Hands and Arms

Chapters

Chapter 1 - Rarity's Fault
Chapter 2 - Departure
Chapter 3 - Littlecove
Chapter 4 - Onward to Bigwell!
Chapter 5 - A Lucid Dream
Chapter 6 - Capture and Evasion
Chapter 7 - The City in the Night
Chapter 8 - The King of Sapios

Chapter 1 - Rarity's Fault

Chapter 1

“Twilight, How hard is it to turn a simple apple into a grape?” asked Spike as he stared at the eponymous fruit sitting on a small table nearby.

The day had been filled with small experiments Twilight had devised after reading about an old spell that few ponies could cast properly. It didn’t help that Twilight’s copy of the monthly New Magic magazine came that day.

“It’s very hard, Spike. You’re changing it to something else entirely.”

Spike simply nodded and watched Twilight as she concentrated her magic on the apple. Slowly, a magenta glow enveloped her horn before shooting straight at the apple. At first, it didn’t react, but after a few seconds the apple began to glow in a dull magenta.

“I think it’s gonna work!” exclaimed Twilight as the magic enveloping the apple slowly turned its skin darker. Suddenly, the apple grew a bit in size before exploding in a blast of apple flesh and skin.

Spike smiled. Using his elongated tongue, Spike lapped up the bits of apple covering his face. “Not really what I had in mind but it sure is a quick way to make apple sauce!”

Twilight frowned as she levitated a towel to her face and cleaned herself off. “Stupid spell! Why is this spell so hard?”

With a shrug Spike quickly picked up the New Magic monthly sitting nearby and began looking over the article where the spell was mentioned. “What are these?”

“Those are runes, Spike. You know, to cast spells?” said Twilight.

“Ok... They look weird.”

“That’s because some of them are really old. It’s really hard to use them properly.”

Spike quickly flipped the page over before noticing an article. A picture of a filly using some magic to teleport was shown at the bottom under the article itself. “What’s this?” asked Spike.

“Let me see.” The mare quickly yanked the magazine out of Spike’s claws with her magic before reading the article herself. “Some unicorns can exhibit proficiency in a spell they have never been taught. This is rare and some theorize that their magic is naturally attuned to the spell in a way that it can perfectly cast it without being properly immersed in the spell.”

“Uh, in Equestrian please,” said Spike.

“Well, the article basically states a pony could be able to cast powerful spells without prior knowledge in the field of advanced magic.”

“Maybe Rarity or Sweetie Belle could help!” Spike replied.

“Sweetie Belle doesn’t know any magic and nothing against her but I don’t think Rarity could pull off a spell this advanced. She’s never practiced magic like I have.”

“Twilight. There is no pony in all of Equestria who has practiced magic like you have.”

“Whatever. Can you go into town and get a few extra apples?” asked Twilight.

Spike nodded and was quickly given a few bits before leaving. After Spike left, Twilight began looking through some spellbooks while she kept the magazine nearby. Why isn’t this working? My talent IS magic for Celestia’s sake! It should be easy! Twilight thought to herself.

Twilight quickly retrieved an orange from her fridge and began her experiment once again. The mare closed her eyes and concentrated as she picture the runes and the spell itself in her mind. Soon, her horn was alit with the same magenta glow as she collected more energy.

“Twilight, there you are! I was just...”

In the sudden surprise Twilight released the pent up energy in her horn as it shot straight into the orange. The results were again explosive with a blob of orange chunks floating in front of the guest’s face in a dull blue aura.

“Darling, next time please warn me about any of your experiments going...critical.”

Twilight smiled as she quickly cleaned away the orange flesh off her face. “Sorry about that Rarity. Just trying this new spell.”

“What spell are you talking about, darling?”

“Well, New Magic published an old spell called Matter Morphesis. The spell allows anypony to turn any kind of object into another,” said Twilight as she levitated the magazine to Rarity.

“Really? How hard is the spell?”

“Well... It uses old runes, some of which have unknown origins. I’ve been having issues trying to turn an apple into and orange.”

“But that was an orange, darling.”

“I ran out of apples so I sent Spike out to get some more.”

Rarity simply nodded and she took the magazine into her magical grasp. She quickly skimmed a few pages before arriving at the article with the teleporting filly. With a quick and detailed eye, Rarity skimmed the article. “Twilight. Could you quickly explain to me how magic attunes to spells?”

“Well Rarity. Unicorn magic is harmonious to different degrees. It’s an orderly form of energy that all ponies have. Sometimes ponies are born with a very open form of harmony in their magic like me, hence my outburst of magic that hatched Spike. Other times its more closed and specific to spells. I think yours is like that.”

“Uh huh... So you’re saying that I could, in theory, be able to perform advanced spells?”

Twilight smiled and nodded. “Yes! That actually makes me think. Could you try the Matter Morphesis spell?” asked Twilight.

Rarity nodded, “Sure but we wear raincoats. I am NOT getting fruit stuff in my mane!”

“Oh don’t worry. That was the last orange. Let’s try... Water! I’ll be right back with a beaker of water!”

Rarity waited there as Twilight went downstairs before returning with two raincoats and a few corked beakers of water. It didn’t take long for Rarity and Twilight to put on the raincoats. Twilight placed the beakers on the table.

“Ok. Now then. Just think of the runes and try to turn the water into... whatever liquid you can think of.”

Rarity nodded and closed her eyes to concentrate. Slowly the white mare’s horn began to glow with her signature blue as energy began to swell at the tip. After a few moments it was a large ball of blue light. With a large grin on her face Twilight watched as Rarity released the energy in horn and threw it at the flask. In seconds the the flask’s contents turned from transparent to opaque as it turned into cider.

“Rarity.. I can’t believe it! You did it!” exclaimed Twilight in excitement.

With a smile Rarity quickly took of the now useless raincoat with her magic. “Wow... That’s surprising. Now maybe I don’t have to worry about having the wrong fabric.”

“Try again! Let’s see if you can do it over.”

“But Twilight. Isn’t one time good enough?”

“Repetition. You must make sure the experiment is replicable. That’s how you confirm your findings!” said Twilight.

Rarity nodded and closed her eyes again before visualizing the runes. Energy began to pour into her horn as the runes in her mind took effect. In her mind, a new rune popped in her mind. Wait... What is this... feeling? Rarity thought. Something was different and it made her feeling unsettling as more energy filled the spell. The new rune was almost like a clock face but cut in half. One side dark grey and the other light silver.

“Twilight... I can’t... hold this much longer!” exclaimed Rarity as the light of the spell became increasingly stronger.

Twilight’s smile was gone with the new light. She could feel some strange energy that wasn’t Rarity’s forming within the spell. With a quick failsafe spell ready, Twilight channeled her magic in her own horn as sweat began to roll down Rarity’s face.

“Rarity! Try to break the spell! You can’t let the energy be released!” exclaimed Twilight.

The air of the library became filled with static energy as Rarity tried her best to slowly bleed the energy out of the Matter Morphesis spell. It didn’t work as the spell refused to simply die. Either she had to release the energy or allow it to break her horn. She wasn’t going for the later.

“Watch out, Twilight!” Rarity exclaimed as she released the spell.

The old tree’s windows became blinded with a blue light as the spell encased the current occupants.

“Ugh... my head,” muttered Rarity. She felt herself regaining consciousness and the feeling of heavy weights held her down. The mare slowly opened her eyes to see only black with a few holes showing the library.

“Twilight? Are you ok?” exclaimed Spike’s voice.

Rarity slowly moved her forelegs forward before noticing an unusual sensation. “Spike, is that you?”

