Twiastasia

Chapters

Chapter 1 - The Thieves of Tamar
Chapter 2 - Bowline Blues
Chapter 4 - The Black Stripe
Chapter 5 - In The Field of Dandelions
Chapter 6 - Of Hearth and Homeland
Chapter 7 - In The Hills Beyond Hoofreach
Chapter 8 - Dreary Morning
Chapter 9 - Ghosts
Chapter 10 - Cozy Delight's
Chapter 11 - Room 112
Chapter 12 - Redemption
Chapter 13 - Echidna's Farewell
Chapter 14 - Homecoming
Chapter 15 - Reunion
Chapter 16 - Aboard Canterlot Express
Chapter 17 - The Throne
Chapter 18 - Call To Arms
Chapter 20 - Tendrils Under The Earth
Chapter 21 - The Heroes Of Equestria
Chapter 3 - Twiastasia
Chapter 19 - Into The Badlands

Chapter 1 - The Thieves of Tamar

Author's Note

Hello! As stated before, this story takes place pre-season 3, so keep that in mind throughout the text. I've taken the liberty of color coding all important-character dialogue for the sake of ease when the talking becomes more back and forth. Anon's in green, Gile's in yellow, so on and so forth.

Thank you for giving my story a try.

Chapter 1 - The Thieves of Tamar

"THE NATION IN TURMOIL! EQUESTRIA WEEPS! ELEMENT-BEARER MISSING!"

Headlines like this practically sprang up from their paper, billowing out across Equestria in wails. Surely, the ponies thought, they were doomed. The evil that rests in the shadows would now have free reign to plot and scheme damnation. The Equestrian civilization– to be brought to its knees and dismantled. Catastrophe was upon their doorstep now; and they could do nothing. In their hopelessness, the Royal Diarchy looked to beyond their borders for aid.

A cry for help in the search was extended to all neighboring realms, the ponies desperate for answers. News spread fast across the vast world beyond Equestria– particularly, of the reward: Enough wealth to turn even the most downtrodden into a king. Needless to say, the other races were eager to help. Those who didn’t plan on searching, however, did their part in spreading the rumor still. Across the continents and over the oceans, through talk at bars and on street corners, creatures discussed.

Countless miles beyond the Greater Equestrian reaches, where friendship and harmony held little power, a city of thieves and scum rose out of grey steppe sands and cracked earth. On the foreign continent of Echidna, the lands of monsters, the bandit city of Tamar lay decrepit and isolated. It was one of ancient stones, the skeleton of some long-abandoned settlement of ponies who had never seen the rolling hills of Equestria. When they left, the jackals of civilization took up permanent residence and claimed the city for themselves. There exists within... something of a government and families, but both wielded little sway over the criminal underbelly which made an even smaller attempt to hide itself. This was no place for good creatures.

"He lives another day! How goes work, Anon?" The stout griffin went for a hug. He wrapped his claws around the tall human’s back and brought him in close for a quick squeeze, a smile adorning his yellow beak. He had not seen his friend for a few days– usually a sure sign of an ill fate in the dark city. Anon managed a smirk of his own, though his face shown clear with bemusement.

“Tch, is that what we’re calling it now? Work? How official.” Anon pulled away from the hug and inspected the griffin’s face proper. Both parties wore the exhaustion of dishonest toil– the profession of thievery being neither glamorous nor simple. “ ‘Work’ is bad, as usual. Besides some stallion’s bit pouch, I had better luck finding lost coin on the ground than I did stealing any. Schmucks here keep their purses tied to their bodies, Gile, I swear it." The man's smile fell a touch flatter. "You get into another fight or something? I don’t recall that scar.” Anon poked at the red cut above the griffin’s left eye, much to his displeasure.

“Asshole! That’s still fresh! And yeah, some bitch with a baby had her bit purse just hanging from her tail. The second I grabbed for it– swish!” Gile made a cut through the air with his claw. “Who carries their kid in one hand and a knife in the other? That’s gotta be dangerous for the brat. I mean, don’t they have laws here?” If nothing else, the two could at least share a laugh from that.

“We’re definitely leaving this place soon. I say we use this–” Anon bounced a pouch up in his hand– a bit purse Gile hadn’t seen before. “–and get trashed at that Fizzy Taps place. Then tomorrow morning, we buy some food and get the fuck out of this hellhole of a city.” A passing mare spat at him when he said that. Anon turned on his heel and heckled her, holding his arms out wide. “What? It’s the damn truth!”

Gile's mirth-filled laughter had no end, it seemed. “At least you can get SOME women to spit, eh?” Anon flicked him off and started off toward the bar the pair had seen when first stumbling into Tamar.

Fizzy Taps was an older mare– or perhaps an extended stay in Tamar simply acted unkindly upon one's physicality. She didn’t tolerate idiots, though– that much, one could be certain of. Of course, this was going to be a problem for the human and griffin. A single faded sign outside the little hole in the wall was all the advertisement an honest business like Fizzy's could manage here– and the inside was warm, if a bit dumpy. The two sat side by side at the bar, slapping down their shared bits as they sang aloud their drinking mantra in unison– some tradition they'd started up far too long ago, and never stuck around anywhere long enough to get drilled on its silliness. “A shot of your worst for two parched throats!” Fizzy, the bartender, a mare of dark mustard coat and draping brown mane that at least retained some of its curls from happier days, eyed the friends with thoroughly unamused eyes.

"Everythin’ is ‘worst’ here– and you’ll get only my cheapest of it with chump change like that.”

Anon was quick to soothe her impatience. “Now now, we’re getting beers after this.” This pleased the bartender well enough, and she readied two mugs with one hoof as she poured the shots with the others. “Take,” was all she said after. Stronger spirits were harder to come by than beer in these parts, which was seemingly always in ample supply. Raising their glasses, Anon and Gile knocked back the mystery liquor and tapped them twice against the hard wood of the bar, signaling to each other that their ritual was complete and they were free to discuss the recent happenings. Ever since they stole their first bottle of fire water as kids, it had become a tradition to take a shot of liquor before the real drinking began.

“So human, not enjoying your time in Tamar, hmm? I have to agree. It’s bad news when the common creature walks about with a dagger up their sleeve. I see shady folk in the alleyways, too. Their eyes follow.” Gile took a ginger sip of his beer, uneased by the memory he recounted.

“Our kind of crowd then?” Joked Anon, who was eager to finish his beer and get another. Gile shook his head.

“No, those guys seemed big-time. Bigger than the two of us, anyway.”

“Please, get us back to back and we’ll fight off an army. We’ve yet to lose a bar fight, I’ll remind you. Besides, bigger than me? I’m very tall, you know.”

“You know what I mean, Anon. But no– it creeps me out. Like if I stare too long I’m gonna get a bag over my head and end up in some freak’s sex dungeon. No thank you.” At this, Gile noticed his partner’s empty mug, and sought to catch up. Fizzy was quick to bring her hoof down firmly down on the bartop, leaning in close to the pair.

“Listen up you two. You can keep sitting here if you keep buyin’ drinks, but shut up with all that sorta talk. There are big-time creatures in this city, and if you keep those loud mouths yapping, they will come knocking– and you don’t want that. So fucking zip it.”

This did indeed shut the two up... They traded a shocked look for only a second– before dropping the act and letting loose with obnoxious laughter.

“We ain’t scared of no things, lady. Besides, we’re outta this city by noon tomorrow. We’re wanderers before anything else.” Anon was upsetting their bartender...

“H’okay, hotshots: Wanderer is a pretty strange way of saying bum pickpockets, I'll say before anythin' else. I know who’s bit pouch that is, and you’re lucky I hate the fucker. You see that table over there?” She pointed a hoof to the far corner of the bar, where there rested the splintered remains of... what might’ve once been considered a table. “That bastard colt comes in here, has three beers, then tries picking a fight with the only buffalo I’d ever seen in my life. A fucking buffalo.”

Gile leaned in, awe written plainly across his face. “And the guy lived? That sounds like something you don’t live through.”

Fizzy rolled her eyes.

“Eh, bastard has had three hooves in the grave since he was born... Yeah, he lived... Screamed his stupid head off the whole time though– made all my regulars leave cause the buffalo was still ragin’, and he never paid me back for the table he was smashed through. That’s why I hate the no-show.” At this... Anon smiled smugly, and held up another bit and then slid it towards the bartender.

“Seems like he is now, eh?”

For the first time that day, a smile slowly grew on Fizzy’s face.

Time moves fast with good company, and as the day turned to night, the empty bar filled in with the rugged ‘citizenry’ of Tamar. Soon, laughter and merriment filled the warm bar– a beacon of light in the otherwise-darkness of a bleak, deadend city. Anon and Gile were well into their buzz now, and as they chatted up the others at the bar– an aged white-maned pony burst through the front doors with a shout, as if delirious with fever.

“Everyone!! Have you all heard news of the Twilight Bounty!?”

The chatter died down as all eyes were locked onto the crazed elder. “There’s some important pony who went missing in Equestria, and their Princess is offering enough bits to buy a hundred airships!” Anon and Gile locked eyes, hearing that. Gile smiled.

“What in Tartarus is an Equestria?” Asked a confused minotaur. The old pony was seemingly drugged with excitement, intoxicated at the mere fantasy of such riches.

“It’s off to the Far East, across the Typhon Ocean and beyond it even still! So far, it is, i-it’s almost impossible to imagine traveling from here to there– but the rumors say Twilight must be somewhere around here! No place else left tae'look! Huhah, i-if one of ya's finds her an' gets her back, you must cut me in on the profits, since I told you all! Couldn't have dunnit without me, no sir!”

The old pony was ready to bolt out of the bar and go alert the next establishment he could find of the bounty and how he was to be let in on the reward– the 'trick' of his not-so-clever scheme, but a zebra grabbed him by the neck and pulled the pony over to his table, wishing to hear more of the story. “You know a Twilight?” Anon asked Gile.

“No stupid, she’s probably Equestrian royalty or somethin’. They got a huge princess and she controls the sun. Her realm is huge and no one fucks with ‘em because of it... Haha, imagine that. Like, ‘oh, you’re trying to invade my nation? I’m just gonna slam the damn sun down on ya!' Wham! Haahah…” Anon eyed Gile incredulously. Obviously, both man and griff alike were well past the beginnings of their buzz by now.

“She controls the sun? That doesn’t make any damn sense. That shit moves on it’s own.”

Gile rolled his eyes and feigned a mocking yawn. “Oooh boy, here we go again with the stupid alien talk. I’ve told you this shit before, things don’t work like you say they do back… wherever the fuck you’re from.”

This talk seemed to interest Fizzy, who stopped chatting with one of the regulars and trotted back over to the two friends. “What’s this talk about aliens? First that old kook comes barging in here with his dumb story and now there's aliens in Tamar?” Anon shook his head, bemoaning having to explain this sort of thing again.

“Ugh, no. Er, well, yes. Believe it or not, my otherworldly looks and charm aren’t just blessings: I poofed into this world one day when I was young, and I’ve been here ever since.”

Fizzy, of course, didn't believe it for a second. No one with half a brain ever did. “Ho yeah, real believable– and here I thought you were just a minotaur with some gross disease that made you weak and bald.”

Anon put a hand on his hair and made a face of mock-offense. He readied himself to explain further when Gile butted in. “To my weak, bald friend’s credit: We’ve traveled a pretty wide distance across the continent and we’ve yet to find anything like Anon. We met as kids– some guards back in Drachen dumped his gangly ass at the orphanage I was at like... Boreas, I don't know how many years ago. The others decided they’d welcome the resident alien by dog-piling him and stomping his face into the dirt, so I, with my heroic nature, hopped into the fray to protect the little monster. We’ve kicked ass together ever since.” He punctuated his story by fluffing out his chest. Anon scoffed, but clinked his mug with Gile’s in cheers all the same.

“Maybe seventy percent of that story is true, I hope you know.”

Fizzy made a face and scoffed. “Obviously. That doesn’t explain your alien claim either. If anything, you’re still a minotaur and your parents kicked you to the curb once they saw how fucked up you looked. How is Drachen these days by the way? I have family who live on Hoovesfeld Street, if you know the area.”

The duo both shrugged. “Fuck that place. We’re Drachen-raised for sure, but only because we had no choice until we got old enough to run away from that hell of an orphanage. Free food’s nice, but fighting everyday to maintain your spot as top dog of the living rejects was a nightmare.”

Gile nodded his head at Anon’s story. “Amen to that. Hey, since we had a tragic upbringing, could we get free beer?” Fizzy shook her head in the negative, though still smiling. “Man, how do the beggars get away with it? They tell their sob story and creatures fucking pay them. We’re doing this all wrong, Anon, I tell you.”

Anon laughed. “Creatures pay them to go away, I promise you that.”

“If you two are oh so starved for bits, go chat up that old pony before that zebra and his posse give him a heart attack with their questions.” Fizzy filled up their beers and gave a subtle wink. On the house. Anon saluted and the two drifted across the bar over to the zebra’s booth.

The old pony’s words faded in as the two approached– his speech pattern zealous and erratic.

“...estria is like heaven!! Their rulers are beautiful, immortal, all-powerful goddesses who control the sun and moon! That’s why when catastrophes happen, Equestria is always where the evil targets! It knows that, once Equestria is out of the way, the rest of the world will fall with it… O-oh, and the Twilight mare! She’s the personal student of the sun-goddess! One day, it’ll be her atop the Equestrian throne keeping the rest of the world safe!”

The old stallion’s eyes seemed watery telling his tale, as if it was a story he wasn’t originally supposed to hear, and was for the ears of angels only. Yet, it was his now– and he treasured it deeply.

“I’ll never leave this damned city, but I so badly yearn for that Equestria!! We are tainted creatures, you and I– which is why we’re stuck so far away from Her shores– and good for it! Saints and heroes alone may walk the streets there, and that Twilight mare does not belong in these lands… Ygh, and the reward for her safe return, too!! There is no set price, but it’s guaranteed to be more than enough for any one creature to live in a palace of gold! And–”

The zebra cut off the stallion’s gushing. “My griffin friend, upon where do your praises end? Where can this Twilight be found, and can one to Equestrian lands even be bound?”

A sleek red stallion in his company added onto his leader’s words “You make it sound like Equestria is a land of gods. Are you sure this story is true, and not just a legend? We need bits– got no time for nonsense.”

The elder shook his head vigorously. “O-of course it’s true! How else do you think the sun moves, and the moon…”

Anon turned Gile to himself, away from the madpony’s continued rant. He brought the griffon over to a nearby window. “Think it’s real? I know you’ve talked about Equestria before, and I guess the sun princess shit, if you think it’s true… but about this mare, and the reward?”

Gile nodded. “I know the sun goddess has these… relic-thingies. Remember the legend about Nightmare Moon?” Anon shook his head in the negative. Gile sneered. “Fuckin’– really? You’d think being a weird alien in a whole new world would’ve spawned some intrigue on your part when you were younger.”

Anon rolled his eyes. “Bro, I was way more concerned about my next meal, not a fucking history lesson on myths and legends about a place I’ll never even visit. Besides, when the hell did you become such a scholar anyway? I’ve never seen this side of Gile The Bird Brain.”

Gile punched Anon’s leg, shushing him. “Keep your fuckin’ voice down man, a slur like that is gonna get you killed around here.” He never really got used to his old orphanage nickname. “Anyway– those relics are called Elements, or something. The sun princess used the Elements to banish Nightmare Moon for a thousand years. Now I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I think I heard one time about the Elements being given to six ponies. You remember that one time we were in that really fancy city, Cabaluus?” This, Anon did remember. It was one of the few places he and Gile had ever been to that wasn’t a total hellhole. “Well while we were split up looking for rich idiots to steal from, there was some sort of ambassador or noble from Equestria visiting, and I heard from his guards that there was some big royal wedding back in Equestria. They said how there was a surprise attack by bugs or something, and that the Element-bearers couldn’t get to the Elements. I’m not sure how the attack was repelled, but it must’ve been if Equestria still has their sun goddess. Anyway, I’m pretty sure this Twilight mare must be one of those bearers, which is why she’s so important.”

“Hmm… I’m pickin’ up what you’re puttin’ down. So…” Anon leaned his elbows against the sill, staring towards the sky. Gile recognized this look: A starry-eyed determination, unbecoming of a petty thief. If he didn't know better, he’d think Anon a young adventurer– or at least a human with noble pursuits. “... So let’s go find this mare and get rich.”

The griffon smiled.

“Let’s be heroes, Gile.”

Chapter 2 - Bowline Blues

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 4 - The Black Stripe

A distant argument carried through the stale air of the hovel. In Cabalan slums, creatures hadn’t the money nor the care to have the desolate and abandoned demolished, instead opting to simply build overtop of what most locals would consider “an already stable foundation,” which meant two things:

“... Scoot over Gile.”

There were many forgotten and (relatively) safe nooks and crannies to bundle into when without a home in Cabaluus, and…

“Would if I could, Anon.”

They were almost all very cramped.

“Those two creatures out there have been arguing for a while now… You think they’ll stop soon? It’s kinda distracting.” Twilight, being the small pony she was, took up little room in comparison to her newly met companions: The beefy griffon, and the tall human.

“It’s two griffons and a pony. Listen to the timbre of the two voices, you can hear a difference in deepness now and again, and how they don’t talk over each other, but they do over the less gravelly voice.” Gile spoke in monotone, barely paying attention to the pony as he flicked a bit about in his claws.

“And, judging by the rising tone of the stallion’s voice, he’s probably about to get shut up.” Anon added, getting an angry look from Gile.

“Shut up? You don’t think they’ll hurt him right?”

Anon was about to answer, but a building shout of rage from the unseen stallion, and the immediate silence that snuffed his shout before it’s peak, gave Twilight all she needed to know.

“... They probably just beat him up, Twilight. Nothing major.”

“N-nothing major? Being beat up is pretty bad!”

Anon shifted about on the concrete floor, his only comfort being the makeshift pillow of his bag. “Cabaluus is a bad place, Twi. I’m sure you know that. The last thing we need is to butt in on some other creature’s issues and become targets too.”

“But you two are heroes!”

Anon was really starting to regret going along with that. “... Heroes pick their battles. If we went around helping everyone in need, what would the guards do?”

Gile turned onto his side, clutching the single bit close. “Preach brother! Heroes also need their sleep. Early to bed, early to rise.” This felt wrong to Twilight, but she didn’t question further, though her thoughts about that unseen stallion would keep her up through the night.

“... So, you think somepony used a psyche hex on me, and that’s why I don’t remember anything?”

“I thought Gile said it was time to sleep, Twilight.” Anon still felt strange finally directing that name at a living thing. For so long, it seemed synonymous with a word to describe a hopeless dream. It felt exciting, but... wrong.

“I know he did, but I just… Why me? I guess me not remembering is kinda the intended effect, but I’m so… plain. Who was I before?”

“From what we know, Twilight, you are apart of some elite league of ponies with a very special purpose. A, uh... “

As usual, Gile picked up Anon’s slack. “A very important diplomat of Equestria. Whoever did this to you needed you gone as a part of a probably devious plan. Very malicious stuff. That’s why we need to get you back, and... “ He cracked open a predatory eye at the pony “... Why we need to sleep now. Equestria’s a long trot away and we don’t own a carriage.” The thought of a carriage quickly captured the griffon’s interest as once again shut his eyes, hoping to dream of riches as usual. Twilight sighed. Perhaps with time, she thought, her new friends would open up to her more.

…

Sunlight broke through the cracks of splintered wood and crumbling cobble that surrounded the trio’s ramshackle bunker. Predictably, it was Twilight up first, nudging the thieves awake. Gile was less than thrilled.

“... Mmmgh, what the hell lady... “

“Come on you two! You yourself last night said that Equestria is a long ways off! We’re gonna have to get moving if we want to prevent whatever catastrophe is coming! Oh gosh, what if it’s already happened!? Let’s go, let’s go!” Twilight dropped Anon’s bag onto him with an unceremonious flop, earning a groan from the sleepy human.

“Ugh, she’s right, Gile. C’mon now, the sooner we leave Cabaluus, the better. Barely got any sleep on this dingy floor anyway…”

“Woah woah woah. Without even hitting the uptown? I wanna see how the place has, um, grown!”

Twilight cocked her head. “You two have been to Cabaluus before?” Gile snickered. Anon punched him in the shoulder.

“We’ve… been all across Echidna. Partly because we were raised here, mainly because we were looking for you.”

“Ah, of course! Adventurers like you must’ve been all over the world! Tell me, where was the most interesting place you’ve been!? I read about the Yak lands of northern Equestria in the Royal Library! Have you been there!?”

Anon waved a hand dismissively. “Not to any Yak lands, no. I do recall a run in with a buffalo at a tavern once though.”

Gile smiled. “Oh yes, poor Anon got thrown through a table after he insulted the size of the buffalo’s, how you say, ‘lower member.’ “

“ ‘Lower member?’ What is-” Anon quickly cut Twilight off before she could question further.

“THAT- Ahem... That’s not what happened. It was a stranger we’d never met who fought the buffalo. He did however pay for our drinks that night.”

“How’d he pay for your drinks if you had never met him?”

Gile shot Anon an angry look as he unruffled his feathers and stretched. “W-well, you know how taverns can be. Ponies coming and going so soon and such. Let’s get moving yeah?”

“But-”

Gile wrapped an arm around Twilight’s neck, knocking their heads together. “To Equestria we go!”

‘... What’s a lower member?’ Twilight thought to herself.
…

‘Look at us’ Gile thought. ‘Cabaluus truly is a place of riches unknown. In only a day, we found our prize and snatched right from under their greedy clutches.’ He smiled longingly, looking out across the sunny horizon. ‘... And none were the wiser.’

Once again on the unkept trail, map navigation was delegated to Twilight, as she was understood to be smart, and she feasted on the knowledge of previously unknown geography and landmarks. Plus, the other two really hated doing it. Gile leisurely flapped himself forward only a few feet above Anon in the air, listlessly following the human leading the pack, thinking himself an actual leader in his head.

This most recent win had done wonders to their morale, even if they couldn’t truly be sure they had found their target. Through windy nights and cool afternoons, over rolling hills and craggy mountains, the newly formed trio cut a jagged path across the Echidna countryside on their inevitable march toward Equestrian shores. The thieves felt on top of the world now, and nothing could break their resolve. So untouchable, did they feel, that they got lazy. For so long now, they had been skilled enough to dodge the common guard, or the dull peasant farmer as they committed their minor crimes. Snagging such a coveted bounty was way beyond any heist they’d ever done.

Creatures would take notice.

And as the trio hopped from village, to town, to city, rumors of the long-thought fake Twilight Bounty rose to the ears of fellow unsavory types once again.

Fate would have it no other way.

…

A striped hoof stamped into the dingy floor of the tavern. An exotic voice hissed to the bartender. “So you swear it’s true? Of the gangly ‘human’ and his retinue?”

“Not much of a retinue, but yes. Hard to forget a creature lookin’ like that.” The bartender snorted. “They were good for a laugh, but still thievin’ creeps at the end of the day.” Under her breath, she mumbled “Not all that different from you…”

The zebra spat, earning another look of powerless anger from the bartender. “Fizzy Taps, you’d be wise to tell me all you know, lest you end up like that fool Swing Low.”

Fizzy looked away, a pang of fear shooting through her. Swing Low was a stallion she always had hated, but to know he was actually, or, more correctly, finally dead, and that these scum were behind it…

“I’ve told you all I know. Last I saw of them, they went over to talk to him,” she motioned at the shivering old stallion, “then they got drunk, stared out the window longingly together, then started a fight with some griffons.”

“... That sounds like a fake story, boss.”

The zebra nodded soberly, and in a flash, revealed an iron-tipped arrow, which she held jabbed against Fizzy’s neck.

“Our humble booze whore here tells no lies, yes? You’ll lose more than your tavern, if you try to pull the wool over my eyes.” The zebra’s hushed, rhythmic cadence did little to hide her smoldering rage, nor did they conceal the dripping venom from each syllable.

Feverishly, Fizzy nodded her head, gasping for what could be her last breath.

“Any idea where they went then, booze whore?” One of the zebra’s lackeys spoke up.

The zebra spun on her hooves, gashing her subordinate across the cheek. “I DO THE TALKING!” A deathly quiet settled across the room as she collected herself, turning back to Fizzy, silently imploring her to answer the question regardless.

Between ragged breaths, she lied. “C-Cabaluus? T-they must’ve went to Cabaluus! Big city, lotta ponies, it’s an idiot’s search anyway h-haha!”

The zebra leaned in close.

“Twilight is real. And that bounty…”

The noise fled Fizzy’s ears as the arrow was lodged into her chest.

“IS MINE TO STEAL!”

Gasping, Fizzy crumpled to the floor.

The zebra quickly composed herself. “GIRLS! Patch up this booze whore and put her on the carriage with the old one! We must leave now, the human on the run!”

A trusted friend of the zebra trotted alongside her as the gang left the bar. “I know you won't swing on me, so I’ll say it. I know you just didn’t want to tell that mare about your gem, but really? The Twilight Bounty? Nopony believes in that shit. What makes you so sure these clowns are the ones who took it anyway?”

“It’s all that remains to remind me of home… I’ve been without it too long even now, so we must roam. That ‘human’ stole it while I made my rounds, and while I didn’t notice astounds, but… They will pay for their actions that day. Besides, who’s to know? Mayhaps they’ll prove the Bounty true, and our influence may grow.”

“... Whatever you say, Zara. Not like a powerful unicorn like that would ever come to Tamar anyhow. We’re just bringing our elites, right?”

The zebra nodded. She couldn’t just uproot her whole syndicate here. It’d cost a fortune to feed those mouths, and she’d lose too much money from the populace. She gave a signal to the mare beside her.

“Alright! Silver Tongue! Gwen! Let’s move!”

Many eyes, watching in awe from the safety of windows and alleyways, watched as the boss of The Black Stripe and her closest soldiers left the dying city of Tamar. They knew what this meant, they had seen it before. Crackdowns in her absence. Without their leader to crack the whip on her lower, baser subordinates would run rabid. She’d be back too. She always came back.

…

The sun was nearing its descent below the horizon, and a familiar dark, cool sky began to be clouded and signalled to the troupe that it was time to rest.

“Deadmare’s Gully should be just around here…” Twilight stretched her words, as if the secluded location would reveal itself to her the moment she finished her sentence.

“I dunno Twi. I always made a point of not hunkering down at places with scary names like that on the map.”

Anon punched Gile in the arm. “That’s because you are a little bitch, hatchling.”

“My shrewd decision making is what’s kept us alive this long, jackass.”

Twilight gasped. “Language you two! You know, I never pictured heroes having such colorful vocabulary!”

Anon shrugged. “You learn it on the road. You’ll be doing it like us in no time Twi.”

The unicorn rolled her eyes, but couldn’t keep the smile from her face. She’d grown fond of the pair’s banter. That is, after they taught her what banter was. She was absolutely mortified at first.

Distant lightning, far too distant to hear, silently shocked the skyscape as deeply somber clouds snuffed out the stars. The clouds were massive, booming things that needed not the rumbling thunder to be imposing. Up here, along the edge of this dusty plateau pass, the beautiful cool and quiet of far off storms brought calmness of mind to Anon. Moments like this put him at truly at ease. He’d never liked the sun or it’s heat. He interlocked his hands behind his head, and sighed contently.

Twilight, reminiscent of her old self (not that her companions would know), was too caught up in her map to take in the beauty around her, and was becoming increasingly more agitated. “Ugh! Unless I’m reading this map wrong, and I know I’m not, there should be a gently sloping pass downward along the side of this plateau! There should be a series of shallow caves there, assumedly hollowed out by the normally ripping winds during the summer seasons that we could camp out in! But where is it!?”

Anon clicked his tongue in disapproval, lazily walking along with closed, happy eyes. “You gotta learn to not sweat the small stuff, Twi. We’ll find it when we do, complainin’ won’t help anyone. Get your snout out of that scroll and enjoy the scenery. We may not always have such calm in our lives.”

“Shut up Anon, I don’t know how you’re not tired, but the rest of us are. This weather is deceptive. It’s trying to get us to stop here now because it feels nice, then boom! Two hours later we’ll be soaking wet and miserable in the howling wind. We’re easy targets out here too. Damn plateau may be high up, but there’s nowhere to hide out here…”

“It’s the quickest route to our destination, so we’ll take what it gives us. Besides, no bandits are stupid enough to scale a plateau to look for unsuspecting travelers.”

“That’s because it’s stupid to do so at all…” Gile grumbled.

With an annoyed sigh, Twilight pocketed the map in her light saddlebags. Saddlebags Gile claimed to have ‘bought for a fair price.’ Twilight was ecstatic to have been given what she remembered as ‘her first gift.’ Smug smiles were exchanged between the thieves that day. “Why are you two so afraid of bandits anyway? They’re always, like, the first thing you guys mention.”

“Echidna is a bad place, Twi. Thieves and their ilk are crawling everywhere here, and two friends can only do so much. Besides, one should never actively seek out danger in the pursuit of violence. It’s not the hero way.” Anon found it funny to talk high and mighty on how heroes ought to behave, and it was really starting to grate on Twilight.

“It’s not the pursuit of violence! It’s the pursuit of harmony!” Twilight felt a strange flicker in herself at that, but knew not why.

“Hm. How about something else then? We’re all tired-” Gile groaned hearing that. “ -maybe we should tell some stories to pass the time?”

Twilight’s eyes lit up. “Oh! I have a good one! B-but I’d like to hear both of yours as well.”

“Shoot.”

Trotting with pep now, Twilight cleared her throat. “Ahem. So! One time, when I broke into Caballuus’ library, I found this great tale of Ardent Bulwark, and how she was defeated by a gang of friends. The scholar claimed the mare had created an impenetrable shield, light as a feather, but could protect it’s user from even the hottest of dragonflame. She was going to somehow mass produce the shields for her slowly amassing army, called the Ardent, but the brave adventurers infiltrated her mountain hideout while she only had the first one completed... ”

Anon’s plan to shut Twilight up had backfired in a… nice way. He let her story of the six heroes battling through desert and mountain ranges drown out the calm wind.

“... So after the run in with the gang at Appleoosa, the Sherrif told the adventurers that The Ardent were hiding out in the caldera of a long-dormant volcano, deep in The Badlands, but it’d be suicide to go with just their group. The adventures didn’t care for danger however, and beelined there! Along the way, they met up with Ardent goons and wild Badlands creatures, but they were no match for their friendship!...”

“Eventually they found Bulwark deep in the inner magma chamber of the caldera. The magma that still flowed through there was the only thing hot enough to craft her perfect shield, and it was her mighty forge. Her plan was to arm her legions all with this shield, then woosh! Conquer Cloudsdale and reinstate pegasai superiority across Equestria! Luckily, the heroes were able to stop her, but just as they did, the chamber began to fill with lava once more. Bulwark wished to be left behind, and d-die with her life’s work, but the heroes knew she could be redeemed. They carried her with them and barely escaped the eruption in time!”

