The purple unicorn stepped off the train. After a four hour trip down the mountain she was finally at the town surrounding the spiral. The spiral itself was breathtaking, but she had work to do. Off into town she went, looking around for any information she could get her hands on.

One of the first stops she made was a small, church like building fairly close to the train station. Equestria is by no means theocratic, why would they when they have a literal goddess presiding over them? Thus, she was curious about the strangely religious sect that she's never heard of seemingly centered in Spiral's Shadow. As she entered, she realized why the cult wasn't all that known. Within the building was a crowd ranging from powerful looking unicorns, to muscle bound Minotaur.

When she entered, she was quickly approached by a pegasus wearing a pendent with small, seemingly innocuous rocks strung on it. "Welcome, weary traveler. We all welcome you to our small cult. Tell us, why have you been brought here today?" The purple unicorn was a little unnerved. While she had some belief in the predestination of ponies, she never thought of herself finding places on her own as 'being brought there' by fate, or any other such force.

"Could you tell me what this cult worships? I was a little confused when I saw the church here in Spiral's Shadow, and it doesn't seem to be related to any recognized sects within Equestria." She asked, quickly as she was unnerved by the strange, almost statue like behavior of the cult.

"We worship the spiral, of course. It has brought us all here in our times of great sorrow, and showed us the way all creatures have abused their power. By taking it in our hubris as we stood before it, thinking it but mere stone." The presumably cult leader replies, an almost manic glint in his eye.

"I... See." The purple unicorn replies, clearly put off by the pegasus stallion's seeming reverence of the inanimate object. "Why do you believe the Spiral to be the thing that brought you here?"

"We all came seeking respite, distraction from the day to day drudge we endured up till we traveled here to its base. All of us were skeptical, just as you are now. But once we crossed past the magic field, we knew why we were brought here. Why we were summoned even!" He cries out, raising his hands and turning towards where the Spiral resides. The rest of the congregation follows suit, turning the same direction and raising their hands to the sky.

While they're distracted with their worship, the unicorn backs out of the small church, unnerved by the strange mannerisms of the creatures inside. As she backs out she meets Spike at the door, her shattered nerves clear on her face. "Twilight? Are you okay? What's going on in there?" He asks in quick succession, looking beyond the now named unicorn to try and get a look inside.

"Nothing, Spike. Come on let's go find someplace to stay..." She says uncertainly, looking over her shoulder as she ushers the nicely dressed drake off towards the town, fully intent on searching for an inn or hotel to stay at.

Aside from the strange cults, the stranger monolith, and the occasional wild cloud, the town looks fairly normal. Bustling streets, vendors on every corner selling trinkets and crafts. All hawking their wears to any tourists and citizens alike. They make their way quickly through the busy streets, briefly asking for directions and advice for good places to sleep. Eventually finding themselves by a larger tavern looking structure, a sign above the door denoting it as 'The Demon's Rest Tavern & Inn'. Despite the ominous name, they've been assured by many locals that the rustic looking inn is the most reputable and pleasant stay in that part of the city.

The enter in, and find themselves once again submerged in life. Tables filled with patrons, waiters and waitresses busing food and dishes back and forth from the kitchens. Behind the bar and seemingly front desk is a larger mare, well into maturity with a kindly face, wearing a smart set of pants, a dress shirt, and a dress vest. A small blue bowtie sits nicely under her shirt collar, matching her eyes to the hue.

They make their way to the mare, standing at the part of the bar that isn't occupied by chairs and patrons alike. "Excuse us, we'd like to rent a room for a few days?" Twilight calls out over the din of conversation and dinnerware, the mare obviously heard them and came professionally and quickly to their assistance.

"Of course hon, you would like a double, yes?" She asks, glancing at the drake beside Twilight and taking a wild guess that they're together.

Twilight quickly confirms, and the mare nods, pulling out a key and registry form. "Just sign a few lines and check to see if the pricing is fine for you, and we can get you settled in before Celestia raises the moon." Twilight glances out the window, where the sun had risen not five hours ago. Hoping it didn't take as long as the mare implied, she looks over the registry, marking off boxes and, seeing the price as fair, signs her name giving the registry back with the necessary funds.

Taking both, the mare slides the key forward towards Twilight, nodding gently to herself. "Enjoy your stay hon, and don't go breaking any beds~" She winks at the two, completely miss interpreting their relationship. Not even giving them a chance to correct her as she goes back to taking drink orders.

Finding it a lost cause, they look at each other with an embarrassed flush as they quickly head up to their room. Giving Twilight some much needed privacy to get over her strange experience earlier, explaining in short what happened to Spike, who quickly begins snickering at Twilight's overreaction to the situation.

Author's Note

Well, this was overdue. Don't expect another chapter soon, but I promise I'll work on this more now.