Not so much time has passed after Twilight showed the Great Mage his room, and the castle’s maid came to bring him some suiting clothes. The Great Mage and the maid hadn’t spoken to each other, he had no intention of doing so, so he dismissed her after an awkward pause. He had no interest in speaking with a maid anyway.

He looked through the outfits that have been brought for him. Normally, someone would dress him in a more refined garment, not too richly decorated or too flamboyant. Since obtaining the role of Great Mage, he seldom handpicked what he wore the following day. Here, the garments presented to him were strangely designed.

He held in his hands a kind of very thin sweater, but smooth and very tactile, made by hand with meticulous care. The thing was that this upper body piece was strangely elastic and had, to put it in the simplest possible way, a sort of sleeve for the neck specifically. He placed it on the bed, to examine it fully, standing slightly astride, the light from the windows shined at his back, casting his massive shadow over the room.

He found it chic, its color, dark cardinal red, suited his fur’s color as well. He made his decision; so, he discarded the option of looking through the rest, he didn't want to deal with it right now. He can always hide behind feigned ignorance and say, that he has no idea what to put on and what to wear before Princess Twilight. The maid would be forced to show him what, how, when and why, while also sorting them. She’d do her job. He’d get a grip of Equestrian fashion sense while at it.

As for the pants, he chose a black pair with a white checkered pattern, the geometrical figures overlapped each other. The pants were made of linen, not much different from what he used to wear, varying only in one detail, that the fly was fastened with a strong brass zipper instead of four buttons, while above the fly, on the waistline, as expected, there was a single styled button.

The pants were a bit too big, so he quickly found a brown belt with a nice silver square buckle. Since he had horseshoes he didn't have to pay too much attention to the footwear, all he had to do was change the horseshoes, but honestly, he wasn't going to bother with such a pointless detail anytime soon.

He approached the mirror, he gave himself a few glances, to make sure that everything matched him well. Nowhere did he see parts folding, wrinkling, or looking rumpled.

He sat on the bed and took a breath in and out, rubbing his forehead, while at it also massaging the bridge of his nose with the tips of his thumb and index finger.

He had to carefully map out every objective he must accomplish in order for his long-term plans to go smoothly. Now he had some time to think before departing his room to find Twilight and notify her he will be going out.

The general goal for today is to find out how big the really town is and maybe even choose a few locations he should head to tomorrow or someday. Secondly, he needs to adjust his behavioral esthetics, no better way to do it than through direct observation and then copying it raw.

By behavioral esthetics, he meant behavior he’ll adapt and values he’ll ‘follow’ to make a good impression on everyone he could meet. For now, heroic acts of altruism seem to be viewed highly, there was absolutely nothing surprising about it.

Twilight didn’t seem to care much to converse or act in line with how a princess or any more important noble was expected to do. She seemed so undoubtedly fresh in her role, casual and lenient in showing her royal gravitas that came with her title, as if she became a monarch a month ago.

She’s a princess, she was taught from her childhood how to behave adequately. What does this mean for him?

If a princess, who is supposed to play a role, a scene each day by following a strict etiquette, because any member of any royal family does, then he can expand this observation onto the pony society - Oh Krolm! How silly this sounds - by taking into account what he already has gathered, and that brings him to a simple conclusion;

The Equestrian society is far more unconventional than he imagined it to be when compared to Ardanian standards. Therefore, his thoughts swirled around the aspect of surprise he would encounter as he explored the local culture and customs further in time. His theory can be false, but he cannot act without care. Acting normally by Ardanian standards can bring him ruin and shame. This is why it was important for him to choose the correct approach, that’s why he pondered about the problem.

In Ardania, there was no way for him to take too much interest in the subject of civil law regulations and linked to its culture and its aspects that influenced the legislature, at the very beginning he did, but these were different times, for that he had officials and public officers. So, maybe he’ll see something worthy of defending against when he encounters it in Ardania or vice versa.