The adventure had even enraptured Gile, who seemed less blurry-eyed. “... Is that it? What happened next?”

Twilight shook her head. “I don’t know. T-they lived happily ever after…? It was a written as a firsthand account by one of the heroes, I believe her name was Recon or something. The library didn’t have anymore of her works. I checked, heh...”

Anon sighed. “Well, it was a good story regardless. Got anymore?”

“Eh… There was another, about this creature named Chaos or something, and how it escaped it’s prison of stone. It was stopped by another group of ponies... but it wasn’t very captivating. Apparently it was written by some noble visiting Equestria, not a literary scholar, so it seemed pretty all over the place and not very descriptive. Very fluffed.”

“Hm. Probably had to be there, huh?”

Twilight puffed her cheeks. “Probably. Hey! Maybe there will be a better telling of the story in Equestria’s Royal Library! I mean, they gotta have one too right?”

Chapter 5 - In The Field of Dandelions

Twilight stared in wonder at the fields of dandelions lining the dirt path. The white puffs danced in the breeze, and in the distance, a young town of little note. It had no name on the map, but judging from the far off mountains looming ahead, this had to be the right direction. ‘One more mountain pass, then a straight shot to the Typhon Ocean. From there, we can decide if sailing would be possible, or we could just hike up the coast like planned.’ Anon’s eyes drifted to Twilight. ‘Soon…’

The human snickered as Twilight dashed into the dandelion field, sending little white buds up into the sky. Anon would’ve been concerned she had somehow figured out they weren’t really heroes after all and booked it, had Twilight not been laughing so joyfully.

“Hey! What’re you doing Twilight!?” Gile snapped out of his bored reprise. “We gotta get to town!”

Anon sighed “It can’t be helped…” and ran into the field after Twilight. The griffon waited in his place impatiently for his friend to scoop up the purple pony and show her reason, but that never came. Instead, he watched in awe as Anon almost skipped through the flowers.

‘Are they… playing?’ Gile’s eye twitched.

Twilight danced through the field, giggling with happiness as Anon came up behind her and spun her about, the dandelion buds dancing alongside them. Gile had thought Anon was only ever happy when holding bits, like him.

Now he had seen everything.

“I-I can’t believe you two! C’mon!” Gile’s shouts fell on deaf ears.

“Don’t be such a stick in the mud, featherbrain!” Anon called back, before turning back to Twilight. “Follow my lead, learned this from watching some minotaur couple back at this place Gile and I used to live in.”

Anon brought Twilight up to her hindlegs, her forehooves in his hands, and danced her about through the flowers, as if ballroom dancing, but much, much wilder. And messier.

Anon wasn’t much of a dancer, and Twilight had probably never seen other creatures dance before.

“Hey! Youngin’ pony and skinny minotaur! Git yer behinds outta mah dandelion field! We eat those!” Some old, cranky pony farmer shouted from afar.

Gile nodded and pumped his arms. “Yeah! C’mon you weirdos! I’m HUNGRY!”

“Are- Are they dancin’!?” The old stallion shouted to Gile.

“Ye- YES!! WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE!?”

“Awww! Tha’s adorable! Ah used’ta do that with my sweetheart all the time! Maybe I shou…” His tone shifted considerably, and his voice quickly petered out as he turned on his hooves back for his home.

“I- NO! COME BACK AND HELP ME OLD PONY!” Gile could plead all he wanted, but the stallion was gone. “Grrr… Ugh. Fine!” The griffon sighed. This much radiating happiness was more than he was used to, and he couldn’t fight his emotions any longer. With a grumble, he too flew over to the pair. Though, he had made sure to blast Anon with a gust of wind from his beating wings, sending a blast of flowers into his face. “Wow, this is fun after all huh?” Gile couldn't keep the smirk from his face.

Anon bent down and captured a handful of dandelion, tossing it up into Gile’s beak, who coughed wildly. “P-prick! That got into my nose!” The friends chased each other about, laughing and shouting, until exhausted. They fell and rested near each other, faces up to the shining sky.

“Huff huff, Oh Celestia, I haven’t had that much fun since, well, since I can remember!”

“Hoo man, I am out of shape… Gah! I needed that…” Anon plucked a small feather from Gile and fanned himself with it, as if it would cool him any.

“Ow! You’re lucky that little tuft you call hair isn’t worth the skin it grows on, monkey, or I’d pay you back for that.”

“C’mon Gile, you know you love us.”

“Yeah yeah… Hey, did you say Celestia? As in, the sun goddess?” Gile turned his head upwards towards the unicorn, who now seemed shocked.

“... I-I guess I did, huh? Who’s that? M-maybe my memories are coming back!? Oh! Was I a princess before I got, well, you know!?”

Anon turned to Gile, just as confused. “F-from what we’ve heard… She’s the ruler of Equestria. Or so that old coot said.”

Horror filled Gile.

“Why do you say it like that? Didn’t she send you two?” Twilight cocked her head in innocent confusion.

‘This can be salvaged.’ Gile, quick on his claws, spoke fast. “We’re not natives to Equestria. The Princess had sent out letters to heroes all across the world. We were just the first to find you.”

Twilight still held a bit of confusion on her face, but seemed content with the response. Gile internally screamed. “Huh. Jeez… I can’t imagine how long I’ve been gone then. I guess the Equestrian Royal Guards couldn’t really search beyond their borders…”

“P-precisely!” Anon answered. Smooth…

“Um, yeah, no offense to the Equestrians or whatever, but they seem really incompetent from what we, well, haven’t seen of them. I guess they extended their search letter to the greater world after the search for you went dry in the homeland.” The party started to get up, continuing back towards the town.

“Well, it’s not like I know them or anything, so, uh, no harm done? I had no idea they were… Ah! This is all so strange!” Twilight stomped her hooves into the flowers, immediately regretting crushing them.
“I-I’ve been trying to not think about it, what with all the antics and such, b-but… But this is wrong! Why did whichever pony who did this to me, well, do this to me!? I can’t even begin to think of reasons why because I don’t know anything, and I HATE it!! I can’t think of reasons, the logistics of the search, how long it’s been since I was gone, I-I don’t even know ME!!” With that, Twilight crumpled to the ground once more, choking back sobs.

Anon bent down to cradle her in his arms and kept moving. “C’mon now Twi. Everything's not lost… We’re gonna get you back to Equestria, the princess will restore your memories, and everything will be fine.” He shifted her in his arms, so he could look into her eyes. She averted her gaze, fat tears still falling. The human tilted her head, so she had no choice.

“I promise.”

“I promise too, Twilight.” Gile had flown up beside the human, concerned. “We like you a lot, and we want to help. I-it’s our job, afterall.”

“It’s more than a job now.”

All Twilight could manage was a meager “T-thank you... “ in between sobs. Gile and Anon shared a look before silently continuing onwards.

…

Deep underneath a nameless mountain in the Badlands, the beast retched madly, letting loose a feral noise, shrieking in ecstatic pleasure. A long since dug out hollow in the ground had been uncovered by it’s smokey tendrils. Some sort of cave system. In the natural blackness of the unknown cave, a foul dark wildly invades and fills the void with efficiency.

“Lovely… Empty…” Evir felt a shred of his vision dash toward the newly uncovered space, taking in the sight. At his current strength, he could not truly see anything in it’s darkness, but understood that what he ‘saw’ was not ‘it.’ Not the smoke. Just as quickly as it had been found, it had been filled with his gaseous ichor. And just as soon as his fog had filled the room and touched its walls, it began to dig, in pursuit of more space. It’s- no, his growth was enfeebling his mind. He knew not truly why he was digging, but when such thoughts came to him, that ever lingering static in his head grew to a roar of harsh noise, and he’d stop thinking such things. He only felt at ease when growing.

“Lovely…”

…

The town, Verona, as the locals called it, was undeserving of such a pretty name, Anon thought. ‘It’s got the small town feel down well enough, but still. Verona sounds like a much better city than it does a town.’ He idled over such thoughts as he thumbed a necklace in his hand. No matter how small a town, there is always a market. The boys had decided to actually buy something nice for Twilight, since her episode in the field. Normally, stealing would be easy enough, and Gile had offered, but… Anon felt guilty for once. Snatching some trinket to cheer Twilight up seemed… wrong. The thief shook his head, fearing the worst. He wasn’t… gaining a conscience was he? By the stars…

“Anon! This one’s got alot of gems in it! She’s still distracted, yes?” Gile asked at his side.

“Who, the mercha- Oh! Twilight.” Anon kept his snicker to himself. ‘Nope, no conscience here.’ “Yeah, she’s watching those colts play with their sparklers.”

A little ways away, Twilight watched, entranced, as foals laugh and chase each other around with sparkler sticks. Her eyes shined with the intensity of the sparkles themselves, flittering about in the air before burning up into nothing. As far as she knew, it was the first time she’d ever seen such a thing. Yet the grown mares and stallions around her barely give a second glance. ‘Why? Were these tools commonplace? Had they played with such things when they were young? Had I?’ Such thoughts, now no longer bottled up, felt cathartic to the unicorn. She’d know. In time.
They promised.

“Hey mister, I’d like one of the sparklers.” Anon’s familiar voice knocked Twilight out of her thoughts. She looked over at him blankly.

“Uh, minotaur fella, you know these are fer kids, right?”

Anon rolled a bit his way. “I’m forever young, old timer.”

The stallion grumbled and handed the human a lit sparkler. “Damn youngins’, don’t got no respect…”

Anon sat down on a nearby bench, handing Twilight the shining stick. “It’s a sparkler. They dip the sticks in some sort of magic powder, touch it to fire, then woosh!”

Gingerly, Twilight took the rod in both hooves, eyes wide.

“Just uh, heh, don’t touch the shiny parts. They’re hot. Learned that one the hard way my first time.”

… Blushing, Twilight slowly lowered her hoof back down to the thinner end of the stick. Cautiously at first, but quickly gaining speed, she waved the light back and forth and all around. She particularly loved watching the afterimage of the fading light, as if she was drawing a line in three-dimensional space. She tried drawing the sun with the sparkler, but it’d disappear too fast. Regardless, she was in love.

“Tch, a sparkler’s cool and all, Twilight, but check this out!” With a triumphant “Haha!” Gile handed Twilight a small silver necklace. It was simple, holding a little circular plate with a dandelion engraved on both sides. A bright sparkler in one hoof, a necklace in the other. Two gifts from her two friends in this world.

“Sure beats a little sparkler, don’t it mare?” Gile said smugly, casting a coy look at Anon.

“Psh. I paid for half of it. Besides, the one you were looking at cost way too much.”

“Well sorry! I’m not used to buy- Eheh, buying such accessories!”

The two would’ve continued their banter, were it not for the bear hug Twilight wrapped them both in. “Easy there Twi, it’s just a necklace.”

“M-mare must have some earth pony blood in her! J-jeez!”

“Thank you thank you thank youthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!”

“Here, lemme put it on you.” Anon took the necklace from her hoof and hooked the two ends together around her neck. He got a good look into Twilight’s eyes. Her wide, inquisitive, purple pools. They were filled with wonder and, assumedly, innocence. In her eyes, Anon saw trust, and he saw happiness. Though he wouldn’t ever admit it, he found it hard to look away.

“No way... “ Gile silently mouthed, in clear shock.

...

“Ahem.”

Anon focused his gaze on his little nightstand, counting up his bits. A very light haul. He had counted and recounted his coins at least three times by now- not because he felt he had stolen more, but because he was ignoring the very obviously nosy griffon sitting across from him on his bed.

“Ahem.”

The ‘inn’ they were staying at, if you could even call it that, housed very small rooms. This made it all the harder to appear busy in the dim yellow lantern light. This task was made even harder still by the sleeping form of a unicorn, nestled in bed right behind Anon.

“Ahem.”

She did not snore, no, nor was she a kicker in her sleep. Anon knew, however, that she was the subject of Gile’s constant “Ahem.”s.

“Ahe- Anon I know you can hear me.”

Seventy-eight, seventy-nine…

“Anon-”

“Yes, I can hear you Gile.”

Both voices were barely above a whisper, and thieves can whisper very well. So well that neither party was concerned about addressing the elephant in the room. That is to say…

“Dude, we gotta talk about this.”

Neither party was concerned about waking the pony in the room.

“No we don’t.”

“We totally do.”

“Alright-” Anon sighed and shuffled his eighty-five bits into his pouch, then patted down his clothes instinctively, feeling for his emergency bit supplies. A hundred and five overall. “-let’s talk about this.”

“Anon… You know you’re my bro, and I’d die for you, but if you’re gonna go down the route I think you will-”

“I haven’t made any decisions, Gile.”

“See, you think you haven’t now, but I think you don’t have a choice. I think you’re already too deep in it.”

“Is that supposed to be an innuendo? Because you’re wrong if-”

Gile huffed and spoke in a quick whisper-shout “Youknowthatwasn’taninnuendo! Dude! There’s like, a seventy percent chance she’s royalty, and like, eighty percent chance she’s already with a stallion!”

“Those numbers are totally made up and you have no idea if either of them are true. Also I’m not into her so it’s a non-issue.”

“You are so full of it! I saw that face you made when she looked at you! You just needed to be down on one knee with a ring in your finger and you would’ve done it! By the winds, s-she might have even said yes!”

“You’re overreacting, Gile.”

“Iamnotoverreacting! She is of better stock than us! Way better!”

“Maybe better than you…”

“Shutup! I just don’t want you getting hurt man. You falling in love was not part of this plan! We bring her to Equestria, she saves the world or whatever, and we get rich as Tartarus! That was the plan!”

“Since when have we ever done things according to our own plans?”

“Basically never! That’s what’s scary about all this! But now you’re switching things up again! We can literally have our cake and eat it too here, except now you’re trying to have the cake, eat it, then marry the fucking baker!!”

Anon sighed, stashing his belongings once more. “Look Gile. I know what this all looks like, and what you think you might’ve saw, but I promise you I’m not that stupid.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“Funny. Now, what do you say we put a hold on this conversation, go to sleep, then reconvene in a week about it?”

Gile huffed and jumped off the bed, doing a few circles before lying down on the floor. “If you haven’t got a weird mutant baby with her by then, sure.”

“Man, you should be a comedia- Why’d you get off the bed?”

The griffon rolled his eyes. “Because it’s yours, stupid.”

“What? I got a bed right here-”

Anon tried stopping himself, but it was too late.

“Sleeping with her while I’m in the room? No shame Anon.”

“Shut up dude… I could sleep on the floor if you want.”

Gile responded with closed eyes. “I do, but then you’d complain about back pains all next morning, and I don’t get those when I sleep on the floor, so take your victories Romeo.”

“... You know, I actually did read that book after that library robbery, and both ponies die at the end, so-”

“Shut up Anon.”

…

“How are rations lookin Gile?”

“We’re fine for another five days, if you carried some, you’d have an inkling.”

“Can you two stop whining? I’m trying to map overhear.”

“... Sorry Twi.” The human and griffon say in unison.

Twilight wasn’t sure why, but her friends had been acting… funny for the past couple days. They didn’t seem anymore mad at eachother than usual, not like they were ever truly ‘mad’ at eachother, but… Something was definitely up. She may have had her memories erased, but she retained social cues, and she knew asking them now would mean she’d never know, so the unicorn kept quiet, opting to listen, rather than ask.

A pony back in Verona had told Gile that these mountains were the ‘Hoofreach Heights,’ a name that marked ponykind’s first venture onto the continent Echidna, some hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Gile didn’t care very much for the history lesson, but Twilight sure did. Originally, The pair had decided the night of finding her to keep away from major cities and roads, keeping only on the paths less traveled, for her sake, and theirs. The passage of weeks lessened those rules, and, seemingly, the closer they got to Equestrian shores, no matter how still far away, the more kinder folk they found. ‘Perhaps’ Anon thought ‘Equestria truly is a land of gods and heroes.’ It made his mind wander to Twilight herself, and the things she might’ve done in her past… Which made his mind wander further, to the concerned words of his best friend, some nights ago. Surely this good deed would add something to his so tarnished name, right?

Snow fell lazily around the trio as they hiked their way through hoof-fuls of snow and ice. It was obvious to them all now that traversing by ocean was very likely out of the question. With these mountains so close to the coast, the Typhon Sea was sure to be a treacherous iceberg seascape, and with no large ports on this eastern coast…

“G-gah. Even here, so low in the mountain range, I’m freezing my balls off.”

Twilight cocked her head as she trotted. “Your balls? What balls?”

Anon choked on his laughter and Gile puffed his plumage, blushing furiously.

“I- You-... N-nothing Twilight.”

“Come on! You guys have been keeping secrets since we left Verona! I don’t wanna be left out!”

Anon’s laughter intensified, despite his freezing cold. There had been no tailors willing to work on a human in Verona, afterall. “H-h-he’s talking about his- O-oh, oh my god, hah… Fuck, I needed that laugh.”

“Language Anon! Seriously! What’re you guys not telling me?”

Anon leaned over and, despite his quaking shivers, whispered something into Twilight’s ear. Something that made her go beet red. Anon nearly fell to his knees in laughter.

“W-why, of all things, did I have to forget about THAT!?” Twilight asked aloud.

“D-do you even-”

“I-I MEAN, I KNOW NOW!!!”

Now Anon and Gile were both laughing.

“I-IT’S NOT FUNNY!”

Chapter 6 - Of Hearth and Homeland

There was no harbor waiting for the troupe on the other side of the Hoofreach Heights. The mountain range served as a site marking where native Equestrian civilization had attempted to tame the wild landscape of Echidna, and, for all their effort, were repelled by her unforgiving nature. Harmony would take no permanent footholds on this continent, it seemed. Regardless, it ensured Anon and Gile that the path to Equestria would continue on foot, not oversea. So close to that freezing mountain range, the Eastern coastline of Echidna was chilly and desolate. Few plants grew along it’s sandy shores, besides thin tundra grasses. The waves of the Typhon sea were an impatient sort, haphazardly throwing themselves against the sand and rocks with reckless force. The ocean itself, a hazy dark blue. Small icebergs off that dotted the coast served as the biggest protection the beach could hope for, shaved off some unseen mountain far away, dragged this far by Typhon’s strong currents.

It would be a long trek up the weary coast. The scenery reminded Anon of far off Bowline. He wondered if the monsoons were still raging there. Thankfully, the only clouds off Typhon shores were scant in number, large and low, ice crystals hanging heavy in their wispy wings. Concerned eyes surrounded Anon. The chill of the mountains had lessened here on the oceanside, sure, and the wind was in a rare calm, but the days since departure from Verona had not been kind to the man.

“We should take a break soon, maybe by those cliffs over there. If we stay low on their slopes, we should be protected from the worst of the winds once they pick back up again.” Twilight had been trying to get Anon to rest for over an hour now, but his stubbornness wouldn’t allow it. Gile had been walking at Anon’s side in a weak, though thoughtful, effort to shield his friend from the weather. He puffed up a few feet off the ground in a gentle hover, leaning into Anon’s ear.

“What’s with you man? You’re gonna have a stroke if you don’t take it easy for a while. You’ve been coughing and shaking since our first night in the mountains.”

“T-that’s because it was cold there and it’s cold here, featherbrain.”

“The Anon I know would never pass up an opportunity for rest, especially when it’s for his sake.”

Anon sighed through his whisper. “What do you think? I’m worried about Twilight.”

“Twilight? The mare’s fine man. She’s got her fur to protect her from the win-”

“I’m not worried about the fucking wind. I’m worried about someone coming along with more muscle than us and taking her. We’re still so far from Equestria, and I hate being out in the open like this.” hazy eyes scanned the horizon. “Every second we waste sitting in one place means they’re that much closer behind us.”

The griffon face palmed. “Who’s ‘they?’ We’ve stayed overnight in a few towns, and passed through a few more. If any of those bumpkins knew of the bounty, they’d long since stopped caring about it. If anyone was following us, they would’ve had plenty of time to steal her. Besides, we used a fake name for her whenever a stranger referred to her, so what’s the issue? She would’ve been long gone by the time we had first went to Cabaluus if creatures thought the bounty to be anything more than a pipedream.”

“I’m sure she would’ve gotten swiped up in that city, had she not used fake names herself. We got so fucking lucky that she had to be a thief to get by, man, and that’s not even considering in the fact that we found her at all. I’m certain any luck we had on our side before is no longer with us. I-I even started praying at night, dude. To that God from my old world. I’m not even sure I’m doing it right, but fuck. I can barely sleep these days thinking about how our bag could be stolen from us so easily. It’s terrifying.” Anon’s words were plagued by infrequent coughing fits, mucus apparent in his words.

Gile had to shake his head about to recollect his thoughts. “Damn, dude... You gotta relax. I get being stressed, but we’re ahead of the game. No one else had found Twilight because the creatures here don’t care. Say some schmuck had found her first, yeah? What would he do? Hogtie her and drag her across the continent?”

“... That’s pretty close to what we’ve been doing, Gile.”

“W-we have the means and the will for it. Some poor idiot Caballan doesn’t have our knowhow. Tch, besides, if you’re gonna start repenting now in life, pray to the griffon ones. I bet you never went to church back on your old world, so your old god probably hates you. You can play the poor sinner role way easier with Father Boreas wayyy easier. He loves that stuff. I think.”

Anon shot Gile a deadpan look. “I don’t think any god looks kindly on worshippers playing a role for their grace, featherbrain.”

“But it’s the true! You’re poor and a sinner all the way to Tartarus, haha!”

Twilight looked up from her map, frowning. “Are you two keeping secrets again? I wanna talk too!” She whined.

Gile cocked his head over with a smirk. “Anon’s finally found religion through his constant, crushing celibacy.”

“What’s religion?”

Anon sighed.

…

“Pick up your pace, boozewhore. Two more hours and you can sleep.” A whip cracked in the air, punctuating the mare's words. Fizzy flinched at the noise and forced her limbs to move an iota faster. Cabaluus had been a bust. Zara and her goons had scoured up and down the slums to no avail. The mare hadn’t been planning on buying those two strangers time, truly. She had just wanted The Black Stripe out of her bar. Fizzy never thought they’d actually drag her along with them, let alone torture her. It was to be expected though: These scum had no morals. It was all about money to them.

Fizzy’s thoughts often fell back onto those two thieves she had met that night in the tavern. If she knew what would be in store for her, she would’ve closed up shop and fled Tamar by sunrise. But the thinking kept her alive, when dumb muscle stallions had to rest and she had to pull the cart. The cart that carried her slavers and their supplies. She would wonder if the griffon and the human had ever even found that Twilight mare. Maybe they were slicker than they appeared, and had already deposited her back wherever she was meant to be.

Maybe they were just another couple of useless idiot thieves, another gross pockmark carving their ugly paths along this desolate continent. The latter seemed more believable. If they did ever find those two, what would she do? Would she sound the alarm and alert her captors? Would they free her if she did? Truly, at this point, she didn’t care for the wellbeing of two thieves, but…

Nopony should have to suffer through what The Black Stripe do. Fizzy knew of Zara, and of her exploits. She was a zebra, hailing from some far off land lost at sea. Apparently, she had served in her home’s legions, but she was no soldier. She was a barbarian. The zebra had been removed from her position in the Zeabrican army and banished from her home for her cruelty. Somehow, she had made her way to Tamar, and created The Black Stripe gang.

There, she found the diamonds in the rough. Once lowly thieves, trained and elevated to fellow warriors in all but name. Each had their own skillset, something they brought to the table. Fizzy eyed the griffon who flew overhead, her eagle eyes always on the lookout. Gwen was the muscle and currently, the de facto scout. Granted, she wasn’t much of a quiet griffon, but her eyesight was better than any equine. In the caravan, snoozing up with that bulky stallion, was Silver Tongue. Just another whore of Tamar, though she had the eloquence to back up her name. Smoothtalker and, more recently, head loanshark of Tamar. Why Zara had brought her moneylender outside of the city, Fizzy did not know.

Another warning crack of the whip kept Fizzy on her hooves, and her focus directed at the stony-faced mare above her, sitting upon the stop of the caravan beside Zara herself. It was the zebra’s right-hoof mare: Pale Parma.

She was scary.

Her dull blue eyes and bored look betrayed her so ragged body. The faded scars that covered her body were medals from more battles won than lost. Like her name, her coat was a pale white, and her discolored greying scars seemed to stripe her almost similarly to Zara’s. If the zebra were ever to die, It’d be Parma who’d take control of The Black Stripe. She, like her leader, was a true renaissance pony in the arts of combat and and control, be it control of a battle, or control of a city. Where Zara preferred a more ranged approach with her small crossbow, Parma favored her hooves, and damn whatever wounds she may incur. The unicorn’s nimble body was not typical of such an approach to fight, and perhaps that aided her. Thieves of their sort oh so loved the unconventional, anything to tip the scales in their favor.

But those two were no thieves. Gwen was a brute, and Silver Tongue a charlatan, but they were still just thieves at the end of the day. Zara and Parma were monsters.

“- but Caballan’s are idiots, from the rich to the poor. Our moles are no different. They say they saw one thing, heard another. ‘Oh, they’re on their way to’- Hey!” The whip lashed across Fizzy’s back, adding another bloody mark to the many. “Enough daydreaming whore! Keep MOVING! We head east!”

Fizzy nearly fell to her knees, shivering under the pain and weight. She felt fresh blood trickle down her side, and gritted her teeth. Hopeless rage billowed from her flaring nostrils, now looking like steam with the dropping temperatures. Just another two hours, then she could rest with that old idiot stallion the gang had taken along with her.

‘I hope we find those bandits, and I hope they hang Parma by her throat.’

…

The small fire groaned in appreciation with the dead sticks Gile dropped into it. He sighed, and looked to Anon. His companion sat hunched against a boulder, draped in their blankets and dirt. His breaths were ragged and hard. Twilight had at first expressed alarm at Gile’s efforts, thinking he was digging Anon’s early grave, but it was no such case. Any protection from the cold would be good for him. After learning of the trick, Twilight had rolled about in the dirt, before nestling in on top of Anon’s body, breathing her hot breath on his face every so often. It was a cute, if a bit misguided, sight to see. If Gile hadn’t felt so concerned, he would’ve joked about how compromising the picture looked.

But this was no time for such things. As the griffon added the last sticks to the fire, he too took to Anon’s side, nestling up to him. “... We hate the cold, if you couldn’t tell.”

“... Does this sort of thing happen every winter?” Twilight’s voice was low, heavy with concern.

“Usually, we’d hide out in an inn when it got cold. Anon’s body type is strange, even very experienced tailors with minotaur clients wouldn’t serve Anon, and we never stayed around towns too long to gain favors, so those clothes of his are really all he has. He even had to learn to sew at one point, just to fix up some of the rips.” Gile laughed grimly. “You know, I’d been telling him to just sew on thicker sleeves for years now, but he would always bitch about how ‘no cloths we’d scrounge up were the right color,’ and that ‘it’d make him look stupid.’ Fuckin’ idiot is stupid…”

“Gile…”

The griffon spat to the side, feeling a shiver run through his own body. The winds had certainly picked up now, in the dreary hours of night. “Yeah, I know. I shouldn’t bully him when he can’t fight back. I just hate seein’ him like this. Always…” His voice tittered off.

“A-always what?”

“... Always makes me worry. Anon’s the only friend and family I ever had in this world, and I his… Back in the orphanage-”

“You two were in an orphanage!?”

“You know what that is?”

Twilight looked away. “I… came across a few in Cabaluus. I thought at first that it was just a big family, or a place for fillies and colts to spend time together, but… Then I talked to the Mother, and she thought I was making fun of her. She gave me an earful, but I was able to piece together what it was meant for through her yelling… I’m sorry.”

“It’s cool. Anyway, he’d always save some of his food for me. Our ‘Mother’ didn’t know what to feed him, so she just gave him a little bit of everything each different race would get. The other kids at the time thought it was favoritism, so he got beat up a lot. I… didn’t care, at first, but since we shared bunk beds, we became friends. Soon enough, the kids in there hated me too, because I was friends with the ‘favorite.’ But we had each other’s backs. In time, that orphanage was ours, and none of those little scamps could boss us around. They’d still try, but they knew the risks of fucking with us.”

Gile couldn’t help smiling at Twilight’s slowly frowning face. Sure, maybe it didn’t help their image of being good heroes, but those little shits had it coming.

“I regret nothing.”

“W-why didn’t you two try explaining? You could’ve all been friends. They were going through the same things you two were.”

“Kids aren’t one to listen to reason, Twilight. Kids also aren’t one to hand out reason. We just thought that was how life was supposed to be. Be strong enough to take, or you’ll have everything taken. Really, it’s not a bad thing to live by, thinking about it now. We still do.”

Oops.

“By being adventurers…?”

“Y-yes, in a manner of speaking. The orphanage taught us to be strong, and to never give up. Sometimes, we’d come across, um, dangers that maybe we couldn’t beat. How does one go from there? You either run, or try harder.” His eyes fell onto Anon’s fitful face. “We prefer to try harder.”

“So… I take it neither of you ever got adopted…?”

Gile guffawed. “Hah! The griffon who didn’t go two days without at least one black eye and the alien who looks like a diseased minotaur!? No, haha, we never got adopted. No creature really ever got adopted in Drachen.”

“Drachen… I’ve seen that on my map. Is that where you two came from?”

“Well, Anon came from some other world apparently, but where we met? Me as a hatchling and he as a… him? Yeah, Drachen’s our home.”

The purple pony looked back to Anon, her eyes thankfully holding less concern. “So… You really think he came from another world?”

“Honestly? Yeah, I do. Anon’s never lied to me, and he had no reason to lie about that. Maybe if he said it so I’d find him interesting and be his friend at first, but years later, he would’ve told me the truth and laughed at how stupid I was for believing him. Plus, in all our years of traveling together, we never came across any creature that even resembled him. He doesn’t have the horns or snout or legs of a minotaur. He’s just… Well, a human.” There was a brief period of quiet before Gile continued, his voice a little lower, as if he didn’t want the sleeping human to know he was saying it. “There was a time when he wanted to travel the world though. He said it was to find riches, but… I think he was holding onto the hope that he had been wrong about his past, and that there were humans somewhere in this world… I don’t think he ever stopped hoping.”

The only sound for a long while was the wind, before Twilight would break the silence. “You think… If he ever found his ponies, or someway back to his homeworld… He’d go?”

Gile looked off into the darkness. “... I don’t know.”

Unconsciously, the griffon scooted a little closer to his friend.

Chapter 7 - In The Hills Beyond Hoofreach

For the first time in maybe two weeks, Anon felt the absence of his constant shivering, and a weight upon his chest. As his brain slowly began to wake up for the day, his first thought was that Gile had thrown his leather sling bag on his lap in an attempt to conserve warmth, but Anon did not care to open his eyes. A man’s first good nights sleep in a while ought to be completed with a good nights sleep-in, but then he remembered Twilight. His eyes shot open.

