Amethyst Star Isn't Prepared For This

by MagicS

Rating: everyone
Tags: Random, Adventure, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Sparkler
Length: 178220

Sick and tired of being overshadowed by all of the amazing ponies that live in Ponyville, Amethyst Star goes on an adventure into the unknown to show she can be just as special as anybody.

Sick and tired of being overshadowed by all of the amazing ponies that live in Ponyville, Amethyst Star goes on an adventure into the unknown to show she can be just as special as anybody.

But it’s a big world out there and maybe not everyone is meant for greatness.

Published 2019-12-21 01:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2020-02-23 17:19:07 UTC

The Pony Express

Amethyst Star was not bothered by her friends trying to convince her to not go on her adventure into the Undiscovered West. She knew they wouldn’t be thrilled even before she told them. But if they had their doubts she’d just have to prove them wrong when she came back perfectly fine and successful. She wouldn’t just sit around in a village where her purpose had been supplanted for years and act like it didn’t bother her anymore. They had tried to get her to delay going off a few more days to prepare better but Amethyst Star had refused, she didn’t want to lose the passion and drive she had right now or give any of them the opportunity to change her mind. When she had gotten home after that dinner she gathered up and looked over her things once more.

The “itinerary” she said she had planned was a map of Equestria with a line marked in red pen that showed how far west the trains went. Her friends probably wouldn’t be too reassured by that so she folded it up and put it away in her bag. She had a compass and canteen with a flowery pattern painted on it that she had borrowed from Roseluck. Why Roseluck had them in the first place she had no idea. Amethyst also never bothered to ask how the compass actually worked, figuring it just simply pointed north all the time and nothing else needed to be done. There was also a short length of rope, because she thought adventurers always had rope with them, and an apple that she would have for breakfast tomorrow.

That was the current sum total of everything she was taking with her. She saw no problems with this.

Amethyst Star smiled and nodded to herself, getting everything squared away so she could be ready first thing tomorrow morning. She was more excited than she could remember being in years but she still needed to get a good night’s sleep. The happy unicorn hopped into her bed and did her very best to rest before the big day.

The next morning Amethyst Star stood on the platform at the train station. Right at the crack of dawn. The start of a new day. The start of a new life maybe.

Dinky was happily at Berry’s and she had gotten to sleep fairly easily last night and felt well-rested. Things were already looking up for her. She was smiling happily after arriving here early, the train wouldn’t be coming for another hour or so but she found herself unable to just wait around in her house. No one else was at the station yet and she knew by the time she arrived at her destination she’d be the only one left on the train too. It filled her with excitement.

“This is gonna be great! I’m sick of feeling like a background character in my own life, it’s time for Amethyst Star to take center stage!” She said to nobody.

It might have been nice if her friends were here to see her off but Amethyst was sure that if they were here they’d still be trying to get her to change her mind. And she could do without that on what should be a very happy and auspicious occasion. So she was fine as it was. She wasn’t sure how long she’d be away and a last goodbye would’ve been nice but oh well. When she was back she’d surely have plenty of fun stories to tell and they’d all be happy for her. Definitely.

“They’ll see,” she muttered. “I’ll show them that they should’ve believed in me. There’s absolutely nothing for them to worry about. I’m decent at magic, I’m smart, and I’ve got experience dealing with monsters and disasters thanks to all the crazy stuff that’s happened here ever since Twilight came. Hmph!”

For another half hour she stood on the platform, ticket already purchased, with the only other pony for company the worker sitting behind his window. The waiting was actually starting to annoy her now. She just wanted to start her journey already! Once she was on it there would be no more “just waiting around”, she’d constantly be moving and looking for adventure. It would be great and she couldn’t hold back her excitement thinking about it while standing here.

“Come on, come on, come on,” the pink unicorn tittered about.

She had been out of Ponyville plenty of times before and had been at the center of some very big events thanks to her proximity to the amazing ponies she was jealous of but this was the first time she was really doing something so big and special herself. This was her first time being active. Sea Swirl had mentioned being fine with her simple out of the way life, and for a long time Amethyst Star thought she could live with that too. But it all kept building and building up and now she’s exploded and she just has to do this.

Otherwise it was craziness or the resentment she denied having boiling under the surface and making her miserable forever.

A slight rumble in the ground and a sound in the distance grabbed Amethyst Star’s attention. She looked to her left to see a faint trail of smoke coming over the horizon, the train chugging along on its way to Ponyville.

“Yes!” She pumped her hoof.

“Waaaaaaaiiiiit!” A horribly loud yell broke the silent morning right after Amethyst Star finished her hoof pump.

“Huh?” Amethyst Star’s head whipped around at the pony yelling for her.

Pinkie Pie was running to her at full speed, a tornado of dust being kicked up behind her. The pink party pony had a huge grin on her face now that Amethyst Star saw her. It made Amethyst herself a little worried to see. She grimaced and backed up a bit, worried that Pinkie Pie would bowl her over if she didn’t slow down soon.

“Pinkie Pie?” Amethyst Star said.

The pony in question ran up the steps of the train station and came to a screeching halt, sliding along like a train that had just slammed on the brakes. Right in time to barely avoid knocking into Amethyst Star. Instead she bounced forward and pressed her face right into Amethyst’s.

“I heard you were leaving on a trip so I had to say goodbye and good luck and give you a happy goodbye and come back soon present!” She reached into her mane and pulled out a box. “So here you go!”

Amethyst Star stepped back again to give her face some breathing room and gingerly took the box. “Er, thank you Pinkie. How’d you find out I was leaving?”

“Well I just woke up and my mane was going all over the place,” she pulled an errant string of hair for emphasis and didn’t elaborate any further.

“Right, I should have known,” Amethyst Star rolled her eyes and opened up the box to see half a dozen delicious looking cupcakes inside.

“I baked those juuuuust in time this morning!” Pinkie Pie happily exclaimed.

“Wow, thanks Pinkie,” Amethyst replied sincerely. “They look really nice.”

“Yeah I figured you could use something that would give you a big boost on your trip,” her eyes suddenly widened. “Oh! I almost forgot! I have something else for you too.” She reached a hoof back into her mane and pulled out a much smaller box that could easily fit into a pony’s hoof.

“What’s this?” Amethyst Star asked as Pinkie hoofed the box over to her, she motioned to pull off the lid…

“STOP!” Pinkie Pie screeched, grabbing her hoof and stopping Amethyst Star from opening it.

“Gah!” The unicorn was startled by Pinkie’s sudden jolt and she accidentally flung the small box into the air, juggling it a few times before safely grabbing it and holding it to her chest. “What did you do that for?!”

“That’s a party-in-a-box!” Pinkie grinned widely at her. “You’re gonna be visiting new places and seeing all kinds of new people, right? Well if you ever need to set the mood or break the ice then just open that up and you’ve got an instant party! Careful though, there’s about ten square pounds of confetti packed inside that thing so make sure it’s not pointing at someone’s face when you open it.”

“Right...” Amethyst Star winced at the small box and carefully put it into her saddlebag. “I’ll be sure to remember that.”

Pinkie Pie then pulled her into a big hug. “I’m super-duper excited for your big trip! Whatever it is.”

Amethyst Star wheezed under the crushing grip of the party pony. “Thank you, Pinkie. Can you please let me go now?”

“Okay!” She just as quickly released Amethyst Star and looked down the tracks to see the train slowing as it pulled into Ponyville. “Your ride’s almost here too, great timing!” She took a deep breath and began rocking back and forth as she sung- “Have a great trip, have some great fun, go on an adventure and don’t get down in the dumps, yeah!” She took out a party horn and blew it in Amethyst’s face.

The unicorn raised an eyebrow at the eccentric earth pony.

“I was gonna include some more but nothing rhymes with purple,” Pinkie shrugged.

“Well thanks anyways, Pinkie,” Amethyst Star said as she heard the train coming to a stop behind her. “I’m glad someone’s at least being supportive and saying goodbye to me.”

“I just wanted to wish you good luck and hope you enjoy yourself. I have absolutely no idea what you’re doing though,” She replied with her usual smile still stuck on her face.

“Good enough for me!” Amethyst Star smiled back. It was better than what she’d gotten from anyone else. She briefly glanced over her shoulder to see that the train was indeed there and ready for boarding before looking back to Pinkie. “Well, looks like my ride is here. I’ll see you when I get back.”

“Have fun!” Pinkie Pie ecstatically waved at her as Amethyst Star walked up to the train.

The pink and purple unicorn who was starting a poorly thought out mission showed her ticket to the conductor and was happily let onboard. She was the only one getting on from Ponyville this morning, it made her feel special. She took a seat by a window on the side facing Pinkie Pie so she could smile and wave goodbye to her when the train pulled out of the station. Pinkie Pie was just impossible to dislike even if she was one of the reasons Amethyst was doing this in the first place. And now she had a bunch of cupcakes to eat on her trip. That made her feel even better.

In a minute the train started moving again and Amethyst Star was whisked away to the west, and despite everything she and Pinkie Pie kept their waving up until they couldn’t see each other anymore.

Amethyst Star steadily made her way down the cliff of the red rock formation to the jungle below. It wasn’t the steepest cliff and it looked pretty stable but she wasn’t taking any chances on it. The unicorn wasn’t used to this kind of thing and she wasn’t exactly the most resilient pony in general. Luckily as well it wasn’t too high either. She may have been a bit… worried, after seeing the world in front of her and realizing she probably bit off more than she could chew, but she was still going forward. No way no how was it ending that soon! Bad idea or not!

She made it down to a lower ridge that led to a hill with a nice and easy slope down to the bottom of the cliff. Now she could pretty much just walk down. And once she was done with that it would really feel like she was officially on her journey. If someone looked from Equestria’s western border they could see this rock formation but everything beyond it was definitely a part of the “Undiscovered West”. She knew she wasn’t really the first pony or creature, hardly at all, to come out here but maybe she’d be the first real Equestrian to travel and adventure through it all?

“Okay Amethyst, you’ve got this,” she said to herself as she trotted on downwards.

The jungle… she wasn’t sure what traveling through it would be like compared to the forests back home or anything. How should she know? But she figured it would at least be nice to have some cover over her head and plenty of food all around to eat whenever she wanted. It must be a lot more fun to walk through a jungle than a bunch of ugly red rocks at least, right? Either way the sun was now almost completely down by the time she made it to the ground, she’d probably want to find someplace nice and cozy to rest before doing anything else.

“Huff!” She hopped off a boulder to finish the last few feet of her descent and grinned at the jungle that now rushed up on all sides of her. It was pretty wild and didn’t look like it would be too easy to get through on hoof…

Her grin turned into a frown and she started walking parallel to the jungle, looking for any way that might be a little easier or any sort of path.

“Come on,” she muttered. Not entirely eager to try and force her way through a myriad of trees, plants, and bushes all growing over and around each other.

Suddenly her eyes lit up. Just ahead there was a break in the vegetation. A path! That’s the only thing it could be. She quickly trotted towards it with another happy grin on her face. Was it natural? Pony made? She didn’t know and she didn’t care, it was the path to her own personal adventure to her. Amethyst slid to a stop in front of it, kicking up a little dust and looking straight down the small path that cut into the middle of the jungle.

There was a pony walking down it towards her.

Her eyebrows shot up and her jaw dropped in surprise. Who was it? An explorer? Someone who lived here? Someone randomly going out on an adventure like her? Whoever it was she was shocked to already see another pony so shortly into what she thought was going to be a mostly desolate and uninhabited part of the world.

She decided to stop and let him, he was definitely a stallion, keep coming to her. The stallion seemed to have seen her at the same time but didn’t have much of a reaction. He was a pumpkin orange earth pony with a sandy mane and tail and a black scarf wrapped around his neck. When he was close enough that Amethyst Star could see his face she saw him wearing a cool and unworried expression as if it was totally normal to meet another pony out here.

The stallion stopped right in front of her and impassively looked her in the face for a few seconds. Amethyst Star was at a complete loss for words and didn’t know what to say or how to react. He then briefly looked behind himself before looking back at her and seemed to be slightly chewing on his cheek.

“Are you going this way?” He finally asked.

Finally some words found their way into her head and out of her mouth. “Er, yes! Yes I am!” She sharply inhaled. “Oh, right! Do you live out here? Are you a pony from the Undiscovered West? I’m from Equestria. It’s a pleasure to meet you, you’re the first pony I’ve met so far and-”

He lifted a hoof to stop her, a grimace on his face. “Please, slow down. I’m not from here, I’m just traveling through.”

“Oh, okay,” Amethyst calmed down slightly, an embarrassed and somewhat disappointed blush growing on her face. “Sorry, eheh. But it’s still nice to meet you! My name’s Amethyst Star.” She held out a hoof in an offer to shake.

The stallion seemed to be mulling over on whether to respond or just walk right by her. His eyes drifted off to the side for a second but he eventually reached a hoof forward and gently shook Amethyst’s. “My name is Birdseed. Can I ask just what it is you’re doing out here?”

“Of course!” She more than enthusiastically exclaimed. Amethyst was finding herself unusually excited to talk herself and her adventure up, maybe she just wanted to come off “bigger” to new ponies that didn’t know her. “You see, I came out here to go exploring and adventuring throughout the entire Undiscovered West! I just started today really.”

Birdseed raised an eyebrow at her, he was probably expecting a little more detail. “I see… do you do this kind of thing often?”

“N-”

Hold on there. She didn’t want to seem like some idiot greenhorn that didn’t know what they were doing now did she?

“Yes,” she replied. “I’ve been all over and stuff.”

“Uh huh,” he didn’t seem entirely convinced as he rubbed a hoof under his chin. But then he smiled. “You know, if you’re traveling out further west, you might really be able to help me out of a jam.”

Amethyst Star tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

He walked beside her and she got a view of his Cutie Mark, an overflowing bag of seed. “Well you see, I was supposed to deliver something to an associate out west. But I unfortunately got side-tracked by several other things and now I can’t make it. But if you’re going that direction maybe you can deliver it to him for me?”

Part of her was happy to be asked to do something like this. It felt like the kind of quest someone would give a real adventurer and it filled her with validation. But on the other hoof she was kind of confused.

“Are you sure? I mean you don’t even know me,” Amethyst said.

He shrugged. “Any chance of it getting to him is still better than no chance. And you seem nice.”

“Yeah but even then like where am I supposed to find him? I’m just walking west, where is he? And I’m not gonna go totally out of my way for this.”

“If you just keep going west you’ll eventually come across where he is. There are natural boundaries and borders and... other things out here that force you to go certain places, his name is Coin Flip too, just so you know. Unicorn, greasy mane and tail, gray coat. I may even be able to send him a message at some point describing you. So I’m sure it’ll be fine, it’s important that the package gets to him and I can’t risk taking it with me any further,” he finished.

“Uh-huh,” Amethyst Star frowned and knitted her brows at him. “So what even is this package?”

Birdseed smiled and reached into a fold in his scarf and pulled out a small box. “Here it is. Just this box, for the sake of privacy I can’t tell you what’s inside and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t open it yourself either. But all you need to do is bring it to him, simple right?”

“I guess so...” Amethyst Star shrugged and took the box.

“Well you know I wouldn’t entrust something important like this with just anyone I ran into, you just seemed especially capable and exceptional compared to most ponies,” Birdseed told her.

That was a quick way to get on her good side.

“Heh, yeah I guess you could say that,” she blushed and dismissively waved her hoof.

She missed it but he rolled his eyes at her.

“Right, so you’ll take it then?”

Amethyst Star looked at the box. Someone was entrusting her to do something. Someone was giving her a job and expecting her to succeed at it. Someone actually needed her help. Not only did it make her swell with pride when she realized it it just made her feel good again that she had a purpose. She had just barely walked into the Undiscovered West and she already had a mission like this? Awesome! This really was a great idea! She knew she’d find some purpose and get her self-esteem back out here.

“Yeah, you can count on me!” She confidently grinned at Birdseed.

“Wonderful. Good luck out there, Miss Amethyst Star,” he walked past her towards the red rock cliff. Once he was out of earshot of her he muttered under his breath: “Rube.”

“See ya! I’ll deliver this thing no problem!” She waved goodbye to him and giggled to herself when he was gone further down the cliff and out of her line of sight. “Alright,” Amethyst Star glanced down at the box and reached back to grab her saddlebag, pulling it off her side and opening it up. There was plenty of room left inside it for the box… and as her eyes scanned the saddlebag she noticed the party-in-a-box that Pinkie pie had given her.

She winced. “Yeesh, probably wouldn’t end well if I mixed these two up,” Amethyst gently put the new box into the saddlebag, it was slightly smaller than Pinkie Pie’s, she just had to remember that. The unicorn nodded and slung her bag back on.

With a single large step and a smile on her face, Amethyst Star took her first step onto the jungle path.

Amethyst Star and the Hill

Traveling through the jungle had been easy thanks to the path that someone else had made through it long ago. The ground was level and the dirt path hadn’t been retaken by the plants of the jungle at all. Instead it gave her some pretty nice scenery to view as she walked through, since there were all kinds of pretty flowers to her sides. And just like she thought there was fruit everywhere. The only big problem to her was how humid it was, the moisture in the air and the sun above her made sure she was covered in sweat most of the time she walked through the jungle even if the physical exertion wasn’t extreme in the slightest.

What Amethyst Star couldn’t really tell thanks to how slight it was, was that the path actually curved and twisted quite a bit in the jungle and didn’t take her straight to the rest of the landscape she had seen up on the cliff. So she wasn’t entirely sure how she ended up where she was now but she knew for a fact that she didn’t cross any huge river or grasslands.

All she knew now was that she was at the base of a very large and steep hill after coming out of that jungle. Just a big dirt and grass covered hill, it didn’t even look halfway tropical like the jungle just a few steps behind her. Weird.

“Well whatever,” she furrowed her brow in thought as she looked up at it. The gravel and dirt that made it up looked pretty loose and there wasn’t any easier path she could see other than just going straight up it. She’d have to be careful to keep her hooves planted firmly so she didn’t slide down or fall if anything came loose.

She took two hoofsteps up the hill… and promptly slid back down as the dirt underneath her gave way.

“Okay, that’s great,” Amethyst Star frowned and tried stepping up again only to slide down some more, the dirt slick beneath her hooves. “Ugh, it’s like trying to climb up soap or a big mud pile or something!”

The unicorn took a deep breath and planted a stronger hoof into the hill, it sunk down slightly but it still gave her purchase. Seeing that as a small success she lifted another, and another, and so on until she was very slowly but surely moving up the hill. Her knees wobbled at times and she almost lost it but she kept up a decent pace as she progressed. The problem now wasn’t just the looseness of the dirt but the steepness and size of the hill. And with no level spots or rocks or trees for her to take a break at she had to just keep charging up it until she made it to the very top. But if she became impatient and tried to speed things up she was likely to disturb too much dirt and start a mini-landslide, and something like that could take her all the way back to the bottom.

“This is so dumb, I can’t believe I’m having so much trouble with a hill...”

Amethyst quickly realized that she was actually starting to sweat, and it wasn’t from the temperature or anything this time either. Just her attempt to make it up this hill was tiring her out. Being a unicorn that didn’t do much physical activity her pools of stamina were somewhat shallow. Still she was somewhat annoyed, at herself and the hill, to realize this. She really didn’t think something like this would be so much trouble for her or that a relatively light workout could get her to sweat so easily.

Thoughts of her possibly not being quite so capable as she had believed almost entered her head before they were quickly shooed away. Amethyst Star was not about to lose confidence in herself. Regardless of whether or not that confidence was misplaced in the first place.

When she placed her hoof down again a large clod of dirt was dug out with it and Amethyst lost her balance, her legs buckled and she started to slip back down the mud-like dirt. She gasped as her legs all went sliding different directions until she fell spread eagle onto the ground, which had the dual effect of getting her covered in dirt but also slowed her sliding down until she came to a complete stop thanks to the added friction. So now she was flat on her stomach a quarter of the way up the hill and her lower half was smeared in dirt.

“Sweaty, dirty, and tired. Feels great,” Amethyst Star sarcastically said to herself. She hauled herself back to her hooves, carefully so as not to fall any further, and stared up to the top of the hill. “Why’s this dumb hill have to be so big?”

She narrowed her eyes and started climbing back up it. “Well I’m not losing to a hill. I’m going on an adventure and I’m proving that I can handle myself perfectly well out here. There is absolutely no way a big pile of dirt is beating me, it shouldn’t even be an obstacle!” She couldn’t help but imagine how easily Twilight Sparkle or any of her friends would have it making it past this thing.

“No adventurer struggles with a hill!” She stiffly planted her hoof into the dirt and pulled herself along.

This was a somewhat embarrassing event that she probably wasn’t going to tell any of her friends about when she got back home.

The hill unfortunately still proved a difficult opponent for Amethyst Star, the softness and slickness of the ground made every foot up a hassle. Sometimes she would start to slide back but every time she felt the dirt even start to shift beneath her she dug in her back hooves, who cares if they got filthy? She was already filthy. With this slow process she was pretty much at the halfway point of the hill now. It was just as steep as always but the end was in sight now!

Her exhaustion was really getting to her now though. She tried to ignore it, tried to fight the reality that climbing up a hill was taxing her this much, but the truth was she was dripping rivers of sweat and breathing heavily and her legs were getting sore too. The dirt might as well have been mashed potatoes that she had to crawl through and by the time she made it to the top her hooves would probably feel like lead.

She planted her hooves to make sure she wouldn’t slide anywhere and took a short break, looking up at the sky. Blue and bright with only a few white clouds drifting on by. You really couldn’t ask for a better day and if Amethyst was just walking through the grass somewhere or taking a drink of water from a meandering creek she’d probably really appreciate it. As it was she could only sigh and try to catch her breath as best she could. Appreciating her good fortune with the weather would have to come some other day. When she wasn’t exhausted and struggling to just keep from falling down a hill.

“Come on...” Amethyst got back into motion to complete the latter half of her climb.

The unicorn just had to pretend she wasn’t exhausted, or play through it as best she could. Her body was betraying her though and she could already tell the second half of the hill would be far worse than the first. By the time she got back into her groove her muscles were screaming in protest and her lungs were burning with each gulp of air.

“Who expects a unicorn to do stuff like this?” She said to nobody. “I mean seriously, I’m not even out of shape… I think.”

At three-quarters of the way up the hill, Amethyst Star took another short little break. Maybe she could blame her poor physical showing on the saddlebag she was carrying? It wasn’t super heavy but it still added some weight. Yeah, that was it. It’s the saddlebag’s fault. She definitely wasn’t this beat up just from climbing a hill, it was all the saddlebag. Because she only had one it made her unbalanced and put undue stress on her back and side. That was totally the reason and Amethyst Star was going to stick by it one hundred percent.

It was then that the ground beneath her hooves came loose. Not just small bits of it, the entire bar she was standing on just fell away from the hill and began sliding down the mountain with Amethyst Star riding it like a surfboard on a wave.

“Nooooo!” She yelled as she tried to dig in her hooves to brace herself and even used her magic to attempt to stop the dirt from moving. “I’m not losing to a dumb hill!”

Much, much later, Amethyst Star pulled herself to the top of the hill on her belly. The mare was frazzled, hot from sweat and activity, and covered horn to hoof in dirt. But she had made it. Top of the world. The shimmy up was incredibly slow going but at least it had kept her from falling down again.

Her first enemy on her adventure had been conquered.

It was embarrassing but at least nobody else had to know about it.

She stood up on shaky legs and caught her breath, panting heavily the whole time. Amethyst dropped her saddlebag to the ground and grinned. “Yes! I win! I knew I could do it!” She shouted up to the sky and raised a hoof in triumph. “I, Amethyst Star… am… celebrating… that I walked up a hill. Ugh, this is so dumb.” She pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.

“Oh well, at least I can move on from here,” she said as she peered down to the land behind the hill and what lied beyond.

A foresty and temperate area much like the land around Ponyville greeted her. Green, green, and more green with rivers and lakes running through it all. And it was flat, thank Celestia. With such a pretty looking place down there it brought a real smile to Amethyst Star’s face. Good weather, good scenery, she was sure it would be a pleasant walk for the near future at least.

As she squinted her eyes though she could see something else a bit closer to the horizon. Buildings? It looked like there were houses and other structures not too far away from this hill. A day’s travel maybe. Either way it was exciting to the unicorn. This was her first sign of civilization in the Undiscovered West! It would be her first time meeting ponies, or perhaps even some other creatures, that actually lived out here, she couldn’t wait!

Amethyst Star and the Tournament I

A road’s a road even if it’s just dirt and Amethyst Star was thankful that she could be walking down a real road right now instead of roughing it through the brush or using a worn and uneven path that was murder on her hooves.

It was morning now. The previous day she had gone down the hill and taken a dunk in the first little river she came across afterwards to clean herself up. And after that she settled down for some much needed rest. Since then she’d been walking on to her current destination of those buildings and the possible town they represented, for a while she followed along the riverbank that led in their direction before eventually coming across the road she was now on. A good turn of fortune, she had to say. The weather was still nice too and she had seen plenty of birds and squirrels in the forests around here, the west seemed like a pretty nice place no different from Equestria so far.

She hoped and didn’t hope it would stay that way, since she still wanted some kind of real adventure to go on and not just a nature walk. But she probably shouldn’t take such a nice and easy time for granted either.

Amethyst Star was pretty close to the buildings and homes up ahead now, they looked fairly normal and it seemed like the type of place ponies would live in so that’s what she was expecting. Nothing was too large either, most were fairly squat one or two-story affairs and they all looked to be made from wood. While there wasn’t a massive amount of the buildings they were spread over a fairly large area, definitely larger than Ponyville, and enveloped a few groves of trees. The river she had been following earlier looked like it went right through the southern side of the village.

Yes, she would definitely be calling it a village now that she was closer. The road she was on was probably going to take her straight to the main street or the middle of the village, depending on how it was laid out. Like Ponyville it was possible they didn’t really have official streets.

“I’m so excited!~” Amethyst couldn’t help saying to herself as she trotted along, her tail swishing around behind her almost like she was a dog. “I wonder what ponies are like out here? I wonder if there’s any sort of crazy customs or cool adventures they’ll have me go on?!”

She was most assuredly getting ahead of herself.

But she couldn’t help it, she sped up her pace because she just wanted to get to her destination as quickly as possible and check it all out. And even if it didn’t turn out to be very exciting or anything it was still someplace new and she may very well have been the first true Equestrian, or at least one of the first, to visit it. She could totally brag about exploring new places and meeting new people now! Amethyst knew for sure at least that none of her friends or anyone else from Ponyville had been here.

An extra thirty minutes of walking and she was close enough to see things in greater detail now, and could also see that the village seemed to be quite a busy place. There were a lot of ponies out and about inside it. As she had expected, the road she was walking on did take her right to the middle of it all, she ended up walking between two buildings with a large arch going from roof to roof that worked as the entryway to the town. She thought there should probably be a sign hanging from it or the name of the place painted on the arch but instead there was nothing.

Not a big deal though, she just shrugged and continued on into the village and the crowd of ponies inside it.

“Wonder if there’s something special going on?” She said aloud to herself.

The ponies filling up the large area between the sparse buildings came in all shapes and sizes, most of them were stallions and looked to be of a martial nature. She remembered seeing the royal guards whenever Celestia visited Ponyville, and Shining Armor too on a few occasions, and a lot of the ponies here reminded her of that. Amethyst wondered if they were guards of some sort, but why were so many gathered around here? Some of them were huge, others were lithe and limber but still had a fierce look in their eyes, one thing a lot of them shared in common was it looked like they were sizing each other up and expecting a fight to break out at any moment.

“This is weird...” she muttered. Some of the ponies were wearing matching outfits too, like uniforms. She saw one group that wore white cloaks, another had red bandannas tied around their heads, and she saw some that had matching tattoos on their necks even.

Amethyst Star raised a confused eyebrow at it all and started drifting towards some of the buildings that lined this large open area. She could find someplace to eat and sit down for a while and then figure out what was going on here.

One of the groves of trees was actually concealing a park area with several benches and some shacks set up in it, Amethyst saw some more normal looking ponies milling about in there and so she decided to check that place out first. Maybe she could ask one of them what this was all about. As soon as she made it into the grove the other ponies all perked their heads up at her, it was a far cry from how she was ignored by the other ponies in town. These ones definitely weren’t the guard or fighting looking type though, mothers with their foals and a few others working what Amethyst Star now saw to be hastily made concession stands and other kiosks.

“Uh, hi?” Amethyst gave a hesitant wave to all the ponies in here.

An older earth pony mare with a graying white coat and frizzy dark blue mane who had been playing with her daughter raised an eyebrow at her. She then scratched the side of her head and started walking over to Amethyst Star. “Yes? Is there something you need? If you had a question the commissioners or referees should be able to help you with anything.”

“Huh?” Amethyst Star replied in confusion. “Commissioner? Referee? I don’t know what you’re talking about, I just wanted to know what’s with the huge crowd and maybe get a bite to eat or something.”

“You’re not here for the tournament?” The mare asked.

Amethyst Star shook her head. “I’m just passing through, I had no idea this was happening.” She then realized what had just been mentioned. “Tournament?”

The mare nodded before responding.

“Wow, it’s a strange coincidence that a pony from outside just wanders in at the same time the annual tournament is being held,” the mare looked to the side as she thought. “Normally we don’t get any tourists here without the tournament,” she then smiled kindly as she realized Amethyst Star had asked her a question. “Oh, sorry deary, that’s right! You see our little village of Hacksaw holds a big fighting tournament that draws hundreds of fighters from all over every year. We thought you were a participant when you walked in here.”

Amethyst’s eyes widened as she heard that. A fighting tournament? And she just happened to arrive here right when it was taking place? It must be fate! Destiny was trying to tell her something, she knew it! After feeling so inadequate from all the trouble she had with that hill it’s like the world was giving her the opportunity to prove to herself that she could handle things out here and wasn’t out of shape or anything like that. Her physical prowess was put to the test by a simple walk up a hill and it made her feel horrible, time to fix that. And with how rough things could surely get out in the wild and untamed Undiscovered West what better way than to show that she could fight? Beating up some big fighting pros who came here specifically for this tournament would be a huge confidence booster. This was a great idea!

“Oh, but we should’ve known that you weren’t a competitor,” the mare giggled.

That snapped Amethyst Star out of her delusions. “What do you mean by that?” She asked with a slight scowl on her face.

“Well, dear,” the mare held a hoof up to her mouth trying to hide her smile. “First off you’re a unicorn and there’s no magic allowed, secondly you’re a rather petite looking mare and most of the competitors are strong stallions who train all their lives for this, and third, well… you just really don’t seem like someone who’s meant to be in a ring.”

Amethyst Star scoffed, insulted. “I could so be a fighter in this tournament!”

The mare backpedaled, surprised and placatingly holding her hooves up in front of her. “Sweetheart, it’s not an insult, none of us here think we could be fighters either or anything.” She looked around at the other ponies in the grove, who were now watching Amethyst Star with a mixture of worry and confusion.

The unicorn saw this and backed off. “Er, sorry. But I’m serious! Don’t judge a book by its cover, you know? I’m out here adventuring all on my own and I’ve survived plenty of monster attacks, I’m tough!” Rainbow Dash would jump at the opportunity to fight in a tournament like this and I bet Applejack would do great too. And I’m no different from them! Amethyst Star told herself.

“There’s nothing meant by it,” A voice to their side said, both Amethyst and the mare looking over to see one of the stallions behind the nearest concession stand had spoken up. He was a lanky earth pony with a dark beige coat and dirty brown mane, he was smiling at Amethyst too and showing off some rather large buckteeth. “We was just surprised is all. You wanna sit down and have something to eat? The snacks here and everything is for locals and spectators.”

“What Eager Elm said,” the mare said to Amethyst. “Oh, and I’m Cornflower, what’s your name?”

“Amethyst Star,” she replied. At this point the rest of the ponies in the little park had mostly gone back to their business, Cornflower’s filly had come up behind her and was hugging her mother’s leg. “Pleased to meet you all, I guess.” She rubbed the back of her head awkwardly, knowing it wasn’t the best first impression.

Regardless, she took Eager Elm up on his offer and went over to his concession stand. A number of stools were set up to sit on at it.

“Go play with your friends, dear. Mama’s going to talk to the nice mare for a second,” Amethyst heard Cornflower say to her daughter and was then joined by the older mare.

“So is there any fighting going on today?” Was the first question Amethyst asked to the both of them.

Eager Elm slid her a glass of water and let Cornflower be the one to answer her question.

“No, not today. The tournament officially starts tomorrow but there aren’t any matches until the day after that,” Cornflower explained.

Amethyst Star nodded, she looked around at the other stands here and saw the ponies in them cooking up a variety of fair foods. Cotton candy, corn on the cob with all kinds of toppings, churros, popcorn, and some kind of fizzy drink, it was nice. “So I could still enter the tournament if I wanted?”

The cotton candy vendor, a friendly looking stallion with a mint-green coat and purple mane, overheard her and looked over, a worried grimace on his face. “Miss I really advise against that, everyone takes this tournament really seriously and there are some rough customers out there-”

“Even better then,” Amethyst Star smiled with baseless confidence. “I’ll prove that I can beat anybody here.”

As the local ponies all shared skeptical looks with one another, Amethyst Star continued.

“By the way, what’s with the outfits and stuff some of the ponies are wearing? I saw like whole groups all wearing the same thing,” she asked.

“Oh, those ponies are all part of the same fighting school then,” Cornflower told her. “Or just a gang. You see, this tournament is a great way for them to prove their superiority without going into all out war with each other. They’ll enter their best fighters into the tournament and have them duke it out.”

“Meanwhile the members not fighting will usually try to bribe and sabotage other fighters in the tournament, or cheat in some other way. It’s a sad truth but there’s a lot of foul play that goes on at the tournament between these groups. Lone wolf fighters try and stay out of that mess,” Eager Elm explained.

“Luckily for us all we don’t have to worry about that, no one messes with us locals, they all keep it to themselves,” Cornflower added.

“It almost sounds less like a professional tournament and more like a scheduled event for a bunch of thugs to beat on each other,” Amethyst Star remarked, thinking of what it would be like if the Equestria Games were like this.

“The matches themselves are very strictly organized and refereed and it makes for great entertainment for us,” Eager Elm shrugged. “All of them are still serious fighters and some matches are real intense.”

Despite what she had been hearing about how this tournament was and the skill-level of the competitors, Amethyst Star was getting excited. “So how do I register to fight?”

Cornflower frowned. “Well darling, if you’re really serious about this...”

“I am!” Amethyst Star slammed a hoof on the stand’s counter.

“You can register tomorrow morning then,” Eager Elm told her and pointed behind Amethyst Star. “See that big building back there, through the trees?”

Amethyst looked, it was hard to see anything through the trees and the huge crowd of ponies but she could vaguely see a large building on the far side of the assembled fighters. It was probably the biggest building in Hacksaw and it maybe only reached three stories. She turned back to Eager Elm.

“Yeah, I see it.”

“That’s the registrar, just go in there and tell the receptionist you want to fight. Nothing wrong with a last minute entrant as long as you make it there before noon,” he told her.

“There aren’t any real matches tomorrow but there’s a preliminary round and physical testing, so you need to make sure you register a few hours before that begins,” Cornflower added. “Also you’re in luck, there’s free room and board offered to all the fighters. Even if you aren’t registered yet it’s no problem. Hay, I’ll even show you the best inn in town after this.”

Amethyst Star smiled. “Wow, thanks! And so like, you mentioned a preliminary round and some stuff? Just how does this tournament work and everything?”

Cornflower and Eager Elm both shared a look that Amethyst Star couldn’t place before Cornflower responded to her. “Well… the tournament proper is pretty simple. Everyone gets divided up into brackets, there’s no set seeding or anything like that so fighters from the same school could get matched against each other early or two very strong contenders could face each other early on as well, and then we just have matches until there’s one pony left.” Cornflower shrugged. “Like I said, simple. You only ever have to fight one match a day too, everyone gets a full day of rest between matches.”

“It’s a lot of fun to watch, specially early on when you’ve got dozens of matches to choose from at once,” Eager Elm said with a big smile on his face. “Some matches can be over in seconds while others can dragon on for hours. Longest match in history was seven hours long. Course that was years before any of us here were born.”

“Years?” Amethyst Star was surprised. “How long have you been doing this?”

Cornflower hummed to herself for a second, trying to think. “Well Hacksaw has been here in one way or another for a good century now I think? I mean, as you can tell from looking around nobody really put much thought into the town. Ponies just ended up here from time to time and settled down. Eventually someone from Hacksaw by the name of Baler, who traveled a lot, came across a small shantytown that held fights in a makeshift ring. Well he thought that was a good idea, except he was thinking a lot bigger.”

“After word of mouth and a lot more traveling Baler set up the first tournament. And thanks to its success it got even bigger the next year and so on,” Eager Elm shrugged.

“Cool,” Amethyst Star grinned, excited. She then decided to ask something that was bugging her. “But uh, what about the preliminary round? I asked about that but you kind of ignored me and gave each other that look. Is there something you’re not mentioning?”

“Well… no...” Eager Elm licked his lips and tried to avert his gaze.

Amethyst Star reached over and turned his head to face. “Out with it.”

“Sweetheart, please,” Cornflower put a calming hoof on her shoulder. “The thing is, and you’re not gonna be happy to hear it, is that the testing and preliminary round exists to weed out ponies like you before the main tournament. Technically there’s no set amount of ponies allowed to participate but the commissioner likes to maintain a certain level of quality and to keep the tournament from dragging on too long. For first-timers like you, who no one knows and aren’t backed by any schools or other groups, you’re made to fight in the preliminary matches to prove you’re good enough for the real tournament. If you’re not just flatly rejected after the physical exam and test to make sure you’re healthy enough to compete in the first place.”

“Everyone goes through the physicals, not just newbies,” Eager Elm said.

During the explanation Amethyst Star had gotten more and more annoyed.

“Oh I see. So even after I tell you how tough and determined I am you think I’m still not even gonna really get to fight, huh?” She complained. It was clear that they were banking on this foolish newcomer to fail to get in and avoid hurting herself.

Cornflower and Eager Elm were disappointed she took it that pessimistically to say the least though. Really they both just weren’t convinced that she was a fighter, they were worried about this strange mare who had just wandered in today and seemed to want to fight in the tournament for no real reason other than having some chip on her shoulder.

“Well if you make it through the prelims you’ll be proving us wrong. If you can really fight I guess we’ll be eating our words,” Eager Elm tried to appease her.

“We’re sorry, dear,” Cornflower said, although she seemed more sorry that they had upset Amethyst rather than about what they had said that upset her in the first place.

“Yeah, that’s right!” Amethyst Star huffed and folded her forelegs across her chest, looking away from them. “You better be prepared to admit you were wrong to think some dumb prelim would keep me from fighting.” She peeked an eye at Cornflower. “So, uh… can you show me to that inn?”

The older mare smiled somewhat sadly. “Of course. Just let me gather up my daughter.”

Amethyst Star and the Tournament II

Amethyst Star thought she could overcome her insecurities by fighting in, and even winning, this tournament. But everyone in Hacksaw seemed to think she was either joking or deluded. Well she’d prove them wrong. She was an adventurer, making it all the way out here already proved that. Now she just had to make them, and herself, see that she could handle herself in a fight just fine. If she couldn’t take care of a pony or two how was she gonna deal with some big monsters or villains that the likes of Twilight Sparkle and her friends always faced on their adventures?

She and Cornflower had left that little grove so Cornflower could show her a good inn to stay the night at. Cornflower’s daughter was practically attached to her mom right now, shyly looking at the ground. It seemed the little filly wasn’t the best with strangers. Hacksaw itself, as Amethyst saw now, was a pretty quaint little town, since they were on the opposite side from where all the fighters had gathered it was relatively empty and what few ponies she saw were mostly shopkeeps sweeping clean the front of their stores. The layout of Hacksaw was even more random than Ponyville’s though and most buildings were pretty small, aside from maybe the registrar that had been pointed out to her earlier she didn’t think anything was bigger than Ponyville’s town hall.

“Are there normally so few ponies out right now?” She asked Cornflower.

“This time of year most actually help with the tournament. So the rest of the town gets pretty barren, but it’s because we have to make things like rings for the matches, stands, get a lot of food together, and take care of other things,” Cornflower answered.

“So pretty much everyone’s over on the other side of town,” that explained why there was such a feeling of malaise over here.

“Not for much longer, when it’s time to turn in for the night everyone’s going to swarm over to the inns here,” Cornflower said. “Best to make sure you can get a room first. And no need to worry about food either, the inn I’m taking you to serves a complementary brunch.”

The three of them didn’t say much else after that, Amethyst Star let Cornflower lead the way since it was her town. They ended up down what one could call a “street” but was more like two rows of buildings facing each other haphazardly thrown into the middle of Hacksaw. Amethyst looked side to side to see what was in these buildings, more than one was already an inn but obviously not the one they were going to, another looked like it was some kind of hardware store, and another had a bunch of glassware in it. Must be what passes for a market in Hacksaw. This town might live and die by how much money comes through here during the tournament each year. Considering where it was Amethyst couldn’t imagine it saw much traffic otherwise.

“I’d love to show you around some more but I guess we don’t have the most time, and you’re probably going to want to get a lot of rest before tomorrow,” Cornflower said.

“You really love Hacksaw, huh?” Amethyst asked her.

“Of course!” Cornflower smiled widely at her. “It’s just about the best place in the whole world I can think of!”

That brought a smile to Amethyst Star’s face. She knew a lot of friends back home that would say the same thing about Ponyville. Small towns tended to produce a lot of ponies that were absurdly prideful of their homes. It was nice though to meet someone like this who was so enthusiastic about things and wanted to make sure Amethyst Star got a good impression of Hacksaw.

“Oh, here we are!” Cornflower said chipperly and walked up to a squat one-story building. It was pretty wide though and seemed to cover a decent amount of ground, they must’ve needed the space for all the rooms.

The building sat on a raised concrete foundation so the three of them walked up the steps leading to the front door, Cornflower happily pushing the door open and making the bell ring. Amethyst Star looked ahead to see an older stallion behind the front desk, a wall with mail slots and a board with a bunch of keys hanging on it behind him. An earth pony, she had come to expect every pony here being an earth pony, with a few wrinkles on his face. He had a cream colored coat and a pink mane, a little unusual for stallions. When he heard the bell he looked up from his desk and seemed to be about to go into an automatic greeting, but then he saw Cornflower and her daughter and paused, smiling.

“Welcome back, hon. Thought you and my little sweetheart were going to be staying out longer?” He looked down at the filly and winked.

The little filly ran from her mom to him, hopping up on the desk and hugging him. “Hi daddy.”

Amethyst Star raised an eyebrow and looked at Cornflower. “Best inn in town, huh?”

Cornflower grinned back at her. “It aint a lie.”

The unicorn actually blushed a little in embarrassment, she rubbed the back of her neck and bit her lip, thinking of the way she had been acting earlier. “Geez, look, I’m sorry for being kind of rude and stuff earlier. You’ve been really helpful and now you’re letting me stay at your inn for free and everything...”

“Think nothing of it dear,” Cornflower playfully batted a hoof. “That’s just called hospitality.”

It still made Amethyst Star feel bad. Here she was being disrespectful to them and getting a bit angrier and more confrontational than she really had any right to be while the whole time Cornflower was planning on letting her stay at her own inn.

“Who’s this?” Cornflower’s husband asked.

Cornflower and Amethyst walked up to the desk and Cornflower threw a hoof over the unicorn’s shoulders. “This here is Amethyst Star, she’s gonna be fighting in the tournament.”

“Really?” His face lit up. “Wow, good on you. Fighting in that tournament is something I’d never think of doing.” He looked at his wife. “I figure you brought her here for a room?”

“That’s right,” Cornflower nodded.

“Yeah, I really have to thank the both of you for this,” Amethyst Star gave an embarrassed smile.

“It’s what we do,” Cornflower’s husband shrugged and pulled a key hanging off one of the hooks on the board behind him. “Let me show you to your room.”

Amethyst Star made sure to sleep well that night. After all the walking she had done in the past few days it was nice to sleep in a real bed and rest her tired joints. The thought of the physical exam she’d have to take before the tournament didn’t exactly worry her (she had far too much faith in herself for that) but she was still aware of it. The others fighting in the tournament had probably kept themselves well-rested days or weeks in advance, she doubted any of them had gone over hills and through mountains on their own recently.

Either way she was very tired and pretty much the moment she lied down in that soft bed and rested her head on the feathery pillow she was out.

The next morning came quickly. Amethyst Star vaguely recalled dreaming of hills as she got out of bed. She stretched and did a couple of push ups to make sure she was feeling limber before leaving her room, she was gonna pass the physical with flying colors and then the preliminary round too! After that she went out and down the hallway to where Cornflower showed her the brunch was held.

Opening up the door she got quite a sight.

It seems that in the time she had gone to her room and fallen asleep quite a few competitors in the tournament had come to this inn for a place to stay. And now they were all eating brunch too. She saw that group of white-cloaked ponies from before but no others that looked like they were part of a big group. She had to figure any rival schools or gangs didn’t want to share an inn with each other.

A few of the fighters gave her glances when she came in, some lingered while others immediately went back to their own business, they probably didn’t even think she was entering the tournament either. She frowned at that, well just like the locals she would be glad to prove these ponies wrong and—ooh, waffles!

Amethyst Star went to the back table of the room where a few towers of waffles and plates were assembled, they smelled delicious. She grabbed a few and looked to see where she could sit. Hm, most of the tables were full… she spied an open seat next to a very large pony but he looked kind of intimidating.

Hold on, I can’t get intimidated! I’m gonna be beating these guys up tomorrow. She thought and carried herself to the seat next to the big stallion.

When she put her plate on the table she got his attention and he looked down at her, way down since he was so much taller. This guy wasn’t just big he was a massive barn of muscle. She could see veins bulging under a brick colored coat, his mane was a short cropped black and his tail was cut short too but as if to make up for it he had a massive mustache on his face. Seriously, the mustache was practically a tail’s worth of hair on a normal pony!

“Hello!” He pleasantly said in a robust and heavy bass voice. “Another boarder? I haven’t seen you before today.”

“Uh, yeah, I just got in yesterday. I’m actually planning to go register for the tournament too after I finish eating,” she told him.

He raised an eyebrow. “Really? Pardon me for saying so but you don’t exactly look the type to partake in our tournament.”

She scowled at him, she was getting pretty tired of hearing that. “Yeah well it’s true, I’m going to be fighting too.”

“Haha!” He laughed heartily. “Well best of luck to you then, we all had our start somewhere. I wasn’t near such a specimen at my first competition.” He flexed his biceps for emphasis.

Amethyst grimaced at the size of them. “Riiight.”

“My name is Martel by the way, what’s yours?” He reached a hoof to her.

“Amethyst Star,” she shook it.

“A true pleasure to meet you, I love making the acquaintance of anyone who has a passion for fighting! Sometimes you get frauds out here who just want to make a name for themselves or completely inexperienced ponies who think they’ll have a fun little fight without realizing this is a serious event. But besides them this tournament can be a great place to meet new friends and sparring partners for when there’s no other fighting to be doing. Do you have a particular fighting style? How often do you train? How much weight can you lift? I would be eager to know the training regimen of a fairly lithe unicorn mare such as yourself,” Martel went on.

He seemed like he was being totally honest and upfront to Amethyst Star, at least she didn’t think there was any sort of ulterior motive. But it’s not like she could answer anyways. Since she didn’t have a training regimen.

“Uh, well…” she tried to think of some kind of excuse. “Sorry but since we may be opponents soon I don’t think I should be sharing all my secrets just like that.” Decent enough for being put on the spot.

“Haha! True, very true!” He smacked the table, causing it and even the ground around them to rumble. “A good point you bring up! Well then, I don’t wish to keep you from registering, you’ll want to have that taken care of as soon as possible, then we can meet again at the exams.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Amethyst said and then started wolfing down her waffles. He was right, she should get over to the registrar quickly.

Amethyst Star said goodbye to Cornflower’s husband as she made her way out of the inn and to the registrar on the other side of town. When she got to the middle of Hacksaw she saw some stands had sprung up and a number of roped off rings had been stuck together with ponies looking over and inspecting them all to make sure things were up to snuff. Amethyst Star trotted past all of that and walked to the one big building around.

There were a lot of ponies going in and out of it, fighters and locals from what she could tell. When she entered into the front door she saw a long line of ponies in front of a desk marked “reception”.

“Oh well,” she sighed. “Wasn’t doing anything else today.”

It took a while and she impatiently bounced up and down on her hooves while she waited but eventually she got to the desk and could now talk to the receptionist. She had an odd purple bee-hive mane and a mint green coat with very thick glasses that made her eyes look like little dots behind them.

“And how can I help you?” The receptionist asked.

“Hi. I’m, uh, here to register for the tournament,” Amethyst Star told her.

Her eyebrows raised slightly. “Oh, you’re cutting it a little close, dear.” But then she smiled. “Well that’s all fine though, still got time. Hold on one second.” She reached under her desk and pulled a drawer open, searching around inside it for a second before pulling out two pieces of paper and a pen. One was a thin strip and the other looked like some sort of card with lines and boxes on it for you to write information down in. “Name?”

“Amethyst Star.”

“Alrighty...” The receptionist wrote her name on the thin strip of paper and the card. “Hoof, please.” She beckoned for Amethyst to raise one of her forelegs.

Amethyst Star tilted her head but raised her right foreleg up over the desk, the receptionist then grabbed the strip of paper and tied it around her hoof, tearing off a piece at the end that revealed a sticky spot underneath so it would stay together.

“That there’s your temporary identification,” she said and then grasped her pen and the card. “Now then, are you associated with any school or other group?”

The pink and purple unicorn shook her head. “Nope, it’s just me.”

The receptionist seemed to write that down. “Okay. Is this your first time competing?”

“Yep,” Amethyst Star nodded with a grin. She was still excited every time she thought about it. Whether she should be or not.

A few other general questions were asked and that’s all the receptionist needed to know. She smiled up at Amethyst Star and filed the card away in a folder on her desk. “All set! I suggest going out to the grounds and just staying with the other fighters for now until the physical exams start. Then if you pass those you’ll be given your official ID badge. Good luck out there!”

It was nice to not get laughed at or anything when she said she was gonna fight.

Amethyst Star looked down at the piece of paper tied around her hoof as she walked out of the registrar. She saw it as proof of her ability, even if it didn’t mean anything yet. Now she could mull about with the other fighters and act tough before the tournament organizers had them gather for the exams. The grounds were already filling up with ponies as she walked into them.

“Ah, Miss Amethyst Star, great to see you again!”

She turned at the voice to see Martel walking towards her, with his size it was a wonder how she didn’t see him first.

“Oh, hey.”

“Seems you have been registered, now we just need to wait for the boring physicals,” he made a disgruntled face. “Every year, so tiresome. Should just get to the fighting!”

“Does it take a while to do the physicals or something?” She asked him.

“Look around you,” Martel gestured out to the crowd. There were well over a hundred ponies who looked like they’d be competing, maybe even closer to two hundred. “There are only so many physicians and workers, it takes time to get through it all. Bah, and I won’t even be fighting in the preliminaries. Have to wait until tomorrow to have some fun, unlike you!” He gently patted her on the back.

Gently for him, which means he almost broke her spine.

Amethyst Star wheezed as her knees buckled underneath her and she grit her teeth feeling his hammer like hoof smack her back.

“Are you alright?” Martel looked down at her with concern and surprise written on her face, he knows he didn’t pat her that hard.

“Y-Yeah, just fine,” she winced, a drop of sweat rolling down her forehead. “Haha… I just wasn’t expecting that. You’re really strong you know?”

“Well, yes, I am,” he frowned. “But are you-”

He didn’t have any time to finish as someone blew a whistle to grab the attention of all of the fighters. They looked to see a fat pony wearing a top hat standing on a stage that was in the middle of all the rings. He was surrounded by a few ponies in referee uniforms and doctor’s coats.

The top hat wearing pony was smiling as he spoke up. “As the head commissioner of this year’s tournament I hereby declare the proceedings have formally begun! Let us begin with the physical exams to make sure yer all okay so we can get to the real meat of things as soon as possible. The doctors and event organizers will be around to gather you into groups now.”

“Well I guess we can’t talk anymore right now, see you later Martel!” Amethyst Star quickly said and scampered away before he could respond. As she noticed when she walked though her back was aching something fierce.

How can anyone be so strong?! He was just giving me a friendly pat on the back! For the first time here Amethyst Star was thinking she might have made a mistake. Her misplaced confidence was being replaced by the familiar sense of insecurity and inferiority she felt back in Ponyville and back when she was having trouble climbing up that hill.

No! I’m not letting this stop me… I’m still here to prove I’m tough and can handle a real adventure. That’s what I’m doing. She shook her head to try and banish the negative thoughts.

“Miss? Could you come this way please?” One of the organizers was speaking to her.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, sure,” she nodded and followed him to begin her tests.

What’s your name? Have you had any water to drink within the last twelve hours? Open your mouth and stick out your tongue, close one eye please, now the next, sorry if the stethoscope feels a little cold, can you please step onto the scale? Do you have any prior injuries or illnesses we should be aware of? Hold on for a second as I check your ears. You’re well aware using magic is against the rules, correct? Sit down, we’re going to test your blood pressure and heart rate now.

Amethyst Star listened and did as instructed the whole way through while he jotted down notes on a clipboard, what a hassle. Her annual trips to the doctor in Ponyville weren’t half as annoying as this.

And once she was done she would have to sit around and wait for everyone else who was after her until the preliminary rounds started. Only then would she get to fight. But it was maybe an hour or more until that happened. Maybe she shouldn’t complain about the physical then, at least it gave her something to do. She just hoped they didn’t find any reason to fail her.

Looking around she saw that she was a bit out of place compared to most of the rest of the fighters. Even the ones that weren’t excessively muscular had a certain “strong” or “dangerous” look about them. And she kept count of the other mares she saw and didn’t even reach ten. Would the physicians or anyone be suspicious of her and say she wasn’t fit to compete? She really hoped not.

“How much more of this do we have to do?” She asked the doctor examining her.

It looked like he grinned under his mask to her. “Not much longer. Sorry, I know this can be a little tiresome.”

“It’s alright...”

“Well you’ll be happy to know that you seem fine so far. Barring anything else, once your physical is done I can send you over to the file clerk with your forms and you can pick up your badge,” he told her and got back to the various tests.

That made her feel good at least.

“There will be some water and crackers for you too if you want anything before the preliminaries start,” he continued. “Also, you’re not pregnant or anything are you?”

She glared at him. “No.”

He threw up his hooves in appeasement. “Just making sure. It’s a standard question for the few mares who take part in the tournament.”

“Well I’m definitely not pregnant,” she didn’t stop glaring at him.

“Okay, okay...” the physician quickly checked the “no” box on his form.

That was about it for the exam and any questions, Amethyst Star couldn’t wait to be officially approved. She stood there for a few moments longer as he finished up whatever he was doing on his form, finally he stopped and pulled the form off his clipboard, giving it to her.

“Alright, there you go. Clean bill of health. You’ll be able to fight in the preliminaries later today, good luck,” he told her.

Amethyst Star couldn’t help the huge grin that broke out on her face, she went to grab the form from him. “Thank you-”

“Excuse me one moment.”

Both Amethyst and the doctor looked to see Martel striding towards them. The huge pony regarded Amethyst Star with a blank expression past his huge mustache. His eyes held on her for a moment before he turned to the doctor. “My apologies for interrupting, but I don’t believe this pony should be allowed to participate in the tournament.”

Amethyst Star’s jaw dropped and the doctor was pretty surprised too.

“W-What are you talking about?!” Amethyst asked him.

“You are not a fighter, it would be improper to allow you into this competition for a number of reasons,” Martel told her.

“Wait, hold on. I’m confused,” the doctor said. “Martel, what do you mean?”

Martel pointed at Amethyst. “This pony may be healthy but they are not in any condition to fight in matches here. I’m certain of it after watching her for a few minutes now.”

Amethyst’s surprise and worry turned to anger and she pointed right back at him. “You’re just trying to get me eliminated before the tournament even begins!”

“I am,” he nodded. “But not for any selfish reasons like you think. It is out of concern for you and the honor of the tournament itself.”

“Martel, I know you may not think she should participate but she passed her physical just fine. Maybe she’s not up to your level but-” he was cut off.

“She is not up to any level, Miss Amethyst Star has never fought a day in her life,” Martel looked hard at her. “Have you?”

The doctor glanced over to her now too, she could vaguely see a concerned expression behind his mask. “Wait, is he telling the truth? Do you not have any fighting experience?”

She gulped and began to sweat, nervously averting her gaze and shuffling around, all signs that made her look more guilty. “Um, well… the truth is, uh… no. B-But who cares! I’m in good enough shape, you just said so yourself!”

“Being in decent shape and being in a condition to fight in this tournament are completely different things. Punch me as hard as you can,” Martel told her.

“Excuse me?” Amethyst Star balked.

“Do it, please,” he insisted.

Amethyst Star frowned at his massive physique, but she wasn’t just going to take getting thrown out of this tournament by some muscle-head so easily. She walked up to his big chest and braced herself, pulling up a hoof and winding back before throwing all of her weight and all the strength she could muster into her punch.

Her hoof bounced off his chest like a rubber ball hitting a brick wall.

“Ow!” She winced, pretty sure she had just hurt herself.

Martel sighed. “See? It would be dangerous to allow you to compete. If you faced someone with a disposition less kind than my own you could be seriously injured. And it wouldn’t be proper to everyone who pours their heart into this tournament and seriously prepares for it if an inexperienced newcomer like yourself was allowed to join.”

“B-But-” Amethyst tried to reason with him but a raised hoof silenced her.

“This is for your own good. You seem a good mare and I’m sure you didn’t mean anything bad or disrespectful by enrolling in the tournament, but you should go. It isn’t right for you to fight here,” he told her.

The doctor nodded too. “I am inclined to agree with Martel. This is not a place for ponies who just wandered in and don’t have any fighting ability like yourself.”

She looked between the two of them, a growing desperation building in her. “B-But I’m tough! I’m here to prove what I can do to myself! You can’t just make me leave before I’ve even had a chance to fight!”

Martel sighed again… and lightly pushed her.

His huge hoof and the massive strength behind it sent her sprawling to the ground. The wind was nearly knocked out of her and she coughed before she unsteadily tried rising to her hooves.

“W-What the hay was that for?!” She yelled at Martel.

“Miss Amethyst… I wasn’t even trying and I was able to do that to you. I’ve never even won this tournament either. It isn’t safe for you to compete and it would be pointless anyways,” he sadly told her, shaking his head.

“I’m sorry but he’s right,” the doctor said, folding up the form he was about to give Amethyst. “There’s no way I can allow you entrance into the tournament.”

Amethyst Star was about to protest some more when she noticed that this little spat had gotten the attention of quite a few others around her. A number of physicians and fighters were all staring at her, whispering to each other, some even smirking or chuckling. She was making quite the scene. She wanted to tell them all to shut up, or say she’d show them not to laugh at her once the tournament began… but that would probably just make them laugh harder.

Instead, with tears threatening to spill out of her eyes, Amethyst Star glared at Martel and the doctor and raised her hoof with the temporary ID to her mouth.

“Fine,” she angrily spat out and tore the paper strip with her mouth, throwing it to the ground. “I don’t need this stupid tournament!” She started to run through the crowd of fighters, Martel sadly watching her go.

She ran as hard as she could. Ran to leave the town of Hacksaw. As she made it through the fighters she glanced over at the stands for some reason unknown to her and saw Cornflower with her husband and daughter sitting in them, watching her. Ashamed, she squinted her eyes shut and kept running. For Amethyst Star the tournament ended before it had even begun.

Amethyst Star and the Heroes

Compared to the lush and verdant land she had been traveling through in the previous few days the yellow savanna she was now in was relatively drab. The grass of the plains came up past her knees and tickled her underbelly, it was uncomfortable but there was nothing she could do about it. There weren’t anymore roads or paths out here so she just had to wade through it all while she continued traveling westward.

Honestly she didn’t really care though. She wasn’t thinking about that kind of stuff too much. Her thoughts were still dwelling on the humiliation she had suffered recently, first the hill and then being denied the chance to compete in the tournament right after. It did a lot to shake her confidence and Amethyst Star had been melancholic ever since she ran out of Hacksaw. She came out here to prove she was special and could go on epic adventures just like any of the other amazing ponies she knew, but so far the world seemed to be treating her like a joke just for trying.

She still wasn’t giving up though. She would have her adventure no matter what. Everyone else was wrong about her and what she could do, she wouldn’t live in the shadows of bigger ponies anymore. Not meant for something like this? Hah! Amethyst Star just needed a good opportunity to prove herself. A real adventure or quest or fight she could partake in. That would stifle any of her own doubts and the voices of any critics back home when she returned and told them about it.

Things had just been discouraging lately.

But she knew there had to still be plenty of opportunities out here in the Undiscovered West. In fact, Hacksaw was pretty much proof of it. There were ponies from gangs and fighting schools all over the west gathered there, right? That must mean there were more towns and places and probably all sorts of craziness just over the horizon. There was even plenty of that kind of stuff still in Equestria, and the rest of the world outside its borders was even more wild.

Amethyst Star shook her head, she was done thinking about the difficult stuff for now. Better to just focus on the world in front of her.

Aside from the tall grass the plains were dominated by thin and nearly leafless trees that weren’t particularly tall either. They looked dried out and unhealthy, a place like this must not get that much rain. Now that she thought of that she noticed she hadn’t seen any streams or watering holes at all out here, good thing her canteen was full but she should probably get through an area like this quickly until she found some water. The yellow grass extended near as far as she could see this direction though, if she kept going straight west she might be stuck here for days. To the northwest were some mountains, maybe it would be better to go searching along their feet.

“Is water more likely to be found by the foot of a mountain or here in the plains?” She wondered out loud to herself. The unicorn then frowned. “I have no idea… should’ve brought a wilderness survival guide.”

Whatever was the right thing to do was irrelevant as she made her choice to go towards the mountains. The grass started thinning the closer she got to them until it was replaced with dry dirt, which meant still no sign of water or anything else but there was nothing she could do about that. The weather was still pretty favorable for her so she wasn’t tired or thirsty yet even though it was the middle of the day, things were still temperate out here.

“It’s so boring out here...” the unicorn couldn’t help but think. It was true that there wasn’t as much to do or look at out in this savanna compared to where she had been recently.

The clouds were drifting by slowly overhead too, she sighed loudly and kept up her pace, now she was pretty much walking parallel to the mountains. She didn’t want to start climbing through or up those yet since that would take her the wrong direction but if she didn’t see any signs of water soon she might have to.

She started singing a little tune to herself to pass the time. “Winter wrap up, winter wrap up...”

The fact that she was singing the work song to a job she was never able to do correctly didn’t occur to her.

While she was walking along and not paying attention to anything else she felt the ground slightly rumble beneath her hooves. Amethyst Star paused and glanced down at the dirt. “Earthquake?”

But it didn’t rumble again so she shrugged and kept on walking.

There was a slight crescent-shaped indentation in the mountains up ahead, like a shallow scoop had been taken out of the rocks. She wondered if it was natural or not and picked up her pace to check it out. Rounding the last little boulders on the ground of the mountain right before the indentation she looked in to see what was up with it. The sight surprised her quite a bit.

“Wow, that’s pretty cool,” Amethyst Star looked on to see a town carved into the side of the mountain itself. The sandstone was smoothed and chipped away to create individual homes, pony made caves, doors, and shadowed windows that peaked further into the mountain. All of it was connected together since it had started from the same rock and there were probably innumerable passages behind the exterior wall leading from building to building. Parts of the cliff-side were cut into more than others and stairs were carved right out of the stone as well, leading up to other levels.

“I’m definitely checking this out,” she said to herself and walked towards the mountain town. Or maybe cave town would be technically more accurate?

As she got closer though she realized something very important: There were no ponies that she could see.

Was the town abandoned? Was it some ancient home that no one had lived in for years?

“Whatever,” she shrugged, her curiosity still getting the better of her. Amethyst Star had never seen a town like this carved right into a mountain, there could be something cool in there.

The ground underneath her rumbled again but she paid it no mind as she walked to the nearest of the carved out homes. It was more like a stone hovel than anything, she poked her head in to say hello and see if anyone was there but it was all empty. When she walked in though she had to think that it couldn’t have been too long ago that ponies lived here, there was plenty of furniture and it didn’t look that old, it looked like it was made from the wood of those trees she had seen out in the savanna too. Besides that there were “cabinets” and other things carved out of the walls. Still no sign of any ponies though.

She stepped out of that first house and walked up the stairs next to it, heading up to a ledge where the entrances to more houses and some deeper caves sat. She didn’t want to try going into those caves just yet, she might get lost. That was clearly a bad idea even to her.

“Hello?” She said again in case there was anyone up here who didn’t hear her earlier.

But there was still no response.

Something came to her nose instead. A stench made its way to Amethyst Star, wafting out of one of the homes up here. She wrinkled her nose at it, that was a smell she would recognize anywhere: Rotten fruit. The unicorn sniffed a few times, walking down the stone walkway and trying to find the source of the smell. It must be coming from one of the doorways up here.

“Smells like… apples?” Yeah, she was sure it was rotten apples. Anyone who lived in Ponyville knew what every kind of apple smelt like.

Amethyst Star followed her nose and it took her into one of the little hovels, this one had a bunch of wooden furniture in it too, but also one more thing that the first home she entered didn’t have. A bowl of fruit was placed on its table, the apples inside now a brown and mushy mess and the source of the foul smell. She stuck out her tongue in disgust at them.

“Bleh,”

But now that she thought about it, these apples being here meant someone was living in this place just recently. So what happened? Where’d they go in such a hurry? Ignoring the smell of the apples, Amethyst Star walked into the room and took a seat at the table to rest her legs for a second. If anything she might be able to find some water around here. She could look around for a bit longer and then start heading west again.

As she stretched her back and neck that same rumbling started up again and surprisingly she could even feel it despite being above ground level by a bit.

“What is that?” She asked, puzzled.

It didn’t stop either, in face it got much stronger, enough that the furniture in the room was shaking. Amethyst Star heard a large cracking sound and she rushed out of the house to look down at the ground below. She arrived at the ledge just in time to see a huge claw break out of the dry dirt, followed by another that pushed the ground away and allowed the creature behind the claws to climb out and howl at the stone carved buildings in front of it.

It was some sort of gigantic mole monster, blue furred with huge teeth and a very angry expression on its face.

And it saw Amethyst Star looking down at it.

“Uh oh,” the unicorn gulped.

The huge mole roared again and raised one of its claws, Amethyst Star jumped away towards the direction of the stairs she had previously climbed up right as the claw smashed apart the carved stone that made up the ledge beneath her, the mole big enough in size to easily reach up to the level she was on without needing to climb up at all. She stumbled and fell down in her attempt to avoid the monster, the stairs still a ways away. And even if she reached them where would she go? That thing was big and she couldn’t really run past it back to the plains, and she probably couldn’t outrun it at all in the first place. She could try her luck at the tunnels or go up to a higher house and try to hide…

No. Wait. She suddenly thought. This is just what I’ve been looking for, a monster to fight. This is the kind of thing that happens on adventures! The hero defeats a monster and saves the day! Okay, I’m taking out this mole!

Amethyst Star got a self-assured grin on her face as she stood up. The mole looked at her and roared, getting ready to attack again. Amethyst acted first though, she grabbed some of the loose rubble that had been made by its first attack in her magic and threw it right between the eyes of the mole creature as hard as she could.

The rock bounced off its face, doing no damage. The mole did pause though and blinked a few times but it seemed more confused than anything.

“Huh… well… uh...” Amethyst Star was expecting that to do a lot more.

The mole screamed at her again and smashed apart more of the level she was on, sending debris and shards of rock at her in retaliation. She raised her forelegs to defend herself but the force of the blow still sent her careening down the stairs where she came to a stop in a crumpled heap at the bottom.

“Ohhh...” she groaned in pain but the sound of the huge mole behind her got her to shoot up as quickly as she could. She looked over her shoulder to see it coming right for her so she yelped and jumped inside that first house she had looked through that was by the stairs.

The claw smashed through the front wall of the house and almost made the whole thing collapse on top of Amethyst Star. But she ducked under the table and was relieved that the thing managed to hold up. And now Amethyst Star was angry after getting hounded like this, she peaked up from under the table to see the mole standing in front of the destroyed home and she shot him with a blast of raw magic in his chest.

It again did nothing.

“Oh come on!” She yelled and kept firing blasts of magic at the unperturbed mole monster. She knew she couldn’t just keep doing that though, she didn’t have the magical power of Twilight Sparkle or Starlight Glimmer. As a last act of desperation she grabbed the table in her magic and flung it at the mole.

The mole effortlessly batted it out of the air, tired of being hit with so many things even if it didn’t hurt. It then raised both of its claws high overhead, preparing to smash them down onto Amethyst.

Any fight she had in her disappeared as pure fear overtook her. She clenched her eyes shut and covered her head, waiting for the end.

But instead of the feeling of being crushed she instead felt someone’s hooves wrap around her body and pull her away while the sound of the mole screaming in pain reached her ears at the same time. Amethyst had a feeling of weightlessness as she was carried in the air for a brief moment before coming to a stop on the ground.

“What the-” she opened up her eyes to see herself being held by another pony. It was an earth pony mare wearing a green cloak. She had a midnight black coat and a long and straight sparkly white mane that covered her left eye but left the stern frown on her face plain for Amethyst to see.

“What are you doing here? Why didn’t you evacuate from the Maulworf with the others?” The black mare asked her.

“Maul-what?” Amethyst Star was too confused to be coherent, she looked at the mole monster to see what was going on with it.

And her jaw dropped in shock.

There was another pony fearlessly facing off with it. A gray stallion with a short brown mane that was wearing the same green cloak as the mare. The Maulworf, as opposed to when it had been chasing Amethyst Star, looked wary. And Amethyst Star could clearly tell why: its right claw was shattered. Did the stallion do that? How?

“What’s going on? Who are you two?” Amethyst Star asked the mare holding her.

The mare let her go and Amethyst Star stood up next to her. “You’re not from Escarn?”

“I have no idea what that is,” Amethyst Star shook her head. “I was just passing through.”

“I see,” the mare sighed. “Well that’s alright, at least you’re okay. Please don’t try to fight a Maulworf in the future though. They’re practically impervious to external attacks.”

“Uh, if that’s the case shouldn’t you be worried about your friend?” Amethyst Star looked over and in the next few seconds immediately changed her mind.

The Maulworf swiped at the stallion with its still functional claw but he deftly ducked under it and lightly tapped the Maulworf’s left arm as it passed over his head. At first it seemed like that did nothing but then the Maulworf’s arm and claw abruptly started to fiercely vibrate and the beast cried out in pain, shaking its arm in the air as if trying to get the vibrating to stop, cracks started appearing in its claw before suddenly the entire thing shattered into a million pieces.

The Maulworf whimpered in agony and turned to flee, the stallion letting the creature go, not bothering chasing it down.

The cloaked stallion watched it go for a moment before turning to the two mares and beginning to walk towards them. “It won’t return here after that, it’ll be too afraid to.” He said to them. As he got closer Amethyst Star could see that his face was covered in dozens of thin scars. But that didn’t put her off.

“That was awesome!” She screeched in exaltation. “Who are you two? How did you do that? What was that thing?”

She was fully on an endorphin high after getting rescued and narrowly avoiding death.

The stallion raised a concerned eyebrow at her as he stopped beside his comrade. “You aren’t-”

“No I’m not from here,” she cut him off. “My name’s Amethyst Star, I’m on an adventure!”

“I see,” The stallion said, calmly. “Well my name is Quartz and my friend here is Obsidian.” He gestured to the black mare. “We’re just a couple of traveling do-gooders, and that thing was a mole-like monster called a Maulworf. A number of them were plaguing Escarn but that was finally the last of them we just drove off.”

“You guys are like real heroes! That’s just the kind of stuff that I’m trying to do out here!” Amethyst Star bounced up and down on her hooves.

“Excuse me?” Quartz tilted his head in confusion.

“Hey, what was that thing you did to make its claw explode? Can you teach me how to do something like that?” She continued, looking back and forth between him and Obsidian and ignoring their befuddlement.

“That was simply a special ability the two of us posses,” Quartz answered slowly. “And I’m sorry, but no, only earth ponies can learn it in the first place and we aren’t in the business of teaching others anymore.”

“Aww,” Amethyst Star whined.

Obsidian shrugged apologetically. “We really have to go tell the citizens of Escarn that it’s safe again now. Sorry, but we should be on our way.”

They went to walk past her but Amethyst grabbed onto Quartz’s cloak. “Hey wait! Maybe I can tag along with you for a bit, it sounds like you do this kind of stuff all the time and I came out here in the first place cause I wanted to prove I could do it too! Don’t underestimate me, I can handle myself.”

Quartz frowned and shot an awkward glance to Obisidian before responding. “Miss… I appreciate the offer and it’s nice you seem to have your heart in the right place, but we do serious work. We can’t have a helpless pony like you tagging along.”

Amethyst sharply inhaled and then angrily narrowed her eyes at him. “Helpless?!”

“Please,” Obsidian patronizingly looked at her and put a hoof on her shoulder. “We’ve been doing this a long time, all over the world, and seeing how you acted back there alone against the Maulworf told us all we needed to know.”

“B-But!” Amethyst Star could see it happening again, see her chances slipping away. She couldn’t stand more ponies treating her like this. But at the same time she couldn’t think of anything to say in her defense. Especially if they had seen her poor showing against the monster.

“I suggest you go back home, or at least get on your way again,” Quartz told her and shrugged her hoof off his cloak as he and Obsidian began walking towards one of the dark caves carved into the mountain. “You won’t have to worry about any more Maulworfs.”

Amethyst Star fell back on her haunches, sitting there silently as she watched them go. Why again? Her hopes to eradicate doubt about her physical capabilities, her hopes for an awesome Twilight Sparkle level adventure, her hopes to prove she wasn’t a background character in her own life, they were all walking away and she couldn’t do anything. In a minute they were out of sight. And a minute after that Amethyst Star despondently picked herself up and started heading west again.

Swamped II

A lot of thoughts were swimming through Amethyst Star’s head as she found herself on the wrong end of a few spears. One was that she was still pretty wet and had a lot of swamp slime clinging to her that she really wanted to get off. Another was a cynical voice saying that she should’ve expected something like this. But the biggest and loudest thought going through Amethyst Star’s head was: “Oh please, oh please, don’t let them stab me.”

The three ponies were keeping a careful eye on her to make sure she didn’t make any sudden movements or try to use her magic. If she wanted to run back into the water and leave without a fuss they wouldn’t complain though. The central one wearing the reeds who had told her to stop in the first place squinted at this interloper, ready to hear any excuses or explanations she might have and discard them just as quickly. The two behind him stayed silent, they didn’t wear anything but mud still caked their bodies, painted in swirling patterns all over them with lines across their faces. Amethyst Star figured it was supposed to be camouflage to help them blend into the swamp but it could’ve been a cultural thing too, she had no way of knowing.

What she did know was they weren’t very clean and they didn’t smell very good. Especially the middle one missing the teeth.

He was short and fat and his big brown eyes showed no trace of kindness, the two others behind him were much taller and slimmer but they as well didn’t offer any warmth or sense of hospitality to Amethyst Star. She couldn’t even tell for sure what color their manes and coats were thanks to all the mud and swamp junk covering them either.

The fat one frowned even harder than he already was and spoke again. “You’re a Flytap aren’t you?”

Amethyst Star’s wits (partially) came back to her and she moved her eyes from the spear tips to the pony, registering his question she vehemently shook her head. “N-No, I’m a pony.”

The two taller guards gave each other confused looks while the fat one raised an eyebrow at Amethyst.

“I think you broke her, Quargyle,” the tall guard on Amethyst’s left said to the fat one.

Quargyle groaned and lifted his spear away from Amethyst Star’s face. “No, I know you’re obviously a pony. What I meant was, are you a pony from the Flytrap Clan?”

Amethyst Star was relieved when the other two pulled their spears away as well. Now she could finally breath again. “I have absolutely no idea what that is.” She answered, shaking her head again.

Even though they weren’t threatening her anymore they didn’t seem to believe her. Quargyle continued to scowl and the other two warily kept their eyes on her. This was not turning out to be a good first meeting with whoever these ponies were. On the one hoof though it screamed the possibility of “adventure” to Amethyst Star. But as she had been complaining about earlier to herself, did she really want to go on an adventure in a swamp? And these ponies just seemed so mean.

“Uh huh, I’m sure you don’t,” Quargyle said. “Some outside pony that doesn’t know anything just randomly comes into our swamp. Yeah, really believable. Even if you aren’t a member of the Flytrap Clan you must be a spy or something.”

“I am not!” Amethyst Star glared right back at him. “I came into this swamp from back there, I’m just traveling through, okay?” She pointed behind her back to the east.

“A likely story,” Quargyle scoffed. “Anyone could easily travel from the Flytrap Clan’s home and go the long way around the swamp to make it here.”

“I don’t even know where here is! Who even are you ponies?!” Amethyst Star yelled.

Quargyle chuckled at what he thought was her lying but he decided to humor her anyways. “Heh, well unicorn, you’ve happened across we of the Foxtail Clan. We’ve been living in this swamp for generations.”

“Okay...” Amethyst Star wasn’t exactly surprised to be hearing about ponies living in a swamp for a long time. That was common enough in Equestria. But these guys were just jerks too.

“The Flytrap Clan are our mortal enemies,” the same taller guard who had spoken earlier said.

“Like she doesn’t already know that,” Quargyle rolled his eyes. “Unless the two of you actually believe her?”

Both of them shrugged before the so far quiet guard spoke up. “I just don’t think there are many unicorns in the Flytrap Clan. I mean there are hardly any here either.”

“That doesn't stop her from being a spy they hired or something,” Quargyle snapped at him.

Amethyst Star was starting to get angry at all these accusations and the circular reasoning. It wasn’t exactly fair to her. But she couldn’t really think of a way to convince them she wasn’t from that Flytrap Clan or whatever with how paranoid they were being. At least that was the case with Quargyle, the others seemed alright now. Regardless, she was tired of being stuck on these steps and really wanted to clean herself off. This place looked pretty interesting and she wanted to explore it a bit too. And they had to have boats if they lived here, maybe they’d let her borrow one if she asked nicely?

“Look, can’t you give me the benefit of the doubt here? I mean even if I was from that other clan or whatever you’re talking about what could I even do on my own? And If you’re still so worried I’m a spy why don’t you just escort me around. I really want to rest for a bit after all the swimming and walking I’ve done today,” Amethyst Star reasoned with Quargyle.

Quargyle was mid-breath from shooting her down when the left guard interrupted him.

“Sounds fair to me.”

Quargyle clamped his mouth shut and shot his fellow guard a dirty look. “Oh fine, be that way you dupe. But if she does do anything I’ll hold you accountable.” Quarglye glanced back to her. “You can come on up I guess, I’ll be watching you though, spy.”

Amethyst Star didn’t bother getting in an argument this time, she was happy to be able to walk up that final step onto the main platform of this stilt town and not have spears thrust into her face. Even if the holders of said spears were still a little apprehensive of her and watching her every move. The thin wood beneath her hooves clunked and creaked with every step she and the guards took, it made her wonder if anyone ever fell through them, maybe it was deceptively sturdier than it all felt. Hovels made of mud and reeds were all around her and she occasionally saw the heads of other ponies peeking out of their doors or windows to take a look at her. Yes, not exactly the friendliest of places.

The three guards led Amethyst Star to a log and rope bridge that led to a big floating crannog that was anchored to some of the other platforms and trees around it. Unlike the stilts that held up this platform and most of the houses the crannog floated on a huge bed of bundled up reeds and it was absent a roof, being completely open to the air like the other wooden platforms.

While Amethyst Star crossed the bridge to it she looked out over the water out of curiosity to see what was around and was happy to spot a large number of canoes moored by another few crannogs that drifted right at water level on the far side of the big crannog.

Yes! They’ve got plenty of canoes. Maybe they’ll let me borrow one? She allowed herself to be temporarily optimistic. Or more accurately foolishly optimistic.

She was forced out of her thoughts when Quargyle and the rest of them stepped from the bridge and onto the large crannog. Amethyst Star wanted to walk right over to where those canoes were but the guards had other ideas, they walked straight for another path that led onto a lone walkway with a large, reed hut with sloped walls sitting on the end. It was nestled in a grove of large swamp trees that would’ve made it invisible and difficult to get to from the outside. And on the top of the hut’s roof a tattered red flag hung limply, no breeze to make it flap today.

“Uh, hey?” Amethyst Star said. “You guys don’t need to bother with me anymore, if you could let me borrow one of those canoes over there I’ll gladly be on my way.”

“Want to steal one of our canoes huh?” Quargyle looked over his shoulder at her. “So that’s what you were after? Well too bad, we don’t give out canoes to strangers of any sort.”

Amethyst Star groaned in annoyance. “I just want to get out of here without having to swim the whole way.”

“Hah! I bet you’ll take our canoe right to the Flytrap Clan,” he doubted her.

“I don’t even know where they are!”

“Yeah, yeah. You can tell that to the Chief. He doesn’t take kindly to Flytraps or any sort of ponies that associate with them,” Quargyle said.

“Chief?” Amethyst Star was kind of confused.

“We still need to let our leader know about you,” the guard who so far hadn’t spoken as much said.

Amethyst Star gulped, it was a little worrying but hopefully this Chief was fair and he’d be willing to lend her a canoe. I mean leaders are always supposed to be the most sensible ones. Right? Just look at Princess Twilight and Princess Celestia. Yeah, she was sure things would be fine now.

The party of four walked onto the walkway, it was lower to the surface of the water and wasn’t held up by stilts, making the wood soggy and her hooves a little wet. She didn’t exactly understand the design choice. It was kind of creepy looking here now that she noticed, the trees surrounding the Chief’s hut cut you off from the outside and the level of light was lower, the water of the swamp was still and eerie and could contain anything. It was just… what’s the word? Foreboding.

The door to the hut was made of simple twigs tied together with reeds and Quargyle pushed it open for them. “Chief? We have an intruder.”

Amethyst Star wasn’t happy to be introduced that way but there was nothing she could do about it. She quietly walked in after him and looked around. The boards of wood making up the floor were far thicker than what had been on the walkway, they didn’t let a single drop of water in, the walls of the hut were covered in tapestries hanging from them and at the far side of the hut a lavish carpet sat over the floor, flanked by two large torches (that seemed particularly dangerous to have in such a flammable place). At the head of that carpet a wide couch sat. Perhaps if this was a more luxurious place the couch would’ve been fancier but instead it looked to be made of old driftwood and over-stuffed green cushions.

On that couch sat what could only be the Chief of the Foxtail Clan. He was a moss-green earth pony stallion with a sunflower-yellow mane tied in multiple thick braids and wearing a crown of flowers picked from the swamp. There was a mare sitting behind him wrapped head to hoof in a flowing yellow gown so only her pink eyes were peaking out and at the foot of the couch a filly with the same moss-green coat as the chief sat. His daughter or little sister maybe.

All three of them looked at Amethyst Star with curiosity, although the chief had a steady frown on his face as well.

“My lord,” Quargyle bowed and gestured to Amethyst Star. “Here she is for you.”

He appraised her with narrowed eyes. “And why have you decided to intrude upon our home? Did the Flytrap Clan send you for some nefarious purpose?”

Amethyst Star did her best not to roll her eyes. “No, I’ve never even met them. I didn’t even “intrude” either, I’m just passing through this swamp. I had no idea any of you were even here.”

“Hah!” The Chief barked. “We know better than to trust the words of any outsiders. Our noble Foxtail Clan was betrayed too many times by the false peace offerings of the Flytrap Clan and the machinations of their flunkies pretending to just be innocent ponies not associated with our enemies. We were the ones who first settled in this swamp, only to find ourselves accosted and continuously encroached upon by the Flytrap’s in but a year’s time. And I am not allowing them to get one over on us anymore! So if you think you can fool me, well the joke’s on you I’m afraid. Whatever you want to do here you can just forget it!”

“Oh come on!” Amethyst Star was fully fed up at this point. “I’m not from the Flytrap Clan, I wasn’t sent by the Flytrap Clan, I don’t know or care about what the Flytrap Clan is, all I want is to get through this swamp!”

“She’s lying, she said she wanted one of our canoes!” Quargyle accused of her.

“Only because it would help me get out of here faster!” She countered.

The Chief rubbed a hoof under his chin, a distrusting look on his face. “Oh? And just what would you do with this canoe?”

“What?” Amethyst Star didn’t even try to keep the sheer confusion out of her voice and she looked at him like he had asked her the dumbest question possible. “I just said I want to get out of here faster with it, and not have to swim through all this gross water and stuff. It’s not like I plan on keeping the thing forever, I just want to borrow it for a bit.”

“Yes and where are you going to go with it, hm? And how do you plan to return it if you’re only borrowing it? Or were you just planning to leave it somewhere and let us find it later?” His annoyance was plain to hear.

“Uhh…” to be honest she hadn’t really thought about that. If she was just “borrowing” a canoe to get out of this swamp how would she return it? He had a point. They were still being jerks though. The Chief may have had his priorities straight in looking out for his own but it clearly led to him and at least some of his Clan being far too rude and distrusting in her opinion.

“Clearly you’ve been sent by the Flytrap Clan to try and steal or finagle us out of our canoes!” The Chief pointed an accusing hoof at her.

“Okay, no. Look, I’ll admit I wasn’t thinking about how I’d return the canoe but I really didn’t have any ill intentions,” Amethyst Star continued to defend herself.

“And what direction were you going to paddle this canoe in?” The Chief asked.

Amethyst Star raised a confused eyebrow at him and pointed to the west. “Uh, west. Why?”

“Aha!” The Chief leapt his hooves and shouted, causing the filly sitting under him to squawk in surprise and fall over. “The Flytrap Clan is to the west! You’re clearly trying to bring the canoe to them!”

“Oh for the love of-” Amethyst Star rolled her eyes. “I. Didn’t. Know they were there. And that’s just the direction to get out of the swamp and that I’ve been traveling in for daaaays.” She was growing increasingly frustrated. “And why would I tell you I was doing that if you think I want to steal the canoes?!”

“Yes, why indeed?” The Chief mused, clearly suspicious of her motives.

Amethyst Star threw her hooves into the air in defeat. “That’s it, I’m done. I’m done here. You can keep your canoes, I’m gonna leave anyways even if I have to swim through the dirtiest most monster-infested water there is.”

“Heh, given up on your nefarious plan already?” Quargyle smirked at her.

“I didn’t have a nefarious plan!” She screamed.

“Whatever you claim you should just hurry up and depart from our domain,” the Chief said. “We don’t want you here. Quargyle, take her to wherever she wants to go and make sure she leaves. Watch so she doesn’t take anything.”

“You guys are jerks! I’m not gonna take anything!” She sat on the floor and yanked on her mane in frustration.

They didn’t care about her protestations and Amethyst Star was led from the Chief’s hut by Quargyle again, the other two guards going off back the way they had originally come while she was taken to the western side of the Foxtail Clan’s village. Quargyle had a smug grin on his face the entire time, proud that he had “defeated” a spy sent by the Flytrap Clan who wanted to cause who knows what kind of chaos in their swamp village.

Amethyst Star ground her teeth in frustration the whole way and was actually happy to wade back into the swamp water and start swimming away, putting all these mean ponies behind her. Good riddance. She just hoped this wasn’t what qualified as an adventure for her.

Swamped III

The one upside right now was that at least the water wasn’t too cold. Everything else was the downside. Amethyst Star was still in a very foul mood after leaving the Foxtail Clan and it was even worse since she still didn’t have a canoe and had to keep swimming. Getting all those accusations thrown at her didn’t help either. This whole trip through the swamp was turning into an even bigger mess than she could’ve thought. Maybe it would’ve been better to take the extra day and just travel around it, doing that would’ve at least saved her from those stressful jerks back there. She saw a cool looking village but that really wasn’t worth all the other trouble so far and nothing else seemed inclined to give her the adventure and excitement she wanted out here. It was just a big dumb swamp with some big dumb ponies in it. Now it was even getting darker thanks to all her time wasted back with the Foxtail Clan and within a couple hours she’d probably have trouble seeing. Hopefully the swamp ended sooner than it looked or she could find someplace to rest for the night that wasn’t wet. Maybe climbing a tree and sleeping in the branches would work? No, she’d be worried about falling out on accident in the middle of the night.

“I hate this place.”

It was exhausting carrying her bag like she was too, for not the first time she was grateful that it wasn’t too heavy but it was still beginning to drain on her magic. Amethyst Star stood up on the roots of a nearby tree to give herself a little rest and shut her eyes, leaning against the tree still halfway submerged in water and trying to calm herself down. At the least the croaking of frogs and the buzzing of mosquitoes were so constant it was basically just background noise. With the swamp so far devoid of any dangerous creatures the stillness of the water made it fairly peaceful and it was a nice reprieve from her angry thoughts.

Everything in the Undiscovered West seemed to be coming together to frustrate her. Those thoughts.

Amethyst Star sighed and left the tree, swimming back into the water and going for her next checkpoint. “I guess it could be worse though. Maybe if I find that Flytrap Clan or whatever they’d be willing to lend me a canoe?” She didn’t expect it but she could hope.

As much as she didn’t like this place thanks to how the Foxtail’s had treated her she was happy that it wasn’t as personally humiliating or physically difficult to get through for her. She wasn’t plagued by self-doubt over her lacking skills or told she shouldn’t be out here and that was a plus. Not struggling up a hill or being insulted and not taken seriously by ponies who didn’t even know her for once was really good for her mental state.

Of course it would be better if she wasn’t disrespected here for completely different reasons but there was nothing she could do about that except for move on and try to find a better place.

She paddled through the water and the slime, pushing lily pads out of the way or swimming around logs and reeds that clogged up the water. Nothing more than routine now for her. Looking over her shoulder she saw the last remnants of the Foxtail Clan’s domain disappearing between the rest of the vegetation of the swamp. She was making good progress so far as she kept her way west. And now was midway between wanting and not wanting to come across the Flytrap Clan at all. Possibility of a canoe? Good. Possibility of being stalled, accosted, and jerked around? Bad.

“Might be better to just hope “west” is big enough and I won’t stumble onto wherever they live,” she thought.

It was another hour of swimming and avoiding obstacles for her after that. She wasn’t going very fast but just how big was this swamp anyways? It must’ve been the size of the Everfree Forest or something. But she eventually came across a large patch of land that rose out of the water, it was muddy and covered in tall grass and bushes but it still gave her a reprieve from swimming and let her hang her bag at her side so she could relax her horn too. The soft and mushy ground beneath her hooves wasn’t very inviting but a log from a tree half-buried in the ground made an alright place to sit.

“Bleh,” Amethyst Star stuck out her tongue as she sat on the wet moss. Not pleasant.

And as she sat there and looked around at the familiar scenery she realized she was kind of bored. It had been a large and wide open plain she had traveled through right before this swamp and that had far less to do or look at in it, but now things were so stale to her in here she really wanted to hurry up and get out. The gnarled trees and green water covered in lily pads and the ever present croaking of the frogs was too repetitive. If there wasn’t adventure to be found here she needed to get someplace new anyways just for a change of scenery on her little journey.

She lived in Ponyville her entire life but at least there she always had her friends to talk to or engage in some kind of event the town was putting on. Ponyville was never the problem or the reason she came here, it was her place in it that was getting to her. Amethyst Star frowned, it was an adventure she wanted and it wasn’t what she was getting. If she wanted a nature walk she could’ve just gone anywhere in Equestria. What was this swamp compared to Froggy Bottom Bogg or Hayseed Swamp? She wanted something different that nobody else in Equestria knew about.

Amethyst Star clicked her tongue and stood up. Time to keep moving and find something that could actually fulfill her adventurous ideas. What could she prove hanging out in a boring swamp no different than any other?

Back to swimming.

She quickened her pace this time though after leaving that mud island, a determined frown etched on her face. No more of this, time to hurry up. She did come to a decision on something else though. She wanted to find the Flytrap Clan. That might at least lead to something. Regardless of what that something was.

Amethyst Star swam harder through the swamp with renewed vigor in her veins. She never considered herself the most aquatic of ponies but she bet she could even make Sea Swirl proud with how well she was doing. Once she walked up a big tree that had fallen over in the swamp and walked down its trunk, it was mossy and wet and she almost slipped but she kept her balance, she had done a good job of keeping her head dry and she had no intention of dunking her face in gross swamp water anytime soon.

And ahead of her her eyes again caught sight of something out of place.

She couldn’t tell for sure at first since the colors all blended together so well with the rest of the swamp but as she got closer she was certain. A big wooden wall rose sheer out of the water. The boards that made it up were a camouflage like mess of green, brown, gray, and black and they had moss and other plants growing all over them. But they still created a seamless barrier that separated the western part of the swamp from the east.

“Oh great, how big is this thing?” Amethyst Star wondered as she made her way to it.

She climbed up onto a small dock made at the bottom of it for people to stand on, looking down the lengths of the wall she noticed there was nothing else like that around. Was there an entrance here and she just couldn’t see it? Or something else? Amethyst Star looked up at the wall to check it out, it seemed to go up a dozen feet or so above the surface of the water. When she looked to her left and right it seemed to stretch for ages, did it cut through the whole swamp? It didn’t look like it curved at all.

“Can I get past this somehow or do I have to go around?” Amethyst Star tapped on the wall a few times. If there wasn’t an entrance or hole she wished she just would’ve gone around the entire swamp in the first place, since it looks like she might be forced to do that anyways.

“Hey! Who goes there?” She heard from above her.

Amethyst Star looked up to see a pony peeking over the top of the wall, there must’ve been a platform or stairs or something for him to stand on that she couldn’t see. He was a blue unicorn with a wavy white mane and he had a wooden helmet on his head with a clasp under his chin. Much like Quargyle or the Chief of the Foxtail Clan he regarded her with a frown and clear suspicion.

“My name’s Amethyst Star, I’m just traveling through the swamp. Is there a way to get past this wall?” She said to him.

“Just traveling through?” He raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “No pony just travels through here. Were you sent by the Foxtail Clan?”

“Oh no, no, no, no...” Amethyst Star held a hoof to her face. She could see where this was going.

“Aha! You’re a spy aren’t you, your silence only incriminates you further!” The sentry accused.

Amethyst Star groaned, she closed her eyes and let her face drop to the ground, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Why? Why are you all like this?”

“What did you come here for? You should know we don’t just let any Foxtail’s in here. Get lost!” He tried shooing her away.

“I’m not from the Foxtail Clan! They thought I was a spy sent by you guys and they made me leave too, okay?” She tried to tell him.

“Hah! You think a dumb story like that will be enough to get our trust? Whatever mission they’ve sent you on you can just forget about it, nobody gets in our walls,” he laughed at her.

“What you’re saying doesn’t make any sense! Can’t you see how stupid this all sounds?! I’m clearly not from the Foxtail Clan and if I was on a mission to sabotage you or whatever then why would things turn out like this?”

Unlike with Quargyle and the Chief this pony seemed to actually consider her words. He stared her down as he rubbed a hoof under his chin. “Hmm, that isn’t totally insane I guess. But that still doesn’t mean I trust you! And regardless of who you are we don’t open our doors so easily anyways. We’re mortal enemies of the Foxtail Clan and we don’t take any chances.”

“Ugh, look-” Amethyst Star groaned. “I just want to get through this swamp. If you let me in you can have someone escort me the whole way through your territory until I’m out.”

“And why should we listen to you? Perhaps that’s just what you want us to do!”

“Of course it’s what I want you to do because I want to get out out of here! Literally how could I even turn this around or do anything if you’re watching over me the whole time?!”

“That’s a good question. I may not know the answer but I’m not gonna take any chances!”

“Aggghhhh!” Amethyst Star screamed to the sky. “What did I do to deserve this?!”

“Your own fault for colluding with our enemies and trying to pull one over on us,” the sentry yawned from up on the wall. “Now hurry up and get out of here, I’ve got other things to do.”

“Can you at least let me have a canoe or something so I can leave faster?” Amethyst Star asked, totally exasperated. She was just tired and wanted to give up.

“No. We don’t give canoes to those who associate with the Foxtail’s.”

“I’m not-” Amethyst Star started but stopped. She knew it was pointless. These two crazy Clans were at each other’s throats for some reason and they apparently instantly thought any pony they didn’t know was an agent of the other Clan. Whatever happened with the two of them to get them like this she had no idea, but these swamp ponies were just plain nuts. Maybe if she was like Princess Twilight she could figure out why they’re like this and get them to make peace but-

Hey wait.

