A Wizard's War

Joey drew a series of deep, hoarse breaths as soon as the darkness lifted. He felt himself collapse onto a patch of grass, hacking up debris from Capper's house. He rolled over onto his back to see Jo-Ann, Naiose and Capper panting heavily. A heavy sense of relief stole over him - even as he lay his eyes on Capper, who had hurried over to a bush and threw up into it.

Joey sat up and looked around at his surroundings. They were in a small clearing in the middle of a forest - though it wasn't the Everfree. The trees looked friendlier than those of the Everfree; they were smaller, thinner, and stood farther apart, allowing light to penetrate through the canopy. There were many large bushes in the area, and the ground was blanketed in wild grasses. They sky was still gloomy and gray with clouds - most likely due to reapers.

"Where are we?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"A forest Fluttershy showed me in a photo book once," Jo-Ann replied, groaning as she straightened up. "It's well away from Equestria; it was the first place I thought of."

"Good thing you acted," Naiose said seriously. "If we had stayed in that place much longer..." He drew a finger across his neck.

"How did they find us, though?" Jo-Ann said nervously, looking around at her boyfriend. "I know for a fact that Naiose and I went in unseen."

"It's a taboo," Naiose muttered.

"What was that?" Joey asked, standing up.

"I said, it's a taboo! Saying the Dark Lord's name!" Naiose snapped, looking thoroughly irritable.

"I thought that was just a Harry Potter thing," Joey replied, looking at his friend blankly. "You know - whenever someone would say Lord Voldemort's name, his followers were able to find them instantly."

"Well, it's real life, too," Naiose said gruffly, hugging his knees to his chest.

"How can you prove that?" Joey said incredulously.

"Because it's a good theory," Capper intervened, looking green. "Not feeling to great from - whatever that was," he added upon seeing Joey's inquiring look. "Anyway, even before you guys showed up, there were rumors around Kludgetown of something like a taboo on the Dark Lord's name. I didn't know whether I could believe them or not, so I just avoided using the name."

Joey furrowed his brows. "Well... as much as I hate to say it - maybe we should refrain from using his name. I mean, given the current circumstances, we have no room to take chances."

Naiose looked satisfied at this proposal. Capper nodded, then looked around at the forest scenery. Jo-Ann walked to Joey and buried him in a hug. Once she had released him, she took a step back.

"Where do we go from here?" she said, her brown eyes focused intently upon Joey.

Joey took another look around. Just over the treetops there was an odd formation of mountains - how had he noticed it before? When he looked more closely, he realized that vegetation was growing in the center, It made him think of a bowl of salad, for the rock formations rose up in jagged peaks surrounding the vegetation.

Naiose followed his gaze and stared. "What's that?" he asked, pointing at the strange set of mountains.

"Ah - the Peaks of Peril!" Capper said, looking up.

"The what?" Joey asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The Peaks of Peril," Capper repeated, pointing at the strange gathering of mountains. "A good hiding place for those who wish to stay hidden."

"But we have a mission to accomplish," Joey pointed out. "We can't finish it while hiding." Naiose and Jo-Ann grunted in approval.

"Yes, of course - your mission," Capper said quietly. He looked around helplessly. "Very well. D'you think you could at least drop me off at my home back in Kludgetown? I'd be very very grateful if -"

"What are you, blind?" Joey scoffed. "Your house was destroyed by Maulers!"

Capper groaned and dragged a hand down his face. "How could I forget? Not only that, where will I go now?"

"Well, if we can pull off saving the world, I'm sure my mother would be more than happy to find you a place to stay," Joey offered.

"Your mother?" Capper asked, confused. "How could your mother help me? I was under the impression that members of your little magical human group had little authority."

"We kinda used to," Joey said rubbing the back of his neck. "It was really weird, though. Also, I was talking about my adoptive mother, not my biological mother."

Capper raised an eyebrow. "Your surrogate mother wouldn't happen to be a pony, would it? One that I know of?"

