A Spike of Magic

Chapters

Day Neo
Day Boogaloo
Day Musketeers

Day Neo

You look down into a metal cup and stare at the brown liquid. It was oddly flat for a supposedly alcoholic drink, especially the mead you’d ordered. Turning around in your seat at the small table, you spot the bar maid.

“Is this mead?” You say to her. She was a large hipped woman with proportional breasts looking like they were going to burst out of her ill-fitting outfit.

“Course’ it is. Well, most of it anyway,” she responds with a shrug as she washed a dish with a rag.

Sighing, you take a quick drink of it, figuring that one wouldn’t kill you. Putting down the drink, you swallow heavily before hissing out of grit teeth. “Good gods, that burned my throat!” you say, swiveling towards her.

“Well, I did say most of it. Rest is some cleaning alcohol,” she said, gesturing to a clear flask on the counter.

“That’s not for people to drink!” you say, holding the mug up angrily.

“What would you have me do? Water it down?” she said, placing her hand on her shapely hips.

"Yes!" you shout. Not to be picky on your poisons, but this was dangerous.

"With what they put in water these days? No sir."

Both of you glare at each other for a few moments. She knew from when you’d ordered a room yesterday that you had very little money left. You begrudgingly sit down again and mumble small curses into the near poisonous liquid.

“Normally we wouldn’t do it, but times are tough. Hell, you should know. When was the last time you guarded some youngins’?” she said, moving to the counter.

The way you earned money was by escorting new adventurers around old dungeons to break them into the field. You once did the exploring yourself, but the risk grew too fast for your tastes. Not to say you couldn’t keep up, but you were hardly the type to go leaping from country to country killing evil. Leave that for those with conviction.

“I was thinking of heading out myself, heard there were some bandits making trouble in Baltimare that earned themselves a bounty,” you say, taking another swig.

“Well, until you do, take off that blasted armor and over sized sword. You make the more skittish customers jumpy” she told you.

You wore a suit of steel plate, having no other clothes aside from sleeping gear. Normally, you’d be wearing street clothes, but this place was dangerous for someone to go around unprotected. Plus, you’d had to sell your clothes a while ago to afford this place.

“Times are tough, this is the best I can do.”

She said nothing, instead choosing to discipline a nearby bar maid who’d spilled some drinks. Just you and your deadly drink to keep you company. Better than being gutted by some cutthroats while laying in the street at least. Taking another drink, you briefly question that thought.

Nearby, you hear some hushed quarreling from two women. Eventually, they stop suddenly and both approach your table looking distressed. From the fact they were whispering in a place like this, you’d figured them for criminals. Instead, they wore very fine looking outfits denoting them as official mages underneath some linen cloaks. One of the biggest mistakes the mages guild did was give every mage an outfit like that, it always begged to be robbed.

“H-hello sir,” said the girl wearing a purple dress. Her outfit looked strange, even for a mage.

To her right sat her glaring partner who wore a bright blue outfit under her cloak. From the way she had kept hers unbuttoned, you could tell that the cloaks were not her idea.

“Did we hear you say you’re an escort?” the girl in purple asked, leaning forward slightly.

“Twilight, an escort is someone who sleeps with people for money. You’re not that, are you?” the girl in blue asks. The girl in blue continued to hold her glare at you, but softened it for some reason.

“No, I’m not a man-whore if that’s what you’re asking. I work as a sort of bodyguard for hire to help with quests.”

The girl in purple was looking angrily towards the girl in blue. “I thought we said we wouldn’t say who we are until we hired them!”

“Trixie doesn’t understand what you’re complaining about, he just told us he could help” the girl in blue responded, pointing a finger at you.

In the past you held off helping certain people, but you were fairly desperate for coin.

The girl in purple, Twilight, turns back to you and sighs. “Sir, we need some help on a quest,” she says, leaning back in her seat.

You look between the two of them and try to assess how much money you could get from them. Passing the mages guild exams and earning your robes generally took a decent income. “I think I can help. What’s the job?” you say, pushing aside the now empty cup and hoping you didn’t die from it. Until you got paid at least.

“Well...here’s the thing...the job is...” Twilight repeatedly drifts off, looking very worried. Were they on the run from the law or something? You didn’t work with criminals because of the risk of getting caught. Oh, and something about the warrior’s code, but that’s mostly semantics.

“Oh just out with it, Trixie is sure this barbarian lacks fear of a task like this,” Trixie says, gesturing to you with one hand.

“Hey, I’m no barbarian. I’m a warrior,” you say, sticking a thumb against your armor.

“Alright...we need to get our friend back from a dragon’s nest” Twilight says with a very serious look on her face.

All three of you go quiet for a few moments. You blink a few times before furrowing your brow.
“A dragon’s nest?”

“Yes.”

Another pause of silence, this time with Twilight growing visibly more anxious. “Sorry for your loss, but your friend is dead,” you say, gesturing for a barmaid to refill your drink.

“Ah, see, that’s where things get complicated,” Twilight says with an awkward and forced laugh.

You lift another drink, waiting for the sudden burning to hopefully take away the sudden feeling of not being able to get paid. “See...our friend is a dragon as well,” Twilight says in a hushed tone.

The sudden news makes you almost choke on your drink more than you already would’ve. Where the drink hit the table, it actually helped clean the old wood up. “I’m sorry, I think I misheard you,” you say, wiping some spatters from your face with the leather of your glove.

“He ran away while I was asleep and he’s been spotted traveling with a dragon horde which is at the Dragon’s Maw,” she said, placing her hands in her lap. Both of the girls look at you expectantly, waiting for your response.

“So, stop me if I’m wrong, but you want me to travel North into the fire mountains, named so because they’re filled with dragons--” you start to say.

“Well, yes but--” Twilight tries to interrupt, but you hold your hand up to stop her.

“Into the most notorious and deadly of all the dragon nests, and on top of that I need to retrieve a dragon from inside of it?”

“Yes, we will also need to travel by the trader’s roads as opposed to by teleportation because we need to do this in secret,” Twilight adds.

“And the dragon can’t be harmed because Twilight coddles the overgrown salamander,” Trixie shares, rolling her eyes heavily. Twilight shoots her a vicious look before turning back to you with wide eyes.

“...Exactly how much would this pay?” you ask, unfazed by her puppy dog stare.

“Well, we can’t actually pay you now because I’m a librarian and she’s homeless as of recently,” Twilight says, gesturing to Trixie.

“Trixie lost her wagon because Sparkle had to show her up,” Trixie says with a huff. Both girls glared at each other momentarily before Twilight turned back to you with a clearly forced smile.

“So you want me to do this out of the kindness of my heart?” you ask, placing a hand on your chestplate.

Twilight lets out an awkward chuckle before elbowing Trixie, signaling her to do the same. “So the answer is...?” she asks, eyes filled with hope.

“No. Never ever have I heard such an awful job offer in my life. I would be hard pressed to find anyone in her willing to do it,” you tell them, taking a drink. It was difficult to be harsh, but sometimes people needed to tough love. Especially two girls who were most certainly trying to get you and themselves killed. Sad to see two young girls trying something so stupid, but new people will do these things.

“S-sorry to waste your--” Twilight starts to apologize sadly.

“No, Trixie has another idea,” Trixie says, grabbing Twilight's shoulder before moving close to you. Trixie recrossed her legs before wrapping an arm around you and pulling you close.

“Since you are playing hardball, Trixie will offer her body as payment for your services,” Trixie says, tracing a finger on your chest piece.

“The answer is still no” you says, pulling her hand away gently.

“W-what? Are you calling Trixie ugly?” she says, balling her hands into fists.

You lean away from here, fearing a blow to your unprotected face coming. “No, but there are women in this very building I can pay for sex that won’t make me go on a suicide mission," you say as she stands up. They will try to steal your wallet, but not having any money tended to help keep that at bay.

“How dare you! Trixie is more beautiful than any cheap harlot in this rotting old bar!” she said, raising her voice. A few girls gave her some angry looks, but most customers only gave her a glance.

“Trixie, please we should just--” Twilight tried to calm her down as she stood up as well.

“No! Trixie will not stand having come to three places in a row to be rejected yet again in place of more glorified whores,” she yells. Your eyes go wide as a very large shadow appears behind Trixie, making her pause and turn around.

The innkeeper was not just a very wide woman, but also stood a few inches taller than Trixie, not even counting her large red hair. She tapped a small frying pan gently into her hand as one eye twitched in anger. “Ah think it’s time you an’ your friends leave missy,” she says, looming over the blue haired girl.

“Trixie isn’t scared of some land whale,” Trixie hisses at the woman. Well, she must have led a good life if she was so willing to die.

You stand up and try to sneak away from this scene as Twilight freezes. “Hold it right there!” she says, pointing at you past Trixie. Squeezing your eyes shut, you turn around slowly and accept your poor fortune.

“You are going to pay for those drinks and then NEVER coming back. All of you!” she says, waving her pan at all three of you. Most of the customers were silent, watching with wide eyes at this public punishment.

“But I’m not even with these girls!” you try to defend yourself.

“Oh yeah, so this one was just feelin’ up some stranger she met today? Fat chance mister,” she says, pointing from Trixie to you Just your luck.

“We’re very sorry to have caused so much trouble, we’ll leave right now. Trixie, come on,” Twilight says, blushing from embarrassment. She waves for you to follow after paying for the drinks, and you do so with a defeated sigh. Both of you move quickly out of the building as Trixie attempts to put up a struggle.

“Hey, what about my--” you try to say to retrieve your belongings. The sudden blow of your carry bag knocking you to the ground both cut you off and answered your question. You were out in the afternoon street now, Twilight standing over you and helping you up. Giving her a glare but accepting the help, you both turn to the doorway. Trixie was holding herself inside the door frame with a determined look of anger on her face.

“Beat it lady!” said the innkeeper’s equally large husband as he pressed his foot against her back.

Trixie’s back arched but she didn’t budge from her spot. “You can’t kick Trixie out of a place like this! This sheep shack is not worthy of her beautiful face and sexy body!” she yelled at the man.

He pressed further against her back, veins popping on his slick forehead and temples. “You’re starting to get on my nerves lady!” He said.

“Trixie please! Stop making trouble and just leave!” Twilight pleaded with her friend. Well, “friend” in any case.

“No! Trixie will see this place in flames before she will be removed for being better than these savage underlings!” she curses defiantly. Some of the barmaids moved in and aided the innkeeper’s husband in evicting Trixie with their feet. For a mage, her finger strength was amazing.

Eventually, she gave way and was flung from the doorway to an unceremonious spot on the dirt road. She glared up at the sky as if it was the sun’s fault for her being on the ground.

“Well, I guess it’s time to go to another town then...” Twilight says sadly rubbing her arm after helping Trixie up.

“No. No more getting treated badly by these yokels. Just show him your thing already!” Trixie said, pointing to Twilight’s crotch. Wait, what was she pointing at?

“What thing?”

“Trixie, I can’t just go around showing it off to everybody!” Twilight said, checking to see if anyone heard Trixie.

“Oh please, there’s no way this stranger will actually tell anyone important till we’re done,” Trixie says, moving to you and placing a hand on your shoulder. As she did, she flashed you a corny smile with large teeth before turning back to Twilight. “Besides, who would believe a random barbarian?” she said, patting you on the back.

You started to protest but paused as she moved away. The numerous footprints on her cloak brought a smile to your face.

“I guess you’re right. I’m going to show it to you, but try not to tell anyone what you see alright?” Twilight said, moving towards you. A small blush comes to your face as she moves forward and starts to undo her cloak. Was she going to just show you out here in public?
Reaching down into her cloak, she starts to lift...

...And pulls out a small badge.

You felt slightly disappointed but wonder what this badge was. “You with the city guard?” you say, picking up the golden medallion.

