Excelsi Regis

Chapters

Intro
Praefatio
I
II
The Axe of King Guto
III
IV
V

Intro

"The covetous one is good to none and worst to himself"
-Griffonian Proverb

Praefatio

PROLOGUE

King Sanguis Talon the First stood at the very edge of his castle. The stone foundation that covered the island floor was thousands of years old, and had seen firebombs, magic, and even dead bodies thrown upon it for eons, but it was impossible to tell by looking at it; the stone looked freshly laid. More importantly, the very first griffons to set claw on what was now the soil of the Griffon Empire stood at this very spot when they declared themselves a sovereign nation.

The Castle was an island in itself, situated eight-hundred yards off the shoreline connected by a stone bridge. The water surrounding it was beautiful; it was a deep, deep blue, and was always calm. Many griffon kings had pondered the question, but as far back as the race's history was written, the water had always stayed still as a stone. As the midday sun shone bright upon the Griffon Empire, the sea itself looked like the night sky, which, combined with how calm it was, created a stunning visual contrast; it was almost as if the night and the day had collided on the horizon.

Thus, the first griffons named it the Mare Nigrum, or, in Equestrian, the Black Sea. King Sanguis Talon thought the name to be fitting, having lived in the palace for ten years now, but he didn't look upon it that particular morning to praise its beauty; he would have plenty of time for that. No, today, he was going to make a decision that would completely change the planet for years and years to come, and would shake its very foundation to the core. But first, of course, he needed to eat lunch.

The sea was calm, and still, but that worked to his advantage. He peered out into the vast ocean, waiting for a sliver of movement. Suddenly, to the center of his vision, he found precisely what it was he was looking for; just a bit of water rippling across the surface. It was close to him, too, and in a second, the king bolted into the air. He soared up a few feet before violently diving downwards at the precise moment in the exact location of the splash. As he made contact with the water, he opened his beak wide, and the fish he had been stalking was quickly engulfed within it. Holding it tight, he soared back out of the water, and, with blinding speed, landed back where he had started. The King quickly spit the fish out onto the surface, and watched it wriggle and struggle in the burning rays of the sun as he felt the refreshing cold water drip down his massive frame.

The King smiled. Some were meant to be prey.

"I do hope you plan on eating that," came a voice from behind him. He recognized it immediately; it was his father's royal advisor, Aelius, who Sanguis had appointed master of the treasury upon his coronation. Aelius was completely covered in grey feathers, giving him the appearance of being older than he already was, and with his worn eyes and eyebrows that seemed constantly slanted downwards, he was never considered the most approachable of Griffons. Aelius was a wise griffon, however, having lived in Griffonia for a considerable amount of time, but he was not the kind of wise Sanguis had been looking for; thus, Sanguis had appointed another griffon, a female named Aemelia, as his royal advisor. Although they didn't see eye to eye, Sanguis and Aelius held a special bond through the king previous, Amicus Talon the IV, Sanguis's father.

"Equestrian, Uncle? You mean to test me?" Sanguis asked him, noting his use of the foreign language. Aelius shrugged.

"There is a major city in your kingdom that speaks Equestrian, my king. I figured it'd be nice to brush up on it." Sanguis scowled, as it was true; Griffonstone, as important as it was, was the only city in the entire Griffon Empire to speak Equestrian as its first language; he wasn't entirely sure when and how such a thing had occurred, but as a result, every king had to be fluent in it; that, and, of course, because Equestria was the Griffon Empire's greatest political ally. Knowing full well that the entire conversation would be carried out in the foreign tongue, the king rolled his eyes before continuing.

"I do plan on eating the fish, uncle. It could use to be cooked, however. I'll have the servants pick it up. I assume you've just been informed of the delivery to the castle?" asked Sanguis, turning around to face the griffon. Aelius nodded.

"I did. The Idol of Boreas, a treasure the Griffon Kingdom hasn't seen since the days of Guto. Just what is it you plan to do with it, Sanguis? I walked past the barricks this morning to see the soldiers going through warring exercises," said Aelius. Sanguis stared at him for a few seconds, seemingly studying his facial expressions, before beginning to walk towards the castle gates.

"Walk with me, uncle," he said simply. Sanguis, despite his massive frame and intimidating scar running across his left eye, did not have a commanding, booming voice; rather, it was a bit high pitched and very melodic, extremely pleasing to the ears in whatever language he spoke. It was easy to see how he could garner such respect throughout the kingdom; even the simplest of commands had a lasting ring through the average mind, his words flowing through the ears like a bard's song. Aelius, however, was not the average mind, and thus, he kept a suspicious glance as he followed his honorary nephew.

"I mean to march into Equestria on the fortnight, uncle. You, aside from the soldiers, are the one of the first to know," said Sanguis. Aelius looked over to him, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"Equestria? Surely, you jest," he remarked. Sanguis shook his head violently.

"I've never been more serious," he answered. Aelius stopped walking; Sanguis took a few steps forward before turning back and facing his uncle. He gestured for him to move forwards with his claws, but it was of no avail.

"That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! There's a reason no one invades that country; the very beings that raise the sun and the moon live there, for Guto's sake! On top of that, the elements have reappeared, along with three new alicorns! The power they hold isn't comprehendible, Sanguis, and is second to absolutely none; you would be foolish to march into Equestria to battle them all. And, lest I forget, their allies? Saddle Arabia is particularly known for their fierce army, as are the Warriors of Zebric, and if we march on Equestria, be sure as Guto that they'll come to their aid. I can't think of one scenario where this is a good idea!" he said, anger rising in his voice. The king rolled his eyes.

"First, there are four alicorns; Flurry Heart of the Crystal Empire was only just born, and will not pose a threat to me in the slightest. And second, I am very well aware that the Griffon Kingdom does not have any being as powerful as the Princesses and the elements, but with the Idol of Boreas and another particular item, I assure you it will, and far more. And finally, Uncle, Equestria's allies won't be a problem; in fact, they won't show up at all," he said. Aelius gave a look of confusion, with the suspicion from earlier seeping into his countenance.

"What are you planning, Aurora?" he asked the King. The King's eyes flared open in anger, and in mere seconds, he had came upon him, seizing him by the throat and hoisting Aelius high into the air with a vicious snarl. Aelius, however, was completely unfazed.

"Do. Not. Say. That. Name," Sanguis muttered furiously, anger building up between each word. Aelius, still held in the air with the King's Talons latched upon his throat, raised his eyebrow at the proclamation.

"And here you have proved my point. The decision you have just made, threatening a Griffon elder, was brash, and is a punishable offense in the Griffonian court. And what for? Because I spoke to you the name your father gave? I have no idea why you wish to do this, Sanguis, but it would be a foolish decision that would run your kingdom into the ground. What do you plan to do? Take Equestria and become its ruler?" he asked. Slowly, the anger in Sanguis died down, and he released Aelius from his grip, causing him to fall to the stone below him. As Aelius got up from the ground and dusted himself off, the king spoke.

"No, uncle. I aim to take the world, and become its god," he said. Aelius looked up at him in utter disbelief, and before he could say anything, the king continued, a scowl now plastered upon his face and the anger in his voice from the previous moment not fading in the slightest.

"What, are you shocked? Have you determined I've gone mad? I have planning this for years, uncle, long before this kingdom ever placed a crown upon my head! There was just a piece missing; the idol, and as soon as that griffon from Griffonstone, Gilda, began speaking of its location at the bottom of the abyss, everything had fallen into place. Of course, I already know where the Axe is, and now that it is just within my grasp, the time of reckoning is upon us, uncle; the age of the Equestrian is drawing thin. I will do this, for my nation, for this world...and for her," he explained, saying the last word softly. Aelius had taken a step back, and his look of shock had become a gaze of horror.

"You have truly lost your mind," he began, his voice ever so slightly shaking. "I will not let you do this. The Senatel will hear of your plans, and they will stop you," he said, his voice slightly shaking. Once again, Sanguis began to stare down the aging griffon for what seemed like an eternity before his mouth began to twist in a sinister smile.

"Uncle, the Senate has already met on the matter, and they have given me their blessing, the poor fools. And as for you...well, I'm afraid you've outlived your usefulness to me," he said. Sanguis slowly raised his claw into the air and coiled it into a fist; before Aelius could react, he saw two shadows streak across the midday sun at the very top of his vision.

"What is this--" he began, but he was quickly cut off by two griffons descending upon him at breakneck speed. They both delivered one quick strike with their claws as they came down, sinking them deep into his uncle's chest, and like that, the griffon who had seen Sanguis grow to be the king he was had been silenced, only managing a rough gasp as he expired. As the deed was done, the two griffons yanked their claws from the flesh of Aelius, who had a face of shock plastered onto his corpse. Blood dripped from the griffon's claws, and they looked up to their king, their face void of any emotion. Sanguis, his face equally monotone, motioned with his claws towards the water.

"Sed projicite eum in mare. Planto certus non est inventus," he told them. Nodding, the griffons picked up Aelius's body and soared into the sky, heading towards the horizon. When they were just a speck in the sky, Sanguis could see them drop the corpse, the black dot cascading towards the sea below before disappearing completely.

I've trained them well. None will stand against them, thought Sanguis. They were merely the beginning of a program he had long been waiting to put into action; a breed of supersoldiers, if you will, which he proudly dubbed the Caestus. They were his back up plan; if his scheme fell into place, he could easily take Equestria's Military, and their Alicorn leaders, solely on his own.

He looked backwards, seeing the fish he had caught from earlier; it was still and unmoving now, certainly having perished during the conversation with his now dead uncle. After staring at it for a few seconds, he looked back to the horizon off the ocean, where his soldiers were coming back. Somewhere past that horizon, he knew, was the land of Equestria, peacefully moving about as they always had.

Some are meant to be prey, he thought to himself.

I

SUNSET

Naturally, Equestria had to fall into mass hysteria the day I was supposed to move in to my new apartment.

