Chapter 17: Something is Discovered

Her voice was hoarse from the tough climb. Ritornello didn't seem quite as tired, but then, she just had to walk. By the time Aria dragged herself up the last slope, it was nearly dark. They paused at the city gate. There was a toll booth. "Let me handle this," Ritornello whispered into Aria's ear.

"Sure," Aria said quietly. Her voice would need some serious rest before she could float again, and she doubted even sowing disharmony would come easily after this trek. The manticore gave a throaty cough, startling the griffin in the booth.

Her voice was nasal, but friendly enough. "The toll today is half a goldo."

Ritornello growled a bit.

"A quarter-goldo?"

The manticore made a motion for turning a pocket inside out and shook her head.

"You want to get in for FREE?" the tollbooth griffin exclaimed.

She nodded, and pointed to Aria.

The griffin balked. "I have to check with my boss!" She flew off post haste, abandoning her post.

Aria smirked. "Nice job, I couldn't have done that better myself." She began to pull herself towards the city proper.

Ritornello grinned. "Wait till you hear the twist."

"What twist?"

"We're going to wait for her to bring her boss back!"

At this, Aria froze. She dragged her hooves down her face. "Whyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeee?"

Ritornello shook her head and pointed to the sky. Two griffins were flying back to the tollbooth.

"Now then," the first griffin's apparent boss said, "what seems to be the-manticore!!!" He hid behind his associate.

She rolled her eyes and sidestepped. "I told you before, the manticore and the water dragon want to get in for free. Weren't you listening?"

"I thought you were joking!" he sputtered. "That sounds like the setup for a joke, right? A manticore and a water dragon walk in front of a tollbooth?"

Aria shrugged. "It sounds like the setup for a stupid joke. Also, I'm a siren, not a dragon."

Ritornello nodded, then pointed to the city.

"Just let them in," the boss pleaded, "the prices are highway robbery and they're clearly broke."

At this point, Aria finally read the tollbooth operator's name tag. "Thanks, Grace."

"You're welcome," Grace replied as she spun some gears and cleared the way. Her boss didn't wait any longer, fleeing towards his office in the city. The odd pair chuckled and walked through the gate. Griffonstone was not quite a dump. The cottages that lined its streets had recently been patched up in one way or another; roofs had been replaced, and the walls' uneven coloration suggested that they too had once been incomplete. The populace were freshly groomed, and children flew happily overhead playing games. However, Aria had been around long enough to notice the little things. Unkempt griffins peered out of dark alleyways. A few run-down buildings still slumped between the freshly repaired ones. Multiple stands were set up outside houses, hawking their wares, most of which were either clothing or broken home appliances.

A street urchin approached her. "Shine your claws for a goldo?" he asked hopefully.

"I don't have claws," Aria snarked.

"Oh..." the urchin slowly turned away.

Ritornello tapped the siren on the shoulder. She pointed to the urchin and made a polishing motion.

"We don't have any money," Aria complained.

The manticore grinned and pulled a goldo out of her pocket.

"Fine! Hey kid," she shouted.

The child turned around. "Yeah?"

"Go ahead and shine my hooves," she said sullenly.

Ritornello purred.

"Shut up."

She scoffed.

Aria shook her head. "You know what I mean." The urchin pulled a rag out of his pocket and spit on it. He then ran it over Aria's left hoof. It had been covered in dust on the trail. Now it began to glimmer from the child's diligent efforts. "So, where are the clubs in this town?" she asked conversationally.

"The book club is at the end of Sherwin lane," he offered.

"I mean like a club where people go to party! Y'know, with strobe lights and speakers so loud you can hear them in space?"

Ritornello laughed.

Aria grunted. "Oh."

"You mean a pub, right? There's two I know, the Silent Eye and the Alloyed Argent."

Now she was getting somewhere. "What about inns? I might be staying in town for a while."

"Kolarbyn's Inn is pretty close I think." He had moved to the right hoof, and Aria was impressed at his efficiency.

"Nice work," Aria said begrudgingly. She could see her own reflection in the waning sunlight. Ritornello gave the goldo to the urchin.

His eyes widened. "Golly! Thanks miss!" As he dashed away, he jumped and clicked his paws.

"Let's go to the inn and get some rest," Ritornello whispered. Aria was in complete agreement, so they checked in and crashed.

***

I awaken groggily. At least this time there is no hangover, and the warmth of the flageye on my head is soothing. Small snores are emitting from it. Prototype 626 seems to have been asleep as well, and a good thing too, because I need him to save power so we can finally jump home. I sit up and look outside the cave. The stars are just starting to flee the advance of the alien sun. The foliage is immobile, save for where it's being displaced by the Princess of Stares. She seems upset.

"Where do you thing you're going?" she yells.

I must speak the truth. "Home."

"You'll go home alright! Not to your home though! You're coming with me!"

She's only one pony. I don't see how she expects to overpower me now that I have complete control over my magical powers. "No," I say, and lift her into the air. There's no sweat on my brow from this feat. She smirks, then her horn glows and I fall unconscious.

***

Dawn Twinkle liked to think she was a patient pony. She was wrong, but it's what she liked to think. Her impatience only made her boredom worse as she paced the throne room floor. "Why aren't they back already?!"

Rainbow Dash did not lie to herself about being patient. "Ugh, tell me about it! It's been like, a hundred million gazillion hours!"

