Twisted Fate

Chapter Six – Bad Things for Good Reasons

“For I am no hero, I can’t answer your prayers.”

I coughed violently, my lungs full of water. I blinked, my vision nothing more than a blur of yellow, green and blue. I vomited a small amount, my body rejecting the lack of space in my lungs where air should be. My sight began to focus slightly, turning the blue of colors in a sunny sky, the yellows into the sand and the greens into some trees along the shore line. I tried to crane my neck to look around but my muscles ached with every twitch and small movement I made. I just lay there, staring endlessly at my peaceful surroundings, attempting to force myself up.

Eventually I managed to get up on my hooves without any convulsions or shaky legs, my head instantly swimming from the change in blood flow. I tried to call out for my companions, but all I could manage was a raspy hiss that sounded more like a broken flute than actual speech. I sighed despondently, deciding my best bet was to scour the beach and hope I wasn’t the only one who lived.

I took a quick note of my surroundings, the entirety of them being mostly water from the ocean to the left, sand in front of me, and a forest to the right. I doubted that if I landed on the beach that any of the survivors would have landed in the forest. I trotted along the beach a short distance, my hooves aching from my journey over here, but I refused to give up.

Debris was common place, scraps of wood and occasionally a piece of cargo from the ship lay strewn about on the beach. I realized I had no idea where I even was, the nearest land from the central ley line we passed through on the ship being hundreds of miles from the nearest island.

I attempted to force another breeze through my vocal chords to call out for any survivors, my body responding with a raspy cough before I got results.

“Hello?” I called out, “Anypony there?”

A moaning came out from a bush on the edge of the beach and bush in response to my calling. I turned my head abruptly at the sound, forcing my legs to move a little faster as I moved towards the location. I pushed the leaves out of the way and nearly fainted at the sight.

“Stay with me, okay?” I nearly yelled at the captain of the ship. He was cut badly with multiple shards of debris from the wrecked ship, and I could feel a couple of broken ribs as I checked his vital signs.

First aid was a common skill taught to the Archangels of Vaporia. We were supposed to be elite fliers, adept in more than just speed. Combat and medical aid were important skills to have, though they were almost never used in a nation at peace for over several hundred years. Nevertheless, I tried to remember all I could from basic first aid training to help the captain of the ship from dying in my hooves.

I tore at the vest he wore with my teeth, taking the scrap cloth and binding it around his leg, helping stop the bleeding he had on his hind leg. A lack of medical supplies worried me; I was no doctor by any means but being without any supplies I couldn’t do anything but try to keep him from falling asleep.

“Come on now, don’t fall asleep,” I lightly tapped his face with my hoof in a fruitless attempt to keep him awake. The captain of the ship was currently propped up against a tree, continuing to lightly moan and murmur as I lost him deeper into unconsciousness. I knew in his current physical state that there would be no coming back from falling asleep.

“So, tired,” he murmured.

“Oh, no, no, no, no,” I tried to keep my voice from rising in worry. “No, you’re not tired! Okay you’re, umm, wide awake! Running through some fields, okay?”

“Fields…” The captain blinked slowly. He continued to blink for several seconds, each one slower than the last. I could see the life slipping out of his eyes, and I would never forget it.

“That’s it?” I struggled to keep my voice rising as I watched the captain dying in my hooves, “After all this, that’s it? That’s how it ends!? You leave me stranded in who knows where, alone! You’re going to leave me!” I began sobbing uncontrollably, unable to hold in my sadness and frustration anymore. I had no idea why I was so angry that he died, but it felt like I was truly alone again. I cried for the loss of the captain. I cried for the loss of the crew.

I cried for the loss of Faith.

“Stupid beach,” I mumbled. I had been trotting for a few hours along the shore, looking for any other semblance of survivors or civilization, all to no avail. I sighed heavily. I missed Faith; she had been my first friend, my first real friend, not just since exile, but ever.

