Attack of the Equine Empire

The sun shined bright and brilliant above her home. She saw it burn. She felt its warmth take her in its arms. It was illuminating. It became brighter and brighter, until it flashed like lightning and left a black shape in the sky. No! she screamed. It was all that could come to her mind. The black shape, like a scab in the sky, burst open and an ocean of blood poured out of it. No, she said. It was all that she could say. She saw the blood as rain and tears and finally a raging river coming towards her. Princess, it roared. She would have run if she remembered how. Princess, it bellowed as it washed over her. No, she whispered. It was all she could feel as her body turned to foam and faded away. No.

"Princess," a pony's voice said. Twilight's eyes snapped open. She was in an old bed inside a room made out of makeshift wooden materials. The room was small and had little else besides the bed and the dirt floor. She rubbed her eyes and could here ponies talking and moving about outside. Twilight sat up in her bed and saw a young stallion sitting in a chair across from her. "I see that you're finally awake," he said, smiling. At first she didn't know where she remembered his voice from, then it hit her.

"You attacked us," she said. Twilight sat herself straight up in the bed, ready to run if she needed to. "You stuck a knife at my throat and you tried to rob us."

"And now I'm bringing you your dinner. Life's funny like that." He picked up a plate of food off the ground and placed it on her lap. Twilight stared at the food, not knowing how to proceed. The Stallion noticed that. "It's not poisoned or anything," he said as he sat back down in the chair. "I'll admit to being a thief, but I don't kill ponies with their own meals." Twilight still hesitated, and the pony seemed to just ignore it. "I have some questions for you. Number one, are you a Princess?"

Twilight stared at him. "Wh-what?" she said. She could still feel her head spinning a little.

"It's a simple question. The only alicorns left in the world are Princesses, so if you're an alicorn then..." He trailed off, waiting for Twilight to fill in an answer.

"Yes, I'm a Princess," Twilight said. No use denying it, she thought. She could feel it in every inch of her body. She wouldn't be escaping from these bandits anytime soon. The stallion smiled. It didn't come off as smug or sinister, but rather as if he was proud of himself for making a very easy deduction. Twilight could see him now, without distraction. He was young. No older than herself, it seemed. He was an earth pony. His bright red orange coat and yellow mane stood out amidst the drab colors of the room. His looks reminded her of Applejack, in a way. His coat was darker, though. She made the unconscious assumption that it was true of their personalities as well.

"Glad we've settled that. Next question, what were you and your friends doing all alone on the open road?" Twilight tensed up again. She was equally worried about what would happen to her and her friends if she told the truth, and what would happen if they didn't, if these ponies were curious enough. He seemed to read her mind as he seemed to do before. "I understand your mistrust of me. I wouldn't trust me either," he said. He reached over to her food tray and grabbed the apple sitting on it. It seemed old and a bit bruised, but he merely rubbed it on his chest and took a bite.

"But how would we... get anywhere... without trust?" he spat out through his chewing. He swallowed and narrowed his eyes on Twilight. "Allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Grift, and despite that I am considered very trustworthy. I never break a promise, and I never go back on my word. The fine fellows you saw in my company are the Bloodied Stallions. The best band of lovable scamps in all of Ambleson. From the Griffin Kingdoms to the Equine Empire, we're known and cheered on by thousands, maybe millions. I am, of course, their skilled yet humble leader. At your service." He made an exaggerated bow from his seat.

Twilight smirked at the display, but regained her composure. A Princess had to be stern and intimidating while dealing with his type. "Lovable scamps? You mean thieves, right? The Bloodied Stallions are a world renowned band of thieves. You're criminals." She could see that he was genuinely insulted by this, but he played up just how insulted he was. He let out an over the top gasp.

"Why, your majesty, that accusation is not only an insult to my honor, but to the honor of each of my men. We're not simple criminals, as you would put it. We follow the example of our favorite folk legend, Robin Hoof. We are on the noble quest to steal from the rich and give it all to the poor."

"And when you say the poor, who exactly do you mean?"

