Thiemo took the shard in his hand and raised it high in the air, holding it at such an angle that it got hit by the sun and started aiming it towards his oncoming attacker. The pegasus didn’t seem to have noticed what he was doing, smirking to itself as it saw its prey had come to a halt.

“Come on… YES!” the reflecting light hit pegasus directly in its face. It yelped in surprise, its smirk disappearing as white blotches appeared in its vision, causing it to instinctively put both forehooves in front of its eyes to protect them. Unfortunately, it had forgotten to brake or even aim this time in its panic. Thiemo took a single step to the side and watched as his opponent met the memorial by crashing headfirst into it, a loud crack resounding through the immediate vicinity. Rather bizarrely, it remained glued to the wall for a few moments before it fell on the ground, together with a few pieces of debris that had gotten loose by the force of the impact.

Thiemo waited for a few seconds before he poked his defeated opponent with his staff. It remained motionless, but at least it was still breathing. He brushed across the wings of the pegasus quickly, disabling its magic and rendering it unable to fly for at least the next ten minutes. Only then did he dare to allow himself to step closer. Though the ponies were small, their kicks could be especially brutal. He knew that from Aura, who did this from time to time with a bit too much enthusiasm. The changelings hadn’t held back either, so he had learnt to respect just what they could do with their hard hooves. “First things first.” He stopped next to the pegasus and bent down to answer the question that had bothered him since he had run into her. He placed his hand on its tail and lifted it up, baring all to his eyes. “Mare. Huh. With that voice she’d make an excellent Marge Simpson.” The colorful appendage fell back on the ground again and he stepped over to her head. “So… where did you hide your crown or amulet?” He turned the mare on her back and quickly found what he was looking for. Around her neck hung a thick golden chain, in which a large red ruby in the form of a lightning bolt was set. Thiemo’s gaze shifted towards her flank where a rainbow-colored lightning bolt striking out of a cloud indicated her cutie mark. The two were identical. “I’m sorry about your amulet, sweetie, but you lost.” With one strong yank, he separated pony and amulet. He was surprised that it was even heavier than it looked. “This must be pure gold. Worth a small fortune, for sure.” Quickly, he put it in his coat’s pocket and got up from his kneeling position before he knocked off the dirt of his clothes.

Slowly, he went back to where his belongings were scattered around the ground. Meanwhile, he thought about the just recently concluded fight. It had been more than obvious from her fighting style that she was not a soldier. Her attacks had been hasty and seemed to lack thought, but were strong nevertheless. If she had gotten even once strike in, it would have been more than enough to smash his thorax. Even if he was dealing with amateurs here, he still had to be careful. Looking at the prone pony on the ground, another thought struck him. If the other ponies Eris had sent were pegasi, then why didn’t they come to her aid? That could only mean that none of her friends were nearby and they did not have wings, or at least most them did not. It also meant that he not only had to contend with pegasi, but also the possibility of unicorns and earth ponies. If there were six of them as Eris had claimed, then it would be likely that there were two of each kind as well.

Well, at least now he had one of the more dangerous pony races out of the way. Pegasi could fly and therefore could move like a knight across a checkerboard, unhindered by any obstacle. This could be especially lethal inside the confines of a maze. Not only could they look at everything from above and find the right place to ambush their prey, they could also attack from any other direction they wished. He rubbed his eyes, feeling a headache coming on. He knew he had to be careful, for if the second pegasus showed a bit of savviness and didn’t not announce its attack like a bad villain from the 80’s, then he would have a problem. As long as his gaze stayed inside the maze, he could theoretically cover three sides, yet his back would be open to attack. If he concentrated on keeping his eyes on the skies, then he would only be able to plug one possible route of attack and would be vulnerable to an ambush on the ground. In the end, it was only one pegasus and four ponies on the ground, therefore it was clear where his focus had to be.

Thiemo finally reached the spot where the remains of his belongings had been scattered, surveying the damage with a shake of his head. Right next to him, on the hedge itself, were the shreds of fabric that had once made up his backpack. He picked most of them free from the hedge and tied the loose ends together in such a way that he ended up with a small yet crude bag he could use to store his stuff until everything here was over. He first put his small purse in, then the bathroom accessories, then his tools for creating gemstones and the ones he had not primed yet. With these items his bag was full, and putting anything more in it could make it burst, a risk he didn’t want to take.

He looked at the place for a final time before leaving. The other shards of his lamp were reflecting the sunlight well and could be easily spotted from any observing eyes up in the sky and give away where he was if he remained much longer. His way led him in the opposite direction of where he had left the unconscious pegasus. Just like him, she had been shouting for her friends. Seeing as she had come from the direction he was now headed, her friends must be in the other.

Quickly, he went around a few corners and curves before his steps slowed down again. With enough distance between him and the fighting ground, he had to try and use his powers as carefully as possible. Breathing a bit easier, he continued on his journey, playing with the amulet in his pocket until he noticed a statue. It was a pegasus with a horn. No, that wasn’t right; upon closer inspection, it had three horns, overshadowing him the way how tall it was. Even if Thiemo had stepped next to the statue on the pedestal, it would still be a head taller than him. And then there were the wings. The creature didn’t have two but six. With one hand, he dusted the plate on the pedestal of the statue, clearing the dirt that had obscured the writing. Though dulled with age, he could still manage to make out the number nine thousand engraved on it. He shrugged and continued walking on the arc that led to a larger, round, open field of the maze. In this area there were a more statues as well. Curious, he went over to the first one. Once again, it was a pegasus with a horn, this time about his size. The mane of the statue was split at the horn, so that a few loose hairs seemed to be forever falling into the face of the frozen stallion. The fur on his back was ruffled, almost as though it was disturbed by a non-existent wind. The strangest thing, however, was that the stallion was somehow holding a scythe in his hoof. His right foreleg was wound around the handle, clutching it in an everlasting grip. Like the last one, this statue’s words were written on the plate near the pedestal. Blue Light. He couldn’t draw any connection to the name, so he moved on to the next.

Once again, it was pegasus with a horn. “Looks like a trend,” he muttered to himself as he inspected the armor this one was wearing. The most noticeable feature of this statue was the wicked-looking fangs that protruded from the statue’s mouth. Nightmare Moon, the plate read, another name that meant nothing to him. He could only shrug and move to the next pedestal in the circle of statues. His eyes still locked on the base, he read the plate first. Faust.

His interest piqued, his gaze wandered upwards but he didn’t find what he was looking for. The statue was missing and so he only found one of the four exits of the place. It was what was there instead that surprised him. With wide eyes, a yellow pony stood there and hadn’t moved a muscle. For a few seconds, neither did Thiemo, but as soon as he did the pegasus seemed to shake itself out of its frozen state. “Mieeep!” was all he heard as her wings unfolded and she ran off.
Thiemo had expected a lot of things; the mare trying to tackle, screaming for help, or something completely different. Her running away, with run being the operative word, was not one these things.

There were no doubts that this was a mare as well. Those shapely flanks that he fixated on as she was running off spoke a clear language. Now, the hunt was on. “Bambi! Come back Bambi!” he shouted after her and started gaining speed, trying to follow the pegasus into the maze. “I’m sorry I hurt your friend, Bambi.” Sometimes, only sometimes, he really liked being an asshole.

Chapter II - Act 5.4 - The Smaller They Are...

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 5.4 - The Smaller They Are... ~

The last time Aura felt so lonely was in the dark chamber with the changelings. Still, even as time passed by, the little nymphs would get clingy, helping her feel a little better. In this maze, however, the only thing she had to look forward to were the large hedges and statues that could have come straight from her nightmares. They had open eyes, but the lack of pupils still made them see cold and empty as they loomed wickedly over her. The occasional screams she could here in the distant, together with the rustling of the leaves being blown over the dry ground at the most inconvenient times by the wind, were not helpful either.

Several times she had called for her father, her only friend. Now, however, her tiny throat was hoarse and the only sound she seemed to be able to make was her snivelling. “I have to… I have to be strong.” Her dad had promised her one thing: he would always find her. “I will not cry and Dad will be proud of me when he finds me.” These words made up the little mantra she kept on repeating as she pressed forward.

Here tiny hooves brought her to the next crossway, and she quickly marked the way she had come from, a little line in the dust at the edge of the hedge. Every time she did it, she felt as though her reserve of willpower had slowly eroded a bit more, as something inside her told that these plants were not natural and she should stay away from them. She could have even sworn that they were moving from time to time, like a pair of eyes that were constantly following her every move.

It didn’t matter to the little filly that the sun was shining brightly up in the sky; to her, it might have well been the darkest night she had ever lived through. No birds, no animals; only the wind, herself and the statues. The way too realistic statues with their empty eyes. They looked as though they had been captured in stone in mid-movement, and when they awake to life they would continue their reign of terror over whoever was in the vicinity, which meant her.

Sniffing again, she turned towards one of the three paths ahead of her. It didn’t matter which one she took, the whole purpose of a maze was to get lost in it. And that was exactly what she was - lost. This pathway was exactly like the others: green creeps overshadowing both sides, a blue sky acting as a roof above her and the statues spread out every few metres to the left and the right. And yet, despite being frightened by them, she still looked at them every time. Just to make sure they wouldn’t leap at her and devour her the moment she dared to look away.

What she didn’t expect, however, was talking. “Hi.” With a scream of pure terror and surprise, she turned around and sped off, only to stumble and bump into something, causing her to fall to the ground with a grunt. She closed her eyes tightly, trembling violently. If she couldn’t see it, it couldn’t see her either, right? “Hey, are you alright?” Slowly and carefully, she opened one eye, then the other. To her left was the hoof of a goat, to her right the clunky foot of a dragon adorned with sharp claws. Again she screamed and tried to run away, but something was holding her tail in a vicelike grip. She kept running in the same spot for a few seconds, unable to move forward despite how desperately she tried before she finally sank down to the ground, all limbs sprawled out, her chest heaving rapidly, trying to suck in as much oxygen as possible. Her eyes became blurry as tears welled up and a few streaked hotly down her face and soaking into her fur. The head of the creature that was responsible for taking her dad away slowly made its way into her field of view, its body upside down. The creature was bending over her and grinning at her, its fang gleaming wickedly in the sunshine.

Before she could scream again at the sight of its sharp tooth that brought horrifying images of being ripped apart to her young mind, a tendril quickly wound over her mouth to snap it shut. The creature’s grin slowly faded as it studied it. It’s probably thinking how best to eat you, her treacherous thoughts whispered in her mind. “Foals. They would be quite cute if not for their constant screaming and whining,” it commented dryly. The strange creature threw its arms in the air and let loose a strange box in its right paw. It sailed a few meters over the hedge, before it made a loud pop and confetti started raining down for a few seconds.

Aura forgot herself for a minute as she stared, amazed by the display before remembering where she was, and quickly wriggled free of the tendril as the draconequus was momentarily distracted. “What do you want? Where is my Dad?” she blurted out, trying to look intimidating. She hadn’t intended to scream at the creature; these were just the questions that had been on the tip of her tongue all the while.

“Weeeeeeell, right now your father is hunting butterflies.” Both looked at each other, one warily and the other with an innocent look on her face. “Really! If you’re very quiet, you should be able to hear him.” Aura raised her ears and waited. “There!” Nothing could be heard. Annoyed, the creature pulled back its coat and a little watch around its arm came into sight. “Now!”

“Bambi! Come back Bambi!” It was quiet, very quiet, but it was clearly the voice of her father.

“He’s hunting a butterfly named Bambi?” The creature waved off her question.

“Actually her name is Fluttershy and it is very amusing to run after her. We keep running around the bed for hours.” The creature sighed at the puzzled look on her face. “Maybe when you’re older.”

“Who are you? What do you want?” The creature stepped over to her, working her arms in the air like she had a string between her claws, and automatically, Aura’s body was lifted into the air without even moving a single muscle.

Again the creature sighed and dropped its arms, causing her to fall onto the dirt floor once again. “I explained everything to you earlier. Foals… no attention span. Me Eris, this big playground. You get the amulets and the crown, you win. You get defeated, you lose.” Aura sniffled again. “Oh for the sake of the little sanity that is left in me, what is it now?”

“I-I was scared and didn’t listen.” The tears that had ceased momentarily came back even stronger as Aura began crying loudly while the agonized draconequus covered its ears.

“Thanks for reminding me why I always say no to Fluttershy!” Eris roared at Aura, but it did not have the desired effect; if anything, it caused the filly to start crying louder while cowering on the grass. “Alright, alright,” Eris sighed resignedly, pinching the bridge of her snout in frustration. Again a tendril emerged from the hedges to silence Aura. The poor filly didn’t have time to react before Eris was picking her up, and with one leap they flew over the wall of plants. Once on the other side, she placed Aura on the grass; the filly wobbled a bit, looking as though she would collapse upon the ground, before she steadied herself. “Now, keep going in this direction and then you’ll find the Bearer of one of the amulets.” She pushed Aura lightly in the right direction.

“Ow! Watch your claws!” she yelped. She rubbed her flank and slowly got moving again. After a few meters, she looked behind her, but the strange creature, this Eris, was gone. “A-Adults. So easy to manipulate.” Unfortunately, that had stopped working with her father a long time ago. She rubbed the tears out of her eyes. She would never tell anyone that they were real.

***

Lady Rarity, owner of two boutiques, one in Canterlot and one in Manehatten, calmly trotted, step by step, through the large hedge maze. Not that it was her first time here, or the second. She had been here quite often. Every time when she came to the capital to visit her store in the town, she almost always stopped by to take a short trip through the astonishing gardens of the castle, and that included a trip through the maze. The time where she had to craft her masterpieces by hoof, night after night, was long gone. These days she only designed, and if she did lend a hoof, it was merely for fun or when it was either for one of her friends or a very important customer. Once a design had been completed, she would send it to the boutiques and received a finished piece in return. With her approval, only then would it go on sale. Every single piece was still unique and of only the highest quality.

With the free time she had gained from her career development, she had used to spend more time with her friends and her sister. Or on a date every now and then. That was precisely why she came up here today as well. It was Twilight’s first term as an active princess, and she had asked for her help. It wasn’t matters of state or dealing with some of the more bold nobles that she had to with, however. No, instead she had to try to keep Eris’ claws and paws away from her friend. Rarity sighed, knowing she would have to put up with the erratic behavior from the draconequus. She was Fluttershy’s marefriend, and it was obvious that the shy pegasus seemed to attract the boldest and daring of partners. Just look at Angel. Honestly, she was surprised that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had never tried anything in the past. As far as she could tell, the two of them would have made a lovely couple.

Now she and Applejack were the only two left from their illustrious group without a partner. Well, and Twilight too, but somehow that didn’t count for Rarity. At least her friend had an eternity to find out how much nicer time would be if not spend alone. That line of thought had her mind wandering into a different sort of direction. Surely the guards would come as soon as the maze was no longer under Eris’ spell, and perhaps there would be a handsome young stallion to come to her rescue. Maybe a strong pegasus to carry her off into the sunset on his strong wings. Yes, these were the kinds of thoughts that would keep her happy, allowing her to push the fact that the bumpy road was ruining her freshly manicured hooves to the back of her mind. Or that the direct glare of Celestia’s sun was bad for her mane. Eris seriously should have at least given her a hat early. But she was a lady and as such she would get this situation with all the necessary poise and grace.

At that moment, all thoughts of being sunburned were abruptly shaken from her mind as she felt her flanks make painful contact with the ground as something slammed her from the side. “Ow… this is going to bruise, I just know it.” As if the heavens had heard her statement and decided to mock her, there was now a clearly visible bump underneath her white coat. Poking it with even the gentlest of touches caused her to wince with pain. She turned on her stomach and started searching for what had caused the accident, but the dust was preventing her from seeing anything. Then there was the sound of a cough, and a filly stepped next to her.

Rarity was confused at first, eying the small foal hesitantly. Just what was a filly doing here? Then, remembering where she was and the position she was in, she quickly rose from the ground. “Are you alright, darling? You have to watch out where you are running.” She shook some loose dirt off her coat, causing more dust to cloud the air around her. “How did you even get here? It is not safe here at the moment.” Then she remembered what Eris had said, though it wasn’t like she had a hundred reasons to doubt her. The filly didn’t respond and just kept on looking at her. No, not at her, but the Element around her neck. “Ahem. My name is Rarity and I’m one of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, so you can trust me. Come with me, a human is on the loose somewhere around here,” she urged, trying to look as friendly as possibly. The poor thing was reminding her of Sweetie Belle when she was younger and not performing on the many stages all over Equestria. Her practiced eye caught onto the fact that her little friend must have been crying not too long ago. Her eyes were bloodshot and there were clear trails of tears left on her coat near her cheek.

“I’m scared!” she squeaked and instantly it clicked for Rarity. She couldn’t watch a foal cry. Her nature and years of being a sister simply didn’t allow it.

“Oh, come here to aunt Rarity. Then I’ll get you out of here,” she cooed softly. Slowly, she stepped closer to the little, orange filly, until she eventually reached out her hoof and pulled her close to her. She knew how the heartbeat of another pony could calm down a filly, as well as the actual physical contact. There was a simple reason why she remembered such things. Rarity wanted some foals of her own, her own little family. Giving life was the greatest gift, after all.

A few moments later, the two ponies separated from each other. “Thanks, I’m feeling much better now.” The eyes of the filly wandered past her, then widened in shock. “What’s that?!” Quickly, Rarity spun around and looked around, but she only found the empty path between her and the edges in front of her. She turned around again to the same sight.

The filly was gone. “Sweetie? Where are you? Come back!” she shouted, but got no response. As she was wont to do when she was worried, she grasped her hoof at her chest. She groped again. And again. Her Element was gone. It didn’t even take two seconds for her to realize what had happened. “Oh, that little brat,” she seethed to herself. She ran off and followed the only path the filly could have taken. “On no, not with Rarity,” she said to herself as she kicked up a cloud of dust behind her as she galloped onward. Meanwhile, an unwanted thought crossed her mind, whispering that she should have taken the fitness course from Aloe and Lotus.

***

Aura, carrying the Element on her stomach in the fashion of a belt, ran as fast as her little legs could carry her. Since she was an earth pony, her speed was pretty impressive. In her mind, she lectured herself for getting frightened again. Not even two minutes after Eris had left her again had the tears reappeared. But she had to be strong. Her father wanted to win this game and she wanted to help him.

And now she had gathered one of the Elements for him. Thiemo always said, especially lately, that stealing was bad, but this was a game so it didn’t count. Right?

She almost drifted into the hedge as she ran around the next corner, and would have if she hadn’t caught herself at the last moment. “Hey! Where ya going so fast, missy?” Confused at unfamiliar voice, Aura aimed a look behind her. Behind her ran another pony, also with one of those amulets around her neck. Her coat was a similar orange to her own and her mane was blond. “Ya stop right there this instance! It’s dangerous here!” Aura could see that the other mare was well trained; she was almost flying over the ground and it didn’t even seem to physically faze her.

But she had to flee first. Surely this one wouldn’t be very keen on seeing her with one of the necklaces. She shifted her gaze to the front again, and just in time too. In front of her, the path diverted to the left and right and she was about to crash into the hedges ahead of her. She quickly braked and drifted to the left, before starting to sprint again.

“There you are!” The voice definitely belonged to the white unicorn she had met earlier.

“Rarity?” She could hear the other one shouting.

“Applejack? Quick, catch that little brat. She stole my Element.” Aura could hear the orange mare gaining speed. Her hooves were pounding on the ground even faster, and Aura knew that she had little chance of escape. The next crossroads looked so far away that there was no chance of reaching it before her followers gained vision of her again so they wouldn’t see which way she took.

“Rarity, I can’t stop her. She’ll get hurt at this speed.” She quickly threw a look behind her and saw that this Applejack was on the level of her tail already. But as long as she kept running, they wouldn’t do anything.

She grinned. “We will win! You’ll never catch me. Just wait until I find my father!” She gave everything her legs could and took another turn.

“Ah don’t wanna hurt her, Rares! Use ya fancy magic.” Her pursuers couldn’t be around the corner too, otherwise they would have known that she had a problem now, that being she had run into a dead end. She wondered why she hadn’t found one earlier. It was the same kind of luck her dad had; she was much like him in that area. Should she be happy now or scared because of her pursuers?

She chose panic and turned around on her heels, trying to take the other way. “Oh no you don’t!” Unfortunately, all the speed she had built up was lost in the turnaround, and Applejack had apparently deemed her slow enough now. She felt teeth enclosing her tail and for the second time today, she landed on the ground, limbs sprawled in the air.

The orange mare stepped closer with high lifted head, only her eyes looking down. They literally shun green in the shadow, her hat obscuring the rest of her face. “I want to my Dad,” Aura managed to sniffle and a single tear appeared. She had no problem producing tears now after this rough landing.

Her alabaster friend trotted up next to her, breathing heavily. “Careful, Applejack. She tried the same thing with me.”

Applejack nodded, the gesture barely noticeable. “Don’t ya worry, Rares, ah know she’s just acting.” She leaned down to Aura. “And ah also know that you were really frightened. So how ‘bout givin’ mah friend her property back?” Aura shook her head. “We caught ya, so act nice now. We’re gonna bring ya back to the castle and then we’ll get ya parents.”

***

“My father will win this game. It doesn’t matter if you catch me or not.” Tears, real tears, formed in the eyes of the filly, threatening to spill over.

Rarity leaned over to Applejack. “I think she’s had enough.” With that, she untied the Element from the downcast filly and placed it back around her neck. “That’s better.” She pushed Applejack aside, who was still staring at the filly with a flat look. “So, Darling, tell me about this game you are talking about.”

“Well, the game was that we were supposed to catch you and bring the amulets and a crown to this Eris.” Rarity and Applejack exchanged worried looks.

“Do ya think she turned evil again?” Rarity didn’t know what to make of the filly’s claims on such short notice.

“It certainly bears some of her trademarks.” She turned to the filly again. “So, what’s your name and are the others in ‘we’?”

Again she sniffled. Rarity could see how exhausted the poor thing was. The adrenalin must have been carrying her all the while, and now it seemed it had passed, leaving the filly looking drained. “I am…” she was interrupted by a hiccup. Her heavy, unsteady breathing also wasn’t doing her any favours when it came to forming a coherent sentence. “I… I am Aura.”

“And who is your father?” Applejack threw at her as soon as she had answered, still keeping a firm eye on their captive to prevent her from running away, though her voice had adopted a slight more friendly tone.

“Thiemo.” Both adults were confused.

“Just Thiemo?” Aura nodded. “Where are you two from? I have never heard of names like Aura or Thiemo.” The filly mumbled something. “Come again?”

“I don’t know.” Rarity adopted a baffled look and Aura continued. “I was found somewhere in Dragmire. My father is from Cervi… Cervis…. Cervisomething.”

“So he is a deer? A scholar from far away? Isn’t that exciting, Applejack? Just imagine Twilight’s reaction.” Her friend could only roll her eyes at the thought.

“He is not a deer. What is a deer? He is a human.” The color faded from the faces of the two ponies. “And Aura is just my nickname. Dad said my full name is too long and Aura is easier to shout or something.”

“And what is your full name, darling?” Rarity didn’t know what to make of this. The father of this foal was supposed to be a human? No, not her biological father. She said she was found on Dragmire. Did he foalnap her like Eris said?

“Auralia.” A muffled bump was heard as Applejack's flanks hit the ground.

“C-Can ya repeat that, Sugarcube?” Rarity could see the complete bewilderment that grew in Applejack’s face.

“Auralia.” What followed next surprised Rarity. Applejack grabbed the startled filly and pulled her into a full embrace, her forehooves fiercely enveloping the tiny body. It was a hug that didn’t seem as though it would come to an end in the near future.

***

Well, it had been funny for the first ten or twenty rounds, but now it was getting boring. Thiemo had run a quarter of an hour after the surprisingly quick pegasus until he took the time to look at their surroundings. They always turned right and therefore had kept running in a circle. Without further ado, he pushed, with a little help from the earth element, two of the numerous statues in front of the only two paths leading away from here. The other ones were dead ends or were leading back to the center of the maze. Or at least he suspected this to be the center. After all, he doubted these statues had been placed here for simple decoration.

“Eeeep!” And she started to run the thirty-first lap. Thiemo just stood on one point in the way and simply turned as soon as he heard her shrieking.

At some point he had started to feel some sympathy for the poor thing. She seemed to be scared to death of him, though most of that could be attributed to his actions. She didn’t even notice that she had been running in a circle, her entire focus being on escaping from him. He tried calling to her and catching her, but she was too fast. Most of her speed seemed to come from her flapping her wings in order to give her a boost, reminding him faintly of a chicken that could not achieve full flight. Thiemo, however, was sure she was able to fly. Physically, she was quite similar to the other pegasus, the notable differences being her fur colour, mane style and the slight softness of her body that seemed so strange on a species that typically prided themselves on their athletic build. He bit his lip lightly. If such a body could be transformed into a human blonde, then his hands would have surely found a way to latch onto her. Only reluctantly was he able to admit that he found her attractive, even if she was a pony. “And I’m her beast,” he murmured to himself.

With one foot tapping on the ground, he waited for her to come around the corner. This time she was significantly slower. “The poor thing is going to fall over from exhaustion.” Yes, he had had his fun at her expense, but now it was enough. “After all, I need to win.” With a sigh, he threw his staff into his left hand and reached into the pocket of his coat. He felt some gems which he had unfortunately dumped into the same pocket in his hurry. At some point he felt an ember between his middle and forefinger and he pulled it out.

With a quick turn on his heels, he turned around and walked over the edge where his prey would come stumbling along. He kneeled down and leaned against the hedge. The branches and tendrils immediately sprang to life and pushed against him. Then he heard her steps as she came closer. Pony steps were not only much louder than their human equivalent, they also sounded like there were a bunch of people coming. It was something which often caused him to ask Deerling if she had brought company.

The pegasus came around the corner without noticing Thiemo, and his hand moved quickly to the ground. Energy flew through the stone into the earth, and at that next moment, a clay wall shot out of the ground and blocked her way. She screeched to a momentary halt in front of the wall blocking her path. Catching sight of the human kneeling next to it, her eyes widened as she began running again. This time she was running straight past him. Thiemo, however, was still connected to the stone, and he reacted before she could escape.

A second wall shot out of the ground so quickly that she now had no chance of reacting, causing her to crash into it. She didn’t get knocked out though; she didn’t have anything even resembling the speed of her friend. She tumbled backwards a bit and huddled into a cowering ball of fur, her fearfully eyes staring at him. Slowly, and with both hands stretched out, Thiemo stood up again. “No worries, we can solve this peacefully.”

If she had been frightened earlier, she was now far beyond that, as she simply feigned death. With a swoon that reminded him of a dying swan, she fell on her back, legs raised high into the air, eyes closed and her tongue lolled out of her mouth. It was so long it even reached the ground. Heh, imagine what she could- nope, not going there. Thiemo rolled his eyes at her theatrics and kneeled down next to her. “You know, in the three years I played World of Warcraft not a single hunter managed to trick me with that, and neither will you.” Still no reaction, no breathing. Thiemo wondered to himself if she was the world champion in holding her breath and considered putting it to the test. Well, since her heart was clearly pounding in the silence, he decided not to. So he poked her carefully with his finger in her side. “Come on. I just want to talk.” He poked her again, and the corner of her mouth turned upward slightly. “Ticklish eh?” He reached out with an outstretched hand and laid into her sides, watching as her legs began kicking and twitching in the air while she began laughing, though it sounded more like a giggle, a cute giggle.

When he abruptly stopped she seemed to notice her mistake, and like a lightning bolt she shot behind a statue to her right. Then she murmured something. “What was that?” Again a murmur. “Excuse me?” Again, only a whisper that vanished in the few meters between them. “Speak girl! Speak!”

“Please don’t hurt me!” From the way she clenched her eyes and opened her jaws, Thiemo would have expected her to be bellowing her words. Instead, they came out at a normal volume.

“See! That wasn’t so hard.” Thiemo clapped his hands, to which she only winced again. “Sorry. Look, I’m not really after you.” She pointed at herself with one hoof. Her eyes, a mixture from cyan blue and grass green, were aimed at the ground. “Exactly. I’m not after you, but I do want the thing around your neck. I want to win.”

“Uhm… win what?” She noticed that she had talked again before she could catch herself and cringed again. She was quite cute, but if she was always like this, Thiemo didn’t know if he could stand to hold a conversation with her for ten minutes. “If you don’t mind tell me, that is.”

“Well, the game obviously! The game of this Eris. She said she would teach me if I bring her these trinkets.” Thiemo could only watch as her hoof wrapped around the leg of a statue and started to squeeze with so much force that cracks began to appear on its exterior. As he looked back at this strange yellow pegasus with the butterflies on her flank, it was his turn to wince.

Her eyes were wide, and she stared at him. “This is no game! You are going to stop this right now, Mister. Then I’m going to have a word with Eris.” They both looked at each other for a few seconds with neither of them blinking.

“Errr… that’s definitely not going to happen. So, you’re giving me your necklace now?” Her eyes shrunk back down to normal size.

“Uhm… okay.” She used both her forehooves to untie the necklace. It fell on the ground and she pushed it with her snout into his direction.

“Thanks, that was everything I needed.” Thiemo stood up, cleaned his coat and stepped next to his created wall. “Have a good day.” With a tip of his staff against the wall, it decomposed into dust and he marched away. After a few steps, he stopped and looked back. The pegasus was trotting behind him, her head hanging low.

“Uhh… Well… the necklace is very important to me and… I… uh… kind of want it back after the game,” she answered his unasked question. He shrugged and continued walking, now with the pegasus on his heels.

Chapter II - Act 5.5 - The Pink Madness

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 5.5 - The Pink Madness ~

Amaryllis was angry. She was furious, confused, and a heap of other conflicted emotions roiling around inside her, leaving her feeling more drained than she should be and feeling like smashing something with her bare hooves. Why had the only creature she had ever trusted outside of the hive gone and sold her down the river? Thiemo was not directly responsible for her current situation, but that was what she felt like. And she didn’t understand it one single bit. One moment she was basking in the comforting warmth of his emotions. In the next, it had all went haywire. It was as though he had forgotten his promise the minute Eris had appeared. But that was exactly what Eris was all about, right?

Her mother had once told her about the draconequus. How she had had the entire country at her feet in the blink of an eye and still managed to throw it all away. Just what motivated the creature’s erratic behaviour? Why did she always insist on playing with everyone’s lives? Was it simply because she was bored, as she had told them? Just like Equestria, Thiemo stood no chance against her and ignored all her attempts to warn him. Presumably, he had been defeated already, surrounded by guards or caught by one of the ponies lurking in this maze.

Eris would never allow them to win. Draconequui were powerful and hated losing above all else. So it had been written in the diaries of her grandmother, Echidna. She had met Eris in the past as well and tried fighting her, only to fail miserably. Wounded, she had had to retreat and only left a warning in her diary, directed to anyone who would ever read it. “Fly you fools, fly and don’t look back. Only your end will await you there.” Silently, she recited the verse in her head.

Of the many things Amaryllis had learned about the world called Albion, she had done so from the diary of her grandmother. She had, especially in her younger years, travelled this world and met many creatures and places. One particular entry that she would always remember (with reddened cheeks, as it were), detailed her life with first companion, a dragon that went by the name Ferradin, with whom she had built her hive. Thinking back, Amaryllis could see how many of his… less savoury draconian traits had been passed on to her mother.

Amaryllis sighed; it was unfair to say that all his influences upon his mother had been bad. Her temperament was a prime example of one that had benefitted them all, and had led to the rules the hive adhered to still to this day. It was also why she was out here now, something she still wasn’t sure if she should be happy about. She loved the hive; it was her family and had been her main focus for so very long. But she also wanted to see the world for so long, meet her father, and see many of the things she had read about.

The Diamond tundra around Talon, the ghostly forests of Tramplevania and the continent in the skies, Vaporia—all were places where Amaryllis’ grandmother had been and where she would like to visit as well. With Thiemo, she had felt secure over the last couple of weeks. She was thinking about asking him if he would allow her to travel further with him, after seeing her father obviously. Now, however, that plan had been clouded over with doubt.

With a sigh, she inspected the maze around her. Would he continue to bring her into such dangers again, regardless of the consequences? Discontented, she moved on. What else could she do? She had to get out of here after all.

“Hi!”

Startled, she spun around, but found only an empty path.

“Over here, silly.”

Again, Amaryllis spun around, but still didn’t see anyone who could have been talking to her. She was just about to write it off as her imagination or the menace of this strange place, only when she bumped into someone.

“Hi!”

With a short, panicked yelp, she jumped back and focused on the creature in front of her. It was a pony—a purely pink, earth pony. A wide grin was on the face of the mare, who had a mane that suggested she had just fallen out of bed. “Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie! You must be new here; I’ve never seen a pony like you before. And since I’ve never seen a pony like you before, you must be new! Oh, this is so exciting! I’m going to throw you a surprise party, or even better, two! One for you being a new pony and another for you being a new kind of pony! Then I’m going to introduce you to all of my friends! But first of all we have to get out of here; a mean human is up to no good! Have you seen him? Just like I’ve seen you? I was over there and thinking happy thoughts when I suddenly saw you. First, I was like, and then…”

Amaryllis could no longer tolerate the verbal assault, dashing off. As she was running, she noticed the voice in the background getting quieter. She rushed around the next corner and threw a look behind her. It didn’t look like the other pony had followed her.

“Hey! That wasn’t nice.”

Confused, she turned around. There stood the same pony again, this time looking slightly less happy. Amaryllis would even venture to say she looked rather hurt. “You didn’t let me finish.”

Amaryllis blinked a few times before realizing that her opponent had no clue that she was the enemy. Not that she planned on changing that anytime soon. “Errr… I’m sorry. You’ve just startled me a bit.”

Instantly, the mood of the mare changed again, this time to something that looked like embarrassment. Irritated that she wasn’t able to interpret the emotions as accurately as possible, Amaryllis tried establishing a connection.

“Oh, excuse me. My friends keep on telling me I shouldn’t startle them but that’s the point of a surprise. I love surprises. Do you like surprises? Surprises are always so surprising, you know? And everypony is always looking forward to getting one.”

Amaryllis only nodded and kept on trying, but everything that she felt could only describe as static.

“That’s a surprise as well. Are you trying to read my emotions? Like a changeling?”

Both stared at each other for a few seconds with a questioning look.

“Hold on! You aren’t a changeling, are you? I don’t like changelings. They ruined a party already.” The pony glared at her murderously as she uttered the last line.

Amaryllis did the only thing she was able to right now, seeing as she was in her true form. “No?” Lying like a trooper, she most definitely did not. Smiling nervously, she waited, hoping the pony would buy it.

“Mmmm.” Pinkie Pie eyed her, curiously inspecting every millimeter of her body, almost as though she was a piece of meat. That thought had her jittering, feeling the intense stare as she was examined. “Crooked horn. Check. Wings like a dragonfly. Double check. But your eyes are the ones of a pony… Ah!” She suddenly screamed and pointed at her. “Are you a flutterpony? I always thought they were much smaller.”

“Sure, a flutterpony.” Whatever they were. She had very little understanding of the nuances of pony folklore.

“Sooooo… am I getting my three wishes, then?”

Amaryllis was sure that Pinkie Pie character had even less understanding than she did.

***

Angry and a little annoyed, Thiemo turned around again, his teeth grinding audible in the silence. This was the tenth dead end in the last five minutes. “M-maybe we should ask someone f-for directions?” he heard a voice stutter behind him.

Still, he barely paid any attention to the pegasus following him. She had tried talking with him on multiple occasions, but every time he directly looked at her, she would hide behind her long, pink mane and squeak something inaudible.

“And who, if I may ask? We are alone. Forgot that already?”

And there again was the squeaking, followed by silence, the only exception being the soft clopping of her hooves on the ground as she followed him. After all the adrenaline and excitement had vanished, the stark reality of his situation had once again come to haunt Thiemo’s mind.

First and foremost on his mind was the fact that Aura and Amaryllis were alone out there, somewhere. The ponies wouldn’t hurt the filly, so he was more worried about the changeling right now. She had tried to tell him something, something so important that this Eris had seen it fit to silence her. Surely it had something to do with this strange creature itself, or the overall situation they were currently in. It didn’t help worrying about that now either; that wouldn’t help them find anyone right now.

Thiemo took a deep breath and stopped. "We're going to take a rest,” he announced to his reluctant companion, sitting down in the middle of the pathway and crossing his legs in the lotus position.

He hated doing what he was going to do, but it was necessary. Lately, it had been happening more and more frequently. The last time had been as recent as when he was in the changeling hive. It was one of the very first things he had had to do on his path to become a shaman, and he detested the practice.

Back then, he didn’t know what to expect. These days, all he tried to do was avoid attempting it. Shamans were servants of the nature and spirits and should be able harmonize with them, which was exactly what he never did.

That combined with his quick way of charging and using talismans, and the general disrespect against anything spiritual Zarni tried to teach him, meant he had little chance of succeeding along the traditional shamanistic path. He didn’t harmonize with the nature, he forced his will upon her, and nature wasn’t hesitant to strike back. It was most likely the reason why he couldn’t combine elements. Together, they were stronger than his will.

He took a deep breath once more and started to concentrate. He laid his hands in his lap, his thumbs touching each other and forming a circle with both of his hands. With another breath, he started to absorb the energy that surrounded him, something that he was never able to do without pain.

Thiemo forced himself to concentrate, ignoring the burning anguish that threatened to overwhelm him, until finally he had collected enough energy. It wasn’t much—just enough for what he had planned.

A picture of his surroundings formed in his mind, with every creature represented by a different color. Various bugs, gnats and even a few mice were around them, one directly next to what appeared to be the pegasus. At the moment, she was nothing more for him than a yellow patch of energy.

Then he saw the hedge’s aura. The energy was green and dark, a whirling mass of malice and hatred. They were the plants that had received self-awareness. Every fibre of his being was screaming at him to avoid interacting with this loathsome thing.

Swallowing his misgivings, however, that was exactly what he did, as he used the energy stored in his body to build a bridge to the hedge. As soon as his energy touched the plants, images began to seep into his mind, pictures that came from his very surroundings.

Unfortunately, the hedge did not seem to share his interest, lashing out at him with its hatred and disgust. In the next moment, he could feel his physical body being slammed aside by a tendril. His concentration was lost, the bridge disintegrated, and Thiemo opened his eyes groggily, rubbing his head.

Looking up, he saw his delicious-looking follower peering down at him worriedly, the mouse whose signature he had felt earlier sitting on top of her head. “Umm… i-is everything alright? Why did the hedge attack you?” The mouse was squeaking something as well, giving its unwanted opinion in Thiemo’s book.

“Well, apparently it doesn’t like that I tried gaining a layout through it.” At least now he had a slight idea in which direction they should go. “I’m wondering what kind of maniac gave a plant a soul?”

That plants had some sort of awareness was nothing new to him. On the other hand, it needed to have a soul to feel emotions like sadness and anger. His ribs had certainly felt the anger of the hedge.

To be fair, this wasn’t the first time he had encountered such a plant, though that time didn’t go any different. The tree he had trained under with Zarni had kept him from coming too close plenty of times. It was if they all had the same underlying notion that outsiders were not welcome. His assumption was that the plants and other creatures could feel that he, as opposed to them, had no natural magic of his own, as everything else that lived in Albion had at least some form of it in them, whether or not they openly manifested it.

“I don’t know…” Thiemo only sighed at her words. Did he really expect her to have an answer?

“Well, it’s a good thing I know the direction now.” He reached out his hand. “If that’s north, we have to go there.”

But his companion didn’t seem to hear him. Her eyes were focused on the mice on her head, paying close attention to its animated squeaking.

Thiemo blinked as he noticed that the mouse was making signs with its tiny paws, gesticulating this way and that to emphasis its point. “This way? Then to the right and then left again?”

He watched as the pegasus continued holding what appeared to be an actual conversation with the creature. Could she do that? Was it something everypony could do? They were animals, intelligent animals, but still animals. Well, humans were animals too, but that didn’t mean he could understand apes.

“Thanks, Mister Mouse. I think we’ll find the way out of here now.” The mouse saluted and ran across her back and down her tail before disappearing into the hedges. “Mister Mouse said that…”

“I was listening to you.” Thiemo was still a bit doubtful, but the general direction seemed to agree with what he had gained from the hedge, just way more detailed. Maybe he should have let her ask for the way from the beginning.

***

Applejack watched as Rarity carefully placed the little filly on her back. She had fallen asleep sometime during her embrace, no doubt due to exhaustion; they had chased her down for so long, and no doubt she had been running scared.

Applejack shook her head, trying to dispel the feelings of guilt that had begun to gnaw at her, attempting to at least momentarily focus on the present. She still couldn’t believe that Auralia was here, of all places. For all these years, her family had thought she was lost, and now she just happened to appear right in front of her. And with a human, of all monsters.

“Everything is alright, darling. She’s safe and sound.” AJ nodded to her friend and picked up her loyal Stetson from the ground. She brushed off some dust by tapping it against her chest and placed it back onto its usual place. “Now, I hate to be intrusive, but would you mind telling me just who do we have here? You seem to know her.”

To be honest, she had never seen the filly before, but between her resemblance to certain members of the Apple family and her name, there was little doubt. “Auralia. She is the daughter of ma aunt Peachy Sweet and uncle Green Gem.”

Applejack saw Rarity’s signature questioning look, the one that meant she had no idea who she was talking of, but didn’t ask out of courtesy. “Ya know, the two who always come with that loud airship when they visit and ya keep on complaining they don’t have no style.”

“Ah, now that you mention it, I do remember them. They were such a nice couple. It has been a while since I’ve seen them. When was the last time? It must have been ten years? But how did their daughter end up with a human?” Lightly, she bit her lips. It was never easy talking about such things, especially not for Applejack, Apple Bloom, or Macintosh.

“Nopony did, Rare. They disappeared on one of their journeys shortly after telling us about the birth of her daughter. Somewhere in the Bad Wolf Bay. After some years of searching, they were declared dead.”

“Oh my, Applejack.” Immediately, her friend was at her side and pulling her gently into a hug. “Why did you not tell us, darling?”

Because of the same reason she so rarely, if not never, talked with outsiders about her parents. Her friends were something resembling family, but not like the Apple family. And the Apple family cared and looked out for each other in ways nopony else could. It wasn’t like she didn’t have anypony to talk to.

“It’s alright. It’s been a long while, and we all accepted it.” She looked over to her back and smiled. “But I bet everypony will be happy to see her.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, darling.. How do you now that she’s really Auralia? Or… are you simply wishing it is her? The world is big and… not like I wouldn’t hope… it’s just…”

Applejack understood what she was trying to say and smiled. She was so sure, so certain, absolute proof be damned. “At the last family reunion in Ponyville. You know, the one I organized.”

Rarity nodded and smiled.

“Peachy asked me if I had any ideas for a name for the filly. And in that moment, I knew the perfect name. Auralia. It’s a rare and strong kind of apple. Funny thing is, they are known for shining orange and the pulp is considered to be the clearest white you’ve ever seen.”

Both looked at the filly on Applejack’s back.

“A fitting description, but it could all be just mighty big coincidence.”

Applejack didn’t believe in such coincidences. It was destiny, just like the day she had met Twilight. She felt it in her guts. “I’ve never told anypony else the name. It didn’t appear in the newspapers, either. It has to be her; there ain’t no other way.”

A bang interrupted Rarity’s response, followed by a scream.

“You lied to me!”

Another bang followed.

“Was that Pinkie Pie?”

Rarity nodded and both started galloping into the direction of the sound. Straight ahead at first, then right at the next crossroad. A black something whooshed past them and got into cover.

“You don’t lie to your friends!”

Another bang and a cake flew over their heads.

“Pinkie! Watch where you’re aiming that thing!” Rarity shouted. The blasted baked good had come dangerously close to her mane.

“Rarity, Applejack!”

Their friend let go of the cannon, and in the next moment stood in front of them to engulf them both into a hug. “I’m sorry you two, but this changeling lied to me and told me she was a flutterpony.”

Both Rarity and Applejack looked at each other in confusion, then turned to what just had whooshed past them.

“She is crazy! I’ve never said I was a flutterpony! You just drew your own conclusion.” The changeling, who didn’t really look like a changeling to Applejack, cowered on the ground, yet was defiant enough to point an accusing hoof at Pinkie Pie.

“Oh yeah? Letting someone in the wrong believe they are right is equally bad as lying. Right, Applejack?”

Applejack was a bit overwhelmed and had no idea what the two were talking about. “Hang on a minute, sugarcube.” She held Pinkie back and turned towards the guest. “So, are you a flutterpony?”

The black pony shook her head.

“What are you then? You don’t look like a changeling either. But…” Applejack’s gaze wandered over the body of the mare lying on the ground. “With that horn and these wings… But what kind of changeling would forget something like that in their disguise? So, what’s your name?”

The unknown mare tried to avoid their eyes. “Amaryllis.”

“Nice to meet ya Amaryllis. Ah’m Applejack, and this here is Rarity. Ya already know Pinkie Pie.” She wanted to point at her friend, but she had disappeared. “Huh?”

“Don’t listen to her, AJ! Look at her, she’s a changeling!” Pinkie had slipped past them and held Amaryllis’ face between her hooves.

“Now calm down, darling. I’m sure there is an easy explanation for this whole thing. One Amaryllis can surely give us.” All eyes wandered to the mentioned newcomer.

“Well… I’m coming from a costume party?”

Applejack didn’t know if it was the way she said it, her voice all feeble-like and faltering, or because of her Element, but she knew she was being lied to. Again, she carefully eyed Amaryllis. She could see her swallowing.

“There! A real changeling!”

Surprised by the sudden outburst, they spun around, but could only find the empty sky. Before they could turn around again, another loud bang resounded through the area.

Pinkie had fired again, and this time had hit the fleeing Amaryllis on the back of her head. She was lying on the ground now, unconscious.

“I said she was a changeling,” she crowed triumphantly. Rarity only rolled her eyes.

“Very well, Pinkie. But who’s going to carry her now?”

***

“So, uhh…”

“Fluttershy.”

“So, Fluttershy. Is there any chance you can’t just fly up into the sky and look for a way out?”

Of course they had managed to get lost again. How else could it have gone? There was only so much he could take before his delectable piece of eye candy started to lose her appeal, though it was no fault of her own. To top it all off, they just kept running from one dead end into the next. It was as though the hedges were closing behind them as soon as they stopped looking for a second.

“I-I don’t like flying.” Thiemo was confused, aiming a questioning look at her, but she just withered under it. “I’m afraid of heights.”

He could certainly understand the sentiment, but still…

“You’re a pegasus that is afraid of heights?” She nodded, and he could only bury his head in his hands in frustration. There surely were millions of pegasi out there and he just happened to meet one of the few that were afraid of flying. “And if I promise to catch you?”

“You would do that?”

At least she didn’t seem to be completely against the idea. Unfortunately, he had no idea if he was even capable of doing that. Aura was light, but just a foal as well.

He shrugged. “Sure, you shouldn’t be that heavy.” She cringed as he stepped closer. “I’m just going to try it. Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall.”

She understood what he was saying and nodded. Thiemo stepped closer to her and put his hands around her belly, causing her to squirm instinctively. Carefully, he lifted her a bit. Then he put her above his head in one move. “Hey, you weigh almost nothing,” he said, much to his surprise.

He could even hold her with only one hand. Fluttershy was stuck above his head, wiggling her legs and wings in panic. “Please put me back down. I’m going to fall.”

Her words, however, fell on deaf ears. Thiemo was too busy having fun with her, quickly changing the hand he was holding her with. Meanwhile, he wondered why she was so light. Maybe this was how pegasi magic manifested itself, cancelling some of their weight so they could fly easily. Or maybe they just had hollow bones. It didn’t matter what it was. She probably didn’t weigh more than twenty kilos. It was a weight that wouldn’t even have been a problem for his old, untrained body.

“Please.” She sniffled and Thiemo snapped back to reality, feeling chagrined at having gone too far.

“I’m sorry. Sometime I just can’t help myself if I learn something new. Ready to get caught?” He didn’t wait for a response. “Then go!”

He kneeled down a bit, used the full power of the momentum, and jumped. At the highest point, he threw Fluttershy into the air. By doing this, they were able to get her hooves just above the hedges.

However, Fluttershy, still in panic, didn’t let herself drop down again, but reached for the hedge, and was now hanging a few meters above the ground. Her forelegs were hooked above the plant, while her hindlegs were trying to get some grip on the branches where there was none. “Help!” she screamed, not louder than Thiemo’s normal pitch.

“Just let go! I’ll catch you,” he yelled, but apparently she didn’t hear him. Thiemo took a step closer towards the hedge, but immediately some tendrils shot out of it to keep him away.

With his staff, he responded by smacking them, which only lead to more tendrils coming to their aid. “You can’t be serious.” He started searching the inside of his pocket when noticed Fluttershy had stopped squeaking. His gaze wandered upwards, where he could see her hanging calmly and nodding.

In the next moment, the hedge in front of Thiemo parted. The thick branches in the middle creaked as they bended and formed a passage. As if that wasn’t enough to get him nervous, seeing an otherwise aggressive plant apparently change its mind, there was a pony standing on the other side.

Lavender coat with a dark-purple mane, traversed by a brighter stripe. The mare had both wings and a horn, and a grin on her face that sent a cold shiver down his back.

“Gotcha!”

Chapter II - Act 5.6 - Divine Punishment

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 5.6 - Divine Punishment ~

Thiemo had met a lot of dangerous creatures on his journeys, some more dangerous than others. Compared to some of them, griffons and diamond dogs - creatures that many ponies would consider dangerous - were merely annoying. For instance, there was the time he had run into some sort of panther creature. He hadn’t thought about asking for its name since he had been running for his life at the time, so he had stuck with that title. From what he could recall, the creature had had a blue coat, three violet eyes and just as many tails. He hadn’t gotten the chance to observe it longer as it had charged at him, determined to include him in its next meal. Incidentally, it was the panicked scream of a human that had eventually brought Zarni along and saved him from his unpleasant fate.

Then there was the phoenix, a very volatile bird who had had fire to wield at his disposal. At least, if he wanted to, and Thiemo had managed to accomplish just that. It hadn’t been very difficult. Those birds were naturally attracted to two things: fire being the obvious first, with magic being the other one. A ruby, enchanted into a talisman to serve as a heat source, was just what he had been waiting for. He had not been very pleased with Thiemo, who had mistaken the thieving bird for a forest fire in his drowsy state and had poured a ration of water onto its head. Weeks after the incident, he still could smell the burnt odour emanating from his hair.

All of this went some way in explaining his reaction today as he came face to face with the angry unicorn-pegasus mixture. To be specific, he sought safety in flight. Without caring about Fluttershy or his opponent any longer, he turned around and ran. Nothing would bring him to stand against an unknown creature that could get these hedges from hell to bend against its will.

“Oh no! You’re staying right here!” Just as his opponent had finished her sentence, he was overtaken by a wave of purple energy. It reached out for a few more meters and then stopped in front of him. He wasn’t able to stop in time but managed to push his hands in front of him to cushion up the impact. A quick look behind him showed him that his opponent was coming closer, still with the maniacal grin on her face.

“Excuse me, whoever and whatever you are, but I have other things to do.” Quickly, he tapped his staff against the shield but nothing happened. Confused, he repeated the process, this time with more force, but the magical shield withstood. “Are you kidding me? Now you bail out on me?!” Of course, he got no response. Panicked, he fished the first gem he could fumble out of his pocket.

“So, are you surrendering, or do we have to do this the hard way?” Thiemo spun around and saw the purple unicorn with wings. A quick glance at his hand allowed him to take a small breath of relief.

“You know, I think the exit was in the other direction anyways.” The sapphire began to glow, and he soared over the pony in one leap. Apparently, she hadn’t expected him to do something like that and stood there for a few moments, a stunned look on her face. With the magical boost flowing in his veins, he ran past Fluttershy, who had managed to climb up the hedge by now, through the hole and to the next crossroad before the enhancement vanished. Opening his hand revealed that there was nothing left of the talisman but a small pile of ash. “Damn, why is the staff not working?” Thiemo hammered it a few times into his left hand but again nothing happened. It was as if the staff was refusing to serve him.

“It came from over there.” Oh great, just what I needed, he thought sourly. He looked around the corner and saw multiple ponies rushing down the path. What confused him was the big, black thing on the back of a pink mare. Amaryllis hooves dragged over the ground while she was being forcibly carried around, her body bouncing up and down in time with her captor’s movements.

Quickly, he jerked back his head and looked behind him. Through the hole, he could see that Miss Purple had apparently also noticed what had happened and took up pursuit. Up front was a dead end, so the only remaining pathway was to the right. However, that would mean the other ponies would spot him as well. “Twilight, he is over here!” He chanced another look behind him and saw Fluttershy, who was pointing at him from above, the little traitor.

Without hesitation, he took to his heels and dashed around the corner. He could hear some happy shouts behind him as the ponies reunited as a group, though it felt like the formation of a mob to him. Eris must have separated them as well. That particular thought brought his mind back to Aura for a moment. It was a small blessing that she wasn’t here right now, so he didn’t have to worry about her getting hurt. However, it changed nothing about the fact that he had to deal with five ponies at once now.

He quickly sped around the next corner, spotting a small pile of dirt that looked familiar to him. Well, as familiar as a pile of dirt could be. Finally, he realized why, as he found himself in the center of the maze again, surrounded by statues. Just as he was about to run to the other exit, a white unicorn appeared, its sides heaving heavily as it tried to catch its breath. He turned aside, but there already was another pony, this time an orange earth pony with an orange mane buried underneath a Stetson. For the first time, he looked closer at her and could now strike Aura from his list of missing companions. Similar to Amaryllis, she was snuggled up on the mare’s back, sound asleep. If she wasn’t with the enemy now, he would have gazed upon her, chuckling at how adorable she looked. Storing that thought for a time when his life wasn’t in danger, he spun around completely, only to see that every exit was blocked. Behind the pink pony, who was pointing a cannon of all things at him, stood Fluttershy, and in the exit behind him, which had just served his entrance, stood Miss Purple.

“Fine then, you said something about doing this the hard way? Why don’t you show me what you’ve got,” he shot at her. Even if running had been his first option, he would never go down without a fight. Quickly, he went through his options. His staff didn’t work on the shield for reasons unknown to him. She had wings, so that meant she could fly. It was more than passing strange that she hadn’t attempted to do so previously. Maybe her wings were just magically attached or something, and she wasn’t used to them. He had a niggling suspicion that she primarily relied on her magic. That meant he would be evading instead of directly blocking, and returning the fire with the few resources he had at the right moment.

“Go get ‘im, Sugarcube!” the orange mare encouraged her friend. At the sound of her voice, Thiemo had to hold back a laugh at the stereotypical accent, despite the gravity of the situation. Did Equestria even have something like the Southern States?

“Don’t worry, Applejack, this is going to be fast and painless. At least for me.” At least she was self-assured. Thiemo checked one more time he couldn’t get past any of the other ponies, but Purple seemed to notice that. Her horn glowed, and before Thiemo could react, a kind of bubble formed over the entire square with the two of them as its only inmates. It looked very similar to the shield from before; this must have been a modification to prevent his escape. “Last chance,” she warned.

“Try me,” he retorted. She grinned and so did Thiemo. Without the need of anyone giving them a starting signal, she shot off a magic missile towards him, but he expected it and quickly stepped aside. More shots immediately followed the first, and Thiemo took cover behind a statue of somepony called, rather fittingly, Spell Shield. Without looking, he grabbed inside the Pandora’s Box which was his pocket and pulled out another stone. This time it was a lapis lazuli.

He engulfed it with his hand and stuck his head out of his cover, only to immediately pull it back to safety as she swiftly sent more magical missiles his way. His opponent was slowly but steadily, step by step, coming closer to his position. He rapidly ran through several possible ideas in his mind before he settled on one. Trying to be as unnoticeable as possible, he placed his hand on the stone around the corner and aimed for the ground in front of the pony. Within seconds, ice was forming on the ground, and he could hear her confused yelp as she slipped. Thiemo used the moment to emerge from behind the statue, which was greatly damaged by now, and fired an ice ball at Purple, who was lying on the ground.

Unfortunately, she had noticed what was coming towards her, and with a bright flash, she disappeared, only to reappear half a second later with another flash. No, this time he wasn’t dealing with a show off like Trixie.

Purple was quick to open fire repeatedly, forcing Thiemo to take cover behind another statue again. While he was reaching for the next stone, he waited for the impact, but there was none. “How dare you using Starswirl the Bearded as a shield!” His opponent’s voice resounded throughout their makeshift arena, outrage mixed into her words. Surprised, he turned around and saw the missiles hurtling into the sky. For a second he was relieved, before realizing that the old saying that went along the lines of what goes up must come down was about to kick in harshly. He was able to crawl away just in time, as the two magic projectiles, each one of the size of his head, slammed into the ground where he had just been crouching.

With both missiles out of the way, it was his turn again. While he was dashing over to the next statue, he aimed at Purple, who stood between the statues of Nightmare Moon and Blue Light. It was only through the brown glow in his hand and the ensuing sensation that he realized he had taken hold of an amber. A pillar shot out of the ground underneath Purple and threw her a few meters in the air. Without wasting a second, he pulled out the next talisman and got lucky. A sapphire. His hand went on the ground, and he banged his staff against a large stone that had fallen out of Spell Shield’s statue. Squinting his eyes to concentrate, he aimed at the pony in the air, who was quickly losing the momentum from his last attack, and threw the stone. Not without magically accelerating his hand, of course.

As quick as lightning, her wings unfolded mid-air, and the stone collided against another purple barrier in front of her. “Twilight,” a familiar voice shouted, and Thiemo looked past the flying unicorn, seeking the source of the distraction. Behind her, outside of the barrier, hovered the pegasus he had met before and knocked unconscious. Well, she had technically knocked herself out due to her own rashness and stupidity, but that was merely nit-picking. “He got mine and Fluttershy’s Element in his weird pockets!”

“Understood, Rainbow Dash. It’s no problem. I got this.” Thiemo used the distraction the newcomer has caused and positioned himself underneath Purple, or Twilight, as the featherbrain had referred to her. Another stone soared from his hand directly at his opponent, shooting directly up at her. She reacted at the last moment to the projectile, shooting it with a blast from her horn. The stone disintegrated entirely into dust, which fortunately still found its target, so she had to cover her eyes with her hooves to avoid being blinded. He was prepared for that and pulled out another lapis lazuli. Another ice ball formed in his hand above the talisman and as soon as it was large enough, Thiemo opened fire.

“Watch out, darling!” Another voice shouted, and again Twilight’s horn flashed with the same result as before. She disappeared, but this time he wasn’t able to see or hear where she had reappeared.

The next thing he felt was something making violent contact with his back as it catapulted him a few meters in the air before smashing him harshly onto the ground. Bumping around on the dirt, it was only the edge of the barrier that halted his advancement. “Flies and still gets a heads up. Pretty unfair, isn’t it?” Thiemo said as loudly as he could over the pain he felt in every limb. He rose from the ground again, this time more shakily. Wiping away the dirt that coated his face caused him to grimace, as there were a few flecks of blood mingled in with it.

“Then you shouldn’t have messed with Rainbow Dash!” the mare from outside the barrier replied with a wide grin.

“Aw, who’s talking ‘bout you? Sore loser and an obnoxious cunt all wrapped up in one clam jousting package, eh?” Turning his back to her so he could focus on his fight, he could hear the gnashing teeth of the blue mare in the background. Then she was hitting the barrier a few times and yelling at him. He didn’t have time to enjoy the sweet sounds of her insults as more missiles were flying towards him, and he was too busy evading them. He noticed Twilight standing right next to his staff now. Working or not, a knock upside the head is a knock upside the head.

Thiemo reached against into his pocket and was startled as he got a more accurate reminder of how little of his resources were left. He found what he was looking for and engulfed his hand with the power from the stone. With a dive, he landed behind the stony image of Nightmare Moon and waited for a few seconds to catch his breath. How the hell did this pony manage to not be downright exhausted from her constant use of magic? Even the comparatively little energy he had used to activate the stone had been enough to tire him enough to be able to sleep for a few days on the trot.

With one last deep breath, he decided on his plan of action. He rushed out of cover and aimed directly at the surprised Twilight. Before she could react, a wall of dirt shot up in front of her, blocking her view, just like with Fluttershy. It didn’t take long before it was destroy by some missiles, but then it was too late already. He was directly beside her and his hand tightened around his staff. With the momentum of the charge, he turned around one hundred eighty degrees and let the staff slam into its target.

This time it was the pony that went flying through the remains of the dirt wall, as she crashed against the statue of Blue Light before hitting the ground with a sickening, if not satisfying thud. A scream came from the spectators as she didn’t move and remained motionless on the grass.

Breathing heavily, Thiemo stood up again and watched his opponent up close. Her crown had fallen of her head and was lying next to her in the grass. With a relieved grin, he slowly stepped towards her while her friends kept on calling for her. From outside the barrier. A barrier that she had created and should have dissipated now that she had been rendered unconscious. Unfortunately for him, he noticed his mistake too late.

The two amulets in his pocket were engulfed by a purple aura, and faster than he could react, the barrier vanished around them. Their rightful owners happily back their property. “Surrender…” Hit and weakened, Twilight stood up on her hooves again, glaring at him. “Alone I may have lost, but together you stand no chance.” She levitated the crown back onto her head, and just moment later, five ponies were at her side.

“Exactly, you’re never going to beat all of us!” the blue pegasus yelled at him, her obnoxious smirk back on her face as she pressed her snout directly to his nose.

Thiemo roughly pushed her to the ground, directly into the other ponies and took a step back. Unfortunately, he had to admit that Rainbow was right. He stood no chance against all of them. Her friends caught the pegasus, and they all glared at him in anger. “Girls, shall we use the Elements?” Twilight asked the ponies.

“Oh yeah, about time we get really get serious!” Rainbow replied.

“I think he more than deserved that, Sugarcube,” the orange mare agreed. “Open fire then.” All ponies took a step towards him with more or less a grin on their face. Except Fluttershy, who looked at him apologetically.

Meanwhile, Thiemo desperately reached into his pocket and pulled out the last two stones, an amber and a ruby. Before he could do anything with them, a bright light caught his attention. All six ponies shone in a white light and hovered a few inches above the ground. Whatever was coming for him, it was big. He could feel the energy they emitted without even having to make an effort to concentrate. For a moment, he considered trying to run, but then something started hurtling towards him. He could only describe it as a rainbow beam, coming directly from the ponies. It was too late to run or evade, so he did the only thing he could now - trying to block it with his staff.

The runes on it began glowing immediately as he tried forming a shield. Then he tried teleporting, but nothing worked. The beam was forcing him onto his knees, mercilessly pushing against him. Thiemo wouldn’t last much longer and he knew it. So he did the only thing he could do and grit his teeth, trying to mentally prepare him for what was to come next. Whatever it was, he knew it would mean only pain.

***

Twilight watched as the beam that had been shot from the Elements crashed down onto the human like a spring storm over a flower field. Merciless and quick. The whole spectacle was over after a few seconds as expected when she and her friends used the Elements, but it was tiring all the more. So tiring that she was began to stumble a bit when her hooves touched the ground again, until Rarity hastened to support her. “Are you alright, Darling?”

“Yes, just a bit tired.” Meanwhile, the human remained trapped inside the sphere of light.

“What do you think the Elements will do to him?” Twilight could hear Fluttershy turning towards her.

“I…. honestly have no idea. They banished Nightmare Moon as they didn’t see any other way. The most likely thing might be what happened to Eris. If I didn’t know any better, I would say they’ll cleanse him just like Luna, when we met her for the first time.” The others exchanged some looks.

“You mean we could have a nice human?” Pinkie asked, excited as usual. “One to throw parties for? Who will be our friend and… what else do humans do?”

“Pinkie, I don’t think that’s the point. Humans are…” A small flash interrupted Twilight mid-sentence, and in the air in front of them floated Eris. A bag of popcorn was in her paw, and in her claw was a glass of lemonade, including the straw.

She took a sip with a loud slurp and threw the empty cup behind her. “Ahhhh. That was a great show, bravo!” Her paw was still occupied, so two white gloves appeared out of thin air to applaud on behalf of her. “Especially you, Twilight, you were very entertaining.”

“Eris!” Twilight grumbled as Fluttershy shouted happily, rushing past her and hugged her marefriend, who dropped the popcorn. The two exchanged some endearments until Rarity coughed and mumbled something snarky. Fluttershy pulled back her head, and Eris put her back on the ground again. “Eris, why did you that? We were all scared.”

“Hey! I wasn’t scared,” Rainbow Dash loudly protested but was ignored.

“Ohh, you know me Fluttershy. I would never do anything that would put someone in danger.” She snapped her fingers, and Twilight could feel some kind of spell being released. “Over the entire playground was a spell that prevented anyone inside from getting hurt too badly. Even if you tried bashing in your skulls against the statues, nothing would have happened. They would have simply turned into rubber. The statues I mean, not your skulls.”

“But what for? Is this just another one of your pranks?” Twilight was increasingly becoming angrier, judging by how red her face was and the way her mane was beginning to spring up at awkward angles. The problem was that she had no idea what she could realistically do against Eris. If worse came to worse, they had the Elements here already, even if Fluttershy would protest heavily against it.

Eris, for her part, simply began laughing uproariously, slapping her knee with a paw. “Of course. Well, that and proving something to Celestia. Oh, and a bet. But don’t hurt your tiny, feeble mind thinking about it.” She flew over to Twilight, slowly circling the crown on her head with one claw of her talon. “Even if the human had brought me the Elements as we agreed, I wouldn’t have been able to touch them. Forgot that already? Celestia and Luna had them enchanted.” She flew higher into the air again and looked at all of them. “Just take all this as a pretty fun afternoon. With a surprise.” She pointed at the changeling Pinkie Pie had dragged along. “And with a reunion.” This time she pointed at Applejack, who was carrying a filly on her back. Confused, Twilight wondered where they had come from all of the sudden, now noticing them. “So long, I’ll see you later, Fluttershy.” She waved as her body began to dematerialize.

“You stay here! I’m not done with you yet!” Twilight snarled at her.

“Maybe you should solve one problem first before worrying about the next.” With these last words, she completely vanished, and Twilight could see what she meant. The cone of light had disappeared and all that it left behind was the human, still alive and looking as non-petrified as possible. He stood upright, just like that. She noticed her friends getting tense and looked on, various scenarios running through her head for what could happen next.

First he slowly bent down and picked up his hat that had fallen from his head. Without looking up, he moved silently towards them. Step by step. Without saying a word, just past his staff, still headed towards them. Twilight lowered her horn, aiming it towards him as it began to glow. Meanwhile, Fluttershy took cover behind Rarity, leaving Applejack and Rainbow in front row. The latter one tried blocking his way, but he simply ignored her and walked straight towards her orange friend.

Applejack was slightly crouching down, ready to jump if the human made it necessary. But then something happened that nopony expected. He fell onto his knees in front of her and put his arms around her neck. “Good horsey,” he murmured, his voice sounding as though it was coming from a distance. Applejack blinked, totally and utterly confused, as the human kept rubbing his cheek against her neck.

“Twilight.”

“Yes?”

“Is that a human hugging me right now?”

Suddenly, he patted her head. “Thaaaat’s a good girl. Do you want a sugar cube?” His empty hands wandered in front of her muzzle. Hastily, Applejack tried to get out of his grip, with no success.

“Twilight, help!” she yelped, now slightly panicked as the alicorn started moving towards them. Two steps before she could reach the strange intertwined pair, the human collapsed in a heap. They all stepped closer and could hear a quiet snoring.

“Did he just… fall asleep?” Twilight asked, confusion the main emotion in her voice. Before anypony could add something to her assumption, they could hear multiple hoofsteps quickly approaching.

“Princess!” All heads rose up and turned towards the approaching group of Royal Guards, all in golden armor and sweating heavily. Rarity smiled to herself, eyeing them hungrily. “There you are! We were searching for you for hours.” The six guards came to a halt as they spied the human on the ground. “What happened here, Your Highness?”

Twilight sighed. “Eris happened. Furthermore, we have two subjects that need to be taken to the dungeons. This human here and over there you’ll find a changeling. Afterwards, I want this maze to be thoroughly searched. Not that I believe anypony else is hiding in here.” The captain saluted and nodded his men over to where the changeling was. Soon enough, two Royal Guards were helping a third one place her on his back. The same thing happened to the human.

Exhausted, Twilight sat down on the grass and looked back at the maze. She never did understand why her mother had never had it torn down. She had previously made it abundantly clear that she couldn’t stand it.

“Twilight?” she could hear Pinkie calling out to her. “Do humans have a tail as well?”

“Not that I know of. Why do you want to know that?”

“No reason.”

*** ~ [Oomph - Labyrinth] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter II - Intermission 5 - The Day After

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Dear Princess Celestia,

Yesterday, Eris significantly overstepped her limits. Since the day you and Princess Luna left for the negotiations, she has been making life difficult for everypony in the castle.

The personnel keep coming to me almost every hour with a new complaint. Toilets are being blocked with items such as tennis balls, clothes, and sometimes even parasprites. I even had to cleanse an “Awake-to-Life” enchantment off one. It just wouldn’t stop giving “compliments” to ponies who tried to use it!

Furthermore, she is constantly disturbing the meetings with the chancellors or the parliament in some way. For example, she barged into the last meeting and demanded her own holiday. In the end, we were all so annoyed that we just gave her the first day of April (a month she made up on the spot). In all my years in the castle, I have never seen the chancellors so on edge. The proposal went on for almost eighteen hours.

However, the final straw that broke the camel’s back, pardon the saying, was what she did yesterday. Without notice, she teleported a filly, a changeling, and a human into the maze in the gardens and made us chase after them. At the same time, she convinced the human to steal the Elements for her. It even managed to get them from Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. I stood up to him and tried to protect my friends from more danger but I failed. Luckily, I managed to retrieve the Elements with a little trick so that we could use them on him.

I was surprised at the impact they had on this human. I thought he would turn into stone, just like Eris, but that wasn’t the case. As soon as the light faded, he stumbled out of it, stammered something to Applejack, and simply fell asleep. The only possible consequence that came from the Element’s usage that we were able to determine so far was that it might have grown him a tail. Since none of my books have mentioned if humans have tails or not, we were not able to determine if he had one before as well. I am meeting with Captain Estoc later to discuss further steps.

The same thing applies to the changeling we caught. We have observed some strange characteristics about her. For instance, she does not have a black chitinous exoskeleton, but a coat that would not look strange on a pony. She is also far larger than every drone we have seen so far, making me believe we are dealing with a queen here. This would be a golden opportunity to learn more about the changelings. I will personally deal with this matter.

However, the most interesting thing about the captured group was the filly that was with them. Applejack told me she had introduced herself as Auralia, a missing member of the Apple family. I don’t believe I have to tell you how happy I am about that. Of course, we have told her that this could just be another pony, as names, unlike cutie marks, are not unique. Since the filly does not possess the latter currently, I will be heading to the archives after breakfast to search for a spell which can confirm their relation.

Auralia has not woken up yet, so we were unable to ask her any questions about how she ended up with a human and a changeling, but we hope for answers soon.

This covers most of the events which have occurred in Canterlot recently. I hope you and Luna are making progress with the negotiations. The scheduled four months are almost half way over, and I would be reluctant to ask Zecora to look after the library even longer.

With kind regards,
your daughter,

Twilight Sparkle

tio presents

My little Pony

Journey

~ Intermission 5 – The Day After ~

Twilight sat in her private rooms of the castle, hunched over her desk. Once again she skimmed through the letter she had just written for her mother, searching for errors and ways to correct passages that should be rephrased. From time to time, she mindlessly levitated a grape from the small plate that had come with her breakfast one of the servants had brought her a short while ago. During her younger days, she was asked for her presence at the table, but everypony quickly learned that it was sometimes impossible to separate the purple alicorn from her studies.

Twilight groaned as she crossed out an entire sentence. “Sometimes I miss Spike’s vicious remarks. At least he pointed out these blatant mistakes.” Finished with the corrections, she pulled out another page of parchment to copy the corrected letter once again. Just because she was no longer her mother’s student didn’t mean she would start to slack off.

As she reached the paragraph about the human, she stopped for a moment and watched the stones on her desk - a ruby and an ember, found in the hands of the stranger. They were finely cut into a round form and caused a bit of light tingling due to a magical charge. She had examined them a bit yesterday. The inscribed circles and runes were definitely a spell. From what she had seen, she could expect them to be from the elements of nature as well. Besides that, they looked exactly like any magical gem one could buy in a corner store.

They were usually made to be used in machinery that required magic. She had read about that somewhere, but by her mother’s non-existent beard she couldn’t remember where. The other stuff, like his clothes and a bag full of junk that he most likely had dropped sometime during the time he had chased Fluttershy, was stored in a cargo room by the guards.

The quill in her magical grip continued its work, and she was able to finish the writing in only a few minutes. Luckily, today was Saturday, which meant no meetings, conferences and no applicants in the court either. Satisfied, she looked at her work one last time, dried the ink with a quick spell and rolled the parchment. As she was about to place her seal on it, someone knocked at her door. “It’s open,” she called.

One of the many servants slowly opened the door. It was a mystery to Twilight how her mother could remember them all by name. She only knew a few of them herself, and she had spent half her life in the castle. “Sorry to bother you, my Princess, but you said you wanted to be informed when your friends gathered in the dining hall.”

Happily, Twilight got up from her large, comfy chair. “Thank you for the reminder. I’ll be on my way in a moment.” The servant quickly bowed to her and closed the door. The last thing Twilight had to do for now was to simply send the letter. She engulfed it in her aura and brought it into the middle of the room, where it vanished in a flash of light. Somehow this procedure always made her think about her little dragon.

***

The first thing Aura noticed as consciousness slowly returned into her small body was that, for once, the ground she was sleeping on was pleasantly soft. It was a welcome change to the usual hard sand or cold stone she usually had to call a bed.

Satisfied, she reached for her small, but somehow unusually heavy blanket and pulled it up to her chin. She could hear some movement in the background, causing her ears to twitch in annoyance. “Five more minutes, Dad. I’m just so comfortable now,” she automatically responded, thinking she would be woken soon.

She heard a door opening. “Alright, Sugarcube. Just lie in as long as ya like.” At the same moment the door fell shut again, Aura shot up from the bed. That hadn’t been her father. Slowly, she turned her head and took note of her surroundings. She lay in an enormously large, very comfy bed, upholstered with the finest bed linen. It was something she used to steal and then sell. The walls of the room were made of pure white stone; only some curtains and tapestries hanging broke the dullness and leaked some life into it. Through a large half-oval window to her right, she could see the room being lit up by the rising sun. While the events of the previous day returned slowly to the forefront of her mind, she noticed a sofa directly next to the bed. On it were two pillows and blanket, a clear sign that someone had spent the night there, next to her.

At first she thought about Amaryllis, but the voice had been different. Then she remembered. It belonged to one of the two ponies she had met in the maze. But where was her father? Why wasn’t he here? “Dad?” Aura freed herself from the thick wool blanket and brought her hooves under her body. The mattress sunk in a bit, and she carefully took her first step, then the second and finally a jump. The latter catapulted her a meter into the air, and she landed on her back, a wide grin on her face. “Dad? Where are you? Come here and try this out!” Quickly, she got up again and jumped on the very springy mattress. With each jump, she released a happy squeak.

The world in front of her eyes went blurry, as she was jumping in ever increasing speed and height. In the end, she even managed to touch the strange ceiling that was spun over the bed. “Ah see somepony’s havin’ some fun.”

Surprised by the interruption, Aura wasn’t able to slow her momentum and so the surplus energy sent her tumbling to ground with a thud. “Aua.”

“Are you alright, Sugarcube? I’ve got something to drink for us.” The orange mare from yesterday walked through the room and placed a tray she carried on her back on the nightstand next to the bed.

Aura shook her head and stood up again. “No harm done. But where is my father and who are you?” The adult mare stopped. Her eyes wandered around a bit before she sat down on the fluffy carpet and took off her hat.

“Mah name is Applejack.” Aura thought she had a funny accent, but that wasn’t what was bothering her. “To answer your question, we’re in Canterlot Castle. Ya know, the castle that had the garden we were in.” Aura looked through the large room again and nodded. For a castle, this place was pretty cool.

“Where’s my father?” Again Applejack seemed to avoid her look. She knew how adults acted when they didn’t want to speak about something unpleasant. Thiemo adopted the same look to some of her questions as well. “Where is my father!?” Tears began to form in her eyes as anxiousness began to rise inside her.

As Applejack still gave her no response, she tried to run, but got stopped by the larger pony. “Ahm sorry, Sugarcube, but that human is not your father.”

“Of course he is my father! He cared about me since always! He was the only one who ever cared about me!” Still, she tried to get past the larger pony, but without success. She started kicking around, trying to bite the other pony’s hooves but unable to get a grip to do so. “Let me see my father!”

“Sugarcube…”

“My name is Aura and I want see my dad!”

“Sugarcube…” She continued trying to free herself from Applejack’s grip, violently twisting from one side to the next, but the two strong forelegs came around her belly to hold her in place. Ultimately, she burst into tears and slumped down, defeated, only being held by Applejack. “If this human really did what you said, we will talk with Twilight. But he also attacked us Bearers and a princess of Equestria…” Aura looked at her, tears still running down her eyes. Immediately, the pony turned her eyes away again. “At the moment, he is in the dungeons of the castle.” Aura blinked and her sniffling slowly died. Finally the last of them turned into a faint laugh. “What’s so funny?”

“I thought you banished him or… killed him.” Applejack stared at her with mouth agape, horror leaking into her features.

“A-Auralia, who put such an idea into your head?! We would never kill anyone. Land sakes!” Aura simply continued laughing, relieved that her fears were baseless. He didn’t abandon her here. He was alive and he was well. She didn’t care where she was, she hugged the pony just because she needed someone to hug. After a few minutes, she wiped the last tears out of her face and was let down on the floor again. “I could go for something to eat now. Ya in?” The grumbling from Aura’s stomach was answer enough.

***

“Really, I don’t need protection. I’m just going to the dining hall to meet my friends.” Ever since her first day as a princess, she had only gotten increasingly annoyed that the Royal Guard would literally start sticking to her as soon as she entered the area around Canterlot. Over the last few weeks, she had managed to convince them to give her some free space in the castle. But after Eris’ prank yesterday, that was off the tables again. Guards in front of her door, at every corner on her floor, and at every important point she would come across a few times a day. Finally, there were two stallions in golden armor trotting behind her with stoic looks.

“Pardon me, Princess. Orders from Captain Estoc and General Shield. You are supposed to be guarded around the clock.” Twilight rolled her eyes and turned left into a hallway, instead of walking straight ahead as planned. She just wanted to say a word or two to the general first.

Luckily, his office was only a few minutes away, and so shortly after, she was in front of a thick oak door. “Come on in,” a muffled voice from inside the room called after she knocked.

With a strict look at her followers that more than clearly said that she would be safe and they should wait here, she entered the office of the general. He was a long-serving soldier and Twilight had known him since the time she had been a little filly. To be exact, he had also been Shining Armor’s instructor. “Good morning, Shield.”

“Good morning, Twilight.” The elderly unicorn, having completely succumbed to the grey that age brought with it, only looked up briefly from the papers he stamped and signed, one after the other. “What gives me the honor of such an early visit from our current princess?” If someone has been so long around as he did, one tended not to care much about formalities, Twilight thought to herself. He had been like that with Princess Celestia as well, when she had heard them talking over some of her books. “I hope there haven’t been any more incidents?”

“Everything’s fine, Shield,” she waved off his concerns. “Well, at least almost.”

“Oh? How may I help you?” Twilight knew that he was just acting. She could see very well that he knew what this was about.

“It’s about the guards. I thought we agreed that such a massive presence wasn’t necessary around the castle.” With a heavy sigh, Shield stamped another document and levitated it onto a large pile at the end of his desk.

He folded his hooves in the desk, eyeing her carefully. “Twilight, look. We have to show an image of safety to the public. If things like yesterday, or from the last few weeks in general repeat themselves, how exactly would we look? We lost our princess in our own maze where she was attacked by a human and a changeling?” She bit her lip. “I knew that you’re much smarter than me, Twilight, but I’ve been doing this job for a while now. All that glitters is not gold, but the public doesn’t care. Either everything is alright or it’s not. That’s why they don’t know that the princesses are on a diplomatic mission and not on their much deserved holidays on an island in the Bridle Shores Bay.”

Of course Twilight knew that not everything could be revealed to the public. The strains between the Gryphon Kingdom and Equestria would harm the economy. Outrageous increases in the prices could ruin whole families. But nopony needed to worry about a war. There hadn’t been one for more than a thousand years now.

“I know that you don’t like the restrictions to your privacy, and I’m really sorry about that, but we all have to carry a burden.” Twilight let one of the large pillows flow over to her and took a seat.

“That’s not it, Shield. I’m a princess. Princess Celestia trained me to be one. Not to only be there for my friends, but for all of Equestria. How does it look if their princess is guarded like a foal?” It also was extremely rare that Celestia was guarded this much. Yes, the pegasi who pulled her chariot from time to time were there, but never armed guards like with Twilight.

The old stallion laughed. “Child, that’s what it’s all about. Look, Princess Celestia and Luna are older than almost every book we have in our archives. Powerful enough to move the sun and moon all on their own, a task that required a battalion of unicorns before the founding of Equestria. If you get that old, powerful and wise as one of them, I would call the entire guard off the city without batting an eye if you say they aren’t required. But you are not. Above all else, you’re just as young like everyone else is here. A lesson that Princess Celestia has always been trying to teach us is that together we are strong. If you want to protect your friends, allow yourself some help protecting them. Nopony is expecting you to take a shot for us.” Twilight didn’t respond immediately, instead letting the words soak into her for a moment.

“Thanks Shield… I think that would be all.” She stood up again and walked towards the door.

“What’s on the agenda?” the general asked, his words followed by the sound of a stamp hitting on paper.

“A meeting with my friends and then with Captain Estoc about the changeling and the human. And after that, I think I’ll do something I haven’t done in a long time.”

“And what would that be?” She could almost hear the smug grin on his face.

“Writing a friendship report to mother.”

*** ~ [Living Tombstone & Eile Monty & Sim Gretina- Wings] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter II - Act 6.1 - Dungeon

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Still lost in thought, Twilight entered the large dining hall of the palace, followed by her two guards. With a smile, she remembered back when she had seen these rooms for the first time as a filly. They were exactly how she had always imagined a large school’s cafeteria would look like. In the back were multiple long tables with various pillows to offer places for larger crowds to sit. Further upfront were a few tables for the nobility and royalty, directed towards a small podium where musicians and such would perform. Between the tables and various large red cushions, huge marble pillars traversed the room, ending in an arched ceiling. She doubted they were of any practical use aside from their aesthetics.

The ceiling itself was made out of thick glass, momentarily covered by the last of the colorful autumn leaves - winter was fast approaching. A light rain created a smooth background noise that blended in with the conversation that was audible from one of the tables. Her friends - Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack - were sitting there. Between them was the filly who, if she remembered correctly, was named Auralia, who was busy putting on a small magic show. She was letting one cinnamon roll after the other disappear into her mouth, never to be seen again. It was only interrupted by an occasional sip of milk or when she paused to answer a question.

“Wow, you were really hungry.” Rainbow Dash stared with a growing look of disbelief at the plate in front of the filly that was quickly becoming ever so desolate. Twilight roughly calculated how many cinnamon rolls there had once been. Factoring in the remaining number of rolls, the size of the plate and the surprised faces of her friends into her calculation, she came to the conclusion that there would most likely not be enough for all of them.

The filly swallowed once again. That she had managed to even chew at that speed was amazing in itself. “They are really yummy! What are they called?” She held one of the rolls in front of Applejack’s muzzle.

“What? You’ve never had cinnamon rolls?” Applejack asked, a little shocked by the revelation. “What did the human give you to eat?” Twilight used the moment and took a free seat at the head of the table. Her friends gave her a quick nod but didn’t say a word so as to avoid interrupting the conversation between the two orange ponies. Twilight herself was more interested in hearing how she had been treated by the human.

“Uhm…” Auralia bit in the roll again and swallowed. “Berries, fruits, hay, roots.” She shrugged. “Stuff we found on the way. From time to time we bought provisions in one of the towns, but they never lasted long.” Twilight highly doubted that it was hygienic eating wild fruits, but at least the filly had had something resembling a balanced diet.

However, there was one pressing question that needed to be asked. “And did the human eat the same things too?” For Twilight and some of the others, it was no mystery that humans, just like gryphons, ate meat.

“Mostly. When we still were in Dragmire, Thiemo used to buy meat from gryphons or diamond dogs from time to time. He always thought I wouldn’t notice.” While Rarity’s face turned green, Applejack and Rainbow only exchanged a short look. Rainbow was friends with a gryphon for a long time, and she knew that some gryphons worked for the Wonderbolts. “I asked him once why he’s eating it. He said that humans need meat from time to time, otherwise they get sick.” With that, she took a particularly savage bite out of the savoury roll.

“Excuse me, my dears, I…” Nothing more escaped Rarity’s mouth as she rose from the table and quickly made her exit.

“Well, with a cat like Opal, you would think that she’d be used to something eating meat next to them. I’ve seen that stupid cat catching a mouse or two every now and then,” Rainbow casually threw out. Then she realized the mistake of airing her comment out loud as she could hear Fluttershy giving a horrified gasp next to her. “Oh, I’m sorry, Fluttershy.” The yellow pegasus nodded weakly.

“That’s fascinating,” Twilight murmured, paying little attention to Fluttershy’s theatrics. She wished she had brought her notebook. Her books had so little knowledge about humans that she would have loved to add something to them. “Do you know more about humans?”

The filly knocked her hoof against her chest and a burp resounded from her maw. “Not really. Dad didn’t talk much about humans, more about things he did or when he tells me one of his stories.”

“Too bad, it would have been nice to have an expert on humans here.” Twilight tried not to look too disappointed.

Applejack harrumphed. “Ya know, Twilight, we do have an ‘expert’.” The way she said that, forming exaggerated quotation marks with her hooves, caused Twilight to think for a moment. A frown appeared on her face as she remained puzzled by what her friend had been trying to say. Then she realized what her friend was attempting to imply, causing her frown to deepen.

“Oh, Applejack, you can’t be serious!” No laugh came from the farmer. “I can live with maniacs; we’re all friends with Pinkie Pie after all, but not that kind of crazy!”

“It’s not like we have an alternative, Twi.” Twilight knew that Applejack was right, even though she hated to admit it at that moment.

“Urgh…fine, I’ll send her a note. But talking about crazy… just where the hay is Pinkie Pie?”

There was only silence.

tio presents

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 6.1 - Dungeon ~

He had made it. He had finally left the dark dungeon behind him where he had spent the last few years of his life. Slowly, step by step, the dark figure climbed the stairs to freedom. He had long forgotten why he had landed in the dungeons of the caliph in the first place. Maybe he had stolen something or looked at one of his concubines the wrong way. Maybe the caliph just hadn’t liked his face.

Whatever it had been, now he was free. Free from the chains that had kept him in the dark corner of the moist dungeon, rendering it impossible to touch anything beside the cold hard stone. When he had finally gotten to touch his own skin for the first time in years, he couldn’t hold back his bladder. Considering the dirty rags on his body, it didn’t make much of difference.

Exhausted, he shakily climbed the last step and found himself at a crossway inside the palace. One way led to the exit, the other a harem of willing women. The two glowing signs in front of him made that very clear. He stopped shortly and started thinking. On one side was the exit, but what awaited him there? His friends surely had long forgotten him. No doubt they had moved on with their lives, even after he disappeared. Nothing would wait for him out there, aside from the wicked, wild, wide world.

On the other side were women. The most beautiful women in the kingdom. If he gotten this far, then he could take this risk. What did he have to lose, having lost everything already?

Supporting himself on the wall, he entered the hallway where the glowing sign for the willing women hung. It only took a few minutes, but the way down the bare hallway felt like an eternity, the overpowering silence only being broken by his shuffling and stumbling. He eventually came to a window as the hallway ended in a bridge, leading towards a tower. In the pale moonshine, he could see a lone guard.

To his surprise, it was busy pulling out his saber out of the body of some poor devil who had apparently tried to get pass him unauthorized. He quickly let go of the wall and ran directly towards the back of the guard. Before it could react to the clumsy steps of naked feet on stone ground, he threw himself with all his power against him. With a short yelp, the guard fell over the bridge, followed by a dull thud as he hit the sandy ground of the palace court. The way was free, if one didn’t count the beheaded as an impediment.

Taking one giant step, he walked over the body and over to the entrance behind him which was covered by a sheet of finest velvet, a sure sign that the harem was awaiting him. In happy excitement, he pulled it aside and entered. Once again he was in a hallway, but it was so short that he could already see the room at the other end. He slowly stepped forward and let everything soak into him.

The room at the end was circular and covered by a glassy dome. The walls seemed to be of pure gold and were illuminated by various small candles in holders, also wrought out of gold. The floor consisted of almost countless pillows, made out of a red, extremely soft fabric. It was something he had noticed as soon as his battered feet bad made first contact with them.

Yes, this was a room to have fun in, but unfortunately there didn’t seem to be any women present. “Not what you’ve expected?” Startled, he spun around to the entrance again. A dark figure stepped in the light of the candles. It had the form of a pony but had both wings and a horn. Specifically speaking, a crooked horn and the wings of a dragonfly. Within the mouth of the creature, sharp teeth sparkled as it spoke. Its form was finally accentuated by a long, purple mane.

“Honestly, I didn’t even know what I expected.” This was the truth. As if the concubines of the caliph would spend their time with a vagabond like himself. They probably would have just run away screaming in terror.

The creature wandered past him until it reached the middle of the room and sat down. “Welcome to my home.”

“Your home? Isn’t this the home of the caliph?” The creature chuckled.

“And who do you think you are?” He wanted to answer, but in the next moment, the world was bathed in a white light.

***

Thiemo shuddered as he slowly gained consciousness. It was a cold draft that blew around him that caused it, though to him, it felt like someone was sliding a block of ice across his back. Half asleep, he searched for his blanket but only found his own body and something that felt like straw.

With a quiet groan he slowly opened his eyes. It was dark, yet the little light that filtered into the room felt like burning agony. He blinked multiple times before he finally shuffled upwards into a sitting position. With his thumb and forefinger, he rubbed his closed eyes, before trying to open them again, this time more successful. His vision was still a bit blurry, though.

“Where’s my shirt?” He looked around him a bit. With the few memories about yesterday returning to the forefront of his mind, it was no surprise he found himself in a cell. Dark, stony walls around him and thick bars behind him, the stereotypical enclosure for prisoners. This time the bars were close enough together that were no means for an easy escape.

His gaze wandered back as another cold draft hit his body, leading to him looking down himself for the first time. “Shit, where are my pants?” Thiemo looked to both sides and lifted his naked rear to look to see if he wasn’t sitting on it, but he only found a single white pillow.

“They took everything.” Thiemo spun around at the sound of the unexpected voice, only to see Amaryllis sitting in a pile of straw opposed to him.

Hastily, he covered himself a little bit with the straw. “Everything? They could have at least let me keep my pants.” Amaryllis didn’t say anything but only turned her head away and stared at the wall. “Something wrong?”

Thiemo jerked backwards quite a distance as she whipped her head towards him again so quickly her neck could have broken. Anger was the overwhelming emotion playing out on her face, and her sharp teeth were clearly visible, while something like a hissing sound came from her. “Something wrong?” she panted with rage. “Something WRONG!?” Fortunately, he knew when to answer an angry woman and when not to, which most of the time was never. Besides, answering rhetorical questions wasn’t his thing anyways. It was clear that there was something wrong, going by her own words.

“I became an outcast because of you! Yes, I wanted to see the world, but not this way! I wanted to meet my father, and you promised to help me with that. Even though you injured me during the escape, even though you were part of the reasons why I am an outcast now, I still trusted you! Why? Because I could feel that you meant it.” She gave a short, sharp, humourless laugh, one filled with loathing and bitterness. “Those weren’t just some empty words for me. We changelings talk more with our feelings than with words.” Thiemo didn’t know if they were tears of anger or despair that ran down her cheek. Probably both. “I don’t know what the short time we’ve spent together meant to you, but I was basically living off of you. It was like I’ve known you for years and still…you sold not only me but also Aura; you left us behind at the first chance to get what you wanted!” She took a deep breath. “Would you have simply left us behind if you had won? Would you just have gone back to your world without even thinking about us? Don’t you even know what Aura is feeling? Don’t you know what I…have…” she sobbed and looked back at the wall again.

Thiemo preferred staring at his hands again. Amy’s questions were valid. What would he have done if he had won? Eris had promised him knowledge which he would have used to find a way back home. “Amy, you don’t really think I would have just abandoned everything, do you?”

“That’s Princess Amaryllis for you! And I don’t know what I should think! You just pulled us into this stupid game. With a draconequus of all monsters. Even a fool would know that you can’t trust them. They lie and cheat everywhere and with anyone they can. They cause chaos and kill without batting an eyelid. And you handed us in to such a creature,” she spat, still glaring hatefully at the wall.

She was right, no matter how much he wanted to deny it. It was a surprisingly bitter pill to swallow. He hadn’t only brought himself, but also Aura and Amaryllis into an unknown danger. It was something he had always wanted to avoid. But this Eris knew Earth, and it had just been too promising.

Again, the words Amy just said shot through his head, the feelings of shame and guilt dancing gleefully across his conscience. Eris had baited and then outsmarted him. Why would such a powerful being risking losing its own game? Probably because she made sure she would never lose. He would have wanted to slap himself now, but the pillow was starting to get annoying. Throwing a pillow around in anger would at least hurt less.

Thiemo reached behind him and pulled at the white pillow. Immediately, a pain went through his entire back. “Ouch… what the hell?” He glanced over to Amaryllis, who was still staring at the wall. With an uneasy feeling, he stood up and knocked the loose straw off his body. That stuff was quite itchy. He then arched his neck and tried to look behind him. The sight that graced his bewildered eyes almost made him fall. That wasn’t a pillow stuck to him, but something he had learned to become aware of the past two days as a pony. A tail. It emerged from his body where his back ended and covered a good part of his rear and his legs. It was long, white and a bit tousled as though it needed a good brush. He pulled at it again to confirm his suspicion. “Ouch…” Yes, the thing was definitely connected to him. “Hey, I know I goofed up but this is going a bit too far.”

Amaryllis looked at him with an emotionless expression, and immediately his hand went down his body to cover himself. She looked at his tail for a short moment. “That wasn’t me,” she declared and laid down again, face turned away from him.

Thiemo sat down again, directly on the tail, which made for an unpleasant traction. He quickly adjusted himself to avoid the uncomfortable feeling. In his mind, he went through a few ideas about how he could have possibly gotten his new appendage. Maybe it was some of remaining energy from the transformation that Eris had simply ended. Or Eris had cast it on him because he lost. Then there was that rainbow that had knocked him out. It had been strong enough to also completely negate his staff, so it could have something to with that as well. There was one thing he was sure of - it would cost time to get used to something like a tail. If it had been a temporary effect then he was sure it would have vanished already.

“And here we have our loser!” Thiemo gazed towards the bars where a familiar creature was hovering in the air. “I see you already discovered what the Elements gave you as a punishment.” She pointed at the tail next to his leg.

“What do you want Eris? To laugh at me for being tricked by you? Please, go ahead.” Thiemo looked over to his inmate, but she was still lying there, motionless.

“I’ve laughed enough already.” He saw her slipping through the bars from the corners of his eye and hovering towards Amaryllis with a grin. She landed next to her and leaned against her head. “I stopped time,” she remarked casually, as though it was a common occurrence. Maybe it was. “Now we can talk. Maybe we can start with what’s hanging between your legs?”

“I hope we’re both talking about the tail?” Eris rolled her eyes.

“Men. Always thinking their dick would be only thing we’re interested in.” Thiemo, more or less raised in the home of his grandparents, wasn’t a fool. His grandmother, mother and older sister had prepared him well for a life with female authority figures.

“You raised the topic.” Eris smirked and let, with a snap of her fingers, a pink bathrobe with plush on the sleeves and seam appeared. She threw it over to Thiemo who, without minding too much about the color, quickly put it on.

Immediately, some warmth returned to his body. “I can see your mind hasn’t suffered from the Elements.”

“Elements. That’s what the ponies called the amulets as well. How about some intel?” Eris sat down cross-legged in the air, then motioned for Thiemo to take a seat on the straw.

“The Elements of Harmony or Celestia’s ultimate weapon as I like to call them. Their Bearers are the six ponies you’ve met in the maze. Laughter, Generosity, Kindness, Loyalty, Honesty and Magic. You could call also call it the representation of the moral and values of the ponies.” Thiemo blinked, incredulous.

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. That’s a lot of nice words and stuff but… it just sounds stupid.” Eris nodded approvingly.

“I know. The stupid thing about it is that they work. These amulets react when the creatures they harmonize with share these values with the others. The stronger the bond between the Bearers, the stronger the magical rainbow of doom. The same thing that gave you that thing, by the way.” She pointed between his legs to the white tail.

“Why would powerful magical artefacts do something like that?”

She only shrugged. "I’m powerful but not omniscient. But hey, they casted me into stone for a thousand years. You can be glad that that’s all they did. But if I know these things, it has some moral background and shall teach you a lesson.”

Thiemo reached for his tail and hold it in his hand. Carefully, he stroked the fine hairs with his thumb. It created a pleasant feeling of comfort, as strange as that sounded. “You didn’t just come down here to give me this bathrobe and talk about my tail. What do you want?”

She leaned back in the air and folded her hands behind her head. “Oh, nothing specific. Just to warn you.”

Thiemo didn’t trust her one bit, as again Amaryllis words about draconequii resounded through his head again, as well as what he himself had experienced first-hand from her actions. “Mmmhmm,” he murmured noncommittally.

“Well, it’s only fair to let you know that our lovely Princess Twilight Sparkle hired a ‘scientist’ to examine you,” Eris marked the word scientist with exaggerated quotation marks using her paw and claw, “while she is going to tend to your little friend personally.”

“Hold on! That Twilight was a princess? I thought there were only two and they were abroad. And what’s the deal about these ponies with both wings and horn?” Thiemo needed the answers to fill the gaps in his knowledge. That he or Amaryllis would get special treatment was of no surprise to him.

“Ah yes. Princess Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic. Princess Celestia of the Sun and Princess Luna of the Moon. Then there is also Princess Cadence of Love and…”

Thiemo waved her off. “Okay, I get it. There are more.”

“They belong to a race known as alicorns. They share the attributes of all three species and have the annoying feature of being immortal. Things would have been so much easier in the past.” Thiemo swallowed and asked himself what he had gotten into. That the deer thought of him to be some kind of god was one thing, but he never expected to be meeting real gods before. This was a game that rendered him totally out of his league. And even worse, he had fought against one of these god-princesses. Until now, he thought it would just a title, like the pope on earth. And Eris seemed to belong in the same league, maybe even a bit higher.

“Anything else I should know?” He noticed that his hands started to tense up and his tail started to hurt. He still held it firmly and unintentionally pulled at it.

Eris tapped her chin and thought. “Well, it will take another month or two until Celestia and Luna return. Before that, no one’s going to convince little Sparkle to let you out of here. She thinks you two are a danger to public safety.”

“What’s with Aura?”

“The filly? She’s fine. They care very much about her since she’s a pony, but you expected that, right?” Thiemo nodded shortly.

“They trust you, right? Maybe you could get us out of here? We would leave this country without hesitation.” Immediately, loud laughter broke out. Thiemo waited until she finished, but she looked at him and laughed again.

“I think they see me more as a plague right now. I also don’t want you to leave just now.” She hovered over to Thiemo and spun around him a few times before her claw wandered up on his shoulder. “I have a lot of things planned out,” she whispered into his ear. Instinctively, Thiemo slapped after her but only hit the air. “Look at it from the bright side. I guarantee that you’re not going to be disappointed.”

“Oh, disappointed? It all just went according to plan. A simple game and I’m already back home.” He stretched out his arms turned around in a circle. “Isn’t my apartment nice? Look, over there is the toilet and my large bed, everything’s in the same room!” His arms fell against his thighs. “Yes, all my expectations were met.”

Eris grin died and her tone got serious for once. “If you want to be this way, then I’m going to stop giving you advice.” She turned around to the bars and flew through them. “Maybe one more thing. Whatever Celestia asks, just say yes.”

With that, she disappeared, and immediately the noises returned; he didn’t even realize they had been silent. Amaryllis’ breathing, water dripping on stones, and the murmuring of what presumably were the guards in the background. Time was flowing again.

Exhausted, even though he had just slept, Thiemo fell back down onto the straw. Eris’ last words of advice were about Celestia, meaning she wouldn’t disturb him until she came here. That would come in handy. Honestly, he was fed up with her games for now. The only thing he had gained from them was being separated from his daughter, and now his only friend was mad at him.

Author's Notes:

Surprise! Another chapter out of freaking nowhere. No but seriously, that has a reason. A good reason. Well intermission 6 is actually a chapter that has Christmas and Hearths Warming as a topic. So I talked to Mr. Translator Guy (Gron) and to Mr. Proofreader (JBL) how nice it would be to release that chapter on Christmas Eve. To make it short, they said something like: "Let's do this shit!"

Well, here we are. So expect some serious increase of new chapter over the next couple of days. If you want to thank someone for this small Christmas gift, I don't think Gron nor JBL would mind if you schmooze them a bit.

Also I just wanted to mention I wrote a blog post about human in Equestria stories. It might interest some of you:
http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/258097/a-few-thoughts-about-hie

Hope you had fun reading and if you want to feed the ~~troll~~ author, leave some tasty comments. *om nom nom*

Chapter II - Act 6.2 - The Expert

View Online

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 6.2 - The Expert ~

With a silent hissing, the train came to a halt, and the doors opened for the newcomers in the large capital of Canterlot. Ponies of all kinds and ages streamed out of the train and onto the large station. Amid all these ponies, one was particularly excited. With simple saddlebags on her back, she jumped out of the train, a wide grin on her face as she took a deep breath, which proved to be a mistake. The smoke of the train quickly found its way into her lungs, and she began spluttering and hacking violently.

With one hoof in front of her muzzle and still lightly coughing, she quickly searched for the exit, two large stairs leading down into the city. Her coughing eventually died, and for the first time in a long time, she looked over the city she grew up in. “Aah, it’s great to be back home again.” Lyra Heartstrings grinned from ear to ear and again tried taking a deep breath of the clear mountain air.

Well-known scents flooded through her nostrils. A mixture of various perfumes from the various small stores around the train station. A distant aroma of baked goods, which could only be Donut Joe’s store. His small oasis of sins with sprinkles, chocolate and everything a pony’s heart could desire was only a short way off from the main road. He didn’t need any advertisements - the scent itself attracted unprepared noses like flies to honey. The image was reinforced by the ambience of the picturesque city, perfecting it for Lyra.

She opened her eyes again and looked around. Some ponies had stopped and were looking at her strangely from the side. “Uhm…” As she couldn’t think of an adequate response to the awkward situation, she simply ran off, down the stairs, a strangled laugh on her lips, leaving the sneering onlookers behind her. It was only after she had placed enough distance between her and the train station, passing the first row of stores and numerous citizens, did she allowed herself to slow down.

For years she had had to endure the mocking laughter behind her back. Crazy, outsider, freak were just some of the nasty words some ponies had hurled at her, while the others had been kind enough to just loudly whisper it. But now the day had come where she would leave all of that behind. It would all be thanks to a pony she would have never expected to hear such news from - Princess Twilight Sparkle, or simply Twilight Sparkle. Before she became a princess, she had never endorsed her endeavours. Humans are savage beasts, Lyra, she would say and shake her head almost pitifully. They were the same words that came from her parents and even from her only friend. At least Bonbon had stuck with her, even though she thought Lyra’s studies would be a waste of time as well.

Hastily, she levitated the letter out of her bag and skimmed through it again.

Dear Lyra Heartstrings,
We haven’t spoken to each other in a while. I hope you are doing well and that your musical career is making progress. Unfortunately, it is your other passion which drives me to write to you today. I’m sure you have heard of our friend, Eris. A few days ago, apparently driven by boredom, she picked up something that she described as a ‘new toy’. That toy is now sitting in the dungeons after trying to steal the Elements of Harmony off me and my friends. We are talking about a human who got lost right here in our midst. As our knowledge about this race is very limited, and with other things demanding my attention in the near future, I am asking for your help to study him.
You will find a train ticket to Canterlot attached with this letter, first class of course. As of now, we are unable to say how long the research will last, so it would to your benefit if you would prepare yourself for a longer stay in one of the guest rooms of the castle if you accept this offer.
With kind regards,
In the name of her highness Princess Twilight Sparkle.

She had felt rather sad that her old classmate hadn’t found the time to write the letter herself, but at least the letter had also stated that she was busy.

Of course Lyra hadn’t needed more than ten seconds before getting her old saddlebags from the storeroom next to the kitchen, filling them with her notebooks and everything related to humans, before rushing towards the door. It was only when she had almost reached the front gate did she remember that it was late evening and there would not have been another train until the next morning. Fortunately, having to wait gave her the opportunity to properly say goodbye to her roommate and friend, Bonbon. Ever the responsible one, Bonbon had reminded her to also pack things like a toothbrush and money. Her enthusiasm about Lyra spending the next few weeks in the presence of a dangerous predator was limited. Of course she was happy for her friend, that she could study humans without traveling to the Forbidden Island, something Lyra tried for many years. However, so unlike Bonbon and most other ponies, she wasn’t afraid of this alleged predator.

It was something she had never told anyone, one of her darkest secrets if one wanted to call it that. The truth was that she used to be friends with a human once, a long time ago. Her parents, Canterlot nobility straight from the books, used to travel the world quite a lot, especially when Lyra was still a filly. The fact that she was still young hadn’t spared her from accompanying them. During a longer stay in Heliopolis, it had happened. She had been taking a tour through the wild at night, marvelling at plants and animals that couldn’t be found anywhere else in the world, when she had lost sight of her group and had gotten lost. She had spent hours inside the forest without knowing which way led to home or to her doom. It was then that she had met Smiles. She knew that it couldn’t be the human’s real name. Unfortunately, the two of them had had no way of verbally communicating with each other since they had both spoken different languages.

Despite this barrier, despite the initial fear they both had of each other, the little human mare had helped her home. She had lived in the forests and led her straight back to the camp.

For the next few weeks, they had secretly played in the forest around the tents, careful to not be seen by any other pony. Lyra knew the stories about humans; her mother had told them to her often enough, especially during Nightmare Night. But she had never wanted to believe them, for they sounded much too cruel to be true. Through Smiles, she had learned that her assumptions were true. Unfortunately, they had broken camp two months later and went back over the sea to Equestria. She hadn’t even gotten a chance to say goodbye to Smiles, the creature that had influenced her life so much.

Despite her talent being music, which she would never deny, she joined Celestia’s school and studied biology, furthering her studies to become an anthropologist. As soon as she had announced her area of study, the mockery had started. It had gotten so bad that she had had to spend the last three years of school alone. None of the other students wanted to study with her - the fear for humans was too great. The savage carnivores from the Forbidden Island or Ti, in the tongue of the humans, were only spoken about in hushed whispers.

After her degree, the first thing she did was return to Heliopolis and search for Smiles. However, the humans must have moved on, since she never caught sight of them again. Her plans on staying there for a while and to live with them were crushed. After her return, she had heard rumors about humans being sighted near the Everfree Forest. There was no time for panic. As soon as she had found her apartment, Nightmare Moon had returned. The humans were forgotten and the trace went cold. She had remained in Ponyville, for if the humans did return, she would be there. Ponyville was also was a nice place where she wasn’t considered a freak.

Only a few knew about her research beyond her gigs as a musician. The music earned the money for the rent. Bonbon, as a roommate and later as a friend, had found out, of course. Even after she had found out, Bonbon had no desire to share her interest in those horror stories, which was what she had called her research on humans. Still, at that point Lyra didn’t mind; at least Bonny hadn’t started calling her names. Twilight Sparkle had found it out because of the books she had lent her, not only from her library but also from her private collections. Who knew that those interactions she had had with the princess would have led her to getting this opportunity today. The first time to actually practice the job she had studied for. Yes, today was a good day for her.

A smile appeared on her face as she finished with reminiscing on the past. A guard at the entrance of the castle, which she had already reached, thought the smile was directed at him and returned the gesture. “What can I do for you, Miss?” his colleague asked, sharply dressed in golden armor and armed with a spear.

For a second she forgot what to do, but then she saw the parchment scroll, still unfolded, levitating next to her from the corners of her eyes. She let it fly over to the guard, who reached for it with his wing. His view wandered down its length immediately to see who had signed it and if the seal was there.

After a short look, he held it to the other pegasus. He only nodded. “Everything’s alright, Miss. Sir Estoc is awaiting you. I’m sorry that we have to run these checks, but since the human somehow entered the area, we have doubled security.” He then knocked his spear against the closed iron gate behind him exactly three times before it opened. It squeaked a bit, probably from being so rarely used. “You’ll find the Captain to the left after the entrance. That’s where his office is.”

Lyra politely thanked them and continued on her way. She had an idea how to find the bureaus of the different generals and military officers. Her mother was, before her retirement a few years ago, Supreme Commander of the town watch of Canterlot. As a filly, she was allowed to walk around with her on the grounds, see the castle gardens and occasionally the princess from afar. Lyra remembered how she had always talked about her, as though she was married more to her and her job than her herd.

It didn’t take her long, after passing through the castle entrance, to reach in front of the door to Captain Estoc’s office. Like the guard had told her, the offices were just left after the entrance. She knocked and got a gruff response telling her to enter. “Good day. Lyra Heartstrings is my name and I am here to report to Captain Estoc,” she said as the entered the door.

The room was different than expected. Then again, she didn’t know precisely what she had expected. It was a large fine office, the most notable feature being the hundreds of pictures adorning the walls. Were they of comrades and allies? She had only one way of knowing, not that she was going to be so bold as to ask. Aside from that, the room consisted of a simple desk, seat cushion and the bright white walls of the castle. There were also two swords that hung near the unused chimney. Lyra briefly wondered if the captain had ever had cause to use it on someone.

The main point of interest in the room, of course, was the captain. “Ah, Miss Heartstrings. Come on in, the princess had already informed me of your coming arrival,” he greeted her with a smile. He was a grey unicorn, his dark blue mane was pressed against his head by his helmet, which also served as more of a uniform than a real defensive piece. His cutie mark was hidden underneath his armor just like everypony else’s in the Royal Guard. “I hope you had a pleasant trip.”

“Yes, Captain, but I would rather just come down to business. The human.” A smug grin appeared on his lips as he smiled and nodded.

“Of course. Please follow me. I will instruct you on the way.” Both stepped out of the bureau and closed the door behind them. Estoc led the way and Lyra followed. “A few days ago, a friend of the crown played a small prank, if that’s what you want to call it.”

“Eris. Princess Twilight Sparkle mentioned it in her letter,” Lyra said to save Estoc the dilemma to repeating the story of his failure. She could hear it in his voice how much he didn’t like what had transpired. This would also speed up things, and she could barely wait any longer to get started.

“Ah,” he said, relieved. “We have arrested the human now. After the Elements were used against him, he fell into a deep sleep, enabling us to bring him into a cell without much effort. After about one day of rest, he has woken again, which spared us from calling a doctor. The guards had noticed afterwards that he had talked with his inmate, but what was said couldn’t be heard.” That made Lyra hesitate.

“Why?” she couldn’t imagine why the prisoners weren’t being watched.

“The dungeons are equipped with anti-magical seals. We can’t use magic down there, but so can’t the prisoners. Not all dungeons have this extra security, but we didn’t want to take any risks with the prisoners.” Lyra raised a brow.

“Prisoners? Are there more than one human? And why should a human go in the anti-magical tier? According to my studies, humans can’t use magic. They lack a natural conduit.” They turned around a corner and took a stair to the basement. The light of sun was aimed against the smooth light of crystals in the wall, providing enough illumination to see around them adequately. Back when she was a filly, all they had to use were torches. Magic had greatly progressed in the last couple of years, presumably thanks to the newest princess of Equestria.

“Well, the princess demanded it. According to her statement and the other Bearers who got into contact with the human, he used some kind of magic. That we locked down a changeling here shouldn’t be much of a surprise.” She almost fell over her own hooves when she heard that.

“You put him into a cell with a changeling?” she hissed at the captain. “I thought they would be separated from the other prisoners. Do you want to kill him?”

They reached the end of the stairway and turned to the right. “Well, one would think so. Especially if you believe my guards, who witnessed the first minutes after he woke up. To our surprise, it was the changeling that roared. They were also captured together, so we expected the two are some kind of accomplices.”

Lyra couldn’t believe her ears for what they had just heard. A human and a changeling who could be friends? That was, besides both being enemies of Equestria, unbelievable. No history book had ever mentioned an alliance between humans and different species of Albion, only that they destroyed everything that came in their way. On the other hand, Lyra was well aware that history was written by the winners. While Equestria was blooming, the humans were going stagnant on some island, so it was not hard to guess who had won. It was a thought that would only cause her more trouble, especially since she already was considered a crazy outsider.

Every citizen of Equestria had, of course, the right to freely express themselves, and while no princess had ever punished anypony for criticism, ponies seemed to love taking their liberties to new lows. Exclusion, mockery and taunting were their favourite pastimes, or so it seemed to Lyra.

“Here we are.” Lyra’s thoughts came to a rapid end as she saw Captain Estoc open a heavy wooden door to a dark hallway. They arrived in a small, dimly lit room with nothing in it besides a large mirror. Lyra looked at her reflection, her golden eyes staring right back at her. Her mint coat shimmered in the yellow light of the crystals, just like her white, slightly ruffled mane. She then saw Captain Estoc’s horn light up, and her reflection disappeared shortly after. The mirror had turned into a window. Lyra grinned over both ears like she had done quite often today as she saw what was in front of her.

In the room on the other side was the human. He was in the middle of the room, sitting on a cushion. Long brown hair fell over his shoulders and the pink bathrobe he wore. His eyes were smaller than that of a pony, but that didn’t surprise her much. After all, he was not the first human she had seen. His eyes were a deep blue but were somehow not focused on her, even though he was directly looking at the window. “We can see him, but he can’t see us,” the captain explained from the side.

Meanwhile, Lyra stepped closer to the window. At each corner of the room stood a guard, tensely focusing on the human. There were two pegasi and two unicorns, the latter ready to immediately cast a spell on the prisoner if he tried to escape. One of the guards was moving his mouth, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying. It was obvious that the human didn’t reply. “What’s going on?”

Estoc harrumphed awkwardly and stepped closer as well. “When we were bringing him something to eat this morning, the guard noticed that he was wearing this bathrobe. Nopony knows how he got it since we took all of his belongings. He didn’t have anything with him. No bags and surely not this bathrobe.”

Lyra suppressed the strong desire of making a scene. She knew that the soldiers had no clue. “Humans have no coat; they need clothes to protect themselves. Whoever gave it to him saved him from some frostbite. You should commend the guard.”

Estoc kept a straight face. “Good to know that we now have somepony here who knows something about humans. Problem is, that’s not his bathrobe. It belongs to Princess Celestia, and it’s from her private quarters. Nopony with their mind in the right place would dare enter them during her absence, let alone take something from there. We tried for hours to make him give it back so it doesn’t get damaged. Unfortunately, we have been without success so far. The room is also significantly warmer than the dungeons. We’re not that stupid, Miss Heartstrings.”

“And how many hours did it take for you and your men to come to this conclusion?” The light grin on the face of the captain died again. “And did it ever occur to you that, without a coat, a human would basically be exposing himself?” Estoc said nothing. “According to my theories, clothes also have a cultural meaning to them. Without them, they feel vulnerable. Something akin to being in the bedroom with a special somepony. An act of intimacy, if you want to call it that. Long story short, I’m betting that right now he’s thinking that multiple stallions would try to jump his bones as soon as he lets go of the bathrobe.”

The captain nodded slowly. “And what would you recommend, Miss Heartstrings?”

Lyra didn’t take long to think about that. “Give him his clothes back. Surely that shouldn’t be a problem, unless you consider someone blocking his genitals from your sight a high risk of security.” The sarcasm in Lyra’s voice was probably thick enough to shatter the mirror in front of them into a million splinters.

Estoc, for his part, merely sighed and shook his head. “That’s not possible, I’m afraid. The power of the Elements rendered most of his clothes useless. Remember, they had even managed to shatter the armor of Nightmare Moon.” Lyra nodded, and her thoughts drifted off to a newspaper article she had read some time ago. The armor had been restored as flawless as possible and was put in a museum in Detrot, high up in the north, far away from Canterlot. Princess Luna had wanted that wicked antiquity as far away from her as possible.

Since the human didn’t seem to care much about what he was wearing, she came up another idea. “Then just exchange the bathrobe with something else. I doubt he cares much about the color.” She saw that now the captain was getting it and seemed to be angry with himself for not coming to that idea himself. She idly wondered if he had been promoted to Captain for his intellect; if he was, then perhaps the Royal Guards needed to re-evaluate their promotion policies.

A moment later his horn flickered and a piece of paper and quill appeared; Estoc quickly scribbling quick message. With another spell, both disappeared again and the note appeared in the other room, in front of the guard who was talking insistently to the human. The image in front of Lyra disappeared, and she was suddenly looking back at her reflection. “That would be all for now, Miss Heartstrings. We have to prepare a few things before you can start your research, so that will have to wait until tomorrow. I will now show you your room. Afterwards, Princess Twilight and her friends will be awaiting you at dinner.” Lyra nodded and threw a last look at the mirror. Behind it was her future.

***

Thiemo thought the day would be boring at first. But when the guard came with his breakfast - a slice of bread and some greens - into his cell and saw the bathrobe, he knew better. The pegasus disappeared with a panicked expression and dropped the tray on the ground in the process. Relaxed, Thiemo pulled it through the bars and was finished eating before the guard returned with some of his colleagues.

Apparently, Amaryllis had been moved somewhere else earlier, as she wasn’t there when he woke up. If that hadn’t been the case, she would have woken up as well. Twenty or thirty armed stallions in golden armour stood in front of his cell and were roaring in confusion and pointing at him. Or more precisely the bathrobe he was wearing. He couldn’t understand much of the commotion. Shortly after, a captain or something appeared, a grey unicorn with a toothbrush as decoration for his helmet.

This one led him into another room that was at least a bit warmer than the dungeon, a pleasure for Thiemo’s ice cold feet. They placed him onto a cushion in the middle of the room and proceeded to question him for hours. They wanted to know where he had gotten the robe and wanted it back, but nobody tried to just take it. He didn’t know why, but it at least provided him with some entertainment. He pulled at some strings here and there, which caused the guards to gasp for air every time.

If he pulled fluffs out of the plushy seam, they reacted with a look of absolute horror. Whatever that bathrobe was, it was fun. But the fun had to end sooner or later. In this case it came shortly after a note appeared out of the thin air, before another soldier with a load of clothes on his back came into the room. All coats, cloaks or similar bathrobes. All made for a pony not a human, which didn’t hinder Thiemo in his selection.

Without saying a word, he signalled them to turn around and changed his clothes. When they turned around again, they started laughing and pointed at his feet. He had found something like socks between the other clothes, and of course put them on, despite them being black and purple stripes. His feet would thank him after. He didn’t know why exactly they were laughing, and he didn’t care much. He hadn’t said a word for the whole time and wouldn’t start now. If he could play his cards right, he might even be able to get his hands onto a book, something to pass the time with. Unfortunately, the pink bathrobe was gone now and he was back on his way to his cell.

As soon as he and the guards behind him got back into a familiar looking set of bars in the wall, he felt a familiar feeling. Amaryllis must be in her cell and tried to establish a connection. His presumptions were confirmed as the bars were opened and he was thrown inside. Amaryllis was lying on her pile of straw, no emotion on her face as she looked at him.

Thiemo waited until the guards were out of audible range. “How have you been?” She didn’t reply. “You can’t tell them anything. If they get what they want, there is no reason for them to ever let us out of here and that’s our only chance.”

“Do you think I wouldn’t know that?!” Thiemo didn’t respond to the question and went to his own pile of straw. Despite the many rags he was wearing, it was still very cold. Winter was coming.

The silence was interrupted by the grumbling from the stomach of the changeling. “You have to eat,” Thiemo declared.

“As if I want to eat from you.” He sighed and sat down, legs crossed.

“It doesn’t matter if you hate me right now; it’s not worth starving yourself over. I know I fucked up, but you’re only punishing yourself if you continue.” She blinked and seemed to consider her options. Then he felt the familiar feeling she usually caused when she was feeding. Relieved, he leaned back at the wall and took a deep breath. His thoughts ranged from how he could ask Amaryllis for forgiveness to his daughter. How he wished he could ask her the same and at least be content that she was alright. At this point, however, comfort had decided to be a cold mistress to him.

Chapter II - Act 6.3 - Bananas

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 6.3 - Bananas ~

Lyra took a deep breath and looked at Estoc standing next to her. He gave her a confident nod as she tried to calm her rattling nerves. The door in front of Lyra opened, and slowly she entered, followed by a little tea trolley with the materials she would need. As a servant of the crown (or at least for the duration of her experiments), she had been assigned some guards and servants for her disposal. Additionally, she would be receiving a generous salary along with the covering of any expenses associated with her research. Everything she would need just had to be approved by a delegate of the princesses. The only thing that irked Lyra was that even though they had to deal with a supposedly savage being. Princess Twilight Sparkle had apparently thought that the shyest pegasus in the world would somehow be useful. Fluttershy sat in the room behind her and continued to observe everything through the magical mirror, just like Lyra did yesterday.

She looked at the human, who merely returned the gesture with a neutral look on his face. Various pieces of clothing were wrapped around his body instead of the pink bathrobe of the princess he were wearing yesterday. Much to Lyra’s pleasure, the exchange had worked. She took whatever gains they made gratefully; it was going to be no fun trying to communicate with a grumpy human. She stopped for a moment when she saw his feet. She used the spell Estoc had shown her to communicate through the mirror and turned to the assembled crew. It only contained Estoc, the four guards and two chambermaids, all taking notes. “Okay, very funny. Who gave the human naughty lingerie to wear?”

She didn’t get an answer immediately, most likely due to the fact that most of the inhabitants of the other room were laughing their heads off. She looked at the human, who was playing with the socks, pulling them even further up his legs. The awaited piece of parchment appeared. “He chose them himself,” she read off the note, shaking her head in exasperation.

To top it all off, the human appeared to have noticed that they were talking about the choice of his clothes and stood up to parade them. With a wide grin on his lips, he seemed to wait for her approval. She sighed and tried to put on her friendliest smile. “Hello, my name is Lyra,” she said slowly and clearly while holding her hoof against her chest. “Who are you?”

The human just sat back down on the large cushion and closed his eyes to the point where they were only small slits, looking as though he was examining her. Lyra took that as an invitation to sit down as well. The human opened his mouth. Excited to hear a human talking, she leaned forward. The only sound that he emitted, however, was one that came directly from his stomach as he let out a resounding belch. “Phew… what did they give you to eat?” She waved the stinky air aside. Meanwhile, the human was busy scratching himself in various places. Lyra hung her head. It would have been so nice if he could understand her.

She levitated a file over from the trolley and opened the report from the captain. She had, of course, already read it over; it had been her last night’s bedtime reading. This was more about the notes she had left in it. Estoc had written something about a tail in the section about his physical appearance. She tried looking past the various clothes he was wearing, and eventually she found what she was looking for. Something white was dangling behind him, peeking out from the cover of the clothes.

She had never heard of anything like that in any of her books or heard during her studies. To her knowledge, humans weren’t supposed to have tails. “I want to examine you. Could you take off your clothes?” Once again, she spoke as slowly and as clearly as she could. The human was looking at her but didn’t react. With a nervous flicker of her left eyelid, she saw that his finger was now in his nose.

This could be a welcoming distraction too. Carefully, she engulfed the first coat in her aura and cautiously tried to get it off the human. Just when she thought she had it, he grabbed it and held it tight to his body with both hands. Lyra pulled a bit stronger, but the human’s grip was too tight, and his angry face was saying more than clearly that he didn’t like it. Then she remembered what she told Estoc yesterday - how humans undressed for mating. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a female human to bait him. She pulled her notebook from the trolley. It was old, back from her school days. In there she had written everything she could remember about the village of Smiles. The human girl had taken her there once, but just like at her camp, they had stayed out of sight of the adults.

On the first page was the sketch of a male; on the second, one of a female. She had scribbled various theories in the margins next to the sketches, outlining the knowledge about mating rituals of different mammals she had garnered. Unlike ponies, the teats of the female humans were not between the hind legs but on the chest. This gave another reason why clothes were so important to humans. Lyra couldn’t imagine running around and showing her teats to the world as though she was in an erotic magazine. She found the note she was looking for on page three. It was more a speculation, but the best she had.

All four-legged mammals focused on the flanks while mating. The young mares nowadays bounced and swayed them like there was no tomorrow; you only had to take a trot in downtown Manehatten to get an eyeful. Since humans ran on two legs, their flanks were far less developed, but their udders seemed to make up for that when compared to a pony’s. They had to serve the same purpose then. She slammed the book shut and levitated it back together with the file onto the tea trolley. The human looked at her, curious about what she would be doing next. “For science,” she murmured to herself as she stood up.

***

Fluttershy sat on a cushion in front of the window, a box of juice between her hooves so she wouldn’t have to bother the chambermaids. She watched as Lyra went through one of her books and turned towards Estoc. “Was it really necessary to give the human socks?”

“Well, Milady, Miss Heartstrings said we should offer him a variety of clothes in exchange for…” He coughed. “For what he was wearing earlier. And as you can see, he seems very pleased with them.” Fluttershy obviously didn’t get around to notice how proudly the human had been presenting them a few moments ago.

“Uhm… sure. Excuse me for asking.” She made herself look smaller in her spot and turned back to the straw of her drink.

Estoc waved it off. “Don’t hesitate asking, Milady. We were assigned to this project by the princess to be on hoof with help and advice.”

“Then uhm...” Fluttershy still hesitated. “Why didn’t you just ask him if he wanted to change?”

“Well, how do you imagine will that work? The savage surely isn’t capable of our language.” Fluttershy blinked a few at times at his words. She was about to say something, but movement in her peripheral vision caused her to look back into the room. Lyra had just put the book back on the trolley and stood up. She stepped in front of the human and turned her back at him.

“What is she doing?” Worried, Fluttershy pointed at the scene, and immediately the attention of the guards was focused.

“Heh heh,” grinned one of the guards next to her and bumped his comrade. “Looks like she wants to dance for the human.” Fluttershy’s eyes went wide when she saw Lyra wiggling her tail and flank in front of the human’s nose.

“Captain!” she squeaked, her wings shooting out in surprise. He was too busy though watching the procedure with a grin on his face while the servants were snickering behind the notepads they were supposed to take notes on. She knew that she had to take things into her hooves now to spare her friend from being humiliated. Even though it might have already been too late for that.

She flew over to the door and rushed into the room. Lyra looked at her with wide open eyes, but the gaze of the pegasus was angrily fixated on the human. “What do you think you are doing, Mister?” The human, hands only centimeters away from Lyra’s flank, sighed in disappointment.

“Thanks a lot, Fluttershy,” he responded, annoyed at the interruption. “You really know how to kill a man’s fun. Am I right, guys?” he asked through the open door. Fluttershy could see how Lyra’s face turned pale, then red. Angry, she also looked at the door where an ashamed yet grinning Estoc was swallowing loudly. Oh, these stallions would get to hear something for doing that to the poor Lyra.

***

Amaryllis sat in the same room as last time. She had come to believe this to be the office of Princess Twilight Sparkle. It was a circular room with a large window behind the desk. One shelf after the other took up each wall, all filled with books about magic, physics and other sciences. Some of these books she had read herself but couldn’t really understand all of it. Most of it was higher magic, something maybe her mother would be able to cast. The few things she did understand were thanks to her nurse, who had taught her the way of the changelings that came about from both her grandmother’s and mother’s rule.

Her wandering thoughts were interrupted when the door opened. “Good morning, Amaryllis,” Twilight Sparkle said as she entered the room. Like yesterday, the orange mare that introduced herself as Applejack was following her. Twilight had quietly noted that her friend could smell a lie ten miles against the wind, which was the main reason she had chosen to remain silent. She would have loved to mislead them as their knowledge about changelings was ridiculously small. “Maybe you are ready to give us some answers today. We don’t want to hurt you, we just want some answers.” She thought of Thiemo’s words as both ponies took a seat behind the desk. If they had what they wanted, she would be back in the cold dungeons of the castle.

She noticed the frustration of the two as she stayed silent again. The alicorn, which was what Twilight had referred to her kind as, had cast a spell on herself that made it impossible to feel her emotions. Too bad it was an exercise in futility due to her constant facial expressions. Amaryllis just stared out of the window at the clouds behind them. She had tried yesterday to smash the window and fly away with no success. It must have been secured too. “So, where did you come from?”

It was the same question she had started with yesterday. Amaryllis didn’t even bother listening to the other ones. Twilight Sparkle read from the same scroll on her desks; the questions had to be the same. She continued her thoughts where she left off, more specifically to her grandmother. Her nurse had called her the mother of the changelings. Under her leadership, nopony had to suffer hunger, and nopony had to die. Search for ponies that were about to die and offer to care of their loved ones as long as you are capable to. Only feed from them so that they would not notice it. Disappear after an appropriate amount of time had passed. Three simple rules that had been more than successful. Her mother, on the other hoof, held and practiced the dogma that changelings were predators and therefore had to take their prey. A trait of her father, her nurse used to say. Dragons were more than just greedy and that had rubbed off on Chrysalis.

When Amaryllis eventually reined over her own hive, she wanted to be just like her grandmother. A queen that would be remembered. With princesses that would be raised like true daughters. Instead of killing their mothers, they would explore the world. She even imagined Thiemo at her side as he was the closest to what her grandmother had been. Cunning, smart, skilled in getting what he wanted, while avoiding hurting others as much as he could. It didn’t help that he was very charming and intelligent. But the most important thing was that he returned her feelings. She had tasted it for a while now. They were there, only for her. Legends had been told about this delicacy. Love directly for the changeling who ate them. The legends had come without an exact description of its irresistible flavor, something Amaryllis had noted to herself.

It was smooth and mixed in with the worry he had for Aura and other emotions, but it was there. It had made his treason so much worse for her. How could he do something like this, to someone he had such feelings for? But even now, after she yelled at him, pushed him away, the taste was still there. In fact, it was even stronger than before.

“Hey!” Amaryllis looked around, startled at the outburst. Applejack stood in front of her and had just yelled in her face. “Twilight asked you something.”

“Easy, Applejack, you are scaring her.” Amaryllis looked at her hooves when Twilight Sparkle said this. She was actually trembling. But in her defense, she had to point out that the orange mare had a pretty large set of lungs.

Unfortunately, her words were of no use. “No way, Twilight! This changeling was weeks together with my niece, and Celestia knows how long she fed off her! Ah will bash her teeth in if she won’t start talking soon, and we can leave her to rot in a cell forever.” Amaryllis wasn’t surprised that Thiemo’s words had turned out to be true.

“Applejack, I brought you here under than condition, and that was if you could control yourself. If you can’t do that, I’m going to have to ask Pinkie Pie if she would be willing to help me.” Both, Applejack and Amaryllis looked at Twilight.

“Anything but her.” They both shifted their gazes over to the changeling. “Please, not the pink maniac.” Both ponies grinned, and Amy knew she had just made a mistake. “You tricked me!”

Applejack clapped on her back, cheerful and sturdy. “Don’t think about it, sugarcube. Happens to the best of us.” She sighed and looked at Twilight.

“So, Amaryllis. We know your name thanks to Aura. Please tell us where exactly you came from.” Twilight dipped the quill in ink and held some parchment ready, not wanting to miss anything that would leave her mouth.

“From our hive.” No, she wasn’t going to make it that easy for the ponies.

***

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me he could speak our language!” Lyra stood angrily in front of the crew and continued her diatribe. “I totally embarrassed myself!”

At that moment, the door to the room swung open, and a young stallion, probably a Royal Guard recruit, entered with a large pile of documents on his back. “I-I have found the report of Princess Sparkle, sir. It was still in the post office and on its way to the archives,” he stammered, trying to retain his composure even though the stack was weighing him down.

Estoc nodded and levitated the load off his back. With a thud, the pile landed on the ground next to Lyra. She stared at the monstrosity, her jaw slightly agape. The thing was at least the same size as her. “Soooo, is this all the remaining reports about the incident? From the princess and all the Bearers?”

The adjutant shook his head. “No, miss, this is just from the princess.” She looked at the pile again and swallowed. That did have Twilight Sparkle written all over it.

“As you can see, Miss Heartstrings,” Estoc began, “we didn’t even know that he was capable of speech. It was lost somewhere in all these documents.” That was the understatement of the year. It hadn’t just been lost; it had been drowned and crushed by the weight of thousands of other papers. Carefully, Lyra levitated the file on top to eye level and opened it. It was a quick profile with all the important information and a myriad of links to other files, including what could be found in them. On the first page stood the information she could have used a few moments ago.

She looked back through the mirror where Fluttershy was scolding the human. He only seemed to listen to her with one ear, if his hand that was imitating a mouth and his bored expression were any hints to that theory. That fact seemed to fly past the yellow pegasus, however. Somehow he noticed that he was watched and waved at her. Her rage immediately returned, and Lyra turned back to the attendants.

“It seems like we are dealing with a cunning specimen here,” Lyra tartly declared. “It would also seem as though he isn’t taking us serious either.” Her mind whirled through several possibilities as to how she could get him to cooperate with her. However, the human had just outsmarted them and brought Fluttershy to turn two of the guards into whimpering foals who kept on apologizing over and over again for something they didn’t even do. “Maybe we should budge an inch.”

Estoc seemed confused. “What do you mean?”

“Well, we want to learn from him. Thing is, he’s an intelligent being.” Smarter than Lyra thought humans would be. “If we treat him like a lab rat, he is just going to keep evading. Maybe if we give him some privileges…”

“Pardon me, Miss Heartstrings,” the captain interrupted her, “but that’s surely just what he wants. We can’t forget that he attacked Princess Twilight Sparkle and the Bearers with the intention to steal their Elements. Even worse, he managed to gain two. As we all know, they can only work if they are all together. No, it would be too much of a risk to if we only budge an inch towards him.”

She bit her lip and thought for a moment, feeling irked at the captain’s stubbornness. “Don’t forget that Eris was also involved. Did anyone bother to question where he was before that and why he helped her in the first place? And why did Eris not get questioned?”

Now it was the captain’s turn to look embarrassed. “Well, you know that Miss Eris is protected by the crown as long as she… behaves. Her actions were extreme, but Lady Fluttershy assured us that it was her personal duty to bring her to justice.” And Lyra had him where she wanted him.

“And just as chance would have it, the human is also protected by the princess, or am I wrong?” Estoc’s opened his mouth but no words came out. “She took him in as a subject to study and is therefore in her custody. I’m not saying that we should give him new quarters, maybe that we could exchange a favor. His only crime is, as far as I can see, entering Equestria. If Miss Eris can’t be held responsible for her hoax, why should he?” Lyra could see the resistance of the captain break. Satisfied, she turned to the door through which Fluttershy had just entered the room again. She grinned sheepishly at Lyra when she walked past her and closed the door.

“So, let’s start over again. My name is Lyra Heartstrings.”

***

Thiemo stumbled back into his cell, a book in his hands. He had exchanged it for the name and knowledge about the great god of the humans, Bananarama. That strange green unicorn with the white stripe in her mane seemed to be fascinated by this. According to her theories, humans were a subspecies of apes and having a god of bananas just seemed to confirm that. Thiemo didn’t have the heart to tell her that everything was just a joke when she was happily jumping through the room even though she had asked something completely different. She would show him a yellow card and he would say it was blue, just to see how long he could play this game. At some point, someone would notice what he was doing. But now he had a book.

Back in his cell, he now had the chance to view the title of the book for the first time. They had pushed it in his hands, and immediately after, he had gotten escorted back to the cell, finally finished with him.

“Daring Do and the Search for the Lost Kingdom?” He read the title and turned the book around. “An exciting adventure for young and old,” he read the first sentence on the back and threw it in the corner, frustration roaring to the forefront of his mind. “Apparently, she knows how to play this game too,” he admitted grimly. A book was better than no book, but this was just better toilet paper.

Thiemo slumped down on his pile of straw and tried to get comfortable. He wasn’t tired, but it had to be late in the afternoon already. The time was hard to tell without seeing the sun. The meals, while all the same, were the only hint on how much time has passed. He doubted that they were coming regularly, or at the right time at all.

Again, he heard the door to this part of the dungeons open and hoofsteps on cold stone. Almost immediately, a well-known feeling spread throughout his body, and he knew that it had to be Amaryllis. A few moments later, she stood in the entrance as the bars shut behind her. “How have you been?”

He worried about her. She was young, and even though not as inexperienced as when they had first met, she still wasn’t experienced in some ways as he was. He was used to places like this. What was this now? His fourth or fifth stay in a cell? He did have to admit that this one was probably the most comfortable one, relatively speaking of course. Most likely that was because no one was here with a whip to use on him right away.

“I have talked.” She didn’t lie down on the straw but instead slid onto the cold floor. Thiemo sighed and pulled her towards him. She resisted, trying to push him away with her hooves, but he persisted. Eventually, she sat next to him on the straw.

“Me too. But you know what? Didn’t tell them anything. There is a difference between talking and telling.”

She looked at him angrily. “You think I told them the truth?”

Thiemo grinned and leaned back. “Definitely not. Just wanted to make sure we’re on the same level. That is going to cause us an additional problem though. We have to get out of her before they find out we’re lying.” Amaryllis didn’t reply. “I don’t know how, but I’m going to get us out of here.”

“We’ve all seen how much we can trust in your promises.”

“Hey! I brought you and Aura to Canterlot, right? I never said we would come in with drums beating and trumpets sounding or in a fine chariot. Also, what could I have done against Eris? Please tell me. What could I have done against a terrifying drag… dragqueen thing?” Thiemo saw that he was right, and she was realizing it. “To play her game was maybe not the best way to go, but we’re still alive. And I didn’t pull us out of one pit to end in the next one.”

“I’m scared…” That was most likely the most open thing Amaryllis had ever said in their time together. She had always been Princess Amaryllis, playing the proud and sublime. Or at least tried to.

“Do you think I’m not? Only fools and people with nothing left to lose aren’t scared of death. And I don’t want to spend the rest of my life down here. I have Aura, I have my sister back home, my parents.” Thiemo laughed. “To hell with it, even my stupid grandparents.”

“You have me…if you still want to be my friend.” Thiemo smirked threw one of his coats around them both.

“You aren’t going to get rid of me that easily, Princess Amaryllis.” He said in a teasing voice. Satisfied he turned around and closed his eyes. It relaxed him to know that he hadn’t lost a friend. Tomorrow he would start working on a plan. Somehow he had to gain an advantage from the scientist. His thoughts slowed down, but then suddenly he was flipped around and something pressed against his lips.

Chapter II - Act 6.4 - Clarity

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 6.4 - Clarity ~

Saying that Thiemo was caught by surprise would have been the understatement of the century. Amaryllis clung to him, her lips on his. While he looked at her with wide open eyes, she noticeably tried to keep hers shut. He then did what he would later on regard as one of the greatest mistake in his life. He pushed her away.

She yelped in surprise as she fell off the low pile of straw and hit the cold floor. Immediately, Thiemo could see from the look in her eyes that he had made a mistake.

“Amy…” She shook her head furiously, cutting off his sentence. With a leap, she was in her own spot, burying her head between her forelegs, trying to shut off the world around her. “Amaryllis, I…”

“Leave me alone!” Now they were back to the point they had been when they had been captured, maybe even below that. What was the matter with him? He liked her; why did he push her away? His mind strayed to the question he had often asked himself after the first few months on this planet had started to wear on him with no return in sight. Would he ever find a partner here? Nobody, not even he, truly wanted to spend his life alone. Everyone craved for a companion.

Amaryllis was smart, cunning and funny (if she wanted to be), plus she wanted to see the world just as much as he did. He was sure she would continue to travel with him if he asked her, something Deerling had refused to consider. Deerling! Thiemo hadn’t thought about her for a while now. Was it because of her? Did he still have feelings for her? No, she had made it very clear that their ways could not coexist and he had accepted that.

What was it then? Because she was a changeling, something resembling a pony? For the time he had spent on this planet, he had been treated differently because he was a human, because of how he looked like on the outside. Despite knowing all that, here he was treating Amaryllis, someone he liked very much, the same way. He wanted to slap himself right now, something he found himself wanting to do quite a lot recently.

He had to be clear about what he really wanted. Did he like— no, did he love her? And if the answer was yes, then he had to fix this right now. Thiemo got up from his half-lying position and walked over to her. “Amy, look at me.” He tried to carefully lift her head out from between her forelegs with his hand, but she wouldn’t move. “Please, we have to talk.”

She slowly raised her head and looked at him. Her eyes were red, the remnants of tears still glistening. She had been crying quietly. Quiet was the worst. Thiemo put his hands on her cheeks and held her head up gently. “I was… an idiot. A giant idiot. In all this time, I have been mistreated for what I was. And now I’m doing the same thing to you. On Earth, there are only humans, no other species who can talk, think. We…I’m not used to getting…intimate with other species. What can I say? Humans tend to reacted badly towards changes and new things. It is like you would try to disable our brain, following our basic instincts, running, trying…” His fumbling ramblings were interrupted by a faint laugh of Amaryllis.

“You got off the track, idiot,” she grinned weakly, hiccupping slightly as Thiemo wiped a tear out of her eyes with his thumb. For a second, Thiemo thought about what would be best thing to say, but he decided that for now the best thing would be to keep his mouth shut, verbally at least. This time he closed his eyes as his lips met hers. It was unfamiliar, thanks to the different anatomy of their jaws, but not unpleasant at all. Something he hadn’t even noticed the first time.

Something else he hadn’t noticed was how she tasted. For him, it was usually lost in the passion and desire for another, but this time it was too dominant to ignore. Strangely, she tasted of raspberries with whipped cream or something like that. It didn’t matter to him now, he wanted more of it. This time, however, it was Amy who broke it off first, much more gently than he did. “You taste good,” Thiemo whispered, grinning from ear to ear.

“That goes double for you.” They simply sat there, he with an arm around her and pressed her body closer to his. She certainly didn’t mind, almost seeming to melt against him. Thiemo had no idea what they should do now. Usually he would have proposed going on a date, maybe a carnival or an ice-cream parlor. That wouldn’t happen anytime soon.

He did notice something else, now that he was forced to breathe through his nose. “I think we could both need a shower.”

Amaryllis also took a breath of air from their little cell. “Huh... If I could transform myself that would be no problem. The fire would purge any kind of dirt.”

Thiemo leaned forward and looked at the ceiling outside the bars. A crystal, a few runes around it, formed the anti-magic seal. At least he thought so; he could see no other purpose for it. Once again, he felt like kicking himself in the ass for not completing his training. However, since the crystals on the walls were throwing off light, there were not many possibilities left. “Amy, if you could use your magic, would you have a chance against a few guards?”

She followed his look. “Pegasi and earth ponies, probably. Unicorns are surely trained in magical combat. I don’t think I would stand against them. Why?” Thiemo stood up and walked over to the corner where he had thrown his book.

“Because we may have gotten a chance.” Amy’s eyes widened as she realized what he had in mind. If he could damage the crystal with the book, they could get out of here. The lock wouldn’t withstand Amy’s magic. There would only be the guards left.

“What about Aura? Do we want to leave her here?” Thiemo stopped. He hadn’t thought about that. But she would be safe here, the ponies wouldn’t harm her.

“For now, yes. We will come back later and take care of her.” He made sure to word it specifically like that. Thiemo wanted to give her the choice of staying here or not. If she really had family here, he would insist on her staying here, no matter how much it was going to hurt. It would be the best for her. And hopefully he would believe those words himself one day.

“Ready?” Thiemo moved into position and stretched out a hand with the book between the bars. Amaryllis nodded, and he started bending and stretching his arm a few times without throwing, just to aim. He then let it fly. The book flew for a few centimeters, but then it opened and fell down onto the ground with a dull thud. The counter pressure had apparently been too large, as it provided too much windage as it opened.

“Damn.” Thiemo sank down on the cold stone and tried to reach out with his arm as far as possible, but the book was out of his reach.

“It was worth a try,” Amaryllis reassured him, patting him on the back. “You should come back on the straw again.” That was exactly what he did, since the floor felt like ice on his naked legs. The ponies had given him some clothes, but pants were not included. No wonder, since they weren’t wearing any themselves.

Carefully, he wiggled his tail around his right leg so that at least a little bit of his nether regions were protected. Despite that, today had been significantly colder than the past few days. He inevitably started shivering again even when he threw the coat he tried to use as a sheet earlier around him again.

“We should sleep now and see to it that we get something to destroy the seal.” Amaryllis didn’t reply. Instead, she snuggled next to him and threw her tail over him. She was warm, and his shivers died a little. Sleep didn’t take long until it snatched him in its sweet embrace.

***

Auralia sat together with Applejack and Rarity in one of the numerous rooms of the castle. She had more or less spent the past few days with these two, occasionally being asked a question. She didn’t mind though. She liked to talk about her father and what they had done together.

Just like him, however, she got a bit uneasy when they asked her how they got their money. Like Thiemo, she quickly found out that Applejack believed that stealing was bad, and money should be earned through an honest day’s work. It wasn’t like they had never tried. The hard truth was that the stories had brought in less money in an entire evening than a little tour through the streets that only took an hour.

The current subject seemed to be the favorite of the two grown-ups. Family, hers, to be more precise. “I have my father, even though he’s not my real one,” she gave the exact same response like the last times they had asked. She didn’t get what they were aiming at.

Aura could see in their faces that there was something behind the question. “Sugarcube… we think we have found your family.”

She said nothing. In little mind, she always knew the possibility was there. Thiemo had always reminded her about that. That maybe somewhere two ponies who wanted her, who desperately wished for her presence. But she didn’t know those ponies. They weren’t her family.

She curled up a bit further on the sofa. She hadn’t gotten over the sheer softness of the furniture; their group had to sleep on rocky beds for far too long. “What my friend is trying to say is that we want you to look at some pictures. Maybe you might recognize someone, even though you don’t exactly remember them. Is that alright?” The white mare always tried to sound important, but she wasn’t so intrusive like Applejack. But yes, that sounded good, so she nodded. “Very good. Would you call in your brother, darling?”

Aura raised her head in curiosity and saw Applejack place the tip of her hooves in her mouth. A moment later, a loud whistle pierced through the air, and the door opened. They all looked at the massive red stallion with a wild orange mane carrying a large book on his back into the room. His face was emotionless and focused on Aura for a few seconds before he nodded shortly as a greeting, placing the book on the table between them.

“That’s Macintosh, mah brother, but everypony’s just calls him Big Mac.” Auralia nodded absently. The pony was a pile of muscles, at least three or four times as large as she was. Surely he was even stronger than the minotaur they had met. For some reason, he didn’t frighten her even when he loomed over her.

“Eeyup,” the stallion said while a barely noticeable smile formed on his lips. Then, without saying another word, he turned around and left the room. The door softly fell shut behind him.

Aura’s eyes wandered back towards the adults whose attention was focused on the book. Applejack opened it and flipped through the first pages. “Oh! Is that little Applebloom?” Rarity pointed at one of the pictures. Aura couldn’t see much. The light that fell through the window reflected on the photos, and they were also upside down.

“Yep! She was exactly one month old then.” Applejack sound proud and turned over more pages as though she was searching for something. Every now and then a grin would appear on Rarity’s face or she giggled, but they didn’t stop at any one photo. Aura was slowly getting impatient and decided the change her seat.

Applejack seemed a bit surprised when she sat down next to them on the other sofa but didn’t say anything. “Aha! There it is.” Her hoof pointed at one photo. Both Aura and Rarity leaned forward a bit and looked at it. The first thing that caught her eye was the sheer number of ponies in the picture. That had to be like what? Over a hundred? Maybe even a thousand! Well, not a thousand. But still, that was a large number of ponies. They all stood in front of what had to be a newly built barn. A sign was attached to it.

“Fifth Ponyville Apple Family reunion,” Aura read slowly. She was not very good at reading or writing, but she knew how to help herself. Thiemo had at least tried to teach it to her as best as he could, given their circumstances. “That’s a large family.”

“That it is,” Applejack agreed. “And do you see these two ponies there?” She pointed more precisely at a stallion and a mare at the corner of the large group. They had weird glasses on their head and stood next to the top of some wooden machinery. “Have you ever seen them, Sugarcube?”

Aura looked more carefully at the two ponies. The stallion had a similar red coat like the one who had just left the room, but his mane was short, tousled and green. The mare next to him had a bright orange, almost yellow coat. Her mane consisted out of large pink curls that looked almost white in the sunlight. However, she couldn’t say that she had ever seen them before. “No, I don’t know them. Should I?”

The two adults looked at each other briefly. Applejack seemed to be disappointed, her ears flattening against her head almost reflexively, while Rarity gave her a soft smile. “Don’t lose hope, darling. I’m sure Twilight will find the spell and then this whole situation will be resolved.” Aura hated it when she didn’t know what was being discussed.

“You’re right. We don’t know what exactly happened.” Now both looked at her and smiled lightly. Aura stared back at them. Why didn’t anyone tell her what was going on?

***

Thiemo once again sat in the small room with the large, lengthy mirror that almost took up the entire wall. The ponies hopefully still hadn’t figured out that he was aware that they were observing him from another room. At least he could talk privately with the pony that was here with him so long as the door was shut. That the room was soundproof was only a speculation, but the notes that were being exchanged were a good indication of that theory.

Last night had demanded its tribute, even though Amaryllis had lain at his side. His nose was stuffy and in his bones he already knew that he was going to get a cold, something that had never happened to him here on Albion. He hadn’t fallen ill ever since he had arrived on this planet; consciously thinking about it now, it struck him as odd for the first time. This was as alien planet with alien substances, germs, bacteria, viruses, and what not, yet the first thing he caught was a cold. And not even two days after he got the tail. Maybe a side effect of the rainbow? Did it take the supposed immunity he had previously enjoyed? On the other hand, he had always been tough, going without any major sicknesses through every school year, just to end up staying in bed during the holidays. His usual luck.

The door next to the mirror opened, and again Minty and her tea trolley of one thousand things entered the room. Like yesterday, various books were on it; there was also a plate with different fruits and some other objects he couldn’t determine. “Morning, Thiemo.”

It bothered him that she knew his real name. He supposed that since they were all questioned separately, it was only a matter of time until they found out. “Morning, Minty.”

“Lyra,” she replied, a bit annoyed.

“That’s what I said.” She sat down on the cushion opposed to him and levitated a file from the trolley in front of her.

“You sound a bit different. Hard to tell with the accent.” Thiemo conveniently sneezed into the crook of his arm, something he had gotten used to in order to keep his hands clean. It was more hygienic, something he had very little of while traveling. Then again, he was sleeping in a prison cell.

“Well, I have a cold, and unfortunately my room doesn’t have a chimney.” Lyra put the file down and peered at him.

“I thought that’s what the clothes were for.” Thiemo needed a few seconds before he noticed that she was serious.

“First of all, I’m only wearing clothes on half of my body, making the whole thing a bit ineffective. Secondly, it’s a few degrees below zero down there. The water starts freezing if I leave it still for too long.” The green unicorn just blinked. “For humans, that’s too cold without the right protection. We can die with such temperatures.” It was hard not to snap after having to think about last night.

“Oh…” He couldn’t have made it any more obvious. “I thought humans had some layer of fat underneath their skin that would protect them from the cold just like our coats. For ponies, it would have to get way colder to feel uncomfortable. For pegasi, even colder.” That would explain why nobody ever complained about that before. These fine ponies had their stupid fur.

“Well, would there be the possibility for me to be moved into a warmer quarter? I’m sure there could be something arranged.” He hadn’t plan on negotiating, but he had no other choice. “Maybe I’ll tell you something that is actually true.” He couldn’t help himself but grin as her jaw dropped.

“You mean there is no Bananarama?” She sounded really disappointed even though Thiemo thought the name sounded ridiculous. Since he had worn it for a while, he wouldn’t admit it.

“I am Bananarama. It was a nickname of mine.” She sighed and levitated another file over, looked at it for a few seconds before it burst into flames with a small flicker of her horn.

The pile of burning paper fell on the ground between them, and Thiemo didn’t let the opportunity of warming his fingers pass by. “Let’s say I accept your deal. What guarantee do I have that you won’t lie to me again?”

“Your sane mind when all makes sense?” Apparently she was not convinced. “Give me the leather book over there.” He pointed at an old leather-bound book that was held together by some strings. It was significantly different from all the other books on the trolley and literally screamed that it was made by humans. The leather alone said that.

Carefully, she let it glide over to him. Minty was obviously concentrating so as to not touch it and was flabbergasted when he just took it in his hands. “Doesn’t that gross you out? That was a deer once, or a diamond dog maybe…or even a pony.”

“Humans have even used the skin of other humans as leather for books. The dead won’t really miss it.” And that was the reason he so rarely talked with ponies, especially Aura, about his race. Most of the things would simply be disgusting in the eyes of a pony. “You just take what you can get.”

Lyra didn’t say anything else as he opened the book. Just from the first words he could see it was a logbook; the presence of a date, description of the area and a name were good indications of that. The parchment was yellowed and had soaked in a lot of ink. Beyond that, it was also dirty, and someone had tried to restore it at some points. However, repairing single words without knowing the letters could only go wrong. More than the first sentence could not be saved.

“This is the logbook of a captain. Captain Hammond, if I can read that correctly.” A surprisingly normal name compared to Aschlant. But this thing was at least a couple of hundred years old, if not more. In that time a lot could happen with names.

Suddenly, the book flew out of his hand, and Lyra skimmed over the first line. “According to our experts, that’s nearly a thousand years old. How can you read that?” For a split second he thought about telling her that it was just common English. Nah, he would keep on to his trump card for a while longer. “We have a translation of it here.” Another file found its way towards Lyra, and she checked what he just said. “Hammond, sure it’s Hammond?” Thiemo nodded and rubbed warmth into his hand for a last time above the dying fire. “We translated it with ‘Hammel’”

“I’d give you five out of ten points for trying. But you should really keep your hooves away from restoring it. You really suck at it.” She closed the file and let both fly onto the trolley again.

“Uhm… yes. Thanks for the heads up.” She then stood up and went towards the door. She seemed to be trying very hard not to look as though she was in a rush. Thiemo knew he had gotten her now. She had dedicated her life to science, and the incentive of being able to read the text of humans was just too appealing. Now she just had to convince this captain of the guards behind the glass.

Out of pure boredom that came in after a few minutes, he waved at them. Of course, he couldn’t see them, but the thought alone they might think he could was fun enough. “Achoo!” If only he didn’t have this wretched cold. He snuffled what was in nose since didn’t have a tissue. “Wait… a thousand years?”

***

Lyra carefully closed the door behind her and looked at the questioning faces of Captain Estoc and one of the chambermaids who had put everything that happened on record. Fluttershy was not present today, and only two of the usual four guards were on duty. It was weekend after all, and even in the castle everything had become more relaxed. “We are giving him a guest room in the lower floors.” That was no question, she demanded it.

“Come again?” The captain was clearly surprised. “I thought we had this discussion already, Miss Heartstrings. The human stays in his cell.”

“This human just translated a text that is older than most of our findings. And if he can do that, newer texts shouldn’t be any problem. We could study their history, the changes of their kind over time and much more.”

Estoc scratched his chin with his hoof and considered it. “And could we read their messages?”

Lyra hesitated. “What messages?”

“Well, these days more and more human stumble upon our continent and beyond. Recently, two humans were caught on Tapirus when they tried to plunder a medicine camp. Several writs were found in their belongings. Unfortunately, they didn’t speak our language and were much…wilder than this one. The messages were brought here and handed to the intelligence agency to translate them. According to what we know, they could be orders or lists with further targets.” Lyra had to resist not going for the captain’s throat.

“Does that mean that’s not the first human who got caught?”

He nodded. “Not by a long shot. These were only the first who managed to get to Canterlot and even on the grounds of the castle.” They both turned around and again saw the human waving at them. It was scary. “You see the cause for concern. But in one thing I have to agree with you. The possibility of gaining intel is very tempting.” Lyra gnashed her teeth. These mules from the Royal Guard would withhold such important information because of military reasons? She would have loved to go directly to Twilight and give it to her straight, but it was probably not her fault. “I will submit this suggestion to the princess on the next chance.”

“I’m afraid it can’t wait. The human can’t withstand the temperatures like we do. It is way too cold in the dungeons. He needs significantly thicker blankets and more clothes.” Estoc nodded at the chambermaid. She put down her notebook and disappeared in the hallway.

“I’ll let Quick Note get a few. But we can’t do much with the approval of one of the princesses. And since neither Princess Celestia nor Princess Luna is here, we have to wait for Princess Twilight Sparkle. She took the weekend off though, and she doesn’t want to be disturbed under any circumstances. It is an important project for Lady Applejack, her friend.” Lyra gave up and agreed. Now she had to tell the human that he had to live down here for a few more days. Maybe she could let him translate some more texts in the meantime, just to make sure. If the deal went through, she would have some solid starts on learning the language herself.

Chapter II - Act 6.5 - Family Ties

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 6.5 - Family Ties ~

Thiemo sat in his chair in the large double room that he and Amaryllis had been assigned, surveying the large pile of paper he had been assigned to translate. The problem had to do with the small fact that he could hardly write the ponies’ language, let alone with quill and ink. It also got complicated by the occasional sneeze that would escape him and shake his body, causing him to spill ink several times on the paper, rendering his miniscule efforts worthless. The reading aspect took a little while, but if the words were already arranged in the right order, it rendered things easier to decrypt.

Another problem was that sometimes he got the words out of context, just like when he had begun to learn how to read and speak French. It had begun with him picking up a book with simple words and their translations. Even with only the little French from school, he had managed to understand most of it and slowly but steady, with every book, the language got clearer to him. Today he could say that he could speak it like a second native language. Or at least he could a few years ago.

Still, with a lot of effort and some help from Amaryllis, he had finished one page in two days. Of course, his source of help had proven to be another problem. Amaryllis. Yes, he liked her, despite her being an alien; he could see himself getting to know her better. The thing was that they only had known each other for less than two months, and a kiss was not much to simply dive into a relationship. Well, at least not for him. On Earth, Thiemo had had his fair share of girlfriends as life was wont to provide. Even on Albion she would not be his first one. That title belonged to Deerling. Soon after their relationship had begun, however, she had told him of her decision not to follow him, along with something about how he was not ready.

What she had meant when she said that was something he had figured out himself in the dungeons recently. He hadn’t reacted as strongly as with Amy back then, but she had felt it. The denial that dwelled deep within him, the self-hatred, the queasiness at the idea of being intimate with another species. Interspecies relations were perfectly normal on Albion, judging from some of the couples he had seen, but humanity hadn’t reached that far in their thinking. Hell, not only did many societies have problems with people of one race being in relationships with someone of another, there were also those who disapproved of those who sought companionship with those of the same gender. Not that Thiemo had anything against homosexuals. Some of his friends were gay; some were even in relationships, bringing their partners with them to parties and such. Just like every other couple when they were drunk, they weren’t above openly showing their affection to each other. Instead of feeling disgusted, he had been happy for them.

Even if he told Amy he could look past that, he needed time. His conundrum wasn’t helped by the fact that she didn’t need any time. All that led to him now trying to figure out, while staring at the relatively simple texts on the wooden desk, how he could tell her that things were moving a bit too fast. She was not very subtle in this way either. She had gotten clingier, knotted their tails together, and was basically by his side all the time. To top it all off, she had asked the escort, who brought them to their room, what the second bed would be for. Luckily, the guards stayed professional and had said it was standard for these rooms.

Thiemo didn’t need long to figure out that they weren’t stationed in an ordinary guest room. For one, he had noticed that the service rooms were very close. This part of the castle had also appeared to be remarkably empty. He had spent most of the first day eavesdropping at the door, but, except the change of guards, nothing happened. Finally, there was the magical seal in the hallway. They would have never put something like that in the open where it would have just disturbed the usual traffic within a castle. The room had no windows, but it was an easy price to pay considering the massive upgrade from their damp cell. They even had a small bathroom with a shower which they made a good use of.

With a sigh, Thiemo snapped back into reality and tapped the quill against the paper. The ponies had given him a simple list with names of different medicines and tools. For whatever reason, they wanted it to be translated. He began the slow process of writing down the translated word for bandages as the door opened, and a maid with a trolley full of fruits entered the room. “I’m here with your dinner.” Much to Thiemo’s amusement, all female personal wore the proper attire - a black skirt with white frills and apron. The one who brought lunch even wore a bonnet.

“Thanks. Just put it over there.” Thiemo blinked from the change of light from the door to the hallway. “And could you ask your boss for more candles?” They had apparently figured out that it was a bad idea to let him get him anywhere near crystals, even if they were just for brightening the room. Even though the guards had looked so lax, they seemed to have planned everything out pretty well for him.

That brought his mind back to Amy; the situation with her was anything but well planned out. He didn’t like to admit it, but he could really use someone with some experience in the subject of dating someone outside your species. Billy would surely have a word or two to say, maybe even his brother, Sheriff Sourpuss Dusk Star. Only he doubted he would ever let him speak a single word. The maid closed the door behind her, and Thiemo heard the two guards locking the door again.

Exhausted, he rose from his chair and straightened his skirt. That was the best name he could come up with for his new piece of clothing. It reached down to his knees and at least covered most of his body parts. Together with the bathrobe and the socks, he was feeling comfortably warm. He took one of the apples from the trolley and took a contented bite out of it. They were good, very good. Another positive to come from their move was that the food didn’t seem to be leftovers and dinner scrapings. A yawn drew his attention towards Amaryllis who was moving a little on her bed and seemed to be awake now. She hadn’t been interrogated since they came here. “Hey,” she said tiredly and curled herself in the sheets she had knocked away while asleep.

“Hey.” Yep, this definitely wouldn’t be strange in the future. Before any of them could say anything else, someone knocked on the door and it opened immediately, demonstrating again just how much their privacy was valued here. Instead of a maid, Lyra or Captain Estoc, a strangely familiar orange mare entered the room. Her blond mane, ironically tied together into a ponytail, was covered by a Stetson. Thiemo usually didn’t care much about cutie marks, but since he just held an apple in his hand, it stuck out to him. Three red apples adorned her flank.

“Howdy!” she greeted them friendly enough. “I was just hoping you had a moment of time for me.” Thiemo, having an accent of his own, couldn’t get around noticing hers. She shuffled the words a bit, almost like a slang. It reminded him closely to what the Texans did with English.

She nodded at the two guards who followed her into the room, and the door closed again. “Umm…sure, not like I’m going to be going anywhere soon,” he said dryly. “Just one question: do I know you?” Something was familiar about her, but he couldn’t put his finger on precisely what it was. Her coat reminded him of Aura, even though it was a bit brighter. “Achoo!” he sneezed, sniffling afterwards.

“Gesundheit. Mah name’s Applejack. Ah was one of the ponies in the maze, but we only met briefly.” Thiemo thought about it for a moment, but he couldn’t remember her at all.

“Sure, if you say so. I’m Thiemo and that’s Amaryllis,” he introduced himself and the changeling on the bed. She had rolled on her stomach and watched the scene from aside. Applejack shortly nodded towards her but didn’t pay her much attention.

“Ah want to make it short. It’s ‘bout Auralia.” Thiemo rolled his eyes. So she had told them her whole name. Somehow he had hoped she would keep it a secret, but what was done was done. He was certain she had told them more than that during all this time.

However, that could wait. “Is she alright?” he asked, folding his arms. Of course the ponies would treat her well, but he was still worried. After all, he hadn’t heard anything from her for days. All Lyra could tell him during their last talk was that she hadn’t met Aura so far and didn’t even know who she was.

“She’s fine; she’s with mah brother right now.” Thiemo was happy to hear that and nodded. “Ah came here to thank ya for caring about her and bringing her back to us. She told us a lot. What you have done, where you have been on your way here. How you’ve all met.” Thiemo said nothing about that. It was a sad memory, thinking about the gaunt, almost starved little filly. “Err…Twilight is searching for a spell, but we’re almost certain that she’s family. The Apple clan is large, yet we have a lot in common. Also…her name. I suggested it to her mother. Making me one of her many aunts. So…thanks for that. Thanks in the name of the Apple family. If the circumstances had been different, I would have invited you to our farm, but now….” Her voice tapered off, the uncertainty of the fate of the human standing before her causing her to hesitate what to say next.

“It is how it is.” Thiemo noticed how his voice had begun to sound hoarse, causing him to swallow. If it was true what this pony was saying, Aura belonged to a huge family. That was what he had always wanted for her. At the same time…this would mean the end of their time together. He would have to pull himself together, for now at least.

“She’s been asking for you for days now, and after all what happened, I don’t want to stop her from seeing you.” She turned away slightly from his gaze, steeling herself for what she was going to say, yet knowing there was little she could do to soften the blow. “I just want to ask you to not to make it any harder than it already is. Ah know what you mean to her, and I think I know what she means to you. But she belongs to us ponies, not a human. I…I hope you understand,” she struggled to get out, desperately trying to keep her eyes locked with the human, hoping he could see the sincerity, the compassion, the sympathy she had for him. Right now it didn’t matter that he was a human, it didn’t matter that he was in cahoots with a changeling, it didn’t matter that he had tried to steal her friends and even her own Element of Harmony. Right now, she was practically ripping Aura away from a parent, a parent who she could genuinely see cared for the filly, and it left her feeling guilty, ashamed and a host of other feelings wrapping themselves coldly around her. The fact that she was experiencing all these emotions and would still take Aura away left a bad taste in her mouth.

“When I found her on Dragmire, Equestria was far down on my priority list. The island was a terminal for…many things, information and knowledge being only a small part of it,” he replied dully, his voice sounding far away. “We stayed for a while…everything went how I wanted it to…then everything collapsed. I realized how dangerous it was. We left the island behind us and headed straight towards Canterlot. I knew there was a large library here. It was nice pretext. After all the stories I heard about humans, I knew how welcome I would be here.” Thiemo tried smiling, but the rending of his heart made his attempt look feeble. He looked down at the pony in front of him, wishing he could feel the mood to smack her, throttle her, scream at her. All he felt was the familiar hands of exhaustion grip him once again, sapping away all his energy. “Things you do for family.”

Applejack nodded at him, either not noticing his look or pretending not to. “We’re coming to visit you tomorrow afternoon,” she softly said, turning around. The guards opened the door for her, and then the room fell silent. Thiemo sat next to Amy on the bed and put a hand on her back, leaning on her slightly. She said nothing, just wrapped her tail around his. It was a nice touch. She was there for him, and it was moments like these that assured him that time was all he needed. Or at least that was what he desperately wanted to believe.

His vision began to blur, and hot tears began to streak down his face. He welcomed them.

***

Estoc, Captain of the Royal Guard, loved the time he spent in the castles gardens before the start of work. It didn’t matter whether it was spring, summer, autumn or winter, every season brought new advantages with it. The upcoming winter brought silence. It was a time he used to contemplate, his mind drifting to why he had chosen this life.

Well, he had just followed his brothers who had all served in the Royal Guard. But now he was the higher rank, something he rubbed in their muzzles every now and again. Estoc remembered exactly how Captain Shining Armor, now out of service, had come to him with a mug of cider and announced that he got promoted. Shortly after, he had announced his engagement with Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and the upcoming wedding.

Estoc had had to go through his own baptism of fire. The battle for Canterlot was a period of time that nobody who had served would ever forget. He could still remember the faces around him, the nervousness, the horror, the anticipation as the barrier was breached and hordes of changelings invaded the city. The Royal Guard had held their ground, fighting bravely to the last stallion, but had still been annihilated. Everypony who hadn’t surrendered or were unable to fight due to their wounds were nothing more than a name in a memorial plaque now.

The same thing counted for civilians. No matter if they were young or old, mare or stallion, whoever had made a stand had died. Estoc had never surrendered and he had paid a price for it. The scar was on his chest, nowadays covered by his armor; he showed to everypony who doubted it. The siege of the city had lasted for a week until Princess Twilight Sparkle, though not a princess back then, had managed to escape with Princess Cadenza from their prison deep below the city, freeing the captain and started the counterattack.

It was a moment he could remember even now as he entered the maze. A shield had rushed through the city like a cleansing fire, crushing every changeling who stood in the wrong spot and threw the others far away. The battered Royal Guard had used the moment and grabbed their weapons to put the remaining changeling to flight. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had managed to escape out of the cocoons they had been trapped in and recovered quickly. Princess Celestia herself had clashed with the leader of the changelings, a certain Queen Chrysalis, but was narrowly defeated. Moving the sun and the wedding preparations had weakened her, otherwise it would have never had come that far. Princess Luna had been ambushed in her sleep. She was the wilder one of the royal sisters, and if she had been awake, the changelings wouldn’t have held the city for even a minute. She was known to be virtuoso with the sword, even training her Nightguard personally.

Once again, Princess Twilight Sparkle and the Bearers had shown them how vital they were for the protection of Equestria. Well, every now and then and mostly for extreme emergencies. They had demonstrated their importance once again with this situation as, in the Circle of the Ten, she had stood against a human, battling next to the statues of important ponies like Star Swirl, Spell Shield and Nightmare Moon.

His thoughts momentarily shifted to that last pony, a small frown on his face. Even though the latter had been an enemy, she was the main reason Canterlot existed. Without her, he couldn’t begin to imagine how the country would be without her influence. Princess Luna had no less ambition for the kingdom than her evil match.

Among all his experiences, there was only one thing he regretted. Many of his comrades had families they visited during the weekend. Maybe he would meet a fine mare someday too. Maybe when all this chaos with the human was over.

He took another turn and saw the rising sun. He should head back and call the roll soon. It was something he loved to do, since he found a degree of sadistic pleasure watching new cadets falling out of their beds. He sped up his steps as he followed the way. Perhaps he should have paid attention to where he was going instead of watching the sky as something made contact with his face a moment later, and everything turned black. “What in Celestia’s name?” Estoc quickly reached for his attacker with his magic and freed his muzzle from what looked like to be the page of some magazine. He examined the page and quickly noticed from what kind of magazine it obviously came from. A mare in saucy clothes and a riding crop in her snout were a clear sign. “If I catch the cadet who leaves his ordure out here, he or she is in for cleaning the latrines with a toothbrush for a week.” Estoc levitated the sheet aside and saw that many more of them hung in the hedge in front of him or flapped around. With a sigh, he collected all he could find on his way.

Five minutes later, he had a considerable collection of destroyed pornographic magazines by his side. It had to be at least ten magazines once. A bit curious, he looked at one of the coversheets. “That thing is older than my mother!” Now with the image that the mare on the cover could be his grandmother stuck to his mind, he shot a disgusted grimace.

“Oh! I see I am not the only one who found something here.” A reflex from his years as a teenager made him hide the saucy magazines behind his back as he turned around to the voice. It belongs to Lady Rarity, who levitated a bag of rags next to her.

“Well uh…” Estoc didn’t know what to do now. He didn’t want to be found with such filth by a fine and beautiful lady. “What have you found, Lady Rarity?”

She walked over to him and levitated the bag between them before opening it. “A toothbrush, a bottle of cheap shampoo and some weird artificial entities. I believe the human has lost them in the maze.” Estoc signalled his agreement to her observation with a nod. It was strange that there were only two toothbrushes, but the human traveled with two more companions. But that was something for Miss Lyra.

“I will take these things and have them examined. Maybe Miss Lyra can tell us what kind of purposes these…” he levitated one of the objects out of the bag “… burned plates serve.”

“Well, I am not an expert, but I doubt they are supposed to be burnt. Looks like they are damaged.” Lady Rarity had a good eye. “But now show me what you have found, Captain.” She tried looking behind his back, but Estoc managed to hide the magazines quite well. “Oh, come on Captain.” She used her magic and caught Estoc on the wrong hoof. Through her surprising action, he lost his grip on the destroy magazines and the wind took them back into its control, blowing them into all directions. Alarmed, he saw Lady Rarity pulling one of the pages over to her. “Oh…” Her voice dropped into a note of indignation.

“It’s not what it looks like! I’ve just—”

“This collection is so out of date. One would think a Captain of the Royal Guard could afford some newer magazines.” Estoc could only blink in confusion.

***

“It’s hopeless!” Frustrated, Twilight closed another book and levitated it onto the quickly growing pile next to the table she was sitting at, the tenth or eleventh pile of this kind.

At the moment, she was sitting in the bowels of the archives of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, skimming through one book after the other, searching for the right spell. This was already her second station. She went through all the archives in the castle and through her private collection in Ponyville. But apparently it happened so rarely that a foal had to prove its lineage that no such spell existed.

She was close to writing another letter to her mother, but she hadn’t replied to her last one yet. It was something she could understand; she was busy with the negotiations. “Do you need anything, Princess?”

One of her guards opened the door every few hours, asking if she needed refreshments or something else. “No thanks, Spear. I’m alright.” The guard nodded and closed the door to the archives again. Twilight sighed and rubbed her eyes. It was late morning and she had wanted to be back in the castle hours ago. She wanted to finish her research here first before she did that, however. She knew how much it meant to Applejack on her whole family. After all the years of friendship and aid, this was the least she could do. All she had to do was find this stupid spell. Maybe she should have accepted the help of director Silver Script, but the poor mare was pregnant with her third foal and needed some rest.

“Twilight,” she could hear a voice whisper. She looked around and then shrugged. She was tired and probably just imagined that. “Twilight.”

“Spear?” No, the voice was too high for that. “Whoever you are, show yourself!” Twilight stood up from her spot and looked around. Shelf after shelf stood in the large room, illuminated by the morning sun shining through the windows.

“Twiiiiiiiilight….” The voice grew louder but distorted her name weirdly, stretching it out like butter over too much bread, one moment sounding faint and then sounding almost nearby. She had an idea who that could be.

“Rainbow, that’s not funny. Come on, where are you?” She went around between the windows and bookshelves, searching in the shadows for the pegasus who probably had a gleeful grin on her face by now. Maybe this was one of hers and Eris’ pranks.

“Twilight,” the voice came from the opposite direction this time, eliminating her last doubts. Only Rainbow Dash was fast enough to move through the entire archive in a few seconds. Since that was out of the way, Twilight moved back to her desk. Almost two hundred books were still waiting for her. She sat down on the cushion and opened the book with the unusual title - Unusual Spells with Unlikely Results - and began to read.

“Twilight!” Startled, she dropped the book to the ground and looked around. With a hoof on her chest instinctively trying to soothe her rapidly beating heart, she saw Pinkie Pie sitting next to her.

“Pinkie! How often do I have to tell you to stop scaring me like that! You are going to give a heart attack one day.” She glared at her friend with annoyance.

Pinkie only giggled. “You’re an alicorn, silly. You can’t get a heart attack.” Twilight took a deep breath, a lesson she had learned over time to calm herself down.

“That’s not the point! What are you even doing here? We all thought you were back in Ponyville.” Again, her friend giggled and waved it off.

“What do you think? The same thing you’re here for. I’m searching for the spell you and Applejack need.”

“Since you’ve disappeared?”

“Uhu.”

“Pinkie, that was one day before I even knew I would need it.” Pinkie only blinked, just like her little alligator did. “Doesn’t matter.” Twilight levitated the book back on the table and continued reading again.

“Twilight…”

“What?”

“I found it,” she declared proudly.

Now it was Twilight’s turn to blink. “What? Where?” Pinkie pulled a book out from behind her back and placed it on the table. “Thousand and one Party tricks. How to enchant your guests.” Twilight read the title. “Pinkie, these are tricks, not magic. That’s Trixie’s area of…expertise.” She turned the book around and quickly read its back. “Where did you even get that? I doubt they stored something like this in the archives for advanced magic.”

“Oh, there was a room with a lot of things. Books, homework, gold, socks, and much more.” Twilight nodded absently, shrugging it off as Pinkie’s usual gibberish. “There was a strange toilet with an old human with a long beard offering me a lemon drop. He wore some weird pointed hat like Trixie and his nose looked like it had been broken several times.” Twilight nodded again and looked through the first page of the book. Just as she expected, it contained a bunch of small spells for a party, like pulling a bunny out of a hat. “Anyways, I told him about our problem and he gave me this book out of a pile of other books. Then I was looking for you, but each time the exit was in a different spot until it was finally behind you.” Twilight looked around but only saw the wall with the windows behind her.

“Sure, Pinkie.” She flipped through a few more pages and stopped. “Family entertainment? The best spells for family reunions,” she read the title of the chapter. Quickly, she flipped through the pages and stopped at a page where multiple ponies glowed in the same color, or at least that was how the illustration seemed to indicate. According to the instructions, the closer the ponies were related, the brighter the family members glowed.” Twilight dropped the book and grabbed Pinkie’s face with both her forelegs. “This is exactly what we need!”

“Duh, that’s what I said. Does nopony ever listen to me?”

Chapter II - Act 6.6 - Things That Change Everything

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 6.6 - Things That Change Everything ~

It happened rarely, but right now Thiemo felt downright depressed. He had remained in his bed half of the night, Amy’s soft snoring and his own raspy breathing the only sounds that penetrated the quietness of the hour. The main thing that had been playing on his mind was what Applejack had told him. Names were not unique, but together with Aura’s appearance, there was a strong possibility that they were well and truly related. They had a lot of similarities in their looks as far as he could tell - obvious things like a similar coat and a bright mane and tail. Then again, even he had a bright tail.

He was relieved when a distraction came, even if it came in the form of Lyra bringing him the new documents, despite the hour, in exchange for the ones he had finished translating. It was a logbook again, but this time a bit more recent. It had belonged to a Captain Boreas, who apparently had sailed a ship named Kalyypso around the islands of the Breach. The Breach was a seemingly endless abyss, at least thousands of years old, if one was to believe the written word of Boreas. Water streamed into it all the time, taking everything that wasn’t smart enough to keep far away with it. Still, apparently small villages had formed on the previously uninhabited cays around the island Ti.

The logbook was still old, a hundred years at least. The problem with trying to establish the exact date was, as Lyra had explained to him, that humans used a different dating format that the ponies had been unable to interpret. The same problem applied to him. It looked like it was designed to count the years after a certain event. However, without knowing how long the humans thought a year was here, one could only estimate the age.

What really caught his curiosity, however, was one of the latest entries. The captain had written something about an island that flew in the sky. Thiemo knew about the cloud cities of the pegasi, but he had never heard anything about flying islands. It was something he wanted to see with his own eyes.

“Morning.” He had completely forgotten the time while reading in the candlelight. Amaryllis lay awake in her bed, looking over to him blearily. “What are you reading?” she asked, still sounding sleepy. Thiemo saw how she was tilting her head slightly to try and read the book cover, but that wouldn’t help her.

“Another logbook Lyra brought me while you were asleep. Somehow, the humans here seem to like using them.” Upon request, Thiemo told her what he just had read. The only other interruption following their morning was the breakfast they were served. Until noon, they spend their time translating various little notes. They were easier to translate, having fewer words on them and leading to quicker results and less frustration. He had no interest drowning in work while they were here, however. If they wanted it to be done quicker, they should search for someone else who managed to speak and write both languages fluently. For a moment, he played with the thought of telling them about Aschlant, but he would be useless and counterproductive to Thiemo’s plans if they managed to catch him.

“Do you think I could learn this English?” Amaryllis asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. Thiemo put his quill aside and looked at her for a moment. He then reached for an empty parchment and scribbled a few words on it before sliding it over to her without saying a word. “Hello world?” she read. “And what’s the second one? Looks weird.”

“That’s phonetics. It’s the same two words, only how they would be pronounced in English. Speaking is always easier than writing, especially since we don’t share an alphabet. So it would be the best to start this way. I did the same. The basic knowledge took me around two months, but I had nothing else to do during that time. Whenever I wanted to skip a lesson, Deerling would smack me with the ruler.” He remembered those times well. They had spent the days similar to how he had been in his cell, only with more windows and him staying voluntarily. Deerling had stood behind him, always looking to ensure that he was solving his assignments correctly and trying to ask his questions as well as she could. Additionally, they had oral lessons, where she had to shape his mouth with her hooves from time to time in order to make him produce the right sounds. How well her efforts had paid off could be heard from his accent. “Why the sudden interest?”

“Well, you’re searching for a way home, right? I thought maybe I could come with you. To your planet I mean.” If Thiemo hadn’t been holding the quill into the inkwell right now, it would have surely dropped to the ground. He hadn’t even thought about that particular possibility so far. Maybe this Princess Sparkle could even help him if he would help them. Maybe she even knew a way back. No, they surely would get rid of him and the other humans if they hated them so much. Which was raising another question: Did he still in believe in a way back?

“That… wouldn’t be a good idea.” Immediately, the happy excitement she had been displaying faltered. “There are only humans on Earth, and they are not always friendly. You would, if you don’t give credence to any of the countless conspiracy theories, be the first creature from another planet. If they caught you, you would never be free again,” he explained as gently as he could.

“Oh…” Yep, totally killed the mood. It was at that point that someone conveniently knocked on the door, sparing them from continuing the awkward conversation. Both looked at each other shortly before Thiemo called out that the door was open to whoever it was, as if it would ever be anything else. The door slammed against the wall, causing both occupants of the room to tense.

It wasn’t the attack they expected, though this one was no less effective. Aura sprinted into the room; the filly didn’t even need half a second to catch sight of her target. She took a giant forward and jumped into the arms of the genuinely surprised human. “Dad!” she shouted happily. Thiemo was barely able to hold on to her, but she had built up so much momentum that they knocked over the chair and landed on the ground. Luckily, it stood on a carpet, which managed to dull his pain until countless little hooves began to jab his ribs.

“Oof!” Almost all the air escaped his lungs. “What did they feed you? Soon you’ll be competing as a heavyweight.” It wasn’t as bad as he made it out, but she was quite a bit rounder than he remembered her. It didn’t matter to him as he ruffled her mane and hugged her back tightly, the pent up worry almost audibly seeping out of him as he looked at his little filly.

“She has eaten very well from the meals we gave her. Totally normal for a foal in her age. Her body also has to adjust to the new diet, and her metabolism needs some time to catch up. It will all be fine when she grows up.” In the corner of his eyes, Thiemo could see the princess entering the room, causing his uneasiness to come screaming right back. Behind her, an entourage consisting of a dozen soldiers who immediately took position inside the room, followed by Applejack, Captain Stick-up-his-butt, and a white unicorn mare he couldn’t remember seeing previously. She looked at him with blank expression. “Good day.”

“Good morning, little princess. Nice weather we’re having.” he stated flatly, his tone not as light as his words. His grip tightened unconsciously around Aura as he glared at her. Immediately, the soldiers looked in his direction, glaring grimly at him. “Why all the tin soldiers?”

“Well, we wanted to use a spell here today and had to deactivate the runes in the hallway.” He cursed internally. Maybe he should have paid more attention to the hallway. Surely he should have noticed what was going on or at least catch a few orders. “And of course, if the whole situation… is going to get ugly.”

“Beg your pardon?” Thiemo counted himself as one of the more intelligent beings in this room. Amaryllis as well. Neither of them, he was sure, would take on this number of soldiers. And that wasn’t accounting for the princess whose magic missiles had pierced holes as wide as his fist into statues. He wouldn’t stand a chance without his talismans, and he knew how well Amaryllis could fight.

“What Twilight wants to say… partner, is that that they’re here to… hold you down if you refuse to release Auralia,” Applejack mumbled, looking away to avoid his gaze. She should feel bad, he thought acidly, feeling a sudden rush of spite for the orange pony. He looked down to the filly in his arms who had also begun to look gloomy at Applejack’s words.

“Did they tell you what this is about?” She nodded quietly, not saying anything for a few moments.

“They say Applejack is my aunt, and I should stay with her. But I want to stay with you, dad!” she looked at him with pleading eyes, the look that all daughters seemed to have ingrained in their psyche, knowing how effective it was against the heart of their fathers. Thiemo sat down and smiled at her. It was something he had to force himself to do, he had to be strong and be brave for his little girl. No daughter should ever have to see her dad worry or fret so openly in front of her, to see the earliest pillar of strength in her life crumble. This was for her sake.

“Well, wasn’t that the plan after all, honey? Coming here, looking for your real family?” he asked gently. She nodded again, this time more reluctantly. Perhaps she knew what he was about to say. “I’ve only talked once with Applejack, but from what she said, I can tell she’s a good pony and her family is large.” Well, at least he was kind of the veracity of half of his statement. “You would have many aunts, uncles and cousins. And you would be with your kind, with other ponies. I’m just a stupid, not that old human, jumping from one problem into the other with only a staff, charm, and hat. Women to be lied to, money to be stolen, and no stone to be left standing.” She giggled as he tickled her belly while he belittled himself. Over her head, Thiemo could see the fine princess grimacing at his words, and the white mare had finally ceased her ogling. “And it’s not to say that we would never see each other again. Maybe if her Highness is so kind, she would allow you to visit me in my cave from time to time. Maybe even feed me some peanuts.” Even Applejack snickered at his words this time, earning her an angry look from her purple maned friend. He doubted his words, though. If he was being honest with himself, he couldn’t see the smug little tyrant letting him out any time soon. “So… I guess what I’m saying is… give the whole thing a chance; no one in this rooms wants anything bad happening to you.” It was for her, he had to continually remind himself, repeating it like a mantra. This was for her, not for me. She deserves this, she deserves to be happy. It doesn’t matter what I want, I don’t get to be selfish. It doesn’t matter how much I’ll miss her sleeping next to me or calling my name. This is for her, and I won’t let her see me cry…

Thiemo stopped tickling her, and her laughter immediately ceased, the filly looking up at him with soulful eyes. “But who’s going to watch out and make sure that you’re not doing any stupid things?” Oh, Aura…. way to sucker punch me in the heart…

“Oh, who knows? I still have Amy with me. If she’s not busy feeding from me, she has some good ideas from time to time as well,” he lightly said. They both looked at the changeling on the bed, who immediately turned her head away. Did she really think he wouldn’t notice her draining him? At least she provided a way for Aura to look away from his face, so she wouldn’t see the sadness that kept threatening to reveal itself. “See, I’m going to be fine. This is just about you.” He prodded a finger against her muzzle and lifted her off the ground. “So, do I have to do anything for this spell?” he directed the question to the group who had been silently observing them.

Twilight shook her head. “No, just watch. The spell itself I’ll be casting on Auralia. Pinkie Pie found it in the library. She searched for days and is sleeping at the moment. She just said we should wake her up when it’s time for a party.” Thiemo nodded and acted like he knew what she was talking about. He didn’t want to drag the whole thing any longer than he had to. “The spell will cause a resonance between similar genes, and everyone who responds will glow in the same color. Unfortunately, I can’t tell which color it’s going to be, but we will see. The book was not very specific there; it only said that the brighter the color, the closer the relation. Even if Auralia is just remotely related to Applejack, she should at least glow a little. Maybe if we put out the candles, just to go—”

“Twilight…” Applejack said, looking annoyed. “Just do us all a favor and do it. Okay, Sugarcube?”

The princess laughed nervously. “Sorry, old habits die hard.” When no one else laughed, she turned to Auralia and stopped for a few seconds. “Maybe only the two candles over there…”

Thiemo saw Applejack rolling her eyes and stood up. Immediately, multiple spears were aimed at him. “Easy, you’re going to poke someone’s eye out. I’m just doing what the princess needs to satisfy her compulsion neuroses.”

“That’s not a neuroses,” she snapped at him. “I just want to do it the right way.” And he was the Queen of England. Quickly, he licked his thumb and pointer and pressed both against the two candles at the wall so that the only light from the ones next to the door and from the desk illuminated the room. Only loose silhouettes could be seen from the ponies without armor. The soldiers, however, were reflecting the remaining light all the better, making them clearly stand out. If he had one chance for an escape, it would be now. Amaryllis grew up in the darkness and surely could see better than all of the occupants in the room combined right now. Thiemo was sure he could overpower the white mare in the background. She didn’t look like a fighter, even with her magic.

But… he had promised Auralia he would find her family, and this was about her future. Additionally, he could gather information about the humans on this planet easily if he continued to work with Lyra. And he was doing not badly in this room. He got food, a shower and guards who listened to his requests at the door. As long as they were talking with Lyra or Captain Estoc, they even complied. He shook his head; he was actually trying to justify his imprisonment. A gilded cage was still just that – a cage. It wasn’t as though he had a choice in the matter.

“Don’t even think about it, human.” Thiemo had put his hand on the bedpost and all he would have to do was break it off. But unfortunately, said Captain he had just thought about stood directly next to him and illuminated the room with his horn while glowering at Thiemo.

Thiemo let go of the post and sat back down on the floor. “I thought I’ve seen a spider.” Estoc said nothing and stepped back into the shadows. “A really big one!” With horn and wings!”

“Well, I think we can try it now,” Twilight announced, ignoring the pointed jab he had aimed at her. A relieved sigh went through everyone present. “Don’t be afraid, Auralia, it’s not going to hurt.” Thiemo blinked his eyes for a moment as the magic gathered in the horn of the princess. As the only one present in the room that could see magic, he was also the only one who had to cover his eyes in the darkness. It was like someone pointing a flashlight with purple bulb into his face in a dark room. She gathered more and more magic, surely a lot more than was needed for the spell.

Then the whole magic in her horn concentrated, and in the same moment, the door behind her swung open. It followed the first bang as the door knocked against the wall again. Then the second bang as the spell went off and hit the ceiling instead of Aura. The third one came when the gathered magic exploded and rained down on them in little sparks. “Am I late?!” he dimly heard a brash voice call.

Thiemo closed his eyes. The fine magical dust in the air blinded and hurt. “Rainbow Dash! Thanks to you, the spell failed! No, wait! I can start all over again!”

“Uh… what is the spell supposed to do? You’re all shining like the one time you tried to spot Opal… or something like that.” He could hear confused ponies as he rubbed his eyes and slowly began to open them again. In front of him still stood Twilight Sparkle, only now surrounded by a golden shimmer. Next to her stood Applejack bathed in a greenish sheen. Two guards to his left were lightly illuminated in blue, and two others in a strong and bright red.

“What do you mean we’re all shining?” Thiemo could see only Twilight’s back since she had turned around to Rainbow in the doorway.

“I think what Rainbow is trying to say, darling, is that the spell was cast on all of us.” The blue mare nodded and pointed at Applejack.

“Look, the little one’s also green. Just like… the human?” Surprised, Thiemo held his own hand in front of his eyes. Just like Applejack, it was surrounded by a bright green glow just as the rest of his body was.

“Green was never my color,” was all he had to say. In his opinion, the spell just took his role too seriously. The ponies, however, looked at him with weird faces. “What?”

“Applejack?” Twilight asked from friend from over her shoulder. “Is there something you want to tell us?”

“What? No! Ah met this human in the flesh for the first time!” Rainbow laughed at the mishap of her friend as Applejack whirled around, glaring at her, confusion and dismay written on her face.

The white mare put a hoof on her shoulder, apparently trying to comfort her friend. “Darling, you can tell us everything. Even if you and… this human…” She shivered as a cold shiver went down her spine. Or perhaps it was one of disgust. “She would still be your daughter.”

“Right, Applejack, we can no longer deny it. How we met us all these years ago in Appleloosa. The heat of the night, the promises, the passion… the love.” All the ponies in the room looked at Thiemo with slackened jaws at his words, even Applejack. “Really?” He stared at them, unimpressed. “I talked with her for the first time yesterday. I would say the spell didn’t work, and now we all glow like rainbow fireflies.” They were a species that resided in the steppes of Zebrica. They defended themselves with their rapidly flickering lights. One alone was bearable, but a whole swarm would bring you to lie down whimpering on the ground.

“I have to agree with Thiemo,” Twilight threw in, the first one to regain her composure. “And even if that wasn’t so, I doubt humans and ponies could bear a foal. What about the others?”

The two shining red soldiers stepped forward. “We are brothers, Milady. We signed in together and serve in the same unit ever since.” She nodded and looked at the two faintly blue shimmering guards.

“He is my second cousin, or something like that.” The other also just shrugged and Twilight seemed satisfied.

She thought about it. “So the spell worked correctly for everypony else? Then it is highly unlikely I made a mistake. But how could that be? The two of them don’t even know each other. Basically never met.” She blinked as single speck of her mane literally jumped into the air.

Rainbow looked over to her two friends, worried. “Oh oh…”

“Yar forgetting that ya glow too, Sugarcube? Do ya have a secret brother in the Royal Guard ya didn’t tell us about?” The princess didn’t seem to hear her words, instead trapped in her train of thoughts. Thiemo instead looked around and found the counterpart.

He raised his hand, just like at school, and just started talking anyways, “Just a question. Is the royal family large?”

At first no one replied. “Umm… I don’t think so. For what I know, it only contains six ponies,” a guard next to him eventually replied, looking unsure whether or not he should be answering the human.

“I think we can make it seven now. Amy, come out from behind the bed. I think the choices for who your father is going to be just got awfully limited.” It even made sense. Chrysalis had told him something about a large wedding when she had attacked Castle Canterlot. Which wedding, besides the ones of kings and queens, would be held in a castle?

Amaryllis came out from behind the bed. The eyes of the bystanders wandered from Twilight to her, and a loud gasp for air could immediately be heard in the room. “Oh dear!” he heard the white mare gasp. Just like Twilight, Amy was also engulfed in a golden light.

A twitch of her eye, a short laugh, again an eye twitch, then the princess just fell on the ground with a dull thud. Immediately, some of the guards and Captain Estoc were by her side. “Bring the princess to her quarters. Tell the maids to work overtime today.” The ponies in the entranceway made room as Twilight got carried away. With her, the glowing disappeared as well.

“I will see what I can do for the poor Twilight. I am certain this will all be resolved.” The white mare followed the captain and the soldiers out of the door, leaving Thiemo, Aura, Amy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash behind, together with half of the soldiers.

“So… what now?” the pegasus asked blithely. “Who does she belong to now?”

“I want to stay with my dad. That spell says he’s my father.” Thiemo noticed that Applejack was about to say something, but he was quicker.

“Look. I’m just sitting in this room all day long. I’m sure you would have more fun with the other ponies. I’m not going to run away, okay?” They hugged briefly, and she trotted over to her aunt, or whoever she was now. She whispered something to her, and then made to leave the room.

“I think that’s enough for today. We all have a lot to think about. Are you coming Auralia?” The filly sighed and hugged Thiemo again, who patted her head. Then the others left the room, together with the remaining guards.

Thiemo took a deep breath. “Umm… what’s that going to mean now?” Amy asked.

“That we’re going to get a lot more attention now.”

***

“Oh, poor Twilight!” Fluttershy carefully put her hoof in front of her mouth. “I hope she wakes up soon.” Eris giggled and wiggled slowly around her marefriend. In front of them was a bowl of water through which they could see everything that happened in the room.

“Are you really surprised that the time Queen Chrysalis spent with Shining Armor bore fruit? She’s a changeling and therefore can get pregnant as desired. And what would be better than knowing something of the enemy is always close? Even if she most likely had imagined the result a little different.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh Fluttershy.” She sailed over her head and placed a quick kiss on the lips of the pegasus. She only giggled shortly. “You have seen Amaryllis. Even if not in her pony form, she still resembles a pony more than a changeling. Both physically and in her spirit.”

“Pony form? Don’t changelings copy other ponies?”

“I see you’re paying attention.” She grinned and dipped her claw in the water. Immediately, the image changed and now only showed Amaryllis. “Normal changeling all look alike and are very proud of it. It shows their unity with the swarm. But our dear princess here is special. She looks differently and stands between two worlds. She even managed to change the natural changeling spell in a way that allows her to look like she would look as a pony.” Soft waves formed around Eris’ claw in the water, and slowly, the image of the princess in the picture changed. Her short dark coat got thicker and white, her horn smoothened and was almost straight, beside one indentation. Her usual straight purple hair curled up and an almost non noticeable brighter streak traversed right through it. Her wings were now made of feathers instead of a membrane.

Fluttershy gasped for air. “She looks just like Twilight…”

“Doesn’t she? If you had seen her like that at first, it would have been really obvious, right? But it’s not just similarities. Both shared their love for books and knowledge. Something that is passed to the mares in this family. Even the young Skyla is showing her interest.” Eris shrunk herself a little bit and rolled herself around her marefriend’s neck, a position she had learned to love. It was always warm underneath her long, pink mane, and she could watch everything from there.

“But what about the human and Applejack? She wouldn’t lie about something like that. If she says she never met him I believe her.” Eris giggled again.

“Of course they’ve never met. And that’s exactly what the real mystery here is.” Waves formed on the water in the bowl again, and after a few seconds, showed the filly. “Auralia Apple. Really! Everyone who can’t see that she’s an Apple needs some glasses, don’t you think?” Fluttershy nodded. “But where did she come from? Twilight did everything correct with the spell. Too correct. She overcharged it so much that it was cast on the entire room, even after it didn’t directly hit anyone. But what do you think, Fluttershy? Why is this spell showing that their connection is so strong like they would be father, mother and child?”

“Maybe… because… umm… Auralia wishes it would be that way?”

“A good thought; let’s leave it as that for today.” The image in the water now showed the human, Thiemo, having a talk with Amaryllis. Eris didn’t even need to listen to know what it was about. Both were clearly confused by what has happened and exchanged their own theories. Eris even thought about visiting Celestia and Luna. It would surely be funny to tease them a bit before Twilight Sparkle is sending them a letter. Or maybe one to Shining Armor to deliver the happy news to the poor stallion that he was now father of two. So many possibilities!

*** ~ [One Republic - All The Right Moves] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Author's Notes:

How I love a good mystery! And thats it folks. Act 6 is complete. Some questions got answered, new emerged to the surface. How are Thiemo, Auralia and Applejack linked? Why this quite immense hate for humans? What will happen to Amaryllis? Has this story a goal? OK, the last one I will answer now. Yes, there is a big red thread through the entire story. Any guesses so far? No? Good! We are still in the 1/3 of the story. You have time till act 11 to think of something, but then it will literately hit you in the face. No, no evil plants, I promise.

Next up: Intermission 6 - Hearth's Warming Eve. 12/24/2013 - here on fimfiction.net

Thanks to Gron for translating this chapter.
Special thanks to JBL for proofreading and editing. He also wants to tell you something:

Editor’s note: Fuck this chapter with a double ended dildo made out of rusty barbed wire and laced with hydrochloric acid! Is that even possible?! I don’t care! This chapter is evil, possessed, back I say! The power of Mumm-Rah the Ever-living Christ compels you! The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun. Go back to the shadow! You cannot pass!

Chapter II - Intermission 6 - Hearth’s Warming Eve

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Estoc took the last few steps down into the lab. A few minutes ago, one of the recruits had rushed to him with a message from Professor Spell Nexus that demanded his immediate attendance. “Here I am, Professor. What is so important this very morning?” It was Hearth’s Warming Eve, and with this festive day, the capitol was filling with ponies like every year. Many just came to spend the holidays with their families, others just to see the town that shaped Equestria to what it is today, and of course, a lot of them to see the play in the castle. It was the last event that always caused Estoc to lose a lot of time and patience. The guards needed their schedules, the guides through the castle had to be organized, and the general security still had to be enforced. In short, it was the worst day of the year for him.

“We have a breakthrough! We have a breakthrough!” The old white unicorn with his heavily ruffled grey mane nearly bounced over to him like a little foal. “We managed to activate the staff!” Estoc looked around in the room. On one of the desks laid the staff his guards had found next the human. According to the reports of the princess and the other Bearers, he had used it to fight against them. Additionally, Princess Twilight had reported that, when he struck her with it, something literally tried to suck the magic out of her body but didn’t manage to achieve its goal.

In front of the desk another, younger, unicorn laid on the ground and was in the process of being treated by a soldier from the med team. “What happened to him?”

“My assistant got lucky. When he tried to levitate the staff to show it to me, he suddenly collapsed after a few seconds. I believe the staff stripped him of his magic.” Estoc stepped closer to the heavily breathing unicorn and the medic.

“The professor is right, Captain,” she reported. “It looks like a large amount of his magic got stripped from him. He shows all the classic signs of magical exhaustion.” Estoc nodded.

“Well done, Cadet… uhm.” Even after years as Captain, he still couldn’t see through the magical armors. All he knew was that he was dealing with a pegasus mare from the med team. It was often embarrassing to him that he ended up addressing his soldiers with their wrong name. How Shining Armor managed to get their names right every time was a mystery to him.

“Iron Heart, sir.”

“Good. Iron Heart, bring him to the infirmary.” The soldier saluted and heaved the unconscious assistant onto her back. “Professor, did the incident give us any new results?” Estoc wanted to write at least something positive in his report.

While the soldier left the lab through the stairs, the old stallion searched on his desk until he found a clipboard and levitated some glasses onto his muzzle. “Well, the weapon was definitely made by ponies. The interesting thing is that it doesn’t look like it was designed to be used by us. Also, it is extremely old. A bit over a thousand years maybe.”

“Why would a pony build such a dangerous weapon for a human?” His gaze shifted towards the staff. Even with a few meters between them, he could feel how the staff was literally soaking in magic like a sponge.

“Well, Captain Estoc, I don’t know how proficient you are in the Equestrian history, but you surely have heard about the Sibling War, right?” Estoc nodded. “Then you should now there was only one pony that allied with the humans who had the knowledge and the skills to build such a thing.”

tio presents

My little Pony

Journey

~ Intermission 6 - Hearth’s Warming Eve ~

Wrapped up deeply in thoughts about what the professor just told him, Estoc left the lab again. If it were up to him, the staff would be destroyed, and its remains should be thrown in the endless grotto underneath the castle, but that decision was not his to make. All he could do was ensure that the lab was placed under quarantine, so that there wouldn’t be any more injured like the assistant of Spell Nexus.

For this reason, his destination was the barracks of the Royal Guard now. The few that were still there were technically on holidays already, but that had to be postponed. Since he wasn’t paying attention on his way, he stumbled into somebody. “Sorry.”

The two maids gave him a friendly nod and snickered as they continued their way. For a moment, he wondered why they were in such a good mood but quickly waved it off as the result of the holiday spirit. But when further down in the hallway he met more snickering maids he got curious. Was there a spot on his armor? Did something stuck to his flank? But there was nothing of that sort. Then Estoc heard somepony giggle again, this time from the hallway that led to the servant quarters. He rushed to the next crossway and saw clearly what was causing this fuss.

Two young recruits stood underneath one of the many arches of the hallway and placed a mistletoe above their heads. It was a plant that kept its green color even in the deepest winter and represented the hopes of the first settlers that came to Equestria. They were few, and so it became the custom to kiss everypony who stood underneath one of them.

“Attention!” Estoc snapped, and the two young stallions immediately let go of the chamber maids they were just kissing. Not very loyal partners either as they disappeared quickly down the hallway. “What do you think you are doing there?”

The sweat that ran down their faces from underneath their helmets was clearly visible. “Sir! Being on guard, sir!” Estoc eyed the two of them shortly and sighed. He was young once too, but with his captain back then, even before Shining Armor, this would have been punished by a month’s unpaid leave. But he needed every stallion that was still in the castle.

“You two are reporting to Professor Spell Nexus in the basement immediately! You have to guard something, and may Celestia help you. If I see one of you up here again before your shift is over, I’m hanging the mistletoe above a latrine and then your tongues can come to a real use for once.” Both nodded quickly.

“Move!” With rattling armor, the two recruits ran off, nothing more than a slightly rolled up carpet showed of their existence. “Right! Now down with you,” he said, glaring at the mistletoe that hung above his head.

Estoc turned to offending item, intending to be rid of it, when he suddenly heard a voice behind him. “Good morning, captain.” Confused, he turned around and met a familiar face.

“Ah, a wonderful morning to you too, Miss Rarity. What brings you down here?” The unicorn stepped closer and grinned sheepishly.

“Well, my parents took my little sister onto one of their journeys. They spend a few days skiing in Eagleland. So I thought I could go on a little walk through the castle and visit Twilight later, since it is so cold outside now.” He could understand the sentiment; he didn’t miss his every morning walk. “And you, Captain? Not with wife or foals?”

“I’m married to my job, Miss.” At his words, she took a step closer to him.

“Oh, what a shame. I hope your job won’t get jealous.” Before he could ask what she meant, she gave him a quick peck on his lips. Estoc only blinked in confusion, and when he snapped back into reality, he could only see Lady Rarity, with the mistletoe in tow, quickly disappearing in the hallway.

***

Thiemo walked next to Lyra through the corridors of the castle. The first thing he noticed were all the decorations. The otherwise quite plain red tapestries with golden borders were decorated by wreaths with crossed sugarcanes. Some sort of red lametta hung down from the plants, and he could swear he saw a mistletoe hanging underneath one of the arches. He was also certain that it had been snowing outside, clearly visible by its remains on the outside of the windows. Of course, there was one question that shot through his mind. “Don’t tell me you’re celebrating Christmas!” he yelled over the thundering sounds of hoofsteps on marble. Behind them, six guards in full regalia marched behind them, making it significantly harder for the two to maintain a conversation.

“Christmas? Never heard of that. Is that a holidays of the humans?” Thiemo had the feeling that the guards were making their steps louder on purpose.

“At least where I’m coming from. Once a year, the family gathered around a decorated fir tree, some juicy animal would be served for the feast, and then we pray to some fat guy in red clothes. He watched every child all year long, and if they were nice, they can go to certain stores in town to sit on his lap where he can paw them without any questions being raised. In return, the kids can tell him what they would like as a reward.” It took a lot of effort to not burst down into laughter at Lyra’s horrified expression. “And if they weren’t nice, they get thrown into his large bag and coal is made out of them.”

“Stop! That’s scary. What kind of parents would give their kids to such a monster?” The steps of the guards got quieter. Apparently, Thiemo had also gained their curiosity.

“The same sort that tell their children that there is an almighty being watching them their whole lives who would let their souls burn in eternal flames if ever they do something wrong.” He couldn’t laugh much about what he just said; he had had those same things drilled into him when he was younger. “But now I’m curious. What exactly are you celebrating?”

“Well, Hearth’s Warming Eve of course. The union of the three pony tribes in friendship and harmony,” Lyra explained. She seemed very relieved for the change of the subject. “Thousands of years ago, the three tribes fought against each other. Their hatred and anger awoke evil spirits called windigos that brought cold and everlasting winter. When the population of the three tribes began to dwindle, they decided to search for new land, not knowing that the windigos would follow them as long as they kept on fighting. All three tribes found the land we call Equestria nowadays at the same time, but it took years for peace to settle down. It was not until the everlasting winter came again that a few of each race acknowledged the danger. Their leader was Clover the Clever, pupil of Star Swirl the Bearded. He was one of the most powerful unicorns who ever lived, at least if you only count the mortal ones. Compared to the princesses….”

Lyra drifted off from the subject, and Thiemo stopped listening to her. Somehow, this all seemed familiar to him. “Oh shit. I’m in pony America!” he suddenly shouted. “Although it is worse here. Not even America worships itself so much that they dedicated an entire season to their founding.”

“Amarerica?” He had to use the English word for the country since there was no translation for it. Apparently, Lyra had learned something in the time she spent with his translations.

“A country consisting out of a bunch of smaller countries or states, as they called them. Originally a colony, but they joined together to rebel against their kingdom to free itself from their sovereignty. Making a big fuss about their day of foundation every year. Thinking they are the best thing that has ever graced planet Earth.”

“And you think we’re just like Amarerica?” Thiemo nodded.

“Maybe not quite as bad. Or have you ever conquered a country under false pretence to gain their natural resources?” Lyra looked at him bewildered and shook her head. “Changes nothing about the image Equestria has abroad. You have pegasi stationed all over the world to manage the weather. If you wanted to, you could threaten every country to withdraw them and leave them to their destiny. Then there is your army….” He put the last word in quotation marks and nodded towards the guards behind him. “Known and feared all over Albion. I don’t get why, now that I’ve seen them in action. The only one who seems at least a little bit competent is Captain Stick-in-his-butt.” A lot of the guards changed their grim faces from being insulted to a smirk. “And then you puff up your princesses like they would be living gods or something like that. I’ve met Miss OCD; she’s powerful, no doubt. But not a god.”

“Is that really how Equestria is seen from the outside?” Lyra asked quietly. Thiemo nodded. “Well, I can’t say anything about Princess Twilight, or Princess Cadence and her daughter Skyla, but Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are thousands of years old, immortal. They move the sun and the moon. We ponies look up to them and they guide us with kindness and wisdom. What else should they be if not gods?”

Thiemo stopped. “Wait a second… you really think they control the sun and the moon?” Doubtful, he turned around to the guards, who all nodded. “Gawd bless ‘Questria!” He barked out a laugh. The guards who apparently didn’t understand a single word of English gave Lyra a questioning look.

***

“Soarin, you lazybones, where are you?” Rainbow stepped through the door of her more than large and comfy house. After her acceptance into the Wonderbolts, she had just flown it over to Canterlot and tied it at a landing stage she had erected at the mountain herself. It was something that had caused her troubles with the municipality, the post office, and her captain. A Wonderbolt was supposed to be a model and should abide by all laws and regulations.

“In the shower, Dashie!” a voice from the upper levels shouted. Content, she put down her saddlebags with the shopping, and carefully pushed them behind the couch. She would need them later tonight. First of all, she had to do something she hated just as much as being disturbed from a nap - cooking. They had thought about spending the evening at a restaurant first, but they wouldn’t get their rest there. Many others would have the same ideas, and it wasn’t helpful that the two of them were celebrities. Soarin as a veteran of a well-known group and she, also as a member of this group, and also as a Bearer of an Element. So the pegasi decided to make it a relaxing evening and let the other ponies celebrate Hearth’s Warming.

Rainbow tied an apron with clear signs of mishaps around her chest and opened the large freezer. “Well… maybe I should have bought more than whipped cream and chocolate sauce.” An old cheese loaf, an open bottle of milk of unknown age, and limp vegetables was all that was in there. But at least that was more than she had back in her time of living alone. Back then, she usually ate with Pinkie at Sugarcube Corner or with the others at the usual little café. Today it was the cafeteria in the Wonderbolt’s stadium where she didn’t even had to pay. Not that the food was something that special, but it was filling and healthy. Something she learned to care about.

Carefully, she took out the cheese. The front side still looked almost edible, but the backside was covered by a large green mold. She scrunched her nose and quickly threw it in the trashcan underneath the sink. Afterwards, she washed her hooves.

Now there was only the milk left. Cautiously, she opened the cap of the glass bottle and immediately, a rotten smell came out of it. “Yep, definitely a case for the sink.” She turned the bottle upside down over the sink but nothing happened. The milk clumped and stuck in the bottle. Rainbow rolled her eyes and threw the bottle out of the window. It was the mountain’s problem now.

“Bleh… Dashie? What smells so badly?” Soarin came into the large kitchen with a towel on his back and a wet mane that clung at his side.

“I got rid of the garbage from the fridge,” she replied and hung her apron up. Something that would be the best for all. “In a few minutes it should be better.” She trotted over to her coltfriend, and they exchanged a quick a kiss. Rainbow would have never thought she would be this way one day, but that was before she had fallen in love. “Unfortunately, nothing’s left… besides me.” She circled her hoof over his chest. “Maybe we should just go for the main course?” The light twitch in his wings was answer enough for her. She kissed him again, but this time an uncomfortable feeling joined in. Rainbow pulled her head back, and in the next moment, her cheeks fluffed up. She ran past a confused Soarin and threw the bathroom door shut behind her.

“Hey Dashie? Are you alright?” she heard Soarin ask through the closed door while she hung over the toilet. “Maybe the smell was too much for you?”

“I’ve smelt worse! Diamond Dogs for…” She didn’t get to complete her sentence as her lunch took the emergency exit. She wondered what it could be. She didn’t feel sick.

“It’s only afternoon, Dashie. Maybe you should go see a doctor.” She rolled her eyes.

“I’m fine, it’s just my stomach.” She was almost never sick. Maybe the usual bugs when she was a filly now and then. It was hard for pegasi to catch the flu or anything like that, being naturally resilient against cold. Twilight said it had something to do with a system but Rainbow obviously hadn’t paid attention. No, she only called in sick when she was in heat. Two times a year like every mare. Usually at the start of spring and the end of summer.

End of summer?

Her following curse was drowned in her breakfast that met her mouth for the second time.

*** ~ [Super Ponybeat - The Heart Carol] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter II - Act 7.1 - Homecoming

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Lyra Heartstrings ran up and down in her spacious room in Canterlot’s castle. She had noted most of what Thiemo had said, or at least what was not a blatant lie or needlessly brutal. Ti was only a tenth of the size of Equestria, but the human had repeatedly talked about kingdoms and countries consisting out of various states. He had also mentioned something about ships that sailed through the stars.

The thought that maybe he suffered from a mental disease had crossed her mind, but aside from the various grammar and spelling errors, there was something about the depth of his descriptions from his translations that made her insanity theory seem misplaced. Lyra had used the two months he had been ‘staying’ at the castle very well and had achieved success in translating the language, now known to her as English, on her own. She had even tried to translate a document parallel to Thiemo, but he was obviously significantly faster and better than her. However, she wasn’t about to let him in on that. He had asked her if she was trying to learn English, but she had replied that it was only a few pieces she had overheard. Thiemo simply tended to make way too many remarks in his language while he was near ponies.

Then there was also the changeling in his room. Lyra wasn’t able to make neither heads nor tails of her. Why was she with him and not left to rot in some cell? Maybe she had manipulated the human or something to that nature. But all her requests to separate the two were quickly denied. Even her last one was struck down by Twilight herself. At the mere mention of the changeling, the young princess had immediately waved her off as though it was a trivial matter that she didn’t want to be bothered with it. It was a startling change from just a few weeks ago when she had been on fire to find out more about their race.

Lyra shook her head and trotted over to her desk. Various notes and a large map with the regions around Ti were on it. She had tried to place the countries he had mentioned somewhere on the large islands and the smaller ones around it, but she just couldn’t fit it all in. That only left her with two leading possibilities. The first one was that Thiemo had been lying to her, stringing her along for reasons known only to him. Somehow she doubted that, seeing as how vivid his stories were and by the way he talked about them. No, maybe some parts were made up, but on the whole, most of it must have been true. Which only left her second option: he didn’t talk about Ti because he wasn’t from there.

Her eyes widened as the implications of that theory being true began to dawn upon her. But if he wasn’t a native of Ti, then where had he come from? She rushed over to one of her cupboards and quickly fished a second map out of there. She swiped her hoof across the desk, shovelling all items on it onto the ground, and unfurling the larger world map onto it. She skimmed over the continents, but there were almost none large enough to hide a civilization of the size he had described. That only left one possible location that he could have come from - Echo. It was a continent that consisted of most of the southern parts of the planet. The only problem was that it was an uncharted wilderness.

Every foal had learned about the Echo in school, and the various expeditions that had been attempted and resulted in failure. Only a few ponies had ever returned, recalling wild tales about the endless jungle, the high humidity, as well as flora and fauna unbeknownst to anypony. No, it was almost impossible that Thiemo could ever have lived in such conditions. Hay, he couldn’t even handle the cold in the dungeons. This wasn’t a proper environment for humans either, especially without a protecting coat.

No place on Albion even remotely matched what the human called his home. An idea floated across Lyra’s mind as she perused the map bemusedly, one that seemed so silly and unlikely that somepony would probably ask if it came from a foal. However, it was one that could explain many things about their captive human, one that held many possibilities, both intriguing and terrifying. What if… he wasn’t from this planet?

tio presents

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 7.1 - Homecoming ~

With a loud bang, the door of Lyra’s chamber flew open and startled Captain Estoc, who had been standing in the hallway. He was about to knock when the wood rocketed past his muzzle by only a few millimeters and slammed into the wall with enough force that one could have sworn it was a minotaur that opened the door. Estoc blinked and sighed in relief. That would have been just what he had needed today.

But as so often happened in his life, he had relaxed too soon, because if a door opens, then somepony would most likely be barging through it. In this case, the captain was only able to glimpse Miss Heartstrings before she roughly galloped into him. They roughly collided head-on, bumping down the hallway in a pile of hooves, and finally came to a halt by loudly crashing into one of the armors that decorated the hallway. For a few moments, they both remained slumped on the floor, staring up at the ceiling dazedly and panting to catch their breath.

“Owww,” Estoc heard the green unicorn above him moan as she shakily began to stir, slowly getting to her hooves. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.” Carefully, he stood up again as well.

“Everything all right, Miss Heartstrings. But why are you in such a rush?” Estoc adjusted his armor and picked up his helmet that had slipped off his head during their little melee. Just as it was back in place, a certain somepony pulled at him with her magic.

“Captain! Just the stallion I needed.” Miss Heartstring’s mane was ruffled, though that could have also just been a result of their crash. On her back was a saddlebag filled with various parchments, books, and files from her observations. She pulled at his neck one more time, so that he was now looking into her eyes while she grinned wildly. It was as though something fantastic had just happened. “I made the breakthrough of the millennium! I have to talk to the human immediately.”

At least they had both reached the subject he had come to talk to her about in first place. “I’m sorry, Miss Heartstrings, but the princesses have ordered that no one can talk with the prisoner until they arrive later this afternoon and see him themselves.”

The last time Estoc had seen a face fall so quickly from joy to horror like that was when he had watched a mother pull away her foal from a candy shop. “What? Why? Wait! The princesses return today? I have to tell them about my theory!”

“Then you should make an appointment. The princesses sent a letter with instructions. They are thankful for your services, but they won’t be of need any longer.” Lyra’s mouth just hung open. Maybe he should tell her that she still had leftovers from the breakfast between her teeth. “Of course, we are thankful for everything, and you will be fully compensated for your efforts. But I just came here to tell you that, now that your services will no longer be needed, you have to clear this room within one day.”

“But my theory! My results! That will change everything! I have to report them to the princesses!” She desperately paced the hallways, anguish filling her voice. “Twilight is here, right? She must listen to me!”

Somehow he felt genuine pity for the mare in front of him. He had seen how much time, effort, and work she had poured forth into this project. But he had his orders. “Princess Sparkle excused herself from the project a month ago. Revelations I am not allowed to further discuss shocked her, and she handed everything over to Princess Celestia.” Even Estoc couldn’t believe what had been revealed. How long did Chrysalis replace poor Princess Cadence that it could have come this far? Somehow he could understand the dilemma.

“But… but…” the grown mare could hardly articulate her thoughts, looking for all the world as though she was about to burst into tears at any moment.

“If you need help packing your belongings, the chambermaids are at your service any time. If you still want to report your results, I again recommend that you make an appointment or make a remark in the files.” Estoc tried to reach the desperate unicorn with this little compromise. “If this is all, Miss Heartstrings, I would have to excuse myself. The princesses are arriving soon, and I have to prepare the reception.” He didn’t like leaving the forlorn scientist dejectedly standing there, but the instructions from the princesses were more than clear.

***

“Fight, that’s the word.” She aimed a sinister look at him as she usually did whenever he tried to assist her.

“I can do this on my own. I will never learn it otherwise.” Despite his objections, she had still insisted on learning English and was making startling progress. While he was only able to ask for the toilet or something to drink after two months of trying to learning her language, she could speak almost fluent English. She would occasionally jumble up the structure or fumble with some words, but she was doing far better than he expected, all things considered. Now she had begun learning how to read. At first, the alphabet was confusing to her, but then she had found out that a lot of the letters in combination made similar sounds to Equis. That had been both a surprise and an aid for her. She sounded like someone who had a sip of water in their mouth while talking, but it was better than nothing. “I just have some problems with this frustrating combination of letters. Who came up with this?”

“The English language is full of that. But yes, it’s not very helpful when it gets pronounced slightly differently often.” Very little had happened in the two months they had been ‘guests’ at the castle. After the sudden revelation that Amy was most likely the niece of Miss OCD, and Thiemo had apparently pulled off an immaculate conception with somepony, things suddenly had become very quiet around them. Only Lyra and Captain Estoc came to them afterwards. Aura had also visited once, but it was just for a few hours. She had told them about how she lived with Applejack on her large apple orchard (what a surprise), and how she had made a lot of new friends. She had also regaled him with stories about how she played in the snow often with her aunt Apple Bloom, Applejack’s younger sister, and together with her friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, made a lot of snowball fights. He had listened to her stories with a bittersweet feeling welling up inside. He was, of course, happy that she was adjusting to her new life without too many problems and that she no longer had to be stealing and always on the run, never settling in one area for too long, and hard rocks for beds. On the other hand… he missed having her at his side. The saying that one never really appreciates what one had before it was gone had often run through his head.

He tried to use the time he had alone with Lyra and Estoc. Not for him, but for Amy. Twilight Sparkle was only with them for one more time and that was just to repeat the spell, with the same results as before. When he was alone with Estoc and Lyra in another room of the castle where they could cast magic and therefore could better help with the translations, he had asked them about the royal family. Prince Shining Armor, a name that made him grin, was the name of Twilight Sparkle’s brother and an apparently oblivious father. The announcement of Amy’s existence alone would cause a scandal, according to Estoc. When he had tried to ask Lyra more about that, he was quickly shut down by Estoc. Apparently she wasn’t in the inner circle of trust or something. Too bad his flustered demeanour when he had silenced Thiemo had given the human some well needed leverage.

From then on, Thiemo had blackmailed him for numerous little favors, including books of his choice, special meals, and candies. His first wish, of course, had been demanding that he and Amaryllis be released, but obviously the captain hadn’t agreed to that. The maids might be very talkative and such news would surely spread quickly inside the castle, but they weren’t stupid. None of them would run to the next newspaper with that information, Estoc had claimed. To Thiemo’s dismay, that was true, even if it was simply because the ponies were afraid that their almighty goddesses would rain down their avenging wrath upon them.

“Uhm… Thiemo?” Amy interrupted his thoughts. “What does that word mean?” She turned the parchment in his directions while he peeked over the gap between their beds. However, before he could give an answer, let alone see the word below her hoof, someone knocked on the door, much to their annoyance.

“Jeez, are we guests or prisoners?” he called airily. “If you want to come in, the two jumping jacks will open the door regardless of what we say.” The pony on the other side of the door took this as an invitation, and the door opened. However, there was not one pony at the door, but six. Six maids, all in uniform and with a wide grin on their faces to be precise. “Okay, I’ve seen pornos that started like this. But they were from Japan, and octopi played a way too large a role.”

“Pornos?” Amy wondered, cocking her head to the side. “You mean like those magazines that were in your backpack?”

Thiemo responded with a similarly confused expression, “You know about the magazines?”

“I did carry them after all.” Thiemo had to admit she was right in this point. She didn’t seem to be bothered by it either. Then again, it was her that had told him to be prepared to be her mother’s sex slave the first time they met. “Well… whatever.” He tried to change to subject in front of their visitors. “So, how can we help you?”

The maids exchanged some short, unsure looks before one of them, a beige pegasus with blonde mane, stepped forward. “Umm… we shall bring you to the baths. Her Highness has invited you for tea, and Captain Estoc gave the order for you to be prepared.” Thiemo saw how the others grinned awkwardly, either because they felt uncomfortable caring about a human or they had no idea how to. “Or do you prefer standing in front of the princesses in these… rags?”

He looked down at himself. Yes, they were rags, but everything he had right now. Thoughtfully, he stroked his hand over his face. His beard had become one thick, gnarly mess. That reminded him how it had already been a month since his hair had begun to hang down in front of his eyes, which had been a constant distraction every time he had been hunched over trying to read. He must look like some old, lonely, mountain sage. “Aside from really needing a bath, I don’t have any other clothes. Besides, since when did Princess Twilight Sparkle decide to invite us for tea?”

“The invitation isn’t from Princess Sparkle… umm… sir.” A red earth pony stepped forward. Just like the other earth pony, she had well-filled saddlebacks on her back. “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna wish to speak with you and the… umm… lady, as soon as possible after their return.”

Thiemo looked Amaryllis with faint surprise. She returned his look and shrugged, something he had observed that worked completely opposite to how humans did it. The shoulders went up, but the neck of the ponies went backwards, causing the same effect. It was a nice feeling, unraveling the small mysteries of this planet.

“So we’re going to meet these myth-enshrouded goddesses in whose house we’re staying in? Why not? Where’s the bath?” Besides, he could look for an escape path after taking the bath.

“Well, sir and madam… you have to put these rings on first.” Out of one of the saddlebags emerged two small rings that flew over to Thiemo and Amaryllis until they hovered in the air in front of them. Carefully, Thiemo grabbed them out of the air and inspected them. Both had similar runes to the large magic blocker on the ceiling of their room, making them serve a similar purpose.

“Magic blocker,” he simply said and placed, without asking for permission, the larger of the two onto Amy’s horn. Thanks to its bend, it only went until halfway through. His marefriend followed his hand and tried to catch a glimpse at her horn, momentarily going cross-eyed. Meanwhile, Thiemo placed the other ring onto his right thumb, since it was too large for every other finger. They were most likely designed for horns, and this must have been the smallest size they had.

“We have to inform you that, if you try to take off or damage these rings, it will be seen as an act of violence. They are also very costly and have to be returned once we return to this room.” Obviously. Letting prisoners study the methods used to keep them imprisoned wouldn’t have been the brightest idea. The ponies were not stupid, just too trustworthy sometimes, expecting that their prisoners would act with honor. “If you would follow us now, please?” Thiemo nodded and went to stand by Amy.

With the group of servants as guides and followed by the two guards that normally stood in front of their door, they began trudging through the corridors of the castle. Thiemo noticed that it was significantly colder now than last week, meaning that winter was at its peak soon. At least he hoped so. “How’s the weather?” Thiemo earned a lot of confused looks from the ponies around him until they realized that he was serious.

“Cloudy?” one of the guards asked the other, unsure how to answer the question. “A lot of snow?” His colleague only shrugged.

“It’s a long winter this year. Cloudsdale planned Winter Wrap Up in a few months. Right now, there are a lot of storms hitting the city.” Finally, a useful reply came from the beige pegasus in front of him. They went up a small circular staircase which looked like it was only for the castle’s personnel. After arriving at the top, they turned left and finally came to a halt in front of a large wooden double door. “Please enter and use the facilities. We will be with you in a moment.” With that, the door was opened, and Amy entered first.

Thiemo followed, the sight of the room instantly leaving him flabbergasted. “Wow…” The room was gigantic. The entire bath was tiled with orange marble in a nature design. Three large pools surrounded the symbol of a large golden sun. Small ramps were between the pools, allowing one to easily swap between them. What really caught his eye was how they were filled. The water for the first one came from the ceiling; the water for the second one came out of little golden waterspouts looking like a mix between dolphin and pony. They were placed all around the pool, a steady stream of water flowing out of them.

The water in the last pool was low and came out of the ceiling, just like the first one. This water in this one came in form of fine drops, imitating a shower. The entire right wall of the room was covered with mirrors. The wall at the opposite site of the door was not a wall, but one single large window, which would have granted them a nice view over the town if the weather had played along. Next to entrance were large shelves with various shampoos and other things for maintaining coats and hairs. Finally, there was a door to their left, leading elsewhere. “Wow,” Thiemo repeated his admiration.

“Agreed. That’s something different to the lake in the hive.” Thiemo turned towards the various care products.

“You had a lake down there?” He pulled the cork out of one glass bottle and sniffed at its contents, only to wrinkle his nose and immediately shove it back.

“Multiple lakes to be exact, but they were all filled by a spring. You can’t drink the same water you’re bathing in.” Liquids were the only thing changelings really needed, aside from emotions. But they could last long without supplies.

Another bottle caught his attention. A kiwi was on it, and something that could have been a mango. He briefly sniffed at it and had to admit that it was much more pleasant than the previous one. Picky was the last thing he wanted to be right now - it was the first kind of soap he had in months - but now he had the choice. “Yes, it would be hygienic to separate these two. Your opinion?” He held the bottle in front of Amy’s nose, and she nodded after taking a whiff. When they both turned towards the pool, Thiemo noticed something. “Err… I don’t suppose there is a changing room with some swimming trunks?”