“Not...exactly,” Twilight says, checking again to make sure only you could see it. Squinting your eyes, you start to read the small type on the border. It read “In Honor of Twilight Sparkle and her Heroics” at the top and “Royal Hand and Favorite Pupil of Her Majesty, Princess Celestia” on the bottom. Your eyes slowly go wide as you finish reading the embossed text.

Slowly, you hand the medal back to Twilight and look at her with a very distant stare. Royal hand and even the star pupil of the Princess. This girl knew the immortal ruler of the land and here she was asking for help. And like that, your very dim looking situation had just turned itself into a cozy existence.

“Miss Sparkle, I believe it is my duty as a loyal subject to help you,” you say, holding out a hand eagerly.

“So you’ll help us? Wonderful!” Twilight said, equally happy as she shook your hand.

“See? Trixie told you that was all you had to do. Though, if you would like to take Trixie up on her offer as a bonus, go ahead,” Trixie offered, pointing to her hip. You and Twilight both give her a slightly shocked look.

“Uh, no thank you. Shall we get going then? I assume you have supplies,” you say, gesturing for Twilight to lead the way. Trixie scoffs as Twilight nods and walks you both towards three stabled horses with stuffed saddle bags.

“We only brought three because we need to travel small. No one is actually supposed to know about our friend going missing,” Twilight admits.

“You told me pretty easily,” you say, mounting one of the horses.

‘Well of course, but you’d have just thought we were going to die so it would be fine,” Twilight admits as you all head out of town together.

Oh right, this was still a suicide mission. To starve to death or get roasted into dragon meal? The irony was almost palpable. Or was that just whatever poison they added to the mead you’d been drinking? Either way, the trader’s road was pretty calm for the first stretch so you could gather your thoughts.

The girls had both discarded their cloaks once you were out of town. Twilight wore an elegant dress of purple, much like a standard mage uniform but with a more regal look to it. Trixie on the other hand wore a pure blue dress that marked her as a simple mage. However, she had decided to add onto this outfit a cloak of sky blues and stars with a large brimmed hat to match. She looked very much the part of a witch, which was only one letter off of your own guess.

Good to be on the road again, even if you didn’t want to think about where it led. Actually, you were uncertain if this road even went in the correct direction that they wanted. “Is this the right road?” you ask back to them.

Being the “guide” they let you be in the front. To be honest, you were fairly sure that they were just hiding behind you. “Yes, sort of. Like I said, we need to move discreetly if possible because--” Twilight started to explain when a bush shuddered.

Out from the rattling foliage lept three small bandits decked in a mismatched armor. They all three wore a small deep red bandana over their mouths emblazoned with some strange crest.

“Cutie mark crusader highwaymen!” They all shouted in unison, striking a pose.

One of the girls with puffy purple and white hair tumbled from her stance and fell to the ground. “Dangit Sweetie Belle, ya can’t break formation!” said the girl with red hair.

“Scootaloo pushed me!” said the girl as she pushed herself up and pointed at with deep purple hair.

“Did not!” Scootaloo said, putting her hands on her hips.

“Did too!” Sweetie Belle responded, both girls touching foreheads aggressively.

“Who are you?” you ask the group of them.

They appeared to just be little kids, but kids could be dangerous. Especially when they appeared to have tiny daggers holstered to their belts. “Huh? Oh! Right, we’re here tah rob ya’ll!” said the one with red hair.

“Excuse me?” Twilight asked, shocked.

“Trixie will not be robbed by some street urchins that can’t even be bothered to urch on a street!” Trixie scolded the girls.

The girl in purple started rubbing the toe of her boot in the dirt like a little kid. “We’re just trying out some careers, you don’t need to be so mean...” she said mumbled towards the dirt.

Sighing, you dismount your horse and walk up to them. “Listen, a life of crime isn’t one that actually works. Especially when you pick fights you can’t win.”

“Who says we can’t? Applebloom! Sweetie Belle! Tower of blades, go!” Scootaloo shouts before hunching down. Applebloom, the girl with red hair, leapt onto Scootaloo’s shoulders and then Sweetie Belle lept onto hers. In this position, the girls were roughly an inch or two below your height and were shakily holding their blades.

“In this...gah...form, we can...dangit Applebloom, stop moving so much!” Scootaloo forced out as she tried to balance all three girls.

“S’not my fault, we never actually practiced this move!” Applebloom replied, trying to hold her knife up while steadying Sweetie Belle.

Sighing, you draw your blade and place the tip of it into the dirt. It was an old sword made of some enchanted metal from some old keep you raided a few years back. You’d always been a fan of large weapons and this one certainly fit the bill. It was around 6ft long from handle to blade point, made of an incredibly durable type of metal. Not only that, but it’s enchantment made it so the wielder could swing it as easily as a large longsword. It was still awkward to swing for most, but far less than an eye’s judgement would let on.

The second the drawn blade pierces the ground, the girls stop their bickering and look at it. “This is my blade. I see your daggers are made from some homemade flint. Care to see which does more damage?” you say, shouldering it. The girls look from the sword to you and finally to your armor.

Circling this a few times, the girls give each other a look before nodding. “Cutie mark crusader crime scene fleerers!” They all shout in unison. Turning around, the girls hold their shaky formation as they wiggle their way back into the bushes.

“Did you really need to threaten those girls? I think I know them,” Twilight asked as you went to saddle your horse.

“What did you want me to do? Let them rob us?” you say before starting down the path again.

“Trixie doesn’t see why you didn’t just chop the air in front of them or something,” Trixie replies casually.

“I could’ve hit them!” you defend.

“He’s not going to just murder some children Trixie...you’re not, right?” Twilight asks you from behind.

“Of course I wouldn’t!” you say, anger starting to rise.

“Jeez, no need to attack Trixie, just a question. How far away are the mountains now?” Trixie continued.

“Following this road with no teleportation? Around a week” you say, trying to judge the time from memory.

“A week?!” Both of them ask. You turn back to see their confused faces and try to tell if they were joking.

“You mean you didn’t look at a map of the way there?” you ask, equally stunned.

“Well, we did, but we’re mages so we don’t really know how long it takes to get somewhere without teleportation. Are you sure a week?”

“Yes, a week. These are backroads and we’re heading to the south from the north. How long did you think it would take?”

“Well, last time Spike ran away, it took us only a few hours to get there,” Twilight admitted.

“Last time? You’re saying this has happened before?”

“Sparkle is awful with pets,” Trixie interjected.

“I am not! Spike is not a pet, he's a friend, just...troubled. It’s tough being a dragon away from his kind,” Twilight admits forlornly. The thought of a troubled dragon hanging around royalty seemed like a pretty bad idea. Still, you weren’t a mage so maybe it actually made sense. Governments are weird.

The three of you continued down the road for an hour bickering occasionally about small things. Trixie, as it turns out, was very opinionated about her knowledge of flora and fauna.

“...And there’s a boot licker fly trap” she said, pointing to a nearby flower.

“That’s just a clover! Seriously, you can’t just name flowers and weeds what you want,” you tell her once again. What was this? The fifth time now?

The trees broke away as you started into a small outcropping. A small mountain pass rose as you all traversed along it’s side, ending in a flat plane of dirt. Strange piles of dirt began to arise around you. And with them, the odd sensation of being watched. “Do you all feel that too? I swear there’s something nearby, but it’s too dim to pinpoint,” Twilight mentions.

“Trixie does, but who cares? Let them gaze upon Trixie’s beautiful body,” Trixie replied, puffing out her chest.

“What if they're bandits? Real adult ones this time. Can you both defend yourselves in a fight?” In hindsight, you probably should’ve asked them this before heading off to a dragon’s nest with them.

“I know some basic attack and shield spells. Most of my knowledge is in research, sadly,” Twilight says, still scanning her surroundings.

“Trixie is an illusionist, combat would only distract her from her natural talent. Though, she obviously can defend herself,” Trixie adds. Yeah, you just have to keep talking and they run in fear.

A slight rustling of dirt nearby made you stop and reflexively grip your sword hilt. “Who’s there? Show yourself,” you demand of the mysterious onlookers.

Over one of the mounds, a set of yellow eyes peered intrusively. Soon, it was joined by two more eyes each hovering behind their own mounds. “Who are you?” you ask, gripping the hilt tighter.

“Ask us? You in OUR land!” One of the eyes accused.

“Yeah, yeah! Our land, our questions first!” Another pair added.

“This is a public road,” you narrowing your eyes, trying to see what the creatures were.

“Road? No road, our land! You--” the voice gets cut off with a strange yelp.

The other eyes snap away as their head suddenly come into view. One was small, but the other looked a great deal larger. They wore vest decked in various jewels that looked finely cut and polished, a sharp contrast to the rest of their outfits.

Their partner still hadn’t shown his face, but you could hear him arguing in a hushed tone with a feminine voice. Wait, a woman was with these things?

Suddenly, the third one stood up and dashed over to the others. Only as you saw this one rushing did it become apparent all of them carried small shovels with them. Along their belts were also a set of tools for excavation work and jewel making. All three huddled together before one lept into a small hole and the other moved over to the side. The third climbed to the top of a pile of dirt and cleared his throat. Looking back briefly, he nodded to something below before turning and nodding to the large one. Returning the final nod, he raised both hands and mimicked the sound of a royal trumpet.

“We now present, fairest in the land and queen of the diamond dogs...Miss Rarity!” He said before starting to applaud. A sudden burst of applause filled the area as various other men climbed out of holes and joined in.

Finally, out from behind a pile of dirt rose a large and golden throne of sorts carried by six of the men from this small group. It was covered in so many jewels that just looking at it at first strained the eyes. A woman was sitting on top of a plush cushioned seat and looked off to the side. She was wearing a revealing white outfit that denoted her as a figure of some importance. Well, one that dressed better than jewel studded leather in any case.

“Welcome, travelers to my--” the woman started before freezing upon looking at your group. An odd silence followed, with the woman holding her mouth open and sweat starting to form on her forehead.

“...Rarity? I thought you said you were going to Canterlot on business,” Twilight asked her.

“Rarity? You mean you know this girl?” you turn around as Trixie starts laughing.

“Trixie, don’t be rude!” Twilight said to her to no avail.

“Hello Twilight, Trixie, and...whoever you are,” rarity said, finally finding the ability to speak again.

“My name is--” you start to tell her before Trixie cuts you off.

“And here Trixie was thinking SHE was desperate! You’re ruling a bunch of miners!” she shouted before bursting into laughter again. Rarity said nothing but put on a pouty face and began to blush heavily.

“Rarity, you could’ve just told--” Twilight started.

“Miss Rarity. You have to say Miss Rarity” the smaller of the first three corrected her.

“No, no Dozer, these are friends. They may call me Rarity,” rarity said with a wave of a hand. He nodded quickly before turning with a smile towards the group.

Looking to his larger partner, he knudged his shoulder and gestured to your group. He jumped with realization and joined his friend in smiling at you. They had strangely yellow teeth, as if they had only eaten dog food for their lives. Perhaps that’s were they got there name.

“So...can we pass?” you ask Rarity.

Rarity looked lost in her embarrassment before snapping back to reality at your voice. “What? Oh, of course.”

“Thank you,” you say as you get your horse moving again.

“Um...say Twilight? Could you be a dear and never mention this to anyone?"

Twilight nods as she passes, but Trixie lags behind you both. “Trixie will” she says with a large grin.

“Well...who would believe you anyway?” Rarity returns.

“Trixie knows lots of people who would believe her!...Just, not any right now! Shut up!” Trixie says, quickly getting angry. You close your eyes and hope Trixie wouldn’t take this out on you in the form of talking.

As you leave, you hear her throne return to the Earth and hear Rarity being showered with compliments from the three diamond dogs. You wonder if every person Twilight knew was crazy. Then again, they did all seem to be fairly attractive crazy women. Hell, maybe there was one of her friends that was the good kind of crazy, like an adventurer or something. Thinking up what sort of dream date you could get with a hook up from Twilight kept you pretty distracted for a while.

