Badlands

Chapters

Chapter 1: A Journey Delayed
Chapter 2: Written in Stone
Prologue: A Journey Ahead

Chapter 1: A Journey Delayed

So, little foals, you want me to tell you a story? Gather round, then, and listen well.

Sure, I could tell you about Somnambula, or Starswirl, or even Twilight and her friends, but the Princess of Friendship wasn't the only pony doing great things in Equestria. Hmmm... well, I guess I can't say it like that, because the story I have to tell doesn't take place in Equestria.

I'm going to tell you about the Badlands.

South of Equestria, beyond the Macintosh hills, lie a wild region. Once ruled by a dozen great kingdoms, the Storm King's armies swept over everything and reduced it to dust. Now, with the Storm King gone, what remained has fallen into chaos...

The normal kind of chaos, not the Discord kind.

Anyway, this story isn't for the faint of heart. It isn't about friendship or love and tolerance. The Badlands are a wild, dangerous place. This story is about four strangers, brought together by a being known as The Angel, whose motivations are her own. She could lead them to riches or ruin.

So are you little ones brave enough for a tale of adventure, danger, and treasure? Are you ready for the...

BADLANDS

"Last stooop: Badlands station! Badlands statiooon!" the train slowed to a stop at the small, un-populated station in the middle of nowhere. The only four passengers, saddlebags full of provisions, looked up from the nearly-matching books they held. A silent conversation between them resting on the pages.

Ghost: We're here, Twilight. Gotta go.

Bookhorse: Okay! Be careful out there. Capper should be waiting with an airship.

Hawkeye: Yes, Twilight, we know. You've told us a dozen times since we left Appleloosa.

They shared a look and smirk. As they went to put their books away, though, something caught their eyes.

Angel: Hello, adventurers.

G34R: Who are you?!

"Um, Bevel? I didn't think anypony else had one of these books," Pot Pie had already stood to get off the train, but sat back in his seat.

"They don't. I talked about these things all night with Twilight and Starlight. They only made six books."

Angel: Worry not, my friends. I am here to help you. I heard of your coming and wish to guide you to the purpose of your visit. For now, though, you should probably get off the train. There's a hedgehog waiting for you. He will take you to your friend. Be sure to do what he says. I will contact you later. Good luck.

The four shared another look.

"Hello?" the conductor poked his head into the car, "I need to get back to Canterlot! Get off the train!"

One by one they did. Sure enough, a short black hedgehog with white hair stood with a sign as big as he was reading "PONIES" in large letters. "and Griffon" was hastily scrawled underneath.

Grubber

I'm sorry

"Heeey!" the creature shouted and waved, "over here!" as they approached, he spoke excitedly to each, "well aren't you the motley crew? A lanky little griffon, prowling around with ponies, what's with that? Wow, aren't you a hyper pegasus; need some more sugar? And aren't you a pretty unicorn; you look a lot like me; must be a sign," he winked, and Whisper shuddered, "And you... hi, big pony; please don't hurt me."

Marduk scowled, "yeah, yeah. Who are you supposed to be, a snack?"

The thing crossed its arms and harrumphed, "I'm Grubber! Former minion of the Great and Evil Storm King," then he mumbled, "now stuck working for Capper."

"Well then, you fared better than the Storm King," Whisper said, earning her a hoof-claw bump from Marduk, giggles from Bevel, and a smirk from Pie.

Grubber simply turned and waddled down the steps, gesturing, "yeah, yeah. Follow me, ponies."

The train pulled away from the station as they did the same, leaving it barren and deserted. They now noticed a few other buildings were hidden behind it in the shadow of the eastern cliffs. It was a run-down, ad-hoc sort of town like they had never seen. Appleloosa was fairly primitive feeling, compared to Manehattan, or even Ponyville, but this was something else, entirely. A dozen small shacks were huddled, as if for warmth, in a tight ring. Sheets of metal and wooden planks framed them in a wall that looped in a wide crescent to the cliffs overlooking them. Shards of metal and wood stuck out, barely visible, from the sand throughout the whole enclosure. On the south side of the compound, nestled in the shadow of the natural stone wall, rested a very out-of-place airship.

"Welcome to Devon Rex," Grubber said with an exaggerated flourish, "or, what's left of it, anyway."

Whisper was nearly breathless as she asked, "what happened?"

"Lots of things happened. In short, though, first the Storm King happened. Then the Storm King stopped happening."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bevel asked.

Grubber rolled his eyes, "it means, you stupid little pony, the Storm King conquered Abyssinia and everything else, and took everything they had, but he protected them. When your special little Princess killed him, great love and tolerance, by the way, it left no resources or soldiers to protect from monsters, pirates, or bandits."

"Maybe that's why we're here?" Pot said, "to set things right?"

"Yeah, right. Like the four of you could fix all of the Badland's problems. Are you going to friendship and magic all over everything?" a low rumble shook the ground, and a cloud of sand appeared to the south, "well that's just great. They must have seen the shiny airship just begging to be raided. Guess you get your first real taste of the Badlands, ponies. Hope it isn't out last."

Over the rumbling they now heard whoops and literal squeals coming from the dust cloud as it grew nearer. The glint of metal in sunlight gave the only indication of what caused it until the vehicles were already there. With ever more hollering, they, one-by-one, hit a half-buried roof at full speed and catapulted over the now-useless wall, into the town.

Marduk scratched the back of his head and let out a, "huh."

Pot Pie replied, "eeyup."

Bevel's eyes were shining, "ohmygoshwhatwerethosethings?"

A moment passed before Whisper finally spoke, "uh, shouldn't we go help?"

They exchanged looks and sprang into action. Marduk and Bevel took to the sky as the landlocked trio ran to the gate. Grubber scampered through a small hole in the sheet metal (only getting his fat ass stuck for a second) and after what seemed like minutes the gate ground open.

Meanwhile, the pair of winged adventurers circled and surveyed the situation. The dust had cleared, by now, revealing the seven pig bandits dismounting their vehicles. Of course, Bevel Gear was mostly focused on the latter. They were cobbled together pieces of equipment, no two completely alike, though the frames looked to be uniform. They each had two wheels and handlebars, much like a bicycle, but covered in metal and gears. There were also no pedals or apparent means of propulsion, save faint glows of varying colors from the bowels of the devices.

"Bevel!" the pegasus looked down to see all three of her land-based compatriots inside the gate, and Marduk flying down to meet them. Four of the pigs had turned their attention to the newcomers, while the other three were making their way to the airship. As she banked down, she saw Grubber running for a hiding place.

The two touched down on the opposite side of the bandits from Whisper and Pot Pie. As soon as they did, the pigs each picked a target and charged.

One swung a chain that looped Pot's muscular leg. Try as he might, though, the massive pony didn't budge. He stepped forward, twisted, and bucked the swine to the ground. With a shake of his muscular leg, the chain clattered down beside the unconscious bandit.

Another charged Whisper with a large wrench, but only got half-way before he found the tool twisted from his grasp. It swung around, suspended in a magical green glow, and clonked the poor piggy in the face. The glow vanished and the wrench dropped to the dirt.

Marduk's deft claws swiped a pipe from the third's hooves. The pig got one glimpse of the razor-sharp appendages and ran toward the airship. The griffon started to give chase, but Pot Pie put a hoof on his shoulder, "no rush," Marduk nodded and turned toward the last one standing.

A large metal nut clonked the fourth one on the head and Bevel crossed her front legs in a dignified, pleased gesture. A few more nuts were looped on the tips of her wings.

"That wasn't so hard," Pot remarked.

Marduk looked over his shoulder at the emerging hedgehog, "thanks so much for your help."

"You gonna stand here talking, or are you going to go save our ride out of here?"

They galloped down the road after the pig that fled. A couple turns and bends later, and the small, but still imposing, airship sat in front of them. A ping on the ground made them all freeze. The largest of the bandit pigs stood at the top of the airship ramp. He loaded another bolt into his crossbow and aimed it in their direction, shouting, "SOOEY!"

Karnac

Wee wee wee

The bolt flew through the air, scattering the adventurers. Grubber obviously hid, but the other four took cover, as well.

"Is that a powered bow?" Marduk sighed at the wistfulness in Bevel's voice.

"Well," he said, "why don't you go swipe it and find out?" he immediately regretted that comment, as she was already high in the air, diving toward Karnac, "can't take her anywhere," he took off after her and noticed two of the pigs approaching Pot Pie and Whisper, "incoming!" the cry took a double meaning as he dove toward them.

Whisper and Pot took notice and peeked over the box at the would-be attackers, just in time to see Marduk bash their heads together and shoot back into the sky.

"Impressive," Pot said. Whisper just nodded.

"Freeze!" all three looked to see Bevel struggling in Karnac's headlock, with the crossbow against her head, "any of you move another inch and she gets it."