“Rarity? I hope you’re not hurt!” exclaimed Spike. Rarity quickly heard the sound of books hitting the wooden shelves and realized Spike was digging for her. “I’m here Spike.”

The baby dragon pulled books away frantically before noticing the familiar stylized purple mane. It didn’t take long for Spike to pull the majority of books of off Rarity’s back to reveal something strange. Instead of Rarity’s pristine white coat, there was a white jacket of some sturdy material in its place.

Rarity quickly pushed herself up to see Spike staring at her with a expression of fear on his face.

“Who... who are you? Where is Rarity?” Spike exclaimed.

Rarity frowned, “It’s me, Spikey-wikey! What’s wrong?”

“Look at yourself! What happened?”

Rarity looked down at her forehooves to see that instead of the pristine white coat, the sleeves of a white jacket replaced them. Weird claw like paws stuck out from the sleeves revealing pale white skin. The next thing Rarity noticed was her center of gravity. It was farther back down at her abdomen.

“Try and, stand up. You know, like me,” said Spike.

Rarity slowly followed Spike’s directions and was surprised how weird it felt. She was able to keep balance on her hind legs and it felt unusually natural for her body.

Spike simply stared at the bipedal being calming to be Rarity. Its stylized mane was the same, only modified to fit the new head structure as two sapphire blue eyes stared at him. Rarity wore a blue, leather, jacket with her cutie mark embroidered on one of the shoulders. Underneath was a black blouse and a pair of deep purple pants adorned her legs. Two black heeled shoes also adorned her feet.

“Where’s Twilight?”

“I’m right here, Spike,” said a muffled voice.

The two turned to a second mound of books as a bipedal figure slowly pulled itself up. This one had a more yellowish and vibrant complexion and wore a purple blouse over a pink camisole. Dark purple bell bottom pants with light violet accents adorned the creature’s legs. In all the color scheme reminded Spike and Rarity of Twilight and the creature’s mane was shaped just the same.

“Is, that you Twilight, darling?” asked Rarity.

“What... what happened to us?” exclaimed the librarian in fear.

“I don’t know. This strange feeling occured and I saw something and then the flash. What are we?”

“Calm down!’ yelled Spike. ‘We just need to redo whatever spell and you two will be normal.”

Rarity nodded. “I guess you’re right... Wait. We don’t have horns! How are either of us supposed to perform magic?”

Twilight looked at herself and frowned. With no horn, there was nothing to channel her magic and right now, she couldn’t feel it at all. “Rarity. Do you feel anything?”

“No. I don’t feel... I can’t even feel my own magic. Why is this happening to us?” exclaimed Rarity.

“Spike! Get me the books on all sapient animals!” Twilight ordered.

Spike saluted Twilight and quickly began searching through the piles of books before making an orderly pile of the books Twilight needed on a desk nearby.

“Ok. Rarity, help me look through them. Find any creature that matches our appearance.”

Rarity nodded and began moving her feet. She stumbled for a moment before finding a proper stride and quickly went over to the desk before beginning their search. Twilight followed suite and joined in as well.

“Alpacas. Bison. Deer. Griffon. Minotaur... I can’t anything even close to us!”

“I can’t find anything either, darling. What creature wears clothes such as this?”

“I don’t know, Rarity...”

After a good few hours of searching through numerous books and even transitioning to books on mammals in general. The two had found nothing.

“So, Twilight. What are we anyways?”

Twilight sighed. “I don’t know. The closest animal to fit us are chimpanzees but they’re not sentient and they’re way more hairy and not bipedal.”

“Chimpanzees? Surely we’re not related to such disgusting animals.”

“Rarity. I don’t know. From what it looks like, apes in general are the closest things but none exhibit bipedal locomotion. Some can go bipedal for periods at a time but not permanently. Our spines suggest whatever we are, we’re fully bipedal.

“Maybe you should ask Princess Celestia,” replied Spike.

The name made Twilight jump. “No! I am NOT going in front of her as this! What if we’re some forbidden monsters? She might send us to the moon or even worse, the sun!”

“I can’t go around town as this! What if word gets out? I have orders to fill which means clients!” yelled Rarity.

“Calm down! Is there anypony or anyone else you two can talk to?” asked Spike.

“Hmm... I haven’t seen Lyra exhibit any form of magic so I doubt she could recreate the spell. Rarity is one of the few who can do it without extensive knowledge in magic,” said Twilight.

“And what is THAT supposed to mean?” replied Rarity.

“I didn’t mean like that it like that. I just mean... you know. Not like me. I’m pretty much the only unicorn in all of Ponyville who has advanced magic at my hooves...er... paws?”

“What about... Luna! She could easily do this spell! Twilight, what if you talked with Luna?” asked Spike.

“Well, she has no authority in banishing me. As long as she can keep our identities a secret, that could work.”

Rarity frowned. “This stinks. I don’t want to meet any royalty looking horrible.”

Spike smiled. “You still look pretty to me, Rarity!”

“Thank you, Spikey-wikey. But that’s only one opinion. I doubt others would think the same way.”

“Ok. I know Princess Celestia’s schedule. Spike, are you able to deliver us to Canterlot via dragonfire?” asked Twilight.

With a nodded Spike made a small green flame for a second. “As long as it’s not extremely long distances. I can deliver both of you but it will be to Celestia, so you’ll have to sneak to Luna’s chambers.”

“Good. We’ll go when everypony is asleep. Luna tends to sleep way later, usually at the break of dawn.”

Rarity nodded at the plan. It would be dangerous but it should work.

With a frown Rarity looked through some romance novels Twilight had. It had been only a few hours and the inability to head back to her shop thanks to the evening rush was excruciating. The yearning to make beautiful dresses was a caged dog ready to pounce within Rarity. She needed to draw her inspirations on paper thanks to her new form. The sound of knocks at the front door quickly calmed the feeling as fear replaced it. “Spike! Get the door!”

Spike frowned. “THat wasn’t nice.”

“Just answer it after Twilight and I hide.”

The fashion mare quickly followed Twilight into a hiding spot as Spike opened the door. Standing in the doorway as the timid Fluttershy with a part of her face hidden by her long voluminous pink mane.

“Oh, Hi Fluttershy!” said Spike.

“Oh! Hello Spike. Is Twilight around?”

Spike shook his head, “No. Twilight’s... on royal Canterlot business. Important. She won’t be available for a while.”

“Sorry then, Spike. I’ll come back maybe tommorr...”

The sound of something crashing into books quickly caught Fluttershy’s attention as she saw a weird clothed creature laying on the floor grabbing its head in pain.

“Ugh... my head,” said Twilight as she slowly got back up, not noticing Fluttershy staring intently at her as she did.

“Oh. My...”

“Twilight! You blew it, darling!” exclaimed Rarity as she went out from her hiding spot.

Twilight frowned. “I’m sorry. I saw a stray book and I couldn’t leave it there...”

“And then you tripped over another book. Congratulations to you,” Rarity deadpanned.

“Rarity? Is that... you?” asked Fluttershy.

With a nod and a sigh, Rarity allowed Fluttershy inside as she examined the two mares’ new bodies. “I’m sorry for asking but... why are you an ape?”

With her arm raised up she became dejected. “I, of all ponies, did this. I was trying this spell and I accidently turned Twilight and I into.. these apes you speak of.”

“You know, you look very pretty for an ape.”

A small smile crept onto Rarity’s cream white face. “Thank you, Fluttershy.”

“Don’t tell anypony... No. Don’t tell anyone. We can’t have the whole town go into an uproar and I don’t think anyone would believe us, They might think we’re some sealed evil.”

“I won’t Twilight. Excuse me for asking but... how are you and Rarity going to turn back to normal?”