“A what?” For some reason, he hadn’t expected anything else. They looked at each other for a few seconds until Amy understood, and a grin appeared on her lips. “Is the human that is so… open all the time afraid there is something in the waters that might bite him?” Nope, can’t say he was rubbing off on others.

“When in Rome, you have to do like the Romans, eh?” Before Amy could add anything, he threw his rags into her face and let his body sink into the first of the three pools. Immediately, his body went stiff.

“Blech… these smell,” he heard a changeling complain behind him. “What’s wrong? Did something really bite you?”

“Cold,” he shivered.

***

Twilight Sparkle stood together with Captain Estoc and some of his soldiers at the landing bay of Castle Canterlot. Anxiety was evident on the face of the young princess. “I hope the storm is not too strong. If my mother had announced her return sooner, I would have contacted Cloudsdale and—”

“Don’t worry, Princess. Her escort is well-trained in flying chariots through any kind of weather, even through tornados and thunderstorms. The princesses are safe.” Twilight nodded and wondered how she could have doubted the Royal Guard. She herself had trusted them with her protection multiple times. “And even if not, they are immortal.”

“Captain!” Twilight shouted, indignant about Estoc’s bad joke. “That’s no reason to neglect their security. What would the public think about that?”

“Easy, Princess. It’s just an old joke that’s been passed through the Royal Guard for centuries. Allegedly, it goes back to an order Princess Celestia gave the very first captain. If I remember correctly, it went something like ‘Captain, I do not wish that anyone gives their life for mine. I am the warmth of the sun, here to protect my ponies, not vice versa.’” Twilight blinked. “Something like that at least. I’m pretty sure back then they spoke old Equis.”

“Isn’t the Royal Guard there to protect the princesses?” She thought she knew everything about the guards, especially since her brother used to be one of them.

“For most of the ponies we are, Princess, and of course it is part of our duty. But our real duty is to protect Equestria, not just the princesses. Princess Luna has made it very clear after her return that she knows how to defend herself, despite the smaller stature compared to her sister.” Twilight remembered how Luna was the first years after her return. Proud, stubborn, and keen on showing everyone that she wasn’t dependant on her sister, even though Celestia loved her a lot. She opened up over the years and started accepting the help that ponies had offered her. Still, she could still prove to be stubborn from time to time. As the former Bearer of the Element of Honesty, it seemed as though stubbornness was a trait every Bearer of the Element shared, but that was something Twilight hadn’t thought much about so far.

Suddenly, Estoc pointed at a dot in the sky, interrupting her musings. “That must be them!” Immediately, Twilight was nervous again and skimmed over the soldiers. “You! Tilt your spear five degrees towards your head. Your right forehoof more to the left. Not that far!” she started giving orders while Estoc had to laugh. Her first stint as a ruling princess was coming to an end, and she wanted to return it back to the other princesses as perfect as possible.

When she was satisfied with the position of the guards, she turned around the large open entrance of the bay and saw the chariot in its full glory - pulled by a dozen pegasi in golden armor, made out of the finest wood, ornamented by gold, and painted in the royal colors of Equestria. As soon as the hooves of the first pegasus made contact with the ground, he stretched out his legs and started the deceleration process. The chariot slithered a few meters over the ground until it was slow enough to be pulled across the rest of the bay.

Estoc rushed towards the large door, and with a glow of his horn, the grey stallion opened it. Princess Celestia in all her glory stepped out of it. Her lucent, multicolored mane flowed softly, golden jewellery was around her neck, and her white coat ruffled slightly in the wind. “Twilight!” she shouted happily and immediately trotted over to greet her. “How is my dear daughter?”

Chapter II - Act 7.2 - High Tea

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My little Pony

Journey

~Act 7.2 - High Tea ~

Thiemo was in a bathrobe in the large bathroom, standing in front of one of the many mirrors and stroking his hand over his freshly cut hair. The mystery about the side room was solved: it was some kind of salon. While a professional stylist was waiting to work on Amy’s mane, they had apparently hired a dog groomer for him. Based on his looks, however, it was more likely that the stallion was the one who gave the guards their manecuts as well. The unicorn was clueless at first on how to handle his hair, so he had used a large pot as a template. It was something similar to how his grandmother had told him about from the post-war years. The few hairs that had still hung over his eyes after that were quickly trimmed before they moved on to shaving. The unicorn utilized one of those old knives that weren’t even used by his grandfather when he was young. He had been fervently hoping that his barber knew what he was doing while levitating the knife over his face. It was a mystery how such precise work could have been done without even touching his face with hands (or hooves, in this case).

But now here he stood, his throat uncut and his hair only remotely reminding him of a crow’s nest. He took some of the tincture out of the bottle the stallion had given him and rubbed it in his hands before spreading it onto his freshly shaved face. He immediately clenched his teeth as the alcohol reared it searing, burning head, causing him to quickly wipe the rest off with a towel. “Not even Dad’s aftershave was that mean,” he mumbled to himself and turned towards the open door of the salon again.

On the other side, Amaryllis reclined on a couch while all six maids and a professional hairdresser worked on her. Even though they had previously stated that they were here to work on both of them, they had instead concentrated solely on Amaryllis. He was envious of her, but only slightly. She was the princess in the room after all.

“Mister Thiemo?” He turned towards the new voice and saw that it belonged to a white unicorn that had just come in through the entrance. “Ah! There you are.” If he recalled correctly, she was a friend of Princess OCD, though they had not been introduced to each other as yet.

“Voilà! Here you have found me even though I was hiding so well… Miss?” It could have also been sarcasm mixed with the water that dripped down from his slightly wet hair.

The problem was that the white unicorn with the purple mane either did not recognize his mockery or was just ignoring it. Since he expected that was a brain behind all the eyeshadow and obviously fake eyelashes, he assumed the latter. “Oh, where are my manners. I do not believe we have been introduced yet. I am Lady Rarity.” She reached out her right foreleg, her hoof slightly bent, showing him that she was not expecting a handshake. So that was exactly what Thiemo did.

His hand wrapped around her hoof, softly at first before heavily shaking it a few times. When he was done, blank shock was evident on Rarity’s face, and her neatly done mane was looking quite similar to his hair. “Ouch! What a ruffian!” Immediately, multiple combs from the shelves were encased in a bright blue aura of magic as they flew over to her and began their work. “Is that how you treat a lady? But never fear, we shall a gentlecolt out of you yet. It’s not every day that you meet a princess.”

“I’ve already met two. One of them is over there,” he replied with a wide grin and waved at Amy. She returned with a faint wave of her hoof, too busy with the massage Thiemo would have loved to be enjoying right now. “But now that you mentioned it… I don’t think I left a good first impression with either of them.”

“Not to belittle Twilight here, but I am speaking of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna! We simply have to follow the required etiquette.” Thiemo just rolled his eyes. Meanwhile, Rarity turned around, and a small trolley with various silverware and cups rolled inside. Below the trolley was something draped in cloth and tightly wrapped. “Let’s start with something simple.” She levitated a cup in front of her and took a dainty, little, pretend sip from the empty cup. “And now you.”

Thiemo grabbed the cup out of the air and carefully placed his pointer around the handle while stretching his pinkie away. He then proceeded to repeat her actions and took a short sip from the cup. “Wow, good stuff.” He threw his head back and downed the entire non-existing contents of the cup in one go and gave the cup back to her.

“Well… at least we can say you tried.” She sighed and placed the porcelain cup back down. “Let’s try something else.” In the corner of his eyes, Thiemo could see Amy snickering at his antics. “This is a salad fork.” She had placed a whole row of silverware in the air in front of him and was going through all of them.

“Dinner fork, dessert fork, cake fork, and serving fork. Since the carving knife and the fish fork are missing, I take it that neither meat nor seafood will be served?” The unicorn blinked with surprise when he named all the remaining forks and tapped at each one.

“Well then, it would seem that not all hope is lost. Since it would seem that you can behave if you at least try, my work here is done.” She placed everything back on the trolley and arranged it neatly. “That only leaves me to give you this.” The wrapped package flew over to him from the trolley. “Unfortunately, I was quite in a hurry, so I couldn’t give it the finishing touch.”

Thiemo carefully opened the package and found something inside which, at first, he expected to be his coat. But that was only half the story. It was clearly the same cloth and the same color, but someone had taken the time to restore it, making it look like it was brand new. Even better, there were some improvements made for the cold season. He now had a collar out of some fluffy cloth that he couldn’t identify clearly. Some sort of fake fur maybe.

Underneath that was not his brown shirt that felt and looked like it was made out of a potato bag, but a real white shirt. Just like his coat, there were some improvements as well in the form of the new fabric and some buttons obviously.

He carefully placed the two garments into an empty drawer of one of the shelves and looked at the next piece. It was his old blue jeans, or at least that was what it looked like. It was patched and cleaned like it hadn’t been for years. His old, fake leather belt lay on top of it.

Again, he looked over his stuff and then down at the bored looking unicorn who was scratching her chest with a hoof. He was feeling like a jerk now for snapping at her like that earlier even if she only repaired his clothes because she was ordered to. “Thanks,” he mumbled, barely audible.

“Oh look. Manners. Maybe I should rethink keeping the shoes for myself then. But who would want to have something this ugly anyway?”

***

Lyra sat in the kitchen of her parent’s home, languidly stirring a spoon in her hot chocolate. She had just stored her stuff in her old room and was now waiting for her parents to come home. She didn’t plan on leaving Canterlot before she got to speak with Princess Celestia, or Luna, or at least with somepony that would allow her to prove her theory.

If she was right, then it would mean they were not alone in the universe. That there were other stars out there that were inhabited just like theirs. And most importantly, that humans didn’t originate from Albion. “Damn it,” Lyra cursed as she stirred too forcefully and some of her hot drink spilled over her hoof.

“What? Such language in this house. That’s not how I raised you.” Her father grinned as he entered the kitchen. “I thought you would be in the castle?” It was no surprise she didn’t hear him coming. The entrance to their large mansion was basically on the other side of the building.

“Hello Dad,” she muttered while levitating some paper towels over from the counter to free her fur from the brown attack. “And no, the thing at the castle is over. Apparently, Princess Celestia cancelled Princess Twilight’s project.”

Her father, a light green unicorn with a white-grey mane that showed his age, was the professor for Dark Magic Defence at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. He had had to often examine objects and possible magical artifacts and had experienced times when his sponsor, usually a stuffy aristocrat, lost his patience. Cancelled projects were nothing new to him, and Lyra knew that. “Oh, my dear. What special thing was it, anyways? You’ve never said a single word about it during your few visits.”

That was because she had to remain silent. But now that she was fired, she realized she was no longer bound to her contract. “You know there was a non-disclosure agreement.” Her father sat down at the table next to her and poured himself a cup of the now tepid chocolate drink. “But that’s not the point! They captured a human, and he could speak our language. I’ve learnt more about their race in the last two months than in the last five years.” Which represented her entire time after university. “And just when I thought I made a huge breakthrough, Captain Stick-in-his-butt fires me!” In order to get rid of the anger that had built up in her, she took a large sip from her cup, only to choke on it.

“If the princess doesn’t want to fund this research any longer, well… it’s her right. But they really have one of these monsters down there in the dungeons?” Lyra, who had caught her breath again, rolled her eyes.

“They aren’t monsters, Dad! They just have a different culture that we sometimes can’t understand.”

“I know, I’m just teasing you. Everypony who reads some history books will quickly find the origins of these legends. Nightmare Moon and her horde of wild barbarians marching against Canterlot, impaling the heads of their enemies on sticks, eating their bodies and so on, which is where the story of the headless horse comes from. The war of the Endless Night, or as others liked to call it, The Sibling War. Twenty-five years of death and destruction and the three factions.” He paused to take a sip. “So? What’s your big breakthrough then? I can see how eager you are to tell it.”

“Okay, hold your hat!” Quickly, she looked around to see if they were alone. The clock on the wall was ticking. A few drops of water dripped down from the tap into the sink, and a single fly hit the window for the twentieth time. “I think that humans aren’t from Albion. They came from a different star.”

Her father blinked and then laughed. “Are you serious, child? And you’re wondering why the princess ended the project?” Teeth gnashing, she looked at him, eyes full of resentment. His laughter still rang in her ears, mockery and derision blending in with her imagination. “Alright, if you can prove your theory with some facts, I wonder why you are here and not in the castle waiting in line to speak with the princess?”

“They just returned today! They didn’t even look at my results. It would be pointless to go there because I doubt they’d give any audiences today.” Spectre nodded.

“So… How’s your marefriend? Bonbon was her name, right?” He tried to change the subject. “Are you still together?”

“How often do I have to tell you that, Dad? Bonbon is just a friend!”

“If you say so.”

***

To simply say the whole thing was worth it would have been an understatement. Thiemo looked like a human again and not like a diamond dog with some bald patches here and there. Well, maybe aside from his fringy haircut. Amaryllis went through a change like day to night, or in her case, from night to day, considering her dark coat. It shimmered and reflected every ray of light that fell upon it. Groomed and with various care products applied to it, it was incredibly soft now as Thiemo found out when she walked past him out of the door to the bathroom.

Her mane no longer loosely hung down at her side. Apparently the maids and the stylist had the idea of curling it. Slightly crimped, every one of her so many pink streaks swayed to each movement of her legs. And while he watched her, Thiemo had to admit that she looked attractive. Not like she wasn’t already, but in a different way. It was more her character, not her looks then. Right now both came dangerously close. It didn’t help that her tail had gotten the same treatment as her mane, something that gave him the opportunity, if he wanted to take it, to take a peek through the streaks. A fitting comparison would have been a Victoria’s Secret model that only wore a nylon string and tried to pass it off as a bikini. Not like he was complaining though.

“Uh… um.” One of the maids next to him who seemed to have noticed his stare harrumphed. His eyes went up front again, and he looked down the hallway they were walking through, something that was much more comfortable now with his boots back on. Rarity couldn’t save his old kicks but instead had made some new ones, using them as a template. Not that he was trying to be ungrateful, but he could immediately tell that she was not expert in making shoes. The boots were made out of an unknown, leather-like material and reached up to and covering his knees, making it seem as though she had thought everything until there belonged to his legs. But at least the material was stretchy and didn’t hinder his movements.

They came into what Thiemo recognized as the entrance hall, but now with far less corridors. There were still a lot of them to the left and right in front of the staircase to the first floor. What had changed completely, however, was the color schema: a dark violet, now the banners that were white with a golden sun emblazoned on them, just like in the bathroom. He slowly realized the meaning behind it, but he wouldn’t receive the confirmation to his suspicions until later.

They went up in the first floor and were guided to a room just to the right, above the entrance. “If the guests would please enter, the princesses will be with you shortly.” With that, the beige pegasus maid opened the door, allowing them to see inside the small, but comfy-looking round room. A fire crackled on one side of the room. Red banners hung down the walls, and on the places where they were absent hung various pictures of what most likely was Canterlot, each one seemingly showing different time periods. A fluffy red carpet covered the floor and in the middle of the room was a seating place, looking a bit Asiatic to Thiemo. There was a small round table with a sheet on it that touched the ground, and some red cushions with golden threads placed around it.

On the table was a crystal bowl filled with various fruits that couldn’t be fresh, not only because of the current season, but also because there were a few in there that only grew in the regions around Zebraica, namely bananas and pineapples. “Mother had a similar room… only it was larger.” Amaryllis walked around the table and looked at the pictures on the wall. “There is at least a century between each of these pictures.”

“How do you know that?” Thiemo followed her through the room, the door closing behind him with a click.

“The structures and the plants. Building something like this and growing a tree that large like in this picture to that one takes many years. We changelings appreciate what we have built,” she answered, also giving him the information as to why she knew that. Thiemo though back at the hive where he had met Amy.

“How old is the hive in the Leylands? I think I saw a lot of it, but I expect it was way bigger than that.” Amy nodded.

“If you came in through the same way we left, then you’ve seen one of the three chambers. It is the oldest hive on this continent, built by my grandmother Echidna. She was—”

“A friend. It is sad she is no longer with us.” Startled, they both spun around and looked in the face of the newcomer. It was an alicorn just like Twilight, but she was gigantic. So far, Thiemo was taller than most things on this planet, but she was at least one head taller than him, even without her horn. Her coat was pure white, and her mane consisted out of green, blue, and pink streaks that seemed to flow in a non-existing wind. Around her neck, she wore something that looked like a golden yolk in which lay a purple gemstone in the center. Unlike other ponies, she wore something resembling shoes over her hooves, also made out of gold. “I am Celestia, Diarch of Equestria.” She bowed her head slightly and pointed with her wings towards the table. “Please, take a seat.”

Thiemo didn’t dare move at first. How did she get in here? The door was still closed, and he should have felt any kind of magic. Aside from almost radiating authority, it caused a cold shiver run down his back. “A pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. I am Princess Amaryllis, daughter of Chrysalis, rightful queen of the changelings.” Amy bowed to her as well, only she moved her head significantly lower than Celestia did.

Maybe he should have followed her example. “Morgan Freeman, the pleasure is mine. How’s the god business? I have to say it can get really stressful from time to time. But we all know that, right?” Thiemo reached out with his hand. To his surprise, Celestia reached out her hoof as well and briefly shook his hand.

Now completely confused, he watched the princess start to giggle as she walked past his stiff body and sat down at the table. Amaryllis followed her example and left the completely perplexed human standing in the room. “Can I offer you some tea? Maybe some cinnamon apple?” She didn’t wait for a response, and four cups immediately appeared with a quick swing of her horn.

Thiemo caught his breath as he saw that. That was no teleportation. She really created tea out of nothing, something he had read about in many books. It took energy, a lot of energy and an almost infinite amount of experience. Even then, the few lucky ones who managed to pull it off only could create a pebble stone. Tea, including the cups, with its complex aromas and various ingredients, was basically impossible. And Celestia did it just like that. He still doubted she was a goddess, but one thing was certain: he didn’t want to mess with her. “Thank you, Princess,” Amaryllis replied and took a cup with her hooves.

Thiemo rubbed his eyes one last time and silently sat down next to his companion. “So, you two. My sister will arrive later, but I don’t think she will mind if we begin. I would like to hear how you entered my lands.”

Celestia looked at Thiemo first, but he preferred to stay silent for now. She then focused her attention to Amy, who began to tell her story. She skimmed over her life in the hive, something Thiemo mostly knew about by now. Then she came to the day the two had met. From the tour she gave Thiemo to the moment she was informed that he has fled and how she found him in the end. Then her short fight and finally their escape. “I didn’t know what to do. I was an outcast and defeated. But Thiemo took me with him and promised we would search for my father. The thought of meeting him had me worried at first because of… what I am, but Thiemo said that every father would be happy to see his children.”

“Wise words,” Celestia agreed. “Thank you for sharing your story with me, Amaryllis.” She turned towards Thiemo. “And now to you, Mister Freeman?” Even though she had heard his real name multiple times, she still used his fake one, only raising more suspicion.

“Sorry, but my mother told me not to speak with strangers.” In the corner of his eyes, he saw Amy’s worried face. She was surely aware that he was playing with fire right now. Celestia played it off well and simply continued smiling.

“Well, may I step in then?” Now Thiemo was curious. “Bananarama the Ape god, Simba, Captain Baloo, Lucky Luke, or Morgan Freeman?” Now he knew his worries were valid, and he swallowed in sudden trepidation. “Where shall I start? Maybe how you tricked King Rehgard? Or how you trampled on the camels’ culture? Or maybe how you fled your training from Master Zarni when it got too hard?” She knew it. She knew it all. But he had no idea how. “Then there is still your time as leader of a small pack of bandits in the slums of Dragmire. Your journey on the Northwind, and your stay in the prison of Boardor. Your contention in Round Rock, and finally, your audience with Queen Chrysalis. A few thefts in Fillydelphia, and to come to some more recent events, attacking the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony and a princess of Equestria. My daughter to be exact. Is that all for now, Timo?”

It had been years since he had heard his name pronounced correctly. But that wasn’t the reason why his eyes were searching for an escape path now. She knew too much, even if it wasn’t everything. The room had no windows, the chimney had a fire burning underneath it, so there was only the door to his left. “Thiemo?” Amy looked at him with concern. She knew some of the stories, but only to a certain degree.

“Is something wrong? Did I forget something?” The grin on Celestia’s face meant nothing good, and fear took over. He suddenly stood up and ran over to the door. In one movement, he swung it open and rushed past the two guards waiting outside before they even had time to react. At full speed, he freed his right hand of the ring and threw it in a corner. When he looked forward again, he saw guards rushing up the stairs already and some more coming out of the corridors. There was only one way left. With one leap, he jumped over the handrail down to the ground floor. In mid-air, he saw another alicorn coming through the entrance. It looked at him with a blank expression as he hit the marble floor and tried to roll. Unfortunately it was too high, and without the usual deceleration provided from the controlled wind, the shock of his landing rang in every bone. He felt something crack as he remained prone on the floor, unable to move, searing pain shooting through every fibre of his being. The guards didn’t need any more time to catch up, and soon enough he found himself surrounded again. “Shit…”

The other alicorn, this one with a dark blue coat and a mane that seemed to reassemble the night sky, came over to him and bent over him. “Easy, you are hurt. Let me help you.”

Chapter II - Act 7.3 - Escaping For Dummies

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My little Pony

Journey

~Act 7.3 - Escaping for dummies~

Aura sat at a table with the ponies she had come to accept as her family over the last months. Thiemo was obviously still her dad; for her, there was no doubt about that. Without his consent, she would have never even come here. Despite her initial misgivings, however, she was glad she did. For one there was Granny Smith, an old, light green mare with an apple pie as a cutie mark. She was the undisputed boss here on the farm, though from time to time, she would say something that Aura could only interpret as random gibberish. But she was nice and always had an open ear for her. They often sat by the fireplace, telling each other stories about what they had been through. Of course, the older pony had more stories than she did. But at least now she understood the fun her father had in telling stories. It was a wonderful feeling when others listened, interest obvious in their eyes as one spoke.

Macintosh, or Big Mac as everypony usually called him, was pretty nice too. She just couldn’t figure him out though. The large stallion was always there when she needed him like the one time she almost fell out of the old tree house. But he spoke so infrequently and always briefly when he did, making him seem a little eerie. Like he was hiding something. Maybe he didn’t want anypony to notice when he would go into town at night. Aura once followed him to Ponyville and saw him with a strange mare. He even went into her house but didn’t even leave that night. Nevertheless, he was sitting at the breakfast table the next morning. Thiemo always said it was worth trying to lift a secret, and that was exactly what she was going to do. She also really wanted to know what his large, green, apple cutie mark was supposed to mean.

Then there was Aunt Apple Bloom, who had an apple blossom and tools as her cutie mark. Aura didn’t want to address the young mare as ‘aunt’, but she had insisted, saying something about making her look more like an adult. Aura didn’t really understand it, but Apple Bloom was happy when she called her that. After all, they were all somehow related. When Apple Bloom was not busy repairing something on the farm (aside from the strange old treehouse), she spent her time with her two friends, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. The three of them would often take her with them to do a whole host of things: playing in the snow, ice skating, building snowponies, or simply playing a board game in the warmth of their homes. They were years older than her, but since Aura didn’t go to school, they were the only friends she could do something together with.

The last pony in the Apple household was Applejack. Like Apple Bloom, she was related to her, but they hadn’t figure out how just yet. The first few days she had spent on the farm clearly showed that there was some kind of connection. She could read the older mare like a book. When she was tired of the housework, Aura and Granny Smith would bring her food and drinks. When she was tired, Aura would lie down next to her, her warm body pressing closer to the larger pony’s. When she was sad, Aura somehow felt the need to cheer her up. It was similar to how she had been with Thiemo, and that was just what confused her so much. The strange spell from the princess said that they were closely related. Applejack had instead told her that Granny Smith’s sister had a daughter, and she was her cousin or something like that. She had stopped trying to understand the whole thing halfway through.

These confusing thoughts were just some of the reasons that led to the following question: “Applejack… are you my mom?” Muzzles immediately were unhinged, eyes shot over the table, and one set of artificial teeth dropped out of one elderly mare’s mouth as everypony present stared, first at Aura and then at Applejack. Well, everypony except Granny Smith, who was still softly dozing and mashing her gums together, seemingly realizing that something was missing from her mouth even in her sleep.

Applejack returned the questioning looks of her family and coughed. “Errr… What gives you that idea, Sugarcube?” Aura could clearly see that she wanted to avoid the subject from the way she was fidgeting around in her seat.

“Well, that spell said we were directly related. But Granny said something about a cousin.” All eyes were still locked on the slightly sweating Applejack.

“Look, Sugarcube. It’s not like I wouldn’t want to care about you and all, but I think I would remember if I had a foal.” She looked over to Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom, but they still remained silent. Granny Smith’s only contribution to the conversation was still her light snoring. “Or did any of y’all see me pregnant?”

“Ah don’t know, sis, ya often travelling with the others,” Apple Bloom piped up.

“Eeeyup.”

“What? Are ya saying I did… and gave birth to a foal and then left it? Ya know I would never do something like that!” The two other siblings giggled at the flustered appearance of their sister. “Oh, for Celestia’s sake…”

“Well AJ, ya are the closest thing to a mother figure we have here.” She angrily stared at Big Mac for a few seconds before sighing. Aura, who had watched the whole scene with interest, was only more confused. They could be a weird bunch of ponies sometimes, but she liked them. If only her father could be here too.

***

It always happens the least imaginable way you would expect. That was the first thought Thiemo had when he found himself in the room again. He was lying on the floor, his head on a pillow, and the flanks of Amaryllis and the other alicorn he had ‘met’ at the entrance to his left and right. The last thing he could remember, right before he opened his eyes a few moments ago and began staring at the ceiling, was that she had casted some sort of spell on him. “He is remarkable. Usually a pony’s tail is the same color as its mane. Despite that, the elements gave him a white tail.”

“A remarkable fact indeed, Luna. Unfortunately, I do not have an explanation for that either.” Thiemo blinked again as he heard Princess Celestia’s voice. At least he knew now that she was not all knowing. “The Elements have their own methods to show us the right way.”

“Let’s come back to the subject at hand, Tia. Why did you scare him so much? He ran like a little foal that just saw a monster lurking underneath the bed.” Thiemo slowly brought his hand to his face and massaged his temple.

“You do know that the human can hear you, right?” He didn’t need to turn around to know that all eyes in the room were on him. He slowly sat up and turned around, facing the ponies. Celestia still sat in the exact same spot she had been in from the moment he had fled. He then threw a look towards the pony to his right. Luna, as Celestia called her, her name matching well to her appearance. To his left sat Amy, a worried expression on her face as he sat down on the cushion at the table. “So… why am I not back in the dark dungeons then?”

His question simply got ignored. “I did not scare him, simply confronted him with some truths. This is a hearing about what shall happen with these two after all.” Luna merely took a sip out of a fourth cup that most likely was created the same way as the others.

“Hey! Hold it! Almost everything she listed there happened outside of Equestria. Even I know that the laws don’t apply there.” The alicorn grinned, something that didn’t please him.

“Maybe, Thiemo.” She took a brief sip out of her cup. “Or should I address you by your real name?”

“Thiemo is my real name.” She nodded, seeming content to let it slide.

“Well, you are right in saying that our laws do not apply in the Leylands and beyond, but we could deliver you to them to face justice at their hands. I am certain a few diamond dogs and some dragons on Dragmire would like to see you again.” Thiemo swallowed. “But I just stated those events to judge your character.” Not much better. “And I was not finished before you decided to take a… short walk.”

“May I say something as well?” At the very least, he wanted to defend himself if he was in court here.

“I gave you the opportunity, and you have declined.” Another moment where his big mouth got him into more troubles. “Where were we? Oh yes, the assault on Twilight Sparkle. Let’s come to the more positive things... even though there are only a few. Tell me, what do you think about Auralia?”

“She is my daughter. I love her like my own child,” he blurted out before he could stop himself. It was something he had never told anyone directly, and even Amy was probably aware of it only through his emotions. But right now was not the moment to hold onto half-truths.

He noticed Princess Luna’s confused look. “Like an own child? Pardon me, but how old are you really, Thiemo? I have met a lot of humans in my life, but you seem to barely be half their age.”

“When I… started my journey, I was seventeen. I must have been eighteen when I met Aura. No clue, nineteen, maybe twenty.” He shrugged. He had quickly learned that time went by differently here, so he stopped using Earth’s calendar in his mind.

“Then one more question. What do you think about Amaryllis? You took her with you and guided her.” Thiemo and Amy looked at each other. He knew what she was expecting, hoping. But every word, every movement now was going to be carefully scrutinised. Even the words he didn’t say.

“Well… I like her… a lot. It’s just that… I will go home when I get the opportunity. A place where she can never be happy. It would be cruel to lead her and myself on about that.” Amy looked away and stayed silent while the two princesses exchanged a short glance.

“Allow me one more question if you would, Thiemo,” Luna stated. As if he really had a choice in the matter. “You speak as though reaching your home is beyond the realm of possibility. If you wish to return to Ti,” she looked at her sister again, “we could make the arrangements for your trip back.”

There were three creatures on this planet who knew that he was not from Albion: Amaryllis, Auralia, and Deerling. It was a rare occasion that he told anyone about it, if only for the fact that almost no one would ever believe it. But the two powerful beings around him wanted to hear it, and since lying could lead him down more painful paths, there was only the truth left. No, he had to try and be positive. Maybe they even knew a way back, or they could persuade Eris. “I’m not from Ti. If you could call something on this planet my home, it would be Cervidas.” The questioning faces of the two alicorns spoke volumes. With a sigh, he began his story from day one.

***

Estoc watched the human as he was levitated back into the room by Princess Luna, the doors shutting close behind them. He waited for a few minutes, doubled the guards in front of the room, and then carried on. Being called in because of such a minor incident made him a bit angry, and he would have loved to give the cadet a tongue lashing. One would think that she, even freshly out of her parent’s house, would be more independent. Not that he was really expecting her to show initiative though. It was why she was being trained, but one could dare to hope.

Maybe he would have been less angry if in his quarters, consisting out of his office, a living room and private bathroom, didn’t have a beautiful mare waiting for him. Lady Rarity had been spending more time inside the castle during the youngest princess’ stay, and they had enjoyed a fair number of meetings. It was enough for him to decide to invite the fine lady for a cup of tea in his quarters.

The confidence he exuded while in contact with his soldiers completely dissolved whenever he came into contact with the other sex. During his school days, he had been the plain Joe in the corner at every party, literally because of his grey coat. Not that he hadn’t good looking, though not as toned as today. He had just lacked the courage, having had to witness, on more than one occasion, how other stallions would snatch the mare he had his eyes on from under his muzzle. If there hadn’t been clear signals from Lady Rarity, he would have never asked her out.

Furthermore, he already knew a little about Lady Rarity. She was the Element of Generosity, multiple time saviour of Equestria, and a well-known fashion designer. Somehow, his rank as a reply to her beauty, wealth, and fame seemed so shabby, but if Shining Armor could do it, he could do it too… right?

Slowly, he placed a hoof on the handle to his quarters before pausing. His hoof was shaking. The last time it had trembled so was when he had stood against a changeling for the first time. Estoc took a deep breath. “Keep your hair on, colt… It’s not like a beautiful lady is waiting for you… yes… that helps.” With more momentum than planned, he opened the door and saw Rarity sitting exactly where he had left her. “Pardon me for having you wait, Lady Rarity, but the cadets were overeager again. Nothing serious.”

She smiled at him from the couch and nodded. “That’s nice to hear, darling, but a stitch in time saves nine, wouldn’t you agree?”

Estoc once again sat down on the chair opposite to her, so that only his little table with his cup of tea stood between them. “True. But if I get called in for every little incident, I should start demanding a toll.”

“Oh, stop it you! I remember back to when I opened my first store here in Canterlot. I gave my employees, two young things who had just finished school, the order to let me check on every piece of work first. But instead of sending them to me, they honestly expected me to come here every time. Not that I don’t love Canterlot, but the train ride is anything but pleasant. They have been with me for four years now, and I still have to hold their hooves sometimes like they are little fillies.”

Estoc, meanwhile, was wrestling with deciding the next topic he could bring up in their conversation. Sure, the Royal Guard was a great subject, but this was Lady Rarity. She drank tea with three princesses in the afternoon if she wanted to. Then he noticed her saddlebags lying next to the couch. It was made out of a white fabric with her cutie mark as a buckle, but its content was what interested him more. “Maybe you have some designs you could show me? I would like to see them.”

“Oh, really? I didn’t take you for someone who was interested in fashion. No offense of course, darling.” He actually wasn’t, but nopony who went to school in Canterlot could avoid eventually knowing what the latest trends were. Today he did that through those very cadets he would often snarl at, whenever he could see their newest outfits in the locker room. It was a mystery to him how they could afford them from their slim salaries, but they most likely just had rich parents. Nothing uncommon in this city, with his family being an exception.

“Well, I know the latest trends for simple stallions and soldiers. I also saw many of the up and coming trends and fashions, and I think can give the opinion of a potential husband who admires the clothes his mare is wearing.” Estoc wondered how he came up with such a fitting reply. Maybe the final chapter had not yet been written.

Lady Rarity merely smirked and levitated her bag over to her, pulling out two sketchbooks. “Come over here, and we will have a closer look.” He hadn’t thought about that, but it was a pleasant surprise. He stood up and sat down next to the unicorn, who made some room for him on the couch. She opened the upper book, and Estoc immediately felt lost. He had never seen any clothes like this. “Oh, that’s the newer one. Here are only sketches for the clothes I made for this human… Thiemo. Seriously, that name is a jawbreaker.”

Now that he had an idea what the sketches were about, Estoc could bring some clarity to the pages set before him. “So that’s a coat, that’s a shirt, and these are... pants? Why is there a hole in the back?” Lady Rarity giggled and moved closer to him to point with her hoof at the picture in question.

“Well for his tail, darling. I can’t imagine that these kinds of clothes are made for it. It surely must be uncomfortable.” Estoc looked at each of the drawings closer.

“So you didn’t design them yourself?” She shook her head.

“Well no, I just used his old clothes as a template and base material. I can’t say for myself that I have ever made anything for a human. Well, until today. But one thing my trained eyes could say is that this coat was loved a lot. It got patched so often that it would have been easier to just buy a new one. But let’s come to my designs, or do you want to look at these longer?” Estoc waved it off, and she stored the book in her saddlebags again before opening the other one. What he saw now looked more like a dress, and were those socks on the other page?

***

“A very interesting story,” Celestia said after a while in which she and her sister just looked at each other. Thiemo had just told them in detail about his appearance in the ruins, how he found the staff, and why exactly the populace of Cervidas thought of him as a god. “Excuse me if we don’t just believe you quite so soon. But it would explain a lot of things.”

“For example?” Of course he expected that not everyone would believe him, but Amy had done so without asking any further questions. Now her hoof was resting on his thigh, giving him courage.

“It might sound a bit mundane, but why do you think we would show interest in a simple human?” Something Thiemo had been asking himself the whole time. Why would they even meet him here to decide the verdict in the first place? He had to agree with Luna there.

“What my sister is trying to say is that… we’ve had an eye on you. The appearance of a self-proclaimed god by the name of Bananarama caused the spreading of rumors. Even though I can understand that; bananas are wonderful little things.” Thiemo saw Celestia dallying over at a basket with said fruit.

“Some of our friends kept their eyes open for us,” Celestia explained when she magically refilled her cup. “For example, I received a very interesting letter from a former Royal Guard. Lone Star, or rather Billy as he preferred to be called. I can’t say I am content with his recent activities. Nevertheless, I was happy to hear from him.” Apparently, Celestia had done the same thing that he did back on Dragmire: build a network to keep up to date with everything that happened in the world. Without something like the internet or satellite communication, that seemed like the best way.

There suddenly appeared a strange being calling himself a god and terrorizing the planet. It was stupid for him to think that he would not have gained unwanted attention. “I think you’ve said all that needs to for now. Now then, let’s move on to you, Amaryllis.” Celestia smiled at her reassuringly. “Your father, my son, Shining Armor, no longer lives in this kingdom. I would love to immediately bring you to him in our beautiful neighbour land, the Crystal Empire. But the circumstances of your arrival have caused some… political fuss.”

Her horn glowed shortly, and a single page of a newspaper appeared on the table. In the middle of the page was a picture of the castle garden. Since there were still leaves left on the trees, even though not many remained, he knew the article must have been from late autumn. “Princess and Bearers of the Elements of Harmony attacked in the castle garden,” Thiemo read the headline.

“A dilemma indeed,” Luna agreed.

“If it were up to me, you would be in the next chariot heading to the Crystal Empire, but the parliament unfortunately wants to see you in court.” Frightened, Amy looked at Thiemo, who noticed the ‘but’ in her voice and nodded comfortingly at her. “Not that I want to put my granddaughter in such a situation. And that is where you come in, Thiemo. I want you to break out.” He could only blink in confusion. “You shall break out, flee into the Crystal Empire, and seek asylum there. Their laws are vastly different from ours. Due to certain reasons, you will be informed of how they never participated in a certain war. Humans and changelings are not prohibited from entering their lands.”

“Pardon me, but do I understand that right?” Thiemo was still a bit confused. “You want us to escape? By your orders?” Both alicorns nodded. “Okay… so I just get away with that?” Maybe he shouldn’t have mentioned that, but it sounded too good to be true.

“Certainly not,” Luna chuckled. “Your duty… or punishment - call it however you want - is to assure Amaryllis’ safety until you arrive there. As soon as your… disappearance had been discovered, we will not waste time in hunting you down. That, together with bringing not only Amaryllis but also Auralia back home, should make up for your little skirmish in the garden. At least, that’s how I see it.”

“So we just climb out a window, take the next train to the Crystal Empire, and we are free from there on?” That would be too easy.

Celestia’s face told him he was right in his assumption. “Well, you can’t take a train for one. During an escape, trains will be searched at the borders. You will have to take the mountain pass without any means of transportation, something that is not going to be easy in the winter, I am afraid. Furthermore, we will be monitoring you with an object, and we will also assign two special Royal Guards to accompany you on this mission. Night Hawk is an expert for stealth attacks and cover, and Iron Heart is a well trained healer. Just in case and if you should agree.

Thiemo had almost forgotten it, but hadn’t Eris told him he should agree with Celestia? Did she know that the princess would make this offer? Did she know who Amaryllis and he was? “I guess I don’t have much of a choice. What would be the alternative?”

“An indefinite period in Tartarus or in exile. Which would mean shipping you to Ti,” Luna explained to him.

“Thanks, Jerry, I’ll take door number one.” All looked at him, confused. “That’s my agreement to option one.” Amaryllis clearly showed that she was looking forward to spend more time with him from the way she smiled at him.

“Tartarus then?” Celestia was good, too good for his taste.

“Another question. How exactly shall we flee from the castle? We have these rings here for a start.” He raised his right hand, but what he wanted to show was missing. “Or had. Our magic is still being blocked. And I didn’t even get five meters out the door, the fall not included. Speaking about that, shouldn’t my leg be broken?”

“You are welcome.” Luna, however, he did like more, relatively speaking.

“The rings,” Celestia said as Thiemo’s lost trinket flew over, “are only for decoration. I bought them from the market a while ago and just scribbled some runes into them, which is something my guards are unaware of. They will now remove the seal in front of your room.” She did count on him accepting the offer all along. Then again, the other options weren’t so charming. “I also expect a visit from a certain unicorn tomorrow morning who was very interested in you and will be a little angry for being dismissed. I am sure she will accept my offer to see you one last time. She will also have everything with her you will need for your escape. Including your staff.” Thiemo couldn’t hide the smile on his face.

“By the way, your staff is an extremely old weapon. Forged by nopony else but myself,” Luna proudly explained. "But from what my niece has told me, you haven’t even recognized its full potential. Let me tell you one or two things about it then.”

Chapter II - Act 7.4 - On the Run

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My little Pony

Journey

~Act 7.4 - On the Run~

It was rare that Lyra left her bed before nine. Well, at least according to her parents and their surprised faces as she sat down at the breakfast table next to them. “Morning, dear,” her mother greeted her. “Sorry, I didn’t put a plate out for you. We thought you wanted to have a lie-in on your first free day since Hearth’s Warming.”

“I have to go as early as possible, mom! This is the sensation of the century!” Her mother looked up in search for some explaining words from her father, who was just about to read the newspaper that was next to his breakfast.

He didn’t notice at first but looked up as the room fell silent. “Umm? Oh yeah. Lyra thinks humans are aliens who landed here thousands of years ago and never left,” he stated dryly.

“Lyraaa…” She knew that particular tone from her mother. She used it every time she thought Lyra had some crazy ideas running around in her head, or some that might get her in trouble. “You know that I’m proud of you and such, but couldn’t you have chosen another subject? Anthropology was abandoned centuries ago, dearie. It’s a dead subject. Have you ever thought of repeating your last school year and choosing another major? Maybe one where you can earn money with and not make every stallion gallop away from you? I would really like to be a grandmother one day.” Lyra rolled her eyes as the silvery mare pushed a plate with a pancake on the table in front of her.

“You’ll have to bet on Moondancer for that. Lyra is with Bonbon, her nice marefriend.”

“Dad!” Her older sister was the pride of the family. Not only was she working in the illustrious area of astronomy together with big names like Orion and Night Light, but she also had a coltfriend for over two years now in Prince Blueblood who, over several generations, was related with Princess Celestia. It was no secret that the princess had fallen in love over the course of the centuries and had given birth to several foals. “I’ve already told you so often that we’re only living together. It’s just because of the money.” Of course, Bonbon had become her friend as well, but that was after the utilitarian flat rent.

“Moony is so focused on her career all the time, and since Lyra has always been so hoydenish, I thought she would be the first with a little filly or colt of her own.” Lyra noticed how she was being excluded more and more from the conversation. “Since she has no real job, she would surely be a good housemare…”

“Honey, have you ever seen your daughter cleaning her room? She’s only here for a night, and I bet if we go up there right now, it will look like a tornado went through the room.” What did they expect? Lyra had to prepare herself for the audience with Princess Celestia. Her desk was small, so she had to use the floor to prepare her notes. Her formal attire had been in the way when she had tried to get it out of her bag, and maybe Lyra had slammed it on the ground a little too roughly.

“Urg,” she moaned. “Thanks for the breakfast, mom, but I’m not hungry anymore. I have to go now.” Even if the princess was not receiving anyone this early, it would surely be better to wait in the castle than enduring this scene here.

“Darling?” she heard her mother call behind her as she was about to leave through the kitchen door. “Just a recommendation, but maybe you should shower first. Or is a bed mane in fashion again?”

“I wouldn’t even be surprised by today’s youth,” her father added. With a hoof, she noticed that her mother was right, and she quietly went into the other direction, heading towards the bathroom. It was enough that some thought she was crazy - she didn’t have to look it too.

***

Not only with a neatly done mane and fresh perfume but with much more élan in her steps as well, Lyra Heartstrings, anthropologist extraordinaire, was on her way through the downtown of Canterlot. Her destination was clearly visible above the rooftops. In a few minutes, she would leave behind the hustlers, the poor, unknowing ponies. While they would live on in their simple world of fashion, power, and money, she would unravel an ancient mystery and would finally grasp the recognition she deserved.

She wouldn’t only show it to her parents, not only to her sister, not only to the council, no… to the whole world! Or at least where everypony would have access to the professional journals where the countless interviews she would give could be printed and sold. But that was of no matter now; those were just some minor details.

With a wide grin on her face, she ran up the stairs that led to the visitor’s entrance of the castle. “Mommy, she looks scary,” whimpered a foal that saw her and clenched tightly to her mother’s back.

“Just wait for it! I’ll show you too!” The mother and various other ponies just stared at her, flabbergasted. “Umm…” She had once again slipped into an awkward situation, causing her to speed off on her hooves. Maybe she should wait with the daydreaming until after she met with the princess, because they would be real then.

Slightly drooling at the thought of how her life would be after her revelations, she continued on her way. It didn’t take long until she absently passed the guards at the door, who only shrugged as she walked past them and marched through the large gate into the castle. Unlike the main entrance, which was mostly used for special events, this one was used for everyday activities. “Good morning, sirs. I would like an audience with the princess,” Lyra proudly declared.

One of the two stallions only nodded slightly towards the large door behind him and opened it with his magic. Behind it was usually a large queue of ponies with the same destination as hers. However, today was an exception. Confused about the empty hallway, she looked back to the guards. "The princess awaits you, Miss Heartstrings.” Lyra could barely tame her excitement. The princess awaited her? Surely she had heard about her great work and was just waiting for her presentation.

Excited like a little filly, she stepped through the second door at the end of the foyer into the throne room. It was no longer decorated with purple banners, but the traditional white and blue banners with the symbol of Equestria - the planet Albion circled by the two princesses - on them. Lyra stopped for a second and remembered what Thiemo had told her about the pretentious image that Equestria had garnered by those outside its borders. For all she knew, Equestria was the only country that showed the entire planet in its banner. But Celestia would never abuse her power; she was a god above fault and reproach. On the other hoof, Celestia had fired her, but that surely was just a mistake of the bureaucrats. If it were up to her, bureaucrats and lawyers could all be put into a large bag and be used as a piñata. You would never hit the wrong one. Maybe those annoying salesponies and Celestia’s witnesses could go in as well. Everypony knew that she was their god; why ring the doors of tired ponies at such early hours then?

Lyra shook her head as somepony in the room coughed slightly. She looked up and saw Princess Celestia staring down at her from her throne. “I suspect you want to talk with me, my little pony?”

Slightly embarrassed, she walked the rest of the way towards the throne and bowed to her as was right and proper. “Pardon me, Princess. I was just wrapped up in some thoughts.” Celestia smiled and nodded.

“What can I do for you, Lyra?” Now was her time.

“Well, Princess, I have worked with the imprisoned human over the last two months on behalf of your daughter. I have discovered a lot of interesting facts during this time and have a theory. Hold on tight!” She paused for a moment, giving time for the imaginary drum roll to finish as the excitement and tension reached a climax before saying, “Humans… come… from… space!” A raised brow was not the reaction she had expected. Not at all. Couldn’t she show a little more enthusiasm?

***

Well, it was less than she had hoped for. The princess listened to her theory, the facts she had gathered, and thought about it for a less than a minute. The counterarguments she brought up were a real damper to Lyra’s mood.

“How could the human know where he came from if it happened thousands of years ago?”

“Where is the magic, alchemy, or technology required for that?”

“There is always the possibility that they were just stories,” Lyra mimicked the princess’ voice as she was guided through the castle by a guard. She noticed how the stallion was looking at her from the corner of his eyes. “Something wrong?” Like most of his colleagues, he preferred to stay silent and didn’t reply.

This was her last chance. Celestia had informed her that the human would be relocated to Tartarus, a prison for dangerous magical creatures and other criminal scum. A journey with no return, for no one had ever gotten past Cerberus. Well, if one didn’t count the one day when he had neglected his duty and decided to visit Ponyville. Fluttershy had been able to calm him, and Twilight Sparkle brought him back afterwards. Why exactly he ran away Lyra never found out, but she hadn’t really asked why either.

At least she could speak to him one last time before that. Furthermore, the princess had called in a maid that gave her a package. It was for Thiemo and was apparently his last wish in freedom. Most likely it was some delicacy. Judging by the size of the box in the borrowed saddlebags that came from the same maid, it was most likely a pineapple or something. For a moment, she thought about looking inside herself, but then her guide had already appeared.

It didn’t take long until they reached the servant’s quarters where Thiemo and the changeling were stationed. It was still a mystery to Lyra as to what was going on with the real monster there. Why were they held together, and who was she? Over the past few years, changelings had occasionally been found. They were usually thrown into the dungeons, where they slowly dried out to death. Parasites like them didn’t deserve anything else. At first, their victims got tired, slowly but steadily becoming sicker by the day. Eventually, they would die if there was no one to care about them. Unfortunately, many confused the symptoms of a changeling attack with simple magical exhaustion, or regular exhaustion in the case of pegasi and earth ponies.

Her thoughts led Lyra to a dark place. Were they allowing the changeling to feed from Thiemo? No, that wasn’t possible. He had shown none of the usual signs that someone was feasting on his emotions. Au contraire, over time he seemed to get friendlier and even healthier, even if just by a little.

“Here we are, Miss Heartstrings.” They stood in front of the simple quarters with the two guards that guarded the human. It was debatable if they were always the same ones. That stupid armor made them all look alike. “The princess said you can leave when you’re done.”

Lyra didn’t dare to knock, knowing exactly what kind of reaction it always incited from the prisoner. Instead, she just opened the door and entered the barely furnished, dark room. As always, only a few candles were lit on the wall and one on the desk where Thiemo had done his work. Lyra had hoped that his cooperation would receive clemency from the princess, but the judgement apparently still stood. Without trial. “Lyra?”

She saw how Thiemo sat up in his bed. It looked like he had finally gotten some decent clothes, but that was to be expected. Tartarus was deep in the mountains of Tramplevania, surrounded by snow and ice. “Hi. Umm… I came to speak with you one last time… I guess.” She levitated the box from her saddlebags and held it in front of him. Meanwhile, she saw that he wasn’t alone on the bed. The changeling was still lying on the sheets, dozing away.

“Thanks Lyra, just what I was waiting for.” Well, it didn’t hurt to ask.

“What’s inside?” Thiemo grinned and knocked on the box.

“Inside are the finest bath salts in all of Equestria. Since I’m not going to take another one in my life, I think I will take the best one ever.” Thiemo went over the other bed and pulled the sheets off it.

“What are you doing?” Saying that she was confused was an understatement. For someone who was going to go into a prison with no return, he was way too happy. “You know what the Tartarus is, right?”

“Of course. Some hole where they put bad boys like me and can forget about us. They explained it to me when they announced the sentence.”

“First of all, why the sheets?” She pointed with her hoof on it.

“They don’t have towels my size. Well, they do, but they belong to the princesses, and they don’t want to waste them on a grubby little human like me. So I have to take this alternative to dry myself.” He was creative, Lyra had to admit that.

“Okay… I bet you’re wondering why I’m here.” He stared flatly at her, but Lyra pushed on. “You told me a lot, and I didn’t get around noticing some things. Innuendos no one else understood. Countries no one ever heard of before. A-mare-ica or something. I have checked many atlases, but there were no entries about it. Ti is also way too small to have so many states and countries. That’s why I think that you and the other humans are aliens!” The both stared at each other for a few seconds.

“Really? Aliens?” Lyra nodded determinedly. “Alright, you got me. Get your dissecting table, and I’ll get undressed.” Was that a confirmation? “I’m from the planet Melmac, located in the alpha quadrant of the known universe. Our favorite foods are cats, and we have these round thingies you call flying saucers.” No, just another of his usual sarcastic replies.

“So… not alien?” That was her second disappointment today. Maybe she shouldn’t have said it to her parents’ face about how she would show them. There was nothing waiting for her at home but scorn and derision as well as the usual talk about how she should search for a stallion.

“I didn’t say that;” the human grinned over both ears and shook the changeling. “Amy… hey, wake up. Our bath salts arrived.”

“You’re bathing with her?” Lyra shouted, indignant and surprised.

“What? No, everyone’s getting their own bath.” Lyra knew something was rotten there.

“Won’t she get her own trial in front of the parliament? Why should she…” No, Lyra couldn’t believe that. “You and her?”

“What? No… At least not like that.”

“Not like I would have anything against that,” Amaryllis piped up with a smile.

“Amy, stop it. You’re totally giving her the wrong image.” Lyra took a few seconds to process all this. A human and a changeling? Two creatures that were publicly seen as heartless monsters were a pair? That would change everything! If you could show it to a larger crowd and made it public that changelings and humans were capable of love, there might be a way to integrate them into society. The changelings wouldn’t have to steal emotions, and humans would no longer be seen as monsters.

“Guys! Can you stop now?” The two had exchanged some playful strokes. “Amy, right?”

“Princess Amaryllis to be exact. Daughter of Chrysalis, third of her name and future leader of the Leylands,” she replied as she stiffened her body and tilted her head regally. Lyra had to resist a giggle, but apparently the changeling had seen her mirth. “Hey, you said I would look illustrious if I say that. Meany!” Amaryllis complained as Thiemo burst out into laughter. “I should have known this was just one of your jokes.”

“’Scuse me, couldn’t resist after I heard how you introduced yourself to Princess Celestia.” Amaryllis stood up from the bed as well and stretched her body. This was the first time that Lyra had gotten a halfway decent look on her. Unlike the changelings she had seen so far, she actually had a coat. It was not as thick as a pony’s, but it was there. She also had a long purple mane that almost touched the ground. She was missing the typical changeling carapace, but the horn that was crooked and sharp and the wings on her back were of her kind. She looked less intimidating with her normal purple eyes rather than the usual changeling membranes, but her size also worked against that. Her head reached directly underneath Thiemo’s chin so that she was as tall as him with her horn. Lyra just reached to his chest, making Amaryllis a good head taller than the average pony. Without the magic suppressor on her horn, Lyra would be a little scared right now.

“Then I shall let you know that you have been forgiven,” she replied in a staged, snooty voice. “But you said something about our bath salts being here?” Thiemo again knocked on the box in his hand again. “Then it’s time to go now.”

If they left now, Lyra would be escorted out, and her chance for proving that humans are aliens would be gone. “Would you mind if I join you? I need a bath as well.”

The two looked at each other shortly and exchanged a few looks. “Umm… how do I put this the best way…? You remember how I told you that humans always wear clothes and why?” Lyra nodded. How could she forget that? At least she had speculated that a few years ago already. “No hard feelings, but we would rather have some privacy.”

“But she’s going to the same bathroom as well, right?” She wouldn’t give up that easily.

“Yes but she’s… a friend. A better friend. I know her better…longer.” Lyra’s eyes narrowed down to slits. Something was rotten here, and she knew she hadn’t left the mayonnaise in the sun again. Wait a second, she did. Urgh, Bonbon would be sure to have something to tell her when she went back home. “Look, we want… privacy.” He sternly looked at like he wanted to tell her something.

“Look, I have a plan to save you from Tartarus, and as soon as I’m out of here, the chance will be gone. I won’t let my research project be taken away from me that easily.” They again exchanged some looks. Then Thiemo sighed.

“Okay, have it your way.” It almost sounded like he wanted to go to Tartarus! “Guards! We want to take a bath. The princess should allow that as a last wish.” The door burst open shortly after he finished speaking. The head of one of the guards appeared in the hallway and nodded at them, motioning for them to come out. Thiemo let Amaryllis go first and together they left the room.

“What is with Miss Heartstrings?” one guard asked the other. Lyra couldn’t even say which one brought her here, but it was most likely the one that had just asked.

“She’s coming with us. She wants to speak with me a little longer while we take our bath.” The guard shrugged and began to show them the way. Thiemo and Amaryllis walked in front of her and both seemed just too relaxed. If she was going to be standing in front of the parliament or be transported to Tartarus soon, she would be a total wreck. What did she overlook here? Something just wasn’t right.

A spiral staircase later, they were in the quarters of Princess Celestia. Lyra had only been here once in her life. That was for a birthday party for Twilight when she was still a filly. Unfortunately, the guest of honor had refused to appear and instead hid in the library, so every foal from the elementary school except her had gotten busy with the three cakes, two clowns, and one magician.

The door to her left opened, and the soldier told them they only had two hours. Thiemo thanked them briefly and assured him that it was more than enough time. They entered the spacy bathroom that completely stunned Lyra. Especially the large ornament on the ground. “That’s Princess Celestia’s private bathroom! She agreed for a human to use it?”

“We’re not here for the first time,” Thiemo replied as he threw the sheets onto the ground and put the box down. He then looked outside through the large window. It was a typical winter day: cloudy, cold, and a little windy. Fortunately, Cloudsdale had stopped the snow for a week. “Well then.” Thiemo placed his hands together. He crouched down in front of the box and opened it. At first, a bangle went over his right hand, and then he pulled out a letter. Those were definitely not bath salts.

“What’s that? Did I get the wrong box?”

“No, everything’s alright,” Amaryllis replied while Thiemo read the letter. Eventually, he placed it in the inside pocket of his coat and pulled a small brown bag out, tying it around his belt. The last object seemed to be a kind of bracer.

“What’s that?” she asked as Thiemo put it around his left lower arm.

“A gift,” was his short reply. Thiemo stood up and rummaged around in the box with his fingers. “And I’m really sorry about this, Lyra.” He pulled out a blue crystal, and before she knew what was going on, she flew across the room and landed in front of a mirror at the wall with a thud. She groaned and tried to stand up, but she simply couldn’t. “I can’t take the risk that you call the guards.”

Lyra slight opened her eyes again and saw how he went over to the door. The lock glowed shortly before it started to melt. It didn’t make a sound, so no one who wasn’t directly watching it would have noticed. Only now Lyra realized what was going on. It was an escape. But how would that go? They were high up on the mountain. Of course, Amaryllis was large enough to fly them both for a while. But why the sheets then? Just as a distraction?

Thiemo went over the large window and pushed the cloth in front of one spot. “Of course,” Lyra mumbled as she slowly got back on her hooves again, wincing slightly. “So the shards won’t make a sound when the glass breaks.”

“We don’t need these any longer.” She saw Thiemo pulling something from his finger and then from Amaryllis horn before throwing it in the water. He surely noticed that she would be mobile again, for he said, “Lyra, please just stay there. I don’t want to attack you again.”

She wanted him to escape, but not like that. But why wasn’t she calling for help then? When she stayed silent, Thiemo turned away from her again and pulled out another stone out of the bag, a red one this time. He set his hand against the glass, and it began to glow. Slowly but steadily, he burned a hole into the glass on one side, Amaryllis on the other. Occasionally, the glass cracked and a lot of shards fell out of it, but just as expected, the sheet muted the sounds.

“Everything alright in there? We aren’t hearing anything.” Now was the moment. If she called for help now, she would stop an escape attempt and would get rewarded. But Thiemo and Amaryllis would be doomed. After that, none of her findings would be of use. They would receive their punishment.

“Yes, everything’s okay. The human’s just changing his clothes. Ashamed of being naked,” Lyra shouted back and looked over the confused looking human. She motioned him with a wave of her hoof that he should hurry up.

“I don’t hear the water running. Is really everything… Hey! The door is locked!” The door shook, but the molten lock would keep them at bay. “Sound the alarm! They are trying to escape!” Thundering hooves were heard as one of the three guards galloped away. “Miss Heartstrings, open the door! In the name of Celestia and Luna, that’s an order!”

“Dammit, Lyra! Why didn’t you just kept your mouth shut?” She asked herself the same question. Suddenly, there was a light clinking of glass, and a cold draft blew through the otherwise warm bathroom. “I’m through!” Thiemo jumped aside and Amaryllis positioned herself to break out the rest of the broken piece. She kicked forcefully but nothing happened.

“Let me help,” Lyra jumped in. Some of her power had returned. She had no idea how Thiemo had put her out of action with a single blow, but that had to wait until later. She stepped over to Amaryllis and nodded at her. They both lunged out, and with another strong kick, the rest of the glass splintered, making a large hole.

Before Lyra knew what happened, something grabbed her legs. In the next moment, she was on Thiemo’s shoulders. “We won’t leave you here to get unnecessarily punished,” he simply said and jumped on Amaryllis’ back. “I’ll give us a boost as soon as we’re outside. Can you do that?”

“If I know when it's coming, that shouldn’t be a problem.” The door to the bathroom behind him got blown out of its hinges, and a brigade of soldiers, led by Captain Estoc, charged in.

“Gentlemen! You will always remember this as the day that you almost caught Captain! Jack! Sparrow! Goodbye and off we go!” Lyra saw how his shoes were pushing against Amaryllis sides shortly, which appeared to be the signal for take-off.

“Get them!” Estoc snapped. Lyra could almost feel the grin on Thiemo’s face. He turned around half way, still with her on his shoulders, and pointed his hand at the pegasi who started the pursuit. Like Lyra, they were knocked into the air, only more forcefully and were knocked against the wall. With an evil laugh from Thiemo, they flew through the opening into freedom. The unicorns tried to catch them with various spells, but a rapid acceleration quickly brought them out of range.

Chapter II - Act 7.5 - See You Soon

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 7.5 - See you soon ~

With his tail between his legs and in the company of some of his Royal Guards, Estoc marched with swift steps through the corridors of Canterlot’s castle. Right after he had escorted half of the pegasi who were on duty to the castle’s hospital, the generals had arrived. Now he had to justify himself to both them and the princesses in the throne room.

“It’s going to be alright, Captain,” Swift tried to cheer him up. The unicorn had been one of the two stallions stationed at the door to the prisoners. “Nopony saw where the human got the crystals from, or why the suppressors didn’t work.” The rings, Celestia had assured him, were supposed to release a pulse that would paralyze the bearer if they attempted to take them off. He hadn’t paid attention to it during the human’s first escape attempt, but after he had jumped down from the first floor to the ground floor, he had been unable to move. Maybe it was really just a malfunction?

“That is what worries me. He must have gotten them somehow.” The soldiers knew what he meant and looked at each other, uncertainty written on their faces. Estoc could only hope that he was wrong. A mole was the last thing he needed right now, especially since they had just started to make some progress. They had just prevented a raid on a small warehouse last week even though the human attackers had fled.

They turned around one last corner and came to a halt in front of the large door to the throne room. Estoc looked at his companions before he took a deep breath and opened the door.

“…such incompetency can’t be ignored!” General Shield snapped at Spitfire and Forge, the two other generals. On the throne between them sat Princess Celestia. In front of her eyes levitated a document, and she seemed to be paying scant attention to the heated discussion.

With his entrance, Estoc had caught the attention of all present, and Shield just shook his head. “Ah! Captain!” Spitfire greeted. “Are the wounded taken care of?”

Estoc stepped forward, stood up straight, and saluted. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Good. Now, would you report on what has happened?” Estoc could see that the old Shield was not done yet, but none of the other generals seemed to care. Forge, a dark brown giant of an earth pony, continued chewing on a lollipop and ignored the grumbling of his colleague. Estoc had never seen him without a lollipop, or without his eye patch, or the typical short military manecut. If it weren’t for these simple candies, he would not dare to speak with him even now. It gave him some kind of approachability.

Estoc sighed. “This morning, the human by the name of Thiemo received a visit from Professor Lyra Heartstrings, who was responsible for him until a few days ago. The research had been terminated on Princess Celestia’s order, and Miss Heartstring was dismissed. She apparently wanted to prove one last theory, and the princess granted her an audience. She took a few soaps and other care products for the human with her on the way. His last wish before being reallocated to Tartarus had been to use Her Majesty’s bath one last time which she had generously allowed him once already. Since their conversation had not been concluded, Miss Heartstrings accompanied the human and the changeling to the bathroom. After a few minutes, in which my guards didn’t hear any sound of water, they went to check on them. The door was sealed, and so they sounded the alarm. You should know about what happened from there on. I arrived a few minutes later with the company, but it was too late. The human had already broken the window, taken Miss Heartstrings hostage, and knocked all present pegasi against the wall with an unknown spell so powerful that many broke their wings. As we speak, another company has taken on the pursuit and we—”

A raised hoof from Spitfire stilled him to silence. “Thank you, Captain. We are familiar with the procedure of pursuing prisoners. Gentlecolts.” She turned towards the two other generals. “It is quite clear from this report that the soap must have been replaced. Do we know who delivered it? Did it get checked?” Silence filled the room. “We have to expect an inside job. Also, if humans can manage to pull something like that off, we can’t underestimate them any longer.” Shield and Forge nodded. “Do we know in which direction they fled?”

“They flew southwards, ma’am. Most likely they want back into the Leylands.” Spitfire nodded at Swift’s words.

“Captain, take another contingent and check the surrounding cities. We can’t discount the possibility that they may be hiding right underneath our muzzles.” Estoc saw the other generals approving as Celestia slightly nodded over her document.

“I’m on it!” He saluted again and turned around on his hooves.

***

If the citizens of Ponyville listened for a little closer, they could probably hear, over the laughter of foals playing in the snow, the screams of one of their fellow citizens in the distance. As things stood, only Thiemo and Amaryllis had to endure Lyra’s panicked shouts. “Would you please shut up?! If you keep on screaming, flying low won’t be of any use.” They were only ten meters above the ground in order to raise as little attention as possible. “I’m holding you, and even if you drop, Amy will surely catch you with her magic.” That finally seemed to calm the stressed unicorn. “And even if she doesn’t, we’re only a few meters above ground and there’s a lot of snow. It’s not like you would die. Maybe just a broken bone or two.” Aaand once again she clenched around his neck with her forehooves as firmly as she could and with her back hooves around his hip. At least that way he no longer had to hold her flank with his hands and could finally look at the instructions.

Celestia had written that they should take the path from Ponyville into the Everfree until they arrived at some castle ruins. There their guides should already be waiting for them with maps and supplies. “Thiemo?” Amy’s voice made him look up. “Will we be there soon?”

He could hear the exhaustion in her voice. Thiemo had already suspected that with Lyra, who was obviously heavier than a little orange filly, her power would not be enough. “Over there must be Ponyville. I think we can go the rest of the way on foot. See if you can find a safe landing spot.”

Thiemo felt Lyra’s snout moving across the back of his head as she looked down and immediately snapped back again, most likely with her eyes closed. Her shivering was a clear indication of her fear of heights. “What’s with the barn over there?” Amy shouted and pointed a hoof at what she had spotted.

A single old barn stood up out of the snow. On one side, the wall was halfway collapsed and the heavily snow-loaded roof didn’t seem very promising either. Only idiots would stay in there. “Perfect, that’s where we land.” Of course Lyra screamed again as Amaryllis suddenly changed direction and the ground quickly came closer. With the last flaps of her wings, some loose snow from the top levels was blown aside as the hooves of the changeling princess were sucked into it.

“Phew. I couldn’t have made another hundred meters,” Amy sighed as Thiemo and Lyra climbed off her back. The later was still clinging to the human’s back.

“Anyone got a clue where exactly we are? Someone must have owned this barn once.” Thiemo freed his neck from the green hooves still clinging on to him and heard a thud behind him as Lyra fell in the snow. She vented her displeasure, but it fell on deaf ears. Thiemo meanwhile climbed through the open side of the relatively dry barn. A few old blankets and some hay laid around, but the creaking of the remaining wooden beams were not very promising. “That thing must belong to a farm.”

“This must be Sweet Apple Acres. The Apples have these things literally all over their property,” was the first decent thing that came out of Lyra’s mouth since they had left the castle. “One would think they build these things just for fun.” Another thought came to Thiemo’s head. Aura was here, and this was probably the last time he could see her for a long time. She could surely visit him in the Crystal Empire, but the question was when? Would her family allow it before she was an adult? Until now, Applejack didn’t seem to have anything against it, but she didn’t know anything about his escape yet either.

The two mares followed him into the old building and slammed their hooves on the ground to free them from the cold substance. “Sometimes I think it’s good to not have holes.” Thiemo could only agree with Amaryllis there. If Luna hadn’t put some heat spells on his clothes, he would surely be shivering now and mourning about the frostbite on his toes. Winters in Equestria were cold. If he had to guess, he would say it were at least minus ten degrees Celsius out there. For ponies, with their warm fur, this was less of a problem but ever so more for him. At least only his few uncovered body parts were lightly affected by this, so it was still bearable.

“So, now that we can breathe for a few minutes… would someone tell me how and why by Celestia’s beard did you flee? Why didn’t you just say, ‘Hey Lyra, excuse us, but we want to be alone in the bath because we want to escape.’ To hell with it, why not even said that you wanted to make a little swarm. Something!” The roof creaked at her shouting and a bit of snow fell on the ground. Cautiously, they all waited to see if anything more would happen, but it stayed still.

“Well, the question as to why we want to escape is pretty redundant, don’t you think? Me going to Tartarus and Amy having a trial in front of the parliament? If it weren’t enough that changelings are enemies of Equestria, her mother also tried to invade Canterlot. Suurely there would be a fair trial waiting for her with no politician trying to make himself look better.” At least that was what Celestia was afraid of since she would have been unable to intervene in such a public trial. A political dilemma for Celestia… perhaps. It had served to allow them to escape, however. Well, maybe aside from the leather bracer on his left hand. “What you didn’t know is that Princess Amaryllis here is the daughter of no one else but Prince Shining Armor.” A name Thiemo always had to grin about. “Which makes Celestia her grandmother.”

Lyra only blinked and stared over at Amy. “So then… does Twilight know?”

“My… aunt knows nothing, only who I am. She was the first one to find out. I didn’t even know who my father was until Thiemo put two and two together.” Amy snuggled a bit closer to him. “I wouldn’t even be here without him. Even if it wasn’t easy, I’m happy to have met one of my grandmothers and am looking forward to seeing my father. Even if he’s going to hate me.”

“So you’re heading for the Crystal Empire. The meeting point in the south will distract from your destination in the north. Meanwhile, Princess Celestia is searching for you in the south and won’t cause any suspicion. Yes, that sounds like the princess,” Lyra concluded correctly, and Thiemo gave her an approving nod. “Very well, I’m on board. I still want to know what’s up with the humans, and you!” She pointed at Thiemo. “Are the best way to find out.”

***

“Come on, squirt!” Scootaloo shouted at Aura, who tried to keep up with the larger ponies consisting of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and her as they marched through the snow. Applejack had given her sister a task, and she had wanted to go ice-skating immediately afterwards. Of course, the filly didn’t want to miss out on that. It was just too much fun seeing others falling on their snouts.

“Scoots!” Sweetie Belle jabbed her friend in the side. “You hated it when Rainbow called you that. Do you think Auralia likes to be called that?” Actually, she hadn’t even thought about that. She was small, especially compared to her father, so maybe the nickname was not too wrong. But she wasn’t that much smaller than the other ones.

“I was never as small as she was!” Aura looked down her legs, of which two thirds had disappeared in the deep snow while it hadn’t even reached to the knees of the others. “I’m also Rainbow’s biggest fan and her little sister. And it’s not like I’ve ever gotten on her nerves.” The filly watched as aunt Apple Bloom and her unicorn friend only raised a single brow. “What?”

“Never mind, Scoots. We should rather see that we get to the old barn that was knocked down. The sooner we get that done, the sooner we’ll be at the lake with the others. Come on and jump up, Aura.” She didn’t need to be told twice and did as her aunt said. Happy to be out of the cold snow, she made herself comfortable on the larger pony’s back. It was different from lying over a shoulder but not any less warm.

“I don’t get it why we have to that now,” Scootaloo complained. “It’s in the middle of the winter; why not wait for spring when it can get carried away by a storm or something? I could even organize a little tornado.”

“We need the firewood. Big Mac already went and cut a lot, but the old house gets cold so quickly. Just because we built with wood instead of stone like everypony else.” Stone always seemed colder than wood to Auralia, but her aunt was an expert on this subject.

They trotted across the snowy fields outside of Ponyville for a while, which raised a question for Aura. “Does this all belong to your farm?”

Apple Bloom giggled. “Ah asked Applejack the same question. Actually, the whole of Ponyville belongs to the farm. Our ancestor founded it and developed the land after all.”

“Developed? What does that mean?” Her father always explained the words she couldn’t understand.

“That means that they made the land inhabitable,” Sweetie helpfully added.

Scootaloo clapped Sweetie on the shoulder. “You can always rely on our dictionary here.”

“What’s wrong with having a splendid vocabulary, Scootaloo?” Aura had noticed a lot of these nicknames and also how the pegasus was better in dishing it out than taking it. She didn’t like it at all being called chicken either, or dodo.

Unfortunately, Aura didn’t understand what the meaning behind these names besides them sounding funny and Scootaloo getting angry.

“Exactly, chicken,” she agreed from Apple Bloom’s back, causing a laugh from the other two ponies.

“Ah see mah cousin ain’t no fool.” With a grin, her head got lightly patted.

“Whatever. Let’s break down this barn and get out of here.” Aura climbed forward slightly so that her hind legs lay on Apple Bloom’s neck and her forelegs were on her head. This way, she could better see where they were going. Even if there wasn’t much to see besides an old barn in the distance. Suddenly, her aunt sped up, and she had to hold onto her ears to avoid falling down, but they would at least get to their target soon.

“What the…?” was all that Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom got as a warning as the third member in front of them suddenly stopped, and they all landed in the snow. Aura flew over the group and landed on the small pile of the snow their sudden stop had caused.

With a moan, the filly rubbed her head. “Hey, a warning would have been nice!” she shouted back. “Why does no one understand that I don’t like to be thrown around?” she said more to herself than to the others.

“You have never complained so far!”

“Sand is a lot warmer and softer than snow!” Wait, she knew that voice. “Dad?” Not far away from her, a very well-known figure came out of what you could only call a pile of planks. “Dad!” She shook the snow out of her mane and traveled the last meters in a gallop. The human went down on his knees and picked her up against his chest as soon as she came into reach.

“What are you doing out here? I was just about to go looking for you.” He switched between hugging her, tickling her lightly, and just looking at her. Aura had no chance, but she didn’t want one either. She was in the arms of her father, sudden happiness radiating from her.

Aura gasped for air as he stopped the tickling so that she could reply. “We wanted to make firewood out of this old barn.” She pointed back to where her aunt and her friends had raised their heads over the little snow pile. She didn’t expect that Apple Bloom would immediately jump up as she saw Thiemo and gallop towards her father, ready to attack. But he saw her coming and jumped to the side, still with her on his arm.

“Hey, careful, you could get her,” he shouted after Apple Bloom as she slithered past him. Aura quickly slithered out of his hands, fell to the ground, and positioned herself between her aunt and her father.

“Don’t fight! He’s my father! He’s not going to hurt anypony!” Apple Bloom, who was just about to turn around, stopped the assault and looked over at her, breathing heavily. Aura threw a look back at her father, who stood with one knee in the snow, ready to evade once again. “Please…”

“You told us you were living with a human… but I thought… that was just a story,” Sweetie Belle threw into the volatile situation from the side. Aura saw her aunt looking grimly at the human.

“One wrong move and I’ll attack.” Aura knew that he wasn’t afraid of her. She had seen fear on his face before, and there was none this time.

Thiemo nodded. “I’m just here to say goodbye.” Horrified, her head snapped back to her father. “At least for a while.”

“What? Dad! I’m coming with you, just us two… like it used to be.” Thiemo turned around and waved his hand. Out of the barn stepped two more shapes. One she recognized as Amaryllis immediately, the other mare she had never seen before.

“Aura,” he began and put a hand on her head. “I’m taking Amaryllis to her father. This will take a while, but as soon as I’m there, I’m going to write you, understood?” The filly sniffled and shook her head.

“No… I want to come with you,” she complained.

“Hey, we’re not going anywhere where you can’t follow us later, okay? We’re just… going ahead.” She sniffled again and looked up at him with large eyes. “No, this is not going to work. You’re safe here and have a family. That was the plan, remember?” Aura didn’t care about the plan. Even if she did like it here, she didn’t want to leave her father alone, not being left alone by him. “Hey, uhm… Apple something, right?”

“Apple Bloom. Whatchya want?”

“Okay Apple Bloom, would you do me a solid and bring her back to your little village?” Aura clamped on to her father’s leg, refusing to let go.

“Uhm, we’re supposed to break down this barn first.” Thiemo turned around and looked at the old thing. Auralia heard the rattling of some gems as he reached into his pocket.

“Everypony take a step back,” came his short warning before there was the sound of wood collapsing on itself. “I think that should do it.” A few seconds later, Aura got pulled by her tail and lifted onto the back of her aunt. “Take care, will you? And by that, I mean that you will look out for her.” He pointed his finger at Sweetie, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. Without any of the three saying a word, they turned around and trotted off slowly at first. As soon as they were a bit farther away, they burst out into a full gallop. The whole time, Aura looked back, desperately trying to get off Apple Bloom’s back, but the green magical aura from Sweetie Belle held her back even as she struggled mightily. She could only watch as her father and his companions disappeared between some trees in the forest, hot tears leaking from her eyes before disappearing into her aunt’s coat.

They moved along swiftly, the only sound coming from Aura as she quietly sobbed. “Wasn’t that Miss Heartstrings with the human?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Chapter II - Act 7.6 - Everfree

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My little Pony

Journey

~Act 7.6 – Everfree ~

Thiemo still had mixed feelings about the meeting with his daughter. He had suspected it would take longer for him to find her, but fate had decided to work in its own twisted ways. The random encounter at the barn, which was now just a rubble pile, went differently than expected. With her new friends and family behind her, the tension had been high. Aura’s heartbroken face still kept hammering at him as his brain took sadistic delight in reminding him.

Amaryllis, of course, noticed his bad mood. Even if she didn’t read his emotions, she could have surely been able to tell simply by the gloomy look he was sure was on his face. Because of that, his marefriend had decided to snuggle against him ever since they had entered the dark forest behind Ponyville. One the other hand, Lyra trailed behind them and flinched at every sound. “This is the Everfree. We shouldn’t be in here without preparations! Even when the Elements started their expedition to defeat Nightmare Moon, they prepared for days. Nopony dares to go in here besides that crazy zebra.”

The last comment by Lyra granted her Thiemo’s attention. “A zebra lives in these woods? Where?” He wouldn’t be surprised. In the few minutes they had been wandering between these dark trees, he had seen more unknown plants than on the whole planet combined.

“Ummm, Zecora is her name, I believe. She’s lives out here, searching for herbs and stuff. You don’t want to go to see her, do you?” Thiemo couldn’t hold back his laugh.

“I will give her the widest berth possible. She would probably…. I don’t even know what they do to deserters.” He wasn’t proud on it, but he had left the tribe for good reasons. One of them being that shamanism hadn’t brought him closer to find a way back home. The training also required a sacrifice. By all means did he believe in immortal souls, and he didn’t plan on giving it away. Especially not after seeing one.

“Deserters? Could you explain what that means?” Amaryllis asked, seemingly unable to make anything out of the word.

“It means to leave one’s country, or tribe in this case, behind for your own good,” Lyra explained. Immediately, the changeling looked at him angrily.

“You didn’t do that! Tell me that is a lie.” Somehow, he could understand that she didn’t like that thought. Deserting seemed to be an alien concept to changelings.

“They wanted me to bind my soul to become one with the nature. Everything I had back then was me… no Aura, no you, nothing. And even that I didn’t want to give up. I was a different man back then.” Amaryllis appeared to understand. At least until suddenly her head shot up and her ears swivelled around. “What’s wrong?” Thiemo looked around and saw that Lyra was doing the same. Her ears stood up straight, fixating on a noise he couldn’t hear.

“Something’s coming…” Lyra said quietly. Thiemo, annoyed that he didn’t know what was going on, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. In the moment he opened them again, he immediately regretted doing so. Everything was bathed in a blinding white light that seemed to burn his irises. Quickly, he held his arm in front of his face and clenched his teeth.

“What in the hell is that?” It didn’t matter; he had already answered the question for himself in his mind. He could see magic and nothing else. More specifically, the forest itself looked like one large magical object with the dimensions of a phoenix. Looking with his eyes at one of those birds was like looking into the sun. “Guys, what’s going on?”

Thiemo blinked slowly, but white patches took up most of his field of view. “T-Timberwolves,” he could hear Lyra stammer and felt how she was hiding behind his legs. His head spun around quickly, trying to search for their attackers until he found Amy’s hoof pointing at them. Slightly blurry, Thiemo noticed the shaped of an animal that accordingly looked like a wolf.

“Only a wolf. That shouldn’t be…” The bushes rustled. “Two. Still not too bad.” Of course a third one appeared as well. “I should shut up now. So… who’s taking which one?” Amaryllis swallowed loudly, but her horn glowed at the same time, ready to stand against their attackers. Meanwhile, Lyra made no signs of releasing his leg. Problem was that he couldn’t fight like that either. Without further ado, he kicked backwards, getting rid of the unicorn rather roughly. “Amy, I’ll take the two on the left. You take the one on the right, okay?” She nodded, and Thiemo immediately reached into the bag Celestia had given him. Around twenty sapphires were left in it - a number that was about to decrease. He took two pebble-sized gems into his hand and turned around to the two wolves he had targeted.

Thiemo still could not see them clearly but immediately saw that they were ready to jump on them. “Lyra, take cover when they attack.” He couldn’t see if she was nodding, his gaze still lying on the wolves. Slowly, he steadied his stance, but that was enough for one of his two targets to start the attack. Out of experience and Animal Planet, he knew that the first was only a distraction so that the second one could close in for the kill. He didn’t counter the attack; he instead rolled aside quickly and fired a blast of compressed air towards the second one. The wolf was hit mid-air and burst into a thousand pieces that were scattered across the ground.

“What?” He didn’t have enough time to analyze what had just occurred since the first wolf scampered around for another attack, jumping on the human who was still lying on the ground. He shot another blast purely on instinct. It had the same result like the first, only that Thiemo got slightly hit by the remains this time.

“Everything alright?” Amaryllis came over to him. Looking behind her, he could see that only pieces of her wolf were remaining as well. “Did it bite you?”

“No, everything’s alright,” he assured her and stood up. “What were those things? Not normal wolves, that’s for sure.” He rubbed his eyes. Slowly but steadily, he could see more clearly in the dark forest around him. He searched the ground for the remains but only found leaves, small branches, and twigs.

“Timberwolves,” Lyra said again from behind him. “We have to go! Now!” Thiemo looked at her, confused.

“Why? We have defeated them; there’s nothing…” Interrupted by Lyra’s hoof pointing where their opponents had just stood, Thiemo turned around. He saw some branches floating over the ground by themselves and forming a familiar creature. “Timberwolves… Now I get it. You stupid ponies and your puns. Magical wolves out of wood. Why did no one tell me?” Annoyed, he stepped over to the construction and threw the used sapphires aside before brushing over the silvery bracers around his right lower arm. When his fingers left it, they were followed by a streak of black magic. Eagerly, he reached into it, pulling out his loyal staff, Protes, as Luna called it. “So, let the games begin.” He grinned, and the weapon went down on the first, half-assembled wolf.

***

“I hope you know what you are doing, Tia. Especially pulling poor Lulu into that doesn’t look like a good idea to me.”

“You know as well as I do that we have to do something. I already lost a sister to them. I won’t make the same mistake twice. I was friendly, took them in, and how did they repay me?”

“You know there are always two in an argument, right? And don’t think I don’t know what game you’re playing here.”

“You made the last turn; I just used the pawn you threw on the board.”

“Then you should watch out. Not that this pawn turns out to be a knight that could bite you on your lovely flanks or anything.”

“A mere human. Nothing more. Even if he has a few more tricks than the rest of them.”

“If you say so. I just have to repeat myself in telling you that you’re creating your own problems. Total harmony is a doom to this world just like total chaos. I would know something about that.”

“Whatever, Eris. I know how to handle the humans. Unlike Luna, I do not plan to fall in love with one.”

***

With the third blow, the last of the three wolves slammed back on the ground again. They weren’t even fully reconstructed this time. “These things smell. I mean you can hear them, and I should really have smelled them. What kind of predators are these?”

“They aren’t rebuilding themselves?” Lyra asked while prodding one of the branches with her hoof. “How did you do that?”

“This staff sucks in magic. The staff can transform into bracers… or was it the other way around? Doesn’t matter. That’s what I hit you with in the bath before pushing you away. The plan was that you were supposed to remain there and play the victim. Anyhow, you should have felt the effects of this weapon. It sucks in magic of all kind. Here we have magical creatures.” He pointed at the remains of the wolves. “Here we have an anti-magic-hammer. Simple as that. If it’s magic, I can destroy it.”

“Maybe you should check if your staff is not broken then.” Lyra pointed behind him, and Thiemo sighed again.

“Really?” The wolves began reconstructing again. It was then that the scales fell from his eyes. If the whole forest was magical, then there was more than enough magic to replace what they had lost. “Maybe we should…” He didn’t get any further as a green mist began to filter out of the brushes.

“Stay no longer at this place! Come with me at a quick pace!” he heard a deep female voice shouting.

“Wonderful, the cavalry…” Thiemo knew the rhyming of the shamans and alchemists of the zebra tribes. For him, it was just a nuisance; for them, it was reflecting their inner harmony to the outside. He never really listened, something for which he had felt Zarni’s cane on more than one time. “But for once, I agree to follow that,” he added as he saw the wolves slowly approaching through the mist.

They turned around and ran into the direction where the voice had come from. They went through plenty of hedges and bushes covered with thorns, passing trees that looked as though they wanted to snap after the group the second they got a chance. Finally, they reached a small clearing with a lake. They had only ran for a few minutes, but the wolves still seemed to have lost them, something Thiemo noted when he caught his breath and looked back. Instead the zebra stepped out of the woods. “A human, a changeling, and a pony - what an unusual sight. I hope my sight is right. What brings you in this dark forest? So rarely does anyone come here to take a rest.”

Thiemo looked closer at their new acquaintance. She wore many neck rings out of gold, symbolizing that she was a well-trained alchemist. Gold was the greatest goal for alchemists, and it was even rarer here on Albion than on Earth. Her thick earrings, on the other hand, could just be fashion jewellery. Aside from her Mohawk, the tribe mark on her flank was what next caught his attention. Unlike ponies, zebras did not get cutie marks but had the mark of their family. Meeting a member of the tribe that had trained him was just very bad luck - nothing new for Thiemo.

He sat down cross-legged, set his staff next to him, and clenched his fists before holding them together. “Greetings, Master,” he said and bowed his head slightly. Alchemists were not to be trifled with.

In the corners of his eyes, Thiemo could see her doing the same. She sat down on the ground and placed her hindlegs together so that her legs formed a circle while her forehooves touched. “I too present my greetings. What gives me the honor of this meeting?”

“My name is Simba, Master.” Thiemo saw how Lyra tried to intervene but she got stopped by Amaryllis. “We are just passing through, searching for the old ruins that are in this forest.” The zebra seemed to ponder his words before she nodded.

“Keep to the northwest. That is how you will reach your destination the best. Cross the bridge down at the river if you do not want to shiver. Many paths lead to your destination, but through these woods you should wander with caution.” Sometimes it was hard to understand their rhymes, but Thiemo understood the warning that she gave them. They could go the way she mentioned, but she wasn’t guaranteeing a safe journey. He bowed his head again and stood up, ending the conversation. “One thing I have to ask, my spring. Why did you abort your training? No totem you call your own, yet the way of the shaman you know.” Thiemo looked at her for a few seconds, afraid that she might do something. Instead, all she did was calmly sit there, her eyes still closed.

“I don’t believe in any gods. Not Celestia, or Luna, or any others out there that are getting praised as gods. Even nature is not a god, and I will not leave my soul with it.” Zecora nodded and dug a little hole in the ground.

“Maybe the gods are not as real as one would think,” she covered the hole with both her hooves, “but at their powers, we can’t just blink.” Slowly, she set her hooves aside, and Thiemo saw that the hole was filled with water. Without sapphire, without magic, it was an impressive task. It came close to what Celestia did with the tea. “Someone who gives something from his own will rarely stand alone. Take the guidance of the elements; maybe you will see the faults in your arguments.”

For a short moment Thiemo stopped and thought about her words. His companions, meanwhile, looked clueless at each other, but he didn’t expect them to understand what Zecora was talking about. “No thanks. Blind faith never brought me anywhere. Still, thanks for the directions.” He turned away and picked up his staff where he brushed over a few runes. Like a snake, it coiled around his arm until it took the form of the plain silver bracer.

“Good luck on your travel to far away, for I hope the next time we will meet in a different way,” they heard the zebra calling after them as they disappeared between the trees into the direction she gave them.

***

“She just made water! That’s incredible. Even very powerful unicorns need years of study to be able to do so,” Lyra raved. Something she did ever since they left from Zecora’s.

“It was just ground water,” Thiemo argued, annoyed that the unicorn could not seem to shut up. “She said herself that a river was nearby. That most likely causes a high ground water level. Her hooves covered the hole as it slowly filled. I’m a shaman; I know a few things about magic.” Lyra raised an eyebrow. “Okay, yes. Of course you also know about magic, but that was just a trick. Done!” Again, the green unicorn wanted to say something, but Amy stepped in front of her and shook her head. Thiemo was tense, and it was hard not to notice. The wolves were a good way to blow off some steam but had proved too dangerous in the end.

They marched onwards along the path they had finally found. The dark forest didn’t look quite as claustrophobic now, a feeling Thiemo had felt since he realized that basically half of his talents were utterly useless here. It was as though he was blind on one eye. Slowly, he realized why the ponies were so scared of this place. Even Thiemo felt uncomfortable here despite being in worse places. Nevertheless, he didn’t get around to increasing his pace. Luckily, this was no problem for the ponies at his side.

Aside from Lyra, who still flinched at some of the noises that came out of the woods, they reached the river Zecora had mentioned with no more interruptions. After Amy told them she could hear the water running, they ran the last meters. “Ruins. A better description she couldn’t have given us,” Thiemo declared.

On the other side of the river was a myriad of old grey stones, which, in the state it was in, surely just randomly formed something like walls. The former windows were covered by spider webs and ivy, showing nature’s claim. “The castle of the royal pony sisters. Here they found the Elements,” Lyra explained. “They say that Celestia and Luna lived here before Eris took the power.”

“Eris was in charge once?” Thiemo and Amaryllis both asked at the same time.

“Thousands of years ago, shortly after the founding of Equestria. We were still at peace, but nopony could settle the succession of the government. In the chaos that followed the death of the founders, Eris appeared. She took over the land and pushed it into even greater chaos. Eventually, Celestia and Luna appeared together with the Elements. They banished Eris into stone and took her place.” And now Eris was a counsellor? Lapdog? She must be up to some mischief, and Thiemo wasn’t keen on being a part of that. But this mission was not just in her interest but also in Celestia’s. He hated to be a pawn, but it was better than spending rest of your life on the edge of the board.

“So, what are we waiting for? The destination is over there.” With that, Thiemo stepped on the first plank of the old wooden bridge, only to hear some creaking. The next moment, a few pieces of wood fell down into the rapid stream below them, his feet hanging in the air. “Amy?”

“Yes?”

“Could you fly us over? I don’t trust this thing.” Without further ado, the unicorn and human climbed on the changeling’s back and crossed the river. Since Lyra needed longer to climb off her back again, Thiemo was the first to stand at the large old door and opened it.

“Hello? Do you have some time to speak about our Lord and Saviour—” Still halfway in the door, he felt something leaning against his back first and then something cold on his throat.

“Finish that sentence, and it will be last thing you’ve ever said, human,” an unknown, hoarse-sounding voice ordered him.

“Hawky! What are you doing?” Thiemo saw a white pegasus mare rushing over from the shadows. Her long pink mane was tied together to two pigtails, each reaching down at one side of her neck to her legs. “Take down the knife. Is that how you greet new friends?”

“Heart, in case you’re blind: that is a human—” A loud bang interrupted them, and the room was brightened by green light as Thiemo and his captors were thrown forward. From the floor, he saw a grey pegasus rolling over the cold stones, but she caught herself in time and hissed with bared fangs while unfolding bat wings at her attacker.

“Leave my friend alone!” he heard Amaryllis shouting.

Thiemo stood up slowly and again and stepped between the two mares. “Okay, ladies, there’s enough of me for all of you. Can we try to talk about it first?”

“Shut up!” was the reply from both of them.

“For once, I think a human’s idea is good,” the white pegasus threw in.

“Thanks. My name is Thiemo.” He reached out his hand as a greeting.

“Iron Heart. The pleasure is mine.” She returned the greeting.

Thiemo looked at Amy and his aggressor, both hissing at each other. “Do you think we should intervene?”

“Hawky is just very temperamental. I’m sure they will become good friends soon.” Thiemo saw Lyra peeking in through the entrance and watching the scene.

“One question though. What is she? I thought I knew all the different pony races.” Hawky, as Iron Heart called her, was a grey pegasus mare, but with clear traits he had only seen from dragons. What was more unusual, or at least spoke against such a kind of relation, was her size. She was at least a head smaller than Lyra, making her look like a young adult. What he only noticed now were her golden, reptilian eyes. They stuck out very clearly here.

“Oh, she’s a thestral. She has dragon blood in her veins.” Thiemo just nodded, not wanting to pursue that line of imagination his brain wanted to take.

“Anyhow, that there in front of your friend, the larger one, is Amaryllis, and the unicorn over there in the door that still is unsure whether she should enter or not, is Lyra,” he introduced his otherwise occupied companions.

“Oh good, then you’re our mission after all. I was afraid for a moment I might have to knock you out and throw you in the dungeons. It was said you were only two, but now you show up here as three. Well, no plan survives first contact with the enemy,” Heart said with a laugh. “Everything’s clear, Hawky. They are our mission!” she shouted over to her colleague. “Then one more time.” She turned at Thiemo again, who looked down at her with raised brows. “I’m Iron Heart, cadet of the Royal Guard and medic. This is my friend, Captain Night Hawk of the Night Guard.” Apparently, Celestia and Luna had spared no effort in finding the two biggest psychopaths for this mission.

“Very well.” Thiemo clapped his hands. “Where are we going next?”

“Oh, not very far.” Iron Heart ran across the room and pulled out two saddlebags out of the shadows, both filled with so much stuff that Thiemo wondered if they had just robbed a bank. She threw one over to Night Hawk, who finally back off of Amy and strapped the heavy bag on her small body. At the same time, Amaryllis stepped at Thiemo’s side, visibly proud of herself, and snuggled against his shoulder. Lyra had, by now, also found the courage to join the rest of the group.

“We leave the Everfree Forest heading north, wander around Canterlot Mountain, and take our first stop at the small and lovely Sunny Town. It’s in the Lost Forests.”

“You heard the mare!” Hawk snapped. “No time to lose; we’re late already. You can talk like scandalmongers when we’re on the way.”

“Why do I have the feeling that Sunny Town won’t be sunny at all,” Thiemo said to himself when he left through the door into the Everfree again.

*** ~ [Foo Fighters - The Pretender] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter II - Intermission 7 - The Rearguard

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In a modest village, not far away from one of the largest metropolis on planet Albion, sat a little filly in barn, watching the snow softly flittering down on the ground. Just as flake after flake the snow fell, piece by piece the anger from yesterday began to rise in her again. He left her alone. He had promised to never do that, but now he was gone. Away with the strange changeling and another mare.

They wanted to travel together until they reached their destination. Their destination, not just her own. Her father was still trapped in this world, so his journey was not over yet. She should have been with him now, helping him. Without her, he couldn’t even read a map. Although… he probably had the others for that now. She felt replaced and left alone, and that was what she was mad about. But that was too much for her, and so she let out her anger on the one that caused all these feeling. Something that was much easier.

He would soon see what he would get for just leaving her like this. “Auralia, breakfast is ready!”

“Coming, Applejack!” Her revenge would have to wait until after the breakfast, but it would be all the more cruel.

While the little filly was jumping off the sofa, a certain human was sneezing in his tent, causing the changeling princess that was sleeping at his side to slap him on the nose. Satisfied at having punished the sound that was disturbing her sleep, she snuggled closer to the human, who was wondering why he was getting slapped in the first place and then shrugged. Then he had to wonder why a cold shiver was running down his back that wasn’t coming from the snow outside.

My little Pony

Journey

~ Intermission 7 - The Rearguard ~

Strangely, Aura found out that the fuller her stomach got, the more her anger faded away. Not fully of course. She did like Applejack and her family a lot. Why couldn’t her stupid father have just remained here? No, now she had to make him see that. She belonged to him and he to her, that was like a law of nature.

Unfortunately, Auralia had no idea who to talk to about this problem in the hopes of finding a solution. Twilight Sparkle didn’t like her father and surely wouldn’t help her there. After the reaction she saw from Aunt Apple Bloom, she didn’t even need to bother asking her or her friends. What made Aura confused was why they told none of the grown-ups about their meeting. But that was a problem for the future.

Aunt Rarity always called her father a barbarian but seemed to always have a special smile whenever she said it. She even said that he at least did something good, even though Aura would never exactly find out what it was. But she was one of the few who would not flinch from him like everypony else. Well, except maybe Aunt Pinkie, but she was definitely crazy.

So her little trip through the morning snow towards Ponyville still stood. It wasn’t easy to get further with her short legs, but at least she wasn’t freezing. The scarf and the shoes that Applejack had given her were taking care of that. They were from some old box in the basement, but that didn’t bother her. Aura ate roots that Thiemo had dug out from underground. What were a few old, musty clothes compared to that? They didn’t smell worse than his for starters.

The rest of the way towards the snowy village, Auralia continued to think of how she was going to punish her father when she got her hooves on him. Clouts, noogies, maybe another kick to the flank. That would teach him to never do this again. Oh, was she feeling keen and dangerous right now. Maybe it should be her picture on the wanted posters.

When she finally reached Ponyville, she saw something that distracted her immediately from any thoughts about punishments. A swarm of pegasi, all armoured and harnessed with some chariots, were preparing their descent in the town center. Their golden armors indicated that they were Royal Guards. For the other spectators, this only raised the question why they were here, but Aura was only thinking about how she could use them to her advantage. Of course they were searching for her stupid father. He probably broke something valuable of the Princess or something like that.

With more energy, she galloped over the snow-free paths to the small town until she arrived at the large space in front of the town hall. Unfortunately, she was too late. The chariots were already there but deserted. Some of the Royal Guards were knocking at doors before talking with the inhabitants. Maybe it was the Princess’ favorite tea cup, seeing the effort they put into this.

Aura waited until one of the soldiers was done talking with a mare and left the property. “Excuse me, Mister. What’s going on here?” The soldier looked down at her and smiled friendly.

“Hello, little one. You should not be running around out here on your own. We are looking for a dangerous convict that has been seen in the area. You did not see a strange creature by any chance?” She acted like she was thinking.

“A strange creature?” The soldier nodded. “A big one?” Again a nod. “Running on two legs and such?” The pegasus nodded even more. “Nope, haven’t seen it, but I’ll get back to you when I do.”

Quickly, before the soldier realized that she was playing with him, she went on her way again. At least her assumption was right, and she ticked off the first item on her inner checklist. Now she knew about the situation just like Thiemo had taught her. For a moment, she grinned at the thought. Then she remembered that she was supposed to be angry at him right now.

Ignoring the remaining soldiers, she walked the short distance to Rarity’s business. Carousel something. She always tripped over the second word, so now it was Carousel something. Aura galloped the rest of the way as the building came in sight but stopped as she saw that somepony beat her to it. At the door stood the Captain of the Royal Guard, Estoc. She had only met him twice, but a grey unicorn with a blue mane was not easily forgotten since the rest of them all looked the same. Aura still wondered what his cutie mark, hidden by his armor, could be.

The captain knocked at the door, and Aunt Rarity opened it a few moments later, seeming surprised at first, though she adopted a happy expression soon after. “Oh, Estoc. I did not expect you would take me up on my invitation so soon. Unfortunately, I’ve really just arrived. I did not even have time to unpack, darling.”

“To be honest, Miss Rarity,” he said with a sharp emphasis on the ‘Miss’, “my visit here is job related.” He said a few more things that Aura couldn’t understand from her position behind the trash bins. But it made Rarity giggle first, and then they both kissed. Blech!

“So, why is the Captain of the Royal Guard standing at my door?” her aunt hummed and leaned against the doorframe with a grin.

Estoc sighed loudly. “Well, it’s a bit embarrassing, but the human did escape. Fled while using Princess Celestia’s private bath. We believe he got help by Professor Heartstrings in removing the magic blockers. After that, they broke the large window and escaped on the back of Princess Amaryllis.”

Startled, Rarity gasped for air. “By Celestia, that’s horrible.”

“I’m out here with a company to catch him, but so far we have no leads. I also still have to inform Princess Twilight Sparkle. My job is on the line if it’s going after the generals.”

“The poor furniture! I’ll have to write a letter to the princess and offer her my help in the renovation.”

“Rari… Miss Rarity! Did you not listen? We’re searching for an escaped convict.”

Aura looked over the bins but immediately ducked again as she saw Rarity turning around. Apparently, she was holding off from disappearing in her store again. “Estoc, I really like you, but you sometimes fail to think. Everypony would try to escape if they were banished to Tartarus. But I have absolute faith that you will catch him.” She placed a hoof on his chest and leaned her head forwards. No, Aura didn’t need to see that again.

“Thanks Rarity. Now I have to hear that from Princess Sparkle again.”

“Let that be my worry, my dear. I am coming with you. Twilight can send my offer directly to her mother then.” A door was closed, and Aura saw the two disappearing down the road.

So they had a contingent to take one the pursuit after her father? That was her chance. But they would never let a filly come with them. With her father, she could go through any danger, but Applejack didn’t even let her feed the pigs on her own. Now it was time for lesson twenty… or was it thirty? It didn’t matter. The lesson said that now was the time to observe and wait for the right moment.

Slowly, she peeked out between the trash bins and checked her surroundings. No pony was in sight. There were only a few soldiers in the sky, but they were busy with other things. She jumped out of her cover and rushed after the two adults towards the library. Since she knew that it was in the large tree in the center of the town, a building her father would have loved if he ever got to see it, she could keep enough distance without risking being seen. She dashed from bush to bush, from corners to trash bins without being discovered by the two ponies who were deep in conversation.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the Golden Oak Library, the home far away from home of Princess Twilight Sparkle. At least that’s what the tourist guide that was sold at the town hall said, Auralia remembered from her tour through the village. The stallion looked a bit nervous while Rarity knocked, humming a tune she did not recognize while they waited. Not a moment later, the door opened in a purple aura, and the ponies disappeared inside. Darn, she hadn’t thought about that. Now she had to get inside to eavesdrop on them.

The large tree, which changed its leaves according to the season, didn’t seem to find it necessary to grow some low hanging branches to climb up on. With a puckered mouth, Aura ran around the tree house to search for an open window, but the odds were again not in her favor. “Now I know what my dad meant by saying the whole world was always against him,” murmured the filly as she reached the entrance again. She had gotten too far already to know…

“WHAT!?” came a loud voice from the library that blasted all windows open. Aura was sure she had seen some locks flying in the snow, but that wasn’t her fault. Happy about the turn of events, she positioned herself at the low window next to the entrance and peeked inside. In the middle of the room, around a small table with a bust, stood the expected ponies. Twilight Sparkle seemed to the one who screamed and was gasping for air now. Rarity still held her hooves over her ears, and Estoc laid on his back and stared at the ceiling. Various books had fallen out of the shelves, paper were scattered around, and ink coloured the floor black.

When Rarity slowly put her hooves of her ears and opened her eyes again, the filly quickly ducked. “Twilight… Darling, it is not your fault. The Royal Guard is doing what they can.”

“Not my fault?” the answer was shouted. “Not my fault!? It was me who threw all protocols to the winds to study those two. My mother had given me explicit orders, and I failed them because of my curiosity. They should have been immediately sent to Tartarus.”

“I do not want to be intrusive, but one of them turned out to be your niece. I know you don’t like to admit it, but are you not even the tiniest bit relieved that she is not at that horrible place?” Aura risked another peek inside and saw Estoc standing on his legs again, throwing an evil look Rarity from the side.

“I didn’t even think about that, Rarity!” For a moment the white unicorn grinned. “What if the aristocrats finds out? They will assume I helped them escape.”

“Actually, that was Miss Heartstrings…”

“Can a princess be called in front of the parliament? Will I get a trial? I have to ask mom, Aunt Luna, I…” And with that the princess stopped and stood still like she was frozen.

“Twilight?” her friend asked. “Twilight… Darling?” Again no reaction. “Is that the first copy of ‘Magic for the Magical Gifted’?” The head of the princess automatically spun in the direction Rarity was pointing at. Then she blinked a few times and fell to the ground.

“What am I going to do? If I could bring them back… but we have no lead, do we?” Estoc shook his head, causing a groan of the purple mare. “My first term will always be remembered as a complete joke.” That was her moment. Surely she could convince the princess into a trade. She had the information, and she could order the guards to take her with them.

With a wide grin on her face, she turned towards the door just so that it could stick in her throat. There stood Applejack, one brow raised in with a very unhappy looking face. Didn’t seem like she would be getting dessert today. “And what are you doin’ here, sugarcube? Shouldn’t you be helpin’ Apple Bloom in the stables?” She didn’t reply, which was a mistake. From inside, the voices of Rarity and the others appeared. “Aha, eavesdropping. If ya really want to know what’s going on inside there then we will take a look.” Applejack grabbed her by the tail and dragged her over to the door and knocked.

***

After Thiemo’s rough awakening, he decided that he had enough sleep for now and left Amaryllis alone in the warm tent. Outside in the snow, he was already awaited by one of his new companions, Night Hawk. What she was lacking in size, she made up in finesse and a vocal organ that could knock over trees. The entire yesterday they were marching, and now they were somewhere between the Everfree, Canterlot, and the Lost Woods at a little lake.

“Morning,” he greeted her briefly before disappearing in some bushes for a few minutes. After he was done with his morning business, Thiemo sat down next to her at the remains of yesterday’s campfire. “When are we going?”

“In a few hours. We need our rest. We should leave the flatlands as quickly as possible and get trees above our heads as fast as possible. If the Flashers had not been looking in the south, they would surely have found us by now.” Flasher, as Thiemo had understood from the context, was how she called the Royal Guard. With their shining armor and big heroic entrances, they were as unobtrusive like a lightning bolt during the night, hence the name Flashers. “Estoc is not the brightest, but at some point even he will realize that we were going north. Somepony should have seen us and since that didn’t happen… It’s a matter of time until he sees it.” Thiemo nodded and took the ration she gave him. “Funny, a few months ago, I was at the coast and put your kind into chains, not feeding them.”

“Funny, where I’m coming from, ponies are a delicacy.” They stared at each other for a while before Hawk laughed.

“At least you’re not a pansy. You wouldn’t believe how much some cried when I held the knife against their throat.” To give utterance to her words, the dragonpony pulled out the blade somewhere out of her short fur and cut a piece off the brown thing they called a meal. Thiemo was puzzled as to where she hid it; he didn’t even saw it glinting. “So, tell me. What’s with the green sissy?” She nodded towards the tent were Lyra and Iron Heart were still sleeping.

“Professor for anthropology. Human researcher. Tried to save me from Tartarus, but unfortunately got in between our escape. I couldn’t just leave her there. Unfortunately, we had to land near Ponyville because of that.” The eyes of the little thestral widened, and she almost choked on her breakfast.

“What? Did anypony see you?!” She reached for her canteen and washed down the piece that got stuck.

“Umm… just my daughter and some of her friends.”

“What? There are humans living in Ponyville? Guess I was deployed for too long…”

“No, she’s a pony. I took care of her a while ago. She is one of the reasons I’m here in the first place. I brought her home.”

“Huh? A human puts his flank on the line for a filly? Never thought I would see that day. And how did you get to this abomination over there in the tent?” This time it was Thiemo’s eyes that went wide, and he stared at Hawk. “What? She’s a bastard from a rape of nopony less than Prince Shining Armor.”

“Never! Okay!” Thiemo stood up and stood planted himself in front of her, glaring at her murderously. “You will never call her that, understand! It’s not her fault for being born this way. I’ve met Chrysalis, seen what a monster she is. But even that monster cared about her daughter and her people. And I will be doing the same.”

“At least I know now why Princess Celestia gave you this option. You love her.” Hawk grinned. “Love is a strong feeling. Made many soldiers switch sides already. She’s playing with you like a ball.”

“So what? I’m also winning.” Thiemo sat back down again and picked up his ration that had dropped into the snow.

For a minute both were silent. “So, would your daughter betray us?”

Thiemo didn’t even need to think about the answer. “Never.”

***

“So, why were you eavesdropping?” Twilight asked again. Auralia muttered something. “Speak a bit louder, please.”

“Because I wanted to find my father.” All ponies present sighed.

“Look, little one,” Estoc began and leaned his head down to her, “do you know something? Anything?”

“Maybe…”

“Auralia Apple, you will immediately tell the soldier what he wants to know!” She flinched at Applejack’s sudden shout.

“He was here yesterday. He said goodbye.”

“Something more? Maybe where he was headed?” Twilight asked, excited.

“I’ll tell you… but only if I can come with you.” Applejack nudged her with a hoof against her flank and looked at her with a stern face. “Crystal Empire,” she admitted defeatedly. “But please take me with you. I want to see my dad!” All ponies looked gloomily down at the little filly.

“Ya know what, sugarcube? I’ll bring ya to yer father. Come on, Twilight, just like old times. Gather the others, and we’ll go catch the human.”

“I agree with Applejack, darling. It is a crime to make a young lady cry. And one last adventure won’t hurt.”

“What do you mean, Rarity?” Twilight asked, worried.

“Well… Twilight, time does not stop for us. The adventure of life won’t be waiting for us. Fluttershy is happily together with Eris; Celestia knows how that works. Pinkie has her little herd, and Rainbow will be a mother soon.” Everypony looked at her, flabbergasted. “Don’t tell me she did not tell you the happy news yet? She will even be moving back here to Ponyville to raise her foal. And I, well…” She looked over to Estoc. “Well, maybe I won’t have much time for that too, soon.”

“So… this will be our last journey?” Twilight seemed just as sad as Auralia felt.

“Well no, just the last one where we can go into the world without sorrows. Applejack, you search for Pinkie and ask her if she wants to come along. I will try to convince Fluttershy. Twilight, it is your call.”

The princesses looked at the grinning faces of her friends. “Then we’re going to catch ourselves a human!” The group cheered and didn’t notice how a little filly was sneaking out of the house. Just like they weren’t going to notice that she would be right behind them.

*** ~ [Crush 40 - Escape From The City] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter II - Act 8.1 - Where the Strange Ponies Live

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Amaryllis rubbed her eyes sleepily while she bathed in the sunlight by the green-coloured tent. She had awoken by the loss of her second pillow known to most as Thiemo. After their time in the dark room, they had gotten used to sleeping together. It was also aided by the long nights they had spent with various texts, or when he had taught her his language. She had to smile at the thought of how close they were already.

She opened the tent and held up her nose in the cold morning light. At the exhausted campfire sat Hawk. Amy didn’t know what it was about her, but she could clearly feel the mare’s dislike for her. “Where is Thiemo?” She didn’t even bother with a greeting.

Night Hawk stopped in the middle of polishing one of her knives, looking over at her. “Down at the lake with Heart. Filling up the water and getting something real to eat, at least that’s what he said.” She turned back to her blade again. Amaryllis went past her, wanting to find out what he meant by real food now. “Oh, before I forget,” Hawk added and turned towards her again, “I’ll wake up the greenhorn shortly so that we can get moving. I want to leave the flatlands before dark.”

Amy nodded in casual agreement and crossed the small hill behind which the frozen lake was located. Even out in the distance, she could see the human and the pony. The latter was busy filling her canteen with water through a small hole in the ice while Thiemo just seemed to be sitting on a stone. She slid down the small hillside and grinned as he waved at her as a greeting. “Morning. What are you doing there?” It was only then she saw that a third of Thiemo’s tail was hanging in the cold water.

“Ice fishing,” he explained. “After two months of only vegetables, I need some protein.”

“For proteins, you could eat some spinach too, or eggs,” Iron Heart commented from the side.

“Fish? You can eat them?” Both looked at her like she said something wrong.

“No.”

“Yes.”

Now she was confused. “Ponies don’t eat fish, humans do,” Thiemo said to Heart. “I’m sorry you don’t like it, but one fish can replace a whole lot of spinach. And believe me, I don’t even like fish. Or spinach. But it’s better than getting sick from malnutrition.”

“Alright, you have a point there.” The white pegasus mare sighed and began filling the last canteen.

“Before I forget, Hawk said we should hurry. She wants to go soon.” Iron Heart put the canteen back into her saddlebags and placed them on her back again.

“Then I should wake up Lyra,” Heart said and turned around.

“She’s already doing that, she said.”

“Oh oh…”

“What?” Thiemo asked, confused.

A deafening scream came out of direction of their camp. “You bit me!” And then they knew Lyra was awake.

My Little Pony

Journey

~Act 8.1 - Where the Strange Ponies Live ~

It was late afternoon of the same day that they finally arrived at the borders of the Lost Forest. Again, the name matched the appearance surprisingly well. The whole forest was engulfed in a thick, impervious fog. So thick that you couldn’t even see from one tree to the next.

“I thought pegasi control the weather?” Thiemo asked Heart, who was to his right. To his left walked Amy and behind him, his tail in her mouth, was Lyra. “And isn’t fog supposed to be just low flying clouds?” Just when he thought he had finally unravelled a mystery, planet Albion would come along and mock him about how he was not even close.

He, with his magical sight, and Hawk, with her dragon eyes, were the only ones who could see in this dense fog. “Only in the more densely populated areas. Managing the weather on the whole planet is physically impossible. But we can affect it. Just throw a cloud bank or two above the prairie and they will spread out. For example, Appleloosa has no weather station, but they can still get their weather that way.” Lyra murmured something, but with Thiemo’s tail between her teeth, it was unfortunately incomprehensible.

“You would think that someone who grew up on Albion would know more about this world, or don’t they teach you anything on Ti?” Hawk’s voice came from the front. She had left her baggage with Lyra to fly over the treetops from time to time to make sure they stayed on path.

“You would think that,” he answered and just grinned over to Amy. “So, why is the town called Sunny Town?” He saved the comparison with England. Lyra was on his tail already, and the others didn’t also need to get this information.

Before Heart could answer, he pulled her to his side since she was about to walk into a tree. “Thanks. The city got its name because it’s the only place in the area without fog. The ponies make their money from lumber. They cut down the trees and process them. About every third wood-based product in Equestria has its origin here, even if it’s just the material. During the last census, one thousand, five hundred and one pony lived in the town.”

“Shouldn’t we avoid settlements?” Amy asked. “Won’t they be looking for us?”

Hawk landed next to the group again and took the lead. “Like I said, they’ll be searching in the south. They shouldn’t know about us yet. We will restock our supplies and rest there for a day. We will need all of our strength to get over the mountains. Of course, you two will be staying in the tents, outside of town. Heart and Lyra will take care of the resupplying.” Again something incomprehensible came from the green unicorn. “Believe it or not, but thestrals like me are not welcomed everywhere. Especially in these small isolated cities. Looking like you as though you were a zebra. Thinking we were some kind of damned abomination.” For half a second, Thiemo expected her to turn around and look at Amy, but she kept her eyes up front. “Familiar feeling, am I right, ape boy?”

Thiemo saw in the corner of his eyes that Amy looked up to him, and he asked himself if she understood the hint. She had chosen not to approach both of them upfront, instead choosing an indirect path. “Don’t throw bricks when you live in a glass house, Night Hawk. Maybe we should be nice little monsters for a while and eat others instead of each other.”

“Speaking of monsters, I’ve never seen a human with a tail. Especially not one that looked like it belonged to a pony.” Thiemo was already wondering when they would ask him about that. Hawk beat Heart to it; he had seen her questioning looks at the lake already. “Don’t tell me a human did it with a pony. Didn’t think that was possible.”

“Miss dragon, coming from you….” Thiemo didn’t want to repeat the entire story with the Elements again.

“Thestrals are not really related to dragons. They just have the blood of dragons,” Heart explained. “And about his tail: I heard he got that after fighting the Elements. Rumours in the castle say that it was a curse from Princess Sparkle, just like when she forced a hideous moustache on that stallion for a week that one time.”

“Eh? You fought the Bearers of the Elements? Brave or stupid?” This time, Hawk, who must have only been noticeable as a rough shape for the two ponies next to him, looked back to him.

“What do you mean?” Thiemo had to resist crossing his arms in front of his chest, but that would have meant he would have to pull them off Amy’s and Heart’s back first, who he guided.

“Well, the Elements are powerful enough to cast gods into stone and exorcise powerful ghosts. Everyone who stands against them is either brave or stupid. Since you were asking, I’m just expecting the latter.” Thiemo wanted to correct her, but she was right, unfortunately. Unknowingly, he had approached his opponents, and even after defeating two of them, he still ended up in the cell.

“Halt!” Hawk suddenly shouted and raised her hoof up in the air, which only Thiemo could see. “I think we have reached the end of the fog bank.” She pointed over to some bushes, and they took cover behind them. “We stay at the edge of the fog and set up a camp there, so that we will stay out of sight.” Thiemo nodded, and they slowly sneaked along the edge, the faint outline of a town to their right.

***

Half an hour later, Hawk had finally found a good spot for their camp near the edge. The fog was weak enough to see a few meters ahead without problem but still thick enough that their tents shouldn’t be noticed by the citizens. It was also between trees and bushes in such a way that they could easily fortify it. Should pursuers appear, the camp would be abandoned before they even knew what had happened. At least, that was Hawk’s explanation to the others as she stomped the last spike into the ground with her hoof. “So, the Professor and Heart are going into town now.” Lyra sighed, unnerved. She still had countless hairs in her mouth. Not that it was something new for her to pull a friend’s tail, but having one in her mouth for hours was really unpleasant. “Only buy what we need. Long-lasting provisions, more accurate maps if they have any, and whatever else you see fit. Hey, Greenhorn, are you listening?”

Lyra was busy stroking her hoof over her tongue to get rid of another annoying hair that was scratching her palate. “What?” she asked and shot a questioning look over to the others.

Night Hawk sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Is she always like that?” Thiemo and Amaryllis, who were busy with their tent, nodded. “Okay, just stick with Iron Heart. And use nicknames if somepony asks you.”

The white pegasus mare had put everything they didn’t need from her saddlebags next to the tent and was putting them on again. “Come now, Minty. Follow your dear Aegis into town.” Lyra was again interrupted in her hair removal as she was poked in the flank by a wing and pulled away by the same. She spat a few times during their short way through the fog, but then her breath caught as they passed the last bush. What she saw was incredible. Sunny Town was on an otherwise empty field about twice the size of Ponyville. The houses had multiple floors and were completely made out of wood. Dark wood had been used to construct the largest part of the buildings, while doors and windows were made out of brighter wood, probably pine or beech. Lyra didn’t know much about wood, but the village almost looked like it was out of one of her books about distant cultures she had studied. To be precise, it came very close to the style of the deer of Cervidas.

“Lyra, you still there?” A hoof waved in front of her face.

“Sorry, Heart. I was just… It looks so alien here. Were there any deer taking part in construction?” But what would deer do here? They lived with the trees, not from them. It was rarely heard of that they would harm plants. Seeds were a valuable resource, just like knowledge.

Iron Heart shook her head. “No, but you would think that. There are mostly only earth ponies living here, and their attitude towards nature is very similar to those of the deer. That shouldn’t be much of surprise; nature is a power on its own.” Nature had its own category of magic just like arcane, elemental, light, and shadow. Nature magic was passive, therefore only rarely used by most unicorns. Every magic had its own traits. Arcane magic was affected by emotions like love, friendship, fear, and hate. Elemental magic, on the other hand, was affect by the individual’s personality.

They had now reached the border of the town and could see the first ponies between the houses doing their day work. For some reason, however, the population seemed too small. “Didn’t you say something about more than thousand citizens? This place looks too small for that.”

“The woodcutters and their families live in the forest itself. Only the saw mill and everything else that is needed to process the wood is inside the town.” They passed a sign, also out of wood, that proclaimed, in large letters, the name of the town as they reached the main road. Every city had one. On it were the most important businesses, like inns, pubs, groceries, and other places that might be relevant for travelers. At the next crossroad was a second ring around the town center with shops for clothes, tools, and furniture. Around the center was the residential area.

Even though every building was unique in its architecture, it all seemed a little dull to Lyra, perhaps too used to the colorful Ponyville. She passed the first citizens, who proceeded to leave the town with carts, fully loaded with wood. They were probably on their way to Canterlot, which was about a day’s trip away from here.

“Remember, Minty, my name is Aegis from now on,” Heart told her from the side as they approached a random pony. “Hello, I’d just have a quick…” But the stallion didn’t stop and just trotted past her with his cart. Heart looked back to Lyra, who only shrugged. She had heard of shy stallions who could barely open their mouths whenever they came into contact with a mare.

Lyra saw a mare with large empty saddlebags coming out of a building and walked towards her. “Excuse me, Miss...” But just like with Heart, she was ignored, and the mare just walked past her across the road. “That’s even worse than a zebra visiting Ponyville. We had at least the decency to acknowledge their existence by barricading ourselves.” Not one of her proudest moments.

“Minty, I don’t think they are ignoring us.” Heart stood in the middle of the road, and just as another stallion with a few wooden bars on his back walked past her, she reached out with her right forehoof. The stallion tripped and the bars fell to the ground as his face met the earth. Lyra expected that Heart would be yelled at any second, but nothing happened. Silently, without even glancing at them, the stallion picked up the bars again, loaded them on his back, and went his way.

“What in Celestia’s name…” Lyra mumbled, confused.

“Look around,” Iron Heart ordered her, and that was exactly what she did. “None of the citizens are talking with each other. They all have this glassy look. It is silent, and not just because they don’t talk. No foals, no animals, and no wind.” Lyra swallowed and her breath caught. Heart was right. She hadn’t noticed any of that before. “It is also winter. I can understand that no snow was on the ground before was it lying on top of the trees, but here. The whole town looks like it’s in midsummer.”

***

“I’m sorry about not telling you sooner, guys,” Rainbow said and scratched the back of her head with a hoof sheepishly. “But we were both a bit surprised.” She looked over to the stallion at her side who only grinned awkwardly.

Rarity waved her off. “Don’t worry, darling. We understand completely.” Everypony present nodded. Twilight sighed internally. Somehow, she was excited to go on a journey with all of her friends. But it was quite clear to her yesterday that Rainbow Dash would pass when they made that decision. She was pregnant and could even be with twins as she had told them today.

“Uhm… I would like to pass as well if you don’t mind,” Fluttershy said and put down her cup of tea on the table which they all sat around. They had decided to meet up in Rarity’s old boutique. The former premises downstairs were roomier than the library. “I have to care for my friends who stayed for the winter. They need me.” Again, a reply Twilight had expected. “And I don’t think we should be looking for them.” Estoc, who sat next to Rarity, choked on his tea while Twilight was almost spilled hers over the table.

“Uhm… Darling? Would you elaborate that thought?” the designer asked while knocking on the Captain’s back.

“Well… um… What should I say? I talked with him in the maze.” All nodded; this was nothing new to them. She was just glad that he hadn’t hurt her. “He seemed really nice.” Twilight blinked, confused. “For a human at least. What I want to say is… What did he do wrong? Eris told me that it was her idea with the maze. So what did he do to deserve Tartarus?” Silence fell upon the room for a few seconds. “Or Amaryllis. The poor thing was so scared when she ran away from us. I mean… nopony ever ran away from me.”

“Ah don’t like to admit it,” Applejack piped up, “but Fluttershy has a point. He also brought us Auralia and your niece. Ah know ya don’t wanna hear it, but the poor thing just wanted to know more ‘bout her family. Is it her fault who her mother is? Just sayin’.”

Their words caused Twilight to grit her teeth in frustration. She knew that Amaryllis was innocent in that regard, but she was living proof of the torment that her brother and her sister had to go through. For a long time, Cadence was afraid of the dark, and Shining Armor had steadily become paranoid over a year. Demanding a passphrase from everypony was just one way it had manifested himself. Thanks to intense sessions with Luna, they had both returned to some semblance of their old selves. With Skyla on her way, they had both seemed to hasten the process. Still, she would never forget the effect that monster had inflicted on her family.

“Come on, guys!” Pinkie tried to change to mood. “If we don’t catch him, there will still be a sad filly that misses her father. Shouldn’t that be enough motivation?”

“Pinkie is right,” Rarity agreed. “Does that mean you will join us, Pinkie?”

“Well, no… sorry.”

“Oh…” Twilight was beginning to realize what her mother meant when she said that life would go past her.

“The Cakes bought a second store and made me the manager.” Once again, a cough went through the room, this time from everypony. And they were right in doing so. Who would make Pinkie a manager? On the other hoof, she was highly gifted baker. “I have to take care of the furnishings and such.”

“Where exactly did they buy the store, Pinkie?” Soarin asked and licked his lips.

“In Canterlot, where else?” the earth pony grinned. “Pokey is there already, and he’s looking after renovations, delivery of ingredients, and the ad campaign of course.” Twilight had to amend her last thought, finding at least one thing would stay the same – Pinkie would never stop surprising her.

“Well, since nopony else has any further objections,” Estoc began and stretched out a map on the table. “The filly, Auralia, said they met here, outside the town. The only forest nearby would be the Everfree Forest. While we expanded our search in the south, they slipped right past us.” Twilight followed the hoof of the Captain wandering north around Canterlot. “They must have avoided Cloudsdale, or we would have already heard from them. This only leaves one way open: they are going through the Lost Forests.”

“I know the forest.” Rarity beamed. “Most of my furniture is from this darling little place… Sunny Town was it?”

Estoc nodded. “I don’t know about you, but there is something shady about that. It is like they knew how the Royal Guard would proceed. The generals were pretty sure that an insider helped them escape, and this almost confirms that theory. Even if you ladies only come along to find the human, we need to also apprehend the moles.”

“I think everything is clear then. We board the train to Trottingham tonight and get out to Stalliongrad. The city is right next to the forest.” Twilight tapped a hoof on the place on the map. “Then we follow them through the forest. The citizens know their way around the fog like no one else. Surely they would have noticed a human and a changeling being accompanied by ponies.”

***

“It was like they were ignoring the world around them,” Lyra explained to Amy and Thiemo. Night Hawk was on her way to put down traps. “Heart even made a stallion trip and he said nothing. Didn’t even look at her.”

“To be honest, this sounds like a bad version of Silent Hill. Sure they are just not very welcoming to newcomers? I’ve seen that enough.” Lyra looked at him, deadpanned. “And I know that’s because I’m a human.”

“No, you should have seen their eyes. It was scary. Like they had no life in them.” The green mare shivered.

Thiemo considered that nugget of information. He had seen something like that a while ago. “Amy, do you think changelings did that?”

She shook her head. “Changelings cast a spell on their victims so that no one notices, and never on more than one or two ponies. They would have to keep the spell going on an entire town. That doesn’t sound like changelings.”

Thiemo grinned. “And I was thinking we would be bored here.” He rubbed his hands clean on his pants and stood up from the fallen tree. “I think we should have a look around. If magic is in play, I want to know what’s going on there.”

“Lyra, if it was a spell, shouldn’t you have noticed that?” Heart asked.

“Well… I’m not the best with magic. When I manage to levitate three objects at once without breaking one of them, it’s a good day,” she admitted and turned slightly red.

“Come on, Heart, just a little peek. If they ignore everything, nothing will happen. And if they run away screaming, we at least know they just didn’t like you.” Somehow their behaviour reminded him of humans in big cities.

“No and that’s final! Our mission is to bring you to the Crystal Empire, not caring about this town’s problems. As soon as we are there, I will write a letter to the generals and then someone will help them. We should stay here and wait for Hawk.” Thiemo ignored her words and tied his bag with his last sapphires around his belt.

“Who said I wanted to help? I just want to find the cause and have my fun. Come on Amy. This is going to be funny.” She leaped over to him and both disappeared out of the camp.

Chapter II - Act 8.2 - Human on the Loose

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 8.2 - Human on the Loose ~

“And you just let them go?” Night Hawk asked for the fifth time while they marched towards Sunny Town. “I gave them just one simple order! One! And what did those two nitwits we’re protecting do? They ignore it! Couldn’t you have knocked them out, Heart? Or give them some of your drugs? Something?”

“First of all, I swore to protect them, so knocking them out somewhat works against that, Hawk. Also, I made an oath to never use my medicine against anyone. Neither friend nor enemy. So that is a clear no to both options. Or do you want poor Lyra to carry them too.” The thought alone made the unicorn shiver. She had been carrying Hawk’s baggage all day long, and she could still feel the cuts of the saddlebags on her back. How the little thestral managed to do it so easily was a mystery to her.

“Well,” Lyra began and pointed towards the town, a good distance in front of them. “We haven’t heard any screams or anything like that. Doesn’t that mean Thiemo is correct, and they really ignore everything? Though because of a spell or any other means….”

“I’m not worried about them so much so as the town,” Hawk muttered.

“What do you mean?” The pegasus asked, and her companion just pointed towards the town sign. Immediately, she put a hoof in front of her mouth. “Oh m-my Celestia…” was all the medic could stammer. A middle-aged brown stallion was tied to the sign, his body covering the word Sunny. The name of a certain human was sheared into his coat, renaming the village into Thiemo Town.

“So,” Hawk began again, “how much time did they have? An hour? I don’t even want to know how it looks like inside the town.” The other two just nodded and finished the rest of the way in under a minute without any of them saying a word, too busy searching for the lost members of their group.

Lyra was the last of the three to arrive at the cobbled main road of the small town. Again, they all stopped dead in their tracks as they saw Thiemo’s next masterpiece. “One bit for a ride?” Lyra read from the small sign that had belonged to a store before it had been repainted. A badly and hastily erected post was in front of the store, and a mare was tied to the post with a rope around her muzzle. She made lap after lap as she trotted around the post.

“That is….” Heart tried to express her disgust, but she could not find the words at that moment.

“Not what you think. I think he literally meant riding. He even put a sheet on her back.” Despite herself, Hawk had to try and hold back a laugh at the sight before her.

“That… That… That still isn’t right!” Lyra knew that she was right, but on the other hand, Hawk was right too. Hawk had stopped laughing now and was busy untying the mare from the post. That, however, changed nothing about the situation as she just kept on running in circles.

“I see what you mean. She’s completely out of it. Did they smoke Poison Joke here?” Lyra shuddered at the thought. The plant would play tricks on the body if touched. If inhaled, however, the mind was affected. Manehatten and many other larger cities had markets for these plants. Even though Equestria’s social care was great, it still didn’t reach everypony. Many took the plants to escape from their worries for just a little while. During her studies, she had come across the stuff quite often.

Heart took the medical equipment out of her bag. “Hold her still, Hawk. I’ll have quick look.” The thestral did as she ordered and brought the mare to a halt by throwing herself onto the mare.

“Do it quickly; she’s stronger than she looks.” Lyra rushed to help and threw her whole weight on the earth pony mare on the ground. Even together, they still struggled with keeping the mare on the ground while Heart checked her eyes and mouth.

“Pupils normal,” she said after a few seconds. With a careful tap of her hoof against the jaw, she opened the mouth of her patient. “No residues on teeth or palate. All right, let her go.” Hawk released their hostage and shot up into the air with a few beats of her wings. Almost immediately, the mare jumped up, threw Lyra to the ground, and went on her way again.

“So, where would I be if I were a disillusioned human with a tendency of megalomania?” Hawk landed next to Heart and both looked over at Lyra. She just shook her head. Even though she knew Thiemo longer than them, she didn’t know him well.

“No idea! He wanted to get something to eat this morning.” The eyes of her companions lighted up and both turned towards the main road again.

“I think I know where we will find him…” Lyra didn’t even need to see Hawk’s face to know that her fangs were forming a smile on her lips.

***

With a quiet song on his lips, Thiemo went from the stove to the countertop and started cleaning some potatoes in the sink. Amaryllis stood out of his way and fascinatedly watched the human preparing a meal for them. Peas and carrots bubbled in a little brew out of the green remains of said vegetables along with some celery and leeks. “So, tell me again what is this going to be when you’re done?” she asked and filled her nostrils with the scent that was slowly spreading in the kitchen.

“Vegetable soup after grandma’s world war recipe,” he replied and cut the potatoes into small cubes. “There was a big war on our planet, and food was scarce. So they threw together what was left. Many great meals were invented in those times of need. For example, marzipan came about in medieval times during the siege of a castle. Sugar itself was not very useful, but in marzipan, it could feed the people again.” Amaryllis just nodded. Even though she didn’t understand half of the words, like medieval, she still understood what he meant. Humans on Earth got creative when in time of need, a trait she found in Thiemo as well. “Sad that no dragons or diamond dogs live here. Or maybe some griffons. A bit of meat would be perfect in there.” With those words, he threw the potatoes into the pot and closed the lid. “So, this has to simmer for a bit, and then we can eat.”

“That’s nice…” Not that she didn’t appreciate the gesture. “But you know that I don’t need this kind of food, right?”

“You have a tongue, right?” Thiemo asked and sat down on a clean spot on the countertop. “With taste buds, right?”

“Sure. I told you before that our nation was trekking the land and ate everything they could find to not starve.” She had no idea what he was going for.

“Then, my dear,” he began and turned to the fridge next to him, “try…” he was going through the contents of the fridge and pulled out a bowl of strawberries, “...these. Hold on.” He pulled the bowl back, put some sugar on it, and stirred it with a spoon. “Now!”

Carefully, Amaryllis levitated one strawberry out of the bowl. Of course she knew strawberries. They gave them to prisoners often, and she ate some herself back when she was a nymph. With one bite, the fruit disappeared in her mouth, and she was positively surprised. In combination with the sugar, it was something completely differently from what she knew. “That’s good!” She searched for Thiemo, but the human had disappeared somewhere again.

“Over here!” he shouted, and Amy looked underneath the low hanging pans above the countertop. “I’m just looking for… Ah! There it is!” He rushed back with a small black root in his hand. Quickly, he pulled another bowl out of one of the drawers before making a cut in the root with a knife. He opened it lengthways and emptied its contents in the bowl. Then he went to the fridge and pulled out a container that looked like it was filled with milk and poured it into the bowl as well. “Ever tried strawberries with whipped cream?” She didn’t reply since he turned away from her again and pulled out another kitchen tool out of a drawer and started to sturdily stir the milk. But what could she have said? She knew nothing about cooking.

Suddenly, they heard a loud bang of a door that got slammed against a wall. “Thiemo? Where are you, you filthy human?” Amy looked at Thiemo, and he looked at her. They both knew that Hawk was going to be angry, but something in her voice was scary. “Come out and get your oversized flank here so that I can give it some good kicks.”

Thiemo just sighed but didn’t stop stirring the milk. “We’re back here, Hawk!” He turned his attention back to the milk. He dipped his finger in it and tasted the result. “A bit sweeter than I remember.” He still seemed content with the result and poured the white substance over the strawberries. “Et voilà! Strawberries with whipped cream!”

At that moment, Night Hawk, Iron Heart, and Lyra stormed through the large, white, double doors with portholes that led to the kitchen of the inn. Amaryllis, who got almost hit by the door, jumped aside, startled, and just in time made enough space for the landing of the three. Thiemo had, in his wisdom (his own words) smeared butter on the tiles. That was why the three crashed against the workspace in the middle of the kitchen and now laid on their stomachs.

“Oh, you’re so dead now,” their little leader groaned as she freed herself from Lyra who was atop of her. Heart had it easy to get free as she lying on the top and left the danger zone with a few beats of her wings.

“Well, how about some strawberries instead?” Thiemo held the large bowl under Hawk’s nostrils, who was still lying on the ground.

“What? No… Wow! Strawberries! Do I smell vanilla?” With a quick movement, she grabbed the bowl out of his hand, and her face was buried in it in the next second.

Thiemo and Amy both looked at her, fascinated. “How did you know that strawberries are her weak spot?” Heart asked from the side. Lyra had freed herself from the buttery trap now too and watched Hawk as she quickly abandoned any semblance of manners.

“I didn’t. I wanted a few for myself too…” he replied with a whiny voice.

***

A few minutes later, they sat in the main room of the Wooden Worm Inn. Thiemo chose the best table, originally just for him and Amy, and presented his soup to the tired group. More than happy for the offering, they quickly helped themselves. “So, what’s the deal with the stallion at the entrance and the mare around the post?” Heart asked while she enjoyed her meal.

“Well, they were tests.” Everyone except Amy, who was there, looked at him at him disbelievingly.

“What was scientific about that?” Lyra protested.

“Well, I wanted to test how far their ignorance would go. The stallion didn’t even defend himself, and the mare wasn’t frightened about the ambivalent message. Just like the rest of the citizens.” Thiemo saw that they didn’t believe him. “Okay, there was nothing scientific about that. I just did it for my own amusement. Happy? Anyhow, none of the ponies reacted to me in any way, so I gave them a closer look. And what came out? They are all dead!” While the others continued to stare at him, including Amaryllis this time, he calmly continued eating the rest of his meal.

“What do you mean they are dead?” Hawk slammed a hoof on the table. “They ignore everything, but they run around and breathe. Dead don’t run around!”

“Except they are zombies,” Lyra added and shivered.

“There are no such things as zombies. The reason has to be medical or magical. So, what exactly do you mean, Thiemo?” Heart tried to calm them.

“How should I explain it the best?” He scratched the back of his head. “What is the definition of life? What has everything that lives in common?” The ponies around him looked at each other in confusion. Heart and Lyra mumbled something but he couldn’t understand it. “A soul,” he finally explained. “And now guess what the ponies here are missing.”

“A soul?” Lyra asked. “It is not even proven that souls exist. Some of our greatest scholars have philosophized about it far back as our records go, but nopony ever found proof.”

“Then you should ask your two big princesses. After what I saw, they know more than they admit.” Thiemo saw that Hawk and Heart wanted to protest at first, but then they seemed to remember what mission they were on. “Also, every shaman, like me, can see it.”

“Hold on! You can see it? Is that some kind of magic?” Lyra almost stood on the table at this point, her muzzle almost touching Thiemo’s nose.

“I don’t know what it is exactly. My master, Zarni, brewed a potion for all of us. I don’t know how exactly it works, and thanks to the drinking afterwards, I don’t have very many memories left. I just know that I could see souls the next day. And magic too since we’re already at it. By the way, that’s how I could guide you through the fog. Everything that lives, every tree, every plant has a soul and a bit of magic in them. For me, it is like one picture being put over another.” Since none of them were saying anything, he continued. “Anyhow, I took a closer look at the citizens. They don’t have a soul. This would explain the state they are in; they are only organic machines, nothing more. No emotions as my dear marefriend found out when we got her. Without her, we probably would still be in the dark.” Amy waved him off as he praised her.

Lyra turned to Thiemo again. “But what can take the souls of an entire town... and where are the foals?”

“You’re the professor, so you tell me. If I had to take a guess, I would say magic was at play. But I have an idea where the foals might be.” Thiemo pointed out of the window into the fog. “Those foals grew up here. Heart said that the citizens don’t need any help to find their way through the fog. Surely that counts for the little ones as well. They know that no one will find them there.”

“Hawk, what do you think? We can’t leave hundreds of foals alone in the forest until help from Canterlot arrives. Who knows the state they are in? How long has this been going already?” Hawk seemed to ponder about Heart’s words.

“Not very long, a few days, a week at maximum. All the foods I… borrowed from the fridge were still good. And there was not much in it for a restaurant, only leftovers. Meaning the foals are coming here from time to time to get something to eat.”

“Hold on, wouldn’t that mean that these ponies here lasted a week without food, not even water?” Again, Thiemo pointed out of the window, and Heart sighed in relieved as she saw a mare eating grass.

“Like I said, organic machines. They just care about being able to run. Problem is that everyone here can do what they like. Yes, like me, Hawk.” He beat the dark mare to it. “Have you noticed anything else? I don’t know that much about ponies.”

Lyra’s face lighted up. “Of course! We didn’t see it with the stallion because he was sheared, and neither with the mare because she had a blanket over her back, but try to remember. Did any of the town ponies have a cutie mark?” Thiemo thought about it. None of the ponies he met had one of those colorful symbols. If they did, he would surely have noticed. Lyra’s golden lyre stood out clearly on her green fur, like the shield with the red cross and pink wings on Heart’s white fur. Hawk had a symbol he could not quite make out, but at the moment he would call it an eye. He just didn’t want to have a look under the table now.

“No, none of the town ponies had a cutie mark,” he agreed.

“If there really is magic in play, the spell must have only affected ponies with cutie marks. That’s why the foals were not affected,” Lyra finished her theory.

“Maybe we shouldn’t stay in the town then,” Heart said, worried. “We three have one, and who knows if the spell is still active? What if it takes our souls too? I don’t want to end that way.” This time it was her that pointed at the grass-eating mare.

Thiemo considered for a moment. “If it really just affects ponies with cutie marks, Amy and I should be safe. We are neither ponies, nor do have a cutie mark. We could keep watch for the foals tonight.”

Hawk shook her head. “No way. I agree with Heart that we have to do something. We can’t just leave an entire city and hundreds of foals to their doom. That would be against everything we learned. But I won’t leave you out of my eyes.”

“Great, I always wanted a stuffed animal. Just image it, Amaryllis. Hawk in nice dresses, as pillow, or as a footrest where I can put my legs on after a long day…” Thiemo came to a sudden stop as a knife, held by a dragon-like wing, appeared in front of his nose.

“You wouldn’t dare,” she hissed at him.

“Wanna bet?” Thiemo replied with a wide grin.

***

Twilight sat together with Applejack in one cabin of the train from Stalliongrad to Trottingham as they concentrated on the game of chess before them. “Come on, Twi, we both know that ya gonna win anyways,” her friend groaned, annoyed. She didn’t let herself get worked up. Even if this move would take ten minutes, she would run every possibility through her head.

“Patience is a virtue, Applejack,” she gave as an answer and moved her first pawn one square forward. Applejack reached to the board while looking at the sun going down through a window and moved a random pawn two squares forwards, directly diagonal in front of her own. “Applejack, maybe you want to reconsider your turn?”

“Nah, it’s alright.” She waved her friend off. Discontented, she continued the game with the distracted Applejack. It wouldn’t take long since she seemed to play for her, not against her, and the whole time Twilight wished that she was in the cabin with Rarity. But she had just taken a cabin with Captain Estoc. Not that she really had anything against that, but this was supposed to be their last adventure. And now they were separated.

After the third game which Twilight won in under ten moves, she stood up from her spot. “I’m just going somewhere real quick, Applejack.” The orange mare just nodded, and Twilight left the cabin. The hallway was dimly lit by a few crystals, adjusted to the needs of some passengers who wanted to sleep already. Quietly, Twilight moved along the red carpet and found the room she was looking for, only to see that it was occupied. She decided to follow Applejack’s example and threw a look out of the window. Tomorrow morning, they would arrive in Trottingham, and from there on, go into the Lost Forest. Estoc said there was a small trade route that led to Sunny Town. The only problem was to find a guide who knew their way through the fog.

“Sorry,” came a strangely familiar voice as the door next to her opened.

“No problem,” Twilight replied and stopped. Apparently her opponent did the same, if somepony had even been there. At first, Twilight thought she had imagined the voice until her gaze shifted downwards. There, on the red carpet and with a forced smile on her lips, sat a very familiar little filly. “What in my mother’s…” She didn’t get any further as Auralia Apple took flight and disappeared into the adjacent second class compartment. Completely forgetting what she came here for, Twilight rushed back into her cabin. As the door slammed against the wall with her magic, Applejack jumped up, haven fallen asleep already.

“Ah’m awake! Ah’m awake!” she yelled sleepily while Twilight gasped for air.

“Applejack… Auralia… in the train….” The princess coughed, out of breath, while the eyes of the farmer went wide.

“Oh, she didn’t… and even though Ah forbid her to do so.” Applejack rose from her spot, put on her hat, and grabbed Twilight as she walked past her. They only stopped briefly at the door of the next cabin. “Rarity, ah hope yer discrete, because Ah’m coming in whether ya like it or not.” Without another warning, she opened the door with swift kick. Luckily, both ponies were lying on the bench seats and looked like they were sleeping. Rarity even had her sleeping mask on her forehead.

“Applejack, darling? What is going on? We were just preparing to go to sleep. And what do you mean with discrete? Do you really think that in this place a lady would be willing to…?”

“Save it for later, Rar. Auralia sneaked onto the train. We have a foal to catch.”

“Oh… Estoc, darling, I think we should help them.” Instead of the other blanket moving, a second head appeared next to Rarity.

“Lady, eh?” Applejack commented and grinned.

“Uhm… yes… Shall we go catch a filly, my dears?”

Chapter II - Act 8.3 - Magic in the Air

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 8.3 - Magic in the Air ~

Thiemo looked through the window of the small hotel at the end of the main road. He and Amy had taken a room below the roof since the windows there offered them a direct view of the forest. Many beaten paths were visible on the meadows around the city, but only one looked like it had recently been used. This was the one they were keeping their eyes on now. A bed they moved at the window served as a seating place for him, and a lying place for his marefriend. It was relatively easy, thanks to Heart and Lyra, to convince Hawk to let them stay here as observers while they did the same from their camp.

Every half an hour, he or Amy would give them a signal that everything was alright with them. The sign was lighting a candle at the window on the other end of the hallway three times. It showed into direction of the camp, and Hawk definitely had the eyes to see the small light over the distance, unlike anyone else. So they stayed undetected, unless the visitors were already in town. “Thiemo, you have an idea what is going on here, right? Why haven’t you told them anything about it?”

He smiled over to Amy and put a hand on her shoulder. “For starters, I doubt Hawk would have left us here alone and also because she couldn’t change anything. Besides Celestia or Luna, I can only imagine four or five other creatures that could pull something off like this. And I highly doubt this is another of Eris’ pranks. No, this is another avatar.” Amaryllis eyes widened at the mentioning of the creatures. “Avatars or gods in physical form. I never believed in them, not until I met the princesses. I’m not absolutely sure, but Celestia and Luna are most likely the avatars of light and shadow. While they are in line with each other, they create life and harmony. Contrary to popular belief, light is not always good, and neither is shadow always bad. The sun can burn, and the night can be like a protective blanket. It always comes down to the personality behind it. Then there are the avatars of the elements of nature. Undine, Spirit of Water. Supposedly a sea pony if the legends of the zebras are right. But I’ve never found anything about this race in any library, so I doubt they exist.”

“Some very old books in my mother’s library mentioned them.” Amaryllis tried to remember, tapping her chin pensively. “I think my mother herself mentioned them a few times in her lessons, but we lived in the desert.” She shrugged. “I never really paid much attention.”

Thiemo nodded. “Then there is Ariel, Spirit of the Wind. Supposedly a majestic snow-white griffon who lives in the mountains of her kingdom. I read a few sagas about her and even found some pictures. The last information, however, was hundreds of years old. Then there is Gaia, Spirit of the Earth. She is the mother of all life and has the form of a diamond dog. Allegedly, she is a tribal leader, and her pack is so deep under Albion’s ground that finding her would take a lifetime if you didn’t know where to look. I heard diamond dogs talking about her, so I think she has a similar role to them like Celestia for ponies. She can also control all earth, from gems to metals. She wants gold? She just creates some. Many have followed this legend and were lost in the endless labyrinths of the dogs. Of course, that was soon followed by death from starvation. And finally there is the Spirit of Fire, a dragon. Not much is told about him. Supposedly, everything fell to his flames. Either he didn’t like anyone writing about him, or the dragons don’t want their religion documented.”

“You don’t sound like you really believe that. If Celestia and Luna are what you say, where is the proof?” Of course she was right, but he never said to avoid believing.

“Every legend has a true core. And it’s too much of a coincidence that similar legends exist on our planet. They are often mentioned in literature in ancient times and were often praised by some nations. And believe it or not, Luna was one of them. Celestia is a bit far-fetched, but religion researchers believe that Jesus Christ, the son of the god of one of our major religion, was just a symbol for the sun. Like Ra in ancient Egypt. Many names for the sun, but in the end it was the same life-giving star.”

Amaryllis stumbled. “Hold on, doesn’t that mean that Albion and Earth must have a connection, or at least had one? How could two worlds so far away have such similarities?” Thiemo grinned and clapped his hands.

“Exactly my thought! One of the questions I’m trying to answer as I travel. Also, I’m wondering how it can be day on the whole planet at the same time. Or that it’s the same season. There is also my sudden appearance here which means there’s another indication of a connection.” Thiemo let himself fell on the bed, his head coming close to Amaryllis’ flank.

“And you think that these spirits have something to do with it?” Thiemo shook his head slightly.

“No, none of them really showed themselves in the last thousand years. Why would they attack a little town now? If you could really call it an attack. No, I think that someone like Twilight Sparkle is behind this.” Amaryllis turned her head away from the window and looked over to him. “Who says that Celestia was the only goddess who ever lifted her tail?” Both snickered. “And telling that to two strongly devoted ponies in particular wouldn’t be a very smart idea.”

***

Until now, Aura had been very content with her performance. She had gotten some money, followed the others onto the first train, and had trailed them, undetected, until Stalliongrad. Since a princess was travelling with them, they were travelling first class, something that her aunt Rarity surely liked. She was so distracted that she didn’t even notice Aura when she briefly saw her in the hallway. Her eyes were set either on the decorations or the stallion at her side. The both had this strange look her father always had when he looked at that stupid changeling. Disgusting.

When they reached the first station, the night slowly began to set, and the filly knew that she would miss the others leaving in the morning if she didn’t stay near them. So, with the remaining money she had stolen out of Granny Smith’s pickle jar, she upgraded to first class and took a cabin only two doors next to Twilight and Applejack. So she didn’t feel too alone in the train, and she was certain she would notice when the group was leaving the train since the exit was on the opposite side of her cabin. It would have been a fail-proof plan if Twilight hadn’t chosen that moment to want to empty her bladder.

They looked at each other for a second before they both ran away in different directions. Aura sought refuge in flight like she always did. Twilight instead ran back into first class, probably to inform the others. Aura quickly went through three wagons of the second class and was now outside the door that led to the storage wagon. She searched for a hiding spot on the way, but the train was completely filled. It would take a while until the others would check all seats, but now she was a sitting duck out here. Fortunately, she was so small that her head couldn’t be seen through the window in the door. “What would dad do now?” She looked around. Of course, there was the wagon in front of her, but it was locked. She could search a conductor and steal his keys, but that contained the risk of getting caught. She could also try to climb on the roof.

She looked to her right where low hanging branches whooshed past the train. “Or maybe not.” Unfortunately, the only other way was to go back. Then she had an idea. If she could sneak past them and get back into her cabin, she would be safe. They had locks on them. Problem was Applejack would be looking around like a hawk. Once, she had even caught her stealing a cookie out of the cookie jar. It had been dark, and Applejack had been sleeping on the couch. Without looking up, she knew that it was her and sent her back to bed. She hadn’t even made a sound. But it was her best chance now.

Aura nodded to herself, gathered all her courage, and opened the door, only to run directly into the legs of a pony. She looked up to apologize but stopped as she met Applejack’s angry look. It was a mystery to Aura how Applejack accomplished it, but this expression was more terrifying than everything she had ever saw. “So, ya wanna do this the hard way or the very hard way?” Before Aura had the chance to reply, the orange mare grabbed her by her right ear with her teeth and started dragging her through the train.

“Hey!” she protested and tried to stop. “Aua!” she tripped forward a bit as she had to yield to the pain. “Watch it!” She saw many of the grown-ups to her left and right looking at her and shaking their head while the other foals grinned maliciously. “That hurts!” Applejack showed no mercy and pulled her through the next wagon. “Mum, that hurts!” she yelled a louder this time, the pain in her ear suddenly spiking, tears springing in her eyes. Applejack let go of her, and she fell onto her rump roughly and started rubbing her ear with a hoof.

Aura looked with one eye up to the orange mare who stood there, rooted to the spot, looking at her. The filly sniffled once and looked at her hoof, feeling something warm and sticky. It was a bit red. She heard a light gasp from Applejack who looked at her with big eyes and then into the crowd. Aura didn’t know what was happening, but a few seconds later, she was lifted onto Applejack’s back, and they continued their way, this time without getting one of her ears damaged. But Auralia was not done with her yet. “Do you understand now why I want to be with my dad? He would never hurt me!”

She saw that she had hit the mark, so then why was she feeling bad after saying it? Her head hung low, the mare trotted past Twilight and Rarity, who threw a quick glance at them and then followed them back into their cabin in the first class. “You stay here. I have to talk with the others for a moment,” Applejack ordered and closed the door to the cabin.

Aura just sat there and stared at her hooves. Why did Applejack let go of her? And why was she so sad now? It was nothing new that she wanted her father back. Everypony knew that. Didn’t Applejack herself say that this was why she was going on this journey?

Outside, the moon was at its highest point already. She used to sit with her father at a fire, snuggled together under an old blanket and watched the night sky. It was only him and her, no Amaryllis, no Twilight Sparkle, and no Applejack. They didn’t have it easy, but together they could do everything. No matter if it was a hoard of angry dragons and diamond dogs, no matter if they were sold to a slave ship by that damned Trixie or in a brawl with some stupid griffons. Compared to that their stay in Boardor and walking through the tundra, it had been child’s play.

After a few minutes, the door opened again and everypony, except Estoc, entered the room. He stayed outside and just nodded towards Rarity as he closed the door. “Auralia, we want to talk with you about something for a moment,” Twilight began and sat down in front of her. Applejack sat down next to her, but unlike the princess, she looked more at her hooves than at her. Rarity sat down next to her and put a hoof on her back. “You surely remember the spell that I tried while we were at the castle, right?” Aura nodded. Of course she remembered that. They all glowed so nicely, and she was so happy to glow in the same color as her dad. “When you called Applejack your mother, how did that feel?”

Did she do that? If so, she didn’t notice. “Don’t know. Should I have felt something?” Twilight looked over to Rarity and nodded.

“No, darling, everything is alright. It would be wrong if you felt something. After all, we know Applejack is your mother. But if you would feel uncomfortable… I don’t know. Twilight has studied this kind of magical connection. But if it felt wrong, it probably wouldn’t be right.” Her aunt sighed.

“What Rarity is trying to say is this: we all know it is physically impossible, but you and Applejack are mother and daughter. Even though she never gave birth, she also feels this connection. I studied the connection between ponies for a long time. Friendship, love, and everything around it. Even repulsion and hate.”

“Aura, ah don’t know how that’s possible, Sugarcube. Ah never was with a stallion, not to mention having a foal, but something tells me you belong to me and… Ah want to be there for you. And it hurts… it hurts when you push me away. No one wants to replace your father….” Aura saw the tears in the eyes of the mare. She didn’t know why, only that it was right to stand up from the bench and hug her.

***

“Hey, wake up,” Thiemo shook Amaryllis after he returned from giving the signal. The princess fell to the side and was kept dozing. At least until he shook her a bit stronger.

She yawned and her eyes slowly opened. “What?”

Thiemo sat back down on his spot on the bed. “Nothing. You just fell asleep.”

“Sorry,” she said, still a bit sleepy and held a hoof in front of her mouth as she yawned.

“No problem, that’s why we are here together, right?” The low, hanging head of his companion was not a good sign.

“I thought you like being alone with me.” Thiemo could slap himself right now and would surely do so at some point. Of course she saw more in it than just the thrills of finding out what was going on here. He hadn’t even thought about that, but he wanted to block it out at the moment.

“Amy,” he began and pulled her closer. “I told you already that I want to go home. As soon as I find a way, I will be gone, on a planet where they would lock you away and examine you for the rest of your life, simply for who you are. Our governments are not that well known for being too kind to foreigners. Or to put it simple, it would be just like Canterlot. A room as a cell, little fresh air, and lousy food. Even if they wouldn’t find you, it would still come down to the same thing. I would have to hide you, and you could never run around freely. I don’t want that. Why start something where we can already see the end?”

She panted and slammed a hoof down on the mattress. “Do you even know how confusing that is?! On the one side you tell me that you like me and even your feelings say that! But then you say something like this! For Aura you risked everything as well. Why not for me?” Thiemo had to admit that she had a good point. Why? He was far beyond the point of being clear about his feelings. Amy understood his strange humour (most of the time), could keep up with him if it came to knowledge and perception, and most importantly, she stood her ground. She had shot Night Hawk off his back with a spell and even tried to defend him. All in all, she was everything he was looking for in a girlfriend. There was the thing her being a completely different species, but god be damned she looked beautiful in the pale moonlight. Her dark coat reflected the light just enough that, aside from her eyes, only her silhouette was visible. And now tears were forming in those eyes.

“Amy,” he said softly and tried to put a hand on her cheek. But it was roughly pushed aside by one of her hooves.

“You know what?!” she snapped at him. “Don’t talk with me until you know what you want.” She tapped at his chest, directly above his heart. Thiemo could only avert his gaze and look out the window.

“Amy!” he suddenly shouted.

“I told you to leave me alone!” Thiemo ignored her sullenness.

“No, look outside.” Down, on the only dimly moonlit road, rushed little shadows. At first they had considered lighting the lanterns, but that would have probably scared them. Now they were here. It must have been around ten or twenty foals that were all following one that was waving at them when the coast was clear. They made their way down the road and disappeared in a second-hand shop. “Let’s go, we follow them.”

“Hold on, shouldn’t we give Hawk a signal?” Thiemo just looked at her for a few seconds in disbelief. “I said nothing…” They grabbed their bags and quietly made their way down into the ground floor of the hotels where, behind the counters, one of the not-zombie ponies stood and stared at the wall. Apparently, all the ponies in their state moved into such a position for the night. Maybe they just slept with open eyes since he knew ponies could stiffen their legs to stand on the same spot for a long time. Something that he could have used very well during boring school events in the past.

They hid in front of the counter and looked through the large windows outside and at the entrance of the store. Thiemo held a finger in front of his lips briefly, then motioned Amy to follow him. Crouching, Thiemo opened the door and let the princess slip through it before he slowly and quietly closed it again. They went carefully but quickly across the road and stopped in an alley between the store and another building. They could hear the foals on the inside, searching through the drawers and mumbling quietly. “All right, Amy. Can you transform in a filly?” She pouted at him briefly, but then nodded and disappeared in a quick flicker of green flames. In her spot stood Auralia. “Perfect to make me feel even guiltier,” he commented caustically as she put down her bags, which were too large for her now.

“I haven’t got a close look onto too many foals. Maybe the next time we’re in Canterlot, I’ll go ask a mother if they would leave me alone for ten minutes with their foal with a wide grin on my face.” She didn’t need to mention that she was speaking about her true form now.

Thiemo rolled his eyes. “Okay, no reason to get all snippy. We should talk about that later and get this over with.” Amaryllis, disguised as Aura, nodded and saluted, just like the real one would have done. “So, try to get into the story.” Thiemo looked at the wall and concentrated shortly. “It should be exactly twelve foals. Tell them you were lost or something. Or you were hiding in some house until…” Thiemo drifted off as the sky began to glow. No, not the sky, it was magic. Like snow in the wind, it hung in the air and slowly fell down on them. For a short moment, Thiemo considered if it was worth the risk, but then decided against it. With a quick move over his bracer, he pulled out Protes. “Shield,” he whispered, and the glowing staff followed his wish. A round shield engulfed them as the magic fell from the sky like snow. It glowed in all colors of the rainbow, which would have been a beautiful sight if it wasn’t so dangerous.

“Thiemo, what’s going on?” Amaryllis asked, confused, and placed a hoof on the shield.

He need a few seconds before taking his eyes off the sight. “What? No… uh… Are you telling me you can see that?” She looked around but then shook her head. “Then remind me to teach you how to see magic.”

“You can learn that?” she asked curiously.

“Sure… Magic is everywhere. You are born with it, so your senses are blocking it out to avoid an overflow. With a bit of training, you should be able to surpass that. It was differently for me. I didn’t know magic when I arrived here. It was easy to learn to see it.” The magic ebbed away slowly, and Thiemo lowered the shield as soon as the last remains vanished in the night air. “At least now we know what to look out for.” He gave Amy a signal again and with a quick nod, she disappeared around the corner to meet the other foals.

Thiemo waited patiently. He heard them talking and from time to time. He thought he could hear Aura’s voice and a bit of what Amy was telling them. Then he heard the opening sound of drawers again until eventually the back door opened with a squeal. Quietly, he sneaked, now with two bags, around the corner and watched the foals, along with Amaryllis, on their way back into the forest again. Their little saddlebags, apparently designed for books and other school utensils, were full to the bursting point with various objects. He waited for a little while longer after the heavy back door closed and then started to follow them. It wasn’t easy to walk stooped while carrying a backpack and a saddlebag, but as soon as they were in the forest, he could dash from tree to tree. His magical sight gave him a clear view on the little ponies, consisting out of all three races, and Amy of course. She glowed like a searchlight unlike the others.

Thiemo stayed close to the walls to brace himself, and at one point, he stopped just in time. Their leader stopped at the edge of town and looked down the roads. Thiemo couldn’t see it quite clearly, but he seemed to be a little older than the others and appeared to be a pegasus too. After a short while, he seemed to be content and turned away to follow the others. Unfortunately, Thiemo had to wait for a little longer as they went across the meadow, but Amy’s magic was like a beacon. On the open field, she would have to be many kilometers away from him in order for him to lose her.

He sighed in relief as the group reached the edge of the forest, and he supported himself against a tree. The group of foals was only about two hundred meters ahead of him, and the little magical energy of the trees was hardly any distraction. But the cough next to him was. “I thought I had made myself clear?” Behind one of the trees, Hawk appeared, and Thiemo sighed.

“Where’s the rest?” It was clear to him that she could see in the dark as though she almost born for the night.

“Heart is guarding the camp, and I won’t bring the greenhorn into danger. So, where are they going?” She pointed with a hoof in the general direction where Amaryllis and the other foals went.

“If I had to take a guess, their camp. And if I’m correct, we will be meeting whoever is responsible for all of this.”

Chapter II - Act 8.4 - Lord of the Forest

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 8.4 - Lord of the Forest ~

Despite the fog and the darkness, neither Hawk nor Thiemo had any trouble following the foals. From time to time, they lost visual, but thanks to the sharp ears of the thestral, they quickly got back on track. “How deep into the forest do these stupid brats want to go? Luna-knows-what could live out here.” Thiemo gave his companion a questioning look. “What?”

“Well, I’ve heard ponies using Celestia’s name quite often but never Luna’s.” Since they were both ‘gods’, it shouldn’t be very surprising though.

“Everypony chooses their own patroness. Now guess why I choose Luna.” Thiemo didn’t see that worthy of an answer. “Makes those stupid Celestia’s Witnesses even more pissed off,” Hawk added, more to herself than the human.

“As long as they don’t ring you out of your bed in the morning, you’re lucky.” Hawk suddenly stopped and pulled Thiemo by his coat with her teeth behind one of the trees. She peeked out of it again before hunkering down on the ground.

She sniffed a few times. “Predators… I smell meat, not cooked. And decay. They can’t be far.” Thiemo looked around. His magical sight should have enabled him to see everything, even through some near objects like thin walls or bushes. But he found nothing unusual. Just a few trees and bushes with little to no magical energy.

But then he noticed some movement. At first, it was in the form of the cracking of small branches, causing him to quickly look over at it. It seemed like the plants were moving, but they stopped as soon as he looked at them. “No, we’re really not alone…” Thiemo grabbed Protes in his hands and prepared himself for whatever was coming. A few second later, they saw the outlines of two well-known creatures. “Timberwolves,” he murmured and pointed in their direction. Hawk followed his hand and nodded, confirming that she saw the wolves as well. Now, without the disturbance of the Everfree, he could better understand what these things were. They had a magical core that used the surroundings, similar to his staff. The core was protected by a coat of wood. Magic itself couldn’t think, so there must also be something else in this core.

“I thought these things would only be in the Everfree around Ponyville. I’ve never heard of sighting so far away,” Hawk said without taking her eyes of the predators. They snuffled around, and it was only a matter of time until they detected them, so Thiemo decided to beat them to it. Quietly, he put down both bags and stepped past Hawk out of their hiding place. Immediately, the heads of the wooden creatures spun to his direction, and they bared their teeth.

The shaman could only grin. “Come to papa.” The wolves didn’t need to be told twice, and both jumped at him at the same time. Thiemo threw himself to the ground, so that they both missed their target and landed behind them with their backs turned towards him. In one quick move, he put his feet on the ground again and readied his staff. He spun around in the same moment as the creatures, but they immediately met the metal of Protes. The effect was instant, and the wood fell to the ground where it lay still. With his magical view, he saw the cores floating around and he quickly reached out for them. His hand made contact with something small, but he couldn’t see what it was. He closed his eyes shortly and shook his head. As he opened them again, he was engulfed by fog and darkness, but he could see what his fingers were holding. It was a small green creature with large, yellow, poisonous eyes that were without pupils. A hissing sound came out of its small mouth that was filled with fangs, and long baggy ears were on its oval, wrinkled head.

Another crack of branches got his attention, but it was just Hawk that stepped into his sight. “What is that thing?” she asked, a bit disgusted as she reached out her hoof. It snapped after her hoof, and she quickly pulled back.

Thiemo was glad that he blocked its little claws and wings with his hand. “That would be a gnome. I never have seen one before, but I think I’m right.” Gnomes were earth spirits, creatures of Gaia. According to the book he had read, they were created to protect the earth and everything that wandered on it. “Cunning little beasts that like to play nature’s protectors. Only thing is that they have found too much pleasure in it.” Thiemo couldn’t imagine that they were created this way. “But that confirms my assumption.” He repositioned the gnome in his hand, weighed it, and then threw it with all of his power into the fog. A few seconds later, he heard a satisfying thud. The second one should be long gone by now to regenerate.

“Why did you do that? Now he will come back and attack us again.” He shrugged.

“I don’t think that will happen. At least not today. Unlike the Everfree, this area is barely magical, so they need way more time to gather enough magic to create a lull. We should be done here by then.” Without further ado, he walked past Hawk, picked up their bags, and stored his weapon again.

“Done here?” she asked, now on his eye level and stopped him by pressing a hoof against his shoulder. "What is that supposed to mean? Do you know what’s going on here?”

“I had a speculation, but now I’m certain. You said it yourself: why are timberwolves here, or rather gnomes? Why so far from home? Also, why did they attack us and not the foals?” Thiemo saw the cluelessness in Hawk’s eyes and grinned, amused. “Come, we should hurry and catch up to the foals. Then you will see what I mean.”

They needed about half an hour until they finally found a track of the group. The two gnomes did good work in getting them an advantage. Thiemo’s view and even Hawk’s ears were no help in filtering anything out of the noises of the nightly forest. Eventually, however, they stumbled upon something: a candy wrapper. One of the foals must have been hungry and disposed of the waste in the forest. One wrapper alone wasn’t much of a help. But more wrappers gave them a rough direction, and the group was eventually back in sight, just in time to see them climbing up a footbridge.

Suddenly, Hawk jabbed Thiemo in his side and pointed with a hoof upwards. There, under the tree crowns, was something that could be described as a small palace. It was a structure made out of many small tree houses, all joining together to one. Small chain bridges served as a walkway for the numerous foals that were running around up there. Occasionally, a small pegasus was between them, who landed on the branches and kept watch. “What is that?” he heard the thestral murmuring.

“So that must be the residence of the fly king.” Again he was met with the same look he always got when someone didn’t get his references. “That is the home of our soul stealer.” She nodded and began to walk up same path, but this time it was Thiemo who held her back. “What are you doing?”

“What do you think? I’m going up there, drag the flank of this idiot who uses little foals as his servants out here, and then give him more than a clear bit of my mind.” To give utterance to her words, she slammed her forehooves together.

Thiemo laughed again. “So we’re beating up foals now?” Hawk just blinked. “Okay, slowly for the stupid. Who would have something to gain from disabling all the adults in town? Especially who would then hide with a bunch of foals in the forest and play king? Didn’t you ever want to do whatever you wanted when you were little?” She looked like she wanted to reply with something snappy, but Thiemo gave her no chance to speak. “Now imagine you’re a foal like Twilight Sparkle, born with enough power to make this happen.”

“What’s your point?” Hawk was seemingly impatient.

“Simple. We are dealing with a spoiled little descendant who wants to live his fantasies. A world with no adults, no rules. Thanks to the gnomes, I can safely say that we are dealing with a descendant of Gaia. They felt attracted to the familiar energy or something. And the foals must basically smell like him, so they were spared.” Amused, Thiemo saw how it clicked in the pony’s head.

“But what about the adults? Did he really kill them?” Thiemo knocked against one of the trees next to him.

“May I introduce you to one of the proud citizens of Sunny Town? I would really love for you to get to know each other, but souls trapped inside trees have this annoying trait of being very taciturn. Basically every soul is like that, but that’s not the point.” He pointed at the trees around them. “All of these trees contain souls. I noticed it like ten minutes ago, but hey, where would have been the fun in telling you?”

“Okay, so am I getting this right? We are dealing with an incredibly powerful foal?” Thiemo nodded. “How do we spank his flank and make this all okay then?”

Thiemo stopped. “Honestly, I haven’t thought that far.…” Hawk’s forehead met her hoof. “Come on, I can’t do everything on my own.”

***

Amaryllis had tried to stay out of the conversations of the foals the whole time, but now she was literally overwhelmed. In the town, she had told Swift Wing, the leader of the little group, only what Thiemo had told her. She was hiding until now and came out because she was hungry. They had immediately taken her into their little group. During the way through the forest, she had felt Thiemo: sometimes more, sometimes less, but he was always out of reach to read his emotions. Now they were at the first little hut of the tree palace as the others called it, where she was surrounded by many foals who all questioned her. Who she was, where she lived, and so on. She tried to answer them, but the questions came too quickly.

“Leave her alone.” It was Swift Wind’s voice. “She probably hasn’t eaten for days.” The foals dropped their heads and disappeared back where they came from. The little white pegasus with a golden mane walked over to her and led her down a corridor. “Sorry about that. Auralia, right?” She just nodded. “They are just excited to see a new face. Especially since we didn’t expected one. You’ll have to wait a bit longer until you can eat; I think Karst wants to meet you first.”

“Who?” Swift giggled and waved her off with a wing.

“Sorry. Karst is our leader. He saved us from what happened with the grown-ups and helped us to sit this out until help from Canterlot arrives.” They walked across one of the bridges, climbed up another path upstairs, and finally entered a big hall. It was in the biggest tree house, towering above all the others. On their way, she saw some foals sorting the stuff from the bags in piles. Amaryllis saw that they were barely furnished. No beds - just blankets and pillows. No furniture besides some few single desks, but nopony seemed to mind. Some foals were playing tag, some were sleeping. Everypony seemed to more or less be doing what they wanted. It was the complete opposite to her hive.

“Karst! We have a new one!” Swift shouted and swooshed past her. On a throne of cushions and blankets, with a few grapes lying around it, was not another foal but a small diamond dog. His coat was light brown with a many white dots. In one of his extremely large paw, at least for the age Amy expected him to be, he held a stick like a sceptre.

His gaze met hers and Swift’s, and his bored expression changed to a happy one. “Swift, pal!” His paw formed a fist and was met by the hoof of the little pegasus. Then he looked at Amaryllis and his eyes went as big as plates. “Hey, beautiful lady, come around here often?” She could only roll her eyes at his stupid pick-up line. Hold on, was that how Thiemo felt when they met? At the thought, she wished the ground would open and swallow her up if it wasn’t ten meters below her now.

“Uhm…” She didn’t get to say more as the young diamond dog jumped up from his throne and came over to her. A foul smell came from him as though he hadn’t showered in weeks. To make it worse, he put an arm around her neck.

“Don’t worry, I’ll look after you. So, welcome in my little kingdom.” He grinned at her, his teeth as yellow as gold and with the remains of caramel stuck between them. “Can you offer you something? Flowers?” He tipped his stick on the wooden floor of the tree house, and a bouquet of tulips appeared. “Or maybe some good old grass? I heard that rustic is back in fashion in Canterlot.” Again he tipped on the ground, and the whole wooden ground was a little meadow seconds later.

What Thiemo had told her made sense in that moment. Now she understood what he meant when he said that Celestia was not the only one with an offspring. Were all this - Sunny Town and the foals out here - his work?

“What? No grass, no tulips?” With a wave of his stick, everything disappeared again. “Tell me, beautiful, what can good old Karst do for you?”

Take a shower first, she thought. And she thought the human smelled bad during their time in the dungeon. “I’m not hungry anymore.” The other two looked at each other, and then Karst shrugged and went back to his cushions.

“Then tell me,” he began as he threw himself on his throne again, “what’s your name? I don’t think I ever saw you in Sunny Town.” Swift gave her a closer look.

“Now that you mention it, neither have I. Does your family live far out in the forest? I think we have two schools. Somepony should know you.” And now she had a problem. She was no fighter, and Karst seemed to be powerful. She could lie and tell them that she came into town with her parents, and then they turned like the others. But this would only postpone her problem. She needed a distraction, she needed time, she needed—

“Alright, everypony, stand still; the Supernanny is in the house. You don’t want to go on the naughty corner, do you?” Thiemo! She looked at the human who calmly walked into the room. His well-known grin on his lips as he gave her a wink. She hadn’t even noticed that he was nearby.

Swift immediately went into an attack position while Karst jumped up and pointed the stick on him. “Creature, you dare enter my kingdom? Be gone or I show you the power of Karst!”

Thiemo reached into his backpack and pulled out his canteen. He poured a bit of it on his hands and splayed out his fingers quickly for a few times so that Karst face was met with a few drops. He flinched for a moment and wiped his paw over his short muzzle. “Bad dog. Heel!” Thiemo ordered and repeated the procedure.

“Hey! What are you doing?” Karst still tried to fend off the attack. “Do something, Swift.” The foal looked alternately at the diamond dog and the human, unsure what to do.

“W-What is that thing, Karst?” he stammered and took a step backwards. He was clearly afraid of Thiemo.

“Do something!” Karst shouted again as the water squirted into his face. “Save your king!”

“King? Karst, stop playing around! What is that monster?”

“Do as I command you!” Amaryllis watched Swift Wind beat a hasty retreat and tried to pull her with him. But she just stayed there and surveyed the action.

Thiemo noticed the movements of the pegasus in the corner of his eye and turned his head to him. “Go. Outside awaits you Night Hawk, Captain of Princess Luna’s Night Guard.” Without giving a sign of understanding, he ran out of the the room.

“Traitor!” Karst shouted behind him while protecting himself with a pillow. Thiemo, meanwhile, poured the last drops of water in his hand and flicked them in the face of the little dog.

Finally, he put his canteen back into his backpack and wiped his hands dry on his pants. “Well, now that we are alone, I think it’s time for a little talk, don’t you think?”

“Go away! I warn you.” Thiemo made a step forward. “I said go away. I’ll imprison you in a tree!” Thiemo took another step and Karst delivered on the threat. Something shot out of his stick and hit Thiemo right in his chest. Horrified, Amy watched how he stopped and stood completely still. “Ah! I told you so, you stupid thing!” The diamond dog jumped off his throne and rushed over to Thiemo. He reached him to his hip as came a halt in front of him and watched him shortly. Then he kicked him on the shin. “Take this!” He repeated the action. “And that. No one messes with Karst!”

Then the human blinked. “That’s what I call a trip,” he mumbled and fell down on his buttocks. Meanwhile, Karst stared at him, terrified, and scrambled back.

“Y-You should b-be a tree like all the o-others,” he stammered.

“And you shouldn’t play with magic you don’t understand. What is an adult? Nothing more than an older child with more experience. Besides, that there is not much of a difference. So, my little friend, how does your spell detect adults?” The little diamond dog seemed clueless.

Amaryllis, however, knew the answer. “Cutie marks. Ponies see them as a sign of growing up.” Thiemo imitated the sound of a bell.

“Bingo, the candidate has a hundred points. Now, my little friend, do I have a cutie mark?” Thiemo’s grin widened as the color drained out of the face of the little diamond dog. “I bet you didn’t even want to cast the adults into trees; you just wanted to bring out their inner child and remove the adult part. But you can’t remove something that belongs to the whole. That’s why they lost their whole selves. Their souls.”

“Shut up! You’re an adult too!” He pointed his stick at Thiemo, but this time no multi colored magic came out of it; instead, some splinters shot out of the wall. The human managed to raise one arm in time to protect his face as the small wooden projectiles went past Protes and cut into his arm.

He rolled to the aside to evade more projectiles. “Fuck, damnit!” he snarled and pulled out his staff. Blood ran down his arm as he held the weapon against the one of the little diamond dog. “I’ll say it one last time, kid. Cut the crap and come with me. Then we’re going to sort out the big pile of crap that you made.” Amaryllis, meanwhile, thought what she could do to help. She knew a few spells, but Thiemo held himself back, otherwise Karst would be on the ground for a long time already.

***

Thiemo had hoped that he could irritate the pup enough that it wouldn’t come down to a fight, but he was very wrong there. Hawk was evacuating the foals in case things spiraled out of control. When they entered the building together, there was panic at first, but Hawk caught their attention quickly and introduced herself to the foals. After that they happily obliged to follow her even if some still threw frightened looks at him.

“Leave. Me. Alone. All of you!” This time the magic didn’t came out of his stick, but his entire coat stood on end and engulfed the whole room in all colors of the rainbow.

Suffice to say, the display did not leave him with any positive vibrations. “Amy!” He jumped over to her and grabbed her. Blood from his arm mixed with her orange coat as splinters rained down on him once again. Thiemo didn’t get around to use another of the remaining sapphires and quickly reached the exit without being hit. “Quick, go. This is too dangerous. The kid is unstable.”

Amy, who seemed to have caught herself in the meantime, refused to budge as he put her down again. “What? No, I will stay and help!”

“Go, you’re just in the way—” He didn’t get any further as he was hit in the shoulder. “Ahhh! Crap! Go!” he snapped at her and turned around to the angry little diamond dog. The splinters were not deep, but it was enough to make every move hurt, and he was losing blood from his many little wounds. “Okay, kiddo, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Thiemo grabbed into his bag again and pulled out another sapphire. The pup yelled again in rage, and the room turned against Thiemo again. This time, Thiemo didn’t try to run away but headed directly towards him. He was in reach almost instantly and rammed the end of Protes into the stomach of the diamond dog. The pup gasped for air and held his stomach while Thiemo was thrown back like a rubber ball. The rolling over on the ground did not help his already hurt shoulder, but he gritted his teeth and got up on his knees. Protes runes were glowing. One touch was enough to absorb this amount of magic, and it was just a child. What kind of kickback would he have gotten if it had worked with Twilight? He didn’t want to think about that know. “Give up and come with me, peacefully. I don’t like to beat children or dogs. Or a combination of those two.”

It worried him now that his opponent was no longer moving as he got up completely again. He carefully took a few steps in his direction. Unexpectedly, the head of the creature jolted up and looked at him with completely white eyes. Thiemo didn’t need his magical view to know what was happening. The dog had lost control. A child of his age couldn’t handle the massive amount of magic that was available to him. And after all he had experienced, there was only one thing that happened with an overcharged medium. “It’s gonna blow!” He fell back into his mother tongue. “Shit!”

Chapter II - Act 8.5 - Sunrise

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 8.5 - Sunrise ~

Exploding halfway-charged gemstones were roughly comparable to misfired Chinese fireworks that burned your hands so badly that you couldn’t use them for a week. In the worst case, a fully charged gemstone would make you slightly thankful that you couldn’t feel anything from the neck down. A little god was now about to release his full power into the world which would not only send the little tree palace and Sunny Town but most likely the entire forest into the next galaxy. Something Thiemo was not entirely looking forward to, not like he had a choice in that.

Of course, he could use Protes to protect himself, but the following implosion, the resulting lack of oxygen, and the pure heat would kill him as soon as the shield dropped. Thanks to its limited capacity, that was bound to happen before the inferno would be over. Besides that, what would be the point of rising like a phoenix out of the ashes? Amaryllis and all the others, including the entire town, would be gone. He carried a lot on his shoulders, but this was a load he refused to add there.

Without further ado, he teleported with Protes directly in front of the pup, who was still literally overflowing with magic and seemed to look through him with his completely white eyes. Since the staff was now uncharged, he held it against the diamond dog again, this time against his head. The result was, of course, the same as last time, and Thiemo found himself at the other side of the room again. His shoulder protested with pain and his arm was getting tired, but he had to keep it together now. Protes glowed again as he once again teleported in front of the young diamond dog. Again the staff fell down onto the little diamond dog, and the game started from the beginning. After two more repetitions, Thiemo was at his end. His shoulder was probably blue from many bruises and was covered in blood thanks to the splinters that only kept pushing deeper into his skin. Protes fell to the ground with a quiet clank as his right hand failed. The most serious thing, however, was that the pup didn’t seem to mind the missing energy. The magical pressure increased and was so thick that even gravity got stronger.

Would he have to kill him? That was the question that shot through his mind. One life for that of thousands. On television, it had always seemed so noble, but these heroes were sacrificing just their own life. But he was not a hero and especially not noble. The question was how he could kill him. His staff was a protector, and he no longer had the power to give him a blow on his head that would be strong enough to do the job. And even if he killed him, the energy had to go somewhere. It wouldn’t be the entire forest, but a large part of it. With him in it. The longer he waited, the more likely it was that the explosion would catch the fleeing foals and Amy. “Damn it, I don’t want to die yet…” His view quickly went through the room. Some of the splinters were stuck in the ground, and with enough force, it would be child’s play. His left hand automatically wandered to the object and wrapped around it. It was almost like little dagger but with a sharp grip. He felt the wood cutting into his flesh and blood dripping down from the tip of the splinter he held in his grip. With the last vestiges of his strength, he grabbed Protes with his other hand. The staff, now covered in blood, helped him on his legs.

He supported himself with the loyal metal and was able to stand again. Slowly, step by step, he walked towards the dog. With every step, it got clearer to him just what he was about to do. He stopped to sort his thoughts. “Take energy, kill, and protect yourself…” The staff glowed brightly from the last attempt to disarm the living bomb. “I can’t do that… He’s a damn child!” Thiemo dropped onto his knees and dropped the splinter to fully support himself with Protes. “Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!” How could it all go wrong like this? How?

Again he looked up. The sight before him caused his breath to catch. Behind the pup was a gigantic eye looking out of the wall, staring at the scene. It was as green as the grass on a sunlit summer meadow that moved slightly in the wind. That was the closest thing to describe the eye, and for a second, he thought that his exhaustion was driving him to the point of hallucinations. But then a branch emerged from the wall and lightly tapped against the head of the diamond dog. The effect kicked in immediately, and the pup’s body crumpled and fell to the ground, the stored magic disappearing. The pressure in the room went back to normal, and Thiemo saw the eye looking at him.

“So we met again,” a monotonic voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time said. “Strange how our paths seem to cross.”

Relieved that his end had not come yet, Thiemo let himself fall down and laid flat on the floor. “I have no idea what you’re talking about or what you are, but thanks. I thought this would be the end for me.”

“We should be thanking you. An old friend asked me to find her offspring and bring him back home. But due to his connection to the earth, it was hard to find him. His magical burst was what caught my attention. I think a reward would be adequate since you are the one who caused it.” The sounds that escaped Thiemo’s mouth was a mixture of groaning and laughter.

“I almost turned the Lost Forest into the Lost Crater. Thousands would have died, and you thank me?”

"Live and death are but a single unit. Without one, the other can’t be,” the voice answered. Whatever this creature was, it was clear that it was from beyond that very barrier. No one who was in the circle of life would talk like that.

“So… Who are you?” For a few seconds, it was silent, the rustling of the leaves the only sound to be heard.

“Maybe I was too quick, maybe not. I have no name, but if you want to give me one, Trent might be fitting.” Thiemo struggled to keep his eyes open, but the exhaustion and stress from the battle was catching up to him. “Now then, goodbye, old friend.” The world around him turned black.

***

Twilight started from her sleep as she felt something she hadn’t felt in a long time. “By my mother…” she mumbled and looked around in the cabin. On the turned down bench opposite to her laid Applejack; between her forelegs was Auralia. The two hadn’t noticed her short scream and slept peacefully snuggled together.

A knocking at the door caught Twilight’s attention. “Twilight darling, are you awake?” Rarity’s voice came through the closed door.

Sleepy, she got up on her four hooves and freed herself from the blanket she had wrapped around one of her wings. “Hold on, Rarity.” She levitated the clingy piece of fabric back on her bed and stepped out of her cabin and into the corridor. Rarity still wore her sleeping mask on her forehead and was encased in her usual purple dressing gown.

Twilight, I don’t think I have to tell you why I woke up, right?” Her friend perked up her ears. “I don’t think I am the only one affected either.”

“I know, Rarity. I believe every unicorn up to Canterlot has noticed it. What I wonder is what it was. I know of nopony with that much magic aside from my mother, my aunt, Cadance, or Eris.” Rarity coughed. “Or me, yes. Something similar happened the last time as I took my entrance exam for the school.” Even as a princess, she couldn’t bypass all the rules. The decision that her mother would teach her in the end was made because her magical abilities greatly surpassed the teachers’. If she had gotten another seizure during class, none of the teachers would have been able to do anything about it.

Her friend looked clearly nervous. “So you have no idea what it was?” Twilight could only shake her head.

“No, but it came out of the direction of the Lost Forest. If I had to guess, I would say it had something to do with that Thiemo.”

***

“I’ve warned you, Celestia,” Eris said while she levitated to the other side of the table and moved a chess figure across the board with her tail.

The alicorn hummed her agreement. “That you have indeed. But you can’t always expect everything. That is why you have to plan for the unexpected. And maybe Gaia should look after her offspring better in the future. I will have to talk with her about that.”

“I don’t think she wants to intrude your little campaign. At least as long as it’s not absolutely necessary.” Celestia responded to her move and took a knight off the board. “Luna will also be here in a few minutes to ask questions. Maybe you should also listen to what she has to say.”

"My sister has no idea. She is naive if she believes that everything is so simple, Eris. The raids of the humans are becoming rampant, and I do not plan to let it continue any further.”

“What you want to do? Exterminate them? Send them into Tartarus? You know about the conditions on Ti just like as I do. Are you really surprised?” Eris moved her queen and mated Celestia. “And just in case you really consider one of these options, I believe there are a few others who would hinder you. Our task is to watch them, not to kill.”

“Let that be one of my concerns. I will just not let the past repeat itself.”

“Why should it, Celestia? Nightmare is dead, wiped out by your own daughter. Luna is safe here in this castle and with friends. What are you afraid of?”

Celestia moved her rook in front of her king. “What makes you think I am afraid?”

“Don’t act so innocent,” she answered huffily. “I know you better than I would like to, to be honest.” Eris’ bishop moved across the board and brought her king to a fall. “Checkmate, Celestia. I will bid you my farewells for today.” Eris acted like she was teleporting, but she instead disguised her form by blending in with the surroundings and laid down one of the large bookshelves of the library. Not a second later, the large double door opened, and just as expected, Luna entered the room.

“Sister, I hope you have noticed it as well. What is going on there?” Eris knew that she gave Thiemo the leather bracelet to keep an eye on him. Of course, she used the connection to her advantage as well.

“Don’t worry, Luna. The human had an encounter with Karst, Gaia’s youngest.”

“I thought you had planned the route? Did you know he was there?” Eris grinned.

“Of course not, Luna; I would have never risked that.” Oh how well the Princess of the Sun could lie behind her poker face. Did she really think the human would kill the puppy? And all that just to get Gaia on her side? “But I am still thankful that Trent intervened. I bet he would never have admitted it, but the loss of an entire forest would have hit him hard.”

“Not only the forest, sister. Sunny Town as well. It would have been in range of the explosion.” Of course, Celestia had taken that into account. If it would have come down to it, she would have teleported there herself and saved the citizens. It would have been easy for the princess, Eris knew that.

“Why do you think I am awake? I kept an eye on everything. But like I said, Lulu, Trent saved me the work.” Luna nodded and turned around.

“Then you should maybe rest now. I will guard the events for the rest of the night.” Celestia smiled, and with a blink of her horn, she disappeared.

“Eris, I am worried about her. She seems so cold,” Luna turned towards her. It was worth a try to beat the Princess of the Night and Avatar of Shadows in a game of hide-and-seek.

She turned visible again. “We all have our monsters, Luna. The statue of hers stands out there in the maze. She never really got over it.” The princess nodded sadly and closed the door behind her as she left the library and Eris to themselves.

***

Thiemo slowly opened his eyes and was greeted by a bright morning sun. He tried moving his right arm to protect his eyes, but a piercing pain stopped him. He looked around and noticed that he was lying on the meadow between their tents. His coat was lying a short distance away and seemed to be wet, a hint that it might have been cleaned. The holes also seemed to be stitched. His right arm and most parts of his torso were wrapped in bandages that peeked out from beneath his shirt. “Good thing the princess gave us a medic.” His mumbled words didn’t seem to be unnoticed.

In the next moment, one of the tents opened, and Amaryllis in all her glory stepped out. “Thiemo!” She rushed over to him and rubbed her cheek against his. “What happened? Are you alright? What happened with Karst?” Thanks to her outburst, the others came out of their tents as well.

“I’m fine, just a bit stiff.” He tried to sit up, but Heart pushed him back to the ground.

“Some splinters were very deep in your shoulder, and I had to make a few stitches. You should lie down and rest for a while.” Since he didn’t have the power to object, he laid back down on the grass gain.

“What happened? I think I enraged the little guy too much. But I didn’t expect him to have this much magic. I know that Twilight Sparkle—”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Heart corrected.

“That the princess was powerful. But she must have gone easy on me during our fight. Karst literally wiped the floor with me. With his temper, he had gained the upper hand and then… no idea. His eyes glowed white and then the magic began to accumulate like crazy. He almost blew up the entire forest. If Trent hadn’t arrived, we wouldn’t be speaking now.” The others looked at him, confused.

“Who is Trent?” Lyra then asked.

“Good question.” Thiemo considered it for a moment. “If I had to take a guess, I would say a tree spirit, an ent. But he shut down Karst with a small touch. Tree spirits are not strong enough to do that to an offspring of an avatar. And he called Gaia a friend, not his master. So, I have no clue.” What worried him more was what Trent meant with ‘old friend’. “How long was I passed out?”

“It will soon be noon. Amaryllis managed to catch up to us and told me that you stayed in there by yourself. When I arrived there, everything was gone: the trees, the houses, everything.” This wasn’t surprising. He suspected that Karst had created them with his magic. “Then I brought you back to the camp.” Thiemo stopped.

“Nothing against you, Hawk, but how did you carry me?”

“Let’s just say I have my methods.” Judging by her grin, this was the best answer he was going to get.

“What’s more important,” Lyra began, “is that the town is back to normal. All the citizens are real ponies again. So they must have gotten their souls back.” Now Thiemo understood what Trent meant with rewards. He put the souls back into their bodies. Usually, if the trees that were holding them disappeared, the souls would have to wander without a body. “And something else, the fog disappeared!”

Now Thiemo didn’t get around sitting up and look around. Like Lyra had said, the fog was really gone, and there were no signs of it ever being there.

“Shouldn’t we then…” Thiemo began but Hawk shook her head.

“You won’t get far in your condition. Sleep for a couple of more hours, and then we will talk about the continuation of our journey.” Thiemo nodded. “And maybe you should change your spot and get something to eat first.”

He lifted his left side a bit and saw the red grass under his body. “Don’t worry. I disinfected and bandaged everything before we put you down here. Better out here than bleeding up the tents.” Heart nodded to Amaryllis, who then levitated him a bit off the ground. The medic got a blanket and placed him a bit away from his pool of blood. “We will change the bandages before we move on.” He landed softly on the blanket, and Amy immediately took a seat at his side. Now that the excitement was ebbing down, Thiemo realized how tired he still was, so it didn’t take long before he was off visiting the land of dreams again.

*** ~ [Limp Bizkit - Behind Blue Eyes] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter II - Intermission 8 - Dreamwalker

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Thiemo sat down at the large kitchen table of his grandparent’s home. It wasn’t that he didn’t have parents; he just preferred living where he had his few friends and acquaintances. This was where he had grown up. His parents had a large house overseas and were now living in the States.

Not that it was unusual that he sat there - it was just rare. He should be in boarding school at the moment and writing his French paper. Instead, a French maid with a little feather duster and equally short skirt was cleaning the countertop. He knew he shouldn’t be complaining, but something was nagging the back of his head. Thiemo slowly turned his look away from the now sulky-looking employee and stood up from his chair. His journey led him through the white fog into the living room where two ponies sat and drank tea.

Horses were nothing unusual here. It was more the fact that the one mare had a midnight-blue coat and an even darker mane that was flowing in the non-existent wind. Furthermore, it was star-studded. Oh, and of course there was the horn and the wings. The other mare had them too; however, the wings on her dark coat were more insectile, and her horn was crooked and sharp. Her bright purple mane formed a strong contrast to the otherwise so dark colors.

“Good evening, Thiemo,” he was greeted by the blue one. “I was hoping we could talk in private.”

My little Pony

Journey

~ Intermission 8 - Dreamwalker ~

A swing of Luna’s horn later, Thiemo sat down in his grandfather’s comfortable chair. “So this is a dream. The old fish stick would have killed me if I ever had dared to sit down in his chair.” Luna looked at him questioningly. Thiemo took his time with the answer and loosened the tie of his school uniform. “My grandfather is wrinkled and slightly tanned. Also, he spends a lot of free time fishing,” he explained. “So, you’re the real Luna? In my dream?”

“That is correct. I was hoping we could exchange a few words.” Thiemo nodded and looked over at Amaryllis.

“What is with her? Is she really here too?” Amy just smiled and took another sip of her tea.

“No,” Luna said and slightly shook her head. “She is part of the dream. Pardon me for interrupting it. Surely, it would have been a pleasant one.” At least she wasn’t making a fuss about exactly knowing where this would have gone.

Thiemo also took a cup from the table, which appeared as he wished for it. “What is she doing here then?”

“She is waiting.”

“For what?”

“I would say to take her spot.” Luna pointed past him where the maid was motioning Thiemo with a finger to come back into the kitchen. “Maybe it is wrong for me to ask as her great aunt, but why are you rejecting her?”

“Are you asking me why I don’t want to have sex with your great-niece? Or would you rather come to the point?” Thiemo took a sip out of his cup. The tea had turned into cocoa.

Luna nodded. “Very well. I do not think I have to say how close the encounter with Karst was. But let us talk about how it came to it in the first place. Sure, there are a few offspring of us out there, but what are the chances for you to meet the second one already? What I want to say is… be careful. My sister is playing her own game; she always has. But with everything that is happening, I am worried.” Luna took a sip out of her cup and let it disappear. “This is why I am going to tell you this secret. Night Hawk and Iron Heart follow my sister’s order, but above all, Captain Hawk is under my command. Should you see it necessary to remove her command, to change the route so to speak, the following words:

In nights only as dark as your heart,
She hunts only those who hide.
Stand proud and honest, so she will be at your side.
By the shadows that bind us, stay with me night-born.

This is my part of the oath if I accept a new member to the Nightguard. Hawk is bound to this oath and will follow you should you speak it. Consider this an emergency solution. Do not betray my trust.” With that, the princess disappeared and left Thiemo alone.

“Okay, I hope I can remember that.” He looked over to Amaryllis. “You know what, screw that. Let’s see if ponies get the idea of a lap dance.”

***

Luna opened her eyes in her quarters. She didn’t seem to have the strength at the moment to move. “I am so sorry, nephew. If my sister could only see clearly. Maybe she would not treat your light in this way.”

*** ~ [Evening Star - Land of Equestria] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter III - Far Under the Misty Mountains

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Chapter III - Far Under the Misty Mountains

Chapter III - Act 9.1 - Mountainwards in the Morning Dew

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“Take it easy, Lyra,” Thiemo said to the mint-green unicorn as he gave the luggage on her back a friendly pat. She wasn’t just wearing her own bags and Night Hawk’s but had his to add to her burden. Because of the wound in his right shoulder, Thiemo was unable to carry his backpack without pain, and Heart forbade him to do so anyways. He would only strain the wound, and their supply of antibiotics was low already. Now he was receiving a look that could kill. “Not funny?”

“If you weren’t hurt, I would show you where you could shove your—” She stumbled with her hoof against a stone on the way and managed to stabilize herself and her load just in time. “Even the stupid road is against me!”

“Not just the road,” Hawk commented. “If you didn’t come along in the first place, we wouldn’t have had to stop in Sunny Town to resupply. Our rations were supposed to be for just four ponies from the start.”

Thiemo stopped, causing the whole group to come to a halt as he turned towards Hawk. “Are you saying these rations were for ponies? What was in them?”

“They have all the vitamins a healthy pony needs. The main ingredient is hay of course. Why?” His face went pale as Heart said this.

“I ate pony food?” Everypony nodded. “And I didn’t throw up or something?”

“Is it that bad? Would you like to throw up?” Hawk looked worriedly over to Heart.

“Of course not! But I should have. Humans can’t stomach hay!”

“Well, the rations are designed to be easily digestible. Have you noticed any signs of poisoning? How many of them did you eat?” Thiemo considered. He had a few then, and a few more later. And then at night in the hotel. A clear number couldn’t be found in his head.

“No idea!” he finally said, slightly panicked. “I ate them like a woman with PMS would eat chocolate.” A few seconds of silence. “A lot, okay!?”

“Don’t worry,” Amaryllis sweetly assured him. “With so much hay in your head, a little more in your stomach doesn’t really make much of a difference.” Thiemo’s jaw dropped, and not just literally.

“Ouch.” Hawk shook a hoof. “That must burn.”

“What’s going on between you two?” Heart asked concernedly and looked at Amaryllis, who marched onwards without waiting for the others.

Thiemo shrugged, causing a slight pain. “We had a little disagreement.” Directly after Heart had assured him that he was going to be fine, Amaryllis had fallen back in her sulky mood.

Lyra trotted up to him and patted his side with her hoof a few times. “Take it easy.”

“Shut up, Lyra.”

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 9.1 - Mountainwards in the Morning Dew ~

The scenery around them had yet again changed. It had taken more than one day, but then the wide flatlands changed to soft hills, with a rock poking out of them here and there. Now the mountains they were planning to cross were clearly visible at the horizon. Luckily, there hadn’t been any snowfalls recently, and the few that was out here from the single lost clouds was mostly molten by now, leaving just a cold, slightly muddy ground for them to trudge through. Fortunately for him, Thiemo’s boots were enchanted, so he didn’t feel the cold of the ground, but the ponies weren’t that lucky. They preferred walking on the grass next to the path. Not that it made a huge difference, but Lyra was especially thankful for every bit of warmth. One reason why Thiemo walked directly at the corner was so that the mare could lean a bit against him.

Iron Heart and Night Hawk said everything would be alright as long as they were in the air. Pegasi and thestrals were much more resilient to cold temperatures, Thiemo knew. Amaryllis, who was still giving him the cold shoulder which he had felt clearly since they left Sunny Town, and not just because of the temperatures, changed between flight and walking. Even though she had wings, she was not a pegasus. She must have felt the cold just like his uncovered skin, and more than once, he saw her shivering. Despite his arguments to postpone their little war until later, she refused to be near him. She even stopped eating, which was worrying him. Hawk had said multiple times that crossing the pass would be exhausting, and she would also need her power.

If that wasn’t enough for him to worry about, Thiemo was thinking about what Luna had told him in his dream. At first he doubted that it was really more than just a weird dream. But Hawk confirmed, after he asked her, that Luna really had the power to appear in the dreams of the residents of this world. So he kept on mumbling the short oath to himself when he felt that all the others were distracted by something else. Lastly, there was the fact he had found out yesterday. He could stomach to pony’s food. Maybe it was just a coincidence; hay was not completely indigestible for humans. Sure, it could cause nausea in large amount, but the rations were mixed with some other things.

“Look and marvel!” Hawk suddenly declared and pointed northwards. Another thing about pegasi was that they had a built-in compass. No matter what cardinal direction Thiemo asked, she could answer within seconds. This came in handy to read the cards in her saddlebags. That you needed something like a compass for that never came to Thiemo’s mind. At least now he knew why he got lost so many times, or at least hoped this was the reason. “The second largest mountain chain of known Albion. The Chain, which is its name by the way, runs entirely through Equestria, connecting the Alps of Tramplevania with the mountains of the Griffon Kingdom.” Thiemo was flabbergasted. The mountains looked like a wall that separated the currently cold south from the much colder north. “Not like they would have anything besides mountains,” Hawk added.

Thiemo heard Lyra swallowing next to him. “I have to carry all this luggage across there?” Slowly, he started to pity her, even though he still was angry at her for her stupid remark from yesterday. “I’m struggling with that already.”

“Don’t worry, Lyra. The winds in the mountains are too strong for even pegasi. We can’t fly very high there. Hawk will take her backpack again as soon as we get there. Right, Hawk?” Heart jabbed her comrade slightly, who nodded reluctantly. “See? No need to worry.”

“You seem to know the mountains, Hawk. Ever been over the pass?” Thiemo didn’t get around seeing the proudness in her face as she described the sight in front of them.

The thestral grinned from ear to ear. “Born and raised in Noveria, the northernmost thing Equestria has to offer. The pass begins one day’s march away from my home. We should reach it by tomorrow. Unfortunate that we can’t make a stop at my people. What wouldn’t I give for a good binge, a little brawl, and a stallion who knows how to make the walls tremble and drive the neighbours to despair. You, Heart, and Lyra should really try that out. Our stallions are cut from a different cloth than those pansies in Canterlot. I tell you, you can’t walk properly for days after that.”

“Hawk!” Heart almost screeched as she turned red. “We’re in presence of a princess. Keep it together. It’s enough that you used to tell us those stories in the dining room.”

“Of course! The offer stands for you too, Your Majesty, Princess Amaryllis. Should you be fed up with this human, which looks like you are, I cordially invite you to a round. Maybe even two.” She leered into Heart’s face. “What? She’s a changeling! Isn’t that their thing? I thought they suck out the ‘love’.” Thiemo, Lyra, and Heart buried their faces in their hands and hooves, causing the green unicorn to almost trip over thanks to her cargo.

“Hawk, it doesn’t work this way. They feed off the energy that is created by emotions.” The Captain of the Nightguard seemed to a have a little epiphany moment.

“Uhm…” She smiled sheepishly. “I can’t know everything. I spent the last three years kicking the asses of humans, not changelings. We have a unit of unicorns who mastered exposure spells for that.” Amaryllis just rolled her eyes and still refused to communicate with the group. “At least we don’t have to worry that much about our provisions.”

“What do you mean?” Thiemo asked, curious. No matter how much they could store in their backpacks, the crossing would take at least a week in which they would not see anything besides snow and ice. They weren’t able to simply take much food with them.

Hawk waved her hoof in direction of Amaryllis. “Well, if Her Majesty is feeding of the human, which is finally a good use of him,” Thiemo laughed dryly, “then we just have a little water problem. We just keep on feeding the biped our rations. Didn’t harm him so far.” He hadn’t seen it quite like that so far.

Heart shook her head. “And what is with the drinking water? Shall we drink snow?” Hawk looked at her like it was the most stupid thing anyone in the whole world could say. “You can’t be serious, Hawk. The snow is dirty, and Celestia knows what diseases we might catch from it. Have you never thought about that?”

“Have you?”

“What? I’m responsible for the medical equipment. Princess Celestia made you, as captain, responsible for the rest. I’m just a cadet!” Both looked grimly at each other for a few seconds, and then Night Hawk turned to Thiemo.

“So… ummm… You don’t have an idea by any chance?” Thiemo, just as clueless as the others, shook his head. The tundra he had crossed with some boars who had dog sleds had been filled with supplies. “Oh, come on. I always used to eat snow when I was a filly. What’s wrong with it?”

A cough came from the side. “I think I have the solution to our problems.” Lyra grinned. “As fate would have it, I took two courses in alchemy and could help transform the snow into drinking water.” She tapped with a hoof against her horn, and Thiemo came just in time to hold her so she didn’t land in the dirt. “Of course, I have to be in top condition for that. Magic isn’t very easy, you know?” Thiemo knew better but let her have the moment. “Therefore, it would be nice if my load was a bit lighter.”

***

“Here we are, Sunny Town,” their guide explained. Twilight looked surprised at the sparse winter scenery and the small town in between. “That will be twenty bits.”

Now she was pushed aside by Applejack. “Wait a minute. We paid you to lead us through the fog, but there was none. We could have just followed the path as well.” Rarity just rolled her eyes and stepped past her friend. The purse from her saddlebags appeared, and she gave the young stallion the promised fee. After counting the money and proved their genuineness, Path Finder bid them goodbye and walked back the path they came from. “What was that, Rarity? This bugger ripped us off.”

“Even if so, we are here in the name of the crown,” Rarity said and stored her money away. “What light would it put on Twilight if we refused to pay somepony for a given service? At least he has guided us.” Twilight could see that Applejack wasn’t content with the answer at all. The farm pony did as she always would do in such a situation and grumbled her words to herself, which was most likely better this way since the filly on her back didn’t need to learn new words.

“Rarity is right, Miss Applejack. This is an official undertaking. But I know what you mean. But the question is why is the town that is famous for being the light of the forest so open? Where is the fog?” Estoc, in his golden armor, stood between Rarity and Twilight and tried to guide the attention back on their mission. Something the princess welcomed.

“Estoc is right, girls. We have to find out what happened here. I feel there is still the residue of powerful magic in the air. Something big must have happened here, and we have to find out what it was. After all, the human could have something to do with it.” The rest of the group nodded their agreement. “It would be the best if we split up… just somepony has to go alone.” Twilight wasn’t used to lead a group smaller than six. Usually, she and her friends grouped up in pairs, but this wouldn’t work today.

With a wide grin on her lips, Rarity stepped forward. “Well, I just happen to be an expert for rumors.”

“Ya mean gossip, Rar,” Applejack commented, and Auralia giggled.

“Well, call it what you like. I just happen to know that ponies don’t like talking with the authorities. I am sorry, darling,” she turned to the captain. “Or princess. At least about rumours. So I would suggest Estoc take off his armor. Not only will we find out more, but if the human is still here, he will not immediately be alarmed. Then we two can look around in the establishments. Applejack and Auralia could ask around on the streets. Nothing is more unsuspicious than a mother and her foal.” The two looked at each other and grinned. “And you, Twilight…” Rarity stopped and looked at her. “You don’t happen to have a dress with you that can hide your wings or know a spell that does that?”

Twilight knew such magic. “I have a spell, but you aren’t going to like it.” She closed her eyes and focused. In her head, she went through all the magic she had ever learned until she had the pieces she needed. Twilight felt the magic gathering in her horn. “Everypony, take a step back.” She waited for a second and then released the spell. Green flames engulfed her body within seconds. Her scapulae moved higher up and her whole body shrunk by a good amount. As she opened her eyes again, she met the horrified faces of her companions. “I said you weren’t going to like it.”

“Twilight darling, what was that? For a second, I thought we had changeling between us.” Rarity seemed clearly shocked, and Estoc still remained in combat position, ready to jump at her.

Twilight tapped with her hooves on the ground a bit. “Well, you know that my talent is magic. And the changelings use just that to change their form. It is a spell like any other. You can imagine the rest.” Her friends still seemed shocked but nodded. “Well? How do I look?” She had never tried the spell to change her whole body, just a few single aspects.

“Like a unicorn, sugarcube. No wings, a bit smaller but with a horn. But still like you, somehow.” Auralia on her back nodded.

“We should save that for later,” Estoc suddenly spoke up. “The clouds look like they want to pay the town a long overdue visit.” He pointed at a thick grey cloud bank that was headed towards Sunny Town and the surrounding forest.

"Well, we are going to meet in two hours in the Old Woodworm. That is a tavern in the town.” Everypony looked at Rarity. “What? Do you think I sit on my flank all the time?”

***

While the rest of the group continued their little detour, Twilight marched straight into the village. She didn’t want to be spotted immediately, and Applejack and Rarity were very apparently well-known already. Everypony who saw her with them could take a guess at who she really was. Her disguise was not perfect, but it had to be enough for the moment.

While she trotted the last few meters to the town, she thought about what she knew about it. There was, of course, what Rarity had told her. Most of the furniture and other wooden products were manufactured here. The sawmill was a bit further into the forest so as to not disturb the peace of the residents. The forest itself had been engulfed in a constant fog for over a thousand years with no pegasi ever being able to remove it. And finally there was the architecture. The ponies who founded Sunny Town loved the wood so much that they were literally praising it. It made them slightly follow the model of Cervidas. But besides that, she could remember nothing else. What a great princess she was. “Hey!” An unfamiliar voice interrupted her train of thoughts. Confused, she looked around since neither in front of her or behind her was there anypony was in sight. The sky above her was still just promising fresh snow in the next few hours. “Over here!”

Carefully, Twilight took a few steps backwards and threw a closer look at the sign near the entrance. She was so caught up in her mind that she hadn’t noticed that a stallion was tied to it. The poor stallion hung upside down, held in place by some ropes and kicked the air. “By Celestia, one moment!” Twilight concentrated quickly and began to untie the knots that held the stallion in their grip. A short moment later, he fell to the ground and breathed out, relieved.

“Thank you, Miss. I was hanging up there since yesterday!” he explained and kissed the snow-covered grass.

“What happened? Why are you hanging up there, Mister…?”

“Chop, and I have no idea! The last thing I remember was that I went to bed, and when I woke up, I was hanging at the sign. And some joker sheared something into my coat.” Chop stood up from the ground and showed Twilight his other side. Immediately, she groaned and rubbed her temple with a hoof. At least they were in the right direction.

***

Auralia jumped off Applejack’s back. “Remember, Missy. Don’t make any trouble. We just want to find out what is going on here.” She nodded and saluted. “I’m going to ask some of the adults; yer gonna ask the foals.” Now that the orders were clear, they went separate ways, and Aura went to the first foal she found.

“There you are!” the pegasus called at her. “We’ve been looking all day for you.” His golden mane was wet by sweat and clung dimly at his neck.

“Do I know you?”

“What? Aura, it’s me, Swift Wind. I took you to Karst’s palace, the traitor.” To say that Aura was confused would be an understatement. Why was he talking about a palace and a Karst? “Did the monster hurt you?”

“What monster?”

“This big thing on two legs. Why, he was nearly as tall as two grown-ups, and it squirted water at Karst. He was so mad. But the strange thing was that it ran on two legs. Do you remember?” A tall, bipedal monster that infuriated others? Yes, that sounds like him, only she wasn’t at said event.

“An orange coat, legs in blue clothes, and a short brown mane on his head?” Swift Wind nodded repeatedly. “Never saw him.” At least now she had a clue of what happened here. Her dad was messing with some Karst, whoever that was and most likely did something to the town that had caused Twilight and Rarity to freak out in the train last night.

***

Estoc was about to enter one of the restaurants with Rarity as his gaze went through on of the shop windows. In a convenience store, many ponies were gathered around the few goods that were still left. An elderly stallion in a green apron tried to calm the crowd but to no avail. “Rarity, I think we should take care of this.” He had left his armor in a hollow tree outside of town but not his conscientiousness.

“Umm… do that, darling.” His marefriend patted his back as an unidentifiable fruit splattered against the inside of the window. “I will wait out here, all right?” He nodded. In the end, it would probably be better this way. It would be tight enough as it was in there, and the last thing he wanted was to put Rarity in any danger. Estoc took a deep breath and opened the door to the store. The bell rang but got lost unnoticed in the noise. Mares pulled at each other’s mane, two stallions were hoof wrestling over a can of cat food while others were quickly leaving with what they had gotten a hold on. Estoc began to make his way through the crowd and finally reached, with a few bruises, the desperate stallion behind the counter. “What is going on here?”

“What is going on here?!” the old stallion with grey moustache yelled. “Half of my goods were rotted when I woke up this morning, and then this strange mare was telling us it might take a while until help from Canterlot arrive.” A can flew past his head which he picked up and then threw back into the crowd. “What am I going to tell the ponies? We have to ration and see what happens. But is anypony listening to the old general? No, of course not. Nopony ever listens to General Good; why should they? It was just his ancestors who helped found this town!” The last bit seemed to be directed at the fighting mob.

Estoc noticed that he had picked a bad time, but he had to ask. “What strange mare?”

“What? The mare? Was some strange mixed-blood from the north. What are they called again? Thestral? Wore some dark armor and babbled something about Captain and Canterlot. And where are they? Nowhere! And now the cockroaches empty my store.” The old earth pony reached for a broom and threw it after a young stallion who was about to leave through the door. “Don’t think I didn’t see you! I know your parents, Wood Cut!” He calmed himself a little. “But who is going to blame him? Everypony woke up somewhere in the town yesterday, and everything was battered or plundered.” Estoc’s head was working overtime. The old stallion had, unless his eyes were failing him, described Night Hawk, the Captain of the Nightguard. But what was she doing out here? Wasn’t she stationed at the coast to look for humans? He would surely have been informed if she had returned.

Then he realized it. That was why the human knew about the movements of the Royal Guard. Somepony who was very familiar with them was guiding him. Night Hawk had to be the mole. But why? She was Luna’s most loyal soldier. Why would she betray Equestria? No, this wasn’t her way. What was going on here?

Author's Notes:

You expected answers? Hahahahaha.... No.

You will get them eventually. But I will not write down every single answer to every question. For some you have to piece the puzzle together yourself. Reading between the lines and so on.

On a totally different note: Holy buck! 400 thumbs! Guys, you don't know what that means to me. You're great. I know there also 22 down too, but I don't really care. Why? Because there is not one comment backing these up. I think if you leave a thumb down you should tell the author at least why. How can he improve if you don't tell where he did wrong in your opinion? So these 22 are like "meh, I don't like your face, have a thumb down" thumbs to me. Things I ignore like 12 year old kids with gold chains and pants down to their knees who think they own the street they are spitting on. (Bunch of those tried to rob me a few years back with a little pocket knife. Cute little thing. The situation solved itself. Mine was bigger ^^)

Also, wrote a little blog entry: Press me like the bitch I am!

Thanks to Gron for translating this chapter.
Special thanks to JBL for proofreading and editing.

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Chapter III - Act 9.2 - Rabbit Season

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 9.2 – Rabbit Season ~

If there was one thing that Thiemo hated, it was seeing his destination. It didn’t just tell that he didn’t seem to come any closer; it also told him that this was merely another step in his journey. They had been walking the entire day now, and the mountain chain still seemed almost as far away as it was in the morning. Luckily, Night Hawk had declared ten minutes ago that she would now start to keep an eye out for a campground. “I found something!” Finally, the salvation came from Heart. The mare had found a small group of trees that would offer them protection from the snow and providing them with a relatively soft ground of fallen leaves.

It didn’t take long until their tents were set up and a little fire was warming the group. The sun still stood in the sky, but that would change in the next few hours. Also, they were all tired and needed some rest. “I’m sick and tired of this stuff,” Thiemo said, annoyed, but still took another bite of the rations. “I mean…” he munched, “…this stuff is for you, not me.”

“Now don’t act like you’re something better. I don’t know what your problem is. They aren’t that bad,” Hawk lectured him and gulped down the rest of hers. “I was eating these things for a whole month once and look where I am. So stop complaining and eat what you have.” Lyra and Heart said nothing, just continued eating while Amaryllis lay in the cold foliage a bit offside of the others and seemed to concentrate on staring into the flames.

Thiemo stood up and dusted himself down. “You know what? No! We have a little forest here, and I bet all of my ten fingers that I can catch something. I’m going to hunt myself some real dinner.” It wouldn’t be the first time he did that. In Zebrica, he caught, gutted, and cooked bunnies. He did that with traps at the time, but hunting couldn’t be that much more difficult.

"If you get hurt, don’t bother coming to me,” Heart commented dryly. “You should lie down and rest.”

“And don’t come to me to get your ass dragged back here,” added Hawk.

“You will see! I’m going to catch something if it’s going to be the last thing I’m going to do.” Thiemo tapped against his chest and bent over his backpack.

“Where are you going, Lyra?” he heard Heart asking behind him.

“Watching a human hunt! Their species are hunters and gatherers. It’s surely going to be interesting to see him in his element.” She was right, Thiemo thought to himself. What his ancestors could do, he would surely be able to do too. He didn’t have a knife or another sharp weapon, but that wasn’t going to stop the mighty human-o-saurus. He would just borrow one.

He put the bag with the remaining four sapphires at his belt, checked if Protes was sitting correctly at his arm, and stepped at the fireside again. Lyra gulped down the rest of her rations in one bite and was about to get up. “Hawk, could I borrow a knife of yours?”

The thestral eyed him shortly and sighed. “I don’t give my knives to anyone. But I have something you could use.” One of her wings pulled her saddlebags over, and she quickly skimmed through it with a hoof. When it reappeared, it was holding something. “Catch!” she shouted at Thiemo and threw a blade in his direction. He managed to catch it just in time and examined the weapon. It was a combat knife, sharp blade out of a dark metal with teeth at the lower end and backside. The handle was clearly designed for humans and made out of plastic. “A trophy. It’s got a lock to it. And if I find a single drop of blood on it, I’m going to use yours to wipe it off.”

Thiemo meanwhile had other problems. First the circuits, now the knife. All this was pointing to some kind of civilization, but from what he knew about the humans here, they were still using bows and arrows and were living in almost medieval conditions. How did it come to this mix? “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful,” he assured her and secured the weapon in the sheath again. “Are you coming, Lyra?” The unicorn didn’t need to be asked twice. Equipped with a quill and notebook, she trotted next to him.

***

Auralia and Applejack were the last who arrived at the Woodworm. Rarity, Estoc, and Twilight already sat at one of the tables and drank out of mugs they had ordered. “There we are, guys. Sorry that we’re late.” Applejack sat down on one of the free chairs and moved another one with a hoof so that the foal could take a seat as well.

She excitedly bounced up and down on it. “You won’t believe it; my dad was here! And he fought against a Karst,” she explained eagerly and waved about with her forehooves. “I bet he gave that thing a clip round the ear with his staff and followed up with some kicks.”

“Easy there, sugarcube,” Applejack said and gently pushed Aura’s hooves below the table again. “We should listen to what the others have found out first. Then ya can tell yer story.”

Estoc put down his mug and slightly leaned over the table. “So, Rarity and I talked with some ponies. Most of the taverns and restaurant as well as almost every store in town complained about their supplies being rotten overnight. But food won’t just rot overnight.”

“And the foals are acting weird as well,” Rarity continued. “I tried talking with some and asked them what happened. None really wanted to look me in the eyes. I know that from Sweetie Belle. She had the same look when she came back home after one of her crusades and messed something up. They know something.”

Aura excitedly raised her hoof again, but Applejack pushed it down again and shook her head. “But that wasn’t all. Pri— I mean, Twilight, you know Night Hawk, right? Princess Luna’s Captain of the Nightguard?” Estoc asked.

“Sure. She got promoted to Captain shortly after Eris returned for the first time. We were even at her nomination party. I think that she got carried out of the room by some other soldiers at the end.” Estoc nodded. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, from the looks of it, she was here. But that shouldn’t be. I was racking my brain the whole time, but I’m sure her last orders stationed her at the strait to Hoovegorod. Intercepting humans who try to use that place to enter the land. She shouldn’t even be near Sunny Town. Still, not just General Goods, the owner of a convenience store, but various other ponies were also describing her as well. That’s why I suspect her to be the mole that helped the human escape.” The group fell in a worried silence.

“Uh! Is it my turn now?” Auralia threw in, frustrated. Adults could be so stupid sometimes.

“Later, Auralia,” Applejack hissed, and the filly threw herself angrily back into the chair and crossed her forelegs.

“So, why would a prestigious Captain betray Equestria for a human and a changeling?” But nopony had an answer to Estoc’s question.

Twilight groaned. “This is making no sense. She swore an oath. This is an old magical spell. Aunt Luna is a bit archaic in that fashion for given reasons. It binds two creatures to loyalty. That is very old shadow magic.”

“Ah know nothin’ bout magic, but Ah do know a lil something ‘bout honesty. Could it be that ya mom and aunt didn’t tell us everything?” Everypony present looked confusedly at Applejack. “Ah mean, the princess never told us everything. Why did she know that we were gonna be the Bearers of the Elements, for example? Ah mean, she didn’t send Twilight to Ponyville just like that, right? That would be… well, mighty irresponsible, and Ah don’t believe that fits Princess Celestia.”

“What Miss Applejack says makes sense,” Estoc agreed, much to the surprise of the others. “I looked over the shoulder of the princess at various political affairs. They often play with hidden cards.”

“Why would my mother do something like this? Just as I do, she sure wants the human to…” Twilight stopped and her mouth stood open. “Right?”

Aura didn’t know what was going on, but everypony suddenly looked at each other, troubled, and she didn’t want to remain silent any longer. “A month ago, this Karst suddenly appeared here and befriended every foal. But they had to go to bed at night, and this made him angry. So he turned them all into trees and told the foals that someone else did it. They trusted him, and he played king for a week. He even let it be summer so that there would be longer light outside. But then my dad came with his new friends, and they found out what was going on here and overthrew him. Last night he defeated this Karst, and everything went back to normal, and none of the adults remembers what has happened,” she pushed out in one sentence. “And if that wouldn’t have been enough, that Amaryllis had the nerve to shapeshift into me.” She gasped for air heavily and fell back on her chair.

Now all eyes were finally on her. “How do you know all that, darling?”

She sighed. “Didn’t you listen? The foals remember. I asked them, and the rest I figured out myself. Just like one of the puzzle games I used to play with my dad when we were on the road for a longer time.”

“Hold on,” Twilight threw in. “He let it be summer?” Aura nodded. “That is impossible. Only my mother, my aunt, Cadance or, well, I could… unless… Karst was the name?” The filly nodded again. The princess drifted off, clearly caught in her thoughts. Aura could see that easily since she was staring at her hooves and humming quietly. Something her father did as well.

“Karst aside, if it really was Night Hawk, then I know which way they are going to take.” Estoc pulled their map out of his saddlebags. “Up there is Noveria, her hometown. Over here we have the tunnels for the trains towards the Crystal Empire.” He pointed with a hoof a bit to the right of the settlement. “Usually wanderers would take the pass above the tunnels. It was made during the construction. What most ponies don’t know, and even I just because she was telling it in the barracks, is that there is an old pass not far away from Noveria. So if they want to cross the mountains, then they will try it there.”

***

“What are you doing?” Lyra asked the human in front of her.

“I’m looking for tracks.”

“It looks like you’re just lying in the snow to me.” The human was lay flat on the ground, sniffled a few times like a dog, and then searched the white ground with his eyes. Even Lyra could see that there were no tracks without doing all those steps. Suddenly, Thiemo jumped up and beat the snow off his body.

“Something is over there,” he said and pointed at a small hill in the snow. Lyra levitated her notebook back in her saddlebags. Apparently, she had found the only exemplar that couldn’t identify a stone, let alone prey. Thiemo walked over to his target and cleaned the snow off the stone just like Lyra had expected. “I could have sworn this would be a rabbit den,” he mumbled towards her.

The first half an hour of the hunt he had spent searching for a thick branch and cut it off a tree. Afterwards, he sharpened one end with the knife that Night Hawk lent him and explained that it would be a mighty spear with bonus damage against beasts. Whatever that was supposed to mean. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” she asked him, concerned. “Not that you end up using this stick—” He glared angrily at her. “I mean ‘spear’ to poke out an eye.”

“Maybe I should explain to the others that your alchemy is nothing but boiling water?”

“Okay, carry on.”

“Thanks.” Thiemo continued his way through the snow, and Lyra stuck to his heels. Who knows, maybe they were going to catch something in the end. She surely could gain some experience from this and write a book about the hunting schemas of humans. Even if the ponies wouldn’t be less afraid of them, maybe they would start to understand the humans a little bit better. A small success is better than none. Lyra’s mood was rising significantly even though her hooves were freezing. “Over here!” Thiemo suddenly shouted and waved at her. Eagerly, she trotted towards him and looked at what he found.

“A hole?” Lyra looked into the little thing that was maybe big enough for a slightly larger field mouse. “Hold on. How did you find that under the snow?” She gave him a closer look and saw some snow a bit further up his pants. He had stepped into it.

“Doesn’t matter, it’s a den! Rabbits to be precise. What most don’t know is that rabbits are living in small holes while bunnies live above the ground in… whatever, I can’t remember. Anyways, down there is my dinner.” Lyra had a wide grin and sat down in the snow. She didn’t care that it was cold; this was going to be interesting. Her notepad and quill levitated at the ready in front of her while Thiemo was walking some circles around the hole.

Lyra put the tip of the quill into some ink and prepared herself ready to write. “So? How do you plan on getting the rabbit out of its den?”

The human looked up and grinned. “Easy, I’m going to knock.” He turned his improvised spear around, so that the blunt side was pointing down. Then he positioned both feet next to the hole and started to poke it. The first five to ten times nothing happened, but then he suddenly stopped. “I think it’s stuck.” Lyra recorded everything that happened as he was fighting with freeing his spear. He pulled and tugged, letting go of it briefly to scratch his head before jerkily pulling at it again and landed, together with the spear, in the snow. Lyra couldn’t hold back a laugh. “Now it is on!” Thiemo shouted as he stood up again, but stopped surprised. Lyra, who was slowly recovering from the pain in her side, followed his gaze and saw something white looking out of the hole. It had two long white ears and looked over at the human. A little paw was waving around in the air while it was making some squeaking noises.

The human ignored the protest of the rabbit and in the next second the wooden spear pierced through its neck. Lyra closed her eyes and turned away shortly. “Aha! Once again the human emerges victorious.” She slowly looked back and saw that Thiemo had put the spear over his shoulder, and the lifeless rabbit was dangling on the end like a trophy. Now she could get a closer look on it.

“Umm… not to talk down your achievement, but this is a snow rabbit.”

Thiemo shrugged. “So? For me, it could also be a sand rabbit. Isn’t going to stop me from enjoying it.” Suddenly, he grimaced as a little snowball hit his neck and started to wander down his body. Confused, the human slowly turned his head around and saw the rabbit, still hanging on the spear, sticking out its tongue while kicking the air. “What the heck?”

“Like I said, snow rabbit, emphasis on snow. They are made out of it.” Lyra giggled again.

“But where did he get the snowball…” He didn’t get any further as a second one hit his face.

“Well, they are made out of snow. So are their… excrements.” The rabbit laughed, which were some quick squeaking noises and threw another snowball at the human. This time, he used his hands to cover himself and dropped the spear. The rabbit landed on his hindlegs and freed himself with his paws from the spear. He continued to break the spear in two and threw both halves at the human.

“Hey!” He caught one of the sticks and responded by throwing it back at the rabbit. It was hit in one of his little black eyes which were nothing more than little pebbles. Baffled, the little thing shook itself before it started to growl.

“I think you made it angry,” Lyra noted and carefully stood up.

“So? I’ll tear this thing to pieces and bath my feet in its remains.” Both stared at each other for a few seconds, but before they could jump at each other, Lyra stepped between them.

“Snow rabbits are also called tricksters. They love to play pranks on wanderers in the mountains, and it’s best to leave them alone. Rumors say they are very vengeful.” With that, she turned away from Thiemo and down at the rabbit. “I’m sorry, little friend. You see, this human here is just hungry and looking for something to eat. Can you forgive him?” The rabbit leaned back a bit, tapped with his paw at his mouth, and then bit Lyra in the muzzle. “Ah! Burn it! Burn it with fire!” she yelled and tried to get rid of the little icicles that serves as teeth. She was kicking around and finally sent the thing flying out. Only for it to land directly on Thiemo’s head. She ignored his screams as the thing was now assaulting him and rubbed her muzzle. “Stupid thing. I’m bleeding!”

Thiemo, now with multiple small wounds at his head, also managed to get rid of the rabbit and held it at both ears away from his body. “You’ve asked for it.” He pulled out the knife that Hawk gave him. “Good thing that snow can’t bleed.” With one quick move he cut of the head from the body, with the latter falling to the ground. Satisfied that the rabbit was no longer moving, he dropped the head.

“What are you doing? I said kill it with fire!” Panicked, Lyra pointed at the bundle of snow that calmly put its head back on.

“Oh no, you don’t!” the human shouted and swiped his right hand over the silver bracer on his left wrist. A silvery mist followed the fingers and manifested in a staff. Thiemo built up some momentum, and just as the rabbit finished reconstructing its body, the staff made contact with it. With a long squeal, it flew through the air again. “And Thiemo hits the ball. It flies and flies! Oh! I think it’s out, James. Well, too bad for the ball; we won’t see it again, Ralf,” he commented the flight like two sportscasters.

As there was nothing to be seen of the rabbit and the squeaking had also died, Lyra slumped down, exhausted, and Thiemo followed her a few seconds later. “Remind me to never go hunting with you again. You are absolutely insane!”

***

“Yeah, yeah, just keep on laughing,” Thiemo said to Hawk as Lyra and he joined the rest of the group again. She had already started laughing as she saw the two coming and was stomping her leathery wings and hooves forcefully on the ground to give utterance to her feelings. “Be my guest; it’s just us two who suffer.”

Against her promise to not help them, Iron Heart had stood up as she saw them coming and was now returning with a small medical kit. “Stay still, Lyra,” she said to the mare and tried to clean the wound at her snout with a pad.

“Oh, by Luna!” Hawk gasped. “What happened with you two? Did you fight a manticore?”

