Ponies of Deltora: Monsters and Magic

Day two, Time, 7:00 AM

Rainbow Dash was flying in the sky, her back to the sun as the cool west wind whipped at her mane and tail. She felt so alive after having been tied down for a whole day. She decided to try out some of her moves to make sure she hadn’t gone rusty. She dashed across the sky, fixing several clouds into a long, curved line of rings. The agile mare quickly flew high above the first ring and shot down like a missile.

She banked a hard left before swerving right, narrowly avoiding the rings side. She increased her speed as the winding tunnel suddenly became a complete drop. She pressed her wings tightly to her side to maximize her speed. The ring of clouds continued with its downward spiral, until it was only a few feet from the ground.

In a flash the cyan pegasus opened her wings and spiralled away from the hard ground. She flew in circles towards the sky, before haling directly in front of it. The bright light against her coat sent a brilliant cyan glow all over the area. Dash smiled wide at this and began her decent. A she neared the ground however; something hot was tickling the air around her neck. She turned around quick and let out a quick scream as rainbow fire leapt at her.

*****

Dash shot up from her makeshift bed, cold sweat running down her neck. She clutched at her sides, brushing her hoofs against the ropes that bound her wings. It was just a dream. She reassured herself. Just a dream. She suddenly began shivering, and started running her hooves up and down her sides. The wagon was freezing compared to the flames in her dream.

The door to the wagon suddenly flung open, flooding it with daylight and forcing Dash to cover her face. The light didn’t trouble her for long however, for a figure blocked the entrance. Lowering her hooves, Rainbow let out a sigh of relief.

“Are you alright? I heard you scream.” Ransford asked.

“What? You think I can’t handle myself?” Dash responded definitively.

Ransford laughed a little. “Not at all, I was just making sure the prisoner I’m supposed to be watching doesn’t get harmed. Do you know how bad I would look?”

Dash flipped her mane at him and got to her hooves. Quickly she exited the wagon and looked around the camp. Instead of celebrating or performing, all of the Masked Ones were busy taking down the giant banner, dousing their fire, and performing other jobs. “What’s going on?”

“We’re cleaning up for the journey too Happy Vale.” Ransford replied. “It’s one of our most expected towns.”

Dash remembered Ransford mentioning that town before. Before she could ask any more of it, her attention was drawn by several Masked Ones carrying big red boxes. They were being instructed by another one with the beautiful head of a dog. Dash remembered him as a member of the Inner circle. “Who’s that?”

“That’s Roc. He’s our master magician.” Ransford noticed the crates they were moving. “We’d better get behind the wagon.”

Dash looked at him curiously. “Why?”

“Trust me, let’s move.”

Dash held back the urge to ask more and followed him behind their wagon. Once they got there, a loud ear piercing shriek covered the camp. Luckily for her ears it only lasted a moment. “What the heck was that?”

“I told you to trust me.” Ransford laughed. Dash gave him a slight nudge in the side for that. “Careful Rainbow Dash, I may enjoy your company, but I’m still your jailor.”

“Aw, you wouldn’t do anything bad to me.” she said in a slight tone of innocence. This got a chuckle form Ransford. “Hey, remember that note from yesterday?”

As Ransford was about to respond, his gaze went past Dash. Turning around, she noticed the figure of Bena moving quickly towards them. Dash saw her friend go slightly stiff with anticipation, or was it fear?

“Ah Ransford, there you are.” Bena said kindly. “Shouldn’t you be preparing the horses?”

“Yes mother, but I must also watch our guest, like you-.”

“Tend to your duties Ransford.” She said authoritatively.

Ransford made a small bowing motion to his mother and whispered into Dash’s ear. “We’ll speak later.” He then headed off towards the far wagons. Bena watched her son walk away and then turned to the bound pegasus.

“You seem to be getting along well with my son.”

“He is a lot nicer than most others around here.” Dash replied with heavy emphasis. “Why do you just shut him away?"

“That is not your place to speak.” She said softly. “His place in the troop is based on his abilities, not wishes.” A curious look appeared in her eyes. “You seem to be growing fond of him aren’t you?”

“I’m bound against my will and being dragged around by a group of masked wearing performers on the grounds that you assume I am a spy!” Dash said angrily. “And out of all of you he is the only one willing to treat me equally. So yes, I am growing to like him.”

Bena’s eyes flashed a hidden smile. “You should be grateful for the hospitality you have been given. Most other accused of spying don’t even last the night.” She then moved closer to the pegasus and whispered into her ear. “It would be best if you held that tongue of your in the future. As troop leader I hold the power of life and death for the entire troop in my hands, including its guests.” She got up and began walking over to the center of the camp where the Inner Circle was meeting.