A sharp crack sounded through the other-wise silent town. Nobody moved for a long moment. Then the pig turned, revealing a small bolt in the back of his head. From below the deck of the airship stepped a tall, handsome tabby in a long red trench-coat. The gold buttons shone in the sunlight. With a hard kick, he rolled the now-dead bandit down the ramp, where he flopped in a crumpled heap, "nice of you to finally join me!"

Capper

Charming's his game.

"D-d-did you just," Bevel looked at the small crossbow in Capper's paws as he loaded another bolt.

"Kill him? Yeah. That's how things work around here. Get used to it. You're not in Kiangsas anymore."

Grubber had reappeared and was waddling up the ramp, "I keep tellin' 'em that, but they won't listen."

"Well, all aboard I suppose. The sooner we get out of this dump, the better," the cat turned, accidentally smacking Grubber in the face with the tail of his coat as he did, and the two climbed to the poop-deck.

After a moment's hesitation, Pot and Whisper followed up the ramp, helping the still-shocked Bevel to her hooves. Marduk picked up Karnac's crossbow and flew directly up to Capper. A few minutes later, everyone was aboard and Pot Pie pulled up the ramp.

"Okay, griffon, fly up and unfurl the sails. I'll bring us about and..." Capper trailed off. He twisted the wheel back and forth, but nothing happened, the wheel spun freely, as if attached to nothing. A low rumble echoed from below, and a lone motorbike sailed over the wall and into the distance. Before it did, however, they got a good look at the net bag slung over its side, and the rudder linkage inside.

Marduk and Capper just stared for a long moment. Then, in perfect harmony, "shit."

"It shouldn't be a big deal," Capper was saying an hour later. They all sat around a small table in the tight cargo hold of the airship, "if we can track them down, the Whole Hog Gang are a bunch of push-overs. The trick is tracking them down."

"Can't we just find a new linkage?" Bevel had mostly calmed down, by now, and was examining the crossbow. Her book sat open beside it.

Capper shook his head, "doubtful, around here. Klugetown, Panthera, maybe. Devon Rex has been pretty thoroughly looted, though. I guess I can look around, but you five should track down the Whole Hogs."

"Nuh uh!" Grubber stood and crossed his arms, "I'm staying here with you. No way am I going after any gang!"

"Suits me fine," Marduk said, to the agreement of everypony present.

"Fine," Capper sighed and put a paw to his face, "just don't stay out after dark, and take weapons, this time. I'm sure you can find something serviceable in the scrap around town."

A soft ping came from Bevel's book and the saddlebags of the other three adventurers. The gathered around the one that was open.

Angel: I believe I can help you find what you are looking for.

"What's that?" Grubber's hand was slapped by a talon as he reached for the book, "ow. Geeze."

Bevel picked up her metal quill with a wing, "it's a magic book. Enchanted with saddlebag magic, a map, and communication with a few other books. This... Angel is somehow using them to talk to us," she put quill to paper and wrote a response.

G34R: Who says we're looking for something?

Angel: Everypony is looking for something. You, specifically, are looking for the Whole Hog Gang.

G34R: How do you know that?

Angel: How I know is not important. I have put a way-point on your maps. It will lead you to someone who can help.

Marduk was first to speak after a moment, "do we trust her?"

Whisper shrugged, "do we have a choice?"

"I say go for it," Pot Pie agreed.

"Carefully," Capper added, "I don't want to tell Twilight I lost you already."

"Oh!" Bevel started writing again, "that reminds me," she turned the page to another conversation and wrote:

G34R: We've met with Capper, Princess. The airship is broken, but we are going to find a part for it.

She sat a moment in thought, then wrote another line.

G34R: Have you been seeing the messages from Angel?

After there was no reply for a minute, she closed her book and handed the crossbow to Marduk.

"No, no," he pushed it back to her, "you take it. That's your style, not mine."

With a slow nod, Bevel Gear slung the weapon over her back, giving it a long, uneasy stare.

"Well?" Capper clapped his paws together, "what are you waiting for? It will be dark soon, and I want out of this rathole."

"Don't you like rats?" Marduk said as he climbed the ramp to the deck. Bevel followed, as did Whisper and Pie, who lowered the ramp back to the ground. One by one they filed back off the ship to the sands below, "so, where is this waypoint thing?"

Pot Pie opened his book at pointed at the map of the town at a small shack down the road. By now, the few villagers who still lived in town were peering out of their homes. The five remaining bandits had long since regained consciousness and they, along with their bikes, were gone. Bevel bee-lined for the remaining vehicle to examine it, while the other three went to what they quickly realized was a small shop. They knocked.

The door opened and a brown bird's head leaned out, "what do you want?"

Pot Pie replied, "we were told you could help us with weapons?"

"Weapons, you say?" the pony nodded and the door flew open, revealing the full form of a gruff but well-kempt griffon. He was about the same height as Marduk, but more than twice the weight (not all muscle). His crimson red fur and wings stood out against the dull tans and greys of the town, made all the more glorious by the mustard yellow waistcoat he wore, "well then, have I got a deal for you."

Tyr

Caveat Emptor

"You see, I'm what you might call an arms dealer. I buy and sell weapons. Buuut..." as he spoke, he paced back and forth in a short line between the building and his potential clients, "I'm usually a dealer in Klugetown. I was making a run out here with the Storm King's army, but got stuck when their airships just up and left without warning."

"So what do you want from us?" Marduk asked.

"Right to the point. I like that. I'd expect nothing less from a fellow griffon. I see you have an airship. I'd be happy to give you a few weapons in exchange for a ride back to my home."

"Our airship is broken," Pot Pie said, "we need the weapons to get back a part from the Whole Hog Gang."

Tyr laughed, "you think you can take on the Whole Hog Gang?" he laughed again, "oh wow. Never mind then. I'm not giving you anything if you're just going to walk into Hog territory and get yourselves killed."

"We're stronger than you think," Whisper replied, "we have magic and friendship on our side."

Another laugh, "friendship, eh?" the laughing stopped and he stroked his beak with a talon, "I'll give you the magic though. You have a good deal of enthusiasm, as well. Tell you what. I'll give you each a weapon, but you have to prove to me you can use it. There's some woods to the Northwest, right?"

Pot nodded, "Leota woods. Right."

Tyr nodded, "well, I heard some locals talking about a cabal of cockatrice giving problems."

"Cabal?" Whisper asked.

"It's what you all a group of them, now shut up. Now, I normally wouldn't care about these critters, but a client of mine wants some. Uses them to make petrification weapons. So bring me back a cockatrice corpse each, and you can keep the weapons. The client could probably help you find the Hogs, as well."

The three companions exchanged looks before Marduk shrugged, "okay, old man. You got a deal. What do you have for us?"

Tyr turned and disappeared into the house, emerging a moment later with three cloth bundles, "I don't have much with me, but these should suit you fine, for now."

They each took the one offered to them. Pot Pie unwrapped his to find a moderately sized hammer with a spike on one side of the head. The handle was shaped and padded to fit nicely in his mouth. Whisper's package was smaller, and held a miniature crossbow and a dozen bolts. Marduk's was the largest, as it was a full-sized bow and arrow. He held it in one claw and easily pulled back the string with his other. Half a dozen arrows rested in the quiver he slung under a wing.

"Here, give these to your other winged friend, too," Tyr motioned down the road toward Bevel and gave them another ten full-sized bolts for her crossbow, "now go show me what you've got," he turned and disappeared with a dismissive wave of a claw, into the house again.

"Well, that was convenient," Marduk said after a moment, "guess that Angel is on to something."

Pot nodded, "eeyup."

"Well I wouldn't say convenient," Whisper replied, "he wants us to... kill cockatrices."

The griffon scoffed, "they're just animals, Whisper. We just watched Cap kill a person without batting an eye. Like he said, we have to get used to it."

The unicorn squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. A hoof rested on her shoulder and she looked over to see Pot Pie giving her a reassuring smile.

Marduk sighed and put a claw to his face, "yeah yeah. I'm sorry, kid. Griffons are omnivores. We eat anything. Only reason we don't hunt cockatrice is chickens are far less dangerous, and more common in Griffonstone."

"It's fine. I know things are different out here. It'll just take some time."

He rested a claw on her shoulder and nodded, "I'll try to be patient, but I can't guarantee anything."

"Well I'm not going to be patient," they turned to see Grubber waddling up to them, "it's almost dark and you four haven't even left town! What're you doing just standing around?"

"No way we're leaving for the Whole Hogs, tonight," Pot said as he looked to the west. The sun was about an hour from setting, "we might be able to take care of those cockatrices, though."

"Cocka-what-now?" the hedgehog raised and eyebrow.

Marduk sighed, "head of a chicken, body of a lizard. Turns you to stone if you look it in the eyes. We need to kill a few as payment for these weapons."

"Uh huh... well, hurry up."