“Twilight? Are you here- oh!” Anon was not expecting the unicorn in question to be sleeping soundly on his chest, her little snout breathing warm, tickling air right under his chin. ‘Great, if Gile sees this…’

With a cute stretch, the little unicorn rubbed her eyes. “Mmmh… Good morning Ano- Ah! I-I’m sorry!” With a little freakout, Twilight ended up fumbling on the ground beside the human’s blanket pile.
“I was just, um, well, you seemed so sick and cold last night that I, um, giving you some warmth?”

“... Is that a question?”

Twilight felt her face burn with embarrassment, but she wasn’t sure why. “Y- no! … A-are you feeling better? Gile said that… that happening to you was fairly normal when it’s cold, but I just wanted to make sure.”

Anon gave a little laugh. “Yeah, I’m alright. Well, might have a little cold, but really, it’s not much of a sickness or anything. I just don't have the fur or feathers to deal with wind or snow very well without clothes, and, well... “ He tried to make a show of things by raising his hands in the air, but found them well constricted by the blankets and dirt. “Um. They’re not the best, is what I’m getting at.”

“... Are you covered in dirt?”

Twilight nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah-hm! Gile said that the dirt would help keep you warm, so I thought, if I was gonna sleep on you, I should be dirty too!”

“He did- Ugh! God damnit! Gile! I told you this shit doesn’t work! Where is h-”

A claw slapped lazily at Anon’s face. “... Grmm, shut up Anon… Too damn early… And it does work I’veseenrabbitsdoit…” Gile trailed off.

“Rabbits dig into the ground stupid, they don’t cover themselves in dirt. Bah, Twi, if you could untie me from this blanket prison and help me clean the dirt off these sheets?”

…

Clumps of dirt flung from sheets as Twilight flicked them with her magic. The big stuff fell off easy, but it’d take more than a lashing to remove the smaller bits that clung to the thick fabric. It didn't matter, Anon was used to being dirty. ‘Rather it be dirt than blood’ he thought idly.

“So… You’re sure you’re not sick?” Twilight broke his trance.

“Positive. I’d say dip those blankets in the ocean, but I’ll just drape a few around me as we walk, and I don’t want freezing ice sheets on my back. Should’ve been doing that this whole time.”

Twilight draped one of the larger blankets around the human’s shoulders. It was a rough texture, like a potato sack, but it’d work. “Comfy?”

Anon flung a loose end over his shoulder, getting snug. “Mhm. Thanks Twi. Let’s get Gile up and get a move on.”

“H-hey. Um, wait.” Twilight grabbed at Anon’s hand. “Gile and I talked some, last night.”

‘He didn’t…’

Anon masked a scowl. “What of.”

“He just- mh… You two are really close, huh?”

“Oh jeez, he didn’t say he has the hots for me or something did he?”

“I don’t know what that means, but, I just… I’m glad you two met, a-and I’m glad that I get to travel with you both. Having friends- or just, ponies you can rely on, is a nice feeling.”

Anon took a knee and looked Twilight in her eyes. ‘Don’t get lost in them loverboy’ Gile’s voice echoed in the back of Anon’s head. “What’s with the emotion? We are friends Twi, don’t worry. And I’m sure you have a ton of friends worried sick about you back home, which is why I don’t like taking so many breaks or resting for too long.”

“I-I know we’re friends, but… I’m just thankful that you’re helping me at all. For months, you’ve shared your food with me, kept me safe… Well, I guess I just wanted you to know that.”

That annoying blush was back with a vengeance. ‘Come on you asshole, you’ve done too much bad to still have sappy emotions like this.’ Anon tore his gaze away and started back towards the camp. “I see… C’mon. Let’s wake up Gile and get moving.”

Anon could not shake the guilt in his mind.

…

The cold of the southern Echidnaen coast ebbed with each passing day as the trio marched the dull beaches. Eventually, the gray sands gave way to more verdant pastures, and grassy plains turned to lovely foothills. Anon felt some sense of dejavu, seeing such things, but could not place them. With no dirt road to guide them towards civilization, the bandits relied on Twilight all the more, her topographical skill put to the test. As rations diminished, the friends took to scavenging wild berries and the rare game, while Twilight took to grazing when the grass seemed healthy enough. She disliked the idea of her predator friends hunting at first, but quickly warmed up to it, understanding the necessity.

“... Hey, Anon?”

The human looked over at Twilight as they walked. “Hm?”

“Where’d you get those hoof-covers?”

“... You mean my boots?”

Twilight blushed. “I-if that’s what they’re called…”

“Ah, sorry. Our mother at the orphanage made them for me. They were actually why I wanted Gile to wait on his plan to run away. The ones she had made for me before barely fit at the time and were falling apart.”

The griffon feigned a look of shock. “You really had us spend another two weeks in that torture den while mommy dearest made you new shoes? You really were her favorite!”

“Tch, please. I’m pretty sure she only had them made for me in the first place because she hated how my feet looked.”

“Well, don’t blame her if that’s the case. He’s got five of his little wigglers on each paw Twi! Isn’t that so weird?”

Twilight batted Gile with her map as he laughed.

“But yeah, I just kept growing, and no one was sure if or when I was gonna stop. Hell, I didn’t even know, so I wanted to make sure I had some new stompers before we braved the world on our own. Fuck, how old were we Gile? Thirteen?”

Gile popped a berry in his beak. “Think so. Never really knew your age, so who knows. Who cares, actually.”

Twilight got quiet.

“... Thinkin’ about something Twi?”

“Oh- nothing important, really. Just wondering, well, what my age is.”

Both creatures turned to study the unicorn.

“Well, you have your cutiemark, and you’re obviously not a filly.”

“You don’t have the eyebags old creatures have.”

“But you are pretty big.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

Anon quickly covered his tracks. “U-um, no, I-I just meant, uh-”

“Oooh, I think he’s calling you fat, Twilight…”

“I’m not!”

“... Is that a bad thing?”

Anon put his hands behind his head as he walked. “Twi, do yourself a favor and never listen to Gile. I stopped a long time ago and it’s helped me immensely in life.”

“Puh-lease, you’d have died years ago if not for me. Remember that run in with the evil serpent god?”

“See, he’s making up stories again-”

“How can you two joke about death so easily? I-I may not remember much, but that doesn’t seem right.”

Anon studied the sunset sky, the dim orange painting sharp wisps of color through the dark purple clouds. That old pony they met at that tavern so many months ago had said that Equestria’s goddesses were the ones who lifted up the sun each morning, and lowered it for their moon. He guessed it was just a gift for the rest of the world that the goddesses let their warmth be shared beyond Equestrian borders.

“... Adventurers just see it too often, I guess. It’s a dangerous life, and if you’re not prepared to see yours flicker out, it isn’t the life for you.”

“But… but why is there danger at all? Why are someponies evil? Why do they do what they do?”

“Well… Stuff like that just became normal, I guess. Some creatures started doing it, and others had no choice but to follow, or else just be another victim.”

Gile spoke up now. “But for that same reason, some recognized that such things were wrong, and go out to stop evil wherever they find it, so it can’t take root moreso in the world. Besides, not everything that does bad is necessarily, well, evil. A wolf may hurt an innocent pony in the woods, not because it’s evil, but because it thought the pony was a threat to it’s pups. Stuff like that. I guess you can’t remember learning such things, but that’s just the world, Twilight. Not everything is good or evil.”

Anon tutted. “Hm. Very true, scholar Gile. Maybe if you knew how to write, you could’ve been a great philosopher.”

“Haha, shut up monkey.”

“So… Is that why you two became heroes? You saw how things were wrong in the orphanage, and went out into the world to try and ensure that what happened to you, may not happen in the future?”

Anon and Gile shared a guilty look, unseen by Twilight.

“... That may be a cause, sure.”

The little unicorn’s eyes sparkled. “That’s so… beautiful.”

“Easy there T-”

“I-I hope, when we get to Equestria and I get my memories back, I can be a hero like you guys.”

Gile let out a “d’awww” and Anon scooped Twilight up in his arms.

“You already are one of us Twi, your past be damned. I mean, a little pony like you? Traveling across Echidna? That’s a heroic feat itself!”

Twilight giggled, covering her face. “Only because I’m with you two. I couldn’t do it on my own.”

Anon looked down at the unicorn in his arms. “Nonsense Twi. You’re a hero, don’t forget it.” He punctuated his words with a boop.

The once snickering griffon now looked at the pair with worry in his eyes. ‘Anon... ‘

…

“Ahem.”

Anon found himself counting up his bits again.

“Ahanonem.”

It had been a little over a month since they’d last seen a town, which was odd, but not entirely surprising. Really, he had no reason to be counting his bits. He knew he had not spent any.

“AHE- Anon I’m not doing this again.”

“You gotta just let cute moments be cute, Gile.”

“We said we’d talk about your feelings after a week, and it’s been like, a month.”

Anon fixated on a particularly shiny bit. “I felt, since I don’t love her and I also have no feelings, that I shouldn’t bore you with my words.”

“Dude! This is serious!”

Twilight lay by the dying campfire, snoozing soundly a few yards away from the thieves.

“Not gonna marry her-”

“ -but you do love her!”

“Maybe as a friend loves another friend, or a father loves his temporarily adopted daughter.”

“Anon, please, be serious with me. I’ve never seen you with a broken heart, and honestly, I have no idea how to help an alien with unrequited love.”

“You don’t know that it’s unrequited.”

Oops.

Gile was shocked. “I knew it.”

“I-I’m just saying! Look, okay, I’ll level with you.” Anon stashed his money away, looking his friend in the eye. “Let’s say I loved her, yeah? Let’s say that I loved her, and she didn’t love me, or she thought she did, then got her memories back and remembered she had a husband. In this totally hypothetical and not true scenario, I back off, maybe pick up writing sad poetry, and that’s that. I think we both know that I have the will and mutual understanding that you do to know that the money comes first, and everything else comes after.”

Gile flopped down on his back, forelegs splayed outwards. “Fuck. Why don’t I believe that.”

“Because you’re paranoid. Look man, stop worrying about small stuff like that. I’m not trying to romance the mare and take her away to a better place with all the bits in toe. We are trying to bring her to a better place to share the bits with each other and live that life we so desperately want. Honestly, whatever happens inbetween where we currently are, and where we want to end up, doesn’t matter as long as the end result is the same for the both of us, which, mind you, it is.”

“I just don’t like being in the dark about this Anon! This is potentially a whole new development in the plan and you’re leaving me out of it by not telling me, which is never how we did things before.” Gile looked at Anon. “Please, as my brother, tell me the truth.”

“... Alright. Yes. I do like her. I like her a lot. She’s, well, adorable; you know that. She’s smart, even with her current condition, you can tell she was destined for success. I like how wondering she constantly is, and her mannerisms. Heh, remember when she said she recategorized Cabaluus’ royal library? I thought she was just lying to save herself then, but with how she just sucks up information, and how she’s always studying that map… I don’t doubt her anymore. But mainly… Those eyes man. Those fucking eyes. I just… I don’t know. Never felt like that about another creature before.”

Anon scanned Gile’s face, deep in concentration.

“So… Yeah. I do like her. I wouldn’t call it love, but like? Definitely.”

The griffon closed his eyes, relief washing over him.

“... Thank you.”

Anon murmured an embarrassed “no problem…”

“And you’ll let me know if that escalates further?”

“O’course Gile. I shouldn’t have kept it from you to begin with, it just… It was a new, weird feeling, and I didn’t know how to take it. I still don’t really. But! I’ll let you know from now on.”

“Thanks Anon… So…”

The griffon’s eyes gleamed playfully. “Think she likes you back?”

Anon put his head in his hands, but laughed alongside his friend. “Let’s save questions like that for after we get her home.”

Gile sprang up from the ground and patted Anon on the back, yawning.

Neither would notice the nosy unicorn, blushing madly and viciously feigning sleep nearby as they settled down for the night.

…

Nor would they notice the distant pony-driven cart on the horizon, shrouded in the eerie darkness of the night.

Chapter 8 - Dreary Morning

“Yeesh. Dreary morning.”

“Is it even morning? Damn…”

“I think it’d be nice if it wasn’t drizzling.”

The nearby crackle of thunder had woken the trio up, and signaled it was time to leave. That, paired with the ominous dark sky and chilling fog, was more than enough incentive to keep moving. Gile and Twilight opted to stay close to Anon, who held what seemed to be their most water-resistant blanket over his head.

“Don’t let that map get wet Twi. Any towns nearby? Maybe even a forest?”

Twilight scanned the parchment with a sigh. “Unless we find another village not marked on this map, no. No forests either… Closest landmark is seemingly, um… Oh.”
Twilight went pale.

“Far away?”

“N-no, well, kinda, but… It’s your home.”

“Drachen? This land doesn’t exactly remind me of Drachen.”

“Eh. I could see it being around here. Drachen was surrounded by that sort of patchy, dead grass. Kinda seems to be lookin like that more and more.”

Twilight eyed her companions. “Don’t you guys not like that place? I figured it’d bring up… Bad memories.”

Anon scratched at his chin, bringing a torrent of rain down onto Gile, much to his bemusement. “Eh, not really. Can’t say I like the place really, haven’t been back since we first left, but I wouldn’t say I despise the place or anything.”

“Doubt it’s gotten any better. Hey, maybe we could stop by and burn the orphanage down? That’d be cool.”

Horror filled Twilight’s eyes.

“N-not with the kids in there, of course! It was a symbolic- you know what, n-nevermind.”

“Smooth Gile.”

“Shut up… But to ditto Anon. If it’s on our way, it’d be a good place to stop. Lots of stores in Drachen…” The griffon had an odd look in his eye. Twilight assumed he just wanted some fresh food. Anon knew better, clicking his tongue disapprovingly.

“Easy there ‘hero,’ we’ll figure it out. If we do end up there however, you know the story Twi.”

The unicorn perked up gleefully, eager to please. “Mhm! ‘My name is Starbright Glimmering! I’m a unicorn from Cabaluus, traveling the world with my adventurer friends Anon and Gile!”

“Wonderful. I know you got it down, but I can’t overstate how important it is that you stick by that when we’re around others. You never know when creatures are gonna try and jump at an opportunity to try and get the best of you. Bandits are everywhere, and we’re lucky that-”

“Hail travelers! Quite a day hmm?”

Anon and Gile both mouthed the word ‘fuck.’

Fog surrounded the trio as a large silhouette. There was no noise besides the drizzling rain, and the rumbling squeak of what sounded like an old cart approaching.

Twilight was the first to speak out. “O-oh! Um, hello! My name is Starbright Glimmer-”

A small metal-tipped bolt sung through the air, digging itself deep into the mud at Anon’s feet. A female’s exotic sounding curse indicated that the ground was not it’s intended mark.

“Zaraaa~! You didn’t let me finish my bit!”

Anon was quick to jump into an alert stance, the water droplets flicking from the sheet he held as he slung it on his shoulders. “Get behind us, Twi-”

A white blur smashed into Anon’s chest before he could get the words out.

Gile sprang into action in front of Twilight. Another crossbow bolt was let loose from the hazy silhouette, pinning one of his large wings to his side, sinking deep into his body. The large griffon let out a cry, but gritted his beak, still standing. “Augh! Damn-it all… r-run… to Drachen… f-find you t-there…” His breaths were ragged and heavy.

“We meet at last, thieves from the past.” That same voice pushed through the rain and fog. Anon tumbled with what he could make out as a white unicorn, her hooves fast enough keep his fury pinned below her. His nostrils flared, attempting desperately to shake free from his captor as he heard his friend’s cry of pain.

Twilight was frozen, her eyes wide and pupils pinpricks. Everything had happened so fast.

“Eeeasy there, big guy. Just calm down and-” Her hoof connected with the side of Anon’s head. “I SAID EASY! FUCKING MONSTER! Don’t resist and we’ll let you live!”

A zebra jumped down from her spot on the carriage, the battered mare pulling it heaving to the ground and gasping for breath. Gile recognized her, but she was the last thing he was thinking about. “You two spent too long in my town, taking bits and treasures that belonged to my crown. The Black Stripe, however, will accept your payment of debt-” Her emerald eyes found Twilight’s, and she smiled widely. “ -if you play nice, we’ll consider it met.”

Anon’s wild thrashing, along with the slick rain, caused the unicorn’s hoof to slip off his bicep, and he took the chance to knock her lights out and scramble to his feet, pulling a shoddy dagger from his waistline. He rushed the zebra, just in time to be suckerpunched by an unseen griffon.

“Zara isn’t to be threatened, minotaur.”

Gile, stumbling from blood loss, rushed the other griffon. “NOT MY FUCKING BROTHER!”

One should not underestimate a griffon’s talons. Especially not another griffon. With a swipe, Gile felt the warm sensation of blood coat his claws as he tore the attacker’s throat out. He spun on his heels, facing the zebra once more, but was quickly subdued with another bolt, this one finding its mark in his upper chest, near his neck.

Gile fell to the mud.

Anon had barely any time to recover, looking at Gile in horror, before a final bolt pierced his chest, a bullseye on his heart.

He fell beside his friend.

The zebra looked upon the heap of dead in disgust. Her eyes fixated on her fallen comrade, choking on her own blood. “A swift death, my friend. May we meet again one day, after my end.” She sunk a bolt deep into the griffon’s skull, ending her torture.

The pale unicorn slowly trotted to Twilight, her breath ragged and her stance ready. “Listen mare… Those creatures were bad… They were using you…”

Twilight shivered, mouthing ‘no’ over and over again, staring at the dead.

“T-that’s… t-t-that’s not true…”

The pale unicorn’s eyes were wide, speaking slowly while still catching her breath. “It is. Do you know what they’ve done? They never told you, did they?”

“They were bandits. Thieves. They preyed on the weak and helpless. We saw them do it in our home. There’s a big bounty on your safe return to Equestria. They were going to take you there, reap the reward, then forget about you. Look at what that Griffon did. He did it so thoughtlessly. Murder. Who knows how many they killed while they were looking for you? They may have even killed while you were with them. I bet they called themselves heroes, didn’t they? You’ll be safe if you come with us. We can take you to Equestria. We can keep you safe. Just stay calm and-”

The unicorn, who’d been inching closer to Twilight while she spoke, was close enough now to act. With a jump, she toppled Twilight to the ground, and wrestled a magic restrainer onto her horn.

“Got her Zara! Silver! Bring me the rope!”

The earth pony lazily handed it to Parma, still staring at her fallen friend in a trance. Zara walked over Silvertongue, nuzzling her gently. “A sister lost is no good sight to see. Gwen was one who had served me faithfully. Back in the cart please, keep watch over the detainee.”

Silver could only nod, and dragged Twilight into the cart. Parma sighed deeply, looking to the zebra. “Fuck sake… We underestimated those two. Let’s leave the cart puller with them. If she isn’t dead yet, she will be soon. Get that stallion to pull the rest of the way, maybe find some creature in Drachen to pull with us through the rest of this.”

Remembrance flashed on the pale mares face. “Oh right, you want me to search that ape thing? Find your gem?”

Zara shook her head.

“I believe this ‘Twilight’ to be worth more than any gem. My intuition was correct once again.”

“Tch. Suppose so boss. You really think it’s her?”

“She fits the description, does she not? Besides, perhaps Equestria’s lords can be bought? It’s been many months without their precious mare, they must be desperate for any heir. Placate their creatures, and less will focus on this mare’s false features.”

“Hm… I guess that’s also assuming she’s even the wrong unicorn, which… fuck, she may not be. The Twilight Bounty… haha, wow, can’t believe it…”

Zara nodded, and slowly, the dead were left behind and unburied as the cart slowly pulled away, Twilight in their possession.

Chapter 9 - Ghosts

There were strange noises overhead. Anon did not know what they were, and, in his battered, semi-unconscious state, could not yet perceive such sensations at all. But they persisted, and they annoyed him. As time passed, he focused more and more on what he was experiencing, and it brought him closer and closer to the waking world. The wind gently blowing across his body. Thick, solid things touching at him. The noises in his ears. With time, he could open his eyes slightly. And he could think.

And he thought of Gile.

“Augh! Whar! Where!?”

His words were sounded heavy and foreign as he bolted upright, scanning his surroundings, his memories fading in. There was a fight. Gile was hurt. Twilight…

Now wasn’t the time to think about Twilight. His brother took priority.

“Shit, man! Scared me half to death!”

Anon pulled his dagger and flung at the mare’s voice. He received a punch in the head for his efforts.

“Fuck’s sake! Calm yourself alien! I’m on your side!”

Fully lucid now, Anon looked at the mare. She had a yellow coat and brown mane. She wasn’t with their attackers. At least, he hadn’t seen her with them.

“W-who are… I remember you.”

The mare smirked. “Lovely. I remember you too. Had lots and lots of thoughts about you.”

“W-... What?”

“Fizzy Taps. You’re Anon, if I remember correctly.”

“I-” Anon had begun to speak, but caught a glimpse of his friend.

“Oh my God, Gile… I-I’m gonna fucking murder those-”

Fizzy put a hoof on his arm. “Easy there big guy, your friend is stable. Damn lug took a bolt to the chest and he’s still kicking.”

“W-what? How do-”

Fizzy held up a bloodied crossbow bolt. “Because I dug the thing out of him. Both of them, actually. He’s gonna wake up in a lot of pain, but he’ll wake up.”

Anon wiped tears from his eyes. “You’re a doctor? But I thought-”

“I owned a bar in Tamar. You know how many drunk idiots end up half dead on the floor most nights? More than you think. Honestly, this isn’t even the first near-dead griffon I’ve seen turned into a pincushion, but I’ve fixed worse.”

“... Holy fuck. I… T-thank you so much.” The human wrapped Fizzy in a hug and quickly regretted it, clutching his chest in pain.

“Yeah, and you didn’t make it out unscathed either. Now you would’ve been dead, if not for that armor of yours. The Tartarus is it anyway? You have metal like, sewn into your clothes?”

Anon gently ran a hand over his heart, feeling the bit that took the brunt of the damage. In a frenzy, he opened his shirt to see it. A bloodied, dented Tamar-minted bit had been his savior. The irony was not lost on the human.

Fizzy eyed the thing with sparkling eyes. “Oooh, you’re clever. You’re lucky you had them all so tightly packed in there, or else you would’ve just added shrapnel to your already untreatable wound. Seems Mare Luck sides with you hm?”

“Fizzy… You have no idea just how unlucky we are. That pony-”

“So that really was Twilight? The Twilight? I didn’t get a very good glimpse of her, half dead myself in the mud, but wow! No Anon, you are anything but unlucky. To have a treasure like that with you, and to be spared by Zara? I mean, ho-lee shit!”

Anon couldn’t rise from his knees, opting instead to stay close to Gile, at his side.

“... And you’re sure he’s gonna wake up?”

The mare rolled her eyes. “Wake up? Yes. Fly? Ehh… Maybe in a year? Maybe never? I can treat some injuries, but I can't diagnose a recovery besides 'stay off it for a while.' ”

Anon did NOT like how nonchalant this pony was being over this situation.

“How… Why are you even here? Were you traveling with them?”

“Not by choice, that’s for damn sure. Some months ago they barreled into my bar, held me at bolt-point, and questioned me for everything I knew about you two. Next to nothing, mind you. Said the wrong fucking thing, then boom!” Fizzy clopped her hooves together. “Stabbed in the breast and whisked away as their cart pulling slave when their ‘riding’ stallion was tired. Got the lashes to prove it.”

Fizzy bared her back at Anon, showing off her bloody scars. “Lemme tell ya, long fucking way from Tamar, to Cabaluus, to this bumfuck nowhere ditch. Guess I played dead well enough for them to leave me with the other corpses… Not that either of you are corpses! Well, I thought you were at first, but… the little victories, yaknow?”

The still semi-freshly dead griffon lay a few yards away from the troupe. It was a harrowing sight for Anon. He’d seen the dead before, sure, but he had never killed another. Stabbed? Yeah. Maimed? Mhm. Beaten? More than once. But never killed.

He knew Gile hadn’t ever either, before now.

The rain had washed away some of her blood off Gile’s claws, but still some remained, as it always would.

“... Why… Why did you save us?”

Fizzy’s past sarcastic tone faded, and her mask dropped. “... The Black Stripe tortured me, Anon. They dragged me through Tartarus to get to you. I felt every step I took, every lash I remember. I had a lot of time to think about you two, as they forced me forward. I was sure they’d never find you. Tartarus, I was sure the Twilight Bounty wasn’t even real. But that griffon caught your trail somehow. The Black Stripe was focused in Tamar, but they had been building up contacts in major cities across Echidna for a while now. You guys were just on hoof, so you never would’ve outran them. But my point is… I wanted you two to live, just to spite those bastards. I lived under their oppression in Tamar for decades, they always got their way. If I couldn’t stop them, even when they were using me, I wanted to deny them at least one thing: Your deaths.”

Anon felt his hands ball up into fists, shaking with rage. “Oh, I’m gonna fucking stop them. Once Gile gets up, we’re going to track them down and I’m going to rip their fucking heads off for what they tried taking from us, taking from me.” He gently ran a hand down Gile’s back, barely containing his rage.

“Kid… I want those monsters dead too, but they’re The Black Stripe-”

Now it was Anon’s turn to cut Fizzy off. “They bleed like anyone else.” He flicked his head toward Gwen for emphasis.

Fizzy just shook her head. “Anon… I don’t know if you’re any good of a stallion or not, part of me wants to say no, because I know you’re a thief, but… You need a lot more than a just cause and luck on your side to get at Zara.”

“Which one was she? The zebra? I’m gonna slit her FUCKING THROAT FOR WHAT SHE DID TO GILE! WHAT SHE FUCKING DARED TO TAKE FROM US!”

Fizzy couldn’t face the human. She layed on her side and looked into the distance. “Don’t be so eager to throw your life away, alien. Nopony I’ve ever known to be targeted by The Black Stripe lived past their visit besides us. No amount of riches is worth your life.”

“This isn’t about riches for me anymore.”

“Well revenge is even less worth it!”

Anon shook his head, a dark expression on his face.

“It’s not about revenge anymore either.”

Fizzy would’ve questioned further, had Gile not awoke with a sputtering cough. In an instant, pain be damned, Anon was by his face, whispering gratitude.

“Thank fucking God. Gile, Gile can you hear me? Please buddy, you’re gonna be fine…”

The griffon’s eyes slowly cracked open. “Anonn…? Is this Tartarus?”

Anon couldn’t keep the smile from his face. “Worse buddy, Echidna.”

“Then wake me up when we’re fucking dead… Oogh, my damn wing…”

“He’s lucky. That saddlebag thingy of his couldn’t protect his wing, but it did protect his organs. The other bolt looked like it hit an ugly spot, but as long as it doesn’t hit your windpipe or a vein, you’re gonna be hurtin’, but you won’t be dead if you have a medic.”

“Who the Tartarus is that Anon… Tell her to shut the fuck up…”

Anon howled with laughter despite the pain it caused, much to Fizzy’s annoyance. Gile was going to live.

And they were going to get Twilight back.

…

“By the WINDS that fucking hurts, wow…”

Gile slowly staggered to his paws, careful not to move anything too fast. There may not have been any real damage to his limbs but, he was still woozy from the mixture of blood loss and his puncture wounds. The pain did not stop him from wrapping Anon up in the bearhug to end all bearhugs however, nor did Anon’s pain stop him from giving it back.

“Ah’m so fucking glad you’re okay, man.”

“This world isn’t worth going through alone. Besides, I’d have no one to talk to if you died.”

Gile surveyed the area. “So… They took her huh? Any idea where they went?”

Anon was going to answer, but he noticed Gile’s eyes fixate on the nearby corpse. He had no idea how the griffon would take it. Gingerly, Gile took tentative steps over to the fallen girl.

He spat blood beside her head.

“Fucking idiot. Don’t EVER fuck with me or my brother.”

… Better than he could’ve hoped for, really.

“... Drachen, Gile. Fizzy said they were heading for Drachen.”

The stocky griffon smiled smugly at Anon, which he returned. “Wellll then I think our next course of action is obvious. We go into Drachen, find their cart, rescue Twilight, keep her with Fizzy, then repay them for so generously slowing down our trip by who-fucking-knows how long.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

Fizzy couldn’t keep her voice from rising. “Seriously? I take back any good things I said about you two out of pity for you both almost dying, you’re both idiots. I’ve told you I don’t know how many times already: You can’t beat them! Especially not with how injured you already are!”

Gile looked lovingly at his muscled forelegs. “Don’t count the underdogs out of the race so early, mare. We’re scrappy as can be. Besides, they got the jump on us before, suckerpunched us while our backs were turned. If we can’t beat them in a fair fight, and they don’t want one to begin with, we’ll play ball.”

Fizzy raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? What’s your genius plan then? Where’s your ace card?”

“At the moment? We’re the ace card. The plan will form around us. We may be thieves, but the past few months have shown me that, even if we aren’t heroes, we’re pretty good adventurers.”

“Oh puh-lease. You’re thieving nomads at best, and thieving hobos at worst.”

“Call it what you want to, but we’re good at what we do, and we didn’t come this far just to get fucked up and left to die.” Gile winked at Anon. “A wise, though ugly, human once said ‘I want us to be able to have withstood the world and it’s shit and still come out on top. Because we’re stronger than it.’ “

Anon offer Gile a quickly-accepted fist bump. “Damn straight. Think it was a handsome human that said that though.”

“Hmm. Only ever knew one, and he’s so ugly his skin is turning purple to try and disassociate itself from him.”

The wicked bruise on Anon’s chest seemed to unleash a wave of pain at that, but he took it in stride. “That was such a stupid line I don’t even know what to say about it-”

“Okay! Seriously! You two!” Fizzy planted a hoof down as the two had begun walking in the vague direction toward Drachen. “Enough games! You’re going to get yourselves killed! Even if you were totally giving up on any hopes of getting back at The Black Stripe- which you should- you shouldn’t even be GOING into Drachen! They’re there! They could be anywhere! And you-” she pointed a hoof at Anon “stick out like a sore flank! They’re gonna know, and they’re going to be very upset when two creatures they thought they killed, well, weren’t! I watched those monsters burn down my bar as they dragged me along in there stupid fucking quest to find your dumbasses! M-my home! My only claim in this horrible world! They committed atrocities in Tamar and never batted an eye! What can you do!?”

Anon had had just about enough of Fizzy’s doom and gloom. “And what are you gonna do out here Fizzy? Live out in the wilderness for a few nights until you assume they’ve left the only nearby civilization for miles around? Then what? Go into Drachen and start all over from scratch? There’s no other option for us, none that we’ll accept anyway.”

“I-I don’t know! But I saved your lives! Don’t just throw away this chance you’ve been given! I-I’ve seen so much death and evil! The heavens gave me my chance to do some good and make things a tiny bit better in this disgusting world!” She had been on the verge of tears before, but was sobbing now. “I-I-I did something good… P-please don’t let my mark die out so soon! C-change your ways, be good, o-or come with me and we can find somewhere better! I have nothing else!”

