Landing outside the rising kingdom, both Cadence and Mark were received by a curious surprise.

Just as Twilight letter said, New Harmonius seemed to be almost complete, when they were greeted not only with a landing platform for carriages but also a train station, various homes, roads, and even a fountain in the middle of the blooming city, as well as constructions and more roads in progress in what otherwise would be a wasteland in the middle of nowhere, with a line of construction workers of all different races, doing their jobs with efficiency and a synergy neither of them has ever seen before.

"It's even more fascinating than what Twily's described in her letter" Cadence comments as they both grab their luggage and along with the two pegasuses that carried them all the way here, they make their way to now relocated Castle of Harmony, the same that was moved all the way from Ponyville "New Harmonious hasn't even properly open to the public and has only been a month since the construction started, if they manage to build this much in so little time, I wonder what they could achieve with smaller projects" She pounders before they both stop at a couple of mosaic walls describing the story of the city and the origins of the council of Friendship

"The power of friendship in action Cadence, many of these workers were gifts from kingdoms all over the world with Twilight personally having greet and get to know them, and introduce one another. It reminds me of my relationship with Drusilla, when you have a solid friendship base in and out of the workplace, any job can be done in record time. But I must admit, I have never seen that happening to that scale. Twilight really knows what she is doing" Mark chuckled before looking at the guards.

"Don't worry guys, once we reach the castle you can be dismissed for the rest of the day if you want to rest or explore the city"

The guards stop and look at him with neutrality before they glance over to Cadence with a raised eyebrow, getting the idea the princess spoke too. "The mayor speaks for me, you indeed can be dismissed once we arrive there"

"Thanks your Highness" They spoke and gave them a small reverence while Cadence turned to Mark. "A nice gesture Mark but don't forget the chain of command, ok?" She reminds him pointing at her crown.

"Sorry, it the habit, I usually am the top on that chain"

"That is ok, happens all the time" Cadence dismissed him with a wave of her hand before giggling, "Boy is Twilight for a surprise when we arrive"

"Yeah, I really hate doing this but, the sort of problem she is having requires a unique and fast approach. Trust me, the badlands have their own, very important set of rules, and I'm still kicking myself for forgetting to teach her them before she departed" Mark chastised himself in shame as the castle was fast approaching.

Once at the door they knocked and were received by Spike, who Mark now realized how much he had changed since they last spoke, the previously short dragon was now almost as tall as him with a buffy body, a medal around his neck, a shoulder pat on his right shoulder and a cape.

"Princess Cadance?" Spike asks looking at the princess in question who didn't waste time in hugging the startled dragon as he instinctively raised his now larger wings.

"Hello Spikey Wikie, is always so good to see you, and look how much you have grown" Cadence greeted him with excitement as she broke the hug and looked him up and down "Boy do we have so much to catch on once we deal with the issue at hand"

"Ah, thanks? What issue? What is happening?" Spike asks in quick succession noticing Mark and getting surprised again "Mark? Shouldn't you be making sure everything works on Canterlot?"

"This is a special case, and so sorry to drop like this Spike, think of it as a very secret mission where we could not allow leaks of information"

He slowly nods, being a bit familiar with the concept "So is it like a friendship mission?"

"In a sense yeah, for now. Can we talk with Twilight? Tell her is a bit urgent and tell her that we know she sent Pinkie and Fluttershy"

That startles both Spike and Cadence who look at the mayor in surprise with Spike speaking first.

"How did you know..."

"It is a complicated, long story, and something I swear to keep a secret, that is why it was urgent I came here to explain things. I'm familiar with the land and the locals and trust me, Twilight and the rest need to know this. She is most likely be receiving the letter by now"

"What letter?" Cadence asks and just in quo, they all hear a scream of Twilight coming from her room.

"That letter, like I say I know the locals. I swear I would explain everything more calmly and I apologize for rushing things here, but I can't discuss this in public."

Now more than a little scared Spike nods and invites both of them inside before closing the doors.

After one brief greeting and summoning the rest of the elements to the harmony room, Twilight doesn't waste time in reading the alarming letter she found in her room this morning cover in green slime.

Dear Invaders

Consider yourself warned, we are not an enemy that you wish to poke fun at or anger, our eyes and ears are everywhere. Your scouts are safe at the moment and will return in one piece as long as you leave our home, if you wish to dialogue we will only speak with Mark and his mates. Be conscious of the situation and be wise to know this, any trickery, trap or further mockery of us will result in severe consequences.

The crawling ones

Twilight finishes reading the message out loud and lays on the table a lock of hair from Pinkie and Fluttershy as well as a picture of the two naked, tied behind their backs and with dog collars on their necks, as they were sitting in a cage.

