The worrying thing about this scene was not how the fox seemed to be running for his life or that the entirety of the trees in this gloomy, dangerous place might swallow him up just for fun.

It was that his leg was completely white. At least, as far as Tyro was concerned this was worrying. Well, spitting blood is hardly considered something reasonable for you, why would having limbs alter colour be any different?

Sure, his paw was a more healthy black raising up to around the joint as though he had long socks on but past that up to his shoulder was snow white. It didn't sting. No, thanks to the blue, umm...something unprintable with the crazy mane, it was his stomach that still crackled with new aches and pains. It didn't react differently either but Tyro couldn't produce fire with his altered fur. Yes, fire. When he had fingers, he could easily create flames with his right hand. With his left, however, all he got was multi-coloured sparks. It's been a bit of a worry since Canterlot.

Now, when he was...umm, smaller, his paws were more for staying upright than throwing fireballs. Being a biped was handier but here, he'd need a smaller profile if he was to stay out of sight. Standing at around six feet tall in a world of small ponies was akin to strapping a rotating light to his head.

He'd just have to be smarter. And breath fire a lot more. It's not a terrible thing; just spitting the stuff on to the ground is intimidating enough, usually. He wasn't particularly popular as it is and random acts of arson seemed like the easy path towards torches and pitchforks.

~ | ~

"Pinkie? Pinkie, are you all right?" Twilight asks as the pink pony wearily raises her head. They're back in the Library, surrounded by friends and scattered books. The recovering pony was laid out over Twilight's bed, on her back, her friends surrounding her. She stretches out, looking up and around at the concerned looks.

"Hi." Pinkie's usually shrill, quick-paced tones were absent. Instead, she spoke with a sluggish, muted voice that barely had the energy to tumble out of her mouth. Her slack face had "exhausted" written all over it. Her eyelids seemed to be fighting over her concerning whether or not to close now or right now. They lazily bounded up and down over and over. "What am I doing here?"

"Shush, shush, shush!" Rairity said, holding a hoof up to Pinkie's mouth. "There's no need to exert yourself, dear. You're safe now and the nasty monster's run off."

"He ran away before he got his turn." Pinkie had little left to put some emphasis behind the words but the pout would have to convey all of that meaning instead.

"Ah, ah, ah! Not another word! You can't spare the energy. I would just concentrate on resting till your feeling better." Rarity said in manner similar to a mother reasoning with a child.

Rainbow Dash covered her mouth with a hoof and whispers to Applejack: "Pinkie Pie sounds a lot like Fluttershy like this, don't you think?"

"Oh yeah! I was tryin' to figure that!" Applejack replies.

"Figure what?" Rarity inquires, looking over her shoulder.

"Nothin'." A quick dismissive shake of the head from both. Rairty blows past that. Pinkie was in dire condition.

"That means staying put." She adamantly states "You'll have to stay in bed the whole day." Rarity explains slowly, returning to Pinkie.

Oh, the face of heartbreak! That quivering lip, those welling eyes! Where Pinkie managed to find the oomph to show her distress, shall likely never be known but good grief, I don't believe anything quite as tearful could have been conceived by the minds of ponies. It was like telling birds to power-walk for the summer instead of flying.

Rarity composes herself has best as she can, managing to find some resolve. It was melting fast: "Oh please, Pinkie. It's only for a day...Just...umm..."

~ | ~

A zebra stops in her tracks. There was a disturbance in the leaves. She stood on the vaguely outlined path through the trees to Ponyville. Although, it's only a path because the overgrowth hadn't encroached yet. The new items from her shopping trip might be attracting something that was clearly hungry. This forest was dangerous but the animals could be avoided without too much trouble. If anything though, this appeared to be heading for her. The dense bushes rustle. The rings running up the length of her neck clatter as she looks behind. The slender eyes dart back and forth as the dark bushes of the forest betray the movements of something running past. Dark leaves are kicked up as the creature streaks around her. She takes a hoof forwards and the commotion starts up again.