Grift thought for a moment. "We're pretty poor," he said. Twilight rolled her eyes. "Now look here. After spending what we have to on food and international transportation, then even our largest scores don't last too long." Twilight smiled on the inside. Looks like I struck a nerve. Let's see if I can hit it some more. Twilight knew that she wasn't going to simply escape, so she had to think of a way to talk her and her friends out of their situation. Before she could do that, she wanted to know how far the bandits' leader could be pushed.

"Really? From what I've heard, you haven't had any 'big scores'. The Bloodied Stallions aren't known for stealing. They're known for evading the authorities for so long. To me it seems like the only thing you're good at is running away." She hoped for another outburst, but was surprised when he answered calmer than before.

"Well all that's about to change. It just depends on your answer to my question. What were you doing in those woods?" he said with cold determination. Twilight was more worried than ever before. That sense of worry brought a familiar thought that had been plaguing her quite a bit in recent times.

"Are my friends still alive?" she asked him.

"Yes. Both of them," he answered immediately. Twilight was unsure, but was inclined to believe him. She didn't know why, just something about him told her it was all okay. She could wait it out. Spend precious time thinking of a way to free herself and her friends and continue on their journey. Although, that plan would cost them precious time in trying to find Alicorn's Bane. Maybe enough time for the Equine Empire to find it. Even if she had time, trying to arrange a way out would require him to trust her. In trying to get him to trust me, I'd inevitably end up trusting him more than I'd ever want to. She was heading down that path anyway, it seemed.

Grift didn't say anything.He was willing to wait for an answer. Now or never, Twilight thought. She'd have to put her trust in him. If she lied, he wouldn't believe her. If he did, he wouldn't let her go. He'd hold on to her until he could ransom her and her friends. By then it'd be too late. The Equine Empire would have Alicorn's Bane. Celestia only knows what they'd do with it. She could say nothing, and just promise to pay them later with money from Equestria if he let them go. He might not do that either. She didn't know. She could only hope that he could understand the importance of her journey, and let them go. Why do I feel like I'm going to regret this?

"You said that you never break a promise?" Twilight finally asked.

"Never," he said sternly.

"I need you to promise me that no harm will ever come to me or my friends. Can you promise me that?"

"Yes."

She wasn't satisfied. "Say it."

"I promise that no harm will ever come to you or your friends," he said. Twilight gulped, then took a deep breath.

"My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria. I came here with my friends to negotiate an alliance with Mustangia. The castle was attacked by ponies from the Equine Empire. I managed to escape along with Rainbow Dash and Flickering Flame. We learned that they're not just here to take over the country, but they are also looking for an ancient and powerful artifact known as Alicorn's Bane. We decided that before Celestia arrives at Bastion with an army, we are going to dedicate our time to finding Alicorn's Bane. Even if the ponies at Bastion are defeated, we can't let them get their hooves on that artifact."

Grift pondered what he had just heard. "When you say powerful," he spoke up, "how powerful are we talking?"

"Unbelievably," Twilight said. She didn't know for sure. All she knew was the story that Flick told them, but being dramatic never hurt at times like this. She hoped that it would prove to be an exaggeration. He sat back in his chair.

"You know," he said after a long time, "I was just going to let you go." Goddesses please, no. "I figured that we didn't want to try to contain a being of mind-numbing magical power who could vaporize each and every one of us. We would have let you and your friends walk and head for the hills, hoping you wouldn't seek bloody vengeance and bring all the force of whatever country you run down upon us. This conversation wouldn't have even happened if I didn't receive those reports an hour ago."

"Reports?" Twilight asked.

"We send out scouts into the countryside to warn us of guards approaching our hideout. Some have brought me information about Royal Guards, but they aren't acting like Royal Guards. These are guards who are roaming the area, asking villagers and travelers about old local legends and such. Some are even killing ponies that give them quite a bit of information. One of my men saw this happen with his own eyes. Royal Guards are bad, but they're not that bad. There's that strangeness, then there's the bubble over Bastion that I've heard of, and there's also the alicorn princess that I found traveling alone and in secret. I assumed there was a connection."

