The Element of Laughter

Chapters

Leavetakings
An Exchange of Tales
Through the Woods and Over the River
Deals Struck and Oaths Made
Civilization
Payment Made
Prologue

Leavetakings

(There are several places in this chapter where proper names are replaced by ______. This is entirely intentional and will be explained in the fullness of time.)

Chapter 1: Leavetakings

“This is so stupid” Diana thought to herself, for perhaps the millionth time. “There is absolutely no reason to make all the crops appear to be rocks until after they’re harvested. Discord just likes to make sure we know that he’s in charge.”

“It isn’t as though rocks are any harder to farm than crops would be.” She mused, “It’s more the mental strain of spending all this effort to plant inedible pebbles and watch similarly inedible seeming boulders grow in their place that makes this really unbearable.” Still, she took strength from the knowledge that this was the the last day she would ever had to work on her family’s rock farm.

Diana straightened up and raised a hoof to wipe the sweat from her eyes. She glanced at the sun and was pleased to see it was well on its way to the horizon. Sure enough, Granny Pie soon rang the dinner bell and brought the family in with the time honored cry of “Soup’s on, everypony!”

As she dusted herself off and trotted with the rest of her family up to the cook house, Diana spared one last backward glance for the field that had consumed her days since she was just a filly. “And that is that” she thought, excitement mounting as she reviewed her plan for the night.

A voice jolted her out of her reverie. “I swear those rocks get heavier everyday; glad it’s finally time to chow down. Bet you are too huh Di? You were working hard today.” Diane’s cousin, _____, licked his lips as he sniffed the air. “Smells like Granny Pie’s really out done herself tonight.”

He wasn’t really her cousin, of course, since Alicorns give birth so infrequently. As far as Diana knew there were only one set of actual siblings in the whole village and they were still fillies. Nevertheless, it was common practice in the village to use kinship terms for one another because the whole village had to act like an extended family to survive anyway.

“It sure does.” She said, taking a whiff of the savory aroma drifting down from the cookhouse. “What a shame you won’t get any.”

______ shot her a look as if he knew what was coming but asked anyway. “Why wouldn’t I get any?”

“Because you spent the whole day playing with rocks instead of planting!”

The listening ponies smiled as _____ tried to defend himself. “But we...plant rocks...that is…I…come on! You know what I mean!” He whinnied in irritation then galloped ahead, shouting back at them over his shoulder. “You can’t keep me from eating if the food’s all gone by the time you get there!”

Diana smiled too as she watched him go. ______ was her favorite of the other Alicorns in her age group. They’d been friends since they were both little and, were it not for her present plans, she would probably have married him someday. If she was honest with herself, the idea of marriage unsettled her, hence her preference for thinking of ______as a cousin. It would, perhaps have been a comfort to include ______in her plans but he had never been away from the village and she wasn’t sure that he could handle it. She tried not to let it worry her that she too had never left the village.

The whole group of field worker ponies made their way to the trough in front of the cookhouse to wash up. After a hot day in the sun the water felt cool and refreshing on their tired hooves. Diana stuck her head under the spout, luxuriating in the cleansing feeling it produced. She shook her mane and watched the droplets fly off, flashing in the last light of the setting sun.

Toweling herself dry, Diana trotted into the cookhouse for dinner. She stopped short, staring at the food laid out on the table before her. Sure enough, her nose had not led her astray; Granny Pie really had out done herself.

The last jar of the zap apple jelly was standing next to their finest barrel of cider. There were dandelion wines of various vintages, apple turnovers, grass salads, a personalized vegetable plate for each pony, barley and wheat soup, and drifting in through the open kitchen door, Diana could just smell the exquisite scent of a freshly baked apple pie.

Everypony hesitated in the doorway, unsure if the delicious repast before their eyes could truly be meant for their consumption.

“It’s going to get cold if you just stand there staring.” Granny Pie move around the table, filling cups and serving out portions of the main course: a gigantic cheese lasagna.

“I don’t understand Granny.” Diana said as she took her seat next to _____, “is today some holiday we hadn’t heard of?”

Granny Pie shook her head. “Today seemed like an excellent day for feast, but don’t ask me why dearie, just dig in.”

“Well that sure sounds good to me” _____mumbled, already halfway through his lasagna. “This is scrumptious, thanks Granny!”

The ponies dug in with a will and the warm hum of friendly conversation soon filled the room. Smiles abounded as jokes were told until one pony, perhaps too far in his cups, accidentally left out a brief laugh.

Instantly, a smothering silence descended as everypony turned to glare at the offender, who, blushing deeply, offered a hasty apology before dashing from the room.

Slowly the noise level began to creep back up as ponies returned to their interrupted conversations but Diana found her feelings of contentment utterly shattered.

“It’s not right.” She though. “Discord’s Prayer, laughter, shouldn’t haunt us in our happiest moments. There must be some way to avoid his corrupting influence or somewhere outside his reach, I just have to find it.”

It had started innocently enough. She had simply wanted to see far off places and learn strange things, a typical fantasy for a filly living in a stiflingly small village. But, as she got older and saw the effects of Discord’s tyranny, it changed into to something else entirely: a desire to know life without chains.

Diana dreamed of a place where seeds were planted and crops grew, where strange looking monsters did not keep them penned in, and where a pony could enjoy herself without the threat of laughter rearing its ugly head. She’d never seen such a place, of course, but Granny Pie had told her stories of what Equestria had been like before Discord and she was sure such things still existed, somewhere far beyond the mad tyrant’s reach.

And so, to find that dreamed of land, Diana was going to set forth tonight to seek it.

Smiling to herself, Diana finished the last of her cider and set down her glass with a thump.

***

Shortly before dawn, when the village was still covered by the stillness of night, Diana crept from her family’s house. She gently closed the door behind her and whispered a solemn good bye, wondering if she would ever see her mother _____ and her father _____ again.

As she snuck through the deserted streets toward the cookhouse and her pack of supplies she felt her excitement begin to kindle with the peculiar thrill that accompanies all forms of rule-breaking. Breaking curfew was only a minor offense but leaving the village, or planning to, carried much heavier penalties.

“Still, it’s not like I’m going to get caught” she thought to herself as she opened the door to the cookhouse. “After all, no pony knows that I plan to leave so the only difficulty will be getting over the wall, which I’ve already figured out.”

Diana trotted across the darkened cookhouse to the cabinets and felt around in the back for the saddle-bags of supplies that she’d hidden earlier.

Just as she was starting to wonder where it could possibly be light flared as a candle was lit behind her and she heard a stern voice say “Looking for this, are you?”

Heart quickening with anxiety Diana turned to see Granny Pie standing over her an unpleasant frown on her face and the missing saddle-bags at her feet.

Diana’s mind raced for an explanation that would satisfy Granny even as she wondered how she had been found out. “Ah, yeah that’s what I was looking for, I was just…uhm…preparing some snacks for the day’s work?”

Her voice trailed off as Granny Pie raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “Diana I am deeply disappointed in you. That very idea of trying to leave the village like this!” Diana hung her head, tears of frustration welling up in her eyes. She had been so close. But now it seemed impossible that she would ever get away.

“I’m sorry Granny, it won’t happen again.” Diana said, hoping to slow or stop the lengthy scolding she was clearly about to receive. Granny Pie, however, was not going to be derailed that easily. “I should say not! For starters all of your supplies were perishables, if you’re going to leave for an extended period you don’t want food that might spoil.”

Diana looked up in surprise and caught a twinkle in the elderly pony’s eye as she continued. “I’ve taken the liberty of repacking you bags with food that will last but there’s not much, so make it count. I’ve also added a few items you might find useful in your travels. Finally, how dare you try and leave without saying good bye?”

“Granny!” Diana dashed forward and nestled against her beloved grandmother “you’re really going to let me go?”

Granny Pie nuzzled Diana and smiled. “Oh Di, we all knew you would leave someday. You’ve got the wandering spirit. It’s why I threw you a goodbye feast last night; I’d been keeping an eye on your ‘hidden’ saddle-bags and knew you were ready to leave.”

Diana smiled back, “thanks Granny, I love you and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“You’re forgiven, of course, and I love you too.” Granny Pie straightened and grew serious. “Before you leave there are three things I need to tell you, to guide you in your travels.” Her eyes took on a glassy appearance and she appeared to enter a trancelike state as she recited.

“First, you will encounter frightening and dangerous creatures and situations. You must not give in to fear, you have to stand up tall, learn to face your fears and you will see that they can’t hurt you.”

“Second, there will be times when your strength alone is not enough. Always remember that true strength comes from relying on others and having them rely on you in turn. But be careful that you put your trust in the correct ponies.”

“Finally, to guide you, I will tell you a secret. Discord did not always have the overwhelming power he now possesses. I recall a time, very long ago now, when there were many Draconici and Discord, though he went by another name back then, was but one of them. However, something changed. The Draconici disappeared and after several years Discord returned in his present form.”

Diana nodded at the first and second pieces of advice but at the third her eyes grew wide, imagining the possibilities. If she could find the secret to Discord’s power perhaps she could change things. “I understand Granny; I’ll try to find the answer to this mystery.”

Granny Pie shook herself and seemed to wake up, her eyes refocused on Diana and her voice softened and her eyes twinkled once more as she spoke. “I know you will Di, but don’t forget to have some fun too, maybe even make some friends while you’re running for your life. Now, give me one last hug and then off you go.”

The two alicorns shared a tight hug. As they broke apart Diana’s bright eyes and eager smile seemed to mix with the first light of dawn just peeping through the cookhouse window, brightening the whole room with her fierce optimism.

She settled the saddle-bags on her back and walked confidently to the door. A quick goodbye, flung over her shoulder echoed as she slipped out the door, and was gone.

***

The village was surrounded by the fields the ponies worked. Further out was a large wall with gates at the four compass points, each guarded by Discord’s fearsome soldiers. Diane headed in the general direction of the east gate. She wouldn’t be allowed through the gate, of course, but she had figured out another way through the wall.

Diana allowed herself a small smile at the thought of that particular bit of cleverness. The wall’s guards would spot any attempt to fly over and the whole fortification was enchanted to prevent teleportation and detect any form of magic used in its vicinity. So, if she couldn’t go over or through the wall she would have to go under it.

Simple as the solution was, it took an uncommon alicorn to think of it. Alicorns were, as a rule, against performing manual labor. Many of elders considered it the height of indignity that they were forced to farm and even those born to it found the constant exposure to dirt, without any break to use magic or fly, exceptionally draining. It had taken all Diana’s will power to spend her nights digging the necessary tunnel and it had taken her much longer than it would an earth pony but, at long last, the tunnel was long enough to reach the other side and wide enough for her to just fit through.

Getting to the tunnel, however, was proving more difficult than Diana had anticipated. She had intended to leave during the changing of the dawn watch. But her talk with Granny Pie had held her up and she found herself nearing the wall in the still pale, but far too bright for her purposes, light of dawn.

Diana got as close as she dared before crouching behind a small bush and eying the sentinels warily. They stood in an unmoving line, each about five feet from the next facing in alternating directions to ensure both sides of the wall were properly covered. Diana sighed. She was only five minutes away from home and her carefully constructed plan was already falling apart.

“Okay, time to improvise. Now what tools do I have at my disposal?” Diana said to herself. “Let’s see...using my wings will get me spotted right away, same things for my legs, magic will be detected right away and…I got nothing.”

She stamped her hoof angrily behind her bush and growled “I am not going to give up, not yet, not now, not ever!” It was just a matter of observing the obstacle closely enough to find its weakness. Diana took a deep breath to help calm down and observed the wall and its sentinels closely.

The wall was still intimidating even though she had lived her entire life in its shadow. Grey granite blocks, each the size of a pony, were stacked on top of one another in a zigzag pattern with scarcely distinguishable lines marking where one ended and another began. It rose some thirty feet in the air with crenellations at the top adding another couple feet.

Atop the wall the sentinels stood and, as Diana turned her gaze on them she couldn’t repress a shiver of disgust. The sentinels were utterly hideous and identical in appearance. Each stood on only two legs with the other two dangling at their sides. Instead of the ending in a proper hoof each upper leg contained a set of five protrusions. Their heads were odd as well; the mouths were far too flat, the eyes too small and too closely set together, and the manes were black and covered only the very tops of their heads. Finally, their skin was an ugly faded and dull off pink, a far cry from Diana’s bright and lustrous solid pink coat.

As Diana made her observations the sun crested the wall, forcing her to shield her eyes. Even as her eyes narrowed against the glare a plan formed in her mind. A quick test was needed and then she’d be ready to go. Selecting the closest sentinel facing in her direction she began to focus her energy. Her horn began to glow and she ducked down as far as she could even as she released her spell.

For a spell it was rather simple, it merely caused a patch of air to reflect light, similar to a mirror. The trick was in the positioning. Diana placed the spell so that the sun was reflected back directly into the eyes of the sentinel.

A strident alarm sounded at her use of magic and the sentinel in question started back in surprise. He turned and began to stumble along the wall as best he could with his light blasted retinas. He headed toward the gate house, presumably to report what had just occurred. As he left the nearest sentinels facing inwards pivoted slightly to cover his area as well.

“Perfect!” Diana grinned, and prepared herself for the next step. The spell wasn’t difficult but it would require a lot of power. Fortunately, as an alicorn, she had power to spare. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the practice to go with it; any magic use beyond basic telekinesis carried heavy punishments and, while fillies and colts could usually get away with small spells in secret, somepony her age would have their horn cut off if they were found using serious magic.

Undeterred by her lack of experience Diana prepared the next spell. More specifically, she prepared a multi-cast of the same spell she had just used. As she drew in energy she selected her targets, every sentinel facing her direction for as far as she could see up and down the wall.

Ready at last, she cast the spell and made a run for it now the coast was clear. Up on the wall it was complete chaos as each sentinel tried to simultaneously turn to cover their neighbor’s area and leave their post to report what they had just seen, or couldn’t see as the case may be. One sentinel was so confused he was simply spinning in place while others were pushing and shoving each other in an attempt to make it to the gatehouse. Adding to the confusion was the omnipresent ‘whoop whoop’ of the alarm magnified to eardrum bursting levels.

Diana grinned again as she dashed for the entrance to her tunnel and slipped inside. She paused, trying to hear if the sentinels had seen her, but she couldn’t make out any alarm beyond the one she had initially caused.

“So far so good” Diana thought as she crept along her tunnel. Narrow and dirty it might have been, but she couldn’t help feeling a warm glow of pride as she remembered the long nights sneaking out of the village and up to the wall, stealthily digging with nothing but her hooves. When day neared she would sneak to the cookhouse to set aside some supplies before heading back home to catch a few minutes of sleep and then rising to begin the work day. She had begun to despair of ever getting anywhere when just the previous evening she had broken through to the other side.

It had been close to a full moon that night and the moonlight cast a soft but alluring light over everything. The landscape seemed fantastic and unreal, with shadows creating forms never seen by day. For a moment she had wanted to throw caution to the winds and run out into the wonderland of silvery light she saw before. Fortunately, the moment of lunacy passed and she withdrew from her tunnel and returned to the village earlier than usual to finish preparing her supplies.

Those supplies, plus whatever Granny Pie had thought to include, now rested on her back and with them she was ready to set forth. Diana reached the exit and peeked through examining the landscape in the clarifying light of day. There was a road snaking its way from the East gate to her left over rolling green hills and off into the distance. She noted several copses dotting the hills, places that would provide shade, concealment, and probably water. Impatient to be underway, she settled her gaze on the closest and prepared to make a run for it.

She was halfway out of the tunnel before she remembered that the sentinels were still watching this side and would catch her within moments. Diana shrank backward, heart beating loudly in her ears as she listened once more for any sign she had been spotted. None came and she heaved a sigh of relief as her heart slowed to less frenetic levels.

“I have to be more careful” she scolded, “capture will almost certainly mean my death and that is a less than ideal outcome.” Shaking her head to clear the last vestiges of fear from her system she took a moment to focus, preparing herself to use magic once more.

Diana recalled the specifications of her previous spell; her horn began to glow as she altered it to the changed conditions on this side of the wall. Instead of reflection she arranged the spell so the air would focus the light, hopefully causing the same vision problems as the reflective spell had done. She also increased the height of the spell and made it a continuous band to account for her position underground and the fact that she couldn’t know exactly where the sentinels were standing.

Her horn’s light grew even brighter, casting the tunnel into lurid relief as she provided the energy for the spell. “Hope the same trick works twice” Diana muttered as she cast the spell.

Immediately a gratifying, if somewhat nerve wracking, repeat of the earlier alarm sounded and without further thought Diana pulled herself out of the tunnel and dashed for the nearby copse. She dove into the bushes and spun quickly to see if she’d been spotted.

Up on the wall chaos once more reigned and no one was even looking in her direction. “Yeah!” Diana shouted, flaring her wings and punching the air with a hoof. “I did it! I’m finally out!” She felt laughter bubbling up inside her and the unpleasant presence of Discord’s Prayer forcefully reminded her of the need for caution. She was about to depart, using the copse as cover to enter the valleys in between the hills when the alarm suddenly cut off.

Frowning, Diana turned back to the wall and found the sentinels were lining back up. A knot of sentinels was moving from the gatehouse and as it passed sentinels peeled off and resumed their positions. As order radiated from the knot a new figure became visible at its center.

Though similar in basic arrangement to the other sentinels this figure possessed brilliant long flaming red hair and, in contrast to the mechanical movements of other sentinels, moved with a fluid grace that the most elegant pony would have envied. She, for as it came closer Diana could tell it was indeed female, wore the same close fitting black uniform as other sentinels but had broad strips of red covering her both shoulders and a sword in a brown leather sheath on her left hip.

Her gestures demonstrated her command of the situation and those around her, even if Diana was too far away to hear her clearly. Diana guessed that she must be the captain of the wall. As the captain reached the spot on the wall directly above Diana’s tunnel she briefly turned to survey the landscape before pointing directly at Diana’s hiding spot.

Diana froze, hoping against hope it was merely coincidence. Unfortunately, that hope was immediately put to flight as the captain dashed back toward the gatehouse, gathering a group of sentinels behind her as she ran. In what seemed like seconds twenty sentinels, led by their captain, were out the gate and sprinting toward the small copse where Diana hid.

The pounding of their footsteps jolted Diana from her reverie. She turned and galloped away from the wall, hoping she could outrun the pursuit.

“Catch her!” the captain cried, “catch her or I’ll dangle the lot of you over the wall by your hands, I’ll chop off your feet and feed them to you, I’ll flay you alive and make a coat of your skin!”

“So those things at the ends of their limbs are called hands.” Diana thought nonsensically, legs still pumping madly “great, I really needed to know that right now.” The weight of her saddle-bags was tiring her faster than she expected. Her breathing was already labored and sweat lathered her flanks. A glance backwards showed that her pursuers were gaining and she tried desperately to summon more speed from her tired body as she struggled up a hill.

At the top of the hill she lost focus and tripped over her own legs, catapulting herself off the top of the hill and into what would have been a nasty fall.

Would have been, had she not instinctually spread her wings and caught an updraft. Instead of crashing to the ground she found herself twenty or thirty feet up in the air.

“Oh right, I can fly and they can’t. Minor detail there that I really should have remembered” Diana muttered, half relieved and half embarrassed for not taking to the air earlier. She flapped a couple of times to get her balance before glancing down at her grounded pursuers.

They had caught up while she was sorting out her flight and were now running directly under her, with the captain in the lead. The captain caught her glance and shouted up to her “come down and let’s see if we can’t talk this out.”

“You want me to return, I want to leave, doesn’t seem like there’s much to talk about.” Diana shouted back.

“If you land and go back willingly you will be allowed to live, minus your horn and wings of course. It’s a generous deal; you should consider it.”

“Or what? You’ll glare me out of the sky?” Diana snorted “There’s nothing you can do to me up here.”

“Really? And how long do you think you can stay in the air, especially given that little problem.” The captain pointed to the horizon.

Diana glanced forward and was dismayed to see storm clouds gathering in her path. She clamped down tightly on her growing fear and answered boldly. “I am an Alicorn; you think I fear the weather? Ha, it’ll be little more than a summer breeze to me.”

The captain’s expression darkened. “I grow tired of your foolish arrogance, my little pony. Last chance, land or face the consequences.”

“Come and get me if you can. “Diana taunted “Oh that’s right, you can’t.”

Rage filled the captain’s face. She drew her sword, wings sprouted from beneath her clothes and she shot upward. Her sword held in a two handed grip as she tried to cut Diana in half with her first pass.

Diana’s mouth fell open in shock. With a yelp she dropped her left wing and banked sharply, just avoiding the blade as the captain went soaring past. She completed her turn to see the captain holding position slightly above her. The captain laughed mockingly and Diana shivered at the eerie sound.

“Lesson one, little pony, never underestimate you opponents. Did you really think Discord would allow you such an obvious advantage over your guards?”

A quick glance downward showed Diana that the other sentinels remained grounded. If she could just get away from the captain she’d be safe. She spun and flapped hard, hoping to put some distance between herself and the captain.

Before her wings could even complete the first downbeat she felt a hand on her tail. “Lesson two” the captain said, yanking her backwards and whirling Diana in circles by the tail “never act predictably.” She released Diana, tossing her straight toward the waiting sentinels. Dizzy as she was, it took everything she had to avoid crashing into them and rise back above their grasping hands.

The captain was still speaking. “Obviously you would try to run now that your advantage had been lost. That applies to your actions on the wall as well. Casting a spell on one sentinel, followed by the same spell on one side of the wall, followed by a very similar spell on the other side of the wall? You might as well have just walked up and told me what you were going to do.”

Diana growled at the condescension and launched herself straight at the captain, who shook her head sadly. “What did I just say about being predictable?” She settled into a guard position with the blade directly before her and waited to meet the charge.

The alicorn sped forward faster and faster. At the last instant, when collision with the captain’s blade seemed inevitable, she reared back and her horn shone as she poured her magic into a single furious flap of her wings. A tremendously powerful gust of wind flew from her wings and bowled over her opponent.

In a flash Diana dove after her, horn first, and stabbed through the captain’s right forearm. The captain hissed in pain and reflexively dropped her sword, though she managed to right herself in the air. Blood flowed freely along her arm and dripped from her clenched fingers.

Diana bared her teeth and gave a malicious grin, made all the more frightening by the blood dripping from her horn and spilling across her face. “I am Diana Piecus. Remember the name of the alicorn who made you bleed. Or, if you care to continue I’ll be more than happy to spill further blood.” She snorted derisively, “not that you’re in any condition to fight. I’m leaving now, try and stop me and I’ll kill you.”

She turned to fly away. Suddenly a weight descended on her back and a voice whispered in her ear. “Lesson three; never turn your back on a living enemy.” Startled Diana reared back in the air trying to buck her unwanted passenger. A lucky kick from her back leg connected with the captain’s wing just as she felt a line of fire drawn across her left wing.

With only one good arm and one good wing the captain was unable to stay airborne. She relinquished her hold on Diana and fell to earth, her good arm still grasping the hidden knife she had used to cut the pony’s wing. She called up to Diana as she fell. “Good luck surviving that storm with a wounded wing. Of course, you could land but then my soldiers will grab you. Know that if you survive the storm I will find you again, Diana, no matter where you run. I will find you.”

The captain landed smoothly on her two good legs. A sentinel broke off from the group and bound a tourniquet around the wound on her arm and offered her his shoulder for support. Leaning on him she began to walk back to the wall.

Diana watched her go with a feeling of intense relief. Without any other enemies able to fly she should be fine so long as she could stay airborne. The cut on her wing was painful but seemed to have missed anything crucial to flight. Confident she turned to face the storm and winced. The storm had grown larger and gotten closer during their fight. She was now faced with an anvil shaped wall of black clouds towering upwards as far as she could see.

A storm as large as this one seemed to be was nothing to sneeze at. The ideal course of action would be to land but, Diana looked down at the waiting sentinels, landing wasn’t an option.

The second best option would be to try and ride along with the storm until it died down. However, that would take her directly over her village and Diana was not willing to risk meeting other winged sentinels.

Diana grimaced as she contemplated option three: fly perpendicular to the storm and hope she could avoid its full strength. “I hate it when my plan of action contains the word ‘hope’. That always means things won’t go well” she muttered. Still there was no help for it so she settled her saddle bags more firmly on her back and flew south along the edge of the storm. Far below the sentinels kept pace with ease, apparently fully willing to run into the storm to keep watch on her.

She flew for half an hour before a light rain began to fall. It cooled and soothed her already tired wings and washed the blood from her face and horn. The blood that had come from where she had gored… ”Nope, I am not going to think about that now” She said aloud. “When I am safe and dry I will logically review my actions today and I will deal with them appropriately but I will not think about them now and that is that.”

Before that day Diana had not harmed anypony and she wasn’t sure she liked how it had felt. However, despite her protestations, the events of the day kept replaying themselves in her mind. The rage, the feeling of stabbing and seeing blood flow consumed her thoughts until the storm wall hit and she had no time to think of anything at all.

It was sudden, one moment the rain was falling gently, the next it pelted down with the force of stones. Winds whipped her this way and that and debris from the ground went whizzing past at dangerous speeds.

Time lost all meaning as Diana simply tried to stay aloft. The roar and tug of the winds became her world. She rode them as best she could, rising and falling, gliding with the wind wherever it was mild enough to let her. Her eyes narrowed to slits against the driving rain and only her innate sense as a partial pegasus let her know which way the ground was.

Just as she began to feel that she might make it, that she might be able to ride this storm out, she was undone by a bit of sheer bad luck. A stick, moving faster than any stick had a right to, jabbed a sharp broken off end into her cut wing and the wind dragged it back, further widening her wound.

Reflexively Diana pulled the injured limb into her body. Realizing her mistake, she tried to force it back out, but it was too late. The wind had been constantly pushing on her wings and, without the counter balancing effect of both wings acting in concert, it was in possible to remain upright. She lost control and spun tail over horn, completely at the winds mercy.

Diana screamed as she felt, rather than saw, the ground coming nearer and nearer. Her eyes caught a shimmer of green before she crashed into something hard and blacked out.

***

Twilight stirred as Diana stopped talking. She raised her head and looked at the pink pony in concern. “Are you alright, Diana?”

Diana was silent for another moment before replying. “It seems my time is up, Pinkie’s mind is reasserting itself.”

Twilight sat bolt upright in panic. “You can’t go yet, I have to know if you survived that storm.”

It was a very strange and rare experience for someone as smart as Twilight to receive a blatant ‘that was a stupid question’ look. An experience made ever odder since it was from somepony wearing Pinkie Pie’s body. But, upon reflection, she ruefully acknowledged that it was probably deserved.

“Listen, before I go I have two favors to ask of you.”

Twilight’s transformation from embarrassed young mare to organizational genius was lightning fast. She pulled a quill and paper from her invisible but eternally near to hoof supply and responded “Of course, what can I do?”