Amethyst Star’s eyes grew wide and a giddy smile appeared on her face, the change so sudden that it greatly confused and kind of creeped out the sentry watching her.

“This is perfect! This is just the kind of friendship problem Twilight and her friends are always solving! I’ll do it too, I’ll fix the Flytrap and Foxtail Clans and make them friends!” She jumped up and down in ecstasy.

“What are you talking about?” The confused sentry asked from on high, privy to her loud ramblings.

She looked up at him with a big smile on her face that showed no evidence of their prior arguing. “Can you tell me how the Flytrap and Foxtail Clans first came here and started fighting with each other?”

“Huh?” He tilted his head at her.

Amethyst Star had heard the Foxtail side of things but she wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if the Flytrap’s had a different version of how things went. “Please? I want to learn about you and help!”

He shrugged. “Uh, okay I guess. Still not letting you in here though just cause you got a smile on your face but if you want to know about the Flytrap Clan I ain’t gonna refuse. Our ancestors learned about this swamp at the same time as the Foxtail’s ancestors did. But they picked up and moved in a little faster than us. And then when we finally got our things together and were ready to live here they tried to keep us from setting up at all and acted like they owned the place! Not like the swamp wasn’t big enough for the both of us, they got all high and mighty and treated us like garbage and tried to keep us tucked away over here. Any time we try to offer peace to them they come back with outrageous demands or laugh in our faces. Not to mention that they’re always doing something to sabotage our village or steal our stuff, that’s why we made this wall in the first place. Those jerks can sit over there and rot for all I care!”

“Great!” Amethyst Star was happy to hear all that. “Can you go tell your leader now or whoever that I want to help your Clans reconcile?”

The sentry looked at her like she had grown a second head. This crazy mare was asking to leave the swamp, getting increasingly angry, and now she’s done a 180 and wants to help them for some reason? “Why would I do that?”

Amethyst Star for once was not put off by his reservations. “Because wouldn’t it be great if you stopped fighting with each other? I’m an impartial outsider and I can totally be just the liaison you all need to talk to each other, I’ve got no side and no investment in anything! I’m just a pony who wants to help and complete a cool quest! And surely you can see the benefits of your two Clans getting along, right?”

He mulled that over for a bit. “Well you’ve got a point there too. Not sure I totally believe you about all this so called “impartiality” but I guess there’s no harm in talking to the Head. You can wait here and I’ll see what he says, don’t try and get past the wall or anything, okay?”

“I won’t,” Amethyst Star saluted and watched as the sentry ducked down and went somewhere else beyond the wall that blocked off the domain of the Flytrap Clan. When more than a minute had passed and she was sure he would be well out of earshot, Amethyst Star jumped up and yelled. “I’m gonna solve a friendship problem!”

All the annoyance she felt towards the swamp and the two Clans evaporated. There was a reason she came here, she understood that now. Fate or destiny or whatever had conspired to bring her to this swamp to make everything good between these ponies, she just knew it! It was so obviously just like all the missions that Cutie Map thingamajig called other ponies on all the time. This was the kind of thing that would show how special she was, cause only special ponies got to do something like this. It was a real adventure! It was something that the amazing ponies of Ponyville she envied did! She was so excited she couldn’t even contain herself. She knew coming in here instead of just going around the swamp was a good idea.

She practiced what she would say and do when she got back to the Foxtail Clan, it was likely they’d be pretty upset to see her but she’d just have to do her best to convince them of her good intentions. She couldn’t let their jerkiness get to her, even Twilight Sparkle was sure to get annoyed and discouraged once or twice but she never gave up, that’s part of what made her special, and Amethyst Star wouldn’t do that either! The fact she was ready to ditch all of this earlier was irrelevant, these ponies needed help and it would be a really good thing to make them all friends.

“I hope he comes back soon, I can’t wait to do something that really feels like an adventure on this trip for the first time,” Amethyst Star tittered about on her hooves.

As was obvious, despite generally good intentions, they were clearly not entirely selfless. Amethyst Star didn’t exactly realize this herself but it was a big difference to do something noble instead of just knowing that what you were doing was good in the academic sense. That was one of the things that separated heroes from regular ponies. If any of her friends pointed this out to her she probably would’ve gotten very upset.

Amethyst Star was still in a very happy place though and a few minutes later the same sentry came back to the wall to tell her what had been decided.

“Hey down there,” he called out to her.

“Yeah? Did your head boss guy or whatever agree?” She couldn’t keep the excitement out of your voice.

The sentry nodded. “Surprisingly yes. I’ll be upfront and tell you that I don’t think he believed a word of what you said either but he figured there was no harm in letting this play out.” The pony reached down beside him and pulled up a brown paper wrapped package the size of a large envelope but much thicker. “This is our letter to the Chief of the Foxtail Clan asking about the possibility for renewed peace talks, if you can deliver it to him I guess that’s the first step. Might have to tell him all about your crazy plan to officiate things as an outsider or whatever.” He tossed the package down to her.

“I will!” She caught it and hugged the thing close to her chest like it was some kind of treasure. The unicorn then turned around and made sure the bag and new package were carefully balanced on her back before swimming into the swamp water, this time heading back in the direction of the Foxtail Clan.

“Crazy pony...” the sentry muttered, shaking his head as he jumped down from his post one more time.

This is gonna be so great! Amethyst Star thought to herself as she paddled along. She swam with confidence and any fatigue that might have been building within her over the day had disappeared. Here was her big chance and she wasn’t going to take it easy until she got back to the Foxtail’s. It was a bit darker and the water had gotten colder but even that wasn’t enough to dampen her spirits. She was far too used to the gross swamp by now.

She saw that big tree that had fallen over that she walked on before, it would make her return trip even faster. Not as fast as if she had a canoe but what are you gonna do? With a fresh smile on her face she hopped up on the rotting trunk of the tree and began to trot down it, faster than she could go if she was swimming.

“Amethyst Star can handle adventure just as well as any pony in Equestria!” She confidently stated.

Her hoof then slipped on some of the moss on the tree. She caught herself and her bag just as she did before, but something new that she was carrying this time wasn’t as fortunate. Perhaps she was so used to just the bag resting on her back that it didn’t register fully that she was also carrying something else, or perhaps her magic just wasn’t fine tuned enough to save it.

But either way the package she had just been given fell into the swamp, disappearing instantly.

“Oops,” Amethyst Star was dumbstruck as she looked down at the rippling water.

The formerly ecstatic unicorn blankly stared down at the water for several minutes. Had what just happened fully registered in her brain? Her opportunity to not only help solve a big friendship problem but also show just what she can do had gone right down the drain. The goodwill she managed to get from the leader of the Flytrap’s was soaked to oblivion and likely impossible to find. Her feelings of inadequacy were beginning to crawl back into her. That self-doubt and the little voice in her head telling her she shouldn’t even be here in the first place were getting louder…

So she knew she could go back and ask for another package, as embarrassing and confusing as that would be. Or she could keep going to the Foxtail’s and convince them of what had happened, as embarrassing and difficult as that would be. And she could lie about there never being a letter in the first place when she got there, but that might cause problems down the road. Either way things would be humiliating and Amethyst Star didn’t want to be disgraced anymore. Sooo…

“I’m going to pretend that absolutely none of this ever happened,” she said to herself with a nod and hopped off the tree, swimming south.

Amethyst Star headed for the southern edge of the swamp, there she could simply travel around the whole thing like she definitely absolutely should’ve done in the first place. Yes, that was the correct course of action. She was sure things would be fine here. I mean it couldn’t be a big deal if the map never brought anyone here before in the first place, right? And did these ponies really deserve her good will after they had treated her so horribly. Really they should be thanking her for even trying. They can just go back to being jerks to each other. It’s not like what she had done could possibly make things worse. This place didn’t count as a real adventure to her, and she totally didn’t fail a quest. There were definitely still plenty of real adventures out there waiting for her.

She continued to repeatedly tell herself all that with a blank expression on her face and an empty thousand-yard stare in her eyes as she swam out of the swamp to drown out all of the negative thoughts in her head.

Amethyst Star and the Bocce Champ II

After sleeping on a bench that sat on the side of one the village’s streets, Amethyst Star was not very relaxed or comfortable. The soreness she was hoping to remove with a nice night in a bed was even worse and her mood was doubly foul thanks to the cause of it all. How could her trip to such a nice and friendly village be ruined by one big jerk? She shouldn’t let it get to her. She should just move on and try to enjoy the rest of the day here. Amethyst Star could go watch that Bocce tournament or whatever and spend the whole time rooting against that guy. Sounded like a fun enough way to spend the day.

“You’re lying on my bench.”

Amethyst Star’s eyes snapped open and she looked up to see the Bocce champ staring down at her. “What?”

“This is my bench. It is part of my daily routine to come relax on it every morning. Remove yourself,” he told her.

“Excuse me?! After what you pulled yesterday now you’re doing this?” Her eye was twitching something fierce as she sat up on the bench.

He was smirking at her but her words caused him to raise a questioning eyebrow. “Pardon? I don’t believe we’ve met.”

Amethyst Star sputtered, completely disbelieving. Was he telling the truth? Was it even possible for a pony to be that self-absorbed? “Are you kidding me? We met last evening, you forced me out on the street practically when you took those rooms for your minstrels or whatever!”

“Hmm,” he thoughtfully searched his eyes. “I vaguely recall something like that but I’m not in the business of bothering with the concerns of others. Anyways, this is still my bench.” His horn glowed and Amethyst Star felt herself lifted off the bench and deposited on the ground, the champ then jumped up on it right after and spread himself out so he took up the entire thing. “Clearly you don’t know how things work here. The champ gets what he wants. If you have a problem with that I suggest learning Bocce and then practicing for one hundred years so you have a chance at beating me, hahahaha!”

He laughed as Amethyst Star growled at him, grinding her teeth together and desperately holding herself back from starting a fight. That’s not the kind of thing a good hero would do, even if this pony totally deserved it.

“Fine! Learn Bocce huh? Thanks for the advice!” She nearly spat on the ground as she turned away, absolutely outraged by his behavior.

As Amethyst Star seethed walking down the cobblestone streets of the town her mind racked itself on how she could teach that obnoxious pony a lesson. She didn’t know what Bocce was. So first she had to learn Bocce. She knew that this tournament was played with teams. So she had to find a team to attach herself to. And then she had to beat that smug jerk into the ground at his own game. It was gonna be tough but she was sure she could do it, what was this compared to fighting a monster or solving a generations-long feud?

The fact that she failed at both of those things too was irrelevant.

The problem was if she could somehow even get a way into this tournament on the very day it started. She didn’t even know how to begin at that so the best she could do was try to find someone who did or someplace that looked like it was associated with the Bocce tournament.

She was grumbling to herself something fierce when she rounded a corner and ran right into another pony.

“Oof!” Amethyst Star grunted as she fell to the ground.

“I’m sorry, I—oh, hello again.”

Amethyst Star looked up to see some familiar bright green eyes. Instead of apologizing herself like she should have done, Amethyst Star jumped up and shoved her face right into the stallion’s. “Tell me how to play Bocce!”

He backed up with a weirded out look on his face. “Uh, what?”

“You were going to tell me what Bocce was before that jerk interrupted us, what is it?” She asked again.

“Did something happen?”

“Yes!” Amethyst Star screeched. “That “champ” is a colossal jerk! I want to teach him a lesson by beating him at Bocce in the tournament today, I want to show him that you shouldn’t be a rude, selfish, jerk like that to everyone just because you can!”

“Well I definitely understand that,” the stallion gave her a bit of an awkward smile. “But beating him is probably going to be impossible for a beginner like you, even if you didn’t already need to be on a team to participate.”

“Ugh, I know, I know, but I really want to beat that guy! He said he was about to make history with ten straight wins. Wouldn’t it be perfect to ruin that for him and then make him have to go through what he does to everyone else here?” Amethyst Star said.

The stallion hummed to himself as he mulled her words over. “You do make quite a good point...” A grin appeared on his face. “I suppose this might be a bit of good fortune for the both of us then. What’s your name?”

“It’s Amethyst Star.”

“Pleased to meet you, Amethyst Star. My name is Lorn. Would you like me to introduce you to my Bocce team?”

Amethyst Star’s eyes widened in surprise. “You play Bocce too?”

Lorn chuckled. “I happen to be team captain actually. You should come to my store, my teammates are always hanging around in there.”

“I-I will!” Amethyst Star couldn’t believe her luck.

“Great, come on then, if you really want to play in the tournament today and beat the champ we really can’t waste any time.”

Lorn led her down the road to his place, he told her on the way that the furniture store he owned also doubled as his house with his living space on the second floor. Amethyst Star was pretty excited right now, it was like her luck was actually turning around. Someone was actually taking her seriously! She was going to be a part of something and she got to overcome an opponent at the same time. As far as villains go the Bocce Champ certainly wasn’t a very serious one but Amethyst knew that Twilight and her friends dealt with all kinds of jerks and bullies in their lives and either stopped them or reformed them. Now she had the chance to do the same!

The furniture store was situated close to the field Amethyst Star had briefly looked at yesterday. Lorn told her that out on the grass there is where the Bocce tournament would be held. He specifically chose to live somewhere where an appropriate Bocce playing course was practically in his backyard. The front of his store had large glass windows that Amethyst could peer inside of to see what kind of furniture he sold but she wasn’t here to go shopping. He pulled open the door to his own store and a bell on top jingled but no one greeted the two of them, did he always leave the store unattended? Well, it was a small town so he probably had nothing to worry about.

“Hey, anybody else here?” Lorn called out as Amethyst Star followed him inside.

There wasn’t anybody in the front room of his store, Amethyst Star could plainly see that as she quickly glanced around at the various furniture sitting around them, but the sound of ponies moving came from a closed door that led to a back room that itself probably led to the stairs and anything else not for customers.

The door was opened up and two new ponies were standing in its frame with cheerful smiles on their faces. A long-horned unicorn mare with a snowy white mane tied in a long ponytail and a very deep blue coat stood next to a tall and broad-shouldered unicorn stallion with a brown buzzcut.

“Lorn! Welcome back!” The mare standing there said while the stallion next to her waved to the two of them.

“Hey Mavis, Balt,” Lorn waved back to the two of them. “I’ve got some good news.”

Amethyst Star and Lorn walked into the back room, like Amethyst had expected there were some stairs leading up to the second floor and also a table with four chairs placed around it with a counter and some cabinets to her left and another door on the far wall that led to an alley behind the building. Mavis and Balt both looked at her with curious expressions. Curious but still friendly, as Amethyst Star had already come to realize was the norm for this place.

“This is Amethyst Star,” Lorn said as they all took a seat at the table. “She’s going to join us for the Bocce tournament today.”

Both of the new ponies perked up in surprise at that.

“Really? I thought we were just gonna sit out this season,” Mavis tilted her head.

Now that was a surprise to Amethyst, she didn’t know they weren’t planning to play at all. “How come you weren’t going to play until you ran into me?” She asked Lorn.

“That’s because Bocce teams are teams of four,” Balt answered instead. “Our other friend came down with the flu last week and he’s still holed up in bed.” The big stallion shrugged. “There are tournaments every few months so we didn’t mind missing this one, not really. You can always just play a pick up game around here for recreation if you want. There’s more than enough ponies who play.”

“There are more than enough ponies who play but you didn’t want a substitute?” Amethyst Star raised an eyebrow.

Lorn nodded. “Most just play for fun in the first place, even if everyone takes the results of the tournaments very seriously, it’s just ingrained in the culture of the town. And there’s sort of an unwritten rule about hopping to another team if you’re already on one, for any reason. So that rules out most of the other serious players in town.” He shrugged too. “I didn’t really give any thought to missing this tournament until I bumped into you earlier.”

“What about her changed your mind?” Mavis asked.

“She happened to run afoul of our obnoxious current champion and brought up the good point that he was about to win the tournament for the tenth time in a row. So I’d really like to put a stop to that. And secondly she was really determined to play and beat him personally, but that would’ve been impossible without our help,” he said.

“Impossible?” Amethyst Star furrowed her brow. Her naive confidence and annoyance at being doubted temporarily flaring up.

“Teams of four remember?” Lorn smiled at her. “And the fact that normally the town wouldn’t let just anyone or any group join the tournament at literally the last minute. But our team has a bit of clout around here, we’re usuals and we always place. Never been able to beat the champ’s team but we’re liked a whole lot more for obvious reasons.”

“Oh, thanks then,” Amethyst Star blushed and sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. “I guess it would have been pretty embarrassing if I marched out to that field trying to get into the tournament only to be turned away.”

That sounded like something that would happen to her.

“We’ll head out in a second to notify the Bocce association,” Lorn said to her. “But first I think we should probably tell you what Bocce actually is and how it’s played.”

“Wait,” Balt raised a hoof. “She doesn’t even know how to play Bocce?”

Mavis sighed. “I figured as much, an out of towner unfamiliar with our rules and everything...”

“Ehehe...”Amethyst Star nervously chuckled. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine everyone, it’s not like Bocce is complicated or especially difficult for a first-timer. The rules are simple and even if you’re bad at it your teammates can carry you just fine,” Lorn optimistically said and then turned to Amethyst. “Alright, let me explain things. Like I said it’s pretty simple and all you really need is a good grasp of the rules to succeed.”

Amethyst Star nodded, “Okay, I’m all ears.”

Lorn clapped his hooves together. “Great! So the very first thing for you to know is that Bocce is a sport, some naysayers would say a game, played with balls on a “court”. The court is any flat rectangular area cleared of obstacles divided into three sections.” Lorn’s horn lit up and a drawer on the counter was pulled open and out floated a ball about the size of an apricot. “This is called the “Jack”. One team throws the Jack anywhere onto the court as long as it passes the line making the first section. Then, the same team that threw the Jack throws another larger ball and tries to roll it as closely to the Jack as possible. After that it’s the next team’s turn. Now, after those first two rolls whoever is furthest from the Jack rolls again until they’re closer than the opposing team’s ball. It’s possible, and happens fairly often, that a team will roll all their balls in a row without ever getting closer than that first one. But basically you just need to remember that you roll balls until you get one closer to the Jack than the other team. Each team gets eight balls total and each teammate rolls two.”

“Hence the teams of four specifically,” Mavis cut in.

“Right,” Amethyst Star nodded again, following along well enough so far.

“And now the way points are scored,” Lorn continued. “Naturally only the team that’s closest to the Jack will get any points for the round, they could get as low as one or as high as eight, it all depends on the other balls. You see, if the next closest ball is also your team’s then you get two points and so on like that. But once a ball from the opposing team is closer than one of yours that’s it. So you could have three balls closest to the Jack while the next closest one is your opponent’s. That would give you three points. It doesn’t matter if all the rest of your balls are closer than any of the other ones on the other team, because they have that one ball in the fourth position it negates the rest of your points. And you play rounds like that until one team gets to twenty-one points.”

Once Lorn had finished up, Amethyst Star stared at him for a second before tilting her head with a blank look on her face.

“That’s it?” She asked.

“That’s it.”

Amethyst Star looked at the other two in turn before returning to Lorn with a frown. “That’s kind of lame.”

Balt grumbled under his breath while Mavis sighed and rested her chin flat against the table. Lorn just grimaced.

“It’s a very fun sport that takes a deceptive amount of skill to excel at,” the green eyed stallion responded to Amethyst Star’s less than impressed view.

“Hey, more power to you if you like it. I’m just a little surprised it’s not something a little more intense considering how seriously you all take it. And considering how smug and arrogant that guy acts just because he’s won a few tournaments of it,” Amethyst Star shrugged. “You’d think he was putting life and limb on the line each time he plays a game.”

“Bocce is our culture here,” Balt gruffly said, obviously not the happiest with Amethyst’s reaction to their pastime either.

“It’s whatever, Balt. Don’t get too upset at her. I don’t blame someone for not being impressed with our sport from first appearances,” Mavis more glumly stated from her depressed looking spot. “Not everyone can be passionate about Bocce like us.”

“Sorry...” Amethyst Star did feel a little guilty now.

“Well regardless of how you feel about the sport you still really want to beat the champ and rub it in his face, right?” Lorn asked her.

Amethyst Star’s eyes narrowed and she enthusiastically nodded. “Yes. He deserves it.”

“There’s something we agree on at least,” Balt said.

“Yes, now that we’re all on the same page about that I want to go over a couple additional rules with you and then we can all have breakfast and head to the field. No good playing on an empty stomach,” Lorn smiled and patted his belly for emphasis, Mavis and Balt grinning in anticipation as well.

“More rules, huh?” Amethyst Star hoped she didn’t accidentally break any.

“These concern how you play and the strategy involved in the sport. Makes it more interesting than you might have first thought,” Lorn winked at her. “So you can throw the Jack anywhere on the court after the first line as long as it doesn’t go out of bounds, any point balls you throw can go anywhere except out of bounds too. But. If a ball is hit by another ball and goes out of bounds it’s still in play. As long as it didn’t go out of bounds on the initial throw it’s always in play. And there’s also no rule against hitting an opponent’s ball or the Jack.”

That got Amethyst Star’s attention, her eyebrows rising into her hairline. “So I can intentionally hit someone’s ball away from the Jack? Or hit the Jack itself to a better position for ours...” She smirked. “Heh, guess you’re right, that does make things a bit more fun.”

“Right?” Mavis said, looking more cheerful now.

“And that’s pretty much it,” Lorn shrugged with a smile on his face. “Anything else you can pick up as you go one. And honestly I don’t think you’ll have to do to much, the three of us are more than enough to beat most teams here. Now let’s have some pancakes!”

Amethyst Star was both happy and unhappy to hear that. She wanted to do something to prove that she could. If she just sat back and let these three carry her to victory what would be the point of this in the first place besides just beating some jerk? But the fact that they had never beaten his team before at least implied that they would need her help for him at least. So she was hopeful that she would get to contribute a whole lot more to these games than they thought. It wouldn’t be nearly enough to just sit back and be irrelevant in all their matches. This wasn’t much of an adventure but it was at least something and it would kind of work to prove she was sportier than anyone previously thought of her. Probably.

Lorn and Mavis made the pancakes together while Amethyst and Balt waited. Balt asked about where she came from and she was more than willing to regale him with stories of Ponyville. Stories that made her look particularly good but where was the harm in that? Once Lorn and Mavis finished all four of them had huge stacks of pancakes in front of them, enough to make Amethyst Star gulp.

“Do you really eat this much all the time?” She asked the others.

“Hey, can’t win a tournament on an empty stomach,” Lorn replied with a mouth stuffed full of pancake.

She had to admit that he had a point there, and like the rest Amethyst Star began to chow down, looking forward to beating that huge nincompoop Bocce champ later today. The pink and purple unicorn grinned as she stuffed her mouth, oh how much she would relish her victory.

Amethyst Star and the Bocce Champ III

The grassy field she had checked out yesterday was quite a bit different now as Amethyst Star and her “team” walked out onto it. Guesstimating as she was it was probably only twice as big as the field Ponyville held its Sisterhooves Social obstacle courses on, if that. Obviously Bocce wasn’t a sport that took up a lot of room. In fact there was quite a bit more space given to the crowd, rows of collapsible stands had been set up on the side of the field by the town for everyone to watch the tournament. She spotted only a few dozen ponies out on the field itself, other teams and officials most likely. And she also noticed that the field had been changed in some ways, the grass looked freshly cut. Immaculately so actually. So short and so perfectly even it looked unreal. Maybe they had a perfect grass trimming spell? She wouldn’t put it past them. And there were chalk lines that made up several rectangular courts that were new as well. It must’ve been all done last night or early this morning. She spotted four courts in total, so four games and eight teams at a time?

“How many teams are participating in this tournament?” She glanced at Lorn as they walked towards a large table placed on the far side of the courts from the stands.

“Looks like ten or twelve, and one more once we register,” he answered.

“So not everyone is going to be playing at once?”

He shook his head. “Nope, don’t have enough space. Every team will be stuck sitting on the sidelines and just watching at some point. Traditionally we separate into two brackets and do a double round-robin with all the teams in our bracket, then move to single elimination, and eventually the winners of the brackets face each other in the end.”

“Individual matches don’t take too much time but this will still likely be a long day,” Mavis said.

At the table Lorn was walking towards there were four ponies holding scoreboards at the ends and three more in the middle sitting around a bell all discussing something with each other. They seemed to be fussing over some piece of paper but Amethyst Star couldn’t tell exactly what it was. When Lorn approached them he coughed to get their attention, getting the three to look up at once.

“Lorn?” An elderly stallion with glasses in the middle said. “We thought you weren’t playing in this tournament.”

“Well some things changed, sorry for the last minute arrival, do you mind squeezing us in?” Lorn asked.

“It’s no problem, we couldn’t decide on the bracket anyways. Putting in one more team isn’t a problem,” Chaffey answered, Amethyst Star now recognizing her as one of the ponies at the table.

The elderly stallion who had first spoken looked behind Lorn at his teammates and Amethyst. “Where’s Conzo?”

“Sick still,” Lorn replied and put a hoof over Amethyst Star’s shoulders. “This is Amethyst Star, she’ll be filling in for us today.”

All the ponies at the table seemed surprised and Chaffey raised an eyebrow at her. “You’re from out of town. What made you want to participate in our tournament? Do they play Bocce wherever it is you come from?” The breadmaker asked.

Amethyst Star shook her head in the negative. “No, I just really want to beat that jerk champ you’ve got right now.”

“And there you have it,” Lorn grinned.

“Well nobody will blame you for that,” the elderly stallion rolled his eyes. “He gives a bad name to the entire town and sport of Bocce. I hope you four will be able to knock him down a peg this season...”

As if on cue loud music suddenly began blaring on the field. All the heads around the table were turned to see the Bocce champ striding forward to the middle of the courts, proudly holding his head high up to the sky. The champ was wearing a golden cape while three ponies behind him were wearing smaller red ones. Amethyst Star assumed those three were his teammates. And behind them were the minstrels that the champ had hired and forced her out of her hotel room with, playing a loud arrangement of fiddles, flutes, drums, lyres, and ocarinas. Was this some sort of king’s progression? It certainly looked like it. Once they made it to the middle of the field, the champ lowered his head and grinned at the audience and the other gathered teams.

“My, my, what a lovely day it is to win my tenth tournament in a row! I’m glad so many came out to watch my impending victory. And so many opponents have gathered to make my victory even greater, hahahahaha!” The champ’s loud laughter mocked the others on the field.

Amethyst Star’s eye twitched as she watched him. It’s like the guy was the antithesis to this town.

“Try not to let him get to you,” Balt said as he came up beside her. “That guy thrives on stuff like this. If you get angry you’re just falling into his trap.”

“I can’t help it. Just look at him,” Amethyst Star responded, watching as the champ had his teammates disrobe him instead of bothering to take the cape of himself.

“Yeahhh...” Balt could only frown and scratch his head.

“Forget about that for now. Just relax until the brackets are posted and the matches begin. We’re on the roster and with any luck we won’t be playing the champ’s team early so Amethyst can at least get a little practice in,” Lorn said.

“Alright...” Amethyst Star wasn’t totally satisfied but she went along with Lorn and the others to the sidelines now that he had finished up talking with the officiators. She couldn’t stop watching the champ and his weird antics though. He had his minstrels set up next to the stands while his team stretched and got ready for their first match too. The champ wasn’t stretching though, some mare was combing and brushing his mane and applying makeup to him. It was so odd compared to everything else going on she half-suspected he was doing it just because it would garner this kind of reaction. The other half of her though thought he really was such a dandy that he thinks nothing of it at all. “I am going to ruin that makeup.” Amethyst Star darkly said to herself

Lorn had them all gather up by the side of the courts away from the stands. Here they could rest and strategize for a while since the matches wouldn’t begin for at least another thirty minutes according to Mavis. And it was far away from where the champ was currently dining on an eggplant steak while seated at a red velvet curtained table that some supporters of his had dragged out onto the field. Amethyst Star forced herself to tear her gaze away from that as she joined her teammates in stretching. She was not exactly in the best shape, or the most limber or flexible pony in general, but minor stretches were no problem for her. It was a far cry from some of the other things she had to do on this trip.

When they were done stretching, Lorn had the three of them sit and face him.

“Here’s how our lineup is going to be,” Lorn said. “Balt, you’ll roll first. Then you, Amethyst Star, you’ll be our second roller. Then Mavis, and last will be me. Any questions?”

Amethyst Star raised a hoof. “Uh, yeah. Are positions actually important?”

“Quite so,” Lorn nodded with the same kind of enthusiastic smile any pony has when they’re given the opportunity to talk about something they love. “You generally want someone consistent to be your first roller, then have your weakest member in the second spot, then your two best rollers in the third and fourth spots.”

Amethyst Star flatly stared at him as he pretty much just called her their worst player. Not like she could argue but that was still rather direct. “Uh huh.”

“The reason for all that is that you want someone who can roll close to the ball at the start, to potentially make it difficult for the opposing team, while still leaving your strong rollers at the end to knock away other balls and make more difficult shots if needed. The number two spot meanwhile simply has the lowest possibility to do damage,” Mavis explained. “We know you’re going to try your best and we don’t mean anything by it, but you want to win don’t you?”

The newbie Bocce player sighed. “Yeah...”

“Sorry,” Mavis apologetically smiled. “I’m sure you’ll still get plenty of chances to show your stuff.”

“Potentially all of this could be meaningless depending on how the other team rolls anyways,” Balt said. “It could be that all four of us roll before even their first roller is finished. That just happens sometimes.” He shrugged. “I’ll do my best to make sure you’re not in a troublesome position or anything though.”

“Thanks. I mean, I want to do a lot more but I guess that’s probably unrealistic,” Amethyst Star shrugged. “I’ll try my best too to not mess anything up.”

A loud ringing came out over the field and everyone turned to look at the officiator’s table. Chaffey had a smile on her face as she rung the bell to get everyone’s attention. Even the champ had his cohorts remove the table he had been eating at and all of the teams gathered themselves up and walked to stand in front of the large table. The elderly stallion that Amethyst hadn’t gotten the name of put up an easel with a large board on it on the table, showing the two brackets and the schedule for the tournament.

It then occurred to Amethyst that she had no idea what any of the teams’ names were. Including her own.

“Great, we’re not in the same bracket as the champ. That means we won’t have to face him until the finals,” Lorn said.

“Lucky for us, Amethyst can get in a lot of practice, the other teams in our bracket should be easy pickings,” Mavis grinned.

Made enough sense to Amethyst Star.

“We’ve got a match right off the bat too so no sitting around for us, come on!” Lorn enthusiastically said and whisked Amethyst Star away to the court they’d be playing on.

Their opponents didn’t look like anything special. But then again neither did anyone else aside from the champ. It was a team of four stallions who looked so similar they must have been brothers or cousins, their brown coats and black manes practically blending together in her eyes. Like everyone else in this town though they were friendly and polite, waving to Amethyst Star and her teammates. She wondered if the champ’s teammates would be snooty like him or not.

“Hi Lorn, thought you weren’t playing today cause of Conzo?”

While Amethyst Star’s head was in the clouds one of the opposing player’s had walked up to them to say hello.

“Things changed,” Lorn shrugged. “And if not us then who else is gonna stop that jerk from winning ten in a row?”

“You saying we couldn’t beat him?” The stallion smirked. “But yeah, yuck, that’d be awful if that guy actually did win ten in a row.” He turned around and waved goodbye as he headed back to his team. “Good luck!”

“Good luck!” Lorn, Mavis, and Balt all said to him.

After that it was time to begin. All the teams that were playing a match this round got assembled at their courts while referees came by carrying cases that held all the balls they would be using. When the eight for her team were deposited at their hooves, Amethyst Star grasped one to get a feel for it. It was heavier than she expected, kind of like a small bowling ball. She wouldn’t have any trouble rolling it though, that was for sure. Her team was given green ones to roll while their opponent had red. One referee each stayed by the courts with a whistle and a measuring tape (Balt explained that naturally sometimes the distance between balls was too close to tell just by your eyes) to watch over the match and keep score.

Amethyst Star’s team shook hooves with their opponents and after a coin toss it was decided that the other stallions would roll the Jack first.

Their first roller came up and threw the Jack a bit over halfway down the court and then rolled his first ball towards it. The coconut sized red ball came to an easy stop about two inches away and to the right of the Jack. From what Amethyst Star saw as she watched, the balls rolled very easily with just a small amount of force, so she didn’t want to throw them too hard, it would be better for her to let their own momentum do the work.

The stallion who had just rolled smirked at Balt. “Your turn.”

Balt snorted and went to stand at the court’s line. “Yeah, yeah, at least make it difficult for me before you get all smug.”

His confidence proved to be rightly placed. Balt easily rolled his first ball to the Jack, actually making it curve slightly so it ended up behind the Jack and about an inch closer than the first stallion’s ball. Balt smirked back to the other stallion and moved aside, letting the other team get into position to roll again. It took two more balls before they had prime position again, the second stallion on their team hit both the Jack and Balt’s ball when he rolled, knocking them to another part of the court where one of their red balls was closer. After that Balt rolled his second ball and got into the closest position again since he could actually plan out exactly where he wanted to roll and wasn’t just blindly knocking other ones away.

But this time the other stallion rolled well and managed to get so close to the Jack and Balt’s ball that the ref had to come out with the measuring tape. After a second it was decided that the red team was closer and now it was Amethyst Star’s turn to roll.

“Okay,” she breathed in and out to calm herself before picking up one of the green balls and walking to the line.

“Don’t worry, you can just use this to get some practice. Get a feel for the ball, its weight, and how it rolls,” Lorn reassured her.

“Thanks,” Amethyst Star kept her eyes down-court on the Jack and the various other balls around it. She wondered if the team they were playing thought they had it easy now cause she was a total newbie. Probably, even though they were obviously too polite to say anything. Well Amethyst Star didn’t like being underestimated or taken for granted. That may have just been her biggest pet peeve that led to this whole adventure in the first place. “Hup!” With a grunt she rolled her first ball onto the grassy court, it bounced lightly and sped towards the Jack at a higher speed than she intended.

She and everyone else watched as it rolled right past the Jack and other balls, heading off the court.

“Dang,” Amethyst Star frowned.

“No problem, you’ve got one more, that was fine for your first shot!” Mavis told her and smiled.

It was nice to have some honest encouragement and know her teammates weren’t going to get upset with her or anything. But she still didn’t like letting down herself. That was the most important thing. If she didn’t do at least a little in this tournament it wouldn’t feel like a win to the mare trying to prove herself.

Unfortunately her next ball also didn’t get anywhere, this one she tried to see if she could use to knock one of the red ones away but she missed entirely again. Amethyst Star grit her teeth and growled under her breath, moving aside to let Mavis take her shots.

“Don’t feel bad,” Lorn patted her back to try and make her feel better.

Amethyst Star sighed. “I guess I hope we have enough rounds and matches so I can at least score one point today...”

Their first match continued much the same way through the various rounds they played. Sometimes their team would get the points, other rounds the other team would score. Throughout it all Amethyst Star now simply tried her best to improve and be of some use to her teammates. But in the end it mostly came down to Mavis and Lorn getting all the points.

When the score was 15-10 in their favor the sudden booming laughter that was all too familiar rang out over the courts.

“Hahahahaha! An easy win for the champ! One step closer to ten straight tournament victories!” The champ was celebrating with his teammates after they just got done crushing their opponents, making all the rest of the players grumble in annoyance at his loud behavior and lack of sportsmanship.

“I really don’t like that guy...” Amethyst Star grumbled.

In two more rounds of their own, Amethyst Star’s team grasped victory in their first match of the tournament. Moving up a space in the bracket and getting closer to Amethyst’s goal of beating the reigning champ. She celebrated with the others even though she personally didn’t have much to celebrate at all. Together they watched the other teams that were still playing finish up, and did their best to ignore the champ’s team that was enjoying a wine tasting session in-between matches. Unluckily for Amethyst Star they weren’t going to be playing immediately again so she’d have to wait a while before she got some more practice with the balls, but it did allow her to completely focus on how some of the opposing players played. Including the champ.

He always goes last… She realized as she and her teammates watched his game. Although she didn’t really know the intricacies of the game and how to roll she could tell that he was a confident and precise player just by comparing him to how Lorn and the others played.

And he won his second match even faster than the first, bragging about how easy of a time he was having through it all. So naturally his team was finished up first again and they briefly retired from the field to go do some other annoying thing, Amethyst was sure. She tried to take Balt’s advice and just ignore him for now, instead focusing on who else was left playing, especially those in her bracket. It honestly didn’t make for a great spectator sport though and she didn’t understand how the ponies of this village could sit in those stands and be so enthralled. They even cheered sometimes. Maybe they’d feel the same way about Buckball?

Loud music cut off her thoughts and she glanced over to see the champ’s minstrels starting up a song. At least it fit the festivities.

When it was time for the next round of matches to begin, Amethyst Star got up with her teammates and went to their designated court. It was an easier game than their first one but Amethyst Star still didn’t really get to do much. She never got to do much and she couldn’t tell if she was getting any better or not. The pink and purple unicorn may as well have been a bystander on her own team the way this was going.

On her most recent roll she knocked a ball away from the Jack but her own careened in a different direction as well, not netting her team any points or a better spot. She bit her lip in response and tried thinking of how she could make better rolls in such a short period of time or at least convince Lorn to give her a more important position.

I want to go last so I can face off against that jerk! It was a selfish thought and she knew it but Amethyst Star didn’t care.

The rest of the tournament proceeded the same way with Lorn, Mavis, and Balt doing their thing and the team moving up in the bracket every round. The champ and his team unsurprisingly were doing the same in their bracket and the crowd was joined by defeated teams that watched the survivors with rapt attention. Amethyst Star continually tested the best way to roll a ball and how to curve it and decide how to aim it the right way to bounce other balls effectively. She knew that with the right trajectory you could make the ball ricochet just the way you wanted it to but actually knowing how to do that and execute on it was a far more difficult matter for the mare.

But after hours of Bocce and getting carried by her teammates Amethyst Star finally ended up in the finals facing off against one of the most obnoxious ponies she had ever met.

And she had to be the one facing him directly.

“Please, please, please, please change the lineup for this match so I can go last!” Amethyst Star was begging Lorn with her hooves clasped in front of her as she kneeled on the ground.

Since she was doing this in the middle of the field everyone else got a front row seat to it too, making Lorn rather embarrassed. “Amethyst I know you want to participate more directly and have more impact on the game but against an opponent this good that’s really not a good idea. We’ve been doing it like this because beating him was the most important thing, right?” He tried to reason with her, partially just so she’d get up and everyone else would stop looking.

“But I haven’t done anything, it would feel like I didn’t contribute at all to taking down that jerk! It’s important to me to show him up,” Amethyst Star pleaded.

"You’ve been improving but are you really okay with throwing away all the effort we’ve put in to stop him from winning ten in a row?” Lorn asked.

Amethyst Star said boo to that. “Oh come on! You don’t know that would happen for sure! You’re just naturally assuming that I’m gonna lose to him or screw things up?”

“I wouldn’t say screw things up but you can hardly even call yourself a beginner and he’s the best roller around,” Lorn said.

“Also you don’t really care about Bocce,” Mavis cut in. “Winning a tournament is really important for all of us too.”

Balt nodded in agreement.

She got a little red in the face knowing they were all against her but she didn’t really have the right to get angry. First off they were right. And secondly they were really right. They were the ones helping her in the first place by letting her on the team so she could even participate in the tournament at all. And she fully understood that if it wasn’t for them or if the game was just a one versus one kind of thing she wouldn’t have been able to touch the champ. Amethyst Star should be grateful to them and do her best in the second position so her team would have the best opportunity to take the champ down.

Instead the pink and purple unicorn hopped up to her hooves...

“But you wouldn’t even have joined this tournament today if it wasn’t for me! Don’t you owe me at least a little bit?” Amethyst Star was not especially gracious.

It was clear that her shameless whining to get her way was bothering the three of them. Mavis awkwardly shuffled about with a grimace on her face while Balt just tried to ignore her and look away, Lorn was the one forced to deal with her and make the final decision. Something he did not relish. Amethyst Star locked eyes with his bright green ones and did her best at silently pleading to him.

With a heavy sigh, Lorn finally gave up. “Alright, fine. We’ll put you in the last spot.”

“Thank you!” Amethyst Star hugged him and then quickly pushed him aside and trotted over to the Bocce champ with a frenzied grin on her face. “Hah! I am going to beat you so badly!” She stuck her hoof out at him.

The champ raised a nonplussed eyebrow. “Do I know you?”

Amethyst Star nearly blew a gasket. “You cannot be serious right now! You just kicked me off your bench earlier this morning you jerk!” Her eye was twitching and a vein was popping out of he neck.

“Doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Gahhh!” Amethyst Star screamed and stomped off back to her team.

“That’s just how he is,” Lorn tried to assuage her.

Since this was the championship match the officiators moved their table up to the edge of the court being played on and all of the other teams and unneeded referees were standing around and watching too. The champ had his minstrels at one end of the court with the instructions to begin playing the moment he won and the rest of the crowd was relatively quiet too as they waited for the match to begin, only some ponies were muttering and whispering to each other up on the stands. Amethyst Star had to think all of them wanted the current champ to lose.

The coin flip for the first round of rolling was won by Amethyst Star’s team this time and Balt rolled the Jack almost all the way to the far end of the court. It was part of his strategy, throwing it there made it more likely for anyone who overshot it to roll their ball out of bounds. Although at this high level of play there was probably only one pony playing right now that would do something like that.

Balt’s first point roll was completely perfect though, his green ball came to a stop directly in front of the Jack, the only way for the champ’s team to get closer would be to first hit Balt’s ball and that would just as likely make your ball careen away as well. Amethyst Star surprisingly found herself sweating in anticipation as the champ’s first roller came up. Was she really this nervous? Did she actually care about Bocce this much?

As the first round went on and on it only then occurred to Amethyst Star that she had originally intended to relax and do nothing here for a day or two.

When it was her turn the enemy team had one ball closest to the Jack but the rest nearest to it were her teams’. If she could just knock that one ball away it could set up an early lead for them. She wiped her brow clean of sweat and stood at the line, focusing hard on her ball and the Jack. The unicorn had had a lot of practice now at this point and she was at least confident in her ability to make the ball roll near the Jack.

Her first roll went wide. She didn’t need to look back to know the champ was sneering at her.

Her second one made up for it though, she was able to hit the enemy ball that was closest to the Jack and made it go spinning away while her own was slowed down by the hit and came to rest close to the Jack. Now her team was in position to score a few points.

The champ was up next though. With an easy grin he sauntered up to the line and yawned, lazily tossing his first ball onto the court as if not thinking about it at all. But that ball still ended up hitting Amethyst’s ball away and then the second from the champ rested flush up against the Jack after a perfect roll. One point for the champ’s team.

Only one though, thanks to Amethyst and her teammates outperforming the rest of the champ’s team.

I can do this. Amethyst grinned.

The next round went even better for them and they scored some points of their own. The fact that they won even a single round against the champ sent murmurs through the crowd, although it couldn’t have been the first time, they must’ve been especially excited because it was the championship match. Maybe they dared to hope that their obnoxious champ could be deposed.

“This is actually going well so far,” Balt said. “I don’t want us to get ahead of ourselves but do you think we can do this?”

“It would be great to take that jerk down,” Mavis gleefully rubbed her front hooves together.

“Let’s keep our mind on the game, guys,” Lorn said but then quickly smiled. “Although it would certainly be perfect to beat him like this, with Amethyst here it’s gonna hurt him even more.”

“And because I’m the one facing him at the end,” Amethyst Star smugly stated.

“Yeah,” Lorn rolled his eyes.

That’s how the championship match went; a close, back and forth, affair that saw each team trying their hardest and Amethyst Star actually not playing completely terribly. If the champ was worried though he never showed it, it irked Amethyst Star that he kept grinning and laughing the entire match while she was focusing extremely hard on every one of her rolls. The crowd at this point had become completely silent, not wanting to ruin any moments with cheers, all of them patiently watching. Completely enraptured by the match. It wasn’t the adventure that she wanted but Amethyst Star finally really felt proud of herself, it was like her confidence and belief in herself was being justified with every point scored. They could do this. They were going to win. She was going to win and she’d have a reward, even if it wasn’t physical, to carry back to Ponyville.

When the final round came it was 20 to 20. Just like the rest of the match it was neck and neck but Amethyst Star’s team had the slightest advantage, two point balls from Lorn were the closest to the Jack and the champ was the only one left on his team who could roll. Both the champ and Amethyst Star had a single ball left

“Oh my, if I wasn’t me I would actually be worried,” the champ mockingly said as he stood up to the line. “Watch this everyone. I’m going to expertly ricochet my ball off of Lorn’s first and send it sideways into Lorn’s other ball, knocking them both away while mine comes to lay perfectly still next to the Jack.”

Without a second more of preparation he rolled his ball down the court, just as he predicted it smashed into Lorn’s first and then went spinning… slightly off-center to his second where it barely nudged it and came to rest less than an inch farther away from the Jack. But that minute distance was all that was needed.

“Oops,” the Bocce champ said as his smirk finally fell off his face.

Lorn, Mavis, and Balt jumped up in joy and clapped their hooves together. “Yes!” They all said in unison.

The crowd finally erupted too, with no more balls left for one team the round and match was essentially over and that obnoxious jerk had lost! Amethyst Star could literally just drop her last ball onto the court and call that her “roll” and put an end to it.

That’s not what she did.

No way, it’s not good enough unless I’m the one who puts him in his place. She thought. He can’t beat himself, he has to lose to me after all the disrespect he’s shown me! What kind of ending is this where he screws up because of not taking things seriously enough?! No way, I’m gonna show him and everyone else here that even if he made his shot I’d still beat him!

Amethyst Star scowled as she stepped up to the line, aiming her ball right at the one the champ had just thrown.

Seeing the look on her face, Lorn frowned. “Uh, Amethyst? You can just-”

She flat out ignored him and threw her ball full speed down the court. “Take that, champ!” She cried out with a grin as her ball blindingly rolled across the grass.

The whole crowd and all the other players watched with wide eyes and open mouths at her reckless play. But Amethyst Star didn’t care, they would still be happy and cheering when her ball knocked away the champ’s and they beat his team anyways. Lorn, Mavis, and Balt would pick her up off the ground and start throwing her in the air in celebration, immensely grateful for her giving them the opportunity to beat the champ. This town wouldn’t be ruined by a huge jerk anymore and everyone would thank Amethyst Star. She could already see it.

Her ball smacked into Lorn’s and sent them both flying away from the Jack.

Leaving the champ’s last ball as the closest.

Amethyst Star stood there as still as a statue for a moment, no one else made a sound… until the traveling minstrels realized their employer had just won and started up a loud celebratory tune. All at once the entire spectating audience groaned in disbelief and despair at what had just happened. So close! It should’ve been over!

“Hahahaha! Ten tournaments in a row! As expected of me, yet another easy victory!” The champ shouted out in glee from behind Amethyst Star as his teammates started throwing him into the air and carrying him over to the minstrels where they could celebrate some more.

Amethyst Star gulped and turned to face her teammates, who were all looking at her with faces of supreme shock, disappointment, and betrayal.

“I’ll um… eheh,” Amethyst Star nervously chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck while she began to sweat some more. “I’ll uh, see myself away… was a fun vacation, nice town you’ve got...” And without waiting for a response the wandering unicorn turned tail and ran. Time to push this latest failure out of her head and ignore any lessons that might be good to learn.

Author's Note

Things are going to start to get a little different from here on out for Amethyst Star. There are scary things in Equestria and even scarier things outside of it. And Amethyst Star isn't prepared for anything.

Amethyst Star and the River

After walking through the jungle for the previous couple of days, Amethyst Star could now hear the sound of rushing water. It was a loud rumble that was quite unmistakable even to her unworldly ears. She was still going dead west and the sound only got louder with each step she took even though the thickness of the foliage kept her from seeing anything at the moment. She just hoped the river wouldn’t be too wild and she could take a dip in it for a second. Her coat and mane were both matted and sweaty after all the time she’d been in this jungle. At the very least she planned to take a short break and plop right down on the riverbank regardless of how everything else was.

Her recent failures did not weigh heavily on her mind because she was doing her hardest to ignore them.

The Undiscovered West was a big place, there was still plenty for her to do and see out here, still plenty of new chances and adventures for her. It was simply logical considering all the little things she had been through and seen already. She may not have had a map of this part of the world but she knew she had barely explored it so far. And until she hit the edge of the world or somehow ended up walking all the way around it she was going to keep traveling west in search of her goal.

She paused for a second and opened up her saddlebag, pulling her canteen out and downing the last quarter of it all in one gulp since she knew she’d be able to refill it in a second anyways. The unicorn also pulled out her compass to make sure she was going the right direction but the needle on the metal tool was spinning around unrestrained and Amethyst Star had no idea what that meant or how to fix it.

With a shrug she tucked the presently useless compass back into her bag and leaned up against a tree. She could still tell the general direction she was going in thanks to the sun but the compass made her feel like a real explorer when she used it. As she looked up she couldn’t really see the sun very well through all the trees right now anyways, she was pretty sure it was noon and that was about it. Maybe when she got to a clearing or out of this jungle entirely she could wait around an hour and see where the sun went to reorient herself.

That river wasn’t getting any closer with her just sitting here though. Amethyst Star got up from her relaxed position against the tree and kept walking in the direction of that sound. Things had been quiet for her the past couple of days, the river might not have been new ponies or a new adventure but it was at least something different from trees, dirt, and more trees.

Stomping through the last bits of greenery, Amethyst Star pushed apart the big leafy fronds of an enormous fern to emerge by the edge of a raging river.

And raging was a more than apt term indeed.

The sound of it from inside the jungle didn’t prepare her at all for what she saw now. The river wasn’t particularity wide, fifty feet maybe, but all across and all the way up and down she could see it was nothing but a chaotic tumbling mass of rapids shooting downstream with enough force that it looked like a boulder would be carried along with the water if you dropped it in. Taking a dip would have to wait for a calmer body of water, if she put even one hoof in there without being careful she was liable to be dragged away by the powerful current.

Amethyst Star pulled out her canteen from her bag again and levitated it with her magic to the water, unscrewing the lid and lightly dipping it in just enough for it to break the surface and get filled up. Even just like this she could feel the river strongly tugging on her magic, trying to take the canteen away. The floral print canteen was filled up in an instant and she pulled it up before she could lose it. Screwing the lid back on she put it away again and frowned at the imposing river in front of her.

“This may be a bad idea.”

She got up as close as she could to the water’s edge without getting in, crossing the river was a must if she wanted to keep going this direction and she somehow doubted there would be any bridges if she just searched up or downstream for a little while. Amethyst Star was confident in her swimming ability but this was a little much, even she could see that. It annoyed her thinking about it though. If she was better at magic, like a certain someone or two, she could teleport or levitate herself across. Maybe if she tried swimming across the river she could use her magic to steady her body or block against the oncoming deluge? Was she strong enough for that? Probably not.

“Hold on… this is just another trial for me. Like that dumb hill. If I give up here or start thinking I can’t even cross a river then it’s like admitting I’m not fit to go on an adventure,” Amethyst Star reasoned to herself. “Yeah, that’s it. No way I’m gonna be scared off by a river. I know there are plenty of ponies tough enough to get through this thing and I can do it too!”

The unicorn stepped forward and slowly pushed herself into the water, the raging rapids already lapping up against her legs after the first two steps. She adjusted the strap on her bag so it rested on her back but if the thing got wet then oh well, she’d just have to deal with it. With another step she was up to her neck and the water slamming into her side threatened to push her downstream like a rag doll.

“This is nothing!” Amethyst Star yelled and finally took the last step needed for her hooves to no longer reach the ground.

Instantly she lurched downstream, nearly being pulled under by the current. Surprisingly though she managed to keep her wits about her and her head above water. Lighting up her horn she tried to anchor her hooves to the ground with magic but it didn’t really do anything. Simple telekinesis was all she had so her next bet was trying to push the water away from her and divert some of the flow of the raging river around her. It would’ve created a nice little pocket for her where she wouldn’t have been buffeted by the water nearly as hard but again, Amethyst Star simply didn’t have the raw power necessary to succeed and the water broke past her magic, the strong current continuing to carry her downstream.

“Bleugh!” Amethyst Star coughed out as she went through a rough rapid and ended up dunked for a moment. Now she had fully lost control of herself and was being carried away. “S-Still nothing!”

Wave after wave crashed over her wet head now, her mane was soaked, her bag was soaked, and the river was going so fast and she kept tumbling end over end in it that she couldn’t think straight anymore. It was so disorientating that the only thing she could do was fight to keep her head above the surface and not accidentally take a big gulp of water. Thoughts of making it to the other side vanished from her for now, replaced by thoughts of not drowning.

Her hooves paddled about uselessly underneath her and in a last ditch effort she attempted a minor version of what she had done before, pushing the water away and diverting it, but just focused around her head instead of her entire body this time.

It worked better than her previous endeavor. Not saying much but it did allow her to keep her head above water again.

“Okay, see? I can totally beat any dumb river!” She shouted to herself more than anything.

Even with the fear of drowning temporarily abated though the fact was she was still being effortlessly carried downstream and there wasn’t really anything she could do about it. Changes in the riverbed and rocks in the river pulled her up and down and side to side with the water, just making her more tired. If this kept up for too much longer she’d get exhausted and that would be pretty problematic. Amethyst Star grit her teeth as this realization occurred to her, she didn’t want to take anything like that sitting down, just waiting until she ran out of energy was no good to her. Even if she couldn’t do anything she’d at least fight until she couldn’t fight anymore.

Amethyst Star started swimming against the current, trying to push herself closer to the other side of the river. “I am so sick and tired of ponies thinking I can’t do anything, or that I can’t do it just as good as anyone else! Well I can! And this water’s cold!”

Racking her brain to come up with something that could get her out of this situation, Amethyst Star actually came up with something fairly clever. Using her magic she encased her own tail in an aura to stiffen it and started waving it like a flipper to propel herself in the water. Paddling with her legs at the same time she started making a small amount of progress even as the river kept carrying her downstream.

“Hah! Take that, world! Sea Swirl, Berry Punch, I bet you’d be impressed right now too!” Amethyst Star grinned as she swam along.

The only problem was she still didn’t have the greatest magical capacity for a unicorn and her little maneuver was starting to exhaust her power. The strength of the river and rapids was adding to that too and she could feel her horn flickering. In the end, while she might have had the will and even the determination, she didn’t have the body. As she had learned plenty of times on her adventure so far, she wasn’t exactly prepared for what she was doing and didn’t have the ability to overcome every (or any) trial. As much as she wanted to prove differently it seemed she couldn’t completely overcome this river.

Her horn went out and she was pulled faster downstream by the current, the strength fading from her body. With a groan she turned around and tried to at least aim herself downstream so she wasn’t fighting the current anymore, giving her more time to adjust and catch her breath.

That’s when she saw the rocks dead ahead.

“Oh,” Amethyst Star grimaced.

An instant later she smacked into them and the world went dark.

“That was some mighty fine angling you did there, Tackle,” a large earth pony in water-proof fishing overalls said to his friend as the other reeled Amethyst Star in on the end of his line, the hook caught around the strap of her saddlebag.

“Best angler on the river,” Tackle replied. “Hope she’s okay though.”

Once Tackle had her up close his companion grabbed her from the violent waters and laid her out on the ground. In a second she began coughing up water and blearily looking around, wondering where she was.

“Hey, take it easy there miss, we aint sure how long you were floating in that river for but it looks like you’ve swallowed a good deal of water,” Tackle said to her.

“You’re lucky we saw you. If the two of us weren’t here you’d have gone straight over the falls just a bit further downstream,” the one who pulled her out said.

Amethyst Star was pretty groggy but she managed to sit herself up. She rubbed her painfully throbbing forehead and took a few deep breaths, if only they had a towel or something too that would’ve been perfect. “Thank you...”

“What happened? You fall in somewhere upstream? Boat capsize?” Tackle asked.

She shook her head. “No, I uh… tried to swim across the river on my own.” She fought to keep from blushing in embarrassment.

The two fishers gawked at her and shared a disbelieving look with each other. Finally the one who had pulled her out of the water raised an admonishing eyebrow at her and asked the question he felt really needed to be asked. “You an idiot?”

Amethyst Star couldn’t conceal the scorn on her face. But it was mostly scorn towards herself.

“Yes.”

The Beaten Path

In the depths of a humid jungle, Amethyst Star wandered around looking for any signs of civilization. Well, it wasn’t “a” jungle. It was the same one she had been traveling through for a while now. Turned out the thing was a lot bigger than she ever expected. At least the part she was walking through now was more open, there were a lot of wide open dirt paths so she didn’t have to struggle over trees and bushes. But she hadn’t seen any other pony or any sort of pony-made objects in well over a day. She knew that other ponies weren’t a prerequisite for an adventure but they did usually mean more opportunities, and having someone to talk to would’ve been nice. The jungle was getting boring to her thanks to how long she’d been stuck in it so anything to break that monotony would be welcomed. It only took a single day for her to be tired of that swamp she traveled through and she’d been in here for far longer.

She should count herself lucky that at least she wasn’t accosted by anything like a Maulworf again. In fact there had been a distinct lack of danger on this adventure so far, unless it was danger she had brought on herself in the first place through poor decision making. But Amethyst Star kind of wanted there to be more danger. It wouldn’t be a very impressive adventure if she just walked around jungles and over hills the whole time she was out here. Even the competitions and conflicts she had been a part of so far lacked that kind of intensity.

Where was that sort of danger that comes to mind when one thinks of adventure?

If she had a little more self-awareness she’d remember how poorly that encounter with the Maulworf went and how she almost died. So she wouldn’t exactly be wishing for danger. Or at least not that much.

An acceptable amount of danger. Liiiike… some criminal trying to steal her bag? Yeah, that would work for her.

Pleased at first, Amethyst Star nodded to herself. She knew she could handle that. It wasn’t exactly the epic adventure kind of danger though. In fact it was the boring everyday kind of danger that wouldn’t make her look special or amazing at all when she defeated the criminal. Is that really how small town and normal her mind was? That when she was trying to think of what sort of danger she’d like to overcome on a quest she ends up coming up with something so shallow and ordinary? That pleasant feeling she had up and evaporated.

“Okay, forget all that. Give me something dangerous! There has to be something in this huge jungle, right?” She shouted up through the trees. “Monsters, natural disasters, evil wizards, something!”

There was no response aside from the rustling of leaves thanks to the light breeze working its way through the jungle.

“Pff, whatever,” Amethyst Star waved a dismissive hoof and kept on walking.

The dirt path she was on opened up into a crossroads, with paths heading off to each of the cardinal directions as far as she could tell and a big rock stuck in the middle of the paths. Her compass was still haywire unfortunately so she couldn’t see how straight and true they were. Either way it didn’t matter since she was going to keep heading west. She did pause for a second to look down each of the other paths to see if there was anything interesting but it all just looked like more forest in every direction. With a shrug she continued on, walking around the rock to the other side.

But as she passed the rock something about it grabbed her attention. She did a double-take, not sure if what she was seeing was real at first.

There was writing on the rock. Carvings actually. Stepping closer, Amethyst Star got a better look at what the rock said:

W. S. WAS HERE

M. V. WAS HERE

D. G. WAS HERE

“What is this?” Amethyst Star raised an eyebrow at the rock. “I guess some ponies have already been here...”

There was an obvious age difference between the three carvings, with the top one clearly the oldest and the bottom the newest. So whoever these three were they didn’t come to this rock at the same time. Whoever W. S. was they must’ve just felt like carving their name here and the other two decided to join in whenever they saw it. Looking down, Amethyst Star saw a sharp, knife-shaped rock on the ground, leaning up against the big one.

“They must have used this,” she said as she lifted it up with her magic.

She stared at it. Then back at the carved rock. Then back to knife.

Finally the unicorn shrugged. “Well if I couldn’t be the first here I guess I can still leave my mark too.” With the dagger rock and her magic Amethyst Star carved her initials and “was here” right under D. G.’s message. She had no idea who any of them were or how long ago they came here but she felt a kinship, misplaced or otherwise, with the other three ponies. They must have all been explorers or travelers too. It felt good to have a connection like this even if she would have preferred to have been the first out here.

She smiled and was about to head on when she noticed something else on the rock, at the very bottom of the face where the other carvings were, partially obscured by some grass and a lone rose, there was another message carved in much smaller letters. Amethyst Star had to lean down and squint to see what it said for sure:

BEWARE OF HARLEQUINS

“Huh?” Amethyst Star leaned back and scratched her head, wondering what the hay a Harlequin was. “Well, whatever.” She got over it and finished her walk around the rock, continuing on her westward path.

Amethyst Star whistled to herself as she trotted through the jungle at a quickened pace, her mood a bit more jovial ever since the rock even though she couldn’t really put into words why exactly she was feeling so good. She knew this path had to lead somewhere though and that made it a lot easier to continue on through here. Instead of thinking that the tread through the jungle was boring she was optimistic about what may lay ahead.

“Adventure could be right around the corner!” She happily mused.

The jungle wasn’t whim to her hopes though and the path merely stretch onward for now, it curved sharply up ahead too so she wouldn’t be going directly west if she stayed on it all the way. She didn’t see any more rocks with carvings on them or other paths that branched off, and the thick jungle just off the cleared path seemed to get even thicker since the crossroads. Looking into it was like looking into a solid green mass. Anyone would get lost in a second if they tried to make a shortcut through there. Thinking about it, there was probably a greater chance of adventure and danger if she got off the beaten path and started stumbling through the untamed jungle, right?

She shook her head. “No, I’d just get stuck somewhere, better just keep on the path.”

Buuut… one of the reasons she came out to the Undiscovered West was because she thought it was “undiscovered” after all. This promptly turned out to not be the case and that severely disappointed her since she wanted to be able to call herself the first pony who had been out here. Now at best she might be able to call herself the first Equestrian but even that seemed very unlikely.

If she did go off the path maybe she would be the first pony to find something special here in this jungle?

Because she was thinking about that while walking the unicorn wasn’t paying attention to her hooves and she promptly tripped over a rock.

“Ow! Really?” Amethyst Star yelped in pain as she fell to the ground. She rubbed her hoof and frowned, looking back at what she hit. “Stupid—rock? Huh?”

The object partially stuck in the ground was certainly made of stone like a rock but its sides were far too smooth to be natural for something lying out here. Amethyst Star got up and inspected it, from what she could see it was like a little triangular point sticking up out of the dirt that rose no higher than her hoof. Wanting to see more of what it was, Amethyst Star started digging at the dirt around the stone to excavate it. From what she could tell it looked like the smooth sides and top of the thing formed a square-like shape. Maybe it was a pillar that had fallen over ages ago? As she dug up a little more of it it was obvious that it was way too big for her to uncover completely. It was nearly as wide as she was long.

Getting tired of digging, Amethyst Star shook the dirt off her hooves and smiled. “Hah, knew there had to be something in this jungle. Wonder if there’s anything else like this around?”

She turned to head back down the path, searching from side to side as she walked to make sure nothing else escaped her. And those eyes of her just happened to spot something else partially hidden in the bushes off the path.

“Cool!” Amethyst Star trotted over, pushing her way partially into the bushes to check out her latest discovery.

It was the weathered statue of a roaring lion. Chipped, covered in moss and vines, but still in good enough condition that Amethyst Star could tell what it was. Whoever sculpted it must’ve done a good job since it hadn’t completely fallen apart in the ages it had been left here. It looked like it might have been painted at one point but that had all faded away. Amethyst Star stepped back out of the bushes and grinned some more.

“There’s gotta be even more...” she shook in excitement. Ruins? That sounded like adventure to her! Now she just needed to find something bigger, like an abandoned castle!

Amethyst Star made even quicker pace down the path, no longer caring about that sharp curve up ahead that would force her to go north for a bit if it meant something might be there. She had a good feeling about all this that even her recent failures couldn’t quench. That optimism caused her to trot along faster until she reached the curve, where she slid to a stop with a manic grin on her face, as if expecting there to actually be something amazing right around the corner.

Turned out there was.

The unicorn’s jaw dropped as she stared at the ruins of a large temple that stood in the jungle. Like the lion statue there were vines and even trees growing all over it and parts of it had fallen to pieces but it was still a mostly intact temple. “Woah...” she looked up and down it, it wasn’t too tall, maybe like a three story house, but it looked like it extended a ways back into the jungle. There was a large door facing her as well that looked to be in perfectly good condition. It had a wheel with numerous spokes on it that one probably had to turn to open it up, and a pattern of squares and triangles all painted on it. There looked to be other carvings and places where statues once stood on the temple but they had been lost to time, as well as any color that might have been there, leaving the stone temple a sandy color where the jungle hadn’t grown on it.

“Time to explore an ancient temple!” Amethyst Star shouted. Finally something she was really eager to do on this adventure. It really was just what she wanted. She quickly walked up to the big door and checked over the wheel, it definitely looked like it was connected in some way to another mechanism inside the door. “Oh boy, oh boy!”

Amethyst Star reached up to grab one of the spokes and turn it...

“Stop!”

She couldn’t even process the command before she felt herself tackled to the ground, rolling across the dirt until she came to a stop with another pony standing over her, hooves pressed into the ground on the sides of her head.

“Don’t touch that! Who are you and what are you doing out here?!” The pony asked her.

As Amethyst Star regained her senses she found her jaw dropping in surprise once again at the pony she saw. Khaki yellow fur, a grayscale mane and tail, red eyes, a compass rose Cutie Mark, green explorer’s shirt, and a safari cap. If she was in a more cognizant state she would’ve been happily thinking about how she just miraculously found her way into an adventure story. Instead she was just shocked and confused. Amethyst Star never thought she’d see this pony in real life, but she knew her well from the books her little sister liked to read.

“Daring Do?!”

Daring Do and the Useless Sidekick I

“That’s right. Now who are you?” Daring Do said as she continued to stand over Amethyst Star and hold her on the ground.

“I-I’m Amethyst Star! I’m from Ponyville!” Was her panicked response. The unreal situation making her mind a mess.

Daring Do seemed surprised by her answer but she temporarily backed off, letting Amethyst Star up. “You’re from Ponyville? What are you doing all the way out here?”

“I’m going on an adventure,” Amethyst answered, brushing some dirt off herself as she stood. The unicorn then gave a very perplexed look at Daring Do, scrunching up her face and examining every inch of the pegasus explorer. “You’re a real pony?”

The pegasus rolled her eyes. “Yes. I’m real. Actually thought that was kind of common knowledge by now.”

“Well it’s news to me,” Amethyst Star frowned. “Hey why’d you tackle me anyways?”

“Because you were about to hurt yourself,” Daring Do explained as she walked over to the door Amethyst Star had just tried to open, the unicorn following her. The pegasus pointed up at the spokes on the wheel. “This is a trap.” She looked around on the ground before picking up a stick, holding it in her mouth she used it to push the wheel clockwise, and after only an inch of being moved razor sharp spikes shot out of the spokes.

Amethyst Star jumped back in fear. “Whoa!”

Daring Do spit out her stick and gestured to the spikes. “See? These would’ve cut up your hooves pretty badly if you tried turning the wheel.”

“Yeah, I see,” Amethyst Star grimaced at the thought.

“You have to look out for booby traps when you’re exploring ruins like this,” Daring Do admonished the unicorn. “You said you came out here on an adventure? Were you looking for this place specifically?”

“Uh, no, I just sort of found this place,” Amethyst Star looked away, it was kind of embarrassing to admit something like that.

“Well that explains it,” Daring Do said with a somewhat exasperated tone. She then turned her head to examine the door some more. “Glad I could stop you from getting hurt though, but now I’ve got a temple to check out so I can’t stay and talk, sorry.”

“Hey, wait!” Amethyst Star ran up beside her and grabbed her by the shoulder. “I still want to explore this place too you know?”

Daring Do gave her a not quite confident look and raised an appraising eyebrow at the unicorn. Amethyst Star was grinning back at her, her face filled with more than enough confidence, hope, and excitement to make up for what Daring Do lacked. But what she had just seen and, well, everything else about the mare didn’t make Daring Do particularly optimistic about this unicorn or how well she would do inside a potentially dangerous temple.

“You… don’t know a single thing about exploring ruins. Do you?” Daring Do finally asked.

Amethyst Star’s grin quickly turned into a frown and her hoof dropped from Daring Do’s shoulder. “I could!”

“But you don’t.”

“Uh, well… no,” Amethyst Star had to admit that. But she scowled at the pegasus and continued defending herself anyways. “But it’s not like you could really tell that!” If there was one thing she had really come to hate on this journey it was being underestimated or looked over. That feeling had just gotten worse and worse even before she left Ponyville. “I’m still plenty capable, I’ve been adventuring all throughout the Undiscovered West all on my own, got that?”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Daring Do placatingly held up her hooves. “You don’t have to get all upset. I just don’t like to be reckless and get others in danger.”

“Well I can hold my own against any danger, I’ve already faced plenty of it out here.”

It was half true. Amethyst Star now really just wanted to prove that she could do anything Daring Do could. She knew the stories, if those books were real then Daring Do was “special” just like Twilight Sparkle and her friends. And if Amethyst Star couldn’t explore and adventure on equal grounds with this pony then what was the point of any of this?

Daring Do seemed to be considering it. The pegasus adventurer furrowed her brow, looking at the stalwart unicorn, then chewing on her tongue as she weighed the possibilities in her head. Finally it seemed Amethyst Star’s stubbornness won out and Daring Do flashed her a friendly smile. “You know what? Alright, let’s do it. In the past I would’ve said no but nowadays I don’t mind having a companion along. And unicorn magic is always useful.”

“Yes!” Amethyst Star ecstatically pumped a hoof. “This is going to be amazing!”

“You can calm down juuust a little bit,” Daring Do chuckled.

“Sorry, didn’t exactly expect this to happen for many, many, reasons,” a light blush lit up Amethyst Star’s cheeks. She then looked up at the big door. “Now how do we get in here though?”

“Oh, that’s the easy part,” Daring Do said and floated up till she was above the wheel and parallel to the top right corner of the door. She pushed on one of the triangle designs and it depressed in like a button. A grinding noise came from inside the door and the spiked wheel now turned on its own, revolving multiple times before it finally stopped with a click.

A previously impossible to see seam then opened up on the right side of the door and it slowly swung inwards, scraping across the ground before coming to a stop flush up against the wall of the temple.

“How’d you know about that?” Amethyst Star asked as she took a step forward to look into the temple.

“I found information about this temple from another to the south, I’ve been searching for this one for a while now,” Daring Do told her as she floated back down to the ground.

The two ponies then took their first steps into the temple. The inside looked fairly well kept even though it must’ve been ages since anybody else had been in here, there was a fair amount of dust and cobwebs but the stone that made up the walls and floor was mostly bare of cracks. Some weeds shot up between the individual bricks though. The hall slightly angled down too, which confused Amethyst Star. Why would the entrance go down first when there was so much above? Was that all for show and the real meat of the temple was underground? Maybe there were other passages that Amethyst Star didn’t know about. But she figured Daring Do would know.

“Hey Dari—oh! I almost forgot!” Amethyst Star started but suddenly changed pace as she darted in front of the pegasus and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Can I have your autograph?”

“Uh, what?” Daring Do shrugged out of her grip.

“Your autograph! My little sister loves your books. Er, I mean, not your books you know but, you know?”

“Yeeeahhh...” Daring Do looked away and rubbed the back of her neck.

“Anyways, my little sis would go crazy if I came back with Daring Do’s autograph. Can I please have it?” She begged.

“Yeah sure, just give me some space?” Daring Do pushed her away. “And can it wait until later? We’ve kind of got other stuff to do right now.”

Amethyst Star eagerly nodded. “Right, right, that’s fine by me.”

The veteran explorer sighed, already kind of regretting letting this unicorn come along. “Okay. Now before we go any deeper, however, I want to make sure you understand some things. First off: Don’t touch anything. Seriously, unless I say it’s okay, don’t touch anything. There are probably all sorts of booby traps in here and some of the ruins could be unstable too. Don’t. Touch. Anything.” Daring Do wanted to be sure that was drilled into Amethyst Star’s head.

“I got it,” Amethyst Star frowned. “You only needed to say it once.”

“I’m sure I did,” Daring Do frowned right back. “Second though, just stay behind me and let me check things out first. That also factors into the possibility of booby traps. I’ve got an eye for this kind of thing and I don’t want you accidentally walking over any trip wires. And lastly, there’s something I’m looking for in here and I’m going to take it back with me. That’s why I came out here in the first place. So if you were thinking you could plunder this temple or get some sort of reward you’re mistaken.”

Amethyst Star puffed out her cheeks to pout. “Hey, I don’t care about any of that. I just want a cool adventure. Sure it might have been nice to have found some kind of treasure or something but I never planned to make money off of this or anything. I just thought this temple looked like an exciting opportunity.”

“More like a dangerous opportunity,” Daring Do rebuked.

“An adventure has to have danger. I wanted some of that too,” Amethyst Star blew a dismissive breath of air our of her mouth.

“Well fine, I’d be a hypocrite if I said I didn’t enjoy some danger every now and then too, so as long as you understand what I’m telling you we’re good. Let’s head on in now,” Daring Do shrugged and began to lead the way, Amethyst Star following close behind her.

Naturally Amethyst Star’s curiosity instantly got the better of her. “So what are you looking for?”

“The Amulet of Cinnabaron,” the pegasus said to her without looking back.

“Who?”

Daring Do sighed once more before deciding it would be better to just explain in detail to the unicorn right now. “Cinnabaron was the ancient ruler of these lands. This jungle used to be covered in numerous gemstone mines, and Cinnabaron hoarded them all. This was her temple and if what I read was accurate her amulet should be somewhere inside. Supposedly it has some sort of magical property to it as well, instead of just being some kind of jewelry. I read that it seemed to cause sickness in other ponies.”

“Oh. And what are you going to do with it?” Amethyst Star asked.

“Well I’m going to see if it’s safe for me to hold first of all and then I’m going to take it somewhere safe where it can be preserved and studied. I wouldn’t want it falling into the hooves of someone who just wants to sell it, or worse, someone who might want to try seeing if it actually can cause harm,” Daring Do frowned.

Amethyst Star nodded. Made sense to her. “So what’s it look like then? Maybe I can keep an eye out for it.”

“A drawing I saw on the wall of the place that led me here showed it as some kind of orange-red jewel inside of a gold circle with six silver wings coming out of the sides. Pretty attention grabbing in my opinion, I don’t think we’ll miss it or any drawings of it in here,” Daring Do told her.

“Got it!” Amethyst Star saluted and smiled, checking out their surroundings just in case there was something to see.

So far there wasn’t though, the entryway turned into a long hallway that had plenty of light for the both of them to see thanks to the open door, and the unadorned walls and all their bricks continued to bleed into one another. Daring Do stayed silent so she could focus on the task at hand as much as possible… or possibly because she didn’t want to talk to Amethyst Star anymore. But there didn’t look to be any booby traps or hidden doors or anything else cliché here yet. That still didn’t get Daring Do to lower her guard though, she was far too experienced with this kind of thing to do that. On the other side of things, Amethyst Star’s short attention span and lack of awareness over how serious being in here could be was already starting to drain on her proficiency and interest.

“Stairs up ahead, stay sharp.”

The words from Daring Do temporarily jolted her back to peak enthusiasm. Hopefully stairs led to a real chamber or something cool. Amethyst Star’s tail was swishing back and forth as she followed along, wishing Daring Do would pick up the pace a little.

To her surprise the stairs actually went up. Thanks to the hallway angling slightly downwards Amethyst Star thought for sure that’s where they were going, but apparently Cinnabaron had something different in mind when she made her temple. Daring Do stopped at the foot of the stairs to examine them for traps so Amethyst Star peaked past her head to look up the steps. The staircase seemed normal to her but then again she wasn’t the expert here. There was also some light coming from up above, probably from holes in the walls of the temple. Either way it looked like things would be well illuminated for the both of them the whole way.

“Looks alright, but be careful,” Daring Do finally said when she was done looking at the stairs and the two of them started climbing up.

The staircase was longer and steeper than Amethyst Star would’ve liked and much to her dismay her poor physical conditioning was already getting to her. She’d been walking through the jungle all day without rest, carrying her bag and everything, and now she had gone straight to doing this. It would be really embarrassing to mention this to Daring Do though, she might get it in her head that Amethyst Star shouldn’t be adventuring at all if this made her tired. So the unicorn had to just continue on. It was kind of hot inside this temple too, it really trapped the heat and made Amethyst sweat.

Daring Do hopped up the last step into the new chamber while Amethyst Star shakily came up right after her, the two mares standing beside each other. Looking around they saw that they were in a larger, rectangular room with paintings and carvings on the wall. But as far as Amethyst could see it was more of just the same triangle and square design pattern that she had seen on the door. Some light spilled in from cracks on the ceiling and the roots of trees and plants that had been growing on the roof of the temple broke in as well.

“Hold on for one second,” Daring Do put a hoof in front of Amethyst Star. “This room is giving me a bad feeling.”

Amethyst Star was fine with that if it meant she could catch her breath, while Daring Do stepped forward to look for any sort of trap, Amethyst Star let out a deep sigh and leaned up against the wall right next to the stairs.

Unfortunately when she did that she happened to hit a certain camouflaged panel, pressing it into the wall.

All of the triangles and squares on the walls flipped and spikes shot out from underneath them, extending into and filling up the middle of the room at lightning speed. Daring Do had to suck in her stomach and play Twister in the middle of the air to avoid being skewered, luckily she was fast enough and limber enough to stay in the gaps between the spears, balancing on one leg with the rest of her body in an awkward position. One of them jostled her hat and another rubbed her tail but the pegasus was thankfully unharmed.

“Woah!” Amethyst Star said and stopped leaning against the panel, making it return to normal and the spears retract.

Daring Do breathed out in relief and dropped back down to all fours. Wiping the sweat from her brow she glared at Amethyst Star. “I said not to touch anything!”

“It was an accident! I didn’t mean to lean up against this thing-” Amethyst Star frowned and pushed in the panel for emphasis. “Oops.”

“You-?!” Daring Do didn’t have the chance to finish as the spears came back out, she jumped away from the middle of the room at the last second, rolling across the floor and coming to a stop right at Amethyst Star’s hooves.

Amethyst Star pulled her hoof away from the panel with an awkward grin as the spears went back into the wall yet again. “Ehehe, sorry?”

Daring Do grit her teeth and grumbled at the unicorn, standing back up. “Don’t. Touch. Anything.” Not waiting for her response the pegasus turned around and started walking towards the end of the spear chamber.

“It was an accident...” Amethyst Star whispered as she followed along.

The next room they came to was a very narrow passage that the two of them would barely have been able to pass through if they were walking side by side. Unlike previous parts of the temple the ceiling was nearly totally falling apart, Amethyst Star could clearly see the sky outside through holes in it and a number of trees dropped vines and branches down into this chamber. As Amethyst Star was looking at all of it she accidentally bumped into Daring Do, who had stopped.

“What’s the hold up?” Amethyst Star asked the mare on point.

“Look,” Daring Do replied and pointed at the floor right in front of her.

Or to be more exact the lack of a floor. Because Amethyst Star had been so focused on the ceiling she didn’t notice the dark pit that stretched for more than half the chamber in front of them, if Daring Do wasn’t there she probably would’ve walked right into it.

“Oh,” Amethyst Star looked down and could only see darkness. Whether there was anything else down there or not she knew she didn’t want to fall in.

Daring Do looked over her shoulder at Amethyst. “Can you teleport or levitate yourself?”

“No way, that’s way out of the league of what most unicorns can do,” Amethyst Star fervently shook her head. Although she knew a unicorn and former-unicorn who were easily capable of both.

“Figured, hold on a second,” Daring Do sighed in disappointment and flew up to some of the creeping vines and branches.

As Amethyst Star watched she pulled on some of the vines to test their strength, figuring they were good enough she then looped one around a branch a little more than midway over the pit and flew the end back over to Amethyst Star, hoofing it over to her and then flying across to the other end of the pit.

“Alright, that’ll hold your weight just fine so you can swing on over whenever you’re ready,” Daring Do called out to her.

Amethyst Star looked at the vine in her hoof. Then at the seemingly bottomless pit. Then to Daring Do.

She did ask for danger, didn’t she?

The out of her element unicorn did her best to not seem nervous or scared at all as she held on tighter to the vine, getting ready to swing across. She could feel the sweat already making her grip slick. And when was she supposed to release and jump off? What if her timing was wrong? Maybe she could somehow use her magic to strengthen her grip or propel herself off the vine… but she didn’t really know how to do that. Her hooves were trembling but she edged up closer to the pit, getting ready for the big swing.

She could totally do this. It was a classic thing for adventurers to do. And she was just as amazing as any adventurer! Even Daring Do. Amethyst Star was going to prove she could do anything.

“O-Okay! Here I come!” She gulped and almost jumped from the ledge when-

“Stop!” Daring Do yelled and quickly flew over to her with a rather reproachful look on her face. “I’m just going to carry you, geez.”

Amethyst Star looked at her in surprise and confusion and dropped the vine. “But why-”

“I wanted to see if you actually knew what you were doing at all, or if you’d swallow your pride and ask for help, or if you’d realize that I could just carry you myself. I didn’t think you’d actually try doing something so dumb and dangerous without any experience,” Daring Do frowned at her.

“O-Oh...” Amethyst Star looked at the ground to try and hide her embarrassment.

“I said it’s not wrong to want a little danger or excitement in your life or whatever, but there’s a difference between that and recklessness,” the veteran continued to berate her. “It’s obvious you’re not nearly as capable as you said.” Amethyst Star’s head lowered even further to the ground after hearing that, seeing her sullenness Daring Do rolled her eyes and sighed. “But with me around you’ll still be fine, I’ll make sure of it. I’m not gonna say you can’t keep tagging along or exploring this temple with me, okay?”

Amethyst Star perked up a bit at that but she was still pretty upset. She chewed on her lip as she mulled over what Daring Do had said and finally raised her eyes to answer the pegasus. “Okay, let’s keep going then.”

Daring Do hovered over Amethyst Star and put her hooves around her body. With a grunt, the pegasus was able to lift her up and carry the unicorn over the pit to the other side. Even after being set down though, Amethyst Star fumed. “Tagging along”? “Not nearly as capable”? Amethyst Star kept quiet for now because the mare was still helping her but that really pushed her buttons. It was clear that Daring Do didn’t think much of her and expected the worst by now. Amethyst Star was gonna have to show her she’s wrong to think that way.

Daring Do and the Useless Sidekick II

Daring Do stalked in front of several lion sculptures, scrutinizing them intensely. Finally she stopped in front of one of them and tilted back its head, revealing a lever underneath. Pulling it caused a ghastly rumbling sound to emerge from the wall behind her and Amethyst Star and a secret door opened up for them. On the inside of this hidden passage burnt out torches and cobwebs lined the tops of the walls while a red stripe of… not paint but some kind of material embedded in ran lengthwise on the wall right at shoulder height. The stripe extended as far as Amethyst Star could see.

“So are we getting closer to the amulet thingy?” Amethyst Star asked as the two of them headed down this new corridor.

“Should be,” was Daring Do’s curt reply. She had been quieter for a while now, not bothering to engage with her companion as much.

That stung a bit. Amethyst Star thought it was pretty unfair how Daring Do had been making a bunch of bad assumptions of her pretty much since the first moment they met. And through a case of misfortune or two things had only seemed to reinforce Daring Do’s viewpoint while not giving Amethyst Star the chance to change her mind. She could only hope this temple of Cinnabaron’s would give her more opportunities to do something about. Considering the hidden things Daring Do had already found along with the multiple booby traps she was sure it would.

Things were still silent between the two of them until the corridor ended and opened up into a large circular room, the red stripe on the wall also stopping right at the boundary between rooms. Amethyst Star raised an eyebrow as she checked out this new chamber, on the opposite side of the wall from where they came in five passageways went off into different parts of the temple. But that wasn’t all. In the center of the floor there was a black spot wide enough where a pony could stand on it that looked to be made of the same material as the red stripe. Leading from that spot were five stripes of various color; red, blue, yellow, green, and orange, all heading across the floor and into one of the five other passages.

Daring Do walked into the center of the room and stopped right before the black spot, looking down at it and the stripes and rubbing her chin before speaking. “Obviously only one of these leads in the direction of the amulet. The others could be traps or take us back to somewhere else in the temple.”

So we just have to figure out which one? Perfect! I can do that. Amethyst Star thought to herself as she looked over the stripes and where they led. If she could figure out the correct answer before Daring Do then that pegasus would have to acknowledge her. Now just what color stripe is the right one? There has to be some kind of hint or something...

Amethyst Star thought back to what Daring Do had said about the Amulet of Cinnabaron. Some kind of reddish-orange jewel, right? Or orangeish-red, was there a difference? Well there were two stripes on the ground that were red and orange, those seemed like the best bet to her. But they were the farthest apart from each other, if they went down the wrong one they could get lost and end up really far away from their goal.

Then it all clicked inside of Amethyst Star’s unicorn head.

The stripe! The red stripe down the corridor we just came from! It’s a hint to which way to go. Amethyst Star nearly started prancing up and down on her hooves.

Amethyst Star got a big grin on her face and opened her mouth to tell Daring Do she had figured it out. Oh she was going to enjoy gloating about it too. “I-”

“Okay, we need to follow the blue stripe,” Daring Do said.

Amethyst Star’s face fell. “Um… huh?”

“The red stripe is an obvious trap,” Daring Do said as she pointed at it. “When I realized that I had to think what would the last one be that Cinnabaron would expect a pony to pick? If someone had seen the red stripe in the corridor we walked through, and then the red stripe on the ground and thought that was the key, in their mind what would be the least likely one that shows the correct path? And the answer is the blue stripe right next to it. Come on, let’s go.”

“Y-Yeah, that’s just what I was about to say!” Amethyst Star sputtered.

If Daring Do was even paying attention, she ignored her.

The delusional unicorn’s face was red as she tried to hide her humiliation and the two resumed their usual walk through the temple with Daring Do in the lead, now following the blue stripe on the ground. Well perhaps it was a good thing that Daring Do had cut her off, if she had said her piece back there it would’ve just been one more way she had embarrassed herself in front of the treasure hunter. At the same time though it all just made her more frustrated and more determined to do something. It wouldn’t just be good enough to prove she was useful or capable anymore, Amethyst Star now desired to show up the pegasus.

I’m tired of being overshadowed. She internally pouted.

“Do you feel that up ahead? It’s getting hot,” Daring Do suddenly said to her.

Amethyst Star hadn’t been paying attention but now that she mentioned it it was getting kind of hot. “Yeah, I do.”

In another minute the passage came to an end and the blue stripe stopped as well, the two of them now in a large shaft that headed straight to the ground and even further below. The bottom was mired in shadows but a sequence of steps hugging the wall spiraled down all the way for them to use. Daring Do could’ve just flown down but she wanted to test the steps first to make sure they were safe for Amethyst Star.

“Looks alright but let’s take things slow,” Daring Do told her as the two proceeded down the steps. Daring Do was ever-vigilant for any more traps or loose steps.

Amethyst Star meanwhile was trying to seethe, but her companion’s helpfulness was making that difficult for her.

It was getting hotter though the further down they went. And that combined with all the physical exercise they had been doing was making Amethyst Star tired again, Daring Do didn’t seem to need rest at all but Amethyst’s weaker body simply couldn’t handle so much exertion even with all the walking and everything else she had been doing on her adventure so far. She just wasn’t there yet. The unicorn simply didn’t have the innate strength and stamina needed nor the regular exercise and training to build it up. She had to wipe away the sweat coalescing on her more than once, and the bag she was carrying was starting to get unmanageable, she kept slipping up and adjusting the strap to try and make it more comfortable for her.

“It’s really sweltering down here...” Amethyst Star said.

“Yeah. We’re almost at the bottom, there’s a faint light up ahead,” Daring Do replied.

Amethyst Star squinted to see even though it made sweat almost drip into her eyes. Daring Do was right again though, the darkness was starting to abate as they got close to the bottom and a dim red glow came from yet another arch-shaped corridor. As they hopped off the last of the steps and stood before it however they both got a full face of how hot the air coming down it was.

“What the hay?!” Amethyst Star said as she looked away and held up a hoof to cover her face. “Is there a fire in there or something.”

“Not a fire...” Daring Do enigmatically said as she held up a wing to block some of the heat as well.

Walking for less than a minute into the new passage told Amethyst Star all she needed to know, the red glow and heat both became more intense until the two of them walked out to the edge of a massive pool of lava. The entire chamber containing the lava pool was made of a slick black stone that made the red light from the molten rock even more eerie. Carvings of lions and other fierce creatures lined the sides of the chamber, all of them facing the lava with snarling expressions.

And furthermore, there didn’t seem to be any way across.

Daring Do peered out past the lava, there was clearly a landing on the other side and an exit to this chamber. Again the lava would cause no problem for her since she could fly, but with how hot it was in here she wasn’t sure if she wanted to take the chance of carrying Amethyst Star all the way across. It was already tough enough just carrying her earlier. There was probably some kind of secret way across or around the pool but it might take some time to find.

Frowning, the pegasus turned to look at her unicorn tag-along. “I think it might be best if you sit here and wait for me to explore the rest of the temple, I’ll come back when I have the amulet.”

“What?! No way, absolutely not! This is my adventure too and you can’t just ditch me!” Amethyst Star wasn’t about to take that lying down.

“It’s just the safest thing to do,” Daring Do tried to reason with her. “And the quickest.”

“Safe huh? Bet you think I’ll do something dumb again if I keep coming with you,” Amethyst Star accused.

Daring Do grunted in annoyance and rolled her eyes. “No, safe for you. It’s too dangerous for me to carry you across this!”

“Cinnabun wouldn’t just put a pool of lava here without any way to cross it would they! Shouldn’t there be some other way across?” Amethyst Star stuck out her hooves.

“Yes but I don’t know what it might be. My knowledge of this temple is still limited.”

“Excuses, excuses, I bet you really just want to get rid of me.”

“I would just say so if that was the case. Maybe you haven’t noticed but I’ve been helping you despite everything.”

Amethyst Star did notice and that’s what bothered her so much. Because she didn’t want to need someone else’s help. She didn’t want to have to admit that. It was just one more thing to attack her self-confidence with, one more thing that made that insecurity come back and remind her of how she already kept failing in all her endeavors out here. She should’ve been conquering this temple on her own. That’s what she wanted to believe even if it meant a complete denial of reality.

“It’s not like I’m… ungrateful for that,” Amethyst Star shifted her gaze away. “But I’m not helpless either...”

Daring Do let out a tired sigh, a somewhat guilty look crossing over her face. “Fine. But it may take a while to figure out how to get over the pool.”

As it turned out it actually took no time at all.

The moment Daring Do turned around to start looking for clues on how you were normally supposed to get past this pool of lava, her hoof landed on a specific stone tile on the floor that lowered into the ground with a click when she put her weight on it. As Daring Do stared at it in surprise a series of stone pillars rose from beneath the lava, creating a pathway of stepping stone from their side to the other.

Both Daring Do and Amethyst Star were quite surprised by this turn of events.

The unicorn looked from the steps, to Daring Do, and then back at the steps in shock. Finally she puffed out her cheeks in consternation. “How come I accidentally find booby traps and you accidentally find just what we need?!”

“Let’s just be grateful for this...” Daring Do gave the unicorn an awkward grin, as if apologizing.

The two of them then began their hopping from stone to stone, Daring Do in the lead again with Amethyst Star pulling up the rear. The unicorn still had to be very careful when jumping since she wasn’t the most nimble of ponies but there weren’t any large gaps between stones at least. That lava was hot though and they both had sweat cascading down their bodies pretty much the moment they started jumping over it. Amethyst Star was worried she might slip on the stones but they seemed to be pretty slip-proof, they must’ve been made that way on purpose. She felt pretty good about this too though, how many ponies could boast that they jumped over a pool of lava? Her friends wouldn’t believe it!

“Hup!” With one last hop Daring Do jumped onto the other side of the pool, Amethyst Star finishing up right behind her. The two ponies wiped the sweat from their brows and checked out the exit to the lava chamber.

The exit was an ornately carved gateway, all of it made from the smooth black stone. Large steps led up to a gaping hallway flanked by two rifled pillars that held up a triangular overhang, on the floor of the top step there were carvings of lions while on the overhang up above a series of sculpted flowers went from pillar to pillar. Amethyst Star thought it looked a bit silly and over the top for something that was just the exit to a room full of lava.

But she was glad to go somewhere where it wouldn’t be so hot.

“Come on, seeing something like this makes me think we’re close,” Daring Do said and walked past the pillars.

Amethyst Star shrugged and followed along. “Whatever you say.”

She still needed to do something impressive on her own. And if Daring Do was right she would need to do it soon. Considering how everything else had gone here she bet that there was going to be some final trick or secret they needed to uncover before they could get their hooves on the amulet. It might be Amethyst Star’s last chance to prove she could do this kind of exploring and treasure-hunting stuff just as good as Daring Do.

The large hallway they were going down made every little step of theirs echo off the walls, Daring Do was keeping her eyes forward but Amethyst Star was constantly looking around at everything in case there was something there. It was all just that smooth black stone though, absent even of any carvings or paintings. The air was cooling down a bit the further they traveled, a welcome change for the two. Sweat no longer dripped from Amethyst Star’s body as she walked. But even with that one problem taken care of it didn’t stop the unicorn from frowning at the lack of anything else going on in this echoing hallway, Daring Do was silently walking, there was nothing to look at, and every passing second made Amethyst Star more and more agitated. There was no way she was gonna let things end so simply.

At long last this dark hallway opened up into a new room that was far prettier than what they had just been through. A high-vaulted ceiling held a skylight in the center that surprisingly allowed light to shine down from the surface, illuminating the golden-yellow stone floor of the room. There was much more color to be had than just the floor too, murals of landscapes and flowers covered the walls, beautiful mountain ranges, forests, and orchards were now all around the two ponies.

“Wow, this is different,” Amethyst Star said as she looked around.

Daring Do nodded, stepping in front of Amethyst Star with a frown on her face. “Yeah but there’s a problem. I don’t see any exit or any Amulet of Cinnabaron. Which means there must be another hidden chamber.”

Amethyst Star’s ears perked up. Perfect! I’ll find it!

She was so lost in her own desires that she didn’t hear Daring Do continue. “Just stay still and don’t touch anything again, please? There are probably more traps in here.” Daring Do didn’t look to see if Amethyst Star was paying attention to her, taking that for granted, and walked further into the center of the room to figure out this latest problem.

Meanwhile the unicorn wandered over to the closest wall to check out the paintings, thinking there would be some clue in one of the murals. All of this art was definitely the most attention-grabbing thing she had seen in this temple. It must have some importance. Her eyes roamed over an endless parade of flowers. Roses, lilies, lilacs, chrysanthemum, carnations, tulips, they all blended together in a beautiful display. Roseluck, Daisy, and Lily Valley would love to see-

Hey wait.

Amethyst Star did a double-take, there was something else drawn among the flowers, something she didn’t notice immediately for being just as colorful as the flowers surrounding it. Gold, silver, orange-red. A perfect representation of the amulet that Daring Do had described to her was drawn on the wall right there with all the flowers. The jewel in the center, the gold around it, and the six silver wings. If the drawing was accurate in size the amulet would easily fit right in her hoof. As she examined the drawing closer too she noticed it was drawn on a square of the wall with slight gaps around it, as if it could be pushed in.

A huge grin spread across her face as she touched the drawing, Amethyst Star looked over her shoulder to see Daring Do still standing in the center of the room. The unicorn was proud to note that the veteran explorer seemed no closer to figuring things out. “Hey Daring Do! I found it!” Amethyst Star called out to her.

“Huh?” Daring Do’s head swung over to her and her eyes widened in shock right as Amethyst Star pressed the button in. “Wait!”

Click

The floor opened up under Amethyst Star, sending her falling right into a pit of spikes with a surprised scream. The unicorn barely had time to shut her eyes and cross her hooves over her face… before she was suddenly yanked to a stop. Peeking open her eyes she saw the sharp spikes less than an inch away from her face, shaking in fear she glanced back to see Daring Do holding her tail in her mouth, using all her strength to keep her from falling. With a strong flap of her wings, Daring Do managed to pull the unicorn back up and out of the pit.

The pegasus was breathing heavily and now Amethyst Star was sweating in fear instead of just heat.