“Well. We’re going to see Luna tonight. She may be able to help us. I hope...”

“It must be easy to do things with hands.”

“Hands?”

“Yes. The paws of apes are called hands. Minotaurs also have them but they’re not related at all.”

“So these... hands. Do you have any idea what Rarity and I are?” asked Twilight.

A frown appeared on Twilight’s face when Fluttershy shook her head. “Sorry Twilight but I’ve never seen a hairless ape like you before. Maybe you’re some new species?”

“A new... species? i need to write this down! Spike! Get me a quill and a paper!” exclaimed Twilight.

The dragon quickly went off to retrieve the items Twilight requested. Before long, Twilight had a notepad and quill ready.

“Um, Twilight... How are you going to write without magic?”

The question made Twilight blink for a moment. “I don’t... know... Damn it,” said Twilight as she threw the two items away.

“Um, since you can’t help me right now. I’ll just go and don’t worry. I won’t tell anypony.”

“Anyone.”

“Anyone. Sorry.”

“Ok, Fluttershy and thank you. At least we know that you aren’t against us.”

The sun settled in the distance as Rarity sat in one of the couches. The earlier guest had left, leaving the two to drift back into boredom. Twilight had begun simple experiments to learn more about her new body while Rarity sat in a couch completely bored out of her skull. The library silent until the familiar sound of rumbling was heard.

“Are you hungry, Rarity?” asked Twilight.

Rarity nodded. “Spike, could please get me and Twilight daisy sandwiches? Maybe a side of hay juice as well.”

Spike smiled and went off into the kitchen before returning with the food. The baby dragon gave the two their food before watching Twilight take a sip of hay juice. The result was a sour looking face as Twilight spat up the offending drink.

“Ugh! Why does it taste so horrible?” Twilight exclaimed.

“This daisy sandwich tastes just awful! Spike, did you mess up the recipe?”

“I didn’t do anything different. It’s the same way I’ve always made sandwiches and how do you mess up a daisy sandwich?”

“Just get us some fruit and vegetables. Maybe they’re palatable,” said Twilight.

Spike quickly took away the inedible food and returned with a simple batch of apples he had bought earlier. The two were able to eat them without a problem. “If you’re not going to eat the sandwiches, can I have them?”

Rarity turned to Twilight before returning to Spike. “Best if you do. never waste food, as I always say.”

With a smile Spike quickly went off and devoured the food from earlier.

“Ok, it should be time now. Spike, we need you!” yelled Twilight.

The purple dragon quickly returned with a half eaten gem in hand. With a grin he happily finished the gem before turning to Rarity.

“Will this hurt?” asked Rarity.

“Nope. At least I don’t think so.”

“Don’t think so? I don’t want a burnt mane!”

Twilight sighed. “Calm down Rarity. We’ll be fine. Now then. Spike, get ready.”

With a smile the dragon quickly inhaled a large gulp of air as the gem did its trick and created a green inferno in his stomach. The resulting green fire enveloped Twilight and Rarity as each molecule was turned into a magical wisp.

The two quickly returned to physical form in mid air suddenly. Around them, the dark royal chambers belonging to Celestia herself was around them. It didn’t take long for gravity to do its job and the two landed unceremoniously on the ground just next to Princess Celestia’s bed.

“Ow...”

Twilight looked at the sleeping mass of pure white hair nearby as it snored loudly.

“Who knew Celestia could snore that loudly?” asked Rarity as she slowly brought herself back onto her feet.

“Be quiet! Just follow me and make sure nopony sees us.”

With a nod Rarity followed Twilight into the large and extravagant hallway.She was surprised at how beautiful the interior looked with only moonlight flooding the place. It was a strange change from the normally bright gold of sunlight.

Twilight quickly pulled Rarity low to the ground as she heard the familiar sound of hoofsteps nearby. The guard quickly looked around before continuing his patrol, unaware of the bipedal intruders.

The two continued until arriving at deep blue doors that broke the normal white and yellow hallway. The door was adorned with a stylized silver version of Luna’s cuite mark. With an audible gulp, Twilight slowly pushed open the door before allowing Rarity to go inside. She quickly followed and closed the door behind them.

“Who goes there?” ordered Luna as she heard the door close nearby.

The lunar princess sat on her haunches as she looked at the books spread in front of her. She had been retrained to speak without the retired royal we and she had learned to speak with a normal volume voice.

“Princess Luna! Thank Celestia you’re awake,” said a familiar voice.

Luna sighed. “I am always awake for my night. Now Twilight, why are you here and can I please see you?”

“Um... That’s the problem. Rarity and I need to talk to you about our appearance.

“Show me.”

Twilight and Rarity slowly walked into the small bit of sunlight in the room. Standing there were two fully clothed bipeds looking at Luna wondering what she going to say. Call for the guards? Kill them on the spot?

“I see... I won’t ask how you turned yourselves into humans but let me try to fix you two back to normal,” said Luna.

“Hu...humans? Is that what we are?” asked Rarity.

Luna nodded. “Humans or Homo Sapiens. I thought I’d never seen one of them since the sealing...”

“Humans? Sealing? There were more of them? Why were they sealed?” Twilight quickly threw more questions at Luna before stopping as the princess raised her hoof.

“Let me begin with saying that Celestia and I are not the only goddesses alive. Humans had their own guardian... of time. Her name was Aetas and she ruled over humanity since the beginning of their history.”

“So what happened?” asked Rarity.

“I was getting there. Aetas ruled with a kind heart thousands of years ago. Until a dark plague appeared, killing thousands and orphaning many children. Eventually, the few magically inclined humans and Aetas herself knew that the plague would eventually attack ponies if left unattended and they sealed themselves to where they first began. To the island of Sapios.”

“Sapios... I’ve never heard of that place. Why?” Twilight asked.

Luna sighed. “Before humanity left, Aetas made us promise we would hide any trace of their existence and their secrets. All traces of the island have been removed from all maps and the barrier deters anypony from getting close enough to see it.”

“What secrets?”

“Humans gave us what we, ponykind, needed to begin evolving technologically but they kept a few things to themselves. Humans... are not harmonious like us. Before Aetas was in power, humans waged war over land, over money. Some even fought just for power itself. One of these secrets was their blacksmithing. They could create a metal so strong and sharp that it rivaled our enchanted weapons with ease. Aetas had to deal with numerous close calls that would have erupted into war.”

“That’s... horrible. Why would they go to war for such petty things?”

“I cannot answer that for I do not have the mind of a mortal let alone a human. It is simply part of their nature, though most humans can are usually are friendly. Now then. Let me cast the spell to return you to pony form.”

The two nodded and closed their eyes as Luna began charging the spell. An ice blue aura wrapped around Luna’s horn until she released the spell. The resulting magical bolt cascaded around the two before simply dissipating. The two opened their eyes and frowned when they looked down. Nothing changed.

“Why didn’t it work?” exclaimed Twilight.

Luna frowned. “It seems whatever transformered you has made it nearly impossible to change you back.”

Rarity looked at Luna in horror. “Luna! We can’t stay like this! Please! There must be a way!”

“Calm down! I said it was nearly impossible. I recognize the magic that binds your forms. It is not of harmony but of balance. One of order AND chaos clashing against each other. A human changed both of you.”

“A human? But I was the one who casted the Matter Morphing spell. How in Equestria could it have been a human? They’re sealed away. You said so yourself!” exclaimed Rarity.

“Either Aetas herself or a strong human did this but the magical bindings are weak... almost as if the caster’s magic was seeping away... I think I know who can fix both of you but it will be dangerous. We will have to travel to Sapios ourselves and talk to Aetas. She is stronger then both Celestia and I and can easily break the bonds and return you to pony form.”