I crested a curve, my eyes looking up from their fixation on the sand of the beach towards a new sight. A city lay across a delta, on the corner of the ocean and river a rather large settlement lay on the cliff. I never thought I would be so happy to see civilization in my entire life, more so than when I found Alexmanedria.

A sudden wave of exhaustion and starvation hit me. My consistent emptying of my stomach contents left my ever hungry on the ship, and the crash shook me to my core. I was tired and hungry, and just a few minute walk and a small flight away was a town. I rushed into a sprint I didn’t know I had the energy for, the prospect of an inn lifting my spirits. I had taken the liberty to count my current financial standing into consideration, a soaked pouch of 5,000 bits the only thing remaining of the 20,000 Faith and I had. It was more than enough to rent a room for a few nights and try to set myself up with some income. I could make my next move to move towards Manehattan once I found out where I even was.

I launched into the air and began the short fly towards my destination, my wings glad to be in the air again. They were the only part of my body that wasn’t insanely sore. For the first time that day I smiled.

I landed on a rooftop on the edge of the city, tucking my wings in as I took note of my new surroundings. The city itself wasn’t too large, but seemed to be split up into three distinct districts. The area where I was most likely was the residential district, the area being filled with multiple two and three story houses and apartment buildings. In the distance I could make out a large market filled with stalls containing various goods and produce, a rather tall multi story building sporting a large red cross, and in the distance a large official looking building dawned an unrecognizable flag. So much for finding out where I was.

I had 5,000 bits, I could easily set myself up with a room and food, but for some reason I felt drawn to the hospital. The small glimmering chance that there might be somepony from the ship still occupied my mind. If I couldn’t find anypony there that I knew I might be able to at least get some information on the area. There was no time for grieving for lost friends, the Elemental Hammer were still out there. I needed to recover quickly and get moving to secure the piece in Equestria.

I landed on the ground, gliding gracefully down from the rooftops and planting my hooves firmly in a paved alleyway. Navigation in new cities is critical, even as a creature of flight. It looks weird as a pegasus that no one has seen before to fly around the city rooftops as if you’ve lived there your whole life, gets ponies nervous and the like. I had to walk to the other side of the city and get to the hospital.

I pushed through the doors of the hospital, my nose instantly greeted by the smell of various disinfectants and my eyes meeting the sight of a nurse managing the front desk. She was a small mare, with a pink coat and a light blue mane, her cutie mark hidden from view by the desk she sat behind.

“Welcome to the Hoovegorod care center,” The nurse spoke to me. At least I knew where I was now, Hoovegorod was a city on the edge of the Archback River, the same river that led past the coast of the nation Gildedale and into the Bay of Manehattan at the edge of Equestria. I was a week’s trot from that place, three days by boat, though I was a bit apprehensive to hop in one again. “How can I help you?”

“I’m checking for some patients that might have arrived recently, found on the beach?” I asked.

“Let me check real quick, for you,” The nurse turned on her rotating chair and checked some files in a small locked filing cabinet. “Okay, I have one earth pony stallion found on the beach with minor injuries including a pretty bad case of poison ivy, poor kid, he’s lived here for a few years.” Few years didn’t help me, I needed someone who they didn’t recognize.

“Anypony else?” I questioned again.

“And one unicorn mare, some colt found her lying on the beach. Minor pneumonia, a bruised rib and a lot of cuts and scrapes, she’s recovering at the moment, will that be all?” The nurse was definitely becoming wary of my sudden influx of questions about new patients.

“I need to see that mare,” I replied, “Preferably now.”

“Friend of yours?”

“I sure hope so,” I mumbled.

“You can head on up, there should be another nurse watching on her room. Tell her Nurse Hope said you could go right in,” she motioned with her hoof towards the stairs.

“Thanks,” I said with a smile. I trotted towards the stairs and hoped that I would find my lost companion in the room, and that she would be okay.

“You’re alive!” I was nearly tackled to the ground from a unicorn who was supposed to be resting in a hospital bed. I could see it in her eyes that she had been crying recently, and I could guess why.

