Chapter 10: Pegasus in the Dungeons

"I can't believe we still have to do the dungeons!" Zephyr groaned, staring at the numerous cells that they found beneath the castle, "We can just lock them away," he suggested hopefully but a look from Trade Wind made him sigh, "Fine, but I'm doing this under protest," the blue pegasus gave the rest of the group an apologetic look.

"Sorry, but it wasn't safe till now to even come down here, it was only until we were finished stabilizing the top and removing those stones were we able to even come down here. Plus there was that whole star spider and rat infestation that had to be dealt with," she shot a glance at Zephyr who had not reacted all that well and it had taken some combined effort to calm him down.

"Not to mention the dark magic that had sealed everything shut, along with some really ancient magic," one of the only unicorns of their group commented, pushing up her glasses.

"Yeah, its a good thing we had you here to help to detect all of them, thanks for accepting the offer to be a part of the team Moondancer," the Canterlot unicorn blushed a bit.

"I only did it because of the books rumored to be here and how it would look on my resume," she muttered to herself, Trade smiled as she took out a bucket from the cart and filled it with water. Lyra had assured her all those months ago that Moondancer was just as much of a researcher of magic as Twilight was, and it would be better for the unicorn to get involved in these kinds of projects.

"Well this place isn't going to clean itself, and no, we can't call Lyra to do it because using magic of any kind is a bad idea in a dungeon meant to contain all sorts," she started on the first cell, dumping the water and started scrubbing, the others going in with her to start on the walls or take out the cell doors that had centuries of rust on them.

They had finished cleaning the first one and were halfway through the second when a particular shortage came up,

"I thought we put in orders for a months supply of cleaning potions and soup," Trade frowned, staring into the empty crate, Time Turner rubbed the back of his head,

"I ended up using some of the potions for the pipes and cleaning out all of the clocks," Derpy looked sheepish as well,

"The stained glass windows were really dirty after the storm," others muttered about their own spontaneous cleaning and Trade shook her head.

"Well we can't go on cleaning like this without the potions to get rid of the worst grime, so I guess we'll be stopping in the dungeons today," she stopped them from leaving with a look, "I said the dungeons, we'll send two of you to get more soap while we start work on the greenhouses that were recently repaired, there are a lot of plants that need planting and runes to stop frost and other stuff from getting in need to be inscribed." Zephyr put his hooves together in prayer to be on of the two ponies to go to town but Trade ignored his posturing as she looked at Moondancer, "How about you and Gabby go Moondancer, I know you haven't been going into Ponyville all that much, and while I know Twilight agreed to let you stay over, study sessions don't count," the unicorn blushed a bit while Gabby nodded,

"I still have the list for all of the potions, I'll go ask Zecora to prepare some as we leave the forest, come on Moondancer," she flew off and Moondancer was indecisive for a moment before she followed.

"I'm not good with, plants," Maud's voice sounded and Trade rubbed the back of her head,

"Actually, this is on the request of Princess Luna, but have you heard of a rock garden?" the Earth mare blinked slowly and nodded.

With Gabby and Moondancer

"I still can't believe the opportunity I was given just because Lyra knows me, we don't even talk all that much," Moondancer straightened her ponytail that Zephyr had given her on the first day to help keep it out of the way ('and not in that style!')

"A lot of opportunities appear like that because of connections, its why socialization is so important, of course making friends to make connections isn't all that good either, but no reason to not make friends either. How are you and Twilight doing?" Moondancer adjusted her glasses,

"Alright, she keeps apologizing about missing my party, but I guess I can't really fault her since Princess Celestia did send her those books and she did send her to Ponyville. Of course she keeps trying to include me on some of her friend's activities, but I'm not really interested. I mean, they are her friends, but they are not mine," Moondancer looked really uncomfortable at this admission, but Gabby nodded in understanding,

"Yes, I can understand that, I don't really get along with some of Zephyr's friends since we don't have the same interests, but there's a truce not to fight or anything and to at least go along with what he wants to do. Do you have any friends back in Canterlot?" Moondancer opened her mouth to reply when they came upon an odd sight.

"Why is Pinkie Pie ducking and hiding in the bushes?" Moondancer asked, but having been friends with some of the Ponyville citizens, Gabby realized what it meant,

"Twitchy tail!" she looked around the sky urgently, earning a baffled look from the Canterlot native,

"What are you talking about-" she paused at the sight of a frog landing on Twilight's face, realizing the unicorn must have gone up to Pinkie Pie in her curiosity.

"Whenever Pinkie Pie's tail twitches, it means something is going to fall from the sky," she nodded at the look shot her way, "I know it does not make sense, but over the years there have been a lot of instances where Pinkie's Pinkie sense has come in handy." Moondancer shot another look back at them to still see Pinkie's tail twitching before Twilight fell into a ditch.

"It might be some kind of Earth Pony ability, there have been recorded instances in several books about unexplained talents of Earth Ponies that don't make sense," she contemplated this as her stomach let out a loud rumble, her cheeks turning red, but then Gabby's stomach let out a loud roar.