Whisper rolled her eyes, "I hate to admit it, but he is right. We should go find Bevel and get going before it gets too late. It's already going to be dark by the time we get to the forest."

They found the pegasus gearhead amongst a pile of disassembled motorbike. It took a few calls of her name to break her from her concentration. She looked up with a screwdriver in her mouth, "yush?"

"We need to get going. We got weapons but have to go get payment for them," Marduk said, poking through the parts.

Bevel slapped his claw away and spit out the tool, "I have these all perfectly organized! Don't touch!"

Pot Pie scratched his head, "so, what is it?"

"It's an autonomous personal transport that uses arcane capacitors to regulate and control the flow of magic from a crystal in order to harness it as momentum to propel the vehicle!"

They stared at the wide-eyed pegasus for a moment, then Whisper spoke, "in Ponish, please?"

Bevel sighed and face-hoofed, "it's a magical, single-passenger carriage powered by a crystal."

"Oh," the unicorn replied, "kind of like the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000," now they all stared at her, making her shrink back into her mane, "it, uh, was an automatic cider press that a couple salesponies brought through Ponyville a few years back. Powered by them zapping it with magic."

"Exactly!" Bevel was right back onto her excitement rampage, "except here in the Badlands, most people don't have magic of their own, so these are powered with magic crystals!" she let out a squeak, "isn't it genius? Expensive, yes, but absolutely brilliant!"

"Sure," Marduk replied, "but right now we need to go hunt some cockatrice."

"Huh? Why?"

Marduk was already walking toward the town's gate, so Pot Pie answered as he followed, "to pay for these," he bumped his shoulder and the hammer slung over it.

Whisper followed too, shrugging, "the journals might have updated with it. They seem pretty good about that."

Bevel looked after them a moment before taking the book from her saddlebags. Sure enough, "A Journey Ahead" was crossed out, and two new entries were present:

A Journey Delayed

Talk to Tyr's contact.

Locate the Whole Hog Gang.

Recover the stolen rudder linkage.

Written in Stone

Kill 4 cockatrice.

Bring 4 cockatrice to Tyr.

"Huh," she said to herself, "that's kind of creepy," then she remembered her messages to Twilight and turned back one page. Sure enough, the Princess had replied.

Bookhorse: I'm sorry to hear about your difficulties. I'm sure you will pull through. Tell Capper and Grubber I said hello. As for Angel, I'm not sure how or why Fluttershy's pet rabbit would be writing to you.

Bevel raised an eyebrow. Rabbit? She'd have to ask Whisper what she new about that, later. That at least answered her question: Twilight wasn't getting the strange messages; only the four of them were. That was a mystery for later. For now, she quickly scrawled:

G34R: Never mind. Capper and Grubber say hello.

"Hey! Bevel!" she looked up to see the others already at the gate, with Marduk waving and calling, "hurry up, it'll be dark soon!"

G34R: Sorry, princess, we have to go hunt some cockatrice to pay a griffon for weapons.

She hurriedly closed and put away the book, then slid a piece of sheet metal over her disassembled bike. In a flash, she was flying toward the gate to join her friends.

As the sky turned from blue to orange, the four left the town's wall, with Grubber closing the gate, behind them. The forest on the other side of the tracks was already growing dark. The shimmer of fireflies and twittermites blinked in and out through the trees. They could hear the crow of the cockatrice and the cry of some hapless animal caught in their gaze.

"Well," Whisper breathed, "here we go," her horn lit with a dim green glow. A similar glow emanated from the crossbow as she lifted it from her saddlebags.

Pot Pie looked nervous as he hefted his hammer in his mouth and managed an, "eeyup," around it.

Bevel balanced her crossbow across her shoulders with her wings and took a deep breath.

"Just follow my lead, my little ponies," Marduk deftly strung his bow and knocked an arrow, "I've hunted plenty in my lifetime. I'm happy to show you how it's done."

By the light of Whisper's magic, and Marduk leading the way, they ventured into the forest.

Chapter 2: Written in Stone

The faint green glow of Whisper's magic gave the dark forest an even creepier atmosphere as the four heroes walked through the underbrush.

"Why didn't we wait until morning?" Bevel asked.

Marduk shrugged, though in the dim light, nopony else could see, "woulda been just as dark. The trees are thick along here. Plus, cockatrice are nocturnal."

"Relax," Whisper added, "I've been to the Everfree Forest plenty of times. Just keep your eyes and ears open."

"Easy for you to say," the pegasus replied, "you have magic, and a talent for staying unseen," there was a moment when nopony spoke. They just walked. Sticks and leaves crunched under their hooves. The crow of cockatrice could be heard farther in, "how much longer will we be here?"

Pot Pie fell back a pace to walk beside Bevel, "they sound like they're pretty close. Maybe ten minutes more to get to them," he readjusted the hammer on his back, "so, what did you learn about that machine... what did you call it?"

His attempt at distracting her worked, "let's call it a... motorbike?" she shrugged. Again, nopony could tell in the dark, "and it's pretty ingenious, though poorly constructed. It draws power from a magically infused crystal to move the wheels. A system of regulators allows the driver to adjust the power output to change the speed. It even had a way to overload the crystal for a shot time for a massive speed boost. I wouldn't recommend it, though. The crystals they used were cheap and weak. Probably would break after just a couple boosts."

"Do you think you can rebuild it?"

She scoffed, "if I take something apart, I can rebuild it. The problem is the design. It's built for a bipedal creature, like those pigs, or Capper. A pony would find them very uncomfortable, and unsteerable with hooves," she held up her hooves as she flew, as if fumbling with the handlebars, "Marduk might manage with his claws, or me with my wingtips, but it would still be awkward."

"Why not redesign it?" Pot suggested, "like a powered chariot or sand-skiff?"

Bevel was quiet a moment as she rebuilt the vehicle in her mind, "possibly. We might need a larger crystal, though, for the extra wheels and weight. Unless..." her eyes wandered to Whisper's horn.

The unicorn took notice as her magic reflected in the pegasus' eyes, giving them a literal gleam, "my eyes are down here, Bevel."

"We could power the vehicle with your magic, directly. Do you think you could handle that?"

Whisper shrugged. None of them had realized yet how useless that motion was, "probably, but let's worry about that when we get back. Right now I'd rather focus on not being turned to stone by a cockatrice."

Another silence fell a moment before Bevel spoke again, "do we really have to kill them?"

Marduk sighed, "think of it this way, Bevel. If we kill a cockatrice, that cockatrice can't turn anything else to stone, right? So we are saving the lives of those things."

Bevel didn't seem too convinced, so Pot Pie tried distracting her again, "what do you think that griffon is going to do with them?"

Whisper spoke up to fill in her friend on the conversation she missed, "he said he was making weapons from them. Somehow."

This piqued the gearhead's interest, and her eyes unfocused in thought as they walked. The call of cockatrice and other animals was growing louder, and the density of twittermites and fireflies grew thicker, lighting the woods in eerie yellow and blue glows, alongside Whisper's green, "well," she said after a few long moments, "I remember as I discussed the trip with Princess Twilight, she mentioned a spell or potion or something used by Tempest."

"Right," Whisper replied, "I remember that. The stories I heard from Ditzy Do said it was a glass orb that turned the Princesses to stone!"

Bevel nodded. That was a large enough motion to be slightly visible in the dark, especially as the air was lighted by insects, "I would assume whatever allows the cockatrices to turn things to stone can be extracted for those things. I'll have to ask when we're done."

They now came to a small clearing. The crows were louder now, and across the field they saw the cabal of six creatures milling around a rabbit warren. One such rabbit sat outside, solid as, well, stone. Because it was. Whisper and Bevel both let out gasps. Pot Pie winced. Marduk sighed and muttered, "see? We can keep this from happening to the other rabbits."

A look of determination hardened on Whisper's face, "don't kill them all," she said, "they can turn that bunny back, and we're going to make sure they do."

Bevel nodded and drew her crossbow.

Marduk smiled to himself, "good. Glad you're getting the picture. Keep that fire going. Time to teach you three how to hunt. Whisper, turn off the light and follow me around behind. When we give the signal, I want Bevel to fly up and dive from above. Pot, charge straight at them. Be loud. Careful not to crush their heads, and don't look them in the eyes," the others nodded and the unicorn and griffon skirted the edge of the clearing, just inside the tree row. Whisper's talent and Marduk's experience meant the cockatrice showed no signs of noticing them, "okay," he whispered, "you are going to flash your horn when I say, then step out and block their path," they took up position exactly opposite their companions. Marduk tapped Whisper's shoulder and motioned to her horn. She nodded and pulsed the green light once.