“Just barely,” I smiled, attempting to cheer up my saddened friend, but it was to no avail. “What’s wrong?”

“I thought you had died,” she said solemnly. “They found you on the beach,” she paused between sniffles, “They said you didn’t show any vitals, they left you.”

“Well, um,” I placed my hoof behind my head rather awkwardly, unsure of how to respond to Faith’s sudden sadness at my assumed death. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again either.”

She smiled slightly at this comment; it felt good to see her smile again. I suddenly scolded myself for thinking of moving on so quickly to Manehattan after this. Even so, time was of the essence, and I had to cut to the chase.

“When do you think you’ll be out?” I asked.

“The doctor says I can leave tomorrow,” Faith responded, “But I need plenty of rest.”

“Awesome,” I said back. “That lets me explore the city and plan our next move.”

“Next move?” Faith inquired. “What next move?”

“Manehattan,” I replied, “Plan still holds, crashing doesn’t change anything.”

I was suddenly shunned out of the room by a nurse insisting that Faith do as the doctor ordered and rest instead of planning ‘nefarious deeds’ with me.

“We’ll talk soon,” I called back to Faith, “I promise.”

I was walking casually down the road of one of the side streets, perusing the stalls of the market in search of more goods. I had (miraculously) retained all of my weapons from the crash, and recovered another 7,000 bits Faith had on her from the ruins of the ship, putting out down about 8,000 bits. It was a small price to pay, however, for our lives.

I passed by a produce stall, the seller offering what they claimed to be as ‘100% genuine Sweet Apple Acres Apples.’ I had never heard of the place, but for a market to sport such a sign probably meant they were famous. I had nothing better to do, so I decided to strike up a conversation with them.

“Hey there,” I greeted.

“Well howdy doo miss,” The brown earth pony shook my hoof, violently shaking it up and down as I tried to pry it away before she dislocated it. “Mah names Apple Fritter, what can I do you for today?”

“Just looking for some information is all,” I stated, “And I guess I’ll take an apple while I’m at it.”

“Information? You new in town or something?” She asked back, tossing me an apple from her stand.

“Yeah, just passing through is all,” I replied. “How much do I owe you?”

“On the house, ‘specially since ya won’t be here long n’ all,” she put on her best salespony smile, it seeming like she truly wanted to give me it for free, not out of common courtesy. I couldn’t help but cheer up at her friendliness. “What do ya want to know?”

“Can you give me any background information on this town?” I asked. I decided it best if I kept it impersonal before jumping into questions like ‘What was Sweet Apple Acres?’ You can never tell if asking will upset them that you weren’t aware their farm existed.

“Well, I don’t know too much ‘bout this town, I’m just here on business,” she stated. I drooped noticeably at the lack of knowledge she held, but then she surprised me suddenly. “I do know that it was started about 1,500 years ago as a port of Equestria, but was captured by a guild of thieves sometime after its founding and claimed its independence.”

“Thieves guild?” I asked, “What now? It isn’t still ruled by the thieves guild is it?”

“Well, sort of,” Apple Fritter replied. At my confused look she elaborated. “Trust me; at the taxes this town charges to set up shop, they might as well still be a Thieves Guild.” The joke served to lighten my spirits and even raise a chuckle out of me.

“Well thank you very much miss Apple Fritter, you’ve been a great help,” I thanked her before turning to walk off down the street. Suddenly she called me back.

“Wait!” I turned towards Apple Fritter again, wondering at why she was calling to me. “I never got your name partner,” she announced, “Just thought it mighty rude of me to never have asked is all.”

“You can call me Destiny,” I answered. “I’ll see you around, Apple Fritter.”

“Count on it, partner.”

“Thieves guild? Are you sure?”

“Totally,” I responded to Faith, “You could tell from her stance, she was ready to bolt if I got suspicious. She also had a dagger sheathed around her foreleg, the handle and sheath were the same color as her coat so as to camouflage it unless you look at it from the right angle.”

“You really think she’s part of the guild? That could just have been special defense,” Faith countered.