"Well, I'm sure Trade Wind won't mind if we put in an order for sandwiches an hour early and eat while we wait, come on, Sugarcube Corner is around the corner," Gabby snickered at the deadpan look, "Sorry, couldn't resist," they entered the shop and met Mr. Cake at the counter.

"Well hello Gabby, here for anything special?" Carrot Cake had taken a bit of getting used to the non-ponies of Ponyville, but at least Gabby's kind nature and helpfulness eased some of the anxiety he felt at the talons she had.

"Yeah, an order of your special sandwiches, you do still have jam left over right?" she asked anxiously, Carrot nodded,

"We sure do, Cup Cake just made some a week ago, how many?" Gabby thought about it.

"It might be till dinner time, so possibly thirty, ooh and some of those banana bars as well, that's it for the Castle order, Moondancer is there anything you'd like to eat for lunch?" the unicorn went over the selections.

"I'll have the strawberry jelly and peanut butter triple decker with a shake of peanut butter and blueberries," nodding cheerfully at the order, Mr. Cake recorded it before glancing at Gabby who pointed at a large pretzel in the case.

"I'll have the Titan pretzel," there was silence as ponies turned to stare and Mr. Cake blinked rapidly.

"Are you sure? Pinkie Pie created it with unknown ingredients after all," Gabby nodded eagerly and the stallion sighed, "Oh well," he bent and grunted as he lifted the pretzel up and carefully placed it on a plate, his wife coming out with a glass of water and Moondancer's order.

The duo sat in a corner, the studious unicorn staring at the three pound pretzel that was steaming suspiciously despite not having come out of the oven.

"That kind of looks ominous," she observed, but the griffin didn't look deterred.

"My old roommate that wasn't Trade Wind recommended it, and I promised to try it when I could," she cut into it with her talon, releasing some sort of cheese mixed with an orange sauce, "Ooh it looks good!" the griffin proceeded to chow down, some of the patrons staring at her being unaffected by one of the spiciest foods on the Cake's menu that rated a caution sign for customers.

'I'm starting to think everyone that went to that university has high tolerance for spicy foods' Moondancer thought to herself, having seen Trade Wind eat Lava peppers like they were nothing.

"Gabby! Moondancer!" a familiar voice sounded, a mint unicorn plopping in one of the last two empty seats at their table, "Hey you guys, what's up? Over her Bon Bon!" she waved to an Earth pony mare that did not look all that pleased by her choice of table.

"Lyra we can always sit somewhere else you know," she told her roommate who waved a hoof,

"Naw! We'll be fine, these two are cool, I can't believe your actually enjoying that! I tried doing it with Bon Bon once but the heat got to me," she admitted sheepishly, "Even after spending years with a spicy connoisseur, my tolerance is still a bit low, I don't know how she does it," Bon Bon rolled her eyes,

"Probably because she's a freak," she muttered under her breath, unfortunately both Lyra and Gabby had good hearing,

"What did you say?" normally one of the gentlest and nicest griffins around, even Gabby had points where her inner griffin threatened to come out, and this Earth Pony just triggered it.

Startled at being overheard, Bon Bon lifted her nose,

"All I'm saying is Trade Wind is not a normal pegasus, I don't know why Princess Celestia is fond of her so much," the former secret agent bit out, Lyra frowned,

"There is nothing wrong with Trade Wind, Bon Bon, why are you so against her?" the Earth mare slammed her hooves into the table.

"She glows in the dark Lyra! You think I don't know about that? Not to mention a pegasus should not have the abilities she does, nor the knowledge," it had frustrated her entire organization how a civilian had been able to get into places they couldn't, "She should have submitted herself for scientific examination years ago," she spat, Gabby snapped.

The mare found herself thrown to the ground as the griffin glared at her with swirling orange instead of the blue she normally had, signalling her rage,

"How dare you say that about Trade Wind! You have no idea what she has been through, so don't you dare say she's a freak!" Gabby's voice started to growl and Bon Bon got up, her own face twisted into a scowl,

"She is!" the mare insisted, "And so are you! Ponyville is for ponies, not abominations like you and the others," Lyra gasped at her roommate's words, feeling hurt that the friend she trusted was like the rest of those ponies who didn't get along with non-ponies. Tears filled her eyes as she lit her horn and put the two to sleep,

She stood staring at her roommate, heart breaking into little pieces as tears fell down her cheeks,

"Lyra?" Moondancer asked uncertainly, uncomfortable seeing the normally confident mare cry.

"I'll be okay, you take Gabby to where you guys need to go, I'll take Bon Bon home," her ears fell, "And pack up my stuff," she left before her friend could stop her.

The other patrons shared looks, some of them shocked that the normally gentle griffin had lost her cool, but they were more shocked the Earth mare actually thought like that.