“Worse,” Lyra whimpered as she got a plaster. “Thiemo found a snow rabbit.” For a second it was completely silent before Hawk was lying on the ground again and laughing loudly.

Meanwhile, Heart walked over to him and sat down to him. “Let me see.” Thiemo did as she said and bowed his head forwards. “I will have to clean that. It should be fine then.” She took out a clean pad and dipped it in alcohol. Then the pliers with the pad caught in its grip went back into her mouth as she started to clean the wound. “I’ll take a look at your shoulder as well,” she said after she finished with his head. Thiemo took of his coat and opened his shirt. “A stitch is loose; I’ll have to fix that real quick.”

Thiemo just nodded and made himself more comfortable in his spot in the leaves. “Tell me, Heart, how come that you’re with the Royal Guard? From what I could see, your cutie mark seems to be more of a medical nature.”

She held a needle in one wing and inserted the stitch with the other one. “My mother is a nurse in Ponyville. You could say that I got that part from her. My father was in the Guard. I think I just got the best from the two. I like the Guard as much as I like helping ponies.”

“Yes, Iron Heart’s heart is not as cold as her name might suggest,” Hawk agreed as she recovered from the laugh. “Au contraire, she’s as soft as a lapdog.”

“You seem to know each other well,” Lyra said as she skimmed over her notes.

“I met Hawk when I came to the Guard. At the time she was a cadet herself and helped me through basic training. The medics had to do them as well, and I wasn’t the physically fittest. She saw it fitting that in the morning before the actual training, and one hour after it, we would do extra training.” Hawk grinned contently. “Today, I know that she just wants to torment the newcomers.” Heart bit off the stitch with her teeth. “Done.”

“So, since the foals have played enough for today, everyone back into their tents and sleep. We will reach the pass tomorrow.” On Hawk’s orders, Amaryllis, who had watched the scene silently the entire time, marched past them into her tent. “I like it that she obeys, but I’m starting to get worried.”

“Not just you,” Thiemo added. He knew that she hadn’t eaten anything in the last two days.

Author's Notes:

And thats it for today folks.

No it's not!

It is! Oh, wait. No it isn't. You see, there is this guy, called Gron (His mother must have a weird taste for names). This Gron was bored to death I tell you. So what did the bored to death guy called Gron? He started translating another story of little old me. Yes, your hearing right. Gron started, or rather, picked up the first story I have written. Named "The Precious Life - Nightmare". I wrote it back in 2011 and it was my attempt at a "good" human in Equestria story. Well, if I read it now I must admit it starts horrible cliché, but I can say to things about it. It was the most read German story in one of the biggest German message boards at the time. It is a self insert and some of you will find some similarities to Journey. And there is a little connection even. All I want to say is that it would be nice to check it out. You don't have to of course (thanks Fluttershy). But I have to warn you. It's getting really dark and has no happy ending. And because I had a lot of time back then it has 85 chapters total.

Thanks to Gron for translating this chapter.
Special thanks to JBL for proofreading and editing.

And give their story a try too:
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Chapter III - Act 9.3 - To the Bone

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 9.3 - To the Bone ~

“Rarity, you still surprise me,” Estoc praised the white mare. “How did you manage to do that?” Twilight and the rest of the little group sat in an old cart that was pulled through the air by two pegasi.

“That was easy, darling. Sunny Town has to bring the wood to the sawmill somehow. I just told a worker of our unpleasant situation, and he agreed to leave us one of the carts. Since nopony would show up at work regardless, it will not be missed. Fortune was on my side on my way back when I met these two gentlecolts.” She pointed with a hoof at the two pegasi who pulled their cart through the air. Rarity had introduced them as Storm Cloud and Hopper. Both were young and seemed to be fresh out of the school from Cloudsdale. Probably as reinforcement for the local weather team of Sunny Town. “Of course, they were very eager to help a lady in need.” They seemed a lot less happy to Twilight, and she guessed that the word ‘Element’ had been dropped more than once if she knew Rarity the way she did.

“Okay, Ah agree that your way helped us this time,” Applejack said. This was the closest thing to praise Rarity would get from her in this case. “But ya shouldn’t wave the Elements around like they’re some kind of trophy.”

“Says the pony with a trophy wall in the barn,” Rarity replied snappishly and wrinkled her nose. “But you should now that I do not like it to use the Elements in this way. I am very well known for my fashion and not for having a stone nicely worn around my neck. Not like I have anything against it though. After all, the element perfectly suits my natural grazie. The fine workmanship that went into the gold, the regally cut jewel….” Twilight and Applejack both rolled her eyes as their friend drifted off in her own little world.

“If we keep this speed, we should reach the mountains soon,” Estoc, who had rolled out the map on the ground, said. “We have made a day’s travel in just a few hours then.”

“Did you hear the old guy? We! It was us who did it.” Hopper nodded in agreement at his friend. “Why can’t a Bearer and a Royal Guard take a chariot from the castle if they are on a mission?”

Twilight saw Estoc biting his lip. She knew that most of the resources were either used to secure the coasts or to search for the human. It wasn’t like they could have taken one even if they wanted to.

“Did I mention that this is an undercover mission?” Rarity spoke up. “Nopony is allowed to know that we are here. If somepony were to ask the princesses, they would deny everything.”

The two pegasi looked at each other and grinned. “Awesome, we’re on a secret mission!” They slammed their forehooves together which caused a slight jolt through the cart. “’Scuse us.”

The next hour of the journey passed by quietly for the group. For one, they didn’t want to disturb their drivers from their duties more than they already had, but mainly because everything that needed to be said was already said.

Rarity and Estoc were snuggling against each other a bit, just like Applejack and Auralia did. Twilight, on the other hoof, was nearly immune to the cold in this height. Cold winds blew through her mane, but for her, it was nothing more than a soft draft that seeped underneath a warm blanket. More annoying than unpleasant.

Unfortunately, the lull in activity caused her mind to wander to their conversation in the pub in Sunny Town. Were her mother and aunt tied into the events of the human Thiemo? Did they know of his escape plan, or even worse, help him with it? Wouldn’t that mean that she was acting against her mother’s will? A look at the little filly that was making herself comfortable in her friend’s forelegs made her get rid of that thought. She wasn’t doing this just for herself. Applejack and Auralia both had a right to talk to the human. Surely he knew more than he had admitted, maybe even something about Auralia’s origin. Twilight didn’t want to tell Applejack, but even though the spell had clearly shown that she was Applejack’s daughter, the results of her spell and some long nights of research were also pointing clearly towards something that she had tried to avoid thinking about.

This Auralia was not the Auralia that had disappeared.

“Umm, Miss… umm… we have a problem.” Twilight looked up from the floor and looked past Hopper, who had called for her. In front of them was the Chain, but also a large, black cloud bank. “We were taught that it’s not a good idea to fly in the mountains, especially not during bad weather.”

Estoc stepped next to her at the front of the cart. “Maybe we should land and go the rest of the way on hoof?” Twilight nodded, but it was already too late. A strong blow caught the flying wooden vehicle and violently shook everypony inside. Applejack held her hat with one hoof and Auralia with the other. Rarity, meanwhile, was less lucky. She was thrown over the edge and thrashed around while letting out a loud scream. Both Estoc and Twilight grabbed for her hooves and caught her just in time. “Hold on tight, Rarity…” Estoc groaned as he leaned far out of the cart.

“I got you, Rarity,” Twilight said as she engulfed her friend in her magic. The captain and the princess pulled with all their force and slowly lifted her back into safety. They all three fell down into the cart and breathed heavily.

“Thanks, my dears, I was thinking that….” Again the position of the cart changed, this time straight downwards.

Twilight spun around immediately to see that Storm Cloud hung lifeless at the cart. “Cloud got hit by something at the head! I can’t keep us up!” Hopper shouted, panic evident in his voice while his wings were beating asynchronously. Without blinking an eye, Twilight jumped out of the cart into the air and with a short blink of her horn, she unfolded her wings. The first thing she noticed in her new position was that they were already halfway down to the ground. Hopper’s eyes widened as he saw her, but that was last thing she was worrying about. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the cart and its valuable cargo. Slowly but steadily, her purple aura formed around he improvised chariot and began to slow it down.

“Land the thing, Hopper, I can’t keep it up forever!” She expected that he was nodding since he made no sound, but she felt that the weight got lighter as his wings found their rhythm again. Twilight slowly opened her eyes. The cart, now stabilized, was now steadily on its way down. “What was that? Were we hit by a storm?” She saw some blood running down Storm Clouds head.

Hopper looked around quickly. “I think it was hail.” Right on cue, some small balls of ice began to rain down. This time, it was Rarity who reacted as she put up a magical umbrella over the cart.

“Twilight, darling! You have to protect yourself!” she shouted to her.

“I can’t,” she grunted. “I gave everything to keep us in the air.” Her wings were burning from the unusual effort. She was no Rainbow Dash and rarely flew faster than she had to or was carrying weights. Then something big hit her in the back, and for a moment, she lost her grip on the cart. “Everything’s alright; this was just a big one.” They were only a bit over a hundred meters over the ground. They would make it soon. The wind made them drift off further than she had expected. Underneath them was no longer the foot of the mountain, but already the start of the pass itself. “I’ll bring us down now.”

Her statement was followed by another hailstone that hit her right between the wings this time. She flinched again as she was hit at the back of her head. This time, it was enough for her to lose her concentration. The cart slipped out of her grip. For a few seconds, it seemed like Hopper could hold them, but then they were plummeting down. Twilight rushed quickly towards her friends, but the last thing she saw was a hailstone the size of her hoof coming her way.

***

“Let me help you.” Thiemo’s hand was pushed aside by Amaryllis again. The princess had fallen down in the snow for the third time now. Not because of stones being in her way as she had claimed but because of hunger and exhaustion. Thiemo could see it more than clearly.

The wind was sharp, fresh snow and light hail falling down on them. “I told you already that you should leave me alone.”

“You’re going to break down here. You need to eat something.” Thiemo looked over to the rest of the group, seeking for help, but they only shook their heads. What could they have done anyways? It wasn’t like they could force Amy to eat. He sighed and stroked through his snow covered hair and continued his way. Amaryllis was walking in the front now so that everyone had an eye on her.

It didn’t take a minute after the incident that Lyra showed up next to Thiemo. “What happened in the village? When we arrived there you were coming along together quite well.”

Thiemo threw a quick look up front to see if Amy was listening, but the wind seemed to be too loud for that. “Disagreements about what is between us.” Lyra didn’t seem to be happy with his answer. “Amy is feeling something for me that I can’t give back to her.”

“You can’t or don’t want to?” He had to give props to the unicorn. She wasn’t dumb.

“It just wouldn’t work. I travel to find a way home. A place where I could take none of you. And she is a princess. Not just in one empire, but in two. Surely her parents would have something to say if she settled for a mere mortal yet alone someone of a different species.” The last part was a very petty excuse; Thiemo knew that while the words were still leaving his mouth. There weren’t many whose opinion he cared about, especially on Albion. The few regents he did know of were not included on that list.

At least he seemed to have gotten Lyra off his back with that. At least, until her face brightened up. “I knew it! You are not from Ti, let alone Albion! I knew it! You are talking about your home like it was infinitely far away, but Ti is just a ship ride away.” Thiemo rolled his eyes. It wasn’t like he made a big secret out of it, he just never explicitly told anyone. “So, how did you get here? Long distance teleportation? A hole in space and time? A spaceship?”

"I highly doubt it was an Einstein Rosenberg bridge. To be honest, I don’t even know myself. I blinked once and was no longer in my apartment. A moment later, I landed here in my pyjamas. And before you ask, yes, that is the name for a hole in space and time. According to the theory, it connects two points in the universe.”

“What’s a universe?” Thiemo had expected a lot of questions, but not that one.

“Well, everything that is out there. Stars are just far away suns, and all of them have more planets around them. No one exactly knows how large the universe is.” Lyra swallowed loudly, finding the information hard to digest.

“That means Princess Luna isn’t moving one sun, but thousands?” Thiemo wrinkled his forehead.

“What? No. I don’t think the princesses would be capable of doing that. Why do you think so?”

“Well, Luna also moves the…” Lyra didn’t get any further as Amaryllis fell into the snow again. Quickly, they both rushed through the snow towards her.

“Amy, are you alright?” Again his hand was slammed aside by a black hoof.

“Leave me! Or have you forgotten that I am a princess?!” Apparently, she had heard them. “Leave me alone!” She again slapped in his direction, but Thiemo caught her foreleg mid-air. Hawk and Heart, meanwhile, had come to them as well and watched the scene.

“If you don’t start eating now, you won’t make it over the pass alive. So eat now or I will make you eat.” They stared at each other for a few seconds, but the princess made no attempts to comply. Thiemo didn’t know if it would work, but it was worth a try. He let go of her foreleg, grabbed her head with both hands, and pressed his lips against hers. The last time they had done this was in the dungeons of Canterlot castle.

No one said anything, and he noticed how surprised Amaryllis was. The muscles in her neck relaxed as she leaned more into his hands. But then she realized what was going on, and before he knew it, two hooves were pushing him aside. Breathing heavily, Amaryllis stood up, corrected her saddlebags, and angrily glared at him. For a short moment, Thiemo thought she would slap him, but she just turned around and let her tail whip against his cheek. And if that gesture wouldn’t have said it all already then her look did. For a short moment, her feelings for him had turned into hatred, but she seemed stronger. It must have worked.

“Are you alright?” Heart asked, worried, and helped him on his legs again.

Thiemo started to beat the snow off his clothes. “It’s okay.” No, it wasn’t okay. Amaryllis didn’t deserve to be treated like that. He didn’t like to admit it, but she had gotten as important to him than Aura. He wanted her to get home and be happy. And in this plan, he wasn’t part of the happy ending. Nevertheless, it was hurting, just like back then with Deerling, just that it was his fault this time.

“Then onwards, we should reach the pass by sundown.” Hawk pushed him from behind and then rushed past him to Heart. Now just Lyra was at his side again.

“Tell me, Lyra, is love always so complicated?”

The mare seemed to be a bit surprised by the question. She thought about it for a while before giving a response. “Not always, but it is said that it’s worth fighting for.” Thiemo just nodded. “Did you never have a special somepony?”

“I’ve fallen a few times for some girls in school, but it never worked out. Back then, I was someone else. Not less complicated, but shyer and more introverted. And not the fittest either.” He smiled at the thought, at the memories. “Today I would call my past self a loser.”

Thiemo saw that Lyra started to get a few problems with the rising snow, so he grabbed his backpack from her back. “Thanks. But one question: how old are you?”

“You’re only the third pony to ask that. The first one was Aura of course, and Luna was the second. When I left my world, I was seventeen. I must be a little over twenty now. I can’t tell for sure since our calendar might not necessarily fit with the one on Albion.”

Lyra seemed surprised. “You’re still almost a child!”

“That’s what the princess said. And how old are you?”

“I’m thirty-nine years old in our time. I just got my doctorate a few years ago and finished my education with that. I’ve studied longer than most ponies, and I haven’t even passed a third of my lifespan.” Thiemo had never thought about that so far.

“How olds can ponies get anyways?”

“Unicorns can get up to two hundred years. Pegasi around one hundred sixty and earth ponies one hundred eighty.” Thiemo nodded at the facts just like at most things on Albion. It must have been the magic that made them grew so much older than ponies on earth. At least he could now care about other things.

***

Twilight slowly awoke. Something cold and heavy was lying on her body. She blinked a couple of times as the snowy scenery of the Chain slowly came into focus. She sluggishly brought her hooves underneath her and tried to get up. Her body was numb, and if she were a normal pony, she would have suffered from frostbite by now. Being what she was, she managed to shake off the snow and folded her wings back to her side. Immediately, the warmth began to return underneath them, which released a satisfying moan of her. She looked around the closer surroundings but found no sign of the cart or her friends.

She cautiously took her first steps, fighting against the snow and wind at every meter. “Rarity?! Applejack?! Auralia?! Estoc?! Hopper?!” She called for each of them but got no response. They couldn’t be far. As they fell, the cart was right next to her. Unfortunately, she found no sign of the pass she saw from up high either. “If they made it, they must have gone to the pass. It is the most logical decision,” she said to herself loudly to calm herself. Internally, she was overflowing with emotions, but she had to keep a clear head. Panic would just make everything worse.

Flying was out of the question. The wind was too strong, and her view was too limited. She had to find her friends in a different way. One hoof in front of the other, she marched through the snow that was reaching, even with her slightly larger body, to her stomach. Every few meters, she called out for her friends again but got no response. The roaring wind gave her voice no chance. Of course, she could get louder, but was it worth risking an avalanche? No, she wasn’t here alone.

Minutes seemed like hours as she went on her way. Panic slowly was getting to her, but then she found a clue. Hoofprints, already a bit covered by snow again, in front of her. She quickly began to follow them. But why was there only one trail? Did the others lose each other as well? It was then that the realization hit her, causing her stomach to clench. They were her own. Defeated and beaten, Twilight let herself sink into the snow. A few tears fell down from her face into the snow and melted small holes. “Rarity, Applejack, where are you?” If Rainbow was here, she could fly in this weather. Or Pinkie Pie. Her Pinkie sense had helped them more than once out of a forlorn position. She would just twitch or flop around a bit and would be able to show them the right way with closed eyes.

But Twilight was neither Rainbow nor Pinkie. Maybe it would be best to just sit the storm out. With a swing of her horn, single blocks of ice flew out of the ground over to her and started to form a round wall. A few minutes later, the princess sat in a small igloo, her wings pressed at her side and thinking about how she could pass the time.

Maybe it was hours, maybe just minutes. She had no idea how long she was unconscious. The sun began to set, and the darkness started to rise. The storm, however, remained as strong as it was and made no signs to change that any time soon.

Suddenly, her ears perked as she thought she heard a voice in the distance. She stepped out of her safe shelter and listened into the nightfall. It was quiet, but it was there. Twilight ran off and galloped into direction of the voice. “I’m here!” she shouted over and over after she heard the other voice again. Finally, she saw a figure. A single pony marched through the snow directly towards her. She teleported the rest of the way and found a very exhausted and shivering Hopper. Pegasi shared some of her resistance to the cold, but the storm must have been too much for him.

“Princess!” he shouted as his eyes met hers, a smile on his lips. “I’m… so glad… to have found somepony.” Twilight wasted no time as she placed a hoof on his back and teleported back into the direction of her igloo. She needed a few attempts, but they eventually landed out of the storm in her icy shelter. Immediately, the stallion dropped to the ground, and Twilight threw one of her wings over his back. “Princess… Storm… He… He’s not moving anymore. He was so cold…” he said between his sharp breaths and chattering teeth.

“I am so sorry, Hopper.” Twilight pressed him closer to her to share as much of her warmth with him as she could. “We should have landed sooner. As soon as we saw the storm.”

“Not your fault… princess. Nopony could… expect the sudden change of wind.” Twilight nodded even though she was not convinced. And she was confused as to why she hadn’t noticed the change of wind. She was no expert, but wasn’t she part pegasus? But Hopper seemed to have been surprised as well. Did somepony manipulate the clouds?

She noticed that the teeth of the stallion had stopped chattering. “Hey, Hopper, wake up! You can’t fall asleep now!” He jerked up and nodded. Twilight had no choice. Alone, she could have waited, but now there was another life on the line. “I’m going out for a second.” Quickly, she stood up and stepped outside. The last sunrays fell through the thick snow. Twilight aimed her horn towards the sky and did what she probably should have done hours ago.

***

Freezing, Thiemo stepped inside the tent he shared with Lyra. Amaryllis had decided to sleep with the two soldiers to avoid him. “The snow is only getting worse outside. I hope it will be over tomorrow.” Despite his enchanted clothes, the temperature had begun to be more than a slight inconvenience. And they weren’t even two thousand feet high yet. One foot was about one and a half hoof. The Chain was five thousand hooves high and the pass about three thousand. With the storm and the snow, it was about minus thirty degree outside. Even too cold for pegasi, Hawk had said.

“I hope so,” Lyra agreed and tended to her cup of hot chocolate. Thiemo sat on his sleeping bag and took the other cup out of her magical grip. “Heart said that the pass was mostly protected from the wind, but still…” Thiemo could understand her concerns. If he had understood the description correctly, the pass was something like a tunnel with walls of ice that was dug through the snow. Or more like a wide shaft.

“By Celestia!” Suddenly, Heart’s voice sounded from outside, causing Lyra’s cup to fall to the ground.

“Damn!” the unicorn cursed while Thiemo was already working at the zipper of the tent, which wasn’t quite easy with just one hand. He fell more or less out of the tent as both the medic and the Captain were looking up in the sky. High up on the mountain glowed a purple star, surrounded by smaller ones.

“But that is….” Hawk asked and Heart just nodded. “What is she doing here?”

Chapter III - Act 9.4 - Downwards

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My little Pony

Journey

~Act 9.4 – Downwards~

They woke up earlier than usual the next morning and made the last thousand feet to the pass. The storm was gone now, and the temperature slowly became more bearable. “The plan stands. Heart and I will go look for the signal. You three wait here at the entrance to the pass.” Hawk eyed Thiemo especially. “So, until later then.” The plan was simple. No one knew that these two were guiding Thiemo and the others, so they couldn’t be seen together. No matter what their mission was, they couldn’t ignore a distress signal. Especially since it came from a princess.

Hawk turned around to Thiemo one last time and pointed with a hoof at her eyes first, then at him. The gesture wasn’t unknown to the human, and he responded with a raised middle finger. “I say we go along without them. I mean, we just have to cross the pass and go down the other side of the mountain. What could go wrong?” His two remaining companions looked at him in disbelief, causing his shoulders to sag in disappointment. “Was just an idea,” he muttered petulantly.

“Why should we do that?” Lyra inquired. “Aren’t they on our side?” She looked over to Amaryllis, but she didn’t react at all. Thiemo tried to catch her look for a second, but she turned away completely.

With a sigh, he rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. “Of course they are on our side, but the pony they are looking for sure as hell isn’t. If they really do return with Princess Sparkle, what then? It’s not like I would stand a chance against her. Or any of you. Our two soldiers would probably rather help her.”

“You think she’s here to catch us?” Despite Lyra being a professor, she could be very slow from time to time. Maybe she should have followed a musical career as depicted by her cutie mark.

“Why else would she be here?” Maybe they deceived the Royal Guard with their little manoeuvre in the Everfree, but apparently not the princess. Thiemo had found out that she wasn’t stupid in his time in the palace, but that she would understand such strategies was new to him. Then he remembered that she didn’t understand much about fighting in general. Why should she? Her pure magical power was so enormous that she could stomp everything into the ground if she wanted to. “And maybe she isn’t even alone. I highly doubt that from what I know. Who would let a princess hunt for three wanted convicts on her own?” Lyra swallowed nervously. “Whenever these two come back, I think it would be with more armour and blades than we’d like at the moment.”

***

Twilight struggled to open her eyes. She felt a thin layer of ice that covered her body and turned her coat into some kind of shell. She turned around a bit and spread her wings. Stiff from the cold, they ached and throbbed, but it was nothing she couldn’t stand. Suddenly, her head perked up. “Hopper!” She looked around the small igloo. The entrance was snowed in, and the only thing inside besides her was the cold air. The young pegasus was gone. Quickly, the princess got on her legs and freed the entrance from the surplus snow with a swing of her horn.

As the warm sunrays of her mother met Twilight’s eyes, she took in a deep breath. The storm was gone and allowed her to see for the first time where she had landed. A look in the distance told her that she was a bit above the tree line, on the upper third of the Chain to be more precise. Peering higher, the view showed her that the top wasn’t really far away, explaining the climate. But, unfortunately, not the hail. “Hopper!” she shouted and listened, but there was no response.

He couldn’t have gotten lost. High up in the sky, her signal was still glowing even though it was faint in the daylight. And there was snow in front of the entrance, so he must have disappeared shortly after she fell asleep. Twilight knew just one place where he could have gone. “Storm...” She looked around again, but the fresh snow had wiped all tracks away. Maybe he even flew there. In her mind, she reconstructed the position of the igloo and the way she went to find Hopper to try to figure out where he had come from. With new motivation, she opened her eyes again and had a clear picture in her mind of where she was going. Twilight flapped her wings multiple times and lifted off from the ground. The wind was still strong, especially up here, but since she didn’t have to levitate a heavy cart this time, she used her magic to keep herself in the air.

Twilight began circling around her lookout and steadily increased the radius. This way, she couldn’t miss anything. Because of this, it took her just a few minutes until she found something in the snow. She flew down a bit and recognized the remains of the carts her friends had been in. To her relief, none of them were nearby. “They must have found shelter somewhere,” she said to calm herself. With another reason to continue the search, she flew higher again. But this time, luck wasn’t on her side. She kept searching until she noticed that the sun was slowly reaching its zenith, and exhaustion was catching up with her. Landing was no longer a question, but a necessity.

“Twilight!” Just as she was about to fly back to the igloo where her signal was, she heard her name being called. Immediately, she spun around in the air. Through the sudden stop, the strong winds smashed against her shield, but she remained firm against them. Just as she caught herself again, she looked down and saw, much to her surprise, two of her friends.

Applejack waved with her hat while the filly on her back was waving her two forehooves wildly into the air as well. “Twilight!” both shouted again and waved even more. With a wide grin, she prepared to descend next to them. As her hooves finally met the snow, she slid for a few meters but eventually came to a halt.

“Applejack! Auralia!” she shouted at them and threw herself around her friend’s neck. “I’m so glad to see that you’re alright. Where are the others?” Applejack returned the greetings and put her forehooves around her friend’s neck as well.

“It’s so good seein’ ya, sugarcube. The others are safe, no worries. We split up to search for you, Hopper, and Storm. We found a cave where we spent the night. Ah followed yer signal, and Rarity and Estoc are searching for the two pegasi.”

“Applejack!” She let go of her friend, the panic was rising in her again. “Hopper was with me. He said Storm is…” she looked to the little filly on her friend’s back. “… lost. I built us an igloo, but he was gone this morning. I think he wanted to go back to Storm.” Applejack thought about it for a moment.

“Ah think we’re gonna get the others first. Together, we have better chances. We wanted to meet at noon back at cave again anyways.” Twilight nodded in agreement, and they both made their way back together. She quickly noticed that her friends were further down the mountain than she had expected at first. For the whole way, Auralia was telling her in detail what has happened, with fitting sounds and gestures. Twilight didn’t get around smiling from time to time at her tale. And it brought her to another conclusion. Auralia was like every other filly of her age even though she was raised by a human. A small part of her could understand why Applejack was thankful of the human despite what he did in Canterlot. And also, should Estoc’s and her theory turn out to be true, her mother had let him go. It was only raising more questions.

***

And in the next moment, Estoc’s view turned white. “Everything alright, darling?” he heard Rarity behind him ask as she tried to help him back on his legs. They had spent hours wandering around through blanket of snow to search for a sign of Hopper and Storm Cloud. Miss Applejack was on her way to get the princess. Much to his relief, she had given them a signal. But from the two pegasi who pulled their cart was still no sign to be found. Internally, he hoped they would be with the princess, but she had since drifted off very far, and according to her signal, wasn’t even close to them.

“It’s alright, Rarity.” He beat the snow out of his coat and mane. Estoc had pulled off his armor again and left it in the cave. The metal would surely not be good for him here. “But I think it is time for us to head back. Surely Miss Applejack has already found the princess and…” Again his hoof slipped away, but a whole lot of snow followed him this time. Estoc rolled down the steep hillside and could hear Rarity shouting after him. What seemed to him like minutes of spins and sharp rocks that cut into his soft flesh were surely just a few seconds. Eventually, he came to a halt about ten meters further though not before a slightly larger stone struck him.

The world in front of his eyes was a wavering mist of unclear objects, with one of them quickly coming down the same hillside. “Estoc, Darling!” He shook his head and tried to stand up but fell to the ground again. “Stay there; I will be with you in a second.” True to her word, Rarity was with him just seconds later and threw her saddlebags in the snow. She instantly began to examine him, searching for any wounds. “I don’t think anything is broken,” she finally said. Estoc nodded and shakily stood up again with her help.

“It could have been worse. If not for this stone…” Estoc’s voice caught in his throat as he saw what had actually stopped him. The stone was in fact a block of ice where a familiar pegasus was trapped in. “Storm Cloud.” He had a look of pure terror, his eyes wide open and his mouth stretched into a scream that would never be heard, persevered for eternity. “How could that happen?” Frostbite was one thing, but this was a whole new level. His marefriend stood with an open mouth at his side, trembling at the sight. “Rarity?”

“Hey!” Another voice sounded, a familiar one he had not expected. Their heads spun around, and they saw Night Hawk, Captain of the Nightguard. “Everything alright with you?” As she came closer, Estoc saw that she wasn’t alone. Behind her was another soldier. According to her appearance, she was a Royal Guard. Both followed Rarity’s example and slid down the hillside and joined them at the ice block. “Wow, cool guy. One of yours?”

Estoc knew her way very well and knew that she didn’t mean it as disrespectful as she sounded. “Yes, Storm Cloud. A citizen of Sunny Town. He and his friend Hopper have flown our cart here.” Hawk nodded. “What gives us the honor of your presence, Captain and…?”

“Cadet Iron Heart, sir,” saluted the white pegasus mare at her side. Now he remembered where he had seen her already.

“We are on a mission, Captain,” Hawk replied. “May I ask now why you are here?”

“Quit the games, Captain. I know that you are escorting the human.” She showed no reaction except for a blink. “More important to me at the moment, however, is the well-being of my companions. Namely Princess Twilight Sparkle and the still missing pegasus, Hopper.”

“Alright, Heart, can you take a closer look at this,” she nodded the cadet over to Storm Cloud. “Miss Rarity, Element of Generosity, correct?”

“Correct. It’s a pleasure, Miss Night Hawk.”

“Likewise. Could you make a magical scan? I doubt that this ice block is completely natural.”

“I don’t even need to do a scan for that. I have a theory.” All looked at her expectantly. “You would surely know my friends and me have performed the Hearths Warming Eve play in the past. In my life, I’ve only heard once about something that could do that. Windigos.” Hawk started to laugh.

“Pardon, but you can’t be serious. In the last thousand years, nopony has seen these creatures. Not after the war, and even then it was just a rumour that they had allied with Nightmare Moon.” Before she could say anything more, Heart coughed slightly.

“He’s alive.” Everypony stared at her. “Of course, I can’t be sure until we get him out of there, but he shows no signs of being dead. Also, look at his pupils.” Estoc took a step closer and saw that his eyes seemed to fixate on him.

“By Celestia!” was the only thing he managed to say, and the others were not less surprised.

“What do you mean, Hawk? Couldn’t it really have been windigos?”

She shook her head. “I was raised here. If windigos were really living here, we would have noticed. It would also have taken a good amount of hatred to…” Her voice trailed off.

“What?” Estoc asked, worried.

***

“How could we get lost?” Lyra asked for the third time now.

“Just ask our great leader.” Thiemo had let the nagging of the two mares went over him for hours now. They had continued their journey alone just like he had suggested, but the pass was blocked by an avalanche in a bottleneck. Without further ado, he had decided to take a little detour of five minutes to get around it. Well, the five minutes have turned into a few hours already, but that wasn’t the point.

“Yeah, alright, I got it. We got lost, and it’s my fault. But it’s still better than going back to a cell in Canterlot.” That, at least, silenced Lyra. Amaryllis instead looked at him like she would jump at him any moment.

“Thiemo?” Lyra said after a minute of silence.

“What?” To say that he was annoyed would have been an understatement. Something Aura never managed to achieve in two years.

“Look there.” Lyra was pointing at something off the way. At first he saw nothing but snow, a few stones and a cliff, but then something was moving. It was small, white, and apparently out of snow. “What’s that?”

It was just what he needed. A valve. “Oh, how I hope that it’s the same.” On a small hill sat a snow rabbit in full pride and with a grin. “Listen here, you little shit, you’ll soon be laughing on the other side of your face.” Thiemo began to climb up the small hill, his eyes still locked on the rabbit in front of him that still grinned. Just as he arrived at the top, he kicked it with all his strength. Snow flew off in all directions, and the little stones that served as eyes fell to the ground. “Take that, you stupid thing.” A squeaking laugh sounded, and everyone present turned around to the source. Some distance away stood another rabbit… no, rather the real one.

Thiemo noticed that the one at its feet wasn’t reassembling. “So, these are their feared tricks?” he asked Lyra. None of his companions moved or said a word. “Something is behind me, right?” Lyra nodded. “I hate Albion.” Slowly, he turned around and saw nothing but blue mist. He blinked a few times and looked up. The head of a giant horse, a normal horse, looked down at him. The entire construct seemed to only consist out of a dark blue mist and glowing eyes. Out of the giant nostrils came an icy breath that turned the end of his hair into ice immediately. “Good ghost horsey?” His right hand wandered towards its chest out of habit, which was directly in front of his face and just went through the mist. As he pulled it out again, it was covered by a thin layer of ice. “And so nicely cold…”

“Run Thiemo! Run!” These were the first words in days he heard from Amy that weren’t sarcastic, and they just had to be those. “Just run!”

Spurred on by Amaryllis’ shouts, he stumbled backwards and slid down the small hill just in time to dodge the construct. It was rearing its forehooves in the air like a wild horse and flew away. “What was that thing?” Thiemo asked, panicked. He had never seen anything like it.

“A windigo. You must have attracted it with your arguing! We should get out of here immediately before—“ More of the misty creatures joined the first one that was still circling over their heads. “More are coming.” Thiemo, meanwhile, looked from ground where he was lying at the gigantic creatures spinning in circles without giving them much attention. “Come on already!” When Lyra shouted at him again, the heads of all of the, by now eight, creatures spun towards, and they began glowing brighter than before.

Slowly, Thiemo began to stand up and reached for Protes at his left wrist. Then a small snowball hit his face. His view wandered to the little rabbit that was now pointing his scrotum at him before he disappeared. The neighing of a horse, a sound he hadn’t heard in a long while despite his company, directed his attention back to the danger above them. The windigos bolted down at them, and Thiemo managed to duck into cover just in time. “Maybe we really should go,” he mumbled to himself.

Thiemo jumped back on his legs again, and without wasting any more time, he pulled out his staff. The windigos, meanwhile, changed and prepared for another attack. Lyra and Amaryllis were still on the ground and managed to dodge them, but Thiemo readied himself to hit them. When the first windigo came into reach, he stabbed with Protes at it. The staff pierced through the chest of the gigantic horse, but showed no other results. The next thing that Thiemo noticed was the horse running through him. It was cold, colder than he had ever felt in his entire life. The sweat on his body froze along with the saliva in his mouth and the water in his eyes. Then it was over, and he fell to the ground. Carefully and accompanied by the cracking of ice, he leaned his head forward to look at his arms. Both were covered by a nearly two centimeter thick layer of ice. With all his force, he began to move and gasped for saving air. One thing was clear to him at this moment. Without the Luna’s protection on his clothes, he wouldn’t have survived that.

“Lyra? What are you doing? Run!” Confused, Thiemo looked around and saw a purple pony coming towards him. A bit larger than the others and with a both horn and wings, it could only be the lost princess. She fired, whilst in full gallop, some magic missiles at their attackers that stopped them to fall over the human. “Come quick!” Lyra didn’t need to be told twice and whooshed past him in the next moment. “Amaryllis, you too!” she shouted again. A quick look back told him that the changeling princess was lying on the ground, frozen in fear. Once again, he reacted quickly. Amy was a creature that fed off positive emotions. These windigos were looking for hatred, according to Lyra, the exact opposite of positive.

Swiftly, he sprinted over to her and just in time. One of the creatures headed directly towards her, and he managed to grab her stomach just in time to pull her aside. Now with her lying on the ground in his arms, he noticed how much she was shaking. He had no choice but to put his staff away. The last thing he wanted now was for her to touch it. “Amy, we have to get out of here.” She nodded faintly. Thiemo helped her up on her legs while more magic missiles were flying over their heads. None seemed to hit the windigos, but they helped keep them at distance.

Finally they were standing, Amaryllis leaning slightly against him as they more or less stumbled over to Lyra and Twilight Sparkle. Lyra had switched over to help her by forming snowballs and throwing them at their attackers. They, of course, had even less impact than missiles, but one snowball hit one of the windigos midair. The snowball exploded and created a small cloud of steam that blocked their opponents’ view for a short while. Thiemo used the moment, reaching inside his bag and pulled out a sapphire. He held the stone briefly so that Amy could see it and began to sprint. The deep snow didn’t make him as fast as usual, but it was enough to reach Twilight and Lyra. They immediately stopped their cover fire and turned around on their heels, Thiemo and the others shortly behind them.

***

“Twi said something ‘bout it worryin’ her and went off again,” Applejack explained to Estoc who just shook his head. “She feels responsible for what happened with Hopper and Storm.”

“She should have waited for us. Did she at least eat something?” This time Applejack shook her head at Rarity’s question. “I hope she comes back soon. Maybe we should abort the mission?”

“No!” Immediately, everypony looked at Estoc due to his outburst. “Sorry. I meant that it would be a bad idea. It would have been for nothing that Storm has…”A slight trembling shook the little cave with the burnt out fireplace. “What was that?” The three ponies looked outside. The first pony he saw was Night Hawk. She headed directly for the cave and shouted something at them. Directly behind her ran Iron Heart and behind her a green unicorn that could have been Miss Heartstring. Then the princess came in sight with two larger figures behind her. They all ran like Nightmare Moon herself was behind them.

“What in tarnation?” Applejack stepped at his sight and looked at the scene confused.

Hawk was still shouting something, but Estoc just couldn’t understand it. He rapidly went a few steps in her direction. “Too late! Run!” For a second, he didn’t get what she meant, but then came the creatures behind them into his field of view. Not less than twelve windigos were on their heels in full gallop, nostrils that breathed icy winds and eyes as colds as their non-existent hearts in full display. Only as Hawk almost reached him did he turn his eyes away from them as they all stormed into the cave.

“Dad!”

“Quick, close the door!”

“I hate Albion!”

“What shall we do? Whatever shall we do?”

Over the shouts of the newcomers, Princess Twilight Sparkle tried to yell something, but no one seemed to care. In one quick move, however, she turned around and created a barrier at the entrance. A moment later, the windigos crashed against it, finally calming them down.

A few small stones fell from the ceiling, but besides that, only the heavy breathing of everyone present could be heard. “Everypony alright?” Twilight asked and a nod went through the room.

“Dad!”

“Aura?” The filly jumped off the back of Applejack and into the arms of the human. “What are you doing here?!”

“Searching for you, what else?”

“You took my daughter on such a dangerous journey?” he turned at Applejack, an angry glint in his eyes.

“What? She’s also my daughter, and this is just your fault! And what is different from your journey from Dragmire to Equestria?”

“Guys!” The princess interrupted them again. “We have a bigger problem.” The walls of the little cave shook again as the windigos hit the force field. “I tried to tell you that this is a dead end. What now?” The force field continued to be battered by the unrelenting assault by the fey creatures.

“Doesn’t the cave have another exit?” Hawk asked Estoc.

“No, unfortunately not.”

“Princess, how far can you teleport us?”

Another trembling. “No idea; I didn’t really had time to recover. Maybe a couple hundred of meters, but not more than two at once.” Estoc knew this wasn’t enough, and judging by Hawk’s hanging head, she knew that as well.

“Aura! You still have that ember I gave you as a gift?” The filly nodded proudly and got the necklace out of her saddlebags. The human grabbed it and went to the backside of the little cave. “If it doesn’t fit, use a bigger hammer. I’ll make us an exit.”

“Wait! We don’t know if this is safe! The whole cave could lose its structure and could collapse.” Another trembling.

“So, Miss OCD. You can choose. Either these fine gentlemen out there or—“

“Just do it!” Hawk shouted, and without further ado, he went to work. For a short moment, it looked like nothing was going to happen as the tunnel began to form, but then the windigos hit the force field again. The cave trembled worse than before, and Thiemo fell to ground along with the ember.

“No!” was the last thing he yelled before the spell, now without guidance, was released fully and disintegrated the ground below them. Screaming, they all fell into the abyss.

*** ~ [Skillet - Falling Inside the Black] ~ ***
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Chapter III - Intermission 9 - Pirates Ahoy

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Scrub, scrub, scrub and soap. A simple rhythm that gave Thiemo the chance to think about all that had happened on Dragmire as he stood on the deck of the Northwind. A chain on his left leg took the option of swimming to land should any come into range out of his mind. And even if it did, Aura was down in the galley, spending her time preparing foods of all varieties. Even meat, something he had wanted to spare the filly of. But their captors or owners, depending on who you asked, were griffon pirates. So the menu consisted of barely anything except that. Rabbit, pork, and chicken. For a stupid remark about cannibalism with the last one, he had earned himself a bruised temple.

“You’ve missed a spot there, slave.” And then there was the pony who he had to thank for that: Trixie. Thiemo had been cautious when she said she knew a safe way from the island, but that she would sell him and Aura to pirates was something even he hadn’t expected. Under false claims that this was a trading ship, she had lured them on board where they were taken hostage immediately. “And when you’re done, you can refill my drink.”

Thiemo tried to ignore the unicorn that laid at the edge of the railing in a deckchair and enjoyed the ride she had paid for with the bits she earned from the pirates. “The last time I saw you, you could walk on your own pretty well.” This was apparently not what Trixie wanted to hear, and without further ado, a small electrical pulse shot through the chain at his leg. Thiemo gave way a little and had to support himself with the broom.

Trixie waited patiently until he stood straight again before she levitated her glass over to him. “Do I have to make myself any clearer, slave?” Thiemo just grumbled and grabbed the glass with straw and umbrella out of the air. A bucket full of dirty water in one hand, the glass in the other, and the broom under the arm, he disappeared under the deck and stepped inside the small chamber for utensils to the left. Unfortunately, there was nothing here he could use as a weapon; he had checked already. A quick glance over his shoulder told Thiemo that he was alone, and he quickly dipped the glass into the water in his bucket. A bit of this strange chemical from the shelf gave the drink a green flare, and he went upstairs again, pleased.

Trixie lowered her sunglasses she had pulled out of her head a while ago and watched him as he walked towards her. “You’re welcome.” She just nodded and placed the drink on the small tray at her chair. Why the pirates had something like that didn’t matter to him. Satisfied, he went down to sluice out the broom and could only hear in the distance how the blue mare began to gag. But it was enough for a grin.

My little Pony

Journey

~ Intermission 9 - Pirates Ahoy ~

It was only a matter of time for Thiemo now. The human knew that the reason why the pirates had not touched Trixie was because she wielded magic, and unlike him, they couldn’t simply disarm her. Now she was trapped on this ship just like Aura and him. As soon as these cormorants were far offshore, Trixie would be put into chains as well, and they would get the rest of their bits back. For thinking that she was so smart, Trixie had stepped into a very obvious trap or she had expected that and prepared something. Thiemo held out hope that it was the latter one since he would rather fight with her than with one of the twelve crew members of the Northwind. Ten griffons and two diamond dogs. The dogs were booty of the pirates like them at one point but seemed to have accepted their fate. Their ankles were no longer decorated with a chain, and they were granted a fair bit of freedom. To put it short, their wills were broken. They were the guards for Aura, which made it impossible to coordinate with the filly since they would tell the Captain about it immediately.

These two were now staring at him as he came into the galley and emptied a small bowl of soup. The griffons took their meals separately from them in the crew room. Basically the third of four rooms on the ship. The last one was the cabin of the captain, a well-fed example of the griffon species, almost so fat that his stomach was sliding on the ground. Thick cheeks graced his black, feathered head and a small moustache on his beak. The latter was clearly fake and more than once had fallen to the ground in front of Thiemo. But no one said anything since they didn’t want to risk the wrath of the captain. Wrapped in his red jacket with golden buttons, he sat in his chair all day long and fed on more supplies than the rest of the crew combined. And that was the biggest problem. The key to the chain, which was long enough to reach across the entire ship, was on the desk of the stuffed turkey. So he had just two choices to get it. At night, when everyone besides the designated guard was asleep, or at the moment they moved against Trixie. Surely they would do it all together to get it over with as quickly as possible. It was clearly the smaller timeframe. Both scenarios had the problem of the chain itself. It clearly gave away where exactly he was.

With a deep breath, he slammed the empty bowl on the small table between the vegetables and smiled briefly at the two dogs who looked at him from the corner of their eyes while they plucked a chicken. Aura sat to the side and was kept busy peeling onions. In that moment, he had an idea, but he had to pull Trixie on his side for that. After all that had happened and the little prank earlier, it wasn’t going to be easy. Yet it was their best shot. “I’m going back to work,” he said to Aura as he stood up. Hector, one of the diamond dogs, followed him with his eyes as he disappeared down the corridor.

On the deck, Trixie reclined in the blazing midday sun, an empty bowl of the same soup on her tray and seemed to be snoozing. Thiemo stepped in front of her so that the sunlight no longer landed it to her body and snapped his left hand against her muzzle. Startled, she jumped up in her chair, pushed the bowl off the tray in her panic, and took of her sunglasses. “How dare you disturb the Great and Powerful Trixie?”

With a grin, Thiemo sat down on the ground. “Well, I just wanted to ask how you liked your last meal.” Confused, she looked at him, then at the bowl on the ground.

“It was a simple soup. Nothing special. Trixie has expected more from her money. But what do you mean with ‘last meal’?” And now he had caught her.

Now he just had to be carefully not to befriend her too much. “Well, you don’t really think you will enjoy this luxury much longer, do you? I expected you to be smarter.” She wanted to say something, but no words left her mouth. He had to say, she imitated a goldfish fairly well. Quickly, Thiemo checked if they were alone. This had two effects. For one, he was checking that no one was really listening, and it also made Trixie think he was really worried. One of the griffons was in the crow’s nest, too high to listen to what was spoken on deck. Another one was at the steering wheel and a third one was stretched out over some boxes and was sleeping, noticeable from the loud snoring that could be heard over the waves. Probably yesterday’s nightly guard. “I mean, you’re just as trapped here as we are, right? I think they will wait until tonight when you sleep, and then they will overpower you and just take everything. They are pirates, aren’t they?”

Satisfied, Thiemo watched the color disappear out of Trixie’s face as she swallowed. “They… They can come. The Powerful and Great Trixie will handle them. And why do you even care?”

“Wasn’t it ‘Great and Powerful’?”

She glared at him angrily. “That is not the point.”

“Actually, I don’t care. But it is more entertaining to watch a fight than seeing a unicorn getting turned into nocorn.” At his words she, quickly reached for the appendage on her forehead as though she wanted to hug it.

“They wouldn’t! It’s forbidden…”

“And who would stop them? Your princess who’s sitting on her fat flank in her castle all day long? I don’t think so. Also, we are three days out on the sea. We should be about halfway there about now. That means three days without land in both directions. Sure, you could take the dinghy…” Both their looks fell on the holey piece of wood that was swinging in the wind. “But no one can bucket that fast. And then there are the sharks as well.” Thiemo pretended to sigh, and Trixie began to nervously tap her right forehoof on the floor. “Very well, good luck.” With that, he began to stand up and managed to walk at least three steps.

“Wait!” Trixie called out for him. “Trixie know she wasn’t very… friendly towards you, but you can’t let them do that to the Great and Powerful Trixie!” Thiemo had expected that she hadn’t thought of this situation, but neither had he expected her to fall at his feet. He had planned five more minutes of treatment to get through her act of confidence where she would claim that she could handle it. But he couldn’t forget to be cautious now either. He had already been burned by her once.

He turned around on one heel and smiled down at the unicorn. “Well, of course something could be done. Did the Great and Powerful Trixie ever want to own a ship?”

***

While it was unbearably hot on deck during day, it was ever so colder at night. Not like in the desert, but the wind wasn’t carrying the same heat with it anymore. Would Thiemo have been allowed his coat, he wouldn’t have to rub his shoulders with his hands now. But just like his staff, it was in the claws of Captain Fake Beard. Blakkur was his name. Thiemo had some problems with the names of griffons, and that wasn’t just because he didn’t like them. They were little tongue twisters that probably only could be pronounced right with a beak.

The guard walked past him against without so much as a glance in his direction. After all, he thought the human would be asleep. Thiemo was lying at the railing, waiting for the moment that Trixie would strike. He had told her some bullshit about parley, the right to challenge the Captain for the command. Any moment now, she would step out of her hammock and take out the guard. In that same moment, he thought that he heard a body hitting the hardwood. “About time,” Thiemo said and stepped into action.

“Haste makes waste,” Trixie harrumphed and stepped out of the shadow of the mast. “But Trixie is a wizard, and wizards never arrive too late.” Thiemo stopped and stared at her a few seconds with wide eyes. “What?”

He shook his head. “Nothing, just help me with the fowl here.” Thiemo grabbed the griffon below his forelegs and dragged him over the deck.

Trixie followed him, flabbergasted. “With what?”

“What do you think?” Thiemo stopped and adjusted his grip. “Feeding the sharks.” The pony stared at him, horror reflected in her eyes. “Come on, do you want him to wake up and fall in our back?”

“But you can’t just… that’s wrong!” Thiemo rolled his eyes.

“So is selling people.” She winced. “Or buying people and keeping them as slaves. And what do you think they do with the ships they capture? Hector and Waldo down there aren’t here voluntarily to play servants for these griffons. I bet they are here since they were pups and these pirates have slit their parent’s throats and threw them into the sea.” Trixie swallowed hard. “They are pirates, oh Great and Powerful Trixie, no stewards on a luxury liner.” The paws of the unconscious griffon were wrapped by a bright pink aura of the unicorn, and they lifted him together over the railing. “Hold on!” Thiemo quickly grabbed at the waist of their victim where an epee was wrapped in a sash. “So, off he goes.” With a small push, the griffon went overboard, and a splash told them that they no longer had to worry about him.

“And now?” The unicorn was clearly nervous.

Thiemo grinned. “Now we’re going to visit the blimp in his cabin.” They sneaked over to the door in the wall that was at the ridge where the steering wheel also was. He nodded at her one last time before pushing the door open and entering the room. Nothing in the world could have prepared him for what he saw there. The captain, in a blaze of glory, was lying on his back as one of the griffons seemed to be... roughly riding him. Both griffons looked panicked at the newcomers before the rider jumped off the captain and threw a blanket over himself. Thiemo blinked and tried to get the disturbing image of gay griffons out of his head, with limited success. “Umm… This is mutiny… yes!” Seeking help, he looked over at Trixie, whose face was deep red. Thiemo was sure that his face wasn’t better off at all. “Paws in the air?” He pointed the epee at the two griffons five meters away from him, who still stared at them like deer in the beam of the headlights. Of course, deer from Earth. Slowly, Blakkur did as he was told, which left nothing to imagine. “Damn, cover that thing!”

“What… W-What are you doing?” the cumbersome griffon stammered while trying to get into a sitting position. Just as Thiemo saw what he was planning to do, his pistol and epee were already flying over to Trixie, who had put a hoof over her eyes and only slightly peeked through them.

In that moment, the other griffon decided to show his head behind the Captain and watched the scene. “Well, we—” He was interrupted by a light cough. “Pardon, I mean, the Great and Powerful Trixie is now taking over the command and declares the Northwind as her own by the law of parley.” Both stared at him, confused, since none of them could know what parley was. “Would the gentlemen be so kind to make themselves presentable and walk over board?” The fat griffon threw himself off the bed, where he turned around and landed on his legs, finally managing to cover his privates.

“A captain leaves his ship only in one way: dead.” He tried to swell his chest, but the weight of his stomach pulled him down after a few seconds. “If you have a spark of honor, give me a weapon and let me fight for my life.” Thiemo grabbed the pistol out of the air and checked it.

He pulled back the hammer of the old blunderbuss and threw it back to Blakkur. “Here, take your shot.” An aghast scream came from Trixie as he caught the gun and aimed at them.

“This was a big mistake, human.” A clicking sounded. Then another and one more. “What?” Thiemo used the moment of confusion and stepped towards the Captain. Blood spluttered out of its beak as the epee pierced through the griffon’s chest.

He moaned and gurgled. “No, a mistake was to mess with me and my family.” Thiemo put a foot against the griffon and pulled his weapon out with all his force, throwing the Captain on the bed again where he collapsed. Without wasting a second, he held the weapon against the throat of the other griffon. “I give you five seconds to open the window, and I want to hear a loud splash.” Quickly, he went over to the large panorama window at the stern of the ship, opened it, and jumped out. Only as the splash could be heard did he lower the epee. Thiemo didn’t know much about griffons or birds, but flying with feathers full of water was hard, if not impossible.

With a sigh, he went to the desk of the dead Blakkur. Next to the nautical maps and everything needed to read them was the key for his chains. In one quick move, he freed himself from it and searched the room. Trixie still stood in the entrance, seemingly paralyzed by what just happened. Next to the entrance was a wardrobe and a chest, the only other pieces of furniture in the room. The rest was covered by precious carpets and souvenirs of their raids. Including the coat of a zebra.

Thiemo headed directly towards the wardrobe where he, much to his relief, found his coat and staff. The bloody epee he put into the old wood and swung his loyal weapon around. “That’s better.” Next was the chest.

The second the lid opened, and he wanted to laugh out loud. The thing was filled to the brim with bits and jewelry. Including some of his with the runes. “Trixie demands that you do not touch the loot.” The unicorn stepped towards him with the epee flying in her magic.

“We’ll discuss that later. We still have seven griffons and two diamond dogs below deck we have to take care of.”

“Will you send them overboard as well?”

He shook his head. “This is a large sailing ship. Alone, we have no chance to correctly navigate it. Also, can you read nautical maps?”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie has many talents.” Thiemo raised a brow. “But this isn’t one of them unfortunately.”

“Then, my dear, we should hope that someone aboard does.”

Author's Notes:

It's finally over. I always thought it was kind of a honor if your story makes it to the feature box. It's a curse. The whole weekend I couldn't read a sentence without a notification popping up about a new comment or fav. I always thought that had to be the dream of every author on this page. Well, it's a good feeling to know so many others love your idea/story. But the downside is the high expectations you have to fulfill. It's a lot of pressure actually.

On a totally other note I'm a bit... angry? Don't know really. I mean I put a lot of work in Journey. My other story was just a thing I did in a few hours because I was bored and JBL said I should write something like that. Yes, I blame you JBL! So I find it kind of sad that these stories get so different attention. "The Impossible" feels to me like I sold myself like a cheap hocker, while I'm so proud over every reader I get with Journey. I hope it was understandable what I wanted to say.

Thanks to Gron for translating this chapter.
Special thanks to JBL for proofreading and editing.

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Chapter III - Act 10.1 - Far Daylight

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Amaryllis awoke with a pulsating pain in her head she had never felt before and groaned loudly. She rubbed a hoof on the aching point and slowly started to remember what had happened. Thiemo had tried to dig them out of the mountain, but the cave couldn’t endure the attacks of those vile creatures any longer. Stones had begun to fall off the ceiling, and the human had lost his balance and had caused the magical stone from his hand to fall to the ground. Without anyone to control it, it had simply dug a hole into the ground below, and in blink of an eye later, they had fallen into the unknown depths.

She had tried to grasp any of the others, but the light had been gone too quickly, first going dark, then black. Slowly, Amaryllis tried to stand up and let her horn give some light. The days without food had cost her a lot of strength, and even with the bit that Thiemo had forced on her, there wasn’t much left. Her wounds caused by the fall must have used most of it. A look around told the princess that she was in a small cave. Stalactites hung from the low, stony ceiling. A blank spot indicated the hole they fell through, now covered by debris. Her gaze wandered further over the ground before her eyes caught sight of something that caused her heart to catch in her throat. There, covered by numerous stones up to his waist, was Thiemo. She rushed over to him and sat down on the ground next to him. “Thiemo!” She nudged him with her muzzle, but the human remained motionless. Then she used a hoof, but still no reaction.

She couldn’t just leave him there. No one knew what damage those rocks could have done to his body. Quickly, she began to levitate the smaller rocks aside. One stone after the other was slowly lifted off of him. Each stone consumed more of her reserves that grew only smaller. “Come on!” Again she nudged him with her muzzle, but he refused to answer her cries. Carefully, she put her head on his chest and immediately heard the familiar pumping of his heart. Something she had felt very often during their time in Canterlot, it was just a lot weaker.

The last stone levitated off his body, and Amaryllis fell to the ground shortly after as well. She was completely exhausted. A look at the human caught her breath again. Both legs were soaked in blood, stuck out at unnatural angles, and were thinner than they were supposed to be. “No…” He couldn’t survive much longer - the princess knew that. She swallowed, and her horn glowed with her purple aura again. With her reserves long gone and at the end of power, she did what her heart told her to do.

tio presents

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 10.1 - Far Daylight ~

Thiemo awoke slowly. His whole body hurt, his throat was dry, and something made it hard to breathe. This something was lying on his chest. He cautiously opened his eyes, only to be greeted by darkness. He moved his head a little and rubbed over the ground in the dark. His senses told him he was lying on a stony surface and was probably not alone. The breathing of others could be heard. Piece by piece, the memories about what had happened returned along with the fall. A fall into an unknown depth, something he shouldn’t have survived without help. He began trying to concentrate, the effort especially difficult due to the pain. Then the sight of his eyes changed, and he could see multiple bodies around him. One of them was glowing so bright that it could only be Twilight Sparkle, but where was Amaryllis? She should have been a similar construct of light, but she felt completely different. He saw Aura, Applejack, and Estoc leaning against a stone no ten meters away from him. Rarity must have been near Twilight and was overshadowed by her.

As he tried to sit up, Thiemo felt the weight on his body again that shifted more towards his lap now. He looked down where a barely noticeable energy was lying on his body. For a second he had no idea what he was looking at, but then his eyes widened, and he immediately reached out for his princess. “Amy!” Thiemo grabbed the changeling by her neck and pulled her close to him. She was so cold, her breathing barely noticeable. He pressed her against her, hugged her, but nothing happened. “Come on, eat. Don’t do that to me!” Her head moved a little on his shoulder.

“I’m glad you’re alright…” It was a whisper, nothing more. Merely a breath. What had injured her like that? Thiemo tried to stand up, but his legs screamed in agony and gave way a little. He felt his wet pants pressing against his leg and a familiar scent in the air. The smell of blood, a lot of blood. If this was his, then he shouldn’t be awake right now, let alone be able to move. Then he finally concluded what had happened. He shouldn’t have survived the fall; he was injured badly, probably even fatal. Amy, she had healed him, somehow. No, not somehow. She was well-read… she knew a large number of spells.

Carefully, Thiemo got on his knees to be able to hold the princess better. “What have you done?” Tears. How long has it been since he had shed them? When had he become so cold? Tears of sorrow were so alien. Out of pain, yes, but real sorrow? That must have been ages, years. “Amy, come on, eat, please…”

The changeling in his arms didn’t react as he saw the last bits of energy ebbing away in her. No, he wouldn’t let her go like this. Never. His left hand wandered inside the bag at his belt and he took all five remaining sapphires in his hand. Without further ado, Thiemo began to direct their energy through his body. It hurt, like static discharges that caused burns on his skin. Just inside his body now.

All this energy channelled through him and inside Amaryllis. At the same time, he brought his lips against hers. More energy, more. He needed much more. He took more magical energy out of the ground, the vapour in the air, and the air itself. Everything was pressing against his body, causing his muscles to cramp with pain, but neither did he let Amy out of his embrace, nor did their lips part. “Come on,” he mumbled, shivering while he was catching breath.

Her body began to glow more. It was working. “Thiemo!” He heard the voice behind him, but he ignored it. “What happened to her?” Night Hawk stepped in his field of view from behind. One of her wings was stuck out at an awkward angle, but to his surprise, she was swathed in a black cowl that was reinforced by iron in places. On her chest, above her shoulders, and on her back were iron plates mounted on the cowl so that they wouldn’t touch.

The pain was too much, and he had to stop for a second. “She healed me. She needs energy…” And with that, the break was over. He began to feed her again with everything the surrounding offered to him. Hawk was still watching him as went on, no idea how long. Only when her light became a clear flow again did he let go of her. Gently, he laid her on the ground before he collapsed like a wet bag. Heavily breathing, he laid there while Night Hawk stood above him, a questioning look on her face. “I was hurt, and she… she almost gave her life for mine.”

“She loves you. I thought that was clear to you.”

“That is no reason to give her life for mine! I’m not worth that.”

“Apparently it was worth it to her.”

“Why? I’m nothing more than a thief and liar. Murderer if you ask others. I have nothing: no money, no home. I’m not just lying to others but also myself. I’m not even traveling, Hawk, I’m running away. Sure, at first it was a journey, but ever since Dragmire when Aura came into my life, it was just running. I’ve said already that I’m from another world. And I run because I know my life there is over. If anyone is missing for so long, they are declared dead. Life there goes on without me.” Thiemo swallowed and put an arm over his eyes. “When I realized that I never could really go home, I was frustrated. And the first thing was that I let out my angers on others. I killed and hurt them without batting an eye. I blamed everyone else. One time, I almost put my hand against Aura.” He laughed, a bitter, mocking thing. “Today I would kill myself if I really had done it.”

“Why not really start a new life then?”

“Do you know how I always justify my acts? With my goal. To abandon it would mean that everything I did was for nothing. Without a goal, I’m purely arbitrary. And that’s what I’m scared of. Scared of admitting what monster I really am.”

“I’m a soldier. I go out there every day, killing to defend my country. It was always my decision. I could have stopped this job a long time ago. I know that it isn’t easy. One day you kill the enemy, on the next day the fight is over, and he is supposed to be your friend again. And all that just because your orders have changed. One sentence, nothing more. The only thing I can advise you is to leave it behind and hope that others will do the same. Otherwise, it will eat you up.” She sighed. “By Luna, now I’m playing chaplain for a human. Look, she loves you and is a princess. Get used to it. I don’t know how much she knows about you, but she doesn’t seem to care. Half of the stallions run away from me if they even see me, and the other half run when I tell them about my job. Consider yourself lucky for finding someone who still loves you, understand?”

Thiemo didn’t know what to do next. He was literally at the end. Never before had he shivered so much. He was even more confused when a leg around his stomach. At first he thought it was Hawk, but then he lifted his arm off his eyes and saw that it was Amaryllis. She looked over at him in the darkness even though it must have been impossible for her to see him. She looked directly in his face. “You have me. Please don’t push me away.”

Carefully, he put a hand on her hoof. “No, not anymore…”

***

Thiemo and Amaryllis were still lying exhausted on the ground while Night Hawk was checking on the others to wake them up. She had started with Iron Heart and Lyra, who were somewhere behind them where Thiemo couldn’t see them. The pegasus was unharmed since she had slid down most of the fall before the debris had caught her. Estoc had protected Applejack and Aura and took in most of their hits. With a shield spell, he had cushioned their landing. Twilight had done the same for her and Rarity, seeing that Rarity was lying directly next to her like Thiemo had expected.

Now they all sat around a small magical light that Twilight had created. Aura was more or less on Thiemo, Amaryllis next to him. On the other side was Applejack to stay close to her daughter. “That’s it,” Heart declared as she finished bandaging Estoc’s stomach. “Just a few bruises.” Next to him sat Rarity as she snuggled against his side. Lyra looked a bit lost between Twilight and the designer.

“Thanks, cadet. So, I would say we put our cards on the table. The situation is grave as it is. I never heard of these caves before.” Thiemo noticed the worried face of Applejack next to him and also Amy’s hoof that still clamped at him.

“Sorry, Estoc, not going to happen. This is a secret mission and—”

“The princess have sent us on a mission,” Thiemo interrupted Hawk. “We should bring Amaryllis out of the country into the Crystal Empire. She was supposed to stand in trial in front of the parliament, and because of certain events in the past, this wouldn’t have ended well.” Hawk was staring holes in the back of his head though she was yet to move. “The escape was staged to trick the parliament. If our dear professor wouldn’t have been so insistent, it would have remained undetected for much longer. Night Hawk and Iron Heart were assigned to guarantee our safety.” The eyes of the group wandered to Amaryllis.

“So she really is…?” Rarity asked carefully.

Thiemo nodded. “Amaryllis is one-hundred percent the daughter of Queen Chrysalis of the changelings and Prince Shining Armor. She is Twilight’s niece and granddaughter of Celestia.” For a few seconds, it was silent. “I don’t know what Celestia and Luna have planned, but she is a link between the changelings and ponies. A chance on peace between the two races. I’m just here because my emotions give her enough food for the journey.”

“A really messy political situation,” Estoc agreed. “What shall we do, Princess?” Everyone looked over to Twilight, but she still looked saddened at Amy.

“I’m… sorry,” she finally said. “I didn’t want it to be true. Especially not after all that had happened. Cadance… If I just remember the state I found her in... and the weeks she and my brother spent in hospital afterwards. The soldiers that gave their lives. But all this wasn’t your fault, Amaryllis. You have told me that you were banished, and what did I do? Instead of treating you like family, I treated you and your coltfriend like experiments. Mother had more insight as usual. She saw the bigger picture.” She stood up and slammed a hoof hard on the ground. “Captain, your orders are no longer to capture the escaped prisoners. We will escort my niece to her father.” Estoc saluted while Rarity, who sat next to him, pulled a tissue from somewhere and sniffled her nose.

“And what about me?” Aura in Thiemo’s lap asked.

“You?” he asked with a wide grin. “We will think of a punishment for you for sneaking on this journey while we’re on the way.” Beaten, she let her head hang while the others giggled, a brief moment of respite despite the gravity of the situation.

“Thank you, Twilight.” Amaryllis bowed slightly. “Thank you.”

“Better late than never, right?” she returned with a light smile on her lips.

“So, let’s have a look around. Our equipment should be somewhere around here.” With that, Estoc began to part the group. Group one consisted out of Twilight, Rarity, Lyra, Heart, and himself. Group two was then left with Thiemo, Amaryllis, Applejack, Aura, and Hawk.

With Thiemo’s magical view, Hawk’s night vision, and Amaryllis magic, it was no problem to scan their surroundings. The magical light of Twilight remained at the meeting point. Aura was sitting on his shoulder the entire time and didn’t give him any peace. She played with his hair, kicked him from time to time with her hind legs and much more. Everything just to get his attention, much to the amusement of Applejack and Amaryllis. Both giggled as Thiemo eventually grabbed her by the neck and held her in front of him. While he gave her a lecture, she just licked his nose mid-sentence so that he just let her on the ground where she besieged his legs. She was just too happy to be with her father again.

Thiemo somehow felt an inner peace. He and Amaryllis were more or less officially together. A thought that managed to block out the pain in his legs. The blood on his pants at his thigh had dried, so it no longer stuck together. There was one thing he wanted to ask Amaryllis, but he held back. Somehow he didn’t want to know how badly he was hit.

Finally, they found some saddlebags that were also buried by debris. Aura and Heart were the only two to not be parted with their bags during the fall. The contents, like a canteen, had not survived unfortunately. Only the sleeping bags remained usable. “Dad? I hear something.” Thiemo looked up from the search spot. Aura stood a bit to the side, her ears twitching as she heard something in the distance. “Sounds like the sea.”

Water would be an important resource. Should there really be a lake or river down here, it would be a great relief. “Applejack, bring those two bags with Aura back to the meeting point please.” The chamber they were in was larger than he had initially expected. A few hundred meters behind them, he could still see the light from Twilight. “I’m going to have a look at this with Amy.”

“Sure, Sugarcube. Come here, Aura.” They both looked back just in time to realize that she had wandered off. The orange mare sighed. “Ah’m gonna do this here. Hurry up so she won’t get too far.” Thiemo nodded, placed the second saddlebag on her back, and walked over to Amy.

“So, ready to catch a foal?” She grinned at him before they continued their way through the cave. After a few meters, Amaryllis confirmed that she heard something. They reached the end of the cave that really had an exit. It only led into more passageways, which reminded the princess of home, but it was better than nothing. Then the rushing of water became audible for Thiemo as well, meaning they had found their target. They rushed through the rest of the way and finally found Aura, who was drinking water. She stood at an underground river, just as he expected, up to her knees in the rippling water. “Aura! You can’t just run off like that.”

She jerked up and turned around. “Dad, the water is wonderful!” Since it was fresh spring water, this was very likely.

With a sigh, he wanted to get her out of the water, but Amy was quicker. “Aura, you can’t scare your father like that.”

“Sorry,” she mumbled as Amaryllis let her fall on her back. Thiemo, meanwhile, followed the river course with his eyes. Next to the entire river was a flat walkway.

“This can’t be a coincidence,” he commented and stroked, with one hand, over the ground.

“What do you mean?”

“The way, Amy. First the entrance, now a flat walkway. This is not a natural cave. And look at the size. An entrance for a pony wouldn’t have to be this large. Like you said it yourself, this reminds you of your hive. I would say you’re right: this was built by changelings.” He cleaned his hands on his pants and walked a few meters over to a stalagmite. “This whole thing must be a few hundred years old. Otherwise, something like this wouldn’t form.” Thiemo leaned against the stone structure a bit too much so that the peak broke off and fell to the ground. The reverberation sounded through the cave for a few more seconds. Just as he wanted to say something, another sound reached his ears.

“What was that?” Aura asked from Amy’s back.

“That… That means we’re not alone down here.”

Author's Notes:

I always said to my German readers that Thiemo is a liar (That going so far that even the narrator, when in his perspective, is/was lying too. Good luck noticing those in the future. You will need it xD). What I never told them was, he lied even to himself. It's a force of habit to him. A form of self protection. Convinced of his own lies, he thought of them as real to some point. It's the first rule of lying: If you want that others believe your lies, you must believe them yourself. Deep down he knew that is was unlikely that he ever would find a way home, even that he had any kind of future at some point. And desperate people do desperate things. Like starting to kill. (Hope you guys have read intermission 9. It's marks the beginning of this hopeless time.)

Then there is Twilight and what many hoped to happen. She opens up. It's just a first step on the way, but better than nothing.

And finally, we start act 10, what is together with act 11, one of the most important moments in the whole story.

Thanks to Gron for translating this chapter.
Special thanks to JBL for proofreading and editing.

And give their story a try too:
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Chapter III - Act 10.2 - Voices In The Darkness

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 10.2 - Voices In The Darkness ~

“We should go back to the others.” Thiemo threw the broken canteen back into the saddlebag over his shoulder. The little fall through the yielding rock formation had brought him down a bit from his high, which seemed to be appropriate, judging from their situation. Amaryllis still had Aura on her back, and as he saw them both, he realized that it was the first time the two had gotten so close. Aura had always tried to keep a distance from her. Then, just as he was ready to go, he remembered something else. “Aura, how did you find the way? Through the cave, I mean. Amy was too far away to give you light with her horn.”

The filly looked at him questioningly. “What do you mean, dad? I’m doing it just like you.” Confused, he crouched down so that he was on the same eye level with her.

“What do you mean with that?” Thiemo looked deep into her eyes, and then he noticed it. It was just a small spark, but it was there. “Amy, please let a stone levitate.” His marefriend nodded, and small rock lifted off the ground. “Can you tell me which color the magical energy around the rock has?”

Aura looked over to him and nodded. “Sure, it’s purple.” Alarmed, he put a hand over his mouth, stood up, and turned around. How could that be? She was a filly, never taught shamanism. If someone like the princesses could do it, okay, but not his Aura.

“Since when?”

“Since when what, dad?”

“Since when can you see magic?”

“Is that something special? You can do it too. Isn’t that normal?” Based on her answer, she had done it for a good while and just took it as granted. “Dad?”

“Nothing, dear.” He stroked through her mane and took her in his arms. “Yes, it is something special but nothing bad. It just makes you even more special than you already are.”

“Can Amy do it too?” Both looked at the changeling princess who shook her head.

“Unfortunately not. My mother sure. Maybe someday.” She smiled at Aura and snuggled slightly against the filly.

“You really like my dad, do you?” Thiemo and Amy looked at each other for a few seconds.

“Very much.”

“Can’t I leave you alone for two seconds?” Hawk stood in the passage and waved them back.

***

“Here we are again.” Indeed, they were the last ones to return to the meeting point. Hawk was immediately pressed by Heart who tried to get to her wing. The rest sat around the small light and looked at the things that were lying underneath it. Two more saddlebags. One belonged to Hawk, the other to Rarity. The white unicorn was busy checking her belongings for damage.

“Heart and I flew to the ceiling. No chance to get past the debris without endangering the cave’s stability,” Twilight announced and sighed. Thiemo put the saddlebags they found to the others and sat down as well. Amaryllis snuggled against him while Aura climbed from his back to his shoulders. Applejack watched the scene with a grin.

“We have found out two things. Amy noticed earlier that the structure of the cave reminds her of her home. I’ve seen a bit of her hive and have to agree. These caves were built by changelings.” A worried look appeared on Estoc’s face, while Rarity pressed herself against him. In the corner of his eyes, he saw the two soldiers cutting their play and listening carefully. “Furthermore, we are not alone down here. I accidently threw over a stalagmite and something moved. I think different noises came back out of the depth of the shafts. No echo.” The question was on the lips of everyone present, so he beat them to it. “We should keep moving. I don’t want to find out what exactly survived for thousands of years down here.”

“The human is right,” Estoc agreed. “Hawk, do you still have some equipment? A weapon I could use?” The thestral grinned and pulled out one of her knives and threw it in front of his hooves. Estoc lowered his head and tapped with his horn against it. Just like Protes, the metal began to twist, and an epee, with a handle to be held in the mouth of a pony, appeared at the place of the dagger.

“Let me guess, that’s why you have the armor?” Thiemo asked.

“Sure. Do you think you were the only one with cool toys?” A bit of air escaped through her lips. “Humans, always so big-headed.”

“Guys!” Everyone flinched at Lyra’s outburst. “Could we talk about which monsters could be down here again?” Her trembling was evident. Thiemo wasn’t surprised that the others were not. After all, from what he had heard, the Bearers had some adventures on their back already. The rest were soldiers and adventurers. And Amy was too high on cloud nine to care much about what was happening.

“We should fill our canteens. They would have to be repaired first.” Thiemo pulled them out, and Rarity immediately took them. The designer pulled some thread and a needle out of her bag and began to patch them. When she was done, she used a bit of magic and declared them as being as good as new, just a bit smaller due to the missing material. Then the remaining baggage was split out amongst the ponies. Lyra got a bag again, Rarity and Heart their own. Applejack offered to carry Hawk’s. Aura was wandering between them and helped put them on.

After everything was done, Thiemo and Amy took the lead and led the large group to the passage. This time, it was Twilight who heard the river first. Not that it would have been necessary for Amy or Aura to say that. They filled their canteens while a quick spell from Twilight confirmed that the river contained no poisonous material. Then they continued their way into the unknown darkness, accompanied by Twilight’s little floating light.

“Hawk.” Thiemo turned to the thestral. “Why don’t you let Heart have a look at your wing?”

She threw a look back at her comrade who was chatting with Rarity. “That’s not necessary. My wings are more robust than pegasi wings. In a few hours, I will be able to fly again. And she has no idea how to treat them.” She reached out her healthy left wing so that it reached out from her under her cowl. Then everything happened in a blur. Thiemo felt the ground giving in a little underneath him, there was a clicking noise, and in the next moment, Hawk threw him on the ground. A hissing sound went over his head as something drilled into the rock wall next to them. Twilight jerkily moved the light near the impact side, and they all saw a bolt out of metal that had bored itself into the stone. Thiemo looked at the place where he had been standing. A rune shimmered there for a few more seconds before it went dark.

“Someone injured?” Estoc asked as he pressed himself past Lyra and Applejack.

“No, everything’s alright! Stay where you are!” Amy, with Aura on her back, stopped and then took a step back. Thiemo looked over to Hawk who gave him a rock from the ground. He aimed and threw it at the place where the rune had glowed. Immediately, it glowed up again, and a second bolt flew with a hissing sound through the air, landing close to the first one. Twilight reacted immediately and placed her light above the rune, then Hawk stood up and drew a circle around the trigger of the trap with a her hoof.

Carefully, Thiemo stood up and cleaned himself off the dust. “That was close, too close.”

“Attention everypony!” Hawk directed the attention to herself. “All those who do not have trouble with the darkness, to the front. Everyone else, especially foals, to the back. We’re going in a line, no swinging off, and no one stays behind.”

“Hawk takes the lead, Heart and I will bring up the rear.” Estoc took over. “When you see something or think you have seen something, speak up immediately. There is no playing around with traps. Even if such a bolt hitting is not lethal, it can still be poisonous.”

While Estoc kept on explaining, Hawk nudged him. “Couldn’t you see the rune?”

Thiemo shook his head. “Not until I activated it. I’m not seeing a crystal or anything the keeps the spell going either. Whatever that is, it is either unknown magic or not magic at all.” The alternative to magic was clear: technology. But why should anyone take the trouble to simulate magic? And more importantly, where did they have the means to build it, not to mention keeping it active for thousands of years. One thing was clear to him: the cave just got more and more interesting.

“Alright, everypony together. File behind me. Princess, you with your light should go in the middle.” Twilight nodded and squeezed in behind Applejack. Amy had just given her Aura, while she herself was directly behind Thiemo.

“Changelings don’t build such traps. Especially not in their own hive,” she whispered to him.

“I know, and that is what worries me. Changelings need their… donors alive. The thing fires directly at head level of a pony.” Thiemo looked over the river from where the missiles came from. But there was no opening to be seen from where they came from. In front of him, Hawk began to walk again, so he and the rest of the group followed. For the next few hours, they followed the path by the river. From time to time, Hawk threw her knife to check for traps on conspicuous places. They found three, but no pattern could be seen. After a while, the first complaints began to come up. Rarity and Lyra both wanted a quiet place to rest. Aura was bored and like every normal child, she was getting grumpy. She tried to get Applejack to play with her, but the mare was too busy with stepping in Amaryllis’ hoofprints.

Eventually, the path separated from the river that disappeared in a cleft. One last time, they filled their bottles and took a large swig. “How far do you think the path will go?” Twilight looked as exhausted as the rest of them.

“No idea, Princess, but we can’t take a break unfortunately. Who knows what traps might be here,” Estoc returned and wiped his mouth with his foreleg. “Night Hawk, do you think the path leads through the whole mountain?”

“Certainly not. The traps are there to protect something. There will be an exit, but for now, we have to get past what is down here.” She unfolded her wings and flapped them a few times until a crack could be heard and a moan escaped her. “Much better.”

“Mom, I’m hungry!” Aura begged at Applejack’s legs. The farm mare was busy storing their refilled canteens in the saddlebags on her back.

Applejack nudged her quickly. “Sorry, sugarcube, but you’ll have to wait a bit longer for that.” Another sound, like metal that fell on stone, came from the darkness behind them, and they all perked up.

“This was one of the traps, right?” Lyra asked, unsure.

“Sounded like it,” Estoc agreed. “Hawk? You have the best ears.”

“I would say we should get moving again. The bolt glanced off the stone, meaning it didn’t have enough speed. Which means that it hit something before.” Everyone swallowed. “Thiemo is right. We’re not alone.”

“But what could be down here? These caves are old.” A noise sounded again, but this time, it was much closer than the last one. Thiemo spun around and just managed to glimpse something moving in the shadows from the corners of his eyes.

Quickly, he gained the attention of the others by waving around. “Slowly keep on walking,” he whispered to Hawk who tried to peek past him. “Get the others out of here.” He reached at his right arm and got Protes out. “Quick!”

The soldiers stepped into action instantly. Estoc grabbed Rarity, Lyra, and Twilight. Heart flew over to Applejack and Auralia while Hawk began to lead Amaryllis further down the way. Thiemo narrowed his eyes to slits and looked out for what was lurking behind them. It was there, no doubt. Not only his senses were telling him that, but something inside him, maybe primal instincts or just the feeling of being watched. The light from Twilight moved away quickly, not before he was able to tell that something in the water was reflecting the light. Without further ado, he rammed Protes into the river. The staff made contact with the water at the same time something large jumped out of it. Claws dug into his left shoulder as the creature jumped over him to get to the ponies behind him. But Thiemo reacted quickly as he spun around and managed to grab the thing at what must have been its ankle and pulled it to the ground.

A rattling sounded through the cave as bones smashed into the stony ground. Now he could see what he was dealing with. A skeleton, the skeleton of a griffon. And it wasn’t small. Even on all fours, it was almost as tall as him. The worst thing was that the thing was now moving, a hollow skull with glowing red eyes looking at him. Then the skeleton let out a deafening cry. Thiemo let go of its ankle and covered his ears with his hands. It used the time to stand up and charged at him. Immediately, he rammed his staff into it and slammed the skeleton against the next wall. “What the hell was that?”

Cautious, he stepped closer to the pile of bones and kicked against a thighbone of the hindlegs. No magical signature, just a pile of bones. “Thiemo? Everything alright?”

“Everything alright, Lyra! It was just… a skeleton.” No response came from the group, and Thiemo carefully picked up the skull with Protes’ tip. “How did you move?” he asked the thing.

“What do you mean, just a skeleton?” Hawk flew over to him, still a bit shaky on her wing. Thiemo held the skull in front of her face, and she saw the rest. “Are you telling me this thing was moving?”

“Is there magic that could do that?”

“No idea.” She turned around. “Princess? We have a magical mystery here.” Like Hawk, Twilight flew over to them, also careful to not trigger any more traps. Unlike Hawk, she flinched as she saw the skull and the pile on the ground.

“And that was moving?” Thiemo nodded. “This can’t be. There are no magical residues or anything. Even if someone was controlling it with magic, there must have been a hint somewhere.”

“I know. That is what worries me. Also, wasn’t this place built by changelings? What is a dead griffon doing down here?” Twilight tipped his shoulder with a hoof. “What?” She pointed past him and Hawk into the darkness.

“Something was moving there.” Both followed Twilight’s hoof and saw what she meant.

“More of them?” Hawk nodded. She could see a bit better than the rest of them.

“I count five.” Slowly, they began to retreat. “Run, they are getting more and more. Seven. Eight.” Hawk didn’t count any further as she and Twilight flew back to the others. “Run! Don’t stop!” she shouted to them. Estoc didn’t need to be told twice. Thiemo saw the ponies in the distance in front of him falling into a gallop. He, unfortunately, wasn’t as fast as them, and without his gems, he had no chance of catching up with them.

“Dad!” Aura shouted back.

“Run! I can make it.” He stored Protes at his arm again and started to sprint. Unluckily for him, he noticed after a few seconds that there were still only small amounts of blood circulating through his body. White spots began to fill his field of view, and with every third step, one of his legs almost slipped.

“Dad! Behind you!” In the corner of his eye, he saw one skeleton jumping towards him, and it would shortly land on his back. But then it happened. His leg gave way and he caught himself with his right hand just in time. It landed on one of the runes, and a bolt flew through the air. It took the head off the skeleton above him with it. At some point even he had to be lucky. Quickly, he pulled himself together again and continued running.

“There’s a passage!” he heart Hawk shout, and he began to prepare a plan in his head.

“Twilight!” he gasped between his breaths. “Get ready to blow the passage.” Thiemo could now finally see it as well. Hawk had almost reached it already.

In the next moment, he felt a beak grab some of his hairs. Of course, he just kept on running. “Amaryllis, come on!” Hawk shouted. Another looked up front showed him that everyone except the princess had already fled through the passage.

“Thiemo!” she shouted, and he saw her reaching out for him with her magic. She wanted to pull him over to her, but Protes around his wrist stopped her attempt. Again his legs gave way; he stumbled and fell to the ground. He saw Amy’s desperate look and what prevented her from saving him. One of the skeletons jumped on his back, pressing him even more into the ground. In the next moment, something lightened up above his head. Amaryllis was running towards him and hit the skeleton with both her body and one of her magical missiles. “Everything alright?”

Thiemo supported himself at her. “Yes, thanks.”

“Behind you!” At Twilight’s shout, they both turned around and saw that about thirty more skeletons were standing in front of them. They would never make it the passage in time.

“Seal the passage!” With those words, he grabbed Amaryllis and threw himself and her in the stream of the river. Over the roar of the water, they heard Aura screaming and Applejack shouting after them before they disappeared with the water between the rocks. Then an explosion resonated as Twilight sealed the entrance. “Hold on tight to me, Amy.” The water took them through the darkness. Again and again, they were pressed under water, not knowing where up or down was. Water constantly found a way into their lungs until the finally fell. It went down, and they landed screaming in the water again. Then they reached land. Thiemo pulled himself and his marefriend completely out of the water, coughed, and looked around. Blurry and panting, he looked through the, for him, well-lit room. Magic was everywhere and his fingers stroke over a familiar feeling. Everything was covered by the moss of the changelings. Smiling, he let some magic flow into the magical plant and then he closed his eyes.

Chapter III - Act 10.3 - Children of the Night (Part 1)

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My little Pony

Journey

~Act 10.3 - Children of the Night (Part 1)~

A hoof shook Thiemo out of his slumber, the world around him slowly returning to focus. Green light filled his field of view, lights that were floating through the air and plants he had never seen before in his life. “Thiemo? Are you alright?” His head turned to his right where Amaryllis’ voice came from. Their eyes met, and she immediately pulled him into a hug. For a few seconds, his arms hung motionless down at his side, but then they closed around her. Her short black coat was soft, her wings bent slightly under the pressure of his arms.

“Thanks Amy… this is the second time now that you’ve saved my ass.” She didn’t reply, and why should she? She felt the love he had for her. Minutes passed, neither of them saying a word. Then Thiemo had an idea that he thought was brilliant. Carefully, he brought his hands in position and when she was least expecting it, he began to tickle her sides. The princess in his arms began to giggle and squirm from laughter as she pushed a hoof against his cheek to get away, but it was to no avail. As he noticed that she needed air, he let go of her. Heavily breathing and looking angry, she got in a glare before he kissed her. Not swiftly like she had done a few times. Their lips pressed against each other, a short tongue fight against the long and strong organ of a pony, with no chance of victory. Only as the air in their bodies began to run out did they break contact. He had wanted to do this since the day she had accepted him for who he was. The grin on his lips said that clearly. Because of that, and another thought, it had him smiling despite himself while they were kissing. “It’s funny somehow. I mean, my marefriend has more facial hair than I do.” A hoof made contact with his shoulder again and caused Thiemo to fall back onto his rear again. He saw Amaryllis sticking her tongue out.

The moment was beautiful for as long as it had lasted, but they were still lost deep inside a mountain and separated from the rest of the group. Only a nod from Thiemo was needed for both to avert their gazes. With a little groan, he stood up and looked carefully around the cave again. Behind them was the small waterfall, a lake beneath it from where they came from. The walls around them were mostly covered with the magical moss as with the ceiling and floor, which was now glowing slightly thanks to Thiemo. Various plants emerged out of it and gave the chamber a tropical flair. It was warm, and the humidity was very high. Passages like before could not be seen, unfortunately, at least not from their position. Many things were covered by plants that were meters high. “This is pure paradise.” Amaryllis trotted between the growths and took in deep breaths of the air. “I’ve heard of such places a few times. Grandmother Echidna mentioned them a few times in her diaries. They were referred to as the chambers of retention. Changelings bring everything here what is important to them. History, knowledge, everything.”

“Or plants.” Thiemo inspected a small nearby tree. If he didn’t know any better, he would say it was a bonsai. But how could it be here? “I haven’t seen any of these plants on Albion before.” Then again, he hadn’t exactly been everywhere on the planet. “The plants all seem to need the climate in here. But I haven’t seen it in the nature before, just…” his eyes widened “…in your brood chamber. That would mean that changelings were designed for completely different climate areas.” He saw that Amy wanted to interrupt him, but he didn’t let her. “Of course they can survive in other areas as well. Changelings mean more than just being able to shapeshift. But why are they here then? Why were the ponies here? Just for the food? I think not.” Thiemo stopped dead in his tracks. The plant behind Amaryllis moved slightly in the magical energies that it emitted. There was no wind down here, nothing of the sort. It reacted to them. “Amy, do me a favor and shapeshift.”

“Any preferences?” she asked with a grin.

“I don’t mean it like that. Turn into your pony version. I have a theory. If I’m right, we should have a clue for the mystery.” Amaryllis looked at him, then took a deep breath before her body was engulfed in flames. The magical waves that she emitted hit the plants, and a chain reaction immediately erupted. The tall plants changed with her as they shrunk, hid in the moss again, and gave way, revealing a passage. The moss at the place where Amy stood was glowing brighter than the rest. This brighter light followed the way out of the jungle of plants, making it even clearer.

Amaryllis, now in the form of a white alicorn with a bright purple mane, stepped at Thiemo’s side and watched the passage emerge further and further through the gigantic chamber. “How did you know that was going to happen?”

“I had no idea, but the plants reacted to your presence. Something was bound to happen when you released more energy.”

“This could have been dangerous too, right?”

He waved it off. “Nonsense. Let’s followed the golden path to Oz.” A few steps later, he disappeared between the first plants.

“What? Follow where?” he heard Amaryllis shouting behind him before she followed him.

***

With one hoof, Twilight tried to free her face from the dust. She had no choice but to do what Thiemo had said, blasting the passage. Applejack had managed just in time to hold back Auralia from jumping after her father. Instead, she was hammering against the stone that was separating them. “Dad! Can you hear me?! Dad!” Of course Twilight knew that he couldn’t. The stream wasn’t very strong, but strong enough to pull them deeper into the mountain. If he and Amaryllis were lucky, they were deep enough to get past all traps. If they managed to get out of the water again. In the worst case, the river went underground the rest of the way, which would mean no oxygen from them. She didn’t want to imagine that.

“Anypony hurt?” Heart’s voice came through the cloud of dust around them.

“Rarity and I are alright!” Estoc stepped out of the dust behind Twilight, followed by Rarity and Lyra. “Lyra is with us too.” The aquamarine mare was too busy coughing to be able to speak.

“Ah’m alright too!” That was clearly Applejack. Twilight would recognize her accent in the middle of a thousand ponies. Like Estoc, Applejack stepped out of the dust but didn’t walk towards her, instead going over to her daughter to calm her.

A strong gust of air carried the dust away. “I see you’re all fine.” Hawk landed in front of her, and Estoc shook the dust out of the folds of her cowl. “Onwards.”

“What do you mean?” Lyra, who had recovered from her coughing fit, stepped in Hawk’s way. “What is with Amaryllis and Thiemo? Are you just leaving them behind?”

Hawk rolled her eyes and pushed her aside. “Unlikely, for the river is going that way. If anything, they are ahead of us. If you don’t believe me, ask the princess. She will surely be happy to confirm that.” Twilight nodded at Lyra, who was looking at her worriedly. “And these things will surely soon find a way inside. Unlike us, they’ve been down here a lot longer.” Lyra let her head hang. “So, ponies, move out!”

***

Thiemo pushed another low-hanging plant aside. This time, it was a miniature version of a palm that even wore some coconuts. “Too bad that Hawk’s knife was in my backpack. I could list at least ten moments where we could have used it, but never was it so important as today.” Again he flinched and beat the low hanging branch of a willow tree aside that had found its way into his neck. “Where did all these plants come from?”

“I’ve never seen most of them before in my life. There were no notes in any of the books in our library for plants even similar to these.” Amy, still in alicorn form, pulled a tropical-looking plant closer to her, only so much that she didn’t uproot it. “But they smell nice.”

Because Amy was pushing the disturbing green aside, Thiemo caught a glimpse on something else. The ceiling above their heads stretched for good distance, yet he spotted something in the wall in front of them. “Amy, look.” She followed his hand and seemed to see it as well. “Want to see what we have there?” Together, they stepped through the jungle and finally came to a halt in front of the large wall. It reached almost up to the ceiling, but that wasn’t the most impressive thing. About every five meters in the almost thirty meters long structure, a statue was hewn in the stone. What surprised him the most was that they shared strong similarities with armor. Armors from the middle ages. Armors for humans. With an open mouth, Thiemo stepped closer and stroked over the foot of the closest statue. With the pedestal, they reached to his eye level. “Any idea?”

Like him, Amaryllis was inspecting all six statues in the wall before she then shook her head. She walked a few meters and stroked her wing over the stony surface. “I… No idea. That was definitely built by changelings. We use acid to bend to stone to our will. You can see it clearly in the wall. But the statues themselves. No idea; they wouldn’t even belong here.”

“Or like someone else had placed them there?” She nodded and slowly came back to him. Both stared silently at what was laid in front of them. In the distance, the waterfall could still be heard quietly as well as the rustling of the plants. The armors held a sword in front of them that was rammed into the bottom of the pedestal. The helmets were completely closed, aside from small slits for the eyes. The rest of the metal suits were completely closed. No holes for movement or hinges, so it could be put on.

Thiemo took a run-up and then jumped up on the pedestal, holding one hand at the crossguard of the sword and the other one at the upper arm of the armor. “What are you doing?”

“I’m having a closer look.” A glance over the shoulder of the statue confirmed his expectations. Unlike the pedestals, their back didn’t go over into the wall. They were separate. “Yes, they were placed here afterwards.” He climbed a bit further up the two meter tall armor and saw the darkness of their non-existent eyes. “Looks like their inside is—” With a quiet buzzing, a red light came out of the eyes of the statue. Before Thiemo could react, the statue moved forward and threw him on the ground. “Hollow!?!” he finished sentence and scrambled back, trying to get away from the thing. The head of the now not-so-stiff statue looked around, sighted them, and pulled the sword out of the pedestal. Its knees bent a little as it prepared itself for a jump. “Oh shit!” It jumped, flew through the air, and was about to ram its sword into him. Thiemo immediately rolled towards Amaryllis, getting out of the way of destruction. With a very loud thud, the armor landed on the glowing moss. His eyes skimmed over the quickly standing knight, but no magic could be seen. Just like the skeletons.

The sword went up again, ready to cut down the human where he was. This time, it was Amy who reacted faster than him, firing some magic missiles that hit the knight’s shoulder, torso, and head. Every hit caused a small dust cloud, and for a moment, as he was tumbling backwards, it looked like it would have finished him. But as soon as the dust was gone, the statue just shook its head and lunged out again. Thiemo, back on his legs by now, jumped aside. “What is that?” Amaryllis shouted next to him, panic evident in her voice.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say a golem.” His right hand stroked over Protes at his wrist, and the staff formed in his hand. “But without magic, no clue.” The knight let his sword fall down on the human again, but this time Protes blocked the blow. With both hands, Thiemo held the staff above his head, even if it was driving it to his knees a bit he stood his ground. “Amy, fire at him from the distance.” The statue increased the pressure, and Thiemo began to feel the ground through the moss with his knee. Behind him, he could hear Amaryllis gaining some distance with a few wing beats.

“Head down!” was the only warning he got as a green flash of light whooshed over him and slammed into the statue’s chest. Relieved, Thiemo felt the knight being pushed pack. He hastily used the moment and the momentum from his legs. He jumped forward, his staff ready, and with all his force, struck the knight’s head. The two meters of wandering stone began to fall and finally went to the ground. “Was that it?”

The head of the statue, which was just lying on with its nose in the moss, sprung into Thiemo’s direction, and in the same moment, its hand as well. It wrapped around his left leg, and the knight lifted him with his own body into the air. Overhead, Thiemo tried to hit another blow, but the knight was holding him so firmly that he couldn’t help but scream in pain. Protes fell in the moss below him, turning the glowing green into a dry, brown mass. Panic rising, Thiemo saw the knight lunging out with his other hand. He desperately crossed his arms in front of his chest. Then the fist struck. His arms pressed against his body while the grasp of the knight around his leg loosened up. The next thing Thiemo felt was his back slamming against the wall. Lightning bolts appeared in front of his eyes, an intense pain surging through his entire body.

“Amy…” he coughed, a bit of blood dripping down out of his mouth onto his shirt. His head feebly moved to the side. Another of the knights stepped down from his pedestal next to him while the princess was busy evading the first one and his sword. She fired a few missiles at him, but like before, they showed only little effect. “Amy…” Tired, he reached out his right hand. Protes seemed so close, yet was it unreachable. A third statue stepped down from the pedestal. They circled Amaryllis. He had to help her. Protect her. But his legs couldn’t. He closed his eyes.

***

Only to open them again immediately. But there was no longer the encircled Amaryllis. No, in front of him was a blue mist in infinite black. Thiemo stood up, his injuries were forgotten. “What the hell is going on here?” He wanted to dust off his coat as he realized something. “And why am I naked?” It wasn’t cold, but neither was it warm. His hand went through the blue fog. It didn’t get wet.

Warily, he took a step forward. He didn’t know what he was standing on, but it seemed to be solid enough. With one foot, he felt around and realized that despite the appearance, there was no infinite black nothingness below him. “Do you want me to give you a stone?” Startled, Thiemo spun around to the voice, but nothing was to be seen. “Then you can test it yourself how far it is going down there.”

He shrugged and looked around. “Uhm, no thanks? But I would take something to cover myself. If it’s no trouble to you.” A peal of laughter was the answer, which probably meant he was getting nothing. The voice sounded manly, a bit deeper than his own. It also seemed to come out of every direction at once. “Alright, we had a good laugh. What are you, and where am I here?”

“Here is such an impractical concept.” Thiemo just groaned. “Let’s leave it with that.” A small light came out of the fog and levitated over to him, only to stop directly in front of his nose. “What I am to one thing, I am something completely different to another.”

“What do the folks here have it with their enigmas?”

The small blue ball laughed again. “Yes, something like that can get really annoying, right? Believe me, I’ve had my experience with that as well.”

“So, is there a reason for all this?” Thiemo stretched out his arms and spun around in circle once. “Or is this just a joke? I’m trained well enough to know that this is some astral level.” He shook his head. “Or something very close to it. At least it’s not a dream. I know that I’m still lying bleeding on the ground while my marefriend is being threatened by these non-magical golems.

“You are right; you know a lot, but actually not enough. In respect to your current situation, however, I thought it would be a good idea to forward our meeting. Meaning, I will help you.”

Sceptically, Thiemo crossed his arms. “And how are you planning to do that?”

“I’m going to lend you a part of my power even though you are not ready for it yet.”

“What’s the catch? What do you want me to do for you?” The light laughed again.

“No, no catch. You just have to touch me.” Thiemo reached out his hands, but the light jumped back. “Not so fast, my young friend. One last piece of advice since I don’t know when we will be seeing us again. Find the stone tablets at the end of the chamber you are in. They will help you.”

“To find more of these knights? No way.”

“If more of them are there, they won’t post any troubles to you.” The blue ball circled around him, increasing their velocity until he was unable to see it before it struck his chest.

***

Thiemo opened his eyes again. He still stood with his arms crossed at the place where he went down. Slowly, he lowered them again. His head turned slowly into the direction of Amaryllis. It seemed like the time was frozen. The knights and Amy moved so slowly that he could have walked to the waterfall and back again before one of them hit her. Then his eyes fell on his shoulder. Something was glowing through his orange coat. He freed himself of the piece of clothing so that he was only standing there in his armless, not as white as it used to be, shirt.

What he saw on his skin alarmed him for a few seconds, but then he took a deep breath. Two crescents, diagonally opposing each other so they formed a circle. The same was on his other shoulder, both glowing in the same bright blue like the ball he had seen. Then he felt it. Something familiar he had only felt in connection with pain before. Magic. His view changed, and he slowly brought a hand in front of his eyes. It ran through his body, causing no pain. Magic. His eyes wandered up to knights around Amaryllis. His heart was pounding, his lips forming into a grin. “Yippee ka-yay, motherfuckers!”

Chapter III - Act 10.4 - Children of the Night (Part 2)

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My little Pony

Journey

~Act 10.4 - Children of the Night Part 2~

Instinctively, Thiemo put into practice what had just been a theory for him for all these years. He gathered the magic in his body, focused it in his right foot, and jumped. As if he was using a sapphire, he flew high into the air, just not as fast. It was still enough, and he rammed his shoulder into the side of golem, who stood opposite of Amaryllis, that had prepared to strike down the changeling. The magic in his body gathered again, this time in his fist. The knight had fallen to the ground already, and Thiemo used the opportunity to bring his hand down on the golem. Magic crackled around his hand like lightning bolts as it pierced through the stony warrior. In one move, he jumped off the golem as it hit the ground and remained there, motionless. Thiemo slid a bit over the moss until he came to a halt, crouching down. “My turn.”

He grinned at the confused Amaryllis and jumped again. His arms wrapped around the throat of the second golem before turning him around. With his legs pressing against the construct’s lower back, he began to pull at the head until it was separated from its shoulders, accompanied by a loud breaking sound and cracking. The golem went down to its knees before slumping to the ground, unmoving. Thiemo jumped off it, and without taking his eyes of the last one, he went over to where Protes was lying. The knight was holding its sword with both hands now and followed his steps, waiting for the right moment to strike. Slowly, Thiemo crouched down and touched his staff, not realizing that this was a mistake until the last moment. To his shock, the power flowing through him was gone. The magic was being siphoned from him. Before that, he had no magic, but now it was different. No, he could stop that. He guided the flow, not the staff. He was its master. Sadly for him, the knight wasn’t going to wait until he made things clear to the stubborn piece of metal. With heavy steps, it marched over to him, and Thiemo had no choice but to let go of Protes and roll aside. Only now did he realize how much power that action had cost. The two jumps and one blow were child’s play, but now he wouldn’t be able to do that again. He was keenly aware of how his victims must have felt when he used his weapon. Nausea and dizziness came over him, and he had to be careful to not fall over.

Amaryllis fired one missile after the other at the golem, but it ignored them completely. Thiemo was now completely in focus, its only priority. “Priority…” he mumbled to himself. “That’s it!” Eliminate everything logical and whatever remained must be the solution.” The stony knight lunged out again with its sword, but Thiemo remained in place. Their pose at the beginning, the buzzing, their actions. It was all so obvious, especially for him as a human who was used to these things. Maybe just not as modern.

The swords stopped above his head. “Thiemo!” Amy jumped towards him, but he stopped her with an outstretched hand.

“Don’t worry; he’s not going to hurt us anymore. Am I right, you stupid tin can?!” The knight didn’t move for a few seconds before it pulled the sword back and went back to its pedestal.

“What? Why?” Thiemo just grinned as the golem stepped on the pedestal again and rammed its sword back into the stone. Then its eyes went out. Thiemo fell to the ground laughing, one hand at his temple, another on his stomach. “Thiemo? What is going on here?” As Amy leaned above him, he pulled her to ground, hugged her, and gave her a few quick kisses. He continued laughing for a few more minutes while Amaryllis looked questioningly at the ceiling.

***

One stalagmite after the other whooshed past Twilight. “What did I say about any more outbursts?” she heard Hawk’s voice in front of her. Like the others, she was sliding down a tube that was cut into stone with no idea where it was leading.

“I said I’m sorry!” Lyra shouted in panic. “But I just couldn’t hold it.”

The squeals of a happy filly drown out the R-rated response that Hawk threw at the professor. “Hold on tight to me, sugarcube.” At least somepony was having fun in their situation.

***

“So, what happened?” Amy asked for the third time now, Thiemo having finally let out enough laughter to keep it under control again so that his answer wasn’t just containing out of gasps.

“S’cuse me.” He wiped a tear out of his eyes. “But I’m just laughing at my own stupidity. It was so obvious.” Thiemo leaned against his lower back, gained some momentum with his legs, and jumped from his lying position directly onto his legs. “Wow, that’s great. Now I can understand why Aura finds it so great to have power.” He offered a hand to Amy and helped her on her legs. “So, maybe you remember. When you had caught me, I had these strange plates with me. Colorful, with a lot of little, though not glowing, lights on them? No? Doesn’t matter. Those were circuit boards. Human technology.” He stopped for a second. “Maybe I should explain a bit more. Every civilization goes through a stage of trials. They try out what works best for them. Magic, alchemy, or technology. Depending on this, they advance.” Amy simply nodded as she soaked in the information.

“Humans have tried with magic first, which obviously didn’t work. At some point, in secret, some of the brighter heads went from magic to alchemy. Both fields are closely related in many points for the unknowing. Magic potions and stuff. The alchemy persisted for a longer time than the not functioning magic, but it reached its limits after a few centuries. There was only technology left, and big surprise, we were really good at it. Within hundreds of years, compared to the tens of thousands of years of human history, it was everywhere. The last thing I knew before I was ripped from Earth was that they were beginning to build robots. Machines that looked like us, could think and everything else. Artificial humans.” Thiemo raised a finger and walked over the ripped off head of one of the golems. He looked inside and returned with a wide grin. “Here.” He threw the thing in front of her hooves

Many strange thick and thin threads were sticking out of the head. A strange, greasy fluid was flowing out of the thicker ones that were now spreading over the moss. It smelt burnt, and a single spark came out as she smelled at it.

“Cords, wires, and stuff. Nothing more. The red glowing eyes? Lamps. Everything’s mechanically.” Amaryllis kicked the head aside. She couldn’t stand the smell.

“And what was so funny about that?”

“Simple. These robots were guards. Defenders programmed to fend off attackers. The first one I climbed must have thought I was an attacker. When I evaded and ran away, it was clear. Only enemies would run away.”

“So you stood still so it will think you’re a friend? Isn’t that a bit too… simple?”

“Sure, but don’t forget one thing. They are just machines who follow orders. They can’t think on their own. But this is only part of the story. I was wondering for a long time: why are ponies so much more afraid of humans than they are of griffons? I mean, we have no claws, can’t fly, and are as effective against magic as I am with hitting this wall with a stone. But this explains everything. The humans on Albion must have been much more advanced than it seems. The only question is what kept them running for a thousand years. The more complex the machine, the more maintenance they need.”

Amaryllis thought for a moment. “So the traps were technology as well?”

“Sure,” Thiemo answered while leaning over the smashed-in torso. “The runes were surely just lamps as well that glowed from underneath the stone to simulate the magic.”

A faint scream sounded through the chamber. Amaryllis perked up her head and tried to find its origin. “Did you hear that?”

“What?” The noise got louder and louder.

“It appears it comes from…” She looked around until her head pointed at the ceiling. “Above?” At that same moment, a piece broke out of the ceiling. Fifty meters above them appeared one figure after the other. The first one was wrapped in a cowl, but it unfolded dark wings as soon as it noticed it was in the air. The thing behind it did the same but flew immediately after the next two who now had wings. Three more figures followed; all of them appeared to have no wings. The last white dot, however, did have them and followed the lead of the second. Only three fliers and four fallers didn’t match up. “I’ll help them!” Amy shouted and lifted into the air. She looked one last time at the ground where Thiemo looked around panicked and then disappeared underneath some plants.

She quickly flew towards the first falling point that could only be Applejack. In her forehooves, she held the screaming Aura who had her eyes closed. Applejack saw her coming and reached out a hoof for her. Amaryllis pulled and placed them both on her back. Even if the mare was a heavy earth pony, she was still lighter than the combination of Thiemo and Aura. “Thanks, sugarcube. This could have ended nasty.”

“No problem.” Amy flapped her white wings a bit stronger to keep them all in the air and looked at the rest of the group. Night Hawk was still descending. Twilight had managed to catch Lyra, and Heart held with both forelegs the struggling Rarity. Panicked, she looked further down to see Estoc still falling towards the ground. Unlike Rarity, he wasn’t kicking around, instead just looking straight up. Without warning, Thiemo jumped out of a tree. If she didn’t know any better, she would say he was flying right now. With his hands, he grabbed the captain of the Royal Guard out of the air and disappeared behind the greenery again. Amy heard Rarity as she stopped flailing around, making it easier for Iron Heart to slowly carry her down.

Amy followed her slowly and touched down a moment later on the glowing moss in front of the stone wall with the golems, or robots as Thiemo had called them. She was followed by Twilight and Lyra, while Night Hawk was the last to land. With gnashing teeth, she tucked her wings back at her side. “Stupid stalagmites,” she mumbled.

“Look, for I have saved a fair maiden!” Thiemo strutted over to them out of some bushes. Estoc was basically lying in his arms. The stallion tried to hit the human’s face with one of his legs that were pointed up in the air, but it was proving difficult. Then, as he arrived next to Rarity, Thiemo just dropped him to the ground.

Floundering, he turned around and got back onto his legs and fixed his mane. “Not that I’m not thankful, but was that really necessary?!”

“Well, usually the prince receives a kiss for saving the princess,” Thiemo returned and held his cheek out to him. Estoc waved him off with a hoof, only to be hit by Rarity’s.

Estoc went bouncing on the ground before the whimpering mare threw herself around his neck. “Never do that again! Never!” she shouted at him while slowly cutting off his oxygen supply with her grip. While the two remained in their embrace, Amy saw Thiemo searching for his coat in the corners of her eye, just to get have it reach Twilight. Her eyes widened as her eyes saw his shoulder.

“Is that?” Instead of the coat floating into Thiemo’s waiting hand, she pulled his arm down to her and carefully stroked over the symbol on his shoulder with a hoof. “That is a cutie mark!”

“What?” Aura shouted. “Why is everyone getting one but not me?” The rest of the group gathered and stared at the mark on his shoulder. Thiemo, meanwhile, sat down on the ground in annoyance while Amy leaned towards the filly on Applejack’s back.

“I don’t have one either,” Amy said and softly nudged her.

“You don’t count. You’re a changeling.”

***

“This is unbelievable! I’ve never heard that a human could get a cutie mark.” Twilight continued to pull at his arm while Lyra, Applejack, Rarity, and Estoc gathered around him. “How did you get that? Spare no detail!” Clearly out of nothing, Twilight produced a roll of parchment and some ink before pulling a feather out of one of her wings.

Thiemo just blinked, baffled. “Where did you get that from?”

“A little trick from Pinkie Pie. Now tell me. How did you get it? I’ve never seen such a cutie mark. These are two moons, right? What could it mean? Oh, all the possibilities. Humans could get completely different cutie marks than ponies. A completely new field.” A high squeak escaped her mouth as she was visibly resisted not jumping around in ecstasy.

Thiemo leaned a little towards Rarity. “Is that normal?” The mare gave him a nonplussed look and nodded.

“So, tell me! How did you get it?” He sighed. She wasn’t going to let up on this anytime soon.

“Let’s just say I had an enlightenment.” Never before had he seen a grin turning into the opposite so quickly. “What?”

“That can’t be it! What did you do to get it?” Thiemo pointed at the small pool of blood at one of the pedestals.

“I was just lying there and watched as those robots tried to squeeze us to death.”

“Robots?” His hand continued towards one of the defect golems lying on the ground behind Twilight. Surprised, she turned around, and Thiemo wondered how she could have not seen the large scrap of metal before.

As quickly as Twilight’s attention has fallen on him, just as quickly it was gone again. Now the damaged machine was the most interesting thing the world had to offer to her right now. She put her nuzzle into the hole that Thiemo had punched into its chest, only to then look into its decapitated head. “This is so exciting! It is unlike everything I know! Rarity, you must have a look at this!” She tried to look over at her friend, but forgot that she still had her head in the remains and was now wearing it like an oversized helmet. It was, of course, too heavy for her, and after a few shaky steps, she fell on the ground. Lyra managed to jump aside just in time.

Meanwhile, Thiemo was looking at the cutie mark on his right shoulder, which had stopped glowing by now. The two moons were perfectly identical. What was that light? What did it mean by hastening their meeting? His eyes wandered towards his left shoulder, where of course the same symbol was. With a blink, he changed to his magical view. Magic was flowing through the parts of his body that he could see, but not as much as the first time. It was like the appearance of his cutie mark had released a strong magical wave that he had been riding for a while. But now the water was calm again. A fitting comparison to his blue aura, the same blue of the light he had seen.

A look around the room showed that Amaryllis was busy playing with Aura while Applejack was sitting next to them and laughing. Rarity was basically still stuck at Estoc’s side. From the ground, he had seen everything. Heart had reached the Captain before Rarity and tried to grab him. But he must have sent her off to get Rarity despite his own well-being. One the one hand, it was noble, but on the other, it was surely expected from a soldier and Captain of the Royal Guard. For the white mare in his forelegs, it didn’t seem to make a difference.

Thiemo stood up from the moss-covered ground and threw his coat around him again, which was now perfectly covering the cutie mark. Together with his tail, it was now the second pony trait of his. Maybe the Elements were behind this as well? “Are these dangerous?” Hawk asked from the side while she watched the princess playing in the junk.

“As long as she’s not drinking the liquid that comes out of these things, she should be fine. They are guards and only attack when they sense danger.” Hawk nodded apprehensively.

“And what are they guarding?”

“Apparently more of these large stone tablets like these here with their pedestals. Only they are supposed to contain information. I think we should have a look around. Maybe it explains what this all is down here.”

“I hate to admit it, but I agree with you. Griffon skeletons that refuse to just die? Traps that are targeted at ponies?” So she had noticed it as well. Who was he kidding; she was an expert. “Strange armor from humans, and a place built by changelings? No matter what is down here, apparently at least three species thought it was valuable enough to die for it.”

“Three? I think if three knew that something was down here, more would have noticed as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if this turns out to be a collaboration between all large nations of Albion.”

“What makes you think that?”

“I’ve never seen anything that ponies could leave well alone.” Hawk gave no response. Thiemo looked over to Protes, which still lay lying in the dried moss on the ground. None of them could touch the weapon anymore. Then his daughter came into his field of view.

Chapter III - Act 10.5 - Children of the Night (Part 3)

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 10.5 - Children of the Night Part 3 ~

Getting Twilight away from the mechanical golem, as she called the robot, was more difficult than expected. Applejack tried with all her force, but as an alicorn, she was just as strong as her friend, and the earth pony couldn’t move her further than two meters. Night Hawk proposed to render her unconscious, and Heart immediately readied a syringe, but that endeavour was stopped by Estoc. He tried to talk with her but was completely ignored. Rarity didn’t even try and called it a waste of time and effort. That lead to Lyra’s big play “Let me handle this,” she declared proudly. “One academic simply understands another.” With those words, she went towards the princess and whispered a few words into her ears, and she was immediately ready to go. Since that moment, Twilight had grinned strangely at Thiemo, something that he, of course, didn’t like at all.

“What did you tell her?” He leaned down to Lyra, who walked next to him through the glowing patch of seemingly endless botanic.

The mint-green unicorn just grinned back at him and waved it off with a hoof. “Nothing special. Just that she should imagine all the tests she could run in the Crystal Empire on a human with a cutie mark.” Thiemo looked at the alicorn in front of him, who was just licking her lips. A shiver went down his spine and into the last bit of his tail. Quickly, he shifted his view away from Twilight and looked to the right where Aura and Applejack were. The filly was resting on her back, forelegs on her head and trying to get her nose as close to the plants by the wayside as she could. What really mesmerized him, however, aside her unintentional adorableness, was the metal that was wrapped around her right hoof. Thiemo could have slapped himself again for overlooking something like that. Aura had touched the staff multiple times, threw it or played with it. Never had it shown any effect on her. The only one that showed a similar reaction was Twilight, but not even the devil himself could bring him to give the brash alicorn his most valuable possession. Who knew what she would do with the staff? He had never told her that it wouldn’t work with her, so nopony wondered why Aura put it on when he asked her to.

This fact, together with her being able to see magic, let him realize something: one of the greatest mysteries he had encountered was his own daughter. “Something wrong, dad? Why are you looking at me like that?” Thiemo shook his head and let go of the thought.

“Nothing, I was just thinking.”

***

“Well, I would say the path ends here.” And not just the path, but also the moss and the entire jungle around it suddenly stopped at one point of the chamber. It was as though someone had drawn a line with a ruler. “What now?” Hawk turned at Thiemo.

The end of the chamber couldn’t be far. He thought he could even see it in the darkness in front of them already. “It led us here, so we’ll look at it. There is no way back anyways.” Thiemo concentrated briefly, and his view changed again. His right hand found its way in front of his eyes again, only to confirm that magic was still flowing through his body like blood. It was still there, continual and slowly moving, making no signs of leaving anytime soon. Of course, he couldn’t use magic itself to cast a spell like a unicorn. Maybe he should think about making a totem. With one spell of an element, it would no longer be a problem for him. Never again charging gemstones, simply letting his magic flow into the totem and letting the effect kick in. Zarni, his master, used water as his main element. Rainstorms and everything that had to do with water had followed her command. Unlike him, she had to guide the energy from the surroundings through her body first to cast the spell. With an internal magical source, he wouldn’t have to do that as long as he wasn’t recovering from excessive use. Magic, he had realized in the few minutes he had it, was equally exhausting as running a marathon.

Thiemo, followed by Hawk and the rest of the group, took the first step into the darkness in front of them. As nice as it was to walk through the well-lit part of the chamber, everything had its end. Again walking in single file, Estoc reminded them that there could still be traps. If there were any, they were lucky to not find them. Eventually, the ceiling became lower, meaning their target was not far away. Thiemo was eager to discover what they would find. Answers were promised to him, but he didn’t know to which questions. Maybe that was why he was here. But that seemed to be unlikely. These ruins were thousands of years old. Maybe it answered the question of why there was daytime on the entire planet at the same time?

Thiemo didn’t get any further as his foot got caught up on something, and his face met the ground. Hawk next to him immediately ducked, ready to dodge whatever was coming. Aura squeaked, Applejack threw her to the ground with herself, and Estoc galloped to the front. “What’s going on?” Thiemo turned on his back and looked at his foot that had snagged in a bright root.

“False alarm, just a root.” An annoyed groan went through the ponies, and Thiemo leaned forwards to free himself. His hand made contact with a surprisingly hard root as he tried to lift it. Instead of the root giving in, the entire ground was lifted, and before he knew, it he held the skeleton of another griffon in his hands. Everypony stared expectantly at it while Thiemo noticed that it, unlike the others, was wrapped in the remains of clothes and had a bag wrapped around its throat.

Twilight, who rushed with her reignited light over to them, lightened up the scene. “This thing is not alive like those other nasty things, right?” Rarity carefully asked.

“If so, it was more successful in catching one of us than the rest.” Thiemo stood up and lifted the skeleton up. The clothing was shredded, and the bag made up about half of the weight. “Then let’s have a look.” With his left hand, he pulled the bag over the skull of the long deceased. In the process, it got loose and fell with a clatter on the ground before being transported into the darkness by a foot. He simply dropped the rest, causing everypony besides Hawk and Estoc to jump back. Thiemo opened the bag and pulled out a small lamp first. “Could be useful.” It wasn’t magic like his old one. Instead, he heard a bit of oil inside. “See if you can light it up.” He threw it over to Twilight, who caught it instinctively with her magic. His hand wandered deeper into the large back. He pulled out an old map, a notebook, and then something familiar. His hand wrapped around the handle inside the bag, and it actually turned out to be the handle of a knife, just like one he had found already.

“What’s that?” Amy asked curiously. “One of those things again?”

“Looks like it. This is the second one I found.” Without further ado, it was shoved into his pocket. “Then we have an old water bag and a sleeping bag. Both old and moldy, not to mention dirty.” Twilight used the moment to trade the notebook in his hand for the now burning lamp.

“Twilight, darling, please wait until we are out of here,” Rarity said and pushed the levitating book away from Twilight’s nose. “I know how you are with books, but we have no time to wait until you’re finished.”

“I believe she has,” Thiemo heard Hawk’s voice say. He looked around for her, only to find her another hundred meters up front. “This is a dead end, but the most interesting one I’ve ever seen.” Leaving the plundered skeleton behind them, the group caught up with Hawk and saw what she meant. In front of them was the place where the ceiling suddenly made contact with the ground. The wall was not just graced by plain rock, but hemispherical indentations were cut into it. On them were symbols Thiemo had never seen before, together with pictures of griffons, ponies, changelings, and other creatures in armor. “Looks like they are ready to fight, but not each other.”

Next to each picture were a few symbols that formed a short text. Probably the names of the depicted creature. Quickly, Thiemo looked to the left and right of the wall. All in all, there were three indentations. He ran to the next one and looked what stood there. Unlike the first one, there was almost only text in these strange symbols. Since he couldn’t read it, he ran to the next one. Like the first one, there were more pictures again, but this time not of griffons or ponies, but of something that looked like cutie marks, or clan symbols. They were all sorted under a picture at the top. He stepped closer and raised the lamp in his hand. It was a Cerberus, a three-headed dog. He posed in front of what seemed to be a full moon.

Suddenly, Lyra stepped into his field of view. “By Celestia! My father would get a stroke if he could see this. This is history! This is… wow!” Her hooves skimmed over the pictures. “This is everything he ever worked for.”

“You know what this is?” Lyra nodded absently and looked from one picture to the next.

“This is the greatest archaeological find of the millennium! This would confirm every theory of my father. No, it would confirm their existence.”

“Lyra, spit it out. I can see it myself that it is old, but what is it?”

She turned around, jumped at Thiemo and held herself with her forelegs around his neck so they were on the same eye level. The human needed a second to balance himself out. “This is a record of the Children of the Night!” She hugged him quickly and jumped back on the ground. Then she rushed back to the tablet in the middle. Thiemo tried to keep up with her and saw the others were standing around the wordy tablet as well. Twilight, just like Lyra, was taking a good look at everything.

“I know some of these symbols, but they are very old. These are text from before…”

“Before the Sibling War,” ended Lyra. “Or the Alicorn War, as it is named officially.”

“Care to enlighten us unenlightened ponies?” Rarity asked the two and pulled them out of their little world. “Not everypony here can make something out of these old tablets.”

“Rarity!” Twilight shouted indignantly. “This is Equestria’s history or at least a part of it.”

“The Cerberus behind the full moon, the symbol of the Children of the Night. Their tribunal to be more precise,” Lyra began to enlighten them. “Supposedly, they were a group of all species that lived on Albion and followed the doctrine of Princess Luna. Or rather Nightmare Moon as she was called back then. They acted in the shadows and were allegedly largely responsible for the state of war that existed in the first place. With these tablets here, this must have been their base. Just imagine what could be found here? All the artifacts of black magic. All the long forgotten knowledge. What actually happened back then and what even Princess Celestia didn’t know about.”

“Humans were also part of this group?” Thiemo asked as he looked at the picture of a group of humans.

“Like I said, every species of Albion should be represented.” Thiemo scratched over the rills of the picture with his finger. There was something underneath it; it was just covered by a thick layer of dust.

“And what did they do to push a whole planet into war?” he asked while continuously removing the dust.

Lyra stopped for a few moments. “Nopony knows. It is said to have been so gruesome that the princess cut it out of all history books. My father has his theories, but no proof.” She knocked against the tablet. “But now we have it right here. I bet they wrote it all down here. We could finally figure out what they really were involved in and especially who exactly belonged to their secret organization. Who was Cerberus? Which three figures changed the picture of this planet forever?” Thiemo had to think. What did that to do with his answers? All this was interesting, of course, and if they weren’t trapped down here, he would have spent weeks voluntarily to make sense out of these tablets. Curiosity had always been one of his driving forces. He was just somehow disappointed to not learn anything about his own destiny.

Suddenly, his fingers met something soft. He quickly pulled back and saw what was in these rills. Moss. The same moss that was in the rest of the cave. Carefully, he took a step back and looked at some of the other pictures. “What’s wrong?” Estoc asked he squeezed past him.

“I think I’ve got something.” He checked another picture and indeed, the moss was not in all of them, only in a few. Children of the Night, darkness. The moss brought light into the dark, answers to questions. Thiemo pressed his finger with all his force against the moss and let magic of his body flow through it. In a few seconds, it expanded, lighting up, piece by piece, large parts of texts and pictures in its green light. Everyone took a step back to admire the play. Like water that was following a path, the whole tablet glowed for a few seconds. Then the moss changed into a deep blue in some parts. And suddenly the symbols made totally different sense. It was text. An English text. “Together we are strong,” stood above the group of humans who were now also glowing blue.

“You can read that?” Twilight and Lyra asked at the same time.

“It’s English, the language of the humans if you just look at the blue parts.” Without wasting another second, Thiemo ran to the first tablet and cleaned out the rills of the picture of a griffon. Like before, there was moss underneath it. The play repeated itself as the rest had followed him. Again, everything glowed, only to turn blue at some parts. This time it was the picture of a pony, an alicorn to be precisely. The wings couldn’t be seen before, only now the blue light shimmered through the stone. “With great powers comes great responsibility,” Thiemo roughly translated the text for the others. Again without wasting any time, he ran to the third tablet with the many little pictures of cutie marks or clan symbols. Again he found moss in the rills of the Cerberus. This time everypony had followed him immediately and watched the spreading of the light.

“Love will bind us all.” Amaryllis beat him in the translation this time.

Lyra was in deep thought and quietly repeated their principles. “This makes no sense. The Children of the Night were supposed to be conspirators. Using assassins to benefit of the war. Why should such a group represent these values?” Lyra was right. There was more to it. Slowly, he walked back to check everything, but stuck at the middle tablet. Three small symbols had appeared at the lower end of the tablet that definitely weren’t there before. Similar to the wings of the alicorns, they weren’t cut into stone, but shimmered through it.

“I know these for sure.” Twilight stepped next to him. “This is the old symbol for ponies, alicorns specifically.” She pointed at the first one. “In the middle is the symbol for humans. I know it from the books I read through after… our first meeting. The last one stands for changelings.” Three sentences, three tablets, and three races. A chamber with no exit, with nothing besides guards and these tablets. It was clear what they were protecting.

A cough made them turn around. “I don’t want to be the party crasher, but maybe we should look to find an exit,” Hawk snapped at them. “Of what use is all this if we can never tell anypony about it?” Thiemo shook his head. This was recorded knowledge, left there to be found by anyone who came here with peaceful intentions. Humans were part of its construction. If Thiemo had learned one thing from history classes, then it was that humans loved to hide secret passages in old buildings that could be opened by solving riddles. All this wasn’t left behind for three sentences and a few pictures. He looked over to the undecided Twilight, who was fighting with agreeing with Hawk or continue observing everything, then to Amaryllis. A human, a pony and a changeling. All three races were here.

Ignoring Hawk, he turned to the rest of the group. “Amy! Go to the tablet on the right. Twilight, you go to the left. I will stay in the middle.”

“What are you going to…?” the alicorn began before her eyes widened. She confirmed his order with a nod and ran off. Thiemo nodded towards Amaryllis as she looked over to him before disappearing behind the hemispherical tablet.

Eyes on the two meter tall structure in front of him, Thiemo waited for something to happen. “What are you doing?” Lyra asked curiously. He hadn’t noticed that she was behind him.

“Lyra, please step aside.” She needed a second to understand but then did as he told her. The effect came immediately, and the three symbols at the middle tablet went out. The blue text went green again, and other words, spread out over the whole length, lighted up. “To those who swear loyalty to the goddess and her virtuosos. Speak the oath and gain entrance.” A passphrase. This couldn’t be a coincidence. Did Luna know about this place? No, this was no coincidence, neither was it his very moody luck. “How did that damn thing go…” His foot tapped on the ground. “Right! In nights only as dark as your heart, she hunts only those who hide. Stand proud and honest, so she will be at your side. By the shadows that bind us, stay with me night-born.” Thiemo could almost hear Hawk’s eyes falling out her head as he spoke those words, but nothing happened. Of course, this was only half of the oath. “Hawk! Help me quick. You know the rest, right?”

He turned around halfway to see the angry thestral marching towards him. “How. Do. You. Know. That. Oath?!” She bared her teeth, her eyes glowing. She was about to go for his throat.

“Night Hawk.” Estoc came to his help and put a hoof on her shoulder.

“We hear you, goddess of the night.” She shivered with every word. “We are your stars in the sky, always watching over your realm. We give our souls to the night, our bodies to the darkness. For that others see the light of the day again.” She spat on the ground and turned around. “You will pay for this.”

He had no doubt about that. Luna had warned him about her reaction. “In nights only as dark as your heart. She hunts only those who hide. Stand proud and honest, so she will be at your side. By the shadows that bind us, stay with me night-born. We hear you, goddess of the night. We are your stars in the sky, always watching over your realm. We give our souls to the night, our bodies to the darkness. For that others see the light of the day again,” Thiemo repeated the oath in one go. Suddenly, all the lights went out. Not just the moss, but also the magical one from Twilight and in the lantern in Thiemo’s left hand. For a few seconds, it was completely silent, even though he could swear he heard quiet yelping in surprise. Then a beam of light came out from underneath the tablet in front of him. A hissing sound appeared, and a door that wasn’t even remotely visible a few seconds ago began to open. Directly in the middle of the tablet, a passage had opened, the light from whatever was on the other side streaming through it.

The lantern in his hand glowed again, and Twilight’s magical light came back to life. “What was that? I’ve shouted but couldn’t even hear my own voice.” So Thiemo hadn’t just imagined it. Rarity really did scream.

Without waiting for the others, Thiemo stepped forward through the small passage into whatever was behind it. His eyes needed a few seconds to adjust, but his ears were bombarded by many sounds. Buzzing, clattering and beeping filled the normal sized room. It was not an exit, but Thiemo didn’t think it was any less useful. Monitors awoke to life, simply projected into the air. Out of the walls around him, computers he had never seen in his life emerged. Directly in front of him was one gigantic screen. “Wow…” His fingers stroked over the large input console that was below the screen. A seat came out of the floor and pushed him aside as it positioned in front of the console. All in all, it looked like he had run into some new Star Trek movie.

Quickly, he turned around and shouted for the others, but they already stood in the entrance and had the same look on their faces that he must have had a few seconds ago. This was all technology, highly advanced technology, and it was working. It was here for hundreds of years. Suddenly, a flash of light in the middle of the room between them appeared. “How can I be of service?” spoke a feminine, but clearly mechanical voice in perfect English. Thiemo couldn’t believe his eyes. In the room stood a hologram. A women, a bit taller than him, translucent and completely blue. Sure, it was just outlines without textures, but the curves and voice made it clear.

“What are you?” Twilight asked as she curiously stepped closer. The hologram ignored her and turned towards Thiemo. Confused by what had directed her attention towards him, he looked down at himself to see a blue glow coming out of his pocket. He pulled out the handle, and immediately the hologram followed it with her look. It was a mouse, a three-dimensional mouse.

“Who are you?” he repeated Twilight’s question in English.

“My name is Index. I am the artificial intelligence assigned with the maintenance of this facility.”

The next question followed almost automatically. “What is this facility?”

“This is the library of the Children of the Night.” She was of human shape. Humans were on the tablets. The robots were designed after humans. Humans had created this technology. Thiemo could now really understand how they managed to pose a greater threat than griffons.

*** ~ [Avicii - Wake Me Up] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter III - Intermission 10 - The Paradise

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The sun beat down mercilessly on the little pirate ship that floated through the ocean with its withdrawn sails. Without the slightest breath of wind, it was of no use to hoist the sails. To top it all off for the current second captain of the ship bestowed with as fine a name as the Northwind, multiple sharks were swimming around the wooden vessel. It was the fault of the griffons they had thrown overboard. At least indirectly.

Maybe it would have been smarter to lock them in a chamber under the deck and make chicken wings out of them. Not that they would taste good, but after one week of aimlessly drifting around, the supplies were getting sparse. Or to describe it more precisely, Trixie just ate the last carrot.

Thiemo, lying flat on the wooden floor with all limbs stretched out, was too busy sweating to care about that now. What did he care about was that a delicious pony roast ate a carrot. At least there would be more meat on her bones when he got the knife out of the kitchen to cook his meal. He blinked and shook his head. He didn’t want his hunger to drive him to such thoughts. He had been with the filly at his side just long enough for her to trust him. Damn, she even called him daddy. How would it look if he ate a pony? Not that Trixie’s thick flanks weren’t provoking his appetite. Of course, the arrogant creature had to notice his looks.

“Are you staring at Trixie’s flank?!” He neither wanted to give her the satisfaction nor the wrong impression why he was staring at her, so he just turned away. “Hey! Trixie asked you something.”

“I was just thinking.” That wasn’t totally a lie. He had thought about how much ham he could get out of them. “Thinking about how we could get something to eat.”

“Well, you should! After all, it was you who threw the only navigator overboard.” The image of the two lovemaking gay griffons appeared in front of his inner eye.

“Who would have guessed he was the only navigator?” Not many of the crew were left now. Besides two griffons and the two diamond dogs, no one had surrendered. Some fell victim to Thiemo’s epee while the others had sought refuge in flight. “But it’s too late for that now. We need food very soon. Fresh water wouldn’t be bad either.”

“Steam!” Thiemo sat up and looked up at the eagle’s nest where one of the remaining griffons was on lookout. “Steamer ahead!” He stopped. “Eque… Eque… Eque… Ponies! Veer round!” Confused, Thiemo looked at the panicked griffon.

“Why veer? They are our salvation?”

“They are ponies. Too many ponies. They have magic and…” The griffon at the steering wheel stopped speaking and sought cover behind an empty barrel. Some pirates these were.

My little Pony

Journey

~ Intermission 10 - The Paradise ~

With a loud bang, wood hit metal as the hulks of the two ships collided. Thiemo had actually ordered them to drive alongside the ship so they could jump on board. But this worked just as well. The luxury steamer had stopped, and they could now climb aboard the larger ship. The significantly larger ship that he hadn’t noticed from the distance. The top of the highest of the three masts of the Northwind barely reached up to the deck of the ‘Paradise One’.

Together with the two griffons and the diamond dogs, Thiemo was now hanging at said mast and was prepared to jump. Again and again. He swallowed hard as he looked down. Aside from the large gap itself, the sharks were still between the ships. To say that he was seriously not a friend of great heights would be an understatement. “Captain? What’s wrong?” Hector asked.

Thiemo just had to go first. “Nothing.” He swallowed again and pushed himself off the mast and reached for the railing of the steamer. For a moment, it looked like he would slip down the metal, but he immediately reached out again and pushed his torso over it. Then he simply fell on the deck. To make it even worse, the two dogs simply jumped next to him like it was nothing while the two griffons just soared over, weapons in their beaks. Thiemo held his staff, pulled the pistol out of his pants, and stood up. The deck was empty. Nopony was to be seen.

“They probably barricaded themselves inside,” one of the griffons said. “Ponies aren’t the bravest of folks.” He was probably right. He had much more experience with them than Thiemo did.

“Good. All we need are the supplies, and they are…” Alright, he deserved that hit between the eyes. “So, how do we get inside?” Thiemo looked through one of the little portholes that led into the inner part of the ship. A long corridor was behind it, with countless doors that probably led to the cabins of the vacationers. A sign on the ceiling showed the way to the common room. It was probably the place where the ponies had locked themselves in after the sighting of the black flag with the griffon skull.

Waldo was pointing at a door further down. Not like he could do anything else. Blakkur had cut his tongue out.

Without having to give further commands, Thiemo’s little crew followed him as he tried to open the door, unsuccessfully of course. “It can never be easy, right?” He pulled a ruby out of his bag and placed his staff on the lock. It was hard to guide magic through it, but when he was playing with fire, it was far better to not have his hand too close. A moment later, the lock began to bubble, literally melting off the wooden door and leaving a large hole behind. Magical fire, used correctly, only ignited what you wanted, nothing more. Like his eyebrows or hair.

A look through the new hole showed him a few bags that were stacked behind the door, probably luggage that was pushed there in a hurry. With a grin, Thiemo stepped aside. “After you, gentlemen.” He motioned to the two dogs at the door. They put their paws on the wood, nodded at each other, and pushed. With a loud rumbling of the luggage, the door opened and fell out of its hinges. Thiemo gave it a closer look. The door was supposed to open outwards. He had to resist the urge to slap himself while he stumbled over the boxes and entered the long corridor. A fine red carpet covered the ground while the doorframes and room numbers seemed to be wrought out of gold. This was either first class or a ship for nobility. Additionally, the wood at the walls were clearly refined and almost seemed to shine. Only a scratch from behind him disturbed the atmosphere.

Thiemo looked around at the two griffons, who began to peel the numbers from the doors and used their epees to scratch off the gold from the frames. “What?” one of them asked as he noticed his looks.

“Stay…” He waved them off. “Just stay here and make sure no one escapes. Hector, Waldo, you two come with me. Let’s search for our little ponies.” Without giving the griffons any more attention, they now followed the signs under the ceiling that led them further inside. They stepped through one long corridor after the other, the only difference being that the portholes were soon replaced by small lanterns at the walls. Without the signs, he would surely have gotten lost. Eventually, they arrived at a large double door. In large golden letters, the word ‘Atrium’ was engraved on a sign above it. “Alright. We don’t know how many unicorns are inside. Just stay with me, look fierce, and say not a word.” Hector and Waldo nodded. “Let’s do this!”

With all his force, Thiemo opened the door and entered the large room that was filled with various laden tables. Ponies in fine clothes sat around them and held the hooves of their loved ones at their side. All looked at him with scared eyes as they recognized him for what he was. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen… or should I say fillies and gentlecolts? Doesn’t matter; I think you all get the point. My name isn’t important, and I am here on this fine Sunday to provide you with some entertainment.” A few mares screamed, and foals whimpered in the embrace of their parents. “No applause?”

A stallion stood out of the crowd of the passengers. His white uniform over his brown coat, combined with the hat that covered his silvery mane, showed that he was probably the captain of the Paradise One. “Sir, I’ll have to ask you to leave this ship. You are disturbing the peace of our passengers, and you are not wanted here.” Without further ado, Thiemo pointed the pistol at him. The eyes of the old stallion widened before he pulled the trigger. For a few seconds, it was completely silent in the room, and then the Captain opened his eyes again along with the rest of the passengers.

“Now! The next one won’t be a warning shot.” No one had to know that he had no more bullets because he had tried to shoot the sharks. He reached into his pockets, acted like he was pulling one out, and put it in the pistol before refilling the powder. Just like no one had to know that half of the bullets had rolled out the barrel before he could pull the trigger. After all, he had never used a gun like this before, or any gun at all. “Anypony else wants to act as a hero?”

Much to his surprise, a white unicorn with a brown mane stepped to the captain’s side. Unlike the others, he wasn’t neatly dressed but just wore something that Thiemo only knew as a Hawaiian shirt in combination with straw hat. A moustache was also covering the larger part of his muzzle. “Listen here, boy! I’ve trained the Canterlot hoofball team for twenty years. I can handle you and your yappy little dogs. Human or not.”

“Magnum!” A slightly pink earth pony mare stepped to his side. Her blue mane was backcombed high, and she wore a vest and leggings. There was a clear similarity to Peggy Bundy. “This is a human. He’s dangerous. This is not one of those young rowdies you’re usually putting into place.”

“Don’t worry, Pearl.” He put a leg around her shoulder. “If our daughter can be a hero, so can I.”

Thiemo was getting impatient. “Will you hurry up? I also have a daughter who’s been hungry for days.” He stopped for a second. “Just like me,” he added quietly as his stomach grumbled. Of course, some ponies had to begin whimpering again. Magnum stepped away from his mare and looked at him again.

“That does not grant you the right to rob decent ponies on the high sea. Piracy is a crime and needs to be punished.” He began to think that all ponies were as stubborn as Trixie.

“Hold it right there. I’m not a pirate. The only two pirates are at the entrance and took the room numbers from corridor two. Also, I don’t want your money; I’m just here for food. After I and another prisoner of the pirates took over their ship…” Why was he even telling them that? He could slap himself again! “Whatever! We no longer have a navigator and have been drifting around for days. So, pants down and give us your food!”

The Captain and Magnum looked at each other, then burst out into laughter.

***

“So! You have to imagine: these large dogs were standing in front of me. I was lying on the ground and already thinking about what would await me in the afterlife. Then they suddenly dropped on their knees. I mean, they were all at least two heads taller than me.” Magnum laughed, Pearl chuckled, and even the captain looked confused. “Aura, would you give me the potatoes?” The filly managed to leave her plate full of carrots for a second and pushed the bowl over to Thiemo.

Around them, scared faces watched the human feast with the ponies that stood up to him. As it turned out, food was nothing this ship was running low on. “So, you’re not going to eat us?” a young stallion asked, who stepped at his side. Thiemo choked on his food.

“What makes you think that?” he coughed while Pearl passed him some water. “If I’d knew that I only had to ask, I would have done it. But not many react… positively when they see a human.” The ponies looked at each other. Thiemo couldn’t blame them. Something must have programmed this behaviour into the ponies. If this was going on for generations, it must have been something terrible. “Let’s speak about more positive things. Thanks for the food. As soon as Waldo and Hector have loaded everything, we’ll be on our way.” The first mate, who almost had a heart attack when he saw him, explained to Hector which constellation they had to follow. Since Thiemo knew none of them, this was the best solution. He trusted the dogs more than Trixie. They were just as happy as him to no longer serve the pirates as slaves.

The other passengers at their tables seemed relieved that Thiemo and his crew would soon only be a memory and a distant smell they left behind in the atrium. The Northwind didn’t have a bathtub or anything like that.

Suddenly, the pistol that he had put next to his plate disappeared. Thiemo watched a very young stallion taking it into his mouth and playing with it, much to the horror of his parents and the other guests. “Don’t worry, it’s not really…” A loud bang interrupted him. “… loaded.” The foal rolled backwards over the carpet, immediately into the hooves of his mother. She quickly got out a white blanket and began to clean her son. “Like I said, I won’t hurt anyone as long as no one’s threatening me or Aura. The pistol isn’t even mine. Everything I have is this staff.” He pointed at the long piece of metal that leaned next to him at the table.

“I understand,” Pearl assured him. “If somepony dared to hurt my little ones… Oh Celestia, they have to look out for me.”

“Our daughters can look after themselves pretty well. Just like their dad,” Magnum proudly explained. Thiemo stood up from the table and picked up his gun that the little colt couldn’t hold as the powder exploded. He shoved it back into his pants again and reached for his staff before turning around to the gathered ponies. Most of them still looked with fearful eyes at him.

“Gentlemen, Jack thanks you for your hospitality.” Out of habit, he reached for his hat, but it wasn’t at its place unfortunately. “If I had a hat, I would raise it now,” he said instead. He grabbed Aura out of her chair, who tried to take it with her, and stepped out of the room.

“Dad,” she munched. “Why did we have to leave so sudden?”

They ran through the corridors again. “They had barricaded themselves. They probably already have sent of an emergency signal. That means that help will arrive soon. They only wanted to buy themselves some time.” The filly under his arms crammed the rest of the meal in her mouth and let the plate drop on the carpet. Thiemo looked at the doors to their left and right where the numbers were clearly missing. The two griffons must have been working hard.

Thiemo opened the door to the deck with a food and stepped outside into the late afternoon sun. He stepped towards the railing and looked into the water. Water? Where was the ship? Ahh, there at the horizon with Trixie waving her hat. Now she seemed to point at something. Thiemo saw a large airship with a golden sun at the hulk heading towards the Paradise One. He looked down at Aura. “I should have known it.”

*** ~ [Hans Zimmer - He is a Pirate] ~ ***
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Chapter III - Act 11.1 - A Thousand Years Ago (Part 1)

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“So, Tia, art thou still not going to tell us which ambassador we are going to meet today? Does thee not trust thy own sister?” Luna aimed a perfectly pouty face up to her big sister. Celestia, however, just returned the look with her always present smile and a deep breath through her nostrils.

Well, maybe a bit deeper than usual since Luna had asked for the tenth time now. “Luna, we have to ask for thy patience. We know thee are young and impatient, but as a princess, thou shalt keep thy temper. After all, it was thee who asked for more duties.”

“It was us that sent Eris off her illegitimate throne and brought the punishment of the Elements on her. We think ‘tis only fair to take the same place as thou, sister.” Celestia eyed her for a few seconds then reached for a parchment that she levitated over from a soldier who stood next to their thrones. Luna took the parchment skeptically and began to read. “Most interesting! We have never heard of these creatures.” Her eyes darted over more lines. “Oh!? Is it true what is written here?”

Celestia nodded. “We are afraid so, sister. They have weapons, strong weapons. Weapons unlike everything we know. So far, they are only using them for defence.” Her look grew dark. “According to rumours, that is only because they are running low on ammunition.”

“Surely thou knowest better than to believe in rumours, Tia? Do they not deserve a fair trial like every other species? Despite this?”

“Rumours also say it was they who caused all the damage a few centuries ago.”

Luna’s eyes widened. “Thee are not saying that...?”

Celestia remained silent and nodded.

The large double doors of the throne room of the newly built castle of Canterlot opened, and a young stallion in a robe entered. “May I present…” he stopped and unfolded a parchment he took out of his pocket, “Antheon Gerald, legally voted representative of the humans of Amissa Heaven, General of the United Forces and…” The young stallion didn’t get any further. His voice faltered and tapered off at the sounds of approaching steps. In uniform, and worn from the neck downwards to the strange appendages they walked on, stepped twenty humans into the room. In front of them was one who was larger than everyone else. A deep black mane sat on the head of the otherwise hairless-looking human. All guards in the room pointed their spears at the humans, but they didn’t stop their march. Only when they stood directly in front of the throne did they come to a halt. For a few seconds, Luna held her breath. Then their leader fell on his knees in front of them and smiled at her.

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 11.1 – A Thousand Years Ago (Part 1) ~

Amissa Heaven, the large city, the one city, sparkled under the glow of its stars. Luna stood at the balcony of her suite, high up in the tower that gave the city its name. Only a few meters separated her from the next cloud. Down on the streets, countless humans were running around, all caught up in their work. Not much different than the ponies of Canterlot and their other cities would do. No, the humans were not that different. Sure, their technology was different, and the young princess had to grow accustomed to it, but that was nothing she couldn’t handle.

Warm hands gently wrapped around her neck, and the face of a human slowly snuggled against hers. Carefully, he pressed a kiss on her cheek. “Morning, my queen of the night. I was wondering where you were.” Luna smiled and nuzzled her face against his.

“How late is it, my love? Is it really the time to end the night?” Unlike her ponies, the humans loved the night. They didn’t rush off to bed as soon as the sun disappeared; indeed, a large number of them only seemed to be truly alive when the night came, an observation she had made in the years she had lived here.

She turned around to her loved one now. Antheon, leader of the race that called itself humans. His long black hair, almost as dark as her cutie mark, hung over his shoulder. His wide chest, strong and streaked with fine muscles, was just inviting her to lean against him. Brown, shrewd eyes stared worriedly into her own. “I’m afraid so. You know I love your night just as much as I love you. But the night can’t last forever. Just like we can’t spend entire days in bed. We both have our duties.” Luna sighed at the truth of his words.

Slowly, she turned away and looked one last time over the city. “How long, Antheon?”

The human stepped next to her and leaned his naked body against the handrail. “How long what, Luna?”

“How long can the humans go on like this?” His look changed. It grew serious, darker.

“I don’t know, Luna. Our problem is just as big as it was many years ago when I came to you for the first time. Our energy is fading. Without a replacement, everything will stop. Everything.” She tried to imagine the large buildings without light. Without the vehicles that were flying around these large buildings, without the drones that were maintaining everything. Without their machines that could heal diseases where magic was still failing. Yes, in a lot of ways, the humans were ahead of them.

Angrily, she stomped a hoof on the ground. “We will talk with our sister again. She shall grant the humans access to magic. A whole civilization is at the precipice of disaster, a wonderful one as well.”

Antheon shook his head. “Luna.”

“We… I know, my love! I know the reason she was against it. Your weapons.” In her mind, Luna went back to the day when the humans had demonstrated them. Their rifles had pierced through the armor of a guard without problem. Rounds of metal had been accelerated at a speed many pegasi could only dream of. Had a guard been in the armor, he would have died after the first hit. That didn’t take into consideration that fact that the rifle was able to shoot thirty more of these bullets in the same second. A truly deadly weapon, and not even their most dangerous one. One they had tried to exchange for knowledge about magic. At that time, both Celestia and she had refused. Too big was the fear of this unknown weapon and the civilization behind it. Antheon had convinced her to at least visit Amissa Heaven. While she had followed his plea, Celestia had just worked on finding a spell against these weapons, achieving success soon after. A shield spell that was strong enough had been found after only weeks thanks to the help of her old friend, Star Swirl. “If you could just promise me…”

“You know that I can’t. Every human here is free. Everyone has access to technology and knowledge. These have been the laws since our ancestors crawled out underneath the ruins and built Amissa Heaven. Also, how could I hold such a promise? I can speak for me and my men, but every nation has its black sheep.”

“I know.” She left her head hanging. “But one nation should not suffer because of the potential danger and the acts of a few. We are all thinking and feeling creatures. We share this planet. Why can we not have a little more trust in each other?” This smile, his smile. Her heart fluttered every time she saw it. “I will talk with Tia. It has been too long since I have seen her anyways.”

***

A journey that took others weeks took only seconds for Luna. With a glow of her horn, she left the continent where the humans had settled behind and returned to Equestria. The two guards at the entrance of the castle were startled but quickly caught themselves again as they recognized Luna and saluted. “Princess. It is nice to know that thou are back again.”

“Thanks, Captain Sparkle. It is nice to be back again.” The stallion was young, having just achieved his rank when she had left, but he had great potential. He came from a one of the young, rising aristocratic families from Canterlot if she recalled correctly. He seemed a bit confused at her rather unusual way of talking. Antheon’s influence was becoming visible. Not that she was complaining.

Luna stepped through the large entrance into the large castle that she called home, only to be greeted by a screaming guard and the giggling of a foal. Just as she was looking around, a young blue alicorn with a white mane fell in front of her feet. He had tried to soften his fall with his wings, but with little success. A few curses that were more than just improper for a prince escaped his lips as he grabbed his injured left hind leg. “Hello, Blue Light, how are you?”

The young prince looked up with his blue eyes, and the pain was immediately forgotten. “Aunt Luna!” He jumped up, only to have to lie down again immediately due to his injury. With a wide grin, she levitated him over to her, and with a quick spell, the damage was remedied. “Thanks, Aunt Luna! How was it with the humans? Is it true that they fly in large metal cages?” The young colt wanted to ask more questions, but one of the guards was shouting his name, causing him to flinch.

“Were you not told to stay in your quarters?” the guard asked as he came to a stop behind him. With an amused look, the prince turned around and grinned at the white pegasus in golden armor. “What shall I do with you, Prince? Do I have to tell your mother about this again?”

“What did he do, soldier?” He just seemed to have noticed Luna now and bowed quickly.

“Pardon me, your Majesty, but Prince Blue Light made me run after him through the castle the whole morning. Yesterday, with one of his jokes, he damaged a statue of her majesty, Princess Celestia, in the garden. He is grounded for one week.” The young alicorn just giggled while the guard threw a sharp eye at him.

Luna sighed. “Light, my dear nephew. You have to stop giving your mother so much worry. What would your father say?”

“Not like he could,” was monotonous response from the foal.

“No, unfortunately not. He left us too early when he defended this country against the barbaric griffons. But Changer would surely have wanted you to not cause any unneeded troubles to your mother.” Luna sighed. She didn’t like to speak with her nephew in this tone. Maybe she was just gone for too long. She turned at the guard again. “Solider, two questions and one request.” He saluted. “Where is Princess Cadance? Should she not be looking after him?”

“Princess Celestia has assigned her with new studies. She has barely left the library in the last few weeks.” So Celestia was preparing her for everything. Luna nodded, satisfied.

“Where can I find my sister?”

“She should be in the throne room. Some nobleponies were asking for an audience.” Nothing she couldn’t interrupt then.

“Thanks, soldier. Now escort the prince back to his room.” Blue Light’s ears perked up at her words, and he quickly sought refuge between her legs.

“But Aunt Luna,” he pleaded. “I just wanted to play with you.” She grabbed his white mane and pulled him out from underneath her. Sulking, he remained lying on his stomach on the marble floor.

She nudged him with her muzzle. “Do not be like that, nephew. Have we not recently shared a wonderful dream? I remember that you were a great captain with your own ship.”

“That was one month ago!” he argued and waved his forelegs through the air.

“Well, you are not the only little foal on Albion. I have to care about everypony, just like your mother.” Luna nodded towards the soldier. He picked up the prince, sat him down on his back, and went on his way. When Luna smiled at him as he looked back, Blue Light sulkily turned away again.

***

“Luna, we have already spoken about that. The humans are too big of a threat. We can’t risk them learning how to use magic. They will use it to build weapons, and without the Crystal Empire, we barely stand a chance as it is. And Cadance is far away from being ready.” The Princess of the Night hung her head.

“We know that, sister, but we can’t let a whole nation collapse. What would that say about us? Albion needs us. It was entrusted to our care, and who are we to go against their wishes after all they have done for us? It was supposed to be a home for everyone.” Luna knew her sister and knew that she had hit a sore point. Not many were able to read her face like she did.

Celestia sighed and stepped out of her room. “Follow us, Luna. We actually had not wanted to show thee this.” She followed her directly, and together they entered her office a few rooms further. Celestia closed the door behind them and casted a spell over them. Nopony but them could now enter this room. “What we are going to show thou has to stay between us, Luna. We do not want to alarm anypony, especially not the generals. Eris’ reign has been laid to rest in the past for many centuries now, but our subjects have not forgotten yet.” A crystal levitated out of the drawer of her desk between them. Celestia tapped her horn against it, and the room was instantly illuminated. Pictures formed in the air and gathered together for a large one.

“What is that, sister?” Luna watched the picture in front of her. It seemed to be a mechanical creation of the humans but unlike everything she had ever seen. It stood on two long metallic legs, a kind of glass orb in the middle, between two arms that held large versions of their rifles. “Is that what we think it is?”

“A new weapon. Our spies have discovered it last month. The humans were working on it for a while now.”

Luna stomped on the ground. “This is impossible! I was there. Antheon would have told me.”

“Luna, we know that ye two are very close. Thy letters showed that clearly, but don’t ye think…”

“Don’t you dare, Tia! Antheon loves me! And I love him. He would never use me. It was my idea to come here.”

“Luna, I…”

“No buts, sister.” Luna grabbed the crystal out of the air and the hologram vanished. “They have trusted us. Have introduced us to their technology.” She held the crystal under her sister’s nose for a few seconds and then levitated it over to herself. “They turned to us in their need. We are their biggest hope.”

“Other nations survive without magic and technology as well. They will have to acclimate, Luna. Invent new technologies. Maybe with fewer weapons.”

“Is that what it’s all about? Weapons? Didn’t we want to leave the war behind us? Didn’t we want to forget?” Celestia remained silent. “Fine, I’ll take this with me and show Antheon what your spies said they found out. Then we will see what he has to say about that.”

Luna turned towards the door. “Lulu, please do not forget that the ponies of Equestria need you. Not the humans.”

“Don’t you understand, sister?” Luna shook her head. “We could learn so much from each other. Imagine a world with their technology, with creatures filled with the values we try to spread. Harmony and chaos in balance. The endless fight at an end, and we could finally rest. We were never supposed to rule. Maybe you have forgotten that.”

***

Luna had planned to stay a few days in Canterlot, just to spend some time with her nephew. She had thought about having foals multiple times in her long life, but she had never found the right stallion. Now she had him, but he wasn’t a stallion. She and Antheon would never have any offspring.

But the argument sat too deep in her bones now. With determination, she left the castle and threw a short glance back. “I had expected more from you, sister.” A dark flash of light emerged out of her horn, and a second later, she stood back at the balcony where she had said goodbye to her loved one that morning. The room behind it was dark and clean, a sign that the robots had done their work. These machines were truly a wonder. They did the work of many in less time. Faster than ponies or changelings could ever do it, and all they needed was energy. Energy that the humans were running low on.

Carefully, Luna tucked the crystal under one of her wings and looked over at the glowing display of the alarm clock next to the bed. More time had passed than she had thought. Surely Antheon and his generals were already gathering around the table. She left their shared room through the automatically opening door and stepped inside the corridor of Heaven Towers that was illuminated by artificial light. A short trot past some other rooms brought her to the elevator. When she had first seen that moving room for the first time, she had panicked and teleported to safety. Now she knew better and just pushed with a hoof against a button on the wall. A hissing was heard, and the doors opened.

The technology of the humans was sensitive, which was why she avoided using magic to operate it. A few consoles of their computers had fallen victim to it already. That was why she used her snout to push the button for the desired floor now. With her hooves, she would only hit multiple buttons at once, the end result being something she was not in the mood for. She had gone down that road already.

The elevator began moving, and a few seconds later, she was about thirty floors further down. “Good evening, Princess,” one the robots bowed as the doors opened again. “We hadn’t expected you back so soon.” The humanoid construct made out of metal and covered by a white protective coat waited until she stepped out of the elevator. She had to admit that they could become a bit creepy from time to time simply because they had no face. Their completely white heads was only covered by a black glass that took in the entire frontal area where mouth, nose, and eyes should have been.

“There were some unexpected complications,” she said and allowed the robot into the elevator. They were all connected so that now every machine in the Tower knew that she was back.

“I hope it was nothing too severe.” Its voice was clearly mechanically brassy as with every robot. Why did this one seem so suspect then? She shook her head, ignored the machine, and followed the carpet to the dining hall which took up the entire twentieth floor, together with the kitchen. The sounds of talking, cutlery on plates, and munching came to her ears, along with the accompanying smells. Then she went around a corner and saw that the room was filled by various soldiers and several generals. At the very front was Antheon. He was standing, telling a story with excessive use of motions, and held a translucent mug in his hand. Judging by the color of the drink, it was wine. Luna took in the lively setting for a few more seconds before she coughed loudly.

Everyone froze in the position they were. Maybe she should have coughed a bit quieter. Antheon saw her and immediately went over the table towards her. His face was red, showing clearly that this wasn’t his first mug. “Luna! Great that you are back again! I thought you were staying in Canterlot for a few days?” He leaned down to give her a kiss, but she blocked him off with a hoof. He smelled of meat. “Oh, sorry. I know that you don’t really like that.”

“I know that humans need meat, but please brush your teeth after that.” Some of the soldiers bawled and laughed, so Antheon turned around and gave them a harsh look. They quickly shut up. “But that can wait. I have to show you something.”

Antheon went down on his knees to look her in the eyes. “Can it wait for a bit? We’re celebrating the promotion of one of the guys to Captain.”

Luna shook her head, something she had done too often this day already. “Unfortunately not, my love. We have found something shocking.”

It was like the human had switched a button. As if by command, the redness disappeared out of his face, his eyes turned darker, and he nodded. “Alright, guys, I have to say goodbye for a bit. Leave some wine for me and my princess!” His men just raised their mugs towards him. Luna led him around the corner that she came from. As soon as they were out of line of sight, the noise returned. “So, what have you found out?”

She pulled the crystal out from underneath her wing. Antheon’s look told her that he knew what kind of crystal that was, so that saved her some explanations. She levitated it between them and let the projection appear.

The eyes of her loved one widened as he saw the hologram in the air. “That can’t…” His hands reached for the picture but went through it. “Luna, where do you have that from?”

“Celestia. She still does not trust you even after all the years of peace.”

He shrugged. “Five years, Luna. I’m sure your sister thinks of more when she considers something a long time.” His eyes returned to the hologram. “Do you know what that is?”

“No, but I think some kind of robot for combat. A weapon. At least that’s what my sister called it.”

Antheon nodded. “A two legged combat tank of the X-Three class. A weapon of our past. We thought the plans had been lost. If that gets into the wrong hands…” He stopped for a few seconds. “One of these tanks is enough to take a city like Stalliongrad.”

“Such a small thing?”

“Luna, that’s a model! This thing is about ten floors high and can be controlled by a single human.” This time, it was Luna whose eyes widened. “If someone found these plans... and even Celestia’s spies have them… I don’t want to image the political disaster that would follow.”

“You knew of the spies?”

“Sure. Ponies stand out like a sore thumb in Amissa Heaven even if they try to act as unsuspicious as possible. But that’s not the point. We have to find out who has these plans and destroy them. Such a weapon shouldn’t exist. Not here and especially not now. Every nation knows that we need help. If they found out that we were producing such weapons… Everyone would think we would get their help by force.” Antheon reached his hand out for the crystal. “May I?”

Luna let it softly float into his hand. “What shall we do now?”

“We need spies. Good spies.”

This brought her to an idea. “I think I could visit an old friend of mine.”

Chapter III - Act 11.2 - A Thousand Years Ago (Part 2)

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 11.2 - A Thousand Years Ago (Part 2) ~

The door into the dark room opened with a small hiss. A dark figure groped for the switch that would light up the buzzing lights at the ceiling. Finally, her hoof found it. “Ahh! Please don’t scare me like that!” Luna screamed as she noticed the visitor in her room.

“It was you who brought me here, so get used to it.” Echidna grinned, showing a row of long sharp teeth. “I can go and come back another time to give you my report.” She jumped off the large couch she was lying on and stepped over to the mirror next to the bed. “You should be thankful that I’m still here with my unfortunate state.” The changeling queen carefully rubbed over her significantly swollen stomach. Her long silver mane flowed as she sulkily looked over at Luna. It was just too much fun to play with her.

“Like this would be something new for you. How many daughters have you now?” Luna had overcome the first moment of shock now and stepped into her room. The door behind them closed, and she carefully took off her silvery shoes.

Echidna just grinned and tapped against her chin. “I think my fourth or fifth. You’ll lose the count so easily next to all these drones. Not that I don’t love them, but if you’d know what a burden these eggs are until you can lay them somewhere…”

“Really?” Luna raised a brow. “You’re mocking me about something you know I envy you of? I thought we were friends.”

“You think it’s a gift to get pregnant every time you’ve been with a stallion? No matter which species? The urge to feel forever like a mare that is caught up in her lust like she was in heat? Depending on the love of others? I haven’t chosen that life, others chose for me.” Luna remained silent. “Ah, I’m just joking. Sex is awesome, and I love all of my children.” She leaned over the bed between her and Luna. “And don’t tell me you hadn’t enjoyed the time we had together.”

“We were still almost foals, and I thought we had agreed to never speak of that again!” Echidna grinned as she saw Luna’s red face. The princess took a deep breath and calmed down. “So, who is the father?”

“Nice that you ask. A human.” Luna kept a straight face. “You’re not the only one who can get one, my dear. If I learned one thing in the last few years here, then it is that they are very interesting creatures. They seem to have a certain magical resistance. I can’t always take what I need.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, just that no one else on Albion has it as you know. Every species here has some magic. Even the griffons can walk on clouds thanks to it. They don’t have a magical body like you ponies but can still do it.” Usually it was more fun to squeeze the information out of her victims. “And then it can’t be that such a civilization just comes out of nothing. Undetected. Don’t you want to tell me something now?”

“I don’t know what I should tell you. You know the answers already.”

“Indeed, party pooper.” Echidna stopped for a second. “Oh, she kicked me. Even my unborn daughter agrees with me.”

“The report, Echidna. I’m not in the mood tonight.”

The queen let the smile disappear from her face and looked directly into Luna’s eyes. “Very well. I’ve followed some humans to a camp a bit outside of town. If you walked past it, it looks just like another normal apartment building, but underneath the earth, it goes down deep. Very deep. I would never let my children dig this deep; it’s too dangerous. It’s a wonder that Gaia hasn’t shown up yet. She would never allow someone to act this way with her element. Steel is being rammed into the ground. A dagger in her flesh. I don’t know what they are doing down there, but it is important enough that a small unit with heavy weapons is patrolling in the area, dressed as normal soldiers so that no one will suspect anything. Then, of course, there are their sensors and cameras.” The Princess of the Night was silent and rubbed her forehooves against each other in deep thought. “If you think Antheon has something to do with it, I have to disappoint you. He’s just as clueless as you are about what’s going on down there.”

“I think I know what is being built down there.” Luna went to her nightstand and opened to top drawer. Echidna saw her pulling out a small crystal between some clothes. “I hadn’t shown it to you at the time so that you would have approached it unbiased.” She levitated it between them and let the hologram appear in the room. For a few seconds, Echidna studied the war machine that levitated in front of her in full details.

“Nice toy. But with their energy shortage, they won’t have the means to run it. How many robot factories have been shut down in the last month? Ten? It would just be a big pile of scrap metal.”

“I have studied their technology over the last years, Echidna, starting from their little necklaces that let them speak our language up to their simple weapons like pistols. Also a bit of robotics. With only a few changes, most of what they create can be fueled by magic.”

“But your sister still denies them the access to it, right?”

Luna nodded. “Indeed. But we are not the only ones with knowledge of magic. Now, I am not saying that you would teach them.”

“A race with potential for violence and that can breed so fast would not be in my interest to be taught such knowledge. You know that I have to agree with your sister. It is better for the peace on Albion.”

“No. Two years ago, the humans started another expedition. They came in contact with the zebras.”

“That looks like them. For them, every creature is equal. They would teach anyone who wants to be taught. It’s in their blood.”

“Then you see what I was thinking. If some of them really learned how to channel magic, it would be enough for the human’s course. They can’t cast spells, but they don’t need to. I am sure they will find a way around it.”

“So, what now, Luna?”

“What now?”

“This is your problem, not mine. I’m just helping a good old friend.” Luna smiled at her and let the hologram disappear. “I will have to go back soon to see if everything is alright with my children.”

“If the facility is as large as you say, they must be getting resources from Heaven Tower. If we can’t find out who it is, they will just start over again if we stop them there.”

“You really want to send in an intervention team?” Luna didn’t reply; she instead just pushed the crystal back into her drawer and casted a spell over it. “Fine, if you want to be this way, I will be on my way then.” Echidna left the room through the door and changed her appearance. “Where did I put that stupid necklace?” She searched through the pockets of her clothes that she had created with the transformation. “Ah, here.” Carefully, she placed the universal translator over her chest. Not that she needed it. She spoke each of the three languages on this planet nearly perfectly without accent. “But I gotta hand it to the humans,” she said to herself as she looked down her body. “I can understand their fixation on breasts.”

***

A quiet knocking at the cabin door woke Blue Light from his light sleep. “Your Majesty, we will arrive in Amissa Heaven shortly.”

He rubbed his eyes and pushed the book aside that had fallen out of his magical grip when he was lying on his bed and reading it. Strange how he preferred this position for reading while most other ponies preferred to lie on their stomachs. But that was something the young stallion rarely thought about. “Thanks, Lieutenant,” he answered through the closed door of his little room on the Sunny Ray, the largest airship the Equestrian fleet had to offer. Sure, he could have taken one of the suites, but sleeping in the bed of his mother or aunt seemed strange to him. He could hold it out here for a week as well.

It was over now. Accompanied by a yawn, he packed together the few things he took with him on the journey. Ever since his aunt Luna had begun residing in the city of the humans, he had wanted to see it. But the political situation was delicate, as his mother put it, and it was enough that Luna was ignoring that. But now she could no longer deny him that. He had gotten his cutie mark, two crescents that formed a circle with a magical bolt in between. His talent was similar to his father’s, he was told. Transformation magic was the rough word he knew to describe it. However, a cutie mark was deeper than that. It was basically a portrait of a personality. One could try as much as they wished, they simply could not describe a pony, a personality, in one word. His interest for technology had always been present, and he was now following this call after gaining his cutie mark by transforming an apple into a banana.

Of course his mother was still against it, but Blue Light had used her own words against her. “Everypony has to find his place in the big picture.” That was easier said than done. He had packed everything he could fit into his small saddlebags and ordered the Sunny Ray to leave the harbour. He ignored his mother’s thoughts about that order.

Carefully, he placed his books in his bags, together with his toothbrush and the stupid circlet with Equestria’s sigil, something his mother had made for him when he was a bit younger. He had removed the tracking spell on it years ago already. Not that he was doing something forbidden, but from time to time, his mother just needed to trust him. At least he hadn’t noticed anything so far that showed that she was watching him again.

Now that everything was packing in the bags, he levitated it onto his back, careful not to clamp his wings under it. Blue Light loved to fly… about five meters over the ground. Vertigo was rare for pegasi; even more so for alicorns, simply because there were only four of them. Cadence loved to fly, but on the other hoof, she was much worse in magic. When he was younger, she had to watch over him a few times, and sometimes he had to open a door for her. She had just started learning magic then despite being a few years older than him.

The ship came to a sudden stop that almost made Blue Light lose his balance. “I think we’ve arrived,” he mumbled and risked a peek out of the porthole. Unfortunately, he was only greeted by a grey wall. He would have loved to see the city from above, but that could wait until later. From what he had heard, Heaven Tower reached up into the clouds.

Quickly, he left his cabin and rushed through the corridors. At the last moment, he stopped again and adjusted his sleep-rumpled hair. If he had learned one thing from living in the castle, then it was to wear a mask. His mother had always done it. She seemed so stern and authoritative, but sometimes was just a little foal as he was if she wanted to. He hadn’t seen his aunt personally in a while. Only through letters and dreams did he talk with her. Humans only lived for about hundred and fifty years, and she wanted to spend all this time at the side of Antheon. He looked one last time over his appearance in a mirror before entering the deck where the crew was busy arranging everything for stopover before they would fly back to Equestria. Without him.

“Your Majesty!” the captain saluted as he saw him. “I report that we arrived in Amissa Heaven without complications. We will collect water and supplies, give the crew some shore leave, and will return back to the hailing port tomorrow. We expect to set sail early in the morning.”

Light nodded at him and smiled, just as he had learned. “Thanks, captain. However, that won’t be necessary. As you know, I will stay here for a while.”

“Orders of her Majesty, Princess Celestia, your Highness.” He leaned forward a bit. “Just in case.” Again he nodded at the older pony and stepped on the plank that led off-board. He hadn’t looked at it until now, but it seemed like they were in a large hall. The dock behind the Sunny Ray was open, and he saw more airships in all sizes that were coming and going. Some wore the banner of the few remaining free cities from the Leylands, others the banner of a griffon’s clan. Unfortunately, he couldn’t see anything from the city from here unless he was to fly out into the air traffic. This would not just be completely against him, but it was also very dangerous. Pegasi collided with ships from time to time. It never went well for them.

Light’s eyes wandered back into the hangar. Everything seemed to be made out of some kind of metal: the floor, walls, and ceiling. Everything was grey. The only thing that stuck out was the supporting pillars even if they were only slightly brighter than the rest. The gangway, as he thought was the wider path that led towards the ship was called, was overflowing with crates and barrels. Probably the supplies the captain was talking about.

A buzzing that came from a door he noticed a second later carried his attention away from the crates. Various human soldiers entered the dock. In the middle was his aunt and another human in formal clothing. His appearance led him to the conclusion that this was Antheon. “Blue Light, nephew! It is so nice to see you,” Luna’s voice sounded through the room. She didn’t even need her magic for that. “I hope you had a good trip?” The soldiers formed a semicircle next to both of them and stood at attention, long strange weapons hanging over their shoulders.

Before Light could answer, however, the human he suspected to be Antheon stepped forward. “I am happy to welcome you here, Prince. I hope you pardon our small delay. We came here as soon as we heard the Sunny Ray has arrived. My name is Antheon, current General Field Marshal of Amissa Heaven.” He got on his knees and reached out a hand.

Eagerly, the young alicorn placed its hoof into the open hand and let the human do the shaking. It was a bit different than the usual pony greeting, but his teacher had explained to him that the hands of humans were sensitive. Giving your hand into another was a sign of trust and respect. “Thank you for welcoming me, General Field Marshal. And of course you too, Aunt Luna. This wasn’t necessary.” Etiquette. He probably would have been lost after five minutes. Or rather two. “The travel was calm, and I read through some books.” His horn glowed as he pulled one out. “Your First Computer and You. It’s a bit simple but explains the technology rather well. But without having one of these computers around, it is hard to practice what I have learned.” Antheon grabbed the book out of the air and skimmed through it. Then he laughed.

“Sorry. I didn’t want to be rude, but this is a book for kids. They get it when they start to go to school.”

“Yes, that would explain a lot of things,” Light admitted and turned slightly red. “But you have to start at the beginning if you want to learn something, right?” In the corners of his eyes, he saw his aunt trying not to laugh about his little faux pas. Surely he would have understood a more advanced book as well, but he had to save face.

“Sure. Shall we?” Antheon pointed at the door they had just came through and let the soldiers lead the way. Luna walked next to him and quickly nudged his wing.

“Nice save, nephew.” She grinned and winked at him. Light didn’t know why exactly, but Luna was far more open to him since he had his cutie mark. She even entered his dreams more often to play with him for a bit.

The hallway behind the door was a completely different world. Carpeted floor instead of metal, lamps that glowed without magic or fire shone at the walls, and more of those strange doors in a row. One hissed behind them, and a human stepped out of them. They all wore some robust clothing, so they must have been in the workers quarters of the docks now. Then he collided with something.

“Maybe you should keep an eye out on where you are walking?” Antheon asked, against whose legs he walked. Confused, Light looked around saw that they were all squeezing into a small room. One of the soldiers pushed with a finger on a button, and in the next moment, the door closed behind him. Panicked, he looked up to Luna, but she only grinned. Then everything began to move, and he screamed, startled. Would there have been enough room, he would have unfolded his wings and have turned around.

“Sorry, but the reaction of ponies to our elevators never gets old. You should have seen your aunt on her first day here.” Luna’s giggling died. “So, tell me a bit about yourself. How old are you?”

“Umm…” Light had caught himself again and adjusted his wings at his side. “I will turn fourteen soon, General Field Marshal.”

“I think we can drop the formalities, right? One could think we all had a stick up our ass.” Some of the soldiers grinned briefly and nodded.

“Pardon?”

“Ah, sorry. Just a saying here.”

“Antheon wants to say that we don’t have to follow any etiquette here, nephew. We are among friends.”

“So, Blue Light, what exactly do you want to learn here?”

“What do you meant, Antheon, sir?” The human looked down at Luna.

She just slightly shook her head. “My sister’s parenting is just too deep in his bones. I think he will loosen up over time.”

“Which subjects do you want to study? We have robotics, computer technology…” the human began to list, but didn’t get very far.

“Everything.”

“Come again?”

“I want to learn everything.”

Chapter III - Act 11.3 - A Thousand Years Ago (Part 3)

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 11.3 - A Thousand Years Ago (Part 3) ~

Luna was lying restlessly on her bed. The spot where Antheon had just been lying a few minutes was still comfortably warm. Unfortunately, their day had to start at some point. She wasn’t feeling it. There were only two creatures on this planet that really knew what had happened at this place where they wanted to announce humanity’s biggest achievement since their acceptance into the circle of the nations of Albion. The magic power plant would be put into operation today. It was built to create more than enough energy to support a city five times the size of Amissa Heaven for hundreds of generations.

No one besides Antheon and Echidna knew that it had been built on the place where, many years ago, a secret lab of one of the generals had been hidden. Luna had secretly entered the underground fortress on her own. No one had noticed the powerful alicorn as she had crawled over the walls as a shadow, further down into the deep. What she had found was not one of the giant mechanical monster but a whole dozen. One had even been operated by a pilot and performed exercises in one of the gigantic halls. On the back of the monstrosity were smaller versions of the power plant that were moveable and controllable.

Quickly, she had begun searching for hints and had found the conference room of the facility. General Jetho had sat with a few of his subjects around a large table where a blueprint of Heaven Tower had been printed on. They had planned to kill Antheon, take control of the city, and then overrun Equestria. That had been their death sentence. The ponies only knew what the avatars of sun and moon were capable of from legends. On that day, she had demonstrated that the legends had a true core. Appalled with herself, she had immediately teleported back into the Tower, directly into the arms of her loved one, and told him what she had found and did.

A reactor accident with a new energy source, it had been called. Antheon had doubted her story for not a second. He had covered everything up and assured her that the general would have been sentenced to death for treason anyway. Betraying your homeland in the times of need was high treason, and all his henchmen would have followed him directly. It hadn’t made things better for them that they had to hold a memorial for the supposed victims a few days later. Only after that day, Luna gave Antheon what she had took out of the complex. The blueprints for the reactors, where only one was built that was large enough to provide the town with energy... five years later. However, every time she let her gaze wander over the city, she stuck at the place for a second where she had taken hundreds of lives. What other darkness might still rest inside her? How would she react if she would really lose her beloved Antheon and not just because someone had planned it? She didn’t even want to think about that.

“Luna? Are you alright?” Her loved one came out of the bathroom into their shared room. He wore a towel around his hip, a few paper chips stuck to his chin. A bit of blood could be seen through them. “Ah, these.” He touched one of them. “You would think that a man of my age would know how to shave without cutting himself.

Luna giggled. “You are complaining about your forty years? Come, tell me. How is it to be so young?”

He grinned as well and sat down next to her. “Luna, this is about you. I stood for five minutes in the door, and you hadn’t even noticed me. What is it that is bothering you?” He wasn’t looking his age even though he was a human. The only sign Luna had noticed so far was a single grey streak that ran through his otherwise black hair.

“You know that I don’t want to go back to that place. I did something terrible there, and it is enough I have to be reminded of it every time I fly around the city.” He smiled, put both her hands on her cheeks, and gave her a kiss.

“Luna,” he said softly. “What you have done has prevented a war. Not to mention that you saved my life. And I know all of your arguments by heart now. If there are any more members of that cell, they are so scared that they never showed their faces again. I don’t say that it was right to act in blind rage, but someone had to. You showed me that day not just what I mean to you, but also Amissa Heaven.” They looked into each other eyes for a few seconds before they both smiled. “Luna, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. When this all is over, when there are no more tensions between us and Equestria, I would be glad to call you my queen. Miss General Field Marshal if you may.” Luna jumped out of her sitting position and threw her human on the soft bed behind him. “I take that as a yes?”

“Just wait until I tell my sister.” Luna stopped and leaned back again.

“Still a sore point?”

“A bit. We have argued a lot. And she still is not happy that you now have your first reactor. She thinks the humans are not ready to join the magical world. Why can she not see that if we all work together, the ponies of Equestria could introduce you to it? She is just so stubborn.” Antheon sat up and pushed her head against his chest.

“Everything is going to be alright, Luna. You will see. In a few years, we will be laughing about this.” He paused for a second. “Well, maybe not laughing. But we can look behind and be satisfied. Sounds still very good, doesn’t it?”

***

Blue Light looked through a gap between the curtains on the place where thousands of humans and other representatives of the other races had gathered to witness this historical day. The last decade had been hard for them, not that he had noticed much in the Tower. The building was the central point of the city and had to be kept operational so that everything could go in the right order. Servers and mainframes as large as a house in Canterlot were inside its walls and controlled the various automated systems of the city. The navigation systems of the transport ships, flying high above the clouds, used the signals of the Tower for orientation. And this would all be secured today.

For a moment, Light thought back to his mother’s letter. She didn’t seem to be very happy about the humans having built a generator or his contribution towards it. Since the beginnings of his studies here in Amissa Heaven, he had devoured the technology of the humans. Additionally, he had received his lessons in magic and other basic knowledge from his aunt. And with his nineteen years now, he could keep up with every scholar in this town. As part of his studies, he had even worked with a small team at some parts of the reactor.

“A nice look, isn’t it?” Startled, the alicorn spun around and released the curtain. “Humans, griffons, and even some diamond dogs. And do my eyes spot a zebra there in the crowd? They all talk and share their excitement for this big event.” Light knew the tall black creature that had appeared behind him. Echidna was really as tall as his mother. With her long, crooked horn, maybe even a bit larger. Her long grey silvery mane shimmered in the faint light that made its way behind the podium, and with dreamy eyes, she stared directly at the curtain.

“You can see through the curtains?” Light asked confusedly and stared at the same spot as she.

She giggled. “For a young scholar, you are incredibly easy to deceive. No, I don’t really see them. I see their auras. You could say that I rather feel them than see them. Something you will learn as well, I’m sure.” As good as he was with technology, he was as bad with magic. Outside of his talent, he barely managed to cast a spell, which was rather surprising for an alicorn. “Luna has created something wonderful.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I have said. Without Luna, there would be no griffon, no diamond dog, and no zebra here. They saw that an immortal goddess is putting her trust into this new species, and they want to see how it will turn out. No one knows what it’s going to be, but it will be big.”

“And why are you here?”

“My children live in solitude. Should the humans blossom, make their generator work, there would be hope for my children. We feast off of magical energy that we siphon out of others. I bet you can sometimes feel the mood a pony or a person is in, am I right?” Light thought for a moment before he nodded. “Everyone has an aura which carries emotion with it. We feast off this energy.” She nodded with her head over to the picture of the generator on the poster behind the speaker’s desk. “The generator, like every other magical object, will emit an aura, just without emotions. I am certain the humans can solve this problem as well. They could really become the new Crystal Empire.”

Confused, he looked at her. “The new Crystal Empire? What’s that? I have heard Cadance and my mother talking about it already.”

“Nothing you should worry about,” she murmured between closed lips. “Important is just that this will be a possibility to free my children out of their solitude. To let them live lives like every other creature. That’s why I am here. As long as Luna has influence here, this can work out. At first I was sceptical, having seen much darkness in the humans. But that changed with her, slowly but steadily.” She sighed lightly and made a short pause, then she nudged her hoof against the chest of the blue stallion. “Now let me ask you something, Blue Light. Why are you here?”

He didn’t need to think about that. “I’m here to learn. Why?”

“Then, my young friend, you are one of the few ponies that share Luna’s ideals. Learning from each other, living together.”

“If my mother would just see it the same way.”

“Oh, Celestia has her reasons to act the way she does. She is a burnt child, and I mean that without any allusion. She has seen many conflicts, more than Luna and I did. Do you know how much older your mother is than your aunt?” He shook his head, and Echidna smiled. “No one knows exactly. But what I know is that Luna is fighting for something here, and she is not. We wouldn’t be standing here today if it would be different.”

***

Blue Light stood on stage for almost half an hour side at side with a few others scientists from the team that had built the reactor. Antheon stood in full attire on the pedestal, speaking directly to the people of Amissa Heaven, promising them a golden future, bringing the humans back to their old glory, turning the city into an empire that reached out over the entire continent. With Equestria as an ally on the other side of the sea, that was why he was going to marry Luna as soon as the situation afforded the opportunity. Cheers were the answer of the crowd. Applause from thousands of humans that clapped their hands together. Griffons let out shrill whistles and the diamond dogs howled loudly. After a while, Antheon raised his hands again to calm the crowd. But it wasn’t his voice that sounded over the place next. “Death to the oppressors!” Guns were fired as the crowd scrambled to disperse. Confused, Light looked around to where screams were coming from. Suddenly, something fell against his side. One of the scientists had been hit and leaned lifelessly against his body.

“Behind me!” Luna’s magically amplified voice sounded over the entire place as she created a shield over the podium. Bullets were hammering against it, creating magical ripples, as though they were made out of water, directly in front of the face of the young alicorn. Then he saw the shooters. There were five, all humans in the formal uniforms of the Guard of Amissa Heaven. Weapon at the ready, they fired magazine after magazine against Luna’s shield. For Light, everything ran in slow motion. He looked over to his aunt. Anger was the most prominent feature displayed on her face. Blood was flowing out of her left foreleg and onto the ground. Antheon was directly next to her, a pistol in his hand as he talked to her. Over the sound of the screaming humans and the barrage of gunfire, he couldn’t understand what he said. Eventually, he turned towards the man that came from the back entrance of the stage. “Light, get into cover!” Luna suddenly turned towards him.

He stood there rooted to the spot. He just couldn’t understand what was going on. Why were these soldiers shooting at him and his aunt? “Are you insane?!” Echidna had appeared next to him, grabbed his tail with her magic, and pulled him behind the stage, out of sight of the attackers. “What’s wrong with you? Do you want to die?”

“What? What’s going on? What was that?”

“Not the right time and not the right place.” Suddenly, single bullets were piercing through the curtain behind them. Luckily, they were sitting behind the stage so that it all flew over their heads. “We have to get you out of here.”

She grabbed after Light again, but he was still rooted to the spot. “What’s going on here, Echidna?”

“Light, this isn’t the time…”

“What’s going on?!” he shouted at her.

She sighed hard. “When I said that your aunt was fighting for something here, I meant that literally. Years ago, there was a facility here. They had a prototype of this reactor back then. They used it to build weapons. They planned to overthrow Antheon and attack Equestria. To take the power of Albion. Luna had done the right thing.” Light’s eyes went wide.

“The accident…”

“Was Luna, who razed the place to the ground. It was the right call. Political games are nice and all, but she isn’t Celestia. It was right to act, and Antheon knew it. These five idiots out there must belong to the rest of that group. Now they aim to oust Luna. They didn’t seem to like that the two announced their engagement.” Light said nothing, and it went quiet. Too quiet. The gunfight had stopped. “I’ll have a look.”

With that, Echidna left the alicorn alone with his thoughts.

***

“You wanted to speak with me, Echidna?” Antheon entered the room where the friend, the Queen of the changelings, had asked him to come. Blood still stuck to his face and at his hands. He came directly after Luna finally fell asleep. After the amount of magic she had used on the spot to heal most injuries of the citizens, his loved one wasn’t just mentally exhausted. “I don’t have much time, so make it quick. I have to take care of a lot of things after this disaster.”

“That’s exactly the reason we have to talk. I don’t think your soldiers managed to protect Luna.” Antheon remained silent and crossed both arms in front of his chest. No one would simply talk about his soldiers like that. After all, he had been one of them a while ago as well. “And you know that I’m right. In an open fight, they might be the best that Albion has to offer, but they are not used to fight against shadows, not even their own.”

“You have to know what you’re talking about. Sneaking through my city for years now, eavesdropping on me and my personnel, and causing troubles in places you aren’t supposed to be.” He grinned at the slightly surprised look on her face. “Don’t act so surprised. I know what you are, and why Luna has invited you. I’m thankful for what you did, but my men can handle it.”

“Yes, I know about hiding, crawling away, and acting like I don’t even exist. More than any of you ever could,” she spat at him. “That’s exactly why I know whereof I speak and your men have no clue. And neither do you!” They stared at each other for a few seconds.

“So?” Antheon finally asked since he didn’t have to time to listen to this. “What are you going to do next?”

“Build my own shadow. A group acting against theirs. “

“If you mean a secret service, we already have that.”

“Not something so clumsy and stupid like that. I am beginning to think that you soldiers only have direct confrontation in your mindset. No, I speak about an independent group. One without direct command from some government, no commitments besides restoring the peace that Albion needs so badly. The peace that always should have been there.” The queen turned away from him and slowly walked towards the dark shadows in the corner of the room. “No, I’m speaking about a real shadow organization.”

Antheon tried to spot her, but not even her bright mane was to be seen. “And what would such an organization keep away from falling in our back? If our acts are seen as threats towards the peace?”

“Magic.” With these words, Blue Light entered the room. He came through the same door as Antheon before him. “A magical oath. Bound to the ideals that Luna follows. I’ve done some quick research.” He cleared his throat. “Together we are strong.” Antheon said nothing as he pointed at him. “With great power comes great responsibility.” This time he held his hoof against his own chest. “Love will bind us all.” He searched for Echidna who was still hidden in the shadows.

"You’re pulling the prince into that as well?” Antheon shouted through “He’s still almost a child, a foal.”

The General Field Marshal flinched as the voice of the changeling queen appeared right behind him. “A foal that has made a large contribution towards the building of your reactor with his team.”

“Does the boy even know what he’s getting into?”

“Today, I have seen a fight for the first time.” He remained silent for few seconds. “Seeing the life escaping the body of a colleague as he dropped to the ground.” A tear ran down his cheek through his blue fur. His white mane hung loosely into his face, not combed like always. “I never want to see something like that again. No one should. And if my mother isn’t going to help Aunt Luna, then I will. I am not a fighter, but my mind is sharp as sword.”

“And what are these lines?” Antheon asked both of them.

“They are the goals of our three races,” Echidna explained. “The humans have to hold together, not shoot each other.” The human nodded. “The ponies are strong, but passive. They have to learn to take the responsibility with their powers.” Light grinned sheepishly at her. “We changelings feast off emotions, preferably love. But instead of uniting with others, we are drifting apart. These are ideals, our goals for all of Albion.”

“All of these are things that Luna has realized before us. She wanted us to work together for years now,” Light added. “This is why I think our first step has to be to protect her. Something like this may never happen again.”

“And you want to start that here in Amissa Heaven?” Both nodded. “Okay, but only under one condition.” Echidna and Light exchanged a few looks, but then nodded again. “I want to be informed about everything.”

“No problem. I was going to ask you anyway if you want to join. You love my aunt and she loves you. She trusts you.”

“Alright. And what do we call this organization?” Echidna rolled her eyes.

“You don’t name such a bond. Names make things graspable, give them a face. Exactly what we don’t want.”

“The Children of the Night. At least we do this to achieve my aunt’s goals,” the alicorn declared proudly.

Antheon smirked while Echidna just looked at him, confused. It seemed like she had just noticed now that he really still could be a child sometimes.

Chapter III - Act 11.4 - A Thousand Years Ago (Part 4)

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 11.4 - A Thousand Years Ago (Part 4) ~

Carefully, Antheon stepped through the dark hallways of one of the many basement levels of Heaven Tower. Normally, only personnel or technicians would come down here, but due to the energy shortage in the past, these rooms were no longer used. Even after six years, no one had thought about taking them into operation again. The personnel didn’t seem to bother; the quarters they were now living in were far more comfortable. Antheon stopped for a moment at a crossway. At first, he made a step to the left, just to turn right then. His brain would play tricks on him from time to time. You would think that would no longer happen after all the times he had walked this way.

He finally arrived at the terminal that was, at one point, supposed to control the lights down here. He quickly checked that no one had followed him, then he simply placed his hand over the digital keyboard of the computer in the wall. “Individual recognized. Access granted,” said the mechanical female voice that Light had chosen while he was establishing the lab down here. Quietly, a door next to the terminal opened, and Antheon entered the dark room. As the automatic door closed again, the lamps came to life and showed the simple decorated room. Patiently, Antheon waited for a minute before the wardrobe finally opened and gave vision into the lab. The waiting time was just a precaution so that in case someone gained access, he would only find a well secured room that could be written off as a safe haven. He had to give it to Light - the pony was really always thinking two steps ahead. Just like his mother, as Luna would have said.

The tall human had to bow down as he entered through the opening of the wardrobe, going into a room that was just as large as the one where he just came from. The difference was that this one was filled with various pieces of trash. At least that was what he called it. Then there were several computers, a small robot that patiently waited in one corners for orders, and multiple large terminals. They were the only source of light in the room. Directly underneath the screens, an alicorn sat in a comfy chair and held a welder in his magic with which he was just building something. “Light, you should really think about some windows. It smells like a steelwork that is operated by sweaty horses.”

“In Hosstralia, that would surely be considered a compliment. The horses there are proud of their work,” he answered without looking up. Blue Light had changed significantly over the last years. Since the foundation of the Children of the Night, he had been taught combat magic by Echidna, who also ran him through physical training. He now looked more like the Royal Guards who he had seen in the castle of Canterlot. The slender small alicorn was no more. He was also far more mature and independent. Blue Light had really grown into his role as one of the three heads of Cerberus. His white mane was no longer neatly combed but was tied together into a ponytail behind his head so that it no longer disturbed him while at work.

Antheon stepped next to Light and looked over his shoulder. “Is this why you called me here?”

He didn’t answer but calmly finished his work instead. Then he cut off the energy input of the plasma welder and put it aside. “No, this is just another small project. One of our associates from Equestria has told me that my mother recently started to use surveillance spells to protect her archives. This modified translator disturbs any kind of magic and technology.”

“So it will also shut down the cameras here in Heaven Tower?” The alicorn nodded and stretched his limbs.

“I’ve spent the last thirty hours working on it, but I could only build one prototype. I think that should be enough for our associate. We need further access.”

“I don’t understand why you just can’t simply go into the archives. You are Prince of Equestria; that shouldn’t be a problem for you.” There was ‘the look’ again. Echidna, Light, and even Luna always looked at him like that when he had said something they considered stupid.

“Sure, I could just go there,” he said. “However, my mother would notice, and it would be suspicious if I would go down there over and over again.”

“And our associate isn’t raising suspicion… because?”

“She is a changeling. One of Echidna’s daughters. Her oldest daughter, I believe.”

“Don’t you know her name?”

“No. No one knows ours, we don’t know hers. This way, no information can be extracted in case any of us gets busted. The Children of the Night are already a rumour on Albion. My mother already has us on her list, and Luna was not very happy either about the things that supposedly were made in her name.” He crossed both hooves in front of his chest, a gesture he had taken over from the humans over the years. For a few seconds, neither of the said a word. “So, down to why I asked you to come here.” Light rose from his chair and picked something up from his desk where various documents were rolled out. “You surely know that we have lost a few associates in the last months. Our connection to the griffons is now completely cut off, and Boardor is no longer responding either. I suspect the worse: they were killed. I hate to lose good people, even if it is for a greater good. That is why I was focusing on an old problem of the humans: battle droids.”

“That field was abandoned before my birth. We couldn’t create an artificial intelligence that could keep up with a human. Furthermore, the robots’ heads are much too stiff.”

Light nodded. “I am well aware of that. Creating a complete skeleton with the agility of a human would require so many components that it would be overloaded and unable to move. I have found a few to combine magic and technology to bypass that. Exactly the same thing with the AI. Index?” A beam of light came out of a small box that was connected over various cables to the terminal.

“Yes, Master?”

Antheon was flabbergasted when he inspected the humanoid blue creature. Carefully, his hand went through it. “She only consists out of light, Antheon.”

“I know… but this is impossible. Is this really a complete AI?”

The alicorn levitated a mobile control unit over to him. Antheon grasped the grip with his hand, and the hologram immediately turned towards him. “Yes, Master?” she now asked him.

“She is not finished yet. She can answer simple questions, search archives, and play recordings. But she is learning. I have connected her with all systems in the Tower. She is currently downloading all recordings that are still in the system.” Light grabbed the controller out of the hands of the slightly overwhelmed Antheon and let it float next to him in his magical grasp. “Index, show me the corridor in front of the lab ten minutes ago.” Immediately, the pictures on the terminal changed, and Antheon could see himself as he stood at the crossway.

“There are no cameras down here! How is that possible?”

“Easy. Wires are running through the entire building. Index here can recognize moving objects in the electromagnetic fields and construct pictures out of it. At first it looked different, but thanks to pictures she had seen of you on the upper levels today, she was able to construct this. Like I said, she can see connections on her own and is able to make conclusions. She is learning. Furthermore, she is integrating everything she has learned into a new program. She is basically writing her own successor. I’ve taking Echidna as a model.”

Blue Light put the controller aside, and the picture of Index disappeared. “This is incredible, but only one half of my problem.”

“I’ll get to that now.” This time, he picked up what looked like a normal black stone from the desk and let it drop into the human’s hand. “This is black magic.”

Antheon instantly dropped the stone. “What? This is dangerous! Luna had warned me a thousand times. Isn’t that even illegal in Equestria?”

“Are we in Equestria?” Light grinned. “To be precise, this is an artefact that is supposed to reanimate the dead. Don’t worry, it’s inactive,” he quickly added. “I just want to use the concept of this artefact to move the droids. All you have to do from there on is to connect the AI with the spell and then you would have a surveillance robot that would destroy itself as soon as it’s discovered. We would no longer have to sacrifice anyone.”

“Or an army. Light, have you never thought about what could happen if this gets into the wrong hands? We want to maintain peace, not build a robot army.” The alicorn that was filled with excitement moments ago now hung his head. “I’m sorry Light; the AI is great, but that thing,” Antheon pointed at the stone on the ground, “that thing has to go. Destroy it or bury it so that it will never see the light of day again. I don’t understand much about magic, but this is wrong. Sometimes good people die, but it is for a greater course. They knew that when they spoke their oath.”

Light shook his head. “Sorry.” He yawned. “You are right. It would be the best if I put all this into the archives. It should be safe there.” The human leaned down and put a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“Take a break for a few days. You need it.”

“Not before I’ve packed this away. I will leave tomorrow.” Antheon looked deep into his eyes. “Maybe I will take a trip to Canterlot. Mother sure would be happy.”

***

Light had to agree with Antheon. A break was just what he needed. It was also fun to soar through the clouds over Albion in the glider that was especially built for him. The flying machine was faster than any pegasi ever dared to dream, and to his own shame, he trusted it more than his own wings. Ponies made mistakes, machines didn’t. Softly, the glider landed in the courtyard of the castle. On the bright blue of its hull, the banner of Equestria was printed. By now, every soldier knew it. Even now, as he was jumping out of the driver’s cabin, a soldier and a maid were already approaching him.

“Prince Blue Light, it is good to see you again. Unfortunately, we weren’t expecting your visit. Will you be staying longer? Shall I prepare your quarters?” she asked courteously and bowed slightly.

“No thanks, Miss, I will only stay for the day. I will leave again tonight.” She nodded and excused herself.

“Soldier, can you tell me where I can find my mother?”

“Sir, Princess Celestia went into her office a few hours ago. She said she didn’t want to be disturbed until noon.”

Light nodded, content with the answer. “Then let’s ignore that order.” Together with the soldier, who couldn’t have been much older than he, he went through the well-known corridors of Castle Canterlot. It had been months since his last visit, but everything was the same as ever. Even the vase on the pedestal next to the entrance of the study room of his mother was the same. He had broken it at least ten times when he was a foal, and as a punishment, he had had to put it back it together, piece by piece, with his magic. It explained why he knew that thing so well. “Thanks, but I will manage it alone from here.” The soldier nodded and left him alone in front of the large wooden door.

For a moment, he thought about knocking but decided against it. This was just as much his home as it was his aunt’s and mother’s. Even though they had both spent most of their last years in Amissa Heaven. “Hello, mother, how—” Light stopped in his greeting as he watched the scene in front of him. His mother sat on her usual large cushion and read a few documents that were spread out over the desk in front of her. So far so good. But then there was that middle-aged stallion that seemed to be sucking the blood from his mother’s neck as she only let a distant chuckle escape her. Quickly, he coughed loudly.

The eyes of both ponies immediately went on him. Both looked at him for a few seconds before the stallion jumped out of the window behind him. “Oh, hello Light! Good to see thee. What brings us the honour? Pardon us for not standing up to greet thee. We do not want to make a mess…”

Light just blinked. “Was that Captain Sparkle who just jumped out of the tenth floor?”

Celestia’s eyes widened and her horn glowed. In a flash of light, the captain appeared in the room again and landed softly next to her on the cushion. “Pardon him, he is new to his position,” she explained and put one of her large wings over the heavily panting stallion.

“Position?”

“Well, my son, we loved thy father very much, but like every mare—”

“Okay, thanks. Enough information.”

“Well, since we have been lacking a lover in recent time, we just made use of an old law. We chose one.” Sometimes Light forgot the cultural differences in the two countries. While Equestrians usually focused on creating a herd, the concept of marriage was more common in Amissa Heaven. Also, the human males were more dominant, but that didn’t bother him much. “So, umm… what brings thee here?”

“I had just wanted to talk, but you seem to be busy.” His mother grinned sheepishly. “Perhaps it would be better if I talked with Cadance. Is she here?”

“We are afraid not. She is travelling and will not be back for a few more years.”

Light thought for a moment. It would be bold to show how much he knew. “Does it have something to do with the Crystal Empire?”

His mother’s look darkened almost immediately. “As much as we would like to talk with thee about that, that is Cadance’s destiny, not thine, Light.” So that was a yes then. “How do thou know of that?”

“I was raised here. A foal easily overhears one or two things.”

She nodded, and her look softened again. “How is it in Amissa Heaven? We have not heard many good things recently. Mostly about this cult, the Children of the Night.” Did she know something? “They ruin the lives of many ponies here in Equestria and of many more in all of Albion. They make a profit out of the on-going conflict wherever they can.” It was true that they took everything from some of the nobility here and there. But they belonged to the adversaries of a peaceful unification. And it wasn’t like they tried to bribe or blackmail them first.

“I don’t know, mother. I am not one to have much to do with politics. I’d rather build my machines.”

She nodded and gave him a long look. “And what is it with thy change over the last years? We thought our little stallion had finally found an interest in mares.” She paused for a moment. “Or maybe a stallion?”

“A healthy mind lives in a healthy body.” An answer he often had to give her. When an untrained bookworm started to turn into an attractive stallion, it inevitably attracted attention. Yes, he was happy with himself.

“As much as we would like to speak with you, it will be noon soon, and then we have to prepare for the daily supplicants. Maybe we can continue where we left of tonight?” He could tell that she really wanted to speak with him further.

“On my way back, mother. I’m just here for a short while. I will leave towards Ib’Xian today. I’m taking a few days of holidays.” That was a good excuse. The archive and the island state that was the northeastern neighbor of Equestria both lay in about the same direction from Canterlot.

***

Antheon sat comfortably at his desk in his large office. On the other side sat two of his soldiers with grim faces as he put his cards on the table. “Gentlemen, I think your pay is now mine.”

“Damn.” One of them angrily threw his cards on the table while the General Field Marshal only laughed. He had long given up on sitting the entire day in his office and waiting for that moment when someone would come to have something signed once every hour. Instead, he convinced the daily changing guards in front of his door to play some cards. Of course, he noticed that the veterans, who knew his game, were always giving him fresh meat.

The sore loser stood up, grabbed his rifle, and disappeared through the large double door back into the hallway. His colleague remained silent and leaned back. “Good game, General.”

“Thanks, boy, there isn’t much to do for an old man like me.” To support his words, he stretched his back, eliciting a loud crack. He didn’t know why Luna was even bothering with an old man around fifty when she could literally have any stallion on Albion, but he was glad that she was at his side. Well, at least in spirit. She was with Echidna in her home to see how the family of her friend was doing. With a head of Cerberus at her side, it was assured that she would be safe. Blue Light was out of town for a few days as well. It had been a while since any pony had run through the hallways of the Tower.

The soldier in front of him grinned shyly. “Umm, General, a question if I may.” Antheon nodded. “How is to be with a pony?” The General Field Marshal raised a brow. “Not like that, sir! I meant in a relationship.” He loved to see them sweat. The boy just seemed to be curious, and he wasn’t the first to ask.

“Like with any other woman as well. They have their quirks, but you love them for it. Only the coat is something you have to get used to. But what wouldn’t we do for love. Why do you ask, boy? Met a nice mare?”

His opponent awkwardly scratched the back of his head. “Yes, to be honest. As you surely know, some ponies have settled down in the eastern districts of the town. In the outskirts where it’s a bit calmer. I live nearby, and a few days ago, after my shift was over, I enjoyed a visit to the local bar.” Antheon grinned. Luna’s dream was slowly becoming true. He would probably just no longer be around to see how it would look when it’s all done, but the thought alone brought a tear to his eyes. “Sir? Everything alright?”

“Yes, boy. Don’t worry. You just made an old man realize that what he was fighting for has finally been achieved.” And that not all sacrifices were made for nothing. Suddenly, with a loud clank, the security windows behind him slammed shut, and a loud alarm sounded through the floors of the Tower. By instinct, Antheon hammered on the terminal at his desk. “Report!”

“Sir! A legion of griffons have entered the Tower through the hangar. They were hiding in the hulk of—” A gurgling could be heard, then the connection broke off.

“Sir, stay here! I will go help them!” the young soldier shouted, grabbed his rifle, and rushed off. Antheon calmly remained at his desk and pushed a series of buttons on the terminal. A piece of the wall to his left in the otherwise empty room opened and revealed a small cabinet. With determined steps, he walked towards it and checked its contents. “Maybe I should have let Light stock it up.” There were only two things inside. Iron shoulders that Luna had made for him a few years ago for his birthday. He was supposed to wear them for a formal visit to Equestria, which was why they displayed Celestia’s sun. But the visit had been cancelled, and he had hidden them here since then. Not that he didn’t like them, but they were heavy, and any rifle would pierce through them with a single shot like a warm knife through butter. However, at the moment, it was the only armor he had. His uniform itself offered even less protection. At the wall, in the back of the cabinet, hung two swords. They were made for the first General Field Marshal and his son. Unfortunately, both had died in an accident while the city was still being built. Since then, both were given from one General Field Marshal to the next. That and the pistol in his drawer would have to be enough.

He put both swords on his belt and took the gun. There was no way that he would let his men fight alone. Just as he was about to march to the door, it opened. He pointed his weapon at his eye level, only to move it further down. A cloaked pony stood in front of him and then pulled his hood back. Antheon sighed in relief. “Oh good, it’s you. I thought you weren’t here.” He lowered the weapon.

The pony in front of him grinned. “The Children of the Night sends their regards,” he said, loud and clear. In the next moment, Antheon felt as something impacted upon his chest, the roar of agony quickly paralyzing him. He slumped onto the ground, the world around him slowly turning black. “Why…” was his last word.

Chapter III - Act 11.5 - A Thousand Years Ago (Part 5)

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 11.5 - A Thousand Years Ago (Part 5) ~

Celestia sat on her pedestal in the throne room of Castle Canterlot. Thoughts of what had occurred with her son a few days ago occupied her mind. She had wanted to take her time to explain it all to him, but on the other side, it was his own damn fault for not knocking as was right and proper. Surely something he had learned under Luna’s influence. Her little sister could be so carefree sometimes.

In the corners of her eyes, she saw one of her guards looking at her and motioning with his eyes in front of her. Ah yes, there was something. One of her subjects was there to talk about better resource management in the distribution of fertilizer in the surrounding farming villages. The brown stallion looked at her expectantly. At the door behind him stood Captain Sparkle, who just nodded briefly. Apparently, he had listened better than she did.

“Very well, we agree, Mister Field.”

“Thank you, your Highness. I will take immediate action.” He bowed, took the parchments he had rolled out over the floor, and quickly went away. The captain closed the door behind him and stepped in front of the throne.

“What did we just approve?” she asked curiously.

“Well, he thought it would be more efficient to use the new technology of the trains not just to transport ponies. He was asking for money to construct a wagon that could transport various goods, including fertilizer. This way, we no longer need hundreds of ponies with carts who visit the villages around Canterlot.” Yes, she could see the advantage such a wagon could have. “If you allow me to say, you look a bit distracted, your Majesty.”

She smiled softly down at him. “Thou may, Captain. This is why we have chosen you as my companion. And yes, we are thinking about our son and his visit two days ago. He has changed so much in Amissa Heaven.”

“You don’t trust the humans?”

“No, but we trust our sister. She can be a bit hot headed sometimes, but—” The doors to the throne room slammed open, and two agitated young royal guards burst into the room, both completely out of breath.

“Princess!” one of them shouted.

“The moon!” the other added and gasped for air. With a raised brow, Celestia stood up from her throne and slowly stepped down on the pedestal towards the two.

“Speak! What is with the moon?” their captain demanded to know. But it needed no answer since the throne room was turning dark already.

“Oh Luna. What has happened?” Celestia said as she looked out of a window and saw the watcher of the night moving in front of her sun.

***

Blue Light sat in the archives of the Children of the Night, hidden deep in the mountains north of Canterlot. Echidna had chosen this place since no one would search for the enemy directly in front of their nose. It wasn’t finished yet, but it soon would be. The entrance was hidden, and only someone who knew the oath could enter. This and the fact that the place was very well hidden would have to be sufficient for now.

“Master, you should take a break like Sir Antheon suggested,” Index’s voice came out of the computer.

“The stone is locked away in the vault below us. I’m just going to install your picture emitters and then I’ll be on my way. You should be able to move between here and Amissa Heaven then. This way, none of us has to go here every time to save your data. It will only be a few more hours.” His hooves moved over the specially adjusted keyboard of the computer. Designing a keyboard for ponies was a challenge for the engineers in the Tower back then, and even today, where he could do it himself, he found no way of improving the design. “So, your subroutines are now connected to the server. Index, please create an image for me for testing.”

“Yes, Master,” the AI acknowledged, and a load of commands instantly appeared on the screen. After about a minute, Light thought that she should be done soon, but the information didn’t seem to end. It took almost half an hour until she spoke again. “Image number four created. Release follows.” A drive at the hull of the terminal opened, and Blue Light carefully levitated the little crystal out of it. It wasn’t larger than a common pebble stone and contained a copy of the entire knowledge and personality of Index. “Version four listens to the name Sophelia.”

Surprised, he stared at the terminal. “You gave her a name?”

“She is an improved form of myself, a successor. Under the organic life forms on Albion, it is common to give your successors a name,” Index answered in her monotonous robotic voice. The alicorn was flabbergasted. The AI was only a few days old and was already thinking of her newer versions as children. A mechanical being seemed to grasp that she was a mother. “Confirm connection to Amissa Heaven. Confirm connection to archives of Canterlot.” Light blinked a few times and confirmed the connections. The last one was possible because he had put a little transmitter at the archive’s crystals. For the scrolls, they were still going to need Echidna’s daughter, but with the access on the thousands of years old crystals deep below the castle, they had made a huge step.

“Alright, let’s make a test run. Index, search for ‘Crystal Empire’ and everything related to it.” Again, huge amounts of code ran over the terminal. With the increasing size of Index that she was showing, she would soon surpass the capabilities of this simple data terminal.

With a small signal tone, she ended her search. “One relevant entry found.” This was far less than he had hoped. “Placing material on screen of terminal one.” Again, the eyes of the pony in front of the computer widened as he saw the map that Index was showing him.

It was land masses he had never seen before, with places on it he had never heard of. And in the middle was a gigantic place with the name Crystal Empire. This map must have been older than everything he knew. How many million years must have passed for the tectonic plates on Albion to shift this much? Then he noticed something. “Index, open a three dimensional map of Albion and put it over the map.”

“Calculating picture parameters.” Light nodded, satisfied. This would take a little while. He stepped out of the archive into the cave behind it. Echidna had her changelings put their beloved moss everywhere. It lightened up the room in a smooth green light, and in combination with the waterfall, this was one of the most wonderful places that Light had ever seen. Happy with his idea to come here, he stepped at the fresh spring water and took a few sips. As he looked up again, he saw a small green flame coming towards him before it manifested into a roll of parchment. Echidna had sent him a message.

He grabbed the parchment out of the air with his magic and opened it to read what stood on it, but all that fell out was a crystal. “A hologram?” Light checked the parchment again, but nothing else was in it. Slightly confused, he walked back to the archives and closed the heavy iron door behind him. “Index, please stop the procedure,” he ordered the AI and placed the received crystal in the terminal.

The room around him darkened, and Light turned around to the middle of the room where a picture appeared. He knew the place where the hologram was taken. It was Antheon’s office on the upper levels of Heaven Tower. But what he saw in the room stole his breath. His friend, the long-time fiancé of his aunt was lying on the ground. In his chest was a bolt from a crossbow that must have directly hit his heart. In front of him stood a pony, one that couldn’t be. “Index! Check the hologram for manipulation!” The AI didn’t answer but went to work. It was one thing to analyse data, but magical recording were a bit more complicated. Light’s eyes fixated on the pony in the picture. Everything was correct. His mane, his blue coat, even his eyes. He stood in this picture above the dead Antheon, a crossbow in his magical grip next to him and a grin on his lips.

“Authenticity proved.” No, that couldn’t be. Was this Echidna’s work? No, she was fighting with them, not against them. One of her daughters? No, impossible. He had only met two of them but they were all a hundred percent behind her mother. No changeling... maybe an illusion spell? But that would have been detected by the cameras in Heaven Tower. He had added it to the security systems himself. “Incoming message.” A window opened on the terminal.

“Light, Luna is on a crusade. She is out of control. She is looking everywhere for the perpetrator. Hide. I could hide the recordings from her, but just in case. We were tricked. Echidna,” he read the text himself.

***

“Captain, prepare everything for our immediate departure.” Celestia went with quick steps through the corridors towards her quarters. “We will leave towards Amissa Heaven immediately. Something horrible must have happened. Thou will follow with a company by airship.”

“Your Majesty? Will you not travel with us?” She opened the door to her room and quickly turned towards the captain again.

“We have our own method to quickly travel from place to place. Have no fear; we know how to take care of ourselves.” The captain saluted and galloped off into direction of the airship bay. Celestia closed the door and sealed it. As soon as she had finished the spell, she was grabbed by a strong magic and thrown against the wall at the other end of the room. Pictures fell to the ground where the glass shattered, and the table she landed on collapsed under her weight. Blurrily, she looked at her attacker but at first couldn’t believe her eyes. It was Luna, but not the Luna she knew. Her little sister had charged her body with magic and her otherwise bright blue mane was like the night sky in the darkest of all hours. Her bright coat had taken an unsettling dark tone.

“Why, Sister?!” Luna roared at her. “Why?!”

“Luna? We don’t understand, what has happened? What is…?” Celestia didn’t get any further as a bolt bored into the wall next to her. Her eyes looked at it briefly. The bolt was soaked in deep red blood and wore the sigil of her Royal Guard in its wood.

“We should have known that thou and that guild are working together. It has always been thy game.” Her eyes were glowing in a dark black light. “Why, Celestia? Why my Antheon? Why did my loved one have to die?”

“Luna, we have nothing to do with it!”

“Then tell us where they are. Where are the murderers? Where are they hiding?” Luna pushed her against the wall again.

“Sister, we assure thee…“ Luna increased the pressure.

“Don’t you play your games with me! I know that you always know more than you tell me. Speak!” Celestia saw, now that her sister’s face was directly in front of hers, that even her teeth had changed. No longer had they belonged to a pony, but to a bloodthirsty monster. “Speak!”

“North. Our agents are watching the Chain for a while now.” Luna released her back on the ground, Celestia gasping for air. As she opened her eyes again, she noticed that she was alone in her room.

***

“Index, seal of the room as soon as I leave it. Let no one past the checkpoints. No one. Not even me.” They were beaten in their own game. “Keep up all connections as long as you can. When someone notices them, shut them off. We have achieved too much to lose it all now.”

“What are you going to do, Master?”

Light sighed and put on the armor he had stored in his glider. It was the formal golden armor of the prince of Equestria, with his sigil as well as his mother's and aunt’s. Their cutie marks were covering his own now, while the two crescents and the bolt were on his chest now. “I’m going to face Luna. She is more powerful than Echidna thinks. I don’t think she has realized yet what we alicorns are. Luna is the avatar of darkness. If she really wants to find someone, she will. This is why the Children of the Night would take a break after every mission. Would she have found our trails, she would find us. As long as we are just a nuisance at the corners of her mind, everything was alright.” A loud explosion roared in his ears, and he knew that she had arrived. “Remember. Let no one past the checkpoints.” Then Blue Light stepped out into the well-lit cave.

He took in a deep breath and prepared for what was coming for him. For a moment, it was quiet in the mountain, but then a large piece broke out of the ceiling above him and shattered to the ground. With slow flaps of her wings, Luna landed in front of him, but her form only distantly resembled what she once was now. Now he knew why Echidna had described what had happened in the facility back then so vaguely. And with all that he knew, this side of the alicorn of the night was not be trifled with.

“You!” she hissed between her sharp teeth. “I should have known that the fine descendant of my sister was playing the same game as she did.” He had gotten to this conclusion as well years ago. In some things, he was just too much like his mother.

“Luna, I can assure you that we have nothing to do with this. We were fooled! Someone wants us to fight each other.” Her look grew even darker.

“Yes, the Children of the Night were causing troubles on Albion for many years now, and now I find my own nephew in one of their hideouts. It is time to end this.” She stood up tall, now as tall as his mother. “As regent of Equestria and Amissa Heaven, I will bring you to justice for the murder of General Field Marshal Antheon of Amissa Heaven.” Two magical swords that were surrounded by blue mist appeared next to Luna. “And for all crimes that have been done in the name of this guild. Feel my wrath!” Light managed to dodge the attack of his aunt just in time. She whooshed past him with insane speed and rammed both her swords into the rock wall behind him.

Light knew that words would be useless new. She was in a blind rage. The Luna he knew would have never attacked her own family. It was time to fight back. With all his magical power, he manifested his own weapon. The scythe swirled around his body a few times before he grabbed the astral body with a foreleg. Unlike her, he didn’t have the magical power to create a weapon out of pure magic and have it levitate at the same time. Luna pulled her weapons with a quick move out of the stone so that a few smaller rocks fell into his direction. He raised his weapon to protect himself, which turned out to be a huge mistake. Luna was directly behind the stones and brought both her swords down on him again. This time she hit.

Everything went so fast that Light didn’t even feel the first moment as his left wing was severed and fell into the moss and began to color it red. Adrenalin was pumping through his body as he saw the grinning creature in front of him. Luna had gotten some of his blood on her muzzle and now seemed to enjoy licking it off her face. Heavily breathing, he noticed that now every last bit that had been his aunt had left the creature in front of him. Her eyes were glowing in a dark red; nothing was left of the kindness she used to spread. “And now… DIE!” Light closed his eyes as both swords went down on his head.

*** ~ [Nightwish - End of All Hope] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter III - Intermission 11 - Catch Me If You Can

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Spider webs, dust, and a dead cockroach were some of the things that occasionally assaulted him, and those were the pleasant things that Thiemo had to clear off his hand while crawling through the ventilation shafts of the Paradise. Aura was directly in front of him and had far less problems thanks to her smaller body. She would have to stand on her hind legs and reach up with her forelegs to even touch the ceiling. Thiemo, on the other hand, had to struggle more to move.

“Ouch, fucking damnit! Couldn’t they have built these shafts a bit larger in case something else than a pony dwarf wanted to hide here?” he grumbled after hitting his head for the tenth time. “I mean…” He reached out his hand and saw that he had grabbed onto another bug again. “Never mind.”

“Where are we going?” Aura asked and looked around the crossway they had reached.

Thiemo wiped the bug off his hand at his pants, wrinkling his nose in faint disgust. “We need to look for a quiet place where we can hide comfortably. Maybe a large storage room or down in the boiler room. It would at least be warm at night there. I don’t think the soldiers have noticed that we are still on board yet. They will probably stay for a few more days and then fly off again.” After he had seen Trixie leaving without them and he regained his composure, the first thing he had done was to grab Aura and crawl into the first hatch he saw. The hatch turned out to be a storeroom for the cleaners. However, since the chemicals that were needed for cleaning couldn’t be stored unaired, there was an entrance to the ventilation system in the wall. It didn’t look very inviting, smelled musty, and was dark, but they didn’t have a better choice. Thiemo could already hear hoofsteps on wood and ponies shouting orders.

Thiemo reached the crossway now as well and looked around. Up front, the shaft seemed to end back on deck; to the left, it seemed to go further down into the ship. “Over here, Aura.” The filly followed the left path and disappeared in the darkness within seconds. “Aura?” Thiemo crawled as quickly after her as he could, only to realize too late that the shaft suddenly changed its direction sharply downwards.

My little Pony

Journey

~ Intermission 11 - Catch Me If You Can ~

With a groan, Thiemo opened his eyes again. The last thing he remembered was this stupidly tight shaft that he and Aura had fallen down. While it wasn’t much of a problem for the little foal, he had bumped his head multiple times before he had gotten anywhere or the light had disappeared from his eyes. But he couldn’t have been here for too long, otherwise someone would have heard the clanks and were already looking for the source. If he had been lying here for a while, he would currently have found himself in chains no doubt.

Thiemo blinked a few times and eventually reached with one hand for his head that was busy revelling in the emotion known as pain. In that exact moment came into his field of view the ugliest thing that he had ever seen. “Ah! Gollum!” he shouted and tried to scramble back in panic. The creature that had come over to him did the same thing, only without the shouting. Thiemo now gave it a closer look. It wasn’t taller than a meter or so, was covered with a grey, leathery skin, and had a gigantic head for a much too small body. Bones could be seen poking through the skin in some places. What surprised him the most, and made his initial shout very accurate, were the humanoid features that it possessed. It walked on two legs as far as he could tell, plus it had feet that were not much different from his own. With a bit of imagination, one could call the things at the ends of his arms hands. However, instead of five fingers, it had three which were longer and ended in sharp nails. The thing that terrified him the most was the face. There were no lips, no nose - just nostrils and eyes that were as large as the ponies. Anything resembling ears were missing completely; only two little holes on the sides of the hairless head indicated that it could even perceive sound. To Thiemo’s sluggish mind, it was as though someone had placed the face on a flat plane.

“Flick is Flick, not Gollum,” the creature said and threw an angry glare at him, somehow managing to look offended. “Flick watches over strange thing for little pony.” His words were followed by the sound of little hoofsteps on metal, and a heavy iron door at the end of the room opened. A second later, Aura squeezed herself through the gap, a wet towel in her mouth.

As she saw that Thiemo was upright, she rushed over to him and passed him the towel. “Everything alright, dad?” she asked after he took the towel from her and pressed it onto his forehead. Immediately, the pain began to ebb a bit.

“I’m fine. Your new friend really startled me.” He leaned down to her. “What is that thing?” he whispered.

The two little claws shot between the human and filly and pushed them aside. Flick stepped between them, glaring at Thiemo. “Flick is no thing, you thing!” He tapped against Thiemo’s chest. “Flick proud goblin.” Goblins? There were goblins on Albion? Thiemo sighed. He really had to stop wondering about such things.

A pungent smell reached Thiemo’s nose, and he quickly pushed the goblin aside. “Proud goblin should take a bath.”

Flick bared his teeth, which were surprisingly sharp, and puffed himself up in front of Thiemo to look more threatening. “Flick hates water! Goblins hate water!” And now this all made sense. He looked around the room they were in. An old mattress with various springs poking out of it was lying in a corner. A tattered blanket, which numerous cockroaches had surely crawled over, was on top of it. In the corner, next to the heavy door, was something that must have been some kind of chamber pot. The other two corners were filled with pipes of all sizes. They must have landed in a maintenance room that also served as the living area of Flick.

Flick must have been caretaker of the ship, even if that role wasn’t voluntary. Lock a creature with a deadly fear of water onto a ship and it would make sure it wouldn’t sink. With his strange hands, he was surely better suited for the work than an earth pony or pegasus, and they could keep him like a dog down here and wouldn’t have to worry about payment either. They surely didn’t feed him anything else but the leftovers from the kitchen. Now that he thought about it, he even saw a few remains in the blanket.

Flick’s head suddenly jerked up. He had proven already that he could listen well with his strange holes. “Ponies coming down. Many ponies. Searching something. Searching thing.” He looked over at Thiemo and his look grew darker.

“Please, Mister Flick. My dad did nothing wrong. They can’t find him!” Aura pleaded and leaned with both her forehooves against one of his legs. Thiemo knew the tactic very well, for he had very often fallen for it. The problem was just to differentiate when the child in her was really speaking.

The goblin looked over at her, then back at Thiemo before turning away from them. Just as Thiemo was about to lean over to Aura, his head shot up again without moving his body. He looked at them briefly before turning away again. Thiemo had to admit that he was a bit scared of the ugly little thing.

Eventually, the goblin jumped on the spot. “Flick helps strange thing. But thing don’t break anything. Little pony neither. Flick get in trouble.” Thiemo nodded and stood up. Instinctively, he reached for his staff next to him, but to his horror, he felt only air as he grasped wildly. Quickly, he looked around, but nowhere in the room was it to be seen. Only after a few moments of frantic searching did he think to look upwards. Right there at the end of the ventilation shaft that they had fallen through, and a good way up, his staff was stuck.

“Damn,” he cursed. “Aura, come over here. If we work together, we might be able to—” Thiemo was interrupted by Flick grabbing him by his wrist and pulling him away. The goblin was not only agile but also incredibly strong. “No time. Ponies coming.” Flick pulled him out of the door, Aura directly behind them.

***

“That damn goblin.” Flick had dragged Thiemo and Aura deep into ship, told them to hide, and had then disappeared. That had been about six hours ago. Since then, they had neither seen Flick nor heard from him. Now they were wandering through the various small passages between the pipes and other machinery down here that kept the ship moving.

The sound of multiple heavy hooves on metal made Thiemo crouch immediately, Aura halting her movements next to him. That was the only advantage they had against the soldiers who were still on board and looking for them. Their hooves made it impossible to move quietly. Even if some of them could fly, it was too tight down here, rendering their wings useless.

Just as Thiemo wanted to get moving again, he heard a voice and took cover behind one of the thick pipes. He risked a look back into the narrow, sparsely lit hallway, catching a glimpse of two unicorns walking down the corridor. “You think that human is still here?”

“No idea, but until the commander says he isn’t here, we’re going to look for him.” The two mares walked past the pipe. “And it could have been worse. We’re on a cruiser. Surely we can jump in the pool before we leave again. It will take a while for all witnesses to be questioned and reports to be finished.” Thiemo cursed his usual luck again. All that meant was the soldiers would stay here for days. Days in which it would be hard to get water and food. Thiemo risked another look, but to his surprise, they had already disappeared. He switched to his magical sight, but there was still no sign. At least they were alone again.

“Okay, two things, Aura. First of all, we need to set up a camp and secure it. Preferably somewhere where they don’t expect us. Then we have to get something to drink and eat.” The filly next to him nodded. “Any ideas?”

Aura hummed for a few seconds while she thought. “When we play hide and seek, I always hide very close to you.” Thiemo knew that very well. One time she had managed to climb up a tree, under which he had been lying while counting, without him even noticing it. Without his magical sight, it would have taken much longer to find her. Not that he would ever tell her that he had been cheating, but he had started to get worried.

“If this ship is like every other one I’ve ever been on, then there are additional stairs for the personnel so that they don’t disturb the passengers. If we can find one of them, we would have easy access to all the decks.” The shaft they had fallen through was not that deep, so they were probably on the first or second underdeck. “There are plenty of store rooms on the way and canteens for said personnel. For the logistics to work, they would have to be in the middle of the ship. They could quickly reach every part of the ship from there.” Satisfied with his train of thought, he nodded. “So we are searching for the middle of the ship now.”

“Dad?” He looked down at his daughter who was pointing with her hoof somewhere. Thiemo followed her hoof and slapped himself. They had walked past the stairs already. If only he wouldn’t have such headaches. At least the only thing they had to do now was to leave the ship at the first available opportunity.

***

Thiemo pushed his pistol a bit harder against the mare’s side. “Sorry, Shimmer, but I don’t think I will be ready for duty for a couple more days.”

“Okay, Tabi, I’ll tell the boss.” Tense, Thiemo listened to how the other mare went back down the hallway behind the now closed door. As she finally was no longer to be heard, he let out a relieved sigh.

“I can’t stay locked away here forever. Somepony will notice something if they don’t see me for days,” his hostage explained. The unlucky earth pony mare had come into the store room yesterday, just as Aura and he were plundering it. Flick had actually returned after a day and brought him his pistol, which he must have lost somewhere. He would have preferred his staff, but it was better than nothing. Now they were hiding for the second day in the employee’s cabin of the Paradise, and Thiemo knew that she was right.

Yesterday, the soldiers had finally stopped the search and began to write reports. Should they managed to stay undetected for another day, they would be on their way again. “As soon as we land in…”

“Boardor.”

“You will never see me again.” The metal grid from the ventilation shaft fell to the ground, and Aura jumped out of it and onto the couch that Thiemo had placed underneath. She had a small bag in her mouth, probably filled with food that she stole from the kitchen. She spat out the bag and tiredly fell to the side.

“Somepony almost saw me,” she just said and yawned. Thiemo only let her go at dusk when all the other passengers would have dinner in the large hall. He didn’t like to do it, but she was quicker, agile, and more experienced than him.

Thiemo went over to her and exchanged the bag for a blanket that he put over her. “Maybe we should rest for a day. Even if they only think it’s the rats it’s just going to get harder.” The filly nodded, exhaustion evident in her eyes, almost in asleep already. With a smile, he placed a kiss on her forehead and sat down on the low table in the room. He reached for the bag and pulled a few flowers out. “Tulips?” he asked the hostage that was about to sneak out of the door. She just sighed, sat down next to the table, and began to eat. Then he searched for something for himself.

***

With one last jump, he finally grasped his staff. “The human is down here somewhere! We won’t land until we catch him!” a loud female voice barked through the narrow corridors.

The ship was directly in front of Boardor’s coast, and it was time to end this game of hide and seek. He had tied up his hostage quickly with a bed sheet and ran, together with Aura, back to Flick’s shack. It wouldn’t stop her long before she could alarm the guards. They had found too much liking in the Paradise’s pool and were now escorting the ship to the next safe harbour, for security reasons of course.

Luckily, Thiemo was intelligent enough to bring a chair down here, for whatever reasons they even had one, to reach his beloved piece of metal. And now he finally had it back in his hands. “He’s here!”

Thiemo spun around and saw a pegasus mare in golden armour standing in the entrance. Before he could do anything, Aura, who had hidden behind the heavy iron door, kicked it shut, and the face of the soldier met over a hundred kilos of door. Immediately, the pony went to the ground as blood spurted out of her nose. “Ouch…” Thiemo just said as he stepped over her with his daughter.

They rushed to the door, and Thiemo lifted Aura onto his shoulders before taking multiple steps at once. They went two stories up before he pushed a door open and stepped onto the deck. It was deepest night, and only the moon gave a bit of light. His gaze quickly wandered around, looking for a dinghy. “Halt!” Another pegasus mare came flying at him and held a spear with an uncomfortably sharp edge in her hooves. Her mistake was that she slowed down to land in front of him, and if there was one thing that Thiemo knew, then it was that ponies weren’t made to hold weapons. To be able to stand, they would take it into their mouth first and then tuck it under a wing. He used that to his advantage by grabbing the weapon and ripping it out of her hooves. Unfortunately, he used so much force that it went directly over board and disappeared with a quiet splash in the waves. But with the weapon left also the courage of the soldier, and she flew off again. Of course, not without calling for reinforcements.