Twist gasped. “But... But you said Sapios was sealed. How are you supposed to break it down if Aetas was stronger than you AND Celestia?”

Luna smiled, “I cannot break the barrier but I can punch a hole long enough to travel through. It will be hard but not impossible. I’ll meet both of you tomorrow at Twilight’s library. Please use the day to pack what you need and food. I can teleport both of you towards Ponyville.”

“Who’s there?” said a distant voice.

“Best to make haste.”

“But Princess Luna. We still have to ask more questions,” said Rarity.

“Can’t. No time.” exclaimed Luna as her horn began to glow again. In a quick flash the two disappeared from Luna’s chambers right as the doors opened.

“Is there something wrong, your Highness?” asked the lone guard.

Luna kept a straight face as she stared at the guard. “No. Please return your patrol.”

“I thought I heard somepony talking with you.”

“It was your own mind. Now leave.”

“Yes, your Highness. I am sorry for disturbing you,” said the guard as he trotted backwards out of the room.

Chapter 2 - Departure

Chapter 2

Rarity sighed as they followed the path back to ponyville. The sun was barely rising, giving them time to pack up some supplies for their "extended trip."

"My ...err.. what you call them?" asked Rarity.

"Feet. They're feet, Rarity," muttered Twilight.

"Anyways my feet are aching and I'm hungry!" moaned Rarity.

"We'll be back home and then we can stock up on supplies."

"Have you ever camped before Twilight?"

"I've read a few books..."

Rarity frowned at Twilight's answer, "A few books isn't enough! I need my shampoos and everything to keep myself going! And the dirt... My Celestia the dirt! What are we going to do?!"

"We're humans for now. I don't think looks are that important especially since we don't want anypony to see us as this," muttered Twilight.

"But I can see myself and I don't want to look dreadful!"

"Stop whining!"
"I'm not whining, I'm complaining and there is no way we're traveling without the proper arrangements so we can rest without the fear of dirt," said Rarity.

"Just be quiet. We're getting close to ponyville."

The two quickly arrived at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres. The beaten path was only separated by a few fences but they were short enough, in comparison to their new bodies, that they did not bar them from walking onto the lands.

“If we cut through Sweet Apple Acres, we can probably reach the library before Sweetie Belle wakes up,” said Twilight.

Rarity frowned, “Ugh. Do you know how much mud there could be?”

“You rather walk through town square and see everyone as you are right now? said Twilight.

“I guess you’re right...” muttered Rarity, “But please, watch for mud?”

The two quickly jumped the fence and walked through the orchard. Rarity had quickly noticed how tall she was as she could easily reach up and touch the leaves and the apples that hung and glistened in the early sunlight.

“I wish we could take apples back home,” muttered Rarity.

“Maybe we can get Fluttershy to get us some before leaving but let’s concentrate on getting home first.”

The two were quickly cut off by the sound of barking nearby. In the distance, the figure of a small dog was visible and the two frowned at the thought.

“Uh oh.... I think Winona found us!” exclaimed Rarity.

“RUN!”

The two quickly booked it as they saw Winona come into view Instead of the smiling dog they knew, Winona had her sharp teeth bared out as she chased the two down. Apparently, they were just intruders to Winona was chief of security.

Twilight panted heavily as she and Rarity ran through the orchard. Winona was easily getting close to Rarity’s leg as she lagged behind.

“Get outta here ya apple stealin’ monsters!” yelled a familiar voice.

The voice quickly gave Rarity an adrenaline rush that allowed her to narrowly escape being bitten by the energetic dog as the two saw the borders of the orchard and freedom in sight.

"Jump the fence!" shouted Twilight as she quickly vaulted over the wooden barrier. Rarity on the other hand had heeled shoes and landed onto the fence post, forcing Twilight to pull her while Winona pulled on Rarity's shoe.

"Let go! Let go!" yelled Rarity as she tried to push herself off.

Twilight was surprised at Winona's grip as the dog held Rarity's shoe in its mouth. Eventually, Rarity wrestled her foot out of the shoe before landed into a small mud puddle behind the fence.

"Let's go! We need to get going!" exclaimed Twilight as she helped Rarity back up.

The two quickly ran off and away from the wooden fence that separated Sweet Apple Acres from public land.

An orange earth pony wearing a Stetson hat quickly arrived at the fence to find Winona chewing on some weird black leather thing.

"Ah guess ya lost em'" muttered the pony.

The dog barked in joy as it chewed on its prize, oblivious to what it was chasing.

"Those two weird creatures sure were fast," muttered the orange pony.

Rarity quickly flopped onto the ground as she found a chance to stop running.

"I'm now dirty and I lost my shoe! Oh how can this day get any dreadfully worse?!" exclaimed the white clothed girl as she stared at the leaves that rustled in the light wind.

"Let's just be grateful Winona didn't catch us..." said Twilight as she dusted herself off, "Besides, we're almost at the library and we're right nearby your boutique."

"Well if that's the case, I'll be heading back to my place and do some repairs. We can meet up after sunset when everypony is back inside, ok? Just please, keep Sweetie Belle off my back," said Rarity.

Twilight sighed, "That's fine. I'll see you soon."

Sweetie Belle sighed as she walked into her big sister's boutique. Spending the night at Twilight's with Spike foal sitting her was boring enough. He was completely stringent on keeping her from touching the numerous books and from going downstairs where Twilight's sensitive experiments were. The only fun was the Sweetie Belle did get a chance to crusade with her friends. The little filly looked around as she looked for some fabric she needed to "borrow." It was quiet with the exception of the sound of the shower going on upstairs.

"Rarity is back? I thought she had to run off to Canterlot for some important fashion business," muttered Sweetie Belle as she ascended the stairs.

Rarity's room was normally clean except a strange dirt patterns across the floor. Sweetie examined the dirt spots in confusion as she wondered why there was even a speck of dirt in Rarity's bedroom.

"Did Opal get outside again?" asked Sweetie Belle as she followed the trail. The dirt spots eventually lead to the door to the private bathroom that the showers were and Sweetie Belle could easily see steam creeping from below the door.

The filly slowly opened the door before being buffeted by a cloud of steam. The shower was hidden behind a curtain but a large silhouette was visible behind the curtain moving about. Sweetie Belle eyed the silhouette before slowly closing the door, making sure not to alarm the creature as she galloped back downstairs and out of the door to tell her friends.

"I got my very own monster!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle as she ran towards the Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse.

Rarity looked around her room as she used an extra large towel to dry herself. She could have sworn she heard Sweetie Belle's voice but the violet haired lady quickly pushed the thought to the back of her mind as she began recreating the shoe she had lost earlier in the morning. It didn't take long as Rarity quickly recreated her lost black heeled shoe that fit her foot perfectly. The toe area had a diamond embedded just like her other shoe and it made Rarity feel better that she can at least keep her image going even as a human.

"Now to make a few things. Maybe a saddlebag for us so we can bring more things with us can help," muttered Rarity. The lady quickly began drawing down ideas before going into full on work mode in making functional bags for the two.

At the library, Twilight looked around as she tried to pick which books to bring with her.
Bear Growls' How to Survive Everfree and Other Dangerous Places and The Atlas of All Things About Areas were good picks to bring with her as so was a book titled The Numbered Guide to the Numerous Nuts in Nature.

"How many books do you need? Why not take the whole library?" asked Spike sarcastically as he collected the books Twilight rejected by throwing them into the ground.

"That would be nice but I can only carry so much and I can't use my saddlebag. It's too small," muttered Twilight.

"How long will this trip take?" asked Spike.