"And I told you it. That is why you have to let us go," Twilight pleaded. She felt relief that he may just let them go, but her thoughts quickly turned to what Grift's scouts reported back. They're searching, and they're killing. I wonder how far north they've gotten.

"I agree, Princess. I will release you and your friends. But I need you to make me a promise." Grift got up from his chair and bowed next to Twilight's bed. "On my honor, I pledge to escort and protect you on your quest. The road is dangerous for three ponies traveling alone. You'll need a band of hearty fighting stallions at your back. The Bloodied Stallions are yours, your majesty." Twilight was taken aback by his proposal. She only hoped to be set free, and certainly didn't expect to receive an escort. Nor was she sure if she even wanted one.

"I'm flattered by this, but you said it yourself. I'm a being of mind-numbing power. I don't need bodyguards" I don't need ones who'll draw attention to us. And I don't need to be sleeping next to criminals every night.

"If I may be so bold, your majesty, you are powerful but you were captured by about a dozen ponies. You gave us some bruises but you're not what I would call skilled fighters. The imperials won't take you alive, I don't think. We can protect you, if you promise me that every stallion in my company will die a very old and very rich pony."

There it is. You wouldn't do this out of the kindness of your heart. Still, he's risking his life. That has to count for something. A few extra ponies would help if they came across any guards. How many extra, though? "How many are in your band of... scamps?"

"One hundred and fifty, your majesty. Including myself, of course." His tone had completely changed by now from what it had been at the beginning of their meeting. It showier and more mockingly regal. Twilight tried her best to ignore it.

"I can't travel discreetly with one hundred and fifty stallions."

"No you can not. That is why our party will only be comprised of thirty of my best men, including myself. The rest I am sending on various assignments to... pester the imperials." Twilight had to admit, that sounded very promising. She still wasn't sure if it was a good idea, although every second she internally debated it was a second lost. I can't believe I'm doing this.

"Grift," Twilight said. Now it was her turn to do the regal voice. "You and your company of... adventurers. Yes, adventurers. You and your company known as the Bloodied Stallions shall henceforth be sworn servants of the sovereignty of Equestria. For your service you all shall be justly rewarded, as long as you are loyal towards myself and my country." Twilight had to make sure she covered all the stops. She was making it up as she went along. Although, certain words began flooding into her memory. She remembered reading about an ancient oath of chivarly and servitude from long ago. "Swear to me an oath of loyalty and that you will uphold it until your death."

"I swear, upon my honor as an adventurer that I will serve my noble princess," he said. He knows the words. Or it's just a lucky guess. Twilight wasn't sure. "I will fight for her, wait for her, stand up for her, and die for her, from now to the last day of the setting sun. This I swear." So it's not a lucky guess. She'd have to ask him about that later.

"Rise, Grift of the Bloodied Stallions." He rose, His pledge had unsettled her in the same way Flick's had. She had not been a Princess for long, and already there were ponies swearing their lives to her. She made sure not to let it show. She expected to see a smug smile on his face after sealing the deal that guaranteed a mountain of gold from her. I hope Celestia doesn't mind me promising away a few fortunes. It was much to her surprise that when he stood up he had a look of... pride? "When do we leave?" she asked him.

"As soon as you can walk. In the meantime, I'll go inform my men of their new situation." He started towards the door but Twilight stopped him.

"Wait," she said. She strained to get out of the bed, to no avail. He turned and saw her struggle.

"Your majesty, get some rest. We'll leave first thing in the morning." Her whole body ached. It screamed for her to just lie down and go to sleep. As she pushed off the bed her limbs shook violently. But she had to prove a point. She wasn't sure what it was or why she was so driven to do it. She just felt like she had to. One by one, she dug her hooves down into the dirt floor. When she was stable she stood up as straight as she could manage.

Grift was visibly impressed. "Fair enough," he said. "We'll leave as soon as possible. Come on. You should meet the boys." He headed out the door. Her first step was almost enough to send Twilight to the ground, but she pushed forward. She found that it got better the more she did it.

She walked out to see their encampment. To Twilight it looked like her room was the best that they had. The whole place was just a scattering of tents, campfires, and a few hastily constructed shacks. Not surprising, considering it was only a temporary hideout. The light made it seem like it was close to late afternoon. Twilight hoped this meant that she was only out for a few hours, and hopefully not a day or two. She followed Grift to a table set up next to a cookfire and some tents.