On deck, he wouldn’t stand a chance in a fight against pegasi and unicorns, and since he had been discovered, he wouldn’t have time to take a dinghy. He looked over to the lights of the city at the coastline. “It’s going to get wet,” he said to Aura and jumped after the spear.

*** ~ [Linkin Park - Bleed It Out] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Author's Notes:

I really like the old albums of Linkin Park (Meteora and Hybrid Theory). There are some songs in their newer releases I like too, but never the album as a whole.

What is there to know about this chapter? I will try to explain my thinking more in the future to improve your reading experience. Maybe you noticed that the all Guards Thiemo "met" during is stay on the ship were mares. Thats because the main force of Equestria is 90% female. You could say I ripped of a lot of stories with that, but it actually was only one. To give credit where credit is due: Xenophilia

If you didn't read it, I recommend it very much. Not for the clop but the social structure that is described there. It very interesting for me to read about a foreign society. And a society ruled by females, with herds instead of traditional relationships is exactly that.

I don't want to spoiler much but there was a little joke in that story that woke my interest. Celestia said as a jest that she wanted to be surrounded by likable/handsome stallions all the time. So they founded the "Royal Guard" for her. In Journey there a bit more but I like the joke so much that I copied it a bit. Also a friend of mine and fellow author, Hadschott, sees them only as a honor Guard and I agree. Let's face it, they suck. Maybe Shining Armor is an example but you all saw how easy they let the changelings take over their city and so on. The very moment Chrysalis revealed herself there should have been hundreds of guards on top of her. I mean, the shield fucking dropped AFTER she did that. Where where all these guards? Taking a nap like Luna probably did with staying up all night?

OK, I hope I got my point across. Another quick question. I know JBL doesn't like Estoc for reasons. But I would like hear you opinion on the character as well.

Additional info: Flicks name comes from "Flicken" - the German word for patching something up.

Thanks to Gron for translating this chapter.
Special thanks to JBL for proofreading and editing.

And give their story a try too:
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Chapter III - Act 12.1 - Aftermath

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With open mouths, everyone stared at the last pictures that Index showed them. Applejack quickly covered Auralia’s eyes with a hoof as Nightmare Moon rushed again towards the stricken Blue Light. “Hey! I want to see that too,” the filly protested, objections that were ignored by everyone. Twilight winced as she saw his wing striking the ground violently and had the strong urge to curl herself up in a ball and hold her own wings tightly to her body. With all the fine nerves that connected the wing to the rest of the body, it must have been an unbearable agony that her brother had felt in that moment.

And now she had to witness the last moments of a pony, her brother that she never met. Nightmare Moon stood over the heavily injured young prince. She licked the blood off her lips, and both her swords went down on her opponent again. Just as the blades made contact with his neck, the recording ended and the screen turned black.

“Wow!” Lyra exclaimed.

“Wow,” Night Hawk murmured, nodding faintly.

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 12.1 - Aftermath ~

The room was silent; only the quiet buzzing of the machines around them could be heard. Nobody could say anything to counter Lyra’s statements or add to it. She had found just the right words and sentiments to describe what they had seen.

“This is the history of the Children of the Night.” They all jumped as the hologram of Index reappeared and talked to them. “Seventeen years after the last recording, the connection to Amissa Heaven was terminated. One thousand, one hundred and twenty eight years after the last recording, the connection to the archives of Canterlot was terminated.”

Thiemo saw that no one else was going to do anything so he picked up the control unit off the floor that Lyra had dropped from her mouth. He wiped it clean on his coat and held it tight. Nobody had to see the trembling that racked his hands. He had seen many strange creatures, even some which could be described as monsters, but that thing that was called Nightmare Moon was a whole new level. Monster would be a very charming description for her. He had seen what he considered to be the most powerful being he had ever met lying dead, in a pool of his own blood, at her hooves.

“Index, set language to Equis.” The AI made no sound but nodded. Thiemo opened his mouth, but no question left his lips. Honestly, he didn’t even know where to start. Blue Light was the voice that had appeared to him and gave him his cutie mark. It was clearly the same voice. Had his soul remained here, waiting for a shaman to fulfil a task he was no longer able to? What was the meaning of their meeting? Then there were the connections between them that he couldn’t overlook. Their affinity to technology, their fear of heights, they both had a certain intelligence, and learned only through a cutting event to take matters into their own hands. Or hooves. For Thiemo, it was the arrival in Equestria, for Blue Light the assassination attempt on Luna. No, that wasn’t right. “Index, was the first assassination plot on Luna really directed towards her?” She was an AI, able to think of her own. If she had stored the recordings to all those events, she surely had analysed them at one point too.

The screen again showed the picture from the day that Antheon, Luna, and Blue Light had been under fire on the stage. It showed the exact moment that the men in uniform had pulled the triggers. “Based on the available parameters, and given relations to the time of the attack, the target was the General Field Marshal. Princess Luna only reacted in time and fell victim to the bullets that were meant for him. The others probably were only attacked to cover it up.” Just as he expected. This really had been the first try. The target had never been the peace — it had been Luna. The peace was just something that was near and dear to her.

“Thiemo,” a voice next to him said and pulled him at his sleeve. It was Estoc. “Is that really necessary?” He nodded over to Twilight. The alicorn had tears in her eyes as she saw the terror in her brother’s face as the soldiers opened fire.

Thiemo stared at Estoc for a few seconds before he realized what the Captain wanted from him. At least he still held the control unit. “Sorry. Index, turn off the visuals. Please only show them on demand.”

“Acknowledged.” The terminal went dark again, and the room dimmed, perfectly matching the mood of the group.

“Dad? May I ask a question too?” The human looked over to the little filly that had freed herself from Applejack’s grip and now stood at his feet. “Please?”

“Sure.” He nodded. “What do you want to know?”

“What happened to the humans? Where have they all gone?” He internally flinched. For this question, there was only one answer, and for that he wouldn’t need Index. Equestria stood in all its glory. He knew about the Twenty Five Years’ War. They had lost, and the descendants of the survivors lived in the shadow, restricted in their movements and forced to eke out an existence in the squalor of their once magnificent home. Nightmare Moon had declared herself the leader of Amissa Heaven and led them to war against Equestria. It led him to another thought.

“Index, you said seventeen years after… Nightmare Moon was here, the connection to Amissa Heaven broke. What exactly happened?”

The hologram remained silent for a few seconds. Maybe it was looking for an answer in its storage, but Thiemo couldn’t tell with the screen turned off. “My last data relating to measurements from that day led me to the conclusion that there had to be a malfunction in the reactor. Source unknown.”

From what he knew from the recordings, this reactor was basically just a machine that gathered magical energy and transformed it into usable energy. A bit like the way he charged his gems. A malfunction of that scale could wipe out an entire conti—

“The Broken Leylands.” To everyone’s surprise, it was Twilight who spoke up. She sniffed and tried to wipe the tears from her eyes, only partially succeeding. “When a magical converter of this size explodes, it leaves a mark. It would fit with the time this region was created. Old scripts say that it was once a productive land. But the magical outburst turned it into the desert that it is today.” Twilight looked at him with a pleading look and eyed the control unit in his hand. He loosened his grip a bit, and Twilight took it into her magical grip. “Index, please, what happened to Blue Light? What happened to my brother?”

The head of the AI swung around to her. “Princess Luna took what was left of him and confronted her sister, Princess Celestia, with it. According to my data, this was the day that the war between Amissa Heaven and Equestria began.” What was left of him? Did she take his severed head and threw it in front of his mother’s hooves? An ineffable sound escaped from Rarity, who had been standing quietly behind him until now. She dashed out of the room into the chamber, where she emptied her stomach. Estoc followed her immediately to help her. Aura luckily didn’t seem to understand what was meant by that. She just kept looking up at him, waiting for her question to be answered.

“Come here, sugarcube.” AJ took her again and pressed her against her warm body. It was probably also for her own good; she was looking a bit green around the muzzle.

“Index, we are not the first who came here in all this time, right?” Twilight continued her questions. And this one was valid. Thiemo thought that Luna had been here. And maybe not just here.

“The first access after sealing was one hundred and thirty years, two months, and twenty four days ago. Access granted to Cerberus Echidna.” Amaryllis woke from her trance next to Thiemo and stared at the hologram. “She deposited some items in the safe of this facility and finished some constructions of this chamber.”

“The robots and the tablets,” Lyra mumbled and Twilight nodded.

“A second access from Princess Luna was thirteen years, eight months, and fifteen days ago. She demanded access to the same records of Blue Light.” So Luna had seen all that they had seen too: why the Children of the Night had been founded, what Blue Light’s real goals had been, and how she had just been the toy of someone else.

“Twilight, can you ask her if she knows why Luna wanted to show us this?” She looked at him in confusion. “This is not a coincidence. Luna told me a part of the oath in a dream. She sent Hawk, who knew the rest, with us and had her hooves in our escape just as much as Celestia did. The question is why? I can understand it if she wanted to show it to you, but me? What do I have to do with all this?”

The eyes of the young alicorn widened. Without paying further attention to the human’s words, she pulled up his still slightly wet sleeves with a bit of magic and looked at the cutie mark on his shoulder. “They are almost identical,” she mumbled before turning towards Index again. “Show us a picture of Blue Light’s cutie mark, please.” The terminal sprung to life again and showed a crop of the flank of the light blue alicorn: the moons that formed a circle, traversed by a magical bolt. Two moons he had on his shoulder as well.

“What does that mean?” Applejack asked, slightly surprised. “Ah thought that cutie marks were unique.”

“They should be. But whatever the reason, it has something to do with all this. And my aunt knew that. Somehow.”

Thiemo sighed. “It probably won’t help to tell you that Blue Light spoke to me.” Questioning looks were immediately directed over to him. “It was the moment I got this mark. One of the robots had slammed me against the wall. I could tell that my spine had been shattered upon impact from the sheer momentum.” He paused and grimaced as he recalled the overwhelming pain that had consumed him at that moment. “Then, somehow, I found myself in some blue mist in the middle of nowhere. It wasn’t the first time that I had seen a soul, but it was the first time outside the real world. It was Blue Light who spoke to me. He said something about it being too early and that I would need his help. As I opened my eyes again, I was back on my legs, no injuries, and magic flowed through my body.” He shrugged helplessly at the shocked expressions adorning the faces surrounding him. “You have seen the result.”

***

Their exchange continued on for a significant time before Aura noticed that she was hungry. She wasn’t the only one. They decided to ponder on what they had seen and heard over a meal and left the archive. Index kept the door open for them while they sat around a small campfire and ate their last rations. The only one who wasn’t there with them was Amaryllis. She had gone back to the moss-covered part to watch the work of her grandmother. Thiemo knew from her tales about Echidna that Amaryllis practically worshipped her.

As Thiemo looked around again to see if his marefriend would come back this time, he saw in the corners of his eyes that Heart was pushing Hawk towards him. The thestral seemed to resist until she had finally reached his side. She looked at him, despondence clear in her eyes, for a few seconds and kicked up some dust with her hoof. “Sorry,” she finally mumbled, so quiet that Thiemo almost missed it. “I mean for yelling at you. Without you, I would have never seen that.”

“Was it because I solved the riddle or because you needed a human to open the door?” She stammered something incomprehensible, apparently surprised by Thiemo’s reaction. “Don’t worry; I know how sacred that vow is to you. And after all… this, I can understand it. The origin is tragic. I will honour it.” Hawk nodded and slumped back down next to her comrade. Thiemo had seen many sides of the thestral, but this one was new. Even Heart seemed to be a bit overwhelmed to see her friend like this.

A cough made him turn his attention back front where Twilight now stood, looking at the empty space next to him. He just nodded, and she quickly sat down. Looking over to her, he noticed that her wings were tightly pressed to her body and her ears folded back. “Can I ask you something? I would like to have a second opinion on this. An independent opinion.” Thiemo remained silent and nodded. “Why do you think my mother never told me about my brother?”

A sigh left his lips, and his hand wandered over to stroke over his chin as he thought of what he could say. It felt strange having to sit down with someone who had been intent on capturing him only recently, yet he did not want to rub salt into freshly made wounds. “I can only guess, Twilight. Remorse? She didn’t know that her son was the leader of the guild as she sent Luna north. And the Children of the Night appeared as relentless warmongers that manipulated both nations. She was scared of Luna, or what she had become. Shame would be my second guess. I can only imagine what she would have felt upon realizing what he had indirectly caused. Perhaps she even feared that you would turn away from her if you knew the truth. And the last one? Maybe it was to save you the pain, the pain of knowing that you had a brother who met his end the way he did.”

Twilight nodded after a while, her usually nimble mind slowly mulling over his words. “And what are you going to do now?” she eventually asked.

“Me? I don’t know. I always thought I was here due to some accident. Maybe it was because I was caught by some magical beam that teleported me to Albion, or I was riding on some cosmic cloud when some maniac blew the bombs. Or maybe I just died and…” Thiemo stopped, rubbed his eyes, and then passed a hand through his hair. “Damn, I thought it was just an accident that brought me here. Nothing more. I never asked for this!” He pointed at his shoulders. “But now I have the feeling that I am being pulled into something. That someone wanted me to come here. Could of course just be my paranoia, and every half-decent shaman would do the trick.”

“It’s interesting.” Thiemo blinked. “I mean your cutie mark. It is possible that two ponies share parts of their cutie mark. However, it’s usually only directly related ones. Twins like Aloe and Lotus. They have a spa in Ponyville and are identical twins. They both have the same flower as cutie mark but in a different colour.”

“Only that I can’t be related to a pony. I am a human, and maybe you have realized by now, but I’m not even from this planet.” Twilight nodded and stared at the blank rocky ground in front of her. “Now I have a question. This Captain Sparkle. Was he your father?”

She shook her head. “A descendant of my father. The house Sparkle has fielded the… associates of my mother for many generations. It is a great honour for them. Captain Solar Sparkle was the first who was entrusted with this duty. My father is Midnight Sparkle, astronomer at the University of Canterlot. He is also the father of my brother…” She stopped. “Shining Armor! Did he know about Blue Light?” With that, Twilight stood up and quickly disappeared into the archives again.

A look around showed that everyone was still in their thoughts. Rarity was snuggling again Estoc, who had laid a protective hoof around her back. Heart and Hawk just sat there and stared into the flames. Auralia had fallen asleep in Applejack’s hooves. The farmer had also pulled her hat over her face. Lyra stood at the tablets and began to copy as much over into her notebook as she could. “I’m going to look after Amy,” he finally said to no one in particular and went into direction of the pale green light that showed where the moss was to be found.

After a short time spent wandering through the thick, glowing forest, he found the small waterfall through which they entered the cave. She just stood there and looked at the water, or at what she saw inside it. “My grandmother was incredible,” she said without turning around as he came closer. Of course she could feel his presence. “Not by what she was, but by what she tried to achieve in this world. I have always hoped to follow her hoofsteps. To be like her. But who am I? The daughter of Chrysalis, the changeling who killed her. Nothing more.”

Thiemo could have used someone who would tell him that everything was alright now himself, but he tried to pull himself together. “We all wonder where we are coming from and where we are going. Of course our origins play a role, but we decide what to make with it. Right now, the world knows you as Princess Amaryllis, daughter of Chrysalis. If you don’t like that, change it. You are what you make out of yourself, and you have already made the first step. You have made your own way.

“Which I never had would have done without you.”

“So?” He stepped next to her and took her head gently into his hands, coaxing her to meet his eyes. “We don’t have to do everything on our own. Without Aura, I wouldn’t be the person that I am today. I was on the wrong path, but that little filly gave me a goal, something that I could reach for. Sometimes, all we can do is depend on others, and there is nothing wrong with that.” Amaryllis smiled and their lips met.

***

They spent a bit more time at the water, snuggling, talking, and exchanging their thoughts about what they had seen. Thiemo noted that Echidna had mentioned that she was angry at no one for being what she was, a phrasing that made sense to neither him nor Amy. Eventually they returned to the camp, only to see that they had gone back into the archive. Amy and Thiemo exchanged a quick glance and also ran through the entrance.

“Energy reserves at point zero three percent. Image number five completed. Image responds to the name Reena.”

“What’s going on here?” Thiemo asked, out of breath.

“Twilight wanted to take a copy of the data,” Lyra explained without taking an eye of the screen. “Index immediately began creating an image.” A hatch at the side of the terminal opened, and a little gemstone came out. “Then Twilight asked her why she even let anyone in here. Blue Light had sealed this place after all. She said that her energy was running low and an emergency protocol had activated. The knowledge had to be persevered.” Thiemo looked at the flickering image of the AI in the room.

“Thank you, Index. Is there anything else we can do for you?” As Twilight spoke with her, he realized what Lyra meant. She was dying. Blue Light had connected her to all the systems in this place. As the archive ran out of energy, she was also affected. It affected all of them.

“No, I have saved all my data in image number five ‘Reena’. My purpose is served.” The image went out.

“I know that it’s a bit tactless,” Thiemo began, “but I think I know what reanimated the skeletons.”

“The stone down in the safe,” Twilight said, certainty evident in her voice. “When Index activated the emergency protocols around fifty years ago, she tried to reach Echidna. Unfortunately, she was no longer alive at that point. So she broke the seal in hopes of passing on the knowledge. First Luna, now us. Unfortunately, she had to shut down more and more systems over time, including the magical barrier around the safe.” To give credence to her words, a hissing sound was heard, and a box in the wall opened. “I asked Index to show us the contents.”

Thiemo took a step closer to see what came out. There was a black stone about as large as his fist. An unnatural energy that caused convulsing pains in his stomach came out of it. Quickly, he took a step back again. “Aura, come over here real quick.” The filly stepped at his side and looked up at him expectantly. “Could you touch the stone with Protes?”

She nodded happily. “No problem.” Thiemo smiled and lifted her off the ground. She grimaced as well as they came closer to the stone, but reached out her right forehoof and touched the stone with her hoof band. At first nothing seemed to happen, but then the stone began to turn white. As it was completely turned white, the strange feeling in Thiemo’s stomach disappeared as well.

“Thanks, dear, very well done.” He put her on his shoulders and looked over the other items. The first thing he noticed was that there were two swords, a one and a half hander and a short sword. Next to it were two iron shoulders which had Celestia’s sun engraved them. Echidna must have placed them here as she built the rest of the archives. Thiemo took out both and held it up for the ponies to see.

Chapter III - Act 12.2 - Exit

View Online

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 12.2 - Exit ~

Since the actual way into the archives had been unfortunately destroyed a long time ago, Hawk, Amaryllis, and Twilight carried their friends through the discovered hole in the ceiling. Thiemo suspected, while desperately keeping his eyes shut as Amy carried him on her back towards the ceiling, that gryphons had probably come here after Luna had found this place. The skeletons, therefore, were the remains of the expedition that had tried to uncover this place. They probably had locked themselves in down here when they tried to blast their way free with some explosives. Just brainless vultures who only cared about ancient treasures. He would have loved to see their faces when they found out that knowledge instead of gold was waiting here for them. Or whatever valuables they had hoped for.

Softly, Amaryllis landed, and Thiemo immediately fell from her back and onto the hard ground. “I’m not flying that bad,” she commented dryly, knowing very well that it wasn’t her fault. They were the last two to come up since he insisted on keeping watch so that nothing would happen. Luckily, they had bought that lie. Or at least they acted like they did. He was fine either way.

“Do you think it was right to seal the entrance again?” Lyra asked as she turned around nervously. “What if it didn’t work?” They had locked the stone, which was completely powerless now, back into the archive again and sealed it. Index didn’t even have the energy to close the doors herself.

Twilight, who was preening her wings, nodded. “Imagine what would happen if the knowledge would fall into the wrong hooves or hands. I am not even sure we should tell anyone about this place.” Lyra stared openly into her direction and wanted to protest, but Twilight immediately held a hoof in front of her mouth. “I know what you want to say, Lyra, and you are right. But my mother has surely held this knowledge secret for a good reason. I want to talk with her about that first.” The once aggressive unicorn let her head hang and nodded sullenly.

Thiemo, who had taken out the lamp he took from the dead gryphon, stepped towards them. “And what shall I do with these things?” With his free right hand, he pointed at the pauldron he wore and the two swords at his belt. “Aside from them being historical treasures, I think Luna has the right to them, right?”

“I don’t know if that is such a good idea,” Night Hawk spoke up. “She surely has a lot of horrible memories related to them. I mean, they belonged to someone that meant a lot to her and was murdered.”

“Maybe we should discuss that later.” Estoc stepped forward and nervously looked around. “I don’t know if with the stone, the undead are gone as well.” For a few seconds, it was completely silent as everyone listened into the darkness around them. There was the splatter of water in the distance, the breathing of ten living creatures, and the quiet steps of bones that moved over stone ground. “Okay, move.”

The group did as they were told and continued their way into the deep, unknown cave, Night Hawk at the front and Estoc at the end as before. Thiemo, meanwhile, was busy grappling with two other things. For one, there was the magic in his body. It was an unfamiliar feeling, like an unknown fluid was flowing through his body and was just waiting to escape. Almost like a full bladder. But that was what came along with new things – he had already gotten used to his tail as well. The second thing was what followed the first. Until now, he had always had to drain energy from his surroundings. But now he tried to use his own. Of what use was it if he couldn’t use it?

Suddenly, Hawk’s wings shot up, a sign for them all to stop. Immediately, they all looked around. “Two, directly in front of us,” she mumbled.

“A few more behind us. But they don’t seem to have noticed us yet.” Estoc’s horn began to glow. “If only I had my equipment.”

“Can we go around them, Hawk?” Heart asked, worry evident in her features. “We will only attract more if we fight them.”

“Ah thought these things shouldn’t be moving anymore.” Applejack spun around and narrowed her eyes to slits. “There are a few more, Ah think.” Thiemo considered the situation. They had no magical aura but were still moving even though the source was gone. However, without knowing exactly how black magic worked, there were an infinite number of possible answers for that. Carefully, Thiemo placed the lamp on the ground and changed his view. Just as Hawk said, two skeletons were wandering through the darkness a few meters ahead of them. The bones of what used to be the wings of a gryphon hung in the air like little antennas. Their skulls were pointed towards the ground, though they didn’t seem to be following any certain direction. His head turned towards the direction that Applejack was looking at. Out of a hallway to their left came three more skeletons, in a much worse condition than the rest. Their bones were brittle, and many seemed to be missing some. Two more skeletons followed them. Unlike the others, they seemed to have spotted the group already and crept up on them. They hadn’t noticed that they themselves were spotted already. Thiemo said nothing, instead pointed at himself, Estoc, and the two stalkers. The captain nodded that he understood. Hawk nodded as well and pointed at Heart and the two in front of them. Questioning looks wandered towards Twilight and Applejack. The farmer couldn’t see how many there were, but grinned confidently. Twilight seemed a bit worried, but then Amaryllis joined them. The changeling princess tapped against her horn and readied herself.

Thiemo raised a hand with three fingers. “On three.” His lips formed the words without saying them.” Three!” Twilight immediately created a magical light that illuminated the entire area. The two gryphons behind them didn’t seem surprised, instead using it as a signal to attack as well. They jumped towards Rarity, Aura, and Lyra, only to be blocked by Estoc. The stallion threw himself against one of them, only to collide with the other one as well. Thiemo drew his swords from their scabbards. In the back of his head, his experience in the past told him that a club would be a better choice, but he couldn’t change that now. He threw the short sword over to Estoc, who caught it in his magic and swung it around just in time to parry the claw of a skeleton that was aiming for his back.

Thiemo brought himself between Lyra and the other gryphon and raised his sword as the gryphon raised its claw. The flat side of the sword struck the shoulder of the undead while the claw only hit some cloth. Both opponents jumped back a bit, but the gryphon had more mobility with his four legs and used the gained momentum to immediately attack forward again. So the first thing that Thiemo saw as he looked up again was the beak of a gryphon heading towards his face. By instinct, he threw himself on the ground so that the gryphon flew over him directly towards Lyra, who he had tried to protect. The mare screamed as the skeleton landed on her. The human jumped quickly back onto his feet. Just as the gryphon was about the peck at her, Thiemo grabbed him around his neck with one hand and pulled him down from her. In that moment, he realized one thing. They were only skeletons. Compared to a living gryphon, their weight must have been almost zero.

He turned around to the fallen opponent, and in the corners of his eyes, he saw Estoc. The captain had trimmed the ribs of the gryphon with his sword and seemed to have the upper hand. The skeleton was only dodging one quick strike after another. Would he have had a talisman or two, he would have been long finished now, or at least it would look better. The golden beam that shot past very close to his face caught him out of his thoughts. He saw the gryphon going down again, now with a large hole in its skull. “Thanks, Lyra,” he said to his saviour, who only nodded, wild-eyed in panic, as the fight went on around her. The different coloured magical auras turned the whole thing into some kind of a disco, at least for him. They were only missing a beat, but Thiemo had one in his head now.

The gryphon was still moving, but Thiemo quickly swung his sword and thrust it through the newly created hole in the skull, pinning it to the ground. The undead kicked around with all fours, but without muscles, the bones couldn’t build up enough force to free himself. Content, he looked over to Applejack. The strong mare was dealing forceful kicks. Every time her hindlegs made contact with one of the three skeletons, they lost a few parts of themselves. Amaryllis and Twilight alternately fired magical missiles and covered the farmer’s back to ensure she couldn’t be attacked from behind by the other two skeletons.

Hawk seemed to struggle more than the rest. Blades, just as Thiemo expected, were not that effective against the bony undead. She threw one knife after another with her wings at her opponents, but they just stuck in their bones, which didn’t seem to bother them much. In that moment, Heart shot towards one skeleton next to him and slammed her hooves against the hilt of one knife that was stuck. With the momentum, it pierced completely through the bone and split it in two. Thiemo noticed that this was now the second skeleton they had cut all limbs off of. They exchanged high-fives before looking to the others as well. With the experienced duo as additional cover, he turned towards the gryphon on the ground again. His claw had found the hilt by now, but he was still lacking the power to pull the sword out of the ground.

Thiemo took a deep breath in and out, lowering his heartbeat just like he had learned. He listened into himself. He had used this power before, and he could do it again. It was there – he could clearly feel it. Or he never had to go to the toilet this urgent in his life before, but that was rather unlikely. No, it was definitely magic he felt in his body. Like a wild river that just needed to be tamed. With all his force, he directed the river into his right hand.

The gryphon on the ground was still kicking around, but that would come to an end now. Thiemo took a big swing and brought his fist down on it. It smashed through the ribs, then the spine until it came to halt, buried into the ground up to his wrist. The lower part of the gryphon stopped moving immediately. The claws still tried to grab his face, but Thiemo reacted quicker. He pulled his right hand back, grabbed the two forelegs of the gryphon, and ripped it straight from the body with one strong pull. All that was left behind was a curling torso with a pinned head, and a hurting right hand. “I think I broke my pinkie.” Again a beam shot past his face, this time a purple one.

“More are coming!” Twilight shouted as she ran past him to help Estoc. The stallion was dealing with no less than four skeletons now. He dodged one strike after another and used the sword to parry those he couldn’t evade. Nevertheless, some bloody streaks were on his flanks. Hawk and Heart both flew above the new group of skeletons that came from the hallway. All in all, there were nine skeletons that kept the group busy on both fronts. And it wasn’t becoming fewer. Thiemo pulled the sword out of the ground and kicked the helpless skeleton aside.

“How large can a gryphon expedition be?!”

“Not that large!” Estoc gave as an answer as he joined him. “But over the centuries, many gryphon clans fought battles in this area.” So they were on a gryphon graveyard?

“Great…”

***

“Ten, no problem. Twenty, fine by me.” Thiemo threw a quick glance back. “A hundred?! You can’t be serious.” He couldn’t count exactly how many it had been. The group had sought refuge in flight as more and more undead were attracted by the sound of the combat.

“We should have gone around them,” Heart moaned. The mare was still completely exhausted from the battle, and her wing was injured, so she was running like the rest of the group now.

Some gryphons came closer to the group, so Twilight and Amaryllis were still shooting magical missiles into their direction. However, while running, their accuracy was even worse than usual. None of them had ever been trained to fight. Lucky hits, like against the ceiling from which some stones would then fall off and smash multiple skeletons, were rare. Most of the time, they just blew up dust. But if they struck, the hit skeleton was catapulted a few metres back into the rest. Lyra ran next to Hawk at the front. She did the same as the two princesses, only with much better accuracy. She cleared the way of all that suddenly appeared in front of them.

“Eye level, twenty degree!” Hawk barked, and Lyra fired into the darkness. A few bones that were illuminated by Twilight’s floating light followed as they were scattered over the ground.

Aura clung around Applejack’s neck as she jumped over the torso that was in her way. “We almost made it, sugarcube! Just hold on tight!” Thiemo looked up front again and also jumped over the torso. In front of them, ever more skeletons came from the little hallways and cracks. It was like the cave was made out of the skeletons. The heavy breathing of his companions and their hoofsteps were long drowned out by the clank of bones.

“Exit! I see an exit!” Hawk flew forward, out of the sight of Thiemo and the others. “It’s a door!”

Now it came into sight for Thiemo and the others as well. It was not just any door. It was gigantic, about ten metres high and made out of massive wood. A thick lock was on it and kept it shut. The small lock, not much larger than a normal one, almost looked like a joke. “Twilight, can you get that open?” Rarity asked worriedly.

“I don’t want to crush any hopes,” Estoc began and kicked with his hind legs after a skeleton, “but hurry up! We are running out of time.” With a bit of magic, he levitated another one aside and threw it into the arms of another skeleton that was about to jump at him.

Hawk tapped Thiemo’s shoulder. “We’ll handle them, you get the door open.” She quickly flew over to Estoc. Luckily, the cave wasn’t broad enough so that the full horde could collapse on them at once, but it was enough to keep them busy. Amaryllis and Lyra kept firing as best as they could, but now they had to ensure to not hit the two soldiers.

“Alright, everyone take a step back.” Twilight’s horn began to glow, and the large door was slowly covered by her aura. She closed her eyes and immediately the leaves of the door began to rattle, but that was all they did. “They aren’t moving,” the alicorn grumbled. She let her magic stop and fell to the ground. “No chance.”

“Looks like that’s a job for good old force.” Applejack set Aura on the ground and put on her hat.

“You want to move that thing on your own?” She looked at Thiemo like he had just said something stupid. “Oh! Of course.” The farmer leaned her shoulders against the right leaf, and Thiemo placed his hands directly next to her. “On three.” Thiemo tried to use the force within him again. “Three!” They pushed with all their force, but the large old lock didn’t bend.

“Guys! Hurry up!” they heard Hawk shouting over the sound of splintering bones.

Twilight readied her magic again. Thiemo pushed with all his force, but it wasn’t enough. The lock simply held place. “Rarity…” Applejack groaned. “Help us!” Thiemo couldn’t see it, but the white mare hesitated for a moment, then a bright blue aura mixed with Twilight’s. “Push!” Suddenly, two smaller hooves appeared between Thiemo’s legs.

“I’m helping too, Dad!” Aura declared and leaned with her whole weight against the door. In that moment, something actually did happen and the first rays of sun fell into the dark cave.

“It’s working!” They gave everything they could again, and finally the lock bent a little and the door gave way. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. Applejack slid off, Twilight gave up in exhaustion, and Rarity had long stopped as well. A look behind showed Hawk and Estoc struggling with freeing their forelegs from sharp claws while Lyra and Amaryllis were protecting themselves, rather than the others.

Quickly, Thiemo took a few steps back. “Out of the way.” All he had to do now was to magically propel his legs, throw himself against the door, and open it further. He just had to hit the crack between the two doors – that was all. The soft snow behind him should catch him. Pain would only occur if he failed. Exactly. He gulped and concentrated. With a loud roar, he begun to sprint and noticed immediately that he flew through the air. He was heading towards the door and brought his shoulder in front.

Just as planned, he hit the desired point, and the lock actually gave way. Also just as planned, he landed with his face in the snow and slid a few meters. For a few seconds he remained calm, almost unable to comprehend that one of his plans actually worked as intended. He tried to stand up, but a piercing pain went through his entire body as he tried to move his right arm. The shoulder was at least dislocated, if not broken. His left arm helped him up on his legs again, and he searched for his sword in the snow. It laid a few meters in front of him and left a clear mark. He took a deep breath and looked around while letting the sun shine down on him. Large, white clouds, wide sky… with a large dragon flying in circles around his friends who were still fighting the undead.

He dropped the sword almost immediately after rechecking that his eyes weren’t playing a joke on him. There was really one of those over-dimensional lizards flying in the sky, apparently on the search for its next prey. Quickly, he scrambled backwards and went back to the others. Twilight and Applejack were covering their eyes with a foreleg and had just stepped outside to see where they were.

“Dragon!” Thiemo just shouted and pushed them back into the cave again. Alicorn and earth pony were buried underneath him as he shouted again, “Dragon!”

The two looked at each other confused, then Twilight’s eyes began to glow. She freed herself from the unwanted weight and ran outside. “Spike!” she shouted at the top of her lungs, so loud that Thiemo would have wanted to cover his ears. “Spike, we are down here!” For a few seconds nothing happened, but then a deafening roar and the sound of gigantic wings that were coming closer could be heard. The earth shook as the gigantic purple dragon landed in front of the entrance. For a few seconds he eyed the situation, then one of his gigantic claws went through the entrance. Thiemo saw him not only picking up Estoc and Hawk, but also two or three skeletons. Calmly he pulled them back out and opened his claw in front of his enormous mouth. Estoc and Hawk were unharmed, while only bonemeal was left of the skeletons.

“Out, out, out!” Lyra urged them and pushed them all with her magic. And not a second too late. Just as they were outside, a surge of fire came out of the dragon’s mouth, and a hot wave of green fire shot into the cave.

He kept the fire up for a minute, then the flames died. Thiemo threw a curious look back. There was nothing left of the skeletons. “Everything alright, Twilight? We were getting worried,” a thundering voice sounded.

The alicorn took off into the air and landed on top of the dragon’s snout. “Thanks, Spike. You are the best little brother one could wish for!” She gently rubbed her cheek against the area between his eyes. Thiemo sighed and dropped down into the wet grass. The snow a few metres around the exit had melted.

“Dragon.” He laughed, a tinge of hysteria colouring the sound. “Dragon.”

Chapter III - Act 12.3 - Extended Family

View Online

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 12.3 - Extended Family ~

“And you are okay back there?” Thiemo’s nod was barely noticeable at the question of the dragon by the name of Spike. Dogs were supposed to be called Spike, not large, fire-spitting dragons. Anyway, he was now lying on said dragon’s back while the rest of the group trotted alongside him. At least Spike was at a more pleasant size now. After he was sure nothing else would crawl out of that tunnel, simply by sealing it with a large boulder, he had shrunk from the size of a small skyscraper to a relatively tiny ten or twelve metres. “If dragons always were that large, we couldn’t all fit on the planet,” he answered with a laugh when Aura asked him curiously. Said filly was now halfway sitting on Applejack’s head and followed Spike’s every move, completely mesmerized by the fact that there were friendly dragons.

Twilight coughed slightly to get the attention of her brother. “So, Spike, please tell us what happened. You weren’t out here just by chance, were you? Also, you’re in your large form...”

The dragon chuckled for a moment, shaking Thiemo around on his back. “Oh, sorry. I’m just not used to having passengers.” He turned towards Twilight. “Well, Celestia had written Cadance a letter to inform her about your arrival.” He nodded over to Hawk, who was carrying Heart on her back. The wings of the white pegasus were still not ready to fly, and she was more than just exhausted. “And that you took the Captain to follow them.” Thiemo knew the face that Twilight made in that moment. It was the face of a child who got caught while reaching into the cookie jar. “We expected you two days ago and were getting worried. Cadance asked me to keep watch at the pass. A dragon in the mountain is less suspicious than a fully manned airship.”

“Thanks, Spike, you really saved us.” Estoc patted one of the dragon’s legs. “Well, I’d give you a pat on the shoulder, but you’re just too big for that now.”

“Estoc is right. Thank you, Spike.” Rarity pulled the dragon’s head down to her with a bit of magic and pressed a kiss on his cheek. The bright purple scales on his face immediately turned slightly red.

“Oh, don’t mention it, Rarity,” he waved it off.

“But don’t ya think I’m gonna follow ya dragon code now, sugarcube.” Twilight and Rarity giggled at the comment, while Spike only turned redder. “But Ah don’t think Ah have to say that yer always in mah good books.”

“Thanks, Applejack.” Spike nodded. “Would someone explain to me know what adventure I missed this time? I mean, you’ve all gone through a lot in the past, but living skeletons? Luckily Fluttershy didn’t came along.”

Everypony present made different sounds of agreement before Twilight began to tell the story from her point of view. She began at the point where she had been informed about the presence of a human on the castle grounds and the subsequent fight that had been happily sponsored by their dear friend, Eris. Thiemo only made occasional remarks from the back of the dragon. Amaryllis instead preferred to stay completely silent. Twilight eventually reached the point where they began their pursuit and tried to catch the human again.

At this point, Lyra took over the story. She explained how she had been more or less sucked into all this and from the escape itself, then from the small place of Sunny Town and the Karst incident. Even though Twilight and the other pursuers had seen the place, they were still surprised to hear what had actually happened. Finally, Lyra got to the point where they had seen Twilight’s emergency signal. Thiemo was lucky that she didn’t mention him trying to go on without Hawk and Heart and about what they had found inside the mountain. Well, aside from the dark stone that reanimated those who died long ago. It was foolish to think that the drake wouldn’t have wanted an explanation for it.

“The first thing I’m going to do is write a letter to my mother and tell her to send help to Sunny Town, if she hasn’t already done so. And someone has to search for Hopper and Storm Cloud. Who knows how long they will last in the ice.”

“You don’t have to worry about the two pegasi,” Spike said. “I flew over the Chain over and over again the last two days. I found them and brought them to Noveria. The thestrals there know how to deal with frostbite.

Not only the princess, but also Rarity and Estoc sighed in relief. “That’s good to hear.” The Captain looked over to Rarity, who smiled with a tear in her eye. From what Thiemo had heard, it was her who had asked those two to help them. Of course she would feel guilty for what had happened to them. At least a bit. They surely knew what they had gotten themselves into when flying over the Chain during winter. Celestia had been very clear when she told him how dangerous that could be.

“How far are we away from the Empire?” Thiemo tried to raise his head, but that only caused more pain in his right shoulder.

Again the dragon responded. “A few hours of flight. On foot, I would say about a day.”

The human gulped as another question pushed its way through his head. Not that he was really scared of the dragon anymore, but every other one had always wanted to bite his head off. “Spike, quick question. How does that work with you shrinking? Or are you getting bigger? If you don’t mind me asking.”

He snorted from laughter, causing a few flames to come out of his nostrils. “Of course not, Fluttershy.” The ponies chuckled. It took Thiemo a few seconds to understand what he meant. “There are two ways a dragon can grow. Naturally, like any other creature, or through greed. Problem is, the more greed builds up, the more the dragon loses control over himself until he is nothing more than a hungry beast.” So he wasn’t wrong when he was scared of the large Spike. “But with training, you can control the greed. The last days, when I flew over the mountains, I was craving to find Twilight. That part of me then stayed the same, and when I found her, I shrunk again. This is my natural size.”

Twilight stepped it up a notch and now walked alongside the dragon’s head. “Now that you mentioned it, Spike, how is your training coming along?”

“I flew around for two days like that and saved you.” He grinned proudly. “What do you think, Twi?”

“I meant what Ruby said.” Thiemo didn’t know what the two were talking about, but he still tried to catch as much information as he could. That had kept him alive so far.

Spike rolled his eyes. “She said I’m making great progress.”

“And?”

“And that I still have a long way in front of me.”

“Who is Ruby?” At least he could count on one pony. Curious as she always was, Aura asked the question for him.

“Ruby is a dragon, just like me. She lives up here in the mountains and teaches me what it means to be a dragon. I met her shortly before my first growth spurt. Afterwards, she came to me and offered to teach me.”

“Another friendly dragon? All dragons I have met so far were really mean.” Spike looked questioningly over to Twilight.

“She lived on Dragmire for a while.”

“Ah, that explains a lot.”

“What do you mean?” Thiemo threw in again.

“Well, Dragmire is a hatchery of my race. I was raised amongst ponies. Which is rather rare, I assure you. Anyways, it is not common for dragons to care about their young for too long. They raise themselves and, without guidance, quickly fall to the greed. I was so lucky to have Twilight.” Thiemo took a while to comprehend what he was told.

“Hold on. Does that mean that all the dragons on Dragmire are just kids? Only larger due to their greed?” Spike nodded. Thiemo had to resist the urge to laugh and cry at the same time. He had developed a fear from greedy, yet large and fire-spitting children.

***

“Twilight had to pass an entrance exam for school, just like every other pony. But the jury thought it would be appropriate to slightly adjust the test for her. So instead of a colour changing spell, like the other foals, she had to hatch a dragon’s egg. The shell is incredibly hard, almost indestructible. But nopony had expected the egg to even be fertilized. Someone just took out of the school’s archives. But as you see, here I am.” The dragon chuckled as Aura lay on his head and curiously listened to one story after another from him.

Twilight couldn’t help but notice how mature Spike had gotten over the last few years. She remembered the day she had brought him to Cadance so he could live there. He simply could no longer fit into her library, and his diet had started to become a problem as well. Even if Rarity brought him a whole cartload of gems, he had still remained hungry. With her private income, she could have never afforded to feed him for the months where she had to buy more gems. Her old foalsitter’s offer to let him live in the Crystal Empire was just perfect. That had not been the only benefit. A female dragon by the name of Ruby lived somewhere in the snowy mountains. She and Spike had become good friends, and he had learned a lot about his own species from her.

She was just happy now that his second long sleep wouldn’t be due for a few more centuries. The first had begun a year after she was officially crowned as a princess, and it had lasted for five years. So Spike hadn’t been there for a little over six years, and she had desperately missed him during that time. And not just because no one cooked for her anymore and she had to fly to castle at first to get a warm meal. No, Spike was a little brother to her. She wasn’t the only one who thought that. Shining surely saw him in the same way.

This led her to look over to another, the new member of her family. Looking up was probably a better term. In her natural form, Amaryllis was a head taller than her without adding her horn. Her niece seemed to be caught up in her own thoughts instead of listening to the endless stories of Spike. In the cave, she had spoken to her for the first time as her aunt, not as a princess. Even though she said that she had forgiven her, the thought still hurt Twilight. She had accepted Spike, a dragon and therefore far more dangerous than a changeling, into her life without any doubt. At least not until his first greed attack. In that moment, she realized for the first time that Spike was not a pony but a young dragon, and his kind could feast not only on various gems, but also on meat. The only reason he didn’t eat anypony was because his greed was provoked by presents, not by hunger.

Twilight took heart and dropped back to her niece, who was walking next to Spike’s tail. “You are looking worried.” This sentence always worked on her when Cadance talked to her. “What is troubling you?”

“Is a dragon really that much more pleasant than a changeling?” Twilight felt hit directly in her chest. “Nothing against Spike – he seems really nice, but…” At first she didn’t know how to react to that, but then Twilight remembered an old saying.

“We, and I’m not just talking about our family, but all ponies, are predestined. Chrysalis had infiltrated and attacked Canterlot, locked Cadance into a dark cave below the city, and charmed Shining Armor. During the battle itself, not only soldiers lost their lives, but also many civilians. It happened almost twelve years ago, but it is still fresh in the minds of the public. And in mine.” Twilight sighed. “The last attack of a dragon on Equestria was four hundred years ago. And he did it only because somepony had stolen gold from his lair. Usually they stay far away from civilization and just want to sleep quietly. I just want to say that this is very unfortunate, and I’m sorry.” She immediately raised her hoof as she saw that Amaryllis wanted to say something. “No. I know that I’m not responsible for this alone, but I am your aunt, and as such, I have failed you.”

“Actually, I wanted to say that my mother really messed things up, didn’t she?”

“Oh.” Twilight smiled, slightly nervous.

“I mean, I wasn’t even born back then, but I have just seen my grandmother and Princess Luna were once very good friends. If my mother hadn’t ruined it all, we would have never been forced to attack Equestria. I love my mother, but I just don’t know anymore. So much she taught me proved to be false or a lie. Did she do it for my good or her own? Why did she let me go?” Twilight didn’t know Chrysalis, and if she was honest, she didn’t even want to, so she just remained silent. “And I wonder how my father will react. Or had? Spike said that Princess Celestia told him and Princess Cadance in a letter that we will be coming.”

This was more of her area. “I know my brother and Cadance very well, Amaryllis. Shining loves his family and would do anything to protect them, no matter where they came from.” She nodded over to Spike. “After all, he is the alicorn of devotion. And Cadance? I bet she will be happy that Skyla has a big sister.”

“I have a little sister?”

Twilight blinked quickly. Did she really forget that? Why did that always happen, that she forgot to tell about certain members of her family? “Sure. Little Skyla is three. The cutest little alicorn that I have ever seen. You will surely like her, and so will she.”

“You sure?”

“Absolutely! I mean, Skyla immediately bonded with Spike, even though she only met him in this size. It wasn’t a problem for him to make friends when he was just a baby dragon. You should have seen him. How he always used to run on his hind legs instead of all fours. I bet he was the only dragon who did so, and that was only because he used to write with his claws. He was so cute and clumsy. My little number one assistant.”

She couldn’t help but to smile at the memories of the past days. However, her thoughts inevitably led back to what the future would hold. Spike would be with her for a very long time. Dragons could get incredibly old. Her mother only recently had a meeting with an old friend from her foal days. The dragon obviously was insanely old now, and would soon reach his end, but he was basically as old as she was or even older. Her friends were not that lucky. Two hundred years, a bit more or less, she had left with them. The Elements they were connected to gave them increased vitality, but it would not last not forever. Something she had found out over the various injuries during their adventures. Their wounds healed quickly, very quickly. Rainbow Dash had a broken wing once and only had to stay in hospital for two days instead of weeks. But it had been obvious from the start. Back then, during the fight against Nightmare Moon, Rarity’s tail grew back after she cut it off. All their bruises she had gotten from the fall were vanished, and her wing was set right again. Things that just didn’t happen on its own. “So don’t worry – if she can handle a dragon as an uncle, she can handle a changeling as a sister.”

Amaryllis smiled faintly and nodded. “Thanks, Twilight. Thiemo had been telling me that for a while, but sometimes I don’t think he takes things as seriously as he should. Don’t get me wrong. I love him. He is so carefree and constantly happy. Since the begin of my journey, he kept on telling me that everything will be fine in the end, but there were always a few thoughts left that asked, what if it won’t? Having a second voice that tells me the same is very comforting.”

Twilight looked over to the human on Spike’s back. His gaze was fixed on Aura while she bombarded the dragon with questions. “I just can’t figure him out. I have seen him fill almost the entire spectrum. One moment he is loving and caring, the next moment he fights with a joy in his eyes that I have only seen in creatures like Nightmare Moon. A bit frightening, if that fits on all humans.” It was easy to figure out a pony. The position of their ears, head, and the movement of their tail was often all it took. You didn’t even have to see their face. But humans seemed so unpredictable. If they weren’t shouting at you or standing with a weapon in front of you, it was almost impossible to read them. No tail, the present human aside, no moveable ears, and their posture was so different. “It is unsettling that you can’t read them.”

“Well, right now he is quiet in order to learn more about dragons. Until now, he was terrified of them.” Twilight looked at her niece with a bit of surprise. “I can feel his emotions. He panicked when he saw Spike in the sky. At the moment, he is curious and a bit ashamed. Why exactly the latter, I don’t know.” Now she understood a bit better why these two got along with each other so well. For Amaryllis, the human was an open book.

“So when you told me that you forgive me…”

“I felt how sorry you were,” she completed Twilight’s sentence. “Most of the time, I’m only focusing on Thiemo. Feeling his love is warm and pleasant. And not just for me, but also his love for Aura. When he says he is her father, he means it.” Twilight saw the human laughing with Spike as he finished another story. “When I met him, I compared him with a changeling. He cared for his family, no matter the cost. Today I know that he is none. He’s just a human. My human.” Amaryllis licked her lips.

“Alright, that’s enough, young lady. How old are you supposed to be?” They both laughed. “But it is nice that you have found someone.”

***

The group killed the hours of wandering through the snow-covered steppe mostly with talking about what had happened and what would be expecting them. Thiemo was fascinated to see how the ponies that were hostile just a few days ago now reacted to him and Amaryllis. Almost like skittish animals, shy at first, and almost worried about the danger, but as soon as you proved worthy, you were seen as one of them. As he now looked down on the sleeping Aura on Spike’s head, he could say that it was worth all the troubles they had been through. Maybe that was the reason Eris did all this? To get him and the ponies together? Maybe there really was more behind that chaotic creature. Who knew? But what he knew was that it was going uphill again from here.

Carefully, he leaned back and used one of Spike’s spikes as a backrest. The sky above them had taken a beautiful orange colour that seamlessly went over into the fresh, white snow. He turned his head a bit to the left and found another colour at the sky. A bright green light that seemed to dance on the sky. Then there was suddenly a blue, and in the next, second a purple. “Polar lights? There are polar lights on Albion?”

Spike’s head and those of the others who heard him turned towards the sky as well. “Those are no polar lights.” The dragon grinned.

“The Crystal Empire,” Lyra cheered. “Oh, how have I missed this sight.”

“That is the magical energy of the Empire which brightens the sky at night. It spreads love and hope into the cold night,” Twilight explained. Thiemo could not care less about what exactly it was. Whether it was magical energies or solar winds that hit the planet’s atmosphere, it was an unmatched sight.

“It is beautiful,” he hummed with open eyes. “Does that happen here every night?”

“Only for special occasions,” Spike answered the question. “Like the return of a lost daughter.” Both looked over to Amaryllis, but she was mesmerised by the light, just like Thiemo before. A bit further behind walked Rarity and Estoc, closely snuggling at each other and also staring at the sky. Spike sighed a bit and turned his head up front again. Luckily, Thiemo reacted quickly and caught the still sleeping Aura, who would have otherwise landed in the snow. “We will be there in less than an hour.”

Author's Notes:

And as I told you: character building! I know a lot of you wanted Twilight to act different from the start, but there has to be a reason why a character behaves different after a while. Else it would just be out of character.

Also, Spike. There were a few comments on the topic of why was so big now. Greed, as explained and used in the show and natural growing of dragons. I want to remember everyone that this story takes place 12 years after the end of season 3. Nearly 13 if you count the time we spent in the story too. Twilight was, at least in my headcanon, 20 when the show started with season 1. Add 3 years for 3 seasons and another 12 for times passed, then she is today 35. (As Lyra said earlier, the average pony can get around 150 years old. So Twilights 35 would be our 25-30.) Spike hatched as Twilight was around 6-7. Making him today 28-29 years old. Even if dragons can get over 1000 years and older, dragons grow fast. One more reason why dragon parents don't really care for their young. (They don't think they need their help.)

Next week we will probably (if a certain editor doesn't decide to take a break again) reach the crystal empire. Finally.

Thanks to Gron for translating this chapter.
Special thanks to JBL for proofreading and editing.

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Chapter III - Act 12.4 - Entry

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 12.4 - Entry ~

Thiemo couldn’t believe his eyes as he gazed at what was in front of them. A city of epic proportions stood right in the middle of the snowy landscape. There were green fields at the borders, with a few single houses here and there, which then transitioned to the first larger complexes closer to the centre, which could be apartments, stores, or other facilities. Some of them were connected by bridges that spanned from the upper floors of one building to the other. Behind them were even taller buildings, skyscrapers almost. But that was all exceeded by a majestic, tall, white tower in the middle that wrapped the entire city in a magical dome. It was just shy of touching the clouds, if there were any. Everything was made out of crystals and shone in the various colours that the city emitted as well as from the stars that ignited the night sky. The ponies, like Estoc and Twilight, grinned as they saw the faces of the newcomers.

Very softly, so much that she almost fell from the dragon, Thiemo shook the filly in front of him without taking his eyes of the sight. Wouldn’t his right arm be hanging in a loop that he formed out of a sleeve of his coat he would have held her. “Hey, dad! Stop that!” she just complained after a while, but all he did was to point up front. They stood on a small hill so they could overlook everything.

The filly freed herself from his hand and slowly followed Thiemo’s gaze. Just like Amaryllis and him, her breath was cut short, and her face turned comical the way she looked in amazement. “Seeing the faces of newcomers never gets old.” Spike chuckled.

“Like you were any better. Who was it that thought after the first minutes of his stay that he was dreaming and was in a large candy shop?” Twilight grinned as Spike scratched the back of his head with a claw. “You even nibbled at one of the houses.”

“Thanks, Twilight. I thought you wanted to keep that a secret.” With a huff, the dragon began to move again and slid down the hill. Laughing, the rest of the group followed.

***

It didn’t take long for them to reach the outer borders of the magical dome that enclosed the Empire. Thiemo carefully stepped off Spike’s back, the dragon having stopped for now. The snow stopped abruptly at the dome and transitioned into soft, green meadows. A few single houses stood here and there before the city centre emerged in the distance. The houses seemed to belong to various farms and plantations. Light came out of the windows in the darkness, and from time to time, a shadow would rush around. “Fascinating. That shield not only keeps out unwanted visitors, but also the weather? I guess it regulates itself inside the dome?”

Twilight stepped next to Thiemo, who carefully reached a hand out to the magical shield. “Well, not quite. It keeps no one out.” Without further ado, she stepped through it, and her hooves immediately landed on the stony path on the other side of the shield. Thiemo had seen more of them from afar already, and they all seemed to lead towards the centre. Basically, it was a fool-proof to not miss the palace. “Come on, it’s much warmer inside.”

Spike followed Twilight, as did Lyra, Applejack, Estoc, and Rarity. “Ah, it feels so good to be out of the cold. My magnificent coat couldn’t have stood it much longer.” Hawk rolled her eyes as she stepped through as well, with the sleeping Heart on her back. “Come on, darling, it is completely harmless, and you will feel better right away.”

“This shield is a defence mechanism, right?” The ponies nodded. “It should, well, keep out evil?” Again, they nodded.

“Come on, dad!” Aura shouted from Spike’s head. “It only tingles a bit.”
Thiemo didn’t believe in heaven or hell, but this barrier was basically Petrus who decided who would enter the paradise. What would happen if he didn’t meet the pony’s expectations of morality? Would he turn into ash? Would a magical bolt be shot through his body? “Was anyone ever… struck with it?”

To his surprise, it wasn’t Twilight who answered, but Amaryllis next to him. “My mother. It is a similar spell to the barrier that cast the changelings out of Canterlot and scattered them to the four winds, isn’t it?”

“Oh, for Pete’s sakes. Come on, ya two. The princess would never put a spell around the city that would harm anyone!” Applejack shouted, a bit annoyed before leaning over to Twilight. Thiemo could have sworn that she whispered something like, ‘She wouldn’t, right?’ into her ear.
Thiemo gulped and took a step forward, his nose now directly in front of the barrier.

“Here goes nothing,” he said to give himself some courage and put his left hand in front of his eyes. He took a deep breath and took another step forward and through the barrier. For a few seconds, he only heard the chirping of crickets, and then he opened his eyes. The purple barrier was behind him, and Twilight and the others were now standing in front of him. Happily, he jumped on the spot. “Ha! Take that, you stupid barrier!” A bolt hit his finger, making him pulling back his hand.

“Now you, Amaryllis. If even that crook gets through, you surely can too,” Lyra motivated her.

“Hey! As former leader of an entire criminal organisation with…” Thiemo stopped and quickly counted the members on his healthy hand. “Never mind.”

All eyes turned towards Amaryllis, who was still standing in the snow on the other side of the barrier and shivering slightly. Somehow Thiemo could understand it. Her mother had surely told her about what had happened. It was the kind of barrier that had took the lives of hundreds of her siblings. “It can’t be that bad if he can still joke around like that,” he heard Lyra saying to Twilight. Amy did the same as Thiemo and took a deep breath before elegantly jumping through the barrier.

Thiemo let out a relieved sigh. “See? No problem,” he said with a smile. But Amy didn’t respond. Her eyes began to rapidly dilate. She then looked over to Thiemo, jumped again, and threw both her forelegs around his neck before forcefully pushing their lips together. Surprised, the human took a step back to balance the sudden weight that pushed against him. But as quickly as it happened, it was over. Amaryllis pulled her head back, but not without taking a bit of Thiemo’s lower lip with her fangs, so that he could now taste a bit of blood. She fell back on all fours with a dreamy smile on her lips and a glossy look in her eyes.

“Everything is so colourful. So warm.” She giggled, and with a few quick flaps of her wings, she took off, left the path, and landed in the grass. Then she began to roll over the soft ground like a little child.

Twilight and Lyra immediately were at Thiemo’s side and looked just as confused over to the changeling princess. “What’s wrong with her? What happened?”

“No clue,” Thiemo answered Lyra. “But not a second after she stepped through the barrier…” Quickly, Thiemo averted his eyes as Amy presented herself to him, with her legs pointing high into the air and her tail swishing aside. “Yes.” Actually, he was used to it – clothing for ponies was optional. Still… did she just wink at him? A cough came from Rarity behind him, followed by a painful yelp from Estoc.

Thiemo didn’t move, so Amaryllis turned back to rolling around in the grass. “It’s like her primal instincts were taking over, like…”

“Like she’s an old stallion that had too much salt?” Hawk finished Twilight’s sentence. The Princess just nodded. “I’m not an expert, but usually a few good friends keep you from doing something stupid when you had too much, right?” To make her point, she adjusted the sleeping Heart on her back. “I would, but I’m a bit busy here.”

Thiemo looked at Amy romping in the grass. “Maybe I should pass as well.” His face was still a bit red. “Because of my arm.”

“Sure, Casanova.” Lyra grinned and jabbed her hoof into his side. “Rarity, would you help me?”

“Of course – we can’t just leave the poor thing there, darling.” The two approached her on the meadow. Thiemo saw them softly speaking to her before Amy just nudged her muzzle and jumped away.

“Why is she acting like that?” Twilight had sat down and stroked her chin. “I mean, it makes no sense. Why would the barrier do something like that?”

“What exactly is the deal with the barrier?” Maybe he could use his limited knowledge to bring some light into the subject. But if even Twilight Sparkle had no idea, things were looking grim.

She thought for a moment, then stomped on the ground. “Nothing, that’s it. It only has two functions: protecting the Crystal Empire from those that want to harm it and the relentless weather conditions. Nothing in that spell could cause that.”

Well, the barrier was just the result. “And what keeps the spell up? I mean, the shield is huge and is basically glowing with magical energy. If I would switch my vision here, it would be like staring into the sun. I doubt that it can supply itself with energy.”

“Like everything else, it is powered by the Crystal Heart,” Hawk answered.

“Crystal Heart?”

“It is basically a gigantic generator. It turns the hope and love of— That’s it!” Twilight jumped up and grinned over both ears. “Amaryllis is a changeling!” Hawk threw a questioning look at Thiemo, who could only reply with a shrug for which he was immediately rewarded with pain. “Don’t you understand? The Crystal Heart runs on love, love that the population gives to it. It sucks in these emotions and turns it into magical energy.” Now Thiemo began to understand.

“Of course. Love is in the air.” He laughed. “The Crystal Heart is gathering love continuously, and in return, provides the town with magical energy. The air must be overflowing with emotions. She is intoxicated, intoxicated with love. Literally.” Thiemo remembered their arrival in Fillydelphia. Back then, Amy had been dizzy from the emotions of the crowds as well and had staggered around at first. The difference was that there had been mixed emotions there. But here, the Crystal Heart filtered the love.

“What’s going on out there?” Lights appeared behind the windows of the surrounding houses and Thiemo saw a few ponies standing in the light of their lamps and the moon. However, they were different from any pony he had seen before. Their coat was shimmering, sparkling, like they were made out of crystals themselves.

Another door opened. “Honest ponies are trying to sleep here!” Two ponies, a mare and a stallion, came out of one of the houses closer to them and eyed the group with sullen eyes.

“Would somepony explain to us what’s going on here? We just brought our foals to bed.” Twilight turned around to them, and they immediately bowed, recognizing her instantly. “Excuse us, Princess, we didn’t recognize you in the dark.”

“Oh, hold on.” Twilight’s horn glowed for a moment, but instead of her beginning to glow with her light, the road underneath them began to glow. “I forgot to turn on the street lights.” Fascinated, Thiemo stared at the road. Like the rest of the town, he now noticed that the road was made out of crystals as well. “And we are sorry for the noise, but my friend is here for the first time and was a little… incident with the barrier.” The two crystal ponies looked at each other in worry. “Nothing serious, we will be on our way soon.” The two nodded and quickly looked over the group before bidding them goodbye and making their way back into their house.
No panicked screams? No ponies that barricaded their houses? No ponies screaming blood and murder? Those two had looked at him and ignored him. That was something new in Thiemo’s book.

“Twilight!” Lyra came back, followed by Rarity. Behind them floated a seemingly sleeping Amaryllis. “We got her,” she declared, sounding a bit out of breath.

Rarity snorted indignantly. “We? I carried her, and we didn’t even catch her either. She just fell over due to fatigue, the poor thing. Any idea what is wrong with her, Twilight?” Since the chase seemed to be over, the crystal ponies slowly and grumpily made their way back into their homes.

“She’ll explain it to you on the way to the hospital,” Hawk threw in before the Princess could start to explain. “I don’t like to admit it, but I think it would be best for all of us to be checked. Some of us are hurt, and we were exposed to dark magic. Who knows what consequences that might have had?” Rarity placed Amaryllis on Spike’s back and next to Aura, who began to play a bit with the wings of the sleeping princess.

***

Maybe he should just leave his mouth open. It would be much simpler than closing it every time again. Just as they had passed the suburb, the scenery changed from single farm houses to complex apartment buildings that reminded him a lot of modern Dubai. The buildings were large crystal complexes. That alone shouldn’t surprise him anymore, but the automatic doors did. Blinking signs in crystals in front of stores that they passed, crystals on poles serving as street lights that lighted up everything in front of them, and finally a floating trash bin that soaked in everything it passed.

“I’m beginning to understand what Celestia meant in the recording when she said that without the Empire they wouldn’t have stood a chance against Amissa Heaven,” Thiemo mumbled, confused. It was like they had travelled to Equestria a hundred years in the future. A large crystal plate at a house showed an advert for a flower store. Maybe two hundred.

“There’s the hospital!” Twilight shouted over her shoulder back to the others. Thiemo’s eyes turned up front where said building stood. It was a six story tall building constructed from crystals (obviously), with a big red heart in which a white cross shimmered in the middle. Twilight aimed directly for the entrance and through the doors that opened automatically for her. Without making a sound, the door swung open and gave sight into the reception area. A round counter stood in the middle of the hallway. Behind it was a pegasus mare that didn’t seemed to be used to the nightshift yet. She slept peacefully, and a bit of saliva dripped from her mouth onto the crystal counter.

“Twilight, I’ll go back to the palace and report that I have found you,” Spike explained in front of the door. It was clear that he wouldn’t fit through there. “I’ll see you later.” Twilight levitated Amy and Aura from his back. He flapped his wings and disappeared in the night. The surge of air that followed swirled up a few papers on the counter and woke up the sleeping nurse.

A bit confused at first but then wide awake, she grabbed the papers in the air before she noticed that she was being watched. “Oh. Uhm… hi? How can I help you?” Hawk stepped past Twilight and nodded at her comrade.

“She’s probably sprained a wing and is very exhausted. The human’s right arm is disjointed or broken, and we all have multiple cuts and bruises. And we all have been exposed to dark magic.”

The nurse blinked. “Oh!” Then she quickly disappeared down the hallway. The sound of an opening door followed. She must have woken up the rest of the night shift before she returned to them. She had fixed her blue mane a bit on the way and had placed a cap with the hospital’s symbol on it. “Please excuse me, but it happens so rarely that we get patients at this time and…” And finally she saw Twilight. She quickly scrambled to bow but slammed her head against the counter.

Twilight grimaced a bit in sympathy. “Please, don’t go to any trouble.”

The nurse picked her cap back up and straightened her yellow coat. “Uhm, sure. Everypony with minor injuries, please go in the room over there. A few of my colleagues will be with you shortly.” Applejack nodded and picked Aura up on her back. Hawk and Twilight placed their load on one of the empty beds in the hallway before they went together with Lyra, Rarity, and Estoc into said room, which left Thiemo alone with the nurse. “I have to inform our specialist for other species. One moment.” The mare went over to the bed where Heart was lying. “I’ll be right back.” And with that, she pushed her down the hallway.

Thiemo leaned against the remaining bed with Amaryllis in it. His marefriend lay there happily and snuggled into her pillow with a smile on her lips. Carefully, he stroked her mane a bit out of her face, whereupon she grabbed his hand and clung to it like it was a cuddly toy.

“Sorry that you had to wait.” The nurse came back and saw how Thiemo tried to free his hand. “Do you need help?”

“Uhm… no thanks.” Thiemo had freed a finger and began to tickle Amy’s chest. The changeling princess giggled a bit and let go of him. The nurse nodded and stepped behind the bed to push it away. He felt a bit bad for her, but she didn’t seem to struggle with pushing the large beds. After all, Amaryllis easily fit into it.

“Over here.” She began to move Amy, this time down the corridor left to the counter. Despite the walls being made out of crystals here as well, they seemed far warmer in their slightly red colour. The doors instead were not automatic here and were made out of a bright material and ornamented with the large red heart and a number one in the corner. They stopped in front of a large double door, and the nurse pushed a button at the wall. Was that really what Thiemo thought it would be? Time would soon tell.

“So, you are not a bit surprised to see a human and a changeling?” he asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

“Should I?” she countered and tilted her head a little. “There are over a hundred humans living in the Empire, and as far as I know, a few changelings too. Rare, yes, but nothing that we haven’t seen before, Mister…?”

Hundreds? Other humans? If his shoulder hadn’t been aching so much, he would have skipped the hospital right there and then and began to search for them. However, he decided to wait until dawn. “Thiemo. And who do I have the honour of speaking with?”

“Tender Care.” A quiet bell rang, and Thiemo’s expectation was confirmed. It was an elevator. They rode up into the third floor where Tender made him sit down in a doctor’s office before she disappeared with Amaryllis further down the hallway. He looked over the room that reminded him a lot of a normal doctor’s office. A wooden desk with chair, a couch in the corner and shelves filled with books, and drugs in labelled brown glasses. On the wall hung posters, with the interiors of gryphons, diamond dogs, and even humans. Just as he was about to inspect the posters further, the door behind him opened. Unfortunately, he was in the radius of the door and was pushed back on the couch.

“Sorry, I didn’t see you there.” He looked over to the door that a woman had just closed again. It took a few seconds for him to comprehend what he saw there. For starters, a human. And secondly, a female one. Thirdly, one that wore a white scrub, a scrub that wasn’t even closed. She had dark skin, making her look like an East Indian if they had been on Earth. With a smile, she went past him and didn’t seem bothered that Thiemo’s eyes were stuck on her halfway-visible cleavage. She sat down at the desk and crossed her legs so that the view wasn’t that revealing anymore. “So, do you want to get started? I’m Doctor Meena. I’m going to ask you a few questions. We’re going to make a file on you, so it would be appreciated if you would answer them honestly.”

Thiemo averted his eyes and looked into her face for the first time. Dark shoulder-length hair, brown eyes, and a red dot on her forehead. A bindi, as it was commonly called in Hinduism. “T-The dot,” Thiemo stammered. “Does it have a meaning?”

Meena grinned and stroked her hair aside so the dot could be seen clearer. “It is a reminder of my culture where I grew up as a child. It means that I am married.”

“From Earth.” Her eyes widened.

“No… t-that can’t be.” She almost fell from her chair and took a few items from the desk with her. “Earth? You are from Earth?” So he wasn’t the only one that landed here. With a sigh, Thiemo began to tell her a bit about his story. From time to time, he stopped as his eyes wandered down. While he was talking, Meena began to look at his arm, which was only disjointed. After she set it again, she began to tell her story. As Thiemo expected, she came from India to Albion when she was ten years old. Just like him, she had simply disappeared in a moment. That had been thirteen years ago. She was found by a few gryphons that had a camp near Trotterdam. After the Crystal Empire reappeared, something he wanted to ask Twilight about later, the gryphons brought her here. She was adopted by a pony family and had lived with them since.
“That explains your clothes then. Or rather the lack of it. That can happen when growing up with them.”

She smiled. “They also aren’t necessary here in the Crystal Empire. There is no real winter, so the temperature is always pleasant, even without a coat.” Thiemo nodded and leered at her cleavage again. “Hey, my eyes are up here. Not that I’m not charmed, but I’m taken.” She pointed at her forehead. “Ponies don’t think it’s a bad thing if you look at them; they take it as a compliment. I had to get used to a lot of things. For example, mares are in charge here.” What? Hold on. “I always knew my father as highest authority, and just like that, everything was upside down. Reminds me that I had waited forever, wishing my husband would ask me out. All that time, he was waiting on me to ask him out.” She stopped. “But it’s nice to know that I’m not the only one with that problem.” She stood from the couch and picked the chair from the ground, giving Thiemo a good look underneath her short scrub that reached to her hip.

Again the door opened, but this time no doctor or nurse came in, but Amaryllis. She looked around the room and saw the bent-over Meena and the deep blush on Thiemo’s face. “It’s not what it—”

“Mine!” she screamed as she jumped on him.

*** ~ [Rise Against - Architects] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Author's Notes:

And we are closing chapter 3! And what a chapter that was. A raging demi-god, undead and a story long forgotten.
JBL was a bit surprised and ... angry that there was another human from earth. I like to hear you opinion about that. All I will say towards that topic is that there is, again, a reason for everything and it will be explained later on.

Also, who noticed a similarity in names lately? There is a story behind that as well. Like Meena said she traveled with griffons. Hope you can already guess a bit of what has taken place when she was younger. If you didn't, let me say it again: Griffons...

Next week we will have another intermission. Something for the lulz. After that there may be a 1 week pause. Gron is working his ass off but he still has school and a real life. Not that I didn't try to punch that nonsense out of him but it seems it didn't work.

So, leave comments and thumbs to feed the author. Remember, authors are mystical creatures who lives of stuff like that.

And BTW: Over freaking 700 thumbs! You're all crazy people!

Thanks to Gron for translating this chapter.
Special thanks to JBL for proofreading and editing.

And give their story a try too:
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Chapter III - Intermission 12 - Know Your Human

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Twilight was the first to leave the treatment room. Unlike her friends, her wounds were healing rapidly on their own, and she would never succumb to them. Not only were they much too minor, but she also was an alicorn, an immortal being, at least if she believed her mother. Something that had been hard for her during the last few hours.

Now that they were all safe, she could only now begin to handle what her mother had kept secret from her: a brother, one whose statue she had passed by without a second glance on so many occasions, killed by her aunt. Sure, she knew that one alicorn could kill another, but she had never heard of that happening. As far as she knew, there were only five alicorns, six if Skyla was included. Seven was a magical number. Genius spirits like Starswirl had said that it had incredible magical powers. Seven alicorns. That was a number that found use in many spells and circles. According to many tales, it was an inseparable number, even though that was mostly due to its mathematical properties.

Absentminded as she was, Twilight hadn’t even realized her hooves had led her through the quiet hallways of the hospital on their own, passing one room after another, trotting by wagons with medicinal equipment, ointments, and other remedies and directly towards an elevator that led into the upper floors of the building. Only as the short ride ended she noticed where her hooves had been carrying her. She stood in the department for other species. She wanted to speak with someone about what had happened, someone who could understand her conclusions. The human, as strange as it was to admit that, had turned out to be that one. Not only that, but he had also claimed to have spoken with Blue Light. If there had not been the cutie mark on his shoulders, she would have had troubles believing that, even after all that she had experienced and seen.

As she walked by, she threw a look inside an open office where a familiar scent came from, that of a human who hadn’t taken a bath in a long while. She put her head through the open door and looked inside. It was like a normal doctor’s office, with a desk and shelves filled with medicine books, except for the sleeping Amaryllis, who had buried Thiemo like a plushie underneath her and used him as a pillow, mattress, and blanket. At least that was what it looked like since she was fighting with her shoulders to keep his hands on her back.

“Cute, those two, aren’t they?” Twilight turned around and looked at dark skin framed by white cloth. Slowly, her eyes went up a bit where two brown eyes were awaiting her. “Excuse me, Princess, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Twilight took a step back, inside the office, and took a good look at her collocutor. She was a human, like Thiemo, but definitely female. If not for her voice, then her significantly different body form made it clear. Her skin was darker, like chocolate, and her hair was shoulder-length and black as well. A red dot on her forehead stood out.

“Uhm… it’s alright, Miss…?” The woman in the scrub stopped for a moment and then looked down at the scrub.

“Oh! Hold on.” She searched with her fingers in the breast pocket of the scrub and pulled out a name plate that she pinned to the cloth. “My name is Meena, and I am the head of the department here.” She reached out a hand which Twilight shook timidly. “What can I do for you, your Highness?”

“Twilight Sparkle, and nothing for me directly.” Twilight shook her head. “I just wanted to check on Thiemo and Amaryllis.” The two looked over to the sleeping couple.

“Ah, so you have been travelling here with these two?” Twilight wondered as to how she came to that conclusion until she followed her eyes. Many of her wounds were still not completely healed. “Then you can maybe tell me a little bit about him. I couldn’t help but notice—” she waved around the air with one hand “– his unique characteristics. He told me a bit while I treated his shoulder.”

“What? You are working in your condition?” The doctor looked at her questioningly. “Uhm, you know.” Twilight pointed weakly at her breasts.

“Oh? No, I’m not pregnant. Unlike ponies, human breasts are always so distinct.”

Twilight stammered a few words. “I’m sorry, I…”

“No need to apologize. Few busy themselves with our species.” The doctor grinned, put both hands into pockets at her scrubs, and leaned forward a bit. “And my husband hasn’t complained so far.” Twilight’s gaze wandered over to her right wrist where a golden circlet stood out. Her eyes widened. She was married to a pony. No other species used that custom, and according to the seal on it, she was also the alphamare. “I’d be happy to continue the conversation, but I wanted to put these two into a real bed first.”

Twilight shook herself out of her thoughts and looked past the doctor down the hallway. “Sure, one moment.” With ease, she lifted the sleeping two from the couch and set them down on a bed. “And what are we doing with them now?”

“We? Well, I will take our human friend here and run some further tests. I know that magic can cause temporary mutations, but permanent?” She licked her lips. “That’s something new.”

“Transmutation,” Twilight corrected. “Permanent magical mutations are being called transmutations.”

“An expert?”

“Princess of Magic.”

“Alright, Princess. Would you be open for a few nightly experiments?”

The alicorn grinned over both ears.

My little Pony

Journey

~ Intermission 12 - Know Your Human ~

They leaned over the table and inspected the subject. “Scissors,” Meena gave the toneless order to her assistant, who levitated the desired object into her hand without looking at the tray. The doctor positioned the scissors but was interrupted.

“Stop! Won’t he be angry if we destroy his clothes?” The eyes of both females looked over the sleeping creatures. “Yes, alright, they are rags, but he seemed to like his coat.”

The doctor sighed and put down the scissors. “If you say so, Princess. Personally, and from a completely fashionable point of view, I’d say we are doing him a favour. I mean orange? Please.” Twilight giggled. “What?”

“Well, my friend Rarity would surely have said the same.” Meena just shrugged and went halfway around the operation table. She pulled out the tail of her victim, measured off a bit of hair with her fingers, and cut it off. Twilight gave her a bowl where she placed the hairs and scissors. “So, if we want to continue, these clothes have to get off.” Both looked at each other.

“What?” Twilight asked confused. “You are the doctor.”

“And you are equally curious as I am, Princess.” Both continued to look at each other for a few more seconds, then there was a flash of light and the clothes were gone. “Wasn’t so hard, was it? What did you do with them?” The alicorn stepped aside and revealed the sight on a chair behind her where the rags now hung. “Ah…”

***

“The subject has two identical symbols on his shoulders, similar to the emblem of ponies. No ink, no colour. The two symbols are two crescents facing each other; both are white and only contrast in colour from his skin.” Meena took the magnifying glass closer to him. “The hair, which are growing in said area, have taken the same colour as the symbol. Taking a sample now.” With some tweezers, she carefully removed one hair at its root. “Do you have everything, Princess?”

Twilight, with a notepad and quill levitating in front of her, nodded.

***

“The tail is growing directly out of the upper sacral. Pelvic structure seemed to have adapted to the change.” Meena pushed a bit stronger with her gloved hand along the spine. “No other unusual features. Spine and pelvis are still humanoid as far as I can tell.”

“Wouldn’t it be simple to scan him with a spell? Doesn’t the hospital have the necessary equipment?” The doctor looked up from the human lying on his stomach.

“Sure, do you want to fill out the paper where the patient signed his agreement?”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “What? He didn’t consent to this?” The notepad fell to the ground. “That’s a crime! What are we doing? When Cadance finds out. Or worse! My mother! That would be a scandal. He could sue us.”

“Calm down. We don’t have an agreement for the scan, but he is my patient and entrusted to my care. I’m obliged to check him for possible injuries.” Her words worked, and Twilight sighed in relief. “This is more than we would usually do, but who cares.” She continued to palpate his ribs. “Bruises, but nothing serious,” she mumbled quickly. “Also, after all that he told me, he would surely want some answers too.”

***

“And?” asked the doctor impatiently while Twilight quickly checked something with a spell.

“Well, he has magic in his body, that much is obvious,” the Princess said with her eyes closed. “But no magical system like an earth pony, pegasus, or unicorn. It’s just there, like he is a hollow space that needs to be filled.”

“Could that have any consequences?”

“Well, the magical systems of ponies also works like a fuse. Due to the many magical lines that run through our bodies, a magical shock will spread out instead of unleashing all its power in one spot. All the tribes have that, but it stronger in earth ponies than in others. It makes them very resilient. It’s impossible to say what would happen if a spell goes wrong with him, or if he would be unfortunately hit by one. I have never read about something like that.”

“He can cast spells?”

“Not directly. He has no horn or similar catalyst to cast spells. At least none in his body. However, if he would fill one of his gems with energy, which he is very much capable of, it could cause problems…” She gulped. “Basically anything could happen.”

“And the other scenario?”

“If another magic user hits him with a spell? No idea!” She finished her spell and opened her eyes. “Like I said, I have never read about something like that before. His magic could spiral out of control. It could cause a chain reaction. The magic could also be caught and absorbed by his own. Without tests, I can’t be sure.”

***

Meena closed the door that led to the room of Amaryllis and Thiemo behind her and sighed. “Well, that was insightful, and it only took us half the night.” Both looked at the clock at the wall and sighed. “Then there is only the problem with your niece.”

Twilight grinned. “Actually, I already have a solution. At least I think so.” Meena crossed her arms. “She is taking in emotions through her natural aura. Every creature has an aura, an important part of their soul. Many mistake it with the magical aura, which can be seen by some gifted and skilful magicians. But they are two completely different things. Both are connected with the soul in one way…” Twilight stopped as she saw the woman’s head falling over. Just as her body was about to follow, she awoke with a start. She looked at Twilight and grinned sheepishly.

“Coffee?” Meena asked and both got moving.

“So, about Amaryllis. I think the easiest would be to slightly modify a magic blocker. Just so that it blocks a different aura. She wouldn’t be able to eat while wearing it, but it would at least stop her from acting so… yeah. At least until she learns to adapt to this dose.”

“Like I said, Princess, I am no expert in magic but for species that are not called ponies, be it diamond dogs, minotaurs or, humans. But,we only had two hours about changelings in school. Only the roughest basics. Still, I think it is worth a shot.

They entered the cafeteria: a small room with a fridge, a sink, and everything needed to make coffee. One table was low and had cushions lying around it. The other was larger and chairs stood next to it, clearly made for humans. Meena immediately went to make the desired drink while Twilight took a seat at the smaller table.

Suddenly, a rumble came from the hallway. Both looked at each other quickly as a pony burst into the room. The crystal stallion wore the armour of the palace and seemed to be completely out of breath. “Princess…. Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

“Uhm… yes?”

“A letter from her Majesty. She immediately wrote it after Sir Spike brought us the happy news.” Twilight levitated the letter from the small bag that the stallion wore around his neck and opened it.

Hello Twilight,

Spike just brought us the good news. I can’t tell you how excited we all are. Shining has been running up and down for the past days. Please tell her that we would like to welcome her tomorrow bright and early. The human too. Of course, you and your friends are invited as well, but you have to understand that we want to speak to them first.

Best regards,

Cadance

Chapter IV - The Crystal Empire

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Chapter IV - The Crystal Empire

Chapter IV - Act 13.1 - Welcome

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Amaryllis yawned, smacked her lips together a bit, and slowly opened her eyes. Sunlight came through the crystal clear window directly in front of her and warmed the room. Carefully, she pushed back the blanket with her hind legs and went to stretch herself, but something was in her way. Her head wandered to her left, to other side of the bed, where a sleeping Thiemo was lying. His body was buried up to his nose by another blanket, while his arms were wrapped around her. “Breakfast,” she said with a grin, and her snout vanished under the blanket. She stopped for a few seconds as she saw what the sunlight showed her through the white blanket. Slowly, she pulled back her head and turned red. She blinked and looked again.

What happened? That and more questions suddenly shot through her head. The last thing she remembered, or thought she remembered, was entering the Empire. A look around the room told her that they had to be in some sort of hospital. The bed they were lying in was on wheels, the walls were white and sterile, and in large letters was a number on the door to the room. Had she fallen victim to the barrier?

Cautiously, she stepped out of the bed, careful to not wake up the human, and looked out of the window. They were in the fourth or fifth floor of a large building. The streets below were crowded. Ponies, sparkling ponies, were wandering around, filling the roads. The buildings around her were glistening and glittering in the sunlight, some even way higher than the one they were in. If there hadn’t been glass in the way, she would have pushed her head out even further. She could just see the paths between the large buildings that seemed to float. There were ponies underway as well, like it was the most natural thing in the world. None of them seemed to be scared, even though none of them had wings on their back.

It didn’t matter how it happened, but she was in the Crystal Empire now – there was no doubt about it. She didn’t care about how she got into hospital. Thiemo was with her in bed, even though he usually seemed rather shy about that. Satisfied, and with a wide grin on her lips, she returned to the bed and snuggled against him underneath the blanket. Now just a light breakfast and everything would be perfect. She blinked and tried again. And again and again, but nothing came. No emotion, no love. Unsure, she felt for other sources around her, but found none. Panicked, she stood up. “Hello!?” she called, confused, but got no response. Her hoof hit something. “Thiemo!” She threw herself on top of him and began to shake him. “Thiemo! Wake up. Please…”

Her coltfriend closed his eyes a bit tighter and sullenly mumbled something in response to her shaking, but she knew no mercy. He grumbled a bit more before he finally his eyes and looked at her sleepily. “Amy?” Like her, he looked around the room first. “What happened? Did I miss anything?”

“I’m hungry…” He blinked.

“What?”

“I can’t eat.” She sniffled, a single tear running down her cheek. Thiemo, still clearly muddled, took her in his arms and hugged her tightly.

“There, there, no problem. Tell me–” The door opened, and a pony entered the room. The earth pony mare had a notepad on the wagon that she pushed in front of her and wore a cap with a red heart on her head. “Good that you are here. We could use some help.” She stared at them and looked down a bit. Thiemo and Amaryllis followed her gaze and saw that both their blankets were on the ground now. “Shit, that might have come out wrong, but we really have a bit of a problem here that we need some help with.” Thiemo’s words hit deaf ears as the nurse blushed furiously and disappeared with the wagon into the hallway again, slamming the door behind her.

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 13.1 – Welcome ~

“I look like I just came out of a magic lamp.” Thiemo pulled again at the way too wide pants that were covering his legs. Spike had gotten the clothes, a khaki-coloured vest and pants, for him after he had explained his situation to the dragon. Spike was at the hospital to pick them up since they had been expected at the castle for a while now. Twilight was supposed to bring them there bright and early, but the Princess was nowhere to be found. Spike suspected that she overslept since she had been awake the whole night again, something that had happening all too often. “Or that I stole MC Hammer’s pants.” Well, what did he expect? Even humans only occasionally wore clothes here.

“It was the best thing I could get in the short time,” Spike assured him again as they strolled next to Amy through the streets of the town. “Worse than Rarity,” he heard him mumbling. The dragon didn’t seem to realize yet that, with his larger vocal organ, even a whisper from him could be easily heard by others.

“They could at least have me left my boots.” Not that it was cold or the ground uncomfortable, but being barefoot just felt unfamiliar. Footwear was one of the most important things for an adventurer like him. In the past, a lot of his friends had told him that during their holidays in Egypt, they had taken off their shoes to run around in the sand. Today, he could only roll his eyes about that. Desert sand, hot desert sand, felt like glowing embers. Taking clothes off in the desert to cool off? That just meant dehydrating faster. Knowledge he had to learn the hard way and was now stuck in his head.

“What’s the matter with you and your clothes?” the dragon asked, irritated. “Other humans here aren’t wearing any either.” Spike stretched his neck a bit and looked over the crowd around them. “Over there. That human isn’t wearing any clothes.” Thiemo and Amaryllis followed his gaze and saw a human coming out of a building in the distance. From the looks of it, it was a commercial building. Thiemo had to look twice to realize that the man was indeed naked, aside from a tie around his neck. In one hand he held a file; in the other, a cup with a warm drink. He noticed their looks and nodded back in a friendly fashion. Slightly tense, Thiemo nodded back.

“See?” Amaryllis leaned over to him. “Other humans don’t have a problem with that either, and it’s not like you have something to hide.”

“And that’s coming from you, Miss Revealing, or should we see what happens if I take the ring off your horn?” Shortly after the interruption of the nurse, another one had come and explained to the panicked Princess which precautions they had to take. In the coming weeks, Amaryllis would have to learn to be more careful while eating here. “You ponies at least have a tail.”

Amy raised a brow. “You have one as well.”

It just wiggled a bit now. “Yes, but it’s not covering anything!” Thiemo took a step aside and pointed at the rear of a stallion that walked beside them. “See! Tail and legs. I would have to crawl underneath him to see something, and I definitely don’t want to do that!” He looked into the face of the confused stallion. “No offence.”

“None taken?” The stallion waited for a few seconds, his eyes were wandering between Thiemo and Amaryllis, but then he quickly went away.

“But if I would take my pants off, everyone who turned around could get a clear view.” To enforce his argument, he grabbed his crotch.

“Like anyone wants to see that!” another stallion shouted from the other side and laughed.

“My words exactly. Thanks!” The stallion just raised a hoof and with a chuckle continued his way.

“Don’t be like that, lad. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before.” A mare next to him leered at him before she burst out into tittering with her friends. “I don’t know, Em, I like stallions that act like they have something to hide,” another one from the group of middle-aged mares called out before they were out of audible range.

Both Amaryllis and Spike grinned at him. “You know,” Spike began and couldn’t hold back a slight chuckle as Thiemo’s face turned crimson, “ponies are always very natural, like all creatures on Albion. Clothes are only used for special events, like formal receptions, balls, and such events. Well,” the dragon wiggled his head a bit, “and in bed.”

Thiemo wanted to go on but stopped for a moment. “Hold on… If there are only clothes for those events, where did the stuff I’m wearing come from?” The dragon just grinned. “No.” He laughed. “Spike, what am I wearing?”

He casually waved a claw through the air. “Well, the nearest store was a sex shop.” Amaryllis giggled as well. “For minotaurs.”

The next five minutes of their journey Thiemo spent silently as they walked between the tall buildings. The dragon couldn’t stop his laughter, and a few times some fire accidentally escaped his nostrils. Amaryllis, in contrast, just occasionally giggled and urged him to take off the clothes if he didn’t like them. And for a moment, just one moment, he considered doing so. After all, he was running around in minotaur lingerie. For such large creatures, the pants would surely have been tighter and more revealing. For that, he had to be thankful and also for the fact that there wasn’t a need to cut a hole for his tail. Only as the palace came into sight did the two stop with their jokes. Now that they all calmed down, Thiemo noticed how different the Empire was. No one gave him strange looks, screamed, or ran away. Yes, he got a few stares, but that was rather because of his companions, clothes, or his unusual marks that no other human had.

Finally, they arrived at the castle ground, or to be more precise, at one of the four pillars that lifted the castle into the air. Like the Eiffel Tower, the gigantic tower stood on four large crystal pillars so that every visitor would have to take a staircase first. If Thiemo had to take a guess, he would say that the first four floors were only stairs. Spike eventually stopped whistled loudly. “Here our ways part. As you may imagine, this castle isn’t designed for my kind.” Spike could probably take the staircase in one or two large steps.

A crystal pony, wrapped in silver armour that was covered by gemstones, rushed over to them and saluted. “Sir Spike,” he greeted the dragon.

“Ah, good morning, Rupie.” The stallion had a bright blue coat that seemed to transition into a bit of grey. His mane could be seen clearly since he didn’t wear a helmet, and was of the same colour, only a tad darker. Probably the armour here were enchanted as well to make all guards look alike. The two others that were standing at the foot of the staircase at least looked completely alike. “These are the guests that Cadance is waiting on.”

Rupie turned towards Thiemo and Amaryllis. “Ah, welcome, your Majesty. We have heard about the troubles on your journey.” He bowed quickly. “I hope nothing serious has happened.”

“N-No, everything’s fine,” Amy answered, a bit flabbergasted, confused at the formal address.

“Very good. If you would follow me, you are already expected.” Rupie began moving while Thiemo turned towards Spike again.

“Thanks, Spike, but for the thing with the clothes…” He pointed with two fingers at his eyes, then at the dragon. Spike just laughed, and with a few flaps of his mighty wings, he disappeared behind the nearest buildings. Quickly, Thiemo caught up with his marefriend and the guard, who had already begun to climb the stairs.

“So… what is Princess Cadance like?” he heard Amaryllis asking.

“I am sorry, your Highness, but we were asked to remain silent until she has spoken with you.” They reached the end of the staircase and stepped through an open double door into the interior of the palace. Like the rest of the city, everything in here was out constructed of crystals as well. The walls, the picture frames, even the ornaments of the tapestries seemed to be woven out of some kind of crystal thread. To their left and right ran more corridors until they eventually arrived in a large round room in the middle. In the centre of the room, symbols on the room formed a magical circle that was surrounded by magical crystals that spiked out of the floor. “If you would step inside the circle, please,” Rupie asked them and stepped aside.

Amaryllis nodded and stepped inside, but Thiemo stopped before it and studied the symbols. Not that he could figure anything out of them, but the guard didn’t have to know. “What is that? Some kind of… teleporter?”

Rupie nodded. “Exactly. When the Empire was rediscovered, everything still ran on stairs. However, the castle was simply too tall to be reached comfortably by non-pegasi. That’s why Princess Mi Amore Cadenza installed them herself.” Slightly impressed, and with raised brows, Thiemo eventually stepped inside as well. Rupie followed them, grinned, and put a hoof on his chest. A gemstone inside the ornamented armour glowed up, and for half a second, Thiemo’s view turned white before it was over. “Over here,” Rupie said and left the circle again.

Thiemo followed but stopped as he saw Amaryllis in the corners of his eyes. She had raised a foreleg to take a step forward, but it was just shivering. Their eyes met. “I’m scared,” she said, so quietly that Thiemo barely heard it standing right next to her.

He stepped in front of her, took her face into his hands, and brought their heads together, their foreheads touching each other. Amy’s horn was now lying directly on his head, the sharp edge biting into his skin a bit uncomfortable. “How often do I have to tell you that they will be happy to meet you? You will see.” She nodded faintly.

Rupie behind them coughed, and they both split again. Thiemo gave her a smile before they followed the guard. Unlike downstairs, there were no corridors here, just doors to their left and right. Everything was made out of some kind of metal, ornamented like the armour of the guard that guided them. One door stood out from the others. At the end of corridor they were walking through, a large double door awaited them. In it were more crystals that were shaped like hearts. These hearts were also covered by a golden shroud. Thiemo had seen that crystal heart a few times around the city so far. It had to be their emblem or something. These golden twirls were new though.

Much to their surprise, Rupie stopped two doors before the end and opened the entrance to one room. “I’m sorry, but the human has to wait here. Orders from the Princess. She wishes to speak to you alone first.” Thiemo looked into the room. It reminded him a bit of the tower room in the Canterlot Castle where he had spoken with Luna and Celestia. Seat cushions formed a small circle on the ground, pictures of the city hung on the wall, and various refreshments stood on a table.

Amy looked at him pleadingly. “You can do it,” he just said and entered the waiting room. “I’ll stay here.” She gulped and nodded, and then Rupie closed the door again. For a moment, he heard their steps, then it was quiet. “So, what to do?” He clapped his hands and stepped through the room, over to the only window and looked out of it, only to immediately take a step back again. They were up, very high up. Quickly, he looked away and eyed the drink. Bottles of wine, champagne, water, cider, and something that looked like an energy drink were there. Thiemo pulled out the cork of the bottle with blue fluid and smelled it. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say this is sake.” Only that he had never seen blue sake before. In a cabinet, he saw various glasses and even a small bowl, just what he needed. With bottle and bowl in his hands, he sat down on one of the pillows and poured himself some. “Cheers.”

***

Just as the door had closed did the anxiety returned to Amaryllis. She was about to meet the pony that had declared her mother as her worst enemy. Just like Equestria and every other nation of Albion, but that wasn’t the point.

Rupie opened the large double door in front of them and motioned for her to enter before he stepped aside. Amaryllis just nodded, took a deep breath, and entered the room in front of her. A long red carpet awaited her and led her through a hall that almost looked like it was naturally grown. She would know. Changelings were very familiar with stones and everything remotely related to them. The pillars that were supporting the large ceiling seemed to have just grown out of the ground. Large, open windows at both side let in fresh air and a lot of light into the room, which reflected at the many walls, pillars and the ground. Slowly, Amaryllis walked over the carpet and looked at what awaited her at the end. On a throne the size of three ponies, and made out of sea blue crystals, sat a pink alicorn and looked down at her. Her mane was less like the ones from Princess Celestia or Princess Luna, but rather like Twilight Sparkle’s. Pink, yellow, and magenta were the three colours that made it up. Mighty wings were lying tightly at her body as she looked down at her with a blank face. Her eyes followed every one of her moves until she finally stood in front of her. Amaryllis did what she thought was right and bowed. She heard the alicorn standing up and stepping down from the throne with her golden shoes to approach her. One of her hooves was touching her chin, so she raised her head.

The blank expression on her face was gone, replaced by a smile as a single tear ran down her cheek. Before Amaryllis knew what happened, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza wrapped both her forelegs and wings around her. “Welcome home,” she said and hugged her even tighter.

Chapter IV - Act 13.2 - Fathers and Daughters

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 13.2 – Fathers and Daughters ~

Amaryllis was crying. She had no idea for how long. She wept, her entire body wracked with the motions, into the shoulder of the pink alicorn that held her upright. Again and again, she stammered apologies. For what, she didn’t even know. Maybe in the name of her mother, or simply for her own existence. Maybe for the suffering that they all had to go through. Maybe she was just apologizing to the world. “Shhh, everything will be fine. Everything will be fine.”

“W-Why?” she blubbered out.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza put both her forehooves back on the ground again but kept her wings wrapped around Amaryllis. “It is not your fault, not at all. If anything, you are a victim, like we all were.” With the tip of her wings, the Princess carefully wiped away a few tears. “No foal in the world is responsible for where they came from. They didn’t have a choice. You understand?” Amaryllis nodded faintly. “Please look at me.” Amaryllis sniffled, wiped her nose with a hoof, and then looked up, directly into the eyes of the Princess. “For me, you are a daughter that had been taken from me. You were made by the love that was meant for me. If anything, something was taken from both of us, and it is not your fault. Shining Armor and I knew that there had been this possibility, that you might exist. If we had known for certain, we would have let nothing stop us to get you. We would have never left you with that monster.” Amaryllis broke the touch.

“Which monster?” she asked cautiously.

“Chrysalis – we would have never left you with her.” Amaryllis took another step back, causing the first touches of worry to appear Princess Mi Amore Cadenza’s face.

“She is no monster. She is my mother. She raised me, taught me everything I know!” Again tears ran down her face. “She is my mother!”

“Amaryllis… I didn’t mean it like that. You have to understand…”

“I know what horrible things she did! I know it!” she sobbed. “But she is my mother.” Amy noticed that her legs were giving in, but the princess was at her side in time to catch her with her wings. “She let us escape.”

“A mother always wants the best for her children, no matter what kind of creature she is. I never meant to say she was a bad mother, Amaryllis. But as you said so yourself...” Cadenza paused and hugged her tighter. For a while, they stayed in that position, Amy quietly crying while the alicorn softly embraced and stroked a hoof over her mane. “All I want is that, that if you want, you will consider me as a mother too. You have a home in the Empire. You will always be welcome here.” Amaryllis didn’t respond, instead just allowing the stroking continue.

***

Thiemo inspected the clear bottle for some clues on what he had just drank. The sake clearly hadn’t been sake. “I should have known it.” Not that it tasted bad. “Who would serve cold sake?”

“Only that that isn’t sake.” Thiemo almost dropped the bottle out his hand as he heard the voice and spun around. “That is moonshine.” In the doorway leaned a tall, white alicorn. Across his back ran a long, blue mane, traversed by a brighter stripe in the middle that ended in a ponytail. Thiemo leaned against the wall and slowly stood up as the alicorn quietly watched him. His cutie mark was a shield with three stars above it. In the shield itself, he saw a familiar symbol – the same star that was in Twilight’s cutie mark. He wouldn’t have to guess twice to know who this was. This alicorn was taller than him, even without the horn.

Thiemo looked at the bottle again and offered it to the prince. “Want some?” He smiled, nodded, and sat down on one of the cushions in the room. Flummoxed, Thiemo took another small bowl from the shelf and held it in front of the alicorn. A purple aura then floated it out of his hand.

“Shining Armor,” he finally introduced himself and raised the bowl.

“Thiemo,” he responded and clicked bowls with him. They both drank the strange fluid and put the bowls aside. “So, what can I do for you, your Highness?” Somehow, Thiemo had expected that he would be interrogated, but not by a member of reigning couple. Then he realized that this was Amaryllis’ father. Should he have made a better first impression? Hold on, why was that important to him now?

“Well, I wanted to see the human who brought my daughter home.” Right, he didn’t even know that he and Amaryllis were together. Lucky him! “And who also is the coltfriend of said daughter.” Good thing that Thiemo had already swallowed the drink, otherwise he would have bathed the alicorn in moonshine now. Hastily, he thought about what he could say now but decided to keep his mouth shut and his eyes locked on his feet. After all, Shining Armor didn’t ask a question that he had to answer. “How did you meet?”

By his tone alone, Thiemo knew that the prince knew more than it seemed. Also, he knew about their relationship. Celestia or Luna must have mentioned that in a letter. That and other things. “Well, I just fell into her lap.” Telling him that he had threatened and then more or less kidnapped her, where she also got hurt, would be a rather bad idea. Those alicorn horns all looked very sharp.

Shining Armor nodded and poured himself a bit more moonshine. “And then?”

“Well, she was exiled from her hive, so I took her in and promised to help her.” He shrugged. “Since we are here, I would say that I stuck to my word.”

“You sound surprised about that yourself.” Thiemo knew that the prince was just warming up now. “Doesn’t happen that often, does it?”

“I have a total of three friends on this planet that mean everything to me. One of them is my daughter, then Amaryllis, and then someone who helped me when I first got here. Three!” He held up three fingers. “I promised something to each of them and kept it.”

“What a feat for a thief and murderer.” Both their looks grew darker. “Yes, my mother told me about you, human. Don’t try to deny it. If you hadn’t come to Equestria with my daughter and the filly, you would be in Tartarus or back on Ti now. Nevertheless, I’m thankful that you brought her here safely. That’s why I will grant you one week to leave the Empire. One week.” He emptied his bowl in one go, put it down on the desk, and stood up.

But before Shining Armor could even turn around, Thiemo was directly in front of him. “Now you listen to me! You have no idea what I’ve been through. You don’t even know half of what you think you know. Let tell you something, Shining Armor! The only armour that has never seen a real fight is the one that shines. I have fought for my life, and not all of Albion is like Equestria or this Empire. I was in areas where thinking, feeling creatures were traded for three bits like common goods. I defended myself, did what I had to, to stay alive. I lied, stole and killed, but only to see the next day. Do you really think I had fun doing so? That Auralia came into my life was the best thing that happened to me in years. And then came Amaryllis. I notice that since you came in here, you’ve only said ‘my daughter’. Her name is Amaryllis. Unlike you, I have cared about her for the previous months, and she cares about me. And don’t tell me you didn’t know anything of her existence. You won’t just simply forget if you’ve done it with a creature like Chrysalis. You knew, didn’t you, even if it was just a hunch? I would, no not just would, I HAVE been travelling... If she was really so important to you like you told me, what stopped you from looking for her? What?”

Anger, rage and hate. Those were the emotions that blazed from the blue eyes of the white alicorn as he stood nose to nose with Thiemo. His horn glowed as his mouth opened to speak, but he was interrupted as the door behind him opened and Rupie entered. “Pardon me, sir, but her Majesty said that you should come now.”

Thiemo was still breathing heavily after his outburst. Shining Armor snorted into his face before forcing a smile. “At once, Sargent,” he said without averting his eyes. “This is not over.” He pointed with a hoof at his eyes, then at Thiemo, and turned around. As the door closed and he was alone, Thiemo slumped down. He really had to stop messing with the authorities on this planet. First Twilight, then Celestia, and now Shining Armor. Now there were three, well, two alicorns that would rather see him rotting somewhere.

He reached for the almost empty bottle of moonshine and drank the rest directly from it. “Good stuff. Too bad it doesn’t have any alcohol.”

“I told Luna the same thing. Still, I thought it was a nice gift.” At this point, he wasn’t even surprised that someone else had snuck into the room. With a sigh, he looked to the entrance where, who would have guessed, stood another alicorn. The first thing he noticed was that she was pink, like a three year old had decided which colours her room should have. Her mane was pink, yellow, and magenta, not too dissimilar from Celestia’s, only that it wasn’t shimmering and waving in a non-existing wind. Her size was almost identical with that of the Avatar of the Light as well, but unlike Celestia, Thiemo would describe her with the word ‘hot’.

“If this moonshine isn’t alcoholic or salty, what is it?” The princess smiled and sat down where her husband had just been. Thiemo wondered how long it would take her to tell him that he would have to leave.

“Like the name says, moonshine. Something that only Luna can bring into liquid form.” Surprised, Thiemo looked at the empty bottle in his hand. “That is made out of moon glass. Collected dust from the universe that had been melted into glass. I-It was a wedding gift.”

“Oh.” Carefully, he put the bottle back down. “I’m sorry.” He looked over to her and noticed that tears were running down Cadance’s face. “I’m really sorry! I thought it would have been for the guests and…” She shook her head and rubbed her eyes.

“I am not crying because of that.” She sniffled and gulped. “It is just so good to see somepony again after so long. I knew that it would happen.” He looked at her in bewilderment. “May I take a closer look?” Thiemo didn’t know at first what she was talking about, but then he noticed that her eyes were locked on his cutie mark.

“Sure,” he answered and shrugged. “Go ahead.” Cadance took a step closer and softly stroked a hoof over the skin where the symbol was on his left shoulder.

“Exactly like I remember it.” It struck Thiemo like lightning. She knew Blue Light. She knew the symbol because she had been alive back then. He had never seen her in the recordings, but she was mentioned often enough. Still, he had given Twilight a promise, and he wouldn’t give Shining Armor the satisfaction to let him know that he had broken it.

He swallowed the question that was on his tongue and tried to change the subject. “How did it go with Amy?”

“Oh, you have nicknames, how cute.” He was silent as the princess giggled. “But to answer your question, I told her that she would always be welcome here and will have a mother. A family that she belongs to.” Satisfied, he accepted the answer. Like he told Shining Armor, he had kept both promises. Auralia was reunited with her relatives and Amaryllis had found her father, who was probably talking with her now. “We have talked a bit about her. Amaryllis is a lovely, smart, young mare. She reminds me a bit of Twilight. Must be in the family. But I have to ask you for one thing.”

Thiemo motioned her with a hand to continue. “And what would that be?”

“Be there for her. The next few weeks won’t be easy for her, and she needs familiar faces at her side.” So she had decided to stay. “It would surely mean a lot to her.”

“All I need is a bed and access to a library. That way, I can keep myself busy for a while.” Not that he had a new destination. In fact, Thiemo had no idea where to go next. He had gone far over his original destination in the form of Equestria, and the Crystal Empire was the northernmost place this continent had to offer. He had travelled over two continents already – a scary thought. Almost four years and still no clue for a way back home. If he didn’t find anything here, he would have to move on. Albion had more continents to offer. In the west, across the sea, was Heliopolis, and even further in the west was the island of Ti. There he was sure to find out more about his species and maybe even something about the connection between Albion and planet Earth. It was farfetched, especially since the humans from Amissa Heaven had been so advanced, far more than any civilization from Earth a thousand years ago was. Also, their glory days were over. Aschlant had told him that everything was powered by steam now. Cadance stroked over his shoulder one more time.

“I don’t think that will be a problem. The palace has many rooms.”

“Thanks, but no thanks. I’ve had enough of palaces. I’ll take a room in the city somewhere.” He didn’t want to be locked in here, but also didn’t want to be near Shining Armor and his soldiers. One of the rulers had ordered him to leave while the other one wanted him to stay. No, he wouldn’t be around for the argument. “That way, I get to see more of the city.”

***

As Thiemo and Cadance left the little room shortly after, Amaryllis and Shining Armor already stood in the hallway. They weren’t looking at each other, instead focusing on the ground before their hooves. As they stood there like that, Thiemo had the feeling that it didn’t go too well. Cadance and Shining Armor rubbed their cheeks against each other, which was a sign of affection Thiemo had learned. “Rupie,” Cadance called, “would you show our daughter her room?” The guard came over from the large door with Cadance’s symbol on it and saluted.

“Yes, your Highness.” He went past Amaryllis, towards the teleporter. “If you would please follow me.”

Amaryllis looked up for the first time. She had been crying; that was obvious. Her eyes were red and the coat around her cheeks was wet. “Thiemo?” she whispered his name more than a question. Immediately, he was at her side and put a hand on her back.

Thiemo quickly went back to the door, looking down the corridor before closing it. Next to the door was a crystal, just like Rupie had told them. He would look into that later. He went back to the bed, where Amy was pressing a pillow against her chest with her forehooves. “He hates me.”

“Who hates you? No one hates you.” Thiemo sat down next to her and began to stroke her mane.

“My father, I know it. It is in his eyes. The disgust.” She sniffled and buried her face in the pillow.

Thiemo took her and the pillow into his arms. “You don’t know that.” For a moment, he considered telling her that Shining Armor wanted to protect her from him, but that was probably not a good idea. That moment wasn’t overflowing with emotions on his part. “I believe he just remembered what your mother had done to him.”

Her head perked up. “Not you too! All I’m hearing is how bad my mother is, what kind of monster she is! She is my mother!”

Thiemo pressed her a bit tighter at him. “Please listen to me. Amy, I love you, and you know it, but the reality is that your mother has done horrible things. She is a monster and your mother, but that doesn’t mean that you are one either. You are someone else and deserve to be treated well. You only deserve the best. Better than some hole in the desert, better than a life on the run, and better than me. I’m not different, Amy, I’m also a monster.” Thiemo looked in her eyes, her head sticking at his chest. “I have done horrible things as well, and still you chose me. One thing doesn’t exclude the other. Aura and you, you both changed me for the better. No one is asking for you to stand against your mother, because if there is one thing that I have learned, it is that love changes you. Continue loving her and maybe, one day, she will see clearer. I think Chrysalis wanted you to come here. She also just wants the best for you, so love them both. And about your father: get to know him, then he will realize that you are not daughter and monster, but only his daughter.” Her tears never stopped flowing as she leaned upwards and met Thiemo’s lips.

Chapter IV - Act 13.3 - Insights

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 13.3 - Insights ~

By the time Thiemo left the castle, it was already late afternoon. After the discussion with Cadance and Shining Armor, he had spent the subsequent hours lying at Amy’s side, or rather on her back. Once again, he had learned something about ponies, or perhaps it was just changelings. Snuggling was snuggling, simply lying next to each other, being with each other. Then there was the more intimate version where the stallion would lie on the mare’s back. At first it didn't make much sense to him, but once he had found the right spot, which took him a couple of tries, much to Amy’s amusement, he realized why this was called intimate. Ponies just had a different idea of the missionary position. So he had been laid on her back, his head next to her shoulders, while she had leaned back against him with her long neck. Other than what he expected, it had been relatively comfortable. Her short black coat had been soft and her body warm. Also his head had been busy avoiding bumping against any possibly uncomfortable spots like bones. There was a reason why humans usually used saddles when sitting on the back of a horse.

What he also noticed was his new shadow. Since he left Amaryllis’ room after she had fallen asleep, Rupie had been on his tail. He either thought that Thiemo had to be almost blind and deaf with his small ears and eyes, or he wanted him to know that he was being watched. In retrospect of the talk with the prince, he was assuming the latter.

Now he stood on the large courtyard in front of the castle, surrounded by tall buildings and ponies that seemed to be in a rush. Lost, he looked around, searching for the road that would lead him back to the hospital. “Damn,” he mumbled and continued looking for any kind of street signs. Apparently he was on the Palace Avenue, but that was all he could discern. Luckily, he wasn’t alone. Quickly, he turned around, spotted Rupie, and strolled over to him. The guard didn’t seem surprised and just eyed him as Thiemo walked towards him. “Hello, my friend. You wouldn’t mind showing me the way back to hospital, would you? I still have a few of my things there, like my actual clothing. I don’t know about you, but where I came from, it’s against the law to walk through the streets in lingerie.”

Rupie seemed to think about what Thiemo said for a moment before turning around without saying a word and signalling Thiemo with a hoof to follow him. “So, pink or white?” Since he was running behind the armoured crystal pony, he unfortunately couldn’t see his face, so he specified the question. “I mean who ordered my observation.”

“I’m not observing,” came his short reply. “I was ordered to assure your security as a guest of the royal house.” So it had to be Cadance, Thiemo was sure about that. Based on the tone of his guide as he led him through the wide roads of this northern metropolis, he seemed to be on Shining Armor’s side.

“I’m feeling charmed, but who would try to hurt a human?” Rupie sighed and stopped for a moment. His head looked in each direction before he eventually turned around.

“Everything I say is unofficial.” Thiemo nodded. “Princess Mi Amore Cadenza doesn’t want to unsettle the population, but we have observed the raids on the settlements near the coast. The humans on Ti are planning something. The city itself is safe thanks to the shield, and with the return of Princess Amaryllis… let’s say that Equestria isn’t our problem. They started it, they shall deal with it.” For a moment, Thiemo didn’t realize what he meant, but then it struck him. Celestia had used Amaryllis as a sign of goodwill between their empires to get support from the far more advanced north. While dangers couldn’t get in, other ponies could do so very well, like Applejack, Twilight, Aura, and the others. Night Hawk wasn’t understating it when she said that they were only pawns. He had just underestimated the scale. “I only make sure that the princess and her companion will be safe.” Did Cadance really believe that her own mother-in-law would attack Amaryllis in her empire? No, if that was the case, things would look differently here. Celestia and Luna were powerful, and no matter how strong the shield was, it couldn’t stop them for long. The humans on Ti? Doctor Meena said that there were a few humans that lived in the city. What was their gain, attacking the coast of Equestria? It would only involve the Crystal Empire in the fights. If they would attack Amaryllis, this would be a new Pearl Harbor. But again, the penny dropped. Thiemo remembered something from the recordings. The attack on Luna. The wrong attack. An attack on Amaryllis by the humans that could cast the blame on Equestria. It would make sense, even if only remotely. “Anything else?”

Thiemo thought for a moment. “Why are you telling me this?”

Rupie sighed again. “Princess Mi Amore Cadenza has shown me your file. I know what you did, just like Prince Shining Armor. But aside from that, you have effectively cared for the safety of the princess. Also, you are her lover. If someone wants her safe, it will be you.” So he was a guard dog on a leash who would get his treat in the castle from time to time? Why not – he had been treated worse. Unfortunately, the princess was right, precisely the reason why Rupie had told him all that. She knew that he would only be even more worried about Amy if he knew all that. That damn, savvy alicorn. But one thing still didn’t make sense, like there was a certain part missing and the puzzle couldn’t be completed. Who had been playing Luna against Equestria? That was the question into the room, and Thiemo suspected that it had something to do with Blue Light, his revelation, and the video he had gotten from Echidna. A question which had parts of its answer printed on his shoulder, if he decided to go after it. However, since he would be staying here for a while, he didn’t have anything better to do.

Rupie stared at him for a few seconds, but since Thiemo remained silent, they continued their way. It wasn’t like he had a response to that anyways. At least he wasn’t restricted in some dark room here.

***

Cadance stood on her balcony and overlooked the city, her empire. Down below on the streets, she saw her ponies and all the other species that had found a home here. Shining Armor stepped out from behind a curtain and snuggled at her side. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

“I trust my heart, Shining. It was what led me to you and to here.” She rested her head against his and closed her eyes.

“I am not talking about Amaryllis.” Cadance just hummed. “I know that she is my daughter, but she just reminds me so much of that monster…” The stallion shuddered. “I will need some time to deal with his, but I was talking about the human.”

“You trust me, don’t you?” She felt the stallion nodding. “Then just give me some time and I assure you, sooner or later, you will see him as part of your family.” Cadance didn’t need to open her eyes to see his disbelieving face. “Now he might be a lost soul on the search for his place, but all he needs is guidance. Maybe you could give him a spot in the Crystal Guard?”

“A thief and murderer? Have you read the letter my mother wrote you?” Of course she had. Just like she had heard what Luna had told her in a dream and what she had finally seen with her own eyes today.

Before she could reply, she heard tiny hooves approaching the balcony. “Mom? What’s going on?” Cadance turned around to her daughter and smiled.

“I have a little surprise for you later, Skyla.” She rubbed her cheek against the small alicorn. “What would you think of an older sister?” Skyla grinned from ear to ear. “Then finish your homework and I will introduce you to her later.” She gave the filly a smack with her wings on the way out.

“I hope they will get along.” Shining Armor closed the balcony door behind him after they all went back into their quarters.

“I am sure they will. So, what do you think?”

“No, Cadance, I will not accept him into the Crystal Guard.”

“How about a bet then? If I win, you take him under your wing.”

The stallion considered for a few seconds and stroked his chin with a hoof. It was something Cadance had seen him and his sister do a lot, just like their mother if she felt unwatched. “Sure, why not. What do I get if I win?” Cadance leaned against his ear and softly whispered a single sentence into them. “Deal!”

***

Still in his minotaur lingerie, Thiemo left the hospital, followed by Rupie. At first he had to listen to a fifteen minute lecture at the reception that he had to check out before leaving the building, only to hear that his things were no longer there. The two swords and pauldron were taken by the soldiers, claiming they were national treasures of Albion. Meena had taken the rest, which would have been thrown away otherwise since he had just disappeared. Luckily, he convinced the nurse to give him the address of the doctor so that he could pick it up there.

Rupie looked at the piece of paper with the address and nodded. “Yes, I know where that is. Just down the road, not even five minutes from here.” At least that was something. Another point on his list was to find the others. They had discharged themselves already and were somewhere in the city. Before he found them, though, he had to change his clothes.

He followed Rupie through the alleys of the town, only to stand ten minutes later in front of a tall building that had to have at least twenty floors. They had needed a bit longer since Thiemo’s normal tempo was far slower than that of a pony’s. “That’s it?” Rupie nodded and stepped next to the large, sheer double-door. Thiemo expected him to wait here, so he just stepped alone through the automatically opening door and stood in the hallway that could have belonged to any apartment complex on Earth, aside from the crystal that was used for the staircase instead of marble. He looked on the paper and again read the number fifty two, meaning that he had to go to the fifth floor. Suddenly, there was a small flash of light and a pony that hadn’t been there before stood in the middle of the hallway. She looked at him for a moment, only to walk past him without saying a word. Thiemo inspected the spot where she had appeared a bit closer since she had been a crystal pony without horn. There were multiple holes in the wall, and in one of them was stuck a crystal. On the ground were the same runes from the castle, and with that, the question of what this was in front of him was answered. He pulled the crystal out of the hall with the number thirteen and pushed it into the fifth. It glowed red for a moment before it lost its colour. He shrugged and stepped into the teleportation circle on the floor. For a second, there was nothing in front of his eyes, but then he stood in the hallway that must belong to the fifth floor. He looked around for a moment and eventually found a door with the number he was looking for. On the door itself were various symbols, probably cutie marks that belonged to the residents. Thiemo smirked as he saw the large red dot that must represent the doctor since she had no cutie mark.

At first he looked for a doorbell, but since he found none, he just knocked. He listened to see if anything would happen before he heard hoofsteps coming closer to the door. Carefully, the door swung open and the head of a little foal peeked out from the opening. “Yes?” asked the little crystal colt cautiously.

“Uhm, I was told that I can retrieve my stuff here that Meena took with her?” The little colt blinked and closed the door again. For a moment, Thiemo considered knocking again, but then the door opened again. This time stood a beige earth pony mare, with a dark brown mane, in the door.

“Oh, a human. What can I do for you?” She smiled at him and opened the door a bit further. Behind her, he could see what appeared to be a normal apartment. There were pictures at the wall, carpets in the hallway, and a small cabinet next to the entrance with a bowl filled with apples on it.

“Thiemo is my name. In the hospital, I was told that Meena had taken my things home with her.” The eyes of the mare widened at bit, and she made room in the door.

“So you are the human she had been talking about this morning. Come on in.” She waved him through the door. Like everyone who inspected a new environment, he took his first breath through his nose, and unlike what he expected, it didn’t smell like pony or horse. “Can I offer you something? Water or some cider?”

Thiemo waved off. “No thanks, I’m only here for my stuff.” She led him through the hallway into what appeared to be a dining room. In the room stood only a large wooden table with various cushion for the ponies to sit on.

“Please take a seat. I’ll go get your things.” Thiemo nodded thankfully and sat down cross-legged on one of the cushions before his eyes began to wander around.

Various pictures were hung on the wall. One of them showed Meena, a few years younger and together with a crystal pony stallion, standing in front of the palace. On the next picture were the same stallion and Meena again, but this time she sat on the back of the stallion so that her head was lying on his, and next to them was the mare that opened the door for him. The third and last picture showed them again in the hospital. This time, it was the mare lying on the bed, holding a small bundle in her forehooves. The stallion grinned over both ears while Meena was sitting next to mare on the bed and reaching a hand out for the newly born foal.

“Oh.” The mare had returned and dropped the things she was carrying from her back. “I thought Meena had been playing a prank on me when she said you had a tail and cutie mark. I hadn’t noticed that before.” Thiemo just grinned and wiggled his appendage a bit. She smiled back and picked up the clothes from the ground before placing them on a cushion next to him.

“Thanks,” Thiemo stroked his coat, “Miss…?”

“Where are my manners?” She sat on the cushion opposite to him. “My name is Sweet Chocolate. I work in a confectionary here in the Empire. You already know Meena and have met our little sunshine, Candy Crush. Our stallion, Mineral, is in the Crystal Guard.”

“Nice little… herd?” That was actually more of a question, but he took Chocolate’s smile as an answer.

“Thanks. May I ask you a question?” He had noticed at the door already that she wanted something from him. Now that he was already sitting here, he nodded. “First of all, was one of your parents a pony? I have never seen a human with a tail.”

“No, it was more of a magical accident that gifted me with that.” He stroked through his tail before softly pushing it under the table. “Both my parents were human. Why?”

She tapped her hooves together on the table. “Meena is dreaming of having her own foal with Mineral, but unfortunately, humans and ponies can’t have foals, so when she was talking about you, I thought…” Thiemo could understand that. There were a lot of childless couples on Earth who hoped in vain. “Is it true that you are from the same planet as her?”

Thiemo was surprised. “She told you? And you believed her?”

“Of course,” Sweet Chocolate protested immediately. “She belongs to our family!” She held a hoof in front of her mouth. “Sorry. We shouldn’t be too loud. Meena is sleeping in the next room. The night shift really took a lot out of her.” For a few seconds, they remained silent.

“Well, I think I’ll be going then.” Thiemo stood up and carried his old clothes in his arms. “It was nice meeting you, Miss Chocolate.”

***

The door to the apartment complex closed behind Thiemo as he entered the crowded streets of the Crystal Empire again. Rupie, who had been leaning against the house wall until now, stepped next to him. “Where to now?”

“I think a hotel or something of that sort. Nothing too expensive.” He didn’t have a lot of money. In his backpack, which held his few meager possessions, were about twenty bits left. That would be enough for one night in a mediocre hotel, or three in a bad one. Rupie nodded and showed him the way.

The silence didn’t last long. At the first crossroads they reached, he heard a loud, slightly familiar voice shouting, “Found him, Dashie! He’s dressed up as a minotaur, but no one fools the master of disguise.” Both Thiemo and Rupie looked around and found a pink mare with a wild, curly, and also pink mane jumping up and down in the crowd. Above her, however, wa a cyan pegasus mare, whose eyes followed the hoof of her friend. Thiemo couldn’t hear it, but he was sure that the shivering yellow bundle next to them was starting to whimper.

“Now we’ve got you, human!” Rainbow Dash flew with lightning speed over to him and Rupie and pressed her snout against the face of the human. “What did you do with our friends?!” Just what he needed.

Author's Notes:

Did you know? Rupie is named Rupie because I was to lazy to look up the word Rupee? Then I liked it so much I stuck with it. ^^
What? Time skip? I don't know what you're talking about? OK, you got me. I said there would be a little time skip. Only I confused the chapters. The skip isn't in this one, but in the next. Hey, I have around 180 chapters up to 98% in my head. I could tell anyone who asked the whole story in detail by heart. Just confused a little detail.

Anyway. I thinks Thiemo's thoughts were maybe a bit confusing. To some it up, he noticed that Amy was used as a token of "friendship" from Celestia to Cadance so that the Empire maybe would help Equestria with their little "Ti & human" problem. Something else he missed completely, but will noticed later on by him. Hints are there by the way. To notice it, you should pay attention what Iron Heart and Night Hawk have said. (And Luna.)

Oh, and don't worry. You will know how this confrontation ended.

Thanks to Gron for translating this chapter.
Special thanks to JBL for proofreading and editing.

And give their story a try too:
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Chapter IV - Act 13.4 - Who and What We Are

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 13.4 - Who and What We Are ~

For the last two and a half weeks, Thiemo had something he thought he would never again experience in his life. He had not even thought about it for most parts of his long journey, the thought only coming to his mind on the occasions where he had some peace from the unforgiving world. That had been mostly at night at the campfire, or when he had felt nature’s call. Now that he had it, he noticed how much he missed it. A normal daily routine. It was so simple and yet still gave him such a feeling of happiness and normality in his life, a life that had gotten out of hand all too often.

He would wake up around six in the morning, which was nothing new, and then proceed to commence his morning ablutions while in his rented apartment. It was something he could afford, because due to his contacts with Rupie, he had found a job. Nothing extraordinary, but it was enough. The soldier had introduced him to a friend who owned a bar near the castle, and before he knew what was happening, he had found himself employed. Maybe Rupie hadn’t been completely altruistic in that regard – after all, this just so happened to be the bar where the guards hung around once their shift was over, but he didn’t really mind. He didn’t mind either that his boss was a griffon. Well, it bothered him for the first two or three days, but Rolaf had proven to be pleasant enough company. After all, it wasn’t really fair to think that his entire race consisted of assholes, though he had to remind himself of that a few times.

He also had to adjust to taking orders from a boss. Pleasant company or not, Rolaf still represented something that Thiemo hadn’t had in a long time – a superior. Sure, he had had to live under the thumbs – or hooves in any case – of Princess Twilight, Celestia, and Luna in the past, but their interactions with him had not been that regular. Storytelling had been his main source of income on his travels, so switching to a situation where he had someone observing him as he went about his job had been an almost alien situation for him.

At around half past seven, after a small breakfast, he would make his way towards the Tavern at the Corner, as was the name of his workplace. He would usually clean and serve, if necessary, guests who ordered their first dose of brain softeners at that time of the day. It was a simple job since he didn’t have to deal with drunken ponies, griffons, or other species at night. It wasn’t that he hadn’t offered to do it, for more payment of course, but Rolaf had been keen on doing that himself. Griffons.

As he entered the Tavern at the Corner today, an unknown scent filled his nose. It was neither vomit nor other body fluids. The former happened quite often, the latter only when a guest was too drunk to make it to the toilet. No, it was new, and if he didn’t know any better, he would say it smelled aromatic, almost arousing, lingering through his body even after he had taken the first whiff. What was also new was that Rolaf still stood behind the counter and sorted bottles in the shelf.

The bar looked like what Thiemo would call an English pub. He knew plenty of those, for they had been at every corner in London. The chairs, or rather the cushions with an attached wooden base, were thrown around wildly as usual. The only sign of the modern technology that was typical of the city was a crystal chandelier that was still on, even though the sun was high in the sky already.

“Morning.” He yawned, still a bit tired, and hung his orange coat at a low-hanging clothing rack next to the door. “No business last night?”

Rolaf briefly turned his head towards him before he turned back to the bottles. “Nah, it’s spring.”

Confused, Thiemo looked at the elderly griffon before he went behind the counter as well and put on an apron. “And what does that have to do with how it looks here? Don’t get me wrong, it’s less work for me this way.”

With a bottle in his claw, the griffon turned around. “Rupie told me that you were new here, but even you can’t be that clueless.” He shook his head while Thiemo took the bottle from him. “Bring this to our customers in booth two.” In the back part of the pub were three areas, where curtains kept them from the busyness in the front. Who had the right amount of bits, or had the right status of a VIP, could use them. Each of them had a large cushioned bench with room for up to eight ponies, a fine marble table, and a waitress so that they didn’t have to get their drink from the bar like the others. Most of the times they were rented for some business meetings, but never before had someone stayed till the morning, meaning that Thiemo was the one who had to serve them.

With a last suspicious glance at the grinning Rolaf, he turned around and marched through the room, over to the dark violet, velvet curtains. As he came closer, he heard sounds that he couldn’t place for a few seconds. It sounded like someone was playing in the mud and throwing it with hasty movements against the wall. “Pardon, I’m here to bring your wine—” Thiemo stopped as he bore witness to the scene that played out in front of him. The table was missing the marble top. Instead, it had soft cushions on it that turned the bench into a large, soft bed. On the bed lay a sleeping mare, and next to her was a stallion who was almost standing on the back of another mare. The hip movements of the stallion left no doubts as to what was going on.

The stallion stopped his thrusting and reached out a hoof for the bottle, thankfully causing the squelching noise to cease at least momentarily. “About time.” Worthy of a Frenchmen, he pulled out the cork with his teeth and took a swig. The mare underneath him coughed, and he passed her the bottle. “That would be all.” Thiemo nodded and was about to close the curtains again, but then the mare who had been sleeping until now shouted after him.

“Wait, we need one more. Want to join?” She grinned at him and whipped her tail a bit, giving Thiemo a brief peep. “I’ve never had a human before.”

The three ponies looked at him questioningly as Thiemo desperately tried to keep a straight face. “Uhm, no thanks. I’m already seeing a mare…”

“Too bad.” And with that, the mare who invited him turned to her side again. “Hurry up, I want another turn.” Thiemo closed the curtain and stumbled, still slightly flabbergasted, back to the counter where Rolaf greeted him with a grin on his beak.

“Spring?” he just asked the griffon.

“Yep, spring. Ponies go into heat twice a year. The first time usually falls on the week before the Hearts and Hooves festival. Just about everything is closed down for the entire week, and the ponies follow their instincts. Nothing for me, because if not for those weeks, they seem to live almost abstinent, least as far as I know. Still, I make about thirty percent of my income during spring because I rent the booths and help the exhausted guests back on their legs.” He rubbed his claws. “After all, I can take almost twice as much because I have to clean that all up again.”

Thiemo crossed his arms. “You mean I have to clean that up, right?”

“Only if you don’t finally tell me where you got that black eye from. I can still see it after weeks.” For a moment, he considered telling him the story, but then decided against it. No one needed to know that Fluttershy, as she tried to hold back Rainbow from beating him up when they had met in the streets, had accidentally hit him. No one had expected her strength, apparently not even herself. Applejack had later told him that not only was the shy mare actually had to put with Eris as a life mate, but she also fought with bears on occasion. Luckily, Rupie had resolved the situation in the end.

“Not in a thousand years.” Rolaf shrugged and grinned. Maybe not all griffons were assholes, but the ones he knew were all very close to it.

***

It was early midday when Thiemo was finally finished preparing the main area of the pub for the evening business. Luckily, he didn’t have to clean the booths today. All three were still rented for a couple more days. It wasn’t to say that he was looking forward to the eventual cleaning up. He hung his apron at the rack behind the counter again and put on his coat again. As always after work, he would visit Twilight in the library before he went to see Aura. His daughter had taken up residence with Applejack and the rest of Twilight’s friends in the loft that the alicorn had in town. It was two storeys of pure luxury, with enough bedrooms to host even three more ponies. If you were someone who loved books, it would have been something akin to winning the lottery.

In the evening, he would visit Amaryllis. It seemed like she had gotten used to living in the palace quickly. Part of that was without a doubt her little sister, Skyla. The small alicorn, who seemed take after her mother, though her coat was of a darker pink, seemed to dote on her new big sister and almost never left her side during any waking hour. The first few days he had gone to the castle directly after work, but just couldn’t part the two sisters, meaning that he had only managed to spend a small amount of time with his marefriend.

Now that he was walking around the more familiar roads, he noticed how many couples there were. Ponies everywhere were snuggling against each other, occasionally even multiple mares with one stallion. What was an even rarer sight was when he spotted a human walking around with a griffon. The human saw him and waved as a greeting, which Thiemo returned. There were only a few hundred human that lived in the city, and so seeing one amongst the thousands of other citizens was infrequent to say the least. The only other one he had met was Bartholomew, a regular in the pub. He was an elderly man with a full beard and who owned a small hut out in the tundra, where he made a living with ice fishing. He sold his catch at special merchants here who targeted griffons and other carnivorous creatures. He made a profit by being able to sell his fish for almost the same price as everything else that had to be imported at a high cost. Too bad that he spent all his money on alcohol. Thiemo wouldn’t have met him otherwise, but he never really got any useful information out of him in any case, as most of the time the man was too drunk in the morning when he got into the pub. All that he had gotten out of him was the he was from Ti and had fled when he was around forty. Until he made it into the Crystal Empire, he had been living in the forests around Trotterdam, a small village near the border of Prance.

Thiemo lowered his arm again and took a turn to the right that led to the library. In general, there were far less ponies on the street, but knowing that all the ones that were not here were doing the same thing was strange. Not the fact that they did it, of course – that was completely natural. It was rather the fact that they all knew that they were all doing it. He stopped and blinked. Would that mean Aura would be like that one day as well? No, he didn’t want to think about that. He shook his head and went the last few metres and arrived at the stairs that led to entrance of the library. There were pillars in front of the entrance, large windows, and a sign that asked the visitors to be quiet that was hung at the door. The latter opened automatically as he reached it and entered inside. Immediately, he was greeted by the smell of thousands of books. When he had come here with Twilight for the first time, because he didn’t find the way on his own, the alicorn had almost drooled when she had caught the scent.

Thiemo looked around, only to see that it was even emptier today than usual. Most of the time, there were one or two ponies wandering between the shelves, which could be heard loudly on the crystal floor. Today, on the other hand, it was totally silent. Not even the mare at the receptionist area was there, only a sign that said that no books could be rented at the moment. With a sigh and a shrug, he went down the corridor, heading for the staircase that led to the cellar. The word ‘Archive’ was engraved on the old wooden door. He knocked before saying, “It’s me, Estoc.” A click could be heard before the door opened magically. The familiar face of the Captain of the Royal Guard met him and let him enter. “Morning,” he greeting the pony.

“Morning, Thiemo.” The Captain closed the door behind him again. They stood in a corridor that separated the rest of the library from the archives. Important documents were stored down here, and a wide array of different spells were placed on this corridor to hinder intruders from reaching them. Good that he had a permission from Twilight and Cadence.

He was about to step through the first magical barrier, but then something occurred to Thiemo, and he turned back to Estoc. “One question…” He waved his hand through the air. “Twilight isn’t uhm… you know… like the others?”

Estoc looked at him in confusion. “Like the others? She is an alicorn, so no, not like the others.”

“No, I mean…” Thiemo tried to search for the right words. “It is that time of the year. The birds and the bees.” Estoc just blinked, seemingly lost, before his eyes widened slightly in realization of what the human was talking of. “In heat! Exactly, that’s the word.” He had learned the words in Cervidas, but there were many that he had never used. It was seldom that he had found the need to use the language.

“What? Oh, yeah. No. I have never seen her… or any of the other princesses like that. I don’t think anypony has ever seen any of the princesses in that state. But yes, it’s that time of the year soon. I think Canterlot will be due in a few weeks, shortly after Hearts and Hooves Day.”

“Day? I thought it was a festival? And what do you mean with Canterlot? Does every town has its own window for that?” Thiemo scratched his head.

“In Equestria, it is only one day, but here in the Empire, it is a two week long festival. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is also the Princess of Love, and that’s what the Empire runs with.” That made sense. “The highlight of the fest is the large tournament and the ceremony at the end when the Crystal Heart gets charged for another year. And uhm… yeah. Most towns have their own time for it. My mother had explained it to me once… exactly! It has something to do with our herd instincts. Mares that live closely together, like in towns and villages, synchronize with the leading mare. Even today, that still happens unknowingly. That’s why different towns have different times. But I believe that Princess Twilight may know more about that if you are interested:”

“Isn’t that a bit… indiscrete?” As the question left his mouth, he realized how stupid it must have sounded, seeing as he was asking someone from a culture where they all ran around naked most of the time. As expected, he just got a questioning look from Estoc again. “Let me guess. Sex is natural and nothing to be ashamed of.” He nodded, and without further ado, Thiemo stepped through the various barriers. Whatever Estoc still had to say, he wouldn’t hear it here.

Quickly, he opened the door on the other side and entered the room that was called the archive. If Thiemo had to compare it to something, it would be the holo deck of the Star Trek series. A gigantic crystal computer, as Twilight called it, took up the centre of the room. A large console, filled with glowing crystals of all kinds, were connected magically, providing power that humans on Earth could have only dreamed about. They were operated by little crystals that had to be moved on the input fields like a computer mouse. There was no display. Instead, there was a huge hologram that the console created in the large, free room. The last time that Thiemo had been staring so fascinatedly at the ceiling of a room, as he did during his first visit here, was when he had visiting the planetarium with the young age of seven.

Every time he entered the room, a different image was awaiting him. Today it was a giant picture of the planet Albion that slowly rotated in the air. The only constant was the alicorn at the console, who was moving the control crystals with both forehooves over the console. As usual, she was completely caught up in her work to find out more about what happened a thousand years ago with the humans, Nightmare Moon, and of course, Blue Light. “Hey, Twilight.”

The mare spun around and saw him approaching. “Thiemo? Is it already noon?” He just nodded. “Whatever! I have found something big!” Her horn began to glow, and a small box floated over to her. She opened it, and Thiemo saw that various control crystals were inside it, all wrapped in velvet. She took out the first one, which read ‘Albion’. “What you see here is an image of our planet as it is today,” she began to explain. She put in the new crystal with the others and moved a few others around. The planet spun and eventually came to a halt as it showed the continent where Equestria was on, with the island Ti far in the west. “I have found an old map in the archives, which was made before the Empire was sealed. Take a look at that.” She moved the new crystal a bit, and a few new land masses were added into the hologram while others disappeared. The changes were highlighted in red, which also accounted for the entire island of Ti. “Ti didn’t even exist two thousand years ago, but the records of Index said that the humans fled from the island and built Amissa Heaven. No civilization like theirs is formed in less than a thousand years, not to mention a few hundred.”

Thiemo remembered what Index had showed them. “Wasn’t that the last order Blue Light gave Index? Compare the two maps? And if I remember correctly, Luna and Echidna were arguing about the origin of the humans. Do you think that has something to do with it?”

“Very likely,” she agreed. “I just have no idea what it means, but I think I’m on the right track.”

“Anything else? Something new about Blue Light?” He had asked her that question almost every day when he came here. Thiemo just wanted to know what the deal with the alicorn was. Why had he contacted his soul, and why he had his cutie mark on his shoulders?

Sadly, Twilight shook her head as usual. “No, I don’t think I’m telling you this for the first time. The Crystal Empire had been sealed until long after his time. If I want to find out something about him, I would have to go back to Equestria.” She and her friends had decided to stay for a few weeks. Now that he knew of the upcoming fest, he also knew the reason.

“When will you finally talk with Cadance and your brother?” As always, she ignored the question and turned back to the console.

***

Thiemo watched Twilight over the shoulder for a while longer before he bade her goodbye. He tried to figure out how these computers worked, but he just couldn’t figure out which movement of which stone did what. If Twilight hadn’t assured him that it took a lot of training to use it correctly, he would have assumed that she was just moving the stones randomly and hoped that they would have the desired effect. After all, he knew people who were basically smashed their heads on the keyboard and still produced something semi-useful.

Since Twilight was more occupied with the research on the human’s origin, and he couldn’t be much of a help, their visits had been mostly of a short nature. Now he had to decide whether he should visit Amaryllis in the castle or Aura in Twilight’s loft. Since he was feeling a bit adventurous, he decided to visit the Princess first. As nice as a daily routine was, he missed travelling and the feeling of unfamiliarity a bit. Over time, it had just become his daily routine. The castle was also closer to the library than the loft. Also it was early in the afternoon, meaning that in the loft would be a blue pegasus with hormone fluctuations and a genuine dislike towards him that would be waiting for the chance for another face to face encounter. Then he would rather take the dislike of a large, white alicorn, since his chances of survival there were significantly higher.

It didn’t even take him five minutes until he climbed the stairs of the castle and nodded at the two guards at the entrance. As always, they showed no reaction, but he didn’t really care. Now that he thought about it, Rupie had been the only guard he talked to. “Hey, Thiemo!” He looked up from the ground and saw Meena coming out of the teleporter in the middle of the hall. “Good that you are here.” She pulled out a file that she had tucked under her arm and took out a sheet of paper. “Here are your results.”

Thiemo took the paper and skimmed over the content. Next to a schema that described his new bone structure, it contained a few diagrams about the magic in his body. His skeleton was still the same, aside from the small changes from his tail. But he couldn’t figure out the diagrams. “And that means what exactly?” he asked and pointed with a finger on some numbers.

Meena followed his finger with her eyes. “Well, these are the magical values. They are similar to what we see in earth ponies, only that you don’t have a magical nervous system. What that exactly means for you we can’t tell until we run further tests. If you want to, we can schedule them for next week.”

He folded the paper and let it disappear in his pocket. “I have to think about it. Maybe I’ll check you back some other time.” Thiemo didn’t want to play the lab rat again. “I take it you were visiting Amaryllis?”

“Oh, of course. Maybe you should see her now.” Thiemo looked at her questioningly. “I don’t think she took it well.”

“Didn’t take what well?”

“Sorry, doctor-patient confidentiality. If she wants to, she will tell you.” Thiemo considered shoving said relation down her throat. After all, she had brazenly allowed Twilight to assist in examining him. Of course she had the excuse that said princess was a doctor in the magical science, and therefore had been a necessity, but that sounded a bit far-fetched. Now though, he really wanted to see Amaryllis and not argue with the woman, who was again only wearing a scrub, so he just went past her. “Hey!” she shouted after him. Quickly, he placed the crystal into the right socket and entered the teleporter.

The first thing he saw was Rupie, who had been waiting to use the teleporter as well. “Good that you are here. I was just about to go get you. Princess Amaryllis asks for you attendance.”

A loud crack, followed by a shatter, broke the peacefulness of the hallway. “I take it that’s the reason?” Rupie nodded and stepped aside. He didn’t need to be asked twice and rushed over to the room that had been assigned to his marefriend, which was on the fifteenth floor. The entire floor was basically the private area of the royal family. Carefully, he knocked at the door. “Amaryllis?” No reply, so he repeated the procedure. “Amy?” Thiemo quickly looked back at Rupie, but he just stood there at guard some distance away. “I’m coming in.” Slowly, he opened the door and looked inside the room. Shards were scattered around the door, which must have belonged to the vase that used to stand on the commode. The flowers were lying in wet spots on the carpet. The blanket was next to the bed where Amy was lying spread out, crying and sobbing. Ignoring the chaos, he rushed over to her and sat down on the bed next to her. “Hey, what’s the matter?” His hand wandered over her back, and she finally seemed to notice him. With swollen red eyes, she looked at him before she threw herself into his arms. “Everything will be fine,” was all that Thiemo could say. He still had no idea what was actually going on.

“Nothing will be fine!” Amy managed to get out, sniffling. “Nothing will be fine. I don’t even know what I am anymore!” Thiemo waited for a minute and let her cry into his coat while he softly stroked her mane. “I don’t even know what I am,” she weakly repeated eventually.

“Well, a very sad princess for one.” She looked at him, slightly angry. “A bit naïve, with a strong character, playful, well-read, and not to mention graceful and beautiful.” Slowly, she leaned against his chest again. “Do you want to tell me what happened?” She nodded.

“The doctor was here.” He knew that but stayed quiet. “She gave me the results from the examination.” Amy wiped a hoof over her nose. “She said… She said I would never be able to lay eggs.” While Amy burst into tears again, Thiemo could only try to keep down his confusion.

“And that means?” he tried.

“I will never have my own hive. She said I was just like a normal pony!” He blinked again.

“Hold on, let me get this straight.” He grabbed her by the shoulders and held her so that they looked into each other’s eyes. “Your… reproduction system is that of a normal pony, not a changeling?” She nodded. “Which means that you aren’t going to lay eggs but will be getting foals like every other mare?” She nodded again. “I don’t see the pro—” Before he could finish, Amy’s right hoof made harsh contact with his shoulder.

“That’s not the point! What am I!? I’m not a changeling but not a pony either!”

“Well, what should I say?” This time Amaryllis had to blink. “I’m a human with a tail. Humans don’t have tails! So I’m not a human but not a pony either.” Judging by her face, she began to understand what he was talking about. “But you know what? I believe we two make the best ‘Not Pony’ couple there is.” Now she was smiling, much to Thiemo’s relief. “So, how about you freshen up yourself and then we let the chambermaids deal with the chaos here, while we make ourselves a nice evening in the city?”

“You mean like a date?” Thiemo nodded.

With one leap, Amaryllis was on her legs and disappeared through the door into her private bathroom. Not knowing what to do during the minutes of waiting, he stood up and was about to go to the guest’s bathroom, only to bump into Cadance in the door to the hallway. The princess had a tray, with a thousand piece box of tissues and a large bucket of ice cream on her back. She looked at Thiemo for a few seconds before she grinned. “Well, maybe another time.” And with that, she disappeared down the corridor again. You could almost think she had been waiting to do something like that.

Chapter IV - Act 13.5 - How To Date Your Not-Changeling

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*A little warning: The end of this chapter is a bit graphical. But in Germany it would still be 16+ (what here is considered "teen")

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 13.5 – How To Date Your Not-Changeling ~

“How do I look?” Amaryllis strutted back out of the bath and grinned at Thiemo from her shorter position. All the confused human could do was raise a brow.

“Well… like a pony.” The princess had merely changed into her form of a normal mare: shiny white coat, a two-toned purple mane, and elegant wings tucked tightly at her body. Something seemed off about her appearance though, and upon further looking, he realized that her horn was missing. Confused, he extended the search for the ring that should be on it. With a grin, she noticed his querying looks and lifted her left forehoof. The ring was wrapped around it, functioning as a hoofband, even if not a very pretty one. The black metal was a sharp contrast against her white coat. “It’s not that I don’t like it, but why the disguise?”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, Cadance said that she was going to officially introduce me during an event that’s coming soon.” He didn’t need to take a guess to know which event that would be. “Until then, I should keep a low profile.”

Thiemo shrugged and pointed with a hand towards the door. “Shall we?” Amy nodded eagerly and together they stepped into the hallway where Rupie was already waiting for them. Thiemo had completely forgotten about him over the drama. If he really wanted to have a nice evening, he would have to get rid of him, which was probably easier said than done. As expected, he stuck right to their heels as they slowly marched towards the teleporter. When he spotted it, an idea struck him on how he might get rid of his third wheel, even though it might be a bit drastic. Still, that was something he had to worry about later as usual.

They all entered the teleporter, and just as Thiemo had set the crystal on the first floor, he gave the backside of the soldier a little kick. Since his foot hit something that moved aside afterwards, he knew he hadn’t missed his target through the tail. The stallion immediately cried out in pain and took a couple of hasty steps forward to escape his attacker. In that moment, the teleporter went off. Now only the two of them found themselves in the entrance area of the castle. Amy looked at him questioningly while he pulled her out of the circle and took out a little sapphire from his chest pocket. He placed it next to the control crystal and into another indentation. It instantly caused a short circuit, and the control panel of the teleporter went out. “I don’t think it’ll hurt anypony to take the stairs.” Even though Twilight had told him otherwise a couple of times before.

“I think he’s going to be very mad at you.” If that was supposed to make him sound guilty, the princess wasn’t doing a good job. She giggled the whole time while they stepped outside. The guards didn’t pay them any real attention as usual and only briefly looked at Amy. For a moment, Thiemo thought they would recognize her, but then he saw that their eyes weren’t on her face. He turned his head and put a hand on the back of the white mare. While one of them seemed to be disappointed, the other threw a look at him that could kill. He stuck out his tongue at him before taking the last step and turning towards the next problem. “Where are we going?” Amaryllis spoke out what he thought.

Personally, he was never the guy for long trips, usually because he got lost during them. He stuck to the paths he knew, and that was it for him. As a result, he hadn’t gotten to know anything in the Empire aside from the castle, they just snuck out of and Twilight’s apartments, his own, and his work place. Going with his date there would be very counterproductive now, as it was flooded with soldiers around this time. On the other hand, Rupie would never come looking for them there. Still, for him, there was more to a date than going to a bar and knocking back a few drinks. That was something for later.

So he did what he had done since the first day of his journey. He put one foot in front of the other and went more or less where the wind decided to carry him, with his head held up high and a look on his face that looked like he knew what he was doing, even though that wasn’t the case. Amy next to him got moving as well, and together they walked down the wide, almost empty road. He was once again caught up in the phenomena of what this time of the year brought upon the ponies of the city. A whole city was more or less brought to a halt. There were a few single mares and stallions here and there, but they all seemed to actively avoid each other. Curiosity caught the better of him, but Amaryllis didn’t seem to know the answer, as she was looking around herself, just as confused as him.

“Where is everypony?”

“Well, if two ponies really like each other…” She looked at him with a face that was asking very clearly if he was being serious right now. “Let me finish. So, if they really like each other and it becomes spring, then cuddling and snuggling just isn’t enough. They decide to express all their… accrued frustrating during one week of wicked lustfulness and unholy debauchery.”

She seemed to need a few seconds, just like him this morning, but then she realized why the road was so empty. “That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard.”

“Not much different from the horses on Earth.”

“You have horses on Earth? What are they like?” And that was the reason he hated to talk about Earth.

“Stupid animals really. Not different than rabbits or anything. Not intelligent. They can’t speak either or anything, just like every animal on Earth.”

“Are there also… ponies?” Thiemo nodded, and she gasped. “Are you comparing us… me and everypony… with them? Is that the reason why…?”

“No!” he almost shouted, though the looks of the passer-by’s in his peripheral vision soon convinced him to lower his voice . “Sorry. No, I didn’t mean to compare anything from Earth to Albion. Yes, I did so at first when I got here, but I learned quickly that nothing here is like on Earth. If I’m talking about deer, I’m talking about the nation of Cervidas and not the stupid animals that crap in the same forest they eat from. The words in Equish and English aren’t even similar, and today I wouldn’t even think about comparing them. It would be like an insult.”

“So… why…?” Tears were in the corners of her eyes. “Is it because of me?” He hated the way that made him feel sometimes, as it made him think of dropping everything to comfort her and make her feel better.

Thiemo sighed. “Promise me that you won’t tell anyone,” he said to her with a stern look. She nodded weakly. “Humans on Earth grow up thinking that sex is a taboo subject. And well… I never had…”

“Sex?”

“Among other things.”

“A marefriend?” Thiemo said nothing. Mercifully, she looked like she begun to understand what he tried to say, sparing him from having to spell it out. “Why?”

“There isn’t really a why. I was just never what you would call a social guy. Spent most of the time indoors or at school. Never had the urge to spend my nights in smoky discos or buy overpriced drinks or try to move to strange bad music like everyone else. Not that I didn’t try. Also, I wasn’t in shape as I am now. Had gotten quite the gut over the years, but not as bad as some Americans have it.” They both remained silent for a while, while Thiemo thought about where they could eventually go tonight. He couldn’t walk into a random direction forever and expect that something would pop up. And then he saw his salvation. “Sorry!” he shouted at a passing-by crystal stallion who got startled a bit by his shout as he sped off.

***

Amaryllis used the absence of her companion to sort her own thoughts. She knew that the human she called her coltfriend was a bit reserved when it came to subjects like sex, but his revelation brought everything she thought she knew about him to another level. She had thought that the reason they hadn’t gotten close yet was due to them being different species. She would have never guessed that it all because he, the human who told a goddess to her face that she was a monstrosity, was shy. It was honestly hard to believe.

But what opinion should she have of him? He had raised a foal on his own, had travelled multiple continents, and had fought with opponents like her mother and Twilight Sparkle. It would be funny if she wasn’t the victim. On the other side, it was nice to learn more about him. Maybe she could get him to open himself more to her. With a grin and shaking her head, she followed Thiemo, who had rushed over to a stallion and was now bidding him goodbye. “Thanks again!” he shouted after him before he turned to her again. “Sorry. I knew that there was a theatre somewhere around here, but I just couldn’t remember where exactly.” His eyes wandered around a bit as he began to walk down the same way he had apparently just been directed. “Shall we?”

Amaryllis nodded. “Sure.” And so she began to follow Thiemo with a light trot, something else she had gotten used to during her time with the human. He was much slower than ponies, even when he ran. To be precise, what he called running would be a slow gallop for her. Maybe not even that. From the corners of her eyes, she saw that he was saying something, but she was too deep in her thoughts now. What else did she know about the human she called her coltfriend? It was very hard to get him angry. Plus he was smart as well. Not only could he speak multiple languages of his world, but he had also learned Equish. His ability to grasp concepts were good, even though not as good as Twilight Sparkle’s. For example, he always needed a short while to understand some cultural differences. His humour was strange at best. Not really funny because of the joke he tried to pull off, but because of how he acted while telling it. That led Amy’s thoughts to his clumsiness. For most people, it wasn’t immediately clear, but it sometimes seemed like he couldn’t control his own fingers correctly, almost like they had their own will. Also he had the sense of tact of an angry griffon. Last, but certainly not least, he had a habit of telling little lies ever so often when talking. For her it was no problem detecting them. His emotions spoke a very clear language.

Despite all that, she didn’t mind it. After all, they would not have reached so far together if he had been a paragon of honesty and virtue. She loved him even for his antics. It made him special, even more special than he already was. After all, there was no other human like him on Albion who had a tail and could use magic. How had he called them earlier? They were the best non-pony couple there was? For better or worse, she had to agree with him there. Amaryllis flinched as suddenly something appeared in front of her eyes.

She looked around and noticed that Thiemo stood in front of her, leaning down to her and waving with his hand in front of her face. “Everything alright?”

“Err, yes, I was just thinking.” Apparently they had gotten to the theatre already. Behind Thiemo stood a building that that had multiple neon signs attached to it that pronounced the name of the play: ‘Your Dove I Want to Be’. To be seen was a pretty mare on a balcony, below her a stallion reaching a hoof out to her. “That looks… interesting.”

Thiemo looked at the poster as well for a few seconds. “Sure, I picked it especially for us.” Yes, there was another of his little lies. She could not find it in her to be angry at him since he was doing it to try and cheer her up. She shot him a smile and stepped through the door he held open for her. She couldn’t help but notice that the theatre, unlike the rest of the street, looked on the inside like a building she could find in Canterlot as well. For safety reasons, she threw a look back, out of the large window in the door, to make sure that they still were in the Crystal Empire. Tall, white marble pillars and a red carpet gave the impression that one had just stepped inside the castle of Equestria’s capitol. A tap on her shoulder caught her attention. Thiemo said nothing but pointed on a large golden badge that hung over the ticket counter.

“A home far from home. For honour of her Majesty, Princess Celestia,” Amaryllis read. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Either a generous royal donation for the interior of this theatre or the owner doesn’t sparkle in the sunlight.” As he chuckled, she noticed that he had made one of his strange jokes again that only he could understand. After he calmed down again, Thiemo noticed that he had laughed alone. “You know that crystal ponies sparkle in the sun, and if Celestia named her daughter Twilight…” He paused and shook his head.

“What’s with Twilight?”

“Nothing.” He waved it off. “I’d have to show you a movie first for you to understand.” Or explain to her what a movie was, but she didn’t want to nit-pick now. They went over to the counter where a young mare was busy wrapping a chewing gum from her mouth around her hoof. “Excuse me,” Thiemo tried to get her attention.

“Yes?” came a bored reply without her looking at them. Instead, she wrapped the gum further around her pink hoof.

“We’d like to have two tickets for the play?” While Thiemo tried to get them their tickets, Amaryllis risked a look into the teenager in front of them. She had to pull herself together to not spit. Boredom was a disgusting emotion, like trying to gulp down a mouth full of clay. Too bad that her new magical ring only hindered her from accidently absorbing the love of her surroundings. She hadn’t told Thiemo that, so he wasn’t expecting her to look inside his head. She only had to watch out to avoid being caught. Still, if she wasn’t going to get any soon, she could no longer guarantee anything.

“Sorry, but the play started ten minutes ago,” the young mare droned while blowing a bubble with her gum. “Come back to the evening play,” she finished her awe inspiring announcement and pointed at a sign next to the counter. Thiemo and Amaryllis read the times for the upcoming shows.

“Look, we’re tourists and new to town. Can you really blame us if we got a bit lost on the way here?” Thiemo began to spin one of his lies. “How about I put a couple of bits for you, and you can make an exception?”

Her hoof wandered further down. “No disturbances during play.” The teenaged mare rocked her chair back and forth and began to blow the next bubble, all that without looking at them even once. It was then that Amaryllis felt it, the happiness when Thiemo had an idea that could only mean trouble. He held a finger in front of his lips and motioned her to stay silent while he searched for something in his pocket with his other hand. “Well, I guess we can’t do anything then,” he said innocently. Slowly, he pulled a lapis lazuli out of his pocket, which began to glow and crumbled into ashes. Without batting an eye, he reached over the counter and pulled out two tickets from the roll behind it. This made the lethargic earth pony mare start back to life. Her chair landed back on all four legs as she tried to grab Thiemo’s hand, but thanks to the ice on the floor, she missed her target, and her head banged against the wood. The chair slid the remaining way to the floor before the pony followed.

“Don’t you think that was bit too harsh?” Amaryllis asked worriedly and leaned against the counter, peering at the unconscious mare as she lay motionless.

Thiemo shrugged. “She’ll be sleeping for a few hours. Earth ponies are very sturdy. Aura endured worse without a scratch. Plus, with the way she treats the customers, it doesn’t make a difference if she’s awake or not. You could call it an improvement. I should charge them for business optimization.” He placed the bits for the tickets on the counter and held out his right arm. “May I?” Amy caught herself giggling as she softly placed the tip of her wing through the loop and they stepped towards the large white double door leading to the demonstration room.

***

Ignoring the few confused looks of the scarce visitors, Thiemo opened the door for him and his company and led her through the dark room. A last look back at the mare who was still sleeping behind the counter made him grin. This was their first real date, and he didn’t want to have it ruined by some stupid teenager. After all, he wanted to rid Amaryllis from her depressing thoughts, even if was only for a short time.

He closed the door and motioned Amaryllis to take a seat on the sofa right next to the door. So that the ponies could sit comfortably during the long play, there were no single seats, but some kind of mixture of a couch and a chair. “After you,” she whispered to him. For a second he wanted to ask why, but then shrugged it off and did what his marefriend asked him to do. The question answered itself shortly after, as Amy lay down next to him so that her head could rest on his leg. Luckily, the podium was elevated so that she could still see it from her position.

“Rosemary, oh Rosemary!” shouted a stallion, who was wrapped in coloured rags and danced around in front of a scenery with a flower field on it. “Will your flowers be the only things that let me be with you?”

“What is this about?” Amaryllis asked quietly from her seat in his lap.

“I’d say the he is a beggar and fell in love with a rich mare named Rosemary, but the parents are of course against it, or he has no chance to speak with her. In the end, he will sneak underneath her balcony and sing a love song to her, and they will get together and love each other forever.”

“Have you seen the play before?”

“No, but aren’t they all more or less the same? Isn’t it more about how good the performance is?”

“You’re right, I think. What about the music?”

“Music?”

“I mean the orchestra that is playing in the background to the singing.”

“Where?” Confusedly, Thiemo looked down to Amaryllis, who just grinned widely and giggled.

“Over here.” He looked to his right, where on the opposite side of the gangway sat Lyra who sucked at a hay shake. “But in defence of the theatre, I have to say that they only have the replacements in house today. The really good actors are probably at home with their loved ones like everypony else.” Lyra pointed at the stage where the same stallion was now crawled over the floor and shouted out the name of his loved one over and over again. “He should have moved on a while ago. I think he forgot his lines.”

“Shhh!” hissed one of the ponies further up front.

“It’s okay!” Lyra replied as loudly as she could and fell back into her sofa. Thiemo turned back to Amaryllis, who was watching the conversation with a grin on her lips. He stroked through her mane softly. Again came a giggling from his lap as he stopped briefly at the point where her horn should have been.

They spent a few minutes in silence while the play on the stage in front of them continued. Not that it was very exciting. His expectations soon turned out to be correct, and he didn’t seem to be the only one who thought so. Amaryllis was moving a lot, positioning herself in a new spot or fluttering with her wings, clear signs for boredom. “Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to come here?” he whispered quietly into her ear. She could feel as he seemed to castigate himself internally at his poor choice.

“It’s not that.” She sat up a bit and rested her head on his shoulder. “It’s just that it all seemed so emotionless.” Thiemo could understand what she meant. Rosemary threw a bouquet of flowers from her balcony, which the stallion below was supposed to catch. They fell to the ground like a wet sack, and only when Rosemary coughed loudly did the stallion seem to notice the missed cue.

“You know what, you’re right!” Thiemo suddenly stood up, stepped onto the sofa, and put his hands around his mouth. “Boo!” His jeer resounded through the room. The ambient music stopped, the actors froze, and again all eyes in the room were on them. Unlike the first time when they came through the door, this time an elderly stallion in a red suit and with a name tag on his chest rushed over to them.

“Sir, I’ll have to ask you to stop that,” the stallion demanded.

“And I have to beg you to stop that down there! That’s torture! I mean, we’re all here because we want to have nice day with our loved ones. This isn’t helpful!” The mare on the stage grimaced in anger while the stallion awkwardly scratched the back of his head. “But the music was good.” A few instruments sounded in what seemed to be a ‘thank you’.

“Ah yes, a human wouldn’t recognize true art even it was right in front of him!” Rosemary shouted at him.

“Well, I have to agree when it comes to this one.” Confused, Thiemo looked to the left of the room, where Rarity was standing on of the sofas. “But I suppose even someone like him can recognize that this is something I can could only describe as, and pardon the expression, horse apples.” The angry look moved from Thiemo over to Rarity, who was grinning at the human.

“Madam!” shouted the usher indignantly but was drowned out by the cheering audience. The mare on the stage let out a frustrated groan before she stomped off. The stallion looked around blankly for a few seconds before he calmly followed Rosemary.

“Now bring on the music!” Thiemo shouted, and various ponies with instruments actually marched out between the scenery and onto the stage shortly after.

“Sir!” protested the usher again.

“It’s okay.” Both Thiemo and Rarity stepped down from their sofas again. She snuggled against the stallion next to her again, who had to be Estoc without a doubt, while he sat down next to Amaryllis again. Annoyed, the usher stomped off, and Thiemo and Amy took in their old position again, with the head of the princess on his lap.

***

The rest of the play came and went pleasantly. With closed eyes, they listened to the calm music that the ten ponies would have otherwise created behind the curtains. One of the orchestra members even gave a little speech at the end, thanking them sincerely and emphasizing that this was the biggest applause they had ever received as a reserve band. As they walked out, they saw that the young mare behind the counter had awoken again and searched for the offender with a grim face. Thiemo had to pull himself together to not laugh out loud as he saw her face. In front of the door, they briefly saw Rarity and Estoc, who were still cuddling each other. They quickly nodded at each other before leaving in different directions.

“And what are going to do now?” Amaryllis asked cheerfully while she wandered in a slow trot in front of him over the crystal road.

Thiemo was one step ahead of her – he had asked himself that question five minutes ago. After all, he knew that, after the activity, there was supposed to be dinner, where they were supposed to talk about what had happened during said activity, at least if there was no other subject. There only was the problem that his marefriend didn’t need food, or rather was on a special diet. But it had worked before to lure her with something unknown. “How about something to eat? I was thinking about something exotic, maybe some crystal berry soup?” He had heard a few guests in the pub talking about how the fruits grown in the gardens had their own charm. “Or crystal corn with some butter?” Which he personally preferred.

“Sure, why not.” A wide grin went over his face, though just as Amy had turned up-front again, it was gone. He remembered that he had no idea where any restaurant was located. It was moments like these that he missed the times where he could have just pulled out his phone and asked a well-known major cooperation for the way. For now, Amy was leading him through the town, but at one point she was going to ask him for the way. Stretching his neck a bit, he began to look for a suitable restaurant but with no success. As far as he could see, there were only various stores. A gallery here, a music store there, everything on this street had something to do with art. There was another thing they also had in common: the word ‘closed’ that shimmered in the crystals above the doors. Instead, the lights in some windows above the stores were on, which probably belonged to apartments. As he was looking up, he saw a shadow dash past one window before a second one was jumped after it. He blinked and looked up front, where Amy had arrived at the crossway. She was obviously waiting for him to show the direction

Thiemo sighed and let his shoulders hang. “Did I forget to mention that I have no idea where to find such a restaurant?” Maybe he shouldn’t have acted like he had planned this all. Amy wasn’t stupid and surely had noticed already.

“Why didn’t you just say so?” She rolled her eyes and flapped her wings a few times. Baffled, Thiemo stayed on the ground.

“Oh yeah, they are good for something. Almost forgot that after all the crash landings,” he mumbled to himself.

“I heard that!” came her response from above. Damn ponies with their good hearing. “I see something that looks like a restaurant just down the road.” Amy flew a bit ahead before landing again. After a minute of quietly following the road, Thiemo saw what Amaryllis had labelled as restaurant.

“Are you sure you want to go in there?” Thiemo inspected the crystal that served as a sign: a winking stallion followed by a mare throwing kisses at passersbys. Not that Thiemo had something against going into a singles bar with his marefriend to rub the other visitors’ nose in his luck, but with everything going on these days, this was probably a bad idea. Every visitor in there was probably of the desperate sort. Mares that didn’t care who served as a cork and stallions who would probably mount a porcupine in a heartbeat. Maybe that example was a bit exaggerated, but only this morning was he invited by a random mare.

Amy instead seemed excited. “Sure! Why not? Looks interesting.” Since he knew better than to try and argue the point, Thiemo motioned her to enter while he looked around the exterior. An old poster, a bit to the side, caught his attention. He had to look twice to make sure that he was not misunderstanding it, but yes. These were clearly the silhouettes of two ponies following their most natural instincts. In that moment, his brain was working at double speed. They stood in front of an establishment that was open during a time where everywhere else was closed and because of a more intimate reason. One that was openly advertised here.

Thiemo was so fast that he didn’t remember going through the door. The next thing he noticed after the poster was that he slammed open the door and smashed it so hard against the wall that he squeezed in the bouncer. Amaryllis stood at the bar, in front of her were various drinks, and next to her was just about anything that had a cock. Even a few mares. For Thiemo, it was obvious what they all wanted to do with his marefriend. Some stallions didn’t even seem to be ashamed to just leave it hanging. Amaryllis either didn’t seem to notice, or ignored it while she absorbed the attention. Then Thiemo realized what was going on. He wanted to eat and Amaryllis as well. What he didn’t like was that some stallions were focused on her tail rather than her face. Quickly, he wormed his way through the dark club over to Amaryllis. “Hey! Search something for yourself, ape!” snapped one of the three mares who tried their luck, but he just ignored her.

“Amy, you know what kind of bar that is?” he hissed at her. The others didn’t seem to like that her attention went towards him. Her coy grin was answer enough.

“I uhm… was hungry.” His eyes wandered to her foreleg, where the ring was still placed. “It’s new,” Amy added as she noticed his look.

Thiemo had to suppress the urge to rub his temple. “Why didn’t you just—” A hoof painfully hit him at the shoulder.

“Hey, human, search something for yourself.” A red crystal pony with a yellow mane was the transgressor. “Get lost, I was here first.” The remaining ponies took a step back.

“Keep your hooves to yourself if you don’t want your snout to kiss the back of your head,” Thiemo threatened him with a pointed finger and turned back to Amy. “Come, let’s go.” The next thing that flooded his consciousness was pain as two hooves made contact with his lower back. Thiemo flew a few metres and banged his head against an unused billiard table. The half empty drinks that had stood on the edge spilled over him and then fell to the ground.

“Thiemo!” He heard Amaryllis as she jumped up and was about to rush over to him.

“Forget the ape!” shouted another mare while the stallions growled and howled.

“Okay,” Thiemo moaned as he rubbed his head. He reached for the edge of the billiard table and slowly got back on his legs. A bit of blood dripped from his temple down on the ground, mixed with the remains of the drinks. Amaryllis was being held back by the three mares now.

“Easy there, sweetie. Never interrupt a fight between stallions.” One of them grinned and stroked a hoof over Amaryllis’ chest. She looked over to Thiemo, but he just lightly shook his head.

“Stallions act like school girls and hormone-controlled mares that are eager to see the other gender fight.” Thiemo freed himself from his coat and threw it on the billiard table behind him. Afterwards, he wiped a bit of blood from his forehead. “Almost feels like home.” Three more joined the red crystal pony, everyone with a grim face and slightly shocked. They had probably never seen a human with cutie mark or tail before. The latter had mostly been covered by the coat so far. Without any of them noticing, Thiemo’s hand wandered down and wrapped itself around one of the billiard balls. Then the stallions finally charged at him.

With all the force he could muster, Thiemo threw the ball right into the face of one of the stallions, and even without the speedup of the sapphire, it was enough to bring his attack to a halt. The other three lowered their head to ram them into his stomach, but the human just let himself fall back so that he was lying on the table. The first one had no chance to stop his momentum and slammed into the hardwood just like Thiemo, only without taking the same visible damage. The second one managed to slow down, while the third one jumped on the table. He stood up straight in front of Thiemo, forelegs lifted into the air and ready to go at him again. This would have happened if not for a mare who was thrown against the stallion, slamming him against the wall where he went down to the ground.

A quick look told Thiemo that Amy freed herself out of the grip of the mares. One of her hindlegs was still cocked from the kick she had just delivered. Out of reflex, Thiemo reached for his coat. “We should go.” As much as he would like a brawl, he had already used his only talisman. Plus, he really wanted to go on a date with Amy and didn't spent most of his money on new gemstones like usual. He also hadn’t expected to have to fight here tonight. Perhaps that was his big mistake. Now that he was at it, though, he realized how much he had missed it. At least a bit. Maybe it was just the adrenalin. Still, taking on a whole bar was off the cards.

One of the other mares tried to hold Amaryllis by holding her tail in her mouth, but another kick of his marefriend got rid of this problem as well. “Maybe that’s better.” They turned around and towards the door, where the bouncer was still lying on the ground, busy counting stars.

“Get them!” shouted someone from the small mob behind them as they began to flee.

“Why did you get us into this?” Thiemo asked as he began to run.

“I thought it’d be better than something boring.”

“I wanted you to have a nice evening!”

“What good is a nice evening if you don’t have one?”

“What are you talking about?! You were feeling down, not me. I wanted to see you happy!”

“That won’t happen with these emotions of yours.”

“You could have told me!” Something snapped at Thiemo’s tail and ripped out a few hairs. “Ah!” Directly at his heel were three stallions and a mare, who was giving him a wink now that he looked back. But what was important now was that they soon enough would catch up to him. Amaryllis, who noticed the situation he was in, stepped it up a notch and moved in front of him.

“Mount up!” For a moment he even wanted to do so.

“No can do – you’re too small in this form.” In the same moment, that changed as a green flame engulfed her and her natural form came out again. Without further ado, Thiemo put both hands on her back and let the rest of his body follow. Immediately, she unfolded her wings and flew away from their pursuers. “That was close…”

“But fun.”

“But fun,” she agreed.

The flight itself shouldn’t take long. Amaryllis headed straight for one of the skywalks, which connected the upper floors of two nearby buildings. As her hooves touched the ground, Thiemo carefully stepped off her back and dropped on his rear. “Everything alright?” Amaryllis asked carefully and moved aside some hairs from his face with her snout. “I didn’t fly too fast, did I?”

“No, I’m just feeling a bit dizzy. Maybe a slight concussion.” Instead of a reply, a tongue softly stroked the wound on his forehead. “What…?” His question was interrupted by a hoof that was put on his mouth while Amaryllis continued licking the blood of his forehead.

Calmly, he waited for Amaryllis to finish, and in the corners of his eyes, he watched the skyline of the city. They had spent the entire afternoon in the theatre, so now the sun was quickly approaching the horizon. At least he had learned that this was the case because the sun and the moon were being controlled by living goddesses. Changing his viewing direction confirmed his thought, as the moon was already rising on the other side.

“Done.” Thiemo slowly rose again and put on his coat. Even though there was eternal summer underneath the magical shield, it was still a bit chilly up here. Luckily, there hadn’t been enough fluids to completely wet his coat.

“Thanks Amy, I really appreciate that.” He leaned down to her and gave her a quick kiss. For a moment, he considered. “Maybe I should eat more sugar.” That made Amy smile again. This time, she leaned forward to bring their lips together.

“You smell funny,” she said as they parted again.

“Sweat, blood, and alcohol are like siblings – very hard to get apart.” White light fell into his eyes. The moon had reached its zenith and was about to spend the rest of the night there. “Want to dance?”

“What? Here? Now?” Before she could ask any more questions, Thiemo grabbed her forehooves and put them on his shoulder.

“This is still a date, isn’t it?” For first time in his life, he saw the advantage of having gone to boarding school. He knew the tact of a waltz by heart, as well as the dance steps. He took one of Amaryllis hooves in his hand, put the other one on her back, where the back of her neck transitioned into her back. “Just follow my steps.” And with that, he began to whistle his melody. As often as he had heard the Viennese Waltz, he never thought he’d be having a nice time with it once. But now, with Amy in his arms, while she was slowly moving in the pale moonlight, he noticed how beautiful it could be. Amy was clumsy a bit in the first few minutes, as she wasn’t used to using only two hooves to stand on, but in the end she had figured out the movements.

“A strange dance. From Earth, I presume?” Thiemo just nodded since he was still busy whistling the melody. They continued making their turns and enjoyed their moment in intimate togetherness. It was the opening of window, and the following vase that was thrown out, and the shout of ‘Damn cats, shut up!’ that put their dance to an end.

“That was nice,” Amy whispered.

Thiemo, who held both of her forehooves, now just nodded. They leaned forward and kissed each other again, but this time it didn’t stay as a brief contact of their lips. None of them could say who opened their mouth first as their tongues met and fought about supremacy.

“Get a room, you two, like everypony else!” again shouted an unknown voice.

They slowly parted, both with bright red faces, and sheepishly grinned at each other. “I think we should head back now,” Amaryllis agreed with the stranger.

“Yes, I could use a bath.” By now, even he could smell how bad he stank.

“We have gigantic baths in the castle. We could use them.”

“We, eh?” Oh, that grin on her lips.

***

The way back to the castle went by mostly quiet. Both Thiemo and Amaryllis rather let their body speak. An inconspicuous touch here, a nudge on her flank there. They both only had eyes for each other. Luckily, the castle could be seen from almost everywhere in the Empire, so Thiemo actually had an idea in which direction he was leading her.

So for them it seemed like no time had been passing by, while they slowly entered the place in front of the castle. The two guards didn’t deign to look at them as they stepped past them and into the hall with the teleporter. They had apparently repaired it by now. The crystal had been removed, and the panel was glowing again. Carefully, Thiemo looked around. “What’s wrong?” Amaryllis asked.

“Well, I had expected Rupie to find us by now.” Actually he had only remembered the stallion now that they entered, but his statement still stood.

This time it was Amy who placed the crystal in the socket which brought them into the private floor of the royal family. “Don’t worry. Cadance likes you for some reason. At least she’s always asking me about you.” Thiemo laughed internally at how Amy had misunderstood the interest. “And my father as well.” Yes, he and her father obviously were peas in a pod. She led him through the hallways and eventually stopped in front of a large, wooden double door. “This is the bath. Feel free to use it.” Thiemo nodded confusedly. He had thought that her invitation to the bath was something like the invitation for ‘coffee’ on Earth. After all, she hadn’t been too subtle with her innuendoes. What he saw in the room, however, washed away his slight disappointment. The bath was gigantic, even bigger than the one they had fled out off in Canterlot. Well, it was not the same size, but aside from that, it was still ahead of anything Thiemo knew. The well-placed crystals under the ceiling aided in giving the room the right ambience. Dim blue light washed over everything in the room, bathing them in an ethereal glow. Water ran down the walls in a seemingly never-ending glow, creating a relaxing atmosphere. The tub itself was more like a small swimming pool. It didn’t quite reach the length of three swimming pools, but either way, it would not be difficult to take a few laps around it. The shampoos and other sanitary products hung in baskets from the ceiling so that a unicorn would have no problem reaching them.

All in all, the ambience more than made up for the lack of a view outside. With a grin on his lips, Thiemo stripped off one piece of clothing after another and placed them into a wicker basket next to the entrance. Just as he stood there in his birthday suit, he quickly tiptoed over the wet floor and carefully lowered a foot into the water. A deep moan escaped his mouth. The water was just right, not too hot, not too cold. Quickly, he crouched down and supported himself against the edge before letting himself sink into the water up to his shoulders. His eyes closed almost on their own as his body loosened up, the tension that he always carried with him drifting aside at least temporarily at this rare treat he was indulging in. He automatically took a few deep breaths and allowed his thoughts to drift. Never had he missed luxury during all his years on Albion up until now. If he was ever going to have his own house, then the bathroom was going to be the most important room, that was for sure.

A quiet splash brought him back into reality. He opened his eyes again and looked around but saw that he was still alone. “Amy?” He turned around at the pool’s edge. Then he let himself sink into the water with a shrug. Just as he had closed his eyes again, lips were pressing against his. So he hadn’t misunderstood the invitation after all.

“Did you miss me?”

“Nah, I’m fine.” A bit of water splashed in his face, and Thiemo began to laugh. “Well, maybe a little.” He softly pulled her head towards him and they continued where they had left off on the skywalk. At the same time, they let themselves sink deeper into the water, step by step.
After minutes of tongue wrestling, it was Amaryllis who pulled him back with a grin, her face flushed and panting slightly. With a wide smile, she turned her back towards him and moved her tail to the side below water. For the human, this was the moment he realized that the warmth between his legs didn’t just come from the water. To add to that, he had poked his marefriend’s chest with it during the past few minutes.

As he was sheepishly taking a few steps into her direction, he noticed a different problem. “I don’t want to kill the mood, but I don’t think this’ll work this way.” Her hips were not at the same height. Amaryllis would have to shrink a few centimetres for it to work.

She seemed to have the same thought, and with a quick spell, she was the white pegasus mare that had accompanied him on his date tonight. However, that wasn’t what he wanted. “No, Amy. Please don’t. Please, no shape shifting.”

She nodded softly and changed back into her original form. “So you want…” He turned her head into his direction and kissed her.

“Oh, you know exactly what I want. And where there’s a will…” Thiemo dived under the water, grabbed his mare with both hands, one at each thigh, and lifted her. By instinct, she put her forelegs around his shoulders like they were dancing as she was now, stomach at stomach, standing on Thiemo’s legs. The glowing of his cutie mark illuminated the dark water as they moved back to the edge. As Amy’s back made contact with it, pushing the both of them even closer together. He felt her black, short coat rubbing on his skin, and he hungrily took in the sultry smile on her face, the quickened breaths that filled his head, and her large eyes staring in his, trusting, anticipating. Again their lips met, even if just briefly.

Amaryllis loosened the grip around his shoulders without warning and slid down on him. Thiemo’s eyes widened as she welcomed him into her body. Sex had been described as the greatest thing, but nothing could describe this feeling. For a moment, he pitied the loser he once was, but then concentrated on the pony in front of him. Just like him, she seemed to be floating on cloud nine as she enjoyed the feeling of their union.

As the shock was over, the heads of the two met again. Carefully, Thiemo began to move his hips while his arms slowly moved Amaryllis up and down. “Oh Amy,” was the only thing that passed through his lips. She instead could only quietly moan at that point. Kissing was no longer really possible with their quicker growing movements, so they rested their heads on the shoulders of each other to be closer. Her breath in his neck only spurred him on faster. It didn’t take long for them, first Amy and Thiemo shortly after, to reach their climaxes. Luckily, every private room of the Alicorn of Love was completely soundproof by a spell.

Out of breath, Thiemo slowly let Amaryllis back to ground after the euphoria was gone from their bodies. “And ponies go without that for almost a year?” she asked him with a satisfied smile.

“No idea…” Thiemo was too tired to think clearly right then. He was completely relaxed and floated motionlessly with his back on the water. Amaryllis was right next to him, her legs quivering ever so often.

“Their loss. But that wasn’t thirty minutes.”

“I never said I was a professional.”

“Then I think we have to practice a bit.”

“I think I’ve fallen in love.” They both laughed.

Chapter IV - Act 13.6 - Afterglow

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 13.6 – Afterglow ~

“I could get used to this,” Thiemo thought as he slowly woke from his well-deserved rest. A warm blanket was thrown over his body, which itself was resting on a soft mattress. The short, soft coat of Amaryllis pressed against his cheek, her warm breath on his hair as the memories of last night flashed through his mind.

After some well-deserved rest, they had eventually used the bath for what it was intended for, only to undo their work twenty minutes later with round two. Why did Amy have to pose like that in bed? How it came to round three was in a mist. A beautiful mist.

Slowly opening an eye, Thiemo noticed the light that fell through the bright pink curtains into the room. He was supposed to have had reported to work at Rolaf a while ago, but he figured he could make an exception this time. Thiemo had mentioned a few times that he was together with a mare. A simple “my services were needed elsewhere” would surely do the trick. He would only have to deal with the stupid remarks afterwards, something he could handle.

“Morning,” Amaryllis whispered quietly as she stretched her limbs. A light crack could be heard as she corrected her posture.

“Morning,” Thiemo returned softly and gave her a kiss. “What do you want to do today?”

The question unfortunately remained unanswered, as in that moment, the door burst open, slammed against the wall, and made room for a small battalion of Crystal Guards. They stormed into the room, surrounded the bed, and pointed their spears at the two surprised occupants. Thiemo was about to say something, but then he saw Shining Armor entering the room as well, rage obvious on his face. Thiemo sat up, acted surprised, and covered his nipples with his fingers. “How rude to simply burst into the room of a princess! I’m not even dressed!” Maybe it was the wrong moment to play games since the nervous flinch of Shining’s right eyelid was speaking a clear language. Instead of a verbal attack, the furious prince threw a newspaper in front of Thiemo and Amaryllis. A quick look told him why exactly he was being kept at guard by pointy metal rods so early in the morning. There was a picture of him and Amaryllis in the bar, taken amidst the brawl with the guests. “Human running amok in bar!” read the headline. “Last night, the guests of a single bar were in for a nasty surprise as a human ran into the establishment, overpowered the bouncer, and continued to attack the guests.” Thiemo put down the newspaper and looked up at Shining Armor. “Just to make it clear, I didn’t strike first.”

“Take him,” came as a cold response. With that, Shining Armor turned around and left the room.

Thiemo meanwhile was busy fending off the approaching spearheads. “Come on, guys, at least let me put on my pants.”

“Leave him alone!” Amaryllis threw in, taking the newspaper after Thiemo had put it down to inspect the article a bit closer. “He defended me. I was the one who started the fight.” Her words were ignored by the soldiers as Thiemo struggled to quickly fit himself into his old jeans.

“It’s okay, Amy, don’t bother. I should have gotten up hours ago in any case.” He put on the shirt that Rarity had made for him and slipped into his boots. “Alright, boys, you heard the prince. Take me.” Slightly perplexed, the uniformed crystal ponies nodded and began to lead him through the hallway. Quickly, it was clear that their destination was the teleporter, leaving only two options in Thiemo’s mind. He would either be put behind bars or would have to stand in front of a judge. He was hoping for the latter, as the judge would surely be Princess Cadance, who had always been more than just fair to him. And her booty tho…

A few minutes later, Thiemo’s thoughts were confirmed. They stood in the same corridor where he had been asked to wait in a room during his first visit. This time, he waited together with the ten soldiers – he had counted on the way here – to be called into the throne room. At the door stood Rupie, a grim look on his face and with slightly splayed hind legs. The coy grin that Thiemo gave him was returned by a quiet growl. Still, he couldn’t blame him for that – no one wanted to be kicked in the balls.

Then the door was finally opened by the guards on the other side, and the soldiers behind him motioned him to enter. “Hey, no need to poke!” Which only made the soldiers behind him repeat the action. Together, they entered the large room that Thiemo now saw for the first time. The pillars, which supported the ceiling, looked like randomly grown crystals. Large, open windows overlooking the balconies seemed to run all around the tower so that one could see the entire city. Fine carpet decorated the floors. What almost caused his eyes to roll out of their sockets was the throne, but he made sure to not let that show. Skillfully, he overplayed his surprise by acting like he had stumbled on the carpet.

Just as Thiemo stood upright again, one of the soldiers pushed him forward again, and they eventually came to a halt in front of Cadance. Next to her, on a thick red cushion, sat Shining Armor, giving his best impression of a statue as he glared at him stonily. “Good morning, Thiemo,” the princess said pleasantly. “I take it that Shining Armor has informed you why you are here?”

“I wouldn’t call it informed, more of an accusation. But yes, I can very well imagine why I’m here.” He came unarmed, freely, and honest. Internally, he made a red cross in the calendar. For all that to happen on the same day was almost a miracle. But what would be the worst that would happen to him? Pay compensation? Please, he barely had enough bits to pay the rent for the small apartment.

Cadance nodded. “I take that you plead guilty then?” Thiemo nodded. “Sorry, but we need a verbal confirmation.” She pointed with a hoof in the corner of the room, where a stallion at a typewriter seemed to be recording the proceedings.

“Just one question: will that later be saved in a computer?” He pointed at the stallion as well.

“Uhm, sure,” Cadance replied, slightly confused. “The files of every hearing will be temporarily written down so that they can be archived in a computer later. Additionally, we use special crystals to record the image and sound of this room, so we can avoid any manipulation.”

With his curiosity satisfied, there was only one thing left to do. “Then, your Highness, I plead guilty.”

“Then we will go straight to the sentencing. However, I have a choice for you. My husband suggested two months dungeons with no chance of probation.” The satisfied look of the prince met the sullen one of Thiemo. “I instead suggested community service, in the name of the Crown, for a duration of two months.” He wouldn’t have to think long with that choice. If he could choose between scrubbing the floors for two months, or sitting in a dark cell while there was the equivalent of Spring Break going on outside, he would definitely scrub the floors.

Thiemo pushed the buzzer that only existed in his head. “I’ll take community services for five hundred, Bob.” For a split second, he thought he saw a grin on Cadance’s face, while the quiet curse of Shining Armor wasn’t as quiet as the stallion might have wanted it to be. “So, where shall I report for cleaning?”

Cadance laughed briefly as she slowly stepped down from the throne. “No cleaning. For a human of your skills, I thought about something else.” So no scrubbing. Maybe he would sort files or something like that, but he couldn’t imagine a lot of things he could do in the castle. At least none that they would let an outsider do. Cadance stepped past him over the carpet, heading for the exit. “Follow me.” He shrugged and fell into a trot behind her, just like two of the guards who split from the rest of the group. “As you maybe know, the festivities for the Hearts and Hooves festival will begin in a few days,” the princess began to explain.

“Sure. I’ve barely heard anything else yesterday.”

They marched down the corridor and stopped at the third door to his left this time. “Well, then you’ve also heard about the tournament.”

“Not really. I know that there is one, but that’s about it.” Did she want him to sell candy in the stands? Well, there were worse jobs, but it was still pretty far down. For example, collecting the trash. Damn it, he couldn’t even keep his own room clean. Before Thiemo could go on with his thoughts, the princess opened the door, and he could see what was behind it: a canteen. A small canteen with a small kitchen, a small table in the corner with a few cushions around it, and a stallion who was bringing some warm drink to his muzzle.

“Good morning, Flash Sentry,” Cadance greeted the beige… no, orange…. or was it dark yellow…? Regardless of what his coat colour was, his blue mane stood in a strong contrast to it. Unlike most Crystal Guards, he wore golden armour like the Equestrian Royal Guard. Still, there were still differences. For one, he had an emblem on his chest, with a blue shield with a lightning bolt shooting through it, which appeared to be his cutie mark. Another difference was that he wasn’t wearing a helmet, and his mane was formed by gel into a mixture of an afro and buzz cut. Also, he didn't sparkle and had wings.

The stallion seemed surprised for a moment but then calmly put down his drink, stood up from his spot, only to kiss the ground, seeing as how far he bowed down. “Your Highness,” he greeted her in a voice that sounded so greasy that it could be used to talk with a frying pan and you would no longer need the butter.

“You remember what I talked about a few days ago?” The stallion, still on the ground, nodded. “Then let me introduce you to Thiemo. He will fight under my banner in the arena. I would like you to train him.” For the first time, the stallion looked up from the corners of his eyes, which Thiemo only returned with a dumb stare, though for a different reason. He was going to fight in the arena? During this tournament? He blinked and tried to keep it together. Now he knew what Cadance meant when she said that there were other uses for a human with his skills. But an arena?! He had been in a couple of dungeons, including intensive questioning with the help of various tools to make him more docile. “Don’t worry, the fights are harmless,” the princess assured him as she noticed his face. “The weapons are enchanted so that no one can be hurt, and the arena itself has a dampening aura that will protect you. It is only about scoring hits.”

Thiemo sighed with relief. “So like boxing or fencing?”

“I have no idea what the former one is, but yes, it is similar to fencing,” the princess agreed thoughtfully while she stroked her chin with a hoof. “And it’s not like there isn’t any price to win.” And with that, she had Thiemo’s curiosity. A tournament where he had to fight against a few ponies and would win something in the end? Child’s play.

“Alright, I’m in. Where do I have to sign?” And there it was again. The grin that stood on her lips for a split second. She had been satisfied as he chose her punishment and now that he was so enthusiastic. It was a clear sign that he was playing directly in her hands, or rather hooves.

A cough behind them ended the conversation. “Pardon me, your Highness,” another guard who had joined the two behind them reported. “The first guests have arrived and await you in the dining hall to have breakfast with you.”

“Ah, very good. Thiemo, Flash, would you like to join us? After all, they might probably be your first opponents.” Nobles? He would fight against nobles? He’d have to revise the child’s play; this would be a cakewalk. It wasn’t like he had seen many nobles in Canterlot, but that what he had seen had given the impression that they couldn’t distinguish between a bread knife and a dagger.

“As you wish, you Highness,” Flash Sentry accepted the invitation.

“Sure, I’m hungry. Should I get Amaryllis? I’d just have to know where the dining room is then.” Thiemo pointed with a thumb at the door and was about to leave, but the guards blocked him.

“Don’t worry, sir, Princess Amaryllis is already there and is waiting for you.” Good, then he wouldn’t have to worry about her walking up and down her room.

They left the small room with the Crystal Guard and walked back to the teleporter. Their destination was one floor below, where the lobby and guest rooms were. Meanwhile, Flash Sentry told him more about the tournament. “The fights will be fought with a weapon of choice. It doesn’t matter if it’s a sword, lance, or dagger. Each competitor can change the weapons during every round. You can even take your own. There is always a unicorn in the preparation room to make the necessary enchantments so that the weapon fits the rules. The rounds themselves are timed. Twenty minutes per fight, or until the first one scores fifteen points, with two points apart. Then there are the handicaps. The competitors may choose to give up the use of their wings for a second weapon during the fight. You can also go without a weapon and use magic or flight instead.”

“Did I hear that right?” Thiemo threw in as a flash of light briefly appeared and they changed floors. “One can use either magical powers or flight?”

Flash nodded. “A rule that was introduced because of Prince Shining Armor. He participated in the tournament once. The shortest we ever had.” So an anti-alicorn rule. “If I may ask, what is the weapon you’re most experienced with?”

“Staff.” That was clear to him. “Although I can wield a sword as well if need be.”

“Then we will begin bright and early tomorrow.” Flash didn’t get any further as they stepped through the doors to the dining hall at that very moment. At the large table near the door sat Twilight Sparkle and all of her friends. To the left was Fluttershy, followed by Pinkie Pie and Rarity. Next to her sat Estoc. On the opposite side to the right sat Twilight, Applejack, and Aura, who jumped up as she saw Thiemo and ran towards him. Behind them was a grim-looking Rainbow Dash and a stallion who had buried his muzzle into something that looked like apple pie.

Thiemo’s gaze wandered further down as he picked his daughter up in his arms. Amaryllis sat at the other end of the table next to Shining Armor. One of them was happy to see him again and with a wide grin on their lips, the other one less so. The faces that he saw next almost caught his breath, and Aura almost slipped out of his grip. Thiemo had to pull himself together so that his legs would not follow the flight instincts that his brain was sending out in panic. Striped, with the symbol of a sun on her flank and with various trinkets on her, sat his old master at the table, calmly smoking her pipe. Her eyes were closed, but that didn’t mean that she hadn’t noticed him. She probably already had when she entered the castle. Next to her sat a zebra warrior, Zende his name. He looked at him in surprise, just like one of the guests sitting opposite of them. He knew one of the faces there as well. It was Deerling.

*** ~ [Shinedown - Amaryllis] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Author's Notes:

Two important things today!

1. We are looking for one more capable translator for Journey. Gron tries very hard, but we seem not be able to build up a puffer of chapters for any reason. So, if you're able to translate from German to English and want to help us out for a couple of weeks, please contact JBL.

2. Because of the lack of a "puffer" the little break after intermission 13 will be two weeks long this time. I hope you understand that this ins necessary. Translating is a difficult task and we just need time to prepare the chapters. First I have to write them, then Gron translates, I read again for any mistakes or something got lost in translation, then Gron checks up on what I highlighted for him, then JBL joins in for the correction and then I read it another time. And then there are still some typos or mistakes left.

And to give you something to think about: "Zarni and Deerling were invited by Cadance days ago. They had to travel to the empire after all."

Thanks to Gron for translating this chapter.
Special thanks to JBL for proofreading and editing.

And give their story a try too:
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Chapter IV - Intermission 13 - The Zebra with the Stick

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“Ouch, hey!” screeched the cross-legged human as he sat, once again being bopped on the head by the wooden stick. “Can you stop that?”

“If, by my staff, you wish not to suffer any other violation, you should work on your concentration.”

“What? Could you please stop with the fucking rhymes, I—” Once more, wood cracked wood, only that Thiemo referred to one as his head. “Ouch, hey!” He reached for the stick, which the zebra had wrapped a hoof around, only got a rap on the knuckles.

“Nice try, but further attempts I must deny. It is just past sunrise, so keep going with your exercise.” Thiemo stared at Zarni for a few seconds before he took a deep breath and closed his eyes again. The sun hadn’t even been up for two hours, but the temperatures in the savannah of Zebraica were already unpleasant. Luckily he was sitting with his master underneath of one of the biggest trees around. The exercise she had given him was for him to concentrate and to make a connection with the old plant, to communicate with it. He had no clue how to do that exactly, but he knew that he had to gather energy to form a bridge between them.

The energy was the omnipresent magic of Albion. They were sure to never become best friends. It hurt to guide it through his body, a lot. Zarni had said that it would become easier after the initiation, only that he was not worthy of it yet. A test of his abilities lay ahead of him. If he was lucky, he would be ready for it in a few months, to get into contact with two of the four elements, to submit to them, and ask them a favour. And use it in front of the eyes of the chieftain. It may have sounded simple, but all he had managed to achieve in the last three months was raise up dust, and he still didn’t know if it happened because of his breath or not.
Now he had sat for the second week underneath this tree already, while Zarni stood next to him and smoked at the pipe she wore on a necklace around her neck. The smoke burned his throat while his stomach protested. Maybe it hadn’t been so smart to eat freshly roasted griffon.

“Would you stop that!” Thiemo opened the eyes and hissed at the zebra. Again the stick made contact with his head, and all the stupid old zebra did was stand in front of him and grin. In front of him? How did she hit the back of his head then?

My little Pony

Journey

~ Intermission 13 – The Zebra with the Stick ~

The world around him was just darkness, though that was only because of his closed eyes. What was Zarni expecting him to see? Dreams? He could hear a lot instead: his own heartbeat, the soft wind of the savannah, every time the zebra took a puff from the pipe, and of course the quiet rustling of the leaves above him.

“Search, feel the energy. Be one with the harmony.” Thiemo took a deep breath to drown his frustration. For many hours, Zarni had interrupted his thoughts with her empty phrases. He began to wonder why he was doing all this. He wanted to learn magic, not be beaten with a stick every ten minutes.

Frustrated, Thiemo took another deep breath and concentrated on his senses. Something had to be there. After all, every creature on Albion was supposed to have a bit of magic in it, so why not him? Could be because he wasn’t from Albion, but that the zebra next to him didn’t know. To her, he was Simba, a stray human that she had found in the savannah a few months ago. He had gotten lost again, what else. Zarni and her tribe had taken him in afterwards. It wasn’t like they had any ulterior motives involving the various probes they had done with him. Not at all. They needed them for various alchemistic mixtures.

Aside from that, they were also successfully practicing shamanism. He had read a bit about them having magic, but when one of the elder zebras had conjured a cloud above his head to give a shower to him and some foals, he had been quite flabbergasted. Everything he knew about magic up to that day had suddenly been declared null and void. Afterwards, he had directly marched towards Zarni’s hut to confront her about it. She had explained to him that that had not been magic, but that they asked nature spirits for their help. The spirits surrounds them continuously, so if one learned how to communicate with them, one could ask them for little favours.

He had learned that every element got different gemstones assigned. They were bathed in the element on an altar to prepare them to be brought as a tribute for the spirits. Rubies had to be put in the fire for a few days, which wasn’t allowed to go out during that time. Sapphires had to put on a high rock where the wind would blow around them. If one of them fell down, they were unworthy. Lapis lazuli were bathed in the water, which was not quite easy with where they were located. Outside of the rain season, when some remaining clouds from the oceans would float over the savannah, it was hard to get fresh water. That was why they were preparing as many lapis lazuli as possible to ask for water later. Ambers and mountain crystals were buried in the earth, where they had to stay for the longest time of them all.

After he had been introduced to the rites, he had to stand in front of the eldest shaman in the village. There he had to sit around a fire in a hut, while the eldest pulverized some herb and threw it in. A green smoke had engulfed them, which had burned his lungs more than normal smoke. They had stared at each other for several hours before the very old zebra had nodded and she got him out of the hut. From that moment forth, he had been her student, and she had been his teacher.

From there on, she had only spoken in rhymes with him. They were supposed to guarantee an inner balance and also make him think about what he was saying. Yes, she expected him to do the same, but Thiemo had categorically rejected that. “Memories are fine, but don’t let them hold you in a bind.” It was hard enough as it was for Thiemo to understand their language, but these rhymes sometimes made it impossible.

“Zarni, I swear, one more rhyme and I’ll beat you with that stick until your head hurts like mine.” The human gnashed his teeth peevishly. The sigh of the zebra came loud and clear, just like the next puff from the pipe.

“Your emotions won’t help you,” she spoke the first normal sentence in weeks. “You have to learn to control them, just like the energy around you.”

“And how should I do that? I can’t even feel the energy, not to mention control it.” Thiemo rose from the ground, dusted off his coat, and adjusted the new straw hat on his head, a gift that he had gotten from the zebras to make him withstand the the heat better.

Apparently his words made his master thoughtful. She stroked with a hoof through her long, straggly, and stripped mane, letting her earring rustle a bit. In the large, golden rings were a sapphire and a lapis lazuli each, hanging at a short chain. Around her neck she wore a talisman that was built similarly. Her long golden chain also golden and elegantly held a ruby and a mountain crystal. Since the stones turned to ashes once they were used up, they could be swapped at any time. Thiemo would get his own necklace once he mastered control the energy.

“Maybe you are right, Simba. We should try something else. But I have to warn you.” She trotted about from the tree a bit and began to draw signs in the ground with her stick. “If this doesn’t work, you may always be rejected by the elements. It is an old ritual, a very old one.” Nodding, Thiemo watched her finish the signs and drill small holes in four different points on the ground. “Sit down in the middle,” she ordered him. As he took his place, she went over to the first hole and freed the ruby from her necklace. “I give the cleansing fire,” she spoke and put the ruby into the hole. Thiemo waited for something to happen, but that wasn’t the case. Meanwhile, Zarni reached the second hole and placed the mountain crystal in it. “I give the earth, our mother.” Again nothing happened while she headed for the next hole. This time, she took the lapis lazuli out of her right earring. “I give the water that gives us life.”

“And this works? I don’t see anything happening.” Zarni glared at him, clearly telling him to shut up.

“And I give the air that we breathe,” she finished the ritual. “Get ready.” Confused, he wanted to ask what she meant, but in that moment, the worst pain he had ever felt shot through his body. Thiemo winced on the ground, rolled around, and reached for something, anything to ease the pain. The pain was everywhere. “The energy of the elements runs through your body. Be one with it, accept it, and let it guide you.”

That had to be a bad joke.

*** ~ [Papa Roach - Last Resort] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter IV - Act 14.1 - Round Table

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Judging by the present company, the following expression was more than appropriate. Thiemo stared at those surrounding the table like a deer trapped in the beam of the headlights. He barely registered the filly in his arms as she tried to tell or ask him various things. All he saw was the surprise that had been on Deerling’s face be replaced by a wide smile.

The next person who jumped up from the table was Amaryllis. Happy to see him as well, she flew over the table and landed directly in front of his nose. “I have a cutie mark!” Thiemo blinked as his eye contact with Deerling was interrupted, and he looked into his marefriend’s eyes. She seemed to almost glow with happiness. After a short break, he got his thoughts halfway into order again and tried to think about how he could explain to her that a love bite was not a cutie mark, but then she turned her side to him. On the dark coat of her flank, a bright lavender blossom had appeared. Thiemo couldn’t identify exactly which flower it was, but he had a strong guess that it was a amaryllis. The ponies he had met in the bar during the last few weeks all had names that were somehow related to their cutie marks. It was funny and sad at the same time that none of them seemed to realize that. He had even asked one of the guests for the story behind his cutie mark, but after the story was halfway done, he had already known where it was going to go. After all, the name of the guest was Crystal Corn, and shocker, he was good at harvesting exactly that.

So his assumption that Amaryllis now had an amaryllis on her flank wasn’t that spectacular, but he couldn’t figure out what it was supposed to mean. Then he remembered that, as he was her boyfriend and it was something that would be expected from him, he should maybe express how happy he was for her. “That’s great!” He hugged her with one arm so that Auralia was jammed between them. The foal protested for the first few seconds in her warm prison between the two, but then gave up and sulked about how everyone got their cutie marks before her. “Hold on!” he said as they parted again. “When? How?” He immediately regretted that question, as the answer came to him already. It had to be in the bath, when he took her in his arms. It hadn’t been his cutie mark that had glowed. It was hers.

“No idea!” she explained excitedly. “It must have happened sometimes last night, when we—” Thiemo’s free hand wandered over her snout, and with a coy grin he looked over at Cadance, who now stood next to him, also with a wide smile on her lips.

“Please, let her finish. I would love to hear how my daughter got her cutie mark.” Her facial expression made it clear that she had more than just a hunch of what Amy’s story would contain. “Still, perhaps that story would be best saved for later. After all, we have foals here.”

“Hold on…” sounded Shining Armor’s confused voice through the dining room. You didn’t need to be a psychic to tell that his royal Obliviousness had just put two and two together. “Oh the human is so—”

Thiemo didn’t listen any longer. He put Aura down and carefully took a few steps backwards. “Your Highness,” he addressed Cadance. “It was an honour, but I have to go now.” He bowed quickly and rushed down the hallway.

“You know Thiemo, Miss Deerling?” Rarity asked curiously.

“At first I didn’t recognize him,” she replied carefully while Shining Armor jumped up and began to pursue his quarry. “But now there is no doubt.” Flash Sentry quickly stuck to the Prince’s heels.

“Indeed,” the zebra shaman agreed and took another long puff from her pipe. “No doubt.”

My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 14.1 – Round Table ~

“Well, dear, what did you expect? The two are together and well-aware of their feelings,” Cadance lectured the white alicorn at her side. Shining Armor had taken a seat next to her at the head of the table so that Amaryllis moved up to his former spot. Next to her, and therefore between the couple that now had the attention of everyone at the table, Skyla had sat down. She had hidden behind her father earlier. Auralia had given up the seat next to Applejack to sit next to her father. Although she was now in the cake-splatter-zone around Soarin, at least that was what Rainbow Dash called it, the filly didn’t seem to mind. “It isn’t like we’ve never done anything in your mothers’ home…”

Cadance didn’t get any further as this time it was Shining Armor who blocked her lips with a hoof. “Cady, not with Skyla in the room.” A groan from Twilight could be heard while the other attendants chuckled. All but one. Thiemo still stared at Deerling and Zarni, who sat opposite to him. That couldn’t be a coincidence.

“Excuse me, but I would still love to hear the story of your cutie mark. The clean version if possible, my dear.” Cadance asked and for a few seconds the room was silent until Thiemo realized that everyone was looking at him. Confused, he looked around until his eyes met the questioning ones of Amy. He just shrugged.

“Well… where should I start?” Amy thought for a few seconds. “Thiemo had asked me out on a date yesterday to cheer me up. I had gotten some bad news earlier.” The ponies exchanged a few sympathetic glances. “We spent a… nice evening in the city, which left us in a state that we both needed a bath. So we returned to the castle and then… uhm.” At this point, Rarity had leaned for over the table already, Rainbow grinned with a knowing smile, and Twilight preferred to stare at the ceiling, just like Shining Armor.

“We were caught by the heat of the moment?” Thiemo suggested as an adequate way of putting it.

“Thanks. Anyway, I wanted to transform myself for him because of some reasons. For one, the size difference and also… well, I thought I wasn’t pretty enough.” The second one hit Thiemo by surprise. Had he ever given her signs that he disliked her looks? “But he refused. He accepted me how I was, something I knew he hadn’t done on Albion before.” A dreamy sigh came from Rarity and Cadance. “In that moment, I was so happy. I had managed to find someone who accepted me for who I am and at the same time helped my loved one to accept Albion.”

Thiemo’s eyes widened as he realized what her cutie mark meant. “Fuck my life,” he said in his mother tongue. “My marefriend is a shrink.” Confused shouts and a laugh went through the room. “The blossom, to bloom up, to open. Accept,” he explained. “It’s meant figuratively.”

“Oh, how romantic!” cooed Rarity. “If only my story was so…” She didn’t finish the sentence, instead just sighed dreamily. “How nice it would be to be so young again.

“Oh yeah!” Soarin agreed. “Back then, the fanmares…” He stopped as he noticed Rainbow’s glare. “Oh, nothing. Never mind.” Silence fell over the room, and Thiemo decided that it was time to touch a more uncomfortable subject.

“So, Deerling, Zarni. What, uhm… are you doing around here?” His legs were making these nervous twitches again, just like his sheepish grin.

Instead of the doe, Cadance replied. “Well, I invited them, or rather their country. After all, this tournament is an international event.”

“I think he is embarrassed to see me again, your Majesty,” Deerling spoke up. “He used to have a crush on me.”

Thiemo jumped up and pointed at her with a finger. “Lies! Don’t believe a word she’s saying. Everything’s a lie!” Laughter came from all sides.

“And I think he is embarrassed because I see him with his new marefriend. I think it was because I was the only one close to him for a while. For a long time, I was like a mother figure for him. It is not such an unusual thing for a student to fall for his teacher.” With crimson face, Thiemo sat down again, and Amy just gave him a peck on the cheek.

“Excuse me, Miss Deerling, but how did ya meet Thiemo?” Applejack asked.

Instead of answered directly, she looked at Thiemo at first, who only rolled his eyes. “Well, I was the one who brought him into this world.” Everyone’s mouth fell open, except the ones of Cadance, who was sipping at her tea, Thiemo’s, Zarni’s and Amaryllis’. Deerling chuckled. “Or rather I was part of the expedition who dug him out of the ruins of an old temple.” Deerling continued explaining what had happened there. How Thiemo was praised as the god Bananarama, how she taught him, and eventually how he left to find a way home.

“So it’s true,” Applejack said as Deerling finished. “He really is from another planet.” Thiemo could once again only roll his eyes.

“And you are the one who taught him how to use gemstones?” Twilight had been jumping up and down on her cushion for a while now, but could no longer keep back her questions. “This is so exciting! A different culture has found a completely new way to use magic. Please, you have to teach me what you know!”

“No.”

“What?”

“One master per student, and I already have one.” Zarni looked with a deadpan expression at Thiemo. “And his training is not yet finished, although he has made great progress. And while we are at it, I would like to see the symbols on your shoulders.” Thiemo didn’t know how she knew that, but that wasn’t unusual for Zarni.

“Symbols?” Deerling looked questioningly at him and then at Zarni.

“On his shoulders are what ponies would call a cutie mark. And you surely also have noticed his new appendix.” Thiemo stood up without saying a word and opened the buttons at his shirt. Before he took it off, however, he let his tail swing around a bit. This caused Deerling to cover her mouth with her hooves.

“I really don’t know why you are all making such a fuss about it, but here.” His shirt landed on his cushion, and he positioned himself so that everyone at the table could see his cutie mark. Zarni just nodded while the others came closer. Even the passive Zende showed some interest. “Man, I really feel uncomfortable with you all staring at my shoulders. How do you bear that with your flanks?”

Slightly blushing, everyone looked back at their plates while Thiemo put his shirt back on. “Well, what is your story with Thiemo, Master Zarni?” Deerling asked.

The zebra mare sighed, put out her pipe, and knocked it against her hoof so that the ash fell to the ground. “Our mutual friend came into our tribal area one morning. Of course he had gotten lost.” Sounds of agreement came from Amaryllis and Deerling. “Our tribe never had the chance to inspect a human, so he exchanged that privilege for food and accommodation. After about a month, he asked me to teach him, which I then did and still plan to do” At the last sentence, Zarni looked at him directly in the eyes for the first time, and her look spoke volumes of determination, anger, and disappointment. “He has made great progress, but he still acts like a young foal. And he was never a good liar, right, Simba?”

Thiemo was a bit surprised. “You knew?”

“Of course, but a name is just a name. Acts define who we are. Like yours to just leave.” He heard the hurt in her voice. After all, she had spent a lot of time teaching him. “Or taking in a lost filly.” This time it was pride he thought he heard. He looked to his left where his daughter was supposed to have been seated, but she wasn’t there. “She left with the young princess and the pink maniac a while ago.”

***

“Pinkie? Where are we going?” Auralia wanted to know as she, together with the pink menace, Skyla, and the strange pegasus guard, marched through the hallways of the castle.

The pink mare turned around, a wide grin on her face. “Well, where do you think? We’re going to throw a party!”

“A party!” Skyla stepped next to Auralia and looked at Pinkie questioningly as well. “For who?”

“Duh, for your sister and your father, silly!”

“Why?” both foals asked at once.

“Oh! I know!” Aura wasn’t even surprised at this point. Not even the pink mare in front of them seemed to have any idea why exactly she wanted to throw the party. At least she didn’t a few seconds ago. “We could call it a ‘You-finally-got-laid’ party!”

“I need an adult!” Aura just groaned.

“Silly, I am an adult.” That was the answer they were afraid of.

***

Now that the last burning questions had been answered, breakfast finally began. The tea cans were luckily being kept warm by the tea light underneath them in the form a crystal that generated steady heat, and fresh toast was immediately brought by the servants. Everyone could now fill the hunger in the bellies since the one they had for knowledge had been satisfied. Thiemo seemed to be the only one who would not call the breakfast in front of them a feast. Of course there were nearly ten different marmalade, cheeses of all kinds, and fresh fruits like cucumbers to put on his bread, but he was missing something on this festive table. “Has anyone seen the peanut butter?”

No one said anything for a few seconds. “Well,” Cadance spoke up, “I don’t know what this peanut butter is, but we have something else prepared for you just in case.” She gave a nod to one of the servants, whereupon he disappeared in the adjacent kitchen, only to reappear almost immediately with a plate on his back. He placed it in front of Thiemo on the table, and the human immediately had to resist the urge to gag. He hated fish.

“Thank you.” He put a few slices of the bright meat with his fork on his toast. “Very kind of you to think at me.” Cadance couldn’t have known what he thought about fish, but from time to time, he had to give in to it.

“I can’t let my champion starve.” She giggled and continued sipping at her tea. What was the deal with alicorns and their tea, Thiemo wondered.

At that thought, he remembered another question. “You were speaking about a prize for the winner of the tournament. What exactly is it?” A couple of million bits would be nice. Enough to buy some land near the sea to build a nice house on it and spend the rest your life lying in the sun. Something like that. He couldn’t keep still for too long, for there were still too many questions burning in his head.

“As every year, the first price is a wish. The winner of the tournament gets a wish granted, whatever it is, as long as it is within the might of the Empire and within reason of course.” The toast fell out of his hands as he let the words melt in his mouth. So he could wish for everything he want. Money, power, women. Well, Amaryllis might have something to say about the last one, but he was sure they could come to a compromise.

“So you’ll stick to the word of your invitation?” Zarni’s voice got Thiemo out of his thoughts. “You will grant the wish?” Zende next to her seemed very excited now as well. It was no secret that he would be fighting for their tribe. Zende was a good spear fighter and a blowpipe shooter if Thiemo recalled correctly. It wasn’t clear which weapon he would choose. A spear was surely a safe pick, but a blowpipe with poisoned arrows could be useful. So far, the zebra was the biggest danger.

Cadance nodded. “As discussed, if your champion should win, the Empire will forever provide your village with fresh water, whatever the cost.” And now Thiemo felt a pang of conscience. He knew of the fresh water situation in the village. Catastrophic was a mild way to put it, aside from the rain season.

“Also the unrestricted access to the archives?” Deerling wanted to know. The wish seemed typical for Cervidas. It would be a new source for knowledge that they strived so much for. He would feel bad for Deerling personally, but he wouldn’t mind her only coming second.

“Under supervision, yes. Not even my sister-in-law Princess Sparkle,” who perked up as her name was called and stopped listening to the other conversations at the table, “is allowed to be in the archives alone. I hope that this still suffices.” Deerling considered briefly before she nodded. And now Thiemo knew what was bothering him for a while now.

“Tell me, Deerling, who is fighting for Cervidas?” Zende was at the table already, and Cadance had said that he would meet some of his opponents here. She had definitely spoken in plural.

“Entlas, my fiancé.” Thiemo repeated the words slowly on his lips while he tried to ignore the small pang they caused inside him. “Unfortunately, he can’t be here today. The journey on this airship that her Majesty Mi Amore Cadenza provided left him sick. I hope that he will get well soon.”

“Uh, sure. Congratulations, Deerling.”

“Thank you, Thiemo. We couldn’t be happier.”

The following silence was interrupted by Amaryllis. “Can I also take part in the tournament?” Every head locked on her. “I mean, I also have a wish.” Cadance and Shining Armor looked at each other quizzically.

After a few moments, the Prince carefully began to speak. “I don’t see any reason…” Then his eyes widened. “Sure, absolutely!” Suddenly he seemed more alive than the rest of days Thiemo had known him combined. “That is a great idea.” Now a certain grin appeared on his lips which was designed for his wife. “What do you think, Cady?”

The roles of the two seemed to be reversed, as she was glaring daggers at her husband. “Sure, why not,” she said while gnashing her teeth.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Amy was bouncing up and down on the cushion before quickly hugging Shining Armor. He reacted slow and cautious, but then managed to carefully wrap a hoof around his daughter to at least return a bit of the embrace.

Thiemo didn’t share her enthusiasm. “I don’t think that you should take part.” She parted from her father and looked at him quizzically. “Sorry, but you aren’t really a fighter. Your chances would be rather low.” The look of his marefriend grew darker, and not a second later, her snout was pressing against his nose.

“Aha, so that’s what you’re thinking.” Thiemo said nothing as she searched for an answer in his eyes.” You’ll see. I’ll no longer be in the way.” She remembered that? He should watch what he said.

“You want to bet?”

Amaryllis grinned. “If I win, I get a wish from you. Vice versa if you win.”

“Deal.” Thiemo reached out his hand, and Amy reacted promptly with a hoof and shook it.

Cadance coughed slightly to get their attention. “Since that is resolved, what would your wish be, Thiemo. Judging by your tenacity, you must have a clear wish already, right?”

Thiemo grinned and rose from his spot. “Oh, you are going to love me for this.” Thiemo saw the ponies from Equestria exchanging unsure glances. “I, your royal Highness Mi Amore Cadenza, demand nothing but your throne!” he declared solemnly.

Chapter IV - Act 14.2 - Stick and Stone

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 14.2 – Stick and Stone ~

Shining Armor took another deep breath. Behind this door was not Queen Chrysalis, but his daughter. It was something that he had to remind himself every waking minute of the past few weeks. She wasn’t the scourge of the Broken Leylands, wouldn’t put a spell on his mind and demand unspeakable things from him. For years, those thoughts had haunted him, the weeks during which he had been used, abused, and raped leaving him a wreck long after the events. If he had not been immortal, he would not have been here today. His body had healed quickly, but his mind still suffered from the wounds. Cadance was the one who had picked him back up when he was on the ground, just a shadow of his former self.

They had talked a lot about Amaryllis during the last days. Cadance had kept repeating her little mantra, trying to drill it into his head. “She is only scared and searching for her place in the world,” he quietly repeated her words. Only long after yesterday’s breakfast and the following excitement did he realize what exactly he had done. He would be spending many hours alone with his daughter in this room for the next few days. His daughter who so painfully reminded him of the past. It was all because of that human, that thief and murderer. Even here, directly in front of him, he was acting up and spreading chaos. You couldn’t expect anything else from humans, the words of his mother reminded him. If it was up to him, the human would have been left to rot in a dungeon. But no, for some reason, he was running around freely. Even worse, not only had he fallen in love with his daughter, but for some strange reason, Cadance was also protecting him.

The white alicorn remembered when Cadance had come out of the room after their first conversation with him. She had tears in her eyes, but even after all these years, he couldn’t say if because of happiness or sadness. And usually he could read her like an open book. ‘What eleven years of marriage can do to a stallion,’ he thought to himself.

But it was of no use. Behind the door was one of the many training rooms of the Crystal Guard, and in it was his daughter. A deep breath later woke his magic, and the door slowly opened. Amaryllis sat with her back to the door in the middle of the room. Shining couldn’t see it, but the slight movements of her head implied that she was looking at the many posters on the wall. Magical runes, illustrations of combat stances, and more were shown on them.

“Morning, dad,” she said without turning her head away. For a moment, the stallion was surprised, but then he remembered that she could feel nearby emotions. Did she know what was going on?

“Morning, Amaryllis. As I see, you’re well rested.” That was good to know, as it meant that the human had disappeared back into the sewer he called his apartment for the night. “Then we can begin at once. What do you know about fighting? Or wait. Can you defend yourself?”

His daughter stood up and turned around with a light smile to him. “Well, I can shoot magic.” Shining nodded. It was better than nothing. He opened one of the many cabins at the wall to his left, which were in all training rooms, and pulled out a practice dummy. This one was a simple crystal that was enchanted in a way that it flew in jerky movements through the room. With a bit of magic, he activated it, whereupon it flew under the ceiling.

“I want you to take this thing down, no matter how.” And with that, he sat down and waited to see what would happen. He wasn’t expecting her to fail, but this wasn’t a beginner’s training. Usually only the best archers and unicorns practiced with these crystals. “And don’t worry; the room is protected, so you can’t destroy anything.” Amaryllis nodded and her eyes locked on the target. Immediately, a couple of green magic missiles shot out of her horn and flew through the air before they shattered against the ceiling. The crystal was too fast for her. Shining had to grin a bit. Any trained unicorn would have just put the enemy in stasis and then fired. Archers needed a bit longer, as they would have to study the movement pattern and would fire where their target would be. The show in front of his eyes was a complete beginner’s mistake, something he hadn’t seen in years. Maybe it shouldn’t make him so happy, but it was nice to know that his daughter was not a trained killer.

The minutes passed while the attacks continued to miss their target. What impressed Shining was the fact that she kept on going. A normal unicorn wouldn’t even be able to stand after fifteen minutes of continuous firing. But there she stood, always with her eyes following the target, firing one missile after another with barely any signs of exhaustion. If she was able to hit, she surely would have a good chance to pass the preliminary rounds. “Amaryllis, try to think. Your opponent is faster than you.” He would have liked to tell her more, but she would have to figure it out herself.

For the first time in over forty minutes, she ceased her shots and just stared grimly at the flying crystal. The white alicorn couldn’t get around noticing how similar that look was to that of his sister when she sat in front of a magical problem she couldn’t solve. That look meant commitment and no chance for the recipient. He smiled, at least for a second, as then a giant magic missile began to form at the top of Amaryllis’ horn. At first it was as large as her body, then twice that much, until it eventually filled almost the entire room. At the last second, he casted a shield over himself before his daughter sent the attack with a slight movement of her head on the way. The missile hit the magically reinforced ceiling. The room shook, splintered crystals hailing down, and dust filled the air. For a moment afterwards, it was silent until something hit the ground with a thud. As the dust slowly set, Shining Armor at first saw the large hole in the ceiling, then the bathtub which had fallen down from the washing room of the Crystal Guard, including the occupant. Rupie just blinked in confusion, obviously having no idea what had just happened.

The dust continued to settle, and a heavily breathing Amaryllis came into his sight. Her eyes scanned through the room, not sure if she had missed her target again. “Haha! I hit it!” she declared proudly. Shining Armor didn’t have the heart to tell her that the small crystal was floating directly behind her.

***

“Catch!” Thiemo only reached out and grabbed the wooden staff from Flash. He adjusted his grip a couple of times and practiced a few swings to get a feeling for the training weapon. It was lighter than his staff, had less grip, and was a bit shorter. It was designed for ponies.

Flash Sentry took another staff from the weapon rack at the wall of the training room. The ground here strongly reminded Thiemo of a sports hall, just like the cushioned walls. There were no windows. The only light came from some crystals underneath the ceiling.

The pony stuck the weapon underneath his left wings so that he could speak. “Very well then, I want to know what you can do. Just attack me.” And with that, he took the staff in his mouth again. Thiemo didn’t need to be told twice and got ready. As Flash nodded, he charged forwards, the staff ready to strike, and went ahead with his full momentum. Flash ducked so that the staff soared over his head. The human wasn’t going to let him get off so easily. Continuing to use the momentum, he turned around on the spot with the staff and prepared for another strike, now aiming for his opponents legs. The pegasus in front of him dodged again, this time by jumping into the air and resting there for a few moments. Thiemo made a third spin but was hit by something in the back and lost his balance. In the last second, he found it again and managed to stay on his legs before turning around to Flash. He landed and stuck his weapon under his wing again. “What was that supposed to be?”

“An attack, what do you think?” For a few seconds, they looked at each other in silence.

“Are you serious?” the pegasus then asked. “By Celestia, you are serious.”

“What? I’ve survived for four years.”

“And have you ever met a trained fighter?” Thiemo thought for a moment. There had been the griffons in the savannah. He ran. Then there was the pirate who wanted his arm, again a griffon, who he had tricked. The Royal Guards on the cruiser. He had hidden himself. The guards around Boardor. He had landed in the dungeon. Sheriff Silver Star in Round Rock. Alright, he probably didn’t belong on this list. Actually, he didn’t belong on any list. And Night Hawk he hadn’t even seen coming. So Thiemo did the only thing he could: he shook his head, causing Flash to sigh deeply. “Then we’re going to switch things up. I’m going to attack you, so you try to block.” The staff moved into his mouth again, and Thiemo got himself read. This time it was him who gave the signal with a nod.

Flash dashed forward and slightly jabbed at him with the left side of his staff. Thiemo managed to block the blow just in time, but before he could realize it, the pegasus released his staff, allowing it to slide down Thiemo’s until it was below the human’s chin, then bit it again and struck. All Thiemo felt was the strike, then how his head hit the wooden ground. “A staff is a weapon and grip combined. You have two hands and don’t even use them to your advantage. I’m not an expert in staff fighting, but this is completely beginner’s level.” Thiemo rubbed his chin and fought against the headaches before he stood up again. He was slightly angry, but Flash was right. His former weapon had more or less decided the fights for him, not his skill. “Maybe we should try the sword.” His trainer thought and then nodded. “It should better suit your fighting style.”

Thiemo said nothing and just watched as Flash took his staff in his mouth as well and placed both back in the weapon rack. It wasn’t like he had anything to say anyway. Again a wooden weapon was thrown towards him. “Is this a toothpick?” What he held in his hands could be at best described as a long dagger.

“Maybe a longsword,” mumbled Flash and pulled out another wooden blade. They quickly swapped weapons and Thiemo just grinned. The new sword was more his size, but not too long either. When he reached his arm in a forty five degree angle towards the ground, the tip was just barely above the ground. An ideal length. “This is more like it. Wait, give me a normal one as well.” Flash looked at him quizzically but then shrugged and pulled another one with his wing from the rack and passed it to Thiemo. He took in his left hand so that the blade was pointing behind him.

“Then let me explain the weapon to you a bit better,” Flash began and presented the weapon that laid on his unfolded wing. “Down here is the pommel. It’s well suited to strike an unwary opponent with if you have the chance, so don’t just see it as a counterweight, but as a potential second weapon. Then there is the hilt. You grab it as close to the cross guard as possible. This ensures the best grip. The name itself should tell you what it’s used for.” Thiemo nodded and adjusted his grip on both weapons. “The short, blunt part of the blade is called the ricasso. The indentation is fuller and makes the weapon lighter and better balanced.” Thiemo just nodded again. “The lower part of the blade is called the forte. It is the slowest part of the weapon but well suited to block. The upper part, up to the point, is the foible. It is the most fragile but also the fastest part, used for quick, precise cuts and maximum damage. Finally, there is the point. Remember, you can also stab with a sword, not only cut.” And with that, Flash finished his short introduction and bit on the hilt just as he had explained it. “Come,” he said, his voice muffled.

Thiemo checked if both weapons were lying correctly in his hands. The last time he had held swords in his hands, he couldn’t really do anything with them. But what could be done against skeletons? Here he had better chances. The short sword he would use to block and maybe for quick blows if he had the chance. The long sword, by pony standards, would be his main attack weapon.

Quickly, Thiemo took a step forward but didn’t just charge at Flash. He now knew his opponent and his own skills compared to him. He had felt that more than clearly.

Flash tilted his head slightly so that he could quickly block possible attacks. That was exactly what Thiemo wanted. If he would block, he still had another sword. Whatever weapon the ponies were going to wield, unless it was a unicorn, he would always have an advantage. He could wield two weapons. With a grin, he changed the grip around his short sword so that it was now pointing forwards and brought it with an uppercut in reach of his opponent. As expected, Flash blocked with his own blade and Thiemo let go of the weapon. He could see Flash’s eyes widen as the second sword from the right threatened to hit him. Just like during the last fight, the stallion moved his head to the side to avoid a hit, but in the next second, a sword was being held at his throat.

“I haven’t seen you catch it.” Thiemo distracted him with another weapon, and by letting it go, he made sure that Flash’s momentum carried him farther than the stallion would have liked it. In that opening, he struck. Of course the soldier was good enough to react to that, but two hands were too much against one mouth. “Now we have something we can work with.”

“You think you can still teach me something?” Thiemo responded with a laugh.

“Look at my hooves.” Thiemo’s head wandered down where one of Flash’s hooves was behind Thiemo’s left leg. Just as he realized that, he pulled it back, and Thiemo again hit the ground. Now it was him who had a sword at his throat. “What was the question?” In that moment, the castle around them decided to shake.

***

Later on the same day, Thiemo sat on a bench in front of the large library. The training had been cancelled due to an incident in one of the other rooms. At least this way he had time for something he had been postponing for a while. “So, what did Twilight say?” asked the green mare next to him.

Lyra was busy trying to find a comfortable position that could mimic Thiemo’s as close as possible, something that should be impossible with her different anatomy. It didn’t stop her from trying it though. “That she wants to find out more as usual.”

“She can’t put us off forever. These are ground-breaking discoveries we have made. All of Albion has a right to know what really happened back then. Or do you no longer want to know how it happened?” Lyra nudged against Thiemo’s shoulder where his cutie mark was.

The human sighed. “Of course. I was going to speak with Cadance tomorrow anyway. We’ve given her more than enough time. But I can also understand Twilight a bit. After all, her mother lied to her all her life. That would sit heavily on my stomach as well.” The anthropologist just nodded as she sat with her flanks on the bench. Her legs were hanging down, similar to that of a human, while her back stood straight against the backrest. “Doesn’t that hurt you? And aren’t you sitting directly on your… Doesn’t that hurt?” Lyra just nodded. “Anyway, I’m giving Twilight one more chance to speak with Cadance herself. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” With that, Thiemo stood up and left the mare to herself.

A short moment later, he stood in front of the door that led to the archives. Behind it, Estoc greeted him as usual before he stepped through the various magical barriers and entered Twilight’s bunker. Thiemo couldn’t call it anything else. However, for the first time since he began coming here a few weeks ago, he was alone. No Twilight to his right. No Twilight to his left. There was only the gigantic crystal computer with the holomatrix, which seemed to only give off enough light to brighten up the otherwise dark room. It was on standby. Curious, Thiemo stepped over to the control board, but all control crystals were missing, which was sad, as he had wanted to try out the machine himself. His eyes wandered further around. On a chair, which was clearly made for ponies, stood a box from which Twilight had always taken her control crystals. Again he checked if he was alone and then opened it.

In it were a total of ten crystals. The first one was labelled ‘Albion’. The next one read ‘EQ-1A’. The others had similar labels, aside from the last one. “Project Echidna?” Carefully, he took the small grey control crystal from its velvet socket. Twilight had told him that the information on these crystals were thousands of years old, older than Amissa Heaven. Had the old changeling queen really been on the planet for so long? And why did the Empire gather data about her? His eyes wandered over to the computer, and just as he wanted to try it out, he heard a door opening. If by habit or curiosity, the crystal found the way into his pocket, and he quickly closed the box again. And not a second too late, as Twilight just came around the terminal, eyes locked on a parchment as she started the computer without looking up, by letting a crystal wander into the control board. Thiemo began his retreat and snuck out of the room. He would find a different computer to use it.

Author's Notes:

I have some personal knowledge of sword fighting. I did a bit of LARP-ing a few years back and trained fighting with one, even if it wasn't real. Handyman let me know through JBL that he has some knowledge too. Now I'm curios. Who notices the mistake Thiemo makes here? Remember, he is a fan of games and television (like 90% of the teenagers today). Think of anime and you're on the right track.