"Little fillies should come out,
This is not a good place to play and shout.
Large creatures have teeth to bite,
And might think to give a fright.
I will help you get back home,
Away from this dangerous zone." There wasn't any reaction from the damp, dark trees. After a wait of a second or two, she started to move again.

There! She sees a long form. Something darting in front of her.

"Creature, there's no need to distress,
I wish not to cause you further stress." Her eyes dart around, looking for any sort of reaction from the leaves. She gets one. A shaggy scarlet and white head pops its head out of a shrub, staring at him.

"So...Your not from the town? All right..." Tyro hops out of the deep greenery. "I'm looking for a map of the area?"

She watches the fox wonder over to her with his his one white leg. The...well, for want of a better word, hair on his head was ragged and unkept. A few stray twigs in it at the moment. It had a fringe that seemed to threaten his sight while also travelling down the back of his neck. The black triangles of his ears stick out of this matted mane. He cautiously trots over to Zacora, two long, white-tipped brushes sweeping behind him. The zebra takes a step away from Tyro. Afterall, foxes don't often talk...or have two tails.

She knew what this was.

"These lands of apple trees and green,
Are not a place where you should be seen." Her voice had dropped into a displeased decree. The entirety of the zebra's verse went over his head.

"I...what? Sorry? Apple trees? Where?" The zebra recovers the space she backtracked, standing tall in order to lock eyes so that they could burn into Tyro's.

"The likes of you should not be here,
Kitsune create a bad atmosphere.
Farms are drained, wither and die,
Nothing can grow on soil that's dry." The zebra said. A little light of recognition flicked on in Tyro's head. He'd heard all this sort of talk before. It seems he's found another farming community...wonderful...

"Oh! Right! Yes, now I'm on the right page. Err...I don't take what I don't need. Don't worry! But I am looking for a map!" Tyro reassures, waving away any accusations with his front paws. He attempts what he hopes it a pleasant smile. The pumping nervousness could be making this into something more sinister for all he knew. The Zebra seemed OK.

"Then what is the map's purpose,
If not to find an orchard's surplus?" Tyro was beginning to feel even more uncomfortable underneath the zebra's glinting glare. Although, he had to give respect to the consecutive couplets she was getting. Why this pony was doing it? He'd no idea. Then again, this looked like the sort of place that you just roll with the punches on here...

"I'm looking for a desert. There's something I need to do and your Princess along with plenty of other people are in danger and I've got around a week before everything goes belly-up. So! If you could be so kind, can I borrow a map, please?" As a finishing touch, a polite smile from the fox, baring lots of teeth. Hopefully. The zebra visibly mulled over Tyro's words. She still seemed uncertain of Tyro's intentions.

"If lives are at stake,
Then come with me,
But whether I believe you,
we'll have to wait and see." The zebra resumes her journey where it had been interrupted. Tyro bounds to her side in an effort to keep up.
"It sounds like you have more than one good tale,
But the one most recent, you should regale." She said. Tyro spent a good few seconds translating in his head.

"Umm...Oh! Right! Yes! Well, err...Ooo...Where to begin? Errrr..."

~ | ~

Her mane was smog. It curved around her face when she stood in profile, an ever moving wave of black and silver particles. The rest falls down one shoulder, almost to the floor where it vanishes into the air. Her white coat makes her quite visible in the pastel shades of the hallways here. The crest hanging round her neck clicks quietly at regular intervals. Small cogs snap to a new position around the edges of the shiny device every few ticks.
"Your Highness? She will see you now." She silently nods her thanks before slipping through the doors into the room. Her eyes fall instantly to the bed.

There, she saw the rainbow, flowing mane and the weary but pleased expression on that face. Entire legs were covered in plaster casts then hoisted into the air. There was a nurse behind the Princess, tending to a majestic, if battered, wing. Patches of the brilliant white coat had tinges of black. The smell of smoke hung in the air.
"Oh Celestia..." She said, concern flooding her face. "What did it do to you?"