“First, please don’t tell anyone about me.” Diana’s look was equal parts pleading and demanding. “I’m sure your first thought was to write to Celestia or talk to your friends but I ask that you keep this private. At least until you’ve heard the whole story.”

The request was soon written out and, given Twilight’s nature, might as well have been written in stone. Finished writing she looked up. “Okay and the second request?”

A sheepish expression crossed Diana’s face. “Could you write down my story as I tell it to you? I just…I don’t want everything we did, my friends and I, to be forgotten.”

“Alright” Twilight said, writing it down. “But, if you don’t mind my saying, these commands seem to be at cross-purposes. Why tell me to keep it a secret on one hoof and ask me to write it down on the other?”

“I don’t want Celestia to know I’m still alive.” Diana explained. “But something in our tale might be useful someday. Besides, I can’t just let my friends vanish into the mists of history. Though I suppose in a way everyone has head of them…But I digress” Diana stopped, noticing that Twilight was sitting up straight and staring at her eagerly.

“You know the Princess? Why didn’t you tell me sooner? When are you going to meet her? What was she like back then? Tell me, tell me, tell me.” She said, practically bouncing in her seat.

Diana braced herself against the wave of inquisitive sound and gave a mischievous smile. “Oops, guess I let something slip a little early. Oh, here comes Pinkie. I’ll see you next time you hypnotize her. Bye!” Diana’s eyes closed.

And Pinkie’s eyes opened, only to be greeted by a very indignant looking Twilight. “Gosh Twi, sorry I feel asleep, no need to look so mad.”

Twilight shook her head and assumed a less threatening expression. “I’m not mad at you Pinkie. In fact, you were very helpful.”

“I was? In that case I’ll take naps more often!”

“Great! Can you come nap here tomorrow at the same time?”

“Okie, dokie, lokie. But now I got to go. There are cakes to bake, parties to make, and laws of physics to break.” With that, Pinkie bounded from her seat and started hopping up the stairs.

True to her nature, Twilight had already started gathering materials to write down what Diana had just told her. But at Pinkie’s statement she turned and called after the bouncing pink pony. “What was that last one?”

Alas, in true Pinkie Pie fashion, she had made her exit just as Twilight had her struggling in the crushing grip of reason. Twilight chuckled. She hadn’t really expected to get an answer that easily. Besides, she thought as she dipped her quill in ink and began to write, it’d be so much less fun if my friends were that easy to understand.

An Exchange of Tales

(A/N: Whenever there are italics it means those are the characters thoughts. I have no idea why I wasn’t doing that before.)

The Element of Laughter

Chapter 2: An Exchange of Tales

Twilight shot a look through the window and yawned, rubbing one eye wearily. She wished there was time for a quick nap before Pinkie’s arrival since she had been up all night, writing down Diana’s story while it was still fresh in her mind. Fortunately, there would be no need to pull an all-nighter after every session with Diana. Twilight was nothing if not good at planning ahead and, once she had realized how much she would have to write, she had taken an hour to look through her library for the specifics on a very useful little spell called a dictation spell. Simply put, the spell was cast on a quill which was then tuned to a certain pony. Whenever that pony spoke the quill would write it down.

Though the spell itself wasn’t intricate it had still taken Twilight the better part of the day to set the quill properly so that it would re-ink itself automatically and push down just hard enough to write clearly without tearing the paper. She had also prepared a large, self-rolling scroll for the quill to write on. A few tests had shown the quill’s products to be legible, if not pretty, so Twilight was satisfied. She was sure it would still be necessary to go back and rewrite everything but with the quill’s version in her possession there was no need to force herself to get everything down each night.

The only thing left to do was to tune the quill to Diana then sit back and listen while it recorded. Unfortunately, Pinkie had yet to arrive and where Pinkie went Diana was bound to follow. Twilight took a second look through the window and was just about to take a quick cat nap when she spotted what, to her bleary eyes, looked like a mobile tuft of pink cotton candy. She blinked rapidly and Pinkie Pie swam into focus. The pink pony seemed to put as much effort into going up as going forward but she was rapidly approaching the library door nonetheless.

Spike had been sent out on a set of needlessly convoluted errands to keep him from wondering why Pinkie and Twilight had to be alone for the experiments he thought Twilight was performing. Alas, this meant that Twilight had to get up from her oh-so-comfortable window ledge to let in Pinkie. She shook the sleep from her eyes and stretched. Feeling slightly more awake, she trotted over to the door and opened it just as Pinkie arrived.

“Hi Twilight how are you doing you look tired are you tired I’m not tired yet but I’m supposed to take a nap so I thought I should talk as fast as possible so I can tire myself out so I can sleep when I’m supposed to isn’t this a great idea-“

Twilight closed the door. She walked into her kitchen and made herself a cup of coffee. She drank it, contemplating the beauty of her silent library. She finished her coffee and bid a silent farewell to the soon to be shattered tranquility that pervaded the room.

With the blessing of caffeine she was now as ready as equinely possible to face the hyperactive party pony going at turbo speed. Returning to the door and opening it she was not at all surprised to find Pinkie was still going strong, though what she was talking about was anypony’s guess. “So then I accidentally knocked this apple out of a tree and it hit this poor pony on his head he wasn’t mad though he seemed excited cause he ran off shouting that everything made sense and that’s how I invented physics and-“

Only a fool would have tried to halt the flood of words and Twilight Sparkle was no fool. She simply took Pinkie by the hoof, led her down to the basement, and plopped her down onto the waiting couch. The second Pinkie sat down her eyes snapped shut, her head dropped to her hooves and she started snoring loudly. Twilight couldn’t help chuckling at her friend’s antics. However, she sobered quickly for there was knowledge to acquire. Apparently Pinkie’s plan to tire herself out had actually worked, so Twilight was able to skip straight to the second part of her awakening spell.

Her horn glowed as she imbued her voice with magic and began to speak. “On the count of three you will wake-“

“I’m already awake Twilight.” Sure enough, the pink pony’s eyes were open and it wasn’t Pinkie Pie staring out.

Twilight was naturally somewhat confused by this. “I hadn’t even used any magic on you yet,” she complained, “you shouldn’t have been able to come out so fast.”

Diana shrugged. “Maybe it’s easier since it’s been done before? The power that keeps me imprisoned is not like unicorn or alicorn magic so it might operate under different rules. In any case, are you ready to continue?”

“One moment please.” Twilight’s horn glowed briefly as she tuned her specially prepared quill to Diana. She placed it on a blank page where it remained bolt upright without any help from her. Turning back to Diana she asked “can you say something please?”

“What do you want me to say?”

“Oh that’s enough.” Twilight checked the paper and, sure enough, the quill had written across it ‘what do you want me to say?’ “Great, I’m all set. Begin whenever you’re ready.”

Diana nodded and took a deep breath. “Let’s see, where was I? Ah yes, I had just been knocked out by that storm. Well, as you so cleverly surmised last time, eventually I woke up…”

***

Diana woke up and immediately regretted it. She moaned as her cuts and bruises assaulted her, each begging for attention. “One at a time,” she muttered “I’m sure I’ll get to all of you, eventually.” She took stock of her body’s condition, back to front.

Let’s see, tail, just fine. Back legs, bruised but functional. Midsection, she winced definitely a cracked rib or two. Wings, especially nasty cut on the left wing and numerous pinions missing from both. Probably were torn out by the storm. Hmm, guess I won’t be flying for a few days. Head still attached but possible concussion. She shook her head and nearly passed out as the world whirled around her. Make that a definite concussion”

Though painful, none of her injuries were life threatening and, considering the storm she’d been flying in, Diana considered herself lucky to have gotten off with all her limbs still attached.

Self inspection finished she turned her attention to the surroundings. Rough gray stone walls greeted her eyes in three directions, suggesting a cave. A view that was confirmed as she turned around as saw the cave mouth. Outside, the starlight and moonlight indicted that it was night and was just bright enough for her to make out the general outline of a few trees.

Returning her attention to the interior of the cave Diana caught signs of habitation. The most obvious was the light source directly above her head. She glanced up and saw a glowing rock of some kind nestled in niche on the cave wall. Stacked neatly on one side of the cave was a set of carved wooden bowls, plates and a few utensils. Next to the utensils she was pleased to see her saddle-bags, apparently still intact. A fire pit graced the center of the cave and, as she looked down, Diana realized she was lying on a makeshift bed of woven reeds over stone.

There’s no way I crash landed on a bed inside a cave so somebody must have brought me in she thought. Cautiously, Diana called out “Hello? Is there anypony there?”

“Oh good you’re awake, let me just finish this mixture and I’ll be right over.”

The voice had come from the shadows at the very back of the cave. She watched as a shape detached itself from the black and resolved into a dark aquamarine pegasus stallion of about the same age and slightly larger size. His mane and tail were a slightly darker blue than the rest of him while his wings were slightly lighter and, for some reason, he had them extended straight out on either side. He had a moderately handsome face with the squarer muzzle typical of colts and nicely pointed ears but his eyes were still in shadow. He trotted over and placed a wooden cup filled with a suspicious looking, foul-smelling, green liquid next to her.

“Drink this. It’s an herbal potion to help with the pain and speed your healing.” When Diana shook her head he just nudged the glass closer. “I know it smells like rotting vegetation and, trust me, it doesn’t taste any better, but it really will help.”

“I’ll only drink it if you drink first.”

The pegasus flicked his ears back in irritation. “If I had wanted to harm you I could have done so at any point in the past day and a half. Nevertheless…” He picked the cup up and swallowed a mouthful, grimacing at the taste. “There I’ve shown you it’s not poisoned. Now drink.”

Still cautious Diana raised the cup to her lips and tried to sip from it. The pegasus was having none of that, however. He flicked the bottom of the cup with his hoof, causing its entire contents to flow into her mouth. The awful taste, like three day rotted leaves mixed with bad milk, made her gag as it rolled over her tongue; but he clamped her mouth shut and she was forced to swallow or choke.

Diana glared at him as she doubled over coughing. He ignored her glare and took the cup to the still shadowed back of the cave, returning a moment later with water. Her glare lessened slightly as she drank for a second time. “Was that really necessary?”

The stallion was unrepentant. “I’ve had to drink that myself on occasion and it’s much worse if you prolong it. Besides, you feel better now, right?”

As she thought about it the sharper pains began to recede, leaving only the dull ache of a healing body in its place. “I suppose I do feel a bit better.” Diana looked up at him gratefully. “Thank you…?”

“Watchwing. My name is Watchwing.”

“Thank you Watchwing. My name is Diana, nice to meet you.” She held out a hoof to shake.

He hesitated before muttering something that sounded like “Let’s get this over with” and walked closer to shake her hoof.

They shook hooves. Diana was curious about his reticence and eyed him closely. It took her a moment to realize something was wrong with his face. She looked closer before the sudden realization hit her and she flinched away with a yelp of horror.

“Your eyes! What’s wrong with your eyes?”

Where Watchwing’s eyes should have been were two empty sockets. He seemed unsurprised by her outburst. A melancholy expression crossed his face and he observed Diana for a moment before simply turning sadly and trudging toward the other side of the cave.

Diana took a few deep breaths to calm herself and called after him. “Wait, please. I’m sorry for panicking like that. It’s just…I’ve never seen an injury like that before. How did it happen?”

The blind pegasus turned at her voice, his pained expression fading slightly as she spoke. He returned to her bedside and replied. “It’s alright, I know I’m not exactly a comforting sight, especially to somepony who’s recovering from her own injury. As for how I got this well, there’s a bit of a story to it. Would you like to hear it?”

“I’ve always loved stories. In many ways that’s why I’m here.”

Watchwing frowned. “Come to think of it, what are you doing here? I’ve never heard of an alicorn leaving their village before.”

Diana smiled cheekily at him as she mimicked his words. “As for how I got here well, there’s a bit of a story to it. Would you like to hear it?”

He smiled back and nodded. “I’ve always loved stories.”

“Okay, I’ll tell you mine after you tell me yours.”

Realizing that she really wasn’t going to fear or hate him for his infirmity Watchwing’s smile broadened. He settled himself next to the bed, took a deep breath and began his story.

“I was born and raised in a village not far from here. Apparently, even from a very young age my eyes were a remarkably brilliant shade of blue and, unlike other foals, I never cried. I just watched. Ponies, plants, sunlight, it didn’t make any difference. I watched absolutely everything that was going on around me, or so my parents told me. It was for that that I was named Watchwing, a name that seems oddly prophetic and somewhat mocking now.”

“My early life was mostly unremarkable but there is one aspect that is relevant to my current circumstances. In all the games we foals played I was the always the referee. Everypony knew that I was always watching closely and so I became the judge of the playground, if you will. When there were disputes or when bullies tried to push some specific agenda it was to me that other ponies appealed and it became my place to rebuke those who tried to twist the truth.”

“Well, anyway, enough about my foalhood. I left that behind as I grew up and was apprenticed to our local apothecary. She taught me many helpful things, including that brew you drank earlier, and she brought me to this forest sometimes to help with gathering supplies. It was good work, I loved helping other ponies and the knowledge I gained of healing herbs and plants in general has certainly been very useful to me.”

“A little over a year ago now, it was announced that Discord would be paying a visit to our town. All residents were required to attend his grand entrance and the parade that would follow. It was, as they say, a command performance so, when the day came, everypony lined the streets in preparation for Discord’s appearance.”

“The entire village was ready and waiting by the main entrance at dawn. We weren’t kept waiting long. When the sun had crested the horizon there was a flash of light, a clap of thunder from a cloudless sky, and Discord phased into existence in the midst of a sun beam. He was a terrifying spectacle. Pray you never see him if you haven’t had his visage inflicted on you already.”

“His body was solidly built and covered with a short brown fur. Each limb seemed to have been ripped from some other creature and clumsily attached to his trunk. The left leg was heavily muscled, hairless, white, and ended in a black hoof. The right leg seemed draconic; it was covered in green scales and ended in a fearsome claw with razor sharp points. His right forelimb was more like a paw and covered in a light yellow fur. The left limb was a similar color but closer in appearance to a chicken leg, though it had sharper claws than any chicken I’ve ever seen. On his back was a pair of similarly mismatched wings. One was black and leathery, like a bat wing, while the other was a dark blue and feathered, closer to a pegasus wing. Finally, his head was covered in the same fur as his body, but of a grey color instead. He had two horns, one with prongs like a deer’s horn while the other spiraled upward like a ram’s horn. And then there were his eyes, each was glowing a deep blood red, but one was no more than a speck of color in his dark face while the other was as large as an apple and blazed bright with malice. There was, above and beyond his bizarre form, a wrongness about him. The very air seemed to twist and writhe around him, like heat waves rising from a hot stone.”

“I don’t mean to dwell on his form but it’s important you have a mental picture so you can understand how odd it was that he was wearing a garbage bag. No, really; this fearsome monster of darkness chose to show himself to his subjects while wearing a tattered trash bag. There was absolute silence and complete confusion before he spoke and it all became clear. ‘My adoring subjects’ he said ‘Am I not the most radiant creature you’ve ever seen? Gaze upon the glory of my raiment, the plush fabric, the deep purples and sparkling gold lining. Is it not magnificent clothing, fit for the greatest of kings? ’ He waited expectantly for a response.”

“Well the townsfolk weren’t going to risk missing an obvious cue like that so they broke into applause, praising him and his ‘royal garment’ to the skies. He just stood there, taking it all in, with a self-satisfied smug smirk on his gruesome face. That was when I understood what the whole event was about. Discord could have changed that bag into clothes fit for a king with no effort at all; instead, he made us sing the praises of a garbage bag. It was about power of course, about proving that even without magic he ruled us completely.”

“I was so angry. It was no different from the bullies back on the playground, trying to use their superior strength to lord over anyone smaller or weaker. I hate that. I hate the idea that might makes truth, so I did the only thing that I could think of: I shouted as loudly as I could ‘Discord’s wearing nothing but a trash bag!”

“Silence fell immediately and all the ponies between myself and Discord parted hurriedly, revealing me to his gaze. He had me brought forward and placed at his feet. In an almost jovial tone he spoke, supposedly to me, but really to the watching crowd. ‘Surely I must have misheard this pony. He couldn’t possibly have truly said that I, the regal Discord, am wearing a trash bag. I must have misheard but and, because I am a kind and benevolent ruler, I will give him a chance to correct himself. Well, little pony, am I not wearing a splendid garment, one worthy of my glory?’”

“The correct answer was obvious and I probably should have given him what he wanted and in the hopes of escaping with my life. But I just couldn’t say it. He is nearly omnipotent, he could remake the world at will, but, until he did, I would not deny the evidence of my senses at his whim. It was the only form of defiance I could think of. So I took a deep breath and shouted so the whole crowd could hear. ‘Your garment is indeed worthy of you, Discord, clad as you are in refuse!’”

“The silence grew deeper, where before ponies had simply been quiet now they were frozen in fear. Discord reached down, picked me up and held me with outstretched arms before the crowd. ‘You see this pony? This pony’s eyes have betrayed him, they have made him see things he should not see. So I will do him a favor, I will remove these traitorous orbs from his face.’ I scanned the crowd and saw my parents’ worried faces. I saw my master, the apothecary, sneak away down an alley. Then he turned me around and my last sight was his hideous face, alight with a mad glee as he reached out and pulled the eyes from my head.”

“The pain was excruciating, I really can’t describe so let’s just say it was painful and leave it at that. Discord kindly waited until I stopped screaming before finishing the sentencing. ‘Consider yourself banished. If anypony should help you they will face the same fate. You have one hour to leave the village before I start pulling other things from your head. Oh that’s right, you can’t even see which way is out. Let me help you there.’ He raised me to me feet and pointed me toward the nearest village exit. ‘Now you can’t say I never did anything for you.’ He laughed and everypony laughed with him. I stood, blood running from my ruined eyes as my entire village offered up Discord’s Prayer at my suffering.”

Watchwing fell silent, his face a rictus of pain and rage. His breathing came faster and faster as the memory whipped him into a fury.

Diana grew concerned as he slipped further out of control. She knew she needed to calm him down but life in her tranquil village hadn’t given her any experience dealing with this kind of emotion. Finally, out of desperation, she reached out with a hoof and stroked his mane. “Enough” she whispered, gently but firmly. “Enough. It’s long past. Let it go.”

He stiffened at her touch, startled out of his waking nightmare. Then he realized where he was and all the air seemed to rush out of him. He sighed and the fearsome expression melted from his face. “I’m sorry.” He said hesitantly. “I haven’t talked to anypony at all since that day. I often thought it would feel better to have spoken of all this to somepony… anypony. But…it’s hard…harder than I thought.” He drew in a ragged breath and let it out.

Less afraid that Watchwing was losing control, Diana withdrew her hoof. Still, her concern showed in her voice as she responded. “You don’t need to finish if you don’t want to. I would never have asked to hear your story if I’d known how difficult it would be for you.”

Watchwing took another deep breath and shook his head regaining a measure of composure. “It is better having somepony else, an outsider, hear what happened. The telling has simply proved harder than I expected. I would like to continue, if you don’t mind listening. The worst of it’s over anyway so I might as well finish.”

Diana nodded her assent so Watchwing resettled himself and continued with his tale.

“I had no other option but to I trudge blindly forward; hoping that Discord had pointed me in the right direction and hating myself for hoping it. The sounds of the resumed parade and the terrified, cheering ponies fell behind, but I barely noticed. I felt the cobblestone road turn to dirt beneath my hooves and I knew I had reached the end of the village. Something I couldn’t indentify settled around my neck. My confusion lasted a moment before I felt my master’s hooves gently turn me in a different direction. She spoke softly. ‘The satchel around your neck contains a mixture of herbs designed to stop the bleeding of your eyes and prevent infection. You’re facing toward our usual entrance to the forest, remember my lessons and you might survive. I sorry I don’t dare do more. Good luck’”

“She was gone before I could reply, before I could thank her for being the only one to help me. It took about half an hour before a small but noticeable decrease in temperature told me I had reached the forest’s shady branches. I took a moment to apply the herbs to my empty sockets and was gratified to feel the pain lessen slightly.”

“I wanted to rest but I knew my survival depended on finding food and water. It shouldn’t have been too hard I thought, since I’d spent so much time in the forest’s outskirts. But, without eyes, I had no way to orient myself and every root and low-hanging branch became a painful tripwire. I wandered, stumbling and falling over every obstacle, hoping to come across a pool or stream through sheer luck.”

“Well, my luck was notoriously absent, probably saving itself up for one perfect moment. I found nothing to eat or drink for two days. Honestly, I don’t know why I kept going; it seemed impossible that I would find some way to survive alone in the woods, without my eyes. But I every time my legs buckled I thought of Discord and I knew that every second I survived I was defying his expectations. Even if he would never know, I still did and it was enough to help me keep placing one foot in front of the other, for a while anyway.”

“Finally, at the end of my strength, I stumbled into this very cave and collapsed. It should have been by end but every bit of luck I’d ever have must have gone into making sure I collapsed at that exact position. Look at closely at the walls of the cave, notice anything special?”

Diana looked around in confusion. So far as she could tell the cave’s walls were perfectly ordinary and she said as much.

“Oh come now, look closer, anything at all come to mind?”

A second look revealed nothing new so Diana guessed the only thing she could come up with. “The walls are slightly concave?”

“Exactly! The walls are concave so, if you happen to be at precisely the right spot, they’ll bounce back any sound or, say, the wind generated by a collapsing pegasus. There’s a spring of water at the back of the cave so that particular breeze returned with a slightly different feel to it, like I was flying into a cloud. It took me a moment, in my delirious state, to understand just what I’d felt. However, I am a pegasus after all. I know that a cloud means water. Since I was on the ground I knew it had to be an actual water source.”

“I crawled forward, nose first, not daring to hope that there was really water nearby. There was though, I felt it run across my muzzle, cool and wet. I drank deeply and felt my strength return with every swallow. No longer thirsty, I raised my head and felt clarity return to my thoughts. The memory of a second breeze recalled itself to my mind. I realized that there had been a small mushroom shaped part of the breeze that had returned earlier than the breeze surrounding it. That meant that there had to be mushrooms nearby. It took a few moments of scouring the cave with my nose to the floor but I found the mushrooms and devoured them. Hunger and thirst satisfied for the moment I realized I had found both relying on this wind sense, without needing my eyes at all.”

“It took many long months but I finally got the hang of using my wings to see. I keep them spread out and constantly make very small motions to send out pulses of air. Those pulses reflect off of anything nearby and return to the highly sensitized air current detectors at the base of each wing, giving me a good idea of my surroundings.”

“It isn’t perfect but it’s allowed me to survive in this forest. I live from day to day; testing my ‘vision’, gathering food, and exploring the forest occupy my time. Quiet and unchanging, such is my life and I am glad to have it.”

Watchwing fell silent once more, calmly this time, his tale told to the end. Diana waited a moment; to be sure he had finished, and then spoke to him. “Thank you for telling me. You were brave to stand up to Discord as you did and the way you taught yourself to see again is incredible.”

“Honestly, I was foolish and lucky respectively. A braver pony would have known when to remain silent and an unluckier pony wouldn’t have collapsed in just the right spot. It’s kind of you to say so though. And thank you, for listening.” Watchwing smiled up at her and Diana smiled back.

“Well I guess it’s my turn now…” Diana started to say. But she was interrupted halfway through by a huge yawn.

The blue pegasus just shook his head. “You’re still recovering, so we should save it for tomorrow. Truth be told, I’m a little surprised you’re still awake.”

Diana’s eyes narrowed in suspicion as she fought off another yawn. “I just woke up after sleeping for a day and a half. Why wouldn’t I still be awake?

Watchwing scuffed the ground with one hoof and carefully avoided her gaze. “I might have put a little soporific in the water I gave you” he admitted, sheepishly. When the expected angry response was not forthcoming he looked up apprehensively, only to find Diana’s eyes fully closed and her breathing slow and regular.

He stared at her for a moment before smiling. “That was absurdly fortuitous timing. I guess I’ve got some luck left after all.” Still smiling he picked up the empty cup and walked to the back of the cave to wash it out, before stacking them neatly next to the other silverware, or woodenware as the case may be. His home put in order Watchwing grabbed a spare reed blanket and draped it over Diana’s sleeping form. Then, satisfied that his patient was resting soundly, Watchwing curled up next to the bed, closed his eyes, and allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

***

Diana’s second return to consciousness was far more gradual than her first. She slowly swam up through the layers of sleep, shrugging them off like warm coats at the end of a cold winter. At the last layer she paused, letting the remembrance of previous events wash over her as the forgetfulness of sleep retreated. She didn’t rush; she just waited and watched as everything fell into its proper place. It took a few moments for everything to come together, but at last she was ready to wake up. One eye cracked open and regarded the cavern.

“Ah, you’re up. Good. Breakfast is just about ready. I took the liberty of using some of your supplies, I hope you don’t mind.” Watchwing was standing over the lit fire pit, stirring a cheerfully bubbling pot from which a delicious odor was emanating.

A second eye popped open and Diana yawned as she crawled out from under the blanket. She stretched her hooves out in front of her and winced as her ribs reminded her that they were still miffed about the whole landing in a tree thing. Ambling over to the still bubbling pot Diana sniffed appreciatively. “I don’t mind you using my supplies if you can make them smell this good. What’s in there anyway?”

“About fifty different varieties of plant. It took forever to get the right proportions to make it taste good. I call it my little-bit-of-everything stew.” He lifted the ladle from the pot and took a small sip. “Mmm, it’s just about ready, grab us bowls and I’ll serve.”

A pink glow lit Diana’s horn as she reached out with telekinesis and grabbed a pair of bowls. Strangely, instead of drifting over to her as she had intended, the bowls shot overhead and slammed into the cave wall opposite them. Diana gave the bowls a confused look. Telekinesis was the most basic spell any alicorn learned, one she had been able to do without thought for years, why would it give her trouble now?

Watchwing looked concerned by this. “Try it with a little less power maybe?” Diana nodded and grabbed the bowls again, using a fraction of her previous power. This time they obeyed her summons exactly as they were supposed to.

The two ponies shared a look and shrugged simultaneously. Investigating this mystery could wait until after breakfast. Without further incident Watchwing ladled generous servings of the stew into their bowls and they both dug in.

Each evidently believed that eating was a serious affair so silence reigned until they had both licked the bowls clean. They sat quietly for a moment longer, letting the meal digest until Diana began to speak. “Thank you. Not just for the meal but for everything. I didn’t realize it last night but dragging me in here during a storm and taking care of me while I was unconscious couldn’t have been easy. It’s a lot to do for somepony you don’t know. If there’s any way I can return the favor…not that I have a lot to offer at the moment but I’d like to make it up to you somehow…” she realized she was babbling and allowed herself to trail off.