- But oh glorious author, what about the wish he made?
~ Yeah, later xD

But seriously, you guys are great! I love to read in the comments and your theories you have about the future of this story. This is the moment where I demand "MORE!" as you would phrase it. :P

Thanks to Gron for translating this chapter.
Special thanks to JBL for proofreading and editing.

And give their story a try too:
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Chapter IV - Act 14.3 - Let the Games Begin

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 14.3 – Let the Games Begin ~

The first sun rays fell through the window into the chamber where the young couple, consisting of Amaryllis and Thiemo, were resting. The latter was sprawled out on the couch since their small dispute was still open, and they still were opponents while the tournament was going on. Said tournament would go into the first round today. Thiemo had not spent the past four days going to the fair in the town with his daughter, eating crystal corn with butter, getting a strange trumpet to annoy the rest of the world, and visiting the various stands. Nope, he had to do stupid training. One would think that that would exhaust you enough, that even if you had an active train of thought like Thiemo, you would instantly fall to sleep. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The whole night he had spent thinking about the information from the data crystal. It was almost strange that he now agreed that the information needed to be locked away.

Getting access to one of the crystal computers had been easier than the human had thought at first. During breakfast on the next day, he had simply gone up to Cadance and asked her. During his lunch break, one of the guards had informed him that a computer had been brought into the quarters of the royal family. Most of the machines were only used in certain areas such as hospitals, archives, libraries, and much to Thiemo’s surprise, also in theatres. It had taken them some years, but the ponies here in the Empire seemed to be able to create holographic plays for entertainment. It was a good way to skip the good old cinema. These plays were then simply projected onto the stage. Their usage in the hospitals was similar, only that the images were of the patients to then dissect them as holograms in order to practice surgery. The computer, which now stood in the study room of Cadance, was a loan from the castle’s archive. Said princess simply never had the need for a private machine.

Unfortunately, magic technology had a big catch – it was all connected to the Empire. These computers used so much magical energy that probably only Twilight would be able to keep on of them running outside of their shield. Well, either her or her mother and aunt. Thiemo was flabbergasted when he found out that all the energy for these machines came from a single magical crystal. The Crystal Heart wasn’t unknown to him, but until yesterday he didn’t believe that all that energy really came from just one source.

But that wasn’t what kept him awake. It was what he had found on the data crystal. Many of the diagrams and data didn’t make any sense, at least to him. But what he did understand was enough to conclude the rest. He had waited so far to talk with Cadance, but now a point had been reached where he just had to. This data seemed to overthrow everything he thought to know about Albion, but in its own strange way, it made sense.

***

Breakfast was a smaller affair that day. Rarity and Estoc were of course there, simply because the latter was almost stuck to Twilight. Aura sat to her father’s left and munched on her breakfast, looking like she hardly had a care in the world. To his right sat Amaryllis who was also working away at a snack. She really only just had to open her mouth in the Empire and the roasted pigeons would fly into her mouth. The last guest was Applejack, who didn’t leave the side of the foal she was taking care of. At the end of the table sat the royal family consisting of Cadance, Shining Armor, and their younger daughter, Skyla. “So, are you two excited?” Cadance started the conversation as the last butler left the room.

Thiemo and Amaryllis exchanged some quick glances before he wordlessly let her go first. “You bet! I can’t wait to see the arena. Dad…” She looked a bit worriedly over to Shiny, who just quickly nodded. “Dad has told me so much about it. It must be a masterpiece of the magical arts.”

“Indeed it is!” Twilight joined the conversation. “Just look at the complex works at the pillars that created the protective shields and the enchantments that have been built into the walls. It would take decades to study it all and replicate it with today’s methods. If only I had the time—”

“You would be living in a tent in the middle of the arena and we’d have to remove you by force for various events,” Shining Armor ended the sentence with a grin. Twilight glared angrily at her brother while Skyla and Cadance giggled. “I think I remember you trying something like that when we hosted the Equestrian Games.” This time, Rarity and Applejack giggled as well.

“Anyway, I’m really excited. Dad and I have trained hard for the last few days and he said I have a good chance to make it through the preliminaries. I hope that I’m going to make it. I’d love to enter the arena. That must be a great feeling.” Thiemo could only grin. He could very well imagine how it would be to run onto the field while being cheered at by thousands of spectators. Then again, with him being a human, he wasn’t too sure he would garner a positive reaction.

“And what about you, sugarcube?” Applejack asked over Aura’s head. “What do ya think yer chances are?”

“Flash showed me one or two things, but I won’t go into detail here. Not with the opposition at the table.” He turned around to Amy, who stared at him angrily but also with a grin. None of the two wanted to blink first. Thiemo lost as Amy tickled his nose with her long tongue. The two foals at the table rolled their eyes while the rest fell into light laughter. “Well, I think it’ll be okay.” A quick glance over to Cadance, with a slightly quizzical look, was all it took to get the talk that he needed.

***

“So, what do you want to talk about?” After breakfast, Thiemo followed Cadance through the hallway and into the room where they had first met. They both sat down at the table. “Is it about the tournament?” The princess tilted her head slightly to the side and inspected him quickly. “You aren’t sick, are you?”

“That too,” he said and leaned slightly backwards against his arms. “But I noticed that we have a little problems with the rules.” Cadance motioned at him with a hoof to continue. “As you probably know, I use talismans to cast magic. Flash said that the judges would have to decide whether they count as auxiliaries or not. The second would be my weapon. Auralia still has my staff since I unfortunately can no longer use it without it absorbing my own energy, so that’s why we trained with swords instead. Flash is getting me some for the tournament, but I can only take one. That’s another disadvantage since I’m used to wielding two.” Cadance nodded and thoughtfully stroked her chin before her face suddenly brightened up.

“Well then we’ll have to use some tricks.” That was a sentence he never thought the princess would say. “Don’t look so surprised – every contestant tries to get an advantage where possible. And what kind of sponsor would I be if I didn’t equip my champion with the necessary tools.” She stood up and motioned him to follow her. At first he wanted to protest, as there was a lot more to talk about. Unfortunately, that would have to wait until the fighting was done. Which was probably for the best. “Follow me.” Thiemo did as she said and followed. Just as they entered the hallway, he saw Flash Sentry coming towards him, carrying two swords, this time not wooden ones, on his back. Before he could say anything even touch the weapons, Cadance levitated them aside. “I’ve got something better,” she just commented.

The princess led them two floors down the staircases and through a long hallway before they finally came to a halt in front of a thick steel door. “The old weapon’s chamber?” Flash asked curiously. “I thought we were storing everything in the basement now.”

“Oh, we do. At least almost everything.” Again the princess grinned in her special way. At first Thiemo thought it was because something was going as she intended, but by now he just thought of it as what was the most likely case: a grin that just said that the cheeky voice in the back of her head had won. Thiemo knew that very well, for it was the same voice that often made his tongue go faster than his brain. With a quick flash of her horn, a panel in the iron door opened, behind which was a pad with various crystals. Cadance placed her hoof on it before slightly moving it in different directions. It was similar to when a human unlocked his phone with a finger, or at least that was the only comparison that came to Thiemo’s mind. With a hiss, a hidden lock in the walls opened, and the heavy door swung open inwards. “After you,” invited the princess.

Flash was the first to set a hoof in the darkness of the room in front of them, followed closely by Thiemo. “Too bad that your name doesn’t end in Light, then we could at least see something in here.” While the pegasus remained silent, Thiemo could hear Cadance behind him trying not to burst out into laughter. “Okaaay? It wasn’t that funny.”

His words didn’t seem to stop Cadance’s small laughing fit. At least she showed some mercy, and with a quick push against something on the wall, the crystals underneath the ceiling came to life and bathed the room in light. Various vitrines stood around, each containing something different. To his left, Thiemo saw something that could be a red, splintered crystal that had a sharp point and looked like a crooked triangle. Even through the shield of the vitrine, maintained by multiple crystals, he felt the magical energy it emitted. He had never felt anything like that, and it almost turned his stomach. Taking a step back, he looked over to Flash, whose eyes were stuck on a certain object. It was a picture, a large picture that looked like it had been drawn with simple oil paint. That couldn’t be since the picture had a three-dimensional effect. Thiemo stepped closer to the painting. As his position changed, so did what he could see. It was as if it weren’t a flat painting, but a room he could look into. To be see was the Crystal Empire, or something that looked a lot like it. After all, he hadn’t seen it from above. The snow around it was missing, and the flora around the shield that protected the city seemed so alien. “A friend made that a long time ago,” Cadance explained, still giggling a bit. “It is beautiful, isn’t it?”

Both Flash and Thiemo nodded as they continued to inspect the picture. “Why is it locked in here?” asked the human curiously as he checked to see if the painting really was flat.

“It doesn’t belong to us. It is property of Princess Luna. She gave it to us and wished it to be locked away. And I have to agree in that regard.” Thiemo wanted to ask why, but Cadance had already moved on. “Come over here.” She nodded at the two. She led them further into the middle of the round room where three vitrines marked the middle point. However, all except one were empty. This last one Cadance opened with a bit of magic, took out the small gem stone in it, and placed it in Thiemo’s hand. “I think this should be the solution to your problems.”

He inspected the stone closely. It was a rhodolite, something he hadn’t seen on Albion so far. The bright pink colour was typical for this sort of gems. It also emitted a strong magical presence, like it was overloaded. At the same time, it was different – he just couldn’t say how. “A charged gemstone? Should I make an amulet out of it?”

The princess shook her head while Flash stepped closer to inspect the stone as well. His nose was so close that he almost touched it. “This is not a simple gem. It is a masterpiece of arcane blacksmithing. And it is a gift from me to you.” Thiemo turned the stone in his fingers. “Just direct a bit of magic into it and you will see what it can do.” He eyed the princess. The only thing that would probably happen if he were to fuel more magic in this stone was that the magic that already resided in it would explode.

Cadance prompted him again with a nod and he gave in. After all, she seemed to want him to win the tournament, just as he did. “It’ll be on your head.” Thiemo closed his eyes and concentrated, taking a deep breath. Now that it no longer hurt to direct magic through his body, he could almost get used to it. It felt like the first warm beams of water from the shower that ran over your skin, only that it was inside the body. Internally, he reached out with this feeling out for the gem in his hand and opened his eyes as the stone suddenly began to move.

The rhodolite glowed and shook as it changed its colour to a bright blue. Then, basically out of the thin air, it slightly changed form and more gem splinters that also appeared out of nothing and appended to the gem in his hand. In there was no longer an ordinary stone, but the hilt of a sword, ornamented with a knuckle bow to protect his hand from blows. There was no real guard, and only a bit of ornaments offered protection at the fork. The fork was the point where the sword split in two blades so that there was no fuller.

Furthermore, the single splinters that formed seemed to be held together by pure magic. With his magic, he realized. Still, it had a tremendous advantage, as it basically weighed nothing. “Every Crystal Guard used to carry such weapons, but today they are reserved for the higher officers. The special thing about them is that they remember the magical aura of their owner so that only he can use it. Furthermore, they use your passive magical reserves once activated. That means that even an earth pony can use them,” Cadance explained. And she was right; Thiemo wasn’t that much different than in earth pony in that regard.

“It is a beautiful weapon, but how is it going to solve the two weapon problem?” As he spoke, some splinters detached from the magical swords and reformed in his other hand. It was like they were separated at the fork. Both blades were now shorter, but he was holding two swords in his hand. “Okay, this is officially the coolest thing I’ve seen on Albion so far. And I really get to keep it?”

“Sure. To finish the imprint, you just have to give the weapon a name.” The single splinters gathered again and the rhodolite returned into its former state, the blue glow dying as well. Thiemo held the stone against the light from one of the crystals underneath the ceiling and grinned.

“Legion,” he simply said. An idea shot through his mind as to what he could do with this little wonder in his hand, especially as to when to use it. It was too good of a secret weapon to just go into the field with it right away. “Flash, I’ll also take your swords. I’m about to be brilliant!” And with that call, he ran out of the room.

***

Applejack still had moments where she still couldn’t believe it. How could the little filly, who excitedly ran around the legs of the human in front of her, be her daughter? A look to her side, past Rainbow and over to Twilight, was the most natural reaction of the farmer. Her friend could always explain things so well. Said friend was busy spewing words at her brother, who in return was watching his daughter next to the human.

She had thought about this question since she began her journey, and she hated herself for it. What was her role? In the end, they were a family no matter what, and she would care for the filly. Did it really matter if she was an aunt or mother? She and Big Mac had raised Apple Bloom after all, and they were still just her older siblings. Twilight had raised Spike, who she wasn’t even related to, and the two saw each other as family nevertheless. Who was she to doubt what this innocent filly saw in her. She was family, and that was all Applejack needed to know. Unfortunately, there was still that nagging voice in her head that whispered something differently. Why did Twilight’s spell say that the human was her father? Why was she the mother? It just didn’t make any sense!

“Now this is what I call a stage!” The surprised exclamation of the human in front of her broke Applejack out of her thoughts. In front of them was the enormous arena of the Crystal Empire. For her and the others, it wasn’t the first time that they was seeing this tremendous construct out of crystals. After all, this was where the Equestrian Games had been played. It was also the place where, during their first visit, Rainbow and Fluttershy had put on a staged fight. “You don’t have anything comparable to ancient Rome by any chance, do you? This thing could almost be an exact copy. Well, aside from the large pillars with the floating crystals above the stands.” Quizzically, Thiemo looked around, but no one seemed to have an answer. “Forget it, this way I can save me the Italy trip. Come on! Allons-y!” Applejack looked down to Auralia, who was looking at her as well, and rolled her eyes as she shook her head. The human had meanwhile disappeared in the entrance to the arena.

“Is he often like that?” Shining Armor asked his daughter, who of course just nodded.

“In his defence, he isn’t really from around here,” she added. “But sometimes it can be really funny, at least if you try a bit to understand it.” Applejack raised a brow. “What? We spent some time together. At some point, a lot of it made sense.”

“Then you wouldn’t mind translating, right?” Amaryllis thought about it for a while as Rainbow tapped with a hoof on the ground while she waited for her answer.

“No clue,” she answered after a few seconds. “I mean, I don’t understand the language perfectly yet.” With a groan, the group began moving again. Since the preliminaries excluded the public, it wasn’t very crowded. Applejack risked a glance or two at the possible opponents for her companions, something that Amaryllis should probably do as well, because just like her coltfriend, her eyes were focused rather on the architecture. Shining Armor instead was even more on lookout.

“Please stay in your disguise for now,” he whispered to her, and the changeling nodded absently. “Twilight, you should go over to the tribunes. I’m going to the registration table with Amaryllis.”

“Sure, come on, Rainbow.” The two parted from the small group so that only Applejack stayed behind with Auralia. “Applejack?”

“One moment!” She looked around. “Auralia? Sugarcube?” Or maybe just her. “Darn. Slippery as a snake.”

***

Thiemo was gasping for air as he reached the counter. “O-One moment,” he said to the pony who gave him a confused look. “Good, now I’ve got some air in my lungs again.”

“Morning, sir, are you here to register?” the stallion asked and inspected him briefly. “Excuse me, but you don’t really look like a fighter.”

“Yes, yes, everything’s fine, my dear chap.” The red crystal pony seemed slightly puzzled about his informal behaviour and took a step back. “One registration form please.” The stallion nodded slowly and reached with his mouth for a form over the counter.

“Fill that out please and then give it back here.” With a grin, Thiemo grabbed the paper, the quills, and the ink jar before he went over to one of the low bar tables nearby. Now that he had a form in his hands, the others around him began to look at him. Griffons, diamond dogs, ponies of every kind, something that could only be a hippogriff, and even a few humans. A rather mixed bunch, but there was no sign of Zarni and Zende, or Deerling and her fiancé, Entlas.

Thiemo was about to write, but something at his right leg demanded his attention. “Dad, can I compete as well?” Thiemo blinked for a few times, but before he could answer, Applejack came through the crowd of contestants.

“There you are! Come on, the others are already waitin’ in the stands.”

“But mom, I want to compete as well!” Thiemo again had to blink a few times. Mom? Since when did she start calling Applejack ‘mom’? “If dad can compete, I want to do it too. After all, I’m stronger than him and I even have his weapon.” Proudly, she raised her right hoof where Protes was still wrapped around.

“No can do! A tournament is no place for a filly. We can watch it all from the stands.” Aura caved in and let her head hang.

“And why not?” Thiemo asked. Immediately, the ears of his daughter perked up again, causing him to grin. “I mean, she is stronger than me.” Applejack looked at him as though he was joking with her. “And everything’s dulled for safety as well. She can’t really get hurt.” Applejack’s look grew darker.

“We’re her parents and shouldn’t encourage her to fight.”

“It’s rather a sport than a fight with all the frills, don’t you think? Nothing other than fencing, relay racing, or maybe… a rodeo?” It was a shot in the dark with the last example, but for Thiemo it was worth a shot. And it seemed that it was a bull’s eye, at least judging by how Applejack slightly averted her eyes. “But I have an idea. How about if she beat me in hoof wrestling? Would that be proof enough?”

The farmer seemed to consider it before a bright grin appeared on her lips. “Deal, but Ah’m choosing the opponent.” Thiemo nodded while Aura jumped around happily. “Wait here a sec.” She disappeared into the crowd. Thiemo saw that Shining Armor and Amaryllis stood at the table next to him. Both were leaning over the paper while the crowd was whispering behind their backs. Amaryllis suddenly looked up, smiled, waved, reconsidered, and then threw an angry look at him before her father said something to her. Yes, he was looking forward to the tournament.

“Thiemo,” he heard Applejack saying behind him, “this is Snowflake.” He turned around, only to wipe spit out of his face as the most ripped pegasus he had ever seen shouted at him. “If Auralia beats him, she may compete.” That she was already seeing herself as winner was obvious.

“Really?! I only have to beat him?” Snowflake looked down at Auralia, then whispered something in Applejack’s ear. She just nodded a few times before the large white stallion snorted and quickly flapped his short wings while he stared at the filly in front of him.

“Well then, let’s get this over with.” Thiemo pulled the bar table between them and lifted Aura into the air so that she could put a hoof on it. Snowflake did the same, and the arms of the two ponies crossed. “Well then, only one hoof allowed, one round. On three.” Both opponents tensed up. “Three!”

It only lasted for a split second. Auralia put as much force as she could in her first push that she didn’t just turn Snowflake’s foreleg but his entire body as well. The pegasus landed with a thud on the crystal floor of the arena’s entrance area. Multiple spectators, who had stopped to watch the show, were flabbergasted, just like Applejack.

“So, I can compete now or what?”

Chapter IV - Act 14.4 - The Preliminaries (Part 1)

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 14.4 – The Preliminaries (Part 1) ~

Taking one last breath, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza stepped to the railing on the speaker’s tribune, her family next to her. Her husband was with their daughter, who sat between his legs. Seated with them was her sister-in-law, Twilight, and her friends, Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Below them, in the dust of the large arena, the two hundred and fifty six contestants of this year’s tournament were gathered. Thiemo stood out clearly, as he was one of only three humans who had registered. Next to him stood his daughter, Auralia. The young and cheerful filly was clearly excited. She had trouble concentrating with large crowd and the tense mood. Her own daughter, Amaryllis, stood in her disguise next to the human and looked up at her, just as he did. Cadance had expected her to be nervous as well or to feel uncomfortable, but her face showed a similarly determined grin as that of the human at her side.

“Hello and welcome to all of you,” she greeted the audience in a thundering voice. “I am happy to see so many of you that have gathered here. As many of you surely know, this tournament is an ancient tradition. A tradition that shows our loved ones that we can not only care for them, but also protect them. Crystal ponies competed in honourable combat to express their affection towards their stallions. The times may have changed, as I see a lot of stallions now standing in front of me, but one thing will never change. We want to protect those who we love. On that note, I wish all of you good luck. Let the games begin!” Applause sounded through the arena as Cadance stepped back and turned towards her family. Hard times lay ahead for them and their Empire, but she still put on a smile and patted her daughter’s cheek as she came running over to her.

“That was great, mom! You were so loud!” Cadance started to giggle at the word of her daughter. “Can I compete next year like Aura? I bet it’s a lot of fun!” Laughing as well, Shining Armor stepped to her side and did the same that she had just done with her daughter.

“Maybe when you’re older,” he said with a soft voice and lifted Skyla onto his back. “So, do we want to watch your sister and your friend?”

“Yes!” cheered their daughter and bounced up and down on his back. Shining just grinned as Skyla leaned over his head and turned towards the staircase that led to the stands that were closer to the arena.

Cadance followed the two but quickly turned around again. “What’s with you all? Are you coming?” The remaining mares looked at each other before following them as well.

***

While the crowd clapped for the princess, Thiemo noticed that every species did it in their own way. The ponies, no matter the kind, stomped their hooves in the dust, aside from Auralia who sat down and imitated him by clopping her forehooves against each other. The griffons were chirping. That was the only way Thiemo could describe it. Maybe whistling, but much more melodic and loud. Despite what one might think, it was not the screech of an eagle that they sometimes made when they attacked. The diamond dogs, because how else could it be, howled and slammed their thick short tails into the dust as well.

Cadance looked down at them one last before she turned around and stepped away from the speaker tribune. Quickly, she disappeared from his sight, but it wasn’t like the railing in front of her had shown much to begin with. “If I may have your attention!” sounded the voice of a mare behind them, who was also very loud and silenced the crowd. The crystal pony mare stood on a small pedestal and wore a crystalline megaphone at one of her fetlocks. “I will now explain to you the rules of the preliminary rounds. Afterwards, the fights of the diamond group will begin.” She remained silent for a few seconds while looking over the crowd. “Very well. The first and supreme rule is that injuring the opponent, no matter how severe, will lead to disqualification. The arena is enchanted through the crystals on the pillars around it. You should not be able to reach them. Also, all weapons that you have registered have already received the same protection spell during said registration. Magic will be dampened by this protection as well, but I still have to ask you to avoid using spells that could seriously harm your opponent.”

A mumble went through the crowd. Thiemo heard a few comments from some griffons that the ponies were just too weak, and the present diamond dogs seemed to agree. “Rule number two only counts for the preliminaries since we have multiple marked combat zones in the arena.” The mare pointed over to the large open field. As Thiemo entered the arena for the first time, he realized that there was room for around one and a half football fields. “A fight is lost if one of you leaves the area during the fight. For flying contestants, the same counts for you if you fly higher than how tall the tribunes are.” This time, the bright blue shimmering mare pointed at them, where various ponies with flags in their mouths were waving down at them.

“A fight is also lost if one of the opponents scored ten points first while two points ahead. The fight also ends automatically after five minutes. Rule three states that the use of either magic or wings is allowed if you are capable of both. Also, you are only allowed to one weapon per fight. Between fights, you are free to change it. The last rule, rule number four, says that aimed hits to the private parts will receive a penalty if the judge sees it fit.” Thiemo was a bit confused about this rule, but a look around and he could slap himself again. He was one of the few who wore clothes that were at least covering the private parts a bit. Here and there he saw a bit of clothing, but he was basically the only one who had covered his entire body.

“If there are any questions, please turn to me or the judge who will be overseeing the fight.” The mare waited again for the crowd, but no one spoke up. “Then I will now ask you to open the parchment that was given to you during your registration. It will tell you which group you are in and also what your number is.” Thiemo reached inside his bag and took out the rolled up and sealed piece of parchment. He removed the wax with his thumb and quietly read what was written inside. He belonged to the diamond group, who were fighting today, and he was number two. ‘Lucky me’, he thought to himself.

“Everyone in the opal group can rest until tomorrow. However, you are invited to take a seat in the stands to watch the preliminaries like your sponsors and relatives are already doing.” Said tribunes were well filled already. A large part of the crowd moving towards the arena were now there. Either they weren’t taking ‘excluding the public’ too seriously, or each contestant had huge families.

Many moved towards the stands, and the crowd began to thin out. “Dad?” Aura spoke up. “I’m in the opal group. Can I stay in the arena?”

Thiemo crouched down and stroked through her mane. “Sure. And would you go if I told you to?” She shook her head twice before realizing her mistake and then strongly nodded. He just had to grin. “And you, Amy?” He had noticed the white hooves of his marefriend-in-disguise in the corners of his eyes.

“I also belong to the opal group, so I’ll stay here. Someone has to keep a look out on this little plague.” She reached out a hoof as well to pat Auralia but pulled it back with a sour look as said plague just stuck out her tongue.

Thiemo just stared at the two while his view slowly began to blur. “Dad? What’s wrong? Are you crying?” He quickly rubbed a hand over his eyes and shook his head.

“Not me. Must be the sand in the air.” He stood back up and saw that they were amongst the last ones who were still at the pedestal. Most of the others had already gathered at the four marked fields. “Maybe we should go over there.” Aura nodded eagerly and galloped ahead. Amy stepped at his side and gave him a peck on his cheek.

“Softie,” she whispered into his ears while he shook his head and followed her.

“… It doesn’t depend on victory or loss, but on how many points you score,” he heard the same mare as before explaining to the remaining one hundred and twenty seven contestants. Underneath them, Thiemo spotted someone who definitely had to be Entlas, Deerling’s fiancé. He was tall as most stags and surely was on the same eye level as Shining Armor. He also seemed very muscular and his antlers spoke volumes with the many straps that were wrapped around them, a custom in Cervidas to wish someone luck. He had often seen students in the university who wore such straps on their antlers before they took exams. In this case, the antlers could no longer be seen. “If you manage to throw your opponent out of the ring, his points will be halved and you receive the full ten. The best eight from both groups will meet in the finale.” So it wasn’t just about scoring hits but about dodging them as well. Anyone could win a fight by luck – he was the best proof for that. It would take skill to get to the top with such a system.

“Before we begin, does anyone volunteer to demonstrate the rules in action in a first fight?” Suddenly it went silent, and Thiemo could understand why. With the three adjacent combat zones, it was basically unavoidable that the other opponents could see you and gather information. Here, in front of all, it was basically a death sentence.

Thiemo raised his hand with a wide grin. “Sure, here.” The face of the mare with the megaphone brightened and she signalled him to step forward.

“Thank you, I just need your number.” Thiemo held up the parchment. “Number two. Let’s see.” She pulled a notepad out of the small saddlebags on her back, which had a string around it, and immediately put it around her neck. Then she inspected the document on it. “Where is number thirty six?” The crowd parted a bit as a young-looking unicorn mare fought her way to the front. Her coat was a mix of grey and purple, and a styled blue mane graced her head. She gulped visibly as she saw Thiemo and positioned herself with some distance to the human next to the organizer, who didn’t seem bothered by it. “Great, then I ask both contestants to step into the ring.” Thiemo drew the bastard sword that hung over his back out of the scabbard and stepped into the marked area. Gulping, the unicorn mare followed him and positioned herself on the other end. “Take a bow.” They did as they were told. “Ready?” Thiemo looked the mare in her eyes. “Begin!”

Neither she nor he moved. He needed a strategy. She was a unicorn, which meant that she surely knew a few spells. But she was afraid of him as a human. That was the best thing he had right now. Thiemo stood up tall, snorted, and charged with a loud roar at the mare. Her eyes widened, panic obvious in her face. Thiemo lunged out, saw her closing her eyes, and then… nothing. His sword was no longer moving, which pulled him back, stopping him. Confused, he looked at his weapon, which was now engulfed in a white magical aura. His weapon was being levitated. Baffled, he let go of it and looked at it. This had never happened before. He was so used to Protes that he had completely forgotten that this could happen, especially with unicorns.

***

“What happened?” Auralia asked excitedly. Amaryllis had to hold back a giggle. They stood offside of the rings, with their backs to the walls of the tribunes.

“Thiemo was a bit too confident and underestimated his opponent.” They both watched the human trying to pull his sword out of the air, but it stayed in position, while the unicorn mare had her eyes closed in concentration.

“Underestimated would be an understatement.” Both looked up where Twilight was leaning over the edge of the stands. “That’s Gravity. She may be young but is an expert in the field of gravitation magic. I’ve read some of her papers she wrote at my mother’s school. This is the first time I’m seeing her in person.”

“How do you know it’s her then?” Aura asked curiously.

Her cutie mark is good indicator for one.” Amaryllis looked back into the arena where the sword was now falling with a thud to the ground. The mare had a weight with a shadow underneath it on her flank, which had to indicate that it was floating in the air. “Also, on the way here, we met two of her friends who are here with her.”

“You mean they found you and wanted an autograph of their princess,” Amy heard the voice of Rainbow Dash from over the railing. Her disappointment could be felt even down here since she obviously wasn’t asked for one.

“Hey, sugarcube!” Applejack greeted her daughter a second later as she leaned over the railing like Twilight.

“Hi mom!”

“Anyway, they told us who she is.” Twilight looked back into the ring. “Wow, she actually managed to render the weapon harmless.” The others followed her look where Thiemo was now trying to pick up his sword, but he would sooner sprain his back than do so. “She put a gravitation spell on the sword. It should be around two hundred times the usual gravitational pull.”

“So it’s really really heavy now?” Rainbow asked again. Twilight just nodded and rolled her eyes.

***

Thiemo let go of the sword. He couldn’t even wrap his fingers around the hilt. Whatever the unicorn did, it was now much too heavy to move it. He looked up at her. Her eyes were still closed and her lips were moving slowly but steadily. She wasn’t shaking; she was about to cast more spells! By instinct, he took a step back and watched his surroundings, but nothing around him seemed to be wrapped in a white aura. What was she doing? In any case, he didn’t want to figure it out. He needed a new weapon if he didn’t want to fight with his bare fists.

“The scabbard…” he mumbled and opened the loop which fastened it on his back. Just as he held it like a sword in his hand, the mare opened her eyes again, and in front of her floated little balls in her aura. Before Thiemo could even blink, one of them shot into his direction and made contact with his chest. Immediately, he was thrown off his feet and flew a few meters through the dust. His head came to a halt shortly before the line of the ring. “Oww…” He rubbed his chest. Then he noticed the horror. In his orange coat was a black burn mark. His fingers stroked over it. And again and again. Angrily, he stood back up and managed just in time to dodge the second ball which was being fired at him. He closed his eyes for a second before he charged forwards. Magic was pumping through his body, and he knew that the cutie mark underneath his coat was probably glowing brightly. Then his knee made contact with the chest of his opponent.

He felt the impact as it slowly crept up his leg, shaking his bone, and he was eventually ricocheted away from her. Thiemo landed in the dust again, this time with a badly aching right knee. His opponent was leaning forwards as well and held the place where he hit her. She had gotten the full blow but was still moving. Her horn went out, and something smooth was trickling to the ground as the balls from her magic were dissolving. Sand. Now it clicked. His sword, the magical balls, and finally his opponent herself. She was manipulating gravity. Her mistake now, as she rooted herself to the ground to not be thrown out of the arena, was that she was unable to move. That was her weakness. Now he just had to get over the pain, get back on his legs, and deliver nine quick blows.

Slowly, while his opponent was still trying to stand on three legs while she held her chest, Thiemo was heaving himself on his own. His red leg was twitching nervously as he put weight on it, but the spell on the arena must have avoided the worst. That counted for both of them. He had to hurry. Slightly limping, he passed the few steps over to the squatting unicorn, only for his first hit, that was aimed against her horn, to miss. Or rather, simply going through her. “Huh?”

Something hit Thiemo in the back again, and he fell on his knees. He saw the construct dissolving in front of him, and he knew that once again some sand bullets had pierced their way through his coat. She had even affected the light with gravity so that it had been creating a mirror image at this place.

He had underestimated her twice. Now it was his turn. Quickly, he stood back up and turned around to the direction where the missile came from. There in the arena stood the unicorn. She was breathing heavily, the blow leaving its mark. Through her grey coat, he could see the bruise that was spreading across her whole chest. Next to her floated more of the magical balls out of the sand which she accelerated. If he weren’t able to see magic, these attacks would be invisible to him. Surely they were for the spectators as well. Unfortunately, he was at his wit’s end. If he came close to her again, she would just manipulate the light again and he would follow an illusion. Would his first fight end like this?

***

“Come on, dad!” shouted Auralia as loud as she could.

“They can’t hear us in the arena,” came Twilight’s voice from above them. “The sound from the outside is dampened so that the fighters won’t be distracted.” Now Amaryllis knew why Thiemo didn’t make any snappy comments as everyone laughed while he tried to pull his sword out of the air. “But it doesn’t look good for him. Gravity was surprised about his quick attack, but that surely won’t happen again.”

“What do you mean, Twilight?” Amy asked her aunt.

“She can manipulate everyone, even Thiemo. I think she isn’t doing that because she doesn’t know if the spell of the arena would still protect him from injuries then. Bones could break and other severe inner injuries would surely follow.” The changeling princess gulped. “I don’t see any chance for him if he isn’t going to use his magic soon. I don’t understand why he isn’t using it.”

“Surely he wants to use it as a secret weapon,” explained Shining Armor. “I wouldn’t do it any other way. No one would expect magic from a human. But his quick attack earlier has drawn some attention, although not everyone noticed it.” Shining paused for a moment as Skyla repositioned her forelegs on his head. “But with his current performance, he will have to fall back to it sooner than he’d like.”

Amy looked up to him and saw Skyla tapping lightly against his head. “What would you do, dad?”

“Gravity can’t make herself heavier to not be thrown out of the arena and dodge at the same time. He just has to force her to move and then hit her.”

“Like with the scabbard?” They had all seen it fly away as Gravity sent him to the ground for the first time. “He’s picking it back up. Give her hell, dad!” Every eye followed Aura’s look back onto the combat field.

***

Thiemo only had one try, and he knew it. If it didn’t work, he would just take the remaining hits. Unfortunately, he was still going to take her on. “Come on, you stupid cutie mark, please don’t leave me hanging.” He still wasn’t able to control the magic in his body. It was like it had its own will and never activated when he really needed it. The last time was during the training when he wanted to block a blow from Flash. If it hadn’t activated back then and jumped back further than planned, the pegasus could have seriously injured his head, even though it only had been a training weapon.

His hand wrapped around the scabbard as tightly as he could while he waited for the next attack. It could be the unicorn mare in front of him, or maybe not. His eyes wandered around slightly while searching for the white magic ball, but it was nowhere to be found. Did she let the time run out? Did she plan to surprise him in the last second? He cursed internally. He had to throw her out of the arena now. Thiemo went slowly and carefully on his knees, put his free left hand flat on the sand, and closed his eyes. She was casting her magic on the sand, so there had to be a clue.

In front of his inner eye, the arena began to form. At first the sand around him, then more and more from the field. Unfortunately, everything was grey in grey, only surrounded by a light magical veil. That was probably the spell that protected them. Thiemo jerked up and turned around with closed eyes. He saw the spell ricocheting off the ground and lying over his skin. He also saw it slowly wrapping around his opponent, who stood only a few steps away from the illusion. His eyes opened, and he lunged out and threw the scabbard like a spear into her direction.

Surprised, the mare cut off her magic that created the illusion and became visible to the naked eye again. Quickly, she jumped aside but didn’t hit the ground again. Thiemo had followed and jumped again with insane speed and threw the mare with an aimed kick out of the ring. The mare hit hard, rolled for a few metres, and then finally came to a halt. Thiemo’s muscles slackened, exhaustion overtaking his body.

“It looks like we have a winner,” the voice of the announcer suddenly sounded, and with it returned the other sounds as well. Until now, he hadn’t even realized that they were missing. “In this case, it will be ten points for number two and one for thirty six. You would have had even thirty more seconds.” She turned around to Thiemo. “Would you please clear the area? Your next fight will be in an hour.”

Tiredly nodding, Thiemo strolled over to his sword and picked it back up before heading over to the scabbard. If it would go on like this, today would be a long day.

Chapter IV - Act 14.5 - The Preliminaries (Part 2)

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 14.5 - The Preliminaries (Part 2) ~

Amaryllis looked from the edge of the arena over to her coltfriend, who was just cleaning his sword from the sand. The fight against Gravity had left clear marks on him. His beloved coat displayed two new holes, the knees of his pants were skinned, and his morale had dropped low. She could clearly feel his frustration.

The other contestants around the combat field made way as he swung his sword one last time, stored it in the scabbard, and trotted over to them. “Well, that could have gone better,” he said, more to himself than to her. He ran his hand through his hair, some sand falling out of if it. Amy dodged the sand by averting her head quickly before she went over to him and softly snuggled her cheek against his.

“Sure, but it was your first fight. Didn’t you say that a plan never survives first contact with the enemy?” Thiemo took his left hand and patted her free cheek.

“I think that was Night Hawk. But that doesn’t make it any less true.” Amy slowly pulled back her head, but not without briefly licking his cheek. She had read in one of her mother’s books that ponies did this to show affection towards their loved ones. She had wanted to try that out for days now. Since he responded with a smile, she figured that she had done it correctly.

The moment was interrupted by a gagging sound. “Oh, someone feeling left out, eh?” Thiemo said with a grin towards Auralia, who still stood next to Amaryllis. “Well, come here then.” Before the filly could react, he placed his hands around her and lifted her to his eye level. Then he began to place some quick kisses on her forehead before he blew on her stomach. Auralia slapped around wildly with her hooves while she tried to press some words out of her mouth, but they died again and again in her laughter.

“Leave something for me,” called Applejack’s voice from above them again. The mare leaned over the railing of the tribune and watched them play below her with a smile. Amaryllis did the same. Thiemo had changed. From what she knew of him, he was an immature larva when he came here, egoistic and a problem case. The latter was probably still a bit true, but especially in the last months, he had changed more and more. Albion had left its mark on her human, the same way she left marks on him. The same counted for the foal that was gasping for air in his grip while he still attacked her stomach. About four months ago she had been sitting in some hole under the ground that her mother called an empire. Today she knew better. It had been a hideout, and she had sat in the darkest corner of it all. How rare had it been that she had seen the daylight with her siblings? She hadn’t lived a life but an imprisonment. Now she was free. She had a family, a coltfriend, and could stand out in the open. Well, she was still in her disguise, but in due time that would change too. Thiemo was the best thing that had ever happened to her, even though she didn’t think so at first. After all, he had been the reason that she had been exiled and hurt. Right now, however, she didn’t regret that. Not one single bit.

“Dad, what’s wrong?” Auralia protested as she blocked his attack by pushing his face away with both forehooves. “You usually aren’t so clingy.” The human stopped briefly, causing the filly to lower her hooves. Quickly, he placed one more kiss on her forehead before putting her to the ground.

“Honestly, I don’t know.” Amaryllis coughed slightly.

“Well, he was happy to see both of us for one. We give him a feeling of home. That, together with the decision to at least temporarily settle down in the Empire, has raised his mood, despite the fight that took place. Then he also has fun in annoying you a bit.” Both blinked at her. “I’m a changeling, remember? Well, at least to a degree.”

“Dad is right, you’re a shrink.” Laughter came from Thiemo while giggling came from the tribunes. A few seconds later, Twilight and Rainbow leaned next to Applejack over the railing.

“So, the human is staying here? Good, I still have a crow to pluck with you.” Rainbow pointed at Thiemo and slammed a hoof on the railing. “He’s just lucky that I’m incapacitated.”

“Yer pregnant, Rainbow, and it’s nothin’ he’s responsible for,” Applejack said and rolled her eyes. The pegasus mare just snorted and leaned back into her seat.

Suddenly, Auralia gasped for air. “Hold on! You’re staying here?” Thiemo nodded. The filly grinned over both ears, jumped for joy, and excitedly ran around the legs of her father and Amaryllis, all the while squeaking something that sounded like “Yes!”

***

If there was one unnerved unicorn in the Crystal Empire right now, then her name was Lyra Heartstrings. She sat in her small hotel room over her own notes that she had made after the encounter with Index. She had spent the last week comparing what she had seen with data that she still remembered from her history classes, which was little to none. Unfortunately, the public library left much to be desired, because for some reason, most parts of the last two to three thousand years were missing in their literature. It was like everything was against her, even her parents.

Lyra had of course written to them to inform them that she had arrived in the Empire. Her mother had responded with almost three pages in which she complained that her former servants had been searching her house. Her father added that when they told her to search for a stallion, they thought it was understood that she had to keep it within their own species. Somewhere between the complaints were a few lines questioning her sanity and asking what had gotten into her and why she had helped a human to escape. Unfortunately, she could longer check them to prove their existence since the letter had fallen to spontaneous self-combustion. She hadn’t even opened her sister’s letter.

Angrily, her hoof wiped over her desk and the notes landed on the floor. “How long is Twilight going to keep me waiting? These are important historical events that will largely affect how we see humans. They were even once on the technological level of the Crystal Empire for Celestia’s sake!” Her head landed sideways on the almost empty table, and she snorted, blowing one of the last sheets of paper off of it. “I can’t stay in this hotel room forever.” She could if she wanted to. After all, Twilight was paying for it. It was the least the alicorn could do since Lyra had kept coming back empty-hoofed whenever she had visited her.

The human she had wanted to save was no help either. He didn’t even come back to her after trying to talk with Twilight. Nope, he had run out of the library, directly back to the palace, and had completely ignored her, even though he had promised to convince Twilight to finally publish the material. “Well, I’m a wanted pony in Equestria already,” she mumbled to herself while her eyes landed on the last remaining sheet on the table. “In any case, why does Twilight have any say here? Aside from her being the incarnation of magic personified? I mean, Thiemo was acting up not just with her, but with Princess Cadance too.” She had only heard rumours, but a few days ago, the royal voice of Shining Armor had basically shaken the entire palace. A talk with Estoc later and she knew that this was in reaction to one of two things. Either that he had spent the night with Amaryllis, like a mare and stallion doing it, or that he had demanded Princess Cadance’s throne. Since the princess had responded to the former by just nodding her head, at least according to Estoc, she didn’t believe that was the reason. Just as she didn’t believe that Princess Cadance would actually step down from the throne if he were to win the tournament.

“Hold on! The tournament! The princess and prince will be there, just like Twilight!” That was it. If she could talk to Twilight in front of her brother about the subject, she would have to speak out. And if not, Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance would surely inquire what she was going on about. But the best thing was that no one could arrest her for that. She basically had Twilight under her hoof and now just needed to push.

Hastily, Lyra began to gather the documents from the floor of her hotel room and brought them into the right order. It had been a good idea to write page numbers in the corners.

***

It was slightly funny how, now that all the combat zones were in use, the tribunes had emptied a bit. That also might or might have been because two dragons had landed behind Twilight and her friends. When Thiemo had spotted them in the air, he had almost ran against the tribune wall. Then he recognized Spike and concluded that the other, much more elegantly built bright red dragon at his side, must have been Ruby, who he had mentioned. As Rarity and Estoc, who had visited the two dragons in their lair outside of the town, stepped off Spike’s back, the human just grinned, slightly embarrassed.

To calm the rest of the slightly panicked spectators and some of the contestants, Cadance’s magically enforced voice had to be put into use to greet the new guests. The citizens of the Empire knew Sir Spike, as they addressed him, but that didn’t really account for most of the tourists. To Thiemo’s surprise, Deerling was one of the first who talked to Spike and Ruby and asked them if she could take a sketch of them. Purely for scientific reasons of course. He had expected that Zarni would beat her to the dragons, but she just sat there with closed eyes and puffed at her pipe.

While the conversation in the stands continued, Thiemo’s and Amaryllis’ attention went back to the ring. The fight didn’t stop for them, and they had missed a few quick matches. Right now, Entlas was preparing for his first fight. “I’m curious as to how he fights,” commented Thiemo to his marefriend as he comfortably sat down in the dust.

“Why?” Amaryllis did the same and sat down as well. She used her tail as a cushion to avoid getting dirt in any uncomfortable spots.

“I’ve never seen a stag fight before. They are all very peaceable, almost pacifists. They don’t even produce weapons. All they have are tools and antlers.” They watched as the impressive stag tested the ground with one of his hooves while his opponent entered the middle ring. It was a griffin whose brown coat was already traversed by a few grey streaks. What separated him from his fellow avians was that the feathers around his head and neck were not white, but in a bright brown, almost golden tone. The choice of his weapon was rather unusual as well. The griffon had some kind of metal appendage around both of his claws.

“And? Who do you think will win?” Amy asked curiously.

“Well, it looks like both will use parts of their bodies as weapon. Entlas will surely use his antlers, the griffin his claw.” Thiemo stopped for a second. “No, I can’t make sense out of that. But that’s not the point. Entlas can block and attack with his antlers at the same time, just like the griffon can with his claws. So it comes down to who can use their body parts better.” His marefriend nodded. Many of the other contestants did the same as them and sat down to relax or save strength.

The two contestants in the ring stared one another down for a few more seconds, then charged at each other. Entlas lowered his head a bit and aimed at the griffon who was gaining speed with long steps similar to that of a lion, which a large part of his body consisted of. A second before they collided, however, the griffon made a large jump to soar over Entlas, but he seemed to have expected that. His head jerked up and blocked the claws that were about to dig into his neck. Both fighters used the built-up momentum to turn around on their heel, though the griffon spread out his wings as he did so, turning mid-air. He made Entlas lose his balance, his claws grabbing his antlers, forcing the deer to jerk his neck and pull out of the griffon’s grip.

Letting go, Entlas fell over as he stumbled over his hooves, landing in the dust. Entlas kicked around for a bit in confusion but still managed to dodge his opponent’s next attack by rolling to the side and jumping back up. The griffon was quickly on him again, landing and swinging his foreleg, he raked his claws across Entlas’ chest. He grimaced in pain, reared back on his hind legs, and kicked out with his forelegs. He struck the griffon, who then backed off and jumped back so that they were now standing in front of each other, both heavily breathing.

“Wow, did you see that?” came Rainbow Dash’s excited voice from the stands. “That was so cool!”

“And that was just one exchange of blows,” Shining Armor added. “It’s something different when two trained fighters stand against each other.”

“Do you know who that griffon is?” Twilight asked her brother, who then nodded.

“His name is Leonidas. He competes every year. He is a blacksmith and lives here in the Empire.” Thiemo gulped because Shining Armor was right. That was a completely different level than his fight against the unicorn mare with her gravitation magic. His gaze wandered over the other fights on its own until he thought he saw her. She sat in front of one of the other rings and followed the fight from there as well. One of the humans was up against a diamond dog. The human wielded a spear while the dog wore iron gloves.

Amaryllis suddenly nudged him with her hoof and pointed at the combat field in the middle again. However, his eyes were stuck on her white disguise for a few seconds, her long purple mane and how it laid over her white coat. Her white horn, throwing a shadow on her face while she looked at him quizzically. Her mouth that began to move. “What’s wrong? You look so strange.”

“Nothing, it’s just that this would somehow be equivalent to what I would do at a date on Earth.” Amy raised a brow, reinforcing Thiemo’s belief that the habit ran in their family. “No, I mean us sitting here together with other spectators and watching a play. From time to time, someone will stand up and block our view, someone will shout something, and from time to time, you will go to the washroom for five minutes or in the ring yourself.” Thiemo grinned, pretended he was yawning, and put a hand around Amaryllis before pulling her closer to him. “If it only were a bit darker now…”

A cough, followed by a small body that pressed itself between them, interrupted Thiemo as he was about to lean his head further over to Amy. Auralia looked at both of them, then took a seat between them. Amy just giggled at the little pony’s antics. “What? I couldn’t see anything,” she said innocently.

“Maybe we should follow the fight as well.” Sighing, their looks wandered back into the ring. Unfortunately, Entlas and Leonidas hadn’t waited for them to be ready. The griffon had just tried to strike the stag again, but Entlas blocked him with his antlers. However, his clawed gauntlet got stuck in between the spikes of his antlers and the deer quickly took advantage of the situation. He pulled with all of his strength and dragged Leonidas with him as he raised his head, lifting the griffon into the air. The griffon was only held above his head for a few seconds before he was sent crashing down into the ground. Thiemo felt not only just himself flinch but Amy next to him as well, as the griffon landed in the dust. It wasn’t over yet as his claw was still stuck and Entlas repeated the procedure. Again he raised the griffon into the air and threw him into the dust, this time on his back. The straps on his antlers had fallen off by now or were ripped after blocking various attacks.

For a second Thiemo thought that it was over, but suddenly Leonidas opened his eyes again and quickly freed his right claw from the jammed weapon that was wrapped around it. Entlas’ head went up again, but now only the weapon was stuck as his opponent rolled back on his legs. It took a moment for the stag to realize that the weight of the griffon was not where it was supposed to be, but by then it was too late. Leonidas sprung forward, put his unarmed claw around the stag’s neck, and made some quick blows with his left against Entlas’ side. The griffon’s balled fist colliding again and again with the stag’s ribs.

Before the fourth blow landed, the judge had already stepped into the ring and ended the fight. “That was awesome!” cheered Rainbow Dash, followed by a loud whistle from Applejack. Estoc and Shining Armor applauded while Skyla excitedly jumped up and down on her father’s back.

“I have to admit that, even though it looked a bit barbaric, it has some entertainment value,” Rarity gave as her first comment of the day to the acts in the arena. “There’s just something about two muscular males fighting against each other to prove that they are strong enough to protect their chosen partner.”

“And that’s the reason why women on Earth watch football,” Thiemo said in his native tongue. While Amy understood the sentence itself, her questioning face made it clear that she had missed the joke as Thiemo laughed.

***

“What do you mean no entry? I’m with Twilight Sparkle, as in Princess Twilight Sparkle.” The guard at the entrance to the arena didn’t even blink as Lyra pressed her snout against his. “I demand immediate entrance.”

The sparkling stallion in silver shimmering armour softly pushed her back. “No entrance to the public. If you want to see the fights, return in three days for the finals.” Lyra gave him her best puppy eyes, but the Crystal Guard remained unmoved. There only remained one option, and so she took a page out of her sister’s book: she threw herself on the ground and started to cry.

Tears began to run down her cheeks and she sniffled. “That’s abuse of authority!” she shouted and held up her hoof. “This stallion attacked me!” Some of the ponies who were walking by stopped and looked over to her.

“Miss, I’ll have to ask you to—” Her obstacle didn’t get any further as two more mares stepped in his way. They immediately began to berate the poor stallion about what could have possessed him to just assault a citizen and Celestia knew what else. Lyra didn’t pay attention as she just sneaked through entrance and into the atrium of the stadium during all the fuss.

She quickly looked around. There was the counter for the registration or to buy tickets. Since this was a festive event, she wouldn’t need any. The stairs further to her right, which led up to the stands, were guarded just like the entrance. Luckily, the colleagues of the guard hadn’t noticed the little turmoil outside and just continued staring straight ahead. Curious as to what they were so fixated on, Lyra quickly followed their gazes and could only groan. At the other wall hung various posters from clubs that invited the spectators after the games. On one of them was mare in lingerie leaning against a pole. Even with the black bars – there were foals running around here after all – it was still very suggestive. “Well, she really doesn’t look bad,” Lyra admitted as she inspected the poster closely.

That was another reason as to why she would probably never bring a stallion home. She just didn’t feel much for the other gender. It didn’t mean that she had never tried them before. She had a few short relationships with one or two stallions. It was just the ratio of mares to stallions. While maybe one stallion a month managed to catch her eye as he walked by, twenty mares or so would do so in the same time. The fact that she had spent the past two weeks alone in the hotel while everypony around her fucked their brains out hadn’t really helped her frustration, especially since her cycle had caught up to her during the second week.

Pushing the naughty thoughts aside, Lyra continued on her way and just stepped past the guards to the stands. After all, why would they stop her if she was already in? Soon she would meet Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor for the first time. With that, she could tick off the majority of the Equestrian Royalty. She had to meet Princess Luna yet, however. And her family had had the gall to think that she would never amount to much. After all, she was now known in all of Equestria, even though as a convict. Twilight surely would set that right as soon as they returned home.

Lyra reached the last step and got a unique view over the entire arena. Immediately her view wandered over the various spectators. “Not for the public my flank,” she mumbled. She finally found the VIP stand, but unfortunately it was deserted. “Where are they?” In that moment, someone nudged her against the shoulder, which she ignored. Again someone nudged. “Hey.” She pushed the hoof aside as it nudged again. As it nudged her again, she turned around angrily, only to see two furious-looking guards and mares glaring at her. Lyra gulped, laughed nervously as she always did, and took flight.

***

Thiemo’s second fight had gone far better than expected. His opponent, a crystal pony stallion who wielded a sword in his mouth, was quickly taken care of. Unlike Gravity, which was the name of his first opponent as Amy had informed him, he stood no chance against his magical speed boost. It was another ten points for him and a whole zero for his opponent, who was now eliminated. With only one more fight ahead of him, in which he could get a maximum of ten points, the stallion would never get enough points.

For the human, it couldn’t be any better. He had won two of his three fights with ten points. Maybe it was because he had gotten lucky with his opponents as Shining Armor put it. Nevertheless, he’d have to lose with zero points now for someone to take his spot in the finale, something Thiemo strongly doubted.

As he stepped over the white lines in the sand that marked the combat zone for the third and last time today, he was sure to leave victorious again. Then again, the same thing could be said about the mountain of a diamond dog who had joined him. The dark grey, almost black coat, the bashed-in face of a boxer that rested on around two metres of muscles and a club over his shoulder, paired with the grin on his face, spoke volumes. Maybe Thiemo wasn’t as certain anymore.

Taking a deep breath, he considered how to approach this. Large enemies usually meant they were slower. Diamond dogs also weren’t known as the smartest creatures on this planet, which he could confirm from his own experience. Quick single blows and retreat before he could counterattack, that was the solution his brain came up with. At the same time, his stomach told him that it wouldn’t be so easy, otherwise the gigantic dog would no longer be here.

Just then, the judge signalled the beginning of the match. Before Thiemo could even draw his bastard sword from the scabbard on his back, the club of the diamond dog made contact with his shoulder. The diagonal swing of the club connected hard and Thiemo flew backwards, his shoulder striking the ground hard as he spun over before he came to a halt. Despite the magical dampening field of the arena, his left shoulder was in agony, pain shooting through him as he slowly tried to stand back up. “Fucking hell,” he snarled and looked up. As he did, his eyes widened, and in that split instant, instinct took over rational thought and he dived out of the way of the massive club hurtling through the air towards him. Thiemo had not expected the giant to actually throw his weapon at him. It landed with a thud in the sand, kicking up plumes of dust exactly where he had been standing just a few moments ago. The thinnest part of the club was as thick as his lower arm, while at the top it was as thick as his head. This fight would have been over if it had struck him.

The diamond dog charged at him at full throttle. Thiemo hurriedly tried to reach up over his shoulder to draw his sword. The angle was awkward and pulling it from the scabbard in this desperate scenario was extremely difficult, the blade drawing out part way before sticking as the scabbard fought with the human’s angle of draw. From the corners of his eyes, Thiemo could see what the dog was planning. The boundaries of the ring were just a metre behind him. The human reacted quickly and charged as well, right at the diamond dog. The dog wore a confused expression for a brief moment when he saw the human move, but then grinned wickedly and leaned over further, preparing to meet the human’s charge with his own. Thiemo had no interest obliging him, however, finally drawing the blade from its scabbard and holding it in a low guard in front of him. While running, he threw himself halfway to the ground and slid through the legs of his opponent, he twisted his body to the right just as the dog’s momentum bore him over the human and swung his sword arm around. The right handed swing cutting across the side of the dog’s left knee. The dog howled as he went to the ground himself and landed in the dust right next to his club.

Thiemo stood back up immediately and sprinted back to his opponent. He was still lying with his nose in the dirt, and Thiemo quickly made a second and third strike across his back, but he didn’t get to a fourth one. With two paws pressing against the ground, the dog threw himself up off of the ground and landed on his back, burying Thiemo under all his weight. “Annoying human. Hamson smash you.” Thiemo would have responded, but air was something that was painfully missing in his lungs.

The dog used Thiemo as a cushion for a moment or two longer, rolling back and forth to crush him under his weight before rolling off and getting to his feet. Thiemo was happy that his chest was no longer used as a seating cushion for an oversized diamond dog and was about to stand up, but something grabbed his leg. With wide eyes, he watched as the dog easily lifted him into the air, Thiemo now hanging upside down with his limbs flailing. He swung his sword and managed to score a hit against his paw, but the dog didn’t let go. Hamson lunged out and threw Thiemo through the air. He knew that he wasn’t going to land in the arena this time, and there was no way to avoid it. Instead, while flying through the air he swung his sword around blindly, hoping to at least score one more point by hitting the dog with a last, desperate gambit before the end. Then he felt the ground welcome him joyfully in its stony, unforgiving embrace and the voice of the judge ended the fight.

“Number one hundred and twenty is victorious. Ten points for you and four points for number two.” Groaning, Thiemo continued to lie there as a few other contestants looked down at him.

“Everything alright?” asked a crystal pony. “Should I get a doctor?” Before Thiemo could answer, a shadow came over his face as Hamson stood in front of him and threw his sword into the sand. Without saying a word, the dog went on his way. Thiemo slowly stood back up and collected his sword.

“Number two?” asked the judge as he came up to him. “Let me congratulate you. With twenty four points, you are under the eight members of the diamond group who made it into the finale.”

Thiemo moved his neck in circles until a soothing crack could be heard. “Thanks,” he just said and took the parchment from the judge that confirmed his ranking. He was ranked eighth of eight. One hit less against the giant dog and he probably wouldn’t have made it.

***

Somehow – she didn’t even know exactly how – Lyra managed to get rid of both guards and the angry mares in the crowd. Now, however, she was where her journey had begun: in the atrium of the stadium. “Damn, I thought it’d be easier to get to the regents of the Empire.” She let the phrase melt on her tongue again and slapped a hoof against her head. “Exactly, Lyra.” With a groan, she looked out from behind the counter behind which she was hiding. Luckily it wasn’t operated since the preliminaries were already taking place. From time to time, smaller groups of defeated contestants left the arena but it was otherwise rather quiet.

As she heard steps, she immediately ducked behind the counter again, but when voices joined them, she had to look again. “Dad, you’re in the finale! That’s so great. I hope I get into the finale as well when I fight tomorrow.” Lyra looked over the counter and saw a familiar filly enter the atrium.

“I was very lucky with the last fight, Aura. That was by a hair’s breadth.” That was clearly Thiemo’s voice.

“Only with the last one?” she heard an unfamiliar deeper male voice. Then the rest of the group entered the atrium. Next to Thiemo walked Amaryllis and directly in front of her were Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor, on whose back a small alicorn foal was peacefully resting.

“There’s always a bit of luck involved, your Highness,” Thiemo responded with a grin to Prince Shining Armor’s comment. The two exchanged some angry glares before Cadance stepped between them.

“Shining, why don’t you go ahead and carry Skyla to bed?” The stallion snorted, but then gave his wife a kiss on the cheek and left the stadium. Just as he was out of hearing range, she turned towards Thiemo and Amaryllis.

“Very well fought, Thiemo. You can be proud of yourself. Many come here every year to compete, but only very few make it on the first try.”

“Thank you, Cadance.” The princess smiled and turned away as well to follow her husband. “Cadance,” Thiemo held her back, “can we talk?” The human reached into the backpack on his back, where his sword also rested, and pulled out a small crystal that he held under the princess’ nose.

Her eyes widened. “Where did you get that?”

“Does it matter?” She shook her head. “So, can we talk?”

Cadance nodded. “Sure.”

“Good. Maybe you should go on ahead, Amy,” he said to the mare at his side. “I think this could take a while. And please take Aura with you.”

“That won’t be necessary, sugarcube,” came Applejack’s voice from the staircase that led up to the stands. A moment later and she was followed by Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Estoc, and Rarity. “Ah’ll take her back into the apartment with me.”

“Is my brother already gone?” Twilight asked and looked around the lobby, causing Lyra to quickly duck into cover again.

“He went with Skyla back to the castle,” Cadance explained. “She was tired and had to go to bed.” Hooves were moving, which had to be Twilight’s as she tried to catch up to her brother.

“Wait, Twilight, maybe you should stay as well. I have something to talk about with Cadance which has something to do with your research.” Lyra was annoyed that she couldn’t see the shocked face of Twilight now. The mare had stopped dead in her tracks but didn’t say a word, which clearly indicated that she was startled.

Rarity coughed lightly. “Well then, we’ll go on ahead already. We will meet in your apartment later, darling.” And with that, more hooves began to move and some even seemed to coming in Lyra’s direction.

“So, what do you want to know?” asked Cadance, whose voice was now significantly louder. Lyra peeked again and saw that Thiemo, Twilight, and Cadance were standing around one of the bar tables not far away from her.

Thiemo took out the small crystal again and put it on the table. “Hey!” Twilight spoke up. “Isn’t that from the archives?”

“I want to know what Project Echidna is.”

Cadance nodded neutrally. “Then we have to go far back. Back into a time where there were more alicorns. In a time where the alicorn race was at its peak.”

Chapter IV - Act 14.6 - The Fall of an Empire

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 14.6 – The Fall of an Empire ~

“A long time ago, a time when the universe was still young and chaos reigned. In that time, the first alicorn, with a coat as white as the stars and a mane as red as the cleansing flames, saw the light of the world. Forged from the fires that strived for harmony, Albia the First, the alicorn of creation and creativity, was brought to life. She, the mother of all life, saw the chaos and began her work. She created our galaxy, our planet, and everything that would ever wander on it. She also created her first daughters, Life and Death.

“Life did as her mother and spread life in all its forms while her sister Death closed the circle. When their own time came, neither Death nor Life wanted to part. So Death took the ability to die away from the alicorn so that she would always watch over her subjects.

“But with time came loneliness, the craving for a companion. Life, who had to watch as all the other creatures were allowed to procreate, especially envied her subjects for that. So she used her power, as her sister had done before, and gave herself and her kind the ability of reproduction. Since they were the only one of their kind, aside from their mother, they allowed themselves to choose any companion they saw fit. Both Life and Death had many companions across the ages they walked over the world. Life gave birth to Happiness, Trust, and many more, while Death bore Anger, Hatred, and Grief.

“Albia saw what her daughters had done and tried to dissuade them from their path. She did not believe that every aspect of existence required a guardian, an avatar which represented it. But the sisters disagreed with her mother, whereupon she disappointedly turned away from them and left creation in their hooves, following the rules she had set for herself. Albia no longer sought to interfere.

“As the time passed, the children of Life and Death sought out companions as well, and the once few alicorns became many. Settlements began to spring up. Alicorns of similar beliefs joined together, forming their own clans and houses. However, the children of Life and Death mostly stuck with themselves.

“As even more time passed, the settlements grew into cities. They began to further research magic, deconstruct alchemy to its core, and develop technology that surpassed any imagination. The cities grew into empires that spanned across continents and eventually covered every last inch of the world.

“Then, after all that time, Life and Death began to understand what their mother had tried to tell them so long ago. Their children began to suffer. The place to live grew smaller for their subjects as their own children needed it. They wanted more and more; enough was never enough. Eventually they began to grow envious of the place of another. It is said that Envy was the first alicorn that was overcome by its own power.

“War was the natural outcome. The alicorn used all their knowledge of magic, technology, and alchemy to put themselves above their siblings. Their mothers, Life and Death, tried to reason with them one last time but fell victim to their own powers as well which threatened to consume them. Without the guidance of the two, the alicorns began to lose control. Taboos were broken, chains sundered. The children of Life dared to play with her power, power that was never meant to be wielded by anyone else. To win the war against the children of Death, they wanted to create the perfect soldier after their own model. Eventually they managed to do so, but it was too late. The children of Death had worked at their own method to end their immortal siblings. A weapon created of pure magical energy that was capable of breaking immortality itself, as it was the magic of Life that created it. Magic that could cut magic.

“Only very few alicorns were spared from the chaos of war. The few that did swore to never forget so that this would never repeat itself.”

***

Cadance sighed after the last word left her mouth. “Your mother, Twilight, is the last descendant of Life. Born in the middle of a war, she has felt the chaos, the suffering, and despair herself. Your aunt Luna was born at the end of the war in the house of Death. Celestia took her under her wing as she wandered through the ruins of the once great civilization of the alicorns. A foal in the ruins who was screaming for her mother. “

The younger alicorn gulped as she heard about the origin of their kind and their fall. Thiemo didn’t even want to imagine what was going on in her head right now. He had his own thoughts to deals with. “It makes sense,” he quietly said. “I mean the part about Celestia. Eris had told me that she was a marked child.” Now he could understood why she had welcomed humans so warily. “She has seen what technology is capable of and the humans who were almost solely using it to build weapons. She doesn’t want history to repeat itself. She is scared. But at the same time, she wants life to persevere. That’s why she just banished the humans on Ti.” Cadance nodded and looked at Twilight, who was slightly shaking, still wrapped in her thoughts. “And when Luna confronted her about the Children of the Night… She wasn’t scared of her sister but of what might follow. What really followed.”

Cadance attention turned towards Thiemo. “The Children of the Night? How do you know that name?” The human freed himself from his coat so that only his sleeveless shirt was covering his top and showed Cadance the cutie mark on his shoulder again.

“When I got this, we were below the Chain, deep underground on a path none of us had planned. We found something: the archive of the Children of the Night.” Cadance’s eyes widened. “Index, an AI that Blue Light created, showed us records from back then, from the time before the war with the humans of Amissa Heaven up until the point where Luna transformed into Nightmare Moon. And I have spoken with him, with Blue Light. His soul is possibly staying down there and watching over his legacy. When Amaryllis and I were fighting against the guardians, which might have been some robots that Echidna had left there, I got messed up pretty bad. In my weakened state, his soul must have managed to interact with mine or something like that. I’ll have to ask Zarni about the details. Anyway, it was him who gave me this mark.”

Cadance thought quickly and then nodded, determination in her eyes. “We have to secure the archive.”

“No chance,” Thiemo replied and shook his head as he put his orange coat back on. “The archives have run dry. Everything is dead down there. But we have backup.” For a few seconds, silence fell on them. “Something else. When you spoke about the alicorn wanting to create the perfect soldier, you weren’t speaking of Echidna by any chance, were you?”

“Indeed. Echidna was the result of those… experiments. Unfortunately, I don’t know much about her since Celestia hasn’t even told me everything.

“Hold on, does that mean you were born after the war as well?” Cadance shook her head.

“I neither know when I was born nor who my parents were. Celestia found me many thousand years after the war in some ruins. Someone had hidden me there when I was a filly and put me in a time vacuum, presumably so I could avoid the terrors of war.”

“Then one more question. The Crystal Empire is a place from the times before the Alicorn War, right? How then is it still standing after all this time?”

“The same answer: it was also locked in a time vacuum. But unlike me, it was locked until after the war when the crystal ponies chose this location as their home. They were locked into the vacuum with the town. Based on our records, it happened around two thousand years before the years with the humans. Before I was even found.”

Thiemo tapped between his eyes. “How did… Of course. Celestia has her own crystal archives underneath Canterlot. Blue Light spoke about it in the records. If it is from the times of the alicorns, then all their cities should be marked in there.

Silence fell on them until Cadance turned to her sister-in-law. “How are you feeling, Twilight?”

The younger princess nodded faintly but eventually began to move her lips. “Cadance, what are we?”

“What do you mean, Twilight?”

“You said we are the avatars of what we represent. What does that mean?”

Cadance put on a small smile. “Well, it means that you are magic and magic is you. All magic that exists is a part of you. When you grow older, you will realize this connection. You will feel it like it’s a part of your body.” It again made sense as to what Cadance said. Echidna had told Luna back then, when she had found the underground base of the traitors, that Gaia would usually annihilate anyone who dared to dig so deep into her. If the avatar of earth could feel every dig of a spade, then he wouldn’t even be surprised. The question he had to ask himself now was what Ariel felt when he sped up his body with wind. Or what Undine thought when he hurt his enemies with ice shards. Then he remembered what Zecora had told him. He had been using their power for so long, the bodies of the avatars, but he basically didn’t even say ‘Thank you.’

“Don’t worry, Twilight,” she assured the still shaking alicorn. “It may sound overwhelming, but it is in our nature. I feel every bit of love that exists, even if the ones feeling it haven’t realized it yet themselves. Each time, it is like discovering a part of me that I hadn’t known before. But it can also be a wild beast that, from time to time, tries to overstep its bounds. Then our duty is to show it its bounds.”

“Achoo!”

“Gesundheit,” said Cadance, Twilight, and Thiemo. Then they all looked at each other, wondering who had just sneezed.

“Thiemo?” Cadance asked, but the human shook his head. “Twilight?” Again a headshake.

Thiemo took a deep breath and closed his eyes. As he opened them again, he saw the familiar magical fields in the air as the magic seemed to play with the wind while it wandered through the world. Over the table they stood at, over the counter to their left, some waves that came from behind there seemed to interfere with them. Very familiar waves. “Lyra?”

With a hanging head, the turquoise unicorn appeared, a sheepish smile on her lips. “Uhm, I was actually just hiding from the guards.” Realizing that that wasn’t a good reply, she coughed and looked at the wall. “I mean, I’ve come to speak about the discoveries we made in the archive.”

“Miss Heartstrings,” Cadance snarled at her. “What has been said here was not meant for your ears. I’ll have to ask you to leave it keep that to yourself.”

“No!” Cadance blinked, confused. “I have kept my mouth shut long enough. I have devoted my life to anthropology, and after I finally made a gigantic breakthrough, I have to stay silent? Only because bad things happened in the past? That’s the way it is, and no one can change it. Whether you like it or not, I will go to the public with it. The ponies of this world have a right to know the injustice that humans are suffering from Princess Celestia because she is scared of them. No, not of them, but of technology!” At the end of her little outburst, Lyra lowered the threatening hoof again that she had raised against Cadance.

“Lyra, please. We’re trying to fix this!” Twilight turned to her. “But we have to take it one step at a time. It would only cause new chaos.”

Before Lyra could respond, Cadance spoke up again. “Miss Heartstrings, I’m with Twilight here. The current situation is too delicate for the public. Surely we can agree on postponing the information a bit longer?”

Thiemo didn’t like to admit, but the two princesses were right. From what he knew, the humans were causing a lot of problems in Equestria right now. Not like they were his people or anything. The information they had gathered would surely make the ponies reconsider the choice of their leader, no matter how much they loved them. Destabilizing a country, one that basically was the biggest force on the planet, never was a good idea. “Lyra, I have an offer for you. One that I haven’t even made Amy.” The eyes of everypony wandered to him. “I’m still looking for a way home. If I managed to find one, I’ll take you with me. And I’m not talking about Ti. I’m talking about the planet that I came from. A planet filled only with humans.”

“I knew it!” shouted Lyra and grinned from ear to ear. “You are an alien!” Her eyes widened. “An alien!” She blinked. “An alien who wants to take me to his planet.”

“I take that the deal is to your liking?” Cadance asked. Lyra nodded hastily before collapsing, unconscious before her head hit the ground. “I think we should leave it for today. I don’t want any more listeners.” Thiemo and Twilight agreed to talk later in the castle.

***

Thiemo sat again in the small comfortable room that seemed to always draw him back to it. He had chosen one of the many bottles of alcohol, this time a salted whisky, and tossed the drink in the little glass in his hand.

Quietly, Cadance opened the door and joined him on one of the cushion. “Twilight has gone to sleep in one of the guest rooms. I think she will need some time to understand all this.”

Thiemo just nodded and took the small stone out of his pocket, which he had readied there while waiting. “Here, this is the backup of the archives. Twilight already tried to read it in your archives, but it appears that your technology is incompatible to that of the humans.”

“Then we will have to recover the archives to see what we can do.” Thiemo emptied his glass. His face grimaced as the whisky ran down his throat and left a disgusting aftertaste. With his tongue hanging slightly out, he put it back on the table.

Cadance smiled faintly. “That could be done. But we could also not do it, to not disturb the undead down there.” Thiemo filled up his glass again. “Blue Light experimented a bit with dark magic. It had to do something about the animation of robots.” The princess levitated the bottle over to her and took a sip as well.

“So, Thiemo, what are your plans?”

“Plans? I’d say to win the tournament.”

“Didn’t you make Lyra a promise?”

“Have I ever said when I’ll be going home?”

Thiemo’s glass clinked against that of Cadance’s bottle.

*** ~ [Three Days Grace - Pain] ~ ***
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Chapter IV - Intermission 14 - The Thing with Trust

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Amaryllis remained awake on the big empty bed in her room. The last time she had seen Thiemo was a few hours ago was when he had wanted to discuss something with Cadance. Now the sun had begun to set and he hadn't returned yet. Did something happen?

The princess turned her head away from the window and looked to the door that led into her chamber. With Thiemo, anything was possible. In addition, he had been beaten up pretty badly. She halted that line of thought and blinked in sudden puzzlement. When had she become so worried? It wasn't like he couldn't take care of himself. Surely he could remain missing for a few hours longer without her knowing where he was at that moment. She nodded to herself and smiled… for all of two seconds. She would look for him. After all, he was guilty for putting her in her current dilemma. The entire day he had snuggled with her amorously and got her in the mood, only to not walk the talk afterwards. Hadn’t she waited long enough already? What did a mare have to do to get laid?

Amaryllis had just placed her first hoof on the floor when the doors to her chamber burst open and hit the wall with loud bang. The vase on the dressing table fell on the ground and spread the water and flowers it had previously held on the red carpet. The painting of the Crystal Empire shifted slightly, and she believed she heard a piece of the wall itself fall off.

Far more important was the initiator of everything who now entered the room with a slight wobbly gait. "'Scuse me," Thiemo slurred and kicked the door closed with the same amount of force.

"You’re drunk!" Amaryllis stated the obvious. She didn't even need to smell his breath to know. The glazed eyes, the slurring in his speech, and the wonky attempt to reach the bed from the door were proof enough.

Suddenly the human stopped a meter before her and seemed to ponder. "May lightning hit me! I'm drunk! Ha!" As was usual when the human said something she didn't understand, she merely waited until the explanation. Today it took a bit longer as Thiemo was preoccupied with trying to remain upright. "I never managed that before on Albion. Either I had no money or it was just salt in the soup…"

Finally the human arrived at the bed and fell face-first into the soft mattress. A relieved groan escaped him as his muscles relaxed. Amaryllis could only roll her eyes. Noticeably lacking enthusiasm, she stood up and began to separate the human from his surplus of clothing, starting with his coat and his shirt. She levitated both items to her and caught the smell of the clothing. Alcohol, salt, sweat, and who knew what else blended into a disgusting cocktail of stenches.

Quickly, she levitated the clothing the rest of the way to a hamper sitting before her mirror cabinet. The boots were likewise removed with a quick tug and landed somewhere. Amaryllis looked down on the prone human, now only wearing his pants. His back was lightly marked by the adventures that he had experienced on Albion. There were numerous small scars and prominent bruises where he had been hit today. His back and chest might not be as muscular as a stallion’s, but all in all, it wasn’t too shabby.

It was of no use. Her magic closed around the human's pants and began to pull, but the weird material refused to release him. He slid along with his pants over the bed, which seemingly pulled him out of some drunken thoughts he was entertaining. Slightly confused, Thiemo turned around and sat up. "Oh, it's my pants you want, Princess?" Jerkily, the human stood up and grinned. "Then you shall have it!" he exclaimed with an outstretched hand, pointing with a finger at her.

For a second there was silence, then Thiemo began to hum an unknown song. His hips circled to the music while his hands moved below the pants' hems. Amaryllis, until now slightly confused about his intentions, had a gigantic grin on her lips and sat on the carpet.

The melody he was humming was awful, but with every sway, the pants slipped down further, so she didn't care about it. Finally, the clothing item hit the ground with a clang of his belt and the human stepped out of it. "Tada!" Amaryllis couldn't help but giggle. When she finally looked at Thiemo, she noticed that he stared at her. "I love you," he said somewhat absentmindedly. "Have I ever told you that you are the best that happened to me?" If her grin could still grow, it would be doing that by now. Instead, something else was gaining volume.

My little Pony

Journey

~ Intermission 14 – The Thing with Trust ~

Cadance, also somewhat tipsy due to the evening she had spent with the human, decided to look for her sister-in-law before she herself would withdraw into her own family's chamber. Shining and Skyla would surely wait for her, as her little gem would seldom fall to sleep if she hadn't been told at least one story. Not that Shining had tried for himself, but Skyla called the stories of her father always "boring" with a long "o". She could understand her daughter’s feelings since stories from his time in the Royal Guard were surely not the best for a young foal.

"Once, there were we, standing guard at the castle's pond. The whole day!" she repeated with the same enthusiasm of her husband whenever he would tell a story. Unlike her, he didn't break out into laughter afterwards. "Oh Shining. Please never change." What many didn't know about Shining Armor, Prince of Equestria, Prince of the Crystal Empire, Alicorn of Devotion and Captain of the Royal Guard A.D., was that he could be one the biggest knuckleheads she knew. But he was her knucklehead, and she loved him for it.

He could tell Skyla, for example, how he as a student at Canterlot High found the courage in front of the entire school to ask, singing, an assistant professor for a date. Namely her. Of course a conversation with the dean followed, together with his mother, where it was explained that such a relationship would not be tolerated at the school. And what did Celestia do? She only deliberated loudly where she could make cutbacks to save some money in her budget. Not that she would cut the school’s funding, but instead the money she donated privately. In other words, what kept several public institutions running.

When her younger self had posed the question as to where Celestia got her money from, the elder alicorn had grinned before replying, "I opened an account a few thousand years ago. For nearly a thousand years or so, I’ve only been able to withdraw the interest as there aren't enough bits in Equestria for me to cash." Cadance shook her head and smirked as she finally came to a stop in front of Twilight's room. She had left her sister-in-law the same room as when she and her friends had helped free the rediscovered Empire from the sealing spell. Of course, they hadn’t been able to enjoy it much at first, what with the demon who had been attracted to the high concentrate of magic deciding to attack them.

Cadance knocked cautiously and waited a few seconds. "It’s open," called Twilight's voice quietly. The princess opened the door and found the younger alicorn sitting in front of her desk. A roll of parchment and an ink pot were lying on it. The corresponding quill was floating a few centimeters above the desk but didn't move.

How are you, Twilight?" Twilight groaned and placed the quill in the pot.

"I… don’t know. I'm so confused."

Cadance quickly glanced around and spied what she was looking for. A cushion flitted over the ground to her and landed next to Twilight at the desk. "Come on, tell me what’s going on in your head. Maybe I can help you."

Twilight fiddled with her front hooves. Either she was nervous or she needed to go to the bathroom but didn't want to interrupt the lesson. Cadance knew Twilight well, which might have been because of her being Twilight’s foalsitter. "I feel… betrayed?" she finally said. "Deceived? Lied to? I don't know. Why doesn't my mother trust me? Why didn't she explain the history of our race? Don't I have the right to know this? She… She didn’t even tell me about my own brother! Why? Didn’t she care? Doesn't she trust me?"

Cadance gently put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Of course she trusts you. She trusts you even with her own life." Twilight blinked. "When Nightmare Moon returned, where was your mother?"

"Aunt Luna told me that she had banished my mother in the moon."

"And what would have happened if you had not found the Elements together with your friends?" Once more, the younger alicorn blinked.

"All of Albion would have been cast into eternal darkness and she would have been trapped forever in the moon."

"You see, she puts a lot of trust in you, Twilight. She didn't trust you only with her life, but also with everypony else on Albion."

"Why can’t she tell me these things then?"

In fact, Cadance herself had to think about this one. "Well, I am not Celestia, so I can only guess. If I had to say, it was probably to protect you. What use has this knowledge been to you, Twilight? What would it bring aside to mourn for somepony lost whom you’ve never known? She simply didn't want you to suffer the same pain as she does." This Twilight seemed to accept. She slightly lowered her head and murmured something. "I'm sorry, Twilight, you have to speak louder."

"Can I ask you something else?" Cadance nodded and smiled. "Why do you trust Thiemo? Why did Blue Light trust him? I mean, he seems to have given the human a piece of his power. A piece of himself." The monarch bit her lip for a moment. She had just spoken about how Twilight's mother had entrusted the entire world to her daughter, but this was something not intended for the young alicorn.

Quickly, she thought of something. "I trust him because Blue Light did it himself. I knew your brother, Twilight. We were both nearly the same age. We practically grew up together in the castle of Canterlot. We were both inseparable as foals. We horsed around so much that your mother still reminds me of it at times whenever I visit her. But to make it short, I trust Thiemo because Blue Light trusts him."

"Is that all?"

Then something came to Cadance's mind. Her eyes moved around, looking for something special in the sparsely decorated room. Twilight had moved most of her possessions into her own apartment, but she had left something here. Finally, her eyes found what she was looking for, and a solitary framed photo flew slowly to her. "Do you remember this?" Cadance asked and showed Twilight the image.

It showed Spike, a young Spike shortly after he had helped drive off the demon and had been appointed as Sir Spike of the Crystal Empire. Next to Spike stood Ruby, the young dragoness who had awoken through the turmoil in her territory. Back then, they had barely known Ruby, but she had assured Twilight that Spike's first growth stage would be imminent. Of course she hadn’t believed the strange dragon, but in the following weeks, Spike's hunger had grown. He had devoured tons of gems and anything else he could find. Unlike his greed attack, he hadn’t grown vertically but horizontally. Eventually, Twilight had brought him back to the Crystal Empire. "Why did you place Spike into Ruby's care?"

"Well, he liked her and she was also a dragon? Who else would know more about dragons than a dragon herself." Cadance replaced the photo on the table and shook her head.

"No mother entrusts their child to a foreigner."

"I—" Cadance put a hoof on Twilight's mouth, silencing her.

"Who hatched Spike from his egg?"

Cadance removed her hoof for a moment. "Me, but—" And then it returned to its resting place.

"Who took care of him day and night when he was baby?"

"Me, but—" The game was repeated.

"Who was responsible for nearly one hundred percent of his upbringing and education?"

Cautiously, Cadance raised her hoof again. "I'm his mother, aren't I?" Satisfied, Cadance nodded.

"So, why did you entrust Spike to Ruby?"

"I saw in her eyes that she would take care of him."

"And now think about what I observe when I see Thiemo looking at Amaryllis. Or at Auralia. It may seem that no one else is of interest to Thiemo. Maybe it is true, but what I know is that he is willing to fight hard to ensure that nopony would dare to lay a hoof on them. That's why I trust him to do the right thing."

Twilight threw another glance at the photo. Cadence's eyes were also drawn to it and to the other figures in it as well. Behind Spike was Ruby. The slender dragoness had straightened her long neck and peered from the group in the foreground while she lay on all fours in the background. Next to the dragon were for Twilight and Rarity. The rest of her friends were there, as was Cadance with Shining Armor.

"Thanks, Cadance. I needed that."

"Always a pleasure, Twilight. After all, we’re family." With those words, Cadance slowly trotted slowly back to the door leading to the hallway. She turned around a last time and saw that the quill flew over the parchment while Twilight quietly dictated to herself.

Hello Mother,
It’s been a while since I wrote to you. I'm sure you already know that I had set out some friends to capture the human. Unfortunately, I didn't quite succeed in what was probably your goal all along. I wish you would let me in on such things. And not just me, but Shining too. On our short but eventful trip, we made a few discoveries. Why didn’t you ever tell me that I had another brother?”

Closing the door, Cadance ceased her eavesdropping and sighed. The smell of her own breath, full of alcohol and salt, wafted up to her nostrils. It was a wonder that Twilight hadn’t noticed, but it also showed how deeply her sister-in-law fought with her own problems.

"I hope you know what you are doing, Celestia," Cadance murmured and headed for her own chambers where her family awaited her.

* * *

Thiemo woke late in the night and needed a few seconds to orient himself. Amaryllis was lying with her back to him, pushing into him. With a hammering headache, he remembered what had happened earlier and grinned. Now, though, he urgently needed a glass of water. Not to merely soothe his dry throat but also to kill the aftertaste of the whiskey. He could definitely taste other things on his tongue as well, but after yesterday's evening, he had no right to complain.

Cautiously, he freed himself from his slumbering marefriend and tiptoed through the room in the direction of the bathroom. On the way, he paused next to his backpack and rummaged through it. "Where is the stupid thing? Ah, there." He pulled an old book from it and continued his way. The light in the bathroom awakened by itself when he entered it and closed the door behind him. Quickly, he grabbed a cup and filled it with the desired fluid. "I needed that," he sighed after emptying the cup in a single gulp. Then he placed the book "How to please your mare" on the edge of the basin and opened it at the place where he had left the bookmark.

He had learned a lot from this book about the mating behaviour of the ponies, even if it was somewhat outdated due to its age of over a thousand years. According to this book, one of the greatest proof of love which a stallion could give to a mare was to provide his seed even if she wasn't in heat. It was supposed to signal to her how much he meant her to him and that it wasn't just a way to sire heirs. Not that Thiemo could make sense out of it, but it had the desired effect. Again, nothing he could complain about.

The opened chapter spoke about foreplay, only that ponies didn’t refer to it as that. They didn't even seem to know the concept. It was only mentioned as the average stallion only could keep up for a few minutes, and this seldom sufficed for the mare to achieve the longed-for climax. It was a little sad when he thought about it.

He browsed through the book until he found the next chapter. Showing Affection So Nopony in Your Herd Feels Excluded was the title. "Nope," Thiemo simply said to himself and skimmed again.

Suddenly the door rattled. "Thiemo? What are you doing in there so long? Come back to bed," Amaryllis voice sounded through the door.

"I just to get a drink. My throat was dry." Quickly, he closed the book and looked for a hiding place. It would probably be very embarrassing to get caught with it.

“I think it’s a miracle you even have any saliva remaining.”

"I think it was worth it, twice." He heard his marefriend giggle as he finally buried the book below some towels. He hurried to the door and opened it. In front of him, the drowsy Amaryllis squinted her eyes when the light of the bathroom hit her. He quickly closed the door once more.

"Get back to bed…" Amaryllis yawned. Leading the way, she crawled below the sheets that urgently needed washing. That could wait until morning. He laid down next to Amy and was about to snuggle against her back when she turned around and returned the favour.

*** ~ [Nickelback - Gotta be Somebody] ~ ***
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Chapter IV - Act 15.1 - The Preliminaries (Part 3)

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Thiemo yelped in pain again. The torture didn’t want to end today. “I sincerely apologize, sir. I just don’t know what’s wrong with me today,” said the young mare named Fine Cut. She was a young unicorn whose pink flank had the symbol of a scissors as a cutie mark on it. Her blonde and pink mane was hastily bound into a bun with a couple thousand needles stuck in it, ready to pierce into Thiemo’s legs.

The human managed to plaster a small smile upon his face and looked over to Rupie. “Could you please tell me again why I have to do this?” He wanted to make absolutely sure that he wasn’t enduring all this pain for nothing.

“For the fourth and last time, Princess Cadance has requested for you to be adorned in the appropriate attire for the event since you are representing her in this tournament this year.” That seemed to be a pretty big deal, at least judging by Fine Cut’s reaction. The mare had jumped for joy when he and Rupie had entered her little store to commission a suit for him. As much as the Element of Generosity didn’t like to admit it, she had no experience in making clothes for other species. In contrast, Fine Cut’s store was renowned for being able to make something for any species. For Thiemo, it had been quite evident by the various suits and dresses for griffons in the store window.

Still, at least he had the freedom to choose what he wanted to wear for himself, much to the displeasure of the fickle fashionista who had then declined to accompany him. His eyes had fallen on a dark suit with a bright grey stitch, buttons made out of silver in combination with matching pants and a red shirt. He didn’t know yet if he was going to wear the tie. Perhaps a bowtie might work.

Fine Cut had commended his choice, though Thiemo could well imagine Rarity wrinkling her nose in disagreement. With that, it had been settled and the designer, who was now pinning the pants which she had created during half an hour of waiting, had immediately started to take measurements. Very exact measurements. She said that she had to use her hooves to be really sure that she was measuring everything correctly, but Thiemo strongly doubted that. That led to her having to take measurements through his jeans. It didn’t help that Fine Cut was touching his legs while she carefully placed her needles.

“I know that you’d rather have gone to the preliminary rounds to see Princess Amaryllis and Auralia, but this has to be done,” Rupie added and turned back to the fashion magazine he had found beside the seating cushion for waiting customers.

“Don’t worry, sir, we’re almost done here. Then you can see the rest of the preliminaries,” Fine Cut said and smiled up to him. As Thiemo looked down at her, she quickly averted her eyes and placed the next needle with a crimson red face. A needle that, of course, pierced into his calf. Thiemo winced in pain again.

“Don’t be such a baby. If you’d hold still, this wouldn’t happen,” Rupie commented without looking up. “And take your time, miss,” Rupie told Fine Cut. “His marefriend is with his foal.”

“As you wish, sir.” The next needle dug into Thiemo’s flesh.

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 15.1 – The Preliminaries (Part 3) ~

Just as Rupie left the room to take care of something, as he put it, Thiemo turned towards Fine Cut. “Do you really have to do this? My leg feels like Swiss cheese.” The mare, who obviously didn’t understand the comparison, just looked at him with big, emotionless eyes. Thiemo stroked a hand through his face and groaned. “Are we done here?”

“One more,” returned Fine Cut as she let the last needle disappear in the seam next to his left ankle. “Good, that’s it.”

As quickly as possible, Thiemo climbed down from the pedestal he stood on and disappeared in the changing cubicle. Waiting to be reunited with him were his clothes. He freed himself from the black pants, threw it to the outside between the curtains where Fine Cut caught them, and put on his loyal jeans, quickly followed the shirt, his boots, and then his coat. The latter had been fixed by Rarity that morning since she refused to let him leave while looking like a vagabond.

“Better,” Thiemo said and smoothened his clothes in front of the mirror. Then he began to look for Fine Cut or Rupie. His companion unfortunately hadn’t returned yet, and Fine Cut was neatly folding the suit and pants.

She noticed Thiemo’s look and smiled at him again. “I think it should be done by tonight.”
The human nodded and leaned against the counter Fine Cut stood behind. She disappeared for a moment behind a curtain that separated the store area from the work area and returned without any clothing. “Anything else I can help you with?”

Thiemo pointed at his own mouth. “What’s the deal with your smile?” The eyes of the designer widened, her cheeks once again turned red, and she averted her eyes. She mumbled something which seemed to be only meant for herself. Since he wasn’t going to get an answer, he decided to come up with his own conclusions. The most logical answer was that she found him attractive.

He almost had to laugh at that joke.

Ponies hated humans and didn’t even allow them into their country. The mare in front of him couldn’t be much older or younger than Lyra. Since the Crystal Empire had only been accessible for a bit over ten years now, which he had learned from Cadance, he very much doubted that there were ponies here who weren’t racist against humans.

While Thiemo mulled it over, he noticed a familiar feeling, and his head spun to the door where he expected Amaryllis to step through. His eyes widened, and with a very wide grin, he turned back to Fine Cut who shrunk at the look. “You’re a changeling, aren’t you?” Panic stood clearly in the mare’s face, and her eyes began to search for an exit. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“I have a visa!” she suddenly yelled. “Really! I have it right here!” Fine began to search underneath the counter while Thiemo watched her confusedly. “One second!” She was almost pleading. “Here…” She came back up and put a document in front of Thiemo so that he could read it. As usual, he acted like he knew what he was doing, took the parchment, and skimmed over the contents.

It actually was an official-looking document issued for the changeling drone Fine Cut. Instead of a picture, which would be rather pointless for a changeling, there was a sketch of her right foreleg with the exact position of where the holes had to be. Furthermore, there were things like immigration date, age, and so on. Thiemo had thought that the drones had no gender despite their voices which said otherwise.

“You know that I’m not a soldier, right?” he asked as he handed her back the document.

Fine rocked back and forth. “Uhm… I know. But we have to identify when we are being asked.” Thiemo just nodded. “How did you notice?”

Thiemo leaned further over the table and motioned at her with a finger to come closer. “First of all, if you suck the love out of someone, don’t look like you were caught with your hoof in the cookies jar.” He paused quickly. “But why? Isn’t there enough love in the air?”

Her face reddened again. “Each love tastes differently.”

Since she didn’t say anything else, he decided to leave it at that. “Secondly, ponies don’t really like humans. It really sticks out that you are friendly.”

She nodded. “But my job is to make clothes for other species. That wouldn’t work if I were unfriendly.” She had a point there.

“And thirdly, the love that you took was already meant for a changeling. Thiemo could only laugh as he saw her look of complete surprise. “I’m wondering how she’s doing right now.”

***

Amaryllis peered at the little filly to her left who trotted at her side. Unfortunately, Cadance had given an order today that made it impossible for Thiemo to watch the preliminaries, so now she would have to look out for Auralia. Since she had said goodbye to the others at the breakfast table, she had tried to think when she had already been completely alone with the filly. This, she had concluded, was the first time. Never had she said a word to the child of her coltfriend without him being there.

She had always dreamed of having thousands of children, just like her mother, but now she was already feeling nervous being alone with just one. How did Chrysalis and Echidna do that? The lives of thousands of their kin on their back? Amaryllis shuddered at the thought.

“Are you cold?” Ripped out of her thoughts, her look went over to Auralia, who looked up at her with large eyes.

Amaryllis considered what she should say. “No,” was finally the answer of her choice and left it at that.

“Why are you shaking then?” What should she tell her? Should she lie? Surely Thiemo had already told her one or two. After all, she couldn’t really say that she was nervous being alone with her. What impression would that make on the filly who had been entrusted to her? Not only by Thiemo but also by Applejack. “Are you nervous about the fights?” Amy had to keep it together to not thankfully fall around the filly’s neck for this escape.

But she had to play it cool. “I believe so, a bit. My fath… Shining Armor has put much of his very limited time into my training over the last few days. I think he at least expects me to make it through the preliminaries.” That wasn’t even a lie, even though he had never said it. It could be clearly seen in his eyes. If she could have read his emotions, they would have surely confirmed it. But as Chrysalis had taught her, the spirit of an alicorn was locked to them. It was the reason why Twilight Sparkle had even seen through her game, at least according to her.

Suddenly, Auralia jumped into her path, and they came to halt on the street. “So you want to impress your dad as well?” she shouted a bit louder than necessary, causing a few passers-bys to look over to them. Amy, still in the form of the white unicorn, just grinned awkwardly before she looked down to Auralia. “We should team up. I mean, I want to show my dad as well that I’m not a little filly that needs someone to look out for me.”

“And what do you have in mind?” Amy asked and raised a brow. It quickly went down again as she remembered Thiemo’s words about the gesture. Apparently it really ran in their family.

The filly shrugged. “No idea. I thought you’d have one. But if we win the preliminaries, it might be a really good start.” Amy thought to herself. Did she really want the recognition from her father? Without a doubt. She didn’t exactly know why, but she wanted the stallion who she had only known for a few weeks to be proud of her. How did Aura, who had travelled with Thiemo for so long, feel?

“We’ll come up with something.” Happily nodding, the young filly agreed and together they continued their way towards the stadium. It couldn’t be very far, but she immediately noticed that there was far less traffic compared to yesterday. Today, only the contestants that would have to fight, as well as their families, would be present. Twilight said she would come later, as well as Cadance. They all still had something to talk about with the others.

***

“That is… This is a lot to think about.” Shining Armor slumped down on the cushion and stared at the ground. Cadance was certain he was feeling the same way Twilight had when she had first told the younger alicorn about her other brother and his fate. But that wasn’t all. Cadance had decided to reveal the history of their race to her husband. The others who were present were silent. Rarity looked just as depressed and sought refuge next to Estoc, who had his eyes closed while his head rested on Rarity’s mane. The always cheerful Pinkie Pie was quiet and remained still, which said more than anything that could leave her mouth. Rainbow Dash reacted similarly, inspecting the others just like Twilight, unsure if she should say something. Fluttershy sniffled as one tissue after another was used. Applejack had pulled her hat over her face.

“I am so sorry, Shiny, I should have told you earlier,” Cadance told her husband and lied down at his side. “I know that this is a lot to stomach, but it is all in the past.”

“No.” Immediately, the looks of those gathered around the large conference table went towards the prince. “It has never stopped. The humans have been attacking Equestria’s coasts for months now. Raided camps and transports of all kind. And why? Because my mother didn’t want to tolerate them?” Twilight flinched as well at the words of her brother.

“Shining, I don’t think that mom would just do something like that. She surely had her reasons. And if I think about what happened during the Sibling War… She was right. The humans used magic as a weapon.”

“Under the leadership of Nightmare Moon, Luna, our aunt. Don’t you see it, Twilight? The alicorns are the ones who went to war. We have led our own race to doom. Fought our own family.” Twilight bit her lip. “We have… We have to stop this circle. If this keeps going, we are just heading for another war.” Shining Armor looked over to Cadance. “We have to establish contact with Ti.”

“Your Majesty!” Estoc jumped up. “You can’t be serious. Ti is a declared enemy of Equestria. Contacting them for the purpose of a support would be a hostile act against Equestria.”

“Estoc.” Shining grumbled the name so that the stallion immediately sat down. “You served under me in the Royal Guard. I know that your heart is in the right place, but you don’t see it. All this hatred against the humans won’t lead us anywhere. We have to do something before it will be too late.”

“I thought you hated humans?” Twilight asked.

Her brother snorted. “Of course, how couldn’t I? They raid our land, kill our soldiers at the coast and… they are cruel. But didn’t the same thing hold for the griffons?” Everypony present considered and eventually nodded. “And still we get along with them most of the time.”

“Maybe we should get Lyra?” Pinkie suddenly asked. “She’s super good with humans and probably knows a lot more about their culture than us. Or we can ask Thiemo.”

“No, I won’t let that little thief have a word in this matter.”

“Shining, I thought you just said—.”

“Don’t get me wrong, Twilight,” he interrupted her. “I don’t dislike him because he’s a human. I dislike him for what he has done. He is a liar, thief, and even a murderer. I don’t know why you trust him.”

“Blue Light,” Cadance said. “He trusts him, so I do as well.”

“How can the dead trust someone he has never met nor seen?” Shining Armor’s question was just. Cadance had never answered it to him as well, but she knew that she was right. She has seen the cutie mark on his shoulder. There was no doubt that there was a connection none of them understood.

“Who did he kill?” Rainbow asked curiously. “I mean sure, he’s trouble on two legs, I see that. But a murderer? I mean, he never tried to kill us, right?”

Twilight took over. “According to my mother, he stabbed a griffon pirate captain somewhere between Dragmire and Boarder and threw the crew who was loyal to him overboard.” Everypony flinched.

“T-That is… gruesome,” Rarity stammered. “What did the pirates do to deserve something like that? Aside from the obvious,” she quickly added at the end. “I mean, they were pirates.”

“If I would have to take a guess,” Cadance began and took over, “I would say that they tried to hurt Auralia. He loves the filly with all his heart. You could say that she was his whole world.” Twilight didn’t doubt those words for a second. After everything she had seen, she didn’t need to be an alicorn that could feel love to understand that.

“Well, at least Ah can be sure that Auralia is safe with him,” Applejack commented dryly. “Ah wouldn’t know what Ah’d do if somepony threatened mah family. Not after Ma and Pa.” Everypony present knew that Applejack’s protective instinct was very well developed. Apple Bloom could tell you a thing or two about that. What nopony knew was what had happened to her parents. Twilight had tried asking a few times, but the stubborn mare had always blocked her off. Big Mac didn’t even give one of his usual short replies.

For a moment, the room was silent. “I will write an edict. Someone has to take the first step, so why should that not be us? And while I am at it, I will call for Miss Heartstrings,” Cadance said to Pinkie. “She is an anthropologist and surely has a thing or two to say as well. Maybe I will send for a human who has lived here a bit longer too. Surely the word of another human gives more credence than that of a pony.”

***

Auralia stepped over the white line that marked the ring in which she would now meet her first opponent. Many eyes stared at her as she looked around, and for a moment she considered saying something to them. But she decided against it. She knew those stares. They all thought of her as a little filly that had surely just gotten lost. Even the referee checked his notepad multiple times but also said nothing. Then she saw her opponent stepping out of the crowd. He was a brown pegasus with cyan mane, who looked just as baffled as the rest of the contestants. Unfortunately, Aura couldn’t see his cutie mark, as he was standing directly in front of her.

“Uhm...” the judge began. “Are the contestants ready? Any more questions?” Auralia raised a hoof in the air. “Yes?”

“And I can really strike as hard as I can?” If she could still be able to hear anything from outside the ring, it would surely be mumbling now.

“Well, yes. The spell dampens everything quite well so that nothing more than some bruises should occur.” That was enough for her and she lowered her forelegs, ready to pounce at her opponent, but he had raised a hoof as well. “Yes?”

“Are you serious? That’s a foal! I can’t beat a foal!” he explained while he sat on his hind legs and pointed at Auralia with both forelegs. “This has to be a joke.”

Again the judge checked the sheets on his notepad. “I’m afraid not. The filly is correctly registered, has a legal guardian, so everything is fine.” The stallion snorted, which the judge took as a sign that he had finished complaining. “Then begin.”

Aura fixated on her enemy and did just like her father and directly charged at the stallion. However, he just flapped his wings a few times and was off in the air so that Aura slid past underneath him. Quickly, she stopped and looked around to see where the pegasus had landed again. “Umm… shoo…” he said and motioned to her with his hooves that she should get lost. In the corners of her eyes, she could see the spectators around her laughing, but that would soon be stuck in their throat. “Come on, kid, just get out of the ring.” She shook her head and the stallion rolled his eyes. “Or do I have to carry you out?” At his words, his eyes brightened, which had to mean that he had given himself an idea. “Come to uncle…” He slowly walked towards her with a fake smile on his lips.

This was her chance. She turned her back to him and waited. She heard him getting faster as he believed that she couldn’t see him. She felt it in the sand underneath her hooves as well. Then the moment came. As quickly and strongly as she could, she kicked out for the stallion who was approaching her from behind. However, her hooves only hit the air. Then she was suddenly pulled at her tail and raised into the air. “Hey! Let me down!” she shouted as she turned around and saw that the stallion had her tail in his snout. Thiemo had often done this when they met and had quickly learned that it wasn’t a good idea. Like a pendulum, she began to build up momentum, and before the pegasus realized what was going on, a little hoof cracked against his cheek with enough force that he did not just drop Auralia but went to the ground together with her.

They both landed on their backs in the sand, but unlike Auralia, the stallion was busy holding his badly aching snout. “Let’s see how you like this!” This time, she took his tail into her mouth. She began to pull, and with one quick throw, she sent the pegasus out of the arena. Aura just blinked and flinched as she heard him landing in front of the stadium. “Oops.”

***

Thiemo was still waiting for Rupie, who still hadn’t returned. Fine Cut had been kind enough to offer him some tea and allowed him to wait in her store for the soldier. “So you weren’t born with the tail?” Unfortunately, she had taken the chance to ask question after question.

“No. It is a mutation that I owe due to the radiation from a magic bomb test. If I get angry, I completely transform into a pony.” With a nod and without challenging the answer, she accepted it.

“So!” she suddenly shouted. “The pants should be finished then. Since you are still here, could you please try them on again?”

Thiemo rolled his eyes and put the cup of tea aside, grabbed the floating pants out of the air, and disappeared into the changing cubicle. He inspected it briefly. Unlike pants on Earth, there were only press buttons at the front to keep his best piece away from the outside. There was another button, this time a normal one, above the hole for his tail so he wouldn’t have to squeeze it through the small opening. It was a significant difference to the only slightly modified jeans made by Rarity, but a very welcome one. Thiemo considered if it would be smarter to wear these pants in the future instead of his jeans.

He jerked the pants and tried to close the button above his tail. “Ugh, now I think I know how women feel about bras.” And with that slightly mumbled comment, the pants were closed. In the same moment that he came out of the cubicle, Rupie opened the door to the store. A draft caught the curtain which then blocked his view as it hit Thiemo’s face. Confused by the loss of sight, he tried to reach out for the wall but only grabbed the air. He fell to the ground with a thud and felt as he struck something else, which then else fell to the ground. Quickly, one sound followed another: a shout from Rupie and a horrified gasp from Fine Cut. Just as Thiemo freed his face from the curtain, he saw a bowling ball, for whatever reason it was doing in such a store, slam on the loosened end of a board on which other end was a full pincushion. It flew into the air, where every single needle sprung free and headed for Thiemo.

The first one dug into the seam of his new pants at his right ankle, the second one next to it, and so on. One needle after another began to pin him to the ground until the last one eventually stuck at his left leg. Confused, he took down his hands that he had automatically used to cover his face and looked around. A single needle had dug itself into the crystalline ceiling but didn’t look keen on staying there much longer. He didn’t need to be a math genius to know with merely a look that he could cancel any plans for a future family if he didn’t get a move on quickly. True to the motto of women and Thiemos first, he left the damaged clothing piece that was shortly after pierced by the needle.

Thiemo looked over to Rupie, who just looked at him and had to hold back a laugh. It didn’t even take two seconds until the human noticed what was going on and covered his nakedness. “And that’s what all the fuss is about? I bet your mare doesn’t even notice you’re there with that puny thing.” Thiemo wanted to reply, but Rupie deserved to say that. After all, Theimo had hit him below the belt as well, literally.

Suddenly Thiemo heard another laugh, and his eyes wandered over to the store window. All he could perceive was a flick and a flash of light.

Chapter IV - Act 15.2 - The Preliminaries (Part 4)

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 15.2 – The Preliminaries (Part 4) ~

Thiemo sprinted past Rupie and out of Fine Cut’s store and looked around. A few ponies turned around to the human who had sprinted at high speed and now stood still in the road. “Eris! I know that you’re here. Show yourself, you cowardly chimera!” Almost losing a very beloved body part had gotten the human going. His face was red as he spun around on the spot. “Come out!”

The ponies around him began to whisper but were soon back on their way. Thiemo waited for a few seconds, but Eris was and remained gone. Sighing, he went back to the store and grabbed his old jeans out of the air that Cut passed him. “Thanks.” Quickly, he began to put it back on.

“Do you really think that was Eris?” asked the visibly nervous Rupie. His laughter must have died when his thoughts drifted to the creature of chaos. “I will alert the princesses immediately.” He quickly trotted to the door.

Thiemo, to put it mildly, didn’t care what his companion did. If Eris was here, that meant nothing good for him. The last time she had played with him, he had landed naked in a dungeon. He had to find out quickly what she was planning, and it didn’t help a bit that reality seemed to bend to her will. He would never figure it out thinking logically. And there were still the preliminaries.

“Of course!” Thiemo slapped a hand against his forehead. “The preliminaries.”

“Uh, come again?” Fine Cut tilted her head, as she thought she had been addressed.

“No, I mean I know where Eris will strike next. I’ll pick up the clothes tonight!” Thiemo ran out of the door again and past Rupie. Eris liked fights and the tournament was probably one of the most well-known one in all of Albion. Where should she be if not at the stadium?

***

Amaryllis flinched as the diamond dog slammed his fist into the soft stomach of the stallion who was his opponent. The crystal pony collapsed on the ground and moaned in pain. If there hadn’t been a spell on the arena, such a strike surely would have caused internal bleeding.

“That must hurt,” Auralia commented, covering her eyes with a foreleg but at the same time trying to look past it.

“Well, what did you expect?” Both Amaryllis and Aura looked around to the new voice. Behind them sat a dark brown unicorn mare with silvery hair who was eating a banana. She shoved the last piece of fruit into her mouth and gulped it down without much chewing. “This is a combat tournament after all. You don’t just get a smack on the flank.” Finished with talking, the mare threw the banana peel into the air so that it skilfully landed on her back. Amaryllis took a closer look at the mare, as she hadn’t noticed her coming closer, which was unusual. Ironically, a banana peel was on her flank as well. What really confused her was that the white in her eyes had a hint of yellow in them, while her irises were of a bright red. Something in her shuddered, but she didn’t know why.

“Excuse me, Miss…” Amaryllis began but noticed that she didn’t know her name.

“Peel, Banana Peel. I take my bananas shaken, not stirred.” The grin on her face was eerie to say the least.

“Uhm... what?” was all the princess could say. But then she realized something. She remembered a similar character she had already met. Pinkie Pie! That was the pink madness, but this time in brown.

Auralia stood up and patted her chest with a hoof. “I’ve already fought. I know that it isn’t that easy.” The brown mare rolled her eyes and looked past them.

“I think I am needed elsewhere.” Amy turned back to the arena, where the stallion was just carried out of the ring, having lost against the diamond dog. Said dog was greeted by howls from his pack as they waited for him at the edge of the field. The judge looked down on his notepad and called out the next two numbers. “Here,” shouted Banana Peel in a singsong voice and calmly trotted into the arena. That only raised another question for Amaryllis. How did she know that it was her turn before the judge had even read out the numbers?

Her opponent was a pegasus, who directly flew into the ring. He wore iron boots around his forehooves, similar to those that Cadance always wore, only that there were two claws at each end. Furthermore, he wore custom-made armour, also similar to that of a Royal Guard that Amaryllis had seen in Equestria. The difference was that it wasn’t golden but made out of a dark silvery metal. She could see the judge saying a few words to Banana Peel, who then turned her back to him and presented the banana which was still placed on there. Then the judge turned to the pegasus, who just shook his head. She would have loved to know what it was about, but the barrier was already in place. It looked like Peel was saying something before she prepared for the fight, just like her opponent. Then the signal came.

The pegasus immediately shot into the air to create as much room as possible between him and his opponent and to figure out the best way to attack her. Meanwhile, Peel just stood there and seemed to watch him with a bored look. Her opponent eventually took a sharp turn, just before he reached the upper end of the arena, and dived down at her. Forelegs with the claws stretched out and aimed at Banana Peel, he shot downwards, directly towards her. In the last second, the unicorn ducked and pushed herself off with her hind legs so that her flanks shot upwards and the banana peel was lifted into the air. The pegasus soared over her head and the peel directly landed on his face. With his vision blocked, he was no longer able to keep on course and quickly tried to get rid of the annoying trash, but it was too late already. Just as the peel was out of his face, he flew over the line of the arena. And to make matters worse, he landed in the sand directly behind it. “The fight is over!” resounded the voice of the judge through the megaphone in his hooves. “Number sixty six wins with ten points.”

With a happy grin, the unicorn mare rose from the ground and calmly trotted over to her opponent. “I think this belongs to me,” she said and levitated the peel off the ground next to the pegasus. She wiped it clean from the sand before putting it back on her back.

Amaryllis noticed how quiet the stadium was. Usually the cheering drowned out everything that was said in the ring, but now it was dead silent. As she thought more about it, she also knew why. The fight hadn’t even lasted for thirty seconds and all she had used to win was a banana peel.

“Wow! That was awesome!” Auralia exclaimed, waving her hooves around excitedly. “Did you see that? Taken out with just one attack.” Of course she had seen it, but that didn’t mean that she also understood what just happened. She didn’t have that much combat experience, but that almost seemed surreal. Something wasn’t right with that pony. She hadn’t even used her magic as one would expect of a unicorn. Her little acrobatic act reminded Amaryllis more of an earth pony than anything else.

“Wuha!” the changeling princess disguised as a unicorn yelped as the object of her thoughts stood muzzle against muzzle with her.

“So there is someone home. You looked like you were trying to stare holes into reality.” Again the eerie smile on her lips, only something was different. This time it gave her the feeling that this strange mare knew exactly what she had been thinking about. Only once had Amaryllis experienced something like that: during the day she had entered the castle of Canterlot for the first time.

“Eris…” she mumbled to herself.

“Did you say something?” Banana Peel asked and slightly tilted her head. “Do you want a banana too?” And with that, she levitated one of said fruits next to her and skilfully placed it on Amaryllis head in such a way that it didn’t fall down. “If you need something else, I’m gonna take a rest in the atrium. Ta ta….”

It took a whole minute before Amaryllis blinked for the first time again. A few other contestants meanwhile began to throw some strange looks at her since she stood there like rooted to the place with a banana on her head as a small orange filly was trotting around her, trying to wake her up.

Banana Peel had disappeared, or should she say Eris? She was almost certain that the unicorn mare was Eris. It surely wasn’t out of her capabilities to shapeshift into a pony. The question was rather why she had done it so obviously? Did Eris want her to see through her disguise?

“Amy! Amy!” Aura’s voice reached her ears. “Hey!” Then something hit her left foreleg, causing her to jerkily look down. The face of an angry filly with puffed up cheeks stared at her. “Finally. What’s going on? You suddenly looked like you were a statue.”

Amy looked up and around. “Nothing, it’s just…” Didn’t she say she was going to the atrium? “I have to go somewhere quick. I’ll be right back.” Hastily, she ran off towards the exit and left the filly with a quizzical look behind. Usually she wouldn’t do that – after all, she had promised Applejack and Thiemo to look after Aura. But this was an emergency. The last meeting with the draconequus still sat in her bones. But she wasn’t the same changeling as back then. No, she was a pony, right? This time she wouldn’t walk away with her tail between her legs.

She stepped down the stairs out of the arena and into the entrance room of the stadium, which was almost empty. A few other contestants had retreated back here as well to buy refreshments from the counter or to just be alone with their thoughts. At one of the bar tables stood Banana Peel, who was eating – as one might have guessed – a banana as a book was levitated in front of her. As Amaryllis came closer, she could see the title. It was the name of her aunt, written in strange cursive letters, which wasn’t that strange. It was more the fact that it was in English. Amaryllis could count off the ponies that could speak the language of the humans on one hand of her loved one. If she hadn’t been sure before, she was now.

Amaryllis stepped opposite to Banana at the table and waited for a few seconds to see what would happen. Also because she had no idea on how to start this conversation. “Can I help you?” the mare asked without raising her eyes from the book.

Since she hadn’t come up with anything yet, she decided to do it like Thiemo would do it: directly and like a bull in a china shop. “You are Eris, right?” It wasn’t eloquent or anything, but had its effect. Banana lowered her book onto the table and looked at her with an empty expression.

“Took you long enough,” she just said and raised the book in front of her face again. Amaryllis, who had gone through every possible escape spell during the time where she had lowered the book and said the words, just blinked. There wasn’t much else the perplexed princess could do.

“So… why are you here?” she asked timidly.

Eris sighed, folded over the edge of her current page of the strange book, and closed it before it vanished into thin air. “What do you think? I’m here to fight.” This time, it was the princess who looked at her with a blank stare. “Yes, okay. Not even I believe that, but it is true. At least to an extent,” she added and circled her hoof in the air. “Like many other countries, Equestria received an invitation for the tournament, including a reserved spot. Our all-beloved Celestia has asked me to fill it. And since Fluttershy is here as well…” She shrugged. “Let’s just say I didn’t have anything better to do.”

“So you aren’t here to make us trouble again?”

“Well, if you put it that way…” And there it was again, that grin on her face. “Maybe a little. Not like I didn’t do so already. But so that we can both keep our peace of mind, let’s make a bet in exchange for you not telling anyone who I am, of course.”

“Uh huh…”

“It’s simple really. If you manage to win the tournament, I will grant you two something fantastic.”

“Who else?” Amaryllis did have to admit that she was a bit curious. “And what do you mean by ‘fantastic’?”

“Well, you and your play thing, the human,” Eris explained and looked out of the large open entrance of the stadium. Then she raised her right foreleg and stared at it for a few seconds. “Mhmm, I think I need a new watch:” She shook her head. “Where was I? Oh right, of course. I thought that you two could probably use a holiday. So I just booked a cruise on the beautiful H.M.S. Earth.” Amaryllis felt her eyes almost pop out of her skull. Did Eris just say that she would send Thiemo and her to Earth if she won?

“But didn’t you say that that was…”

Eris snorted. “You’ve been hanging around with the pony folk too much, it seems. There’s a great invention; it’s called a lie. I should know since I basically invented it. Plus I already told you that I had been there.”

“And all that I would need to do is not tell anyone who you are and win the tournament?” Eris nodded, this time a soft smile on her lips.

“I take that as a yes?” For a moment, Amaryllis considered it all. This was all too good to be true. She didn’t trust Eris a bit, but she just didn’t see where the catch was. Her disguise was rather bad, and surely her aunt and the others would simply see through it, just like herself. Her parents would not be fooled either. For a second, her thoughts stopped. That was the first time she thought of Shining Armor and Cadance as just her parents.

Shaking her head, Amaryllis directed her thoughts back on the current subject. “Okay, I’ll play along.”

“Great,” Eris said and reached out a hoof to seal it with a shake. Carefully, the princess accepted the gesture and her white hoof touched the brown one of Eris. “And for the whole bet to work, you should head back into the arena. You’re up next.” Amaryllis’ eyes widened. “And remember, not a word to anyone about this!” Eris shouted after her.

As quickly as she could, she ran up the stairs again and into the centre of the stadium. Didn’t that mean that she would sooner or later have to fight against Eris? Or against Thiemo? And she couldn’t explain what it was about without revealing Eris’ disguise. “Buck,” she quietly cursed as she just barely heard her number being called.

***

Out of breath, Thiemo came to a halt on the wide walkway and braced himself on his knees. The stadium was not even a hundred metres away, and since it was still in one piece, not upside down, overrun with black vines or turned into a giant toilet, he still had a glimmer of a hope that he had gotten here before Eris, or that he was wrong. “Yep, no chance. She’s here,” he said to himself as he stood back up and stretched his back. His damp hair fell into his field of view while a pleasant crack came from his spine. “You’d think that wandering years over the planet would give you more stamina.”

He threw a look back at the houses of the city. The stadium was in the second ring, as Thiemo called it. To get a better orientation, he had named the districts of the city. The outer circle was basically the suburbs of the Empire, still in the shield but far enough on the outside to have enough room for all kind of plantations and fields. It also was the largest circle, spanning over many kilometres. The second circle he had named the Concrete District. It was basically various middle-sized buildings containing just about anything: apartments, stores, and even some small factories for jewellery, carpentry, or Fine Cut’s store. A good comparison would be a smaller Fillydelphia, only that the store of the fashion adept changeling was on the other side of the round town. “Well, maybe I’ve built up a bit of stamina.” Even if he had run through downtown, comparable to a small Manhattan made out of crystal buildings and the third circle with the skyscrapers, the castle, and everything, that would have still been a few kilometres. He was gasping for air, but something inside of him told him that he could run the whole way again if he really wanted to.

Taking a short break, he was able to get his heart rate and breathing under control. With slow steps, he walked the rest of the way down to the large entrance at the side of the stadium. It was nothing special and was barely different, except for the material, from a stadium on Earth. Similar to a hat with visor the canopy of the atrium was reaching a bit out of the oval body of the building, supported by a multitude of pillars. Between these pillars was glass that separated the ponies in the atrium from the outside. Only in the middle, between the two thickest crystal pillars, was a large door, also out of glass. Since they had neither handles nor hinges, he was sure that they were of magical nature. Thiemo had just been too lazy to check that.

Through the glass, he could already see that only a few spectators were out. A smattering of ponies and diamond dogs sat outside on the benches and enjoyed the sun. Others sat inside and ate what must be their lunch. Breakfast was a couple of hours ago after all, and Thiemo was completely clueless about how long he had taken on the way here.

He came to a halt in the doorway and thought about what the easiest way to find Eris would be. The first idea was to just call her by name and walk around the field. Either would she hear him or someone might have seen her. After all, no one could say that a strange dragon-snake-pony-whatever thing wasn’t suspicious.

Idea two was to search for her with his magical sight, but with keeping her power in mind, he didn’t really want to risk it. When he had been looking for Twilight and the others in the darkness after the fall into the archive, he had almost been blinded by the aura of the alicorn. He didn’t even want to think about how much it would have burned to directly look at her. No, the danger of looking directly into the sun would be too great.

Just as he was about to think about a new plan, something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. At one of the bar tables stood a mare who looked grimly at him. Nothing unusual, as she was a beige unicorn and therefore probably from Equestria and didn’t think much of humans. “Is she wearing a banana peel on her head?” he mumbled to himself since he had no clue on how to compute the visual input.

Then it struck him. A banana as hat? That could only be Eris’ doing. Surely the elderly mare was one of her victims. At least she looked like she was older, with her dark silvery mane. Even if she didn’t like him, surely she would like to tell the nice monster where the other monster had gone so that they could eat each other. With a smirk, Thiemo reached for his arm and went to draw Protes. When he only felt his own arm, he remembered that Aura now wielded his loyal staff. He would have loved to smack the self-proclaimed god of chaos over the head with the metal.

Without further ado, he headed towards the sullen mare and was about the open his mouth, but she was quicker. “You are late,” she said and snorted. “I had to wait here ten minutes longer than I would have liked.”

Perplexed, Thiemo turned around, expecting to see another pony who she had to be addressing But no, there was no one. “Are you talking to me?” he asked her and pointed his right thumb at his chest.

“Who else, or do you see anyone else here?” Hold on! He knew that voice…

“Eris!” he yelled. “What was that whole thing earlier about?! What’s your problem?” He took a step towards her, but before his foot could even set on the ground, Thiemo found himself in a cage. His face made acquaintance with one of the metal bars.

The pony in front of him giggled. “Ah ah ah, not so fast. Is that how you greet an old friend?”

“I wouldn’t even admit that I know you if someone asked. You’ve caused me nothing but trouble.”

“You wound my tender heart,” she said, throwing her hoof over her head in an obviously fake attempt to look hurt. “Isn’t it because of me that you are here now? That you had the time to get closer with your loved one?”

“As if that was your intent,” he murmured and tried to squeeze himself between two of the bars, which then just moved closer to each other, jamming him in between them.

“Is that important? That still happened thanks to me.” How much he would have loved to wipe that wide grin with a fist to her face. “So at least act like you’re thankful while I act like I care about your gratitude.” Just as she had finished talking, the cage vanished and Thiemo fell to the floor. Quickly he stood back up, with the help of the table, and stared down at the pony that actually wasn’t one. “So, do you want to smack me now or not?” Thiemo followed her gaze down to his hand, which was resting in the form of a fist on the table.

After a moment, he relaxed and put both hands flat on the table. “So, what do you want here? Aside from seeing the fights?”

“Oh, I won’t just be seeing them. I am the official represent for Equestria.” The human could basically feel all the colour leaving his face. If that was true, then it suddenly looked very grim for his victory. “Now don’t look so down. I also want my share of the fun, so I won’t go too hard on you. You know what? I’ll even give you some motivation. If you should win, not only the dirty princess give you all the raunchy love you want, but I as well. If you win, I will send you back home.” Thiemo raised a brow but lowered it again. He had been hanging around these ponies that it had become a bad habit. “Of course, I have a condition.” Of course she had. “Nothing overly dramatic. I’m not Celly or Lulu after all. Only silence from your part. You aren’t allowed to tell anyone who I am. I like this disguise and would hate to change it.” Thiemo let all her words run twice through every part of his head. “So, what do you say?”

“Or to put it differently, I’m not allowed to tell anyone about our little… bet either?” The grin sent shivers down his spine.

“Clever boy. Not a single word. And believe me, I’ll know if you talk. Or rather, Pinkie will know. Pinkie Promise.” She looked at him as if she was expecting something. It wasn’t his reaching out his pinkie. “No, you grape nut with marzipan. Say after me: Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” At first she drew a cross above her chest with a hoof, then raised it into the air and finally put it on a closed eye.

“Any reason you said that in English?”

She shrugged. “Not really.”

Sighing, Thiemo recited the oath, which sounded dangerously like something first graders would say on the schoolyard, and repeated the movements. “And that should keep me from talking? What happens if I still do it?”

“Oh, you don’t want to know. Trust me.” Eris raised her left foreleg and looked on it. “Oh, if you hurry, you can watch the rest of the first fight of your marefriend.” Thiemo turned away and took a step before looking back at Eris again. She had pulled a book from somewhere which was called ‘Twilight’, which only motivated him to walk away faster.

Skipping every second step, he walked up the stairs. In the arena stood dozens of contestants: diamond dogs, ponies of all kinds, and so on. In the closest arena to him fought two griffons. In the second one, a human was busy with a young dragon. He would have loved to see that fight as he hadn’t gotten the chance to speak with many humans on Albion. Meena came to his mind and maybe the old man in the bar. Aside from that, it had stayed with rather short encounters.

Since another fight was more important, he made a short sprint towards the last arena, where a couple of spectators had also gathered. He spotted Auralia between them and quietly stepped behind his daughter, who was too busy watching the events on the field to notice him. At first he couldn’t understand why, but then it became clear. Amaryllis stood against a dark blue unicorn stallion. On his flank was a dark circle upon which a white star was illuminated. The stallion was busy dodging one magic missile after another which seemed to come out of nowhere, while Amaryllis just stood there with eyes closed to keep her spell going. Even without his magic view, which would have been blocked by the barrier around the combat zone anyway, he knew what was going on. His marefriend had bundled magic into balls and spread them all around the entire field.

Thiemo knew that she knew a lot about magic and surely wasn’t unskilled, but what she was showing here took a lot of mental control. Compressing all that magic and controlling it was an enormous task. The missiles weren’t any different than the ones which usually directly came from her horn, but paired with the unpredictability of where the attack was coming from made that a whole lot more dangerous for her opponent. Surely an idea from Shining Armor. Against opponents like Twilight Sparkle or him, who could see the balls if he were in the arena, it wouldn’t be optimal, but against the ones who couldn’t see magic, it was more than effective. And she herself didn’t need to see it since she was creating the balls and therefore could feel them with her magic. To put it simply, it was genius.

The unicorn tried to charge at Amy after another barrage of her missiles, but was immediately under fire by more balls, some of which hit him. “The fight is over!” sounded the voice of the judge. “Ten points for number forty two and three for twenty one.”

Her opponent slowly rose back from the ground where he had gone down in the volley of hits. Amaryllis stepped towards him and helped him back on his legs. They exchanged two words before she turned towards them. As she spotted Thiemo behind Aura, her eyes widened and she quickly trotted over to them. Confused why Amy did that, Aura turned around as well. “Dad!” She jumped from the ground into his arms, and not a second later Amaryllis was leaning against him as well.

Chapter IV - Act 15.3 - The Preliminaries (Part 5)

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 15.3 – The Preliminaries (Part 5) ~

The group didn’t have much time to celebrate the reunion. Amaryllis only managed to exchange a few words before Auralia’s number was called again. “Watch carefully, dad! Now I’m gonna show you what I can do!” she shouted to him while running backwards, before she jumped into the combat field.

“You should really take a look at her,” Amaryllis agreed as she gently laid her head against Thiemo. “She threw her last opponent out of the stadium.”

The human looked at his marefriend in disbelief. Sure, Aura was exceptionally strong, but not that strong. “You mean out of the ring, right?”

She slowly shook her head. “Straight out of the stadium. Sure, he was a pegasus, but still…” Thiemo nodded. To be honest, he didn’t really have to time to think about that right now. In his mind, he still tried to become clean with himself about the deal that he had just made with Eris. Her words still resounded through his head, reminding him that if he won, he would get a chance get home. Emphasis on him, singular. Since his collapse in the archive, he had begun to get accustomed to the thought of spending the rest of his life on this planet. Having Amaryllis with him was a great help, just like his daughter. Other ponies like Cadance showed him that it was possible to have a comfortable life here. Meena had demonstrated how she actually had one. She lived in a herd, helped raise the foals of the other mares, and was a recognized doctor.

During his time in the tavern under Rolaf, he had thought about his career options during the monotonous tasks. He had seen and experienced a lot. He could write down his tales and try his best as an author. And if that wouldn’t do, he knew more than enough series from television that he only needed to slightly adjust. Suck it, copyright. Of course he could also copy inventions from Earth, but unfortunately he didn’t know much about how to build a phone or anything like that. It would also have to be something that couldn’t be done with magic. At the end of the day, that wasn’t so easy.

It wasn’t like his experience as computer scientist could help him. He had only spent a month on the job before he woke up in the ruins of Cervidas. And then there was only one apparatus in the Empire that could be called a computer, and he doubted that he still had access to that place after his little theft of the once confidential information.

All in all, he would have to start from nothing, but that hadn’t stopped him the last time, and at least this time he spoke the local language. However, it did not solve his current dilemma. In one thing he was sure: he would never leave Auralia or Amaryllis. But seeing his grandparents again… his sister… maybe his parents... It was just too tempting.

“Thiemo?” Amy’s voice reached him. “The fight’s already started.” Rapidly blinking like he was waking from a dream, he forced his concentration on the field where Auralia, like Amaryllis before, was standing against a unicorn. The yellow mare had a grim expression on her face and levitated a dagger in her magic. When she tried to hit Aura with it, the little filly skillfully dodged one attack after another.

“Come on, Aura, use your head. Block the dagger once with Protes.” The staff hung in its bracer form around Aura’s left foreleg, unused. If she did what Thiemo had just mumbled, the dagger would fall to the ground and she would have the chance to counterattack. Unfortunately, the filly didn’t seem to think of that. She dodged two more attempts by the mare to strike the filly with her blade, but now the mare stood directly in front of her. His daughter tried with a good old fashioned kick with both hind legs, but the unicorn was prepared and jumped a step back. Aura fell to the ground since she expected to hit something and braced herself. Before she could get back on her legs, however, she stood up on her own. The mare had managed to wrap her in a magical field, making her levitate. At her wide eyes, Thiemo noticed that she was feeling the magic-absorbing effect of Protest. Without further ado, she threw Aura out of the ring. Thiemo sighed.

With quick steps, he was at the place where Aura had landed. The unicorn mare walked past him, and he could clearly Protes’ cost. What confused him, however, was how she knew to avoid the staff completely disabling her levitation. Thiemo had realized that trick a while ago. While Protes basically nullified spells that were directed against it, it only sucked in the magic around it. So if you were levitating the bearer, Protes only sucked the magic out of the spell behind it. If the caster could fuel enough magic into it, the spell remained intact. But now the mare was one step away from collapsing.

“I hate to be thrown into the sand,” Auralia said and spat out some sand. “Why is it still happening though?” Just as Thiemo was about to reply, the voice of the judged sounded as he announced the points.

Taking it as a sign, he didn’t delve into his daughter’s question. “Everything alright?” he asked as he took her in his arms.

“Nothing is alright.” She pouted and averted her eyes. “I lost.”

“You still have one more fight ahead of you.” Slowly he went back towards Amaryllis, who awaited them with a smile.

“Well fought, Auralia.”

“Pah. I was bad…” Amy looked from the filly up to Thiemo, who was just shrugging helplessly. Of course, he could lie and tell her that she was good but her opponent was better. But he could also tell that she as a foal and simply lacked the experience and age, which would be the true. Instead, he decided to take a different route. Something that had been on his mind in the moments he had watched Shining Armor with Skyla.

“And why do you think you were bad?” Aura looked at him at first with an expression that said more than clearly that he was missing the obvious. But then she changed to a thoughtful look as she began to take the words to her heart. He carefully put her down, where she remained seated quietly, deeply in her thoughts. “Where were we?” He turned towards Amaryllis.

She fluttered her eyelashes. “I think here…” They leaned against each other and exchanged some kisses while Thiemo ran with his fingers through her mane.

“Hey! There are foals here,” a familiar voice interrupted them. With a dry chuckle, Thiemo turned around and looked down at the orange earth pony behind him. “How did it go?” Applejack looked a bit worried at Auralia. “She isn’t hurt, is she?”

“Only her pride,” Thiemo assured her. “She just decisively lost her second fight. She was a bit depressed, so I gave her something to think about.” He didn’t get along well with Shining Armor, but Thiemo had to admit that the stallion knew how to handle his daughter. He had no idea how much older the prince was compared to his sister, but the years clearly showed, no matter how many it was. Years that Thiemo himself was lacking. No one should be a father at twenty one or twenty two. Not that he was complaining though.

“Is my father here too?” Amaryllis asked Applejack, who was just waving her head in front of her daughter’s eyes without success. The mare pointed towards the tribunes where Thiemo spotted some familiar colours as well. Since they were at the third field, which was also the furthest away from the royal private seats, they didn’t have the luxury of talking with the others. “I’ll be going over to them for a moment,” Amaryllis announced as she went past the farm pony.

Applejack threw one last look at Auralia, who had come back to life and was kicking an opponent that only existed in her head. Apparently she really seemed to think about something like a tactic. “Listen, sugarcube, it’s about Auralia.” Judging by Applejack’s tone, it was something serious. “When Ah became her custodian, Ah was supposed to… well, ya know…” She pawed the ground.

“Sorry, but I’m not really familiar with the laws in Equestria, even though I was dealing with them a lot lately.”

“Right. Uhm, it’s just normal that a foal is given to an existing family here. Ya know, with a mother and a father.” Thiemo nodded. He could well imagine that something like that was normal. It wasn’t different on Earth as far as he knew. “With Twilight’s influence, I don’t have to prove anything yet, but… we won’t get around that forever. So Ah wanted to ask if it’d be alright if….”

“Hold on!” Thiemo couldn’t just believe it. “You want to say that we adopted Aura? We, as in we as a couple? Married?”

Applejack’s eyes widened. “What? No! Yes! No!” She took a deep breath and sighed. “Don’t get me wrong, sugarcube, yer a nice human and all, but… no. First of all, we earth ponies don’t marry. We leave that to the unicorns. That’s their thing. We live in herds.” Thiemo hadn’t thought about that until now. He had seen both marriages and herds on Albion. Diamond dogs lived in packs that usually consisted of some males and few bitches. Herds were usually a bit smaller, perhaps one or two stallions and up to six mares. Then Thiemo remembered what Lyra had told him about the history of Equestria, how every race used to live amongst themselves. It was easy for cultural differences to spawn there. “And secondly, not as couple but as herd partners.”

“What’s the difference? And more importantly, why aren’t you asking another friend? A pony?” Applejack eyed him strangely, but then shook her head as she remembered that he had no clue.

“Well, two ponies can be in a herd without ever being in love or gettin’ intimate. Let’s assume ya like a mare but she’s already in a herd. Ya could join that herd for her if the rest agrees. But that doesn’t mean that ya ever have to get intimate with any of the other mares.” Thiemo nodded again. What else could he do? “And now to yer other question. She sees a father in ya, and Ah don’t plan to take that from her. And Ah know that you care about her.”

Thiemo didn’t need to think long about the answer. “Okay, sign me up on that form.”

Applejack grinned, spat on her hoof, and held it out for Thiemo. “That’s how we seal deals in the Apple family.” He followed her example and grabbed her hoof.

“Ewww, that’s disgusting!” exclaimed Aura, who had watched everything from the side. “It’s bad enough that dad is always swapping spit with Amy, but that…” Aura stuck out her tongue while the grown-ups laughed.

***

“Amaryllis, up here!” Skyla exclaimed as she saw her older sister coming closer. Amy just had to giggle when she noticed the grumbling of her father as the young alicorn almost hung off his face to lean further towards her. Eventually he had enough and levitated her back on his back, whereas she quickly reached out her head past his neck and shouted and waved at her again.

With a nod, she greeted everypony present on the tribune. Aside from her father, there was her aunt, Rarity, Estoc, and even Lyra, though the latter was visibly staying in the back. “It’s nice of you to come here. Where is… mom?” She looked around but couldn’t spot the large pink alicorn anywhere.

“Mom took a detour through the market with Miss Fluttershy,” Skyla explained after a few seconds. “They wanted to buy something for all of us to eat.”

She had wanted to speak with her mother about the situation with Eris, without telling her anything of course. On the other hoof, wasn’t her father responsible for the security here? “Uhm, dad. Could I speak with you for a moment? Privately?”

Shining Armor nodded. “Sure.” He levitated Skyla off his back and onto Twilight’s. “I’ll be right back,” he said to her and flew down to her while Twilight was busy keeping Skyla from making a mess of her mane. “So, what is it?” he asked, looking slightly worried as he landed beside her.

Amaryllis got moving to bring some distance between them and the stands. “I’ve been thinking a bit and maybe, I mean only maybe… Would it be okay if I go on a journey?” Her father just blinked and looked up to the sky.

“If that is what you want, neither Cadance nor I will stop you. But I think we would miss you.” He really said ‘we’. “Especially Skyla and Cadance.” His gaze wandered back on her. “Why are you asking?”

Then Amaryllis got an idea. Not that this surprised her. Her mother, Chrysalis, had taught her for years to spontaneously come up with the best lies. She never was really good at it, but this lie was perfect. “Well, I thought that if I win the tournament, I could use my wish to go on a nice holiday somewhere.” Shining Armor raised a brow. “It’s not like the castle isn’t relaxing, but I was thinking about something like Hosstralia or maybe the Bridle Shore Isles.” She was just simply brilliant again.

“Why exactly those places?” She had thought of that already.

“My grandmother, Echidna, wrote about them in her diary, and I’d like to see them myself.” That wasn’t even a lie. She had read a lot in her grandmother’s diaries about the places she had been and what she had seen. “I don’t even want to stay there for too long.” How long would Thiemo like to be back on his planet? And what would he do with her when she told him about the present? “Maybe a month… something like that.”

The prince of the Crystal Empire rubbed his chin with a hoof while considering. “The Bridle Shore Isles shouldn’t be a problem, but they belong to Equestria. That means a lot of paperwork.” Amaryllis hadn’t even thought about it, but she was still a wanted convict there. “But Hosstralia is out of question,” he finished.

“Why?” she immediately questioned.

“Well, the attacks of the humans have increased. Equestria is positioning more and more soldiers at the coast. Plus Hosstralia is directly on the seaway between Ti and Equestria. I’m worried that you might get involved in the conflicts.” Amaryllis opened her mouth to reply, but her father was quicker. “And this isn’t one of the usual little adventures like that of my sister. I’m talking about a full blown fight. Even your little human couldn’t protect you there.” Both looked over to Thiemo, who was talking with Applejack. “What I have seen of him so far wasn’t too impressive either. He might be better than a normal human but nothing that could be dangerous to an experienced soldier. He’s been lucky to get through the preliminaries, but I don’t think he’ll beat the first round of the finale.”

Of course Amaryllis knew that Thiemo wasn’t the strongest there was, at least without magical aid. But she knew very well that he had an intelligent mind sitting on his shoulders, and even though it sometimes it produced a bit too much hot air than was good for him, it could also spit out the best ideas. After all, it was him who had gotten into a changeling hive and broke out of there or solved the riddle in the archive after taking out the robots. “I think he can manage,” she responded. “Just like he managed to bring us here.”

They watched how Applejack held a hoof towards Thiemo and how he shook it before they both laughed about something that Aura must have said. “You’re talking like Cadance. She also thinks there is more to that human than meets the eye. Apparently because he has a cutie mark that is similar to that of Blue Light.” So Cadance and Twilight had finally talked with him. “I admit that I’m sure there is a story to it, but I’m also sure that it is nothing that justifies giving him blind trust.” Applejack nodded over to them with a smile as she walked past them, back to the tribunes where the others were waiting. For a few seconds they both remained silent, and then her father sighed. “I’m sorry for being so direct. Of course it is your decision alone if you want to trust him. It is just that I’ve seen his darker side. I’m worried that if it showed itself again, it could be directed against you.”

At the end of the day, he was just a worried father, Amaryllis thought to herself.

***

The changeling princess once again stood in the arena. Her last opponent for today was in front of her. She had won her second fight using the same tactic as well. That lump of a gryphon that had stood against her hadn’t been agile enough on the ground to dodge her missiles, and as he had risen into the air, she only had gotten one more side from which she could attack. She had gotten her share as well, but it was the second time she earned the full ten points. It was something that, after she had seen many other fights, wasn’t so easy. Many of the other contestants spent minutes just staring at each other and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. No one charged in a mad rush into the fight like Thiemo or her. After the second fight, her father had explained to her that there may have been another element as to why they had done so well: surprise. No one expected such beginner’s mistakes in a tournament full of pros.

Her third and last opponent was a crystal pony that was completely wrapped in an armour. She couldn’t even see the eyes. To make matters worse, the armour not only blocked weapons, but also magic missiles. Shortly after she fired her first volley, the missiles reflected off the armour and puffed out against the magic barrier that surrounded the field. Now Amaryllis was on the defensive. Her opponent charged at her relentlessly like a buffalo and tried to ram her again and again. How was she going to land a hit if his entire armour was basically a weapon and didn’t count as a hit? She had to think of something quickly.

She jumped to the side again and the crystal pony in silver armour slid past her, trying hard to quickly turn again. That was the solution. She had to get him in the right moment and bring him over the edge. Why worry about single hits if there was the perfect opportunity to just throw him out of the arena? And she already had an idea how she would do that.

As the stallion ran past her again, since she had dodged again, she sprinted after him and threw herself with her full weight against him when he came closest to the edge of the field. Nothing happened. He was too heavy and she too light. Surprised about the turn of events, she didn’t react when the stallion rammed his shoulder against hers and threw her to the ground, which at the same time counted as a point for him.

Amaryllis rolled to the side as the stallion lifted himself on his hindlegs to bring the front ones with full power down on her. With a few jumps, she brought some distance between them and took a deep breath. She was exhausted. None of her previous fights had taken so long before and she had put too much power in the first failed attack than she would have liked. Then there was the constant dodging which also tore at her strength over time. There was still a bit of love in the air, but the supply was quite limited thanks to the barrier. It basically restricted her from resupplying from the Crystal Empire.

Too late, she noticed that her opponent had built up speed again and so she didn’t manage to dodge. They collided hard, and like a puppet, Amaryllis rolled through the dust of the arena until she came to a halt. When she opened an eye again, she saw him coming towards her again, but she also saw the dust in front of her muzzle. Without further ado, she took a bit of it in her magical grasp, pressed it to a ball, and threw it against the helmet of the approaching opponent.

The small ball of sand and dust hit its target: the little slit in the helmet of her opponent that allowed him to see the world around him. Immediately the stallion turned his head towards the ground and began to shake it to get rid of the sand, but he still didn’t stop his charge. Amaryllis rolled to the side and hoped that it would go similar to what Eris had done and her opponent would throw himself out of the field. It, of course, didn’t happen. The stallion stopped behind her and continued trying to get the dirt out of his eyes. Since he was completely covered in armour, he couldn’t use his hooves and so he could only shake his head. It gave Amaryllis a few moments to catch a breath and rethink.

She would have to end this quickly. The same trick wouldn’t work twice if he could use his eyes again. Maybe she shouldn’t have given up her wings for a weapon in case she wanted to use them. She was still in her pony form as a unicorn, but that she was a changeling should be her biggest trump. But what good would it do if she didn’t score enough points to get through? So far she had twenty and she would need at least four more to get into the finale after today’s preliminaries.

To put it simply, she had no other choice. She concentrated on the image in front of her inner eye and brought the runes into the right order for the spell. She had used her version of the spell so often that the normal shape shifting spell of the changelings was almost unfamiliar to her. Now she felt how the all-changing green flames engulf her body.

With a grin, she watched her new form. It was big, heavy, and with two horns on her head. She now had a brown coat instead of her previous one and four shorter legs than she was used to but which were perfectly suited for what she had planned. If her opponent could be like a buffalo, then she could do that too. She pawed the ground a couple of times to get a feel for her new hooves before she directly aimed for the stallion who still tried to get the sand out of his eyes. He stopped as he heard Amaryllis approaching, which wasn’t hard with her new form. He stopped shaking his head wildly and braced his feet against the ground of the arena, preparing for the impact.

No doubt he expected her to try ramming against him. What he didn’t expect was that it would be a buffalo that would ram into his side this time. The stallion had no chance. Like a cannonball, he rose from the ground and flew at an insane speed out of the ring. He landed with a thud a few metres out of the combat field where a few other contestants had just stood but fled as they saw the stallion flying towards them. Satisfied that it was over, she swapped back into her form of a white unicorn with the blossom on her flank, the only thing that she didn’t need to create. She hadn’t checked it, but she was sure that even her buffalo form had her cutie mark. Maybe she should do that later in her chambers.

Contented, she left the combat field as the judge announced her next ten points. With that, she had won three fights with a perfect score and her spot in the finale was secure. It was the maximum score after all. “For a few seconds I was really worried about you,” was the first thing Thiemo said as she returned to him. “Was a tough opponent. I wasn’t sure if I would have beaten him.”

“Unfortunately I had to shape shift.” They gave each other a kiss. Then Amaryllis noticed that someone was missing and that various other contestants were staring at her with wide eyes. She couldn’t hear what they were whispering about, but she could feel their emotions. Some ponies were scared while others were disgusted. About what exactly she couldn’t tell. Either it was that a human was together with a changeling or vice versa. It didn’t matter which of the two, all that mattered was for her to give Thiemo another kiss. A few months ago she would have wished that the ground would open up and swallow her now, but she was a different changeling now, a different mare. “Where’s Auralia?”

Thiemo nodded over to another field. “Her fight began a minute ago.” They quickly got moving and crossed the few metres that separated them from the middle combat field in the arena.

As they arrived, they saw that Aura was fighting against a griffon this time. He was acting less demure with her and tried to grab her with his claws from the air. The filly therefore pressed herself close to the ground and rolled through the dust and out of his reach.

Amaryllis and Thiemo watched the play carefully. “Can she win this?” the princess eventually asked. To be honest, Thiemo had no response for that. If she could manage to get the griffon down on the ground, she could surely score a few more hits. But the opponents in the last fight were thinned out far enough that most of them already had an idea what was awaiting them. Auralia had made the same mistake as him and had done other things when she should have been watching the other fights.

“The griffon knows that he is dealing with a physically strong opponent. He no doubt watched her fight—”

“Just about everyone here knows that. You’ll notice if a contestants gets thrown out of the stadium. She was lucky that he wasn’t hurt,” Amaryllis interrupted him.

Thiemo nodded and continued, “That’s why he’s making all the attacks from the air. Quick and many strikes. He wants to wear her down. I wouldn’t do it any differently if I knew that my opponent could take me out with one hit.” Just as he finished talking, Auralia didn’t manage to dodge the next plummet of the griffon. He grabbed her in his claws, whereupon she slid for a few metres over the ground. Lucky for her, he couldn’t grab her.

For a second, none of them moved. Surely the griffon was worried that he was hitting the foal so hard that he would be disqualified. Aura had the chance to get back on her four legs again. Only when she stood her opponent began to prepare for the next attack.

Thiemo could see the frustration on the face of his daughter. She was desperately thinking about what she could do, her eyes skimming over the field.

The griffon plummeted down again, directly at the filly. She saw him coming and reacted. She jumped on her hind legs and used all of her mass to bring her forelegs with as much power on the ground as possible. At first Thiemo thought that she planned to somehow hit her opponents head, but that wasn’t the case. Dust rose up, displaced by the force that Aura had created. With her orange coat, she was almost invisible in the sandy dust cloud.

It was too late for the griffon to slow down or veer away. He flew directly into the cloud with no chance to protect himself from any incoming attacks. A second, it couldn’t have taken any longer. Still, it felt like an eternity to Thiemo. Then the griffon came out on the other side of the cloud. In his claws he held Auralia, who he then proceeded to throw out of the ring. Quickly, the human ran past the other spectators and over to where his daughter had landed in the dust again. Her coat was a mess, and he could clearly see the marks at her side that the claws had left. Tears were running down her muzzle as he carefully took her in his arms. “I lost,” she sniffled.

The judge announced the score, but Thiemo ignored it and slowly went to the stands with his daughter in his arm. “We have a saying on Earth. It’s the effort that counts.” He gave her a smile and nudged her nose. “But your last trick, the one with the dust, was smart. I’m very proud of you.” Immediately, the filly wiped the tears out of her eyes and tried to grin, but it was obviously forced.

Applejack, who was already on the tribunes with the others, leaned over the railing down to them. “Is she alright?” she asked, clearly worried.

“I think so,” Thiemo said.

“I’m fine, mom,” the filly added. The mare sighed in relief.

“Then what do ya think about having some ice cream?” Aura nodded hastily and jumped to ground, pain and grief completely forgotten about the thought of the sweet dessert. “Ya can come to if ya want, Skyla,” Thiemo heard Applejack say as she made her way to the atrium.

Aura looked around to him one last time. “You can go,” he said, and with that she ran down the stairs, a little ‘ouch’ sounding up on each step.

“Uhm, sir?” an unfamiliar voice spoke up. Thiemo turned around and saw a crystal pony with a cap on his head, identifying him as a staff of the tournament. “Am I right in the assumption that this is your foal?”

“Certainly.”

“Then I have to inform you that she was disqualified. She broke her opponent’s jaw in the last fight.” Surprised, he looked past the official and back to the combat field. The dust had finally set, and Thiemo now knew what had happened in the cloud. Aura hadn’t just blow up some dust, she had basically blow up the ground itself. A pillar was poking out of the ground, and around it were more officials and the judge, all of them unsure at what to do with it. The tip of the pillar was lying next to it, probably cut off when the griffon crashed into it. He was next to it and was treated by a familiar figure. Meena was the doctor for other species in the Empire after all.

“Should I help with the pillar?” he asked quickly, and the pony in front of him nodded.

“That would be nice…” Not that he was doing it because he was nice. After all, it was their responsibility to keep the fields in a good state, not his. No, he rather wanted to inspect the pillar. How had the filly managed to do that?

Author's Notes:

Funny thing is, JBL asked me just yesterday if there will be a "harem" for Thiemo. No, there will not. He argued that AJ and Thiemo are pretty close, mother and father and so on. Yes, that they are, but only as friends. AJ is the only of the "Mane6" Thiemo would actually call a friend at this point. They came together because they both care for Auralia, but they ain't in love. I'm thinking about adding a total optional character at this point later who wants to be with Thiemo, but she is denied of course.

At the moment (11.01.15 18:44) I'm working on act 17.4. Finished 17.3 earlier this day. When JBL gave me the corrected chapter I realized the first time today that it actually was Sunday. Worked through the night while listening to Manowar. Would anyone believe me if I told them I'm a German Metal-head who normally listens to Rammstein, Hammerfall, Blind Guardian, Nightwish, and so on? Doesn't seem to mix well with "Smile, smile, smile" ^^

WACKEN!!! *ähm*

Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you find any typos we missed, don't hesitate to point them out. Until next week.

Thanks to Gron for translating this chapter.
Special thanks to JBL for proofreading and editing.

And give this story a try too:
The Elements of Friendship, Book I: Harmony

Chapter IV - Act 15.4 - Lightshow

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 15.4 – Lightshow ~

Thiemo stood in front of the large mirror in Amaryllis’ apartment that was located in the castle of the Crystal Empire. His attire didn’t consist of just his worn out blue jeans that was covered in more stains than the bed sheets of some teenagers, the tall pair of boots that Rarity had made for him, which could only be labelled as an air pollutant by now, the sleeveless white shirt (also a gift from Rarity), and his orange coat that was on the bed, having been brought to its limits during last night with his marefriend.

Instead, he now wore the new suit that Fine Cut had made for him. The dark red shirt felt like silk on his skin. The suit fitted perfectly – not too short and not too long, but was just right. The pants were wide so that his private parts couldn’t be seen through the soft cloth, but not so wide that they destroyed the concept. More importantly, however, they didn’t chafe him. To complete the outfit, Fine Cut had also given him a pair of shoes. They were simple black shoes, held together by laces and reaching up over his ankles, or rather just a sole with two rags at it which were then tied at his feet. They were almost like sandals, as his toes were exposed. Not that it would matter in the warm Empire.

Careful not to wrinkle it, he tucked the shirt into the pants and turned around one last time to make sure that his tail completely went through the opening and no single streaks were standing out. Finally, he reached for the black tie that was hanging over the bed post and began to tie a knot, something he used to do every morning when he still went to school. Even after all these years, the hand movements were still in his bones, and a few minutes later, the tie was hanging around his neck. “If I weren’t a xenophile, I’d do me,” he said to his mirror image. He put the hands in the pockets of the suit and began to spin in front of the mirror.

“Looks like someone is really fond of himself,” Amaryllis voice came from the next room. Just as Thiemo turned to the direction of her voice, she returned to the main room. “How do I look?” For the first few seconds, he fought the tears, and as cliché as it sounded, she truly took his breath away. She had already been in that room next door when he came here that morning after breakfast, which she had already enjoyed in bed. Therefore, Thiemo hadn’t seen what the mares in the royal saloon had done with her.

For a start, there was her mane which, instead of smoothly running down her body as usual, was now curly and sleek. With every slight movement of her head, the single streaks bounced like springs. Her usual sharp and crooked horn had met a file. Unnecessary horn had been abraded and left it looking simply elegant. Instead of a round base, as normal unicorns had it, it was rather oval and pointy. It quickly became thinner and more ornamental, but without looking fragile. Never had the human thought that a horn could do so much, but it gave her whole appearance a certain flair of danger. It was like he felt for the first time that she was the hunter and he, the prey, was trapped in her snare.

Around her neck, she wore one of those thick necklaces that Luna and Celestia had. Hers was made of a bright blue crystal, and instead of a gemstone, it had an engraving on it. A heart, the Crystal Heart as Thiemo noticed, with two insect-like wings going off from the side and the according horn on the top. The dress, which went over into the necklace, was of the same colour and laid tightly around her back and side, only interrupted by some holes for her wings. Fine, white strings were formed into twirls around her chest and stomach. The highlight was the long hem, again made of that bright blue crystal the necklace was made of, only that it was now made out of a myriad of tiny pieces. They were weaved together by invisible strings, making it look like magic made them conceal her flanks and hind legs.

With a wide grin on her face, Amaryllis slowly spun around to present the rest of her to him. To mask the hole for her tail, something Thiemo didn’t have to worry about since the suit was covering the base of his tail, she had coiled a simple, also blue to stay true to the design, silk braid. The single, curly streaks of her tail wound through it, which were also moving at every movement of her well accented flanks. To put it simple, she was a lightshow of violet, black, and bright blue.

“You look beautiful,” Thiemo managed to whisper with what little air that still remained in his lungs. He had completely forgotten to take a breath.

With a lustful look, Amaryllis slowly sashayed over to him and stroked with one of her will-trimmed hooves slowly over his suit, from the neck, across the shoulders, and down to his stomach. And a bit lower. “You don’t look too bad yourself.” They both leaned forward a bit so that their lips could better meet.

Just as Thiemo was playing with the thought of ruining the work of the entire morning by throwing his marefriend on the bad and satisfying his lust, the door to the apartment opened. “I hope I am not interrupting?” Cadance asked with a smile on her lips that said more than clearly that she knew what she would find in the room.

***

From a dark dungeon to one of the most luxurious suites that Thiemo had ever seen – he had really come a long way. Amaryllis sat opposite to him along with Cadance and Shining Armor. Next to them were Skyla and Auralia. When or how Cadance had found the time to let a dress be made for his daughter was a mystery to him. The filly was wearing an adorable purple assemble made out of ribbons, frills, and bows which held the cloth at her body. It was something that overprotective mothers would make for their five-year-olds when they brought their daughters to play in the park.

She hated it.

And Thiemo couldn’t hold it against her.

Her dismay was blatantly stamped on her face as she sullenly stared at the one who brought it onto her. In contrast, Skyla, who was wearing almost the same dress except it being the same shade of blue as Amaryllis’, loved the dress and the fact that it was the same as the one of her new friend, plus the fact that it had the same colour as that of her sister. The little alicorn had been jumping around them in joy for the first five minutes from the way from the castle to the chariot. Now she was looking out of the window and waving at the passers-bys who were surely also on the way to the stadium. Basically every citizen of the Empire wanted to be there for this event, and the ones who couldn’t buy a ticket would make themselves comfortable on blankets on the grass outside and watch the projections from the pillars with magical crystals that were placed around the stadium. They were the same that were used to place the protective spell over the arena to avoid serious injuries.

As Thiemo eyed his sullen daughter, he had to think about yesterday. He had inspected the earthen pillar and could not figure out how she had done it. There was just as much magic in them as in the rest of the ground around it. There was also no indication of any spell being used to manipulate the ground. How could it even be done? The barrier around the combat fields made it impossible for any outsider to intervene in the fight. Eventually, he had lowered it back into the ground with the help of an ember so that the remaining fights could go on without disturbance. No, much to his dismay, he didn’t have a clue. He had also decided to not tell her about the injury to the griffon. It wouldn’t change anything about her not making it into the finals.

“Why do I have to wear this piece of—?” Aura suddenly decided to complain as she again stepped on the hem of her dress, but stopped as she saw Shining Armor’s look, the prince knowing exactly what she wanted to say.

Cadance, who was playing innocent about the dismay of the filly, giggled. “Well, if you want to sit on the royal stands, you need to wear the proper attire.” This had been a surprise for Thiemo as well, as he had thought he would sit in the lower ranks with all the other spectators. Now, in some ways, he had been lifted onto a pedestal. Still, it wouldn’t be him who would be the one most nervous. Cadance would also announce the existence of Amaryllis today.

However, the princess in question was just calmly sitting there and staring out of the window as well. “Everything alright, Amy?” Thiemo broached carefully. She didn’t react. “Amy?” he tried again with a bit more emphasis. Slightly startled, she jerked her head into his direction. It was funny that both sisters were busy with the windows, each in their own way. But Thiemo could see much of Amaryllis in Skyla. He remembered when they had roamed the streets of Fillydelphia. Back then, his marefriend was similarly excited as the still-waving filly. “Everything okay?” The human noticed that Shining Armor had begun to follow their conversation. Ponies with their swivelling ears weren’t exactly subtle when it came to that.

“Yes, it’s just… I’m thinking about how the ponies will react. I don’t know if you noticed it yesterday, but after my last fight… I felt their disgust. I didn’t worry much about it – if anything, it just made me want to provoke them even more. But that was just diamond dogs and griffons, only a few ponies. Today is different. Half, if not all of the Empire, will see me today. What if they don’t like me too?”

Thiemo saw Cadance turning towards her, probably about to say something, but his mouth was quicker. “Then screw them.” Maybe not the best choice of word, as Shining Armor shot him a look that clearly said that he wanted to throw him out of the window of the chariot right then. Understandable – he didn’t want his foal to learn such words. But Skyla was with her head more on the outside than the inside anyway, still waving at the crowd.

“Who cares about what they think? You can’t please everyone, but if someone hates you just for what you are, then they’re wrong. I would know.” With that, he wasn’t even just talking about his time on Albion. “The history of mankind is basically full of that. We have killed, enslaved, and oppressed our own kind because of their skin colour or choice of religion. And I strongly doubt this has changed in the few years that I’ve been gone. There once was a man who managed to bring his wrong belief that it was right to treat others as lesser creatures because they are different onto a whole nation. Of course, not everyone was stupid enough to follow him, but many did so. So many that no one dared to stand against them, and the rest was so frightened that they didn’t do anything to not get into the focus of that group.” Horror, that was term that suited the expression on the faces of Cadance, Shining Armor, and Amaryllis the best. “So if anyone ever blames you for who you are, they should scram. Or else they will have to deal with me.” Thiemo had kept a straight face throughout his story, but now his face relaxed. “Like I said, I have experience in being treated differently because you are different. Things you couldn’t do anything about,” he added and looked over to Shining Armor. “And I will make sure that this will never happen to either you or Aura.

A smile slowly found its way on his marefriend’s face, but it was Cadance who softly laid a hoof on his knee. “Thank you for keeping your promise.” He didn’t know what she was talking about at first, but then Thiemo remembered the conversation they had during his first day here in the Empire. She had asked him to be there for Amy. Not that he had needed to make a promise. Now his thoughts circled around the offer Eris had made to him and let the words he had just said sound so much hollower, so hypocritical.

“We ponies have had such a time as well.” Apparently Shining Armor had found his voice. “Surely you have heard the story behind Hearth Warming, right?” Thiemo nodded. “Maybe… Maybe we are not so different after all.”

***

Something else Thiemo had never thought he would be doing in his life was to walk down a red carpet. Well, that was exactly what he had just done. From all sides, phosphor flashed, questions were shouted in his general direction, and various ponies tried to get autographs from Cadance and Shining Armor.

Of course, there also were questions as to why there was a changeling princess in the royal attire of the Empire and who exactly was that human at her side. Luckily, the foals were spared from most of it. Auralia had hidden between the legs of her mother during all this fuss, just like Skyla.

Of course, the reporters didn’t get an answer, not that Thiemo had any idea on how to even answer one of the questions. He was more than happy when they entered the stadium, using the swath that the crystal guard had made for them, and went up the stairs to the private area. “Oof, that took a lot out of me.” And with that, Thiemo dropped down on the seat where a card with his name on it was placed. “I’ve ran across two continents, but even marching for days wasn’t as exhausting as this.”

Only Cadance, who was elegantly lying down on the largest chair, responded with a giggle. Shining Armor and Skyla took seats to her left and right that were just as elegant as hers. “You are here in the public in the presence of a princess,” Rarity hissed into his ear.

He had almost forgotten the rest of their little group during the paparazzi ordeal. Twilight and her friends had taken an extra chariot and were behind them all the time. Now they sat down like him in the row in front of Cadance. Of course, the designer had made sure that they were also dressed in the finest gowns, but in Thiemo’s honest and totally not subjective opinion, none of them could hope to match Amaryllis. Not even by a landslide.

His marefriend sat to his right and looked from one stand to the next where thousands of ponies, diamond dogs, griffons, and many other species sat to watch the ceremony. Without saying a word, he took her hoof into his hand and just held it. A gasp went through the crowd, and for a moment, Thiemo thought that the event was starting, but that wasn’t the case. Ponies from the crowd were pointing towards the sky, and he quickly followed their hooves. Two gigantic dragons were quickly approaching the stadium. They flew around in a few circles and spat out green and red flames before they started to descend.

With a thud, they landed in the dusty arena, with their heads at eye level with the tribune where Thiemo and Amaryllis were sitting. The dragons bowed slightly. “My princess,” Spike said in a quiet, formal tone. That meant for his size that he could be heard clearly in the whole stadium. “We ask to be allowed to spectate the games again this year.”

Thiemo looked back to Cadance, who was still lying on her chair. The Empress of the Crystal Empire just nodded, whereupon Spike and Ruby bowed again before lifting themselves and plenty of dust into the air. The two dragons flew a few more circles over the stadium before they eventually settled down on the outer walls like two oversized birds. Thiemo had noticed during that scene that not a single crystal pony had batted an eye. The ones he had seen had rather been smiling when they saw the dragons approaching. “If they aren’t afraid of gigantic lizards that feast of gemstones and could eat their houses in a single bite, I doubt they will be afraid of you,” Thiemo whispered into Amaryllis’ ear.

***

After what felt like an eternity, the time had come. A single crystal pony in a very dapper suit entered the stage and went to the middle. He pulled something out of his pocket, whereupon the sky darkened. Her mouth slightly ajar, Amaryllis watched as the magical field around the stadium became visible and the sun be blocked out. At the same moment, the crystals that created the field also began to project what was happening to the outside for the spectators on the grass.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, friends from all around the world, let me welcome you to this years’ Hearts and Hooves tournament!” the voice of the stallion sounded through the arena. Immediate cheers were the response. The announcer waited until the crowd calmed down a bit. “But before we start with the opening ceremony, her Highness, Princess Cadance, has asked me to allow her to say a few words.” Amaryllis saw the flash of light in the corners of his eyes and another appearing in the same moment next to the stallion. Her mother had teleported down to him. Unlike her, she had decided to only wear her necklace to this event. However, that didn’t take away from her elegance as she quietly thanked the stallion and took over what had to be a communication crystal to transmit her voice.

“Thank you, Loudmouth,” she said into the crystal. “I also want to welcome every single one of you today,” she spoke in her typical warm voice. She had to wait as well for the cheering to die down. “I am here today to tell you a story. The story of a mare who thought she had everything in life. She was relatively young, a bit naïve, and engaged to the sweetest stallion she could have ever wished for. And as the day of her wedding came closer, she thought nothing in this world could do her anything.” With growing apprehension, Amaryllis recognized the story that Cadance was telling: her own.

“Never in her life could she have been more wrong.” The stadium went almost unnaturally quiet. “A week before her wedding, she found herself in a cave she had never seen before, trapped in the darkness without knowing how she got there. Minutes, hours, days past without knowing why she had deserved that fate. Sleep was not granted to her, fear dominated her thoughts to the point of desperation.” Cadance took a deep breath. “Only then did the face that stood behind her imprisonment showed itself: her own. Quickly she recognized that it was hers, but at the same time not. What stood opposed to her was so full of hate, hate and hunger, it could not be her. It began to tell her what it had taken from her, what she was going to take from her, and how nopony would ever miss her. That she would stay alone down there for the rest of her life.”

“The mare did not want to believe. She did not believe that something could be so cruel.” Tears ran down Amaryllis’ cheeks. She knew what her mother had done to Cadance but never had she heard her side of the story, how it had been for her deep down in the caves underneath Canterlot. “With her remaining power, she tried to fight, but she was too weak. She collapsed in endless desperation and grief as the monster left with a laugh, her laugh.” Cadance paused. “I do not think that I need to tell you the name of that mare, as she is standing in front of you today! With her head held high!” Cheering. “With pride!” The cheering got louder. “And stronger than ever before!” Not just ponies but also griffons and diamond dogs joined in the thunderous applause for the princess.

“The mare realized that she had to learn how to fight, not for her own sake, but to protect her loved ones so that this could never happen again.” Cadance turned towards the tribune where the fighters were sitting in the first row. “So remember, you brave champions! When you go into combat, you are not fighting for yourself, but for those that you want to protect!” The fourteen contestants stood and joined the cheering of the crowd.

“But this is not the end of my story,” Cadance continued, her voice steady. “That monster named so many things that she would take from her. Her loved ones. Her family, her subjects, her kingdom. Every of those things were like a dagger in the heart of that mare. Every one hurt more than the last. But the worst thing she threatened to take were her children.” Every muscle in Amaryllis’ body tensed. “That was the only thing that kept the mare awake during the long nights, not knowing if the monster had taken something that would have been hers. That was until one day when she received a letter that made her nightmare come true, but at the same time filled her with the greatest joy she had ever felt in her life. Yes, that monster had taken one of her daughters, but this young creature was on a quest for her origin, for her father, and for the place she belonged to.” The horn of Cadance glowed, and Amaryllis felt the magic of her mother engulfing her. In the next moment, she no longer felt Thiemo’s hand holding her hoof, instead standing in the middle of the stadium next to Cadance. Every muscle turned to stone, and she had to fight the urge to try shifting into a grain of sand.

“I, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Princess of Love, proudly presents to you my long-lost daughter. May I present to you Princess Amaryllis, Princess of Emotions!” She could not think, much less muster a breath. She almost felt every single eye that was on her. Thousands, thousands upon thousands of eyes. She wanted to do like Skyla and crawl underneath Cadance’s legs. Then it began. A few at first, then quickly spreading out like a wildfire. Applause and cheers. Everywhere around her. Everywhere she looked, she saw respect that was shown to her.

Softly, a wing of her mother lay over her back and turned her attention towards her. In front of her floated the crystal that she had just spoke through and slowly it came over to her. She wanted her to say something, but by no stretch of imagination did she know what. “Thank you…” It was barely anything more than a forced whisper that left her lips. “Thank you,” she tried again, but it wasn’t meant to be. Her mother hugged her.

“Welcome home,” she whispered into her ear again.

***

Amaryllis was still in complete turmoil when she teleported back onto the tribune with Cadance. Thiemo immediately rushed over to her so that she could lean against him.

The announcer had meanwhile taken over his job again, but the human ignored him. He softly reached with an arm underneath Amaryllis’ foreleg. Just as they went to return to their seat, she stopped. Without saying a word, she turned to Cadance and embraced her again. “I am so sorry,” Thiemo heard his marefriend say over and over again.

“Hey,” Cadance interrupted the sad tirade. “I’ve already told you that none of that was or is your fault.” Cadance buried her face in Amy’s mane and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “And now sit back down; the show is about to start.” Amaryllis nodded and staggered back towards Thiemo, who led her to her seat.

Twilight and the others looked at each other, slightly worried as well, but smiled when the young princess looked into their direction. Carefully, Thiemo helped Amaryllis to sit down before he sat next to her. “Everything alright? Do you need anything?” he asked, whereupon she leaned against his shoulder.

“I have never felt anything like that. All these ponies. So much positive emotions.” She looked into his eyes. “And all for me…”

Thiemo smiled at her. “I told you that everything would be fine.”

“But do you know what the most remarkable thing of all was?” He softly shook his head. “I could feel you out of all of them.” Cheering interrupted them and they looked back to the stage. The announcer was on his way out, and something that was coming from the borders began to coat the sand of the arena. Amazed, they watched how the thick liquid covered the ground over the arena and began to sparkle.

That’s… liquid crystals,” Thiemo eventually stated, but then the next wonder happened. It began to rain. Fine drops, coming out of the dark force field, fell down onto congealed crystal liquid. Every drop created a quiet tone, which he shouldn’t have been able to hear up here, but that was overcome by their sheer amount. And not a single drop fell on a spectator.

As quickly as the rain came, it died down again and only allowed a thin water film on the ground. “I present to you, Jewel Note,” the voice of the announcer said again.

A single flash of light illuminated a spot in the arena. In it stood an orchid-coloured crystal pony with pink mane and wore a tight leotard. She waved at the crowd before she pushed herself off the ground with her right hoof. Just as though she was wearing ice skates, she basically flew over the ground until she reached the middle, a continuous note being played all the while.

Then she began to move in small skips across the field. At every jump, a note was played, different than the last, but every one was recognisable as something akin to a water drop that hit a crystal. Every time she landed, a wave of light pulsed from the ground.

She spun on the spot with a grace that Thiemo had never seen in a pony before. One colour shot out after the other and traversed the ground, bathing the stadium in a prismatic sea of light.

A choir then kicked in as Jewel Node slid over the whole area of the arena. Her hooves left behind colourful trails in the crystal. She began to spin, bracing herself with a forehoof, just to spin again before going to all fours. From above, where Thiemo and Amaryllis sat, it looked like she was dragging the colours into the air with her hooves, colouring the air while creating sounds.

Eventually, the performance reached its climax. The voice of the choir grew louder. Accompanied by the rhythm of trampling hooves, Jewel began to spin even faster than before, building up a spiral of colour. At first they both thought it was an illusion, but then the spiral began to bend outwards and touch the tribunes, along with Thiemo and Amaryllis. Like silk, the colour wrapped around them.

Jewel decreased her momentum and made a few small jumps. The long lines of colour began to dissolve into bright sparks that headed towards the darkened sky and remained there for a moment, like millions of stars, before they went out. At that point, no one was looking at the stage when the dancer left it.

Author's Notes:

Another day, another time. Another flame that burns divine. Another word, another thought. Another sin, another hope, another reason to awake and live this life...

I freaking love music. Can't say that often enough. I think this is the first time ever I linked to a video. Thats only the song that I imagined to play to her dance. I first wanted this chapter to be much, much longer, but I decided against it. I can't torture my poor translators that much. We only saw the performance for the Crystal Empire, but as you know, there are many nations involved in this tournament. So originally I wanted to write them all out...

So... the next act, 15.5 was so long, that JBL decided it would be to much to release as one chapter. So we will have 15.5.1 and 15.5.2.

Yeah, I don't like it either. So tell the lazy dog what you think about that. I mean, in German it were only ~8k words.
Thats isn't to much, isn't it? See you guys next week and if you like, leave a comment

Thanks to Gron for translating this chapter.
Special thanks to JBL for proofreading and editing.

And give this story a try too:
Judge Luna

Chapter IV - Act 15.5 - Finals (Part 1)

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 15.5 – Finals (Part 1) ~

The time had come. Thousands upon thousands of ponies had gathered in the stands again to witness the first fights of the finals. This time, Thiemo wasn’t sitting amongst them. All the contestants had gotten their own room to prepare for their upcoming fights. Thiemo now sat in his own and checked every single gemstone again to see if they really were fully charged and the magic circles were carved correctly. During all this, his thoughts trailed back to yesterday.

After the opening show of the Crystal Empire, with its cheerful colour bursts and soft music, it was the other nations’ turn, each of them presenting their own show. Equestria had kept it simple and had hired a stallion to sing their national anthem. Well, not that simple. Harmony Note, the name of their representative, could hold a tone like no one else, Thiemo had to admit. From the first time he had opened his mouth, most of those present had moved along in time with him, mesmerized by his voice. Despite most of them being crystal ponies, even they had joined in the anthem. It was a simple piece that told of Equestria as a country of harmony and friendship, reigned by the glorious goddess Celestia. It was painfully obvious that it was written to exaggerate Celestia’s character traits and butter her up. What really caught Thiemo’s attention was that there was no mention of Luna, not even a word.

A clan of the diamond dogs had followed. The dogs had no own nation but were divided into various clans, as Twilight had explained to his confusion yesterday. Once she reached the point where she explained that a clan was a collaboration of various packs, he blanked out. He had learned that much from his interactions with them already.

The dogs had carried plenty of drums onto the centre of the stage. Just as the last one had taken his position in the circle, the twenty dogs began to howl before they let their instruments speak. As the mighty paws began to play the clan anthem that was accompanied by more howling, something animalistic began to rise from its slumber inside him. It was a hunting call, the wish to roam through the forests and stalk prey until it collapsed from exhaustion. It was rhythmic, the twenty drums were. At the end of the act, the dogs had turned around and used their massive tails to continue hammering on the drums in an ever increasing crescendo. Eventually they reached their peak, stopped the drumming, howled again, and bowed towards the audience.

The cheering had been great but not as loud as with the last two acts. They just hadn’t quite hit the ponies’ taste. In contrast, Thiemo had been impressed. Not only had it reminded him of a Native American war dance, but it also had an energizing effect on him. He had struggled for the next half an hour to keep his backside planted on his seat.

Then the second surprise of the evening came for him. Accompanied by a single beam of light, which again came from the darkened shield, Deerling came into the arena, her eyes closed while she held a bag in her mouth. As soon as she had reached the middle, she placed it down and took a flute out of it. She had sat down, took the instrument into her forehooves, and began to play.

Notes like he had never heard before escaped the small instrument and resonated through the stadium. Notes that recalled images in his mind. No, not only in his mind, he saw them with his own eyes. The large trees of Cervidas with their majestic shape. Trees that reached up into the clouds, higher than anywhere else in the world. Laughing fawns that ran through the high grass, playing with no hint of worry on their faces. Stags that sat, read, ate, and slept together below the branches of the forest. The wonder of life, of birth, and of death. No sadness. Harmony with nature and the cycle of life.

Suddenly he blinked and everything had been over. He had listened into the silence that followed the melody that had just enchanted him, but there was nothing. Of course it had been impressive in its own way. He hadn’t even been sure if a single note had ever left Deerling’s instrument. He had not been the only one. Amaryllis and the others seemed to have felt something similar. The deer had then packed everything together again, and Thiemo could have sworn that she had been grinning while walking out of the arena. Later he had realized that Deerling’s act had gone on for over an hour.

The final performance came from the griffons, and Thiemo hadn’t been let down by his low expectations. Oh, it had been impressive in its own way. Two griffons had entered the stage and stood on their hind legs, balancing with their wings and drew their swords. The special part about their blades was that they were split in the middle like a diapason, which led to every swing creating a sound. That, together with the dance-like movements, made it pleasant to watch, but in terms of atmosphere, it had been far behind the other performances. They just hadn’t been able to enchant the audience, which reflected in the applause they received. Aside from the attending griffons, who had loudly showed their respects with whistling, the rest of the audience had been rather calm.

With a sigh, Thiemo returned back to the present. He had to prepare for a fight. After the opening ceremony had been completed, the pairings for today’s duels had been drawn. In a few minutes, he would again face Hamson, the gigantic diamond dog. He had already felt his club and wasn’t keen on getting another taste.

He was still struggling with reading the extensive rule book that was next to his gems on the table. Unlike in the preliminaries, there was a time limit of thirty minutes but no score limit. The fight would go on until the time had expired or one of the contestants was unable to fight on. Rules on what attacks could be dealt to his opponents were outlined: no blows to the private parts, no choking, killing, and so on. Nothing out of the ordinary for what was supposed to be a fair fight. The other rule of interest was that only a registered weapon could be taken into the fight.

At that part, he took Legion into a hand and inspected the stone. “Good that we registered you, eh?” It had taken some time, but every single stone that made up his ammunition was scrutinised by the judges. Of course they found out what Legion was and that his slingshot was only a stick with some rubber, a loophole in the rules that Cadance had showed him, even if just indirectly. Thiemo didn’t expect that he would be the only one who had gotten that idea. Surely he would meet opponents that were holding back similar surprises.

No, that would be pure ignorance. “Sir? You are expected in the arena,” he heard through his door. He took a breath to clear his head one last time, then he grabbed his equipment.

***

He had expected thundering sound of thousands upon thousands of spectators that would be cheering. However, the combat fields were now almost completely cut off from the outside. The cheers were nothing more than a distant noise, like when you heard the ocean before you saw it. The only sound that he could hear clearly was that from the announcer, Loudmouth. “The time has come! The first fight of the final will begin! But before that, let me introduce the contestants!”

Thiemo had the urge to look up to the tribunes but couldn’t avert his eyes from Hamson. The dog, who was at least a metre taller than him, just stood there, ears perked while a solid flow of saliva dripped down into the sand around him. What unnerved him more than anything else about that was that the stupid look of the diamond dogs was completely missing. Their eyes met, speaking their own words. Both were sure they would emerge victorious, and neither of the two planned to allow the time run out.

“At the north gate stands Hamson the Giant! He comes from the vastness of the Broken Leylands, fighter of Alpha Behemoth and winner of the right to represent his clan today.” The announcer paused as the crowd cheered. “At the south gate we have Thiemo, the human. He has travelled here from the distant isle of Ti, studied in Cervidas, and trained by the shamans in Zebraica. He stands here today as the chosen champion to represent the Crystal Empire!” Again there were cheers, more than Thiemo had expected. The crystal ponies of course supported the champion their princess had chosen, but he didn’t expect the other races to applaud him as well.

His joy didn’t last long, as he realized why they were cheering. A human in the arena was rare, and this year there were even two. How often had a griffon challenged him or tried to get a piece of him, literally. The diamond dogs on Dragmire had never tried anything along those lines, but they were also a race where fighting was deeply embedded in their culture. For example, the next alpha was chosen by beating the former in a one on one fight.

“Contestants, get ready!” Loudmouth’s voice resounded across the arena again and brought Thiemo out of his thoughts. His left hand wandered to the piece of wood that was in his pocket while his right reached into the bag with his ammunition. Hamson did the same, shouldering his club and slightly crouching down, resting on his left front paw. Even with just three legs, the diamond dog was faster than him, something Thiemo knew all too well. It wasn’t hard to conclude that Hamson planned to score a few fast blows at the start as he did during their last fight. The question was just if he would throw the club or not. “Fight!”

The dog charged forward, as did the human. Both headed directly towards each other. The first thing that Thiemo heard from the diamond dog, aside from his heavy steps on the sand, was the growl that left his lips. However, he stayed on course against the colossus until they were only a few metres apart. His opponent suddenly stopped and used the momentum to throw his club at Thiemo. He had expected that, as he would have lost in a frontal crash. The dog knew that as well, so he had rather expected Thiemo to stop and wanted to beat him to it. Intelligence, when used incorrectly, could be your own greatest enemy. So he did the least logical thing: he didn’t stop. Hastily, he readied the first available stone from his bag, loaded his slingshot, and fired at his opponent’s face, but not without charging it prior.

Stone and club flew past each other, the latter landing behind Thiemo in the dust, the stone striking its target. With an explosion of fire and water, since he had used a lapis lazuli, the diamond dog’s view was blocked. Again his hand reached into the bag before he reached directly in front of his opponent and aimed again, but just as he was about to fire the sapphire, Hamson spun around and swiped Thiemo off his feet with his club-like tail.

Thiemo lost both sling and sapphire as he was thrown a couple of metres back and landed on his back. He didn’t have long to rest. The heavy steps of Hamson reached his ears again, announcing that his opponent had recovered from the hit. Hastily, he jumped back on his legs and a few metres backwards and to the side, and not a second too late. Where he had just been lying a second ago was where the club now struck the ground. However, he could no longer dodge the diamond dog. In full charge, Hamson lunged out with his paw and rammed Thiemo a second time hard enough to make him fly through the air a few metres. This time, Thiemo managed to find his balance in flight and turned the landing into a slide with his feet.

There was a momentary silence as both opponents allowed themselves a deep breath, but only for a second. Hamson charged directly at him again, picking up his club while running. Thiemo didn’t have much time to think of what Hamson’s tactic might be. The giant seemed to try to scare his opponent with his size and not giving him time to think. Opponents who fell back to their instincts often got into patterns, patterns that the dog could read. Additionally, he barely had the time to counter.

This time, Thiemo didn’t play along and dodged the dog with a sidestep, reaching for his bag and opening the loop a bit. Hamson immediately changed direction, heading towards him again. This move was risky but promised to hit his opponent hard if it were to be successful.

And indeed the diamond dog ran into them. During his evasion, some gems had fallen out of his bag, hidden by the sand of the arena, and now they exploded around Hamson. Fire and water formed a mixture of dust and steam. Satisfied, he took a deep breath, only to be hit by the club that came out of the smoke.

The wood struck his left shoulder and slammed him to the ground, whereupon he winced in pain. He had no doubt that it was at least dislocated. Gritting his teeth, Thiemo looked up from the ground. Hamson stomped out of the smoke. His clothes were only rags, his coat heavily scorched, and the skin underneath slightly burned, but he stood on his hind legs. His opponent’s eyes were almost piercing through his flesh as he continued to come towards him. If it would go on like this, he would lose.

With an aching arm that hung down like dead flesh, he stood back up. That he had time for that was a bad sign. The dog was giving him the time as he was certain to win. His right hand slowly wandered into his pocket where the stone that he didn’t want to be revealed rested. It was the second time now that Hamson would make him reveal his secret weapon too soon.

Legion roused to life, waiting for his order for which form to take. Since the stone began to glow, it was visible for everyone, even through his pants, which made the diamond dog pick up speed. He tried to reach Thiemo, but it was too late.

Thiemo held Legion in the air, and it splintered into a myriad of tiny crystals that hung for less than a moment in the air before forming a tall shield in front of the human. The dog, who had been running at Thiemo, slammed against it at full speed. It splintered again, but Thiemo’s opponent stopped and struggled to stay on his legs.

The splinters returned to Thiemo and began to circle around him, awaiting his next order. The training with his new weapon the last few days was really paying off. It was eating through his magical reserves like a fat kid massacred chocolate ice cream during summer, but he could keep up the different forms for about fifteen minutes, depending on how often he changed them. If Hamson smashed through the shield two or three more times, it would be over in five minutes.

His right hand grabbed his numb arm, and with a strong pull, followed by a painful hiss, the joint was back in its place. Thiemo’s eyes wandered around. They weren’t even five minutes into the fight and had battered each other so much that the end was in sight. The set time of thirty minutes was more than generous, as he noticed now. But he could plan and alter his strategy later. Now he needed to castrate a dog.

His fingers reached into his bag again. He took the time to find two sapphires, as Hamson still hadn’t recovered from the crash against the shield. It was an all-or-nothing situation for him, because when it came to stamina, his opponent was far superior to him. If the fight went on like this, he would collapse before the twenty minute mark was reached, which would be a safe round for Hamson. No, Thiemo had to knock his opponent out.

Thiemo activated one of the stones and sprinted forward. The diamond dog had just about managed to get back on all fours. With all his force, the human lifted off the ground and bent his leg so that his knee would make acquaintances with his opponent’s face, but again the attack was interrupted. Faster than Thiemo had anticipated, the dog grabbed for him, got hold of a leg, and used his own momentum against him. Hamson spun around and threw him back where he came from, the splinters of Legion following him. Quickly, he used the stone to stop himself, using up its charge as it crumbled into dust. Still, he slid for a few metres through the arena before coming to a halt.

Again they both stood opposite to each other and stared into each other’s eyes. Hamson was visibly battered, but he didn’t look like he would collapse anytime soon. Thiemo wasn’t doing so well. Legion was feasting off his reserves as did the many minor wounds.

***

“The human will lose,” Shining Armor said dryly.

“No way,” Rainbow Dash returned. “Haven’t you seen that cool move with the crystals? I say the diamond dog’s got no chance. Another explosion like that and he’s going down.” Rainbow would never admit it, simply because the human had bruised her pride, but he was strong.

“And I say that he doesn’t have the crystals to do that again. The move may have been smart, but it was a one time use. This is not a fight of agility but of pure strength and speed. The human may be exceptional for his species, but diamond dogs are naturally stronger than humans. And he isn’t just facing any of them. Even with his magic, he is weaker than him. Don’t get me wrong; what he tried was good, trying to end the fight soon since he has no chance in the long run. At least he had one now. But it backfired.”

“Never!” protested the small orange filly that sat next to her mother. “My dad will never lose to a dirty mutt.” Applejack coughed loudly and glared down at her foal.

“Exactly, kiddo. I say that your old man is gonna make it.”

“Don’t encourage her now, Rainbow!” Applejack snapped at the pregnant mare, who just stuck out her tongue.

***

Hamson swung his big club with as much ease as it would be with a flyswatter for a human. Thiemo dodged again with the help of the last sapphire in his left hand. He dashed over the dusty ground of the arena, his opponent close on his heels. From time to time, he sent some splinters of Legion into the direction of the tall dog. They pierced into his coat, but then no longer had the power to deal any damage. The spell that prevented any serious injuries to opponents limited its effectiveness, along with the fact that Legion simply wasn’t designed for that. However, it was the last plan that he had. The power of the dog was enough to smash any construct that he could form. If a shield couldn’t stand against him, how could a sword?

“Stay and fight!” Anger could be heard in Hamson’s voice. It was the first thing the dog had said and was, at the same time, a clear sign that his patience was reaching its end. Impatient enemies made mistakes, Thiemo knew that. The problem was that he just didn’t have the time to wait for them.

At the same time, he didn’t want to do what the dog had said. “Come and get me!” he just replied and skilfully dodged another swing of the club with a jump backwards. Again he sent splinters towards Hamson which pierced into his coat. The dog gnashed his teeth as he jumped after the human again, but stopped as soon as he noticed that his opponent didn’t seem to dodge this time.

“I’ve always wanted to do a monologue, you know?” Instead of answering, Hamson swung his club again, forcing Thiemo to dodge again. “Hey! You don’t interrupt someone who’s talking.” Hamson began to lunge out again but stopped in mid-motion. “I see you noticed it.” Thiemo just had to grin. The plan had come to him when they stood opposite each other. Most of the power of his swings came from the momentum he had. Physics 101. If he couldn’t move, then he would not just be as good as defeated, but also drained of most of his power.

Faster and faster, Legion began to grow like a second skin over Hamson, starting from the little splinters in his short coat. The dog, however, was not going to be passive. His muscles tensed underneath his coat and the crystals began to splinter. Unfortunately for him, it wasn’t so easy this time. The splinters that were still stuck in his coat began to cover him again. “Don’t think this little trick can stop me, you worm!” Hamson again tensed in an attempt to break the crystals on his body.

That was Thiemo’s chance. His opponent was busy and if not now, then never. Just as Hamson turned his torso slightly to shake off the crystals that had formed at his shoulders, Thiemo charged forward, amplified by his own magic and a sapphire. He had heard about the effect of a decreased view at high speeds on television and the internet but hadn’t experienced it himself. It was as though someone had just suddenly put blinders on his eyes.

Unfortunately, his opponent reacted and raised his club. Thiemo didn’t have a choice now, and so he jumped and lunged out with his fist. Bone met massive wood before the former pierced into the latter and finally went through it. Thiemo’s fist made contact with Hamson’s jaw, throwing the diamond dog to the ground.

Thiemo landed next to him, fighting to keep on his legs. Something warm ran down his right hand while he waited for his opponent to move again. “The fight is over!” Loudmouth’s voice suddenly sounded again, together with the cheers of an entire arena. “The victory belongs to the champion of her Highness, Princess Cadance! Victory for the human, Thiemo!” With these eagerly anticipated words, he crumbled down into the dust of the arena and stretched out.

He had won, against an opponent that should have beaten him. Hamson had more experience, training, strength, and stamina than him, and still he had won. A dry laugh escaped his lips, which was only interrupted as the face of a pony entered his field of view. The blue crystal pony wore a yellow hat with the sign of the hospital. He said something to Thiemo, but he couldn’t understand it. Another face entered his increasingly dim view, this time a familiar one. Meena stood above him and seemed to give directions while pulling out a syringe from a bag. Thiemo saw how she injected it into his shoulder, and then his eyes closed.

***

“That… That must have hurt,” Rainbow Dash stammered and grimaced in slight sympathy. “I mean, it didn’t look natural how his claws bent there…”

“Fingers, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight corrected. “And yes, it did look painful.”

“He’s going to be alright,” Cadance assured them. “The human down there in the scrubs is Doctor Meena. She is our local expert for foreign species, especially humans. Combined with a bit of healing magic, he will be as good as new tonight.”

“Well, that’s good to hear.” Applejack let go of the filly that tried to jump down from the tribune and into the ring as she saw her father collapsing in the sand. “See, Auralia? He’s gonna be fine.” The filly nodded but still tried to get a better look and stretched out her neck as far as she could.

“I still want to see him…”

Applejack sighed. She knew that a foal meant a lot of work. After all, she, her brother, and her granny had raised Apple Bloom together. But those two weren’t here now, and as much as she wanted to follow the fights, she knew that this wouldn’t be happening. Cadance seemed to have noticed that as well. “The hospital wing is in the east wing,” the princess said while she leaned over to the farmer. Thankfully nodding, she rose from her seat and began to search, with the filly in tow, for her father.

“So,” Shining Armor began, Skyla still sitting in his lap, “you gave the human an Arondight?”

“It’s in my discretion as to how I equip my champion.”

“You still haven’t explained to me what you meant when you said you trust him because my long dead brother, who I’ve never met, seems to trust him.” Cadance smiled down at her husband and snuggled against him. Then she gave her daughter a kiss on her cheek.

“Everything in due time, my love.”

The prince rolled his eyes. “Skyla, when I’m as old as your mother and start acting like this, please, please take the largest hammer you can find and smash me with it until I’m normal again.” The filly nodded excitedly while Cadance giggled.

“You don’t know how similar you are to Blue Light sometimes.”

“Mom, dad, there’s Amaryllis!” Skyla suddenly shouted and pointed to the arena.

Chapter IV - Act 15.6 - Finals (Part 2)

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 15.6 – Finals (Part 2) ~

All Amaryllis had experienced of Thiemo’s fight were the few emotions that she could catch after the shield around the field had fallen. Joy, excitement, but also pain. All in all, it looked like he had won. She would know more later, just like the other contestants, once today’s fights were over. No one was allowed to see the fights of the others in order for them to avoid learning their tricks. A simple rule, but everyone seemed to break it a bit.

Thiemo had once said that rules are there to be bent, not broken. If no one stuck to rules, then the world would fall into anarchy, something that no one wanted. No, you should bend them to your advantage. It was the complete opposite of what her mother, Chrysalis, had taught her. She said that rules were created by weak creatures to hold back the strong ones. Something she had learned in her time with the human, however, was that the weak ones also were a force to be reckoned with, simply by their encounter with the Elements. Not that the six mares were weak, but Thiemo had thought so. And indeed, in the beginning his chances had been good, only to then easily be overwhelmed by their combined power. Even the maxim of the humans in the cave had said so.

Of course she had thought about how she could see the fights. Unfortunately, she hadn’t gotten an idea yet. “Princess, you are up,” the voice of a pony came through the door.

The room she was in was small. A table, a seating cushion, and a small wardrobe for potential clothes and weapons, that was all. “I’m coming!” she shouted back and took a deep breath. Quickly, she went through everything her father had taught her, then nodded. “I can do this,” she said to herself.

She gulped and gathered all her courage before stepping outside. Just like the arena would be later, the hallway towards it was shielded from the voices of the spectators and announcer. Right now, though, the applause of thousands was roaring at her, together with the voice of the announcer. “And here is the first fighter of the second round! I don’t think I have to introduce our newest princess anymore, for her Majesty Mi Amore Cadenza has done that already. So I may proudly present to you the newest princess of the Crystal Empire, Amaryllis, Princess of Emotions!”

With her mouth slightly ajar, she stared into the crowd a second time. Again it was like her body had grown ten times heavier, but now she actively fought against it and slowly stepped into the middle.

“And here is her opponent! He escaped the distant isle of Ti a long time ago and for years has been a citizen of our beautiful Empire. At day a simple bank employee, but at night he transforms into a fighter. I present the second human we have in the tournament this year: Jason!”

Amaryllis’ eyes shot towards the other entrance where, as Loudmouth had correctly stated, a human stepped out of the dark passage and into the light of the grounds, also accompanied by cheers. She had seen a few humans while wandering through the streets of the Empire with Thiemo. He was tall, even taller than Thiemo, and maybe even taller than Celestia. On his head rested short, messy, black hair. His torso was wide from what she could see. His cold eyes locked onto hers from his angular face. In his right hand was a long blade that didn’t seem to have a handle or a cross guard. A hose connected the strange-looking swords with a large metal bottle on his back.

Unlike most humans, he was dressed similarly to Thiemo. He had black gloves made out of a strangely sparkling material, armour that seemed to be made out of solid textiles, as well with fitting pants and boots. As he slowly marched into the middle of the arena as well, the princess could see that something was dripping down from the sword. Her first thought was poison.

Loudmouth began to herald the start of their round, but neither of them were listening. The human had taken a strange stance. Both hands were around the handle of his sword that he held directly next to his head, the point pointed at her. “Give up and I won’t make such a big mess out of you, little princess.” His voice was deep and completely different than the rather high and happy one of her coltfriend. And he didn’t just sound confident, he seemed to feel it too. His whole being was focused on her, and to her horror, she realized that she didn’t have access to his emotions. Quickly, she remembered that Thiemo always let her in. Jason didn’t do that.

Then the sound died, much too fast for the princess to recover from the shock. The human charged forward, pulled away both her forelegs with one of his legs, grabbed on while she fell over, and threw her with all his force over the ground. She landed hard on the side, directly on one of her wings. She winced as she felt the membranes take damage from the sand.

She calmed her spirit again and forced herself to concentrate on the fight. However, the last opponents she couldn’t read the emotions of were the robots in the cave, and without Thiemo’s intervention, they would have almost killed her. She just wasn’t used to that.

When she opened her eyes again, the human was already charging towards her again, but this time she reacted in time and fired her first magical missiles into his direction. He stopped his attack to dodge and quickly jumped a few steps back. Amaryllis used to the time to get back on her legs. The goal of his attack was clear. Since she wasn’t using a weapon, she was allowed to fly. A place where the human couldn’t reach her with his sword, as she realized now. So she unfolded her wings and prepared to fly in the air.

“No you don’t!” the human shouted, again running towards her. A clicking sound could be heard, and she suddenly realized what the content of the large bottle on her opponent’s back was: oil. The clicking were two firestones that ignited it and now a burning sword was being swung at her. The loose oil was squirted off the blade into her direction and connected with its target. Holes burned into her wings, and faster than she liked, she met the ground. She screamed as not just her wings but also parts of her coat began to burn, her skin being scorched as well. Her natural healing kicked in immediately, consuming the love in her, but that didn’t dim the initial pain. The healing would also sap her strength.

The weakness of any combat mage was to not having enough time to cast your spells as Shining Armor had often told her. Now she knew what he meant.

Amaryllis managed to soften her fall, as she hadn’t gone very far up yet, and fired two simple magic missiles at her opponent. He was now moving again directly towards her. He ducked underneath the missiles and swung his sword again. Again the oil that came from the bottle disconnected from the sword and flew in her direction. She averted her face reflexively. The smell of burnt mane filled her nostrils. She couldn’t take another hit like that.

Angrily and full of pain, she screamed and erected a barrier. Jason reacted immediately, braced himself with a foot against it, did a summersault, and slid a few metres back. Amaryllis used the pause to take a deep breath and began to prepare her next spell. The human seemed unimpressed by the barrier and began to run around it, leaving behind a trail of oil.

As the first magical sphere formed outside of the barrier, she realized what Jason had done. The fire, which was burning around her, heated up the air, blurring her sight. She had a cannon now but couldn’t aim. However, that didn’t stop her from trying. She moved the sphere behind her opponent and began to bombard him. The first few shots hit their target, the back and the bottle of the human, but then he began to move again, noticing the source of the attacks. He couldn’t see the sphere, just like her, but the missiles had a clear origin. It had been relatively easy to hit a standing target, even with the disturbance of the flames, but the movement made it impossible. She couldn’t tell precisely how far away he was.

Immediately she began to form a second sphere, but something kept her from doing so. The air in the barrier was getting warm and stuffy. She didn’t have much time. Sooner or later she would have to drop the barrier to get some air. And even then it would still be a problem, as the fire around her was devouring all the oxygen.

***

Thiemo slowly regained consciousness. A numb feeling through his whole body was the first thing he noticed. Then the two small hooves that were lightly pressing into his side. His head fell to the side like a stone where he met the wide, grinning face of his daughter. “You’re awake!” she screamed excitedly and jumped on her hind legs. He just grinned weakly at her and began to inspect his surroundings. More beds stood behind Auralia in the crystalline room. Windows let warm sunlight fall into the room which otherwise looked sterile. An infirmary then.

“Water?” he gasped and coughed a bit.

“Oh, mom went to get some.” And just as if fate had decreed it, the door opened in that moment and Applejack, followed by Meena, entered the room, on her back a plate with water and glasses.

“Ah, I see our patient has woken up. You gave your daughter a real scare,” the doctor said with a grin and closed the door. Thiemo was too busy staring at the glass of water than taking it. Only when Applejack handed it wordlessly to him did he notice that his right hand was bandaged.

Quickly he changed to his left and downed the glass in a few, large gulps. “What happened?”

“The short or long version?” the doctor asked.

“The short one should be enough.” Meena stepped aside and let Applejack talk.

“Ah, well. The jaw of that diamond dog and the club were both harder than ya hand. Ya somehow… forced ya way through it?” Seeking help, she looked up at Meena. “She said that ya were lucky that ya only broke some fingers, not your wrist.” Thiemo was about to ask a question, but then he remembered where he was. Magic was, of course, the answer. What else? He had felt once already what healing magic could do.

“How long was I out?”

“Not long.” The doctor took over again. “Fifteen minutes maybe. You just really needed some rest since you overstretched your magical reserves. I don’t think I need to tell you that they are like a muscle. Physically you might be able to do more, but when it comes to magic, a unicorn filly would beat you right now in terms of stamina.”

Thiemo just nodded and tried to sit up. “So Amaryllis’ fight isn’t over yet? She was up after me, right?”

“Yeah, but…” Applejack began.

“But according to the rules, you are not allowed to leave this room,” Meena finished the sentence. “You know, to not spy on the other contestants. You had enough time for that during the preliminaries.” To not look stupid, he just kept his mouth shut, but his will to leave this room remained. Thiemo’s eyes wandered over to Auralia, who was browsing through some files on the little desk that was probably for the dear Miss Doctor. They both looked at each other, and after a short moment, Thiemo pointed over to the window. His daughter nodded and began quietly, at least as quiet as a pony on crystal floor could, to sneak across the room.

He got ready to start running as soon as the first breeze came through the open window to blow the documents and create the distraction that he’d need. So he was completely confused when she just shut the curtains. She was just a filly. He needed a new plan.

“Where did I leave…?” Meena’s voice drew the attention of Applejack and him on the doctor. She had bent underneath the desk and clearly seemed to be searching for something. There was plan B. As quietly as he could, the human got out of the bed and began to sneak across the room. Applejack followed him with a stern look, which he just returned with a smile. Then he disappeared through the door.

***

She had erected three spheres, her current limit. However, she needed air and soon. Amaryllis was already feeling dizzy, and her lungs were burning like the fire outside of the barrier. She was used to heat, but paired with the lack of air, it wasn’t really helping her current situation. Every once in a while she would fire a shot out of one of the spheres, but Jason managed to dodge each single one of them. It surely wasn’t that hard given that her view was so limited.

She had to get out of here quickly. She could, of course, shapeshift as soon as the barrier fell, but into what? A buffalo would be easy, especially since she had more than enough time to study their anatomy in the Broken Leylands. A pony wouldn’t be a problem either, but she didn’t have many other options….

In that moment, she noticed the two gigantic dragons who sat on the edge of the stadium like birds on a line. Without further ado, she decided to give it a shot. Amaryllis prepared to lower her barrier, knowing exactly how little time she would have before Jason would strike after her again. Still, the barrier fell. Heat, warmer than she had expected, overwhelmed her, and the last bit of air that had remained in the barrier just stoked the fire further. She couldn’t concentrate. Her hooves tried to find an escape, and her flight instinct overwhelmed her thoughts. Instead of a dragon, she turned into a bird and quickly rose into the air. Just after she left the fire circle, she turned back into a changeling princess who tried to gulp as much air in her lungs as possible.

Just as the oxygen circulated through her body again, she knew that she had to prepare for her opponent’s next blow. After all, he had waited for almost ten minutes for it. But nothing came. The human stood a bit to the side and stared with wide eyes over at her. No, not at her, past her. Her head turned to the back as well, where the hallway that had brought her to the fields was. However, it wasn’t empty as she had expected, for another human stood there and held a finger to his grinning lips, a sign to motion her to stay quiet. And all she could think about was how stupid she had been to not think about how few guards there were. She could have just transformed into any pony to spectate. Her coltfriend just stood there as if it was the most normal thing in the world, and no one seemed to bother.

No one except the other human, who stood there as though rooted. Amaryllis looked back at her opponent, who still stared at Thiemo as if he had seen a ghost. In her mind, she debated whether it was fair to attack him in this state. It didn’t go longer than half a second. All three spheres opened fire on the petrified Jason. The first barrage threw him to the ground, and then the rest hailed down at him. Out of fear of a serious injury that could see her be disqualified, she ceased fire a few moments later.

Jason lay on the ground, his bottle bent and leaking, the fire at his sword having died in the sand. The human jerked up and took a combative stance as before, with the sword at the height of his waist, again pointed at Amaryllis. One hand wandered to the belt that held the oil to his body, and the bottle fell into the sand, now useless with the hole in it.

Again her opponent attacked, now a bit faster without the weight on his back. The princess didn’t need long until she fired from all sides. The missile from her horn hit its target directly into the chest, while the next from the first sphere hit the shoulder. The human was stopped in his movements and went to the ground again. However, this time he remained there, shook his head, and slowly rose again, but this time without his sword. He held both arms above his head so that they crossed.

“I yield!” he shouted as loudly as he could. Amaryllis, who was about to fire again, blinked in confusion. The barrier around the arena vanished, the cheers drowning out all her thoughts and even the voice of Loudmouth, who had probably announced her victory. All the while, she could only wonder why her opponent had given up.

***

“There’s something fishy about this,” Shining muttered.

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked curiously. “Amaryllis had the control over the field, and the weapon of the human was destroyed. He couldn’t have won.”

“You lack the experience, Twily, but this Jason, whatever he is doing now, was or is a trained fighter. He dodged all of Amaryllis’ missiles and always kept the approximate position of where the spheres last fired in his mind. Someone who learned to do that isn’t a banker.”

“And what he did to her in the beginning,” Rainbow threw in. “That was an attack specifically against flying opponents. We learned to dodge attacks like that at the Wonderbolts so that our wings wouldn’t get damaged.”

“What do you think, Cadance?” Shining turned at his wife.

“He hurt my poor baby!” Well, what else did he expect? “Her beautiful coat, it will take weeks to grow back. And we will have to cut her mane…”

***

“Miss Peel, you are up.”

“Finally!” Eris exclaimed, already bored to death. It wasn’t like the two fights she had been watching through her crystal ball hadn’t been entertaining, but she wanted a bit of action herself. She had jumped up so quickly that she had almost forgotten to transform into a pony before opening the door. “About time,” she said to the red shimmering mare and began to follow her. For about three seconds, then she sprinted past her into the fields. “Yeah, yeah, I know I’m great! Thank you, thank you, you are far too kind!” She bowed and sprinted towards the middle.

“And there we have our first contestant. From our beautiful neighbouring country Equestria, here comes Banana Peel the Mysterious!” The announcer announced. “Really, that’s all I have on my sheet. But reliable sources have told me that she scored the maximum number of point in each preliminary match, so don’t get fooled by her cute and innocent look!” Eris could only grin.

“And here is the second contestant for round three. He travelled here from the distant Zebraica. We have Zende, youngest son of the chieftain of his village. The fact that he is standing here today already means that he has defeated every other warrior in his village. So let me hear it for such an outstanding young warrior!” Loudmouth paused to give the audience time to cheer, more than Eris would have liked.

“I hope that both contestants are ready. I know that I am!” A pause. “Soooooo fight!”

The zebra charged forward, and Eris decided to give her opponent a closer look. He was a bit taller than the average pony, but that could also be because of his mohawk. His colours were the usual boring black and white of all zebras. Around his chest, he wore a belt that contained smaller arrows, probably filled with various mixtures. A blowpipe hung around an extra belt, also at his neck. Hold on, maybe she should react. The zebra was directly in front of her and would hit her if she just stood there.

Suddenly, and without warning, she slipped on the loose sand, her hind legs shooting in the air, giving Zende an uppercut. “Sorry my dear,” she said with a giggle.

Her opponent stumbled backwards, and Eris used the time to inspect him again. He was muscular, as she noticed now that he was so close. And now that she was so low, he seemed to be well built elsewhere too. Too bad she was in some kind of relationship now. She liked Fluttershy too much to try anything. Although…

Ah, there he was again, trying again to grab her while she was still lying on the ground. “How rude,” she mumbled and pushed him with a bit of magic away. “Did no one ever teach you manners?” The warrior didn't reply but instead grabbed for the blowpipe and loaded an arrow into it. Eris couldn’t even blink before it stuck in her chest already. “Oh dear me!” she shouted and spun around on the spot before she collapsed. Confused, Zende checked if he had used the right ammunition and didn’t notice that the brown mare vanish in a quiet puff.

Only when a hoof jabbed him did he spin around and promptly slammed his face into Eris’ outstretched hoof. “What are you doing there?” She shook her head, pulled the zebra back on the legs, above her head and a few metres through the air. “Oh, I’m just so clumsy today.” The look that Zende threw at her told Eris that he had now realized that she was playing with him. Too bad, she thought she could play a bit longer.

The stallion had just loaded multiple darts into his blowpipe and took it into his mouth before running towards Eris. She just stood on her hind legs and almost danced as she dodged one after another. The last one was aimed at her muzzle, so she bent herself backwards as far as she could, her head almost touching the ground again. During the entire sequence, she was waving around with her forehooves to keep her balance. Zende, now directly in front of her, lunged out again, but Eris could no longer keep herself upright, this time literally. Really. She fell backwards, hooking her legs to her opponent’s chin and threw him through the air. This time, however, he didn’t land in the arena, but instead on the tribunes between some spectators. “Oops!” she just said and looked at her work. “That was an accident!” she shouted towards the poor, scared spectators.

The warrior was standing back up, but the field around the arena lowered and Loudmouth began to announce her victory. And she had such a nice plan. These mortals always had to have it their way.

Chapter IV - Act 15.7 - Finals (Part 3)

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 15.7 – Finals (Part 3) ~

Thiemo was sprawled out on the soft couch in exhaustion in Amaryllis’ living room. She basically had an entire apartment to herself, except a kitchen. During the entire time he had spent here, the human had learned to love the design. Everything had been too shiny and sparkly at first, but now he couldn’t get enough of the crystals. It was more like a car crash. Still, it had something fascinating to it. Especially since the coat of a crystal pony looked as solid as the table a few metres next to him, for example, but that wasn’t actually the case.

His mind was still going over the two fights that he had seen today. First Amy, whose wounds were still being treated in the royal salon, and then Eris’. After what Thiemo had seen from Jason, or so Amy had told him was the human’s name, he was no one to take lightly. No wonder he had won against a dragon. What still confused him was the way Jason had looked at him during the fight.

The door to the apartment slammed open. Thiemo jumped up and fell to the ground. “Don’t look.” Thiemo only saw black hooves dashing across the carpeted floor and heard the sound of the bathroom door as it was slammed shut.

“What?” The human stood up from the ground, dusted off his shirt, and reached for his coat that had been resting on his legs to serve as a blanket. He stepped out of the living room and into the bedroom, where the entrance to the bathroom also was, and carefully knocked on the door. “Amaryllis? Are you alright?”

Rumbling that sounded like the contents of a shelf had fallen onto the ground was the response that he got. “Y-Yes!” came the muffled voice of his marefriend through the door. Thiemo could only take a guess. Either they didn’t get it right in the saloon or…

This was as far as Thiemo got, as in that moment the door opened again and Amaryllis carefully looked out, just far enough for him to see her muzzle. “Everything alright?” Thiemo asked again and tried to catch a glimpse past the blocked door. Immediately Amaryllis closed it a bit further again with her magic.

“Yes, it’s just…” Thiemo sighed, pulled the door open with one strong pull, such that Amaryllis, who had been leaning against it, tripped forward and fell into his arms. The first thing that Thiemo noticed was the short mane of his marefriend. It barely reached down her neck. These few seconds were enough for the changeling princess to recover from the shock and stand back up. Pouting, she looked directly into Thiemo’s eyes. “It doesn’t suit me, right?”

Thiemo just shook his head in confusion. “What?” Her horn was engulfed in her purple aura, and something flew over from the bathroom and directly into Thiemo’s hands. The human inspected a collection of stitched-together papers for a few seconds before she flipped to one page and tapped on it with a hoof.

“There! It says that long manes are in this year.” Thiemo couldn’t believe his eyes. Not even in another world was he safe from these things. Women’s magazines, paper that printed one ideal that no ordinary mortal could reach. Well, his marefriend wasn’t one, but he wouldn’t say that he wanted to change anything about her.

Being the trash that it was, he held the magazine with his pointer and middle finger as far away from his body as possible and threw it out the open window. “That!” he said and pointed after the magazine, “is complete trash. Not worth the bit that it cost.”

“Five bits…”

“Five bits? Really?” Thiemo asked in disbelief. She nodded. “It’s not even worth one of them. If I could use both hands, I would have crumpled it up as well.” Cadance had sent him to the castle’s doctor after his return, who had cast another healing spell on him and gave him some ointment. His hand should be functional by tomorrow again. “Everypony is different; there is no set standard. You are perfect the way you are. How often do I have to tell you this?”

Amaryllis stopped for a few seconds. “Uhm… but I’m no longer who I used to be, right? I mean, a big part of me is missing—”

“Hold on,” he interrupted before Amy could say anything else. “Are you telling me that you thought I would no longer like you because of your short mane?” The red that gathered in her face was so strong that her head was almost glowing despite her dark coat. “Oh, you stupid mare you.” He pulled her head over to him and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “Who put such ideas in your head?” This time, she pointed at the window. “Oh,” Thiemo just said. “Well… you shouldn’t believe everything that’s written down.” She nodded. Since Thiemo now had time to think, another question was on his mind. “So, this was your first haircut? Manecut?” She nodded. “Why don’t you just let it grow back with one of your transformation spells?”

“Oh, that’s impossible. We can transform into another species, but we can’t change our own. Well, if I would do that I would no longer be me. And you said I should let the transforming be unless I really have to.”

“I meant that for the bedroom. I love you, not a different mare.” Again Amaryllis turned red, but this time it was her who pulled his head over.

***

Cadance snuggled further next to Shining into her bed, careful not to awake Skyla who was sleeping between them. The filly had been so excited after today’s fights that she had fallen asleep as soon as they had gotten home.

Shining Armor, who had been reading a report from his soldiers, put it aside and turned towards his mare. The report hadn’t been important anyway, at least compared to the question that was haunting him at night. “Cadance, dear?” he asked carefully and only got a hum in response. “How was my brother? How was Blue Light as a pony?”

“He was…” she began without opening her eyes, her snout slightly buried in her daughter’s mane. “He was a clever young pony. Similar to Twilight, in many regards. But he was also like you. He was definitely intelligent, without any doubt, but he lacked her talent. He was… clumsy, to put it mildly. And when it was about certain things, like choosing the wrong time to say something, then he always knew the perfect moment for that. His magic was never stronger than that of a normal unicorn, if not even less. He had always struggled with levitation. Oh, and he was afraid of heights. Very afraid. He didn’t trust his own wings.” She giggled. “We got into a lot of mischief back then. I remember one time where we were in the gardens after the gardener had laid out a new patch and the ground was wet. We played in the mud, threw dirt at each other, only to realize at the end that we couldn’t free our hooves anymore. We stood in the garden for an hour before the gardener returned from his break.

“We loved to watch the blacksmiths at work. How they smashed down the enormous hammers onto the glowing red steel, again and again. The sparks used to fly like little fireworks. On rainy days, we would sit in front of the large windows and watched the thunderstorms. Used to count how many times the lightning flashed, and when the mighty thunder came, a cold shiver would…” Her husband put a hoof on her shoulder. “He was my best friend, Shining. He was family even before we married.”

“Tell me more about him.” Shining didn’t want to torment her. They were happy memories, and since she had been recalling them so often recently, it seemed like the best way to blow off some steam. And for him to learn more about a brother he never had.

“I remember when we snuck into the guardhouse once to get their swords. We wanted to play soldiers. We waited until the change of guards and then prised the lock open.” Cadance giggled again quietly and stroked through the mane of the sleeping Skyla. “That stupid lock. We both tried everything, but none of us could use magic yet. I had only woken a few years ago, and Blue Light had just started his lessons. We hammered with our hooves against the thing, and he even tried to chew through it. I don’t know how many minutes we tried until he noticed that the key was hanging next to torch on the wall. So we finally got in, and right after we got our swords, we were caught. The new guard noticed the missing keys immediately and wanted to check if everything was in order. We were both grounded for a few weeks, which happened from time to time. I believe that was the time that he began to read. Or the other time when we…”

***

Thiemo stood in the dust of the arena again. Before entering it today, he hadn’t really spent a thought about his opponent. He had expected many things, but not Amaryllis. His marefriend stood opposite to him, a smile on her lips that made it impossible for him to perform even one strike. Yet his hands made contact in the next moment, her face giving in to the violence. She was on the ground, but he didn’t let go off her. Internally, he begged himself to stop. He wasn’t the only one. He could hear Auralia clearly as she cried for him to stop, just like Cadance and Applejack. But he couldn’t, no matter how much he wanted to. Again and again, his knuckles connected with the jaw of the mare underneath him. More and more blood splattered over them, the dust, and his coat.

His right hand lunged out for another blow again. A tear fell to the ground before everything stopped. Something cold touched his hand, which finally made him stop. Back in control of his body, he turned his head to whatever had stopped him. He looked up into the face of the lunar princess. Luna stood above him, a smile on her lips as she slowly let her hoof in the silvery horseshoe wander back to the ground. Her horn was glowing, telling Thiemo that this was a dream that she had interrupted. A nightmare. Relieved, the human crumbled down and looked around. Amaryllis was gone, just like the blood at his hands and his coat. All that was left of her was a dark puddle in the sand of the arena. Another tear hit the ground.

“It seems like something is troubling you,” were Luna’s first words to him. The princess carefully sat down next to him and laid a wing over his back. “If you need someone to talk to, I am here.”

He didn’t need a therapist to know what this dream meant. The face of the smiling Amaryllis while he hammered down on her had spoken a clear language. He betrayed her in a gruesome way. He had whispered honey into her ear while he prepared the dagger that aimed at her heart. And he felt like the piece of trash that he was. All because of a stupid bet. All to bring his soul, his conscience to peace. Despite the surprisingly wise words of Night Hawk, Thiemo was still far away from forgetting what he had done to reach his goal of finding a way back home. And now, with Zarni and Deerling here, it seemed like the past was catching up to him. He was the top of a card house, from which the cards at the bottom were slowly but steadily taken away, one by one.

He didn’t need anyone to talk to; he didn’t need anyone to listen. He needed someone who could understand him. Someone who was just there. This someone had come and broken the barrier. Tears ran down his cheeks while the wing of the princess again and again ran across his back. “I just don’t know what to do,” he whimpered. “It’s all too much, it’s…” That was all he could say.

“Shhhh.” Luna gave the agitated human next to her a squeeze. She just sat next to him while Thiemo let his emotions catch up to him. For the human, it could have been hours, but he had no idea. After what felt like an eternity, the tears finally stopped and he began to dry his face with both hands.

“Thanks, Luna,” he eventually said. “Although it was probably not the reason you came.”

“No, but I am happy to help,” she replied with a smile and slowly pulled back her wing. “And you really do not want to talk about it?”

He shook his head. “No. I know where my mistakes lie, that’s not the problem. It is rather about living with them.” Luna nodded.

“A fate that we share.”

***

Again Thiemo stood in the dust of the arena. Before entering it today, he hadn’t really spent a thought on his opponent. Luna had distracted him too much in his sleep and afterwards for that. The conversation with the princess followed him around all morning. He had so many questions for her, but he didn’t get to ask a single one. Rather the opposite had been case, for he had even more now. Millions of souls lived on this planet, so why was the Princess of the Night so fixated on him? At first he had waved it off with the reason that he had to open the chamber for Amaryllis and perhaps also Twilight. However, by now it was clear that it was meant for his eyes too. There was a connection that troubled him a lot. It meant that it wasn’t a coincidence that he was here. He had dismissed those thoughts because Meena had been teleported here from Earth as well. But there was still the cutie mark on his shoulder. It was an uncomfortable thought that he had to get used to now. Also, there were more important things to concentrate on currently.

Opposite him was Entlas, Deerling’s fiancé. Slightly torn ribbons were on his horns, his thin armour seemingly made out of a leather-like material. Deerling wasn’t sitting far away from Auralia and Amaryllis in the royal seats. After all, she was one of Cadance’s guests.

Loudmouth gave his usual fare and the shield rose, noticeable by the vanishing of the sounds of the spectators. Thiemo had bound Legion with a golden chain to his left hand so that he no longer had to search for the stone. The rest, about three sapphires and lapis lazuli, all which remained from the fight against Hamson, was in his bag as usual. He had made a critical error. Thiemo had forgotten that he couldn’t register any new weapons as soon as the finale began, including ammunition. This only left him with his shapeshifting weapon, the enhancement through his own magic, and a maximum of twelve spells that he had to ration over the upcoming fights. He could only hope that Entlas proved to be a lesser problem than Hamson.

The stag was already approaching the fight completely different, and Thiemo remained patient as well. This time, none of them were charging forward. Not that Thiemo had planned to – he remembered how well the stag could block with his crown. All that would happen would be giving him some free shots. “So we finally meet, oh great Bananarama.”

“Looks like it.” Thiemo had no idea how to react. The sarcasm was clear. But to be honest, he wasn’t really out for a duel of words.

“Did you really think you could fool everyone, human? I know what you are, and I know that you exposed our king to ridicule.” To say that Thiemo was perplexed would be an understatement. “I hoped to meet you here when my loved one showed me the letter of her Majesty Mi Amore Cadenza. You have damaged her reputation as well.”

Thiemo blinked. When did Entlas began to move? He had taken a few steps towards him already. Thiemo cursed himself as he realized what was going on here. It was the same as with Deerling’s performance. Somehow Entlas had hypnotized him. Thiemo had no chance but to attack. Concentrating magic into his feet, he sprinted with the power of an earth pony through the dust of the arena and towards the stag, who just calmly remained in his position. Something was wrong. Legion parted from the chain, and hundreds of little splinters suddenly formed a sword in his right hand. But instead of lunging out, he blocked.

The illusion faded as the blade hit Entlas’ crown. It hadn’t been large, but he had almost run directly into it. Entlas had ducked and had Thiemo lunged out, he would have gotten a hit in the stomach instead. He pushed himself away and slid backwards, his weapon still pointed at his opponent. Thiemo swapped his view, but he couldn’t see any magic. Nothing the stag was doing could have such an effect, at least to what he knew. “What’s the matter, human? Giving up already?” It was like his legs were growing heavier and his will to fight was slowly fading. Thick clouds hung over his thoughts. Attack, he still knew that. “Come on, show me what the great ape god can do.”

The solution was on his tongue, but it just wouldn’t come. So Thiemo did what he could and attacked. Again he charged at Entlas and brought his sword down on him. It went horizontally through the stag and suddenly he was gone. In the same moment, and just as suddenly, something rammed into his side and caused him to slide a few metres over the ground. The pain of the possible bruised rib and the slide cleared the clouds around his head far enough for Thiemo to realize that he was fully caught in Entlas illusion. But it was a mystery to him how he did that. All that the stag had done was talk.

Talking. There was something about that word, but before Thiemo could finish that thought, he felt antlers as they dug his lying body up and threw him into the air. Legion lost its form, changed back into the gemstone, and fell out of his hand. Then he was thrown with full force into the ground. For a moment Thiemo’s view turned black. How much easier would it be to just remain there, and for a moment, he played with that thought. His view returned, and he looked up into the face of his opponent that was smugly looking back down at him.

Something in Thiemo moved. He didn’t want to give the victory to this smug asshole. Just like he didn’t want to give him anything else. That was the stag that Deerling had rejected him for. He should be mad, even though he wouldn’t have met his daughter and Amaryllis otherwise. He should be seething with rage and unleashing it on his opponent. Thiemo could slap himself. And that was what he did. He raised his hand and slapped himself hard on the cheek.

The world around him began to change. Suddenly he stood back where the fight had begun. His feet were as light as he was used to and his head was free from the blockade. Only his cheek was hurting a bit.

Entlas sat opposed to him with a grin and pointed at the clock and the counter. There wasn’t even five minutes left, and the stag had scored one hundred twenty points. He must have hit him lightly while he was trapped in the hypnosis. But now he had a rough idea what had happened. Nothing. It wasn’t Entlas who hypnotized him; it had been Deerling during the opening ceremony. They had cheated, started the fight before him. And surely he wasn’t the only one. Somehow they had programmed trigger words into him.

“It doesn’t matter that you broke the illusion. You will never defeat me in five minutes.” And there was that grin again. But Thiemo didn’t bother about that. He pulled a sapphire out of his bag and charged forward. Entlas prepared for a frontal attack, but that wasn’t what Thiemo had in mind. He stopped directly in front of the stag again, creating a cloud of dust that engulfed them both.

“Two can play that game.” Thiemo changed his view. Even though the stag had nearly no magic in his body, the ground, and therefore the dust, did. Entlas was a dark spot in his view. A spot that he planned to wipe away. “What the judges don’t know won’t hurt them, right?” Thiemo could see that Entlas was turning to the direction of his voice, but that was the intent of his words. He used the remaining charge of the sapphire and jumped over the stag, kicking where it hurt the most. Entlas screaming in pain as his private parts were struck. There had to be a reason that there was a rule against that despite the shield. His opponent crumbled down and Thiemo stood above him. Now it was him who grinned down at him. Thiemo picked up the stack on his crown and started punching him in the face with all the force he could muster. He was sure that Entlas was unconscious after the third or fourth strike, but better safe than sorry. After the tenth hit, he threw him out of the dust cloud and followed him.

The field around the arena lowered, and Thiemo raised both arms victoriously into the air. “Unbelievable! At first Thiemo just stands there for twenty five minutes while Entlas scores against him and now this! He has defeated him within two minutes!” Thiemo quickly turned towards the scoreboard, which told him that the hundred and twenty hits had been an illusion as well, something that he had thought already. The illusion had been too fragile. It had been broken just by him hitting himself, and that just in his mind. If Entlas had really scored one hundred twenty hits again him, he also wouldn’t have just woken up like that, and also not in that state.

He had also learned something new. The spell over the arena didn’t know if someone was cheating. Thiemo also realized that another of his expectations had been confirmed. The contestants were trying everything to get themselves an advantage, some bolder than others.

***

Was Amaryllis proud of what she had done? She had to answer that with a clear no. At least, that was surely the answer that her father would have wanted to hear if he were to find out. She had watched Thiemo’s fight as one of thousands of spectators by simply changing into a pony she had seen in the atrium. Following her nature, at least to a degree, she had knocked out and hidden her victim. The green space around the stadium had proven very helpful for that, and the passing ponies just thought the pegasus mare on one of the trees to be a very tired mare who had decided to take a nap. Then she had reported to the judge as herself so that she could get locked into her room. Again with the help of her shapeshifting nature, she had brainwashed the judge a bit. He now that that she had stayed in her room, just in case. There was no one standing guard in the hallways, but safe was safe, as Thiemo had taught her.

She had watched, like the rest of her family, s Thiemo had remained still while the stag stepped on his feet a few times, which still counted as a hit. Then he just sat down at some distance from the human and played the waiting game. After five minutes, it seemed strange to her. After ten it was definitely strange, and after twenty she knew that something hadn’t been right. She had flown from her stolen seat in the tribunes to the front of the first row, much to the protest of the spectators sitting there. This way she could get a better look and immediately saw what was going on. The eyes of her loved ones had been wandering around, while his lips mumbled something inaudible. He had been caught in an illusion. She, of all people, would notice that. How much had she wanted to do something, but her hooves had been bound.

Luckily, Thiemo had found out himself that he had been trapped in an illusion and freed himself. She had been surprised that he knew how. He had never talked with her about that.

Amaryllis used the thundering audience, when the unconscious Entlas was being thrown out of the dust cloud, to make her way back to the preparation room. The judge that would be picking her was still under her spell, but she was worried that it didn’t last. Chrysalis had always taught her that it had something to do with your own will overwriting that of another.

And indeed she met the judge in the hallway, on the way to her room. Tensely, she waited until she knocked and shouted her name. With green flames, she broke her disguise. “Here!” she shouted towards the mare.

She turned around to her, looked at the door, and then back at her, visibly confused. “Did you just come out of the door?” The manipulation had lasted but barely. “I could have sworn…”

“Yes!” she shouted, perhaps a bit too enthusiastic. “You said that I was up next and went past you. Something wrong?” She had to get the judge to not doubt her, she knew that.

“If you say so…” The red crystal pony mare slowly went past her, eying her while doing so, but said nothing. Relieved, Amaryllis fell into a light trot behind her and together they reached the arena. Again she was surprised how quickly they had managed to turn everything into its original state again. A pony with a yolk, who had pulled a rake that had been attacked behind him, had just disappeared in another opening that closed behind him. Hidden doors explained the phenomenon.

“And let’s welcome Princess Amaryllis back into the arena!” Loudmouth’s voice greeted her. “As you can see, the last fight has left its marks. How will she manage this time?” Amy just snorted, although she knew that the words were just. She didn’t really understand herself what exactly had happened between the two humans. “And here we have her opponent. Let’s also welcome back Jewel Note!”

The princess looked over to the other entrance where the orchid-coloured crystal pony who had danced during the opening ceremony stood. It didn’t take Amaryllis long to remember that she hadn’t been sitting on the tribune amongst the other contestants. Through her performance, Amaryllis had at least a rough idea of what to expect of her opponent: fast movements and attacks, something that she had especially trained against. After all, she was expecting to fight against Thiemo, and he was still not in sight. He would probably take some time to sneak out and watch this fight.

Jewel Note bowed slightly. “It is an honour, princess, but please take no offense. I want to win.”

“That makes two of us.” Loudmouth opened the fight and the two mares immediately got ready, both of them waiting to see what the other would do.

Her father had taught her that you had to take the wind out of the sails of quick opponents. They dodged and attacked when you did, which only worked if they were faster and within reach. Her wings were a bit battered, but a good portion of love last night had healed them well. With a few flaps of her shimmering wings, Amaryllis was in the air and out of Jewel’s reach. However, the crystal pony didn’t seem worried. She started to gallop, much to the confusion of the princess as she ran around below her. Then she jumped into the air and continued running in the air. Amaryllis couldn’t believe what she saw. A crystal pony without wings or horn was running in the air like it was just a road. Jewel Note turned in her direction and suddenly pushed herself off what appeared to be nothing. Like a cannon ball, the pony shot through the air and collided with the still-surprised princess.

The impact disoriented Amaryllis, and before she could distinguish any sense of direction, she made contact with the ground, one wing uncomfortably buried by her own weight. She screamed for a moment. And there her advantage had gone. She wouldn’t be able to use her wing again today. In that moment, she wished nothing more than being able to see magic like Thiemo to understand what happened.

By instinct, she gathered a bit of magic and built a sphere around her to gain some time to get back on her legs. Amaryllis could see Jewel Note through it and how she took another turn and waited in the air. For a few seconds, the princess considered trying it with her little sphere trick, but that would just be a waste. Being vertical usually was her advantage, but her opponent had that too now. Too many directions, which meant that she would be blasting out a lot of magic on the off chance of hitting her.

With her legs on the ground, the princess pressed her wings to her body and transformed into her pony appearance, minus the wings. This way, her opponent at least could no longer score on a spot where she had already been hit. She had thought about other forms too, but her injuries wouldn’t heal that way. There was no way she could fly now.