I was even thrown a surprise party, because, according to Pinkie Pie, I was now officially a member of the Ponyville community. I had been living with Twilight for a few months, so I had to grown to know and love the town before then, but, as she explained, I was now DEFINATLY staying here, and so a party was in order. The party doubled as a celebration for Starlight Glimmer's heroics in the Crystal Empire, which I had not been there to witness, so it had all worked out; that is, until the Griffons flew over.

I had heard about it from Spike, and not seen it actually occur, but from what I was able to gather later, they had arranged with the weather team during Rainbow Dash's absence (she was at the party) to change the weather schedule, making flying conditions perfect, before flying by at high speed and dropping numerous pamphlets into the town to let everypony know of their intentions; to annex the Northern Territories of Equestria--which included the entirety of the Crystal Empire, Vanhoover, Manehatten, and possibly Fillydelphia--in one week's time.

The first thing that popped into my head was how laughably stupid that idea sounded; facing the might of Cadance, Celestia, Luna, and Twilight AND the Equestrian Millitary was foolish enough, not even mentioning our allies, but the more I thought about it, the more horrified I became. The Griffons were aggressive, yes, but also a highly intelligent race, and King Sanguis Talon was no fool; he would only do this if he absolutely knew it would work. It seems that Celestia was concerned as well, because almost immediately after reading the letter out loud, Spike coughed up another one, which I didn't even have to guess was from the Princess of the Sun. Twilight did not read this one aloud, as it was from Celestia, and when she had finished skimming it over, she looked around the room.

"Alright everypony, just stay put and don't panic; I need to grab Sunset, Starlight, and Spike, and we have to leave. I promise, we'll get this all sorted out," she said. The party began to murmur nervously, but they had a lot of trust in Twilight, and so they let her gesture to the three of us to walk outside with no complaints. As I headed towards the door and opened it, holding it for the other three to walk through, I couldn't help but play a guessing game as to what it said. Once we were finally out of the apartment, in the outside hallway at the base of the stairs to the front lawn area, Twilight showed us the letter; it was rather brief.

Twilight,

Public transportation is too crowded. When you're ready, send me a reply back, and I'll teleport you, Starlight, and Sunset to my location; we have much to discuss without a lot of time to discuss it.

Tia

I had always known one thing about Celestia; if she didn't sign her full name at the end of a letter, she was anxious. Again, this surprised me, because, as I said before, this seemed like an invasion doomed to fail; if anything, she should have been confident. But she was anxious, and because I knew I was going to find out why, I was anxious as well.

Twilight raised her eyebrows, silently asking if we were all ready; when we nodded the affirmative, she had Spike quickly sent notification that we were all set before sending it off. About ten seconds later, I was blinded by a flash of yellow light, and, as expected, I quickly appeared with the rest of the girls in Canterlot Castle; what was unexpected, however, was that we had been transported to her private quarters, a place where she usually would not let anypony, not even Twilight or Luna, enter.

It had always been simple. A pleasant purple, the color of royalty, dominated the carpeted floor with a large purple bed in the dead center, with a singular, large cylindrical pillow at the end of it. The fire place was purple as well, and the inside of it had been illuminated orange from the cackling flame. The wall, however, was different; it was colored a deep blue, the very shade of night, and a mural of the stars hung upon it at the west corner of the room to the left of the bed; I never asked, but I very much knew she had the wall repainted after Luna's banishment, as a reminder of her presence as she lived her daily life.

Despite appearing to sit comfortably on her bed, Celestia looked worried. It may have just been the fact that she'd done a highly advanced teleportation spell that even Twilight had yet to master, but there was this look in her eyes that I hadn't really ever seen from her; exhaustion. The very Goddess of the Sun had exhaustion, even a tinge of fear, in her eyes, and it was then, and only then, that the situation at hand became all too real. When she first set her eyes on us, she smiled and sighed in relief.

"Oh, thank the stars you're all safe; I didn't know what was happening down there. I assume you all got the letters?" asked Celestia. Twilight nodded, but she was interrupted by her student before she could speak.

"Well, yea, but...I don't see what the big deal is. We'll crush them," Starlight said, a tone of disbelief dripping from her voice. Celestia pulled out a piece of paper from behind her and levitated forward to me; I grabbed it with my magic.

"This was given to my royal guard personally by one of the Griffons flying over the city; I received it at the same time the other letters were falling down. Read it aloud," she instructed. Nodding, I cleared my throat before I did so.

Dearest Tia,

By now, my military has dropped informative letters across every city in Equestria thoroughly detailing our intentions to take your northern territories. That, of course, is what I told everypony; This is what I'm only telling you.

As you know, my soldiers have already the Crystal Empire, Manehatten, and Vanhoover. Written below is a list of requirements set up that will be met within the next week until my soldiers (hopefully) take these territories peacefully and uninterrupted by Equestrian opposition; the breaking of any one of these rules set out for your nation to my or my military's knowledge will result in the immediate siege and destruction of the cities in question, because, I assure you, these cities do not interest me in the slightest; I only require the land around them, and thus slaughtering every pony within them will mean absolutely nothing in regards to my ultimate goal. The requirements are as follows:

First and foremost, I am willing to engage in negotiations, under a singular term; Twilight Sparkle will be the ONLY Alicorn to do so. She may bring no more than four other ponies to the engagements, but NONE of them can be an Element of Harmony. If I find any one member of the Elements of Harmony, along with any of your other Alicorn Princesses, seen within Griffonia (including the Equestrian Colony of Cydonia, which I shall allow you to still maintain) within the time this letter was sent to the end of the week, my soldiers will immediately lay siege.

Secondly, if any Equestrian Allies, whether they be Saddle Arabian or Zebrican, are called to arms within the borders of Equestria or the entailing bodies of water around it within the time this letter was sent to the end of the week, my soldiers will immediately lay siege.

And finally, if any one member (up to the complete force) of the Elements of Harmony, along with any of your Alicorn Princesses, arrive at any of the above cities mentioned within the time this letter was sent to the end of the week, my soldiers will immediately lay siege, regardless of how many casualties this will cause to my soldiers in question; I assure you, I have plenty more.

There will be no drastic change of action, unless negotiations are met at the Griffon capital of Auster. You will meet these terms, or your subjects will be slaughtered.

Best Regards,

Excelsi Regis Sanguis Talon

We stayed silent for a moment, and then Celestia looked us over inquisitively.

"You three are perhaps the smartest little ponies I know. So tell me this; what is wrong with this picture?" Celestia said. We all three looked at each other, and when Twilight nor her student were offering anything, I became the first to speak.

"Cydonia," I remarked, causing Celestia to turn to me. "Why would he let us keep Cydonia? Doesn't it seem a little bit dangerous to have and Equestrian colony in the middle of your nation during a planned invasion of Equestrian Soil? I don't get it," I said.

Cydonia was the only Equestrian Colony on the entire planet, located within the confines of Griffonia. It had been established long ago, around three hundred years in the past, and we had been allowed to keep it as part of a treaty known as the Lunar Pact, as it had all been orchestrated by the Princess of the Night. It was oft spoke of at home, but there was always a newspaper from the colony available at every store for those intrigued. I picked it up occasionally, but nothing really seemed to happen all that much down there, so it was never super captivating. In response to my question, Celestia nodded her head.

"There's one. Even if Talon surrounded the colony with his armies, the ponies and griffons living there identify as Equestrian, and they'd still find a way to gather intelligence and send it to us, especially since it's only twenty miles away from the Griffonian Capital of Auster; not immediately seizing it from our control would be downright idiotic. Anypony else?" asked Celestia. Starlight was the next to raise a hoof.

"Um, yeah...if they wanted these territories so badly, and they already have their armies stationed around the cities...wouldn't they have taken them already? You'd think they'd use the element of surprise to their advantage! Also, the whole negotiation thing seems like a desperate ploy to keep Twilight out of Equestria during the invasion and to hold her in Griffonia, possibly as a hostage," said Starlight. This time, though, Celestia shook her head in the negative.

"I don't believe so; quite the opposite, in fact. Twilight, can you guess what I'm thinking?" Twilight looked at her with a shocked face, which led me to believe that Twilight had guessed her former mentor's thoughts perfectly.

"You don't mean to imply that he's bluffing, do you? That he actually doesn't want these territories? Why would he mobilize his troops and bring them all across the ocean for something he doesn't mean to actually do? Are you implying that thousands of soldiers are standing at the gates of the Crystal Empire as we speak, prepared to do nothing?" asked Twilight. Celestia smiled.

"You were always a smart one, Twilight. Yes, I think he's bluffing; he has no intention of taking these cities or the land beyond them; not now, anyways. However, that does not mean we aren't in danger; I believe that Sanguis Talon means to do harm far, far worse than this, and that he's merely doing this as a distraction. His plan he has laid out seems foolish, idiotic, and doomed for failure; I would use none of those terms to describe the Griffon King. He is extremely intelligent, cold, cunning, and calculated, and he means to throw us off of his trail while he puts on this fancy play. Thus, I'm sending you to Griffonia to find out exactly what it is he's planning, and then, if my suspicions are correct, stop him from doing it, whatever "it" may be," said Celestia. I could see where she was going, but I still thought it was a stretch, so I immediately brought attention to the counterargument.

"And if he isn't just trying to trick us?" I asked her. Celestia gave me a sly grin.

"Then we demolish him. The Griffon Empire has perhaps the greatest military force in the world, but they'd still be outnumbered once our allies get here, along with Luna, Twilight, Cadance, the Elements, and I myself. I understand we'd be violating his little treaty, but there must be casualties in war; it is simply the horror we face," said Celestia. Our group grimly nodded in understanding, and Celestia quickly moved onto the matter at hand.