The griffon took silently to the air and Bevel did the same on the other side. The cockatrice squawked and panicked as the large red form of Pot Pie bellowed and plowed out of the tree row, swinging his hammer around to grip in his teeth and swinging it back and forth wildly. The monsters tried to stare him down, but he had his eyes squeezed shut as he ran blindly toward them. Realizing they were at a disadvantage, the cockatrice turned to run away, but stopped as a unicorn, eyes downcast, just enough to avoid eye contact, stood in their path, brandishing her crossbow. They started to scatter to either side, but Bevel and Marduk landed on top of three on either side. The griffon held one in each talon, already impaled and dead. Bevel had another under her hooves as it struggled and wailed. The remaining three looked from one attacker to the next, but the ponies all looked away at the last moment, just far enough they could still see the cockatrice in their peripheral vision.

"Nice work, ponies," Marduk said, "Whisper, you're up. Pick one and shoot it."

"Me?"

He nodded, "you'll have to learn sooner or later. I want to know you can do it."

The small crossbow rose shakily in her magic. She aimed it hesitantly at one of the cockatrice. For too long she sat there, staring. It didn't take that long for the bird to realize this, and stared back. Slowly, the unicorn began to change. Her hooves hardened. Then the tip of her tail. The effect inched its way up her legs.

"Damn it, Whisper!" Marduk moved to draw his bow, but Pot Pie's hammer came down on top of the cockatrice's head, flattening it like a pancake. The remaining two free monsters stopped their complaining in shock, and stared at the massive chunk of metal where their friend had just been.

Whisper took a step back as the stone around her shattered away. Her whole body shook and she fell to her haunches. Marduk put a claw to his face and turned to Bevel, "you see what happens when you hesitate? Anyway, your turn. You already have it, just snap its neck."

Bevel looked down briefly, but the cockatrice twisted its head around to gaze back. Instinct took over immediately and with a sharp crack the monster was dead under the weight of the pegasus' hooves. Marduk grunted in satisfaction and turned to the remaining two cockatrice.

"Now, you two. We need four of you. Intact. We have three," he smirked at Pot Pie's handiwork, "also, these ponies really like rabbits. So, whichever of you turns that rabbit back," he motioned to the stone rabbit, "will get to leave here alive," as he finished speaking, Marduk pulled his bow from around his neck and knocked an arrow, "decide quickly."

There was a moment's hesitation. The creatures looked at each other, then at their dead friends. One of them looked as Pot moved his hammer away from what was left of the crushed cockatrice and made up its mind. With a flutter of its wings, it dashed to the rabbit warren and returned the rabbit to the land of the living. In rapid succession, two arrows flew from the griffon's bow and skewered both cockatrice in the chest.

Bevel gasped, "you told him he could leave!"

"You want him coming back in an hour to turn the rabbit back to stone?"

Silence. The rabbit was looking around in a panic until another, along with a dozen kits, emerged tentatively from the burrow and squealed in glee at their father being alive. Bevel let out a breath and nodded, "you're right. Thank you, Marduk," he nodded back and turned to Whisper.

"You see?" he said, putting a talon on her shoulder, "it's kill or be killed out here. This isn't Equestria. There are no Princesses, or rainbows, or songs of friendship and fun. If you hesitate, you die. Or worse" he motioned to the rabbits as they waved and scampered back into their hole, "like getting turned to stone."

Whisper didn't look up. She simply stood and walked to the edge of the clearing they came in on. Without a word, she disappeared into the trees.

"Wait-" Marduk was interrupted by Pot Pie's hoof on his shoulder. He turned and the large pony shook his head.

"She will be fine. She goes unnoticed, remember? Let's head back, and she'll meet us there by morning."

The griffon sighed, but nodded, "let's get these fleatherballs packed up. I'm getting tired."

They stowed the cockatrice corpses away in their saddlebags, with Marduk and Pot each taking two, and Bevel taking one. The trip back was a bit more difficult, as it had not only gotten darker, but they didn't have the glow of Whisper's horn. As they walked, Pot Pie sidled up to Bevel, "you okay?"

A short pause, then she spoke, "I don't know," she confessed, "it hasn't really fully sunk in, you know? That I've taken a life? It doesn't seem real."

He nodded, though it was now too dark for her to see, "I know how you feel. It was just reaction when I smashed that one. It was to save Whisper."

"I did it without really thinking," she agreed, "my body knew it was me or it, and just acted."

Marduk walked a few paces back, listening to their conversation. For their sake, he wouldn't admit it out loud, but he understood. His first hunting trip with his dad and uncle wasn't too different. The three had gone out, high into the mountains, in search of a herd of goats. It was a passage into adulthood in his family. Kill a goat and it proved you were capable of fending for yourself and a family of your own.

They had flown for hours in the icy wind until they finally spotted a few on the side of a cliff. Prime targets, his father told him he couldn't wait. Without hesitation the two adults swooped in and knocked their targets down into the ravine. Marduk had hesitated, giving the remaining goats time to scamper up to the safety of the plateau. It was a full month before his father would speak to him again.

He sighed to himself. So much had changed since then. Now he was one of the best hunters in Griffonstone. Then again, was his last hunting trip with his father so different than his first?

His thoughts were interrupted by their emergence from the forest into the dark night of the desert. The faint glows of the train depot and Devon Rex greeted them like a warm fire in the hearth.

"No sign of Whisper," Bevel muttered.

"You two go on ahead," there was a somber tone to Marduk's voice, a far cry from his usually casual demeanor, "I'll scout around quick, then meet you at Tyr's," they nodded and walked away as he lifted into the air. There wasn't much he could see in the darkness of the new moon, but he hoped to see the telltale green glow of Whisper's magic. The blues and yellows of insects flickered in and out of the trees, but no other colors caught his eyes for many long minutes. Finally, just as he turned toward town, he saw it. A faint green glow from inside the train station. Softly, slowly, he descended to the wooden deck and peered into the window.

The little black and white unicorn was inside, writing in her journal by the light of her magic. Marduk couldn't see it, but tears streamed down her face and quiet sobs left her short of breath. She jumped as the door creaked open and Marduk leaned his head inside.

"Hey, kid," he said softly, "can I come in?" she didn't answer, so he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. The two stayed in silence a long time before he walked over and sat beside her, "what're you writing?"

Whisper slammed the book shut before he could read it, "what do you want?"

He sighed, then sighed again when he realized how much he had been sighing today. Confound these ponies, they were going to drive him to drink! After a moment, he had gathered his thoughts, "I get it," she looked up at him with a puzzled look on her face, so he elaborated, "you think I was born with a dead animal in my talons? I had to learn to hunt, too. It wasn't easy. It never is, taking a life. I still have trouble sleeping, sometimes. It really is the way of nature, though. We're cursed, us sapient creatures. Tigers, cockatrice, bears; they don't feel guilt. To them, it's just food. No different than you eating a daisy. Us? We know we're ending a life just like ours. We have to live with whether it's right or wrong. In the end, though, it's necessary, sometimes. We gave that rabbit's family its father, again. Probably saved the family, too."

Marduk gently put a claw under Whisper's chin and lifted her head to look him in the eye. She flinched a bit, but didn't look away, "that's what we need to remember, Whisper. The good outweighs the bad. The guilt never truly leaves, but in knowing you did right, it will get better."

She choked back another sob and nodded.

"Let's get back to the others and get rid of these things before they start smelling," the two stood and Whisper put her book back into her saddlebags. Marduk stood in the doorway, holding open the door for her, and the two walked into the cool night air and back to the town's gate. As they approached, they saw Bevel and Pot Pie were still outside, and shouting became audible. They quickened their pace and could soon make out their friends' voices.

"He what?!" Pot Pie bellowed, "why in Celestia's name would the little idiot do that?"

They now saw Capper was leaning against the wall by the open gate, head in his paw, "like you said, he's a little idiot. Got impatient and went looking for you. I told him not to go, but I think he wants to prove something to me."

"What's goin' on?" Marduk asked as they approached.

Pot Pie turned and motioned back toward the woods, "Grubber went into the forest to look for us."

Marduk shrugged, "I didn't like him, anyway."

"I don't either," Capper replied, "but..." he put the paw behind his head and chuckled slightly, "you see. The airship isn't exactly mine. It's the Storm King's. Or, rather, the remnants of his army. We could only borrow it because Grubber was part of that army. If we return without him..." he shrugged. All three ponies and griffon put forelimbs to their faces.

"So we need to go find him," Pot Pie clarified.

"Preferably in one piece," Capper added, "and not turned to stone. Or ash. Or any other unusual state."

"I swear," Marduk grumbled, "if he got himself killed, I will find a way to bring him back just so I can kill him, again."

"Better get going. The longer you wait, the more likely that becomes."

"Aren't you coming?" Bevel asked.

"I need to stay with the airship."

"Of course you do," Marduk scoffed, "come on, gang. I guess you get hunting lesson, part two: tracking."

All four were grumbling in their own ways as they turned back toward the forest. Whisper took point beside Marduk to light the way, with Bevel and Pot Pie a few steps behind. As they went, the griffon pointed out the distinct footprints left by their wayward hedgehog, with the unicorn leaning low to properly light them.