Amethyst Star stood up on wobbly legs, trying to get over that close call. She took a deep breath to steady herself and blinked. “Thank-”

“You’re a menace!” Daring Do pushed her face right up to Amethyst’s. “I told you repeatedly not to touch anything! But you refuse to listen! You would think after accidentally almost turning me into shish-ka-bob you would stop, but then you do this! Whether or not you’re doing something on purpose or on accident it seems that whatever you do is wrong, you just emit bad luck and it’s clear you don’t know what you’re doing.” Daring Do finally took a breath, pinching her brow and walking past Amethyst Star with a sigh. Amethyst was feeling guilty for not listening and struggling to reconcile those feelings with her dashed pride when Daring Do spoke again. “Look, I’m sorry for exploding at you but please don’t do anything again.” The treasure-hunter then muttered aloud to herself: “Why couldn’t I have found Rainbow Dash out here instead?”

And that made something inside Amethyst Star snap.

With an angry vein popping out of her forehead the unicorn rounded on the pegasus. “Rainbow Dash? Rainbow Dash?! Well sooorrry for not being some ultra-special pony that can do anything! I guess it’s not good enough that I’ve been trying my best and doing whatever I can to help you, silly me for thinking that! Yeah, silly, dumb Amethyst Star! What’s she doing thinking she can have an awesome adventure too and explore ruins just like Daring Do? My bad!”

Daring Do was now openly staring at the unicorn in shock as she continued her rant.

“Well if you’re going to be soooo ungrateful about a pony who just wanted to help find that amulet thingy too then I guess I can just leave! Sorry that Rainbow Dash or Twilight Sparkle couldn’t be here to help you instead! You probably would’ve found the amulet by now if Amethyst Star wasn’t here weighing you down. Well now you’re in luck, cause I’m not staying here a second longer!” Amethyst Star humphed and turned to leave, walking back to the dark hallway they came from.

She paused for a second, frowning at the way back and all the troubling things they had gone through in the temple. Amethyst Star scowled in embarrassment and turned her head to Daring Do. “Er, how do I get out of here without hurting myself?”

The Wrong Way I

A calm forest of evergreen trees and luscious green grass sat in this part of the west, the climate was cool but not cold and the forest thin enough here you could easily pull a wagon through it and never hit a point too narrow. A stream running downhill through the forest fell off a small waterfall, no taller than a pony, and created a wide but shallow pond below it. The pond eventually thinned out to become a stream again that continued through the rest of the forest and beyond. The constant cascading of the miniature waterfall created a pleasant sound, it would be the perfect background noise to anyone camping around that wanted to sleep. The surface of the water was tranquil and reflective like a mirror. Peaceful was the word of the forest.

The water in the center of the pond then started to bubble and a second later out popped the head of Amethyst Star, sending ripples in every direction and disturbing the calm pond while taking a big breath of air. The unicorn tread water as she shook her head back and forth to get the excess water out of her mane before throwing it all back and looking up at the clear sky with a smile.

“Ah, that was refreshing.”

Just a few minutes earlier the unicorn happened across this little pond after having spent the rest of the morning walking through the forest. Seeing it as a good opportunity to cool off, clean up, and just generally relax, she dove in. Her saddlebag was left on the side of the pond as she let her body float around on the surface of the water, basking in the sun’s rays. She really needed a little moment like this for herself. Amethyst Star closed her eyes and just let her mind, body, and soul rest. The forest so quiet that only the buzzing of a few bugs and the occasional chirping of birds broke the near perfect tranquility.

Amethyst Star felt like she could float here for hours. She deserved this kind of treat after everything else.

Not really. But she thought she did.

Amethyst Star was again choosing to forget about her recent failures, or blame them on others. She was still doing a great job and she was sure another chance at adventure was right around the corner. Nothing had gone wrong. Recent events were more about bad luck than anything else, it didn’t mean Amethyst Star wasn’t meant for this or wasn’t perfectly capable. She had just been unlucky.

She had not made any stupid decisions.

The unicorn started to absentmindedly backstroke, enjoying the feeling of swimming around in the calm and cool water. She should probably get out soon and dry off, Amethyst Star was hoping to find a village or some sort of place to stay before nightfall. And if she stayed in here for too much longer while it was a little chilly out she might catch cold. Since she didn’t have a towel, drying off effectively would be a hassle. She couldn’t just resort to shaking like a dog and hoping that would do it. It was a shame since she was enjoying her bath so much and she had no idea when she’d get the chance of taking a nice refreshing dip again.

Oh well, time was… not exactly of the essence since she had no real goal or destination in mind but she still didn’t want to waste the rest of the day. Amethyst Star stretched her forelegs out in the water and yawned, looking back over at the side of the pond where she had left her saddlebag.

Only to see a group of young colts in the process of carrying it away.

“Hey!” Amethyst Star yelled at them, suddenly flailing about in the water.

“Run!” One of the colts yelled and the five of them grabbed her bag and started running off into the forest with it.

Amethyst Star was shocked but she quickly swam to shore and pulled herself out of the pond, shaking off for a second and starting to run after the thieves. “You little brats, come back here!” She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “What would your parents think, huh?!”

As an adult she would normally have the advantage but the younger ponies clearly knew their way around this forest well and did a good job dodging around the trees and ducking under and through the brush. If she could teleport this would be easy. But Amethyst Star was still slowly catching up, her longer legs doing a lot of work for her. If she got close enough she could probably just yank the bag from them and let them scamper off, she really wasn’t in the mood to chase down and discipline some rowdy kids.

“Just give me my bag back and I won’t say anything, okay?” Amethyst Star shouted to them.

The colt bringing up the rear just looked over his shoulder and stuck his tongue out at her.

“Grr! Fine then!” Amethyst Star ground her jaw and started running harder.

But when the colts noticed that she was catching up they instead started to open up her bag and throw her things out, her canteen, her compass, some small boxes, and all of the other assorted things she had inside it. Just letting it all drop on the forest floor.

“Stop that!” Amethyst Star stopped to pick her things up with her magic, doing her best to hold all that she could while she kept chasing, trying not to let the colts out of her sight.

Maybe the kids were finally tired of teasing her since they at last dropped the bag itself too and sped off. Amethyst Star frowned as she slowed down, catching her breath while she picked everything up that had been recklessly tossed out of her bag and putting it back inside. Her stuff was dirty and now she was tired again right after taking a relaxing dip in the water. Just her luck. At least nothing was broken and they hadn’t run off with anything as far as she could tell. Amethyst Star clicked her tongue and threw her saddlebag back on, annoyed that a peaceful day was ruined by a group of rambunctious kids.

“Hey stupid!”

Amethyst Star looked up just in time for a tomato to hit her in the face. As she groaned in disgust and wiped away the filth she saw the five colts standing a little bit in front of her, holding an assortment of fruit in their hooves. Before she had time to react or say anything they all began pelting her, the unicorn helpless to do anything but raise her hooves and close her eyes to try and protect her face.

“Argh! Stop it!” Amethyst Star screamed while the colts laughed.

The five finished up with throwing their arsenals at her and ran off, one last colt chucking a pine-cone at her that knocked the poor unicorn onto her butt before he too left. Leaving Amethyst Star alone in the forest and covered in the sticky and smelly remains of a lot of wasted fruit.

Amethyst Star wiped it away from her eyes and glared at the running children, shaking her hoof at them. “Brats!”

An hour later Amethyst Star emerged from the forest in a foul mood. She had gone back to the pond to clean herself off again but unlike the last time this dip in the water didn’t make her feel good at all. She was far too annoyed at what had just happened with those colts. The only saving grace was that it was still early in the day, close to noon just about, and right outside the forest was a small town that she could stop in. She tried to keep the angry frown off her face so she wouldn’t make a bad first impression on the villagers but it was tough, at best she still kept a hard look in her eyes.

The town sat on a flat expanse of land between some hills and more forest with a stream going right past its eastern edge. Amethyst Star didn’t know for sure but she had to figure that was the same stream that came from the pond she was bathing in. Whatever, honestly she didn’t really care to think or do anything right now, she just wanted to find a place to stay for the day and then she could punch her pillow a few times and go to bed.

She was sure she was scowling again but her facial muscles just wouldn’t listen to her. Amethyst Star walked down the main street of the town looking as grumpy as she felt, and the first pony she saw, a yellow mare with a brown mane wearing a blue dress, gave her an awkward look and kept her distance.

“Ugh, great. Just what I wanted,” Amethyst Star grumbled.

There were a lot of ponies out on the street right now, soon Amethyst Star could tell why. The street opened up on its left side, making room for temporary stalls, stands, and carts to set up. It actually became a rather large marketplace and Amethyst Star saw all kinds of fruit and vegetables being sold by ponies, as well as things like breadstuffs and candies. The sight somewhat lifted Amethyst Star’s mood, she could go for a caramel apple right now, that was for sure.

The faces of the local ponies were smiling and they looked friendly enough too. Hopefully that spoke better of them than the behavior of those kids but no one had actually said hello to her yet or anything.

Amethyst Star took a big whiff of air as she got closer to all the assorted goods. The marketplace sure smelled good. This was a good way to get her mind off some of the more annoying things of her day, even though her frowning face didn’t exactly disappear and it probably wouldn’t look too good to any vendor she tried to talk to. The unicorn still wandered about the stalls, checking out everything and winding between the other shopping ponies. Regardless of what else this would definitely be a nice and quiet little place for her to spend the night.

As she wandered about the stalls her eyes zoomed in on something else and Amethyst Star paused, her frown deepening.

One of the colts. The one who had stuck his tongue out at her was here in the marketplace, he was walking with an older mare carrying a basket already full of food. His mother no doubt.

Well that was just perfect, now Amethyst Star could tell his mother what he and his friends had done and hopefully she could teach him some manners. If she never saw that colt or any of his friends again Amethyst Star would’ve been willing to let it all slide, it’s not like she would’ve hunted them down, they were just some mean brats. But now that she was here and the opportunity presented itself she was not about to leave without making sure that pony was disciplined. With a huff she began to stomp over to the colt and his mother, a dull orange earth pony with an olive colored mane done up in a beehive style wearing a floral print blouse.

Before Amethyst could say anything the colt saw her coming first.

And grinned.

“Mom, mom!” He tugged on her blouse to get her attention and pointed at Amethyst Star. “That’s the pony that scared me and Hickory in the forest! She’s the one who chased us and threw pine-cones at us!”

Amethyst Star was stunned at his outrageous fibbing. “Excuse me?!”

His mother seemed to buy it completely though and she glared at Amethyst Star while pushing the young colt behind her legs. “Well what kind of sick pony are you to do that to a bunch of kids?”

“Hey I didn’t do anything like that, they’re the ones who stole my bag and threw fruit at me!” Amethyst Star tried to explain.

“We were just playing around in the forest and she ran out and screamed at us!” The young colt started bawling behind his mother.

“That’s not-”

“Why don’t you get out of here? We don’t want crazy ponies like you in our town!” One of the ponies working at the fruit stand next to her said.

Amethyst Star looked around, realizing that she was now surrounded by a crowd of other ponies who had heard the arguing and the crying colt, all of them glaring at her and muttering to each other. This was quickly going from bad to worse. This wasn’t just making a bad first impression, it was setting herself up to be thrown in jail or worse!

“Now hold on, I can explain,” Amethyst Star gulped.

“She had a nasty look on her face when she first came walking in here too!” The same yellow mare Amethyst Star had first seen when she walked in said from the crowd.

“W-Wait-” Amethyst Star tried to defend herself but was hit in the side of the head by someone throwing a pear. “Ow!” The unicorn winced and rubbed her head.

“So you like throwing stuff at defenseless kids, huh?” The stallion who had thrown the pear said, flanked by two others holding pears of their own.

Amethyst Star’s eyes widened and she quickly decide to forgo trying to clear her name, she ran and pushed her way through the crowd of ponies, doing her best to ignore their yelling and attempts to grab and hit her. One yanked on her mane, another hit her shin, but finally she broke free from the mob and ran off out of the marketplace and back down the street in the direction of the forest. The crowd wasn’t letting her get off that easily though, they chased her down throwing fruit and other things at her the whole way. A potato smacked her in the back of the head and caused her to stumble, but Amethyst Star was so afraid of getting caught by the mob like this that she quickly picked herself up and kept running, finally make it to the end of the street and back out to the expanse of grass between the town and the forest.

“Yeah that’s right! You don’t ever come back to our town, you here?!” She heard the colt’s mom yell.

Amethyst Star looked back over her shoulder to make sure they weren’t chasing her anymore just in time for a rock sailing at her to peg the unicorn in the forehead, right below her horn.

“Agh!” She cried out in pain, holding a hoof to her head as she tried her best to scramble away, to get to the forest where hopefully she’d be safe.

Amethyst Star checked out her reflection in the stream, there was an ugly bruise on her forehead now thanks to that rock and it throbbed painfully. The rest of her was tired and aching as well, a couple of other bruises were forming on her body where some particularly hard fruits had hit her. But more than any of that what Amethyst Star was looking at the hardest was the expression on her face. A sad frown. Depressed and puffy eyes. Those colts and that village had made her more upset than anything else she had been through. What really ticked her off was the unfairness of it all.

“I don’t get it… I didn’t do anything.”

The unicorn could feel and see the tears start to well up in her eyes. “Why didn’t they even give me a chance? They didn’t even let me speak.” She raised a hoof to clear away the wetness but the tears didn’t abate and a few started dripping down into the stream. “What did I ever do to deserve this?”

As she dwelled on it more and more her sadness started turning to anger. “Those jerks… it’s not fair! You raise an awful son and then you all just attack me? And those other kids too, I bet their parents are just as bad.” Amethyst Star slammed a hoof down into the water, shattering her reflection and the calmness of the stream. “You’re a whole village full of awful ponies! Just a bunch of jerks, I wish I-”

“Do you wish you could get back at them?”

Amethyst Star turned around in surprise at the deep voice, she hadn’t heard anyone coming up behind her. She took a careful step back from the stallion suddenly standing in front of her.

“What… who are you?” Amethyst Star nervously asked.

“The name is Harlequin Grey,” the earth pony stallion flatly responded. He was tall and powerfully built, not old but not young looking either, with a navy blue coat and a midnight black mane and tail that carried a bright sheen to them. His mane was slicked back and looked so stiff that it probably had a bathtub’s worth of hair gel thrown into it and his eyes… what color were his eyes? She thought purple at first, but then when she focused they looked more blue, then green. That was weird. “But that’s not important.” He continued. “I asked you a question: Do you wish you could get back at them?”

The Wrong Way II

“Do you wish you could get back at them?”

Amethyst Star thought about the question while the words from the mysterious pony hung in the air. She was angry and upset at the village, that was certain. She definitely thought those colts at least should be punished. The mom and the others… if she thought about it more clearly she knew it was only reasonable for them to believe the kid rather than her. Although it was still unfair that they didn’t even give her a chance to defend herself. She knew the nice thing, the right thing to do, would be to live and let live. Forget about it. Or even if the opportunity presented itself to forgive the ones who had wronged her.

But it wasn’t fair. She had done nothing to deserve that. And it wasn’t just this town and those colts but all the other injustices that had been heaped on her, all the other failures and misfortune and ponies telling her she “couldn’t do this” or that she should “just go home”. All that pain and those emotions she was bottling up and trying to ignore on this adventure were threatening to explode. So maybe it wasn’t right, but neither was anything else that happened to her.

“Yeah. Yeah, I do wish I could get back at them!” Amethyst Star told him with a frown, her eyes angrily narrowing at the thought. “They think they can treat me like that? Well then maybe those jerks deserve to be knocked down a peg!”

“I see. Come along then,” Harlequin Grey turned and slowly started walking in the direction to the village.

Amethyst Star tilted her head and quickly trotted up next to him. “Uh, what are we doing? Are you from that village? Will you explain to them that I didn’t do anything? I’d really like to see the look on that mom’s face when she realizes how awful her son is.”

“Nothing so simple,” the blue stallion kept his eyes straight ahead, his face a mask. “I’m going to help you get the revenge you desire though.”

“Er, revenge is putting it a little strongly...” Amethyst Star grimaced.

His eyes flickered to her. “Is it? I think you deserve revenge, Miss Amethyst Star. You’re such an amazing pony who’s doing incredible things. And yet these townspeople have treated you so terribly.”

“A-Amazing pony?” Amethyst Star repeated, an embarrassed blush spreading across her face. “Well I know I’m pretty special, but amazing? Ehehe...”

“You’re very special. It’s something you’ve always known isn’t it? But no one else believed it. They all took you for granted. That’s why you came out here,” Harlequin Grey said.

Amethyst Star paused in her steps, the words were warm and they were just what she always wanted to hear. But she was confused. “Do I know you? Have we met before or something?”

“No, but I’ve been paying attention to you for a while. It’s no concern,” he brushed her off.

And for some reason she just didn’t feel like arguing the point.

“Okay,” Amethyst Star shrugged.

“Yes, you’ve been sorely mistreated, even injured by these vile ponies out here. You need not be concerned or hold back in regards to them,” he stopped walking and turned back to her, looking at the bruise on her forehead. “In fact, allow me to help you with that.” Harlequin Grey walked forward and gently rubbed his hoof over the bruise.

And the pain was gone.

Amethyst Star’s eyes widened in surprise and she lifted her hoof up to where the bruise was, feeling nothing out of the ordinary. “What did you just do?”

“There was never a bruise there to begin with.”

“But-”

“There was never a bruise there to begin with. As long as you believe that then it is so.”

Amethyst Star stood there confused for a second. What had just happened? What was going on? There was something just so weird about all of this but it was like everything kept slipping out of her mind if she tried focusing on it too hard. “There… was never a bruise there to begin with.” She repeated.

“Now you can get some payback on those who were rude to you. They deserve it after all. I’ll even show you how you were right to think of them as an entire village of awful ponies,” Harlequin Grey said and started walking again, Amethyst Star following close at his side. “They attacked a hero such as yourself. And a hero gets to decide how she punishes wrongdoing.”

“A hero?” Amethyst Star looked up at his face with a raised eyebrow.

“But of course. You’ve been thinking of yourself as such haven’t you? Is it that strange for someone else to acknowledge you as one?”

“N-No, totally not at all!” Amethyst Star shook her head, trying to hide the surprise.

“Yes, you’re just as special and amazing and capable as any pony you know. Twilight Sparkle, Daring Do, Applejack, any of them. Right?”

The words filled her up with pride and Amethyst Star happily puffed out her chest. “That’s right!”

“Insecurity and failure are a thing of the past for a hero such as you, right? Those little mishaps that happened on your adventure so far were clearly not your fault. Everyone else is to blame, aren’t they? Well you can get back at everyone who doubted and wronged you in time,” he said to her. “After we deal with this despicable village here.”

Amethyst Star smiled. “Yeah, it’ll be good to prove everyone wrong about me. I already know on the inside that I’m amazing but no one’s given me a chance, or something stupid has happened that makes me look bad!”

“You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll show you how to succeed. I’ll show you the way to be special so no one will ever doubt or make fun of you again. And those who do will come to regret it.”

His ominous words did not worry her, nor the monotone way he spoke them. Amethyst Star was enthralled by the promises and the new horizons waiting for her. She glanced up at him with a wide grin to see him still looking ahead with his lips set in a thin line and his pink eyes unblinking. “I don’t know why you’re helping me out but thanks. I was close to crying my eyes out back there and now I can’t stop smiling.” His expression didn’t change. “Er, do you ever smile?”

“I don’t care for smiling,” he didn’t speak further on that as the two of them made it to right outside the town.

“Wait, hold on! We can’t just walk in, they’ll recognize me!” Amethyst Star interjected.

“They won’t notice us,” he responded.

“What do you mean they won’t notice us?” She looked at him like he was crazy.

Harlequin Grey lifted his hoof and pointed at his head. “The mind and all the errant thoughts within it hold much more power than you know. If I say and believe that they aren’t going to notice us then they won’t notice us so long as you say nothing to the contrary. All you need to do is think about how they aren’t noticing you. Pretend we’re invisible, or disguised. It all works.”

“Kind of weird but alright...” Amethyst Star figured she should just go along with it. He had a way of sounding very certain.

When they reached the town and started walking down the main street Amethyst Star had just earlier been walking on she realized he was correct. Nobody turned to look at the two of them or came to confront Amethyst Star. It was strange to see after they had just recently ran her out of town while pelting her with fruit. In the short time that she had been gone it looked like things had turned completely back to normal, even the street had been cleaned of the mess the fruit had made. There were still a lot of ponies at the marketplace when Harlequin Grey and Amethyst Star arrived, the unicorn looking around to see if that colt and his mother were still here.

She didn’t see them though so she turned to Harlequin. “So what are we doing now? I want to find that colt to make sure he learns his lesson about stealing and lying and, well, just generally not being awful.”

“Oh that’s hardly enough to make you feel better. And hardly too little punishment for this town,” Harlequin Grey said. “All of these ponies here are complicit in what you went through. The vendors, the shoppers, all of them.”

Amethyst Star frowned but she had to admit he had a point. They all attacked her without knowing the truth. “Okay, let’s get back at them first then?”

“Yes,” he nodded and walked towards one of the stalls, Amethyst Star following on his heels.

She recognized the pony working this stand, he was the one who threw that first pear at her. He stood behind a table stacked with boxes of pears under a large green tent, smiling as if the whole affair with Amethyst Star never happened. It made her angry to see that smile. What was he smiling about? How was that fair? The goofy dope was obliviously helping out his customers, a long line of mares with bags and baskets all waiting to get their hooves on some pears. What did Harlequin Grey have planned for him?

When the last mare reached the table to get some pears and pay, Harlequin Grey made his move.

He was like a phantom and even the things he touched or manipulated went strangely unnoticed by the ponies around him. The mare put her money on the table and was given three pears in return. When the salespony looked down to put that money away it was gone, unknowingly swiped by Harlequin Grey right from under his nose while Amethyst Star watched it all.

The pear seller’s eyebrows shot up to his forehead and he looked back up at the mare who was already waking away elsewhere into the market. “Miss! You forgot to pay!”

She stopped and turned back to look at him with a befuddled expression. “Excuse me?”

“You forgot to pay,” he repeated, an awkward smile on his face. He didn’t think she did it intentionally but it was still a little embarrassing to call her out on something like this.

“No I didn't,” the mare frowned. “I put my money right on the table.”

Now she on the other hoof was already thinking a bit more cynically.

Her words caused his smile to drop, replaced with an upset look of his own. “Miss, I would certainly remember if you did. It’s only three pears, they don’t cost much. Can you please just pay me.”

“Well I never!” She gawked at him. “Are you calling me a liar? No—you’re calling me a thief!”

As Amethyst Star watched the confrontation unfold she saw others in the marketplace were starting to take notice of it too. Including a colt she recognized as one of the others that had attacked her in the forest, shopping with his mother just like the other had been.

“I am not calling you a thief! I’m sure you just forgot to pay,” the pear seller was getting more agitated.

“I did not forget to pay, do I look like some old lady who forgets to pay for her groceries? I think you’re the one lying here. Are you trying to swindle me out of some extra money?” The mare accused of him, glaring at the pear seller.

“Oh that is outrageous! But fine, you know what? Fine! If you want the pears so badly then just take them,” he finally got fed up with it, not wanting the conflict to continue.

“I will. I paid for them after all,” she snidely said as she turned around and started walking away again.

At which point Harlequin Grey threw a pear at the back of her head.

“Ow!” The mare yelped as the pear hit her, her jaw dropping in sheer disbelief that that just happened. She spun around and ran right up to the pear seller’s table, her eyes full of fury. “How dare you!”

“W-Wait, I didn’t-” he tried to defend himself but as he looked around he saw all the eyes of the other shoppers and vendors on him, the ponies whispering back and forth, some of them angrily glaring at him too. “Look everyone, I don’t know who threw that but it wasn’t me okay! I would never do something like that!”

He didn’t get to say anything else as a tomato hit him in the eye.

“Augh! My eye!” He clenched his eyes shut and reached for a rag to clean his face off but ended up tripping over a crate of pears on the ground, falling over and hitting his head on one of the legs of the table. “Ughh...”

The mare he had been arguing with just harumphed and left, satisfied that justice was served.

Some ponies went to check and see if the pear seller was okay while at the same time all the other ponies looked to the direction that the tomato had been thrown from to see the mother and colt Amethyst Star recognized standing there alone.

“Hey, did you throw that tomato at Bittersweet? That wasn’t right,” a pony selling an assortment of celery, carrots, and turnips said to the mother.

“Huh? No, I didn’t do that! I was just watching!” She denied.

Harlequin Grey then popped his head in-between a number of other ponies shopping. “I saw the whole thing. It wasn’t her that threw the tomato, it was her son. He’s the one that hit Bittersweet right in the eye and he did it on purpose.” His emotionless voice apparently still carried the weight it needed, for the ponies around the mother and son turned their angry eyes onto the young colt.

“Hickory, why would you do that!” His mother berated him, shaking him by the shoulder.

“I didn’t mom, I didn’t!” He tried denying it just like Bittersweet but it was clear the crowd didn’t believe him.

Amethyst Star could already hear the angry voices and accusations grow even as Harlequin Grey came back to gather her up and lead her away from the marketplace. So little had been done but it looked like it was about to erupt into so much more. As they passed the last cart in the marketplace before walking back out onto the street, Harlequin Grey kicked it with his hindleg, knocking it over and dumping all the bread on it onto the ground.

“Hey!” The cart owner angrily shouted and punched the nearest pony, thinking he was responsible.

The shouting and chaos grew from there even as Amethyst and Harlequin Grey put the marketplace behind them. The unicorn looked over her shoulder with a grimace to see a number of fights breaking out, fights that didn’t look like they were ending anytime soon.

“See how quickly they turn on each other? How easy it is to make friendly faces despise one another? You were exactly right when you said this whole village is awful, this is proof enough of that. I hardly even had to do anything,” Harlequin Grey told her.

“Y-Yeah...” Amethyst Star bit her lip. This whole thing made her more uncomfortable than she figured it would. Was that really what she wanted to do? Did she want that to happen?

“I normally don’t like causing such chaos but I’m doing this as a gift to you,” he said. “Now there is a house for us to visit.”

“A house?” Amethyst Star looked up at him.

His yellow eyes looked back at her. “Our last stop in this town before justice is truly served, you wouldn’t be satisfied if that colt who lied about you attacking him wasn’t taught a lesson, would you? Of all the ponies here you have to get back at him and his mother or you might as well not have done anything. For doing such a thing to a special pony like yourself they can’t just get away scot-free. Afterwards you can continue on your adventure as a new mare, one who no one will ever doubt or insult again because you’ll have proved to the world that you can’t be crossed without consequences.”

“Right,” Amethyst Star nodded and steeled her face into a scowl as the two walked further into town.

But there was something nagging at her, a pit in her stomach making her uncomfortable. Was he saying ponies were going to fear her? What did he mean by a new mare? She wasn’t quite sure if what he had in mind for the awful colt and his mother is what she wanted, but he was right about getting back at them and she didn’t want to seem hesitant.

A burning house in the center of town brought a large crowd to watch the raging inferno. The entire home was being consumed, its once pretty yellow paint melted, the flowery curtains burnt away, the roof already collapsing onto the second story with the rest of the frame ready to crumble beneath the weight. Smoke went up in a column to cast a ghastly pall over the rest of the town but at least the flames were contained (strangely so) to this one house.

Four specific ponies stood on the street in front of it, hugging each other in despair as their house turned to ash right in front of them.

“We’ve lost everything!” The beehive hairdo mare screamed through tears as she held her son and daughter close while her husband patted her on the back.

The colt and filly cried into their mother’s arms too, all their belongings up in smoke. The rooms they grew up in. The toys they had.

Amethyst Star stood next to Harlequin Grey and watched it as well. The unicorn’s eyes were wide and her head and heart a muddled mess. Her companion on the other hoof seemed as stoic and unmoved as ever. Amethyst Star didn’t know what to think. They were awful. They deserved this… right? This is what they got for treating her so unfairly. It was retribution. The world had spit in her face one too many times and now she was proving that it just couldn’t do that anymore. It was only fair. She was Amethyst Star. She was special. She was strong. She was a pony on an adventure who… who what?

She didn’t do anything wrong did she? They had been the ones who were wrong. So why did she just feel so awful inside?

“Does it feel good to have power over another? To be able to do as you please? It’s not something you’re used to, is it?” Harlequin Grey asked her.

Amethyst Star didn’t answer him. She just watched the fire.

The Wrong Way III

Amethyst Star and Harlequin Grey left the town and made their way west together. It had changed from day to evening to night so quickly that Amethyst Star hadn’t even noticed, but now the two sat around a campfire that Harlequin Grey had made in the middle of another forest that bordered the town. A large rock sat next to the both of them, its smooth surface helping trap in the heat. The unicorn had been mostly silent since leaving, a lot was going through her head.

It was so quiet in the forest. She wished it wasn’t. She wished there were sounds of foraging animals, or hooting owls, or something. Without them the only thing there was to do was dwell on what had happened. And watch the fire. That flickering fire just kept reminding her of what she wished she could put out of her head like everything else bad that had happened on this adventure.

“I can tell you’re upset. You shouldn’t be.”

She looked over at him, shadows dancing across his face from the fire. “I just… I don’t think they deserved that. Any of them. I wanted to get back at them, I’ll admit that, but I never wanted to go that far. I wanted to teach them a lesson the same way Princess Twilight would or something. Er, maybe. I was pretty angry.” She sighed. “Maybe I’m just a hypocrite.”

Harlequin Grey blinked at her. Once. Twice. “It doesn’t matter if they deserved it or not, not really.”

“Huh?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “What are you talking about? Of course it matters! I don’t want to just do stuff like that to innocent ponies.”

“If you have the capability to do something then do it. That’s the benefit of power. Of being special, which you desire so much,” he shrugged his shoulders.

“Which I desire?” She frowned at him. “You’ve been saying all this time that I already was special and amazing.”

“That was me lying.”

“What?” Amethyst Star gasped, standing up and glowering at the other unicorn. Had he suddenly just changed? It was like his whole persona was giving off a different feeling. And to think he was just buttering her up the whole time!

Harlequin Grey stood up as well, walking over to stand between the fire and the rock, lighting his horn up with a wispy silver shine. “Let us discuss some things, Miss Amethyst Star.” The flames and shadows on the rock started changing shape under the influence of his magic, a performance of shadow puppets was being put on as Harlequin Grey made a shadow Amethyst Star on the smooth stone surface. “What I just did, was give you a taste of what being strong felt like. Of being capable to get what you want. Of having the ability to actually achieve your goals instead of just telling yourself you can like you’ve been doing over the course of your silly adventure.”

Amethyst Star watched as her shadow self hopped around, first she jumped onto a train that sped away with even little shadow puffs of smoke to accompany it, then the train melted and formed into a mountain range that little Amethyst Star was walking through. On and on Amethyst Star watch this shadow replay of her adventure. Meeting Birdseed and being given the box that she had completely forgotten about until now. The struggle up the hill. The tournament that ended before it began. All of her failures were plain for her to see all over again, finally culminating in the shadow memory of being ran out of town by an angry mob throwing a volley of fruit and rocks at her. She didn’t want to watch but her eyes couldn’t look away.

Her shadow self then grew and grew until it took up the entire face of the rock. And somehow Amethyst Star knew it was crying.

And she was crying along with it.

“A history of failure. How unfortunate. But that is what happens when a pony tries to be something they’re not. Do something they can’t. You might as well have tried to get a different Cutie Mark,” Harlequin Grey said to her.

“Why?” Amethyst Star spoke through her tears, not turning to look at him.

“I do not say it to be cruel. But it is the truth,” he unlit his horn and let the shadows and fire return to normal. “And because you have been lying to yourself for far too long. Now you must confront reality. You failed to be a fighter. You failed to be a hero. You failed in the swamp. You failed at the tournament. You failed in the temple. You are a failure and you were not prepared for this.”

“Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!” Amethyst Star collapsed to the ground, covering her ears. “I’m not a failure!”

The shadow puppets returned, but this time showing off Princess Twilight and all her friends. Their victory over Nightmare Moon and redemption of Luna, the conflict with the changelings, Tirek, all of their grand accomplishments were played out like a film reel for Amethyst Star to watch. And in the corner of it all a small Amethyst Star sat alone, looking on in envy.

“Do you really think you can be just as amazing as Twilight Sparkle and her friends?”

“Yes! I can be! I’m… I’m sick of being overshadowed. I’m sick of feeling like a background character in my own life,” she dropped her hooves from her ears and sat there as tears fell to the ground. “This is my adventure and I can do it. They’re not better than me, I can do anything they can do… I-I know it.”

“You are correct.”

Amethyst Star looked up at him now, confusion written plainly on her face.

He still didn’t smile, simply regarded her with his same empty expression and white eyes. “But you have to do things my way. Otherwise failure will continue to be all that awaits you.”

“Your way?”

“Yes, my way. The same way I showed you back in that town. Where you do what you want to whoever you want. Where you have the power to eradicate doubt. The way that allows you to conquer anything on your adventure as if you were Twilight Sparkle herself. That way,” Harlequin Grey told her. “No one would ever insult or talk down to you again. And if they dared then they face your wrath.”

Amethyst Star stood up, her eyes searching around for an answer. “I-I don’t-”

“You will have respect. Respect comes with power. Your friends wont mock you anymore for dreaming big. Finally you truly will be able to do anything just like you’ve been telling yourself. It’s what you’ve always wanted. You know this.”

It was.

Amethyst Star gulped, finally finding the courage to look deep into his purple eyes. “How?”

He raised his hoof out towards her. “Take my hoof. That’s it.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it. And you will be the mare you always wanted to be. At the forefront. Strong. The best,” he reassured her.

Amethyst Star looked at his outstretched hoof. It was really that simple? She could finally convince her friends and everyone else that she was the amazing pony she believed herself to be? She could do what she wanted, have that epic adventure she dreamed of, and actually succeed at it? No more ponies doubting her, no more ponies laughing at her, no more ponies blaming her for things that weren’t her fault. All she had to do was take that hoof.

She stepped forward and reached out her own shaking hoof, her breath hitched in her throat, her heart beating like a jackhammer in her chest. It’s what she wanted. This was the way to get what she wanted.

The crying family in front of their burning home flashed through her mind.

Amethyst Star stopped, looking at her hoof only an inch away from grasping Harlequin Grey’s. Slowly she looked up at him. “I… I have a sister.”

For the first time since meeting him, Harlequin Grey showed emotion on his face. He frowned. “Yes, I’m well aware that you do.”

“I was just thinking,” Amethyst Star said to him. “What would my sister think if she saw what we had done back there? What would my friends think? Or Twilight Sparkle and the ponies I’m trying to emulate. What would any of them think about that or the way you want me to be?”

“Who cares? It’s irrelevant,” his frown deepened.

“No! No it’s not!” Amethyst Stat yelled at him. “I may have had my screw-ups out here and I may not have handled everything the best and it’s true that I want ponies to respect me and see that I’m as great as I know I am. But I don’t want to do it like that. I don’t want to be like that or do things your way.”

Harlequin Grey’s lip quivered and his eyes narrowed at her. “Are you sure? Failure and insecurity will be a thing of the past to you if you go my way. Take my hoof.”

Amethyst Star looked down at it as she grit her teeth. Her brow furrowed and she finally slapped away his hoof. “No! I’m not that kind of pony! I’m a good pony. And I’m going to do things the right way.”

“Feh,” Harlequin Grey dismissively spat, rolling his eyes at her little speech. “Fine.”

She glared at him, angrier than she had ever been so far on her adventure. “I’d like you to go away.”

He regarded her for a cold few seconds before responding.

“You ponies-” he began with an irritated lilt. “Are all so annoying. It’s just trouble after trouble when it comes to you. Well so be it then.” The pegasus spread his wings and flapped them a few times, rising into the air. “I was hoping you could deal with some problems of mine but if you’re so adamant on continuing your stupid little failure of an adventure then be my guest. You’ll regret it but don’t come crying to me. I have something far more important to deal with to the south right now anyways.”

And without another word he gave a last powerful flap of his wings and sped off into the dark sky.

“Yeah you better run, jerk!” Amethyst Star yelled and shook her hoof after him. “You’re not turning me into another selfish jerk, I’ve met way too many of those out here already!”

Amethyst Star had some mixed feelings about what had just occurred. Here and back in the town. But what she knew for sure was how good she felt about swatting his hoof away and rejecting that offer. That was at least one thing she knew she could be proud of on this adventure. After all the things that had gone wrong, that was most assuredly something that had gone right.

Amethyst Star and the Cultist

A bright new day greeted Amethyst Star as she woke up in the back of a covered wagon. The other day she had come across a traveling caravan heading in the same direction as her, and since she had been walking for ages she figured she might as well give herself some rest. The caravan ponies were friendly enough to give her a ride as long as she occasionally helped out with things and Amethyst Star was more than happy to oblige. This was also something she wouldn’t normally do back in Equestria, it wasn’t anything particularly adventurous but it was different and that was fine to her. She was still doing something instead of just walking around and a big caravan like this probably had an important destination in mind where Amethyst Star could find other stuff to do.

With a yawn, Amethyst Star tossed her blanket off and sat up. The wagon had been rolling for hours by now but the journey was surprisingly smooth enough to not wake her up early. The unicorn rubbed her eyes and sat there for a moment longer to get all the sleep out of her system, exercising her jaw to get the creaks out and stretching her neck. The wagon she was in was one of many used to carry crates full of grain and her little bed area was placed right between four large crates, two stacked up on each other. She was thankful they hadn’t hit a bump or that might’ve been the end to her adventure right there but they didn’t really have any other free room. No matter where she slept it would’ve been nestled between a bunch of heavy crates.

Amethyst Star stood up and stretched like a cat, feeling ready enough to take on the day she trotted through the back of the wagon towards the front, the heavy wood boards reverberating beneath her hooves with each step. She walked up a ramp that led to the driver’s seat and pulled open the wagon tent’s flap to say good morning to the caravan workers.

“Heya, good morning!” Amethyst Star called out to them as she hopped from the back onto the driver’s seat.

Four large stallions were busy pulling the wagon while a mare with a large hat sat right next to the tent flap that Amethyst Star had opened, now the two of them sharing the same bench.

“Morning!” The four stallions politely said in unison as they looked back at her for a second before continuing their duty. A lot of ground needed to be covered every day.

“And a good morning to you too,” the bright white hat-wearing mare said. She went by the name of Aquamarine, a name that Amethyst Star silently attempted to make sense of since her mane was made up of curly red locks and her Cutie Mark was that of a fountain pen. She didn’t want to be rude so it seemed it would just be left as a mystery for the ages.

“Guess you’ve been up for a lot longer than me?” Amethyst Star asked Aquamarine.

“Quite so, rising early is just part and parcel when it comes to our way of life. I hope the wagon was comfortable enough for you?” Aquamarine smiled at her guest.

“Yep! I’m actually kind of surprised but I feel great.”

“That’s good to hear, I don’t know how long you’ll be with us but it would be terrible if things were uncomfortable for you.”

Amethyst Star smiled and leaned back against the bench, enjoying the hospitality of the caravan ponies. She was on the fifth wagon in a line of twelve, with every last one of them either carrying grain, grain, and more grain, or the tools and supplies needed to harvest and plant grain. Amethyst Star figured they were either associated with some great farm itself or were well known enough that their services were trusted with transporting enough grain to feed a whole town.

Taking a gander at the scenery, Amethyst Star was able to enjoy the rolling green hills in the distance and the small sprouts of forests that dotted the landscape. They were up on top of a flat and decent sized hill themselves so thanks to that elevation bonus Amethyst Star could see a wide and lazy river flowing to the south. A bunch of moving dots on the river must’ve been boats. More than anywhere else she’d been so far in the Undiscovered West this reminded her of Equestria. A green and temperate land that was well forested with friendly ponies to boot. Of course this wasn’t a vacation she was on, this was an adventure she was on, and if the rest of the west was like this that would kind of put a damper on her journey for an epic quest.

But considering everything else she had been through it would be dumb to take this great thing for granted.

Amethyst Star wasn’t sure what kind of work she’d have to do today, if any, but she was making sure she wouldn’t exhaust herself before that. She’d generally only helped move some stuff or temporarily take over for one of the stallions pulling a wagon. Nothing too extreme. Amethyst Star liked to think they were just polite and didn’t want to put too much of a burden on their guest. The reality was they probably didn’t think she could handle anything too straining but didn’t want to be impolite and tell her as such.

She blinked a few times and put her hooves behind her head, looking up at the sky now and the puffy white clouds drifting by. Blue and sunny. You couldn’t ask for a better day. A hawk flew past her vision from one part of the sky to the other. On the hunt? Just flying for fun? Amethyst Star occasionally liked to think about what it would be like if she was a pegasus, or even an earth pony. But she was a bit too close to her magic to want to give it up, even if she wasn’t supremely gifted at it.

“Would you like to go for a walk?”

The sudden question from Aquamarine snapped her out of her thoughts. Amethyst Star looked over at the mare sitting next to her. “Huh?”

“Be kind of boring to just sit up here watching the boys pull the wagon all day, let’s go for a bit of a walk. We can check on the trail up ahead. Least be something to do,” Aquamarine suggested.

“Hm, alright,” Amethyst Star shrugged. She hadn’t planned to do anything but just walking wasn’t going to make her tired. This trip on the wagon was supposed to be her break from walking as a means of travel, not walking as a means of killing time.

Aquamarine told the stallions pulling the wagon that they were taking a walk and the two mares hopped off onto the ground, walking down the trail on their own hooves. Thanks to the size and weight of the wagons it was actually faster for a single pony to just walk unless the stallions were really running or putting their all into pulling. So Amethyst and Aquamarine were able to get ahead of the caravan in just a minute or two, saying hi to the other ponies with each one they passed.

When they made it to the front of the whole caravan and started walking on open trail, Amethyst Star decided to strike up a conversation. “So how long have you been doing this? Working the caravan, I mean.”

“My whole life,” Aquamarine grinned at her. “I was born on the wagon trail, same as my parents. Same as my kids one day. What about you? Know you’re traveling but you don’t seem to have much of a destination in mind, if you don’t mind me saying.”

“Yeah I come from a small town out east. Like way out east. This is the first time I’ve done anything like this,” Amethyst Star said.

“What made you come out here?”

“A… lot of things,” Amethyst Star didn’t particularly want to get into all her insecurities or the silly reasoning she had for taking this trip so she stayed vague. She didn’t realize the irony that she was talking to someone who had much the simple life that she did back in Ponyville, where she’d done the same thing her entire life, only Aquamarine didn’t seem to have any problem with it. “I wanted a change of pace to put it simply.”

“Guess I can understand that. I’d never leave the caravan though. Course it’s a little different since leave it or not I get to travel all over,” she chuckled. “You said a small town? I figured as much, you seemed a bit country to me, reminded me a bit of myself.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yep. I said I’d never leave the caravan but that doesn’t mean I’ve never had fantasies or never thought about it. Mostly when I was a kid though, before I got my Cutie Mark.”

“Hm,” Amethyst Star noncommittally grunted. She knew Aquamarine probably didn’t mean anything by it but the implication that she was living out a childish fantasy kind of got to her. And her being so firm that she’d never leave the caravan must mean she was pretty darn content in her life here and didn’t have the issues that Amethyst Star had back home. It made her a little envious.

The two went along the hill trail just enjoying the sights and the sounds of the wilderness for a few minutes longer. The wagons created a steady rumble behind them until they crested a small bump and couldn’t see them anymore if they were to look back. Now it was just a grassy slope to their left and a sparse forest to their right that had a shoddy wooden rail fence bordering it. She wondered if someone owned the forest or if there was a farm somewhere close by because of it.

She was so caught up in those big details that she didn’t notice one very peculiar thing that stuck out like a sore thumb.

“Well now, who’s that up there?” Aquamarine said as her eyes looked dead ahead down the trail.

Amethyst Star perked up and followed her gaze to see a pony on the side of the trail up ahead, standing right by the fence. Whoever they were they wore a long hooded brown cloak that hid all but the bottoms of their yellow hooves. Amethyst Star frowned, they looked suspicious, that was for sure. Who would be out here all alone wearing something like that? Aquamarine didn’t seem to share her suspicions though, with a friendly smile she waved to the pony up ahead.

“Hey there!”

The cloaked pony turned their head to Aquamarine and Amethyst, face obscured by the shadows from her hood, she didn’t say anything back or wave just yet but she took a couple steps closer to the trail and waited for Aquamarine and Amethyst Star to reach her. By the time they got close enough to shake hooves, Amethyst Star was giving her an unsure look, her brow furrowed and eyes searching up and down the cloaked pony in case they were hiding anything. It might not have been the Ponyville way to be so pessimistic when it came to strangers nowadays but Amethyst Star didn’t want to take any chances out in the west.

Aquamarine was still smiling all friendly to the cloaked pony though. “Howdy! Whatcha doing out here all alone?”

The cloaked pony regarded the two mares for a second before slowly responding. “I was… just traveling through I suppose.” She said in the light voice of a young mare.

“Well then you’re just like Miss Amethyst Star here!” Aquamarine threw a hoof around Amethyst’s shoulders. “She’s traveling with me and my caravan right now. My name’s Aquamarine by the by.”

The cloaked mare was silent again for a second before she reached up and pulled down her hood, revealing a bright pink mane and the horn of a unicorn underneath. Amethyst Star was right about the voice too, she was definitely at least a couple years younger than her. “I’m Solar Streak. Can I ask where it is your caravan is heading?”

“Course you can!” Aquamarine cordially answered, sticking out her hoof for Solar Streak to shake, which the young unicorn did. “Well for right now we’re heading northwest to Fire Vent, that’s our next big stop, but eventually we’ll be going all the way out to the Al-Karamaretel Citadel before coming back this way.”

Amethyst Star had no idea what either of those things were but they sounded kind of adventurous. Maybe she should stick with the caravan for a little longer? But then she’d have to go at their pace. And it wouldn’t exactly just be her adventure if she was tagging along with these ponies the whole way. She’d have to think about it.

“Is it all right if I join you? I don’t know if I’ll travel with you all the way but I was going this direction to begin with as well. You can put me to work on anything if need be, I can carry my own weight,” Solar Streak asked. “I’ve been traveling on my own for a while now. It can get kind of lonely.”

Aquamarine gave her a bittersweet smile. “Aw, don’t you worry none about being alone anymore, sugar. We’re fine with letting anyone come along with us so long as we have room.” Aquamarine glanced over at Amethyst. “Do we have any more room back in the wagon you’re staying in.”

“A little,” Amethyst Star nodded. “She’ll have to sleep between boxes just like me though.”

“That’s fine with me, I’m used to spartan conditions,” Solar Streak shrugged.

“Great!” Aquamarine hugged the new unicorn, who winced slightly at the contact. “And carrying your own weight aint such a big deal either, so long as you help out sometimes and don’t just sleep all day we’re glad to have another set of hooves around.”

Solar Streak blushed in embarrassment as she pulled away from the hug. “Thank you.” She then turned her gaze to Amethyst Star, who was staring at the ground lost in her own thoughts now after having completely forgotten to be suspicious. “I guess we’re wagonmates for the time being?”

“Huh?” Amethyst Star looked up at her. “Oh, right. Yeah.” She looked over the cloaked mare for a second before smiling. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with her. She came off as normal enough after they talked and it wasn’t really any stranger for her to be out here alone than how Amethyst Star had been traveling alone. “Pleased to meet you.”

Thanks to them stopping to have this conversation the wagons had begun to catch up with them and Aquamarine decided to cut their walk short and show Solar Streak around. So Amethyst Star gladly went trotting back to her wagon to rest and watch the world go by for the rest of the day, like she had intended in the first place.

It turned out to be a slow day for the caravan and Amethyst Star ended up never being asked for her help with anything. By the time everyone was beginning to go to sleep, Amethyst Star was already so well-rested that all she could do was lie down between her crates and stare up at the roof of the wagon. It would take some time before she felt tired enough to go to sleep. They had stopped on the trail and there wasn’t even the steady sound of the wagon wheels turning or any chirping of crickets outside to lull her to sleep. Her head rested on her pillow, quietly alone with her thoughts.

“Excuse me? Are you still awake?”

Well, not quite alone.

Solar Streak was put up in another gap between crates right next to Amethyst Star. They couldn’t see each other sleeping like this but they could hear each other just fine.

“Yes?” Amethyst Star answered.

There was another pause from the young unicorn before she spoke again. “I’m sorry if this is too familiar of me to ask, but why are you traveling? Aquamarine said you were doing the same thing as me.” Before Amethyst Star could respond she quickly followed up. “Actually, never mind, I know it’s rude of me to ask about your personal life like that when we don’t even know each other, I just haven’t spoken to any other pony in a long time and-”

“Woah, relax!” Amethyst Star interrupted to calm her down. “I don’t mind.”

It wasn’t just about not minding, since this pony didn’t know her she could talk herself up all she wanted and Solar Streak would be none the wiser to her exaggerations.

“Sorry...” was the quiet response from Solar Streak.

“You don’t need to apologize,” Amethyst Star smirked even though the other mare couldn’t see it. “Anyways I just wanted to go on an adventure. I come from a town where a lot of really special and amazing ponies live and I always knew on the inside that I could do just as amazing stuff as they did, but I never got the chance to and no one really believed that I could. So finally I just got fed up with it all and came out here to prove that I was made of the same stuff.”

There was only silence from the other side of the crates.

“Er, why did you want to know?” Amethyst Star asked.

“So you want to be special?”

Amethyst Star propped herself up from her blanket, raising an eyebrow at the crate right next to her and the pony beyond. “Uh, yeah? Who doesn’t want to be special?”

She could hear Solar Streak turning over in her blanket. “I guess it’s normal to want that, huh?”

Amethyst Star didn’t know how to respond to that. Her whole journey started because of ponies outdoing her at what she used to be the best at. Taking her place, making her irrelevant, making no one ask for her help or advice on anything. So it seemed normal enough to her to want to be special and seen by others as capable. To want to be someone ponies looked to when they were in trouble or came to when they needed advice. She had that confidence in herself and saw herself that way but others weren’t convinced because ponies like Twilight Sparkle and the others overshadowed her. So she just had to go on the same kind of adventures they did. Seemed logical enough to her.

“For a long time I thought the complete opposite of that. I hated the idea of special,” Solar Streak spoke up again.

“Really?” Now that was something Amethyst Star couldn’t believe.

“Everyone in my old village did. We were a… community of like minded ponies. We came together under a certain belief system. I’m not sure how it started, but I remember being unhappy with my life, and disappointed. My Cutie Mark never gave me the sort of happiness or purpose I expected.” She paused again as Amethyst Star intently listened in. “But then I met other ponies like me. And they said it was okay. They said I only felt that way because I was indoctrinated by “this world that celebrates specialness and breeds conflict between ponies”. Well that was just what I wanted to hear, it made me feel better about not being special.”

“So what happened?” Amethyst Star was now fully sitting up and listening in.

“We had our own village like I said, and it grew and grew as we spread our beliefs and found more wayward ponies. I thought it was really great back then. But looking back now I can see how crazy some of the stuff was even before it all began to fall apart for me. Like, you had to keep your Cutie Mark covered at all times, unicorns weren’t allowed to use magic, and pegasi weren’t allowed to fly. Cause all of those things just showed off special attributes that not every pony had when we were supposed to all be equal and not dwelling on the differences.”

“That uh, sounds pretty crazy,” Amethyst Star said. She was grimacing at the thought of living in a village like that.

“It was. And it wasn’t just that that was extreme. We couldn’t take criticism or allow anyone to insult our ways, so we occasionally did some really bad things to other ponies. I know we just got worse and worse over time but back when I was still involved with it I don’t think I cared or even realized that we were wrong.” Solar Streak sighed deeply as she thought about it. “Well I at last realized how awful we had become, how wrong we always were, and I just up and left it all. Been traveling alone ever since. I’m still not used to using my magic...”

“Sorry to hear that you had to go through all of that. Oh, now I’m the one saying sorry.”

“I’m getting over it. I more feel bad about what some of the others who ran into us had to go through than my own personal experiences,” Solar Streak shrugged.

“I can’t even imagine living in a village like that,” Amethyst Star frowned. “I got annoyed and angry at ponies who got to do things I didn’t and got everyone’s respect but it just made me want to get everyone else to see me as just as amazing as them.”

“Sounds like you had a lot more pride and belief in yourself than we did.”

Amethyst Star smiled at that. If she had a little more self-awareness and thought about how this adventure of hers had gone so far she might not have.

“Still, there was one good thing about living in that village. Something I don’t regret,” Solar Streak said.

“Huh? What?” That made Amethyst Star curious.

“It gave me perspective. Living in an extreme way like that for so long got me to appreciate what being a normal pony was like after I chose to leave. I stopped caring about how I wasn’t special, I didn’t want to be special anymore but it wasn’t because of the way I used to follow it was because I realized there was nothing wrong with not being special and I didn’t have to wallow in self-pity or try to change the world or deny reality. For the first time in my life I was really happy the way I was. I was, I still am, content. Now I’m just trying to find my place in the world as a normal pony, that’s why I’m out here.”

Amethyst Star heard her yawn after she finished up.

“Sorry for going on kind of a rant there,” Solar Streak said. “Good night. I hope you have a good time on your travels.”

The pink and purple unicorn lied back down and blinked up a few times at the canvas of the wagon, thinking about the young mare and what she had just said. Obviously she had been through a lot and there were some similarities to herself Amethyst Star could see in the mare. She was happy for Solar Streak. Really. But not wanting to be special? Well that was just crazy talk to Amethyst Star. She was going to continue being as incredible, heroic, and special as she knew she was and make sure others knew it too.

Amethyst Star and the Hunter

Spending the night in an inn that also doubled as a tavern on the ground floor turned out not to be the brightest of ideas. Amethyst Star was kept up well into the night by the rowdy ponies drinking down below when she really wanted to get some sleep. Hugging the thin pillow over her ears did nothing to help and she ended up tossing and turning for hours before her exhaustion won out over the noise. Even then she didn’t get near as much sleep as she wanted, in only a few hours the sun rose and a ray of light just happened to perfectly shine through a gap in her room’s curtains to hit her eyes. And as much as she grumbled and tried to get back to sleep after that it was pointless. Eventually Amethyst Star gave up and got out of her sparse bed.

“I’m going to be glad to get out of here...”

The unicorn yawned and gathered up her things, matting down her mane to make it a little less wild after sleeping with a pillow sandwiched over her head. Throwing on her saddlebag, she was more than ready to leave this inn and get back on the road to wherever it was she was going. West was still good enough for her. Amethyst Star looked in the mirror on her room’s wall to see if she looked alright. Seeing nothing more than a tired pony staring back at her she figured that was good enough and headed out, walking down the stairs so she could notify the family that owned this place that she was leaving. They had a few rooms at the back that they lived in and their kids worked around the place to clean up or serve guests

As she walked by the bar she looked out at all the tables that were last night full of rowdy ponies, this morning they were still full of ponies but they were far more quiet. Either eating breakfast or pleasantly chatting with each other. A stark contrast to the zoo this place became as soon as the moon came out. Amethyst Star was kind of surprised to see how good of business this place did considering it was in such a remote location. Maybe that was why though, if it was the only place around then traveling ponies would have no choice but to come here.

Amethyst Star shrugged and walked up to the mare behind the far end of the bar, close to the door. She was busy wiping it down with a rag, no doubt getting things clean for the next night of roughhousing and drinking down here.

“Excuse me? I just wanted to let you know that I’m leaving, so my room’s free again,” Amethyst Star told the barmaid, one of the owner’s daughters.

The barmaid perked up and looked at her with a surprised expression at first. Finally upon recognition of who she was and what she just said her face morphed into a smile. “Oh, right! Thank you, I hope you enjoyed your stay!”

Amethyst Star didn’t see the point of complaining or sticking around any longer so she just smiled and left the establishment. It was just one night and she’d probably never be back here again so what was the point of making a perfectly nice pony upset? As the door closed shut behind her though another mare in the back of the tavern stood up, one that had been stealthily watching Amethyst Star the entire time since she had come down. For whatever reason this mare had, she quietly walked past the other tables and patrons and left out the door just the same, following Amethyst Star.

Her recent stop was situated in the middle of a desolate mountain path that Amethyst Star had been traveling on for the past couple of days. Now she was back to hoofing it across that with no other company but her thoughts. Supposedly there was a large town fairly closer to where these mountains and this road ended but for now Amethyst Star had nothing to do but walk.

The morning air out here was nice at least and the sun kept her warm despite the altitude. The mountains rose higher and higher to her right while to her left it was only a short ways before the ground started to slope into an artificial ravine. Amethyst Star had asked about it the night before and the ponies told her it was to make a river flow down from a reservoir up in the mountains so it could be used for farming in the valley below.

Amethyst Star peeked over the edge into the gravel-lined ravine, it was a small river that sat at the bottom of it, flowing uninterrupted as far as she could see. The sides and bed of the river looked like they were made with cement, giving it an appearance more like a dam’s spillway or an aqueduct than a river.

Ignoring that for now she kept on walking through the mountain pass. She had been warned to not leave the main pass by pretty much every pony she had come across so far on this mountain. Apparently there were too many twists and turns among the rocks, and a pony like her who didn’t know them would get lost. Well that didn’t bother her. She didn’t feel like going through anymore mountains or exploring them on her adventure, walking around or on them was more than enough for her. Unless they held a secret castle or treasure or something. But she doubted these ones did.

“Hey!”

At the sudden cry Amethyst Star looked up to see a pony standing on a rock above her. Once the pony was sure she had gotten Amethyst Star’s attention she gracefully jumped down right in Amethyst’s path, kicking up a cloud of dust with her landing.

“Uh...” Amethyst Star tilted her head at the mare now blocking her way. She was a scarlet red earth pony with an even deeper shade red mane and tail, giving her a vibrant but dark look that was uncommon in most ponies. She really seemed to have a fondness for the color black too. The mare was wearing a black, buttoned-up vest with a black beret on her head that covered most of her cut short mane along with a pair of sunglasses that completely concealed her eyes. The only other “color” on her clothes was the puffy gray collar of her vest. The whole look and outfit of the pony, and the way she carried herself, screamed that she was trying to intimidate whoever it was she was dealing with. “Who are you?”

The mare reached up and tilted down her sunglasses, showing off a sliver of striking and incredibly deep blue eyes behind them. “You can call me The Red Hornet.” She said in a sharp tone as her eyes pierced Amethyst Star.

“Okay? What do you want?” Amethyst Star asked as she took a small step back from the scarlet pony.

The Red Hornet tilted her sunglasses back up so they completely covered her eyes again before responding. “Honey, I’m gonna give you the chance to do this the easy way. Hoof over the box to me right now.”

“Box?” That command just made Amethyst Star even more confused.

“Don’t you be playing dumb with me now,” The Red Hornet frowned as she took a few steps closer to Amethyst Star. “I know for a fact that Birdseed gave you the box to take to his associate. So I’m gonna say this one more time before I get a little angry. Give me the box.”

Recognition lit up on Amethyst Star’s face. “Oh!” She smiled. “I keep forgetting about that!”

The Red Hornet raised a barely seeable eyebrow at Amethyst’s unusual response. “Honey? You aren’t playing me off so easily, I’ve come a long way to make sure that box doesn’t fall into the wrong hooves. You can act ignorant all you want but I’m getting the box one way or another.”

Amethyst Star now seemed to really register what was being said, her smile changed to a frown and she put a protective hoof over her saddlebag. “I have no idea what you’re talking about but I was asked to take this box with me somewhere and only give it to a specific pony if they find me. And that’s not you.”

“That aint what I wanted to hear,” The Red Hornet threateningly glowered at Amethyst Star. “Do you even know what you’re carrying? You say Birdseed asked you to give it to someone else but what’s in that box doesn’t belong to him in the first place!”

“Yeah, well, how am I supposed to know if that’s true or not?” Amethyst Star countered. “You could be lying just like you say he is!”

The scarlet mare growled at Amethyst Star. “He’s a criminal, that box is dangerous!”

“Well you look like a criminal too, you know?” The unicorn scoffed. “Talk about the pot calling the kettle black, if you wanted to convince someone you’re the good guy maybe you shouldn’t look like you kick puppies for a living!”

“Okay, now I am angry,” The Red Hornet stomped towards Amethyst Star, who repeatedly took steps away from her. “Give. Me. The box. Give it to me now and you can just be on your way. Refuse? Then you won’t be in good enough shape to be on your way for a good long while.”

“No!” Amethyst Star shook her head. “This was my first quest! I was given this box to carry and keep safe until that other pony comes to get it, I’m not giving it to you!”

“Quest? This isn’t a game! This is serious!”

“I’m serious! Whether you like it or not that guy trusted me with this box and I’m not letting him down just because some pony I don’t even know says he’s a bad guy,” Amethyst Star glared at her. “So why don’t you just turn around and leave?”

“No can do, honey. Looks like you’re gonna make me do this the hard way. I’ll be taking that box from you, you hear? Got that?” The Red Hornet narrowed her eyes behind her sunglasses.

“O-Oh yeah?” Amethyst Star gulped, she stopped backing up and spread her hooves, tensing her body and lowering her head. “You and what army?” The unicorn preemptively lit up her horn.

If she was intimidated by the threat of magic The Red Hornet didn’t show it. The scarlet pony just lifted up a single hoof in front of her face. “This army.”

Amethyst Star grimaced, sweat starting to form along her brow even as she tried to fight off her nerves. Had she ever been in an actual fight before? With a pony who really intended to hurt her? “T-That’s not a very impressive army.”

“You’ll be changing your tune about it after I break your legs,” The Red Hornet maliciously grinned.

“Good luck,” Amethyst Star attempted her best to sound cool and calm, but it was kind of ruined by her voice cracking on luck. “I’ve been in way more dangerous situations in my life than some pony like you trying to steal something from me.”

The Red Hornet paused for a second. Her face settling into an unreadable and impenetrable mask as she put her hoof back to the ground and just stood in front of Amethyst Star. Was she testing her? Waiting for the unicorn to make the first move? Amethyst Star had no idea, she wasn’t very experienced when it came to stuff like this. Even if she was good at reading another pony’s intentions or emotions she’d have a tough time doing that with the midnight black sunglasses completely covering up the red pony’s eyes. Amethyst Star wasn’t one for patience and her nervousness was starting to get to her as well, she could feel her heartbeat speeding up with each passing moment and the sheer anxiety she felt was well on its way to make her breakdown before anything had even actually happened!

It was probably that that The Red Hornet was waiting for, the tenser and more high-strung Amethyst Star got the easier she would be to deal with. The moment Amethyst Star blinked The Red Hornet swung into action, deftly darting from side to side to make it harder for Amethyst Star to hit her with any spells she might fire.

And since Amethyst Star had no idea how to effectively use her magic in an offensive manner it worked.

“Ah!” Amethyst Star yelped at the pony running at her and blindly fired a bolt of magic that was easily dodged while jumping back.

The Red Hornet then lunged forward, swinging her hoof to knock out Amethyst Star with a single hit to the jaw. But the little jump backwards Amethyst Star had made saved her and the scarlet hoof struck empty air. Amethyst Star backpedaled to the edge of the embankment and fired another weak beam of magic right at The Red Hornet’s hooves, causing the red pony to herself jump out of the way.

“S-Stay back you hear! Come at me again and I’ll really hit you this time!” Amethyst Star attempted to bluster her way out of this situation but as she tried taking another step backwards and felt nothing beneath her hoof she realized she had accidentally ran out of room. Briefly looking behind her back she saw nada but the ravine and river below her and a painful tumble waiting if she tried backing up anymore.

“Honey, you’ve clearly been trying to hit me already. And now you’ve got nowhere else to go,” The Red Hornet didn’t grin this time, immediately after her sentence ended she ran with a lightning fast speed at Amethyst Star.

The out of her element unicorn had the appropriate reaction when that happened. Her eyes went as wide as possible while she screamed in terror and automatically tried to back away, leading her to slip down the gravelly embankment and roll down to the river. The Red Hornet gasped in surprise when she saw the unicorn slip and she reached out a hoof trying to grab her. But she was just a fraction of a second too late and Amethyst Star kept going down and down.

“Wait!” The Red Hornet yelled as Amethyst Star fell. “Argh! That’s not what I wanted to happen!”

Amethyst Star grunted in pain the whole way down before she bounced right into the water and was carried away downstream. The artificial river’s pace quick as it traveled down the mountain. The Red Hornet stood at the top of the ravine, lifting up her sunglasses and watching with those sharp blue eyes as the pink and purple head sticking out above the water faded away into the distance.

“Tch, really wish I knew how to swim right now,” the scarlet pony scowled and kicked a loose pebble down the ravine. “That little idiot… does she have any idea what she’s gotten herself into?”

When the Going Gets Tough

A very waterlogged Amethyst Star pulled herself out of the river. Rolling onto her back and lying in the mud of the riverbank she spat up a little spout of water and stared at the blue sky with a frown on her face. She wouldn’t have minded being put through the wringer if it was tied to doing something a bit more adventurous instead of what just happened to her. And as much as she wanted to lie to herself about “holding her ground” against a pony attacking her, the circumstances of how she ended up in the river were too much for even her very self-deceptive mind to ignore.

“I need a break again...” Amethyst Star grumbled and sat up. The mud and water were both dripping off of her but she couldn’t care less at this point. “I haven’t done anything really adventure-like since meeting Daring Do but the world apparently wants to keep getting in my way. After all that walking over the mountain I should be ready for the next adventure but now I just want to rest.”

Amethyst Star sighed as she got up, twisting the water out of her tail. “Whatever. There was supposed to be a town down here or something, right?”

Not letting her annoyance or frustration get her down completely, Amethyst Star started walking away from the river and across the grassy plains she now found herself on. The ground squished beneath her hooves but it wasn’t near as bad as traveling through a swamp or marsh. Thankfully she knew the river flowed west so she could still tell where she was going. A small forest further downstream was her current short term goal.

The weather was still good too and the sun wasn’t blocked out by any clouds, the muddy and wet pony found herself naturally getting dried off the further she walked. Her one piece of fortune this whole trip so far was that the weather had been on her side. The sun’s warm rays felt really good right now, it was just the kind of boost Amethyst Star needed to help get her out of her foul mood. The quaint little forest was another boost when she got to it. It was just like what you would find around Ponyville… besides the Everfree Forest.

Chirping birds and colorful trees were a pleasant reprieve from how the day had started and Amethyst Star had a smile on her face as she wandered among the trees. A pair of bluebirds flew together over in the low sky, a group of butterflies floated about in the air right around her head, and a skittish squirrel ran from tree to tree, looking for nuts. A blackberry bush she came across also made for a tasty snack.

“Mmm,” Amethyst Star licked her lips after enjoying the sweet treat. “There were farms too in this valley right? Or farmlands. Wonder if they’ve got any other good fruit around here.”

Putting aside that thought for a moment longer, Amethyst Star rubbed her stomach and kept on walking through the forest. As idyllic as it was she wanted to find a town or something soon so she could rest up and then get started on the next leg of her journey and hopefully her next adventure. And first one that would have a completely positive conclusion.

Well it seemed like her luck had changed the moment she pulled herself out of that river because it wasn’t too long until she exited the forest and came across a brand new town. A rather bustling one at that. It was cut clean in half by the river with a number of bridges spanning across it and streets absolutely crowded with buildings that all bled into one another. Compared to Ponyville or most small towns where every house and place of business was a separate building, this place had a much more clustered and claustrophobic look to it. As she entered the town and walked down the first street she saw a large red brick building sharing a wall with a much smaller wooden building, which on the other side shared a wall with a taller wooden building, and so on and so forth.

“I heard buildings in Manehatten were built a little like this,” Amethyst Star scratched her head as she walked on.

Side-streets often intersected the larger main ones that the building fronts were located on, creating blocks and allowing access to other streets since there weren’t any alleyways to go between buildings with. There were a lot of ponies going up and down each street and before long Amethyst Star found herself caught in the pace of the crowd, wandering from place to place while gawking around at everything like a true tourist. She hadn’t yet seen a place to stay or eat at and was keeping her eyes peeled for one even as she was carried along by the wave of ponies she was walking with.

Getting tired of being jostled around and at the mercy of the swaying crowd, Amethyst Star decided to try and fight her way free. She squeezed and nudged her way through the throng of ponies until she popped out onto the cement sidewalk that lined the streets, gasping for air. Shaking her head and standing up tall to see where she was she noticed she was at the corner of one of the big city blocks.

Amethyst Star frowned. “There are way more ponies here than I thought there would be and this whole place is nothing but a bunch of squares over and over, I need directions.”

That’s when a familiar smell hit her nose. Amethyst Star perked up and took a few deep whiffs of the air. Coffee. Turning around and looking past the busy sidewalk, Amethyst Star realized that the corner of this block was taken up by a large coffee shop. Of course now she had to fight through another line of ponies moving on the sidewalk to get in there. Steeling herself, she dove right in, not bothering to excuse her behavior in the slightest as she reached for her goal of the coffee shop.

With a final grunt of exertion she freed herself and stumbled right into the glass door of the shop, groaning and rubbing her face as she opened it up and stepped inside. It was decidedly more modern looking than any eatery you would find in Ponyville, definitely giving off the Manehattan vibe like the rest of the city. To her disappointment there was a huge line at the counter that she had no desire to stand in so instead Amethyst Star sat down at the nearest open table. The table was small and only her one chair, which wobbled, was placed around it so she knew no one else would be sitting down with her.

For a moment Amethyst Star just pony watched, looking out the windows at the ones walking around and checking out the ones in the coffee shop all eating or drinking or chatting with each other. She noticed that unlike Ponyville most of the ponies here were wearing clothes. Sharp hats and suits were the most common thing she saw on stallions while the mares seemed especially fond of fitted cloche hats and thin, robe-like dresses that went all the way down to their hooves. It wasn’t a style she was familiar with, although her exposure to fashion was very limited even with Equestria’s burgeoning fashion entrepreneur living in the same town as her.

Amethyst Star propped an elbow up on the table and rested her chin on her hoof, watching a happy couple at the table next to her. The two were playfully conversing and sharing from a steaming cup of coffee that smelled very good, in their own little bubble. The enamored mare and stallion talked and flirted through half-lidded eyes while the not remotely jealous at all Amethyst Star eavesdropped.

Deciding she had seen enough, Amethyst Star interrupted the two lovebirds. “Excuse me.”

The stallion and mare jolted like they hadn’t even noticed another pony sat down next to them in the first place. And perhaps they hadn’t.

“Yes?” The mare turned her head to Amethyst Star and asked.

“Sorry for bothering you-” even though she wasn’t. “But I’m from out of town and just got here. Do you know where there’s a place I can stay?”

“Oh, well if you take the nearest bridge here over the river to the other side of the city you really can’t miss the hotel. It’s the tallest building on that side, just keep heading towards it and you’ll get there eventually.” the mare shrugged and went back to talking with her sweetheart.

Not the most detailed of directions and Amethyst Star was a little annoyed at how the two immediately went back to talking, ignoring her in case she had any more questions. She had heard that city-dwellers in Equestria could be kind of snooty and self-centered and she wasn’t surprised to see that it was the same or even worse outside of Equestria.

But she just had to live with that. Amethyst Star wished she had the patience to get a cup of coffee but she’d probably just have to find somewhere else or come back tomorrow. The unicorn had what she mostly needed for now and so she up and left the busy coffee shop, going back out to the streets but this time in the direction of the river. She wasn’t sure which street had a bridge at the end connecting it to the other side of the river but she’d at least be able to see by checking downstream when she got there.

Well as it turned out, Amethyst Star never even got that far.

Her fighting through the crowds on her way to the river had been going well and she was sure she wouldn’t have much of a problem getting to that hotel. But her plans changed when something happened to catch her eye. At the corner of the next city block she reached there was a large billboard placed at the corner instead of anything like a coffee shop. And what was written on this billboard proved to be something that piqued her curiosity.

“A test?”

Department of Education

First Annual Standardized Test

Please come to the Learning Annex (Hall B) if you are interested in participating in our study. We would like as many ponies as possible for the best and most accurate results. This test aims to see at what level the population is at in the ares of reading, writing, and arithmetic. All are welcome! Results will be used to determine how well learned the average pony is and what areas need improving on in our education system. Thank you for your care and participation!

Testing will commence on Wednesday and Thursday.

Department of Education Head- Master Baobab

Below that was written a set of directions from the billboard to the Learning Annex. It even had a map, which was what Amethyst Star really needed if she intended to go there.

“Is it even Wednesday or Thursday?” Amethyst Star scratched her head, she hadn’t been keeping track of the days since she left Ponyville. “Well I’m not doing anything else right now so going there can’t hurt. And if it is the right day then I’ll join in too! It’s definitely not an adventure but it’s still something different and part of this journey is about me doing any kind of thing that’s different.” Amethyst Star nodded to herself. “Alright, let’s check it out!”

Forgoing the walk to the hotel in place of heading to the Learning Annex to see if she could participate in this test, Amethyst Star smirked with confidence. She knew she was a pretty smart mare and could handle any “test” thrown her way. She graduated after all, didn’t she? And furthermore, this was the kind of thing Twilight Sparkle would absolutely jump at and ace no problem. Well Amethyst Star was about to prove that she could do the exact same thing.

Amethyst Star Quits

Thanks to the crowds that didn’t care in the slightest about where Amethyst Star wanted to go it took her far longer than it should’ve for her to make her way to the Learning Annex from the billboard where she had initially seen the test being advertised. Unlike the other city blocks that were perfect squares though it was easy for her to tell when she had arrived since the Learning Annex itself took up one huge block of the city. It was a building shaped like a large H on a grassy stretch of the city with the side closest to the river being two-stories taller than the other side.

And much to her luck it turned out to indeed be Wednesday. A helpful sign set up right at one of the doorways to the Annex told her that the testing was beginning soon. So she was right on time in several ways.

The amount of ponies heading in and out of the building paled in comparison to the ones walking on the streets and sidewalks right outside it so the unicorn had to think there weren’t as many responders to the test as the proctors would have liked. Well that wasn’t an issue to Amethyst Star. She didn’t really care about the results of the test or what they’d be used for, she just wanted to take it. So Amethyst Star walked past the sign and into the Annex in search of Hall B. Which shouldn’t be difficult to find at all, she suspected most of the ponies walking into the Annex right now were also heading right to the testing area. This time instead of fighting the stream of ponies she allowed herself to be carried along with them, only vaguely keeping her own eyes out for Hall B.

The interior of the building was sterile and modern looking, she had expected something more like Twilight’s school but obviously this place wasn’t as open and free-form of a learning environment as that. From what she could tell there were nothing more than classrooms lining the building here but she couldn’t see inside any to see what was being taught. Further down this part of the building there was a large open doorway that the crowd seemed to slow down at while ponies entered it. Craning her neck to try and see it better she saw there were several suit wearing ponies handing out badges and booklets to everyone walking in. The stream of ponies she was in came to a stop along with the rest and Amethyst Star patiently waited to get up there and receive her testing materials.

When it was finally her turn the pony greeted her with a smile as he hoofed her her things. “Thank you for your participation, Miss. Please do not open the booklet until instructed.”

“You’re welcome,” Amethyst Star grinned and held the stuff in her magic, noticing her badge had the number of 84 on it, and walked into the hall where everything else was set up.

About ten rows of long tables had been set up in Hall B for everyone, with pencils and other supplies at every seat. It looked to be about half full so far so Amethyst Star went up the rows to the next open seat, giving her an end seat in the row fifth from the front, sitting her next to a squirrely looking unicorn that wore glasses and had a particularly unkempt mane. Amethyst Star put her things down in front of her and waited for the room to fill up so the test could begin. She absentmindedly twirled a pencil around and checked out the front of the room where another smaller table was set up with some official looking ponies facing the test takers. She wondered if one of them was that Baobab pony.

Amethyst Star looked over her shoulder to see that contrary to her expectations most of the room had filled up by now and the crowd at the door was thinning out. Good. She was getting tired of sitting around. Hopefully once everyone was seated they’d start immediately. She kept drumming her pencil on her booklet until the doors closed and the ponies that had been dispensing things outside came in and went up to that front table, also taking a seat and watching the soon to be test takers with the others.

It was mostly silent in Hall B aside from some murmuring and the tap tap tap of Amethyst Star’s pencil. The bigwigs at the front table needed to get their things in order first and Amethyst Star had to sit there with a slumped posture and bored expression on her face. Finally the ones putting this test on seemed to be finished getting ready and the one in the very center of the front table cleared his throat and began to speak.

“First of all I would like to thank you all for coming, this is very important to our city and I’m glad that so many of you seem to agree,” the old stallion smiled through thick glasses and a mane of white curls. “The booklets that were given to you contain every question for the tests with plenty of space for your work if needed. And further, you need not worry about how long it takes you to complete the tests, that isn’t the point of this study, just when you’re done please deposit your booklet and badge on the table at the back.” He pointed to the back of the hall and Amethyst Sta looked to see that another collapsible table had been set up next to the doors. “I now wish you all good luck, you may begin.”

The professor who Amethyst Star could only assume was Baobab sat back down and she eagerly opened up her booklet to begin the test.

Time to ace this thing just like Twilight Sparkle would! Amethyst Star confidently grinned to herself.

She could hear the fluttering of booklets being opened and pencils scratching on paper as her eyes roamed over the contents of the first test and questions. It looked like the arithmetic section was first. Amethyst Star hummed a tune and checked out the first question, confident she would breeze through this and get to the reading and writing sections that she was sure would be even easier.

“Okay,” she quietly spoke to herself to keep from bothering the others. “No three positive integers, a, b and c, can satisfy the equation an + bn = cn for any integer value of n greater than 2. Prove.” Amethyst Star blinked. “What?” She had expected some kind of multiplication or division or something dealing with fractions. But what even was this? The unicorn scratched her head and glanced around, everyone else seemed to be writing stuff down and working. Maybe they skipped this one and moved onto the next problem? She almost raised her hoof and asked for help before realizing that not only would that be horribly embarrassing this wasn’t the type of situation where they would give her help.

And it would essentially be the same as admitting defeat.

Still, she had absolutely no idea where to even start on this math problem.

“What is n even supposed to be? N’s a letter, not a number,” the unicorn from Ponyville was flummoxed. “Okay I’m… I’m gonna take a little break from the match section.” Amethyst Star flipped through the pages of her booklet to a section about analyzing a short story. “Read this narrative and explain how it relates to the struggle between individualism and collectivism, cite examples of the authors use of metaphor and allegory.” Amethyst Star swiped her hoof across her brow. “There, much easier.”

She read the paragraphs of the story quickly, her mind astute and taking in every little detail. When she was finished she even went back and read it a second time. And then she blinked. Once, twice.

“This is a story about talking vegetables. What does that have to do with anything?!” Amethyst Star grasped the booklet and held it up close to her face, narrowing her eyes at the story. “Am I missing something again? Is this supposed to mean something and I’m just crazy?”

Grumbling under her breath she angrily turned the next few pages to get to a different topic. “Poetry. Okay, I can definitely do poetry. Not sure how great it’s gonna turn out but writing a poem is still something anyone can do.” She looked at the first problem in the poetry section. “Write a sestina and then create a sonnet featuring the key words of the sestina but with the opposite tone and meaning of the initial sestina.”

The pink and purple unicorn let out a long exhale through her nose. She slowly deflated like a lightly squeezed balloon with a sigh.

The sound of a pencil writing down another answer from next to her brought Amethyst Star back to reality. She chewed on the inside of her cheek and started flipping back through the pages of the booklet. “Okay, going back to the math section. Poetry isn’t important anyways.”

She looked at the next math problem after the first one she had skipped over. Something about plotting points on a graph and making a parabola that she didn’t understand at all.

Skip.

The third problem had even more letters in it than the first one and asked something about functions and logs. Huh? The fourth was a word problem asking her to calculate the amount of time it would take for two trains to meet each other if one left its station at a specific time and the other left thirty minutes later but was going twenty-five percent faster but also made three more stops that each took twenty minutes and etc. etc.

That one at least Amethyst Star had a chance at before all the numbers melted together in her head and her brain short-circuited trying to keep track of all the math.

Her eyes were spinning around before she slammed her face into the table (which caused the ponies nearest to her to jump in alarm, not that she noticed). As she sat there like someone had just knocked her unconscious she had to wonder if this was all a big practical joke. Did every other pony in here really have the same booklet as her? How could this be normal? She didn’t even know where to begin on these problems and yet these tests were supposedly being used to determine the standard education level of the ponies in this city. Did that mean they were all geniuses and Amethyst Star hadn’t even realized? Maybe it really was a city of geniuses and that’s why everyone else in the room seemed to be having a perfectly fine time of answering these questions.

Of course though there was also the alternative: Amethyst Star wasn’t as smart as she thought she was.

But that couldn’t be it. Not at all.

She picked her head back up from the table and frowned, attempting once more to tackle some of the problems in the reading and writing section now that math was looking like a total bust. The second problem in reading asked her to identify all the changes in tense during a story excerpt and the authors reasons for doing so and how they related to the political landscape at the time the passage was written. Amethyst Star ignored that. In the writing section she was asked to fix the problems in a diagrammed sentence while then giving an explanation on the purpose of sentence diagramming and write a brief history on the origins of current grammar.

Amethyst Star flipped through every single page of the booklet and looked at every single problem. It took her about an hour after the testing had began and she had been growing more and more nervous with each passing second. Sweat had gathered at her forehead and her jaw threatened to grind her teeth into powder but by the time she got to the end and had scanned every question in each section she came to an impossible to avoid conclusion.

She didn’t know how to answer any of these questions.

Amethyst Star handled this realization as maturely and dignified as she could.

“You know what? Forget this!” She stood up and slid her chair out away from the table, her exclamation and the loud scraping sound of the chair against the floor bringing the attention of the entire rest of the Hall to her. “Who cares about a dumb test anyways? This isn’t an adventure, it’s not what I wanted.” Noticing the silence she looked around and saw all the eyes of the other test takers on her, confusion written plain on their faces. “Yeah, what? These questions are too hard and I don’t know how to answer a single one of them! Laugh it up!”

“Um, Miss? No one’s laughing,” the professor who had spoken earlier said to her from his table. “And it’s okay if you can’t answer the questions, the purpose of these tests is just for us to learn more.”

“Yeah, well… whatever!” Amethyst Star threw her hooves up in the air. “Since I’m not getting anywhere I’ll just drop my booklet off and leave.”

“Miss, can you please not make such a scene? You’re disturbing the others,” he scolded her.

Amethyst Star did at least blush in embarrassment, knowing how loud she was being and how humiliating this was. There was another reason for her being so obstructive and obnoxious though, it allowed her to take her mind off of how Twilight Sparkle would’ve been fine. She didn’t want to admit that. She didn’t want to think about that. This didn’t count as a failure, it wasn’t an adventure, it wasn’t anything special. It was a dumb test with questions that were way too hard and even a really special pony like herself couldn’t answer. She had only come here for curiosity’s sake, it didn’t mean anything and she was originally looking to relax in this city before going out on another real adventure. This dumb test was a detour and she’d forget about it by tomorrow.

“Fine, I’m going!” Amethyst Star shouted one last time and telekinetically grabbed her booklet and badge before walking to the door leading out of Hall B. She tossed the booklet and badge onto the back table without a care. “Hmph!”

Not wanting to see if anyone was still watching her, although she figured there was more than one pitying gaze boring into the back of her head, Amethyst Star didn’t look back as she opened up the door and left. She also didn’t want anyone to see the humiliated grimace on her face. It was pretty clear that she could’ve just quietly left at any moment and not been humiliated but her emotions had really gotten the better of her back there and now she had just one more thing to try and push out of her mind and not tell anyone about on this journey.

Heartless

Amethyst Star once again found herself wandering through a forest. It was a very familiar thing for her nowadays. It was funny for her to think that despite living so close to the wilderness back in Ponyville all her life she had probably experienced more of nature just on this little trip of hers than she had for the entire rest of her life. When you’re surrounded by something your entire life you can sometimes take it for granted. And that was certainly what she did with all the natural beauty that could be found so close to home. Now on her adventure she was at least appreciating it a bit more since she had been through so many different environments and ecosystems and she often had nothing to do but quietly drink in the nature around her.

Currently she was on a clear path between the trees that was overgrown with grass and weeds. It looked too perfect to be natural so she suspected that however long ago ponies or someone else had cleared out a bunch of trees in the forest to make this road, before abandoning it and letting it become like this. Amethyst Star wasn’t one hundred percent sure where it might lead but she had a pretty good guess that it went to the lone mountain rising up in the distance. Right now the path was on a beeline towards it and Amethyst Star couldn’t see anything else coming up before that mountain. She figured there was once a town or some path leading around the mountain at the base of it that this path directly led to. She certainly hoped it was around the mountain and not over it. A hard and rocky mountain path would be the kind of murder on her hooves she was already more than tired of on this journey.

“Well can I really complain as long as it’s peaceful and I’m not being attacked by any monsters or weird ponies?” She thought out loud to herself. Then remembered how much of a hassle it was on her still not totally built for adventure body. “Yes. Yes I can.”

She did want to think that she had gotten more endurance on this journey though, she’d like to go back to that dumb hill and really show it who was boss, but it was hard to tell if she had really gained more muscle mass and lung capacity for handling anything greater than an easy walk like what she was doing right now. Amethyst Star was amazing but she wasn’t an earth pony and didn’t have their natural inclination to this kind of stuff, she’d only be slightly miffed nowadays if Applejack was still in much better shape than her. And Applejack worked on a farm so that was basically cheating too.

Amethyst Star decided to forget about all that annoying stuff for now, she should enjoy the forest while she could. Whatever came next and whatever sort of changes in the landscape that she would have to deal with could wait. Right now it was a nice day with not a cloud in the sky and the sun was shining down on her and the forest. She looked over to the side of the path while she walked, admiring all the wildflowers growing on the ground and among the trees.

“Pretty. I’ll get my friends some flowers when I come back,” she awkwardly smiled. “It’ll be an apology for making them worry so much about me.”

Don’t go in.

“Huh?” Amethyst Star paused and looked around, wondering where that warped voice came from. But she saw nothing and the voice didn’t speak again. There was no other pony here or any sort of other creature sharing the forest with her. She wasn’t even sure if it had been a mare or a stallion that spoke, it felt...off. “What was that?”

Getting no answers, the unicorn shrugged and continued her walk towards the mountain.

It was about thirty minutes before the forest started coming to an end and opened up to the empty land in front of the mountain, as Amethyst Star looked around at the manicured edge of the forest she figured that this had all been cleared away by ponies too to give them room to build or whatever right around the foot of the mountain. Except there was nothing here at all. No buildings, abandoned or otherwise, that suggested anything was built here at this mountain. Whatever was planned looked like it ended before it began. The foot of the mountain stood bare without even a shred of the town that Amethyst Star had sort of expected would be here.

There was one thing.

Instead of a path around or over the mountain, if she kept taking the path she was already walking on, she would end up at the entrance to a cave. It was a black dot at the bottom of the gray stone of the mountain and like any focal point it drew her attention right towards it. Amethyst Star smiled when she saw it and picked up her pace.

Dark cave? Mysteriously empty mountain with abandoned work around it? That sounded like adventure.

“Awesome!” Amethyst Star trotted up to the cave’s entrance, the edges of it had become covered in vines and roses with a thick coat of moss along the bottom. That’s when she noticed there was something else here. Planks of wood with a rusted metal rail half-buried in the dirt led into the cave from where she stood. Looking down at it, she tilted her head. “Tracks? This isn’t a cave, it’s a mine.” She looked up at the tall mountain. “Wonder what they mined here?”

Well she could just find that out herself. Amethyst Star didn’t exactly know a light spell but the glow from her horn would still give her some light to work with. She put some magic into her horn and smirked when the glow pushed back a bit of the darkness. “Alright, let’s go!”

Don’t go in there.

Amethyst Star frowned. “Okay, I know I just heard something again. You can come out now!” She turned around to look back out at the empty ground she had just walked through. Again there was absolutely nothing there. “Pff, fine, whatever.” Amethyst Star rolled her eyes and ignored the voice, going on into the cave like she planned.

The dark of the cave made the going slow even with her light source, she didn’t want to trip over the tracks or any rocks so she was careful where she stepped. With luck there would only be this one cave and it wouldn’t suddenly curve on her or anything. But Amethyst Star knew better than to count on her luck. She made sure to stay in the middle of the cave so she wouldn’t accidentally walk onto any side paths that had been excavated. She also hoped that the tracks meant there was a lot more stuff down here that had already been made for the mine, she had never been in a mine but she imagined it would be pretty cool to see.

And this mine and mountain just screamed spooky adventure to her, what more could she want?

Amethyst Star continued walking deeper into the dark cave, nothing but the sound of her hooves on the ground reaching her ears. Before long she came to a large gateway in the cave, using the light from her horn she saw wooden beams holding up the walls of the cave while the tracks went right underneath them, it seemed like there was at one point an actual gate that could be closed or opened here but it was all missing. Nothing but rusty hinges and a few rotted pieces of wood on the ground remained of it. When Amethyst Star walked through it she noticed something else on the side of the cave that she had almost missed, her horn just barely notifying her of it.

A door. The room it led to was built right behind the gate, she wondered what it was for. Hoping it was unlocked, Amethyst Star went up to it and pulled the handle. Well it was rusty, stubborn, and stuck, but it was not locked and after yanking on it hard for a bit she was finally able to pull the thing open. It gave a monstrously loud grinding sound as it did which reverberated throughout the entire cave and made Amethyst Star wince, but at least it was open. A cloud of dust had floated up when she opened it so she waved her hoof around to clear the air and walked inside the room.

It looked to be an office of some sort. There was a desk at the far end from where she had come in, the empty chair behind it facing her, and a bunch of file cabinets and decaying cardboard boxes stacked up all around it. The air had a musty and unpleasant smell and since the room was a dead end, Amethyst Star was more than ready to leave it and start walking back through the cave when she had yet another stroke of good luck and saw something just out of the corner of her eye.

A thick metal cable ran up the wall and disappeared into a hole in the ceiling. Following it downwards her eyes came to rest on a large metal box placed near the door with a single switch on it that was currently pointing down.

“Is that what I think it is?” Amethyst Star reached forwards and switched the flip up without any more consideration.

She heard an electric thrum and several clicking noises coming from the box and the cable before light suddenly came into her world. Wincing and squinting her eyes thanks to the instant change from near darkness to blinding brightness, Amethyst Star looked up to see a light embedded in the roof of the office that she hadn’t been able to see until now. Its fluorescent glow hadn’t been weakened at all by the many years of disuse and the light perfectly illuminated the entire office.

“Ugh, that was a bit much,” Amethyst Star rubbed her eyes to try and get the spots out.

But it wasn’t just light from the ceiling of the office, it was pouring in from the cave outside too. When Amethyst Star stepped back out she looked up to see a sequence of those same lights were embedded in the roof of the cave, illuminating it as far as she could see deeper into the mountain. They seemed to start right from where the gate was. It must’ve taken a lot of work to set all of that up and run the cable through the whole cave but obviously they wanted to be sure to have plenty of light for their work. Now the whole cave was lit up well enough that it might as well have been outside with the sun shining down on it.

Amethyst Star turned off her horn and started walking further into the cave again. “This is turning out even better than I expected!”

There still wasn’t much to see or investigate though, the main cave path with the tracks extended deep into the mountain before it changed at all and Amethyst Star had to walk quite a ways just following it. But as she got deeper there were more large beams holding up the roof of the cave, obviously needed for the increased weight above them. Things seemed stable enough at least. There weren’t any cracks or shaking in the cave that gave off warning signs to Amethyst Star, so she thought she was safe here for now.

“It would be cool if I had to rescue someone from a collapsing cave. That’s the kind of heroic deed I want to write home about,” Amethyst Star nodded, oblivious or apathetic to how dangerous a situation like that would actually be.

Her hooves finally took her to the end of the initial cave, instead of just going straight it forked to the right and the left with a door to another room being at the back of the wall. Amethyst Star stood in the middle of the intersection, each path seemed exactly the same to her and the track along the ground split and went both directions too. Trying to open up the door in front of her proved pointless as well, it was sealed shut tighter than a bank vault.

“Hmm...” she rubbed her chin as she decided which way to go. “Right or left? If I had a coin to flip this would be easier.”

Both branches of the cave had more doors down them that she could see and they both went pretty far before either ending or turning off into more paths, she couldn’t see that far down for sure.

“Oh, whatever, let’s just go right!”

Amethyst Star made her decision and started walking down the cave to her right, checking out every door along the way. Most unfortunately were impossible to open (whether they were locked or so rusted shut that they wouldn’t budge she didn’t know) and the few she could open up led to nothing more than a storage closet or empty office. Where was all the cool stuff? What happened to this mine and how could she figure it out? There weren’t even any battle scars or knocked over furniture, did everyone just walk out and leave for some reason?

The unicorn searched and searched throughout the mine after that. Opening doors when she could, changing direction and choosing paths when she needed to, taking a break to catch her breath from all the walking whenever she got tired. And she still never found anyone or anything in here. The mine wasn’t just abandoned, it was truly empty from what she had seen. There were no mine carts, she hadn’t found any of the actual mining tunnels where rocks or whatever were actually harvested from, or any sort of large storeroom where things were held before being shipped on out of the mine. What was up with this place?

At the end of one tunnel, Amethyst Star came upon a stairwell.

“I wonder how deep this goes,” she went and peeked over the railing to look down the stairs. It seemed pretty far, maybe ten or eleven flights of stairs? She smirked as she started to walk down the stairs. “Maybe now I can get to the bottom of things? Heh, wish my friends could’ve been around to hear that one.”

And just like she said, she headed straight to the bottom. There was a door at every landing for the stairs but Amethyst Star had no idea how big this place was or how long it would take to search everywhere so she was going to the place she thought would be the most likely for adventure. The very bottom of the mine. It would also make it so even if there wasn’t anything down there she could still work her way back up and not miss anything. All in all she thought it was a decent enough plan of hers. The downside was that now she would have to climb back up all these stairs, and that was something she really wasn’t looking forward to.

“Easier than a hill...” she grumbled on the way down.

It was a lot of steps but eventually she was able to hop off the final one onto the dirt floor at the bottom of the mine. As was the norm for the rest of the stairs there was a single door waiting for her down here. A sudden frown came to Amethyst Star’s face as she thought of how annoying it would be if this door was locked. Hoping that wasn’t the case she briskly walked over to it and pulled on the handle.

The door creaked but it did indeed open, easier than a lot of the ones upstairs even, and Amethyst Star stepped inside. The light was on but it was faint and flickering, perhaps the power was in worse condition the further down into the mine, and the room looked to be nothing more than a room for storage, large boxes were piled up everywhere from one side of the natural stone wall to the other. But maybe at least in those boxes she could figure out what was being mined here. Amethyst Star was a bit excited as she hopped over to the nearest box.

Before she tripped over something.

“Ow!” She yelped as she tumbled to the ground, rubbing the hoof that hit whatever the hay that was. She hadn’t been paying enough attention to the floor. In the low light she squinted at what was lying there that she had tripped over, it looked like some kind of white rock.

“What the...” Amethyst Star lit up her horn and grabbed it.

Oh, not a rock. A skull.

“Ahhh!” The unicorn screamed as she realized what it was, dropping it back to the ground and scampering backwards away from it. Thanks to the glow of her horn she saw it wasn’t just a skull but an entire pony skeleton right there, sitting inside a faded orange worksuit. Amethyst Star pressed her back up against one of the boxes as she fearfully stared at the skeleton, shaking. “I wanted adventure, not horror!”

She timidly stood up and prepared to leave the room, frazzled and more scared than she was willing to admit by this whole experience, but when she gingerly stepped past the skeleton she saw that a small book lay at the end of its outstretched legs. Amethyst Star stopped. That was the first book she had seen in this mine and clearly this pony had it right as he passed away, maybe something important was written in there? Maybe the truth of what happened here…

“Ew, ew, ew, ew...” Amethyst Star whined as she picked the book up and went to sit back down next to the box. She shivered in disgust as she opened it up, not happy that her curiosity was making her do this. “Please let this be worth it.”

Lost my old logbook so here’s to a waste of good money. The mine has been completed and now all that’s left is to get down to the actual work work. Prospectors told us that this mountain was a veritable goldmine of what we wanted, I expect us to be tapping veins and exporting the gems for years. Don’t know why Al-Karamaretel suddenly wants this kind of stuff but I’m not gonna complain when they’re financing everything and giving me a cushy job like this. Being your own boss is nice but sometimes it’s good knowing that somebody else is taking care of everything. Not having to foot the bill or do any of the darn organizational work for this mine is a win in my book even if I’m gonna be stuck here doing next to nothing for ages. Hay, I’ve worked my flank off for the past forty years of my life, I think I’m entitled to a “sit around and do nothing” sort of job by now. Got my number two, Steam Whistle, to take care of any of the troublesome stuff anyways. He’s always been good with the tedious work and you can bet that I have absolutely no problem with pushing the busy work onto him. Anyways the first mining crew will be arriving tomorrow, I’ve heard we’ve got 36 ponies total coming to work for us for now but as more tunnels open up and the boom town around the mountain sprouts up I’m estimating we’ll have a couple hundred workers when we’re fully underway. Miners, farmers, carpenters, tailors, you name it. Eventually this mine will be the center of a real town. All because Al-Karamaretel wants gems. Well, whatever, I’ll greet everyone tomorrow and Steam Whistle can tell them about the mine and just what sort of work they can expect to do for the rest of their jobs here.