~ | ~

"You have some interesting furniture." Tyro said, eyes darting all over the room as Zecora returned from another room. The cauldron bubbled in it's position in the centre of the slightly-dark, wooden shack Zecora had declared as 'home'. Masks decorated in feathers and thin paints hang from the walls. Books sit in their shelves and between all the bottles, each one unique in colour, shape and size. Zecora spread the map over a work surface in front of Tyro.
"Thank you, I do my best,
Now your story, please tell the rest." She sat down opposite Tyro. He stares off into the middle distance, trying to recall everything.
"Yeah...Umm....So, I'd travelled from Appleloosa to...Caaaan...Cann...Canterlot! That's it. Heading straight for the palace."

~ | ~

Tyro steps away from the wall, holding the weapon ready. Every step has as little weight placed on it as possible all the while he treads down the deserted hallway. The light has been lightly coloured by all the stained glass it passes through while entering what he gleamed was the Canterlot Palace Throne Room. Little ponies either fly about, or trot around the green landscapes shown with in them. Hanging baskets of flowers adorn every window in the silent place. Tyro reaches the door at the far end. With a delicate touch, he twists the handle with his fingers, inching the door open. He slips into the corridor through the crack. He keeps his two paws as light and delicate as possible. He knew he was a little tall for this place. It seemed everything here was a lot smaller than him by the virtue of being bipedal. It was like walking through a petting zoo.

The Tiara is supposed to be quite close. Hopefully, this place was planned out with a modicum of sense. From outside, it looked like the architect had made some sort of joke on the plans but no one noticed, so it was build anyway. This place was all high towers and tall roofs. Builders around here must have a heck of a job while not looking down or minding their step on the tall, thin roofs.

The darker corridor is blanker than the lavish one he'd just come from. The high ceilings dominates anything standing inside, making them appear small in comparison. Windows let the sunlight flood in and the off-scarlet carpet was soft under Tyro's paws. The furniture of desks and occasional containers of flowers seemed to be filling the space here. Checking in each direction, Tyro nervously walks in the direction that is almost certainly the treasure vault. Probably. Most likely. With the lightest of touches he could possibly manage, he grabs the handle of the door. Slowly, shooting glances over his shoulder at the currently quiet and empty halls, he twists and opens the door, slipping into the largest gap he could face making.

~ | ~

Fluttershy enters the Library to find Spike holding the pendant Rainbow Dash had taken from the strange fox creature. Rainbow Dash herself was hovering over the baby dragon with a wide gaze and a bucket of water clenched in her teeth by the handle. She was clearly on guard for something. Applejack had the black shirt clenched in her teeth. She dumps it and beats down on it to smoother the last remaining embers sitting in a pile of ash where the table was before she left for food. Beside the wreckage, Rarity attempted to console the distressed Twilight. One hoof was rubbing her back as Twilight caught her breath, holding onto a small pile of charred and tattered books. She was in clear, deep mourning. Fluttershy puts down the pot of soup hanging from her mouth.

"What happened here? Has Spike got the hiccups again?" She asks.

"Hey! It wasn't me! It was this thing!" Spike said, watching the stone in the centre for any sudden movements.

"Is everypony all right?" She asks again, closing the door behind her.

"Yeah. Twilight's a little shook up after the whole thing but that necklace should go some place else." Applejack explained, spitting the sooty shirt to the ground.

"The wretched thing decided to explode in her face." Rarity adds. "Perhaps we should place it somewhere where it's unlikely to any more damage? It could have taken the whole library with it. Why not put it in water, Rainbow Dash?"

Applejack shrugs."Better than leavin' it around."

So Rainbow Dash flutters down to a landing, placing the bucket on the floor. Spike turns and drops the pendant, chain and all into the water. It clunks as it hits the bottom. They both peer inside.
"Are those bubble supposed to be there?" Spike asks.