Watchwing shook his head. “You’re welcome of course, and there’s certainly no need to repay me. Besides, I owe you an apology. What I told you last night wasn’t something I should have burdened a new acquaintance with, let alone one who was still recovering. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. You needed to tell somepony, and it made me feel safer, knowing the type of pony you are.” In response to his skeptical look Diana leaned forward and spoke earnestly. “I mean it. Sure it was frightening when you got that angry, but it was understandable in light of what had happened to you. Besides, there was no way you could fake that anger and anyone who’s that angry at Discord is a friend of mine.”

He nodded slowly. “Alright, let’s put last night behind us. In any case, I would still like to know what you’re doing here. Though, I think it’s more important that you start rehabilitating yourself first.”

Diana quirked an eyebrow at him. “Rehabilitating?”

“That’s what my master always called it.” He shrugged. “Whenever anypony was injured she would make them exercise as soon as they were able to. It’s been two days since you even walked for an extended period of time, some movement would do you good.”

That made sense to her. Back on the farm Diana had learned the importance of working evenly to keep muscles from getting sore. Flying in a storm and then not moving for two days was certainly not an even distribution of effort. “I guess I am a little stiff.” She bounced to her feet and started trotting toward the exit. “Besides, I can’t wait to see what this forest of yours looks like. You coming?” she called back over her shoulder. Bemused by his companions sudden burst of energy, Watchwing stood up and followed at a more leisurely pace.

Diana emerged from the cave into a sunlit grass-filled clearing twenty meters wide. The bright sun warmed her cave-chilled flesh, even as she shaded her eyes against its light. Ringing the clearing were a species of tree she had never seen before. They were tall, tall enough that their canopies were a decent flight away, and wide enough that her entire wingspan wouldn’t even reach halfway around. Each tree had numerous branches starting at around halfway up and spreading out randomly from there. As she looked further out it seemed that the trees grew taller the farther they were from the clearing. However, a second look revealed that the ground sloped upward in all directions. Turning around she realized that the cave was, in fact, a huge collection of freestanding rocks in the center of a depression in the forest.

It was an idyllic place, no hint of danger anywhere. The leaves fluttered lazily in a light breeze, creating playful traceries of light and shadow on the forest floor. There was one spot though, that didn’t seem to fit with the peaceful ambiance of the place; one tree’s canopy had a large hole in it and there was a pattern of broken branches below until it stopped at one particularly sturdy looking branch.

As she contemplated the anomaly Watchwing came up behind her. He followed her gaze. “Admiring your handiwork?” he teased.

Any potential feeling of remorse for altering this peaceful place flew out the window at his words. Diana stuck her tongue out at him and cantered off around the clearing, greatly enjoying the startled sound he made as she left him in the dust.

The blue pegasus caught up a moment later and they cantered round the clearing in a companionable silence. They did a second circuit at a gallop and then slowed to a walk for their third. Diana stretched her wings out and flapped experimentally. It was painful, but not unduly so. She kept spreading and flexing her wings as they circled around. Working the kinks out of them felt wonderful, even if the cut on her left wing still burned every time she moved it.

It was so peaceful in the clearing. There were birds chirping in the background, warm sun, and soft grass. It was truly restful. It was…boring. Sure her recent life had been more eventful than Diana expected, but eventful was far more fun than the monotonous life she’d led on the farm. In a way, it was reassuring that she didn’t want to go back. She was proud that her resolve was unshaken either by the obstacles she had faced or the uncertainty before her.

That didn’t change the fact that she was still bored though. Well, there was an easy way to remedy that particular problem. She turned to Watchwing. “Are you still interested in why I’m here? Because, if we’re just going to walk, I think I can handle walking and talking at the same time.”

“Oh, you can? I would love to hear but I didn’t want to push you so soon after you woke up.” He face was the very picture of innocent concern.

Well, thought Diana, I must meet sarcasm with sarcasm. “I can, in fact, walk and talk. I was merely holding back because I was afraid you couldn’t walk and listen at the same time.”

“Well have no fear on that account. I will listen with the utmost attentiveness.”

Diana shot him a look but Watchwing studiously maintained his deadpan expression. “I guess I’ll get started then.”

So she told him of her dissatisfaction growing up on the farm, her plan to leave, and the long hours spent preparing while everypony else slept. It’s kind of fun, she thought, telling somepony about everything I did. Sort of like bragging but it’s all true. As she came to the escape attempt, and the subsequent pursuit, her good mood soured. Everything had just seemed to go wrong and it had frightened her. Still, it was nothing I couldn’t handle then, so talking about it now shouldn’t be that hard. She kept the rising tide of painful emotion out of her voice as she proceeded with her story. But, when Diana came to her confrontation with the captain, the emotions overpowered her. The memory of those feelings, the rage, the bloodlust, surged up and silenced her.

Watchwing turned toward her, concerned by the sudden silence, and saw tears on her cheeks. He wrapped his wing around her and nuzzled her gently as she cried, not speaking, just holding her.

She cried for a long time, letting out the stress of escape. At last, when she was all cried out, she allowed the knowledge that her escape was complete, that she was well and truly free, to wash over her, a balm to her pained psyche.

A sigh followed as Diana wiped the tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s just…I had never felt anger like that before. I really would have killed the captain if she’d continued to stand in my way. Bloodlust was not an emotion I was aware I could feel and now that I know…it scares me.” Her voice rose as she spoke until she was practically shouting. “What if it happens again? What if I kill somepony? I don’t want to be a murderer!”

“Then don’t.” His response was calm, measured, he spoke as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

She neighed in frustration and stamped her hoof. “It’s not that simple!”

“Isn’t it? From the way you described your combat you could have kept attacking after you injured her and she probably would have died. Instead, you stopped and gave her the chance to back out. That doesn’t sound like somepony who’s out of control to me.”

Diana thought about it. I guess that’s true, I did manage to hold back, even when I wanted nothing more than to hurt her. And that injury I inflicted is the only reason I got away, after all. Maybe this can be managed, controlled…Maybe. She looked over at Watchwing and offered a hesitant, watery smile.

He smiled back. “See? Just trust yourself, you aren’t a cruel pony. I may not have known you for long but even I can tell that much. It’s not as if you’re going to go out and harm others for the fun of it right?”

A firm nod met his questioning look. “That’s right. I’m not going to kill anypony.” Diana shrugged off his wing, though she still stayed close. “I’m not going to become a monster that easily.”

“That’s the spirit! Now then, what about the rest of the story, what happened next?”

“Nothing much left to tell. I got caught in that storm and stayed aloft for as long as I could before crash landing here and blacking out.”

They had finished their exercise for the day and moved into the shade of one of the nearby trees to rest. Diana’s muscles felt pleasantly tired from the exertion and she was slightly out of breath from talking and exercising at the same time. Watchwing was also nicely winded and enjoyed the respite. They sat quietly for a moment, relishing the cool noontide shade.

Finally, he turned to Diana and asked the question that was on both of their minds. “So what’s next for you? Where will you go now that you’re out?”

She shrugged. “I don’t really know. Wandering sounds good to me right now. Maybe see if I can’t find out something more about Discord like I promised Granny Pie I would. The problem with that is we alicorns are the longest lived of the four pony races. So if something is barely remembered by the alicorn elders then it’s pretty unlikely that any other pony is old enough to remember anything useful.”

An idea sparked in Watchwing’s brain. “Why do you have to ask a pony? There are other creatures out there that live much longer then we do.”

“Did you have something specific in mind?”

“Well, this forest is pretty old. Hay, most of these trees probably predate Discord. Why don’t you ask a tree?”

Diana stared at him with an are-you-really-that-stupid look before her instinctual sarcasm took over. “Oh what a brilliant idea! I don’t know why I didn’t think of that. I’ll just give it a try right now.” She turned around and addressed herself to the tree they were resting under. “Excuse me Mr. or Ms. Tree. I was wondering if you could tell me anything about Discord? Anything at all? No? What a surprise.” She turned back to Watchwing and was about to return to ridiculing him.

Query the sheep and the shepherd responds.

Diana shot to her feet, desperately searching for the source of the voice. It had seemed to come from everywhere at once booming forth and echoing in her mind. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary she turned her ire on Watchwing. “What the hay was that! Are you trying to scare me to death?”

Not bothering to hide his amusement he replied “I told you to ask a tree, it’s your fault you didn’t believe that it would talk back.”

She snorted in disbelief. “There is no way that was a tree. I want to know how you pulled that little trick.”

“Honestly, it’s no trick. There is a creature that lives here, a spirit of the forest, if you will. It watches through its trees and it can even speak through them, though with great difficulty.”

In the face of his certainty Diana felt her skepticism fading. “So it lives here, in this clearing?”

“Not exactly.” Watchwing seemed to struggle for the right words, trying to explain something that he didn’t fully understand. “In one sense it exists simultaneously everywhere the forest extends. It can detect everything that goes on near any tree in the forest. In another way it only truly exists at its central node in the forest’s heart. From what I’ve been able to gather it can speak to beings like us more easily there.”

“How did you even find out about it?” Diana asked.

Watchwing gestured toward his empty eyes. “It was curious how I managed to live without my eyesight. Knowledge is very important to it because collecting information is really all it has to occupy its time. We made a deal, I would explain how my wing-sight worked and it would keep an eye on me, alerting me when I was near anything dangerous. So far it’s saved my life a couple of times and certainly made things much easier than they would have been.”

Diana nodded slowly. “So when you suggested I ask a tree about Discord you weren’t joking huh? Well let’s give it a shot.” She addressed herself to the tree once more. “I apologize if I was rude before, it didn’t occur to me that you could actually talk back. I’m genuinely curious though; do you know anything about Discord?”

A brook burbles but cannot quench until you reach its banks.

“Well I’m going to take that as a no.” Diana sighed. “Back to square one I guess.”

Watchwing shook his head. “That wasn’t a no, that was an invitation to come visit.”

“How do you figure?”

“It represents the brook. You can hear it speak from here, but you have to go meet it to get anything useful out of it. It also implied that it can quench your thirst for knowledge. In other words…”

“It might know something after all!” Diana jumped to her feet in excitement. “Great! I’ll go there now, which direction is it in?” She started pacing on the spot, eager to be on the move again.

“Hold your horses. This isn’t something you can just dash off to.” At his cautioning tone Diana reined in her excitement and listened more closely. “It’s a three day hike to the heart of the forest and that’s assuming you can avoid any and all danger along the way. Besides, you’re still injured. I’m not letting you go anywhere until your wing is healed.”

At the last sentence Diana’s eyes narrowed angrily. “You’re not going to let me go anywhere? Who do you think you are, trying to tell me where I can and can’t go?”

Her accusation hung heavily between them in afternoon air. Finally Watchwing responded, speaking very carefully so as not to provoke her further. “Perhaps I spoke poorly and for that I apologize. I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying ‘if you save somepony’s life you become responsible for that life.’ I would greatly regret it if you lost your life by being too hasty. How about we make a deal then?”

Diana’s anger lessened but her caution was still readily apparent in her face. “What kind of deal did you have in mind?”

“Simply this: If you stay here until you are able to fly again I will guide you to the forest’s heart. We’re friends now, the forest and I, and I can hopefully help you avoid the worst dangers. Besides, I would like to meet this sentient tree as well. Do we have a deal?”

An unpleasant suspicion flickered in the back of Diana’s mind. Why is he being so kind? I crashed into his quiet life two days ago and since then he’s gone very far out of his way to help me. I could maybe understand taking in me and providing some medicine while I was injured, but going on a three day trip just because he doesn’t want me wandering off alone? That seems odd. It’s not like I have a choice though. I don’t know where I’m going so I still need him. I’ll just have to watch him very very carefully.

Diana blinked and realized she’d been staring off into space for the past few minutes, meditating on her choices. Watchwing was watching her, waiting for her decision. She nodded. “Alright, you’ve got yourself a deal.”

They shook hooves. Then Watchwing spoke in a mock serious tone. “Now that the trivial problems have been resolved we have a topic of the utmost importance to discuss.”

“And what might that be?”

“What we are going to have for dinner, of course.”

They smiled at one another and walked into the cave to prepare their evening meal.

Through the Woods and Over the River

The Element of Laughter

Chapter 3: Through the Woods and Over the River

The next few days passed swiftly for Diana. For the first time since fillyhood she greeted each day knowing that there was almost nothing she was required to do. Consequently, she rose each day determined to fit in as many different enjoyable activities as possible. The forest boasted such great variety that becoming bored was practically impossible and, should that prospect rear its ugly head, Watchwing was always more than willing to reveal another hidden wonder that the pink pony would never have found on her own.

It wasn’t all exploring the ancient forest, of course. Her daily exercise quickly became a chore. Watchwing was adept at suggesting forms of exercise that pushed her body to the limits while not injuring her further, but Diana was unused to movement for the sake of movement rather than towards some end and found the exercises soon began to irritate her in their pointlessness. She far preferred their trips into the forest to gather supplies, though those were not without their dangers.

One particular trip, that Diana was trying her hardest to forget, had included an apparently benign blue flower and ended with Watchwing drawing her up a bubble bath and doing his absolute best to hide his extreme amusement. However, for the most part the trips were a chance to explore an amazing ancient forest. Each time, after they had gathered the plants they sought, Watchwing would take a detour to some wonder of the forest. Once he took her to the parasprite nesting grounds where their humming harmonized and their bodies covered the trees in a broad spectrum of kaleidoscopic color. Another trip was to a bizarre tree garden where the trees curved and loop-de-looped, forming intricate and breathtaking natural designs.

Diana relished her free time and felt a twinge of regret when her first test flight succeeded and Watchwing declared her healed. Still, curiosity drove her forward and she couldn’t help but be excited by the prospect of the extended journey before her. Dinner that evening was a subdued affair, each lost in thoughts they didn’t feel like sharing. They packed in silence, Diana in her saddlebags and Watchwing in his satchel, and turned in early.

***

The next day dawned bright and clear. It was a crisp day with just a hint of a chill in the still morning air. Diana woke first and roused Watchwing. They had a cold breakfast from the food stuffs they were leaving behind and were on the road, such as it was, within an hour.

They traveled single file, in silence, each concentrating on keeping their footing amidst the treacherous roots and uneven ground. Diana had learned over the preceding week that Watchwing was not a morning pony and preferred to be left to his thoughts for quite a while after waking up. She left him to it and instead dedicated her attention to enjoying the tranquil morning.

Noon came and went in this fashion and the sun rose high into the sky. The early morning chill had given way to an uncomfortably warm and windless day. Between the heat and the effort of carrying her heavy saddle bags Diana was beginning to feel quite parched. Unfortunately, neither of them had possessed any means of transporting water, but the wood was home to frequent streams and pools that made such preparation unnecessary.

In fact, Diana thought as she peered forward, there appears to be one right up ahead. Perfect timing. She pushed past Watchwing and trotted towards the pool, intent on slaking her thirst.

“Wait!” The note of sheer panic in Watchwing’s voice immediately brought her to a halt. She cast about for the cause of his alarm. They were in a clearing which formed a concentric ring about the pool at its center. At first glance nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. However, as Diana looked closer the fur on the back of her neck began to prickle. The trees all stopped at a fixed point and past that there was no trace of anything living. No plants, no insects, not even any fallen leaves.

“What is this place?” she asked, a hint of fear coloring her voice as well.

In answer Watchwing picked up a small stone and, with a flick of his head, tossed it into the pool. There was no splash, and no ripples. It looked as if the stone had simply merged with its reflection in the water and disappeared into another world. The two ponies shared a look and then backed out of the clearing as slowly and carefully as they could. Once safely back under the canopy they detoured around the too-still clearing and continued on.

“What did that circular area in the center of the clearing look like to you?” Watchwing’s question broke through her own musing on a very similar subject.

“It looked to be a pool of water, but it didn’t even move when you threw the stone.”

Watchwing nodded. “I figured as much when you pushed past me to get to it. To me it seemed to be a gaping emptiness. That whole clearing was unnaturally still but the pool absorbed everything that touched it, down to minute vibrations in the air.”

Diana hesitated, unsure if she really wanted to know but gathered her resolve and asked. “What do you think that was? Have you ever seen anything like it?”

“I don’t know what it was” he responded “but I can guarantee that trying to drink from it was a bad idea. Though, if you’re still thirsty I think this stream should be safe.”

While speaking they had reached a new clearing, this one was not so perfectly shaped and contained plenty of insect and plant life. A collection of light green vines snaked around some of the trees on the far side, a couple of birds’ nests were visible dotting the branches around the clearing and a small stream flowed through it, zigzagging from one end of the clearing to the other before disappearing into the forest beyond.

“This looks like a good spot for lunch” Watchwing suggested “what do you think?” Diana nodded her assent and the two trotted across the clearing, hopped over the stream, and broke out the dandelion and burdock root sandwiches.

They chatted as they ate, clearing the last remnants of the morning’s silence and striving to banish the fear produced by the odd clearing. Between the sunshine, the babbling broke, and the pleasure of good conversation any trace of fear withered away and they settled into a more positive frame of mind.

As the conversation lapsed into a comfortable silence Diana allowed her eyes to wander across the clearing, idly lingering on the vines swaying in the breeze. Swaying in the nonexistent breeze.

Moving with instincts she hadn’t known she possessed, Diana dove forward and pulled Watchwing down just as the ‘vines’ shot overhead. She yanked him to his feet and they turned to watch the horror show unfolding before them.

After having missed their initial opening the vines, or tentacles as Diana realized they were, retreated and began coiling around lower branches to provide support for the body that lowered itself into view. It was bulbous ovaloid structure, the same sickly green as the tentacles which protruded from its lower half. As it neared the ground two beady little eyes became visible on either side of what was, apparently, its head as well as its body. To complete its hideous appearance it possessed a sharply pointed beak on its underside. Finally dropping to the forest floor it raised itself up and stood on its eight tentacles.

“KREEEE!”

A piercing screech issued from its beak and it charged toward them, pushing itself along on two tentacles and trying to grab them with the rest.

Watchwing pushed Diana back and shouted to her over the creature’s shrill cries, “I’ll distract it; you circle around and take it down!”

She stumbled at his sudden push but recovered her balance and dashed into the woods behind them. Turning back she gasped in horror. Instead of running off to allow her access to its blind spot, as she had expected, Watchwing was standing stock-still, facing the incoming monster with apparent unconcern. A tentacle shot straight toward his face and missed by the slightest of margins as he leaned sideways. Others quickly followed, each trying to grab, strike, or otherwise incapacitate him. He ducked under one and spun to the side to avoid a second coming directly at his back. A third snaked under him and sought to trip him up but after a quick leap forward it caught empty air.

The blind pegasus’ motions were smooth as he wove amid the thrashing limbs. Nothing was wasted and nothing was hurried as he kept moving forward, trying to get into striking range.

Diana kept an eye on Watchwing’s efforts as she stealthily worked her way around the clearing, sticking to the shadows of the trees. It took her longer than she would have liked but she soon arrived at the other side of the clearing.

Alright, I made it. Now how am I going to take it down? Hit it with my horn? Yeah, that’s a good plan, frontal assault it is.

As she prepared to charge, the captain’s voice rose unbidden to her mind. “Lesson one: never underestimate your opponents.” She paused and took another moment to assess the creature.

Wait a minute; those tentacles keeping it up are thicker than the rest, almost like legs. They must have to be stronger than the rest to keep it up, so if I can just sever those we can make a run for it. Is that a better plan?

“Anytime now would be great Diana!” Watchwing’s suddenly shouted. He was breathing hard and his motions were slowing, he clearly couldn’t keep dodging for too much longer.

Well this’ll have to do. Here I go!

Diana flapped her wings hard and flew as fast as she could toward the creature. It must have heard her for it turned slightly and three of its tentacles left Watchwing and reached for her. She aimed for the legs and strove to put on more speed.

“Lesson two: never act predictably.” It was the captain’s voice again and this time she didn’t have time to think it through. Praying she wasn’t making a mistake Diana feinted toward the left leg and rolled right at the last second. The tentacles missed her by inches and the creatures screamed again, first in frustration and then in pain as she severed its right leg with her horn.

She curved her flight as she sought to come around for another pass, but she needn’t have bothered. With only three tentacles blocking his way, Watchwing easily slipped inside its guard and bucked it right in its remaining leg.

The creature toppled to the forest floor with a crash as Watchwing retreated beyond the range of its still working tentacles. Giddy with their success, Diana landed next to the panting pegasus. “That was incredible! I was so worried when you just stood there but you made it look like that thing wasn’t even trying to get you! How did you manage to dodge all those tentacles?”

Watchwing struggled to gain enough breath to respond. “Told you…see air currents…motion produces current…faster it is the better I see it.”

She frowned at his response. “Then how come you couldn’t see them when they attacked us at the start?”

His breathing had slowed by this point and his response was, thankfully, more coherent. “I could see the vines were moving but I couldn’t tell that it was against the wind. It’s as if…hmm… imagine your eyes produced their own light. It would be impossible to tell when things were lit up on their own because your eyes would be lighting them up already. The end result being I can’t tell the difference between a vine moving in the breeze and a creature waving a tentacle. However, once I know it’s being moved by some creature’s intent I can dodge it, no problem.”

Something was niggling at the back of Diana’s mind but she ignored it and tried to understand what Watchwing had just said. “So if you were just focusing on a rock, say, and I was to move it, that wouldn’t look any different if from the rock starting to roll on its own?

He nodded. “Exactly, it’s one of the limitations of this way of seeing.”

Diana smiled in understanding and Watchwing smiled back. They were both relieved to be safe but the pink pony couldn’t help but feel she had forgotten something.

“Lesson three: never turn your back on a living enemy.” The captain’s third lesson came to mind just in time. She spun and saw that the creature had thrust all of its working limbs deeply into the soil.

“JUMP!” Diana screamed at Watchwing, as she suited her actions to her words. He pushed hard off the ground as the tentacles exploded out of the ground beneath them. Her relief at the sight of his escape was short lived as gravity caught hold of him and began to pull him back to the waiting tentacles.

“Fly, you foal! Fly!” she shouted, panic rising as his wings stayed stubbornly stationary. The tentacles below writhed eagerly as their prey glided in circles, coming nearer and nearer. Time seemed to slow as Diana sought desperately for some way to save Watchwing.

He’s too heavy, there’s no way I can fly with both of us or lift him with telekinesis and any other spell would take too long to cast. If I try to cut any of the tentacles the others will grab me. Wait…if the tentacles are over here then the body’s undefended. That’s it, now GO!

She dove, wings folded, straining for every bit of speed she could muster. Anger rose within her as the wind whipped through her mane.

How dare this creature try to harm us! I’ll stab out its eyes, tear its tentacles and burn it from this world!

Bloodlust sang in her veins as she hurtled forward like an arrow from on high. Diana struck its left eye horn first. Her momentum drove her horn in all the up to her face and a sticky green substance she knew had to be blood spurted forth. It screamed for a third time and an answering cry from behind told her that Watchwing was still at in its grasp. Her horn rose and fell as she put out its other eye and its scream grew still louder, met with a similar increase in volume from Watchwing.

Diana’s horn rose and fell once more as she stabbed it directly between the eyes. She added her own war-cry to the screams that pervaded the clearing.

“DIE!”

Magic flooded from her. Not a spell, just pure magical energy, guided solely by her desire for this creature’s death. True to her will it burned away the creature’s very brain, leaving it a decimated husk.

Silence at last. Diana stood over her fallen foe, panting and feeling weak from the sudden expenditure of magic. A groan reminded her of Watchwing’s plight. She turned and trotted over to where he was lying, wrapped in the creature’s tentacles. A couple of quick snips with her horn and they fell away.

“Come on, Watchwing. Don’t die on me here.” Concern filled her voice as she tried to determine if he was conscious or not, a task made surprisingly difficult by his lack of eyes.

He took a deep breath and sat up, wincing as he did so. “I’m going to be hurting for a while but I think I’ll live.”

“Well if you’re going to live…what the hay was that about?” Concern assuaged, anger made a sudden reappearance. “Why the buck didn’t you keep flying? You’re a pegasus after all!”

“On second thought I feel as though I just might die after all. You wouldn’t want my last memory to be you shouting at me, would you?” Watchwing gave her such a pathetic expression, helped along by his blatant injuries, that she was forced to modulate her tone somewhat.

“Fine, no shouting. But you better have a darn good reason for gliding blithely to your doom.”

“It was hardly blithely.” He objected. “It’s just…well…I’m afraid of flying. I can’t flap my wings without covering the nerve centers that let me see. It would be like trying to fly while blinking very fast. Plus up in the sky there’s barely anything for the air currents to bounce off of so even when my ‘eyes’ are open almost everything is blank anyway. I haven’t flown since my injury. I haven’t dared.”

Diana’s anger lessened as he spoke. “I’m sorry for shouting at you. It was just so frightening, watching you fall like that. I was so scared that creature would kill you and then I got so angry and I…” she trailed off, eyes widening as the memory of the past few moments caught up with her. Bile rose in her throat as she remembered the sickening squelch that had accompanied driving her horn into the creature’s eye. With a start she realized she was still covered in its viscous lime-green blood.

It was too much; Diana turned and was violently sick on the grass. Watchwing wrapped one wing around her and held her mane back out of the way. He held her close as the heaves ended and she started trembling.

“I…I killed it…I don’t want to be a killer but…but I…I wanted to kill it…I used magic to burn it away.”

Watchwing spoke slowly and calmly. “You defended yourself and you saved our lives. If you hadn’t I would be dead.” He gently turned her head so they were face to face. “Thank you, Diana. You saved my life. Thank you.”

She flinched away. “Don’t thank me, not for this. So much for not wanting to kill anything. So much for not becoming a monster.”

“You. Are. Not. A. Monster.” His voice was firm, absolute in its certainty. Diana couldn’t help but listen, wanting to believe he spoke the truth. “A monster is somepony who goes out and kills things for fun, a monster is somepony who sits back and lets their friends be killed because they don’t want to dirty their hooves with bloodshed. You didn’t seek this creature out and I can’t imagine you could have sat by and watched it kill me, could you?”

She rubbed the tears from her eyes and shook her head. “Of course not. I wouldn’t abandon a friend.”

“Exactly. You did what the situation called for to save somepony else, no more no less.”

“But I lost control again” she protested. “At the end there I wanted it to die so badly. It even activated my magic, without a spell just by pure intent. That shouldn’t even have been possible!”

Watchwing shrugged. “It’s a good thing you did. Nothing short of death would have made it let go of me and octocumbers are notoriously difficult to kill.”

“Well then, I guess losing control was necessary in this case, but it still scares me…wait. Did you say octocumber? Is that what this thing’s called?”

“Yep, it has eight tentacles, each with the texture of a cucumber. I think its edible too, want to try a bite?”

Diana stared at him incredulously. “That’s the stupidest name I’ve ever heard and, no, I don’t want to try a bite. You’re just messing with me now aren’t you?”

He smiled at her. “Maybe…but you’re not as upset anymore, right?”