Eventually, it started getting dark, so you all need to set up camp. Having done this many times in the past while making long journeys, you knew how to set up a tent easily. Twilight had apparently gone camping with her brother while she was a kid, so it only took her a few dozen times.

“Sorry, I guess I’m used to them being twice my height,” she admitted after finally finishing it.

Trixie sat nearby, angrily staring at a pile of cloth and sticks. “Trixie hates tents. She misses her wagon, things would be so much easier if she had her wagon,” Trixie lamented, poking her tent.

“Trixie, please just pitch your tent,” Twilight pleaded.

Instead, Trixie folded her arms out of spite after dropping the stick into the tent cloth. “Maybe she doesn’t want to. Trixie can handle the cold just fine,” she pouted.

Twilight sighed before moving to gather some sticks. You joined her and started picking up rocks to form a barrier around the fire as well.

“So, why does she hate you so much?” you ask as you place a large stone into your now empty pack.

“I showed her up on stage one time. Things kind of went downhill after that, so now she blames me.”

“Downhill? You mean her losing her wagon?”

“Yes. The wagon was apparently her house. It was destroyed when some enthusiastic fans tried to force her to show off.”

“She destroyed her own wagon in a trick?”

“Not...exactly. They woke up an ursa minor and I had to lull it back to sleep to save the town.” She was able to stop an ursa minor all by herself. If she could pull that off, why didn’t she say so when you asked about her combat prowess?

“Anyway, apparently the whole ordeal earned her a nasty reputation, making her drift from town to town...which is when she found me.” Twilight stopped gathering sticks for a moment and looked back to the campsite before sitting down.

The soft sound of crickets chirped and signaled that night was now fully on you. Thankfully, this was a more peaceful part of the woods and so you knew you could relax. Why they were relaxing you assumed was just blissful ignorance.

“She was on the road when I started looking for Spike. He had been missing a few hours at that point, so I was just searching.”

“A few hours and you were only searching? I thought your friend was a dragon.”

“He is, but he’s still only a baby dragon. I scolded him pretty hard for acting greedy and trying to take some of my money.” Twilight paused and looked to the ground before she continued.

“Anyway, so Trixie was on the road when she spotted me and accused me of stealing away her fame and wealth.” How could anyone like Trixie have fame and wealth? You sat down facing Twilight after brushing off the spot with one of your boots.

“At first I was mad at her, but then I saw that her cape and hat were in rags and she had no home in sight. She was destitute.”

Thinking of Trixie alone on some empty stretch of road in rags made you feel bad for her. But then the idea of her clothes being in rags made you feel something else. Good thing you were wearing a crotch plate. Even though you thought she was an arrogant little demon, you had to admit Trixie was attractive.

“So, I took pity on her and offered to help her back on her feet after I finished looking for Spike. Want to guess what she told me?”

“Something incredibly bull headed?”

“She said ‘Trixie doesn’t accept charity, but she will accompany you to make sure she gets what’s due to her.’ Can you believe that?”

“Sounds like her,” you reply, feeling your one day experience gave you some credibility.

“Right, but it was odd. It was almost like she wanted to be around me, or to actually help me get Spike back,” Twilight drifted off.

“Maybe the idea of a dragon roaming free doesn’t rest easy with her either?”

“Maybe. But I like to think she’s got a good heart, and you do have to admit she can be fun to be with sometimes.” You watch to see if Twilight was being serious or not.

“You get used to her. She might be a handful sometimes, but I think I do owe her something. No one deserves to just lose their home.”

Both of you go quiet for a moment before you clear your throat. “Say, you don’t...you know...like girls or anything do you?”

Twilight begins blush heavily before looking at you with slight indignance. “No, for your information, I like boys, alright?” she says defensively.

“Alright, just curious. The way you were talking about her just seemed kind of...affectionate.”

“Sorry, I just get asked that at home a lot. No boyfriends makes the parents ask questions.” You nod along, completely unaware of how royal families talked or dealt with things.

“Where’s our grandkids? It’s like, boys are hard to figure out mom. You have to talk to them just freaking right.”

“Uh, Sure” you say, starting to stand up.

“And oh my god do they get antsy when you do magic tests on them. I’m not talking bad about you by the way, just most guys,” she continues obliviously.

“Twilight?”

“Not to say I want to date you or anything, because we just met and you look pretty scary compared to--” she continued.

“Twilight!” you cut her off.

“What? What is it?” she replies angrily.

“The firewood?” you say, shaking a small bundle of kindling.

“Oh, right. Sorry about that,” she says, blushing as she stands up. Both of you return to the fire and you begin to make a small circle of rocks.

“Finally! What took you so long? Trixie is freezing her cute butt off!”

“We got a little side tracked.”

“An awful excuse. Trixie saw you two lounging around by those trees,” she says, starting to shake. It wasn’t very cold out, but you couldn’t imagine the warming properties of such a dress when you were sitting on the ground.

“We were just talking about the road ahead and any alternate routes, nothing important,” Twilight assured her. Trixie squinted at her before moving closer and widening one eye towards her for a moment.

“...You’re lying.”
Was she psychic or just paranoid?

“No she isn’t Trixie. Why do you care anyway?” you ask, trying to get her off of Twilight’s back.

“Because Trixie is more attractive, so she should be the one to be the love interest, the first one at least.”

“Love interest?” Twilight stated confusedly.

“Yes, but Trixie supposes you could have her sloppy seconds once she is done with the nameless warrior.”

“I have a name, it’s--” you try to tell her before getting cut off again.

“Trixie prefers her lovers nameless, it assures she gets top billing.”

Everyone except for the crickets paused in silence. “...Right. Let’s just set up a campfire and move on then,” you say, trying not to get into another hopeless battle with Trixie.

Finishing the rock circle, you and Twilight place you kindling in before Twilight lights it up with some magic. After warming up by the fire and making some small banter, things become relaxed. Trixie starts to lose her entirely bull headed nature and joins in with you and Twilight. Though she still stuck to the third person thing.

Soon, the embers began to die down so you stomp out the remaining fire and wave them both good night. “We leave tomorrow morning as soon as we can. Anyone who wakes up first, try to get the others up as well.”

They nod in agreeance before moving into their own tents and giving their good night wishes. Once inside your tent, you strip off the slightly cool armor and feel the brisk night air against your skin. You’d had to use a rather ill fitting cloth to serve as underwear, but it served it’s job.
Placing the armor next to your bedding in a ordered set up, you crawl in a start to drift off to sleep. Lazily, you wondered if tomorrow would be as hectic as today was.

Day Boogaloo

Moving through a large stone temple, you look for anything familiar. Large stone pillars appear to warp as they reach high into what looks like the very heavens. Each one was covered in a variety of glittering symbols depicting various famous events. Gold films stretched over each of the many doors across the beautiful court yard.

A soft laugh makes you lower your head and follow it to it’s source. Entering a doorway, you start to chase after it as a slim finger guides you to another door each time. Finally, you reach a large and elegant bed room draped in fine cloth. Lying on the bed is a slender women completely naked, beckoning you further with her finger.

“Come brave warrior, join me in my bed tonight," she calls out.

“Of course I...wait, haven’t I seen you somewhere before?" you ask, vaguely remembering her face.

“What? No, I’m sure you’re just--" she tries to nervously reply.

“No wait, I remember now. You’re that goddess Luna right? Controller of the moon and dreams?”

She sits up into a cross legged position and folds her arms. “Dammit, how did you know?" she asks with a pout as you approach.

“Pictures of you and your sister are in the warrior’s hall. Hold on, why were you trying to sleep with me?”

Luna looks away as you sit down on the bed beside her. It becomes apparent that you were wearing a very loose fitting robe. “Do you know how hard it is to get laid as a god? All of the guards think they’ll die or something if they so much as touch me," she says slightly agitated.

You glance around the shimmering chamber as you remember being told the princesses were gods made flesh. And gods made flesh were not bound by common desires of sleep, food, or lust. Guess you could chalk that up to a mistranslation. Somehow.

“Occasionally I chance upon someone who doesn't know my real identity, so I can get lucky in that regard.” Luna concedes, rolling onto the bed. Following her lead, you wonder if this was still sacrilege if she was asking you to do it. Could be a test? Better to stay on the safe side in any case. “Crap, you’re going to do the same thing aren’t you? Dammit.”

“Yeah, sorry.”

She rolls onto her side, exposing her shapely rear towards you, making you have second thoughts about the safe side. “Dreams suck. Can’t believe I got shackled with this job," she complained. She goes quiet as you stare at her ass before becoming aware of her disappointed eyes looking back at you. “Oh, so sex is a no-go but ogling is a-ok?”

“Compared to sleeping with an actual god, isn’t staring a lot tamer than that?" you reply indignantly.

“I can get checked out anytime, but what I want is more than just wandering eyes. What’s the point of eternal youth without sex?" she whines. It was odd, but you felt a small amount of pity towards the immortal goddess.

“Look, how about we just...cuddle or something? That good?" you ask, moving further onto the bed.

She looks you up and down before placing her head back on the pillow. “Knock yourself out, I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth. You better not be one of those ‘I won’t touch a woman’ types.”

Wondering whether that meant Luna had tried to sleep with clerics, you move behind her. Pressing yourself along her back, you notice that her skin was slightly cool to the touch. The room’s actual temperature was fairly warm, so you assume where she is sleeping must be cooler. Your hand slides along down her chest before draping freely over breasts, feeling her nipples press into your arm. It's strange, but there's something almost surreal about the feeling.

Luna adjusts herself under your arm before pressing you tighter against her chest. “So where are you sleeping anyway? I can feel your sleep is somewhat troubled.” Even though it's a dream, you're pretty sure it's weird for her to ask something like that while naked.

“I’m on a job. We’re sleeping in the woods right now," you reply, shifting your grip on her body. What's this sensation you get from her skin?

“I see...any woman on this quest?”

“Yeah, it’s just me and two...wait, how did you know? Can you read my mind or something?”

“Didn’t really need to," she replies, adjusting her rear against your groin.

“Why is that?”

“You’ll see when you wake up in a couple seconds.”

“Alright then," you answer confusedly. A few moments pass as Luna continues to press against your body in an awkward silence.

“So...by a few seconds how long did you--" you start to ask her.

“Now," she cuts you off as a wave of white evaporates the world around you. Luna quickly departs, but the foreign sensation you had from her skin remains with you.

And you slowly become aware of the poor lighting within your small tent.

Your sleeping roll comfortably covered, with your armor laying in a pile near your head. Blinking the weariness from your eyes, you let out a yawn before adjusting your body out of reflex.

“Mmm...a few more minutes...” came Trixie’s voice.

“Whatever," you reply in a daze.

It takes a few moments and your hands listfully squeezing one of her bare breasts for the knowledge to hit you. Your eyes shoot open but you remain still as thoughts flash through your head. The odd feeling on Luna’s skin, it must have been caused by Trixie actually being in her place. What was she even doing here when she had her own tent?

Didn’t matter now, you just knew you should get out of the tent. Grabbing the leather britches the go under your leg plate, you slide out of your bed roll carefully. Trixie rolled around under your arm as you slowly lift it and retreat from her.

Either you or her have some serious explaining to do, and you were leaning towards her. Truthfully, you should have just kicked her out and chewed her out later for sneaking into your room. But the fact both of you were naked might make Twilight think something else went down. Wait, why’d you care what Twilight thought about you two? Oh right, she was the one who was paying you and she might not be so nice if she thought you were sleeping with her destitute friend.

You rise to a hunched position as you struggle to get your feet into your pants. Stumbling, you freeze when you hear Trixie start to move. Looking down at her, you watch as she blinks awake before a large blush forms on her face.

Neither of you say anything for a long period of time, confused and angry looks on both of your faces. Trixie glances up and down your body before pulling some of the covers off of herself. It is only a side view, but the sight of her bare curves threatened to get you excited, which would not look too good.

“Trixie is willing to forgive this if you leave now." she says, pausing with the cover barely hiding her sensual areas.