The mare crumpled to the ground in tears. Gile got a good look at her so scarred back. The mark of The Black Stripe. Anon walked over to the pony, taking a knee.

“Fizzy… We know the risks here. We’ve already faced them once, and nearly lost our lives. We would’ve, if not for you. But you didn’t give us another chance to live. You gave us another chance to save our friend. We didn’t start this journey with the best intentions, but we have traveled with Twilight for the better part of four months. Gile was the only friend I ever had in this world, and I was his. That changed when Twilight came into the picture. That changed when you did again too.” Fizzy finally looked up Anon, tears still streaming down her cheeks. “This isn’t about the bounty anymore. It’s about getting our friend where she belongs.”

Gile approached as well, his voice now gentle as Anon’s. “I think I speak for Anon too, when I say that I get it if you don’t want to go into Drachen. But you saved our lives, and… Can’t believe I’m going to say this-” Gile squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. “-Ifyouwanttocomewithuswe’llletyouandwe’llcutyouinontherewardwhenwegettoEquestria.” Anon patted him on the back as he whined at the future lost wealth.

Fizzy’s jaw dropped slightly, her red eyes wide, darting to gauge Anon’s reaction. He nodded in agreeance.

“Y-you two… Y-you’re both insane, you know that?” She laughed through her tears in disbelief. “G-got nothin’ to lose I guess… The Twilight Bounty, can’t fuckin’ believe it…” Her voice trailed off as she tried blowing her nose.

…

“Okay, getting me to follow through with your crazy quest across the world, assuming you two even live through the night was one thing, but not even waiting ‘till tomorrow morning? You guys basically just woke up from almost dying!”

Gile fumbled with his makeshift bandages. Those raggedy blankets really were paying off in spades. Anon instinctively felt for his bits and thumbed at the dagger in his waistline. “We slept through the whole day, we wouldn’t get any sleep now even if we wanted to. Besides, they could be gone from Drachen by tomorrow, and who knows if we’d ever catch their trail if they were.”

“You weren’t sleeping! You were unconscious from almost dying! Why can’t I get that through your skulls!?”

Gile flashed a trademark smile. “We’re just built different, Fizzy. Besides, Anon says it’s not about revenge for him, but if I’m really never gonna be able to fly again, I need to give these Black Stripe assholes something more to remember me by than just their griffon friend.” The last few words were said in a growl.

“Dark, Gile.”

He shrugged. “It was kill or be killed, and they’ve done way worse than just try to kill me.”

“Seriously, the only reason I sound so chipper right now is because Gile’s alive. It’s a very thin mask for my absolutely quaking fucking rage.”

“Ditto. We’ll see you in a couple hours outside the outskirt farms, Fizzy.”

The only reply from the mare was a shaky ‘M-mhm.’

Under her breath, Fizzy muttered “please be safe.”

…

On a small hill, just outside of what might be considered city limits, the thieves stared down at Carriage Co. , Drachen’s biggest facility for all of one’s carriage needs, be it repairs, upgrades, supplies, and most importantly- storage.

“You remember what Fizzy said the thing looked like?”

Gile turned to Anon.

“Yep. Do you?”

Anon held his fist out.

“Yep.”

Gile accepted the bump.

“Let’s go save our friend”

Chapter 10 - Cozy Delight's

It was large and brown, with metal supports accenting the cart’s wood exterior. Obviously, it was single pony-drawn in make, with a large flat board atop the carriage frame, no doubt to serve as a seat to point the puller in the right direction. Or to whip them into movement. The most striking feature, Fizzy said, was the three scorched lines dug into both sides of the frame, telling bluntly who it’s owners were.

“So…” Gile whispered, burning the wagon into his mind. “What’s the plan? Hide in the thing until they return and get the jump on them, or destroy it now and keep them stuck here for longer?”

“Can’t hide in it. Employees bring the thing out of storage here and out to the front when the owner wants it back. They’re gonna do another inspection of it before they pull it out. Make sure the thing isn’t gonna fall apart while one of their asses is pulling it and get blamed for the damage. They’d find us, and then we’d have more issues than just The Black Stripe to deal with.”

Fizzy had briefed the two on just who The Black Stripe were as they decided on a course of action for the night. Zara was a monster. Leader of The Black Stripe, she had Tamar in her hoof and had dreams of one day having all of Echidna there as well. A strong zebra mare, often sporting a tight black tricorn hat, her mane daintily spilling out from the back, with a few dreads hanging down her eye on one side. Her dark trench coat hung loose from her body, covering her stripes. Often, she’d break her traditional rhyming cadence when angry, which she usually was. A sharpshooter with her small crossbow, able to reload and ready the next bolt as her target was still in shock from the first. Not to imply she was a weakling in the hoof-to-hoof combat, because of course she wasn’t. She was a callous killer, and she cared little for things like morality and good in the pursuit of power.

Arguably her superior in physical brawls, Pale Parma was Zara’s second in command. Known to Tamar as the “Pale Unicorn,” she served her leader with the loyalty a knight would to her king. Her whitish coat was pocked with discolored scars and lacerations, some dating back to when she must’ve been a filly. Whatever battles she faced then had made her into the mare she was now. Parma wore her wounds like medals, and had no desire to cover them with clothes. Though slim and small, the unicorn hit like a train and could take a beating, never tiring from the fight. Her beautiful face betrayed her so battered-seeming body, and that too was a deceitful trick. She had white mane, a slightly darker shade from her coat, was kept unstyled. She saw no need for such frivolities. Her most striking feature were her shining emerald eyes, truly, the most colorful thing about her. The faded blue ribbon behind a grey shield of her cutie mark spoke of her dedication to both servitude and command. Parma was a mare of little humor. She’d fought countless battles, and surely, would fight countless more, for her zebra friend.

Lastly was Silvertongue. She embodied everything Parma did not. Though they were all beautiful, as equines tended to be, Silvertongue was weak to the carnal extragences of life and flesh. While her spending habits were oftentimes an annoyance to her superiors, neither could doubt her skill in fraud, extortion, espionage, and blackmail. She was a smoothtalker, but no fighter at all. Fizzy had theorized that Zara had only brought her along in the off chance they felt they could steal Twilight from under the thieves noses in a public area, wishing to avoid bloodshed if there were witnesses. She would’ve fronted as a servant of Equestria, having finally completed their long march from home upon sight of their most beloved hero Twilight. Her coat was a pretty light blue, her mane a luxurious chocolate brown. She kept herself perfumed and in good shape, her lithe features rather unbecoming of a pony from the earth tribe. Jewels and other pretty things adorned her neck, and lovely golden bracelets her forelegs. She was a mare of style and speeches, though not much else.

There wasn’t much to be said about the griffon.

Together, they had been the four-headed hydra of The Black Stripe, and Anon and Gile vowed to ensure the remaining three mares would fall alongside their griffon friend Gwen, her body they’d not even bothered to bury.

Anon brooded, leaning against the cart. They had been lucky, finding The Black Stripe’s carriage so quickly, but that was more thanks to an educated guess. They had to have been weary from the fight, so they stored their cart in the biggest and most trusted storehouse in Drachen and assumedly were staying at an inn nearby. No one would leave their belongings on one end of a city and sleep on the other, especially when these ponies thought they weren’t being hunted. Plus, they had Twilight with them. Obviously they wouldn’t kill her, but she wouldn’t go with them without resistance. Plus, if they had just knocked her out, carrying an unconscious pony through the streets would raise questions if they had been seen. Regardless of how they moved her, they did, and they had to be nearby because of it.

Among the rows and rows of carts in the dark warehouse, dimly lit by the large magic lamps hanging far above, Anon came to a decision. “... Well, I like the idea of trashing this damn thing. I’m not sure how many bits they brought with them, but even if they had enough, buying a new cart would definitely cut into their purses… We gotta be quiet about this though. We don’t know the routes any guards may take here, if there’s any guards here at all-”

That was all the agreement Gile needed. With a snarl, he took to the cart wheels, viciously yanking and clawing them. Before Anon could pop a blood vessel in shock and rage at his friend’s careless actions, the back end of the cart had already smashed to the ground, it’s hind wheels now bits of splinters and cracked wood. Gile was already onto the front ones now, switching between the wheels and harness, cursing madly. “DAMN FUCKING WHORES! HOW DARE YOU TRY AND KILL MY FRIEND! TAKE AWAY OUR ONE FUCKING CHANCE AT A BETTER LIFE! TRY TO MAKE ME GET AN ACTUAL JOB!? WE’LL SEE ABOUT THAT YOU STUPID STRIPED-”

“Gile! Are you fucking… GrrrAUGH!! FUCKING DUMB CUNTS! FUCK YOU AND FUCK YOUR DAMN CART!”

Anon too, could not resist giving some payback. The two continued their destruction until they heard the confused voices of strangers on the far side of the dark warehouse. Stallions, workers no doubt. Though they wished to have been able to reduce the cart to dust, their damage would more than suffice. The wheels were totally destroyed beyond repair, the axels misaligned and supporting nothing. The harness for the puller would take time to fix. What once carried the criminal rulers of Tamar across Echidna was now no more than a large basket. It would not leave the city of Drachen, and nor would The Black Stripe. With a mutual ‘fuck yeah,’ the thieves escaped from Carriage Co. without a trace.

…

Twilight did not resist her captors. How could she? Even if she had her magic, all she could do was levitate objects. She knew nothing. No combat skills, no manipulation tactics, no nothing. Knowledge of her past life had been wiped clean by some unknown force for some unknown reason, and now? Now her new life had been wiped away. Her only two friends in this dark world were killed right in front of her. Maybe… Maybe this is what had happened before? She failed to act, got her old friends killed, and the trauma shook her so she fled across the world and awoke in a dissociative fugue? It mattered not. ‘I’m no friend' she thought.

‘I’m no hero.’

The Black Stripe, as they called themselves, had taken her someplace in what she assumed was Drachen. Her mouth had been gagged and her eyes covered. Maybe they wished for her to just sleep and not be a hassle on the way back to Equestria. She thought of Gile, and how easily he had snuffed out that fellow griffon’s life. She thought of the zebra, and how she killed him and Anon without a thought.

‘Anon…’

She let out another muffled sob, her tear ducts long since dried up and her throat raw. Wherever she was now, she wouldn’t fight back. After a while, and much jostling around, she was laid against some hard surface. Eventually, a voice spoke up.

“I know you’re awake, judging by your breathing, so I hope you’ll listen.”

That was Silvertongue.

“I know that must’ve been really hard for you to witness. Those creatures you were traveling with taken down like that… We weren’t planning on anypony dying tonight, but… You can never be too cautious when dealing with monsters like that.”

Twilight shook her head. ‘She’s lying, she has to be.’

“But they were, Twilight. They’ve done so much worse than just steal. You saw what the griffon did. Gwen was-” Silvertongue could feel her voice rising, the loss of her friend still settling in. “... She was a good creature. A very good one. Would give you the feathers off her wings if anypony ever needed them. That’s not the point though. If you knew what they did in Tamar, our home… You would’ve ran the second you saw them.” Silver give Twilight some time to think on her words before continuing. Let the thoughts plant in her mind, and she’d believe them as fact in time.

“Our captain, the zebra, got reports of a strange creature and a griffon entering town a while back. We’re guards, you see. Tamar is… A dangerous place, so we always had to be on the lookout for potential threats as they appear, lest they take root and grow too big to control. Tch, we figured they were just wanderers at first, lotta creatures like that in this land… But we had no idea.”

The earth pony absentmindedly admired a particular gemstone in one of her necklaces as she spoke, knowing Twilight couldn’t see. Though usually her nature was lackadaisical, she could keep a very convincing tone of voice when she needed to, and she needed something pretty to take her mind off of Gwen.

“Soon enough, we had reports flooding in. A break in on Saddle Street, a mugging by Clover’s and Hemline’s boutique, the constant pickpocketings, Tartarus, they even stole an heirloom from our captain… But then there were the crimes that went bad. The murders.” Silvertongue caught Parma rolling her eyes at the stories. She sneered at the pale unicorn. “There were so many, we thought there was a serial killer on the loose, but then we made the connection.”

Silver paused for dramatic effect.

“Almost all the reports shared a similar account: A griffon and a young minotaur seen fleeing the scene.”

Twilight wished she could cover her ears, but the bindings would not allow it.

“Eventually, we were able to track them down, and we thought we had them cornered- But… B-but…”

“Swing Low….” Zara said quietly, but loud enough to ensure Twilight heard. She covered her mouth to hide her smile. Silvertongue scowled, wanting to throw her hooves up in the air.

“But not before that damned minotaur thing killed our youngest recruit Swing Low… We never should’ve let him come with us, but he wouldn’t hear of it any other way. We had to retreat, try and save him, but it was too late. The creature’s dagger had cut too deep. By the time we realized he was gone, the two bastards had fled into the night…”

‘Time for a little water works.’

“W-we quit our jobs that night, pooled our bits together, bought a carriage, and set out to avenge Swing Low. That’s how The Black Stripe was formed. We’re vigilantes now. We’ve dedicated our lives to stopping crime wherever we see it, but our main goal… Was for Swing Low. We never thought we’d come across you of all ponies, and heavens know what they told you to come along with them, but they must’ve been keeping secrets. I-I honestly thought all that old news about the Twilight Bounty everypony had been talking about was just some get-rich-quick myth, but… Getting you back to your home safely could be our greatest achievement yet! Swing Low and G-gwen would be so proud. I-it may be rough traveling for you, since we’ll need to take precautions to ensure nopony else tries to steal you just to get your reward, but I promise, on behalf of The Black Stripe, we’ll try to make things as easy as possible for you.”

Silver breathed an all too real sigh, rubbing her eyes. Lies or not, it had been a rough night for everypony involved. She stood up and headed to the door, motioning her friends to follow.

“I know you probably don’t believe me now, and I have no idea what lies those monsters must’ve fed you while they held you captive, but please… Please know you’re safe now. Try and rest, Twilight.”

Silver stepped out into the empty hallway. She heard Zara and Parma say some quick sappy drivel to Twilight before meeting with the earth pony, making sure to close the door.

Zara smiled smugly. “My my~ your tragic tale almost brought a tear to the eye.”

“You did well, Silvertongue. Just keep feeding her shit like that and she’ll be the perfect damsel when we get to Canterlot.”

Silvertongue huffed. “It would’ve been better if you hadn’t said anything Zara. Swing Low? Really? I barely even remember that idiot, and now I gotta drill his name into my head for the sake of keeping the story airtight.”

Zara shrugged. “Such things keep you on your hooves. You reacted well, so your skill improves.”

“My skills don’t need improving thank you very much, I-” the mare turned up her snout “-am an actress. Hmph, perhaps one day we’ll have enough of beautiful Cabaluus under our control that I’ll relocate my side of the work there, and act in my spare time.”

The zebra nodded, ambitious fire in her eyes. “After the bounty is mine, we will be. Tamar is too small for me, and Cabaluus’ current syndicate too lazy. That fruit is too ripe, to be passed up by The Black Stripe.”

Parma blew a stray hair out of her eye. “It’s too bad. Tamar is a cozy little hovel. We’ll have to take vacations there once the Cabalaan peacocks have been dealt with.”

“All in due time, Parmie~”

“Don’t call me that. Alright, let’s try and get some sleep. We’re leaving in the morning, right Zara?” The zebra in question nodded. With that, The Black Stripe wordlessly retired for the night.

...

“Hello! Welcome to the Cozy Delights, the finest Inn in Drachen! Can I-”

Anon slammed his hands down on the reception desk. He’d heard some repeat of that same cheery line five times already from separate inns. “Did a zebra, an earth pony, and a unicorn buy a room here? Maybe two unicorns?”

The pretty mare behind the desk batted her eyelashes. “Sounds like the set up to a bad joke, don’t you think?”

“A very bad one. Tell me and I’ll buy out all your free rooms.”

That got her attention.

“R-really? B-but we’re almost empt- Why yes! Scary looking group, b-but-”

Anon leaned over the counter, making the little mare cower slightly. “Which. room.”

“N-now now, I-I’ll tell you, i-if you stay true to your word upfront, a-and! And!” She stressed that last ‘and.’ “Do not under any circumstances stain the sheets!”

Gile hopped his whole body up onto the counter, taking good care not to flap his wings. “Mare, I’m this close to going upstairs and kicking down every door until we find our friend. For the sake of the other patron’s here, you better tell us what want to know right the fuck now.”

Shivering and with a big fake smile, she pointed a hoof upwards and shakily sing-songed out her words. “R-r-room 112 gonna be on your left can’t miss ittt~!”

Anon and Gile shared a determined look.

“Ready Gile? This is it.”

After only a few seconds of moving, they were in front of the door to room 112.

“Fuck yeah.”

Chapter 11 - Room 112

There was no lock on the door to Room 112. Typical Drachen cost-cutting. Regardless, Anon still decided to kick the door in. These are the seconds that followed.

A full moon shone bright through the window in the room. Three small beds lined the wall to the right, each separated by a small nightstand with a lamp. Twilight had been shoved into the corner of the room on the left, bound and gagged. With the noise from the door crumpling under Anon’s boot, the sleeping forms of The Black Stripe fumbled in their blankets wildly, so rudely awakened from their sleep. Gile leapt for the nearest bed, pinning the body down and looking for his moment to kill and move on. Anon rushed the bed on the far side, instantly recognizing the tricorn hat on the side of the night stand. His dagger in hand, he’d take no chances with Zara.

As she collected her barings, the human threw a punch reinforced by the weight of the weapon in his hand to her head. Angling the throw upward, the business end of the blade delivered a mean cut to her cheek. Anon would not give the leader of The Black Stripe a chance to retaliate though. His dagged already overhead, he plunged it into her chest, stabbing repeatedly.

A body collided into his back as he heard Gile snarl. Another life, the griffon had taken. Pale Parma had thrown herself at Anon, howling with rage at seeing the death of her friend. Gile was quick to assist before Parma could do much of anything, his claws digging deep into the unicorn’s back. Her hooves couldn’t do much to Anon now. He finished the job, and ended The Black Stripe’s last remaining member with a blade deep in her heart.

“G-ghosts… “ Zara gurgled out, trying to reach for her crossbow on the floor in vain. Anon nudged the weapon under the bed with his foot.

“Should’ve made sure we were dead before kidnapping our friend.”

The frantic clopping of hooves up the stairs alerted the thieves, and they spun on their heels, weapons poised and ready for another fight. Anon nearly threw his blade as Fizzy Taps appeared in the doorway, her face screaming ‘scared bravery.’ Her eyes were glued shut, a cash register held overhead in her hooves.

“AAAAHHH DON’T HURT MY FRIENDS YOU ASSHOLES!”

Blindly, she threw the box into the room, the thing clanging on the floor with a loud ‘thunk.’

She opened her eyes, horrified. “D-did I- Holy shit!” Disbelief was written across her face as she surveyed the room.

“AAAAAHHH FIZZY DON’T GO UP THERE THERE’S CRAZY KILLERS ON THE LOOSE AND DO NOT THROW MY BIT REGISTER AT THEM!”

The mare at the front desk quickly followed behind Fizzy, horrified.

“BY THE FUCKING HEAVENS! WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT NOT GETTING BLOOD ON THE SHEETS!?” She pointed an incredulous hoof at Fizzy, who had a large smile slowly growing on her face. “A-AND YOU! I TOLD YOU NOT TO THROW THE REGISTER!” As quickly as her perplexed rage had came, it was replaced with fear as she quivered on the floor. “P-please don’t hurt us!”

“You… You two seriously did it. T-the Black Stripe… Wow…”

Twilight, who’d be awoken in the scuffle, was not thrashing about wildly. Anon fell to her side, removing her blindfold and gag.

“Twilight! Are you okay!? They didn’t hurt you did they?”

Her eyes were wide, and her mouth agape.

“... A-anon?”

He started working on her bindings.

“Just hang on Twi, don’t worry, they’re gone now.”

She recoiled at the blood on Anon’s hands, screaming in terror.

“T-they were right! Oh my Celestia, they were RIGHT!”

Anon stopped, adrenaline still running wild in his blood. “What? What are you talking about?”

Her eyes darted around the room. In the static moonlight, she saw everything. Much more than she ever wished to see.

“Y-y-you’re a murderer! Y-you’re a murderer and a liar and a thief!”

Realization quickly washed over Anon.

‘Oh shit.’

Gile slowly took a seat. He tried to speak calmly, but his own adrenaline and exhaustion made his words come out forceful. “Twilight… They tried to kill us and take you away. We have no idea what they were gonna do with you.”

“T-they were gonna bring me home! To Equestria! They were heroes! They were heroes and you murdered them!” Tears welled up in Twilight’s eyes as she dry heaved, resisting the urge to vomit.

Fizzy approached, the receptionist mare ‘eep!’-ing as she did so. Her voice was much gentler. “Twilight… I know you and I didn’t really get a proper chance to meet at first, but… The Black Stripe was not who they claimed they were.”

“H-how do you know that!? Who even ARE you!? HOW DO YOU KNOW ME!!??”

Fizzy winced at the yelling, but continued on. “I-I used to live in Tamar. It was a horrible city. Partly because of the creatures who lived there, but mainly-” she pointed a hoof at the beds “-because of them. I don’t know what lies they fed you, but they were monsters.”

Twilight was quickly falling into a panic attack. “T-that’s exactly what they said about Anon and Gile! A-and they were right!”

“... Here. Let’s get you out of these ropes and out of this room, talk downstairs yeah?”

Twilight didn’t resist as Fizzy removed her magic restrainer and untied her bindings. It was a trick however, as Twilight quickly scuttled to her hooves, and grabbed Anon’s blade with her magic, backing herself into the corner. She held the knife out at Anon, making sure to point it at the three at least once.

“I-I’m SICK of being lied to. Y-you all better tell me the truth. Right now.”

…

Anon held up his hands, Gile and Fizzy following suit.

“T-twi…”

Twilight thrusted the dagger a little closer to Anon.

“Don’t call me that.”

“... Twilight… When… When Gile and I found you in Cabaluus-” Gile looked frantically at Anon, but he continued “-we told you we were adventurers. Heroes, even. That wasn’t true. Ever since we ran away from the orphanage, we’d been pickpockets. Thieves. We stole whenever and wherever we could to survive. Few months ago, we were in Fizzy here’s tavern in Tamar. We ever just planning on getting drunk, stealing some more, then leaving town like usual. Some old stallion ran into the place, screaming his head off about a ‘Twilight Bounty,’ trying to worm his way into getting a slice of the reward just because he told us about it… When we first decided to start looking for you, we were only in it for the reward-”

“You told me in Cabaluus there was no reward.”

“I lied. The reward is so big, Gile and I would live like kings for the rest of our lives. So, we spent I don’t know how long trying to catch your trail. When we did find you… I had thought you were just some clueless mare trying to escape life in the Cabalaan slums, but Gile convinced me otherwise. Honestly, I can’t say for certain even now if you’re her, but…” He looked over at what remained of The Black Stripe “... I think you are, a-and even if you aren’t, if you decide to come with us to Equestria still… Life will be better there. For us all, I think.”

Fizzy spoke up now. “You never got to meet that old stallion. Once Zara figured she had squeezed out all his knowledge of Equestria, she had Parma tie his hooves up and left him on the side of some nameless path in the middle of Echidna. Said the rations were wasted on him, since he was too old to pull the cart.”

“Pull the- how do you know what happened to him!?”

“Because Anon and Gile were last seen in my bar. The Black Stripe gang is much bigger than just those three. They were just the heads of the ruling crime syndicate in Tamar. They had informants everywhere, and somepony in my bar had heard Anon’s drunk ramblings about lookin’ for you that night. They knew I had spoken to them at length, and that the old stallion had been entertaining patrons all night about stories of Equestria, stories about you.”

“... What about me.”

“... I don’t know how much of it was true, since he claimed to have never been to Equestria, but… He said you were the sungoddess’ sole pupil, and that one day, you’d be the ruler of Equestria.”

Twilight’s eyes went wide as she slowly hung her head.

“... You’re lying.”

“Were you the sungoddess’ pupil? I don’t know. Were you gonna be the future ruler? I don’t know. That’s just what he had said. Eventually, Zara and her goons raided my tavern and questioned me. Guess they thought they could squeeze more information out of me, because Zara stabbed me with one of her crossbow bolts and dragged me along with them…”

Fizzy had to look away, turning to the floor. She trapped at the scar on her chest.“... Watched my bar and home burn down before my eyes as I clutched my wound. They patched it up eventually, but… T-that wasn’t what hurt. In Tamar, The Black Stripe let you own property. They showed me they could take it away too.”

“Stars above! Fizzy, they burned down the bar!?” The receptionist pony, still in the doorway, gasped in horror. Anon wanted to hug Fizzy, but knew it’d probably be a really bad idea.

Gile craned his head to Fizzy, bloodied claws still raised. “U-umm. Fizzy? You know this pony?”

Fizzy nodded with a short, melancholic chuckle. “Told you two numbnuts the first time we met that I had family in Drachen. This is Hoovesfeld Street, and the mare who won’t stop yelling is my cousin Cozy Delight.”

“S-so… You’re friends with these guys Fizzy?”

Twilight knocked the blade against the wall. “Keep telling the story.”

“A-ah, sorry about that. Anyway, they dragged me, the old stallion, and some fellow Black Stripe lowlife stallion of theirs across the Echidna, lookin’ for these two.” She smiled genuinely at Anon. “I guess Zara’s hunch about you was right, knowing you’d lead her to Twilight, but I had no idea why she’d think that. I guessed it was because you were an alien or whatever the Tartarus you are. I had a lot of time to think about these two while they held me against my will. Oh hey, if you want some actual proof-” Fizzy presented her back, the dark bruises and scars making Twilight’s face pale “-there it is. Also, I’m putting my hooves down now. I think I’ve proven my story well enough. Besides, nothing much really changed after that, until we all met up. I had been pulling the cart for half a day at that point, through the night. The other stallion had ran off the night before after he took more food than he was supposed to. Got a real bad beating from Gwen. Personally, I was happy to see one of their own take a beating for once, but then it left me all alone to pull their cart. By the time Gwen had locked eyes on Anon’s form in the fog, I had collapsed. Thought that was the end for me there. When I woke up, found these two turned to pincushions by Zara, barely alive.”

"... I think she was after us at first because I stole some shiny gem off her as we left Tamar."

... Fizzy really, truly, wanted to rattle Anon for that comment, but she figured it was water under the bridge now, considering...

Gile grumbled “I got the worst of it. Fuckin’ clipped my wing…”

“She nearly clipped your heart, idiot! She would’ve pierced Anon’s, had he not had those bits! They left all three of us for dead. I was able to remove the bolts and patch up their wounds with those blankets you guys had, though.”

Twilight briefly eyes the makeshift ‘bandages.’

“... Look Twilight. This morning was the first time I’ve seen these two in months, and I’d only ever met them once before that. I… I know they’re thieves, that much is true, but… They’re the nicest thieves I ever met. When they had gotten their bearings together after almost dying, the first thing on their minds was saving you. Tartarus, I even tried talking them out of it! A lot! I knew what The Black Stripe could do, and I saw what they had already done! I’ve lived in Tamar for most of my life, The Black Stripe had always been a factor there. Never, ever had I heard of ponies, griffons, whoever, surviving a bad encounter with them. I was certain it’d be suicide. But they didn’t care. They wanted to protect you, even if it meant their deaths…”

Fizzy made sure Twilight was looking in her eyes now.

“I can’t… I can’t rightly say they were heroes before. By all accounts, from what Anon said, they weren’t. But they gave me hope to come here and fight for a better future, even when I thought it was certain death. They risked their lives once to protect you, and risked them again to stop The Black Stripe. I’m certain they’re gonna risk their lives again, but… They do it for you. Not for the reward.”

The yellow pony gave the two thieves a smile.

“To me, they are heroes.”

The magic holding Twilight’s dagger slowly flickered out of existence as she mulled over the mare’s words. It clanged to the floor, the pony who had held it following suit. Twilight fell to her haunches, staring directionless at the oaken floor.

Could it be true…?

The tension of the room calmed with Twilight’s backing down. After a while of silence, Twilight spoke again.

“I… I can’t believe you two. Y-you lied to me from the very beginning… Those months we traveled together, all the conversations and jokes, t-the… warmth I felt from no longer having to worry about who I was and what I’d do to survive… It was all based on a lie.”

Gile figured he should say something now, the collective exhaustion from the past 24 hours seeping in to everyone.

“Yes, we did not have the noblest intentions in mind at first. We wanted the bits, but not to create more bad in the world. We didn’t want to be thieves anymore. W-well, I did, but Anon convinced me otherwise. With that much money, we could start better lives, in the land of gods and heroes. There’s no future for good creatures anywhere in Echidna. This land has no sense of morality, no care for those unwilling to fight back… Those feelings seep into the creatures who live here.”

“... If it means anything, our main goal stopped being the reward a while ago. We had lied to get you to come with us, and we had kept that lie up through our journey, but everything else? Those conversations and jokes, the banter and the fun? That was as true as the sun rising tomorrow. We meant it when we said we never had any friends besides each other. Shared suffering brings creatures together like that, I suppose. But… You broke the mold. You showed us that Anon and I didn’t have to face the world back to back. In time, I-I had stopped thinking it was us and you, our precious ticket to endless riches. You were just, well… Part of the family. One of us.”

The griffon sighed and closed his eyes. “I hope you can understand what that means to us.”

“It’s the truth, Twilight. Without you, I know exactly where we’d be and what we’d be doing. Stealing where we could, just trying to live another day. We have a future we can fight for now, but we, I-I need you to be a part of it.”

Anon’s voice shook, a rare thing to hear. “Please, come with us now, and we’ll be the heroes you thought we were. You still have to get home, and I want to help you find the answers of your past. I… I want to be there, with you. If you’ll let us.”

Silence reigned in the room for a long while before Twilight spoke again.

“... Wash the blood off your hands first. Then I’ll decide.”

With that, the purple unicorn took her leave from the room, stepping into the one adjacent, and shutting the door behind her.

All creatures present held their breath at the scene. They held their tongues for a time, the melancholy of Room 112 settling into their bones. It was Gile, who’d break the silence. He butted an elbow in Anon’s side.

“Tartarus dude, I really hope that wasn’t your attempt at formally asking her out.”

…

“So, lemme get this straight.” Cozy Delight, owner of the Cozy Delights Inn, took a swig of her private reserve cider. The barrel had been a godsend for nights like this. “You’re gonna be traveling with these theives- um, creatures now? That’s dangerous Fizzy!” Anon and Gile shot a foul look at Cozy for her slip up. She retreated inward a bit, blushing. “Eheh… I-I mean, I heard the story and all, but I meant more the traveling itself! You could get killed out there mare!”