Mine Forepony,
Tiller

*

Work is underway in the mine already and things are proceeding smoothly. If this is how everyday is gonna be for the rest of the job then things are gonna be even easier for me than I thought. I might even get bored! Orientation and touring of the mine took some time thanks to how big it is but the miners were eager to get started as quickly as possible. I heard from the ones who hired me that depending on how much product we move everyone could get bonuses. That’s a rarity in business like this. It certainly made everyone eager to grab those pickaxes and get to work, I’ll tell you that. Naturally we didn’t get any crates of gemstones out yet but I’m confident in our ability to meet any monthly quota set for us. Especially with everyone putting in as much effort as they are. From what Steam Whistle told me we’ve got a mostly veteran team of miners here working with us, ones who have been in mines all their lives pretty much. Just like me. I think Al-Karamaretel wanted this to be as professional an affair as possible, they wanted the best of the best. It does make me curious as to why they’re investing so much into this but I aint biting the hoof that feeds me so it’s not like I’m gonna question things. But they’re pouring a lot of money into this. If the mine turns out not to be as profitable as they thought they’re gonna find themselves in quite the hole. Yeesh, wouldn’t wish ruin like that on anybody. Oh yeah, and speaking of them wanting the best for this job and all the miners who came in today, Steam Whistle told me we had an extra. Some mare who volunteered for the job. Can’t remember where they picked her up but whatever, she’s not gonna be the only mare in the mine. As long as she can keep up nobody is gonna say no to extra help. So that’s 37 miners total now, plus me and Steam Whistle. Things are looking up.

*

First few crates of gemstones are stored up. Only reason we’re still keeping them down in storage ~~inside~~ instead of sending them topside and out the mine is because there won’t be anybody around to pick them up yet and nothing’s been built up there to keep them out of the rain or whatever else. One month. That’ll be when the first caravan comes by to take what we’ve mined so far while dropping off a lot of ponies who’ll either be working in here with us or building up the town. Steam Whistle told me that eventually they were even planning on diverting a river to get it closer to the mountain so we’ll have easier access to water. That’ll be nice. It only takes one day in a mine for you to really need a bath. I really can’t wait to see how we’re gonna be doing in a few months. And the best part is all I really need to do is look official the whole time. Works for me! Since things have been so easygoing around here so far too I wanted to mention that volunteer mare again. Happened to catch her a couple of times around the mine and I gotta say, she’s a real pretty mare. Never would think a gal like that would be working down here. Ol’ Tiller might just have to put the moves on her. That smile’s to die for. There was something else too? Oh yeah, Steam Whistle said one of the miners missed dinner. Probably too tired from a hard day’s work, I told Steam not to bother with it. Don’t want to wake a guy up from his rest.

*

Uh. Some stuff happened. Really glad Steam Whistle was busy and he’ll never see this log cause he’d be really mad to know I fell asleep after drinking some stuff I probably shouldn’t have brought here in the first place. But anyways while I was out there was an altercation between some of the miners. And, well, altercation may be putting it a little mildly. One of the miners died. And the circumstances surrounding his death are kind of uncertain. Oh boy, where do I even begin with this? Okay, so the miner who died had a friend who was working with him at the time. Supposedly they were the last ones coming out of one of the tunnels. And now he says that the miner was murdered. But there are a lot of problems with that. First off, Steam Whistle looked over the body and saw absolutely no sign of foul play or any injuries on him. Steam Whistle is saying it looked like he died of heart failure. And the stallion was pretty up there in years so I’m inclined to believe that. But the way his friend tells it, the volunteer mare killed him. The second problem is how he says she killed him. Apparently she just walked up and touched him and he keeled over. Yeah, that’s it. Now I’m no expert but that’s just a little bit absurd to me. He was very vehement about that being exactly what happened though. I’m sorry that his friend died but we can’t just take his word on events here. Maybe the shock of his friends death confused him? Maybe she was just reaching over to pat him on the shoulder when he had a heart attack? I dunno. Well the next problem with all this is that he didn’t just call for help and make a commotion, he attacked miss volunteer and kept trying to attack her even after Steam Whistle and some others came. We can’t allow that so we’ve temporarily converted a storage room into a holding cell for him. There’s just no evidence or proof that she hurt anybody, I can’t just let the guy go free after what he tried to do. I’m still blaming this all on shock. Once the caravan comes we’ll send him away and try and get this whole thing sorted out. No more drinking until then.

*

How do five ponies disappear in one day?! The mine is large but it’s mostly very direct and we even have plenty of maps up, what is going on? I want to think they’ve somehow just gotten lost and they’ll turn up in a day or two but five ponies? All at once? No, this can’t be a coincidence or a case of bad sense of directions. But the only other explanation is someone is abducting these ponies. And why? And where are they hiding them? This whole thing is making me uneasy, I’ve thought about having us all leave the mine but what would be the point of that? We’re still alone out here, there isn’t another town around for miles. For starters I’ve suspended normal mine activity and forbidden anyone to go anywhere alone. Whoever is abducting ponies is among us but they won’t be able to act if we all stick together like this. I hate that things are going to be so behind schedule now. We were doing good work. But that’s just how it is. We’re all going to sit tight now and wait for the caravan. Then we’ll figure out who’s been doing this and we’ll go on a sweep through the mine to find all the missing ponies.

*

Normal day. Or as normal as things can be right now. Nothing happened as far as I know. I want to be hopeful and think that things have stopped but that’s a pipe dream. It’s more likely that whatever or whoever’s responsible for all this is just waiting for the right time. All we can do is be vigilant. Mining work is still suspended. I just don’t like this, nothing happening is almost worse than something, it’s making me paranoid and I can’t rest at all. Just sitting around is driving me crazy when I know there’s something awful still going on.

*

Two missing and four found dead in their bunks this morning. Steam Whistle and I barred the gate out of the cave. No one is leaving. We’ve started to seal off some areas of the mine too, that way whoever’s doing this won’t have as many places to hide. I’ve questioned and interrogated everyone still with us but haven’t been able to find out anything. I’ve been thinking that maybe one of the earlier ponies who disappeared has actually been doing all of this? Today we’re going to barricade the doors to levels 2-10 completely. It’ll take some time moving all that stuff and making sure no one can get around it but it’ll be worth it if it means there’s only one way for the pony doing this to go anywhere in here, no more hiding or sneaking around us. I am going to find out what’s been going on and this mine is going to get back into order. There’s too much that’s been put into it and I am not letting my cushy job get ruined like this. I’ve started carrying a pickaxe wherever I go, told the others to do the same.

*

This isn’t Tiller. This is Steam Whistle, Tiller’s dead. I’m currently hiding at the bottom of the eastern stairwell, right below level 10 in the temporary storeroom we’ve been using. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be here so I’m writing this quickly. She’s coming, I know she knows I’m here. She can feel me, all of us, that’s why turning off the lights didn’t work. If you’re reading this then you’ve already read what Tiller wrote so I’ll keep this short and simple. That volunteer mare has killed everyone. I don’t know how and I don’t exactly know why but that’s what’s happened. I’m the last one left. With any luck she’s trapped in here too but somehow I doubt that our barricade of the front gate will keep her in forever. I’m going to use the little time I have left now to tell you what I know about her, on the off chance that you encounter her or have any way of bringing her to justice. Or just for warning others about her. I hope for your sake though that you never come across her. So, first off. I don’t know her name. I’m sorry, I know, but that’s how it is. I really should know it but I don’t, Tiller didn’t either. I don’t know what her Cutie Mark is either, she was wearing her worksuit every time I saw her. Now what I do know is mostly in relation to her appearance but here it is anyhow: she is an earth pony mare of average build, she looks to be a young adult in age, her coat is bubblegum pink, her mane and tail is white but a nearly translucent sort of white that’s also tinged with pink. Or perhaps sparkly with pink. Her mane is done in a bob cut that perfectly frames her face and her eyes—I don’t know. I just said her mane perfectly framed her face but I can’t remember what color her eyes are for certain. I want to say either blue or purple. I’m sorry. But please, remember this and look out for her. She’s not normal. She’s some sort of monster. I can hear her coming down the stairs.

Amethyst Star was trembling. Suddenly everything about this cave that she thought looked like a fun adventure had changed. Obviously what was written here had happened a long time ago. And obviously the destroyed gate up in the main cave meant that that mare had left here a long time ago too. She probably wasn’t in any danger. That didn’t stop her from sprinting full speed until her lungs screamed and the muscles in her legs were on fire. She didn’t stop until she was out of the mine and even then it was only because her body refused to move anymore.

Desert Days

For the past day, Amethyst Star had been lost in a desert. She wasn’t sure how exactly this happened since it’s not like a desert was a maze or a forest or anything where you could get turned around or stuck on a dead end path, right? It was just a big open area made of sand. So how could she have gotten so lost in it if she was just walking straight this whole time? There weren’t even any big dunes that obscured her vision in any direction, it was flat sand on top of sand everywhere! She saw some cacti and some desiccated bushes and tumbleweeds but that was about it. Amethyst Star thought if she just kept walking straight she’d be out of the desert in no time but apparently that just wasn’t happening. She could look over her shoulder at her hoof tracks that extended for miles behind her and all it did was make her annoyed. The heat was bothersome too although not as bad as she would have originally thought when it came to a desert. It just made her uncomfortable instead of being unbearable.

Several shadows zoomed across the sand around her and Amethyst Star frowned, looking up into the sky to see a number of buzzards circling. “Go away, jerks! I’m still walking aren’t I?!” She shouted at them and the large birds flew off. “Geez...”

The unicorn took out her flower-print canteen from the saddlebag she wore and downed the last few droplets of water it contained. She’d need to find a water source soon or she wouldn’t be lost in the desert for much longer. On the plus side she noticed that her saddlebag’s weight hadn’t been bothering her as much lately, either she had gotten used to the burden or she had gained some muscle mass from all the traveling she had done. Both would count as a small victory for her.

She stuck the canteen back into her bag and wiped the sweat from her brow and continued walking across the sand. Somehow even with that last little slurp of water her mouth was still parched and dry and she already wanted more. Maybe now that she was out of water the heat would start to get to her more. That’d be a problem. The flat desert meant nowhere to hide from the sun either, unless she wanted to hide in the thin shadow of a cactus or huddle up against one of the few small boulders dotting the sand. Amethyst Star knew how cold it could get at night too, she’d be swinging from one extreme to the other and it would take a toll on her body, wearing her down faster than normal.

But for now the sun was still high in the sky, if she made good progress maybe she’d reach the end of this desert before nightfall? She couldn’t see anything ahead of her though, it just looked like an endless shimmering expanse of sand. If Amethyst Star knew more about deserts she’d know how they can play tricks on your eyes but the unicorn was oblivious to all of this. That shimmering messed with her perception of distance and made things look different from how they really were. She could do nothing more but walk on and hope for the best.

“My hooves are hot,” she grumbled. If she had extra water she would’ve doused her hooves with it. Dumb as that might have been.

Cacti had water in them though, right? Maybe she could cut one of them open if it came down to it. There were more than a few around. They were prickly though, she’d probably hurt herself if she wasn’t careful, could she cut just with her magic? Or would she need to find a sharp rock or stick to get it open? She wasn’t sure. Amethyst Star really didn’t know enough about deserts. Which means she probably should’ve gone around it instead of trying to go right through it, but she was adamant in keeping west unless something made it impossible for her to go that way. And she didn’t think a bunch of sand fit that category.

“If I never travel through a desert again for the rest of my life it’ll be too soon. This is gonna be the first, last, and only time.”

Trying to take her mind off the boredom, heat, and thirst, she started to cloud watch. There were only a few of those puffballs in the sky but it was better than nothing. They drifted through the hot air slowly, she tried to imagine them as something else, like floating cotton candy or even popcorn or flying piles of snow. While for a moment or two it brought a smile to her face she quickly frowned as she realized she was only imagining things she could eat or that would help her out with this heat. When was the last time she had eaten a real hearty meal anyways? She’d mostly been living off fruit and vegetables she found in forests. Not great if she was trying to keep up her health and stay in good condition while she was traveling. But it’s not like she had come across any Sugarcube Corners out in the Undiscovered West where she could stock up on real food.

One of the clouds overhead cast a shadow on the sand and Amethyst Stat eagerly stood in it. She followed it along as it breezed by in the sky, giving her the smallest of reprieves from the sun and slightly making the sand less hot. Walking like that gave her the idea to start holding her saddlebag over her head for some shade but that would probably just make her tired faster if she was using her magic. It was too heavy for her neck to just put it on her head and she couldn’t try to “wear” it without all of her stuff falling out.

Amethyst Star was truly in a predicament on how to make it through this desert.

Time dragged on for her and the clouds drifted away, she could’ve followed them but that would involve changing direction. She was going directly west and that was it. Forget about the sun and how its rays would be shooting right into her face later today. This was the path she chose. The heat still wasn’t truly horrible yet but her thirstiness was wearing on her, if she just had some water she could beat this desert fine. Where was an oasis when she needed one? Every desert had an oasis. She was pretty sure at least. Not like she actually knew anything about a desert.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have shouted those buzzards away… I could watch where they go to drink water,” Amethyst Star scratched her head in annoyance. And her hoof came away with sweat from her mane. “Ugh, this is getting on my nerves.”

The unicorn kicked some sand away and picked up her pace. Of all the adventuring she had done so far and all the places she had been this was the most tedious thing of all. She had to constantly struggle up that hill and across that river, her mind and body always focused on something, and the swamp had plenty of things to look at and discover. But this desert was just a big pit of sand! She wasn’t even struggling through it, she was just getting naturally tired. Maybe she could try and start to view it as a test of endurance? She did want to prove that she was tough and capable in this way too after all.

One of the downsides to being out here and doing nothing but walk though was that it left her mind free to think of all her recent failures and the other problems she had encountered on this adventure. Things she did not want to think about. Not even just the failures but all the weird and crazy things that have happened to her now too. The Undiscovered West was a bit of an odd place.

Amethyst Star snorted and rolled her eyes. “Well, so is Equestria. But that’s like… a good odd. And I have friends around whenever something weird happens there. Out here it’s like a scary kind of odd.”

She licked her dry and chapped lips a couple of times but with even her tongue getting dry it didn’t make them feel any better. That action just brought her mind back to the thought of water. How often did it rain in a desert? Not like she expected it to right now, it’s just something that would really be welcome. Her canteen kept clinking around in her saddlebag, empty, desperately wishing it was full and could fulfill its duties as a canteen. Amethyst Star groaned and shifted her saddlebag to her other side for a change of pace and to give her skin some rest where the strap dug in. What she wouldn’t give to dunk her head in some water right now.

As she blinked away some of the fatigue in her eyes while she looked ahead she happened to spot a large cactus coming up in the distance.

Amethyst Star narrowed her eyes at it. “Better source of water than anything else out here.” Regardless of what it took she was now going to see just how much water you could find inside a cactus.

It was shimmering as it stood jutting out of the far off sands like a green pole. She couldn’t get a good solid look at it until she got closer, her hooves now ignoring the heat of the sand and her body overcoming her minor exhaustion and dehydration as she carried herself towards the first solid goal she had since walking into this desert. It was always easier to do something when you had something physical and direct to work towards and not just the abstract and vague. Even if it was as simple as walking to a cactus.

The cactus turned out to be twice her height when she reached it, close enough to touch it and her vision of the plant no longer being affected by the heat of the desert. Rows of needles traveled up and down its exterior while a single pink flower bloomed on its crown. Amethyst Star moved her jaw back and forth as she still wasn’t sure how she would get at the water inside. A quick look down at the sand around the cactus showed no rocks, sharp or otherwise, anywhere to use as a knife. Looks like it would have to be her magic one way or another.

Having some foresight for once she pulled out her canteen so she could gather up any water that came out of the cactus. Lighting up her horn just to create an aura of magic around it she leaned her head down and poked the tip of her horn right into the flesh of the cactus.

“Feels kind of slimy.”

She put some more magic into her horn so the needles wouldn’t hurt her and she could cut through the green skin while sticking her horn in further and pulling it down. Luckily her horn was longer than the needles so as long as she kept some of it out of the cactus she didn’t have to worry about getting poked. She still winced in discomfort at the feeling of cutting a jagged wound into the cactus but at least she could already feel moisture and cactus juice coalescing around her horn, if she just widened the hole slightly more she bet she’d get what she wanted.

Amethyst Star pulled away from the cactus with her horn dripping juice and bits of green skin, the hole she had made was slightly leaking but not nearly enough to get anything in her canteen. Putting her canteen below the hole she used her magic to grasp the edges of it and tear her hastily made hole until it was twice its previous size. Grinning, she watched as water and cactus juice started to pour from the hole and right into her canteen.

“Awesome,” she said as the running water stopped and she let the cactus be. Amethyst Star put the now about half full canteen up to her nose and smelled its contents. “Yuck, that doesn’t exactly smell like the cleanest kind of water...”

Was it safe to just drink this? She wasn’t sure. But she was sure that she was thirsty. With a simple shrug she took a big gulp of the rancid smelling cactus juice/water, downing more than half of it at once. The unicorn shuddered in discomfort from the foul taste and stuck her poor assaulted tongue out but at least it quenched her thirst for now. Ditching and walking past the helpful cactus, she started making her way across the desert again with a bit of her energy renewed after screwing the lid to her canteen on and stowing it away.

“I feel better already,” Amethyst Star smiled.

She would come to regret those words.

Amethyst Star kept walking for quite a while after that cactus, determined to get out of the desert, so much so that she lost track of time. A glance over her shoulder showed the cactus had already disappeared behind her and figuring that meant she had gone far enough she took her canteen back out and downed the rest of it. Which turned out to be a big mistake. Maybe her body had just finally had enough, maybe it was doing an alright job with the rest of it but that final gulp was the straw that broke the camel’s back, maybe her body was punishing her brain for its stupidity.

Instantly a cold wave of nausea washed over Amethyst Star

“Woah,” Amethyst Star stumbled, her face going green and her hooves feeling like doughy bags of pudding. “I… uh, what?”

Heavy lidded eyes started seeing spots and the desert and sky beginning to meld and twist together while her stomach grumbled and groaned. The pudding feeling in her hooves sloshed up her legs and to the rest of her until it felt and looked like she was tumbling down a rotating hallway that never stayed straight, the destination at the end an ever-turning wheel of colors. Amethyst Star’s mind felt like it floated right out of her head, the heat of the desert was gone, the tired feeling in her body was gone, in its place was a sensation of vertigo and a screaming rainbow of sights and sounds, never feeling still, never feeling at rest. Was she still walking? Was she running? Or flying? A fog of imagination covered everything. If she still had eyes all they saw was brightness at once that slowly faded to pink, blue, green, yellow, and millions more until finally a calm black ate away at the corners of her vision, plunging everything into darkness.

“I shouldn’t have drank that cactus water...”

Was that even her voice?

Desert Daze

Blob. A blob of darkness with glittering sunspots took up everything she could see and feel. A sudden flash of green occurred in the corner of her eye. In the corner of the space she occupied as her mind drifted and warped, being shaped like a ball of clay. Starbursts and other explosions of color became more frequent. Some loud, others quiet inside her head. Amethyst Star heard and saw as well as she could in this chaos. Ever shifting from something to nothing and then another something. She was aware of... things. Something? Voices, shadows, figures, familiar and unfamiliar. Her subconscious mind slipped out like a leaking water balloon. Water of memories and feelings crushing her, pulling her, encompassing her.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

What was that?

What was that?

What was that?

Amethyst Star, what was that?

Amethyst Star, the pony. The unicorn. The pink and purple. Gemstone Cutie Mark. On a trip.

Where? Where? How long? How long?

What had she seen, where was she going now?

Laughter. Orange laughter as Amethyst Star watched her shadow run through a forest, box upon box, crate upon crate, piled on her back. Weighing her down. The pony turned pack mule ran up a mountain, climbed it until every single one of her possessions fell and was lost to the darkness. A flying mustache came and grabbed her in its hairs, taking her and throwing her downhill where she rolled and rolled along with the boulders, ducking and dodging between the huge balls until her hooves were rolling on top of them as well, forced to balance and run on the colliding balls like a circus performer. It all fell out from under her while she swam through molasses with other strange shadows chasing her or running ahead. Mocking her. Laughing at her. Saying they were better than her.

What can she do?

What can she do?

What can Amethyst Star do?

Spinning round and round, her head, her body, the world, all spinning so much. A tornado around her that would not abate. Photographs spilled our of her head that each contained a memory and action of Amethyst Star’s, they all flew together to create the perfect collage of her misadventure and failure-riddled journey. Her friends and their shadows were they to pick them up, point them out, and laugh, laugh, laugh. Those shadows morphing and twisting and pulling her friends along with them, turning from pony to demon that laughed with big pointy teeth at Amethyst Star and her tribulations. Wings wider than the sky opened up behind the shadow and a horn taller than the mountains shot up from it, purple and red and white flashes of color overcame Amethyst Star, knocking her down and down again.

The shadows and colors turned to nothing but gray, her blurry vision stuck on it, unable to process anything more. The grayness never became anything solid, always changing, always contorting around Amethyst Star and forcing her to swim through the murkiness. An absence of color, an absence of feeling and emotion, a grayness emptier than pitch black.

“I told you you would regret this, did I not? Well don’t come crying to me.”

“Don’t come crying to me.”

“Don’t come

crying

to me.”

No happiness no sadness, nothing but gray, Amethyst Star wants it to go away!

The feeling of being pulled along on a track came to Amethyst Star, she looked to her sides to see roses climbing up all around her while she was stuck and unable to move by her own power anymore. An endless farm of roses came up to surround her, a sea, a countryside of roses. Red, white, yellow, pink, all the natural colors of roses but then even more that were dark blue, or striped, or spotted in multiple shades of a color, roses that could never be found in the natural world. But more than any of those, black roses rose in rows behind all the others.

“I did warn you not to go in, didn’t I?”

The rainbow road of roses came together over her head, merging into one single black rose that opened up and swallowed Amethyst Star whole. Vines and thorns were all around her now, as tainted a black as the petals themselves. Roses and roses and black roses among them. Amethyst Star’s mind was a daze, an impossible to reconcile cacophony. Her thoughts more muddled than any strange thing she had seen in this infinite landscape of shadow and color.

A star.

A star.

A white star now. Overhead, growing in size, coming closer. Threatening and unreal in a way no star should be. Where did it go? Why was it here? What was Amethyst Star to do?

Fail? Fail. Fail again? Was that all she was, was that all she could do? Is that her adventure is that where she went, was there nothing else to do? Wasn’t she more or could she be even less? No! No. No, no, no. Amethyst Star knew what she was, so much more than everyone thought. So much more than everyone said or how everything looked.

Where was she?

Where was she?

Where even was she now?

Amethyst Star, is this what you wanted, was this a good idea?

So much coming, so much right ahead. Dazzling light and shaking ground, singing songs and painful cracks, ponies racing and racing by, was that adventure? Confetti! Confetti and more confetti! Was that for Amethyst Star? Bring it here! Bring it on! Amethyst Star was prepared! Was she? Was she? Colors and colors, so many more, all of them coming together again, blinding white light and a big smudgy blur, Amethyst Star slipped and slipped and fell and fell.

Sand and sand, hot and hotter. A feeling she was well familiar with. Where was the water? Here was the water. Drinking and drinking it down. The world still blurry, the world still tumbling, the world still melding and twisting together.

No.

No.

Untwisting, unfurling, everything coming around. The colors changing, the infinity shrinking, all the thoughts and memories spilling back in her head. Rewinding. Returning. Water running past her lips, invigorating. Amethyst Star coming back, her body and mind and unicorn self. All of it shifting and sliding back into one. Wobbly on her hooves, was she on them at all? The desert, she remembered. She felt again, felt for real this time. Strange. Uneven. Unpleasant. Amethyst Star stood up. Amethyst Star fell. Everything a fog, everything she had seen gone. Sick. Unwell. Trying her best as always. Amethyst Star slowly continued on.

Desert Malaise

Amethyst Star wasn’t sure if it was the same day or if she had been out all night. She tiredly dragged her hooves and agonizingly pained body across the sand of the desert. More than just stomach pains from drinking that water, her flesh was blistered and raw and her eyes were dry. The unicorn looked like a pony that had been tossed around in an oven. Maybe she even had been if she was lying on that hot desert sand for as long as she suspected she was. What she thought was a reprieve and a spot of luck had turned into a disaster that left her even worse off than she was before. And there was still no end to this desert in sight. The sand shimmered on and on in front of her, telling her nothing.

“I hate deserts. More than swamps, or hills, or rivers… or dumb jerks that play bocce. I hate deserts,” Amethyst Star glared dead ahead.

The good news was that she had gotten really good at fighting through her own fatigue and pain. The Amethyst Star that started this journey would be really proud of her. She was far too annoyed to be happy about her increased stamina and durability right now though, and the still hot sand under her hooves was a constant bother, even moreso with their soreness and redness after her “nap”.

But still she plodded on. That was all she could do right now until either the desert ended or her body failed her.

Whichever came first.

“I hate deserts,” she repeated. That nauseous and sick feeling in her head that was somewhere between a headache and the fog of a fever still hadn’t fully abated. Amethyst Star wasn’t sure if when she inevitably keeled over if it would be from her sickness or plain exhaustion. She just wished there was something more out here that she could see, something to strive towards and force the last bits of energy out of her. It would be so much easier to get through this if she could at least see the finish line.

Her stomach grumbled but it might have been more from what she had drank earlier than from hunger. She rubbed her stomach and did her best to ignore the feeling, thinking instead of how embarrassing it would be if her adventure ended here. The thought of that more than anything kept her moving. She didn’t want her friends or anyone else who doubted her proven right. And if she couldn’t handle a little desert then it was like admitting she was wrong about herself. Which was just an impossible, unacceptable thought. Amethyst Star believed in herself and her ability to conquer this desert! Absolutely everyone else was wrong about her.

“That’s right,” she nodded to nobody. “And that’s how it’s gonna keep being. I’m totally capable of crossing this dumb desert and getting back to a real adventure.” She thought if she repeated that enough times it would have to be true. “So no more dillydallying, I’m done with all this dumb sand!”

Maybe the world had decided to take pity on her, for once, but the shimmering sand and light ahead of her stopped being so blurry, and like a mirage disappearing in front of her face she saw something appear in the distance as if it had come out of nowhere. At first she looked on in shock, not registering exactly what she was seeing, but eventually the landscape fully revealed its true nature and she recognized the steady blue-green of a desert river with several small wooden buildings that had been set up along its edge, all of it only a short jaunt from where she was standing now.

“Okay,” Amethyst Star shrugged and walked towards the buildings. This worked for her.

Bits of grass and weeds started rising up out of the sand as she got closer to the river, there must be soil just slightly underneath. The wooden buildings also looked shoddy and clearly dilapidated, possibly even abandoned. Amethyst Star walked between them to get to the river for now, the water a goal she cared far more about than checking on any random buildings. It turned out that behind the buildings however sat a small dock built over the water that she was previously unable to see.

And a single pony stood atop it. Dusting sand off the wooden planks with a thinning broom missing most of its thistles.

When he turned around he noticed Amethyst Star, eyebrows rising into his forehead, the stallion was tall and lanky with a pronounced adam’s apple and a mane and tail that had gone white with age. “Well hey there, you come for the ferry? Haven’t seen many ponies lately.”

Amethyst Star held up a hoof. “One second.” She ran to the river right next to the dock and dunked her head into the water, taking a huge gulp of it. “Hahhh!” She pulled her soaking wet head out of the water and sighed in relief before dipping her hooves in too and splashing water all over her face and the rest of her body. “Oh yeah, that feels good.”

“Must’ve been in that desert for a while...” the stallion leaned on his broom while he watched her.

The old stallion went by the name of Latch and apparently he was the only one who lived around these parts. Once upon a time some ponies got the bright idea to build a rest stop out here, but the problem was that it was far too remote even for that and the whole thing went up in smoke. Latch was the only one who stayed around to operate his ferry for any pony or other creature that happened to make their way out here. Now Amethyst Star stood at the edge of his dock, ready to hop out onto that ferry and go somewhere else.

“So like, how far will you take me on this thing?” Amethyst Star asked him. The river flowed almost directly north, she didn’t want to get too far off her path of “west”.

“Far as you want to go,” Latch shrugged from beside her. “You know anything about this area? Doesn’t seem like you do.”

Amethyst Star frowned at him. “Okay, no, I don’t.”

“Right. Well down the river is the City of Opportunity. Still technically in the desert but a much more lush and fertile part of it,” Latch told her.

“City of Opportunity?”

“Yup, that’s what they call it. Supposedly you can find anything and everything you’re looking for there. Huge city with all kinds of creatures living in it, it’s the first and only major city you’ll find going downstream from here. Only problem is I can’t take you the whole way.”

“Why not?” She tilted her head at him.

“Well cause a bit further down the river you get to a point where the river’s full of sandbars and a bunch of tiny islands poking out of the water. It’s impossible to get my ferry through,” he shrugged. “Still, I can take you a good portion of the way down. It won’t be a problem for you to walk the rest of the way, they even got dirt roads leading to the city from that far.”

“Sounds good to me,” Amethyst Star said and walked from the dock onto his ferry.

“Barge” may have been more appropriate. It was a square collection of boards all nailed together and stuck on top of some floating barrels with nothing more than a rudder at the back for steering and a few wooden posts at the corners with ropes tied around them to create a rudimentary railing to keep any ponies from accidentally falling into the water. Latch walked on right after her, a thick rope wrapped around one of the posts of the dock also had its other end looped around a metal stub on the barge, Latch pulled it off and threw the rope onto the dock so they could start floating free. The river was calm so they only slowly started to drift down without that rope, giving Latch plenty of time to make his way over to the rudder and steer them into the center of the river. Amethyst Star was happy to be making some progress while she could also rest but the going would obviously be sloooow.

“So where are you going if you don’t mind me asking? Trip is gonna take some time, figured might as well make some small talk.” Latch said to her. “Since you don’t know the area at all are you lost or something? Even got a destination in mind?”

Amethyst Star scowled as she looked downriver. “No, I’m not lost. I’m just heading west. Not looking for anything in particular.” It was more or less true.

Latch was silent for a moment from behind her. She wondered what he might have been thinking about before he started talking again. “Hm, you remind me of a filly I ferried out here a while ago, she was just heading west too,”

Amethyst Star looked back at him. “Yeah?”

“Yup,” Latch nodded. “Pretty memorable since so few come around this river. So if you’re just going west then where might you be from originally?”

“Oh, well I’m from Equestria. I guess technically this whole place is already the west to me but I’m going even further. Looking for adventure,” Amethyst Star smiled at him.

“Equestria, huh? That’s where the Princesses live. Not sure if I ever heard where that strawberry colored filly was from.” Latch rubbed his chin as he got a far away look in his eyes.

“You know about it?” Amethyst Star was kind of surprised. Should she really be though? It was true that everything out here felt so disconnected from the rest of the world but surely they must know who raised the sun and moon, right? Maybe most actually didn’t. Every little place seemed so independent and didn’t give Amethyst Star any inkling that they knew about Equestria. The Undiscovered West truly was on its own.

“Heard about it, never been there,” Latch shrugged. “Word of advice though, you can’t really go that much farther west from here. Whether it’s adventure you want or not.”

“What do you mean?” Amethyst Star raised an eyebrow at him.

Latch grinned. “Well this here might be the west to you and the rest of the ponies from Equestria, but to me and the others who live out here there’s no such thing as the west until after Al-Karamaretel. The lands past it could be considered the Far West to you.”

Amethyst Star chewed on her lip, mulling over his words in her head. “Al-Karamaretel… I keep hearing about that place. What is it?”

“Hmm...” Latch’s eyes roamed around for a second. “I guess you could say it’s a cross between a city and a fortress? It lies on the eastern edge of a wide and bottomless chasm that spans through the entirety of these lands from north to south and they guard the only bridge across it. Used to be you could cross that bridge no problem, except you might have to wait a while, but for years now they’ve stopped letting anyone over it. Maybe you could get someone to fly you across but I hear they look to stop anyone from doing that. And make sure no one else builds any bridge across the chasm. Search me why though.” Latch sneezed. “Anyways, that chasm cuts the “west” as you would call it clean in half. But there isn’t any getting past Al-Karamaretel for you so you might as well forget about it.”

It wasn’t what she wanted to hear entirely but Al-Karamaretel definitely sounded like a pretty adventurous place to her. Maybe she would still head to it after that “City of Opportunity” that was coming up. And if he was telling the truth and the Undiscovered West was cut in half by that chasm then that meant there was still a huge amount to explore and journey through. Even if she couldn’t make it to the other side she knew how much area there was still in the eastern half she was already in that she hadn’t gone through. Her adventure may not have gone too swimmingly so far but there was clearly so much more out there waiting for her.

For now though she decided to get a little real rest. “Hey, Latch? Thanks for the trip and the conversation but I’m pretty worn out by… everything. I’m about to pass out anyways so I’m just gonna curl up down here and take a quick nap. Wake me when we stop.”

“Can do,” Latch saluted her.

She waved back to him and promptly lied down on the barge, easily falling to sleep less than a minute later. And this time dreaming of nothing. Good.

Opportunity Comes Knocking

Amethyst Star walked down a dirt road that was built in the sands of the desert and led straight to the so called City of Opportunity. She was close enough that she could actually see it now, though mostly just the walls made of yellow sandstone, and it was an impressive sight. If the walls were any indication it covered a huge area in this arable part of the desert. The green river she had been following widened by quite a bit and flowed past one end of the city’s walls. Up ahead she could see a large amount of buildings built on both sides of it when it reached the city. Latch was certainly right that this was a much more hospitable part of the desert, plenty of green bushes and plants along with tall palm trees stood everywhere and the land had a healthy dark quality to it.

She was hardly interested in the land, however. It was the city itself that called to her. The sandstone walls were made from huge interconnected blocks, each one taller and wider than Amethyst Star, and they stood thirty feet high with a jagged square parapet topping them off. It didn’t seem like there were any sorts of towers or guards up on them, they were probably built more for appearances than for actual defense. Or to keep wind and sand out when the weather was bad around here. In the middle of the huge wall that blocked off the city on this side there was a single opening that Amethyst Star was walking towards, the dirt road she was on went right to it. A series of palm trees was planted that flanked the road as it got closer to the gateway into the city while the road itself steadily got wider and wider. Enough that four or five carriages could go side by side and right through the entrance at the same time.

At this point she had seem a number of cities and towns out here and had heard of quite a few more. But this city put all the rest to shame. It screamed of a real civilization to her, like it could be the center of a kingdom or country all of its own. The City of Opportunity already looked like the kind of place a Princess would live in… although considering a Princess lived in Ponyville maybe that was a moot point.

“I can’t wait to see inside,” Amethyst Star said as she walked down the road, getting closer to the part where the welcoming palm trees started.

She could already see some of the tallest buildings that stood in the city and if they were any indication there were all kinds of different architectural styles in the city. One of the taller buildings looked like the kind of office you would see in Manehattan while another was a classy tower closer to Canterlot design. Saying you could find anything and everything here may well have been true. Speaking of that…

There was a large archway over the entrance to the city with the words “ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING” chiseled into it.

“Well they’re clearly pretty proud of their city,” Amethyst Star pondered as she read the archway. It was just barely visible to her from this distance but the words were large enough to make out. Another thing she could tell was she was pretty certain there weren’t any guards or any sort of gate or checkpoint at all at the city’s entrance. It looked like anyone could just walk in. Well that was fine for her. It’s not like that was abnormal or anything, especially when it came to Equestria, but having walls like this and a clear reputation to uphold made her think they’d be a little more invested in who and how many came into the city.

Still that just made things a lot easier for her right now. Amethyst Star was smiling gratefully by the time she made it to the entrance, excited to just be able to go in and see what kind of adventure this city had in store for her. The unicorn from Ponyville passed under the arch and took a few steps inside, standing in the middle of the dirt road and just looking around so she could take in everything.

The road first opened up into a large circular area that had multiple paths branching off it in every direction. If you kept going straight it looked like the road went right into some kind of central bazaar. An absolute maze of shops, stalls, and tents covered the ground in front of her with vendors selling all sorts of things. Some were selling food, others jewelry, and most of all she saw a ton of places selling clothes. But it wasn’t just that it was the variety in buildings she saw too. So many around the bazaar were clay buildings with lime and plaster finishes, painted in all kinds of colors, but she could see more contemporary buildings further down the road, not to mention the huge buildings she could also see. The other branches of the read each went somewhere that looked completely different and probably had their own unique things to offer in this city. One of them went in the direction of the river while the one exactly opposite that trailed off into a bunch of stone, castle-like, buildings.

“Well I’ve had enough of things like markets and ponies trying to sell me stuff. I can find that in Ponyville,” Amethyst Star frowned and tried to think of where she should go. Giving up on that, since there were too many choices, she spun around in a circle with her eyes closed for a moment and chose to go down whichever path she ended up facing.

Opening up her eyes she saw the tall office building rising into the sky directly in front of her.

“Works for me,” she shrugged and began walking down the dirt road that went in the same general direction as the office building. “That thing sticks out like a sore hoof here even with everything else in the city.”

As she walked it occurred to her that there was something else special about this city compared to all others she had seen in the west and even most in Equestria too. The creatures. It wasn’t just ponies living here, Amethyst Star saw minotaurs, griffons, goats, donkeys, and many more. She even caught sight of thin creatures that looked like ponies but had skin the appearance and consistency of tree bark. Even walking around Twilight’s school wouldn’t have shown her so many different creatures. And they were all going about their own business, either shopping, selling, or working in some other way.

“Anything and everything...” She muttered.

The dirt road shortly changed to a paved asphalt under her hooves, she wondered if that was how all of them ended up or if it was just particular to this area. The buildings as well started to get more uniform and modern the closer she got to the large building. Cement and metal structures became more common and there were narrow alleyways Amethyst Star could peak into that held all manner of clustered together stores. The ponies and other creatures in this area also seemed to be quite business-oriented, she saw many of them wearing suits and holding briefcases while there were far less people selling things out of carts and stalls on the side of the road. Most everything was being done in an official place of business.

“Hey, an aquarium! Sea Swirl would love that,” Amethyst Star said as she trotted on by the aquarium she had seen. Its big glass windows showed off tanks full of all kinds of little fish. “Wine store, Berry Punch would be in there for ages... place selling model airships… greengrocer with a bunch of strawberries… wow, there’s something all of my friends would enjoy here.”

And if that was the case there must be what she wanted to find here as well.

The paved road naturally split a few times and didn’t always go directly towards the office building but Amethyst Star did a good job of not straying too far from her path. And if she got “lost” then so what? There was probably an adventure around every corner here even if she got sidetracked and her destination was never solid to begin with. She still kept her eyes on the towering office building though, it was at least really useful as a point of reference and no matter where she was in the city she’d have been able to see it.

Amethyst Star eventually made her way to a large flight of stairs that numerous other ponies and creatures were using. Was the ground the city was built on not fully even? Maybe there were multiple levels to it. It was somewhat tiring for her to climb up the stairs but when she made it to the top it was well worth it.

The unicorn now found herself on a large and open plaza that covered a fair portion of this part of the city. It was busy with others but only had a few buildings dotting it, most of it just kept as open space or several grassy areas for ease of movement and relaxation. She could see stairs and ramps leading down from it in other directions, making her think this was the center for a lot of traffic in this portion of the city. In some of the grassy areas there were benches, maple trees, and a large one that even had a fountain, along with statues and paintings for a bit of art.

But the most important thing of all was the office building standing in the top-right corner of the plaza. It looked like its first floor and main entrance came out right here. Maybe the whole plaza had been built for the office.

“Alright, let’s go!” Amethyst Star cheerfully trotted through the plaza to the office. There were a lot of other ponies and creatures going to and from it at the same time, the doors at its bottom were perpetually kept open by the steady stream of visitors and leavers. “I wonder what that building is even supposed to be for?” When she got to the entrance she tried tilting her head back to see up to the top of the building, wondering how many stories it might be. But unless she wanted to step back and count every level of windows that would be a fruitless endeavor.

When she stepped inside she immediately noticed how futuristic and high-tech the building looked compared to things in Ponyville and Canterlot. The floor was some kind of synthetic tile and the structure was largely glass and metal. The first floor was dominated by two large pillars sitting next to each other in the center of the building’s foundation, both central pillars had a number of elevators built into them and that was where most of the people entering the building were heading to line up at or where most of the ones exiting were coming from. Straight ahead Amethyst Star also saw a door along the back wall marked “stairs” in case she didn’t want to wait for an elevator. In-between the two pillars and directly facing Amethyst Star was a large board that looked like a directory of what was in the office building.

It wasn’t all business though, to her right the ground floor was taken up by a large cafe and to her left was… an information desk? That’d be helpful.

Amethyst Star ignored the food and the rest of the lobby for now, walking over to the information desk instead. Unlike the busy elevators there was nobody else around the desk, everybody besides Amethyst Star here must already know exactly where they’re going and what they’re doing. She walked right up to the counter and stared at the single mare sitting behind it it, who hadn’t noticed her. The receptionist was a young unicorn with wavy blonde hair tied behind her head and a face full of freckles. Obviously she didn’t expect anyone to come speak to her since she was in the middle of reading a magazine and chewing bubblegum while reclining in her chair.

“Excuse me,” Amethyst Star said after a minute had gone by and the receptionist still hadn’t noticed her standing there.

The bubble she was blowing popped and the mare jumped in surprise, tossing her magazine behind her chair and sitting up straight. “I wasn’t slacking off!” She then paused as she noticed Amethyst Star staring at her with an apprehensive look on her face. “Oh, hello. How can I help you?” The mare forced a plastic smile onto her face.

“Uh, right. Can you tell me what this place is?” It was the simplest question Amethyst Star could think to ask.

“Not from around here? This is the administration building,” the receptionist answered.

The out of town unicorn shook her head. “No, I just walked into the city today. And administration of what?”

“Everything,” she shrugged. “Financing, development, real estate, records, legal matters, everything for the whole city. We even house a number of businesses on some levels.”

“Oh so this is like city hall or something?” It was an apt comparison for a small town pony.

“In a manner of speaking, yes, I suppose that’s accurate.”

Amethyst Star smiled. “Guess it’s good I came right here then.”

“Probably,” the receptionist agreed. “Why did you come to this city in the first place? If there’s something you’re looking for then this building is definitely the place to find where it’s at here.”

“Uhh… kind of just looking for adventure?” Amethyst Star rubbed the back of her neck as she said that, knowing it just sounded kind of silly.

“Adventure?”

“Adventure.”

“Well we do say you can find anything here but I’m not sure if it’ll be the kind of adventure you want? We don’t fight any wars or have trouble with monsters or anything like that,” she told her.

Amethyst Star frowned, she was kind of hoping that there was something like that here. “Well is there a way for me to see a lot of the city and do all kinds of things here? I don’t mean touristy stuff either, I mean, anything that involves quests or awesome jobs or something like that? If there is adventure I’d like something that gives me the opportunity to find it.”

The receptionist thought for a second, tapping her chin with her hoof. “There’s an internship agency in this building that sets people up with jobs. I’m sure they can find something for you to do that would satisfy your wants. What they do is that whenever some other business, or really anybody who needs the help, has a job that needs to be done, they know to send their requests to the internship. The internship agency will then send whoever’s fitting or whoever they have around to fulfill the job. They literally get requests for anything you can think of, it sounds like the perfect thing for you to try if you want to go on some random quests or hope to suddenly get whisked onto an adventure. Er, needs to be said though that most of the job requests are gonna be for very normal and mundane things though.”

Amethyst Star mulled it over. On one hoof it sounded like her best bet unless she wanted to randomly stumble about the city. On the other if most of the jobs were just normal stuff then what was the point of that? It might still be nice to prove that she can do all sorts of things though. And this city was big and it’s not like she was on a timetable or anything, if she spent a few days at the internship what would be the harm? There was nothing keeping her from staying in the city for as long as she wanted.

“You know what? That sounds like a good idea to me,” Amethyst Star said. “So where is this internship? Are they just gonna hire me without a problem?”

“It’s not like they really hire anybody,” the receptionist explained. “They just have associates that they call on whenever a job comes in. So they’re always looking for anyone who wants to sign up, a lot of people get more permanent jobs and stop working with them.”

Amethyst Star clapped her hooves together “Even better! So where can I find them?”

The mare behind the desk smiled. “Sixth floor, Suite 620. You can take the elevators up to the sixth floor and there will be placards and other directions when you get off. Looks like it’s a bit of a long wait though.”

“Fine by me,” Amethyst Star dismissively waved her hoof. “Walking through a desert was tough. Standing around waiting for the elevator will be easy. Thanks for your help!”

However, she forgot she didn’t have any patience. All she could do was grumble in annoyance as it took well over an hour before she was able to get into an elevator and take it up to the sixth floor. It was only when the doors were just closing did she remember the existence of the stairs. She really hoped those stairs were employee or emergency only or something. Otherwise she’d be pretty mad. At least the elevator itself was fast, she was stuck on it with about a dozen others but her stop was one of the first, all she had to do was squeeze past a couple ponies and walk out onto the sixth floor.

“Ooh, nice carpet.”

She admired the blue diamond pattern of the carpet, it felt far more comfortable beneath her hooves than anything else she had walked over recently. Amethyst Star walked from the sideroom where the elevators were situated into the nearby hallway, there were only two directions to go so she looked for the sign that would show her if 620 was to her right or left. Just like the receptionist had said there was a board facing the elevator room tacked on the wall. An arrow on it pointing left showed “610-690” under it while an arrow pointing to the right showed “600-680”. Looks like she was heading right.

The close proximity of the suite to the elevators was another bonus for her, she only had to take a few steps before the door marked “620” was right in front of her. Golden letters were screwed onto the door that read: Guru’s Internship

“Guess I’ll just let myself in,” Amethyst Star grasped the door handle and pulled it open.

What greeted her was a smaller office than she had expected after hearing of the scope of their work. The suite looked no bigger than the inside of Ponyville’s town hall and it was on the interior of the building so there wasn’t even a window. What it did have was several overflowing desks and a wall that was covered from floor to ceiling in filing cabinets. Ponies sat behind all of the desks, either doing paperwork or filing something. At the back end of the office one desk that was slightly larger than the others also had an empty metal cage sitting on it with a glowing green crystal on top of it that had wires and suction cups stuck on it going back down the bars of the cage.

“Um, hello?” Amethyst Star said to the room.

A few of the ponies working glanced up at the sound of her voice but didn’t say or do anything themselves while the rest just ignored her completely. The only real response she got was from the pony at the big desk in the back.

He looked up at her and smiled through a scraggly brown beard. “Hello! You have a job request?”

“The opposite actually. I was hoping you could hire me,” she told him.

“Oh! Well come, sit down!” He gestured for her to come sit in front of his desk, getting up for a second and pulling a small chair for her out and sitting it in front of the desk. He was a fairly heavyset earth pony with beady, sunken, eyes and a pale orange complexion. Not someone who could be called handsome. “So you’d like to work with us?”

Amethyst Star nodded as she sat. “I heard that you get requests for all kinds of jobs.”

“We do indeed. All day every day. And we’re always looking for others who might like to help us out with our work. Especially if they’re a person with a particular skill-set. You never know when a job is going to come in that only one or two creatures in the entire city can do,” he chuckled. “Is there anything you do specifically? Or are you looking to expand your horizons, or maybe just get some work experience. We’d like to know before we actually give you a job.”

What did she do? Well, anything she wanted to. Right? If Applejack could run a farm and save the world then Amethyst Star could certainly do any kind of random job asked of her in a city like this.

“I-”

Before she could finish the green crystal on the metal cage lit up brighter and a beeping sound came from it. Amethyst Star watched as a scroll poofed into existence inside the cage and the crystal went back to glowing faintly like normal.

“Excuse me one moment,” the stallion said as he opened up a little door on the cage and pulled out the scroll, unfurling and reading it. “Ah, good.” He grinned and then shouted to the ponies working at the desks behind Amethyst Star. “New job order in Sector 12! Come here, Snakewood!”

One of the ponies perked up at having his name called and walked over to his boss’s desk, gingerly taking the scroll and going back to his place of work.

“Sorry about that, you were saying?” The boss said to Amethyst Star.

“It’s no problem. Either way, what I was saying is that I can do anything,” Amethyst Star stated with confidence, watching as the boss’s eyebrows rose slightly in question. “I can and will do any job. Doesn’t matter what sort of job it is or what it entails. I’ll do it. Where it is, if it was refused by someone else, whatever. My special skill-set is being special and capable of doing anything.” She pressed her hoof to her chest when she finished.

“That’s certainly impressive!” He guffawed. He seemed happy but the laughter made Amethyst Star wondered if he really believed her. “And we could certainly use someone who’s willing to take up any job, that’s useful in our business too.” He contemplated Amethyst Star for a second, then shrugged. “Eh, alright, welcome aboard Miss-?”

“Amethyst Star,” she answered, smiling proudly.

He reached over his desk in an offer to shake hooves. “Miss Amethyst Star. I’m sure we have a job for you right now even. Would you care to get started right away?”

She eagerly took his hoof and frantically shook it up and down while her smile widened even further. “Yes, I would!”

The Red Hornet walked onto the edge of the wide and flat desert before pausing. The heat of the sand and sun didn’t seem to bother her even with the dark clothes she was wearing but the new location still brought a frown to her face. The scarlet pony raised her front left hoof and rubbed it on her vest to knock the sand off before bringing it up to her impenetrable sunglasses and lowering them slightly. She glared out at the desert with her cold blue eyes, the colors of the mare making such a stark contrast with the barren sand in front of her as she tried to see anything of note out there. The wind was blowing slightly, kicking up tiny dust devils and causing the hot air to shimmer more the further away it was.

“She went this way, didn’t she?” The Red Hornet clicked her tongue as she readjusted her sunglasses and started walking to begin her journey through the arid desert. “Tch, I hate deserts.”

Amethyst Star the Hired Help

Wheatie’s Bakery was in need of an assistant.

And Amethyst Star was there to help.

She already knew that most of the jobs she would end up doing were going to be for ordinary things so she took working at a bakery in stride. It wouldn’t have been her first choice but beggars can’t be choosers and you never know when some creature is gonna step through the front door attempting to rob the place only to be stopped by a certain heroic unicorn. Not like she was holding out for that though. If anything she was still certain to make a number of connections and see quite a few people while she helped out here for the day. Which in the future could be useful or lead to some kind of real adventure or quest, Amethyst Star was positive there was all kinds of intrigue and stuff going on in this city. Something big that she could get herself involved with would show itself eventually. A city this big and this diverse, in more ways than one, was a cornucopia of adventure just waiting to be discovered. She just had no idea where to start first and that’s why she ended up at this job for the moment.

The specific reason Wheatie’s Bakery needed help for today was that they were having a special 10-year Anniversary sale and party celebrating their grand opening and their sous chef called in sick the night before with the flu. Out of desperation they had to turn to Guru’s Internship since no one else could fill in at the last minute. Wheatie was a light blue pegasus with a snowy white mane and bright yellow eyes who operated the dream bakery with his pegasus wife, Doughey, and had made it one of the most popular destinations for sweets and desserts in the entire city. So this event was a really big deal to them and nothing could go wrong or their reputation might be ruined. They needed the extra help for all the customers they were going to have today and that was that. It was something of a gamble to temporarily hire someone who wasn’t a dedicated baker/chef but they figured Guru’s Internship wouldn’t have sent Amethyst Star over if she wasn’t capable of helping them.

It was certainly a logical thing to assume.

Wheatie had stuck her in the back kitchen and told her she’d be spending most of her time back there and to acquaint herself with everything before the doors opened right at noon for their lunchtime party. Doughey would be working the register while Wheatie had the job of expediting and chatting up all the important guests and customers that were coming today. Doughey was a wintry purple pegasus with her yellow mane done in a tight bun that (as her name implied) preferred being able to sit down and not have to run around the bakery’s floor bringing food to customers. The good news for Amethyst Star was that most desserts had already been made and were held in the bakery’s freezer or display cases at the moment, anything she needed to make from scratch or mostly from scratch had simple instructions for her. And Wheatie assured her he’d be doing a lot of cooking as well. Amethyst Star didn’t envy how busy he was making his day.

“And don’t be afraid to ask if you need to know where anything is,” Wheatie said to Amethyst Star as he stood her in front of the largest stove.

“You got it,” she saluted him.

“Great,” he gave her a nervous grin. “I’m sure things will be fine but this anniversary is a very big deal to us. Keep going through the kitchen and make yourself as familiar with it as if it was your own kitchen at home. I have to set some things up out front.” He turned to walk through the swinging doors that separated the kitchen from the rest of the bakery but looked over his shoulder at her right before they swung back shut. “And try and memorize the menu and recipe list as best you can!”

Then she was left alone in the kitchen for the first time while the proprietors prepared things out front. According to them they still needed to pretty things up and give everything a once over before they were ready to open the doors.

“Okay,” Amethyst Star said to herself as she stared down at the stove. To her sides sat a number of bowls, utensils, ingredients, and a cookbook. “What do I know about cooking?” She levitated the cookbook in front of her face and looked at the first recipe, one for chocolate cupcakes. “What’s tsp? Tbsp? Probably going to need to figure that out.”

There were many other things she was oblivious to as well but time wasn’t on her side to learn all of the kitchen lingo and how everything worked. It was already getting close to doors open.

For the most part she would just have to garnish or start things and let Wheatie finish them. Didn’t sound like the most intensive thing at first but if he wanted her to know the recipes and everything he probably expected that she would be on her own for a lot of the cooking too. And there were going to be a lot of ovens she would have to keep running at once, all of them likely at different times and maybe even levels of heat too. She was just doing the busy work but that hardly meant it was easy work. There was a lot she had to pay attention to.

As Amethyst Star was inspecting each of the little ingredients on the counter next to the stove Wheatie stuck his head back through the doors to the kitchen. “Ten minutes!” He anxiously shouted to her. “We’ve got a lot of stuff ready but just in case I want you to start getting a few strawberry shortcakes ready, they’re our most popular item. Just follow the recipe, thank you!”

And he immediately ducked back out, Amethyst Star could hear him pacing across the hardwood floor in the dining area. She wondered if they had the blinds or whatever closed up there or something so customers couldn’t see in yet. The way Wheatie and Doughey were acting there had to be a ton of people lined up already. Not like Amethyst Star would interact with any of them though.

“Strawberry shortcake,” Amethyst Star repeated to herself and then grabbed the cookbook, flipping through its pages to get to the correct dessert.

The picture certainly made it look delicious, she even subconsciously licked her lips upon seeing it. It didn’t seem like the most complicated dessert to make either, the list of ingredients was relatively short compared to some others she had seen and the cake was a pretty simple few layers to put together. However she still had no experience when it came to baking or making what should be a fancy dessert like this. Even if she got the ingredients right that didn’t mean she would know how to make it pretty or do things just right.

“He said to just get started though… so should I just keep going until he comes back? Or do the first couple of steps for one cake and then move onto the next?” Amethyst Star wasn’t entirely sure.

But she had to start somewhere. Grabbing the nearest mixing bowl, Amethyst Star began pouring the necessary ingredients inside to make the base cake. It only took her a couple of minutes of looking over the measuring spoons and beakers to figure out the right amount of things to put in and she was confident that she had at the very least gotten everything into the bowl that needed to be there. Hopefully after she mixed it up it would turn out looking how it was supposed to. That would be the test, wouldn’t it.

Amethyst Star was using one of the rubber spatulas to thoroughly mix the stuff. “Okay, okay, this is going alright so far. Where are the cake pans?”

She had to search through a couple of cabinets before she found the right one but in a minute she had poured her batter into the right pan, now the only thing left was to get it in the oven. Amethyst Star wondered if she was supposed to put it on a tray or anything before just sliding it in onto the top oven rack. Did it matter if she placed the cake near the top or the bottom of the oven? Whatever. A quick turn of the knob too and the fire sprouted up to begin cooking the cake. Oh wait. Wasn’t she supposed to heat the oven up and get it to the correct temp before putting the cake in and not letting it sit there? Oh well, she was sure that was fine.

Looking in through the little window at her first cake baking in the oven, Amethyst Star was quite pleased with herself.

“I’m awesome! Let’s get started on cake number two.”

Amethyst Star grabbed her mixing bowl again and got started on the next batch of cake batter. Well on her way before Wheatie came back into the kitchen to check up on her.

“How are you doing? Are the shortcakes coming along well?”

“Already got one in the oven,” Amethyst Star proudly stated.

“Great,” he said as he walked up to her to inspect what she was doing now. Her station was slightly messy but since she hadn’t broken anything she didn’t think he’d have a problem. His sharp pegasus eyes still searched over each and every thing. "Have you been following the recipe exactly?”

“Yep!” She nodded. Amethyst Star knew he was just being a good chef and a concerned businesspony but it was still a little annoying to be asked that. Who couldn’t follow a simple recipe?

“And you’re tasting things as you go along?” He asked as he dipped a small spoon into her batter.

“Uhh...”

Wheatie stuck the spoon in his mouth and ate up the batter, chewing on it as his eyes looked up at the roof to mull over the taste. In an instant he stopped as if struck and his pupils shrank, the pegasus stuck his tongue out in displeasure at whatever he just tasted. “Did you mix up the sugar and the salt?!”

Amethyst Star paused her mixing, a nervous grimace working its way onto her face. “But the recipe says to use both sugar and salt...”

“But not in the same amounts!” Wheatie walked around her and reached for the salt and sugar containers. “It tastes like you mixed up the measurements for the salt and the sugar, is the other cake in the oven going to be like that too?”

“Possibly… ehehe,” Amethyst Star chuckled nervously.

Wheatie didn’t see the humor in the situation.

“Just—Just go out to the front. We’ve got a couple of strawberry shortcakes in the display case, take those to table 7. I’ll fix things here and call you back in a minute...” The pegasus rubbed his forehead in an attempt to fight off the coming migraine.

“S-Sorry…” Amethyst Star put down her bowl and walked past him, head hung low.

Okay, that didn’t go the best. But I won’t make the same mistake next time! Amethyst Star thought to herself as she exited the kitchen. She had to walk right past Doughey at the register (while there was a decent line of waiting ponies and creatures) and explain that she was being temporarily relegated to bringing some customers their food, which was a little embarrassing, to get into the front counter’s display case that naturally could only be accessed from behind the register. Already there were only a couple strawberry shortcakes left, maybe Wheatie had an extra or two hidden away but she definitely understood now why he had her prepare some new ones. Amethyst Star grabbed them in her magic and levitated the desserts and their plates in the air, getting up and out from behind the register as she made her way to table 7. Gotta remember to smile too.

Amethyst Star made sure she looked good for the customers and was polite as she laid their dessert on the table. “Two strawberry shortcakes, I hope you enjoy!”

The ponies at the table thanked her for her service and Amethyst Star temporarily stepped back to stand beside the kitchen door, out of the way of everyone trying to get to a table or look at the various display cases full of delicious sweets. It was busy in here and they had just started, if things kept increasing then Wheatie’s Bakery would be like a madhouse later in the day.

“Missy? Can you take this group to table 5 and get them the black forest cake from the chilled display case on the wall?” Doughey asked her after she just finished taking the money from a group of mules,

“Right away!” Amethyst Star saluted and did as she was commanded. She had never had a “black forest cake” before but it looked good. Everything in here looked good, she was a little bit envious of all the customers who got to chow down on this stuff.

Wheatie then came out of the kitchen at a fast pace, seeing Amethyst Star and beckoning her to come over to him quickly. She trotted on over and he took her back into the kitchen while Doughey temporarily handled everything out front on her own again. Amethyst Star looked around the kitchen and in the short time she had been gone Wheatie looked to have started about ten different things. He ran around to the big stove Amethyst Star had been working on and pushed a large bowl full of flour and other ingredients to her while he began beating another bowl full of egg yolks.

“Put a tablespoon of cocoa powder in that bowl and then give it back to me,” Wheatie told her. “It’s gonna be chocolate cupcakes. Once I’ve got those cooking in the oven I’m gonna head out front again and let you take over in here. All you’ve gotta do is add the finishing touches to some things and take them out of the oven, okay? I even prepared a list right here of what’s cooking and what to follow.” He pointed next to the stove top at a piece of paper her had scribbled on. “In a minute a big party is coming that expects those chocolate cupcakes so they have to be ready soon.”

“Cocoa powder, got it,” Amethyst Star decided to take one thing at a time and went into the pantry where all that stuff like cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and of course, cocoa powder, was held. “Cocoa, cocoa...” Her eyes searched up and down the shelves before she spotted the reddish-brown container and grabbed it, running back out and unscrewing the lid, pouring a heaping dash of it into the mixing bowl. Amethyst Star set the cocoa powder down on the counter and slid the bowl back over to Wheatie.

The pegasus automatically started mixing it with a rubber spatula held in one of his wings, the experienced pastry chef working on multiple things at once. “Thank you!” He said to her.

With nothing else to do she watched as he finished mixing the cupcake batter and poured it into its special tray so a dozen delicious chocolate cupcakes would come out once it was done cooking in the oven. Right after Wheatie slid the tray in he set a cooking timer and stepped out of the kitchen for a second to check on Doughey and told Amethyst Star to watch the cupcakes. Well that was easy enough to do. She just had to stare at them through the little window, didn’t she?

She even started whistling a bit to herself while she watched the cupcakes rise. Glancing up at the counter she saw a bowl full of chocolate frosting that Wheatie had already made too. It was all quite tempting.

“I’m gonna see if I can have some leftovers when this day is over,” Amethyst Star licked her lips.

Wheatie came back into the kitchen with a pleased smile on his face, skipping over to Amethyst Star. “The party is here and they’re looking forward to their cupcakes! How are things in there?”

“Looking great,” Amethyst Star replied.

The pegasus bent over and looked in, nodding in agreement with her. “Perfect. Once those are done I’ll put the frosting on them and take them out to our customers. You just follow the list I left you after that, in five minutes you’ve got a souffle to pull out of oven 4 in the back.” Wheatie pointed to the row of ovens that lined the back wall, all of them helpfully numbered.

That was easy enough too. “Got it.”

A second later and the kitchen timer that Wheatie had set for the cupcakes ringed, the shrill sound signaling the pegasus to pull out the cupcakes. The little chocolate cakes looked absolutely perfect and it filled both Amethyst Star and Wheatie with ease. Setting the hot tray down on the stove, Wheatie grabbed his bowl of frosting and began scooping it into a pastry bag before expertly piping it onto each cupcake. Amethyst Star was impressed as he made a perfect series of swirls with a generous amount of frosting on all of them. Like everything else here she was tempted to eat one of them after seeing it completed.

Without a word Wheatie popped them all out of their little pits in the tray and put them on a large serving dish, carrying them out to the party.

Amethyst Star watched him leave the swinging kitchen doors behind him and walked to the side of the stove to levitate the list he left her with her magic. “Alright, let’s see what else I have to do on here?”

It was mostly “sprinkle this” or “mix that” or “take that out”. Which annoyed her. She knew the busy work was important but this seemed like it was on a different tier of hoofholding and lack of confidence. Was one mistake really enough to make Wheatie think she could only do the most menial of tasks? Come on! She was supposed to be proving how awesome and special she was out here, even if it was just bakery work. Amethyst Star could do anything and if a mare could do anything then clearly she should be doing something bigger than sprinkling grated up chocolate over the top of a cake!

The sound of a plate falling on the floor and shattering from out front reached her ears. Followed quickly by retching and coughing.

Amethyst Star stood still for a moment as her brain processed that.

“Please let this be something that isn’t my fault.”

The unicorn ran from the kitchen into the dining room to see a chaotic sight. Ponies, griffons, and donkeys gathered around one of the tables were all waving their hooves or claws in front of their red hot mouths, trying to cool them off while tears streamed down their cheeks. And sitting on that table was a tray of half-eaten chocolate cupcakes that had just come from the kitchen. Wheatie was trying to calm his customers down but it wasn’t going too well.

“My mouth is on fire! What was in those cupcakes?!” One of the ponies asked the proprietor.

“I-I-I-” Wheatie was at a loss for words, Doughey too. The event was becoming a spectacle that all the other customers were intently watching as well. Wheatie eventually saw Amethyst Star standing there, his eyes boring into her with an unspoken question of what had she done.

Amethyst Star ran back into the kitchen, going over to the counter where she had put down the cocoa powder (she vaguely smelled something strange in the kitchen but didn’t bother to think about that right now). She saw the container sitting right where she left it and grabbed it in her magic, this was the only thing she had contributed to the cupcakes. Was there something wrong with it? Did cocoa powder expire? Was there too much? Did she-

Oh.

“Oh, this says chili powder. Oops,” Amethyst Star gulped. “Well at least I know what the problem is.”

She ran back into the dining area at lightning speed to tell Wheatie. The pegasus was trying to placate the pained eaters when Amethyst Star snuck up beside him to whisper in his ear.

“I may have accidentally put chili powder in the cupcakes instead of cocoa powder. Sorry.”

“You what?!” His response was a noticeable octave or two above her whisper.

“Sorry!” She winced away from him. “Let’s just get them some water...”

“Ughhh...” Wheatie desperately massaged his temples. “Just—Just get a bowl and bring it to the sink and fill it with water, then we-” he paused, nose curling as he started sniffing the air. “Do you smell something?”

She did. And by the looks of all the other customers so did they.

Wheatie’s face soon constricted from confusion to outright horror. “It smells like—oh no.” The pegasus ran from the dining area into the kitchen, Amethyst Star hot on his heels.

The two ponies ran into the kitchen and instantly saw where the smell was coming from. All the smoke. It was billowing out from one of the back ovens and had nearly completely covered the ceiling, the particular oven that the smoke was coming from was itself on fire. Unicorn and pegasus stared in shock at the burning flames surging from it threatening to consume the other ovens and much, much more of Wheatie’s Bakery. There was no question that in just a minute the entire anniversary would be ruined as every customer would start screaming and running in terror out of the on fire establishment. Not to mention all of the other problems that were gonna be had.

Amethyst Star awkwardly shuffled about and rubbed the back of her neck while Wheatie was frozen like an ice cube by the disaster.

“I uh, may have also forgotten to take the souffle out of the oven. Could you not tell my boss about all this?” Amethyst Star pleaded. “Eheh...”

Amethyst Star and the Simple Job

“So what you need to do is pick the cherries from every one of these trees, take em to the barn, wash em, remove the pits, cut and mash em up, and then put them in the jars. Got that?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, and then what you do is put those jars in the right boxes, make sure not to mix any with the strawberry or other kinds of jam, and then tape those boxes up for me. Simple enough, right?”

“Also yes.”

“Good. That’s about it. Thanks for coming to help us out.”

Amethyst Star’s next job took her to a fruit farm that lied inside the city walls, one of the bigger ones that wasn’t left to the fertile lands around the city. It was kind of weird seeing how it was boxed in by other buildings and roads right around it but the farmer still owned a large plot of land that he filled up with trees and other fruit plants. All of it centered around a large house, barn and processing facility. In the north section of the farm there were the cherry trees, south had the strawberry fields, west had an apricot orchard, and to the east was raspberries. Amethyst Star was only one of several workers on the various farms right now, she was given purvey over the entire expanse of cherry trees in front of her. It would take a long time just to pick them all but she was eager to do this job. And confident that it was impossible to screw up after hearing how simple it was.

Every step was simple and easy. Tedious, but easy. Good. And there was no fire involved in any way, shape, or form. Also good.

She had been made to arrive at the farm before sunrise so they could make the absolute most of the day. Apparently that’s just how farms operated. It was now slightly after sunrise and Amethyst Star was still more than a bit tired but her sleep schedule was so messed up and random from her traveling that it wasn’t as big a deal as it would have been. It was only slightly more troublesome that she was going to have to do so much physical labor, but maybe that would just wake her up instead? After all she was in much better shape than when she had started. At least she hoped she was.

“I won’t let you down, Mr. Pitchfork!” Amethyst Star replied.

The farmer smiled and waved goodbye as he turned around and headed towards the processing facility. All the bottles of jam would end up in there when the day was over. The boxes would be inspected and then either stored up or shipped off depending on if there were any outstanding orders. She figured most would probably be going off today, otherwise why would Mr. Pitchfork pay for her services when he could’ve just waited? That was irrelevant to her though, she should just focus on her own job and nothing else.

That was definitely the best idea she had had recently.

Amethyst Star looked around at what she had to work with. Besides just the many cherry trees she’d be picking she had a lot of baskets and a large wagon for storing them all in and then taking to the barn when she had finished stripping the last tree. The unicorn frowned as she looked up at the nearest tree. There were a lot of cherries growing from it. It would take her even longer than she had first thought to get all of those cherries down.

“Really tedious,” Amethyst Star sighed and climbed the ladder that led up the trunk of the first tree. “Ugh, this is just the first step, I can’t let myself get discouraged already!” The unicorn tried to get herself into gear as she stood up on top of the ladder and reached for the nearest branch of cherries. Plucking them off with no problem she levitated up her first basket and safely plopped the cherries inside. “There! One dozen down and only ten million dozen more to go!”

It was surprisingly exhausting work since she had to keep moving the ladder, going back down and up it, to get to every area of the tree where cherries were growing. And to hold the basket in her magic while she picked them all. And the basket got heavier and heavier as more cherries filled it up. More than once Amethyst Star again wished she had the strength and stamina of an earth pony. Her meager gains were hardly enough to compare to natural strength or a body built from years of this kind of work.

One basket was filled up before she even finished the first tree. Mr. Pitchfork never said by when she needed to have all this done but she assumed it was well before sundown.

“I’ve gotta pick up the pace if I’m finishing this job all in one day,” Amethyst Star began to double her efforts. She’d just have to ignore any fatigue. What was this compared to walking through a desert with no water? Nothing, that’s what.

She wiped the sweat off her brow when she climbed down the ladder for the last time on this first tree. It was stripped bare of cherries and they were all neatly and carefully packed into several baskets. A job well done. She hadn’t accidentally broken any branches, or dropped some cherries or the basket, or fallen off the ladder and hurt herself. It went perfectly. Aside from how long it took her. Looking out across the rest of the cherry trees, Amethyst Star knew she would have to move even quicker than she already was to get through them all. Which was a problem since she had long already realized that and was pushing herself as hard as she could go.

Was this normally a job just for one pony? Am I doing something wrong? She thought to herself. It didn’t seem like there was any way for her to do it faster and she didn’t know how to “buck” cherries. Maybe she could try using her magic to pull them off quicker? But she wasn’t sure if her magic was precise enough for that. And she was definitely sure over-taxing her magic like that would tire her out before she finished with the trees.

“Oh well, just gotta keep moving I guess.”

Amethyst Star folded up the ladder and carried it over to the next cherry tree. Her work only just beginning.

As she walked up to start plucking more cherries she paused for a second. I feel like I’ve gotten sidetracked in some way.

The unicorn kept picking cherries as fast as she could but the tedium and monotony of the work was starting to get to her even more than the physical strain and her mind was beginning to wander. Definitely not something good for her. But how easy would it be if she could fly? That would make getting to every cherry so much simpler. Or if she could just yank them all off their stems at once with her magic? That’d be something that would impress any pony.

“If I could go back in time I’d ask Cherry Berry all about picking cherries,” Amethyst Star frowned at the thought of how she had a friend that would be the absolute perfect helper for this and yet she was weeks travel away. Even Strawberry Sunrise and half the other ponies in Ponyville would probably be helpful or at least have good advice for work like this. “Like they say, hindsight is—does that saying even apply here?” She scratched her head.

Amethyst Star absentmindedly popped one of the cherries she had picked into her mouth, chewing it and spitting out the seed before swallowing the sweet fruit and licking her lips. “Mm, tasty!”

With the sudden realization of what she had just done her eyes went wide and she looked at the ground, where the spat out seed lied. A warm blush of embarrassment crawled up her face.

“Oops,” she swiftly looked around to make sure no one had seen her. “Better bury that seed. Time to refocus, Amethyst.”

Morning turned to late morning and that turned to noon as Amethyst Star tirelessly worked to remove every cherry from its tree. Dozens of buckets were filled to the brim and then some before she was finished with the trees. The unicorn was exhausted and her limbs shook as she stepped down the ladder for the very last time but at least the picking was done. She had had a couple mishaps from her increasing weariness as the morning went on, such as accidentally dropping a full basket of cherries, slipping on the ladder and being forced to hang onto a branch for dear life, and then hurting her flank when that branch broke and dropped her on the ground.

But it was done.

The picking was done. She knew she still had everything else to do but at least none of that would be as tiring as this, right? Removing pits and washing cherries was next, still sounded tedious but at least she didn’t need to worry about hurting herself or breaking anything else. Speaking of that, she wondered if Mr. Pitchfork would notice the broken branch. Amethyst Star hoped he wouldn’t be upset.

Unfortunately Amethyst Star did at this point need to actually load all the cherries onto the cart and pull it to the barn. Not something she was built for but there was nothing she could do about it. The even worse news was though was that her legs felt like absolute lead after doing that and she was still only halfway done with her duties. And it added onto her already excessive amount of time that it took to get through the trees. Maybe she wasn’t last though? Maybe she’d arrive at the barn and the ones taking care of the other fruits wouldn’t be there yet?

“Ughhh!” Amethyst Star groaned as she slowly pulled the wagon towards the barn after hitching herself to it. Full of cherries like it was the thing weighed a ton and the wheels dug into the ground to make the journey even harder.

It’s not like the barn was far away though but Amethyst Star was still close to passing out from exertion by the time she wheeled her wagon inside.

And to her dismay she was most certainly the last one here. By a long time it seemed, everyone else was working hard on cleaning and preparing their fruit for the jars. They didn’t even bother to glance her way. Well that was fine with her, she preferred not to have to see any eyebrows raised at her. Soon enough she’d be just as consumed in her work trying to make up for lost time. Amethyst Star had a lot of cherries to get through.

She lugged her wagon the last few feet needed to take it over to a long wooden table that had a single metal sink built into the end and a few tools like some knives and cutting boards set up for her when she was done washing the cherries. Everyone had their own table and sink to work at so at least she had plenty of space and didn’t have to fight for control over the sink. The barn itself was also quite huge, it would’ve easily dwarfed the Sweet Apple Acres barn in size. The four different tables took up the middle of the barn’s space while a massive amount of crates, glass jars, and shelves lined the walls and back of it. With Amethyst Star by her sink she was pretty close to the back wall.

Amethyst Star grabbed her first basket of cherries and put it up on the table right next to the sink. The sink had a big drain and disposal at the bottom of it, she figured she was supposed to just throw the cherry pits down it when she was done with them.

As it turned out though she wasn’t very dexterous with her hooves when it came to small things like these cherries and removing even one pit without destroying the cherry turned out to be a pain. The unicorn frowned as she used her magic to hold the first cherry up while cutting it down the middle with a knife and essentially tried to pull the pit out with her magic.

“If I didn’t need to wash them after it wouldn’t matter how much I destroy the cherries,” Amethyst Star scowled. “Er, wait.” She looked down at the sink and back at her many baskets of cherries. “I should be washing them first, shouldn’t I?” That definitely seemed like the better option. Wash them first, cut them in half, pull out the pits. Yes, much better.

It was still a hassle washing that many cherries, if the baskets drained she could just hold them under the faucet but since they didn’t she had to just grab cherries by the hooffull or bushel and wash them all like that with the cold water running over her hooves too. The water made the cherries slippery and she dropped more than a few into the sink on accident, some even that fell into the drain, but there was nothing she could do about that.

While she washed all of her cherries she started to notice how the other workers were already filling up boxes and putting them on the shelves. She was seriously that far behind? The back shelves she was nearest to were already starting to fill up with boxes full of jarred strawberries, apricots, and raspberries, making the wooden boards creak with stress. That was annoying, by the time she was ready to put her boxes up she’d have to take them to the farthest shelves. Ugh!

She wasn’t even halfway done with washing while all that was going on either. Would she be reprimanded for taking too long? She really didn’t want to fail another job. Forget about it reflecting poorly on Guru’s Internship she just didn’t want to be confronted by an angry boss. Or confronted by her own feelings of inadequacy and the other annoying thoughts she kept trying to keep out of her head. Which she had been doing a decent job of until now.

Amethyst Star shook her head. “I’m awesome. That’s a fact.”

Washing and cutting out the pits took a while longer and her hooves were shaking by the time she was done with them but at least that part was done. And despite her lack of knife skills she could take pride in the fact that she hadn’t accidentally cut her hoof at any point. Now there were just thousands of cherries to cut and mash up further before scooping them into jars. Something she had to do while she also happened to be totally alone in this barn now.

“I am not that slow. Everyone else is just too fast,” Amethyst Star pouted.

At least this was by far the easiest part of anything she had to do. The cutting boards were clean and pristine for her so really all she had to do was grab some of the jars and then slide the cherry goop in after she was done. It was impossible for her to tell how many jars it would take to collect it all but looking at what the others had done she expected at least a dozen full boxes.

The sweet smell of the cherries also wafted into her nose the more she worked, filling the barn with a pleasant aroma but also making her kind of hungry again at the same time.

But she was not going to eat anymore cherries. Definitely not.

It really looked tasty as she poured it into those glass jars though… no! No, stop right there!

“I probably should just stop working with food after today,” Amethyst Star said to herself. “Whatever I do I’m gonna treat myself to a big, hearty, meal after all this work.” She filled up one of the jars and twisted its brass lid on tight. Pulling one of the empty boxes over with her magic she gently set the jar in it and got started on the next one.

Turn the cherries into jam, put them in the jar, put jars in the boxes. Repetitive as with everything else.

“Considering this has nothing to do with my Cutie Mark or what I do for a living I think it’s pretty impressive how good of a job I’ve done,” the unicorn tried boosting her own confidence. “Time? Who cares about time? It’s getting done and that’s the important part.”

Of course by the time she finished jarring and boxing up every last bit of cherry it was quite close to sunset and even Amethyst Star now was thinking she better finish up as quickly as possible. Only one last thing to do, put every box on the shelves. Now, even though she had been usurped in her organizing duties back in Ponyville she was still fully assured in how great of an organizer she was. The only problem was she was tired and she would have to carry all the boxes to the empty shelves by the barn’s entrance.

Or she could double load the shelves right next to her and save some time.

Decisions, decisions.

“I’m pretty sure I can find a way to make space for my boxes on these shelves,” Amethyst Star said as she looked over the already full shelves right next to her.

This would save her a ton of time and be way easier on her sore body. Win, win!

Amethyst Star chewed on her tongue as she inspected the back shelves to find where the best place to put all of her boxes would be. The top shelves had more room on them while the bottom ones were almost completely full, even the middle shelves were sagging slightly from all the weight put on them. She’d need to use either a ladder (which she didn’t see) or her magic to get the cherry boxes to the top and since Amethyst Star was tired and her magic tank empty for now she would just have to put them in the small amount of space left on the middle shelves. She could stack hers up and squeeze them in there no problem, she was pretty sure.

“Let’s do this!” She foisted the first box up and stood on her hindlegs so she could reach it to one of the middle shelves.

The cherry-picker temp squeezed her first box in-between two boxes of strawberry jars. The wood groaned slightly from the extra box but Amethyst Star ignored it and looked for more spaces. She pushed, stacked, and shoved until she had half a dozen boxes on the one shelf. That was gonna be the most for that one though, she’d have to reach up one higher for the rest of her boxes. She didn’t have the magical strength to lift this heavy of a box though even if she wasn’t running on empty in the first place.

Amethyst Star stood back from the creaking shelves and rubbed her chin, deep in thought, as she looked at the remaining boxes she needed to stack up. “I guess I could just take these to the other shelves… but should I separate them like that? No, I shouldn’t. Is there a chair or anything for me to stand on?”

She spotted the boxes of strawberries on the very bottom shelf and a great idea came to her.

“Hey! I can just stand on top of some of those and put them right back!”

As if in response to her corner-cutting, lack of foresight, and general carelessness with that statement and everything else she had just done, reality decided to come crashing down. A loud crack reached her ears and the boards holding up the shelves she had just overburdened split right down the middle, the entire series of shelves along the back of the barn was shaken as box after box of jarred up fruit tumbled onto the ground. The boxes practically exploded on contact with the jars in them shattering and spilling their fruit and juice everywhere. The shaking even caused a lot of boxes on the top shelves that hadn’t outright broken to come falling down and similarly explode.

Amethyst Star, covered in the viscera of various pulverized fruits, stood back and watched that go on for about two minutes until everything came to a full and complete stop. The last sound she heard was a small piece of glass clinking onto the ground.

She dragged a hoof across her face to get it clean of the slop and sighed. “In my defense they probably should’ve taken better care of these shelves.”

Amethyst Star and Pet-Sitting

In one of the more affluent sectors of the City of Opportunity one could find sprawling estates that put all but the nicest and most extravagant mansions and palaces of Equestria to shame. Amethyst Star found herself looking out the window of an expensive gilded carriage at the ultra-luxurious homes as it carried her to her destination for this day. Some of the homes were merely very large mansions with a nice yard while others had a vineyard or large gardens to go with them. Every last one was walled in with a locked gate, adding to their prestige and exclusivity. And likely the fear of their owner’s that they would certainly be burglarized without the proper security.

Amethyst Star wondered what it would be like to live in homes such as these. Well if she was really that curious she probably could just ask Twilight Sparkle what it was like living in a castle when she got back. But Twilight was a princess, the people living here were likely normal but just really affluent. Was there royalty in this city? Maybe.

She felt pretty lucky to even get into this part of the city though, since it was apparent on the carriage ride over that there were a number of guarded checkpoints and walls they had to go through. The first one went from ordinary parts of the city into a nice residential area, the next into an even nicer residential area, and so forth until she finally arrived here. The houses, yards, and enclaves got bigger and fancier with each district, the first almost looked no better than some of the nicer houses in Ponyville. Which just made what she was looking at now even more impressive. Her carriage passed one property that looked like it covered several acres, all of it filled with the most beautiful and diverse botanical garden that Amethyst Star had ever seen with a (relatively) smaller ranch style home at the back that still screamed pristine elitism.

Thankfully she was also the only one inside the carriage at this point in time so no one else was there to witness her slack-jawed wonder at each house they passed. If the owners of these places saw her they’d probably think her to be quite vulgar and unrefined. And Amethyst Star was absolutely determined to not let anyone look down on her for any reason. Even if they were just random rich people who she’d never see again. She knew she’d have to compose herself in a minute though since she was also determined to make the best possible first impression on her “boss” for the day.

Rogarenda Roggatsch. Amethyst Star didn’t know what to make of that name when she heard it other than she was just about completely certain it wasn’t the name of a pony. Regardless, she had an important last minute job that she needed doing and Amethyst Star was the pony that was gonna perform that job.

The carriage eventually came to a stop and Amethyst Star picked her jaw up off the floor and sat down calmly on the cushioned seat to look as good as possible. In a second the tuxedo wearing minotaur that had been driving the carriage came up to the door and opened it for Amethyst Star, stepping out of her way with a bow. Fancy. She stepped down from her transport and was led around the front of the carriage to the other side of the street from where she was looking, giving a quick wave and thank you to the ponies that had been pulling the carriage in the first place, so she could now see the large mansion where she would be working for the day.

Impressive, of course, along with every other place in this part of the city. Like the others it had its own unique decorations and style too. The suave minotaur pulled a key from his pocket and opened up the front gate so the two of them could walk through the well-kept lawn to the house itself. A fine stone pathway led from the gate to the mansion, curving around a large fountain that stood right before it and bordered by some of the greenest and freshest grass Amethyst Star had ever seen. Whoever owned this place certainly liked statues too. Numerous porcelain and marble statues and sculptures of all kinds of things dotted the lawn. Dragons on pedestals, pillars holding up large globes, a galloping alicorn, Amethyst Star couldn’t tear her eyes away from the lawn ornaments. Most of them were bedecked in jewels as well, their eyes being inlaid with glowing sapphires while lines of rubies and emeralds covered their bodies. It seemed needlessly extravagant to Amethyst Star but apparently the owner loved to flaunt their wealth even more than the house already did for them.

I bet a dragon lives here. Or a griffon. Amethyst Star thought as she followed the minotaur around the fountain.

The two of them had to walk up several steps to reach the front door of the mansion, a very large colonial style home painted white with blue window shutters and pink curtains in every window that Amethyst Star could see. Her minotaur guide lifted the heavy brass knocker on the door and made three hard knocks that undoubtedly rang throughout the entire building. As she stood in front of that door now, waiting for the owner to arrive, Amethyst Star noticed just how big the door actually was. Huge enough that even the minotaur would be able to walk in carrying Amethyst Star on his shoulders and he wouldn’t have to duck.

Heavy footsteps came from inside the mansion, fast ones, practically running to the front door. The door was suddenly pulled open and a frightfully tall Diamond Dog stood in the door frame. She had an auburn coat of fur and a ghastly arrangement of bright red lipstick and mascara on her face. Perhaps most shocking to Amethyst Star was the flowing pink gown she was wearing.

Even out here, this is something I never expected to see in my entire life. Amethyst Star blinked.

The Diamond Dog’s eyes finally spotted Amethyst. “You must be my savior!” The large dog barked out before grabbing Amethyst Star and pulling her into a tight hug. “Oh, thank you so much for coming at the last minute! I simply couldn’t stand the thought of leaving my poor little angel all by his lonesome for an entire day!”

Amethyst Star wheezed in discomfort as the Diamond Dog, who had to be Rogarenda Roggatsch, crushed her. “N-No problem...”

“Oh my! My apologies,” the Diamond Dog set her down, where she wobbled a bit before shaking her head and taking in a deep breath. “Sorry little pony, sometimes I don’t know my own strength!” She clasped her hands in front of her chest and giggled.

The unicorn took a few more short breaths to fill her lungs back up. “Don’t worry about it… so uh, what is the job that you want me to do and everything?”

“Here, come inside!” Rogarenda much more gently grabbed Amethyst Star by the shoulder and pulled her into the mansion, at the same time slamming the front door in the minotaur’s face. “Sweetums! Come to mom-moms!”

Amethyst Star felt her bile rise up in her throat.

“Meow!” A loud, rumbling meow came from upstairs and a large orange cat came running shortly after it. The hefty beast moving quite a bit quicker than its size would suggest. Each step it let out another low meow that was halfway between a growl as it ran to its… mom-moms.

“Schnookums!” Rogarenda bent over and picked the cat up when he got close, holding him up to her face and nuzzling the orange monster.

“This is quite possibly the strangest thing I’ve seen yet,” Amethyst Star quietly whispered to herself.

Rogarenda finished up her affectionate hugging and turned to Amethyst Star, holding up her cat like a baby and showing it to the pony. “This is my lovely little pride and joy, Mr. Sunny Boots!” The cat let out a low murmur when its name was called. “You see, what happened is that some very important business that as much as I want to I can’t get out of suddenly came up! I need someone to watch over and feed my little baby while I’m gone, I won’t be back until late tonight.”

“Um, alright?” A number of thoughts were going through Amethyst Star’s head right now but she decided not to voice them. And besides, if the job meant getting to hang out in a huge mansion like this why should she question things? Taking care of a single cat sounded easy too.

“Wonderful! My Mr. Sunny Boots simply can’t stand being on his lonesome. Be sure to feed him twice a day, his food is marked in the refrigerator, water won’t be a problem, he has plenty of dishes throughout the house. You will also need to bathe him later this evening, he will not go to bed without a warm bath first, his special soap and shampoo I’ve left out for you,” Rogarenda paused and put her cat down, tapping her chin with a finger. “I believe that is everything important. Of course you should play with him whenever he desires as well, and do try and keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t get into anything.” The Diamond Dog then leaned down to look Amethyst Star in the eye, holding up a single finger in front of her face. “And do not let him outside. Mr. Sunny Boots is not an outdoor cat.”

Mr. Sunny Boots strutted over to the doorway from the parlor into what looked like a dining room. The large cat sat there attentively, watching his owner and Amethyst Star speak with each other.

Amethyst Star nodded along to all of Rogarenda’s instructions even as she became increasingly disturbed by how she treated her pet cat. Was any pet in the world as pampered as Mr. Sunny Boots? “I think I’ve got everything. And I’ll make sure he isn’t let outside.”

“Thank you so much!” She pulled Amethyst Star into another crushing hug, the unicorn was pretty sure she felt a rib or two pop.

“Y-You’re welcome...” Amethyst Star squeaked.

“I really have to be leaving now but I’ll be back before you know it,” Rogarenda dropped her and walked over to the front door to open it up. The minotaur was still standing in exactly the same spot. As far as Amethyst Star knew he hadn’t even blinked. “Get the carriage ready, let us be off.” She told him.

Mr. Sunny Boots let out a loud roaring meow when his owner opened the front door and made to leave. Obviously the cat was not happy that she was about to go and leave him with this unfamiliar pony.

“Sorry baby, mom-moms will be back soon!” She blew the big cat a kiss and closed the door.

Amethyst Star heard their heavy footsteps march down the steps of the entrance and onto the stone path, while the cat stayed where it was Amethyst Star walked up and looked out the peephole of the door to watch the two of them walk out to the metal gate and lock it behind them. Rogarenda was led into the carriage and the minotaur had the stallions turn it around and take them back the way they came. Amethyst Star shrugged, guess it really was as simple as this. Watching over a cat until they got back was at least something far less physically taxing than what she’d been used to recently.

She turned to look at Mr. Sunny Boots. The cat regarded her with a cool, ambivalent expression… as much as a cat could at least. It sat there watching her with its tail slightly swishing across the ground behind it, the fat orange blob looking like it weighed half as much as she did. Amethyst Star walked up to it and held out a friendly hoof a few feet away, hoping the cat would come over to her on its own.

It didn’t.

“Hi, Mr. Sunny Boots. I’m Amethyst Star,” she said to him and slowly scooted closer. “I’ll be taking care of you today. Are you hungry? Want your belly rubbed?” She went to pat him on the head.

Mr. Sunny Boots suddenly hissed at her and batted her hoof away, turning around while Amethyst Star was still in shock he ran into the dining room and around the corner at lightning speed, disappearing from sight. Amethyst Star stared at her hoof with her mouth wide open in surprise that the cat had done that. Sure it didn’t seem thrilled with her presence but she wasn’t expecting that. Nor was she expecting it to be so quick on its fat feet.

Amethyst Star’s eyes narrowed. “So it’s gonna be like that, huh?”

“Mr. Sunny Boots? Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.”

For thirty minutes Amethyst Star had been searching through this sprawling mansion in search of the orange ball of terror. And in a place this big, with this many rooms, and this many hiding spots, it was pretty slow going. She didn’t even know the layout of the mansion or how many rooms there were, she just had to blindly search and hope she found the cat. What a huge hassle this was already turning into. She was supposed to give this dumb thing a bath later? The horror.

Amethyst Star opened up another door in the carpeted hallway and frowned when it turned out to be nothing more than a linen closet. “Ugh! How am I supposed to find that jerk cat in this place?” Her mood was turning sour. “That Diamond Dog didn’t even tell me where the bathroom or kitchen are either, how am I supposed to find anything in here?! Agh!” She slammed the door shut and stormed off down the hallway, briefly glancing down every other corridor and peeking into the rooms for any sign of the cat while she looked for the kitchen.

Being loud probably wasn’t going to make the cat come to her either though.

“Whatever, at least there probably aren’t any open doors or windows going outside right? She wouldn’t have left any like that before leaving, would she?” Amethyst Star wondered as she continued her search through the labyrinthine intestines of the Diamond Dog’s mansions. Whether it was the cat she found first or the kitchen she didn’t care at this point. Even though she was technically supposed to be keeping the cat company and not letting him out of her sight what was she supposed to do if the cat didn’t want to be around her?

Better at this point to just try and bait the menace to her with food.

She wandered through the first floor of the luxurious house for a while longer until the finally managed to stumble across the kitchen. Which she noticed with no small amount of annoyance had probably the same amount of floorspace as her entire house back in Ponyville. Making her way over to the impressively large fridge Amethyst Star pulled it open and looked around for whatever was supposed to be Mr. Sunny Boots’ food. Two metal bowls were placed next to the fridge and one was full of water so the other must be for his food. The fridge was full of the highest quality of ingredients for normal food for the most part but there was a small box in the door with a note taped to it that read: “For schnookums”

“Yeesh,” Amethyst Star shuddered. She pulled open the box and took out a can of cat food from inside it, thankfully it had a pull-tab on it so she didn’t need to go searching through this palace kitchen for a can-opener.

The smell of the food was terrible but at least its pungency might fill up the house and draw that fatso to her. She pulled off the lid completely and tossed it in the sink, holding the can over the metal bowl and letting the gross contents slide with a sickening wet sound from their container until they fell, making a loud splat in the bottom of the bowl. The last little bits of juices leaked out on top of them too and Amethyst Star fought to hold back from throwing up.

“I am never getting a cat.”

The unicorn tossed the empty can into the sink as well and went to sit down at the kitchen table, watching the entrance closest to the food bowl in case Mr. Sunny Boots decided to come. With nothing else to do she sat there patiently biding her time for her prey. That chunk of a cat was going to get fed, then she was gonna play with it, then give it a bath, and then the fatty was going to bed. There would be no deviation from this. Amethyst Star was serious.

It only took her a little while longer of silently stewing there until the orange monster lightly waddled into the kitchen in search of the food it smelled. She was still amazed how agile that cat was. The thing was a watermelon for crying out loud!

The cat had to have seen her, or at the very least sensed her presence, but it paid her no mind as it walked over to its food and began to eat.

Amethyst Star grinned. “Perfect. I’m going to get you, you lardbag.”

While the cat was eating, Amethyst Star quietly got out of her chair and came up behind Mr. Sunny Boots. The cat still gave no sign that it noticed her. Whether it was insulting her or not she didn’t care, she still slunk close to the ground and slowly made quiet little steps to stand right over it with the orange tail of the cat pointing between her legs. The thing looked like it had eaten most of its food already. That made her feel better about what she was about to do.

“Gotcha!” She grabbed Mr. Sunny Boots in her magic and hefted the fat cat into the air. “You’re not getting away from me this time!”

Mr. Sunny Boots did not agree with her.

“Mrooowr!” The cat roared and struggled about in Amethyst Star’s magical grip, twisting and turning and trying to break free from the foreign restraint.

“Calm down you lump!” Amethyst Star shouted at it to no avail.

The cat was having absolutely none of her or her magic. And the darn thing was so fat and heavy too that Amethyst was having a good deal of trouble holding it. She squinted and furrowed her brow in concentration as she tried to max out the power in her horn to keep the cat aloft while the monster responded with nasty meows and hisses as it swiped its claws at the air in front of Amethyst Star’s face.

“I’m not going to hurt you I’m just making sure you don’t run off again! Wasn’t the food good enough for you, you ungrateful fatty!” She yelled. Trying to restrict the cat’s movements wasn’t working too well though and Mr. Sunny Boots just got angrier and angrier.

The frantic struggling of the cat combined with its weight and Amethyst Star’s lacking magical power all created a bubble that was about to burst.

Right onto Amethyst Star’s face.

With a last cry the cat forced itself free of Amethyst Star’s hold, the magic binding it disappearing with a pop and the cat falling with claws bared right onto her face while her pupils shrank in abject horror at what was about to happen. Her magic had failed her and all she could do was let out a quiet “eep” before the impact while Mr. Sunny Boots loudly hissed at her when he landed and began clawing and pulling at her face and mane, turning her into his own personal scratching post.

“Arrrghhh!” Amethyst Star screamed as she tried yanking the violent cat off of her. “Why aren’t you declawed?!”

“Hisss!~”

Mr. Sunny Boots didn’t care for her objections as he assaulted the poor pet-sitter. The pain from his attack and his heaviness made her careen around the kitchen, colliding into chairs and cabinets and knocking over anything unsecured. She finally tripped over his food bowl and sent them both sprawling to the ground, where the cat at last had enough of tormenting her as he jumped off of Amethyst Star and ran down the hallway as only an angry cat could, vanishing from sight once more.

“Things are going to go differently this time you little monster...”

Amethyst Star turned the faucet on the tub, letting a cascade of steadily warming water begin to fill the large porcelain bath. She had finally found the bathroom on the second floor of the mansion. It was covered in pink tile and immaculate white cabinets with golden trim towels hanging from hooks on the wall. Truly a built-in spa for the homeowner. Amethyst Star grabbed the tubes of shampoo and conditioner that had been left out by Rogarenda and squirted two healthy dollops into the water, tossing them aside afterwards in satisfaction.