"Was that a guess?" Joey asked, looking slightly amused.

"Well - no - the chances of that are few and far between," Capper replied, chuckling weakly.

"Is that so?" Joey pressed. Naiose bit his lip incredibly hard, no doubt trying to prevent himself from laughing.

"Positive," Capper said firmly.

"Okay. My mother is Cadance. Princess Cadance."

Capper's jaw fell open loosely as he gaped at Joey. When he recovered from the initial shock, he asked, "Are you pulling my leg?"

"He isn't," Jo-Ann confirmed, laughing slightly at the sight of Capper's dumbfounded expression. "She officially became his mom right before we left Equestria."

Capper looked from Jo-Ann to Joey, blinking hard as if he were still trying to wrap his mind around the news. Finally, he said weakly, "Can you really find me a place?"

"Well, why not?" Joey replied. "Well... on one condition."

Capper froze. "And what would that be?"

"I get to keep the book," Joey replied, pulling out the copy of The History of the World's Greatest Artifacts.

"How on earth did you manage to save that?" Capper asked, looking at the book with a surprised expression.

"Stuffed it into my rucksack as your house was being bombarded," Joey replied simply.

"Impressive," Capper chuckled. "Very impressive. I can let you have the book anyway - I dare say I had to many as it was."

"Dude, you should have seen Twilight's house," Joey laughed, walking over to Jo-Ann. He offered a hand to her, and she held onto it wholeheartedly. He then turned to the other two. "Well, since we still have to make a plan to as what we're gonna do next, we might as well go to the Peaks."

Everyone nodded in agreement as they began to march towards the jagged peaks.

The moon rose high in the sky later that night in a crescent shape. Despite the shape, it washed the forest that lay in the Peaks of Peril with a pearly light.

Below the forest's canopy, it was mostly inky blackness. The ground was blanketed by shrubs and strange wildflowers, with the occasional grassy patch. The difference between this forest and the Everfree was that the Everfree held some sort of new horror with every step, whereas this forest had a heavy feeling of tranquility abut it.

There was a flickering red light that penetrated the darkness. This light came from the campfire that Naiose had lit not very long prior to the current moment. It burped out the occasional spark, which fluttered higher and higher into the air until it eventually fizzled out.

Joey, Naiose, Jo-Ann, and Capper all sat huddled around the fire, pulling their cloaks nearer to them to escape the chilly wind that had blown down from the peak's many summits. The fire, however, was healthy as ever, and continued to provide enough warmth so that they could remain relatively warm. This was alright with Joey, since the nights he and his friends had spent in the desert were much colder than this.

The trip up to the Peaks of Peril had gone suspiciously smoothly. Capper, as their guide, showed through a cavern that led them to the forest on the mountain. When Joey asked him how he knew about the cave, Capper merely said with a shrug, "I've been here before."

Joey, however, knew he could trust the anthropomorphic feline. He had seen into Capper's mind, and Legilimency doesn't lie. For the first time in his life, Joey felt a little less guilty about using Legilimency. It was for a good purpose, right?

Well, so far so good. They could trust Capper. Perhaps Jo-Ann and Naiose were a little quick to believe him, but now it didn't matter. Now that he thought more about it, Joey realized how lucky they were to run into Capper. Had it been someone else who had caught his friends as well as himself...

Joey shook his head. What mattered now was that they got here safely. Survival was the main priority; Horcruxes were second.

"Capper, what are you going to do now that you have no home?" Jo-Ann asked, looking at the feline with a concerned expression.

Capper sighed, looking through his legs at a stone on the ground. He was sitting in a relaxed position, with his elbows resting on his knees. He was slightly leaning backward, anchored by his elbow's grip on his knees.

"I don't know," he answered in an honest, quiet tone. "I mean, I've got little chance of finding a new one unless your mission succeeds... but the odds against that are monumental." He groaned slightly as he shifted into an upward sitting position, crossing his legs. "Besides, I don't know much about Horcruxes, so I can't be of much help to you anyway. Not only that, I've denied your offer of accompanying you."