"He said you could bring four individuals with you, and we're going to play along with him for now. Sunset and Starlight would make you three, so you'd need another one. If you'd like my recommendation, I would bring along Trixie Lulamoon; her magically knowledge will add on nicely to the group. I'd be sending you to Cydonia, where you'd come into contact with two of my most trusted associates," Celestia said, after careful consideration. I gave a grunt of displeasure; I didn't like Trixie, at all, but I could see why she'd be valuable, as long as her hubris didn't get in the way. Twilight, however, smiled warmly; it seemed she was a big fan of the idea.

"Ooh, Trixie would love to go! She travels all over Equestria, so the prospect of Adventure isn't new to her; I bet she'd love it!" exclaimed Twilight. Celestia smiled back, eager at her former student's enthusiasm, but there was still one thing I very much needed to know before waltzing into the Griffon Empire during a time like this.

"Who would these associates be, exactly?" I asked. Twilight turned to me and gave me a smile, indicating I'd asked a good question.

"Lotus and Blaze Skywalker will be your contacts. They're adoptive siblings, and--why are you laughing?" Celestia asked me, a genuinely confused look on her face. Twilight and Starlight were giving me the exact same look.

Due to the magic that allowed Pegasi to naturally be able to walk on clouds, the surname of "Skywalker" was naturally very common in Equestria and its territories. Of course, having lived in the human world for an extended amount of time, and watching and then subsequently becoming a MASSIVE fan of all seven Star Wars films, the surname had been completely ruined for me forever, and I found it very hard to take anypony with that particular surname even remotely seriously. I quickly waved my hoof in the air as I stopped laughing, dismissing the thought.

"It's nothing; continue, please," I said, getting out the last of my laughter. Celestia seemed to get it, playfully rolling her eyes as she continued.

"...As I was saying, they're adoptive twins, and they're your age, so you should get along well enough. Well, you'll certainly get along with Blaze--I've never seen a stallion more charismatic--but Lotus is...difficult, to put it lightly. She isn't shy, per se, but she won't be open and conversational when you meet her; in other words, she is extremely unapproachable and very much reserved. She is, however, extraordinarily intelligent, and very wise in regard to the world around her; if anypony will know what Sanguis is planning, it'll be her. Now, does anypony here have any other questions before I send you away? Well, actually, I'll have to summon Trixie first, but we shall proceed then," said Celestia. We all nodded our heads at the same time, signifying that we understood our mission. Celestia nodded back before silently moving to the far side of the room, to her writing desk. It was very plain, looking much like a school desk a filly would write on for a standardized test; plain undecorated brown wood. She magically grabbed a quill and began to write, and I assumed she was writing to Trixie Lulamoon to ask permission in summoning her here.

"There is one more thing I must tell you, Twilight, and I don't think you'll like to hear it, but it must be done, if possible," said Celestia, looking down at the paper she was currently writing upon. Despite not being able to see her face, Twilight cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"Yes, Princess?" she asked, an innocent curiosity in her voice. Although Celestia still did not look up from what she was doing, I could tell the next words that would come out of her mouth would be very, very serious.

"While extremely unlikely, If any of you four should find yourself alone in a room with the Excelsi Regis, in a scenario where no living thing could see or hear you..." began Celestia. Suddenly, she stopped writing, and turned to look at Twilight; her face was grim, and she stared straight at her former student with an iron gaze.

"I want you to kill him."

Author's Note

It's always nice publishing the first chapter of a new story! I'm excited about the different tone and theme this story will have from Revenant, and I hope you've all enjoyed the opening chapter!

What do you think has brought out the highly unusual harshness in Celestia to make her request to Twilight and the gang?

II

TWILIGHT

I had never been to Griffonia before. Of course, I had always wanted to go (who wouldn't), but from my magic studies as a unicorn to my newly found duties as the Princess of Friendship, I had really never gotten time. I got to send Pinkie and Rainbow, of course, but I was extremely jealous the entire time they were gone, especially after I heard what they'd done to Griffonstone. From my reports, it was still like that, which pleased me greatly, but the place that Celestia had just teleported us all to was not, in fact, Griffonstone.

Now, being an Equestrian colony, I had expected Cydonia to look very Equestrian. I had a feeling it wouldn't be a true experience of Griffonia, and that the town I'd be placed in would just be a lot like a small town on the countryside. I was very, very wrong, because after taking one look at the place, it was clear to see that the Equestrian Colony of Cydonia was absolutely nothing like a place back home.

I suppose, if anything, I should start with the scenery. This part of Griffonia wasn't desert like, like Saddle Arabia was, but it was very dry and arid, as well as being a giant steppe, which was in sharp contrast with the very mountainous terrain of the rest of the country. There was a nice wind flowing through the air on the particular moment we arrived, which I found rather pleasant, but really, that was about it. There weren't any animals around, and there wasn't really any fancy geographical locations to look at; it was flat, with a few hills here and there, and that was it.

Naturally, because of this, Cydonia was nothing to look at either. It was very similar to Ponyville, in a way, but even less aesthetically pleasing; it looked like Ancient Equestria, a land trapped in time. The buildings were made rather crudely and small, and the town was very spread out, I could tell, and I hadn't even gotten to the front gate yet; there was a wall, but it wasn't so obstructive that I couldn't see the town within.

I could, however, see the gate very clearly, and what I was greeted with certainly didn't feel welcoming. Two Griffonian Guards, one of each side of the gate, clad in full plate armor, calmly clutched their spears in one claw. The fact that Griffonians could use weapons like spears, swords, daggers, and all the like without having to use magic or the mouth was terrifying enough, but these two took it to the complete next level; I could almost see the spear's edge glimmer off the evening sun, and their golden plate armor was blinding when looked upon the right angle. What was worse, I noticed, were the two flintlock pistols holstered on each one's side.

Ponies could use spears; there was a technique, but it was very clunky, and the only real reason Royal Guards carried them in public was for psychological reason; a guard that had to actually fight at any time usually ended up dropping the spear and pulling out a dagger with their mouths. Equestria had also been developing in the use of the firearm, but they were far from ideal and, at their point in development, extremely dangerous for the user as well. Nevertheless, the phrase "fast as a bullet" was becoming increasingly common.

The Griffons, however, having claws and talons as a part of their anatomy, had taken our designs and long ago created a very powerful and useful firearm. It wasn't nearly to the frightening point of advance that humans had come across, but they were still extremely powerful, as well as deadly. Despite this, they had a tendency to blow a Griffon's arm off occasionally, so they were typically only used as last resorts despite their effectiveness; in my eyes, that did nothing to ease my nerves.

It didn't appear to ease the nerves of my companions, either. Starlight Glimmer and Sunset Shimmer looked rather nervous; Starlight more openly, as I had caught her biting her hooves a few moments earlier, but in Sunset it was more reserved; she didn't look the part, but her consistent paranoia in looking in various directions every once in a while, as well as her constant sighing that I was certain she was not aware she was doing, it was easy to tell. The only member of the group that didn't seem at all worried was Trixie Lulamoon; in fact, she was bewildered by everything. She smiled widely, her mouth agape, as she took in the scenery, even though there wasn't really a lot to look at. I couldn't help but grin at the fact; her constant traveling clearly made her develop a fever for new discovery.

I had come to expect the greeting I'd get at the gate, and it still caused me to jump; when I got within five feet of the guards, they crossed their spears in front of the gate quicker than I'd expected. They had to have been practicing that, because it was done so flawlessly that I doubted it was just something they could nonchalantly do.

"Princess Twilight," The guard on the left began. He had a deep voice, and through the form fitting helm that completely covered his face (minus his eyes, of course), I could see a small grey feather sticking out the back, leading me to believe that he had grey fur underneath his suit of iron. "You're supposed to be at the capital in Auster, in discussions with the High King Sanguis, though I must say I'm impressed; you've arrived much quicker than we'd thought," he said. I nodded respectfully.

"Princess Celestia teleported us here. I thought I would visit some of my subjects before we headed off? The Griffonian Empire did say Cydonia was still ours in his letter to the Princess," I told them. The guard on the left nodded respectfully as well, and, in an instant, their spears uncrossed themselves.

"I see no particular harm in it, though I assure you that you'll be closely monitored throughout your visit. OPEN THE GATE!" spoke the guard on the right, calling the last order over the wall behind him. His voice, though deep as well, wasn't particularly terrifying, until he yelled the command; it sounded as if the demons of Tartarus were unleashed through his howl.

It took a few seconds, but eventually, the large wooden gate that was the entrance to Cydonia slowly began to open. I heard Trixie whisper "wow" behind me, while Starlight and Sunset stayed silent; I thought I heard a gulp from somewhere behind me, although I very well could have been imagining it. Once the gate fully opened, I got my very first, full glimpse of the colony of Cydonia, and I was absolutely stunned.

I know I'd previously called it a city out of time, but I literally thought I was staring at a Renaissance Fair for a second. What must have been the market square was right there when the gate opened, and music was playing throughout the square; I thought it could have been bagpipes, but the mumbling of the merchants made me unsure. There were brilliantly colored tents set up everywhere, and because the ground was about eighty percent dust and ten percent grass, it did well to compliment the landscape. I stared at it for a few more moments before the left guard's baritone voice brought me back to reality.

"Well? Are you going stand here all day?" asked the guard. I gave a short chuckle and shook my head.

"No, not at all, I'm just a little surprised. I do have two questions though, if you don't mind," I told him. He waved his arm in front of him, motioning for me to continue; It may have been the fact that this was an Equestrian colony, but I was very glad that these guards were friendly, as I feared I wouldn't get the same reception in Auster.

"My first question is more of a curiosity thing than anything, but do all royal guards around Griffonia speak Equestrian?" I asked him. The left guard immediately shook his head, but it was the right guard who actually answered me.

"Most don't, unless they're in Griffonstone, where the citizens speak Equestrian, or here, as they're an Equestrian colony. You'll need a translator when you walk up to Auster, because the guards there won't have any idea what you're saying," said the guard. I smiled at him.