At the table there were mostly strangers, except for one pegasus who she instantly knew was Rainbow Dash. She was playing poker with several of the Bloodied Stallions, and by the looks of it she was winning considerably. Twilight also saw Flick brooding by the fire, not joining in on the game. Just as they approached Rainbow won a large hand and there was a collective groan by the players.

"Son of a bitch," one of them said, mourning the loss of his money.

"Fucking hell, Dash. I can't keep playing with you like this," said another as he chuckled. Dash laughed as she dragged the pot towards her.

"Don't hate the player, fellas, hate the game. Who's up for another... Twilight?" she said when she saw her. The players turned to see the Princess. Flick jumped up from where he was sitting and darted towards Twilight.

"Are you okay? How are you feeling?" he asked worriedly.

"I'm fine. I'm fine," she said. He gave a sigh of relief. Part of Twilight was surprised that they weren't being held captive, and another part of her wasn't.

"Does this mean we're going?" he asked. He shot a look to Grift that was full of venom. Grift didn't seem to acknowledge it. He looked back at Twilight. She knew he wouldn't be happy with her answer.

"Yes... but we're going to have some company."

"What?" Flick asked flatly. Grift took this time to address his men.

"Alright boys, we've got a new job. It's the best we've ever had and it's legit. You are no longer a group of bloodthirsty thieves. You are now contracted adventurers in service of the great nation of Equestria."

One of the poker players magically removed a cigar from his mouth. "I heard Equestria's full of cunts." They all laughed except for Grift, Flick, and Twilight. Rainbow tried to hold back a laugh unsuccessfully. Grift waited for the laughs to die down.

"Then you'll feel right at home, Zeal." The other players laughed. "Besides, we won't be working for cunts. We'll be working for the great and beautiful Princess Twilight Sparkle." He outstretched his foreleg to show off Twilight. They looked at her unimpressed. She blushed, slightly, and said hello to them. Grift continued. "I'll fill in the details later, but all you need to know is that Mustangia is under attack and if we help protect this princess on her quest, we'll all be rich." Their ears perked up at that.

"That's right. Every single one of us. All you have to do is swear an oath of loyalty to Princess Twilight."

"Oh, that won't be necessary," she tried to say. Grift stepped in front of her.

"It's mandatory. You won't get paid unless you do it. Zeal, get Cobalt and tell him to start picking out thirty of our best fighters. I want him to include both himself and myself in that group. Everypony else start spreading the word on the job, and start separating yourselves in groups of twenty and wait for specific tasks from myself. Come on, move your asses." They all sprang from the table and galloped off in different directions. Twilight could tell that they knew they weren't fighters, and that this new non-illegal job was just dropped right in front of them, but when their leader says they're going to be rich, they believe him.

Grift too quickly galloped off. Just as he left Flick confronted Twilight. "Twilight," he said, "what's going on?"

"Grift and thirty of his best men are going to escort us to Fairlyn Forest. They're going to protect us from the Equine Empire."

"Awesome," Rainbow said, happy to get to travel with some of her new friends. Flick was much less thrilled about the whole thing.

"Why would we do that? Travel with thirty dangerous criminals. They could just be using us to get to Alicorn's Bane and to take it for themselves. Hell, for all we know they could be working for the Equine Empire."

"They're not," Twilight said. "I just know it. It's what my instincts are telling me." Though the thought of betrayal had crossed her mind, she wouldn't say it.

"You can't always follow your instincts, Twilight."

"We followed yours."

"And they got us captured."

"And they got us new friends. Friends that can help us on our way and slow down the imperials." Flick sighed.

"Princess, it's a wise thing to not trust so quickly."

"It is also a wise thing to not mistrust so quickly," she told him. She hated the way he was talking to her. Like she was a child, that she didn't know what she was doing, that if he made his point clear enough she'd realize she was wrong and change her mind. Think, Flick! she thought. Don't you think I've thought this through? Don't you think I've been just as worried? She wanted to say as much but the words kept getting jumbled and wouldn't come out. "Just trust me, okay?" was all she could manage. She said it as sincerely as she could. He clearly disapproved, but relented anyways.