“What’s the matter, princess? Enough already?” Jewel glided through the air above her head, always around her shield. She could use her secret weapon, but for that she would have to get the crystal pony back on the ground. Lowering her shield, she immediately opened fire from her horn. As expected, Jewel Note glided through the air, much like during her performance. With elegant moves and little jumps up and down the air, she dodged everything that Amaryllis fired at her. Also as expected, she began to make her way towards her to score the next hit, and Amaryllis expected to have a reaction for that in her plan. She didn’t.

The hooves of her opponent made contact with the sand of the arena a few metres in front of her, raising dust as her hind legs kicked out. But she wasn’t the only one who struck. Amaryllis’ missile collided with Jewel’s right hind leg and created a rather interesting sound. Before Amaryllis brain could process it, however, the second leg hit its target and pressed into her chest. Quickly, the air left her lungs, and her legs gave way while Jewel quickly gained distance again.

With a gasp, the princess caught her breath again. She knew the sound that she just heard. She had it heard often enough in the city. Of course, she wore horseshoes and they had to be enchanted. That was her weapon.

Her eyes wandered up again where Jewel was floating in the air again. At least almost. Her right hind leg didn’t really seem to get a grip, and Amaryllis quickly found out why. Her missile had blasted off the horseshoe and it was now lying in the sand. If she could manage to loosen or destroy at least two more, then her opponent would be bound to the ground just like her now.

A list of all spells that she knew went through her head. There were a few healing spells that she had learned from her nanny. Then, of course, was the simple missile spell that she had used so often lately. There was the advanced version she had worked out with her father and of course her transformation and shielding spell. Theoretically, she knew hundreds more, but none she could cast without the according book on hand. Unlike her aunt, she didn’t have the memory to store thousands of spells. For now, she hid herself in her bubble again to be safe from further attacks.

***

“What do you think, Shining?” Cadance asked, worried. “Can she still win?”

“Of course. If she figures out how her opponent is operating after the last attack, that shouldn’t be a problem. She only has to realize that she needs to let her opponent come close to her. A few hits are unavoidable.”

Cadance looked down into the arena where her daughter stood within her shield and followed Jewel Note with her head.

“You’ll see, mom. Amaryllis can do this!” Skyla assured her confidently.

*** ~ [Red Hot Chili Peppers - Can't Stop] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter IV - Intermission 15 - The Letter

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I have fifteen letters lying around here with different beginnings, but I don't think that any one of them does justice to this, so I’ll keep it simple. Hello!
I don't know what I am supposed to say, let alone how. I guess you’ve thought I was dead for a few years now. Well, I am not, far from it actually. The last few years I’ve spent on a journey. Not to any places you know, believe me. I’ve seen and experienced much, got to know some foreign cultures, and found friends, if only a few. And surprise, you became great-grandparents. No, she isn't my biological daughter.
I found her on my journeys. She was lost and malnourished. A street child, if you want to call her that. I took her in and made it my job to find her family, which I managed to do a few months ago. But the local authorities considered me to be the villain of the story, sooo I had to spend some time in jail. Only for a short time, and then I was released.
Her relatives and I actually get along well, mainly because we both provide for your great-grandchild. She even asked me if I wanted joint custody.
Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I am still there, that you don't have to put an empty box into the earth if you haven't already. Please send my love to Danielle. Mom too, if you see her. If you have too, even Clint.
God bless the queen, as well you, and so on.
Your loving grandchild,
Timo

My little Pony

Journey

~ Intermission 15 – The Letter ~

Thiemo skimmed over the writing one last time and put the quill away. He was sure that his grandparents would have questions just about the hand-made paper. The police would surely analyse every millimetre and try to ascertain where the paper originated. For a moment, he thought about how their faces would look once they realized that it didn’t come from Earth. He didn’t really know how that would work, but Thiemo knew that it was surely possible to discover the origin of something like paper.

Shaking his head, he folded his letter and put it into the prepared envelope. On it he had written the address of his grandparents.

He didn't know how high the price would be to convince Eris to send the letter to Earth, but that was a problem for later.

His view wandered around in the little room. "Maybe I should watch Amy's fight instead…"

*** ~ [Requiem for a Dream] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter IV - Act 16.1 - Finals (Part 4)

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Despite that the outer circle of the stadium was empty, Thiemo didn't feel alone. The elation of thousands of watchers was indeed dampened but always present. By the slightly altered volume, the human could vaguely discern when it came to an exchange of blows between Amaryllis and her enemy.

He took a detour around the stadium, as a judge had stationed himself at the entrance to the arena. Apparently it had been noticed somehow that half of the final participants had snuck out of their rooms to observe their possible opponents. He had no worries that Cadance, Shining Armor, his sister, or one of her friends could see him. They might not necessarily like him, but he didn't consider them to be tattletales. At least, they didn't give that impression.

His goal was the stairs behind the royal stands. It was the safest place he could think of, as it was surely the last one where a judge would look for him. "Why the haste? Did you find the time spent in your room to be a waste?" Thiemo flinched and turned his head to the side. Zarni sat in a meditative stance on one of the benches. Her eyes were closed as a small trail of smoke rose from her pipe.

He had overlooked the zebra due to his brooding. Regarding his old master, he wasn't sure if she'd inform the judge. Not because she bore ill-will towards him, no. She was simply someone who respected rules. Thiemo was even sure that Zende had been sitting quietly in his room and hadn't prepared any tricks. The result spoke for itself, even if it hadn’t mattered in the end. Against Eris, the zebra had simply stood no chance. "You were waiting for me?"

"Although it isn't always very clear, sometimes things are exactly as they appear. If you don't find it ill at ease, before I go, I wish to speak with my student if you please." Thiemo didn’t know if it was possible to feel both relaxed and anxious, for this was how he felt. "Your journey seems to come to its end, hmm?"

Thiemo had almost crumpled the letter in his bag. "One could say that, yes."

"I know for my teachings you no longer care, but this gem of advice I wish to share. I have seen your fight and have found you lacking; had you crafted your totem, that dog you'd have sent packing. As you should have rightly known, that diamond dog should not have been as difficult as he has shown." Zarni ended her meditation and grabbed a parchment from her saddlebag next to the bench. "Here are the runes for the ritual, should you decide to make your training more full. Take care and prepare yourself well. The spirits will not make it easy for you as you can probably tell.

Cautiously, he accepted the parchment and opened it. The circles were more complex than anything he knew, which wasn't that much to be honest. He knew maybe two fire circles, one earth circle, and a few air and water circles with the corresponding runes. After all, a circle was nothing but a combination of several runes. Several of these circles produced a spell. "Thank you," he said and pocketed the paper. In truth, he had toyed with the idea a few times to craft a totem, but he simply had no suitable medium. Without one, it would not have made much sense.

Zarni nodded and put on her saddlebag. "If my tutelage you wish to continue, then welcome to my hut are both you and your retinue." With those words, the zebra set off, her hooves practically silent as always, even on the crystal floor.

My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 16.1 – Final Rounds (Part 4) ~

"Why doesn't she simply grab the other one out of the air with her magic?" Twilight turned to Auralia's direction as she asked her mother the question.

"Well… Ehm… Ya know…" Applejack noticed that they had Twilight's attention. "Twilight, could ya please explain?"

"That’s simple. It is forbidden. After all, it would be unfair to flying participants if somepony could simply rob them of their natural element with magic. Moreover, non-magic users have nearly no chance to defend themselves. It is possible to defend against a telekinetic grip, even as an earth pony or griffon for example, but it is a difficult matter that doesn’t only have to do with power. Your willpower plays a big role as well."

"So that’s the reason why Rainbow could never get out of ya grip. But why didn't ya grab her when Eris had her under her spell if it really is all that powerful?" Applejack mentioned contemplatively.

"Rainbow was willing to escape us and was near her maximum velocity without going supersonic. It would have taken a lot of concentration to stop such a force and pull her towards us." Applejack nodded. "At least without harming her," Twilight added quietly.

"Did I hear my name? Whatchya talkin’ ‘bout?" The light blue mare leaned forward so that her head poked out between Aura and Twilight.

"I was explaining to Auralia the rules of the magi—"

"Okay, thanks. Not interested." With that, Rainbow returned to her place.

“As I was about to say, it is also forbidden because of weapons. A unicorn could simply disarm an opponent and that would be it.”

Auralia nodded. It was the same nodding that Twilight knew from her friends when they stopped listening to her explanation five minutes ago. Somehow she wasn't even mad at the filly. It was simply the Applejack in her.

* * *

Amaryllis looked through her pink shield into the sky where Jewel Note floated. She was probably also waiting for her opponent to make a move. Jewel Note was leading, and even though the princess had succeeded in removing a horseshoe that allowed the crystal pony to fly, the advantage was still with the crystal pony mare. She was constrained in her movements without the magical iron on her hoof but was still very dangerous.

Again she went over the spells that she had practiced with her father, but no matter what went through her head, nothing presented her with a direct solution. "Think, Amaryllis," she reprimanded herself. "Do it like Thiemo. Use what there is to your advantage." The thought reminded her of how he fought. Fast, hasty attacks that could do great damage, assuming they hit. Accordingly, her lover got some hits as well, which didn't stop him from leaving as the victor most of the time. Or sometimes being carried.

However, she was missing the agility to implement that kind of attacks. Sure, she could fly, but not as elegant as a pegasi or even her opponent, who was moving almost as though she was dancing. Furthermore, the human enhanced his attacks with magic and used bullets to distract his opponents while he moved into melee range. Unfortunately, this was denied due to her injured wings. So Amaryllis came to the conclusion that she could not attack.

She was caught on the defensive and it left a bad taste in her mouth.

She needed an idea. Fast.

"Why don't you just give up, Princess?!" called Jewel Note from the air. "It would save us a lot of time."

A glance at the clock showed Amaryllis that her opponent meant it literally. The time she had to catch up to her opponent mercilessly went on. It wasn't a big advantage, but it was currently looking like even these few points would make the difference.

Her gaze wandered a little higher to the stands where her family was sitting. Amaryllis thought she saw the strained face of her younger sister and her father's nod. There was no doubt that the wild movements of her mother’s forehooves were meant to be waves. Or the alicorn wanted to tell her to hit her opponent right on the kisser. It was difficult to distinguish between them. Maybe it was even both.

Shaking her head, the princess shifted her gaze away from the stands and towards the still floating Jewel Note, who started to pat the dust out of her coat, at least where it wasn't covered by the crystal pony's unitard.

To think of Thiemo alone wouldn't help her here. She had learned from her father the shield spell that surrounded her. What would Shining Armor do if he faced such an opponent? Too bad that they never practiced something like that, as it should have never come to this, that someone succeeded in keeping her grounded.

Her father used his shields for everything. In their training battles, he had used them to block her missiles and to deal blows with them as if they were giant flycatchers. She had briefly resented him for it, but as she hadn’t sensed any malice in him, he didn't seem to be aware of the slight insult. Thiemo had said something about that character trait when she had told him while they had snuggled in bed. "I think that if Cadance asked Shining if she gained weight, he would simply say 'yes' and then be surprised why he had to sleep on the sofa. It’s a weakness that a lot of men have."

Maybe she could use the shield spell for something else. The question was only for what.

Amaryllis' eyes widened to an unnatural degree as her grey matter worked overtime. Or as her human would say, "I’m about to be brilliant!" In the past, she had never understood the words, as they were in his language.

Quickly, she went over the idea and nodded confidently. All she had to do was to be fast and surprise her opponent.

Amaryllis limbered up and prepared to sprint, keeping Jewel Note in sight. She tasted the arrogance of the mare who was sure of her victory. Then Amaryllis dropped her shield dome and began to gallop.

It was after a few seconds until Jewel noticed what happened below her, but when she did, it was already too late. Shields formed small platforms that filled the entire arena. A grinning changeling princess was only a blink of the eye away from her, a front hoof stretched out to score a hit that would surely hurt like hell.

But it was not a hoof that made contact with her face. Jewel was familiar with the feeling when magic pressed against her body.

* * *

Thiemo studied the runes on the parchment again. This was no doubt a spell. Runes formed a circle, circles formed a spell; he knew that. This wasn't the first one he had seen. As a shaman, he used the rawest form of magic, the elemental state. He only needed a few runes, so what he held in his hands was akin to a riddle.

The only thing he had figured out so far was that it took at least four charged gems to activate the spell. Its runes had to be transcribed into earth and surrounded by air, water, and fire. Lakes would be adequate as such, for it was not undeserved that their atmosphere mirrored the beauty of nature the best: a lake at night, a crackling fire, the silent ripples of water, and the play of the wind in the trees around you. At such a place, he had to sit down between the four described circles, his totem in his hand as he activated the spell. The rune for spiritual energy, or simply raw magic, he knew too well. After all, it was the rune that Zarni had always used to push magic through his body.

A shudder ran down his spine at the memories. Scars that no one would ever see began dully throbbing again.

"She always wins every time…" With a sigh, he rolled the parchment up and stored it in the pocket of his coat before he leaned back on the same bench where he had met his master. Through the glass, he could see a lot of ponies who had curled up on the grass outside and watched the spectacle on the big screen. Or maybe it was a monitor?

Groaning again, only louder, he leaned even further back so that he was lying only with his back on the bench, while his legs and head dangled over it like wet laundry.

How simple the lives of these ponies were. How they could sit on the grass which they could eat if they wanted to. A princess who cared for them, who solved all problems for them. All they seemed to need to be happy was a partner, foals around them, and a roof over their heads. Why did humans have to be so complex? For a second, Thiemo thought about what would happen if he asked Cadance if it would be possible for him to become a pony, but he shook the thought off and buried his face in both hands. "I blame you," he said to his tail, which twitched a bit as it was spoken to. "Oh yes, don't play innocent." Of course, his tail wasn't aware of being guilty of anything. How could it?

Elegant as always, the human slid from the bench and laid on the cold crystal ground. This was a point of no return. If he performed this ritual, a part of him would be always linked with Albion's magic. He didn't believe in spirits. It was a simple exchange. He would part with a bit of his soul which he would then fill with the magical essence of Albion. The separated part would then be sealed in the totem and the rest would also be charged with magic. Zarni had done so, as did every other master in her village. The power which came with it could not be disputed. Zarni could summon lightning storms within seconds. No magic from the outside and no runes needed. The element of air basically listened to her as if it were a part of her.

Thiemo was honest with himself for a moment. He had started the preparations for this ritual a while ago. So far, he didn’t have everything he needed, but that was subject to change if he won the tournament. The question which had to be asked then was what he would do afterwards. He didn't actually need this power. He had chosen the way of the shaman to find a way to return home, but now he had found a new one. As the saying went, better have it and don't need it than not have it and then need it.

A look out of the stadium showed that some ponies had discovered him and pointed to him. "Maybe I should get on." Thiemo didn't like to attract attention, for it had meant trouble in the past. Now, though, his marefriend was the princess of the country, and he dealt regularly with the ruling couple. Of course heads turned into their direction when they strolled through the streets of the Empire to the stadium. Some even recognized him without the presence of the royal family, even if only as the human who was basically always around the princess nowadays. Since the tournament had begun, his name was known, and he both loved and hated it. The years on Albion had taught him that keeping a low profile was preferable, but only because otherwise bad things kept catching up. That would not happen here, although apparently no one had told the cramps in his stomach that as he took in the sight of the crowd.

With a jump, the human changed his position from lying to crouching and patted his back before he straightened up. In that moment, loud cheers reached his ears, produced both by the audience inside the stadium as well as the one outside. It reminded him that Amaryllis was still in the arena and how he had intended to observe her fight.

He hurried further along the outer ring of the stadium towards the stairs leading to the royal stands. He didn't wish to enter them directly as he could be spotted, but he wanted to sit down on the highest step, hidden from the tribunes and the ponies already sitting there. Not that he believed that Cadance would betray him, but he wasn't sure with Celestia's brood. Both seemed to have a big sense of justice. After all, Twilight had chased after him to attempt to get him back. Also, if Thiemo remembered correctly, he had heard that Shining Armor used to have Caption Estoc's position.

He reached the stairs a few minutes later and was just about to climb them when he heard hooves nearing. Looking around in panic, he hid behind the first thing he found, a pillar.

Peeping quickly, he noticed Rupie who, after apparently returning from the restroom, now manned his post at the stairs. That was the last thing he needed. The stallion wore his usual armor, this time including a helmet. His eyes wandered past the crystal pony to the stairs. Even if he managed to get past the guard, all that Rupie had to do to discover him was to turn around. Thiemo was sure that the pony would rat him out. After all, they had still unfinished business because of an underhanded kick to his foal makers.

Of course, he could take him out and hide him in the restroom from where the pony had just returned, but Cadance would surely not approve of his conduct if he once again played a dirty trick on poor Rupie. On the other hand, since when did he give a fuck about what other people thought of him aside from Amy and Aura? No, he wouldn't use violence and that had nothing to do with the fact that Rupie had belted a sword at his side while he was unarmed, aside from his talismans.

After a few seconds, Thiemo facepalmed. During his time at boarding school, he had always been able to keep teachers busy. This wasn't that different. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a lapis lazuli and snuck over towards the door that led to the restroom.

The facilities didn't differ that much from their counterparts on Earth. A sink, four cabins with toilets separated by opaque crystal, and the stench of urine blended with cleaning agents. Thiemo opened the first toilet door and found the usual hole in the floor which the ponies dared to call a toilet. It was a bit more than just a hole. Around the hole was white porcelain in a long oval that lightly descended towards the drain. Above it was a lavatory cistern that could be opened with the pull of a string. Thiemo believed he had seen a similar construction in one of his history books. It was related with France somehow, he was sure of it.

With a splash, the charged talisman landed in the toilet, and Thiemo hastily ran into the next cabin. He pressed a hand and foot against the wall and lifted himself up. When he had barely built up the necessary tension, there was an explosion of water, flooding the restroom for several inches and crashing through the door into the hallway where Rupie was standing.

It took some time but eventually the guard stormed into the room and observed the chaos. Cursing about wet hooves, the door was closed again and Thiemo heard him depart, galloping along the hallway on the search for the attending janitor. The way was free.

As Thiemo left the restroom, he thanked Rarity once more that she made his boots waterproof. This was the second time that it had come in handy.

Skipping some steps, the human hurried up the stairs, but it was too late. "And we have a winner! This round goes to Princess Amaryllis!" the voice of Loudmouth reverberated. Indeed, the changeling stood, heavily breathing, in the middle of the arena over a motionless opponent. "With that shocking manoeuvre, she has no doubt surprised most in the arena and secured a victory few thought was possible."

* * *

"To copy the technique of her father and combine it with the human's one." Eris only grinned and shook her head. "Typical changeling. Too bad that her form isn't really suited for such a fighting style. She should really add more transformations to her repertoire." The door to her room suddenly opened, causing the concentration of the draconequus in pony shape to snap, along with the images in front of her mind's eye.

"Did you say anything, Miss Peel?" asked the crystal pony with the cap which identified her as an organizer.

"Not to you."

Puzzled, the mare looked around, didn't find anyone, and shook her head in bewilderment. "Anyhow, you are next."

Eris nodded and the door closed. Everything had gone according to plan like she wanted. Well, almost. If everything went as she planned, it wouldn't be chaos, would it?

Author's Notes:

And we are back! The final act of chapter 4 has started.
Despite what Zarni said, this journey will continue for a while. Like I said a couple of times already, this story will have 9 chapters at the end. Will something happen? Yes. Will you expect it? I don't think so. So, stay tuned, because we have a lot to experience. (Did anyone ever notice that this is not a R63 story? Did I ever say Eris is Discord in female? Why does everyone think so? Well, you will be surprised then.)

I got something for you guys too. I was searching through my computer a few days ago and I found this old high-comparison picture I did when planning the story. The only change I made in the final story is that Cadance and Shining are more as big as Celestia than Luna.

Also, I read this little story yesterday and maybe you want to take a look too. To find a story where vampires don't sparkle in the sun is rare these days: Bloodsong

Chapter IV - Act 16.2 - Finals (Part 5)

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 16.2 – Final Rounds (Part 5) ~

Eris' fight had taken only around a minute and a half. It was something that haunted Thiemo for the rest of the day. It also made him rethink the bet. Swift Wind, the pegasus who had been Eris' opponent, was a well-trained Royal Guard and had not managed to land a single hit. Why did Eris offer this bet if she would win anyhow? The human had no illusions – he stood no chance against her. If he recalled correctly, it had taken both Celestia and Luna to defeat her the first time and Twilight plus her friends the second time, which made him view the five other mares in a new light. Actually, maybe not a completely new light, but it made him respect them a bit. After all, the five together had to be as strong as an alicorn, at least following simple logic.

Following the same logic, there could be only two reasons in his opinion why Eris had done this: either to rile him up or to get at least a somewhat challenging fight. Probably a little of both. Unfortunately for her, it wouldn't faze him as he had decided to stay, nor would he fight against her. Thiemo didn't know when he would fight Amaryllis, or if he even would reach that far, but it was certain that he wouldn't lay a finger on her.

"What are you thinking about?

Amaryllis turned around on the bed so that her snout almost touched his nose. Her large, purple eyes looked into his as Thiemo slowly returned to the here and now, namely her bedroom in the castle.

He pressed a kiss on her muzzle and stroked her cheek with a hand. "Nothing special. The usual." His hand wandered below the warm bed sheet where it briefly touched Amaryllis’ bandaged wing. He might have missed the fight, but he had seen the aftermath in front of him. His girlfriend had various bruises underneath her dark coat, and both wings were covered in light bandages. But all she needed was a decent helping of love and enough sleep for her be able to fly again tomorrow. At least according to the good doctor Meena.

"I wonder what will happen afterwards," Amaryllis said sleepily. "I mean, what’s coming after the tournament. I don't want to have escaped one cage just to land in another one." Thiemo could understand what she meant, specifically Cadance and her words at the tournament's opening. They wanted to stay for a while but not forever. Considering what Cadance said, she wouldn't let her daughter out of her reach soon. The same held for Shining Armor. Even if the prince didn't take an obvious fancy to his daughter, it was easy to see that he did worry about her, which was more than other people might do in his stead. Humans in high positions or nobles often swept smaller problems like illegitimate children under the rug and didn't even waste a single thought on them.

"I believe Cadance's affection will fade a little with time. But you mean a lot to her. She spent years mourning a daughter that should have been hers. Also, staying here won't be boring. Like I promised, I'll stay with you as long as it takes." Amy's front legs moved around his neck and pulled Thiemo against the soft coat of her barrel. She cautiously nuzzled her cheek against his and eventually rested her head on his chest.

It didn't take long until Thiemo noticed the slow breathing that indicated Amaryllis had succumbed to the day's exhaustion. His thought wandered back to Eris. Thinking once again about the possible answers to his questions, he often drew the conclusion that Eris seldom did what seemed logical. With a groan, he shook his pillow and finally closed his eyes.

* * *

The hallways were lit brightly in the moonlight, reflecting off the crystal walls. A lone silhouette wandered through them. Shining Armor couldn't sleep. Not that he wasn't tired, but the events of today didn't allow him any peace of mind. He had personally trained Amaryllis, and she had made progress, but none that should have enabled her to do what he saw today. He had snuck out of the bedroom once Cadance and Skyla were asleep and walked around to think. From time to time, a guard saluted as he passed by, but he didn't pay them any attention.

He had required years of training to use his shields for something else than the intended purpose. How could have his daughter achieved this in a few days? Of course, the thought had occurred to him that it might have to do something with her origins. Changelings learned fast and could copy many pony talents, but after what they had learned about the species the last years, this went too far. It had awakened in him the desire to work further with his daughter, to train her and to see how far she could develop her magic.

In theory, she had the same potential like his sister to apply every spell that existed. What represented a special talent to a pony was given to the changelings by nature. Furthermore, she could feel and analyse the emotions of her enemies, which gave her another advantage. As much it made him uncomfortable, his daughter was arguably one of the mightiest weapons on this planet, and he had felt the effects of her untamed power himself once. However, she needed direction, someone who could guide her, someone who loved her and would prepare her for the tasks of being a princess.

But there the problems just began. Thiemo was a two bit crook in Shining's eyes, but he had to admit that the human did everything for those who were important to him. It was a trait that the alicorn could appreciate. However, that alone did not make him like the human. After all, everyone had good attributes somewhere. Unfortunately, his wife was rubbing off on him a little, or rather her trust was. And with the probable upcoming negotiations with Ti – once their message reached the island – it would be good idea if he got on the good side of the few humans within his realm. Too bad he wasn't a politician but a soldier.

Shining came to a halt and stared at the door leading to the chambers of his daughter. It was quiet, only the chirps of crickets and other noise of tiny insects filling the night. Cautiously, Shining Armor opened the door, revealing dark chambers. With his horn's light, he roamed the living area and looked through the open door into the bedroom of his daughter.

There, under the blankets, were Amaryllis and Thiemo, forelegs and arms wrapped around each other. His thoughts wandered back into his own bedroom where a certain photo – secretly taken by a younger Twilight – hung on the wall. It showed him and Cadance sleeping together on a large sun lounger in the castle gardens, both having succumbed to the warm summer sun. It was not dissimilar to what he was seeing here in front of him.

Growling, he turned away so he would not disturb their sleep and left the apartment again. As he quietly closed the door, Shining Armor noted that it might be better to work with the human instead of against him. If he could convince him that magical training would be good for her, it would be a big help.

Shining's eyes widened as he remembered what Cadance had proposed at first. She wanted to accept the human into the Crystal Guard. It didn't seem to be a bad idea anymore. He merely had to keep their minds off the idea with the vacation. Contemplating, he continued his way through the castle's hallway.

* * *

Like all the previous days, this one didn't differ much. Thiemo struggled to leave the bed at sunrise and join the other ponies at the breakfast table. However, only Twilight and Applejack appeared as additional guests, Twilight to eat breakfast with her family and Applejack because Aura wanted to eat with him. The others had left, according to Applejack, to dine in the city and then to accompany Soarin and Rainbow Dash to the hospital for a check-up.

The first real change was that with the reduced number of remaining participants, not as many fights were held on a particular day. That was the reason that they had to be on their way after lunch. Thiemo planned to use the time and walked with his daughter through the castle towards the training rooms.

"Why do you want to train, Dad? Doesn't that make you tired?"

"I don't want to actually train. I merely want to try something." His plan to not win the tournament had a small flaw, as he noticed later. If he didn't win, then he wouldn't receive from Cadance what he wanted and needed, regardless if he stayed or left. Because of this, he had to find an alternative, and the best option he had was Legion.

"You want to experiment with magic?! And I can watch?" Inwardly, Thiemo cursed as he realized what he had done. Now he couldn't say no anymore. Well, he could, but that would result in a sad daughter who would turn his next few days into hell. Sad pony eyes were deadly weapons and caused heartaches even for a resistant one like him. "I was never allowed to watch!"

For a good reason. As Thiemo started with his training as shaman and finally mastered channelling magic, he had experimented a lot with it, mostly with an explosive result. Even as he improved, some gems still liked to explode when he experimented with circles. He had had no other choice than trial and error as he hadn't understand the runes. In the meantime, he had a rough idea what rune did what in a circle, but true understanding was something else.

Thiemo's right hand moved inevitably to his forehead and touched his eyebrows to assure himself that they were still there. "You will stay in the entrance. As soon you see that something goes wrong, or I shout that you have to leave, you go. Got it?" His hand movement ended with pointing two fingers towards his eyes and then turned them towards Auralia. The foal saluted and nodded simultaneously, which caused her to move her hoof over her head, nearly making her fall. She quickly caught herself and smiled at Thiemo, a bit embarrassed.

"Got it, dad," she said.

Observing his daughter from the corner of his eye, they continued together towards the teleporter. Thiemo knew that there had to be stairs somewhere, otherwise there would be a giant traffic jam in front of the teleporter. With the few Crystal Guards or servants that went into that direction, that was solid evidence. In addition, he thought he remembered that Rupie had mentioned something like that. Unfortunately, he had been too busy keeping his mouth more open than his ears.

"So, what do you wanna try?" Auralia asked as they finally reached the teleporter and Thiemo placed the crystal to go to the desired floor.

"Well, I want—" A flash interrupted the human for a moment. "…to try and see if Legion is suited to use as a totem."

"You’ve used that word now and then, dad. What’s a totem?"

They stepped out of the teleporter and walked down the hallway towards the training rooms for the guards. Crystals above the doors showed which rooms were being used. "Well, a totem is an object that is so precious to its owner that it’s as if it is a part of himself." Thiemo had no desire to explain his daughter that he intended to rip off a bit of his soul and imprison it in a crystal. "It allows the owner a better magical control as the totem takes over the communication with the elements, so to speak."

"And that means?"

"I could use different spells of an elemental school without having to change to a different crystal with a different circle. I could use the same crystal to fire ice balls and gather water out of the air, should I choose an object that is in tune with water." Aura stayed silent and seemed to think over his words. "Ah, here’s a free room," Thiemo said as he noticed the glowing green crystal above the wooden door.

Together they entered the empty room, and Thiemo locked the door that turned the green crystal into red. "There isn't anything here," Aura said, clearly disappointed.

"Well, the soldiers bring everything they need from one of the storage rooms. I, on the other hand, have everything in here." Thiemo reached in the pocket of his orange coat and pulled out a piece of white chalk. After all, he didn't want to spoil the pretty crystal floor permanently with some runes. "And stay next to the door like you promised.”

With a light pout, Auralia did as she was told and sat down next to the door. Thiemo moved to the center of the room and began to draw the required magic circle. This particular circle was almost burned into his brain if only alone through the pain he had suffered by it. It was nothing else than a meditation circle that was supposed to help the shaman channel magic and capture it in a crystal, in case that he wanted to do so himself instead of waiting for the crystal to charge itself passively over the course of several weeks.

It didn't take long until he had drawn the circle and took his place in the centre. Magic, as much Twilight Sparkle liked to make it seem, was not an exact science. Feelings, emotions played a large role. Magic could behave differently depending on the current mood of its user. The more complex the magic, the more sensitive it was, that much Thiemo knew.

He took a deep breath and tried to empty his mind, which wasn't that easy with what was going on around him. He concentrated on the magic in the room and within himself. Like a quiet lake stirred lightly by wind, the magic wafted around him. In contrast, a storm whirled the magic within his body and yearned for a valve that he still had to give it. Another deep breath and the black before his closed eyes gave way to the various colours of the world Albion's magic. The walls appeared in a neutral white, whereas Aura gleamed in beige, nearly like sand, mixed with tiny grains of a different color he couldn't recognize.

Without opening the eyes, he reached into his pocket and pulled out Legion. His hands formed a cup in his lap, and Thiemo began to channel the magic of the outer world, through his body, and into the rhodolith. The purpose of this exercise was to discover which element the stone would react to best. Thiemo, who got along best with wind and water, hoped that it would be one of them.

"Dad?"

His eyebrow twitched, but he didn't open his eyes in order to keep track of the flow. He could do so with open eyes, though things would likely be too distracting.

"Dad? Is that normal?"

Now he couldn't get around with keeping his eyes closed. He didn't like what he saw. Legion flickered, and flashes of magical nature escaped from the stone. "Aura, out now!" he called to his daughter as he cautiously stood up and began to channel the magic out of the stone. "Go!" Now she obeyed and scurried out of the door.

Thiemo’s thoughts were racing. He didn't expect such a volatile reaction from the stone. He hurried with channelling the excess energy out of the crystal, but the flashes didn't stop and left burnt skin on his hands. He had no choice now and dropped the stone and followed his daughter. She already stood outside the door, looking worried, and was obviously relieved as he closed the door behind him. "What happened?" she asked. Instead of receiving an answer, there was small bang, and bright smoke escaped under the door behind Thiemo.

"Magical discharge," was his response as he opened the door cautiously again. The crystal walls were littered with burn marks, as was the ceiling. Legion was lying in the middle of the room. The chalk of the circle was smudged and useless. Once more, Thiemo looked around, then entered the training room completely and carefully picked up the rhodolith.

Immediately he noticed that it felt different. When he held it in his hands the first time, he had felt the prickling of magic that desired to be used. This was now completely gone, and the stone seemed to have lost some colour.

"Damn it," escaped Thiemo's lips. Using his own magic, he sent a small pulse in the stone and ordered it to take on a new shape, but nothing happened. "Come on,” he muttered and channelled a bit of his own magic into the stone. It changed but was slow, and despite wishing for a lance, two swords formed.

* * *

"Damned zebra," was what Thiemo had been mumbling for the last five minutes. Once more he was sitting in the small preparation room of the stadium and obsessively trying to force Legion into a different form. All it ever did was to become his two swords, as if this form was somehow burned into it.

Of course his old master was at fault. She was who, after all, had reminded him that a totem would make things simpler and why he had actually considered in the first place to conduct the experiment. All he had managed was to add a defect to his weapon.

Uttering curses he would never let escape under normal circumstance, he made Legion return into its stone form and placed it in his pocket. He threw himself on the chair and placed his boots on the table in front of him. With crossed arms, he looked up to the ceiling and began to ponder. Legion wasn't useless and still fulfilled the purpose for why Cadance had given him the weapon in the first place.

A hand moved cautiously to his face and massaged his nose. In his mind, he went through his inventory once more. He still had a few lapis lazuli and sapphires left, though not as many as he would have liked. The magic in his body felt strong, which probably meant that enough was present. Even after a month, he still had not figured out how the regeneration of magic inside him worked.

Knocks came from the door before it was opened. "You are the first one today, sir," Thiemo heard the same red crystal pony mare who had been standing in the hallway for the last few days say. Annoyed, he kicked the table to the side and rose from the chair.

Forcing himself to calm down, he blended out everything else around him. The chants of thousands of viewers: the noise of the hooves of the mare in front of him, the warm air caused by the noon's sun. With this being spring, the temperatures had risen, and despite being far north, it had to be twenty-five degrees already. Together with the relatively high humidity, this wasn't necessarily comfortable. He was used to heat, but moist heat was torture. No place he had visited so far was like this, but it was still surely far from being like in the tropics. If he had to guess, he would say thirty percent.

The mare said something but Thiemo couldn't care less. He shielded his eyes with a hand as he entered the arena and Loudmouth announced him. Far more interesting than what was being said about him was his next opponent, who was waiting already in the arena. It was a griffon and Thiemo could have sworn that he had seen him already. Age was written on his face. The feathers around his head were dull and more grey than white.

"Ah, the human is my enemy then!" the griffon boomed and moved with a few wing beats closer to him. "People have talked about you in the city and in the stadium for a while. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Leonidas." With these words, he extended one claw while he kept himself with his wings at Thiemo's eye level.

Now he remembered where he had seen this griffon before. He had fought against Entlas in the preliminaries. His weapons had been two metal claws with which he strengthened his natural ones. Those weren't to be seen anywhere.

Thiemo returned the greeting and shook the claw, only for Leonidas to strengthen his grip. "What's wrong, lad? No strength in your arms?" He felt the claws drill a bit into his flesh, but that didn't stop him from returning the favour. "Ha, so not just soft flesh. Come on, lad, let us put up a good fight." The griffon grinned and released Thiemo from his clasp. He returned to the other side of the fighting stage and turned his head to the entrance through which he had come from. "Anvil, my shield!"

At first, Thiemo thought that it was another griffon who brought Leonidas' weapon of choice, but he was wrong. At least partially. Indeed, Anvil had the head of a griffon and its forelegs, but the part usually belonging to a feline predator was swapped with a pony. White head feathers and grey short fur, the hippogriff entered the arena and handed Leonidas his shield. He fastened it at his foreleg just so that Thiemo could only see the claw used for standing. Then he looked again at Thiemo. "Come to think of it, bring me a second shield." The human was left confused as the griffon folded his wings. The hippogriff vanished shortly in the entrance, only to return with another wooden shield seconds later.

"Oh! Leonidas chooses a second weapon in favour of his wings! This promises to become an exciting fight!" Meanwhile, Thiemo pondered if Leonidas knew which weapons he preferred.

"Thank you, Anvil. You may go now."

"As you wish, father," the hippogriff replied dryly and left the arena.

"Okay then! Looks like as if our combatants ready. Let the fight begin!" The barrier was erected, only noticeable by the audience no longer being audible, and instinctively Thiemo grabbed his bag with the talismans. Leonidas didn't give him the time to take out any. The griffon jumped forward, rolled over both of his shields by bringing them in front of his face, and jumped again as soon his hind legs felt the sandy ground. With no time to react, the human was buried under the feathered muscle mass which was part of the great race of griffon.

"Come on, human! Show what you can!" mocked Leonidas and rammed one of his shields into Thiemo's stomach before he jumped off him again, removing a good piece of Thiemo’s clothes with his claws.

The human didn't need to be told twice and used the stone that he had barely managed to take out of his bag. Thiemo still turned around on the ground and fired an ice ball after the gryphon, who just blocked it with one of the shields. At least this gave Thiemo enough time to get back on both legs and to ready more lapis lazulis, which he used without any hesitation. Two more ice balls sailed through the air, but Leonidas simply jumped to his side and let them shatter at the magical barrier.

Thiemo recognized waste of ammunition when he saw it and pulled Legion out of his mantle's pocket. "It has been long since I've seen such a weapon. Come on, puny human!" Leonidas smashed his shields together. "I dare you!"

The rhodolith split into thousands of tiny pieces before it reformed as one sword in each hand. "How did you know that I fight with two weapons?"

The griffon grinned. "Your hands." Thiemo stopped short. "They both show light calluses, a sign with humans that they work with them. With fighters, it’s a clear mark which hand they use." The meaning of his words didn't escape Thiemo. Leonidas had already fought against many humans. Still, Thiemo was sure that the griffon never had an opponent like him.

He returned the grin for a moment and pushed himself up from the ground, practically gliding over the ground, both swords aligned forward to undertake a pincer attack. What he didn't expect was that Leonidas suddenly raised himself on his hind legs. With both wings stretched and shields held high, his opponent awaited his attack. His left shield smashed Thiemo's right sword to the side before Leonidas stepped aside, so his other shield bore itself into Thiemo's back and send him to the ground again.

"Never underestimate your opponent, lad. You never know what surprises he has for you." He had no idea why the griffon told him this and he barely cared. His back hurt as well his wounded pride, but he forced himself to roll away from Leonidas and raised himself up, using the swords as crutches.

The griffon still stood on his hind legs, balancing with his wings. He used gaps in the rules just like Thiemo. He wasn't permitted to use his wings to fly, but nothing stopped him from using them like that. "Are you here to teach me lessons or to fight?" Thiemo shot back.

"You look like one who needs them." This time, it was Leonidas who made a jump. He dove forward, pulled his wings in, and rolled over both of his shields again. He landed on all fours in front of Thiemo, extended his wings again, and turned around on the sand and used one of his shields. The human couldn't react fast enough and once more was swept off his feet, eating dust again. In one fluid motion, Leonidas turned fully around and smashed his shield against the human, this time aiming for the stomach. His opponent twitched inevitably and rolled to his side. "Remember, regardless which living being, the stomach is always a sensitive spot. In particular if you only want to hurt but not to kill."

Thiemo couldn't care less for the gryphon's gobbledygook. It felt like his breakfast wanted to take the emergency exit due to the sheer vehemence with which Leonidas bored his shield's edge into his stomach. Would it have been a normal metal shield with a point, he would have had gaping wound in his belly. It was a paralyzing pain, not dissimilar to the one if he had been hit a few centimetres south.

"If this is all, then it would be a good idea to stay down. Come back once you have learned to fight with the weapons that have been entrusted to you." Through pure will alone, Thiemo shakily rose again and returned to his battle stance. He changed the grip around his right sword, the blade now showing away from him while he held the left one defensively in front of him. He had to choose a defensive tactic – that much was clear to him now.

Again he went to the offensive, this time moving up his left blade for the attack. As soon he noticed that Leonidas was prepared to block, he went to his knees and struck with the right one. Again his crystal blade hit only wood. Thinking fast, he let go of his left sword and pulled the arm to his body. The pressure that Leonidas exerted against it caused the sword to turn, and as it was below the shield, Thiemo grabbed it anew and pushed forward. The griffon evaded the stab with a skilful movement of his head and moved the paws of his hind legs against Thiemo's chest before he pushed off and shoved the human back once more.

"That was better already, but it will not be enough, lad. Do yourself a favour and surrender." Not that Thiemo planned on doing so, but his body protested heavily against standing up. It wasn't even the number of hits that wore him down; it was where he had been hit. Leonidas had aimed for paralyzing spots on his body. Spine, stomach, and if his right sword hadn’t been at the right place, the shield would have connected with his kidney.

Thiemo rammed one of his swords into the ground and forced himself to his legs. His free hand moved into his bag and searched for another lapis lazuli. All he felt were sapphires. Of course he could use them to boost his speed, but the last attack had been successfully turned against him even though he should have been faster than an ordinary human.

"How about we make this a bit more exciting? We still have five minutes left. If you even manage to land a single hit, I'll yield. I'll cede the victory." Thiemo said nothing. The trap was obvious as it could be. Leonidas merely wanted him to attack him mindlessly once more. Instead, he gripped his last sword and the sapphire which he had pulled out of the bag, then let the magic flow. He leaped forward, let go of his expended talisman, and grabbed his second sword before he jumped into the air. As soon he was over the griffon, he threw it on him and landed behind him. Still accelerated, he used the moment to land on the back of the griffon. Both he and his sword would hit his opponent at the same time, an attack which could not be defended against.

Leonidas' claw moved in the air and grabbed the falling sword at the hilt. Instantly the sword shattered into its parts, but instead of being shocked, the griffon jumped into the air and, with the help of his wings, made a long roll over Thiemo's head. Immediately, the human slammed his feet into the ground and changed his direction, but at the cost of much of his momentum. He crashed into the Leonidas' shields, but it was still enough to break the balance of the griffon. He landed on his back, wings stretched and his belly unprotected.

Thiemo used his chance at once, spinning around and bringing his sword down.

Two paws with extended claws pressed against his hand, and with his claws pushed together, Leonidas stopped the blade at its tip. "Not bad, but as I said, not good enough!" With a scream worthy of a bird of prey, the griffon rose up and pushed Thiemo a few steps back.

The human fell on his knees, his physical power expended. His stomach was revolting, and he fought to keep its contents inside of him. Sweat was running in streams down his face and burned entering his eyes. His shirt couldn't be saved even by the best tailor and his pants and coat had seen better days. The griffon was simply superior.

"I yield!" Leonidas called and lifted a claw into the air while he stood on his three remaining legs.

Thiemo merely stared in bewilderment at the griffon who was already on his way towards the exit, where his son made also seemed to be shocked. "I told you: get a hit in and I'll yield. I fight for fun. But you are fighting for something different, aren't you? No matter. If you want to have this stone repaired, visit me in my smithy. My son knows all about these things." With that, Leonidas was out of hearing range and tossed his shields to Anvil while both left the arena. Anvil seemed to be talking his father’s ears off.

Author's Notes:

I can finally say it: Not all griffons are jerks! Finally. I hold back the whole time. If Harry Potter taught us something, it's that griffons are very loyal beings. I think that's also the reason why they gave Rainbow a griffon friend in the show. The griffons in this story are loyal, honor bound, viking like warriors. That means, they never would leave their country, their people and their lands without reason. All those griffons Thiemo met until this point (besides his boss from the bar he worked for) were freaking criminals. Scum thrown out by the other and so on. Of course they are jerks! Leonidas has a very good reason to leave his lands on the other hand. His son is a hippogriff, I think you can guess the reason. And we will see more of them in the future.

I (as in the author) may don't like griffons very much as far as mythical creatures go, but that doesn't mean I will write them evil or something like that. If you like griffons you should read Bad Mondays, but I think I mentioned that story one time to much at this point.

Thanks to Verequus for translating this chapter.
Special thanks to JBL for proofreading and editing.

Chapter IV - Act 16.3 - Finals (Part 6)

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 16.3 – Final Rounds (Part 6) ~

Amaryllis wanted only one thing: victory. Thiemo had done and sacrificed so much for her. Even his greatest desire, to find a way home, he had delayed to be with her. The least she could do was aid him to do so.

With a quick flash, she fired another magic bolt at her opponent, a stallion from Saddle Arabia who wielded a sabre in his mouth, who tried to evade it. Unfortunately, he had little luck as Amy had erected shields around him that restricted his movement. It was as though he was caught in a grip.

The bolt found its target. It was not strong but was enough to singe the fur of the stallion and inflict some damage. Every few seconds she would fire one and increase her points. In her struggle with Jewel Note, something had broken inside her, as if a veil had been lifted. Suddenly, she understood so much more of what was happening around her. It was as if the magic would tell her what to do, not the other way round. She merely acted as a medium. She could live with it; she didn’t care how she achieved her goal. Or at least she tried not to think too much about it.

A few of the bolts were deflected by the stallion’s sword and fizzled in the sand, raising it around them. For a moment, Amaryllis lost sight of her opponent as she had to struggle to keep away the dust from her eyes, but then she felt him, or rather his sabre, as it was dangerously close to her neck. The stallion, who was almost as tall as her, snorted something unintelligible with the weapon between his teeth and then pressed it tighter to her neck.

She couldn’t care less. Again magic provided her with the answer, and a shield dome erupted from her horn, which surrounded her and threw the stallion back jerkily. As quickly as it appeared, it vanished, and the changeling princess turned around and fired another bolt at her opponent.

He now sported several bruises under his beige fur, but he didn’t stay put. This was hardly surprising since the horses from the desert were known to be the best fighters amongst the equine breeds of Albion.

"I've had enough!" Amaryllis yelled. Her horn flared again in the color she had learned to see, and like a wall, a shield took shape next to the stallion. He couldn’t do more than blink before it encompassed him and pressed him at an incredible speed against the wall of the stadium.

Breathing heavily, Amaryllis fell to her knees, sudden exhaustion written on her face, and she immediately began to replenish her magical reserves from the love in the air.

"Please remain calm!" She suddenly heard Loudmouth shout vigorously in his microphone as Amaryllis became aware of the surrounding tumult. Ponies screamed and covered their eyes while others stared with horror at the arena.

Curiously, Amaryllis followed her gaze and froze. Her opponent was still stuck to the wall, his head at an impossible angle while blood dripped from his mouth. His eyes were lifeless, just like the rest of the body.

***

Thiemo awoke slowly as a cold breeze brushed against his legs. It took a few seconds until he realized where he was before he began searching with his feet for the blanket. Finally, he found the folded half and with his toes and pulled it back skilfully over his legs. Satisfied, he snuggled back into his warm pillow and allowed his thoughts to wander back into the realm of dreams. However, a thought just didn’t want to leave his waking body. Why was the blanket even folded?

And it didn’t stop, of course. That question only led to more, such as how he had ended up in the bed in the first place. The last thing he remembered was how Meena and a crystal pony had helped him out of the arena. With a groan, he turned around and reluctantly opened his eyes, only to be greeted by darkness. It had to be in the middle of the night, the only time when the lights of the homes were dimmed in the Empire. It took a few seconds until his eyes became accustomed to dimness, but then the outlines of Amaryllis’ well-known bedroom gradually became clearer.

Yawning, he sat up, stretched briefly, and started to look for his clothes. Usually he deposited them on a chair that he always carried from the living room to the bedroom. Ponies had, if any, fancy dresses and therefore were not fans of plain wardrobes. Finally, he found his pants folded over the end of the bed and put on the, as they always were these days, freshly washed garment. Cadance must have given some staff member the job to sneak at night into the chambers and take care of it. Not that he resented it, since he himself noticed the strong odour of his clothes at the breakfast table when it wasn’t done. But at least he sweated and fought on her behalf. That he still had enough strength to go back to the castle was surprising enough.

Wearing only a pair of trousers, he rose from the bed and looked around in the dark room, searching for the pony that was supposed to lie beside him. His gaze wandered over to the bathroom, but there was no light under the door, which meant that he would not be able to find her there. Sleepy and rubbing his eyes, he finally walked into the living room and checked the door to the apartment. "Where could she be?" he asked himself silently, as he realized that it was closed.

Again a breeze swept along his legs, and he quickly found its source. One of the large windows was open and let in a gentle breeze that danced around with the curtains. It was not really cold but was still a significant difference to the temperature under the warm blanket that he had left behind.

Carefully, Thiemo put his head out of the window and looked down to the city. A few small lights shone from the high-rise buildings around the palace, but otherwise it was pretty quiet.

It was something Thiemo wasn’t used to from such a large city. Normally it was different, but after a whole day at a festival or in the stadium, it seemed the inhabitants of the Empire were ready to skip the nightlife. There was even only a bit of wind this high above, thanks to the magical dome.

"Amy?" he called out into the night and listened. "Amy, are you out here?" Thiemo tried to glance upwards to see if his girlfriend was sitting somewhere on the steep battlements, but it was just too dark. Finally, he came to the conclusion that she must have flown out and left the window slightly open so that she could come back later.

With slightly troubled thoughts, he laid back down under the covers again, this time on his right side. Normally, he would look Amy right in the face in this position, but today it was just the view from the window and the stars behind it. His answers would have to wait until tomorrow.

***

Amaryllis’ breathing normalised after she heard Thiemo lean by the window before he returned to the bedroom. She simply needed some time alone to think. The dream that had startled her was still fresh in her mind. She remembered today’s fight and her opponent. She hadn’t killed him, but she could have. Something had just clicked in her mind, and so much information at once had streamed into her head that she was able to process it. The biggest change was that she could see magic.

It had happened gradually during the fight against Jewel. Her idea of using her shields as platforms had been successful. She had jumped from one to the next, and before her opponent could anticipate it, Amaryllis’ hoof had made contact with her face. But it was not this alone that had forced her to the ground. She had formed one of her magic spheres around her hoof and fired several small projectiles at the same moment.

She could barely describe the feeling as she stood over her unconscious opponent. She felt so exhilarated, powerful, and superior. It was just incredible. Colours, as she had never seen them before, had suddenly danced before her eyes, and she realized it. For the first time, she had really used her magical potential. She was partly alicorn, a being able to move entire planets with her magic. What use was it having hundreds of spells in her head when they all could not defeat an opponent? But she did not need so many, only one and the right amount of power.

She had practically spent the remaining day thinking about what she could do now. How she would travel with Thiemo, side by side, as they covered each other’s backs. Nothing would stop them, and this idea pleased her immensely. Even her parents couldn’t deny her wishes. Surely she would come back here again. After all, this had become her home. But there was only the human's dream, whose vigour she wanted to renew.

With her head held high, she had faced her opponent in the arena today. Now that she was awake, not dreaming, she had an even clearer picture of the stallion in mind: a handsome stallion with a beige coat, a dark brown mane, and a small goatee. His ears had been decorated with many golden rings as well as his legs with golden amulets. The sword in his mouth had been a masterpiece of blacksmithing, probably more valuable than all the other jewellery on his body combined.

First she had tested him with some magic bullets that he had deflected with his weapon. Confidently, he had stormed towards her, only to run straight into the first of her shields. Faster than he had realized it, she had built four more magical walls and locked him in a chamber, together with one of her spheres. Without even thinking about it, she had then opened fire. The magic bullets had flown in all directions, bouncing off of the walls and hitting the sand. Because of the raised dust, she couldn’t see her enemy, so she had fired on and on. Only when one of the judges had physically stopped her had she noticed that the fight had been declared over. The stallion hadn’t been seriously injured, thanks to the magic field of the arena, but in normal circumstances, it wouldn’t have ended with a few simple contusions and bruises. In this way, it was only a warning for ignoring the instructions of the judge. Still, how easy it could have turned out different as reflected vividly in her dream.

"And you really think that you can hide from me?"

Startled, Amaryllis spread her wings as she almost fell off the steep roof. However, before she had to make use of them, a strong hand gripped her left front hoof and pulled her up again, where she peered directly into the grinning face of Thiemo.

Furiously, she slightly jabbed at his shoulder. "Why did you do that?! And how did you find me, anyway?"

"Well," he grinned as he rubbed his shoulder, "imagine how surprised I was when I looked out the window in the bedroom and something lit up the night sky with her mere presence."

Immediately, she thought back to what he had told her when they travelled to Karst’s tree castle in the lost forest. "So, now it's my turn. What are you doing out here?"

"Thinking."

"About what?"

"A lot."

For a few seconds, there was silence.

"The same as yesterday?"

"Yes."

"You don’t really want to talk about it, right?"

Did she? Amaryllis didn’t know for sure. If she thought about it closely, her coltfriend was probably the one who would understand her best. There had been several moments in his past when he could have fought with magic, but he did not.

"How do you decide when to use magic?"

"What?" he asked, surprised by the question.

"How do you decide if it is justified to use magic to defeat someone or to get what you want?"

Carefully, Thiemo sat on the roof, stabilizing himself with his hands. Amaryllis joined him and sat down beside him. "For this, I should probably tell you a little more about my education. Zarni was a strict teacher. Mistakes resulted in a beating with a stick. Success that came about contrary to their ideas brought the same result. She taught me certain rules. For example, the spirits didn’t tolerate if one abused their gifts to his own advantage. This included everything from simple things, like making water into ice to using magic to end a life. Why did the warriors of the tribe still carry traditional weapons? Magic only existed to serve the majority of the tribe, to relieve sores and to help nature where it couldn’t help itself anymore."

Thiemo snorted and laughed. "I can’t count on my fingers how many times I've broken the rules. Rules are meant to be broken. So the question is rather when it is necessary to comply with them. Children, foals, chicks, young ones were always taboo to me. I would… I could never do anything to children. Not with magic or anyway else. Also, I would never turn against innocent bystanders, someone who isn’t responsible for the situation. But on the other hand, there are individuals who outright challenge it, and against those I rarely hesitate. It’s better to get off the first shot than allowing them to. Solo shot first and so on. In the end, there is no absolute rule for right or wrong. It is in the sole discretion of the user since everyone has different attitudes to morality.

“A good example is that both Celestia and Shining Armor see me as a murderer. It is true that I killed. But the gryphon held me prisoner and caught Aura and would have done unspeakable to her sooner or later before reselling her. For me, at the moment when I realized that, his right to live had been forfeited. The situation plays just as an important role as the person you stand against."

Amaryllis knew the story of Blakkur and the journey on the cruise ship. It had been a while since Thiemo had told her about it. But she was pretty sure he had not tried to exculpate himself back then. "How do you feel about it today?"

"Not a bit different. Blakkur deserved what he got. I could have made it short and painless. Remember, we were not his first victims. In my own opinion, I’ve made the world a safer place. But in the end, it remains murder. And while I do not believe in any God who will judge my life when it's over, I believe in karma. Eventually, it will bite me in the ass. Hopefully very far in the future. "Amaryllis rested her head on his shoulder. “Can you at least tell me what made you think of all this?"

"Tomorrow we will fight against each other," she clarified. "With Eris, who participates in the tournament, I have no doubt ... and I'm afraid to hurt you."

She couldn’t see it, but she felt his cheeks being lifted as Thiemo grinned. "And you think you could do that?"

Her head jerked up. "What's that supposed to mean now?"

"I have seen your fights. You forget, I can see your spheres and not only the physical manifestation but your magic missiles."

"Doesn’t matter, because no matter how fast you are, I have more than enough rounds to wrap the entire arena in dust."

"And I ..." He touched his empty arm. "Well, I have none. But I know more about applied magic than you, plus I have much more combat experience. "

“Oh yeah? Who was attacked by a small pony with a couple of knives and needed my help? Or was nearly caught by a skeleton?” She snorted.

"And who was almost slashed into halves by a robot?"

"Emphasis on almost, because someone else was!" They met in the middle. Hooves wandered over the man’s shoulders, while his hands grabbed the cheeks of the changeling princess. Roughly, they pressed her lips together until finally Amaryllis’ strong tongue managed to separate from her lover’s. Then she bit into his lower lip. "Bed, now!" was all she said and pulled him back into the apartment through the open window beneath them.

* * *

And so the inevitable happened, and although she had mentally prepared herself for this moment, Amaryllis felt her heart began to ache. Thiemo was already in the arena and looked with a blank face to the entrance from which she came. Not at her, but through her. She reached out mentally to him, wanting to read his emotions, only to be struck by the first blow before the battle had actually started. He had locked her out. Like an insurmountable wall, it made him inaccessible. For Amaryllis, it was almost like a bad dream, too accustomed to bathing in the love that was meant just for her. And it hurt him, or at least she could not imagine why he couldn’t look into her eyes.

Another realization had already sunk in. This was what Eris wanted. This was the reason why she had even proposed the bet to her. Eris didn’t choose her own opponent; she wanted to choose their opponents. And it probably not only affected this fight. This was only the climax. How did two inexperienced fighters as the both of them even come so far? Amaryllis was sure that Eris had manipulated the whole tournament, had given them opponents she knew both could defeat. They wouldn’t have come so far for any other reason. And Thiemo wasn’t stupid either – she was sure he had noticed something. The problem was that he could not find out. Eris would assume that they had talked. This fight had to take place, and it had to be a real fight. She would have to hurt Thiemo, but it was for his own good. Plus, she had made it up to him in advance last night. At least she liked to think so.

Her ears twitched as Loudmouth’s voice echoed over the heads of the thousands of spectators and excited them. Eris had fought before them today, and the whole thing only took a few minutes again. Naturally, the audience was disappointed. But so it was in the final. "Today we have something very special! Princess Amaryllis meets her feared opponent: her own lover, the human known as Thiemo!" The audience roared loudly.

Amy snorted. Not that she needed a reminder. "Thiemo, I'll try to make it quick!" she shouted at him across the square, against the roar of the masses.

For the first time, his gaze was on her. "I don’t want to fight you. I don’t want to hurt you! I thought at first that I could ... but I can’t." The signal to start had already been given. Officially, the battle had started long ago.

"I want to fight you!" Astonishment was clearly written on his face. "I don’t want to hurt you, but I want to fight and not just to prove it to myself, but also to prove myself to you. You still see me as the frightened nymph when we met for the first time. But we changelings grow quickly and adapt. It is in our nature. Even if I'm more pony than changeling, it’s still a part of me. I have grown, even if you do not like to see it. I'll show you.” She grinned. “Besides, we've still got our little bet running. I would like to see you again in the lingerie one day. I've saved it, you know?"

Thiemo shook his head and chuckled. "And I was beginning to wonder where it had gone. I think maybe I should get you some. No, definitely. But maybe one of those maids dresses. You'll need it if you are to follow every wish from my lips for one day. "

"I bet it would look great on you." They both looked at each other. Then everything happened at once. Amaryllis created a sphere while hundreds of small fragments from Thiemo’s bag formed to two swords in his hands. Amaryllis knew that he could see it, though. Therefore, in the same moment, she formed a second one behind him, where even he couldn’t detect it with his magical sight. He also didn't know that she had mastered it.

Thiemo sprinted towards her, but she had expected that. After all, swords were melee weapons. She shot the first sphere from her horn and opened fire. Of course, the human could already see the arcane bolts appear from the source and evaded them without problem. "You're going to need more than that," he told her as he reached her. Without hesitation, she spun around and swiped his face with her tail while she created a third sphere at its end. He didn’t have the time to block, let alone to even look surprised, as the sphere hit his body and a volley of at least ten missiles hurled at the human and flung him to the ground. She had defeated Jewel Note like that, and it again had its intended effect.

At least it first appeared so, but the human then straightened up. Except for a little dust on his clothing, he seemed to have taken no further damage. He shook a little and then shortly patted his clothes. "Okay, that was no understatement," he admitted. He rammed one of his swords into the ground and grabbed with his hand into his pocket. She didn’t leave him enough time to get his gems and fired from the sphere she had positioned behind him. But the bolts struck no more than the bare ground where the man had stood seconds before.

Hastily, Amaryllis turned her head around. Since he had magic, Thiemo could move very quickly, even without a sapphire. With one of the stones, it was like trying to follow a flash. Only the trail of magic that he left behind was an indication of where he might be now. But the princess was not fast enough. Suddenly her hind legs no longer touched the ground, and before she could even scream, she was lying on her side. Thiemo stood over her, his sword in his hand and ready to strike. He hesitated.

Amaryllis’ horn flickered for a fraction of a second and a bullet struck the man at point blank range and threw him again a few yards back. This time he seemed prepared, and Thiemo managed to land in a crouch, his sword by his side. Amy saw, as she straightened up, that the man again dug into his pocket. This time she opted for the defensive and built a shield around her.

It only took a few seconds for two ice balls to make contact with the surface of her purple dome, directly behind her back. Immediately, she spun around, removed the shield, and returned fire, but too late did she realize that Thiemo wasn’t there anymore. She created a shield again, but then more ice balls impacted with her ribs. Thiemo was under her shield!

It couldn’t have been better. Amaryllis gathered as much magic as she could. "Sorry, but this is going to hurt," she told the human she could barely see from the corners of her eyes. Then she fired a shock wave. This was what she had worked on with her father to fight against Thiemo. At that time, they had planned on the possibility that this battle could happen, and now that it was here, she was glad that they had planned out something in advance.

The magic engulfed the human, pressing him against the inside of her shield until it shattered before she threw him against the inner wall of the stadium, whereupon he went down. Amaryllis, panting from exhaustion, quickly began to refill her reserves from the love in the air. As long as she was in the Crystal Empire, she would never run out of magic. An almost infinite amount of love waited in the air to be consumed. Thiemo might have shut her out, but that didn’t mean that she would starve to death, at least not here.

The idea for the shock wave magic had come to Shining Armor after she had blown up the training room. How to hit an opponent who was faster than magic bullets? By using an area effect!

Groaning, the man supported himself, first on his trembling hands, then on his legs. "Did anyone take the license number of that truck?" he asked the audience that couldn’t hear him. Amaryllis eyes widened. His clothes were ragged and needed to be repaired, but he himself seemed to have taken little damage, except his disorientation.

* * *

Thiemo was a little loopy. His face ached and so did his chest. He was also sure that he had left a lasting impression in the crystal of the stadium wall. His arms and legs were still shaking from the blast that his girlfriend had shot across the arena. Surprisingly, it was mainly the impact that caused the pain, not the blast itself. A little unsteadily, almost falling again, a thought struck him. Twilight said that magic behaved in his body like water in a bowl. Wouldn’t this absorb the shock? If a man jumped from a diving tower into a swimming pool, it hurt but not nearly as much as it would if no water was in the pool. Well, that probably wouldn’t even hurt, because the man would not survive it, but that was not the point. His own magic formed a kind of airbag against magic attacks, decreasing its momentum.

He wanted to touch his forehead with his hand, but he missed and landed on all fours. The world was still spinning around him, but he finally managed to stay on his feet and focused on Amaryllis.

She seemed surprised that he had pulled it off. He himself was a little too, but this was his chance. With both of his hands, he reached out and magically grabbed at Legion. One sword was right next to Amaryllis, the second behind her, and both responded to his call. They dissolved into small fragments and raced through the air towards him, not missing his girlfriend. One hit her at the side and the other directly over her tail on the rump.

Startled, Amaryllis leaped forward, and Thiemo rushed to his weapon. He grabbed the shards out of the air, quickly regaining their shape as swords, and struck. However, a long, crooked horn blocked both swords before Amaryllis stretched out her wings and leaped back.

Quickly, she recovered from the hit and ascended into the air above him. Thiemo couldn’t do anything but stand there, breathing heavily, and watch as she once again gathered magic and turned her horn in a little sun by sheer power. Inwardly, he prepared for what might come, but there was no other option than dodging it.

Her short mane swirled as she accumulated so much magic that Thiemo had to stop his magical sight. What he saw sent a little shiver down his spine. Amaryllis pupils had disappeared and pure magic flowed from the whites of her eyes. Then her head turned down, her horn pointed directly at him, and she fired. Thiemo jumped back as the missile hit the floor. Instantly, Thiemo realized that he wasn’t out of danger. The bullet exploded and threatened to consume the entire arena. He quickly stepped back further and further until he finally reached the wall. From the approaching explosion, he retreated in the only direction that was left.

* * *

Slowly, the world came back into focus as the magic ebbed and left behind an exhausted Amaryllis in the air. Immediately, she again began to devour the love from the air, to replace the magic she had just burned, but this time it would take longer than before.

The dust beneath her settled down, and she looked for the human. The first thing she noticed was that not only that Thiemo was not there but also that the sand of the arena was merged into a single surface, with a small indentation in the centre where her magic had smashed it.

Suddenly, something grabbed her neck, and she tried to stay in the air, but it was impossible. Feeling like a stone, she began to steer to the ground. At the last moment, she managed to turn herself on the side and to fold her wings, but then she hit the crystalline ground. She also felt the knee that rammed into her back and took her breath away. She had certainly found the man.

He then rolled down from her and tried to sit up but fell back to the slippery floor. Amaryllis stifled a laugh as Thiemo muttered something that sounded like a mix of various insults. He tried again, but this time his hands skipped and his chin hit the hard ground.

"Fucking shit!" He didn’t hold back his anger, turning on his back as he held his chin.

The princess remembered, after laughing again, that the fight was not over yet, and she was not necessarily in a better position. Now she tried to stand up too, but unlike the man, she had wings she could use to support herself. She lifted her body slightly in the air and then, at the same time, carefully placed all four feet on the floor. She stumbled briefly, but remained steadfast, having the advantage of four legs. Then, with a slight grin on her lips, she began to imitate Jewel Note and used the crystal surface to slide with her hooves like on a frozen lake, again and again around the human. "Well? Do you give up now?" she asked and stuck out her tongue.

"Never!” he shouted at her and stood up, this time with more success, spreading his both feet very wide. Amaryllis didn’t need to see to open fire again, not while he hadn’t yet fully recovered from his last attack. She aimed at his feet and again brought him to his knees. The fall probably affected the man more than the bullets themselves. She didn’t know how, but somehow Thiemo had managed to dampen her magic attacks. If she didn’t need all her legs to stand, she could end the fight with a single kick of her hind legs.

Startled, she pulled herself out of her thoughts as she noticed that Thiemo had pulled a crystal from his pocket. She prepared to repel any projectiles, but he did not target her but his own feet. No ice ball shot out, but a thin layer of ice slowly surrounded the sole of his boots, which expanded and then formed something like an ice-skate. Then he suddenly rammed both of his hands in the crystal, shattering the surface and pushing himself off with his feet. The man landed in a crouch, and with the icy skids under the boots, he slid away from her. Finally, with some distance between them, he turned around sharply and came to a halt, his skids flinging some ice in the air.

"Two can play at that game," he said and then he held out his hands. Unlike the first time, however, Amaryllis now knew what to expect, as the ground in some places suddenly divided and hundreds of small crystal shards flew to the human. Even so, they missed her barely.

The swords reformed in the hands of the human, and Amaryllis noticed something. From what she knew, the weapon could transform in any shape he wanted, but he seemed to make no use of it. Or maybe he couldn’t.

Either way, she prepared for his next attack. Unlike what she had anticipated, he didn’t use the swords, at least not the way she had thought. He turned around both weapons and rammed their tops in the crystal to push himself forward. Now and then, he would adjust his course by only using one of the both. Then, he began to extract gems from his pocket and attack her with shards of ice. Her shield spell blocked them, though, but it was kind of funny to see the human as he slid over the ground, wiggling with his flanks. And a little distracting.

The mobile shield followed the man and blocked further attacks, so he stopped it as the first of his lapis lazuli crumbled to dust. Amy knew that he couldn’t have that many, anymore, so it was all just a matter of time.

Amaryllis put her wings in motion and again rose in the air. Thiemo was now bound to the soil, without the ability to push himself off the ground and not agile enough to dodge her magic anymore. She would end it now. She summoned as much magic as she had at command and began to fire from the air at the human.

The first bolt missed by far, the second hit the ground before his feet and forced him to turn, and the third collided with his shoulder and cost him one of his swords. She fired on, but suddenly he turned around and headed straight for the wall of the stadium. Because of the sharp curve he was taking, he lost momentum, which made him an easier target. However, he managed to fend off the next two bolts with the remaining sword. Then he reached the wall, steadied himself against it, and then pushed himself with all his might towards the centre of the arena again.

At first she had no idea what he planned to do, but then she realized a second too late. Thiemo reached the small crater, slid in and shot in the air on the other side. Amaryllis didn’t fly very high for the sole reason that there was a ceiling on the arena. Now she regretted that she didn’t dare to ascend higher as Thiemo shot vertically into the sky and grabbed her front legs. She struggled against the sudden extra weight again, but this time she was more exhausted than last time. There was no chance that she could keep the both of them up. Slowly, she descended as the man, with a jerk, clung to her neck and clambered on her back. Then he angled his legs and tucked Amaryllis wings to her body. They impacted with the ground.

For a moment the princess’ vision turned black, but then she forced her eyes open again. Her body ached and she was tired. She saw Thiemo then, buried between her hooves, unmoving. On his forehead was an imprint of her hoof. He was breathing heavily, but made no effort to move. What had happened? Wasn’t she supposed to hit the ground first? Why was he suddenly under her?

"And we have a winner!" She heard Loudmouth’s voice suddenly, together with thousands of whistles and shouts. "And what a fight that was! I daresay one of the most exciting of this year's tournament! We'll watch the highlights soon again. For those who don’t want to stay, you will hear us tomorrow in the final! See you soon, Crystal Empire!"

Amaryllis kept lying where she was, still listening to the cheering crowd and only looking out of the corners of her eyes as officials came to the field, equipped with first aid kits and litters.

* * *

Thiemo woke up with a headache, dry mouth, and not alone. "How are you?" he heard the familiar voice of Princess Cadance. "Amaryllis really kept you hard at it."

"No, she did that last night. That was just ..." He stopped as he now realized exactly with whom he was speaking. "Um, yeah. You could say that. "

"She surprised you."

"Yes."

"Water?" She levitated the glass from the bedside table over to him. Now he also realized where he was. It was one of the guest rooms in the castle. Gratefully, he took the glass and carefully drank a sip as he sat up a little. "I'm mad at you, you know." Thiemo said nothing because Cadance had a huge smile on her lips. "Now I have to squeeze myself into clothing I last fit in before Skyla was born. And a mare who realizes she no longer has the physique she once had is not a happy mare. For this I blame you, you understand?" Thiemo nodded. He had no idea what she was talking about. "But we'll worry about that when you're feeling better. Today, I only have something for you." A little box appeared from behind her back and landed on the sheets in Thiemo's lap." That's what you wanted, right?" Carefully, Thiemo opened the box and looked inside. It was a polished gem, and he realized immediately what it was. A sea breeze crystal, the same rare material the throne was made of. "You know that even if you won, I couldn’t have given you my throne, right? What should I sit on?” She giggled. “But I think this should be more than enough. Look at it as a little reward for the outstanding fights you fought in my name. "

"Thanks," he croaked out and gently stroked the precious jewel with a finger.

"You're welcome." She was just about to take her leave, but then she stopped. "Oh, before I forget." Her horn glowed briefly, and there was a flash of light in the room. When Thiemo could see again, he saw the horror that Cadance had conjured. "Amy wants you to wear it tomorrow for breakfast." And with that, she walked out of the room.

"So we meet again, old enemy,” Thiemo said after he had fought a several-minute-long staring contest with the two-piece minotaur lingerie. Then, with a sigh, he fell back to bed and smiled weakly. All in all, it had turned out better than expected.

Chapter IV - Act 16.4 - In Harmony with the Elements

View Online

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 16.4 – In Harmony with the Elements ~

Thiemo took a deep breath of the fresh air out in the city park of the Empire. A bandage that he hadn’t noticed at first after the fight yesterday was still wrapped around his head. Underneath it was an ointment that was supposed to reduce the swelling. In the end, it had been the hoof of his marefriend against his forehead that had sent him into the land of dreams. In his mind, that process had gone differently, but he didn’t mind either version. To be a bit honest, he had to remind himself at the end of the fight that he didn’t want to have won. He had been so engaged in the fight, had found so much fun in it. Luckily, he had managed to soften his fall.

Sighing, he tried to shut out everything around him. He wanted to use this day to do what he probably should have done long ago: he would build himself a totem today. The sea breeze crystal in baguette cut was held in a cage of high carat gold, which held the stone on the upper third, leaving a lot of space to be inspected. It now hung around his neck and already emitted magic, which felt like the sea breeze it was named after. Thiemo thought he could even smell the salt.

Laughing foals, amongst them also his daughter, reminded him of where he was. What he had actually tried to forget. To create a totem, all four elements would have to be present. The city park provided three by itself. The candle in his hand, which he had brought, would provide the last one. Around him was a circle of salt in the sparse grass, which he had made according to the instructions that Zarni had left him. He opened his eyes again and let his gaze wander. Around him were hundreds of ponies sitting on blankets in the park and enjoying the warm sun on their coats while their foals were frolicking around on the nearby playground.

“No matter where you look, life always takes familiar forms,” he recited something he had learned years ago. So many on this planet was alien to him, but this sight, more than anything before, reminded him that it didn’t matter how different everything seemed to be, in the end there were always similarities. A simple lesson but one that not everyone had learned yet. Even he had taken a while. How long was he here so far?

Just as he was about to count the exact days, he understood something. It was so trivial and simple that he had overlooked it all these years. In every living thing was magic, although in different amounts. Was it wrong to say, then, that magic equalled life? Another look around him only brought more thoughts. All the ponies around him were beaming with magic. Even the griffons, now that he had some near him that were not lunging at him with their claws, seemed to have a bit.

“It’s wonderful, isn’t it?” an unfamiliar voice suddenly asked. It was definitively female, deep and melodic. It was worthy enough to belong to a singer, maybe even a siren. Thiemo turned around and found something that definitely wasn’t there before: endless nothing. It engulfed him so suddenly like the voice he had just heard. But there was something in all that black something. Blue dust wavered around him, mixed with what seemed to be thousands of stars. And he quickly remembered that he had already been here once. This was the place where he had talked with Blue Light. Unlike last time, his nakedness was still covered by his clothes, causing him to sigh in relief.

Curiously, he looked around, searching for the source of the voice. “Hello?” he tried carefully and began to run through the mist. While waiting for a response, his thoughts once again tried to figure out what this place was. It was obvious that it was another kind of existence, but he wanted to be able to describe it better. Unfortunately, his knowledge about astral planes was limited. At least he knew that they existed, but that was about it. So instead of looking into the endless abyss offside of the path, he reached out his hand and touched the mist. Much to his surprise, it wasn’t cold, but rather warm and felt like someone was putting their hand on his. As if someone wanted to calm him.

“Over here!” he heard the clearly happy voice again. His eyes wandered into the direction of the noise and finally found the source. In the middle of the floor was a hole filled with water clearer than any he had seen. “Finally you are here!” the voice came out of the hole, or rather the water. Thiemo took a step back, as the former was rising into the air and began to take a form. The head was clearly that of a pony. He could recognize that shape with their distinct snout everywhere. The rest looked more like that of a dolphin. While there were forehooves, the hind legs were replaced by two fins. On its back, the creature had another fin and its body ended in a long, elegant fishtail. Its mane seemed to be the sea itself, as if it begun from it and stretched into eternity. Or just flow back into the hole in the ground.

The mare, which had just formed out of water in front of his eyes, smiled at him as she noticed his confused expression. During that, her eyes sparkled in a deep green, which stood in very strong contrast to her grey skin. Then the human understood who was standing in front. It was no one but Undine, Lady of the Sea and Water, origin of all life itself. Slowly, he got down onto his knee and bowed to her, not wanting to insult this being in any way possible.

“What is the meaning of this?” came a thundering second voice over the astral plane. Wind, strong wind came towards him, and for a moment Thiemo expected it to take a form as well. But then he spotted a gigantic white griffon heading for them. Gigantic was a weak description. It would have needed three mares the size of Celestia standing on each other’s backs to look into her eyes. Thiemo would only just reach the end one of the forelegs if he would jump into the air. Outrage stood clearly on the griffon’s face as she landed, shaking the non-existent ground and blowing up blue dust into all directions. Her ice blue eyes pierced through Thiemo at first before she looked at Undine. “I heard the call of a shaman and find you here. Explain yourself, Undine!”

Her voice, her authoritative approach, paired with the enormous stature, filled the human with a fear he hadn’t felt in a long time. The fear of authority. He had feared Celestia for the power she controlled. He had feared the images of Nightmare Moon because that was what they were: true fear. This was the Mistress of Air, Storm at the Horizon. Ariel, avatar of wind, and she was mad. Who was he, a puny human, to dare to call two creatures that could smash him with ease? Damn it, he was shaking all over as the griffon stood above him and stared down at the sea pony next to him.

“Not only you heard the call, Ariel. This young human has called us both. Apparently one of us wasn’t enough for him.” Thiemo didn’t dare to look as the eyes of both avatars were on him.

“Oh, I know this one and I have still a few things to settle with him, Undine. Leave him to me.”

“You know that I cannot and will not do that.”

“If I may—” Thiemo tried to say.

“Silence!” yelled Ariel. “You have done enough already! Undine, this human has debts he has to pay for. I will not let you have him. If he wants to form a bond, it will be with me. After I judged him.”

Thiemo, still kneeling, suddenly felt a hoof on his shoulder and looked up at the avatar of water. “Why have you called both of us, child?” she asked, ignoring Ariel.

He gathered all his courage and stood up before he began to talk. “My name is Thiemo. I was taught by my master, Zarni, and I am ready to finish my apprenticeship. I bring the elements a tribute in exchange for a bond. Both water and wind are precious to me, so I chose the third option. I want to form a bond with both of you.” The faces of a both avatars were unreadable as he finished talking.

Eventually, Undine coughed slightly. “Well, it is unconventional to serve two avatars. However, it is the nature of water to adjust to the situation. You have spoken with wisdom and chosen your words carefully. The sea breeze crystal around your neck is a proof of the trust that has already been given to you, and I do not see myself in the position to decline you. I will join a bond with you, young shaman.”

“Bold, impudent as well, and with the head through the wall,” Ariel began, still visibly enraged. And what else she accused him off he didn’t even know. “Wind persistently forces its opponents to their knees, but you are a hothead who still has to prove his patience. If you really want to form a bond with me, you will have to pay your debts first.”

“And what do I owe you?” he asked, determined.

“Pain...”

***

Amaryllis was a bit disappointed. She had planned to annoy the human all day long, while he was wearing a specific piece of clothing. Unfortunately, it was nowhere to be found. This morning, when she was done in the bathroom, Thiemo had just disappeared. She had searched all the places where he could have been. At first in his rented apartment, where she had a discussion with a raging landlord. Not only had Thiemo not showed up there in a while and hadn’t done his part in cleaning the hallway, he also hadn’t paid his rent.

“And I don’t give a damn who his marefriend is! I want the rent by tomorrow or I’m gonna throw all his stuff out the window!” the stallion had shouted at her as she tried to resolve the situation. Amy doubted that he believed her to be said marefriend and would have paid for the rent.

Then she went to the bar, the tavern at the corner, where Thiemo had been working for a while. The griffon behind the counter had bowed quickly and then told him that Thiemo had quit his job because he had to train for the tournament. Since then, he hadn’t been seen there.

Now there was only one destination left as she walked through the city streets with her little sister. “Where are we going?” Skyla asked excitedly and shifted up and down on her back. At first she was confused why no guards were accompanying here, but then Amaryllis had realized how much the two trusted her.

“The last place I thought of was the library. He has spent some time there with Twilight.” Skyla made a sound of dismay as she stuck out her tongue.

“I hate the library,” she then explained. “Aunt Twilight had took me there a few times and read to me from some books. But those weren’t books! They didn’t even have pictures!” Amaryllis failed in holding back a chuckle.

“You know, maybe we could make a quick stop at the playground in the park.” Since she wanted to rest her hooves as well, the idea didn’t seem too bad. “Maybe we can buy ourselves ice cream.”

“Oh yes! Please, please, please!” I want a big scoop of chocolate!” Skyla almost fell off her back as she leaned on her hind legs to show how big the scoop had to be. Amy doubted that there were any scoops larger than the head of a foal, but she didn’t want to burst her little bubble either. “And we should take one for Auralia too.”

“I doubt we can make it before it melts.”

Skyla looked at her in confusion. “Why? She’s over there.” The changeling princess, already on her way to the park, looked over the low fence that surrounded what her little sister was pointing at. On one of the slides sat the orange filly with white mane, shouting for joy as she was sliding down. And where Auralia was, the human wasn’t far away either.

Entering the park, she began to search for Thiemo, both with her eyes and her aura. What she felt as she connected with the human almost made her freeze. The human was terrified. No, it was more than that. Pure terror was what was exuding from Thiemo’s mind right now. Immediately she galloped forward, ignoring the fact that Skyla had fallen from her back, and followed the fear to its origin.

Skilfully, she jumped over the heads of surprised ponies enjoying their picnic, barged through the queue at the ice cream stand, and swirled up some grass as she ruthlessly put all her power into her legs. Her head jerked from one side to the other, always on the search for the slightest hint of where Thiemo could be.

Then she found him, covered by multiple ponies curiously standing around him. At first she didn’t notice it, but as the spectators finally made room for her, she saw that the human seemed to float. He was sitting cross-legged, his fists connecting at his knuckles in front of his chest, while he was hovering a few centimetres above the ground, his eyes closed. Around him seemed to float some water drops.

“Thiemo!” she shouted and tried to grab the human with her hoof, but a spontaneous shift of the air pressure held her back. She changed her sight and saw that the human was wrapped in cocoon of pure magic that even kept the air, aside from that which was already in there, away from him. Still, she tried again to reach her hoof out to him. The air jerkily pushed her entire foreleg aside with such force that her shoulder made an uncomfortable crack, and she felt something that felt like many tiny cuts. Not only on her leg, but also on the soft bottom of her hoof, blood was dripping down on the ground. “What happened here?” she asked one of the nervous-looking crystal ponies around her, in this case a mare.

“I don’t know, your Majesty. The human was just sitting there the whole time and suddenly…”

“Dad!” Amaryllis spun around and saw her sister and Auralia galloping over the grass-covered hill as well. “Dad! What’s going on here?” Before the filly could reach Thiemo, however, Amaryllis grabbed her tail with her mouth and pulled her back.

“Stay back. You’re going to get hurt,” she said firmly and showed the two fillies her injured right leg. “We have to get help…”

***

He had already asked himself, and now he knew the answer. Yes, the avatars could feel what was done with their power. Thiemo had to try and keep it together to not collapse into a whimpering bundle on the ground. He had always knew that this possibility existed, that someone somewhere would bring him to justice for the abuse of the knowledge that was entrusted him. At first Thiemo had believed Celestia to be that someone, but that turned out to be wrong. The real judge was much worse.

Ariel was still a white wall of feathers and muscle in front of him, staring down at him with a look that clearly told that he was nothing but a tiny insect to her. “Worm!” she snapped at him. “Go ahead, pee yourself in fear that your own stupidity has caught up to you. But this is not the reason why I wish for your punishment. I have shared my power with plenty, many of which cared even less about consequences than you. But you... you have no honour in you. Not a single bit. Killing is one thing. I do it every day to live. My children do it every day to survive.” She paused a second. “But they at least have the dignity to stand with honour in front of their prey. You are nothing but an honourless maggot who feasts on the remains and takes all the credit!” she yelled directly into his face. “And the worst thing is,” Ariel continued in a tone that came close to a whisper, “you probably still have no clue what I am talking about.”

“Blakkur.” The words escaped his painfully dry throat.

“Oho! I am surprised that you still remember the name, human.”

“And the other griffons of his crew.”

“And I know exactly that Zarni drilled into you. What is the highest principle of every shaman? What?” Thiemo mumbled something. “Louder!”

“Honour the life…”

“Louder or you will meet your creator right here and now!”

“Honour the life!”

“Come again?”

“Honour the life!”

“Again!”

“Honour every life!”

It went silent. Thiemo was still shaking all over as he felt the gigantic beak through his closed eyes, just centimetres away from his face and ready bite it off with one snap.

“I am not angry because you have killed. I am angry because of how you killed. You, someone who knows how it is to fight for your life. I am not angry because you killed my children. I am angry because you paid no respect to the lives that were taken.” Hearing this imperious voice, nothing more than a whisper, was worse than her shouting. “You should be glad that I am not Celestia. Unlike her, I am not condemning an entire race because they killed a few of my children. But what can you expect from an avatar of Life who does not understand death.” The beak moved away from his face, and Thiemo felt that Ariel was standing up again. “You deserve a punishment that will remind you of that.”

“What do you have in mind?” Undine asked. She was still balancing on her fin in the water and now put a hoof on Thiemo’s shoulder.

“Stop mothering the human,” Ariel growled at her.

“I cannot help it, Ariel, it is in my nature,” she replied with a smile.

The avatar of the Air looked at Thiemo again and seemed to consider. “I think I am going to let him feel what would have happened if his luck had left him at the wrong moment. If you could call it luck if someone is guarding over you. I will remind him of a nightmare. I would have just banished his soul where it belonged, but unfortunately that is not my decision. And unlike this worm, I do not arrogate what is not mine.” Ariel began to move her giant body into a crouching position. “In any event, do you accept your punishment?”

Thiemo didn’t know what to do. For the first time in a long while, he was clueless. Usually some idea or clue on what do came to him, and that was for much more complicated things than a yes or no question. Although said idea usually wasn’t the greatest. No, here and now, his mind was empty as he stared into the stern face of Ariel who awaited his answer.

He could say no, but that would deny him any chance to ever bond with the wind element. And he loved the wind, the speed that it gave him, the feeling of the air pressing against his face, the first deep breath at a rainy spring morning. He could say no and wait for when he would have to face the consequences of his actions sometime else. “I accept.”

A heartbeat, then everything around him slowed down. Faster than the blink of an eye, Ariel’s head jolted forward and pain shot through Thiemo’s body as muscles and tendons were strained, flesh torn, and blood pitched freely from where his left arm used to be. It was now in Ariel’s beak, where she slowly began to chew on it.

Thiemo screamed and fell to the ground, trying to stop the bleeding with his right arm. Blood coloured the black ground into a dark red as the human fought not to lose consciousness from all the pain. If he would stop putting pressure on the wound, he would bleed out.

He began to shake as more and more adrenalin flooded his body and dimmed the pain a bit. A bit. It still hurt more than anything he had ever felt before. At least now he could hear his own thoughts over his screams again. And he could feel something else as well: a beak digging into his flesh. His cut off flesh. To his horror, he realized that he could still feel every bit of his arm in Ariel’s beak. How she chewed slowly and swallowed each bit of ground up flesh.

Rolling and thrashing around in his own blood, he tried to regain control of his muscles again, but the pain just didn’t want to let go off him. This was no clean cut; the avatar had simply grabbed his arm and pulled it out, instead of pinching it off with her sharp beak. Flaps of skin covered the back of his hand; he could feel veins and muscles as the cold air touched them. His breath became quicker and ragged. He knew he was succumbing to shock, but he could do nothing against it.

“I think that is enough.” Undine came into his view, and both her hooves carefully wandered on his right hand, which still covered the stump that used to be his arm. “Shhhh, everything will be fine,” she said. He was engulfed by a chill that killed off everything he had just felt a few moments ago. The feeling of his meat in the body of the griffon ebbed as well.

His body relaxed, and he stretched out all remaining limbs. He didn’t care that he was lying in a puddle of his own blood; finally, the unbelievable pain was over. He hadn’t noticed it until now, but tears were running down his check. It was one of the first things he felt from his body again, then his rapid heartbeat, his aching lungs, and the relief of all muscles that had tensed up during the spasms. Slowly his arm wandered up and carefully covered his eyes, now spreading the blood over his face too.

It took a few seconds until Thiemo realized that it was his left arm and a few more until he registered how cold it felt. Confused, he hesitantly pulled it up a bit higher and saw white, with a bit of blood running down.

“Our bond is completed,” he heard Undine say. “A part of me is now a part of you.” Cautiously, he moved his white arm a bit and formed his hand into a fist. Ice, his entire left arm was ice. He looked further up where there had only been flaps a few moments ago. Seamlessly the ice went over into his flesh, directly where it had been cut off. No, a few centimetres higher even. “And a part of you is a part of me now.” She had taken something as well: the remainder of what Ariel had left of his limb.

Thiemo didn’t respond. Instead, he slowly lowered his arm back onto his head to give his body the desperately necessary cooling.

“You still have a lot to learn. Patience is one of them. Facing your fears is another. Your feet can only carry you so far, human, but you have proven today that you are ready to take those steps. Your debt is paid, and I too give you a part of me.” Thiemo felt a draft going up his right arm, and his eyes involuntarily jumped over to it. His arm no longer seemed to be there, even though he could feel it. Wind, his right arm was wind. Just as his fingers reached his right arm, snow swirled where they touched. “May this be a lesson to you, shaman. It was your own fault that brought you into this situation. Learn to take responsibility and learn from the past, especially from your own. Care about every living being around you, not only the ones close to you. And finally, open your eyes and see what lies in front of you and what happens around you.” Ariel sighed. “And one more thing: you will never truly control the air as long as you are afraid of it being all around you.”

A strong wind came out of nowhere and forced Thiemo to close his eyes. As he opened them again, there was nothing left of Ariel but a feather in front of his feet.

“Your journey will lead you to me one day.” Undine, who had now fully crawled out of the water, was lying next to Thiemo in his blood. For the first time, the human could see how big the sea pony actually was. Without doubt, she could compete with the largest sharks. “Maybe sooner than you think. And I ask you not to be mad at Ariel. She has only done what she thought to be right. Please think about her words again, and when we meet face to face again, answer me one question: what does it mean to live?” Undine smiled and gave Thiemo a quick kiss on his mouth. “Now wake up.”

***

Amaryllis still stood in front of the hovering human. The fear and pure horror that Thiemo had just felt were gone, but her worry was still there. He didn’t answer, didn’t move, and didn’t even seem to breathe.

“Dad, please. You’re scaring me,” Auralia spoke out loud what Amaryllis thought. She couldn’t do anything but plead. She had tried to get past the wall of air with her shields, destroy it with her missiles, and tried every spell she knew. All that it achieved was that the hill now needed new grass.

Crystal guards had formed a circle some distance around her and prevented the spectators from coming too close. One of them brought the message that her mother was already on the way here. “Thiemo,” she whispered to herself again without averting her gaze from him.

Then, suddenly and without prior warning, the human fell to the ground and with him the water drops that floated around him. Amaryllis fought against her instinct to immediately gallop towards him and quickly reached out her left hoof again. When the expected pain didn’t come faster than lightning, she stood next to him and snuggled her face against his, while saying his name over and over again.

A groan was all she got as a response, but she felt this was more than enough. Both her hooves wrapped around Thiemo’s chest, and she pressed him as strongly against herself as she could.

“Can’t… breathe…” She heard him coughing, and after ten more seconds, she loosened her grip. The first thing she noticed after looking in his eyes was that they were bloodshot, then how tired they looked. “What happened?” After all that worrying, Amaryllis was only capable of pressing the human against her again and sobbing. She had been so afraid.

Thiemo, meanwhile, managed to bring his hand to the amulet around his neck and looked at the sea breeze crystal. It sparkled and shone even more than usual, and he could taste the sea on his tongue. But he also felt the wind in his face and the water as it softly caressed his feet, as if he was running barefoot through the wet sand. Somehow it was different than before, as if there was someone behind all these emotions, like a soft hand that stroked his cheek. He was a real shaman now, connected to the spirits of the elements that guarded him.

For a moment, there was a white light coming out from his shoulders and slightly suppressed by his coat. It didn’t take a genius to realize what had happened. The cutie mark was completed, the bolt reappearing in the crescent moon.

Thiemo released the amulet and looked up. Between some crystal guards stood Cadance, a wide smile on her lips and tears running down her cheeks.

Chapter IV - Act 16.5 - From Eris, with Love

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 16.5 – From Eris, with Love ~

Thiemo was used to attention. Usually what he needed to do to get some was to just go out on the streets in broad daylight. “Monster!” they screamed and pointed with their hooves at him, before barricading in their homes or seeking refuge in flight. Today, many hooves were pointing at him again, but these were smaller ones, as they belonged to foals who recognized him on the streets of the Empire. Lyra had to push them away from him. This was necessary since the shock he had after he thought he had lost his arm had weakened him a lot. If it had been up to the doctors, he would still be lying in bed, which was unacceptable. Eris would make her move today, and whatever it was, he would stop it.

So without further ado, he had made Lyra get a wheelchair, and they were now making their way from the castle to the stadium. Not that anyone could have stopped them. The reagent couple had left, together with Amaryllis, in the early morning since his marefriend was needed for the preparations. Twilight and her crew had left an hour later, together with Skyla and Auralia. The only problem that remained was that Thiemo had no clue what exactly Eris wanted and how he could stop her from getting it. He only knew for sure that he couldn’t let her harm a hair on Amaryllis’ head and that Eris wasn’t allowed to win.

However, his strategizing was momentarily stopped as he entertained the foals who recognized him on the street. He was killing two birds with one stone, as it also let him use his totem for the first time. He had no idea if he had to treat it differently than a normal gemstone, so he would have to start with something small anyway. Now he was busy gathering water out of the air, forming it into a ball above his hand, before freezing it and, with a light breath, sending off thousands of little snowflakes into the air above the foals. It was one of the simplest applications of shamanism, but he had successfully combined two elements, something he had never achieved before. So now he was beaming just like the foals, who tried to catch the snowflakes with their tongues, much to the amusement of their parents who watched it all from afar.

Right after he spread another cloud of flakes, Lyra stepped it up a notch. “We should hurry if we want to find a seat,” she noted. And she wasn’t wrong. Cadance had given his seat on the stands to Deerling and Entlas.

“Who said we want a seat?” Thiemo couldn’t see Lyra, as she was behind the wheelchair and pushing it with her magic, but her silence spoke volumes about how confused she have looked. “First of all, we want to get into the stadium.”

“What exactly is our plan then? I thought you wanted to see Amaryllis’ fight.”

“Lyra,” he just said in disappointment and shook his head. “Oh Lyra. Lyra, Lyra, Lyra. Whatever am I going to do with you?” The unicorn grumbled. “If it were up to me, there wouldn’t even be a fight.” And just like that, he got an idea of how he could achieve that. How well it would turn out for him would depend on if Eris would attack a cripple. “Get me into Loudmouth’s announcer cabin and lock the door from the outside. Then your debt is paid.”

“My debt?” she snorted. “It’s you who’s more in my debt than—”

“Fine!” Thiemo interrupted her. “I promised you to take you with me in my flying saucer.”

“You have an enchanted saucer that can fly?” Thiemo needed a second to realize that the phrase did not apparently mean the same thing as on Earth.

“No, I mean my spaceship.”

“Why didn’t you just say so?” They were both silent for a few seconds. “Do you even have a spaceship?”

Thiemo just rolled his eyes and pushed the wheelchair forward himself.

***

Amaryllis was nervous. At least she hoped it was nervousness and not something else. Her legs didn’t want to stop shaking, her stomach was making strange gurgling sounds even though she had had enough love for breakfast, and as embarrassing as it was, plenty of gas left her body as she walked up and down the small room. Of course, she had been nervous before every fight, but this was Eris. The last time they met, she had ran away with her tail between her legs as if there were no tomorrow. And she wasn’t nervous ‘nervous’ as before the fight against Thiemo. This was nervous panic. Maybe just panic.

Demon of Chaos, Bringer of Doom, and Destroyer of Order were just three of many titles that were given to this creature. The power to bend reality to her will. Eris could turn her into a worm just by looking at her. Or worse, a dung beetle. She hated dung beetles. She wasn’t afraid of anything that crawled down there, but those things collected the excrements of other creatures. That was simply disgusting. An involuntary shiver ran down her spine at the thought, accompanied by a few quick flaps of her wings.

“Breathe!” she ordered herself and took a deep breath, while putting a hoof onto her heart, before stretching the same hoof. “Breathe…” She repeated the procedure and noticed that the hammering in her chest was going down. It was thanks to the tip from Cadance. “Okay, nice and easy now, Amaryllis. She can’t hurt you. Eris has to follow the rules as well if she doesn’t want to lose. She can’t harm you.” She sighed. “At least I think so,” she added quietly.

In that moment, she heard the crowd cheering and knew that it would soon be time. One of the ponies with a cap that identified themselves as a staff member would knock at the door and tell her that she had to go into the arena. And for the first time, she wondered what would happen if she simply didn’t go. Surely her parents, especially her father, would be disappointed, but as soon as the whole thing was over, she could explain to them who Banana Peel really was and they would understand. Thiemo also didn’t know anything about the bet, and he wouldn’t miss what he didn’t know. Right? But then everything she had been through to get here would have been for nought. Maybe not everything, but at least all the effort that had gone into the tournament. And maybe, just maybe, she would be disappointed in herself. It wasn’t that she was avoiding a fight she couldn’t win, but rather that she wasn’t mare enough as she had thought. A mare should make sure that her stallion was happy, and this was basically the best present she could currently give him. Maybe his wishes would change over time, but Thiemo would always think about the family he had left behind. And wasn’t that exactly what made him attractive to her at first, that he stood to his family like a changeling?

“Come on, Amaryllis, you can do it. What did it say in the book? Grow some teats and mare-up?” She was Amaryllis; she was a changeling; she was a pony, a princess, and the damn Alicorn of Emotions. “Yeah! I can do it!”

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. “Princess, it’s time to go into the arena.”

“Meep!” She flinched and was already halfway behind the table to get into cover. “C-Coming!” She waited for a few seconds until the mare at the other side of the door had taken a few steps back. “Great Amaryllis, great. Really.” She shook her head and her mane before she pushed it out of her face again with a hoof.

Not wanting to let the audience wait any longer, she left the room and fell into a trot behind the red crystal pony. Maybe she just didn’t want to have time to doubt herself, and now there was no turning back. With every step she took, the hallway grew shorter, and the inner of the arena became clearly visible. As usual, the thundering roars of thousands of spectators drowned out everything else, but Amaryllis still thought she could hear her own heartbeat as they reached the end. The mares said something like “Good luck”, but she couldn’t hear that either. Her focus turned towards the field where Banana Peel already stood, a wide grin on her face and licking her lips as she spotted her.

Just as Amaryllis felt the sand of the arena underneath her hooves, static sound went through the arena and drowned out all the other noise, followed by a familiar voice.

“Hello? Is this thing on?”

***

Getting into the stadium hadn’t been a problem. As a former contestant, he had free entry, just like Lyra, as he needed her to levitate him up the stairs or so he had explained to the guards. The hard part now began as they stood in front of the staircase leading to the announcer’s cabin. Two crystal guards had made themselves comfortable with some crystal corn on the cob at the bottom and enjoyed what must have been their break, now that all the spectators were in their seats and the fight about to start.

“And how did you plan to get past these two? I’ve already tried, and they’re more annoying than bees in honey,” Lyra whispered into Thiemo’s ear while they spied on the two guards from afar.

Thiemo quickly looked around, but there was, unfortunately, no toilet nearby this time. “Where’s a pretty mare to distract two stallions when you need one?”

“Hey!”

“What?”

“I thought you wanted me to help you.”

“Then off you go!” And with that, he gave her a smack on the flank that made Lyra jump forward a few metres. Amused, he watched the mare approach the two guards, whose attention she had already gotten in the moment he gave her the smack. As if her scream could have been missed. He instead quickly rolled back and now sat with his wheelchair next to one of the benches, in front of the large windows to the outside, and acted as if he were asleep. To his surprise, one of the guards pointed at Lyra before she could reach them and ran towards her. Lyra screamed again, shouted something that sounded like “Horseapples!”, and disappeared into the hallway, followed by both guards.

Thiemo stood there, rooted for a few seconds, and thought about what had just happened. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that he should just take it as it was and rolled over towards the stairs. The guards had even dropped their corn cobs to run after Lyra. “What a waste.” He just nodded and quickly looked around to see if the coast really was clear. Satisfied with the result, he braced himself on the armrests of the wheelchair and got on his feet. A bit shaky, but he managed to stand upright. Then the fight with their staircase began, which lead all the way up to the top of the stands. He really should have thought that through better with Lyra. But complaining wouldn’t get him anywhere now – he had to get up there and quick. Not only would the fight soon begin, but surely two trained guards wouldn’t have a trouble catching an office sitter like Professor Heartstrings.

Step by step, he made his way upstairs. It wasn’t easy. Usually these steps weren’t much of a problem for him. They were wider than normal steps, as they were designed for ponies, but now the many low steps posed a degree of difficulty. Luckily, he could brace his hand against the wall to get further along. He eventually reached the top, although physically exhausted and after what felt like an eternity, and looked back heavily breathing. Lyra or the guards hadn’t returned yet, but it couldn’t take much longer.

His gaze shifted towards the front again, where the door to the speaker’s cabin was. He tried to turn the knob, but it was locked of course. Thiemo crouched down and tried to catch a glimpse through the keyhole. In the room was the dark purple, crystal pony stallion with the yellow mane by the name of Loudmouth on a stool suited for ponies with a very soft cushion, a cigar in his mouth, while he pushed a few levers at the mixer console in front of him. Thiemo’s interest turned towards the lock itself, which didn’t look too complicated.

“I’m sure I can do something with it,” he mumbled with a grin. Taking a deep breath, he tried to ignore the sounds of the spectators, which were quite loud up here, and concentrated. He put a hand on the lock and the magic from his body began to work through the sea breeze crystal. Ice formed around the keyhole, then the knob and eventually the whole lock was frozen. Actually, he had just wanted to take the keyhole as a reference to form a key out of ice, but this did the trick as well. He threw his entire weight against the door, causing the lock to almost crumble into dust, and landed on all fours in the room.

“What the heck?! What’s going on here!” Loudmouth shouted in surprise as he spotted the human in the room and jumped up from the stool. Thiemo reacted immediately, reaching out his hand for the stallion and pulling him down to him, where he shackled his right hoof to the ground with a chunk of ice. “Hey!” Loudmouth shouted again and tried to free himself by pulling at the stuck hoof and hammering on the ice with the other.

Meanwhile, the human had managed to stand back up and had frozen the moderator’s hind legs to the ground without him noticing as well. “It’s time for you to shut up.” Thiemo forced the muzzle of the stallion shut and held it in place with a layer of ice as well. He thought for a moment and added a second one, just in case. Then he rammed his fist into stallion’s stomach. “And that’s because you seem to enjoy when lovers meet in the arena, asshole!” It wasn’t a strong blow as usual, for Thiemo was too weak, but it was enough for Loudmouth to go limp and stop moving. “Ah, that felt good,” he said in satisfaction and sat down on the stool. “So, how does this thing work?” Thiemo looked over to Loudmouth, who only whimpered. “Maybe I should have asked before…”

His eyes wandered over the mixer console and he found the microphone. It was a crystal in a stand, from which a cable went into the console. Since Loudmouth was a crystal pony, there had to be a switch somewhere to turn on the crystal. The question was just where. He followed the cable to the console and looked around the area where it connected. There was a suspicious-looking red button, which he pushed faster than he could think. Maybe that should give him something to think about.

“Hello? Is this thing on?” Thiemo flinched as a piercing feedback sound filled the room. “Sorry, some idiot left the door open.” He looked over the console into the arena, where the spectators were looking around in confustion, and he thought to see some turmoil going about at the royal tribune. But even more priceless was the look of Amaryllis as she was looking up to him from the arena. Just like Eris, who still wore a grin on her face. “My name is—”

“Help! I’m being held hostage—” Loudmouth didn’t get any further. Thiemo reacted quickly and his hand clamped around the stallion’s muzzle. Unlike last time, he didn’t form a ring of ice around his snout, but a solid chunk that was so heavy that he could no longer keep his head up.

“I have to apologize again, but good personnel are so hard to come by these days, right? Where was I? Ah yes! My name is Bartholomew, bogeyman by trade, and little Eris wants to be picked up at the ball pit. Her parents told her it is time to stop with the games.” Thiemo could see that at the mentioning of Eris, the spectators began to search for the creature. “Oh, I just got in another new piece of information. Eris is also known under the name of Banana Peel.”

Applause could be heard. Applause from just one creature. No one had really noticed, as they were all staring with open mouths, beaks, and snouts at the cabin, but Eris had changed back into her usual form and slowly clapped, which Thiemo could even hear in the soundproof cabin. “Bravo!” Just like her voice. “We are a sour loser, aren’t we? This changes nothing.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure.” Thiemo grinned and pulled a sheet with the rules from the pocket of his loyal orange coat. “If I may quote. Well, actually it’s an entire paragraph, so I’m cutting it down to the important stuff. It’s forbidden to register under a wrong name.”

“So?” Eris asked and shrugged.

“Could I ask one of the judges to check Miss Peel’s registration form?” Eris seemed to realize what he was going for. The shock stood clear in her face. She snapped her talon, and in the next moment, hovered above the console directly in front of Thiemo, causing the human to fall backwards onto the ground.

“Oh, you think you are so clever, aren’t you?” She stared at him with an angry glare and stroked his cheek with a paw. “You did exactly as I hoped you would.”

Thiemo blinked. “What?”

Suddenly, any aggression from her face vanished, and her usual grin returned. “I should congratulate you. You’ve grown some balls and took your destiny and made the best of it, instead of whining. What’s the saying you got? If life gives you lemon, make lemonade? Nice saying, by the way. Unusally harmless.” Eris pulled out a squeezer and a lemon from behind Thiemo’s ear. The lemon screamed quickly before Eris threw it into the squeezer. The machine roared to life and left behind only a glass of juice, which she drank immediately. The remainder she poured over Loudmouth. “And if I may say so, it was time that he shut up.”

“What?” Thiemo asked again.

“Urgh, humans.” Eris rolled her eyes. “I taught your and your little marefriend a little lesson. And I can see that you’ve learned it. The things you do in your never-ending boredom. Anyway, congratulation and so on.” A garland appeared around Thiemo’s neck, as well as a wreath of flowers in his hands. “I’m gonna go now before the vein in the forehead of our dear Twilight bursts. I mean, that thing is gigantic!” Eris snapped and vanished in a cloud of purple dust.

The door to the cabin swung open, and in came various crystal guards as well as an exhausted-looking Lyra Heartstrings. “You!” she bawled. “You can walk but still made me push your around half of the day?”

Instead of answering, Thiemo preferred to grin. The guards immediately went over to Loudmouth to free him and put shackles on Thiemo. “In the name of his Majesty Shining Armor, you are under arrest. You have the right…” Thiemo blocked out the guard in front of him as another took the flowers away from him. A card fell out of the wreath, and Thiemo let it fall into his hand with a slightly guided breath of air.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” the card read, “nobody breaks a Pinkie promise. Ever! Best wishes. Eris.”

“Never!” it sounded from the stadium, and it seemed as if the ground began to shake.

Chapter IV - Act 16.6 - Reise, Reise

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My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 16.6 – Reise, Reise ~

To say that the next few days flew past was an understatement. It wasn't often that Thiemo felt as though he had too little time. This, however, was what he had been faced with. First there had been the night he had spent in a cell, followed by the pardon required by Cadance for his actions with Loudmouth. And then there was Amaryllis’ surprise. When she had first mentioned a surprise, he had thought that their nocturnal activities had come to fruition somehow, but that wasn't the case. Whether he was pleased with it, however, he didn’t know. The sentence that his marefriend had said after that moment simply did not want to disappear from his head.

"We’re going to Earth!"

It followed a lengthy talk, in which Amaryllis first told of her meeting with Eris, then Thiemo. The also-present Cadance and Shining Armor stopped them at some intervals to make some remarks of their own about what happened and added the advice to never trust Eris wholeheartedly. "However, if she says she can send us and bring us back… I believe the risk is worth it." That had made the ruling pair fall silent. That and Amaryllis' agreement.

When they were about to leave the throne room, there was a soft knock on the door and in came Fluttershy, followed by Eris being pulled by the ear. The creature of chaos had refused to make eye contact with anyone in the room. Fluttershy had forced the goddess to apologize for the chaos she had incurred onto Thiemo and Amaryllis and promised once again that she would stand by her word. They would go to Earth.

Now, a day later, Thiemo sat in Amaryllis’ room. A brand new rucksack was on his back, into which he had packed everything that he wanted to take. He would leave Legion here in the Empire. The stone was still damaged and would be useless to him. Satisfied, he placed his rucksack aside and left the room, his hands trembling. They had not stopped ever since he had gotten the news. Now, however, another reason came that they did this, for before their departure, there were still a few things that he needed to do. With quickened steps, he went past the royal family’s living room and took the teleporter down to the living quarters of the guests. She had been there all this time, but he had avoided her. The human knew that shame was powerful and it was the prime reason for this late visit. However, as much as he might wish to change the past, he could not. He hesitated in front of the closed door only momentarily before he knocked.

"It’s open,” he heard Deerling call and entered the room. For the most part, it resembled every other guest room on this level, the difference being that the doe had picked up several plants during her stay here. It was probably to remind her of home. "Thiemo, what a surprise. What can I do for you?" she asked as she lay on her bed, on her side and reading a book. As cliché as it sounded, she looked like the first time he had seen her. Her short blond mane was free-flowing and decorated with flowers. Her large, golden eyes were trained on him, a light smile playing upon her lips.

"I was just walking around…" Why was he actually here? Being alone with a woman he used to have feelings for wasn't usually the smartest of plans. He didn't have an idea why, only the feeling that he was supposed to.

"I have heard that you will visit your home. I am happy for you."

"Thanks."

"How long will you stay?" Thiemo hadn't gotten to discuss that point with Amaryllis just yet. One week, perhaps two. They couldn't stay too long at any rate; he was conscious of that. His marefriend would eventually catch the attention of the wrong people, and sooner or later the authorities would come to ask questions to which he would not be willing to answer. Among other things, he would certainly be asked where he had been the last few years when he had been searched for. There was no answer he could give without causing further trouble for himself. Therefore, Thiemo was conscious that it was more or less only a visit to home. After all he had gone through, he was happy with even that.

“As long as it needs to get everything done. But I’m here to tell you something. Thanks. Thank you for everything, Deerling. You were there for me there when I needed it the most and… thanks. I know I've probably never told you it like this."

Deerling rose to the bed, came over to him, and put her hooves around him, coming to rest upon his shoulders. "You didn't need to. When I saw that you still carry the coat that I had given you, I knew that you didn't simply forget me."

"How could I?" he answered and pressed his old friend into an embrace of his own. "It’s the ugliest piece of clothing that someone has ever given me. I mean, really, orange? So not cool at all. Still, I know that it’s one of the favorite colors of you deer." They both laughed and released each other. "I always thought that this coat had brought me luck. In the end, I think I've gotten my share and more. Plus I like how it almost shares the same color as my daughter’s coat. I truly think that it was one of the things that helped bring us together. As you can see, it’s survived all my little adventures and scrapes, even though it might have needed a few patches here and there. It’s really a persistent thing, like me."

“I am pleased to hear this."

"And what will you do now, Deerling? I believe that access to the library remains refused to you, unfortunately." Thiemo really did feel sorry for her, for he knew how much it would have meant to her.

The doe sighed. "Unfortunately, it is something we cannot change, right? Entlas and I have given our best, and we have lost." Carefully, Deerling took a step back. "However, have a look. You have grown. "

"I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say I’m the same size as I was years ago."

"I believe you know what I mean. I know you too well, Thiemo, no matter how innocent you might pretend to be. I am very proud of you and glad that I had named you my pupil. And I believe your other teacher, Zarni, thinks the same of you." Thiemo could feel the pride welling up in him at the praise of his old mentor and friend. It wasn't a feeling he had often felt during the past few years. “The little monkey god has come far, hmm?”

“You’re going to remind me of that for the rest of my life, aren't you?”

“You can bet on it.” They both laughed again.

“Please, never change, Deerling. I would like to know that wherever I go and whatever happens, I will always have a friend I can turn to."

"My house will be always open to you and yours. But perhaps I could be persuaded if you would actually keep your promise this time and write sometimes? "

Thiemo promised and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Promise.”

* * *

Thiemo did not keep Deerling for much longer afterwards, the fact that Entlas had returned a chief reason for his move to leave. The deer was less pleased about how close Thiemo was with his fiancée, and besides, they also had to pack. An airship would fly them back in few days to Cervidas. Unfortunately, Amaryllis and himself would have left for Earth already and would miss not only the departure of Deerling, but also Twilight and her friends, as well as the loading of the Crystal Heart.

So it was a short time later that he found himself before another door, this time not in the castle but before the apartment of one Twilight Sparkle. The apartment was located on the top floor of one of the mansions obviously owned by nobles, situated near the castle. He didn't have to wait long after he knocked for the door to open.

"Oh, Thiemo darling. To what do we owe the pleasure?" It was Rarity who had opened the door. She was in a dressing gown and her mane was still wrapped in towels.

"Is Applejack here? I would like to talk with her."

Rarity nodded and turned around. She took a few steps forward so that Thiemo could enter the apartment. "Applejack! You have a visitor!" The human had a look around in the meantime. It still looked the same as the last time he had been here. From the hall, one came to the kitchen with adjacent living room. The kitchen was all luxurious white trimmings, cream cupboards, and a black, marbled countertop. There was the pleasant living room furniture with an open fire place in the middle, though something under the blanket on the sofa was what caught his attention. In dark wooden shelves were thousands of books that filled them. Between the shelves were two doors that Thiemo knew led to Twilight’s and Rarity’s rooms. A flight of stairs led to the second floor of the apartment that practically consisted of only the gallery that led to three other rooms. One of it was the bathroom, then Applejack’s room, as well the one shared between Rainbow and Soarin. Fluttershy, as far as he knew had found a place with Applejack. As Pinkie’s head popped out from under the blanket from which she slumbered, Thiemo could also account for where she had found a place to sleep.

At Rarity’s call, Applejack’s room opened, and the head of a filly poked out. When she looked down into the first floor and saw her father, she simply galloped to the gallery and jumped off. Thiemo had already expected her move and quickly moved to catch her. They had gone through this song and dance every time he had come here to pick her up.

"Morning, Dad! Are you here to fetch me?!" she asked excitedly. To judge by the condition of her mane, however, she still lacked a good shower, and her breath made it known that she had yet to have breakfast.

“Only if you are finished, but I’ll wait as long as I have to,” he assured her, causing the filly to cheer at his words. "Now off you go, under the shower.” Aura nodded excitedly, and hardly had her hooves touched the ground that she had already zipped up the stairs. Halfway there, she ran into Applejack, who had not noticed Thiemo until now.

"Morning, sugarcube!” she greeted cheerfully, though different to the way his daughter had done. The farm pony had clearly been up earlier than both of them. “Ah didn't expect to see you so early. I’m sure you had to make it up to your princess." Oh, indeed. After he had been released from the cell and Amy had told him the good news, they had retreated to their suite. He would not entertain questions about what had happened afterwards, but his mouth had been put to good use, even despite the fact that they hadn't spoken much. He had "thanked" her - again and again - but not only orally. Somehow he had to show Amaryllis what it really meant to him what she had done.

"Don't worry, I showed her more than once what her present meant to me. To be precise, that’s even the reason why I am here.”

"Now, sugarcube, I like you, and yer okay for a human and all, but umm…"

On any other day, Thiemo would have seized on the misunderstanding, but today was different. “I think you’re coming from the wrong side there. Just let me finish. You know that Amy and I are going to visit Earth, and I would be glad to take Aura with us.” In the background, Rarity spat her coffee onto the floor. "I would like if she learned something about my culture, and there will probably be no second chance like this. Plus, I’d really like her to meet some of my family there.”

Applejack looked torn, obviously thinking back and forth, something that Thiemo himself could understand. After all, they were not discussing a weekend trip out to sea, but a visit to another plantet. Still, this was something of significant importance to him. He did not know how his family would react to an alien as a granddaughter, but he wanted the chance to let them know that he was not alone, and the fact that he had found others for whom he would give up anything for. And as long as they understood this, nothing else made a difference. "I don’t know. It ain't that I don’t trust you..."

“I know that it must be difficult, Applejack, but she’s my daughter. I would like that she learns first-hand where I come from and know why I am like I am. And like I said, this is a chance that won’t come again anytime soon. She would be the first pony to visit another world. "

Thiemo pleading voice and his tearful eyes did not seem to miss their effect. "If you say so…"

“Please, Mom…” Auralia chimed in, her head poking out from the bathroom entranceway, her toothbrush still in her mouth. Toothpaste covered a wide range around her muzzle. “I really really want to see Dad’s world.”

The cowpony sighed and looked at Thiemo sharply. "You both ain't playing fair and you know it!" she said and pointed at the human, then at the filly. “Still… I guess I really can’t say no.” Her hoof latched onto Thiemo’s collar, and she pulled him down so that she could whisper in his ear. "If something happens to my daughter, I will hunt you down ‘till the end of your days, you understand? " Thiemo nodded hastily. "Do you have your belongings, Auralia?" she called, ringing the ears of the human, still being so close to her. "Pack your saddlebag; you and your dad are going on a trip!"

“Yay!“ She disappeared back into the bathroom, and they could hear her spit her remaining toothpaste into the washbasin, before running right back into the room and doing as her mother said.

"Don’t make me regret this, sugarcube,” she said quietly to Thiemo.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to let anything happen to her,” he assured and grasped his totem firmly. “If anything happens, they’ll be in for a surprise.”

* * *

"Dad, this isn't the way to the castle,” noted Auralia as they sauntered through the streets of the Empire. "We should've taken that street over there,” she said as ponies of all different kinds and colors went about their day. Most were occupied with the cleaning work, which was necessary after the Hearts and Hooves celebration, while many of the tourists took one last opportunity to admire the Empire’s architecture and sights.

"We’re just taking a small detour. I've spoken to a lot of ponies today, but I missed someone." They turned a corner, and Thiemo saw the apartment building he sought come into sight. "I think you've seen Meena a couple of times. She’s from Earth like me." Auralia thought for a moment.

"The doctor? She has this weird dot on her forehead."

"~Bindi ~. It’s a memento of her homeland," Thiemo said, who began to process the information. "It means that she is married." He had so much to tell her about a specific culture from Earth that he didn't actually know where to start. He didn’t believe one culture was superior to another, so that made it that much more difficult to explain. "It’s applied to that part of the head because that’s where the so-called third eye is supposed to be. Naturally, people have only two eyes, but a third eye is believed to allow her to see the supernatural."

"Wow! Do ponies also have a third eye?” Auralia asked as they entered the building through the automatic doors.

"Maybe. We don’t even know if humans have it, to be honest. Anyhow, the dot comes from a country by the name of ~India~. It is one of the most populated countries of the world. Meena was originally from there."

"And which one did you come from?" Thiemo paused before the teleporter. Had he really never told Auralia which country he came from?

"I came from the United Kingdom. It is made up of four regions: England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. I grew up in the latter. Actually, there are many smaller regions. England is broken up into south-west England, south-east England, and so on. Then there is still the central country and so on."

“That sounds like it’s really big. Is it very different from that India country?"

Thiemo inserted the crystal into the slot and entered the teleporter together with Auralia. "It’s not that big but it used to have a huge empire. English, my native language, is spoken in a lot of countries on Earth because English navigators created many colonies in the world. Plus, it is different than India. On the one hand, it is more modern and also more successful economically, even if India seemed to be catching up in the last few years before I arrived here. I wonder how far they've come..."

"Come? At night, Rarity always yells that when it’s only her and Esotic in their room together."(1) Thiemo almost fell on his face when they stepped out from the teleporter. "But whenever I’m about to go in, they always lock the door and tell me to go away. They are weird."

He bit his tongue and kept his thoughts on that to himself, deciding it would be best if he let his daughter believe what she wanted to for now as he knocked on the door of Meena’s house. At the moment became clear to him that the good doctor might actually be in the hospital rather than at home considering she had a steady occupation. However that though faded away immediately when Meena opened the door in her nightdress.

"Who is knocking at this hour?"

"Hello, nice lady who fixed up my father again!" Auralia greeted loudly as Meena winced. Good to know his daughter knew when to work her charms.

Meena looked from the foal to Thiemo and yawned. "Are you hurt again?"

"No, I’m quite alright." To be honest, he was a little surprised at Meena’s attitude, but she was probably just been woken from bed. "I’m here because I have some important news. I’m going to visit Earth." The doctor shook her head and looked him in shocked. "Eris has the power to send me back, and I will probably call on my family for a visit. I wanted to ask whether you wanted to accompany me."

Meena looked at them for a few seconds before she disappeared into the apartment and gestured with a movement of her hand that they should follow her. The place had not changed a whole lot since Thiemo’s last visit here and, as expected, she led the both into the kitchen.

"Please, take a seat,” she said before she set up a pot for coffee. "The goddess of chaos agreed to send you back to Earth?"

"No, she lost a bet against Amaryllis and that was her price,” he explained as he pushed Auralia’s chair closer to the table." Anyhow, I thought that maybe there might be somebody who you want to visit. And trust me when I say that it will be no problem to drop by India. "

"It… is a tempting offer, but I have to say no." The doctor crossed her arms and leaned against the kitchen sink. "It is not that I would not come gladly, but my life is here now. Besides, I was one of eight children. I bet my parents don’t even miss me any more." Thiemo wanted to say something, but Meena lifted a hand. "Save your words. India is not England. Children disappear every day on the streets of New Delhi." Thiemo didn’t know how to answer that. "If you really want to do me a favour, bring me a little bit of ~Bikano Dry Petha ~. I haven’t had any since I was a little girl. Coffee?"

"No thanks. We still have a long way to go. Still have a lot of preparations to make before we leave tomorrow,” Thiemo answered as he rose again. His visits here never seemed to last long. "And I’m sorry to have woken you. You look like you've had a long night behind you."

"Many tourists who arrived from farther removed regions wanted a checkup before they left. Not that I minded much. Our equipment is way ahead of many other countries."

They talked for a bit before Thiemo and Auralia left the house and said goodbye to the doctor. It was only just past noon, and Thiemo felt like jumping into bed again. However, there was something he really needed to do first.

* * *

Amaryllis threw her saddlebag near the new rucksack that Thiemo had bought from a diamond dog trader and then fell onto her bed. She had already made several runs through the city, most of which was to buy things she would need for her virgin voyage to Earth. Unfortunately, she would not be allowed to rest. “Amaryllis? Can I speak to you?"

Her father stood in the doorway and looked at her with a questioning, almost reserved look. "Sure.”

The large alicorn stepped in the room and looked around briefly. It looked almost the same as the first day she had begun to reside in it. Almost all her belongings were in her saddlebags again, and if she wasn't there, one would have thought she had already left. “Are you sure that you want to go through with this? I mean, to go on another planet… filled with humans.”

“Thiemo believes that hardly anything will go wrong, and up until now, he has more or less been right, even though things might not have worked out as he imagined. It’s not like we will be travelling for long distances like before. Maybe we’ll visit his home town and introduce us to his family. No, I don’t think anything will go wrong. ~Plus I am speakings of the language~. At least a little."

“I’m not going to stop you from going, no matter how much I might want to try. I must admit that I’m even curious. Injustice was inflicted on the humans here on Albion, and even if some of them are bad, there are also ponies who are bad. Otherwise, there would probably be no royal or crystal guard. I hope our letters that we have set up with Professor Heartstrings will help reach an understanding. It’s only… if something happens, we wouldn’t be able to help. Do you understand?” The stallion prodded her lightly on her cheek with his muzzle. Amaryllis did not hesitate and rubbed her cheek against his.

"Please, Dad, trust Thiemo. He isn't a bad person.”

"Maybe… Maybe you’re right. Still, a father cannot be but suspicious of the stallion his daughter has chosen to make her own. Especially if she could do so much better.” As Amaryllis nudged him lightly on the chest, Shining could not resist poking his tongue out.

* * *

For the last time in the foreseeable future, everyone had assembled. Cadance and Shining Armor were there with their two daughters, Rainbow Dash and the gang, as well as Thiemo and Auralia. They stood under the palace where the Crystal Heart exuded its warm magic and waited for Eris to arrive. Fluttershy had assured them that she would come.

Thiemo, Amaryllis, and Auralia had packed their saddlebags and rucksacks full to the brim, and that was mostly with the basic essentials they would need. Toothbrushes and other sanitary items, along with items they would certainly not be able to get on Earth. Crystals, loaded and unloaded. After all, one could never tell what sort of situations they could find themselves in. Thiemo was sure that he had even packed one of the pillows from their room in his bag.

The three faced the others gathered with mixed feelings, seeing the same reflected in the looks they received. "And do not forget to brush your teeth every day," sobbed Cadance, daintily dabbing her tears away with a handkerchief. Why Thiemo had the feeling that she was enjoying this despite her demeanor was beyond him, but nothing would surprise him after all he had known about her. “And make sure you have toilet paper just in case…”

"Yes, mother,” Amaryllis groaned. "We have everything that a pony could possibly need.”

Fortunately, Eris emerged at that moment. Unfortunately, very much to Thiemo’s horrors, she was not alone. Within her cloud of smoke was none other than Lyra Heartstrings.

"I can hardly believe it! An entire planet full of humans!” The unicorn hopped on the spot in excitement.

Eris noted Thiemo’s annoyed look and flew around his shoulders. "Surely you didn't mean to leave her here, right? We both know what happens if one breaks a promise.” They both looked over to Pinkie Pie, who waved to them with a wide smile.

“I never did!” Thiemo immediately retorted and forced a smile on his lips as Lyra joined the departing group.

"Then!" Eris barked, ensuring that everyone’s attention was directed to her. She pulled something out of her mane. "This is a Travelers’ Watch. As the name implies, it helps travelers… travel." She opened Thiemo’s hand and placed the watch. "I got it a long ago from a friend when I used to travel around. This is your ticket back. Don’t lose it."

Thiemo examined the watch in his hand. It was black, the lid decorated with a multiplicity of runes. At the back were more, together with a small glass window that allowed him to see into it. Hundreds of small gear wheels hummed in it, radiating a magic that was unfamiliar to him.

"So what can this watch do?” he asked, skepticism leaking into his voice.

Eris pressed the button for him, which opened the watch. "Now, on the one hand, it will always give you the correct time, no matter where you are." Thiemo looked at the visible watch face now. It was also black, with white lines passing through, but no numbers were to be seen.

“And how will it bring us back?”

"How wonderful for you to ask!" Eris clapped. "Simply press the button three times and bang your heels together as you say: it is nowhere as beautiful as home.” He made a special effort to remember how many times he had to push the button. "This is important! You have to leave at the same location you arrived. Otherwise, it won’t work properly, and you could end up somewhere completely different. Not pleasant, let me tell you.”

Thiemo nodded and stowed away the watch in his bag. This was the moment, the moment towards which he had worked several years for. He would see his grandparents again, perhaps his mother, and, above all else, his sister. He had to pull himself together to not do like Lyra and start jumping on the spot.

“Well then! Fasten your seatbelts – four lifeforms to Earth and back. In case of an emergency, the exits are everywhere!” She passed Thiemo a lifebelt that he studied immediately. The word Titanic was written on it, and panic appeared in his eyes. "Eris Airways wishes you a wonderful flight. We hope that you fly with us again!" She snapped her paws and the four entities disappeared from Albion. Eris turned around slowly to the ponies who had observed the show quietly and grinned.

“You just teleported them there? Just like that?” Twilight asked, horror in her voice. “I don’t know how far the planet Earth is, but something like that could cause the teleportation to last weeks!”

"Five days, seventeen hours, thirty three minutes, and one second," she clarified. "For them, it won’t feel like a second has passed. What’s the big deal?”

* * *

Thiemo had just opened his mouth to protest before he felt himself slam into the water and his eyes began to burn. His hands clutched at his lifebelt as he scanned the area frantically, looking for the others.

*** ~ [One Republic - Love Runs Out] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter IV - Intermission 16 - Shadows

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Eris was more than satisfied with herself. The human was on his way to Earth and was no longer her problem for the few next weeks. They were finally back in Ponyville from the pink hellhole of love called the Crystal Empire. To be more exact, they were now back in Fluttershy's small cottage at the edge of the little town. If someone took pictures of the interiority of the cottage and compared them with those of the last ten years, they would barely notice any difference.

Fluttershy loved her small lodging like it was, with all the birdhouses, holes for the mice, and scores of distributed baskets that harboured everything from anteaters to dwarf pigs. All these animals that clashed together caused enough chaos that even Eris felt more than comfortable, and she didn't even have to move a single hoof. All in all, she was, in this moment, a very content Eris as she made herself comfortable on the sofa and observed her marefriend in the kitchen.

"Hey, Shy?"

"What is it?" called her honeyed voice.

"You know, with all the sob stuff in the Empire, I thought… Maybe… What do you think about marriage?" The feed bag that Fluttershy had been carrying fell to the floor, and in the next moment, the pegasus wrapped herself around Eris's slim body. Well, that had to suffice as an answer.

My Little Pony

Journey

~ Intermission 16 – Shadows ~

Eris awoke later, deep in the night of the same day, and bolted upright in the bed. This, naturally, did not escape the pegasus next to her, and with a yawn, Fluttershy awoke as well. "What's going on, Eris?" she asked sleepily as she cautiously rubbed her eyes with her hooves.

"There was a disturbance in the Force…" Eris murmured absently.

"Come again?"

"Somepony messed up the balance between harmony and chaos, and that’s really bad. Raava is going to kill me." Eris' head moved around until she seemed to lock her gaze on a wall.

"Oh, that doesn't sound good at all," said Fluttershy, now looking worried as well.

"It takes an enormous amount of magic to cause something like this, an act of absolute chaos or harmony. In this case, it was chaos. I can feel it." Eris climbed out of the bed and began to fly up and down. "I have to take a look, Shy. If I'm not back until noon, please tell Celestia or Luna."

Fluttershy jumped out of the bed and clamped on Eris. "That sounds like it will be dangerous! Please, wait until tomorrow and go together with the princesses."

Eris carefully freed herself from Fluttershy's hooves. "Don't be afraid, Shy, nothing will happen. I have to look at this now and see if I can fix the damage. After all, that's what I'm here for." What only a few knew was that Eris was not only a being of chaos, but its guardian as well. She would never cause so much chaos that it could disturb the eternal balance. The risk was far too great. However, somepony else didn't seem to be aware of the foolishness of doing so. "Well, see ya," she said and teleported to the place where she had felt the source of the chaos.

From one moment to the next, it seemed as though she had gone blind. It was even darker than in her bedroom, but that was fixed with a snap. "Hello? Is anyone here?" With her new candle, she looked around and examined her environment. The wall was overgrown with green moss, like the ceiling and the floor, nearly as if she was inside of a rolled-up carpet. Eris knew better. "A changeling nest. Makes sense – it came from the Broken Leylands," she told herself. But this nest seemed abandoned. She should have encountered at least one changeling by now. She scanned her surroundings but could only identify one lifeform deeper in the nest. Had somepony wandered alone into an old changeling nest? But what could be here that could cause so much chaos?

Eris snapped her claw again and teleported from one hallway to the next, step by step towards the aura she had felt. At every short stop, she looked about for a second, but there was basically nothing. It was as if the changelings had packed up their things and left. But where could they have gone? Or rather, why did they leave in the first place? After all, from what Eris could tell, everything was intact and offered ideal living conditions for the shapeshifters. She even arrived with the last teleportation in the brood chamber, only this one was abandoned as well and no eggs to be seen.

With another snap, she finally arrived where she had located the signal, but in here there seemed to be nothing. Then she suddenly heard wheezing and coughing. At once, Eris slithered through the air and found eventually the source some meters farther inside the darkness. "Chrysalis? Why am I not surprised?"

"Eris… Behind you…" was all that the changeling queen could manage, but it was too late. Eris felt as magic shot through her body and started to divide her into two halves. For Eris, the concept of pain, at least physical one, was a completely new experience, and she was overwhelmed. She writhed on the ground and pressed claw and paw onto the wound as she tried to cast over her pain, but nothing happened. Blood, her blood, ran over her extremities and bathed the green moss with a golden hue.

"I am surprised. You should no longer be alive." That voice. Eris used her waning power to open her eyes and stare her attacker, who was standing directly over her, in his face.

"I could say the same about you," she managed with a cough, which sprayed a bit of her golden blood into his face.

"Well then, let's change that." The scythe that had severed her floated next to him, rose up, and sailed down on her. With a snap, Eris vanished and the magical weapon dug into the golden-coloured moss. "She will succumb to her wound," said the attacker and looked towards Chrysalis. "Stand up – we have succeeded. She will no longer be a danger. It doesn't matter to whom she goes. With Discord out of the way, we do not need to care. Now we have to enlarge an army."

Chrysalis, suddenly filled with new strength, rose from the ground and patted the dirt from her carapace. "This body is unfamiliar," she said with certainty. "More difficult to control." She stayed silent for a few seconds. "In addition, I'll need a donor if I'm to produce eggs."

"We have more than enough options. We’re finished here, Nightmare." Both vanished in a blue light.

* * *

Celestia bolted upright as something heavy fell on her bed. In a panic, she pulled her legs under her and looked at what had disturbed her rest. "Celestia…" She caught her breath as she noticed Eris, or rather, what was left of her.

"By the creator, what… Eris, what happened?" At once, Celestia used her comforter and wrapped it around the wound of the draconequus, but the blood immediately seeped through the white blanket. Her horn glowed, but her attempts to heal her old friend were blocked, and she immediately realized that the wound was of a magical nature. "Eris, talk to me. Who did this to you?"

Eris didn't answer but slowly and cautiously pulled a feather out of her feathered wing. "Please… Give this to Fluttershy. Promise me, Celestia!"

Celestia levitated the feather on her night table. "Guards!" The door to her chambers was opened with such a force and crashed against the wall with such a loudness that half of the castle were surely awakened. Two Royal Guards stormed inwards, looked around in alarm, and finally saw Celestia standing over Eris. "Fetch the court physician now and wake up everypony listed as a member of the hospital staff!" The guards saluted immediately and vanished, galloping into the night. "Eris, please tell me what happened."

"I have seen him, Celestia… He… It's not him… He should be but he isn't…" Eris coughed and spread blood on Celestia's white coat. "He shouldn't, they aren't supposed to..."

Celestia saw how her eyes grew heavy and knew that she had only seconds left. "Eris…"

"Nightmare…" It was the last word of the being that she had known nearly her entire life had directed to her, words that filled her core of her being with fear.

*** ~ [The Rasmus - In The Shadows] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter V - Home

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Chapter V - Home

Chapter V - Act 17.1 - Home Sweet Home

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The last thing that Amaryllis remembered was being surrounded by water. Now, as she drifted back into consciousness, the first thing she heard was the resounding laughter. Carefully, she opened her eyes, which burned slightly. A familiar smell came to her nostrils, but it was different. It smelled like in the hospital, or at least very similarly. At the very least, it was the smell of chemicals.

Finally, the princess opened her eyes fully and looked around. Tiles. Everywhere around her, from the walls as well as the ground, was covered with small white tiles. Aside from the laughter, she heard not only the water but felt how it moved around her. A glance backwards made it clear once and for all where she was – in a pool. The pool, at its edge she lay, filled a large part of the room. The somewhat warm water washed back and forth and also under her, drenching her fur. She also spotted Lyra and Auralia. The professor lay to her left while the filly’s saddlebags had become undone and now floated on the water.

“When you talk in here, it echoes!” Auralia called suddenly, her eyes still closed, the sound of paddling now reaching the changeling’s ears. As Amaryllis found out now, these words were directed not to her but to the human who sat with soaked clothing and bottle in his hand at a corner of the room.

Thiemo treated himself to a drink and groaned in relief. "I know! I used to sing here so much." He cleared his throat and began to sing: “~Freude schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium. Wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum. Deine Zauber binden wieder, was die Mode streng geteilt, Alle Menschen werden Brüder, wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt~.”

Amaryllis didn’t understand a word Thiemo had sung, but she had to agree with him that the acoustics here were quite good. “~Wem der große Wurf gelungen, eines Freundes Freund zu sein, wer ein holdes Weib errungen, mische seinen Jubel ein!~” He paused, cheered, and took another drink. “~Ja – wer auch nur eine Seele Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund! Und wer’s nie gekonnt, der stehle weinend sich aus diesem Bund!~”

Amaryllis joined in with Auralia. They did not know from where, or why, but it was as though a gentle force was pushing them together with him. “~Freude schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium. Wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum. Deine Zauber binden wieder, was die Mode streng geteilt, alle Menschen werden Brüder, wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt~”

“What was that?” Auralia asked as soon as they had stopped singing.

"German, another language on this planet. I hardly speak it, but I learned the Ode to Joy in school," Thiemo answered and held out the bottle to Amaryllis. She sniffed it and took a gulp of the sweet wine. "And this cost more than ten thousand pounds," he commented dryly and threw the empty bottle in the pool, after which Amaryllis levitated it back.

"Where are we?" Amaryllis stood up and shook herself to get rid of the burning feeling in her eyes. "Is this a bathhouse?"

"Hold on!" Thiemo also rose and went over to the door that Amy had overlooked before. Instead of going past the door, however, he pressed something that was right next to it. A humming sound started up, the room started to vibrate, and one of the walls suddenly began to lift upwards. Sunshine fell into the room otherwise only illuminated by weak artificial light, and they all looked at a large meadow with hedges and bushes that were cut in all possible forms. Birds flew between separate trees and, in the distance, a barn was to be seen. Blue sky stretched from as far as she could see, and only here and there seemed to be some clouds that looked to hang unusually high.

"Welcome. Welcome to Earth. More exactly, the basement cellar of my property."

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 17.1 – Home Sweet Home ~

"Come on!" Danielle Morgan pressed on the horn of her restored Beetle and let her head fall against the steering wheel. She was at an intersection in the midst of the long fields around Aberdeen. Before her was an old pickup loaded with ladders and other tools. The young woman had had a tiring morning behind herself. She had been called in at four o'clock in the morning to the Willis’ Farm because there had been complications with the birth of a calf, and then after that, she had to go to the Smiths’ farm to give all their horses a routine examination. All she wanted to do right now was to go home, curl up on the couch with a cup of coffee and aspirin, and soak in as much peace as the fickle universe would graciously grant her.

Finally, she let out a frustrated cry and made a small off-road excursion round the pickup. Revving past, she glared at the driver. It was an older man who was whistling along with the radio. She honked again, even if the old man did not seem to hear it, and sped down the road. What bothered her most was that she now had to drive through a car wash again. And as she thought about that, she could use a shower too.

That what she yearned for was also not too far away, as she saw the towering roof of the property on top the hill. Her grandfather had acquired the property and the surrounding estates long ago and had been allowed to build a villa on the ruins of an ancient knight’s castle. Something that certainly had to have cost several million pounds itself fifty years ago. The old cellar had been transformed into a modern pool, even with a window wall that one could open and close if they so wished. The stairs were immediately on the left near the door and the bathroom that had been furnished with a shower.

"Oh yes, just the right thing,” murmured the red-haired veterinarian and came to the standstill before the gate to the property. "Where did I…" She rummaged through the glove compartment before she felt the desired object between her fingers. "There!" She pressed the button on the remote and the old grid gate before her Beetle opened. This was a newer installation that had only been decided on last year.

The last meters to the driveway were quickly covered, and she climbed, hopefully for last time today, out of her car. As a vet in the countryside, there was no such a thing like fixed working hours, rather irregular appointments and emergency calls. Here or there, a cow had to be fertilized, a horse had hurt itself while jumping, or the pigs had eaten something weird again.

Danielle took her bag, which had everything she would need at a short notice, and rummaged through her keychain for the front door key. She began to walk up to the wooden double doors, with a glass installation in the form of cross, before she suddenly stopped. Had she just heard voices? A bit slower now, she went up to the front door and listened. She waited a moment, but she heard nothing. Shaking her head, she pushed the key in the lock and entered into the property. Her suitcase landed immediately behind the front door, and even as she was about to pull her boots off, she noticed something. The Indian carpet that belonged to her grandmother was wet. Not only in some places, but the entire thing. It was as though someone had used it to dry off from the pool instead of using a towel. The thing was that nobody else had the key for the house. Well, her grandparents to whom this house belonged to still had a key, but they came here perhaps twice a year and usually always announced themselves two weeks in advance.

She moved to the left and went with slow steps down the stairs to the pool. She looked slowly around the corner, but everything seemed quiet, so she continued. The fact that someone had moved the wall up was something that immediately caught her attention when she took the last step. Someone had definitely been here. Just as she wanted to turn around to go to her suitcase to get her cell phone to call the police, something rattled. The cause was quickly found. An empty wine bottle from the next room swam on the water and hit from time to time against the pool’s border. Danielle walked across, ignoring that her socks were now wet, and got the bottle from the pool. She briefly looked at the logo, noting it was one of the quite expensive brands, before she gripped the neck. With the improvised weapon, she already felt a bit better.

She had hardly started to climb up the stairs again before she heard a rumbling above her. If she had any doubts of whether the burglar was still in the house, it was now removed. Her grasp around the bottle hardened, and she climbed on with determined steps.

* * *

Thiemo could not yet believe he was here again. When he first walked through the property, he almost wanted to embrace every piece of furniture that he had come across. Now, the jackalope in the living room, a mixing nature from all possible creatures on God's green earth, had received one. Afterwards, he had slapped himself on the back of the head for not calling Eris that.

"Dragon… Dracon…" No, he simply could not pronounce it. He had shown Amaryllis the way to the upstairs and larger bathroom where she could wash the chlorine from her fur together with Auralia.

His trek had led him afterwards farther to the terrace where Lyra already stood, looking at the long meadows and breathing the air. "Another planet,” she drawled out, contentment evident in her voice. "Even the air tastes different in a way." Thiemo did not have the heart to tell to her that this likely was because of the over one hundred years of air pollution. “And it’s filled with humans!" The mare obviously had problems containing her renewed excitement. She hopped practically on the spot, and with a splash of water that hit the stone, a yellow puddle on the bottom of the terrace appeared. Thiemo blinked.

"Are you... Did you…?" Another jet of liquid followed the first from under Lyra’s tail. "I’m not cleaning that up,” he said and retreated. It was enough that he had to clean up after one. And just in case, he locked the glass slide door behind Lyra. He had to play it safe so that she wouldn’t leave any… messes in the living room.

It was one of the biggest rooms in the house. Everything was created from a dark wood, the shelves on the walls fitted from the same material. A large television hung on the wall before the luxurious brown leather suite that formed a semicircle. There was another small living room in both the first and on the second floor, but that was rarely used. The first one was for the guests, and therefore was furnished rather meagerly. His grandparents were pretty economical when it did not involve them. His living room had been on the second floor, though he didn’t know if it was still around after all this time.

Out of the living room, he walked briefly once through the hallway, past the main stairways leading above, and entered the kitchen with the adjoining dining room. Here it still just looked like during the day of his involuntary departure and in the dream that he had had some time ago. Only a new refrigerator, an American model judging by the size, had replaced the old one from hundreds of years ago. At least that was what he had always thought, mostly because it would start humming weirdly from time to time. For him, it was still the same. What he was looking for was lying on the kitchen counter, open and ready to be read. The newspaper. This was the moment of the truth. How much time had really passed?

He swallowed and bent over the sheet to be able to read it. Today was the twenty-first of March, twenty-thirteen. Four years. He had spent four years of his life on another planet. That meant he was twenty three. It had been the fifth of November, two thousand and nine, and a few hours before midnight that he had disappeared of the face of the earth. He had been dressed in gym shoes, old jeans that he still wore after all this time, and a T-shirt. Now here he was four years later, back where the journey had begun. He was happy, but a wave of melancholy still rolled over him. It was this aim that allowed him to continue, to keep pushing even in situations where he could have broken down, and now that he had reached it, he felt as though part of him had gone missing, as though he had been robbed of part of his life.

Back and forth, the emotions and mind clashed and raged against each other until his stomach had enough and rang out. Automatically, his look lingered again to the refrigerator and a decision was made. The paper was left alone and, with a click, the heavy door of the modern wonder opened. The holy light of the Food God lit up the inside and displayed the current gifts: nearly yawning empty spaces. A pack of rye bread, some cheese, and some old vegetables was all that were on offer. Before he could check the other compartments, however, his gaze landed on what was in the door.

"Iced tea!" He reached so hastily for it that the package almost landed on the ground. In a single movement of his hand, the lid sailed into the air and he began to pour the wonderful lemon beverage into his waiting gullet. The wine was forgotten completely, and only when more than half of the plastic bottle had emptied did he come up for air. "Ah, water, sugar, citric acid, lemon juice from about 0.1% lemon juice concentrate, acidic emulsifier sodium citrate, antioxidants, and ascorbic acid. Delicious."

Thiemo put the half-empty bottle on the kitchen sink and turned again to the inner section of the refrigerator. Then further below, he discovered something that widened his eyes with desire. Half a chicken was wrapped in aluminium foil. Carefully, he rescued the priceless treasure from the cold tundra that was the lowest compartment of the refrigerator and examined his prey. A crisp-looking dark skin, bright meat dripping with fat, and separated grey bones, there was a good possibility that the formerly winged animal was to be further divided into smaller portions.

With the care that he usually only reserved for loaded crystals, he rose from his squatted position and closed the refrigerator’s door with a foot, only to cry out at the next moment with pain. A part of his tail had gotten stuck in the door, and purely from reflex, Thiemo took a jump forward to escape from the pain. This resulted in not only the refrigerator tilting forward, but also several of the stuck hair saying goodbye for good. With a bang that seemed to resound through the entire house, the refrigerator crashed on the tiled floor. Thiemo winced and almost expected that somebody would come running, but the pattering of hooves stayed away. Shrugging, he first freed his lunch from the foil as much as he could before he placed it in the microwave. Pressing the button to heat it up, he then turned to the fridge.

The tiles under the fridge had cracked, which wasn’t surprising. He was trying to raise it from its fallen position when something cracked him on his head.

* * *

Danielle quietly crept through the hall and followed the sound to the source: the kitchen. Surprise held her as she peeked inside carefully. The new refrigerator did not stand anymore its place, but had fallen to the ground. Before it, somebody squatted, someone who could obviously only be a vagrant. An old, frequently-mended, and ugly coat covered most of his body, from which the back of his head peeked out. Because the fringed and somewhat greasy hair on his head was brown, she had no idea where the white ones came at the bottom of the coat, but that was something she didn’t really want to figure out right at that moment. The vagrant also had an old car antenna in his pants. At least she hoped that this was the case. Further proof to her hypothesis was the fact that the burglar had apparently found the remainder of her old lunch, which now rotated in the microwave. The aluminium foil lay besides him and not in the bin. Perhaps he wanted to save some for later to build a hat. She wouldn’t give him the chance.

As the strange figure pushed his hands under the fridge, she cracked the bottle with as much force on the back of his head. This shattered in a thousand pieces and caused the vagabond to jump up in surprise. He expelled a deep, painful groan and whirled around. Frightened at the sudden reaction of her adversary, Danielle closed her eyes and whirled the remainder of the bottle at him. She felt as she met resistance a few times before another thud sounded. Cracking an eye open, she saw the burglar had tripped over the refrigerator and onto his back when he had tried to evade the bottle. She could let him lie there, grab her suitcase and drive away until she reached a safe distance to call the police. However, he took that decision out of her hands by jumping after her. With a grunt, she landed on the breast of the uninvited guest and held up the bottle under his chin, breathing heavily.

"Uncle, uncle! I give up!"

She would have known that voice anywhere, even if was mixed with those of thousands of people. For the first time, she registered the face that she hadn’t gotten a good look before. Those bright blue eyes, a somewhat bent nose with a slight hump, wide cheeks, and a three-day beard, the narrow, bleeding lips. One of her swings had divided the lower lip practically in two.

"Timo?!" She hadn’t recognized him, her own brother! Nothing had been left of the pudge that he had accumulated about the years before the computer. His hair was longer, untidy, and hung loosely almost in front of his eyes. The usual suit and tie-wearing nerd now had what could only be described as rags adorning his body. Almost nothing remained of the person who had disappeared that one day years ago. He did even not wear his glasses any more. But here he was, under her body, a smashed bottle at the neck while he carefully felt his lip with a hand.

“Hey…sis," he said, a bit embarrassed, and jerked back his finger as he touched the wound. "That could have gone in my eye, you know?"

The bottle fell to the ground. Danielle just stared at him, numbly trying to process he who laid in front of her. This was her brother, her brother who disappeared four years ago. The brother who had been searched for on half the world. For whom several different people had demanded ransom from them, who her family had paid in the hope that he was still out there. The person to whom she had already almost said goodbye to inside herself. Her arms reacted instinctively and wrapped around the Timo’s neck in the vague hope that this was no dream or hallucination. They made contact. She felt the coat that he wore, his hair, his breath on her neck when she pulled him closer into her arms. Tears of joy ran down her cheeks. She had her brother back again. She had Timo back again. She could not believe it. Here he was, appearing as he had disappeared: from a moment to the other. This day that had begun so crappy, had become, Danielle could safely say, the best day of her life.

* * *

It took him a few moments to understand what had just happened, but then Thiemo also held sister in an embrace. Until now, it had escaped him, but if the pool was heated, the power ran, and there was fresh food in the house, never mind a current newspaper, somebody had to live in the house. It could have been his mother or his grandparents, but it was the person whom he wanted to see most of all: his sister, his best friend. Many might never believe that a brother and sister could get along so well, but who grew up away from the city like they had might have understood how small the pool was for friendships. As toddlers, they shared a sandbox; as children, they played hide and seek, and as young adults, one of them was always player number two on the current console. Interests were shared, and even with the disparity in age of two years, they hadn’t begun to see each other as boring.

If Thiemo had to call someone his real family and friend, then it would be his sister. She had not changed a lot in the years they had been separated. Unlike him, she took more from their mother than their father, though she inherited the red hair and freckles. Her long tresses had given way to a shoulder cut with a small plait that hung about her shoulder. She looked fitter and stronger, as he had felt first-hand, and her clothing style had changed from jeans and tank tops to a t-shirt and blue dungarees with mud, but, otherwise, it was the same Danielle whom he had in his memories. Up to now, the memories that he had mostly suppressed in case his journey should fail. The only one who knew that he actually had a sister was Amaryllis.

However, everything had an end, and so ended, after what felt like an eternity, their embrace. "Oh my God! Your lip! Hold on!" Danielle jumped up and seemed to want to hurry from the kitchen, but stopped at the last minute and threw a look back, almost as though she would not be certain that he would be there when she came back. And who could take offence? She decided to get the roll of scrap cloth and passed them to Thiemo to press against the wound.

“Thanks,” Thiemo started, but an odour made him stop. “Do you smell that?”

Surprised, Danielle sniffed. "It smells like… horses. Were you around a stable? Or…" She paused. "The chicken!" She turned around in a flash and hammered with the fist at the big button on the microwave. The door jumped open and expelled billows of smoke in the room. Thiemo could only whimper in disappointment that his lunch had turned into cabbage. This couldn’t have gotten worse.

"I smell smoke. What are you cooking?” came a voice, and the owner soon came into view. Lyra stood in shock in the entrance as she saw Danielle, then grinned immediately from ear to ear. “A female!” she exclaimed joyfully.

It was though Thiemo was seeing it in slow motion, how his sister turned slowly to the door and her mouth opened wider and wider by the second, until her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed like a sack of potatoes.

“That could have gone better….”

"Quickly, we have to use this chance. I need to get my equipment. This is the first female human from another planet and I need to check everything. Get her out of her clothes!" Thiemo looked up to Lyra and threw the bloody roll of scrap cloth at her head.

Chapter V - Act 17.2 - Unknown yet Familiar

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 17.2 – Unknown yet Familiar ~

“Something up?” asked Auralia, who lay in the corner of the bathtub and was bathed by Amaryllis with the shower head. This chlorine was an aggressive thing and burned not only the eyes. The princess had the feeling that it would bleach even the color from her fur. Certainly, Thiemo had calmed her down but also told her that she would be wise to wash out. Why such a thing was actually put in the water was a puzzle to her.

Amaryllis shook her head. “I thought I heard something." Again, she looked around. Near the bathtub were small shelves made from twisted wood that held bottles that promised she would have more beautiful skin or hair. Another promised that she would no longer shed. That caused her to ask herself if there were humans with scales like dragons and if they wanted to get rid of them. What would happen if she poured some of the shampoo over a dragon?

A compartment farther at the top of the shelves held a black box with various knobs and cogs from which a silver rod towered in the air. Because Thiemo had said nothing more when he had showed them the bath, she regarded it as better to leave it alone than to interfere. Moreover, the silver rod seemed to be very fragile.

To their side was a window, which looked as if it was made from crystal. It had made her smile when she first glanced at it. In the Empire, the walls were made from crystal; here, the windows. At least the walls there still made sense, but now it was impossible to see anything of the outside world through these windows. And was that not the point of a window? It could not be the toilet – it was something else, a mystery. On the one hand, it was a chair and with no hole in the bottom. Amaryllis would have no problem to use this since her legs were long enough. Miss Heartstrings could perhaps also use it with the funny way she sometimes sat, as Amaryllis imagined that humans also did so as well. However, a normal mare or a foal would have problems, to say nothing about a stallion. How could one be able to aim so high? This would be a recipe for an accident and a mess.

Then there were the two wash basins that were to be recognized easily as such, with the wide mirror behind it that took up almost the whole wall. Certainly, they were bigger than she would have liked and were accustomed to, but it wasn’t much of a problem. However, Auralia would be less happy with it.

Finally, there was still the shower itself. For humans, she was certainly it was big, but two ponies her size wouldn’t have been able to fit. Even with her and another person, more like a certain human, it would be rather close. The operation did not seem to differ very much. These were no levers that a pony could take in their mouth, but there were the same two knobs that were coloured red and blue that indicated their function. Several small holes on the showerhead betrayed where the water would come from.

She turned again to the bathtub that was now filled with a good amount of water and contained a more than well-soaked filly. Amaryllis opened her saddlebag that she had leaned against the door and levitated a bottle of shampoo for manes and fur out. With a quiet plop, she removed the cork from the crystalline vessel and poured some of its contents on the filly before her.

"This smells like strawberries,” Auralia complained and poked her tongue out.

“Your father seems to like the smell."

"He’s weird. He eats them voluntarily." That she could not contradict.

* * *

His sister safely stowed away on the sofa in the living room, Thiemo hit Lyra on her snout as she tried to approach her target. “How often do I have to tell you? You aren’t going to examine my sister! Do you have to fit into every stereotype for aliens!?” Lyra, her part, only flashed him an irritated look and squinted a little as she stared at the spot where Thiemo had hit her. Said human fell into the armchair and pulled out a kitchen cloth that he had stuffed into his coat, pressing it against the wound.

"But this is the perfect chance! She wouldn’t even notice it, promise!" Lyra tried to sound enticing and wiggled her eyebrows.

“No!”

"Aww…" With a hanging head, the mare hopped onto the other armchair and coiled up on it, her measuring tape on the ground, forgotten. "And what do we do now?”

Now was the time that Thiemo had come down somewhat from his euphoric high of the emotions and could think again a bit clearer. They had a big problem, namely that nobody could simply go to the city to procure something to dinner. Certainly, Westhill was not too far away, perhaps an hour on foot, but none of them could be seen. The ponies for the most obvious reason, and he himself was considered to be gone, something that didn’t need to be changed. Nevertheless, this was only a visit and not a return. They would need food. The solution of this problem lay, unfortunately, beyond their abilities for the moment.

"We wait for my sister to wake up, introduce you to her, and hope that she’s willing to go in the city to get something to dinner.” Hopefully a new chicken, he thought.

The sound of hooves came from the hall, and a few seconds later, Amaryllis entered into the room and looked frightened when she saw the bloodied cloth in Thiemo’s hand. "What happened?"

"A small accident with my sister," he answered and pointed at the sofa. "I think I surprised her a little more than she could handle.” His marefriend examined the sleeping woman on the sofa more closely. First her gaze wandered down her face, then to her torso and down to her feet and the wet socks that Thiemo now also noted for the first time. Naturally she had to have been below in the pool, otherwise where would she have gotten the bottle from?

"You look alike, but at the same time, you don't," noted Amaryllis as she finished her observation. "Still, I don’t have much experience with humans since I do not know a lot. And my brothers and sisters almost look similar. With the exception of Skyla."

“I take more after my father than Danielle. Add a few years, brown instead of red hair, and still shorter, and then you would have my mother.” And her behaviour, from time to time, had not been such a wrong comparison. They had both been mischievous as children, but it was always Danielle who knew when to stop and scolded him if he continued. Like when he wanted to stick tacks into the Legos he had scattered on the floor. He didn't know why he had wanted to do that, but his grandfather had surely deserved it at that moment.

“The red curse has spared me." Not that the red hair of his sister had affected him; it had simply been funny to annoy her about it. Too bad she couldn’t hear him right now.

"Danelle?” Lyra tried. Ponies and their peculiar pronunciation problems.

“Danielle,” he repeated.

“Danielle. It’s not so difficult,” Amaryllis also corrected.

“Could someone also repeat it for me in Equish?”

Thiemo had to consider shortly how best he could produce the sounds in the other language. Finally, "Daniela" was the best that came to him. The language of Albion simply did not give some sounds.

“That sounds more like an accidental assemblage of syllables,” Lyra noted the obvious.

“Well, that’s a thing with us humans. Thiemo, my name, is the same way, isn't it?" It seemed the mare only picked up on it at that moment. "However, we connect our names with something that means something, like a subject, quality, or something similar." That seemed to satisfy the professor. She rummaged through her saddlebag before she pulled out some paper and her quill, no doubt to record what she had just learned.

Amaryllis cleared her throat. "Let me see the wound." Thiemo moved the cloth aside, which drew a sympathetic hiss from his marefriend at the sight. “Hold on, I’ll fix that now." Magic gathered around her horn, and the stabbing pain that had been throbbing from his busted lip subsided considerably a few moments later. "It’ll be good as new in a few days," she concluded after the treatment.

"Thanks, Amy,” he said and gave her a kiss. Suddenly, Lyra collapsed from the sofa, followed by her paper and ink, the latter leaving its mark on the carpet. "Everything in order?"

"No idea. It just got difficult to collect magic.” Thiemo looked at Amaryllis, who had applied just a good amount to himself. When she shook her head, he closed his eyes and switched to his magical sight.

For a moment, Thiemo thought he had gone blind. Darkness, only here and there interspersed with small colourful wisps of magic, was to be seen. "It looks like Earth essentially has less magic than Albion." The planet they had just come from overflowed with magic, so much so that Thiemo could use his magical sight as a second pair of eyes. On Earth, it was squinting and watching blurry shapes move. What few wisps of magic that was here was drawn in by Lyra and disappeared into the mare. He could see it very clearly. "I would be economic with my magic if I were you. You’re exhausted and stored little magic in your body. I know that you unicorns generate it yourselves, but you’re running on reserve. Allow to go back up quietly." Thiemo understood why this had to be an unknown phenomenon for Lyra, since on Albion she would have taken it for granted, being so immersed in the magic-soaked environment, and would have recovered quicker.

"I think I’ll just go lie down,” Lyra grumbled in disgruntlement and coiled herself up on the armchair, her tail covering her eyes. She hadn’t been able to write even half a page, as Thiemo found out when he lifted the piece of paper and feather and laid them on the table. Also remarkable was how quickly the lack of magic had affected her mood, going from cheerful, almost euphoric, to depressed. Thiemo stored these symptoms for magic denial in the back of his mind. Fortunately, Lyra was the only one which was affected by it. Amaryllis had used her own strength and, with it, also her magic supply from the emotions that she took for herself. Aura, as long as she didn’t have to pull any strongman acts, would surely be safe. As for him, where did he get his magic from? It struck him just for the first time, but where did his magic actually come from? If he didn’t concentrate on it, he took nothing from the environment. Did the emblems on his shoulders supply him with so much magical energy that, up until now, it had hardly mattered to exhaust himself in the attempt?

His stomach rumbled again. Thinking on an empty stomach was an effort in futility, but because his sister was still enjoying her all expenses paid trip to the land of dreams, he didn’t have much of a choice but to wait. Unfortunately, pizza delivery services don't deliver out here.

"We should leave these two alone,” he said to his marefriend and stood up from the couch. "Hooves stay at your own body," he added quickly when he saw Lyra’s tail twitch. “You wanted to see where I lived?"

"I thought that this was your house?” Amaryllis asked, obviously curious. Technically, it wasn’t exactly a lie. It would be his someday. Maybe. He didn’t know the details of his grandfather’s will, but he knew his grandfather. He would bet his non-existent money on the fact that his grandfather would turn the house into a mausoleum for himself and throw Thiemo out on the streets. Fortunately, one could claim his inheritance in these modern times.

They left the living room and began to climb the steps, something that Amaryllis had some problem with. Hooves were no feet, and the steeper and narrower steps gave the princess something to work at. Either she had to make herself longer and take several steps at once or make herself smaller than she was. He couldn’t help but be reminded of a cat.

"Yes and no. My grandfather constructed a steel firm with his father after the Second World War. They melted what the Allied forces and the Russians left and sold it as building materials, something everyone needed after Germany was in ruins. Their success was inevitable and later they migrated to the United Kingdom. They were not just received warmly, but the economy here could also endure some fluctuations. He met my grandmother, and his father died and left him the only one to run the business. They had my mother and then sold the firm to a competitor for a huge price. This property here is only one of five houses that my grandfather owns around the globe, though this was the one where I grew up on with them. It also belongs to them, actually. But since I didn’t have anything after… Well, let’s just say that I needed a job, and they needed a housekeeper to clean everything here, so we had an agreement." With those last words, they reached the second floor, and Thiemo led her down the left corridor.

“Why did you grow up with your grandparents?”

Thiemo stopped walking. His voice was slow, considering the words coming out of his mouth, but she didn’t miss the gnashing of his teeth. "Because my mother was a rich, spoiled, little brat who wanted to live on her father’s millions. Every day was parties, drugs, and the police. My grandparents eliminated them the day she stood in front of his doorsteps, pregnant with Danielle. She had her child and simply went on with her life, together with all money what she could find. Then the whole thing repeated itself two years later.”

He took a deep breath, not realizing that he had raised his voice. "Our father – well, the guy who supplied her with drugs – obviously did not meet the approval of our grandparents, so they sued for the child custody. They put a lot of value on our educations to make sure that we did not turn out to be regrets like our mother." Nannies and no kindergartens; private lessons instead of elementary school; Roman Catholic boarding school instead of other continuing schools. He looked to Amaryllis and saw her slightly upset face. Anger must not taste very good. “Sorry.”

* * *

Now, at last, Amaryllis could understand. Understand why he had condemned her birth mother like that. "We… We both didn’t have it easy from the start," she spoke carefully and rubbed her cheek against his.

"No, we did not," he answered and put his arms around her neck. They stayed so for a moment before Thiemo released her gave her a smile that was obviously strained.

"So!" He clapped his hands. "My empire. This was, at least, my bedroom." Thiemo opened the door and they both walked in a brightly illuminated area. Wooden floor and white walls covered in posters were the first things to catch the eyes. In the middle, directly under the oblique roof, was the bed, a window nearby where Thiemo’s head had to have rested. Two cheap-looking cupboards with the remaining furniture were on the right, and on the left was a large mirror installed near the door. "I would say it’s a typical youth room. Posters from various stage plays. Well, actually they're called something different, but I don't think there is a word for ~movies~ in the Equish language," he explained and dropped backwards on the bed. "I can't believe that they left everything as it was. Someone might actually think they liked me.”

"Didn't your grandparents take you in because they liked you?"

"Maybe, but my grandfather liked children. They don’t contradict him. If they start to have their own opinion, that’s when things become bad. If I know him, he scrimped on the price to have here cleaned." Amaryllis looked again. If that really was the case, why was there no dust? It looked as though someone was regularly cleaning the room. There wasn’t any musty air. She hadn’t seen any moths when she opened the right wardrobe, and the bed was freshly made. Still, since his sister still lived here, she could have been the one who maintained it.

“I’m sure they love you very much in their own way.” Amaryllis’ eyes widened. So this was how it felt to stand on the other side of the advice. Good thing that Thiemo could not see her face.

Springs squeaked as Thiemo rose from the bed and suggested that she should follow him. Again in the hall, she closed the door behind her and saw her coltfriend as he walked off ahead of her. Hastily, she followed him and went into a room that he probably had spent a great deal of time in. At least, that was what she thought when she looked around. A comfortable-looking armchair stood next to a wooden corner table, and shelves were filled with books, frames, and showcases that contained a variety of objects. There was a blue ocarina in one, and in another, there were figures of humans dressed in some sort of costume as they raised their weapons in the air as they marched.

"Damn, they took all my devices.”

"Devices?" Amaryllis asked, still looking over the objects in the showcases.

"The police was surely on my computer and took everything to look for clues to where I was. I guess I’ll never see that hard drive, with the amount of…" He stopped shortly. “With the amount of material I had, they sure pocketed it. They even took the mouse and keyboard, the vultures. Those swine.”

Amaryllis did not know whether she had understood him correctly, she had no idea what pigs and birds had to do with losing his computer.

* * *

Danielle awoke slowly. Although she seemed to have slept, she was still tired. Her fingers grasped for her thick winter blanket, but she quickly found the thin material of the living room blanket wrapped around her. She had to have fallen asleep with the television. It wasn't cold under the blanket, but neither was it warm. Sure, it was spring, but the temperatures still were stuck in the lower regions, and the large house slowly warmed only if she turned on the heating. It was why she preferred the smaller rooms on the first floor, where she had transformed the guest rooms into her own living area.

Since she didn’t want to remain cold, she would have to get up and go upstairs. Danielle noted, as she stretched out, that something felt wrong. Her socks were wet. Why were her socks wet? She had gone down to the pool and then…

All of a sudden, everything came back to her. Timo was here again! He was the homeless person who had gotten into her kitchen. He had thrown down the refrigerator, and she had attacked him with a bottle and had hurt him and... Danielle jumped up and threw back the blanket. Her gaze wandered through the room and found what, together with the appearance of her lost brother, was the reason that she needed a forced break after this eventful morning. On the armchair to her left lay a green unicorn with a lighter mane, interspersed with white streaks, slumbering peacefully before her. This alone was not enough to knock the socks off Danielle Morgan, a woman who regularly had her arm so deeply inside a cow that she sometimes thought she could tickle their noses internally.

Oh no. She knew this unicorn. "~Harper?~" she muttered in surprise. The tail of the unicorn that had covered its face until now moved to the side, and her golden eyes started at her green ones. "~Oh my God! She’s real!~"

"She’s awake! I missed my chance. Horse apples!"

Both startled themselves, none having any idea what the other had just said. Not that a chance would have existed, as they had spoken at the same moment. Danielle leaned forward slowly and stretched a hand.

"~Harper, are you really here?~" she asked uncertainly. The unicorn stared at her as the human’s hand got closer and finally made contact with her right front hoof. Danielle winced as the pony’s lethargy disappeared and she suddenly woke to life, surrounding her hand with both hooves and shaking it strongly. Her lips moved in a melodic kind, which had to be a language that was completely unknown to her, unfortunately. But this was real! This was Harper from her favourite series, here on her sofa, in the flesh and blood, not just a plain animation produced on a computer.

Her mane was more like human hair and full of volume, not simply hanging down like with regular horses. Her eyes, even if not so gigantic as in the series, were larger than the eyes of normal horses, but much closer together and allowed a much better sight forward. What a lot of people did not know was that horses had a blind spot directly forward, which was why they turned their head slightly when looking at something. But these eyes were positioned not only in a different way, no, they also seemed so much livelier as a tide of words escaped that resembled a melody. Her snout was narrower, shorter. She resembled a dog, to be honest, but with the lips, she nevertheless looked more human. And she breathed shortly through her mouth before she continued to speak, something else horses couldn’t do. She was real, first and foremost, directly before her, and still held her hand, even if she hadn’t stopped the shaking in the meantime.

Carefully, Danielle lifted her other hand and tried to warn Harper in advance, not that she was still scared of the hand. However, she seemed to understand the gesture, as she fell silent and seemed to wait to see what she would do next.

"Timo! You have to come see this!" she called and saw from the corner of her eyes how Harper’s ears immediately turned away. It was so surreal.

There was some rumbling overhead as her brother probably hurried to get downstairs to her. He ran into the room and stopped when he saw her, then looked at Harper. "~Good, you’re awake. Everything in order? She didn’t try anything, right?~" With those last words, he pointed at the unicorn, who was listening to their conversation, judging from the way her ears were swivelled.

"~I do not do so!~" she protested suddenly, much to Danielle's surprise, in broken English. She was struck immediately by how different her mouth moved, as if she had to difficulty in producing the sounds or had to fight to make them come out. "I don’t think I was in my right senses. I still apologized, even though I haven’t done anything." The rest was again said in her melodic language, for she could not understand what she said.

"I don’t know, Lyra. I think I’ll wait until I hear what my sister has to say." Danielle stared at her brother with an opened mouth. The same melodic language had just left his mouth, even if not so clearly as with Harper. But he spoke the language, and he seemed to know her. Could she and her brother… No, that could not be. Something like that didn’t occur in reality only in very bad fanfiction.

"~Did she do anything to you?~" The unicorn shot a sour look at Timo, whose gaze was focused on his sister, and she began to understand.

“~Wait, what? Do you know her?~”

“~Unfortunately. She can be a pain in the ass.~” He crossed his arms and returned the unicorn’s look. “~Danielle, this is Lyra Heartstrings. Lyra, this is my sister, Danielle.~”

"Lyra Halfstrings," Danielle repeated the newly learned name.

“Heartstrings,” Lyra corrected.

"~And the reason she wanted to apologize is because she wanted to examine you when you were unconscious. The dear Professor has chosen humans as her favourite subject.~”

Danielle grinned over both ears. "~Just like in the series!~" Thiemo looked at her in surprise, but her look went beyond him. Panic broke out on her features when she saw the being behind Thiemo. "~Look, behind you!~"

Danielle gripped the closest object, the lamp table near the sofa, and flung it at the approaching shapeshifter, only to see how this was caught in a mauve aura.

Chapter V - Act 17.3 - The Pony Show

View Online

My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 17.3 - The Pony Show ~

Tense silence ruled the room as Danielle stared at Amaryllis. Amaryllis looked at the lamp that had just been thrown at her. Thiemo was focused on the panicked face of his sister, not knowing how he should react. The only one who was not anxious and probably wished to have some popcorn was Lyra. She sat in her armchair and observed the events with a small yet malicious grin. If she was a foal, this would be the moment where she ran around the princess and sang, “My first contact went better than yours, so there!” And after all that she had to go through because of her and her human, she had more than earned such a moment.

If someone didn’t know what to look for, they would have missed the subtle movements. The young red-haired woman felt behind her with her left hand for another object that she could throw. It found the cushion that her head had rested on, and with a defiant shout that tore through the silence, she flung it after Amaryllis and brought the room to life.

Everything happened all at once. Thiemo stretched his hand while his totem started to shine in a bright blue, and a small block of ice banged into the cushion, whereupon both went down. The changeling princess, who had not counted on the intervention of her lover, flung the lamp aside and prepared herself to intercept the next object that would never come. With a loud clink, the lamp perished in the fireplace, as the cover and the funny clear crystal in it shattered into a thousand pieces. While Thiemo's head moved in surprise to the source of the sound, his sister jumped up and pulled her brother behind the sofa before she overturned it, scratching the old smooth wood.

Lyra listened in as Danielle started to spit words at her brother. He tried to get in a word or two in English, as did Amaryllis, to no avail. Finally, Thiemo decided to get up off the floor and above the sofa, which his sister was not about to allow. With both hands, she grabbed him by the hip and pulled him back to the ground behind the impromptu cover.

“What’s going on here?” And then it became quiet again. All heads turned to the entrance where a small orange foal had entered the room and stared in shock at what had happened. Amaryllis, probably because of the fear that the angry woman would throw something once more, wanted to position herself in front of Auralia. However, she didn’t keep Danielle in her site. Another loud roar sounded and, before the large ebony mare could react, the human rammed against her side and roared something to the foal.

Thiemo, released from his sister’s death grip, came out from behind the sofa and pushed it aside without any trouble. “And you couldn’t have stopped them?” he asked Lyra, who only grinned innocently and shook her head easily, her look not turning away from the wrangling on the carpeted floor. She twitched a little as one of Amaryllis’ hooves bored into Danielle’s stomach as she tried to get away. However, she showed an unbelievable perseverance as she kept her grip around Amaryllis even tighter. She didn't understand much English yet, and most of the time they talked too fast for her, but she believed Danielle yelled something about calves that could kick harder.

The obviously confused Auralia walked around the flailing limbs and was lifted silently by her father into his arms. “Why is Amaryllis fighting with that human?” she asked as Thiemo stroked her mane.

“Apparently my sister has something against changelings. The question is: how does she know Amy is one?” Lyra felt the look of the human on her neck and turned away her gaze, finally, from the events.

“What? No, I didn’t tell her anything! We’ve hardly changed three words.”

“That’s my aunt?” Aura asked excitedly. “I wanna take part!”

Auralia grinned, jumped out of Thiemo’s arms, and there were three beings rolling on the ground a few seconds later. Aura had locked jaws on Danielle’s pants as she tried to pull her aunt away from Thiemo’s marefriend, but Danielle held up her leg one moment later. It didn’t matter how strong the little foal was – without ground below her hooves, it was of no use. Lyra giggled.

* * *

There was perhaps nobody on this planet, or on Albion, who better understood what it was to have brothers and sisters than Amaryllis. At least if quantity over quality was valid. She might have left a lot of her brothers and sisters behind with her mother, but maybe she was glad she didn’t have to see some of them again. Changelings were generally, regarding their personalities at least, as different as the shapes they could take. Thus, some of her brothers and sister were gentler than some ponies she had known in her time outside the hive, while others could be rough and aggressive. However, they were a rather charming bunch, all in all.

Amaryllis also had an idea of the size of families that various races tended to have. With the ponies, she had learned that it generally came down to their type. Earth ponies loved big families, so that an earth pony had, on average, at least two to five brothers and sisters. Pegasi came directly afterwards – not for the love of large families, but because they were known to be very… affectionate and reluctant to leave their partners’ hooves. Hence, their family size tended to be similar. Then, before the unicorns, the thestrals and crystal ponies found themselves on this list. For unicorns, they rarely had more than two foals. This was because, if one was to believe the book from where she had read it, of the limited space that they had to live in in the past. They had themselves to blame since they kept building on mountains, at least according to the author.

Unfortunately, there were no references for humans. She had met only a few, and she only knew a little about the one she had gotten to know very well. Aforementioned family got to know Amaryllis a lot closer, as it laid on her and worked on her with fists and feet. In the beginning, it had been amusing. Even if the person on her wanted to injure her, with her present methods, she could also have tried to eat soup with a fork. But slowly, very slowly, it had stopped being amusing. The blows to her snout were coming more and more often, and the knee drilling in her stomach persisted. Now the pressing question was: how much did her lover value his sister?

Amaryllis shook her head and exiled the thought, as well as it could be done while lying on her back and holding her hooves in front of her face for protection. It also became apparent to her that Auralia had rushed into the fight, even if she had little success. The foal doggedly hung onto Danielle’s trousers and swung in the air. As strong as the small earth pony was, without any ground under her hooves, she couldn’t do much. What Amaryllis didn't like at all was that, if Danielle kicked out the wrong way, she could hurt the foal.

She pondered shortly what she knew from Thiemo about the use of magic, with what she knew about how much he loved the foal against what she knew about how much he loved his sister. After only a blink of an eye, her horn woke to life. With a little effort, she moved Danielle away from her and separated Auralia from her pants. Amaryllis flinched as the human, caught in her magic, suddenly screamed as if branded with a hot iron. With wide eyes and flat ears, the observed princess how Danielle arched and twisted, her fingers boring into every part of her body that they could get a hold on.

“Amy!” Thiemo’s shout made her magic fall silent, and Auralia as well as Danielle fell to ground. “What did you do?”

“N-Nothing! I only wanted to move her from me before she hurt Auralia.” In a great hurry, the mare brought herself again to her hooves and looked down at Thiemo. He was already bent over his sister, his ear to her mouth.

"Lyra," he spoke to the mare on the armchair without looking up. “Do you have any idea what just happened?”

“I would almost say a magic attack. Foals get them more frequently, though even such a thing can happen to coached and well-qualified unicorns if they lose control of their magic. The magic flows unhindered through their horn and can be very painful, and if it isn’t stopped soon, can even be fatal for a foal.”

“What does one do when that happens?” The panic in Thiemo’s voice was obvious. His hands trembled as he tried to find something they could do to help.

“As soon as the attack is interrupted, bed rest is the best medicine. At least, that was what my mom did when my sister and I were younger.”

Amaryllis looked down on Danielle. She breathed more quietly, and her features did not seem so pained. “Thiemo, I did not know… I didn’t think this would happen.” To feel the panic in her lover made her feel even worse. “I just wanted to levitate her down, really.”

“Is she okay?” Auralia asked and prodded one of Danielle’s hands with her snout. “I didn’t hurt her, right?”

“Nobody did,” Thiemo muttered. “At least not on purpose. We didn’t know she would react to magic like that. I think it might be best if I carry her to her room since I doubt she’s going to be waking up soon. Plus it might be better if she didn’t wake up to aliens underfoot.” He met her gaze. “Sorry.”

Amaryllis shook her head. “No, I understand what you mean.”

Carefully, Thiemo brought an arm under the shoulders of his sister, the other under her knees as he lifted. “You all should stay here. I’ll be back soon.” Everyone stared at him as he carried the unconscious human from the wrecked sitting room and disappeared up the stairs.

“I really had no idea,” Amy explained to Lyra and Auralia once more. “How could I? Though Thiemo told me sometimes about something similar, but that was when Zarni trained him.”

The filly cuddled up to one of her forelegs. “Dad says nobody was guilty.” Amaryllis forced a smile on her lips and nodded. Though the words of the foal did not help her feel better about the incident, at least one of them would be satisfied.

* * *

Taking two steps at once, Thiemo reached the second floor of the villa and looked down at his sister. When she had screamed and kneeled over in agony, he had almost gone after Amaryllis. For one moment, he had subconsciously thought that his marefriend had hurt his sister on purpose. Amaryllis’ face and the terror on it afterwards had proven otherwise, of course, but nevertheless, for a moment he had doubted. Certainly, they had known each other for little less than a year, but he believed he knew her better. Or maybe he had felt that way because his sister had been in danger.

Thiemo renewed his clutch around the person in his arms. “Either I’ve become stronger, or you’ve lost a lot of weight. I’ll go with the first one.” He had hoped that his words would have woken her and provoked an answer, but Danielle remained motionless. This brought him to another thought, namely the sofa and how light it had been to move, just like the fridge. Thiemo briefly paused.

"Eh, well, that is..." he mumbled to himself and thanked again his guardian angel that Albion and Earth were so much alike.

The next brief stop came when he reached the door to the guest lodgings. Because his empire was in the uppermost floor of the house, there were not too many possibilities of where his sister could have lodged. And because this room had already contained a very comfortable double bed in the past, he strongly doubted she had gone to the trouble of moving into another room. Besides, the window was aimed to the north, so that one was not disturbed, without closed curtains, too early by the sun

With a foot, he pressed down on the door handle and fell forwards into the room. To his satisfaction, he saw his assumption was right. Though she had exchanged the dull white wallpaper for a pale pink one with a pattern, the old four-poster from a prehistoric time still stood in the same place. Carefully, he placed his sister on the bed and shifted one of the cushions under her head. It was also a pink cushion, with a motif on it.

“Is that...? Should that...?” Thiemo slowly looked up and around the room. The space itself was nothing special. Directly beside the entrance was a desk together with a printer and a phone. On one side of the room was a large, four door wardrobe with mirrors. On the next wall was the window and under it the heater. “Why the fuck is there a plushie that looks like Fluttershy?”

Thiemo went over to the desk and lifted the, in his opinion, rather large toy in his hand. It did not really resemble the yellow mare he had gotten to know. Certainly, the mane and the cutie mark were similar, but the whole facial structure, with eyes almost as large as the head, made it seem that someone had made a caricature of Fluttershy. In addition, the mare appeared, at least in this small size, rather bloated, particularly with the tree stump-like things that acted as legs and hooves. The legs of a pony were actually the thinnest part. No, this was not Fluttershy, who could be seen as a model, but rather a cartoon figure.

He put the plushie back where it had been and looked at what his sister had stuck to the large mirror. It was a poster, a pink poster that contained some familiar colours. At the center of the poster stood a pony, a lavender-coloured pony with a darker purple mane, with lighter stripes running through it. On the forehead was a horn, though there was nothing at her sides. It, just as the plushy, was a cartoon figure. The eyes were huge, the remaining features basic and diminished. Twilight Sparkle looked more like a dog than a pony on the poster. The only signs that she even belonged to the equine family were the simple hooves and mane. Round them stood her five friends. Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and also Fluttershy had not fared better than Twilight. Thiemo was more at loss for words regarding the shape standing behind them. It had lasted a moment, but then he understood that it should be Celestia. He had met the ruthless alicorn face to face and felt her presence, and that there on the poster was not Celestia. As much he detested her actions that had caused the suffering of so many, this picture was insulting to the charisma that she had. Her mane, of an ethereal light of the colour and splendour of Aurora Borealis, had been done an injustice by being reduced to three basic colours. Her complete stature was bulkier and generally had none of the elegance that she radiated.

Thiemo shook his head and brought his concentration on a larger problem. Where the hell had the poster come from? The plushy and the pillow under the head of his sleeping sister had the same theme like the poster.

“Eris, if this is some sort of joke, you’ve gone too far this time.” Thiemo expected to hear a laughter that would be followed by the snap of a talon that would cause everything around him to dissolve, making him realize that he had carried a raccoon to bed or something similar. All he got, aside from the steady breathing from his sister, was silence. He changed to his magic view, almost overcome by the pure emptiness that surrounded him. The plushy was exactly as it seemed. Nothing. No magic, no magical construct. It was just a plushy. The only magic in his direct view was his hand. This time he threw the Fluttershy plushy through the room and threw up his hands.

"What's the hell is going on here?!" He paced for a while then stopped. His view of his sister had brightened up in the darkness. He was quite sure to himself that this had not been the case before. He tried to think back. Had he looked at his sister with his magic view before the incident? With the best will in the world, he could not remember. And far more important was that it definitely wasn't Amaryllis' magic flowing through her body. It was red, red like blood and garish. "Okay, one thing after the other." As his sister didn't seem to be ill otherwise, the cartoon figures were the bigger problem.

Danielle was a fan, at least if one went by the poster and toys. Any fan that had already spent money on a plushie must have DVDs of the series, cartoon, or the film somewhere. Thiemo extinguished his magical view and sat down in the chair at the desk. He considered a moment, then he started to search the drawers. This was the likely place where DVDs would be stowed away, as she didn’t have any shelves for them

However, the first drawer contained only paper pads and ballpoint pens with logos of several pharmaceutical companies. The second, he closed just as fast as he had opened it. Next to an emergency package of sanitary pads was a phallus-shaped object that created pictures in his mind he didn't wish on his worst enemy. For a short moment, he pondered whether he should put a sticky note on the drawer, telling her that she should buy a bedside table. The third drawer was filled with the paper wrappings for sweets, hair scrunchies, old batteries, loose change, and dust. The last was quite empty. No DVDs, which left open only one possibility.

Thiemo opened the lid of the laptop and waited for the operating system to load. “Technology really has progressed,” he murmured to himself as he checked underneath for the specs. A sound brought his look again on the screen where it showed him that a password was required. “Anyway, Bill's boys don't seem to have improved.” A fast combination of keys later, and the desktop was visible. "Well, it's not Microsoft’s fault that most people forget to add an administrator password." A notification from the operating system told him that the Notebook had a touch screen and he instantly went to work. First he started the browser, but because he wasn't logged in, the browser created a new profile and denied him access to Danielle’s browsing history. "Would have been too easy."

A quick press on the system key and a certain letter opened the search window. Again the curious human thought for a second before he typed the word ‘pony’, followed by a star, and pressed Enter with his forefinger. He loved the noise the keys made under his fingers. It was one of the things he had really missed.

The search would take a moment, and thus he turned again to the browser which was still open in the background. He tapped on the search symbol in the bookmark strip and waited a few seconds, only to get an error message that he would not be connected to the Internet. A short look showed him that he was not connected to a network. Only one was visible at the moment, and this was protected with a password. That would usually be on the back of the router, but that device could be practically anywhere in the house. There were, on every floor, at least three telephones.

A tone sounded once more that indicated to Thiemo that the search was finished. He tapped back into the other window and saw that he had apparently been more success. “~My Little Pony? Friendship is Magic?~” He read the title of the folder that had at least fifty files in them. Curiosity drove his fingers, and with another tap on the monitor, the video opened. A bright tone played, clouds came into the picture, and then a balloon. A balloon in the air from which Twilight Sparkle in a basket advanced.

~My little pony, my little pony. Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh... ~

Thiemo closed the laptop with such force that he initially thought that he had damaged it. This could not be. In a rush, he rose from the chair, grabbed the laptop under his arm and hurried out the room. He almost fell to his back as he reached the threshold and looked back. The plug was still connected to the printer. He tore the plugs from the laptop and hurried through the hall, taking the stairs with a few jumps, and going back into the sitting room.

“Amy! Lyra!” he shouted as he gasped for air. His marefriend had positioned herself on the sofa and seemed to have had a conversation with Lyra. Auralia was not in sight, and the door to the terrace was open, which left little doubt as to where his daughter had disappeared. “Lyra, I think I must apologize to you. I think I found the reason from where my sister knew Amy from.” Both stared at him with large eyes. “Hold on!” Thiemo went over to the television and started to look for a cable. He pulled the HDMI cable from under the TV where it had always been and plugged it into the laptop before he opened the device again. To his relief, the screen was not damaged and the operating system only asked once more for a password.

“What do you have there? Is this a device that recognizes changelings?” Lyra asked, seeing, thanks to her position, at least some of what he was doing.

“No, this is a human computer. Perhaps it’s not as grand as the one in the Crystal Empire, but this is more handy and able to do more things. No, that isn't the reason. It’s the data on this thing." He tapped the screen a few times and told the machine, if it would be so kind, to duplicate the screen on the second monitor. Thiemo’s hand grabbed the television’s remote and switched it on, allowing the laptop’s screen to be duplicated there.

He tapped the file once more and increased the player to full size, then went over to the sofa and sat down next to Amaryllis. “Okay, look at this.” His words mixed with the first tones of the melody that had just played. Both mares stared tensely at the moving picture.

“My little pony, my little pony. Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh...”

“Is that…?”

“And that has to do with this?”

“How?”

“What?”

Exactly like he had done before, both stared unbelievingly at the television and what was playing. Finally, after the end of what had to probably be the kitschiest introduction Thiemo had ever seen, a new voice came on.

“~Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria…~”

Author's Notes:

Some of you seemed confused by the use of different names for Lyra in the last chapter. The thing is, why our names are "random" combination of syllables with no real meaning beside that we gave them later on, the names of the ponies are made of objects, adjectives and so on of already existing language. And since we're switching between two very different languages here, I used the "proper" English terms for their names in English. Example: Equisch: Lyra - English: Harper.
But because I'm a lazy fuck I didn't want to make up an entire new language. So I used just different English words to archive this effect. I hope that cleared that up.

So, the show is canon. There is a very good reason for that, believe me. And no, Albion is not a cartoon parallel world or the like. The ponies are related to horses and I intend to show that. Like Lyras squirting in one of the last chapters. She was exited, very much so. She didn't piss in that scene. And Thiemo knows what that was because he as experienced that with Amaryllis in the recent past.

To add some random fact, do you guys remember the first intermission? I never stated how long Thiemo was trapped inside the ruins. And that was for a good reason. He doesn't even know himself. He was in the dark sticky ruins for what? A few days to a week. Not just a few seconds. That actually the reason why I once said that he doesn't like to be alone in the dark. He has a little trauma right there.

Thanks to Verequus for translating this chapter.
Special thanks to JBL for translating and editing.

Chapter V - Act 17.4 - Faust

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My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 17.4 – Faust ~

Danielle slowly awoke. Thoughts returned along with her consciousness, followed by the feeling of soft bed sheets round her. She had to fight the feeling of déjà vu, as though she had taken one nap too many. She tried to stretch but could only wince as her muscles protested her actions. She tried to remember why she was lying on her back again. There was her brother and Harper and… the shape-shifter! She yelped and jumped up quickly, though she had to quickly subside as the pain in her body convinced her of the folly of her actions.

The shape converter, it had attacked them. With magic. It had put her out of action. And somehow, a foal had appeared as well.

Shaking aside the light pain, Danielle stood up, though this was only done with the help of her hands on the bedpost. This time, at least she was in her room, which would allow her to surprise whoever had brought her here. And there were only two actual possibilities: Thiemo or the shape converter. Maybe it was also Harper.

Her look briefly wandered through the room, and the absence of her laptop and her printer from her desk immediately caught her attention. So it had been her brother, because Danielle strongly doubted that someone else would have had interest in them. Slowly, she further walked through the open door in the hall, the closer she came to the stairs, the closer the voices from down below reached her. However, it was different than before, in that it made more sense, though not completely. Not that she understood what was said, but the meaning of the words did not leave her completely clueless. If she had understood him properly, he had asked somebody about if she had done something wrong. He had gotten an answer from Harper that seemed to deny it.

Finally, she reached the sitting room and looked in. Harper still lay on the same armchair like before, only that a bowl with popcorn was placed between her hooves. Her look was fixated on the television, which explained why Harper hadn’t noticed her. The sofa had been positioned anew so that Danielle, at the entrance, now looked directly at the backs of the head of her brother and that what could only be the shape-shifter. But they did not fight or shouted at themselves. They talked and laughed.

“Wait wait wait, hold up. You want me to believe that Rarity, Rarity, rolled around in the mud to court a stallion?”

"Yep!” Harper giggled and pushed some more popcorn into her mouth. “She ran around for a few days with her father’s old straw hat on, following that stallion wherever he went. I only had to ask Bonny who he really was. Apparently, he was some self-appointed fashion expert who travelled throughout Equestria, always in search of the newest trend. But who hasn’t done something stupid when they were younger?”

“Then do feel free to regale us of tales from your youth, if it strikes your fancy, Professor,” her brother replied and threw a piece of popcorn at the unicorn.

"I will have you know that I’ve never done anything stupid in my youth as a part of Canterlot’s aristocracy. Now, perhaps, is something different. After all, I met this human whom I wanted to help from the goodness of my heart and as a result became a criminal and traitor to my country.”

“Miss Lyra!” gasped a new voice. “I believe we were cast out because of the same individual. He was the one who kidnapped me from my golden cage, dared to steal my heart, and desecrated my body. A dangerous criminal and very bad influence indeed.” The shape-shifter, or rather the changeling, leaned over to her brother and pressed her cheek against his. “I might have to take an eye for an eye.”

Danielle needed a moment to process the meaning of the spoken words, but when her brother gave the black mare next to him a kiss, she found that it was not required. Both hands rushed to her mouth in shock, and without them to prop up the door frame, her legs gave way to the weight pressing on them. Thiemo whirled around immediately when he heard her, and Harper also turned away from the television.

“~Danielle!~” In the next moment, her brother was beside her and reached to hold under her arms. “~Everything in order?~”

With the help of her brother, she got to her legs again, and he accompanied her carefully over to the sofa. Danielle twitched once more as she saw the changeling there. “I have rested enough. She can have my place,” the voice of Harper sounded.

"Thanks," Thiemo answered briefly. The unicorn hopped down with her bowl of popcorn, and Danielle took her place.

“~Thanks,” she also said to the unicorn before her gaze fell on the television for the first time. There, without any volume, ran My Little Pony. She looked back to the sofa where the changeling sat, but instead of popcorn, she had an orange foal between her forelegs that had closed her eyes.

“~She was tired. Tried to follow the stories on the moving pictures, but she lost the battle with her eyelids,” she said. “~I really am sorry. I did not know the pain my magic would have caused. No intention, really.~”

“~It’s okay. I… overreacted. The situation was maybe a little too much all at once. Plus, I’m sure I got in one of two hits.~” Thiemo sat down again beside the dark mare, and they were quiet for a few seconds. “~Also … It seems like you’ve found the show,” Danielle finally said and indicated the television.

“Oh! This is so thrilling. Thiemo just now had some theories about where humans could have gotten the idea of our existence. Maybe it was Eris, because she said she had already visited Earth and told somebody here about Albion, or maybe there was someone who was like him and found themselves on Albion but found a way back home. And these are only two of the most likely. There are so many possibilities!” Harper seemed to full energy when she spoke, the unicorn hopping up and down excitedly.

“~The chaos left stories behind?” Danielle asked. “~Can someone translate that?”

“~Erin would probably be the best translation for her name. The best description would probably be for you to think of the being that you know as Discord, only with a vagina,” he gave as a halfhearted answer. “~You understood some of what Harper said?~” Danielle nodded. “Give me the third decimal of Pi.”

“~I… don’t really understand the words. I more get the gist of the words, not the meaning. You … You wanted to know a certain number.~” for Danielle it was in such a way as if the melodies which put out this foreign language put pictures in her head which her brain could not process, however or understand, at least not completely.

Thiemo leant back and crossed his arms thoughtfully. “~When we came, you couldn’t understand a word, then you came into contact with magic, and then…” His head fell back, and a sigh escaped Thiemo’s lips. “~This doesn’t make any sense!”

“You can understand me? This is great! We can talk to each other, and you can tell me more about humanity. I could study you; I would be able…” Danielle did not want to interrupt the spirited Harper who sat beside her on the ground, but all she knew for now was that she wanted to understand everything about them. “We can draw comparisons of our cultures, our languages, our development and origin. We could finally make anthropology an approved science with a basis! “

Danielle pointed a finger at Lyra and turned once more to her brother. “~I take it she likes humans?” The rolling of his eyes told her all that she needed to know. Almost. “~Also … Is the show accurate? I mean, does Equestria look like that?”

Thiemo laughed. "Hardly. Look at Desire, Harper, and Tumanga. They resemble the ponies in the show, just like as the name says. Their eyes are big, but that is due probably to their forefathers. However, I think that even they are a little smaller than the eyes of a horse. Their snouts are smaller to better fit their rounded head, but you can see that yourself. Albion … Albion is not so different from Earth. They have the same colours and very similar flora and fauna, now that I think about it. However, the air is substantially cleaner. I saw cows talking, wart pigs, and even buffaloes. Still haven’t heard any rabbits speak though. The ponies live and die exactly like us and—” Danielle stopped him by lifting her hand briefly.

“~That’s great and logical and everything. I mean, you’re alive. Is the dimensions of the planet very different? It cannot be to different. It would have to have almost the same mass as Earth so that the gravitation does not kill you. The fact that you don’t have any illnesses also speaks for a similar Earth microbiology, like the composition of the air and the water. But forget about that. Did you meet them?”

“~Who?~”

“~Who, the Mane Six of course?!~” Thiemo winked briefly over at the black mare whom he had called Desire, then again to her. However, an answer did not come. “~You already met them: Dusk Shine, Elusive, Butterscotch, Rainbow Flash, Bubble Berry, and Applesnack.”

“~Met might not be the right expression…” Her look darkened. Danielle knew her brother, and if he started already in such a way, he had already done something wrong. “One could say that the first meeting went as good as that of you and Desire.” Didn't she nearly brawl with the mare?

“~Timo … What did you do?”

“~Umm… Now… Joa… You know Erin… steal Elements… Defeated by ponies…” He hummed and hawed, his gaze steadily drifting away from her. “~And I almost even won.” Desire smacked him with a wing against the shoulder. “Well, not so much. And they help.”

“~Oh no, you accepted the bet,” clarified Desire.

Danielle’s feelings moved from fury to amusement as Timo started to tell the history of how he had met the heroes from her favorite show for the first time. And it was it already ironic? After her brother had landed in the world of the show, she had only started to look to deal with his loss. When the show had started, he had been missing for half a year already, and the police had put the search on hold. Then a fellow student at the university had told her, over a plate of bad chips with fatty fish, about this great new series. And now here she sat, her brother here again, two ponies at his sides, aliens who came from a world that was only a cartoon here.

* * *

“~And then I woke up in a cell, packed together with Desire here, without clothes, winter on the way and a tail growing out from my back,” Thiemo finally finished his story. To make his position clear, he produced said tail from under his coat and waved it around a little. But I’ve never seen anypony doing what Applesnack did with it in the show. I mean, it’s only hair.” From his corner of his eyes, he could see how Danielle’s eyes followed the point of his tail like a moth the light. “~Now I also have a question. Who exactly is the inventor of the series? You seem to be a fan, so I’m guessing this is something you’d already know.”

Her eyes remained on his tail for a while longer before she answered. “~Yeah, the original inventor of the series is Bonnie Zacherle. She made the first generation for Hasbro in the eighties. What was just on…” Danielle turned to the television, but this had switched off itself, just like the laptop. The latter had certainly gone out after several hours of being on without the adaptor. “~What was just on was generation four. Hasbro wanted to make a new attempt after the catastrophe that was generation three and commissioned Lauren Faust with the project. If one had to name the creator of the project, I guess it would be her. Still, she officially left after the end of the first season of the show and a heap of different authors took over the writing.”

“~Which leads to the question of where it was only this Lauren Faust on Albion or also some of these different authors…” Thiemo asked nobody in particular.

Danielle cleared the throat. “~I don’t want to be a spoilsport, but could Lauren Faust really be in Equestria or even visited? I mean, she already was involved with the people who made the Powerpuff Girls and Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends. It would have been noticeable if she had disappeared for a longer period. And even if it was before her time, then the fan base certainly would have dug out the history already.” That was his sister for him, always ready to throw a spanner into his mental gears.

“~Well, if she was, it’s the best clue we have. And I want to solve this riddle. At the very least, it would mean that there really was someone who managed to find themselves back on Earth besides me, but maybe she would even know how it was that I even reached Albion in the first place.” That was something that would give Thiemo a lot of pleasure finding out.

“If someone could speak a language I could understand, that would really be great, thank you very much! Or at least speak a little slower? I can hardly keep up!” Lyra complained. That had caused her to stop taking her notes. Now that she had already said her piece, her feather was back in her mouth again as she resumed her note-taking. Thiemo decided, as he had often done in the past, to ignore her.

“~Anyhow, I’d like to have a few words with Miss Faust. Any idea where to find her?”

Danielle looked once more to her laptop next to the television. “~I would have to look, but I believe her address is now private. I think she’ll be attending some events. And in a few months, she might even be coming to Europe for the Galacon in Germany. However, I am not quite sure whether she had accepted.”

Thiemo saw over to Amy who, much like Aura had done hours earlier, fought to remain awake. A look outside showed only the darkened sky, and a look at the clock confirmed his assumption: it was too late and they too long on their legs. “~We don’t have months. We promised Desire’s parents to remain here for one month maximum.”

“~WHAT?”

“~Not so loud! You’ll wake up Tumanga. And, yes, we can stay only for a month, then we have to go back to Albion.” The face that his sister presented him did not suit him at all. “~Hey,” he said and took her hands in his. “~It’s been four years since I’ve been gone. I am dead here, but not on Albion. I have a life over there. Or at least an existence. I have a wonderful girlfriend in Desire. I have a house and became the citizen of an empire. I have my daughter and—”

“~DAUGHTER?” Danielle pulled back her hands in shock.

“~Eh? I didn’t tell you already? Tumanga is my daughter.” He indicated to the foal currently asleep between Amaryllis’ hooves. In the meantime, his marefriend had also fallen asleep. “~It’s a long story. To make things short, she is a relative of Applesnack who I found on a remote island. No idea how long she was there as a stray orphan. I took her with me and made it my job to bring her to a place she could call home. She was the reason I even went near Equestria in the first place.” Danielle looked exactly as he did: in the direction of the sleeping Auralia. “~So yeah, I’m only here to see you. Maybe also Granny and the old goat. Mother… I just wanted to let you know that I'm alive, I'm well, and so on. Actually, I wanted to send a letter—” Thiemo was interrupted by a clout around the ears.

“~After four years, you wanted to send only a letter?” Danielle hissed at him. “~I hope you weren’t being serious.”

He did have to think about his answer. “~I wanted to visit you. To have you meet them.” Thiemo nodded over to Amy and Auralia. “~I wanted to show my daughter the world from which I came from. But now she doesn’t belong to even her native country. Now the Empire is my home, and she will have family there as well.”

Danielle rose, slightly shaking, from the armchair. Thiemo wanted to help her, but she motioned him to keep still with her hand. “~I … need some time to process this. I’m gonna go lie down.” And with that, she left the sitting room.

Thiemo waited until he could not hear his sister’s footsteps anymore before he fell back onto the sofa, causing some popcorn to fall onto the ground. The only sounds in the room came from Lyra’s feather scratching over paper and the ticking of the clock. “I think I’ll go to bed too, Lyra. Will you be alright alone? You don’t look too tired.” The mare set down her feather briefly and nodded. Content with the answer and too tired and mentally exhausted to care more, he lifted his daughter carefully on his left shoulder. Then, with her safely stowed away, he took hefted Amaryllis up to his breast, her head lying on his right shoulder
“Night, Lyra,” he still wished her as he left the sitting room.

This was hardly how he had expected his first day back on Earth to be. It seemed some of his luck from Albion had followed him here. First his sister had been frightened into thinking someone had broken into her house and then had been placed in a magical coma, a kitchen had been destroyed, a sitting room had gotten redecorated, and he had had his worldview shaken to top it all off. Just when he thought he had been the first person to have disappeared from this world and yet came back afterwards, it seemed he would be proven wrong.

* * *

Lyra spat the feather from her mouth. Ink colored her lips and fur around her mouth a deep blue. “And then there are those who get all uppity that we unicorns have the audacity to use our own magic to write.” She had tried to write down everything that she had gotten of the conversation between Thiemo and his sister, as well as that what she had seen in these moving pictures on the level glass.

The people seemed to have a coarse idea of Albion as Thiemo had already explained properly. But different events were not simply right or had become so twisted that it already made no more sense. Twilight Sparkle was, at the beginning of the moving pictures not an alicorn but a unicorn, and Lyra was quite sure that Twilight had always been an alicorn. But, otherwise, everything seemed to have been right at the beginning. Applejack had her financial troubles from that time. Now she still had them today, but more from habit. Rarity was a young designer at the beginning of her career, Fluttershy the secluded hermit that no one in Ponyville knew the name of because they could never understand her soft-spoken words. Rainbow Dash’s attitude was always pretty rotten, just like Pinkie Pie. The former was, actually, the only one who hadn’t changed over the years, now that Lyra thought about it.

The only bigger change of events was the return of Eris. On the one hand, they had decided to change her gender, and to make the constant siege that Equestria had faced one day instead of weeks. Besides, she had enchanted not only Twilight and her friends, but also hidden the Elements in what she no doubt thought were clever and ironic places. She did not want to think of the invasion at all. It was run through and played down to the point where it could be told to a foal. About what had happened in the Crystal Empire, Lyra actually knew nothing at all. But she strongly doubted that a stallion, who had apparently been a shade, had done nothing but stare at them and slobber on about crystal while almost taking over the place for himself.

Lyra sighed and rolled up the paper before she stowed away it in her saddlebag behind the armchair. Then she put to herself the important question of what she should do now. Without Thiemo, none of the moving pictures would work. At that moment, her stomach offered her a solution. In addition, his argument that a little popcorn was not enough to fill her was extremely efficient. Because she did not want to live on carpet and lint, however, because maybe it was possible, she went over to the door to the garden. The only thing she saw, however, was herself as it was reflected in the glass.

“It’s so dark outdoors. Does Earth lack a moon or something?” Lyra stretched her head forwards, though she was impeded by the glass. She felt a brief twinge of embarrassment at her mistake before the door swung open, allowing her to venture outside.

Clouds were in the sky, much higher than she was used to. Of course, without pegasi to get them down or arrange the weather, it was logical that they would lie further up in the sky. Then she saw the moon. It was so much smaller than that of Albion, maybe only half the size if she guessed right. Its patterns were foreign and also the colour was rather grayish instead of white. It made it clear to the mare once more that she was on a foreign planet.

A thought shot through her head, then a question, then a recollection to herself of the answer to the question. She was one of the first aliens who had ever entered this planet, the first non-human being with similar, if not even more intelligence. Danielle had seen her first. It was the first contact with a whole planet full of humans.

She opened her mouth to return her feelings in sound when it was interrupted once more by the growling of her stomach. “It’s fine,” Lyra said to her stomach, as if it could hear here. Luckily, there was more than enough grass out here on the terrace that she could eat. It was nothing special, but it had been enough for the wild ponies who had wandered thousands and thousands of years ago on Albion, and so it would be enough for her.

Hardly had she swallowed the first bite, with a bitter aftertaste, did a renewed thought came to her. Behind her was a house. The house of a human. A house filled with marvelous mechanical miracles, all waiting to be tested and documented.

In a great hurry, Lyra chomped down as much grass into her mouth as she could and hurried back into the house. She levitated her saddlebag on her back and went to the hall. Stairs and doors everywhere and every one kept open possibilities for new technical miracles. “Come to mama!” she shouted and disappeared into the kitchen.

Chapter V - Act 17.5 - The Golden Credit Card

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My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 17.5 – The Golden Credit Card ~

Auralia felt a prickle where her right hoof should have been. Slowly, the filly opened her eyes and was surprised for a small moment when she realized where she was. The last thing she remembered was looking at the funny moving pictures on the glass screen. Even if she hadn’t understood a word, it was funny trying to follow some of the stories. If she believed Miss Lyra, some of these stories of her mother had even happened. That made her giggle a bit to herself.

Now, however, the prickle became more and more disagreeable, and she carefully pulled her right front hoof from under her father who lay besides her in the bed. A look to the back revealed Amaryllis before she almost fell from the rather small bed. With the pressure gone, the tingle moved from her leg, though a new feeling soon replaced it.

Carefully, the foal stood up and rose with a small hop from the bed. She shook once from head to tail and passed a hoof over her mane. Thanks to the carpeted floor, she didn’t have to worry about waking up anyone when she left the bedroom and stepped out in the hall. Luckily, her father had only closed in the door a bit, otherwise she would have had trouble reaching the handles.

In the hallway, it was similarly dark like in the bedroom, which meant that it still had to be relatively early in the morning. If she could only remember now where exactly the bathroom was, then everything would be perfect. Tired and not yet quite awake, she looked at door to door, despairing to find the one in her memories, but luck didn’t seem to be on her side. It was on clumsy hooves that Aura took the stairs to go downstairs. She would have to hurry up, however, because if she pressed her hind legs together even more, she would have an unfortunate accident.

She trampled down to the first floor and looked once more for the door behind which she had taken a bath yesterday. Relief spread in her as she finally saw the door to her grace. She recognized it because of the funny symbol which was right on the door. However, relief became desperation as she found out that the door was not left open.

“Come on already, please, please, please.” She tried to reach the handle, but she was simply not big enough. She would have to jump, something that was not possible any more. Her hoofs clawed a few more times at the door in panic, but it would not budge. Aura therefore came to the conclusion that her father would forgive her if she had to break down a door.

Even before she could turn around, however, the door opened inwards and she looked at two long legs. These belonged, as she ascertained with a look upwards, to her aunt Danielle, the sister of her father. “Thanks!” she said in passing and squeezed herself past her aunt and into the room.

The lid slammed upwards and she scaled the white throne, as her father had called the thing, in a great hurry. To her, it made no difference what the toilet looked like, as long as she had to only press one button at the end to rid itself of the remains. With her small bottom over the big hole with water at the end, she wanted to thank her aunt once more for opening the door for her, but she had already disappeared again from the room.

After she had finally relieved herself of the tiresome pressure in her body and had pressed the button, she only looked up at the wash basin for a few seconds before she decided she could skip washing her hooves this time. She had forgotten, in all her excitement of reaching down to this room, of how tired she actually was, but now that a yawn burst free without inhibition, she realized how much she missed her warm blanket.

However, Auralia stopped when she saw her aunt. Danielle sat with her legs bent against the wall, leaning on the door and staring at one of the pictures hung in the hall. Curiously, Auralia followed her look and saw her father with some other humans standing before a large building. She looked at it carefully to check for her aunt. Yes, she was also in the picture, only her red mane there was not bound in a plait.

Her aunt, who had probably noticed that she had company staring at the picture, said something in her language. She sounded sad. Even if Auralia did not understand the language that her father spoke with her aunt from time to time, she was able to do to detect without any problem when sadness was conveyed. It reminded her of the first days as she had gotten to know her father. Particularly those first nights.

At that time, her father had talked in his sleep, writhing and waking up over and over again. She, because of her fear of the human, had always tried to remain as awake as long as possible. Not that he would devour her while she slept. Every time he had woken up, she had thought that it was too late. But then, after three or four days, she understood the nightmares he had. The big carnivorous human had nightmares and was sad. Then he sat there on his chair and talked to itself in his funny language. He had always done it in such a way as it sounded now with her aunt.

At that time, she had not helped him because she had some fear of him, or also because she did not know him. Today, however, she knew how she could cheer up her father and hoped that it could work on her aunt as well. She cuddled up to her, rubbed her cheek against one of the bared arms, and tried to press her knees even further against her body.

Her aunt barely seemed to react, only staring at her for a while. Auralia saw from the corner of her eyes that she seemed to have been crying. Despite that, Daniela lifted her into her arms and dug her face in Aura’s mane. Even more words Aura did not understand left her aunt’s mouth. She tried to understand them, to try and understand why her aunt was so sad. She looked from the arms again at the picture with her father. Was she possibly not happy that her father was there again? No, that was absurd. Maybe because he wanted to go so soon again? Yes, that sounded quite logical. She had also been sad and angry, really angry when her father left her in Ponyville. And now he made his sister sad and angry. The idiot. She would have to tell him with her hooves again.

“I know dad can sometimes an idiot, but he does not mean it in such a way. That’s just the way he is,” she assured her aunt with a smile. This only caused the woman to hold Aura tighter in her arms. If you want, I can give him a hit from you too. Celestia knows he surely deserves it.” This time, her aunt also giggled a bit and wiped some fresh tears from her face. Once more, she spoke some words that made Aura wonder if she had forgotten that the filly couldn’t understand her language. “If you know, Dad wants to know from where humans got the stories about my mom and her friends. So, if you come along with us, you can spend more time with Dad!” Daniela grinned only and stroked Auralia on her head with a sigh. Then she nodded. “You’re coming along? We must tell Dad as soon as he is awake. I am sure will also think it’s a good idea.”

Suddenly, her aunt got up to her feet and started to walk down the hall with the filly still in her arms. She spoke some more words and indicated a big clock in passing. They went up the stairs again and back to the bedroom where Amaryllis and her father slept. Danielle set her down before the door and gave her a small push. Then she understood that it was probably still too early and she should lie down once more. She looked briefly back to her aunt, who nodded with her red eyes and gave a smile once more in the direction of the bedroom. Auralia dashed back and gave her one more hug on her right leg before she proceeded back to the bed.

* * *

It was a noise that lured Danielle from her bed. Indeed, it did not belong to her alarm clock, but the fact that there was someone else in the house besides herself, an unusual fact. Tiredly, she stretched an arm under the warm blanket and reached for the clock that ordinarily lay under her bed. The alarm clock, built in a tennis ball, was of one of those brilliant ideas that she didn’t mind paying a bit more for. To bring it to silence, she simply had to throw it at the next wall. She blinked a few times to clear her eyes and swallowed. Lunch had missed her by a few hours.

However, the day she had had yesterday had taken its toll, and without the small foal who had tried to cheer her up, she would have gotten hardly any shut-eye last night. Tumanga was really too sweet.

Another loud noise from below made her wince, and Danielle decided it would be more smart to proceed from the bed and look at what exactly was wrong. She sat up, stretched herself as much as she could, and shuffled off to her wardrobe to find a dressing gown to slip over her pajamas. Her feet instinctively found her slippers, and thus equipped, she already felt rather ready face the insanity than she would have barefooted. Somehow, she still couldn't and didn't want to believe it. Down there, three ponies were wandering around because of what she thought to be the imagination of a woman with too much fantasy. Horns on their heads, wings on their sides, and able to speak too. If she would tell someone about this, she could strap on the straitjacket herself.

When she took the last step down to the ground floor, however, it was not the voices of the ponies in the house she first heard, but that of her brother’s.

“~Five, seven, three.” He was quiet for some seconds. “~Correct on the name King.” That he was quiet for a few seconds told her that he was probably on the phone. “~Exactly, the Kings. When would be the earliest appointment?” Danielle changed her aim from the kitchen to the sitting room where the phone was. “~The day after tomorrow? No, that is satisfactory. I guess your company will take care of the paperwork?” Thiemo saw her as she entered the room and nodded in greeting, which she answered silently. The latter simply wouldn't come as she saw her brother. Timo did not wear the rags he had on yesterday. Instead, he wore a very noble-looking black suit with a red shirt, though the tie was absent. The only tip that this wasn’t tailor-made by an Italian was the trousers. It had a flap behind it with button for his tail. This, just like his hair, looked substantially well-combed. The only things that remained the same were the brown boots on his feet. “~Yes, a person and three horses.”

Suddenly, Danielle realized what her brother was doing. He had booked a flight, a flight to the United States. He really wanted to go through with it. She had played with the thought to accompany him, of course, but she had her job and the work around the area. It wasn’t until that moment that she realized that she wasn’t going to lose her brother again. Not so soon.

“~Not without me,” she said quietly, glaring at him.

“~Change of plans. Two people and three horses.” She watched him intently as he focused on the person on the other line. “~Umm, certainly. It doesn’t have to be a jet if we can put the animals in the back. Or keep the animals to us. Of course they can charge us for any damage they might cause.” Timo indicated to her that she should wait a moment. “~Yes, clearly. Nine o'clock, I have it. Thank you very much. Goodbye.” Timo pressed a button on the cordless phone and laid it back on the station besides the door.

“~The day after tomorrow at nine o'clock?” Danielle asked quietly.

“~Yeah. They will send us some cars to fetch us, along with transportation for our ‘animals’,” he answered and made quotation marks in the air with his fingers. “~We will load them themselves, so none of the drivers should notice anything.”

Danielle suddenly realized something important. “~Hold on,” she said and moved up closer to her brother. “~Where did you get the money for this?” However, he did not need to answer her at all. Three figures he had called on the phone were a sure clue. And there, in his right hand, was the golden piece of plastic. “~You used grandfather's credit card? Are you still in your right mind? As soon as he sees the charge on the account, he will call here to find out how I’m planning to pay him back! Followed by the strong advice that I should already have my suitcases packed!” Her brother seemed impressed by her outburst. “~How did you actually find it?”

“~The doors in the house may be child-proof, but they can’t quite manage against a foal.” He grinned. “~All you have to do is remain quiet. I’m sure the old goat won’t find out right away.” They both looked at the phone for a few seconds. “~You’ll see, nothing will happen. Now, though, I have to go.” He hurried down the hall.

“~What? Where do you want to go?” She ran behind him as he left the house and went outside. The first thing she immediately noted was that it wasn’t her car that was parked and waited on its driver. No, in its place was the Royals Royce Phantom that her grandfather owned. The car that was supposed to be securely parked in his garage on his property and, according to his instructions for her and anyone else stupid to try, not to be moved, not even a millimeter. Their grandfather might not spend a lot on luxury, but he loved to impress his guests. That was the reason why he had shopped for this car.

“~Are you crazy?!” She took some hasty steps out the front door, and a look to the garage confirmed who had opened it. In it were three guests from another planet as they examined the old Mercedes. It was also her grandfather’s, only that was more a hobby. The old red thing with fur seats was intended to tinker with. “~You can’t just take the car! Grandpa is going to kill me!”

“Morning Daniela!” greeted Harper, as she was discovered and waved at with a hoof. However, this could not interest Danielle in the least. She marched to her brother who had opened just the boot of the Royce and moved to him off the car.

“~What are you planning? What does all that have to do with it? How did you really get the credit card and the key for the car? And how did you get my car keys?”

“~I already said Tumanga opened the door to Grandfather's study for me. The credit card was in his small black book in the uppermost drawer as always. The car key was right next to it. I fished yours this morning from your trousers you threw on the ground. I went to town to get some breakfast.”

Danielle slapped him upside the head. “~Have you lost the little bit of brains you had left? You were taken for dead. What would you have done if someone had recognized you? What about if they saw your tail? Moreover, you do not have a driving license. What would you do if the police had stopped you? Everyone knows my car in the town. Did somebody see you? Did anyone ask any questions?” She took a deep breath. “~Stay calm.”

Timo only rolled his eyes and waved his companions over. “~Exactly, stay calm. No, nobody recognized me, and nobody asked me any questions. That’s most likely because I did not recognize anyone myself.” Danielle saw that the saddlebags had already been loaded. “~And now we have to go to Edinburgh; we still need some things for our plan. If you want to come along, I think you should hurry up and get dressed.”

Danielle saw red. It would be best if she punched her brother. Then once more for good measure. After all, he would be the one leaving in a few weeks and leaving her behind. Then she would be here and have to explain everything to her grandfather. But now the car already stood outdoors. The door had already been entered, and he had used the credit card. Her conscience was certain having fun right now.

“~And how are you going to hide these three?”

Timo knocked his left forefinger against the driver's door. “~The glass is already darkened. As long as they can remain in the car, they will be able to look around a bit and no one should be able to see them.”

She gnashed her teeth. Damn it, her brother hadn’t been back for any length of time and he was already bringing out the worst in her. “~Fine! I will come along as well. You’re not going anywhere by yourself. Someone has to make sure that you don’t cause even more damage.” Danielle caught him as he rolled his eyes. “~If you laugh, I’ll hit you,” she threatened. She could see the twitch in his muscles. “~Give me thirty minutes. I have to go…” Danielle briefly considered. “~I need to finish get dressed, and then I need to go to the stable.” They both looked down the area of the property. In a distance, near the main gate, the roof was to be seen that belonged to an old wooden stable.

* * *

“~Also, why do we have to go with this old thing?” Thiemo asked, irritation evident in his voice as he rose from the Rolls Royce. Unfortunately, he sat in the passenger seat, since his sister swore to God that if he would even try to drive a meter in it, she would call personally the police on him and report it as stolen. Because these expensive cars always had a GPS transmitter, Thiemo also knew that it was no empty threat. “We’ll be right back,” he said to Lyra, Amy, and Auralia who sat on the wide back seat of the car. Lyra was particularly excited to see a town filled with humans.

Danielle had already left the tarred drive and trudged on the slightly humid, foot-high grass. “~Well, I found him a few years ago, and now he’s pretty tame. And with everything that happened, I totally forgot to drop by.”

Thiemo followed his sister and jumped as they briefly came to a small fence. “~You have a few animals here? Sheep or goats, right? It makes sense, with all the space here.” They reached the stable that, upon closer inspection, Thiemo could see was more modernized. He had not really paid attention to it this morning, but the wood no longer looked as though it would be eaten away by worms and the roof seemed to be sturdy enough.

“~Umm, no.” Danielle opened the big sliding door and stepped through without another word. Thiemo walked behind her and was not completely surprised. In the not so small stable was a donkey, a light grey donkey that stood in a corner and chewed the last remains of a hay bale. Danielle was already at his side and turned the head of the animal in his direction.

“~Timo, I would like you to meet… Timo.”

Chapter V - Act 17.6 - Edinburgh

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My Little Pony

Journey

~Act 17.6 – Edinburgh ~

Since the moment Thiemo and his sister had come back to the automatic carriage, they had both refused to say a word to each other. Thiemo was unnerved, this Amaryllis could tell. She could feel it. Unfortunately, however, she had no access to Daniela. Something had happened in the stable. Something that allowed Thiemo’s sister to smile at him from time to time while she steered the carriage.

Amaryllis had not asked how long the journey would last in this bigger town that her coltfriend had told her about, and she thought it wise to keep that attitude. From the window, the scenery did not change much, mostly because there was practically nothing except green hills. All of this she had seen in Equestria already, and they were even nicer then. All this led to the fact that the princess could not endure the silence any more.

“Could one of you please tell me what happened between you two?” She leaned her head forward, between both front seats, and looked first to Daniela, then to Thiemo.

Her lover did not deign her with an answer,he only snorted and looked out of the window. “~He’s pissed because I named my pet after him,” Daniela announced, not taking her eyes away from the road.

It took Amaryllis a few seconds to get the context of the words spoken. “He is sour because you named an animal after him? Isn’t the point that you wanted something to remember him by and show that you hadn’t forgotten him?”

“It is a donkey,” Thiemo suddenly said, his voice monotonous.

“And what’s so bad about that?” Lyra jumped into the conversation. She had wasted no time in making a sketch of the interior of the carriage. “Donkeys are known as very patient and wise. Some of the most well-known scholars were donkeys.”

“And Big Mac said mom can be like a donkey.” That comment earned a laugh from Amaryllis and Lyra, while Thiemo managed to crack a smile. “Mister Donkey wasn’t mean to you, was he, Dad?”

Amaryllis saw Thiemo open his mouth, though he still paused a few seconds before he answered. “No, the donkey wasn’t mean to me. Not that he would have been able to do it. Donkey, ponies, horses… are not like on Albion. They are not intelligent. They are, to put it bluntly, domestic animals.” For Amaryllis, this wasn't anything new since Thiemo had already told her about it. Lyra and Aura, on the other hand, most certainly did not know, and they both had different reactions to the revelation.

“That must be sad. I mean, we can think. Not that they cannot think, we are just able to do it... better? I don’t think I would like it if I couldn’t think like I could. Would I still be me then?” Auralia voiced her thoughts and looked thoughtful. Amaryllis, meanwhile, closed Lyra’s mouth with a hoof carefully.

“These are questions that humans have asked about ourselves for thousands of years and have broken their heads trying to find a definitive answer. However, what I can tell you is that horses, donkeys, and ponies are some of the oldest friends of humans and are well treated. And to compare yourself to them, as bad as it may sound, would be like to compare me to a monkey.”

“~Yeah, the poor monkeys,” Daniela added, which caused Thiemo to give her a sour look once more.

“Hold on, hold on, hold on. Are you telling me that ponies have lived here for thousands of years?” Lyra asked and pushed her head forward like Amaryllis had done. “Why did you not tell me so?! Nevertheless, this clearly proves that humans and ponies can live together peacefully. Do you have a notion what such a fact about our thing would mean?”

“Our thing?” asked Thiemo, easily confused. If Amaryllis was being honest, she also wanted to know what Lyra was talking about.

“I have, together with Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor, written a letter on behalf of the Empire to the representative of Ti, promising safe escorts for negotiations. Meena also wrote one as a human, so they would see that we are treating them seriously.”

“~There are humans on the planet you came from?”

“Ah. I believe you said something like that before.” While Thiemo seemed to have an idea of what Lyra spoke about, Amaryllis could not remember her parents mentioning anything about that. They had told her about everything else, so why not this? “I guess one comparison is that the Empire is to Canada what Equestria is to America.”

“Don’t you have anything else to add? Do other humans not interest you at all?”

“Should they have to?”

Lyra imitated a goldfish for a few seconds. “Should they… Should they have to? These are humans. They are like you. They are your species!”

Thiemo only clicked his tongue. “Let me counter with a question, Lyra. Or a few questions. Do you think the zebra should be treated as equally as a pony?”

“Of course!”

“Why does it not concern you, then, that the tribes in the savannas have to fight daily to avoid being eaten by dragons, griffons, or even wild animals? I was there. I lived with them, and you know what? There weren’t any pegasi to bring them any cloud cover or rain. No unicorns to help signal if danger was nearby. No earth ponies to help the food to practically leap from the ground. They fight day by day with spears and whatever else they can fashion into weapons to hold in their mouths and hooves. I saw dozens do work that a single earth pony could have accomplished. Why Lyra? Maybe because they do not belong to Equestria?”

“Of course not…” The voice of the mare did not have the same conviction it once did.

“We aren’t able to take on the concerns of everyone. I had my own problems. Everybody has their own problems. This is why it does not concern me. Maybe when we go back again, you, who have made it her problem, could tell Shining Armor and Cadance what you have learned here about the relationship between people and ponies of Earth. You know, as an eyewitness and not someone who got famous for pretending to be a god.“

“~You told them you were a God?”

Brief silence ruled again in the automatic carriage. Amaryllis looked over to Auralia. The filly had pressed herself so far into the seat that her ears were nearly invisible in her attempt to block out the argument.

Suddenly, the carriage wobbled once as Daniela braked and took the street’s corner sharply. “Could someone please give me an answer?” Thiemo’s eyes widened, as did Amaryllis’ own. Lyra also stared at the woman. “And why is everyone staring at me like that?”

* * *

It was simply not fair. Well, life was seldom fair in Thiemo’s eyes, but this just put the cherry on top. On the one hand, there was a filly who would probably be able to move small hills when she got older. A unicorn, in itself, already had an unfair advantage. Then there was his marefriend, Miss ‘I am a Changeling Princess and I Can Practically Be Everything and Everybody’. But no, of course that was not enough. His sister had to go and somehow learn the language, which had taken him two months of intense studying to even grasp the basics of, in less than two days.

And all she had to say to that was, “Oh, cool!”

And now she simply did not shut up any more. They were now on the motorway, and even though she should be keeping her head focused on the road and not with the ponies in the back seat of the car, she cackled along with Lyra without a care in the world.

It was as though everybody had gotten a chance to drink from the pot of superpowers except for him. Well, he was a strolling mana source. However, it was more of a weight around his neck and only seemed to aid him when he was in trouble. He would need a horn. In his mind, he played a movie where he sawed off Lyra’s horn and added it to his collection that he had taken from other unicorns. Even if it would not be able to channel magic, at least it would silence the mare, so that was at least one useful function. However, at the end of the day, he would soon grow frustrated again and would have to seek out fresher prey to silence the demands of the voices in his mind. His eyes twitched as he heard Amaryllis whisper something about ‘horn envy’ to Lyra.

Instead of telling off the mare, however, he simply took a deep breath and massaged his forehead, magnanimously deciding to spare her his wrath, at least temporarily. He then switched to his magical view and looked at his sister. She did not manifest magic in a physical form, which made it impossible to really get a good glimpse. However, with his sight, he could see how the magic flowed in her body in something akin to a nervous system, just like with the ponies. He was sure that, after the accident, her magic was just an accumulation like his own. He had to deflect his gaze quickly or he would still get a headache. Instead, he turned to the back and looked to his daughter, who gazed at the other cars through the tinted discs.

“It’s quite incredible to look at, considering that the only reason different carriages exist on Albion is because they serve different purposes. Well, that and depending on much money the buyers have to make it economical.” For personal carriages, there was practically only a single model that was based on the ones that royalty and the nobility used. The problem with that was that they usually needed two pegasi to get them up and running, and staff was certainly not cheap. Thiemo was sure Auralia would agree with him, but over the conversation of the others, he could only see her nod.

“We produce ours in all forms and colours, so someone can always find what he wants. Funny that no one had that problem on Albion.” And the argument that someone couldn't crave for something because he didn't know that it existed didn't count because coaches did exist here as well. Unfortunately, it seemed that he was the only one that was interested in the subject, because his daughter pulled simply turned her gaze to follow the cars better. Maybe if he phrased it differently. “Do you know that one of these carriages can reach the strength of up to 200 horses?” He wanted that to lead into a discussion about how many ponies on Albion that would translate to, but no one even nodded. Sighing, Thiemo sank back in his seat.

“There are such differences although both our species are mammals. This is simply so amazing!” Thiemo heard Lyra say as his eyes closed and the conversation of the others leaked in. “That also explains why there are so many humans like you said, with the level of fertility and the shorter gestation period.”

"Well, unfortunately, that is all what I really know about it. If it is as you say, Lyra, I could presumably tell you more about your own reproduction system than about ours. I studied veterinary medicine.” Apart from the fact that this was a subject that curled Thiemo’s toenails, he was nevertheless surprised that he could be so neglectful to forget to ask what his sister had done after all these years. Except to miss him of course. “However, I have some medicine books in the house. When we get back, I can give them to you. But, unfortunately, they are in our language.”

“What kinds of mating rituals do you have? Do humans also have something like that?” And there Thiemo switched off again and decided to turn to his daughter. Counting cars might not be exciting, but it was still better than this.

* * *

It had lasted two whole hours, but they finally reached Edinburgh early in the afternoon. As the trip had gone on, Thiemo had become further convinced that cutting off his ears would have been far less painful than having to listen to his sister and Lyra. It was though they had suddenly found their soul mates and now couldn't stop talking to each other. The subjects that they had spoken about certainly had not helped

Now, however, they had mercifully reached the city’s center. It was quiet again, as the ponies had enough to do with gaping at the city. Canterlot would fit inside it nicely… around three to four times. What also stunned them was the sheer number of humans. Amaryllis muttered breathlessly that it was like the train station at Fillydelphia, only denser. Humans streamed everywhere, and no matter where one looked, there was always something to see: gleaming traffic lights, street cars, neon lights, and a whole lot more.