...

With a heavy heartfelt grunt, a wave of dizziness struck the Great Mage. When blinking, his eyes took a second before his vision regained its clarity. The Great Mage felt uneasy by letting his mind just wander off, repeating almost the same thing he thought of last time. This didn’t serve him anything but a waste of time. He started off improperly with an unnecessary digression and this false approach quickly turned the state of his mood worse, with tired irritation leading the way for the other emotions that came with it.

The strange situation he found himself in and the number of elements that came with it were destroying his disciplined work ethos. He had to get a grip on himself.

“What should I do first?”

Retracting to his original body was of paramount importance over others. Whatever form of magic or witchcraft even resulted in his current physical state ought to be discovered and reversed by him. That will be one of his primary objectives, and for that, he needs time and preparation. On the first line were dispel-type spells, if that won’t work, then he’ll have to abandon it in favor of other goals, as long as he won’t judge his situation good enough to perform higher-level spell casting through the performance of rituals.

He only feared the extent of the difficulty and the strength of the curse which turned him into whatever he is now. The United One had no right to hold back.

Although non-consuming pessimism is usually healthy, he can’t too often let the negative slip into his thoughts, or he’ll reach a point where he’ll start to act as if it was a certainty even when he will remind himself that it's only a possibility.

Now, the preamble to any of these steps should be cautious reconnaissance. Get to know how the magic system works, how it is developed and bifurcated, what the ponies have that could hinder him in a critical moment or impair his plans etc. Basic safety measures must be fulfilled with increments to the finest details.

Is the Ponykind above him in terms of magical knowledge, innovation and spell crafting or not? If yes, he will have to study it and learn how to defend against it. This too will take time, which he can’t throw away just like that. One thing’s certain, he won’t leave without charting the most important of magical data sets; with a talent for magic, greater painstaking in learning it was never an occurring problem. After his return, Ardania would benefit greatly from the novelties.

The second task, which he should pursue whenever he can, in parallel with the others, is learning about this world. Especially about magic, history, and society. It would be also wise to learn a few maps more or less by heart.

Thirds, as the Great Mage listened to Spike tell the story, Arcane Shine was perceived to be above the average. The events were told with wonder but weren’t seen as unreal, Spikes words and tone showed respect before the scale and countenance that came with the showed skill. The Great Mage mustn’t overstep the borders he drew for himself during the battle.

Fourths, he should aim towards securing material and political immunity, forming relations on the basis of exchangeable favors. Since Equestria is a monarchy, there had to be Magnates, (feudal)lords, local patricians - overall, ponies with titles - susceptible for his intrigues estate that could secure him with care in time of trouble. Who better to choose than noblemen?

Keeping good relations with Twilight is a must. This could be a critical trade card in a bigger game later on, and if he could even slip one or two of his own coins into the decisions she makes… No; that’s unreal, he cannot fall into bleak idealistic hopes like this.

Sacrifices, sacrifices, and once more sacrifices…For now, point number four had no authority in the que, first, he must finish his business with Twilight and her promise about his reward.

He stood up and walked to the door, he opened them and walked out, shutting them behind himself.

These five vectors will all lead to one crosspoint, which is him returning back to Ardania. They may seem distant and will toss him from one thing to the other as more and more complicated it all gets.

Twilight was currently in the library of the castle; she stood on the ladder and looked through the hippology segment, visibly curious and consumed by her work of searching for the desired research material.

“Spike, any progress?”

Spike, her faithful, hopeful, and strong, but most importantly, handsome dragon assistant, was doing exactly his job of assisting. The Dragon stood on a separate ladder just like Twilight, but higher than the Princess, and was located further to the left side in the avian section.

“No, but I doubt the answer is here anyway.”

Twilight then swiveled her head to look in his direction and guided her eyes along the other sections, trying to think where Spike could go.