“Forgive me? You’re in my tent!" you hiss at her, trying not to wake up Twilight.

Trixie cocks an eyebrow at you before glancing around, finally settling her eyes on your armor. “Oh. So she is," she comments casually before rolling onto her back.

You silently watch her and wait for her to start getting up to leave. As she rests her head back onto the bedding, it occurs to you she doesn’t intend to go. “Trixie. Get out of my tent," you say, adjusting uncomfortably in your hunched state.

“And go outside in the nude? How barbaric of you," she returns without lifting her head.

“I didn’t ask you to sneak in here naked!" you growl, straining to keep your voice down. This was getting ridiculous, but at least her eyes are downward. While staying vigilant to see if she lifts her head again, you start to put on your pants.

About halfway through Trixie starts to talk and lift her head again. “Trixie likes sleeping nude, it’s far more--" she stops before staring at your groin‏. Her hazy dream like expression becomes a wicked grin. “--Comfortable." she finishes looking between you and your crotch.

You feel your eye twitch for a moment before finishing tying your pants knot. After that, you grab Trixie’s legs through the bedroll and start to drag her outside as she thrashes about. “Unhand Trixie!" she demands, keeping herself covered while also trying to kick at you.

The sound of her struggling obviously wakes up Twilight, who lazily leans out of her tent wearing a thin sleep shirt. “Trixie? Why are you fighting with..." she sleepily asks before noticing you and Trixie’s lack of clothing. All three of you go silent as you prepare to explain yourself.

“Twilight, it’s not what you think,” Trixie says holding up her hands towards Twilight. Was she really going to defend you? “Trixie and the warrior were simply sleeping together with some slight groping. No big deal," she says with a confident smile. No, you should have guessed she wouldn’t help you.

“W-what?” Twilight says moving out of her tent.

“She snuck into my tent last night. I have no idea why she’s naked." you tell her, dropping Trixie’s legs to the ground.

“That’s a lie. Trixie told you she felt more comfortable nude, just like you," she said, pulling herself deeper into the bedroll. You shoot her a glare, which she returns with a grin.

“What does she mean by...you were both naked together in bed?” Twilight asks, a small blush forming on her face.

“No, Trixie snuck in while I was--" you start to defend yourself.

“Yes, we were. And this one even started to mumble and grope me," she cut you off as she inched to her own tent.

“I did not!" you say, moving towards her. Then it hit you that you technically had, thinking that it was still Luna lying in bed with you. But if you let Trixie hear that, you knew she’d stretch the truth even more. You turn back to face Twilight, who is holding a hand up to her chin and looking at the ground in thought.

“I didn’t know you could be so bold..." she mumbles to herself.

“Hey, don’t think I wanted her to do that," you reply, moving back to your tent for your armor.

“Oh, I know she probably did it. You don’t seem confident enough to move that fast.” Twilight replies with a small laugh. Was that an insult or a compliment?

You start to put your armor on while Twilight prepares the horses to leave again. Finishing putting on your gauntlets, you exit the tent and check the fastenings on your gear.

Looking back up, you spy Trixie in her usual dress, cape and hat. Having seen her naked skewed your view of her towards being more lewd than it was before though. Dammit, you refused to believe you found her sexy. Shaking off the thoughts about a naked Trixie, you get on your horse.

The three of you continue down the long road until you eventually exit out of the forest and reach a field. Golden grass stretches for miles out from the forest to the point where the other end of the fields were not visible. It was a long and boring stretch of road, made that much worse by Trixie reminding you all of this fact. “How much longer? Trixie is tired of stupid grass." she whined, leaning on her horse slightly. How that poor creature could stand to carry her is a testament to its persevering nature.

“A few more miles, you can see the tops of the trees now," you tell her, too bored to get mad at her.

“More woods? But we just left those! Trixie is tired of nature, when can we go to a town?" Trixie asks Twilight.

“Sorry Trixie, but we need to stay on these roads, that means no towns until we’re done.” Twilight replies.

“At all? What’s even with all of this secrecy stuff?” she asks Twilight.

Something was disturbing the waves of gentle heat you saw towards the trees. It looks like something was bolting towards your group, but was moving far too slow for that.

“I told you Trixie, if the people knew Spike was running amok, people might blow the situation out of proportions,” Twilight replied in monotone.

You could tell that the thing coming towards you was a bouncing person. Or, at least something that looked human. What kind of person bounces across a huge field like this without signs of fatigue? Over Trixie’s sighing you could make out a gentle strumming as the person drew nearer.

“Hello there!” Came the female voice. It was a woman with a cloud of pink hair bouncing along with her as she moved.

“Pinkie Pie?” Twilight remarked, moving closer to your side. Twilight stops and the rest of you follow her example as Pinkie closes the gap between you.

“Oh, hi Twilight! And Trixie! And whoever you are!” Pinkie says, waving to each of you.

“My name is--" you try to answer before getting cut off by Twilight.

“Pinkie, what’re you doing here?” Twilight asks her with concern.

Pinkie strums her ukelele and bounces around a bit before she continues. “The Cakes gave me a vacation, so I’ve been wandering a little bit and learning some new songs!" she says, finishing with a strum.

“But Pinkie, you were a few towns north of us last time we met. How’d you get here?” Twilight continues.

“By taking the main roads silly!" she replies cheerfully.

“Oh, right.” Twilight remembers before blushing slightly.

“So you’re a bard?" you ask, having an interest in travelling bards. Being on the road and helping adventurers, you’ve often met a few of them and they are always kind. Their behavior is far from normal, sure, but they were always a joy to listen too.

“Yep! Want to hear a song?” Pinkie asks, holding up her instrument.

“Trixie would love to hear what passes for a song in your fluff covered head. Better than bland silence she supposes,” Trixie chimes in.

Pinkie smiles and clears her throat before starting a cheery tune.“Hey dol! merry dol! ring a dong dillo! Ring a dong! hop along! Fal lal the willow!" she begins to sing. There are some fairly nonsensical lyrics after this, with you only being able to pick out something about the sun and water. You get the impression this song was meant for a specific person to sing, not her. “Hey! Come derry dol! Can you hear me singing?” Pinkie finishes before strumming violently on her ukelele. After finishing, she begins to breathe heavily as well as wipe some sweat from her brow.

“Well Pinkie, that was...” Twilight trails off.

“Great," you finish.

“Confusing. Half of those words weren’t even real words, you just made them up!” Trixie complains.

“Well I liked it. Thank you for singing Pinkie," you say with a smile towards her.

Pinkie smiles as she regains her breath and begins bouncing once more. “Glad that you enjoyed it! Before I go, a word of advice,” Pinkie says moving closer to you. With one swift bounce, she leaps until her head is next to your ear and whispers into it. “Don’t be fooled by appearances," she’s says in an oddly prophetic tone. She lands and bounces past you, waving goodbye to you all as she leaves.

“Oh, uh, good-bye Pinkie,” Twilight waves as you all resume your travel.

“Well? What was the advice she gave you?” Trixie asks, more out of boredom than interest.

“She told me not to be fooled by appearances," you say, trying to work out what she meant.

“Do you know what she could mean by that?” Twilight asks you. You look at the ground and mull over possible ideas as to what she could mean to. Could she be talking about Trixie or Twilight?

“Who cares? She always gives stupid and cryptic advice.” Trixie says spitefully.

“How would you know about her advice?” Twilight asks her. Trixie says nothing, but you could imagine she rolls her eyes with a glare as usual.

After that, the trip was fairly quiet as you continue to wonder about what Pinkie said. Bards are known for being random by nature, but also being fairly wise from their travels.

The three of you pass under the foliage of the trees and feel the coolness of their shade immediately. Unlike the previous forest, these trees were far taller with thicker canopies. Lucky for all of you, some old magic spell keeps the trees from covering the road and making it pitch black. Or at least, that’s what you’d been told by other warriors. Twilight was happy to give you the entire history of how that was wrong. It really dug in your thoughts about mage stereotypes.

Just as she's about to continue about how it was a series of spells involving rerouting of all kinds of magic stuff, Trixie interrupts her. “Twilight, no one cares. At all,” Trixie says with clear agitation. She goes silent, obviously embarrassed by the fact she was ranting for however long she did.

A breaking twig nearby catches your attention. You motion for the group to stop and you all go quiet, listening for another noise of movement. The loud clanking of metal together followed by a small curse tells you someone is there.

“Who’s there? Come out so we can see you," you say, looking around the the shaded areas on either side of the road. You could swear it's ahead of you on the road, but you can never be too careful.

“There’s...there’s no one here,” comes a female voice from the trees. All of you go quiet before looking at each other.

“...What?" you ask again.

“There’s no one...fuck it," she says before dashing out from above you all in the tree line. She lands with a soft thud on the ground in front of your horses before turning to face you with a large grin. Her hair is a light teal with a white streak and her eyes are a shockingly bright shade of gold.

“My name is...the ten-fingered bandit! And I’m here to rob you!" she says before flashing you her dual daggers. Even though they were just sai, you know better than to doubt someone wielding an unorthodox weapon setup like that.

You dismount your horse and place your hand onto the grip of your sword. “Wait, don’t use your sword,” Twilight tells you, prompting you to turn around.

“Excuse me?" you ask.

“Well, look at her. She’s wearing light leather, you'd cut clean through her armor with it,” Twilight says in a low voice. You made a mental note to blame her if you die in this fight.

She was the one paying you in any case, so you decide it's best to listen to her. It isn’t as if the bandit was particularly imposing in any case, she's just a woman who's on the short side. Striding up to her, you see her tense up, signaling that you should stop.

“Just hand over the money," she says narrowing her eyes at you.

“We don’t have any money. And even if we did, we don’t just hand our money to strangers," you tell her, crossing your arms.

“Dammit, why is everyone so poor here?" she says before pouting. How is this person an actual bandit?

“Well, these are the backroads. People would only travel these if they were doing things in secret, guarded, or both,” Twilight comments. What was Pinkie doing coming down these roads then if that’s the case?

“That’s stupid. I’m not just some rookie bandit you know, I’ve fought for years! Sure, most of them were stealth attacks, but still,” The bandit continues. She waves her sai around in a relaxed manner before looking back at you with a grin. “So, I’ll take what money you have then. It does go towards a noble cause if that makes you feel any better." she adds.

“Noble cause?" you ask, lowering your arms.

“Yep. To fulfill my life long dream!" she boasts before striking a dramatic pose again. A silent moment passes before she looks at you, and gestures for you to continue speaking.

“What? Oh, what’s your dream?”

“Glad you asked! My dream is to one day be able to afford a handsome guard and to fall in love!" she shouts with a blissful look on her face.

“That’s not a noble cause. In fact, that’s almost the opposite of a noble cause," you say, crossing your arms.

“It is noble! I’ll pay him to watch me, and he’ll carry me in his big arms with large hands, caressing my wounded body..." she drifts off. You notice that the girl has actually started to drool at her own fantasy. This sure is one hell of a highway robbery.

“Trixie tires of this girl’s lewd fantasies. How can one person honestly be so vulgar?” Trixie pipes in.

Turning around to chastise her hypocrisy, you hear a yell behind you. Swiveling on your feet, you see a blur of the girl jumping towards you, which you dodge and land a blow onto her side. It was only a punch, but it did connect directly with her side, sending her flying off of the road. Trixie lets out a loud laugh as the girl fell, which Twilight quickly shushed.

“Ow, ow, ow...that hurt, you ass!" she says, clutching her side and trying to stand.

“You leapt at me! With daggers!" you defend yourself.

“You didn’t really need to hit her if you dodged her attack,” Twilight adds.

“What?!" you turn back towards her in surprise and anger.

“Yeah! You...wait, what kind of gauntlet is that?” The bandit asks suddenly.

“What? My gauntlet?" you say, holding up your hand.

She nods enthusiastically as she manages to stand and begins moving towards you. “Just another piece of my armor. Wait, what kind of question is--?" you start to ask before she jumps again.