Joey stared at Capper, who wore a miserable, lost expression.

"You know," he said, breaking the tension slightly. "The offer is still open. You know as many things about Horcruxes as we do. However, you do have skills that could be really useful."

Capper perked up ever so slightly and looked up at Joey. "I do?"

"Well, I sure didn't know that you were in that alleyway," Joey explained. "You know. The one you pulled me out of."

"It was mere luck, Joey," Capper said dejectedly. "I had no idea you were there before I walked out my front door. When I did - presto! You were there."

"You misunderstand me," Joey said calmly. "When you did see me, I still had no idea you were around - and yet, there you were as I walked by. You didn't even give me a chance to see you. You performed all those without making a single sound."

Capper looked back at the stone on the ground and began to draw a circle in the dirt around it absentmindedly. He seemed to be thinking things over, and it was a long moment before he replied quietly.

"The offer to join you is still open, you said?"

"Yes," said Joey, Naiose, and Jo-Ann simultaneously. Then Jo-Ann added, "Keep in mind that it will be dangerous and probably life threatening."

Capper smiled. "Alright. Consider me a part of this company, then."

Joey leaned over and gave him an awkward high five. Returning to his original position, he looked around at his three friends.

"Now that we've got that out of the way, where do we go from here?" Joey asked professionally. "I mean, now that we're near positive on what the Horcruxes are, now we actually have to get them. We'll worry about destroying them afterward."

"Well... travelling to the capital of each country and looking there would be a good start," Naiose suggested. "I feel like there should be something in those cities that tells us where to find the artifact that corresponds to the nation."

"Mind speaking English for me?" Joey asked with a grin.

"Sure. Even better, I'll speak retard for you," Naiose retorted.

Joey let out a low pitched whistle. "Roasted." Jo-Ann and Capper burst out laughing as Joey and Naiose shook hands.

Capper threw an inquiring look at Jo-Ann, who just shrugged and said, "They've always been like this. For real. Since they were, like, five."

"Okay, but seriously," Naiose continued. "Let me use an example. Say we go to the Griffon's capital -"

"Griffonstone," Capper interrupted. "The capital of Griffon country is Griffonstone."

"Okay, then, say we go to Griffonstone," Naiose continued, nodding his head at Capper. "If we were to go there, there should be someplace to find out the artifact - or in this case, Horcrux - that relates to the Griffons. Once we find out what it is, we go from there."

"Makes sense," Joey said brightly, looking around at Jo-Ann and Capper. "What do you guys think?"

"I like it," Jo-Ann replied, scooting closer to Joey. "Capper?"

"You guys are the boss," Capper said, raising his hands. "I'll just go where you go and help whenever I can."

Joey smiled appreciatively at him and felt Jo-Ann's hand slide into his. He gave it a squeeze and smiled at her. "So, then," he said, breaking the silence and looking back around those huddled around the fire, "Where shall we go next?"

"What about Griffonstone?" Naiose asked. "I mean, might as well do it since we've already talked about it."

"As an example, but yeah," Joey corrected. "Why not? Let's go to Griffonstone."

"Whatever you say, cutie," Jo-Ann chirped, pecking him on the cheek. Joey looked at her with an indignant smile.

"Was that really necessary, Jo?"

"You know it."

Joey sighed as he looked back into the crackling fire. "If we're going to sneak into a place that's most definitely under the Dark Lord's watch, we need a plan. So, first things first - how are we getting in?"

"I say we use the same thing we used to get into Kludgetown," Jo-Ann replied. "Disillusionment Charms should do the trick again."

"That's what I was thinking," Naiose agreed with a nod. "Joey, what about you?"

"Well... we've never been to Griffonstone before," Joey said, frowning slightly. "We have no idea if they are looking out for something of the sort."

"I've been to Griffonstone once, and they seemed to care less about what came into their city and what went out, as long as it didn't concern them," Capper interjected thoughtfully. "Still, Joey's right. I have no clue if the Maulers have changed the way admissions go down there."