Rarity was comparatively sensible about waiting for ponies to return from somewhere. "Oh, honestly. They're probably just spending the night. I don't know why Princess Luna would change the plan without telling anypony, but there had better be a good reason. Time waits for no mare, as the saying goes!"

"This is so lame! I'm outta here, you want to come along?" Rainbow asked.

"No thank you, I'd prefer to be here as soon as the Princess returns."

"Bien sûr! I cannot stand this place anymore!" Dawn exclaimed. She cantered out next to the castle labyrinth. The cyan pegasus bolted after her in a flash.

***

I awaken once more, this time feeling only a slight headache. The Stare Princess instantly notices my consciousness and begins lecturing. "What in Equestria did you think you were doing?! You're lucky I found you and not Celestia, because you'd better believe that she'll have a problem with you just waltzing off without learning your lesson!"

"I have learned something," I insist, "I've learned that relying on others can be beneficial in multitudinous ways."

"Only if the others you rely on are your friends! I bet the only meaningful conversation you've had with this Wheatling was about how to escape Equestria! Where's the bonding? Where are the shared interests? Where's that pony to pony connection that ignites the spark of the magic of friendship?"

I will admit, my chuckle is perhaps a bit rude. "As far as a pony to pony connection is concerned, I've been transformed into one temporarily on the say so of a frequently absent busybody, and my associate is a sentient computer."

"You know what I mean! We've been doing our best to teach you about friendship, but you haven't learned anything at all!" She stamps her hoof on the reverberating ground. The stomp echoes throughout the cave we've been arguing in. A lonely stalactite drips a few inches from my left hoof, and I suddenly realize that our location is not brimming with rainbows and sunshine.

I inspect the cavern. "This isn't Equestria," I observe obviously, "I still have time to learn something before our return."

"We're just stopping so you can catch your breath," she scoffs. Then the flageye jumps on her face. "Aggh, what's on my face?!?!"

This time, I do not care if my laughter is offensive.

"This is not funny!" Twilight yelps. Still chuckling, I exert some magic and pull the flageye away, letting it rest atop my own head. "What is that thing?" she asks, after checking her visage for damage.

"It seems to be called a 'flageye'," I say.

"Flageye! Flag Flag!"

Twilight draws closer. "I've never seen anything like it!"

I smile. "Something the princess of libraries doesn't understand? I for one am shocked!"

"Speaking of being shocked," 626 pipes up, "I've fully recharged!"

Twilight stares at me. Her eyes are full of the fire of a thousand suns. "Don't even think about it."

"Think about what?" I grin.

"Picking me up and escaping?" 626 asks.

"Flageye!" the flageye affirms.

I take a step towards the prototype. He begins to spin slowly, and I lift him cautiously off the ground. "You won't escape this time," Twilight stipulates, "I'm coming with you." I feel an odd sensation as her magic mingles with mine to lift 626. It's like static electricity mixed with brain freeze. Not altogether pleasant. The prototype speeds up, preparing for the dimensional leap.

He sighs. "At least this time I won't be thrown off course. Your world, three passengers, and no distractions whatso-"

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie, what's your name? Do you have any friends? Family? When's your birthday? Mine's the day after April Foal's day. When we get back, I'm going to throw you the biggest 'Welcome to Ponyville' party ever! Shame on you Twilight, why didn't you tell me you had three new friends?"

Twilight interjects. "I assumed you would know they were in town."

Pinkie, as this pony seems to be named, doesn't seem concerned about the bright light emanating from Prototype 626, who at this point must be about to make the jump. She prattles on. "Of course I knew they were in town, silly. I already have all the confetti and streamers ready for the party! I just need to know whose names to put on the cake!"

A familiar, distant voice calls out. "Pinkie Pie? Did y'all find somethin'?"

"Just Twilight, an old pony, and his pets!" she trills back. Frantic footsteps-hoofsteps-follow her words. 626 is flashing with multiple colors now, though the order seems a bit off. The usual purple, red, and green glows are cycling on his spikes. I cannot say how, precisely, the colors are wrong, as I've rarely paid attention to such things, but it seems unsettling all the same. Suddenly the answer comes to me.

I voice my concern. "Prototype 626, why are you exuding yellow light?"

"I'd love to talk right now, but I'm actually really busy, so if you could all shut up that would be great!" the prototype replies. There's a definite tension in his voice, as though he's holding back a torrent of water with sheer willpower.

Twilight turns to the pink chatterbox, who has continued nattering on beneath my notice. "Pinkie, you're one of my best friends, but will you please be quiet for just a moment?"

"Sure thing, Twilight!" she replies, pulling a real zipper across her mouth. I am shocked. Were it not vital that we all remain silent, I would ask numerous questions about that particular situation. My mind suddenly turns to the monitor prototype. It seems odd that we haven't vanished by now, given how long he's been spinning. His casing jitters. Bright white beams shine though small seams that weren't there seconds ago.

"Come on, come on," he coaches himself. Suddenly, three ponies burst into the cave. One of them is almost as tall as Celestia, while the others are that pony who gave me pancakes and Applejack.

The latter pony yells. "What in tarnation is goin' on he-" There is a flash of light, and then everything goes dark.

***

Author's Note

Remember when Doctor Hooves asked Derpy about pockets and she said, "Ponies just have pockets?"

No? Well I liked the idea, so I'm using it.

Yes? Hey, we listened to the same audio drama! Cool!