For someone rolling in pain a few seconds ago, she certainly recovered quickly. Instead of going for another attack, she jumps at your hands and snatches one. “Oh wow, this is real good stuff! And with such a large hand too..." she says, staring in awe at your palm. There was something violating about the way she was eying your fingers.

“Okay then, time to go,” you say quickly yanking your hand away.

“W-wait! You don’t need to go just yet!" she calls after you as you mount your horse. You try to start moving the horse, but the girl moves in front of it.

“Now, just hear me out okay? Can I at least get one chance?”

“You attacked us! As far as I know, you still are!”

“Trixie thinks she should speak. If only to make our warrior frightened again.” Trixie says with dull glee. The girl relaxes, evidently taking the joke as a serious consent. Something tells you to run her down, but if Twilight didn’t want you using the sword, you figured she might not like that.

“Okay then...can I come with? It’s so boring out here!" she pleads. Like hell you're letting her tag along.

“No, we’re on important business and can’t take another person along without good reason," you make up on the spot. Looking back to Twilight, she thankfully agrees. “Oh...well, can you do something for me before you go at least?" she asks, visibly more sober.

“Alright, fine. What is it?”

“...Can you rub my cheek?" she asks innocently.

“Excuse me?" you reply after a pause.

“Or a pat on the head or something! Just let me feel those hands one more time!" she says, a wild look coming over her. You stare down at her with a disappointed look before looking back to Twilight. She shrugs, making you sigh as you turn back to face the bandit.

Moving your horse up next to her, you look from side to side to try and spot any invisible spies of the event. Leaning over, you lightly caress the bandit’s cheek. The light touch makes her bite her lower lip and one of her legs start to twitch. After a few seconds you quickly remove your hands and place them on the reins. “Satisfied?”

“Oh yeah..." she drifts off, blissfully rubbing the spot where your hands touched. You silently wish that she had been a real robber, at least then she’d have just taken your money. The group of you move down the road again as she waves goodbye between giggles. Hopefully you'll come across somebody who isn’t insane on this road. The number of times you met people with estranged ties to one or more members of the group was far too high.

A figure becomes visible marking some nearby trees with a short sword. Don’t speak too soon. As the figure steps back you can tell it’s another woman, but this one was familiar somehow. Strange, you normally remembered people’s faces or occasionally their weapons, why did her body look familiar?

In any case, the woman looked stuck, so you called out to her. “Hello there, do you need help?" you say reaching a few yards behind her.

“No thanks, just looking for--" she says as she turns around. As she does, she removes a small leather helm to reveal a short cut of rainbow hair. God dammit, why does it have to be her? An angry glare comes over both of your faces as you remember each other.

“Pervert!" she shouts, pointing her sword at you.

“Thief!" you say, hopping off your horse and grabbing your sword.

“Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asks.

“Rainbow Dash?”

“Twilight?” the thief asks.

“Lame-bow Dash?” Trixie asks with a laugh.

“Trixie?!” the thief asks again, pointing her sword at Trixie now.

“Warrior?” Trixie calls to you.

“Warrior?” Rainbow asks.

“Everybody shut up!" you shout, ending the loop of name dropping. Everyone goes quiet from your outburst and looks towards you. Glancing around, you ensure everyone understands that you’re going to speak.

“Alright, so it’s clear we all know each other. Let’s just--" you try to calmly reason before Dash cuts you off.

“Twilight, what’re you doing on roads like these with a pervert and Trixie?" she asks, returning her glare towards you.

“Me? A pervert? You broke into my room while I was asleep!" you say, drawing your own sword. She glances over the weapon before narrowing her eyes and lowering her body, preparing for a fight. Twilight hops off her horse and dashes between the two of you.

“Okay, hold it, both of you. How about one of you explains how you...met?" she asks diplomatically.

“Gladly,” Dash says with a smirk, lowering her sword and shield. You rest the tip of your blade on the ground, not wanting to have to re-draw it should she decide to go after you.

“About a few months ago now, I was in a small town looking for some relaxation. I got a room at an inn and stayed for a few days,” She moves over to a tree and leans against it.
“Afterwards, I left and was about to leave town when I noticed that I’d left my shield. I had already checked out, so I had to sneak in,” Reflexively, you grip the handle of your sword harder, trying not to interrupt her. “But when I did sneak in, that’s when I found this pervert in my old room," she says, pointing her sword at you.

“Pervert?!" you say through grit teeth.

“Yes, pervert! When I went into his room, he tackled me while he was completely naked! If I had not escaped when I did--”

“Nothing would’ve happened! I was naked because I sleep naked! I saw you sneak into my room to steal things in the night!”

“I’m not a criminal, freak!”

“And I’m not a pervert, burglar!” Both of you move towards each other with murderous intent in your eyes.

“Cool it you two! I’m not going to just let you tear each other apart over some silly misunderstanding,” Twilight tells you both.

“Oh, just let them Sparkle. Trixie would love to see our big friend knock Rainbow crash’s head of,” Trixie chimes in.

“I’m not going to kill someone just because you want me to Trixie," you say, turning around.

“Yeah. Like he could even kill me with a sword like that,” Rainbow says with a condescending laugh. The hell did she just say?

“What do you mean a sword like mine? You got a problem with it?" you say, shouldering the blade.

“Aside from the fact I could walk away in the time it took you to swing that thing? It’s an overcompensation cry if I've ever seen one,” Dash says mockingly. She starts to grin as you grit your teeth before placing her short sword between her legs. “Look at me with my big sword! I’m so tough and cool!" she says in a poor mimic of your own voice.

“Shut it, you thief!" you say, gripping your blade with both hands.

“Oh you wanna go? We’ll go!” Dash says, retrieving her own sword. You lower it until it was in position for a quick downward chop. The blade weighed heavily on your shoulders but felt much lighter underneath your hands. Both of you have your weapons ready for an attack, both sizing each other up.

“Both of you, can we please come to a reasonable understanding?” Twilight suggests diplomatically.

“Nope,” both of you say at the same time.

Twilight looks worried, but you could care less when this madwoman was ready to jump. She lowers herself down and you prepare for her to run at you. Instead, she makes an incredible leap forward towards you with her sword pointed at one of the exposed areas of your shoulder. Despite there still being chainmail, a short sword might be able to pierce it when the force of an entire body is pressed against it. You opted to let the mystery of if she could break through remain unsolved and dodge to the side.

As you land, you ready a heavy downward strike. Normally such a move would leave you open since it would clearly be blocked by the opponent's shield. But Dash’s shield was wood and likely lacked any enchantment, which means it won’t stand against a sword like yours very well. Dash sees you ready the attack and starts to leap away just as you start to bring down the blow.

Something flashes across Dash’s body just as you swing downward. Does she really have something on her enchanted? As the sword moves down, a strange feeling comes over the arc, like you're hitting slime. Your blade crashes into the ground when you feel a sudden force push against your chest. The blow sends you to the ground onto your back but otherwise leaves you unharmed.

“Enough! Both of you!” Twilight says. Lifting your head up, you see Twilight's hands slowly lose a soft glow and begin to lower. A bead of sweat rolls down her head as she holds a frown and looks at you.

“Was it really necessary to swing at her like that? You could’ve killed her!” Twilight scolds you before turning to Dash. She was lying on the ground as well, but from the groans of pain it was clear she was alive. How did she survive a blow like that? “I shielded you at the last second the best I could, anything less and you might’ve been seriously hurt or killed!” Twilight continues. Well, that explains that.

But you could’ve sworn that something had gotten cut, you felt something give way after the shield. Dash pushes herself up while rubbing the back of her head, revealing what you’d cut. After getting to a sitting position, the effect of your blow dawns on her. Turns out she failed to parry your attack and had left her defense wide open. Had Twilight not put a shield up over her body, you’d surely have done some serious damage.

“W-what the hell happened to my armor?!” Dash shouts, pushing together the split ends of her leather gear. Both her chest piece and the main knot of her pants had been cut.

“Our friend here struck at you after you jumped him. I barely had time to make a shield over your body,” Twilight says, refusing to lose her frown.

Dash started to blush before looking at you watching her and growling. “You bastard, I bet you planned this!" she shouts before covering herself further.

“How the hell could’ve known she’d shield just your skin?" you return angrily.

“I didn’t, your sword was enough to break the shield as it went over her. She got pushed away and thankfully not hurt,” Twilight said, helping Dash up.

Trixie starts to giggle as she moved off her horse to stand next to you. “Yes, but Twilight dear could you explain how it didn’t catch on anything on it’s way down?” Trixie asks with a laugh. Catch on anything?

“What does she mean Twilight?” Dash asks, wrapping herself in Twilight's blanket. Twilight blushes and rubs the back of her head before shooting Trixie a glare. “Twilight?” Dash repeats.

For a few seconds, Twilight hesitates before sighing and leaning in to whisper in Dash’s ear. Dash listens before a large blush reappears on her cheeks and she grows furious.

“What? What happened?”

“Our fiery prism head here only survived your attack because she had no breasts for the sword to catch on and split the shield.” Trixie tells you.

“S-shut it Trixie!” Dash shouts.

It occurs to you that even though you almost killed her, she was more concerned with her cup size. You feel like a bit of an ass, having almost killed someone over something so stupid. Wait a second, she attacked first. “Well, now that that’s sorted, let’s go," you say, standing up and moving over to your horse.

“Oh come on, we can’t just leave her here with her armor all split up!” Twilight pleads.

“We most certainly can, here, I’ll show you how.”

“Trixie will help. Don’t worry Sparkle, it’s easy once you start,” Trixie says, mounting her own horse and following you. If Trixie's on your side, is that a good or a bad thing?

Twilight moves in front of your horse and holds her hands up in front of her. “I’m the one leading this journey! You just attacked one of my close friends and nearly killed her!” Twilight shouts. She grabs Dash’s hand and leads her over to her horse where she lets her get on before mounting it herself. “So if you think you’re getting paid for this then you are mistaken!" she says, a fire in her eyes and voice.

“But...she attacked me first!" you say, fearing the loss of payment.

“Only because you--” Dash tries to return before getting cut off by Twilight.

“I don’t care who started it, it’s done! Both of you, apologize now!" she shouts with a shrill voice. Everyone winces at the high pitch of her voice.

“Fine...Dash, I’m sorry," you begrudgingly comply.

“Apology accepted,” Dash says. Twilight reaches back and tugs at the blanket covering up Dash’s broken armor. “W-wait! I’m sorry, alright? Don’t pull it off!” Dash shouts quickly.

Everyone goes quiet as Twilight holds her serious expression all the way until sundown when you set up camp. All of you are putting up your tents while Dash sat in a corner wearing a spare shirt that Twilight has brought along. She's repairing her armor with some loose thread from the same shirt. It would be a poor fix, but one that would last her till the next town where should could get a proper one. The longer she stays, the more it sinks in that you almost killed her.

“If you so much as glance at me while I wear this thing, I’ll cut your head off,” Dash remarked as you prop up a tent pole. Were she not such an ass, you might feel bad about it. You choose not to rise to her threat, just in case Twilight is still on edge about the “almost murdered my friend” thing.

After you finish your tent you start making a circle of stones for a campfire. “Dash, before you get a move on how about you stay for some food?” Twilight offers. Rainbow moves from behind Twilight’s tent, wearing her newly fixed gear.

“And stay here with those two? No thanks, I’m heading out," she says before starting to move away. Twilight places a hand on Dash’s shoulder before pulling Dash closer.

“But Dash, if you leave now the cold air might break apart those fresh seams, wouldn’t want that now would we?” Twilight says coldly.

“Uh, sure, but how is that going too--” Dash starts to reply.

“Rainbow Dash. You are going to help me get fire wood. You’re going to stay for a while and make light conversation,” Twilight starts to inform her. She moves closer and closer towards Rainbow Dash, making the shorter girl appear even smaller.

“But Twilight--” Dash starts up again when Twilight pushes a finger into Dash’s chest.