“Alright-” Amethyst Star nodded at the quickly filling tub. “Perfect. Time to grab the cat, dunk it in the water, and that’ll be its bath. Then I’m locking you in the bedroom together with me and the two of us are going to have a nice and lovely little time until your owner gets back.” Her mouth opened up in a manic grin that would’ve scared away children. “Now I just need to find you.”

The unicorn renewed her search throughout the mansion for the elusive Mr. Sunny Boots. A cat that fat couldn’t hide just anywhere. She made her way downstairs first, she was going to sweep across the entire ground floor and then head up, no room or couch cushion would go unturned as Amethyst Star looked for her mischievous ward.

She first checked the kitchen again to see if he had snuck in for any more food.

Nothing.

“Hmm… he must be resting somewhere,” Amethyst Star whispered as she slunk down the hallway, her hooves carefully making no sound on the thick carpet. She caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror and frowned at her frazzled appearance. Mane askew, stray bits of hair shooting out everywhere, eyes puffy and red, scratch marks all over her face. Fixing that would have to wait though. Dumb cat.

Her prowling around the first floor took a good deal of time thanks to its extravagant size, whenever she was able to look out a window she could tell it was getting closer and closer to evening. If Rogarenda was back at “night” that could mean she had as little as a few hours to finish taking care of the cat and then cleaning up after herself. Even best case scenario she might be short on time depending on where Mr. Sunny Boots was hiding and if he put up another fight or escaped from her again. Could she lie and say she gave him a bath? How would the Diamond Dog be able to tell if she hadn’t? The bath was currently filling up with water so Amethyst Star at least had proof that she did that. It wasn’t exactly fair to Amethyst Star that Rogarenda had left her with so little to work with either. Was it her fault that the cat was a monster that ran from her at every opportunity?

She pushed open the door to a drawing room and shut it behind her in case the cat was here and tried to make a sneaky escape behind her back. Amethyst Star looked over, under, and behind every piece of furniture in the room in search of any trace of orange. She even checked up on top of the curtains and blinds that covered the windows, although she couldn’t imagine that fatso would have enough room up there. He’d probably fall off.

To her dismay though he seemed to not be anywhere in here.

“Drat!” Aamethyst Star scowled. “Where are you?!”

Amethyst Star was forced to continue her search elsewhere, always at least keeping in mind to close the doors behind her after she searched a room to make sure Mr. Sunny Boots couldn’t get into any rooms she already checked. Eventually she would corner him, she knew it. Maybe she could even find something to block off the stairs with once she went up to the second floor if he wasn’t down here. Or if there was any rope she could make a net or some other kind of trap to get the cat.

“Except I don’t actually know how to make anything like that,” she muttered in annoyance.

On the verge of giving up and checking the second floor she found a bit of luck when she turned a corner in the hallway and saw Mr. Sunny Boots standing a mere twenty feet away in the middle of the carpet.

Cat and pony both stopped. Staring at each other, waiting for one of them to make the first move. They both knew that as soon as one of them so much as twitched the other would start running. Amethyst Star and Mr. Sunny Boots’ eyes were locked together. The two of them just daring the other to try something. His nose curled, her eyes narrowed, both of their legs tensed up.

“You’re mine, furball,” Amethyst Star said and then lunged towards the beast.

The evil cat hissed at her and turned to flee, but Amethyst Star kept running at full speed after it, not letting him out of her sight. She knew that even though he was deceptively fast there was no way he could keep up that speed forever, he probably was just quick for short spurts before his weight caught up to him and he had to take a rest for a second. Amethyst Star was waiting for him to slow down before she made her move. She pushed herself harder to keep right on his tail and grabbed the busy appendage with her magic.

Immediately Mr. Sunny Boots started thrashing around and hissing at her as she tried to pull him to a stop. But this time Amethyst Star had learned her lesson and she wasn’t only relying on her magic. When she was close enough and the cat’s movement had slowed by a bit she pounced on and grabbed him, pinning Mr. Sunny Boots to the floor.

“Hold still!” She yelled at the cat struggling to break free from her.

“Mrowr!” He repeatedly screeched, trying to turn over and scratch her or try to get our of her grip.

Amethyst Star reached her hooves around his stomach and hoisted him up, sitting with the fat cat in her lap and trying to just wait out its temper tantrum. “You’re not going anywhere this time. I’m taking you upstairs and giving you a bath and that’s final!”

A low rumbling groan then came from the ceiling, getting the attention of both cat and pony as they looked up at where the sound had come from.

Cracks started appearing in the paint and wooden support beams as the whole ceiling sagged while droplets of water began sprinkling down right in front of Amethyst Star and Mr. Sunny Boots. Ultimately with a thunderous crack the entire hallway gave in and a huge bathtub crashed down from the floor above them, water overflowing and pouring down the hallway to drench Amethyst Star’s bottom half. The faucet and pipes from above continued to stream down water, only adding more to the growing pond already in the downstairs hallway. Mr. Sunny Boots stared on in shock as all of it happened while Amethyst Star had a much more neutral expression on her face.

She glanced down at the fat orange cat still in her lap and glared at it. “This is all your fault.”

Amethyst Star and the New Look

Amethyst Star stood stock still as Sensation guided her needles through the thin material on Amethyst Star’s body, the thread running through it being used to sew up the hem of a dress that Sensation was making. It was a new design that the fashion designer/tailor had just made and Amethyst Star was standing in as her model and ponyquin at the same time. It was fairly boring “work” since most of it was just spent standing up on a pedestal surrounded by mirrors while Sensation looked her over and slowly pieced the dress together. Occasionally the mare would stop and just stare intently at Amethyst Star for a while before frowning and removing some cloth while muttering something under her breath and looking for something else to replace it. Amethyst Star didn’t know fashion well, or at all, but she knew that Sensation was clearly struggling with her dress design.

Sensation lifted up one of Amethyst Star’s hooves so she could thread the needle around it and sew up one of the sleeves of her dress. There was so much white, pink, and red it looked like something that was supposed to be really romantic. Right now though it still seemed like it was all over the place even as it came closer and closer to being finished. Amethyst Star didn’t know if there was something else that would tie it all together or some important finishing touches but she sure hoped there was. Not like it mattered to her though, it wasn’t her shop or fashion line. She was just called in to help model and stand around basically.

After another second of examining her dress, Sensation grunted in annoyance and temporarily left the room, looking for something else. Sensation was a unicorn mare of an emerald green complexion with a wavy red mane and tail that she wore long. Despite her being a fashion designer as well she only wore golden hoof bracelets. Amethyst Star figured she’d want to wear more of her own designs to show them off. Maybe she wasn’t confident enough in them or her? All the alterations and changes to the dress she was making right now seemed to suggest that Sensation wasn’t especially confident or at the very least had a bad habit of second-guessing herself.

“I’m so sorry this is taking so long,” Sensation said as she clamored back into the room, the long, fake, eyelashes she wore fluttering gently. The mare was carrying a box full of ribbons that were halfway falling out.

“I don’t mind, I’m just here to do whatever you needed me to,” Amethyst Star replied. Not shrugging since it might mess up the dress.

Sensation pulled a ribbon of white silk from her box and put it around Amethyst Star’s neck, first checking the length and then trying out different ways to tie it and seeing how it meshed with the rest of the dress. Sensation stuck out her tongue and bit it, trying to figure out a way to get her dress to work with this latest burst of inspiration she had. But even after a few minutes of working the ribbon and trying to find a spot or style for it she wasn’t satisfied.

“Ugh, no! This doesn’t work either!” She yanked the ribbon off and tossed it on the ground. “It’s all wrong, everything is wrong!”

The fashion pony didn’t just stop with the ribbon, she took more and more pieces of the dress off Amethyst Star with her amber magic, even tearing the stitching as she destroyed her own creation. Her frantic pulling jostled Amethyst Star and almost threatened to pull her off the pedestal she was standing on a few times.

“Whoa, hey! Be careful!” Amethyst Star called out to her as she felt the seam of the dress split along her back, throwing straight pins across the floor while freeing her from the binding of the dress. Amethyst Star took the opportunity to hop out of the last little bit and jumped down to the floor, frowning at Sensation for her sudden madness.

“I-I’m sorry. I’m just very frustrated right now,” Sensation told her as she held up the ruined remains of her dress with her magic. She sadly frowned as she realized most of the tatters were an utter mess and unsalvageable. “Oh dear, this is just going to make things worse.”

Amethyst Star was about to admonish the mare when she saw the growing look of despair on her face. Sensation’s lips were quivering and her eyes started to tear up, short and ragged hiccups came from her throat as the mare started crying without reservation. Not even caring about the other pony here that was now super embarrassed to be seeing this. Sensation fell back onto her haunches and cried into her hooves, the crying only growing stronger with her body being racked by sobs and uncomfortable moans making their way out of her throat.

The entire time she was crying, Amethyst Star was just standing by the pedestal awkwardly. Trying to look anywhere but at the mare.

“This is hopeless! I’m going to be absolutely ruined!” Sensation collapsed to the ground, covering her head with her hooves as she continued to whine. “I was supposed to have a new design by tonight but nothing is working! Why can’t I think of anything?!”

Amethyst Star thought of laying a comforting hoof on her shoulder or patting her head when the fashion designer started wailing again.

“Wahhhh! Am I just out of ideas or something? Am I really just not creative at all?” She cried even harder than before. “Everyone’s going to laugh at me tonight and I’m going to get run out of business! My dream is over!”

Are all fashion designers as dramatic as this? Amethyst Star wondered as she cringed in second-hoof embarrassment.

“Um, there, there?” Amethyst Star said as she gently patted the crying mare on the back.

Sensation continued to hiccup and sob lightly but she overall began to quiet down. It took another minute or two but she finally was able to look up at Amethyst Star through her puffy and bloodshot eyes. “T-Thank you. I’m really so very sorry about all of this.”

“It’s okay...” Amethyst Star attempted to smile at her but it likely came off as very forced and uneven.

“I just don’t know what I’m going to do,” she blew her nose on a piece of red velvet and stood up, wiping her eyes. “I have an exhibition scheduled for tonight but now I don’t have anything to show at all.”

“This dress was supposed to be for a fashion show you were going to?” Amethyst Star asked as she looked around at the destroyed remains of the dress on the ground.

Sensation shook her head, “No, it was for my show.” Sensation slowly started gathering up all the cloth and the ribbons haphazardly strewn about in their box. “I haven’t been doing too well the past few months. My new designs have all failed and business has been steadily falling. So I decided to make my own exhibition to show off my latest piece tonight, trying to drum up some interest and make a comeback.” She sniffled. “But I couldn’t come up with anything! Even as the day got closer and closer I still couldn’t think of a new dress that would really wow everyone and now I’m left with nothing. I’m just going to have to close up early and tell everyone who comes that the exhibition is canceled. My name will be dragged through the mud but it’s the only thing I can do at this point.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

She was. Sensation was… nice, if not a bit melodramatic and straining to work with.

“I just wish I hadn’t wasted all of your time too. This day has been nothing but a disaster and that ugly dress I tried to make on you was going to be terrible no matter what!” Sensation stomped one of her back hooves. “Where has all my creativity gone? I used to be a household name in the fashion world in this city...”

Sensation sighed and leaned up against the wall for a second. “Maybe I need a change of scenery? Or-” Her eyes opened wide. “Or perhaps a new perspective?” The fashion designer’s head swung to look at Amethyst Star.

The pink and purple unicorn wasn’t sure what that look meant but it didn’t seem like anything good. She took a hesitant step back. “Err...”

Sensation quickly ran up to her and grasped her front hooves in her own. “Oh please, it’s the only thing I can think of that may save my show for tonight! I’m out of ideas but the fashion world is always changing and evolving and looking for the next big thing! Do you think you can come up with a magnificent dress or at the very least some sort of idea or theme that would wow all the critics and designers I’ve invited?”

“Uhhh...” Amethyst Star had done many things (and said she could do many things she couldn’t) but could she make a fancy new dress? “You know even if I come up with something can we make it in time? And what if you don’t like it?”

“We can definitely make it in time,” Sensation reassured her. “And forget about me liking it or not. Everything I thought would go over well here in the past few months has failed.”

Amethyst Star mulled the idea over. She was here to try new things and even if she didn’t know about fashion how hard could it be to make a great dress? Fashion never really made sense to her and plenty of the stuff she had seen “hip” and “fashionable” ponies wear just looked weird or silly to her. She bet she could design something better than the average nobody at least. And she was way more than average, she was Amethyst Star! The pony capable of anything.

The temp worker smiled and looked into Sensation’s pleading blue eyes. “Yeah, alright, let’s do it! I bet we can make a dress together that’ll make the jaws of everybody coming tonight drop!”

Coming up with a dress and making it was still something that took a lot of work and the two unicorns really didn’t have a lot of time either. Not to mention that Amethyst Star had no idea about the technical details that went into dressmaking so a lot of the stuff she came up with was just plain unfeasible at the time or just outright impossible. Sensation was completely dead-eyed throughout the entire planning process as well, not giving any help or input into the design of the dress except when pointing out whenever something was undoable. Like when Amethyst Star asked if they could affix real roses across the spine and down to the tail in order of diminishing size.

However with their hard work and determination they were able to pull everything together and create a dress for Sensation to show off at her in-store exhibition. Which was beginning in just a few short minutes since they ended up really cutting things close. They had both decided that Amethyst Star should be the one wearing the dress while Sensation presented it, since while it was Amethyst’s design she did it for the sake of Sensation’s store and reputation. Amethyst Star was just going to model it and not take any credit. Fine by her. She and Sensation would both know the truth and if it helped a pony then that was the important part. Amethyst Star also just plain didn’t know the right terms or who she was even going to be meeting and speaking to, so Sensation handling all of the talking parts was probably just much smarter in general.

Already fashion designers, clothes makers, critics, and other icons of the fashion scene in the City of Opportunity were filling up chairs in the front of Sensation’s store. The store was closed to the general public for the special event and her esteemed guests had been steadily trickling in for the past hour. Sensation and Amethyst Star now stood behind a curtain, the only thing separating them from the others, with an impromptu runway built in front of it that Amethyst Star would soon walk out on.

Amethyst Star took a quick peek at the crowd out from behind the curtain. Most of them were either in idle conversation with each other or looking bored. It didn’t seem like they really expected anything from Sensation’s newest design.

“So I guess now is the big moment?” Amethyst Star said as she pulled away from the curtain, looking back at Sensation.

“Yes, yes it is. Oh dear,” the fashion unicorn was short of breath, clearly very nervous she sat down and held a hoof to her chest while fanning her face with the other.

“Hey, it’ll be fine!” Amethyst Star went to lay a comforting around her shoulders. “Like you said, what’s cool in the fashion world is always changing. This is going to be the next big thing. I mean you know yourself that no one has made a dress like this before in the city, have they?”

Sensation looked at the ponyquin that currently held their new dress. “No. No, certainly no one else has made a dress like this before...”

“And that’s a good thing for fashion, right?” Amethyst Star very optimistically asked.

“Originality is certainly important,” Sensation agreed. Although she still had a kind of dead look in her eyes.

“Well are you ready to help me put it on and show it to everybody? Seems like they’re all here by now and don’t want to be kept waiting anymore,” Amethyst Star said.

Sensation nodded. “Y-Yes. Let’s get you ready.”

The fashion pony had to use a handkerchief to dab the sweat from her brow but she still helped Amethyst Star get into her dress and into position. The voices from the other side of the curtain were louder and all of Sensation’s guests would need to be appeased soon. Lest their patience run out completely and the mood sour even worse before they even saw the dress. Sensation looked over Amethyst Star to make sure everything was in order and nothing was unbuttoned or needed a last minute adjustment. Biting her lip she realized that the dress looked exactly how it was supposed to.

“Time for the show,” Sensation gulped. She stood right next to Amethyst Star in the middle of the curtain, facing the audience, and pulled on the ropes to open it with her magic.

The curtain was drawn and the two partners stood before the gathered critics and other art-world dwellers. Sensation and Amethyst Star perfectly centered on the rows of chairs that were mostly filled up, allowing everyone who actually bothered to take up the invitation to see the new dress and the two ponies presenting it.

And what a dress it was.

A puffy, cactus-green, monstrosity covered Amethyst Star. The wide bottom was held in place by a wire-frame undercarriage and pleated with several shades of green underskirts from lime to chartreuse to mint. The top half of the dress was made of cotton and perhaps for some stylistic reason that only Amethyst Star could explain, lacy green threads hung from all across the dress, ending in dandelion like balls of yellow-green cotton. Adding to the strangeness were the large leather shoulder pauldrons that seemed to be stuck on for… no real reason in particular. But fashion had meaningless, superfluous accessories like that all the time. So that was no big deal. Maybe. The collar of the dress also rose up behind Amethyst Star’s head, almost creating a backdrop like effect while the edges frayed until it looked like emerald flames were being emitted from behind Amethyst Star’s head. The sleeves of the dress hung low, dragging on the ground even as they got increasingly wider the further down they traveled until two or three ponies could comfortably fit their hooves in the end. The large cuffs of the sleeves were also made of puffed up dark-green piping to make them more eye-catching. In that they succeeded.

In fact the entire dress succeeded at that.

It also definitely succeeded at making everyone’s jaws drop, just like how Amethyst Star said it would.

Amethyst Star proudly wore it with her head held high, standing straight while Sensation stood beside her with her forelegs spread to show everyone the dress they should be looking at. The two ponies waited for someone else to say something first. Or at the least for them to regain their senses instead of just continuing to stare in befuddlement at what they were seeing.

Well in a second they did start to get another, true, reaction.

Laughter. Lots and lots of outrageous and raucous laughter.

The critics and other designers couldn’t believe they were looking at something so dumb, so terrible, so weird, that it could’ve actually been made by a thinking pony. And one who called herself a professional fashion-designer no less! Some of them had even fallen out of their chairs or were crying and holding their bellies from laughing so hard. It was such an unreal sight. Every single one of them were just amazed by what Sensation had made and the fact that she was actually showing it off as if she thought it was good.

“S-Sensation! Sensation, please!” A short and bespectacled dragon tried to say as he rolled about the floor. “T-This can’t be real, can it?”

“No, no, it has to be a practical joke or something!” A fancy looking red pegasus wearing a large hat said between her own guffaws.

“But she’s been acting so serious! This thing must be what she’s been working on since she started talking about her show!” The one speaking now as he caught his breath after laughing so much was a tuxedo and monocle wearing griffon. He glanced over at Amethyst Star and her dress once more and snorted in amusement. “Let’s just go everyone, this is far too embarrassing for my tastes.”

“Agreed. I almost feel bad,” the dragon said, still giggling as he picked himself off the floor.

Slowly all of the guests started to trickle out of the store, some of them laughing all the way, some taking some last looks at the ugly dress that had just been unveiled, most talking with each other about how Sensation had completely lost it. None had anything positive to say and none of them wanted to stick around any longer. It was pretty clear what the outcome would be now for Sensation in the City of Opportunity's fashion world.

Both Amethyst Star and Sensation had taken this horrible outcome in stride. Amethyst Star used to things like this, if not still annoyed when they happened, while Sensation had pretty much gone lights out in the head when the laughter started and retreated into her happy place until the show was over. Any plans they had to explain or actually show off the dress had been completely thrown out by the amazingly bad and universal reaction to the ensemble. Now the two were just left to stand there while the door to the store closed shut after the last guest left.

Amethyst Star coughed, looking down at her dress and then to the mare who she had made it with. “Can you help me out of this thing now? Sorry everyone hated it.”

Sensation blinked, coming back to reality but still staring off into space and not looking at the terrible thing she had just made. “Alright.”

Amethyst Star Runs an Errand

With a pull of a lever the printing press came down and smashed the ink into the front page of the group of newspapers arrayed on the press, creating the front page news of the day. And with a lift of that same lever the press reset and automatically shuffled off that group of papers to another part of the presses where they could get their next pages done while another group of newspapers slid into place, ready for Amethyst Star to pull the lever again and print their front pages.

She had done this several hundred times by now.

Working at the largest newspaper company in the city was an insight into just how many people lived here and how many papers were needed to serve them all. At this point she would’ve had enough for every pony in Ponyville and then some. But for the City of Opportunity she wasn’t even remotely close to being done with her work even though there were several other newspapers fighting for customers and their share of the city. The amount of newspapers in circulation was simply staggering and new ones were printed everyday.

As far as her recent work went this was by far the most monotonous thing Amethyst Star had done. She had gotten bored of it almost immediately but kept going along anyways, her recent failures and their causes weighing heavily on her mind. If something else happened to change up the routine she would gladly go for it but for now she was just going to let things be. If that meant pulling a lever and nothing else for the next few hours then so be it.

But as if in response to her thoughts the door to this newspaper producing warehouse was thrown open and a stallion wearing a fedora and holding some crumpled up piece of paper ran inside at full speed, straight past Amethyst Star and her press to the office of the Editor-in-Chief. She had no idea what that was about and just shrugged while continuing her work but in another minute she was about to find out.

“What?!” She heard the distinctive yell of the Editor-in-Chief, a pony she had only met once briefly earlier today as he was yelling at someone else about the poor and boring quality of the news in the city lately.

Immediately both the Chief and the other stallion ran out of his office and started looking around. The other ponies and workers in the building all paused what they were doing to see just what was up.

“Who here can we spare?” The other stallion asked the chief.

“Needs to be someone who you can just replace. Can’t be doing a complicated job,” the Chief’s round eyes searched over the others in the building. Right before coming to a stop on Amethyst Star. His face lit up behind his bushy mustache and he grabbed the other stallion, pulling him to Amethyst Star. “You! Temp!”

Amethyst Star pointed a hoof to her face, raising an eyebrow at the chief and his companion. “Me?”

“Yes, you! Can you run a very important errand for us? Are you fast?” He asked her.

There was no internal debate. “Yes! I’m both of those things… er, I mean, yes I can run your errand and I’m fast.”

The fedora wearing pony didn’t seem convinced but the Chief was a different story. “Splendid! I just got the news that an important witness to a big crime has been freed up to give her first interview to the press! Whichever paper reaches her first is going to be able to be the first one to break the story. I need you to travel to her home and interview her right now! She’s infirm and unfortunately can’t leave on her own to speak to us on our own terms so we have to send somebody to her.”

Amethyst Star grinned, not only was this going to be a fun change of pace from pulling her lever but getting to hear about a big crime sounded really interesting too. Maybe it would even be the kind of thing that would lead her to a big adventure in this city like she wanted?

“Awesome, I’ll take care of it no problem!” Amethyst Star saluted the two ponies.

The Chief smiled back at her and took the paper from the other stallion, giving it to her. “Excellent, truly excellent. There are directions on here and I’ve scribbled some questions to ask her on the back. Now hurry up! This is just the kind of story we need right now.”

“You can count on me!” The unicorn grabbed the paper and gave it a quick glance to see what direction she needed to be headed in before stuffing it in her saddlebag. “I’ll be back in a jiffy with that interview.”

Amethyst Star surprisingly did not get lost but she wasn’t making her way through the streets as fast as she would have liked. The reason for this being how cluttered and maze-like the streets were in the first place and the large amount of cityfolk constantly walking or running down them. It was a madhouse here at all times with citizens from every walk of life and species going up and down the streets with no consideration for who else was going where. So Amethyst Star had to fight her way through everybody and try not to get carried away by the crowd while also making sure she stayed on the right path in a city she was barely familiar with.

She ran from a sidestreet into a wider one that was lined with all sorts of open stalls and poor ponies holding boxes of cheap trinkets that tried to foist them onto anybody passing by. Not a pleasant scene but Amethyst Star didn’t have the time to sympathize with them. She darted in-between all of the sellers and beggars as she made her way to her still far-off destination. Hopefully there weren’t any pickpockets or others that would try to accost her in this not so good part of the city. Things were still crowded at every turn and corner but progress was being made.

This part of the city was mostly a bunch of small buildings cloistered together and made out of whatever was available, there was nothing like the huge office building or even things like parks or other recreational areas. Likely no one had the money or care to put them in. “Slum” might have been the most accurate word for where she was right now, at least she was just passing through. She broke from another crowd of ponies trying to sell her stuff to emerge into a slightly more open road that led into a nicer part of the city dominated by yellow mud and dirt buildings with a distinct desert look to them. As always Amethyst Star was surprised by the variety of styles in this city.

The road to them though was bisected by tram tracks that ran perpendicular through it and currently a very long tram was holding up all of the pedestrians trying to cross the street. The boom barriers were lowered to make sure nobody walked out onto the tracks until the tram was completely through.

Amethyst Star could only sigh. She had to wait too. If she was a pegasus or had the magical talent to teleport she could get around this obstacle but since she didn’t all she could do was stand with the other impatient ponies and creatures right at the edge of the tracks and grumble while the tram went by. Car after car of the tram passed in front of her face as she impatiently rocked back and forth on her hooves.

“Come on already...” She frowned as she thought of how much time she was wasting here. Looking down the tracks showed that the tram was at least almost all the way past them though, she’d only be stuck here for a minute longer before the bars lifted and she could continue on.

“Got someplace to be?”

Amethyst Star’s ears perked up at the question, turning her head to the left to see a violet stallion with a bright yellow mane smiling at her. He was carrying a brown backpack and had a camera dangling around his neck.

“Yeah, got a job that I need to do actually,” she replied to him. “Kind of on a timer so I really wish this tram could move faster.”

“I know what you mean,” he grimaced. “There’s somewhere I really need to be right now too. What is it that you’re doing?”

“Well I’m working for The Opportunity Inquirer right now. The Chief just got the news that some witness to a big crime was open for an interview so he sent me out to interview her. Gotta get there as fast as possible to make sure I’m the first one to talk with her,” Amethyst Star grinned.

While she explained that the stallion’s smile slowly morphed into a much more thoughtful expression. The last car of the tram also passed right by and the boom barriers began to lift.

“Really?” He said, rubbing his temple. “That’s actually quite the coincidence.”

Amethyst Star raised an eyebrow at him. “Why’s that?”

“Oh it’s just that I’m a reporter for The Daily Yeller and I was asked to do the same thing,” he answered, staring off down the street.

“Oh,” Amethyst Star nodded and turned her head to look with him right as the barrier lifted and they could start getting across without any trouble. It was only then that the importance of his words reached her. “Wait. What?”

While she was still processing what he had told her, the reporter wheeled around the moment the barrier was no longer obstructing the two of them and kicked her hard in the shin.

“Better luck next time, that story’s mine!” He sneered at her and ran off full speed down the street.

“Ow!” Amethyst Star jumped up in pain and yelped. Falling to the ground and grasping her leg she glared at the reporter as he ran to their shared goal of the interviewee and left her behind. “Get back here you jerk!” She angrily shook her hoof at him, to no avail.

Amethyst Star rubbed the sore spot and got up as quickly as she could, wincing a bit from the pain she began to hobble after him, still doing her best to make it to the witness. That reporter had a solid lead on her now though so she’d really have to figure out a way to make up for lost time. Was it possible to take a shortcut? It was certainly risky. Even as she got back to her normal speed she knew that unless they had to stop for a tram or something again there was no way she’d be able to catch up to him if they were running the same route. She had to think of something else.

She looked up at the buildings around her, just like most other parts of the city all the buildings were pretty close together if not outright touching. Her eyes were drawn to their misshapen and uneven roofs that created far from a decent running path

“Hmm, is that really my best bet?” She bit her lip. “And how to get up there?”

That question answered itself when she saw a large yak and a zebra walking side by side right in front of a store with a metal awning over its door.

Amethyst Star gulped at the sudden inspiration that popped into her head. “This may be my worst idea yet.”

The unicorn quickly ran to the two pedestrians and jumped up on the zebra’s back, using it as a stepping-stone to jump up onto the yak’s back and then using that to jump up onto the awning of the store. While her recently used living stairs protested and yelled at her she took another jump from the awning to clamber onto the roof, just barely being able to reach her hooves up to the edge of the roof and pull the rest of her body over. Amethyst Star rolled onto her belly and breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from her brow.

“Whew, that actually worked!”

Picking herself up she started running from rooftop to rooftop. It may not have been a perfect straightaway and there may have been times when she needed to find a vent or windowsill or fire escape to climb on to make it onto another roof but she felt it was still faster than pushing her way through the crowds on the streets down below. She kept an eye on the streets too to make sure she was still going the right way, wouldn’t do to get lost or stuck up on some roof.

While she was running across them and checking out the street below she also soon saw a familiar pony up ahead. The reporter was shoving through everybody else as he frantically ran to the goal line as if Amethyst Star was hot on his heels, even though he obviously didn’t know she was up on the roof gaining and spying on him.

“I am going to love to see the look on your face when I beat you,” Amethyst Star sneered at the reporter down there.

Amethyst Star pulled the piece of paper out of her bag that had the directions and questions written on it to see how close she was. They were coming up on the witnesses house shortly. She’d need to book it, the witness lived in an apartment complex for the elderly and it was around the corner to the right of the intersection after the next. It would be a larger building for sure and the race didn’t end just when they got to it, they’d be fighting all the way to her front door. Of course she planned to be beating her opponent long before then in the first place.

Up ahead there was a big four-way intersection in the streets, she’d have to jump down from the roofs there and start using the street again so if she wasn’t ahead of the reporter at that point she’d probably never catch up. The directions told her she wouldn’t be able to see the building until they turned down that second intersection. Amethyst Star could see her last roof coming up so she looked down at the reporter again, the two of them were pretty much neck and neck.

She saw a cart of hay bales on the street right in front of the last building and another great idea popped into her head.

With a smirk, Amethyst Star pushed herself to run even faster and just as she reached the edge of her last roof she leaped off it towards the cart, with her rival reporter passing the hay at the same time. She landed on top of the hay and without stumbling jumped again, right onto the back of the reporter who kicked her only minutes before.

“Hurk!” He wheezed as she tackled him to the ground, the two of them rolling together halfway into the intersection. “Hey!”

“Just paying you back!” Amethyst Star teased as she stepped on him again and ran off, looking back and blowing a raspberry at the reporter as he struggled to pick himself up.

“Why you little-”

Amethyst Star didn’t bother to pay attention to him anymore, she kept running and running to the interview. And she felt great. Not only was she going to get that interview, and be the first one to do it, but she overcame an annoying obstacle on the way and proved her greatness. This was just the kind of thing she wanted. This is why she came to this city, she knew it. She could feel it. This was her big moment.

She slid as she reached the corner of the next intersection, making the turn and barreling towards the apartment complex now up ahead. A two-story building with a red shingle roof and one main entrance. She’d run inside and find the right room, then things would be over.

“Yes, I’ve got this!” Amethyst Star declared.

“Wrong!”

The yell behind her came suddenly and Amethyst Star found herself tackled to the ground in front of the apartments. With a pained grunt she looked up to see the reporter scrambling off her and attempting to make it to the front door first. A quick yank of his tail caused him to trip flat on his face though.

“Hah!” Amethyst Star laughed and tried to make it past him but he grabbed her backlegs to hold her.

The two ponies continued to struggle and fight with each other as they very slowly both made progress towards the apartment complex. A large crowd had gathered to watch them the whole way, moving with them, and wondering just for what reason they were doing this. Neither reporter nor temp worker was willing to give up and let the other one get that first interview. They didn’t throw any punches at each other since they didn’t want to get in serious trouble but any sort of tripping or tail-pulling was just fine by them.

“You started this, let me have the interview you jerk!” Amethyst Star pulled on his camera’s strap.

“No way, this is my job!” He grabbed a chunk of her mane and pulled on it just the same as her.

“Argh!” The both of them screeched at the other.

And while they were doing that a large green dragon flew from overhead, its shadow momentarily casting over both of them before he landed right in front of the apartment complex. Amethyst Star and the reporter both paused their fight, watching as a zebra holding a briefcase embossed with “City Herald” hopped off the dragon’s back.

“Thanks Brim,” the zebra said to the dragon. “Without you I don’t think I would have ever gotten to this interview so fast.”

The dragon wordlessly nodded in acknowledgment and flapped his strong wings, taking back to the skies while the zebra reporter walked into the apartment complex.

Amethyst Star and her enemy stared at the door to the complex in silent rage that they had just both lost.

Untying themselves, the two ponies stood up and gave one last mean look to each other as they too walked into the apartment complex. Inquirer and Yeller both behind on the latest big scoop now. Meanwhile the Herald was about to see a big jump in sales and subscriptions.

Amethyst Star and the Magic School

“Alright everyone, settle down, class is now in session!”

Amethyst Star stood in front of the chalkboard in the classroom after writing her name on it, her eyes wandering over all the young unicorns looking up at her with rapt attention as they filled in their seats and got ready to begin their lessons. The adult unicorn found herself substituting for the usual teacher today at the Magic University in the City of Opportunity. Unicorns and other creatures with magic came here to study, other creatures without magic were allowed to attend as well but there weren’t as many. Non-magical creatures still liked to learn about magic but without the ability to use it themselves there simply wasn’t as much interest as with those that could actually strengthen their magical ability and apply it to things.

The class Amethyst Star was teaching for the day was a class for young unicorns just beginning to learn magic more complex than simple telekinesis. They were the ones who would likely be in “Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns” if this was Equestria, Amethyst Star had no doubt. Already all of them were capable of and had a knack for the general application of their own power. Now it was the time for them to start learning actual magical spells.

What qualifications did Amethyst Star possess for her to teach this class?

None.

But she said she was really good at magic and knew a lot of spells and magical lore. So in her mind if anything went wrong the fault was really on the administrators for not checking to make sure if she was actually telling the truth or not. I mean who just lets any random mare teach students about potentially dangerous magic without making sure they know what they’re doing? Really this should be a learning experience for the school more than anything.

“Unfortunately because I was a last minute hire I don’t know exactly what the lesson plan is or where you are in your studies. Would anyone like to fill me in?” She asked all the eager fillies and colts.

A multitude of hooves rose in the air. Smiling, Amethyst Star picked out a yellow filly in the middle of the front row to answer.

“Mrs. Ruby Glow was teaching us about firework spells. We have an upcoming festival in the city and she wanted our class to show off what we had learned and perform the fireworks ceremony,” the little filly answered with a slightly lispy voice. She then pointed at the desk of Mrs. Ruby Glow that was in the corner of the room to Amethyst Star’s right. “Her textbook should be in there.”

“Thank you,” Amethyst Star smiled at the filly and trotted over to Mrs. Ruby Glow’s desk. It was a very clean and orderly desk, the desk of a pony that would quickly get on Twilight Sparkle’s good side, that held two drawers on each side. Pulling open the right one, Amethyst Star was rewarded with a stack of textbooks. The top most one having a number of sticky notes in it and dog-eared pages for her to follow.

She pulled it out and started flipping through the pages. “Do any of you know what page you were on? Do you have copies of this textbook?”

In response to her question about thirty little unicorns dug into the cubbies under their desks and pulled out their own personal textbooks. The same filly who answered her earlier responded again: “Page 72, Miss Amethyst Star.”

“Thank you again,” Amethyst Star quickly found the page since it was one that had a multitude of sticky notes on it with various notes and reminders quickly jotted down on them.

As she read through the section and the material she quickly realized that she didn’t understand anything about magic theory or how to teach this stuff. She tried to keep her emotions from appearing on her face but irregardless of that it seemed the best she would be able to do for these students was just tell them to read the text and follow any examples and work out any of the problems on their own. Independence and self-reliance were good, right? It would probably be a good exercise for these kids.

“Okaaay,” Amethyst Star said as she shut the textbook. “How often do you kids work in groups and do projects on your own?”

“Every now and then,” an orange colt with glasses halfway back in the classroom said with a shrug.

“Perfect! That’s what you’re going to be doing today too. Get in groups of—er—five, and go through this section of the textbook and try to figure out how to do the spells together,” she told them.

The kids seemed fine with that, scooting their desks together and easily getting into groups of five while Amethyst Star just stood back and watched. If these kids were at a school like this they were probably already pretty smart and mature, she hoped she didn’t have to worry about any fights and the groups just formed up around pre-existing friendships. But yes, this idea of hers was certainly the best. She was a unicorn that had almost no magical ability or knowledge outside of the most basic telekinesis and even in that she wasn’t strong… not that she would admit that. So even though she was amazing these kids were just as well-off learning like this.

Amethyst Star nodded. Yep, I guess I am technically a good teacher. Since a good teacher should know when to let her students be freethinking. I could totally teach a general magic class just fine too. Definitely good enough at magic to do that.

She took a seat behind Mrs. Ruby Glow’s desk and kicked her legs up on it, relaxing. Of all the things she had done recently this was the only place where it looked like she’d really be able to just sit back and settle down.

Whether that’s what she should be doing or not was another matter.

Amethyst Star yawned and was even thinking of nodding off when a student called for her.

“Teacher? Can you help us with something?”

Her eyes refocused as she turned her head to look at the student who had spoken. A light-red filly with big, lilac eyes and a messy mane in various shades of pink. “What is it?” Amethyst Star asked as she got out of her comfortable position and walked over to the filly’s group.

She held up her textbook for Amethyst Star to see, pointing to a paragraph with her hoof. “This part. Where it says to try practicing the spell, turning your inner magical energy into fireworks that come from your horn. We understand the magical theory behind the spell but none of us can get it to work. Can you show us how?”

“Oh,” Amethyst Star inwardly gulped. Outwardly she tried to seem like everything was fine. They wanted a demonstration, of course they did. That was only natural. Only fair. It was certainly helpful to see someone else perform the spell you were trying to do and then describe in detail how you did it. Yep. Amethyst Star had to agree there.

So of course the question was; can she show them how?

Can she?

“Of course I can!” Amethyst Star grinned. “Class, watch me, I’m going to give you a firsthoof demonstration of how to perform this spell.”

Her horn lit up as she flooded her magic into it.

“So you can understand why after the fire at the University and the various other lawsuits that I’m forced to let you go and can never have you work with us again, correct?” Guru said to her as Amethyst Star sat in front of his desk, everyone else in the office this time paying very close attention to their conversation.

“I’m honestly surprised you didn’t fire me sooner,” Amethyst Star shrugged.

“Yes, yes, that was definitely something I should’ve done in hindsight. Especially considering all the trouble I’m in now as well,” Guru nodded.

“Yeaaahhh, sorry about that,” the unicorn had the decency to look guilty, shifting in her chair and avoiding eye contact with her now former boss.

This was probably the last time she would find herself inside Guru’s Internship. Failure after failure had led her to this outcome and she really had only her own lies and poor decision making to blame. She had repeatedly tried too hard and reached for something she shouldn’t be reaching for and now that was all blowing up in her face. Perhaps if she had taken things easier in the City of Opportunity she would have found something. Instead she tried to force an adventure, or quest, or encounter, not understanding that sometimes things just naturally happen. Especially to the special ponies she said she was no different from.

“Furthermore, you’re not just being fired.”

“Huh?” Amethyst Star’s head swung back to look directly at Guru. “What do you mean? Do I have to pay for that stuff or help fix things somehow?”

“Certainly not, no one wants your help. If you could even call it that,” Guru grimaced.

Amethyst Star frowned. “Oh, well forgive me for even asking.”

Guru ignored her. “What’s happening with you is that I’ve been speaking with some city officials as well as several other people of influence in the city. And we’re banishing you from the City of Opportunity by tomorrow.”

“What?!”

The stallion nodded again to make sure she understood. “You’re being banished. You’ve caused too much trouble and have gained the ire of many people in the city, many important people. We’ve never had a case like this before where one pony has caused so many problems and gotten on the bad side of so many people in such a short amount of time. This is new for us too.”

“So, what? You’re just going to throw me out of the city or something?” Amethyst Star asked in sheer disbelief.

“Yes, that’s exactly what we’re doing. Unless you leave by your own will sometime before tomorrow morning we’ll have a constable toss you outside the city walls. And that will be that,” Guru shrugged.

“B-But,” Amethyst Star sputtered. “You’re seriously just going to force me out into the desert again?”

Her former boss bit his lip and scratched his scraggly beard, obviously uncomfortable with having to be the one to tell her about this. But it was only fair that he was put on the spot after enabling her for far longer than he should have. “It’s not like I feel good about it but you’ve kind of given us no choice. You’re a menace the likes of which this city hasn’t seen in years.”

“Oh come on! That’s crazy!” The unicorn threw up her hooves.

“It’s really not when you look at your list of deeds...”

“Grr!” Amethyst Star’s face flushed in anger. Wasn’t this the City of Opportunity?! How could they throw her away like some trash and bar her from reentry? How could they deny her what the city promised to give everyone? It’s not fair! “So I can’t even appeal this or defend myself?”

Guru minutely shook his his head. “No. Certainly not. It’s not up for debate, the decision has already been made.”

“Well you guys are just a bunch of jerks then!” Amethyst Star angrily stood up from her chair, knocking it over in her haste. “And I don’t care what you say but I’m not letting you throw me out of this city.

The other workers at the internship were looking pretty worried now too. All of them had heard of Amethyst Star and her misadventures in the city and they all wanted her out just the same as everybody else. It wasn’t even about her not obeying the edict, they were worried she might accidentally set fire to their office too or something along those lines. It was a reasonable thing to be afraid of when looking at the limited evidence they had.

“Miss Amethyst Star, please-” Guru sighed. “Don’t make this difficult. You’re leaving one way or another, just spare everyone some grief and head out right now.”

She sat down on the floor and defiantly crossed her forelegs in front of her chest. “You’re just gonna have to make me.”

“WAAAAGH!” Amethyst Star yelled as she was literally thrown onto the ground right outside the entrance of the city by the large constable.

“And stay out!” The constable yelled at her before wiping his hooves and walking back into the city.

Amethyst Star coughed and groaned as she got up, covered in dirt and winded from the painful throw. She wiped some grime off her face and turned around, glaring at the city and the retreating constable in anger. This might be her most singularly miffed moment on her entire trip thus far. How dare they be so rude to someone just trying to help!

“Fine!” She yelled back at him and the rest of the city. “You won’t be hearing from me again cause I never want to come back to this awful place! But you better watch out cause I travel a lot and I’m not gonna say a single good thing about your city to anyone else I meet! Hah! How’s that gonna do for your tourism business?!”

And with that the unicorn from Ponyville turned and began her slow march around the city, still going into the northern parts of the Undiscovered West like she was before coming here and looking for whatever adventure and quests those unknown lands might contain. It would be a long day and probably a long several days, but she still hadn’t given up yet. Her adventure was not over yet. Not until she really did something worthy.

???? and Amethyst Star

A forest of singing birds and fluttering butterflies was just what the doctor ordered for Amethyst Star. Things were so calm and peaceful around her that it really helped her mental state after everything else that had happened recently in her life. This green and brightly lit forest was the most idyllic locale Amethyst Star could remember traveling through so far in the Undiscovered West. And while a lot of her journey had been hectic and stressful that didn’t mean there hadn’t been plenty of pretty stuff and places to see. Even among everything else though this forest plainly stood out with its sheer natural beauty and soothing atmosphere.

The sun was shining warm rays on her and every other denizen of the forest from its early morning position, Amethyst Star had made sure to make the most of this perfect day. If things were going to be like this she wanted to wake up early and experience as much of the day as possible. This pretty forest and perfect weather would just be wasted otherwise. That’s what she thought as she walked past all the strong and healthy trees around her. Walnut, elm, oak, the forest had a diverse array of greenery that was all on the verge of changing to a more yellow and orange color with the turning of the seasons. Amethyst Star could look up and see friendly squirrels running through them too, a woodpecker making its home in a hollowed out trunk, and down on the ground were rabbits hopping along as they made it back to their holes and a chipmunk or two jittering around with a mouthful of acorns.

“What a nice place,” Amethyst Star smiled while she walked.

Up ahead was a gently flowing stream that she could easily hop over but instead she chose to walk along it for a bit, seeing where it might take her. The green grass beneath her hooves was soft and comfortable, a welcome change from the usual, and the stream provided cool and clean water for her to take a sip from whenever she was thirsty. Everything about this forest was a nice change from the usual for her. It was slow and obviously didn’t have the adventure she craved but it was what she needed right now.

She could even look and see plenty of bushes overflowing with ripe fruit that she could pick whenever she wanted. Was this forest just perfect or something? She wouldn’t be surprised at all if she started seeing apple trees and ponies out on picnics in here. In fact she was kind of surprised she hadn’t seen anyone already. A forest as pleasant and bountiful as this? Why wasn’t there anyone nearby?

“Well maybe that’s why it’s managed to stay so perfect. No ponies or anyone else tromping through it all the time to muck it up,” the unicorn said to herself as she did exactly that. On a smaller scale though.

Amethyst Star stopped for a second to dip her hoof in the stream, lazily taking a break as she watched her shimmering reflection. Her face looked a lot happier than it really had any right to be. Forgetting about that unpleasant thought she took her hoof out of the water and continued walking. Just in time for a little blue butterfly to land right on the tip of her horn. She paused herself again to not disturb the tiny bug and smiled up at it. The butterfly slowly flapped its wings a couple of times before taking off into the air again, leaving Amethyst Star to her walk.

She wasn’t doing anything in particular as she walked downstream so when the sweet song of a bird reached her ears she decided to go find the source of it. A simple little detour fit this lackadaisical and warm day.

It turned out to be the chirping of a sparrow, sitting in a bird’s nest on a low branch of one of the elm trees. Amethyst Star was just barely able to peek into the nest to see three white and brown-dotted eggs. The sight brought a warm smile to the face of Amethyst Star, the mother, or father, sparrow was happily chirping about their soon to be hatched eggs.

“Aww,” she cooed.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

When did it become dusk?

The pleasant morning light of the forest had turned into an orange twilight. The voice from beside Amethyst Star caused her to slowly turn her head, above the clouds had stopped moving, in the forest the animals had stopped moving. Silence reigned. The pony standing next to her—when did he get there? There was no one else in this forest.

Her head turned. Her eyes turned.

She saw the stallion standing there, looking towards the nest with a tight-lipped smile.

A yellow coat.

A blue mane and tail.

A white star on his cheek.

His face seemed to mirror hers, also slowly turning from the nest to look her right in the eyes as he kept smiling.

“Hello, Miss Amethyst Star.”

She blinked. Once. Twice. “Hi...” she finally managed to respond to the pony she vaguely felt was familiar. Had she seen him before? Had someone mentioned him to her? She couldn’t remember for sure. But she knew how strange she felt just looking at him. How wrong everything suddenly felt. How the warm and calming atmosphere of the forest turned so cold and uncomfortable.

“What a pleasure it is to meet,” he closed his eyes as he grinned at her.

“Uh-huh… who are you?” Amethyst Star asked. She almost tried to take a step back from him but found that her legs wouldn’t let her.

“Harlequin White. The pleasure to be,” he opened his eyes only to wink one of them at her. “And before you ask why I was out here, well I was merely taking a stroll. Merely enjoying the beautiful forest and all the little creatures inside it, just like you!” He looked back to the sparrow and its nest. “What a lovely sight, is it not?”

“Uh, yeah, it is,” Amethyst Star frowned, following his gaze to the happy little sparrow.

The strange stallion reached out a hoof, right to the sparrow as if beckoning him to hop on. “Oh I do so enjoy seeing little lives such as this all happy and carefree. So joyous and so naive. Why it makes me smile so wide.” Just like he said his smile grew wider and wider until it stretched across his entire face. A smile that would give Pinkie Pie a run for her money were it not so empty. “Seeing things so pointless and small, my does it amuse me so. And to play with them as well.”

Surprisingly the sparrow jumped onto his hoof, Harlequin White lowered it to Amethyst Star’s shoulder, where the sparrow again surprisingly flittered its way onto her. The tiny bird looked up into her eyes and chirped. It was something that would’ve normally brought a smile to her face, and filled her with an ecstatic wonder that a wild bird had chosen to ride on her shoulder, but instead all she felt was uneasiness as she looked into that sparrow’s black eyes.

“Would you like to walk with me?”

“Huh?” Amethyst Star’s head swung back to Harlequin White, snapped out of her thoughts.

“Walk with me? My home is right nearby.”

“You live in this forest?” Amethyst Star asked as they both slowly began walking through the trees, her legs seeming to have minds of their own.

“I live around,” was his answer.

He led her on a winding and invisible path deeper into the forest. Amethyst Star kept looking around the further they traveled but she never heard or saw any more animals, the sparrow on her shoulder was her lone companion for the moment. The orange glow from the sun got dimmer and dimmer the further they went, long shadows were casted by the twisted and dark trees that seemed to sprout up suddenly all around the two ponies. Was this really the same forest? It was almost like she had somehow wandered into the Everfree.

“Well here we are, home already.”

Amethyst Star peeked around his body to see a small wooden cottage sitting in the middle of some trees, there were no windows and only a front door that led into the one room inside. No chimney either and only a simple roof of wooden shingles. It’s not like it looked scary or anything. It’s not like it should have been foreboding. But Amethyst Star just wasn’t sure about any of this. Did she want to go in there?

The question would answer itself when Harlequin White opened up the door and they both stepped inside.

Shelves of books lined the walls, all of them curving together. In the middle of the single room that made up this “house” a lone desk and chair sat made of the simplest wood. Sparse. Barren. Empty. It wasn’t really the place a pony could or would want to live. It wasn’t that anything in here was strange on its own but it did no favors to easing her mind. Everything was just wrong. But it was difficult for her to put it in words. It was difficult for her to think right now. Her mind felt like it was wandering through a fog and all of her responses were dulled. She knew she should be doing something else, or reacting in a different way, but everything was just so hazy.

“Home, sweet home.”

Harlequin White said and then stepped around the desk to take a seat in the chair. The door closed shut behind Amethyst Star, leaving her to just stand there in the middle of the house with the sparrow perched on her shoulder. She looked down, noticing the brown carpet beneath her hooves for the first time, and up, seeing the one lamp hanging from the center of the roof that provided the illumination for the home.

Were they always there or did they just start existing when she noticed them?

“I’m sorry I can’t offer you a seat as well. You’ll just have to stand, I’m afraid.”

Amethyst Star looked to him as he leaned forward, propping his elbows up on the desk and cupping his face in his hooves as he smiled at her. Her eyes were drawn to the white star on his cheek.

“No big deal, I’ve been on my hooves for most of my journey. I can stand to stand around for a bit,” she said to him.

“Good, that’s good to hear. But I’m such a bad host aren’t I? How could I make you so uncomfortable?” He feigned crying, wringing his hooves over her eyes.

Amethyst Star bit her lip at his weird behavior. “D-Don’t worry. I mean, I guess I gotta thank you for bringing me to your home? You’re being pretty hospitable.”

“Oh I just figured you could use a rest from your long journey,” he smiled widely at her again.

“Yeah...” Amethyst Star frowned and raised an eyebrow at the strange pony. “What do you know about me and my journey anyways? Sorry, I’m just kind of confused right now.”

Harlequin White’s eyes stared up at the ceiling for a second, going from side to side in a faux display of searching his memories and thinking even though he clearly knew how he was going to answer from the start. And probably before Amethyst Star even asked the question. “Hmm. What a good question, Miss Amethyst Star. What do I know about you and the little adventure you’ve decided to take? I guess the simplest answer would be: everything.” He shrugged.

“Everything?”

“Everything, yes indeed,” Harlequin White nodded. “I think you’ve done a miraculous job so far, I must add.”

That was a bit surprising to hear. Nice if it was genuine though, she even got a bit of a hopeful look on her face. “Really?”

“Oh yes, quite miraculous. Not many ponies can be such a great source of entertainment like you. I’ve been laughing and laughing the entire time. Ha. He. Ho,” Harlequin White giggled.

“Laughing?” Amethyst Star’s frown returned and deepened, that dash of hope quickly gone. “All of this stuff that’s happened to me has been funny to you?”

He nodded some more, struggling to contain his laughter. “Oh yes, yes! Downright hilarious! A naive pony like you, her life so small and pointless going out on a pointless adventure, I love it.”

“P-Pointless?” Amethyst Star sputtered. “My life isn’t pointless, and neither is my adventure!”

The smile on Harlequin White’s face… changed.

“Miss Amethyst Star. How wrong you are.”

The sparrow on her shoulder left to begin flying about the room while the hanging lamp dimmed, casting the same orange glow from outside across everything else, like the light of a setting sun. She watched the sparrow for a bit as it flew in circles while Harlequin White’s gaze continued to focus on her. He stopped leaning forward and instead laid his hooves out on the desk, gently tapping the wood in sequence.

“Yes, yes, pointless. I mean what did you really think about your adventure? You didn’t think things were going well did you? Of course even if they were I’d still think it was pointless silliness,” he laughed.

“Okay, fine. I’ll admit this adventure hasn’t turned out the way I wanted it to so far. But that’s just it. So far. I’m still out here and I’m still looking for a real chance, aren’t I?” Amethyst Star pointed to herself. “I think that’s pretty impressive. And it’s not pointless.”

His smile turned even more mocking if that was possible. “Right, you’re so adamant about changing and becoming a better pony. Becoming special.”

The unicorn’s eyes narrowed. “I am special.”

He feigned surprise, sitting up straight in his chair and holding a hoof over his mouth in a silent “Oh”. The strange pony then tilted his head and a smile peeked out from past his hoof. “Really? So you’ve been looking down on your friends all this time?”

“Huh?!” Amethyst Star backed up, her face a confused and kind of angry visage.

“Well that’s what it means to be special. Better than others. Whether consciously or not you’re looking down on the ones around you. I mean you can’t tell me there wasn’t even a little bit of resentment or disgust for your friends in you? After all they would never even try to do something like this, how pathetic you must have thought of them! How complacent, how small, how could they like and allow themselves to be overshadowed by others. And how could they be so mean to you about wanting something different. I’m surprised you don’t outright hate your friends,” he lowered his hoof to smile as sincerely as he was able.

“No!” Amethyst Star yelled, his words ringing in her head. “I don’t hate my friends and being special doesn’t mean you have to think less of anyone else!”

“But isn’t that something that you were worried about? That ponies were thinking less of you and underestimating you because you weren’t like Twilight Sparkle and her friends?”

“Well… yeah, but that doesn’t mean it’s how I feel. And I know that Twilight Sparkle definitely doesn’t look down on anybody else!” She accusingly pointed a stiff hoof at him.

“Oh but you’ve still been so selfish and dismissive of everyone else on this journey… you mention Twilight Sparkle but do you really think you can compare yourself to her in any way?” His smile turned into a sneer as a row of chuckling threatened to break past his lips.

Amethyst Star squared her legs and stood up as tall and proudly as she could. “Yes.”

Harlequin White’s sneer stayed on his face. “Oh, that’s what’s so entertaining and hilarious about you.” He lifted a hoof and pointed it to the carpet she was standing on. “Look.”

She did look down, just as instructed, to see that she had seemingly unknowingly walked over a line of ants when she stepped into the house. The line was shattered by her hooves and when she lifted her right front hoof she saw dozens of ants that she had accidentally crushed beneath it. “W-What? Were these ants always here?”

“Do you care about them?”

Amethyst Star looked back at him, a weak response coming out of her. “Huh?”

“Those ants. Do you actually care about the fact that you’ve just ended so many of their lives or are they an existence so far beneath you that you can’t even be bothered to look down on them in the first place,” he glanced up at the flying sparrow and as if the bird could read his mind it came fluttering down to a stop right on his desk in-between his hooves. “Life. Lives. Is there any difference between ponies and those ants?”

“What are you talking about, of course there is!” Amethyst Star tried to shake some of the ants off her hooves and stepped away from the line.

“Really? It all seems so pointless to me,” Harlequin White shrugged. “That’s why seeing this little sparrow with its eggs was so funny. Everything dies someday but everything keeps on trying to live and make the most of their pointless little lives. I’ll die one day too. And my brother just so happened to recently die, I bet he was surprised even though he shouldn’t have been.” Harlequin White started to giggle.

Amethyst Star couldn’t believe what she was hearing, it made her sick to her stomach, almost enough to overshadow the cold pit that had formed there the more he talked. “I-I can’t believe you can laugh about something like that...”

“I don’t see the problem. I like to laugh and find entertainment in things and life has no value. The life of an ant, pony, dragon, me, or-” he picked up the sparrow in his hooves, the bird’s beady black eyes looking up at him in curiosity. Harlequin White’s own eyes looked down at it for a second before flickering back to Amethyst Star. “This sparrow.”

He pushed his hooves together and crushed the sparrow between them with a sickening crunch.

“What are you doing?!” Amethyst Star yelled in absolute horror.

“Nothing!” He pulled his hooves apart and the sparrow flew right out of them, looking perfectly fine. It was chirping and tweeting happily as it made a few rounds around the room before returning to Amethyst Star’s own shoulder. Sitting there and staring back up at her while she peered at it, morbidly confused.

She slowly turned her head to look at Harlequin White again, shivering and scared as she did so. “I don’t-”

“Just a joke, just a little illusion, of course I didn’t actually kill that poor little sparrow. Otherwise how could it be alive and well? Even a unicorn like you with limited magical knowledge should know there’s no spell for bringing back the dead. So I couldn’t have possibly just crushed it between my hooves like an insignificant speck, now could I have?” Harlequin White’s smile split his face and a mean-spirited chuckle emerged from his throat.

Amethyst Star just slightly shook her head. Her only response to his question. The atmosphere in here and around him had gotten even worse. More oppressive, frightening, colder. Everything about this was already so wrong but the playfulness, fake or otherwise, that had existed beforehand was completely gone. Replaced with nothing but danger and the sound of sirens and her own heartbeat blaring in her head.

Gulping, she closed her eyes tight for a second before opening them again, a worried look on her face. “Can I go now?”

“Go?” Harlequin White feigned surprise at her words. “But why would you want to go? Am I not being a good host? Is something wrong?” He made an exaggerated pout, frowning and puffing his lips out as if he was about to cry. It reminded her of the behavior of another she had visited with, but minus the playfulness, minus the good-nature. Replaced with dread and cruelty.

Amethyst Star gave him a stuttering nod. “Y-Yes. Please...”

“Aww, and I was having so much fun,” he sighed and slumped over onto his desk, still keeping up that fake pout. “But fiiine, I suppose it would be better to treat you a little… differently than I treat most of the pointless lives I come across.” He sat up with a jolt, grinning again. “Do you know why?”

The unicorn shook her head again, still having difficulty speaking.

“It’s because, there is a difference between things like ants and ponies. Ponies hold far much more potential for entertainment,” Harlequin White gave a quiet laugh while he smiled at Amethyst Star. “You can run along now. Enjoy your adventure.”

She wasn’t sure when she turned around and walked out his door but here she was back in the forest. The light had grown even dimmer, the sun almost disappearing completely behind the horizon, making the forest colder and changing her mind from how she thought it was so pleasant and inviting earlier. Amethyst Star would need to find a place to stop soon. She was about to take a step when something tumbled off her shoulder and onto the ground, still.

Her eyes drifted down to look at the little sparrow lying there in the grass.

Twisted, broken, and dead.

Tumbling Down

The ground shook and the sky screamed.

Amethyst Star ran through the mountain path while earthquakes tossed the ground beneath her hooves back and forth, threatening to collapse the walls of rocks and delicate formations all around her. Above her head a great storm raged at the same time, the sky nothing but dark clouds that poured a flood of rain onto the landscape while great bolts of lightning and explosions of thunder tore through the sky. An errant bolt would every now and then impact the mountain pass, creating a fiery blast and leaving a crater perhaps only a few feet from the running Amethyst Star.

She needed to find cover, but was that safe with the earthquake? She needed to get out of here, but she couldn’t see with the heavy downpour. She was trapped. Trapped running through this disaster that threatened her life and the total destruction of this mountainous area. Was it coincidence? Natural? Magical? Either way it was incredible, of that there was no doubt.

There was also the fact she was certain something was chasing her right now too. She hadn’t seen anything but sometimes she could briefly hear it or feel its presence. It seemed impossible in this rain with everything else going on but Amethyst Star was sure there was something there. There was something else in this mountain pass with her and it was trying to keep from her view. Every time she paused when she heard a strange sound that didn’t fit in with the weather and tried to look around there was nothing she could see, it was too perfect.

“Either that or I’m just going completely crazy,” Amethyst Star said right as another bolt of lightning shrieked over her head.

She didn’t have any time to dwell on that thought since the storm and quake forced her to move constantly. Fear. It was fear of being struck by lightning or crushed in a landslide that caused her to constantly move and try to get out of here as soon as possible. Amethyst Star didn’t know enough about natural disasters and storms to know what the safest course of action was, and the primal fear in her was keeping her from attempting to slow down and think.

Sometimes she stumbled or fell because of the shaking ground and each time it sent a lance of adrenaline and fear into her brain, Amethyst Star thought the thing chasing her was probably waiting for a moment just like that and she knew she heard it a few times when she fell. That burst of adrenaline worked well to help her scramble up and look over her shoulder for any signs of what was chasing her. But again there was just nothing there for her to see. Aside from rain, rain, and more rain.

The rain had made her soaked just as much as if she had been swimming in a river and it was still constantly streaming down on her. Her mane was totally flat against her head and she needed to push her hair out of the way of her eyes to see. Not like that did much with how low visibility was but at least she could tell what direction she was going in. The cold water was starting to chill her to the bones though, along with the wind that naturally funneled through this pass. The effects of the weather were all working in tandem to make things more difficult and dangerous for Amethyst Star. It was possible she could end up freezing on this mountain even if nothing else happened to her.

“Definitely would not enjoy that,” Amethyst Star shook her head. “No freezing, no getting hit by lightning, no getting crushed by boulders. Let’s make that my goal for the day.”

There sound of something scraping along the ground behind her caused her to wheel around, eyes searching back and forth for the cause of the strange noise. But there was nothing.

“And no getting eaten by monsters either,” the unicorn gulped.

Amethyst Star did her best to trudge on through the mountain, having to force herself over some hills or across treacherous rocks while the earthquakes and wind buffeted her. She could hear the shifting and cracking of rocks all around her and she kept her eyes peeled as best she could on the mountainsides in case anything came tumbling down or falling apart. Being jostled around and with the rain it was difficult for her to focus on anything for too long, she just got disoriented.

Why did the weather suddenly have to turn bad for her? She had been having great luck with it for the rest of her journey so far. Guess it was finally just time for something like this. The good weather was the one thing that had really been favorable on Amethyst Star’s adventure but it seemed even that wasn’t on her side anymore.

“I can’t wait for this mountain to actually turn out to be a volcano that’s about to erupt. That seems like something that would happen to me.”

Amethyst Star came across a part of the pass that was completely buried in newly fallen rocks and dirt from up higher on the mountain. It must have all just recently broken free in an earlier quake and now she had to climb over it. Hoping that it was stable enough for that and that nothing else would be falling on her, Amethyst Star began her short climb.

The rain had made the rocks slick and the dirt turn to mud so she had to be extra careful. But at least she could be happy knowing how much better she was handling this than she would’ve at the very start of her journey. Yes, despite all the running she had been doing and how much the weather was beating her, Amethyst Star still found herself with plenty of stamina left in her body. Obviously her adventure had built up her physical strength at least a little bit. This was proof of that and it made things a little easier for her to deal with.

“This still wouldn’t be my first choice when it comes to adventuring though,” Amethyst Star frowned as she made it up the rock pile, her hooves now covered in mud too. Loose stones and pebbles tumbled down behind her as she climbed, knocked away by her hooves.

Her not so sharp ears picked up the sound of something else starting to climb up the stone pile.

“Okay, are you there now?” Amethyst Star sarcastically asked as she looked over her shoulder. As she had expected there was nothing else climbing up the rocks with her. Unless it was invisible. She could still see the bottom of the pile through the rain so that was one of the only explanations she could think of that didn’t involve her being crazy.

“Whatever,” Amethyst Star shook her head and kept going.

On top of the rock pile she still needed to walk a bit further over it since it covered so much of the pass. The wind and rain were a constant but the shaking of the mountain and the striking of lightning only happened sporadically now. Maybe the storm and quakes were both starting to wind down. It would be a blessing for sure but one Amethyst Star didn’t want to count just yet. Her cynicism had gotten worse lately and she didn’t expect anything to go so easily for her right now. After a few minutes she got to the end of the pile that blocked the pass, looking down and being annoyed that she’d have to carefully make her way down the rocks and mud, something that could be even more dangerous than climbing up them in the first place.

With a sigh she made her descent, knocking rocks over as she went, slowly going down to safety. Right up until she slipped on a muddy rock and fell end over end down the pile, taking a bunch of rocks with her and ending up covered in mud and pebbles when she crashed into the ground.

“Ow.”

Amethyst Star didn’t hear anything else though so she was careful in picking herself up, making sure not to disturb any more of the pile or hurt herself. Groaning in discomfort, the pony did her best to ignore the rain and the scrapes on her body to wobbly stand up. She couldn’t see that far ahead of her still but it looked like there was a cliff or ridge just a little bit further on the mountain pass. If she got to it she could probably see her way down the mountain and whatever was next on her journey.

As she walked towards it she finally did hear something else again.

The sound of something sliding right down the pile of rocks behind her, in her same path.

Well Amethyst Star by now was tired of all of that. Annoyance overcame fear. “You know what? I’m not even going to turn around and look. If you’re a monster then just eat me, I’m too tired to care and it’s raining.”

She stood there for several seconds longer, hearing nothing. And not getting eaten.

“Okay then, I’m gonna be moving on now.”

Amethyst Star walked towards the edge of the cliff, leaving the pile of rocks and whatever else might be there behind. The massive storm was starting to die down too and she couldn’t remember the last time she had felt a quake. It was still windy and the rain was still pouring hard but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been and she could even see out over the horizon once she got up to the ledge. In the distance the sky was clear and the sun was shining down on the ground below. And there happened to be a lot for her to see.

A huge city of stone buildings stretched across the entire valley that stood beneath these mountains, reaching as far as Amethyst Star could see. One huge castle in particular stood out in the center of it all, its massive towers and keep shooting towards the sky. She could see farms, wide streets, lakes, rivers, markets, the city was an impressive affair that reminded her of Canterlot’s classical majesty.

Just the kind of thing Amethyst Star wanted to see.

“Let’s see what’s in store for me here,” she smiled as she looked for a way down the mountain.

The door to Guru’s Internship was not knocked on but merely pushed open and a red mare walked inside the office. Some of the other office workers noticed her and stared for a second before returning to their work while in the back Guru was completely glued to his desk and hadn’t realized that The Red Hornet just walked in. She slid up to his desk, not bothering to seat herself, and looked at the scraggly-bearded pony through her dark sunglasses.

He still didn’t notice her.

“Ahem,” she cleared her throat to get his attention, tired of waiting around.

Guru looked up at the scarlet mare, surprised. Was she here for a job or did she have a request? He raised a single questioning eyebrow at her. “Yes? Can I help you.”

The Red Hornet smiled. “I believe you can, honey. Can you tell me about a mare that’s been through here recently? Pink unicorn, traveler, goes by the name Amethyst Star?”

Delusions of Grandeur I

Amethyst Star walked down the long and wide stone-paved street that led right to the large castle. Bordering the street were dozens of buildings and smaller streets that branched off into other parts of the city. Lots of ponies were out and about too, most just walking but some riding in or pulling trolleys. It was a lively city that probably had all kinds of stuff for her to see in it. The day was early too so she didn’t need to worry about finding a place to stay or anything just yet, she could really take her time to look around and just enjoy herself. She wondered if the big castle meant that maybe this place was just one city of a kingdom or not. Maybe this was the capitol city like Canterlot? Just having a big castle didn’t have to mean anything like that though. It was just so big and impressive that if all it ruled over was one city, even though this city was big too, it would seem like kind of a waste.

The castle itself looked like it was made of blue and gray stone, it towered over everything else in the city by at least one hundred feet. There looked like there were multiple buildings and parts to the castle all held inside its massive walls. Amethyst Star would love if she could go and see it. Princess Celestia let anyone come into her castle, maybe whoever ruled here was just as open. Well even if it was a castle open to the public she probably couldn’t just walk in. It was likely the type of thing she’d need an appointment or reason for. And not just a “I really wanted to check out the castle” kind of reason. Whatever the case ended up being she figured she’d at least spend a little time checking out the part of the city that was directly under the castle. Someone here could probably answer all of her questions too.

“Which of these buildings looks like someplace where I can find a bunch of ponies mingling around?” Amethyst Star said as she looked from side to side of the street. A lot of things didn’t even have signs on them, it would be a lot easier if there were ponies just out in the streets selling stuff like in Ponyville but obviously this wasn’t that kind of place. It was a more professional kind of city that didn’t want its streets crowded like that.

Things were clean and orderly too, not chaotic or random like the City of Opportunity was, and it all had one unifying style. Classical.

“As far as cities go it’s actually surprisingly calm and nice here. The ponies must be really happy,” Amethyst Star thought as she looked around. There were a number of families and couples out that she could see, adding to her theory. Everyone looked jolly enough.

But she really wanted to hurry up and find out about that castle. In a place like this there was probably all kinds of interesting stuff for her to find and do but that castle overshadowed everything and she really wanted to see it first. There was no question about it to her that that castle was where she needed to go. Now it was time to find some answers to the questions she had. On the side of the street she was on she kept looking into the buildings to see if they were the kind of place where she could just walk in and talk to somebody, but a lot of them had tinted windows or were even locked.

Speaking of locked, the moment she walked by what looked like a closed grocery store, a pony wearing an apron and name tag walked up to its front door and pulled out a key to unlock it. Amethyst Star paused.

Well, that’s as good as anything I suppose? She thought.

“Excuse me?” Amethyst Star walked up to the curly-maned mare unlocking the store.

“Yes?” She turned her head, a beauty mark under her amber eyes along with the gorgeous brown curls of her mane made her look a lot prettier than you’d expect from a grocer. “Can I help you? The store still doesn’t open for another thirty minutes.”

“Oh, uh, it’s not that,” Amethyst Star shook her head. “I’m from out of town and I had a few questions about this place. I mean, if you’re busy then-”

“You’re not from Diminuendo?!” The mare’s face positively lit up. “Wow, I’ve never personally met anyone from outside of the city! I’ve only ever seen the Royal Songstresses from far away once, wow!”

“Uhh...” Amethyst Star was a bit surprised at how excited this mare was just to see her. “I take it visitors from outside aren’t too common?”

The mare shook her head. “Not too common? Try once a decade! We’re so remote out here that there’s no real reason for anyone to come by. But wow, here I am meeting an actual pony from the outside world! Where are you from?”

“Well my name’s Amethyst Star and I’m from Ponyville in Equestria,” she smiled to the mare.

“Great to meet you!” The grocer grabbed her front hooves and shook them frantically. “I’m Sugarplum, this is my grocery store.” She dropped Amethyst Star’s hooves and got a more thoughtful look on her face. “Ponyville and Equestria? Haven’t heard of them, but then again we’re obviously not a city that knows a lot about the outside world. I wouldn’t even be able to point us out on a map. Makes me wonder where the Royal Songstresses are from too though.”

“You mentioned them before, the Royal Songstresses? Who are they? I kind of want to know a lot about this place and that castle,” Amethyst Star pointed off to the huge castle in the distance.

“Where to begin?” Sugarplum held a hoof under her jaw. “I guess first off is that the castle there is the castle of our royal family. They’re wonderful rulers, Diminuendo has flourished under them for generations. Honestly if you want to go see the castle and them you’re in luck, an outsider is such a grand event, the royal family loves entertaining ponies like you since they hardly ever get to do something like that.”

“Yes!” Amethyst Star pumped her hoof, this was starting off way better than she expected. “What else?”

Sugarplum giggled at her excitement. “Well there’s also the Royal Songstresses, five ponies like you who appeared in our city only weeks ago. They have magnificent singing talents and they captivated the royal family when they performed for them on their visit to the castle. The King said he had to have such beautifully sublime voices for Diminuendo and so they decided to stay here. They’re going to be putting on their first grand concert for the entire city in just a few days!”

“Sounds cool, maybe I’ll even be here long enough to see it too,” Amethyst Star said. “And you don’t know where they came from? Maybe I’ll know, I’ve been around to a lot of different places now. If they’re at the castle when I go I can ask them.”

“You’re so lucky, I’d love to be able to personally meet the Songstresses and King,” Sugarplum sighed.

“Lucky, huh?” That made Amethyst Star stop. She certainly wouldn’t consider herself lucky. But maybe this was all a sign? The weather had been great for her until it suddenly turned terrible and then it cleared up for her right when she saw Diminuendo. It was telling her her luck was turning around, she knew it!

“I just wish the Prince wasn’t missing.”

Amethyst Star looked at Sugarplum in concern. “Prince?”

Sugarplum nodded, glumly. “Yes. Our beloved Prince. The apple of Diminuendo. He’s been missing for over a week now and nobody knows what’s happened to him. He’s such a lovely Prince too, always giving his all to the city, coming out and visiting ponies from all walks of life. Oh you’d have loved to meet him and he’d have loved to meet you. I hope he’s okay, wherever he is.”

“Wow, sorry to hear that,” Amethyst Star awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck.

“Thank you, but it’s okay,” Sugarplum shrugged. “You’ll probably want to be going to the castle now? You’ll get to the gate if you just keep heading down this street, anyone can just walk inside but when you get to the royal keep you’ll need to tell the guards who you are. But I’m sure they’ll just escort you to the King and the rest of the royal family.”

“Thanks,” Amethyst Star gave Sugarplum a smile. “You’ve been a ton of help.”

“No, thank you. This isn’t something that I ever expected happening to me today,” Sugarplum clasped her hooves in front of her chest.

Amethyst Star then said goodbye to her, the two waved to each other and then the unicorn from out of town continued her walk down the street towards the castle. Now she knew what she needed to know about the castle and this place. Hopefully it would be just as smooth as Sugarplum thought it would be, Amethyst Star was really excited at the thought of being able to meet the royal family. There was something about Diminuendo and everything else that was just giving her that adventurous feeling again. It felt like she might be able to find what she was looking for here.

The castle walls had a large opening in them centered right at the wide street Amethyst Star was walking down, two rounded towers making up the ends of the walls while a large iron gate spanned the distance between them. That gate was currently open and led right onto a white brick path that was lined with immaculately kept grass all the way through the castle grounds to the first building of the actual castle.

There weren’t even any guards at this gate or part of the castle so Amethyst Star was indeed able to just walk right onto the grounds and make her way onward just as Sugarplum said. This city must’ve been a really peaceful place that just didn’t need to keep lots of guards around the castle. Or anywhere else since now that she thought about it Amethyst Star couldn’t remember seeing any kind of guard or police officer in the rest of the city. Maybe they were actually all busy looking for the missing Prince?

“No sense getting worked up about nothing,” Amethyst Star decided to ignore that for now and just get inside the castle.

She didn’t have to walk very far past the walls, the walkway taking her directly to the main part of the castle where a large set of arch-shaped wooden doors led into the central building that most of the big towers sprouted up from. The doors into the castle were open just like the gate was but these at least did have one guard on each side. Not that they needed to really do anything since Amethyst Star was the only pony going in or out of the castle right now.

They didn’t pay Amethyst Star any mind while she was walking and even when she got right to them, she could’ve completely ignored them. But she had another question to ask.

The unicorn stopped right in front of the door and looked back and forth at the two guards. “Uh, hey. So I’m new around here, how do I find the King?”

The guard to her left quickly spoke first. “New? As in “Not from Diminuendo” new?”

“Uh, yeah. That’s definitely one way to put it,” Amethyst Star plainly answered.

“Wow!” Both guards said at once, looking as excited as Sugarplum had been.

“Aw man, I really wish we didn’t have to be on duty right now,” the right guard said.

“I know, right? So unfair,” the left guard sighed.

“Uhh...” Amethyst Star said to get their attention.

“Oh, sorry,” again they both said at once.

“It’s just we’d both totally love to talk with you. Hardly anyone comes from outside Diminuendo. But we’ve gotta stay on duty even though it’s pretty much just a ceremonial position. Just for appearances, you know?” The left guard told her. “We’ll tell you where the King is though, you can probably just go in and visit him in the throne room. I doubt he’s busy today.”

“Wish we could come with you and you could tell us about the outside world...” the right guard pouted.

The instructions to find the throne room? Go straight. After getting those, Amethyst Star walked past the guards and into the castle. This was kind of different from how Princess Celestia was in Canterlot. She was always busy and needed appointments weeks or months in advance for most ponies, maybe the King here just delegated most of his work or things were just slow lately. The castle also wasn’t as fancy-schmancy as Canterlot castle either, the inside was more simplistic and didn’t have as much art hanging up or artistic flourishes built into the architecture. Just halls and hallways of stone with red carpet running down them and the occasional chandelier.

She got to a long staircase that led up to another floor of the castle and once she stepped off it she found herself in an antechamber that had two large halls going off to the left and right while in front of her a wooden door painted white with gold finish sat. And if her directions were correct then it could only be the throne room that existed past that door. The number of other guards that happened to be standing in front of that door also made that seem more likely. Six stood on each side of the door while a seventh wearing a very large, feathered top hat, stood in the middle.

Just like the other guards they didn’t really do anything even when Amethyst Star was standing right in front of the middle one.

“Hi,” she waved to him.

“Hello,” he stoically nodded to her. “Do you have business with the King and royal family?”

She shook her head. “Not really, I just wanted to see the castle and everything.”

“I see. Well the King is fine with meeting his subjects but you need to make an appointment, the rest of the castle is open for viewing however.”

“I’m not a subject. I’m not from Diminuendo, I’m from out of town. I heard the King and everyone likes to meet ponies like me,” Amethyst Star pointed to herself.

That sent a ripple of murmurs through the guards, something she was expecting by now. The middle one she was talking to was quite surprised as well if the look on his face was anything to go by. He quickly stood the side and gestured for her to walk forward.

“Well this is quite the auspicious occasion then. Please don’t let me impede you any further,” the lead guard even bowed his head slightly to her, something that really made Amethyst Star happy.

“Hey, thanks!” Amethyst Star smiled at him and walked on by. She grabbed the handle of the white door in her magic and pulled it open, stepping into the throne room and letting the large door close behind her. What a bunch of nice guards.

What was inside the throne room was quite a bit different from the rest of the castle. First of all it was all made in polished marble and had a large series of windows all along the western side (Amethyst Star’s left) that would let in the light from the setting sun when it was time. The floor also instead of a red carpet had a long purple velvet carpet leading from the door through the middle of the room. And on the east side there were numerous alcoves and hearths built into the wall. Alcoves and hearths that happened to be occupied by numerous high-class looking ponies, all seated around tables drinking and eating and enjoying themselves. Nobles? Elites? Probably.

They didn’t pay her much attention as she walked down the carpet towards the throne and other seats at the far end of the throne room. Some looked on in confusion or interest at her but most kept up their own conversations.

Amethyst Star kept her attention on the real goal though. There wasn’t just a single throne up there but numerous other large chairs on a part of the floor raised up several steps. Amethyst Star saw a few rather royal looking ponies on those chairs and another group that was lounging around on a long sofa full of luxurious looking throw pillows up on the same side of the room as the alcoves, only thanks to the stairs they were looming over the ponies down in the alcoves. The central and largest chair up there was clearly the King’s throne and a kingly looking pony was sitting in it just now. An earth pony with a light-brown coat and a darker brown mane that hung long off the top of his head, accentuating his beard and mustache. The golden crown he wore glittered with numerous jewels and the red cape flowing over his back was perfectly sewn and maintained. To the King’s right sat another chair almost as big as his own where an off-white mare with a long purple mane sat. Her eyelashes were long and they fluttered as Amethyst Star walked closer. The Queen most likely. Unlike the King she wore a simple band of gold around her head. An earth pony just like her husband too.

To the King’s left was a conspicuously empty chair.

The unicorn from Ponyville stopped right in front of the stairs and looked up at the King. He had been speaking with his wife until he noticed that Amethyst Star was coming straight to him.

“I wasn’t aware I had an appointment today. Or has something important come up?” He asked in a deep voice, the bass rumbling off the walls of the throne room even though he didn’t yell. His skill at projecting merely well-honed after his years of being King.

Amethyst Star smiled at him, not worried at all. “Actually the thing is is I’m not from Diminuendo. I’m a traveler on an adventure who’s passing through, I heard you really love to meet outsiders.”

The King’s face stretched in a sincere smile while the conversations among the other nobles in the throne room ground to a halt. They certainly didn’t expect her to say that.

“Well, this is just marvelous! Twice in such a short amount of time does a pony from the outside world come to grace our kingdom. This is just the kind of thing we need right now,” the King raised a hoof and gestured over to the ponies that were lying on the long sofa. “My Royal Songstresses also just recently came to Diminuendo, and how they’ve brightened our kingdom in the short time they’ve been here.”

Amethyst Star really looked over at the sofa for the first time to smile at the mares she now knew were the Songstresses she had heard about. Five of them, two on one end of the sofa were pegasi, two on the other were earth ponies, and the one in the middle was a unicorn. They all responded to her with tiny waves and thin smiles that looked fake and plastic, surprisingly not very welcoming considering what Amethyst Star had heard about them. She tried not to let her annoyance show on her face though and returned to facing the King.

He had more to say to her, “I don’t know how long you’ll be staying here or what sort of adventure you’re on but I hope you’ll at least stay long enough to fully regale us with all your tales and tell us all about your home? Pray tell what your name is and where you might be from?”

This was her big moment to make a good impression. She needed to carry herself proudly and confidently. “My name is Amethyst Star, I’m from Equestria.”

Unbeknownst to her, the moment she mentioned the country of Equestria the five mares on the couch all perked their heads up. Shooting each other glances some of them began whispering with each other, even looking worried and very surprised. Not the unicorn in the center though. The purple unicorn with a curly pink mane, wearing a black choker with a large red jewel hanging from it, all she did was grin.

Delusions of Grandeur II

“Equestria?” The King said in surprise. “What a magnificent coincidence, that is the same land where the Songstresses come from!”

Amethyst Star looked over at the long couch in surprise again, her ears perked up and her eyebrows both shooting into her hairline. “Really?”

The five mares paused what they were doing to wave back at her some more, aside from the unicorn who merely smiled and nodded when Amethyst Star met her starry yellow gaze. That was a coincidence. How few ponies from Equestria were out in the Undiscovered West? And the west had turned out to be quite big, and Diminuendo quite remote, but here she was with five other ponies from the same country as her. That’s the kind of crazy coincidence that made her think she did come here for a reason, and adventure was right around the corner.

“Truly,” the King nodded. “I’m sure you will have much to talk about together. But first, please tell me all about yourself. Who are you back in Equestria and what have you seen on your travels from there to here?”

Who am I? Now that was the question of the day for Amethyst Star.

This was a big opportunity for her. No one here knew her. She could say whatever she wanted and who could challenge her? The Songstresses? Amethyst Star knew she had never seen those five around Ponyville, they could hardly contradict anything as long as she didn’t say anything too outrageous. But on the other hoof, should she really lie about this in the first place? It was probably wrong. And especially disrespectful to ponies who had shown her such great hospitality so far. The thing is she didn’t want to disappoint them. The truth would be disappointing. That she was a nobody back home, even if she refused to accept or believe that herself, and that her adventure out here was full of nothing but failures and minor events nobody would care about. The King, Queen, and everybody else would probably be so disappointed in her. Especially since they had these supposedly amazing Songstresses from Equestria to compare her to as well.

“I’m… a close friend of the Princess Twilight Sparkle. She sent me on a mission to travel the Undiscovered West and learn about it!” Amethyst Star boldly claimed. She then furrowed her brow. “Er, the Undiscovered West is what we from Equestria call these lands. But I’m sure the Songstresses already told you that.”

“They did,” the King answered. “And they told us about who rules Equestria, are you truly saying you are a friend of one of the Alicorn Princesses?”

His voice carried no disbelief, only wonder. It seemed he really did believe what she had just said. And if the King did then everyone else in here would say they did too, whether or not they really felt that way. A quick glance to the sofa also allowed Amethyst Star to see how the Songstresses were reacting to what she said. The five of them had scooted closer to each other and while the unicorn continued to smile warmly at Amethyst Star the other four kept talking with each other, covering their mouths with their hooves or wings. She didn’t know what to make of that.

“Yep, known Twilight Sparkle for years,” Amethyst Star said as she fully turned her attention back to the King. “But now, let me tell you about what I’ve been up to out here on my journey so far...”

After that Amethyst Star gave the King and the rest of the royal court an adjusted version of events of her adventure. She still did a good job of telling everyone about what she had seen and all the different places she had been to, but changed around certain embarrassing details that concerned herself. Failures turned to successes and she always painted a pretty picture of how good of a job she had done. Such as when she reunited two feuding clans, or won a sports tournament, or went on a treasure hunt with another famous explorer, or conquered a previously thought to be unpassable desert. Or did a ton of other heroic things that wouldn’t be out of place in any grand adventure. The story she told them was one worthy of a super special and amazing pony such as herself. It was the true adventure that she had envisioned.

Just not the truth.

The King and Queen were fully enraptured by her tales, it caused Amethyst Star to just keep on going and going until she really needed to take a breath.

“Whew, sorry. I’ve been walking all day and now talking like this is making me tired,” Amethyst Star grinned awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck and letting out a short chuckle.

“Of course, of course, I’m sorry for not noticing. We’ve just been having you stand around and entertain us for so long but I doubt you can tell us everything in one afternoon. Not to mention I have so many questions about Equestria I’d like to ask you at some point as well,” the King smiled at her. His honest and gracious manner were a welcome treat to Amethyst Star, although his desire to learn more about Equestria could be problematic to her.

“Right… I’ll continue my stories and everything tomorrow.”

“And you won’t have to worry about walking back here either,” the King told her. “I’ll have a room prepared for you right by the gardens. You’ll be my guest.”

Amethyst Star’s eyes went wide and her jaw nearly dropped in delight. “Really?! Thank you! That’s awesome!”

“I believe it’s just as much of a reward for me as it is for you. I’ll send for someone to find a room for you, for now why don’t you say hello to my Songstresses? I’m sure you’ll have much to talk about,” the King told her and got ready to signal for a servant.

“Yes, that is quite true~”

The singsong voice came from her side and Amethyst Star looked over to see the unicorn Songstress walking towards her, finally all five had left the comfortable looking sofa and were coming to say hi to her up close. The purple unicorn walked down the steps until she was only one above Amethyst Star while the other four hung back. Now that they were closer Amethyst Star could see that they were all wearing black choker’s with red hexagonal jewels on them, aside from the unicorn who had an octagonal red jewel half-again as large as the others.

If there was a word that described the expression on the other unicorn’s face right now it would be “smug”. She had a naturally haughty and self-important aura about her and the half-lidded eyes she looked down at Amethyst Star with only accentuated that. Amethyst Star spied a Cutie Mark on her flank of a bright nebula.

“So you’re really a friend of one of the Princesses? I’m sorry to ask, it’s not like I doubt you or anything, but we’ve never met anyone who personally knows them,” the unicorn asked her.

Amethyst Star fought back the urge to gulp. “Yep, that’s right. Known Twilight since before she even moved to Ponyville.” Oh Celestia, why did I say that?

“Wow, I’m truly impressed,” the unicorn gasped in awe while the other four calmly stood a few steps behind her, the earth ponies to her right and the pegasi to her left. “We’re just a group of singers who have had a run of good fortune lately, but you sound like a very special pony, it’s wonderful to meet you.” She stuck out her hoof for Amethyst Star to shake.

“W-Well, I don’t know about that...” Amethyst Star blushed and nervously faced away from her, but still shook her hoof.

“And modest too!” The unicorn giggled. “Well, allow me to introduce my lovely troupe to you.”

She looked to her right and gestured to the earth pony on the outside. A white mare with a thin face and a whispy sparkly blue mane and tail. She blinked at Amethyst Star with deep blue eyes.

“Diamond-”

She then pointed at the second earth pony, a caramel pony with a similarly thin face but very sharp red eyes that sat under a willowy mane of forest green hair.

“Emerald-”

Glancing to her left, the unicorn did the same with the pegasi, first pointing at the one standing on the outside. She was a red mare with a fiery yellow and orange mane tied in two thick braids with her tail done in another long braid. Her eyes were a strong violet and she kept shifting them back and forth.

“Topaz-”

The final of the four was a teal pegasus with a short white and black mane and tail. Her wings were constantly ruffling as her pupils tried to look everywhere but at Amethyst Star.

“Opal. And I-” the unicorn grinned as she stepped down the final step to at last get on Amethyst Star’s level. “Am Amethyst.”

This time Amethyst Star’s jaw did drop all the way. “Wait, for real?

Amethyst giggled at her reaction and nodded. “Mhm. I was almost as surprised to hear your name as I was to hear that you’re from Equestria too. You know, when we have more time I would love to hear what you have to say about the country and the Princess. We haven’t been home in a long while now, I’m afraid we’re a bit out of the loop.”

“Alright, sure. Whatever you want to know,” Amethyst Star said, her earlier brief apprehension when it came to the mares lifted by some simple courtesy and sweet words.

“Wonderful,” Amethyst replied. “You know, Amethyst Star, I think the two of us are going to become great friends here.”

Within less than an hour Amethyst Star had been designated a large suite that sat right by an outdoor corridor that bordered the extensive inner gardens of the castle. One of the King’s stewards had arrived in the throne room to show her to it with a promise from the King that the castle was hers to freely traverse. Amethyst Star could rest or do whatever she wanted for the rest of the day and sometime tomorrow the King would once again call on her and she could regale him with more stories of her travels and knowledge of Equestria. The rest of the nobles or whoever they were in the throne room also looked really interested to see more of Amethyst Star, she wouldn’t be surprised if some rumors were already floating through the castle about her. Amethyst Star really had to admit that she was looking forward to being the center of attention. Things had been going well here so far.

And the Songstresses seem nice, I wonder what part of Equestria they’re from? Hopefully they don’t know enough to figure out that I’ve been lying. Amethyst Star thought as her guide brought her to the door of her suite.

The well-dressed steward unlocked the heavy doors with a key and stood to the side to allow Amethyst Star entrance to her temporary residence. Which was by far the nicest place she was going to stay in so far on her journey. A large four-poster bed with a canopy sat in the middle of the back well, the puffy sheets and pillows overflowing off of it, while an armoire and beauty station was nestled against the wall to her left. There was also a round and ornately carved table with four expensive looking chairs around it by the beauty station, all of it standing on a thick rug. The right wall of the room was taken up by a large painting with a golden frame of some old pony wearing the same crown as the King. Must be a previous ruler.

“Wow, this is really nice,” Amethyst Star said as she stepped inside and looked around. Despite the fact that it probably hadn't been used in a while it was also completely clean and devoid of dust.

“I am glad it is up to your standards, the King will be pleased to hear that,” the steward bowed to her, allowing the doors to close as he also walked into the room. “This room is specifically known as the Garden Rose Suite. If you get lost in the castle you can mention that name to anyone and they’ll be able to give you directions back here. Furthermore-” he held up the key he had used to unlock it. “This will be yours as well. You can essentially see yourself as the owner of the room.”

The steward hoofed her over the key and Amethyst Star gleefully put it into her saddlebag.

“Awesome, thank you!” She smiled at the helpful steward.

Not one for simple pleasantries, he bowed stiffly to the pony far above his station and exited the suite. Amethyst Star then took the opportunity to shrug off her saddlebag, stretch her neck, and jump onto the fluffy bed like a filly.

“Hah! This is great!” She exclaimed as she rolled around on the soft and luxurious sheets. Silk? Cotton? She had no idea and she didn’t care. They felt good. Diminuendo was turning out better and better the more she got to know it. She could really envision herself spending a week—no—a month here. Just hanging out in the castle and basking in the glory and respect. She bet there was all kinds of stuff around the rest of the city too.

Amethyst Star stopped rolling around for a second as some previous thoughts caught up to her. “Hmm, no one mentioned anything about the Prince back there. Maybe the King just didn’t want to bring down the mood. That must have been his empty chair though.” Amethyst Star suddenly sat up, her eyes sparkling. “Maybe that’s my quest?! Find the missing Prince! They already think I’m some awesome explorer from Equestria, if I find their missing Prince that’ll totally prove it. Diminuendo really is giving me everything I wanted, here’s where I can show the world that Amethyst Star is not a pony meant to be overshadowed!”

She hopped off the bed and grabbed her saddlebag, throwing it up on the table in her room and then checking out the armoire and beauty station. Their drawers and cabinets were unsurprisingly empty of everything but some plain towels and handkerchiefs. They probably expected most people to be using this suite would be the types to bring all of their own clothes and beauty products. Amethyst Star didn’t really see the point in putting the stuff in her saddlebag away, not like any of it was meant to go in something like this either.

“I wonder what kind of suite the Songstresses have?” Amethyst Star wondered as she looked around her room some more. “They probably all got huge ones of their own. I should’ve asked them. And about what food there is to eat around here.” She walked over to the big painting of the previous king. “There’s actually a ton I still don’t know about Diminuendo, I did all the talking today, tomorrow I should try to learn as much as I can about the city.”

Feeling a bit energetic, she paced around the room for a little while after getting tired of looking at the painting. Amethyst Star was just wired from all the excitement today and it made her not want to simply turn in for bed yet. So because there were still a few hours before the sun went down and she was right here, she decided to go check out the gardens. All that was required was opening up her door and walking into the open-air corridor that separated the gardens from the interior of the castle. An opening in the corridor just a little ways down and she could walk out onto a path made of a series of stones embedded into the grass.

The gardens opened up before her, at first starting in a large courtyard that was bordered by the walls of the keep on three sides before taking up even more of the exterior castle grounds the further back you went.

“Wow, this is beautiful,” Amethyst Star said as she walked through the garden.

Pretty trees and flower bushes covered the grounds while marble and porcelain statues, benches, and bird baths also sat nestled in-between the overflowing greenery. Amethyst Star saw cherry blossom trees, willow trees, wisteria trees, all types that just added to the idyllic look and feeling of this garden, their leaves gently swaying in the slight breeze. There were all sorts of flowers that she could see too and a large series of hedges that separated different parts of the garden. Amethyst Star aimlessly walked around to look at as much of it as possible, it must take a lot of gardeners to keep this place in top form.

She walked over some cold grass that encircled a three-level fountain, the water gushing from the top into ever larger pools. If she wanted she could probably lie down in the grass and drift off to sleep right here. It was just that kind of spot. But her bed was too inviting to pass up and she still wanted to see more.

Amethyst Star ended up walking past rows and rows of tulips and lilies that came in all colors. She leaned down to smell them and was rewarded with a delightfully fragrant scent. The unicorn kept walking until she reached the end of the flowers, where a large tree covered by a puffy hedge around its base sat. Amethyst Star stood in front of it for a moment and looked out at the rest of the flowers nearby. They brought so much color and beauty to the garden, this really was a royal level place. Amethyst Star even started thinking it would be nice to visit Canterlot when she got home just to see the castle gardens there.

Her eyes glided across the other kinds of flowers. The carnations, the sunflowers, the iris’, the hydrangeas, and the-

Roses…

Amethyst Star looked directly ahead at a large rose bush blooming with some of the most vibrant red roses she had seen. They reminded her of something she could only vaguely recall. What was it? She didn’t know why but she frowned as she looked at the roses, they were beautiful but something was confusing her right now.

“Psst, hey.”

The pink and purple unicorn’s ears perked up as she heard the whispered voice of a mare. Her head darted around to see where it came from but she saw nothing.

“Down here.”

Amethyst Star turned around and dropped her gaze to see a pair of blue eyes peeking up at her from inside the bottom of the hedge.

“Uhhh… what? Who are you?” Amethyst Star was a bit confused.

The eyes disappeared as the mare stood up and popped her head out of the hedge, revealing herself to be a white unicorn with a yellow mane that had a single orange stripe running through it. She was wearing a cute black bow just off center behind her horn while directly above her left eye she had a thin scar running across her brow.

“My name is Daylight Gleam,” she pointed at Amethyst Star. “And you’re in danger.”

Meanwhile, in their luxurious tower suite, four of the Songstresses were panicking. Diamond ran around in circles, muttering about going to jail, while Emerald sat in the corner of the room and chewed on her mane. Topaz was nervously preening herself and continuously rearranging the feathers of her wings while Opal was half hiding in the bed, holding a pillow over her head.

“This is so bad, this is so bad! We never should’ve done this!” Diamond suddenly spoke louder to make sure everyone else could hear her. “What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know,” Topaz grimaced. “She said she personally knew the Princess, does she suspect us? Does she know who we are?”

“You heard her stories too, didn’t you?” Opal quietly said from under her pillow. “She’s amazing! This is terrible for us, what if she tells the Princesses or tries to stop us?”

The mood was quickly worsening for them, the four nervous ponies about to explode when finally the one pony in the room keeping her cool decided to speak up.