“It doesn’t excuse the stance she took, that kind of body language is the shady type. She’s definitely had some training in this. Probably one of the higher up’s, though I doubt she is the leader,” I replied.

“Well,” Faith asked, “What do you want to do about it? Turn them into the guard? We don’t have any actual evidence she’s a thief, you know.”

“You’re right,” I said, “Why don’t we look into this?” I turned to Faith only to see conflicted feelings about it in her eyes. “What’s up?”

“I want to help,” she sighed. “But,” she paused, “we are supposed to get moving to Manehattan soon I thought. I really do want to help Destiny but there are bigger enemies out there than a group of thieves.”

I stopped for a moment. I knew that she was right, that there were bigger fish to fry out there, and we needed to put a stop to the Elemental Hammer before they seized power in any other nations. Even so, the little pony in the back of my head was begging me to look into this guild thing.

“I really want to do this,” I answered back to Faith. “I know we have a job to do about stopping those cultists, but for all we know this thieves guild could turn out to actually be the Elemental Hammer in disguise.”

“I can see you feel very strongly about this,” Faith mused, “Otherwise you wouldn’t be making up ridiculous notions like common thieves are part of an elaborate cult. At least the advisor had brains.”

I looked to her, waiting for a final answer. My eyes growing wide and watery and my lower lip quivering in the best pouting face I could manage.

“Oh, alright; we’ll look into it, as long as we don’t get into any real trouble.”

I grabbed her out of the hospital bed and hugged her, earning an angry glare from the nurse.

I woke up in a daze, my mind fiercely trying to recall the events from yesterday. I remember waking up on the beach, getting to some city named Hoovegorod, finding Faith, something about thieves, then passing out in a room I rented in an inn. I looked around the room I was in, my body deciding to be uncooperative as I sat in the bed. Sure enough, I was in the bedroom on the second floor of an inn.

A quaint little room with wooden walls and floor, dotted with various pieces of furniture including a small side table and an empty dresser adorned with a mirror. I look absolutely disheveled after a restless night’s sleep, the sunlight pouring through the windows telling me I had slept in considerably. My muscles still ached, my wings were sore. But I was alive and that’s what matters. I decided that my first move was to check on Faith, then to move in and confront Apple Fritter at her stall in the market. A small part of me hoped it was all a misunderstanding, but a large part hoped I didn’t get stabbed by the would be thief.

I opened the door and stepped out of my room, taking note of details I had missed in my exhaustion. The second floor of the inn was where all of the rooms were held, a grand total of three. It was nothing more than a small balcony, the opposite side of the hallway open to the lower floor, revealing a small bar managed by a young stallion, a warm fire pit surrounded by stones was to assist in cooking meals for the tired and wary of the inn. My stomach growled, alerting me to how tantalizing the food being made for breakfast.

I trotted down the stairs, giving a warm smile to the mare cooking up some food.

“Morning, sugar,” she spoke in a rather rustic accent that made her seem like the friendliest pony to have ever lived.

“Good morning,” I replied, “What is that I smell, exactly? It smells wonderful.”

“Just some hay browns and potato soup, warm and hearty,” she smiled again. The kind of warm smile that just makes you think that they were a carefree neighbor. “You turned up here last night, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right. Why?”

“I’ve just never seen you’re face around here is all, missy. The name’s Free Bird, and I’ve owned this inn for twenty-five years now. I’d know if I’d seen you before.”

“My name’s Destiny,” I reached off and took the hoof of the elder mare and gave her a warm smile, despite my stomach protesting to drop formalities and go straight for the food sitting in front of my face. “It’s nice to meet you Free Bird.”

“Good to hear of you, Destiny,” the mare commented. “Say, I think you’ve already met a friend of mine, Apple Fritter?”

“Yes,” I replied warily, suddenly curious at the mare’s relationship with the possible thieves guild member. “What do you know of her?”