“And then we’re going to eat, and then you may leave once everybody has gotten over their stupid misunderstandings. Do I make myself clear?” Everybody goes quiet, watching to see what Twilight would do next. “I said, do I make myself clear?!" she says, gripping Dash’s shoulder tighter.

“Gah! Y-yes, very clear!” Dash whines. Twilight snaps her head over to you and Trixie sitting frozen by the stones.

“Friends. Got it," you reply.

“Crystal clear,” Trixie acknowledges.

With all of your replies, Twilight lets out a sigh and turns her intense look into a bright smile. “Good! Now, let’s go get some firewood,” Twilight says, turning and walking away. Dash quickly follows suit in an odd sort of trance.

With Twilight and Dash gone, that left just you and Trixie waiting in the quickly darkening tent area. The quietness makes you think back to the morning and how Trixie had just snuck in. Not only is it unsettling that she would just do that, but what was stranger was that she hadn’t woken you up. Being a fighter, you often have to sleep lightly in order to avoid getting snuck up on. In fact, that was how you'd caught Dash when she broke into your room. So how is that Trixie was able to not only get in your tent, but sneak under your arms as well? It was a frightening thought at the least.

Trixie sits by the circle of rocks and glares down into the center of them. “Trixie tires of the sounds of crickets. Is there something you wish to talk about?" she says, breaking away to look at you.

“Well, sort of. When you snuck into my tent, how’d you do it?" you ask, not bothering to dance around the point. She may be arrogant, but she would figure out what you were asking at some point, might as well ask directly.

“Easily. Trixie would’ve gotten away as well, had you not begun too--" she tries to boast.

“Alright, I get it. Not like I expected you to answer my question anyway," you say, fixing a rock that had shifted out of place.

There was an awkward silence before Trixie began speaking again. “Do you not like Trixie?” Trixie asked innocently. Great, first Thieves and bandits, now this. Wonderful day.

“No, I’m...fine with you," you reply, trying not to sound harsh. It wasn’t far from the truth, honestly speaking. Trixie’s mannerisms and attitude were insufferable at times and she had a tendency to make fights out of simple things. Still, she's undeniably cute as well as being good at making awkward or silent moments eventful. Often she makes them eventful by starting fights, but at least they were interesting ones.

“Trixie knows that you do not like her,” Trixie states, coldly. What game was she playing at here?

“Trixie, I told you I don’t--" you start to assure her.

Trixie holds up a hand to dismiss you before she continues. “Trixie is not stupid, she’s very smart you know. But the curious thing is for some reason she doesn’t want you to dislike her,” Trixie finishes. Is this her form of a love confession? “Trixie is not the type to fall for idiots of course, so you have beaten the odds and earned her mild interest. Congratulations.”

You stare at her blankly for a few moments as she corrects a rock on her side of the circle. “Wait, are you trying to confess to me or not?" you ask, shifting to a cross legged position.

“Was this not obvious when Trixie snuck into your bedroll naked? She knew you might be thick, but come on,” Trixie said with a roll of her eyes. That explains that mystery. Well, explains it enough for Trixie in any case.

“Fine, but you should know that I don’t feel quite the same way," you tell her. Better to let her know now than get disillusioned and cause problems along the journey.

“What, a simple attraction? Please, I told you this was mere interest, nothing more or less," she says, sitting the same as you.

“But you snuck into my tent naked. That’s your way of showing mild interest?”

“Trixie used it to show two things. First, that she could be sexy and spontaneous," she says, holding up her thumb. Spontaneous maybe, but sexy is more debatable. “And secondly to show you that she could sneak into your tent and get close to you without you waking up." she finishes. Your eyes go wide for a moment before you look over to Trixie as she holds a large smile. “Just kidding. She doesn’t need another reason, unless getting to entice your clearly depraved mind and fill it with images of her counts.”

Staring for a few moments, you figure she must be telling the truth and decide not to pry any further. It struck you a few minutes later just how surreal that conversation was. Pinkie’s warning comes back to you as you think about it. Is this what she was warning you about? The thought about what that could mean stews around in your head for a while before Twilight and Dash come back.

Both of them place a pile of sticks next to each other on the ground. The piles seem to be unfairly split, with Twilight having around half of what Dash carried. “How come her pile is bigger?” Trixie asks, pointing to the piles.

“Well, I am stronger. Twilight didn’t have to do much lifting or fighting with her hands at that fancy academy,” Dash replies confidently. Twilight brushes some bits of bark and a stray leaf off of her bust, prompting both Trixie and you to look between Twilight and Dash. Dash notices and looks down before brushing some things off of her chest as well. “What?” Dash asks.

You start to reply before Trixie holds up a hand to stop you. “Let Trixie explain,” Trixie tells you, standing up. She moves towards Dash and stands up straight next to her before cupping her own breasts. Taking her hands away, she keeps them frozen in the shape of her bust before using them to pick up sticks from Dash’s pile. It'ss roughly half of Dash’s pile. Dash begins shouting again and made various boasts about things she’s fought or lifted. Both you and Trixie remained silent as Twilight set up the fire, sharing small grins.

Soon after, Dash calms down and you all share in some light banter as Twilight had demanded of you all earlier. Everyone seemed more jovial when there was food to eat, so perhaps you’d all just been hungry. Then Dash and Trixie begin fighting over which was the best kind of meat, dark or light.

Rainbow Dash leaves soon after that in a thankfully better mood, signaling the rest of you to go to bed. You wait a little while longer, making sure you see Trixie go into her own tent before going into yours. Would she sneak in again? Not that it mattered all that much, what could some arrogant mage with an overactive imagination do to you in your sleep anyway? Best not to think about it and catch some sleep.

Day Musketeers

The next moment you stood in some blasted landscape of flash-melted rock. The scent of faint burning materials fills the air and makes you cough from the arid texture.

Wait, flash-melted rock?

Just as the realization hits you, a rattling growl comes from the smoke in front of you. A large dragon as black as can be crawls out with a terrible snarl on it’s barely discernable features.

It’s massive body covers most of your view, making the monster appear right in front of you despite being at least a few feet away. You instinctively go for your sword, only to notice it’s not there. In fact, you aren’t even wearing any of your armor, instead wearing an odd robe.

Gulping heavily, you prepare to die in a bath of hot fire when the sound of a lyre makes you open your eyes. The source of the instrument is no where to be found, but it continues to play softly. Looking back at the dragon, your squint your eyes as it’s mouth slowly opens. Inside the beast’s jaws is Pinkie, sitting on its tongue and playing the song which captured your attention.

“Pinkie...?" you start to ask.

“Shh, this is the best part!" she says with a bright smile before continuing.

The notes reminded you of some long forgotten tune from your past. But for some reason, you can’t remember it. Only when the song finishes and the dragon lets out a shot of smoke from its nostrils do you remember the terrible beast’s presence.

“Oh don’t mind him, he always likes to listen. I think they all do, personally,” Pinkie assures you.

“Yeah, I think I’d be more defensive against a giant dragon," you say, readying to run away.

“Come on now, remember my advice?" she says, tossing the instrument in her hands deeper into the monster’s gullet.

“Don’t be fooled by appearances?" you remember, letting your guard slowly fall.

“I guess it would make more sense to add an addendum to that, huh?” Pinkie asks, moving down the dragon’s tongue.

“What do you mean?” you ask, turning your head as she moves.

“Don’t be fooled by appearances, but don’t question everything. Sometimes you can get in over your head or distracted,” Pinkie says, moving to your side.

“What do you mean by that? Is something like that going to happen?" you say, turning away from the dragon to her.

“You really should try and take my advice quicker next time. Good thing it’s just a dream this time!" she finishes with a big smile.

“What do you mean by--" you start to ask when the dragon lets loose a roar.

You turn back around just in time to see it’s massive maw grow wide and slam over you, forcing you into a world of darkness.

With a jolt, you shoot to a sitting position on your roll. Your body is covered in cold sweat and you quickly place your hand over your heart. It’s beating incredibly fast, but slowing down now that you’re safe. Knowing you’re safe, you wonder what the hell that dream was about.

Why was that bard there? Was it really her, or just some weird subconscious thing? Maybe you need to stop eating berries you find in the forest. At least before bed. Cleaning off the sweat from your face, you put on your armor before noticing a small note next to your bedroll.

Picking it up, you notice it’s scrawled in very elegant blue ink. It reads “You were too restless in your sleep, had to move back to her own bed.” Beneath that was an artistic signature you made out to be Trixie’s.

Is it possible your nightmare had something to do with her? Regardless, this is too many questions for you to be dealing with right as you wake up. Moving out of your tent, you stretch and yawn. Looking to your right, you notice Trixie moving out of her tent and doing the same.

The way she yawns pushes out her chest, making your eyes reflexively look at it. Watching her breasts swell, you silently chastise yourself for finding the crazed woman hot. You turn away from her before she notices you. Moving towards your horse, you begin to pack it up to leave. If she finds out you actually looked at her with even mild interest, she’d have a hay-day.

After all of you have gathered up your gear, you mount your horses and leave the campsite behind. It occurs to you, that if you’re on a secret mission it would be wise to erase the evidence of a campsite when you make them.

“Say, should we be destroying evidence of where we’re going if we’re doing all this in secret?” you ask Twilight.

“No, not really. We’re not on the run or anything, just trying to keep public knowledge of the escaped dragon to a minimum,” Twilight replies. She pauses for a moment in thought before speaking up again. “I think our main concern appears to be meeting strangers on the road.”

“Oh please Sparkle, these roads are mostly empty. Sure, if you ignore the long stretches and boring hours of nothingness and skip straight to meeting random people on the road it’s busy, but otherwise it’s barren,” Trixie whines.

“Trixie, that’s a good thing. What’s got you so aggravated?” Twilight asks her.

“Exactly what Trixie was just talking about! Honestly, this whole journey has been very boring from her perspective,” Trixie says, looking to the tree line at some small creatures scurrying about.

“Well it is a long-- wait, didn’t you bring yourself along?” you say, deciding to join in.

“Irrelevant. Trixie desires more interesting things happen and she wishes them now,” she says in an authoritative tone.

After a few moments of silence Trixie groans to herself and slouches in her saddle. Some time later, you see a pair of figures in the distance. They have with them a large cart filled with what look like barrels. The two figures are arguing with each other as the move, but go quiet once they look forward and see you.

Upon closer look, you can make out some details. One is a man, wearing some light leather gear which clings tightly to his body in what looks to be a very uncomfortable manner. The other is a woman in similar, though more comfortable looking, gear. Both of them wear simple hats, though the woman’s appears larger and more worn.

“Hey, I think I know those people,” Twilight says, leaning forward to see the travelers.

“Trixie hopes you don’t mean there are more... wait a second, is that the farmer-girl’s voice Trixie hear?” Trixie finishes, finally lifting herself up again.

“Ah, don’t care what you say, ah’m not wearin’ um’!” The girl yells, resuming the argument she’s locked in with her male companion.

“Honestly AJ, you’d look fantastic with just a little more skin and flare, trust me,” the man replies, both of them having strange accents.

“Applejack? What are you doing here?” Twilight asks, coming to a stop.

The woman looks up at Twilight and smiles before pushing the front of her hat upwards and stopping as well.

“Well howdy Twilight. I could ask ya’ll the same thing,” Applejack responds, giving a look over you and Trixie.

“Well howdy there applejack’s friends. AJ, why’d you never tell me you had such cute friends?” The man asks, moving to Applejack’s side and draping an arm over her shoulder.

She grits her teeth and picks his arm off of her before stepping aside.

“Braeburn, can ya stop with the cat-callin’ everyone we meet? I swear, it’s like I can’t take ya anywhere. If only Mac hadn’t broken his foot again, I’d have him here instead,” she replies angrily.

“Oh Applejack, why ya gotta be so mean to your dear old cousin?” Braeburn asks, putting on an exaggerated puppy-dog face.

Applejack looks at him for a few moments before rolling her eyes with a sigh and turning towards Twilight.