"Well, do you have a better idea?" Naiose said irritably.

"Well - maybe," Joey replied. "We can't travel by sky - even though our cloaks would conceal us - because there will probably be reapers there."

Capper blanched as he clutched his chest. Joey noticed this and said, "Not a fan of them, huh?"

Capper slowly shook his head.

"We don't blame you," Jo-Ann said consolingly. "Those reapers are awful."

"I think we should do what Naiose suggested," Joey said, bringing the conversation back to a tactical discussion. "I feel like it would work the best. To be safe, let's do it by nightfall."

"So tell us, Capper," Naiose inquired. "What was Griffonstone like?"

"Nothing incredibly special," Capper replied, racking his brains. "There was a lot of arguing, grumpy snorting, squabbles over pineapples and pens -"

"No, not like that," Jo-Ann interrupted. "I see what Naiose is trying to ask. What were the physical features?"

"Yeah, they have a good point," Joey said, looking at Capper. "If we have a good understanding of the physical aspect of Griffonstone, we have something better to go off of."

Capper nodded. "I couldn't agree more," he said smoothly. "Now, let's see... Griffonstone is built around a very large tree."

"A large tree?" Naiose said incredulously.

"Naiose! Let him finish," Jo-Ann said scornfully.

Capper ignored them and continued with his description. "Yes, a large tree. It's about the size of a large hill - I'm talking about a very large hill here. There are no leaves that grow on this tree - I think it may be dead. Most of the dwellings are built along its thick branches, but a fair amount are built around the base of it. From what I can remember, there is a large white tower that sits on one of the higher branches. That's where King Gaius lives - or, at least, where he used to live."

"What are the dwellings like?" Joey asked.

"They are very similar to the structures in Ponyville, but more crudely built," Capper replied.

"And they build these houses on a tree branch?" Naiose laughed, looking beyond incredulous. "This is a whole new level of dumb."

"The tree's branches are about as thick as one of the towers in Canterlot," Capper replied coolly. "That's one of the smaller branches, too."

This effectively shut Naiose up. "Are you pulling my leg?" he asked.

"Nope," Capper replied.

"How in the world can a tree grow that big?" Joey asked.

"That, I don't know," Capper said, stroking his furry chin. "All I know that it's part of their culture."

"Hmm," Joey hummed, stroking Jo-Ann's hair.

There was a long silence that followed where everyone stared at the fire. Finally, Jo-Ann broke it.

"We'll all think better with a rested mind," she suggested. "Why don't we get some sleep?"

"I think that's a great idea," Joey said, smiling at her. He then looked uncertainly at Capper. "You're sure no one will find us up here?"

"More than positive," Capper replied.

"Whatever you say," Joey said, laying down on his back. "I've never been here before, so I'll have to take your word for it."

"Glad to hear it."

Seeing as there was not much to say after this, Joey rolled over on his side. He felt Jo-Ann lay next to him, and she put an arm over the side facing up as she snuggled up to him. He smiled, trying not to let his thoughts wander back to the two close calls they had that day with the Maulers. As he closed his eyes, he heard a distant screaming. It came from his head, as all these kinds of sounds did whenever he was going into a vision.

"Excruciate!"cried a cold, high pitched voice. "Do you need more convincing, Claudier, or shall I just end it now? How can you let three teenagers escape you? TWICE??"

"M-my lord, luck was on their side - no!!"

"Excruciate!!"

The man on the floor screamed and writhed as a surge of rage coursed through Joey "Blame it on luck, do you? You know that I will not tolerate such childish excuses - Now, will you care to explain to me why you let the boy out of your sight?"

"My Lord - I cannot answer -"

Claudier shrieked in pain once more as there was another flash of light. Joey felt a pang of cruel pleasure with each curse he sent at the miserable form of a man that lay before him.

"My lord - please!" Claudier cried desperately. "Let me try again! I will not fail you again! Please!"