She let out a heavy sigh and drummed on the surface of one of the steps of the ladder where she had her hands rested. Her wings moved, as if stimulated by some electric shock of marginal strength.

“Try to look at chimerintology.” She said with a sure tone.

Spike took the book he had in his hands and put it in its place. He was about to go down and start pushing the ladder to the desired place, but he hesitated and thought about one thing that occupied his mind from the beginning.

There are no stupid questions, right?

“Twilight,” Spike called.

“Yes?” She didn’t even turn and looked through five books that she held with her magic, said books quickly were discarded and put back in their places.

“Why don’t we just ask?”

Twilight’s eyes went wide and she dropped the books that she held firm with her magic. She sourly looked at Spike, the dragon already knew what this heralded.

“Spike! Why would you even consider it an option?!”

“I mean, it’s not…”

“It is wrong, it’s totally inappropriate and uncalled for! How would you feel?!”

He mused about it for a second, only aggravating Twilight more “Well, I wouldn’t be offended.”

“Wouldn’t, as you put it: simply asking make the pony who did so appear uncivilized?”

Spike once again took some time to think, but not much as he didn’t want to keep Twilight waiting. “I suppose…”

“And not only that, as Princess, I am obliged to represent Equestria in the best highlight under all circumstances. Going forward with it would steer clear from that responsibility.”

Spike didn’t answer back, with that he gave up and gave her the win. He went down the ladder to push it after he had gotten down. He performed the job easily and again, clumsily climbed the steps, having to go down five because he went too much up when his mind was once again occupied, this time by tiredness and thinking about the incoming new power-pony comic issue.

He rested his head on the ladder’s step and closed his eyes for a split second. He was getting sleepy, and what’s worse, it wasn’t even that late, to begin with!

He opened his eyes and started to look through the books. Most were old, some had about a hundred years. What else to expect when barely anypony wanted to go out into the wilderness and catch a wild animal to study it?

“Time to get started” he whispered to himself and reached his hand out.

Types of Chimeras in The Western Forests.

No, not that.

Chimera And Draconesquu - Difference and Familiarity.

Again, no.

Grand Dictionary of Terms, vol II

Another miss.

Common Traits Among Chimeras.

This could give them some insight. He carefully threw the book down, it landed with a thud, without turning and opening, Spike returned to his work.

“This is all too general” Spike has stated in his mind.

Spike looked around, and sighted his answer almost right away, while Twilight started to throw her books away rather than shelve them back where they belonged. That meant their time was running low.

He went up two steps and moved as close as he could to the right, he had his eyes locked on a book quite large, at least one thousand sites if not more from the looks of it. He was to far to be able to grab it, and tried to do it three times in a row thinking that a little more determination will help. Only claws were able to touch the leathery surface. His claws left sharply abraded marks. So, he placed one of his feet on the closest shelf, while his left leg remained on the ladder.

Spike tried again, moving his right leg as much as he could forward.

“C’mon…”

With his efforts coming finally to fruition, he managed to get the book sliding out. His muscles worked hard for it to happen, but he didn’t stop because of the discomfort. As the book was out enough for him to grab it whole, he did just that.

Only a moment of inattention may lead to disaster. Twilight luckily with the corner of her eye noticed Spike tipp over more than it was safe.

The dragon began to lose his balance and was about to collapse forwards. He yelped as it started to happen, trying to find an edge to hold on to. A few more books fell down as he randomly threw his legs around.

Twilight grabbed him with her magic in time for the dragon not to fall down. The view became distorted as if he was looking through under glass. Everything from his perspective turned lavender as he was caught in Twilight’s aura. Spike had three heavy drops of sweat run down his face at the moment he was caught. Now, he could breathe again, and the pent-up stress that built up a moment ago was extinguished with one shallow sigh.

“Spike! Be careful,” She called in a solicitude tone.

“Sorry, Twilight,” Spike answered back still perplexed.

She brought him closer, while still in her hold “Was it worth it?”