It’s true, she realized, somehow the idea that I was locked in pitched combat with a creature as idiotically named as an octocumber makes the whole thing seem less serious and more surreal. Perhaps…perhaps if I only lose control like that when I’m protecting somepony then it’s okay. I mean, the two times it’s happened so far it’s saved my life one time and Watchwing’s the other time. Alright, come on, this freak out is officially over. No need to let him know that he helped though.

Diana huffed. “That’s pretty roundabout way of cheering somepony up.”

“It worked didn’t it?”

She rolled her eyes and turned, hiding a fond smile. “Maybe a little. Now come on, we’ve wasted enough time as it is.” Diana walked to the stream. She took a long drink and washed the blood from her body while Watchwing gathered the remains of their interrupted lunch. They shouldered their respective bags and set off once more into the wood.

***

The pair camped out that night in small depression in the forest floor. It wasn’t much but it provided a bit of shelter from the elements and hid them from immediate sight. A fire might have attracted unwanted attention so they were forced to make do with a cold dinner similar in content to their lunch. After the day’s events they were both tired, so they turned in early.

A cold wet splash across her muzzle woke Diana the next morning. Similar splashes followed across the rest of her body and she sat up to find that it was raining. The morning chill added a cold dimension to the already unpleasant wet and clammy nature of the new day.

Diana groaned as she felt the water seeping into her feathers. Nothing’s worse than wet wings. They’re heavy and they get that slimy feeling from the oil on the feathers. Disgusting. Not to mention it’s impossible to get off the ground once they get wet.

She trotted over to Watchwing and unceremoniously prodded him awake. “Let’s get moving. Hopefully the canopy will block some of this rain.”

As always, Watchwing’s return to consciousness was utterly impossible to detect. He stood up and shook himself off. “Diana, it’s raining.”

“I just said that, now can we get moving please?”

He stood still for a moment, apparently lost in thought, before speaking again. “We should get moving Diana.”

“Honestly, I know you’re a zombie early in the day but if you’re just going to repeat what I say you really don’t need to talk at all.” She began packing her saddle bags, eager for them to be on their way.

Another slow moment passed as Watchwing considered her words. “If I’m just going to repeat you’re words I don’t need to talk at all.”

“Of for the love of… Yes! You don’t need to talk, just grab your bag.” Diana stopped packing as she noticed the grin Watchwing was struggling to hide. “Oh I see, very clever. Are you actually not a morning pony or have you just been planning for this pathetic excuse for a joke from day one?”

Watchwing stopped trying to hide his smile as he and Diana both finished readying their packs. “I really am not a morning pony but you set me up so perfectly it would have been criminal to miss that cue.”

Diana growled. “Even if you’ve become accustomed to waking up in the rain some of us are used to nicer sleeping arrangements.”

He gave her a playful shove. “Oh lighten up. At least the ground isn’t muddy yet; think how much worse it would be if we were slogging through a swamp or something.”

They spent most of the day slogging through a swamp.

Watchwing noticed the slight downward slope of the ground and its attendant softening first and realized what they were heading into. Unfortunately, he didn’t know the way to their destination precisely enough to take a detour so plowing straight through it was the only option. Diana realized what they were heading into shortly afterward, when her hooves started sticking to the ground. The pink alicorn’s glare drilled into the back of Watchwing’s head but she didn’t voice complaints.

The earth beneath their hooves gave way to marshy and stagnant water that came up to their chests in places. They walked directly forward, not bothering to try and find the driest path since the rain would have found any dry spots that the marsh had missed. Besides, without landmarks if they started turning they would have no way to regain their bearings. Flying was unfortunately out of the question because of both Watchwing’s phobia and their already wet wings.

Grey water reflected grey sky and the grey mist provided a seamless link between the two. As they trundled along Diana found herself entering a trancelike state. She could almost feel her memories growing fainter, drifting to the back of her mind. It became difficult to recall anything other than the present. It seemed to her that she had never been anywhere else or done anything other than follow the pony in front of her. The pony whose name she simply could not remember.

It concerned her, but only in an abstract way. Idly, she considered the situation. Why am I following this pony if I don’t know his name? Should I know his name? I think so, but what could it have been? Still, the alternative to following him was to simply stand there in that unpleasant place and Diana found that option even less attractive than proceeding blindly behind a pony she could not remember.

Her musings were interrupted by a sudden voice from the mist. “Diana, where are you?” At the sound of her name she and the pony ahead of her turned and watched as the owner of the voice grew closer. The owner was bipedal, female, wore a black uniform with a red stripe across the top, and had a sword on her left hip. A flicker of unease ran through Diana at the sight of this strange creature, as if she should know and fear it, but nothing concrete came to mind. So she stayed next to the nameless blue pegasus and waited for the creature to catch up.

The creature quickly caught up to the two waiting ponies. “Hello, I’m looking for someone named Diana, have you seen her?” it asked.

“I am Diana, why were you looking for me?” she replied.

Before the biped could answer the other pony sighed with relief. “So that’s your name!” he exclaimed. “I knew I should have known what it was but I simply couldn’t recall it.”

“In that case I hope you won’t think it rude if I ask for your name? I can’t seem to recall yours either.” Diana said abashedly.

“I’m Watchwing.”

Diana’s unease grew stronger when she heard his name. It didn’t ring any bells but somewhere deeper down she felt a certainty that this was a very important name to her, one she would never have forgotten by mere chance. Heart full of trepidation she turned back to the biped. “Now that you know our names, would you mind telling us your name as well?”

The creature shook its head sadly. “My kind does not receive names, just titles. I’m the captain of the wall; call me Captain.”

Watchwing and Diana exchanged a skeptical look. The instinctual and casual nature of the look confirmed for both that they were well acquainted even if the how or why of it escaped them. Watchwing spoke their mutual question. “You clearly aren’t a pony, would you mind telling us what you are and why you were looking for Diana?”

“I am a homunculus,” Captain said proudly. “A being of great honor and power. As for why I was looking for Diana…I don’t really know.” The pride in its voice had vanished, replaced with confusion. “All I can remember is that I was seeking somepony named Diana. But…I don’t even know what to do now that I’ve found you.”

Captain’s situation sounded eerily similar to Diana’s own memory loss. Twice is a coincidence, three times and something’s going on. She turned to Watchwing and inquired “What about you? Can you remember where you were going?”

“I was looking for a tree of some kind but…” He trailed off and shook his head. “I don’t know why.”

A healthy dose of panic was settling in Diana’s stomach but she forced her voice to remain calm. “In other words, none of us have any personal memories other than our name and the immediate task we were just engaged in. Is that correct?” They nodded.

There was a moment of silence, broken only by the gentle plinking sound the rain made as it hit the water, while the three of them considered their situation. Watchwing was the first to speak. “It seems to me” he said carefully “that the old adage ‘if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there’ applies rather well in this situation. Regardless of our unknown long term goals we would still be well served by finding shelter.”

Diana smiled. “Well, hay, the only goal I recall was following you anyway, so lead on.”

“Might I come along as well?” Captain asked diffidently. Diana’s instincts were screaming at her to refuse, to get as a far away from Captain as possible. However, before she could figure out a way to do so, Watchwing had already answered in the affirmative and without a concrete reason Diana didn’t feel she could gainsay him.

So they set off, with Watchwing in the lead, Captain in the middle, and Diana bringing up the rear. With only two ponies it had been quiet walk but having a third member livened things up. Conversation flowed easily as they questioned one another to see what memories could be brought to the surface. While not terribly productive, it certainly made an otherwise dreary walk much more interesting. Still Diana worried. Her instinctual rapport with Watchwing suggested that he was trustworthy but Captain, on the other hoof, made her exceedingly nervous and for no good reason.

Diana allowed the conversation to pass her by as she turned her mind to the cause of their current state. Hmm, the way I see it the odds of three unrelated cases of natural amnesia so close together are infinitesimally low. Therefore there is probably an external source that caused the memory loss for all three of us. Now I don’t remember where Watchwing or I was before this but, since Captain approached from a different direction, it seems likely that she didn’t come from the same place that we did. So whatever caused us to lose our memory is probably present in this swamp. Diana glanced around hopefully. Alas, nothing in the immediate vicinity bore a sign saying ‘amnesiac’.

Okay, I didn’t really expect it to be that easy. Let’s think what’s in the swamp. All I can think of is water and the occasional underwater plant. The plants can probably be ruled out since there are so few and Captain probably hasn’t encountered the same plants that we have anyway. The water then?

Reaching for her magic, Diana tried to scan it to detect any abnormal effects it might have, a task complicated by the fact that she had no idea what she was doing. An idea suggested itself to her, inspired by Watchwing’s method of sight, which she remembered for some unknown reason. She concentrated for a moment and emitted a pulse designed to bounce off, and by so doing light up, any other magic it encountered. Nothing happened but there was no way to know if that was because the spell was flawed or if it was because there was nothing to discover. Either way, her magic had made her thirsty. The amateur magician lowered her head and took a small sip of the water, swirling it around in her mouth to see if she could detect any abnormalities that way. She couldn’t. But then, there was no reason to think the water would taste different even if it had caused the memory loss. Shrugging, she swallowed the water and glanced around again.

It would be a hay of a lot easier to find possible causes if the mist weren’t obscuring everything. Wait…the mist! Her excitement grew as she prepared to cast her improvised magic detection spell again, this time aiming it at the mist that surrounded the three travelers. Immediately, the mist began to glow, dimly at first, then brighter and brighter. A golden shell of light, caused by her spell spread outward in all directions, its light refracted into thousands of brilliant rays by the falling drops of rain. It was a scintillating display of radiance but unfortunately proved to be of little use illuminating their environs as the mist rapidly returned to its previous opaque state. Only after it was finished did Diana realize that Captain was staring at her questioningly.

“Looks like my magic still works, good to know.” she said as nonchalantly as she could.

The Captain nodded in agreement. “It’s always good to know what tools you have at your disposal. Still that was a rather flashy way to go about it, no?”

Diana let her head hang slightly. “It was flashier than I expected. And considering the difficulty I had casting it I don’t think I was ever very good at magic to being with.” Good, this way she won’t ask what spell I was casting. I don’t think I want her to know about the mist quite yet. Besides, neither of them can use magic and I have no idea what kind of spell might reverse this. So the optimal solution is to leave the mist as soon as possible, which we’re trying to do anyway.

“Are you guys coming or what?” Watchwing called back over his shoulder. His ‘sight’ couldn’t pick up light so all he had seen was his two companions stopping for no apparent reason.

“Coming!” Diana called. She and Captain trotted to catch up and Captain resumed her previous conversation with Watchwing. Meanwhile, Diana’s thoughts had returned to the mist. Surreptitiously, she telekinetically lifted a small rag from her saddle bags. It floated in the mist, imbibing the strange gas. When the rag grew damp with water vapor Diana wrapped it in a magical cocoon to prevent the substance from leaking out, all the while lamenting her inability to do so more efficiently. It left her feeling faint but by the end she had a sample of the mist carefully preserved inside the cloth.

If I’m right about Captain then this might come in handy

Pleased with her preparations Diana shook off the spell induced lethargy and joined the others in their conversation.

***

Hours passed as they walked, talking of nothing, asking questions, receiving answers. It was pleasant really, and for a time Diana forgot the nagging worry at the back of her mind. Though the rain was just as wet, the mist was just as obscuring and, as Diana now knew, amnesia-causing as ever the engaging conversation made it all seem less important.

All around them the water gained a slight current, flowing from left to right. It wasn’t terribly strong but Diana and Watchwing were forced to fold their wings to prevent the water from catching on them. Watchwing also had to rely on water currents to see. A more difficult and inaccurate process somewhat similar to the vision an ordinary pony would have underwater. Despite their difficulties the low center of gravity and four legs each pony possessed allowed them to keep their balance with relative ease. Not so with Captain; her greater height and two legs made even the middle current somewhat dangerous.

They came at last to a river within the swamp. There was simply no other way to describe it. The water on either side flowed slowly and calmly but in the middle it rushed past. Whitecaps rose and fell as the impossible river splashed and frothed before the travelers.

Watchwing wing bent his legs, immersing the nerve centers under his wings to the current to take a look through the water ahead of them. After a moment he straightened up with a warning. “Careful, there’s a sharp drop off where the water begins to flow swiftly. I can’t tell exactly how far down it goes but it seems pretty deep.”

Diana was dismayed. “How the hay are we going to cross this? Wings would be ideal but,” she lifted her sodden wings slightly “that isn’t exactly an option.” She caught sight of the Captains grin. “What are you smirking about?” she asked.

In answer Captain turned around, revealing a pair of black bat-like wings folded tightly against her back, kept dry by her waterproof clothing. “Wings like mine deal with water much better than pegasus wings; it’s the lack of feathers see? I can fly across, no problem.”

“Ok that works for you, then how are we going to get across?” There was a moment of silence as the three considered Watchwing’s question.

“Oh! I’ve got it!” Diana turned and began rooting through her pack. “This should be all we’ll need” she said, pulling out a long coil of rope.

The other two exchanged a look. “Care to enlighten us, Diana?” Watchwing asked. “A rope might work if we had something to tie it to but as it is I don’t see how that helps us.”

“Simple. Captain flies over with one end of the rope. You both pull from either side to keep it tight. I wrap one wing around it to keep myself steady against the current and swim across. Then I hold the other end with telekinesis and Watchwing swims across. Nice and easy.”

Watchwing was understandably hesitant. “From what I heard earlier today you probably aren’t very good with spells. Are you sure you can hold it tight enough with just your magic?”

“Absolutely, telekinesis is hardly even a spell. It’s the first thing any magic user learns.” Diana refused to allow even a trace of uncertainty color her confident response. “Trust me, I can hold it tight. Besides, unless you want to turn back we have to cross and I can’t think of any other way to do so.”

“What if the rope breaks?” Watchwing asked, still unconvinced.

“Then a transparent frog that’s really a prince in disguise will jump out of the river and hold the rope together until you cross and you’ll have to marry it in exchange.” Diana deadpanned. “It’d be a shame to get married that way but at least you’ll survive.”

Captain nodded sagely. “Ah yes, the transparent frog princes, I hear they’re common around these parts.”

“Fine!” He glared at them but their smirks held firm against its withering effect. “You win, we’ll try it. Just don’t complain to me when we all get washed away and drown.”

“Noted, there will be no postmortem complaints. I’ll just take that.” Captain grabbed one end of the rope. “See ya on the other side.” Her wings spread through special flaps in her clothing and she leapt upward, taking to the air.

The rope was only marginally longer than the embedded river was wide, so Captain was forced to fly low over the water. Unfortunately, this put her too low to escape when an especially large wave came rushing downriver. Diana and Watchwing could only watch helplessly as the wave swatted Captain into the roiling waters below.

Caught in the fearsome flow, Captain repeatedly strove to surface and was repeatedly pulled under. Meanwhile, she was being rapidly ferried along by the current and the rope was unwinding behind her. Moving quickly, Diana just managed to bite down on the end of the rope and dig in her heels, bracing for the impact. It struck without warning. Suddenly, the line grew taught and Diana felt herself being dragged forward, towards the dangerous river. Watchwing caught her tail and braced her from behind but pegasi tend to be light and his weight was insufficient to halt her forward slide.

Desperate, Diana reached out with telekinesis and sought to pull Captain toward her. She’d never tried to move anything that heavy before and the constant disappearances interrupted her spell. For a moment it seemed her power was insufficient and they would all be dragged to their deaths. To the ponies’ credit, even when it seemed they would be dragged to their deaths along with the captain neither considered releasing the rope. Fortunately, a lull in the river’s ferocity allowed Captain to stay surfaced for several seconds, allowing Diana to establish a firm telekinetic grip on her. Between the efforts of might and magic Captain was slowly dragged back into the safety of the swamp.

The group collapsed, panting, into the slower moving water. The sudden effort had taken a lot out of them. Diana was the first to recover. She turned to Watchwing with a hint of her previous smile on her face. “Oh ye of little faith, I told you the rope would hold.”

Captain burst out laughing. Watchwing and Diana exchanged looks; they didn’t remember that laughter was Discord’s Prayer, but the unfamiliar action still unsettled them. However, Captain’s moment of levity quickly passed and she spoke seriously to the ponies. “I owe you, both of you. You saved my life. This might be the memory loss talking but I don’t believe anyone else I’ve met would have risked themselves to save me as you did. Truly, I won’t forget that. Thanks.”

She shook the water off her wings and smiled. “Ah, the advantages of not having feathers. Give me a moment more and I’ll be ready to try again. This time I’ll fly over first and you send the rope over afterward with your magic, sound good Diana?”

Diana nodded. “Sounds like a better plan. Sorry, I should have considered this more carefully.”

“We all should have. Still, as long as Captain’s careful there’s no reason it won’t work.”

Captain nodded her agreement at Watchwing’s words. “Now let’s give this another try.” No ill-timed waves interrupted the Captain’s flight this time around and the ponies’ crossings were similarly uneventful. The three of them continued on; glad to be past the strange swamp dwelling river.

Eventually, the ground began to slope upwards. The mist began to thin and trees began to reappear. The waters receded and the ground firmed underhoof until at last they left the marsh behind and reentered the forest proper. It was late by then and the last vestiges of orange light were rapidly receding beyond the western skyline. Still the travelers continued, wanting to put as much ground as possible between themselves and the odd marsh.

At last Watchwing called for a halt. Diana didn’t say anything but she was glad to be stopping for the night. Her earlier spells had taken a lot out of her and there had been nowhere to rest in the swamp. She did wonder, though, why he had called a halt at that particular point.

As if reading her mind Watchwing gestured toward the nearest tree. “I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the tree I was originally looking for but I’m very glad to see one of its kind nonetheless. It’s called Traveler’s Pine. See the downward diagonal angle to the branches and the thickness of the needles? It keeps the area around its trunk dry and causes any fallen branches to fall inside. Furthermore, the sap’s consistency and composition makes it very fire resistant. So, between the free kindling, shelter, and fire resistance, it makes an ideal resting place for weary travelers such as the three of us.” He pulled aside a low hanging branch and they filed inside.

It was dark inside, the branches proved as adept at blocking the remaining sunlight as they were at blocking the rain. Captain and Diana hesitated near the entrance, waiting for their eyes to adjust. Watchwing was rummaging through his pack. He withdrew a small object and gave it a sharp rap with his hoof. Immediately, a warm glow emanated from the rock he held, illuminating the space beneath the tree.

“It’s called a solar geode.” He said in answer to their questioning glances. “It absorbs sunlight and emits it when you tap it. This way we can all start warming up and drying off while we get the fire going.”

“So that’s what it’s called. I’ve been wondering about the light source from the first night in your cave.” Diana gasped. “Wait! I remember your cave!”

Captain smiled. “I was wondering when you’d notice. Our memories have been coming back in bits and pieces since we left the marsh. For instance, I remember that I was a soldier, though that was sort of obvious given the title my name comes from. What about you, Watchwing?”

“Let’s see…I think I grew up in a village outside this forest. I still don’t remember how I came to live here but I do remember finding Diana and most of what followed. Unfortunately, I still don’t recall any more details about the purpose of this little adventure.”

“I’m the same way, vague details are starting to fill in but I don’t remember why I was looking for Diana.” Captain said glumly.

Diana looked from one morose face to the other. “Cheer up. at least we know our memories are coming back. I’m sure everything will be back in place soon. Let’s get a fire going now; you’ll both feel better when you’re not soaking wet. Captain please cut some of the lower branches, Watchwing you start preparing some food and I’ll gather kindling and get the fire started.”

Watchwing and Captain shook off their melancholy and set to the tasks Diana had assigned.

Everyone worked quickly, shouting out to the others every now and then as a specific memory returned. Before long a fire was burning cheerfully and the evening meal was ready. They were famished and swiftly devoured the food, enjoying it more for the temperature than the taste. Diana was hoping that they could talk after dinner, share more of their returning memories. However, she found a full belly and warm fire too soporific to resist and was soon fast asleep.

***

Diana awoke staring down the business end of a sword. She blinked and raised her eyes to the sword’s owner. A moment of confusion followed as she strove to reconcile the friendly smiling Captain she remembered from the previous evening with the grim faced warrior standing over her now. Then the memory of their previous confrontation filled her mind. Her eyes widened in fear and she tried to push herself back, away from the sword.

Captain laughed a cruel mocking sound that was a far cry from the easy laughter of yesterday. She stepped closer, moving the sword to Diana’s neck, and knelt down so that they were at eye level. “Oh good, you remember me. I remember you, Diana Piecus. I’ve been sent to kill you and indeed nothing would make me happier.”

She was about to strike a fatal blow when she hesitated a moment and then lowered her blade. “You saved my life though, back at the river, and I owe you something for that. So here’s what’s going to happen. After we conclude our business I’m going to fly away. I’ll make my excuses to my superiors and hold off the search for you for three days. When those three days are up my debt for saving my life will be paid and I will devote every erg of my not inconsiderable skills to finding and ending you. Sound good?”

“Just what makes you think we’ll let you leave here alive?” Diana had regained her courage while the captain was speaking but fear lent her voice a stronger edge that she would have chosen given her vulnerable situation. “The two of us should be able to handle you and I’m sure you’d agree its best not to leave enemies alive.”

“Hello? I’m holding a sword to your throat. That means I decide how this is going to go down. So either it happens as I said or you die right here, you and Watchwing both. Make your choice.”

“Diana’s mouth curled with distaste at accepting Captain’s charity but she really didn’t have a choice. “Fine, leave and we’ll take your three days”

Captain nodded and stood up. She walked to the exit and was about to leave when she stopped and called over her shoulder. “Oh, Diana?” Faster than the eye could follow she lunged across the intervening space and drove her sword clean through Diana’s right front hoof. “I pay all my debts.” She whispered menacingly.

Pain exploded from Diana’s leg and coursed through her body. She wanted nothing more than to scream but a perverse sense of pride kept her from it. She didn’t scream when I stabbed her, I won’t scream now. I won’t give her the satisfaction she thought angrily. Blood bubbled from the wound and flowed down her leg as Captain withdrew the blade. She whipped her arm sideways, splattering the blade’s blood on the wall of branches, then sheathed the newly clean weapon and left.

Upon her exit Watchwing immediately jumped up and began pulling supplies from his bag. He was muttering to himself. “Let’s see, crushed Eucalyptus, Aloe, and something to hold it closed…there.” Having found the supplies he was looking for he dashed over to Diana. Using a paste, presumably made from the materials he had mentioned, he cleaned out the wound and placed a liberal helping of the gel over top of it then wrapped it in a tight tourniquet to stop the bleeding. Only when that was finished did he turn his attention to Diana’s eyes and the anger contained therein.

“Thank you for the first aid.” Her voice was tightened with strain, as if she was trying very hard to not lash out at Watchwing. “May I just ask why you didn’t help earlier, before the first aid was necessary?”

He flinched at the harsh accusation in her tone and hurriedly explained himself. “I only woke up after she had the sword out. From your description of her I figured that she wouldn’t have any compunction about killing you in your sleep; since she didn’t kill you while you were still asleep it seemed logical that she wasn’t planning on killing you at all. I didn’t expect her to hurt you at the end there though, I’m sorry.”

Diana’s expression softened. “No, you’re right. If you’d suddenly attacked her she probably would have just killed me outright. I’m not mad at you, I just…I hate being powerless. Having to lie there hoping Captain would let me live on a whim…it was awful. I wonder if bloodlust isn’t preferable…” She trailed off and shook her head. “Well in any case let’s not do that again hmm?”

“Agreed” Watchwing said with a small smile. She smiled back through the pain in her limb and started struggling to her feet. “What do you think you’re doing?” Watchwing scolded. “You shouldn’t stand on that leg for at least another three days. Now like back down.”

“I can handle it. I deferred to you about my wing since they’re more complicated but limbs are simple enough that I can get away with ignoring it. I’m part earth pony remember? We’re tougher and recover faster than other ponies. Between that and using my wings for extra support I shouldn’t even slow us down. Besides, considering what we’ve been through so far I want to get to where we’re going before anything else goes wrong.”

Watchwing frowned but he admitted to himself that he’d rather not stay in an unfamiliar part of the forest with an injured pony any longer than he had to anyway. “Fine, we can get going. If it starts to hurt-” he paused, then rephrased what he’d been about to say. “I know it’s going to hurt. If the pain gets significantly worse or starts to feel odd in any way let me know. I’ll not have you losing a leg on my watch.”

Diana just nodded absently, listening with half an ear as she repacked her saddlebags and lifted them onto her back. Watchwing sighed at her lack of attention. He packed his own bag and together they set off on the last leg of their journey into the depths of the wood.

Deals Struck and Oaths Made

The Element of Laughter

Chapter four: Deal’s struck and Oaths made

The forest was peaceful and quiet as Diana and Watchwing walked below the spreading canopy of the ancient trees. Birds chirping, insects buzzing, and the occasional small creature scampering through the undergrowth were the only sounds that met their ears. Rather than break the quiet, the animals’ noises enhanced it, filling the air with all the beautifully prosaic sounds of life in a wood. The now familiar nature of that noise was calming to Diana, especially after the difficult few days she’d had. As the canopy dappled her mane in complex patterns of light and shadows the sun’s brilliance cradled her, warming body and soul. And she needed that warmth, desperately. Despite appearances, she hadn’t come to terms with the bloodlust she’d displayed two days ago and before she could try the very memory of it had been taken from her. That, naturally, carried its own mental strain, further complicated by the rescue and subsequent confrontation with Captain.

Diana sighed, sending nearby falling leaves spinning away. It had been difficult to live through and now it was difficult to put away. But the here and now demanded her attention so persuasively by virtue of its simple excellence that she felt the past falling away, even as her last missing memories fell into place. A knot of tension she hadn’t known she was carrying melted away and, dull pain in her leg notwithstanding, she felt complete in a way she hadn’t since leaving Watchwing’s cave.

Her introspection had occupied the better part of the morning and by the time she surfaced it was nearing lunchtime. As hunger reared its head they stumbled upon a small clear space near a stream, the perfect spot for a quick lunch. After a quick check of their surroundings for lurking octocumbers, they settled down for a meal.

Refreshed by the meal Diana was feeling far more alert after they had started out once more. It was because of this new alertness that she began to notice something was odd about the forest. While recovering back at Watchwing’s cave she had grown used to being tripped up by roots and scratched by branches. That was simply what one expected in a wood no matter how careful one might be. However, as the two ponies traveled onward she found the ground smooth underhoof and the branches always placed just to the side of where they were walking. Initially Diana though it was merely good fortune, they were certainly due for a run of good luck.

All of a sudden, she spotted a root lowering itself into the ground in front of Watchwing. She nudged him and pointed at the rapidly disappearing root. He seemed relieved that she’d noticed it. “Oh good, I was starting to wonder if my sight was acting up. So you noticed it too?”

“I noticed the going seemed a bit easier but I didn’t realize why. What’s going on?” She had stopped walking and Watchwing stopped as well.