“She and I go back for a while,” Free Bird commented. “A member of the Apple Family, you know.” At my confused look she elaborated. “The Apple Family is a large family of farmers that farm, guess what, Apples. Most of them live in Equestria, but a few have branched out to various countries in the Celestin Empire, and even a few beyond. Apple Fritter moved here a couple of years ago looking to open up shop. She stayed here on her first night in the city.”

Taking a bowl of the soup Free Bird offered me, I blew on it in an attempt to cool it down before deciding to do a little prying and pick the mare’s brain for any personal information on Apple Fritter, hoping to finally put my suspicions to rest. “Do you know anything of her personal life? Outside of her apple selling buisness?”

The mare paused noticeably before beginning. “No,” she said, “Can’t say I do. That mare doesn’t talk much, you know.” Okay, so I knew that was a lie. That mare was an open book, it may have been some kind of sham to be so friendly and formal, but she was definitely conversational and talkative. I held back on calling her out on that for now.

I hastily finished my breakfast and thanked Free Bird for her company, seeing as I was the only patron at the in for the time being. I paid my dues of 15 bits for a night and headed out the front door, catching a comment made to the bar colt on the way out.

“That mare is asking too many questions, Sham. I’ll tell Apple Fritter to keep an eye out.”

“You want to what?!”

“Faith roll with me on this,” I attempted to calm my companion. She had checked out of the hospital with a clean bill of health just a couple hours ago. “If we wait till sunset tonight and tail Apple Fritter to her house, we might be able to get some answers without direct confrontation.”

“Let me get this straight,” Faith started, “You want to spy on an apple merchant as she sells apples for several hours, and then follow her to her house where she likely enjoys a nice meal of apples. I know you think something is up, but tailing her seems a bit like overkill.”

“Yeah but-“

“No buts,” Faith interrupted me, “You seem to be able to tell if she is lying by the way she responds to questions, this just seems like unnecessary risk and action is all.”

“I saw a knife on the mare!” I countered. “I am not confronting her directly by accusing her of being a thief!”

I knew arguing with Faith was going to get me nowhere. The scholar was far more skilled in the art of countering any proposition I threw at her, but I knew one fool proof way to get her in on this, and now was the time to play the card, so to speak.

“If you don’t go with me, Faith,” I spoke in a stern manner to prove a point, “I’m going to do this; with or without you.”

“Ugh,” a look of disinterest and resentment filled Faith’s face, making me momentarily guilty at playing such a hand as this. “Fine, you win.” Faith hanged her head in defeat. “I can’t believe I’m doing this, but I’ll help you tail this pony.”

“Thanks,” I sighed in relief, glad to have my first true friend ready to back me up on this. “Here’s the plan.

“I’ve got her, twenty meters to the front.”

“Copy that,” I replied. Faith had recently perfected an effective yet brief long distance communication spell that allowed us to speak with each other for distances over several hundred meters. It only lasted for an hour but you could walk across the entire district in that time, the entire residential district not exceeding a little over three miles.

I walked along the rooftops, scanning them for any ponies patrolling them and attempting to avoid getting spotted from the ground while still keeping an eye on the yellow-green coated mare moving through the crowd. Faith was trailing behind on the ground, using my vantage point on the roof to keep track of Apple Fritter in the dense crowds.

“She just took a turn down an alley,” Faith’s voice rang in my head as she spoke softly to herself in the street, her voice translating perfectly as if she was right next to me, speaking in a normal volume.

“Probably using it to check for a tail; she’s definitely careful. Trained like a professional, my old drill instructor would be damn proud of her,” I commented.

“Now’s not the time to compliment the pony you roped me into spying on, Destiny,” Faith chided. I hopped the rooftops swiftly, landing my hooves softly on the roof opposite the street and towards the alley.

“The alley crosses over into a side street,” I commented. “Take the next right into the main road and another right directly after, you’ll hit the other end of the alley, I’ll try to watch for her coming out on the other side.”

“Alright, I’m on it.” Faith moved through the crowd, passing through them slightly faster to catch up to Apple Fritter through the around route.

“This alley is covered from the top,” I said. “I don’t like this.”