Mark quickly scans the letter before nodding "Yeah that's their modus operantly alright" He sighs in irritation and rubs his eyes with his fingers "God damn it, why did things end up like this?"

"Ok enough with the secrets" Dash demands slamming her fist on the table completely furious "What the buck is wrong with you Mark? Ever since you arrived unannounced you have been saying and acting as if you knew all of this was gonna happen from the start! What are you not telling us?" Dash demands in exasperation.

"Normally this would be the part where I rile Rainbow back and let you collect your thoughts and explain things but I'm pretty mad myself too partner" AJ looked at the major in disappointment and crossed her arms "And I better hear both the true and a better good explanation as to why our friend casually marched in here, and reveal information moments before Twilight even had the moment to process what is going on"

"Mark we are not accusing you of anything, we are just worried but if you really want to help us, we need to know that we can trust you darling" Rarity was the voice of reason as she looked at him with concern.

For his part Cadence and Twilight remained quiet waiting for Mark to respond, something that happened in the form of a sigh "Before I say anything is there anything else you two wish to tell me?" He offers both princesses.

Twilight shakes her head "I can't think of anything else that my friends already say, please Mark. I don't want to view you as an enemy but this kind of letter and worse that you knew it was about to arrive, is alarming. I need to hear it from you. I need to know we can still trust you and that you didn't have anything to do with this" Twilight virtually pleaded on the verge of tears, which was in turn breaking Mark's heart.

At the moment he didn't want to do anything more than to jump from his seat, rush toward her, and console her as he lay everything he knew into the open. To tell her that she could truly trust her and kiss her forehead trying to calm her down. Yet the eyes of the remaining elements, Spike and Cadence place him in the spotlight which means he needs to choose his words carefully.

"I don't expect you to believe me right away, but I need you to trust me when I say, that I would never betray the trust of my friends, and unfortunately it is because of said principles, that I can't say much" he raises the letter. "The ones that have Pinkie and Fluttershy are also my friends, they are good but quick to angry people. I earn their trust and they ask me to keep their secrets, that is why I have been so evasive, I want to help solve this mess and they are willing to listen, but first I need you to promise me two things"

He marks his point by raising two fingers "The first one I imagine you can guess. That's what I tell you don't leave this room. Until a deal is settled the secret I will share must stay here. I ask not only as your friend but also as a Mayor thinking about avoiding mass hysteria and panic in the kingdom, I need you to. No, I beg you please give me your word nobody outside this room will know what I need to tell you"

Everyone is unsure except Applejack who stands up and nods "You can trust in me sugar cube, I'm not too keen on lies but I respect secrets and privacy, if those friends of yours really trust you to keep things quiet then the least I can do is return the favor"

"Same here, hey what good is having a code of a dragon if you are not gonna respect other codes?" Spike punches his chest to mark his point "You can trust me too Mark"

"I know the importance of state secrets and so does Twilight so you shouldn't even need to ask us" Cadence nods and Twilight agrees soon after leaving Rainbow Dash and Rarity remaining as everyone awaits their response.

"What? I don't like gossip and come on, it's me you are talking about, Rainbow Dash! Of course, I know how to keep my mouth shut!" Dash quickly defends herself leaving only Rarity remaining.

"Do you really need to ask darlings?" She asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Normally I don't but this is extremely important I have a plan and I mean not a single bit must get out of here" Mark reasoned with some worry making Rarity sigh.

"You can count on us darling we, will not say a word" She reassured him making the mayor sigh in relief as Twilight placed the curtains and placed a series of soundproof spells to prevent anyone from hearing them

"There no you can speak us freely Mark, nobody will know anything that happens here," Twilight tells him with a smile, and the mayor nods in thankfulness.

"You mentioned there were two things you need to know before, what was the second thing?" Spike remembers and asks the mayor as he raises the ransom letter.

"Mostly want to check something, can somebody cast an infrared light in this letter?"

Everyone blinked and looked at one another before Dash spoke what was in everyone's mind. "Why?"

"My friends tend to love sending a message over messages, just want to check if they have something else to say" He explained, and satisfy the princess of friendship who was still a bit unsure but complied regardless, casting a purple light on the piece of paper and sure enough there was one secret message on it that startles everyone, this one seems to be directed at the mayor as it contain just one single sentence.

You can tell them, Mark

"Great, the queen just got me permission" Once again the mayor sighed in relief putting the letter down and now more relaxed took a seat once more.

"Better pay close attention everyone because I'm about to tell you about a secret kingdom as old if not older than Equestria and as hidden as Aquastria" That gains everyone's attention as they put their complete focus on the mayor.