“Anyway, we’re delivering some food to a couple inns. I tried to to keep us on the main road, but this way is quicker,” Applejack replies. She looks from you to Trixie before continuing. “So, what brings ya’ll this way?”

“We’re on a mission to rescue Spike,” Twilight replies casually.

“Again? Must be real trouble if yer invitin’ that one,” Applejack says, jerking a thumb at Trixie.

“What was that farmer-girl?” Trixie hisses, gripping her reins tightly.

“AJ, don’t be rude to these nice folks,” Braeburn says, moving towards you and Trixie. “Howdy, my name’s Braeburn. Nice to meet you two strangers,” He says, lifting up a hand to shake yours. “So what’s your name?” He asks.

“My name’s--” you start to reply before getting cut off.

“Mmm, nice grip you got there,” He comments while continuing to shake your hand.

“Oh, thanks?” You reply in confusion. He continues to shake your hand while smiling up at you in an almost eerie manner. “Can I have my hand back?” you ask eventually.

“Hmm? What was that handsome?” Braeburn responds, distracted with maintaining his stare.

“Fer crying out loud--BRAEBURN!” Applejack shouts, making him jump and finally let go of your hand. “What did I just tell ya about hitting on everyone that passes by?” she angrily asks, adjusting her hat before putting her hands on her hips.

“Oh relax cousin, I’d invite you in if you really wanted to,” he replies, dismissing her with a wave of his hand.

Looking back, he gives you another glance up and down before winking at you and moving past you. He stops in front of Trixie and holds up his hand again.

“Howdy--” he starts to introduce himself before Trixie cuts him off.

“Trixie heard your name the first time,” she replies, taking his hand.

Braeburn flinches as Trixie grabs his hand and begins the shake it slowly, glaring at him the whole time.

“Mighty strong grip, ah, ya got there,” he compliments, trying to free himself from her grasp.

Trixie eventually lets him go and Braeburn moves back to Applejack’s side while rubbing his sore hand. Looking over, you notice Trixie drop the same glare and start to pout just as you turn your head.

From the looks of it, Trixie was trying to hide an emotion rather than broadcast it. First time for everything, you guess.

“Well, we best keep on with our business. Best of luck gettin’ Spike back Twi,” Applejack says, tipping the brim of her hat towards Twilight. “Oh, and uh, nice to meet you two” she finishes, glancing at the two of you.

“Yes, very nice. Oh, and do try and contact me if you’re in the mood for fun, handsome,” Braeburn says, winking at you.

Twilight barely holds back a small laugh at the flirt, but Applejack only rolls her eyes again before massaging the bridge of her nose.

As you move down the road again, the distant sound of Applejack and her cousin bickering starts up again but fades away in time. Once it’s completely gone, you turn towards Twilight and pull your horse back to talk to her.

“Exactly how often will that sort of thing come up?” you ask curiously.

“What kind of thing? People running into us?” Twilight asks, unsure of what you mean.

“I meant how often will we meet people you know? Seems odd that we keep happening by people who know you and Trixie,” you say, looking over at Trixie.

Trixie looks straight forward, but a twitch in her ears shows she’s focusing on what you’re saying.

“Not much more I imagine. I do have a number of friends, but I must say it has been strange that we ran across so many already,” she says, raising a hand to her chin.

“Well, it’s not going to affect our plans, will it? You keep saying we’re on a secret mission, but you’ve didn’t even hesitate to tell her,” you say, jerking a thumb back down the road.

“No, as I said, we just need to keep the news from spreading. My friends know better than to blab about Spike going missing, so I trust them enough to tell them,” she says, turning to look at you.

“Right, but what if her cousin says something? He did openly admit he was a blabber mouth,” you counter.

“True, but I think Applejack would--” Twilight tries to respond before Trixie cuts her off.

“Why do you two care so much? Honestly, just stop critiquing things that have already happened and you might notice there’s someone ahead of us on the road,” Trixie interject in an annoyed tone.

Looking forward, you notice that there was a figure moving with an odd limp down the road. It was definitely a person, but the armor they’re wearing is blocky, mostly obscuring their gender and other details.

“Huh, you’re right,” you comment, squinting in the stranger’s direction.

“Trixie is always right. She’d just been guessing to be fair however,” she admits with a slight shrug.

You roll your eyes at her before turning back the armor clad stranger. From the close distance, you’re able to make out several abrasions and marks on them that shows they had just come from a fight recently. As well as the scarring, there’s what appears to be a thick, black liquid coating several spots on the armor.

“Hello there,” you call out as you approach the warrior.

The armor-clad stranger stops and looks up at you before raising their shield in a defensive position.

“We’re not here to attack you, just passing through. Are you alright?” you ask them as they reach for their helmet.

They struggle at first to remove it, the armor having been evidently dented slightly out of shape by a strong blow. Eventually, they work it off, and a short pile of grey hair falls out from under it.

The stranger reveals herself to be a woman with a rather dull expression. She tucks the helmet under her arm before staring up at you.

“Uh, hello there, my name is--” you start to introduce yourself before Twilight interrupts.

“Maud? Is that you?” she asks in disbelief.

“Hey,” the woman responds in a bland tone.

“Maud, what’re you doing out here by yourself? And what’s with the armor? Why is it all dented?” Twilight asks in a worried tone.

Maud blinks up at her before turning to you and gripping the handle of her sheathed sword.

“You might want to keep a sword handy. Monsters ahead,” she says with a nod towards you.

“What kind?” you ask, glancing past her down the road.

“I’m not very familiar with the ones here, but it must’ve been some kind of tree spirit. wood didn’t look magical, but I could be wrong,” she says, scraping some of the jelly off her armor. “It uses mostly grabbing attacks, trying to scare it’s prey I guess,” she finishes with a shrug.

“Sounds like a demon, but I can’t tell for sure without seeing it myself. Thanks for the warning, we’ll be sure to look out for--” you start to reply.

“Excuse me, but what? Are you seriously just shrugging off that this woman was attacked by a DEMON?” Twilight asks, gesturing to Maud.

Both you and Maud exchange looks for a second before looking back at Twilight.

“I was only attacked a little,” she replies blankly.

“See? And her armor seems to be in working condition. Very nice make by the way,” you mention, giving her a nod of respect.

“Thanks, I helped make it back on my father’s farm,” she says, moving to show off the arm pieces.

“How can you be so relaxed about this?” Twilight asks, worry clear in her voice. “Trixie, back me up here, they’re acting way too casual right?” she asks, turning to the other party member.

“Perhaps you should not go on adventures if you are terrified about every wayward spirit you may have to fight, Sparkle,” Trixie replies with a smirk.

Everyone in the group goes silent, with Twilight glaring at Trixie’s reply and you examining the damage to Maud’s armor. The jelly on her armor strikes you as familiar, but you can’t seem to recall where you might have seen it from. Having fought a lot of monsters in your time, it’s hard to recall every specific type of goo or gunk that comes out of them.

“So, did you kill the spirit or just wound it?” you ask, moving your horse away from the other two.

“Wounded. It grabbed before I could get a good grip on it and used me to feed,” she replies with a stone-like stare.

“Alright, any tips you can think of to help us fight it before we go?”

“It’s large, so your sword might do good. It’s also made of wood,” she answers before putting her helmet back on.

“Good luck on the rest of your journey then,” you tell Maud with a nod.

“Same,” she replies, walking in the opposite direction of you.

Twilight and Trixie are still glaring at each other as Maud passed between them. Only Twilight notices and snaps away from Trixie to watch the armor-clad woman pass by with only a small wave to her.

“Huh? Oh, uh, bye Maud!” Twilight calls to her before looking back at you and jerking the reins of her mount to catch up to you. “Why didn’t you tell us Maud was leaving?” she asks incredulously.

“You seemed busy with Trixie, didn’t want to interrupt. So you know that girl?” you ask, thinking back to her evident craftsmanship.

“Sort of, I only really met her because her sister is Pinkie Pie,” Twilight says with a small laugh.

“That’s nice. Say, you know where she forged that stuff? Was thinking I might get my armor done by her next time I need it repaired,” you respond not really paying attention to her.

“Probably her farm. Wait, you’re not thinking of doing anything with her, are you?” Twilight asks, lowering her voice and moving closer.

You stare at her as she awkwardly leans forward on her horse before she blushes and straightens up. Glancing back at Trixie, you can see her keeping her head statically staring at the trees to her right. Turning back to the road, you notice signs of damage.

Pulling on the reins to stop, you glance around. At first it’s nothing but but some bashes and signs of a struggle, but on one tree curiously close to the road you notice a strangely familiar black goo. Your body tenses and you place a finger over your lips to Twilight, who nods and stops her horse as well, though a little ahead of yours. Both of you silently scan the scene.

“Why did you both go quiet?” Trixie loudly asks, moving ahead of the both of you.

Your eyes go wide as Trixie pulls in front of you. Suddenly, the tree on the road shoots two long tendrils into the ground and yanks itself upright. It’s hollow husk shifts slightly into something resembling a screaming face. The two tendrils at straightened it whip around and shoot towards your group.

Thankfully, you’re able to pull your sword out and block one meant to grab you. Trixie and Twilight aren’t as lucky however and get grabbed by the demon before being hoisted upside down into the air. You jump from your horse and ready your blade at the monster.

“Gah! Cut us down!” Twilight shrieks.

Looking back up, you see the girls’ struggling to keep their dresses from flipping down. Trixie only uses one hand and barely attempts to fight the tree’s grip, evidently wearing a pair of linen shorts beneath her dress. Twilight however, has bare legs. A branch tries to get you in your loss of focus, but you dodge and cut it off.

“Um, but please don’t look up when you do it,” she says in a quieter tone.

“Are you serious?!” you call up to her, dodging and cutting another branch.

“Oh relax Sparkle, this is just a petty demon.Just look at it. A tree? Please, Trixie has seen scary things in her dresser,” Trixie says with a roll of her eyes.

“Don’t aggravate the demon!” both you and Twilight yell at her.

The monster lets out a terrible howl and slams a massive branch aimed at your head. You roll to the right and try to chop the branch off, but it’s too thick to cut. Barely managing to free your sword, you start running to avoid its hits.

“I can’t kill it with just my sword. Any of you got any ideas?” you yell up to them.

“I don’t know! It’s made of wood, so fire magic should weaken it!” Twilight calls out and her hands start to glow red.

“Don’t be stupid sparkle, that’s what it wants you to do!” Trixie barks at her.

“What?” Twilight asks, shaking her head as her hands lose their glow.

“Ice magic. That will actually weaken the wood, fire would just make it so we have to deal with a flaming tree. Have you never fought a demon before?” Trixie asks with a laugh.

“No! And neither have you!” she shouts at her.

“Trixie has learned from her time on the road, you have just sat in your golden towers and read about these things!” she shouts at Twilight.

“First of all, those towers are just plated with gold, and actual gold tower could never stand upright for very long! And secondly--” she starts to rant.

You struggle to keep a branch from crushing you by blocking it with your shield. Not being able hold it much longer, you give a large punch to the right side of your sword and deflect the next hit from the branch. Rolling away, you make another dash around the tree.

“Will you two stop bickering already and just help me?” you yell, feeling your breath start to strain.

Jumping away from another hit, you roll back to the front of the tree. Glancing up, you notice the branches restricting Twilight’s hand. Pausing for a second, you watch as a branch closes in on you from above. It misses by a few inches and you take the opportunity.

Running on the branch quickly as it lifts back up, you take one leap towards the top and chop at the branch holding Twilight. With the rest of it severed, the section holding Twilight withers away and she quickly casts a spell at the tree.

Its trunk bursts into flames, and it quickly spreads as the monster screams. After a few seconds, it slams a massive flaming branch down next to the both of you in a fit of rage. You are sent flying to the right before sliding to a stop just before the road turns into forest.

“Trixie told you so,” she says, landing beside you.

“How did you--?” you start to ask before noticing the swords in her hands.