“Keep calm, Destiny,” Faith soothed, “I’m sure it’s nothing special.” I took a glance over the edge of the rooftops and down onto the street level, eyeing Faith as she rounded the second corner to where Apple Fritter should have come out. Only one problem, she didn’t.

“Faith,” I began to panic, “Faith I don’t see her. Where is she?”

“No visual,” Faith responded, “I’ve got nothing at the moment.”

“We couldn’t have lost her,” my voice began to quiver with uncertainty. “I checked a map of the city, that alley has no other openings, just the two.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Faith commented. “But, we should take each side and see if we can’t take her from both ends. Find out what truly is in that alleyway.”

“Alright, yeah that’ll work. I’ll take the opposite end, you take that one, go in on three?”

“Whatever works,” Faith responded. I trotted to the other side of the rooftop, jumping off the building and landing deftly on my hooves, earning a few questionable glances from a couple of ponies in the streets.

“Okay, on my go,” I paused, the covered alley being dark and mysterious. If it was an ambush it was certainly a good spot. I knew that even if I expected an ambush I could still be caught off guard. I hoped for the best. “Go.”

“Moving now,” Faith said back. We both moved in on opposite sides of the alleyway, checking corners and behind trash cans in the low light for any sign of the missing mares.

“Where is she?” I grumbled as Faith and I turned up no results, meeting each other in the center of the covered alley.

“No idea,” Faith responded. “We checked all the nooks in this alley right?” A sudden sound came from behind us, causing Faith and I to turn around towards its source. Two shadowy ponies moved in on us, one unicorn and one earth pony. They took us by complete surprise, my guard getting dropped after Faith and I had come up with nothing after searching the alley. The earth pony instantly swept out Faith’s legs from her, causing the unicorn scholar to tumble to the ground and get bound at the legs by the rope wielding unicorn assailant. Faith managed to squeeze out an audible sound before getting gagged by the unicorn. The enemy unicorn drew a dagger, ready to silence Faith permanently.

I broke free of my ambush trance and leaped into action, but a southern drawl from the earth pony stopped me.

“No!” She said, “We need ‘em alive!”

“What?” I said, confused at the sudden change of pace in the course of the fight. I instantly received a blow to the head from behind, the unicorn smacking me with a blunt object. I fell to the ground with a thud. I heard one last thing before blacking out.

“What in the hay did ya do that fer?”

“Hey! Alive doesn’t necessarily mean conscious.”

I awoke to pure darkness, a feeling on my face telling me I was blind folded. I could feel my body bound to another, probably Faith. I struggled to move, grunting as I realized my mouth hadn’t been gagged like my companion. In a room nearby I could hear a few voices arguing.

“Ya didn’t need ta hit her over the head, you know,” A southern accented voice I identified as Apple Fritter broke my thoughts.

“That pegasus had training, Fritz,” A male voice responded. “I couldn’t risk it, we could be found out.”

“We’re in the business of helping the common folk,” A third female voice joined the conversation. “That means not hitting ponies over the head that we don’t even know.”

“She could be working for Green Back you know,” the male voice interrupted. “I’m not going to take that risk.

“We haven’t gathered any intel on her!” The proper spoken mare replied. “You can’t go around kidnapping ponies we don’t even know are working for that bastard Green Back.”

If there was ever a time to use my unlimited charisma and charm to talk my way out of this, now was it.

“Don’t worry,” I whispered to Faith, causing her body to relax a little when she heard my voice. “I’m going to talk our way out of this.” It instantly tensed up again at that.

“Hey,” I called out, “You guys know I can hear everything you’re saying right?”

I heard hoofsteps on the stone floor we were on as the three ponies entered the room. I breathed heavily, unsure of what my next course of action should be in order to get out of our current predicament.

“Hello, darling,” A voice rang clear through my ears I recalled as Free Bird. “My you were snooping around weren’t you? Sorry about the rather violent response by Night Shade, he’s still learning.”

“Hey!” The stallion Night Shade protested.

“Free Bird,” I commented.