"You can further tell it's him by the spacing. A rabbit or other creature would have wider steps. He's short and fat, so his waddles shorten his stride quite a bit."

There was a pause before Whisper replied, "do you think we're too hard on him?"

"Who? Oh, you mean Grubber?"

"Yeah. I mean, yes, he's annoying, but he's still trying to help, right?"

Marduk thought a moment, "I'm not sure. He still seems awful loyal to the Storm King. You heard how he was talking when we arrived. Made fun of all of us, still spoke highly of his former boss, seems to dislike Capper quite a bit."

They entered the forest again, and Whisper lowered her voice reflexively, "I feel like being nice to him might push him the rest of the way to our side, like Tempest, or Starlight, or Trixie."

"I only recognize one of those names. Was Starlight a bad pony, at one point?"

"You could say that."

"What did she do, steal forty cakes? Sing off key?"

"Enslaved and brainwashed a whole town, and stole their talents. Then changed history to get back at Princess Twilight, resulting in multiple alternate timelines where all of Equestria was at war or destroyed."

Marduk stared, then laughed, "I didn't think you such a joker!"

"No," Bevel stepped forward into the conversation, "she's being serious."

The griffon looked at Pot Pie, who nodded, "eeyup."

Marduk's laugh slowed and grew uneasy, "you ponies can be terrifying. One minute you're crying over cockatrice, the next you're telling me you've ended the world."

Bevel smirked, "remember that day seven years ago where the sun never came up?" Marduk nodded, "that was Princess Luna. Well, Nightmare Moon. It's complicated," she shrugged, "she refused to lower the moon until she was defeated."

"Could the other princess do that with the sun?"

"Probably, if she wanted to. sounds like a bad idea, though."

Marduk shook his head, "remind me to never piss them off. Or any of you, really. No wonder the Storm King lost. It's amazing he lasted as long as he did."

"He got the drop on us during a holiday," Bevel replied, "none of us even knew he existed before then, and he just rolled up with a fleet of airships and an army of satyrs, turning ponies to stone."

"So, terrifying and sheltered. Wonderful," Marduk muttered to himself, "hold up," he held up a talon, "the tracks get farther apart. He started running. Anyone see other tracks?"

"Um..." Pot Pie was a few meters away and pointed to the ground with his hoof.

"Timberwolves," Whisper breathed.

"Fuck," Marduk replied.

"Yup," Bevel facehoofed, "he's dead."

Pot Pie shook his head, "these prints are awful small. I think it's a small pack of younger wolves."

"Either way," Whisper replied, "we had better hurry."

Conversation ended as they galloped deeper into the woods, following the tracks. Before long, they could hear the panting of the wolves and their prey. Three timbers, their wood and leaf bodies rattling, growled at the easy meal they had cornered at a small cliff face. Without hesitation, all three ponies swung around and planted firm bucks into the three canines heads, shattering them to splinters.

"Woah woah woah," Marduk said, "you won't kill a cockatrice, but you-"

"No talk!" Bevel yelled as she scooped up a shocked and trembling Grubber in her hooves, "more run!" she struggled to lift the chubby little creature, until Pot Pie trotted up underneath her. She dropped Grubber onto Pot Pie's back and the three ponies backtracked toward town, following the glow of Whisper's horn.

Marduk glanced back in the fading light to see the dark piles of twigs and bark reforming into the timerwolves' bodies, "oh. That explains a lot. Running sounds good," he turned tail and took to the air close behind Bevel and the others. With a howl, the three timberwolves made chase, "how have you ponies survived so long? Killer chickens, immortal wood dogs, bugs that eat everything. No wonder you're so terrifying, when the wildlife is ten times worse! Griffonstone has nothing on this continent!"

"Less talk," Bevel repeated, "more run! They won't follow us far out of the woods."

"Shut up!" they turned to Pot Pie, yelling at Grubber, who was muttering, "we're gonna die," repeatedly.

As he flew, Marduk did a survey of the shadowy terrain, "Bevel! Two-o'clock!" he pointed at a a tree so gnarly and rotten, it looked ready to fall down in the next windstorm. With the other talon he plucked a long dangling vine and tossed one end to Bevel, "take an end," they stretched the vine taut and hooked the tree at its weakest point, tugging and straining a brief moment before the soft wood crumbled, bringing the tree down on top of the wolves. The two flyers tumbled through the air from the sudden jerk, but quickly righted themselves and hoof-talon-bumped, "nicely done, Gearhead."

"Nice call, Hawkeye."

They turned to see the other three had disappeared, still running for town, only the green glow showing where they were in the trees, "shall we?" the griffon gestured, "ladies first."

Bevel giggled, "and leave me to hit all the trees in the dark? Nuh-uh. You first," they laughed and the two soared slowly and carefully through the dark woods, through the clouds of blue and yellow insects that provided their only light. As they emerged from the trees, they saw the others, now walking calmly across the sandy plain toward the town gate.

"I don't want to hear it," Whisper was saying, as they approached, "nopony asked you to look for us. It's your fault. You're lucky we found you when we did."

Pot Pie grunted an affirmation. Grubber was now walking beside them, apparently complaining, still, "only a complete idiot goes into the woods after dark alone," the large pony added.

"Well," the annoying hedgehog whined, "see if I ever stick my neck out for you ponies again."

Marduk landed softly beside Whisper, "that would require having a neck to stick out."

Bevel landed to Marduk's other side, "would a 'thank you' be so hard?"

"Fine," Grubber grumbled, "thanks. But you should thank me for caring enough to come look for you!"

The other four laughed, "right," Marduk said, "caring. That's what you were doing. Certainly not trying to show off."

They reached the gate and Grubber squeezed his way into a small gap to let them in, again. Capper was nowhere to be found; probably back at the airship. The gate ground open and closed behind them. As Grubber scampered back to the ship, the ponies and griffon stopped at Tyr's to knock on his door.

"Eh? Who is it?" the gruff griffon opened the door just enough to look outside. Upon seeing who it was, he closed the door, unlatched the lock, and opened it fully a moment later, "ah, my friends. You're not dead!"

"No thanks to that stupid little hedgehog," Bevel grumbled.

"We have five cockatrice," Marduk told Tyr, "we would have six, but it became a fleather pancake," he motioned to Pot Pie and his hammer, eliciting a laugh from the other griffon.

"I knew that hammer would be perfect for you!" he punched Pot Pie's shoulder, making him blush slightly. Luckily for him, noone else could see it in the dark, "how about the other two? You liking your crossbow, little unicorn?"

"My bow is just fine," Marduk interjected. He left out that he hadn't even had to use it, yet, "the draw strength is a bit weak, but it's a good quality."

Tyr gave Whisper one last glance and turned back to Marduk, "so you say you got five of those varmints, eh?" the five corpses were removed from the saddlebags that housed them. The large griffon took them all by the neck in one claw, "very good, very good. I think I have a little something extra, since you brought me one more than I asked for. Wait right here," he turned and closed the door. They could hear rustling and him talking to himself. Marduk, Bevel, and Pot Pie exchanged looks, while Whisper kept her eyes on her hooves. Finally, after a couple minutes, the door opened again and Tyr stood in the doorway. He held out his talon and offered a small glass ball. The ball itself was cloudy white, but the core was a roiling green gas, "potion orb," he explained, "there are many kinds. Each one has a primary effect, and some have a secondary effect. When they break, they release the potion inside. This one turns creatures to stone. It doesn't have a secondary effect, though."

Tyr now had Whisper's and Bevel's full attention, "like the ones Tempest used on the Princesses," the unicorn breathed.

Bevel carefully took the orb, "but those were green and black."

"Ah, yes," the giffon replied, "black secondary. Very rare, very useful. Anti-magic. Hard for unicorns to hold with TK, so they can't throw them back, and they will short out most magic shields, as well as magic vehicles."

"So is the potion inside made from the cockatrice?" Bevel asked.

Tyr nodded, "made from their eyes, among other things. You gave me enough for my client to make a nice sized batch. After he does, I'll sell you some at a nice discount. Moderate discount. Eh... small discount."

Marduk rolled his eyes, "thanks, Tyr. It's late, though. We need to get back to the ship."

"We'll come get you when we're ready to leave," Bevel added, "can I ask questions about your tech while we're traveling?"

"Of course, little one. I'm always happy to pass on knowledge. I have a few good stories, too, if you want to hear them. Until then, farewell, and good luck with the Whole Hog Gang," with that, he turned, waved, and closed the door with a kick of his back leg.

"Well," Pot Pie said, "guess it's time to finally call it a night."

"What a first day, huh?" Whisper muttered as they all turned down the road.

"It's only been a day," Bevel said back, mostly to make it feel more real to herself, "how long do you think we'll be here?"