He shook his head. “I don’t know, but the branches have been moving out of our way and, as you saw, the roots avoiding tripping us up. Maybe this is to be expected. We’re going to meet with a ruler of trees, isn’t it to be expected that his subjects should make way for us now that we’re so near?”

“I suppose so, but let’s keep our eyes open.”

“Agreed.” Watchwing said, leading the way forward once more.

As they continued they realized that it was more than merely an easing of their path. The forest was actually guiding them in a certain direction. Any attempts to turn aside were met with a suddenly impassable tangle of branches and roots that had certainly not been there the previous moment.

Diana whinnied in irritation as her path was blocked for a third time. “I don’t know what this tree thinks it’s playing at, but I don’t like being corralled and herded like this. A lack of choice is why I ran away in the first place and if it can’t understand that I’m not sure meeting it is the best idea.”

“I don’t think it understands how we would view this.” The flightless pegasus offered reasonably. “If you’ve never moved, how would you understand the value ambulatory creatures place on freedom of movement?”

She opened her mouth to respond but further discussion was postponed as they entered a clearing and its entire perimeter, including the way they had entered, was sealed by the plant-based obstructions that had kept them from deviating earlier. They paused at the outskirts and examined circle before them. It contained the oddest tree either of them had ever seen. The trunk was bone white and perfectly smooth. It emerged directly from the ground with no sign of roots and rose unchanging to about twice their height, around eight feet. At that point it widened as it rose still further, giving the impression that some giant had placed a huge bowl on top of a long pole.

“How very strange.” Watchwing remarked. “That top part slopes back inward so there’s a depression inside that hemisphere. All my currents get focused into the bottom of the bowl before bouncing back out.” He seemed perplexed. “If it just happened at certain spots it might be an accident but it’s too perfectly formed for that.” His eyes widened as he understood. “This is what we’ve been looking for. That shape isn’t designed to focus air, though it does that too, it’s designed to focus the magic signals it sends and receives through other trees, that’s how it communicates!”

Welcome little brother, Huntress. I am the Tiresian. Partake of my sunlight, drink of my water.

A voice echoed throughout the clearing, bringing with it in full force the sense of an alien presence, a consciousness that was unquestionably there, even if it couldn’t be sensed directly. The ponies exchanged a look and Diana smiled slightly. “Well looks like you were right. We have made it. Now let’s see if this we can’t get enough answers to make this trip worthwhile.” Assuming the offer of sunlight and water was strictly pro forma, as they already had sunlight and there was no water present, they trotted forward and settled themselves on the grass under the bowl-like overhang, Diana being mindful of her injured leg.

The Tiresian’s greeting had piqued Watchwing’s curiosity so he ended up asking the first question. “Tiresian, why call me little brother or her huntress? What is the meaning behind these names?”

Tiresian: the sightless one who sees all things. A naming that fits both you and me. A Huntress seeks and finds and slays. War, your hound, heralds your coming, rivers of blood follow in your train.

As the words echoed in the enclosed space Diana paled to a light pink. She had come for knowledge of Discord and received confirmation of her bloodlust’s importance to her nature. Assuming what it says is true, she thought. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “How can you know this?”

All the wood knows the Huntress at her passing. A dance of predator and prey woven into what is, was, and will be.

The Tiresian sounded genuinely confused, as if it realized she was disturbed by its words but couldn’t conceive of why that might be. Watchwing, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to Diana’s discomfort at the direction the conversation was taking. His ears flicked back and forth, his tail swayed to and fro, and his wings jittered visibly in their perpetual minute vibration. When he spoke it was quick, eager even. “What can you tell us about her prey, about Discord?” He leaned forward. “Do you know how to kill him?”

The Twisted Tree cannot be uprooted.

Dismayed, Watchwing sat back. In the meantime, Diana had regained her composure, mostly be promising herself that she would consider the matter later. When it came to Discord she reasoned that, even if the Tiresian didn’t know how to kill him outright, it still might have useful information. “What can you tell us about him?” she asked.

I will tell you three truths in exchange for one favor.

“What favor might that be?” As if in answer to Diana’s query the base of the Tiresian’s trunk split open slightly and small spherical object rolled forth and came to a halt at Diana’s feet.

Carry my seed hence that I may observe the world beyond the wood.

She turned to Watchwing and quirked an eyebrow. “What do you think? It seems a bit risky but I’m hesitant to pass it up.”

“The Tiresian has not acted hostile; I made a deal with him in my early days of dwelling in the wood, why should you not do the same?” Watchwing shrugged. “Besides, I doubt we could find this information for any price anywhere else.”

Diana nodded and returned her attention to the Tiresian. “I accept your deal.”

A second time I ask, is our deal struck?

The alicorn nodded firmly. “Our deal is struck.”

For thrice and done, will you bind yourself by this pact?

“For thrice and done, I bind myself by this pact.”

Thrice asked, thrice agreed. Take the seed and receive your truths.

Diana reached down and lifted the seed with her uninjured front hoof. As soon as she touched it, the seed began to glow with an internal light. It burst into shining motes of light which pressed into and then through Diana’s hoof. The sensation was odd but not unpleasant. A vibrating tingle ran up her limb and spread across the rest of her body, causing her to start trembling. Slowly, the vibration began to fade and with it the trembling ceased.

Watchwing had watched the process with concern. “Are you okay Diana? Does, anything feel odd?”

She smiled. “I’m fine, nothing feels any different but I’ve held up my end of this deal. Now let’s see what it’s bought us. Well, Tiresian? What truths will you share?”

The Twisted Tree grew in far off soil, familiar to your kind and mine.

Only through the birthright of all monsters could it ascend through dominion of Chaos.

Mortal might and magic alone will fail, but the laurel might crown an equal of opposite birthright and dominion.

Diana and Watchwing were running over the hints in their minds, paying special attention so as to fix them in their memory. Meanwhile the Tiresian was still speaking.

The agreement is fulfilled. My seed shall preserve the memories of you and your companion when you travel through the ring of mindless mist once more. Now I must sleep, fashioning words is difficult for one such as I.

As the voice fell silent the air in the clearing changed, the presence that had saturated it was gone, leaving a clear feeling of emptiness in its place. Diana blinked at the Tiresian’s sudden departure. “I suppose as a tree it doesn’t have a strong conception of manners but leaving that fast is just plain rude.”

Watchwing shrugged. “The deal was fulfilled and since it didn’t want anything else from you, you wouldn’t have been able to extract anything more from it anyway. More importantly, what do you make of its hints?”

“Well that third hint suggests that there is some way to beat Discord, but other than that I don’t have a clue. Did you get anything else?”

The pegasus dropped his head in thought. “Something about the first hint is tickling the corners of my mind but…I got nothing.”

During their conversation with the Tiresian the sun had dropped below the canopy and the lengthening shadows obscured the clearing. Though Diana only noticed this change when she looked over at Watchwing to gauge his expression and found that she could not see his face.

“Let’s set this aside for now. We’ll think more clearly in the morning and I’d like some dinner before it gets too dark for me to see.” She winced, realizing that her previous sentence might have hurt Watchwing’s feelings, but pressed on, hoping to speed by the awkward comment. “Do you think we could have a fire? I’d dearly love a hot meal.”

“Burning wood next to a sentient tree seems like a pretty horrible idea.” As if in agreement the trees around the clearing began to sway menacingly, despite the still air.

With a nervous smile Diana nodded. “No fire it is then.”

They had a simple dinner, greens with the occasional wild root to add flavor and texture. Their conversation consisted of minor things, details of the lives they’d left behind, amusing anecdotes, the comfortable conversation of friends at ease, much like the dinners Diana used to know back on the farm. And if they studiously avoided mentioning Discord or Captain or the truths they’d received, well that’s understandable. They’d had their fill of weighty talk for the time being.

That night was the first time they were in a clearing wide enough to permit star-gazing, though Diana knew better than to mention it to Watchwing. Nonetheless, she made sure the place she rested her head had a clear view of the sky above. Long after the conversation had faded and Watchwing’s deep breathing indicated he had fallen asleep Diana remained awake, gazing up at the stars above and feeling very far from home.

***

The next morning Diana awoke with a plan. It wasn’t a complicated plan. In fact, it was exceedingly similar to the plan that she had had before making the trip to see the Tiresian. What she planned to do was to wander Discord’s kingdom and ask anypony that she met, or anyone for that matter, if they knew anything about the three truths she had been given. At the very least she would accomplish her original goal of seeing the world and at best she might run into somepony with useful knowledge.

Consolidating her plan into its present form occupied her thoughts through the breakfast Watchwing had been kind enough to prepare before she woke. When they had finished eating and their bags were packed, Diana turned to Watchwing to say goodbye.

“Well, I guess this is it. You’ll go back to your home and I’ll start the wandering I originally escaped to pursue.”

“Diana-“

“Oh that’s right!” she gasped. “You won’t be able to make it through the mist alone.”

“Diana-”

“I’m so sorry I didn’t realize you’d have to go so far out of your way and I-“

“DIANA!” Watchwing shouted, silencing the babbling pink pony. “What makes you think I’m going back to my cave?”

She blinked, confused by his question. “That’s your home, isn’t it?”

“It’s where I lived but a cave in the woods is hardly a home worth returning to. I intended to wander with you, if you don’t object.”

Her eyes narrowed and the suspicions she held at the beginning of their journey came roaring back. Why help me? He’s known me for all of a week and he’s going to abandon everything to travel with me. That doesn’t make any sense.

“I do object. It’s not going to be safe. From what Captain threatened it seems likely that the homunculi will be looking for me and she’s already demonstrated her willingness to kill you if you get in her way.”

Obstinately, Watchwing shook his head. “I don’t care if it’s dangerous, I want to come.”

“Why? For that matter why did you bring me here? I find it hard to believe you’re accompanying me out of the goodness of your heart. Nopony is that generous.” Diana stomped her uninjured foreleg. “Unless you can tell me the real reason you’ve helped me and wish to continue to do so at great personal risk, I don’t dare let you come with me.”

Watchwing smiled a dangerous smile, one at odds with his normally placid visage. “You want to know why? It’s simple. I want to see Discord toppled. I could say that I desire his downfall for the good of ponies everywhere, or because I don’t want my family to live under his yoke but that would be a lie and lies are his tools, not mine. I don’t give a flying feather about the ponies who abandoned me or the plight of those suffering under his rule. I just want vengeance. The only way I can hurt him as he hurt me is to take his kingdom away from him and that’s what I intend to do.” He growled as he spoke, deep and low in the back of his throat.

Diana winced at the pure venom in Watchwing’s words. However, something about his rant didn’t fit right. After a moment’s thought she realized what it was. “That doesn’t have anything to do with me. You helped me before you knew I opposed Discord and, come to think of it, destabilizing Discord would probably be easier if you weren’t travelling with a wanted pony.”

“Nothing to do with you? Ha!” He snorted derisively. “Think it through. From the aeries of the griffons to the caves of the dragons to the tunnels of the canids to the towns of the ponies, Discord dealt with all of them the same way. He left a garrison of soldiers to remind every race of their master but, other than that and his occasional mad exploit, he allowed them to live unhindered, so long as he was unopposed. There’s only one race that he hunted nearly to extinction, one race that he contains in a single village to which he doesn’t permit entrance or egress save for his homunculi.”

With a sinking feeling Diana realized what Watchwing was getting at but there was no stopping him now.

“The alicorns!” He shouted, confirming her fears. “Yours is the only species he’s beaten down in that fashion. And the only reason I can think of for him to treat you so differently is that he’s afraid of you! I don’t know how or why but I’ll bet my life, I am betting my life, that only an alicorn can defeat Discord!” The pegasus was breathing hard as he finished his speech. Despite that he appeared triumphant, as if by stating such a thing he could make it so.

She sighed, cocked one wing back, and wing-slapped him across the face. He flinched, but his wild expression began to fade. He started to protest the rough treatment, only to be interrupted by Diana. “Are you ready to listen to me? Good. First of all, everything you just said is based on your assumption that you can follow the thought processes of the god of chaos. That’s a rather slender thread on which to hang your life. Secondly, speaking as an alicorn, there is nothing I can think of that would give us any appreciable advantage in combating Discord. Yes we have the abilities of all the pony races. But everypony knows that our skill with any individual ability is less than that of the least member of the race whose birthright it is. Finally, there’s no way I can take you with me on a quest to defeat Discord if you lose control like that at the mere thought of him.”

“What about your tendency to-“Watchwing started to snap before he cut himself off. Even in his anger he knew better than to complete that sentence. Unfortunately, Diana could complete it on her own.

“What about my tendency to lose control, is that what you were going to say?” She shouldn’t have let it get to her but it was the third time in four days that that particular emotional wound had been prodded. And so, tears gathered at the corners of her brilliant blue eyes. She choked them back; weakness was not something she could afford at the moment. “That was unworthy of you Watchwing. It was cruel.”

“Cruel or not it needed to be said.” Watchwing’s control had returned and he spoke with the calm implacable truthfulness that was so often the hallmark of his speech. “My tendency to lose control might put us in jeopardy but the same is possible of your own bloodlust, or hadn’t you thought of that?”

“I hadn’t” Diana admitted, her own control returned as well. “This changes nothing though. Just because I lose my temper rather dramatically is no reason to bring along somepony else with a similar problem.”

“Perhaps, but it might be valuable to have another pony around to act as a touchstone. You could tell me when I’m losing control and I could tell you. That way neither of us should get into too much trouble.”

Diana eyed him carefully. “You really are dead set on coming with me, aren’t you?”

“What else should I do, sit in my care and wait patiently for a second opportunity to come crashing into my life?” Watchwing straightened up and stared straight at her, his empty eye sockets a not-so-subtle reminder that he had already lost a great deal to Discord’s malice. “No. Even if you refuse my company I intend to leave these woods behind for good. It’s time to stop hiding and start fighting back, however and wherever I can.”

After hearing that, there was really only one course of action for Diana to take. “If…If you swear…swear your strongest oath to listen when I tell you that you’re losing control, then I think we can travel together.”

“Will you swear the same oath, to listen to me when you’re getting out of control?” Watchwing asked.

“I will.”

He nodded. “Then I will swear by the only oath a pegasus would ever use.” Watchwing stood up and flared his favorite appendages. “By the wind in my wings and the blue sky above me, I swear to follow your will when my own is compromised.” The azure wings descended to their normal levels and he turned to Diana. “Your turn.” He said

Not to be outdone Diana stood up, flared her wings, and lit her horn with the vibrant pink glow of her magic. She had never been told the oath of an alicorn but she knew what to say. “By my magic within, my strength below, and my flight above I swear to follow your will when my own is compromised.”

The silence that followed was curiously calm, as if the world around the two ponies had been holding its breath and could now let that breath go. Something had been decided here, something momentous. Even if neither knew exactly what that might be, they could still appreciate its significance. The travelers, rebels now, stood still, deliberately allowing the silence to last for a moment more.

When the moment had passed Diana shouldered her saddlebags. “Come. We have miles to go before we sleep and it’s past time we left this place.” Without waiting for an answer she raised her voice slightly. “Tiresian, a path to the nearest edge of the woods, if you please.” In response, an opening in the otherwise impassable ring of trees appeared to their left and they set off on the next leg of their journey.

***

The gentle scratching of quill against parchment as it wrote out Diana’s last few sentences was the only sound in Twilight’s basement room. It formed a silence that served as a counterpoint to the silence in the story. Instead of the silence that comes when all the words have been said, it was a silence that carried the weight of all the words that were yet to be spoken.

Twilight didn’t mind, of course. As a bookworm and librarian she was well familiar with silence in all its multitudinous forms. She was more than willing to allow Diana some time to gather her thoughts, even as she took a few moments to gather her own.

Eventually, Diana shook herself free from her reverie. “I think I’ll stop here for today. It’s getting late after all and if I talk any more Pinkie might end up wondering what made her throat so sore.”

“Alright, I’ll have my hooves full transcribing what I’ve got so far anyway.” Twilight had already put away the special quill and begun organizing her notes from the day. “I assume Pinkie will be back in a moment?”

“Silly Twilight, I didn’t go anywhere. Or I guess I did but in my sleep. Does it still count as going somewhere if it’s just a dream? Hmm, I wonder if I could get dream exercise that way, then I could eat sweets all day and run all night and it would be perfect!”

Between the suddenly upbeat tone and the free association style of speech Twilight knew immediately that Diana had gone and Pinkie had returned. “I’m glad you’re up Pinkie. How was the nap?”

“Splendiferous! There was a sea of sprinkles and I got to swim in it. Then these cupcake sharks came to eat me but I ate them instead and then I went surfing on a wave of maple syrup and it was awesome!” Her accompanying hoof motions overbalanced Pinkie and she fell off the couch. Fortunately, her landing was cushioned by her poufy mane and she popped right back up to her feet.

Though, as per usual, Twilight tuned out most of Pinkie Pie’s absurdly enthusiastic rant, a part of her was relieved to see her friend unchanged by the time the body had spent under Diana’s control. With the script of Diana’s story safely hidden, Twilight escorted Pinkie Pie up the stairs into the library proper.

At the sight of Spike quietly reading in a corner Twilight’s heart skipped a beat. He should have still been out on his errands and, while there was nothing inherently suspicious about spending time with Pinkie in the basement, Spike would notice the pattern if it happened too often.

Of course, panicking would make him suspicious immediately so Twilight did her best to hide her alarm and focused on getting Pinkie to leave as quickly as possible. Pinkie must have still been a bit groggy from her nap because Twilight was able to extract a promise to visit again soon and get her out of the library in record time. That accomplished she turned her attention to Spike.

“I’m impressed you finished all your errands so quickly, Spike. You did get them all done right?”

He shot her a hurt look over the top of his comic. “Twilight, I’ve lived with you since I was born, I know when you’re just giving me errands to get me out of the house. I did the ones that need doing and came back here to read.”

Twilight blinked in surprise. “You know? How long have you known?”

He chuckled. “I’ve known ever since you sent me out to make a list of everypony with a left-hoofed library card. Actually, Rarity was kind enough to explain that one and I figured the rest out on my own. You really don’t need to do that Twilight; I’ll respect your privacy.”

A surge of affection for her little brother washed over her and she scooped him up in a big hug. He protested but she just giggled and held on tighter. “Thanks Spike. You really are my number one assistant.”

Spike sighed. “Yes. Yes I am. Now please put me down.”

“Oh. Right, sorry.” Twilight said, dropping him.

The little dragon landed on his feet and reached into his body pocket. “Before I forget, a letter came from the princess while you were down there. Here it is.” He pulled out the usual scroll with a royal seal and handed it to her. Twilight opened it with magic and began to read.

My most Faithful Student,
Let my preface this letter by saying that there is no immediate catastrophe or other urgent cause for alarm. I say this only because I know you tend to worry too much and I’d like to preempt that if I can.

Twilight smiled ruefully at that, remembering the first time the princess had sent a casual letter and she had ended up in a three day long worry induced coma over absolutely nothing. Still Twilight felt that she was improving. She hadn’t started worrying at the mere mention of the letter after all. Resolving to do her best to alter her mentor’s view of her, she shook her head and continued reading.

That said I have detected an anomaly with the Elements of Harmony. As you know the Elements are supposed to be inert without the presence of their wielders. However, they all activated earlier today and remain in an awakened state while I write this letter. The Element of Laughter is behaving particularly puzzlingly. It seems to have acted as the keystone for the awakening spell instead of the Element of Magic as should be the case. Is there anything odd occurring with you and your friends that you think could cause this kind of effect? I request that you investigate this matter, paying particular attention to your friend Pinkie Pie, and send me a full report just in case. Meanwhile, I will observe the Elements from here.

Perhaps I am taking a leaf out of your book and worrying too much. But the Element of Laughter holds a special significance for both of the Royal Pony Sisters and I would very much like to get to the bottom of this, even if it proves to be nothing.

Your Mentor
Princess Celestia.

Civilization

The Element of Laughter

Chapter 5: Civilization

Twilight squeezed her eyes shut, praying to the author of the letter she had just received that its contents would change if she looked away. Finally, she cracked one eye and peered carefully at the letter.

“Ponyfeathers, it’s still the same.”

She closed the eye again; maybe the second time would be the charm?

It wasn’t.

After briefly considering attempting a third try, she admitted the impossibility of her desire. Opening both eyes, Twilight examined the letter once more.

Is there anything odd occurring with you and your friends that you think could cause this kind of effect? I request that you investigate this matter, paying particular attention to your friend Pinkie Pie, and send me a full report just in case.

Those lines were particularly worrying. Of course Twilight had a pretty strong suspicion of what was causing the effect. However, she had also made a promise to keep it secret and, as Pinkie so often reminded her, losing a friends trust is the fastest way to lose a friend. That alone would have compelled Twilight to keep silent but she also knew that if she told Princess Celestia of Diana then she would lose any chance of hearing the rest of Diana’s story, a story that could not be found elsewhere. Her curiosity was far too powerful for her to risk that loss.

Still, a reply was definitely called for and there was simply no way Twilight could lie to the princess. She had been staring at the letter for several minutes when she heard Spike call to her from his seat by the stairs. “Twilight, do you need me to write your reply?”

Twilight panicked, if Spike saw the letter or read her response and put that together with her sessions with Pinkie Pie the whole story would come tumbling out. “Oh. No Spike. You don’t need to do that, you work so hard already. I’ll write this one you just go, uh, take a nap or something.”

Spike lowered his comic and shot her a skeptical look. “Remember what I just said Twilight? If you need privacy say so.”

“I’m sorry Spike.” She sighed deeply, letting go of her panic as she did so. “It’s a very stressful situation, but one I need to figure out for myself. I do need some privacy to write this letter though, thanks.”

“No problem Twi.” He closed the comic and started up the stairs calling back over his shoulder as he did so. “I’ll just be upstairs, let me know when you want to send it.”

The librarian nodded before summoning forth a quill, ink, and paper and preparing to write her response.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I believe the anomaly with the Elements is due to a certain project I am pursuing. Of course, I did not expect this to happen or I would have warned you beforehoof. But, considering the nature of the project, it seems likely that it is the cause of the situation you have described. Though there should not be any danger associated with this project, I have promised one of the participants that I will not divulge the details until the project is completed. I hope for your understanding in this matter and I’ll be sure to pass along the details as soon as I can.

Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle

It had taken several tries and the better part of an hour to find the right balance but Twilight was confident that the present incarnation of the letter contained a sufficient amount of truth without endangering Diana’s secret. The formality of the letter was also a message in and of itself. In her correspondence with the princess Twilight tended to be informal when discussing the magic of friendship and formal when discussing purely magical studies. By writing the letter in this fashion she gave the princess the impression that some new spell she was working on was responsible for the Elements’ odd behavior. Hopefully that would ease the princesses concerns.

In a brief fit of insanity Twilight was tempted to add a postscript asking straight out if the princess had ever heard of a pink alicorn named Diana. Instead, she rolled up the scroll and kept it rolled with her usual red band and golden seal combination.

“Spike!” she shouted “I’m ready to send the letter now.”

“Coming!” he called down to her.

A few moments later the letter was sent and Twilight resolved to put the whole situation out of her mind until her next meeting with Diana.

***

Two days had passed since the previous session and, though Twilight had tried her best, she’d been unable to put her concerns entirely aside. After considering her options she’d resolved to ask Diana why the Elements might be reacting to her. However, and she was particularly proud of this part, she suspected Diana wouldn’t give her a straight answer so Twilight had planned to start off with a few straightforward questions and then spring this one on her when she was least expecting it.

Rereading the detective novels she was borrowing the technique from and planning the precise questions to ask had taken longer than she’d thought it would. So she ended up being glad that Pinkie had had to babysit the Cake foals and couldn’t make it until the day after that. Still the time had come, Diana had awoken swiftly and the two ponies were settled, special quill at the ready, when Twilight put her plan into action.

“Before we begin I’ve got some questions I’d like to have answered.”

Diana nodded. “I was surprised you hadn’t asked any up until now. Go ahead and ask.”

“Well, first of all you mentioned that Watchwing was a bit bigger than you but you said you were, sorry, are an alicorn. So was he a really big pegasus or were you a really small alicorn?”

“Why would you think alicorns have to be large? Oh, I see. You’re thinking of the princesses.” Diana chuckled slightly. “Those two are hardly typical for alicorns. In general we’re in the same size range as the other three races, though few of us grow as large as the largest earth ponies or as small as the smallest pegasi. Even when I had my wings and horn I was this size.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Twilight laughed, “Having an entire race the size of the princesses would be a bit much after all. Let’s see…Ah yes. Secondly, what was Watchwing’s cutie mark?”

“He didn’t have one.”

“Really? Wasn’t he a bit old not to have a cutie mark?”

Diana smiled, anticipating Twilight’s reaction to her response. “No pony had cutie marks back then.” She wasn’t disappointed.

Twilight sat bolt upright. “WHAT?” she shouted. “What do you mean no pony had cutie marks back then? That’s not possible, cutie marks are an integral part of the pony race.”

“They’re an integral part of the pony race now but that wasn’t true 1500 years ago. Consider this a lesson, Twilight, just because something is a certain way doesn’t mean it’s always been that way or always should be.”

Well that was disturbing; Twilight hadn’t anticipated that one of her throwaway question would yield such an unexpected answer. However, interesting as the genesis of cutie marks in the pony race might be, Twilight decided that the issue of the Elements was of more immediate importance.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” she said humbly. “I’d like to hear more about that some other time. Now though, I have one more question. Why would the Elements of Harmony be reacting to your awakening?”

Diana examined Twilight’s intense expression closely for a minute and chuckled. “That’s what you really wanted to ask isn’t it? And those other questions were just to get me to drop my guard?”

A blush spread across Twilight’s face, succinctly answering Diana’s question but the unicorn refused to speak.

“Oh don’t feel bad Twilight. I’m reassured to know that ponies have forgotten the subtle arts of information extraction. It tells me that Celestia’s been doing a good job of making this country a better place than once it was. To answer your question I personally have a strong connection to the Elements, one that is only enhanced by Pinkie’s position as the Element of laughter, it’s possible that they are merely resonating with my awakening.”

Something about Diana’s words niggled at Twilight’s mind but the shame she felt at her ruse being uncovered prevented her from examining the feeling. “I’m sorry Diana, I shouldn’t been forthright about my concerns.”

The alicorn shook her head vehemently at that. “No you shouldn’t have been. I am a being in possession of one of your friends’ bodies whose mere presence has caused an unpredicted reaction in the most powerful magical artifacts in the country and who has asked you to keep my existence secret. You should absolutely be suspicious of me. I say this not because I mean harm but because caution is never a bad idea and, frankly, you could stand to be a bit more cautious.”

Twilight blinked in surprise. “That’s very odd of you to say. What would you have me do then, not summon you again?”

Diana shook her head again. “That’s not the point. I don’t mean you any harm; if I did I hardly would have said all that after all. I just want you to be careful so nothing takes advantage of your good nature.”