“Calm down you morons,” Amethyst said to the others, causing all four to stop what they were doing and stare at her. Looks ranging from scared to hopeful were on their faces, the four knew they had to trust in their leader here. “This isn’t a bad thing, this is a good thing. In fact this is perfect.” She started chuckling under her breath.

“How is this a good thing?” Topaz asked her.

“Think about it, actually, don’t. Just let me do the thinking for you, like always,” Amethyst smirked as she walked forward and patted Topaz on the head. “This pony is our in not only back to Equestria but directly to Princess Twilight Sparkle herself and thus the rest of the Princesses too. We’ll be able to return to Equestria sooner than we thought and be able to accelerate our plans at the same time. Stop being so panicky just because this dumb unicorn happened to show up at an important time. This is nothing but good fortune for us, girls.”

She gestured for all of them to come in close to her and they did, Amethyst using her deep violet magic to pull them all into a big group hug. “After all those failures things have finally turned around for the five of us. Just stay positive, stay calm, and do what I say, and soon Equestria will be ours for the taking.”

Delusions of Grandeur III

Amethyst Star hunkered down low as she walked through the hedge right behind Daylight Gleam, the two of them using it to stealthily traverse through the garden unseen. Apparently all of the hedges were grown so they had a space inside that could be used like this. Whether this was the intended purpose or not, Amethyst Star had no idea. But here she was anyways inside it at the request of this new pony. Perhaps she believed and listened to this pony too easily, but being told you’re in danger and then shown a secret passage? That sounded like the start to an adventure that Amethyst Star really wanted and had been anticipating happening in Diminuendo. And it really made her feel special to be called on like this.

“So what kind of danger am I in?” Amethyst Star asked her new companion.

“Shh, not now. You’ll be filled in when we get back to safety and reach everybody else,” Daylight responded.

Contrary to what one might think this didn’t worry or bother Amethyst Star at all. Instead she felt giddy thinking about how there was some big secret and they couldn’t safely talk outside like this. She wasn’t apprehensive at all about how this might be a trick either, so caught up in her adventure fantasies. She wondered where they needed to go and who that “everybody else” was. If she had a little more sense she’d understand that she should be taking this seriously and not just see it as another adventure or quest for her. Obviously something important and big was going on but the only thing she was doing was smiling about it.

This hedge went for a while and ended up connecting directly with one of the walls leading back into the large keep. Amethyst Star raised an eyebrow in confusion as she looked over Daylight Gleam’s shoulder, wondering where they were going after hitting this dead end. Daylight Gleam didn’t seem to think it was a problem though, she walked right up to the stone wall and stopped, checking back to see that Amethyst Star was still right behind her.

“Keep quiet, okay?” The white unicorn said to the pink one.

She then pressed one of the stones on the wall and the part that was concealed by the hedge depressed inwards before sliding away, revealing a secret passage that led back into the castle.

Amethyst Star’s jaw dropped. “Woah, awesome.” She said as quietly as possible.

“Come on, these passages are built throughout the entire castle, we can get almost anywhere by going through them,” Daylight Gleam beckoned to her and walked in.

Amethyst Star certainly didn’t need to be told twice. A secret door? A hidden passage? This just got better and better! What kinds of awesome things were hidden in this castle? And what was Daylight Gleam and the others she was working with doing that they needed to travel around in secret like this? She really couldn’t wait to find out. The passage itself was dark with a meager amount of light shining in from small holes along the sides and top of it but aside from that there was nothing to see anyways. Obviously these were built with function over form in mind and they probably needed to be as narrow and practical as possible to keep them fully hidden.

“How’d you find out about all of this?” Amethyst Star asked her.

“Our leader discovered them ages ago. You’ll understand when you meet him and the others,” Daylight enigmatically replied to her. “Until then you should still keep your voice low, there are places in the walls where you can be heard from the outside and we don’t want anybody else discovering these passages. It’s not as dangerous as speaking outside but we could still get caught.”

The unicorn from Ponyville decided she might as well clam up for now. She had a ton more questions but obviously they would soon get somewhere where she could ask this apparent leader. Of course one of her questions was who that was to begin with. But whatever, she slowly walked behind Daylight Gleam as they both made sure to keep at a pace that wouldn’t make the sound of their hooves on the stone floor reverberate throughout the passage. They had to make several turns as they followed the way the walls in the castle were built, it ended up being too much for Amethyst Star to keep track of and she quickly lost all sense of direction. They could be anywhere inside the castle now.

It still didn’t register to her that this could easily be a trap or something very bad, she did really want to ask how much longer it would take to get to their destination though.

That at least turned out to not be too long. Slightly ahead of them in the tunnel now Amethyst Star could see a wooden door. Daylight Gleam walked right up to it and gently knocked three times. In just a second the door was pulled open and Daylight walked inside, waving for Amethyst Star to come in too.

It was a dimly lit room that reminded her of a dungeon… or someone’s poorly kept basement. The floor was nothing but dirt and much like the tunnels there was only a dim amount of light coming from some narrow slits in the low ceiling. In the center of the room was a banged up wooden table with a few stools scattered around it. Not exactly much of a home base if this was it. On several of those stools though sat three ponies, they stood up upon Daylight and Amethyst Star coming in and along with the fourth pony who opened up the door they formed up in front of her while Daylight Gleam stood off to the side.

“Hello, Miss Amethyst Star. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” a young stallion said to her. He was a light green, almost white, unicorn with a dusty gray bowl cut for a mane and a Cutie Mark of sheet music. “I am Periwinkle, Prince of Diminuendo.”

Amethyst Star gaped in dumbstruck surprise at him. “You’re the missing Prince?!”

“So you have heard about my disappearance, good. I was hoping we wouldn’t have to prove that I am who I say I am to you,” he smiled.

“I heard it from someone in the city and then I saw your chair in the throne room,” Amethyst Star shrugged. “Kind of surprised your dad and mom didn’t mention anything about it to be honest.”

The mood immediately darkened after she said that, Amethyst Star glanced around at the sour looks on the other ponies faces and wondered if she accidentally just stepped on a landmine.

“There is a reason for that,” Periwinkle slowly said. “And it’s the reason we brought you here.”

“Okay, yeah, I could use an explanation or two cause I’m kind of confused right now,” Amethyst Star rubbed her forehead.

“Sit with us,” Periwinkle said and then walked back with the others to sit at their shoddy table. Amethyst Star doing as she was asked and taking up the last stool so all six of them had a seat.

She looked at the other three ponies she hadn’t been introduced to yet. One was a very old unicorn wearing a flowing red robe and wizard’s cap, despite his obvious age his eyes were still sharp and he moved without a sign of discomfort, a wispy white beard trailing under his chin. Another was a middle-aged yellow earth pony mare in a maid’s uniform with square-rim glasses and her black mane done up in a tight bun. The last, and the one that had opened the door, was an earth pony stallion in a guard’s uniform, his pumpkin orange coat reminding her of Birdseed. This guard had a light lilac colored mane and tail cut short.

“So you already know who I am?” Amethyst Star asked.

Periwinkle nodded. “We watched you from behind the walls in the throne room as you spoke to my father and mother. And met with the Songstresses.”

“Oh, little bit creepy but alright,” Amethyst Star grimaced.

“Sorry, but we’ve been forced to use these measures. It’s the only way for us to safely travel through the castle now,” Periwinkle apologized to her. “Thankfully the secret passages have been forgotten to time by most ponies, Brilliant Sky and I uncovered them a few years ago just for fun one summer.” Periwinkle looked over at the old unicorn.

The wizard nodded, a thin smirk on his face. “They’re the gift that keeps on giving.”

“I think she’d rather be told what’s going on here than hear about your childish adventures,” the maid reproachfully said, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her muzzle.

“Right, sorry,” Periwinkle agreed with the maid and then turned to Amethyst Star again. “In short, the five Songstresses you met have magically enslaved my father and mother.”

Amethyst Star blinked and tilted her head to the side. “What?”

Daylight Gleam sighed. “I told you she was going to be confused...”

The Prince cleared his throat. “Yes, well, the fact of the matter is that those Songstresses are why I’m in hiding. What did you think about them when you met them, Miss Amethyst Star?”

“Uh, I dunno, they seemed alright? Some of them were kind of skittish though,” she shrugged.

“Did you notice those red crystals they have around their necks?” Brilliant Sky asked her.

Amethyst Star nodded. “Yeah, I did. Thought it was just jewelry.

“Hardly,” Periwinkle frowned. “We don’t know how they got a hold of them but those are magical crystals that give the Songstresses the power to manipulate hearts and minds with their singing.”

Again, Amethyst Star was a bit surprised. “What?”

“Allow me to explain,” Brilliant Sky raised a hoof. “You see, those crystals are just like ones that were used by terrible monsters called Sirens years ago. These Sirens lived back in the age of Starswirl the Bearded and they terrorized the land until Starswirl and his friends banished them to another world. We don’t know how the Royal Songstresses got ahold of their own crystals but they’ve been using them the same way.”

“Wait, so are they Sirens too?” Amethyst Star asked.

“No, they are completely normal ponies,” Daylight Gleam shook her head.

“It was only a few weeks ago that they came to Diminuendo,” Periwinkle said. “We didn’t know about the danger at first until...” He trailed off as he glanced at Daylight Gleam.

She picked up right where he left off. “I had been tracking the five of them for a while, but by the time I got here it was too late. They had already taken up the guise of the Royal Songstresses and put the King, Queen, and most of the castle under their control. I was able to warn the Prince and we made a sneaky escape into these tunnels, and we’ve been hiding out in here and planning our next move ever since.”

“I didn’t think anything of their crystals when I first saw them, I thought they were jewelry just like you did,” Brilliant Sky shrugged. “But when Daylight Gleam came and told us of the danger I was able to put two and two together thanks to having read about the Sirens in the past. We were able to bring along the Prince’s personal maid and guard as well before they fell victim to the Songstresses mind control.”

“Tasky,” the maid said to Amethyst Star with nothing more than a blink for hello.

“Gilded Shield,” the guard bowed his head slightly to her.

“Hi, nice to meet you,” Amethyst Star waved to the two of them. She then looked at Periwinkle. “So, like, what’s going on now? Do you have some sort of plan for stopping them? And not that I’m not grateful but why’d you bother with rescuing me from them? If this is about Diminuendo then would they even care about me?”

“We decided to bring you into our fold for several reasons,” Periwinkle said. “First off, yes, they would brainwash you anyways. They want as many under their control as possible. And secondly we’re not actually sure why they’re doing all of this. We don’t know what their real objective is, for now it just seems like they want to take over Diminuendo but I doubt that’s all or that they really even planned that in the first place.”

“I believe they mostly just stumbled upon Diminuendo and made things up as they went along,” Daylight Gleam said. “Judging from the path they took I think this is the first place they found after acquiring their crystals and chose it for no reason other than convenience. Their true goal lies elsewhere.”

Amethyst Star nodded along. “Alright, well thanks for telling me about this before they brainwashed me.”

“We definitely didn’t want them to get control over someone as important as you, who personally knows one of Equestria’s Princesses and is on an important mission right now,” Brilliant Sky said.

“Uh, yeah. Right,” Amethyst Star did her best not to sweat. “So what’s the plan for defeating the Songstresses?” The unicorn really wanted to get this awesome adventure started, she was pretty eager for anything that might be action-packed.

“We have a few steps to take,” Periwinkle said. He looked over at the old wizard once more. “Sky? The earplugs?”

Brilliant Sky nodded and reached into his robe pulling out a rectangular box and placing it onto the table. Opening it up Amethyst Star saw about a dozen sets of tiny green earplugs inside it.

“Earplugs?” She raised an eyebrow at the others.

“Magic earplugs. My own creation,” Brilliant Sky elaborated.

“These will block the magical powers of the Songstresses while still allowing you to hear normally otherwise,” Periwinkle said as he held up a pair. “Or at least that’s what they’re supposed to do. For obvious reasons we’ve been unable to test them. Which brings us to another reason as to why we’ve contacted you...”

Amethyst Star blinked a few times as her mind slowly processed what had just been said. “Wait...”

“To put it simply, we need you to test to make sure these earplugs work,” Daylight Gleam told her.

“Uhh, that sounds kind of dangerous if the whole magically brainwashing thing is true,” Amethyst Star was not behind this one-hundred percent.

“I’m sorry but they know all of us, you’re the only one who can do this. They’re definitely going to try and turn you soon no matter what anyways,” Periwinkle said. “This is really the best option for you as well. We know that my father is going to hold a feast tomorrow where you and a number of other important and influential ponies from Diminuendo will be attending. At that feast my father will “ask” the Songstresses to perform and they’ll put everyone there under their control all at once.”

“We’ve been spying on the Songstresses as well,” Gilded Shield told her.

“Okay well that’s all well and good but then what am I supposed to do even if these work and I’m not brainwashed? Won’t they notice?” Amethyst Star threw out.

“You’ll just have to act like the brainwashing worked,” Periwinkle shrugged.

“Well… I mean I guess I don’t know what else we could do. But then what about after that? Like how are we supposed to actually stop them and rescue everyone from their control?” The pink and purple unicorn asked.

Periwinkle and Daylight Gleam shared an uncertain look with each other before the Prince responded to her question. “We feel it’s best not to tell you any of our other plans in case you’re compromised.

“Oh. Okay,” Amethyst Star flatly stared at them.

“Sorry, it’s just a precaution. This is too important,” Periwinkle frowned apologetically and shook his head. “As a measure of trust and friendship though, I will tell you that our plan will be sprung into action when the Songstresses perform their concert in a few days. And if everything goes well you will be playing an important part in it.”

That was more than enough to make Amethyst Star smiled widely. People weren’t underestimating her! They were even relying on her! Sure it might’ve partially been because of her lies but that didn’t change the fact that these ponies needed her. And the more they talked about all of this the more it became apparent that this was the first time she was someplace where the kind of major adventure was going on that she had wanted to participate in from the start of her journey. The quest was right in front of her and all she needed to do was accept! Things were coming up Amethyst Star!

“You know what? I’ll do it. If you guys really need my help then I can’t refuse, can I?” She smugly smiled at the other ponies.

“Thank you, we’re really counting on you at this point,” Periwinkle let out a relieved sigh and slumped over on his stool.

Daylight Gleam was still regarding her a little suspiciously but she didn’t say anything. Whatever thoughts were going through the white unicorn’s head she kept them to herself.

“I guess I’ll try these on,” Amethyst Star said as she reached into the box of earplugs and pulled out a pair, quickly pushing them into her ears. “They aren’t noticeable are they? This whole thing would go down in flames pretty quickly if they can just see me wearing these.”

“Don’t worry, they aren’t noticeable at all,” Brilliant Sky reassured her.

Amethyst Star’s ears perked up and she grinned, turning to face the old unicorn. “Hey! I heard that! Well they at least let me hear stuff normally just fine so we know that half is working.” They started feeling a little itchy and uncomfortable in her ears though, she brought up a hoof and started scratching and poking at them. “Ugh, they don’t feel very pleasant.”

“Stop that, you might knock them out!” Brilliant Sky frowned at her and pulled down her hoof.

“Right, right, I won’t,” Amethyst Star winced and wiggled her ears a few times to try and make them feel okay.

“You should head back to your room now so no one notices you’re missing,” Daylight Gleam said. “I can take you right back to the gardens.”

“Awesome,” Amethyst Star looked over at Periwinkle. “Don’t worry about anything, I’ll make sure to succeed on this quest.”

Periwinkle furrowed his brow and for the first time he looked a little put off at her. “Quest? What do you mean, quest? This isn’t some charade, this is serious.”

Amethyst Star realized she might have said something a little dumb, out of the corner of her eye she could also see Daylight looking at her oddly too, as if she was beginning to suspect that maybe Amethyst Star wasn’t all she said to be. If they were listening in the throne room she had painted quite the exuberant picture of herself, so if she didn’t act the part of a veteran and serious explorer who was undertaking a mission for Princess Twilight the five of them might realize that she hadn’t quite been speaking the truth.

“Uh, yeah, ehem,” she cleared her throat. “I know. I just don’t like to get too serious you know? Gotta stay calm in situations like this.” She attempted to explain, rubbing the back of her neck and averting her gaze, hoping that didn’t also make her too obvious.

The others were silent for a moment and Amethyst Star worried that they weren’t going to buy it and everything was going to fall apart right here.

But then Periwinkle stiffly nodded. “Right. Well, you should get some rest now. We won’t be able to watch over you tomorrow at the feast, we can’t take the risk of the Songstress’s magic affecting us.”

“It would be best if you waited in your room until the steward comes back for you,” Brilliant Sky said.

Amethyst Star fervently nodded and stood up. “Yep, that sounds good! I’ll do that.” She looked over at Daylight Gleam. “So back to the gardens?”

The white unicorn blankly stared at her for a moment before nodding and beginning her walk back to the door they came in from. Amethyst Star mentally wiped the sweat from her brow, happy that she was able to keep that bomb from going off. She was sure they probably didn’t really expect anything. And even if they did Amethyst Star was going to make sure nothing got in the way of this awesome adventure that had unfolded for her in Diminuendo.

Delusions of Grandeur IV

Amethyst Star had a lot to think about that night when she returned to her suite. She had just learned a ton of important stuff and it was all tumbling around in her head. She should probably just sleep but she couldn’t help thinking about her awesome new adventure. There was a lot of stuff to worry about too but she was attempting to ignore that. Instead she rolled around under her covers in pure excitement. Everything she had been dreaming about and wanting was coming to her, everything she needed to prove to her friends and everyone else was right here in Diminuendo. When she learned about the Songstresses it was a little upsetting, Amethyst seemed really nice, but if they were evil and trying to brainwash everyone through magical singing then nothing could really be done about that. Amethyst Star would have to stop them because she was a hero on an adventure!

She took the earplugs out and set them on a tiny nightstand that was beside her bed, those things were way too uncomfortable to sleep in and since she might have to wear them all day tomorrow she wanted as much time without them as possible. Her excitement still didn’t leave so easily but eventually she did manage to fall asleep when the exhaustion from her very long day came to her. Amethyst Star’s eyes slowly closed and she drifted off to sleep, dreaming of the adventure that was to come.

The tired unicorn ended up sleeping well past noon, making an absolute mess of her bed and the covers by the time she woke up. The sheets were all twisted up and pillows were strewn all over the bed and on the floor around her. It definitely wasn’t a very good fit for the luxurious suite but what was she supposed to do about her sleeping habits? She was just happy to feel actually well rested and comfortable, the high-quality bed had really done wonders for her battered, tired, and sore body. Even with the trouble she had relaxing the night before this was by far the best night’s sleep she had had on her journey.

In fact it was so nice that she didn’t even wake up naturally. The only reason she was finally rising right now was because a pony was knocking on her door.

“Oh,” Amethyst Star blinked the sleep out of her eyes, yawning as she got up and shook her head before hopping off of the bed. “Just one second!” She called out to whoever it was on the other side of the door and the knocking abated for now.

Amethyst Star trotted over to the beauty station and looked in her mirror. Her mane was frazzled and little strands of hair were sticking out everywhere but that was nothing a hoof with a little spit on it couldn’t handle. Not the most high class way to groom herself but it’s all she had and it’s not like anybody else saw her doing it. After a minute she figured she looked as good as she was going to and shrugged, stepping away from the mirror and walking over to her door now to finally answer the knocker.

“Sorry I took so long,” she said as she pulled open the door.

Unsurprisingly it was the steward from yesterday who greeted her. “That’s quite alright. I am here to serve and wait on you when requested, after all.”

Amethyst Star looked into his eyes for a moment. Was he brainwashed too? He must be, but did that mean the Songstresses were controlling everything he did or just letting the King still give him orders? The brainwashing was kind of confusing if she thought about it. Maybe everyone just acted normally unless the Songstresses gave them a direct order. Maybe it was like a trigger and they couldn’t resist anything the Songstresses said and didn’t even realize what they were doing?

“Is something wrong?” He asked.

“Huh?” Amethyst Star blinked, realizing she had been staring. “Oh, no, not at all. Sorry. So, uh, what’s up?”

“I have been sent to inform you that a lunch feast is being held shortly and the King and Queen would like for you to be there,” he told her.

Just like what they said. Amethyst Star pondered. It seems this was going to be the first big moment for her. She was slightly worried that either the earplugs wouldn’t work or that she wouldn’t be able to convincingly act like she had been affected by the brainwashing. But she’d have to jump over those hurdles as they came.

Amethyst Star smiled at him. “Sounds great, when does it start?”

“Very soon, we should leave now.”

“Got it, just uh, just let me grab some things first? I need to freshen up a little too.”

“Of course,” he closed his eyes and bowed, stepping back from the doorway as Amethyst Star closed it.

“Okay,” she said and turned around to look at her saddlebag. “Would it be wrong to bring my stuff to a feast? But I need to carry my key...” She looked past the bed at the nightstand and saw her earplugs on it. “Can’t forget those either. Really.” Amethyst Star bit her lip but eventually figured there was no harm in bringing her saddlebag with her, she checked to make sure her key was still inside it and went over to get her earplugs and put them in, wincing in discomfort immediately from how they felt. “Ugh, these are awful but I probably should keep them in until I’m back here.” Amethyst Star threw her saddlebag on too and checked herself out in the mirror one last time before she was ready to go.

“Looking good,” she smirked. “Looking like a pony about to save the day.”

She opened up the door to her suite and walked out, locking it behind her as she kept that confident smirk on her face. Amethyst Star looked up at her steward and tilted her head. “Well? Where to?”

Where to ended up being a long walk up a tall tower, the “King’s Tower”, as the steward called it because apparently up on top was the King and Queen’s royal bedchamber. They’d be dining in an exquisite drawing room located right below it that had been temporarily furnished with a long table for everyone to eat at. The drawing room had one barred window that looked out in the direction of the castle’s gardens and was for the moment letting in plenty of bright sunlight. As befitting of a room the King entertained his guests in it was also full of expensive looking tapestries, paintings, and a gold and jewel encrusted chandelier that hung from the ceiling directly over the table.

A quick look around also told Amethyst Star that she was the last to arrive.

The King and Queen sat side by side at the head of the table and the rest of the spots were filled up by other ponies aside from one seat at the other end of the table that directly faced the King and Queen. Amethyst Star was a bit embarrassed to realize that that was her spot. Was she really the guest of honor? It was flattering for sure but weren’t these all supposed to be really important and powerful ponies in Diminuendo?

“Uh, hi. Pleased to meet you all,” Amethyst Star waved to the assembled ponies.

“Miss Amethyst Star! Wonderful to see you again!” The King briefly stood up from his seat as he greeted her. “Please, take your seat, this is going to be a feast to remember!”

She didn’t doubt that.

Amethyst Star sat down, placing her saddlebag next to her chair, and looked at the other ponies joining her for this feast. They were all well-dressed and very proper looking. The type of ponies that would fit right in in Canterlot. She already felt out of place but since she was supposed to be an emissary of Princess Twilight’s she had to act as comfortable as possible. The King would probably ask for her to tell more stories to him and everybody else as well.

“Everyone, this is the adventurer from another kingdom, personally sent on a quest by her ruler!” The King stated to the other ponies at the table.

A chorus of “Oohs” and “Ahs” rang out and the assembled elites clapped and smiled for her. Amethyst Star blushed from the praise and attention.

“T-Thanks...” she said, turning away and looking around the rest of the room she then realized something else.

Where are the Songstresses?

Were they not going to eat as well? It seemed weird that the King didn’t have them as honored guests too considering how they were supposedly really popular in the rest of Diminuendo right now. Well, not like he was the one deciding any of this. Maybe the Songstresses just wanted to come in at the end for their song and brainwashing. Technically she wasn’t even supposed to know that they were going to be here.

“The food will be arriving up from the kitchen at any moment and then we can begin the festivities, it’s been so long since I’ve seen some of you and I’m going to enjoy catching up,” the King said and then looked down the table at Amethyst Star. “And our other esteemed guest has a number of exciting stories to entertain us with throughout the feast as well.”

Well I still have some things I can talk about… plenty to exaggerate with all the crazy things that have happened to me. Amethyst Star thought as she tightly grinned at all the other ponies now looking at her.

The King was correct about the food, which arrived a moment later and allowed for Amethyst Star to have a momentary reprieve. Servants brought out numerous dishes and carts that were full of the most delicious looking soups, salads, pies, quiches, and fruit as fresh looking as apples right from Sweet Apple Acres. She had already gotten to enjoy the best bed of her journey and now she was going to be able to enjoy the best meal of her journey.

In the middle of it all she still had to regale the other attendees with her tales, some of them just adjustments of things that had actually happened to her while other things she made up completely because she had run out of things to say. No matter what it was though she made sure to stress that she handled everything perfectly and always came out of every tough situation smelling like roses. To these ponies she was exactly how she saw herself. She was going to make sure they had the “right” view of her and didn’t look down on or underestimate her. Not like everybody else either back home or that she’d met in other places out in the Undiscovered West.

“-And that’s how I saved Fire Vent,” Amethyst Star finished up her latest yarn.

“Oh my, what a marvelous adventure!” A posh and older mare wearing a regal purple dress sitting next to her said. “I was so afraid when you mentioned those evil dragons that started attacking but you dealt with them brilliantly!”

“Yes. Yes I did,” Amethyst Star nodded.

“I told you all she had such magnificent stories,” the King cheerfully said as he downed a goblet of wine.

“It’s truly a treat to meet an outsider,” a mustachioed stallion wearing a monocle who sat right next to the Queen said. “And even moreso when it’s one so gallant as this.”

“Yeah...” Amethyst Star felt a little bit bad now. And a little bit upset because she knew what was about to happen to these ponies but she couldn’t, shouldn’t, do anything about it. If she did try warning them would they even believe her? And that would just clue the Songstresses and those they’ve brainwashed in on how she knew what they were up to. It pained her, especially since these ponies were all really nice and appreciative of her, but she couldn’t tip her hoof just yet. She had to let the Songstresses come and perform, brainwashing the others.

“And speaking of outsiders, I didn’t just call you all to this feast for no reason!” The King exclaimed. “As you all know there are others who so recently came to our kingdom of Diminuendo as well. My new Royal Songstresses! I have asked them to put on a special performance for you all. As my treat to you.”

The reaction from the other ponies was a series of shocked and pleased gasps, and Amethyst Star realized that she should be reacting in the same way. She tried to fake her surprise and excitement just as well as the others and hoped that no one noticed how her eyes kept darting back in forth in their sockets. The ponies now actually seemed even happier than when they learned who Amethyst Star was. And that didn’t make her jealous at all. At all. I mean it was only natural since the Songstresses were basically celebrities already and they were bringing more than just stories to the table. This feast was about to turn into a show.

Only it was going to be far more serious and nefarious than any simple song performance.

“Since it seems we’re just about done eating...” the King clapped his hooves three times.

That must’ve been the signal because the Songstresses emerged from the door and stairs leading up to the Royal Bedchambers, the five mares walking out into the drawing room with alluring smiles on their faces. Amethyst Star stared at each and every one of them, wishing that it wasn’t true that they were evil but knowing that it was most likely the case. She looked at the smug expression and upturned nose of Amethyst. A pony who looked like she had a secret scheme to enact if there ever was one.

The five Songstresses arrayed themselves on the side of the room away from the window, letting their shadows drape over the far wall. Amethyst in the center of course, flanked by Diamond and Emerald with Topaz and Opal on the outside. Amethyst Star looked at the red crystals they all wore, apparently the magical keys to all of this.

“Hello my beloved citizens of Diminuendo,” Amethyst purred. “It is my pleasure to put on this performance for you.”

The snide smirk that forced its way onto her face after she said that told Amethyst Star that it certainly wasn’t a lie.

“Call it a special treat. A privilege for the elites of society before our grand concert in two days.” the unicorn Songstress said. “My lovely companions and I will now sing a ballad of ephemeral enchantment that will warm your bodies and souls and open your minds to a new realm of being.”

Huh? Amethyst Star tilted her head at the absurdly flowery words.

She nor anyone else had the time to think about that though as immediately after, Amethyst and the other Songstresses began to sing. It started with a low hum, then rose to a higher pitch as they wordlessly serenaded everyone in the room. If their songs had lyrics there were none used yet, the Songstresses merely using the sounds of their exquisite voices to enchant the ponies here. The chorus of the Songstresses as they brought this opening movement to a higher and louder crescendo without even taking a breath was beautiful. Amethyst Star was pretty sure that whatever magic accompanied their singing wasn’t affecting her but even then she still found their performance breathtaking.

The mood of the song quickly shifted as both Diamond and Emerald changed to a surprisingly deep contralto while Topaz and Opal used a falsetto, the dueling and clashing voices somehow still coming together to absorb the ears of all that heard them. It was… harmony. Now that Amethyst Star realized it and listened to more of their singing she noticed that somehow, no matter what they did or how they sung, it all mended together perfectly. An unnatural medley that shouldn’t work but somehow did. If Amethyst Star was more in tune with the world of music and singing she would’ve even been able to pick out when the Songstresses were off key or missed their mark, only for another one to automatically cover for them or change the tempo of the song to hide it or impossibly fold it into the ballad.

Amethyst Star was enjoying the music she heard right as Amethyst reached a splitting soprano coda, automatically tapping her hoof on the floor, when she remembered that she needed to see how the others were reacting. Were they being brainwashed right now? Was she brainwashed and she just didn’t know it?

A look at the other guests allayed those last fears at least.

The other ponies stared at the performance like a bunch of dead-eyed zombies. Their jaws hung open and their faces were bereft of emotion or thought, they were dolls, empty, enraptured. Controlled. Whatever magic the singing possessed it was clearly working on everyone but Amethyst Star. Well she knew the earplugs worked now. So that was good. Sort of. It still meant that the Songstresses were clearly evil and now everyone else here was enthralled by their power. Amethyst Star needed to start acting the same way, less the Songstresses notice she wasn’t brainwashed when they finished their song.

She replicated the slack-jawed vacancy of the other ponies while the Songstress quintet finished up their performance, the sundering melody coming to a close with all five of them closing their mouths and taking a deep breath. The quiet and understated finale a far cry from the shifting tempo and loud chorus that was the rest of the song.

Amethyst Star didn’t move or say anything though, she just looked directly at Amethyst and hoped that she looked as brainwashed and inebriated as the rest of the guests.

The Songstresses smiled and looked at each other, some of them even giddily excited. Finally a low chuckle began to emerge from Amethyst’s throat before morphing into full-blown evil laughter.

“Ahahahaha! Yes, yes! These crystals are perfect! Our magical singing is unbeatable!” She yelled and grinned at the other Songstresses. “Well girls? What did I tell you? Now even the unicorn from Equestria is under our control, and it was so easy.”

“What was that stuff about ‘a ballad of ephemeral enchantment’?” Topaz asked her leader with a confused look.

Amethyst shrugged. “We are the Royal Songstresses after all. I wanted to dress things up.”

“I guess you were right about it being easy...” Diamond hesitantly said as she walked up to the table to check out the newly brainwashed guests, even the King and Queen had completely frozen up. “Yeesh, they always look so creepy like this.”

“I know, right?” Opal said. “Let’s hurry up and turn them back to normal, I can’t stand them staring at us.”

“Oh relax,” Amethyst rolled her eyes. “But very well. First thing’s first though.”

The evil unicorn walked right up to Amethyst Star, who did her best not to sweat or move at all.

“You, my dear fellow unicorn from Equestria, are so important,” Amethyst reached up a hoof to rub Amethyst Star’s cheek. “The key to our true goal. And you willingly came right to us, how fortunate. I wasn’t sure how exactly we were going to proceed from here but then we were blessed with you. Things truly are turning around for me—us. You can head back to your little suite for now though, the five of us need to clean up here and talk with our other slaves first.” She giggled malevolently. “But in a little bit we’ll come to see you, and then you can learn what your true purpose is. Now go, act normal as you were before our magic conquered your mind.”

At her command Amethyst Star acted like she had just been snapped out of some kind of hypnosis. She hopped out of her chair and smiled at the Songstresses.

“Thanks for the lovely performance!” She said to them and walked out of the drawing room, the moment she turned her head a horrified frown appeared on her face and she struggled her hardest to not falter or shake with every step.

“I am so going to need to relax after that,” Amethyst Star said to herself as she stood in front of her door, hoof unsteadily rooting through her saddlebag trying to find the key to her suite. “Thank Celestia they didn’t notice the earplugs, and that those things worked.” She finally fished out the key and stuck it in the lock, opening up the door with a relieved sigh and walking in.

To see Daylight Gleam standing in front of her bed.

“Wagh!” Amethyst Star yelped in surprise and fell back onto her butt. “You scared me!”

Daylight Gleam rolled her eyes. “Sorry, can you close the door? Periwinkle wanted me to make sure things went alright. Judging by how you’re acting it looks like things went okay.”

“Yeah, they did,” Amethyst Star frowned but got up and closed the door, leaving the two of them alone in her suite. “And how did you get in here? The door was locked.”

The white unicorn nodded towards the painting of the old king on the wall. “There’s another secret passage behind the painting.”

“Creepy,” Amethyst Star grimaced at the painting and went to put her saddlebag on the table.

“I guess this is a good sign about the earplugs. No problem from them?” Daylight asked her.

“Aside from being uncomfortable?” Amethyst Star removed them from her ears and put them next to her saddlebag.

“And the Songstresses were fooled?”

Amethyst Star snorted. “I don’t think I’d be here otherwise if they weren’t.”

“Fair enough. That’s really good to hear though,” Daylight sighed in relief and walked over to hold up the earplugs in her magic. “Brilliant Sky really gave it his all to make these, without them we’d be doomed. Hopefully in two days at the concert we can finally set things right and stop the Songstresses.”

“Speaking of that, are you ready to tell me what the plan is?” Amethyst Star asked her.

“I think Periwinkle will tell you. There shouldn’t be a problem now that we know everything works. But first,” Daylight Gleam set the earplugs down and looked into Amethyst Star’s eyes with a frown on her face. “I wanted to ask you some things.”

“Uhhh, like what?” Amethyst Star didn’t like the sound of that. She fidgeted a bit and tried to look away from Daylight’s piercing gaze.

“You’re not who you say you are, are you? Sorry, but after watching you and speaking with you I just can’t believe that you’re some important explorer sent on a mission by Princess Twilight herself. I don’t think you even actually know her. I’ve met a lot of important ponies from Equestria and you don’t fit the same bill as them,” the white unicorn accused.

All of that was naturally something that made Amethyst Star angry.

“Hey! What makes you think I couldn’t be that, or that I’m not like any other pony who’s special and awesome? I totally could be!” She narrowed her eyes at the other unicorn and started poking her in the chest.

“Well first off, the way you’re reacting now. Secondly, I know blowhards when I see them, and you are a blowhard,” Daylight snidely responded.

Amethyst Star fumed. “That is totally not true! I’m still here doing all I can to help Diminuendo, I don’t need anyone doubting me! Where do you get off complaining? The fact is that I’m still working with you and doing just as good of a job at taking care of the Songstresses as you and the others. I’m important!”

“The only reason you’re not brainwashed now is-”

Daylight didn’t get to finish that sentence as the sound of hooves walking right outside the door to the suite reached their ears.

“Oops,” Amethyst Star winced. “I forgot to tell you that the Songstresses were gonna be coming by soon.”

Before anything else could be done the door was pulled open and the Songstresses strutted inside, not bothering with knocking. Amethyst Star thought they were done for but when she glanced over at where Daylight Gleam had been standing there was only empty space. The white unicorn had vanished without a trace.

Where’d she go? Amethyst Star wondered.

She didn’t have the time to dwell on that though as Amethyst glided over the carpet to her. “Well, I’m quite glad that didn’t take so long, now the six of us can speak.” The evil unicorn grinned at her. “Since you can’t help but listen to my commands now you can just sit back and relax, I’ll tell you all about your special mission that only you can accomplish for us.”

Amethyst Star vacantly nodded, trying her best to act like she was truly enthralled.

Wait… my earplugs aren’t in. If they use their magic at all again…

She just had to ignore that dangerous possibility.

“You, my dear sweet Amethyst Star, are going to return to Equestria in just a few short days,” she said as the other four Songstresses stood behind her, all of them smiling at Amethyst Star. “Once you return to your beloved Princess Twilight, you will tell her all about the amazing Songstresses you met out here. In fact, you’ll start planning a big arrival for us. A concert for Canterlot where every Princess will attend! It’ll be just like here and it’ll go off even smoother all thanks to you!”

She stepped back and hugged Emerald, nuzzling the earth pony. “Oh we had plans for getting back to Equestria and taking it over but they would’ve taken so long and been so much more dangerous. Diminuendo was going to be our home for a long time, at least we thought so, but now it’ll be nothing more than a nice summer retreat once we take our true place in Equestria.” Amethyst detached herself from Emerald and started patting Topaz on the head. “Diminuendo was supposed to be a long term test run for our powers. How long they worked, how strong the brainwashing was, how many we could control at once. And as it turns out the more we control the stronger we get and the power of our magic is limitless. We were thinking maybe we could put on smaller concerts in Equestria and slowly convert as many ponies as possible when we first came back, but now we can completely circumvent all of that! That’s your mission, Amethyst Star!”

Amethyst walked forward and grabbed her by the shoulders. “My key to Equestria. Our key to ruling our home! Do you understand?”

Once more, Amethyst Star nodded.

“Good!” Amethyst hugged her, a satisfied chuckle coming from her throat at the same time. “Be sure to come to the concert in two days, you can enjoy our music one last time before you make your return trip to Equestria.”

Amethyst and the other Songstresses turned to leave the suite, each giving a little wave to Amethyst Star. Once it sounded like they had gone far enough away, Amethyst Star fell to the ground, her legs like jelly and sweat running down her brow.

“That was close...” Amethyst Star whispered.

“I’ll say.”

Amethyst Star looked up to see Daylight Gleam standing right where she had been. “What the? Where—how?”

“Magic,” the white unicorn simply responded. “My special talent revolves around light. I can use my magic to bend the light around me to appear invisible.”

“Oh, so you were just standing there the whole time?”

“Yes. And hoping they didn’t use their magic. I didn’t have earplugs in either.”

Amethyst Star sighed and stood back up. “Lucky us then. So what now?”

Daylight Gleam regarded her for a moment and Amethyst Star had to wonder if they were going to restart their fight. But Daylight didn’t seem to have any interest in that anymore. “We’ll go talk with Periwinkle and the others. Suffice to say we do need you. And yes, we are all on the same side here. So despite my reservations I won’t be doing anything, I just hope you’re prepared for something like this.”

“Of course I am,” Amethyst Star said to her and the two opened up the painting on the wall and headed into the secret passage. Rest would’ve been nice but an important meeting now took precedence.

Delusions of Grandeur V

They had to go through a completely different series of passages and sneak through some empty rooms and halls but eventually the two unicorns made it back to the meeting place Amethyst Star had been to just yesterday. The gang was all here once again, in fact it was quite possible that the four others never even left in the first place. They were all more than eager to hear about the effectiveness of the earplugs and learn what the Songstresses had planned for Diminuendo. Although on that latter front it ended up being disappointing for them to learn that the Songstresses didn’t even really care about this kingdom at all, it was nothing more than a stepping-stone to Equestria for them originally. It would’ve been nice to know that if it meant the Songstresses were planning to just leave it alone completely now but that wasn’t the case at all. They still planned on controlling Diminuendo and all its citizens so the six ponies gathered here still needed to stop them no matter what.

“Regardless of everything else I’m glad my earplugs work as intended. Of all the little trinkets I’ve created over the years these are probably going to end up being the most important,” Brilliant Sky said.

“Well you’re not as glad as me,” Amethyst Star told him as she sat down at their old table.

“I can imagine,” Periwinkle said to her. “But still, this is essentially nothing but good news for us. The Songstresses plan doesn’t make things any more difficult for us than we already thought it would be. The concert is all that matters now and thanks to these earplugs and Amethyst Star we have our pathway to victory.”

Amethyst Star’s smile threatened to split across her whole face. “Oh, yeah, well it’s no trouble. I mean I’m just awesome like that, no need to thank me, it’s just what a pony like me is supposed to do. I’m friends with the Princess and this kind of thing is just what she’d expect.” She put her hooves behind her head and leaned back.

The other five just looked at her.

The Prince blinked once.

“Are you an idiot?” Periwinkle asked her.

Daylight Gleam let out a loud sigh and shook her head.

“Hey! I’m not an idiot!” Amethyst Star got up and yelled at him, rather miffed. “I totally just helped you all too so what’s with that?”

“I just think you’re completely lying about everything you’ve said when it comes to your adventure and knowing Princess Twilight,” Periwinkle responded, unwavering.

“You are a bit odd,” Gilded Shield added.

“I know how ponies in your station are supposed to behave, and you do not fit the bill of a royal appointee,” Tasky emotionlessly stated.

Amethyst Star looked between all of them while she fumed and ground her teeth down to dust. They were all clearly in agreement with each other on this and it just made her so mad! Everyone should see her as amazing, that’s how she painted herself in the throne room but now they were all just doubting her even though she’d actually been helping them out and doing a good job! It was like the opposite of everywhere else on her journey. How was this fair?!

“Okay, okay! Fine, you want the truth? I lied! I’m not some emissary of Princess Twilight’s, I’m just some random pony who decided to go out on an adventure! Happy?!” She exploded.

“Not particularly,” Periwinkle said. “Your adventuring as well, just how much did you lie about?”

“Uhhh… I mean most everything I said happened,” Amethyst Star cleared her throat. “It’s just what I did that may have been slightly altered.”

“Oh no...” Periwnkle facehooved and shook his head.

Amethyst Star furrowed her brow at the Princes, already more than annoyed. “You don’t have to react like that you know? I’ve still been nothing but successful here for you guys. Geez, I heard you were supposed to be this really nice and helpful Prince.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “My apologies if I’m currently a little stressed by my kingdom and all its people being in grave danger.”

“Well still, it’s not like I’ve given you any reason to look down on me. Haven’t I helped you all a ton by now?” Amethyst Star argued.

“She has a point, sire. Despite what she may have done in the past she has done nought but good since coming here and she has a pivotal role to play in our plans for the concert,” Brilliant Sky said to Periwinkle.

“Yeah, that’s another thing!” Amethyst Star raised her hoof and pointed at the Prince. “Are you guys finally gonna tell me what you’re planning to do to stop the Songstresses? I just put myself in danger by testing out these earplugs, I think I deserve to know.”

“We were planning on telling you, relax. You’re right that you’ve earned it,” Daylight Gleam said.

“Good,” Amethyst Star blew a puff of air out of her nose and sat back down, this time dejectedly folding her arms across her chest and looking away.

Periwinkle rolled his eyes but saw no further reason to argue with the out of town mare. He walked to the head of the table so he could directly face everyone else at once. “Take your seats. We’ll go over everything now to make sure we’re all on the same page. Not only will Miss Amethyst Star learn what she needs to do but we’ll iron out the details as well, because as you all know there can be absolutely no mistakes.”

Amethyst Star and the others stayed quiet and leaned in to pay attention. The Prince really gave off a powerful and royal aura right now as he commanded the ears and minds of the other ponies in the room.

“When the Songstresses are performing their concert at the Major Auditorium in two days we’ll attack and destroy their crystals, ending their mind control and putting a stop to them,” Periwinkle said.

Since she already had a question, Amethyst Star raised her hoof in the air and asked it. “What’s the Major Auditorium?”

“It’s a massive auditorium built behind the castle,” Brilliant Sky answered. “The stage is extravagant and the grounds can fit thousands of ponies. The entire city will file in for that concert.”

Amethyst Star nodded in understanding as Periwinkle continued.

“The Songstresses know that us five are still hiding somewhere, likely plotting against them, and their brainwashed guards will be able to pick us out of that crowd easily once we get closer to them. But they don’t know that not only is Amethyst Star not under their control but that she’s working with us,” Periwinkle looked directly into her eyes. “You’re going to be our secret weapon.”

“You see,” Daylight Gleam took over. “Their leader, Amethyst, wears the command crystal. I’m sure you noticed how it was bigger than the others? If that crystal is destroyed the rest will shatter as well.”

“Okay, I’m following so far,” Amethyst Star said to the two unicorns leading the conversation.

Daylight Gleam continued. “I have a spell to destroy that crystal. But. I need to put a lot of magical power into it, so much that I can’t use any other magic while preparing it.”

Realization lit up on Amethyst Star’s face. “Ohh, otherwise you’d just turn invisible and sneak up on them.”

“Correct,” Daylight Gleam nodded. “I still believe I’ll be able to get up on the stage undetected but I’ll have to drop my invisibility to destroy the crystal. Unfortunately there are five of them and only one of me, and if all my magic is going towards my crystal destroying spell I won’t be able to defend myself. Which is where you come in.”

“We need you to be the distraction,” Periwinkle said.

“The distraction?” Amethyst Star tilted her head, it didn’t sound like the most glamorous of roles.

“You’ll get close to the stage, right next to it in fact, and right as or right after Daylight makes her move on the Songstresses you need to either attack them and their guards as well or do something that will give Daylight the opportunity to destroy the crystals,” Periwinkle explained. “The Songstresses won’t be expecting you at all, you’re the only one who can actually surprise them in more ways than one. They’ll be taken completely off-guard, even more so because the rest of us will be “distracting” them from you, the real distraction, by running through the crowd and acting like we’re trying to make it to them.”

“Do you think you can handle that?” Daylight Gleam asked her.

Amethyst Star blew an easy breath out of her mouth. “Psh, you kidding me? I can handle anything.”

That was not a response that inspired confidence.

“Right. Well I hope for all our sake’s that that’s true. Even just partially true. It’s not like we have a better option right now,” Periwinkle said. He was clearly overcome with a lot of worry, as befitting of a Prince the fates of everyone in Diminuendo were weighing heavily on him.

“Don’t worry, I came out to the Undiscovered West to have an awesome adventure and now that one’s finally right in front of me there’s no way I’m screwing it up. All of my friends and everyone else I’ve met out here has doubted me but I’m proving them wrong.” Amethyst Star tried to reassure him and everyone else.

But for obvious reasons that also did not inspire confidence.

Periwinkle raised a hoof up and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You… you’re just… I can’t...” He finally just shook his head. “Forget it, we need to just go on as always.”

His horn lit up with a light pink glow and five sets of earplugs were levitated out of the box. With a sharp surge of magic he teleported the little earplugs directly into the ears of everyone besides Amethyst Star.

“We’ll be wearing these at all times now, I want no mistakes or chances.”

Amethyst Star looked at him in surprise. “You can teleport stuff?”

“Only small objects,” he brushed her off. “I don’t have the magical power for anything more.” Periwinkle then fixed her with a hard stare. “You as well, once you get back to your suite you need to put those earplugs in. Regardless of how comfortable or uncomfortable they are. Just act normal tomorrow, none of us are going to meet up with you, and the day after that someone will likely escort you to the concert. We’ll be there as well.”

“Got it!” Amethyst Star saluted, happy to be a part of this.

The next day was quiet in the castle, for the ones controlling it wanted to be well rested for the big day. The five Songstresses spent their time lounging around the throne room and having the brainwashed staff of the castle wait on their every need while the King and Queen robotically sat on their thrones and stared off into space at nothing. It was empty in the throne room today besides them. Amethyst decided for some peace and quiet so they could all relax. Even as evening now approached and the Songstresses got ready to retire for the night, looking forward to tomorrow, Amethyst was reveling in her newfound control and power.

Diamond let out a big yawn from her position on top of the lavishly cushioned couch. “All this relaxing and being doted on is making me tired, are we gonna go sleep soon?”

Emerald nodded from next to her, her mane swishing up and down with each movement of her head.

With a roll of her eyes, Amethyst hopped down from the couch and started slowly pacing towards the King and Queen. “Fiiiine. You girls can go head up to our room. I’ll be with you in a moment.”

“What are you gonna do?” Opal asked her as she and Topaz flapped their wings and floated above the couch.

“Nothing, I just don’t feel like coming up yet,” Amethyst’s tail swished back and forth as she kept her back to her fellow Songstresses.

Opal shrugged. “Whatever.”

The four other Songstresses left their leader on her own as they filed out of the throne room, Emerald giving one last look back at Amethyst before the door closed. The pink unicorn silently and stoically stood up on the raised level, the practically catatonic rulers of Diminuendo taking up all the vision of her unblinking eyes. There was no playful or seductive smirk on her face. Yet.

“Hehehe… heeheehee...” The laughter grew and grew from the unicorn Songstress. “Hahahaha… HAHAHAHA!”

She was full on cackling now, rearing up on her back hooves briefly while her laughter boomed throughout the throne room.

“Finally, finally!” Amethyst roared. But just as quickly the unicorn calmed herself, planting her hooves back down and taking a slow, calming, breath. She briefly closed her eyes before opening them with a devilish smirk and walking between the two rulers. Her red crystal glowed slightly and a feeling of effervescence overtook her body. A rushing euphoria lit up her brain with passion and her pink lips parted to bring forth a song from deep in her heart.

At last the day has come
No more saying “Things are fine”
Soon everything I want will all be mine,
Equestria and its ponies that thought I was scum!

She twirled between the King and Queen and danced down the steps.

This has all gone just perfect
Diminuedo under my control
Amethyst Star will be my mole
And everything will go even better than before!

No more having nothing and saying soon there will be something
Finally what I have will be everything and anything!

After the broken rhyme she jumped off the last step and continued to spin around down the empty throne room before stopping in the middle and holding her hooves towards the ceiling.

Amethyst the Songstress is here fresh and new!
No more time for doubt
No more agonizing and thrashing about
And now I am as great as I always knew!

“Finally, it’s time for me to shine.”

Amethyst Star said to herself the moment she woke up on the day of the concert, throwing the covers of her bed off of her and hopping right to the floor. She had completely neglected to wear the dumb earplugs like Periwinkle said she should but how was she supposed to sleep with those things in her ears? They were horrible! She stuck her tongue out at the green earplugs that were sitting on the table with her saddlebag. Her comrades said someone was probably gonna come and escort her to the concert but she could hardly wait around for that. When did it start? Tonight? Hopefully soon!

The unicorn grabbed her saddlebag and put it on, regardless of if it was proper attire for a concert or not, and levitated the earplugs up to put them in her ears too, wincing immediately from the unpleasant feeling.

“Ugh, these things are awful! I know Brilliant Sky didn’t have comfort in mind when he made them but you’d think they couldn’t possibly be this bad,” she muttered in annoyance as she pushed open the door to her suite and walked out to the path right by the garden, nudging her ears with her hoof the whole time.

Welcome to the Show

The Major Auditorium really was massive. Amethyst Star stood around front and center of it and when she craned her neck to look behind her all she could see was a sea of ponies that had filled it up. Thousands. All of the city must be here and that made it even more apparent to Amethyst Star that the Songstresses needed to be stopped right now. She would save Diminuendo. She would be a true hero for once on this journey and then nobody anywhere could look down on her again. She was already thinking about how awesome this story would be to tell to Berry Punch and her other friends back in Ponyville.

She looked up at the big stage in front of her too, raised off the ground to a level just slightly over her head with streamers and ribbons lining the entirety of it. It was huge. You could fit an entire assembled orchestra up there and still have room left over. Right now all she could see was that the back half of the stage, that was covered from above by the overhang, had a curtain drawn around it. The Songstresses must have been behind it right now, getting ready for their star performance. A number of guards also stood at the sides of the stage where stairs led up it with another squad standing like statues at the midpoint of the curtain. Periwinkle and the others were right about the Songstresses being careful with their security.

Amethyst Star looked to the horizon where the sun had halfway disappeared to leave the lands in the faint orange glow of twilight. It kept steadily dipping as well, the Songstresses likely waiting for true nightfall before they began their show. Lights up on the overhang would draw all attention to them when turned on, making them shine in the darkness while they sang and conquered the minds of every pony in Diminuendo.

“Except I’m here to stop them,” Amethyst Star proudly said in the crowd as she looked side to side at all the ponies around her. She didn’t recognize any, she didn’t know any, but they’d be cheering her name soon enough.

Periwinkle and the others had to already be dispersed into the crowd and Daylight Gleam was probably invisible and hiding somewhere, maybe even on the stage already, waiting for the perfect moment to strike even if she didn’t think she’d be able to break Amethyst’s crystal all on her own. Were there brainwashed guards in the crowd too that might see them? Tasky, Gilded Shield, and Brilliant Sky could probably all cause a fair amount of chaos to make things easier for Amethyst Star and Daylight Gleam.

None of the ponies in this crowd around her knew she was from out of town just like the Songstresses, maybe they’d all make a big statue of her in honor of her saving Diminuendo when this was over. She had seen the statue of Spike back in the Crystal Empire. Something like that would be awesome.

Amethyst Star nodded. “I would definitely deserve it too.”

Her ears twitched a bit though and she winced, tilting her head and bringing up a hoof to scratch her ears. “Ugh! They better start the concert soon, I want to take these dumb things out already.”

As more ponies piled into the grounds of the massive outdoor auditorium Amethyst Star found herself shuffled around in the crowd. She couldn’t really do anything about it and she was still close to the middle of the stage, just not at the very front anymore. Considering how excited all these ponies were for the Songstresses, things would probably get pretty crazy once they came out from behind that curtain. Although when the actual singing started all the ponies in the crowd would probably turn into blank-faced zombies like the ones at the dinner had.

It was a distressing thought. The Songstresses wouldn’t just have a kingdom they’d have an army. Even if they didn’t really plan to do anything with the citizens of Diminuendo now that Amethyst Star was here and supposedly gave them a ticket right to the top of Equestria it still meant they could cause a lot of damage out in the Undiscovered West if things weren’t taken care of immediately.

Periwinkle didn’t seem the type to let that happen to his people. That’s why they had been planning all this from the shadows and doing the best they could to stop the Songstresses. When she thought about it, he must take any danger to Diminuendo completely seriously if he believed Daylight Gleam so easily about the dangers the Songstresses posed. He and the others couldn’t have had much time to figure anything out or see for themselves the effects of the brainwashing. And now despite being impossibly disadvantaged they were giving it their all and maybe sacrificing everything for the sake of these ponies out here.

“And I’m gonna help them do it. Because I’m awesome. I’m important, I’m integral, I’m needed. And I’m capable,” Amethyst Star stiffly reassured herself. Telling her the same things she knew and had been telling herself from the very start of this journey.

The sun finally dipped completely below the horizon as the moon began to rise on the other side.

That was the signal.

The guards by the curtain all stepped to the side while the curtain split down the middle and the lights above turned on one by one. The crowd that was formerly loud with the conversations of thousands of ponies turned into hushed silence as they all waited to see their magnificent Royal Songstresses. Five figures slowly and seductively promenaded forward from the back of the concert hall, the small amount of light so far giving them a shadowed and mysterious appearance. But with each step another light went on and more ponies in the crowd began to cheer and call out for their Songstresses. Finally the figures came to a stop and two spotlights switched on, perfectly illuminating Opal and Topaz on the outside of the formation.

As expected, the crowd went wild.

Two more spotlights switched on, this time shining down on Diamond and Emerald. And again the crowd’s cries reached an even greater pitch.

The last spotlight came on for Amethyst. The unicorn standing perfectly tall and empowered. As if she was at the center of the world itself. All the eyes, cheers, and love of the crowd was drawn to her and she basked in that glory. Amethyst Star was too far to really see the expression on her face but it couldn’t have been anything but a smug smile.

Amethyst raised a single hoof to call for silence from the audience. It had nothing to do with her magic but the crowd acquiesced, already seemingly enraptured by the lead Songstress.

“Hello my beloved ponies of Diminuendo,” Amethyst crooned to the crowd. Maybe she was partially using her magic because somehow her voice effortlessly carried across the sea of ponies.

Instantly the crowd went back to cheering before Amethyst had to make another motion for silence.

“Yes, yes, thank you for your love and admiration. It truly warms all of our hearts,” the unicorn leader said with a tone that suggested she was holding back laughter. “As you know, we all love you and Diminuendo as well. Your kingdom has been absolutely wonderful to the five of us and we simply have to pay you back with this performance. So enjoy. Relax, open your ears, close your eyes, whatever you need to do to fully take in and enjoy our magical and heavenly singing. It is all for your benefit and pleasure.”

Now there’s a lie. Amethyst Star thought with an internal snort. And I know a lot about lying.

“We will now begin our melody.”

With those last words from Amethyst the five Songstresses all closed their eyes and took a deep breath, the crowd deathly silent as they waited for the wondrous song to begin. It was just like when Amethyst Star first witnessed their singing, there was something otherworldly about it. Something unnaturally beautiful that drew your eyes, ears, and soul in. Thankfully her earplugs still protected her or she never would’ve even known when she was conquered. Her mind would’ve been merely replaced with a sublime haze and she’d be none the wiser.

Which is what was happening to the other ponies out here thanks to the powerful magic of the Siren crystals that the Songstresses wore. The soundwaves of their song rippling across the ocean of the Major Auditorium and into the ears of every single soul here. Louder and louder they sang, higher and higher, a wordless movement. It was all on one impossibly long breath too and the longer the buzzing stayed in the ears of the ponies in attendance the further their minds slipped away. It seemed that even with there being thousands of ponies out here at once the musical magic was more than enough to enslave all of them.

Amethyst Star looked at all the glassy, doll-eyed ponies around her while the Songstresses overture reached a crescendo. Would Daylight and the others act soon or would they let the Songstresses think they had already won? There was surely much more singing to come.

She’d have no problem listening as long as she needed to. Thanks to the earplugs all she heard was good singing and a pleasant melody in her ears.

“These dumb things are still way too uncomfortable though...” Amethyst Star frowned as she brought up her hoof again and rubbed her ears while shaking her head back and forth a few times.

An action that then knocked the earplugs loose and caused them to bounce across the ground and get lost in the sea of ponies around her.

“Oops,” Amethyst Star said as she watched them roll away.

Oh crud.

Oh crud, oh crud, oh crud!

The pink and purple unicorn hunkered low to the ground with sweat pouring down her brow and a frenzied look on her face as she tried to spy where the little green earplugs had gotten off to, crawling on her belly in-between the legs of the other ponies while the singing… continued… to reach her ears. She paused. That music was so… so… everything.

Amethyst Star blinked. Amethyst Star blinked again.

Amethyst Star stood up and stopped looking for the earplugs.

To Periwinkle’s dismay the Songstresses had actually done the smart thing and seeded the crowd with a number of already brainwashed guards that were most definitely on the lookout for him and the others. He had done his best to avoid and hide from them but aside from Daylight he was worried about the others. Gilded Shield, Tasky, and Brilliant Sky weren’t exactly made for this kind of thing… well, neither was he, but all the times he had snuck out of or around the castle as a colt were really coming in handy right now.

The Prince put aside any doubts and worries for now and tried to push his way through the zombified crowd towards the stage. With everyone else standing still it would make him easily noticeable but that wasn’t a huge problem, he wanted to be seen soon, just not before he could get the attention of the Songstresses and maybe make things easier for both Amethyst Star and Daylight Gleam.

That unicorn… Periwinkle frowned when he thought of Amethyst Star. I hope she knows what she’s doing.

Daylight Gleam meanwhile was already on the stage. And completely invisible to boot. Silently she moved ever closer to the Songstresses, past the guards and trying to get as close as possible so maybe she wouldn’t have to rely on the others to distract the Songstresses. It probably wouldn’t work since they’d all see her well before she had the chance to actually destroy Amethyst’s crystal but she was going to give it a shot anyways. It was something of a problem though that she didn’t know how proficient at normal magic Amethyst was. That unicorn could be more powerful and dangerous than she thought even without the Siren magic. But Daylight Gleam was willing to put herself at risk to stop her. She just hoped Amethyst Star caused the necessary distraction to make this all go smoothly.

Tasky, Gilded Shield, and Brilliant Sky were all unfortunately being hounded by guards and having far less success escaping from them than Periwinkle. The crowd now being totally stupefied by the Songstresses magic was both a blessing and a curse, they didn’t move out of the way for anyone but they didn’t fight back or react if you pushed them either. Brilliant Sky was the first brought down, his age combined with his reluctance to use his magic to harm his brainwashed fellows leading to his capture. Tasky was next, just being a maid who wasn’t the most physically fit pony either, with Gilded Shield eventually being cornered as well. None of them had their earplugs removed, the guards having no idea that that was how they were protecting themselves from the magic and not having the capacity to “think” that hard about anything with the Songstresses orders filling up their mind and making them nothing more than slaves.

And of course the Songstresses saw a number of their foes being captured, which brought a smile to their faces.

A low malevolent chuckle came up from Amethyst again as she stopped the quintet’s singing. “Hahaha, well girls, looks like everything has gone just perfectly!”

The five mares could look out across the sea of ponies that were already charmed and helplessly under their control. The spell of Siren magic had worked on the thousands of them by the end of just the overture. Diminuendo was theirs, utterly.

“This—this is power,” Amethyst clenched her hooves in front of her face and grinned. She looked side to side at the others. “Shall we continue the concert? I think we do owe our newfound slaves that at least, it would be rude to not give them the full show.” She mockingly laughed.

The other Songstresses snickered along with her, Topaz nodding at her leader.

“Sure, sure,” the pegasus said to Amethyst. “I never cared about singing before we got these crystals but I actually kind of like it.”

“Yeah, it’s fun. I couldn’t carry a tune at all either, I like being able to sing like this so let’s go all the way. It’s a total waste otherwise,” Diamond agreed with a smile.

“We need to celebrate capturing some silly insurrectionists that thought they could do anything to stop us too,” Opal stared out at the crowd where she could see the few struggling spots of Brilliant Sky and the others trying to break free from their captors.

Emerald even pointed a hoof out at Brilliant Sky in ridicule and bit her lip to avoid laughing.

“I suppose you’re right. Well then, shall we begin the second movement?” Amethyst asked, even though she wasn’t going to wait for anybody else’s input. “Maybe during the next song that pesky Prince will be captured by our guards too.”

The quintet stared together at the line Periwinkle was making among the static brainwashed ponies while a number of guards closed in on him.

“Look at the poor Prince, being chased by his own subjects like a common criminal,” Topaz didn’t bother trying to hold back her laughter like Emerald.

“It is quite funny isn’t it?” Amethyst smirked. A light-bulb then lit up right above her head and she got a great idea. “Well now, I just thought of something wonderful. How about with our melody we test out how much control we have over our new slaves? Wouldn’t it be the perfect irony to have the Prince taken down by the precious citizens that love him? And we’ll see if we truly can get thousands of ponies to listen to us at once.”

“Yes, definitely!” Diamond nodded. “And there’s no way he can escape from them all closing in on him!”

“Very true,” Amethyst strutted closer to the edge of the stage. Looking down at all the ponies in the auditorium, her eyes in particular following Periwinkle. “I suppose it’s time for the coda.”

“Amethyst, look out!” Opal screamed.

Amethyst turned around in confusion to see Daylight Gleam coming from nowhere right behind her with a strong powder blue aura around her horn. The unicorn Songstresses eyes widened in shock as Daylight attempted to tackle her. But Amethyst was able to move out of the way and then Diamond and Emerald were there to grab Daylight, trying to wrestle her to the ground while the guards up on stage now came running over.

“Get off!” Daylight yelled and shot a pulse of magic to knock away the two earth pony Songstresses. She then aimed her horn and fired a beam of magic right at Amethyst, intending to knock her out so she couldn’t run or protect her crystal anymore.

Amethyst was not the most powerful of unicorns when it came to raw magical ability. But then neither was Daylight. Amethyst charged as much magic as she could into her horn, visualizing a defense, and tried to avoid Daylight’s blast altogether at the same time.

The powder blue beam was off-center of Amethyst’s head and it glanced off the small shield of violet magic that the Songstress had conjured in desperation.

Sweating, Amethyst fell back on her haunches while Opal and Topaz flew over to Daylight and slammed into her, holding the white unicorn on the ground while the brainwashed guards finally arrived and also tried to restrain her.

“T-That was a bit close...” Amethyst gulped before getting back up and glaring at Daylight Gleam. “You were trying to destroy my crystal weren’t you? Well you’re never getting that chance again, you little worm.”

Two unicorn guards worked together to lock Daylight Gleam in their magical aura and levitate her in front of Amethyst.

The unicorn Songstress smirked in victory at her would be assailant. “Well, the silly pony that’s been trying to stop us for a while is now caught and helpless. I know you’ve been tailing us ever since we started causing those problems back in Equestria, how does it feel to completely fail at your mission? Hm?”

“Hey, Amethyst? How’d she not get brainwashed by our magic? Or any of them out there for that matter?” Topaz asked.

Amethyst paused as she tilted her head at Daylight, her lips pursed in thought. “You know what, Topaz? That’s a very good question.” She glanced at the guards holding her. “Check her for any oddities.”

Back in the crowd, Periwinkle saw all of this occur. He was worried that Daylight might be in too much trouble and unable to escape from the guards to destroy the crystal, but he still had faith that their plan would work. Amethyst Star needed to move soon though. Periwinkle knew she needed to see that Daylight was ready and in position too before she acted but she really had to make her distraction soon or the Songstresses might figure out the secret of the earplugs. And if they did that then Daylight would be unable to do anything.

Where is she? Periwinkle looked through the crowd for the pink and purple unicorn while he continued to run from the guards chasing him. He was being corralled to the stage and soon enough wouldn’t have anywhere to run. Periwinkle felt bad about shoving through all the other ponies here but he couldn’t really help it.

He was doing this for them. He was the Prince of Diminuendo and he would do anything for his ponies. Even if it meant he had to be a little rough with them as he swam through the crowd. That was just part of his duties now. Something he wished he could avoid but was necessary thanks to the present situation. In the near future he’d throw some sort of parade or festival for Diminuendo as a way to pay them all back, they’d deserve it after being brainwashed like this too. The entire kingdom would need a good vacation once the Songstresses were dealt with. His father and mother were also on the line here, just one more thing weighing on Periwinkle, as if the Prince didn’t have enough on his plate. That was the responsibility of a true ruler and leader though, something that had been drilled into him since he was a young colt.

“But I can’t do anything myself… where’s Amethyst Star?” Periwinkle looked around for any sign of her.

And then he saw her.

Close to front and center of the stage, the unicorn from Equestria was staring up at the Songstresses in open-mouthed awe. Her eyes and appearance the same as all the ponies from Diminuendo around her. It was clear she wasn’t acting and instantly Periwinkle had realized what had happened.

That idiot!

“What am I supposed to do now?!” Periwinkle cursed under his breath as he ran more frantically through the crowd. Looking up at the stage he already knew what the answer was.

Get up there and fight the Songstresses personally. It was the only way to give Daylight Gleam a chance.

“Father? Why do we have to do this?” A young Periwinkle whispered to his father the King as the two of them along with the Queen sat at a table set up in the middle of the castle grounds. All around them were other tables set up with all kinds of ponies sitting at them. Some were nobles and other elites while the rest were simple commoners that worked all over the city.

It was a garden party for any and all ponies of Diminuendo that felt like coming, hosted by the royal family.

“Because, Periwinkle, it’s important to show your subjects that you care and how much they mean to you. You have to treat your ponies nicely,” the King responded with a smile down at Periwinkle.

“Aren’t we their rulers though? Don’t they work and do everything for us in the first place?” Periwinkle quizzically asked.

The King sighed. “I can see you haven’t been paying enough attention to Brilliant Sky’s lessons.”

He put his hoof on Periwinkle’s head and turned the young colt to make him look out at all the other ponies mingling around. At the table directly to their left sat a group of young nobles, fanning themselves and talking about the latest bit of juicy gossip in the kingdom. Beyond them he saw a group of much rougher ponies standing in the grass, they looked like construction workers or some other type that worked with their hooves. There were caterers going from table to table and a large amount of other ponies dancing on the grass in an area cleared of tables. Periwinkle couldn’t tell what their specific careers or lifestyles might have been but they clearly came from all walks.

“And?” Periwinkle asked.

“Of all the ponies out here enjoying this party, who do you think the most important ones are?” The King asked his son.

Periwinkle’s nose curled up and his brow furrowed. The answer seemed so obvious that it made him confused. But still, he couldn’t help but state the obvious. “It’s us, right?”

The King snorted. “I knew you would say that. No. We could be considered a linchpin in a lot of ways but so could many others. The kingdom does not exist for our own glory or pleasure, it and the ponies inside of it do not exist for our amusement or to do what we please with. You must remember this, Periwinkle, you will be leading them all one day in the future.”

“I get it. I guess,” Periwinkle hesitantly nodded. He looked back up at his father. “But then who are the most important ponies in Diminuendo?”

“Heh,” the King held back a laugh as he mussed up his son’s mane. “It’s a bit of a trick question. All of the ponies in Diminuendo are the most important ones. Every last one is a treasure. A treasure you as their Prince and eventually their King must cherish more than anything. A king, any ruler, is nothing without the love and happiness of those he rules over.”

Even though the Prince was too young to fully grasp or appreciate this lesson, he did understand the importance of it and how it was clearly something his father was very passionate about. “I’ll remember, father.”

As the years went by, Periwinkle threw himself more and more into working around Diminuendo and directly helping with any problems or projects he could find. He wanted to experience everything, walk a mile in the shoes of every pony he came across. The Prince became well known amongst nobles and commoners alike for his helpful way and sincere attitude and the kingdom enjoyed a love for their royal family that was uncommon even for the peaceful and happy Diminuendo. Because the Prince became a direct line to the rulers anything he got attached to was sure to be finished and finished in an exemplary way as well, all the ponies of the kingdom vied for his attention and help.

And Periwinkle was happy to give it. That lesson he learned ages ago really took root in his mind.

“I think you’re perhaps taking on a bit too much work,” Brilliant Sky said to the adult Periwinkle as he shoved his way into the Prince’s chambers. Scrolls and books were strewn all over the floor while the unicorn Prince sat behind a desk pouring over a set of blueprints for a new bridge to be built out in the wilds of Diminuendo.

“A King’s life should be a sacrifice for his subjects,” Periwinkle automatically responded without looking up.

Brilliant Sky looked over at the corner, where Tasky stood like a statue. The maid met his eyes and minutely shook her head.

The wizened unicorn sighed and walked to the desk. “True to a degree but you shouldn’t be sacrificing your own health and happiness. You know eventually you’ll need to find a wife and you’ll be stuck in the castle doing your father’s work. You won’t have the opportunity to go out and personally attach yourself to so many things anymore, you should get used to it.”

“Hn,” Periwinkle grumbled, not bothering to address what Brilliant Sky was saying.

“Very mature for a future king,” Brilliant Sky sarcastically rolled his eyes. “You’ll simply have to accept the fact that you’ll need to delegate in the future, understand?”

This time Periwinkle didn’t respond at all, his eyes still glued to and roaming over the blueprints.

“When was the last time you slept?”

“I can’t remember.”

“Of course not,” Brilliant Sky sighed again and used his magic to roll up the blueprints and take them away from the Prince. “Tasky? Would you please put the Prince to bed?”

“Yes,” the maid nodded.

Periwinkle scowled at the two other ponies. “Perhaps the two of you have forgotten that I’m an adult? And your Prince after all.”

"And perhaps you’ve forgotten that ponies need to sleep, don’t cause any more problems for Tasky,” Brilliant Sky said as he helped to lift the Prince off his chair.

When he was finally placed in his bed the Prince fell to sleep almost immediately. Leaving the task of cleaning things up to Tasky and Brilliant Sky. It was a real job too considering how much of a mess everything was in, and how the Prince was running himself ragged on a million different jobs and activities at once. It wasn’t enough that he was working, he had to go to every party he was invited to or appear at every opening of a new store. He never left any time for himself anymore. You couldn’t blame the citizens for enjoying his presence or feeling special when he was around either, of course they wanted to see their Prince more. As Brilliant Sky looked at the napping face of Periwinkle he thought about how much the stallion had grown over the years compared to his apathetic and carefree days as a colt.

“You’ll be a good King one day,” Brilliant Sky whispered. “Just have to stop going from one extreme to the other.”

“And just what are these things you’re wearing?” Amethyst asked Daylight with a smirk as she looked into the white unicorn’s ears. “Earplugs? Hah! I suppose it should’ve been obvious. Well sorry you little troublemaker, but those aren’t going to help you now.” The Songstress reached up to pluck the earplugs from Daylight Gleam.

“Stop! Get your hooves off of me!” Daylight tried fighting back as best she could but her body and magic weren’t strong enough to get her out of this situation.

“Oh calm down already. You won’t even care anymore once we start singing again,” Amethyst rolled her eyes and pulled out the earplugs.

“No!” Daylight yelled

Amethyst and the other Songstresses merely laughed at her, the five taking up their normal singing positions again while the guards held Daylight. The concert would be a little shorter than they intended thanks to this interruption so it was just about time for the grand finale. At least now they had nothing to worry about, with just the faintest of humming Daylight Gleam would fall under their control and Periwinkle wouldn’t be able to do anything about all the ponies trying to mob him. The five Songstresses knew: they had won.

“Sorry for the brief pause in our performance,” Amethyst called out to the crowd even though they couldn’t really register her words. “We will now give you everything you deserve. Please enjoy this final segment of our wondrous song and melody!”

Periwinkle was far too late. He watched their singing begin anew as he ran through the crowd, Daylight Gleam struggled her hardest but the magical music quickly wormed its way into her mind through her ears, beating down her defenses like a wave continuously crashing against a dam until it finally broke. The white unicorn’s struggles ceased, her eyes glazed over, and she started staring at the Songstresses like a puppet, the same as all the ponies of Diminuendo. The guards let her go and she stood there, no longer attempting to do anything.

No, no, no, no! Periwinkle screamed internally. He had no idea how the others were faring but he was almost certain that he was the only one left that could do anything.

The only problem was that now as the singing from the Songstresses grew and grew the rest of the audience began to act differently. Periwinkle watched in horror as his beloved ponies turned to him, staring at him with empty zombie eyes, crowding around and encircling him, giving the Prince nowhere to run to. No longer were just the guards what he had to worry about. A horde of other ponies threatened to swallow him up.

The ponies he had worked so hard to help. The ponies he treasured more than anything. His family.

He couldn’t hurt them. Even to save them he couldn’t do that.

So then what could he do?

The nearest pony reached out to grab him and Periwinkle ducked out of the way, rolling to the ground and scrambling between the hooves of the ponies to try and make them lose sight of him. They weren’t fast and until they actually saw him they didn’t do anything. The music controlling their minds must not have been very fine tuned since the Songstresses didn’t have time to personally instruct any of them or give them more detailed orders. A small blessing but a welcome one.

It may still have been ultimately useless though since there were so many ponies and nowhere to turn to anymore. More and more attempted to grab or stop him whenever he slowed down and it was getting more difficult to break free and push his way through them. And even as he did that he still needed to get to the stage and do… what? What could he do now? Daylight Gleam was the one who was supposed to destroy Amethyst’s crystal so what could Periwinkle do now?

I’ll destroy it. Even if I have to grab it off her neck and smash it on the ground, I’m not letting them get their way! Periwinkle charged towards the stage. Forget being outnumbered, forget the crystals being magical and possibly unbreakable through normal means, forget the fact that thousands of ponies were crowding around him, he needed to do this.

Not for himself but for his family and all the ponies in Diminuendo.

Sacrifice.

He was close to the stage, dead ahead of him a particularly large pony stood. Wishing for forgiveness he jumped atop the pony’s back and used it as a springboard to launch himself at the stage. Periwinkle was aiming right for Amethyst. The Prince would tackle the leader of the Songstresses and wrestle her to the ground, taking that crystal and destroying it!

Amethyst smugly smirked at him as he jumped and in a moment he felt why.

A sharp tug on his tail threw him to the ground and the Prince groaned in pain with the stage only a few feet in front of his face. Instantly he felt ponies jumping and piling on top of him, holding him down and restraining him so he could no longer attack the Songstresses. They were enslaved to do what the Songstresses desired, even if that meant harming their beloved Prince. They weren’t important anymore. They weren’t anything anymore. The ponies under the magical spell of Amethyst and the others only lived to serve their masters and act on their whims now.

Periwinkle tried getting out from under the pile but there were too many of them, the singing from the Songstresses briefly stopped again and the Prince looked up at the stage with tears in his eyes, just barely able to see past the throng of ponies where Amethyst looked down at him, laughing and laughing in joyous victory.

Nothing Can Stop Us Now

Back in the wonderful land of Equestria there was a small town slightly south of Vanhoover that went by the name of Bayhoof. Currently five mares were running full speed away from it into the foothills and small forest around it while an angry mob chased them. The two pegasi of the group didn’t want to ditch the others so they kept on the ground and hoped the ponies of Bayhoof would get tired of chasing them soon or that they could lose them in the forest.

Amethyst ran as hard as she could, fear gripping her heart at the retribution the villagers wanted to mete out against her and the others. Diamond, Emerald, Opal, and Topaz all followed close behind her, the five mares in more danger than normal thanks to their most recent failed scheme. They didn’t want to look behind them to see the pitchforks and torches, the shouting was good enough to motivate them to keep on moving. It didn’t take long for them to make it to the trees but they had to keep on running until they were absolutely sure no one was following them. Being caught would mean being thrown in jail, or worse, and Amethyst really wanted to avoid any of them getting lynched.

This little misadventure in Bayhoof may have been a failure but it was only a minor setback to them. She—they’d have what they wanted soon enough.

Only later that night, when all of them were panting in exhaustion and hiding in the middle of the forest, did they finally allow themselves to relax, hoping that the ponies of Bayhoof had indeed given up on them and returned to their homes. Now the five mares could regroup and rest and never return to that town again.

“This… this is not how things were supposed to go,” Diamond said between bated breaths as she shook her head, Emerald nodding along in agreement.

“I knew this was a bad idea, what were we thinking?” Topaz sat down and held her head.

Amethyst wasn’t having any of that though. “It was an excellent idea. It was just the execution that was a little faulty.”

“I still don’t see how any of this was supposed to lead to us eventually taking over Equestria one day,” Opal said.

Amethyst did not fight the urge to roll her eyes. “That’s because you’re an idiot and that’s why I’m the leader.”

“Whatever. Can we not talk about this right now?” Opal yawned. “I’m tired, let’s just find some soft grass and sleep.”

“No! We need to go over what just happened immediately, while it’s still fresh in all our minds! We have to reflect on things now, not put them off!” Amethyst angrily stamped a hoof on the ground.

“Okay, okay, geez...” Opal backed off, pouting.

“We have to go over every single little step and figure out why the plan failed so badly,” Amethyst told the other four, getting them to all stand in front of her. “Everything should have been very simple for us, Bayhoof is just a small town! So why did things go so wrong? Hmm?” She looked them each in the eyes. “Well? I’m waiting.”

“Well don’t look at me! I did what I was supposed to do just fine!” Diamond sat down and crossed her hooves over her chest, defiantly looking away. “If Topaz didn’t mess up her job we wouldn’t be in this mess at all.”

“Hey!” Topaz shouted at the earth pony. “I had a way harder job to do than any of you! Opal and Emerald screwed up too you know? And should you really talk when you didn’t even really have to do anything other than act nice to a bunch of dumb farmers?”

“They made me work! It was awful!” Diamond shouted back at her.

“Enough!” Amethyst yelled and clamped their mouths shut with her magic. “This is not what I meant by going over things.” She groaned and dragged a hoof down her face. “Alright… let’s start from the beginning. I gave us all specific jobs to do. Things should’ve gone just fine. So Diamond, you ingratiating yourself with the carrot farmers went fine?”

“Yep!” Diamond smugly grinned.

“And how well did turning them against the potato farmers go?” Amethyst asked.

Her grin faltered and she rubbed the back of her head. “That… was a work in progress.”

“It should’ve been something done days ago,” Topaz sniped at her.

“The ponies in Bayhoof got along well!” Diamond argued.

“Stop!” Amethyst interrupted. “No more of that again. We’ll end on the point that Diamond failed at her task too.” Amethyst ignored the pout from Diamond and continued. “Alright, so Topaz, we all know how unsuccessful you were with seducing the sheriff.”

“He was married! How is that my fault?! It’s totally unfair to blame this on me when I had the hardest thing to do!” The pegasus floated up and angrily argued.

Amethyst tried to keep her cool and held up a hoof to pause the pegasus. “No one is solely blaming you. But it’s still a fact that you failed at your part of my plan.”

“Your plan was impossible!” Topaz yelled at her.

“It was not impossible! It was a great plan!” Amethyst yelled back at her, her patience straining.

“Oh boy...” Opal shook her head. “Now it’s all falling apart.”

“It is not,” Amethyst glared at her too. “And since you feel like adding in your two bits, how about we talk about you arriving in town a day earlier than you were supposed to, peddling a phony miracle cure for a sickness that nobody had caught yet!”

“Well, like, even if I had arrived on the right day it wouldn’t have mattered since Emerald got caught poisoning the town’s well in the first place,” Opal pointed at the green-maned earth pony while she defended herself.

Emerald puffed out her cheeks and stuck her nose in the air, not deigning to respond to that.

“Don’t just pass the buck around, you all need to take responsibility for this,” Amethyst stamped her hoof again.

“Well why don’t you take responsibility for coming up with a dumb, convoluted, impossible plan that nobody could follow and doesn’t even make any sense!” Topaz finally just outright blew her stack at their unicorn leader. “You didn’t even do any real work, you just sat around in city hall for the past week signing papers for the mayor!”

Amethyst growled in annoyance and dragged a hoof down her tired face. “Do I seriously need to explain this all to the four of you again?”

From the looks on their faces it seems she did. The unicorn was getting kind of tired of this. The five of them had known each other for a long time now, they were friends, and yet no matter how many times Amethyst told them to trust in her and her plans nothing seemed to go right for them. Whether it was bad luck, incompetency, or sheer stupidity, all of their schemes unraveled soon after they began. Amethyst’s plans for Bayhoof merely being the latest in a long line of failures when it came to her grand desire of one day controlling all of Equestria. But if there was one thing she was, it was determined. She wouldn’t let this discourage her and right after they finished talking over how things had gone wrong in Bayhoof she’d have another scheme cooked up lickety-split.

“My job was equally, if not more so, important than any of yours,” Amethyst slowly explained. “Everything we were doing was supposed to lead to us eventually taking over the town of Bayhoof, the first step in my master plan.” She looked up into the sky and smirked while clenching a hoof in front of her chest.

“You ever think we might be reaching too far?” Diamond asked her.

Amethyst scowled and looked down at the earth pony, narrowing her eyes at her. “No. The five of us came together because we’re-”

“Losers that can’t fit into society?” Opal guessed.

“No, because we’re destined for greatness and have a shared goal of accomplishing something amazing,” Amethyst finished. “I wasn’t just signing documents with the mayor, I was fabricating documents. Documents that would implicate him in a money-laundering scheme and other criminal activity that I would then find out about and tell the rest of the town, completely turning them on him. At that point I would become mayor as the next logical choice, the ponies would love and trust me after all. Meanwhile Diamond would have been gaining the trust and respect of the carrot farmers while at the same time stoking flames of resentment between them and the potato farmers on the other side of the village, sabotaging some crops and making it seem like the potato farmers did it, things like that. And then Emerald was supposed to drop our poison into the well used by the carrot farmers, making them sick and ruining their crops. At that point the potato farmers would be run out of town by an angry mob and their farms taken over. While Topaz at the same time would have the sheriff completely twisted around her hoof. Giving us, and the patsies close to us, total control of Bayhoof.”

Amethyst paused and sighed, taking a deep breath. “Unfortunately, some ponies just can’t help but be screw-ups it seems.” She looked at Emerald. “Emerald, you were working at the diner for days making friends with the ponies of Bayhoof, trying to become a trusted and well-liked figure in the town. But then you don’t pay attention when you’re at the well in the middle of the night and you’re seen by several ponies pouring something suspicious into the water.” Her eyes flickered to Topaz. “And because Topaz failed to get the sheriff on her side we couldn’t just sweep everything under the rug.” To Opal. “And then someone comes into town bringing our own cure for the poison a day early, making ponies even more suspicious that something is going on. Which ends with the carrot farmers realizing that all their problems started when Diamond first came to Bayhoof.”

She turned her back to the four of them and glared in the direction of Bayhoof. “And that ended with four morons being chased through the village, four morons who didn’t use their heads at all as they ran right. To. Me. Thereby letting the villagers know that I was also in on whatever was going on. And so we were run out of town while almost being tarred and feathered.” She glanced over her shoulder at her companions. “Is that not what happened?”

“Uhh...” Opal shuffled about and refused to meet her gaze. “Maybe?”

“You know even if things did go perfectly I’m with Opal on not seeing how this gets us to ruling Equestria one day,” Diamond rubbed her chin.

“It’s called starting small,” Amethyst snapped at her. “You know what small is right? It’s the same thing as your brain. Now the four of you sit down and pay attention.” She said as she fully turned back around and had the four other mares line up for her. “Bayhoof would’ve eventually led to our takeover of Vanhoover. It was the first step, then we would take a bigger step, and a bigger one, until our true goal. You see, you morons, because we would’ve had such high standing in Bayhoof we’d be trusted and admired by the ponies of Vanhoover when they learned about us. And it would be even easier to take it over using the same methods even with it being a larger city thanks to all the resources and accomplices we would’ve had.”

Amethyst sighed and sat down. “I’m sorry for being a little snippy right now. I’m just a little upset and disappointed. Once we had Vanhoover we would’ve had some real connections and power. The four of you would’ve gone to step three, traveling to Las Pegasus, Manehattan, Baltimare, and Fillydelphia, doing the same with them. Eventually the five of us would be the mayors of all the biggest cities around Equestria, gaining more resources, political clout, influence, acumen, and followers. All the ponies on our side would give us more than enough power and respect to lobby for even greater power and influence in Canterlot itself!” The unicorn spread her arms to the sky. “Yes, it might take a while, but we’d situate ourselves in Canterlot and work our way higher and higher, ousting those in the way, corrupting the system, taking what we can, until eventually even the Princesses would be forced to hand over rulership of Equestria to us! Hahahaha!”

She laughed and laughed as she thought about her dream until she finally ran out of breath. Calming down, Amethyst stood up and coughed into her hoof to regain a measure of composure. Her friends had varying looks of apprehension on their faces but that was nothing new for Amethyst to deal with. She’d just have to reassure them again, after all, they wanted the same things.

“Can we really do all that?” Opal asked.

“Yes, we can. We just need to believe in ourselves. With some confidence and determination the five of us can accomplish anything,” Amethyst told her, told all of them.

I can accomplish anything. She thought to herself.

A few days later the five mares walked into a town a little south of Bayhoof but still on the western border of Equestria. Things were going to go differently this time. First of all they weren’t just going to do the same thing (even though Amethyst would forever fight that her plan for Bayhoof was perfect) and they would stick together too. Amethyst would be able to watch over all of them and make sure everything went swimmingly and the others would be reassured knowing that she was always right behind them.

In this new town they were going to act like beggars who were down on their luck, preying on the pity and sympathy of the ponies to work their way inside the town’s various social circles and functions. And who would suspect some innocent destitutes when things started to go wrong around here?

“Just stick together girls and everything will be fine,” Amethyst told them. “The five of us will have control of this place in no time. Just have faith in me, that’s all you need to do.”

Diamond, Emerald, Opal, and Topaz nodded, even if on the inside they may have been a little unsure. They all didn’t even know the name of this new town yet as they walked inside for the first time down the main street. It was the same kind of place as Bayhoof, small and close-knit with mostly family owned stores and businesses. The large farms that Bayhoof had were completely absent though. Amethyst was leading them to the center of town where they could find the most ponies and start their act, there was probably a good cafe or something full of ponies right now too, Amethyst wanted them to make a good impression on as many as possible at once.

She made sure the five of them were looking as downtrodden and miserable as possible as they walked through town in case any saw them.

There were a couple who did notice the new mares in town but for now they kept their distance, only just acknowledging their existence instead of coming up to see who they are or why they were here. Although there were a few ponies in town that seemed to regard them with more puzzled expressions, as if they recognized them from somewhere but couldn’t place just where…

Amethyst wasn’t really paying attention to that though, she was just making sure they were seen and that her girls weren’t doing anything stupid. So far that was working out alright.

Opal however did notice some of the strange looks they were getting. “Does anyone else think that some of the ponies in this town are looking at us weirdly?”

“Maybe they don’t get many visitors?” Diamond shrugged.

“Forget it, just keep the act up and look sad,” Amethyst told them.

And then a great bit of happenstance occurred.

A flyer being blown about by the wind just so happened to smack right into Emerald’s face. The earth pony scowled and fidgeted as she removed the piece of paper and held it up to see just what had decided to make a landing strip of her face. As her eyes quickly roamed around the flyer and she read what it was, Emerald blanched.

The green-maned earth pony grimaced and started poking Diamond in the side to get her attention.

“What is it?” Diamond batted her hoof away but was forced to read the flyer as Emerald shoved it into her face. The scowl on Diamond’s face quickly morphed to fear and she went white just as Emerald had. “A-A-Amethyst! You really need to see this!”

Amethyst rolled her eyes at the interruption and Diamond’s surely exaggerated worries. “What?” She looked back and quickly had the flyer forced into her hooves, the bored expression on her face soon turning to match Diamond and Emerald as she read it. “Oh...”

“What is it?” Topaz asked.

Amethyst turned the flyer around so the two pegasi could see what was written on it too, and now all five of them knew they were in a bit of trouble. The flyer had five crude drawings of their faces and Cutie Marks underneath them with a short description of their looks written underneath that. The rest of the flyer was taken up with a summary of their misdeeds in Bayhoof and how they had been ran out of town just recently. And of course, at the very top of the flyer above everything else was one simple boldly-typed word: WANTED.

“Uhh, how many of these flyers do you think there are around here?” Opal wondered as she looked around again, noticing with an increasing frequency the ponies staring back at them.

“Enough that we should leave. Now,” Amethyst said, biting her lip in anger.

“So Bayhoof spread the word about us? We’re ponies wanted by the law? We’re criminals?!” Diamond sputtered in panic.

“We were always criminals,” Opal plainly told her.

“Yeah but no one was chasing after us or wanted to arrest us!” Diamond sat on the ground and rocked back and forth, holding her head in her hooves as her freak out continued.

“I’m with Diamond here, this is really bad,” Topaz shuffled about uncomfortably, her wings constantly opening and closing. “And we haven’t even accomplished anything. Now we’re wanted mares with nowhere to go...”

Emerald couldn’t deal with that thought and all the anxiety oozing from the others and started nervously chewing on her mane while trying to ignore everything else.

And meanwhile Amethyst stood between them all, thinking. She was doing her best to keep her composure and not get discouraged. The last thing the others needed was seeing her freak out too. There was still a lot of internal worry in her, and a little bit of sweat coalescing at her brow. This was a problem. A potentially big problem. They might have to go far away or wait a long time for this to blow over. Ponies recognizing them was not a good thing just yet. Not until they’ve built up their reputation and power base. The chance of actually getting arrested was slim in Equestria but if the word was out about them the chances of them getting what they wanted was even slimmer.

“This is fine, there’s no reason to panic,” she finally told the other four.

Opal raised an eyebrow and looked at her in disbelief. “No reason to panic?”

“This will blow over. Nothing serious happened in Bayhoof, ponies will forget about us soon enough. But we should probably hide out for a bit. Or maybe take a little vacation outside of Equestria,” Amethyst said as she looked deeper into the forest they were currently hiding in, looking west. “As long as we aren’t found or seen for a while it will be okay. Let’s go.”

Despite the trepidation the four others shared they followed her like always.

“So where are we going then? Just hiding out in the hills to the west?” Topaz asked.

“Actually I was thinking we might as well go the distance. If we really don’t want anyone to find us we should go to the Undiscovered West. And who knows, perhaps there will be something special for us to find out there,” Amethyst grinned.

“That seems kind of dangerous...” Diamond put forth, a bit hesitant about that idea.

“Oh grow a spine. The five of us can handle anything. I’ve always said that,” Amethyst frowned at her. “Our plans for Equestria have to be put on hold for now but who’s to say we can’t find something else that may give us what we want.”

The five mares walked through the heavy forest that was devoid of civilization, already past the point where any towns belonging to Equestria would stand. They were tired, worried, and disappointed at the recent turns their lives had taken but still they continued on. None of them knew what was coming next and all but one were unsure if they would ever find success. Diamond thought they were destined for failure, Opal that they had no place in Equestria, Emerald that she’d never be truly happy, and Topaz just afraid of being punished. Amethyst was ignoring reality.

It actually wasn’t long though that they had been traveling west that they heard something. A sound of heavy wheels turning over the ground coming from up ahead.

“What’s that? Is there someone out here?” Opal wondered.

“Must be,” Amethyst called for them to stop and rubbed her chin. “Hmm, perhaps we’ve come across some good luck already? Everyone be quiet, we’re going to see what’s going on.”

They snuck through the brush until they came across a wide dirt road that lanced through the forest, heading from north to south. On that road the five of them saw a large covered wagon, huge actually, being pulled by a single pony. It was actually strange to see just one pony being able to pull that thing, and he didn’t look particularly strong either, a little tall but actually fairly thin and lanky. He had a murky white coat with a red mane and tail and continued pulling his wagon as the heavy wheels thundered over the dirt, seemingly not knowing that five mares were watching him.

“This is perfect,” Amethyst grinned.

“What do you mean?” Diamond asked.

“Look at that wagon, it must be full of all sorts of things. We’ll rob this schmuck and use what he’s lugging around to get back on our hooves. Now stay quiet and let’s sneak up on him,” Amethyst motioned them to all leave the bushes and quietly sneak up behind the wagon, getting ready to ambush the stallion pulling it.

That plan, like so many others of hers, went down in flames when the stallion stopped and spoke.

“I say, I say, you do not need to sneak around in the shadows. See you, I see you, ponies in need.”

Amethyst scowled and clicked her tongue, nodding to the others to come walking around the front of the wagon where they could face the traveling stallion. “Alright, so you noticed us. Well it’s still too bad for you, you can now either peacefully give us everything in that wagon or we can take it by force.” She threatened him.

“My oh my, everything? Everything indeed? No, no, that it is not what you need. Not what you need indeed,” the white stallion shook his head as he looked at the five mares with a pitying expression.

“Shut up weirdo! Now what’s in the wagon?” Amethyst’s patience was wearing thin.

“Oh my, misses Amethyst, Diamond, Emerald, Opal, and Topaz, to be so despondent and so in need as to do this, tsk, tsk. My wagon? In it is what ponies need. And only one thing in particular for thee,” he shrugged.

“Talk like a normal pony!” Amethyst stomped a hoof on the ground while the other four regarded the stallion with confused expressions.

“Do not worry, do not worry, I shall help thee. Ignore my speech, ignore it if you like, I still have what you need as I help all ponies I see,” the stallion unhooked himself from the wagon while the five mares watched him, a little wary and suspicious of what he might do but none of them moving to stop him. He reached into the front flap on his wagon and in a second pulled out a pristine and shiny black box. “Here, here, what Amethyst needs is here. What all of you need for help with your dreams.”

The five walked up to him and looked as he opened up the box, revealing five gleaming red crystals inside.

“What are those?” Amethyst asked, totally enraptured by their beauty. Her earlier aggressiveness towards the strange stallion evaporating.

“Helpful things. After all that is what I am. One who helps, yes indeed,” he took the largest crystal from the center of the box and hoofed it to Amethyst. “Your siren song will begin with these and all you want will come to you, yes indeed.”

Amethyst stared into the red depths of the crystal, she could feel the magic, feel the power emanating from it. Yes. This was it. These crystals were the key, she knew it.

“I shall be on my way, on my way, to find others in need. The five of you can now find your dreams, indeed,” the red and white stallion gave out the other crystals and went to hook himself back up to the wagon. “Enjoy your travels, enjoy where you go, Harlequin Red bids you farewell.”

Amethyst perked up and turned to look at him, confusion written on her face. “But how do we use these crystals, what do they do?”

“Sing, sing, just sing all you want, put your mind into your mouth and you shall get whatever you want,” Harlequin Red shrugged and started to walk away, the large wagon effortlessly being pulled along while the five Songstresses moved to the side of the road.

“Amethyst, now what? These things are… are...” Opal couldn’t find the words as she herself was hypnotized by the beauty and power of the crystal she held.

“Ours. That’s what they are,” Amethyst rubbed her crystal, so polished she was able to see her reflection in it. “I can see… these crystals are our future, they’re what we’ve always needed. Yes, finally no one will be able to challenge our greatness. Girls, we’ve got it. You may have doubted me or yourselves before, but can’t you feel it? The power from these crystals will let us achieve anything! We have it! We finally have it!” Amethyst held the crystal in her hooves high above her head, grinning maniacally. “Everything will be ours, hahahaha!”

The other four watched her and felt their worries starting to slip away, looking into their crystals they felt true confidence start to leak in and empower them as well. Amethyst was right, this was the start of something amazing for them all.