Cozy had found the kindness in her heart to share her keg with the rest of the party, as well as abstain from alerting the guards of Drachen about the three dread equines upstairs. Fizzy swore up and down that they truly were evil ponies, and deserved what they had received and more, which had been enough to stay her cousin’s hoof. The four creatures sat around a table downstairs where the air was cleaner, while Twilight assumedly got some well earned rest in another room. It had been a miracle that the Inn was mostly empty that night, or else the two thieves may not have been able to clean their hands of the issue so easily. There was still the matter of disposing of the bodies, but… Drachen was no place for good creatures either. No one would express much shock at uncovering some recently dead in a nearby river. And once those who knew of The Black Stripe had identified the bodies…

Well, it was speculated that there would be many changes occurring in Tamar, when news eventually reached the city.

“Can’t go back to Tamar, Cozy. Nothin’ left. Besides, what else can I do? Would you take me in here?”

The innkeeper seemed insulted. “O-of course I would! You’re family! That’s ‘bout all we got to keep in Drachen! Plus, you’re tough, so you could scare off the rabble when they come in making demands and promising to buy out all your rooms for the night…”

Fizzy cocked her head. It seemed snarkiness ran in her family…

“Mare, you wait till we get to Equestria, and we’ll mail you enough bits to rent out all your rooms for a year.”

“Hmph! And here I was under the impression you weren’t in the hero business for the bits, Mister Gile.”

“We’re not. But no one ever said anything about not gladly accepting the reward at the end of this all, right Anon?”

The human had been quiet since the scene in Room 112. The look on Twilight’s face was fresh in his memory, as were her words.

‘Thief. Liar. Murderer.’

All of those claims were true now. Yesterday, he had only been a thief and a liar. It… Hurt. It hurt falling down to this land’s level of depravity, and it hurt seeing his friend so betrayed. Anon did not regret what he did, those ponies were evil and he and Gile stopped them from doing evil further, but… How much better was he?

Gile patted his friend’s shoulder, concern written across his face. “Look man, we did what we had to. For Twilight, remember?”

The human took another swig of cider. “She’ll never look at us the same way again.”

“That’s not true Anon. We always kept her away from the darker parts of Echidna. Partly for her protection and our ease of travel, but mainly because we didn’t, well, want her seeing that stuff. She really got an eyeful of it on both sides today, and that has her shook up. Once we get back on the road, and she has time on her own to think about things, she’ll realize that… Sometimes, somethings just have to happen. It was for our protection as much as hers. Look, say, we’d somehow managed to restrain those mares in there without killing them, left them there, and ran into the night with Twilight. They’d eventually get freed and be on our tail moreso than before. And they’d make sure we were really dead next time.”

“I know that Gile, but Twilight doesn’t, and I have no idea how to explain that to her, implying she’d even listen. Even if she did… Things would never be the same.”

Fizzy gently put her hoof atop Anon’s hand. “... Nothin’s ever the same as it once was, no matter what. There’s always things changing, ponies doing things they come to regret. Everypony, regardless of how they get burned, grows and changes from the things the world throws at them. Things will be different Anon, and wounds will need to heal, but I think your friendships will be stronger than ever once they do.”

An odd warmness permeated through the creatures at these words, and a calmness eased their troubled minds. The sun was beginning it’s rise, and gentle rays of light shone through the windows of the Inn. Anon wasn’t fully convinced by his friend’s words, but they had done enough. He sighed and downed the last of the cider.

“It’s good stuff, Cozy. Thanks for, um, not calling the guards on us. Sorry again about all the blood.” He slid some bits over to the mare, tipping generously for a spare room. “Consider this our first payment on the inn. There’ll be a lot more coming soon.”

The human took his leave upstairs, entering an empty bedroom. Gile shrugged slightly at the innkeeper and followed.

Alone now, Fizzy turned to find a room too, but was grabbed in a great hug by her cousin, trying to keep her tears at bay. “I-I told you never to go to Tamar, you idiot… N-now you’re planning on, what, just hopping across the world with three strangers? Travelin’ gets you killed in Echidna, you gotta stay put and blend in with the crowd…” Cozy tensed, feeling at the rough scars etched along Fizzy’s back. “Heavens, j-just look what they did to you… You’re gonna get yourself killed runnin’ off with creatures like that, don’t care how good they are…”

Fizzy could only rub her cousin’s head, whispering kind words in her ear.

Chapter 12 - Redemption

“Can’t believe we gotta do this…”

“Just suck it up Gile, she’s probably not even alive anymore.”

Twilight had said little once she awoke, sometime in the afternoon. The few things she did say, however, were demands.

“Don’t you guys wanna see your old home again?”

The thieves answered with a resounding “no.”

One of these demands was to see the orphanage Anon and Gile had grown up in. Her reasonings were vague, along the lines of “I want to see if you two hadn’t lied about that as well,” but the others had no choice regardless. If they wanted Twilight to cooperate, she’d need to see their past with her own eyes.

Ugly smog billowed out of distant smokestacks, climbing up to the sky and staining the clouds with their unnatural color. Drachen was a place of progress, and that progress had downsides. As far as anyone in the group knew, this was the only place in the world that had such advancements. The Victorian city was home to much hoof-traffic into Echidna, bringing many into her stony buildings of brick and cement. Inventors and investors came here with dreams of one day propelling their city, and themselves, into riches they couldn’t gain anywhere else. The rampant industrialization had been a new sight for the creatures who once called this place home. Here, the citizenry worked. They worked and worked, hoping tomorrow would allow them another day to earn their bits, lest some bright mind think up another invention to do their jobs more efficiently. One day, Drachen might topple even Bowline or Cabaluus as the trade hub capital of Echidna, if the city’s machines could be kept working that long. Creatures cared little for the safety of others, working in their factories.

The dull red of the constantly-exposed brick work matched the increasingly gray skies that permeated around Drachen quite well. The choking atmosphere was a worthy price to pay for the paved sidewalks, Anon had thought. Up and down the congested streets, ponies, griffons, and other more exotic creatures rode upon their carriages, pulled by cheaply paid laborers.

The buildings grew increasingly taller in Drachen, though no creature could guess why. Twilight, though still upset, would often be caught gazing upwards in awe at the multi-story buildings, each seemingly housing not much of note.

“I had thought buildings with more than two stories were reserved for nobility.” Fizzy remarked.

“What would make you think that? Who’d make a law stopping somepony from building something as big as they could afford?”

Fizzy averted her eyes. “Well, couldn’t afford any more than a one-story building for my bar…”

Drachen, unlike most places in Echidna, had the potential for a future. A good future. But, as the group passed by the somber creatures going to and fro on their way to the orphanage, good things were either still a long ways off, or never coming at all.

…

After what seemed like miles of directionless heel-dragging, the two thieves unceremoniously stopped the group in front of a small complex.

“Well. Here we are.”

Their three-mare entourage stared up at a two story building, though it made up for it’s lackluster height with a larger width. Though only slightly.

“Tender Heart’s Home For Wayward Youths.”

The sight had made Anon and Gile more melancholic than they would’ve expected. They never thought they’d see this place again. Especially not as dilapidated as it seemed to be now.

“Was Tender Heart your mother’s name?” Twilight asked, an inkling of emotion fading through her voice.

“Mhm.”

“... Do all businesses have to be named after the pony who runs them?”

Neither human nor griffon was expecting that question.

“... Uh, no. It’s just easier to recognize as a place belonging to some creature specifically. Plus, I don’t think I’d consider an orphanage a business necessarily.”

Twilight’s slight embarrassment at her poor choice of words went unseen by the creatures in front of her.

“Well, we saw it, let’s get back on the road-”

“Not so fast. I wanna… meet her.”

Anon hung his head and sighed while Gile turned to look at the purple unicorn. “Why?” He was truly more confused than anything else.

Twilight didn’t have much of a response. “I… I just do. Now c’mon.”

Without waiting for further questions, she walked ahead and through the doors to Tender Heart’s.

…

“J-just a second~!” A strained voice called out, before a much more hushed command echoed through the foyer. “Cotton Clove! Stop pulling on Whisper’s mane! There’s somepony here looking to adopt!”

After what sounded like pots and pans fumbling to the floor from a room unseen, a withered old earth pony came rushing into the room, putting on a big smile.

“Hello! And welcome to-”

Her cheery voice died in her throat as she stared at the two thieves, particularly the human.

“... A-anon? You’re…” she stumbled, looking for her words “... here?”

“I’m here too, ‘ma.’ “ Gile sarcastically threw out.

Wonder on her face, she had to shake her head about to resume talking.

“W-why yes of course Gile, but… But why?”

Gile sat on his rump, unamused at the situation. “We’re here to adopt, obviously.”

“... What?”

The griffon turned to Twilight. “Can we go now?”

Twilight peered up to Anon, his face… Unreadable. Or, at least, expressing some very complicated emotions.

“... H-hello mom.”

…

No one was quite sure how it happened, but here they were, sitting down for dinner with Mother Tender Heart. The once rambunctious little foals and chicks now acted standoffish, cautiously eyeing the group of older creatures eating a meal with their Mother. Oftentimes, Twilight’s eyes would wander and catch theirs, only for them to bolt out of sight.

Tender Heart was a very old mare. Her kind face was aged with wrinkles and wisdom alike. Gingerly, she sipped from the soup in front of her, ever staring at Anon. When she spoke, her words were heavy with nostalgia. There was no hidden ire in her voice. “So… my little ‘hooman’ and his partner in crime finally came home… Awful long time to be gone at the candy store, wouldn’t you say? Must’ve been a long line…”

She chuckled a little at her joke, though ‘partner in crime’ had made Anon and Gile squirm a little in their seats.

“Where have you two been all this time? I’d reintroduce you to your old brothers and sisters, but… Creatures come and go, I suppose. It’s nice to see that, sometimes, they do come back to visit though.”

Anon hadn’t yet touched his food, despite not eating in well over a day.

“We’ve been… Traveling. We didn’t um, stay, in Drachen very long after we… Ran away.”

“Foals, your age? Traveling? Wherever did you go?” Tender’s voice was filled with her reserved shock, a sign of her old age.

“All over Echidna, really. Wherever we could. We… We were thieves, for a very long time.”

Gile choked on his soup, casting a wild eye at his friend. “Ack! How much more awkward you gonna make this, man!?”

If Tender was upset, she masked her feelings well.

“Pickpockets eh? Hmm… Well, at least that explains my missing bit purse from that next morning…”

Gile let his face drop into his now empty bowl while Anon just shook his head, years of regret sinking into him.

“We were, but… we’re trying to be better now. We came to Drachen… Well, hoping to restock on supplies. We’ve been the road with this one,” he motioned to Twilight, who had been silently taking in the situation around her since she’d entered the orphanage “for months now, trying to get her back home. We had to… Deal with some enemies we hadn’t known we made. It’s been a long journey, and there’s still a lot longer to go.”

Tender took another sip from her bowl, taking every word of Anon’s into consideration.

“Why ever did you come visit me then?”

“... She wanted to meet you.”

Twilight recoiled slightly, the conversation now focusing on her. Tender leaned in a bit, intrigued.

“Well darling, what’d you want to come see me for? Did those two tell you stories? Oh! Did they tell you about the time Anon and Gile made up their own language? Hoh, it was adorable!” The old mare trailed on, reminiscing on the silly things children do, until Twilight spoke.

“I… They told me about… Bad things. About how the other foals would try hurting them.”

Now, Tender’s demeanor shifted. Her eyes fell and a somberness overtook her.

“Ah… It’s one of those constant fears we mothers have. We… We can only be in so many places at once, doing so many things… The foals… they don’t always get along with their brothers and sisters. Cliques form, if you can believe that. Gile and Anon had theirs, even. But they had to stick together because nopony else would stick with them.” Tender gazed upon the thieves and smiled sadly. “So many times, I found these two fighting off some of the older bullies who were still hungry. We don’t always have enough for seconds, you see, but sometimes the older foals would do it just for… I don’t know, the feeling of having some control. It’s hard living in Drachen, and, for some,” her eyes wandered over to the hallway, where some foals and a young hatchling griffon scampered away “even harder.”

“You know, I never blamed you two for running away. I’m glad I get to say that to you now. I was just… S-so worried if you’d be okay-”

Tender let out a quiet sniffle, rubbing her eye with an ancient hoof. Without a word, Anon excused himself from the table and stepped out of the room. Gile was going to follow, but Tender spoke up before he could.

“Ohh, now look what I’ve done. Went and upset Anon. I should go talk to him-”

Surprisingly, it was Twilight who cut her off. She quickly scooted away from the table.

“N-no. It should be me.”

…

Twilight found Anon sitting on the first step of the porch outside. He looked out into the street, focusing on nothing, maybe the distant lights. Slowly, she took a seat beside him. It would be a quiet few moments, until she noticed the small specks of something wet, falling to the ground.

The unicorn was momentarily frozen in some strange mixture of emotions. At first, she thought it was fear, but it quickly melted into something that felt much worse.

‘Regret, and guilt.’

“You know, I didn’t think… I didn’t think that’d hurt so much. Seeing all this again. Seeing her. Gile and I, we did what we thought we had to, and by the time we knew it was wrong, or even, when we had enough money to just lay low and maybe seek out another way… We didn’t. We had normalized our actions.”

He wasn’t sobbing by any means, and his voice hadn’t changed much, but it had changed. He spoke in a tone, with emotion Twilight hadn’t thought possible of the human. He laughed darkly.

“Heh, I don’t even think I like her that much, but just… Fuck, you know? It’s strange. When you think you’ve done everything on your own for so long, you forget anyone had ever helped you to begin with. For decades, it had always been just me and Gile. I hadn’t forgotten about her, I had forgotten about her influence.”

“I-I’m sor-”

“It’s fine, Twilight. You couldn’t have known. I didn’t know myself.”

As he wiped his eyes, Anon heard the door to Tender Heart’s Home For Wayward Foals creak open. Gile, Fizzy, Cozy, Tender, and, from beyond the door, a few wide eyes peaked out at the two outside. His friends.

“I think it’s time for us to go.”

…

“You two keep her safe, wherever you’re going, you hear?”

Tender jokingly shook her hoof at Anon and Gile, before wrapping them each in an individual hug. While she was close, she whispered in Anon’s ear.

“You were always my favorite, you know. So strange.”

Anon just shook his head, laughing a bit and wiping a lone stray tear.

“G-goodbye, Ms. Heart. I’m sorry for making everypony drop in on you unannounced.”

The old mare wrapped Twilight in a hug as well.

“Think nothing of it dearie. Tartarus, please, come again someday soon! I’d love to hear more about your adventures with these two!”

“Maybe someday, ma.”

Tender gave the both Fizzy and Cozy hugs as well. They’d felt awfully awkward throughout the majority of the visit, keeping their farewells short.

“Stay safe kids!”

With that she, the door to the orphanage closed, and the gang was free once more. The evening was quickly turning to night, as the magic lamps that dotted every street corner shifted brighter. Anon turned to Cozy.

“Don’t suppose you’d give us one more night in the Inn, hm?”

Cozy was about to nod assuredly, but frozen in fear.

“HOLY TARTARUS! THE INN! OOOH HOW MUCH MONEY HAVE I LOST DEALING WITH THIS SAPPY CRAP ALL DAY-”

The mare’s frantic yelling slowly faded from earshot as she galloped down the streets of Drachen.

“Think that’s a yes?”

“... Yeah.”

…

With ponies like Tender, though perhaps a dying breed in Echidna, so dark as it was, at least this city had a chance for a future. A good future.

Chapter 13 - Echidna's Farewell

The fog of Drachen was left behind. The travelers, their band now four-creatures strong, marched ever onward towards Equestria. Though the offer had been given, Cozy Delight decided she’d stay in her industrial home. She figured herself unfit for the role of adventurer, and still considered her cousin insane for refusing a job at the Inn. Regardless, she had wormed her way into getting a slice of the Twilight Bounty already, and was content with that promise.

Here, the group crunched through miles of snow and ice. The chill had begun to freeze the hearts of the travelers with doubt. If Twilight’s words were anything to go by, they were reaching the end of her map. If they didn’t reach civilization soon, they’d be without direction, and quickly after, without hope. Such freezing desolation was not good for anyone’s morale, and it was even worse on their bodies.

Anon gripped a thick woolen blanket around his person tightly, each breath visible in the cold winds. They had used the last of their bits with much sorrow, and though the human and his friend had sworn to Twilight that they’d never steal again, even thieves in reformation are loath to willingly give up their coin. The other creatures felt the chill now too. Twilight and Fizzy walked side by side, a similar blanket draped over the both of them together. When the poor unicorn could walk no more, Anon kept her clung close in his arms, both for her sake, and her warmth. Gile sported a scarf made for functionality, not style. However now, as he eyed Anon’s boots, he wished that he had purchased something for his stinging paws.

There had been little talking since the group had left Drachen, and even less so now. The creatures now only forced themselves forward to see the distant fires of a city, or a town, or anything. It was as if Echidna did not want any of her children to leave her home, to doom them to either becoming monsters that lurked her land, or the prey that they hunted. She kept her borders staunchly defended, with natural barricades to shield the outside harmony from foreign entities from perhaps peering in, and seeing her darkness.

The road to Equestria was one that was long and bleak. If this was penance for all the bad Anon and Gile had done, Echidna was a cruel warden, and she dealt her sentence harshly.

…

It would be a few days further, until Gile spotted lights in the distance. The city, the creatures knew not. Twilight had long since stashed her map away, it’s purpose served. The creatures still shrieked with joy at the sight, the fire in their hearts renewed with past-forgotten hope. With burning determination, they marched upon the city.

The townsfolk stared on from their homes in amazement and fear. Creatures had came out from the tundra? And lived? Such a thing was nigh-unheard of. The cold was much gentler here, though perhaps that was cause of the buildings that broke the winds. Slowly, ponies began to exit their homes to inspect the travelers, and slowly…

They built to elation.

Not that Anon, or Gile, or any of the group knew, for they all quickly crumpled to the snow in exhausted delirium. The trek had been a rough one, more rough than any of them had ever dealt with, and they could move no more.

…

Anon had awoken a while ago, but could not resist basking in the tender warmth that surrounded him. After forcing a small glance about him, and seeing Twilight snug at his side, he’d come to the conclusion that questions of their location could wait. Greedily, he let the lovely fire that seemed to surround him on all sides continue burning, and he rested contently for the first time in a very long time. Yeah, just a few more minutes…

…

“Ooh! Look! The big one is waking up again!”

Ever so slowly, Anon brought himself upright, fearing that the warmth around him might fade if his movements were too sudden, and leave him freezing once more. He was met with a large log cabin, and a roaring inferno inside each of it’s five fireplaces. It would’ve been a very calming sight, if not for the multitude of smiling equines staring at him.

“... What the fuck.”

The ponies… flinched, at his words, their smiling faces now showing some confusion.

“Easy there big guy, there’s foals around. Though, can’t say I blame you for it, considering what you all must’ve went through to get here…”

Anon focused on a little unicorn mare nearby. Her coat was a comforting deep red, and it shined like satin. Slowly, he spoke his next words with quiet hopefulness.

“... And where is ‘here?’ “

“Well, this is Vanhoover, but… welcome to Equestria.”

…

Gile did not know such food could exist, that tasted so good. Maybe it had been the constant diet of frozen jerky and oats whilst traveling from Drachen, but… He could swear he’d never had food this good, well, ever. Glancing an eye toward his companions, it seemed they felt the same. Even Twilight was on her third bowl of vegetable soup, the friendly red unicorn pouring her another serving with zero hesitation. Who were these ponies, so generous and kind? Why? Was it just because they were traveling with Twilight? Was Equestria truly the land of heroes that the old stallion had claimed?

“You all eat as much as you’d like, we just got another supply of food from the Unicorn Range. I’d say you’re welcome to stay as long as you wish too, but this one needs to get back to Canterlot badly.”

The crowd watched Twilight’s every movement with joy and wonder. They couldn’t believe their eyes. The red mare, Hearthstone, levitated the steaming pot back to the kitchen as she faced Twilight.

“The Royal Guard looked everywhere for you, ya know. Nopony would’ve imagined you’d be somewhere in Echidna of all places. How’d you meet these kind creatures anyhow?”

Twilight, currently bundled up in cozy socks and a frilly beanie somepony had generously given off their own body, answered nonchalantly with a grin.

“Oh, I had stolen their bag hoping for bits and they chased me.”

A collective gasp ran through the room.

“Y-you… Stole?”

“Mhm! It was really lucky though, they’d been looking for me for months at that point!”

Any past issues she may have had with Anon and Gile were no longer present in Twilight’s head. At least, not after that frozen hell they’d traveled through. Hearthstone retained her shock.

“... But why?”

The little unicorn was starting to pick up on the many eyes staring at her.

“Umm… I needed them?”

“W-what she means to say,” Anon spoke up “is that she’s had her memories wiped. Really, all she remembered was, thankfully, how to talk, her name, and I guess the levitation spell. We found her by chance living in Cabaluus, if you know the city. With no skills or ponies to remember in a foreign land… Well, she did what she had to to survive for who-knows how long.”

Hearthstone mouthed the word ‘Cabaluus.’

“I don’t know of a Cabaluus. It must be very far away… Sweet Celestia, I can’t imagine what you must’ve gone through, I’m so, so sorry. B-but you’re here now, and the Princess can surely-”

Twilight cut her off. “Celestia, I’ve said that name before, but I don’t know why. Who is she?”

“Why, she’s the ruler of Equestria! G-gosh, she was your mentor, even! If you didn’t even remember her…”

The travelers all looked to Twilight, a complex look on her face.

“So it’s true…”

“What is dear?”

Twilight could only stare at the human at her side. They’d found her bundled in his arms out in the snow, so the ponies figured it best to keep them close. With tears in her eyes, she tackled Anon in a great hug.

“Oooh! I’m so sorry for ever doubting you! A-and Gile too!”

The griffon huffed and rolled his eyes, pouring another serving of soup into his mouth.

“E-easy there Twi, it’s okay. We really didn’t know anything about you or Equestria either, t-this is news to everybody.”

Some of the ponies cocked their heads at ‘everybody.’

Hearthstone spoke up again, clearly concerned.

“Y-you… You’d been missing for maybe half a year now, more, even. After everypony read in the papers that you’d gone missing, well, there was chaos! Ponies were frantic, didn’t know what to do with themselves. Eventually, once you hadn’t been found for a while, everypony just sort of… Well, all we could do was wait until you were found. Vanhoover doesn’t do much trade with Echidna um, ever, but I’ve heard of Royal tradeships sometimes docking at Bowline, through the Lunar Ocean. I believe Echidnans call it the Typhon Sea. Nopony thought you’d be somewhere in scary Echidna, and Canterlot doesn’t really keep diplomacy with any place in Echidna. Why, y-you may have never been found, if not for these three.”

Anon gestured for Hearthstone to talk about something nicer, a sobbing Twilight latched onto his body.

“B-but you’re here now! O-once you’re all warmed up enough, we’ll make you some new clothes better fit for traveling in the Frozen North. Oh, and get you a map of Equestria.”

Gile knocked on the table, signifying he wanted another bowl of soup. A nearby stallion quickly complied.

“We don’t have any more bits mare. Spent the last of em’ in Drachen. Unless the way out of here is as cold as it was gettin’ here, we shouldn’t-”

“Oh, nonsense dear! You’re carrying the Element Bearer of Magic! We’ll give you everything you need and more!”

The griffon raised a single claw to rebut the mare, but quickly put it down, opting to shrug and scarf down his food once more. Far be it from a thief, even one who’s sworn off crime, to reject free stuff.

Hearthstone ran off, shouting for some tailor to come forward and take the creature’s measurements.

Anon idly rubbed Twilight’s back, ignoring the many stares from the ponies in the lodge. He locked eyes with Gile.

“Free stuff?”

“Free stuff.”

Fizzy only rolled her eyes, sipping from her soup.

…

The falling snow could do little against the fleece of Anon’s new jacket. He fluffed out the sleeves and admired the work with silent glee. You couldn’t get this level of craftsmanship without a whole lot of bits backing you up in Echidna, that’s for sure. The tailor pony was aghast with the state of Anon’s clothes when he and the rest of his friends showed up to her lodge for their fittings. Over a decade of wearing the same thing everyday with… Infrequent bathing habits will do a number on anything a creature wears, he supposed. Almost immediately, they’d all been sent to bathe (one at a time, of course), while the tailor had begun her work.

It resulted in another day staying in Vanhoover, but the results were totally worth it. A snippy haircut, new clothes, and a fresh outlook on life. It showed in his companions as well.

Gile had been treated for his wounds more deeply in Vanhoover, and was preened by some local pegasus mares for the first time in… A very long time. Most of them had never seen a griffon before, and more than a few of the mares certainly didn’t mind coming closer than they needed for the treatment. Gile especially did not mind. His thick bag had been repaired, facing many rough nights over the years, and even moreso recently. Now, with his clean feathers and and extra supply of bandages should his wounds act up in the future (though he assured that he was tough enough to deal with them on his own), he too could not keep a content smile from his face.

Fizzy and Twilight had been given spa days fit for royalty, and both of their coats shined brilliantly. It’s surprising how fast one stops caring about their appearance when traveling for several days, let alone traveling for several months, and little needed to be said about the scars that tore through every which way on Fizzy’s back.

Anon had been caught gawking a bit when he first saw Twilight, however. Some of the ponies had kept the old newspapers from when the mare had first been reported missing across Equestria, and the beauticians used her old look as their basis while cleaning her up. Not that her look had truly changed much since she had been found in Cabaluus, but… It’s sometimes shocking how nice a creature can clean up.

Gile had cracked a few jokes at his friend’s expense at the time, but Anon had been much more embarrassed by the oddly knowing, demure look Twilight held when she caught the human’s gaze. This embarrassment only intensified, when he saw the blush she carried as well.

The whole town had come together to help in any way they could, with their clothing and rations and such, and they’d all shown up to see the adventurers off too, on their way to Canterlot. Hearthstone was right, there was more journey ahead, but…

The worst was behind them now. Everyone present knew that much.

And so, the friends walked along the rarely used train tracks that lead out of Vanhoover, with the instruction to follow them until they hit some town with a very on the nose name, and they’d reach Canterlot by the next day. The train only ever really came to Vanhoover to drop off supplies in exchange for tree logs, so they’d still have to walk this final mile, but that was okay.

One thing still tickled at Anon’s mind, however. The ponies of Vanhoover seemed to be keeping some sort of secret. They said something along the lines of ‘you’ll know when you get there.’ It didn’t seem too big of an issue, so he hadn’t pried. The human just couldn’t help but wonder at what might be in store for the group when they finally did reach this ‘Ponyville,’ though.

Chapter 14 - Homecoming

“How far out are we Twilight?”

“Hmm… A few miles? Maybe? These maps never paint a good enough picture of the distance between landmarks…”

Gile facepalmed. “Ughhh… Figured we’d be done walking once we reached Equestria. Y’know, for how important you are, you’d think they’d have the red carpet rolled out for us or something.”

Twilight blushed at her ‘importance.’ There’d been little obstacles in the way of the friends since arriving in Equestria, besides the beauty of the world itself. Sometimes, the group would stop by a cliff overlooking a mountain range, or a gentle brook babbling through a lightly-treed forest and be overcome with the picturesque magic of it all. It was a stark constant to the rarity of such sights in Echidna. Everywhere you looked, it seemed nature was in perfect balance with everything else. Often times, pegasi could be spotted high above in the sky, placing clouds in seemingly random spots, only for suddenly everything to click together.

Equestria was a living, breathing canvas, and the ponies who lived here did their own unique part to make their world as beautiful as they could. Way off, high in the clouds, loomed a huge cloud formation. The kind ponies of Vanhoover had said that this would be a sign that they was going in the right direction. They told of the pegasi homeland Cloudsdale, and of it’s legendary weather factory. It was as if the pegasi had moved their own version of Drachen into the sky, except, this one was made of clouds, and it’s machines pumped out beautiful works of art, like the mythical rainbow. The creatures had only heard of the thing in legends and foal’s tales, all the colors of the world, individual, but united together, painting shimmering beauty across the skies.

Anon caught Twilight with streaming tears at the sight, and had gone to comfort her, but she could only remark that she had no idea why she was crying. She certainly wasn’t sad, but the tears were still flowing. Anon had just smiled at this, wrapping her in a hug.

“I suppose this must be the Whitetail Woods, so we gotta be close, but…”

“Don’t worry about it Twi, we’ll get there. ‘Sides, I don’t think Gile really minds spending more time out here.” Anon pointed out the unresponsive griffon, his face staring off past the tree leaves that allowed thousands and thousands of sunbeams through their weak canopy. It was almost noon now.

“Huh- Oh shut up… Say, what do you think being on a train is like?”

Anon kicked a rock along the grass, hands in his pockets. “Dunno. Always liked watching ‘em come and leave in Drachen though.”

“Is that what that was? That big metal thing? W-wait, they don’t move along these tracks do they!?”

Anon chuckled at Twilight. “Sure do, Twi.”

The unicorn yelped and bounced a few steps back. “Gah! T-those things are so loud! They really move ponies around? I thought they were just another machine for… w-whatever those factories do in Drachen.”

“Don’t worry mare, I doubt anything’s gonna hurt us here.” Fizzy tried eyeing down the tracks, trying to see wherever they stopped. “The ponies here really got Equestria tamed, down to where each blade of grass goes. Isn't that somethin'...”

Fizzy flicked her tail at Twilight, causing her to jump again. She slowed her pace a bit and beckoned Twilight to do the same as the human and griffon took lead. Fizzy lowered her voice, so the others wouldn’t hear.“Twilight… You okay? You’ve been either jumpy or mopey since we got to Equestria. You ought to be excited! You’re finally home, ya know?”

Twilight’s ears pinned back, blush creeping across her face and a good scrunch on her snout. “Y-you noticed huh?”

“Mare, everypony’s noticed. C’mon, tell me what’s wrong.” Fizzy winked. “Promise I won’t tell the boys~.”

“Mmh… It’s Anon…”

“What about him?”

“W-well… Before you and I, well, formally met… I overheard him and Gile talking one night, they must’ve thought I was asleep.”

Fizzy could see where this was going.

“Go onnn…”

“... I’m so confused. I don’t know much about anything right now, but… When I think about Anon, and how much he and Gile have helped me, and how I… put them through so much that I didn’t have to, I get this… weird feeling in my stomach.”

“Hon… nopony is upset or blames you for what you did. You were scared and didn’t know what to believe. Tension was high all around, don’t kick yourself for wanting to be sure of things.” Fizzy let Twilight digest that for a bit until asking the question she really wanted to ask. “Sooo… What sorta feeling?”

Twilight whisper-shouted a bit, eager to not attract the attention of the human a few feet in front of her. “How am I supposed to know!? I-it’s like… Guilt? Maybe? Guilt and butterflies.”

“... I think you gotta unpack that a bit more, Twilight.”

Twilight’s muzzle was hitting levels of scrunch not thought possible.

“Grr… I don’t know how!”

Anon and Gile cranked their heads back questioningly, but Fizzy waved them off lackadaisically with a hoof. She closed her eyes shut, tight in thought. The sarcasm in this was lost on Twilight.