Marduk shrugged. The faint lights of the road made it possible to see the action, "who knows. Really, though, does it matter? We learned tonight we make a good team. Whatever we are here for, we've got it. Together."

At this, the other three smiled. He was right. It had been a rough day, probably one of many. It was doubtful any of them would sleep well, tonight. But they had each other. If Princess Twilight had ingrained anything into them in the few days before they left Ponyville, it was the power of their friendship.

Prologue: A Journey Ahead

Whisper galloped down the streets of Ponyville, toward one of the town's newest and most obvious landmarks. Nopony even glanced at her as she wove between citizens like barrels in a rodeo race. The Castle of Friendship grew larger and closer.

She hadn't gone to the Festival of Friendship, in Canterlot. She missed the excitement of the Storm King's invasion. Now that Princess Twilight and her friends were home, however, Whisper Wind would not be left out, again. Her pace quickened and she was soon standing at the steps to the giant blue crystal tree... house... castle... thing. It was really quite intimidating, so close. For a moment, she had second thoughts, but quickly pushed them to the back of her mind. She straightened up to her full height (though that wasn't saying much), lifted her chin, and confidently climbed the stairs and thumped her hoof on the doors.

The loud knock echoed and rang through the structure, making her jump. She almost turned and ran, but the doors were already opening.

"Who is it?" somepony shouted from inside.

A small purple and green dragon looked over his shoulder from the doorway, "I just opened the door! Be patient, Twilight!" he turned to Whisper, "hi there. Can I help you?"

Whisper squeezed her eyes closed a moment. Spike was still standing there, staring expectantly. She took a deep breath, "I'msosorrytodisturbyoucanIspeakwithPrincessTwilightplease?"

Whisper

as the Ghost.

A short pause, then, "uh. What?"

The pony groaned and took another couple breaths, slower, this time, "I'm sorry, Spike. I'm Whisper Wind. Is Princess Twilight available? I wanted to ask her some questions about your trip to the Badlands."

Spike looked over his shoulder again, then back to Whisper. He pondered, a moment, then finally replied, "well, she's catching up on her paperwork, right now, but I think she needs a break, anyway. Come on in."

"Spike? Who is it? Is it Rarity? She was going to come fit my Gala dress, today."

Whisper suppressed a giggle at Spike's reaction to the name Rarity and followed him inside. The large main room shimmered in the light filtering through the stained glass windows above.

"No, Twilight. It's Whisper Wind. She wants to talk to you about our latest adventure."

"Be right down!"

"That was easier than I expected," Spike muttered to himself. He had a suspicious tone to his voice, as if expecting a changeling to come down the stairs, instead of Twilight, "anyway," he redirected his attention to Whisper, "have a seat here and Twilight will be right down. I'm going to go get her, otherwise she won't be."

He trotted off down the hall and Whisper took a seat on a bench in the wall. Numerous doors lined the other walls, and she couldn't help but wonder what was behind each one. All she knew was the big central one led to the throne room.

A few moments passed before Spike reappeared, "she keeps doing the 'one more page' thing. You should probably just follow me to the library," Whisper stood and did as she was told, "so, why the interest in the Badlands? They were not a fun place."

The filly looked at her hooves nervously, "well... I've always loved Daring Do, and always wanted to go on adventures. I've ventured into the Everfree Forest, a few times, but these Badlands sound so exciting to me!"

Spike snorted a short, flaming laugh, "that's one word for it, I suppose. Anyway, here we are," he pushed open the door, "Twilight. Visitor."

Sure enough, the purple pony princess was sitting at a desk, scribbling away at towers of paperwork, "uh huh. I know. I said I'd be right down after this page."

The dragon sighed, "no. I mean, she's right here," he gestured with both arms to Whisper.

Twilight's head probably should have snapped off from how fast it shot up and twisted around, "what? But. I," she groaned.

"Sorry Twi. I didn't want to keep her waiting," he plopped into a large chair, "and you were taking forever."

Whisper smiled sheepishly, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to interrupt your duties."

"I told you, she needs a break. She's been working for ten hours, straight!"

The alicorn stood up and walked toward the unicorn standing awkwardly in the doorway, "you're probably right, Spike. So, Whisper, was it?" she looked the visitor up and down. Her coat was a matte black, and her blank white mane contrasted heavily. The image of a small bright green wisp of smoke sat on her haunches, giving no indication of this pony's talent, "I recognize you, but don't seem to see you around town, much."

"Yeah. My special talent is going unnoticed."

Twilight let out a, "hmmm," that Whisper knew so well. Everypony who heard what her talent was had that same response. Who is unique by blending in? A moment later, however, Twilight seemed to snap out of her thoughts and gestured toward the chairs, "oh, right. You wanted to talk about the Badlands?"

The two took a seat, "well. To be perfectly honest..." this was it. This was the moment she had been anxious for since word had first arrived from Canterlot. How she handled this could change her life, forever, "I... I want to be your official Friendship Ambassador to Klugetown!"

There was an uncomfortable long silence. Spike had stopped his idle fidgeting and both stared wide-eyed at Whisper, who felt like she wanted to melt into her chair. Finally, after too many long seconds, Twilight put a hoof to her face and spoke, "why does everypony think that's a thing. Everypony keeps asking to be a Friendship Ambassador. That was just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. But now it's apparently a thing!" she groaned, then seemed to come back down to Equestria from her rant and looked Whisper straight in the eyes, "why?"

Another pause, this one much shorter and less awkward, as Whisper gathered her thoughts into her prepared speech, "I've always wondered what I'm meant to do. Everypony else gets their cutie mark and knows their talent, and it tells them what they should be doing with their lives. Me? I'm socially invisible. I don't know what to do with that. My only happiness in life was reading Daring Do. It inspired me to explore. I went into the Everfree Forest," Twilight looked startled a moment, but Whisper continued, "and found that my power worked on the monsters and animals there, too. I could sneak through the trees without being attacked. I even watched an Ursa Major sleep with her baby, one night!" Another shocked look. Whisper paused to take a breath, then continued before Twilight could interrupt, "I never feel more alive than when I'm in the midst of danger. Then, I heard about your adventure in the South! All the places we had never heard of, and the strange creatures that lived there. I want to see it for myself. I know this is my calling."

More silence. Whisper could hear her heart thudding in her chest. When a knock came on the door, she almost jumped out of her hide.

"Twilight?" a pink and purple unicorn leaned her head into the library, "ooo. Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. The friendship map is calling somepony."

"Who?"

"That's the thing. I don't know. There are four cutie marks, and I don't recognize any... of..." she trailed off, staring at the now-blinking cutie mark on Whisper's flank, "Correction. I recognize one of them. Her's."

"Oh, oh oh!" the vibrant, jubilant pink pony bounced around the table in middle of the throne room, "I know that one!" she jabbed a hoof at one of the four cutie marks floating over Klugetown (the one that looked like a clay pot), "that's one of my cousins! Pot Pie!"

"Ain't that convenient," Applejack said from her chair.

"Well, the map isn't going to have us send somepony we don't even know, would it?" Starlight Glimmer was standing at the south side of the table, examining it closely, "we can't exactly send them if we can't find them. Though, none of us know Whisper, that well, and I don't recognize the other two, either."

Twilight nodded, "This is the first time it's even expanded beyond our group of friends. That time it called Starlight surprised me, but this?" she seemed at a loss for words.

Whisper was just standing as far from the action as possible, unsure what to do or say. Finally, she worked up the courage to speak. Every head turned to her as she did so, as if just noticing her for the first time, "so... what does this mean? Why was my cutie mark flashing?"

"Whenever there is a major friendship problem, somewhere in Equestria," Twilight began, only to be interrupted by Starlight interjecting "or beyond, apparently," the alicorn shot her pupil a glare, then continued, "Whenever there is a friendship problem, the map has called upon two of us to go out, find it, and solve it. For example, it called Applejack and Fluttershy to Las Pegasus to fix a problem with the performers at one of the casinos there, and called Starlight to Canterlot when..." she trailed off, realizing she didn't want to reveal to a random pony that the princesses had argued, "when there was a dispute in the Royal Court."

"So, it's calling me... to solve a... friendship problem?"

"You and three others," Starlight corrected.

Twilight nodded, "apparently your feelings of purpose were spot on, Whisper. You really are meant to travel to Klugetown. I can't say why, but when we find these other three ponies," again, Twilight was interrupted, but what Rainbow Dash said made everypony's eyes snap to the map.

"Two ponies," the blue pegasus said, "and a griffon."

Indeed, they now noticed that one of the symbols was in the shape of a griffon's talon.

"How are we supposed to figure out who it is from that?" Pinkie shouted, "every griffon has talons!"

"Well, the griffon we need will be glowing," Fluttershy's explanation was quickly drowned out by Rainbow saying basically the same thing, but three times louder.

"So we find the glowy griffon!" Pinkie bounced on her hooves, "and I'll call my cousin! I bet he's reeealy confused as to why his butt's glowing!" she giggled.