He handed her the book “I hope”

Chimerical Physiognomy, The Aesthetics of Syncretism.

She had a grin gradually appear on her face as she took a few glances inside. “This might be it.” she commented and seemed thrilled.

Spike was still hovering, but he started to descend down as Twilight jumped off and flew down with him stuck in her magic. There were six books, without counting the unnecessary ones, lying ready to be taken by Twilight and examined overnight. With Spikes minimal help of course.

“Great, now that we’re ready, can you please bring them to my room?’

“Can I deny doing it though?”

“Not really (: ”

“Figured as much…”

Spike and Twilight exited the library, with Spike being followed by the grim realization that he’ll have to clean up the mess they left behind the following day. Technically Twilight could do it in under five seconds, but she’s weary all the time because of the incoming Friendship festival, and that leaves all the work to him.

The two went right, with Twilight’s steps echoing loudly, thanks to the shining light coming of the lamps on the walls, their shadows stretched and morphed from distinguishable shapes of their bodies into what became a mess that one moment disappeared.

With that, the area was left alone, with silence filling the air, no life was present in the hallway’s segment. The light fell on all sides, reaching every corner and the smallest nook and crevice, normally impossible for the eye to grasp, a crack in the wall or a mouse hole.

Nothing moved, nothing changed, it was hard to tell if time passed at all. Everything stood, in a stillness so brazenly terrible for some unknown reason, that deliverance came from the right, when the sound wove life into the dead walls, which served anew, reflecting the sound and sending it onward.

A shadow covered the floor, taking away the only evidence of its cleanliness and care. Heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway, in a steady unchanging rhythm.

The Great Mage approached, quietly walking down the hallway, seeking the Princess, wanting to tell her he wishes to exit the Castle. This might appear odd to many, that for a trivial reason like his the Great Mage sought the Princess, he should have told about his desire to anyone else and exit the castle, then return at the appointed hour that the person with whom he would have spoken with would advise him to come back. Of course, the Great Mage would do that in the end if he won’t find her, but he wanted to know, if the Princess knows anything about the town she resides in, out of pure curiosity, to compare her to himself.

He knew much about the capital city of his realm quite much, and he used this fact frequently when talking to commoners. If only others the likes of him knew how much such details as knowing the city one resides in bring benefit when talking to people, what effect it has, what simple but powerful in the murky minds of regular everyday bread eaters emotions are awakened, when the information that a public figure appears somewhat close strikes them, his peers would memorize each city to the most insignificant detail.

When walking forwards, he saw the doors and the light that shined through the gaps. Curious, assuming that someone is inside, he knocked on the door and awaited someone to answer. Nobody did, thinking, he did it too faintly, he repeated the action, but with more strength.

The silence was a clear as a tear answer, that drew his curiosity and made him open the doors.

He peeked inside.

The interior was striking. A gorgeous game of fair and dark themes, mostly perceived on the different shades of blues and purple or lavender, played well with the dark browns of two ladders and the tall, well made and oriented with brass parts bookshelves, which rose all the way up to the ceiling, full of colorful books, some of which laid on the circular space in front of him.

The bookshelves were put against the walls and covered them entirely, the library itself was circular, with much space in the middle occupied only by two upholstered with ultrasuede dark green sofas with tufts, while two bright yellow pillows rested on them each placed at the corners of the seats. Near one of them was a small wooden table with a lamp which shade was hexagonal and dark green matching the sofas.

The carpet was fair lavender with an intricate design mostly referring to nature and geometrical symmetry, where different elements like vines or leaves or curvy lines drew shapes that could only be seen from afar as they were one big composite of many components.

A rich bronze chandelier hung in the middle, with numerous crystals protecting the light source that came from within it. The shape was akin to an onion dome, although in this case, it was more longitudinal. This made it appear like an upside-down droplet.