"What?" Rarity looks up with alarm. "Spike! What's happening?" The bucket starts to emit wisps of steam while a soft bubbling rumbles from within.

"Uh...We're gonna need another plan." Rainbow Dash said over her shoulder, "The necklace is boiling the water away."

~ | ~

"Continue please,
It's unkind to speak then freeze." The zebra urges. There seemed to be little there in her expression to suggest either sympathy or detestment for the fox's tale.

"Sorry, sorry." Tyro stares into the rising steam comming from the cauldren in the middle of the shack. "Just...collecting my thoughts. So, I eventually find this thing."

~ | ~

Tyro closes the door behind him. It clicks quietly as he steps through the lines of jewels and onate portraits. They were all of these various horses and ponies in armour or crowns. He still holds his weapon at his side, ready to whack anything that might just try and jump him. The strange, axe item that he held at his side. All the floor was coated the same plush carpet and velvet ropes keeping him from the glass cabinates that lined the room. The metal doors at the end was the goal. Electric blue lines are embedded into the dense metal. Their lattice across the doors interconnects and crosses over like a thicket hedge. The pattern ends in sharp thorns to flourish this ornate web across the surface. The cruel barbs are all linked back to a throbbing crystal in the centre of the door. There's a quiet hum in the otherwise still air of dust. He sweeps towards the door, giving it a quick looking over.

"Uh huh..." He moved a hand from his weapon to the door's surface, travelling slowly towards the buzzing blue streams. Blue lightning arcs from one of the thorns, attacking his fingertip harmlessly but enthusiastically.

"Huh...A magic lock, I think. Neat!" He smirks in amusement. "It's nice that they made it look so pretty."

He places all of his fingertips on the doors surface, blue sparks fizzing around the touch points. The thorns and the lines of the lock glow like a cigarette end. The energy that rushes through these leylines of the door fizzle at their brightest around Tyro's hands. The blue of the magical lock starts to ebb away at the edges. The life of the lock retracts towards his digits, spitting and hissing at its devoured. The crystal heart of the electric lock dims, flickers then comes to a defeated rest as the fox somehow wins out over it.

"Feels somewhat like cheating but I won't complain." Tyro grabs the edge of the door that now swings gradually open on it's hinges, as if limp without his surging energy. It would seem the only thing keeping it closed was the magic. The door is swung wide open to show the rest of the vault. Other tiaras twinkle on their small, pristine pillows along the walls, mirrored with other jewels, septars and fineary. Tyro had managed to gleam these might have been gifts. The latest of which was from a place known as Steam Peaks. Best guess was some volcanous region, guessing by the name alone. A click with his right hand summons a small flame to settle in his grasp, once the door opened. It seemed he may have killed any lighting in here too. As long as there is some system of lighting in here. Tyro walks in, making a beeline for just what he wanted.

"You," began a sudden, female voice from the other end of the vault. "Had better have the most brilliant excuse planned for being here."

~ | ~

Zecora begins to wince, shuffling uneasily in her seat.
"I don't like where this is going,
Maybe I'm better not knowing."

"No! Look, no-one else has sat down and listened to all this yet. They've either attacked, thrown nets or tried to cast spells on me!" Tyro pleads, "I know it was stupid now but it's the truth! Someone should hear my side of the story. You know more than anyone else so far, so just hear the rest, please?. Now...err..."

~ | ~

"You had better have the most brilliant excuse planned for being here." The vibrant, ethereal mane frames the serious look of the alicorn staring at him. Tyro sheepishly turns, a tiara of ornate golds and silvers that clutched a large, red jewel in his grip. She was surrounded by armoured guards. Each holding or levitating a threatening weapon in his general direction. Their bright and shining armour seemed strong enough to take a few hits, Tyro guessed, but it didn't cover the whole of their burly bodies.

Even so...How'd he get found out?