*****

Time 6:30 AM

Pinkie Pie rose from the ground and let out an early morning yawn. After the meeting in the Tavern, Lynette had offered to let the party mare stay at her house. And Pinkie, not being one to pass up an invitation, happily accepted.

She got up and began looking around the house. It wasn’t overly decorative, with the exceptions of a few fish mounted on the walls. Lynette was still asleep in her bed, so Pinkie was extra quiet to allow her peace. This was extremely straining on the party mare.

As she inspected one of the trophies, something caught the Earth Pony’s attention. It was a soft, whispery voice that flew along the wind. She couldn’t make out what it was saying, but it seemed to be singing. This got Pinkies curiosity boiling, and she began creating vivid thoughts of what the singer was doing. Her imagination eventually broke into frenzy and she found herself bounding out of the house in the direction of the whisper.

Her travel took her to the gates of the city, where she waved to the guard from yesterday. When she got out of the city the singing got a bit louder. Straining her hears against the coastal winds, she could tell that the singer had a deep, friendly voice. She followed this voice all the way into the Capricon Hills, and finally she could make sense of the words.

Burning symbols,
Ralad fire.
Third dragon flies,
Every scale blazing.

Pinkie sat down and scratched her head in confusion. “That is the strangest song I’ve ever heard.”

“Devil’s song is what it is.”

Pinkie rotated her head completely around her body to look at the figure behind her. It looked like a man, with tan skin and kind blue eyes. A mob of curly brown hair rested on his head. But from the waist down he possessed the legs of a goat.

“I know you, you’re a Capricon!” Pinkie said excitedly, spinning her body around to the same angle as her head. The Capricon looked at her with great distain, but she didn’t seem to notice. “So what did you mean by devil song?

The Capricon pointed to the sky, eyes burning with furry. Following its finger, Pinkie noticed that the sky seemed to be shifting in certain areas. It was only for a second, but the pink pony was very good at paying attention to tiny details. “Do you see it, little horse?”

“Yeah, what is it?” she asked curiously.

“A Ruby Dragon.” The Capricon spat.

Pinkie’s gaze froze for a second. “D-d-d-dragon?”

“Yes, a dragon. Devils, each and every one of them.” He said angrily. “Did you know that we Capricon’s used to live in a magnificent city? Capra was the grandest city in the land, until her destruction.”

Pinkie nodded her head vigorously. “If you don’t mind me asking, how was Capra destroyed?”

“The dragons took her from us. They were jealous of what we had created, of the beauty we lived in. So they came again and again until Capra was no more.”

All of Pinkie’s fun loving energy seeped out of her like water in a drain. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

“I do not need your pity.” He said disdainfully. Suddenly his attention was drawn to the base of the hills. Coming up the slopes was a figure wearing colourful fishing garments and wielding a spear. Pinkie simply smiled at the figure and waved as they climbed the hill.

“Oh, hey Lynette.” Pinkie said she was finally standing next to them.

“Pinkie, you shouldn’t go wandering off like that, you ha-“She stopped herself when she noticed the Capricon. “Greetings.” She said politely.

The Capricon’s eyes were overflowing with malice and loathing. “Do not come near me, witch of Broom!”

“Believe me, I would like nothing better. I’m simply looking for my friend who just so happens to be in your company.”

As if on cue Pinkie skipped over to Lynette with a silly grin on her face. “Goodbye mister.” She said to the Capricon.

“Do not speak to me, friend of demons!” He spat. Pinkie has taken back by this, but Lynette intervened before the party mare could do the Capricon harm. Instead they simply walked back the way they had come.

“What’s got him all cranky lanky?” Pinkie asked as they entered the city gates.

“The Capricon’s loath all who are not their own, especially we of Broom.” Lynette said. “Don’t focus on him and instead worry about the task at hand.”

After ten minutes they made their way to the harbor. The small of fish and salt was almost overpowering to the pink mare. Everywhere fishing boats were entering with nets brimming with silver fish, spiny crabs and huge lobsters. There were shacks everywhere, serving stews and fish fillets by the bucket loads. And the chorus of seabirds was almost defining.

“Ah, I see you’ve found our little run away.” Said a voice from Pinkie’s left. Turning she was glad to see it was none other than the woman from last night. She had her emerald hood on tightly around her head. “You weren’t getting cold feet, er hooves now were you?”

“No, she was just taking a morning stroll.” Lynette said. “So did you find us a decent ship?”

“Indeed I did. She’s called The Serpent’s Spine. Fitting don’t you think?”

“All I care about is how well the crew preforms.”

“Well I can safely say that they are just as crazy as we are.”

“Ain’t nopony as crazy as we are.” Pinkie Pie smiled, bringing the two women close for a group hug.

After a moment all three of them let out a small fit of laughter. “All right then.” Lynette said after a moment or two. “Let’s go see this crew of yours.”