The Incantation

It was much nicer today than the previous day. Instead of being hot and dry, it was cooler, with a few clouds spotting the deep blue sky. A gentle breeze blew through, making it feel so much better. I guess the pegasi got out and did their jobs a little better today.

I made a run through town, looking for a place to buy the crown. I wasn't going to keep it a second longer. In the event somepony here found out about me, it would probably be best if I didn't actually have the crown anymore. And something told me that might become a reality soon.

I ended up stumbling across some small, beat-up shop not far from Town Hall. Some old, wrinkly stallion unicorn stood within, behind a makeshift counter made of stacked wooden chests covered mostly by some old, tattered sheets. The rest of the place contained artifacts of a wide variety, but none as nice as what I was planning on selling him.

He was busy going through some box of dusty wooden figurines when I approached the counter.

"Uh, excuse me...sir?" I tapped on the counter.

He didn't flinch. He just kept shuffling through the box, sending up clouds of dust.

Right into my face.

I tried to hold back a sneeze, but it didn't fare well. I blew boogers and saliva all over the floor.

"Oh Celestia," I whined, rubbing my nose.

"H-hello? Who's there?" a gravelly voice asked.

I looked over to see the old guy squinting up at me from behind an ancient pair of spectacles.

I smiled half-heartedly. "Uh, hi. I have a crown I would like to sell you."

He adjusted his glasses and scratched his head. "What was that?"

My smile faded. "I said, I have a crown I'd like to sell to you."

        He rubbed his ear. "A what?"

"A CROWN," I raised my voice. Leave it to me to find the deaf guy.

"A pound? Of what?" he asked.

I sighed. "No, A CROWN!" I yelled, louder this time.

He perked up. "Oh, a crown! Why didn't you say so, sonny?"

I deadpanned and muttered under my breath, "I did." I pulled the crown from my bag, placing it gently on the counter.

His eyes grew wider than milk pans.

"What?" I asked, concerned that maybe there was something wrong with it.

He turned and clambered off behind a curtain, into another room.

I stood there patiently. Did he know something about it? Was it worth a lot of bits or gems?

He returned a few moments later with an open book. He set it on the counter facing me.

There was the crown.

And it was exactly as Discord had told me.

Steelwing arrived in Ponyville and stayed the night in a motel, ready and anxious to talk to the Rarity character and prove he was worthy to Dark Storm. To fail meant death, and Steel was not about to fail.

The next day, he headed down to the Carousel Boutique.

When he walked in the front door that afternoon, it was quiet and empty. A bell rang, startling him.

"Damn bell," he grumbled.

A mare came down the stairs a few seconds later.

"Well, hello, sir! Welcome to the Carousel Boutique! How may I assist you today?" she asked politely.

Steelwing smiled inwardly. "Do you have a room that's a bit more - private?" he asked.

She looked a little weirded-out, but led him upstairs to a room full of mannequins and intricately designed dresses. They were all aligned with the walls in rows, as if on display in a window in Manehattan.

The mare named Rarity turned to face him after she led him into the room. "Is this a special request?"

"Of sorts," Steel replied, pacing the room. "I actually would just like to inquire on a recent customer of yours."

She gasped. "Are you a member of the RPI?"

The Royal Pony Investigators? Really? "No, I am not. I'm here on some personal business. So please - do your best to be silent unless I ask you a question. Understand?"

Rarity looked appalled. "Uh...okay, I will try my best."

Steel smiled deceptively. "Good. Now - the male pegasus that came in here and had his mane dyed completely green and trimmed - what was his name?"

Rarity cocked her head to the side. "Why, that was Emerald, sir. What of it? Did he do something wrong?"

"I'm asking the questions," Steel snapped. Rarity's jaw dropped in surprise. "I want his full name."

She swallowed. "It's Emerald Mist."

Steel nearly cracked up. Mist? That's the best he could conjure up as an alias? Pathetic.

"That's very interesting. Would you mind telling me where he came from? How you got to know him?"

Rarity pulled up a chair and sat gingerly, never taking her eyes off the pegasus that was grilling her for information on somepony she barely knew. "Well, I met him when one of my friends - "

"Which friend?" he interrupted her.

Rarity stopped and eyed him. "What do my friends have to do with this?"

Steel shook his head in annoyance. He calmly walked over and pulled the dagger out from his cloak, pointing at her face, just inches away. "I said, I ask the questions. Who is your friend?" he demanded.

Rarity was nearly frozen by the sudden threat with the dagger. She stuttered a response. "Fl-Fluttershy."

Steel retracted the blade. "Exactly as I thought." He turned to the window and walked over, glancing down at the street. "Continue your story."

Rarity was silent for a beat before she went on. "Well, he, um, supposedly came here from Canterlot. He was in a bad situation there, without anypony to help him, so he decided to move here." She sighed. "That's all I know."

Steel glanced over his shoulder. "All you know, huh?" He turned around and trotted right up to her.  She looked up at his face. "I just need one more thing from you, my dear."

Rarity nodded. "Um, okay. What is it?"

Steel grinned. "Where does Emerald live?"

"So - this crown really is legendary?" I asked, stunned.

The old guy pointed a wrinkled hoof at the picture depicting the very crown I possessed on somepony's head as he stood, reading a spell book out loud. "That crown you got there, sonny, is worth more money and trouble than I have to spare."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Trouble?"

He slammed the book shut and yanked it off the counter. "As much as that crown may be worth, it ain't worth it to me. Take that crown to somepony that doesn't care about dyin'."

"What?"

"Move along, sonny." he said as he made sad attempts to push me out the front door.

"Wait, hold on..."

He kept shoving me. "Not interested, sonny. Now git."

"Would you stop calling me 'sonny'? And why is this thing so dangerous? Can't you at least tell me that?" I asked, digging my hooves into the soft carpet.

He stopped pushing and sighed. "If there's anything I can say, it's that you should git rid of that thing yourself, before you end up dead."

He caught me off guard with a shove and I stumbled out the front door. "Wait, what?"

I heard the door slam behind me, and when I turned around, the "closed" sign was up.

I sighed in disappointment, turned back to the path, and went looking for another place.