"Heh...Look, Princess! If you weren't going to listen to my letters, then I have to take action." Tyro replies as he walks out of the vault, attempting to be as mindful as possible for exits without actively looking at them. He holds his hands up, weapon in one hand, the tiara in the other. "Please, let me prove what I said was true."

The Princess stands defiant, guards around her pointing their weapons and moving closer. The uninviting blades edge closer.

"I have heard enough of your slander against her. The stone is not dangerous and she couldn't be more disgusted with your accusations. Put my gift down if you're truly not looking for any trouble." The princess orders. She stands tall, meeting Tyro's eyes with a harsh glare.

Tyro nods.

He then puts the tiara into his mouth to hold onto with his teeth. Then, he tucks his odd weapon underneath and arm. Then, holding his hand out before him, small black strands form around his fingers. The small, black wisps knit together, weaving into some form of wood. They make a fretboard, a neck, a body, a head. The instrument forming was bizarre. Halfway between a guitar and sitar with this elongated neck. It seemed a strangely ominous looking lute or somesuch instrument; black details across the varnished but heavily scuffed body appeared to swirl like a storm. What was probably quite a pretty dark red body seemed to be beaten and scratched to an unrecognisable scrap. Solid looking but clearly having lead a hard life. The strings pull themselves taught, perfectly in tune within moments. Each give a short twang as they align themselves. Immediately, Tyro starts to play the instrument he held, backing off into the vault. With each note, the air in the room shifted, swirling around him with increasing voraciousness. As if invoking the wrath of some unseen force, the spiraling melody was creating a small hurricane within the room.

The guards dash straight for him as Tyro pulls the door to the vault closed. The air falters immediately after his hands move from the strings to grasp the door. It clatters closed with a shunting rattle on it's hinges that reverberates across it's dead surface. He can hear the guards stomp to a stuttering halt just before it.

The door, however, is opened easily. But it wasn't by the guard's or The Princess. It was by a gush of wind. Treatures were rattling in their places to the rhythm of the song. A few pedestals toppled around Tyro's paws, spilling their contents onto the floor. Crowns, jewels and gold roll around, swirled into the maelstrom around the fox. His fur and clothes flapping wildly as he plays. His paws gently leave the floor while this music plays.

The guards were attempting to advance but the wind was pretty concentrated within this vault. It had little else to go other than straight out the door they wanted to get in. They and the Princess dig in their hooves, gripping with all they could.

Tyro could see The Princess' eyes, dart around the area. They fell on his instrument, his face and then one of the blades a guard was carrying. It seemed she was hatching some sort of plan. The fox tenses, his own head attempting some mental gymnastics of it's own. He needed a counter if she was planning to att-

He suddenly thrusts the instrument into the air ahead of him.

The prang of cut strings somehow gained a gale force scream coming to a dismal, pathetic whelp of a stop. The air calmed, Tyro landing back onto his paws with a thud. He looks at his instrument.

It seems The Princess had just sent a spear through it, assumingly using her magic to slam into the wooden instrument. The edge of the blade had caved in the hollow curves of the body, chips and splinters coming along with the blade as Tyro pulls it free. Each of the strings were loose, curling up like loose springs. They all hung limp. Their apparent power over the wind had been silenced abruptly. He takes the tiara from his mouth.

"The heck did you do that ffff...." Tyro had started his little outburst strong but with the approach of guards, blades and a very angry Princess of the Sun, the anger petered out as the reality check came. Immediately, he drops the now useless instrument, retaking his weapon into his hands as he retreats into the shadow of the vault.

~ | ~

"So cornered, you are
How did you escape Celestia?" Zecora asks, still giving little leeway in her expression as to whether she was appalled or not. It unnerved Tyro a little. He wasn't sure if this was curiosity or an interrogation yet. Moving now would be a hastle. It always is when you try and play 'hide and seek' with every single thing with a pair of eyes. At least here, he could get some rest, lay low then have somewhere to move on.