"Alright. I trust your judgement," he said. He walked off, presumably to pack his saddlebags. Twilight understood that he was just being cautious, but she had hoped for a bit more faith in her decisions. She got just that from Rainbow Dash.

"Well I think it's a great idea," the pegasus said. "A little bit of muscle might just be what we need."

"Thanks Dash. Although, Grift's confidence in his men is entirely shared. I personally would have preferred trained soldiers." Twilight's thoughts went to Celestia, and the army she was supposedly bringing. How long has it been? Two days? Three? Give her time. She'll be here. She won't let us down. She wouldn't abandon me. Abandon. Twilight didn't know why that word came to mind. Celestia said she was on her way, so worrying that she wasn't made no sense.

She was brought out of her thoughts by an unfamiliar voice behind her. "Umm... Princess?" it asked. Twilight and Rainbow Dash turned to see a young pegasus, possibly younger than both of them, standing before them.

"Yes? Can I help you?" Twilight asked. The pony murmured something before taking a knee and bowing his head to Twilight.

"I'm supposed to give an oath or something if I want to get paid." Twilight had completely forgotten about that. She looked past the bowing stallion to see a fairly large line forming behind him.

"Well, have fun with... this. I'll talk to you later," Rainbow said. She did not want to face the tedium that Twilight was about to, so she left as soon as she could. The oaths didn't take as long as Twilight expected, but she expected them to last centuries so that wasn't saying much. She made them shorter than Grift's had been, but there were still over a hundred of them. Almost all were taken reluctantly, some more than others, but they were all taken. When it was finished, Flick and Rainbow had gathered their things, each Bloodied Stallion had his orders, and Grift had his thirty ready to move. It was getting dark, but Grift insisted that they get at least some distance before setting up a temporary camp.

They had only gotten a few miles northward when they stopped. It was past midnight, and Grift said they would move again at first light. Thieves constantly on the run were used to hours like that, but Twilight and her friends were not. Rainbow was particularly annoyed, and in all honesty, Twilight didn't like it either. Of course, sleep evaded her. She tossed and turned in her bedroll for what felt like an hour. It was actually a few minutes. Damn it, she thought, finally relenting and sitting up. Her head still hurt a little from earlier. She had never before displayed power like she had earlier that day. Or it was the club to the head.

She could see that Rainbow was having similar problems by the way she was rolling around. Flick remained still in his bedroll, but Twilight could tell by how tense he was that he was still trying to fall asleep. A figure walked towards them through the dark. "You too?" Grift's voice said, though it was muffled by something in his mouth. He spat out the pieces of wood from his mouth between the four of them. "Do you mind lighting that for me?" Twilight's horn glowed and the sticks caught flame.

"Thanks," he said, sitting down. "What I would give to be a unicorn. That would make life so much easier. Let me tell you, trying to grip and hold things with your hooves is not easy. Not impossible, but not easy. It's either that or use your teeth, and that's just unhygienic. With a horn you can cast spells, levitate shit, all sorts of things."

"I've used my hooves for things before," Twilight said.

"Well, yeah, I'm just saying, you know? You can just levitate things. So anyway, you can't sleep?"

"Nope," Rainbow said as she sat up. Her hair was even more mussed than usual.

"It's always when you want to or need to the most that you can't sleep. But I have just the remedy." He pulled a musical instrument off of his back. It looked like a guitar, but different. The name escaped Twilight but she had definitely seen at least pictures of it before. "Another thing that would be easier with magic, playing a lute. It's kind of a bitch with hooves." He strummed his instrument, and it was sweet on Twilight's ears. She hadn't heard music in a while, and the simple sounds pleased her.

"So you're a musical criminal?" Rainbow asked.

"Actually I was a bard before creating the Bloodied Stallions. I traveled all over the place singing songs and telling stories amd such. It's been a while so I've forgotten a lot of the ones I memorized, but I still remember a few. Any requests?"