"What has been happening and the reason that zone is called the death field is that in that desert is the entrance of an underground kingdom known as Subquestria"

Everyone present gasps at the revelation with wide eyes and different reactions ranging from curiosity, fear, and in the case of Twilight half excitement of learning a completely new subject.

"Wait, wait wait!" Dash interrupts shaking her head and moving her hands "You are telling us that our friends got kidnapped by some kind of secret mole ponies race living in the desert?" She asks in disbelief

"Mole ponies? No. A never-before-seen secret race? Yes, the serpent kind to be precise...well more like the reptile kind, but I'm getting ahead of myself" The mayor clarified before continuing with his story "Subquestria is mostly a fairly peaceful society but one that likes their privacy and would go to great lengths to keep it that way, I wasn't even intending to meet them when I first arrive. I kind of stumble into them and they let me become part of their group after I save one of them"

Mark starts to reminisce as he looks to one of the cover windows in sorrow, which drops the mood and everyone understands the story was a somber one immediately.

"What happened partner?" AJ asks him in pity as Mark has to close his eyes and sigh before turning his head forward and lowering his head, opening his eyes closely as he stares at his hands.

"It happened a long time ago, while I was exploring the area before I embarked on my little pirate adventure. This greedy mole bastard and his cronies jumped me in the middle of the night while I was camping. It happened all too fast, one moment I was sleeping peacefully, the next there were screams and orders everywhere until I finally found myself in chains and ropes in my arms and legs"

He clenches his fist in fury. "Apparently he wanted me as an oddity in his freak show circus, and was planning on keeping me as some sort of animal"

Cadence gasped and put her hand on the mayor's fist in pity "You were captured and treated as some kind of monster?"

"That bastard!" Dash yells in disgust "Where the hell is that mole man I will make him eat his teeth!" She asks/promises with her wings flared.

Looking up the mayor could see the rest of her friends remaining quiet but they could perceive their anger boiling over, even Twilight was simply closing her eyes and had an expressionless face at the moment.

"Don't bother, he is gone" Mark was quick to reply "As in well...gone" He marked his point by passing a finger from one side of his neck to the other, which surprised and calmed everyone. "And it is not important for the story, what is important is what happened during and when I escaped captivity" The mayor resumed.

"There I met Cobraline, a fairly nice lamia girl that was captured for the same reason. We were sort of cellmates with her fish tank next to mine. Between the two we came up with a plan and managed to escape, with other victims of that mole man. Along the way I suffer injuries, the type that would spell my death in a couple of hours if not treated quickly. Needless to say, Cobraline had to make a choice, so she decided to take me to her home, they mended my wounds, and in time I was accepted in their society and ever since then, I have become an honorable member, keeping their traditions, including keeping their secret"

Mark finishes his story with a content smile as everyone looks at them. "And now that same society is kind of mad at you Twilight. The construction has put their kingdom at risk and they were merely defending themselves"

"We didn't know there was a whole ass kingdom underneath our hooves" Dash was quick to defend themselves.

"I know, I know that is what I discuss with Queen Vipral, the active ruler of Subquestria. And I managed to calm her down, especially since you sent an animal caretaker and a party planner to deal with the situation which didn't exactly help your case"

"I still don't see why they are so mad about that, we sent them because the two are good negotiators," Spike says in disbelief as Mark gives him a deadpan.

"Did you Spike? Or did you send those two in particular because you thought there was some wild animal that needed to be reasoned with so as to not damage its territory?"

Everyone remains quiet and Twilight chuckles nervously at how the Mayor hit the nail on the head. "Yeah exactly, that is the equivalent of somebody trying to capture you with a net at you with the intention of putting you in a cage pretending you are some kind of bird or lizard. That is why they got angry" His explanation just makes them feel worse as the mayor sighs for a third time.

"Anyway as I was saying, I managed to calm her down, and as the letter states, I broke a deal where they would be willing to talk with Twilight and anyone else I bring along, as long as I'm the one the bring them and they are all exclusively, my mates"

"Sounds good to me, we are all friends here so you just need to tell them that to the guards and we can get inside right?" Dash says with a smile, and it is now the time for the mayor to get tense and some heat to appear on his cheek

"Not that kind of mates Dash" Mark correct with some embarrassment

"Huh? Then what...? wait, you mean as in...WHAT?!" Dash finally gets it and she immediately blushes as her wings crisp, the other mares are surprised and looking at one another wondering how to take that idea.

"And here is where my plan comes into play. Don't worry, it would only be for a while, at least until Twilight and Vipral can break a deal" The mayor tries to erase the awkwardness of the situation using logic "Here is my idea"

Author's Note

Next Time: Welcome To Subquestria