"Non puto quod suus 'iens esse problema. Lingua satis scio," I told the guard. Since he was in full plate armor, I couldn't gauge his reaction, so it took his next words to reveal what he felt about the fact that I also spoke Griffonian.

"Not bad. It'll work, though it's by no means perfect, although I'm still impressed. What was your other question?" asked the guard. I turned back to the rest of the group, who had been strangely silent the entire time we'd been in Griffonia, but they looked at me almost eagerly to continue; I gave them a warm smile before turning back to the right guard.

"I'm looking for some specific ponies here; who could I ask around here that knows everypony in town to ask where they are?" I asked him. The right guard turned his head to the left, who promptly spoke.

"I've been on this shift for ten years; there isn't a pony in this town I don't know. Who are you looking for?" he asked.

I mentally debated in my head for a second. It would probably be safer to ask someone inside the city, seeing as the guards were Griffonian officials, but then again, I was a princess; whatever I did in this city would be known to everypony (and griffon) in a matter of mere minutes. Plus, I could get the information now, and not wander around the town blind, which I didn't want. I turned back to Sunset in particular, my question coming in the form of stare in her eyes, my eyebrows raised. She shrugged in response, and so I turned back to the guard.

"I'm looking for Lotus and Blaze Skywalker. Do you know where they are?" I asked the guard. He pulled his head back in curiosity.

"Lotus and Blaze? I'm not sure what you'd want to do with any of them, but they own a shop called the South Wind at the very end of town. They run it in shifts, and you'd best hope Blaze is the one running it when you get there, because Lotus is so unapproachable that there's a rumor going around town that she's an automation of some sort. I think that "Yes", "No", "Hello", and "Goodbye" are the only words she knows! Blaze, however, is probably the coolest pony I've ever met; he's a particularly big hit with the mares, too. I'm curious, though; why do you want to see them specifically?" asked the guard. It took all my might to keep my smile; I was horrible liar, perhaps even worse than Applejack. Thankfully, none other than Trixie came in to save me.

"We have heard much of the exotic goods to be found in Cydonia, the South Wind in particular. Trixie has heard that they're the best at their craft," she said. I was nervous now; that was a big stretch, as it depended on how good the store actually was, but, thankfully, the guards bought it. The right guard nodded thoughtfully.

"Well, I can't blame you for that; no one produces better items on magic and its study than the South Wind. It's almost a straight shot down the middle of town. When you see the banners of Equestria and Griffonia on either side of the street, you're gonna want to turn left and it'll be right there," he said. I gave him a thankful smile.

"Thank you so much! Come on, girls, let's go!" I shouted, before proceeding to walk into town.

It was as foreign from the outside as it was the inside. I still felt like I was at some medieval reenactment; There was a booth in the market square that was selling swords to some of the Griffons, for Celestia's sake. At one point, a pony jumped out at me and asked me if I wanted to buy one of her homemade hats; I politely declined, but I couldn't deny their craftsmanship. Once we had passed the market square, and began down the road the Griffon guard had directed us to, Sunset quickly came up from behind me to walk at my side. I was the first to initiate a conversation.

"You nervous? Because I definitely am," I told her, causing her to chuckle a bit. She sighed before nodding.

"Yeah, I am too. This place is nice, though; I never thought I'd ever see Griffonia in my life, though I'd assume it was on better terms," she told me. That garnered a chuckle from me this time.

"I sent Pinkie and Dash to Griffonstone one time. Well, the map did, at any rate, and I was extremely jealous that I didn't get to go. I'll have plenty of time to go back, I guess, now that I'm a Princess, but I'd love to see this place when it isn't called enemy territory. Those are the two banners, by the way," I said. Sunset looked up and saw the banners in question, and once we hit the cross section of the street, we quickly turned left at the corner.

"Hmm...it's strange. People don't seem to recognize me," I told Sunset. It was true; ponies saw me, but didn't seem to know who I was, and even if they didn't, they still didn't seem surprised by the fact that I was an Alicorn. Sunset shook her head.

"We're still in Griffonia, Twi. They don't bow to their leader when he or she arrives; in fact, they don't do anything. Part of being a griffon is the source of pride, and they have a strong belief that they are all equally important in the very function of their society. As such, they don't value one particular individual over another, although there is heavy respect for their rulers amongst the citizens. I wrote part of my thesis for Celestia School for Gifted Unicorns on Griffonian Magic, by the way," Sunset explained. I didn't know any of that, and I nodded thoughtfully. I was about to respond, but Starlight called out from behind us.

"I'm guessing that's our place?" she asked. Sure enough, a dangling sign from outside read, in a cursive font, the South Wind. The building itself was absolutely nothing spectacular; an extremely simple building, rather small, with only a singular window in the front, though I couldn't see through it. A handwritten sign was hung upon the door, with a single word in block letters; OPEN.

"Onward and upward!" said Trixie with glee as she walked right ahead of us and towards the door. I turned to Sunset, who, despite not liking Trixie in the slightest, seemed impressed by her initiative and, turning to Starlight, found the same thing. Thus, I, too, pressed onward, and followed Trixie towards the door; the rest of the group followed.

Once I walked in behind Trixie and took my first look at the shop, I was immediately impressed. It was merely a four wall store with a singular room, but there was plenty to look at; two bookshelves on opposite sides of the room, filled to the brim with magical tomes, and a shelf behind the counter with implements such as staffs and potions, of every variety I could think of. Inside the counter was a selection of small daggers, likely for the last resort of the aspiring wizard. The counter was impressive, but not nearly as impressive as the mare behind it.

Lotus Skywalker, as I assumed it to be at this point, was nothing short of absolute perfection. Her fur was as pure a white I had seen, and mane and tale were the precise color of the sun, and her eyes matched it. Her mane was perfectly done up, long flowing on both sides of her face. He tail, too, was equally well groomed, so finely that it seemed like it was a singular piece instead of individual hairs. When she saw us enter, she looked up at us with what had to be the most monotone and emotionless look I had ever seen a pony give.

"Hello, welcome to the South Wind. Tell me what you're looking for," she stated, her voice high but smoothly melodic. I was drawn aback by the bluntness of her statement, but I cleared by throat and quickly recovered.

"Oh, we're not here to shop, though this is really nice place. I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle! This is my student, Starlight Glimmer, and my two really good friends, Sunset Shimmer and Trixie Lulamoon. Princess Celestia told us to see you," I told her, giving her a warm smile. Her face did not change in the slightest, and she nodded.

"I expected. I assume you'll want my brother, Blaze? He's upstairs. I'll go get him," she said, before casually walking away from us and going up a very small stairwell I didn't see when we first walked in. Once she had faded out of sight, we stayed silent for a second before Starlight spoke.

"When did Maud Pie die her mane and fur?" she asked, causing all of us burst out laughing. Trixie, I had remembered, worked on Pinkie's rock farm, and had thus spent a lot of time with Maud; more than all of us combined, more likely.

While the joke was funny, I could already tell that Lotus was no Maud Pie. Maud often had her eyes half closed, as if she was always bored and never really wanted to be wherever she was at the time, but Lotus didn't have that look. Her eyes were wide open, and in them I could see the same thing I see in Starlight and Sunset; that sparkle in her eyes. Maud was never really aware of everything until she had to be; Lotus, I could tell, was taking in everything in front of her at lightning fast speed. I could easily believe Celestia's claim regarding her intelligence, and she'd barely even said anything to me. I stared at where she had just been standing for a few moments longer before a voice from upstairs brought me back to reality.

"Well damn, Lotus, I'd think you were telling a joke, but you're Lotus, so Princess Twilight is actually here," said the voice. The voice of who I assumed was Blaze was also a little higher up, but not at all melodically feminine like Lotus's was. When they both emerged from the staircase in question, my mouth immediately dropped in shock, and, although I wasn't looking away from the pair (nor did I want to), I was sure the rest of my group was doing so as well.

He was, bar none, the most attractive stallion I had ever laid my eyes upon. Much like Lotus, his mane and eyes were the same color; rich, dark blue, shining like ice. His mane was pitch black, and, while Lotus was a unicorn, he was a Pegasus, and so, he was not large or muscular; rather, he had a graceful and sleek physique. I had only now seen their cutie marks; Lotus had a simple open book as hers, while Blaze had two crossed spears as his. It completely stunned me; they were obviously adopted, as their varying color schemes showed, but they were absolutely flawless in terms of physical attractiveness, to a point where I didn't quite think was possible. Hopefully, they were perfect on the inside as well. When Blaze saw me, his eyes lit up, and he ran over to me, completely ignoring everypony else.

"Princess Twilight! It's an absolute honor! I apologize for any lack of enthusiasm you got on the way in here, but let it be known that Lotus is extremely excited that you're here! Ain't that right, Lotus?" he asked, turning to her. Lotus did not move an inch.

"Yes," she said, with zero hint of anything that could remotely be called excitement. Blaze turned back to me, a nervous grin on his face.

"Yeah...she's great, I promise. Now, if you don't mind me asking, what brings you to Cydonia, and specifically, here? I'd assume you'd be back home with the threat of invasion," said Blaze. I shook my head.

"Celestia told me that she thinks Sanguis is bluffing in this whole deal, and that he seeks something far more powerful and menacing. She told me that if anypony were to know what it was, it'd be Lotus. I know it's vague, and I don't entirely buy it myself, to be honest, but do you know what she may be talking about?" I asked, leaning past blaze to look at Lotus. For the very first time since I'd met her, Lotus gave a show of emotion by raising her eyebrows at me.

"Do you know of the Axe of King Guto?" she asked me.

The Axe of King Guto

Long, long, long ago, in a very small Griffonian village, the name of which had long been forgotten, the citizens were shaking with excitement. None other than the Noble King Guto, ruler of Griffonia, was coming to their village! Never had a king of Griffonia visited the village, but Guto did not come merry; he had a request, and he had traveled day an night to all the villages of Griffonia to see if any griffon could meet it; up to this point, all had failed.