The library was attractive for the Great Mage, who didn’t see much value in unnecessary splendor seen in temples of Helia or sometimes those which belonged to Fervus. Simple, neat, functional, and appealing to the eyes, making it a sweet place to be in.

“Mine is far greater”

And that wasn’t technically a lie. If the castle’s library was made out of five of such segments, then it would match the Great Mage’s own private library. However what’s important to note is, that what he referred to could mean a few things; A private collection he kept in a tiny room connected solely to his private chamber. This could be further expanded by adding the scrolls, and books that helped him in his education and made him a proper statesman. Said materials could be found on display in his study where he addressed public matters with his advisors and state officials.

Finally, there was the vast aggregate of books, dozens of thick tomes, some older others freshly printed, crystals that held copies of his memories, made by his own self notes and observations on his own private experiments with recorded messages also stored in special crystals, svartian inventions made to guard knowledge or devices where the border between magic and machinery was blurry enough to not know how to call the object full of mysteries.

His grimoires were stored in a separate chamber, but those were used only when he performed spells or when studying the arcane.

The Great Mage only looked at the nameplates that indicated what sort of field or subjects do the books in each segment refer to. He wished he could stay some more and maybe pick himself a few books about equestrian history, but since it was Twilight’s library he didn’t want to do it without first getting a permit. The ones on the ground sparked his attention and he approached them. He saw that a few were missing from the chimeritology and avian segments, he wasn’t interested in these topics at all, but Twilight was, he wondered why.

He lifted one of the books from the ground with his magic and it landed in his hands. The title read: Our Cousins - The Kirins.

The Great Mage opened the book at a random site, being lucky enough and ending up with a picture of…

First a smile then a warm chuckle escaped him and plagued him for the following minute while he held the book in his hand.

Without a second thought, his horn lit brightly with white, the book was engulfed in white, similar to that of fire which burned atop a liquid substance, with frequent but low waves moving frantically.

The Great Mage moved his hands apart, and bright sparks, shining like stars, descended down on the floor and there they vanished, while the indistinguishable at first form, when separated entirely formed two rectangles that quickly took one rectangular form on both sides.

The glow vanished at once. Leaving the mage with two, exactly the same kind of books, one of them being a copy.

He placed the book which was the original behind. He began casting another spell, this time his horn started to shine with a green light while cubic-like particles, holograms some would say, swirled around his horn and around the copy of the book. As the mage released the spell, the book shrunk in size while the lights still whirled, and in unison to the book shrinking came closer together.

He was left with a tiny version of the book in his palm that he hid in the right pocket of his pants.

The Great Mage was unable to find Twilight, so, he went out of the castle and notified the guards that stood at the entrance that he was departing. The guards looked at each other and didn’t know how to respond to this information, but they were forced to break their silence when he asked them when he should return.

“Well, probably somewhere at nine”

This answer satisfied him, although the guards themselves looked unsure which only made him raise his eyebrow. As a guest, didn’t he have a limit or something? No, that’d be the stupidest possible thing to allow.

It wasn’t his problem in the long run, and since he got around three more hours to spend, he was sure that whatever major there is to find in town he will discover in the following three hours.

Like at the very beginning, the inhabitants gave him some stares but soon returned to whatever they were doing. He went along the main street, following common sense as the main road always lead towards the center and from there he could quickly find the market and other important landmarks.

While he strolled down the city, he didn’t pay attention to anything that he looked at while he first entered the town. It was pointless to once again go over how the homes were made of wood and some were fine while others looked damaged because of their age or other reason. He kept his mind clear of those thoughts while his eyes focused on spotting anything he didn’t yet see. Unfortunately, it turned out that there was nothing interesting worth inspecting.

It took him about fifteen minutes of walking to get to what he guessed was the economic district of the town. The road was twisty and at times as the Great Mage mapped the way he went, it aspired to the status of tangly. That was a nasty slipshod on the side of the founders and the town’s local authorities.