"I don't know. I assume a few weeks," said Twilight.

Spike smiled at the thought of two whole weeks alone with his comics and the up and coming marathon of Massive Monster Movie Madness.

"So you should really pack some things with you Spike," added Twilight.

"What?"

"You're not thinking I'll be leaving you here along now did you?"

Spike sighed, "Fine..."

Like on cue, Rarity quickly entered the library wearing some sort of saddlebag for humans.

"What is that?" asked Twilight as she looked at the second bag in Rarity's hands.

"It's a backbag! I named it myself!" exclaimed Rarity as she showed off her backbag.

"Backbag.... sounds better than what I was thinking," muttered Twilight.

"Oh and what name did you come up with?" asked Rarity.

"Bookbag since it's perfect for my books," said Twilight.

Rarity eyed Twilight with a sour look, "Really?"

"What? It was at least a good try."

"Now then, I've gotten a few things for our trip. Blankets, towels, hats, extra clothes, brushes, All the fruits and vegetables that weren't horrendous tasting that I had. Tent supplies I had in my basement from Cupcake Cadets, a first aid kit, some puzzles, and a few eating utensils, a multi-use saddle knife, lighting fluid. Flashlights, an outdated guide to the poisonous plants of Equestria, compasses, maps of known camping grounds, thermometers, barometers, raincoats, flare gun, and bug repellent."

Twilight looked at Rarity in confusion.

"Did... did you just make a proper list of mostly essential supplies that ARE actually needed?!" muttered Twilight.

"What? It was the first thing I learned in that dreadful Cupcakes Cadet back when I was a filly. I still remember the horrible nights of camping in the.... DIRT!" muttered Rarity.

"Ok. Anyways I got what I had in terms of food and I got some books with me," said Twilight.

"I already packed your bag with the necessary supplies. I had to make adjustments to the blankets and towels but they should be fine," said Rarity.

"I guess I should go pack my spinebag," interjected Spike as he walked upstairs.

"Is Spike coming with us?" asked Rarity.

"Yeah. Is there a problem?" asked Twilight.

"We don't have enough food to feed him."

"Relax. I packed him the food we can't eat as humans. His stomach is made out of iron, remember?"

"Oh yeah." muttered Rarity.

The two waited for Spike before doing the final preparations. After a good few hours, the sun eventually settled. The two looked around wondering when the Princess of the night would appear.

“You’d think she’d be here on time,” muttered Rarity as she kicked her feet across the ground.

“Come on. Give her a break. She has diplomatic things to do and raising the moon has to be time consuming,” muttered Twilight.

Just then, the two were quickly buffeted by a gust of wind as a tall dark figure appeared in a flash of light.

The figure was a woman clad in deep midnight blue with silver jewelry adoring her wrists, shoes, tiara, and neck that easily placed Rarity’s jewelry to shame. Her deep blue hair was as fine as gossamer yet it was surrounded by a cloud of cosmic dust with infant stars in the strands that danced and twinkled. Two deep blue eyes stared at the two as the new arrival frowned.

“You two look quite overburdened,” said the lady in Luna’s “new appropriate” voice.

“THAT’S YOUR HUMAN FORM?!” exclaimed Rarity.

“It’s what I always looked like when I had to visit the human cities. Allows me to fit in better with the crowds. Some humans thought that Celest and I were related to Aetas,” said Luna.

“But you’re not, right?” asked Twilight.

Luna stared laughing heavily, easily causing some books to fall out of the shelves. “No, no. We’re not related to Aetas by blood. She’s an eternal embodiment of time as we are the embodiments of the Sun and the Moon. Time has no opposite so Aetas was an only child,” said Luna.

“Ok, so you’re going to bring us right to Princess Aetas, right?” asked Twilight.

“One it’s Empress. She preferred that title instead and no not really. The last magical humans erected a barrier that separated the few humans from the rest of the world, isolating it from everypony. I can punch a temporary hole through but it will be a one way trip. Once we’re through, only Aetas herself can bring us back,” said Luna.

“Oh dear. So if we can’t find Aetas?” asked Rarity.

“We’ll probably be stranded then until I can fully regain all of my power to bring us back. Even Spike’s magical fire will only move scrolls. The barrier will take too much of my power to teleport us straight to Aetas. We’ll probably be on the outskirts of the lands or so. Now there is also something I need to tell you. Humans have been known to war against each other. It’s a slight fault in their beings that makes them go to war at each other just because they wants power. Many try to control the desire but there are those who will hurt others to gain what they do not have. We could be finding ourselves in the middle of a large war,” said Luna.

Twilight and Rarity both frowned at the idea. Equestria had a few wars in the past but only in self-defense and most ended in diplomatic treaties. The idea that there were beings that went to war for the majority of their lives for petty reasons seemed something straight from a horror novel.

“Now there’s also the talking. They use “body” like “somebody” instead of somepony so you’ll have to get used to that and they have... “colorful” idioms,” muttered Luna.

“Are you ready Spike?” asked Rarity as she watched the baby dragon place his spinebag on his back.

“Ready when you are!” exclaimed Spike.

“Ok, this will be a bumpy ride,” said Luna as she closed her eyes.

Suddenly, Luna’s hands were covered in a deep blue aura as she concentrated her magic. The energy slowly built up around the four as Luna thought of the distant lands humans were located. In a quick flash of light, the four disappeared, leaving no trace of their departure in the now empty library.

Chapter 3 - Littlecove

Chapter 3

Rarity rubbed her forehead as she felt the cold ground beneath her feet and her back. The landing hadn't been enjoyable as Luna felt her magic weaken within the barrier.

“So where are we?” asked Twilight.

The purple vested girl looked around to see that they were in a portion of some old and dilapidated fortress. They had landed in a section of fallen rubble that used to be part of the fortress’s walls.

“I remember this fortress. A few rather bloody battles were fought here,” muttered Luna as she eyed the alien masonry.

“Battles? We’re standing on ancient battlegrounds?” muttered Twilight.

“Yes. Many died here fighting for what they believed in. We should make camp here for tonight,” said Luna.

Rarity and Twilight both nodded before putting down their backbags and setting up camp.

Back in Ponyville, the orange earth pony from yesterday stared at the black shoe thing as it sat on her personal desk in her room.

“What kind of creature wears such a thing?” Applejack asked herself.

It obviously didn't fit a griffon and centaurs had hooves. Dragons didn’t even wear shoes thanks to their near impenetrable scales which quickly lead the orange pony to a dead end. The cowpony sighed as she poked the shoe. “It reminds me of somethin’ Rarity would make but why would she make such a thing? I gotta find out or my name ain't Applejack,” muttered the orange pony. Applejack quickly got up and grabbed the shoe thing in her mouth before placing it in a saddlebag and heading off to Carousel Boutique.

As Applejack arrived at the building, the small note on the door piqued her curiosity as she got closer to the front doors.

“I am currently on extended vacation and will be unable to assist in any modifications or commissions while I am gone. Thank you for your understanding. - Rarity,” said the note as it hung from the clear front door.

“Weird... Why didn't Rarity say she was going on vacation?” muttered Applejack as she stared at the note.

“Whatcha reading?” asked a voice as it startled Applejack.

“Gah! Don’t surprise me!” exclaimed Applejack as she turned around to see Sweetie Belle standing there.

“Oh Sweetie Belle. It’s nice to see ya. Do ya know where Rarity went?” asked Applejack.

Sweetie Belle shook her head, “I don’t have a clue. I saw the note earlier. Why didn’t she tell Mom or Dad?”

“That’s a little bit strange. Maybe Fluttershy might know. They always spend time at the spa each week,” said Applejack.