Tyro thinks for a moment on how to word the next stage of this story: "Uuhhh. Well, they all fanned out. And...I just, dealt with them. One by one. Celestia had tried to light up the vault but there was so much stuff to hide behind in there, it was all too easy to stay out of sight."

"Your tale is surely not done." Zecora said, raising an eyebrow. She was pressing him for a little more details. "How did you dispatch each one?"

"Well...The guard ponies were kinda easy. I mean one came looking around this large chest as The Princess stood at the door, making sure I couldn't get out. I...umm..."

~ | ~

The guard trotted towards a half empty and upturned chest. The ornate object sat upon a pile of it's contents. He looks up and around, squinting in the gloom. His eyes scanned the area, back and forth, combing every single molecule for the elusiv-

Bam! One swat across the helmet and the guard stumbles. He feels hands grasp his shoulders, the areas turning somewhat cold and numb quickly. He looks back towards his fading comrades, tumbling into unconsciousness.

~ | ~

"Then!" Tyro collects his thoughts, his paws enthusiastically demonstrating who was there and when as she speaks. "Then I got two more with this...umm..."

~ | ~

There had been a clattering somewhere over here, they'd heard it. Rushing towards the source of the noise, they find their comrade on the floor. His helmet was askew, the rest of him pouring out from it with all the strength and rigidity of jelly. The pair of them looked down and then to each other.

Then out into the gloom. They part a little, peering as deeply as their eyes allowed for the fox, the vault was large but surely not tha-

The clatter was enormous. A small chest clatters against one guard, the weight slamming into his side with a sizable shunt. In the commotion of having to turn, another strike is given across the helmet of the second guard. The force was enough to set of a stumble, hooves attempting to keep themselves as stable as possible within only a few moments.

Those moments are eaten up with the chilling nausea running through both stallions as the dirty scarlet creature appears in their fading vision. One flops over into the pile of gold and jewels that covered the other guard, joining the other in the unexpected nap.

~ | ~

"So, from there, I could try and get past Celestia." The fox said. "I just had to slip past her somehow. I tried throwing gems and calling her out but she wasn't budging!"

~ | ~

"The tiara is dangerous! I will find another way out of here. I'm not letting you stop me." Tyro shouts from his hiding place, peeking out at the rainbow coloured flow shining against the only light streaming inside. The Princess was standing firm, apparently looking to hold out till the very end.

"You're leaving me little choice, Tyro. This is your last chance: give yourself up or I will lock you in here." Celestia calls, drawing herself up. Her horn glows brightly, only managing to cut so far into the darkness of the treasure vault. Her hooves dug into the dusty carpet, preparing to stand her ground.

Tyro thought. He couldn't come this far and just give in. Not really. He didn't really have the time. All of his work could be undone within a week if it took him that long to break out of wherever he's thrown into. He wasn't sure he'd be happy to risk an idle bluff either. Again, if he was locked in here, there's no guarantee he could get out. After all, he only really had a few weapons, jewels and enough gold that even a dragon wouldn't sneeze at. At best, he could kill time playing in the gold.

But the tiara would remain in here. That was unacceptable.

He steps out, raising a hand to shield Celestia's light from his eyes.

"Uhh...Sorry, I'm going to need you to shift." He said. Celestia remained still.

"Please?" She remains still. He puts the tiara into his mouth to clench between his teeth, his weapon at his side.

~ | ~

Zecora was watching him funny. He could just see how uncomfortable she was listening to this part. He could guess this next bit.

"Yep! This...This is one of the stupidest things I've ever done. I beat up one of the Princesses of Equestria."

~ | ~

The bolts of lightning yellow that crackles from the Alicorn's horn were incredible. Each one arcs through the air and never missed. They did genuinely feel like cigarette burns as they dissipated across his body. While Tyro's body winces and recoils at each one, he didn't stop charging forwards. He raises his weapon and cleaves for her with a wide arc.