He stepped into the market square and looked around. The scent of food and spices invaded his nostrils as some restaurants on the left worked hard to supply their customers with fresh and warm dishes to keep them satisfied.

He joined the shoal of ponies, most minded their business, but there were those that glanced his way and then went back to looking at the floor or ahead.

Shops, stalls, and merchants of any kind alongside artisans worked and traded, the marketplace had no distinguishable place for a spur of product or anything the likes of that.

Farmers had their own handcrafted tents with sacks or wooden rectangular containers standing on small foldable tables full of fruits and vegetables, with their own order of grouping; some did it by colors, others by kind. In most cases, behind or by the side right next to them, stood a cart with which they brought their products into town.

No creatures, be it bulls, giant salamanders or even cows were present, making it only logical to think that the ponies who wanted to sell things came here by themselves.

“Impressive” He commented genuinely impressed in a soft and quiet voice, letting his thoughts roam free.

Hawkers stood or walked around with handcrafted items selling them for just one bit as the signs read oddly and funnily placed on their outfits. The Great Mage almost fell prey to one of them, albeit he turned his head away and walked towards one of the retail shops acting interested.

He went along the side to explore it wholly by doing a circle around the forum. Wandering around the city block, he wished he was able to buy himself one of the many sweet delicacies many of the shophouses offered. It’s no sin to eat something sugary once in a while.

Workshops, that were run by families, were larger and from the open inside, sounds of tools or voices were heard, producing different products while someone stood and made sure to welcome the customer.

His eye caught something blink behind a bag filled with white beans that were spilling onto the ground. He looked at the object, noticing it looked gold and round, the corners of his mouth flexed upwards into a grin. The metal disc at once flew into his palm, without his horn giving any sign that he used magic. Such a pathetic display required almost no effort to be put into motion and as such the act itself was nigh undetectable; only possible for mages equal or greater in skill and strength to him to sense.

He swiveled the coin a few times in-between his finger before examining it. On the obverse, which was evident from the get-go, was the right-side portrait of a princess, in this case, it was Celestia. He knew that because there was the text was written along the edge together with the date the coin was made, which was a few years ago.

On the other side, the coin was divided into three equal parts by a double line, each segment had its own unique engraved picture. On the left was a picture of the sun with wavy sun rays. On the right, there was a front view of a city with grand towers and beautiful townhouses. On the bottom, there were two pegasuses with horns chasing each other, and in between was the sun and moon, the free space was decorated with stars so tiny that it looked like they were simple dots.

As he made his way onwards, he wondered if the ponies would notice him casting an advanced spell. He wished to duplicate the coin just like he did with the book. He could do it without carrying out any movement, but this raises the difficulty of executing the spell. The motion of any kind makes any spell easier to perform, in turn, it’s less tiring and at times mana-consuming and is far quicker. Golden items were extremely difficult to multiply, theoretically, it was possible, but practically under the conditions, he was in, not.

If only he wasn’t gaining attention because of his outward appearance he could do that in a crowd, he wished he got turned into a pony rather than a Kirin, whatever the hell tha-

His stream of thoughts was cut short by the already familiar and abhorred feeling of shrewd straightforward pain coming from his tail when he stepped on it. He grunted loudly making a few ponies pass by look in his direction thinking it was somehow related to them or were simply attracted to the sound.

The Great Mage on instinct retreated the limb and turned to look behind. There he met a Stallion, with a medium-long dark chocolate mane combed backward, its subtle shine spoke of work put into achieving this outlook. His eyes were blue and welcoming, but the expression and look the Stallion gave was full of fear and worry, albeit the eyes didn’t lose their friendliness.

The Stallion wore a formal black outfit, it looked like a thin coat reaching to the waistline that was double buttoned. Under it, he had a simple white shirt. The bags under the eyes were a testimonial to the hard work the Stallion went through on a daily basis. The Great Mage saw this and his irritation turned quieter but was still present, understanding that this was an honest accident.