Sweetie Belle nodded and followed the cowpony as they walked to the edge of town towards a small cottage surrounded by numerous bird houses. The cowpony quickly knocked on the front door to be greeted by Fluttershy.

“Oh, hello Applejack,” said Fluttershy.

“Hey Fluttershy! We came by to ask you about Rarity. She seems to be on vacation but she never told anypony where,” said Applejack.

Fluttershy smiled weakly, “Well. She didn’t tell me but I think she has good reasons.”

“Aw. But I was hoping to visit Rarity today,” muttered Sweetie Belle.

“Well, if it helps. I found this yesterday morning after Winona cashed some weird creatures out of my orchard,” said Applejack as she produced the gem studded black shoe.

“Oh. What kind of creatures were they?” asked Fluttershy as she eyed the shoe.

“I don’t really know. They were slender and tall and they wore clothes for some reason,” said Applejack.

“I saw this monster in Rarity’s shower yesterday,” interjected Sweetie Belle.

“What?! Why didn’t ya tell me?!” exclaimed Applejack.

Sweetie Belle frowned as she kicked the ground, “I didn’t think it was important until now.”

Fluttershy quickly found herself sweating profusely as she saw the two getting closer to the facts.

“Maybe... um... maybe it was just somepony who needed a bath really badly. You know how Rarity is when it comes to dirt,” said Fluttershy.

“Could be but what about those two creatures you saw yesterday, Applejack?” asked Fluttershy.

“I guess that’s still debatable. We should ask Twi. She knows everything about the creatures of Equestria,” said Applejack.

Fluttershy had quickly jumped at the mention of Twilight’s name, “No! I mean... Twilight is not home either.... I saw a note on the library door earlier!”

At this point Applejack had started questioning Fluttershy’s behavior. She was hiding something but Applejack couldn’t put her hoof on it.

“I’m a goin’ back home then. You and I can talk about this tomorrow,” said Applejack, “Sweetie Belle. Go back home for now. Fluttershy and I will look into Rarity and Twi’s supposed vacations.”

With that the two quickly left Fluttershy’s doorstep, much to the yellow pegasus’ relief.

Luna sighed as she looked at the deep night sky. The moon was waning as clouds covered it from time to time.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve seen humans,” muttered Luna.

Twilight sighed as she finished her bowl of fruits. Spike had already fallen asleep as the three sat around the small campfire.

“Excuse me Princess Luna but may I ask you something?” asked Rarity.

“Sure, shoot away.”

“What are these two big bulbous pieces of flesh hanging off my chest anyways?” asked Rarity as she grabbed them.

Luna stared at Rarity blushing as she inadvertently began fondling with herself.

“They’re breasts and I don’t think you should be doing that... You might... excite... some men,” muttered Luna.

Rarity quickly stopped and felt embarrassed at her actions. Just then, a large sound of many boots clashing against the dirt caught the three’s attention outside the walls. Luna and Twilight quickly peaked out to the open area before the woods to see a large battalion of men and women in deep burgundy red uniforms. Most of them carried large and powerful swords at their sides while others carried menacing bows adorned with blades to be used as close combat weapons if the needs arise. A few men were using armored manticores as mounts as they lead the battalion and there were a few men and women wearing brown jackets with unusual emblems pinned on their lapels.

“Who are they?” asked Twilight as the battalion marched along.

“I don’t know,” muttered Luna as she noticed an alien emblem adorning the flags of the battalion. The emblem was shaped as a large gear with spikes protruding from its sides, top, and bottom to form a cross. The words “Mortem Empire” were written around the gear in gold as the flags waved in the weak wind.

“I thought Aetas was the ruler of humans,” muttered Twilight.

Luna frowned, “I thought so too... We’ll have to infiltrate a village and find out more.”

The two quickly ran back to their fire and snuffed it out to Rarity’s dismay.

“Hey! I was trying to stay warm!” exclaimed Rarity before having her mouth forcefully covered my Luna as she tried to hide the group from the battalions.

“Hey! Did you hear that?” muttered a soldier.

“You there! Fall back to rank!” exclaimed a captain.

After a good few antagonizing minutes, the sounds of the iron clad footsteps became silent and signaled the group that the battalion was gone.

“What happened?!” exclaimed Rarity.

“I don’t think we’re going to have an easy time getting to Aetas. Seems either someone else is in control or she must have been controlled like what happened to you Luna,” said Twilight.

“I don’t think so. I was controlled because I became jealous. Aetas doesn’t have anything that could fuel a creature like what made me Nightmare Moon,” said Luna.

“What do we do?” asked Rarity.

“We’ll move out tomorrow morning before sunrise. As long as we stay away from patrols and occupied barracks, we should be fine. We just need to find a local village or a library. They’ll have the information we need,” said Luna.

Rarity and Twilight nodded in agreement before the three bunkered down for the night.
The next day rolled in rather quickly as Luna felt the sun slowly rising in the distance. The blue haired woman quickly woke up Twilight and Rarity, much to their annoyance.

“Wake up. It’s time we leave,” said Luna as a bed-haired Twilight stared at her in puzzlement.

“But I don’t wanna go home Momma!” muttered Twilight in her sleep.

“Just get up!”

After a good half an hour of getting Twilight awake and Rarity and Spike up, the three quickly packed up while Luna kept guard.

“So, which way do we go?” asked Twilight.

“We should go down the road until we find a road sign. Humans always made travel markers that pointed out distances,” said Luna.

Twilight nodded in agreement and the group began their journey.

In Ponyville, Fluttershy sat in the park as she waited for Applejack. The wind whipped around the fallen leaves as she looked around. Out of the corner of her eyes was Applejack with her saddle on her back and her Stetson hat placed firmly on her head.

“Oh, it’s good to see you Applejack,” said Fluttershy.

Applejack smiled, “Now back to business. Let’s investigate Twilight’s home.”

“Oh my... but she isn’t home.... we can’t go barging in,” muttered Fluttershy.

“Just trust me on this one Fluttershy,” said Applejack.

The cowpony quickly escorted Fluttershy to Twilight’s library. As they got there, a note stating Twilight was on temporary leave was placed on the door. Fluttershy smiled weakly as she saw the note.

“Well.... I guess we can go home,” muttered the timid pegasus.

“E’nope. We’re goin’ to do this my way!” exclaimed Applejack.

Fluttershy watched as Applejack backed up to the wooden door and raised her hind legs. In a single strike, Applejack’s back hooves connected to the door, sending the thing flat down onto the ground in a loud crash.

“Oh my.... What if Twilight finds her door like this?” said Fluttershy.

Applejack sighed, “I’ll pay for the damages. Let’s just find some evidence.”

Fluttershy watched in fear as Applejack explored the place. There were a few books strewn across the floor but nothing out of the ordinary. After a few minutes, Applejack noticed a few books laying on Twilight’s desk.

“Now what do we have here?” muttered Applejack as she looked at the book titles.

The books were mostly on the numerous wild apes. Applejack quickly skimmed through it to see that none of the few pictures the book held matched what she saw in her orchard. Out of the corner of her eyes, Applejack quickly noticed a small notebook laying under the different books.

“Come here Fluttershy. I think I found somethin’,” said Applejack.

Fluttershy watched as Applejack read out loud Twilight’s notes.

“Day 1 - This new form is rather alien but unique. Instead of hooves the body has two arms ending in hands. Each hand appears to have five fingers or four if you consider the one opposable digit not a finger.

The new body seems to take in less amounts of food yet it lasts longer. I’ve been eating less since the incident happened yet I can stay awake for longer.

The body seems to be rather weak to the elements as no fur or coat or anything protects it from attack, temperature, or other outside forces. It seems that whatever creatures Rarity and I have become use clothes as a means of defense against the elements.