As many know, the horrid Arimaspi had gotten off with the Idol of Boreas, despite Guto's best attempts to drive him off. Guto, while a peaceful and benevolent king, still had the pride of a Griffon boiling within him, and thus, he was ashamed of his defeat. He swore the moment his knees hit the ground in battle that he would have his revenge; he would destroy Arimaspi, take back the idol that the High King Grover bestowed upon them, and bring Griffonia back from the ashes.

And so, he issued to the griffons of Griffonia a challenge; he or she must forge him the greatest and most powerful weapon to slay Arimaspi, and the one who could do this would be rewarded with all the wealth and tangible desires they could possibly imagine. Many of the greatest Griffonian smiths in the Griffonian capital of Auster, known for their masterfully crafted weapons, had all stepped up to the challenge, but Guto was not satisfied. And so, he reasoned, there had to be a lesser known smith who could craft him this weapon; he set out on a tour of the empire, and eventually, he was scheduled to come to this quaint little village on the water.

In this quaint little village on the water was a young griffon of seventeen years named Aquila. Aquila lived in a very poor family, who could seldom provide for themselves, and so Aquila went out in the woodlands to hunt every day to bring back food and drink for his family, but it was still never quite enough. However, Aquila made all of his own weaponry, including his bows and daggers, and so once he heard of the King's challenge, he became determined; if we won the favor of Guto, he would not need to worry about food or poverty for the rest of his days. And so, he set to work.

To begin, Aquila knew that the king was a very large griffon, and that only a weapon of true force and terror would be suited to his talons. A sword would not do, nor would a hammer; an axe was perfect, having a powerful blunt strike at the flat of the axe and a devastatingly sharp edge at the sides. And so, the very night Aquila heard of the king's impending visit, he began to work. He slaved the entire night, not a second of sleep ever coming to him, but as the sun rose over his quaint village and the birds began to chirp aloud, the axe had been finished. It was large, it was ordinate, and it was beautiful; any Griffon in the kingdom would have desired it upon looking at it.

However, knew Aquila, master smiths had failed in their attempts to please the king, and so he knew it simply wasn't enough. As Aquila was thinking of what to do, a thunderstorm rolled across his village, and suddenly, the thought occurred to him; what greater power than that of anger of the Gods? And so Aquila ran out with the axe in hand to the heart of the woodlands, and held the axe high in the air. Suddenly, a lightining bolt struck the weapon, and it cackled in fury and rage; it had now been infused with the very power of thunder and lighting, and so it would stay for the rest of its days.

Aquila knew that his weapon was now the most powerful in all the land, but he himself was not satisfied. If this axe got into the wrong hands, he knew, especially that of Arimaspi's, the weapon could easily be used to destroy the empire for which it was made. And so Aquila took the axe to the village mystic, whom was well in tune with the spirits and charms. Aquila asked him to fix this problem, and so he placed a hex upon the axe; only those with a true desire to wield the blade could do so. This satisfied Aquila; he knew the King very much wished to save his kingdom, and his desire to wield the blade and destroy Arimaspi would be unrivaled.

Just as this hex had been placed upon the blade, the King flew into town with his envoy. The town's blacksmith presented his blade to Guto, who looked upon it with disdain; it would not do. The King asked the crowd that had gathered if there was another who had crafted a weapon that he may try; Aquila, with his axe, stepped forward. He took the king to the woodlands where he hunted, and, with might, slammed the axe into the ground. A shockwave of pure thunder and lightning coursed across the ground, and had destroyed every giant tree in the woodland and tore the very earth from underneath them.

The King was delighted! After all this time, a griffon had finally crafted a weapon that would easily dispatch Arimaspi, a weapon that Guto could see had unlimited power! The King immediately promised Aquila all the wealth and goods he could ever ask for. Aquila could not believe it, and in a moment of extreme gratitude, gladly knelt before the king to present him with the axe.

When the King went to grab it, however, something greatly unexpected occurred; it repulsed him. Each time he went to grab it, it shocked his hand, and in that moment, Aquila knew; Guto did not truly have the desire to wield the blade. Aquila explained this to the King, and the King was outraged; he banished Aquila from his village, and ordered the axe to go with him, so that he may never hear of it again.

Heartbroken, Aquila roamed the lands of Griffonia for years on enduntil he reached the Montes Ignis, the Mountains of Fire. He entered a cave in the side of the tallest mountain, and it was there he lived to the rest of his days, the axe diligently by his side. Eventually, Aquila died, as all griffons did, but the axe still remained in the Mountains.

And there it will stay, until the fervor of desire bursts within the heart of one who would wield what Guto could not.

III

LOTUS

Breathe in.

The Griffonian sky was beautiful tonight, especially. I was told by the very few ponies who visited Griffonia that it always was, and that it was significantly more beautiful than the Equestrian night. There were plenty of nights where I'd sat upon this very chair on the porch of the store, wondering why precisely that was. Luna was the ruler of the night, no? And she lived in Equestria. Thus, by all logic, Equestria's night sky should shine brightly superior, but I've heard differently from so many ponies I simply cannot convince myself that's how it is. It didn't bother me too much, though; I liked pretty things.

Breathe out.

Hoofsteps, from behind me. It wasn't my brother, because he knew I hated to be interrupted in my alone time; no, it had to be one of the girls. My suspicion was confirmed when Sunset Shimmer, as she had introduced herself, plopped down on the chair right beside mine and gave a deep, heavy sigh. She said nothing at first, merely staring at the sky, before breaking the silence only moments later.

"Damn," she began. "I've never seen the night so beautiful. Does it always look like this, or did I catch it at a good time?" she asked, turning to me. I shook my head.

"Not particularly. This is it. What did Twilight say her plan was? I'm curious?" I asked Sunset, not turning to look at her. Twilight, after hearing me retell the fable of the axe, explained that she would come to a decision on their course of action as fast as she could. It had been two hours since, and the Princess had not yet talked to anyone to my knowledge, still huddled in her guest quarters with the doors shut. Sunset shook her head.

"I poked into her room to see how she was. She told me she was probably going to head for Auster in a day or two, for the negotiations, but after that, she isn't sure. I'm sure she'll know what to do, though; I tell you, that damn mare always does," she said. There was this air about her I couldn't quite explain that led me to believe this wasn't all she wanted to talk to me about.

What do you want, Sunset?" I asked her. I was never one to beat around the bush, as the saying went, and my brother had constantly told me that this attitude made me rather unlikeable; Sunset, however, seemed mildly amused.

"You got a hint of personality to you, Lotus. You aren't a robot like you were a few hours ago," she said. I mentally rolled my eyes, as she was prolonging the question further, but in reality, I merely rose my eyebrows.

"It's the wine, I think. Blaze always told me that something comes out once enough of it's in my system. The sweet nectar isn't so intoxicating, however; you still haven't answered my question," I told her, still not looking at her directly. Sunset let off a little giggle, which irritated me further, though I did my best not to show it; I've been told that it came easy to me.

"I've met a few mares like you, Lotus," she began. I almost wanted to scoff at her, but I tried to be a polite pony as much as I could, and so I withheld it as she continued to speak. "There's two types of ponies in this world, and you aren't either one of them. You seem as if you have this mechanical air about you, but deep down, there's a personality in there. I just wanted to get to know it tonight, if that's okay with you. Does that answer your question?" she asked me. I turned to her to see a smile on her face; in response, I gave her a solid glare.

"No, it doesn't. You're here for another reason, too; what is it?" I asked her. Sunset recoiled, and the smile she had donned instantly turned into a frown. However, I could tell she wasn't ready to deny anything, because she studied me at great length before speaking once more.

"How did you know?" she asked me. I turned away from her, looking towards the night sky again; it was static, as always, but then again, I never expected it to move.

"You're digging your left front hoof into the floor, signifying that you're nervous. It's a tell; everypony has one," I explained to her. She immediately looked down at her hoof and saw it doing exactly what I had described. She stopped immediately, and a bit of red began to show through her fur, showing just a tinge of embarresment. That all quickly faded, however, when she looked upon me curiously.

"Do you have a tell?" she asked me. I nodded in the affirmative.

"You've already seen it," I explained to her. Sunset's countenance became even more twisted in confusion.

"So you're nervous right now?" she asked me. I gave a quick chuckle; I did it so infrequently that it almost shocked me to hear myself laughing. Sunset seemed surprised, too, but she also appeared inclined to let me speak, and so I did.

"If I'm talking to someone that isn't my brother, I'm nervous. I hate it. The wine helps a little bit, though I don't always have it handy. Care for a glass?" I asked her, pointing to the bottle beside me. She waved her hoof in front of her, signifying that she didn't want any; I merely shrugged. I was just about to ask her what she had come to me for when she promptly did it for me.

"So there's this spell that we learn in the final year of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. It's called "Mana Gauge". Are you familiar with it?" she asked me. As soon as I heard that name, I gave a heavy sigh; I knew precisely where this was going, but nonetheless, I nodded my head.

"It gauges the magical pool of a unicorn through a series of pulses throughout the caster's body; the more powerful the pulses, the more powerful the unicorn. It's a highly advanced spell, and quite frankly, I'm rather impressed you know how to cast it, but I'm going to go ahead and assume that you've discreetly cast it upon myself, and I'm going to also assume that my readings--"

"--were off the charts. You gave me a more powerful of a pulse than Twilight, Lotus, and I don't entirely know how that's possible, but I came to find out," she said. I became self conscious of how many times I was nodding, but then again, I was self conscious about everything, so I had no qualms about doing so once more.