"No singing," a muffled voice from inside a bedroll.

"But I want to hear him sing," Rainbow whined at Flick, as though he was the deciding factor in it.

"I'm trying to go to sleep," he growled, "and I can't with a lot of noise right next to me. No singing." He wrapped himself up even further and scooched away from them.

"Okay, no song," Grift said. "How about a story?"

"Which ones do you know?" Twilight asked.

Grift leaned back and tuned his lute. "I know a few. One of my favorites is this old myth, from this region." He plucked the lute and made a simplistic melody as he talked. "It's about the creation of the world. Funny story, the creation of the world. Well... not really funny. More like tragic. That's the point. Anyways, I think it goes like... eons ago there was the sky, bright and beautiful and full of life. The stars would dance and sing without end. There were other creatures, along with the stars. One of them was Gaiaus, the first one. He fell in love with the moon. It's said that when they were together their dancing was reverent and jovial, and their singing was so pure and soft as to make anything shed a tear if they heard it. Then some other stuff happened with Gaiaus and the moon that I don't remember, then Gaiaus was walking alone when the moon's sister, the sun, saw him. She instantly fell in love with the beautiful pony, and Gaiaus, unable to resist the beauty of the sun, fell in love with her despite also loving the moon. Some more stuff happened that I don't remember either. I think there might have been an evil star or creature or something.

"Anywho, the moon found out about her sister and her lover, and they yelled and battled and fought over Gaiaus for seven days and seven nights. It was only when they settled down at the end of those seven nights that they had realized that they had torn Gaiaus into thousands of little pieces. They wept for another seven days and nights until they didn't have any tears left to weep. Their tears became the oceans, and Gaiaus' body became the land. From his remains sprang forth all life. The trees, the animals, and of course the ponies." Grift stopped talking. The tune slowed in tempo. When he spoke again his voice was softer, more somber than before. "Nopony knows why, but over time the sky went dark. The stars stopped dancing and singing. All the sun and the moon could do anymore was to go around their lost love, watching over his offspring. Keeping them warm, and safe, until the end of time. Now they can't even do that after Discord broke them."

"Right," Twilight said. The story was unfamiliar, but everypony knows what Discord did so long ago. His chaotic rule of Equestria did too much damage to the natural order of the world. When Celestia and Luna defeated him they noticed the sun and the moon stopped moving, and took it upon themselves to keep them going every day. That's what every young foal is taught in on the first day of school.

"I think there was a song that went along with it too." Grift looked over to Flick, who appeared to be fast asleep. He strummed a tune on his lute. He seemed about to sing something, but kept strumming while searching for the lyrics. "Okay, I think the first line is,

In days of old, the stars of new

Were out to play and dance and sing.

The moon was one and he made two,

Lived in the space where love was king.

Alright, I don't remember the next few parts. Then I think the end was,

The world was born and filled with life,

when they cried so much for love's fall.

There would be no hate and no strife,

the sisters would keep safe them all."

He ended the song and waited for their reviews. "Well," Twilight said, "It would have been better if you had remembered all of it." Grift shrugged, as if he had heard it before.

"Your voice is beautiful," Rainbow said. They both looked at her. Her eyes were half closed, perhaps because she was tired, and she had a soft smile on her face. Grift was visibly taken aback. Hasn't heard that before, Twilight thought.

"What?" he asked. Rainbow's eyes shot open and she blushed.

"I mean, it's a good song, and stuff. And you sing it really well. That's all I'm saying. It really worked, I mean, I'm super tired right now, so I'm just gonna go to sleep. Goodnight." She dived into her bedroll and pulled it over her head. Grift shot her a look and a smirk. Please don't, Twilight thought. Her face must have matched her thoughts, because the look on his face seemed to respond to her thoughts. Please. We need to stay focused. This trip is serious. His smile showed that he was very serious about this.

"Goodnight. I'll talk to you two tomorrow," he said. He slung his lute across his back and stood up. He walked away with a smile on his face and a swagger in his step. Twilight rolled her eyes. She laid down and was about to close her eyes when she saw another figure approaching.