An hour later Gabby woke up in a cart next to the packaged sandwiches and a box of potions, the magical aura pulling the cart telling her who was doing it,

"Your awake?" Moondancer asked lightly, walking beside the cart and staring straight ahead, Gabby grimaced,

"Sorry I lost my temper like that, its just, Trade Wind was my roommate for three whole years before I graduated to start a business with Zephyr while she stayed an extra two years for a research project. So much happened during our school that I know Trade Wind's personality and ideals inside and out, she does not deserve to be called a freak!" the griffin huffed, hopping out of the cart and attaching herself to it to lighten the load.

"Bon Bon said she glowed in the dark?" Moondancer asked carefully, having not seen it for herself which was quite strange since they had been in the castle for several months.

"Yes, an incident as a filly had her falling into strange glowing pools, two different ones, she's found different ways to conceal it over the years, and I'm pretty sure her family is still in the dark about it," she then remembered how loud Bon-Bon had been and thought that Rainbow Dash might hear about it soon.

"Well that would explain the glowing, but what other stuff can Trade do that is so strange?" having only known the pegasus for a short time, Moondancer was a bit perplexed.

"Ever read North Star magazine?" at the nod she grinned, "All of them are written by Trade Wind herself, apart from the fashion and gardening articles," the unicorn's jaw dropped.

"But most of those are first-hand accounts of various activities like cave exploring, surfing, and even skiing, none of them mentioning the use of wings as part of it," Gabby shrugged.

"Yeah, she was determined to get her Cutie Mark in cave exploring or mining and made sure not to use her wings at all, even in the dangerous parts. But I'm pretty sure Bon Bon is unaware of North Star and Trade Wind being the same pony, what she was talking about was probably Trade's ability to fly without the use of pegasus magic," Moondancer almost stumbled,

"But that's impossible!" she spluttered, "Only dragons, griffins and Nocturne ponies can fly without the use of magic, Pegasus, however, don't have the necessary wing muscles to accomplish that," she rubbed her glasses in confusion as Gabby chuckled,

"Yeah, that was my thought when I realized it, but again, when she was a filly, Trade met a dragon that trained her and made her fly under her own strength out of a cavern impervious to pegasus magic. So basically, all that Bon Bon claims about her, she earned through hard work or a complete accident," Moondancer was lost in thought as they approached the castle again. The group was outside weeding the courtyard, some of them going back and forth in the greenhouse with buckets of dust and unneeded dirt, and others inscribing something on little panels.

"Ooh, lunch!" Zephyr dropped his broom and flew over, rubbing his hooves together in anticipation, causing Gabby to giggle while Moondancer rolled her eyes.

Trade set down her own broom and walked over,

"How was your trip into Ponyville?" she questioned casually, the two shared a look,

"Pinkie sense?" were the words that came out of Moondancer's mouth, and Trade broke out into a grin,

"Oh did you witness that? I've been witness myself actually," Moondancer nodded before the thought of asking about Bon Bon's reaction to Trade Wind popped up again,

"So, I hear you do a lot of research," she winced, not the question she wanted to ask!

"Did Gabby tell you about that then? Yeah, my Cutie Mark kind of symbolizes my gift in that aspect," she pointed at the knowledge symbol on the egg, Moondancer glanced at it in curiosity.

"That's an interesting Cutie Mark, what do the diamonds and star mean?" Trade shrugged,

"I have no clue, they just appeared with the rest," the mare with the Crescent Cutie Mark shook off her curiosity about that and tried again,

"Do you know the truth about Pinkie Sense?" there was something strange about the answering grin.

Once the day ended, Trade volunteered to take Moondancer back to the library while Gabby went with Zephyr to Fluttershy's place to play with Frost.

"I'm guessing something else happened in town today?" jumping at the question, the unicorn looked guilty,

"You might want to visit Lyra and stop her from leaving Ponyville," she gulped at the raised eyebrow, "Apparently her roommate Bon Bon had some opinions that pushed Gabby over the edge and made Lyra cry," the pegasus sighed,

"I see, while I can understand her frustration, there is nothing for me to do about Bon Bon who has made it pretty clear that she will not change her feelings about me. But if Lyra wants to leave Ponyville, it is up to her, not me as it is Lyra's life." they entered the library to see Twilight wearing an umbrella hat with Pinkie, Spike himself looking a bit spooked as he came down the stairs,

"Hey Pinkie looks like it didn't take all that long to win Twilight over about your Pinkie sense," Trade commented, making the Earth pony beam,

"I know! It took me by surprise too, it was a real doozy!" the pink mare hopped out to return home, Moondancer entering the kitchen for a drink, leaving Twilight and Trade Wind alone.

"So you knew about it?" Twilight asked the pegasus, wondering if she had been driven to research Pinkie's abilities the way she did.

"Well yes, North Star did an article on Earth Pony abilities a few years ago, have fun," she left, leaving Twilight with a twitching eye,

"There's an article!" her voice boomed throughout Ponyville, Trade snickering to herself as she went on home.

'If she had only consulted other areas instead of her equipment, oh well' not like it would matter anyway.

Author's Note

I'm doing the episodes a bit out of order, moving Fall Weather friends and Winter Wrap up down the list a bit. Not sure if I'll do Party of One till season two (considering her birthday is in May!