"You're correct again; I'm nowhere near as powerful as Twilight. Her magical pool, as an Alicorn, is under what is called an "idle state". Because the Alicorn form is so powerful, if it were to hold its entire magical pool by itself, Twilight would be magically disintegrated from the inside out. Instead, it acts in reserves; while more powerful than the average unicorn, it's nowhere near her true power, which will only come about in a time where she really needs it so she doesn't exhaust and or disintegrate herself. So no, my magical pool isn't as strong as Twilight's'; it's only stronger than her magical pool in a non-threatening situation. Which is still rather formidable, and something I pride myself greatly in," I explained to her. Sunset whistled.

"So where did you learn this? To be that powerful, I mean. Who's you're teacher? Is he or she in Cydonia?" she asked me. I found myself smiling again.

"Yes, she is; she's sitting right next to you," I told her. Sunset's eyes widened, though they weren't in disbelief; it was more surprise than anything.

"What made you want to learn magic? Really learn it, I mean," she asked me. I turned to her again, and I knew my smile was gone, replaced with an icy glare. She seemed taken aback a bit, which embarrassed me greatly, so I softened my countenance before I spoke.

"Because I had to," I said simply. Sunset peered at me curiously, prying for more information, but when it was clear she wasn't going to get any, she laid back on her chair and sighed in defeat. Surprisingly, I saw a grin spread across her face, and I had a vague feeling I knew what question was coming next. As soon as the first syllable came out of her mouth, I knew my suspicions were confirmed.

"So, what color is your aura?" she asked me.

When two unicorns met each other, it was a sort of an inside joke to ask the other one what color their magical aura was. Nopony really knew how it started--it is one of the many ancient Equestrian traditions that is labeled a "historical anomaly" --but it dates back quite a few hundred years in practice. Even those in Cydonia knew it, and we've been separated from Equestrian society for quite sometime. I've been told that I don't find a lot of things funny, but for some reason, that particular joke always made me laugh, entirely because of the fact that nopony really knows why it exists. I chuckled as she finished the sentence (I was laughing far too often tonight) before answering her.

"It's blue," I began. "I know. The color combination doesn't really work like it usually does, but I learned magic rather unconventionally, so I'm not surprised, but I think it's pretty," I told her. Sunset raised her eyes in confusion.

"Unconventional? What do you mean by that?" she asked me.

I sighed. I was hoping I wouldn't have to explain until I first casted a spell because it was a rather long story and frankly, I was too lazy and didn't care enough to do it if I didn't have to; however, I was trapped into it here. I looked up at Sunset, who had a sort of anticipation plastered onto her face. I supposed I would get some joy out of this, because it always surprised ponies whenever did magic in front of them for the first time, but at this point, it was just getting old. Nonetheless, I turned my attention to the wine bottle beside me and, using my magic, levitated it from the table it had been resting upon.

Sunset had been looking at my horn, naturally, but her face quickly twisted in confusion when absolutely nothing was happening. It wasn't until she heard the magic activate that she looked down to the correct location and saw my left hoof glow blue with an aura. Her jaw instantly dropped as she saw it, leading me to roll my eyes.

"But...what..." she began. I sighed again.

"Are you familiar with Griffonian magic, Sunset?" I asked her. She turned to me and nodded her head, still in absolute shock.

"T-The first half of my thesis was on Griffonian magic. But that still d-doesn't explain--" she began, though I'd had enough.

"Then I'm sure you know that Griffonians, those who are able to, at least, cast magic from their claws, because they have no horns. I never had anypony to teach me magic, and so I actually lived without it until I knew how to read, and the books I picked up were not Equestrian books on magic; they were Griffonian books on magic. As such, I learned magic the way they did, and as a result, my magic comes from by left hoof, and not my horn like everypony else. My magic isn't really all that different from yours, it just comes from an entirely different place," I finished. Sunset seemed mildly satisfied, as much of the shock had washed off from her face, but it was easy to tell she still had questions.

"So, wait. Your horn doesn't work? Like, at all?" she asked me. I shook my head.

"No, it doesn't. It's completely useless to me, though I like the way it looks. But really, enough about me," I said. As my hoof was already in the air, I brought the wine bottle to my glass, poured another cup, and took a sip from it. Sunset still appeared a bit fazed by the whole thing, but she was warming up, it seemed.

"You have that look in your eyes," I told her. "The one that says you've been to Tartarus and back. The one of regret, the one that tells me that you...you've changed, at some point. Starlight has it. Trixie's got it, too. Twilight does not have it, nor do I ever believe she will. So tell me, what was it? Whatever happened in the past, I mean?" I asked her. Sunset chuckled a bit and leaned back in her chair.

"Me? I turned into a demon and tried to enslave a high school. It's extremely lame, upon looking at it, and even lamer, I couldn't even pull it off," she said, smiling. I smiled too, to my surprise. I suppose it was contagious; there were ponies who were like that, but I hadn't pinned Sunset to be the one.

"And what of the others? Starlight and Trixie, I mean," I asked her. Sunset nodded.

"Trixie brought an Ursa Minor into Ponyville and sent it rampant on accident, and then she wore an amulet of pure darkness and pain and enslaved that very same town after beating Twilight's ass in a magic duel, and then ran back out again when Twilight beat her ass in a magic duel; well, there was some trickery involved, I'm told," she explained, and I nodded in acknowledgement. Sunset gave a drawn out sigh.

"Starlight, she's...a bit more intense. She used to rule over this town where cutie marks were eliminated, to make everypony equal; of course, except for hers. After that was halted by Twilight and the gang, she came back around a second time for revenge, and pretty much got it, creating these alternate universes and trapping Twi in a time loop. She's all cool now, believe me; drop dead hilarious, too. Although I'm not sure how much you'd appreciate that," she told me, smiling.

I was about to say something else, but the door opened behind me. Both me and Sunset turned to face the door an question, and standing in the doorway was none other than Starlight Shimmer herself, a wide grin on her face.

"You guys talkin' shit about me?" she said, the jesting tone clearly evident in her voice. Sunset laughed, while I merely raised my eyebrows, anxious to hear the news I had suspicions she had come to give us.

"As always, Starry. What's up?" asked Sunset. Somehow, Starlight's grin grew even larger.

"It's Twi. She has come to a decision."

IV

STARLIGHT

I poked my head into the doorway knowing very well who I'd find.

Trixie Lulamoon was reclining back in a quaint wooden chair, mindlessly shuffling cards with her magic. They were being shuffled so fast that I almost couldn't catch the changes, but then again, that was what made her such a phenomenal stage magician. Trixie may have been in the process of learning more extensive unicorn spells under me, but she had an extreme knack for illusory spells. To be honest, I don't think there is anything in that subset of magic I could teach her.

"Hey, Trix!" I said as I walked into the room. She was still focusing hard on her cards, but she smiled when she heard my voice. I sat down across from her and watched her, allowing myself to be mesmerized by the rhythm. "New magic trick?"

"Yes, actually, but Trixie...I can't show it off quite yet. This may be my best card trick." Trixie smiled sheepishly as she put the cards back into the messenger back she had at her side before looking back up to me. Trixie and I have been working on the first person, as it used to only come out when she was emotionally stressed or embarrassed. I felt like we were making good progress, as that particular instance was the first one in a while.

"I hope not. You had me in the damn fetal position with that mane trick," I said with a grin. We both started laughing at that one, reminiscing back to the times of our initial friendship when Trixie showed me every last trick in her playbook. As the laughter died down, I took a deep breath and looked around the room.

"This is crazy, isn't it? I mean, all of this. I never thought I'd see Griffonia in my life. I guess the circumstances are kinda crazy, but..." Trixie chuckled and nodded, though there was that element of nervousness that found its way into it, much in the same way that my laughs probably sounded by now.

"Yeah, its...its something," she began. "I don't know, I just feel kind of...nervous, you know? Twilight is an incredible pony, but I've just only now realized that. And she's being nice to me, but I feel like I still have a ways to go, you know? And Sunset...Sunset doesn't really talk to me. Which is okay, I guess. But I just get this feeling that she doesn't like me." I leaned back at that, and for the second time that night, gave off a sigh.

"Shimmy is a really cool pony," I began. "She's been there with us, you know? Back when we were total jerks." That got a laugh from Trixie, and I couldn't help but laugh with her. "And she lived in a different dimension for a long time. I mean, she's lived in Equestria for a majority of her life, but she's still getting used to things. We all are." Trixie nodded.

"That is true." She looked back down to her bag, and I saw it as the chance to reach over and touch my hoof to hers. She looked over in surprise, but a warm smile eventually crept across her face.

"I have a feeling Shimmy will come around soon," I said. Suddenly my mind jolted, reminding me of the reason why I came to say hello to Trixie in the first place.

"Oh yeah!" I said, withdrawing my hoof. "Twilight was looking over that map in the other room. We talked about it for a while, and she said she wanted to take a quick look by herself before she made a decision. It'll be soon." Trixie nodded before looking at me quizzically.

"What do you think about this whole axe thing? Guto's axe...to be honest, you guys are always off on a bunch of adventures. I've never actually really done this before." With that, we both laughed, though I quickly rose my hoof in the air in defense.

"Hey, I don't think any of us have done this before," I said. "Pinkie and Rainbow went to Griffinstone, but they speak Equestrian there for Celestia's sake. This...this is different. And under the circumstances, I don't think we're gonna be teaching any friendship lessons here." Trixie giggled.

"No, we won't," she said. "But you know, that's okay. Going on an adventure with my best friend is good enough for me." She held out her hoof for a fist bump, to which I obliged with a grin. When she recoiled, though, there was a look on her face: it was the look Trixie always had when she had something on her mind, a sort of empty stare at anything other than the person she was talking to.

"What's up, Trix? I know you're thinking about something." Trixie looked up at me with a sheepish smile steadily growing on her face for what had to be the thousandth time tonight.