“Hmm… You know what I think, Twi?”

The unicorn pleaded silently with big, hopeful eyes.

“I think you got a crush. And I know Anon’s got one too.”

Twilight sighed dejectedly.

“Hoh… That’s a bad thing, isn’t it…”

“Wha- no!”

Anon and Gile cranked their heads back again at the noise. Fizzy waved them off again, this time more aggressively.

“It’s love, mare! Well, maybe not love yet, but like.”

“... I like crushing Anon…?”

Fizzy sighed.

“Mare, no. You like Anon, as in you like being around him and you wanna continue being around him. Like, like-like.”

“... I don’t get it.”

Fizzy facehoofed now.

“Didn’t think this’d be so hard- Twilight, listen. I think that you like him romantically, and that’s totally normal. It’s a part of life! Falling for a stallion, realizing it’s love, yadda yadda. When I say you wanna be with Anon, I mean you wanna be with him as more than just a friend. You wanna, like, kiss and cuddle and stuff.”

Twilight touched a hoof to her lips, clearly more confused than before.

“Like… with my mouth?”

Anon cranked his head back again. “The Tartarus are you two talking about?”

“Focus on finding the town Anon!” Fizzy threw a pebble at the human’s head.

“Shit, fine mare! Jeez…”

Appeased, Fizzy gave a friendly look back to Twilight.

“Twi… look: Think on your feelings now, and next time you get a moment alone with Anon… Bring this stuff up to him. Show him that you’re confused, and also curious, and he’ll help you. Then, maybe once you’ve gotten your memories back, you can take a step back and think about how you truly feel about you and him. Sound good?”

After a couple seconds of thought, Twilight nodded.

“I-I think so… Thank you Fizzy. For trying to help… E-even if I’m not the best learner.”

“Don’t put yourself down like that mare, you’re a good learner, you just don’t remember being one. I mean, Hearthstone said herself that you’re the Princess’ pupil, right? That’s gotta account for somethin’. “

Twilight giggled. “You really think so?”

“Hey, I know so.”

A few yards ahead, Gile flashed a smile at Anon. He figured it cute that the ponies were trying to whisper, but he was a griffon, and griffons have very good hearing. Their stupid human friends, on the other hand…

“They’re keepin’ secrets back there, you know.”

Anon absentmindedly ran a hand through his hair.

“I know, and I don’t like it.”

“Ooh, doesn’t feel very good being on the receiving end of the secret-sharing now does it?”

“Man, shut up… So what’re they saying?”

Gile turned his head, staring off into the far off hills.

“Oh nothin’... Just mare stuff.”

…

A few hours later, Gile would finally catch sight of what seemed to be a little hamlet, carved right out of the edge of the Whitetail Woods and a much denser, ominous forest. The town was segmented down the middle by a thin stream.

The four creatures slowly made their way into what they assumed had to be Ponyville. Though it was to be expected this far out in the outskirts, the lack of ponies or, really, any living thing caused some confusion in the group.

That is, until a pink blur collided with Twilight faster than anyone could react to.

Anon figured that this must’ve been the ‘surprise’ the ponies in Vanhoover were alluding to. Was this town not a safe place? Had this been some sort of trick? These thoughts raced through his head for roughly a second, before the relieved sobs of somepony he’d never heard before registered in his brain.

“T-Twilight!! I-it’s really you! Oh my Celestia, where’ve you been, we were worried sick…”

The pink mare clung tight and refused to budge, much to Twilight’s annoyance. Anon wasn’t sure what to do with the situation, nor were Gile and Fizzy.

“Aargh! W-who are you, what are you doing!?”

The pink mare looked as if she’d been struck by Twilight.

“W-what? W-what are you talking about you silly filly? I-it’s me Pinkie!”

Anon took a knee besides the pony pile, putting a hand on Pinkie’s shoulder.

“I’m guessing you must be a friend of Twilight’s?”

The pink mare looked up, her tear-filled face heavy with confusion.

“O-of course mister big weird monkey thing! Twilight’s like, my bestest friend ever!”

Anon chose to ignore that monkey remark.

“She’s had… some sort of accident. My friends and I here heard about her from the bounty. We found her in Cabaluus, and have been traveling for months to get here. Tell me, do you know how we can get to Canterlot?”

Though Pinkie was still crying (and sitting atop Twilight,) her attitude shifted rather dramatically.

“Cabal-who?”

“... That’s not important right now, what is is getting her memories back, and-”

“Woah woah woah, hanggg on a second buster! You said Twilight’s memories were erased? And you three brought her back from Cabalwho?”

Fizzy rubbed her foreleg. “W-well, I came onto the team pretty late.”

In a heartbeat, Anon, Gile, and Fizzy were wrapped in the bearhug to end all bearhugs by the crazy pink pony.

“YOU THREE ARE MY NEW BESTEST FRIENDS EVER!!! Thank you so so so soo much!! We’ve all been super worried about her since what happened in the Badlands!”

“D-damn mare’s got a grip like a vice…” Gile choked out.

“Hey now, everypony hold on a second!”

Twilight’s plea was ignored by Pinkie, who gasped dramatically.

“Oh my gosh! I need to tell the rest of our friends! Eeee~! They’re gonna be so excited to see you’re safe! Meet us at the library raceyouthere~!”

And just as soon as the pony had come, she had vanished.

Twilight’s head fell back into the grass.

“Ughh… She knew what had happened to me and now she’s run off…”

Anon picked up Twilight in his arms, earning an embarrassed squeak from Twilight, and a knowing giggle from both Fizzy and Gile.

“Well… She said to meet at the library. Some directions would’ve been nice, but…”

…

“For a town with a name like Ponyville, sure ain’t seeing a lot of ponies…”

Anon shot his griffon friend a glance, but honestly, was inclined to agree. Ponyville seemed like a total ghost town. Sometimes, Anon would catch fearful eyes staring from behind curtains in certain windows, only for them to quickly retreat. If that pink pony’s claim of Twilight being her ‘best friend’ was true, that could really only mean one thing:

“Just keep an eye out for any place that looks like a library. Any of this look vaguely familiar to you Twi?”

Twilight huffed in Anon’s arms, looking about. She seemed to not mind being held like this…

“Why would it? I think you of all creatures would know I can’t remember anything of Equestria.”

“Well… I’m pretty sure this place was your home, once upon a time.”

That gave the mare some pause.

“... Shit, good point Anon.”

Twilight now darted her head about to and fro, hoping to spark some sort of awakening in her mind.

“Wow, check out that big tree- uh, it’s got a door.”

Anon followed Fizzy’s line of sight, settling on the tree. It, indeed, had a door. And windows. And a balcony. It was a very strange sight to behold for everyone. Though, it wasn’t anything compared to that house that seemed to be made entirely out of candy… Ponyville is a very strange place.

“... Weird. Doesn’t look like a library to me though.”

The human was going to turn away and look elsewhere, but Twilight stopped him.

“L-let’s check it out.”

“You sure? I mean, I don’t see why not, but…”

“Who knows? Maybe there’ll be somepony in there who could tell us where the library is.”

Anon shrugged his shoulders and lead the way. He gently kicked at the door with his foot to knock…

No response.

“... Think we should just go in?”

Fizzy batted Gile’s shoulder. “No stupid! That’s somepony’s house!”

“But there’s no lock.”

“Yeah there- Oh. No there isn’t. Huh.”

The griffon clicked his tongue. “Context clues, smarty pants,” Twilight’s ear flicked. “I’m goin’ in.”

…

Inside, were books. Books all around. All neatly put in place. There was not a single sheet of paper on the main desk in the middle of the room out of alignment. All had been stacked neatly in their spot. Apparently, this tree had been hollowed out quite thoroughly, yet it still budded many leaves on it’s branches. Even deeper hollows into the wood served as bookshelves, and each was packed to the brim. This had to be the library, and whoever operated it kept it in good shape. In another room, multiple voices were heard. Seemingly, they hadn’t heard the door open over their conversation. They spoke with shaky tones, dripping with sadness.

“Honestly dear, I… I can’t believe you dragged us all here! You know how it still upsets us! Heavens, just look at Fluttershy! Oh darling, come here…”

“I agree with Rarity, sugarcube. If ya claimed to of found her, h-hugged her even, why wouldn’tchya bring her with you?”

A familiar voice could be heard sniffling. It was that ‘Pinkie’ pony, the one from earlier.

“I-I’m sorry! I-I was just, just so excited she was finally back home safe- I-I-I wanted to make sure you all saw her too, make sure I wasn’t just seeing things…”

Eccentric or not, Anon saw it unfit to let the other ponies, assumedly Twilight’s friends, drill into Pinkie about her while she was just over in the other room.

“Ahem.”

“Oh! B-by Celestia, who could that be!?”

A gorgeous white unicorn trotted angrily into the room.

“Y-you have some nerve mister, coming here whilst- TTTWWIIILIIIIGHTTTT!!”

Her last word was accentuated by her exotic-sounding inflection being stretched into a shocked scream. That is, before she fainted to the floor.

Twilight peered up at Anon, a queer look on her face as the ponies in the other room seemed to hesitate from the unicorn’s odd outburst.

“... Are all of my friends so dramatic?”

Anon offered a strained smile.

“Well, you were gone for a long time, Twi.”

Slowly, new faces appeared in the doorway, their eyes all widening in astonishment. Well, besides Pinkie, who’s eyes sparkled.

“See!? I told you she was here!”

There was an orange pony, with gleaming emerald eyes and a stetson atop her blonde mane.

“I… I can’t believe it… Twilight?”

Another face, a little yellow pegasus with a long pink mane. Her teal eyes were filled with tears. Though she said nothing, her mouth hung open loosely.

The last face, another pegasus, this one blue and rocking the strangest mane any of the creatures had ever seen. She too said nothing.

Finally, and the most shocking of the faces, was a young drake. No one at Anon’s side had ever seen the mythical beasts of legend, nor did they know they could be so small. Twilight’s wide eyes were fixed intensely on his, so soaked with tears silently wept. When he eventually did speak, it came out cracked.

“I-I kept the library neat for you, j-just how you like it.”

That was all that needed to be said from the baby dragon. Almost instinctively, Twilight jumped from Anon’s arms, rushing to embrace the dragon. She knew not why she did this, why she too began to cry. Maybe it was the feel of the room getting to her, but she knew one thing for sure:

His arms felt so right, wrapped around her neck.

Chapter 15 - Reunion

After the initial shock had worn off of the ponies, they were frantic. Desperate for information. Where had Twilight been? Was she okay? Who were the strangers she was traveling with? Anon, Gile, and Fizzy were thankful that the questions weren’t directed at any one of them for once, needless to say. The five ponies sat on one couch together, while Twilight and her three friends sat side by side on the other, including the baby dragon. He clung to Twilight’s side feverishly, as if, should he let go, she might vanish again. Twilight did not object. Currently, it was the orange pony’s turn to barrage Twilight with questions.

“How come it took ya so long to come back here to Ponyville? I never heard of this ‘Echidna’ place, but surely it couldn’t of been seven-months-away far.”

Twilight shrank a bit back in her seat. She wasn’t expecting her reuniting with her old friends to be such an interrogation. Sure, she had expected questions, but… she didn’t even know these pony’s names yet.

“W-well, after… whatever happened to me, I had lost my memories. But Echidna is wayyy farther than you might-”

“H-hold on now, ya’ll lost your memories!? L-like, all of ‘em?”

“... What do you mean by that.”

The stetson pony fumbled for words, her cute accent really showing off.

“L-like, of us! Of Ponyville! Of your past!”

“... Well, yeah. I still remembered my name, and how to talk and walk and stuff, but… not much else… H-honestly, I don’t even know your name… I’m sorry.”

The white unicorn looked about ready to faint again, as did the rest of the room. The little dragon looked up, newfound tears ready to burst yet again.

“I-I’m Spike! Y-your number one assistant! Y-y-you raised me since birth when you were really young, you don’t remember that??”

Thin tears streamed down Twilight’s face as well now, and Anon gently petted her back.

“I-I’m sorry little guy, I don’t. Not yet, anyway. It’s why my friends here are bringing me to Canterlot, to see if the sun princess can fix my memories.”

All ears perked up at Twilight calling the strangers ‘friends.’ The rainbow-maned pegasus noticed this especially, as well as Anon’s hand.

“A-and who are these three!? Did they tell you about the bounty Princess Celestia put on your safe return home?? Are they only interested in helping you for the bits!?”

Twilight raised her voice before Anon or the other two could take offense.

“Y-YES!! Yes they did tell me! They’ve been on my side helping me get home since I first met them, and we’ve gone through Tartarus together all the way here! Them especially! And maybe you all were my friends before, but you certainly aren’t being kind to me or my new friends now! I mean, fuck, you haven’t even told me your names yet!”

Twilight bore bloodshot eyes into each of her old friends. Judging from the looks on their faces, they were not expecting such an outburst… May have been the first time they ever heard Twilight curse too. Regardless of her feelings on the matter, and how she figured them personally justified, a sense of remorse slowly crept into her, seeing the mixture of guilt and hurt on each of the pony’s faces. The yellow one looked about ready to run from the room sobbing, with how she shook.

“... Twi… I’m… mighty sorry. I’m Applejack. We were just… When you disappeared in the Badlands, we were worried sick. We’ve been worried sick fer months now. We thought… W-we thought…”

“W-we thought… you weren’t ever gonna come back Twilight. I’m Rainbowdash, a-and I’m sorry for coming off as aggressive. I just… Ooh, this is so hard…”

“I’m Rarity. What Rainbow is trying to say dear, is that we wanted to make sure you weren’t being used. W-we have never met these ponies- er, creatures before. After you’d been gone so long, seeing you just suddenly appear out of the blue like this with these strangers is, well, i-it’s scary. I’m terribly relieved, but… we’ve all been blindsided, please understand, and forgive us for being so forward.”

“I’m Pinkimena Diane Pie, but I just go by Pinkie Pie really. I-I was… so excited, when I saw you coming into Ponyville. I don’t even know HOW I knew, but I did. Something just gripped me and told me to run out of Sugarcube Corner to the edge of town, a-and I’m so glad I did. I’m so glad I got to see your face again, and I hope… I hope I never have to worry like that ever again. I hope none of us ever have to again.”

“I-I’m Spike. I know I, uh, already told you that, but… you hatched me from my egg using your magic. I guess you… you wouldn’t remember, but, you’re a magical prodigy. Making me hatch was your entrance exam for Celestia’s school, and you didn’t have to take me in, but you did. Y-you and our- your family raised me as if I was a little brother. I came along with you when you moved to Ponyville, and the rest is history. S-since you’ve been gone, I’ve been staying with Rarity at the Carousel Boutique, but… I made sure to clean up the library extra nice before I left, for when you came back.”

“U-umm… I-i-it was, um, very scary, seeing you again. I felt a lot of emotions all at once, and I wasn’t sure what to do with all of them. For those first couple of months, I-I was sure you had to be somewhere out in the Everfree forest. I-I searched every inch of that spooky place, a-and when I didn’t find you, I-I just… j-just…”

The yellow pony hid her face in her hooves, letting a fresh torrent of tears out. Twilight gave her a few moments to collect herself before she gently spoke.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch your name.”

“O-oh, sorry… I-I’m Fluttershy…”

Twilight let out a guilty sigh that had been collecting in her since her friends had begun to each speak their piece. Certainly, she had been too rough on them. Twilight was lucky, not knowing who she had been separated from. Her friends could only do so much to try and find her in Equestria, and when they couldn’t… They had to deal with their lack of any clues, lack of any closure, for months. Months of constant failures. Who knows when they might’ve given up? And even then, what would they’ve done after? Would they even have ever given up?

“I’m… I’m sorry. To all of you. I didn’t mean to come off as so rude. It wasn’t right of me to accuse you all of not being supportive. I have no idea what it must’ve been like for you”

Rarity batted a hoof, dabbing her cheeks with a handkerchief Twilight hadn’t seen before.

“O-oh darling, it’s quite alright. This is… n-new and scary for all of us. How about something lighter?” The unicorn’s eyes fell upon the rest of Twilight’s group. Anon suppressed an internal sigh. “W-who are your new handsome friends? I must say, I simply love your outfit. It suits you marvelously. I take it the tailors are quite good in Echidna, yes?”

Rarity was confused when Anon, Twilight, Gile, and Fizzy all broke out into varying degrees of laughter.

“... W-was it something I said?”

“S-sorry, haha, it’s just uh… no. The tailors are not good in Echidna, especially not to me. I’m Anonymous, by the way. You can just call me Anon.”

“Not good to you? Why? Oh! D-do you have an eye for fashion as well?”

Anon rubbed the back of his neck. “Not exactly what I meant by that… These clothes were made for me in Vanhoover, just after we made it into Equestria. Before that… well… I only had one pair of clothes for a very long time. They weren’t very presentable.”

Rarity’s eye now held much concern, her past emotions taking a backseat.

“H-how long darling?”

“... Twenty years?”

Rarity’s eye twitched.

Applejack let out a quiet ‘hoo boy’ and covered her eyes with her hat.

Thankfully, Rainbowdash changed the conversation before Rarity could drag Anon by his heels to her boutique.

“Heheh, what about you two? I used to know a griffon back in flight school. Turned out she was a jerk, b-but you seem cool!”

“I’m Gile. Been traveling around Echidna with Anon since we were both hatchlings.” The griffon looked to his friend and smiled. “I got his back, and he’s got mine. I thought he was crazy, when he told me he wanted to go off chasing the Twilight Bounty. He’d never even heard of Equestria before, and I barely knew anything about this place. I’ve walked with this alien halfway across the world already, and I’ll walk with him the rest of the way too, if needed.”

Anon and Gile shared an unspoken fist bump, much to Rainbowdash’s delight.

“D-did you say ‘alien?’ “

Anon wasn’t expecting the pony with ‘shy’ in her name to speak up. It seemed he’d never stop explaining what he was to creatures, be they Echidnan or Equestrian.

“As far as we’ve been able to tell, yes. I... vaguely remember my old home, but that was a long time ago. Never met anyone else like me.”

Fluttershy’s wings seemed to flap a bit in excitement. Maybe she thought she had found a kindred soul in the company of outcasts? She seemed to be the reserved type.

“O-oh, that’s so sad, I’m sorry… How did you come to Equestria?”

Anon was about to answer with a ‘I don’t know,’ but Fizzy coughed bluntly.

“O-oh gosh, I’m so sorry, here we are, all talking about each other, not talking to you. H-how long have you been with Anon and Gile?”

The dark yellow mare happily smiled. “Long enough to know they’re a coupl’a idiots.” Some of the ponies cringed at the perceived insult. “But they mean well. I don’t know where I’d be right now if not for them. They gave me a chance at another life here in Equestria after I… lost my past. They showed me what you can achieve when you don’t give up on your dreams, even if it seems like the whole world is against you.”

A quiet ‘amen’ and ‘das right’ could be heard from Anon and Gile.

Applejack tipped her hat upwards. “Well, any friends of Twilight’s are friends of mine. Yall are always welcome down on the farm for what you did fer us, whatcha did for Twilight. I can’t thank y'all enough.”

The ponies collectively nodded their heads, each giving their thanks and offering some sort of assistance, should the creatures ever need it. Though, Anon felt a small chill run down his back at Rarity’s insistence on making him new clothes. She had a tinge of madness in her eyes that the human didn’t know how to feel about.

With the mood of the room largely calmed now, the collective group each shared hugs, and Anon felt the time was ready to continue their journey.

“So, any of you ponies happen to know when the next train for Canterlot leaves? We’ve wasted enough time marching through Equestria, if we wanna get Twilight’s memories back, we should leave as soon as possible.”

“That’s right! Let’s get moving!”

“I- oh. You guys are gonna come with?”

Rainbowdash struck a pose, her five friends (Spike included!) doing the same.

“Uh, yeah we’re comin’ with! We gotta get our friend’s memory back like you said! Plus, we got unfinished business with the princesses!”

“O-oh. Are you guys, like, not on good terms with them or something?”

Rainbow sagged a bit in her pose, the moment now gone.

“U-uh, no, not like that. I meant, they sent us on a mission months ago! We still gotta set things right! Follow along guys, to the train station!”

With that, the five ponies barreled out of the library.

Twilight just sighed. “Would be nice to know what that mission is…”

Chapter 16 - Aboard Canterlot Express

“This thing gives me the creeps.”

“Don’t you worry none now, these here trains are mighty machines. Heck, I ain’t known of any of em malfunctioning from here to Appleoosa since I was a filly.”

An unexpected lurch from the train caused the four creatures to buckle, their eyes darting around worriedly.

“J-just a bit bumpy sometimes, heh…”

Canterlot mountain could be seen from Ponyville, even bits of Canterlot Castle, but reaching the capital city was a different story. The train would need to wrap around the mountain several times, all while steadily increasing altitude, for the sake of stability and safety. By the accounts of Twilight’s friends, they said the train would pull into station sometime tomorrow morning. This left much time for the newly acquainted and reunited creatures to chat. And chat they did. Thankfully, the ponies mainly shied away from reminiscing about the past, now understanding that Twilight wouldn’t recall any of it. Much of the talking focused on Twilight’s peculiar new friends instead, and of their adventure back to Equestria.

“I must say, this Cabaluus sounds marvelous! Tell me, is it the capital city of Echidna? Is their princess just stunning? Ooh, how is the fashion scene there!? I’d love some foreign inspirations!”

The Echidnan natives could only keep up with the barrage of questions for so long.

“Cabaluus had a king, and I don’t think any of us know much about fashion-”

“Are the critters in Echidna scary, o-or are they cute? Ooh, I bet they’re cute aren’t they?”

“We usually always steered clear of the denser forests, never saw much wildlife-”

“How’s the racing scene over there? Any speedsters? I bet I’d leave ‘em in the dust! That reminds me! I gotta show you guys my coolest trick when we get to Canterlot!”

“Um, only foals really raced each other in Tamar-”

It was a losing battle.

Spike, still close by Twilight’s side, anxiously pulled at her hoof.

“Did you get to do a lot of reading while you were traveling? W-well, maybe you don’t remember, but you LOVE books, a little too much if you asked me, but-”

Twilight beamed. “A-actually I did! Well, some, anyway. While I was alone in Cabaluus, I, um, had some time to myself in their Royal Library, I read lots of stories. I even reorganized much of their shelves! T-they never knew it was me, but I’m sure they were thankful for it!”

Spike huffed jokingly. “Yep, sounds like you alright. How’d you know where books were supposed to go?”

Twilight scoffed as if it was obvious. “Tch, it’s easy once you start catching onto it. Science and history are usually thicker books and will have diagrams, while the novels are usually smaller and talk about, well, whatever!”

Her old friends shared a knowing giggle while Twilight continued on about some of the books she’d read, the train chugging ever forward towards their goal.

…

As evening turned to night, the ponies all eventually slinked away to sleep, the train carrying many bedcars. Despite the quickly budding friendships, the two groups of creatures largely stuck together. Twilight’s friends understood the reasoning and kindly let her decide where she’d sleep. Of course, Anon and Gile were going to take an unclaimed two-bunk room, but Fizzy interjected. Alluringly, she flicked her tail at Gile’s side, stopping him in his tracks.

“Anon~” The yellow mare sing-songed out, laying things on thick, “you don’t mind me taking Gile for the night, do you? You can have a room to yourself~”

“I- uh- huh. I… don’t?”

Gile certainly did not oppose, smiling smugly at his human friend. Out of sight from either Gile or Anon, Fizzy winked at Twilight, whispering “now’s your chance” in her ear as she led a certain pride-filled griffon to a nearby room.

Anon peeked from his bedcart’s door at the lone unicorn, now blushing intensely.

“Umm… Guess I got a free bed in here now if you’d like Twi.”

Twilight stammered, knocked out of her reprieve.

“U-uh, o-okay! Just let me… Get ready first! F-for bed!”

The mare stood in place in the hallway, her largely smiling a very weak facade.

“... Okay? I’ll just take the top bunk.”

With that, the human closed the door, and left Twilight to her own devices.

…

Gile unhooked his bag from his body, stretching in a way that showed off his muscles. Fizzy simply kept an ear to the wall, trying to listen into Anon’s room.

“So, looks like the pony finally wants a taste of the predator-”

Fizzy was quick to shoot the griffon down, not taking her ear from the wall.

“Shut up you big dork, I had to get you away from Anon so Twilight will talk with him, now c’mere and listen with me.”

“I get it, I really do- w-wait, huh?”

Fizzy was gentler now, looking to Gile. “Don’t sound so glum, big guy. Next chance I get, I’ll show you who the real predator is between us.”

That was enough to pull Gile out of the dumps. With a shrug and a smile, he took a seat beside Fizzy on the floor, ear up against the wall.

…

Twilight found herself surrounded by her friends. Her old friends. She wasn’t sure if they’d be able to help her, but, with Fizzy occupied with Gile… She just wanted to make sure she didn’t look silly in front of Anon.

So, after asking Rarity (who seemed to be the most experienced with this sort of thing purely based off of her looks and mannerisms), the white unicorn had dramatically declared an ‘emergency friendship meeting’ and summoned their friends together into the room.

“Ooh darling, this is so exciting! To think, our dear Twilight would travel the world with a handsome, exotic stranger-turned-friend on a quest to find home and reunite with us, and that she’d find love too! I, for one, am ecstatic at the news, and am eternally grateful that you chose to come to us for advice!”

Twilight wanted to plant her head into the comfy cot bed and never lift it back up again.

“O-oh, well, I-I don’t know much about courtship or love Rarity…”

“Gotta agree with Fluttershy on this one, Rares. All that mushy stuff is your area, why’d you go gettin’ us all outta bed fer this?”

“Psh, speak for yourself AJ! I know plenty about baggin’ stallions! It’s simple Twi: All ya gotta do is-”

“Rainbow! This is not about ‘bagging’ stallions! This is about love in bloom, and more importantly, helping Twilight express her feelings! Now, we all have advice we can share with our friend here, even on the more… passionate side, should things come to it between you two. Now:” Rarity clopped her hooves together. “Let’s begin.”

…

The quiet creaking of the door awoke Anon. Years of being a jumpy, paranoid thief carries more advantages with it than simply fast hands, after all. His guard was poised, ready to hop out of bed and tackle the intruder if need be, until he heard Twilight’s soft voice call out.

“A-anon? Are you awake?”

A wave of relief washed over him. “Mmh, am now. Quicker to bed, quicker to Canterlot Twi…”

“I know that, but… can we talk?”

‘Oh boy…’ Anon thought. With a grunt, he slid open the thin curtain of his bed, seeing Twilight slowly close the door behind her. After a few tries, she dimly lit the room with a nearby oil lamp. “Sure thing.”

The little purple unicorn was the splitting image of calm cool collectedness. Here was a Twilight Anon had never really seen before. Her posture was upward and focused, her face free of concern or fear, her poise elegant and refined. As Anon silently took in the almost regal sight, Twilight spoke again.

“I… want to kiss you.”

“...”

It’d be a minute or so, until Anon reacted.

“... W-what?”

With that, Twilight’s illusion fell apart.

“Ooh I knew this was a bad idea! I-I just, I felt so bad about not trusting you after what happened in Drachen, a-and I thought it was guilt at first, b-but then I started blushing and I talked to Fizzy about it and she told me it was like-like and I overheard you and Gile that night talking about how you felt about me-”

“Twilight, Twilight please. It’s alright. I- w-wait, you heard us?”

Twilight fiercely shook her head, the deep red of blush painting her cheeks. “I-I heard you… well… also like-like me…”

“... What is like-like?”

“I-I have no idea! Nopony explained anything!”

Anon sighed, sitting upright and making some room on his bed. “C’mere, sit with me… I think I can help with a few things.”

Nervously she did. Rarity (and Rainbow) had told her that if a stallion you like invites you to his bed… ‘It’s go time,’ whatever that meant. The white unicorn had scolded her rainbow friend before she could elaborate. Twilight noticed Anon’s jacket and smaller jacket were laid out on the floor nearby. She’d never seen him without his clothes.

“So… I’m gonna assume we feel similarly about each other here, right?”

Though Twilight couldn’t really be sure, she nodded her head slightly. Anon gently petted her back, trying to put the mare at ease.

“Well… I think we should tread carefully with this stuff for now, a-atleast until you get your memories back. I… I don’t want you to make a choice now, then live to regret it later.”

“I-I’m in control of myself Anon-”

“I know you are, but you’re still inherently misguided. Neither of us know how you used to feel.”

“B-but it’s not about how I used to feel! Even if I do get my memories back, I’m not gonna forget you, or Gile, or our adventures!” Twilight shrank back a bit, surprised by her outburst. “I’ll still be me, just… more of me. The real me. I don’t think remembering my past is gonna stop me from feeling these feelings, so… I-I want to do this. Y-you make me happy, and I feel so protected when I’m with you, a-and I know now that you’re always gonna be by my side to keep it that way, even if you weren’t planning that at the beginning…”

Anon took the embarrassment in stride.

“... I guess, but… you sure? You know my own past now too, even the parts I wanted to keep from you. I’d understand if-”

“Yes! I-I am sure. I want to be sure, a-and… I-I want you to feel the same way. You do, don’t you?”

“I do, believe me, it’s just… Gile was right when he talked to me about this stuff. You are… so much more than me. Even if you can look past some of the things I’ve done, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re a very important pony with a very important job. I’m just a nobody, even if I’m no longer a thief.”

“You aren’t a nobody to me.”

Twilight wouldn’t give Anon the chance to respond, as her lips met his, snuffing out any other objections he might’ve still had.

They stayed like that for a good while, slowly warming up to the feeling and venturing to explore each other’s mouths. The kiss was only broken when Twilight pulled away, gasping for breath.

“... You know you can breathe out of your nose during stuff like that.”

“... Oh.”

The rumbling of train tracks was the only noise to be heard for a while after that.

“So… A-are we married now or-”

Anon burst out laughing, making Twilight jump.

“Haha, oh, n-no Twilight… It’s a start though.”

With that, the human wrapped his arms around the little pony, pulling her onto his chest for round two. Twilight quickly melted in Anon’s grip, wrapping her hooves around his neck, savoring the feeling. The subtle rocking of the train provided lovely ambiance to the two creatures in the dim light of the cab, gently bringing them to sleep on the way to Canterlot.

Chapter 17 - The Throne

Anon and Twilight were awoken in the morning to the furious shouts of a certain griffon and pony.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU LET ME FALL ASLEEP GILE-”

“I-I WAS ASLEEP BEFORE YOU WERE!”

“WERE NOT!”

Gile pointed an accusatory claw at Anon, a grumpy Twilight laid out across his chest beneath the blanket.

“T-THEY DID IT! OH, I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS FIZZY! IT WAS YOUR STUPID IDEA WHY DIDN’T YOU STAY AWAKE!?”

Whilst Gile and Fizzy argued back and forth, Twilight peered a sleepy eye up at Anon.