The student nodded slowly, imbibing the lesson. “Alright, I’ll be more careful in the future.”

“That’s all I can ask. You will have a very important position in Equestria someday, and when that day comes I hope you’ll remember to be cautious of others’ intentions. Now then,” Diana said as Twilight opened her mouth to speak, “I believe I have a story to tell.”

Twilight swallowed her intended response and settled in to listen.

***

Watchwing looked nervous. He stood at edge of the forest, right where the trees gave way to rolling grassy hills and was gazing out; or rather, not gazing, hence his nervousness. In the forest, where everything was so close together his sight worked exceedingly well, in many ways better than ordinary sight. However, out on the plains there was a great deal less for his air currents to bounce off of and his perception of the objects around him was significantly impaired.

As much as he might wish for some alternative the simple fact was that he had to leave. Not just for his revenge, that wasn’t terribly time-sensitive after all, but a much more urgent matter: it was the only way to save Diana’s life.

Despite Watchwing’s best efforts her leg wound had gone bad. He wasn’t terribly surprised, lacking a water-proof bandage she’d had to expose it to the dirty water of the swamp when they traversed it for the second time. Or it was conceivable that Captain’s blade had been poisoned. Either way, he’d done his best to prevent it but he’d only been an apprentice apothecary and herbs could only go so far anyway.

Regardless, by the second day of travel the wound had puckered and a thin white covering ran along its length. Diana had characteristically not mentioned it but by the next morning she was slightly feverish. They had continued on and reached the edge of the woods early that afternoon and halted, hoping the extra rest would be beneficial.

Unfortunately, the next morning Diana’s fever was worse and their options were as slim as ever. Watchwing voiced what they were both thinking. “We’ve got to find you a unicorn healer. Otherwise it’s just a matter of days. Unless you can heal yourself?” he asked without much hope.

She shook her head. “Healing is some of the most complicated magic there is and it’s also the least forgiving of mistakes. Can’t you just use some type of herb?”

“No.” he sighed. “The right herbs would have prevented the infection if we could have kept it clean, but nothing I have can counteract it. I suppose we really do have to find you a healer.” He trotted over to where she was resting under a tree and felt her forehead. “And soon, you’re fever’s getting worse.

“It’s not that urgent,” Diana protested. “We can just continue as we intended and stop in whenever we happen to find a town.” Her words were undercut when she tried to rise and ended up stumbling. She would have fallen had Watchwing not been there to catch her. It hurt her pride to have to lean on him but she knew better than to object considering her current state.

Together they slowly made their way to the edge of the wood where Watchwing had been standing moments before. A slightly bitter smile formed on his face. “I hate to ask when you’re sick and injured but can I borrow your eyes?”

“What do you mean ‘borrow my eyes’?” she asked.

“I can’t make out the far off terrain well enough to detect signs of habitation. Do you see anything that would suggest a direction for us to take?”

Still leaning against Watchwing for support, Diana raised her head and tried to focus her fever-dimmed eyes. “Let’s see. Smoke would be most visible over plains like these, do I see any smoke? No, but that could be because I can’t see very well. Hmm, any irregular ridges on the horizon that would indicate a ponymade structure? No, but again that could be my eyes’ fault. Hello, what’s this?” She leaned forward and narrowed her eyes, trying to get as clear a picture as possible. “Yes! Watchwing, there’s a road running parallel to the tree line. I can just see the change in color at the top of the second row of hills. If we follow that we should end up in a settled area.”

Watchwing sighed in relief. “I’m glad you could something to give us a hint as to the best route. Otherwise we might have ended up wandering aimlessly for days. Let’s go then, the quicker we find a village the quicker you’ll feel better.”

“One moment, there’s something else we need to consider.”

“What might that be?” he asked.

“The three-day grace Captain allowed us is over. It’s entirely possible that homunculi will be actively looking for us and between my race and your lack of eyes we’re a rather unmistakable pair.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.” Watchwing frowned. “There isn’t much we can do about it though, unless you can cast an illusion or something?”

Diana shook her head. “My skill in magic is far too limited to create a convincing illusion and even if I could any unicorn would be able to detect the constant magic usage. I had something more prosaic in mind.” The pink glow of Diana’s magic colored her horn as she reached into her pack and telekinetically brought out a brown traveler’s cloak.

With a quick shake of her head she tore a small strip of fabric off the bottom of the cloak. “We’ll be a pair of itinerant cripples. You have a condition that makes you need less light than ordinary ponies so you wear a blindfold and I’m perpetually cold so I have to wear a cloak at all times. Hay, they’re not even lies. With this fever I will be cold and you certainly don’t need light to see. Anyway it isn’t perfect but at least it won’t be immediately obvious that I have wings and you don’t have eyes.”

Watchwing considered it for a moment before accepting the blindfold and tying it tightly around his face, careful to keep it out of his mane. “Makes sense to me. We might as well start now in case we encounter anypony on the road.”

Diana donned her cloak, albeit with some difficulty, and they set off in the direction of the road. They were forced to travel slower than they might have liked due to Diana’s wound but they still made better time than they had in the wood owing to the lack of roots and branches to trip them up.

The openness of the plains might have unnerved Watchwing but Diana considerably enjoyed it. She had been born and raised on the wide expanses of a community farm and to once more have the wind in her mane and the sun at her back felt like a homecoming. It was almost pleasant enough to make her forget the pain in her leg and head, almost.

An hour later the two ponies had reached the road. It was a dirt road, relatively well traveled considering how tramped down the dust was. Diana peered up down the length of the road but there was no sign of civilization on either side for as far as she could see, not that that was very far. The road followed the hills which soon broke the line of sight in both directions.

After a brief discussion they decided to travel to their right, which was east, on the road because that way the sun would soon be behind them and Diana at least would be able to see anything they were heading toward more clearly.

They walked with the comfortable silence of those who have traveled many miles in one another’s company and anticipate doing the same for many more. The only change was Diana’s face, which grew more drawn and strained as the sun passed its zenith and began its slow decent.

Mid afternoon found them struggling up a particularly sizeable hill. As they finally reached the summit a very welcome sight met their eyes. Nestled in the shadow of the hill was a town of respectable size. The road led directly to a large clump of buildings that was presumably the town proper while other smaller clumps and single buildings were visible farther out. Past that the plains reappeared, colored with a regularity that indicated skilled agricultural husbandry.

Diana let out a whoop of joy and took off as fast as her injured limb allowed. “Come on Watchwing! There’s a village, I’m not going to die after all!” she called back over her shoulder.

Breaking into a gallop, Watchwing swiftly caught up with her and settled into an easy trot, keeping pace with Diana. He smiled widely. “That’s great news. I just hope it’s big enough to have a healer. What does it look like anyway?”

While Diana enthusiastically described the town for her blind companion the two rapidly descended the hill. Before they knew it the road had changed to cobblestones and they found themselves on the main thoroughfare.

After so long in the wilderness, the town seemed strange in its activity. Townsponies of all three races went about their daily business, trotting along the main road, turning down one of the many side streets, or entering the multistory thatched-roof wooden buildings that lined the road. All prosaic tasks, to be sure, but so many seemed strange to a filly from an isolated farming village. Through it all strode homunculi guards keeping the peace and ensuring that Discord’s will was enforced.

Diana did her best to enjoy the novel sights around her but between the guards and her aching limb the experience was rather soured. She nudged Watchwing. “So where would a healer be anyway?”

A surprised expression crossed his face, followed swiftly by an embarrassed one. “I don’t know,” he said. “I was just following you but, of course, you’ve never been here before either.”

She smiled at that and shook her head. “That’s pretty foalish of us not to realize we don’t know where we’re going. I suppose we should just ask somepony.” Diana took a quick look around and spotted a light orange unicorn filly with a bright pink mane who didn’t appear to be too busy. Trotting over she offered a friendly greeting. “Hi there! My name is Diana and that’s Watchwing. We were hoping you could help us. You see, we’re new in town and we were wondering if you could direct us to the town healer.”

The unicorn smiled at her, though the smile seemed to dim slightly as Watchwing followed Diana over. “It’s nice to meet you.” She said. Diana thought she heard a subtle emphasis on the ‘you’ but convinced herself that she must have been mistaken as the other pony continued speaking. “I’m Apricot and I’d be happy to help you.”

There it is again. I wonder why she keeps emphasizing that, Diana thought.

Apricot gestured down further down the street. “Keep on going past two more side streets and take the third one on the left. The healer’s office is down there on the left side. They should have a large sign out in front so you can’t miss it.”

Diana thanked her and was about to walk away when Apricot gestured her closer. Curious, Diana stepped forward to hear what she had to say. “If that featherbrain is bothering we can get the guards to get rid of him. I know how uppity those inferior races can be.”

If Diana had been paying attention she would have noticed the distinct lack of expression on Watchwing’s face, as if he were well used to ignoring such remarks. However, she was far too busy being indignant. “Watchwing is my friend,” she said icily. “Thank you for your instructions but I’ll ask you to keep your idiotic opinions to yourself.”

Ignoring the startled look that crossed Apricot’s face, Diana turned on her hoof and stalked off in the indicated direction. Watchwing followed her. “Mind telling me what that was all about?” he asked.

“You heard her. How could she say that about you?”

Watchwing shrugged. “I’ve been called worse. That’s just the way things are. Unicorns are better than pegasi are better than earth ponies.”

Diana screeched to halt in the center of the street and turned to stare at him incredulously. “You mean that sort of thing is widespread? That wasn’t an exception to the norm?”

“No.” Watchwing was surprised at her surprise. Everypony knew the ranks of the races; their proper place was drilled into them during their foalhood. “In fact, she was rather polite about it. Surely it was the same in your village…” He trailed off, realizing the flaw in that logic.

“It was nothing like that!” she shouted. “I grew up being taught that ponies are all family. Seeing somepony act so horribly makes me sick.”

“Fine, it’s wrong. Can we keep moving, please?” Watchwing glanced around nervously. “We don’t want to attract attention after all and if a unicorn is shouting at a pegasus, the pegasus is going to get in trouble.”

It was true, Diana realized, they were beginning to draw stares from passersby. She gave a fake smile, as if to say that nothing was the matter, and continued down the street. As they turned down the side street Apricot had mentioned Diana questioned Watchwing further. “Was it really always like that in your home village?”

“To a certain extent.” he replied. “I had a bit of a special position because I was the apothecary’s apprentice. Most ponies know better than to antagonize the colt who might be fixing them up someday and fixing up ponies teaches you real fast that there aren’t many differences between the three races. I still got my fair share of insults and humiliation though.”

A thought flashed through Diana’s mind and she felt her mood darkening toward anger. “I bet this is Discord’s doing.” she growled. “Having the races hate each other spreads his beloved chaos and undercuts any attempt at coordinated opposition.”

Watchwing shook his head sadly. “I don’t think so. While it is true that he supports the racial contention, it’s too common and widespread for us to blame Discord for it. No, this is something we ponies have done to ourselves.

Diana’s anger faded at his words, replaced by a simple sad confusion. “I just don’t understand.” Her tone of voice seemed very small at that moment, as if the eager pony who had sought out other places for their wonders had instead found them infinitely crueler than she could have imagined.

Heart aching, Watchwing searched for something to say that would show his companion that the world was not as dark as it appeared to be. No great wisdom came to him so he settled for something else entirely. “We’re here.”

They had arrived at the healer’s office. It was an otherwise unremarkable two story whitewashed wooden building with the aforementioned large sign out front relating the trade of its inhabitant. Watchwing entered the building first to give Diana an opportunity to compose herself. After a moment she locked her emotions up tight and limped inside.

There is something universal about the waiting rooms of healer’s offices. They all seem to have the same collections of impersonal lightly colored chairs interspersed with potted plants. On the far side of the room stood the typical counter behind which the typical receptionist was waiting.

Together they approached the counter. “Excuse me” Diana said, “We were told this is a healer’s office?”

The receptionist, an off-white unicorn stallion with a messy dark brown mane, looked up. “That’s correct. Glimmer’s my name, doctor Glimmer, and I can heal anything from minor injuries to fatal diseases and everything in between.”

Watchwing seemed surprised. “A full doctor in a small town like this place, hmm? That’s passing strange.”

“I thought he was a healer, what’s the difference between that and a doctor?”

“Well a doctor is a healer who belongs to the physician’s guild and is certified to have certain level of competence. Simply put we’re the best at what we do.” Glimmer said with a measure of pride. “That is, for ponies that can pay anyway.” He added, his eyes lingering on the frayed hem of Diana’s cloak and their generally threadbare appearance.

Diana and Watchwing exchanged looks at that comment. Though she was familiar with the concept of money no pony had used it in her village. Watchwing, of course, hadn’t been able to take money with him when he’d fled his village and hadn’t earned any more in the woods. In other words they hadn’t a copper bit betwixt them.

“How much, hypothetically, might a healing cost?” Diana asked carefully.

Glimmer pursed his lips in thought. “Well, let me think. An appointment is nine silver bits, diagnoses of any particular ill ranges from five silver to one and a half gold bits depending on the difficulty and the actual healing ranges from one to two gold bits again dependant on difficulty. All told two point four to four point four gold bits is the usual range.”

A quick flashback to her schooling days reminded Diana that there were ten copper bits to a silver bit and ten silver bits to a gold bit and that a judicious family of four could eat for about two weeks on a single gold bit. “That seems a bit high don’t you think?”

The doctor shrugged. “The guild sets prices, I just follow through. Not that I’m complaining, I still make a decent bit, no pun intended, even after the guild takes their dues.”

“I don’t suppose we could work out some alternative? I have some medicinal herbs you might be interested in or perhaps some form of labor…” Watchwing trailed off hopefully

“No can do. Guild rules are enforced by Discord’s guards. I’d lose my license and possibly my head if I accepted anything but the coin of the realm.” He hesitated for a moment. “Unofficially, might I ask what kind of problem we’re talking about?”

In answer to his query Diana twitched her robe aside slightly, just enough to reveal her injured foreleg. Several hours of use had not improved its appearance and the surrounding flesh was beginning to take on a grayish tinge.

Glimmer whistled. “That is an impressive wound there; you’ll certainly lose the leg and possibly die from blood poisoning if you don’t get some serious help. How’d you get that anyway?” The question caught Diana by surprise but fortunately she was saved from needing to answer as the doctor continued. “Must have been those rebel earth ponies eh? Road’s just aren’t as safe as they used to be.”

Watchwing was particularly interested in that tidbit of information but he realized it wasn’t the time to pursue it so he simply filed it away for future reference. Instead he tried to steer the conversation away from dangerous waters, and back to the more pressing matter. “Now you know how important it is that she gets help, can’t we work something out?”

“Hmm,” Glimmer leaned back in his chair as though considering his options. “I’d like to help you but I’m afraid I can’t.” He held up a hoof to forestall their objections. “I’d like to advise you to follow the main road out of town and knock on the door of the first house on the right after the cobblestones end, but I can’t. I also certainly can’t tell you to tell the person who lives there that Dr. Glimmer sent you.” He winked at them. “I’m sorry, I’d really like to help you, but I just can’t, they’d take away my license after all.”

Diana nodded slowly. “Well we wouldn’t want that to happen. Guess we’ll just be going then. Come on Watchwing, maybe somepony else will be willing to help.” She said as she turned to leave. Watchwing paused long enough to mouth “thanks” to Glimmer before following Diana out of the office.

The doctor waved goodbye to the two exiting ponies. “Good luck with the whole not dying thing. Feel free to come back if you suddenly strike it rich.” He called after them, smiling to himself.

Glimmer’s instructions proved to be accurate and the two travelers found themselves nearing the indicated house as evening fell. Their knock was answered by a somewhat confused dark green earth pony.

“Can I help you two?”

“I hope so. Doctor Glimmer sent us; he indicated you might be able to help heal me.”

At Diana’s words the earth pony’s confusion cleared up. “Oh, of course. Please come in.” She stepped back and held the door open as they entered her house. “It’s not much but feel free to make yourselves at home.”

The room they entered was small in a cozy sort of way. A dining table occupied the center with numerous chairs around it. A sitting room, complete with a fireplace and patterned rug, was visible to the right while a hallway to the left led deeper into the house. Though the fireplace was unlit there were numerous niches in the painted white walls which contained floating balls of light that provided illumination equal to daylight.

In the brighter light their host came into greater focus. She was a mare, perhaps a year or two younger than they, with warm golden eyes and delicate features. A soft brown mane cascaded down her back, its color matching the short tail that graced her flank. Diana and Watchwing removed their packs and followed her into the sitting room where they each made themselves comfortable on the rug.

When they were settled the earth pony broke the silence. “Naturally if it seemed urgent I’d take you straight to my workspace but since neither of you seem to be about to keel over I thought it’d be best to talk for a bit first. What are your names, if you please?”

“I’m Diana and this is my good friend Watchwing. And you are?”

The earth pony grimaced. “My full name’s pretty ridiculous so I usually go by Zephyr or just Zeph.”

Watchwing smiled at that. “Zephyr huh? That’s an odd name for an earth pony; it’d be like naming me Terra or something.”

Zephyr nodded seriously. “Yes it is rather odd, and it’s still better than my full name.” She smiled mischievously. “Maybe I should call you Terra just so you appreciate how hard it for me.”

“I hate to interrupt,” Diana interjected, “but I’m in a good bit of pain and I’m rather curious as to how you can help me since you’re an earth pony after all.”

“I understand, though trust me when I say that the better I know you both the easier the healing will be. As for how it’s done, well that’s my little secret for now. Could you show me the injury please?”

For the second time that day Diana twitched aside her cloak to reveal her stab wound. “Assuming it’s possible for you to heal me, how much will it cost? I don’t want to incur any debts I can’t pay.”

“Oh don’t worry about that.” Zephyr said, peering at the wound. “That’s the arrangement Dr. Glimmer and I have set up, he sends the ponies that can’t pay guild rates to me and together we figure out a fair method of reimbursement after you’ve made a full recovery.” She stepped closer to Diana to get a better look. “That’s cuts clearly a couple of days old, why didn’t you get help before it got this bad?”

“I was an apothecary’s apprentice so I thought I could keep it from getting infected and it would heal on its own.” Watchwing shook his head as he answered. “Unfortunately, we had to slog through a swamp with no way to keep it sterile. After that we knew we needed help and this is the first town we’ve come to since then.”

Zephyr nodded in understanding, still peering closely at the wound. She reached out to touch it and then paused. “May I?” Diana gave her assent and the green earth pony carefully touched it with the tip of her hoof. Her eyes closed and she seemed lost in thought for several moments. At last she opened her eyes and withdrew her hoof. “It’s a good thing you came to me. Even most unicorns would have had to amputate the leg to save you from the infection now that it’s gained such a firm hold. Come, the healing should be done now.”

Diana rose and followed Zephyr through the dining room and down the hallway she had seen earlier. Watchwing hesitated but a gesture from Zephyr convinced him that he should follow as well.

The three ponies padded down the hallway past numerous doors until Zephyr finally paused in front of the last door on the right. It was made of a lighter wood than the dark floors and had an inset plaque that simply read “healing room” in straight, cleanly written letters. Pushing the door open, Zephyr ushered them inside.

While Diana wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, it certainly wasn’t the sight that met her eyes. The room had an earthen floor with a circle of soft green grass in the center just large enough for two ponies to sit on comfortably. Numerously plants, both potted and planted, were scattered seemingly at random around the room, giving the impression that they had wandered outside. A large skylight enhanced this impression, displaying the first stars of evening through the purpling of dusk.

Zephyr gestured toward the circle of grass. “Take off your cloak and sit down over there, please. Watchwing you stay nearby but make sure to keep off the grass.”

“Could I keep my cloak on?” Diana asked nervously. “I’m not really comfortable taking it off.”

The earth pony shook her head. “This will be hard enough without any extra complications. If you don’t take it off I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to heal you.”

“Alright, but you have to keep what you see to yourself, understand?”

“I’m familiar with the principle of patient healer confidentiality.”

Slowly, Diana undid the cloaks fastenings and allowed it to fall. Zephyr’s eyes narrowed in suspicion as she beheld the pink wings furled at Diana’s side but she managed to keep her tone casual. “Interesting. There was an announcement yesterday from the guards to report any sightings of a pink alicorn traveling with a blind pegasus.” Her eyes drifted over to Watchwing’s blindfold. “What would I find if I removed that blindfold, hmm?”

Keeping his expression carefully blank Watchwing reached up and began to untie the blindfold. “What the hay do you think you’re doing Watchwing?” Diana hissed at him.

“You’re the only alicorn outside your village; deception gains us nothing at this point, it’s obvious who we are.” He replied steadily as the blindfold dropped, revealing his empty eye sockets.

To her credit, Zephyr didn’t flinch at the sight, she’d seen much worse in her time as a healer. She tapped her chin with one hoof, looking thoughtful. All she said though was “I think I know how you’re going to repay my healing.”

Diana and Watchwing exchanged a surprised glance. “You’re not going to turn us in?”

Zephyr shook her head defiantly. “I’m no friend to the guards or to Discord. We can speak later but we should get to the healing now, before it gets any worse.”

Surprised though they were it wouldn’t do to look a gift horse in the mouth. Diana walked to the grass and settled herself on one half of the circle, injured leg outstretched. Watchwing sat down near her while Zephyr settled herself on the other half of the grass circle.

Before she began Zephyr issued a few last instructions. “While I am performing the healing I must ask that you both refrain from speaking or moving as best you can. Diana, you should focus on your desire to be healed but it is imperative that you do not use or even summon your magic in any way. Finally, this might take a while so please be patient. Now, are you ready for me to begin?”

“I suppose it’s too late to ask exactly how this is going to work?” Diana asked halfheartedly.

“Yes, now hush. I’m starting.”

Taking Diana’s injured foreleg in her hooves, Zephyr placed one over and one under it. The room grew quiet. At first it was a normal quiet, still filled with the soft settling sounds of a wooden house and the breathing of the three ponies. Then it grew absolutely silent, impossibly still, and all the world seemed to lean in, waiting for motion, action, something.

Zephyr began to sing.

Her simple wordless melody was light and lifting. It was cheerful at first, sweet and bubbly, like a brook in spring, like growing grass, like a sapling sending forth its first shoots. The trees came in, the deep baseline of the oaks, the wistful breathy tune of the willows. All the plants, the grass, the very earth beneath them joined in Zephyr’s music.

This wasn’t magic in the traditional sense; it was something much older and more elemental, a symphony in which every individual piece of the world had its own part. It was an expression of the invisible ties that bind all to all. Those ties formed the warp and weft of the world, to comprehend them in their entirety was beyond any, but a bare outline was all that was needed here.

To music narrowed its focus from the interconnectedness of the world to a single thread: Diana. Her body resonated as the music became intensely personal. The melody sung by Zephyr served as her basic external characteristics, her own music, not sung simply there, rose from within providing the timbre and from Watchwing came the counterpoint, the way the world viewed her from without.

All the different pieces combined to build a song that captured Diana’s quintessence. As the music swept through her and reached her injured leg a sour note entered the harmony. The injury should not be. It was wrong, a fundamental alteration from the correct shape of this tiny section of the world. Slowly, slowly, Zephyr sang it right. She altered it, note by note, returning the tune to its destined path and as she did so the wound itself began to heal. Diana could feel the tickling sensation of flesh knitting together and the cleansing fire of the infection being purged from her blood stream.

Or not purged, not entirely. Wrongness cannot be so easily set right. While some was simply eliminated the rest was drawn into Zephyr’s waiting hoof. Diana would have objected, would have yanked her hoof away rather than let Zephyr suffer the pain for her, but she remembered the emphasis placed on not moving and held her peace.

The healing seemed to take place in a space out of time, where all that existed was the song. At last, though, the twisted notes were set right and the song dwindled until it was cloaked once more by the trappings of the world.

Normal quiet returned for a moment as the three ponies maintained a respectful silence for the performance. Finally, Zephyr removed her hooves from Diana’s. “It is done. Try moving it to make sure nothing went wrong.”

Obediently, Diana raised and lowered her hoof. A look of wonderment came into her eyes as she realized it no longer hurt. “Thank you.” She said.

“You’re welcome.”

As Zephyr responded Watchwing shook himself like somepony coming out of a deep sleep and asked in an awed voice. “What was that?”

“That is how I heal ponies. I understand them, everything that makes them who they are from their cells to their personalities and I use that understanding to absorb anything that shouldn’t be there, taking away their injury in the process.” Zephyr frowned. “It isn’t usually like that though. To have to start so broadly and narrow down so much is very odd. It was as if you had a piece of the entire world inside you that had to be acknowledged before I could focus you specifically. Any idea why that might be?”

“I can’t think of anything…” Diana began. She paused, remembering her deal with the Tiresian and the seed of the ancient tree that she’d accepted as a price. “Actually, I have some idea but it’s pretty complicated.”

“I expect it would be,” Zephyr nodded. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess you two don’t have anywhere to stay?” They shook their heads. “I thought not. You can stay here for the night; at no charge of course, I’ve got plenty of space. You can explain the oddness of your healing and we can discuss your payment over dinner.”

“That’s very generous of you but we really shouldn’t impose any further.” Diana tried to object but, unfortunately, her stomach chose that moment to grumble hungrily.

Zephyr smiled, “Nonsense. It wouldn’t be an imposition. I usually live with a friend of mine but she’s…elsewhere this evening and I’d get lonely without anypony here.”

Diana smiled back, “In that case we gratefully accept.”

Evening plans now settled Zephyr led them out of the healing room and into the house proper.

Payment Made

The Element of Laughter

Chapter 6: Payment Made

Zephyr had the oddest kitchen Diana had ever seen. Admittedly, Diana was not a kitchen expert; she had not made an extensive study of them nor perused vast tomes of kitchen lore. Nevertheless, she felt that even if she had Zephyr’s kitchen would still rank as a truly bizarre specimen of the breed.

It was a rectangular room situated in the first door off of the main hallway closest to the dining room. A long flat preparation area took up the center of the room. On it were numerous painted squares, each of which had runes engraved along the perimeter. As Diana leaned closer to get a better look a faint tingle in her horn informed her that they were magical in nature, though she couldn’t begin to guess their purpose.

On the opposite side of the preparation counter from the door a row of wooden boxes half again the height of a pony served as a wall. They too had magical runes but theirs were far more complex and gave a strong enough sense of magic as to be noticeable clear across the room. To their right were several windows opening onto the beautiful scene of night on the plains. They framed a door that possessed a shimmering gauze-like sheet that stretched its full length and seemed to sink directly into the floor. On the left wall was yet another wooden box; this one was a foot or two shorter than the average pony and red circles were painted along the top. Next to it was a sink with what appeared to be an empty pipe in place of a faucet. Finally, along the wall next to them were recognizable cabinets, though they too had black runes written across their face.

The whole kitchen fairly hummed with magical energy to the point where even the non-magical Watchwing could feel the energy in the air. At Zephyr’s urging they took seats at the counter, still gazing around inquisitively.