"I was looking at all the ponies and griffons here when we walked in," she began. "This sudden declaration has them nervous, scared, stiff. Trix--I'm nervous and scared too, of course, and I know we have important stuff to do here and all, but...I want to do a show here. I don't have my wagon, or my cape and hat, but I feel like these ponies could use a little magic. Not the regular kind of magic, but the magic that captivated me as a filly. The magic that made me so happy...the magic that inspired me." She quickly turned her head to the side, clearly embarrassed and in belief that her words were nonsensical. "Maybe I won't do that for anyone here. But I want to try."

I just stared at her. And then I think I felt a small tear.

"Trix..." I half whispered, a smile growing on my face. An embarrassed, sheepish smile quickly grew upon her face as she was trying to figure out what I'd say next. "That's wonderful. I know we have a lot to do, but...I know everypony and griffon would love that, and I think we need a little bit of it too." With those words, Trixie began to chuckle nervously before looking back up at me with a relieved glance.

"That's good. I'll see when I can fit it in," she said. "Well, we should probably go see what Twilight is up to. She's likely made her decision." As if almost on cue, a familiar voice rang out through what appeared to be the entire building, its echo reverberating across the walls.

"GIRLS! I NEED YOUR HELP!"

With that, we both started laughing, and the pleasant chorus didn't stop for quite some time. I didn't know how long, and it really, wasn't even that funny, but I was grateful for it nonetheless; I was nervous. Trixie was nervous, Twilight was nervous, Sunset was nervous. We were all on edge merely by being here, and aside from a chuckle or two, I hadn't done a lot of laughing all that recently. As I continued to feel that feeling in my chest, I started to remember how it all felt. Not to stop a crazy, warmongering King. Just to laugh.

It was nice.

It died down, eventually, as it always did. There was a wipe away of our tears before we began to make our way to Twilight's quarters where she'd be so adamantly studying a map of Griffonia. It wasn't a long walk there, being just across the hall, but that didn't stop Trixie from beginning a new conversation in a hushed voice.

"Do you ever wonder what it's like to be Twilight?" she asked. I chucked a bit at that question before nodding my head.

"Very often. One time I was sitting on the couch drinking wine and I just starting thinking about her. Like, everything she has to do, you know? Be a princess, solve every problem. She's so talented and so awesome and so sweet...it broke her down a while ago, you know. It isn't easy being Twilight, but there isn't a better pony for the job." The last line was supposed to be a joke, but Trixie did not laugh. She merely stared forward thoughtfully as we rounded the corner right into Twilight's corners.

Twilight had set the map on a wooden table she'd moved from the corner of the room. Our quarters weren't huge, of course, but due to this change her room looked barren, with the dark brown wooden walls immediately taking over my vision as soon as I entered. Twilight was lost in thought, and was muttering under her breath as her eyes darted across the map at a feverish speed.

"It doesn't make any sense..." she muttered, looking back to the corner of the map. As we entered, she heard the clang of our hooves, causing her head to snap up and meet us immediately. Her face slowly flushed with red as she gave a sheepish grin that rivaled Trixie's from earlier.

"Hey girls! You scared me," she said, looking away. I merely rolled my eyes to the ceiling and looked back at her with a sly grin.

"Doesn't take much. Surprising, really." Twilight rolled her eyes in annoyance before looking back down at the map.

"So what exactly is it that doesn't make any sense?" Trixie asked. Twilight nodded thoughtfully, scanning over the map rapidly with her eyes before responding.

"Well, I'm gonna tell you guys, but I'll wait for Sunny and the Skywalkers. There's something that's been racking my brain lately." I nodded and quickly ran to the front door, opening it steadily. I heard a bit of Sunset and Lotus talking when I rounded the hall to get to Twilight's quarters, and sure enough, I could hear them continuing a conversation on the porch. Sunset appeared to be talking to Lotus about the group's past deeds, and even better, was in a discussion about my own exploits.

"You guys badmouthing me?" I exclaimed. Sunset began to chuckle, knowing I was joking, though Lotus had her eyebrows raised in what appeared to be an unsure glance.

"Always, Starry. What's up?" she asked. I merely smiled wider, as this was a moment I knew many of us had been eagerly anticipating.

"It's Twi. She's come to a decision," I explained. The two ponies looked at each other before nodding at me and getting up from their chairs. I left the door open and allowed them to follow me back to Twilight's quarters, where it appeared Blaze had already tucked himself in the back corner. We all managed to squish ourselves in, ending up with Sunset, Trixie and I in the front and the Skywalkers close behind us. Noting that everyone had arrived with a last-second scan around the room, Twilight quickly sighed and looked back at her map.

"Okay, so if the legend of the axe is true, then that would place it in the Mountains of Fire, which are at the corner of Griffonia," she began. "That would be a trip. It'd probably take us about a month to travel there via wagon, and then we'd have to search for the damn thing. If this is indeed what Sanguis is looking for, then we can assume that he already knows where it is, but that just doesn't matter. If we were to leave tomorrow, we could get there first and prevent him from ever touching it." Sunset quickly spoke up.

"Then you wouldn't be going to the negotiations in Auster," she said, a hint of confusion in her voice. Twilight beamed at those words as she looked up at her. She had that look on her face that clearly showcased the gears in her head were moving a thousand miles a minute.

"That's true, and he threatened to attack with his army if I didn't show up. But as we know, if he were to do that, he'd be done for. The combined powers of the Princesses, the Elements, AND Discord, along with our allies? He'd kill many ponies, but his army would be vaporized. So what we're looking at is--"

"--a lose/lose for Sanguis," I said. Twilight delivered her next line with a devious grin.

"--which doesn't make any sense." Sunset looked to the ceiling in thought before nodding knowingly, having pondered the scenario in her head.

"Well that's true," began Blaze from the back of the room. Sunset and I parted a little bit to make him more visible to Twilight. "But why would you assume that Sanguis knows that we know he's after the axe, even if it exists? Not doubting you sis, but in the event it's real and he's after it, how would he know we're the wiser?" Twilight nodded before speaking, clearly prepared for the question.

"Now that's the thing, isn't it?" she began. "I've met Sanguis many times. He's cold, he's calculated, and he's VERY intelligent. The first thing he did was let us keep Cydonia, which was just another massively boneheaded move on his part to add on to the pile. I may be reaching here, but...this can't be a coincidence. He knows Cydonia. He knows Blaze and Lotus live here, and knows the culture, and he knows me well. Everything we see here has us winning tremendously, and that can only mean--"

"--he's accounting for everything, and he's planning something huge," Sunset finished. Twilight looked on at the group as a wave of relief washed over her, and for the billionth time that night she gave off a sigh.

"So I'm not crazy," she said, seemingly convincing herself. "Celestia is right. There's something more, but I just don't know what it is. Sanguis isn't stupid, and he wouldn't act like it if he wasn't sitting on a massive time bomb." The room stood stagnant, processing the information. After what seemed like an eternity, it was Lotus Skywalker that spoke next.

"So what do you suggest we do about this?" asked Lotus. It was the question on everypony's mind in the simplest of words, which I suppose was what Lotus was so good at. Twilight leaned back in her chair and began to gaze at the ceiling.

"Quite obviously, if I go to Auster, they're going to try and capture me. In fact, I'd prefer it, because if they didn't, that would only shoot my nerves further through the roof," said Twilight. "But there are griffons in Auster that have to know what's happening. And if there are griffons in Auster that know what is happening, there are griffons in Auster that aren't okay with it. So I have to go and find them." Trixie, who had stayed silent the entire time, blurted out immediately.

"You can't! They'll capture you. At least let us come with." The rest of the group nodded to agree, but to my surprise, Twilight immediately shook her head in the negative.

"We're integral to shutting down whatever it is Sanguis is plotting. If all of us get captured, it's game over. The rest of you need to go after that axe, and then I can join up with you afterward." a rare sly grin, which was becoming increasingly common for Twilight tonight, appeared on her face. "I've been captured before." Everypony seemed to understand where she was going, but when I looked towards Sunset, I saw her digging her hoof into the floor; she was gonna say something.

"There's one more problem I have," she said, almost like clockwork. "If we assume--which I am still having a problem with--that he knows we know about the axe, wouldn't he expect us to go after it? On top of the fact he likely knows where it is, why wouldn't he just put a super powerful guard regiment there or something? We could be walking straight into an ambush." Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but I put up a hoof, signaling I could handle it. She nodded and, with an outstretched hoof, gave me the floor.

"To begin, I agree with Sunset," I said. "This is, well, conjecture, You have to assume that Sanguis has everything covered, but he really could just be a dumbass." The room laughed at that one, and I could feel my smirk of pride grow as their laughter continued. When it slowly began to die, I wiped the grin off my face and continued.

"But we have to be prepared for the worst. So I agree with Twilight in that we not only have to have her go to Auster, but that we have to go after the axe as well. Even if he does have some sort of garrison there, they aren't used to fighting unicorns with magic. Shimmy and I are highly skilled, and Trixie is coming along very nicely under my tutelage, if I dare say so myself. Lotus can use magic too, and Blaze can help with the air. Be it ten of them or fifty, they'll be in for a shock."

Sunset held out a hoof towards me for a hoof bump, which I gladly accepted. To my surprise, she then held out her right hoof to Trixie, who stared at it for a second almost in shock before she smiled and returned the gesture as well. I looked back to Twilight, who had a beaming smile on her face. It wasn't a sly or coy smile, but she just seemed genuinely happy, and it proved to be infectious as I could feel my face mirror it.

"Well alright then," she began. "Looks like it's settled. We don't have a ton of time, so I'll depart for Auster in a day or two. You girls--and Blaze, of course--should leave as soon as you can, too. You'll pass through a lot of stuff along the way, so make sure to document everything for me! I'll likely meet up with all of you during the course of the trip, too. Sound good?"

"Sounds good to me," I said, looking around. Everyone else nodded in agreement, and with that, we began to break up and leave. I walked over to Trixie, but right when we were about to head out, we heard Sunset speak up.