“Annooonnn… Tell them to shut up and get out… Train’s still movin’...”

Anon chuckled.

“Long night you two? I imagine Gile wasn’t very good in bed, hm?”

Fizzy stomped her hoof. “We didn’t fuck!”

Anon blew a drawn out whistle.

“That bad huh? Sorry Gile…”

“S-shut up Anon! We were trying to listen through the wall, but we didn’t hear anything! What’s the deal!?”

Twilight pulled the bed curtain up past her head, trying to block out the invading sunlight.

“Mmh, was getting advice from my friends… Go away now…”

Gile spun on his heel to face Fizzy.

“I TOLD you she wasn’t in there yet! I would’ve heard the door open!”

“Oh yeah? Then how come you didn’t!?”

“BECAUSE I WAS ASLEEP!!”

“You two would’ve been disappointed anyways. We just cuddled.”

“Kissed too…” Twilight mumbled. She understood now why Fizzy had brought it up before. Kissing was really nice…

Anon jokingly shushed her.

“Whatever man… going to get breakfast…”

Fizzy huffed and followed, still grumbling.

…

Canterlot was a city on lockdown. Everywhere one looked, guards clad in golden armor were about doing something. Building fortifications, inspecting buildings, questioning the few citizens who still walked the streets for whatever reason…

But it seemed the city had froze, when Twilight was spotted exiting the train station. Almost immediately, guards fell to her side and formed a rigid defense around her and her friends. Orders were barked by stern-faced ponies, demanding the road to Canterlot castle be cleared and the group to advance.

As they did, each creature present marveled at the city’s beauty. Canterlot rivaled Cabaluus in opulence and majesty. Where Cabaluus housed horrid slums, packed densely and away from the nobles however, Canterlot seemed to possess no such thing. Perhaps that was a slight against it, simply not allowing the poor to congregate anywhere near the city at all. The native Echidnans doubted this though. Equestria was not like home. Canterlot had to be a living inspiration, shining high above at the top of Equestria, showing all ponies who saw it a reminder that their homeland was good and just.

No one talked very much during the walk. The reaction from the guards had been so jarring that the creatures just silently obeyed. Twilight’s old friends seemed to understand the situation and trusted the guards, while Anon and the gang were rather… shocked. None of them had ever seen such mobilization before, nor had they ever really been recognized and stopped by strangers, besides, well, the Black Stripe.

Soon enough, the entourage had been faced with Canterlot Castle. From what Twilight’s old friends had said, this was the home of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

“Well Twilight, seems this is it.”

A guard called for the huge golden doors to be opened.

“G-guess so.”

“Nervous?”

“Y-you could say that, heh…”

Anonymous smiled down at his marefriend.

“Don’t be. We’ll all be right here with you.”

Twilight looked back and saw her friends, new and old, smiling back. She turned her gaze back to Anon, his face gentle.

“Ready?”

“...”

“Ready.”

…

The creatures were led down many halls, leading to the throne room. The inside of Canterlot Castle was perhaps more ornate than the outside. A somber quiet dominated the castle interior, save for the falling steps of Twilight and her friends. The majority of the guards stayed outside, begrudgingly being forced to return to their posts. It seemed every item that adorned the grand halls had been placed with purpose, from the statues and paintings down to the rare piece of furniture. It made for an aesthetic unmatched in it’s contemplative beauty, though Rarity had made note of how… different the mood had felt in the castle since the last time she had been there with her friends.

As they neared the entrance of the throne room, she remarked how a certain warmth had been missing from the castle since Twilight had gone missing.

…

“... Think she’s just in the bathroom or something?”

“I don’t think goddesses go to the bathroom, Gile.”

“Why wouldn’t they?”

One of the accompanying guards shushed the griffon. The two thrones at the end of the room were empty. It gave those who’d never seen this room before time to gawk. The throne room was a long corridor. Huge stylized marble pillars separated rows upon rows of immaculate stained glass windows. Each displayed a different image: Unicorns, pegasai, and earth ponies uniting together under one flag, a large white pony using some sort of gemstones on a similarly large dark pony, etc.

As Twilight marveled, her eyes caught one particular window: Six ponies stood together, using those same gems she’d seen previously on a strange amalgamation of many creatures.

“H-hey! I think I read about this in Cabaluus! Who are those ponies?”

“C-could it be…?”

A distant voice could be heard coming through a rather unassuming doorway closer to the thrones. Another followed with it.

“I-it is your majesty! I couldn’t believe the news myself, but the guards who reported it to me claimed they had seen her with their own eyes!”

All eyes watched the two ponies enter. One was rather normal: A light gray pony with a dark brown mane done up in a bun, sporting a pair of glasses. The other…

The first thing Twilight noticed was her size. She was nearly twice the size of the earth pony beside her. Her regalia was shimmering and golden, her coat the most immaculate white, and her mane a long shimmering array of pastels that danced on stagnant air. What was most peculiar were her wings… and her horn. Twilight did not know such a thing was possible. The tiara atop her head confirmed it:

This was the sun-goddess, Princess Celestia.

The two pairs of eyes met and left Twilight frozen. Not out of fear, but out of… something else entirely. She could not place her feelings, nor could she collect her thoughts.

‘Is this what staring at divinity is like?’

The smaller pony backed away, leaving the princess to her reunion. Slowly, as if she thought she was dreaming, the white pony advanced forward. Her voice came out deafly quiet, though her word still reached Twilight’s ears.

“Twilight…”

The unicorn felt the wetness of tears on her face, and, like when she’d first met Spike, she knew not why.

At least now, she could guess though.

Twilight cautiously stepped forward, meeting the princess in the middle.

“Please, speak to me, so I know this is real.” Celestia whispered.

“I-I’m Twilight Sparkle. Can… Can you help me?”

Chapter 18 - Call To Arms

Celestia gently embraced Twilight, crying softly into her shoulder. The two stayed like that for a long time. The warmth that radiated from the sun goddesses body filled Twilight with a comfort she couldn’t remember ever feeling before. It was motherly.

“Oh Twilight… Where have you been, my little pony?”

“I was… in Echidna, if you know the place.”

The princess nearly recoiled, fear etching itself across her face.

“E-echidna!? There?? Oh, how did you ever return…”

“Um… with the help of my friends. They found me in Cabaluus, and kept me safe on the journey home.”

Twilight looked back at Anon and Gile and Fizzy, each standing proud, reassuring Twilight with their smiles. They certainly looked different, compared to the first time they had met in that Cabalaan alley.

Celestia followed her gaze, her eyes studying the three creatures.

“Echidnan natives… helped you?”

“T-they did. Without them, I’d probably still be in Cabaluus, no idea where or who I was. We’ve been traveling for a long time.”

Celestia could not take her eyes off Anon.

“... I see- wait,” the princess snapped back down to the pony in her hooves “what do you mean, ‘who you were’?”

Twilight looked up at the princess with barely-restrained hope.

“That’s one of the reasons why we came here… when whatever happened to me… happened, I woke up in an alleyway only remembering my name really. Once Anon and Gile- my friends- figured out who I was, they figured you’d know what to do… Y-you are the sun goddess, right?”

“S-sun goddess? Twilight, I’m Celestia… You don’t-”

Sadness mixed with confusion, making the princess stutter.

“ -You don’t remember me?”

“... Gile told me that it seemed like some sort of memory magic… I’m not sure if that helps you any, but-”

Almost immediately Celestia brought her horn down to Twilight’s, gently touching them together, triggering some sort of magic...

And that was that.

…

At least, everyone thought it was.

“... I don’t feel any different.”

Rainbowdash, unable to stand idly by any longer, dashed to her friend’s side.

“Aw yeah! You gotta remember us now Twilight! Here, remember that time I did the Sonic Rainboom while going to save Rarity and the Wonderbolts!? Oh oh, what about that time-”

“... I don’t know what a Sonic Rainboom is…”

A hush fell over Rainbow, and the mood of the room shifted somber yet again.

Celestia could only nuzzle her faithful student.

“... It seems the magic binding your memories is… unknown to me.”

“Unknown to you!? B-but you’re Princess Celestia!” Pinkie cried out.

“S-so… what now?” Anon asked.

Celestia deeply sighed, gracefully approaching the human.

“Well… it seems your long journey has come to an end, heroes.”

Celestia bowed lowly to the creatures, much to their confusion.

“I… I cannot thank you three enough for the service you’ve done for me, for Equestria. I shall personally see to it that the hardships and sacrifices you lived through to bring Twilight back home aren’t forgotten. Please, talk with my advisor Raven Inkwell- she’s just beyond that door- and she will see to it that you are paid your just reward. I wish we could discuss further now, but now there are more pressing matters.”

Anon took a step towards Twilight. “W-we can’t just leave Twilight!”

Celestia seemed rather confused at this. “You… don’t wish for the reward?”

“It’s not that. Twilight’s our friend, and m-my…” Anon was now distinctly aware that Celestia, the supposedly extremely powerful ruler of Equestria, was also a sort of second mother to Twilight. “... marefriend, and I’m not leaving her side until we’ve returned her memories, however it’s gonna happen.”

The princess’ head darted back and forth between Anon and Twilight. Apparently, that was quite the curveball to throw. “You- you are? Twilight?”

Twilight nodded meekly, blushing.

“I-I see. My faithful student, falling in love…”

“T-that’s not a problem, is it?”

Celestia’s eyes bored deeply into Anon. The poor human felt as if she were looking into his soul, scrutinizing his very being. It didn’t help that her eyes were nearly perfectly level with his.

After a few seconds of this rigorous staring, the princess pepped up considerably, apparently happy with her… study.

Anon was left sweating.

“It is no problem! I’m sure this journey has been very strange for all of you, and while I approve, I’m afraid things will only become stranger.”

“How so?” Twilight asked.

A new look of determination fell over the Princess of The Sun. She took her side next to Twilight and addressed the room more officially now. With her levitation, she brought forth an ornate box.

“My little ponies, Element-bearers and friends of Twilight, we have been faced with a steadily growing crisis for nearly half a year now. I had intended to have what intel reports told me was a weak threat dealt with a long time ago, but apparently this creature was more powerful than it once had let on. Seven months ago, I sent you six out with the Elements of Harmony to deal with this threat, and my underestimation nearly led to us… losing Twilight Sparkle. I shall not make this mistake again. I will be accompanying you into the Badlands.”

Celestia focused her gaze onto Anon and his companions now.

“It seems to me that the friends Twilight has made since her disappearance are more than simply bounty hunters and thieves,” Celestia let that jab marinate for a second before continuing, secretly savoring the shock on the faces of Anon and Gile “indeed, they are true friends. If you three wish to come with us to the Badlands, I will not stop you.”

Fizzy faked a cough. “W-we still get the reward right?”

“If you live.”

Celestia had found herself unable to joke at all since the disappearance of her faithful student. This felt wonderful to her.

Fizzy gulped.

“Are there any objections to this mission?”

A resounding ‘no!’ echoed through the throne room.

Celestia charged her horn.

“Good. We leave at once.”

And with a brilliant flash of magic, the throne room had emptied.

…

A few moments after the magic dissipated, little Inkwell scurried into the room once again, shuffling paperwork.

“R-right! Now that the crisis has been averted, I’d like to personally thank you brave heroes on- uh…”

Raven’s eyes darted about the empty throne room.

“B-brave heroes?”

Chapter 20 - Tendrils Under The Earth

It felt like an eternity before Celestia came to a stop. Wordlessly, she levitated the regal box off of her back.

“This is it.” Gile whispered to Anon and Fizzy. Each nodded their head.

“S-so, um-”

Anon was cut off by the box opening, and several pieces of jewelry being handed out to Twilight’s pony friends. The necklaces seemed to spontaneously attach themselves to each of the ponies’ necks. Finally, there was a crown. Twilight held it in her hooves, marveling at its beauty.

“What… is this?” Her words were slow and came out strange, her mind scrambled.

Princess Celestia turned to Twilight, looking down on her with love.

“That is your Element, Twilight. The Element of Magic. Please, place it on your head, and when the time is right-”

But she hadn’t time to finish her sentence. Every creature stood still in fear as the once silent Badlands now quaked. The ground snapped open all around, and its fury sent loose rock into the skies. Twilight lost her hold on the Element of Magic.

“HOW!? HOW HAVE YOU RETURNED!?”

The voice was unlike any the creatures had heard before. Marbled and morphed by something dark and obscure. All that was recognizable in the noise was the volcanic fury. The sound singed the ears of the creatures, and many of them fell to the ground, the earth below their hooves loose. All were now distinctly aware of the toiling chasm below them, the infinite darkness that bubbled and writhed and threatened outright to swallow them whole. Pitch black tendrils loomed high overhead, pointed sharp and jagged, spearing at seemingly nothing in their rage.

“ONCE I SEND YOU AWAY, ONLY TO RETURN!?? IT TOOK ALL I COULD TO KEEP FROM KILLING YOU BEFORE, AND I WAS PUNISHED DEARLY FOR-”

The noise crackled in pain, the coalesced miasma now split violently, sending plumes of smoke into the air. They appeared as tears in reality, showing the dark void that lie beyond. The pocked ground now shattered almost entirely in its unity, the sound of the surface world being so violently flung and torn was unlike anything the creatures had ever seen. For as far as they could see, what was once barren dirtland was now almost entirely a dark mass, leaving only scant slabs of compact dirt and stone that sailed along the inky waves. It boiled with rage.

“I CANNOT STAY MY HOOF AGAIN. I’VE LOST CONTROL. I’VE LOST ME.”

It was at this point where the entity Evir showed itself to the sunlight, however weak it shined here. A whirling ball of constant movement barreled from the large opening in the mountain, smashing through the mouth of the cave. Within the toiling sphere, Anon could just barely make out the form of a pony.

“T-there! In the middle! Evir!”

Celestia shot blinding fury from her horn, burning away chunks of writhing darkness. It seemed to be substantial damage, but the sheer scope of this enemy made the sun princesses’ attacks futile.

“I AM EXPONENTIAL.”

Those fluid spears, like liquid with no master, jabbed to Celestia with blinding speed. They would’ve hit her mark, had she not took to the skies. Countless tendrils followed her flight, and like the great hydra, striking them down only summoned more.

“Twilight’s Element!” Rarity cried from a small landmass. “P-please Twilight! Wear your Element!”

In the chaos and confusion, Twilight’s crown had fallen at her side. As the ground crumbled around her, she scurried to retrieve it.

And as the crown touched her head, her eyes became alight.

…

“W-what the FUCK Anon!? Hoooo, Boreas, take me back to Echidna, cause this shit is FUCKED UP!!” Gile had swept up Fizzy in his claws, falling to Anon’s side, who cowered with him.

“I-I have NO FUCKING CLUE WHAT IS HAPPENING!! WHAT THE FUCK DO WE DO!??”

“R-RUN!??” Fizzy offered.

“RUN WHERE?? INTO THE FUCKIN’ ABYSS??"

“I-I THINK WE WE’RE JUST SUPPOSED TO WAIT UNTIL TWILIGHT AND- OH SHIT TWILIGHT!”

Anon’s blind panic for Twilight’s safety overcame his general panic for the situation, and with shaking feet, he rushed for the edge of the crumbling land he, Gile, and Fizzy had been stranded on.

“ANON ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE!? YOU GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW AND COWER WITH US!”

“AAAAAHH I CAN’T! GOTTA BE THE HEROES WE SAID WE’D BE!”

Swallowing the fear that wracked his body, the thief closed his eyes and jumped for the nearest land. Small tendrils shot from the inky black below and coiled around his ankles. Though he stuck the landing, the coils now threatened to drag him into the miasma.

“Argh! FUCK! T-Twilight! Twilight I’m coming!”

He violently kicked at the matter which now tried desperately to build stronger foundations on his legs. They grew out in thing streaks, clamping down to cement their hold.

“FUCK! YOU! FUCK! YOU!”

This mantra gave rhythm to his attacks. He focused his kicks and, after much struggling, was able to shake free. The tendrils suddenly letting go with the force of Anon pulling against his restraints propelled his face into the dirt.

“God-damnit… Agh, I’M COMIN’ TWIII!!”

It was now that Anon noticed the ethereal glow in Twilight’s eyes. Though she was still a few jumps away, there was a stable enough path to reach her.

“Y-yoohoo! Anonymous darling! We all need to get to Twilight to do our magic! P-please help!?”

Anon screamed into his hands.

“H-HOW ARE YOU SOUNDING SO CALM!?”

The white unicorn planted her hooves into the ground.

“I am ANYTHINGBUTCALMRIGHTNOWDARLING!!”

“I- J-JUST FUCKIN’ TELEPORT!?”

“I CANNOT TELEPORT DARLING!!”

Anon screamed again.

“WHY ARE YOU STILL SAYING DARLING!?”

“IT’S A COPING TACTIC DARLING NOW HELP!”

“FUCK!” Anon spun on his heels and called for Gile. “GILE! PLEASE! IF WE WANNA GET OUT OF HERE ALIVE, WE NEED TO GET TWILIGHT’S FRIENDS ALL TOGETHER!”

“ARE YOU FUCKIN’ KIDDING ME? YOU’RE KIDDING ME.”

“CELESTIA IS FLYING RIGHT NOW! YOU CAN TOO!”

“M-MY WING STILL HURTS!”

"BULLSHIT YOU PUSSY! WE DID NOT COME THIS FAR JUST TO DIE HERE! WE ARE GONNA BE RICH AND WE ARE GONNA BE HEROES! WE CHEATED DEATH ONCE! PLEASE, LET’S SAY ‘FUCK YOU’ TO THIS WORLD ONE MORE TIME!”

Gile dragged his claws down his face, mumbled something Anon couldn’t hear, then beat his chest with wild fervor.

“AAHH BOREAS-DAMNIT ANON! FINE! LET’S DO IT AGAIN!”

With that, the griffon let out a screech and took to the sky, leaving a very distraught and very pissed Fizzy Taps alone on the dirt.

“C-COME BACK HERE YOU ASSHOLE!”

“GOTTA SAVE THE WORLD FIZZY, YOU’LL THANK ME LATER!”

Some of the larger tendrils now targeted Gile, but they were no match for his frantic speed and horrified flying. It seemed many of them would go for a lunging strike, yet, for whatever reason, they’d be held back, barely contained and bubbling with rage at their immobility.

“COMIN’ IN HOT RARITY, HOLD ONTO ME BECAUSE I WILL NOT BE HOLDING ONTO YOU!”

“W-WHAT!? DON’T YOU DARE DARLI-”

The fashionista’s voice turned from yelling to shrill screaming as Gile dive bombed her, whipping back towards the landmass Twilight stood motionless upon.

“WHAT IN TARTARUS IS UP WITH TWILIGHT??”

“I ASSUME MAGIC SHIT GILE, C’MON AND FIND THE OTHERS!”

“HOW ABOUT YOU PUT IN SOME FUCKIN’ LEGWORK ‘HERO?’ THIS SHIT IS HORRIFYING!”

“YEAH, IMAGINE NOT HAVING WINGS ONTOP OF IT ALL!”

Anon spotted Rainbowdash and Fluttershy on a mass nearby, with Rainbow collapsed.

“Oh shit oh shit oh shit…” He mumbled as he hopped from rock to rock to reach them.

“A-anon!? P-p-please help! R-rainbow won’t wake up!”

Anon wasted no time in slapping the rainbow pony across the face.

“ANON! WHY IN EQUESTRIA WOULD YOU-”

“Argh… The Tartarus happened…”

Rainbow rubbed her face with a hoof before locking eyes with Anon.

“D-did you slap me you oversized monkey!?”

Anon wordlessly pointed to the chaos around them.

“W-WHAT THE HAY HAPPENED!??”

Anon stood and addressed them both.

“BAD SHIT! NOW GO FIND THE REST OF YOUR FRIENDS AND BRING THEM TO TWILIGHT SO YOU CAN, UH, DO YOUR THING! GILE AND I ARE WORKING ON IT TOO!”

Rainbowdash didn’t need to be told twice. She took off with blinding speed. Anon was ready to start land-jumping again when Fluttershy’s voice stopped him.

“U-uhm…”

“Y-You’re still here? Get moving mare! This land won’t be here for much longer!”

“I-I can’t!”

“B-but you have wings!”

Fluttershy just shook her head wildly, her sobs picking up in intensity once again.

“I-I c-can’t do it on my o-own! T-this is a-all t-too much!”

Anon muttered a curse and took a knee, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking the pegasus in the eyes.

“Listen to me Fluttershy. Yes. You. Can. I really only know your name. I don’t know who you are, and I know you’re, well, shy. But your- no, our friends are out there, and they need our help. They need your help. We need the rest of the Elements up there with Twilight, or none of us are making it out of this alive. Do it for them, and do it for you.”

After a few seconds, Fluttershy regained a semblance of composure, and though tears still streamed down her face, she nodded her head.

“I’ve seen the windowpane with the little yellow pegasus who sealed away that chaos creature. I want to see what she can do in person.”

“... O-okay Anon. I-I’ll show you just how brave that little pegasus can be.”

With that, Fluttershy took to the sky as well, searching for the two earth ponies remaining. Anon diverted his course now, heading back towards Fizzy. The tendrils that would shoot from the abyss below were little trouble for him now, and soon enough the sobbing mare was in his arms.

“Equestria’s a fuckin’ paradise huh?!”

“S-SAVE THE JOKES FOR AFTER WE’RE SAFE ALIEN!”

“ ‘Ohh Anon thank you so much for saving my life, you’re so big and strong-’ “

“S-SHUT UP! TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY!”

After a few jumps, he was back on the central land mass with Twilight.

“Gotta laugh through chaos Fizzy, I’m hangin’ on by a fucking thread over here!”

A few moments later, Gile flew in with Applejack. Rainbowdash was with Fluttershy, bringing in the last pony needed: Pinkie Pie. Celestia still cut lines through the skies, deftly dodging the dark tendrils as she rained shining fire down onto any that got too close. Anon became acutely aware of the edges of their platform being eaten away by the miasma.

“Alright, everyone here!? T-this is the time to do the thing, s-so hurry up and do it!”

The ponies were all crowded around Twilight, their gazes ranging from concerned to horrified.

“S-she’s in some sorta stupor! We gotta snap ‘er outta it!”

“You mean the glowing eye shit isn’t part of the spell!?”

“T-that part usually comes right after the spell is cast!”

Gile shook Pinkie Pie in fear. “WELL WHAT COMES BEFORE THAT? START THE THING BEFORE THOSE TENTACLES START COMING AFTER US!”

“We think about each other and our friendship!”

“... SERIOUSLY?”

Anon and Fizzy pushed Gile out of the way.

“DO IT DO IT DO IT!” They said in tandem.

Evir let out another unworldly groan, the entire world seeming to shift and spin.

“I MUST.”

The abyss, the tendrils, everything that was Evir seemed to stop it’s rabid frenzy.

“I MUST.”

The mass seemed to shift its focus onto Twilight and her friend’s final landmass, their collective sights now all locked on. Celestia’s face was flushed in panic.

“I MUST.”

It all descended onto them. Every tendril, every speck, ever single iota of Evir and his darkness flung itself towards Twilight. Thousands of tiny slivers of the smoky matter grew and climbed up the dirt and onto their bodies at an unimaginable speed as the land mass sunk into the swarming darkness.

“I MUST.”

And a rainbow exploded.

Chapter 21 - The Heroes Of Equestria

A soft wind tickled at Anon’s face.

The warmth of the sun sapped any remaining energy he may have still had in him, but that was okay.

There was a time for movement, and there was a time for rest.

This was a time for rest.

Around him lay nine similarly drained creatures. Their breaths put the human’s mind at ease.

Below him was not earth, nor was it the wild abyss.

It was stone. Stone that, he assumed, stretched far and deep across the underground of Equestria. The marble was cool against his back, it’s smoothness perfect in design. Overhead loomed the petrified remains of tendrils poised to strike, great pillars that he thought were fit for such a great beast. What once was Evir now resembled a sort of temple, a grand monument of his power, and also his defeat.

Everyone present stood quiet for a long while, watching the few scant clouds overhead lazily drift. Such moments of peace after insanity were to be cherished.

…

Funnily enough, it was Twilight, who’d break the silence.

“Do you girls remember when we defeated Nightmare Moon? We all had just met, but we all worked together regardless. We saved Luna, and we learned together just how important friendship truly was. I think that’s my favorite memory.”

Her words hung in the air for a few moments, before some happy sobs filled the air. Soon enough, there was a roar of yips and cheers. Slowly, Anon tilted his head towards Gile, who held Fizzy against his chest in a loose cuddle. Their faces all shared the same utter exhaustion, but they shared tired smiles as well.

“So… so we did it?”

It was hard to hear Gile’s words over the celebration.

“Yeah. I think we did.”

Fizzy buried her face into Gile’s feathers.

“H’ooh… That’s the end of it, I hope.”

The trio shared a chuckle before joining in with the cheers.

…

It wasn’t long after that the Royal Guard and mages from Celestia’s camp would come swarming Evir’s Folly, ready for battle. Seeing the mountain roaring and the distant land shattering overrid their orders to stay put on base. They were very much confused at the sight upon entering the battlefield for this reason. Evir had been sealed away by the power of The Elements of Harmony, and all was right in Equestria once again.

A day later, Twilight and her friends, along with Celestia, were ready to leave The Badlands. Celestia’s newly fledged base now had a new directive: Damage assessment and the systematic dismantling of Evir’s smoke. During questioning of what happened during the fight, Anon was positive that he had seen a stallion inside the center mass of Evir, that great swirling sphere from which his painful shouts emanated from. Further study would need to be conducted, but the Head-Scryer ensured to Celestia that Evir’s ‘core’ would not be tampered with until much further study was conducted. Clear Sight’s sample had abruptly turned to stone as well upon the blast, clearing up that potential health hazard and threat to the nation nicely. This evoked her into further exposition on her theories why, much to the bemusement of many creatures in the room.

…

Celebration of the crisis finally averted shook the streets of Canterlot. Twilight and her friends, both old and new, were paraded through the city. Flags were waved on every street corner, hung from windowsills, standing tall upon buildings overhead. Roses and Orchids and other such pretty flowers had been thrown about, and they littered the streets in the most romantic of ways. The pegasi had done their job splendidly, and the cool winds blowing through the great mountain city held onto individual petals steadfast, and floated them across every which way.

But it was the ponies themselves that made the party.

They gathered in droves, all out in the sunlight, and danced and sang. Sang for the victory over evil, the return of Twilight, and the heroes she befriended along the way. Though the Canterlites did not know the whole story, that was okay, for they did not need to. It’s conclusion, so yearned for and desired, for so many months, was all that was needed. The party lasted long into the night, and long into the days. The gang would not return to Ponyville for almost a week, and they braced themselves for another bout celebration on the train back home.

Anon and his friends were given their just reward, not alone for returning Twilight safely, but for their heroism in uniting Twilight’s friends during the fight at Evir’s Folly to deliver the final blow.

…

“You have a brother too!?” Anon put his head in his hands.

“Big brother. His name’s Shining Armor.” Twilight said matter-of-factly, very much enjoying Anon’s nervousness.

“God… As if meeting Celestia wasn’t enough, I’m gonna have to meet your family too…”

“He’s also been recently promoted to Captain of The Royal Guard.”

Anon screamed into his hands.

“Aw, cheer up bro. I already met Fizzy’s cousin, and she was great!”

Anon eyed the coy Gile through his fingers. If looks could kill…

“Can we, uh, not talk about that night? Or Echidna at all for that matter?”

“I agree with Fizzy.”

Gile just scoffed and tossed Spike one of his gems, which the little drake gobbled up gleefully. Twilight’s friends had since retired to their own homes, the festivities in Ponyville finally coming to a close. Though the trio now had enough money to their names combined to buy Ponyville in its entirety, Twilight had offered them rooms in The Golden Oak Library during their quasi-transitionary period from homeless thieves to rich, reformed rogues.

“It’s no fair! Why didn’t Celestia bring me along to The Badlands? I bet I could’ve knocked Evir’s socks off with my dragon breath no biggie!” Spike puffed out his chest and flexed.

“I’m sure the castle had nicer accommodations than Evir’s Folly, little guy. Gotta love when life throws you a bone- er, gem.”

Anon stared out of one of the windows in Twilight’s upstairs livingroom, the last of the fireworks from townhall illuminating the sky. It reminded him of the first time he watched Twilight with a sparkler… which in turn reminded him of a jab for Gile.

“Besides, what’s that supposed to mean anyway Gile? ‘Meeting Fizzy’s cousin?’ Doesn’t sound like the plan to me. Infact, I recall you saying something about having your cake, eating it, then marrying the baker?”

Fizzy and Twilight both cocked their heads. “... What?”

“O-oh please! Totally different situation. Besides, the ‘plan’ is done, I can do as I please now.” Gile huffed and pulled Fizzy closer to his side.

“... You married a baker?”

Gile’s feathers puffed out with embarrassment. “T-there isn’t a baker! It was a metaphor- gah! Nevermind…”

And as the back and forth fell into small talk, slowly, the friends went to their beds and slept peacefully, without higher goals in mind, for the first time in a very long time.

…

Anon found Gile on Twilight’s balcony a few hours later, nursing a bottle of some Equestrian liquor.

“Didn’t wake your marefriend, did you?”

“Course not. Yours?”

Gile scoffed. “Psh, just because we aren’t thieves anymore doesn’t mean I can’t sneak around… Drink?”

“Please.”

Gile poured his friend a glass. He had brought two out onto the perch, predicting Anon’s arrival. Ponyville was quiet now. At ease. The stars twinkled softly, dotting the dark sky and helping paint the world below in a filter of calm, low purple.

“So, what’s got you still awake?”

“Doesn’t feel real.”

Anon sipped his drink. Echidnans have stronger stomachs than Equestrians, it seemed.

“What? Us being here?” There was no judgement in Anon’s voice.

“Yeah. Living as thieves for I don’t know how long, traveling with Twilight, fighting some sorta demon thing… Doesn’t feel like I’m that griffon. Doesn’t feel like I did those things. I thought the dream would always be out of reach.”

“Same thing keepin’ me up, then. One second we’re still traveling, the next we’re rich up to our eyeballs and the journey is done.” Anon swished his liquor around in its glass. “Gonna be weird not moving around all day.”

“Tch, I bet Twilight will be moving you around plenty bro.”

“Yeesh man, thanks for the compliment.”

Gile nearly choked on his drink. “Ack- fuck, I didn’t mean it like that! Why’s it always sexual with you?”

“Haha, I’m kidding, I’m kidding. You’re right though. Definitely gonna have to get as friendly with her friends as she is, and I bet she’s gonna wanna make up for lost time, yadda yadda…”

“It’s not bad though.”

“No, no of course not. It’s just… different. Wildly so.”