“Can we help you with the food somehow?” Diana asked, concerned about having their host cook after the healing she’d just performed.

Zephyr shook her head with a smile. “Trust me, teaching you how to manage the kitchen is more work than just doing it myself. I appreciate the offer though.”

“Pardon me but I’ve been wondering, how does any earth pony come to have a kitchen covered with magic?” Watchwing asked. Diana blinked in surprise. I hadn’t even thought of that. She mused

“The friend I live with is a unicorn. She’s absolutely obsessed with magic so pretty much everything in the house, other than the healing room, has some form of enchantment on it. The balls of light in the walls are one of the more convenient alterations but the kitchen’s not bad once you get used to it.” While Zephyr spoke she bustled around with the ease of long practice. She touched a rune here and there and noises started to emanate from the boxes so touched. After a few moments she nodded in satisfaction and sat down on the other side of the counter. “Well that’s that, now we just have to wait.”

Diana raised an eyebrow. “So what, the food just prepares itself?”

“Pretty much. The runes maintain the spells and also act as a control panel while the boxes each have a set of actions that, in combination with one another, can cook any meal they have the ingredients for and send it to the landing pads on the table here. Ostensibly we would then carry them out to the dining room but in all honesty that’s usually too much trouble so we end up eating here.” A sound similar to somepony jangling a metal triangle filled the room and Zephyr’s face lit up. “Soup’s on everypony! Keep your hooves and mouths clear of the painted regions ‘cause here comes dinner.”

A wave of nostalgia went through Diana at the familiar call to meal time but she didn’t let that distract her from making sure she was well away from where the food was apparently going to arrive. With a tinkling sound a full soup, salad, entre combination appeared in the center while plates and silverware appeared in front of each of the three ponies. They dug in with a will and for a moment the only sounds were the clink of silverware.

When they had dulled the sharp edge of hunger Zephyr spoke up. “While we’re finishing up could you explain whatever occurred to you earlier that might have been the cause of the strange healing? It was really strange.”

I feel like I shouldn’t tell her everything but honestly, I can’t think of any reason to dissemble. After all, she’s already aware that we’re wanted by the guards and she healed me anyway. Might as well tell her, Diana thought.

Out loud she said, “As long as Watchwing doesn’t mind I think we can tell you the whole story.” Watchwing raised no objections so Diana recounted everything that had happened since she’d left the farm while he added in details when certain things slipped her mind.

As Diana spoke one aspect of her story especially struck her. This is all so absurd, she thought. I’m going to topple Discord? Me, a filly fresh off the farm is going to take down a chaotic immortal god? Why would I even try to do this, why not just wander like I originally planned? Slowly, as her story came to the town and the reception Watchwing had received, the realization dawned on her. Because I want to. I want to change this world. I want to take down Discord and make this world into a better place. She smiled to herself. By the sun and stars, even I think that sounds hopelessly naïve. Good. If I let myself dwell on how impossible this all is then there’s no way I’ll accomplish anything. I will fight this fight because I want to and I will win!

Pleased with her improved personal resolve Diana failed to notice that the story had reached their arrival at Zephyr’s house and continued talking. Watchwing and Zephyr exchanged a glance, clearly resolved to simply let her keep going until she realized her mistake. It took longer than either would have expected.

“And so, after the healing, we all went into Zephyr’s kitchen where she made us this delicious meal and asked about our past. I didn’t see any harm in telling her everything so I began from when I left the farm. It was about two weeks ago and…ow! What was that for?”

Watchwing had swatted Diana gently upside the head with his wing. In response to her protest he raised an eyebrow. “I’d rather avoid any recursive storytelling, if you don’t mind.”

Diana blushed, no easy feat for a pink pony, as she realized the direction she had been taking. “Why didn’t either of you stop me sooner?”

“We wanted to see how long you would keep going for,” Zephyr said with a grin before sobering up. “In all seriousness though, that’s quite a tale you’ve got there. How much of it is true?”

“All of it is true.” Watchwing replied stiffly, somewhat offended by the insult to their honesty.

“All right, all right, you can’t blame me for wondering though.”

“I suppose not, it does sound rather farfetched.” Watchwing admitted, before brushing it aside. “More importantly, do have any idea what the Tiresian’s hints might have meant?”

A thoughtful expression crossed Zephyr’s face. “Hmm, ‘The Twisted Tree grew in far off soil, familiar to your kind and mine. Only through the birthright of all monsters could it ascend through dominion of Chaos. Mortal might and magic alone will fail, but the laurel might crown an equal of opposite birthright and dominion.’ That’s what it said right? Well I’m afraid I haven’t a clue but I know somepony who might.”

“Who is it? Could you introduce us?” Diana had apparently sufficiently overcome her embarrassment to rejoin the conversation.

“Yes and no. The pony I’m thinking off is the unicorn that lives with me, Maela. I’d love to introduce you to her but, unfortunately, she’s being held by the guards at the moment. In fact, that’s the payment I want for the healing, for you to help me break her out.” Zephyr spoke quickly, as if hoping that by doing so she could avoid an unpleasant reaction from her listeners.

Incredulous silence filled the room for a brief moment before...

“You want us to do WHAT?!” Diana and Watchwing shouted in unison.

Zephyr remained impassive in the face of their agitation. “I want you to help me break my friend out of prison,” she repeated.

“Why would you think we would help with something like that? We’re not desperate enough to start begging for aid from criminals.” Diana said, her voice practically dripping with derision on the word “criminal”.

Even in the few hours they had known her, Zephyr had impressed the two of them as an especially levelheaded pony. Now, though, her balanced façade began to crack and her nervousness shone through. “I didn’t really think you’d help but…well, even if you’re not desperate, I am. My friend is going to be dragged off to the capital in chains and two ponies who oppose Discord just happened to end up in my debt. A coincidence like that and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was fate.” She whimpered. It was quiet and quickly stifled but seemed all the more heartfelt for it. “Of course it isn’t fate, of course you won’t help, it’s an absurd thing to ask you to do but…I had to try. She’s my friend,” Zephyr finished simply.

As Zephyr spoke the anger faded from Diana and Watchwing’s faces to be replaced by hints of sympathy and shame. Watchwing was especially saddened by the distraught mare before them and when spoke to her his tone was soft and his words kind. “We’re sorry; we didn’t realize what this friend meant to you. Could you tell us why she’s in prison?”

The earth pony sniffed, still near the edge of tears. “Maela’s curious about everything, absolutely everything. If she gets it in her head to investigate she’s practically obsessive until her curiosity is satisfied.” She gave a watery smile. “That’s where this kitchen came from, actually. Maela wondered if she could magically automate the cooking process and we ended up eating raw cabbages for three weeks because she refused to let me in the kitchen while she was working on it.”

When Zephyr didn’t continue Watchwing prompted her in the same gentle tone. “So she’s curious, how did that lead to her getting arrested?”

“Oh right, sorry. Anyway, I sent her to pickup groceries and apparently along the way she got curious about the guards and tried to use a scanning spell on them. Using magic on the guards normally carries a sentence of jail time but, if I known Maela, she probably figured something out about the guards that she shouldn’t have, and that’s why she’s being taken away rather than just imprisoned here.”

Diana had allowed Watchwing to take the lead in coaxing Zephyr along, correctly assuming that he’d be better at it than she. Now that the whole story was out she felt she had to speak. “Zephyr, first of all, I’m sorry. I should have known better than to assume your friend was a bad pony just because they’re in jail. Even if they were that’s no reason for me to phrase it so cruelly. Can you forgive me?”

Zephyr nodded her acceptance. “I suppose it’s an understandable assumption to make, don’t worry about it.”

“Thank you. There’s one other thing I wanted to ask. Are you determined to try and help your friend no matter the consequences to yourself?”

Zephyr wiped the remains of tears from her eyes and raised her head high. “I am,” she answered. Her outward layer of control had long since vanished and now her nervousness disappeared as well, revealing the steely determination that lay beneath. “This is my oldest and dearest friend, even if I end up sharing her fate I can’t live with myself if I don’t try.”

“In that case,” Diana said slowly, “I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of us helping you just yet.” Zephyr gasped and Watchwing gave her a sharp look but she held up a hoof to forestall their comments. “Don’t get your hopes up too much, Watchwing and I need to discuss it further. After what you’ve said though, I don’t want to dismiss is out of hoof.”

“A fair consideration is all I can ask for, I guess.” She tried to continue but was interrupted by a huge yawn. It was just shy of midnight; dinner had long since been finished and the dishes had teleported themselves to the basin on the wall where they were washed, dried, and tucked back into storage. “Sorry, it’s been a long day and it’s long past my usual bedtime. Why don’t I show you to where you’ll be staying tonight? We can talk more in the morning.”

Watchwing nodded. “That’ll be fine. The two of us have a lot to talk about ourselves,” he said, shooting Diana a pointed glance.

“Follow me.” Zephyr rose from her seat and led the way out of the kitchen and down the hall. A set of stair tucked away in the back of the dining room allowed access to the second story. To the left of the stairs, over the sitting room, was the master bedroom. It had two large double beds with matching night stands and dressers and a walk in closet. “That’s the room Maela and I sleep in.” Zephyr said, indicating the bedroom, “I’d offer one of you her bed but I have no idea what kind of spells she’s put on it and I think it is better not to take the risk.”

Privately Diana shared that sentiment. I don’t want to mess around with the bed of a unicorn powerful and capricious enough to set up a continuous teleportation spell for something as simple as doing the dishes, she thought.

To the right was a corridor the mirror image of the one on the floor below. Zephyr opened the first door revealing a smaller room. There was a window opposite the door and below that a bed took up most of the room’s free space. A throw rug covered the floor before them and an open door on the left revealed small but perfectly serviceable lavatory.

“I’m sorry but we only have the one guest bed. I can make up a comfortable nest of blankets on the floor though.”

“Oh don’t bother,” Diana said absently, “we can share the bed.” A surprised squeak from Zephyr made her pause and she blushed at the realization of what she’d just implied. “Not like that,” she hastened to add, “we’ve been spending a lot of nights outside so we’re used to sleeping in close quarters for safety’s sake.”

That might have been enough to avoid embarrassing their host had Watchwing not chosen that moment to walk close beside her and drape a wing across her shoulders possessively. “I’ve been so looking forward to sleeping in a bed.” He raised an eyebrow and added suggestively, I’m sure it’ll be much more comfortable than what we’re used to.”

Zephyr made another small noise and backed out of the room quickly. “I’ll just, uhm, leave you to it then…” she mumbled as she tried desperately to look anywhere but at the two of them. Before Diana could protest the earth pony had shut the door and run away.

Diana shrugged off Watchwing’s wing and glared at him. He stared back stoically. They remained motionless, facing off, for as long as they could. Eventually though, a grin cracked Watchwing’s control and he flopped to the floor, rolling around in mirth. Diana kept up her disapproving gaze for a beat longer before she too succumbed and joined him on the floor.

They had almost calmed down when Watchwing pointed out that the noise their amusement had made would certainly exacerbate Zephyr’s suspicions and that set them off again.

The situation wasn’t truly that amusing and their reactions were more an expression of relief than anything else. To be welcome in a home, safe within the walls, is a magic all its own and the two homeless travelers reveled in the rare feeling of being sheltered that it produced.

At last the amusement faded and they sobered up. Diana waited for Watchwing to ask the question she knew he was going to ask.

“So you want to free this Maela.” The way Watchwing spoke made it clear that it wasn’t a question, he knew her better than that.

“Yes”

He rubbed his temples and a hint of irritation crept into his tone. “Why would you want to do that? We have enough on our plate without going looking for trouble. Even setting aside the all-important question of how we would possibly go about breaking a pony out of prison it still seems like a bad idea. Hay, we don’t even know if Zephyr is telling the truth-”

“She is telling the truth!” Diana flared. “She healed me after all.”

“And what better way to gain our trust, hmm?” Watchwing shot back.

“I refuse to believe that that healing was anything other than sincere,” Diana protested. “You couldn’t see it or feel it but during the healing she took my injury into herself and afterward there was a mark on her leg matching the one that disappeared from mine. She quite literally took a wound for me. Even if you didn’t notice that you must have caught the fact that she was limping afterward.”

“I did notice the limp and I don’t think she’s lying to us.” Watchwing admitted, sighing. “I just don’t want to rush into anything. If we try and get caught it’s all over. We’ll have failed practically before we’ve begun.”

“I know; I’m scared too.” Watchwing bristled but Diana just smiled softly at him. “You are scared, don’t bother denying it. But if we can’t come up with a better reason than fear then we have to do this. Otherwise it’ll be no different the next time we’re faced with a risky situation.”

“Not to be contrary, but there are several good reasons not to do this besides fear of failure. One of our major advantages is that Captain doesn’t know where we exited the forest. Unless you think we can do this without being seen, which is pretty unlikely, we’ll end up giving away our location. Moreover, this will attract further attention. We don’t know how much influence Captain has over the guard but if we stage a prison break you can bet that every guard from here to Telluria will be on the lookout for us. Or hay, look at it the other way around. We can trust Zephyr somewhat but we know next to nothing about this Maela. She might turn around and turn us in, in the hopes of getting off easy.”

Diana snorted, “That’s a lot of ‘what ifs’. There are several reasons we should do it too. We owe Zephyr for the healing and, if she’s about to give up everything in a desperate bid to free her friend, then the only way we can pay her back is to help in her endeavor, anything else would be meaningless. Also there’s the possibility that Maela might be able to figure something out about the Tiresian’s riddle. Even if she can’t she’s still manifestly a clever unicorn and she can probably teach me how to use my magic beyond my usual strategy of ‘push power through an intention and hope something happens.’ Finally, there’s the simple fact that she doesn’t deserve what’s happened to her and we might be able to do something about it,” she finished decisively.

“There’s a decent number of ‘what ifs’ in there as well.” Watchwing noted.

There was silence for a moment as each pony mulled over what the other had said. Diana was the first to speak. “There is one other reason I want to do this,” she said hesitantly. “It’s a pretty subjective reason but…well, it’s there nonetheless. All I’ve done is run away and when you stood up to Discord it cost you your eyes and your home. I want to win for once, to deny Discord and his minions some end that they desire, to prove to everypony that we can win, even if it’s only in this small way.”

“Now that,” he said slowly, “that is a reason I can get behind.”

Diana blinked. “Just like that?”

He nodded. “Just like that. Let’s show that misbegotten son of a wyrm that not all ponies bow before him!”

Hmm, it’s scary how much he hates Discord. Even I can see that this might not be the best idea but he abandoned all opposition once I framed the prison break as direct attack on Discord’s authority. Deep down a small voice that reminded her of her bloodlust whispered, how can I use this, but she strove to ignore it.

Watchwing’s swift acquiescence made her question whether or not a prison break really was a good idea and her new doubts pushed her to reconfirm their course of action. “So all the reasons you gave about how this is a bad idea don’t matter anymore?”

Watchwing made a visible effort to contain his emotion and answer rationally. “I wasn’t truly against it, just undecided. The potential benefits outweigh the risks and it feels right, you know? It feels like something the good ponies would do: staging a daring rescue of an innocent mare from the depths of the tyrant’s dungeons.”

“That’s a bit melodramatic, I think,” Diana said with a smile. “But alright then, it’s decided, tomorrow we tell Zephyr we’ll help. Now I think we should hit the hay.”

Watchwing readily agreed and before very much longer they had both settled into the cottony softness of a real bed. Sleep came swiftly to the two tired ponies; after all, they had a prison break to plan on the morrow.

***

“I’m thrilled you’re helping me and all but this still feels reckless,” Zephyr murmured nervously.

“We can’t very well plan without actually seeing the building,” Diana pointed out. “And this provides the perfect opportunity.”

After a truly luxurious night’s rest Diana and Watchwing had cleared up the little misunderstanding that occurred before bed and informed Zephyr of their decision to help her. She was startled at first but her surprise quickly gave way to a relieved joy. Zephyr then revealed that Maela would be held in the prison for the next week before being taken to the capital city of Telluria. They pressed her for more information about the prison and the events that were to occur but, having never had a run in with the law herself, all Zephyr could tell them was that the officer that would escort the prisoner to the capital was arriving today. So it was that the three ponies found themselves making their way slowly through the crowded market to watch the arrival of the escort.

The early morning chill of the last few days, a last remaint of winter’s grasp, had at last given way to the warmth of true spring. Most ponies wore nothing at all; glad to revel in the warmth, so Diana’s cloak drew a few strange looks. Unfortunately, the company she was keeping also drew its fair share of glances, ones far more disapproving then those that regarded her choice of attire. She found her anger rising as a muddy brown unicorn mare made herself the third that morning to turn her nose up at the sight of a unicorn, earth pony, and pegasus all walking together.

“If one more pony does that, so help me, I will give them a piece of my mind; if not a piece of my hoof!” Diana growled.

Zephyr was confused by her outburst but Watchwing knew exactly what was angering her. “It’s the two of us they’re turning their noses up at, not you. Why does it bother you so much?” he asked.

“You’re my friends; I’m not going to let some arrogant two-bit ponies put you down for walking next to me. It’s ridiculous.”

Zephyr looked at her wonderingly. “You really didn’t grow up with this sort of thing, did you?”

“Nope” said Diana shortly, as she turned off the main market street and onto a smaller side street the other two following close behind. “It seems utterly absurd to me but I’ve been told that this just the way things are.” She paused. “I don’t actually know where I’m going so why don’t you lead, Zephyr?”

In daylight the earth pony’s blush was surprisingly visible against her dark green coat and the spots of color made her already cute features downright adorable. Diana suppressed a smile as she surrendered the lead to the bashful pony.

As they trotted along the cobblestones Watchwing and Zephyr resumed an earlier discussion about the efficacy of various herbs and natural remedies. Both had been healers of a sort but they had specialized in very different areas. Zephyr tended to know more about herbs that treated symptoms because, after drawing the wound or illness into herself she could dose herself with something to treat what was left of the symptoms and wait for the problem to resolve itself, as it invariably did. Watchwing on the other hand, knew more about herbs that treated the root of the problem because he disliked the idea of treating the symptoms and ignoring the cause. There was still a great deal of overlap in their knowledge and they enjoyed finding common ground as well as sharing in each other’s knowledge.

Diana listened with half an ear as the two herbalists got into a friendly argument over whether the proper name for a certain plant was monkshood or wolfsbane. Her thoughts drifted to the task before them, a task that she had absolutely no idea how to complete. I sure hope this trip provides a flash of brilliance. Otherwise we may have bitten off more than we can chew.

Further ruminations were interrupted as a building that was unmistakably their destination came into view around the next turn. Though taller than most of the other buildings in town, the garrison nevertheless gave the impression of being squat. Its unpainted grey stone masonry stood out in stark contrast with the more airy whitewashed wooden buildings of the pony folk. Lacking any windows or doors other than the main one facing the street, its rounded homogenous appearance gave the impression that some poor giant pony had been buried alive here and had managed to shove only the tip of one hoof through the earth before expiring.

While not entirely deserted this section of town was, for obvious reasons, far less crowded than the market had been. The three ponies made their way over to a small, rather decrepit, café across the street and two buildings down from the garrison. They took a table outside where they could clearly see the entrance as well as along the street in both directions, not that line of sight was important so long as Watchwing was there, but being cautious made Diana feel more secure.

A waiter, looking exceedingly relieved and somewhat surprised to have customers, quickly came by to take their orders. Zephyr ordered coffees for each of them and slid the waiter a silver bit, intimating that they would likely be there for a quite some time and would prefer to be left undisturbed. For that large a tip, and in advance no less, the waiter was more than willing to accommodate the odd request and brought them an entire pot of coffee, “so they wouldn’t run out”, before making himself scarce.

Settled into their stakeout point the three ponies returned their attention to the garrison. Unfortunately, it yielded little more information to a second glance than it had to the first. A broad set of plain stone steps led up to the main double door. It was wooden and tall enough that even the largest of guards could pass through upright. The door was flanked on either side by spear wielding guards standing stiffly at attention and every now and then a soldier would enter or exit. Diana noted that each soldier that entered presented some form of id to the door guards.

After an hour of watching soldiers come and go without gleaning any useful information Diana began to grow frustrated. “Have you two noticed anything useful?” she asked. Zephyr mutely shook her head but Watchwing had an expression of intense concentration on his face and didn’t answer. Diana nudged him gently and he jumped in surprise.

“What? Oh Diana, what was that for?” She repeated her question and he nodded thoughtfully. “I’ve been trying to get a sense of the room immediately behind the doors from when they come in or go out, but I can’t make out much I’m afraid.”

“Well that’s something at least, what can you see?”

Watchwing thoughtfully took a sip of his now cold coffee before answering. “Wait a moment, I’ve got an idea. Let’s see if this works. Now who can I use” he muttered, looking around the street. His attention settled on a soldier making his way toward the door. “Ah! He’ll do. I have to time it just right.” Diana and Zephyr watched him curiously as he stood up and raised his wings as high as they could go, focusing on the progress of the incoming guardsman. At last Watchwing brought his wings down with as much force as he could muster, sending a strong breeze billowing across the street and through the garrison door just as it opened to admit the guardsman. He brought his wings up once more and curved them around the nerve points, magnifying the amount of information he retained from each errant gust of wind.

He remained still for a few moments, allowing the reflection of the gust he had sent out time to return. When it had, he folded his wings and sat down once more. “Alright, I think I have a pretty good idea how the room behind directly past the doors is set up. It’s reasonably large covering almost the same amount of space as the building itself. There were a few blocky shapes scattered around which I think are chairs. On the far side there was a desk with a guard sitting behind it and past that are two sets of stairs, one leading up and the other down.”

Diana smiled at him appreciatively. “Good job, having an idea of the layout is certainly going to be helpful. I’m going to guess that the cells are along the descending staircase. That just seems like the right place for a prison.”

Zephyr nodded. “That’s probably it. The guards live in the garrison as well as work there and I can’t imagine that they would choose to live underground.”

Further conversation was put on hold as the both doors opened wide and two columns of ten soldiers each marched out in unison. As the last member of each column reached the bottom of the steps the soldiers did a sharp quarter turn and ended up facing one another at the bottom of the steps. At the top a new soldier, one with an air of command and orange stripes across his shoulders similar to those that Captain had worn, stood at attention.

Diana leaned forward eagerly at the sight. “Finally, something’s happening. Excellent, it’s time for that escort to arrive.” she grinned a feral grin, “let’s see who we’re up against.”

For a moment the street was absolutely still, a strange tableau of waiting soldiers and motionless ponies. Then, far down the street the sharp report of boots against stone heralded the approach of a new arrival. Five soldiers, scarcely distinguishable from those waiting before the garrison, came into view marching in a line. Behind them a commanding figure became clear and with simultaneous gasps Diana and Watchwing realized who it was.

Captain came striding down the street.

Diana was about to rise and flee when Watchwing’s hoof on her shoulder stopped her. “Running now will only draw their attention,” he whispered. “They’re going to the garrison; they have no reason to come this far up the street.” She nodded and shakily sank back into her seat.

“Do you know her?” Zephyr asked, somewhat perplexed by their actions.

“That’s Captain, the one who gave me the cut on my leg,” Diana replied flatly.

Zephyr’s eyes widened in surprise and then narrowed as she turned to regard Captain, but all she said was, “I see.”

While the ponies were speaking Captain’s soldiers had reached the waiting columns and split apart. She walked through the gap in their ranks to meet the officer who had also stepped forward. Diana flicked her ears forward, grimacing as she realized that the pair was out of earshot. Zephyr looked similarly frustrated but Watchwing was still focusing intently.

Confused, Diana glanced over at him. “Watchwing, can you hear what they’re saying?”

“Not hear but…” he trailed off, shaking his head. “I can almost tell what they’re saying, though I’m not sure how. Let me concentrate for a moment.” The table was silent as Watchwing strove to make out what the two officers were saying. Suddenly he straightened up and curved his wings around his nerve centers once more. “Got it!” he exclaimed triumphantly. “I’m not hearing them, but I think I might be able to read their lips.”

Just as Watchwing got into position, however, Captain turned and walked briskly past the other officer with her soldiers following in her wake. With nothing left to listen to Watchwing folded his wings once more. “If I’d just been a moment faster,” he lamented.

“Did you catch any part of their conversation?” Diana asked.

“Only the very last exchange. Captain said ‘I’ll proceed as I see fit, Lieutenant.’ And the other officer, who I assume is named Lieutenant, said ‘You might outrank me but this is my area and you will respect my authority.’ That was when Captain stalked off.”

“Well it seems Captain and this Lieutenant are not on the best of terms,” Diana noted. “Perhaps we can play them off against one another. Regardless, more information is certainly a good thing.”

“Excuse me, I was wondering” Zephyr began diffidently. “Why didn’t you know that you could read their lips?”

Diana looked over a Zephyr, surprised. “That’s a good observation. I didn’t think your ‘sight’ was that detailed Watchwing.”

“It isn’t. Or I suppose I should say it wasn’t. I’m positive that I couldn’t have listened in like that yesterday.”

“Maybe your sight’s just getting more detailed with practice?” Zephyr offered.

He shook his head doubtfully. “Maybe, but it seems a very sudden and sharp increase for it to be normal improvement.”

“Well, the important thing is that we have another useful skill at our disposal.” Diana said, postponing further theorizing to a later date. “Now I think we’ve seen all we’re going to see here. Let’s head back; we’ve got a prison break to plan.” The other two ponies nodded in agreement and they all rose from their seats, ready to return to Zephyr’s house.

So far so good, Diana thought as they walked. We’ve scoped out the place and gotten away without attracting undue attention. Now I just have to figure out how to spirit a pony out from under the watchful eyes of a garrison of soldiers plus Captain. Piece of cake, right?

***

“This cake is delicious,” Diana exclaimed, happily taking a huge bite.

“Thanks, but I can’t take credit for it since the kitchen does all the work,” Zephyr protested, smiling nonetheless.

The three ponies were enjoying a late evening meal. After returning home they had decided to spend the afternoon brainstorming. Diana preferred solitude to think while Watchwing and Zephyr elected to work together. In all honesty Diana suspected that Watchwing was simply enjoying a chance to socialize after his year of isolation, but she certainly couldn’t blame him for it. Alone with a blank pad of paper in the bedroom in which she had spent the night Diana cudgeled her brains for some way to break into and out of the prison.

Progress was slow and frustrating. Her thoughts just seemed to keep going around in circles, never getting anywhere. We don’t have enough information so we can’t just plan a rescue but any attempt to gain information would probably put them on high alert so we might as well just go straight for the rescue except we can’t and...argh!

After spending the afternoon thinking furiously all Diana had come up with was a plan to get past the guardsmen at the door and even that seemed iffy. When Zephyr called up to her that dinner was ready she was exceedingly grateful for the interruption. The meal was quickly consumed and the three ponies were now conversing over dessert.