“So many shops. And I thought the shopping district in the Crystal Empire was big.”

“How big is the Crystal Empire then?” Danielle asked, tapping her forefinger against the steering wheel as they waited at a red light. Thiemo noticed that their car had caught some attention, but because nobody pointed a finger at them or shrieked bloody murder, the tinted windows did their job.

“Gigantic. I mean, it is a city state. So Crystal Empire is the country’s name as well as that of the city. Maybe Princess Cadance should change that and give them separate names. Everything there is made from crystals. If I did not know better, I would even say that the ponies are made from crystal. It’s only their fur that glitters in the sun. But the greatest thing about the Empire is the palace. I mean, some other buildings are quite big, but the castle goes up until almost the first cloud layer.”

“Have you visited the Empire, Thiemo?” his sister now directed at him.

“We departed from there. Turn right there in front. Or is the electronics store not there anymore?”

Danielle put on the indicator and turned. “They expanded their business even more. Have you seen them? The princess I mean?” Thiemo was silent for a few seconds, which his sister picked up on. “What have you done to her?”

“Nothing at all! We actually get on brilliantly.” Thiemo shifted his gaze to the side to see what Amaryllis would say, but the mare didn’t seem to be following the conversation. Her snout touched the glass, while her eyes seemed to follow individual objects or people over and over again. “It’s more her husband who would have preferred to throw me in the dungeon and throw away the key.”

Thiemo saw that they had reached the electronics store, and Danielle’s head was already looking around in search of a parking space. “And what exactly did you do that Cadance could manage to tolerate you, yet Shining Armor could not?” She found a suitable parking spot at that moment and put on the indicator once more.

“I slept with his daughter.” And he had to brace himself as Danielle slammed the brakes, the drivers behind her showing their displeasure through the honking of their horns.

“What?” Danielle stared for a few moments. Once more, the horns sounded. “It’s all good!” she called to the other drivers, who surely couldn’t hear her, and started to drive into the parking spot. Finally, she switched off the engine with a turn of the key and turned around to Thiemo. “Please, explain this to me once more.”

However, Thiemo turned to the back and flicked Amaryllis’ ear to try and get her attention, which worked as her head turned in his direction. “Hey, Daniela would like to know the reason why your father wanted to throw me in the dungeon.”

His sister also turned around and stared with wide eyes at Amaryllis. If she had seen the same series as he did the last night, it surely didn’t escape Danielle’s attention that Amy was not only a changeling, but a changeling princess.

“You are the daughter of Shining Armor and Queen Chrysalis.” It sounded more like a statement than a question.

Amaryllis, for her part, seemed to need a small moment to understand what the subject of the conversation was. “Eh?”

Thiemo got a blow to the back of the head. “We have a royal visitor and you said nothing to me?” He got another one.

“Hey!”

“I’m so sorry, your Highness, but my brother didn’t tell me that you were a princess.”

“You know I’m sleeping with her, right?” That brought him blow number three. The funny thing was that Thiemo did not know whether he should laugh about it. His sister had taken it more calmly and insisted that he treat her with respect over any other thing.

“Please, call me Amy. I’ve gotten used to it, in any case. Thiemo gave me this one nickname, and I don’t feel like I should have a lot of titles and such. Especially because we are family, right?”

Danielle’s look shot back up to him. “If you break her heart, I’ll break you, little brother!“

* * *

Thiemo was more than happy to finally escape from the car. As he stood around, he was surprised at the looks and stares he was garnering from the shoppers, but then he realized it was more his tail than anything else.

“~Tail from a costume,” he said to a middle-aged lady who had especially glared at him. He was sure the Japanese thing had not fallen out of fashion during the years he had been away. Nevertheless, it was a good and simple idea to use as an excuse, and he could probably say he was any character. As long as they got a satisfactory answer, they were content. Humans could be so simple sometimes.

The traffic light switched to green, and together with a dozen other people of every walk of life, he crossed the street and arrived at the first objective of his small excursion. Thiemo still remembered the last time he stood before this store, though it was now about twice the size it had been. Instead of the IPhone 3G, there was now the IPhone 5S; instead of Xbox 360, now there was the Xbox One; instead of the Playstation 3, it had now reached the fourth, and instead of normal Notebooks, now there were Ultrabooks. He had really missed a good piece of technological growth. However, he was not here to look at the advertisements in the windows, but to actually buy something.

The automatic doors opened as he got closer, and immediately a bit of warm air flowed out in his face. Inside, the store was bustling with activity. From where he stood, he could already see people on the cameras as they pushed children, youngsters huddling around the consoles, and shop assistants hustling and bustling to attend to their customers.

Thiemo couldn't help but feel like he was home, for there was nothing better to describe being human than self-indulgent mass consumption.

Somebody cleared their throat in passing, and he noticed that he had held up the door during his small internal monologue. He joined the milling masses again and started to wander between the shelves that held the best items. On the left were electronic toothbrushes; on the right, a choice in razors. He took one of the shavers that promised to last a long time.

The trip went further to the department for car accessories. Thiemo needed an adaptor if his idea could take form. “~Now I remember why I only used to order from Amazon,” he commented drily as he looked at the prices of some cables. However, that wouldn’t help him now. He took the adaptor he had chosen from the shelf and looked under the ceiling in search of his next goal. Thanks to the signs, it wasn’t hard to miss.

What did not escape Thiemo was how people swivelled around to stare at him. Of course, he knew that it was not normal to run around with a tail, but surely it shouldn't be that remarkable to see someone with an unusual fashion trend.

On the shelves for outdoor items, he also did not need to look long for what he needed. There were small solar arrangements, with different plugs and adaptors ranging from cheap to close to too unaffordable. He decided after a short moment on one of the offers and stowed away the cardboard box under his arm. Maybe he should have taken a trolley by the entrance as well.

Finally, as he kept moving through the crowd, he finally arrived at his second-to-last stop. Notebooks. He was already a little overwhelmed by the high number of offers that the shop provided.

“~Can I help you?” asked an employee in a yellow Polo shirt, who suddenly appeared from the side. The man was in his late forties and had to have seen Thiemo wandering the aisles and picking up the more expensive items. They were like bloodhounds.

“~Sure. I’m preparing for a longer camping trip.” He briefly showed the products he had stuck under his arm. “~I’m looking for a Notebook for that. Something strong that will last for a very long time.”

The shop assistant nodded and started to run through the display. Thiemo followed. “~We don’t have anything to match a device for that purpose, but we have some very good models here. Any idea on the size?”

“~I’m thinking maybe fourteen or fifteen inches. It should fit in a backpack without a problem.” The shop assistant looked around for a moment, then indicated a Notebook on the shelf. It was not so thin as many others and the edges were wrapped in rubber to protect against wear and tear.

“~Then this is what you can get. Fifteen inches, touch screen, Quadcore processor, sixteen gigabytes of RAM, an integrated graphics map, and up to nine hours of battery life. Six USB ports if you want. Unfortunately, it has neither Bluray nor a DVD disk drive.” The shop assistant paused to take a breath. “~However, at just two kilos, it’s a real lightweight. The newest Windows is preloaded, but a licence is also present so that one can install it any time. The total comes up to nine hundred pounds.”

Thiemo nodded. It would be enough for his purposes. “~Thanks, that will probably be enough.” He took a boxed device from the shelf with a free hand. Just as the shop assistant was about to say something else, a woman came up to both of them. She had to be around thirty and had long black hair and wore sunglasses. She carried an expensive-looking leather jacket under her arms from Dolce and Gabbana, and washed-out blue jeans and stilettos completed her outfit.

“~I would like this man to be immediately thrown out of the store!” she shrieked. “~There are children present here!”

The shop assistant seemed to be as confused as Thiemo. “~Umm, could you please explain, ma’am?”

This seemed to raise her ire even more as she stamped her foot. “~I’ve seen it…” She pointed at Thiemo’s tail. “~How can he wear something like that in public?!”

He needed some time to connect the dots, but Thiemo finally understood and began to laugh, much to the irritation of the woman. “~Lady, I’m wearing a costume. This isn’t what you think.” The woman, suddenly noticing she had attracted a lot of attention, took a step back. However... “~You seem to have some experience with that though.” Thiemo could not say whether her face became red because of fury or shame. She then grabbed a young girl, maybe eight or nine years old, in her arms. As she was dressed almost identically, he surmised it was her daughter.

Thiemo thanked the shop assistant once more and went to the cashier. However, as was the nature of shops, it was on the way there that something else caught his attention: mobile phones that were several shelves away. Of course, they would be almost useless once the battery ran out or he couldn’t get a signal, but it might just fit in well with what he had in mind.

*** ~ Jeff Williams – This will be the day ~ ***
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Chapter V - Intermission 17 - Magic

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Lyra intensely followed Thiemo with her eyes as he placed himself in some sort of weird construct with other humans. She had never seen so many humans together. Well, she had never seen a lot of humans, period. It took all her willpower to avoid opening the doors of the automatic carriage and following Thiemo outside.

She wasn’t the only one who thought so. Aura’s snout was practically stuck to the glass and kept sliding up in the hope of being able to catch a bit more of the outside world. The princess, however, tried to keep her pride, as her eyes and ears attempted to collect as much information as possible.

She, as a qualified explorer of foreign life forms and their environment, would have loved to go out and swim in that metaphorical flood of information. The first thing she would have to do was sort out what she already knew. About clothes and their significance, she had already learnt from Thiemo. It served as protection as well as a fashion statement. The proof was Daniela, who sat before her and today wore blue trousers and a black top that exposed her belly button to the world. Why just the belly button was not known to her though, but it was of little consequence.

“Magic huh?” She was interrupted by the voice of the woman about whose clothes she had just thought of. “I guess I’ve never really given it much thought.”

“What?” asked Lyra, surprised. “How you can say that? Where there is life, there is also magic.”

My Little Pony

Journey

~ Intermission 17 – Magic ~

“So, maybe you could tell me a little about magic? For a novice like me?” Danielle asked and turned on her seat so that she could see them all.

“Well that’s kind of obvious. Erm… sorry. It’s only that this is usually covered in magic kindergarten.” Danielle laughed once, reminding Lyra very much of Thiemo. “What?”

“Nothing. I just really didn’t think it actually existed.”

‘Right, the show,’ Lyra reminded herself. “Well, that’s the first and most important tenant: magic is harmony, and harmony means life. Take, for example, our bodies. There are a collection of organs within them that must function together in order to keep us alive. And the separate organs are also only separate cells that all cooperate in harmony to allow the organ to fulfil its function.

“This is the magic that harmony makes possible. Just imagine magic as waves of water. It is everywhere, and everything contains it. It surrounds us, only waiting to be used. Then the different schools come into the play. The first magic school is the Arcane. This is what we unicorns mainly use. Levitation, shields, and magical beams – all these fall in the school of the Arcane. Then there is the school of the Elements. Here, magic is used to interact with the surroundings and to gain certain effects from the four elements. For example, one can poke a large boulder on top a mountain and push it down just like that. One could also collect water from the air around them, once they are skilled enough. Of course, one can cause many of these effects with the school of the Arcane as well, but it is complicated by all the charms and rituals one needs. However, because there are only a few unicorns with the talent to use the school of Elements, there are only a few means of learning how to use it. In schools, only the Arcane school was taught. Shamans, like your brother Thiemo, have learnt to use and interact with the elements using runes and gems.”

"Wow." Auralia’s astonishment was evident. “You really know a lot about magic.”

“Like I said, this is what you actually learn in magic kindergarten. I have not learned much beyond that. If you really want to speak to an expert about it, you should ask Princess Twilight Sparkle. I am sure she will gladly give you a lecture lasting several hours."

Amaryllis giggled at Lyra’s words. “Maybe I’ll do that one day. But yes, this was what I also learned from my books as a nymph. Really, the magic of the changeling also belongs to the school of the Arcane.”

“And what about black and white magic?”

Lyra looked to Amaryllis, then to Danielle before she laughed. “Don’t tell me you believe that!”

“What? You’re saying there isn’t anything like black magic? Bad magic?”

“No magic is specifically bad,” Lyra clarified. “As I already said, magic moves in waves through the surroundings. Our horns can interact with it and give it form. We manipulate these waves so that they fulfil a certain purpose. And like I also said, magic is common in harmony. What you call bad magic would be magic that goes against harmony, counteracting against it and destroying life around it. Chaos. In chaos, there can be no life. Chaos magic is a completely different school. The problem is its unpredictability. Under chaos falls destruction magic and necromancy. Destruction magic is used often where it makes sense to take things apart, to create something only partially. Our ancestors have built houses out of rocks with its help by splitting the connections between the atoms where the rock wasn't needed. But the border also often becomes blurred. Our scholars still argue where the difference between Arcane to Elemental magic is to be made. Both can be destructive, but they all serve different purposes.”

“Maybe you should explain to her how every being has different magic reserves,” Amaryllis briefly chimed in.

“Ah, I completely forgot. Like I said, Twilight would have been able to explain this better. Once more to the waves. Normally, they move at an equal pace. However, some spells require them to move faster. Where, however, do they get to draw this energy from? Beings with magic have developed in such a way that we can absorb some of it. When we use magic, we use the amount needed from within to gain the desired effect.” Lyra waited some seconds for confirmation from Amaryllis, who nodded. “What you might ask is: why don’t we simply use the magic that surrounds us. The problem is, have you tried to influence a sea stream? Water is much easier to move in a bucket than in a bathtub. We form the magic and then use it. Understand so far?”

“I believe so…”

“Good. Back to chaos magic. Now maybe you have recognized the problem. Chaotic magic damages not only to the victim, but also the user. If the user forms the magic with his reserves, he damages himself with the magic. You could say that chaotic magic isn’t free of charge. The waves are not in harmony anymore, and this can have unpredictable results. Eris is the best example. Her kind of magic can be used to amuse or to terrify, because she actually influences the sea. She practically forms whirlpools in the sea so as to form a small part of it as she wants. However, the more whirlpools she generates, the more side effects appear.”

Danielle tapper her finger on her seat. “Eris … Discord is female?”

“Oh!” Lyra perked up. “That was one of the differences between the show and reality of Albion.”

“In any case, there is no bad magic, only magic that is abused,” Amaryllis finished the explanation.

“My mom told me she fought against ponies who abused magic,” Auralia said proudly. “My mom is a hero, just like Dad.”

“Never tell my father that I said this, but he considers the Elements of Harmony as potentially the most effective warriors Equestria has.” With Amaryllis’ questioning face looking at her, Lyra tried to remember Specter’s words. “If we take your mother for example.” She nodded at Auralia. “Your mother is an earth pony. She is therefore more in contact with natural magic than pegasi or even us unicorns. From us, they have even learned to see magic directly. Your mother feels it in the objects around her and can stimulate it or even weaken it as she sees fit. This is why she can also empty a whole apple tree with a single kick. She can feel the weakest magical place and therefore the place of the lightest opposition. My father thinks that she can transfer that to other living beings. If she had to, she could probably immobilize an opponent four or five times her size.”

“Your father sounds as though he’s formed a working theory,” noted Amaryllis. “What does he do?”

“He works in Celestia’s School for the Defense against the Dark Arts.” Once more, Danielle laughed.

“Sorry, but there is a book here that has a name similar to that. Where does the name come from?”

“The most frequent first adverse side effect of chaotic magic is a darkening of the eyes. Hence, it is simply called dark magic. That’s probably how it ended up with the name,” Amaryllis answered the question.

“My father always uses this explanation in the first hour of every new semester for the new entrants,” Lyra continued. “In any case, then there is Pinkie Pie. Of course, she can feel the magic around her like Applejack. However, the following is only a speculation of my father, but he believes that Pinkie can influence magic directly with her hooves as though they are horns. Though the material is the same, normally hooves contain no magic nerves. So it is a mystery as to how she would do it.

“Rainbow Dash is a pegasus. They move not only air with their wings, but also magic. It makes it more ironic, then, to compare them more to swimmers than fliers. In any case, Rainbow Dash needs to be able to build up an immense drive around her speed. And here is the interesting point. The arcane wings of pegasi are bigger than their physical ones, and Rainbow’s must be huge. If it were any different, she could never be as quick as she is. Pegasi like her can use their arcane wings as weapons as well. They only need to touch their opponents to cut as deeply as a sword. Rainbow would probably be able to rend a pony in two if she’s want to. Whether she is able, I do not know.

“Rarity is somepony one could call one of the more normal ponies of the Bearers. However, it is her talent and her many years' experience that makes her very dangerous. As a designer, she works daily with the smallest objects: needles, pencils, et cetera. And mostly several at once, while she is looking somewhere else completely. I can tell you that Rarity probably has hundreds of small needles in her possession. She would have the experience as well as the ability to use them to inflict maximum damage. And the worst one part is that she is aware of that. Besides, she always has a sewing box anywhere she goes. I have seen it. Nobody needs to always have thirty needles.

“And then, of course, there is Twilight Sparkle. I don’t know how long it would take to list out the number of ways she could destroy her opponent. She could simply take away any magic around an opponent or simply crush him with magic.” Lyra saw Danielle growing nervous in her seat, and she could understand why. It was a sobering thought that a pony could have so much power. “We should be happy that she’s hesitant to use her power in that way.”

“What about Aunt Fluttershy?” asked Auralia, obviously curious to hear more.

“All my father said regarding her was: quiet waters are deep, but that mare is an endless black hole. I hope that whoever is foolish enough to get in her way makes peace with whoever they believe their Creator to be.”

Chapter V - Act 18.1 - Country of Freedom and Ignorance

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Thiemo pushed the curtain aside and stepped back into the passenger's space in the small transport plane that he had rented. Sometimes it was quite unbelievable what one could agree to as long as the money was good. No stewardess on board and the pilots had to remain in the cockpit? No problem, we would not dare to ask. You wanted to bring two ponies without medical certificate and papers to the United States? Oh, what was I saying? Here, we have both. And what glorious papers they were. They certainly didn’t look as though they had cost thousands of dollars.

“I don’t know why we had to be carried in those trailers,” Lyra still complained to Danielle. “Do you have any idea how bad inside it smelled? As if a poor pony had to do its business in there!” The fact that that was probably true was something Thiemo was going to keep to himself, and Danielle also did not seem too keen on answering.

“Take it easy, Lyra. Look, Amy hasn’t complained,” Thiemo said and nodded to his marefriend. Said changeling was looking out of the window at the clouds. They must have pushed through the clouds as he was in the kitchen. “But I have something here that I bet would make up for it.” He showed the ponies a bottle with black liquid that he had gotten from the fridge.

Auralia, who had been spared a trip in the trailer and had hidden in their hand luggage instead, jumped from one of the rich, bright, imitation-leather seats and hurried over to him. “Show, show!” She hopped excitedly around his legs. The foal was already keyed up anyway, as she had had to be quiet for the entire three hours it took to get to the airport and then through it. Thiemo did not think a bit more stimulation would do much damage.

“We’ve got seventeen hours of flight in front of us, and you want to fill us up on caffeine and sugar?” Danielle asked. She, like the rest of them, also sat in one of the seats that were dispersed in the luxurious space. The walls were decorated with beige wallpaper; velvet curtains hung besides the windows, and crystal chandelier hung under their roof. “After the kind of day I had yesterday, I was hoping for a bit more shut eye.”

Her complaint was more than justified. Yesterday had been hectic. Suitcases for Thiemo’s new clothes had to be packed, not to mention Danielle’s. Somebody had to be found at short notice to take care of his sister’s charges, and then someone had to be found to look after the house while nobody was there. And then Thiemo had still spent hours working on his small project.

“You don’t have to drink if you don’t want any.” Thiemo opened the flap of the small cupboard under one of the two counter tops and pulled out some wine glasses. He would have used another type, but apparently nobody had counted on clientele who wanted to drink Coke. It was probably also for the staff than for the guests. It would explain why it had been in a small fridge. “Who wants to get familiar with a taste of America.”

Amaryllis and Lyra came over to him and looked at the contents of the bottle more closely. “That doesn’t look very healthy,” Amaryllis commented and tapped a hoof against the bottle.

“Oh, it’s a deadly liquid. It eats your teeth, burns your stomach, and brings your blood glucose level to heights pegasi would envy.” Thiemo waited a moment to enjoy the horror in their faces. “Still, it is damn delicious.”

“It’s actually only liquid sugar and some other junk mixed together,” Danielle interjected. “A glass from time to time is harmless, but if you only drink that, you would only be able to roll around in the future. Apparently somebody forgot to write that on the packaging.”

The bottle opened with a hiss, and Thiemo started to fill the wine glasses. “Oh, a soda. We also have something like that.” Lyra got closer with her snout, probably in an attempt to smell the Coke. The first glass was already wrapped in her golden aura. However, Thiemo was quicker and held on to it. "Hey!" she complained as Thiemo passed the glass to his daughter. He held onto the glass before he was sure the foal had fixed her hooves around it.

Auralia sniffed the substance as Lyra had done, then took a small gulp. Her eyes widened as the unknown taste spread in her mouth. She tilted the rest of it into her waiting mouth as quickly as possible.

Lyra, who had tensely observed Auralia’s reaction, reached for hers and downed the contents. Her eyes widened, but she did not swallow. The wineglass fell to ground and rolled around her hooves. “The door’s over there,” Danielle said without looking up from the book that she had brought out.

Like the Flash, Lyra dashed through the room and over to the toilet. Her magic almost tore the door from the hinges, and all they could hear was the liquid being sprayed back out. Thiemo looked over to Amaryllis, who had been trying to pour the contents of her glass back into the bottle as discreetly as possible. “More Coke for me. I missed the stuff.”

A push against his leg almost unbalanced him. Auralia, who probably wanted his attention, had given a light shake to the leg while her front hooves still held the glass. “I still want more!”

Even as he went to bend down to pour a bit more for her, Lyra came back. “I don’t want to complain, but how should we use that small space in the toilet?” That question made the shaman pull up short for a moment. That was something he hadn’t thought of. The toilets in an airplane were too small for the ponies.

“Do you remember the trailer?”

My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 18.1 - Country of Freedom and Ignorance ~

When Thiemo again woke, it was night. The quiet hum of the turbines was to be heard, as was the breathing of his remaining company. Lyra had made herself comfortable on the ground with some blankets behind Danielle’s chair. They had both beaten different subjects to death once again, having several hours to do so. Apparently the mare had found somebody in his sister who was more willing to give her information about humans than he was, something that he only felt gratitude.

It was not that he hated Lyra, not at all. He usually didn’t mind talking and imparting information as he saw fit. However,Thiemo was a storyteller. Tension, adventure, and mysteries of unbelievable natures were his specialties, his passion. And wasn't it that, after all, that had many like him bound to the computers as they explored fairytale worlds? Now he lived one of those adventures, had explored one of those foreign worlds, and had lived and seen the consequences of those adventures. There were also mysteries here, and he was on his way to solve one of them. Maybe he would also finally get the answer to a question he had asked himself over and over again for the last few years. How had he come to Albion?

Carefully, he lifted his daughter from his lap, laying her on the seat that he had been sitting on and wrapping her in one of the blankets. Softly, he stroked her mane from her face and looked at the foal in the weak light of the room. She was wonderful, but then every father would probably say that about their daughter. His eyes became a little teary and his smile widened as he brushed his hair out of his own eyes.

“You know, I think I don’t tell you often enough how much you mean to me. You saved my life, and I don’t even mean that metaphorically. Several times now...” He took a deep breath and prodded her nose softly. “I still remember the first weeks we spent together. You were so thin, so full of fear. And now have a look. You’ve grown and become strong. Whether she’s your mom or not, you resemble Applejack so much. Maybe not physically, but where it counts. You speak what lies on your tongue, and if you want something, you remain headstrong and on the ball until you have it. A little devil on top of that.” Thiemo’s eyes wandered about her bright orange fur and her white mane, then further to her white tail that waved unconsciously in his field of vision. “If one saw you in such a way, one could think—”

A shrill noise interrupted his quiet words, and Thiemo jerked his gaze from his daughter. For a moment, he had no idea what was wrong. Was there a problem with the airplane? Were they falling? They were surely still somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic! However, he then noted the light vibrations that came out of the pockets of his trousers. He had completely forgotten the new mobile phone.

“Who could that be?” Thiemo asked himself as his hand dug into his new blue jeans. All those who knew the number were here. Lyra had gotten a mobile phone from him, as had Amaryllis. They could both probably use it with their magic. Instead of a phone, he had bought Aura a stuffed toy. Now she had her mother whenever she needed her.

Thiemo looked at the display on the device. It asked to accept an unknown number, along with the possibility to decline the phone call. His curiosity made him answer it. That, and the noise from the mobile phone would soon wake everybody if he didn’t.

“~Listen here, you little asshole!” Hardly had he pressed the pressed the display when the voice yelled at him. “~I don’t know how you got my credit card, and I don’t really give a damn. If I find out that anything has happened to my granddaughter, then may God have mercy on your ass!”

“~Hallo, old bag. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the pleasure of listening to one of your tirades.” The shaman winced as a loud clattering from the device penetrated his ear. Excited voices followed, but he could not make out what they said. Still, he recognized them. In the background had to have been his grandmother as she asked his grandfather what was wrong. He could well imagine the worry the old woman must have been going through.

At least now he was able to patch together what had happened. His grandfather had logged in online to his accounts and had seen that charges had been made to his credit card. He could have easily gotten the phone number within a few phone calls, as his mobile number would have been on the contract.

“~Timo?” came the voice of Hans Werner King through the phone. “~Timo, is that you? Boy, where are you? Where were you? Are you okay?” His grandfather was a tall and slightly ungainly man, with a very imperious voice, one rather deep yet could be so full of friendliness if he laughed. The nicknames, like stockfish, old bag, and the like were just that: nicknames. He hated his grandfather so much that he loved him. This was the man that had woken his passion for technology. This was the man who had raised him.

“~Naturally, you old fool. I’m pretty good myself like everyone here, though I can’t say the same for you. You certainly know that I’ve used your credit card to book a flight. We’re just on our way to the States. I have to go there to clear up some things, then I’ll be back on the road.” Thiemo gave him no time to answer. “~Danielle is with me. She is fine. No, you cannot speak with her – she’s sleeping. Which is what I had in mind. Right now, it’s the middle of the night. So, see you later.” And with that, he ended the phone call and switched off the volume of the mobile phone.

Thiemo dropped it on the last free seat and stared at the display. “Three, two, one...” With a snap of his fingers, the phone started to vibrate. It was the same number.

“What did you expect?” He looked up to his sister. She pulled the covers again over her shoulders since it had slid down because of Lyra, as she used a corner of it for cuddling. She had to have woken up by the conversation. “We missed you. Everyone did.” The phone rang again.

“Why has he not called you?”

“My battery is out. Didn’t find time to load it in.”

“That is, actually, exactly the reason why I almost wanted to only send the letter. I knew that I was dead to you. I would only tear open old wounds again, and they hurt me just as they do to you. Don’t you think I missed you too? Do you not believe I missed my sister?” Once more his eyes became damp. He had to be tired. “One can be excited only so much by a new world. Sometimes… Sometimes there was homesickness. I tried to concentrate upon others. To me, other duties came first. Other goals took precedent. Still, I wanted to see you all, even if only sometimes!” He did not know when Danielle had gotten up, but now she was bent above him and pressed his head to her shoulder. His gaze fell once more on his daughter. “Some days I reached the point where I wanted to find out how long I had to poke a dragon until it fried me.” He snorted and laughed briefly. “Apparently all it took was stealing one of her gems. Auralia saved me. One day, maybe two days later and… I went to a city on my own free will, a city everybody with a clear mind warned me about. What does that say about me? This was after I had completed my studies. I knew that it would not bring me closer home. It didn’t matter. I heard that humans on the other continent were hunted like monsters and taken away. I had given up.

“However, look at her.” Danielle gave up their embrace and also looked to Auralia. “I still didn’t abandon her. I thought that at least one of us could find a home again.” He wiped the tears from his face. "I did everything, anything to bring her back home. I made sure that nothing happened to her… and I became the monster she needed. And it helped me to hope again. But I wouldn't dream to justify my acts with her existence, because those acts were mine alone, not hers. I have stolen; I have lied and killed to accomplish my goals. To find a way back home." He paused. "And when I realized in Equestria that I probably wouldn't find one, or even didn't want to... Let's just say that it was tough. But I had Auralia, who wanted to have me near her. It's not like she would really need me. She has her mother and a large family. Then I had Amaryllis. Not only do I know how it felt to miss you, I do know how it feels not wanting to let go of someone. I didn't want to open up old wounds.

* * *

To Danielle, pain was nothing new. She was a woman and thus suffered from the monthly afflictions that they all got. But these cramps that not only went through her belly, but also her entire back, were new. “~A quick announcement. We will soon reach our destination in a short while. We ask that you ensure that the animals are secured and that you take your seats. Many thanks.”

Breathing deeply, the woman looked in the small mirror of the airplane’s washroom. She had not gotten any more sleep after the conversation with her brother, and she could see this clearly from her eyes.

“You can’t be serious!” she heard Lyra shout. “It was bad enough we had to use it as our bathroom before, but now we have to go and stay there again?”

Laughter escaped her lips, but it disappeared as fast as it came, as another wave of pain passed through her body. She had no idea what was wrong. Ordinarily one could tell from where the pain was centralized, which wasn’t the case. It seemed as though her whole body tried to contract like a single muscle.

“Danielle, we need to buckle up for the landing,” Thiemo’s voice came from the other side of the door.”

She took a deep breath and stood up. “Hold on.” She took another and slowly exhaled. Then, after the third repetition, some of the pain subsided a little. Nevertheless, she certainly did not feel ready and raring to go.

However, there was nothing she could do about it at the moment. She opened the door and stepped back in the passenger's area of the airplane. Thiemo had already sat down in one of the armchairs and had his daughter on his lap. The foal looked excited, and Danielle remembered how thrilled Auralia had been at the start of the flight. She also remembered Lyra’s surprise, for the mare had not thought that the ‘metal bird’ could reach such a level of acceleration.

Her musings were cut short as a red light flashed before she slowly felt as the plane began its descent. Hurrying, she tripped over to her seat next to her brother and strapped the belt around her abdomen. They had reached a small landing strip near Manhattan. Her brother had specially requested to land on a small airfield to attract as little attention as possible to themselves. Not only was the chance of someone spotting the ponies reduced, but also the security was lower. Because their mother was an American national, they always had a good reason to visit, but with someone who had disappeared for so long, it was not an ideal situation.

“~I ordered a rental that should be waiting on site for us. I hope it’s already there.” The nose of the airplane fell. They were almost there. Auralia squeaked in glee while Thiemo grinned. Danielle wasn’t sure whether it was because she would be riding in a car again or because of the excitement of the landing.

* * *

It was because of the car. “~A Cadillac Eldorado?” Danielle asked her brother. In the background, the small private airplane was gearing up to take off to a larger airport to refuel. The airfield that they were currently on was probably used for small propeller planes and the like. ~Seriously? ~

“What? It is a great car,” he answered and started to stow away their luggage in the trunk of the petrol-eating red monster.

“I cannot believe that you forced me in there!” Lyra roared once more. She was currently cleaning her hooves on the grass.

“It smelt a little, but I had placed a shield on the ground,” Amaryllis further chimed in. “Still, it was a little disagreeable.”

“Stop complaining!” Thiemo also raised his voice and closed the trunk with a bang. “We are in the United States and have one of the best cars one can get. Though I wanted a Delorean, but nobody had them. So, get in.”

Danielle and Thiemo made for the driver's door at the same time. “Should I remind you who has the driver’s license here?”

“It isn’t valid here.”

“But at least I have driving experience.”

“And surely that will be what the police will be interested in if we are pulled over with two ponies in our backseat.” They stared at each other for a while, then Danielle gave up. Not because she wanted to, but another cramp tore through her body. Driving with that was a bad idea.

Obviously content with himself, Thiemo had the roof raised in the next moment. “In that case, we’re going to the Big Apple.”

Chapter V - Act 18.2 - New York

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My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 18.2 – New York ~

Amaryllis could clearly feel the panic in the person at the wheel. She guessed it had something to do with the car behind them. However, the siren and the flashing blue lights on the roof of the car were a bit irritating. The best proof of it was Auralia, who kept both hooves over her ears in an attempt to block the noise.

“Fucking shit!” she heard Thiemo curse as he struck the steering wheel. “This just had to happen.”

“And what are we going to do now, Mister Smarty Pants?” Danielle asked, some panic also evident in her voice. “We have nothing. No valid passports, never mind a driving license. Oh! Don’t forget the three aliens in the back seat!” Sighing, Thiemo stretched an arm and waved to the other vehicle behind them.

“We could do the Brit,” he suggested when their own vehicle began to slow.

“No way!” Danielle immediately shouted. “I’m not doing that again.”

Lyra, who had hidden behind the back seat and observed the other car until now, turned around. “What is the ‘Brit’?”

Thiemo’s sister groaned. “Tell her…”

With a wide grin, Thiemo pulled his upper lip as far back as he could, along with his lower jaw, teeth showing. “Shagadelic baby!”

Amaryllis did not know whether she should laugh or feel sick. “Let’s not do that.” Besides, she wasn’t sure if she could copy that jaw movement. Or wanted to, for that matter.

“We don’t have everything we need,” Thiemo further explained as they came to a halt at the edge of the roadway. Then his look fell on Auralia. “But I have another idea. Danielle, didn’t you always want to be a mom?”

Danielle followed his gaze to Auralia, the idea seeming to leap from one to another. It was uncanny how they could both know what the other meant with only a sentence. Did humans have something like telepathy?

Then everything happened at once. Thiemo caught Auralia, told her that she should keep still, and tucked the filly under his sister’s pullover. Danielle reached for the bottle of water that was stowed away next to her and dribbled some of it on her hands before she sprinkled her forehead and hair. She then started to breathe quickly so that her face soon became red. Apparently not content, she gave herself a light slap on each cheek. By the time Amaryllis heard the driver’s door open from the other car, everything had already been put in place.

“Remain there and sit still as much as possible,” Thiemo hissed to Lyra and her, then rested his hands on the steering wheel. It became quiet. All that was to be heard was the light wheezing that Danielle expelled and the other cars that passed them on the highway. Finally, a person in uniform stood next to Thiemo.

Amaryllis tried to look at him without moving her head or squinting. He was large, both in height and width. The bulging shirt was held back by a belt that also contained several items. A star and a name tag was stuck on his breast pocket, and a funny cap rested on his head. “License and registration,” he monotoned and pulled out a notepad.

“Officer!” Thiemo suddenly shouted dramatically. “My girlfriend is getting labour pains! We don’t have time for this! We have to go to the hospital!”

“Nice try …” The officer looked up and saw Danielle on the front seat. She still breathed erratically and cupped her Auralia-belly with both hands. Unfortunately, that was the moment the filly decided she couldn’t keep still any longer, and one of her hooves pushed out from under the pullover. She felt renewed panic escalate in Thiemo. “Oh my God!” The notepad fell to the ground. “We’ll go in front; you follow us!” The officer, who had just looked like he would immediately fall asleep in the standing position, suddenly awoke to the life and hurried to his car.

Hardly had he reached when the siren howled again and, with squealing tires, the car started moving. “Too easy,” Thiemo only said and made their engine also wake to life. “Still, it was a nice idea to throw the water over your legs as well,” he told Danielle as they started moving again.

* * *

“This is the advantage when one comes to such a relatively small event in the city,” Thiemo said and opened the door to the suite. “None of the fans could hope to afford something like this, and there are enough free rooms.” He allowed his sister to enter, who had changed her clothes at the first stop. He wasn’t too badly surprised by the interior: bright wallpaper, large and wide windows that allowed a look at the streets of New York, and probably the richest furnishings that there was on this side of the river. All the wood was varnished black and white, bright accents that gave a certain atmosphere to the whole thing. It proved that you didn’t need gold to be elegant. “But it helps if one has the name Hans Werner King on their side. And his credit card.”

Danielle put down her remaining luggage and collapsed on the white sofa in the room. They had left most of her luggage in the car and had run from the edge of the town to here, as none of them had cash on them. There were cameras in police cars that would surely record number plates. After they had allowed the policemen to go on, they had abandoned the car as soon as possible. He did not want to sit in a vehicle and wait for it to be searched.

"I'm just wondering why Grandpa didn't freeze that card by now." She pulled her mobile phone from her jeans pocket and looked at the display. “Fifty two new phone calls. Some from him, others from mom. I bet he told her that we booked a flight to the States.”

“As long as we avoid using the credit card more, they should not find us. The London NYC charges this only a few days after our stay, so we have some time.” Thiemo bolted the door and threw his backpack next his sister’s suitcase. He further went past the sitting room and had a look in the kitchen. Here the table was made of glass, but the rest was constructed in the same style like in the sitting room: black wood and white upholstery. From the main room, three doors were seen. One probably led to the bath, the two others were the bedrooms.

“Hey!” he heard his sister shouting just as he was about to wander into one. “It’s sixteen o'clock.”

“Thanks!” He went back to the entrance. “I’ll be right back.” Taking the key to the suite from the table, he went through the halls and back to the lifts. He did not have to wait long until the doors opened and he was able to get in. His fingers pressed the button for the terrace, and the lift started moving with a small jerk. It reminded him a little of Cervidas.

It gave him some time to consider his reflection in the mirror. It was still unusual to see himself wearing something else than his white shirt, his coat, and boots. Jeans were still on his legs, even if a fresh one. And underwear. Now even the wide boxers were a little oppressive. The mirror in the lift showed his outfit as he stood there: a black shirt with the blood-red label ‘Die, Boom, Bang’ and his blue jeans with black sneakers. Maybe he should have taken his coat. It would have undoubtedly become cold on the terrace.

A short moment later, the lift stopped and the doors opened. This was not the roof but the uppermost floor, as Thiemo quickly ascertained. He had also expected that. Like every hotel, they were afraid of jumpers. That was always bad for business. Nothing else was left to him than to get out and to look for the stairwell to go to the roof.

A glance to the left showed several doors that probably had to belong to the most expensive suites of the hotel. After all, the higher you went, the more expensive they were.

A look to the right showed several other doors that also had to lead to other more expensive suites. His right forefinger briefly went to and fro as he counted out a direction, before he then turned to the left. And promptly again to the right when he saw the emergency plan near the lift. It showed that the third door to the right was the door he needed to take.

"Whoa,” was his first reaction to the closed door. “So much for that.” That he had planned everything so carefully and now should fail because of a stupid iron door. “Meh, they can put it on my tab.” He touched the lock and let his magic flow. Only some drops came to the surface, then more and more water gathered. Finally, the lock froze into a respectable block of ice that destroyed most of it completely. Slowly, he allowed the ice to melt again and pushed open the heavy iron door, causing small parts of the lock to fall. As massive as the door had been, it was also its weak point, for it was only as strong as the lock allowed it to be.

A harsh wind in his face was the first thing that he felt. Then, when he could open his eyes again, he saw the skyline of New York. For a strange reason, the view from up here, despite how majestic it might be, left him cold. Not only literally, as it was icy up here. Then again, it was also nothing in comparison to the views that the Crystal Empire offered.

He briefly looked around, keeping away from the edge. However, what he looked for was not to be seen. Well, that meant they had really waited for his signal. Thiemo took his totem off the chain and stretched it upwards with his hand. Now the only thing that remained was to hope that Amaryllis saw his improvised magic torch.

Thiemo further waved his totem in the air for a few more minutes until his arm became tired. Moreover, his shivering fingers urgently longed for a warm place in his jeans pocket. His view changed, and the unnatural blackness of this world almost without magic spread out before his eyes. The skies near him shone brightly enough to attract his attention.

Amaryllis was an alicorn, and if she could carry him, then she could also do the same for Lyra and Auralia. After they had separated in the car, he had asked them to wait for his signal. Since neither he nor Danielle had known where in New York their hotel was located, it wouldn’t have been wise to have the three ponies walking about with them as they searched.

His gaze fixed onto a shining purple shape in the air that clasped an orange bundle with all four hooves, while on her back was a shaking golden bundle. Amy had seen the magic of his totem and was now in flight to the hotel roof. Thiemo hung his totem again around his neck and switched back to his normal sight.

"Careful!" he heard Lyra calling as the princess braked sharply and dropped Auralia the last few centimeters into Thiemo’s arms.

“Hi Dad!” greeted his daughter, who got immediately a kiss on the forehead. “We tried to reach the clouds, but they’re much higher here.” The human laughed and tousled her mane after which he set her down.

Amaryllis had meanwhile landed with Lyra, who just rose from her back. “So? Any problems?” Thiemo asked after he and his marefriend briefly embraced.

“No, everything went well. I’m certain no one saw us,” Amaryllis answered and pulled down Thiemo’s head with some magic. “What surprised me was the amount of humans. And I thought in the other town there had been a lot,” she added after a short kiss.

“How are we going to find this Lauren Faust among all these humans?” asked Lyra. “I mean, there are so many!” The mare stood on the edge of the roof and looked down. “So many humans…”

“If I am right,” Thiemo began and opened the door in the hall for Amy and Aura, “then we’ll figure that out tonight. Otherwise, we simply go to that convention and catch her there. One way or the other, we will get to her.” Lyra had a last look down, then followed Thiemo’s emphatic wave to the others in the hall of the hotel.

* * *

Thiemo put on his clothes again. “It’s nearly time to go on the roof again,” he said to Amaryllis, who lay next to him on the bed. His sister was alert enough to inform Lyra and Auralia that they should sleep together in her room. Although Danielle had certainly also wanted to cuddle with the foal, a desire that he could understand very well, he had wanted to do so with someone a bit larger. They hadn’t been able to spend any time alone for a few days now, and Amaryllis would have probably needed it soon. Thiemo hoped that the walls of the hotel were thicker than they looked.

“But it’s so nice and warm under the covers,” Amaryllis said with a contented grin. “Why do you need me for that, anyway?”

“Four eyes see more than two. Besides, it could be necessary to fly around a little.” He squeezed himself into his old boots and threw on his coat. Now he looked to Amaryllis, who had tormented him with her words. Thiemo looked to her and saw that she did not lack strength or love – he had provided the latter just now in any case. She was just tired after the long flight. Jet lag still had them in its grip. Besides, the sun had scarcely set.

They both crept very quietly from the bedroom and afterwards from the suite. The hall of the hotel was still quite bright, but not a soul was to be heard or seen. That suited Thiemo quite well in regards to his plan. They went to the lift and went again as far up as it was possible. “What are we going to do?” Amaryllis asked to fill the silence in the elevator.

“Now, my guess is that Lauren Faust was on Albion. If that was the case, she had also gotten into contact with magic. With our magic view, it should be possible to find her.”

“And if she has no more magic in herself? Then we won’t be able to find her.”

“An error in reasoning that I also made. Every living being has some magic in them. However, it is usually so little that we do not see it if we do not look closely. It only became clear to me a short while ago. And if she is really again at the level of a normal human, we would have at least had a nice flight around the city.

* * *

Lyra awoke when a foot bored into her back. Her eyes opened and recognized the bedroom that also contained Danielle and Auralia.

Again she felt the foot in her back and turned round. Directly behind her lay the foal and slumbered with her hooves wrapped around the stuffed Applejack toy. Behind her was Danielle, looking much less peaceful as she tossed and turned in the bed. Carefully Lyra rose, stretched herself to avoid Aura, and started to shake Danielle. “Hey… Psst. Awake up, you have a nightmare.”

It did not seem to help. The young woman in red pajamas further writhed, while her hands clung to her own shoulders. Frightened, Lyra realized that the human was not having nightmares as she first thought. She was in pain.

Lyra hurried from the bedroom and into the bathroom and filled one of the mugs with water. Luckily, she had saved up her magic so that she was able to lift it without immediately collapsing on the ground.

With a full mug, she galloped back into the bedroom and levitated it to Danielle’s head. "Sorry," she muttered and dumped a cold flood over her head. This had the desired reaction. Danielle squealed, easily startled, and was suddenly vertical in the bed. For a moment, the woman stared in shock at the wall, then she embraced her body with her arms. She breathed hard, and Lyra now saw, in the pale light from the hall, that she was completely dripping with sweat. “Here, drink.”

A shaking hand caught the mug from the air, and in a hurry, Danielle drank some small gulps of the cold water. "Thanks," she hoarsely said and held the mug in Lyra’s direction. Before she could grasp it, however, it fell on the blanket and distributed its remaining contents there.

“What’s wrong?” the unicorn mare anxiously wanted to know. “Are you ill? Do you need something?”

“No it…” Danielle began and breathed deeply. “No… it’s good. This is nothing.”

“This doesn’t look like nothing.” Lyra already had a headstrong friend who tried to open her store even if she had high fever. She recognized more than well that this was not just nothing. “If I didn’t know better, I would have thought you had an attack.”

“It’s nothing. These are only cramps because of… a special time in the month, okay? Please, lie down again.” Danielle dropped on the bed and turned again on her side.

Lyra needed to search her mental notes for a moment. Then she remembered something. Danielle must be in heat! That was what was going on with her. All that they needed was a stallion. Well, at least if she wanted a foal. Feeling somewhat relieved, Lyra marched again to the other side of the bed and stopped. Her place was taken. Auralia had moved in her sleep and had lain down on her side. Sighing and glad about the fact that she had no foals, she rose once more, moved the small filly away a bit, and squeezed into the middle between Danielle and Auralia.

Even as her eyes slowly shut, two hands suddenly clasped her and pulled her closer to Danielle. She blinked in surprise when the human snuggled up to her and saw something that she did not like at all. Auralia looked at her and poked her tongue out. She had moved on purpose! Too bad it didn't bother Lyra in the slightest to be hugged by the human.

Chapter V - Act 18.3 - Meet the Bronies

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My Little Pony

Journey

~Act 18.3 – Meet the Bronies~

Amaryllis awoke with a small smile on her lips and stretched her limbs. She had spent half the night together with Thiemo, flying over the roofs of the buildings in this huge city. After some hours of sleep, she hardly felt it. Not that she would complain. She had carried her human through the air with pleasure for a simple reason: he was afraid of heights. Still, he trusted her. On her back, his fear had practically been non-existent last night. It was, at most, a barely detectable sour tinge at the end of the spectrum. It hardly spoiled the taste of his emotions during that time. The recollection was the reason for her smile as she woke.

With her hind legs, she kicked off the blanket and turned her gaze over to the place beside her where her human should have laid. However, the spot was empty and cold as she passed a hoof over it.

“Thiemo?” she called, but there was no response. He was nearby – she could feel him. A bit tiredly, the princess rose from the large bed and shook her body around so that her mane and fur would look somewhat decent. The wind last night had performed the preliminary work and now the bed had given her the final touches of her disheveled appearance, as she saw in the mirror that adorned the wardrobe.

Moreover, she urgently needed to drink something. Coffee, shower, and then breakfast was her mental list to herself. A bit slowly, she opened the door in the hall a little with her magic and stepped in the brightly lit area. Apparently nobody had seen it necessary to provide the ceiling windows with curtains, apart from the bedroom. That was probably due to the fact that Earth didn’t have any pegasi who could fly between and above the building and spy inside, she thought.

Amaryllis’ gaze landed on the cream sofa, for the mystery of where her coltfriend had disappeared had been solved. Thiemo was sleeping on it, his right leg dragging on the ground. He used his coat as a cover, while he himself served as a pillow for Auralia. The foal laid with her belly on his head and murmured something in her sleep. In her hooves, she held the Applejack plushie he had gotten for her a few days ago.

A sad thought pushed to the forefront of her mind. The last time she had seen them like this had been in the train ride to Canterlot. That was months ago, about half a year

Thiemo snorted as some of Auralia’s hair got inside his mouth. The human moved in his sleep and then tried to scratch his nose, but only got the nape of his daughter’s neck. The filly smiled and began to hum. This went on only for a moment before Thiemo's arm dropped from the couch, just like his leg, and came to rest on the rug. Auralia, seemingly less agreeable that she was no longer being petted, kicked briefly with a hind leg, caught her father’s stomach, and adjusted herself somewhat on his face. His hand wandered back up again to scratch his itching face and the game began anew. Amy couldn’t keep back her laughter.

Finally, however, she remembered that she wanted to drink something and that a shower waited for her. They had a long day before them.

* * *

In a good mood and with a full stomach, Thiemo sauntered through the streets of New York. He had his sister next to him, his daughter on his shoulders, and in the corner of his eyes, Amaryllis with Lyra on her back, flying through the air behind them. Of course, the looks of several passers-bys went in their direction, but nobody even said something. He was only another lunatic walking through the street. He had to be a little crazy with a small foal on his shoulders while he wore an orange coat, strange boots that seemed to have escaped from a medieval market, and a funny white tail that peeked out under his coat.

Auralia had disappeared half-inside the backpack on his back, while her forelegs rested over his shoulders. Her head was practically next to his, and he felt every light movement whenever she shifted to look at something new.

Danielle had, much to his displeasure, had decided to dress in a more revealing fashion than he would have liked. A violet-blue T-shirt exposed her stomach and a tattoo that he did not know she had, along with blue jeans. The tattoo, a black dragon's tail with barbs, wrapped itself around her belly button and went further down into her jeans. He would rather not think about whether the rest of the dragon was there.

“It’s unbelievable how oblivious some people can be,” she murmured. Thiemo did not have to say that the reason she was being ignored was that they were busy staring at him. “Usually, if I go anywhere, at least a hundred people would greet me.”

They went around a corner. “Eh, this is just New York. City of lunatics in the country of lunatics.” Thiemo stretched his shoulders. “What did you expect?” Thiemo as well as Danielle stopped directly behind the corner as they reached a queue on the sidewalk. A short look to the right showed that all these people were lined up to go in a book store. The crowd, mostly consisting of a parent and one or several children around them, had on black capes and had rather thick glasses without the handles on their noses. Thiemo’s look wandered to a poster that hung on the shop window. It seemed signed copies of a book of a certain magic apprentice was sold here today. However, you only got one of these limited issues if you appeared in a costume.

“~Your costume has a mistake!” A small girl had turned away from her mother and now stood before Thiemo. She had a wavy wig on her head and a magic wand in her hand. Not a cheap one made of plastic, but real wood that had surely cost a pretty penny. “~If you want to be the unicorn from book one, you need a horn!” she patiently explained and indicated to his forehead.

The mother, who had now noted the absence of her daughter, hurried to them. “~Evelyn, how many times have I told you to stay by my side?” She caught the hand of her daughter and brought it into her own. “~Please excuse my daughter. But you’re not here for the books, right?”

“~Nah,” Danielle said. “~We’re here because of the convention in the town. My Little Pony.~”

“~I thought so,” the blond woman said and indicated at Auralia. “~That plushie really is made well. Is the blinking some sort of mechanical thing? I’m a seamstress, and I have to say that it’s pretty good.”

Thiemo was glad inside that his daughter couldn’t understand a word being spoken. If she had understood what the woman had asked, she would have undoubtedly answered, even though he had told her to remain silent. Those were kids for you. “~I bought it on the Internet.”

The woman’s daughter, now once more bored like younger children usually were, tugged on her mother’s arm. “~Mama, the line is moving without us!” Thiemo easily went to his knees and thus won the attention of little Evelyn.

“~Should I show you a magic trick?” The small girl nodded excitedly.

“~Can I borrow this?” he asked and indicated to the magic wand. She nodded once more and passed Thiemo the piece of wood. With his other hand, he got a small lapis lazuli from his coat pocket. He laid the stone level in his hand and held it in such a way that the girl could see it. “~Lumos,” he whispered, barely audible to those who were close enough to hear, and with a swish of the magic wand, the stone came to life.

“~Oh wow! You’re a real magician!” The young girl was ecstatic.

“~Just make sure and don’t tell anyone,” Thiemo added and handed the glowing stone and the magic wand to her.

“~Thank you for the present,” the mother said as Thiemo got up from his squatting position. He didn’t worry that someone would find out that real magic had been done. People did not believe in it; everything was science or tricks for them. Had the mother asked, he would have told her that it was simply a glowlight in a spherical form. Similarly, the glow would stop once the magic in it faded. The difference was that there would be no plastic garbage left behind, only ashes.

This time, it was the mother who took her daughter back to the queue in front of the store, as the little girl stared at the stone with large eyes. “You’re sure that was smart?” Danielle asked as they moved on.

“Probably not. Still funny though.” He had a look back over his shoulder when he noticed his daughter’s legs weren’t resting on his shoulders anymore. Auralia had turned in the backpack and waved to the small girl, who returned the gesture excitedly.

* * *

“Looks to me that we’re not the only one who found out that Lauren Faust was here.” His sister’s statement was valid judging by the amount of fans who had gathered at the main entrance of the hotel. And suddenly Thiemo was not the only person with a tail. Some had even worn the strange pony ears on their head and transformed their hair into manes. “What do we do now?”

Thiemo went over the scene in front of them. Some of these bronies, the name of the fans as he had learned, looked as though they had been here since the early morning hours. He even thought he saw one in a Rarity costume. Not just makeup and clothes – no, a suit like those to be found in fairs. By itself it wouldn't bother him, as he would be even less noticeable among such a colorful crowd. Unfortunately, this amount of rabble had brought out two persons in suits who stood before the entrance of the hotel and overlooked the situation. He felt his eye twitch.

“I think we should take the back entrance.” He indicated to Danielle to follow him and turned away from the main entrance.

“Dad, if all these people want to be ponies, why don’t you help them?” You could count on this filly to ask the most difficult questions at the worst possible times. That was certainly one of the orders of the universe.

“~Hey dude! Cool plushie!” A brown-haired fan with a Rainbow Dash T-shirt punched him in the arm and moved next to him. “~An OC? From which fanfic?”

Thiemo already wanted to shake off him, but he had spoken so loud that other fans had now also seen Aura. Fortunately, the filly decided to remain still again. “~Sorry, but I can’t seem to remember the name.”

“~Tell me something about how it went. I’m sure I’ve read it. I’ve read them all!” he explained proudly.

Thiemo looked briefly over to his sister, but she just seemed to enjoy him sweating. Or at least she had turned away and acted as though the ground was more interesting. “~Umm… A human goes to Equestria and finds a foal on the street and takes it in—” His opponent interrupted him with a groan.

“~Let me guess. He adopts her, takes her with him to Ponyville and raises her there. Sounds lame.” The… enthusiastic fan swung his backpack forward and brought out a plushie of his own. It was a dark blue foal with a dark violet mane. This was held back with a headband, and glasses had been stuck on the snout. “~You should read better fanfics, like Past Sins!” Thiemo did not have any desire to get into an argument over which foal was better. After all, he would win, if only for the reason that Aura was actually alive and real. “~A dark cult wants to revive Nightmare Moon, but the ritual fails and brings Nyx to life. Dusk Shine adopts and raises her. Completely without humans in Equestria.” Maybe he should go up to him and tell him just how many humans Equestria had and just how they were treated. It certainly would not have been any crazier than the dredges of humanity that had gathered here today.

Thiemo rolled his eyes. “~Yeah, whatever,” he answered and simply ran past the fan. He caught Danielle’s arm and pulled her away from the curious eyes of the bronies. “You could have saved me, you know. I can’t exactly publicly punch him in the face.”

“Sorry, I was a little… distracted.” He went in the side alley next to the hotel where some garbage containers stood, but was otherwise empty. On the left, further down in the alley, there were stairs that had to be connected to the hotel’s kitchen. “And how do you plan to get in there?” Danielle asked as they approached. “This is a massive steel door. Plus the staff will also be in there.”

“First, because I have a lock pick,” he said and indicated with the thumb at Auralia. “And secondly, we are not in public anymore.” His sister looked doubtfully at Auralia, who returned her look.

“I don’t want to be a spoilsport, but she is only one foal…”

“And an earth pony. You’ve seen in the show where Big Mac pulled the house. That’s no exaggeration, I can tell you. I have never met the stallion though.”

“I did! He’s my uncle!” Aura threw in.

“But he really is large and athletic when compared to other ponies, so much so that you could still have strapped a second house behind him. Would have made no difference. When they talk about earth pony strength, they mean it.” Thiemo went down a few steps before he set down his backpack from which his daughter immediately crept out. "And if she should fail, I'll simply freeze the lock off." He got his mobile phone from his pocket and pressed some keys.

* * *

Amaryllis landed softly on another high rise to the south of the hotel. From here, they had a good view of the events below it and what was going on in front of the hotel. “How did you actually find out where this Lauren Faust is? I would find it hard to believe there were signs pointing to her,” Lyra asked, who had jumped just from her back. Where they were now was not so high any more, and they could also speak again without having to shout.

“Thiemo had a theory that she must still have some magical residue within her. The hotel practically shines in comparison to the rest of the town.” Lyra moved closer to the edge of the roof and looked down to the streets. They were not too high. Thiemo and her had explored the area, and this building was maybe only twenty floors high. The hotel had at least twice as many floors. It didn’t actually matter where they waited. They were getting closer. Amaryllis could feel Thiemo clearly, and if his feelings should change, she would intervene. This position was mainly for Lyra’s benefit. Should something really happen, she would have to use her magic and create the best way for them to escape. The mare had rested well for the last few days, and her magic had more than recovered.

A loud ring steered Amaryllis’ attention on Lyra’s saddlebag. The unicorn opened it with her magic, and the mobile phone that Thiemo had given them was levitated out. “Umm, hello?” Lyra spoke carefully. “It is Thiemo!” she shouted to her. Amaryllis could feel Thiemo’s pain from here, as Lyra had practically roared directly into his ear. “Yes, we are on the roof. Loudspeaker? Hold on…” Lyra levitated the mobile phone away from her ear and looked at the display, then she tapped carefully with her hoof on one of the symbols.

“Do you have it?” Amaryllis heard Thiemo asking. Lyra nodded.

“Yes, we can hear you,” Amaryllis said.

“Good. I am with Danielle and Aura in the back entrance. The people at the front entrance, can you see them?” They both looked down.

"Yes,” Lyra spoke this time.

“Those are bronies, fans of the show. If push comes to shove, give Lyra a slap and lets her run past them. Then we can use the chaos for the retreat.”

“What?!”

“Understood.”

“Alright, I’m going now. See you later.” One click and the telephone call was terminated.

“A good plan, but he made a mistake.” Lyra and Amaryllis whirled around. Behind them was a human, a female. She could not be much younger than Danielle. She had darker skin, red hair with yellow highlights, or the other way round. Amaryllis was not quite sure. She had a leather jacket and blue jeans on, from where a chain hung. Her feet were adorned with long black boots that also had to be made of leather. Humans seemed to love to use the skin of dead animals, as the princess had found out. Not that she particularly cared – dead animals did not need their skins any more.

Immediately, she tried to see if she could read the emotions of the human. As usual, she didn't receive any access, but it wasn't like the other times, like a wall she couldn't pass. It was more like as if someone had given her a smack with a hoof. "I’m not going to make it that easy for you."

Even the otherwise so excited Lyra, happy about each human she met, took a step back. This woman radiated an aggressive aura that made people think twice just about merely talking with her.

“Who are you and what do you want?” Amaryllis asked, her horn lighting up.

“I’ve had some names in my long life. These days, Sunset Shimmer seems to be popular. Phoenix, Dragon, The Morning Sun – all names that I’ve carried. The name my mother had given me was much simpler: Megan. And what I want is for you to leave my friend alone.” Where there had been no magic, this Megan simply radiated an unbelievable aura. Like flames, the magic wafted from her body, and Amaryllis felt as her fur started to get lightly singed, only through the magic aura emanating from her body. "But it was probably only a matter of time until Chrysalis' brood appeared here."

Author's Notes:

Well, that was the last of the pre-written chapter. You are now on one level with the German version of the story. What does that mean? No more weekly update. These were only possible at all because the German version was so far ahead in the first place. So, now you will have to wait. 18.4 is at 75% right now, at least the German chapter, so it could be possible that a update is coming next week, or maybe not.

But, and there is a big butt, instead The Precious Life - Nightmare, you know, one of these other stories I wrote and you can read, will get weekly updates. It's a long finished story, is now to 99% translated and will hit FimFiction now every week instead of Journey until it done. Maybe even twice a week, but that's up to JBL.

So, lets talk about this chapter. Ähm... I actually have to say only one thing: "We found the Avatar of fire ^^"

Special thanks to JBL for translating my mess.

Chapter V - Act 18.4 - Perspective

View Online

My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 18.4 - Perspective ~

Mothma looked out the window of her suite and down at the gathered masses, fans of the show she had created, in the front of the hotel. She could not help but grin as she bathed in the emotions that reached her even so far up on the twentieth floor. A better breakfast simply did not exist.

A knock on the door, however, interrupted her early meal. "Come in, Megan, it's open." Mothma had felt her coming a while now. The fiery magical aura that was accompanied by the presence of her friend was a clear indication of who was at the door.

The door opened and in walked the Avatar of Fire in motorcycle gear that betrayed that she had probably just taken a spin around the city. She threw her helmet on the sofa and patted her hair into place before she stood beside the queen. "We have visitors. Can you feel it?"

Of course Mothma had felt it. She had the noticed the other queen the moment she had entered Manhattan. Additionally, she had not come alone. She was accompanied by at least two ponies: a powerful earth pony and a rather mediocre unicorn. There was a third presence, though she was not certain what it was. While the emotions of the clearly male individual were well-readable, as was usual for a pony, his signature was like a rather mixed language. It reminded her of her sister.

These were not the things that made her worried. Mothma had thought that the queen was Chrysalis, but as the aura had come closer, she had noticed the difference. While something of the other queen reminded her of one of her other sisters, there was also something else. Chrysalis had sent one of her children to Earth.

No, what worried the changeling queen, who at the moment was in the form of a red-haired woman in her middle years, was the last aura. It was weak, but it was one of the alicorns. She knew that there had to be one of them on this planet, but they had not revealed themselves so far, and Mothma could find no reason why that should have changed.

"Have you any idea what they might want?" she asked her friend and took the offered cup. It was nothing more than a cappuccino with a lot of chocolate.

Megan took the other coffee cup out of the holder that she had brought and treated herself to a sip of the scalding hot beverage without batting an eyelid. "If it’s Chrysalis’ brood, it’s no good. The only question I have is how they came to Earth, or who ever told them about the planet."

"Eris. She’s the only who I know besides myself that has the power to move between worlds like that." Mothma took another sip. "Still, Eris would never join forces with Chrysalis. That only leaves Father.”

Megan winced. "I had the dubious fortune of meeting him when I was a kid. He may be someone with whom you couldn’t endure twenty minutes in a room, but he also wasn’t interested in power-hungry megalomaniacs, except for Echidna. Also, I doubt very much that Chrysalis had anything to offer him in a trade. I bet she has an old rusty chest somewhere in her basement where she buries all her riches while she decorates her throne room with worthless trash." Both women grinned at the thought, but it only lasted for a few seconds. "I think it’s less likely that your father had anything to do with it."

"To say it in the words of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. In this case, it’s Eris. But why? Why would she help Chrysalis or her brood?"

"Maybe Celestia finally went into the great beyond?" Megan commented dryly. “I know that she didn’t have much time left. She must be on her last leg. Maybe your sister followed suit and abandoned the sinking ship?"

"It's quite possible, but Chrysalis was too young to know what had happened at that time. If she’s still the hothead I know her to be, she would not even notice even in direct combat that Celestia is only a walking corpse. She would defeat Celestia and be more engaged in rubbing her superiority in the princess’s nose than wonder why the alicorn that supposedly moved the sun and the moon for a thousand years on her own was weaker than her." Mothma brought the cup to her lips again, but before she could take a sip, ringing came from her pocket. She pointed a finger at Megan for her to wait a few seconds and pulled her cell phone out of his pocket. "Faust," she said and turned around. "Ah, good morning, Larry. No, everything’s good. The hotel is great. I just wanted to have breakfast before I go to the exhibition hall. Yes, we'll see you there. See you later."

"You're still on for this event?" Megan asked, pointing to the waiting fans below in front of the hotel. "Don’t you think that it's a little too dangerous?"

"If they want a fight, there will be a fight," Mothma, or Lauren Faust replied, taking her cup of cappuccino and emptying it in the sink. “I’ll send Craig and my youngest ahead. I don't want them to get involved in this. I'm going to pretend to have a headache and take a cab later.”

"Then I'll wait outside and see what happens. From the roof I should have a good view of the surroundings. If they approach, I’ll see it."

Mothma sighed. She knew what it meant when Megan looked like that. She had seen the girl grow up and was like another daughter to her. "Just promise me that you’ll be careful."

* * *

She had broken her promise, Megan knew, as the surge of flames crashed against the shield of Chrysalis’ hatchling. Excuses such as a gas leak already shot through her head, as did the complaining Mothma would give her about how many minds she would have to manipulate to make it believable.

Still, it had worked in Roswell, so she had no reason to believe that it would not work here. After all, people believed in this country that jet fuel could burn hot enough to melt steel beams. They had laughed when it had been reported in the news.

But she could complain about the stupidity of her fellow humans when Chrysalis’ hatchling was well-roasted and sat in a magical cage until they knew what to do with it.

The only other thought that went through her mind, as she felt her fire clash against the magical shield, was the unicorn on its side. What, in all that was sacred, was Lyra doing here? Not that she knew the unicorn, but Mothma certainly did. At least, she was one of the characters that she commonly used, even if only in the background. It was Mothma, after all, who came up with the ingenious idea to take what had happened in and around Ponyville and turn it into a show for humans in their eternal madness for entertainment.

Megan had been rather leery when Mothma had pulled her into the scheme. However, a good share from what they earned with the more than obvious (in her opinion) racket changed her mind. Her new bike was the best proof.

Her thoughts came to an abrupt end when her flame suddenly no longer battled against a magical shield. It did not take a genius to figure out what had happened. The stone roof had melted away, and the cockroach, as she had mentally called her opponent, had slipped away.

One could have already guessed what would happen next. Since she clearly could see from below where she was standing, based on the only spot that was not burnt or glowing, an attack from below was sure to follow soon. Megan would have stepped out of the way, but unlike herself, her clothes were not fireproof. She also liked her new boots.

Wings of fire erupted from her back, and with a few strokes she floated a few meters above the building. From here, she spotted Lyra. The unicorn had fled out of the reach of her flames and looked wide-eyed at her. Megan did not held a grudge against Lyra. After all, she was no doubt under the influence of the changeling. However, the cockroach had to be beaten. She had decided on it from the moment she had set eyes on her. She reminded Megan too much of Chrysalis, the changeling that had stuck down Echidna, her own mother, in pure lust for power. If only a slight strain of her mother’s deviance was in the one before her, Megan would be doing more than one world a favour.

Although Mothma always preached forgiveness, harmony, and how everything was fine and dandy, only in a world of fantasy was this possible. Reality was different. The cockroach began her assault against Megan in the form of a magic bullet that smashed through the roof of the building, followed by a very ragged-looking changeling queen. Her mane was singed and her short black fur had become even shorter.

The changeling released a battle cry as she joined Megan in the air, but it was short-lived. The Avatar of Fire wanted to get this over with and attend to the people who had apparently snuck into the hotel where Mothma waited. Not that she believed the two, whoever they were, could do anything. However, the changeling queen she fought against seemed to believe that they were good enough to beat Mothma.

Megan leaned a little to the side and dodged the bullet before she leaned forward and headed to the oncoming cockroach. Chrysalis’ brood seemed shocked as her horn was caught in Megan’s hand, and she was suddenly snapped in the opposite direction. Megan, in her anger, did not notice her mistake until she released the horn and her opponent soared through the air and smashed through a glass roof in a nearby shopping street. A dull thud sounded in her ears, followed by the screams of people as the changeling left a lasting impression in the concrete. "This won’t be easy to explain," Megan muttered and followed her opponents. Perhaps she should hold back a little more.

* * *

The heavy iron door slammed on concrete, and both a foal as well as a human grinned. "Told you, no problem." With two quick steps, Thiemo went over the door lying on the ground like a doormat and into the basement of the hotel. "Even with part of the wall, I'm impressed. Well done, Auralia,” he praised the filly as he looked at her handiwork.

The same foal lay on the ground outside the door, flat on her belly and ears pressed against her head. "That was... louder than I thought,” she complained. Thiemo had to agree with her. The bare basement walls and the narrow street would certainly make sure that any employee of the hotel, who happened to be staying in the basement, would notice her little show of power. And if not, the now flashing alarm had certainly torn every member of the security personnel from their naps.

Danielle followed him into the basement, which split off in three directions from them. She also looked through the door and crossed his arms. "And now what?" his sister asked, somewhat annoyed. "We’ve already have our faces on three cameras." She nodded at one of the security cameras that hung in a corner of the room. "Next will be the security. I do not feel like getting warning shots in the back, or being tased."

"We need a distraction," muttered Thiemo and looked around. However, the path in front of them was empty, as was the left and right of them. At the end of the right path, he could see a door with a small sign next to it, which was probably a storage room for garbage and the like. Nothing that could help them in a hurry. "I have an idea, but you won’t like it." His sister remained silent, looking at him to continue with her arms crossed. "We’ll do like the cattle in the horror movies and split up."

Danielle muttered and thought for a moment. "That might work. How much security people can a hotel like this have? Five, maybe six. One sits in the security room with the monitors, the rest will be here. I take it you want to search for Lauren Faust?" Thiemo nodded. "I can probably keep them on their toes for five or ten minutes," she finally said. "But that will cost you."

The joy Thiemo had felt vanished as quickly as it had come. This game between them was as old as he had known her, or at least almost so. "Ever tried robbing a naked man?" He was, of course, more than aware that money was the last thing she wanted. This was just his way to ask her about her price.

"You're going to answer the phone when it rings the next time." One could argue that this was perhaps the worst moment to negotiate such a thing, but that was neither here nor there. His sister wanted something and he wanted something from her, only his had an urgency factor that created a certain imbalance between the two demands.

It did not stop Thiemo from an attempt to negotiate. "I will let the phone ring ten seconds longer."

"And you talk to whoever it is from our family," said Danielle. "One minute," she said with a raised finger before he could say anything.

He did not know why he struggled. He wanted to talk to his family, just not now. Perhaps because this was about a principle: the principle of fraternal love, if one could call it that. He could speculate about it when he was not about to have his hand bitten. "Ten seconds," he offered.

Danielle shook her head slightly and hummed briefly. "I think… thats how long it takes until the security is here. One minute." Thiemo stomped his foot, snorted, and then nodded. One could tell that he had lived for a while with ponies.

Meanwhile, the orange filly could only moan as the adults fooled around. Even she knew that this was not the right time for it. As she rolled her eyes, the hands of her aunt scooped under her front legs and lifted her into her arms. "I’ll take Auralia. If they think I'm a fan who snuck in, they should just throw me out where Amaryllis should be waiting for us."

"Agreed. So, what are you going to do?" Danielle, with Auralia over her chest, looked around and nodded down the hall.

"There should be two or more elevators in that direction. Even though they are for the guests, they could reach the basement with a key, though normally you shouldn't need one to get out." Thiemo couldn’t argue with her logic, and so they went with a slightly faster pace past storage rooms, restrooms, and the kitchen. However, something was not quite right. "Where’s the staff?"

Thiemo looked around, but he could not see anyone. He strained his ears, Auralia doing the same. "I'm so accustomed to hearing the clopping of hooves," he murmured and turned to his sister. "You're right. There's nobody here. A star is in the building, hundreds of fans sitting in front of the door, and where there should be bustling activity, there is absolutely no one." Thiemo mulled over this. On Albion, he had been constantly attentive, always being careful of what was happening around him. However, this was the Earth. Not the safest place, but still safer than a planet where Cthulhu's little brother could erupt from the ground in search of a new snack at virtually any time. He should not have to worry here unless he wanted to cross a street. Left, right and left again, as he had learned from his nanny. "The intensity of the magic around us has increased a lot," he muttered when he changed his view and looked around.

It was not enough that he could use it as a sort of night vision like on Albion, but it already shone much more than before… and it was came not only from Danielle. "At least we’re guaranteed that she can answer questions." They reached the elevators, and as his sister had said, they were accessible from the basement. "Do you think someone told her about Albion? I mean, if she was there, someone must have seen things, especially when she knows the events around Ponyville so accurately, or at least generally knows what’s going on in that world."

Another question came to him. How was Lauren Faust able to travel in a region of that world where humans stood out like colourful dogs? Not even he had managed to remain unnoticed. He hadn’t even gotten out of Cervidas without Celestia knowing about it. How was a woman, who looked neither particularly strong nor magically inclined in the pictures he had seen of her, able to travel around undetected? Then again, what had he expected? A magician with the moon and stars designed on a cape? Well, perhaps a little. However, magic was firmly involved with her. "I should make a list of questions."

With a soft whirring, the door opened to the elevator that Danielle had summoned. "Well," she began as she stepped back and pressed the button for the ground floor. "As I said, I do not know how long I can distract them, so you’d better hurry." The door of the elevator began to close, and then Thiemo was left on his own.

* * *

As soon the door was closed, Danielle pulled the seat, intended for elders and the infirm, from the wall and basically threw herself on the cushion. A muffled moan escaped her lips as she exhaled the air from her lungs that she had unconsciously held to prevent from collapsing in front of her brother. "Are you okay, Aunt Danielle?"

Auralia was at a loss as to what she should do, as all that came from her aunt were unintelligible grunts. Slightly panicking, she turned around, but the door through which she had walked into the small moving room was closed. She was sure that she could also kick this door down, but she knew behind it was nothing but stone. The decision was made for the foal as the door on the other side of the chamber opened and the inside of the hotel became visible. Aura had already seen it from the outside, but from the inside, the view was very different. From the outside, the seemingly cold building made of stone, so big and impressive as it might be, didn't look much. However, the hall, with the glass front through which Auralia could see hundreds of humans waiting, had refined marble columns and hundreds of small lights under the ceiling and made it look nearly like a small palace. Aura was the right filly to judge that, seeing as she had already been in two.

Another moan came from the woman, who held her sides with both arms. Aura shook her head to regain her concentration. Her aunt needed help. Unfortunately, she had not received one of the small boxes with glass that allowed others to talk with her. A stuffed animal of her mother was nice, and in any other situation a hundred times better than a stupid small glass box, but if she had one right now, she had one problem less. Then she remembered something.

"Aunt Danielle, your expensive brick!" She hurried back to her aunt and felt for the device in her pocket, but unfortunately could not get it out. Also, she remembered that she had no idea how it worked.

"I’ll be alright in a minute, Aura," her aunt said and began to sit up. The whole thing was a very shaky affair for the foal. "Give me a moment."

Slowly but steadily, with sweat on her forehead, her aunt wobbled past her out of the moving chamber and into the entrance hall. She dragged herself over to the counter where, as Auralia could see as she also stuck her head out, a man in a black suit stood. The man had previously looked at his computer, but jerked up as he noticed Danielle. “Ma’am, is everything—” Before he could say more, the slippery floor caused the feet of the woman to slip, and she went to the ground. Without hesitation, the man’s hand wandered to another device that he seemed to hold against his head. “Peter? I have one of the intruders here with me. She doesn’t look good. Please call an ambulance,” he said hurriedly and put the device aside. He then ran around the counter and kneeled next to Danielle.

Auralia had meanwhile moved back into the elevator. The man was busy and had called someone for help. Was her aunt pretending to be sick? Was that her plan to distract the security? She hadn’t thought about something like that until now, because playing sick sounded boring. Who even liked to be sick? But what should she do now? Should she go outside to Amaryllis?

Her gaze wandered back to the glass front, but as she looked outside, all the humans were gone. Blinking in confusion, she also saw that none of the automated carriages were on the street. ‘Where had they gone?’ she asked herself. As luck would have it, the question answered itself as a very large stone landed in front of the hotel and smashed down on the driveway. Auralia saw reason to disappear if large boulders fell from the sky. But where did they come from?

* * *

Following the logic of his sister, there had to be further elevators in the centre of the hotel that were used by the personnel to bring food and other things to the rooms. That made him realize again how empty the hotel really was.

He had actually been joking when he had earlier dubbed their little group as horror movie cattle. However, right now he felt the urgent desire to invent the rear-view mirror for pedestrians so that he didn’t have to turn around every few steps to make sure that it was only his own footsteps he was hearing. Now that he had no one around to talk to, the only sounds accompanying him were the hiss of various utility vents that ran under the ceiling of the basement and his own breathing. If the light over his head would now turned off and the vents released their steam into the halls, this would be the perfect set for a new horror movie.

It is an understatement to say that he was not a fan of horror. As if the thought of what a small insignificant spot in the infinite universe you actually are was not enough. No, in that direction he didn’t need further stimulation.

With a shudder, he turned the corner and immediately took a step back when he saw the elevators. The digital display above the doors just switched to ‘Basement’, and the doors opened. “~Mom said that the alarm was triggered down here,” he heard a voice say.

“~She spoke about two or three ponies. She wasn’t sure,” said another voice. “~We should be careful and keep our eyes and ears open.”

Thiemo, pressed against the wall and quietly breathing through his nose, risked a look around the corner. He didn’t quite believe his eyes. The voices, whom he thought belonged to a group of teenagers, had come out of the mouths of three mountains made of muscles, half-giants who he nearly mistook for minotaurs if it weren’t for their bald heads and very human ears. Then there was also the fact that they were wearing black suits and had little white buttons in said ears. “~Come on, Kev, a few ponies shouldn’t be a real problem.” Thiemo saw all three of them jerk for a second. “~ Peter already has one of the intruders with him like you just heard.”

Thiemo wasn’t quite sure what to make of the situation. He needed a silent moment to bring what had been said in context with what he knew. Of course, the universe heard his wish and decided to promptly tell him to fuck right off. His expensive brick chose to ring.

The eyes of the three giants in suits wandered towards him and looked at him with surprise. Discovered, he did the only thing he could do. Self-assured, he stepped around the corner, positioned himself in front of his new enemies, and casually reached with one hand in his pocket. “Yes?” he spoke and pressed the button for the speaker at the same time.

“Thiemo!” he heard Lyra’s panicked voice, followed by an explosion, the honking of horns, and screams. “Amaryllis needs help! There’s a human here who’s throwing around flames and Amaryllis like a doll. She—” Lyra shrieked before he heard the phone drop to the ground and then the call ended.

“~Now, dear sirs,” Thiemo said to the three security guys, “you heard the lady. I’m needed elsewhere. Let’s get over this.”

Not even two minutes later, Thiemo had a sack over his head, every bone in his body hurt, and the three half-giants were busy tying him to a chair. He should have brought his talismans with him.

Chapter V - Act 18.5 - A Song of Ice and Fire

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 18.5 – A Song of Ice and Fire ~

Pain. All that Amaryllis felt was mind-numbing agony. There was none of the love from Thiemo, the affection of Auralia, Lyra’s concern, or any other emotion, only pain. Every muscle in her body protested as she began to move her legs. Her reserves had been filled to bursting, and her body had already begun to repair all the damage that had been caused by the impact with the asphalt. She just hoped that it would not take too long.

The last time her wings had been so badly damaged, she had had nothing but the sympathy of her coltfriend. This time, she was filled with not only his love, but the adoration of the Empire as well.

Breathing heavily, she managed to put one leg on the ground and opened her eyes. The fuzzy outlines of several buildings came into view. The lower floors had large windows, and several shapes could be seen scurrying back and forth within them. Signs had fallen down, with numerous chairs, tables, and glass from several windows having also not survived the impact. Then the princess realized where they had landed — in a shopping district. The difference was that there weren’t panicked ponies galloping to safety, but humans. No, not all, she realized. Some had those phones pointed at her, and stared at her with wide eyes. She did not need to read their emotions in order to know what they felt upon seeing her.

When her last hoof was firmly on the ground and she had straightened herself out, the emotions came flowing to her. Thiemo and Auralia were still in the hotel, while she could make Lyra on the roof from which she had just been thrown.

With this in mind, her head rose to the skies, allowing her enough time to raise a shield around herself. Megan slammed down a few metres away from her, her knees bending slightly as they easily absorbed the shock. Even more of the street became destroyed, and projectiles flew into different directions. The humans around her scattered as they were pelted by the debris, some screeching into their phones. When she had time later to think, she would wonder at their preoccupation at the devices rather than focusing on escaping from an ordeal that could have ended their lives.

Amaryllis braced herself for a new incoming attack, but Megan did not move from the spot, instead looking around at her leisure. The changeling could not afford to miss this opportunity. She broke off the shield and charged. Magic gathered at the tip of her horn, and she was ready to ram it into the chest of her opponent. This attracted Megan’s attention, and flames immediately shot right in front of her at her hooves. Instead of stopping, though, the princess sprinted through, determined to cause at least some damage. Several burns already adorned her body, but even these would heal. However, Megan responded immediately, crouching down again and aiming a hand at her.

Amaryllis would not fall for that again. She fired her magic as one large projectile, just three metres in front of the human. Megan managed to raise her hands to protect her face, but the attack still collided into her. Her hand slammed into her own body due to the force of the projectile, and she was knocked off her centre of balance. Then Amaryllis’ horn drilled into her shoulder.

For the first time since the beginning of the fight, it was Megan who let out a scream. However, Amaryllis did not stop at that point, for underestimating her opponent could mean the death of her in a very literal sense. She quickly gathered magic in her horn once again, and this time did not release a projectile, but a shock wave of pure magic.

With a meaty thud, an arm fell to the ground.

Megan jumped back, now that she was no longer impaled on the princess’ horn, and imitated her tactics. She wrapped herself in her wings like a cocoon of fire. Amaryllis, anger bubbling in her stomach and her body still aching, released a battle cry and fired one bullet after another through the flames. All came through on the other side again and crashed on the walls of the buildings around them. The flames were extinguished, and nothing but hot air remained where the Avatar of Fire had been hovering just a moment before.

Amaryllis buckled, her front legs deciding that they had had enough at that moment and forcing her to her knees. She could feel the burns healing all over her body. Fur grew back and the skin closed with every second that passed, but this drained her reserves at an alarming rate. During the tournament, she had not encountered this problem. In the Empire, there had been so much love saturating the air that she had practically always been full. Right now, however, her reserves had disappeared faster than she had thought, or she had miscalculated when assessing her condition. No matter what it was, she needed a few quiet minutes to take a deep breath, refuel her supplies, and lick her wounds.

More noise caused her to stir again. The short break was apparently enough for the first humans to come back out of the places they had sought refuge in, and looked around. Some still had their phones focused on her. She could do nothing about that, though, seeing as she was still trying to pump oxygen into her lungs.

"That!" a voice suddenly shouted. "Was a mistake!" Amaryllis’ gaze looked over her shoulder to the back. There, in all her glory and with outstretched wings, was a pretty nude Megan. "I liked that outfit!" A kick to the changeling’s stomach made her lose her footing as the air was mercilessly driven out of her body. Still in the air, Megan’s fist collided with her cheek and sent her flying into the wall of another building.

Amaryllis laid in more glass and debris when she regained awareness. That what had once been a shop for fine craftsmanship was now no more than a pile of rubble. Even now it was still raining plaster from the ceiling. That was not what interested Amaryllis. Her eyes were fixed on the woman, who seemed to be now be constructed more of flames than flesh as she rose through the hole in the wall that had been formed when they had impacted against the store. There was still no clothing in sight on her body, but she did not need it. The glass on the ground melted long before her feet even touched down, and her body shone with an intensity that made it impossible to see more than her rough shape. A shape with two arms and hands.

Amaryllis made the mistake of attempting to move. Glass had drilled into her body, and every movement made sure that it pierced into her flesh even deeper. The worst part, however, was that as long as it was in their body, her healing would be rendered just about useless in the long run. If this went on for too long, new flesh would grow over the glass shards, ensuring that they would have to be opened again to remove the shards.

Megan put one foot before the other, taking quick steps through the destroyed shop while walking around it, even the walls began to glow. She came to a halt in front of Amaryllis and held her outstretched hand in the direction of her snout.

"Nap time." For a few seconds, Amaryllis did not understand what was happening. Then the world turned black as her saliva started to cook.

* * *

Thiemo was feeling numb, or at least his body did at that moment. Still, that was still relatively preferably, for as soon the numbness eased, which was the result of the beating he had gotten a few minutes ago, the pain would come. That wasn’t what kept the human’s mind busy as his legs were dragged over the ground. ‘Escorted’ by two security guards in black suits, he was carried through the floors of the hotel. The third, as far as Thiemo could make out with closed eyes, walked behind them and kept his eyes fixed on him.

“What should we do with him?” one of the three asked. It was impossible for Thiemo to know who spoke. “Lock him in a room and continue our search for the ponies?”

“That’s always your solution. Lock someone in a room and let mother do her thing. How about we show her that we can deal with things like this on our own?”

“It worked with the guy from the FBI,” came the meek response.

“Yeah, but that was necessary. This isn’t an agent who could be a danger to us, just a crazy fan who snuck into the building. Once everything is over, we just throw him out of the back door and that’s it. We’re allowed to defend our property in this country, even with force, after all. You should do your homework.” Thiemo tried to open at least one eye, but his cheeks were swollen, and a short spike of pain made it impossible. The tournament in the Empire had made him forget that a real fight was something else entirely, especially without a spell that weakened all attacks.

In his mind, the battle played out again. The moment his mobile phone had hit the ground, he had dashed at his enemies with some help from his totem. However, the three bald heads must have learned some kind of martial arts. Before his fist could connect with his target’s stomach, the paw—because you could call it nothing else compared to Thiemo’s hand—of said target gripped his wrist, and with one fluid motion, he was pulled in the middle of the three men. Before he could even blink at that, a fist from the side connected with his jaw and a leg kicked in the back of his right leg, forcing him to the ground. After that moment, the only memory he had was fists connecting painfully about his body and him trying to shield his face with his arms. As the world came back in focus, he had already been dragged through the floors of the hotel and into an elevator.

“We’ll do it like this. We lock him up and later call the police because of him breaking and entering private property. Tell them he resisted and everything. Then he won’t be a problem for a couple of years. Let the humans deal with him.” Thiemo could make out a door being opened as the card was inserted into the lock….

And then his world erupted in pain. For a second, a hazy thought crossed his mind that one of the thugs had pulled a gun and shot him in the back of the head, but the pain went through his entire body like a wave. It slowly began to fade as suddenly as it had come, only for a horrible feeling of emptiness and loneliness take its place like he had never felt before. His eyes were now open, as he now realized. The security guards had released him, and he was lying face-down on the floor, breathing heavily in the aftermath of a scream he never noticed he had let out.

For a moment he couldn’t make heads or tails of what happened, but then he noticed it. He was alone. Amaryllis’ presence had completely vanished from his mind. The little feeling in the back of his subconscious that let him know his girlfriend was with him in spirit was missing, the magic that connected them torn apart like a tightrope. It hadn’t been a bullet that struck him, but the residue of the connection, a magical backlash. He had read about what happened if a unicorn’s spell failed. This was the mentioned pain. That meant that Amaryllis hadn’t disconnected of her own free will, but that the decision was made for her.

‘Amaryllis was in danger,’ was the thought that finally surfaced from the jumble of thoughts and pain in his head. Amaryllis was in danger.

“What happened to him?” Thiemo heard one of the three ask, and he felt a hand touching his shoulder.

* * *

Lauren looked out of the window of her apartment, her mobile phone pressed against her ear with one hand while the other held her noteblock. Human electronics were a wonderful invention, but she wouldn't save the numbers she just dialed on any electronic device in this world, no matter how safe it was said to be. Every single one of the twelve numbers in her noteblock belonged to the one human that she would have to call in for his services soon.

During the time she had talked with the last person, at least for a moment, her eyes had caught sight of a horror scene. Megan’s burning form had disappeared down a street, followed soon afterwards by another loud explosion that sent shockwaves throughout her body. The humans had left their vehicles on the street and fled on foot with their kids in their arms, their beloved ones at their sides. Some of the more seriously injured humans were pulled off their feet and backs and carried as they all sought shelter. The buildings near the fight were covered with raging fires of varying intensity, while nearly every window that wasn’t safety glass had been shattered and lay strewn about the sidewalks and roads.

Lauren cut the call with a sigh. As Megan’s magical energy was on par to her own strength, it made it near impossible to get a real reading on what had happened to her. She only knew that her friend fought against Chrysalis’ offspring, a pony, and a alicorn. She had already seen her niece and the pony, but not the alicorn so far, even if she could definitely feel its power.

However, what caused her minor headache was the weak but noticeable energy of another alicorn a few floors beneath her. She couldn’t let herself be distracted by it—after all, it could also be a diversion. Her children had only reported that they had found two humans so far who had apparently snuck into the hotel during all the commotion. No sign of an alicorn or a pony so far. It was weird, to say the least, because ponies sucked at sneaking. There was no need for niceties when it came to them.

Lauren jumped as she felt it. A powerful burst of magic was let loose in the building. She leapt out of her chair and over her desk, green flames covering her body that was still in air. It had been years since she last transformed into her original form. Long black legs, of which there were four, touched the ground. Orange wings unfolded,with an ivy-like white pattern spread over them, and green sparks flew around. Chitin, the flow only broken by the holes in her legs, covered her body like body armor. The queen immediately used it to break through the door of her apartment like it was only weak paper.

How could she ever have been so stupid? Chrysalis would never attack her unless she was sure that she could win. Of course there would be a secret weapon in play, and now her children were paying the price for her lapse in judgement. She galloped down the hallway and towards the elevators. She only needed a safe position to teleport since she didn’t know the hotel well enough to risk a blind teleportation. The only spot she knew was large enough for her with no obstacles in the way were the elevators. In the moment she passed the edge and could see the numbers to show the position of the elevator, Lauren disappeared for exactly a second and appeared back in front of the metal door a couple floors below.

Both doors blasted out seconds later through the hallway, through the wall, and into one of the guestrooms where they embedded themselves onto the ground. She wasted no time; before the doors even came to a stop, she was running again. She galloped down another hallway and slid over the carpet as she took the last corner.

The first thing she saw were two of her children on the ground, their disguises gone and blood dripping down their muzzles. The second thing she noticed was the human who currently fought with Kevin. With glowing blue eyes and shoulders, ice emerged from his mouth with every breath he took as he avoided each focused strike of her son with a speed that was almost a teleport. Chrysalis had a damned shaman at her side. Mothma lowered her head and stormed forward.

Her first spell moved Kevin away from the human at the same time his disguise dropped. She flung him behind her and shot magical bursts at the human, every single one large enough to barely fit the hallway.

The human acted immediately, his fist moving down to the ground and raising a shield of ice that shattered the first magical burst. The other two passed over his head. The second shattered the wall and the third and last one struck the nearby building.

Mothma rammed the human, who was still crouching, away from the ice wall he created, her horn scratching his cheek while her chest heaved against his. They both flew a few meters towards the freshly broken hole in the wall, but the human was way faster than her reflexes. She wouldn’t have believed it or even thought it possible, but his hands curled around her stomach, and even though the creature was only half her size, he threw her against the wall like she was a foal. The ceiling light were unhinged from the ceiling and shattered to the ground, releasing sparks all around.

Mothma crawled back onto her hooves as fast as she could, ready for the next attack, but it never came. The human turned his gaze away from her and looked outside.

“Amaryllis.” There were two voices that spoke the word emitted from the human’s mouth. The queen used the distraction, grabbed the broken cable from the ceiling with her magic, and wrapped it around the human.

His two-toned voice came forth again as his body shook under the voltage. To her shock, he didn’t break down, but slowly turned towards her. Sparks appeared around his fist, the electricity that was supposed to run through his body gathering there.

At the same time he pulled up his hand, a cake hit his face. The shaman turned around, and the lightning emerged through the hole in the wall. The queen hated using chaos magic, but in that moment she was glad for her father’s present.

Lauren stomped her hoof onto the carpet, and single fibers emerged from it and started to tie down the human, who was busy getting rid of the cake on his face. Another stomp, and a door that led to the room to her right came out from the wall, walked towards the human on two wooden legs, and opened itself several times into his face. Said human tumbled, and the only thing keeping him on his feet were the carpet strings. The door saluted towards the queen and returned to its position.

The human still stirred, his body not showing any sign that the door had just smashed him, while not showing a glimpse of fatigue. Mothma, on the other side, was out of breath. The last time she had used that much chaos magic was when she had been a young nymph. Craig also wasn’t here, and all her fans had fled the sudden outbreak of violence. She had no way to renew her reserves

With a loud groan, the human broke his binds and fell down onto his knees. The sparks still moved over his body, and at every place he touched the ground, ice grew. She had to bring her children away, and she had to do it fast.

* * *

Megan turned away from her opponent lying on the ground, looking in the direction of the hotel. She would have recognized that magical aura anywhere.

“Light…”

Chapter V - Act 18.6 - Legacy

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Akt 18.6 – Legacy ~

He still rested on the ground, but it was no longer the soft carpet of the hotel’s floors. It was hard, not even sinking in an inch, but it was something that made him feel more comfortable than any bed he had slept on.

He knew this place, even if he couldn’t see it. Twice he had been here before, but never had he taken in this sort of detail.

“It’s weird what you can miss even with your eyes wide open, right?”

He didn’t let himself be disturbed by that voice, and rubbed his cheek over the floor, even if Thiemo himself didn’t know why. He only knew that this closeness felt pretty good.

And suddenly he realized something, something he had already asked himself when he visited this place the last time. Now he knew its origin.

Despite himself, a smile appeared on his lips as he slowly used his arms to set himself straight. “Yeah, it’s kinda ironic that the human living under the ponies is the one who was blind.”

Blue fog writhed like thousands of snakes away from the translucent floor under which endless emptiness was to be seen. For the first time, Thiemo turned around. The road ended practically at his heels.

“Well, it’s a small bruise on my ego that I’m only recognizing it now,” Thiemo mumbled while his eyes wandered down to look at himself. He was naked once again. “It’s so obvious.” He snorted.

“If it helps, I took five visits to realize the nature of this place.” This time, Thiemo stayed calm and didn’t freak out as the small blue sphere started to swirl around him. “Still, I was relatively younger than you.”

“Do you know that I first thought you were just a blind passenger? Even if I look at this as a kind of payment, you never asked me for permission,” Thiemo said, grimacing as he looked around. “Still, I favoured the idea. However, this complicates my life a bit more.”

“It does?” The sphere had no face, but Thiemo could imagine the grin spreading upon it. “It’s your life. I can’t control it.”

Thiemo shook his head. “Yes, but influencing it is a whole different story.” He paused and frowned. “Which still leaves one question. What are you?”

The sphere seemed to think for a moment. “I’m the knot in your handkerchief, the nagging feeling that you’ve forgotten something. I’m—”

“Blue Light,” Thiemo ended, and the blue sphere hovered to the ground, taking another form.

“Well, a fragment that remained.” Legs began to emerge out of it as the body formed, just before he sat up and shuffled his wings. The alicorn stretched out all his limbs and sat down in front of Thiemo, who reached out his hand to touch him. His hand passed through the alicorn as though he was made out of water, only that he didn’t feel anything. It wasn’t cold or warm, and didn’t even felt like he had touched anything at all. “The part that isn’t allowed to rest, as some would say.”

“Remorse.” The alicorn winced like he was struck.

“Amongst other things.”

Thiemo crossed his arms. “Well, I feel so much more confident in myself now.” This time he saw the grin. “So what does this make us, or Amaryllis and me, for that matter?”

“Nothing at all,” the alicorn answered with a shake of his head. “There are no such bonds between us, but it might be that your decision to take her in was influenced by me. Like I said, I’m nothing more than a faint feeling.”

“Female intuition?”

Blue Light raised his eyebrow, something that ran in his family. “Are you trying to insinuate something?”

Thiemo couldn’t hold it anymore and started to laugh, not only because of the alicorn’s expression, but over the whole situation. Actions in the past that had once confused him now made sense: Luna’s help, the warm greeting from Cadance, and the interest Eris had in him, a mere human.

His laughing lasted until his sides began to hurt, and then he stopped. “I really needed that,” was all he said as he held his stomach. Now he looked closer at the alicorn. With his horn, Blue Light was about as tall as he was. His white mane was messy, strands loosely clinging around his neck. Blue eyes blinked in confusion as Thiemo started to circle him and look at his flanks.

“Just like Twilight said; exactly the same cutie mark,” Thiemo mumbled. As he stood behind the alicorn, his gaze landed upon his tail. At first he thought that his was the same, but another look told him something different. Where Light’s tail seemed bushy, containing much more volume, Thiemo’s was thinner with a slightly different white, even just slightly. But something else, something he hadn’t realized until then, made him shiver. “Doesn’t that hurt?” he asked cautiously as he pointed under Light’s tail.

“One simply has to watch out that they don’t sit upon something sharp, the same as humans,” he answered, but that didn’t make the pang of sympathy lessen between Thiemo’s legs. At least now he knew why ponies, especially stallions, had cushions to sit down. “See something you like?” Light asked as Thiemo finished circling him.

“No, but I know now that I’m a much bigger idiot that I ever thought before. I just had to think back to Appleloosa.” The alicorn just grinned again. “This is the part where you have to disagree with me.” There was nothing but silence. “Asshole.”

“Pot meet kettle?”

Thiemo played with his hands, having no idea where he should let them rest without pants. “So, will you help me? You did it last time to save Amaryllis.”

“Not helping, no.” The alicorn shook his head. “However, I will offer you a chance to do it on your own, just not only to save Amaryllis. I want you to get to the very core of all this.”

Thiemo had a faint idea what Blue Light meant, but he wanted to make sure. “Define everything.”

The alicorn tilted his head back and forth. “Everything. First, the questions you’ve already asked yourself.”

“Which you’re not really innocent about.” That grin again.

“Second, for what exactly happened on Albion.” The human knew that this would come, for after the words from Undine and Eris, it wasn’t surprising. He had already noticed it even when they had found Index. Someone had played with the major parties on Albion and incited them against each other. A fourth party separate from the humans, the ponies and the Children of the Night. If you could believe Eris, Celestia had some bad memories about war and that fourth party had used this for their advantage. Celestia had been nothing more than a frightened child who got a weapon pressed into her hand and told to shoot everything close by. In the end, it was this same child who ended up shooting those closest to her as they tried to get in the same hiding place.

Then there were the humans, suppressed and threatened for their entire existence. There were more than enough examples in the history of the world of what humans could do when pressed into a corner. War horns had been playing across Albion for a while, and it was only a matter of time. Someone wanted the two species to destroy each other. Thiemo had no idea if he should laugh again because this entire situation was only possible due the fact that once again the ruler of one of the countries was immortal. After all, it was thanks to the procession of generations that old feelings and hate were lost, something that had not been possible with Celestia on the throne.

“So, any clues?” Thiemo asked.

“You’ve seen the records. Everything I know about our enemies, you already know as well.”

Thiemo scoffed. “So we know next to nothing at all, only that they can switch forms. Do you think that it was one of Echidna’s children?”

“No, I knew Echidna and some of her children well enough. Some might have a tendency for stupid actions and violence,” or both, Thiemo thought silently, “but none of them would be suicidal to do something like that.”

“What’s abo—” Thiemo stopped himself. He wanted to ask about disloyal changelings, but he remembered Amaryllis’ reaction regarding that topic. “Just forget it. I’ll see what I can do, but I won’t promise anything. I’ve got more than enough problems myself, and a daughter I have to look after. I won’t put her in danger.”

“I’ll leave the ‘how’ to you. I had my chance and lost it. Like I said, it’s your life and not mine. Besides that, I’m asking you, not forcing you to do it, so it doesn’t mean you have to.” Thiemo nodded. “It will be slightly different than the last time. Last time I gave you part of my magic, but I kept control over it. You’ve matured now, know what can be lost, and more experienced than before. This time, you take control over it, over everything.”

“I can smell that catch clearly.”

“Of course. If two powers meet, there is always friction. You will have to take the control.”

“And how do I even do this?” Blue Light stood up and stomped his hooves several times onto the floor. Then he galloped at Thiemo.

“Take it!”

*** ~ [Tuomas Holopainen - A Lifetime of Adventure] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter V - Intermission 18 - Light in Dark Times

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"Move, you lazy cattle!" the young girl screamed across the meadows, standing in front of her ox and trying to pull his reigns with all her strength. However, the animal only blinked and began to chew on the blades of grass within its reach.

A small cry of frustration escaped the girl in grey clothes that had become mixed with the muddy terrain of the ground below them. "The Holy Father will be angry if we do not deliver our tithe. You don’t want to be blamed for that, right?" The accused cattle still did not deign to move. The ox continued to feast on the grass, shifting the yoke on his shoulders and the small wooden wagon behind him that was loaded with sacks of wheat, herbs, eggs, and some dead chickens. After all, only the best of the best for the Holy Father.

However, this would all mean nothing if it did not reach the Father, the golden-haired girl knew all too well. The soldiers of the castle lords would come, take what they wanted, and destroy whatever else remained as punishment.

"Please..." she began to plead, but the animal showed no mercy.

Frustrated, Megan wished that she could afford to soon replace this stupid ox with a horse. Such a creature would not cause problems of this kind. They were noble animals and more reliable. For now, though, she would have to make do with what she had, and right now she wanted to be back on the farm before dark.

Annoyance written on her face, she trudged in her leather shoes through the mud of the road, and finally picked up a small bundle that rested between some sacks. Her mood improved considerably when she opened the cloth. In it were two pieces of bread and cheese on a wooden plate, and an apple. She thanked both the Lord in heaven and her mother for the meal.

Strengthened and in a better mood, she finally moved in front of the ox for the last time. "If you’re not going to move, I'll do it," she threatened in a stern voice as she grabbed one of his horns, her gaze promising violence. For a few seconds her eyes looked into the dark eyes belonging to the animal, but it still did not make any indication that it would move soon.

It was pointless, and so Megan began to remove the cart from the ox. Kunibert had been in the family for many years and had served them well, but he was not worth incurring the wrath of the Father over. With her hands each holding a stake to pull the cart, she began to move.

“The wolf will get you, Kunibert!” she exclaimed to the ox as she trudged away from him.

My little Pony

Journey

~ Intermission 18 – Light in Dark Times ~

Megan felt bad. She regretted that she had left Kunibert, her family’s old faithful ox, back on the road. She had told the Holy Father, who had asked why she pulled the cart and not the animal, what had happened. He had assured her that God had shown understanding, and she should have been more patient and have brought her tithe later.

As she crossed the small forest that separated her family’s farm from the nearby village, she still hoped that Kunibert was at the same location as before, not only because she was worried for the ox, but also to escape the wrath of her father. He would certainly not be pleased to see her return without the ox. She was now fourteen summers old, and was more conscious of her responsibilities than ever. At least she thought so, now that she pulled the empty cart back.

With a sigh, she renewed her grip on the bars of the cart. The sun disappeared on the horizon, on the way to make another trip around the disc that they called Earth. As a child, Megan had dreamed of someday seeing the edge of the world, the eternal blue behind her and the sun on its way. Even today, when she knew that she would never make such a trip, the dream visited her regularly.

Megan finally reached the place where she had left the old ox, but it was no longer there. Instead, a strange old man was sitting in its place. On the one hand, his clothes looked noble, but at the same time they looked like they were made for a travelling entertainer. A black hat that seemed to stretch towards the sky lay perched upon his head. He also wore a coat of the same colour, with button attached that had to have been made by a goldsmith. However, he did not have on pants. Instead, he proudly displayed a skirt that seemed to be made of green and red patches.

The strangely-dressed man sat atop a boulder by the wayside, his head resting upon an artistically-made walking stick. As Megan now approached further with her cart, the man looked up and grinned at her.

"It’s about time you showed up. I've been waiting quite a while for you, young lady." She could now look at his face more directly for the first time. Though she had no doubt that he was somewhat advanced in age, there were no major wrinkles or folds on his long, gaunt face. Grey hair was visible slightly below the funny hat and also formed the beard on his chin, which reminded Megan very much of a goat.

Somewhat surprised at the words and the appearance of the man, Megan pointed at him. "You have been waiting for me, sir?"

Faster than Megan would have thought possible for a man his age, he sprung up from his boulder and was suddenly beside her, placing his arm over her shoulder and leading her to his little fire. Normally she would not approve of such an action—after all, he could be some kind of predator or an outlaw for all she knew. However, there was something, though she could not say what exactly, about the man that made her feel at ease.

"Of course I mean you. Don’t worry, Kunibert is fine." The man raised his cane and pointed at something down the meadow that stretched away from the boulder. Megan followed the direction he indicated and saw Kunibert. The ox was cozy in the evening sun and chewed on the grass to his own contentment.

Relief spread through the young girl. "Oh, I thank you, kind sir, for finding Kunibert. I thought he had run away or worse." Just as she wanted to break away from the old man, however, she looked away and without knowing how found that she once again sat on the boulder. Megan blinked. "Sir?"

"Do not worry, my dear, I have asked Kunibert to wait until we could talk," he said with a smile. The man tramped shortly around the small fireplace, lifted a small stone off the ground, and then came back around to the boulder and placed it on the grass.

"If you want a reward, I'm sure my father will be happy to give you a meal and a bed in the hay when I tell him that you saved our ox." Megan was not particularly eager to tell her parents what had happened, but she knew that a good deed deserved a reward. In addition, the Holy Father had told her that to not confess to the truth would be equivalent to the silence of a lie. "We do not have much, but that would be the least we could do."

The old man grinned. It was an eerie grin that seemed completely contrary to his otherwise warm nature. "I desire neither food nor drink, but a talk would please my old heart very much."

"Pardon me, sir, but I'm just a simple country girl. I’m not learned like the priests, plus I don’t have a lot of experience as you, it seems. I wouldn’t be good company in that regard." Her mother had always said that she possessed shrewdness, the most important kind of cunning, because it was the one that would keep her alive. However, she could neither read nor write.

The man took her hand and placed the stone that he had picked up inside. "That's why I'm here, my child. I'm here to teach you something. I want to share with you my knowledge." Megan nodded slowly, not knowing what to make of it. "Before that, I want to ask you a few questions, only so that you can understand better. Tell me, my child, you believe in God?"

"But of course, sir. Like any good Christian, I follow the words of the Lord and live my life as he wants us to," she said emphatically.

"Then, my child, in your opinion, who or what is God?" His eyes were now fixated on her, and Megan began to feel a little queasy.

"We aren’t allow to portray—"

"I did not say that you should imagine him as a person,” the man interrupted her. "I asked you: what is God?"

"God is the good in the world. He is the Creator of all life, the light in the darkness. We who are created in his image— " Megan stopped as the man started to laugh. Startled, she withdrew her hand from him and held it, together with the stone in it, against her chest.

The man finally noticed Megan's reaction, and his laughter died abruptly. "Oh I'm sorry, my child. I did not expect that you would begin to quote a priest. But yes, that is a description that applies to God, is not it?" Megan did not know what to think. "The part that says that humans were created in His own image is the most interesting part in my opinion, for does it not indicate that He had to have a woman? As we know, the creation of life involved two.” The man stood up and walked to the other side of the fire and squatted down, looking at Megan through the flames. "Man and woman, light and darkness, harmony and chaos. They always come in pairs, hmm?"

"Good and evil?" Megan asked quietly and almost fell off the boulder when the old man jumped and pointed his stick at her.

"No!" With small but quick steps, he walked back to her and looked at her straight in the eye. "No matter who or where you are, darkness is darkness and light is light. However, morality, what you just as beautiful and ugly, good and evil, my child, always depends on the eye of the beholder. More specifically, from you."

"God determines—" The man's hand grabbed her mouth and pressed her lips together.

"God determines nothing. He gave you free will. If anything, he wants you to figure out what you are to be yourself." The man was silent for a moment, watching Megan's face carefully. "But enough of that. I think one day you'll understand. Let's talk about what I wanted to teach you actually. "

"May I know your name before, sir?" The man blinked in surprise a few times. Then he laughed again.

"But of course, Megan. Where are my manners?" He rose to his full height, took his funny hat in one hand while he leaned on his cane with the other, and bowed. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Discord, Guardian of Chaos, father of two, and the wife to probably who you think of as God."

Megan ran. The man had to be possessed by demons. He was certainly crazy to have insulted the name of the Lord. Forgetting carts and Kunibert, she hurried back to the path, where she nearly stumbled as she moved from the meadow back to the hard earth. She glanced back as she straightened up. The man was still standing by the fire, leaning on his cane and waving at her as she walked. Relieved that he did not follow her, she turned her gaze back to the front, only to run straight into his arms.

"What— How did you…?" she asked, already turning to run, but Discord only grabbed her shoulders and turned her around on the spot. The next thing she noticed was that she was sitting on the boulder again in front of the fire.

"I will not hurt you. I thought that we had already settled that. I just want you teach you something." Megan swallowed. "I want to teach you who you are." He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the fire. Her mouth opened for a scream in anticipation of pain, but this did not materialize. Her hand was in the fire, right in the middle of the flames, but it did not burn her. It seemed to instead glide over her skin. This time a small cry escaped Megan as the boulder on which she sat rose into the sky, Discord going with her. The small stone she had held in her hand was now in his outstretched open hand. He eyed the stone briefly before he blew on it. This, like a leaf in the wind, also began to rise in the air and circled around the boulder. "And about the cosmos!" Discord screamed out into the night. At his words, every cloud that covered the sky vanished, but thousands of stars shone brighter than ever.

"What are you?" Megan asked with wonder in her eyes. She had never seen anything like it.

Discord floated over to her. "Like I said, I'm half of what you would call God. And you, my love, are a part of the other half. I’m chaos, you’re harmony. Understand?" No, nothing was clear. Megan, her eyes still undecided on whether they should look at the stars or the fact that her feet no longer touched the ground, felt lost. "You'll have to learn a lot. My lesson may be finished, but I know someone who will be happy to work with you. Have you ever gone away, my child?"

“No…”

"Well, that will change now." Discord snapped his fingers, and suddenly the world was gone along with the stars, the ground, and the boulder on which they had sat. However, she was sitting on something. Her hands wandered in the darkness. Carpet. She had felt some once during the market day in the village. It was carpet.

Her thoughts stopped. Had she really just met God? The sacred book said again and again that he had spoken with people. Was she now one of those chosen people? And why had he sent her here, a place of absolute darkness that was covered with rich carpets?

"We can train down here. Antheon said the basement was unused these days," she heard a voice say. He was answered by another voice, bright, friendly, feminine, but in a language she had never heard. "No, not as a base, but maybe a workshop."

Other sounds penetrated to Megan's ear. Hooves. Horses were near. Then there was such a hiss and hum, noises she absolutely could not place. "Here we are." And suddenly, light. A door that the girl had not seen opened, and light blinded her eyes. A hand went automatically to her face. "Oh, um ... I did not know that the quarters still be used." Megan's eyes narrowed, and finally she could see who was speaking.

In the doorway stood a horse. A small horse. No, a unicorn. A unicorn like from the stories the roaming storytellers used to tell. It was not white like those were, but blue. And there were the wings at his side? This was too much after what Megan had experienced today, and slowly she closed her eyes and snuggled up on the carpet. Everything would be better when she woke up again, she was sure.

*** ~ [Ori and the Blind Forest OST - Restoring the Light, Facing the Dark] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter V - Act 19.1 - One-Sided Reunion

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Megan's eyes wandered over the charred pile of meat that only a few moments before had been a changeling princess. The only things that now identified it as such were the unburned hooves and its unique body shape. Nothing, however, could indicate that this was not a normal horse that the humans were familiarized with. A sigh escaped the lips of the Avatar of Fire, so hot that the sight blurred before her eyes. She could not remember ever having reached such temperatures as today.

Still, she was satisfied with the result. It was very therapeutic to release the pent-up hatred on someone who had brought themselves in this situation in the first place.

It was by far not the first life that she had ever taken, and would certainly not be the last. She would remember this death longer than most, however. Maybe there would be some regret mixed in, because that anger had been meant for Chrysalis, but mostly with satisfaction. Perhaps she would feel the loss of one of her children.

With one last look to make sure she had not left any identifiable trace, she turned away. As she now walked through the destroyed shop and looked out at the chaos on the street, that seemed a rather insignificant thing to concern herself with. What was really important now was Blue Light.

The stallion she had known and loved was dead, of that there was no doubt. She had seen his remains and had been to his funeral in Canterlot. Back then she had been in the form of a golden mare, which Mothma chose to use in her works in this world. She would never again feel his touch, and whoever believed to lure her with that whiff of hope would experience what it meant to suffer pain.

With a large leap, Megan stepped through the window and into the street. Sirens could be heard in the distance. It would not be long for the military and anti-terror units to arrive. By the time the camouflaged soldiers appeared, she would be long gone. Not that they posed a threat to Megan, but very much so for her friend Mothma and her offspring. One just needed enough bullets, or something that was large enough to overpower the natural regeneration of the changelings.

There was still one thing she had to do. Her steps took her to an abandoned shop a few doors down that offered clothing at discount prices. Nothing she would normally wear, but for the moment it would have to do. She had no desire to fly naked when her flames extinguished.

My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 19.1 - One-Sided Reunion ~

She had no eyes, but she could see. She had no ears, but no sound remained hidden. She had no body, but felt the world around her: the wooden floor beneath, the cold stone walls, the dust in the air, and even the water surface a few kilometres that the smallest creatures called home. All these impressions and more simultaneously slammed into Amaryllis. It was like an explosion of colours that beat down on her incessantly. She tried to rush to escape, but no matter which way she directed her attention, it only got worse. Finally it felt as if she would break apart, but nothing happened.

Another wave of impressions surged onto her being, unrelenting in their assault. She felt the emotions of thousands, nay millions of people. The love they shared with their neighbours, the envy and hatred that lingered in hearts and minds, and also the panic of those around her. Panic—this was what attacked her. The fear of the humans around her had an effect on her, and caused her in turn to be affected by the emotion. For the first time, Amaryllis understood what it meant to be the Avatar of Emotion. The same way she ruled over them, they in turn held considerable power over her.

Knowing that it was not her own panic she felt, she urged back the sensations and looked around. She was still had in the small shop Megan had thrown her in. At the thought of her name, she felt unspeakable grief and anger. As before, however, these emotions did not originate from within her. This source was moving rapidly from its current location, heading back into the direction that Amaryllis knew led to the hotel.

Amaryllis wanted to take up pursuit, but something kept her at this location. A look behind her stole her voice, if she had one. If she had not known that she had lain at that spot, she would not believe it. These charred remains, the singed flesh, and the ashes were all that remained of her body. For a moment she was so stunned that the world came out of focus. That was her body, the body in which she was born. The body that Chrysalis and her father had come together to create. The body she had learned to love, her connection to the physical world.

However, she was not simply a physical being, right? She was still here and felt alive as ever. "Alicorns cannot easily be killed," Amaryllis murmured, remembering what she had been taught. “Magical weapons, which can do more than just cut the body, are needed to get rid of us.”

Blue Light had died when Nightmare Moon's magical blade severed his head from his neck, this also cutting his soul. Megan was one of the four aspects of nature. While she might be a magical creature, her flames were not. They were as natural as anything else. Amaryllis, therefore, was not dead, just that she lacked a body and could not return as she currently was. All the emotions, not only those around her but all in reality, were now her body. All that moved within this formless body was her consciousness. It was all what she saw, heard, and felt.

Amaryllis reached out once again, and this time she found Thiemo. As she done with Megan, she felt rage and grief swirling around within him. He must have felt the separation between them and had assumed the worse. She needed a vessel, a bond to again interact with the physical world. Strangely enough, she had an inkling of what she needed to do. Amaryllis looked down upon her burnt remains that had been callously left for nature to claim, and began to work her magic. The ash and other residues rose briefly in the air before disappearing in Amaryllis’ usual purple magical aura. However, she still needed more natural material. Too much had fallen victim to the flames.

The wood in the shop was next to be added, along with some plants that had served for decoration. Dead insects and rats came from the walls and the cellar under the shop, and finally everything that she could filter from the air. Certainly, it was not enough to reform her old body, but that was not what she had in mind. In the ages gone by, ponies had once been prey, living in herds to protect against the hunters of the day. Even with several thousands of years in evolution, they had not gotten rid of their biggest weakness: bodies which were unsuited for combat. Amaryllis had planned to try it anyway, now that she knew Chrysalis had lied to her, but this way would work as well. With confidence, she began to work.

* * *

Evelyn was afraid. Her mother was gone, and people jostled her from all sides. Nobody seemed to mind that they hurt her as they all ran away from the large explosions. However, that was exactly the place where her mother had been. Finally, the six year old girl reached the alley where she had been shopping with her mother. Everywhere looked as though someone had passed and thrown large stones through the windows, carving a path of destruction. Dark spots were splattered on the walls, and destroyed goods lay scattered on the ground.

"Mama!" cried the girl, the voices of the other people in the background still clearly audible. "Mama, where are you?!"

The girl stopped and listened, but no one answered her. Her hand clutched the glowing stone she had received from the nice boy and aimed with her wand at the dark shops she passed.

A creaking sound surrounded her. A shop sign had come loose from its mount and crashed onto the ground. Sparks flew around, and Evelyn did what their parents told her and kept her distance.

"Mama?" she tried again, retreating as fast as she could. However, her tiny legs came to a halt as she spotted something nearby. Colourful lights danced in one of the shops. Well, there were no sparks, so the young girl dared to take a look. What she saw left her gaping in awe. It looked like thousands of fireflies dancing around the room. They flew around the overturned shelves, lit up the room in all colours of the rainbow, before some swarmed over to her. Evelyn giggled as the gaudy lights hovered around her head, some buzzing through her arms, before they began to circle the stone in her enclosed hand.

"You want the stone?" she asked, with amazement still in her voice. Of course the lights gave her no answer, but she held out her hand that held the stone. Immediately, more of the otherworldly wisps came over, and to her great surprise, the stone began to dissolve into more balls of light. When the last bit of stone was completely gone, all the gathered glowing balls kept still for a moment before they moved further back into the store.

"Wait!" Evelyn called after them and tried to follow. The light now resembled a swarm of angry locusts, buzzing around erratically and wildly, before they moved behind a shelf in the back of the store. Immediately, as Evelyn reached the place, the stench of burning meat reached her nose, including hair. However, the strong smell was forgotten when once again her eyes fell on the fireflies. They circled a burnt spot on the floor and began to encircle it faster and faster.

With a bang, Evelyn fell to ground, just like the remaining shelves in the shop which had not done so up to that moment. A wave of purple light flew away above her head, and something seemed to inhale within the room.

* * *

Amaryllis blinked, once again with physical eyes. Muscles stretched for the first time, and she took a deep breath with her new lungs. The world seemed darker, as though colour was missing. The difference in human’s eyes to what she was accustomed to was another sensation she hadn’t considered as well. However, she would get used to it. It was just like her legs since they felt unusual, and it took her a few seconds to realize that she could feel the ground. They felt so fragile, and had she not seen them in action with Thiemo, she would not dare even to take just a single step.

Amaryllis slowly lifted one of her new legs and was immediately overcome by the feeling of falling. However, before this could happen, she placed her foot on the ground again. She had just taken a step, she realized. It was unusual, but not what should be an impossibility. Amaryllis repeated the game, this time with the other leg, and stepped out of the charred indentation in the ground. Arms outstretched, she tried to move every part of her body, wiggling her toes, fingers, arms, and wings. Probably because she was familiar with the latter, they obeyed her and spread themselves out.

"A fairy!" a voice suddenly shrieked. Amaryllis looked around for the source. What she spotted was a little girl with blonde hair, dressed in a black robe and looking up at her.

“What?" asked the princess in amazement. She blinked again and brought a cautious hand to her throat. Her voice had also changed. It was higher than before and had lost some of its volume. New vocal cords in a smaller skull had undoubtedly been the cause.

"You look just like Tinker Bell! Only she was much, much smaller.” The girl ran around her. "But your dress is missing." Now that she mentioned it, it was quite possible the lack of clothing was why she now started to shiver. "And your hair is purple."

Amaryllis focused for a moment before green flames flickered over her body. She had no expertise when it came to clothing fashion, at least by humanity’s standards, but she had seen enough versions on Danielle to know what female humans wore. A bright blue jeans appeared, not unlike what Thiemo wore, just a lot more figure-hugging. There was also a black tank top that left a large part of her back open for her wings, and with the inscription ‘Got Milk?’. She had never understood why his sister wore more clothes under her clothes, but now that she wore these items themselves, the effect on her back in terms of comfort was immediately apparent. The same was true of her feet, which were now stuck with socks in boots, which had chosen because she had learned their value in the fight first-hand.

"Better?" she asked the girl with a smile.

* * *

Megan jumped down as she saw a black, lifeless figure plummet from the higher floors of the hotel. Changelings were able to endure a great deal of punishment, but a fall from that height would prove considerable for the toughest of the lot. She had remembered a parachuting incident involving two of Mothma’s children, having been there because her friend had asked her to accompany them. The stupefied face of the instructor would stay with her for life as they had both jumped out of the plane without a parachute. All she had done was shrug her shoulders, roll her eyes, and jump after them. It had been a good thing she had done so as well, seeing as Kevin had collided mid air with a duck.

From this experience, she also knew that she could not simply stop the falling changeling in the air. It would kill him. She had to ease into him and then brake it slowly. Maybe not so slowly, as he just sped past the thirtieth floor. Her arms wrapped around the hard body, and with powerful strokes of her wings, she began to break his fall. "Are you alright?" she asked the changeling as he brought his legs under him, visibly relieved to be back on solid ground.

"Yes, I'm fine," said Mark, whom she recognized by his voice. However, the words from his mouth in no way corresponded to reality. His wings were singed and had certainly caused pain to him, and his chitin was broken in several places. "But Mom needs help. She's trying to protect Kevin and Bob from the shaman."

A Shaman? Chrysalis had one of those herb-smoking magicians from the savanna on her side? That probably also meant that humanity had finally fled their island, because Mothma had not said anything of a zebra. The idea appealed to her—it would mean Celestia was losing her crusade against the humans. Not that Megan had ever believed that Celestia had a chance to succeed. Humans were just too stubborn as a species to die easily.

"I’ll deal with him," she assured Mark and looked upward as a magic beam shot out of the building and smashed into the one next to it. Probably not the first by the way it looked. Once again her gaze flitted on Mark, just to make sure he could handle himself alone, before she again rose in the air. In the windows, she could see her reflection. The jeans, which she had stolen from a shop, felt funny, and the red shirt smelled more like chemicals than any laboratory, but for the moment it had to work. She then reached the hole in the wall.

Bob and Kevin hovered in small magical domes behind their mother, who was trying to obscure them from sight as much as possible. Before her, further down the hall, was the shaman. She had expected a bit more than a lanky teenager who seemed to run around in rags, but that was not what made her forget to move her wings. It was the aura that emanated from him.

Her hands began to tremble as she stared reality in its face. She could not deny it any longer. It was the aura of an alicorn, the aura of Blue Light. The Alicorn of Change was here, the alicorn she had once called her lover. She wanted to scream, get something in her hands so that she could vent her frustration. Why here, why now? Why did they have to meet like this? She knew that it had to happen one day. It was one of the reasons why she had went back to Earth.

"Mark?" Mothma’s voice jerked Megan from her thoughts.

She shook her head briefly. "Singed wings, but otherwise fine." Just in time, they both saw the electrical energy which gathered in the hands of the shaman. Megan dropped several meters, and Mothma threw her two children to her friend behind her, certain that Megan would catch them.

"Take them out of here! They’ll only be in danger!" Megan wanted to protest, but with the two changelings on her shoulders already, she was only a flying target that would be easy to strike down. She looked one last time back to Blue Light, or whoever he might be now. She saw the tears in his eyes as he stormed to Mothma, who was ready to go into combat now that her children were safe. She heard and felt as magic fought against magic as the fighters collided. For now, however, it was necessary to find a safe place for her ward.

* * *

"Finally!" Lyra sighed as she opened the door and walked onto the roof. Why had Amaryllis thrown her so far away? She would get an earful once they met again. To this end, Lyra only had to find her, which was also the reason why she had to gallop up seemingly hundreds of floors. Previously, she had been waiting for one of those silly moving rooms, but gave up after ten minutes. Could they only be operated by humans?

She would have indeed made notes, but her bag was unfortunately somewhere down there in the streets of this just way too large city. Never had the young professor ever believed that there was something as ‘too many humans’, but a limit was slowly coming into sight. That was something she would never tell her parents, otherwise they would say that she was starting to become reasonable.

Lyra's eyes searched the skies for Amaryllis and Megan, but unfortunately it was just relatively quiet. All the humans had fled the area in panic, and the only noticeable sounds were the sirens which seemed to come closer. Surely this had a meaning, but unfortunately one that Lyra could not understand.

The unicorn winced when suddenly a flash of light sparked from the hotel. However, it served to illuminate a figure floating in the sky clearer. It was human and had wings, so it had to be that Megan. She had never seen her use lightning in the fight against Amaryllis. Something like that was more Thiemo’s area of expertise. Had Megan defeated Amaryllis and now fought with him as well?

Apparently not, as it seemed Megan began to move away from the hotel and came directly toward her. "Wait ..." Lyra's eyes widened in panic. She had no idea how to fight! The highest battle art she knew was to doggy paddle!

With a swoop of her fiery wings, the woman, now with significantly different clothes than before, came down onto the roof in front of Lyra.

"So, you’re also here." She placed the two changelings she had worn on her shoulders onto the ground. "You're here with the guy in the orange coat, right?" Lyra nodded as quickly as possible, an eye on the door, wondering if she could manage to run down all those stairs again in time to escape.

"Tell me what's the deal with him. Why is he here?" The woman came over to her, went to her knees, and put her hand against Lyra's shoulder. The unicorn swallowed.

"Tell me why you're here."

Chapter V - Act 19.2 - High Noon

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My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 19.2 - High Noon ~

For the first time that Auralia could remember, she had no idea what she should do. None of her father's teachings seemed to even begin to fit the situation. She could not even use her usual strategy of seeking safety in flight while pointing a hoof at somepony else, as it would mean leaving her aunt alone with the strange man.

He had recently gone to bring a pillow, and Aura had taken the opportunity to leave the elevator and go behind one of the large flower pots in the entrance hall to hide. From here, she now watched as the man kept an eye on the unconscious Danielle, all the while mumbling to himself. She did not know who he spoke to, but it seemed the conversation got more heated as time went on.

A new explosion outside the hotel caused the filly to wince again. The noise offended her ears, but at least those metallic carriages had stopped their honking. Some still blinked like crazy, but that was all.

The man also jumped at the explosion. This time he spoke even louder to whoever he was talking with, and Aura began to understand some of the conversation. Apparently he was talking with his brother, who had to be near. She followed the man's gaze outside. Where it had been empty before, a woman suddenly landed. Wings of fire sprouted from her back, and she had a changeling in her arms. From her hiding place, Auralia saw the two exchange a few words, then the woman got back into the air and quickly disappeared from sight. All that was left was the changeling, who hobbled over to the revolving glass door that marked the entrance and waited.

The man, who had to been standing next to Danielle, started to root around in his pocket, searching for something. He finally found his keys, as the foal recognized the jingling, and inserted one of them into a lock next to the door. It took a few seconds, then the door started to move, and the changeling entered.

"~Thanks, Pete. Thought I’d have to sneak through the basement."

"~What's going on? No one’s giving me an answer. All I can hear are blasts, and Mother and Kevin keep telling me to stay here!" Auralia did not understand a word, for they conversed in the language of her father and aunt, but she was sure that the two knew each other.

“~Mother believes that Aunt Chrysalis sent our guests. One of her children was among them." Both the changeling and the man turned to the counter, and Auralia saw her chance to get outside. While the human had opened the door, he had not yet closed it. From her small scuffle a few days ago, she knew that Danielle weighed less than her father. Moving her would be relatively easy.

A final look towards the man and changeling reassured Auralia that they could not see her at the moment. Slowly, with careful steps, she came out of her hiding spot. Her hooves slipped over the marble floor as she walked over to her aunt, not taking her eyes off both of them for a second. She froze as the changeling suddenly stopped and listened, but he continued to walk after a few moments. The man opened a door behind the counter, and both disappeared in the room.

This was her chance. Auralia charged forward and reached the motionless body of her aunt. She didn’t seem to move and did not show any other signs of waking anytime soon. Auralia placed her ear on the woman’s chest to check her heartbeat. She had a rough idea of where it was in a human, but unlike with her father, there were those soft pillows of meat in the way. Eventually she found it, a bit above the left lump. Her heart was racing, contrary to her still body. The filly could now also feel her breath. It was more akin to panting, short, rapid breaths through her nostrils. Her father had often made such a sound after a chase.

Now that she knew that her aunt was alright, it was time to get her out of here. Her teeth bit into the woman’s trouser leg, and with only a slight struggle from the filly, they began to move towards the exit. A sympathetic hiss escaped Auralia as Danielle’s head slid off the pillow and struck the ground. Still, it wasn’t as though she could avoid it. What she hadn’t expected was the moan that escaped her aunt. Aura stopped for a moment and listened. The voices could still be heard from the next room, meaning that they likely hadn’t heard them over their conversation.

With a sigh, Auralia dragged Danielle towards the rotating door. She placed her between the two glass walls and leaned with all her strength against one of them. The door began to turn, but suddenly stopped again. Confused, the filly pressed a bit harder, but the counterweight remained.

“Oh,” she whispered, and with the promise to apologize later, she dragged Danielle away from the other wall. Now that the blockage was out of the way, she pushed the door the remaining way and they reached the eagerly anticipated freedom. Her eyes darted around the area as best as she could manage. It seemed as though all the humans were gone.

“Pssst…” Auralia flinched as she heard the voice. “Over here.” Her head shot to the right at first, then to left towards the alley with the back entrance. Golden eyes met blue, or rather one golden eye. The other one seemed to be distracted. To her disbelief, Aura knew the pegasus that waved her over towards the alley.

“Miss Derpy?” the filly asked, amazement evident in her voice, but the only response she got was an even stronger wave from the pegasus mare. Without further ado, she grabbed her aunt’s jeans with her teeth again and began to drag her towards the alley. Miss Derpy, who seemed to have achieved what she wanted, disappeared around the corner. Obviously Aura wanted to know why and how Miss Derpy was here, but right now the only thing that mattered was that she had help. Even though the mare didn’t have the best reputation in Ponyville, she was still known to be helpful and friendly.

With the knowledge that the blue pants really tasted strange, Aura previously only having her father's rarely-washed one to go by, she released her aunt again as she went around the corner. Aura turned around, searching for Miss Derpy, but all she could spot of the pegasus was her golden tail that disappeared at the other end of the alley.

“Wait up…!” the filly began to shout after her, but Derpy was already coming back, followed by a brown stallion. Auralia was sure she had seen him a couple of times in Ponyville as well, but didn’t know his name.

Well, it had looked for a second that they were coming towards her, but they now both seemed to have made a wrong turn. “But Doctor—!” she heard Derpy call, and with that they were both gone.

The thought of following them was suddenly interrupted by another explosion. As before, the small orange filly flinched as new impacts shook the ground. Her head turned and she saw huge parts of a building burying cars on the street beneath them.

* * *

A moan escaped Thiemo’s lips as he slowly opened his eyes, the black veil of unconsciousness retreating. For a moment, he had no idea where he was, nor what had happened. The room he was lying in wasn’t their hotel room, which was something positive at least, since he didn’t want to pay the bill for this chaos. Large parts of the ceiling looked scorched, lamps barely hung onto their fittings, and large couch now broken into uneven pieces. Something must have crashed through it at high velocity and split it in two. Judging by the fibres on his clothes, he had been the projectile. Then there was the hole in the wall that had human-like proportions.

That would also explain his headache.

The problem, Thiemo now realized, was that whatever or whoever had thrown him through this wall surely already had to be on their way here. Tumbling, bracing himself on the broken couch, he stood back up.

“A hotel?” he mumbled as he saw the logo on one of the scattered pillows around him. Slowly, the memories of the previous hour returned. With them came the anger and desperation.

Someone had attacked Amaryllis and had injured her so severely that their connection had been forcefully split.

The memories of Faust, who seemed to be a changeling queen, also returned, as well as the conversation with Blue Light. He had charged towards her, and immediately after the collision, Faust had grabbed and tossed him around like a doll.

His gaze wandered away from the pillow, back to the hole in the wall his body had created, where said opponent was now entering the room. The hole was too small for her, but the stones seemed to hold their breath and suck in their stomachs. Thiemo had to blink, but that was how it really happened. The red bricks directly at the opening suddenly had mouths and seemed to hold their breaths. One of them even turned blue.

She was a changeling, there was no doubt about it. Her wings were like those of a butterfly and orange, akin to her back shell, while her eyes had a white pattern that reminded him of his grandmother’s old wallpaper. She also didn’t seem to have any chitin, or it was hidden underneath a furry coat, reminding him of a bumblebee. No, not a bumblebee, a moth. As Thiemo was about to open his mouth and say something, he felt something dry on his lips and cheeks. He hadn’t even realized that he had been crying.

“Impressive that you still have the power to stand after the amount of magic you used. Now…” The changeling’s eyes quickly glanced over the destruction behind her. “Time that we change that.”

The surprised human had no time to react as his body was wrapped in magic, and he was once again thrown through the room. This time, however, he didn’t land on the couch, but through the dinner table. Rather, it was formerly a table, as only splinters remained. What surprised him the most was how little he felt. Something that would have usually been incredible pain was nothing more than a dull throbbing, as if he had stubbed his knee against the table. More of a nuisance than anything. Thiemo realized that this had to be some kind of alicorn defence. It would also explain why he barely felt Amaryllis’ magical attacks during the tournament. This defence, paired with the dampening of the arena, had almost negated them. He hadn’t toughened up or anything—he just had a damn good magical resistance.

Faust again enclosed him in her orange aura, and this time his body was fired against the ceiling, then the wall, and then again towards the ground, directly into the wooden splinters. The worst part was that he had no idea what he could do against her magical grip. In the past, Protes had preventing that from happening, so Thiemo had never thought it would be necessary to defend against such an attack. As a result, he did the only thing he could: nothing. He relaxed all his muscles and just lied there.

The breath of the changeling queen was the only sound he could hear next to the wind that streamed through the floor. She was breathing heavily, as she came closer with careful steps.

“I know that you are still conscious; your aura gives it away. You may be strong, shaman, but you are no match for me. You will be sorry for raising your hand against my children.”

This time, Thiemo didn’t want to make for an easy target. He tried to roll to the side, but he couldn’t escape the magic. Again he rose into the air against his will and was thrown against one of the large windows of the room. They were sturdy, built so that no human could simply smash them. Cracks were forming around him.

“Tell Chrysalis that if she even tries to set a hoof on this planet, I will do everything I can to destroy her.” He tried to move, to say something, but the pressure was too strong to even move a single finger. Faust drew back her head, and he was thrown against the window once more. This time, it gave way. Horror and panic flooded his senses as he plummeted, below him, nothing but thirty floors of air and his demise. On the face of the changeling queen, though, there was no emotion to be found. She seemed neither relieved nor happy. If anything, there was only a glimpse of sadness. Then he could no longer see her.

He didn’t scream. He couldn’t; the wind made it impossible to open his jaw. His hand wandered towards his talisman, and as so often before, he tried to slow his fall. It worked, but he didn’t slow down enough. The asphalt came closer, and at this speed, he wouldn’t survive.

There was an abrupt jolt, and his stomach twisted and turned, but he was hovering in the air. “Thiemo!” This time, it was a purple aura that held him in the air, and his head moved towards the source of the voice. Something flew toward him, and he needed a moment to understand what he saw. It was Amaryllis; there was no doubt about it. The hair and wings were clear signs, but the rest was clearly new. He didn’t even know that she could shapeshift into a human. Possible, yes, but she had never talked about it with him, nor even shown any interest.

A magical bolt struck his shoulder and destroyed Amaryllis’ magical hold. He plummeted once more, but Amy was now close enough and reached out her hand for him. He did the same and grabbed her wrist, and with their touch, their connection also returned. The feeling of a soft embrace in his head was back again, and with it, relief for the human.

“Where to?” Amy asked with an unusually high voice.

“Up on the roof. We’ll have too much disadvantages on the streets!” With two flying participants in this fight, he would be useless on the ground. Every building was a potential cover for Faust, while he would only stand there. On the roof of the hotel, he was also out in the open, but so would be their opponent. “Oh, by the way, you’re looking good.”

More bolts flew past them into the sky, and a look behind showed the other changeling queen taking pursuit. “I can’t dodge well!” Amaryllis shouted as a bolt came too close for Thiemo’s liking. She just wasn’t quick enough.

“Throw me off on the roof! I should manage it.” He didn’t get a response as Amy swerved both of them to the left to evade another barrage. She flew a tight turn and headed directly for the roof of the hotel. Thiemo made himself ready to let go, but this time Faust struck. Amy yelped as her extended arm where Thiemo hung was hit. The human fell down onto the roof and rolled for a few meters.

“Fuck!” he snarled as he stood back up. Amaryllis had meanwhile begun to return fire with her healthy arm. Bolts met each other in mid-air, struck other buildings, with one or two flying in his direction, leaving him no time to relax. Magic was gathering in his right hand, and while running, Thiemo aimed it at Faust.

The magical bolt struck the distracted target, but the effect was limited. It pushed her back a few metres, but otherwise didn’t seem to have any effect, aside from Thiemo being under fire now. It seemed that he would need a bigger charge, but he would have to build that up, and that took time. The wind up here was so bad that he had no chance of giving Amaryllis any advice. Even if he could, their opponent could hear it as well.

From the corner of his eye, he saw how his girlfriend had used the ceasefire. The magical spheres headed towards Faust and began to circle her. The queen realized what was happening around her and rushed away, the spheres on her heels and firing from all directions.

At that moment, another sound reached his ears. Behind one of the buildings appeared a white helicopter. For a moment, he thought that it would be the police, but the big number at the side and the word “News” told him that it was only civilians who decided to risk their lives for a scoop. However, if they were here, police or even the military wouldn’t be far away.

Thiemo’s gaze wandered back into the direction where Amaryllis followed Faust with her spheres, giving her no chance to turn around and return fire. This time using both hands, he built up a magical charge, but he still needed more.

“Come on,” he mumbled, but the charge would not increase any further. It unleashed into his surroundings, destroying part of the roof and his clothes. Quickly, he pressed his hands together, forming a ball to contain the magic. “I’m so going into the internet hell for this…”

Now he could only wait. He would never hit Faust at this distance, with his only target guidance—his hands—being busy containing a magical bolt in its prison. He had to wait until they came back in his direction.

* * *

“...and that is why we are here. We just wanted to know who was behind that story in the window with pictures,” Lyra finished her tale. Both the changeling and the woman with the fiery wings looked at each other for a moment.

“So, let me see if I get this right. That changeling princess that I roasted was Shining Armor’s and Cadance’s daughter?” Megan asked, clearly worried.

“Well, Prince Shining Armor’s daughter. Princess Cadance had… adopted her? She gave a long speech about it during the tournament. Hold on… roasted?” Lyra couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Was Amaryllis no more?

“If what you say is true, that doesn’t matter,” Megan assured her. “Don’t worry, that’s my job. She’s going to be pissed at me.”

“With good reason,” Lyra agreed with a nod. “So, what do we do now?”

“We prevent—” A flash of light illuminated the already bright sky, and the eyes of all three wandered towards the hotel “… that.” Wings spreading, Megan rose into the air. This fight had to end right now.

Chapter V - Act 19.3 - Changeling Down

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My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 19.3 - Changeling Down ~

Why? Why did it always have to be flying? At least the last time she had clung onto a human's back as said human rode on the back of a changeling. This time? All that kept Lyra from a horrible death were the two, thin, human hands that held her aloft. At least she did not have to look down since Megan pressed her face against her chest.

"Are we there yet?" Lyra asked cautiously. Since the giant magical discharge, it had become very quiet. There were no further explosions, only the fire that had broke out in the city and the faint wail of sirens in the distance.

“Just one last—" Megan halted abruptly, and the unicorn mare could see that she seemed to have found something. "I think I’ve found the foal that you had mentioned." With all the courage she could muster, Lyra turned her head so that she could see where Megan focused her attention on. They were not very high, just as Megan had promised before they had begun their journey. She also said something about flying machines that shouldn’t see them, but that wasn’t important for her right now. With the low height, Lyra could now also detect movement between two houses. The orange blur pulled something that looked very much like Danielle.

Megan did not wait further as she straightened out again and began to descend. A cry escaped Lyra at the sudden change in the direction of flight, but she was soon happy at the thought of having solid ground beneath her hooves.

"Auralia!" Lyra called to the foal when they were low enough.

"I can’t land in the alley—it's far too narrow," Megan informed her before they veered slightly and, for the second time that day, they were at the hotel's front entrance. As her hooves touched the ground, Lyra entertained the idea of kissing it, but hundreds of trampled chewing gum and strangely burnt stubs swayed her mind. Instead, she turned to the alley and galloped to the foal.

"Auralia, are you okay?" Nothing stood out to Lyra on the surface, but she was not a doctor.

"I'm fine, Miss Lyra!" Auralia explained excitedly. "But Aunt Danielle isn't well at all. She's really warm and breathing pretty quick and weird." Her head suddenly looked past Lyra. "Who's that?"

"This is Megan, a friend." Megan greeted the filly with a wave, but said nothing. "Is Danielle in the alley?" At Aura's nod, Lyra galloped away. What she had described sounded similar to what Lyra had experienced last night with the young woman, only much more intense. Water had helped her the last time, but where could they quickly find that here?

It was not long until Lyra found Danielle. An old and rather dirty-looking blanket that Aura seemed to have grabbed from one of the surrounding garbage cans served as a makeshift pillow. As described, her breathing was shallow and rapid, sweat dripping down her forehead and a large bruise prominent on her temple, as though she had received a blow to the head.

Dehydration, a high pulse, and fever were not to be trifled with. Even the most resistant earth pony could not withstand these symptoms for more than a few hours, and Danielle had likely been in this state for a while. Despite that, Lyra could do absolutely nothing. The pony who was probably Equestria's prominent expert on humanity could not help her friend. She had no idea of human diseases, or of how her internal organs worked. After all, she had focused on social studies, not medical.

"If I did not know better, I would say it's an extreme case of magical exhaustion, but..." she mumbled and turned around.

Megan and Auralia had followed her into the alley. Auralia stepped up to Lyra upon hearing what she had said and snuggled into the unconscious Danielle. Megan, on the other hand, seemed rather distracted. Her eyes appeared to follow something only she could see, similar to how Thiemo sometimes did.

"It's magical exhaustion," she said suddenly, startling Lyra. “She's practically draining anything magical from her surroundings.” Megan stepped closer and dropped to her knees near Danielle in order to gain a better view. Without warning, she then raised a hand that burst into flames, before pressing it directly onto Danielle's chest.

Both Lyra and Auralia stared at Megan in disbelief, but before any of them could even open their mouths, she pulled back her hand. She was still engulfed in flame, but the fire seemed to have done no harm. Danielle's clothing was intact, as was her physical being. To Lyra's astonishment, the unconscious human now seemed to breathe somewhat easier.

"What did you do?" the mare finally managed.

“She needed magic, so I gave her some of mine." Megan continued to stare down at Danielle, barely moving a muscle. “However, this will only help briefly. She needs more, a lot more.” Megan rose slowly, looking over at Auralia. The filly flinched under her gaze. "How long has it been going on?” She finally turned her gaze back to Lyra.

She thought for a moment. "A few days earlier, shortly after we had arrived. She thought that it had something to do with human reproduction..."

"The initial symptoms can be similar." Megan nodded absently.

“Will Aunt Danielle be alright?” Aura asked, obviously wary of Megan.

Megan nodded again, either not noticing the filly's caution or simply not caring. “Like I said, take her to Equestria and her body will absorb as much magic as it needs.”

“Wait, need for what?!” Lyra exclaimed, but Megan did not respond.

* * *

The first question that floated across Thiemo's mind as he regained consciousness was whether he had hit something. It was a pertinent question, given that he had hardly released his magical charge when things had spiralled out of control. He felt his arms twitch, but he could not say the same for his hands. His legs and feet were in a similar state, completely numb and devoid of any feeling, twitching perhaps even more than his arms.

He blinked several times in rapid succession to clear his blurry view, upon which the outlines of several figures became more prominent. The purple hair and wings could only belong to Amaryllis. It took a moment before he realized that she had returned to her original form. All four legs twitched uncontrollably in a manner similar to him, and her eyes were squeezed shut. It seemed she hadn't been spared from his attack.

Thiemo looked beyond her, or at least he attempted to. His whole body protested by twitching even more violently as he tried to turn his head. That he was still upright was solely due to him being paralysed in that position. This was definitely the accumulated karma from meting out the same treatment to all those virtual monsters as he had done as a child, especially when he played against his sister.

“That was actually rather impressive,” he heard Mothma say. He did not have to attempt to turn as she walked into his view. “I didn't think you were capable of something like that.” If Thiemo could have grinned, he would. Mothma had not been spared from his attack. Her wings seemed unable to stay still as they spasmed, and she did not have complete control over her right eye. "If you attempt a repeat performance, try to aim it at a specific target instead of spraying it all over the place... but then, you probably did try to aim it, didn't you?" Mothma laughed as though someone had just said the funniest thing she'd heard all day. "Still, you're a few hundred years too young to do that," she finally said when she caught her breath. "Not that you're going to reach that age."

She came closer, so close that he could feel her breath on his face. Her hoof stroked his shoulder and wandered down slowly to his chest. "What have we here?" Her hoof reached inside his shirt and pulled out the sea breeze crystal. "It's been a long time since I've met a shaman, especially one that sealed a contract with two avatars. Still, it would explain where all that magic came from." With a firm tug, she tore it from Thiemo's neck. His legs were unable to withstand the force she used to grab the chain, and he went to his knees, now having to look up to the changeling queen. "I'm not usually cruel. I am even against abortion; I think everyone has the right to live. I mean, I would have let you crawl back to Chrysalis. However, nobody—" she tapped her right hoof against Thiemo's body with enough force that he believed for a moment that his kneecaps would burst. "—nobody hurts my children. You could have just come to me—they wouldn't have gotten involved in all this." She looked down at him, and he could see something resembling pity in her eyes. "I don't know how Chrysalis was able to get you to fight for her, but I honestly don't care.” She was silent for a moment. “Say, do you know what would happen if I destroy this pretty stone?"

Yes, he had an idea. It would not only destroy the bond he had with Undine and Ariel, it would also destroy a part of himself. Moreover, it would completely throw him back at the beginning of his journey, with no magic and a shadow of his current self. Zarni had told him that the shamans who lost their totem often quickly died afterwards, probably as a result of the separation. Perhaps they poisoned themselves because they could not bear it. In this matter, even his master hadn't been sure.

"Cat got your tongue?" Mothma sniped after a few moments had gone by without a response.

He assumed he could speak again, but Thiemo was simply too busy being afraid. He was beaten, his opponent was on her feet, and all she had to do was smash the pretty little stone to seal his fate. That was precisely one of the reasons why he had avoided creating a totem for so long. It made him vulnerable and open to attack. He would die. Maybe not today, but if not today, then in due course and a lot sooner than he had planned. Thiemo did not know whether the tremors still came from his attack or whether it was something else. He wanted to cry, scream, and so much more, but something inside stopped him.

"If..." His mouth felt as though everything was swollen, and he struggled for words. "If you cannot let me go, then at least leave Amaryllis alone." He tried to point to Amaryllis, slowly raising a trembling hand. "She doesn't deserve this."

Mothma followed his hand, her foot still pressing on his chest. She looked down at Amaryllis' paralysed form and snorted. "Why should I? She's of Chrysalis' brood."

"Shining Armor," he answered immediately. "Chrysalis may be her mother, but Shining Armor is the father. He will come if she doesn't return. He loves his eldest daughter."

“I had wondered why Chrysalis had kept her.” Thiemo's eyes widened. "Don't act surprised. What's her name again? Amar-something? Amar over there definitely had over twenty older brothers and sisters, not counting the drones. What do you think Chrysalis did with them? Better yet, don't think too much about it—it'll just spoil your day." He could do naught but stare at Mothma's face. "I think we should end this. If we keep talking, I might end up looking like the villain here.”

She let the sea breeze crystal fall to the ground, then suddenly slumped over altogether as Thiemo heard a bang. Blood, golden blood, spurted from a hole in Mothma's neck, the changeling queen jerking as she struggled futilely to draw breath. Something wet impeded his view, and he realized that his face must have been splattered with blood. What the hell just happened?

"Thiemo!" He suddenly heard a voice. It was faint, and the wind made it difficult to understand. When Mothma had been gloating, it had been non-existent. No, that did not matter now. What was important escaping.

Slowly, very slowly, Thiemo rose on his still shaky legs and straightened. They ached, and the stretching exercises that he forced himself to complete did nothing.

"Amy!" He tottered over to his girlfriend lying on the ground. "Amy, quickly. We need to get out of here..." The noise that had been increasing finally caught his attention, and he reluctantly turned his head. Helicopters could be seen on the horizon, and these were not equipped with cameras. He could see five, but there were surely more.

“Crap, just what we need now...”

"Thiemo!" he heard someone shout again, and this time he found the person to which the voice belonged. Lyra, wrapped in a golden aura, hovered on the roof, followed by Auralia, Danielle, and a woman he did not know. By the way her eyes glowed, it was clear that she was the one who was responsible for the magic.

"We have to go, and go now!" If he didn't know better, Thiemo would have said that it was the unknown woman who had just shouted. Her voice was loud but clear, and it was as though the wind stopped when she spoke. She hovered over to them and enveloped Amaryllis and him in her golden aura. "I hope everyone had a light breakfast."

And then the world faded away.

* * *

"Amy, Danielle, and Aura are in their beds,” Thiemo informed the remaining residents of the house. He himself would have been too happy to climb under the covers with Amaryllis and forget this day forever, but he doubted he would have been able to sleep one wink. His right arm was still shaking. "So, I would now like an explanation as to who you are," he continued, pointing to the unknown woman, "and how you knew where I live." They were back in England. Somehow, the woman had teleported all the way, and they had once again landed in the basement's pool.

"My name is Megan, and Lyra here was nice enough to tell me a bit of your history." She pointed to the mare in the chair that had become her favourite spot. "And what happened can only be called a very terrible misunderstanding." She sighed, leaned back sofa, and put her arms on the side.

“I'm going to take a shot in the dark here and guess it has something to do with Chrysalis.”

Megan laughed dryly. "Even here, she manages to still play us. She didn't even have to actually do anything as well.” Poison practically dripped with every word she spoke. "One day I'll get have her neck between my hands, but that will have to wait. You want to know why Mothma created the series, right?"

"Our guess was that she wanted to collect the emotions of her fans and conquer the world," Lyra said.

"If someone knew Chrysalis alone, it's a logical conclusion. However, tell me, have you ever heard of the symbiosis between ants and aphids?" Thiemo shook his head, as did Lyra. Biology had never been his strong point. "The ants milk aphids and protect them in return. Similarly, why would a changeling harm humans or ponies? The more of them there are and the more satisfied they are, the more emotions there will be to harvest. The alicorns were very good at creating life forms that could live in harmony with them." She waited a few seconds. “Strange, I thought you would be more surprised learning where changelings came from.”

“I stole that secret from the archives in the Crystal Empire. Stupid and Curious over there listened in when I spoke to Cadance about it.” Thiemo jammed a thumb at Lyra.

“Hey!”

"Then you also surely know that the alicorns almost destroyed themselves in a war against each other." They both nodded. "Well, I don't have to start from scratch then. Stop me if you must. Echidna survived the war without problem. When the alicorns on one side ordered her to attack the others, she just took her children and left. At least that was what she told me.”

"Okay, time out. You talked to Echidna? I thought she was dead."

Megan rose with a sigh from the bed and looked over at Thiemo. "I think I haven't introduced myself properly. I am Megan." Wings of flame erupted from her shoulder blades out and illuminated the room. "I am flame given form, The Avatar of Fire, of heat and warmth." Her eyes again began to glow. "For hundreds of years, I have watched over civilization and... and..." She stopped, her wings disappearing and her eyes returning to normal. "And I'm too old for this shit." And so she plopped back into the sofa. "I am old, the end."

"Got it," Thiemo and Lyra said at almost the same time.

"Mothma raised me after I came to Equestria. I became a member of the Children of the Night and worked together with Blue Light to bring the humans and ponies closer together. That was how I got to know Mothma. She is the eldest daughter of Echidna. Perhaps you have already heard of her other sister: Eris."

"What?!" Lyra shouted in shock. For Thiemo, the announcement had kernels of truth. Amy had told him some time ago of Echidna's warnings about draconequus. She had to have met one. Together with what the Index had shown them, it had been very possible for Eris to have a half-sister. It also explained some of the powers Mothma possessed.

"After Light's death, the demise of Amissa Heaven, and Nightmare Moon, we thought it best to keep ourselves hidden. It didn't help that Celestia had organized a crusade against the remnants of the Children of the Night. I devoted myself to the study of reincarnation while Echidna travelled the world to search for the truth behind what happened. It was after that she was killed by Chrysalis. I learned of her death from Mothma, who came to see me in the land of the dragons. Echidna had entrusted me with her books on everything she had found out. According to these books, there was no future for changelings on Albion. Moreover, Echidna probably found out that there was a planet on which there were also humans. Mothma did not know that I came from Earth. I don't think even Echidna knew. I'd never told anyone there. Therefore, she made a deal with someone.”

"Eris,” was the first word that escaped Thiemo’s lips. "She told us that she had been here in the past."

"Exactly. Mothma and Eris made a deal. Eris would send us to the Earth, but what she wanted in return was something Mothma never told me.”

"And why did you not just... teleport here,” Lyra interjected from her seat.

"Have you any idea how huge the universe is? Trying to navigate through it is as good as impossible. You have to consider not only the distance but also that the planets, the stars, and the galaxies themselves are all constantly moving. Besides that, teleportation is not an instant thing. It depends on the level of magic used. It will not fail for short distances, but several million light years? It takes strength, a lot of strength, and months of preparation." Thiemo's mind stopped short at that. Eris had never mentioned anything like that. If it was true, it would mean that she had always intended to keep her word. “I'm a few thousand years too young to try that. Getting over here was difficult enough. Luckily, Earth's rotation and speed are known values. Incidentally, that is why normal unicorns have enough trouble teleporting only in their field of vision." Thiemo waited a moment, but Megan seemed to be done with her story.

"Do you have any clue as to who brought me to Albion, then?" This was the million dollar question, the question that still hadn't been answered even after this entire mess had started.

"There are only four beings that I am aware of that would be capable of doing something like that. Eris you already know, but if she had been here, I would have known. The same applies to her father. That leaves just Mothma and myself," she shrugged, "and I had better things to do with time." Thiemo sagged. So he would never get an answer. "You'll have to ask Mothma."

"Fat chance of that. A sniper shot a hole in her neck,” he muttered, though loud enough that Megan and Lyra could hear him.

"Believe me, no matter where it hit her, one bullet isn't enough to kill her." Megan lay down on the sofa. "I will probably have to get her back from the army tomorrow. For now, I just want to sleep. Used too much magic in too short a time.”

Now that was something Thiemo could agree with.

Chapter V - Act 19.4 - Area 51

View Online

My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 19.4 - Area 51 ~

Thiemo did not get a lot of sleep, three hours in fact, if the clock in the hallway was to be believed. Hardly had the bite of exhaustion left his body did he wake up, shaking. This time it was not only his right arm, but both. He had never thought about it until recently, but twice now had he almost died. Karst had almost blown him and a large chunk of Equestria into smithereens, and now an opponent had just beaten Amaryllis and him into a pulp with hardly a scratch inflicted in return.

Inevitably, his thoughts wandered back to the conversation with Ariel. If even one of those powerful beings had given a wet fart about the lives of others, he would have long since been dead. It was a thought that genuinely chilled him. In the wider scheme of things, he was merely a fly on the wall that was only alive because the guy on the sofa was too lazy to get up and kill him.

All this gave him a lot to think about. Apparently, he was not the only one in a similar predicament. When he went into the kitchen to get a glass of water, he was not alone. Megan already sat at the counter and slowly stirred her cup of coffee with a spoon. Their eyes met briefly before she looked back down into her cup.

Since Thiemo also had no idea as to what he might say, and as it was much too early for a simple "Morning", he simply walked past her and picked up a glass from the cupboard. He filled it with water from the tap and sat down on a free stool opposite Megan. She was still wearing the same cheap clothes that seemed either too large or too small for her. Not that he was dressed better since all he wore was a T-shirt and boxer shorts with a hole for his tail.

"I'm sure Danielle wouldn't mind if you borrowed a change of clothes from her."

As though Megan had completely forgotten what she was wearing, she looked down at herself. Her eyes glowed for a moment, and flame wrapped around her body similar to that of a changeling. When they subsided, she now wore a bright green top and blue jeans, and boots, which would be more befitting a punk, adorned her feet. She was well aware that her old clothes provided better protection from the chill of the cold night's air inside the empty house. She reached out a hand to a wreath of flame that hung in the middle of the air. From this, Megan pulled a leather jacket and threw it over her.

Now that he saw her in this outfit, Thiemo realized that she seemed vaguely familiar, almost as though he had seen her in a photo. "Of course!" He suddenly leaned forward. "You're Sunset Shimmer, from the spin-offs."

"There is no Sunset Shimmer,” the woman finally answered softly after a moment had passed. “Not any more. Mothma needed a design and used me as a model without asking me first. The blonde highlights I added for the convention, as a favour for her." Before she finished speaking, said highlights were burned out from her hair, leaving her natural colour.

"I still find that a television series is a bit too much effort to get emotions." He took another sip from his glass. "Doesn't she have a lover? They could have given her all the love she wanted and more.”

"She's married. Craig is also a cartoonist. It's what brought them together in the first place. Mothma loves cartoons. They're sort of a medium for her to express her brand of chaos onto the world. Plus, she loves children."

"I learned that the hard way." He rubbed his still slightly sore chest.

Megan snorted. "What did you expect? You go after the children and think Mom's not going to be angry?”

“Children who were built like charging wardrobes and treated me like raw putty.”

"They are all around five years old or so."

Thiemo blinked in surprise. "What?"

"You were beaten up by pre-teens. Congratulations."

"There were three!" he desperately tried to argue.

"You'd better learn to choose your battles."

For a moment there was silence. "What happened to them?" Thiemo finally asked cautiously.

"I made sure that Kevin and his brothers got out of there. They were probably all gone before we got to you. Changelings are good at hiding." Megan opened the refrigerator with her magic and levitated the milk over to her. "This bunch in particular. Mothma trained well."

"Man, hiding must be a changeling’s favourite sport," muttered Thiemo, which drew a chuckle from the woman.

"You could say that." And again there was silence. It was strange how he sat here, just hours after a fight with someone, and talking with one of his enemies.

"Does her husband know she's a changeling?” The question elicited an eye roll.

"Of course. Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain why their children were hatched from eggs.” Yes, it was a stupid question.

“Shouldn't he be told what happened?”

She pulled a cell phone out from her jeans. "Long since done. I also told him that I would be bringing his wife home in a few hours.”

"You know where she is?" Megan hummed a yes since she was taking a sip from her coffee. “Where?”

"Area Fifty One."

Thiemo thought he had misheard. "I beg your pardon?"

"Area Fifty One. Military base in the middle of the Nevada desert. It's actually a testing ground for jet prototypes and the like. That makes it one of the best defended bases within the United States."

"Why would someone take an alien there, of all places? I mean, wouldn't the tin-foil hat crew be looking right there for something like that?" It was like trying to hide the last piece of cake in the refrigerator.

"No idea, but that's where they brought me in forty-seven after I crashed in Roswell." Thiemo could not help but stare at the woman as she continued to sip her coffee. "Collided with one of their test pilots during a flight." He calculated in his head. Echidna died around one hundred and thirty years ago. That was around the year 1883 here on Earth. It fit.

"I'm coming with you. Mothma owes me some answers, and I want them as soon as possible." Megan nodded and drank the rest of her coffee.

* * *

He had managed to get some sleep after all, once their discussion had concluded. This time, however, it was not the twitching of his limbs that brought him out of bed, but the rumbles and screams echoing through the large house.

Running with the assumption that it was the Yankee's special task force, Thiemo found himself bolting down the stairs while desperately trying to put on his pants. Just as he had closed the button on his tail and reached the ground floor, what looked like Megan was thrown through the doorway. The woman was violently slammed with a sickening thud against the wall. Before he could even ask what was going on, Amaryllis came into sight as she galloped past him, collected magic on the tip of her horn, and fired it at Megan.

It slammed into her stomach, and he not only saw her clothes burned at the attack, but also skin. For a moment, he thought he could recognize her intestines before it healed as quickly as it had been damaged. The sight did not seem to faze Amaryllis, whose horn lit up again in preparation of another attack. Thiemo sprinted over to her, put his hands around her neck, and tried to pull her away from Megan.

"Stop! We are on the same side! "

"She killed me!" Amaryllis roared back directly into Thiemo face, and the force behind it was almost enough to also send him into the wall. "She burned me alive!"

With wide eyes, Thiemo looked over to Megan, who got to her feet and dusted off the remnants of her clothing. "It's true," she said in her typically dry tone. Thiemo was, at that moment, not sure if he should just release Amy. "We were enemies. I don't know what you were trying to do, but I fought to win. In any case, you look pretty alive to me.”

"Guys!" Lyra's voice suddenly came from the living room. "You all should come see this..."

Megan and Amaryllis locked gazes for a moment more, then his girlfriend turned reluctantly and followed Lyra's call. For the first time, he noticed that she seemed to have shrunk. She had been tall enough that she could look directly into his eyes, but now she barely reached up to his neck.

He glanced at Megan again, but she made no effort to move, so he left her and followed Amaryllis into the living room. Lyra sat on her chair, and the television was on. "~ Attacks Rock New York~" was the news ticker while images of destruction were shown. Destruction that they had caused. "~ As you can see, the area around the hotel was particularly affected. Moreover, experts still do not agree on exactly how the terrorists could have caused this kind of destruction.~" The image changed and now showed the hotel where they had fought. Gaping large holes in the upper floors of the building were prominent, and the panels of glass that weren't cracked or broken were rare. It was a blessing in disguise that the security glass had prevented a rain of glass shards from showering the streets.

Again the picture changed. Where the previous camera must have been from a neighbouring building, the hotel was now seen from the air. The logo of another news station was also in the picture.

"~These photographs of the events also raises the question of whether this was actually a terrorist attack, as no group has come forward to claim responsibility as of now...~" It was hard to make out against the smoke and with the shaky camerawork, but he could see himself on the roof. On the edge of the image, something whizzed through the air. It was impossible to tell whether it was Mothma or Amy. Blue lightning flashed across the screen, and then he realized what was actually shown here. He watched himself on screen as he tried to follow Mothma with his eyes before the image went black.

"~These were the last shots that were taken from the helicopter. Whatever was detonated on the roof had an EMP-like effect, forcing the machine into an emergency landing. All occupants fortunately escaped with minor injuries." Thiemo reached across the table and pressed the mute button on the remote.

"You should get out of here." Megan startled all present in the living room. "They have you on tape. No matter how bad the quality is, it's only a matter of time until it's been processed. Take the chance and return back to Albion while you can. It's only a matter of hours until they get here." She looked around the room. "Eris sent you here, but how are you supposed to get back?" Thiemo's eyes widened and he began to sprint from the living room, into the hallway, and up to the third floor. He yanked the door open to his room and searched around frantically, but it was as he had feared.

"Fucking hell!" he shouted and grabbed a pillow off his bed, slamming it into the wall repeatedly in frustration.

When he came back into the living room, he found everything as he had left it. Lyra stared at the silent TV with a scowl etched on her face. Amy sat in a corner and was engaged in another staring competition with Megan, who still stood in the doorway.

"Eris had given us an artefact. It's still in our hotel room."

Megan shook her head. "Not any longer, I can tell you that. Seems like you still have to come with me to Area Fifty One.”

Amaryllis was immediately on her hooves. "I'm also going!”

"I don't think so, Princess. We want to rescue an alien, not bring them one." It did not take a woman-whisperer to see how pissed Amaryllis was at that—it was practically engraved on her face. "Get ready, Thiemo, we're leaving in an hour. The sooner we leave here, the better.”

Getting ready mostly constituted calming Amaryllis down and convincing her that Megan was not their enemy. In addition, his daughter eventually crawled out of bed and demanded breakfast. Auralia also brought news about Danielle's condition. Lyra had no idea as to what could have been the trigger, but Thiemo had an inkling of an idea. It had happened when Amaryllis and Danielle had had their little spat, and the changeling had levitated her off. It was like that time with Zarni and the magic runes. Magic had coursed through her body, which now desired something it had never before tasted and had no way of satisfying that hunger.

"Are you ready?" Megan asked as she stepped into Danielle's bedroom, her clothes whole again. Thiemo had spent the last ten minutes at her bedside, changing the cold compresses on her head. "Lyra will take care of Auralia, and Amaryllis is sure to take over for you here." She hinted with a loose wave that he should follow her.

As they walked down the stairs, Thiemo spotted Amaryllis as she came out of the bathroom. A towel wound atop her mane and another on her back, her woebegone look said more than a thousand words. He heard Aura and Lyra chattering in the living room as they passed through the hallway and went to the front door.

"The sooner we get this behind us, the sooner you can get out of here." Megan was right, he knew. Still, as she had said, it was only a matter of time before some government agency would descend upon the house, and he didn't want to leave his friends alone when it happened. Not even Lyra, because as much as she sometimes irritated him, she was a good soul and a friend.

Megan opened the door, and they stepped out onto the ramp. "So, how do we do this?" Instead of answering, Megan merely grabbed his shoulder, and the next second they were standing in the scorching heat of Nevada. Luckily, he had washed Mothma's blood out of his coat, which had in the past proven to be a good sunscreen.

"Where’s the base?" Thiemo asked and looked around. The desert was nothing special. Dry soil as far as the eye could see, it was interspersed by small shrubs and large stones. If he didn't know better, he would suspect Appleloosa was around the corner.

His companion looked around a bit. "About two kilometres away. Come on.” And so they began to move. Since Megan gave the impression that she wasn't keen on small talk, it gave him time to think.

If Thiemo had to name one word to describe his last few hours, it would be 'unreal'. His hands wandered to the sea breeze crystal around his neck. Had Megan left it behind, or had Mothma been shot only a moment later, he'd be dead. It was as though this was the first time he realized how dangerous the world around him was, as if someone wanted to show each individual hazard and to rub his nose in them. His still trembling hands were a clear indication.

"From here on, follow my footsteps." Megan brought him out of the downward spiral that were his thoughts. "There are mines." Thiemo halted immediately. Of course there were mines here. It was a high-security military base. He wondered why his legs now started to tremble.

He looked up and noticed that Megan had simply gone on. Swallowing, he did what she instructed, cautiously stepping from one of her footsteps to the next. After a few minutes, a barbed wire fence came in sight, behind which were arched hangars and what he assumed were administration buildings.

"Shouldn't they have already seen us?" Thiemo asked, his eyes constantly wandering the ground.

"Believe me, they have. They just don't know what to make of us. We suddenly appeared in the midst of a restricted area without triggering the alarm and are actively avoiding each mine. Once we are out of the minefield, they'll come out to welcome us." She shielded her eyes with one hand from the sun. "In fact, they’re already arming themselves."

She was right, again. No sooner had they left the minefield did the gates open in the fence, and two jeeps with light machine guns on the roofs barrelled out, announcing themselves by large trail of smoke behind them.

"You have a plan, right?"

Megan raised her hands in surrender.

"Figures." Despite that, he followed her example. Stones flew in his face as the jeep came within reach, and soldiers jumped out of the vehicles, guns at the ready. In a wink, he was on the ground, his face making intimate contact with a small sharp stone, while commands were shouted in his ear.

"~Get down! Head on the ground and hands behind your back!~" five different soldiers screamed at him. Other popular phrases were that they were being held by the US Air Force and that they had the right to keep their mouths shut. Their hands were secured with handcuffs, they were searched for weapons, and soon they were roughly shoved into the jeeps, Thiemo in one, Megan in the other. There were three soldiers around him, along with the two who rode in front, and of course the manned gun on the roof.

"~Name, date and place of birth,~" asked the soldier who sat immediately opposite him and had exchanged his weapon for a clipboard. The others held their weapons more readily. No doubt they wouldn't hesitate to turn him into proverbial Swiss cheese if he so much as thought of retaliating.

"~Merlin Geoffrey of Monmouth, born in the hundredth thousandth year of the Lord on PX1-767.~" He got the tip of the gun of the soldier at his right pushed gently into his ribs. Still, even though he was sure that she saw through his lie, simply because these names here, unlike in Albion, had a meaning, the soldier wrote everything he said.

“~Why are you here?~”

“~My mission is to search for the Holy Grail.~” Considering it was as a symbol of enlightenment, the answer wasn't inaccurate. Thiemo wanted answers, as well as the watch Eris had given him, of course.

Apparently he was the only one who grinned at his joke. The soldiers were unmoved, watching him with unflinching scrutiny, their fingers caressing the trigger. It had to be boring out here. If they had wanted to, they could have disposed of someone like him without even raising an alarm.

"~Can I get to ask a question?~" Since no one shook their head, he took that as tacit consent. “~You guys all know about Stargate, right? So, I am sure that the series was only made to disguise the fact that there really is a Stargate program. Plus, to confuse the population even more, you guys even had a series about Stargate within the Stargate series. So, is there actually a Stargate?~"

Pain was the answer he got. The elbow from the soldier to his left was the culprit this time.

"~Oops, probably slipped.~"

Perhaps it was better if he made use of his right to be silent.

Chapter V - Act 19.5 - Space Invaders

View Online

My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 19.5 – Space Invaders ~

Thiemo was experiencing that unpleasant feeling of deja vu. Once again he was sitting in an interrogation room, dressed in nothing more than a pair of boxers, waiting for someone to come and give him a lap dance. Somehow he doubted he would get one, but after a soldier had thoroughly checked every orifice, he thought he deserved one. Maybe he just shouldn’t have shouted “~Deeper!” They had also pulled his tail.

As he now rocked on the chair and waited for either the soldiers or Megan to come through the door, his thoughts began to wander to yesterday. He had almost died, people had gotten hurt, maybe even worse, and half a block had been razed to the ground. Oh, and there was also his sister, who urgently needed to get to Albion. He hadn’t planned for all this. It was supposed to be a short vacation to teach his daughter about Earth. The Highlands, Stonehenge, Buckingham Palace—these were the places that he had wanted to show her, not hate and destruction. Ariel had told him to be honourable and man up. Too bad Thiemo had never had a dad who could show him how. Still, he knew that a good dad didn’t bring his daughter to fight against chaos creatures and gods of fire.

The squeaking of the thick metal door startled Thiemo, causing him to flinch. An elderly man entered, dressed in a blue uniform that looked more like a suit and was decorated with various badges. In his left hand, he held a file.

“~Hello.” He took off his peaked cap, grey hair coming into sight. He placed his cap as well as the file on the table in front of Thiemo and sat down. “~I’m Major General James Hanson.”

“~Is that the reason why one of your soldiers shoved a finger so deep up my ass, or is that simply his fetish?”

The major ignored Thiemo’s words, or at least didn’t react to them. He took the file and opened the first page. “~Timo Morgan, born June 13th, 1990, one sister, Danielle Morgan, born April 2nd, 1988. Mother, Anna Carter, nee Morgan, married to Clint Carter. Father, Mike Morgan, died 1993. Lives with his grandparents in Scotland, Great Britain, who have custody for him and his sister. Grandfather is Hans Werner King, born Albrecht in 1930 in Hanover, Germany. Grandmother is Emilie King, born 1933 in London. The name ‘King’ became prominent after the war, as a small steel factory slowly became a worldwide concern. After it was bought by Thyssenkrupp in the eighties, Hans Werner King retired to his country house in order to tend to his grandchildren, for whom he had taken custody, after they had been taken from their mother, due to her history with drugs. Timo Morgan's behaviour was scrutinised during his school time, and he was expelled multiple times. A year after he graduated, he was reported missing by his family.” The major turned the page and pulled a pen from his shirt pocket. “~Would you please tell us where you have been, Mister Morgan?”

“~In a galaxy far, far away.” The major just raised a brow before he took a note in the file.

“~Maybe we should start with something simpler. Where were you in the past twenty-four hours?” As easy as it had been to retort with a clever answer for the first question, simply because he had years to think about it, it was difficult to answer the next one. Therefore, he simply remained silent. The major, however, didn’t seem to care if he talked or not. “~Maybe this will help you remember.” He rummaged around in the file a bit and pulled out a sheet of paper with a large photo on it, holding it in front of Thiemo’s nose. “~This is you, right?” He tapped on the photo.

Thiemo’s gaze wandered towards the photo. Megan was right. This was clearly the recording that had already been on TV, but in much higher resolution, making both Amaryllis and him clearly visible. The field of view was also wider. Mothma dominated a large portion of the picture. The cameraman must have tried to keep up with her, but only managed to catch her head and neck.

“~I see someone knows how to use Photoshop, but if you wanna add an alien into a picture, maybe use a better reference than a Saturday morning cartoon.”

“~Maybe,” the major replied, “~but this reference has requested asylum in the United States of America.” Thiemo had expected a lot, but not them admitting they had Mothma, especially not under their protection. “~She said that you and this female that’s pictured with you have come to kill her. That she is the last of an endangered kind, with an genocidal war being fought against her.” That wasn’t really a lie. “~All I want from you now is your part of the story. We know you had contact with life forms whose origins are not from Earth. We also know that the female in this picture is one of these life forms. Humans don’t tend to have wings.” The major grabbed the picture and put it back into the file. “~Don’t think we're stupid, Mister Morgan. All we want is to quickly resolve all of this.”

“~What’s there to resolve? Who goes to the slammer?” Thiemo stretched his arms, pointing at nothing, before he let them fall back to his side.

The major grinned. “~Definitely not. If it were up to us, no one goes to the slammer. You see, the world isn’t in the best shape. We need a morale booster and a 'first contact’ could be exactly that. Complications on such a historical day are understandable.”

“~An American first contact. Must be like a wet dream for you.”

The major didn’t get to reply. The heavy iron door behind him fell out of its hinges, falling to the ground with a loud thud. The major jumped, reaching towards his pants, but before his hand could get anywhere near a weapon, he was lifted into the air and pushed against the wall. Thiemo watched as his clothes slowly began to meld with the concrete.

“Not really cooperative, this bunch,” Megan said as she entered the room, annoyance etched on her face.

* * *

Amaryllis stood in front of the mirror in one of the guest rooms of the house. She watched her mirror image for the hundredth time now. Her mane was long again, like there had never been a human with a flaming sword searing away half of it. The numerous uneven spots on her wings from regrowing so often were gone as well, and the small scar on her right foreleg was also missing. It was as though she had never been on this entire adventure, as if she had never met Thiemo and Auralia, and still lived in her mother’s hive. She would cry, if she hadn’t already.

It hurt just thinking about it. She felt so much love, not only for Thiemo, but also her father and Cadance, Auralie, Twilight, and Lyra—so many people she would have never met.

She wished that Thiemo was here to hold her in his arms, but he was on his way with her murderer. Of course it was important that they got home, but why did it have to be with her? It didn’t help that she could feel what Megan experienced when she looked at Thiemo. The Avatar might have acted cold and remorseless, but her emotions spoke a different language. It made her feel even more depressed and angry.

Flames engulfed Amaryllis, and in the next moment, the changeling princess was gone and a human girl had taken her place. She had the same long, violet-blue hair and wings, but aside from that, she couldn’t recognize herself. Her proportions felt so alien—it was hard stand on just two legs with her new centre of mass, and with her horn no longer holding back her hair, it often blocked her view.

And these hands. So delicate, as if they could simply shatter if something happened to them. Still, she knew what these fingers were able to do, having seen and felt it herself. Smaller versions of them were on her feet, but they didn’t really seem to serve any purpose. They could neither grip the carpet she was standing on, nor were they particularly flexible. Thiemo had told her that they were there to be rammed into inanimate objects, and that she and these ‘toes’ had something in common. She still didn’t understand what he meant.

Next were the teats, or were they udders? The princess wasn’t sure that either was the name of these things on her chest. The minotaurs called them udders, according to the books she had read. She also didn’t understand why they were swollen, but that seemed to be normal. Many women she had seen had similar proportions hidden underneath their clothes.

Amaryllis jumped up and down once and watch herself in the mirror. Immediately she realized how impractical these human udders would be. Flames kissed her skin again and left her with much smaller ones. They were still clearly seen, but not so large that they tugged at her like weights as she jumped again. Plus she no longer looked like a pregnant mare.

Satisfied with the result, she began to test her balance. She tried to stand only on her right leg, then the left. After she managed to do so for a minute each, she began to jump on one leg, and it didn’t take long before she could do so with both.

“What are you doing?” Auralia’s voice startled Amaryllis. The foal stood in the doorway and watched the naked woman doing gymnastics.

The changeling princess jumped down from the bed and stretched her limbs. “Trying to get a feel for being a human.” She bent forward and touched her toes with her fingertips. She had watched Thiemo try that one morning. According to him, only millimetres had been missing.

“And? How does it feel?” the foal asked curiously as she continued to observe Amaryllis.

“Well, strange. Pony and changelings are very robust, solid, but not so agile. I mean, yeah, we can turn our legs into all kinds of directions, but that's nothing compared to what this body can do. No wonder your dad is so good at it. It’s completely different than anything I know. Even my teats are somewhere else, and I have no tail to cover my privates. Even if I had one, it would only cover my rear.” Aura nodded. “Now I can understand why humans wear clothes. Before I started with my exercises, I almost felt cold without my fur.“

“Why would anypony want to see where I pee from?” Amaryllis blinked. How should she explain that to a filly? “What’s so special ‘bout it?”

Why was her mouth so dry? “Well, it’s the place where foals come from?“ That was the best reply that came to her without being too graphic.

“Yeah, sure. I’ve seen where foals come from. From eggs.“ Amaryllis wanted to reply, but Aura was faster. “If you wanna be like all the other adults, fine. I'm not stupid.” And with that, the princess was alone again.

Shrugging—a gesture she had seen often enough—she went back to testing her body. She built up a bit of momentum, ran towards the wall, managing to get climb two footsteps before pushing herself away, spinning around in the air and landing back on her feet. She was sure she could do more than that.

* * *

Thiemo had had this feeling for quite some time. It was like a tug at his pants whenever Auralia wanted to show him something, like that annoying feeling after you just left home and you wondered if you forgot something, like a half-full bladder while getting a haircut. In short, it was annoying, but not painful. If he had given this feeling a name, it would be called Navi.

It was this feeling that dogged Thiemo's heels as he followed Megan through the underground complex of Area 51, with his companion melding the soldiers’ clothes with the wall as the duo came across them. Any bullets that were fired at them struck the force field that she had cast around them and fell to the ground like worthless scrap.

Thiemo even had a good idea what this feeling was: his talisman. The first time he had felt it only briefly as Mothma had taken it from him. It was a moment he would probably never forget, but at least now he knew that temporary separation wasn’t lethal, but rather annoying. Mosquito-bite-between-the-shoulder-blades-annoying.

“Why didn’t we do it this way from the start?” he muttered as two guards were glued at the ceiling. “I mean, it’s much easier this way.”

“I intend to have peace with the humans I vowed to protect.”

“They’re Americans. They don’t even know what that means!”

“Still... humans.”

“Yes, but assholes!” Megan stopped and turned around to Thiemo. “Okay, fine, but you have to admit, they have a higher asshole rate than the rest of the world.” Megan snorted, turned back around, and continued moving the protecting bubble forward.

“We have to take a right here.” Surely Megan understood that he was still angered over the... procedure he had to endure. They turned from one white hallway with armoured doors from time to time to the next. The only sign that they were not walking in circles were the new soldiers and the signs next to the doors. “So… you’ve been here before?”

“Difference is that all of this didn’t exist back then. It was basically just an airfield with some hangars. I think their office used to be a tarp that was held up by two jeeps, with a typewriter and a radio.” A yelp escaped from another soldier as she followed her comrade towards the wall. Thiemo wondered why they didn’t simply get out of their clothes. Was Megan really so mean that she also melted their underwear? Yes, she was, and somehow he liked that about her. Still, burning his immortal girlfriend wasn’t cool.

“I have a question. How was Blue Light? You said you knew him.” Megan stopped and turned around to him, this time with an expression that was a mixture of disbelief and pain. It struck him then. Megan had told him there had once been a Sunset Shimmer, that she had been that unicorn. She knew Blue Light and had been a member of the Children of the Night. What she never told him was the relationship the two had. “How well did you know him?”

She opened her mouth to say something, but remained silent. For a moment, Thiemo could swear he heard Light’s voice, shouting at him to not make things even worse. Maybe it was just his common sense at the sight of Megan.

“Stop asking stupid questions and tell me where we need to go,” she eventually gritted out and turned back around, her pace much faster than before.

Not that that was a problem, since she would stop every couple of seconds to glue another group of soldiers to the ceiling. If he had time to meditate and talk with Light, he would ask him himself, given that he would want to talk with Light. It was a bit ironic, given their relation, one he still wasn’t sure what to think about. Where did Blue Light stop and where did Thiemo begin? How tight was their bond?

“Over there. My talisman should be inside,“ Thiemo pointed towards a door like all the others. The sign next to the door declared the room as 'Laboratory Five'.

The digital lock beeped one last time as Megan lifted the entire door out of the hinges. The head of three scientists in yellow hazmat suits shot up to the two intruders. One stood directly above multiple objects, all of which Thiemo recognized. There was his iphone, the laptop with the added solar panels, and various pieces of clothing. Most of his clothes had rectangular holes in them, the scissors still in the hands of the culprit.

“Hey, that was my favourite Disturbed shirt!” Thiemo, still dressed in nothing more than a pair of boxers, went over and grabbed one of his shirts that was still intact and threw it over his head before taking the jeans that had been made for him in the Crystal Empire. “And where the fuck are my boots?” He waited a few seconds for a reply, but all three suits just looked at him. At least he thought so—all he could see was his reflection in their helmets.

“You should try a language they can understand,” Megan pointed out.

“Right…” The yellow suits were slowly moving away from what they were working on, their hands held into the air. A natural reaction, seeing that the duo had just barrelled through an entire company of soldiers without a scratch on them. And then Thiemo found the reason why they were here—his sea breeze crystal. It was jammed into a retainer under what seemed to be a microscope. He disliked the various pickaxes next to it. They must have tried to get a sample, but it seemed as if they were unsuccessful. “To me, my board!”

To his absolute surprise the crystal began to shake in the retainer, almost as if it wanted to break free. Unfortunately, it seemed to be too tightly wedged in, which made him walk over towards the microscope and take the crystal as well as the retainer. “~So, where are my boots?” he asked the scientist with raised hands who stood a bit away from him. “~And where is my other stuff from the hotel?”

“~Over… Over there,” a feminine voice came from one of the suits he looked at, and she pointed towards a few small bags with radiation warning stickers on them.

Rolling his eyes, he walked over and searched for the watch that Eris had given him. Much to his relief, he found it between his sneakers. They must have thought it was a normal pocket watch since it wasn’t opened, something he did now. Thousands of small stars came to the surface of the watch's face and sparkled. Not that he could read it, but he had no need for that now. It worked and didn’t seem to be damaged—that was all that mattered.

“I got it,” he said and showed Megan the watch. She just nodded and dragged a scientist over with her magic. He was clearly shaking.

“~You're going to tell me now where we can find Mothma.”

Chapter V - Act 19.6 - War

View Online

My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 19.6 – War ~

"You took longer than I thought," were the first words Mothma uttered as Megan opened the cell door. Unlike all other doors they had seen so far, these here were not only reinforced with lead, but were more like a vault than anything else. It provided scant protection against the Avatar of Fire as she swept aside several tons of steel as though it were paper. "And I see you've brought a guest."

Mothma was back in her human form as Lauren Faust. Her red, shoulder-length hair had seen better days, and the wound on her neck still looked fresh. "We made a mistake. Eris was the one who sent them, not Chrysalis." Mothma glanced past Megan over to Thiemo, who was standing quietly in the doorway. "I thought you would be in more trouble. A cell like this shouldn't be able to hold you.”

"That's because I want to be here." She rose from the bed on which she had been sitting and walked past Megan and over to Thiemo. "If my sister is really behind you being here, you probably have proof. Experience has taught me to believe nothing from someone who reeks of Chrysalis.”

For a moment, Thiemo was at a loss before he reached into his pocket and pulled out the watch. Mothma's eyes widened, and was so quick that Thiemo hardly noticed her movement as she grabbed his watch and opened it.

"Eris' Travellers Watch," she murmured, looking at the watch's face and gently stroking her hand over it. "My sister gave you that?"

Thiemo nodded tightly. "I've got questions that need answers." He snatched the watch from her hands and put it back in his pocket. "Megan told me that there are only two beings on the planet that would have the strength to send someone from here to Albion. She already said that she wasn't one, so why? Why did you send me to Albion?" Mothma stared in disbelief for a moment, then looked at Thiemo more closely before she began to laugh. Uproarious laughter escaped the chaos being, so much so that she supported herself on Thiemo's shoulder as she gasped for breath.

"YOU are one of them!" she cried suddenly and poked his forehead. "I didn't realize it earlier. Then again, you've changed so much that it's not that surprising!”

"Why?" Thiemo repeated emphatically. His whole body was shaking. He had pursued this answer for four years, and she stood there, just drawing it out. He just had to know.

"You'll have to ask Eris." That was not what he had hoped for. "It was the price I had to pay to Eris to send me here to Earth. She just wanted me to send a few people to Albion every few months. It didn't matter who they were or where they came from; said that the ‘right one’ would be one of them eventually. To be honest, I didn't care at that time. I just wanted to get away. I chose hermits, people who had no future, the homeless, or simply losers without perspective. Hardly anyone would have missed these people." She giggled a few more times. "I never believed that one would have actually come back.”

“Well I'm here and I want answers!” He shoved her away from him. "Because I think that this is no laughing matter! You've kidnapped me from my home, separated me from my family, and took away my life!" As he went after her again, his intent clear by the murderous scowl he wore and his clenched fists, Mothma struck. Her fist slammed into his stomach and the second blow glanced his right cheek. Once again, he lay at her feet.

"The first was for my children and the other for shoving me." Mothma straightened and smoothed over her blouse. "I don't know of what life you're talking about. Did you mean where you spent every evening in front of your computer with all the other losers? Where you were in that large mansion, leeching whatever money you got from your family to spend on new games and pizza? Did you want to remain forever in the care of your grandparents, or did you even plan to actually use your talent as a programmer? No, you were too comfortable living the life of a couch potato. The only thing I've taken from you were more years that you would've spent doing nothing and your family having to bear the burden. Now look at you. I don't know what you've done in the time since you've left, but apparently it has been good for you."

It was Megan who now gave Thiemo a hand and helped him to his feet. He was still too shocked to say anything or react. "Mothma's right. I've gone through the same experience myself, and without that journey, I would never have become who I am today. It's all the more important that you finish yours." For the first time he remembered, Megan smiled at him. "Do what your heart says—it's rarely let you down. Right, Light?" Again he could not respond as Megan grabbed his head and gave him a kiss. In addition to her lips, Thiemo felt something else: tears. They trembled out of the Avatar's eyes and dripped down his cheeks. Once again, he could feel Light rumbling inside his body. "Please be careful."

And in a flash, he was gone, leaving Megan and Mothma alone in the cell.

Without saying a word, Megan went over to the bed, grabbed the pillow, and snuggled in the sheets, hugging the pillow to herself.

"I told you that that's not healthy," she heard Mothma say before the older being sat down beside her and stroked her head.

* * *

Amaryllis walked into Danielle's room where Lyra sat, reading a book. "What's that?" the princess asked curiously.

Lyra jumped at the sound of Amy's voice and almost allowed the book to fall from her magical grasp. "Erm... nothing?" She tried to hide the book under the pillow that she sat on beside Danielle's bed, but the princess was faster. She wrapped the book in her own magical aura and pulled it over to her.

"~Kama Sutra?~" she read out loud. "What's this about?" The word was foreign to her, as if it had no meaning. It seemed to have to equivalent in Equish. It had to be a language she had never heard. Thiemo would surely know. "Damn it."

"Uh, what?" Lyra scrunched her muzzle in confusion.

"I'm just trying to distract myself. Not very successfully." She gave Lyra back the book that immediately disappeared under the pillow. "How is Danielle?"

The turquoise mare turned slightly red. "I was only able to give her some water," Amy felt how anxious as the mare was, "but the fever isn't going down. I don't know what'll happen if—" Lyra cut herself off as Amaryllis held her hoof out in front of her.

Several new emotions were approaching the property. Tension and unrest were the clearest, buried beneath some nervousness and others. There were many, at least ten or more, and they were approaching fast. "We have visitors."

"What?" The poor mare looked even more frazzled than ever.

"This must be the people she warned us about." Amaryllis left the room and went to the grand staircase in the hallway. "Auralia!" For a few seconds, there was silence.

"Yes?" She heard the foal call back and saw her leave the living room. "What is it?"

"We have visitors, and they aren't friends. Hide yourself somewhere." Thiemo would never forgive her should something happen to Aura. He wasn't the only one who adored the filly. She wouldn't forgive herself either.

She could see Aura rolling her eyes even from a floor higher. "Then I'll go under the couch in the living room and keep looking at this comic series that I can't understand anyway. Stupid sponge and starfish."

Satisfied with the answer, she turned to Lyra, who stood in the doorway to Danielle's room. "And you stay here with Thiemo's sister. If someone comes in except me or Auralia, throw them to the ground floor or something. Do not let anyone in." Lyra saluted and closed the door, followed by a click of the lock.

Thiemo had entrusted to her the safety of his sister and his daughter, something she only realized at that moment. She would ensure that that trust was justified, not that Thiemo had had any reason to doubt it in the past.

Flames enveloped her body briefly on the way down the stairs as Amaryllis assumed her human form, this time with a matching outfit to move in. There was loose-fitting black pants as Thiemo had worn one day. If she remembered correctly, it was suitable for training and sport. It went along with a loose-fitting white T-shirt that guaranteed the freedom to move her upper limbs. The heavy boots on her feet she had exchanged for lighter sneakers, providing her with better flexibility.

She wouldn't be able to fly, not without her wings, but she could pass as a human. All she needed was the element of surprise.

As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she could hear the cars. More of those automatic carriages, whose tires loudly squealed, broke through the automatic gate and drove up the driveway. Amy opened the door and stepped out as one human after the other poured out of the four vehicles that had entered. They had shields made of a transparent material, masks over their faces, and helmets on their heads. Weapons that were no doubt lethal and ready to use were pointed at her.

"~Put your hands over your head, step away from the door, and lie down on the ground!~" Eighteen was the number of humans Amaryllis counted in front of her, with at least twice as many weapons. They were all nervous; some were even afraid. Arms trembled as their hands gripped their weapons, and Amaryllis knew they only needed the slightest provocation to escalate the situation.

Well, she needed only one. She had seen Thiemo do it a thousand and one times and had even felt it first-hand herself. Amaryllis used her magic to catapult forward and came to stand in front of the police officer who had just spoken. She knew exactly what she had to do, and with a fluid motion, she ducked and swept her feet against his, bringing him down. At the same time, she collected ball of magic in her right hand and slammed it into his stomach the second his back touched the ground. Hundreds of magic bullets bored into his stomach and forced what had probably been his breakfast back out before he collapsed into an unconscious heap.

Before any of the others could react, she accelerated again. This time she used the momentum and pressed the next policeman, who was farthest from the last, with her left knee to the ground. At least this one didn't vomit, but it was enough to incapacitate him. The first shot was heard, but Amaryllis was gone again before the bullet could come close to where she had been.
She grabbed the arm of the shooter, and with a firm grip around his wrist, she threw him with ease over her shoulder at another police officer. With an outstretched hand, she shot some magic bullets against an officer who had raised his shield. These popped with such force against his shield that it threw him back a few meters. More shots were fired, this time directly at Amaryllis. She simply built another shield, but now she was trapped in her current position. More bullets hammered away at her shield, and Amy saw the first officers headed past her for the entrance of the house.

A flash of light in the middle of the driveway gave her the break she needed. She protected her eyes briefly with her left arm as she accelerated towards the group of five officers, who had the same idea as they had their eyes protected with her arms. She rammed the first police officer with her entire body and hurled him against the wall beside the front door. She grabbed the leg of the second officer and hurled him against the third and fourth.

Something clicked near her. "~Don't Move!~" Cold steel pressed against Amaryllis' temple.

Lightning struck the officer, causing his to spasm and fall to the ground. "You better watch your back!" she heard Thiemo call. Her coltfriend stood where the flash of light had come and fired more lightning at the officers. Unlike her, however, he could not build a shield and was forced to roll out of the way of their counter-attack.

Amaryllis' head whipped around when an officer abruptly came flying out of the living room window. He was followed by another, who landed on the first, then another. These were likely the ones who had made it inside the house.

"There are even more on the other side of the house!" Lyra's voice suddenly came from the hallway. The mare rushed down the stairs, Danielle floating in her magical aura.

Auralia came also from the living room, some blood on her hooves. "I was under the couch, I swear! But they checked there first."

Thiemo kicked the last officer to the ground, who he had previously paralyzed with lightning. He took the officer's weapon and threw it a few meters away over the lawn. “I have the watch! We need to go, now!”

Those seemed to be the magic words, as more and more police officers suddenly poured from across the lawn and from the basement pool. With a targeted magic beam, Amaryllis threw the first three back as Lyra, Danielle, and Auralia raced past her.

"Amy!" She sprinted as Thiemo cried again. His left arm was stretched out to her while he held the watch in his right hand. Danielle was at his side, Auralia clutched one of his legs, and Lyra virtually rode on his back.
A burning pain ripped into Amaryllis' left shoulder before she was able to grab onto Thiemo, and the world around them turned black.

* * *

The surprised faces of a dozen crystal guards were the first things Thiemo made out as he came to, then the spears which they directed at him.

"Human!" one of them called, and more guards came sprinting towards them.

"Hey, guys, it's me. Alfred Molina!" he shouted, raising his hands. The only thing that happened was that the spears came closer to his face. Thiemo allowed himself to take a look around. He was obviously in the entrance area of the castle of the Crystal Empire. The guards and the architecture were a very clear indication.

Oh, and here was Shining Armor coming from the teleporter and marching up to them. Thiemo had expected a much warmer reception, but that died when he saw the look on the alicorn's face.

"I'll ask only once: which side are you on?" Thiemo had enough questions himself. Firstly, why were the guards holding him prisoner right now, or why were there so many guards to begin with. After all, there were significantly more than the usual two at the entrance and one at the teleporter.

“What? What’s going on here?” Thiemo asked in surprise. The large entrance door made of adorned wood emitted a dull noise, followed by a creaking, as it was pushed into the interior space for a moment.

"The Empire is under attack. Ti has declared war on us."

*** ~ [Hammerfall - Last Man Standing] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter V - Intermission 19 - Memories

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Megan sighed as she desperately tried to find a comfortable position. Either it was one of her legs, wings, or even her tail that made it impossible.

"What's wrong?" asked the stallion as he placed his forehooves around her and hugged her from behind.

"I can’t get comfortable. How do you do that with your wings?” she complained.

"A matter of habit, I guess." She felt him gently stroke her fur with his hooves as he nuzzled her mane. "You’ve been a pony for less than a week. Give it some time." Gentle kisses wandered along her neck. "Besides," he whispered in her ear, "you feel pretty comfortable to me."

Her cheeks burned with shame. "This is something else!" She pushed Blue Light’s muzzle aside as it came into her field of vision. "I was a human being for my entire life, and then I find out that I have these powers. I find out that God, a being that I have worshipped until now, does not exist, at least not the way I thought. Then there was the reincarnation and... and it's just so much that happened in the last two years.” Her look wandered to the golden ring she wore on a chain around her neck. "And then there's the whole thing with the Children."

The light of a passing airship briefly brightened the suite in Haven Tower where the two ponies were in bed. "The Children of the Night can survive a few more days without us. This is our time for ourselves. I love you. You're my princess and my future. If you need more time, then we’ll take it slow. If you find that you can’t adjust, you can easily regenerate and be human again anytime you want. I love you either way, and you know that. "

Megan shook her head and sank back into the mattress. There was a reason why she wanted to stay in this form, and that had to do with children too.

My Little Pony

Journey

~ Intermission 19 - Memories ~

“So, that was Blue Light?” Mothma asked as she sat on the bed next to Megan. Both women hugged their knees to their chest as they leaned back against the wall and looked at the open cell door. "I had expected something more after all that you told me about him.”

"You know as well as I do that that was not him. Not really. Blue Light died long ago." Tears ran down her cheeks still.

"And yet you looked for him for a long time, just like my sister. Should I be worried about the two of you working together behind my back?"

"I didn’t even know anything about you sending people to Albion, and I’ve spoken even less to Eris. You know that I don’t have the easiest time being around you, but in her presence, it is almost unbearable." As a being of harmony, Megan had always felt somewhat uncomfortable when a creature of chaos such as Mothma was nearby, for they were opposites in one of the purest definitions of the word. "However, I love you, which is why I endure it."

"Mother would have certainly appreciated that we both understand each other so well. She was someone who could connect with each and every person."

"Do you regret ever leaving Albion?"

"Sometimes. I would like to show my kids where I grew up, visit Mother's grave with them, and show them how beautiful Albion can be. On the other hand, I know that they do not have a secure future there. Celestia has let her ponies degenerate into a race of xenophobe sissies, which was probably her goal all along. She has always been so, if one believes Mother’s stories about a young Celestia." Megan had never heard Echidna talk about Celestia as a foal. "She said both she and Luna were burned children from a world that no longer existed. She tried everything she could to help, but Celestia turned her away."

"Did she ever tell you what it's all about?"

Mothma mused for a moment. "Not that I can remember. All she kept saying was that, sometimes, it was better for some things to be lost to time."

Megan had tried. For many years, she had tried to put the past behind her, but something in her would simply not let go. Now that she knew he was out there, it would be even harder to do so. No, she had not forgotten, he has. Perhaps it was time for a new start.

"~Hello? Can someone get us down from here?~"

*** ~ [ Avicii – Waiting For Love Lyrics ] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter V - Act 20.1 - The Power of Love

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An ominous rumbling shook the hall, rattling the armour of the guards surrounding them. The large, wooden, decorated door began to splinter, having not been built to withstand such an assault, and some of the guards immediately threw themselves at it to keep it from shattering. Something was coming, and it was big.

A spear suddenly blocked Thiemo’s view and rested snugly against his cheek, his gaze being drawn back to Shining Armor. Only now did the shaman notice how dishevelled he seemed. His mane was not neatly combed as it usually was, and sweat had stuck his coat to his skin.

"Do not make me ask again," he gritted out, glaring at Thiemo. It was not the human who audibly swallowed. That was Lyra, who still clung to Thiemo and, judging by her grip, was just as afraid as himself.

"I would never turn my hand against the Empire," he hastily assured Shining. The stallion studied Thiemo for a moment before turning away with his spear.

"Paramedic! We have wounded!" shouted one of the soldiers who had been at the side of the alicorn. It took a moment before Thiemo recognized him as Rupee. The haunted look of the crystal ponies and the new armour, which now covered his entire body, made it difficult to identify him. Rupee set aside his helmet as he joined their group.

Thiemo eased Lyra’s grip on his neck as Rupee helped her down. "What's going on, Rupee?" Another bang shook the hall and the wings of the door again bulged so far inwards that it was a miracle that they held.

"The humans here in the Empire have betrayed us. Last night they overwhelmed the guards at the Crystal Heart and removed it. They were able to overrun us with an army that had been waiting outside the shield. Most of the city was in their hands within minutes." Several soldiers, whose bands on their forehooves identified them as medics, rushed towards their group. "Bring the princess and the other human to the second chamber."

Thiemo looked down where Lyra and Auralia both stood over Amy and Danielle. The former had returned to her natural form and lay unconscious on the floor, with a hole in her left shoulder. He had not noticed that she had been struck. His sister, on the other hand, seemed to be doing relatively well. She breathed steadily, something she had hardly done the last few hours.

"I suppose Cadance and Skyla are safe?" Thiemo asked as he began to help the medics move the injured onto the stretchers. Rupee was about to answer but a further bang cut him off. "Aura, make sure the door holds!"

The foal seemed momentarily surprised, then saluted and sped away. Some of the soldiers looked confused as she approached, but looked on in sheer amazement as she pounded back a large dent in the door with a hoof.

"The ..." Rupee looked with wide eyes at Auralia, then shook his head and looked back to Thiemo, who had just finished lifting Danielle onto the second carrier. "Princess Cadance is out helping where she can. Princess Skyla is below in the catacombs with the other inhabitants here in the castle, and is being protected by the guard."

"Dad!" suddenly came from Aura. "The door isn’t going to hold—" She was interrupted when something again crashed into the door, causing the wood to finally crack and splinter. "—much longer."

"You heard the foal!" Rupee barked and rushed to his ponies that stood at the entrance. "Get ready to defend the palace!"

Thiemo went behind a pillar to take cover and was about to call his daughter back, but it was too late. With a loud bang, the large door splintered into several large pieces, and bullets began to fly through the hall. Some chipped off pieces of crystal from the pillars behind which the soldiers were positioned. A few even reached the wall behind the teleporter and lodged into it. Not all did, however. Thiemo looked on as a soldier was struck in the leg, and the piece of crystal pierced through his armour, flesh, and bone. His cry of pain was drowned out by the roar of the attackers.

My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 20.1 - The Power of Love ~

Thiemo peered out from behind the pillar, looking for his daughter, but all he could see at first glance were humans pouring through the now open entranceway into the hall. Some of them had typical weapons like swords or spears in their hands, but these seemed to be from the defeated Crystal Guard. They were too small to really be meant for a human being. What surprised him were the weapons the rest had. Pistols, made in a way he had never seen before, were pointed at the defenders and fired. He just managed to take cover as a large part of the column above his head was blown off. Splinters flew in all directions, and he quickly rushed behind another pillar.

At the entrance, the ponies fought bravely against the human invaders, rushing them with their own swords and spears, but were warded off too easily. Thiemo saw how a man simply snatched a spear out of a guard’s hooves and stabbed his own sword between the pony’s shoulder and neck where a gap in his armour was exposed.

"Fire!" came a call from further back in the room as arrows made of crystal flew over Thiemo’s head. Wherever they landed, it immediately turned everything into a prison of ice. Some humans were struck in the chest and were frozen over in the blink of an eye before they topped over and shattered into a thousand pieces.

The humans responded with volleys from their pistols that seemed to shoot magic bullets. It had a devastating effect on the crystalline nature of the Empire’s denizens, as a pony, one of the paramedics, had his right hind leg practically blown off when he was struck. Thiemo saw his sister fall to the floor and remained motionless as the teleporter flashed. At least Amy had managed to get out.

Gathering his courage, Thiemo accelerated, slipping across the last meters across the floor and pulling Danielle with him behind a column at the back end of the hall. "Are you all right?" he asked out of habit, but she was still unconscious. He could ill-afford to wait for her to wake up. Auralia was in the middle of the fighting, and that was the last place where he wanted her to be.

He leaned his sister against the pillar and looked around at the hall again. A number of ponies and men were already lying on the ground, bleeding, groaning, or no longer moving. The Crystal Guard still withstood the waves of onslaught from the humans, but they would eventually lose ground. Time was a luxury the ponies did not have.

Then he saw Auralia. The explosion of the door must have thrown her against the wall to its right. An imprint of the door was still visible in the crystal. Now she was busy abusing a human in the fashion of a baseball bat. Her teeth had caught the ankle of his left leg, and she swung him at his comrades who dared to approach her. But how long it would last was questionable, especially since she was liable to be shot.

Thiemo could not allow himself to idly stand by any longer. He took a deep breath and rose from the squatting position he was in. This was a war and he could die, something whispered in his mind. But even more than he did not want to die, he wanted to keep Auralia alive. He sprinted into the fray with a war cry.

The first man began to turn to face Thiemo as lightning began to gather in both hands. He did not stop, only ramming his hand into the stomach of the man, who had been fighting a pony just moments before, and allowing the magic to do the rest. The man, perhaps only a few years older than himself, twitched, white froth gurgling from his mouth before he collapsed. Thiemo breathed deeply once even as the smell of burnt flesh reached his nose, but he had no time to think about it. With another flash of his totem, he raced on.

Again he did not slow down but rammed into another man at full speed. The unfortunate soul was lifted off the ground as he flew back against one of the pillars. A loud crack sounded and he went to the ground, blood marking the place where he had struck.

Something crashed into Thiemo’s back, and he staggered slightly before he caught himself. He had no time to think about it. Turning on the spot, he produced an icicle with both hands and hurled it in the direction from which the shot had come. He nailed a man with a pistol through his shoulder and into the wall of the hall.

"Dad!" he heard his daughter call and then he accelerated in the direction from which the voice came. Auralia had been encircled. Bloody patches were all around them, and about five humans lifted their guns at her.

With another cry, he raced into the group and tore into the first of the five. With as much magic as he could muster into his acceleration, he threw the invader over his shoulder, hurling him like a cannonball through the room.

The other four turned in his direction, but it was too late. Auralia had seized the moment to pull another attacker off his feet. The man cried out as her teeth set around his ankle, and with a quick movement of her neck, he clapped his head against the nearby wall. Thiemo had snatched the third one who was next to him. With a quick blow against the hands holding the pistol, he prevented his face from being hit and kicked the man in the stomach. Without accelerating, however, it only made the invader stumble back. This left him enough time to hunt for the weapon that Aura had dropped. Thiemo had never used such a weapon, but the trigger and hammer were easy to understand.

Still slipping, he turned around and fired wildly in the direction of the two men who were now behind him. One of the red magic bullets from the weapon struck the man in the chest and left behind a gaping crater on the slumping body.

"Sir?" called the other person, a woman, as Thiemo now realized by the voice, who looked down at him in bewilderment. The gun in her hands trembled but was still pointed at him.

"What?" Before he could formulate any further eloquent queries, a spear bored through her side until it came out of her neck again. With a gurgling sound, she fell to the ground.

Thiemo's gaze wandered to the pony, Rupee, to whom the spear belonged. "Come on, we'll beat them back!" he yelled over the tumult and reached for a sword with his muzzle. As soon as the pony had come, he was gone again. He jumped over some bodies lying on the ground, and, true to his words, ran back into battle. This had shifted significantly back to the entrance. Arrows still whirled over the heads of the ponies and iced the humans who wanted to move. The entrance was too narrow to evade the projectiles.

For a moment he wondered why no more humans came, but then Thiemo remembered that there were four such entrances, all looking the same. His gaze flew through the room. Something disturbed him.

"Where did Shining Armor go?" he asked himself in bemusement as he straightened.

"Dad? Are you all right? "Auralia asked as she stepped to his side. “These evil people wanted me to go with them, but I showed them what I thought of them." She grinned at him. Thiemo wondered if she had even understood what was going on.

"Aura! Do you see the guards by the teleporter? They’ll send you to the others. "

"But Dad—"

"NOW!" He rarely raised his voice, but this was one of those moments.

Auralia flinched. She did not nod or salute, but she did as she was told. He followed her for a moment with his eyes before looking at the gun in his hand. It bore the resemblance of something someone had fused the chamber of a revolver with a Glock. He pushed the ejector and the chamber jumped out of the frame, a polished ruby glowing with magic. Darkly, he remembered what they learned from Index, of how humans had mastered magic thanks to the zebras. This was probably the result.

Some bursts were fired occasionally, but most of the humans armed with pistols lay on the ground. The icy arrows, however, maintained their rapid fire as from the moment they had first been let loose. It was one of the reasons why Thiemo continued to duck. They flew just so high over the air so that ponies weren’t struck. They weren’t what one would call the best fighters, especially in a one on one situation, but they knew how to use their disadvantages to their advantage.

Then there was a sudden outcry, and Thiemo’s attention turned with some other humans down the giant stairs that led to the entrance. Even the ponies suddenly turned to look at the stairs, then threw themselves aside. For a moment, Thiemo was unaware of what the commotion was about, but then something broke through the destroyed door, something which should not have passed through.

It was a kind of gigantic insect. From top to bottom, it was covered in thick plates of chitin and with two thick horns on its head that reminded him more of a ram than something else. The force with which it raced into the room also brought Thiemo from his feet. However, it did not stop, trampling through the archers at the end of the hall. Two simply disappeared under its gigantic hooves and burst like tomatoes under the immense weight.

This would at least clarify the riddle of what had knocked down the door earlier. It was a gigantic changeling, only that he had no wings and no carapace. Not even the eyes resembled those of Amaryllis’ brothers and sisters. In addition to the normal changeling eyes, he had an additional two smaller ones where normally eyebrows should be. And all four were bright red as they looked at him.

"Damn it!"

It screeched once and pawed at the ground before it charged again. The rest of the archers were able to jump to safety as it set its sight on Thiemo. This monster was equivalent to a changeling-inspired tank, and he had to accelerate to dodge. Thiemo was able to escape as the changeling missed him and rammed into the wall with his head, but the force of the impact was enough to get Thiemo off his feet yet again. It took him to the door and he rolled down the first steps.

He hurriedly rose again, but shrank as pain ricocheted through his body. A look at the source, at an angle that could not be healthy, a clearly broken left arm. There was no time to rue his luck. Crystals flew in all directions as the changeling extended the entranceway again, only this time it was too late to dodge, and Thiemo closed his eyes as he waited for the impact.

"You will cease your actions, monster!" echoed a voice so loudly that Thiemo’s ears rung, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw the gigantic mass that was the changeling lifted in the air. A bright blue aura had enveloped the being, and he saw how it tried to move its head. No, not move. With a loud crack, he heard the neck of the changeling, or whatever served as such, break and then it was flung far into the distance.

Thiemo turned around and found the source of magic far in the air above him. Cadance hung in the air and radiated magic like a second sun. Her eyes blazed with a white light as she seemed to look at the streets below her. "My name is Mi Amore Cadenza and I command you! Lay down your arms or feel my wrath!" she yelled as she went into a nosedive and headed for some skyscrapers. Magic missiles followed her where she flew, and he saw her aim. On one of the skyways stood a squad of men that fired their pistols at the approaching princess. He also saw how some seemed to have found their target, but it did not seem to bother Cadance.

A giant beam of magic erupted out of her horn, and within a blink, it was raining pieces of what was once a skyway.

She did not descend, but flew higher and looked down at the streets. "All soldiers, cleanse this city of all invaders! If they not drop their weapons, show no mercy!" And again she went into a nosedive, only this time she disappeared behind several high-rise buildings, and Thiemo lost sight of her.

"You heard the princess!" The voice of a pony came from behind Thiemo, causing him to flinch. He had been so absorbed in the sight of Cadance that he had forgotten for a moment what was going on. "We're getting our city back!" There was a loud bellow of approval, then a few ponies rushed past Thiemo down the stairs.

For a moment, he wanted to follow them, but that was a stupid idea. Not only was he hurt, they fought against humans. He needed only to find a troop that did not know him, and he would have a spear in his back. He did the only thing he could do and went back slowly to the hall.

There were bodies everywhere. Some groaned, others writhing in pain, but most of them were motionless. Most of the otherwise light blue soil was red, and he had trouble to avoid stepping on it. Only then did he notice that his boots were already red to the ankles.

Taking a deep breath through his mouth, he trudged across to a column that Rupee leaned across. "You look like shit," commented the latter as Thiemo slumped down beside him.

"I'd like to give the compliment back." A spear through his stomach was simply not his style. "Thoughts?"

"I fought for my country and my princess and we won. That's what counts." The stallion coughed some blood on the ground. "I will die with the knowledge that my foals can grow up safely." Thiemo nodded.

"Can I do anything?" He waited a moment, but there was no answer. His gaze wandered over and he saw that the eyes of Rupee were closed. From this, a surviving human seemed to find new strength. Thiemo watched mutely as the man struggled to get himself upright. A sword was stuck in his right arm and an arrow had turned his leg into a single ice block.

He leaned against one of the columns and then saw Thiemo. "Help me..." he croaked. Thiemo lifted his right arm and pulled the trigger, then dropped the gun to the ground. He leaned his head back and looked through the open door where a gigantic shield began to build from the sky around the Empire. So that was where Shining had disappeared to.

His gaze wandered further down as he saw something coming in, or rather, something appeared in the entrance. It was completely black and looked like a mantis, only that it had claws in its upper limbs instead of pincers. Red eyes glowed and its tongue clicked as the eyes of the creature wandered around. Red wings were at the sides of the creature, rustling audibly.

"Hells Bells…" As one of his heroes would say.

Chapter V - Act 20.2 - Justice

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 20.2 – Justice ~

The changeling hissed, searching the area with its dark red eyes. The fangs in its mouth clicked and the long red wings at its back were buzzing. The claws curved a slight angle, like those of a mantis, making them look rather short. The head of the creature turned slightly as a muffled whimper came from one of the ponies on the ground. Like a coiled spring, the right claw lashed out, piercing through the pony and lifting it in front of its head. To Thiemo’s horror, the pony was still alive and screamed in pain as not only his foreleg was severed, but sharp claws were buried into his stomach.

What passed for a mouth stretched unnaturally open before relative quiet returned, the break in the silence coming from the thud of the pony’s body, sans head, flopping onto the ground. The changeling chewed on its meal like it was bubble gum, pausing only to lick its three-fingered claws clean.

Everything that had occurred during the last thirty minutes caught up with Thiemo, manifesting in the form of burning acid bubbling in his throat. Paired with a gagging sound, what little had been in his stomach now mixed with the blood splattered on the ground.

It was, however, not the only noise that sounded through the room. A whimper could be heard, now that everything else was dying down. No, it was actually crying, only so faint that Thiemo hadn’t recognized it right away. And he wasn’t the only one to notice. The monster, which had taken a few steps into the hall, also sought the source. Thiemo found it first. Far away, in the last corner behind the teleporter where he had laid down his sister, he found golden eyes that were filled with terror and tears as they looked into his.

The little he could see of Lyra was shaking, wailing, and sobbing as she was now exposed from behind the pillar. Thiemo had completely forgotten about her. She had simply gone unnoticed in the chaos that had occurred. Now she had chosen the absolutely worst time to be detected again.

“Lyra! Run!” Thiemo yelled at her and, with a bit of help from the pillar, lifted himself back onto his legs.

The changeling first looked at Lyra, then to Thiemo, and then repeated the movement. Then it did something that he hadn’t expected. It laughed, the sound freezing Thiemo. He had heard a similar laugh before, and a shiver ran down his spine. This was no simple laugh; this was the laugh of evil that had just found its new favourite toy. The laugh, although slightly different, was that of Nightmare Moon.

Then it charged forward. With the speed that would make a leopard envious, it ran on its six stilt-like legs directly towards Lyra. The mare yelped and cowered. For a moment, Thiemo wondered why she didn’t flee, but then he realized that she was protecting Danielle with her own body.

Thiemo began to move and once again gathered magic in his right hand. He was faster than the changeling, but just in the moment as he caught up to it, it turned around and swiped him with the back of its left claw. He flew a couple of meters and slid over the floor until a soft body stopped him. He had no time to catch his breath, as the mantis-like changeling was charging at him now, trying to trample him. He rolled to the side at the last second, and it struck the body he had been leaning against, but it still had enough legs left. Thiemo continued rolling, but one of the legs caught his coat and he heard it rip. Then a third leg struck his stomach. A loud yelp escaped his lips as inhuman strength was forced upon his body.

The changeling did not attempt to push him further. It instead held him in place as Thiemo tried to lift its leg off with his healthy hand, but to no avail. It leaned down to him, the glowing red eyes staring directly into his. The fangs in the changeling’s mouth clicked rapidly, and it chuckled.

A short flash of light was all the warning he got, as in the next moment a magical bolt struck the changeling in the back of its head. “Leave… Leave him alone!” Lyra’s voice sounded. She was sobbing. “Leave him alone!“ she repeated and shot again. This time, the changeling simply dodged by moving its head.

For a moment, it seemed torn whether it should keep its attention on him or Lyra. Then it pushed its leg down against his stomach one last time before turning towards Lyra. Lyra squeaked again and various magical missiles flew through the room. She wasn’t a good shot, and paired with her fear, most of them missed their target. The rest posed no problem to the changeling, which slowly stomped over towards Lyra.

“Lyra…” Thiemo panted now as air filled his lungs again. Once more he tried to stand up, but the infernal pain was keeping him from that. He was no doctor, but he was sure he shouldn’t be tasting blood in his mouth.

* * *

Never in her life had she felt so much terror as in this moment. Her legs were shaking, her view was increasingly blurry, and hiccups shook her every few seconds. “Leave me alone!” she screamed at the creature that stalked towards her.

It was as though it had emerged from one of Lyra’s worst nightmares. As it slowly came closer, it seemed to almost enjoy the situation. Her hooves wanted her to run, but her heart told her that she couldn’t leave Danielle to this thing. She could never forgive herself for this if she did.

And then it stood in front of her.

It looked down at her as if it wanted to say “Now what?” However, it gave her no time to formulate an answer. Its left claw wrapped around her neck and it slowly began lifting her. It was so quiet that when Thiemo dimly called her name, that she mistook it for her own heartbeat. She couldn’t breathe as it began to increase pressure. Tears were running down her cheeks, but that didn’t seem to be enough for the monster. It wrapped its right claw, pincer by pincer, around Lyra’s right foreleg.

Her mouth opened to plead, but it was too late. With one strong pull, it ripped her leg from her body. She wanted to scream, to shriek and screech, but nothing escaped her lips. Frantically, she tried to gasp for air, but it just kept pushing harder. Crimson chaos danced before her eyes, her head pounding as she began to convulse, white agony streaking across her senses, latching onto every heartbeat that pumped her lifeblood from her body.

Harsh crunching could be heard, and her leg disappeared from the world.

The crimson mask began to fade into a veil of darkness, merciful unconsciousness pleading her to be embraced into its arms, but then she could feel the horror creeping up to her left foreleg. Once again, the menacing claws wrapped around her leg.

“Big mistake.” She couldn’t make out who had spoken, though suddenly the creature released her, and air filled her lungs again. But she could no longer keep her eyes open.

* * *

Thiemo flinched and the memory of pain streaked through his body as he had to watch with wide open eyes as Lyra‘s right foreleg was ripped from her body. No scream penetrated the room, her hind legs rapidly spasmed, then she was no longer moving.

With his last remaining ounce of strength, he finally stood up, but his mouth was immediately filling with blood, forcing him back to his knees. The creature had hit something important, that was clear. Without adrenalin pumping through his veins, he surely would have long been completely rendered immobile. And if that wasn’t enough already, he began to feel the first pangs of dizziness swim around his head. He tried to reach out his hand to give the changeling the shock of its lifetime, but he immediately lost his balance and had to brace himself with the hand again.

In that moment, the changeling slammed against the wall a couple of meters next to him. Thiemo’s head jerked up. There, where the changeling had just stood, was his sister. Her eyes were glowing white, massive snowy wings spread out from her back. In her extended left hand was the claw as well as the arm of the creature. A green, thick substance dripped to the ground.

Her wings twitched, then something shot past Thiemo so quickly that he was thrown back to the ground. A distressed yelp pierced through the air and the castle got another hole as Danielle pounded through the wall with the creature’s body.

For a moment, it was completely silent, then a thud could be heard as the body of the creature fell back into the room through the ceiling. Danielle followed through the same hole. Her top was torn, probably because of the wings on her back and her hair had gotten loose. She levitated down into the room and landed aside the changeling, who had not moved since it had landed.

“My name is Danielle, the Judge. I am Justice! For your actions, I sentence you to death. Make your peace!” Thiemo didn’t see where she pulled it from, but with a hand she suddenly drew forth a giant claymore from between her wings. It was as simple as it was noble. The pommel and the ends of the crossguard were made of the same metal as the guard and hilt themselves, but decorated with a fine pattern. The blade, which seemed to be made out of stainless steel, shimmered in the golden light. That was everything Thiemo could see. His sister stepped on the lifeless body and buried the sword in the long neck of the changeling. All six legs flinched and the remaining claw tried to swipe at her, but to no avail. Then it was motionless.

Leaving the sword in its place, Danielle stepped down from the large creature and with a few steps went over to Lyra. “A great injustice has been inflicted upon you. I cannot give you back what you lost, but I may soothe your pain,” she said as she went down on a knee and embraced the mare in her arms. Her wings wrapped around them like a cocoon, and once again a golden radiance flared up.

With Lyra still in her arms, she rose again, turning towards Thiemo. He looked at the mare resting in her arms, a stump where her leg had once been. But there was no more blood and, judging by her face, no pain as she rested against Danielle’s bare chest.

She now walked over to him, her eyes still with a radiant glow, as she once again stepped over the changeling as though it hadn’t even been there. Thiemo wanted to speak, but she put an arm around his shoulders, forcing him to sit down with ease.

“You will live,” she spoke in a whisper, which was still as loud as normal person talking. “Please watch over her.” She passed Lyra to him, and just as the mare leaned against his body, Danielle collapsed. Thiemo barely managed to catch her with his own body. Unfortunately, it turned into a rather uncomfortable situation, as his sister’s exposed femininity pressed against his right shoulder. With a moan, he slightly knocked his head against the wall and mentally prepared to wait for help.

* * *

As the shield began to form around the Empire, Cadance took a break for the first time today. Even with the near limitless love of the Empire which replenished her power, her body began to ache. She no longer felt her wings, and so she landed on a smaller skyscraper at the edge of the city centre.

Her gaze first wandered down to the streets. A unit of soldiers ran between the civilians on their way to castle, looking for stragglers. She didn’t count how many humans she had eliminated, but there couldn’t be many left.

A scream immediately brought her into the skies, and she shot in the direction where she thought it was coming from. As she saw fleeing citizens in the street, Cadance knew that this was the right place. She began to descend and followed the small family, consisting of a stallion, mare, and two foals, who were on the run with some saddlebags. “What happened?” she asked hastily.

Not just the family, but also some other ponies stopped as they saw Cadance. “The humans, they are coming our way! They almost ran over us!” the stallion shouted and pointed towards the shield.

She nodded. “The castle should be safe. A group of soldiers are two blocks away. They will escort you to safety.” It seemed as though the humans were retreating. As soon as the shield surrounded the Empire again, not only the harsh winter would be stuck outside, but their reinforcements as well, if there were any. A hundred, maybe two hundred humans, it couldn’t have been any more. Never enough to capture or even defeat the Empire. But why this attack? Just as soon as she had reached out her hoof to offer peace? What did they hope to gain from this attack?

There were simply too many questions, which meant that she would need prisoners. The option to simply let them go, in order to avoid further bloodshed, was not available.

Once again, she rose into the skies and flew in the direction the stallion had been pointing. She left behind the high buildings of the centre until large fields graced the landscape. Cadance noticed nothing unusual, but then it clicked. Many of the farms were destroyed, as if they all exploded. She searched for the described group of humans, but only found empty streets.

“The fields,” Cadance mumbled and looked down at hills filled with crystal corn and wheat.

Then she saw something between the plants. Something was moving, knocking down everything in its path. It was no human. Hastily, she rushed downwards and a familiar feeling began to spread in her. No, there were two. One was that of fear, and images of Chrysalis flooded her mind. The other was the feeling she always had near the Crystal Heart. The feeling of complete comfort, to be loved while lying beneath your mother’s hooves.

As she approached the creature, she immediately realized why it reminded her of Chrysalis. It was a changeling, there was no doubt about it, but one she had never seen before. What caused her blood to freeze in her veins was what it carried in its claws.

The Crystal Heart was pulsing wildly in the changeling’s claws, whose chitin seemed to burn where it touched it, only that it didn’t seem to mind. Immediately Cadance attacked, gathering magic in the tip of her horn, but before she could fire, something grabbed her by the hind legs and pulled her out of the sky. With a yelp, she looked downwards and saw another of those preying-mantis-like changelings, whose claws were wrapped around the ankles of her hind legs.

It pulled as strongly as it could and eventually threw her through the air. She tried to catch herself, but it was too late. She slammed on hard crystal, turning another house to ash. Just in time, she managed to catch the roof with all four hooves before it crushed her. “Not… today,” the princess spat out, gnashing her teeth as she used her strength the push the debris off her.

She needed a moment to stand and beat the dust out of her wings, but she was ready again, something the changeling didn’t seem to realize. It had turned its back towards her, rushing through the fields to catch up to its comrade.

This time it was Cadance who grabbed it by the hind legs and went even further by ripping out the two middle legs straight from its body. The changeling yelped in a high pitched voice. “No one attacks those I swore to protect without paying for it.” She didn’t care if the changeling understood her or not—this was more of a morale boost for herself than anything. The changeling was now fought against her magic, and much to Cadance’s surprise, she was struggling to keep it contained within. Quickly, she realized why. She was too far away from the ponies who loved her. Her subjects and family were all in the centre, and without the Crystal Heart in its place, her power would dwindle ever further. She was working against time.

With that knowledge in mind, she brought that creature closer to herself, turning its head sharply one-hundred-eighty degrees before it could try to escape again. Only then did she release it. She waited a moment to make sure that it was dead before rising into the air once again. The other one couldn’t have gotten far.

Déjà vu struck the princess as once again her hind legs were caught in mid-air. This time, however, she was not slammed into a house, but against the hard ground. The creature didn’t relent. Before she could recover from the first strike, it dragged her body again, slamming her against the ground once more. She screamed as two of the remaining legs brought her closer towards the fangs.

“I will kill you, Princess, but first, I will make every one of your nightmares come true. I will process your spouse into meat and feed him to you. I will give your daughters to my changelings as a toy and your ever so precious half-blood will have her legs ripped out again and again until she wishes she could no longer regenerate. I will bathe you in acid and pour burning lava down your throat. I will create a special kind of changeling that will lay eggs in your bodies, that will burst through your chest when they hatch. Again and again.” Cadance stared with wide open eyes into the glowing red ones of the changeling. “I will kill everypony in the Empire, use their flesh to bolster the sails of my fleet and their meat for my army. I will destroy everything that you love, what you are, and what you represent.” Cadence whimpered as it grabbed her wings. “And not just you. Equestria. Everything.” Cadance’s scream echoed through the Empire as the changeling, with one strong pull, ripped the wings from her body. The creature chuckled as it let her fall to the ground. “Do you know who I am?” it asked the prostrate mare. “I am your worst nightmare.”

Faster than the changeling could react, the horn of the princess pierced into its body. “My nightmares are worse.” There was no sound, only myriads of pieces that once were a changeling that now rained down on the ground around her.

Chapter V - Act 20.3 - Aftermath

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My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 20.3 - Aftermath ~

Danielle had never thought of herself as physically above average. Of course, there was her job and the general but rather active lifestyle associated with rural life, but she did not engage in active sports. Neither did she subscribe to early morning jogging, nor had she swum for more than four or five lanes in the pool on occasion. So it was that she seldom felt anything like muscle soreness. Perhaps after a long day, if she worked overtime, her legs ached a little the next morning.

This time, it was her entire body.

Her muscles felt as though they were made of clay when she slowly came to her senses. She moved her arms as slowly as she could, not that she had much choice at that moment, and pressed with her hands away from the mattress, on which she was lying on her stomach. She felt the blanket slipping from her legs and falling to the ground, and also realized, through the haze in her mind, that this was the only thing that covered her.

She slowly opened her eyes, her body trembling lightly. Everything seemed blurred, a uniformed white mass. Even her right hand was no more than a hazy spot in her eyes. Danielle groaned and slowly turned her head to the side, where more than two colors greeted her. Dark, purple patches, long and slightly moving, stood out strongly from what had to be a white wall. Noises from behind the dark patches reached her ears, and she realized that this was a window with curtains.

The sounds were familiar: voices with different inflections and tones, the tapping of hooves, and fresh wind blowing into the room. For a moment, she thought she was back in the estate of her grandparents, and that old McGilford had once again unloaded his horses in the pasture in front of the house. But that could not be. She had last been in New York with her brother and the others. However, that was not their voices she had heard. There were too many and seemed to come from a distance. Where was she?