Gile poured himself another drink. “Yeah, I guess that’s my point. It’s different. No one ever tells you about what happens after the end of the story, just that it ends. I don’t think I’ve quite processed the whole ‘riches’ thing yet. We got all the bits we could possibly hope for now, but… “

“Nothin’ really to spend it on. Guess we just start buying a bunch of nice clothes from Rarity. Her boutique was filled with all those dresses. Maybe she can make us nice suits?”

“Clothes have never really been my style, Anon. Guess we’ll never go hungry.”

“Yeah.”

The friends were quiet for a long while after that.

…

“But hey. If it means anything… I think it stopped being about the money a long time ago.” Anon looked through the glass door of the balcony, focusing on Twilight’s sleeping form. “... It’s about a better future. And… and we’re here now. So all that’s left is to live it.”

Anon could make out Gile’s smile through the low light of night.

“... Yeah. Guess so.”

“And besides,” Anon held up his glass. “We really showed this world what we’re made of.”

Gile clinked his glass with Anon’s.

“I’ll drink to that.”

END.

Author's Note

Hello again! Thank you so much for reaching the end. I originally got this idea, admittedly, from listening to the Anastasia musical seven months ago and fell in love with the idea, if you couldn't tell by the, admittedly, low-effort name. This was my first attempt at something longer than maybe 3,000 words, so I didn't really know what I was in for at the time. I wrote everything up on a google doc and planned to release it all at once when it was finally complete, so interested readers wouldn't need to sit fretting on when the next update would come. This was a good idea in hindsight, because life gets in the way and suddenly the weeks turned to months. I'll continue writing in this sort of format for the future for the same reason.

I intend on writing some bonus epilogue chapters in the future, but no promises on when they'll pop up, if at all.

Feedback on the colored dialogue would be appreciated. It wasn't really an issue going through the story again and color-coding everything, but if people don't like it, I'll stop doing it.

Anyway, thanks again for reading, and I sincerely hope you enjoyed!

-slep

Chapter 3 - Twiastasia

Study was conducted and search was made alongside the usual ‘work’ the friends partook in, whilst remaining in the city of Orche. It was a common courtesy for winged creatures to not fly too low over the streets in most places, so the taller Anon did most of the searching, whilst Gile visited one or two of Ochre’s libraries for info on Equestria. Both yielded exceedingly diminishing results, with the passage of time. Though Ochre was an affluent city, agriculture came first– and the libraries held little knowledge of the far off foreign land.

It had been the routine nights at the taverns dotting the streets that were bore the best fruits. Some ponies had their own tales to tell of Equestria; with much of their words matching up with the old stallion's that the pair had encountered weeks back– though it was often hard to sift through the fluff and tall tales for those kernels of truth. Many of those stories were handed down from others prior met, so the wear of time and the desire to please a listening crowd roused in many whom Anon and Gile listened to embellishment. Though the search was often tedious and unrewarding, Anon refused to relent, and Gile would not let his best friend down.

Once the well seemed dry in Ochre, the pair collected their fair share of ill-gotten gains and hit the road once more. Soon enough, the stone paths out of Ochre turned back to dirt, and the wandering bandits found refuge in a small, un-noteworthy village known as Jamber... They were subsequently run out of Jamber when Gile was caught attempting to roll a massive keg out from behind the village’s only bar– back to the small three-room Inn he and Anon were staying at... after having been kicked out of the bar for so-called “disrespectful comments” towards the “mayor’s” wife, whatever that means. Gile still doesn’t know what he did wrong.

Deeper into the mainland from there, situations similar and not so similar would continue to occur across the many towns and larger cities that dotted the nearby area of the continent. Days turned into weeks– and though the friends (or at least Anon) kept their resolve... they were running out new places to visit without going further West, further away from the Equestrian continent. On some nameless road, to some unknown city, mentioned by a friendly face at the last nowhere hovel the friends had visited– Gile spoke his thoughts.

“We’re running out of options, you know.”

Anon kept his eyes on his worn, ill-fitting shoes as he walked; the soles both weathered and cracked from all the travel. “... I can feel it, Gile. Every place we visit, we hone the search down that much more.”

“Anon, it’s not like we see every pony that lives in any one city when we bust down the doors: We drift in and out before even two days have passed, most of the time. We’re more like adventurers than bandits now, and our ‘adventure’ hasn’t even started yet 'cause we don’t have the mare.”

Anon kicked a rock along the dirt path.

“Like, the lifestyle hasn’t changed much, so it’s whatever ultimately– but… I know you’re getting antsy. Tartarus, I am too– it’s just…” Gile trailed off.

The human wrestled with his thoughts of doubt. There had to be an answer. This was their ticket out of the gutter of poverty– and off the dying continent Echidna. When would another chance like this come? He was desperate.

There had to be an answer.

“Let’s go to Cabaluus.” Anon suddenly spoke up. “There’s thousands of ponies in Cabaluus– if she’s lost somewhere on this landmass, she’s probably gonna end up in Cabaluus.” He spoke frantically now, as if all the pieces were coming together in his mind. “Plus, it’s a coastal city, like Bowline. If she’s looking for a way back to Equestria, chances are it’s gonna be through a Cabaluus trading fleet. Hell, it’s the only way.”

Gile, a little intimidated by his friend’s outburst, still let his concerns be known. “Why not through Bowline then? Cabaluus is huge, which doesn’t help the search any, mind you– but Bowline probably sees just as much trade from Equestria as Cabaluus does.”

Anon was quick with another retort, “unless she left with one of the trading fleets before the storms came, there’s no way she could’ve left on a Bowline ship. I mean, c'mon Gile– you saw that shit show: And it’s not like either Bowline or Cabaluus have an intercontinental ferry boat market. The only way she could feasibly get back to Equestria is to find work on a Cabaluus trading ship in a fleet, then just drop the crew and leave for her home once they reached Equestrian shores.”

The griffon was a little shocked. He had originally expected Anon to continue just going off on blind, hopeless faith until he came to his senses and dropped this Twilight nonsense; but now it appeared as though Anon was back at peak morale. Gile closed his eyes and exhaled, defeated in knowing that there was a lot more walking in his future still.

“You’re so lucky you’re my only friend, you know that?” He pulled a map out from his bag, one they had bought some time ago after the old one dissolved to pulp from the rain, and started charting a course for the marbled city. “Money’s good in Cabaluus too…” Gile mumbled under his breath.

“What would I do without you Gile?”

The griffon snorted. “You’d wander off to Cabaluus and get thrown into the dungeons for trying to knick the crown off of the King’s stupid head.”

“Hah, the hell would I do with a crown? No, I’d infiltrate the royal treasury and steal everything by the first night.” Anon smirked. “Kinda like we’re planning to do with Equestria.”

Gile rolled his eyes. “Mhm. Don’t get too ahead of yourself, buddy– we’re still not even out of phase 0 of this ‘master plan’ yet.”

“Oh– and you know: The royal library in Cabaluus has gotta be huge, too. If they don’t have any books on Equestria, then I’m certain the place doesn't exist at all.”

The griffon just grumbled and continued walking.

Somewhere a little over halfway to their destination, Anon and Gile sat under a crooked apple tree. It stood bent from the colossal weight it’d held up over lifetimes, its fruit still ripening every Spring.

The griffon spoke through a beakful of fruit. “S’ho… What’s our game plan if we find the Twilight mare in Cabaluus? If she can’t take a tradeship to Equestria– how’re we gonna get there?”

Anon looked down at the apple he held in his hands. “Um… maybe we’ll go North? Travel up the Western coast and see if there’s anywhere that’ll get us closer by foot or cart? Or maybe there’ll be a city or nation that’s friendly to Equestria and we’ll have easier passage than across the Typhon Sea?”

“Ugh, fuck me, man… I want something more solid than maybe!”

"It’s all either of us can manage right now! Look Gile, I get it: There isn’t a second that goes by in my head where I don’t think about just dropping this stupid idea and going back to wherever the bits are easiest to steal! That’s not what this is about, though! We could scrape by stealing until we both either get caught and die in a prison cell, or go insane and actually decide to get real jobs–”

“How DARE you say something so stupid!?” Gile spat.

“That’s what I mean! This plan saves us from either of those horrible fates! I don’t want to be hungry anymore, man... We find Twilight, bring her home, be paraded as heroes forever, and get a ton of money! That way, we can still actually get hot wives, have kids, buy fancy shit, eat good food, whatever! Like you said before: Besides all the walking– what’s really changed between now and what we used to do?”

Gile’s anger faded as quickly as it had came... and astonishment was all he had left.

“... You’re thinking about hatchlings, man? You told me humans live for like, 100 years if they’re lucky– and you’re only like… late twenties, or something. You’ve changed.”

“Ugh... I dunno, man… It’s this bounty. It keeps me up at night– thinking about it. I curse its existence and how it’s gotten me dragging us both across the continent by day– and I dream about it while I sleep… I think I’m…” Anon thought for a second. “It’s like I’m addicted to the idea of it; and now here it is, being dangled in my face– taunting me.”

Gile took pause. He hadn’t meant to upset his friend so. Honestly, all the aimless wandering had gotten to him hard, sure, but this was a side of Anon the griffon rarely saw. He did not like seeing it.

Anon broke the silence once more, the words coming to him easier now– the epiphany. “I know you want to do it too– and the reward is too good and the road too dangerous to go it alone without you. I want to be able to look at this world and say a big ‘FUCK YOU!’ because of all the shit it’s thrown at us... I want us to be able to have withstood it all and still come out on top– because we’re stronger than it.”

Now it was Gile’s turn. “... And fuck anyone who says otherwise.”

“Damn straight. I think that, above anything else, is what keeps me walking.”

Gile nodded, looking off in the direction of Cabaluus. They were still way too far off to see the city– but see it they would, soon enough. “Well... not that I would’ve stopped and left you in the dust regardless– but know I’m still walking if you are.”

The pair smiled at each other. “Walking? Fuck that. We’re gonna have to start running if we wanna find this pony first. As far as I know, Cabaluus isn't any closer to Equestria than anywhere else we’ve searched so far– and I doubt any other bounty-hunting clown started as far inland as that fucking shit-hole Tamar. We gotta make up for lost time.”

Gile snickered. “Don’t push your luck, asshole.” The two laughed and the conversation ventured back onto other topics whilst they lounged upon the apple tree’s ancient roots, filling their stomachs with its bountiful harvest.

A diseased, foul cough echoed through the foggy caverns that dug ever deeper through the rocky underground of the Bad Lands. So distanced and detached were the mouths of these caves that protruded from this husk of a mountain, that Canterlot and the Royal Diarchy’s light had only just recently became aware of their existence. How humorous, that the Sisters still did not know just how sprawling those caves really were. How pitiful, that those figureheads had only an inkling of just what exactly had created them, too. In the darkness of those caves, where even Celestia’s light could not shine, a primordial force clawed madly at the underground rock, ever widening their influence and the scope of its plan.

… But the knowledge was out there now. Only two months ago, six ponies of immense power had come to try and halt its progress. The smoke that burrowed ever further under Equestria thoroughly ended their assault– but the time that victory had won could only be utilized for so much longer until they came back.

“Very nearly, they had stopped me…” Evir groaned out, choking on his own miasma. “I must be more.”

Throughout his entire collection of cave systems, the smoke filled the empty– and sought to create more room. They clawed onward.

“Is it just me, or is this place shittier than it was last time?”

Hundreds of miles, the two friends had walked to reach the marbled city.

“Shut it and keep your eyes and ears peeled. You hear the word ‘Twilight’ and you bolt towards it.”

The ivory towers of Cabaluus nobility and the Onyx Castle of King Gavard pierced the sky, illuminated by their opulence and size, easily seen from the city-state’s outer borders.

“I’m just sayin’, Anon: This part of town is a dump.”

Main Street, this was not, however– as the thieves walked along a dingy road of cobble, weary creatures trudging alongside them to wherever weary creatures go to stave off their envy of the rich gods looming over them from deeper within the city. Cabaluus was a place of gold and luster, but the real thieves in this city preferred the crime be done in fancy suits– with lackeys to do the dirty work when sabotage alone wouldn’t cut it.

“The slums, Gile– we’re in the slums. ‘Course it’s gonna be a dump.”

Even in the worst Cabaluus had to offer, proof of the city’s wealth could be seen reflected clearly. Guards roamed the streets, and some establishments had that gold-trimmed flare that was so often considered the cornerstone of the Cabalaan culture. After all– the nobles did have to live alongside these undesirables, even if begrudgingly.

“Well let’s hurry up and get away from these suckers and into the big money. I’m starving."

The human sighed and motioned around himself. “She could be anywhere here, especially. Lost weirdos who wind up in a strange land with nothing to their name don't end up on the rich side of Cabaluus streets, I'd wager. They end up in the slums– either begging, doing menial labor, or–”

As Anon spoke, a lavender hue illuminated the buckle of Gile’s fitted backpack. The locking mechanism came loose, and the bag was flung through the air, into a nearby alleyway. In awe, the two watched as the thief’s bag was magically carried off by a pony, galloping away.

“ –Stealing.”

Gile was aghast.

“Are– are you fucking kidding me? Did I just get stolen from? Me?”

Anon’s shock gave way to anger.

“We. I was keeping my bits in there! Fucking AFTER that bastard!”

“Wha- hey! Are you kidding? You used me as a pack-mule!?”

The human broke into a heated sprint before he had to answer that question– Gile coming to his senses and following in hot pursuit down the alley.

“I– I just can’t believe it, Anon! Someone tried stealing from– from us! The stealers! They can’t do that! That’s so fucking rude!”

“Not now Gile, just keep on her trail! Fly, or something! We did NOT come all the way to the richest fucking city on this damn continent to get all our bits stolen!”

The griffon took flight. His huge wings, now unheeded by the constant prior weight, allowed him to fly much faster than what would've normally been possible. Gile made quick work in catching up to the pony– trailing just behind them, and shouting obscenities. He would’ve caught them by now, had the many alleyways of the Cabalaan slums not been so hodgepodge and labyrinthine in their design. The two chased the thief until, after a lot of sudden turns and even more swearing– Gile saw his opportunity to swoop down and tackle the pony.

“Anon! Anon over here! Hoo, shit– what a rush…” Gile managed between huffs of breath. The human took huge strides before coming in to a stop just before the two, kneeling down to get a look at the bandit.

“You got some fucking nerve, pony… picked the wrong friends to steal from.”

The mare struggled against the burly griffon’s hold in vain, thoroughly exhausted. “W-why didn’t it work? It always worked before, why didn’t it now…”

“Hah! Like my friend said: Picked the wrong friends to steal from… Now, we’ll be taking our things back– along with anything else you might’ve stolen today... to, uh– give to the Guard! You’re lucky we don’t turn you in right now! We’re just, um, that nice of creatures.”

Anon shook his head. “Yeah, you’re a real good liar Gile... Look filly– stop sputtering to yourself. We’ll be taking whatever else you have along with us... Can’t believe someone tried stealing from us– what is this world comin’ to…” He muttered that last sentence under his breath. The mare, meanwhile, broke from the circular stupor of her post-failure analysis, looking up wide-eyed at the human.

“What are… Wait! No no no! You can’t take my stuff! I-I have nothing else! Please, I’ll do anything, I’ve been living in this city my whole life! I can show you where the best spots to steal are! Or–”

“I don’t care. Gile, make sure she can't kick at me while I go through her saddlebags…”

“I’m serious! M-my name is Twilight Sparkle, w-we can be friends!”

Twilight.

Hearing the word from someone else, a pony, no less– stopped Anon dead in his tracks. He felt a new rush of sweat break out across his face. He felt cold and clammy. Gile almost let loose his grip on the mare.

Anon spoke slowly. “What... What did you say your name was.”

The mare seemed thankful to have stopped the shakedown, even if for a moment. “Twilight. Twilight Sparkle. I-I’ve never seen whatever species you are before, so you must be new to the city– I can show you where the good spots to steal are! And–”

Anon held a finger to her snout, the universal sign to shut up. “Holy fuck… Wait, you said you’ve lived in this city all your life! Damn it all! I thought we had finally done it, Gile!” He slammed his hands against the constrictive alleyway wall, yelling out to uncaring gods. Gile was… in a different mood. His eyes read a whole host of emotions: Blind sided, betrayal, and… lost in thought. Be it due to the desperate desire for the dream or something else entirely, he pieced together a plan in his head.

“Anon… This can work. This is our mare. This can–”

“Fucks sake! No it isn’t! This is just fate, spiting us yet again! This fucking close, man!” The small pony recoiled at the human’s outburst, feelings of fear welling up in her throat once more.

“P-please, Sirs! I um– I can be the mare you need if you’re needing help for a job! I’ve used a dozen fake names before all around the city– but that’s my real name! Few ponies know my real name! If it’s a robbery or a heist, I can do it! I can–”

Defeated, Anon slumped to the dirty cobblestone floor of the alleyway up against the nearby walls. “Not just any mare off the street will do… Especially not a damn thief. Ugh… Just let her go Gile. You were right. This goose chase has been a massive waste of time.” He sounded tired, devoid of emotion.

Gile, still unsure, did so.

The purple unicorn stumbled a bit, the physical exertion from the run having floored her. She laid, tense, among the two– before her curious nature got the better of her. “So… You’re looking for a mare named Twilight? You’re not... gonna do anything bad to her, are you?”

Anon shook his head. “No. We were going to save her and take her someplace she’d be safe. Not that it matters now.”

Twilight’s eyes shined. “Are... a-are you two heroes!? Adventurers!?”

Gile’s voice was bittersweet. “Heh. Yeah. We were– until we realized we wouldn’t be able to fulfill our grand rescue mission. Not even a reward for it, can you believe that?”

“Wowwww…” Twilight cooed, apparently... totally convinced. Anon and Gile shared a look, silently asking each other ‘this mare serious?’

The unicorn spoke up again. “I… I’ve been almost everywhere in this city. The good, the bad… I only really started exploring the past few months, actually. Heh, truth be told... I don’t remember much before that. I think I got bonked on the head in a robbing gone bad or something– but I’ve never met another mare named Twilight in this city… I’m sorry.”

“Twilight,” Anon nearly spat the word, “there are thousands of ponies in Cabaluus. It doesn’t matter who you’ve met, you haven’t met them all.”

Her past fears gone, the mare answered matter-of-factly “Actually– I’ve broken into the more… official offices of Cabaluus before! Teehee, you wouldn’t believe how in-depth the records the Census Bureau keeps are! It’s a great read actually, and I mayyy have re-categorized their files to be more efficiently organized– but before that I read through almost all of them. Not a single Twilight in there though– not even me, funnily enough. Not that I was complaining, since… yaknow, my uh, line of work... “ She gigglesnorted after that line about reading census data, of all things.

“... You seriously read through the files of almost every creature in Cabaluus?” Gile asked, more surprised than disbelieving.

“I, um, really like reading. If the royal library would’ve taken me on as a librarian, like I tried to apply for many times, I wouldn’t have to steal from creatures like a badpony, but noooo: ‘Non-citizens can’t hold such important jobs,’ and ‘our citizenship system only takes five years to MAYBE get through, go find work in the slums…’ "

The griffon started to piece together the puzzle in his head again. Something was off.“Wait: You said you lived here all your life, but your files weren’t in Cabaluus’ official census shit?” Twilight flinched at the curse word. “And you claim that you don’t really remember anything past a few months ago? Your story is either fake, and you’re lying– and I don’t think you have any reason to anymore, or… something else. Where is your family?” Anon, despite his hopelessness, turned to look at the unicorn– a peculiar expression on his face.

Twilight could feel tears welling up. “I… I don’t remember. Honestly, I don’t. I try not to think about it because it’s so… horrifying. I scavenge for whatever bits I can during the day, then try to find somewhere clean enough to sleep at night. I... “

Anon and Gile watched each other uneasily as the mare began breaking down, crying in front of them. The thieves were good at reading faces and the facades they sometimes try to hold– a perk gained through many shady deals and shadier gambling games. These were no crocodile tears, and the two seemed to be in mutual agreement that this mare couldn’t lie her way out of a wet paper bag if she tried. Which meant…

While she sobbed, Anon leaned over and whispered into Gile’s ear. “Dude I’m sad too but this is awkward as hell.”

“Yeah it doesn’t make any– what? Dude! Don’t you see? This pony’s name is Twilight, she’s a fuckin’ pony, she’s in Echidna, and she only remembers, like, the last two months maybe. Remember when we first heard about the bounty in Tamar? How long ago was that?” Gile spoke in a frantic whisper. It was all coming together in his head, but he needed to make Anon see it too.

“... Like, two months ago… ish.”

“Dude. This is her. We fucking found her! And she tried to steal from us! Can you believe it!?”

Anon... did not hold his friend’s same enthusiasm. “This weirdo is also a thief and potentially still a liar. This could be a trap she came up with on the fly after hearing we were heroes looking for a mare by the same name. Good going on that by the way, dick– she’s probably trying to escape her shitty life by making us think she’s the one.”

“Her whole situation reeks of memory magic.”

“Mem- what?”

“Anon, c’mon man– think about it! She’s a super important pony in Equestria: Someone set her up, knocked her out, sent her far away, and implanted the memories of a fake life in her head so she wouldn’t just come right back. It’s really high-level magic, I’ve heard, but someone looking to do something big would have capabilities like that! That’s why there’s such a huge bounty on her safe return! We’re still in the fuckin’ money, man!”

Anon was conflicted. Here he was, finally ready to throw in the towel and give it all up after life fucked him and Gile over again– and now it was Gile trying to convince him to get back on the ride. At the same time… This was the biggest lead they had found so far– and also their only lead... But still huge!

Meanwhile, Twilight dry heaved on the ground.

“Gile… Ahh– motherfucker, man!”

Twilight looked up, her weak smile betraying her bloodshot, teary eyes. “T-thanks you two… I really needed to get that out of my system. You really are brave heroes. I-I-I just… j-just…” She went back to sobbing.

Anon jumped up to a stand. “Alright! Well! Twilight Sparkle! Shut-” he gave a cough, lowering his voice to an octave more suited for consoling an emotionally unstable horse. “Erm, calm down and listen up, okay? After witnessing… all this: We have reason to suspect that you are the Twilight we’ve been looking for, and uh, we gotta tell you some stuff.”

Surely, Anon thought, looking down at the weeping million-dollar mare in front of him, in some seedy alleyway deep in the outer slums of Cabaluus, everything would be fine.

Chapter 19 - Into The Badlands

Alicorn magic was truly powerful. In a single teleportation, Princess Celestia had wrought 10 bodies, including her own, across the country without so much as a warning. The Echidnans were left with scrambled stomachs.

“Guh… P-please, let us know the next time you do… whatever that was.”

“S-seriously... What even was…”

Anon felt his voice leave him as he took in his suddenly new surroundings.

“... Where are we?”

Celestia blew some hot air from her muzzle, a well-concealed scowl on her face.

“This is southern Equestria, The Badlands, to be precise. I would’ve taken us further, but the same magic that keeps me from freeing Twilight’s mind manifests here as well: We’ll have to walk.”

…

Twilight’s friends described The Badlands as once being a rather hot desert. Apparently, a little to the north, was a boom town called Appleoosa. Their initial complaints of the sky darkening and the dirt cooling were what had roused Celestia into investigation almost a year ago. Word of some strange magic brought the Sun Herald to establish a camp of experienced unicorns to study this new phenomenon, and when they discovered it’s inherent evil…

Celestia sent the Elements of Harmony to dispose of it.

“... And with each passin’ day, the skies grew cloudier, us earth ponies could tell the ground was growin’ weak and unsure. Even now, it almost feels dead. When we found tha’ cave, Twilight, some sorta creature came all a’billowin’ out, ready for ah fight. We’d all been blasted away by wind, only you were left standin’, and then it made this horrible sound…”

“You got blasted by this huge plume of dark smoke! It rushed all around you like ‘fwoom!’ ‘fwoosh!’ and when it was done-”

“... All that remained was your Element, your crown. Ooh, if only that spell worked faster….”

Twilight’s friends all looked away, not wishing to remember losing their friend.

“We searched for days! I was ready to rush into that cave and kick some smokey flank, but the others held me back. So I took to the skies, flying constantly, looking for any sign of you. Fluttershy asked the animals if they had seen you, Rarity was snout-deep in any scrying books they had at the camp… it was a nightmare.”

Twilight took in this information thoughtfully, a weak catharsis settling through her body, yet it did little to alleviate her spirit. She stuck close to Celestia, with Anon gently scratching at her mane.

“So… Is there any other information we should know about this... smoke? Are these… Elements even strong enough to stop it?”

Celestia nodded. “I’ve lived for over two-thousand years, Twilight. I’ve never once come across something the Elements couldn’t contain. After news got out about your disappearance, my little ponies were wild with fear, thinking it to be the end of the world. This isn’t the first time panic has ravaged the country, and though I always hope it to be the last, each new catastrophe paints a clearer picture of Equestria’s weaknesses to be bolstered.”

The princess wrapped a protective wing around her side.

“They also show where our strengths lie, and they lie in you and your friends. Don’t forget that.”

…

A foreboding mountain range loomed overtop of the makeshift camp. Though it hosted many tents of deployed Royal Guards, they were largely for show, to keep the unicorns studying the magic found inside and around the cave they had dubbed Evir’s Folly. The researchers had named it such after some of the initial unicorn crew had claimed to hear the name ‘Evir’ whispered to them in dreams. Soon after that, those researchers were brought back home to Canterlot, and they had begun to be routinely swapped out every few months, for fears of insanity. When one researcher left, another was sent out to take their spot in conducting study.

The camp had been hastily erected, and was slowly building up superior infrastructure and better supply lines to bring in food and materials for the inhabitants, but this was a slow, sapping process. The head of study, as well as the Colonel Royal Guard of the camp gave sharp salutes to their princess upon her arrival into their home.

“Please, at ease High-Scryer Clear Sight, Colonel Mustang. Tell me, have there been any developments in determining the cause of this new magic in the Folly?”

Clear Sight silently beamed at the sight of Twilight Sparkle and her friends, but kept her mask of calmness heldfast.

“Cause? No my Princess. All we can say on that front is that it stems from deep within the Folly itself. We’ll need to send squads into the cavern itself to dissertain that, which cannot be done with the threat level so high near the entrance. All attempts at rolling scrying-spheres into the cave have resulted in the scrying spell almost immediately being cut off, with a heavy psychological toll on the caster. What we have found, however, are deep hollows in the ground being almost constantly dug out, albeit at a rather slow rate. The team has been led to believe that this is not an occurrence of natural magic, but instead of a living, magical being.”

“So, biological then?”

Clear Sight shook her head. “That we cannot say for certain, but our current consensus is no. Perhaps there is a biological controller, but the smoke itself, based on info given from the Element Bearers several months ago, as well as first-hoof accounts from the Colonel’s Royal Guards, is that the smoke is not living.”

“And Colonel? Any reports?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary, taking into consideration our inherent situation. More suitable defenses are being layered around the base perimeter as we speak. Current construction of a stable bulwark will be completed in three weeks, if the supply lines remain as they are.”

“I will see to it, thank you Colonel.”

The stallion saluted once again and returned to his post.

The Head-Scryer looked to the human and griffon in Celestia’s party.

“Um… Do they have clearance? I wish to show you something.”

“They, along with the mare, are the heroes who have returned Element-Bearer Twilight Sparkle back to Equestria. I would not have brought them here if they did not, Head-Scryer.”

The hooded mare lightly cleared her throat, quickly turning on her hooves to hide her embarrassment. “Right this way then.”

Anon casted the alicorn a curious glance, smirking.

“When’d you give us that?”

Celestia returned his smirk with one of her own.

“Just now, shush.”

The troupe followed Clear Sight into a rather large tent, which in turn led into one of the only solid standing structures in the whole camp. It was a very spartan enclosure. Clear Sight waited until every pony and creature had filed in, before motioning to a guard to lock the door. In the middle of the room, lay a large crystal prism.

“This is a sample of the smoke tendrils that came off of Evir. The Colonel does not have clearance to know about such things, you see. We understand that the smoke is indeed not alive, but controlled. To the extent of what we know, the prime controller is a being known as Evir. All attempts to make verbal contact with this stallion, and I use that in the loosest of terms, have failed. However, while attempting to drill a well for water, we breached one of his hollows underground. While we expected the worst: the smoke to come billowing out and constricting us all, it instead retreated from the outside world.”

Inside the prism was what looked like a volatile, dark bubble. It bounced back and forth within the crystal, rubbing and scratching against the sides.

“While research into what makes up this magic is currently impossible, due to the violent nature of the smoke, observation on its own has left much room for data collection. Hastily, for the sake of hypothesis testing, a small crystal was lowered into that dark well, and a small sample of the smoke as collected inside it. A unicorn was able to seal up the opening in the translucent gems quickly, and we’ve had this smoke since. Observation has shown us that it eats at whatever confines it’s kept in constantly, and replicates itself to fill the gap, however impossibly small. That ball of smoke in there was as large as a gumball when we first collected it. You see how large it’s become now.”

Celestia eyed the smoke. “So, you’ve built an increasingly larger prison around it each time it gets too close to breaking the shell?”

Clear Sight clopped her two front hooves together happily.

“Precisely! Thankfully, there are many gem veins around the camp, and we have an ample amount coming in from Dodge Junction and Appleoosa, but… we cannot keep it restrained forever. We’ve theorized that, judging from Evir’s presence in the caverns below our hooves, and the actions this smoke performs constantly within its prison, Evir’s primary directive seems to be growth. To what end, we do not know, nor have we appropriately determined his true size.”

“... Concerning. And Evir himself has not aggressed in any way against this camp?”

“No my Princess. My personal theory is that he feels he is not yet strong enough to mount any sort of attack, but his sights are not on this camp.”

“Then where?”

“Equestria at large, my Princess.”

Celestia’s thoughtful look quickly turned to one of anger, but she quickly buried it within her regal mask.

“Well, then it is a good thing we’ve come here now to stop him, isn’t it Head-Scryer?”

Clear Sight smiled.

“Indeed, my Princess.”

…

The march onto Evir’s Folly was rather quiet. No one in Celestia’s party wished to be the first to speak one of their many questions. Her gaze was stoic as ever, trotting gently upon the grey dirt. She seemed totally sure on her course of action, and everyone else just hoped she’d tell what that course was before they reached Evir. There was no wind in this land, just the bleak, distant sun and the oddly cool ground. Hoofsteps were the only noise to be heard. Though the two groups largely stuck with their own, often some of Twilight’s old friends would share fearful glances with her new ones. Twilight herself kept closely by the princesses’ side. The great mountain grew bigger overhead with each step closer, illuminating just how small these creatures were.

‘Clear Sight said that Evir’s magic stretched as far as the camp at least. Could it be filling the whole mountain range? All of the Badlands?’ These thoughts plagued Twilight’s mind, and she was not alone in this.

The Colonel of the basecamp had begged to send at least one legion with Celestia on the journey to face Evir, but, in her mysterious ways, she had refused him. How the little ponies among Celestia’s flock wished she hadn’t now.

Anon spotted some cracks in the dry dirt.