“You remember me,” I could almost feel her smile. “Good to see your memory is fine. Also so sorry about gagging your friend, but that was protocol. I don’t believe we’ve met miss Faith.”

“How do you know her name?” I asked.

“I have sources,” Free Bird replied. “Now you’re going to answer some questions, Miss Destiny and if everything goes right you can go on your merry way.”

“Not so fast,” I bargained, “If you’re going to make me answer some questions I want some answers of my own.”

“You’re in no position to bargain, Destiny,” Free Bird replied. “Demands like that get ponies killed.”

“If you were going to kill us you would have already slit our throats and be working on dumping our bodies in the ocean. No, the way I see it you’re just as in the dark about me as I am you,” I decided to even be a little coy. “Why don’t we even take some turns asking questions to each other? That sounds like a brilliant idea to me.”

“Cute,” Free Bird said. “Fritz, give her some sight.” I felt a hoof move over and behind my head, Apple Fritter slipping a hoof under my blindfold and untying it. I let my eyes adjust to the now well lit room. I noted seeing Free Bird with Apple Fritter joining her and a lavender coated stallion joining them.

“New accent?” I asked, deciding to take the first question.

“One learns to blend in to a crowd, that accent was simple enough to pull off. But I won’t deny, I’m a Hoofington pony at heart.”

“Now were getting somewhere,” I commented. “Okay, so-”

“Uh, uh, uh,” Free Bird interrupted. “I thought we were taking turns, hon. Now, why don’t you tell me what you and your friend we’re up to in the city, hmm?”

“Apple Fritter over here was carrying a rather concealed weapon,” I replied, “I investigated what an apple merchant needs a dagger for.”

“Okay, sug’,” Apple Fritter spoke up, “That seems like jus’ too likely an excuse.”

“Yeah, not really in the position to lie right now,” I answered annoyed. “Fair enough, you got your answer, so it’s my turn. Who do you guys work for? And no lying,” I added.

Apple Fritter and Night Shade glanced to one another, before Free Bird spoke up. “We’re part of the thieves’ guild.” I could tell from her voice she wasn’t lying to me, even the most experienced liars couldn’t really hide something from me. “A bit of elaboration?” She asked, I noted that that counted as a question. “Very well then.”

“The modern day thieves guild was founded 200 years ago by a pony named White Noise, who wanted to help the poor of the city but lacked the resources to do it,” Free Bird paused. “He founded a guild of ponies who wanted to help others when the rich and well off of the city would do nothing to help them. Thus, the modern day guild was form, filled with ponies that steal from the rich and give to the poor.”

“Like a regular Robin Hood,” I commented.

“Exactly. We don’t think of ourselves as thieves necessarily; more like ponies who do bad things for good reasons. We’re only helping those rich folks with what they should have been doing all along.”

“And the whole inn thing was just a sham? A cover story?” I asked.

“Not exactly,” Free Bird replied, “I have worked that inn for twenty five years, but I’ve also been a part of this guild for twenty four.”

“In any event,” Apple Fritter entered the conversation, “We need to know what y’all plan to do now that’n you know what we’re all about.”

“I can respect charity,” I said, “And I certainly don’t like greedy ponies like this Green Back fellow.”

“We have something in common then,” Free Bird commented. “What do you plan to do now?”

“Maybe look into this if I can, but my gagged friend here and I need to get to Manehattan fast.”

Free Bird and Apple Fritter looked to each other for a second, a knowing look in their eyes. “We have a branch in Manehattan, cosmopolitan town filled with big business like that. You help us, Destiny, you and your friend Faith, and we’ll get you in touch and set up for when you get there.”

I paused for a moment, not sure whether to agree or not. I mean, of course I would agree to get out of being tied up, but whether or not I would follow through was another matter entirely. I decided it in my best interest to at least look into it.

“Well,” Free Bird turned to me as I glanced at Faith, her face saying to roll with it at least to get us out of here. “What will it be, Miss Destiny?”

“I’ll see what I can do."