One is a sickle shaped blade with an oddly blunt backside, while the other is a fairly simple straight sword that has a wickedly sharp edge to it. She holds the sickle in her off hand and the straight in her right hand.

“Where have you been keeping those things?” you ask in confusion.

“That is not important. Get Sparkle to freeze the tree and then cut it down the middle,” she says spinning the blade in her right hand.

You nod and make a dash for where Twilight got knocked over to. She’s running between the trees, but when she sees you, turns out of the forest to meet up with you.

“Freeze the trunk so I can take it out with my sword,” you tell her as you both run along the wood’s edge.

She nods and slides back, her hands starting to glow a soft white color. A ray emanates from them and hit’s the trunk dead on. The fire is quickly blasted away as you feel the cold air shoot from its form.

Running back at it, you leap while having your sword over your head. With one swift chop down, you crack the splitting wood wide open with a massive shattering sound as the ice crumble away. A spirit roars as it escapes the gaping wound in the tree followed by a trail of the black goo.

“Gah, you jerk!” the vaporous being exclaims.

You stare up at the spectre as it rubs what you assume is its head. The creature looks down at the tree as it starts to rapidly decay, the remaining black goo turning into vapor.

“All you had to do was laugh! Jeez, first that stone faced woman and now you two. Great way to die. Thanks a lot, you jerks,” it says as it fades away.

“Sorry about-- Wait, you attacked us!” you shout at it, sheathing your sword.

The ghost gives you a rude gesture just as it shimmers away into thin air. In a few minutes the last of the tree withers away and the rest of the goo is gone. With a little back tracking, you all manage to find your horses hidden amongst some trees.

With the attack and the horse searching, you are forced to set up camp it what is marked as dangerous woods. Despite the map not clarifying exactly what dangers are here, Twilight says the forest is known for being home to wayward spirits and dark creatures. Strangely enough, her knowledge ends with that vague description.

“It’s not my fault! The book I got it from was a lore book, not a bestiary or an explorer’s journal,” Twilight says with a huff as you all dismount.

You and Trixie roll your eyes at her defense and start to unload your gear. While Trixie and Twilight set up the tents, you decide to go and get some wood from the forest. Knowing about the demons, you figure you’ll venture a little shorter than usual.

While still able to hear the sounds of the girls working about in the camp, you start collecting wood. There’s a surprisingly high amount of dried branches on the ground, prompting you to look to the tree tops. Though quite tall, many of the trees are bare except for their canopies.

Shrugging off the bizarre foliage, you go back to collecting wood. After gathering a good handful, you hear a twig snap behind you. Tensing up, you try to judge what might’ve been tracking you. Adjusting your grip, you get one hand on your sword and turn around.

Finding nothing there, you shake your head and head back to camp with an armful of wood. The next time you go back out, you hear another twig snap, but just like last time, you can’t find the source of it.

Finally having enough wood for the night, you return to camp and volunteer for first watch. Trixie tries to join you, and it ends up taking another 15 minutes to explain how that won’t work. Begrudgingly, she returns to her tent and you move to the fire, stoking it for a while in silence.

After a long time of silence passes, your mind starts to wander back to your dreams. Twilight says that Pinkie is just a bard, but if that’s the case, how did she start invading your dreams? The other option is that you are dreaming her up of your own choice, but that doesn’t make much sense considering you barely know her.

Thinking back on it, this whole adventure has been strange. Given that you knew that going in, but dreams like the ones you’ve been having are not like you. Most of your dreams tend to involve more women and less clothing.

Your dreams of Luna come back and you shudder remembering those awkward moments. Pausing, you wonder if it’s possible that Luna could be cursing you with these dreams as some sort of revenge. Grumbling under your breath, you make a note to ask her if you happen to see her again.

Despite this, you do see the power behind these dreams. Given that Twilight is evidently working for the goddesses themselves, there must be more at stake here than you realize. In truth, there could be a lot stronger threats coming for your group then you know.

Freezing in your seat, you remember the twig snap from earlier. You scan around outside the camp and try to discern any noises over the soft crackle of the fire. A stray ember floats in front of you and you return to stoke it.

Most of the logs being burned, you can tell a great deal more time has passed than you previously judged. You stand up and crack your back before taking a long glance into the fire as you think of who to switch places with for watch.

Your first choice is Twilight, since she obviously knows enough magic to handle herself defensively and could probably sense any incoming threats. Still, her gut reaction in the tree fight was incorrect and even made things slightly worse. Not to mention the fact she ran, which while a smart move, might not be the best for defense.

With a begrudging sigh, you turn towards Trixie’s tent and start walking towards it. While not as skilled in magic as Twilight, she definitely made her swordsmanship abilities known. Come to think of it, you never did find out where she has been hiding them.

Opening the tent with one hand, you peek in to wake her up. Inside, you find Trixie’s evidently naked body barely covered up by some blankets in what looks like a purposefully lewd pose. You sigh and try to shake the shock of the sight from you before waking her up.

“Trixie, wake up, you need to go on watch,” you tell her, nudging her with your right foot.

She blinks her eyes open and pushes herself to a sitting position as she rubs the sleep out of one of her eyes. The blankets covering her chest fall away and give you a generous eye-full. After rubbing her eye, she stretches her arms up and you get out of the tent to avoid any more unfortunate staring.

“Fine, but Trixie knows you were sneaking a look at her exposed and vulnerable body,” she calls out wearily from the tent.

“Just get out here already,” you reply impatiently.

After a minute or so, you hear Trixie emerge from her tent in her usual gear. Once she gets out, she moves over to your seat by the fire and looks around the surrounding area, some slouch still in her body.

“Say, since you’re up, where did you hide those swords?” you ask, poking the fire with a branch and putting more kindling on.

In response, she stands up and puts her rear through her dress. with her hands pressing down on them, the sheaths become clearly outlined. Strangely, they appear to be upside down.

“Why are they hanging the wrong way?” you wonder, pointing to them as you get closer.

“Easier to draw after Trixie take the skirt off. Since she has to place them in such a way to conceal them, she needs to be able to draw them with the ability to strike quickly,” she explains, taking her seat again.

You nod at the clever defense method and give the area another scan with your eyes. Just as you start to head towards your tent, you hear a strange hiss come from the area directly behind you and beyond the camp.

Turning around, you see Trixie start to stand up as well, but you get to the fire just as she does.

“I’ll go out there, you stay and watch for something in case it tries to get Twilight or the horses,” you say, putting one hand on your sword.

Trixie nods and moves towards Twilight’s tent as you head off into the woods. Years of experience in dungeons has helped you gain better sight in the dark and know how to track something even in dark areas like this. A few yards outside of camp and you stop to listen to the world around you.

For a moment, nothing can be heard except a faint wind and the whisper of your fire back at camp. Suddenly, you hear another twig snap and quickly draw your sword in the direction of the snap. Just as you turn towards the threat, you force the blade to halt mid-swing.

The blade’s edge hovers incredibly close to Trixie’s neck as she stands behind you. Lifting it away you sigh from the sudden swing of moods and re adjust your grip as Trixie steps a bit closer to you, glancing back at the camp.

“Trixie, I told you to stay by the fire. Whatever’s out here could be heading for our fire and might scare the--” you start before you see Trixie take a step closer to you.

“I’m sure it’s all fine. I saw a lizard of some kind slink away, that must’ve made the noise,” she says, clasping her hands in front of her.

You look from side to side in confusion. The strange hiss was definitely not just some small creature, you would’ve been able to tell if that was the case. Trixie could be lying, but what did she have to gain from that?

Suddenly, you put the pieces together in your head. Trixie’s frequent advances explain the why, and her apparent illusionist magic knowledge must be the how. You back up against a tree, dragging your sword along with you.

“Look Trixie, it’s very flattering that you tried to get us all killed with this stunt but you need to get back to camp already,” you tell her in authoritative tone.

“Do I?” she says in a sultry tone, dragging a finger down her chest.

“Well, yes, you...uh...” you try to focus but Trixie steps close to you until she’s right under your chin.

She takes your left hand and rubs it down the side of her body, smiling up at you the whole time. Even for Trixie, the expression strikes you as far too suggestive. Just as it reaches her her, she lets go and presses her body against yours.

“How’s about we have fun right here? Twilight doesn’t have to know,” she says tapping her fingers on your chest plate.

You relax your hand and feel across her butt for a moment. Just as you start to think of how soft her body is, something hits you.

“Wait, where’s your swords?” you ask, patting her ass to make sure they weren’t there.

“Don’t be silly, I’m a girl we have sheaths,” she says with a small laugh.

You push Trixie away from you and look up and down her body with a glare.

“Trixie has two swords she keeps on her thighs. You don’t. Trixie also hasn’t spoken in first person for as long as I’ve known her,” you reply gripping your sword.

“Haha, well, you see... I, uh...” she starts to fumble.

Without warning, a blur of metal flies past you and imbeds itself in the fake Trixie’s arm. The creature lets out the same strange hiss you heard from before and clutches the wounded arm. She falls to her knees and grits her teeth.

Behind her, the real Trixie emerges with her skirt removed and only her shorts on. Placing a foot on the creature’s back, she yanks the sword from its arm, severing a good portion of the limb. Its hiss turns into quick expletives as Trixie presses its back to the ground with her foot.

“Oh come on! It’s gonna take forever for that to heal. Oh gods that smarts...” it whines, the voice changing from feminine to more alien and deep.

“Be silent! No one impersonates the great and powerful Trixie. You will apologize and tell us what you are or she will remove another limb,” Trixie threatens, poking the creature's uninjured limb with her sickle blade.

“S-sorry miss. Look, I’m just a changeling broodling. I was born just a week ago for goodness sake!” it says, wincing up at her.

“Changeling? Don’t those things feed on love?” you ask, stepping forward.

“Yes, they also are known for kidnapping and feeding upon travellers,” Trixie says, pressing the blade against the imposter.

Stepping beside Trixie, you can now get a better look at what it is. Its skin is a dark black color, with a slight sheen which suggests it’s a carapace rather than normal skin. The clothes seem to have disappeared, apparently also part of the illusion. Doubly clear in the dark, the creature has bright green eyes that have no pupils.

“Hey, a monster’s gotta eat. We don’t mean any harm by it, honest! Look, I’m supposed to getting a meal of my own or my mom won’t think I can stand on my own,” he sheepishly admits.

“Changelings are born in egg sacs. You should have dozens, if not hundreds, of siblings,” Trixie says, narrowing her gaze at him.

“87 siblings. You know how hard it is to stand out in a crowd like that? Especially since I have one arm now, thanks to you?” the monster snaps back, waving his stump limb.

“Just let the guy go Trixie. I doubt he’s going to try anything again,” you say and turn to the imposter. “You won’t right?”

“Very funny, but I like all my limbs thank you very much,” it replies.

Glancing at the stump limb, you notice that it’s already stopped bleeding and is starting to scab over. Not surprising, since magical creatures are known to regenerate quickly. Evidently that’s why the creature is acting so whiny.

Trixie removes her foot from the creature’s chest and backs away, leveling the sword at its head the whole time. The imposter struggles to get upright with just one arm. Upon standing he dusts himself off and rubs the scab on his severed arm. Letting out a sigh, he winks at you and starts walking in the opposite direction of your camp.

“See you chumps later!” it shouts, breaking into a sprint further down the hall.

You and Trixie share an eye roll before heading back to the camp. You start to work off your armor as you reach your tent and place your sword inside next to your bedroll.

“Are you going to be alright for the rest of the shift?” you ask Trixie.

“Of course, Trixie can take care of herself. Besides, were you to join her, your inevitable attraction to her would cause both of us to get distracted, especially if you tried to--”

“Goodnight Trixie,” you cut her off with a tired tone and slip into your tent.

After removing the rest of your gear, you slip into the bedroll. After all the commotion outside the tent, it takes a while to get comfortable. You then close your eyes and hope for a less prophetic dream this time around.