Joey clutched his wand tighter, which was still trained on the man. He looked hard at the man and instantly knew that he was telling the truth.

"Your determination is genuine, Claudier," Joey said in a soft, dangerous voice. "However, how do I know that you will not fail me again?"

"Please, my lord - I assure you I will not!"

"Very well. Do not disappoint me, or else..." Joey hit Claudier with another curse, sending him into another shrieking fit. "... You know what will happen." He smiled cruelly. "Now, go."

"Joey!"

He awoke abruptly as Jo-Ann shook him violently. She was looking at him with a terrified expression. Looming over the both of them was Capper, who looked as if he was going to throw up again.

"What in Celestia's name was that??" he said faintly.

"What are you talking about?" Joey grunted, pushing himself up so that he was sitting in an upright position. "I'm fine."

"You - you were murmuring and thrashing about," Capper scoffed. "You are anything but fine."

"Was it another vision?" Jo-Ann asked quietly.

Joey nodded. "He was torturing a Mauler named Claudier for something," he said, trying to remember. Claudier's face swam into view, and then it hit him. "Oh - he was the one I lost back in Kludgetown!"

Naiose looked at him for a long moment, then rolled over, grunted, and fell back asleep. Everyone else stared at him for a couple seconds, then returned to their conversation.

"Wait, wait, wait," Capper said as he turned back to the group. "Jo-Ann. You asked him if he had another vision? A vision of what?"

Joey and his girlfriend exchanged a look. Finally, Joey sighed and launched into an explanation of what had happened two months prior at the Castle of the Two Sisters with Lord Valkaris. When he had finished, Capper looked at him strangely.

"So you're saying that you're connected to the Dark Lord?" he asked, looking both horrified and intrigued at the same time.

"Er - yeah, basically," Joey replied. "Somewhere down the road, we'll have to break the soul connection. It's why I'm having these visions, see. My dad told me once that there was a spell to do it... but we can just add that to the list of things he hasn't told me..."

Noticing his bitter tone, Jo-Ann sat down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I think you're being kind of unfair to your father," she said in a reasonable voice. "He died before he could tell you any of this."

Joey did not reply, but turned away from the campfire, which had been reduced to glowing embers. He stared off into the dark woods behind him, trying to keep himself from getting angry at his father. As much as he hated to admit it, Jo-Ann was right. Maybe his dad was planning to tell him all of this, but died before he had the chance.

A flicker of movement in the darkness beyond brought Joey to his senses. Was it his eyes playing a trick on him? They were still adjusting to the darkness, after all.

No - there it was again. Joey felt his blood freeze at the spot where he could of sworn he saw something dash behind a tree.

"Guys," he said in a deadly quiet tone. "Something's there."

"Where?" Jo-Ann asked harshly, whipping around.

Joey stood up and drew his wand. Slowly, he walked toward the place where the figure in the woods vanished. He felt his grip shift slightly as his eyes searched the darkness.

A faint rustle of leaves sounded above him, and he reacted immediately. He pointed his wand straight up towards the underside of the tree's canopy and bellowed, "Revulso!!"

There was a loud yelp, and a figure fell out of the trees and hit the ground with a thud. Joey trained his wand on the figure and felt himself give a shout of surprise.

There was a creature that looked like a combination of a lion and a pony. It was female, judging by the eyelashes - females in this world always had longer eyelashes. Her auburn tail was long and shaggy, as well as her mane, which was also an auburn color. She had a set of scales running down the bridge of her nose, as well as along her back. She had a long, red horn that looked almost like a small sapling - a sapling that had one very short branch. She was the same size as a normal pony back in Equestria.

She curled up into a fetal position, hid her face with her hooves, and cried, "No! Stop! I don't mean any harm!"

"How are we supposed to know?" Joey said suspiciously.

"Because we all knew you'd show up some day," the lion-pony replied, peeking at Joey from behind her hooves in a frightened manner.