The arms of this body seem to be highly evolved in throwing things. I’ve been enamored by a small game I invented in which I try to aim wads of rolled up paper into a bin using my arm. It was easy using magic but now with this body and no magic, I missed the first few times but eventually I was able to get the paper in the bin from across the library!

I want to see how much movement this body can do but it would be too dangerous to do it within the confines the of the library. My head alone barely touches the ceiling and my hair now easily gets stuck in my face. Further research needs to be done,” said Twilight’s notes.

“What in the hay is this all about? Hands? Clothes? Did Twilight go insane or somethin’?” asked Applejack.

The cowpony quickly noticed Fluttershy standing there sweating bullets

“Fluttershy? Are you hiding something?” asked Applejack.

Fluttershy could feel giant rocks in her lungs as the weight of everything fell upon her.

“A.....A... IT’S TWILIGHT AND RARITY!” exclaimed Fluttershy in an outburst.

“What?”

“I mean... well... Twilight and Rarity... well they have a problem,” said Fluttershy.

“You got some explaining to do,” said Applejack sternly as she patted the ground with her hoof waiting for Fluttershy’s answer.

Fluttershy cringed a little at Applejack’s monotone. “I know what happened to Rarity and Twilight.... You see, Rarity did this spell and... and she accidently turned her and Twilight into these hairless... apes... hairless apes, and they went to Canterlot to meet with Luna to find a way to return to normal.”

“What?”

“You know those two creatures in your orchard?”

Applejack nodded.

“Those were..... Twilight and Rarity,” muttered Fluttershy.

“So you’re saying is that Rarity and Twilight are now in a weird mess in which they’re stuck as these hairless monkeys and are now tryin’ to find a way to return to normal,” asked Applejack.

Flutter slowly nodded.

“Fluttershy?”

“Um... yes?”

“You’re comin’ with me to Canterlot...”

Rarity sighed as the two walked through the entrance into town. The town was named Littlecove and sat in a bay that lead to the ocean before hitting the barrier that kept the humans from ever leaving the lands. Twilight watched as different humans moved about loading and unloading ships. Most of the humans seemed fine doing their normal daily routines with a few humans wearing ragged clothes here and there. Many of them had hair colors ranging from blonde to jet black and skin colors ranging from a deep dark brown to tan to pale white. Just out of the corner of her eyes, Twilight quickly noticed Luna’s hair changing from its ethereal look to a more “physical” look with her hair being it's still signature deep blue but with threads of sparkling veil tied in her hair.

“Littlecove hasn’t changed much since I last saw it,” muttered Luna.

Luna quickly noticed a few guards in the town but they seemed to appear tired and disorderly as if they didn’t want to even be there.

“I guess we should find some place to get some information,” muttered Luna.

“I’ll check the stores. Maybe someone might have information concerning Aetas’ whereabouts,” said Rarity.

“Is there a library?” asked Twilight.

“If my memory serves me right, the local library is down the main road, towards that tall clock tower. Though it’s quite small, Twilight,” said Luna.

Twilight nodded and the three agreed to meet back in an hour before splitting up.

Luna quickly tailed one of the guards and listened in on their conversation.

“I hate being stationed in Littlecove. It’s boring and the women here, geesh. They’re nothing compared to Bigwell City!” said an off-duty guard.

“Hey, come on. There’s far worse things to do. Just make sure nobody is breaking the peace and report any magic users to command as per normal instructions,” said another guard.

Luna wondered why magic users were being reported.

Rarity sighed as she saw the rather boring clothes in the store windows. Most were specifically tailored towards working rather than appeal and what everyone was wearing seemed to make Rarity stick out like a sore thumb. Some women looked at Rarity in surprise and a few times she heard them talking about saying she looked like someone from Bigwell City. She also noticed a few men looking at her for her looks. It seems she was apparently quite attractive in human standards. The white clothed girl quickly noticed a small tailor shop and went inside to see the owner mending some pants for someone.

“Um excuse me?” asked Rarity.

The owner quickly turned to Rarity and smiled weakly. She was a middle-aged woman who was rather large but it didn’t seem to hinder her at all as she skillfully moved around the confined shop.

“Oh, hello. You look like you came from Bigwell City. What brings you all the way to Littlecove?” asked the lady.

“Oh thanks. Well, I’m just here visiting my special some.. someone and he was stationed here recently,” Rarity lied.

“Oh that’s so nice of you! Is there a dress you need mending?” asked the lady.

“Oh no. I’m quite skilled in tailoring myself. I’m just here looking at your nice designs.”

“There’s not much to show off. I mostly fix and make clothes for the men. They go through their clothes like wildfire but it gives me good business.”

“I’m not really informed much but I heard of someone named Aetas. Do you happen to know who she is?”

“Oh she must mean that child’s story. I remember telling my little ones about it,” said the seamstress.

“I can’t really remember it, could you tell me what it was about?” asked Rarity.

“I understand. Not many people remember such an old tale. Well, they say there was a beautiful woman named Aetas who once ruled these lands and time itself. She helped many in their time of need and those who worked hard and helped others were rewarded with new life when their time came near. They say that when the Plague of Mora appeared, she simply vanished, ashamed that she couldn’t do anything to stop it. Since then we’ve have King Mortem ruling these lands. As long as I was a little girl, I’ve always seen him declaring heavy taxes and taking out dissidents all the time. It tends to become a normality here in the outlying towns.”

“Oh that sounds a little sad,” said Rarity.

“It is but they say that one day she will return with her companion from the moon and bring us to a new age. I remember that a few years ago, the image of her companion that adorned the moon mysteriously disappeared. Some of those that remember the little myth think it’s a sign of her return but others say that it means Aetas as forsaken us all though I believe the latter are blabbering apocalyptic nonsense,” said the seamstress in a small laugh.

“That sounds quite nice. Anyways, I’m curious. How much does a simple dress of yours cost?” asked Rarity.

“Normally about 130 pinions,” said the seamstress.

“Oh that’s a little expensive for me.. Anyways I have to go. Thanks for everything!”

“No problem! Just tell your friends back in Bigwell City about our little town!” exclaimed the lady as Rarity left the shop.

Twilight noticed an old wrinkled man behind the counter as she walked into the small library. The library was rather small, only being as big as her library back in Ponyville. The main difference was the lack of light. Most of the library was dark with only a few torches encased in glass and the windows allowing the little amount of light that was available into the library.

“Excuse me?” asked Twilight.

The old man looked up and frowned, “Let me guess. You’re from Bigwell City on a trip to visit the outlying towns or one of the King’s Seekers looking for anyone who has magical abilities?” asked the old man.

Twilight smiled weakly, “No, I’m just from some distant town. My friend and I are here to just read a few books.”

The old man quickly leaned over to see Spike smiling back weakly at him.

“I see you own a rare Green Scaled dragon. I guess you’re from a town either close to the dragon mountains or close to Bigwell City. I heard rare breeds are the craze as pets for anyone insane enough to keep a dragon in their home,” said the old man, “Just keep him on a tight leash and I hope both of you don’t bother with anyone else in my library if there was anyone else besides me. If you want to rent a book please show an ID file.”

Twilight nodded, “Thank you but I’m just looking. No renting.”

“Then move along and stop pestering me,” said the old man.

The two quickly began searching through some books concerning the local government, stories, and anything pertaining to Aetas. After finding five books on the subjects, Twilight quickly began reading them voraciously.

“Says here Aetas vanished centuries ago and that the current ruler, King Mortem, is in power. The current government is an absolute monarchy with King Mortem hiring advisors for smaller things,” said Twilight.