“I’m powerful sorry!” The Stallion sounded angst.

He approached him, the ponies around minded their business but dared to glance every now and then.

“Did I perhaps…” His voice trailed off as it lost its sound and volume.

“No” He answered, knowing well the Stallion was asking if he suffered serious injuries.

The tension left with a huff on the Stallions side “That’s great, I was worried for a second!”

“Still” The Great Mage started “Watch out next time.”

“Yes-Yes! Definitely, you’re right…” He looked at him and paused, he squinted his eyes “Say, sir?”

“ Arcane Shine”

“Glad to meet you! I’m Filthy Rich” They both shook hands, the Great Mage tried not to use much force, but resentment towards the Stallion unenabled him to do so fully.

As they shook hands the Great Mage met with a conundrum. Did the guy in front of him just brag about how wealthy he is, or was this his actual name?

“ Sir Shine” Filthy Rich didn’t expand his previous sentence; so it was his name. “Aren’t you the one who helped the three fillies?”

“What?!” Arcane Shine thought loudly, taken back by that question. How did the news get around this quickly?

“Yes.” He prolonged the word, trying to maintain a stoic expression “How do you know?” He sounded almost upset, when in fact it was artless suspicion he had in mind.

“ Well, I heard Sweetie Belle tell the story to Rarity, her sister, while I was in her boutique to get this suit” He pecked the right side of his clothing, which made Arcane Shine discover its name. Although not familiar with that type of clothing, the Great Mage wasn’t stupid and knew it wasn’t something one would wear casually, probably.

“I guess you have something important to attend to since you have it on” Arcane Shine responded sly, wanting to end the conversation or at least, direct it towards a quick end.

“Actually yes, but it’s a good thing I met you!”

“And why is that?” Arcane Shine crossed his arms as curiosity seized him.

“What you have done did captivate me…” He said and placed his hand on Arcane Shine’s back, giving it a gentle push.

They walked slowly and conversed, while the town’s life became less important, and no rustle, yell, or advertiser could interfere at this moment. Their presence occupied some space and ponies were forced to go left or right not to bum into them.

“...And I am a pony with connections who sits in the trading world for a long time now.” Filthy Rich explained while looking forward, while his hand remained on Arcane Shine’s back.

“He’s going to offer me some job”

“I want to make an offer” Filthy Rich stated and turned to the Great Mage.

“Called it” Arcane Shine awaited what the Stallion had to say.

“It’s nothing serious, a two-way trip on a train to Canterlot and back.”

“What’s a train?”

“What’s the purpose behind the travel?”

“I don’t have time to explain the details, and its not something to be discussed openly in public”

“And yet here you are making the offer for everyone to hear.”

The Great Mage nodded lightly and after a moment questioned “I understand” after a dramatic pause he added, “ What place would be good for that?”

Filth’s face beamed with joy, he spread his arms apart, as if he welcomed an old friend. “Glad to hear you’re interested. “ He took out of his pocket a rectangular and flat card.

Said card had his name, address, and a few more contact details on it, on the back, there were three bags with a $ symbol the Great Mage didn’t know the meaning of. He figured that it had to do with money.

“I have to go, business doesn’t run itself” They shook hands once again “See you soon”

“You can be sure I’ll come”

So, Filthy Rich went the way he was walking originally, leaving the Geat Mage alone who was glancing at the showcase reading the address and name of the Stallion he just talked with, thinking.

It’s amazing what can happen after making three steps with a stranger.

Author's Note

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!!!

After a long wait, another chapter comes out. I have my finals this year in four months and I won't upload probably until I am done with them, then again, four months is enough time to write at least one chapter...

I'll see what I can do.

If you like the story and see an error, please point it out. You help yourself by making me better as the product's quality improves (hopefully).

Please have in mind the official book written by John Helfers was read by me, I'll use it as a reference. Green text means that the following part is true about Ardania and can be found in the book.