"What do you mean?" Joey asked, feeling his stomach fall into the depths of Tartarus.

"The kirin," the lion-mare replied. "We knew you'd come."

"Is that what you are? Kirin?" Joey asked.

The lion-mare nodded. Capper let out a gasp.

"Joey, stop!!" he cried, throwing himself in front of the lion-mare. "They're friends of Fluttershy and Applejack!!"

Joey hesitated. "Are you positive?"

"Yes, yes I am!" the mare squeaked desperately. "Applejack is an apple farmer and Fluttershy is a caretaker of animals!"

Capper looked at Joey significantly. "See what I mean? Those are things only a friend can say."

"But anyone who goes to Ponyville can tell us that," Joey retorted, keeping his wand pointed at the mare.

"Ponyville? What's that?" asked the mare. Just one look was all it took to know that her lack of knowledge about Ponyville was genuine.

"Okay, my apologies," Joey said kindly, shoving Capper out of the way and offering a hand to the mare. "You can't be too careful."

"Er - that's okay!" she chirped, smiling at him. Taken aback by Joey's sudden change in attitude, she she slowly took his hand. He pulled her to her hooves and smiled. She looked very confused - either from falling out of the tree or the sudden friendliness of Joey.

"Joey Steffen, most wanted creature on the planet," Joey said brightly, shaking her hoof. "The other creatures of my species behind me are my best friends. Together, we make up the biggest bounty the world has ever seen."

The lion-pony giggled. "I'm Autumn - Autumn Blaze. Do you mind me asking what you are? I've never seen anything like you - well, I've seen monkeys around before, but they're so rare, and it's very hard to find one -"

Joey covered her mouth with a hand to silence her. "To answer your question and ignore the tangent, my friends and I are called humans. I'm sure you've heard of the news considering the rest of the world?"

Her smile faltered slightly. "Yes," Autumn replied. "Is it true he's more powerful than all four of the Equestrian Princesses combined?"

"Yeah, I saw him floor all four of them at the same time," Joey replied darkly. "Quick subject change, but what are you? Some kind of species of pony?"

"Nope. Kirin," Autumn replied, puffing out her chest. "Barely anyone in this world knows about us."

"Are you for real?" Joey asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, I'm for real," Autumn said smugly. "We Kirin have been unaffected by everything that's happening - well, maybe except the storm clouds."

"Autumn," Capper asked, kneeling down to her level. "Why are you out here at this time of night?"

"Rain Shine sent me to check out the light your fire was making," the kirin replied. I was just scouting out the place - but forget that, I haven't seen you in forever!!" She launched herself into Capper's arms. Joey raised an eyebrow at the two.

"She gets a little overjoyed when it comes to friends," Capper said, catching Joey's gaze.

"Ah. I see," Joey replied.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Autumn chirped. "C'mon, let me show you to my village."

"Your village?" Naiose asked, looking very uneasy.

"Don't worry, it's just kirin that live there," Autumn said matter-of-factly. "Come on!!"

Joey looked around at Naiose and Jo-Ann. "Look, take her word for it. It all adds up. She's a friend of two of the Elements. She's a friend of Capper. As a matter of fact, Capper seems to know all of the kirin, listening to the way he talks about them."

Capper shrugged. "Guilty as charged."

"Why didn't you tell us about them, then??" Naiose said angrily.

"Well, I figured that we'd only be in the peaks for a single night, so I saw no reason to," Capper replied calmly.

"Fair enough," Joey said, giving Naiose a quelling look. "Autumn, lead the way."

They wound their way through the thick forest, following the sound of Autumn's footsteps. They had not even gone a hundred yards when they found themselves in a large clearing.

"Guys, it's okay! It's Capper - he's brought a few friends!" Autumn shouted into the darkness. Joey visibly cringed, half expecting a Mauler to come lunging out of the darkness.