At the concert in the Major Auditorium the Songstresses looked on in glee as Periwinkle was wrestled to the ground. It was over. They had won. Amethyst gave a sidelong glance to her four comrades and they prepared for the grand finale of their song. When it was over Diminuendo would no longer exist, it would be whatever they wanted it to be. And after that? The sublime music would conquer whatever they saw fit.

Amethyst had them all stand together, the unicorn Songstress who had everything in her grasp took a deep breath and loudly sang once more over the entire crowd with a triumphant smile on her face.

Who said Equestria was all?
Soon the whole world will fall
So for now we’ll take our bow
Because nothing can stop us now!

Her Race I

Amethyst Star walked east.

The pink and purple unicorn who called Ponyville her home was not explicitly giving up her journey but she was still heading back in the direction of Equestria instead of going further away from it. Things felt different. What happened at the Major Auditorium in Diminuendo weighed heavily on her mind and she was unable to stop thinking about it. And unlike the other failures on her adventure she wasn’t trying to ignore it or push it out of her mind anymore. She couldn’t, not after that humiliation and what Periwinkle had said to her. Not after he made her face how serious things were and how horribly things almost ended up.

What would have happened if they weren’t able to stop the Songstresses after she accidentally fell under their spell? And it was such a dumb thing that happened to her, it was embarrassing. She had screwed up before but never that badly when so much was on the line. Amethyst Star was supposed to be the kind of amazing pony that pulled through and saved the day in that sort of situation but instead the exact opposite had happened. That was going to be her big moment. That was the real adventure and she had screwed it all up.

“Am I… done?” Amethyst Star said to herself. She looked up at the sky where the sun hung in a spot a few hours before noon, puffy white clouds drifting by. “Should I really not have come out here? Am I… not as special as I think?”

Could she admit that? Could she realize it?

Amethyst Star sighed. “Whatever. I’ll just… I’ll see what else is out here but no more big adventures. No more going out of my way and trying to prove anything.” She lowered her head to the ground and sadly blinked. “It hasn’t gone well.”

She kicked a pebble that was on the ground and kept on walking. “Who even cares?”

She didn’t expect to find a new city out here in the direction she was going. And yet that’s what she came across, a real and breathing city. Amethyst Star could feel the excitement in the air oozing from this place as she walked down the first street. Checkered flags waved from on top of dozens of buildings, huge columns of balloons floated up, the scent of foods like cotton candy and delicious fried treats wafted into her nose. There was something big going on in this city right now.

But Amethyst Star wasn’t sure if she should find out what it was. What was the point? It was plain to see that she only brought problems whenever she went looking for adventure. It might be best to ignore this and just keep on her way. Her curiosity, pride, and selfish desires had gotten her into trouble already and at this point she truly didn’t want to get in anymore. Diminuendo had broken her.

Amethyst Star frowned at her negativity. Did she really have to go from being overly optimistic and naive to being a total sad-sack?

“I don’t need to do anything. I can just have fun seeing what’s up,” she said to herself. “Forget adventure, I’ll just enjoy this festival or whatever’s going on here even if it’s the most boring festival ever. Maybe it’ll help lift my spirits. No need to get dragged into anything like I would’ve done in the past, there’s still plenty of new and different stuff in the Undiscovered West I can see.”

The city was of a more modern type with well planned roads and uniform buildings made largely of cement and metal for businesses and mass-produced wooden frames straight off the assembly line for homes, giving everything a similar look. Practical but lacking the heart and uniqueness to be found in the homes of Ponyville. Currently most of the streets she was walking down were relatively empty too, aside from a few ponies inside of stores or walking around. Most must’ve been at whatever large celebration was going on right now, Amethyst Star could still hear and smell it getting closer.

On her way deeper into the city she saw more banners and waving flags along with confetti all thrown across the ground with trashcans on the sides of the road overflowing with food wrappers. Abandoned tents, tables, and stalls temporarily put up on the streets were also all over but no ponies were around to work them right now. It’s like a parade went through here and took every pony with it. Turning with the street to the north she could finally see something rising up at the end of it that wasn’t just a normal building.

Even from behind she had seen enough of these to know exactly what they were, the stands to a sports stadium.

They were very large though, maybe four stories high and several hundred feet long. From the sound and look of things they were probably completely full of ponies too. At the bottom of the backside of the stands a lot of tents stood just like on the rest of the street but these ones were still busy and she could see huge crowds of ponies milling about around them. It was too big a crowd for her to want to join so Amethyst Star stayed by the side of the street as she walked to the stands. If there was an entrance into the stands she couldn’t see it either so she figured she’d just walk around them to the front and check them out from there.

Ignoring the crowds and the noise she walked a bit to the edge of the stands and walked alongside them, glancing up she was able to see the railing on the edge of the stands and a few ponies pressed up along the sides, ready to watch whatever was going on down below. There was a cement sidewalk for her to walk on right beside the stands that led to a stairway that Amethyst Star could see should normally be locked behind a gate which was currently left open.

Amethyst Star took a brief respite at the top of those stairs and looked down at the stadium the stands were built for.

“Big,” was the first thing to escape past her lips as she surveyed what she initially thought was a stadium. However that turned out to not be the case, the stands were built for a track.

The stairs led down another story’s distance to the track, it (and everything beyond this point of the city) was built at a level lower than the streets she had been walking on. She could see why, the region just past this edge of the city on the far side from where the stands stood was mountainous and uneven with forests and cliffs in the distance, even a waterfall or two that she could see. The track also didn’t just go in a circle, it started to run right along the stands and city but then shot out into a forest right in front of some hills and mountains that lied to the east. Who knows how long it was or how far it went in there. All she knew for certain was that it eventually came winding back around to where it started, for at the northwestern side of this place a huge wooden bridge made of the massive logs from felled trees was suspended between the track grounds and a mountain that rose up farther north, which then turned into a wide curve that came all the way back to the beginning of the stands.

“Geez, it would take a whole day to run this thing, I can’t even tell when it starts coming back around to end up here,” Amethyst Star said as she looked out at everything with a hoof raised over her eyes to block out the sun.

The racetrack was wide and nothing more than dirt but beyond it was a grassy area where she saw a large tent that had a number of ponies milling about below it, far less than the crowds at the other tents. Amethyst Star smiled and started walking down the stairs, that seemed more her speed than getting jostled around by a mob fighting over food and good seats.

She walked down and across the track, glancing down it to see if there were any racers or anything but there wasn’t anything situated at the starting line that she could see yet. It’s possible that this wasn’t even a course for running but maybe for carts or something else ponies rode. There was a large, fenced off area, on the grass a bit father away from the tent that she couldn’t see into, maybe it held whatever was used for the race course.

Now that she was level with it she could see better inside the tent too. Lots of small tables were set up with white cloths thrown over them, but no chairs, the tables were just for standing around and placing your drinks or food on. There looked to be a temporary bar set up in the middle of the tent too with a couple of bartenders taking orders. A few mares wearing buttoned-up uniforms and holding trays of little snacks made their way around the tables to treat anyone who wanted something to eat.

“Mm,” Amethyst Star licked her lips. “Was getting a little hungry, I can grab a drink and a little something to eat and figure out just what’s happening out here.”

Amethyst Star trotted right into the tent and headed for the bar, she didn’t want to intrude on any of the conversations the ponies mingling here were having so she figured she’d ask one of the bartenders about the festivities. Looking around she noticed a lot of the ponies being waited on were wearing jumpsuits, or goggles, or even full helmets, she wondered what for. She ignored that for now, just another question for the bartender. Amethyst Star walked right up to the bar and smiled at the nearest one, a stallion with a thin mustache wearing the same kind of buttoned-up uniform.

“Heya! What do you have to drink here?” She asked him.

He turned to her with a smile. “We have-” the words died on his lips as he saw who he was talking to. The bartender tilted his head and frowned at her in confusion. “You’re not a racer.”

“Umm, no?” Amethyst Star matched his head tilt.

“I’m sorry Miss, but this is the racers tent. You shouldn’t be in here,” he told her.

A small blush crept up on her face. “Ohhh, eheh, sorry...” She looked around behind her to see that a number of the ponies here, racers no doubt, had noticed her and the fact that she had wandered into their tent when she wasn’t supposed to. Amethyst Star gave them all a little wave. “I’m from out of town, didn’t know. I’ll just um, see myself out.”

She quickly slinked away from the bar and out of the tent before anyone could say anything, hoping to avoid any further embarrassment.

“You know now that I think about it should I even be on this side of the track?” Amethyst Star said to herself as she walked along the grass, looking back at the stands on the other side where all the ponies in the city were sitting. With an added bit of embarrassment she realized they could all easily see her even though she’d only look like a speck to most. She just hoped they didn’t realize she shouldn’t be out here.

Amethyst Star looked over to the fenced area she had seen earlier, down here and right across from it on the grass there was an entrance into it that she could walk into from this side. But should she? Well, if it was for the racers it’s not like she hadn’t already embarrassed herself. What was one more case of trespassing?

The fenced area was large, very large, and contained numerous ponies dressed in blue overalls and enough oil and grime on them that Amethyst Star could tell at a glance they were mechanics despite there hardly ever being any in a slow, old-fashioned town like Ponyville. The mechanics were hardly all though, several dozen cement pits dotted the grass that each held a vehicle of some sort that Amethyst Star was unfamiliar with. Superficially they looked like Applewood Derby Carts, more than one of those Amethyst Star had made and ridden in in the past, but these were larger and made of metal with big rubber wheels that had rugged treading for making it over any kind of surface. There was a single seat near the front with a steering wheel in front of it and the back half was taken up by a large… engine? Did these things have their own engines? She had only seen the huge steam engines on trains but she couldn’t think of what else they would be. Numerous pistons, tubes, wires, and tanks full of who knows what took up the backside right behind the driver’s seat.

“Wow,” Amethyst Star looked over it. The vehicle was on a level of machinery and technology not commonly seen in Equestria. She frowned. “Hm, I probably shouldn’t be around all this stuff...”

She continued to walk up and down the pits anyways, none of the mechanics had bothered to say anything to her so whatever. Each vehicle had its own paint job to differentiate it from the others but besides that they were all identical. At the end of one row there was one decked out with pink flames all around the front half of the car right around and under the driver’s seat. The color matched her coat and it drew her eyes to it because of that.

Of course though when she got to this metal cart there happened to be a bunch of ponies gathered around it right on the other side, Amethyst Star paused mid-step, they weren’t mechanics, in fact one of them was wearing the same kind of uniform that she had seen a lot of racers back at the tent wearing. A racer? And the others wore matching white scarves with pink flames at the end.

A team? She wondered. If this is their cart they probably don’t want me messing around it.

Amethyst Star was about to take a step back when she noticed the incredibly sickly look of the stallion wearing the racing uniform and heard the start of a certain conversation.

“Sug’ there’s no way you can race like this,” a mare with a thick country accent and a cream colored coat said as she rubbed the back on the sick looking stallion.

“I have to, Mary Belle. Aint’ nobody else that can drive our car. We need to place in this race or it could be our last,” he tried to look at her with hard eyes full of determination but a sudden nausea came over him and he wobbled about, almost toppling over to the ground.

“Dad!” A little pink filly ran up to her father to helped steady him. “Come on, you don’t need to force yourself.”

He leaned on his daughter slightly to keep himself standing. “If-*cough*-if we don’t race at all we won’t have the money or prestige to make it in for the next one… we’re not successful enough for a sponsorship. You know as well as I do this is our last chance.”

“Even if you did race it would take a miracle for us to get as good a spot as we need,” Mary Belle sadly said to her husband. “I don’t want you to put your life in danger for a pipe dream, we all knew this was already a longshot.”

An older stallion stepped up now, he looked like he was probably Mary Belle’s father. “You just gotta give it up, Dew. It’s over.” He looked over at their car and sighed. “We can sell the car to someone else and still make something off this but that’s all we can do.”

“No!” The filly shouted at her grandpa. “We’ve put so much into this! This car is our dream, we can’t just sell it!”

“Calm down there,” her mother put a hoof on her head. “There aint nothing that can be done.”

“Isn’t there someone who can drive our car though? There has to be somebody out there that can help us!” The little filly wailed, tears welling up in her eyes.

And if it was even just a few days ago, Amethyst Star would’ve walked forward and said “Yes!”.

But it wasn’t a few days ago. It was the present, where reality had set in for her and Prince Periwinkle had done a good job of convincing her to not get in anyone elses business or lie about her being able to do something that she really couldn’t. It’s funny how this moment was essentially shoving itself in her face. Funny how eagerly she would’ve jumped at the opportunity to drive this car and participate in the race. She really did still want to prove how special and amazing she was… but she knew she shouldn’t try and would only let these ponies down or make things worse. They wanted to sell the car and make some money? If she attempted to drive it she’d probably wreck it and leave them with nothing.

There was an “adventure” just right there in front of her, but she was going to turn away from it. It wasn’t something she should do. All that determination and desire she had had throughout her journey was gone. Here was an opportunity but she was no longer naive or deluded enough in herself to believe she was the special pony this family needed. She sadly wasn’t the type of pony that could just help anybody with their problems and look awesome while doing it.

“Who are you?” Dew said

Amethyst Star snapped out of her thoughts and looked to see the eyes of all the other ponies around the car staring back at her, obviously Dew and the rest of them had finally noticed her standing by the front of their car.

“Uhh, hi,” she waved, nervously. “Sorry, don’t mind me. I was just wandering around and accidentally eavesdropped. I’m Amethyst Star, from out of town and I didn’t really know I shouldn’t be here...”

It seemed Dew or Mary Belle might’ve been about to say something, whether a quick forgiveness or admonishment Amethyst Star wouldn’t know, for their daughter’s eyes positively lit up when she saw Amethyst Star and heard her name.

“Wait!” The filly ran up to Amethyst Star and held a hoof up in front of her face to keep Amethyst Star from saying more. “Your name is Amethyst Star? Our car’s name is The Amethyst Flame!” She smiled and rubbed any last remaining tears out of her eyes, looking over her shoulder at her parents and the others. “Mom, dad, it’s gotta be her! She’s the one who’s going to race!”

There was only one response Amethyst Star and the other ponies had to that.

“What?”

The little filly was not discouraged by the unenthusiastic reaction, she bounced up and down on her hooves and squealed in delight. “This is just like something out of a story, think about it! We’re all totally down on our luck, about to give up and lose everything, and suddenly a cliché stranger from nowhere shows up on the day of the big race and just happens to hear us and she even shares a name with our car! This has to be fate or something!” She leaned up right into Amethyst Star’s face. “Will you drive our car in the race today, please? You have to, you must be some kind of adventurer or hero or something, right? I’m right, aren’t I?!”

Amethyst Star looked over her head at the other ponies. Dew, Mary Belle, and Mary Belle’s father were all looking at her with bemused and wondering expressions. Did they have a tiny glimmer of hope in them that this little filly was right about Amethyst Star? Would they even let her race?

Did she even want to?

She didn’t have any illusions that this would go well. She didn’t think she could win. She didn’t know if the world was playing another joke on her by throwing her into this situation.

Well, so what? Maybe she wouldn’t succeed or wouldn’t be able to awesomely win this big race. But maybe she could still help these ponies.

Forget about what she wanted. Forget about what she had been trying to do on this journey. If this filly wanted her to race and help them out then she could at least try her best at doing that.

Amethyst Star looked down into the filly’s eyes. She didn’t smile or speak with confidence, if anything resignation was what came out of her mouth, her spirit still trampled on by the events in Diminuendo and nothing she could do could disguise that. But she answered the filly either way. “Yeah, I’ll be your driver.”

“I don’t see why you feel the need to appear at the grand opening to a new grocery store of all things when we have your wedding to plan and prepare for,” Tasky said to Periwinkle as they stood inside the doors of said newly opened store after the Prince had just cut the ribbon for it. Numerous ponies were flowing inside already, the Prince’s appearance always drew a large crowd.

“I want everyone to see things are normal in Diminuendo after our little Songstress incident,” Periwinkle replied to her out the side of his mouth as he continued to smile and wave at all the ponies walking in. “It’s important for the people to see me after my absence.”

“They saw you at the concert and the following announcement. You are just refusing to take a day off. Again,” she frowned at him.

“The wedding isn’t going anywhere and my mother is having a perfectly fun time planning it herself. It’s fine,” his smile thinned slightly.

Tasky rolled her eyes and shook her head, knowing it was pointless to argue with him on this.

Periwinkle had to take a pause and yawn for a second when the ponies entering the store slowed, he needed a little rest even if he would refuse to admit that. “At least-” he started before being interrupted by another yawn. “At least, the Songstresses aren’t going to be causing any more trouble for anyone. Brilliant Sky said he’d get in touch with Equestria somehow and have them extradited. Hopefully soon.”

“Gilded Shield says they’ve been making a huge ruckus in the dungeon and have repeatedly attempted to escape already,” Tasky told him.

“Well that’s not surprising, I think-”

“Excuse me, are you Prince Periwinkle?”

Tasky and Periwinkle looked over at the one who had just spoken to them. A scarlet red mare wearing black had walked into the new grocery store, looking dead at the Prince from behind her black sunglasses. The Red Hornet had a bit of an intimidating and not very friendly look about her that made the Prince uneasy. Instantly he could tell that she was another pony not from Diminuendo but he hoped that maybe appearances were deceiving and she’d at least end up better than the last one that had come through here.

“I am. And you are?” He asked her.

The Red Hornet’s mouth slowly turned up in a smile. “Who am I? Well, that’s a good question. To my friends I go by one name and to my enemies I go by another.” She chuckled.

“I see,” Periwinkle’s eyes narrowed. “And so how can I get the name your friends call you?”

“Oh that’s very simple, honey,” The Red Hornet pulled down her sunglasses. “There’s a unicorn who I’ve been on the trail of for a while now and I know she came here but I’m not sure where she might’ve gone off to now. So if you could tell me everything about Amethyst Star and what happened here, I’d really appreciate it.”

Her Race II

For once, Amethyst Star didn’t know how she got roped into this mess. Normally it was her own fault. She had decided to not go searching for a quest anymore and one fell into her lap just randomly. Well, this was a little different. She wasn’t trying to prove anything here and she didn’t think she could win, and she told the little filly and her family that she wasn’t as special as she thought. But that filly really thought she had come as their savior. And it really was pretty darn coincidental, Amethyst Star had to admit. To think that none of this would have happened if she just went into the stands like every other pony, she would’ve just sat down and enjoyed watching a big race. It would’ve been a nice and fun little event that she could’ve enjoyed from the sidelines instead of throwing herself into it like everything else she had come across so far on her journey. She was so strangely lethargic and unenthusiastic about this compared to her previous adventures. Diminuendo had turned her optimism into biting pessimism.

The little filly, who’s name was Fernie, showing off The Amethyst Flame to her was more than excited enough to make up for any of that though. She was happy to explain every little thing in detail to the completely clueless Amethyst Star. It was something that was very necessary and while it should have maybe made Fernie worry that Amethyst Star was a complete novice with no knowledge about cars it didn’t end up shaking her confidence in the newcomer at all.

Celestia only knows why. Amethyst Star cynically thought.

Fernie’s grandpa on the other hoof did share thoughts much more in line with Amethyst Star than his granddaughter. “This is kind of… insane. Are we actually doing this?” He asked the others while Fernie took Amethyst Star around the back of the car to look at the engine.

“Yes grandpa, we’re doing this!” Fernie said back to him.

“She doesn’t know anything about cars...” Mary Belle said as she fanned her sick husband, his head was in her lap as he lied down on the ground.

“Well there’s no one else who can drive it half as good as dad anyways,” Fernie pouted. “Come on, have some faith!”

“I think your family is kind of right,” Amethyst Star said to her.

Fernie frowned and looked up at her. “You have some faith too!”

“It’s fine...” Dew wheezed from his position. “Would rather… it have one last race than sell it… even if something happens… or we don’t place.”

And how was Amethyst Star supposed to react to that?

“Alright,” she shrugged. “I mean if you really want me to I’ll do it and try my best to help you.” She then muttered under her breath. “Doing something a little selfless for once out here might even be good. Trying to do what I wanted and make myself look good never ended well.”

“Did you say something?” Fernie glanced at her.

“Nope, nothing,” Amethyst Star shook her head.

Fernie smiled. “Okay, let me show you the driver’s seat and tell you just how to handle our car!”

The filly hopped up on the big front-right tire of the car and used it to scramble up on the hood and over the windshield before plopping down on the driver’s seat and opening up the door with a handle that was on the inside that Amethyst Star was unable to see from standing right outside it.

“We’ve told you not to jump all over the car like that,” Mary Belle frowned at her daughter’s behavior.

Fernie just ignored her and beckoned Amethyst Star to look inside the driver’s seat. Amethyst Star was much taller than the filly and could easily see into it or hop inside it herself if Fernie wasn’t already there, so instead she put her hooves on the frame of the door and stuck her head in. Besides the steering wheel there were several buttons and dials on the dashboard and two pedals on the floor. She had no idea what any of this other stuff was for, good thing she was about to get a lesson.

“You see this?” Fernie pointed to one gauge with a red needle currently resting at one side that said “0” while going all the way up to “160” on the other side. “This is the speedometer. It’ll tell you how fast you’re going. Next to it is the fuel gauge, that tells you how much fuel you have, right now it’s at full cause we just filled it up. And then this-” She pointed at a light that was currently off. “This light is an indicator that’ll flash red if the engine is overheating, if that’s happening you gotta ease up on the speed a bit, got it?”

“Uh huh,” Amethyst Star nodded, following along well enough for now.

“That shouldn’t normally happen though. The car is made to handle going as fast as possible for long stretches, it should only flash once or twice during the race when you’re going up steep inclines or in a really hot spot. You just gotta be careful,” Fernie continued to explain.”Okay, now this yellow button right next to the steering wheel?”

Amethyst Star looked further in and saw the button in question. A large yellow button ringed in black sat just above the fuel gauge to the left of the wheel.

“This is for the nitro. If you press that button you’ll get a big boost of speed and power, but there’s only enough in the car for two uses, so you gotta make em count,” Fernie told her.

“Nitro?” Amethyst Star asked.

“Think of it as an explosion going off in the gas tank. Except safe,” Fernie told her with a big smile on her face.

It did not fully reassure Amethyst Star. “Yeahhh...”

“Aw don’t worry about it, it’s safe, I can vouch for it,” Grandpa said with a shake of his head at Fernie’s less than stellar explanations.

“Last thing is the most important!” Fernie kept going and pointed at the pedals on the floor. “The pedal on the right is for the gas that’ll make the car move once it’s on and go faster the more pressure you put on it and the pedal on the left is for the brakes.” Fernie chewed on her lip and furrowed her brow for a second. “What else? Oh, duh!” She pointed at a black button on the right of the steering wheel. “The ignition! This starts the car in the first place. All you gotta do is push it, probably won’t need to except the one time when we get the car ready for the race and coast it out onto the course but if the engine ever stalls you’ll need to press it again after letting it rest for a minute.” She scooted over to the door and looked down at her grandpa. “I get everything?”

Her grandfather raised a single not quite happy eyebrow at her. “Seatbelt?”

“Oh yeah,” Fernie blushed and pulled on a seatbelt from the other end of the seat, showing the tongue to Amethyst Star. “You insert it into a little buckle over here right next to the door. Make sure you wear it at all times when you’re driving.” She smirked at her grandfather. “Did I get everything now?”

Grandpa nodded. “Yeah that just about does it, sugar. I’d say you’ve helped prepare her for the race as best as any of us can.” He glanced over at Amethyst Star with a worried expression on his face.

Amethyst Star could only shrug. “Like I said, I’ll do my best for you guys.”

“Thank you for that...” Dew painfully called out from the other side of the car.

“So like, how long is the race and everything?” Amethyst Star asked as she walked around to see him and his wife, along with the other ponies of their group she hadn’t been introduced to.

“Miles. And it’s not just the length but some of the track is really rugged and difficult to get through, there are all kinds of areas,” Mary Belle told her. “You’ll need to stop for refueling about midway through, our pit crew will meet you at the designated spot and take care of that for you.”

“How will I know what the designated spot is?” Amethyst Star tiled her head.

“There are signs,” Fernie said as she hopped down from the car to join her. “I’ll be there too along with our crew.” She nodded at the other ponies. “We’ll head there once the race begins.”

That made Amethyst Star fairly confused. “Wait, hold on. You’ll meet me out there? How are you going to get to wherever the halfway point is before me?”

“Teleportation rig. It’s used to transport staff and team members to multiple parts of the course,” Grandpa explained.

“Oh. Well. I guess there’s no better way to use something like that,” Amethyst Star flatly responded. “Er, so is there anything else I should know about the race? And if the racecourse is so big how come the stands and all the ponies are just right here?”

“More magic that could probably be used in better ways,” Grandpa rolled his eyes. “You see, we’ve got ponies who’ll be floating in hot air balloons above the whole course, along with others on the sidelines at spots, that will be watching the race. They’ve got these magical cameras that’ll transmit everything they see to a huge magically projected screen above the stands. That way the ponies there can see everything for the entire race.”

I really should’ve just walked into the stands. Amethyst Star frowned.

Fernie poked her shoulder a couple times to get her attention. “The only other thing you need to know about the course is that there are different branching paths you can take at certain parts. You’ll see the other cars all go off on different ones, it’s okay cause they’ll all end up at the same place eventually but some paths might have rougher terrain or more turns than others, stuff like that. Don’t get worried if you end up on a path no other cars are on, it’s impossible to actually get off the course and even though some paths might seem longer or make you think you’ve fallen behind there are tons of chances to make up for it.”

“So I shouldn’t get discouraged if I’m in dead last place. Got it,” the somewhat cynical unicorn nodded.

“That’s the spirit!” Fernie cheered with a smile, completely oblivious to Amethyst Star’s pessimism.

Amethyst Star decided not to rain on her parade so instead she was going to ask when the race actually started. That was when the sounds of a number of ponies walking into the car lot reached their ears, Amethyst Star and the others looked to see the racers from the tent beginning to file in and make their way to their own cars, getting prepared for the beginning of the race.

“Not long now,” Grandpa said, half to himself.

One of the racers came up to the car right next to The Amethyst Flame and looked over, raising an eyebrow at the odd situation.

“Ya still sick, Dew? Not gonna be racing today?” He asked.

“We’re still participating, Loxy!” Fernie puffed up her cheeks and frowned at him.

Loxy, a brick red earth pony with a deep brown mane and tail, grinned. “Well good luck I guess. Considering how y’all usually do I figured you might just take the excuse to bow out today. Aint no sense risking your health for no reason.” He chuckled.

“Shut up, Loxy,” Mary Belle snapped at him.

He kept chuckling as he started looking over his car with his own pit crew. “Sorry, sorry, it’s just I can’t remember the last time your team won anything. When was it? Oh yeah, never.”

Loxy and his crew started guffawing while Amethyst Star and the others glared at him. Now she may have not wanted to get involved in something like this, and she knew how her temper and bullheadedness could really mess things up for her, but if there was one thing Amethyst Star couldn’t stand it was a jerk. These ponies that owned The Amethyst Flame had been really nice and she didn’t like seeing someone insult them like that. It reminded her too much of herself. She was about to step forward and tell him what for when someone else beat her to it.

“Oh and when was the last time you won anything, Loxy? Cause it certainly wasn’t whenever I was racing.”

They all looked to the source of the voice, a pony standing in front of a jet-black car directly across from The Amethyst Flame. He was an older pale green pony but not elderly like Grandpa, a pegasus with a snowy white mane and short beard that was wearing a white jumpsuit with wing holes in the side. The expression on his face was an unimpressed stare as he looked through lazy, half-lidded eyes at the formerly laughing Loxy.

“Yeah well maybe that’s changing today?” Loxy scowled at the interloper and didn’t wait for a response, nodding at his pit crew to get to work on his car.

The older racer just shook his head at Loxy’s attitude and walked over to Amethyst Star and the others. “Hope you feel better soon, Dew. And what’s this I here about you still participating?”

“Thanks, Watts,” Dew said as he tried to sit up. “And uh, you can thank Fernie for it I guess but we’ve got a substitute for me right here.”

As he pointed a shaking hoof at Amethyst Star, Watts looked over and politely nodded and smiled at her. “Why hello, I don’t believe I’ve met you before. So you’ll be driving in Dew’s stead, Miss-?”

“Amethyst Star,” she smiled back at him and put a hoof forward for a shake.

“Pleasure to meet you,” he grinned. “And what a fortuitous name so it seems. Well, I am Watts as you have just heard, I’ll enjoy seeing you out on the course. It’s quite nice of you to help a team out like this.”

Amethyst Star blushed and sheepishly looked away. “If I’m being honest I was kind of roped into it...”

“She’s just being modest, she’s our big ol’ savior!” Fernie said to Watts.

“Hahaha!” Watts laughed. “Well regardless of why, you’re still doing a good thing. Good luck out there, I must tend to my own car now.” He waved himself away and jumped up into his car’s driver seat, when he pulled the door open Amethyst Star saw a pair of silver wings painted on the side.

“So uh, who was that guy?” Amethyst Star asked as she turned back to the others.

“Big veteran of the races,” Grandpa answered. “He’s won more than anybody else. Stand up fellow too.”

Amethyst Star had to nod in agreement. “Yeah, he seemed nice.”

“Obviously not everyone is like that but most aren’t outright mean like Loxy either,” Mary Belle said.

The screeching sound of a whistle blew out over the entire lot, down by the entrance stood a pony with a black hat and a white and black striped referee’s uniform. He took his whistle from his lips so he could shout an announcement to all of the racers. “Alright everyone, you know how it goes! We’re gonna start getting you out onto the course so hurry up and get into your vehicles. No more last minute adjustments, pit crews need to head over to the teleportation pad, drivers suit up if you haven’t and start your cars. We’ll lead you out onto the track in order in two minutes!”

The unicorn from out of town blinked and looked over at Dew. “Do I have a suit to wear?”

Dew shook his. “No, but it’s fine. We’ll give you a scarf and you can wear my helmet and goggles, they’ll fit you just fine.”

And they did. Amethyst Star adjusted the strap of the goggles and hoofed over her saddlebag to Mary Belle as she climbed into the driver’s seat of The Amethyst Flame while the others watched her. Fernie had eagerly waved her goodbye and headed off to the teleportation pad with the rest of the pit crew, leaving Amethyst Star alone with her parents and grandfather.

“Are you three sure you’re okay with me doing this?” She had to ask them one last time. Looking at the steering wheel and everything else in front of her she was starting to get a little panicked. Unlike her past self who would’ve believed she could drive this thing no problem, she was worried that she’d crash almost immediately.

“I suppose,” Grandpa shrugged.

“Might as well try to make Fernie happy,” Mary Belle sighed.

“Try… your best,” Dew wheezed.

Amethyst Star figured that was that. Whether it turned out good or bad she was participating in this race. It would be nice if she could help them but… who knows for now. “Alright then.” She said and pressed the ignition, the car’s engine coming to life with a loud rumble. The metal frame of the vehicle gave a jolt underneath her before settling into a steady rumble. Now all she needed to do was tap the right pedal and she’d start moving. But it wasn’t time for her yet, she had to wait for the officials to get the others ahead of her out onto the track first. Putting her seatbelt on she gulped down all of her fears and reservations and waited.

“Good luck, we’ll be back here watching,” Grandpa said to her.

“Thanks.”

In a minute it was her turn to be led out of the car lot and onto the track, she put the slightest amount of pressure on the gas and was rewarded by the car moving forward, far smoother than she expected too. With a bit of sweat on her forehead being sponged up by the soft interior of her helmet she turned the wheel to follow the car in front of her out of the lot. Being extra careful to not make any sudden movements or jerk the wheel too hard. She could feel the power in this thing, her hoof was hardly depressing the gas pedal at all, it was practically just coasting along but she knew if she pressed it any harder the thing would go flying.

When she left the fenced off area and went to go get lined up on the course she couldn’t help but notice how some of the racers in front of her were waving to the crowd and cheerfully smiling as they drove their cars into starting position. Amethyst Star meanwhile had her eyes locked deadset ahead of her and her hooves clamped over the steering wheel.

“Not getting in an accident before the race starts. That is not happening,” she said to herself.

But things were largely going well for now, the crowd had gotten louder and started cheering more as the cars got into position and it actually made Amethyst Star a little excited to hear too. By the time she ended up in position and was signaled by one of the officiators to put the brakes on and stop her car it seemed like she was in the back half of the cars lined up. She could see the starting line that sat at the midpoint of the stands and it looked like a good thirty cars were ahead of her while maybe only about fifteen or twenty were behind her.

“I get that they need to stagger us all to make room but this is kind of unfair isn’t it?” She frowned. “Oh well, I guess it must not matter too much considering how long the course is.”

Just past the stands and out of the stadium grounds it looked like the course went into a pretty rough and mountainous area, beyond that Amethyst Star couldn’t tell what else was coming, it was too far. She remembered there was a forest somewhere right out of the city but she couldn’t see it like this. But whatever else there was it was certain to be one crazy racecourse that she was about to drive on. She just hoped she wasn’t making a huge mistake again by agreeing to this.

“Not like I have any delusions this time, I’m just trying to help some nice ponies. Forget about proving anything.”

She bit her lip, trying to shoo out any thoughts that didn’t have to do with the race. “Just start already...”

Maybe Celestia felt like answering her prayers, because a referee pony walked out onto an alcove on the stands right above where the starting line was carrying a checkered flag. The cheering from the audience grew louder and she saw the drivers in the cars next to her getting ready, leaning forward and narrowing their eyes, just waiting for that flag to fly. She didn’t mimic them but kept her focus on that flag. Fernie and the others hadn’t told her what the sign was for the race to start but she couldn’t be the first to slam her hoof on the gas anyways and the way everyone reacted to that flag made things obvious.

Amethyst Star took a deep breath and gulped one more time. “Let’s go.”

The referee raised the flag high over his head. The crowd was roaring but it was silent to Amethyst Star.

Dropped.

And they were off.

Her Race III

Amethyst Star floored it.

The sounds of engines flaring and hundreds of tires spinning and digging into the ground for traction made the yelling of the crowd almost imperceptible behind it all. Amethyst Star felt the vehicle beneath her truly come to life as she really gave it the gas and allowed it to start thundering down the racecourse along with all the others. They were all going full speed right from the start, storms of exhaust and dust being kicked up along the way as they made their way down the first straightaway of the course into the next area. Amethyst Star passed the starting line after just a second and was quite proud of herself for not instantly crashing.

Okay, now let’s really see how this thing drives! She grit her teeth and watched for an opening in the cars ahead of her to try and make way into a better position. She could already see other racers trying to edge out and pass each other right from the start. There were ones probably attempting to do the same thing to her from behind.

There wasn’t enough room between the cars in front of her for her to make any progress of her own yet though, the track was too narrow and linear right now, she’d have to wait for it to open up and get to all the alternate paths the others had told her about. At the moment the best she could do was hold her own position and make sure she didn’t fall further into the back places of the cars. First place was a far ways off, she didn’t think she’d be able to actually get first place but she still needed to make it her goal and try her best. If she was gunning as hard as she could for first then maybe, just maybe, she could place somewhere that would still get Fernie and them some prize money.

Again as she ran this thing as fast as she could without hitting the cars in front of her she was happy to realize how smoothly and well it handled herself. Definitely made things easier for her than if it was shaking and stiff or slow to react.

The goggles and windshield kept her eyes perfectly fine and the seatbelt kept her safely in place, everything was working as intended so far. No weird noises, no flashing lights, no popped tires, no accidentally hitting the nitro yet. Amethyst Star was buzzing along and the scarf she wore around her neck was flapping in the wind.

She made it to the end of the stands and the portion of the stadium still bordered by the road and buildings of the city on one side where the track now started to widen and allowed more cars to pull up alongside each other and try to get ahead. This was her opportunity now too.

“Looks like everyone has the same idea,” she said as she glanced to her side to see a few other racers in her group giving their cars a little more gas and trying to wind their way forward.

There was still grass to her left right now and since no other drivers were going on it that probably meant it was against the rules, but she was still stuck in the middle of so many other cars that there didn’t look to be a way to get past any in front of her. No one was giving an inch or allowing her any room to maneuver, not that she could blame them. At the front and back of the column the cars were starting to spread out enough and starting to distance themselves from the others but in the middle it was still a jumbled and chaotic mess of metal vehicles all vying for dominance with one another.

If I had a better starting position things would be different. She cynically noted.

But she was holding on and doing a good job of not falling behind yet. That was all she could really ask for right now. Her vehicle picked up speed along with the others as they had more room to drive on and really got out onto the course, it didn’t take long before they left the city limits behind them and started driving down a part of the track that went into the nearby foothills before a large forest and more mountainous area past them. On the sides of the road were white painted wooden barriers meant to keep anyone from going off course. Amethyst Star sorely hoped she wouldn’t need them to stop her from crashing or anything.

She saw the ground up ahead dip down, the first change in the course from being a simple and level run. The frontrunners disappeared from view as they went down the hill and a second later Amethyst Star’s stomach went up into her chest as she followed them. It was a sharp descent, and a quick one too, for the road quickly inclined and went back up a hill before dipping down again. A sequence of small hills in the course being the first “obstacle” for her. Amethyst Star could feel the tires of the car slightly leave the ground each time she reached the apex of one of the hills, jumping down on its way to the bottom along with the dozens of other cars. The suspension of the car was able to perfectly handle the stress though, the vehicle built for rough terrain and moves like this.

Some of the drivers weren’t able to keep their speed up perfectly though, they landed wrong or started drifting or sliding along the dirt because their angle was off, allowing other cars that stayed straight and kept going full speed to pass them. Amethyst Star surprisingly being one of these as The Amethyst Flame shot down the last hill and make it back to level ground with one last bounce beneath her.

Now in a slightly better position than before.

It threatened to fill her up with hubris but she quashed that. Just stay focused on the race, nothing more.

Up ahead she saw a very thick forest full of tall trees and the racecourse looked like it went right into it, but there was no way there was one path through there as wide as the road was now, the trees were far too close together for that.

I wonder if that’s where the paths start to branch off from each other? Amethyst Star thought. If that’s the case I’ll be able to get ahead some more going the right way, can’t let anything else slow me down!

The sight of a car ahead of her suddenly flying through the air made her eyes widen in shock.

“What was that?!” She questioned.

The answer to that came quickly as she saw more cars take off flying and she finally got farther enough to see a number of ramps on the ground that cars could either choose to jump off of or go around. Her jaw dropped this time at the insane obstacles, wasn’t it dangerous for big metal vehicles like this to do something like that?! Especially with so many of them out here.

“No one told me about this!” She yelled.

That wasn’t even it either. There were divots and bumps and pools of mud in the course now, it wasn’t just a normal straight length of dirt anymore, this racecourse was more than it seemed. Cars had to fight for position and avoid the obstacles along with the danger of hitting each other. Amethyst Star gulped, did she have the skill to navigate all of this? An oncoming ramp in front of her posed a challenging question: take the risk and jump it, possibly getting ahead of some cars, or do the safe thing and avoid it since she would probably crash due to her lack of driving experience.

“Forget that! I’m not letting anyone pass me!” Amethyst Star gunned it right towards the ramp.

The Amethyst Flame zoomed up and off it like a rocket, airborne with good enough hang time for Amethyst Star to grin and see the room she was making. She had even flat out jumped over another car! Her hoof kept itself pressed hard to the pedal and her front hooves were practically glued to the steering wheel, a mix of excitement and fear pounding through her body while the ground quickly approached under her.

“Yeah!” She cheered right as the car hit the ground, and regretted that immediately as the shock almost made her bite her tongue. Her brain rattled around inside her skull while the car continued to bounce and threatened to go out of control if Amethyst Star didn’t wrangle it right after the landing.

She heard the tires screeching beneath her and felt the vehicle shake and slide a bit along the dirt. She really didn’t want to spin out or hit anything else on accident after making that jump.

Whether through luck or some latent skill she was able to keep the wheel steady and take back full control of the car, just barely dodging a mud pit as she straightened out and kept speeding towards the forest in the middle of the pack. She had gotten up by a few cars, more of a prize than she could have asked for.

Almost at the forest, things are going even better than expected so far. She dared to think.

“MOOOOO!”

The startlingly loud moo broke her out of her euphoria. Amethyst Star looked forward to see a stampede of cows running across the racecourse around the front-runners. There were hundreds of them, all running on their short cow legs from one side of the track to the other. Cars were forced to dodge between them to avoid a horrific accident, some ended up careening into others or spinning out or hitting some other obstacle in their attempts. And yet the cow menace kept coming and coming, soon Amethyst Star would have to drive her hardest and most precise yet to avoid the fat creatures.

“Is this intentional?! Was this supposed to happen?!” She yelled, absolutely flabbergasted at this strange turn of events and new obstacle. “Gah!” She pulled her steering wheel to the side to avoid a running cow and immediately had to yank it to the other side to avoid another.

Her wheels tore fresh new tracks into the soft ground as she weaved in and out of the cows. They weren’t taking up too much of the track but there were so many of them running through it at once, their frightened and angry mooing was driving her crazy and she had to clench her jaw shut in concentration.

There is something seriously wrong with what’s happening right now!

That was the primary thought going through her head as she narrowly avoided one last cow and made it back to an unobstructed stretch of the course before the big forest coming up. She didn’t and couldn’t wipe the sweat from her brow, only renew her focus on the next leg of this insane racecourse that she was about to enter. Ahead of her she saw that her initial guess was correct, the trees and forest were too thick for the road to stay all together as one, instead five separate roads took off into the forest, each one only wide enough for one or two cars to travel down side by side at once.

This was critical, which one was the best to take?

Her Race IV

She was hardly the first car that had made it to the forest. Already she could see a couple dozen going down the various paths in front of her, and she’d need to make her own decision very quickly. A quick look at the others saw most of them going down the center and right-of-center paths, only leaving two or three going down the two left ones. Obviously they knew something she didn’t about these paths, there was clearly a reason why most would stick with those others. But if she joined them the paths didn’t really allow for her to ever pass anyone else due to their narrowness. It’s possible that the two left paths were more dangerous or longer or something but they also looked like the only way for her to make any progress and get further ahead on this leg of the course. It was a risk, just like the ramp, and it was one she had to take.

“Here’s to nothing,” she pulled her wheel to the left and shot down the left most path going into the forest.

This wasn’t just a straight road like the one leading to the forest from the starting line, it winded through the trees and she had to twist and turn the car back and forth to avoid hitting anything. The forest was so heavy with thick trunks and foliage that she couldn’t really see the other paths anymore now that she was on this one. Which might have been a good thing since now she could focus entirely on her own driving.

The road was a lot rougher compared to the smooth ride she had had on the earlier part of the course, natural little bumps and holes caused the car to shake each time it went over one and she could see deep tracks dug into the ground from one or two cars ahead of her that added to the ruggedness of the forest path. A few fell branches that lay across the road created the most minute of speed bumps, she just hoped there weren’t any fallen trees blocking the way up ahead.

The downside to going through a forest like this where the road constantly turned and snaked sideways was that you couldn’t go as fast as possible, Amethyst Star had to repeatedly let up on the gas and put on the brakes to keep on the road and not hit anything. This probably wasn’t too bad though since she imagined all the other paths were similar in this way, the trees probably didn’t allow for any simple and straight path through the whole forest.

“I really hope this was the right decision...” Amethyst Star said as the leaves from a low hanging branch brushed right over her head.

She could hear traces of the other cars on the same path as her, their engines rumbling loudly from up ahead and the occasional loud thump as they went over a particularly big bump or branch in the road. It didn’t look like she’d be able to catch up with any of them but it gave her some relief knowing there were at least a few others that took this path too. Maybe she could still get ahead of a lot of other cars if she kept up what she was doing.

A sudden hairpin turn caused her tires to screech in protest as she slammed on the brakes and jerked the wheel to keep from sailing off into the forest, she could feel the car tilt and the right-side tires briefly leave the ground before plopping back down. Amethyst Star licked her lips, a bit worried about how badly that could’ve ended.

But if she thought the road was rough before she was about to be in for a rude awakening.

“Oh crud,” she blanched as she looked ahead and saw dozens of cut logs that had been dropped over the road. Big enough that they could be a serious problem to her car and numerous enough that it was impossible to avoid them. Even if it might end up with her crashing she had to drive over them. “Is this just another obstacle?”

Her tires hit the first log and her car lurched up as they climbed over the wooden obstruction, the log being slapped towards the back tires before they too chewed it up and made it over. Amethyst Star grit her teeth the whole way as the car groaned and vibrated. She couldn’t go quickly over these logs, it just wasn’t possible. She constantly bounced up and down in her seat as the big tires crawled over the uneven logs, thankfully nothing got caught and the unicorn driver was able to keep the car from slipping out of her control. The amount of logs on the ground and their varying sizes still made the trip an unsteady and inconsistent up and down the entire time over them but Amethyst Star didn’t lose too much time on them. Even though she winced each time the undercarriage of her car was struck.

When she finally made it over the last one she gunned it once more and sped down the forest path. No more obstacles in the way just yet.

Gotta make up for that lost time! She thought as she started taking turns at possibly a bit higher speed than she should be.

Occasionally she passed through areas of the forest that were less dense and she could see to her sides the other cars on the different paths far off in the distance. Only for a split-second though until more trees covered them up. When it came to the cars that should still be on the path ahead of her though she had even less signs of. There were still tracks in the road from them but she neither saw nor heard anything else of them. Had they gotten that far ahead of her?

“So now I really do have to make up,” Amethyst Star narrowed her eyes and sped on.

It would’ve been nice if she knew how big the forest was, or had an estimate on how long it was supposed to take her to get through here, instead she had no idea if she was making good, bad, or just plain average time through this leg. In fact she really had no idea how long the race was supposed to be on the whole, or how long it took for the car to run out of fuel. Was she gonna be driving this thing for hours? These are really questions she should’ve asked Fernie and the others now that she thought about it. The fuel gauge actually looked like it was kind of low...

“Whatever. Just drive, that’s all that matters,” she shook her head and told herself.

Of course it couldn’t be that simple, something new came up for her to think about. A fork in the road ahead.

Oh great, right or left? Amethyst Star bit her lip, she couldn’t see very far down either of them and she was coming up on the fork fast, not giving her much time to choose. Whatever, they both look the same and left has been doing good for me so far.

She pulled the wheel to the left and zoomed further on into the forest. Hopefully this was a better route to take than the right path.

Well whatever the right path had been for a while this left one was pretty straightforward. She cruised through the forest at top speed, even more detached from the other racers at this point, it was like she was on a solo run. Fine by her. The ability to totally focus on her own driving was welcome. Her tires crunched over pebbles and twigs lying on the road, kicking up dirt and mud behind them, the increasingly muddy dirt road not a problem at all for The Amethyst Flame. Not yet at least. To Amethyst Star’s dismay the ground grew wetter and muddier the farther she drove until her wheels were sinking an inch or two deeper than they should be. Splashes of water and mud were being sprayed out, into the forest, behind the car, and up along its sides, making it a dirty mess.

She checked her speed and saw that she was still going full speed but if the mud got worse or deeper it might really drag down her car.

“Come on, come on,” Amethyst Star pleaded with the world to let up on the mud as she kept her hoof on the pedal.

That didn’t amount to much though.

The mud continued to get deeper and stickier, slowing down her tires and dragging them halfway down into the ground. Now she could hear them struggling, hear them having trouble with turning and getting any purchase as they spun beneath her. The speed of The Amethyst Flame slowed considerably as it tried to plow its way through the molasses. And that’s what it was, a thick molasses that kept pulling the car in deeper, forcing Amethyst Star to slam down on the gas pedal harder to keep the vehicle from flat out stopping.

Unfortunately not only did her car still get trapped in the mud while the wheels spun uselessly but the engine really didn’t like that extra pressure and the light came on, forcing her to remove her hoof from the pedal.

Amethyst Star slammed her hooves on the wheel in frustration. “Ugh! Now what?”

She tried tapping the gas pedal down a few times to see if it would get her anywhere but the car was stuck. At least the light had gone off when she stopped holding the pedal down all the way. But what could she do now? She thought about using her magic to try and partially lift the car out of the mud. But she probably wasn’t strong enough for that and it might even be against the rules. The engine and tires just didn’t have the power in them to get out of this mud pit, no matter how she turned the wheel to try and angle them or how hard she pressed on the gas to get the car to react.

“This is hopeless!” She headbutted the wheel and shut her eyes. “Why did I have to go this way? Stupid, stupid, stupid, I never should have gotten involved with this, it was just another mistake and now I’m ruining things for someone else again.” She started disparaging herself, the doubts crawling up into her head again. “I should’ve just walked straight home, I should’ve just ignored everything and gone home. I should’ve known just wanting to help some other ponies wouldn’t change anything for me.”

She lifted her head from the steering wheel and opened her eyes that were starting to get puffy and red.

Her gaze drifted to the large yellow button right next to the steering wheel.

The nitro. Was this the time to use it? Was it the right kind of situation? Fernie said she only had two uses of it and Amethyst Star wasn’t sure it would even help here. The road was straight and had plenty of room for her but would it actually get her out of the mud and on her way in the first place? It was supposed to be a speed and power boost…

“Aw, whatever. Might as well,” she frowned and stepped on the gas, pressing the nitro button an instant later.

And what an effect it had. Amethyst Star was pressed back against her seat by the force of the car taking off. The nitro rocketed her car out of the mud with no problem at all and her hoof reflexively slammed on the pedal while she gripped the wheel in fear and tried to keep dead straight as the car reached previously impossible speeds, the needle on the speedometer completely stuck flat on the high side while the trees of the forest blurred by in a flash.

“Was this really necessary?!” Amethyst Star said in terror as the car practically flew on its own power through the last bit of the forest.

Her Race V

Amethyst Star came out of the forest onto another wide road that sat on the side of a mountain, a wide valley going down the other side, thankfully a barrier separated the road and all the cars on it from the slope. She looked around and saw a number of other cars emerging from different forest paths onto the big road at the same time as her. Had she gotten ahead or fallen further behind? She had absolutely no idea but all she could do was keep driving at this point. The nitro boost had long since ended, the button now only good for one more press so this time she really wanted to save it for the best moment, another place that was completely straight. This mountain road curved and snaked around the mountain, a boost here would probably send her right over the edge. And if she was as far behind as she probably was then it would be doubly pointless to use it here.

As she joined up with all the others on the mountain road she saw a billboard on the side of the mountain:

HALFWAY PIT-STOP COMING UP!

She looked at her fuel gauge to see it had fallen to basically empty. “Guess this thing really eats up gas fast. Fernie said there would be plenty of signs showing me where I need to go so I guess I’ve just gotta drive along here for now.”

Things were now back similar to how it was before the cars hit the forest, they all fought for dominance on this one road as they traveled around the mountain. Some tried to muscle ahead of others while Amethyst Star was stuck in the middle of the pack, too many cars in front of her and to her sides for her to get anywhere, just like before. She was making sure absolutely no one passed her though. Amethyst Star had gotten a good feel for the car and was confident in her ability to maneuver in the massive throng of the other vehicles. Having to go through that tight forest with all its twists and turns gave her the experience she really needed. And not crashing or hitting anything so far gave her the boost of optimism about this race she also really needed.

She noticed that the road they were traveling on slightly declined the longer it went around the mountain, if it went all the way down to the bottom they’d need to drive up another mountain later on to get back on the same level with the stadium and finish line. At least with the halfway point coming up she knew she would be on the back end of the course soon. She was starting to get really hot and sweaty from driving this thing. But would the back half have the same kinds of obstacles as the front? Maybe it would be even more extreme.

“Yeesh, I hope not,” Amethyst Star grimaced. “Almost hitting a bunch of cows and careening through a forest at full speed was enough for me. Just give me a dirt road and a direct path to the end already...”

Thankfully this mountain road didn’t have any obstacles that she could see yet. Maybe they figured it would be dangerous to put that kind of stuff here, the cars simply had an uninterrupted journey to the bottom of the mountain. The vehicles took another curve and Amethyst Star saw a second billboard placed on the side of the road:

MUST STOP AT YOUR DOCK- LOOK FOR YOUR REGISTERED NAME

I really hope that means The Amethyst Flame cause otherwise I might be in trouble. Amethyst Star bit down on the inside of her cheek when she saw that.

Coming out of that curve the road started to angle down sharply and all the cars sped to the foot of the mountain, wanting to get to their stop and refuel and refurbish as quickly as possible. Amethyst Star hadn’t been thinking about it but depending on how good a team’s pit crew was it could actually decide the race. If the pit crew of the second place car was just a little bit faster than the first place that might be all the difference they need to get out in front. How good were Fernie and the others who had come here?

Amethyst Star gazed ahead down at the bottom of the mountain, she saw a large area of paved asphalt that started right where there mountain road ended. It contained dozens of concrete berths and carports for everyone to go to for their stop and she could see ponies milling around them, the pit crews. At the front of the racing cars the first few made it to the bottom and sped towards their ports. Amethyst Star narrowed her eyes as she tried to look for a sign of just where she was supposed to go.

Getting closer to the asphalt she saw that each berth had a banner over it. At first it was still difficult to read them but all the cars had to start slowing down so they could safely get to their berth instead of just crashing into them. She let off the gas and gently touched the brakes while the swarm of vehicles hit the asphalt and her eyes searched for any sign of her team. All the cars around made things a little hard for that but there were just as many others that had to slow down with her and look for where they needed to go, all of them navigating around each other.

In the middle of the berths she saw it, a banner with the words The Amethyst Flame boldly written on it.

“Yes!” She grinned and quickly pulled her car over to it. Sliding the vehicle right into the spot and stopping, where Fernie and the rest of the pit crew were already waiting for her.

“Alright, just like we practiced, do it as quick as possible!” Fernie yelled and the others jumped into action.

One of them carried a huge red jug full of some sort of liquid that he carried to the back of the engine, Amethyst Star craning her neck around the driver’s seat to see him opening up a panel on the car and pouring the liquid into the engine. Another went around tapping and checking the air pressure of the tires while more inspected parts of the engine and the frame of the car. Fernie meanwhile grabbed a water bottle and hopped right up to the driver’s seat to hoof it over to Amethyst Star.

“Here, drink this. You’re doing great out there!” The filly told her with an ecstatic smile.

Now that was a surprise. “I am?”

Fernie nodded. “Yeah! You’re in the top half now. Look, other racers are still only just making it here!” She pointed to the mountain road where, sure enough, multiple cars were still coming down it, not even having gotten to their pit stops yet.

“Huh,” Amethyst Star looked on in surprise. Was she… was she actually doing good? Could she even… win for them?

“We’ll finish up here in a minute and then you can head back out there!” Fernie saluted her.

“Uh, thanks for having all this confidence in me. I guess?” Amethyst Star shrugged and took a drink of the water, giving it back to Fernie.

This time Fernie smiled and shook her head. “No way, I gotta thank you for helping us and doing such a good job!”

Just as she said that the sound of a few engines roaring reached their ears. Amethyst Star and Fernie looked over to see a few cars already heading out and back onto the course. Among them were Loxy and Watts that Amethyst Star could see. Meaning she was still behind the front-runners by too long, she’d have to make up for that in the next leg.

“We’re almost done down here!” The pit pony with the tank said, tilting it up higher to get the last bits out and into the car’s engine. “Full tank of gas soon!”

“Great!” Fernie waved down to him and hopped off the car. “Just keep doing what you’ve been doing.” She said to Amethyst Star. “We’ll be using the teleportation pad to get back to the stadium, once we’re there we’ll be watching you the rest of the way! And we’ll be waiting for you at the finish line, I know you can do it!”

“Yeah, I-” Amethyst Star couldn’t help the grin from appearing on her face. Her attitude and confidence bolstered greatly by her recent successes on the course and from the infectious positivity of Fernie. “I won’t let you down.”

She dared to say it.

Now she just needed to follow through.

“Good to go!” The pony filling up the gas tank said, pulling away his now empty jug and closing the panel with a snap. The other ponies working on and inspecting the car all got up and away from it, giving nods to Fernie and Amethyst Star.

The Amethyst Flame was ready to hit the racecourse once more.

“I’ll see you at the finish line!” Amethyst Star waved goodbye to them and drove out of the pit. Everything on the car looked good and it felt a bit smoother than right before she had the tune up. Gas tank was full, engine light was off, nitro still had one more press, and Amethyst Star the driver was ready and determined to get even further ahead in this race. She’d push herself and the car to the limit, but she’d make it up to Watts and Loxy. That was a promise.

Author's Note

Unexpected work has come up, no chapters for a few days.

Her Race VI

The Amethyst Flame drove across a wide dirt road as Amethyst Star sped onto the second half of the course. Totally refueled and given the OK sign from the pit crew. This path led to a big rock formation up ahead that jutted up out of the ground, so far she didn’t see any road going up or around it but there must be one somewhere. A shadow briefly fell over her car and Amethyst Star glanced up to see one of the hot-air balloons she had been told about hovering overhead. The ponies inside watching and filming her portion of the racers. Turning her attention back to the cars in front of her she tried to see if she could see Watts and Loxy, but they were a bit too far ahead and other cars were blocking her view.

Amethyst Star frowned. “Not letting first place stay that far away...”

Compared to the other roads the race had taken place on so far this one was much wider and actually allowed for racers to pass each other. Not only that, the cars were more spread out in the first place after having gone through the forest and made their pit stops. The different speeds it took drivers to get through those portions all led to a very staggered race as they pushed their cars to the limit towards the rock formation.

She wasn’t sure if hitting another car was outright prohibited or not and she wasn’t going to take that chance, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t sidle up as close as possible to another car to make them worried and try and get them to drop their speed so she could push past them. Amethyst Star grinned as that worked the first time, she was really handling herself well on this race now. That wasn’t some simple amateur move, at least not in her mind.

There weren’t any obstacles on this road like there were on the first one, it was purely about one’s driving ability as they raced to the huge rocks up ahead. This was really going good for her, she was really feeling excited and happy right now. Amethyst Star was not only in the top half of all the cars but she was gaining. Amethyst Star was a pony who might even be able to win.

Those old feelings crept back into her. Those thoughts that she was amazing and special and everyone had to know it just like she did. That she could easily do something like this.

Amethyst Star shook her head. Not to quash those thoughts entirely, but to remind herself that she was doing this for Fernie and the others, not for herself. There wasn’t anything for her to prove here, at best that would be a bonus prize. She needed to focus purely on the race right now. She knew that more than anything. Just getting distracted by things like that balloon, or another driver, or her own delusions especially wouldn’t lead anywhere good. Things had gone well so far because she hadn’t let herself be distracted by anything else. The fear of crashing instantly or screwing up in some way had been defeated but she couldn’t allow any hubris inside of her until she actually crossed that finish line.

Rolling on she finally saw where their path was taking them. Much to her surprise it wasn’t a road up or around the rock formation, the road they were on now went right into a cave that sat at the bottom of it. A wide mouthed, shadowed entrance with rocks hanging like teeth from on top of it. A somewhat scary visage but all it was was a cave, right? Nothing to be afraid of.

“How bright is it gonna be inside there?” She wondered. It looked dark around the entrance because of the way the light hit it from outside but clearly they couldn’t have part of the course be in darkness, could they? “Probably gonna be a bunch of different paths to take just like the forest, and it might get cramped, gotta be careful.”

If she was in the top half there were probably at most twenty cars ahead of her, she’d have to maximize her time through this leg of the course if she wanted to improve her standing even more. Now that they were in the second half of the race she knew there weren’t going to be many chances left to do that. Whatever was in that cave, whatever sort of obstacles there were, she would surmount them.

“I just hope the world doesn’t feel like playing another joke on me,” she said to herself as The Amethyst Flame passed through the mouth of the cave, the brief period of darkness soon blown back by a sequence of lights wired all throughout the walls of the cavern.

Well that’s nice at least…

She didn’t have much time to dwell on the lights though, the entrance to the cave opened up into a huge interior cavern several stories high with all kinds of other paths and caves leading off deeper into the body of the rock formation. There were ramps made of chiseled rock that headed up higher, caves that led lower, and several other roads separated by walls of rock just going straight. Many more choices than the five that she had been presented with back at the forest, a chance for all the drivers to differentiate themselves and try to edge the others out by taking the best path.

Amethyst Star once again had no idea which path was the best.

“Eeny-meeny-miney-mo!” She sharply pulled the wheel to the right and headed into one of the caves that led downwards, again making sure it was a path that she hadn’t seen any others travel into. Perhaps there were one or two who went down here a little earlier than she did but she at least made sure she wouldn’t be stuck directly behind anyone else and lose time.

Thankfully this cave was perfectly lit up by lights embedded into the rocky ceiling, Amethyst Star smiled as she went at top speed down the steadily declining slope, most would probably go on the level paths or the ones that headed up, but she figured luck was on her side for once and there had to be something just as good or quick about these lower caves. When the road she had chosen finally leveled off she was still stuck inside a narrow cave where stalactites hung like jagged daggers right over her head. Not a pleasant trip if she or the car was any taller.

It was hotter down in this cave too. Really hot. The sweltering heat made her sweat hard and the windshield and goggles she wore start to get a little foggy. Even the air in front of her began to blur.

“There’s something familiar about this heat...” Amethyst Star bit her lip.

It kept getting hotter and hotter too as she drove on until finally her cave opened up into a wide and deep cavern, she drove across a stone bridge and chanced a glance over the sides.

“Yep, that’s definitely lava.”

A huge pool of bubbly lava sat only a few feet below the bridge, the source of the incredible heat down in this cave path that she had been taking. At least she’d be out of here soon thanks to the speed she was going but still, lava? A pool of lava on a racecourse?! What were they thinking?! Even if the bridge was steady and had slight walls carved on the side to keep her car from merely drifting off into the lava this was still insane wasn’t it?

“These ponies really go all out when it comes to their races,” Amethyst Star shook her head as she hit the gas and made it over the bridge as fast as she could.

The bridge led right into another cave at the opposite end of the cavern that sloped upwards, taking Amethyst Star back to surface level. Further than that actually, the slope was far steeper and longer than the one she had come down, now she’d be well up into the great rock formation. Wherever she was now she welcomed the cool air, just driving this thing normally made her sweat, she didn’t need the lava to turn the air around her into a sauna.

The ramp she was heading up now shortly leveled off into another large cavern, she could hear and see other cars driving around it on their own paths, separated by chasms and driving across other bridges at all levels in the cavern. As opposed to the pool of lava she had just gotten away from their were pools of reflective water everywhere in this cavern and a small stream that fell off into a waterfall on a bridge right below Amethyst Star. It was far prettier and more relaxing than the lava chamber even with the sounds of the other cars zooming about. Was she ahead of them? Impossible to tell like this.

The stalactites on the roof of the cavern were dripping with droplets of water that made a soft pitter-patter on the top of her car and helmet, briefly taking her eyes off the road Amethyst Star looked up to see that this cavern wasn’t lit up like the other parts, there were holes in the ceiling that let more than enough natural light through in large rays that lit up the place and made the pools of water glisten.

She wasn’t here to see the sights though and at her speed the stone road quickly curved into another cave that led away from the large, water-filled, cavern and headed back down again. And down.

“Oh great,” Amethyst Star sighed as she felt the heat begin to approach again.

Sure enough there was more lava, this time in a far bigger cavern much like the water one above it. A huge and slow moving multi-tier lavafall took up the entire left side of the chamber while Amethyst Star’s car traveled along the far right wall, directly below her the lava fell what looked like hundreds of feet down, a frightening red glow emerging from the bottom of the pit. The heat wasn’t quite as oppressive as the earlier lava chamber thanks to it not being as close to her but it was still way too much for her tastes. Amethyst Star slammed on the gas to get out of there faster, despite knowing the stress of going full speed combined with the heat of the room might make the engine overheat. It shouldn’t be long before she got to a part of the caves where the heat wasn’t such a problem.

The light of course came on but she ignored it, flooring The Amethyst Flame right out of the lava chamber. She was rewarded with another incline going straight up and a bright light at the end of the tunnel. Too bright. It had to be the outside, this little portion of cave must be the last before she’d emerge back in the open. Already the cool outside breeze (even though it was fairly warm out the contrast between that and the lava chamber was so huge) was blowing down on her as she drove her car to freedom.

She grinned as she noticed the engine light turn off, her gamble paying off.

“That’s right, I’m awesome.”

Amethyst Star now really couldn’t help those optimistic thoughts after yet another surprising success for her. She hit the light at the end of the tunnel and her car flew out onto a road that came right out the end of the rock formation. A few other cars were on the road too, having emerged from different tunnels of their own, but only a few. She saw Watts and Loxy again and only at most five others ahead of her. This was amazing, she was really doing it! Each leg of the race she got closer and closer to first place!

The unicorn from Equestria narrowed her eyes and gripped down hard on the steering wheel, eyeing Watts’s car that currently held first place. “I can do this.”

Her Race VII

Ahead of them was a mountain, and one Amethyst Star recognized. High up on it sat the long bridge that went back to the stadium and that final big curve before the finishing line. Their race was nearing its completion. To get up there in the first place it looked like there was a road that started at the foot of the mountain and spiraled all the way to the top—where they’d then get right off onto the bridge. It looked like quite the ride up there, if she went as fast as possible she’d be squished against the side of the driver’s seat by the g-forces of constantly turning like that. That was just the name of the game though and Amethyst Star was willing to put some stress on herself if it meant winning.

She was still in… eighth place right now as she looked at the number of cars ahead of her. Wow! She really had made a ton of progress from where she started at the very beginning of the race.

“Fernie believed in me for some reason so maybe I can at least believe in myself a little,” Amethyst Star said as she drove to try and make up the distance to the car I front of her. The road was currently flat and unobstructed though, she didn’t have a way to get ahead of anyone else just yet with them all pushing their cars at full speed.

The mountain approached quickly and the cars began to shoot up the sloping road wrapped around it, far narrower than the wide plain they had been driving down right before it but still with enough space for three or four cars to drive beside each other if they were trying to get past one another. A metal railing along the edge was the only thing keeping them from careening off the side if they got too close. But Amethyst Star was confident enough now to not worry about that. She had driven this thing with a skill that really surprised her and she’d be willing to take the risk of heading to the outside if it meant she could pass another car.

Amethyst Star had to keep the wheel turned the right way to make sure she didn’t lose any momentum going up the road, the constant turning taking more of an effort on her limbs. She saw the first car in front of her ease up on the gas slightly so he wouldn’t spin out of control or drift to the railing. Well that only made her grin. Amethyst Star wasn’t slowing down for nothing. She kept her hoof on the gas and used his declining speed along with the outer edge of the road to go right past him, one down and only a few more to go. The unicorn didn’t bother looking over to see if he was surprised or angry to be passed by her, she kept her attention on the race.

Showing a lot more sense than she usually did.

Her near reckless driving was paying off so far. A glance at her fuel gauge showed it still around half full too, everything was going well for her on this last leg of the course before the return to the stadium. She made her first lap around the mountain and kept going up and up, the bridge still a few more levels of road above her.

The next couple cars ahead of her were still a ways away, she could just barely see them before the road curved, so she took the time to mull over her options and just what she could do to win this race from here.

One more press of the nitro button.

The bridge was a long and completely straight path, probably best to save the nitro and use it up there. In fact if she hit it now she’d have a very short trip right off the side of the mountain. That would not end well. If she could get out into first using the nitro right before the race ended there shouldn’t be enough time or space for anyone else to catch her after that. She had to use it on that bridge.

What else was at her disposal? A reckless attitude and that was about it.

And beginner’s luck.

“None of that has helped me before,” Amethyst Star cynically realized. “But things are different this time. I’m not doing this for myself, I’m doing it for Fernie and everyone else.”

She kept The Amethyst Flame going at full speed, the momentum tugging on her car and naturally making her take the constant turns at their widest point. She hugged that outer edge and licked her lips as she steadily approached the next couple of cars. Would they ever have guess that she was a total amateur? Were they the kind of drivers that would’ve taken the risk she was taking by pushing her car to the limit if they were in her situation? Probably not considering they seemed satisfied to take the safe route right now even though she was gaining on them.

Well if they weren’t willing to do that then they didn’t deserve to beat her!

“Snooze you lose!” She yelled as she passed by them too, not like they could hear her with all the noise their cars made.

She had made it up another level of the mountain, only a few more revolutions and she’d be at the top where the bridge was. It was at this point that a sudden rumbling reached her ears and she felt the car and ground beneath her begin to shake. Something was happening on this mountain.

“Oh great, not another obstacle?” She wondered, trying to keep her car steady as the rocky road shook treacherously. Now she was forced to slow down slightly too, fearing what the slightest forfeiture of control could mean. The rumbling got louder and louder and even the shaking got worse too, hearing it from above, Amethyst Star glanced up to see if she could tell what was happening.

And she screamed.

“Ahhhh!” She hit the brakes and swerved to the left, barely avoiding a boulder crashing into the road and continuing to bounce on down the side of the mountain. More and more boulders kept coming after that, forcing the unicorn to dodge between them all lest she get crushed.

“I swear if this was supposed to happen I’m really going to let whoever plans this race here about it!” She angrily screamed as her eyes snapped wide open, focusing her entire body and mind on the very simple desire to not be crushed by a falling boulder. They kept tumbling and tumbling all around her, some the size of her car and others just the size of her head, a true rock-slide that was causing chaos on the racecourse.

It felt like the mountain was practically being torn apart by an earthquake the more she drove up it, cracks even started appearing in the road. Was that bridge even going to be safe? Should she be driving across it while something like this was going on?

“Woah!” Another boulder rolling right in front of her car put an end to those thoughts, for now she just had to survive.

Thanks to each turn around the mountain getting shorter the further up you went she already made another full rotation even with having to dodge the falling rocks or adjust her speed. Now she could see some more cars in front of her, they as well doing their best to not get in an accident. That scene gave Amethyst Star an idea. If she was counting her reckless attitude as a plus in this race she might as well go all out with it, right?

Amethyst Star smiled and sped up. Boulders? What boulders? She was dodging those like they were nothing. The shaking was hardly enough to throw her off her game either. Let the whole mountain fall apart around her, she was not losing this kind of opportunity. A lot of rocks had come to a stop on the road, becoming just as much of hazards as the ones still falling. Her big tires were enough to chew up or knock around some of those but for the most part she had to avoid them too. But that meant the ones in front of her had the same problem and they were going slower than her to begin with.

This time she didn’t say anything as she came up close behind them, only staying hunkered down in her seat and focusing on the act of passing them.

She was starting to sweat again and it wasn’t from heat this time. Pure adrenaline was flowing through her veins as she shot around and through the cars, using the brief openings they would make to avoid the falling boulders in front of them to squeeze through the gaps and take up a superior position. Amethyst Star had lost track of what place she was in now but if she had to guess it would be second place.

The reason for that would be that now the only car she saw ahead of her was Watts’s black vehicle.

It also looked like she was close to the top and only needed one more very short lap around the peak before they’d turn onto the bridge. A few rocks were still coming down but not as many and the shaking of the mountain had grown weaker, Amethyst Star’s gamble had paid off nicely, if she didn’t use that opportunity to force her way ahead she likely would have never gotten one. All the cars were likely to start speeding up again now that most of the danger had passed. Watts was able to keep his lead since he had enough of a gap but it looked like he didn’t take any risks with the boulders either, Amethyst Star had gotten too close to him for him to have been speeding like she was.

“You’re gonna regret that,” Amethyst Star said. Oh yeah, she was the one who deserved the win if she was the only one willing to put it all on the line. “You all thought you could just race like normal, but I’m here to win it for those ponies. I don’t care about myself, or glory, or whatever the prize is, so I’m trying harder than any of you.”

She had to dodge one more falling boulder before both her and Watts’s cars rounded the top and ended up on a straight path right to the log bridge.

This was it.

Watts’s car rumbled over the logs as he hit the bridge first, but Amethyst Star was hot on his tail and not only that the bridge was more than wide enough for her to pass him once she used the speed boost of the nitro. She almost couldn’t believe it. That she was actually in this moment. Luck or latent skill or whatever else might have been responsible, she didn’t care. In the distance beyond the bridge she could see the final huge turn and the stadium with the stands of ponies ready to cheer for the race’s victor.

It would be her. She knew she could do it. She knew she could finally do it.

The moment her tires hit the logs she pressed the nitro button.

That familiar burst of speed hit her again, pushing her flat against the driver’s seat as The Amethyst Flame rocketed across the bridge. She kept her hooves glued to the wheel to make the car stay straight as she passed by the black vehicle of Watts. Was he shocked that he had just been passed? The force of the car kept her from even attempting to look, not that he wouldn’t have been anything more than a blur anyways. The end of the bridge quickly approached at the insane speed she was going and the last bit of nitro-power fizzled out just as she got over it, her wheels touching down on the ground and her car beginning to return to its normal top-speed while the momentum from the nitro fell off.

Here she was at the very last part of the big racecourse. And she was in first.

She was in first place.

She was in first place!

“Time to cross that finish line and win this thing,” Amethyst Star narrowed her eyes, feeling a steely sort of resolve that was unlike her. Her hoof kept the gas pedal pressed flush to the ground as her car entered the last turn.

Shine On, You Amethyst Star

The Amethyst Flame made it onto the wide curve that ended in the straightaway where all the cars were initially lined up at the race’s start, the starting line she had passed just earlier today now converted into the finishing line. It was the only thing remaining between Amethyst Star and absolute victory. As her wheels crunched over the ground she felt an unfamiliar sensation creep up the car, and an unfamiliar sound too. This wasn’t normal ground. Not dirt, or concrete, or asphalt. It was sand that she was driving across now, she glanced down to be certain and sure enough her wheels were churning through and kicking up the sand that made up this last part of the course.

“Wouldn’t matter if it was snow, I’m in first place and I’m about to win this thing for Fernie, Dew, and everyone else!” She shouted to psych herself up.

It was fairly weird though, the sand was very loose and didn’t allow for much of a purchase, it almost felt like she was driving with her tires partially submerged in water. She didn’t want this last obstacle to trip her up so it was good that she had managed to put herself in first place. The cars behind her didn’t matter now, she didn’t know how close they were, she didn’t care, it was all about her driving.

This last turn was wide and it even tilted upwards like she was driving across the wall of a bowl eventually, her car nearly getting parallel with the ground. Coming out of this turn she’d be practically right at the stands. But there was something going a bit wrong with how she was turning, the wheel and tires weren’t responding as well as they should be, as they would be if this was solid dirt beneath her.

“What’s with this?” She growled as she noticed her speed dropping despite the sand being blasted away by her back tires. She was crushing the gas pedal but she still wasn’t getting the kind of response she expected. “Why am I still going so slow?! Come on already!”

Her car was starting to drift wide in a way she didn’t want it to thanks to the shifting sands and the lack of response from her vehicle. Now she could hear the telltale sounds of other cars coming up behind her, if she didn’t figure this out quick she might lose her position. But there weren’t any other tools at her disposal for this. Just her inexperienced and amateur brain that didn’t know the full ins and outs of her car or this race.

“No, no, no!” Amethyst Star’s earlier carefree attitude was replaced by fear. How could this be happening to her? Right now, at the very end!

She thought there was nothing that could stop her and now this sand of all things was threatening to snatch victory away from her.

But she had finally been doing things differently, so why was this happening? Did it not matter anyways? Did it not matter that she had changed in her mind and was doing this purely to help someone else even when she didn’t even want to try in the first place? Was the fact that she had given up on her old goals not enough?

To her left, on the inside of the curve, cars began to appear, gliding over the sand far easier and quicker than she w.as.

How? Why?

She still didn’t give up seeing that. She nearly pulled a muscle straining but she grabbed her steering wheel in a death grip and pressed her face nearly up against the windshield to try and will her car to do what she wanted it to do. The sputtering sound of the wheels continued to rise up beneath her as she didn’t let up on the gas at all. A loathsome sound, a sound that told her she was still in trouble, still failing to get the desire she wanted. She was pushing herself and The Amethyst Flame as hard as possible, so she shouldn’t be losing, not like this.

She was so close so why was it all being taken away from her? A glimmer of hope snuffed out as quickly as it appeared.

Watts passed her. Then another, and another.

Amethyst Star came out of the curve behind six other cars, all of them now gunning it to the finish line.

It was impossible for her to catch up or pass any others like this. And so she crossed the finish line as the seventh driver to finish the race. Ahead of her she saw Watts and the second and third place racers drive to a special spot with three platforms, each one higher than the last, that they drove their cars up so the audience could cheer and celebrate the victors. It must have been something set up while they were away. Meanwhile the others all drove off into the grass, parking close to the fenced off area and turning off their cars.

The unicorn from Equestria followed them. Her mind blank.

She slowly pulled up beside another car, although it might as well have been on auto-pilot. She blinked once or twice. Her fiery feelings all gone and just leaving a mess behind that didn’t seem to fully know how to react to what had just happened. When she turned that ignition off and heard the engine come to a rest though, it all caught up to her.

Seventh place.

Seventh place after everything. After saying she wouldn’t let Fernie and them down. After trying her hardest. After really doing something good and unselfish for once on this big, dumb, stupid, trip of hers.

“Why...” Amethyst Star croaked, taking off the helmet, scarf, and goggles. “Just why...”

The unicorn opened up her door and jumped out of the car, wetness already building up at her eyes. She sniffled, her lungs took in a shuddering breath, she felt weak in the knees and a terrible feeling of guilt and failure overtook her body. Amethyst Star’s lip quivered while tears ran down her face and she struggled to keep from just completely bawling and making a scene around the other drivers. Still, she couldn’t stop it completely, bringing her hooves up to her face to try and wipe her eyes away at least.

“It’s—hic—it’s not fair… I-I really wanted to help someone else for once...” she whined through her tears. “I really wanted to do something good! So why… why does this keep happening to me? Why can’t I do anything right? I’m just, I’m just a loser...” She cried.

“Amethyst Star!”

She heard the familiar voice of Fernie yell and turned to look to see her, her family, and the pit crew all running towards her.

Amethyst Star dragged her hoof over her eyes to try and get rid of most of the tears. The sad frown on her face stayed behind, however. “Guys, I’m sorry I-”

“That was amazing! You’re incredible!” Fernie yelled as she tackled Amethyst Star, knocking them both to the ground, and hugged her tightly. “Seventh place! I can’t even believe it!”

“Huh?” Amethyst Star incredulously said as she looked down at the filly through teary eyes. “What are you talking about? I didn’t even place, what’s so amazing about losing and coming in seventh place?”

“That’s higher than we’ve ever gotten...” Dew said, looking half dead after running over here.

“It’s incredible to even break the top ten, hardly anyone aside from the veteran and most wealthy teams does that. Did you even notice?” Grandpa was saying as he glanced to another car that had recently rolled up onto the grass. “After all that tough talk, Loxy came in eighth. You beat one of those richer racers.”

Amethyst Star looked over, seeing the angry stallion stomp out of his car and throw his helmet to the ground. She sniffled, blinking back some tears.

“I… are you saying that… that I actually did good?”

“More than good, there’s gonna be so much buzz about us breaking the top ten!” Fernie nuzzled against her cheek before thankfully getting off the unicorn and letting the both of them up. “It was so exciting to watch you, to see how you drove even though you were just an amateur, the audience was totally amazed too!”

“This is probably going to really help us out, more than if Dew raced,” Mary Belle said to her.

Amethyst Star hiccuped, rubbing a few more tears out of her eyes. “Really?”

“Really,” Grandpa stepped forward and rubbed her head. “That was something none of us could have pulled off.”

“Indeed, it was quite the race.”

The ponies of The Amethyst Flame team looked over to see Watts striding towards them, carrying a golden trophy. He had a pleased smile on his face, whether it came from coming in first or just the enjoyment of the race Amethyst Star couldn’t tell, although from the brief moment she had met him he didn’t seem like the type to rub his victory in anyone’s face. Still, it burned her a little bit to see him carrying that trophy. Although the measurement she had gotten from Fernie and everyone else made her feel a lot better. Mostly she was just interested in why he decided to come over and talk to them instead of bask in his glory.

“Watts? Shouldn’t you be heading to the victory celebration?” Dew asked him.

The veteran driver waved him off, scoffing, “Pshaw. You all know I don’t care for that. It’s the racing I love, not the glory.” He turned his head to Amethyst Star and smiled wider, showing off his pearly white teeth. “And on that note, I must sincerely thank you for an exceptionally fun and exciting race, Miss Amethyst Star.”

“I… t-thank you,” Amethyst Star hiccuped again, still having some difficulty speaking. “I just… I’m a little overwhelmed right now. I thought I let everyone down again.” She got a sad look in her eyes as she hung her head low. “I still failed to get you any of the prize money you needed.”

“Now I wouldn’t quite say that,” Watts said.

“Huh?” Amethyst Star looked back up at him, the others of The Amethyst Flame team also looking on in confusion.

Watts shrugged. “I couldn’t care less about the prize money. I don’t need it and like I said that’s not why I race. For an amateur like you to do what you just did, race with that determination, that sheer grit, and almost win? It’d be a crime not to reward you. My prize money is yours now, what you do with it is up to you. If you’d like to take it or give it to Dew-” Watts frowned slightly as he looked over at Amethyst Star’s team. “Frankly I think if you were instructed a little bit better you would have won the whole thing. How much did you actually tell Miss Amethyst Star about the course?”

“Uhh, we were a little low on time...” Fernie nervously blushed and giggled at Watts.

The victor sighed and shook his head. “It was clear you didn’t know how to handle the car over the sand. You must let up on the gas slightly or the force of your tires merely throws most of the sand away and you can’t find solid purchase. I’m assuming you were unaware of most other things on the course?”

“A little bit,” Amethyst Star nodded. “Kind of surprised by some stuff out there.”

“Then I wouldn’t beat yourself up over losing, you did admirably for your situation,” Watts smiled. “So, what will you be doing with the prize money?”

“I-” Amethyst Star glanced at Fernie, Dew, and the others. She didn’t even need to think about it. “I’m gonna give it to them. They’re the ones who need it. And they’re the ones who believed in me in the first place.” She smiled at Fernie, a last little sniffle coming out of her nose that she wiped away.

“Heh, I knew I had the right of you when I saw you,” Watts winked at her.

Fernie tightly hugged Amethyst Star’s leg. “Thank you, thank you so much! I knew it right from the start!”

New tears of happiness started to flow from Amethyst Star’s eyes, this strange and foreign feeling of accomplishment and happiness filling up her whole body. “No, I… I really need to be the one thanking you for believing in me. You have no idea, you really don’t, how much this means to me.”

Dew came up and threw a shaky arm over her shoulders. “I guess we both really helped each other. Thank you for everything.”

“Yes, thank you,” Mary Belle said, wiping a stray tear from her own eye.

“Thanks,” Grandpa nodded.

Amethyst Star didn’t try to hold anything back as she reached down to hug Fernie, crying in happiness. She may not have been prepared for this either but she had changed since the start of her journey. Slightly. And she may not have gotten entirely what she wanted, it wasn’t heroic, it wasn’t life-saving, it wasn’t something for her to be super duper proud of because she only came in seventh, but it still made her feel really good that she succeeded and helped someone. Amethyst Star wouldn’t trade this moment of joy for anything.

Author's Note

Two chapters remaining.

https://youtu.be/s7dTBoW5H9k

Amethyst Star is Unbreakable

Amethyst Star trotted east with a skip in her step.

Anyone who saw her would’ve thought she must have been just about the happiest pony in the world right now what with the big smile on her face and the bright aura about her. And maybe she was too, cause she was a pony that felt good. She’d been feeling nothing but bliss ever since that race, the world just looked different to her now. Nothing could get her down.

Currently she was still making her way east in more or less the direction of home. Her journey unofficially winding down in her mind but she still hadn’t made the decision to go directly back to Ponyville just yet. There might be more out here that she wanted to see and she was feeling quite a bit more optimistic about. More than either just optimistic or blissful she was… content. Peaceful. Fulfilled. Even in her other brief and fleeting moments of happiness on her ill-thought adventure she couldn’t say that she even came close to approaching the healthy state she was in now. That satisfaction. It really was a new feeling for her.

Her hooves carried her into a rocky and mountainous area of the west. Rock piles, cliffs, small canyons, and small copses of trees all smattered over the granite landscape that she walked on right now. Slightly rough going but not the worst she had had to go through. The weather was nice too, Celestia’s warm sun hanging up there in the sky with not a single cloud to obscure its radiance. Made for a comfortable temperature today, not even a breeze to dampen it either.

Amethyst Star hopped onto a boulder stuck halfway into the ground and surveyed her surroundings. She was up a bit high with a sloping cliff going down to the forested valley on her left while ahead of her things just got rockier, denser, and higher. Well that was hardly the kind of thing to worry her, Amethyst Star smirked and started trotting onward. A couple of pebbles and crags were no problem whatsoever to her now.

She slipped and scraped her hoof walking over another boulder.

“Ow,” Amethyst Star frowned and shook her hoof to make the pain go away. “So I’m still not a mountain pony. But I’m a little better.”

She shifted the strap of her saddlebag to stop it from digging into her too much and resumed her tiny climb over this boulder and the other jagged rocks behind it. Being a little more careful this time. It made her happy to realize however that she wasn’t sweating at all. That could partially be due to the mild temperature to begin with but she was certainly willing to chalk it up to her increased fortitude after all the traveling she had done recently.

The unicorn from Equestria started humming a pleasant tune to herself as she walked over the rocky terrain, eventually sliding down the smooth face of another boulder and coming into an area with a lot of thin pine trees around it. The dirt was still gravelly beneath her hooves, explaining the poor state of vegetation, but she didn’t expect anything else from a rocky place like this. The healthy trees and everything were down in the valley below, where there were actually rivers and lakes to feed them. Maybe there was a mountain spring up here at the most but it certainly wasn’t an oasis or anything.

This little forest was pretty quiet too, she saw a couple birds flying around and some squirrels skittering about on the ground and up the trees but she looked to be the only pony in here.

“Fine by me I guess,” Amethyst Star yawned. “I’m actually pretty tired after the race. Some peace and quiet sounds pretty good for once. Just me enjoying the countryside without anything, including my own dumb negative thoughts, to bother me.” She smirked. “Cause I did good and I feel good.”

I wish I could go back in time and tell myself to stop being so selfish back when I kept ruining things for everyone… or go there right now to make up for things if everywhere wasn’t so far out of the way. Maybe I’ll come back to the Undiscovered West some day? Amethyst Star thought, the events of the past and her future desires mulling about in her head.

It would likely be a very embarrassing and sobering experience to go back and apologize to everyone she had wronged and let down but it was probably the right thing to do. For her and everyone else. It sounded like the kind of thing Twilight Sparkle would do if she had anyone to apologize to.

Amethyst Star came out of the forest into a more open area of the huge granite rock formation she was traveling over. To her left there was still the wide valley, she took her time to actually look out over it for a moment. North. A large forest before her and more mountains in the distance. Considering where she was and how long she had been walking eastward she had to figure that the North Luna Ocean was right behind those mountains. The old map she had was still totally useless and it’s not like she had done a particularly good job of keeping track of where she was but she knew she had to be generally much closer to the Equestrian border than most of the other stuff out in the west, and that ocean was pretty big wasn’t it? She knew the Undiscovered West expanded now once you got off the map but bottle-necked the closer it got to Equestria. If she wanted she probably could go north slightly and end up following the coast all the way to Vanhoover.

But what she really needed to do was get back to Ponyville.

Get back to her friends and her sister and retire to her perfect little house for a very needed night of sleep. It would feel good getting into her bed again. Maybe the next day she and Berry Punch and everyone else could go out to lunch or dinner and she’d tell them about what she’d done… and she wouldn’t dress it up this time, even though that would be more embarrassing than anything. But she owed the truth to them all, and she didn’t feel like lying to or about herself anymore either. That kind of attitude was gone from Amethyst Star.

She stopped gazing out north and began a walk further into the rocks, there may be some interior cliffs and canyons she would have to navigate or climb over but she’d deal with that as it came.

“Hey!”

The sudden yell startled Amethyst Star, actually making her jump slightly and look around. But she didn’t need to do that as the voice happened to be coming from in front of her, a stallion walking out from behind the boulders that lied in the direction she was heading.

He walked towards her with purpose, a slight frown tugging at his lips that made Amethyst Star furrow her brow in response. Who was this guy and what did he want with her? He didn’t exactly look friendly.

The stallion was a unicorn, coat of a gray-white coloring and a greasy black mane and tail that looked dreadfully unkempt. On his flank appeared a Cutie Mark of three pieces of fool’s gold. Adding to the frown his eyes had a cold and distrusting look to them, not an ounce of warmth or friendliness in there. And with a slight pot-belly and yellowing teeth he was not fetching at all either. Whoever this pony was, Amethyst Star didn’t like them. She knew she shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but that was pretty difficult right now.

“Yeah? What is it?” Amethyst Star asked as he strode towards her. She didn’t take a step back but she stayed on guard.

“You’re Amethyst Star, aren’t you?” The stallion asked through a meaty voice.

Her eyebrows shot up way into her hairline. “Uh, yeah, I am. How do you know my name?”

“The name is Coin Flip,” the greasy unicorn responded. “Birdseed told me about you, just like he should’ve told you about me. I’m glad I finally managed to come across you, I was getting tired of waiting around and hoping we didn’t miss each other.”

“Ohhh,” Amethyst Star let out slowly, her eyes looking upwards as she reminisced about that relatively ancient encounter at the beginning of her journey. She kept forgetting about him and the package he had given her, even though it was her first quest that she was given, and one she was quite happy to receive. Especially since it meant someone trusted her to do something and ergo that they believed in her.

Although… looking at this pony and thinking about it, everything seemed a little off in regards to him and Birdseed and this package. Would that orange pony have really given her, a complete stranger, something so important unless he absolutely had to get rid of it right then? And another thing, The Red Hornet. She said Birdseed and this guy were criminals, didn’t she? And that whatever was in that box didn’t belong to them. Amethyst Star didn’t have any proof of that but looking at this guy… the whole situation made her uneasy now that she thought about it. It probably wasn’t something she would’ve realized in the past but after everything else she had been through, and knowing the the world didn’t exactly favor her when it came to stuff like this, she felt that it was probably more likely she had been duped by some criminals than she had been given an epic quest to complete.

“So I hope you still have my package?” Coin Flip asked her with a raised eyebrow, none the wise to Amethyst Star’s inner thoughts. Although his eyes clearly drifted down to her saddlebag.

If it had been at the start of her journey she would’ve smiled, said “Yep!”, and happily hoofed the package over to him. Walking away while whistling, without a care in the world and completely ignorant of what she had just done.

But it wasn’t the start of her journey. And she wasn’t the same Amethyst Star.

“I… do have the package,” she answered honestly but made no movement to give it to him. “But before I give it to you, I want you to tell me what’s inside of it and why you need it.”

That was not something that Coin Flip wanted to hear.

The greasy unicorn’s eyes flickered to hers and narrowed. “What business is that of yours?”

Amethyst Star attempted to not gulp but failed. “I’m making it my business. I’m sorry, but you and Birdseed… does what’s in here actually belong to you?”

Coin Flip scoffed. “You were asked to deliver Birdseed’s package to me and that’s it. You brought it all the way here without a darn problem but now you’re getting worried? What’s in that package doesn’t matter one bit, whether it really belongs to us don’t matter, neither what we’re doing with it, got that? It’s ours now.” He reached up a hoof and poked Amethyst Star in the chest as he spoke.

“Stop that!” Amethyst Star swatted his hoof away and frowned, backing away from him. “Look, I’m not just gonna be some dumb patsy who’s gonna give you something you probably stole.” She glanced down at her saddlebag, worry filling up her chest. “And… whatever this thing is… it’s dangerous isn’t it? It’s not just some ordinary valuable, is it? There’s something special about it. Something that means more than just money.”

“Hah, you really don’t know anything but you’re still trying to be a stupid little hero right now?” Coin Flip rolled his eyes. “Well you know what? It is dangerous. So give it to me and you don’t have to worry about that no more. And fine, it’s more than about just money too, but not for me. I’m just gonna be selling it.”

“But not for anything good… or to anyone good, right?” Amethyst Star questioned him. She absentmindedly reached a hoof to her saddlebag to rub the flap. “I, it’s just, even if this thing is dangerous I would rather hold onto it than give it to someone bad or who was going to use it for something bad.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry but I don’t think I can give this to you.”

He scowled, a low growl escaping from his throat and past his ugly teeth. “You know even if you don’t want to give me that package that’s not going to be the end of it. Don’t you?”

Amethyst Star grimaced, a single bead of sweat rolling down from the base of her horn. “Yeah, I know that. But… if I give this to you, ponies are going to get hurt. Aren’t they?”

“And so what if they are?” He callously asked. It was clear Coin Flip was not only totally apathetic to her worries but also the health of any hypothetical ponies.

The pink and purple unicorn from Equestria minutely shook her head again. “I’m not going to be a part of that. I don’t care if it means failing my first quest. I’m not going to do something that gets others hurt.”

Coin Flip narrowed his eyes at her. It was clear the time for talk was just about over. “Are you going to give me my package or not?”

Amethyst Star took a deep breath to steady herself. She closed her eyes for a second before fixing him with a determined gaze. “No.”

“Alright then,” was the cold response he gave her.

The two of them stood facing each other for a few moments longer. Staring at the other, neither of them blinking. Amethyst Star’s heart had started beating like crazy inside her chest, knowing what was about to happen, knowing what she had just gotten herself into. Was she really about to do this? And what was he willing to do to get that package? This wasn’t the first time she had been in danger on this journey or facing down a pony who pretty obviously wanted to hurt her, but there was no way out of this. Had she ever even been in a real fight? Amethyst Star wondered if maybe she was once again getting in way over her head, this guy was a real criminal, a real bad pony, and she was… what was she?

Her thoughts were broken as Coin Flip suddenly lunged at her.

“Gah!” Amethyst Star yelped and jumped out of the way, tripping over her own hooves and falling onto the ground.

“Give me that package, you tart!” He screamed and lit up his horn, firing a small beam of sickly green magic at her.

Amethyst Star scrambled to her hooves to dodge that, the beam blasting into the ground instead and leaving a small crater. She grit her teeth at seeing that and decided to pay back the favor. Lighting up her own horn she pushed as much of her magic into it as she could and fired straight at him.

Coin Flip’s eyes widened in fright but he still easily sidestepped out of the way of her beam.

Oops, maybe I shouldn’t have put all my magic into that. Amethyst Star thought as she felt a small wave of exhaustion come down from her horn.

Coin Flip running at and tackling her to the ground proved those worried correct.

“Give me my package!” He said as they rolled around in the dirt, him trying to pin her down and her struggling to get the ugly stallion off of her.

“No!” Amethyst Star yelled and kneed him in his pot-belly, getting a pained groan from the stallion as she rolled off of her.

She had absolutely no real fighting experience and not only that but she wasn’t in the best physical shape and didn’t have the most powerful of magic. Did she catch her breath? Did she try to hit him again? Did she run? Amethyst Star got to her hooves and looked over at him, seeing the anger in his eyes directed at her while he got up, she reacted in fear and swung a hoof at him with all of her weight behind it.

Naturally the stallion who had been in quite a few more fights than she had been in ducked under it.

And when her hoof went wide she felt a straining pain go through her leg…

Amethyst Star winced and then winced again when Coin Flip backhoofed her in the side and sent her sprawling onto the ground.

She let out a groan as the wind was slightly knocked out of her and struggled to get back up. Until a hoof came down right next to her head and she looked up to see Coin Flip glowering over her.

“Had enough?” He asked.

She bit his hoof.

“Ow!” He yelped and hopped away from her.

Amethyst Star used the opportunity to get up, but limped once she put a little weight on the leg she had attempted to punch him with.

Ouch… did I seriously pull a muscle just trying to throw a punch?! She internally grimaced, that was gonna be really bad if she had to keep fighting. She put too much force into that punch and overextended herself and now she was paying the price.

The sound of a horn lighting up with magic reached her ears and she turned to see Coin Flip preparing to fire another beam at her, Amethyst Star blanched and tried to jump away but her leg failed to respond properly and she ended up taking the blast in the side.

“Ngh!” She fell over, feeling like she had just been hit by a rock, and reached to her stinging side.

“You’re just gonna keep getting it worse now!” Coin Flip said and fired another beam.

Amethyst Star rolled over to escape from it, hearing and feeling it impact against the ground and spraying dust and pebbles over her back.

This may have been a bad idea! She panicked to get back up.

Coin Flip didn’t give her the chance as he ran over to kick her in the stomach. Amethyst Star coughed and reflexively curled up into a ball while Coin Flip kicked her another and then another time. She weakly swiped her hoof out at him and clubbed him in the shin, making him wince and pull away for a second while she finally stood up, coughing and wheezing after the stomach blows.

He tried to grab her by the mane but she quickly reached forward and ended up accidentally poking him in the eye.