"Princess Twilight," the figure said, "can I have a word with you for a moment." Twilight rubbed her eyes. When the figure was close enough to the fire, she could see that it was the stallion Cobalt, Grift's second in command. He was younger than Flick. Closer to his fifties, but he was well built. It was clearer to her then than it was when he was disguised as a merchant. Blue coat, cyan mane, and not a trace of grey.

"Of course," she said as she got up. He lead her away from the fire, over past the other sleeping ponies and into a small clearing. "What did you want to talk about?" Twilight asked him.

"I see you're getting more and more acquainted with Grift," he whispered to her. She wouldn't have used the word acquainted, but she couldn't really find another one to fit their situation. I've had two conversations with him, and he's sworn to serve me. He's enthusiastic, that's for sure, she thought.

"Yes. Not very much yet, though. A lot of this has happened so fast."

"Yes. Our whole little group swearing oaths left and right. Impressive, considering who we are. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. You understand why they've all done this, right?" Isn't it obvious? It's for all the money I've promised them. The thought left Twilight bitter. Maybe she expected too much from them. She was used to the selflessness of her friends when it came to situations as serious as this. The greed bothered her. Almost as much as Grift's smiles bothered her. It bothered her that the same greed was behind those smiles. She tried not to focus on it too much.

"It's the money at the end of it all. I know that," Twilight said softly. Her eyes went to the ground when she said the words.

"You obviously don't know," he said. Twilight's head snapped back up.

"Excuse me?" she said.

"You don't realize the very simple fact of the situation. They didn't swear those oaths because some Princess said there was money in it for them. They did it because Grift said there'd be money in it. If you don't mind my frankness, they don't give a shit about you." That much I knew. She also got the feeling of loyalty to their leader from the Bloodied Stallions. Twilight didn't know what Cobalt was trying to say. His face was unreadable. The only thing she could do was ask.

"Your point being? Grift is in it for the money too, just like the rest of them," Twilight said coldly.

"No he's not," Cobalt said, his face like stone. "I've known Grift since he was a foal. He's brave, but he's a naive fool. He told you that he was a bard before all of this. It's because of that that he's got this idea of chivalry in his head. He wants adventure. That's why I helped him start this damned band of thieves. He wants to be a knight in some old story that gets to go on some epic quest and save a Princess. He wouldn't have gotten us all to swear those stupid oaths otherwise. This way of thinking is cute, but it's going to get him killed."

Twilight wrestled with what to think of what she just heard. If it was true, which she had the sneaking suspicion it was, then the smiles from Grift began to change in her mind. She didn't have anything to say yet. Once again, her face must have been so easily readable. Cobalt saw it, and just continued talking. "Every single Bloodied Stallion knows that. They know what kind of pony he is. But they follow him all the same. Do you know why?"

"Why?" she asked.

"Because he inspires them. He feeds them all this nobility bullshit and they eat it up. All because he has the ability to make them believe it. Really believe it. Almost as much as he does. He knows them. He knows how to talk to them, how to appeal to them. They don't follow them because they have to. They follow him because they want to."

"Why..." Twilight struggled with the words. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because it's something you have to hear. I've heard the news. I know you're new at this and you're already in a tough situation. These stallions have formally sworn oaths to you, but in reality they've sworn oaths for Grift. It's the last thing I would ever want, but if something happens to Grift on this little quest, those oaths don't mean anything. You have to make them mean something. Make them know they've sworn to you."

"Y-yes. I'll do that. Thank you," Twilight said. Cobalt, having said his due, made his exit. But he stopped before he left.

"You know, I haven't sworn my oath yet," he said.

"I know." Twilight didn't remember seeing him earlier that day. Even if some of the faces blurred, she would have remembered one like his.

"I'm not going to either. Not until I know it'll mean something." He left her there in the clearing, alone with her own thoughts. In a way, it was a perfect end to her day. So many surprises. Her alicorn power explosion, her new band of thieves, and lastly some leadership advice. I need to sleep. She returned to her friends. They were already far gone, and the fire had been put out. She slithered into her bedroll, and closed her eyes. It was so late, and she was so tired, that sleep took her without a fight.