No such thing came. Instead, torches flickered to life all around them, revealing a small village that resided mostly in the trees. A large fountain sat in the center of the clearing; out of it flowed water that was a brilliant blue hue. Most of the small huts sat in the trees. Their walls were made out of wood, and the ceilings were made out of great big fern leaves.

A small herd of kirin approached the group. Their leader was immediately distinguishable. She was the tallest kirin - probably no taller than Princess Celestia herself. Her mane and tail were a peaceful cyan color, and her fur was grey. She grinned widely upon seeing Capper.

"Dear Capper!" she said in a very high pitched voice. "It has felt like a lifetime!"

"I've only been here twice, Rain Shine," Capper deadpanned. "The first time was on Equestrian business."

"That doesn't mean we aren't friends, no?" Rain Shine chirped, pulling him into a hug. She then looked over at Joey and his friends. "Who are these young ones? I don't - oh."

Her eyes went wide upon seeing Joey. The kirin population behind her started to stare at Joey as well, and began to whisper to one another excitedly.

"Joey Steffen... and his two friends," Rain Shine said quietly, looking from Joey to Naiose, then to Jo-Ann.

"Erm... hi," Joey said awkwardly.

"You've seen Twilight's letter, you know who they are," Capper said wearily.

"Indeed," Rain Shine said, now serious. "Are the rumors true, then?"

"Uh - rumors?" Joey asked, casting a nervous glance back at Jo-Ann.

"Yes... those who stand against the Dark Lord are calling you three 'The Last Hope'," Rain Shine explained. "Are you really our last hope?"

"Well - er - I guess so," Joey stammered, feeling his face burn from all the stares he was receiving. "My father gave me a job to do, and I'm going to do the best I can to finish it."

"Does it involve the Dark Lord?" Rain Shine asked excitedly.

"Yes," Joey replied. "I'm not supposed to tell anyone, though, so I can't answer any more of your 'Last Hope' questions. To be completely honest with you, I have no idea what all the little things that are going on in the world are, since my friends and I have been in hiding."

"As I understand it, they're looking for you," Rain Shine said casually, but something in her tone told Joey that she knew more on this subject than she was letting on.

"You've seen the wanted posters, haven't you?" Joey asked with a grin.

"Er - yeah," Rain Shine said sheepishly. She then looked at Autumn. "Why did you bring them here, Autumn Blaze?"

"Well, I couldn't of just left them out there in the dark," Autumn replied. "Would it be alright if they stayed here? We have a couple of empty huts they could use."

"Er - we can't stay here long," Naiose piped up. "We have things we need to do."

"Naiose is right," Joey agreed, looking Rain Shine dead in the eye. "We can't stay for very long - we have something we need in Griffonstone."

"You can stay in the meantime, then," Rain Shine said, smiling at Autumn. "And please do return whenever you see fit; we kirin are well hidden and are willing to assist you in any way we can."

"Can we start with bedding arrangements?" Capper asked irritably. "I'd like some sleep, if you don't mind."

"Of course," Rain Shine said, beaming at the feline. Blushing slightly, she added, "I and I hope that we may please you during your stay. Autumn, why don't you show our guests to the spare homes we have?"

As Autumn led them away, Joey sidled up to Capper and murmured, "Someone's clearly got the hots for ya, chief."

"Shut up," Capper growled, blushing furiously.

Joey lay in a simple bed made of thatch, staring at the ceiling. He, Naiose, and Capper were sharing a hut together. Jo-Ann was staying in the hut closest to Autumn's abode, in case there was an emergency of some sort.

The bed was much more comfortable than the scraps of salvaged animal hide they used for bedding back in Kludgetown. As he pulled up a heavy blanket woven from what felt like smooth grass, he let his thoughts drift. His chest gave a painful throb, but he ignored it.

Once again in his life, everything seemed to happen incredibly fast. Why, it had only been that afternoon when he had met Capper, and now they were all the way on the other side of Equestria. Good thing, too; Lord Valkaris still had no idea where he was right now.

Closing his eyes, Joey wondered how long this streak of good fortune would last.