Carefully, slowly, trying to avoid further pain, Danielle brought her right hand to rub her eyes. It felt like she was removing a scab from a wound, but her gaze at least cleared. What had been different splotches of colour was now a bed with white sheets, a similarly hued head pillow, and a dark lilac duvet on the floor. The curtains were now visible, the wind flirting with them. She looked around. The entire room seemed like a one in a noble and old country house. Dark wood was evident in the form of cupboards and table, along with a white wallpaper decorated with bright blue ornaments showing a floral pattern that ended in a bud of a single gem.

However, her eyes remained on the mirror hanging from the front of the wardrobe, which stood beside the door leading into the room. She gazed at herself as she leaned on the edge of the bed with her arms bent on her knees, with a slightly stooped posture, and seemed to stare at the deep rings under her eyes. Or perhaps it was the large white wings that were folded on her back.

The first attempt to get on her legs failed, and she fell back onto the mattress. The second time, however, she succeeded, and with her left hand on the wall, she stumbled against the mirror. Despite that, the wings were still there and not a prank her tired eyes had played her. White wings lay visibly over her shoulders and twitched slightly. As soon as she thought about trying to move them, they spread apart, and it was that she managed to grab onto the handle of the wardrobe did she not lose her balance and fall to the unforgiven ground.

When she once again stood safely on her feet and added the weight of the wings to her balance, she came to the ultimate conclusion that these would soon become little more than annoying. Soon enough after she had finished the thought, the weight on her back disappeared as each feather from her wings began to detach themselves in a manner akin to leaves from a tree. Even before they could touch the ground, they dissolved in a golden light. The entire thing did not last more than ten seconds and no sign remained that she had ever had wings. At least there were the dark spots on her shoulder blades where the bones of the wings had sprouted.

For a few seconds, Danielle continued to focus on her reflection, her torso still half-twisted so she could see her back. "What the hell," she muttered, turning her gaze away. She found something else interesting in the mirror. Over the bedside hung her pants, only she did not recognize the jeans covered in gems. The bright blue, which had become quite grey in some places, had its old colour back. Also, all the holes had been repaired, even the ones that had been part of the design. It was done so flawlessly that, even as she pulled the pants over her legs, she could not spot a single stitch or seam. Still, she was grateful for every piece of clothing, no matter how ostentatious it was.

When she was no longer completely naked, the urge came back to find out where she was. Besides, it was legal to go around topless in New York, right?

Shaking her head, her stomach twisting slightly, she opened the door and stepped into what looked like a studio apartment. The living room was furnished with opulent furniture, but much more modern than the one in the bedroom. In the middle of the white living room was an open fireplace, and she also spotted a kitchen that was decorated with black marble. A stairway to her right went up a floor, where there were other doors. Whoever had lived here had money.

The thought of a phone suddenly shot through her head, but the usual place of her cell phone, her jeans’ pockets, was empty. She went past the living room into the open kitchen and only then did she realize that everything seemed a little smaller. Not much, but enough that she noticed. No telephone could be seen far and wide. Then her gaze fell to the large window, which almost covered the entire wall near the staircase.

Crystals, as tall as the building she occupied and some even higher, stretched into the sky and gleamed in the morning sun. She almost slipped on the tiles as she hurried to the window to get a better view. As far as the eye could see were gigantic crystal structures, some even connected with sky walks. Could she believe what lay before her? Danielle looked down and immediately took a step back. The road was still visible, and small dots in various colors moved en masse and hurried around, filling the street. However, no cars or anything similar could be seen. Had someone covered Coruscant with crystals? Instinctively, she took another step back from the window, stumbled over the arm of the sofa and tumbled on it.

"Darling!" She suddenly heard a voice, her head swiveling around to find the source. "I see you’ve finally decided to arise from your beauty sleep. How are you?" According to who stood in front her, not good. Hallucinations were notorious signs of a stroke. But it was not a hallucination, she reminded herself. Equestria was real; her brother had been there. She had met Lyra, Amaryllis, and Auralia. They had gone to New York to talk to Lauren Faust about it. What she also knew what that that was not New York out there. In conclusion, what had just come down the stairs with worried expression on her face was not hallucination. It was Rarity. Not a flash-animated Rarity—she could see every hair in her mane and how her chest rose with every breath. And now the mare stood right in front of her.

"You are so pale." The mare lifted a foreleg and laid her hoof against Danielle’s brow.

"Ditto," the latter muttered slightly, which the mare probably overheard.

"No fever," she finally said, smiling at her. "Can I offer you something to eat?" Rarity did not wait for an answer. She went past Danielle to the kitchen and began to put on a pot of water. In itself, that was nothing special except that she did all this by making the pot float around.

"Rarity?" Danielle finally said as she sat up.

The mare turned around, while in her light blue aura she chopped carrots, celery, and other herbs with a knife. "Oh, where have my manners gone again?" She bowed her head slightly and crossed her front legs. "My name is Rarity Belle de Lippiranza, Knight of Generosity under her Royal Majesty Crown Princess Twilight Sparkle, Countess of and to Ponyville." She raised her head again. "And it is my honour to meet you, Lady Danielle." For a brief moment, all that was to be heard was the knife working its way through the vegetables.

"I'm glad to meet you, too," Danielle finally replied, and the mare turned back to the kitchen. A slight hum was heard.

For a minute or longer, the woman watched as Rarity worked. The mare dunked every piece of the chopped vegetables into the pot of water and began to stir while she peeled some potatoes at the same time. She scuttled back and forth as though she had never done anything else, her eyes always closed when Danielle could see them. It was almost as if she was dancing and her hum gave the beat.

"What can it be for you, dearie? Would you prefer soup or rather mashed potatoes with fresh carrots?" The question brought Danielle out of her trance and she saw Rarity grace her with a smile.

"The latter." With a nod, the mare turned back to the stove. "Miss Rarity, I—"

"Only Rarity is fine, darling. We're all friends here."

"Where are we? What happened and where is my brother?" escaped from her. The questions had already been on the tip of her tongue from the moment she saw Rarity. "Or Auralia and Amaryllis?"

The mare sighed audibly. "Well, I do not know myself. Unfortunately, I have only been able to speak briefly with Auralia. But after what she told me, you had a strong fever. They brought you here to help you."

"Equestria?" Danielle asked, then looked out the window.

"The Crystal Empire," Rarity corrected gently. "Regrettably, you arrived at a very unfavourable moment. A group of humans penetrated and stormed the palace with the aid of some changelings." Danielle's eyes widened. Humans had attacked the Empire together with changelings? Humans? Thiemo had never said anything about them. "They have found you and your brother by a pillar. He had several broken ribs and internal bleeding."

"How is he?!" Immediately, she was on her legs.

"He's better. All he needs now is bed rest. He’s sleeping up in Applejack's room." Danielle did not lose a second. She hurried from the living room to the stairs. She almost stumbled over the second step as it was unusually low, but she managed to ascend. Three doors were in front of her, but only one was open, and she went into the room at the end of the hall.

It was smaller than the bedroom in which she had woken up and was much more sparsely decorated. Simple wallpaper, white and orange stripes, a dressing table of light wood, and a bed of the same material was all that she saw. In the bad lay her brother. A blanket covered his legs, leaving his bandaged upper body free. Cushions were left and right next to his body, preventing him from turning to the side. His hair was matted and almost touched his shoulder, a sure sign that he needed a haircut.

Beside the bed was a small stool and beside it an iron bucket with a fresh cloth. "I just washed him," Danielle heard Rarity say as she entered the room. "I also gave him water. Let's see if he keeps the soup down today."

"Shouldn't he be in the hospital?" Danielle asked, puzzled.

"It is sadly overcrowded. They needed the space for worse cases. Come, let's leave him to his rest." Danielle glanced at Thiemo, then closed the door behind her.

They walked down the aisle and went to the stairs. "How long have we been here?"

"Three days. I was the one to bring you here. I was already on my way when the attack took place." Danielle stopped abruptly. Rarity had not only looked after her brother for three days, but apparently also her. Danielle would have stunk after three days in bed. Plus she would have had to clean up after them as well, as the human body did not adjust simply because they were unconscious.

"Everything all right, dear?" Rarity asked, still smiling.

* * *

Amaryllis stared dully at the mass of ponies who had arrived that morning. Thousands alone occupied the large square under the palace, thousands more around the palace. Pegasi had taken advantage of their wings and hovered in the air, something that took not a little effort. Even the lowest steps to the entrances were filled. Everywhere were ponies, along with some changeling, but not a single human being, no signs of the creatures that loomed over them all. She had seen so many in the streets before. Some had waved to her when she'd been out in the streets, friendly with a smile. Not one remained here or in the Empire.

They had betrayed her. No, not all. Thiemo was still there, and now his sister. Two of many, but they were on this planet, though not here. Not that she expected Thiemo to be here—after all, he was seriously injured. Still, Amaryllis wanted nothing more than her beloved by her side, his hand around her neck as he held her and his gentle voice that promised her that everything would be all right.

Even if he were here, such promises would ring hollow. It would never be the same again. She knew it and everyone else. Her aunt was sitting in the front row, the streaks of tears created groves in her fur. Both her grandmother and great aunt were to her right, both visibly dejected. Still, these two had seen countless others come and go. They seemed more composed, but under the overwhelming grief that roiled within them, Amaryllis could not tell what they felt.

For her, it felt like someone had torn her heart out of her chest. She did not want to know how Skyla felt then, or her mother. The mare that had to stand in front of all these ponies with a steel mien, a mask. She had been crying. They all had, as a family. To know that one would never again hear the voice of someone they loved, to never see them again, was an excruciatingly cruel pain.

Like a recurring nightmare, she remembered how she had awoken in her room, only to see Skyla crying on her bed. She remembered the heart-wrenching words that had left her little sister's mouth. Amaryllis remembered the anger that had followed. How she had thrown her bed against the wall. How her cupboard had splintered into a thousand pieces, and how she destroyed the window with her horn.

She took a deep breath. She had to be strong today as well, for her mother and her little sister. Fortunately, no one expected the same from the latter. Skyla clung to her left flank as she sniffed. Amy was about to say something to her sister before she was interrupted by loud trumpets.

Her mother, Princess Cadance, came into view. Like Amaryllis, she did not wear anything: no torque, no diadem, not even a simple braid. Her mane hung low, and her wings were spread. When she began to lower them, the trumpets also fell silent. "My dear subjects, my honoured guests, and my beloved family, thank you all for coming today. It is not a joyous occasion but one of the sorrow that has gathered us. A few days ago, two of my palace guards stormed into my bedroom and reported an attack on the Empire. My thoughts had raced, for how could an enemy have come through our shield? It turned out that they did not. They were already here, among us. They lived as our neighbours, our friends, and even as part of our families. They came here to live in peace, or so they told me. That was a lie. Three days ago, the humans of the Crystal Empire attacked and stormed the castle and stole the Crystal Heart. The shield fell and winter immediately began to take what is lawful of ours. It gave our country to the humans and changelings, some of which I have never seen before. They did not stop at the doors of innocent farmers. Neither did they stop before others of their kind nor before those who were not able to fight, the old, foals, larvae. None.

“Prince Shining Armor served for a long time in the Royal Guard of Equestria. He recognized the danger that was attacking his country. He also knew the solution, and so he acted. He placed his ponies above himself, knowing that you are all the Empire. A country is nothing without its people, for the people is the land. He lived this ideal. He died for this ideal."

Cadance nodded to the two stallions behind her, who opened the curtain from which the princess had entered. Where the Crystal Heart once rested, connected between two crystals on the ground and the castle, there was now a crystal alicorn. The tip of his horn was fused with the crystal that jutted down from the castle, just as did his right hoof with the crystal from the ground, as if all three had been cut from a large crystal. His eyes were closed, tears visible from their corners. The cutie mark on his flank was clearly recognizable.

"Shining Armor sacrificed his life to give us a chance. He knew we would not retrieve the Crystal Heart back in time. Not without major losses, not without losing our harvest. So he became be our shield as he always was." Amaryllis and Skyla both hurried to their mother as her tears started to flow down her cheeks again. "We... I'll miss him so much. Shining was the best father and the best husband a mare could wish for. He left me two wonderful foals and lots of wonderful memories that will accompany me all my life." Cadance sobbed and sighed. "Equestria will help us in this difficult time, just as it has always done. And we will help them. Ti attacked us, an enemy that connects us more than ever."

Even as she pressed her mother’s body tighter against her, Amaryllis could see Celestia nod.

Chapter V - Act 20.4 - War Council

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My Little Pony

Journey

Act 20.4 - War Council

Exhausted was the best word to describe her brother. His eyes were half-open, just like his mouth. He hissed and panted at every step they made with his arm over her shoulder. His hair seemed unwashed and greasy, although Danielle knew this was not true. It hung loose and much too long on him, brushing just over his shoulder. The beard on his face managed to make him look ten years older. Danielle was uncertain what it said about him or herself, but somehow he seemed to weigh almost nothing. That could not be since no one could lose so much weight in so little time.

She was probably not the only one to notice his condition as they stepped out of the dark bedroom into the brightly lit living room. Amaryllis turned at the sight of Thiemo. She sat with Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, and Cadance on the sofa. Princesses, alicorns, immortal beings with the power to move the sun and the moon. Even after two days with Rarity, she still hadn’t fully grasped the concept or the reality. After all, it was one thing to hear about it from her brother and something else entirely to be caught in the middle of it.

“Everyone’s looking like somebody kicked a puppy. Have I missed something?" Thiemo croaked, followed by a short grunt as they reached the first step of the stairs.

No one answered. Danielle had only learned a few hours ago what exactly had happened. It was nothing to laugh at. She would’ve given her brother a subtle jab in the ribs, but that would probably not be the healthiest thing for him these days. "No jokes," she whispered to him instead. "Please be serious. Try." She knew the painkillers could be a bit disabling, but he did not receive a dose potent enough to be really high.

She led him down the stairs to the living room, where there was a small sofa for both of them. With a last loud groan, Thiemo slumped onto the cushion, scratching his belly through his grey T-shirt and placing the fingers of his right hand in the waistband of his boxer shorts. "Peggy, what's for dinner?"

"Thiemo, this is serious," said Cadance. "We need to talk."

He took a deep breath. "I know."

"Shining is dead and the Crystal Heart was stolen." He nodded. "Equestria supports us but expects considerations in return."

"Soldiers against Ti?"

"We have no standing army, though we possess a large airship fleet. While it is intended for transporting goods, it can safely be converted."

For the first time, Thiemo showed a clear reaction, even if it was only raised eyebrows. "I've never seen an airship here."

"They fly over the cloud cover to escape the storms. The teleporters are then used for loading and unloading."

"Doesn’t Equestria own airships?" That question of Thiemo’s went to Twilight.

"Hold on!" Danielle finally interrupted the conversation. "Could someone please enlighten me?"

Twilight sighed. "The only access to the interior of the continent is protected by Fortress Hoovegorod. It lies at the mouth where the white river flows into the sea. The changelings could only come from there into the country. The coast is otherwise protected by mountains and winds that can bring even large airships from the sky. So either my mother has let changelings and humans into the country or the fortress has fallen."

"Both very unpleasant scenarios," agreed Thiemo. "Wasn’t that where Night Hawk was stationed?" The Princess of Magic nodded. "So, again I’ll ask, doesn’t Equestria own airships?"

"The few that we have are in use to guard our other borders. A few, of course are always in the dock, but only the smaller frigates. If my mother really wanted to attack Ti, she needs more. "

"Okay, makes sense. What else have I missed? "

Twilight looked briefly at Rarity before she spoke. "Eris is also dead. It happened a few days after she had sent you to Earth. She suddenly appeared in my mother's apartments, badly wounded. Eris died a few seconds after her arrival. The news reached me one day later, and when I was about to deliver it to Fluttershy... she had disappeared. Cottage empty, no animals, no furniture, nothing, as if nopony had ever lived there."

"Equestria is without its strongest weapons and Celly wants to strike before anyone realizes. That's why she needs the ships." He considered the situation briefly. “I just figured out why humans attacked the Empire."

"What?" came from almost all mouths at the same time, which made Thiemo twitch.

"Simple. I wondered at the time why Eris was not punished for the story of the labyrinth. Then it clicked. Eris is a creature of chaos, a being of uncontrollable and unpredictable and all that. There is hardly any better defence. Sure, other countries are also afraid that Celly or Luna could throw a small planet on their heads, but that is a one time thing. If they did it, it would mean the end for everyone. Eris would just plant a few flowers and turn an advancing army into zombies and that would be it. Celly wanted to stay on her good side. Whoever killed Eris…”

Thiemo pointed to Twilight. "Whoever it was, did they tell the humans of Ti about it?"

"Or maybe they’re one of them. And what does it take to kill someone like Eris?"

"An alicorn," Cadance finished with wide-open eyes.

"Or an angel." Questioning glances met him, except from Danielle. She suddenly had a very good understanding of what her brother wanted. "You are not the only ones who exist as demigods. Got one back on Earth. Fiery personality."

"Megan," Amaryllis hissed.

"We are working against an alicorn that’s allied with humans. It had no problem facing down Eris, has a changeling queen as his allies, and it wanted the Crystal Heart." Rarity slumped. "Well, that sounds like a bit of a problem."

"And my mother is no help." At that, Cadance put a leg around Twilight and hugged her sister-in-law.

"We need any help we can get," Cadance said. "Thiemo, will you fight with us? "

He did not need to think. "No."

*** ~ [The Cab - Angel With A Shotgun] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter V - Intermission 20 - Heroes

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My Little Pony

Journey

~ Intermission 20 - Heroes ~

Danielle hadn’t been embroiled in uncertainty as she did now. It was like transferring to a new school in the middle of the school year. Something like that would be picked up on and dissected thoroughly. Moving was often the most logical reason, but the imagination of teenagers was more cruel. Stories about sex, drugs, and violence would make the rounds before one could even open the first book on such a day.

This was worse than that. The eyes of ponies followed her every meter through the streets of the Crystal Empire. Even though she was wearing a cloak with a hood that Rarity had made for her, she felt as naked as ever. Fear, suspicion, and hatred—Danielle never imagined that the faces of ponies could be so expressive.

Thiemo had spent the last few days talking to her about his experiences in Albion. About his time with the deer, his journey through the desert, to his arrival in Dragmire. About the different cultures and also about how some had been in awe with his mere presence. She still had to giggle about the fact that the deer had considered him a god. Just how they had reached that conclusion, he refused to say. All that meant, she inferred, was that humanity was a rare sight on this planet, though not in the Empire, according to Thiemo. On Albion, he had spent the best and most pleasant time here.

Unfortunately, there was nothing left to feel. Who could blame them? The day when all the human inhabitants had turned against their regent was only two weeks in the past. Now, there was a human walking through the streets, just like that. Princess Cadance had allowed her to leave the apartment, but her tone had implied that she didn’t consider it a good idea. Now Danielle knew why.

Still, she had already run the gauntlet of the streets around her and her goal was already in sight. The Empire’s hospital was a relatively short building compared to those around it. What it lacked it height, it made up in length.

For a moment, she stopped in the street and inspected the building. That was not a problem, as the ponies gave her a wide berth. Danielle did not hesitate because of aesthetics, but because she needed a moment to soothe her nerves. She had entered buildings like these dozens of times during her studies. Why was she so nervous today?

Nothing helped. She had put it off long enough. With a few quick steps, she hurried to the entrance, which automatically opened before her. The inner area was not different from other hospitals she knew, which was notable because of the fact that she was currently on another planet. To the left and right of the door were seats for patients or visitors, and further down was a long counter where several nurses exchanged files and drank coffee. On the wall behind them was a mounted noticeboard. Photos of patients who had been injured during the attack and cards wishing for relatives’ recovery were attached.

In the middle of all this was the photo of a young woman with black hair and dark brown skin. Judging from the red dot on her forehead, an Indian woman. In large colorful letters were the words "We Will Miss You" written under the picture.

"She was killed in the attacks," one of the nurses, who had noticed where Danielle’s attention focused on, suddenly said. "She ran out into the street and began to treat the wounded. The Crystal Guard also considered her to be an attacker.” The bright blue pegasus shook her head. "As if she could ever do something like that."

"Who was she?" Danielle asked cautiously. The other four nurses present had ceased their conversations and now focused on her.

"Doctor Meena, our specialist for foreign species and the head of the corresponding department. She spent most of her life here in the Empire. She had family, a foal. Everyone who knew her knew what a lovable person she was. She would never take a gun in her hands, especially against the Empire. And anyone who says anything else—” One of the other nurses put a hoof around the neck of the pegasus, which stopped her rant.

"They were good friends," she explained, and they both walked from behind the counter to the right. A few seconds later, sobbing could be heard.

"Excuse me," a third nurse came over to her. She had bright pink fur and a curly golden mane, her cutie mark hidden behind the counter. "For some of us, it's been a hard time." Not just for those here, seemingly for all. Still, at least one human had apparently made such a good impression on others that they were not irked by the sight of another. Danielle could imagine the Empire as a beautiful place. The fires that had followed the attack had resulted in significant destruction of property, fires that had burnt both the young and old, and a subsequent hardening of hearts. "So, how can I help you?"

The mare lifted with both front hooves on the shelf behind the counter. She was wearing a smock, which scarcely differed from the colour of her fur, and on which a small tag was attached at the front. Her name was Sweet Care.

"I'd like to visit Miss Lyra Heartstrings." Sweet Care nodded and looked at something that lay on the shelf.

"Ah, yes, here it is. She's in the trauma ward, room four." She gestured to the left. "Just down the aisle and at the end, you'll find the station. Room four is the second one on the left.” Danielle thanked her and walked down the hallway that the nurse had pointed with her hoof.

As her gaze wandered around, she did not even think of the photo of the doctor. She did not know about Albion other than what she had been told, but Rarity had mentioned that the only place humanity could be found was on Ti, an island that served as a prison colony. Danielle strongly doubted that they had an Indian culture. Therefore, she must have been from Earth, just like Thiemo and her. So there were other cases, probably more. But why? Her dear brother did not want to talk about what Mothma had said to him.

She would have to worry about that later. She walked through the automatic doors marked the entrance to the trauma ward and quickly found door number four. Lyra’s name had been written on a small sign under the room number. She knocked twice.

"It’s open," came Lyra’s familiar voice from the room, and Danielle entered. Her eyes fell instantly on the mare in the bed. Her mane was dishevelled and had certainly not seen a comb for days. Dark rings were visible under her eyes. The head of the bed was angled so that she could sit comfortably. This was placed near the left wall, so Danielle only saw her right side, but the little she could still see was enough. Her right front leg was almost completely missing. A little stub, wrapped in bandages, was all that remained.

She looked pale as far as Danielle could tell through her fur, and she did not look over to Danielle as she closed the door behind her. "Hello, Lyra," she greeted the mare, grabbing one of the stools provided for guests. "How are you?" A stupid question. Obviously she wasn’t well if she was in a hospital. Still, she didn’t know what else to say.

"Tired," the unicorn muttered.

"I know, stupid question," Danielle quickly mentioned as she took a seat. "But I didn’t know how to start this conversation." Lyra was silent. "Are you in great pain?"

"No. But I should. That's what doctors say. I mean, I remember exactly how..." She shuddered and a hiccup escaped her mouth. "And I dream of it, too, you see." She pointed to her eyes with her remaining foreleg. "They gave me something for the pain, just in case. Unfortunately, it’s either that or sleeping pills. "

“At least they saved some of your leg.”

“But that's just it. That thing... It practically ripped out my shoulder, too. But now it's there, along with a small piece of my leg. But it shouldn't. And nobody knows why and who did first aid on me. When they found me, everything had already healed, as if someone had used a healing spell.” Lyra sighed and leaned her head slightly to Danielle.

She took her hoof between her hands. "Thiemo has told me about what happened."

"Oh…" Danielle nodded.

"Lyra, I don’t know how to thank you. If you hadn’t protected me, I wouldn’t be here right now.” Danielle sniffed, but she did not allow herself to cry. "I want you to know that I will do anything to help you. You are a good friend, and I promise you that no matter what, I'll be there.” Lyra's smile was all she needed, and she threw her hands around the mare’s neck. "I'm so sorry, Lyra."

*** ~ [Skillet - Hero] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter VI - The Island of Ti

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Chapter VI - The Island of Ti

Chapter VI - Act 21.1 - Life Goes On

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My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 21.1 - Life Goes On ~

"Legion!"

"Yes, Master," replied the usual monotonous voice of the Artificial Intelligence Reena, Index’s copy. The staff, which had previously fallen into the ankle-high grass, shattered into hundreds of miniscule splinters and reappeared in the hand of the man who had called it. The latter managed to lift it in time to ward off the incoming sword of the griffon before him. He used all of the strength he could muster to divert the blow and released the right end of his staff, just as the sword glided down on it. The griffin lost his balance briefly, which Thiemo immediately used for a retreat. His totem glowed, and in a small leap backward, he gained a few meters between himself and his opponent.

Three months ago, he would have used the moment to attack, which would have been a mistake. The griffin balanced himself with his spread wings quicker than he thought possible.

"Legion, air." The staff confirmed the command, and the crystal in its crescent-shaped top, the lower half of which ended in a hook, was swallowed up by the individual splinters. Another crystal immediately took its place, a sapphire. The sapphire was littered with runes from all sides and immediately began to shine in the same blue as the totem around the man's neck. He whirled the staff around in his hand so that the tip pointed to the griffon. A lightning bolt, accompanied by a burst of thunder, shot out.

Although Thiemo had lifted his left arm in time to protect his eyes, he still saw stars for a moment. He blinked quickly, trying to pinpoint his opponent. He had not hit his target. The lack of odour from scorched flesh in the air and earth raining down upon him were a sure indication of this. "Ejecting," the staff dully intoned, and the now black sapphire fell to the ground and became dust. A new one took his place. "Ready." He had prepared four sapphires before the fight, which meant he had two more. Even if he did not need them anymore, they were a nice reinforcement to his totem, one that would not be possible without Legion. With both totem and talisman, it was simply too much for Thiemo to control, as he had learned in the fight against Mothma. However, a staff working as a lightning rod was just the right means.

"Ahhh!" Suddenly, the shrill cry of a mare reached Thiemo's ear and made him freeze. "How many times have I told you to be careful when you train in the garden?!" The mare, in this case a dark purple earth pony with a golden and curly mane he knew as Golden Grape, came into his field of vision. She wore an apron around her chest and did not look happy at all.

Before Thiemo could answer, the ground was pulled from under his feet. He landed gently on his right side and got a blade held to his neck. "Excuse me, love, I'll have to restrain my pupil a bit better," the voice of the griffon said. The sword inched closer to his mouth, not that it made a difference. The blade was dull, and he was aware of it.

"As if I don’t know that you’re using the poor colt like a whipping post. I can see his bruises from here!" protested the mare. "And now wash up, dinner is almost ready. If you carry dirt in the house I just cleaned the princess may have mercy on you..." Grape murmured as she disappeared through the open balcony door back into the medium-sized crystal house.

The sword at his neck disappeared and was replaced by the grasp of a talon. "You heard my wife. Up with you, boy." With a sigh, Thiemo took the offer and allowed himself to be lifted by his teacher. Leonidas was large, almost as tall as Thiemo was, at least when he took a bipedal stance. Something the old griffin seemed to have perfected, at least with the help of his wings. One of them gave him a slap on the back of his head. "What have I said about attacks that affect you too?"

"They are not worth it since they give my opponent a chance he didn’t have to work for," Thiemo repeated in his best monotonous impersonation of Legion. "I know, I know." Leonidas' claw landed on his shoulder and pushed him slightly forward. "But what shall I do, Leo?"

"Use your resources," he began as he fell next to Thiemo on all fours. "You exhausted your talisman with one shot, the same like before. It gives you four shots in a fight. Do you think you can beat me with just four attempts?" He received another cuff with a wing, this time against his calf. "Of course not. You've probably hit me two times in more than twenty attempts. You don’t need to be a genius to calculate that that’s a damn shitty rate.” Leo was one of the few beings he’d met that cursed like that, apart from Dragmire and the pirates. It was a very welcome change. "Less juice, more accuracy, and think. Think about what we discussed. "

"I am a lousy melee, not made for it, and should stay with what I can," he repeated another lesson in the same monotonous tone.

"False. You should not go into melee until you know you can defeat your opponent. What use are your talisman and totem when an opponent can read you and smash you in seconds? You're fast, but that's not all. Your movements are obvious, so a skilled fighter can guess what you’re doing and what you’re going to do. He doesn’t really need to see you. Bring your opponent out of balance, make him tired and sluggish. Then and only then, you should go into melee. And only if it is absolutely necessary." With these last words, Leonidas opened the door to the smithy, which was right next to the house. Outside, autumn might be slowly gripping the land, but it was warm in here. Anvil, Leonidas' son, could work in a sauna if he had to. The fire in the smelting furnace was almost always burning, so the room did not cool completely.

Tools of various kinds adorned the stone walls, in the middle of which stood a large anvil. Notches adorned the surface, paying tribute to many years of work done on it. Contrary to what Thiemo had thought, Leonidas was not a weaponsmith but a farrier. He produced horseshoes that the field workers of the Empire needed in their daily work. However, they were held in place with muskin on their hooves instead of with nails. Muskin was a leather-like substance, made from mushrooms that grew in the caves all over the country. It was the same fabric from which his boots were made, along most of the saddlebags and other things that ponies use in daily life.

For these reasons, Leonidas’ house and business were situated on the outskirts of the commercial area. Just at the edge since the open garden of the house bordered the first fields of the surrounding farms. Here he had met his wife and founded his family. The griffon had served time in his country's military and had also seen some battles, but he had never made weapons in his profession. Since he came here, they were just a hobby.

"Don’t just stand there, come on." Leonidas’ voice broke Thiemo out of his thoughts and closed the door behind them. In the right corner next to the actual main entrance, not the back door they had just used, stood a large trough with water to cool hot metal. The area around the trough was slightly lowered and had a grid in the middle, causing the water to float in the ground. Under the ceiling was a pipe that led into a tank. There, the rainwater was collected and filtered through several layers of gravel. After all, no impurities could be allowed in their trade.

Leonidas pushed aside the empty trough and stood in its place before pulling on a rope. The pipe above his head opened and released water in a steady flow. No more than five seconds later, Leonidas released the rope, the water ebbed, and the rest disappeared into the grate. The griffon shook himself briefly, freeing his short pelt from the remaining water, and made room for Thiemo. He sighed, took off his cloak, then trousers, his shirt, and his boots until he finally stood naked in the smithy. He also reached for the rope and icy water washed over his skin. His muscles tightened and his heart beat quickly. If he hadn’t been awake before, he was now, in any case.

"I have towels for you," Grape said. She had used the third entrance, the door from the smithy that led directly into the house. "And hurry, the food will get cold."

As he opened his eyes under the cold water, the mare had disappeared again, but he watched Leo dry his short mane. Satisfied with his degree of cleanliness, he also released the rope and went to his teacher and snatched the second towel that his wife had brought. Quickly, Thiemo rubbed the towel roughly over his skin to get the rest of the cold water away.

Such an action as undressing and standing in the nude with others would have been an unthinkable deed three months ago too. However, if a pony helped you to wash yourself and go to the toilet for almost a month, some things changed quickly. In addition, the beings of Albion understood nudity differently than he did. Why should they be ashamed about the way they were born into this world? Of course, he understood the point that Rarity had wanted to make with the statement, but that did not mean that he would now disavow clothing. It simply meant that his margin of tolerance was much higher.

Thiemo threw the towel around his neck after he had also dried his feet, slipped back into his pants, and went over to where Legion waited for him. "Come on." Leo waved him with a claw into the house. He had put his towel over his back. "I can smell the trout from here." Grape, who married a griffon and had a preyton, a reverse hippogriff, as a son, had long since overcome whatever objections she may have had for preparing meat for her family. These days, that included Thiemo as well. He still did not like fish, but it was a necessary evil that came with being human. What would he not give for a good old burger.

Thiemo reached for Legion and, together with Leo, went to the family's moderate home. From the smithy, they came to a small storage room for laundry, cleaning supplies, and other things that were generally wet. Even here, the warmth of the smithy was clearly felt. Behind it lay the downstairs area of the house, which led straight into the living room. In the kitchen, one could either get to the house floor, which led to the left, and took the first door on the right, or simply walked through the living room. The two formed a large room. If one followed the hallway, one would come to the entrance of the house. The stairs led to the upper storey of the house where the bedrooms and bathroom of the family were located.

In the kitchen, there was not only Grape waiting for them with the food, but also Anvil and Auralia.

Anvil gave honour to his name. His coat was dark grey, with a short golden mane that, at the end of his neck, began to grow down on his chest, prominent muscles on display along the way. The front ended in the typical talons that his father possessed. His hind legs were like a normal pony, just like his face. "Took you long enough. There are others here who are also hungry,” he commented, staring with his silver eyes at Thiemo.

"Would have gone much faster if you had done your job right. Legion can still only turn into a staff and a sword.” Not only was Anvil a master blacksmith, he was also a shaman. There was amber embedded in roots amidst the fur of his neck, the sign of his connection with Gaia. Metal bent in his talons like cardboard, and he knew how to make talismans and other magical jewellery. Cadance, who Thiemo had given Legion before his departure, along with his other talismans, had commissioned him to repair the rhodolith. Unfortunately he made a small mistake, and had thought the talismans were resources for the repair work. Amongst the talismans had been Reena.

Anvil banged both talons on the table. "I was not the idiot who tried to turn such a sensitive magical artefact into a talisman. How dumb do you have to be? You should be glad that only the memory was deleted and not the whole castle blown up around your head." And that was the reason why Thiemo liked to stay away from other shamans. They always knew everything and how do everything better. As far he was concerned, in experiments, things can sometimes break.

“I reject acknowledging any form of guilt on my part," interrupted Legion. Reena was a being a of logic, and now that she was part of Legion, she preferred to carry that name now. "The tool is not to blame for when it's wielded wrong. Furthermore, many beings have succeeded in defeating another being with either a staff or a sword."

"Ah, she even she agrees with me." Anvil grinned. "Also, you only need to scan new weapons." As far as Thiemo was concerned, they understood each other splendidly. As splendid as cats and dogs.

"Then give me some. I know you have a whole arsenal in the shed behind the smithy. "

"Can you pay? Oh right, no you can’t. You can’t even pay my father for his lessons." Thiemo remembered the time Shining had mentioned how no one knew why Leonidas took part in the tournament every year. Advertising was the Occam's razor, meaning the simplest answers were the accurate ones. "You come here every day and then have my mother cook for you. So what right—"

"Anvil!" Golden Grape shrieked. She had laid her hooves over Auralia's ears. The foal, meanwhile, watched on with a small smile on her lips. "Thiemo is our guest! In addition, your father was the one who offered to train him. He fought for the Empire and defended our country. You can’t—"

"I've also fought, just like father! Where are our free meals? Where is—"

"The Empire is our homeland," Leonidas interrupted, his voice steady yet carried the undertones of one whose authority was to be respected. "It is part of our damn duty to help our country when it is needed. Thiemo here is neither a citizen nor a soldier or a mercenary. He may be a shaman, but that does not obligate him to fight.” Anvil looked from his mother to his father. For a moment, he opened his mouth, then closed it again and slumped down in his place. Leonidas sighed. "I don’t understand why you two boys can’t get along." He pulled out a chair and sat down at the table's head.

Thiemo walked past him to Auralia. Grape was shaking her head as she distributed plates, so Auralia's ears were free again. He bent down to her and pressed a short kiss on her forehead. "How have you been?" Thiemo finally asked as he sat down next to her at the table. Auralia had changed in recent months. Not only did she have a new female model beside her mother in Danielle, clear to see in how she had grown her mane which was plaited in a small braid on her left, but she had generally become quieter. Applejack said it was due to the fact that she was going through her second growth spurt and was burning through her energy faster than a fat kid chasing after the ice cream van.

"Great! Aunt Rarity gave me a new scrunchie!" She turned her head to the side and showed Thiemo the new band that held the little braid together. It was an orange band, in the same colour of her fur, embroidered with white ornamentations. "And? How do you like it?"

"It’s wonderful," he replied honestly, ruffling through her mane with one hand, causing a brief protest and making sure that she slid back into place.

“Still can't believe that a mare let him on top of her,” Anvil murmured as he took a trout with a fork from the plate his mother had just placed on the table, quiet enough that only Thiemo heard it. Thiemo could have answered, but for today he had had enough of the preyton. He also grabbed one of the trouts, as he did with the potatoes. He also made Aura pass him the corn. Corn didn’t really do anything for him, especially the rock-hard crystal corn, which they loved up here. It always felt as if he were chewing on small rocks. Still, it was very sweet.

"Thiemo, have you heard anything new from Princess Amaryllis?" Grape finally asked cautiously. She knew it was a sensitive issue for him. After the small improvised war council in Twilight’s apartment, they had had a fight. It was nothing special, or so he had thought, only this one had endured. It stretched from a few days to almost two weeks. Things had been said that no one really meant, at least for Thiemo. Then Amaryllis decided that it would be best for them both if they did not see each other for a while. That was almost three months ago. He had tried to go to the palace a few days after that, but entrance was denied to him. Two more times he had tried with the same result. The worst thing was that he could not feel her through their connection, not the way it had been before. It was not gone, not like when Megan had forcibly separated them. It was akin to a telephone line, where one person shouted on one end while there was silence at the other.

And although Grape had asked carefully, the piece of fish in his mouth nearly went down the wrong way. "No, nothing. Not that I haven’t tried.”

Grape smiled slightly. "She'll catch herself again. The first dispute in a relationship is always the worst. It hurts the most because one does not know how the other person reacts. One is uncertain on what to do and becomes frightened. Believe me, all the couples go through it sooner or later. They spend some time apart, but when they get together again, it's all the more beautiful." Thiemo could not do more than nod. She meant well, but that did not change the fact that Amaryllis’ absence caused an inner emptiness.

It also was not that simple. He had disappointed her, had wounded her to the core. To her, he had deserted her, had disbanded their hive. There was nothing worse for a changeling, the same crime as treason. With his refusal to help the Empire against Ti, he had also declined Cadance’s appeal for help. Strangely, she hadn’t been angry, nor were Twilight or Rarity. They all had accepted it and spoke not a word of it afterwards.

That was probably for the best. It made things easier.

Chapter VI - Act 21.2 - One Last Dance

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My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 21.2 – One Last Dance ~

Even during autumn, it never got cold in the Crystal Empire. Although the temperatures dropped a little, not even its deepest chill could find its way past the defences of one’s winter clothes. That didn’t stop Thiemo from keeping his coat closed and the hood worn over his head. Legion, in his hand, released a quiet clink every time its end struck the road. He took large strides, making him almost seem to levitate through the ponies around him. It was all for the right entrance.

There was a reason he wanted to portray confidence, as he felt the complete opposite right now. “Oh, you great magicians; Medivh, Gandalf, Merlin, Strange, Dumbledore, and Dresden. Stand with me,” was his inner mantra while he walked down the main road, heading directly for the castle.

The guards at the top of the stairs had spotted him long before he arrived. A large orange dot that towered above all else was hard to miss. Thiemo had thought to sneak into the castle, but the number of guards had basically doubled since the attack, and that was only what he could see on the outside. How many more would there be on the inside? It was imperative that he mustn't be caught, at least not yet. He had preparations to make and schemes to plan.

Thiemo saw the guards at the base of the stairs flinch as they also spotted him in the crowd. Ponies, unlike humans, could hardly surreptitiously reach for a weapon. They would need to be holding one as they maintained visual contact with their suspect, or they would need to turn their heads to retrieve any that they carried. As the heads of the two armoured ponies shot to their sides, where swords were sheathed, Thiemo knew that he had gained exactly the impression he was going for.

And as they came towards him to run interception, he ignored them as if they were invisible. They had no reason to stop him, not here. The stairs of the castle were basically a public area. The entrance would be barred by the two ponies upstairs. He couldn’t yet see them—for the hood to cover his face up to his nose meant he couldn’t look up. Perhaps it was better to keep his eyes on the stairs, as it would have been quite unfortunate to slip on these high stairs.

The first thing he saw were hooves and legs, but only one each. The one of the left guard had the usual glowing dark blue to bright pink that most crystal ponies possessed; the other was yellow and less sparkly. Before he could even voice his assumption, the voice told him who stood in front of him. “Sorry, Thiemo, but I have orders not to let you inside.” Spears clanked against each other as they barred the way as usual.

“My name is Thiemo Morgan, Shaman of Water and Wind, and an honoured member of the Eternal Library of Cervidas. I demand an audience with her Royal Highness, Princess Amaryllis.” The Eternal Library was a place only the scholars of the University of Cervidas had access to, where what they deemed as dangerous knowledge was kept, but in the end, it was just a library. Basically, he just had a fancy library card, which in his case had already expired for many years. Not something Flash Sentry or the other guard needed to know. More titles were always better. “She wants to see me right… now.” With his last word, he cut the connection, shutting out Amaryllis. Even if she wasn’t actively accessing the connection, he knew that she would feel it.

Thiemo, who, because to the hood, could still only see up to the chests of the ponies in front of him, saw Flash turn towards his comrade. They whispered something to each other before the unfamiliar guard disappeared in the castle.

“So, why this charade?” Flash asked a moment later. “We both know you’re not even half as strong as you’d like us to think right now.” Thiemo had actually not thought that, of all the guards, Flash would be standing here. Of course, he wasn’t about to tell the pegasus that.

He knew how to throw him off. He kept his hood over his head and stretched his back. “Flash, if I wanted to, I could have shot you off this staircase with a lightning bolt the moment your colleague left.” His left hand moved to his coat and opened it for a brief moment. “Not that I would need my powers for that.” He could hear the pegasus gulp as he saw the pistol. It hung in a small holster on the inside, a minor modification Rarity had made for him. However, this was also just a bluff. He would never be stupid enough to carry a loaded gun around with him, let alone bring it into a house where a filly lived. The gem chamber was empty and the gun wouldn’t even produce warm air. “In a fair fight, you might be stronger.” He didn’t finish the statement on purpose. That wasn’t necessary.

None of them had anything to say after that, and so the first words after a couple of minutes were from the returning guard. “The princess awaits you in the throne room. Please follow me.” Thiemo nodded under his hood and suppressed the urge to flip off Flash. Unfortunately, only with mediocre success as he did it anyway with his left hand as it was shoved into his pocket of his coat.

Flash lowered his spear, letting him pass, and for the first time in months, he entered the entrance hall of the castle. Now he allowed himself to raise his head. The pillars had obviously been repaired and there were no signs of a fight ever occurring here. The only indication was the memorial plate that he spotted in the corner of his eyes at the left of the entrance. His left hand began to shake slightly, while the other was kept calm by gripping Legion that was in the form of a walking stick.

They reached the teleporter and the guard allowed him to go first before he followed him onto the platform and used the crystal. In the blink of an eye, the world around him disappeared, then he found himself in front of the large double doors of the throne room. Here stood not two, but four more guards. They all were armed with spears and stood still. Cadance must have called in the reserves.

“Your presence is expected,” the guard at Thiemo’s side spoke.

With a deep breath, Thiemo began moving towards the closed door. For a moment, he thought the guards would open it for him, but none of them moved a muscle. Perhaps it was better this way. Just before he would walk into it, he raised Legion, which immediately turned into a staff, the tip ornamented with a sapphire, and pushed the double door open with a burst of air. Not strong enough to slam against the wall, even though that would have aided the dramatic act, but strong enough that the burst of wind almost struck the guards on the other side. He had to give it to them; they didn’t even flinch.

Thiemo continued his way. Once he could see the few steps that led towards the throne, he stopped suddenly and bowed slightly. “Hello, Thiemo,” a voice greeted him, but not that of Amaryllis. Slightly confused, he pulled back his hood and found Cadance, various scrolls of parchment floating around her. With a feather, she signed one of the scrolls before all of them rolled up and floated into a basket at the foot of the throne. “What can I do for you?”

“Your Highness,” he greeted her formally. “I have to assume that my princess is in another castle?” Just because he didn’t abandon his plan didn’t meant he could let this opportunity pass. How often was there a time to say that? Priorities.

Cadance raised a brow, a habit she surely had taken from Shining over the years. She was ready to play his game. “If by that you mean that my daughter isn’t here, then yes, you are correct. So, what can I do for you?”

“It urges me to know where my precious is to find, for my desire is to exchange a thought of my mind.” If he had suffered so long under Zarni, he would use his skills now.

What followed next was unexpected. “You seek a daughter of mine, who has followed the call of the sunshine. Her hooves did not want to keep her here, as her lover could her calls for help not hear. She has followed the call to fight, where the ocean meets the land to show its might.”

Thiemo blinked and thought for a moment. “What?” was the most eloquent response that escaped his lips.

“She went with my stepmother to Equestria two months ago, to accompany a squad to Hoovegorod. If there are actually changelings there, Amaryllis will be the best pony to speak with them.” Game, set, and match to Cadance. “Celestia had asked for her help, and she accepted the invitation.”

“Uhmm…” He needed a moment to reevaluate his position. At least he now knew why he couldn‘t feel their connection. She was out of range. “She’s gone back to Equestria. With Celestia. The mare who wanted to send her to Tartarus?”

Cadance stepped down from her throne and moved in front of Thiemo. They could look into each other’s eyes comfortably now. “She is my daughter and all of Equestria knows so as well. Say what you want about Celestia, but she cares about her family, or did you already forgot that she was the one to smuggle you two here?” He shook his head. “Good. Furthermore, I trust Amaryllis. She believed that she could help, and so I let her go. It would also be the most peaceful solution if there actually were changelings that she could make them retreat. Enough have died already, on both sides.” Thiemo averted his eyes and Cadance sighed. “Amaryllis wanted to ask you to follow her, but had doubts after you refused to help.”

Thiemo’s head perked up immediately. “I didn’t refuse to help. I refused to be part of a war that was fought against my own kind, who already live like sardines on some island.”

“What happened with ‘I don’t come from there, so I don’t care’?” the princess countered, her head slightly tilted but with no discernible emotion on her face.

“Nothing’s changed there. I just don’t find it fair and don’t want to be the one to pull the trigger. Celestia has chosen her for a reason from the beginning, from the moment she knew that there were humans on Albion. It will end in a massacre and I don’t want to be part of that.” Since Thiemo didn’t know which direction Ti was in, he just pointed in a random one.

“No one asked that of you.”

“Oh yes you did! I had good reasons to decline. I’m no deserter, and I’m no coward either, but I know damn well how horrible a war is. On Earth, you see it every damn day. In school, we learned about past wars, while pictures of the current ones were shown to us on prime time. We see what happens to the people returning from those wars and how well they are being taken care of. And I don’t want that. Not for me, not for Auralia, Amy, or anyone at all. I’m scared! And for a damn good reason.” Thiemo breathed heavily and his throat ached. He hadn‘t even noticed that he was yelling. “And since when do you trust Celestia? I can remember quite well that we both believed that she forfeited the fortress willingly.”

“Twilight is accompanying her, and I trust her.” Cadance took a step towards Thiemo and before he could react, she pulled him into a hug. His right cheek was pressed against her chest. “It’s okay to be afraid. No one wants to, but many have to. Celestia wants a war and she will get one, but on our terms. If Equestria recaptures Hoovegorod, we will have time. Time we desperately need.” She grabbed his head with her forehooves and once again they looked into each other’s eyes, but this time Thiemo was on his knees and Cadance lay on the floor. “I would never ask of anyone to go to war for me, but we need your help. Not as a warrior, but for who you are. You may not have realized, but…”

“I’m Blue Light’s heir.” She nodded.

“You have so much in common with him. When I look into your eyes, I see my best friend from my time as a filly. I see someone I can blindly trust. However, it’s not all just him. It was your actions that led you here, your actions that made my daughter fall in love with you. She loves you above all else, but she is young and confused. She was being raised differently. She thinks differently, eats differently.”

“She is special.”

Cadance’s hooves returned to the floor. “And now as her mother, not as the reagent of this empire, I ask you one last time. Will you help us?”

Thiemo rose off the floor. His knees began to ache and he could no longer stand her gaze. “I’ve never stopped,” he told her eventually and pulled his hood over his head again. “I like the damn corn here too much not to.”

Cadance smiled softly. “Do you need anything?”

Thiemo shook his head and turned around. He took a few steps towards the exit, but then stopped for a moment. “Cadance, does Equestria’s prisoner transporters fly over Hoovegorod?”

“They resupply there before flying over the sea,” she replied, confusion in her voice. “Why?”

Thiemo moved on. “No reason.”

“Please don’t do anything stupid,” Cadance called after him.

* * *

“So,” Danielle asked, just as she put down her cup. “What’s the plan?”

“We rob the central bank of the Empire.” Immediately his sister began to cough. A bit of the mead must have found the wrong way down her throat.

The night had fallen over the Empire, and together they sat in the Tavern at the Corner. Thiemo knew the pub well since he had been working here for a while. Rolaf, one of the few acceptable griffons and owners of this pub, knew him. Plus it was the only pub around here where he got service during the last few days. It was exactly the right place to talk about their plan in peace.

Pretty mares charmed the clearly drunk guests while a small live band supplied some music. “Could you repeat that, as it sounded to me that I learned to fly for the last three months just to rob a bank.”

“You did not learn flying for the last three months to rob a bank. We won’t even have to fly for that. You learned flying since it’s an insanely useful skill, as long as you’re not scared of heights, that is.” Thiemo wanted to take a sip of mead, but his cup was empty. Promptly, his hand with the cup shot into the air. “Another!” he shouted into the room and one of the waitresses nodded, getting on her way to refill him. If Rarity knew that the money she had given him would be spent on this, he’d get the scolding of a lifetime. “And it’s not as if we’d be doing it for the money. Although there should be more than enough there. The ponies did some hefty panic buying in fear for another attack. Markets empty, registers full.”

“Oh?” Danielle asked and leaned a bit forward over the table placed in the furthest corner of the pub. “Then why are we doing this? I thought you broke into banks for the money.”

“Cadance is like a hen. She sits on her nest and defends her hatchlings with everything she’s got. But damned be the chick that wants to help her. She trusts no one anymore. Not Celestia, not Luna, not even her own daughter. Cadance only allowed Amy to leave the house with a sitter. She would never knowingly support my plan. Therefore, we can’t let her have a choice.” Thiemo paused as the waitress arrived, refilling both their cups with mead.

“Something else for you two? Something to eat, or maybe some company?” she asked pleasantly, but they both shook their head. “If you two cuties need something, just call for me.” The mare grinned and disappeared again.

“Did she think we are a couple?” Danielle asked, looking puzzled.

Thiemo chuckled. “This is something like a brothel. The mares that charm the other guests are whores who rent the back rooms from Rolaf.” Briefly Thiemo thought back to Estoc and how he had fed Thiemo a line. Sure, only during mating season. “She just thought we’re a couple, looking for a bit of a change.”

“And you know that because…?”

“Anyway,” he quickly said, seeking to redirect the conversation. “We don’t want Cadance to have a choice but to turn us over to Equestria. I’m still wanted and Celly is still chafing her hooves for every human she can send back to Ti,” he explained.

“I still can’t believe that Celestia is that big of a racist and tyrant. In the series, she was depicted as so full of love. Why would Mothma portray her in such a positive light?” Danielle took another sip of mead. Her cheeks already had a hint of red to them.

“I haven’t seen much of her in the series. The few times she was there, she seemed pretty useless. Discord and Chrysalis were both defeated by Twilight, not her. Also, it was just a series for kids. Mothma surely had to alter a lot for it to get greenlit.”

“True that.” His sister looked down into her cup. “So we rob the bank so Cadance sends us to Ti. And then? What do we do once we are there?”

Thiemo emptied his mug in one swing before he spoke, “What do you think? We get back the Crystal Heart. There must be a reason why they stole it, and I mean aside from deactivating the shield. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have taken it with them, just kept it hidden. No, they’ve got something planned with it, and I have a terrible hunch.”

Danielle waited for a moment. “Uhm… is that all? A hunch?”

“Oh, sorry.” He belched. The alcohol hadn’t gone past him without an effect either. “Where was I? Oh right. You remember what I told you about Index and what she showed us?” Danielle nodded. “It was the explosion of a magical reactor that wiped out the city of Amissa Haven. What is the Crystal Heart if not a magical reactor?” Thiemo’s hands turned to fists and suddenly spread them apart again. “Boom, Canterlot needs a new address in the orbit. Goodbye oppression, goodbye Celestia. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.” Danielle emptied her cup in one sip as well. It was a small cup. Everything was smaller on Albion. Aside from her brother’s madness. Or hers. After all, she was about to agree to the plan.

“And we have to get there as prisoners. The humans of Ti hate ponies. The attack made that clear. If we come as ‘envoys’,” Danielle made quotation marks in the air, “they won’t trust us. And Cadance would only let us go as those, if she would let us at all, with an honour guard and everything.” Thiemo nodded and waved his cup again. “Damn. Do you know how much I’ll hate it if you’re right?” Almost as much as he would be.

Chapter VI - Act 21.3 - Moments

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My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 21.3 - Moments ~

Danielle stumbled and briefly feared that she would fall, but at the last moment she managed to support herself at a nearby wall of someone’s house. Irritated, she looked back, but there was nothing to be seen on the illuminated streets of the Empire. She squinted a few times before she finally looked down at her feet. The shoelace of her right sneaker was loose. If she could believe her eyes, which she did not, the shoelace had also developed a life of its own. That, or the ground had become water, which was also a possibility. It was glowing a soft blue, after all. But no, none of them were the case. She had only had a few drinks too many with her brother. She blinked, however, and looked for that rat, but he seemed to have pulled a runner. At least she could not see him anywhere, not even close to her.

A few other ponies were on the streets at such a late hour, and those who were there paid scant attention to her. The minds of the citizenry had calmed as most had realized that the humans who were still in the Empire were for good reason. In this way, Danielle did not disturb anyone as she continued on her way. She was sure Twilight’s apartment was somewhere here, but most of the buildings appeared as though the architects had had no other construction material on hand but crystal. Unimaginative idiots, the young woman thought to herself, groping along the houses.

That was until her hand suddenly grasped nothingness. Without the sudden support, she staggered, this time with her own weight added, and so what was inevitable finally happened. She fell to the ground and landed between some bushes. It took some seconds before she became mindful of her situation, but then she began to giggle. Danielle had no idea when was the last time she'd been so drunk. It must have been before her brother had disappeared from Earth.

"Thiemo!" she cried suddenly, straightening up in the bushes, her sitting position just enough for her head to protrude from them. Once again, she looked around for her brother.

The houses had disappeared, and as far as she could see in the shallow moonlight, there were nothing but fields. She must have left the edge of the city and was now somewhere in the middle of nowhere, in the foothills of the Empire. It brought her thoughts to home, to her grandparents who no doubt wondered where their grandchildren were.

Danielle, using some of the bushes, lurched back to her feet and took a step cautiously. The city had to be somewhere. As she looked at the stars, she thought of her family. Her mother had to be sick with concern. First Thiemo and now herself. Perhaps there had been a special broadcast about them. Their actions had certainly warranted it. They had turned a hotel in New York into a ruin, and didn’t Amaryllis tell her that Thiemo had entered a military base with someone? Yes, she could imagine what the media had had to say.

The world lurched abruptly as Danielle stumbled against something. It was large and in the way in the middle of the field. "Hey, you stupid rock! Watch where you’re going," she muttered, leaning against it.

"Excuse me," replied the rock, stirring a little. His voice was deep and rough, which she thought perfectly suited a rock. A little farther down the rock, two large eyes moved and focused on her. That was also the moment when her eyes slowly got used to the darkness without the streetlights, and slowly Danielle began to believe that this was not a rock. Her hand slid over the spot again on the mass where she supported herself. It was a smooth and hard, but only on the way downwards. As her hand went up again, she felt the bumps. Scales.

"While you’re at it," the deep voice rumbled again, "a little higher and further to the left, please." She nodded and, as the rock had asked so nicely, did as requested. There was something wedged between two of the scales. A large gem, she discovered. She pulled it out and examined the gem, which was almost as large as her head. Danielle flinched as two gargantuan claws closed in around the gem. A large mouth opened and a chuckle was heard. "I was wondering where that went."

"You didn’t know it was there?" Danielle asked, puzzled. "Why did you ask me to check there, then?"

"It was itching," replied the rock. "Plus my claws are too big to get between my scales." The clouds released their hold of the moon, and finally the young woman realized what she had been conversing with: a dragon, a huge violet dragon. He lay in the middle of the field of bushes, his long neck stretched back towards his haunches where she supported herself. "Good evening," he greeted with a broad grin that displayed a mouthful of sharp teeth when he noticed her expression.

For a moment, both looked at each other and no one spoke. The young woman's thoughts whirled frantically under the haze of alcohol. Of course there were dragons here, she remembered. However, she had imagined them differently, rather like scaly teenagers stuck in an emo phase, or so Mothma had portrayed them. This was more of a classic dragon, however: large, four legs, broad wings, and flashing white teeth. The violet scales, the green belly, and scales reminded her of something.

"Spike?" she asked cautiously.

The dragon's massive head slowly moved up and down. "Did Rarity tell you about me?”

"No... Um... But... Kind of?" Having a dragon in front of you had an incredible effect on her mind. It was as if she had only had three cups of mead too many, instead of ten or eleven. "You know who I am?"

Spike grinned. It was eerie when a creature with so many sharp teeth grinned. "Naturally. Even if Rarity may not have told you about me, she told me about you. Even if that wasn’t true, your smell would have betrayed you. "

"My smell?" Danielle did not want to smell herself. She had spent the last few hours sitting in a pub, which was also a brothel, steadily getting drunk with her brother and later celebrating with the other visitors. She did so anyway. She had treated filthy dogs that smelled better.

"You and your brother, you both have a similar smell. And I'm not talking about the mead that you spilled on your clothes. I'm talking about sweat. All beings have an odour. I heard and smelled you long before I saw you. I smell at least three stallions with whom you danced, along with five mares. I know that you used lilac soap in the bathroom and I know what you had for lunch. I smell Lyra.”

Danielle did not know what to answer. "And... huh. What are you doing out here?"

"I’m keeping watch." She couldn’t stand any longer and Danielle sank down to Spike's calf. The ground was different, she immediately noticed, as her hands brushed against it. It was hard. Spike had been lying here quite a while, it seemed.

"Why?" escaped from Danielle’s mouth, so quietly that she initially believed the dragon had not heard her.

"Because I promised." Spike turned away and his eyes wandered out into the night. "Because I broke a promise."

"The attack," she muttered. Spike nodded.

"I wasn’t here. I should've been here. I let Twilight down. I left Cadance in the lurch. A stallion I called brother paid the price. I should have been here."

"Where were you?"

"In my cave, with Ruby." Danielle had no idea who that was, but she didn’t want to interrupt Spike. "She laid an egg. Our egg. I had promised to watch over the Empire. But I could not... " Tears as large as fists fell to the ground.

"You know..." Danielle began. It was a fleeting thought, a sneaky thought. "Maybe they just waited for that; maybe one of them was watching your cave. It can’t be a coincidence." They both knew it was a lie.

"I would have smelled them," Spike said, staring further into the darkness. Danielle, in the meantime, looked up into the sky. The moon was bright and she followed its slow movement with her eyes as the minutes elapsed. However, the moon did not seem to be the only thing to move. At least the distance of the moon to the stars around it did not seem to change. Somewhere she had read about the phenomenon once, but she did not know where.

***

Thiemo reclined on the large white sofa. His head leaned against the armrest while his feet rested on his sister's lap. Held in her hands was a book, investigations for their plan. The book in her hands bore the great title: "A Diamond Among Many." It was about a diamond thief who had fallen in love with a mare of the guard, the two having gotten to know each other as he peeked out the building. The mare ended up discovering who he was and also his plan to steal the diamonds from the museum that she guarded. He implemented his plan, broke into the museum in an adventurous way, only to take the mare with him instead of the diamond.

There were hundreds of books of a similar nature from Rarity's bookcase in her bedroom. Thiemo knew that thanks to boredom during his recovery. He had thus given the book to his sister. He, on the other hand, held "Daring Do and the Jade Dragon" in his hands. A mafia boss had stolen an ancient relic from a Kirin emperor and the latter asked the heroic mare to bring it back. She broke into a corrupt Mafia bank, which happened to be built over an ancient temple of the diamond dogs.

He had read better and worse. The main point was that he had chosen these books for another reason. Both were concerned with theft or burglaries. Thiemo did not expect them to learn about mastering the art of breaking and entering, but rather how ponies behaved as hostages. Or at least as pony authors thought ponies would behave. They had started right after breakfast, which had become lunch after the previous evening, and they were now about halfway through. Not that he was really reading, more skimming through the pages.

The sound of the opening door made Thiemo look away from the book, and he saw Rarity as she came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her mane. "Ah, that's what I needed," she said into the room, "especially after last night when a dragon at my window tore me away from my beauty sleep." That last remark was clearly aimed at Danielle. Spike had delivered the peacefully sleeping Danielle directly to Rarity after she had fallen asleep at his side yesterday. Thiemo had naturally asked for details, but his sister was silent on the subject. "Really, darling, was this necessary?"

"Sorry, Rarity!" Danielle called to her and set the book aside. Without another word, she pushed Thiemo's feet from her lap and went to the kitchen. "Shall I make you some tea?"

"Would you be so kind?" the mare responded as she came down the stairs. "Two spoons of sugar, no milk or honey." Danielle nodded and put a kettle of water on the stove.

Thiemo took the opportunity and turned to the unicorn. "Rarity? I wanted to thank you again... for everything, I mean. You didn’t have to take care of me or Danielle." Rarity squinted for a moment, then she smiled.

"Nonsense, darling. I might not have needed to do it, but I wanted to. I knew what I was getting into.” No, she didn’t. Her reactions, such as when she first bathed him with a sponge in his bed while he was awake, was clearly burnt in his memory. Or that time when he had vomited during dinnertime because of the sudden pain. Directly on her hooves. No, he was certain she had never been prepared for that to ever happen in her entire life.

He, too, laid his book aside and slung his arms around Rarity's neck. "Thank you, Rarity." The mare reciprocated the gesture. “I know we didn’t get along very well when we first met. Still, you've done a lot for me and if I can repay you somehow...”

"You two have already given me something." She broke from the hug and carefully touched Thiemo's cheek. "I always thought foals were nothing but work. They’re messy, they keep you from work, and they ruin your figure as well!” She paused briefly, clearing her throat after her voice broke. "Well, after Sweetie Belle and now you two, only my figure remains. You showed me that, despite my concerns, I have the strength to become a mother one day, and I have you to thank for that. "

"Hey, if you want me to puke on you again, you just have to say the word." Rarity's eyes widened and she gave Thiemo a light thump against the shoulder.

"Don’t you dare! Do you know how long I had to wash my hooves to get rid of the smell?" Danielle chuckled in the kitchen. "Really..."

Another door opened. "Dad!" Auralia shouted as she entered the apartment and practically flew into Thiemo's arms.

"Hey, kiddo," he greeted the filly, cuddling her. "How was the day in the city?" He saw Applejack close the door to the apartment over Aura's head. "I hope you didn’t spend all your pocket money on sweets."

"Not everything," Applejack answered. "But almost." The foal grinned only when Thiemo rolled her eyes and patted her mane.

"I bought gummy worms, and frogs, and cherries, and apple rings. Blegh." Aura twisted her face as she remembered the taste. "They were so sour, but delicious." Thiemo asked himself if an Apple could even not like any apple dish.

"Well, that's nice to hear, dear, but you should brush your teeth immediately," Rarity explained, giving her a little push. "Otherwise your teeth will be covered with so much sugar."

The foal hopped from Thiemo's arms. "Okay!" She disappeared up the stairs to the bathroom. "I had to go anyway," the others heard her say before the door clicked close.

Applejack, visibly tired, dropped into the chair opposite Thiemo and took a deep breath. "I thought her wild energetic time was over?" Thiemo asked, visibly amused.

"Yeah, well, seems not." The earth pony took her hat and placed it on the table. "Maybe the sugar is to blame."

"Sugar," Danielle echoed as she spooned it into the cup in front of her, "doesn’t really have anything to do with it. It’s the circumstances. Most of the time sugar is involved, there’s an event. That’s what gets kids excited. All it really does is eat away at your teeth and add to your figure.”

"Huh, never thought of that." Applejack scratched her head. "Sounds logical." Danielle took the tray with the cups and placed it on the living room table next to the stetson. "Thanks, I needed that."

Rarity sat next to Thiemo, while Danielle sat next to Applejack. "Before I forget, when is your train leaving?" Thiemo had been in contact with Applejack for a while. The school term had already begun a few weeks ago, and it was time for Auralia to return to Ponyville.

"Tonight. We should be in Ponyville tomorrow morning." Thiemo was relieved. Auralia would not be there to see her father once again thrown in jail. And if the news reached Ponyville, he would long be out of her reach. This would not end like the first trip to the Empire.

The foal had been easy to put off. A promise that she could visit him again in winter was all it took. He did not like to lie, but it was just too dangerous. No matter how strong Auralia was, at the end of the day, she was a foal. He could not take her to Ti, and the Empire wasn’t safe either right now. Even if he did not like Celestia, Thiemo knew Cadance had been right at one thing. She paid attention to her family and nowhere was a pony safer than near her. And maybe, when everything went smoothly, he even might be back here in the winter. Wishful thinking was such a wonderful thing.

"I'll take you to the station tonight," he assured Applejack, searching for his own cup. But there was none. "Hey..."

"Anyone whose feet smells like that can make their own." Danielle grinned and stuck out her tongue. "We’ll be able to take a breath while you're in the kitchen." Thiemo grumbled but finally got up and put a fresh kettle on the stove. He let the gas hiss and lit it with the knob next to the regulator.

As he looked up from the stove, he glanced over to the living area where Danielle was talking to Rarity and Applejack. They talked, chuckled, and drank tea. He needed a more masculine environment, Thiemo decided at that moment. His gaze wandered to the clock in the kitchen, seeing it was not too late yet. Without saying a word, he grabbed his cloak and headed for the teleporter in the hallway.

***

Thiemo first knocked at the front door, then tried the one at the smithy, but no one opened it. What surprised him was that the door wasn’t even locked. He pulled it open and poked his head inside. "Hello? Leo? Anvil? Grape?"

The smithy itself was almost completely dark. Only the fire in the oven gave some light. It still smelled of metal, and steam was in the air. Anvil or Leonidas had worked on something this morning, it seemed. Thiemo came in and closed the door behind him before he went to the house. He called for the inhabitants, but again received no answer.

He went down the hall with a few quick steps and looked into the living room. Even here seemed empty, but then he saw something in the garden. Outside in a deck chair, Leonidas lay in the sun. His eyes were closed and a talon was draped comfortably over his stomach. For a moment, Thiemo thought again, but finally he opened the terrace door and went into the garden.

Leonidas looked up as he heard the door. "Thiemo?" he asked in astonishment. "What are you doing, my boy?"

"I needed someone to talk to who has eggs between their legs." Leonidas grinned and shook his head.

"If you want to talk, go to the fridge. Grape left some fresh lemonade." He just nodded and returned a minute later with two glasses in his hands. Leonidas took one from him as he sat down beside the deck chair in the grass. "Thank you. So, what can I do for you, boy?" Thiemo might never have had a real father, but Leonidas was damn close.

Chapter VI - Act 21.4 - Pulp Fiction

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My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 21.4 - Pulp Fiction ~

Once again Thiemo crossed the streets of the Empire and prayed to the great wizards to give him strength. To be safe, he added every other imaginary being who wore their trunks over their trousers to the list. It had become a small ritual for him.

The Central Bank was already in sight, a rather normal-looking building compared to all the skyscrapers around it. This was, he had learned, mostly because banks in Albion generally tended to have more floors underground than over it. Banking services to the general public was conducted on the ground floor while the three floors above served to house the administrative staff. On the fourth and last floor were the offices of the board. They probably consisted of three old stallions who did nothing but brown-nose each other all day. At least Thiemo couldn’t think of anything else that rich old farts could do up there all day. But who knew, maybe they also sat on a balcony, smoked expensive cigars, and called each other flamingos.

He walked past the bank's entrance. It was still closed. Nevertheless, a few ponies were already waiting in front of the entrance. The ponies paid no attention to him, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. To his relief, there were no foals among them. Otherwise, he would have waited until they were out of the vicinity. Danielle wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Thiemo took a sharp turn and went into the alley next to the bank. Unlike in most metropolitan areas on Earth, it was clean. There were no overflowing garbage cans, no putrid odours wafting out, no drunken hobos passed out in a stew of their own vomit. It was clean as the rest of the Empire, and raised the question of where they buried their dirt.

Just because the alley was clean didn’t mean it was empty, though. Danielle was already waiting for him. She leaned against the wall, at her feet a saddle bag. "You’re late."

"You didn't have a Royal Guard so close to your back all the time that you thought your asshole was a wind tunnel. Cadance put Flash on me." His sister giggled and picked up the bag from the floor.

"I have the masks." She opened the bag and pulled them out. This time Thiemo had to laugh as she threw one over to him.

He pulled the mask over his head. "And? How do I look?"

"Like the racist ruler of a neighbouring country." Danielle did the same thing and pulled the mask over her head. "And me?"

"Like her younger sister." Thiemo opened his coat and pulled the gun out of the holster. Next he reached into a pocket, drew out a talisman that he had ground into the appropriate shape, and placed it into the chamber. Then he handed the weapon to Danielle. "A ruby like this is enough for about a hundred rounds. Strikes harder than a bullet and causes burns. No stun mode or safety."

"So don’t point at anyone. Understood." She looked at the gun in her hand and finally aimed at the wall. "Recoil?"

"Practically none." Thiemo picked up the bag and threw it over his back. "Shall we?" The young woman nodded and lowered the gun. Side by side, they went back to the corner where the alley ended in the main street. Several individual ponies were visible, but there were obviously no humans around. They remained standing just before the light of the sun could reach their feet. "I'm glad you're here."

Danielle nodded. "And remember, no Russian."

They both broke out into a sprint. Ponies were startled when they suddenly came out of the dark alley with masks of the Princesses of Equestria on their heads.

* * *

The beige-coated mare, enveloped in her thick cloak, was nervous. Her eyes flitted across the other ponies waiting at the entrance of the bank, framed by the red glasses she wore on her muzzle. She straightened her hat and caught a glimpse of the note she had glued underneath. ‘Vault three, compartment 101’ was on the note, along with the necessary combination. So far, everything had simply been too easy.

The creaking of hinges announced the opening of the doors. "Finally," muttered the mare and followed the other ponies into the bank. Unlike the rest, she did not go in line to various desks to talk to one of the usual staff members. She instead veered directly toward the stallion who was about to sit at the largest desk in the room. He was an older crystal pony stallion in a fine black tuxedo, whose mane and beard had already fallen into the grey of age, something she was sadly familiar with.

The stallion looked up when he saw her coming. "Miss Yearling! What a surprise." Instead of sitting down in his chair, he came around his desk and greeted her with a brief hug. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm just here to get something from a compartment for a friend, Mister Banknote." That was not a lie. She was here to get something, only that it was not a friend who wanted to have what was in it. This was the bank compartment of one of Equestria’s most dangerous criminals, Doctor Caballeron. In order to protect his most valuable possessions, he had rented a safe in the Empire. In it was a very old human artefact. For several years, she had been on the trail of this artefact, tracing illegal transactions, questioning the handlers, and finally getting the information she needed. She was so close.

"Okay, everyone! Get down on the ground; this is a robbery!" Yearling looked over at the entrance. What were obviously two humans wore grotesque masks of the princesses over their faces. The human with the Luna mask fired a shot from a weapon in its hand, and with a bang, parts of the ceiling rained down. Ponies screamed and hurried to do as they were instructed, while the employees ducked behind their desks. The other human closed the door. "If nobody does anything stupid, nobody will be hurt."

Yearling had met enough humans to be able to detect that it was a female with the Luna mask. The voice was also a good indication. The other was obviously male and probably the champion that Princess Cadance had sent to the arena. Of course, it was possible that another human had had a similarly conspicuous coat made, though that discounted the fact that there wasn’t another human in the Empire at this time. Well, obviously there was at least one more.

This was exactly what she had feared all this time. Everything had gone too smoothly lately. Now, however, there was no time to complain about the universe. She leapt over the director's large desk and joined him. "We need to alert the Crystal Guard."

"Pumpkin," cried the one with the Celestia mask. "Would you please melt the lock?"

"Sure thing, Honey Bunny." The gun was fired and the door’s lock melted into a lump of metal and crystal. The two were apparently not very smart. This was the only non-magically secured exit from the building. More importantly, they were increasingly ruining her plans.

"Hey! Hey you!" Yearling peered over the desk. Celestia, or Honey Bunny, had jumped onto one of the tables and grabbed one of the staff from behind it. "Come on, you open the vault."

"W-What?" stammered the young stallion as he was shaken by the human. No wonder—they were all whirling from the sudden attack.

Thousands of small crystals suddenly flew out from his coat and melded together into a staff with a hook at the top in Honey Bunny’s hand. "Equish, motherfucker! You speak it?" He pressed the staff against the head of the employee. "I said to take us to the vault and open it for us." The mare sank back behind the table and hit her face with a hoof, shaking her head. The only pony in the room who could open the vault was sitting next to her.

She could practically see the employee pointing to her cover as he spoke, "Only the director can do that.”

As it seemed, everything had been allied against A.K. Yearling today. Luckily, however, Daring Do had some options open. "Sorry, old friend," she whispered to Banknote and rammed her right front hoof into his chin. The stallion's head jerked back and banged against the desk. Then he sank unconscious to the ground.

The robbers responded to the noise. "Hey! Come out from behind the table." Daring hurriedly slipped out of her disguise. She also helped Banknote out of his suit and slipped into the expensive getup. "Don’t make me repeat myself," Luna, or Pumpkin, threatened.

With a last quick pull, she tightened the tie and stood up slowly. "Just take it easy, Miss." Luna jerked her head to indicate the middle of the room, a clear sign for Daring to come out from behind the table. Daring knew that it would be smart to follow the instructions, especially as the weapon was now pointing directly at her. The employees' eyes widened briefly as they saw Daring in the suit of the original director, but nopony gave her away. She did not know what was going through their minds, but as long as they remained silent, all was well. What was unfortunate, though, was how Luna looked at her. The eyes behind the mask seemed slightly confused. Did she know the director, or worse, did Pumpkin recognize her?

"The vault is down here."

Celestia left the poor stallion and joined Luna. He nodded to the other human, and they began to move. It was a very interesting dynamic. Although Luna seemed to be more powerful, Celestia was the real leader of the two, indicative by the fact that Luna seemed to be listening to Celestia's commands. Were the two perhaps a couple living here in the north? The nicknames were a strong indication of this theory. Then again, Daring remembered having heard something about Princess Amaryllis and Cadance’s champion being together, so it was probably someone else.

The pegasus, with her wings hidden in the suit, led the two humans down the hall and suppressed a groan at their idiocy. They both followed her and had left the hostages alone. As soon as the ponies realized this, one could count the seconds on all four hooves that it would take until someone called the Crystal Guard.

Daring opened the door that led to the anteroom of the vault, a room with fine wallpapers, dignified paintings, and in the middle, a large table with two chairs in front. There were no windows, no additional desks, and no carpeting. Here, ponies waited for an employee to bring them the contents of their compartment. Only these were allowed to enter the actual vault space, and only after the director had opened it. That happened by means of a crystal, which he always carried with him on a gold chain. At least until Daring had taken his suit from him.

One of the two humans closed the door behind them. "So," Luna said, "open it up." She didn’t need to be told twice. She pulled the crystal from the inside pocket of the suit and placed it, with her mouth, in the provided base. Immediately, the crank of the vault was set in motion. It groaned and rattled. Slowly, the round opening of the vault was revealed.

In the vault, there were practically only three gigantic cabinets containing the compartments, and in the middle were some crates that were open and filled with bits. Everything was illuminated by a crystal that seemed to grow naturally from under the ceiling. Daring was used to the sight. She had even seen larger treasures. But she was certain that these humans had never seen such a sight. However, they did not whip past her, nor did they did run to the crates filled with bits and began stuffing their pockets. Daring turned to look at them. "Will that be all?"

Damn it. She wanted these two to fall over the bits. That would have been the distraction for her to gain her own treasure. "That will be everything," affirmed Celestia. "You can go back to the others."

Just how incompetent could they be?! Enough was enough. "What's wrong with you two?" she yelled at them. "Were you dropped on your head as children or something? Not only did you leave the hostages alone, you also blocked the only safe way out for yourselves. It's almost like you wanted to be caught!" They froze. Damn it, she was right—they both had a death wish. They wanted to be caught.

"You're not the director, are you?" Luna asked cautiously, lowering the gun. "I could swear... Daring? Daring Do? "

Daring’s hoof made contact with her face again.

"You know her?" Celestia asked, pointing his staff to the mare in the suit.

"Not personally, I just recognized her."

"Okay, time out!" she interrupted. "Look, if you have a crazy fetish of holding up banks and getting caught, I'm the last one to keep you from it. But I'm here for a good reason and it’s in there." She pointed with a hoof in the direction of the vault. "That's why I'm going to go there and get it without anybody shooting me in the back."

Celestia leaned back against the table. "I have no objections. I’m just curious to know what’s so important. Not that I want to have it, no matter what it is. Pure professional curiosity." Daring did not wait any further. Time was running out and she freed herself from the suit. She flapped her wings and flew to her goal. Actually, she had thought to bribe Banknotes, but this situation worked just as well. She found the right compartment and took out the cassette within. With that, she sank to the ground again and inputted the combination into the number lock. The flap opened with a click. Hurriedly, Daring Do opened the cassette and stared at the contents. It was something white with notches in it. It was also small and would fit in her hoof. Or in a hand, she realized, when one of the humans suddenly reached for it. "Hey!"

Celestia held the object in her hands and looked at it. A chuckle could be heard from under the mask. "I’m starting to believe that these things are everywhere."

Daring grabbed at the object. The human made no attempt to prevent her from doing so. "You know what this is?"

She could swear he grinned under the mask. "I've already held two of them in my hands. And I've even used one of them."

Daring stared at the duo. Perhaps they were allies? Did they have a similar goal, maybe even the same mission? She didn’t have time to dwell on the matter. Voices could be heard from the main hall. The Crystal Guard was here. She grabbed the cassette, threw it back into the vault, and pulled the key off. At once, the door closed. "Here!" She threw the key over to Celestia. Her gaze wandered around. "The suit!" She quickly picked it up and managed to throw it into the vault before the door closed with a click. I hope you don’t take it personally, but I have to take this somewhere.” With that, she flew upwards and waited over the door to the main hall that opened.

Celestia asked Luna for the gun and placed it on the table. "A pity," he murmured, taking the crystal out of the chamber. "Legion, scan it."

"Yes, Master," a monotonous female voice announced that Daring could not place. As the staff suddenly splintered into thousands of tiny crystals and began to focus on the gun, she realized that that was what had spoken. The damn weapon was alive. It seemed to have devoured the pistol, because as the individual crystals disappeared into Celestia’s cloak, there was nothing left of it.

"Good luck, Miss Do," Luna said and squatted down on the floor, holding her hands behind her head. Celestia did the same, except that he crossed his legs in a very strange fashion.

The voices from the main hall grew louder, and moments later the door was thrown open. Two guards stormed into the room, spears pointed forward. They shouted for the humans to lay flat on the ground and stretch themselves out. However, Daring was no longer with them. As quietly as she could, she flew over their heads through the door and headed for the entrance.

It was no different in the main hall. About twenty guards were active, escorting the public and the staff outside. Two had a stretcher on their backs with the unconscious director on it. Unnoticed in all the hustle and bustle, Daring landed outside, hiding the artefact, which had been in her mouth until then, under her wing. Then she began to tremble, tears running down her cheeks. She never regretted taking those acting lessons.

***

Cadance had had a relatively good day so far. She had gotten Skyla to leave her room and have breakfast with her. She had finished the first draft of a new law, and the tea she had just imbibed was excellent. Her heart also ached slightly less at the thought of Shining Armor.

The law was his substitute. Up until now, they had decided everything together, and without his advice, she felt lost especially when it came to military matters. She had decided upon the creation of a council, and had worked to bring it into existence. Selected representatives of the people would form the council together with the highest ranks of their military. These would be re-elected every three years. They would help to draft further laws, rework old ones and, if necessary, reign in her absence. Everything Shining had done in his time.

Her gaze wandered back to her desk where everything on the council was meticulously prescribed on a rolled parchment. A parchment would never replace Shining, but who would ever expect that?

"Your Highness!" cried an excited voice, and half a second later, the door to her study room was pushed open. "Your Highness," one of her guards repeated breathily. All the muscles in her body tightened. Another attack?

"Speak, soldier!"

"Your Highness, General Prisma sent me. Two humans have entered the Central Bank and have taken hostages."

Cadance blinked. Two humans. Exactly two? It was not an attack, but a sick feeling spread in her stomach. Her otherwise pleasant day was quickly going down the drain.

Chapter VI - Act 21.5 - Judge Judy

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My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 21.5 - Judge Judy ~

Heavy chains clinked with every step that Thiemo took, his feet shuffling along since the shackles limited his stride. Both his hands and feet were enchained by iron cuffs, and these chains, in turn, linked with a third. Thiemo had watched enough television to recognize that it was the same as in American prisons in with which the scummiest of scum were taken. At least he wasn’t wearing a bright orange jumper, only a shirt and trousers made out of white linen.

Everything had been taken from them: his coat, trousers, and shoes, along with his totem and the talismans that he had hidden in the inner pockets of his clothes. He had stored rubies in his coat, lapis lazuli and sapphires in a bag that could only be reached from a compartment in the right pocket of his trousers, and amber in each boot. Rarity had made the modifications for him, though he was certain she now regretted doing so. In any case, none of those weapons were of any use to him, seeing as the ponies tended to seize the clothes of their prisoners on principle. At least they had been given a substitute, though it was a poor one. He could see every seam on his sister’s shirt as she walked a few paces in front of him.

She was chained in the same manner as he was, but unlike him, she had the power to set herself free at any time. After all, Danielle was an angel, a being of higher power than mere mortals, though not a god. Divine intervention had had nothing to do with her ascension. Her powers had awaken when Lyra had been greatly injured. Danielle, the feminized form of the name Daniel, The Judge. She had thrown a monster of a changeling like a sack of potatoes several feet and had stabbed it with a claymore that she had practically pulled out of nowhere. To top it all off, she hadn’t remembered a single second of the ordeal. He was the only one who was conscious to bear witness to the entire episode. In the weeks following the attack on the Empire, her body had reacted to the swirling magic surrounding her through her wings growing rapidly and her physical strength increasing.

He knew his sister and he knew magic. It was better to gradually introduce her to her powers, if only he knew what they were. Megan would certainly be pretty useful in this situation.

However, she was a few thousand light years away, and they were here in chains and were being led to the throne room within the palace by their own personal guards to the left and right of them, armed with spears. Despite the noise of the clinking chains and the march of hooves around him, he could already hear the mass of inhabitants who had gathered to attend their trial. Hundreds of conversations swirled around at the same time, and it was impossible to hear any single voice. And they were still only in front of the closed door.

The guards in front of him nodded as they came to a halt. "Please tell me again why we’re doing this?" Danielle whispered to him as he stood next to her. "You know, just to be sure I'm not crazy."

"Because I was too stingy to pay for our trip to Ti," Thiemo murmured back with a smile that elicited a growl from his sister. "The other reasons we already discussed in detail."

"I always thought heroes were bid farewell with the townsfolk waving flags, and getting a feast before they went out to save the world." Danielle shook her chains, rattling them loudly. "Not like this."

"Maybe we’re not heroes? Perhaps we are just two crazy teenagers who’ve escaped from the Highlands and are actually far in over their heads and just trying to make the best of it. Because when it comes to Albion, her heroine has already departed to expel the evil humans from Hoovegorod. We’re going to Ti to collect information and find the Crystal Heart. For Queen and country and all the crap." This time it was Thiemo who grinned. "But what do I know? It's not like I've done this before." As Danielle glared at him, he turned to one of the guards. "What’s taking so long? I don’t have all day!"

As if they had heard his call, the wings of the great door opened into the throne room, which had been completely silenced. The eyes of hundreds of ponies, filling the otherwise free surface around the columns, stared in their direction. "Bring forth the prisoners!" Cadance commanded, and two of the guards pushed them forward.

Thiemo, a grin still on his face, peered into the crowd and immediately found some familiar faces. Leonidas and Grape were in the front row. Unlike most of the crowd gathered here, they didn’t bear scowls or anger on their faces. They looked more questioning, and in the case of Grape, almost sad. It was probably why Leo had laid one of his wings over his wife. Anvil stood somewhat apart from the two and answered Thiemo's grin with his own. No doubt he was very pleased with the situation. Schadenfreude, Thiemo guessed. Only Amy would be able to say for sure.

It was Danielle and not him who saw the next familiar face, causing her to emit a strangled sound. Farther into the crowd, almost right in front of the throne, Lyra sat. She looked much better than Thiemo had last seen her a few weeks ago. She also had four legs, even if one of them was metal. It was finely worked metal, seemingly almost fragile, but was relatively close to a genuine leg. Crystals were incorporated into the joints, and he did not need his magical gaze to know that it was connected with her own magic in order to move the construct as she wanted. The entire thing was similar to how humans on Earth could now link their prostheses with their nervous system.

What had caused the reaction from his sister was likely the fact that Lyra had been crying. Her face had damp streaks coursing down her cheeks, and her eyes were red, looking for all the world like someone had kicked her pet. The last thing Lyra needed was the mental anguish that was so plainly expressed on her features, a look imitated by Danielle. She had even stopped briefly and had to be pushed onward by one of the guards.

"You and her? Really? When did it happen?" he whispered to his sister when they were once again level.

"I didn’t think she would be here," Danielle muttered. Amongst their shared interests, one was the preference for the female sex, something that no one else in their rather religious family knew about. But, hey, who could blame her? She knew what was good. One summer, she had brought home a friend from her boarding school. Thiemo had found them in the living room getting to second base. As often as he had made fun of her red curse in her past, as often as he had put shaving cream in her hand while she slept, this was something he would never make fun or condemn her for. Still, did it really have to be Lyra? However, he did not have the advantage of time to ask his questions, for they stood before Cadance, or now rather Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.

The princess looked different today than he had ever known her. It was almost as though her very being engendered a feeling of reverence and respect. It was evident in her posture, sitting upright on her sea-breeze crystal throne. The expressionless gaze she regarded them with would have made Celestia proud. Her mane blew serenely in a non-existent wind, a play of colours of purple, pink, and gold that seemed to dissolve in the air they all breathed.

"Bow to the ruler of the Crystal Empire!" the guard barked beside Thiemo, striking him with the spear behind his knees to give his words a bit more conviction.

Danielle went to her knees first, though Thiemo needed a second blow. Cadance looked down at them with cool eyes, something Thiemo never thought possible. "State your names, prisoners."

Still on his knees, Thiemo straightened himself as best he could. "My name is Thiemo Morgan, a shaman of water and air, member of the Eternal Library of Cervidas, also known as the Great Bananarama. The camels of the desert and the zebras of the steppes knew me as Simba. On Dragmire, I was known as Baloo. In the area of the mild West, I travelled under the name of Lucky Luke. I have killed and tasted the meat of another. I was the head of a thieves’ guild, tried to be a pirate after I killed the old captain in his bed during a mutiny, plus I was an accomplice of Billy the Colt, the terror of the desert. I pretended to be a god, I attempted to assassinate an Equestrian princess… and I stole the heart of another." Cadance raised a hoof to silence him, though a mere gesture could not force him to bite his tongue. It was more that his last words had brought a searing pain to his chest, making him want to simply curl into a ball right there on the floor.

Cadance looked over at Danielle. "I'm his older sister, Danielle Morgan. I've taught him more than half the tricks he knows. For more, you’ll have to give me more time. I’m sure I’ll be able to come up with something.”

While there were cries of outrage and condemnation at the duo’s flippant attitude, Cadance remained impassive. She gazed at Danielle for a few moments, then looked down at a parchment levitated before her. "Our guards have told me that you both refused a legal representative who is familiar with our jurisdiction. Is the correct?" In this case, ‘our’ meant the royal one. Unfortunately, this consisted now only of Cadance, Skyla, and Amaryllis. She spoke on behalf of all remaining members of the royal house.

Other than have a closer inspection of the local laws, there wasn’t much in the way of recreational activity in a prison cell. "I’ll only take one if he's named Denny Crane," Thiemo said.

Cadance ignored him and looked over at Danielle. "That's right, Princess."

For another moment, she studied the two. "As you wish." She finally nodded. "Danielle and Thiemo Morgan, you are charged with illegally entering the Central Bank of the Crystal Empire, holding ponies as hostages, and unlawfully gaining access to the vault. This resulted in property damage to the bank, as well as traumatising a number of ponies." She sighed. "On a personal note, I trusted you, Thiemo. Not only did I give you the honour of fighting for me in the tournament, I invited you into my house and allowed your counsel. You shared a bed with my daughter, and I hoped to be able to one day count you as part of our family. You could have played a part in making humanity feel welcome here."

For a moment, Thiemo wanted to laugh. A real laugh, not the act they were performing. He, a human, sitting on a throne and helping to reign the Empire? No thank you. He couldn’t imagine a more thankless job, as no matter how you did it, you would always be wrong. Perhaps he was only cynical after a lifetime of politics on Earth. "Okay, I'm sorry to have your royal bubble burst, but I didn’t ask for a single one of those things. You wanted to see in me something I am not. Don’t blame me for your mistakes."

"Perhaps. You’ve already heard what I do hold you accountable for. We have already heard the testimony of several witnesses, as well as those of Miss Heartstrings and Lady Rarity, who have given character statements." If Rarity was still in the hall, he hadn’t seen her. "Only your own statements remain, if you wish to make them."

Danielle looked over at Thiemo as he rose. "The accusations are correct. We entered the bank with masks and weapons, made the ponies there our hostages, and took the key from the director. Shortly after we opened the vault, the crystal guard arrived. Since we were outmatched, we surrendered. "

"Why?" Lyra asked suddenly from the side. "Why did you do this?" Soldiers quickly moved to silent her, but Cadance stopped them immediately.

"I would also like to have an answer to this question," she added.

"Motive, means, and opportunity. After the attack, a lot of ponies stockpiled on supplies, because you can’t eat money when shit hits the fan. The vault was well filled, I was sure of it. We had the gun, so we got masks and spied on the bank for a while. One visit to the library and we knew how the vault worked. It wasn’t really that difficult." He shrugged his shoulders. "People have done crazier and more idiotic things to get money. And let’s be honest, if a little horde can surprise the Empire, then others will soon try their luck. So why stay here? And if you’re already planning to leave, why not leave the country as a rich man?”

"Is that all?" Cadance asked. Thiemo nodded. He got a blow to his knees again until he was on them. "Now that we have heard the testimony of the accused, we have garnered enough information to understand the events that occurred on that day. However, there are some parts of your tale which simply do not add up. For one, there is no information about the vault in the public library. On the other hoof, every visitor to the library has to register upon entering. The guards conducting the investigation have examined the register, and neither of the accused’s names was found was on the list. They also would have had to pay an entrance fee, as only citizens of the Empire are allowed free access in accordance with our taxation system.

“Furthermore, a bank employee indicated that there was a third robber. The description allegedly coincides with that of a well-known author, Miss A.K. Yearling. Would you like to comment?" Both Thiemo and Danielle were silent. "Also, a deposit box had been opened. We do not know what was stolen, but the owner was informed. I take it you also have no comment to make, seeing as nothing was found on you?" Still no response. "Then I have nothing more to do but call for a brief recess, in which I shall consider a verdict.”

***

A few minutes later, Danielle and Thiemo found themselves in a small room not far from the throne. It had no windows, only a door secured by two guards. The room was sparsely decorated, containing only two large seat cushions and a small table in the middle. "So, the most important thing first," Thiemo said before they had barely sat down. "You and Lyra?"

Danielle pushed her hair out of her face. "I visited her almost every day at the hospital. We talked, went out together for meals, and I helped with her therapy. When she was released, we went to the theatre and somehow one thing led to another. That was a month ago."

"And you didn’t think I should know?"

"I know how you feel about Lyra."

"She’s an overly-curious nuisance who often does things that aren’t in her best interests, just to prove she was right. Still, she saved you. She left everything she had to learn more about humanity. If we were an endangered species, she would be the leader of a Greenpeace campaign. She's a good pony, just very, very annoying." Thiemo had developed a certain grudging respect for the mare. After all, not many would face a monster to protect someone else, especially when she had known Danielle for such a short period of time. Thiemo himself would have done the same only for Aura, Amaryllis, and Danielle. Anyone else would have died waiting to be rescued. This probably made Lyra a better person than he was.

"Just spare me the details." The last thing he wanted to know was what sounds Lyra made in bed.

"I'll miss her," Danielle whispered, looking down at her hands. "I know when it's all over we'll be together again, but still."

"We can still claim that I had forced you. You're new to Albion; don’t know anyone but me. Plus, unlike you, I mastered magic. I am a dark shaman and criminal. If the ponies in the bank already feared me, just imagine how terrified you must have been.”

"Oh, sure, look at you. What are you supposed to be, a poor man’s Keanu Reeves? With your long greasy hair and the patchiest beard this side of the Thames? Yeah, I am so scared of a snot-nosed punk like you. Don’t forget that I know the story about the pirates. I also know that you only ate that griffin because you were had gone a year without meat and your health was messed up. The vultures were literally circling over your head. You didn’t do anything that anyone else wouldn’t have done to survive. Plus I bet the whole thing went so fast that you didn’t even realize the griffon was intelligent, right, Mister Lecter? And you weren’t even the one who had killed him. So get over it–you’re not getting rid of me so easily. I know it might sound strange, but something tells me that we're doing the right thing, if in a pretty crazy way. I hope you realize we’ve completely fucked over Princess Cadance, though."

Thiemo did indeed feel guilty what they were doing to Cadance, but he knew her better than his sister. In order to get her to give them more than a few hours of community service, it would have taken drastic measures. In her mind, he had already married Amaryllis. She thought of him as family. From experience, he knew that a lot of pressure had to be placed on a family before they were forced to send their own to a boarding school. Or in this case, a prison island. For that, they had needed to get under her skin.

* * *

"Silence!" Cadance's voice rang through the throne room. The voices of the spectators subsided and the focus was placed back on their ruler. "I have met with some of my esteemed councillors, and I have arrived at a verdict." She looked down from her throne to Thiemo and Danielle, who were kneeling before her. "Normally I would have the accused pay damages to the afflicted parties. Furthermore, he would undertake treatment, talks to someone about his problems, and do some temporary work for the community. However, we already tried that, to no avail. Therefore, in light of the admitted criminal offences, even if some did not occur within the Empire, I have no choice but to invoke an order of banishment. We will not only send you back to Ti, but you will never enter the Crystal Empire again in your life. If you attempt to do so, we will treat you like any other intruder." There was a sound of outrage from Lyra. "Even as we speak, the preparations for your transfer are being made. For this mercy, you should thank Miss Heartstring and Lady Rarity, both of whom spoke greatly in your defence.” She was silent for a moment. "Is there anything else you want to say?"

Both Danielle and Thiemo lifted their right hand and gave a very British two-finger salute.

*** ~ [Fall Out Boy - The Phoenix] ~ ***
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.

Chapter VI - Intermission 21 - The Gate to Equestria

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Only once in her life had Amaryllis had the pleasure of witnessing the sea with her own eyes, and that was through the window of a giant metal bird flying hundreds of kilometres per hour. Here, from the battlements of Hoovegorod, she could experience the salty air, the gentle rush of the waves, and the sand under her hooves.

Hoovegorod itself was an enormous fortress that stretched across the entire seascape and controlled the entrance and exit into the interior of the country with a gigantic lattice. The fortress was constructed from sandstone, making it almost indistinguishable from the beach and cliffs. In the western section of the fortress, considered to be the main part of the structure, were the soldiers’ accommodations, the cafeteria, and the practice fields. The eastern side, which could be reached over several bridges or even through the lattice itself, was smaller and accommodated, beside the largest cannon installed in the fortress, only the device to raise or lower the lattice. Half-worked into the cliffs as it was, Hoovegorod posed an obstacle for anyone who would dare to invade Equestria or its neighbouring countries.

That raised the question of how the monsters had made it into the fortress, let alone take it. Amaryllis didn't want to call them changelings, even if technically they were. Changelings who had fed on the suffering and flesh of the captured soldiers. They had been monsters, and Amaryllis knew that changelings weren’t monsters in reality, despite what many would believe.

"Better?" her aunt asked, sitting next to her on the battlements.

"My throat still hurts," the younger princess whimpered. The sight of the prisoners, along with the smell, had triggered something within her. It was a searing pain that seemed to fight its way up her chest and into her throat. "It hurts so much. But not in my body. I can’t describe it. All the pain, the fear and the screams." Despite her words, she felt a surge of bile burning her throat. However, nothing came out as she retched except air.

Twilight, older but not much larger than Amaryllis, placed a wing over her niece's back and began to massage it. It was all she could do for Amaryllis at the moment.

My Little Pony

Journey

~ Intermission 21 - The Gate to Equestria ~

"Captain, how are the soldiers?" Twilight asked as she saw the mare coming out from the interior of the fortress into the yard. Here they had set up tents as an improvised camp after they had recaptured Hoovegorod.

The thestral shook her head. "Not good," Nighthawk began. "There are a lot of cases with inflamed wounds and fever. Together with the trauma... Ironheart and the other paramedics believe that if only half of them make it, it’ll be a miracle." She looked back briefly over her shoulder to the entrance, or what was left of it. The heavy iron door had been squeezed in and barely hung onto its hinges, crushed by magic during the first assault on the fortress. "We need to get help from Canterlot. We need airships that can take those who were held prisoner to a real hospital. Please, Princess, I’ve known half the ponies down there most of my life."

Twilight remembered the last time Night Hawk had travelled with them. She had been a capable fighter and a competent leader, confident and professional. Now she just seemed tired. "I’ve already sent my mother a message, but our fleet is widely stretched. We must wait until the promised ship arrives from the Empire. A few days, maybe more." Twilight's gaze wandered to the camp where soldiers had gathered everything from the fortress that would prove to be useful: canned supplies, bedding, blankets, as well as weapons. She pretended not to hear Night Hawk’s cursing, as she could understand how the mare felt. This had been her fortress, her soldiers, and her friends. Twilight knew she'd be more than just swearing if anypony had done this to Ponyville. Those thoughts inevitably led back to her brother, the pain still like a thorn in her heart. It would probably be there for a long time, never truly fading.

Her scrutiny of the camp finally came to a stop at the tents where they had taken the dead. "I know, Captain," she finally said, the undertone of anger evident in her voice. "Look for volunteers to dig graves for the dead, then rest a bit. We will hold a ceremony tomorrow. It will do us all good. Come on."

Night Hawk nodded and was about to turn away, but she paused. "Princess? Do you know what’s strange? We’ve killed at least ten of those strange things, but not one human was among them, and not a ship was near the fortress. So where did the humans who helped those in the Empire come from? The one with the magic weapons?" Twilight was silent. "I know only four beings that are capable of transporting so many people over such a long distance. I also know that none of them would. Which means that there must be a fifth being with such strength." Night Hawk looked into her eyes. "What are we fighting here?"

Twilight sighed and reduced the distance between them to a minimum. "You are not the first to notice that. It was Thiemo who first brought it up." Nighthawk's eyes widened. "He met an angel, the human equivalent of an alicorn. He believes that there is another alicorn who’s supporting the forces on Ti, together with a changeling queen." Night Hawk swallowed and her wings twitched, but she said nothing and continued on her way.

However, the princess did not have time to give the captain her undivided attention. There was still so much to do. She herself had been on the way down into the interior of the fortress when the captain had intercepted her. Twilight was no different from Amaryllis, after what she'd seen down there. She had merely learned from her mother how to maintain an impassive mask, as the ponies around her now needed a strong princess to lead them. What she had done was what she was best at: she organized. After she had Estoc's company secure the available resources and ordered Night Hawk’s unit to care for the wounded, there was only one thing left for her to do. To do that, she had to descend into the fortress again.

Twilight walked toward the open doorway and looked down into the shadows, interrupted only occasionally by the glow of a torch. At the thought of what she had seen, she shook her head briefly and wished her friends were here, a wish she immediately revoked. No one should see this. With a deep breath, she finally descended the stairs. With each step, it became a warmer and stuffier, the air old and spent. The stench of misery, a mixture of excrement, ponies who hadn’t bathed for weeks, and blood was still very dominant. It would probably linger on a long time. All places had an aura, and Hoovegorod was no exception. She had been a foal her last visit here, but Twilight remembered the feeling well. If the fortress were a pony, it would be a massive earth pony, dressed in reinforced steel, and wielding a shield larger than himself. A defender who filled its enemies with awe. This no longer existed. The protector was infested with an illness and was being devoured by something evil from within. Hoovegorod was no more than a decaying corpse, a cold tomb that threatened to swallow those who entered it. Over time, evil would gather here, making it the home of malicious spirits and other beings of darkness. Twilight hoped that the rear guard from the Crystal Empire would soon arrive.

She reached the end of the first staircase and took a look into the hallway leading to the lounges and the mess hall. The torches on the walls were unlit, though it wasn’t that they had not tried to light them. It was as if the darkness would just devour the flames after a few seconds. Staring down the hallway, she could almost feel the shadows returning her gaze. With a shudder, the princess turned away and took the stairs down another floor, the path only lit by her horn.

She had not yet reached the bottom when she heard the voices and the hooves of the ponies who had dared to remain and care for the prisoners. Two guards stood before the entrance to the quarters, their horns brightly lit and their swords at the ready, no matter what came out of the dark.

"Princess," one of the guards said as he recognized Twilight. "You should not be here." There was a shriek and the clatter of hooves as the medics hurriedly searched for the appropriate tool. "It's not safe here."

"No," agreed Twilight. "It's not." She stepped past the duo and looked into the passage behind. The doors to the individual rooms were open, paramedics hurrying back and forth amidst the groaning and screaming. Blood glittered in the pale light of her horn and from what came out of the rooms. Twilight turned her head back to the guard. "How is the situation?"

"Three more have succumbed to their wounds and the paramedics are still not sure if they’ll be able to get anybody stable enough to transport. We’re running out of blood for transfusions quickly, as well as bandages and morphine."

"Maybe I can take a look at them?" Twilight heart stopped for a moment and she, as well as the two guards, spun around to source of the gentle voice. Fluttershy stood on the stairs that Twilight had just come down, her coat bright and her mane shining, as if the shadows refused to touch her. However, she did not have that small, serene smile she usually wore that Twilight remembered. Instead, her eyes seemed tired, and her wings drooped like weights on her sides as she passed them.

Twilight took a moment to collect herself, but then she followed the pegasus, who had simply passed her by and disappeared into one of the rooms. "Fluttershy?" The paramedic there seemed to be just as surprised. Fluttershy pushed him aside and looked down at the camp bed with a downcast expression.

"Shhhh," she softly whispered to the wounded soldier and laid one of her wings on the open wound on his flank. One of the monsters had tried to eat him alive and had started with his cutie mark. The earth pony’s eyes widened as Fluttershy stroked the wound, before his eyes closed and he fell into a deep sleep. "Everything will be all right," the pegasus murmured reassuringly, pulling back her wing. Blood stuck to her feathers, but the flank of the poor pony was restored, and the image of a shield graced his fur again.

The paramedics raced past Fluttershy and examined the former wound with wide eyes, mirroring Twilight’s own reaction. "Fluttershy? How did you…" Her voice trailed off, finding herself unable to complete the barrage of questions that fought for prominence.

Her friend looked up at her and fixed her with a hard look, one that seemed totally uncharacteristic of the mare Twilight once knew. "Twilight, please bring me to the others. We can talk when I've completed my work." The princess nodded mutely, turning around and leading her to the next room.

***

"Thank you, Twilight," Fluttershy murmured, placing her glass of water back on the small table between them. "The air was quite dry down there." The princess was still a bit shocked, and she still grappled with the questions that buzzed around in her mind, incapable of taming them. Where had Fluttershy come from, and where had she disappeared to? How had she healed the injured soldiers? How had she done so to those who had even been on the verge of death?

There was only one response she could give. "No problem."

For the first time, Fluttershy smiled in her typical, slightly embarrassed way, averting her gaze. The gesture caused Twilight’s heart to flutter painfully, and once more her mind cast back to her brother, to happier, simpler times. "I know you have a lot of questions, but I can’t stay much longer."

"What?! Why?” If she had the strength, Twilight would have jumped up, but all she could do was stare at one of her oldest friends in horror.

"It just hurts to be here, Twilight. I don’t mean this place, but Albion, this plane of existence almost. I can’t really explain it well. But... I want to help. I have something to tell you something, and please, please believe me, Twilight."

Twilight sagged in her seat. "Why should not I believe you, Fluttershy?"

"Because what I tell you will be unbelievable. Some things will contradict everything you believe in. For a long time, I did not want to believe it myself. But Eris... Eris... She never lied to me. I believe her, and I’m asking you to believe me." Twilight nodded, though she didn’t quite know what to think. "So... Umm, imagine a scale. Peace and harmony are on one side; in the other is chaos, change. They may be absolute opposites, but they belong together, because without one, the other cannot be. If there was no harmony, its counterpart couldn’t exist. Chaos wouldn’t be recognized. The same is true for chaos. How would you recognize a state of harmony if there was no chaos?" Twilight nodded slowly. What Fluttershy said made sense in a logical aspect of philosophy.

"That's a nice theory," she carefully said. "But one would have to assume that two equal forces of harmony and chaos would not neutralize themselves and one would achieve a state of nothingness, right?" Fluttershy shook his head and stretched out her hoof as if she wanted to show Twilight something. However, there was nothing there, just her hoof. Hard keratin that surrounded the soft flesh of the sole, made up of cells that worked together in harmony, growing and eventually dying to make room for new ones. They each took on a different form and changed. Cells consisted of atoms, which were in constant motion, attracting and repelling at the same time. And then Twilight understood. "Life."

"Exactly." Fluttershy nodded. "The state between harmony and chaos is life. We all are a product of this balance." Twilight, who had collected entire lifetimes of books, who knew more about magic than others could accumulate in centuries, was speechless. Why hadn’t anyone realized that? It was so simple that an outstretched hoof was enough to understand the concept. Life was a constant change of harmony and chaos. Fluttershy, however, did not wait until Twilight could gather her thoughts. "However, every being tends to one of the two, but they also always have a part of the other in themselves. We ponies, we are beings of harmony. We strive more for unity, peace, and equality than many others. Draconequus, like Eris, are beings of chaos. They are our counterpart. They have the same problems in understanding us as we do to them. I would not even presume to try to understand them. We just can’t. Their perspective on the world is quite different from us, but it doesn’t make them inherently bad or evil. The love that Eris felt and expressed to others showed that she could be harmonious as well, even if it lay a little dormant.”

"Fluttershy, I'm so sorry," whispered Twilight as tears flowed down the cheeks of the pegasus. She went around to her made to pull her into a winged embrace, but Fluttershy pushed her away.

"Please let me finish." Twilight nodded, stung by her friend’s rejection. "We all need this balance between harmony and chaos. The draconequus are guardians who ensure that harmony does not prevail, neither chaos. That wasn’t always the case. Long ago, Harmony had its own guardians too. They followed their nature, the sense of fellowship and unity, and created more of their kind. They brought the mortal creatures into existence and spread their values. They brought nature out of balance. The draconequus did what they were best and stopped the guardians of harmony. They fell and all that remained was their legend. Your legacy. It took a long time, but the scales began to settle again, but someone or something has disrupted them again. Whoever it is, they’re the one who took my Eris. This person was also the one who took Luna’s beloved from her, and this being is to blame for what happened here." Fluttershy sighed and took a sip of water. "I asked Discord for help. Eris’ father. He’s the one who told me all this. He’s also helping me with my pregnancy." Twilight blinked at that. "But even he can’t take on this being, which in his opinion means only one thing. We're dealing with an outsider, a being that is not subject to the laws of this world, this reality." Fluttershy blinked and then suddenly stood up. "I have to go, Twilight. As I said earlier, this entity is trying to disturb the balance of this world. It is about more than just Equestria. It wants to end our very reality, this world in eternal harmony. Everything alike, everything one, all together. There’s no change, only unity. Albion is being smothered by harmony. You, as the Alicorn of Magic, should feel it. You are magic, harmony and chaos. After all, magic is simply manipulating harmony with chaos or the other way around. You're life, Twilight. Protect it."

Fluttershy took a step towards the exit from her tent, but before Twilight could protest, she simply disappeared.

*** ~ [ JYC Row - Magia Twilight] ~ ***
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Chapter VI - Act 22.1 - White Dove

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"Sir!" a voice barked, tearing Thiemo out of his daydream. The young man jumped up and almost toppled over from his chair which had been tilted dangerously backwards. Arms flailing, he managed to regain his balance, though not before he swept all the books from the table on which they had rested with his feet.

Somewhat embarrassed that he had been caught off guard, Thiemo rose from his seat, smoothened his coat, and looked at the pony that had come into the captain's cabin. "What’s going on?"

"You wanted to be on deck as soon as the fortress was less than an hour away, sir." His eyes twitched, first the left, then the right. For a week he had tried to teach the soldier Cadance had assigned to him as a subordinate not to call him ‘sir’. Unfortunately, the soldier had not forgotten the orders assigned to him from his princess when they had fled. "Thank you, Corporal," he said, nodding to the stallion. "I'll be on deck at once." The guard saluted and disappeared outside the door.

The shaman still couldn’t quite grasp the situation he had found himself in. Not only had Cadance caught on to his entire plan, she had also supported it and given him a ship, crew, and title. Here he was, a herald of the Crystal Empire in the service of the Crown, and Captain of the White Dove, a falcon-class airship. It was a speedy, compact vessel that tore through the clouds like a knife, but looked more like a flying rainbow fish with crystal fiber sails and the lilac-colored trunk. The two side sails, called fins, did not make it any better. Then there was the fact that the ship did not actually sail on the wind, but on the magical currents that were everywhere on Albion.

However, he was captain in name only. The actual captain, a crystal pony mare named Windwalker, led the team. Thiemo was there as he was the only one who was able actually see the magical currents that would take them to Ti. The stopover at Hoovegorod was only a pretext for not raising Equestria’s suspicions, and of course to see Amaryllis. Officially, he was in the cell of the ship, chained to the wall with both hands, only allowed to scratch his nose when he begged for half an hour.

With a sigh, Thiemo picked up the books from the floor, piled them neatly on the table, and looked one last time at his list of notes. On them, he had everything they knew about their opponent. He had hovered together with Danielle over this piece of parchment, but they had not come any closer to figuring out his or her identity. Even the books on former adversaries and individuals who had been banished by Celestia to Tartarus had brought no new insights aside from the fact that Celestia had a knack of making enemies with malevolent beings. It probably belonged to the overall package of being a pony princess, seeing as Twilight and Cadance had already begun their own list. By that reasoning, maybe he would be a pony princess too in the near future.

Thiemo grabbed Legion, leaning against the table in the form of his walking stick, and headed to the door before he glanced back. "Shining, when this is all over, don’t think I’m going to be the one who’s going to explain everything to Cadance." The alicorn, or rather his spirit, stood at the window and turned to Thiemo as he spoke. His lips moved, but without a larynx, no words could be heard. However, Thiemo had a good idea of what he had said, even without being in meditation. “Everything will be all right,” were the words his lips formed, something he had repeated for the past few days. The man shook his head and headed outside.

My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 22.1 – White Dove ~

The mood in the camp was tense. Amaryllis did not even have to resort to her abilities to know how worried and uncomfortable the soldiers were around her. Eyes flew over and over again to the entrance that led down into the unnatural darkness. The poor souls, who had been preventing anyone from going down the past few days, now had to ensure that whatever lurked below did not escape. In addition, their supplies were coming to an end. Everyone had been reduced to emergency rations and a cup of water. However, even that would end in a few days, for many of the rations had been exhausted by the soldiers rescued by Fluttershy.

Her aunt came back with a few strokes of her wings from the highest guard tower of the fortress. Up there, three soldiers had volunteered to keep watch, either for enemies, laggards, or for the aid they desperately needed. Whispers had already increased that that the Empire would leave them in the lurch now that Shining Armor was no longer alive, that Princess Mi Amore Cadenza would now take the title as sole ruler and consolidate power. She had reminded the soldiers that she was also a Princess of the Empire and was here to help them in place of her deceased father. She also knew that her mother would never turn her back on ponies under her protection. Still, she also asked herself, "Where was the damn ship?"

"Nothing," said Twilight as she sat down beside Amaryllis. "The clouds are making it difficult to see anything." Pegasi had already tried to clear them, but something kept pulling them back to their location, blocking out the sun. "I’m sure it will arrive every hour." It was a mantra she had sung over the past two days.

Amaryllis filled a fresh cup of water and handed it to her aunt. For days she had neither drunk nor eaten, giving her rations to the weakest among them. Though death could not claim her as its own, hunger still left traces on her body. At night, when they were together in the tent, she could hear her aunt’s stomach groan, the organ reflective of the stubborn nature of the alicorns. Twilight eyed the water for a moment, but shook her head. This time, Amaryllis did not back down, levitating it directly in front of her mouth. "If you won’t eat or drink, I’ll feed you myself." Déjà-vu went through Amaryllis like a lightning bolt. "You'll be too weak to fight back." Twilight whimpered, her stubbornness keeping her steady for a moment. Finally, body won over mind and she began to drink. The relief that she felt was palpable to Amaryllis.

"There's something moving!" one of the two guards at the door suddenly yelled, readying his spear. All the heads in the camp swiveled around, swords were pulled out of their sheaths, and bows stretched. Unfortunately, it was the second guard at the door who did not react in time. The pony mare had just grabbed her spear when something grabbed her from the darkness and pulled her in. The entire ordeal happened so quickly that it could have been teleportation. The Pegasus who had stood next to her made to go after his comrade, but a shriek of terror halted him.

Twilight’s mug fell to the ground as she moved at a speed that Amaryllis would have considered impossible in her weakened condition. Her horn glowed brightly and she leapt down the first steps into the shadows. There was absolute silence for a brief moment, which felt like half an eternity. Then there was a flash of lightning and two bodies fell into the dust outside the door. Twilight caught the full brunt of the impact, as in her wings she held the disappeared soldier. Blood trickled down the soldier’s head, she was missing a piece of her right ear, and there were bite marks on her legs. "To arms!" the alicorn shouted as she levitated the earth pony aside in the direction of waiting medics and straightened up. "Seal the entrance; do not let anything leave!"

Amaryllis reacted, having overcome her initial shock. Magic gathered at the top of her horn and a shield closed the entrance into the fortress. Immediately something rammed against it, the shield glimmering as it rippled against the impact. Out of the shadows came the praying mantis creatures that resembled changelings. However, it was small, no larger than a dog. Blood clung to the corners around its mouth as it hammered with its scissors-like claws against the barrier. More of the creatures seemed to emerge from the darkness, descending over the bodies of their comrades and filling the entire entrance in seconds.

Twilight was about to respond but was interrupted by a sharp crack, causing their heads to swivel to the source. Amaryllis’ shield still held—it was the masonry around it that began to give way. A large part of the wall had burst out under the massive pressure, and the nightmarish creatures began to stream through. Amaryllis tried to adapt, but the rest of the wall gave way, the mantises pouring forth. The soldiers responded immediately and placed themselves before the princesses, Night Hawk at the helm. Green flames simmered between her lips, and when the first wave came within reach, she opened her personal gate to Tartarus. Insect-like shrieking was heard, the pungent smell of roasted flesh staining the air.

"Attack!" Estoc shouted no sooner than Night Hawk had closed her mouth. The soldiers responded with their own cry as golden armor clashed against black chitin.

"Pegasi to the air!" Twilight shouted at the same moment her hooves left the ground. "Don’t give them a chance! Push them back and block the entrance! None shall escape!" Following her orders, the pegasi who were still able to fly rose into the air. About twenty souls, Amaryllis soberly ascertained.

Suddenly, Estoc stood above her, a spear in his hoof as he gazed down at her. "Can you get up?" Only then did she realize she was prostrate on the ground. Right, she had toppled over when her shield had fell apart. She said nothing, just straightened herself up. Estoc nodded then turned back to face the fight behind him, thrusting his spear into a mantis who had bitten into the neck of another. Slowly, emotions began to return to her. She could feel anger and fear tinged with panic from those around her. It flowed through their bodies and she gathered it all in her horn.

The magic aura that the alicorn and some lesser gifted ponies were able to see was but a flickering light. Like water, it glowed around their horns, indicating that magic was being used. However bright blue flames roared around her horn, empowered by the emotions she fed it. She witnessed how a pegasus who had flown too low was snatched out of the air by three mantises. Some unicorns fired magic beams into the black mass and earth ponies trampled or cut down enemies with hooves and swords whenever they came near. Inevitably, however, they were overrun and Amaryllis answered her with her emotions. “You! Will! Not! Kill! Anypony! Today!” she screamed over the sound of battle. A blue sphere made of magic erupted into the air, akin to that of a miniature sun. The mantis ceased their movements, as did the ponies, and looked into the sky. Then Amaryllis lowered her head in a swift move, the sphere crashing down into the fray and scorching the mantises like ants under a magnifying glas. With every turn of Amaryllis’ head, the beam of blue fire changed its direction and cut through the black horde.

Only when she realized that there weren’t as many left, Amaryllis finally aimed the beam against the hole in the wall that served as their enemy’s exit. The stone melted, reddened, and bubbled before being sealed. Air filled her lungs even as her legs gave way. She had forgotten to breathe during the entire ordeal. As the fight went on, she quickly found it. The ranks of the earth ponies held, but hundreds of nightmares still attempted to get past them, crawling over them or through, if need be. Twilight and the pegasi had brought clouds out of the sky, and with precise kicks rained lightning upon their heads, but rarely struck more than one or two targets before they needed to be replaced.

Amaryllis’ visibility swam and her head drooped. Not far from her was Night Hawk. The claw on her left forefoot was missing, the other stuck in an opponent who was still trying to catch her. One of its scythe-like claws had drilled through the leathery skin of her wings. She had to help her. She had to get up. However, her legs wobbled and her head protested, as she tried to channel magic through her horn again.

It was Twilight who in the end landed behind the mantis and pulled it off Night Hawk. She encased it in her magic and threw it again the fortification wall. “Gather and retreat!” her voice echoed over the field as she fired a magic signal into the air. Then the clouds parted and down came the arrows. First only one, then more, and finally hundreds. Arrows that could easily be called spears rained down on the mantis. The earth ponies, who had had retreated as soon as the first arrow struck the ground, bore witness as a multitude of the insects were impaled. Those with less luck were frozen in ice and then shattered.

The airship, for it could be nothing else even if it looked more like the belly of a fish, came even further down. Finally it was just fifty meters above them, and Amaryllis could see how the fins moved like they were swimming. “For the Empire!” Hundreds of voices could suddenly be heard from above the fortress, and then came the hail. Crystal ponies jumped over the side of the ship and fell towards the ground. Where they struck, the earth shook, and the mantises that dared stand in their path burst like bubbles under them. The mares and stallions in purple armor didn’t even flinch as they landed. As if unaffected, they started to move against the horde. “Let none live!” a general who Amaryllis didn’t know shouted as he came her way. “Princess,” he greeted and bowed deeply. “Do you need medical aid?” He didn’t wait for a response and instead waved two paramedic towards them, who hadn’t landed far away. Then he turned to some other soldiers. “Snow Crystal, I want a landing zone over there. Quartz Shield, I want snipers on the battlements like yesterday! Get some of those lazy arrow pushers and bring them up there!” He paused for a moment, then he pressed onto one of the crystals at the front of his armor. “Windwalker, we’re ready for the second wave. How are the spitters?”

"At eighty per cent," replied the voice of a mare. "Second wave, go, go, go!" And again crystal ponies hailed down from the ship, but this time they landed behind their own lines. However, something was different, for there was a figure that could not belong to a pony. Thiemo landed not a hundred yards from her, wind cushioning his fall, and without even looking in her direction, he began to attack their enemy with the elements. Lightning flashed around his right arm before they struck the mantises, and ice formed over the chitin of every monster that dared to get into his reach.

"General!" Amaryllis looked around where Twilight, supported by a crystal pony, came to them. She did not look good. "We found Princess Sparkle."

The general bowed briefly before her aunt was swarmed by paramedics. "You can’t believe how relieved I am to see you, General," Twilight said, hissing as alcohol was swabbed over a wound on her side.

"What’s the situation?" the general asked.

"Not good. We have many wounded who can’t move on their own. My troops have been standing for days with little food or water.” She managed a strained smile. "It’s nice that you are finally here."

The yellow glittering stallion nodded and turned to the battlefield. This had now largely cleared. Where the earth ponies had attempted to hold the line, the crystal ponies were pushing the few remaining mantises together to the wall, where the hole had previously gaped into the depths. Lightning and arrows continued to hail down from above and caught any who tried to flee in the air. "We are ready," came the mare’s voice from the gem on the armor.

"Fire."

And for the second time today, Amaryllis bore witness how hundreds of arrows rained down from the sky from something that was called a spitter. This time, the fire was far more concentrated, and as the dust cleared, the only movement of the mantises could at best be called twitches. The soldiers of the Empire began to move to end those, though some stayed back to help their wounded comrades from Equestria. “That would be that…” the general said and waved over to the snipers he had ordered on the battlements.

A throat sounded and Amaryllis turned her gaze at the voice behind her. Thiemo stood there, his gaze hard. "The area has been cleared, General Mustang," he said firmly, bowing to her. "Princess." It was like a hoof in her face when she realized that Thiemo was here. She had not felt it. He had cut off their connection. She was the one who had severed it from a mixture of anger and disappointment, but he had cut it totally. She could not read his emotions.

He straightened again and put his hands to his mouth. "Okay, listen up. Order 66!" Swords swirled around, arcs reoriented. The soldiers of the Empire were now directing their weapons against those of Equestria. "Princess Twilight Sparkle, heir to the throne of Equestria, you are hereby a prisoner of the Crystal Empire. I advise you to order your ponies to put down their weapons," he said to her aunt, holding Legion to her throat.

Chapter VI - Act 22.2 - The Beginning of the End

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My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 22.2 – The Beginning of the End ~

Silence prevailed in the cabin that had been assigned to Thiemo. Amaryllis sat on a large pillow, her amethyst eyes gazing into his shining blue orbs.They were glowing in the sparsely lit room. They must have been like that for a while now, but definitely not when they had met for the first time. She would remember having led such a man through the hive all those months ago. Though it felt so visceral, it was almost a year since that day. However, that was not the point. "Why did you imprison Twilight?"

"Why did you just leave?" The question came from his mouth not a second after hers had closed.

She cocked her head. "I don’t know what one has to do with the other."

Thiemo sighed and rested his head on his hands. "Nothing at all. I just wanted to get it out of the way before we talk about anything else." He paused. "Or maybe it has a little to do with it. It would affect my choice of words."

"You know exactly why I left. Somebody had to do something. I was the best for this task. If you and my mother have made one thing clear to me, it’s that I’m a child of two different worlds. If I can help both sides..." Amaryllis breathed deeply. "And you…"

"...were too afraid." He slowly raised his left hand and held it straight in front of her nose. She was trembling. "I still am. I know that you have this ideal in you that won’t allow you to abandon the ones you see as your family. If I had to guess, it was the moment they called you to be their princess that the Empire became exactly that. I understand that. It must be a great feeling to be accepted by so many. I also understand that I’m not as important as your entire family. Really, I understand perfectly. But!" He placed his shaking hand on the table as he rose. "But am I not even worth being kept in the picture? I could have remained on Earth, along with Danielle. It would have been difficult, but... I could have gone back to my old life. Do you know why I didn’t try that? Because I have a life here. I have Auralia and I have you! You're not the only reason I'm here, but a big part of it. I don’t want you to be grateful to me, so that if things should not work between us, you have to stay with me out of any debt you feel you owe me. The only thing I ask is that my own marefriend tells me when she’s leaving. How would you feel if you come to my apartment one day and the neighbor told you that I moved out three weeks ago? That I don’t appreciate you enough to tell you something so important."

She did not need her connection to read Thiemo's emotions—they were clearly written on his face. "I ..." She could not find the words. Something in her throat knotted and she already felt tears sting her eyes.

"You've behaved like a stubborn child. Believe me, I know what that is like. You took the opportunity to run away after our first real argument, and locked me out so that you wouldn’t be reminded of it constantly. And because I'd otherwise have noticed that you were going." He sat down again and rubbed his forehead tiredly. "The pretext of wanting to help Equestria fit into your ideals. Opportunity creates thieves, as the saying goes.” Amaryllis did not know if she should be astonished or simply cry. This human, who stood opposite her, understood her so completely. Her countenance was akin to that of a nymph who tried to sneak a little love from their nurse with their large adorable eyes. And all this without a connection. She, on the other hand, had no idea what was really going on within Thiemo. Why couldn’t she find the words? “Everything has been handed to you up to this point. Your natural gifts have helped you, but you need more in a relationship. A relationship is hard work, compromise… and something you have to find out for yourself. I have it, maybe with a little help from your mother, but I did.

“I love you, Amaryllis, and I want you to know that, but you threw me away when I needed you most, because I couldn’t follow your ideals. And see where they’ve brought you. If we had only arrived five minutes late, then…" She was not the only one with tears in her eyes. "I can’t, Amaryllis. I can’t follow you like a madman into every battle your instincts carry you. Unlike you, I can’t put myself together again. One mistake and Auralia has no father. One mistake and Danielle doesn’t have a brother. All it takes is one mistake. I can’t fight with gods." There was a knock on the door and he waited a moment, fighting to regulate his breathing. A second knock sounded. "Yes?"

The general, whose name Amaryllis had discerned as Mustang, entered the room. At his side was her aunt, her wings tied to her body in a contraption of cloth and hinges. It did not look painful, but no doubt it itched and pulled as she saw Twilight’s wings twitch. On her horn, she also wore something that Amaryllis recognized as three rings when Twilight came closer. They were light blue, made of crystal, and reminded her a little of the ones that Celestia had given her. "The princess wishes to speak to you urgently. She was very persistent, no longer wanting to wait."

Twilight gazed at them for a moment before opening her mouth. "I want to know what this is all about. Why did the ponies of the Empire raise their weapons against us, and why were my ponies put into cells instead of in berths?"

Thiemo glanced at Amaryllis once again, a look that clearly indicated he wasn’t done with their discussion. He then stood and walked in front of Twilight. She reached up to his chin, but still had to look up as he closed in on her. "I thought I'd expressed myself clearly, Twilight Sparkle. The Empire has declared war on Equestria. You are our prisoners."

"But Cadance has promised—"

"Promises are there to be broken," he interrupted her, pushing her finger against his forehead. "I thought you were so smart."

"Cadance would never do such a thing!" Amaryllis felt the despair and disbelief that arose from her aunt. She could hardly believe it herself.

Thiemo shook his head slightly. "You don’t know what humans are capable of when pushed back against a wall. The same is true for ponies. She lost her husband for a war in which her country was not even involved. Others have lost their family and friends for a war that was not theirs. And then came great Equestria who still required support."

"Shining was my brother as well! My family and Amaryllis’ father!" Twilight reached up to Thiemo on the tip of her hooves, pressing snout to nose. "Not only Cadance has lost family."

"No, of course not. However, since it was not our war, we decided to make it ours. Celestia thinks for some reason that the humans on Ti need to be further antagonized. Let her indulge her thousand-year-old hatred, but she should not believe that she can pull the Empire into the abyss. We are leading this war to end it, not to wipe out anyone. We will tackle the root problem."

"But the humans of Ti are our enemies! They followed Nightmare Moon. They took two of my brothers. Shining and then..." Twilight looked at him squarely in the eyes. "You."

Thiemo chuckled hollowly. "You're making the same mistake as Cadance. I'm not Blue Light. We share something important, but I am my own person. I have my own life and make my own choices, no matter what the symbols on my shoulders say. Your ponies put too much emphasis on these symbols, pushed onto you as 'destiny'. We humans believe that we have our own lives in our hands. At least those without brain damage who believe that there is an invisible guy who lives in the clouds," he added quickly when Twilight looked at him questioningly. "Was that all?"

Twilight glanced past Thiemo to Amaryllis. She was still sitting on the cushion, looking back with a scrupulous look. "Amaryllis, do you agree? As a princess of the Empire, you could rescind the order.” The thought had already occurred to her. That was why she had first asked Thiemo about the reason they had attacked the Equestrians. But since she knew this now...

"Yes, I could," she replied to her aunt. After a moment, they both averted their gazes.

"It's nothing personal, Twilight. Damn, I still think of you as a friend." The princess smiled slightly when he said that. "Still, this is not just about us. We have to stop Celestia, but first we have to restore the Empire back to full force." Amaryllis watched Thiemo's gaze wander into a corner of the room. Then he sighed after a few seconds. "We need to get the Crystal Heart back. After that... After that, we end this stupid war, which should have ended a thousand years ago."

"Good," Twilight suddenly said, and her horn began to glow. The rings reacted immediately, and ice began to form around Twilight, but that did not stop her. She levitated the three rings from her horn and the ice dissolved into dust. Then, with one or two targeted magical strikes, the device opened over her wings, and she stretched them out. "You have no idea how much they've been itching." The princess grinned slightly as she began to preen her feathers. Mustang coughed briefly and looked away.

Meanwhile, only Amaryllis seemed to have noticed that Legion, having hitherto been lying in the corner of the room, had flown into Thiemo's hand not a second after her aunt had begun to cast her magic. "I think our prisoner will behave. Mustang, you can go. Actually, we should all go on deck. I have something else to do."

They both followed Thiemo and Mustang to the deck of the White Dove, the Crystal Empire ship that had broken through the clouds less than three hours ago. The name was ironic, Amaryllis was sure. On the other hand, with what Thiemo had told her and Twilight, there was the possibility that it was not. After all, this ship served as a tool to end a war.

"Captain Windwalker," Thiemo called out over the heads of dozens of soldiers who were rushing to attend to their duties. "Are we in position?"

The captain, an ice-blue crystal pony mare that had a horseshoe superimposed over a cloud as a cutie mark, was at the head of the airship. She wore no armour, but a uniform of the same colour. "Have been for about an hour, sir. But if I may ask, why? We can’t fire from this angle. It would be too steep." Thiemo stepped beside her and looked down, then quickly backed up.

"No, everything is fine this way," he said, taking a deep breath. Amaryllis came to the edge and looked down. They were high, halfway between the earth and clouds. Not directly above the fortress, but slightly off. How far exactly, however, she could not say.

Her aunt also stretched her neck over the railing of the White Dove and looked down. "What are you doing?" she finally asked.

"Well," he began, "we’ve eliminated the surface threat, but I couldn’t dream of going into the depths of the fortress or commanding soldiers to do so."

"Not that you could," Mustang murmured.

"Or that I have the authority to do so," he added. "I’m actually a special representative."

"He’s only saying that because he wasn’t allowed to call himself a spy," Danielle interjected as the woman came out of the captain's cabin. "Hello, Twilight, Amaryllis." The two princesses returned her greeting, only slightly surprised. Danielle wore a long white coat decorated with the colours of the Empire. Since this was open, one could still see her everyday clothes, but also the crystal belt buckle in the form of the Crystal Heart. The coat was similar to Thiemo’s, there was no doubt.

"This is Rarity's work," Twilight noted immediately. "It suits you."

"And I don’t stick out like an orange pylon," the woman agreed, nodding slightly to her brother.

He only rolled his eyes. "Family, you gotta love em," he commented dryly, beginning to roll up the sleeves of his own cloak. "Ladies and gentlemen, I ask that you put your sunglasses on, place your seats in an upright position, and lower your jaws. What you’re about to see might be shocking.” He reached out and muttered a word," Legion."

The hundreds of crystals that consisted of the staff flew towards him, apparently coming from all corners of the ship. They hovered along his outstretched right arm and finally melded into his staff. "Ready," the monotonous voice of Legion sounded.

"How many sapphires do we have?"

"Five."

Thiemo grinned. "Load."

Amaryllis observed how not only the tip began to shine but also other splinters in different places. And suddenly she understood how Thiemo used this weapon, why he did not carry a bag of talismans with him. He had Legion absorb the talismans he had made. The staff was the bow and quiver at the same time.

Thiemo now stretched the staff towards the sky and began to make a slight circular movement. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Then she turned her gaze upwards, realizing the clouds were moving. The grey blanket that covered the skies began to churn around like a whirlpool, growing darker as it began a slow descent. "Thiemo," she said hesitantly, looking down at the shaman again. Where previously his eyes had only slightly glowed, they were now blazing, as did his shoulders and the entire staff. Even those among them who could not see magic could certainly feel the charged atmosphere around them.

With every movement of his staff, the clouds rolled even more and moved like a screw towards the ground. Finally, they formed a tip that ended approximately at the same high as the airship. Then she saw the flashes. Inside the whirlpool, lightning flared constantly, too many to count. However, thunder did not follow. These were magic flashes. "Thiemo, what are you doing?" Twilight asked, as she also seemed to understand that the shaman had just tamed a natural force. He did not respond even as an arc of lightning streaked down and struck the fortress below. There was a thunderous explosion as stone flew in all directions, resulting in a large, gaping hole in the castle courtyard that revealed the surrounding rooms of the fortress. From their position, it looked as if thousands of ants were milling about, but Amaryllis knew better. The creatures did not seem to realize that they were exposed to daylight as they started climbing outside.

Thiemo rammed the staff onto the wooden floor of the ship, which shattered under the impact, and in the same moment, a gigantic bolt of lightning arced out of the spiral of clouds, illuminating everything for half a second, as if Celestia had decided to let the sun hang low today. Another half-second of silence was broken by the rumbling of another explosion, dwarfing the first in its sheer intensity. The stones that had once formed a fortress flew into the sea, into the surrounding mountains, and a few even managed to hit the bow of the White Dove. Rocks from the mountains broke apart and rolled into the river, which led into the inland, filling it within seconds. When the dust settled, Hoovegorod no longer existed. Where the fortress stood seconds ago, there was now only a large pile of rubble that blocked the access to the mainland.

"Ejection," Legion was the first to speak, and five charred lumps were expelled by the staff. They rolled a little, then crumbled to dust.

"~Oh yeah!" the shaman suddenly shouted with delight in English and turned to the others. "~Wild thing! You made my heart sing." He began to dance on the spot. "~Wild thing, you make everything... groovy."

Amaryllis ran a hoof through her mane, brushing off the detritus that had landed all around them. The only one who had been spared was Thiemo himself. He danced comically backwards, although it looked as if he were taking steps forward. "Thiemo!" Twilight suddenly yelled at him, wrapping her magic around his collar and jerking him down to her eye level. "That was one of the most important Equestrian fortresses. This was the only way to get from the inland to the sea, not only for us, but for other nations, too. How could you just..." Her anger seemed to waver and she released him. "We lost ponies to get this fortress back. To keep it."

"And you’ve still lost, even if you haven’t realized it yet. It was worth fighting for it since, like you said, it is only way into the interior mainland. But we can’t allow this important path to fall into the hands of the enemy. We can’t leave it to them. We can’t get out this way anymore, but they cannot get in. No doubt it will impact trade, but in the long run it saves the lives of thousands of civilians."

"My speech," Danielle said dryly, rolling her eyes.

"This was your idea?" Twilight turned to Thiemo's sister.

"Our idea," the shaman immediately interjected. "It was a necessity. What else should you do with a lost fortress that is considered impregnable?" He shrugged. "So then. Captain! Sails down; get us out here."

Windwalker nodded and turned to the deck. "You've heard him, get us in position and bring the fins out. We travel with the currents of the leylines."

Author's Notes:

I think of this as a very special chapter. If you know the meaning behind Thiemos name, it maybe will become more clear to you, too. Thiemo isn't his real name, only how the ponies can pronounce "Timo" in their language. Timo is a old Greek name and short for Timotheus: The God-fearing. Then remember that in the earlier chapters he stated that he didn't believe in gods, but now he revers to Amaryllis as one. Maybe they aren't gods in the traditional sense, but he acknowledges that Amy is a form of higher existence.

I often stated that I choose names with reason. This is the reason why the main human of this story is named Timo. As I planned this story I knew he would often interact with god-like beings. There wasn't any name more fitting in my opinion. And I actually wanted to take a different name to get another point across, but I had to scratch that in favor of this.

It is the same for his sister Danielle. Danielle, the female version of Daniel, means: The Judge. Think about it.

Special thanks to JBL for translating & editing.

Chapter VI - Act 22.3 - Ruins

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My little Pony

Journey

~ Act 22.3 – Ruins~

Danielle was currently sitting in the kitchen of the White Dove. Next to her plate, filled with mashed vegetables and butter-covered crystal maize, was the book in which she had immersed herself. She had managed to stab a fork into her food, but her concentration was definitely elsewhere, Amaryllis was certain. The princess waited for another moment, then went past the veterinarian and took a seat from across her. Danielle did not look up from her book, having not even reacted to her arrival either. Amaryllis waited patiently, for if there was one thing she had, it was time. They were in the middle of the ocean and had several days of travelling before they reached Ti. Besides, it was rude to tear someone out of their thoughts. Amaryllis took the time to look more closely at Danielle. She wore the same coat as yesterday, that the white fabric intricately decorated. It was similar to Thiemo’s, though there was one significant difference. A thick strip of the same fabric ran down her back, right between her shoulder blades and hiding two small openings. It was almost as if Rarity had created the garment expecting that wings would sprout from Danielle’s back at any moment. That begged the question of whether the designer knew Danielle’s secret, and why did they tell her?

No, those were questions for another time, Amaryllis thought, shaking her head slightly. The movement seemed to have caught Danielle’s attention, as she looked up a second later. A frown flittered across her face briefly, and she carefully drew a long, violet hair out of her food with two fingers. "Excuse me," the princess said at once, pushing her mane aside with her magic.

"How long have you been sitting there?" Danielle asked, closing her book. She took her fork, which had until then been wandering around her plate aimlessly, into her other hand and speared some food that had surely grown cold by now.

"Not long, a few minutes maybe. I didn’t want to disturb you while you read."

"If this is about my brother, you don’t have to try. I agree with him. If my girlfriend had abandoned me while I was sick in bed, I would have reacted the same. And being angry at him, after all he did, for being scared... that takes the cake."

Amaryllis shrinked in her seat. "Yes, I've screwed up. But there must be something I can do to..." Her words drifted away as Danielle clinked her fork against her plate.

"You want to change his mind?" The princess was about to nod, but paused for a moment to think. Finally, she shook her head. "Good, because changing his mind would be impossible. He’s as stubborn as a mule. What you have to do is make him want changing his opinion. Show him that he can rely on you. That you've recognized that you made a mistake and understand what it means to be in a relationship."

She wanted to nod again but again paused. She had no idea what it meant to be in a relationship, truth be told. This was her first, after all. For her, their relationship had consisted of someone that she had adventures with and whose bed she shared, someone she liked and wanted to be around. However, this did not seem to be everything, and she had paid for her ignorance. To admit that to herself almost hurt as much as the conversation that she had with Thiemo. "What does it mean to be in a relationship?"

Danielle stared at her for a moment with her penetrating blue eyes, and Amaryllis realized that they were the same as Thiemo’s. "A relationship is hard. The first thing you need to know is that there aren’t just good times. There are just as many bad moments. The important thing is to work through them together. There are days when one sticks with the other, and there are days when you want to throw them from the third floor of a building. It’s important to remember the essentials. You love that person, you want to support them, even if you don’t always agree. Each member in the relationship has to want the best for the other. There’s no longer any ‘I’, only ‘we’. A relationship is hard work and consists of compromises." Danielle paused and didn’t seem in a hurry to continue, leaving Amaryllis to ponder her words.

She remembered their first meeting, her trip through Appleloosa and her time in Canterlot, the journey through the mountains and finally their time in the Empire. It had always been Thiemo who had struggled for her. It had always been Thiemo who had done something for her. He had never asked for anything. He had never complained. Sure, she'd healed him when they'd fallen into the depths. But that had been expected, was not it? She would have cured everyone, had it been necessary. It had been a coincidence that it had happened to the human for whom she had feelings. However, Thiemo had set his own goals aside for her, had set her goals above his own. He had been the one who had always tried to make her days ever more brighter. The improvised date in Sunnytown shot her through the head.

"I haven’t been a good girlfriend to him, have I?" she finally asked, looking up.

Danielle, who had since emptied her plate, pushed it aside and opened her book again, but said nothing. Neither did she need to, for the answer was obvious.

***

Twilight Sparkle stood on deck and looked into the distance. At least, that was how it seemed from her outward appearance. In reality, she too was lost in her thoughts. Over and over again, she went through every possible scenario. Hundreds of possibilities were calculated in seconds, sorted according to their probability and finally reduced to the most basic ones. That meant, she reduced the possibilities to those that had about a one percent chance of coming true. After sorting the scenarios alphabetically, she once again ran them through her mind. Many of them concluded with the destruction of Equestria, or Ti, or the Empire, or all. Each time, she made a small correction in her calculation in the place where she believed the result originated. Still, the result changed only slightly. With every scenario that ended in the total destruction of one realm or all, the princess felt a more assured of her decision.

Her mother might be the source of the trouble stalking the land, but war always required two participants. As much as Celestia had provoked them, the humans had answered accordingly. In the end, the Empire had paid for it. Her family had paid for it. Cadance wanted peace with Ti, but as long as Equestria had them cut off from the world, this was not possible. Peace was concluded with countries, not with prisons. The island was nothing else but the latter at the moment. Therefore, this was the path she had chosen, the one with the least resistance. As soon as the Crystal Heart was back in its place, Cadance would send her airships across the mountains to take Canterlot while Celestia’s own fleet was busy chasing humans. It was the path that would require the least sacrifice. Equestria would become a part of the Empire, and it wasn’t as if Cadance was a bad ruler. She, too, was family and wanted only the best for all her subjects, even those who were not ponies.

Twilight briefly recalled the conversation she had had with her mother about Blue Light after Thiemo had left for earth. How Celestia had described the events from her point of view, how much these descriptions differed from what Index had shown them. Humanity had manipulated her little sister, she had claimed, smothering her and finally bringing her to despair. And in her despair, Luna then threw Blue Light before her hooves. That had not been the case, Twilight had tried to explain her, but Celestia was too set in her ways to listen.

"Hey, Twilight," she suddenly heard Thiemo’s voice. She turned her head and saw the shaman coming out of the captain’s cabin. "What are you doing out here?

"I’m thinking," she murmured. "About what’s still to come, and about what happened. What would have happened if humanity and Equestria had remained friends? Would Blue Light still be alive? How would the world look now?" A new question shot through her head. "Would Shining and I even have been born?"

Thiemo shrugged. "I really can’t say. No one can answer these questions, at least not with any certainty. If Equestria and humanity had been at peace all this time, there would probably be much more technology. Perhaps it would be more like on Earth, with solid infrastructure between all countries for trade and travel. If one wants to get from one end of Albion to another, it’ll take them years. On Earth, you can travel around the world in twenty-four hours, and from what I’ve seen, we’re behind the humans on Ti by a few hundred years, as far as technology is concerned. I'm not saying technology is the ultimate solution—after all, you defeated humanity with magic, but if you had worked together instead... I can’t imagine it. The only thing I can safely say is that a lot of potential has fallen victim to hatred. On the other hand, your culture has certainly developed further, new spells replacing the what’s missing and so on. Still, you ponies lack the inventor's urge. You are content with your trains and airships, so why search for a way to travel faster? You would just miss the opportunity to admire the landscape during the journey." Thiemo reached out and pointed to the sea around her. "I can... not..." His words died on his lips as his eyes shifted. "Land ahoy!" He suddenly called and waved at the crew on deck.

The soldiers on deck hurried in their direction, and Twilight squinted her eyes to see clearer. She soon spotted what Thiemo must have discovered. On the horizon, the faint outline of land jutting out could be spotted. The alicorn quickly recalled the map of Albion to the forefront of her mind. It could only be the North Cape, the southernmost tip of the northern continent over Hosstralia, which was still largely undiscovered. That meant they were about halfway there.

"Here," she heard Windwalker say as she handed Thiemo a telescope. The shaman jammed it against his eye before almost immediately moving it slightly away. Quickly, he turned the lens to focus the view.

He clicked his tongue. "Beach, jungle, and even more jungle," Thiemo finally said. "Lyra mentioned that she and her parents had once took a vacation up here." He paused for a moment before speaking again. "I think Amissa Heaven was somewhere there. The flora is quite similar to what I can see and remember. In addition, people had settlements there, according to Lyra. It would make sense, since I don’t believe Celestia could capture all the survivors to bring them to Ti."

Twilight’s thoughts began to race. There, somewhere in the jungle, were the ruins of the human city, a secret that her mother had sworn to take to the grave. The danger was not worth it for the little knowledge that could be found there, Celestia had said. Twilight was nauseous at the memory. She did not want to protect her ponies, but the fact that she had slaughtered humans, that she had used her power to do so. "You can make out that the city must have been here by the flora?"

"No, of course not. I said it’s very much the same as what Lyra told me when we were on the way to the Empire, so I know that there must certainly be human settlements there. I know that Amissa Heaven must have been there from the log books, which I was allowed to translate. They spoke of a large continent with a tropical climate, where they found remnants of their ancestors. The description is true, and along with what Lyra said, the continent would be the first place where I would look. With an airship, it would probably be pretty easy to discover where the city was. Just look for a large crater."

Twilight lowered her head and thought about everything she had known about Thiemo during his time on Albion. "Thiemo, why do you help the Empire? Ponies have never treated humans well. We have locked you up, and you were once almost banished to Tartarus. We even used the Elements against you. Why would you still help us?”

He handed the telescope back to Windwalker before looking down at her. "Do you want an answer or an honest answer?"

"Both?"

He nodded slowly. "If I had to give you an answer... because it is the right thing and because I can? It’s not like I’ll be in more danger than usual. After all, I know about Ti—it is a great prison for people. So I'll be among my peers. As long as I'm not telling everyone that I work for the Empire, nothing will happen to me or Danielle. We should be free to move. I am not helpless either." With the last sentence, he let some lightning flash from his palm. "My honest answer would be that I don't give a shit about the humans here. I don’t know them and think they're idiots. Who follows someone that calls themselves Nightmare Moon? They’ve contributed to their own downfall. I like Cadance and the Empire. In my opinion, she is a better ruler than Celestia and Luna. Your mother may be loved by her ponies, but all the inhabitants of the Empire, even those who are not ponies, like Cadance. I can understand why. She, for example, took in changelings even though they aren’t highly regarded. She has put the good of a people over her own personal feelings, something Celestia apparently could not. That’s where you were wrong as well—not all ponies have treated me badly. But that is only half the story. My daughter lives in Equestria with her mother, and not only soldiers die in a war. That is why I want this war to end. Even if I have to exhausted every dirty trick that the people on Earth have thought up over the past thousand years, I will do all that my power allows me to prevent what I most fear. Not because I want to save thousands of lives, not because of anything grandiose. I do what I do for a little orange foal that calls me dad, and people who have treated me well. That's all."

Twilight took a few seconds to take in all he had said. "We share the goal of preventing a new war, then.”

"Not a new war, Twilight. The old one was never finished, just morphing into a cold war that has been going on for a thousand years. "

"Then to prevent a new outbreak. I don’t want anyone to die, no pony, no changeling, no griffin, no humans. It all has to stop. For days I have been trying to find a solution where I don’t have to face my mother and my country in order to achieve this goal as quickly as possible without losses. No matter how many times I play everything in my head, it always comes back to the fact that my mother is the root of the evil. "

"I think you’re forgetting something important: our mysterious alicorn, now working with humans. I don’t know yet how he or she fits into the picture, but I would bet my staff on the fact that he or she had something to do with the attack on Antheon. I'm talking about Blue Light’s double and that Echidna said that they had been played. If that were the case..."

"Then someone pitted Equestria and Amissa Heaven against each other," Twilight finished the sentence. "But why? Why would a being do such a thing? What does it matter? And where does it come from? Why hasn’t anyone noticed in all these years?"

"No idea; there are still too many pieces missing in the puzzle. And I can’t confirm the theory either. Maybe Light really killed Antheon." Thiemo shrugged. "I can’t change it now. It happened a long time ago. We must concentrate on the here and now."

***

The armour itched at the most vexing places, and the smell that came out of the helmet caused her nasal hairs to curl. It couldn’t be helped, seeing as it was the only one she had found in the belly of the ship that halfway fit her. At least she was now able to leave her hiding place without immediately being recognized. Sometimes she hated that, as a pegasus, she was smaller than most other ponies. And the armour had been made clear for a pony mare. Daring sighed and shifted the chest piece with her snout. Her coat, thicker than that of the earth ponies to protect them against cold in the airy heights, would simply not rest easy beneath the gilded metal.

She crept farther through the corridors, always trying to ensure that she encountered as few soldiers of the Empire as possible. Something had happened, she was certain. So far she had not seen any of the soldiers of Equestria moving in the ship without escort. Besides, they were all unarmed. Had the ship picked up soldiers that had deserted Celestia’s cause? Daring stopped abruptly when she heard a familiar voice. She pressed against the wall and looked around the corner into the next corridor. There was a human walking toward her. It wasn’t any random one as well—she knew the human mare. She was wearing new clothes, but the voice and her whole demeanour was unmistakable. She was one of the two humans she had met in the bank. What surprised her even more was the alicorn by her side, for next to her was Princess Twilight Sparkle. The two of them seemed engrossed in a conversation as they approached her.

Daring had come across something. She had no idea what to do, but that would change soon. Her cutie mark was just itching at the thought. But that could also be the armour.

Chapter VI - Act 22.4 - The Plan

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My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 22.4 - The Plan ~

Daring Do woke up in her hiding place in the White Dove's storage room. Something had woke her rather rudely from the light sleep she had developed over the years. It only took a moment for her to discover what had awoken her, her ears swivelling to the approaching sound. Something was coming towards her, and it was apparently a human. Their steps were easily distinguished from those of the ponies. They were light, almost like a breath of wind that glided over the ground, so different from the heavy thud of hooves. Many ponies wouldn’t even recognize them as steps, but the humans on the ship were by no means the first she had encountered in her life. They were, perhaps, the ones who raised the most questions.

Hastily, she threw her saddlebag onto her sleeping bag before she began to roll up the entire thing. Then she opened one of the many boxes that were stored down here and threw the roll in. Even if she was found, no one would get to her belongings. With a few flaps of her wings, she flew to another corner of the storage room where she hid in a roll of heavy hawser. It blended nicely with the colour of her coat and would offer the best protection in the dim light of the magic crystals, as she knew from experience in similar situations.

The door opened and a head covered with dark red hair peered through the opening. Daring watched as the human, obviously the female that was on board, looked around and finally entered the room. The mare recognized the behaviour the human exhibited. The question was: just what did she have to hide?

The woman looked around the room for a moment, causing Daring to slightly lower her head. Faster movements would be more conspicuous since all beings were programmed to look for enemies, especially those that moved quickly when they attacked. This was true of ponies, but also of humans. The redhead seemed to be satisfied with the examination of her surroundings and pulled one of the boxes toward her, the box in which Daring had hidden her things. The mare swore inwardly. However, instead of opening them, she used the crate as a seat. Daring breathed in relief, though the air caught halfway in her throat. The crate, as far as she remembered, was full of armour, old armour heavy enough that it took two earth ponies to move it. This human had just pulled it towards her with one hand, as if it had been filled with air. If the notches in the wooden floor from where the crate had been dragged were not an illusion, then it had not been.

What happened next almost betrayed her, as she managed to clamp down on a frightened shriek before it could escape. From slots on the back of her white coat, hidden by a strip of the same fabric, two large white wings erupted. Daring could feel her eyes widen as the woman stretched the appendages. When they had reached full mast, the redhead gave a relieved groan. Understandable for the mare, who also hid her wings under a cloak whenever she travelled under her pseudonym.

After she had stretched properly, the woman moved her right wing in front of her face, and began to direct her fingers over the feathers. Some of them she pulled out, each time eliciting a hiss from the human. For the adventurer, it was almost painful to watch. Her mother must have missed some lessons on wing care. Then she remembered that humans didn’t actually have wings. But if she was not a human, what then? A changeling who wanted to play a joke on a mare in her prime years, knowing she was a stowaway?

"Ah, damn!" the woman suddenly cried, and Daring watched as some blood dripped to the ground. She had pulled out a feather before it was ready to come out. "Is not it enough that I bleed once a month?" she complained, pressing one hand against the wound, while the other moved behind the wing to act as a counter-pressure.

Golden light washed over her hands, and when she drew them back, all that had remained of the wound was the blood that had already soaked the other feathers. That was magic, Daring was sure, and the realization of what she had here slowly dawned upon her: an alicorn. A human alicorn sat with her in the storeroom and preened her wings. At least her cheeks had the decency to turn red as she stared at the human during this intimate act. Not that she intended to look away anytime soon.

***

A look could say a lot, so much so that it was often enough to simply glimpse the eyes of a person to know how they felt. However, the power of a meeting someone’s eyes was not only passive. It could affect the one to which it was directed, triggering happiness, unease, or the desire to spontaneously ignite yourself. At least, Thiemo thought that was what Night Hawk wanted to convey as she glared at him. This would certainly have the desired effect under normal circumstances, but given that she inundated in bandages, she had more the charisma of a Chihuahua with a muzzle. Her chest and belly were completely covered by bandages, just like her right wing, which was additionally held with a splint to her body. The otherwise so proud mare was backed into a corner and furious. Knowing that little could be accomplished with anyone in that situation, Thiemo averted his gaze and granted her a small victory.

The shaman once again looked around at those gathered in the room, all important in their own right. General Mustang sat at the head of the table, in front of him a sea chart that was probably a hundred years old, judging by the layer of dust that had been kicked up when he had first pulled it out. The place next to him was empty as Captain Windwalker was still to arrive. Amaryllis sat next to the general. Thiemo was still unsure if their relationship had a future, and he felt bad about not giving her a clear answer. He hadn’t lied when he said he loved her, and a large part of him just wanted to forget the past and take her in his arms. Another not insignificant part felt abandoned, and this inner conflict frustrated him without end. He had been able to release some steam yesterday, but unfortunately the burning righteous indignation had left him with cold uncertainty.

Beside Amaryllis sat Estoc. This was the first time he had seen the stallion without his uniform, and he radiated a completely different aura. Before, he was always stiff, as if someone had introduced a stick to his ass and had forgotten about it. Now he sat there looking somewhat depressed, but at the same time as if a great load had been taken from his back. His ears were sharp, however, as he listened to what Twilight whispered softly to him.

The princess' eyes flitted through the room as much as his own, back to Mustang, then to Amaryllis, and finally to him. As their eyes met, Twilight twitched a little before she gave him a slightly forced smile. Thiemo stretched his neck slightly and returned the gesture. He wondered what they were talking about.

Finally, there was his sister. Danielle sat in the chair next to him, her hands hidden under the cloak though he could tell that she had folded her arms underneath. She did not want to be here, yet here she was. She was here because he was here, because she wanted to help him. He wanted to embrace her and not let go. One couldn’t choose his family, but his sister was the best one could wish for. Somebody to steal horses with, as the German saying went. Someone who stood by one’s side, no matter what was wrong. If she hadn’t been there for him, he would not have recovered so quickly.

"Do I have something on my face?" she asked when she noticed Thiemo's gaze.

"No, I just—" He didn’t get further as the door to the outside opened. Windwalker came inside, the rain following her briefly before she shut the door.

The mare shook herself briefly, then took off her jacket and hung it on a hook. "Sorry for the delay, but it seems as if some supplies disappeared from one of the storage rooms and we had to check the inventory list."

All eyes followed her as she passed the general and took her seat. "Now that we are all here," Mustang took the floor, "we can begin. As commanding officer of this operation and unit, I wish to bring to your attention that there are unauthorized ponies with us at the table.” Thiemo looked over at Twilight, Nighthawk, and Estoc, who seemed to take what was said with indifference. Apparently they were familiar with this speech. "Therefore, choose your words carefully," he said to Danielle and Thiemo now. "Princess Twilight Sparkle, you have the floor."

Twilight rose and levitated a small sheet of paper that she seemed to have hidden under her wing. "I would like to ask for clarity regarding my situation. Supposedly, we are prisoners of the Crystal Empire. While I am allowed to move freely on the ship, my subordinates have been restricted to their quarters. This treatment raises uncertainties about our status."

Mustang looked over at Amaryllis, who did not seem to notice that Twilight’s words were addressed to her. Only when Windwalker cleared her throat did she start. "Well…" she began and rose. Mustang had briefed her on what to say, or at least that was what he told Thiemo. "Your freedom is based on the fact that there are no means at our disposal to limit you to your quarters. We're currently trusting that you will not leave your ponies in the lurch." Thiemo could not help but smile. He had never heard Amaryllis speak so woodenly. "That doesn't mean that their well-being is bound to you staying here. So yes, you are prisoners of the Crystal Empire."

Twilight grinned. It was one that left Thiemo uneasy, a sharp reminder of that time in the labyrinth flashing through his mind. ‘I have you,’ he could almost hear.

"Very well," the mare began, looking briefly at her note. "In accordance with the Carta Solaria, I exercise my right as a ruler and hold that I no longer consider Celestina Morningstar and Lunaria Daybreaker capable of leading the Kingdom of Equestria." Nighthawk jumped up, pounding her front hooves on the table. "Also in accordance with the Carta Solaria, I ask the Crystal Empire to stand by me as a legitimate ruler of Equestria. In return, Equestria will join the Empire and recognize the rule of Imperator Mi Amore Cadenza."

"Your Highness, you cannot be serious!" Night Hawk bellowed hardly had Twilight ceased speaking. "You can’t do that to Equestria! Think of your mother and your aunt and what they have done for the country!"

"I would like to see how Celestia would conduct an election campaign on Earth," Thiemo whispered to his sister. She only glanced at him with faint irritation. "Well, with such a name as ‘Morningstar’, she would certainly be pretty popular among the Christians." Danielle merely placed her hand on his head and pushed him back in his seat.

"That's exactly what I think," Twilight replied, straightening up. "They have done so much for Equestria that must be preserved. However, they have refused to acknowledge that the war we find ourselves in threatens us all. A ruler should always first think of his people. "

"Amen," Thiemo interjected, but was ignored by everyone.

Amaryllis glanced at Mustang and Windwalker. It was clearly written on her face that she was overwhelmed with the situation. Danielle quickly spoke up. "I have a question. Since I am still relatively new here, could someone tell me what the Carta Solaria is?” She must have also noticed how Amaryllis looked.

"The Carta Solaria is a document signed by almost all nations on Albion about three hundred years ago. It secures certain rights to all living beings who are capable of rational thought and emotions. It also includes rules on how prisoners of other nations are to be treated. Princess Twilight Sparkle is now invoking a paragraph that falls under it, which also treats with how rulers are dealt with. As a legitimate ruler, the princess has the right to turn to other nations if she thinks the other ruler is no longer able to lead." And since Thiemo had already told her that they were fighting Celestia, he had already indirectly agreed with her. "Princess Amaryllis, it is now up to you to decide whether you agree to the request. If you agree, you also acknowledge that you no longer regard the rulers of Equestria as able to lead their country, and recognize Princess Twilight as a legitimate ruler."

Thiemo could not help but chuckle. Twilight had tricked them like children. It would give the Empire a reason to go against Equestria, a better one than its ruler being a bitter human hater. The Empire might have succeeded in expelling Celestia from the throne, but the people would have resisted. They were too devoted to Celestia and Luna. However, they also loved Twilight Sparkle. If she then stood up against her mother and aunt, there would surely be some doubts. An occupation did not end with the soldiers conquering the palace, but only when the new ruler had conquered the hearts of the people. In addition, if they recognized Twilight as a legitimate ruler, then she was no longer a means of pressure against Celestia since she was also her opponent. The Empire had to release Twilight and her soldiers since it made no sense keeping her captive.

They had just been kicked in the ass by a little lilac-coloured alicorn. Thiemo joined the gods in laughing at the sheer absurdity of the situation."It's nice that our distress so amused you," Twilight said dryly as he calmed down. "You're the last one to laugh."

Thiemo wiped a tear from his cheek. "What does that mean?"

"That every alicorn has taken you for a ride so far," the princess replied with a slightly malicious grin on her lips. "My mother used you to bring Amaryllis to the Empire. That was a sure way to curry favour with Cadance who, don’t forget, also took you for a ride." Thiemo blinked in surprise. Yes, Cadance had forced him to fight in the tournament, but he would not now call it being taken advantage of. "You said you were sentenced to exile, right?" He nodded slowly. "Then you have submitted to the laws of the Empire. Whoever is condemned by the laws must be a citizen. Why do you think Equestria doesn’t sentence humans, but directly send them back to Ti? You and Danielle, you are now both citizens of the Empire, and with your special title, you are part of the military. Otherwise, Captain Windwalker would not listen to any order that comes out of your mouth."

Thiemo turned pale, feeling the blood within his body practically rush down to his feet. His gaze wandered to Mustang and Windwalker. Both ponies looked back, the general with a smile on his lips while Windwalker just shook her head. "You're realizing this now?" Danielle asked from his right. "Even on Earth, we deport criminals to their home country. And then there is America, which doesn’t allow other countries to sue its citizens.”

"You knew that?" he asked in horror.

"Where do you think I got the belt from? Princess Cadance gave it to me to welcome me as a citizen." This time, almost everyone else was laughing. Only Nighthawk and him were silent.

Amaryllis finally cleared her throat. "As Princess of the Crystal Empire, I recognize the application of Princess Twilight Sparkle." Mustang nodded, as did Windwalker. "The soldiers who were faithful to their princess are granted freedom of movement on the ship. Likewise, they will be given their weapons once they are ready to disembark."

"Thank you, Princess Amaryllis." Twilight bowed slightly, then sat down. "And since we are now all allies, is it possibly that my allies and I can be granted clearance?"

Night Hawk, who had hitherto watched the scene play out in silence, turned to the door. She looked around for the last time and opened her mouth to say something, though no words escaped. Then she disappeared into the rain.

Mustang snorted. "We shall continue onto the second item on the agenda. We have two humans, citizens of the Empire," he added with a grin, "who volunteered to infiltrate the island known to us as Ti and search for the stolen Crystal Heart. We know that the island itself is guarded with some ballistae. Although the White Dove can fly high enough to escape this, it would counteract a successful infiltration. So we need a plan to get our agents onto the island and later back on the ship."

"Three agents," interjected Amaryllis. "I will accompany them to the island."

"You can’t be serious, Princess," Windwalker interjected. "We don’t know what it looks like on the island. We don’t know how ponies or changelings are treated. Besides, your mother would tear our heads off if we let you go."

Thiemo nodded. “I agree. Besides, if you were to be captured, they would hold a strong bargaining chip against the Empire."

Amaryllis first looked to the humans, then to Mustang. "I don’t want to be a spoilsport, but I'm your princess," she said firmly. Green fire danced briefly over her body and in her stead stood a young woman who was probably looking for a nineties’ punk rock concert. Heavy black leather boots, a short red-and-white plaid skirt, black tank top with a pony skull on her chest, and short purple hair held by a hairpin, it was an outfit that did not mesh with her rather slender figure. All she was missing was a dog collar and spiked armbands, Thiemo opined. "Besides, they will not meet a changeling or pony."

"Mustang, she can’t..." Thiemo pointed to his maybe ex-girlfriend.

"She's the princess. She can." He rolled his eyes. "But the problem of infiltration and extraction remains."

"Do we have anything like rubber boats? Or rescue boats?"

Windwalker shook her head. "We're on an airship. We have parachutes."

"Right," the shaman nodded. "How does Equestria get humans to Ti?" He asked Twilight, who in turn looked to Estoc.

"We throw them off the coast into the sea," the stallion said, shaking his head. "However, I was never there, so I don’t know how close the ships get."

"In addition, this is a Crystal Empire airship. We can land on the water, but that doesn’t make us a normal wooden ship. They will know that something’s rotten if the Empire suddenly begins to throw humans their way too."

"That might ordinarily be true, Windwalker, but after the attack on the Empire, I doubt they’d be surprised if humans are now being expelled there too, right?" Danielle asked.

Twilight shook her head. "Cadance would never simply expel anyone like that. Even the survivors of the attack were imprisoned and treated like any other citizen. It's not like her. It would be conspicuous."

"Then we'll have to swim." Thiemo shrugged as everyone looked at him in astonishment. "We’ll cut some of the boxes in the storage room, take some rope and build an improvised raft. If anyone asks, we had to walk the plank further out to sea.”

Those gathered in the room thought about it for a moment. "That could work," Mustang agreed. "Also, some Equestrian pegasi could monitor you from above the clouds in case something should happen on the way."

"Getting out, on the other hand, would be relatively easy. If the White Dove can get in position over the island without getting into danger, we'll just find a way up. Amaryllis can fly and Danielle and I can find a way." He already had something in mind.

Mustang snorted. "Well, then we would have that."

Everyone rose from their seats, but Thiemo stopped as a hand rested on his shoulder. "We both have something to do," his sister said, pointing down. Thiemo followed her finger. Then he looked up at her again.

"You’re not serious, right?" he asked, horrified.

"I'm sure we'll find some scissors somewhere on the ship." Oh, she was serious.

"But this is my tail." His sister imitated scissors with her fingers. "Oh man…"

Chapter VI - Act 22.5 - The Island With the Unusual Name

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My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 22.5 - The Island With the Unusual Name ~

Rain. It had to rain today. Black clouds hung over their heads and blocked the sunlight. If that had been the extent of things, Thiemo could have survived. However, as he was not allowed to have nice things, the humidity had settled in and only increased as the days went by. The air was warm and moist, and while he liked certain things that way, this was not one of them as sweat bathed his body. He had tied his cloak around his waist while his shirt lay beside him on his bed. He would cross the desert again just to get out of this weather. "Could you please stop moving that mop you call a tail for a few seconds? Otherwise I'll cut something else from here." It also didn’t improve his mood that his sister had made good on her threat and procured a pair of scissors from somewhere. Several clumps of long white hair were already on the ground, more being added with every sharp snap of the scissors.

"You have no idea how sensitive this little piece of skin and bone is!" he replied brusquely even as he took pains to keep still. It was a queasy feeling that snaked up his spine as he felt his sister's hand reaching for his tail. He could understand now why cats couldn’t stand people holding their tails.

Thiemo shifted slightly as Danielle renewed her grip. "I can imagine it must be unpleasant. Many animals use their tail for balancing and others for communication, some even for both. By the way, you have a proper tail, not an elongated appendage like primates. It’s a short extension of your spine with a few bones, tendons, and lots of hair. Speaking of which, it wouldn’t have killed you to comb the damn thing once in awhile,” Danielle muttered and straightened up again, in her hand the last clump of Thiemo's tail.

The shaman rose from his chair as he held his trousers in position with both hands. "I feel naked somehow." Coincidentally, it had nothing to do with half his ass being exposed. "After over a year with all that hair, it’s strange now.”

"Well, now that we’re done here, I’m going to go wash my hands and bleach my brain," Danielle said, leaving him alone in his cabin. He waited a moment until she was out of earshot, then fell on the bed. His gaze shifted towards the phantom in the room who couldn't stop grinning, it seemed.

"Thiemo, can I talk to you?" He was startled when he heard the voice. Amaryllis, still in the form of a woman, stood in the doorway to his cabin and looked down at him.

For a moment he wanted to refuse her request, but then he saw the look in her eyes. "Sure," he said hoarsely, pointing to the chair on which he had just sat, the hair still lying on the ground acting as witnesses to the pair. Not that it seemed to disturb the princess as she sat down on the chair. It was only then that Thiemo realized that she was shorter than he was. He wasn’t used to looking down at her when they were sitting. Her body language didn’t make things better. Her shoulders were drawn together, her back slightly hunched, and she played with her fingers while her eyes darted everywhere, just not on him. Thiemo had never seen her so nervous, or was it because he could read people much better than ponies? Her large eyes and ears could be expressive, but these subtle little clues were simply missing. Three years was probably not enough time to get acquainted with a completely foreign culture, especially if the only specimen to study, his daughter, didn't even grew up in said culture.

But now, as a human, he could gauge just how contrite she was, a moment which managed to do what hundreds of words could not over the past few days. "I'm so sorry," she finally said. "I know I've screwed up. If I could change how things have played out, I would. I should have told you, but I was so... angry! First I lost my siblings and my home. When I finally got a new home and met my father, he was taken from me! I just wanted to take something and destroy it! All this power given to me, I just wanted to unleash it on those who caused pain to me or my family." She clasped her left fist with her right hand, her knuckles cracking. Her entire body trembled. "Twilight is my aunt. I could not leave her alone. Plus I thought I could count on you, that you were the one person who would stand by me. Yet you refused to lift a finger to help... I was so angry that I locked you out to avoid seeing the real reason—to keep getting angry." Her head rose slightly, and she looked him in the eye for the first time since she came in. "Anger gives me so much strength that even I sometimes get scared. It’s because of that anger that I also lost sight of what was important. It was... like mist in my head." Tears ran down her cheeks. "I've made mistakes, but everyone does at some point in their lives. The only thing I know is that I don’t want to lose you."

The shaman allowed her words to sink into his mind. Finally, he took her hands into his. That simple gesture and the look they exchanged said everything that needed to be communicated. With a small jerk, he pulled Amy off the chair and guided her over to the bed. Gently, Thiemo placed a hand on her cheek before he closed his eyes and leaned slightly in her direction.

It felt so right, them being together this way, his heart hammering in relief. He felt like a dehydrated man having that first sip of clear, ice-cold water flowing down his throat. Even his breath trembled as a burden fell from his heart. It was as if he were flying when her lips met his.

Thiemo held Amy, his Amy, down as their tongues danced, while the world around them moved increasingly into the background. "I love you," he whispered at the same moment he got the chance to breathe. His princess leaned against him and gently they both went down on the bed. His hands wandered under her skirt, her hands over his naked chest. In a few hours they would leave the ship, but the time until then belonged to them.

***

The waves rocked the ship, working in sync with the rain to render it difficult to spot the island in the distance. "Maybe we should wait for better weather!" Twilight shouted over the storm. Three Equestrian pegasi soldiers stood behind her, ready to rise into the air as soon as it was necessary.

"If we can see them, they would be able to do so as well," Mustang answered. "Even with telescopes, they shouldn’t be able to make out any details as things stand, but we can’t stay long without being too conspicuous."

Thiemo stepped past both ponies to the makeshift raft that had been hurriedly assembled. It consisted of a few boards held together with thick rope, with a barrel filled with nothing but air at each end. A simple but functional construction indeed, though the fact that a barrel almost came undone from the ropes when he lightly kicked it made him pause. Still, it should be able to take them to the island. He peered at their destination, noting the strange structures that stood out in the air. Towers for the ballistae, he supposed. Somehow, they seemed to be much too high for it.

"Talking about this over and over won’t change anything," he interjected. "We need the Crystal Heart and that’s almost guaranteed to be on the island." The others followed his finger and looked at the island. "If things get dicey, your three stooges can safely pull us out of the water, drop us off on the beach, and go away again."

"I could come with you," Twilight began. "I've studied Amaryllis' magic for a while and would certainly be able to maintain a human-like form. I could teleport ahead and then levitate you all through the water. No one would see anything in this weather."

"Nothing against you, Twilight, but Amaryllis is a hundred times better suited than you, and I don’t even want her to participate in this mission. She has much more experience as a human," Thiemo hastily said, looking to shoot down that idea before it took root. He did not need another princess to look after. The alicorn hung her head. "Besides, you don’t speak English."

"Then nothing else remains for me but to wish you all the best." Mustang nodded to Thiemo, Amy, and Danielle, breaking into a crisp salute. They all nodded and lifted one of the buoys.

Thiemo was the first to look over the edge of the ship. They were about ten meters above the water and a familiar queasy feeling rose in his stomach. He shook himself—this was not the time to give into his fear of heights. He took a deep breath, turned around, and waved as he fell backwards. Immediately, the man tightened all the muscles in his body, holding himself as straight as possible. Then, from one moment to the next, the world around him fell silent. Water penetrated his nose and ears, and after a moment, he opened his eyes which had instinctively closed.

Down here, the world was still peaceful. There was no storm, no wars, no death, just the endless sea. Then his ears discerned a quiet drumming, and it took him a second to realize that it was his own heartbeat. His gaze wandered to his chest, where the crystal necklace seemed to glow. If the crystal could reflect emotion, it would have shown quiet contentment. However, every moment had its inevitable conclusion, and his ended when he floated to the surface on his buoy.

His head breached the surface of the water and he could see the ship above him. He reached out his left hand and gave a sign that everything was alright.

Amaryllis was the next. She stood at the edge and took a step forward after brief hesitation. While she didn’t suffer any fears of heights, her instincts seemed to have taken over. She dropped from the ship with flailing arms, her legs slightly angled. Unlike Thiemo, she created a loud splash as she touched down onto the surface. Thiemo immediately left his own buoy, cursing himself. He should have told her how to reduce the surface tension.

He dived and did not take long until he spotted Amaryllis. She was perhaps twenty yards from him and paddling like wild to get back to the surface. Immediately, he began to move, his arms surging through the ocean to reach her. Midway, Amaryllis finally noticed him. She blinked, then began to imitate his movements. Thiemo would sigh if it were possible. He followed her and they breached the sea’s surface together, their buoys a few yards away from them.

Danielle was the next. The young woman tossed her buoy forward, leaned forward slightly, and jumped. With her arms in front of her, she dived into the water, so gracefully that hardly a drop rose. The effort was lost in this rain, though. She had said she was swimming regularly, Thiemo recalled. A few moments later, she came back to the surface. She reached for her own swimming aid, then came swimming over to them. "The water might be warm, but I’d prefer to have solid ground under my feet again soon. We should keep going."

"Yeah, let’s go." Thiemo took the two swimming buoys and handed one of them over to Amaryllis. "Remember to keep kicking."

They began to move, the airship slowly fading away. Every now and then, they had to pause to wait for a larger wave, another time to get some air. At some point the White Dove disappeared completely from sight. The waves hid it, together with the earth curvature, from their gazes. Ti was getting closer, and Thiemo quickly realized that he had misjudged size of the towers. They were even larger than expected.

What surprised the group even more were the boats they could make in the distance. It was only logical that Ti had to own boats when humans from there entered Equestria. Nevertheless, it felt like a surprise to Thiemo. He knew that the people of Ti were creative. The flame sword in the tournament had made it clear. They also seemed to have a leadership, or at least someone who coordinated attacks. They already had suspicion who that might be as well. "Should we think of what kind of cover names to adopt?" Danielle asked. "I mean, the chances of at least one of us being known are pretty high." At least they did not have to scream any more, the rain finally subsiding.

"I wish I had a cell phone to record that. I can't be the only one on this world who thinks a cover name is a good idea. How about Athos, Porthos, and Aramis?" Thiemo suggested.

Danielle shook her head. "Only one of them could pass as a woman’s name. How about Charlie, Lucy, and Sally?"

"Only if I can be Lucy," Thiemo countered immediately. "I never liked the cartoons. Gregory, Allison, and Remy? Remy would be close enough to Amy, which could be explained if there’s a slip of the tongue."

"You should decide quickly; a boat is coming in our direction." The siblings turned to Amaryllis and spotted what she referred to. It was small, but fast and had no sails.

"A motorboat?" Danielle asked, giving voice to Thiemo’s thoughts.

"Quick! Amy, you're Remy. Danielle, you’ll respond to Allison and I to Gregory. We were picked up near Manehatten in Equestria and brought back here." The boat was nearer, but still they could not hear the sound of an engine. Something else was powering the ship, though Thiemo had no idea what it could be. Steam or coal would be recognized by the smoke it would have emitted.

Eventually, it approached them to the point where he could make out details, noting that three people were on board. One of them held a telescope in front of his face and pointed to their direction. Another was at the wheel while another sat further back in the boat. Thiemo could only see his head. An idea came to him and he switched his sight. Magic flowed in large quantities from the stern of the boat into the water. A shaman was powering this vessel. Thiemo struck his forehead with his hand. Index had told and showed them how humans had learned from the zebras. It seemed that the knowledge had endured over time. They not only had technology that worked with charged crystals, they also had shamans.

"~Ahoy!" shouted the man with the telescope as the boat slowed. The surprises just kept on rolling. He knew this man, knew the voice. It was on the tip of his tongue. The boat finally came to a halt next to him, and Thiemo could peer more closely at the man. A thick red beard graced his face, red curls on his head that was dripping.

Then it clicked in his head. All that was missing was a dark blue coat that covered his head. "~Aschlant," Thiemo muttered in surprise. This was the man he'd met in Appleloosa. The one who had first told him about what had occurred a thousand years ago. To whom he had left an old artefact.

Aschlant stretched out his hand with a grin. "~Good to see you again, sir."

*** ~ [Muse - Knights of Cydonia ] ~ ***

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Chapter VI - Intermission 22 - Daddy Complex

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With a final heave, Auralia pushed the old barrel onto the cart. "That was the last one, Uncle Big Mac," she told the stallion. He was currently strapped in front of the cart, waiting for her sign. He nodded to his niece and started off in the direction of Ponyville. It had taken a while, but now all the old barrels had been loaded. These were not just your typical run-of-the-mill barrel, but the ones the family used to store zap apples. Berry Punch had bought them to store a new wine she had concocted. Since Apple Bloom had made a new set of barrels, they could stand to part with a few older ones. It was money they needed.

"Now that we’re done here, I'm gonna prepare us some supper. What do you both think of a few fresh baked apple pies?” Applejack asked Auralia and Apple Bloom. The glow in the eyes of the two younger ponies was all the answer she needed. "Still, it’ll take some time. How ‘bout y’all go down to the lake? Ya both look as if you could use some cooling down."

With spring firmly reigning over Equestria and the resulting increase in temperatures, all three mares had developed a slick sheen of sweat covering their bodies. "That sounds good, but I have to clean up my workshop." Apple Bloom looked over to the converted shed next to the barn. "Besides, Granny asked me to take a look at her rocking chair."

"Then I'll go alone." Hardly had Auralia finished speaking did she realize from the look on Applejack’s face that she did not agree. The smile on her lips died abruptly and her gaze hardened.

"I know you're not a little foal anymore, but... what if something happens? If you get a cramp? No one would be with you."

"I'm not going too far, I promise." Auralia could see Applejack wrestle with herself. "I'll stay on the edge, so my hooves always touch the ground. Please, please, please."

Applejack looked over to her sister. "Now doesn’t that remind you of somepony?" Apple Bloom grinned sheepishly and scratched her right front hoof against the ground. Sighing, her mother's gaze wandered back to Aura. "You stay at the edge and be back home in an hour."

The filly was ecstatic. "Promise!" All exhaustion seemed to have dissipated from her body as she began to gallop away from the barn. Applejack just shook her head and continued her way back home.

My Little Pony

Journey

Intermission 22 – Daddy Complex

The wind whistled in the leaves, bees buzzed, and birds sang their songs. Her father had once said that birds did not sing for fun, but to find another to cuddle with. Auralia had absolutely no idea what one had to do with the other, because no one had ever asked her how well she could sing before they cuddled. All that didn’t matter, because before her lay the small lake that was hidden on Sweet Apple Acres.

Granny Smith had once told her one evening by the fireplace that an apple tree had drowned in this lake and that anyone who took a bath in it would turn into an apple. The last time that happened was with Applejack's mother. Her father had brought her to the farm, and after a bath in this very lake, she became an apple a short time later.

Of course, she had had many questions, but the old green mare had just laughed and did not answer any. It was frustrating, Auralia had thought. And of course she did not believe the story. That had nothing at all to do with why she carefully dipped a hoof into the water. She just wanted to check the temperature.

No sooner had her hoof dipped into the water, she pulled it back. Relieved that she had not turned into tree bark or even an apple, she jumped into the shallow water. "Hah, I knew it was just a story!" Ponies did not just turn into apples; that was just silly. With her head raised, she paddled deeper into the lake, but only so far that she could still feel the ground under her hooves. After all, she had promised her mother. The water itself was clear and pleasant, but she didn’t intend to stay long. The sun had warmed the water, but it was still spring.

The foal finally tightened her legs so that only parts of her back and her head remained visible, allowing herself to drift lazily. As she stared at one of the apple trees on the edge of the bank, her mind turned to her father. Was he doing well in the Empire? What was he doing right now? Aura took a great breath and dived. She saw some fish that lived in the lake. Strange grass grew on the lake’s floor, and there was an old tin can that somebody had probably carelessly thrown in there. For shame.

Small bubbles escaped her lips as she sank a deeper so that her hooves touched the ground. Slowly she moved towards the shore. The only thing now visible was her forehead, and Aura imagined that she was a shark, with pointed sharp teeth and a huge fin. The boulder on the shore was her next helpless victim, a careless pony that did not count on such a dangerous creature that could live in these waters. But that was the trick. No one could stand against a shark, the great orange shark! Hundreds had already fallen victim to her, and there would always be more since none lived to warn others. She ate them all. With a loud roar, for sharks roared, yes, she jumped out of the water and landed with the front hooves onto her victim. "Again a successful hunt for the great orange shark!" She pushed against the boulder and it crumbled dutifully against her strength.

Satisfied that her victim had been duly killed and devoured, she turned back to the water. She certainly had time for a few more laps before needing to head home. Auralia was about to jump in once more when she discovered she was not alone. For a moment she thought it was Pokey Pierce from the local watch unit, but Pokey didn’t have wings at his side. In addition, his coat was a brighter blue and his mane darker, not completely white. And was that a horn that poked out of his unkempt mane? "Hello, Auralia. At last I’ve found you," the stallion calmly said.

A shiver ran down her spine. That was the voice of her father, no doubt about it! If there was a voice that she could recognize everywhere, then it was Thiemo’s. Now, as she looked at him more closely, she thought she had seen him before. Her father had resembled him a pony, and then there was that record they had seen in the mountain. However, that pony in it had spoken in another voice. "Who are you?" she asked cautiously and took another step back. Something was wrong with this alicorn in front of her. Her body was trembling despite herself, and every instinct told her to run.

"You’ve forgotten me?" the stallion asked, tilting his head slightly. "Apparently you have a limit. But that doesn’t matter now. Come." The cobalt stallion turned to leave, but Aura backpedalled rapidly before she was jerked to a halt. "I told you to come with me."

Auralia looked down at her hooves, realizing that the earth had wrapped around them. She tightened her muscles and freed her hooves, scattering rubble in all directions. "Why should I? I don’t even know who you are." She turned and galloped away. It did not matter where as long as it was away from this creepy alicorn. She zigzagged between a few trees, jumped over a short bush, and made a sharp curve of the right. However, there was a sharp snapping sound, and the next moment, the stallion was standing before her again. He did not look pleased at all.

If he was too fast to run away from, she only had one choice. She held onto him, jumped at the last moment, and with her right front hoof, struck him directly in the face with all the strength that she could muster. The stallion flew against one of the nearby trees and broke through its trunk, then another, and finally grated to a halt on the ground. The foal breathed heavily as the two trees collapsed.

Had she done it? No, she couldn’t wait to make sure. She galloped away again, or at least she would be if she wasn’t held in place again. "You've grown stronger over the years," the stallion commented as he slowly approached her. He flexed his jaw. "I even felt that."

She tore herself from her shackles, but unlike before, the ground immediately broke out again to reach for her. She jumped to the side, then another time when a hand made of clay came out for her. Her forelegs grabbed the structure and tore it out of the ground, then threw it at the unknown stallion. With a brief flash of his horn, however, the hand crumbled to dust before it reached him. "Who are you?" she asked, this time much louder. "What do you want from me?"

The stallion flapped his wings, accelerated sharply, and pressed Auralia with one leg against a tree. "I am your father."

Auralia's eyes widened inevitably. This stallion thought that he was her father? "Thiemo is my father," she replied, swinging her hind legs that hung in the air into the breast of the stallion. He released her as he stumbled back, and hardly had her hooves touched the ground, she went into the next blow. Something in her begged her to run, but that option seemed to be futile.

The stallion leapt aside as she aimed her next blow at his body. Earth flew in all directions and cracks formed as she missed. Using the momentum, she whirled around and struck out with her hind legs just as she had learned from Applejack. However, the alicorn blinked in and out of existence with merely a shake of his head. His horn glowed, and with a hoof he drew a staff from the ground. Even before Auralia had recovered from her own attack, the staff whirled flatly over the ground and pulled her hind legs from under her. She struck the ground chin first.

A moan escaped her lips, but quickly she caught herself as she looked at her opponent and saw a staff threatening to strike her from above. Aura rolled to the side at the last moment just as the metal rod slammed into the ground where she had just been lying. He was actually trying to injure her, she realized quickly, and rolled again, this time onto her hooves. She lifted a hoof and blocked the next blow, metal striking metal. "Teleport!" she cried aloud, and the stallion disappeared. Protes dimmed while around her right hoof.

She had no idea where the stallion had been transported. Her father had never told her exactly how the staff worked, but she had seen him use it enough times to replicate the results. "Star trail!" cried a familiar voice, and Auralia looked up. There, above the trees, he floated in the air, a burning white star erupting from the heavens. Her fur smouldered, hooves felt as though they were melting, and Auralia was dimly aware that she had been thrown through the air. She also felt the impact, but so numb was her body that she barely reacted.

Still, she had to get up again. He couldn’t take her—everything would be lost if he did. The foal had no idea how she knew that, only that that was the only certainty she had. Her legs trembled as she struggled to her hooves, the smell of burnt hair reaching her nostrils. Hardly had she opened her eyes when the staff came down and struck her on her left side, driving the air out of her body as she fell to the ground again. "You should have just come along. I did not want to hurt you," she heard the alicorn say.

Tears swelled in her eyes. He could not get her. He just could not. She had to do something. She was Auralia, daughter of Thiemo and Applejack. She was an earth pony and strong. She sensed how a third time her hooves were surrounded by earth. It should be the other way round. She was an earth pony; the earth was hers to shape. "No," she whispered to the earth, and the earth paused. "Help me," she implored, and the earth responded. She straightened up and the dust in her coat melted away. "Be my weapon," she commanded, and the earth became putty under her hooves. She slammed her hooves on the dirt floor, and a shard of rock shot from the ground and struck the alicorn. Bones cracked as the hard stone slammed against ribs and hurled him several meters through the air. Like skipping a stone on the water’s surface, the blue stallion bounced several times before another pillar bounced out of the ground and shot him in the opposite direction.

Then the alicorn caught himself, his wings flapping madly to carry him into the air. Auralia directed the earth with her hooves to reach for him, and the element complied. Gigantic hooves of clay and stone formed within seconds and struck the alicorn. However, he soon retreated high enough out of her reach. The earth could not follow him to the heavens. His horn blazed, and the sun seemed to increase its luminosity in response. Aura brought her hooves over her eyes instinctively. However, the expected blow never came. Instead, mounds of dirt began to crumble down upon her. The stallion snorted so loudly that she even heard it on the ground. The glow of his magic, which had just encircled his horn, gathered around his hooves. At first she thought he would make a new staff, but instead, a scythe had formed.

"Annoying little brat," she heard a voice, deep, scary, and cool as ice. Aura needed a while to realize that the same stallion had spoken. The only other pony she'd ever heard speak so loudly was Princess Cadance.

Then he swooped down, straight toward her. Stiff with terror, she protected her head again with her hooves and saw this time what happened. A dome formed over her head and enveloped her completely. It grew dark and quiet for a moment. Her heart thudded violently in her chest as a bright blue glowing blade suddenly pierced through her protection, the tip just before her muzzle. Then it carved slowly over her head, cutting her dome from earth into two as though it were made of butter. Magic seized the two sides of the newly formed crack and tore it apart, allowing the alicorn to fire another attack at her point blank.

Auralia screamed as she slid across the ground, but a hoof managed to stop her. "Go take cover, Sugarcube, I'll take care of this," she heard her mother's voice say. She wanted to look at the mare, but Applejack pushed her hat onto her head. "Who do you think you are that you could come to my home and attack my daughter?" the mare roared the alicorn. "You best clear out of hear before I show you what pain really is." The foal managed to shift the hat to the side and saw the stallion land, his scythe at his side.

"Hello, Applejack, it's nice to see you again," he said with Thiemo’s voice.

That also seemed to surprise her mother. "A changeling?" Applejack murmured, more to herself than anyone in particular. "And for a moment I thought this might be trouble."

"As self-assured as ever, as I see. How are Big Mac and Apple Bloom? Is Granny still alive?" he asked as though he was conversing with an old friend. But how did he know her family? Had the stallion been stalking her?

"Oh, they’re alright. Can’t say you’ll be as well." Applejack dashed forward, kicking up dust as she went. The stallion did not move, only raising his weapon at the last moment before her mother's hoof met his face. A dull clink sounded as Applejack’s horseshoes met the scythe.

Her mother was no one trick pony as she whirled around and fired a well-timed buck at him. Again he raised the scythe to block the blow. "I don’t enjoy doing this, Applejack, but Auralia has to come with me. I need our daughter to make everything right again." Applejack, unlike Auralia before, landed on all fours, firing a foreleg at the alicorn, only to be blocked once again. Shaking his head, his horn lit up and Applejack was wrapped in a blue aura of magic. All she could do was struggle as she fought against the magical grasp. He lowered her leg for her and finally floated her a few inches across the ground in front of him. "I really don’t like it, Applejack. Please understand that," he said, kissing her mother on her lips. The mare's eyes widened and she tried to free herself again to no avail. Auralia struggled to stand, but her legs would not obey. She had several scorch marks on her body where her fur was completely burnt out, blue spots that seemed to have pierced the skin. Her head swam and she fought the desire to retch. The movement, however, caused the stallion to leave Applejack and look to her. "Auralia, please take off the bangle, or I will have to hurt your mother… a lot."

She did not react, staring blankly at the alicorn and her mother, who was struggling wildly. Then, without warning, Applejack's left foreleg bent unnaturally at an angle. The mare whimpered, although she could not open her mouth. "I'm waiting," the stallion said impatiently. The foal nodded and hurried to get Protes off her leg. The metal fell into the fresh spring grass.

The blue aura around Applejack disappeared and she fell to the ground. "I'll... I'll make you…" she whimpered, but the stallion ignored her and just passed her. He stood before Auralia and looked down at her. "Come," he said again.

It was like a switch in her had flipped, as though someone had had placed cotton in her head. Her thoughts ebbed and she simply stood up, her legs steady and her breathing flat. Then he wrapped her in his aura and lifted her on his back. The last things she saw before her eyes closed were the ever-fading apple trees in the distance.

*** ~ [ Nightwish - The Kinslayer ] ~ ***

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Chapter VI - Act 23.1 - The Kingdom of Men

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"The council was getting nervous. The old farts’ knees were already trembling." The red-haired man laughed heartily, the sound seemingly coming from within the depths of his stomach. "‘What if something happened to him? What if the Sun Tyrant gets him in her claws?’" Aschlant scoffed disdainfully, though to whom it was aimed at, Thiemo had no idea. "But I told them. They simply can’t catch the general. Nice to have you back home." A heavy hand slapped him on the shoulder. "And now, you must introduce me to these the ladies. A man needs a name to go with these beautiful faces."

The boat just slid over the waves, powered by a small unpolished sapphire held by the shaman who undoubtedly guided the vessel along. The man didn't allow the water to move the boat like he would have done. Instead, he sucked in water to spout it out again, like a turbine. They were getting closer to Ti with each passing moment . "My sister Danielle," he said without thinking, and immediately slapped himself mentally. He had completely forgotten about the code names. "And Remy."

"Ma'am and Ma'am." Aschlant nodded to both. "So you've been looking for your sister all the time. Where did you find her?" His eyes flashed across Danielle. "With that belt, I would say in the Empire. Had the Empress captured her along with the others?" Thiemo nodded, though he had no idea what the man meant. "And here I thought my eyes had gone bad. So that was a ship from the Crystal Empire we saw. I’ve never seen a colourful thing like that. Then again, I never did get that far north." The man was not the silent recluse Thiemo had encountered last time. Rather the opposite, it seemed. Something was definitely strange here. The man obviously thought he was someone he was not. Did he so resemble that general he mentioned? Thiemo wiped his wet hair out of his face with a hand and looked past Aschlant to the island. "Man, I’m only noticing it now. You have your hair color again!"

"What?" Thiemo asked, trying to keep his voice neutral. While two people could resemble each other, voices were always different. He hoped Aschlant would not notice anything awry.

"Well," said the man, pointing to Thiemo head, "I always thought white was your natural hair colour. Guess you were bleaching it this whole time, eh?"

His doppelganger bleached his hair? What sort of weirdo pranced about with white hair on their head, especially one that resembled him? However, that was not the main issue here. First Blue Light had a double and now him? That could not be a coincidence.

My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 23.1 - The Kingdom of Men ~

For Thiemo, it was a struggle to keep his jaw from unhinging itself, and he envied Amy and Danielle, who did not have to fight. They all looked around and upwards, staring at the sights with wide eyes. What they had initially assumed were small hills and towers turned out to be the city itself. The island basically didn’t exist, as the city seemed to envelop the entirety of Ti. The dock where they had landed led directly to a narrow street. The building surrounding them seemed to be oddly constructed, as if someone had taken ship containers made out of wood, stacked them on top each other, and converted them into dwellings. Apartment upon apartment were connected by rope bridges and narrow paths that were really just one porch going to another. Everywhere, metal scrap had been used for stabilization, as a counterweight, or directly for support. All this reminded Thiemo of one of his favourite cities from a post-apocalyptic game that he used to play. The difference was that Ti looked as though some modder had filled the city with hundreds of buildings without increasing the overall area.

If that wasn’t a reason alone to stare, there weren’t only humans milling about. No, there were diamond dogs, griffons, ponies and, of course, zebras. They all squeezed through the narrow street that the trio were currently walking along. At least humans were better dressed here, even if they were only rags held together with leather straps. The other races also wore some type of clothing. Ponies and griffins mostly wore some type of poncho that reached their knees, and the dogs wore trousers. Even the bitches had something like a nierengurt to hide their teats.

The influence of the humans was clearly noticeable and it left a strange feeling in Thiemo’s stomach area. This place so reminded him of home, though his brain kept shouting at him about how delusional that was. "We should go to the Council at once. After that, you can bring your sister home," said Aschlant, who had taken the lead. "It shouldn’t take too long. After all, it’s really only good news. The prisoners in the Empire have rebelled and some have actually managed to escape. Best of all, they have the Crystal Heart. The council was beside itself, I tell you." Thiemo simply nodded. He still thought it best to take everything in silence. Aschlant just threw information at them as they walked on, and who was he to interrupt the man? For example, he had just learned that not everyone here on Ti knew that the humans in the Empire had received help. Besides, it was not a rebellion, rather a targeted attack by sleeper cells. There had never been prisoners in the Empire. His theory that someone was playing Ti against the rest of the world was looking increasingly realistic.

They came to a crossroads where two small streets merged into a broad throughway. Numerous enterprising individuals of each race had taken advantage of the extra space to hawk their goods on the side of the roadway from makeshift stalls, some with old tarps to prevent rain from soaking their goods. Griffons sold fish, diamond dogs flashed gemstones of every variety, and he even saw a zebra shaman selling ready-made talismans. There were also tropical fruits that Thiemo had never seen before, as well as weapons. Swords, lances, or axes, it was obvious to them that they had been fashioned out of scrap metal.

Ti may have been a prison, but that must have been several hundred years in the past. Now it was a flourishing metropolis where beings of all kinds lived together. Somehow, Luna's dream had come true. "Oh shit," Aschlant said suddenly. "She doesn’t look happy at all."

Thiemo stood next to the man, who was a head taller than him, and followed his gaze. It took him a moment to spot what the other man was looking at. Amidst the crowd there was something large trudging towards them, a diamond dog if only in the broadest sense. The bitch, because it could be nothing else since she was dressed only in thin linen held together by chains, more closely resembled a wolf. She was enormous, practically protruding from the crowd. Her fur was dark brown, and unlike other diamond dogs, she had breasts, two thick, fur-covered mammaries covered by a leather bra. Thiemo looked twice to be sure.

"Aschlant!" she growled in a much too normal-sounding voice. "I was just informed by the harbour master that..." She glanced at Thiemo when she finally stood in front of them. He had to look up when he wanted to see something other than breasts. He did that with only a slight delay.

"I was just on my way to bring the General to you, Councillor." Aschlant stiffened and saluted her sharply. "A Crystal Empire airship had thrown them off a few kilometres off the coast. Him and his companions." He pulled Danielle near him and waved at Amaryllis.

The mammoth wolf glanced at the trio, then nodded. "I will accompany them to the council building, Aschlant. You are to report to Officer Jenna—she has a job for you."

Aschlant saluted again. "Understood," he said, then turned to Thiemo. "I think I’m repeating myself, but it’s good to have you back, sir." He saluted to Thiemo, then disappeared into the crowd.

"If you would follow me, General." The councillor did not wait for an answer. She turned around as well and began clearing a path in the crowd.

All three needed a moment, but they also began to move. "What’s going on here?" Amaryllis hissed in Thiemo's ear, now that she had the opportunity to speak. "General?" she added with a dark expression that Thiemo only noticed from his corner of his eye.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" he shot back a little too loudly. Some heads had been staring in their direction, and now there were even more. "I have as much an idea of what’s going on here as you." If they still had their connection, Amy would certainly have noticed his confusion. However, they had continued their cold war in that regard for a good reason. The princess had to learn to perceive the emotions of others, especially his. Perhaps it was a risk to do it during such a delicate mission, but for the moment, it did not make much difference.

"I've never seen a diamond dog like her," Danielle interrupted. "Looks more like a furry’s dream than a dog digging in the earth for gems."

Thiemo shook his head. "Too small breasts for it," his mouth responded before his brain could catch up. The two women's eyes darkened. "Oh, come on. She’s practically running around in a leather bikini." Their conversation was briefly interrupted as a griffin broke through between them. "l bet you looked, too."

"I don’t understand what’s so great about these things." Amaryllis grabbed her own with her hands. "They seemed to get in the way, which is why I kept them small."

"Wait…" Thiemo blinked, taking a moment to ensure he had heard her correctly. "Does that mean you can make them bigger?" Amaryllis nodded and released her hold on her breasts.

Danielle sighed. "Could we focus on the here and now? Thank you." They fell silent when a group of foals barrelled down the road and included them in their obstacle course. "If I didn’t know better, I'd say we have a real mongrel here. Man and dog. She has hands with five fingers instead of paws on her arms, and her secondary sexual features shouldn’t be overlooked either." Thiemo nodded. "Think about what that means. Something on Albion must allow that, because it’s impossible on Earth."

"God knows the Middle East would have been overrun by satyrs long ago," Thiemo interjected, causing Danielle to shoot him a look. What struck him was that Amy did not giggle or smile as usually did when he made a wisecrack she did not really understand. Was it perhaps something in his emotions that usually made her aware that he joking? Had she only laughed because a sign with 'applause' lit up in her head?

"Thanks for the mental image, but yes. If it is possible that different species can crossbreed here, it had huge implications for science. For example, gene therapy. You lost an arm? No problem, we’ll give you some lizard DNA and it just grows back in a few years."

“Would take the fun out of five finger fillet, don't you think? But otherwise, that sounds like you got the idea from a comic. Spider-Man? The lizard?" Thiemo asked.

Danielle nodded. "They re-started the series and I thought I would watch it. Total nonsense actually, but if you can combine the DNA of animals with those of humans... "

"Suddenly it’s no longer nonsense," Thiemo finished the sentence. "You're thinking about Lyra, aren’t you?" He also flexed his left shoulder instinctively. He hadn’t forgotten the pain Ariel had inflicted on him.

Before them, the wolf turned into another street, her gaze always directed forward. Thiemo's gaze wandered upwards as he perceived movement. Above, on one of the sky bridges, stood a man in a uniform, or at least something that resembled one. What caught his attention was the gun in the man's hands. It reminded him roughly of a heavy machine gun, but the barrel was much smaller, more resembling the ones found on the pistols he knew.

As he turned forward again, he saw their leader heading straight for a larger building up ahead. It might have had about four or five floors, and one of the few houses here that had a pointed roof. Even here, some boards had been laid across so that the path above was not interrupted. "Here we are," the wolf-morph said in her weirdly human voice as she opened the door for them.

Thiemo nodded his thanks and stepped inside. He was already through the door and halfway into the hallway when alarm bells began to ring in his mind. Weren’t they supposed to be brought to the Council? Why then was he standing in something that looked like a normal house? He turned around hastily, but the wolf had already closed the door behind them and placed the latch in position with one click. "The room at the far right." She pointed down the hall.

"This isn’t the council building," noted Thiemo.

"No." Thiemo cursed inwardly. "You're welcome. I also had a long day and would like to sit down." This time the wolf grinned, and he immediately understood why she didn’t smile. Unlike changeling or thestrals, who had only four canines, her mouth was filled with sharp teeth. It was terrifying in a primal sort of way. She was two heads taller than all of them. Even if he wanted, he could not fight her in the hallway. It was far too narrow and the exit was completely blocked by their enemy. Danielle shook her head, probably not keen on fighting either. He slowly walked toward the room she'd been looking at. It was a simple living room that contained a couch, a few armchairs, and a table in the middle.

When they were all in the room, the councillor walked past them, took a seat on one of the chairs, and crossed her legs. Thiemo exchanged glances with the others, then took a seat. The walk through the city had dried their clothes somewhat, but they still dripped onto the leather of the furniture. Not that it seemed to disturb their hostess. "So, where are we?" Thiemo asked.

"In your house," came the answer. Thiemo blinked, and the wolf grinned again, this time without showing teeth. "First, let me introduce myself. My name is Ianee, Councillor of the City of Ti and Hierophant of the Shamans. If you were the general, you would know that. But you are not the general. That much is certain."

"How do know that?" Thiemo knew the jig had been up a while now. Still, he needed time to think about a plan. It was just one person they had to deal with, and with Danielle and Amaryllis here, she shouldn’t be a problem. They had to act quickly and quietly.

The wolf's ears twitched. "For one thing, I could hear your conversation on the street. Secondly, I can see your magic. Our general is not a shaman." She looked at Danielle. "And yes, my grandfather was a human, Illuminated One." Then she turned to Amaryllis. "And you are a changeling queen, though a very young one. Princess Amaryllis, I suppose?"

"H-How do…?" she stammered.

"The choices are sparse. Besides, you look very similar to your mother. And before you ask, yes, I know your mother. She's here on the island."

"What?" came from Thiemo’s and Amaryllis' mouth simultaneously. "My mother is here?"

Ianee nodded. "She came several months ago, and she was granted asylum. The general took her under his wing." Chrysalis was here? Here on the island? Grimly, Thiemo realized just where the deformed changelings had come from. He turned to Amaryllis, catching the moment she realized it herself. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened, stammering something unintelligible to Thiemo’s ears. Immediately he was on his feet and hurrying to her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, feeling them tremble.

"Is there another queen here on the island?" Thiemo asked hastily.

In the few seconds before she could answer, he prayed to all the gods who were willing to hear. "Please, please say yes," he pleaded inwardly. Ianee, who did not seem to understand, at least by her slightly puzzled look, shook her head.

A violent heave came from Amaryllis’ throat and her breakfast landed on the wooden floor of the living room. "I guess I'm missing important information. Since I was very open, I would appreciate if you reciprocated, Illuminated One. Please, fill me in as much as you can."

Thiemo and Danielle looked at each other briefly, then the shaman nodded. "Where do I start...?"

***

Daring Do breathed a sigh of relief when she was nearer to Ti than the Crystal Empire’s airship. To make matters worse, she had to constantly fly over the clouds, as several of the Royal Guard had searched the water for something. At least it had seemed so from up here. She would have liked to follow them, but she could not risk it, not when she was so close to the finish. The cargo in her saddlebags was just too important.

Her tongue covered the talisman that she had prepared, and she brought it skilfully between her teeth. Pegasi got these when they left the island. The guards could somehow discern them over a long distance, even in thick fog or rain. Anyone that approached from the air and had no such talisman would have to try their luck with the guns. Had she lost it, Daring would have swum the rest of the way.

The adventurer turned towards one of the towers near the beach. Although the talisman allowed her access, the guards were always suspicious towards anyone coming to the island. She slowed her pace somewhat and waved to one of the armed guards. The woman did the same, and Daring spotted as she reached and pulled out her communicator. She spat out the talisman and caught it with a hoof. "Maybe I shouldn’t have kept it under my old blanket," she murmured, trying to get the taste out of her mouth.

She was finally back home. How long had she been traveling? Eight or nine months? This was by far one of her longest expeditions. She steered around another tower, then paused for a moment. She could not remember that the southern wing of the city had been so high on her last visit. More and more humans seemed to have arrived on the island. Daring could understand why—after all, she had grown up in this city.

She steered up and flew over the new level of apartments. She didn’t have far to go since she could already see her destination. The council building was one of the major landmarks of the city. The ground floor was completely open, consisting of columns that supported the rest of the building. There, between these pillars, the Council held its meetings. Every citizen of Ti was allowed to attend, an ancient law only made possible these days because the market square around the building was cleared during the meetings. Two steel staircases allowed access from the ground floor to the rest of the building: general administration on the two first floors, to the offices of the various departments of the city administration, and finally to the seat of the military and to the general's office.

Ti's military consisted of practically every known sapient creature. Diamond dogs, griffons, zebras, and ponies were included, though humans made up the majority of its armed forces. It was their island, after all. For those with wings, there was a large gate that gave them direct access to the rooms of the military in the council building, at least if one knew one of the combinations. Everyone with authorization got their own code, so you could always track who came and went. Daring also had her own code even though she was not military, having been brought on as a civilian employee.

The keypad was largely constructed out of scrap metal, and the letters and numbers had been slapped on with thick paint. She had to punch in her code several times because the buttons got stuck or didn’t work at all, but she finally heard the familiar sound of the small engine that made the iron gate disappear into the wall. The mare landed and sighed in relief. The flight had been long and she was no longer young, she reluctantly admitted to herself. The gate began to close behind her again, and the room she was in began to plunge into darkness. Only at the last moment did a small lamp near the door ahead of her begin to emit a bright amber light. As far as she knew, it served to detect anyone invisible. The lamp moved its cone up and down before it was extinguished. It clicked and a small grate was opened on the door. Two eyes glanced through the room. "All right," Daring heard someone say. With another click, the door opened. "Welcome home, Miss Do."

Daring knew the young man who had opened the door. "So, you've been demoted to guard duty, James?" The young man, about twenty years old, rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Took you long enough. Nobody can get in here if the guard is snoring."

"Come on, let it go. I have to hear it enough from the others," he murmured, closing the door behind her.

"No time to chitchat, I’m afraid. I need to see Councillor Griffwald. I've done what he asked me to do." James nodded and went to the small desk that was the only piece of furniture in the small corridor. On it stood a small data terminal.

The man tapped on the keyboard before he answered without looking at her. "You’re in luck. Council member Griffwald is in his office, but he was about to leave. The general is back in the city and he wanted to see him. I just told him you were here, so he's waiting for you."

Daring blinked in surprise. "The general had left the city?" She did not know the general, nor had he ever met him. However, even she knew that the man led everything concerning security and military in the city.

James nodded. "A few weeks ago. He left a message that he was looking for someone. Arrived in the harbour about five minutes ago, according to the first reports. The commander picked him up on a routine ocean patrol. Supposedly, he was aboard an airship from the Empire." She blinked again. That couldn’t be. She had been on board the ship, and the only human she had seen was the woman with the wings. However, there was another one with her, wasn’t there? Not on the ship, or at least she had not seen him. She thought of the accomplices from the bank, the details resurfacing in her mind. He was Princess Amaryllis’ lover, a human who went by the name Thiemo, a shaman, if the newspapers in the Empire were to be believed. He was supposed to be the general? She could not believe it, even though all evidence seemed to point in that direction.

"I have to go, James. Keep your chin up!" Daring shouted, hurrying down the hall.

"I always do!" the man called after her, though she paid his words scant attention. Daring opened the door to the next corridor, which was wider and better lit. She knew the way to the Griffwald’s office, having galloped down them hundreds of times. She gave way to a woman who was toting a stack of papers in her arms, then turned to the right. She breathed heavily, as she had not yet recovered from her flight, but she had arrived at her destination. Next to the door was a wooden sign that declared: "F.Griffwald, Councillor." Daring knocked and entered without waiting.

Fredrick Griffwald was a man who, like her, had his best years behind him. A thick white beard graced his face and scars refined the image of crow's feet around his eyes. The little hair that remained was a light wreath pattern on his head. "Daring," he said in his familiar baritone. Griffwald rose from the chair behind his desk and came over to her. "My goodness, why in such a hurry, old girl?"

"Let me..." Daring panted, waving a hoof. "I just need a moment..." The man chuckled, causing his distinct belly to jiggle. She remembered when she first saw him, as a young foal at a council meeting. At that time, he had still been in good shape and was part of the military. Now he managed the police force that maintained order in the streets. Occasionally, however, he got an order from above, and there were times when he directed one of them to her. "I have the artefact," Daring finally said. She turned to her saddlebags and pulled out the valuable cargo, still wrapped in her blanket.

Fredrick bent down slightly to her. "Can I?" He held out an open hand under her snout. She placed the package in his hand and he immediately began to unwrap it. "Oh, just like the other piece." He pulled out the strange piece. Daring had no idea what it was supposed to represent. Ancient art of humanity, perhaps?

Then her thoughts froze. "Other piece? What other piece?"

"Oh?" Fredrick turned to her again as he placed the artefact into his desk drawer. "Right. Commander Aschlant was also sent to find such an artefact. He returned successfully a few moons ago. Got it from a pony on the edge of Equestria. Just like that, at least according to his report." The old man stared at her impassively. "You're good, Daring, but we had to be safe. We've sent a few people to look for them."

The mare did not know how to respond. No one had told her that this artefact was so important. No one had told her that she had not been the only one to search for it. She felt somewhat hurt. "I understand," she said dryly. "Who exactly gave the order?"

Fredrick beamed. "The general personally. He will be glad to hear that we’ve found one. If you want, you can come," he offered as he closed the drawer. "I was about to meet him. I’m sure he’ll also thank you for your efforts."

The general was looking for these pieces? That couldn’t be, right? He had held it in his hands in the bank, and his interest in it seemed to have been rather muted. Something was wrong, not just with the two humans, but also here on Ti. "No, I'd rather fly home. Twenty layers of dust to get rid of and so on. Should I send you the bill?”

The man laughed. "You can pick up your payment tomorrow. At home. My wife and my daughter would be happy to see you again. Will you come over for dinner?"

"Sure.” It wouldn’t do to arouse suspicion. "I'll come over tomorrow then." Daring turned away and had her hoof at the door when Griffwald spoke again.

"Hold on. Why are you in such a hurry?" The man came towards her. "It must have been quite an adventure to find that piece. Why don’t I accompany you for a while and you tell me about it?" Daring nodded silently, her brain whirling away to come up with a plausible story.

***

Ponyville. Lyra took a deep breath as she caught her first sight of the well-known village at the foot of Canterlot. In a few minutes, she would be home again. Bon Bon's homemade sweets. Fresh cakes from Sugarcube Corner. Playing music in the park. Oh, how she had missed all this. Well, that and the guards currently swarming the village.

Lyra blinked and jumped into a bush on the edge of the street. She waited a moment, then carefully exhaled. They couldn’t be looking for her, could they? She fished around in her luggage and pulled out the scroll. It was the royal pardon from Princess Luna. She was no longer a traitor to the country and was allowed to return to her homeland on her own accord. Lyra sighed in relief, for a moment wondering if the letter had been a dream. One could never know with Princess Luna.

After a last glance, while also ensuring nopony saw her emerging from the bush, Lyra stepped back onto the road and continued on her way. She would have gone farther to Stalliongrad via the train, but after all that Princess Cadance had done for her, she did not want to beg, even for money. The unicorn stopped again and looked down at her metal leg. It could move like a real leg. She could even feel the ground under her. However, it wasn’t real. That was gone, in the stomach of a monster. What her parents say? Or her older sister?

However, that would be another heartache for another time. She continued on her way until she reached the outskirts of Ponyville. Some of the guard’s pegasi flew past her, but as expected, they ignored her.

What Lyra hadn’t expected was the emptiness of the town. No one was on the streets. Or almost no one. Her head swivelled around as she spotted Rarity leaving her home, accompanied by several guards. She needed an answer, because this was not the homecoming she had expected.

"Hello! Rarity!" she called to the mare, but before she could approach, the guards were aiming their weapons at her. "Oh, hey! Take it easy, guys. Unarmed young mare here."

"Lyra, darling! What are you doing here?" Rarity ignored the guards as she pushed past them as if they were made of air and nuzzled her. "I thought you were in the Empire because of... certain reasons." Rarity nodded frantically over to the guards.

"I’ve been pardoned. But what's going on, Rarity? Why are all the flashers in Ponyville?" The armoured stallions glared at her at the mention of that particular nickname.

Rarity inhaled sharply. "Sweet Apple Acres was attacked. By an alicorn." Lyra's eyes widened. "Applejack has identified the attacker as Blue Light."

"That can’t be… right? I mean, you know, he’s..."

Rarity nodded. "Princess Celestia is beside herself. Added to this, she hasn’t heard from Twilight for days now. And now this... My goodness, he kidnapped Auralia, and now the Elements are to be brought to safety. They want to keep us in the castle."

Auralia? Kidnapped? Her mouth worked furiously, but no sound escaped her lips. Had the world gone completely bonkers?

Chapter VI - Act 23.2 - From the Eyes of a Wolf (Part 1)

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My Little Pony

Journey

~ Act 23.2 – From the Eyes of a Wolf — Part 1 ~

"But I want to help too!" moaned the young dog girl. Her small hands struggled to open the massive paw of the adult diamond dog which clasped her head as her legs kicked futilely in the air. "I can dig too! I even found a gem." Unfortunately, her words fell on deaf ears, and a moment later she sailed in a small arc into the air. With a yelp, she landed on the hard, rocky ground, which was also unpleasantly warm. The sun had done a good job here around the mine. Some dogs had even fried eggs on a few of the darker rocks.

"Pups like you don’t belong in the mine," grunted the tall diamond dog who had just thrown her out. His dark coat glittered with dust and dirt in the sun.

Ianee scrambled to her feet and pulled something from one of the pockets of her half-ripped dress. "But I can dig!" She held out to her counterpart the shiny stone which she had earlier knocked out from the wall of the mine. At first the large dog did not move, before he leaned forward slightly and eyed what she held in her hands. Then he sniffed and finally took the stone between two fingers. Dust crumbled to the ground as he squeezed it slightly. The little wolf-like bitch shouted and tried to catch the dust, but it trickled through her fingers.

"Worthless. Go home, tiny," he growled, flicking Ianee roughly on her forehead, which propelled her back to the ground. Tears formed on the edges of her eyes as she held her forehead. However, the foreman was unmoved and returned to the darkness of the mine.

Disappointed, Ianee dropped her arms and stuck her tongue out. It was a long tongue. "Dumbass!" she called after him and brushed the dust off her dress. She wanted to work in the mine, just as her mother used to do. She wanted to show that she was just as much of a diamond dog as they were, no matter who her grandfather was. A stone made the mistake to cross her path on her retreat, and with a purposeful kick, it sailed down into the mine.

“Hey!" a voice shouted from the depths. "Who's throwing stones around here?" Now was really the time to get lost, the dog girl decided as she hurried to the exit.

The guard who had let her in an hour ago grinned mischievously. "Well, did they finally kick you out?"

"Yeah, exactly. I'll get going then," she said and left the compound as fast as she could. A moment later, angry screams rang out behind her, but she paid no further attention to them. She took the first path that led into the city and disappeared between the legs of its inhabitants. One day she would be tall and strong like her mother and everyone would have to look up to her, but for today, it was better to be small. She scuttled past a man, between the legs of a zebra mare, and brushed the right shoulder of a griffon as she passed him. That was all it took to reach one of the wider main roads.

Now the only question was what to do with the rest of the morning. Her stomach took the opportunity to make a suggestion to which she agreed. She held her nose in the wind and followed the first smell that promised a good meal. Fish was being roasted over an open fire, and her mouth watered, drool dripping on the street as she made her way to the source. She had once heard the workers in the mine complaining that it took almost their entire break just to get to the port to find fresh fish. Ianee had no idea what the problem was; she made it in less than ten minutes. She could even already see the little shack. An old human stood behind the counter and fried fish over an open fire while a younger woman handled a knife. Dust sprang up as she stopped in front of the takeaway and hurriedly searched the pockets of her dress. And she searched again. And again to be sure. She had lost her money. A whimper escaped her as she looked up to where the delicious brown fish was drizzled with butter and got a splash of lemon. The world was not fair, and this time not even a stone made the mistake of getting in her way.

She trotted off, her head bowed. If only she would search long enough, she would certainly find enough coins to buy a fish. Money could be found on the road, or so the popular saying went. She followed the path to the beach, walked briefly along the shoreline, and finally collided with the back of a large dog. Maybe she should look up from time to time.

"Sorry," she mumbled and tensed her shoulders in anticipation of the expected reprisal. When the expected slap on the muzzle did not materialize, she peered up carefully. The diamond dog in front of her paid no attention to Ianee. His eyes were on the sea, just like all the others standing on the beach. Curious as she was, Ianee did the same. There was a ship out there with the banner of a golden sun on the sails. She knew the ships from Equestria. The ponies there did not like humans in their lands, and they threw the ones they found like garbage in the waters before Ti. Ianee did not always know what to make of humans. Her grandfather was a human, but she had little to do with him. She had inherited his hands and other qualities of the humans, which the other dogs considered to be weaknesses. A diamond dog was allowed to be anything, just not weak.

The ship was different than the others, in that it was on fire. One of the three masts had already adopted a dangerous slope and was about to take a bath. There were distant black spots that jumped from the deck into the water.

"Get the boats ready!" a voice barked over the beach. Ianee looked around and saw soldiers hurrying down the nearby pier, amongst them the General Field Marshal. He ran ahead, shouting instructions and pointing in different directions. "The freighters should get everything and everyone out of the water. Mobilize the fishermen too; we need every available vessel heading out. And find me—" A blast drowned out his words as everyone on the beach witnessed the ship disintegrate into a gigantic fireball.

"What are you still standing around here, go!" he shouted as relative silence reigned. Ianee’s ears were still ringing. "You there, run to the hospital and tell them to send as many nurses and doctors they can spare to the pier. The rest should get ready to treat the wounded, mainly for burns." One of the soldiers saluted, handed over his spear to a colleague, and sprinted away. "You, we need fresh water. Take two comrades and get as much as you can." The order was accepted and he turned to the onlookers, including Ianee. "And you all, make yourselves useful! If you have boats, go out and collect people. If not, look for survivors in the water and help them get onto land." He paused for a moment. "But only if you can swim for sure," he finally added. A task, one with which she could prove that she was useful. Ianee grinned broadly, allowing her teeth to flash, as she followed a group of different creatures to carry out their orders.

* * *

Ianee paused her story as Danielle came back from the kitchen. "Thank you," she said, accepting the cup of tea held out to her.

"One thing you have to give to your double, he has a good kitchen," said the young woman and placed a cup before Thiemo and Amaryllis. The shaman saw the pity in Danielle's eyes as she looked at Amaryllis. For ten minutes she had said nothing, and if it hadn’t been for the couple of times she had held back a sob, Thiemo would have thought she had fallen asleep. That would at least have given her the necessary peace her mind needed right now.

"I have a question. You said the guards had spears with them. For what?" he asked without looking at the dog. His attention was all on Amaryllis. His arm was around her shoulders and he gently stroked her neck. He hoped that he at least helped a little.

Ianee lowered the cup and pointed to a lamp in the corner of the room. Like the rest of the house, it looked like it was made of scrap metal, lots of glue, and some madness. "We did not have any devices like this back then. No electricity. One or two shamans living on the island might’ve produced clouds and lightning, but not enough to supply a city with. Only in the last twenty years have our sages succeeded in restoring ancestral technology. "

"Let me guess, I played a big role?" Ianee looked a bit surprised, then nodded. "Makes sense—Blue Light was a brilliant engineer."

"What does Blue Light have to do with it?" Danielle asked.

Thiemo grinned. "Me, I'm a nobody. I wasn’t even on Albion twenty years ago." Ianee looked even more astonished, if that was possible. "That's why my conclusion is that I was not 'copied'." He mimicked quotation marks in the air. "Blue Light was."

Ianee was probably confused enough now. "Who is Blue Light?"

"Firstborn son of Celestia. Alicorn of Change, but he died over a thousand years ago," Thiemo explained, taking off his coat. He held out his left shoulder. "Apparently I'm possessed with what's left of him."

Ianee's eyes widened and began to glow. One of her hands rose and softly ran her fingertips over the emblem on Thiemo's shoulder, two white crescents separated by a white flash. "Possessed is probably not the right expression," murmured the bitch. "A destiny that is not your own has been imposed upon you."

Thiemo shrugged, which seemed to break Ianee’s trance. "I was trying to complain, but I was told not to behave like a little bitch." He pulled his coat back on. "You were going to tell us how my double came to the island?"

* * *

Fresh sea air assaulted Ianee’s nose. Seagulls shrieked and water struck the bow of the somewhat dilapidated fishing boat, nature’s sounds being broken only occasionally by the instructions the captain called to his men. She had hidden in a roll of rope not unlike the colour of her coat. No one had yet discovered her, though that was probably more because the men were busy looking for survivors. It was a task she was certain she could do better. With renewed vigour, she turned and stared out at the water. The burning ship, or what was left of it, was now much clearer. Boxes and barrels were floating around in the water, and some of them had ponies and humans clinging to them. Boats were already on their way to them, though the one she was on seemed to be searching for anyone who had floated further away.
Her eyes strained as she stared into the distance, but from her hiding place, the view was rather dim. That changed suddenly when she was lifted about a meter in the air.

"Thanks, I can see much better now." She blinked. Five fingers had dug firmly into the fur on the back of her neck, holding her tight. She tried to turn her head but didn’t get far.

"What are you doing here, girl?" the captain's voice rumbled, much closer than she was comfortable with.

Caught, Ianee decided to tell the truth, "I'll help!" He hummed the sound that all adults made when they did not believe her. "For real! I'm on the lookout for survivors. We diamond dogs have the best noses, ears, and eyes—everyone knows that. Without me, you won’t find anyone!"

Her vision changed as she was turned around and held under his arms. "Really?" he asked in surprise, the pipe in his mouth changing sides. "Well then, if you’re telling the truth, we should get you a good place to look out. Your talent would only be wasted down there in that rope." Pleased that she had finally found someone who could appreciate her talents, Ianee nodded enthusiastically. Satisfied, he looked around and grinned. "Do you think the counter in front of the steering wheel would work?"

The steering wheel came out of a raised wooden pedestal, on which a shelf was mounted. Paper—probably maps—a compass and a weird circle, and other objects that she could not name lay around on it. Several rocks acted as weights to ensure they remained in place. If she stood on it, she would be taller than the captain, maybe even her mother.

"Eh, it’ll have to be enough," she managed, though her voice didn’t sound as casual as she would have liked.

"Well then..." He placed her on his shoulder.

"Ianee!" she gave her name cheerfully.

"And I am Captain Gabriel. Well then, show us how well your dog eyes can see." She hopped from his shoulder to the flat surface of the pedestal and looked around, seeing only water, water, and more water. She changed sides and did the same, with the same result. She peered back at the captain, who was back at the wheel, his eyes also fixed on the sea.

She kept searching as their ship drew closer to the blazing inferno. All she had discovered so far was debris, barrels, and a dead fish that might have gotten caught up in the blast. Suddenly, her ears twitched as she heard a faint sound, no more than a soft squeak. The scream of a seagull was enough to drown out the sound. Had she been mistaken?

"I found something," she said to Gabriel, whose attention was immediately drawn to her. "I hear something." The pointed ears on her head twitched as they sought the source. "There," Ianee finally said, pointing to the east, away from the burning ship. A line of crates and barrels bobbed in the water as they floated along the current.

The captain nodded and turned. "Okay, let's see…"

Two of the men at the bow of the ship cast a surprised glance back as their direction seemed to be headed away from the scene of the accident. One even came running, though his eyes soon locked onto Ianee. "Sir, where are we going? And what’s that puppy doing here?"

The older man calmly waved away his concern. "She is my assistant and here to help. We can use every pair of eyes, ears, and hands." He winked at Ianee. "And those ears here…" Gabriel started patting her head. Her tail inevitably wagged and not because it felt good to be praised. "…have heard something unusual about those crates. Get the hooks out; we'll check it out."

The young man nodded. "All right, boss."

Ianee glanced at the other boats on the water. Everywhere, creatures were being pulled out of the water. Some were still visible in the water, but not all stirred. There had to be well over a hundred boats involved in the rescue mission, but apparently they were not enough. Only now, when she could smell the smoke and the fire practically scorched her fur, did she notice how large the ship had been. Still, it made sense—you needed big ships if you wanted to transport so many people.

They kept on moving past the wreckage. Several other ships seemed to notice, and people waved frantically from the boats, pointing in other directions, but Gabriel paid them no attention. Ianee concentrated again and pricked up her ears. The sound was gone and a hole opened in her stomach. If she did not find anything, they would have wasted valuable time. She would have wasted valuable time that they could have used to help others. But she had been so sure. There had been a noise, a voice. It still had to be there.

"I have one, Captain!" called one of the humans from the front, who was just pulling a box on deck with a long hook. It landed with a thud onto the wooden deck, and another man came in with a small axe. A swing cracked it open, and in the next second, a few bags fell out. The man with the hook picked one up and opened it. "Rations !" he shouted to Gabriel.

"Okay!" he called back and looked at the young bitch. "We can’t open every box. Where did the sound come from?"

Under pressure, she jumped from her lookout and ran to the edge of the boat. She heaved herself up on the rail, closed her eyes, and listened again. Nothing, just the sound of water, seagulls, and the steps of the men around her.

"I know I heard it," she muttered to herself. If she could not hear it, maybe she could see it, as close as they were. Pushing back all her other senses, Ianee concentrated on her eyes, opening them as wide as they could go. She had to see, see everything detail. Water, wind, and the sun were her enemies. She was a child of the earth, a diamond dog! They were a species that could spot the faintest of imperfections in even the clearest diamonds. If anyone could find it, it was her.

And then she could see. It was like she was really opening her eyes for the first time. Colours danced before her that she had never witnessed before. Everything seemed to shine from within. She could see fish underwater, every seagull close by. Even the crates, boxes, and barrels glowed in a dark brown. However, one barrel was different. Another light came out from it, weak yet distinct.

Ianee did not second-guess herself as she pointed to it. "That one there!" Gabriel turned around and two of the men used the hook. He wedged himself in the wood of the barrel and together they pulled it to the deck.

"Stand clear!" roared the man with the axe as he smashed the lid. He peered in, his eyes widening. "Oh fucking shit!" he bellowed, dropping the axe and reaching into the barrel. At first, Ianee could not tell what he was pulling out. She ran past the man who blocked her view before she halted, her eyes widening as well. There had been a boy in the barrel. A boy with white hair.

* * *

"My doppelganger," Thiemo interrupted, pursing his lips.

Ianee nodded. "Yes. We rescued five more people that day. Captain Gabriel managed to breathe life into him with a heart massage and artificial respiration. The men thought the boy had hidden in the barrel when fighting broke out on board. Later, none of the survivors knew who he belonged to." She put down her empty cup of tea. "The then Field Marshal used the incident to stir the pot with Equestria and to set an example. He decided to adopt one of the victims. Suddenly, he was no longer the white-haired boy from the shipwreck, but Elias Charon, son of Ti’s Field Marshal.

The shaman fell back in the sofa. "I'm slowly losing the belief that there’s actually something like coincidence." He wiped his hand over his mouth before pointing a finger at the bitch. "And you also believe that he was placed there. Or placed himself there. Otherwise, you could have told your story in one sentence."

She nodded. "I might not have thought about it then, or years later. However, the events of the last few weeks have placed some stories in a new light, while leaving me to doubt things I thought I knew."

There she was not alone, Thiemo thought mockingly.