"I'll get a hold of Gilda," Rainbow said, "see if she's seen any... glowing griffons."

"We could ask the Crusaders, too," AJ shrugged at the strange looks she got, "they have that griffon friend, right?" she got nods of understanding and affirmation.

"That only leaves this one," Starlight indicated the cutie mark of a pair of gears, "maybe we can set up a locating spell. Or put out flyers."

"I shall contact Sassy Saddles and Miss Pommel. They might have seen something in Manehattan or Canterlot," Rarity suggested.

"I can call the princesses," Twilight added, "and my parents. And Cadence. Ohhh I need to make a list of people to ask!" Spike sighed and immediately pulled out a quill and parchment from seemingly nowhere, "Spike, make a- oh, thank you."

Whisper looked back at the map. These three ponies. No, two ponies and griffon? That was exciting. These three would be her traveling companions. She didn't even know them, yet. Why them? What would they be like? She pictured Pot Pie as a jokester. He was related to Pinkie, after all. The griffon was probably big, strong, and terrifying. The last one had gears for a cutie mark, so she was obviously the quiet, nerdy type.

A crash from upstairs put an end to the conversations and Whisper's thoughts. They all looked up to see a mass of feathers wedged in one of the windows, "a little help, please?"

Rainbow Dash flew up and tugged the glowing talon that was presented to her. With a jolt and another crash, the pegasus and griffon sat in a crumpled heap on the floor.

"Well I'll be," Applejack sat up and tipped back her hat, "fancy that."

"Gabby told me to come see you," the bird-like creature had made its way off the floor and was straightening and preening its feathers. It was the typical brown of the average griffon, with black secondaries and orange accents. He was lankier than Whisper had expected, but still pretty tall and imposing around the little ponies, "she said you ponies had seen something similar to this?" he held up his talon, which had just stopped glowing, "huh. Guess this is the right place."

Marduk

as the Hunter.

"I don't know about y'all," the orange earth pony sighed, "but this whole deal with the map gets creepier by the day."

Starlight giggled, "magic can do that."

"Ooo!" had Pinkie stopped bouncing even once since she arrived? "I wonder if I can use it to call ponies for a party?"

"Shouldn't you be callin' yer cousin?"

Now she stopped bouncing, just long enough for her eyes to go wide, before she disappeared in a pink blur.

The griffon was standing even more awkwardly than Whisper was. He didn't have the convenience of her social invisibility.

Twilight noticed this and hurried to him, "I'm so sorry. I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle. Allow me to explain everything," she led him to the side and entered lecture mode. Starlight was still scratching her chin at the map. Fluttershy was doing her best to imitate Whisper and disappear. Rainbow and AJ were loudly discussing something completely unrelated (hoofball, whatever that was).

"...and this is Whisper Wind." the unicorn jumped as she heard her name and turned to see Twilight and the griffon walking up to her, "she's one of the other three who were called. Whisper, this is Marduk."

"Hi," Whisper squeaked, "I'm Whisper."

The griffon laughed, "a shy one, eh?" his voice carried a bit of a drawl, similar to Applejack's but more laid-back and mellow, "pleased to meet ya," he extended a talon, which Whisper shook awkwardly with a hoof, "Gabby said her Crusader buddies told her about this weird cutie map thing, but I never thought I'd get involved. Pretty random, eh?"

"That's what I don't get about all of this," Twilight said, "it's always called me and my friends. Why these random ponies? Why now? It just seems too convenient!"

"Do you mind if I do some tests on the map, Twilight?" the three turned to Starlight, "I won't do anything intrusive. Just surface level stuff. See if I can figure out the core mechanism, and try to answer our questions about it."

"That's a good idea," Twilight trotted of to the table, leaving the two would-be adventurers alone in the corner, "I mean, we've had this thing for years now, and since the Pony of Shadows incident..."

"So..." Whisper turned away from the magic discussion to the griffon, "are you excited?"

Marduk grinned down at Whisper. Somehow. How did that work with a beak? "Hell yeah! I've been itching for adventure, and this falls right into my lap? Karma's been real good to me."

Whisper winced at the swear, but tilted her head at the other strange word, "Karma?"

"It's, like, this force that governs everything. When you do good, good happens to you. If you do bad, you get it back, as well," he shrugged, "don't know if I believe in it, but I like the thought."

"Well, magic can give us our destinies and call us to grand adventures. That sounds like your Karma, to me."

The griffon playfully punched the pony's shoulder, "I think I'm gonna really like you, my little pony friend."

Whisper laughed awkwardly. This day was going too fast for her. Magic maps, glowing marks, and griffons calling her friend. She needed to lay down. Twilight and Starlight were still having an animated discussion at the table as she approached. Unsurprisingly, neither noticed. She cleared her throat. Nothing. "Excuse me?" They continued, and she sighed. He horn glowed a bright green, and when she spoke again, her voice boomed across the room, "excuse me?" Everypony (and griffon) jumped and stared, "sorry, princess," she cut the glow, "it's hard for me to get ponies' attention."

"No, it's alright," Twilight said, "what's up?"

"Wow," Starlight added, "you look exhausted."

Whisper nodded, "can I go home for the night? It's been a really long day."

"Of course!" the princess looked taken aback, "we could set up a room for you here, if you'd like."

"No, thanks. I need to get ready for the trip, anyway. I'll come by first thing in the morning, though."

Twilight nodded, then turned to Marduk as the unicorn left, "I assume you need a place to sleep. Griffonstone is a long way."

He shrugged, "eh, Griffonstone is lame. I'd be happy to crash at your place, if someone will tell Gabby."

"Spike? Will you show Marduk to a spare room, and send a letter to Griffonstone?" she looked over to a drooping dragon, "then you should go to bed, too."

The dragon and griffon left the room, followed soon after by Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. Twilight and Starlight stayed up late into the night, studying the map.

By noon, Pot Pie was on his way to Ponyville. Coincidentally, he had just finished a long delivery run, and was looking for a new journey, as well. This, of course, fueled Twilight's paranoia into the whole ordeal. The last pony had been located overnight in the Crystal Empire. One of Sunburst's old friends had come to him to find out why her cutie mark was flashing, and Starlight's childhood friend had gotten in touch with her. She was on another train south as Whisper, Marduk, and Pinkie Pie assembled at the train station to meet Pot.

"So, what's your cousin like, Ponk?"

Pinkie giggled at the nickname the griffon had given her, "he's a lot like my sister!" she didn't elaborate, apparently not remembering that the other two hadn't met her sister. Or that she had three very different sisters. Because of this, Whisper chose to believe, once again, that Pot Pie was like this pink mass of hyperactive cotton candy.

The brightly colored train pulled up to the station and ground to a halt. Pinkie PIe was bouncing from window to window, trying to get a view of her relative, inside. She was at the very back of the train when he exited the first car.

Whisper's eyes grew wide. She knew it was him by his cutie mark, but what stood before her was nothing like what she had expected. Pot Pie was easily twice the size of a normal pony. He had to squeeze to get through the train's door. His coat was a muted reddish-brown and his mane and tail looked like straight, short, dirty straw. He looked around as Pinkie Pie bounded back toward them. He turned his head toward Marduk and Whisper. He had actually noticed her in the crowd. His eyes locked gazes with hers.

Pot Pie

as a Pony.

"Cousin!" Pinkie threw her arms around her massive relative, who carefully but enthusiastically hugged her back, "it's been so long! How's the delivery business? I heard you traveled all the way to Yakyakistan, last month!"

He laughed a deep, hearty laugh. When he spoke, it was in a soothing baritone that made Whisper melt, "and I heard you're the official Friendship Ambassador to Yakyakistan!"

"We should go together, sometime!"

"Well I seem to be going to Klugetown, right now. Maybe after Hearth's Warming Eve?"

"It's a date!"

Marduk leaned toward Whisper with a claw shielding the side of his beak, "that doesn't seem like a very specific date, to me."

The big pony turned toward the unicorn and griffon. Pinkie was now on his shoulders, waving her hooves like she had a lasso, "so, are these the new friends you told me about?"

"Suuure are! This is Whisper, and Marduk."

Whisper shrank back, but Pot Pie grabbed she and Marduk in one big, choking hug, "pleasure to meet you two. I look forward to our adventures together," he set them down and they staggered a moment, "you said there was a fourth, though."

"Yupperoonie! She will be here in a few hours. She's coming from the Crystal Empire," without warning, Pinkie gasped and her mane shot straight up, "I know! Let's go to Sugarcube Corner while we wait! Mr. and Mrs. Cake just finished this amazing batch of cupcakes. They're carrot cake with avocado icing and a cherry tomato on top! Get it? Cherry tomato on top?" she giggled uncontrollably, rolling on her back and nearly falling off of Pot's broad shoulders.