"Hey, Twi. Uh, if it's okay with you, could we, uh, go do that thing we talked about?" she said. We turned back, and Sunset displayed a clearly embarrassed visage as she looked to the Princess. Twilight chuckled for only a second before returning a warm smile.

"Of course, Sunny. Let's go." she quickly turned to us, noticing we were watching.

"Sunset and I are going to go out in the town for a bit. We'll be back soon!" With that, the two mares exited, leaving only Trixie and I alone in Twilight's room. We both gave each other an odd glance at almost the exact same time before looking back towards the doorway where the two had exited.

"What was that about?" asked Trixie, looking back at me. I was still looking at the doorway, attempting to come up with an explanation, before shrugging and turning back to her.

"No idea. You wanna play blackjack again?"

"Do you want to lose again?"

V

TRIXIE

I packed. I looked through my stuff. I took it all out and then I packed it all again, with a few new additions.

I decided to stop there. Nothing would ever be enough.

I've traveled all around Equestria. I'd carted my wagon to Los Pegasus, I'd slept on the streets of Baltimare, and I'd attracted thousands--hundreds--tens of ponies in Fillydelphia. It was tough being away from home all the time, but I did it for a few reasons. I did it to prove I was the best magician in the world (I wasn't). I did it to show everyone who ever doubted me what I could become (I doubt they even remember my name).

But most of all, I do what I do because I love it. Because I'd go to every magic show that came to town when I grew up. Because I'd sit with my legs crossed, staring in awe with every trick and every slight of hand. Because whenever I did a show, I wanted to make a kid's eyes light up just like mine.

And you know what? I did. But for whatever reason, I didn't care.

That one part of me that wanted to prove how superior I really was overtook everything. I always try and remember when that happened. I'll lie awake at night for hours trying to figure it out, and I never do.

It's what I was doing now. And just like always, I couldn't find an answer.

I looked at the clock on the wall. 4 a.m.

I was thirsty.

I grabbed my water cup with my magic and began to make my way downstairs to the common area. I had quietly let Blaze and Lotus know that I was a night owl, and they assured me that it was fine to go downstairs and do anything I needed to, including just hanging around the common area. I wasn't going to do that, though; I'd probably just stare at the wall for another hour before Luna finally took me.

As I got to the bottom of the stairs, my glass still in tow, I rounded the corner to get to the kitchen before gently setting the cup down. I took a look at the water pitcher, but quickly decided against it Instead, I closed the fridge and looked over at the red wine sitting on the counter. I figured that getting tipsy would make it easier to sleep, but I made a mental note not to drink too much to make myself regret it in the morning. Right as I was about to grab the bottle, my ears perked as I heard a sound.

It was music. A guitar, by the sound of it, emanating from the front porch. It was very faint, so I couldn't particularly tell what the song was or how good the playing was, so I quickly poured the wine and began to make my way to the front door. As I got closer and closer, the melody got clearer, and it wasn't until I opened the door that I discovered the noise's source.

It was Sunset Shimmer, sitting alone on the porch. In her hooves was an acoustic guitar that, despite the darkness, I could tell was exquisitely made, the lacquer shining off the moonlight and the wood grain evident even in the night. The guitar was beautiful, but I was far more mesmerized by her playing.

Put simply, it was unbelievable. She was playing the blues, that was for sure, but in a way I hadn't ever heard. She had the melody line perfectly in time with the thumping bass notes, and the tapping of her hooves created the beat the music followed. Her leads were soaring, the notes coming into place perfectly, and she could clearly feel the rhythm coursing through her body as she moved along the fretboard. After playing what appeared to be a quick interlude, she began to sing, her melodic and soft voice blending perfectly with the breeze.

Cause, nobody knows you
When you're down and out
In your pocket, not one penny
And as for friends, well, you don't have any
And when you get back on your feet again
Everybody wants to be your long-lost friend
Said it's strange, without any doubt
Nobody knows you when you're down and out

I just watched her play. I can't remember how long the song went from there, and I don't even know if she heard the door open, but eventually, she hit her last note and let it ring through the night. As it died, down, she turned to me and smiled, indicating that she must have known the moment I came through the door.

"Hello, Trixie," she said. "Can't sleep either?" I realized I had my jaw open, and I quickly brought it up before speaking.

"Nope... Sunset, that was incredible," I said. Surprisingly, Sunset quickly turned her head to the side, and I saw a bit of a blush begin to form on her cheeks.

"It's something I've been working on," she began. "That's some high praise, coming from the Great and Powerful Trixie." At those words, I gave the devious smirk I know Sunset was looking for.

"And that's saying something," I joked, causing her to laugh. I sat down in the chair next to her as she gently rested the guitar against the wall to her left.

"Sunset, where did you learn to play like that? And sing... I had no idea." Sunset merely sat back in her chair and looked out to the Cydonian sky.

"You know playing guitar is the exact same here as it is in the human world? Even though ponies don't have fingers, it just works. I never thought about that when I started playing before I went through the mirror, but after a while, you know, it clicked. I still don't get it, because it should be way different from fingers to hooves, but I've always loved playing. It's been my release from so many things. Anger, sadness, and in this case, because I'm insanely strung out. Pun intended." She went over to levitate the guitar back in her hooves before playing a few licks.

"Twilight bought this for me today. That's what that whole thing was about, if you heard," she said, a sheepish grin appearing to match her scarlet cheeks. "I'm sure you could probably guess, but after being born into a noble family and then becoming a princess--"

"--She's got some bits lying around, huh?" I asked, a smile on my face. "That's super cool of her to do that for you. I... I know what it's like starting over again." I didn't really mean to say that last part, but it slipped out before I could regret it. Sunset's face moved down only slightly, the glow of sadness evident even in the dark, but it quickly disappeared as she looked up at me.

"Trixie, can I tell you a story?" she asked me. I could feel my face twist ever so slightly in confusion, but nonetheless, I quickly nodded, and Sunset sat back in her chair, looked at the stars, and began her tale.

"So in this human world, we have this thing called social media. And it's this wide, massive network, essentially, where people can share their pictures, events they are going to, how they're feeling, really anything. It's all through this digital medium, and I don't expect you to understand how that all works, but do you kind of get the concept?" I slowly nodded. I didn't actually, but I had a feeling I could pick it up as I went along.

"Well, essentially, there was this mysterious person named "Anon-a-Miss"--very clever, I know--and she was spreading around these pictures and rumors about people she was discovering, essentially to cause chaos and disorder. Due to the fact that I had a bad reputation--"

"--people thought it was you," I finished. She nodded, with barely a hint of a smirk traceable in her face.

"Yeah, they did. And I mean, can you really blame them? After what I did to the school, to the people... I mean, if I were them, I'd blame me, too. And so I knew that I needed to prove it wasn't me so I could clear my name and not be Public Enemy Number One again. As I'm sure you know, it... doesn't feel good."

I nodded and found myself sighing, because it certainly didn't feel good. I'd made a thousand dumb decisions in my life, and more often than not, it resulted in trouble, and that's not just counting the Ursa Major and the Alicorn Amulet. Sunset understood, too, I knew, and that's why her next words bit so much harder than they probably should have.

"So, I ran into your human counterpart in the hallway. And I was just so mad, and so fed up with this situation, and you can't begin to understand how much I wanted it to be over--"

"You accused me," I interrupted. It came out far harsher than I meant it to, because I wasn't mad at Sunset; in fact, like she had said only moments earlier, I totally understood. I didn't know what I was like in the human world, or the things that had happened to me there, but based on how Sunset was speaking, I could tell it was more of the old me than me I had worked so hard to become.

"I did," she said. "I mean, I didn't even really think it was you--her--and yet, I did. And she looked at me with this sneer, and she assured me that she was not Anon-A-Miss, but that she wished she was." Sunset looked back up again. She was doing that a lot lately, it seemed, and every time I seemed to glance at her she was looking at the stars.

"And that made me so mad," she began. "I was already having a horrible day. I wasn't thinking straight, and I'd lashed out, and I got more anger back, and so I just had this sort of thing set in stone that I just didn't like you." Sunset looked over to me, where I was pouring a glass of wine, and pulled out a glass of her own from seemingly nowhere.

"Mind if I have some?" she asked. I chuckled a bit before pouring her a glass, and we both took a sip at the same time. Sunset looked at the bottle with an almost longing stare before inspecting her glass as if it held some great secret.

"The griffons really do it right, don't they?" she asked. I laughed again, taking a sip to stop myself before answering.

"They do. It hits harder, too," I replied, which got another chuckle from Sunset. I was glad to be making her laugh, as I could really tell there was something weighing down on her on top of the fact that she, Starlight and were all nervous as hell to be making this trip tomorrow. Gulping down another sip, Sunset turned back to me.

"I just want to say I'm sorry," she began. "And I know it wasn't even the you that you are here, and you're different over there, but... I had a preconception of you from my time there. One I shouldn't have carried over to Equestria." Sunset used her magic to raise her glass to about halfway between us, letting it hang in the air.

"Friends?" she asked. Chuckling a little bit, I took my glass and clinked it before we both drained the last of our glasses.

"Friends," I assured her, giving her a smile. "I was a bitch. I'm trying not to be anymore, but I assure you, it ain't easy." Sunset burst into laughter at that, and it infected me to the point where I had to laugh along. I don't know how long it went on, but eventually, the wind carried it away. I looked at the house across from us, a quaint and nice little place that looked a lot like the South Wind.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" I asked. Sunset snorted a bit with laughter, though I could tell it was more of a nervous feeling.

"Tartarus no," she answered. "But we're gonna do it. I just hope Twilight is okay. I know she can handle herself, but these Griffons really don't mess around. How 'bout you? How are you feeling?" I shrugged and looked down at my wine glass I'd just refilled, moving it a bit to watch the ripples. I looked back at Sunset, who was eagerly awaiting an answer.

"I'm scared out of my mind," I said with a smile. "So let's finish the bottle so I forget about it."