“Ugh!” He scrambled back, rubbing at his eye in pain while Amethyst Star tried to catch her breath.

She limped back a bit with her leg still hurting and glared at the stallion. “W-Why don’t you just give up, huh? I’m not letting you have this package so why don’t you just go away before you get hurt even worse!”

Coin Flip was not at all scared by her threat. It was obvious for him to tell by her childish way of fighting that she wasn’t really dangerous. He finished rubbing his eye and snorted. “Look, missy. I don’t know who you think you are but you’ve got another thing coming if you think you can talk your way out of this. I aint leaving here without that package. So this is your last chance, just give it to me now and we can both go on our separate ways. You’re already hurting something fierce, I can tell, once your adrenaline wears off you’re gonna be a sore and broken mess. Hoof it over to me and you’ll at least be able to walk away.”

“No way. As far as I’m concerned this package is mine until I can get to someone I know will keep it safe. I’m not gonna be some selfish jerk who just lets someone else get hurt for my own convenience… I’ve… I’ve already made more than enough dumb mistakes like that! Sorry, maybe if you had met me earlier I wouldn’t have even realized or cared about what I was doing, but not anymore,” she told him.

Of course Coin Flip was still completely right about the condition she was in and how she wasn’t prepared to really fight him or anyone else in a serious no-holds-barred match like this.

So Amethyst Star decided to instead turn tail and try running into the sparse forest she walked through earlier to lose him.

Unfortunately her hobbling wasn’t very fast and Coin Flip was able to chomp down on her tail and throw her to the ground again. Amethyst Star scraped up some dirt as he yanked her towards him. Coin Flip spit out her tail and reached to grab her saddlebag while pinning down her tail with his other hoof.

“I’m taking your bag!” Coin Flip snarled as he grabbed the strap of her saddlebag.

Amethyst Star wasn’t having any of that though. She turned over and threw the hooffull of dirt she had right into his face.

After having one of his eyes just poked he was even more sensitive to an attack like this and his hooves went up to rub the dirt away as he growled in annoyance at her. With his eyes closed and him no longer pinning her down, Amethyst Star took the initiative and kicked him in the stomach. As he wheezed and doubled over from that she closed her eyes and tilted her head forward, jabbing him right in the chest with her horn.

Coin Flip grunted in pain from her sharp jab and fell over backwards, clutching at his chest. Still disoriented from the dirt in his eyes and the kick, it gave Amethyst Star enough time to stand and run to the forest, forcing herself to go faster even through the pain in her leg.

The amount of trees in the forest, and how thin they were, would still allow him to easily see where she was going if she didn’t fine someplace to hide soon.

Frantically looking around she spotted a boulder lying in-between some trees that would be just big enough for her to duck behind. She scrambled over to it and ran around it, lowering herself to the ground and crossing her forelegs over her hindlegs, sitting in a ball and curling her tail up to make sure it wasn’t sticking out either.

This is bad. This is definitely bad. Amethyst Star sweated as she sat there. What am I going to do?

It seemed stupid to think she was so worried and out of ideas in this situation when she had faced much worse fairly recently. But there was no one else here to rely on. The only pony who could help Amethyst Star was herself. And that didn’t fill her with much confidence. She had to give up on her previous delusions a long time ago, she knew she wasn’t a hero, she knew she couldn’t fight, so how was she going to get out of this?

Her body was aching something bad she sat there. She couldn’t give up the package, that was a definite no. Talking wouldn’t work, she wasn’t Twilight. Fighting probably wouldn’t work, cause again she wasn’t Twilight. And running wouldn’t work now because she was hurt and probably couldn’t have lasted that long to begin with.

“Where are you, you dumb brat?!” She heard Coin Flip yell as he came into the small forest. “I’m gonna find you and boy are you gonna get it bad!”

Crud… She definitely didn’t have much time before he found her. Her thoughts were a swirling mess right now.

I really wish I didn’t get involved with this, why do I have to be so stupid? Why’d everything have to turn out so badly for me?! I just wanted to… ugh. I wanted to do something stupid and now I’m paying for it. This is so dumb and it’s all my fault I’m stuck here. I should never have come out to the Undiscovered West, my friends were totally right. And Sea Swirl was really right, I was taking my life in Ponyville totally for granted. That cozy life was perfect but I gave it up because I was jealous and upset… there was nothing wrong with my life, except for me being unable to accept it. I just felt so inferior comparing myself to all of those amazing ponies. But I was the only one doing that. No one was looking down on me but me. I’m… normal. I’m not special, I’m not amazing, I’m a normal pony. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Maybe I can’t go on an adventure like Twilight and the others can, but who expects me to? I never looked down on any of the other ponies living their average lives, there’s nothing wrong with just being a pony going out and living by their Cutie Mark or whatever. So what if some ponies are better than me?! That doesn’t make me bad. That doesn’t make me a loser, or pointless, or any other bad thing I thought about myself after living in some other pony’s shadow. It doesn’t make what I’ve done with my life pointless! I’ll never be a pony who saves the day and takes down some evil monster like Tirek, but I was there with everyone trying to stop him, I was there when the Storm King attacked, I was there when magic was almost stolen from Equestria, and I’ll be there the next time it or any of my friends are in trouble, doing whatever I can even if it doesn’t amount to much in the end! And this guy, this dumb stupid jerkface, isn’t anything like that. He’s just a common criminal, a thug, the kind of pony who the police would deal with, not the Princesses. There’s nothing special about this, if there was I wouldn’t be the one dealing with it, now would I? This may not be the most normal of problems, but it’s still the type of thing normal ponies deal with isn’t it? Just because I’m not special doesn’t mean I can’t do what’s right too. And just because I’m a failure doesn’t mean I’m a loser. So even I, even someone like me, can still do something. Right?!

Amethyst Star’s head shot up with her face locked in an iron look of determination. She reached onto the top of the boulder and pulled herself up, jumping over it and landing on the ground with her hooves spread and braced for action.

“Hey!” Amethyst Star yelled at Coin Flip. Who was standing in the middle of some trees just a short distance away. His face swung to look at her just as she began running at him, ignoring the pain in her leg and the rest of her body completely.

The pink and purple unicorn wasn’t going to let him take the first move, raising her hoof again once she got close she jabbed at his face… only for Coin Flip to backstep and punch her right between the eyes.

“Augh!” Amethyst Star screamed as she fell back, clutching at her face. Dear sweet Celestia! Why didn’t anyone tell me getting punched in the face hurt so bad?!

“You aint getting the best of me, girl!” Coin Flip said to her and grabbed her by the mane, spinning her around and throwing her into one of the trees.

She bounced off it with a dull clunk, feeling a lance of pain shoot up her side. That was definitely gonna leave a big bruise. And her face… oof, there was gonna be a black eye or two there. She really didn’t have the time to worry about that though with Coin Flip still coming at her. She had a fight to win and a package to keep away from bad guys.

When he walked over to hit her some more while she was down she pointed her horn at his face again and shot a small beam of magic at him with some energy she had built up while hiding. He was surprised but quickly reacted with a green barrier in front of his face that deflected her magic.

“Oh come on! Does every unicorn know how to do that or something? Amethyst Star complained.

“Every unicorn whose business gets them into troublesome situations,” Coin Flip said, a sneer tugging at his lips.

The thing was though, is that he was clearly tired and hurting too. Not as much as she was but he was still decently pained. She could easily see that. Amethyst Star’s dirty fighting and cheap shots had actually done a fair number on him. So even though Coin Flip had the upper hoof and was trying to intimidate her and act all tough and superior while ignoring his own injuries it wasn’t working. She was right about him. This guy wasn’t anything special. So who’s to say that she couldn’t win a simple fight against a pony just as common and unimpressive as she was?

Amethyst Star did something she thought he wouldn’t expect her to and lunged at him. Tackling Coin Flip to the ground and just starting to pummel him with blows. Since she wasn’t very strong and she wasn’t hitting any weak spots he was able to just defend and mostly weather through her blows while he recovered from her pushing him down. While she was in the middle of throwing a punch at him he quickly reached up and grabbed her hoof, stopping her attack and then headbutting her in the chest.

“Agh...” Amethyst Star winced, backpedaling away from Coin Flip while rubbing her chest. “At least he didn’t lead with the horn...”

Instead of rushing at her again, Coin Flip picked a pebble up off the ground and flung it at her face. The small rock ending up hitting her right at the base of her horn.

That was nothing more than a distraction though and it was followed up by another blast of magic that knocked her to the edge of the forest. Coin Flip didn’t want her running around and hiding anymore. He knew he had the advantage in a straightforward fight and that’s what he was going to try and keep this as. Amethyst Star can try and fight as hard or as dirty as she wants but he was willing to be just as cheap as her. Even more so.

Coin Flip ran towards her and gave Amethyst Star a stiff kick in the stomach, rolling her fully out of the forest and getting her to painfully cough and sputter.

She tried getting up but felt too weak in the knees, only wobbling on her hooves while Coin Flip ran up to her and pressed a hoof against her back, forcing her flat on her stomach.

“Stay down!” He shouted and started stomping on her back.

Amethyst Star grit her teeth, she glanced out of the corner of her eyes at his back leg while he was preoccupied with beating her down. She forced a tiny bit of magic into her horn and sent a spark shooting at his back right leg. It would’ve felt like nothing more than a bee sting but it still made him yelp in surprise and jump off of her. She took that opportunity to roll onto her side, bring up one of her legs, and kick him hard right under his stomach and right in-between his back legs.

She was rewarded with a very satisfying and very high-pitched squeal from Coin Flip as he stumbled away from her.

Amethyst Star got up and tried to make some distance between her and him. Her back really hurt and so many other parts were aching along with it that all she could do was slowly shamble away as she took in a few ragged breaths.

“Y-You’re really going to pay for that!” His voice cracked as he briefly took a seat on the ground with his back pressed up against one of the trees.

“Make me!” She taunted him as she limped away.

Seeing as his body needed a slight amount of rest still, he looked around and grabbed another small rock off the ground with his magic and tossed it at the back of her head.

Bullseye.

“Ack!” Amethyst Star squawked, falling to her knees. She looked over her shoulder at him with a glare. “I’m getting really tired of ponies throwing rocks at me!”

“Then give me the package and I wont have to do it anymore!” Coin Flip got up, pushing past any lingering pain and coming after her again.

“Get lost!” She grabbed the rock and threw it back at him but he moved his head to the side to avoid it.

Both of them were pretty tired and breathing heavily now, although Amethyst Star was certainly in worse condition and wasn’t as robust from the start. Only about ten paces or so separated the two of them but neither moved just yet. It wasn’t a showdown, it wasn’t high noon, there wasn’t any signal to wait for, it was just two tired and beat up ponies thinking about what to do next to win the scuffle. Clearly they both weren’t especially skilled in magic, nor had much energy left to use it for anything. Coin Flip had size and durability on his side but Amethyst Star was fighting really scrappily and had hurt him more than he’d ever be willing to admit.

He really wanted her to just give him the package so he didn’t have to go through any more trouble but he knew if he said anything like that she’d take it as a sign of weakness now. So they were at a slight impasse. Coin Flip eyed her saddlebag, if he could just grab it off of her this would be simple. That’s what his goal was gonna be now, forget about teaching her a lesson or getting her back for the trouble. That could come after he actually had the package in his hooves.

Amethyst Star saw where his eyes were roaming and she protectively put a hoof over her saddlebag, frowning at the stallion.

Coin Flip suddenly and unexpectedly broke into a sprint, running straight at her with enough force to bowl over the smaller mare. Amethyst Star grimaced and planted her back hooves into the ground in preparation for his rush. But she wasn’t going to just let him ram her like that, once he got closer and lowered his head in preparation to smash into her she leaned slightly to the side and let his momentum mostly carry him past her before she checked him with her shoulder, knocking Coin Flip flat to the ground.

He was quick to respond though and kicked her in the side from his position, knocking her down as well. She grabbed some dirt off the ground and flung it at his eyes again but he closed them quickly enough to not get any in them, then got up and grabbed her saddlebag, trying to just tear it off of her.

“Stop it!” Amethyst Star fired an unfocused blast of magic at him, the absolute last bit she had in her for the day.

It got Coin Flip right in the face but there was only enough power in it to cause some mild discomfort and force him back for a second as he grit his teeth and shook his head. He responded with an angry blast of his own that knocked her into a daze when it exploded against her head.

Coin Flip then punched her in the face, causing her head to bounce against the ground and send another wave of pain and confusion through her, her vision was a total blur as she felt his hooves grasp around her saddlebag. She blinked a few times to try and fight off the blurriness just in time to see him opening up the flap on her bag.

“No!” She bent around and bit him on his hoof again.

“Argh, brat!” Coin Flip tried to shake her off his hoof but she really clamped down hard with her teeth. He started punching her repeatedly in the head to make her give up, each tiny punch making stars burst in her skull and her eyes tear up a little more in pain.

Seeing she wasn’t going to stop that easily he changed strategies and reached down with his teeth to tear the strap of her saddlebag. His yellow teeth easily tore open the seam of the strap halfway, causing it to almost break off from the bag.

Amethyst Star’s eyes went wide and she let his hoof go, taking a sharp intake of breath and grabbing her bag to pull it away and keep it from falling off and the contents spilling out.

With her doing that he too grabbed the saddlebag by the strap, the two of them stuck in a tug of war with Amethyst Star on the ground and Coin Flip standing over her.

“Let go of my bag!”

“Give me my package!”

A loud tearing noise filled the air and the bag was tossed into the sky, flying out towards the sloping cliff of the rock formation that overlooked the valley and forest below. Both fighting ponies watched with their eyes glued to it as the bag landed with a thud on the ground, a mere five feet from falling off entirely. Silence then reigned for a moment as they stared at the fallen saddlebag and the package inside of it. Right before Coin Flip broke out into another run and went for it, Amethyst Star scampering up after him a second later.

Coin Flip was naturally getting to the bag first but he had to slow down to pick it up, when he did start to slide to a stop. Amethyst Star instead kept going and careened into his backside, knocking him over the saddlebag and right to the edge of the cliff.

“Woah!” He yelled and turned around snarling at her, just in time to see the mare pick up her torn saddlebag.

With a quick lashing kick he got her in the chin, knocking her back and down and splitting her lip. Still, she clutched onto the saddlebag for dear life and held it to her chest.

But Coin Flip wasn’t done, he walked forward and kicked her as hard as he could in the stomach.

And Amethyst Star had nothing left.

She coughed once more and lied there, weakly holding onto her saddlebag without even the strength to glare at him. Merely looking at his angry eyes while she sucked in laboring breath after breath. It was clear she had lost, even after putting up a much better fight than she could have ever dreamed of, and a much better one than he expected from some random mare. But her injuries were too severe now, her body wasn’t listening and everything felt like one big bruise.

“Alright, you’ve had it. Now I’m pretty darn tired too, so why not take this nice opportunity I’m giving you and just give me the package? You know it’s over,” he said to her.

Amethyst Star kept breathing, her eyelids heavy. With not even a nod or word of acknowledgment she reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a small box that easily fit into her hoof. He was right. It was over.

“Give me that!” He grabbed it out of her hoof and looked at it before shooting her a dirty glance. “You’re not pulling a fast one on me either.” Coin Flip said as he opened up the box to make sure his package was inside.

And ten square pounds of confetti exploded in his face.

“WHAT THE?!” He yelled as the blast of confetti from the box blew him backwards, his back hooves teetering on the edge of the cliff. “Agh!” He waved his front legs around like windmills to stop from falling over.

Which made him rather vulnerable.

Amethyst Star got up while he balanced there, rather shakily herself since she was still in a ton of pain, and fixed him with a tired and fairly annoyed gaze. He couldn’t hit her or attempt to grab her, the slightest move could send him careening down the cliff. All he could do was glare at her with a massive amount of confetti stuck in his mane and coat.

Just like how it began with the two of them glaring at each other it was now ending.

“You know-” Amethyst Star started. “I’ve been insulted, looked down on, and been pretty much the exact opposite of cool and awesome on this whole journey. So I’m sorry in advance if this is a little awkward or embarrassing, but I’m gonna attempt to be cool at least one more time.” She reached up a hoof and coughed into it before pointing it at him and narrowing her eyes. “You just got defeated by Amethyst Star. Here are the scars to remember it by.”

The unicorn from Equestria gently poked him in the chest.

“Ahhhh!” Coin Flip yelled as he fell over the side, roughly bouncing and sliding off the steep cliff until he came to a hard landing at the bottom. Still moving, but 100% out of commission.

Amethyst Star looked down at him for a second to make sure he was still alive, and when satisfied that he was, limped around to pick up her broken saddlebag. She peeked inside to see the box Birdseed had given her was safely inside and then flung it up onto her back, balancing it as she slowly walked away. A bit too tired and in pain to smile or do anything more celebratory.

A busted lip, two black eyes, a pulled muscle, lots and lots of bruises, maybe a fracture or two, a head that was pounding, and a very intact pride.

Coin Flip groaned at the bottom of the cliff, lying on the verdant grass at the edge of the valley forest and trying just to breath and not move too much, really hoping nothing was broken. He couldn’t believe what just happened. Now he was going to be laid up recovering for a few days at the least before he could get on that dumb pony’s trail and try and steal the package from her again. What a huge hassle. He didn’t even want to think about it with how much agony he was in right now.

“That dumb pony… I’ll find you and I’ll get you for this,” Coin Flip coughed, slightly pushing himself up against the cold rock he had just fallen down so he could right himself and rest his head.

“Well, well, well. If it ain’t my old pal Coin Flip.”

The greasy stallion’s eyes went wide, not even thinking about the pain his head swung towards the source of the voice in pure fear. To his horror, a scarlet pony was walking out of the forest towards him. She carried a predatory smirk on her face and even though her sunglasses were impenetrable it was obvious how hard she was glaring at him. Those deep blue eyes behind the sunglasses that contrasted with her red coat and mane chilled Coin Flip to the bone.

“V-V-Valentine!” He sputtered.

The smirk turned into a full on sadistic smile as she raised a hoof to silence him. “First of all it’s Miss Valentine. Secondly it’s only Miss Valentine to friends of mine. To my enemies I go by a different name.”

Coin Flip gulped, sweating. “H-Hornet, l-look… I know things got bad and I know Birdseed and I kind of screwed up in Camelback but-”

“Screwed up?” Her smile turned into a frown as she tilted down her sunglasses to reveal her narrowed eyes at him. “You abandoned us. Do you have any idea how bad of a spot that put the rest of us in?”

“It was Birdseed’s idea! And this job too, he-”

“Quiet,” again The Red Hornet interrupted him, this time taking off her sunglasses entirely and folding them up, putting them in a pocket on her black vest. “You can stow it and stop throwing blame around. I already dealt with Birdseed.”

She glanced up to the top of the rock formation, Amethyst Star long gone from sight, and smiled. “Heh, that pony surprised me though. I thought she was some dumb mule but she pulled through in the end I suppose.” She turned a mocking smile back to Coin Flip. “Pretty embarrassing that some no-name mare got the better of you and left you like this, huh?”

Coin Flip growled in anger, and then winced as a lance of pain shot through his body.

The Red Hornet laughed at his misfortune and took a couple of steps towards the cliff, walking alongside it and dragging a hoof along the rough rock face. “I was going to keep tracking her down to make sure that package doesn’t fall into the wrong hooves. But I’m getting the feeling I don’t need to worry about that anymore. Specially if she’s going back to Equestria right now. I’ll have to let Daring Do know what’s happened though, she’ll handle the rest."

She stretched her back and neck and let out a content sigh as she felt a pleasant pop. “Been walking for a while, I could use some relaxation now.” Her cold blue eyes flickered to Coin Flip and she stalked over to him, leaning down until they were face to face, Coin Flip outright quivering in fear at her. “But before that, honey, there’s some payback to mete out.”

There were some very loud and painful screams echoing through the valley for a good while after that.

Amethyst Star by that point couldn’t hear any of it, still walking by herself over the rock formation. Feeling good, mentally at least. Physically though was another story. It would take a really good and quiet couple of days for her to fully recuperate. Hopefully there was an inn or something nearby. She hadn’t seen any signs of civilization though in this area so she really might be out of luck on that front.

The adrenaline had indeed worn off by now and she was hurting even worse but she kept herself pretty positive by focusing on the fact that she had just come out on top.

And that was a pretty strong painkiller.

Now though… what? That was the end of her first quest right there. Technically failed, even though it had been different from what she thought it was in the first place. She was injured, possibly worse than she even knew, so she would have to take it easy on her journey for a while now anyways. And things were already winding down for her in her mind and the fact that she was heading east to Equestria.

So really, what now?

“A soft bed,” she nodded. An action that caused her head to throb.

Amethyst Star was thinking of how she’d really love to jump up and down right now after getting through that fight and getting through this adventure. Her mood was a million times better than it had been on most of this journey. It was funny how foreign success really was to her. Not like she cared anymore. She might even be happier and more proud of herself than after the race, even though she doubted what she had just done was much of a big deal either. In fact she knew it wasn’t. But again that didn’t bother her. She had done something good, not for herself and not to be special but just because it was the right thing to do.

The unicorn yawned despite the pain the action caused and looked up at the sun. “Back to Equestria right now? Or is there anything else out here?”

A dizzyingly loud noise suddenly broke out over the entire landscape, the shockwave of sound traveling from south to north in the sky and startling Amethyst Star like crazy. She didn’t have time to react or wonder just what the hay that was as soon after a positively gargantuan rainbow wave shot from the south, covering the entire sky and speeding north, showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. The warm and dazzling spectacle washed over Amethyst Star, filling her with life and positivity like magic. Her already elated state of mind became one of pure bliss and the wounds all over her body just didn’t hurt as sharply anymore.

Everything was just better now.

And soon after that rush it was over, the Sonic Rainboom continuing its way north, her eyes watching it for a minute longer until the wave completely disappeared over the horizon.

“Been a while since I’ve seen one of those,” she said to herself in nearly slack-jawed amazement. “And well, if that wasn’t a sign then I really have no idea what is. Guess it’s time to head home.”

Author's Note

If you want to know where that Sonic Rainboom came from you're going to have to wait a while.

Home Sweet Home

This was really a sight for sore eyes.

Walking over the familiar little hills, on a familiar dirt road, past familiar trees, and seeing those familiar buildings rising up before her. Yeah, this was nice. Ponyville was just as she remembered it and that was just fine. In fact that was far better than fine. That was perfect. That was what she needed. To be able to return home and see that life carried on just as it always did, that she’d be able to go back to her normal and good life tomorrow morning. That was a thought that really put her mind and heart at east.

Because now that life was going to be even more fulfilling than it ever had been.

She had deigned to not take any trains on the way back, instead walking the whole way. Which actually made her return through Equestria quite long as she stopped at a number of towns along the way, enjoying the friendly atmosphere of her home country day by day. It was certainly nice after the disjointedness of the Undiscovered West.

Amethyst Star was really tired though, it was well into evening by the time she had finally made her way back to Ponyville and most of the town was probably already asleep. She already passed Sweet Apple Acres, Fluttershy’s cottage, and most of the Everfree, and if she didn’t know any better or couldn’t see the lights on in other buildings she would’ve figured the whole place for a ghost town so far. Fine by her, she didn’t really want to be bothered that much just yet, just getting into her bed was the goal. She knew how alive everywhere would be once morning came around.

She looked up at the sky to see Luna’s moon overhead. Very little of her traveling was done during the night, she realized, and yet now here she was returning home in the darkness with the cool night breeze blowing through her mane. Refreshing. The exact opposite of her loud morning sendoff from Pinkie Pie.

Speaking of Pinkie Pie and that box she had given her, the nearly identical box from Birdseed was still tucked away in her Saddlebag. Amethyst Star never did open it up to see what it was. She wanted to know but knew she’d probably be far better off not knowing.

Her body was in much better condition now than it had been right after that fight. She ended up stopping for a few days in a forest that came after traveling over the rocks where she had fought Coin Flip, sleeping in a bush by a small stream. The injuries to her body healed surprisingly well and quickly, she had to chalk it up to plenty of rest and quiet and the very luscious berries on that bush. As well as that Sonic Rainboom that just made her body feel rejuvenated when it spread out in the sky.

Ever since then she’d been feeling so good. Even the trouble of getting back to Equestria through all the rough terrain did absolutely nothing to dampen her spirits.

“And it feels even better to be back,” Amethyst Star smiled as she she walked over one of the little bridges built over the creek running through Ponyville. Now walking out onto the main street and looking from side to side to take in all the buildings and homes that she knew well, how happy it made her to see them. There were even a couple ponies out at this hour, betraying the idea of Ponyville as a ghost town already.

Golden Harvest was walking outside, Amethyst Star waved hello to her.

The Flower Trio were closing up shop, so Amethyst Star didn’t bother them.

Caramel was just now opening the door to his house, Amethyst Star smiled at him.

Yep. Ponyville was Ponyville. And her life was good.

She walked further into town, down more streets, seeing more ponies and things she recognized even at the later hour. A yawn hit her as she walked around City Hall. Smirking at the doors of the establishment she remembered when she was asked at the last minute to plan Cranky and Matilda’s wedding, boy was that a day. Maybe she should see if anyone around has something like that for her to do again? She did an alright job of it.

Yet another yawn hit her. Not surprising. Show her anyone that wasn’t exhausted after all of this?

Any more sightseeing and reminiscing could be done tomorrow, she had something she wanted to do and then she could go home and go to bed. First thing she would do in the morning was go over to Berry Punch’s and pick Dinky up. And not get roped into talking about her adventure. That could come later, if ever. Maybe Amethyst Star just didn’t feel like going into detail on a lot of what had happened to her out in the Undiscovered West. It was embarrassing enough going through it, telling her close friends about it? She’d die.

But yeah, before any of that she wanted to get to Twilight’s Castle tonight.

Amethyst Star looked over her shoulder at the saddlebag draped over her back, frowning at the thought of Birdseed’s package still inside of it. Whatever it was, Twilight Sparkle would know what to do with it. That was the best bet for keeping it safe and out of the wrong hooves. Amethyst Star was completely washing her hooves of this entire situation, let the package be dealt with by someone capable and knowledgeable. She was just going to walk over to that castle, tell Twilight Sparkle that she had reason to believe there was something dangerous and valuable about this package, and then leave.

Amethyst Star had learned her lessons. No more adventure. No more silliness.

She wasn’t exactly made for it.

The unicorn who was finally back home rounded another house and walked down the dirt road that would eventually take her right to the castle. And paused as the looming structure fully came into view. Looking at the castle she noticed that things were a little different than normal.

Balloons were strung up all along its balconies and towers, streamers and party flags too, piles of confetti littered the grounds around it, all the telltale signs of a Pinkie Pie party. Along with the raucous laughter and excited conversation she could hear coming from it now that she walked a little closer. Were Twilight and her friends in there having a party for some reason? Whatever was going on it was loud despite it starting to get pretty late, there was a lot of energy booming out from that castle.

It made Amethyst Star smile. She decided to turn around and head back into town and to her home. Whatever those friends were doing and celebrating tonight she didn’t want to interrupt, she could come bother Twilight tomorrow morning.

“Whatever, now I can just sleep anyways.”

Amethyst Star walked home with that pleasant thought in her head. The moment she stepped inside and threw herself under the covers she could forget all about her woefully unprepared for adventure and just put it all behind her. Except for the few minor good parts. The bad stuff didn’t bother her as much anymore since she at least felt satisfied with how her journey ended and her newfound outlook on her life, but there was still a whole realm of embarrassment and shame she could do without. Although… it was probably something she should at least keep in mind. A little. So she remembered not to do anything stupid in the future. And so she could appreciate her life in Ponyville even more.

Oh, there her house was. That brought a whole new and even brighter smile to her face.

“I didn’t realize how much I missed it...” Amethyst Star said as she tiredly walked up to the front door.

Unlocked of course, who locked their doors in Ponyville? The lights were all off just like they should be with no one home. Amethyst Star sighed deeply in contentment as she grabbed the door handle with her hoof and pulled it open, walking into her small entry room currently shrouded in darkness. Before heading upstairs she’d drop her saddlebag and stuff on the couch, then finally she could go rest.

Amethyst Star turned to walk into the downstairs living room…

“SURPRISE!”

The lights were suddenly switched on and a bunch of party poppers were popped in Amethyst Star’s face as her friends jumped out at her from the formerly dark living room.

“Gah!” Amethyst Star stumbled back, little bits of confetti and streamers now stuck on her head. “W-What?!”

“Welcome home, Amethyst!” Berry Punch said and wrapped her friend in a big hug. Strawberry Sunrise, Cherry Berry, and Sea Swirl coming right up behind her, all four of them wearing silly party hats.

“Y-You guys!” Amethyst Star let out a breath, pulling away from Berry and holding a hoof to her chest. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“Sorry, sorry, we just wanted to give you a warm welcome,” Berry Punch said as she let the unicorn go and set her hooves back on the floor, stepping to the side and gesturing to the living room.

Amethyst Star walked between her friends into the living room, which had been rearranged to make room for a party. The couch pushed against the far wall while her table was dragged to the center of the room with some extra chairs put around it for everyone to sit at. Plates and utensils along with glasses of water were out for everyone while a large pink cake took up the middle of the table. Amethyst Star stepped over to it with her mouth open wide in surprise, seeing the message of “Welcome Home!” written on the cake while a drawing in frosting of her Cutie Mark sat below it.

She couldn’t help the tears from beginning to well up in her eyes.

“Pinkie Pie made it, she told us you were coming back today,” Sea Swirl said as she walked up beside Amethyst and patted her on the shoulder.

“Don’t ask any of us how she knew that,” Cherry Berry said, shaking her head with a slight frown.

“Strawberry frosting at least,” Strawberry Sunrise smirked at Amethyst. “So you know the cake’s gonna be good.”

“T-Thank you… this is… this is just really nice,” Amethyst Star brought her hooves up to wipe away her tears. She was trying to avoid embarrassment and now she was blindsided by a whole different kind from what she was expecting. She turned around to face all of her friends, looking into their smiling faces, how happy they were to see her again. It brought up more warmth from her heart than she was expecting. Being loved like this, and wanted like this, it was just too good.

“Hey! What are you crying for?” Berry Punch ruffled her mane. “We thought you’d be all proud and happy and want to brag about your trip and everything.”

That got an awkward smile from Amethyst Star as the rest nodded. She nervously rubbed the back of her neck and chuckled. “Ehehe… well, to put a long story short let’s just say the adventuring didn’t turn out quite as well as I hoped. And, uh, you were all kind of right. About everything.”

Sea Swirl hugged her. “Well… I don’t think any of us can say we’re surprised to hear that.”

“I did think you’d be back sooner than this though. Lost a few bits on that,” Cherry Berry told her.

“You bet on how long it would be until I came back?” Amethyst Star frowned at her friends.

“More specifically it was on how long until you gave up and came back,” Berry Punch told her, not bothered by how negative that was in regards to Amethyst Star.

“Had to do something to pass the time,” Strawberry Sunrise shrugged. “It was pretty boring without you around.

“Yeah. Thanks,” Amethyst Star rolled her eyes. A thought came to mind and she looked around the room for a second before turning her eyes to Berry Punch. “Is Dinky still with you?

Berry Punch nodded. “Mhm. She’s having a sleepover with my little sis. I figured it was fine to leave them on their own for one night. We were really excited to throw this party for you.”

“Sorry it sounds like your trip didn’t turn out so fun by the way,” Cherry Berry apologetically said with a sad look on her face.

“Yeah, we never wanted you to get down or anything,” Sea Swirl also chimed in.

Amethyst Star paused, her eyes searching up at the ceiling for a second. The way the trip turned out… there was a lot to think about. A lot that had happened to her. A lot that she still didn’t want anyone to hear about. And fun? Well, there were some fun parts. Mostly it was pretty miserable for her. There was never a dull moment but unless she was totally denying reality at the time there were hardly any moments where she could be really positive. But in the end what did she really think about her whole trip and why she went on it? And what it did for her?

“I guess… it was something,” she finally said to the others. “The thing is even though it didn’t turn out how I expected, and even though I didn’t accomplish what I set out to do at all either, I don’t think I regret going on it. I wouldn’t do it again, I did not have fun. Mostly. But let’s just say I got to see the world and my life from a different point of view. I got a lot of perspective. It was a trip that really made me think about things. In the end at least.”

“Well that’s… good?” Berry Punch tilted her head.

“So you’re not all depressed or whatever anymore? I mean, you’re not gonna drag us to dinner tomorrow and start complaining about being overshadowed again?” Sea Swirl asked her.

Amethyst Star actually had to laugh a bit at that. “No, you don’t need to worry about that. Part of that new perspective I gained was a really big appreciation for my life and who I am. So yeah, I guess I need to apologize for all those times I bothered you guys with my ranting and stuff.” A slightly more somber expression passed over her face a she stared off into space. “Because uh, being out there really proved that I’m not as special as I always thought I was.”

“Hey. You’re special to us,” Cherry Berry put a supportive hoof on her shoulder. “You’ve always been our special friend.”

“Mhm,” Strawberry Sunrise winked at her. “Is that good enough now or do you still want more?”

Amethyst Star shook her head. “No, no, that’s definitely more than good enough for me now.”

Sea Swirl smiled and walked around her to pull out a chair at the table. “Great, let’s eat then?”

The feast of a very delicious cake from Pinkie Pie commenced, Amethyst Star easily putting off sleep to spend time with her friends. As Berry Punch cut the cake and gave her a huge slice she didn’t even attempt to be dainty in how she devoured it, absolutely relishing the moment. The others found that pretty funny and couldn’t help giggling at her. But she didn’t mind at all, she really wanted to indulge in this cake, it was the first time she had had something like this since she left on her journey in the first place.

“Gonna save any for the rest of us?” Strawberry Sunrise sarcastically asked.

“Maybe,” Amethyst Star let out through a huge mouthful of cake.

The conversation quickly returned after her brief bout of gluttony though, but instead of them asking about her they decided to tell Amethyst Star about what had recently been happening in Ponyville while she was away. In short—not much. Ponyville was Ponyville and that didn’t surprise Amethyst Star. While occasionally some weird things happened around here, for the most part all the ponies that lived here went about their day to day lives like normal. So while Amethyst Star was going through all sorts of crazy things her friends were actually enjoying some of the most peaceful and ordinary days that they could recall.

Amethyst Star silently listened to them go on, happy to not be the one sharing what she went through currently. Did they know she didn’t want to? They definitely knew how much she would’ve liked to talk and brag about things if they had gone well, so maybe this was them being considerate of her and carrying the conversation for now. Normally she was the biggest talker, and biggest complainer, and biggest arguer. But her four close friends were letting her relax and just eat and listen to them. Not putting her on the spot or begging her for details from her adventure. It was almost certain they were at the least a little curious about what she had gone through and what she had seen out there since hardly anyone from Equestria had been, but they weren’t letting that take precedence over making Amethyst Star feel good.

It was nice to have such good friends.

It was nice to live in a place where you could find good friends like this and see them every day.

A smile tugged on her lips that she didn’t even notice until Berry Punch pointed it out.

“What’s that smile for?” Her berry Cutie Mark friend asked with a smile of her own on her face.

Amethyst Star raised a hoof up to her face to see that she was indeed smiling. “Oh, um, nothing I guess. Just happy to be back and see all of you. It’s nice to hear that things have been normal around here, glad I didn’t miss anything important. It’s kind of reassuring knowing I can just go to bed right now and tomorrow morning I’ll wake up back in my old, simple life. And it’s something I won’t be taking for granted at all.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again. “Before leaving I felt like a background character in my own life, and that I’d been replaced. But I’m not and I haven’t been. It’s a small life but it’s my life, and I’m happy with it.”

“I hear that!” Cherry Berry said and raised up her glass of water. “Toast? To welcoming our friend home?”

“Toast!” Sea Swirl agreed and raised her glass.

“Sure, toast!” Strawberry Sunrise giggled and raised hers as well.

Berry Punch looked over at Amethyst Star and raised an eyebrow, tentatively holding up her own glass. “Toast?”

Amethyst Star rolled her eyes and grabbed her glass of water. “And how can I say no to that? Toast!”

The five glasses clinked together.

Author's Note

A few years ago I saw the movie La La Land in theaters. It was alright. I'm a fan of musicals so I liked the songs. But anyways what I really ended up thinking about right after that movie was how the main characters went from nothing to having completely achieved their dreams. She becomes a famous actress and he opens up his own jazz club. And I was just left thinking "What about everyone else?". Because the female lead starts as a barista trying to make her way into the business and almost fails and gives up, and I was thinking about what would be so bad about that? And what about all the people who try to make it in Hollywood or try to become special and famous and fail and just end up with ordinary jobs and lives. I was kind of tired of seeing a movie like this. The kind of movie I want to see is one where some girl from Kansas moves to Hollywood and tries to become an actress, fails, moves back to Kansas and finds fulfillment and happiness in being an ordinary mom living the most ordinary of lives. Because there's absolutely nothing wrong with leading that life.

Those feelings are essentially what led to this story.

In the world of Friendship Is Magic everyone has their place and no one looks down on anyone else. You know what you are and who you are and no one is "unfulfilled" or thinks what they're doing is stupid. From all the ordinary ponies all the way up to the Princesses everyone is valued and happy to be a part of Equestria. And so Amethyst Star needed to remember that. And she just isn't made for adventure, which is why the only times she succeeded at things was when she threw away her selfish desires and delusions, and even then the things she accomplished were very minor and hard fought.

Writing this story was a lot of fun and I hope you enjoyed reading it. My next story will take some time to work on before I publish it since it's a huge undertaking but I hope you'll be looking forward to it. Until then I leave you with several questions about this story that were not directly answered but do indeed have ones that you can figure out by having read the story:

What was inside the package Birdseed gave Amethyst Star?

Who were the other ponies that carved their initials on the rock Amethyst Star saw?

Who did Prince Periwinkle marry?

Aside from those there are some mysteries that don't have answers you would know just yet. Such as what Harlequin Grey had to deal with down south, what's going on at Al-Karamaretel and the rest of the west, what was up with that Sonic Rainboom, who is the recently deceased brother that Harlequin White mentioned. And most importantly of all, just what was that thing in the mine that Amethyst Star read about and where is she now?

Far From Home

A lone pony stood at the edge of a cliff and looked at the world in front of her. The late afternoon sun cast an orange glow across the landscape from the edge of the horizon. It painted a beautiful picture, illuminating and shadowing the mountains, rivers, forests, plains and so much more that dotted and covered this unmapped country. Directly beneath the red cliff an untamed jungle grew with abandon, past it a large river separated the jungle from flowing yellow grasslands, and beyond even that was a mountain range bordered by thick evergreen forests. As far as the eye could see it was a wild and unknown place.

The Undiscovered West. Amethyst Star had come out here on purpose.

The pink and purple unicorn had silently and motionlessly been staring out at it all for a few minutes now. A whole new world she was unfamiliar with. At her side was a saddlebag with some of the necessary essentials for lone travel like this inside it. A flower-print canteen, a compass that she didn’t actually know how to use right, a map of Equestria that was now useless since she was a full day off its borders, an empty box of cupcakes, and a few other things.

She looked behind her, back to the east that she had come from. Only two days previously was she taking a train all the way to the end of the line before starting her walk westwards. The conductor was the last pony she had seen so far and the train station the last sign of civilization. He had been confused and concerned about what she was doing but Amethyst Star brushed him off. She knew what she was doing and why, although by the definition of “Undiscovered” she couldn’t exactly say she knew what she was getting into.

But that was fine. She’d deal with anything that came her way.

Or so she at least thought when she stepped off that platform. And off the map.

The time since then had been spent with her struggling through the red rock formation she was currently at the back end of and all the canyons, ridges, streams and other obstructions inside of it. The unicorn had found herself too cold when the sun went down and then too hot when it came back up and the physical exertion wasn’t something she had been used to. Still she trudged on through because she wasn’t about to stop and give up from a little thing like that.

It was only when she made it out to the cliff that she realized there was probably no way she’d be able to safely find her way back the way she came. Not only was the rock formation a dangerous maze but she had made no markings while traveling through it, took no notes (mental or otherwise) on any unique landmarks or paths, and she just wasn’t sure if she had the strength to go back through it all.

So the only way she could go was forward and down this cliff. She looked back down it and again at the landscape below and further west, blinking. And even though she didn’t want to admit it and would be horribly embarrassed to return home so quickly, there was only one thought passing through her mind right now:

“This was a bad idea.”

Several days previously…

“You’ve all noticed it too right? I mean, I can’t be the only one, can I?”

Amethyst Star asked the table of her friends as they all dined inside one of Ponyville’s restaurants. It was late in the evening and the restaurant was packed with chattering ponies and full tables. This one was no different. Berry Punch sat across from her, a bored expression on her face. Strawberry Sunrise sat to Berry’s left, looking like she wasn’t paying attention at all. Sea Swirl sat to Amethyst’s right and she noncommittally nodded along while tapping her hoof on the table. The last member of the group was Cherry Berry, sitting to Amethyst’s left with a frown on her face.

At the lack of a real response, Amethyst continued. “There are way, way, way, too many amazing and super special ponies in Ponyville. Doesn’t that seem weird to you?”

“Ponyville’s a weird place. Always has been,” Berry Punch shrugged.

“Yeah but still, if it was just one or two I’d get it but how did every single Element of Harmony or whatever end up living in the same place?” Amethyst frowned at her berry Cutie-Marked friend.

“Technically Rainbow Dash lives in Cloudsdale,” Cherry Berry corrected.

“Whatever,” Amethyst Star waved her off. “She’s here all the time. She might as well be a resident. And now it’s like their families too are all incredible. The Cutie Mark Crusaders? Maud Pie? Have you met them? They’re all amazing too! And then there’s Shining Armor, he may not live in Ponyville but still!”

Sea Swirl sighed and started rubbing her hoof around the rim of her drink. “Amethyst. What’s your point? We’ve listened to you rant about this so many times. We can all look out our windows to know Ponyville’s a special place. What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is it’s not fair!” She slammed her hooves down on the table, drawing a few annoyed and surprised looks from other patrons in the restaurant and making her friends blush in embarrassment.

“Uhh… what?” Strawberry Sunrise ventured to ask.

“Doesn’t it bother any of you? Am I just crazy?” She looked at each of her friends. “I’m sick of them always taking up the spotlight! Am I really the only one bothered by how no one cares about just the little things in Ponyville anymore or the average pony that lives here? It’s always all about Twilight Sparkle, or Rarity, or that new school, or something else having to do with them. We’re all special aren’t we? Don’t you think it’s unfair how they overshadow us?”

“Wow, Amethyst,” Berry Punch looked at her in worry. “I had no idea you resented them so much.”

“Weren’t you wearing all that Fluttershy fan paraphernalia back when everyone was going crazy from the Friendship Journal thing?” Cherry Berry asked.

“That was mob mentality! And I don’t… resent them,” the pink unicorn rubbed at the back of her neck and bit her lip. “I know they’re great, and they’re nice, but it feels like my life—I’ve just become less important.”

“Ohh, so that’s what it is,” Berry Punch rolled her eyes.

Amethyst Star frowned. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“She’s saying you’re jealous,” Strawberry Sunrise said as she popped a strawberry into her mouth.

“Well so what if I am jealous?” Amethyst Star asked her friends. “Who wouldn’t be jealous and feel inferior around ponies like them? You know before Twilight Sparkle came here people used to ask me for help and to organize things. Like the Winter Wrap-Ups! That used to be my thing! I also used to do parties too before everyone started going to Pinkie Pie.” She pouted and slunk down in her seat, folding her forelegs over her chest.

“Um, Amethyst? You do remember how none of the Wrap-Ups you were in charge of were completed on time, right?” Sea Swirl reminded her.

“That’s not important!” Amethyst growled.

“Sweetheart, that’s very important...” Berry Punch gave her a pitying look.

“So you’re just saying I’m not as good as Twilight Sparkle or the rest of them?” Amethyst Star narrowed her eyes and glared from friend to friend.

The resulting answer was a series of averted gazes and innocuous whistling before Cherry Berry finally took the plunge.

“Well… yes. That’s exactly what we’re saying. Shouldn’t you have already realized and accepted that, like, years ago?” She raised an eyebrow at her annoyed friend.

“Ugh!” Amethyst Star threw her hooves into the air. “Traitors! Of course I know that already but you don’t have to say it to my face.”

“Look, I get where you’re coming from,” Cherry Berry said to her. “I really wish that I could fly but I just have to accept the fact I wasn’t born a pegasus and make do with what I have,” she then got an excited sparkle in her eyes. “For instance I’ve been working on designing a new helicopter and-”

“Okay!” Berry Punch interrupted, sticking her hoof over Cherry Berry’s mouth. “One crazy pony at a time.”

Cherry Berry frowned at her but kept quiet.

“So is this just going to be our new usual thing?” Strawberry Sunrise asked. “Every time we go out for dinner you’re just going to rant about how Twilight Sparkle overshadows you? I mean, I get it too. I think Ponyville has terrible tastes in fruit but the Apple family were still the ones who founded the whole village,” she shrugged. “Just gotta get over it and annoy Applejack whenever I see her on the street.”

“No it’s not going to be our new usual thing. Cause guess what!” Amethyst Star grinned at her friends.

None of them wanted to guess but thanks to proximity Sea Swirl figured she might as well be the one to ask.

“What?” The dolphin Cutie Mark unicorn asked.

“I’ve thought of a great idea! I refuse to be overshadowed and forgotten any longer. Twilight, Applejack, Starlight, Rainbow Dash, they’re always going on adventures and saving Equestria, right?” The manic look on her face as she spoke to her friends was somewhat disconcerting.

“Er, right?” Berry Punch allowed.

“That’s why I’m doing the same thing!” Amethyst Star stood out of her chair and clapped a hoof to her chest, she was grinning widely as she looked at her friends.

“Oh no. Oh no, no, no,” Berry Punch buried her face in her hooves and shook her head.

“Uh, I’m with Berry Punch on this one,” Strawberry Sunrise said. “I’m not sure what exactly you mean but that doesn’t sound like a good idea.”

Amethyst Star sighed and sat back down. “What I mean is that I’m going on an adventure too. To the Undiscovered West! I’ve already decided on it.”

The other mares at the table all shared looks of varying degrees of worry. Sea Swirl turned to Berry Punch.

“You’ve known her the longest, you wanna take this one?” The nautical themed unicorn asked the purple of the three berry ponies here.

Berry Punch rubbed her eyes but nodded. She took a deep breath and stared into the eyes of her unicorn friend. “Amethyst. I say this as your friend. Why?”

“I’m doing it because I can. I know I’m special and just as capable as anyone else, why can’t I do something like save the world?” Amethyst Star frowned. “And yeah, you’re my friends, so you should be supporting me in this, right?”

“No, we should be trying to convince you not to do something so stupid,” Cherry Berry told her.

“What are you even going to do in the Undiscovered West?” Strawberry Sunrise tilted her head in question.

“Adventuring,” Amethyst Star shrugged.

Sea Swirl facehooved. “Amethyst, please. How much have you thought this through?”

The pink and purple unicorn grinned again and smugly leaned back in her chair. “Enough that I’m ready to leave tomorrow morning!”

The atmosphere at the table was now well into the negative. Did they handle this gently? Or did they lay into her? It would definitely be for the best if they convinced her to not go on this ill-conceived journey. But if they did that she’d probably stay grumpy and go back to complaining about her life having no meaning again. Either way something bad was probably going to happen. If she did go on her adventure they could at least relax since she wouldn’t be around for a while. But that was undoubtedly the more dangerous and careless thing to let her do. Decisions, decisions.

Finally, Berry Punch’s conscious got the better of her. “I really don’t think this is a good idea, sweetheart. You’re talking about doing something really dangerous… Isn’t it enough that we all think you’re special?”

Strawberry Sunrise, Cherry Berry, and Sea Swirl all smiled and nodded along with Berry Punch, trying to show that even if Amethyst Star thought less of herself because she was comparing herself to the, admittedly, amazing ponies that populated Ponyville it didn’t mean that they didn’t love her and think she wasn’t amazing in her own special way. That’s what friends were for.

“No,” Amethyst Star plainly responded, her brow furrowing. “It’s not. Not anymore. I’m doing this and I’m going to have an epic adventure that ponies will be talking about for years, just like what Twilight and everyone else have all the time! Maybe you all think I’m not prepared, but I can do this. I know I can.”

“I really still don’t understand why you’re so upset about all this in the first place,” Sea Swirl shook her head. “I never minded living the simple life. Sure maybe I was a little envious of the types of ponies that get stories written about them but Ponyville is such a nice and, er, mostly quiet place to live. I don’t think you’re appreciating how lucky and well off you are.”

“And I really don’t think you have it in you to be the kind of pony to save Equestria or go on grand adventures like that. Just saying,” Cherry Berry told her. “I mean really, Amethyst. What makes you think you’re capable of anything like that?”

Amethyst Star snorted. “Well what made Twilight Sparkle and all of them think they were capable of defeating Nightmare Moon?”

Seeing that they were at an impasse, Berry Punch finally decided to pull out the big guns. She sighed and looked at her friend through tired, half-lidded, eyes. “Amethyst, aren’t you forgetting something? What about Dinky?”

“I didn’t forget about my little sister!” Amethyst shouted in indignation, scowling at the table. “In fact she’s the reason why I wanted us to all have this little dinner before I left,” She coughed into her hoof and took a deep breath—and then clapped her hooves together and bowed to Berry Punch. “Please, please, please, please, please, please take care of Dinky while I’m gone. She and your sister are friends, she’ll love staying at your place while I’m away!”

It occurred to Berry Punch that she could at the least delay Amethyst’s trip if she refused, and the sidelong glances she was getting from the others at the table were telling her that’s what they wanted her to do. But Amethyst really seemed dead-set on doing this no matter what…

What was she supposed to do? Her stubborn friend had an absurd goal and if she couldn’t be dissuaded then, well, she should support her. Right?

“Ughhh,” Berry Punch sighed and collapsed into her chair in defeat. “Alright, I’ll watch Dinky while you’re away.”

The others groaned in disappointment while Amethyst Star squealed in delight.

“Thank you! And seriously, don’t worry about me. I’ve got my itinerary planned and everything already. Ponies around here didn’t used to come to me for organizing stuff for nothing you know?” She tried to reassure them all.

It didn’t work.

Swamped I

Amethyst Star was not a loser. Despite the amount of discouragement that had been heaped upon her she was also not a quitter… yet. It was starting to weigh on her considerably and her pride was being worn down seemingly every day but for now she was continuing her journey west. The words from Quartz and Obsidian still rang in her ears but she did her best to pay them no mind. Amethyst Star still wanted to do heroic stuff like them and make this a real adventure. She’d find someway to emulate them and prove herself.

That’s what she was still looking for as she entered a new part of the Undiscovered West. The plains had gotten progressively wetter and wetter until she was trodding over soggy ground and then wading through water a few inches deep with mud down below that sucked on her hooves with each step. The dry savanna had turned into a bog and the treeline Amethyst Star could see further ahead of her was telling her it would become a full-blown swamp soon enough. The thought of swimming through gross swamp water that had who knows what in it was not appealing to her but the swamp seemed to extend from north to south with no end in sight so going around it could take ages. And besides, gross as it was she wasn’t going to let a swamp scare her, there could be something cool in there too.

Already as she got closer her legs kept having to reach deeper before they hit the mud below the water. She wasn’t sure how deep the water would get in there but it was likely more than enough to submerge her or at least get up to her neck so if she could hop from tree to tree or find some kind of boat to use instead of swim that would be great. Amethyst would prefer to avoid swimming if possible, not like she couldn’t or wouldn’t but if a better opportunity presented itself she would take it. Even though she was already filthy and wet.

Actually thinking a bit ahead she pulled off her saddlebag and propped it up on her back.

“Not like I’m not used to getting dirty, Ponyville gets muddy and rainy all the time and there’s all kinds of swamps and forests right around us,” she said to herself. She may not have been a farmer or anything but she lived in the “country” and muck was nothing new to her… and there was that one year she fell into the mud during the Sisterhooves Social.

It was the middle of the day but the insides of the swamp looked dark thanks to the heavy foliage, it would probably still be plenty bright once her eyes adjusted but she couldn’t imagine how bad it would be at night. The light from the stars and moon wouldn’t penetrate the trees at all. Hopefully she’d be able to get through here in one day at the most.

Amethyst Star’s hoof slipped and she fell down to her chin in the water. “Gross, gross, gross,” she groaned as she tried to regain her hoofing before giving up, it was getting deeper anyways so she might as well wade now.

Her legs paddled along underneath her like a duck, going through the thick and murky green water to the edge of the swamp and one of the gnarled trees closest to her. She could take a rest on it and get at least a little out of the water and look around before she went any further.

“Figures that if I’m doing something adventurous it’s still something dumb and unpleasant like traveling through a swamp. Knowing my luck so far I’ll get to go on an epic quest in here and be covered in swamp water the whole time, that’d be fitting for me, wouldn’t it?”

With a few seconds more of swimming Amethyst Star pulled herself up onto the trunk of the tree, its twisted trunk giving her plenty of places to find purchase and the mountain of roots just under the water letting her stand up freely. She squeezed the trunk of the tree tightly and shimmied around it so she could see what the rest of the swamp looked on the inside. As was expected, it was a swamp. The plain grass she had been traveling through that turned into a bog was gone and replaced by water that rose high above it, with innumerable lily pads on the surface and reeds shooting up through the water and a collection of different types of trees that Amethyst Star didn’t know the names of. She didn’t see any easy path or anything so it looked like for now she’d have to swim from tree to nearest tree until she found something else.

“I’m not gonna get sick from doing this, am I?” She wondered as she let herself drift from the first tree into the darker water of the swamp.

She had to push lily pads and algae out of the way but she was still able to swim pretty well, now slightly using her magic to help balance her bag so it didn’t fall off. It would be too heavy to try putting it on top of her head and she wasn’t sure she had the magical power to telekinetically carry it for however long she might be in here so this was a nice compromise. It might get a little wet from water splashing across her back but the bag was decently thick too.

Amethyst Star saw a tree ahead that was shooting up sideways in the water, that would make a good place to stop for a second since she could easily stand on it and get completely out of the water for a change. The thing was covered in moss so it might be a little slippery but she would be careful. The unicorn swam by a few other trees to make it to her selected destination and pulled herself up onto the trunk, walking out of the water and shaking like a dog. That was hardly enough to get rid of all the water though, her tail was still a soggy mess and she needed to wring it out more than once.

“Ugh, kind of a waste of time since I’m just getting wet again,” she said. Amethyst Star pulled her bag off her back and set it down on the trunk, trying to rub out any of the small wet spots she saw on it.

“Hope there aren’t any crocodiles in here… or hydras… or chimeras… now that I think about it there’s already plenty of dangerous stuff in Equestria. What kind of stuff might live out here?” Amethyst Star gulped as she thought about that. What she knew for sure though was that there were a lot of frogs in here, their croaking drowned out pretty much any other sound. And there were plenty of mosquitos buzzing around too, she had to swat them away from her body all the time.

Getting a little worried about the potential troubles in the swamp, Amethyst Star decided to walk up the side of the tree so she could give herself a bit of a vantage point and see if she could see anything in here. The vision was still decent enough since it wasn’t dark yet, she just hoped that the thick trees wouldn’t completely block out the direction she was checking.

Amethyst got up to the leafy branches and raised a hoof over her eyes, squinting to see as far as she could.

For the most part it was still just a swamp. There was a lot of swimming she would still have to do but she did at least see some floating logs and felled trees that she could use as checkpoints to rest on just like this one, so that was a bonus at least. The swamp was big though and she couldn’t even come close to seeing the end of it from here. It just extended into darkness going west.

She was about to give up and go back down when her eyes spotted something a little out of place through the trees. At first she didn’t notice it because it blended in pretty well, but then she saw that it was too uniform to be natural. It looked like a bunch of logs were sticking out of the water and had a bunch of reeds on top of them, the logs were evenly placed and clearly carved and the reeds as well were all bundled and tied together from what she could see.

It was a house. A house made of reeds held up by stilts.

“Well, guess that’s a good sign,” Amethyst Star headed down the tree and grabbed her bag, time to get back to swimming.

Her spirit was somewhat reinvigorated after seeing that house. Now that she had something concrete to check out it made swimming through all the muck a little easier. Still nothing she’d like to do if she could avoid it though. She kept herself heading in the direction she was pretty sure the house was in and hoping that she wouldn’t have to make many twists and turns through the swamp that would disorientate her while at the same time keeping her eyes peeled so she wouldn’t miss it. It almost looked like it was camouflaged with what it was made out of.

Or maybe they just didn’t have anything else to use.

A few more minutes of swimming was all it took before she started to see that house through the other trees and brush around her. And so much more as well.

It had been hidden by the foliage of the swamp around it but there was hardly just one of those stilt houses. She saw a veritable village of crannogs, platforms, huts, etc. all built of reeds and thatch and twigs gathered from the swamp. Stilts and artificial islands held everything up, it was a wonder that it didn’t all sink into the mud. There were a lot of stilt houses like the one she had seen that had shoddy bridges, whether plank or rope, connecting them. Besides that there were even some stairs and ramps nailed into trees that led to little homes carved into them as well. It really was a full blown swamp village with all kinds of architecture.

Wonder if it was ponies who made all this? She thought as she swam right into it all, the village was too big to go around and she didn’t want to anyways. There was a large platform that seemed to lead to a lot of other buildings through walkways and bridges dead ahead of her, and even better there were stairs built into it that went right into the water, like it was a dock or something and they expected people to arrive there and come up.

“Not gonna ignore that good will,” Amethyst Star smiled and swam a bit faster, happy that she could get out of the swamp water for real and walk around on something pony-made for the first time in here.

Amethyst Star felt the first step beneath her hooves and with a pleasant sigh she walked out of the thick green water and up the stairs. Swamp water pretty much cascaded down her body and she took the opportunity to have another quick shake and then put her saddlebag back at her side where it belonged.

“Okay!” She happily said as she stepped up the last step before the main platform.

“Stop right there, stranger.”

Amethyst Star looked up to see three sharp, stone-tipped spears being thrust in her face, a mere inch from her eyes. The unicorn’s hoof stopped in midstep and her eyes widened in fear.

The three earth ponies standing at the top of the stairs that obstructed her kept their weapons steady, the central one wearing “armor” made from reeds and muddy paint all over his face. With sharp eyes and a deep frown he opened his gross mouth full of missing teeth to speak to her again. “No pony of the Flytrap Clan is allowed here. Begone or face the consequences.”

Amethyst Star and the Bocce Champ I

Failure was always a difficult thing to deal with. Everybody had to do it, some more than others, some found it easier over time and some found it harder. Some ponies would deal with it right as it came while others would try to ignore their issues and just will the problem away. Whether dealing with it or not the very prospect or concept of failure could erode someone’s confidence and courage. Even the best ponies in a moment of failure still got hurt. The test of their character was to see how it affected them, how they overcome it, and what they do so in the future it doesn’t happen again.

Amethyst Star found herself in a quaint little village of cobblestone roads and wood and stucco houses. It was a nice and quiet place that she was already finding more than relaxing. Considering what she had been through ever since stepping off that train this was something she really needed. She for once didn’t have any grand plans and wasn’t looking for anything special or adventurous, she was taking a vacation in the middle of her journey. And as she repeatedly told herself; there was nothing wrong with that. She was sure heroes took breaks while they were on epic adventures all the time. How could they not?

The village she was now in was fairly small and nestled at the edge of a quiet forest that Amethyst Star had briefly walked through, it was far more pleasant than most of what she had seen in the Undiscovered West so far. The villagers were friendly too, always offering a smile or wave or “Good morning” when they saw her even though she was a complete stranger. That kind of hospitality was really something.

It kind of reminded her of Ponyville in that way even though a lot of other things were different and this town was a bit smaller and clustered closer together. The streets were narrower and there were more houses and buildings bunched up alongside them that made it seem like a suburb of a big city or something. There weren’t a lot of open areas to just wander around in.

Her hooves were growing slightly tired so she looked for a bench or something to rest on when she came to a circular part of the street. It had a small fountain in the middle of it and seemed to work as some kind of intersection with multiple other streets branching off from it. With a shrug, Amethyst Star sat down at the edge of the fountain and watched other ponies go by for a minute. The locals had to know she didn’t live here but no one seemed to mind that some strange pony had walked in out of nowhere.

“Lot of unicorns...” Amethyst Star said to herself as she pony watched. There were definitely a lot more unicorns in this place than you would find in Ponyville too.

She took a big yawn and stretched, looking at it all she wouldn’t mind staying a day or two here just to relax, maybe she should look for an inn or place to stay before it got too late? Her stomach then growled. A bright blush spread on her face and she quickly looked around to make sure no one had heard that.

“Maybe I should get some food first.”

Amethyst Star got up and then wandered down another street, keeping her eyes peeled for anything that looked like food or a cafe. She peered inside some shops out of curiosity but for the most part there was nothing here that she couldn’t find in Ponyville. It made her feel a bit nostalgic but she certainly wasn’t feeling homesick. Nope, not at all.

A rather tasty smell then wafted into her nose. Freshly baked bread of some kind.

Amethyst Star’s whole body perked up and she went in the direction of the smell. Turning down a different street she entered an even narrower side road where two ponies could hardly stand side by side, more like an alley than anything, but that didn’t deter her at all. The pleasant smell was only stronger and more enchanting now. She unconsciously licked her lips as she floated along to its source.

At the next corner she found her destination. A shop built right into the side of another building in the middle of the alleyway with an open counter and a shuttered window that could be opened or closed whenever needed. Amethyst Star couldn’t see a way in or out of the shop so there must’ve been another street or something on the other side of the building that employees could access it from. There was a signboard out in front of it that had a description of what was being sold today on it and a long line of ponies had formed up at the counter, waiting their turn to get the presumably delicious food.

“Looks like I hit the jackpot,” Amethyst Star said and got in the line.

It moved fast enough but there were a lot of ponies ahead of her and she was really hungry now. She poked the shoulder of the stallion in front of her. “Hey? So this place sells bread?”

The yellow stallion with bright green eyes looked back at her with a surprised expression that quickly turned into a smile. “Oh, yes. Are you from out of town? Chaffey’s makes the best bread you’ll ever taste.”

“I am, I just wandered in earlier. It certainly smells good,” she smiled. The ponies here were so nice.

“Well be sure to tell Chaffey that, she’ll be happy to give you a discount, especially if you promise to tell your friends about her,” he winked.

“Heh, well I’m a bit far away from home but I’ll be sure to remember that.”

They kept moving in the line for a bit, the stallion growing quiet for a minute before restarting the conversation. “Sooo, you just coincidentally came into town today? You didn’t make any plans to come here?” He asked, glancing back at her.

Amethyst Star raised an eyebrow at him but nodded. “I did. Why?”

“Nothing really, just so happens that you came here right before a big Bocce tournament. We hold one every season and this one starts up tomorrow,” he told her.

“Bocce?” Amethyst Star had no idea what that was.

“It’s a sport where-”

“Make way everyone! Your champion has arrived!” A booming voice shot out from behind them.

The stallion Amethyst was talking to groaned in frustration. “Oh no...”

The both of them looked back down the alley to the source of the voice. Amethyst Star saw a large unicorn stallion proudly standing at the entrance to the alley, completely blocking it for anyone else who may have wanted to pass, sporting a wide grin on his face. He had impossibly pearly white teeth that matched his coat and a single tuft of orange hair on his head with a shiny tail that Amethyst Star was certain had glitter thrown in it. This outrageously pompous looking stallion stood for a second longer to allow everyone to take in his appearance before he marched past the ponies in line to the counter of Chaffey’s.

“Uhh, what’s going on? Who is that?” Amethyst Star asked her new friend.

He sighed and shook his head. “That’s the Bocce champion for 9 tournaments running. Him and his team have consistently won every tournament for years now.”

Amethyst Star watched as the champion ignored every other pony in line and stood at the window, beaming at the proprietors that Amethyst Star couldn’t actually see from her angle.

“Madam,” the champion began before casting a smirk at every other pony in line. “I would like every last piece of your daily special.”

The reaction was immediate. Every other pony in line started yelling and angrily stamping their hooves at the champion. But he didn’t care. In fact he seemed to be relishing in the hate lobbed his way. Chaffey, the elderly pink mare behind the counter, stared at him with a bored and unimpressed look on her face.

“You really have to do that?” She asked him.

“Yes I do!” He puffed out his chest.

Chaffey sighed and rolled her eyes, turning back into her shop for a second. “Coming right up...”

In a minute she had deposited several large bags full of bread on the counter and the champion happily grabbed them up in his magic and walked away down the alley. Laughing the whole way.

“Hahaha, sorry fellow citizens, better luck next time!” He sarcastically remarked.

Amethyst Star gawked in disbelief. “What was that all about?!” She pointed her hoof at the disappearing form of the champion.

“I’m so sorry,” her friend gave her an apologetic frown. “That’s just one of the perks of being the Bocce champion around here.”

“Huh?” Amethyst Star was still just as confused.

“We take Bocce very seriously in this town. The champion is given special privileges as a prize, such as priority at any establishment. And unfortunately our current champion is a huge jerk as you just saw,” he rubbed the back of his neck.

“You’re telling me,” Amethyst Star frowned and watched the champion still laughing as he carried his bread away.

Although that whole event put a sour taste in her mouth (as well as the mouths of everyone else in line) Chaffey still had plenty of regular bread to give out and Amethyst Star was more than hungry enough to wait for it. Everyone was silent and in a foul mood so there was no more talking and as soon as Amethyst Star reached the counter she got her bread and left down the alleyway, eating as she walked and checking out more of the town. The bread was warm and delicious so that was a nice consolation, it really was just as good as that stallion had said. Soon enough her stomach was filled and Amethyst Star was back to smiling and enjoying this quiet little town.

With the sun getting lower in the sky, Amethyst Star figured it was time to find a place to stay. Aside from that one jerk the town seemed really nice and she still wanted to stay here for a bit. In the time spent after eating her bread she had wandered around to see if there was anything else here. But apart from some empty fields at the far end of town, and a grove of orange trees beyond that, she didn’t see anything else notable.

Yawning for the second time that day she trotted along one of the cobblestone roads towards the center of town, figuring it would be her best bet to find an inn.

“I’m so tired today.”

It was weird to think of considering how she had done much more taxing stuff on other days. And here she was in a rather civilized part of the Undiscovered West ready to crawl into a bed. Maybe her fatigue had all caught up to her at once. Well if that was the case there was pretty much no better place for it to happen. She was certainly pretty mentally fatigued too and she couldn’t wait to sleep tonight.

Getting closer to the center of town she was looking for any sort of inn or bed and breakfast and lo and behold when her eyes caught sight of a building with a sign hanging over its door that so helpfully read: Inn.

“Awesome,” Amethyst Star grinned and pushed open the door.

The front desk sat to her left while a staircase led up to the second story on her right, directly ahead of her there was a lounge area with a couple chairs centered around a table and a half empty bookshelf on the side, what few books remained on it looked torn and tattered as well. Another table to the side of the front desk held a coffee machine and a small tower of cups and napkins.

The young unicorn mare at the front desk looked up with a smile on her face when she heard Amethyst Star enter. Young indeed, she looked barely old enough to be out of school, her aquamarine coat was well kept and her violet mane was loose and had her bangs falling over her eyes.

“Hi, can I help you?” She asked Amethyst Star.

Amethyst Star smiled back at the friendly young mare. “Hi, you certainly can. I just came in from out of town and I’m looking for a room to spend the night or maybe two in. Do you have any?”

“We sure do!” The mare beamed. “Will it just be you staying here?”

Amethyst nodded. “Yep. You know I really have to say this is such a nice town, everyone has been so friendly and it’s so pretty and quiet, it reminds me of home.”

“Fellow small-towner?” The mare grinned.

“Yep again! Hay, when I get older this might almost be the kind of place I’d retire to or something.”

“Most of the town skews a bit older honestly. And unicorn too. You’d probably fit right in.” She reached to the wall next to her where a few keys were kept. “You’re kind of lucky, there are only a few rooms left and the local Bocce tournament starts tomorrow if you want to watch that.”

“I heard about that, I don’t know what Bocce is but watching something like that seems pretty fun. It’s not too intense is it? I kind of want to relax,” Amethyst asked.

The mare giggled and shook her head. “No, no. Bocce isn’t intense at all. Well, the players take it very seriously but it’s not like it’s some kind of contact or fighting sport you know?”

“I get it, I guess I’ll go watch it,” Amethyst Star mused, cupping her chin.

“I’ll probably see you there too then. Here, let me give you your key,” the young mare grabbed a key and was about to give it to Amethyst Star when-

“Excuse me!” A loud and unfortunately familiar voice rang out as the inn’s door was thrown open.

Amethyst Star looked to see the Bocce champion waltz into the inn, followed by a large group of other ponies clad in fancy outfits and carrying all manner of instruments. The group filled up the lobby, forcing Amethyst Star away from the desk, as the Bocce Champion stood smiling at the young receptionist.

The white stallion cleared his throat and then gestured at the ponies with him. “This minstrel troupe I have hired to sing my praises at the tournament tomorrow requires room and board, they will need every available room you have.”

Amethyst Star’s jaw dropped.

The young mare at the desk sighed, glancing over at Amethyst and shrugging, silently telling her that there was nothing she could do. “Alright, we have a few available rooms, let me give you the keys.”

“Splendid!” The champ turned to his minstrels. “Rest up well now, I shall accept nothing but the best from you.” And without a second thought he planned to leave the inn.

Well Amethyst Star wasn’t having that.

“Hey!” She stepped forward and yelled at the Bocce champion.

Everyone else in the lobby froze. The Bocce champion calmly looked over his shoulder at her and raised an eyebrow. “Are you talking to me?”

“Yeah! I am!” Amethyst Star angrily walked up to him. “I was getting a room before you barged in here. What gives you the right to just take them all, huh? What am I supposed to do now?!”

He yawned. “Being the champion gives me the right of course, and I’m about to solidify my greatness for all time by winning my tenth straight tournament tomorrow. As for what you’re supposed to do, well, since I don’t recognize you it’s clear that you are not a Bocce player. And I don’t concern myself with the worries of lesser commoners. Why don’t you go sleep outside? That would be far more fitting for you I think.” He chuckled and walked right out the door.

Amethyst Star fumed, growing red in the face with steam billowing out her ears. She stomped out of the inn and watched him walking away. “Jerk!” She yelled. Unfortunately he didn’t even give her the pleasure of responding, ignoring her completely.

Amethyst Star and the Witch of the Rose Garden

Amethyst Star walked down row after row of roses, the dark soil beneath her hooves was full of nutrients and absolutely perfect for growing these most luscious of flowers. A glance to her right showed an orderly garden of red roses, a glance to her left showed white, and more and more colors the further she walked and looked. It was an orchard that would make the flower trio from Ponyville green with envy. Amethyst Star had never seen such an immaculate and beautiful ocean of roses. Or any kind of flower for that matter. Not just the quality but the quantity of the roses was extraordinary, whenever she was between rows and planters she could look all she wanted and still saw nothing but rolling hills of roses in every direction. It was a mesmerizing beauty that she would love to appreciate more if it wasn’t for one simple problem. She had no idea how she got here.

“Okay. What?” Amethyst Star frowned as she stood at a four-way intersection between four different colors of rose. “Am I just going crazy now because how did I even get here? I stepped off the barge, I started walking down a dirt road that followed the river, I saw some palm trees, and then I blink and I’m suddenly surrounded by roses. Last I checked, giant rose gardens didn’t suddenly sprout out of the middle of the desert. Ugh, what do I do now?” Amethyst Star spun around a few times to check to see if one of the paths had anything else or different down them. But it all just looked like endless roses. Her eye started twitching in annoyance. “This doesn’t make any sense! Where am I?!”

Throwing up her hooves in defeat she kept walking the direction she was originally going in. She couldn’t be sure if she was still heading north towards the City of Opportunity and the sun was hanging perfectly still in the sky at high noon and hadn’t moved at all ever since she had found herself among these roses so all she could do was hope it was still the right direction to walk in.

Red roses looked like they made up a good quarter of all the roses here. White, orange, and yellow roses also took up a huge amount though too. What was strangest to Amethyst Star was how many off-color roses there were, ones that she was pretty sure weren’t natural. Like dark-green, deep ocean blue, purple, and even midnight black. Some of them were so big too, growing on stalks that looked more like corn with a single huge flowering rose on top and thorns down the stem as big as a unicorn horn. Amethyst Star went from being confused to how she got here to unsettled by how weird the rose garden was becoming the further in she traveled.

Some parts still looked like they just held ordinary roses but more and more those were being displaced by the odd ones. Amethyst Star kept looking back and forth between the rows of fantastical roses, sweat dripping from her brow as her nervousness grew, that she didn’t notice she had come to a dead end until she almost walked face first into a wall of black roses that towered over her. Gulping, she slowly back away from them as she kept her eyes trained on the blooming black petals. She had the nagging feeling the black roses would lean down and eat her if she turned her back on them.

“Dear, there’s no reason to be scared.”

Amethyst Star’s head swung to her left to see a mare kneeling down and using a watering can on the black roses right next to her.

“Uhh...” Amethyst Star was slightly lost for words.

“Hehe~” The mare giggled in amusement at her confusion, holding a hoof to her mouth as she put the watering can down and stood up to face Amethyst Star.

She was a cream colored earth pony mare that looked no older than Amethyst Star with a bit of a reddish hue to her coat. Her rose red mane was done up in a fancy way with two braids where one of them fell around her neck and shoulders while a smaller tightly wound braid was wrapped around her head and held in place by a black rose hair clip. The mare wore a generous amount of eyeliner and mascara around those big green eyes that were drinking Amethyst Star in. The makeup also helped draw attention to the beauty mark under her right eye and the large fake eyelashes. At least Amethyst Star was pretty sure they were fake. And her clothes, just wow. It was an outfit that Rarity would squee over. A lacy black blouse with a bell shaped skirt that covered her entire flank, the shoulders of the blouse were puffy orbs with a series of black ribbons that increased in size going up the chest. It was such an elegant and fancy look that one would never expect to see on a pony watering plants in a garden.

“Would you care to sit with me for a moment?” The mare asked Amethyst Star as she walked over to sit at a white lawn table that stood in the middle of the path Amethyst Star had just walked down.

“I’m pretty sure that table wasn’t there a second ago,” Amethyst Star said but went to sit down anyways, her chair facing the other mare’s.

“Thank you so much for joining me,” the mare smiled at her. “It’s been ages since I’ve allowed anyone in here.” Her eyelids lowered slightly as she leaned a bit across the table. “But you’ve just been such a great source of entertainment I had to say hello, Miss Amethyst Star.”

Amethyst Star in return leaned back and furrowed her brow at the strange mare. “How do you know my name? Who are you?”

The mare giggled again and playfully waved her hoof at Amethyst Star. “Dearie, please. The Undiscovered West is my home, it’s only natural that I know about everything that goes on here. Oh and where are my manners? My name is Cauliflower. My apologies, it’s been a good long while since I’ve spoken with anyone else.”

“Right...” Amethyst Star shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

“Now, now. I said there was no reason to be scared or worried and that was the truth. Consider this a rare safe haven for you today,” Cauliflower covered her mouth while she yawned. “These lands have just been so dull for years thanks to a certain someone you’ve already had the misfortune of meeting. I’m glad you’ve gone on your little adventure to shake things up, even if it’s turned out rather disappointing for you.”

“Uh, thanks?”

Cauliflower put her elbows on the table and rested her face between them. “Yes, and now you’re going to the City of Opportunity. Still not satisfied with your adventure? Still have something to prove?”

“Well yeah, obviously. If you’ve been paying attention I think you’d know that,” Amethyst Star scowled at the rose garden mare.

“Very true,” she giggled slightly again. “Well I hope you have some fun in the City of Opportunity. But tell me, if things don’t go well there or you still aren’t satisfied with your journey, where will you go next?”

Amethyst Star shrugged. “West. Same way I’ve always gone until now.”

“Hmm...” Cauliflower sat back and tapped her chin. “Really? I don’t think that’s the best way to go if I’m being perfectly honest.”

“Why?”

“Well you already have heard about the Citadel of Al-Karamaretel. That’s really the only place still west of here and it’s such a dreary place that’s absolutely no fun at all. Once again thanks to a certain someone. You won’t enjoy it at all, for you Miss Amethyst Star it would be nothing more than a dead end completely lacking in adventure. No, I think you could have far more fun elsewhere,” Cauliflower smirked.

Amethyst Star scratched her head, considering what Cauliflower had said and what Latch told her earlier maybe there wasn’t really a point to keep heading directly west from here. “Okay? Maybe, I don’t know. It’s not like I had a real plan coming out here, or was going to Al-Karamaretel for sure. Where do you think I should go instead? I already figured there was a ton of stuff out in the Undiscovered West that I hadn’t seen yet.”

“Well, my dearie, I would suggest you keep going north if you still don’t feel like returning to Ponyville after the City of Opportunity. You’ll definitely find some fun things going on in the northern parts of the Undiscovered West. There’s plenty of real adventure just waiting for you there.”

The pink and purple unicorn thought for a second about that. “I guess I would already be on the road north if I’m going to the City of Opportunity. In some ways though I kind of hope that that city will be just what I’ve been looking for for this whole adventure. And then maybe I can end things there.”

“A place to prove you can be just as good as all the special ponies in Ponyville? An admirable goal,” Cauliflower grinned.

Amethyst Star snorted. “No, not quite. I’m one of those special ponies already. I just need to convince the non-believers. Not myself. I already know that I can do what they do, I just haven’t had the opportunities to show it.” The fact that what she was saying didn’t make sense was lost on her.

“I see, I see,” Cauliflower nodded. “And going north has other benefits. That direction you’ll have an easier time losing that pony that’s been on your trail for a while now.”

“Wait, what?” Amethyst Star suddenly perked up.

“Hehe, you forgot? Or didn’t think they had kept coming after you?” Cauliflower held her hoof in front of her mouth to hide her teasing smile.

“Who...” Realization suddenly hit Amethyst Star. “The Red Hornet?”

“Indeed, although that’s not the name I know her by, she’s still tracking you down. More accurately she just wants what’s in that box you’ve been carrying from the beginning of your journey. She really wouldn’t want it to fall into the wrong hooves,” Cauliflower lowered her hoof as her smile widened. “Although. Who’s to say her hooves aren’t the wrong ones? It’s not like you could possibly know. You don’t even know what it is you’re carrying.”

Amethyst Star frowned and looked down at her bag and then back up at the mare. “Do you know what’s in that box?”

“Possibly,” Cauliflower shrugged. “Why don’t you look and see for yourself?”

That was something she had considered doing but Amethyst Star didn’t want to betray the trust put in her by opening up someone else’s package. Even with all the mystery surrounding this now and the threat from The Red Hornet. This was a duty entrusted to her and so far on this adventure it looked like the one quest that she might be able to complete without mucking it up. If she opened up the package… even if it wasn’t something dangerous she would feel guilty and know she had done something wrong.

“I… no. I’m not going to do that,” Amethyst Star shook her head.

“Really? You might be able to avoid some trouble with The Red Hornet if you knew what was inside there.”

“That’s fine. I’ll just… deal with that as it comes.”

“Well you’re almost sounding like a real adventurer. That’s something of a shame, your bumbling has been most enjoyable to me.”

“Oh, well that makes me real happy,” Amethyst Star rolled her eyes.

“I do wish you well though, dearie. I’m a bit worried about you,” Cauliflower frowned, although her eyes were still smiling. “I could take that thing off your hooves? You’d never have to worry about The Red Hornet or anyone else bothering you about it again. Or… if you’re so curious. I could tell you what’s inside. But.” She held up a stopping hoof. “If I do tell you what’s inside you have to give it to me. Whether you want to or not. Whether it’s dangerous or if I’ve just been pulling your leg, that thing in the box will be mine. So? Keep it, give it to me because you’re in danger, or let me tell you what it is and then give it to me. I think that’s a fair set of choices.”

Amethyst Star’s eyes pivoted back and forth as she thought about what Cauliflower had said. It made her annoyed and she kept glancing from her bag, to her own hooves, to Cauliflower. “Okay, wait. So you’re saying you do know what’s inside that box?”

“Maybe.”

“And it is dangerous?”

“Perhaps.”

The unicorn glowered at the earth pony. “For someone who says they’re worried about me you’re not doing a good job of showing it.”

“Sorry,” Cauliflower mirthfully giggled. “Like I said I haven’t had a visitor in so long. You’ll forgive me for wanting to play around a bit, won’t you?” She fluttered her long eyelashes.

“Yeah, sure...” Amethyst Star grimaced and scooted slightly away from her. “But anyways, just… no. I am not giving up that box, okay? I don’t care what’s inside it, I was asked to safely take care of it and deliver it to some pony who… uh… whose name I can’t remember right now-”

“Coin Flip.”

“Yes, him, thank you,” Amethyst Star cleared her throat and tried to keep herself from blushing in embarrassment. “And that’s what I’m going to do! Understand?”

“Oh it’s crystal clear to me,” Cauliflower grinned. “I can’t wait to see where this goes.”

Amethyst Star frowned. “Yeah—so—yeah. Thank you, but no. And if it’s alright with you I’d like to be getting on my way now.”

Cauliflower gave an exaggerated pout, sticking out her lower lip and looking as glum as possible. “Aww, really? You don’t wish to stay for a day, or a year or two? I’ve got cookies!”

“I’m sure. How do I get out of this rose garden?” Amethyst Star looked around from the table, trying to see over the rows and stalks of roses.

“Oh fine, I’ll let you go in a second,” Cauliflower huffed in disappointment. “Really though I wish you would take up more of my offer to use this safe haven. Since you’ve proven to be such a lightning rod for trouble and strangeness on your adventure you should want to stay and relax here as long as possible. I have tried to help you in other ways but you’ve also established yourself to be quite thickheaded when it comes to heeding warnings.”

“Warnings? What are you talking about? And I know a lot of weird stuff has happened to me so far but that’s just part of being on an adventure! If I got scared or something and ran off then it would be like I really wasn’t as totally awesome as I definitely am!” Amethyst Star folded her forelegs in front of her chest and slouched down in her chair. “I can do anything they can do.”

“But you did run out of the place I tried to warn you about. That’s why I didn’t want you to go in that mine, it was nothing but a big scare for you,” Cauliflower hummed thoughtfully to herself, a more serious expression taking over her features for once.

“The mine...” Amethyst Star thought about it. “That voice telling me not to go in? That was you?”

“You didn’t recognize my voice?” She smiled. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You’re at least lucky that that thing responsible for what happened in the mine was long gone by the time you arrived.”

Amethyst Star really didn’t want to think anymore about that mine. She shook her head to try and push her memories of it away. “Well, thanks for trying to warn me at least. But I still really do want to get back on my adventure.”

“You know that wasn’t even the first warning I gave you that you ignored either? But oh well-” Cauliflower sighed and stretched her neck. “When I make my garden disappear you’ll find yourself back on the road to the City of Opportunity. No worse for wear. I don’t intend to bother you anymore after this, you’ve made your choice and you clearly want to prove yourself on your own. I’ll be watching you but nothing more.”

“Still kind of creepy but thanks I guess,” Amethyst Star shrugged.

“Don’t mention it. I merely wish you would want to stay a little longer. My poor tea and cookies are never going to get any use. You really don’t want to stay even just for a snack?” She stared longingly into Amethyst Star’s eyes.

Amethyst Star felt a grimace pulling at her face that she tried to control. “Sorry, but no.”

“Oh, very well. I suppose it’s time then.”

Cauliflower pushed her chair away from the table and hopped off it, Amethyst Star doing the same. The earth pony mare then made a shooing gesture to each group of roses around them and the strange roses started shrinking away, half looking like they were sinking into the ground and half looking like they were a wave of water receding with the tide. It was a crazy thing to see especially with how many roses there were, an entire ocean of flowers was just vanishing before Amethyst Star’s eyes.

“It’s been quite fun to talk to you, dearie. The best of luck to you out there,” Cauliflower smiled.

Rose petals were falling around Amethyst Star now like rain. She found herself unable to talk with the rainbow of colors encompassing her, unable to move while a million natural and unnatural colored rose petals poured and breezed as if in a sudden typhoon. Even if she could open her mouth it would’ve just been filled with petals before she could get a word out. The red, pink, white, yellow, and black petals piled up at her hooves and kept piling up more and more until her legs were covered completely and the petals threatened to crawl up her neck.

“One last warning.”

Amethyst Star could hear Cauliflower’s voice as the mare walked through the storm of petals to affix Amethyst Star with a serious gaze. She looked troubled, more thoughtful than she had been when speaking with Amethyst Star earlier.

“I know you’re likely to forget or ignore this considering your nature but I do have a serious warning for you. If you keep going on this adventure you may soon find yourself in a dangerous predicament. So please, if you ever happen to come across a yellow pony with an electric blue mane and tail and a white star painted on his cheek, run away and don’t look back.”

Author's Note

Five day break.

Amethyst Star Doesn't Save the Day

Periwinkle didn’t know what to do. He could barely move under all the ponies dog-piling him even as he pulled up all the strength from within his body. The Prince had to stop the Songstresses, had to do something, he knew he couldn’t let it end here but no matter how hard he struggled it seemed hopeless. Inevitably the Songstresses would have his earplugs taken out and he’d become a mindless slave like all the rest, but he’d rather die then let that happen. If Diminuendo was going to be no more then he’d go with it or at least go down fighting as hard as possible.

“I can’t… I need to do something!” He wheezed as his hooves scraped across the ground.

Wait… earplugs. My earplugs! Periwinkle’s mind suddenly formed a crazy idea. He looked up as best he could and was barely able to make out Daylight Gleam still standing on the stage. The guards had stopped holding her, the Songstresses had stopped paying attention to her, if he could teleport his earplugs into her ears maybe she could break Amethyst’s crystal!

But would that even work? Periwinkle frowned. If she’s already under their spell would the earplugs have any effect on her at all? I want them to break the Songstresses magic over her but they might not do anything to a pony already brainwashed. And if they didn’t then I’ll immediately fall prey to their magic after teleporting away my earplugs… and even if they did and Daylight failed…

Again, Periwinkle was torn and didn’t know what to do. Everything hinged on this. Everything. He was a Prince, he knew he would be faced with tough decisions during his rule, but he never thought anything like this would happen. Sacrifice. He knew a ruler needed to do that for his ponies but what if it didn’t matter? It’s possible his plan was completely harebrained and wouldn’t work at all and his sacrifice would be pointless, or any number of things could happen to ruin it.

“I don’t know… I don’t know!” He whimpered as the ponies on top of him forced his face to the ground and tears began to stream from his eyes.

But it was through those teary eyes that he saw something. Two somethings.

A pair of small green earplugs sitting on the ground just a foot or two away from his face, under the legs of the crowd. Periwinkle stopped his crying as he took a sharp intake of breath.

Amethyst Star’s earplugs! He realized. Without even stopping to think about it, Periwinkle grasped the earplugs in his magic and strained his neck to look up at the stage, zeroing in on Daylight Gleam’s blank face while the Songstresses continued their melody. “Take them, Daylight!”

The earplugs blinked away in a flash of magic, finding themselves nestled right inside Daylight’s ears. Instantly the white unicorn felt changed, the fog from the Songstresses magic lifted, their control over her disappeared and she returned to normal as the earplugs broke the stream of magic from the crystals. She blinked and gasped in confusion at what had just happened. Why was she suddenly cognizant again? Her eyes shifted over to Amethyst as she sang, oblivious to the fact that Daylight was no longer under her control. Daylight Gleam’s eyes narrowed and she quickly charged up her horn with magic.

Amethyst and the Songstresses had just finished their final verse and she began cackling madly on top of the stage. The magical opera was over.

“Yes, yes, this is it!” The unicorn Songstress drowned in the delight of her accomplishments.

“No,” Daylight Gleam said as she pressed her horn against Amethyst’s crystal and activated her destructive spell.

“What?!” Amethyst looked in shock at the formerly brainwashed white unicorn who had suddenly appeared next to her. She had no more time to dwell on that through as the powerful magic tore through her command crystal, cracks and electricity running all over it as a powerful and piercing shriek came from the red crystal while it vibrated in pain. “No!”

It was the only thing she could yell as the crystal’s vibration reached a peak and it shattered into a million pieces of red dust that faded into the air like nothing. The other four Songstresses watched as their crystals began to crack and vibrate as well, before following suit and breaking into pieces along with Amethyst’s.

“My magic! My crystal! This can’t be! You, you-” Amethyst screamed as she looked down at where her crystal was supposed to be.

Daylight wound up a hoof and punched Amethyst straight in the face, sending the unicorn sprawling to the ground. “You’re finished.”

The other Songstresses weren’t fully aware of what had just happened but they weren’t about to let Daylight keep attacking their leader, they jumped on the unicorn and started brawling with her while Amethyst recovered on the floor of the stage… and while a great change in the audience and all the ponies of Diminuendo was occurring. Similar to how Daylight felt the magic evaporate from her the other ponies also all began to snap out of it now that the singing had stopped and the magical Siren crystals were destroyed.

“What happened?”

Periwinkle could hear one of the ponies on top of him say. They all started to get off of him, muttering in confusion and trying to figure out how they had gone from listening to the Songstresses concert to this. It was like their memories from the moment the singing had started were all muddled or just plain gone. This effect washed over the entire crowd, Gilded Shield, Tasky, and Brilliant Sky all noticed this and started to make their way to the stage as they were no longer being accosted by the guards and other ponies.

“Citizens? Could you please make way and allow me to get to the stage?” Periwinkle said as he slowly got up, body a bit sore.

“P-Prince?!” One of the mares said in shock as she saw him.

“Oh, right, I’ve been missing. I shall explain everything to you all soon, just please, help me get to the stage,” Periwinkle asked them.

The ponies quickly moved out of his way and he ran the short distance to the stage as fast as he could, hopping up on top of it to see Daylight in a tussle with the four other Songstresses while Amethyst cried despondently over her destroyed crystal off to the side. The guards that had been standing by were staring in befuddlement at what was going on, not sure if they should help the Royal Songstresses or try to figure out why they were in such a daze first.

“Guards!” Prince Periwinkle shouted, getting the attention of them and the six mares on the stage. “Arrest the Royal Songstresses immediately!”

They looked surprised to see him and just stared with open mouths at him for a second instead of moving.

“Well? What are you waiting for?” Periwinkle commanded.

“R-Right, sorry my Prince!” One of the guards said and motioned for the others to get the Songstresses. The rest of the guards that were on the stage came running over as well.

“Hey!” Opal screeched as she was grabbed off of Daylight Gleam. “Amethyst, help us!”

Amethyst quivered as the guards surrounded her. Formerly under her complete control, formerly just puppets on strings for her. “N-No, stop this, I command you!” It was pointless though. The magic was gone and the guards subdued her along with the others. “No! This isn’t right! You’re mine, listen to me!” She continued to wail, refusing to submit, refusing to admit that it was over. Refusing to accept the harsh truth that she had been stopped and failed yet again in her goals.

Amethyst Star meanwhile was in the crowd, shaking her head along with many other ponies as she came back to her senses. The unicorn from Equestria heard the commotion and looked up at the stage to see the Songstresses being taken down.

“All I remember is my earplugs falling out… looks like everything ended up going alright though. Did I have anything to do with that?” She wondered as she walked towards the stage.

While the Songstresses were rounded up, Periwinkle and Daylight Gleam checked to make sure each other was okay. Daylight pulled the earplugs out of her ears and smiled at the Prince.

“Well, thanks for that.”

“Just a bit of quick thinking on my part,” Periwinkle smiled and pulled out his own earplugs. “Glad we don’t have to deal with these uncomfortable things anymore.”

“Prince!” The old voice of Brilliant Sky yelled.

Periwinkle and Daylight both looked over at the voice to see Brilliant Sky, Gilded Shield, and Tasky running towards them from the side of the stage.

“Speaking of which...” Periwinkle grinned as he hugged the old wizard.

“You’re both okay?” Gilded Shield asked.

“I could ask the same of you three,” Daylight Gleam let out a short laugh.

The crowd of thousands saw them all up on stage now too, wondering what their formerly missing Prince was doing and why the Songstresses were being put under arrest. This was a very odd scene for all of them.

“I guess I should probably explain to everyone what happened?” Periwinkle sighed as he looked out over the crowd. “I’m very glad things are over though.”

“Will your voice carry? Maybe we should just announce an end to the concert and have the news spread tomorrow,” Brilliant Sky mused.

Periwinkle nodded. “I could… really use a good night’s sleep.”

“AAARGH! This isn’t fair!” The shout from Amethyst drew their attention. “I can’t, I refuse to go back to how things were! We were so close, Diminuendo was ours, Equestria was ours, the world was ours! I am not a failure!” She tried fighting the guards holding her, stepping on their hooves, biting at them when they got to close. “I am destined for great things! You’re all going to regret this!”

“Oh for the love of...” Daylight Gleam rolled her eyes and walked over to the frothing Songstress to help the guards, Gilded Shield walking with her.

“Tasky and I will go gather up the other guards,” Brilliant Sky told Periwinkle as he and Tasky walked away to leave the stage. “You just catch your breath.”

Periwinkle nodded, for once at least willing to let someone else do something. He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm himself down and prepare for the inevitable mass confusion and problems that were surely going to arise out of this. At least Diminuendo was okay. At least things could quiet down now and the threat of the Songstresses was gone. Things could go back to normal now.

“Hey, Prince!”

His eyes snapped open and he looked to see Amethyst Star walking towards him, a happy smile on her face.

“Sorry about me kind of not following up on the plan, lost my earplugs. But it looks like the Songstresses were stopped? Awesome, I-”

*CRACK!*

The sharp sound whistled through the ears of all the ponies on stage, followed by several gasps from ponies in the crowd who had seen just what the Prince had done.

Daylight and the other insurrectionists looked to see the Prince facing Amethyst Star, his hoof raised in the air while Amethyst Star looked at him in plain shock, holding a hoof of her own up to her reddening cheek after Periwinkle slapped her. She didn’t have any words. The Prince just hit her. In full view of everybody. And if the angry look on his face was any clue, he didn’t seem to be stopping just there.

“You idiot! Do you have any idea what almost happened because of you?! Do you have any idea at all?!” He screamed in her face. “How could you be so stupid? The Songstresses almost succeeded because of you, do you understand that?!”

“I-I...” Amethyst Star shook, his painful words and the ferocity at which he spoke them breaking her down. She looked over at Daylight Gleam, who grimaced and turned away from her. She looked past Periwinkle at Brilliant Sky, who sadly frowned back.

They agreed with him.

They were thinking the same thing about her.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“Didn’t mean to?!” Periwinkle shouted. “Of course you didn’t, but that’s not good enough! It was so simple but you screwed it up and put us all in jeopardy. Were you thinking at all? Or were you still stupidly thinking about how this was just some quest or adventure for you? Did you forget things were serious? Did you forget how much danger we were all in or did you just think you could handle it anyways?”

Amethyst Star looked down in shame, she had no idea how many ponies in the audience were watching and listening to this as well, she didn’t want to know, she didn’t want to know how many were seeing her be humiliated like this. She tried to defend herself. “I was still trying to help...”

If anything that just made him angrier.

“Trying to help?! Well you shouldn’t! Because you’re an idiot! You’re out of your depth, you’re oblivious, you shouldn’t be out here looking for an adventure to go on if this is how you do it! You’re not meant for it and you should just go home!” Periwinkle was breathing heavily by the time he finished his rant, red in the face and a headache threatening to break out from behind his skull as he tore into Amethyst Star.

The pink and purple unicorn hiccuped and reached up to rub the tears from her eyes, looking around again to see if anyone would speak up for or defend her.

But there was no one.

“Look, I’m-” she paused. What could she say? Was he… right? Amethyst Star didn’t want to admit that. She had come so far out here to prove herself, she… did she deserve what he was saying to her? Amethyst Star glanced at the crowd now, seeing the faces of thousands of ponies.

Did she almost fail them all?

Did she almost let them all be brainwashed because of her mistakes and ineptitude?

Would… would that have been something that happened to Twilight, Starlight, Applejack, and all the other ponies she considered herself to be just as special and amazing as?

More tears dropped from her eyes to the ground as she did the only thing she could in this situation. “I’m sorry.”

She apologized one last time and ran. Ran off the stage and into the crowd, pushing her way past the ponies and just going and going, no idea where or in what direction she was traveling now. As long as it was away. Away from her latest and biggest failure. Away from the ponies angry and disappointed with her. But not away from her own thoughts and doubts. Those were impossible for Amethyst Star to run away from now. It could not be ignored anymore, she shouldn’t have been here and she wasn’t prepared for this.