Horn and metal clashes. It actually kinda burned as Celestia's magical bolts slammed into his body like that. They felt very different to anything else he'd ever been hit with. A little part of his head suggested it might have actually be an indicator of just how much he'd managed to tick Celestia off but he was in a clash right now. Full concentration was paramount.

As Tyro attempted to push both arms into forcing the sparking horn away from him, Celestia struggles back. The curious thing was just how easily Tyro's push buckles. His arms bend, his entire body flicked backwards as Celestia moves forwards, her hooves stepping into Tyro's space. She rears upwards and stamps both front hooves downwards at him. Tyro raises his weapon in defence but finds he hasn't the strength to deflect her.

His knees give way, his body simply unable to give enough of a shunt to get him out from under her. Celestia's weight was pushing down on his turned weapon, pinning the fox far harder than he could manage. His arms shake with the effort of attempting to toss the Alicorn off him. Celestia's horn begins to glow threateningly.

"Give up, Tyro! This isn't worth it." Celestia said. "You can't win this."

Tyro huddles under his weapon, thinking carefully. Actually, he probably could but...oh man, would it sting for her. Well, he couldn't move his hands or he'd be pinned under her clearly superior strength. And he certainly couldn't push back. She was either too strong or he really couldn't find the strength anywhere. So, that left him with cheating.

He drops the tiara from his mouth.

"I'm really sorry about this." He takes a sudden breath in, his mind taking just one last run through of his possible other plans only to find little else outside of random acts of deities, and blows out underneath Celestia as hard as he can.

The air ignites within his mouth, sparking off into a harsh burst of fire underneath the Princess. Her scream was anguish incarnate. She recoils backwards as the carpet underneath her catches alight, a few of the feathers in her ornately plumed wings begin to glow a bright orange, spreading alarmingly fast. She stumbles backwards, her eyes shut hard in the pain. Desperately wishing to curl up but still managing to definitely remain on all four hooves. Her eyes crack open, raising herself up despite the pain. Tyro was approaching slowly, arm outstretched.

He grasps her by the horn. Her eyes don't remain open for long. She barely feels the floor rushing up to catch her.

~ | ~

Zecora remains silent. She simply watches him from her seat, giving very little in the way of a response.

"I...I put her out." He said, hoping it would be of some comfort. After all, he's had just admitted to her he was a treasonous fugitive. He was amazed she was still listening up to this point. "There's enough guards in the place and I'm sure they found her. I was able to slip out of the castle with the Tiara but I had to hide it. I could make better headway on foot and, if I was caught, it was as far away from me as feasibly possible. Plus, I didn't come away entirely unscathed." He raises and waves his largely white foreleg, the one that grasped Celestia's horn.

"I'm sure the tiara is dangerous, or Cydonia wouldn't be so eager putting it in Celestia's hands. Do you think I'm crazy?"

Zecora finally speaks:

"Your heart is in the right place
Little fox, it will be a race
To clear your name of infamy
It will not be done simply
To be very crass
You have acted the ass
Equestria will turn against you
I know the story of your coup
This is why I do not fully
Cast you out as a bully"

Tyro processes then nods. It seemed fair enough. She wasn't utterly revolted. She seemed to understand.

"I'll have to find evidence. Afterall, everything I saw in Appleoosa has to tie into other stuff she's planning. Mainly now not only to make sure Equestria isn't completely screwed over but also as the biggest damn apology I can give to her. I really can't imagine what state I've left her in..." he said, his ears pressing against his head in shame. "Thanks for understanding. And! And listening to the whole thing."

"Please take heed,
I do not approve of your deed
If you are telling the truth,
Then I will not regret sharing my roof
But only one night
Then you must go and prove your right." Zecora said sternly, some of that innate, curiosity seemed to have drained from her voice.

"Yeah...Yeah, all right. Thanks."

Author's Note

Version 1.0.0