“So what did you two come up with?” Diana asked as she helped herself to a third slice of cake.

“It occurred to me that, whatever our eventual plan is, it will probably be easier the fewer soldiers there are in the garrison,” Watchwing began.

“And then I pointed out that I am still owed quite a few favors around town that I could probably call in and get them to spread false alarms to force the garrison to send out guards,” Zephyr finished.

“I agree. Fewer soldiers in our way would certainly be helpful and that sounds like it would work. Did you come up with anything for the actual prison break though?” Diana asked.

“I’m afraid not,” Watchwing said sadly, “did you think of anything?”

Diana shook her head, “I think I know how to get past the door guards but-“

A sharp knocking at the front door interrupted their conversation.

“It’s a little late for guests isn’t it?” Diana asked as Zephyr rose to answer the door.

“Late visitors are part and parcel of being a healer. You two stay here and I’ll see what they want,” Zephyr answered. She left and from the other room came the squeak of an opening door.

The chime of drawn sword was heard from the other room. After a moment of tense silence a voice they had hoped not to hear again shouted into the house. “Watchwing, Diana, if you don’t want this little earth pony to end up in pieces I suggest you get in here!”

With a helpless look Diana and Watchwing rose and left the kitchen. Before them Captain stood, nonchalantly holding a sword across Zephyr’s throat. Her eyes lit up with genuine pleasure as she they made their entrance. “Blindy! Pinkie! So good to see you two again.”

“Let. Her. Go.” Diana’s eyes were as cold and hard as the ice at the heart of the world. Her horn began to shine menacingly though in truth she had no idea what spell she could cast.

“Chill Pinkie, as you might have guessed from the lack of soldiers behind me I’m not here to capture you. I only grabbed her so you wouldn’t waste my time running or hiding. Now if you promise not to attack I’ll let her go and we can sit down and have a nice chat.”

The carefree tone and nonthreatening words pulled Diana back from the brink of surrender to an uncontrolled bloodlust. Without that clouding her thoughts she realized that a chance to talk with Captain might provide useful information for their prison break and she would get Zephyr out of harm’s way in the bargain. She spoke swiftly before Captain could change her mind. “Deal, we won’t attack you, now let her go.”

Captain shrugged, “Works for me.” She sheathed her sword and walked into the living room, taking a sprawling seat across one of the rugs. “Come on, sit down, we’ve got ever so much to discuss. Oh, before I forget, hey earth pony who I just took hostage, what’s your name?”

“I’m Zephyr” she responded, looking more nonplussed then alarmed at her capture and subsequent release.

“Zephyr huh?” Captain frowned thoughtfully as the three ponies took seats on the far side of the room from her. “Then I hereby dub thee ‘Zephy’ just so you match Blindy and Pinkie over there.”

“My name is not Pinkie!” Diana growled. “Stop with the nonsense and tell us what the hay you’re doing here. How did you find us anyway?”

“I saw you this morning at that café. Quite brazen of you, I’m rather impressed really, having coffee not two doors down from a garrison when you’re wanted ponies. I saw Zephy with you too and when I heard that the pony I was here to escort lived with a green earth pony it wasn’t that hard to put the pieces together. As for why I’m here, well,” she grinned “I want you to run away.”

“No! I’m not leaving without Maela,” Zephyr burst out angrily.

Captain shook her head sadly at Zephyr’s outburst, “yeah I figured it was something like that.”

“Why do you want us to run away?” Watchwing asked. “Doesn’t that run counter to your objectives?”

She chuckled ruefully, not noticing as the ponies winced at the sound, and ran a hand through her crimson hair. “That’s the million bit question isn’t it? To put it plainly, if you get captured here I’m toast. And not delicious golden brown lightly buttered toast, I’m talking the blackened crusts at the bottom of the oven that are thrown out without a second thought.” Three very confused ponies stared back at her blankly. She sighed. “I suppose I need to explain that some more eh?” Three heads bobbed in unison.

“Alright, here’s how it is. If I don’t capture you or if someone else does my life is forfeit. Discord has also stated that any homunculus that captures you will ascend.” The blanks looks grew, if possible, even blanker and Captain sighed. “Listen; there are three types of homunculi. Ordinary homunculi are the most numerous; they’re the ones with the solid black uniforms and they serve as guards. They’re little more than thugs really, all they can do is follow orders. Then there are the enhanced homunculi like myself and Lieutenant, whom you saw earlier. We have stripes across our shoulders corresponding to rank, serve as officers, and generally run the military outside Telluria. Finally, there are ascended homunculi who serve Discord directly in the capital and have double stripes on the shoulders of their uniforms.”

“If an enhanced homunculus serves with all their might and makes very few mistakes they might be permitted to ascend at the end of their life. Now though, Discord is offering that tantalizing and elusive prize simply for your capture. Any homunculus would desire it but, since I was the one who let you escape, if I don’t capture you and ascend then I will be executed.”

Watchwing gave her a guarded look. “From what you’ve said is seems that there is even less cause then we thought for you to want us to run.”

“Not quite. You see, Lieutenant would dearly love to be the one to capture you. What do you think would happen if I just waltzed into the garrison with you three as my prisoners?”

Diana caught on. “He’d take us from you and claim that you had nothing to do with our capture.”

She nodded. “Got it in one. I outrank him but even discounting the ten soldiers on patrol and the ten off duty at any given moment there’s still thirty soldiers left over against my five, and I don’t like those odds. So I have a little deal for you. I let you run this time and, in exchange, you promise that if you’re ever captured by someone other than me you give them a message.”

“I told you we’re not running until we rescue Maela!” Zephyr cried furiously even as Diana and Watchwing tried to hush her.

“Oh don’t bother hushing her,” Captain said acidly. “That first comment and the fact that you two are here of all places has made it pretty clear what your objective is. In point of fact, Zephy, you don’t need to run at all. But I assume that these two are intent on staying for the same reason as you are.”

“No point in hiding it, eh? Yes, we plan to break Maela out of prison and we can’t leave this town until we do.” Watchwing spoke more resolutely and confidently than he actually felt, mostly to reassure Zephyr that they wouldn’t abandon her.

“Really? You really think you can make it past the door guards, through the antechamber, down the dungeon steps, past another set of guards, break into the cell, and then do it all in reverse while carrying an injured pony and not get caught?” She snorted in derision. “I doubt you’d make it five steps.”

“So what now?” Diana asked. “We’re intent on trying and possibly getting caught but you can’t stop us without ensuring we get caught. What are you going to do?”

Captain rubbed the bridge of her nose with one hand. Her voice was tired as she replied. “I’m not sure. I didn’t think it would be hard to convince you to run for your lives. It really shouldn’t be, you know? I hate to say it but my first thought is to kill Maela so that you have nothing to gain by breaking into the garrison but if I did that I’d be executed just as fast. Maybe I could....wait, do you hear that?” She dashed to a window and peered out at the street before the door. The ponies were quick to follow after to see what had caused such concern.

Marching down the street, illuminated by the light of the torches they were carrying, were two ranks of five soldiers each with Lieutenant himself at their head.

Diana hissed with rage and leapt at Captain, her horn pricking Captain’s neck. “You brought them here. I should have known better than to listen to you, even for an instant. At least I’ll have the pleasure of killing you before I’m captured.”

“I didn’t!” Captain protested urgently. “They must have followed me but on my honor I swear that I didn’t bring them here. Listen to me though, we can still salvage this.”

The alicorn hesitated for a brief moment. “Talk quickly,” she said with a glance out the window, adding, “for both our sakes.”

“I told them that you had a blind pegasus with you but I didn’t mention that he doesn’t act blind. There are sure to be guards encircling the house but homunculi don’t have terribly good night vision. If I’m correct that Watchwing can see without light he can probably lead you past them. Meanwhile I can distract this group out front, giving you time to get away and either leave the area or go to ground somewhere in town.”

Though Diana was reluctant to trust Captain there didn’t seem to be any alternative. She lowered her horn and nodded. “Fine. Watchwing, Zephyr, grab our packs and head to the back door. See if you can’t get a sense of where the guards are. And you, Captain, what message is it you want us to relate if we’re captured.” In answer to Captain’s surprised look she added, “I don’t want to be in your debt for giving us time to get away.”

“Alright, memorize this and we’re square. Speak thusly: ‘Twixt truth and death life begins’”

“‘Twixt truth and death life begins’, I will remember. I fully expect our paths to cross again, Captain.”

“As do I, Diana”

They held one another’s gaze for a brief moment more and in that moment an understanding of the thread of destiny tying them to one another passed between pony and homunculus. At last Diana broke the gaze and trotted toward the rear exit.

She dashed through the kitchen and rejoined Watchwing and Zephyr just through the shimmering curtain that served as a back door. Zephyr had Watchwing’s satchel over one shoulder and, realizing that Watchwing would be able to see more clearly if he were unencumbered, Diana was quick to take her own saddle bags back from him.

“Well,” she whispered, “are they out there?”

“Yes, ten of them are spread out over the plane and slowly closing in. It should be possible to sneak past them, but you’ll have to do exactly as I say and make as little noise as possible. I’ll go first then Zephyr in the middle holding my tail and Diana at the rear holding Zephyr’s tail. One tail twitch means go, two means stop, and three is lie down. Got it?”

The mares nodded and got into position with commendable alacrity. Watchwing gave a single tail twitch which Zephyr passed on to Diana and they started off into the night.

For Watchwing it was no doubt a nerve wracking experience but Diana found herself strangely relaxed. With only the faintest sliver of a moon up in the sky it was practically impossible to see the ground in front of her let alone any searching soldiers and she could pretend that she was merely out for a late night stroll back home on the farm. Mindlessly following the tail based cues she stopped, started, and changed direction numerous times. The loss of direction this caused enhanced her disconnect from the serious danger they were in.

Suddenly Diana’s reverie was shattered as Zephyr’s tail twitched frantically twice followed by three more twitches. Immediately she dove to the ground. Not a foot to her right she heard a heavy boot land on the hard earth with a solid thud. Breathlessly she strove to hold herself as still as possible, fearful that the guard would hear the furious pounding of her heart.

There should have been another step by now. Come on, take another step. Nothing to see here, no ponies cowering for their lives, nope nothing. Just keep walking, please! Diana prayed, though she could not have said to whom.

An eternity of breathless moments later she heard the booted foot lift up and land further behind her. A silent cheer of celebration filled her at the sound. A third footstep followed before the noise was lost to the muffling effect of the darkened plane. After another few moments of waiting, just to be sure, Diana felt a single tail twitch and stood up to continue their escape. They walked straight back into the plane, evidently past the cordon of soldiers, until Watchwing finally whispered an all-clear.

The three ponies huddled close together to plan their next move. “Zephyr, do you know of anywhere in town we could hide until they stop looking for us?” Watchwing asked.

“I think Dr. Glimmer would hide us. He really cares about other ponies; if I weren’t here he would be treating everypony, guild rates or no.” She bit her lip in thought. “If we circle around and enter the town from the side I think we can make it to his house unseen but with all these guards around it might be tricky.”

Diana froze, Zephyr’s words echoed in her mind and an idea began to tease her, playing hide and seek with her thoughts. “Watchwing, you said there were ten guards around back right?”

“Yes but what does that have to do with anything?”

“I’m not sure; just...hang on a second.” Diana lowered her head trying her hardest to grab the slippery thought and force it to the forefront of her brain. Something about information? We needed to know more for the prison break and then we talked with Captain...Is it something Captain said? Grr! What am I missing?

“Diana, I don’t know what the holdup is but there are a lot of guards around and this opportunity to escape won’t come again.” Watchwing said turning back and forth to make sure no guards were sneaking up on them.

“That’s it! That’s what this is an opportunity that won’t come again.” Diana almost shouted, before remembering where they were and lowering her voice to a loud whisper. “Remember what Captain said? Lieutenant has fifty soldiers. Ten are on patrol and ten are off duty any given moment. He had ten with him out front and ten more on guard back here. That means...”

“There are only ten guards still in the garrison!” Watchwing said in a voice of dawning comprehension.

“Not just that,” Diana added excitedly, “she also kindly laid out the exact location of Maela as well as the guards on that route. Remember? When she sarcastically asked us if we thought we could get past them all?”

“This is our best chance, isn’t it? Are we going?” Zephyr asked hopefully.

They had neither planned nor prepared for a prison break that not. It was an unquestionably foolish to act so hastily. Nonetheless, Diana felt a mad reckless grin growing on her face at the thought of it, and swift glance at Watchwing revealed a similarly fired up expression.

“Let’s do this!”

***

Diana’s heart was racing in her chest as she walked down the street, just a few buildings away from the garrison. Their plan was a bit touch and go but now that it was set in motion there was no room for concern. Besides, concern would have distracted her as she strained with all her might to hold two spells in abeyance. It didn’t help matters that she was simultaneously levitating her saddle bags to disguise the otherwise suspicious glowing of her horn. By its baleful pink light she could just make out Watchwing walking towards her from the garrison’s opposite side.

A quick glance told her that the door guards were in the same position they had been earlier that day, and that they were dismissing as unimportant the two ponies that happened to be out late.

That would be their last mistake.

Watchwing and Diana reached the bottom of the steps in unison, each directly below one of the guards. They exchanged a small nod and Diana cast the two spells she’d been holding back. At once a small barrier, similar to the one she’d cast on the sentinels back at the wall around her village, obscured the guards’ vision.

Before they could react Diana and Watchwing were on them. The bony ridge of Watchwing’s wing took his guard in the throat, even as his hoof connected with the guard’s chest, shattering his sternum. Diana simply rammed her horn through her guard’s throat. Both dropped without a sound.

Diana lit her horn briefly and at the signal Zephyr came forward out of the darkness and stood with the other two at the top of the steps. She kept a lookout while Watchwing sent small gusts under the door and Diana rooted around in her bag. At last, she pulled out the rag that she had imbued with the Tiresian’s memory mist almost a week ago.

“Well, Watchwing, what’s it look like in there?” she asked.

“The only guard is on the far side of the room, behind a desk of some sort.”

“Alright, then we know what to do, ready?” she asked, tightening her telekinetic hold on the rag and readying herself to release its magical cocoon. They nodded. “Good, on the count of three, open the doors. One...two...three!”

Watchwing and Zephyr pulled sharply, flinging the doors aside. Diana dashed into the room, sending the rag shooting ahead of her to cover the mouth of the shocked guard on the other side of the room. Another quick flash of magic and the cocoon disappeared even as the guard drew a startled breath. At once the guard’s shocked expression gave way to one of confusion even as Zephyr and Watchwing raced past him to stand on either side of the staircase that led both down into the dungeons and up into the soldiers’ quarters.

Diana let the spent rag drop to the ground as she marched straight up to the guard. “Tell the dungeon guards to come up here!” she demanded imperiously.

“Dungeon guards?” he echoed quizzically. “Who are the dungeon guards?”

“Go to the descending staircase and shout for dungeon guards to come up here” she said angrily enunciating every syllable. “Or are you disobeying my orders,” she added, mentally praying that the ordinary homunculi were as obedient as Captain had made them out to be.

Slowly, the guard rose from his seat and walked to the top of the staircase. He called down it, “Dungeon guards! You’re ordered to come up here. Now!” When footsteps could be heard rising from below Diana moved out of immediate eyeshot of the top of the stairs. A moment later a pair of guards walked up the steps only to be met on one side by Watchwing’s swift wing buffet to the back of the head and Zephyr’s mighty buck to the chest, sending them both to the ground. Seeing that they were taken care of, Diana used a wing buffet of her own to knock out the amnesiac guard, causing him to join his colleagues on the floor.

Watchwing glanced over at Zephyr in surprise. “I would have thought you would be reluctant to attack someone like that.”

Zephyr just shrugged. “As a healer I’m no stranger to death. And no pony who heals the way I do could think of it as anything less than a necessary part of life. Now let’s keep moving.”

“Wait,” Diana said as she trotted up. “Check and see if they have keys. I’d hate to get all the way down there and then find out that we can’t open the cell.”

A brief moment later Watchwing grinned in triumph as he lifted a large iron ring of keys with his wing. “Got it, let’s go.”

Without another word the trio descended. Watchwing led, his wings flapping as he sent air soaring ahead to reveal any surprises. Fortunately, there were none and, after several spirals of the staircase, it leveled out into a corridor with cells lining either side, torches set between their doors provided a modicum of light. A small desk with an abandoned set of playing cards revealed how the guards typically spent their time.

Zephyr rushed forward, eyes darting left and right, before turning back to Watchwing. “Which cell is Maela in?” she demanded.

He pointed at the third cell on the right. “Wait a moment though, there’s something odd about her,” he tried to add, but Zephyr dashed to the cell without listening. Diana and Watchwing followed close behind. Watchwing gasped as he came closer to the cell but Diana’s attention was occupied with her attempt to find the right key to unlock the door and she couldn’t spare the attention to see what it was about Maela that so surprised him.

After trying what seemed like every key on the ring, Diana finally felt the lock click and the door swung open on creaky hinges. Zephyr was at Maela’s side in an instant and Diana glanced up and finally got her first look at the unicorn before she too gasped in shock.

Maela had a pure white coat with a straight coal black mane and similarly straight long black tail. Her features were angular, sharp even, and her snout almost seemed to taper to a point. There were several cuts and bruises on her body from her time in the dungeon. But even with them it was clear she was an exceptionally beautiful unicorn. Or she would have been were it not for one thing.

Her scars.

Almost every inch of her body was covered with long lines of raised pale white scar tissue that stood out even against the white of her coat. There almost seemed to be a design to them, long looping whorls in some places, and tight spirals in others. Any one might not have affected her appearance greatly, possibly enhanced it, but taken as a whole the effect was altogether otherworldly and almost painful to look upon. The eye seemed to twist and turn along the lines, following the mesmerizing patterns and rapidly producing a headache in anypony foolish enough to look for too long.

“Merciful light,” Watchwing whispered, “what have they done to her?”

“I don’t know. She’s not in that bad a shape but she won’t wake up.” Zephyr looked up from her place by Maela’s side. “Or, oh, you mean her scars? She did that to herself, most of the time she hides it but they must have exhausted her magic.”

“She did that to herself?!” Diana exclaimed in a strangled shout. “Why would she do that?!”

“I really don’t think this is the best place to discuss it,” Zephyr replied icily. “Help me get her on my back, we have to go!” Her words startled them into motion.

“Here let me carry her,” Diana offered. Zephyr hesitated but Diana was the older and larger of the two and she too had earth pony blood to give her endurance and strength. With a bit of levitation and Watchwing’s help they managed to secure the sleeping mare across Diana’s back while Zephyr shouldered Diana’s saddlebags and returned Watchwing’s satchel.

The trip back up the stairs was uneventful but as they reached the antechamber Watchwing slowed next to the guard Diana had dispatched, the only one who was unconscious instead of dead. “We should kill him,” he said softly, “he got a good look at us. If we leave him alive Lieutenant will know exactly who broke Maela out.”

“We’re not going to kill him,” Diana said firmly. “We killed the others when they were still a threat. Something I was trying very hard not to think of, by the way, so thanks ever so much for bringing that up,” she added sarcastically. “Anyway we are not going to kill someone who is unconscious and no longer a direct threat. I will not allow that.”

For a moment it seemed that Watchwing was going to protest but instead he sighed. “Yeah, it wouldn’t be right would it? Much easier and safer, but not right. Well we got who we came here for, let’s get out before Lieutenant and Captain come back.”

Without another word the trio turned quartet slipped through the doors and vanished into the night.

Prologue

The Element of Laughter

Prologue

“Spike, come grab a book for me please.” Twilight shouted, not looking up from the paper she was writing. “Of course,” Spike replied, as he walked downstairs, “which book?”

“Top shelf on the left, Star-Swirl the Bearded’s treatise on magic resistance” Twilight said, still writing furiously.

Spike winced. “Top shelf might be a problem, I lent our step ladder to the mayor to help fix town hall. Can’t you just grab it with magic?”

Twilight sheepishly looked up from her paper. “I would, but the very first spell in the book is ‘how to magic proof this book’ and I cast it already for practice.”

“Here Twilight, use this ladder.” Pinkie said.

“Thanks Pinkie that’s just what I- Wait. Where did you come from?”

“Well…I was at Mr. and Mrs. Cakes helping to make a batch of cupcakes when I heard Spike say ‘top shelf might be a problem’ and a good friend always helps a friend with a problem so I ran over grabbed the ladder from your garage and here I am with a ladder!” Pinkie blurted out, talking at her usual pace of a mile a minute.

Twilight noticed several impossibilities in what Pinkie had said and opted to focus on the most glaring one.

“Pinkie, I don’t have a garage.”

“Sure you do Twilight, its right out back.” Pinkie hopped over to the window and pointed, “See?”

Twilight rolled her eyes but went over to the window to check anyway. Sure enough there was nothing but the usual, empty, backyard of her library tree. “Pinkie, there’s nothing there.”

As she left the window and started skipping around the room Pinkie replied, “Well gosh Twilight, I can’t help it if you can’t keep track of your own garage.”

“Grr, that’s it, I’ve had it! I am going to figure out how you do all the weird things you do and I’m going to figure it out now!” Twilight stood up from her desk, picked Pinkie up with her magic, and headed toward the basement. Her ‘I will study until I understand or pass out’ expression plastered over her face. She called back to Spike “Don’t let anyone in, I don’t want any distractions.” Well familiar with that particular look Spike just nodded before scampering off to raid the gem jar while Twilight was otherwise occupied.

“Wheeeeeee” Pinkie shouted as she was whisked down the stairs, “I didn’t know you could do that! Oh oh, spin me around the room now, pretty please with a chimicherrychanga cupcake on top.”

Twilight ignored the request and dropped Pinkie on a couch in the middle of the room before taking a seat on an opposite couch. She spoke sternly, hoping Pinkie would see things her way. “Pinkie this is serious. You have done things that should not be possible and I really want to understand them. I found a spell which might help me understand you better; will you let me try it out to see if your unconscious mind holds some answers?”

Uncharacteristically serious, Pinkie looked Twilight right in the eye. “Remember Twilight ‘Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you’. You might not like what you find, but, if you really want to, you may try.”

Twilight blinked in surprise, somewhat nonplussed by the serious and enigmatic response. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat before making up her mind. While she wasn’t sure what to make of Pinkie’s odd statement there was no way she was going to miss this opportunity. Readying herself, she cast the spell and started to speak in a low even voice. “You are getting sleepy. Your eyelids are growing heavy. A nap sounds like the best idea in the world”

Pinkie yawned as the spell took effect. “A nap does sound nice. I think I’ll just close my eyes for a minute.” True to her word, her eyes began closing as Twilight continued to speak in the same flat tone of voice. Seeing that Pinkie was fast asleep she began the next step. “Good. Now, when I count to three you will wake up. One, two, thr-“

“Save your breath Twilight Sparkle, I am awake.” The voice came from Pinkie but it wasn’t her voice. It was too low, too solemn to belong to the cheerful pink pony. Indeed, her entire body seemed somehow different. Her eyes were open but seemed more narrow and careworn, her mouth drooped on either side, as if she had forgotten how to smile, let alone laugh, and her shoulders were bowed, as if bearing a great weight. Most telling of all, her mane and tail flattened out with a sound like air being let out of a balloon.

The transformation startled Twilight so much that she fell backward off her couch. She struggled to her feet and gazed in concern at her friend. “Pinkie, are you okay?”

The pink pony winced at the sound of her name. “Don’t call me Pinkie, the name of my imprisonment. Please call me Diana that I may remember for a time who and what I was.”

“I- I don’t understand.” Twilight stammered, “What happened to Pinkie Pie? Who are you? Where did you come from and how did you get into Pinkie’s body?”

“PINKIE’S BODY?” Diana shouted, standing up in her fury, “This body was mine long before the one you call Pinkie Pie even existed!” Diana’s voice shook the room. Her anger was practically palpable, a terrifying presence emanated from her, the room seemed to grow darker and the air more turbulent. Twilight cowered back behind a book, wondering what her meddling had unleashed.

She need not have worried, however, for Diana’s energy was soon spent and she sank back onto the couch. “I’m sorry Twilight. My prison is one of my own making. But I’ve been alone for a very long time and it seems I’ve forgotten my manners, forgive me.”

Twilight came out from behind her book-shield and shook her head in bemusement. “Typical Pinkie, any attempt to understand just makes things more confusing. I’m beginning to think logic doesn’t apply to her…you…argh! This is so weird!”

Diana’s expression grew less severe. “I understand; it can’t be easy watching a completely different pony take over what is apparently your friend’s body. Rest assured that this is only temporary. Pinkie’s mind will soon reassert itself and I will be returned to my prison deep inside.”

Her mind eased on that account, Twilight let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “I’m glad that Pinkie will be alright, but I still want to know who you are and why you’re trapped in her mind.”

Diana eyed her with a curious expression. “You are a student of Celestia yes? The one who defeated Discord? Alright. I suppose it’s fitting to tell you my story. First though, I must ask, what do you know of the founding of Equestria?”

Twilight unconsciously sat up straighter and folded her hooves in typical school pony fashion as she recited what she knew. “The tribes of the Earth Ponies, the Pegasi, and the Unicorns were all at war over the diminishing resources of their homeland so they-“

Before she had even finished her first sentence Diana interrupted her. “That myth will come into play in my story but I’m talking about the defeat of Discord and the establishment of Celestia and Luna’s Diarchy.”

Put off balance by the interruption, Twilight momentarily floundered before focusing on the question at hand. “Approximately 1500 years ago Celestia and Luna used the Elements of Harmony to topple Discord and –“

Diana cut her off again. “So you know almost nothing. That’s fine; I’ll simply cover some background history before beginning.”

Twilight neighed quietly, miffed at being interrupted a second time. Not to mention being told she knew nothing! “But I’m polite,” she thought to herself, “I’m not going to interrupt, unlike some ponies.”

Meanwhile, Diana was in full blown lecture mode. “In the time before my grandparents Equestria was a much smaller country, ruled by a council of Earth Ponies, Pegasi, Unicorns, and Alicorns. It was a good time; a time of peace and prosperity. However, when my grandparents were fillies, Equestria and all neighboring states were conquered by Discord. Some resisted, but Discord’s magic was overwhelming and he had armies of homunculi at his command that did not know fear or defiance. He crushed all who opposed him and divided the survivors into separate villages, forcing them to eke out a meager living with backbreaking labor. The years passed under Discord’s chaotic tyranny, my grandparents had children and raised the next generation. Finally, in the sole surviving Alicorn village, I was born. So begins my-“

“An Alicorn village?” Twilight interjected, unable to contain herself any longer, “but you’re an Earth pony, why would you be born in an Alicorn village?”

Diana stared straight into Twilight’s eyes. “I am no Earth Pony. I am Alicorn. My wings may have been torn from my back, my horn may have been ripped from my head, but no one can take the blood of an Alicorn that flows in my veins. Now sit, still your questions and listen to my tale.”