Whisper rolled her eyes and motioned wordlessly for the other two to follow her as she led the way to the sweet shop, "so, Pot Pie," he looked sidelong at her as they walked, "you noticed me in the crowd."

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, my special talent is not being noticed, and that train station was pretty busy, today."

He shrugged, bumping the still laughing Pinkie into the air, briefly, "I'm a traveling merchant. If I don't notice something, or somepony, I could get hurt, tricked, or stolen from."

"Is that usually a problem?" Marduk asked.

"No. Because I always notice things and ponies."

"Fair enough," the griffon did his creepy grin, again, "I like you, too. This is going to be one hell of a trip."

The big red pony smiled back. The smiles and contagious laughter of the pink one brought a smile to Whisper's face, as well, "yeah. It is."

Whisper watched as the others ate. Pinkie shoved cupcakes in her mouth, the icing coating her lips as she told a joke about three pigs. Or something. Pot Pie was far removed from his cousin's demeanor. He ate slowly, sure to finish a bite before speaking, or starting another one. He also ate much less than Whisper expected. Marduk was concerned, at first, about pony cuisine, but found a nice blueberry and peanut scone. He seemed to be enjoying it a bit too much.

She sat and nibbled a cupcake. It wasn't nearly as bad as it had sounded from the description, and made her feel a bit less guilty about eating cupcakes for lunch.

"and then the last pig replied, "orange you glad I didn't paint it blue?" Pinkie's laughter filled the shop. Other patrons glanced over, but they all knew what to expect from her, and went back to their meals. Pot Pie laughed politely and told Pinkie it was a good joke. Marduk gave Whisper a confused look, and she just shrugged and awkwardly joined the laugh, "your turn, Whisper!"

"What?"

"Tell us a joke!" her eyes seemed to pierce Whisper's soul as she stared expectantly.

Whisper stammered, "so. Um. My uncle is in the hospital. He fell, and couldn't giddyup. Don't worry, though. His condition is stable."

There was a long silence. The griffon gave her a look that said, "what was that?" Then, Pinkie exploded into another round of riotous laughter. Her cousin laughed along politely.

"Couldn't giddyup!" Pinkie wailed, "condition stable!" she fell off her chair and rolled on the floor.

Marduk's look changed to downright confused, "is she okay? Something seems very wrong with that pony."

"Her sisters would agree with you," Pot Pie leaned close so he didn't have to shout over Pinkie's laughter, "they claim she's seen every shrink from here to Manehattan," his grin made it hard to tell if he was joking or not.

Finally, Pinkie quit laughing and got back into her chair, "well, Marduk, think you can beat Whisper's joke?"

He rolled his eyes, "yeah, that'd be real hard. Not sure I should even try. Hey!" Whisper nudged his ribs with a hoof and now they were all four laughing.

A distant bell brought it to an end, as the town's clock tower signaled 2pm.

"Guess we should get back to the train station, huh?" Marduk stood and stretched his wings, drawing looks from the other ponies in the shop. He gave the room a wink in reply.

"Yes!" Pinkie jumped up, "I wonder what she's like? Do you think she likes cupcakes? I should take her one. What flavor, though? Maybe one of each?"

As Pinkie rambled, the other three wandered toward the door and Pot Pie asked, "what's her name, anyway?"

Whisper shrugged, but Marduk put a claw to his beak in thought, "they told me, this morning. What was it...? Hmmm... oh, yes, Bevel Gear," he chuckled and shook his head, "you ponies have such crazy names."

They were half way to the station by the time Pinkie Pie caught up, a large box of cupcakes balanced on her back, "I couldn't decide. They all seemed so good, and I didn't know what Bevel would want. I can give the extras to my other friends. Ooo!" she zipped over to a small group of fillies and presented the box to them. They each took one and she was back in a flash, "that works too."

As they approached the tracks, they could see the train was already at the station. Another large (for Ponyville) crowd was gathered to meet the travelers, and the four companions were greeted by Twilight and Starlight as they approached.

"We were beginning to wonder," the later said.

"Pinkie had to get a box of cupcakes," no sooner had Pot Pie said this, than the box was shoved under the noses of the two purple ponies, who each graciously took a sweet.

"Is Bevel here yet?" Whisper asked.

"The train just pulled in," Twilight answered, "she should be getting off any time. We might have to wait for the crowd to clear a bit before we can find her, though."

They didn't have to wait. A silver blur appeared briefly above the heads of the other ponies. Then again. Then once more. Before they knew it, a silvery-blue pegasus filly was in front of them, dancing on her hooves in excitement, her grease-colored mess of a mane seeming to vibrate in time, and her wings fluttering like a hummingbird's, "hi there, I'm Bevel Gear!"

Bevel Gear

as the Techie

Pinkie bounced up and the two began bouncing in circles around each other, "oh, I like her!" Pinkie giggled.

Marduk shook his head and smiled, "I can't imagine why."

"So," Twilight stood behind the map table with her student. The other four stood on the other side, looking across the miniature Equestria as she spoke. It had been a full day since Bevel had arrived. The adventurers were all feeling well rested, but the princess looked tired and overworked, "now that you are all here, we should fill you in on what we learned in studying the map."

"Not much," Starlight muttered, eliciting a sharp look from Twilight, "what? It's true."

"While it's true we still don't know the exact mechanisms that govern the map's function, we were able to learn how it calls those it summons. We were able to-"

"We replicated it!" Starlight blurted, then shrank back, "sorry."

Twilight's look softened, "no, no. You're the one who replicated the spell. You should tell them."

The excitement in Starlight's eyes shone bright as the sun, "so, we figured out enough of the map to replicate the basic functions," her horn glowed and four books rose from behind the table. Each had the three cutie marks and talon on them in silver, with a different in gold on each. She passed them to their respective owners, who opened them to find the pages blank, "these journals will help you pinpoint and record any potential friendship problems you come across, like a diary. They also record anypon- anybody you meet and places you discover, like an encyclopedia."

Twilight smiled at the overflowing enthusiasm in her friend, "they also integrate the magic from a communications book I use to talk to another friend. If you write to me or Starlight in it, our copy will receive the message, and vise versa."

"It also works between your books," Starlight added, "in case you get separated."

The book Whisper held in her magic began to glow and vibrate, as did Pot Pie's and Marduk's. They opened them to find:

G34R: Test post. Please ignore.

"Well that seems to work," Marduk gave the silver pony a sideways grin, "you write quick."

"That was Bevel?" Pot looked confused, "the name says Gee-Three-Four-Arr."

"I modified the magic shell by writing a string of spell code into the inside cover..."

Whisper raised an eyebrow. That didn't sound real. The results didn't lie, though. She nudged Marduk's shoulder as his eyes glazed over, "don't worry about it," she muttered, "it's just meaningless technobabble."

"Can you change mine, too?" the griffon asked.

"And mine!" Pot said.

Whisper shrugged, "might as well."

They handed their books to the pegasus, who went to work with her unusual quill. Whisper hadn't noticed, but now realized she always kept it tucked in with her wing feathers. The quill was made of metals and crystals, instead of being a real feather, but blended nicely with the color of Bevel's coat. When the work was finished, Whisper opened the book to find a list titled "Contacts," under which were listed:

Bookhorse (Twilight Sparkle)

G34R (Bevel Gear)

Ghost (Me)

Kitetail (Starlight Glimmer)

Hawkeye (Marduk)

Scarecrow (Pot Pie)

The next page was labeled "Objectives" and held one item:

A Journey Ahead

Meet with Capper at Badlands station.

Turning the page revealed a map of Equestria. Three small cutiemark (and a talon) icons sat over Ponyville, and another, diamond-shaped one, south of Equestria, though it was simply labeled "objective." One more page ahead showed a closer view of the castle's interior as a map, with the icons for herself and her three companions in the throne room, as well as ones for Twilight and Starlight, "wow," she breathed.

Starlight giggled with glee, "amazing, isn't it? That more detailed map will change depending on your current location, and show the locations of others, nearby. Go outside, and it will show Ponyville. Enter Sugarcube Corner, it will show the inside of the building."

Twilight raised a hoof, "but it will only show places you've been and seen. It can't show you the basement of the castle, for example, unless you go down there. Same goes for cities and towns."

"Right. Finally, Rarity helped us make you all saddlebags that integrate with the books, so you can see at a glance what you have in your packs. It should help you keep things safe and organized in the streets of Klugetown."

Twilight shuddered at the memories of creatures trying to buy and sell all sorts of items... and other creatures.

"So, what now?" Pot Pie put his book into his new saddlebags.

"Well, our train doesn't leave until tomorrow morning. I guess we chill until then?" Marduk did the same and looked around the room, aimlessly.

"Are you kidding?" a pink head appeared suddenly from behind the griffon's head, "we have to throw your going away party!"

"How does she do that?" Whisper wondered aloud.

Pot Pie laughed, "you learn not to ask."