“What’s Bigwell City?” asked Spike.

“Well it says here it’s the capital of Sapios, the name of the country and this map shows that it is a large island with mountains in the north separated by the dragon sea. Looks like giant whirlpools keep anyone from leaving the island, meaning ships are used for fishing and shipping cargo. I’m going to assume the dragon lands are north of the island but considering that no human has left the island, their map is slightly inaccurate,” said Twilight.

“It’s weird how they have manticores as trained animals,” said Spike.

“Yeah, I know. Luna is going to have to hear about Aetas’ disappearance.

“I wonder how our friends are doing back in Ponyville,” asked Spike.

“I know. I wonder too,” muttered Twilight.

Spike quickly held up a book titled “Research on the Plague of Mora.

“Let me take a look,” muttered Twilight before taking the book and placing it on the desk.

Applejack and Fluttershy found themselves in the royal chambers in Canterlot as they waited for Princess Celestia. She had just finished talking with some ambassadors from the Gryphon Kingdom. After a few moments, the two noticed Celestia walking wearing her normal royal ornaments. The guards quickly snapped into attention as the two bowed reverently to Princess Celestia.

“At ease,” ordered Princess Celestia.

On command, the guards loosened themselves.

“I heard you wanted to speak to me. Is there something wrong Applejack and Fluttershy?” asked the Princess in her soothing and calm voice.

Applejack nodded, “It concerns Twilight and Rarity and I think Princess Luna is involved.”

“Well then, please follow me,” said Celestia.

The two mares followed the Sun ruler into a side hallway away from the guards.

“Is there something wrong? I can hear that whatever it is, it’s troubling you Applejack,” said Celestia.

“Well Fluttershy told me that Rarity and Twilight are... stuck as these weird hairless apes and that they went to Luna for help,” said Applejack.

Celestia looked at Applejack in confusion, “Did you say hairless apes?”

Applejack nodded.

“I was wondering where Luna was this morning. I guess it’s been awhile since we both seen them,” muttered Celestia.

“Excuse me but what are you talkin’ about?” asked Applejack.

“If you guess is correct, then Rarity must have accidently turned her and Twilight into humans, an ancient sentient race that helped ponykind during its early days,” said Celestia.

“That sounds quite farfetched but if you’re saying it, it must be true.”

“Luna must have physically brought Twilight and Rarity to Aetas to help them. She’s the only one who can revert them back to their normal forms.”

“Um... excuse me... but who is Aetas?” asked Fluttershy.

“Aetas is like Luna and I, a Goddess, specifically time. She is the guardian of humans and their ruler. You see, magic is rare among human. They were known to instead be great inventors and could make armor that could resist many things. They could forge swords that could slice through even a dragon's scale and hammers that were more powerful than an earth pony’s buck. They could even create special objects that could harness magic. Sadly, a dangerous plague killed most of them off, forcing the few magical humans to lock their dwindling population away to a small island and losing most of the knowledge what they created.” said Celestia.

“Why couldn’t Luna or you just turn Twilight and Rarity both back to normal?” asked Applejack.

“Because the spell is not made by ponykind. Human magic is different and cannot be simply undone by our magic. Even we are unable to alter it. I can still feel Luna’s hold over her Moon, though its weakened meaning she must be within the barrier of Sapios.” said Celestia.

“What should we do? We can’t just leave em hangin’,” said Applejack.

“I wish I could bring you to them but with the barrier up, I and you both would be stuck as well and due to what some humans believed, we ponykind are not in the fairest of light in their eyes. I’ll see if I can contact Spike. Maybe then we can see if they’re ok,” said Celestia.

Applejack nodded and followed the Princess to her private chambers where she quickly took a piece of parchment and a quill and began writing.

Spike sighed as he sat on top of Twilight’s backbag. They had finished most of the books and were heading back to the main entrance of the town where they planned to meet up with Luna and Rarity. Before long, the two quickly noticed Rarity and Luna waiting for them.

“I’m sorry for being late. I got caught up in the books. Anyways it seems Aetas is missing,” said Twilight.

“I know. Rarity told me. There’s a small story stating that the humans believed that she went into hiding under anguish that she couldn’t stop the Plague of Mora. Though it was true that she was greatly distraught with what was happening, I can’t seem to see Aetas losing hope. It was a major part of her and humans revered her as the sign of hope when anything went wrong,” said Luna.

“Hmm, we’ll have to travel to Bigwell City for more information. It’s funny though. The librarian thought I was from the city or somewhere close by,” said Twilight.

“Apparently dragons are rare and I’m a rare species of dragon!” interjected Spike with glee.

“Only in Sapios, Spike. Only in Sapios,” said Luna.

The two quickly noticed Spike coughing up one of the infamous letters from Celestia. Rarity fake coughed as to throw off anyone who was looking as Spike ducked into Twilight’s backbag.

“Does Celestia know where we are?” asked Twilight.

“She shouldn’t. I left a message stating that I was investigating some old ruins away from Canterlot,” said Luna as she opened the scroll.

“Dear Twilight,

Applejack and Fluttershy have told me of what has transpired. Though I am a little saddened by not telling me thus, I do understand why you kept this away from me. I just want you to tell us if you, Rarity, and sister Luna are ok. Be careful. As humans, you are both prone to the plague with Luna being immune. Please tell me when you have the proper chance to report on how your journey is going.

Your faithful teacher,

Princess Celestia,” said the scroll.

“I guess Fluttershy blew our cover,” muttered Twilight.

“I guess we can’t hold it against her. She IS Fluttershy after all,” said Rarity.

“Do you have writing utensils Twilight?” asked Luna.

Twilight nodded and quickly made a short and terse reply before allowing Spike to send it off.

“Now back to work. What did the lady tell you Rarity?” asked Luna.

“Well for one their myth coincides with Nightmare Moon’s appearance but is quite different. They believe the image was of Aetas’ loyal companion and some say that the image’s disappearance either means Aetas will return or that she is gone forever,” said Rarity.

The two quickly noticed Luna blushing at the comment, “Well I guess my little incident back then became legend.... I accidently appeared in public in my true form as an alicorn. People must have thought I was her trusty “steed’ or companion,” said Luna.

“What do you mean steed?” asked Twilight.

“Before ponykind gained sentience and intelligence, our ancestors were used as mounts by humans, though this predated even me and my sister’s existence. They thought that man’s greatest gift from the gods was ponykind before Aetas and eventually us and today’s ponykind appeared,” said Luna.

“Well that’s one for the history books!” exclaimed Twilight.

“Twilight, what about these Seekers I overheard?” asked Rarity.

“Apparently by royal decrees, anyone who has magical abilities are to be reported. looked up the laws of Sapios and having magic is a capital offense. I also found out that any time there’s a home or a town with suspected or confirmed plague victims, they quarantine the whole town and quickly dispatch anyone infected,” said Twilight.

“The plague must still be alive in small outbreaks. Humans used to trade with the nation of Zebrica back before it was unified for their legendary potions and cures. It’s sad to hear that people are innocently killed because of misfortune falling upon them,” muttered Luna.

“I guess we’re going to have to visit the Bigwell City. Their royal library should have at least some information concerning Aetas’ whereabouts,” said Rarity.

“That’s true and King Mortem seems to have been ruling Sapios for centuries since after the wars after Aetas’ disappearance,” said Twilight.

“I still don’t understand why Aetas would simply vanish. It isn’t like her,” said Luna.

“Let’s go and get some sleep for now and we’ll head out tomorrow.”

Applejack sighed in relief as Celestia finished the reply letter, “It’s a good thing Twi and Rarity are ok. Though I feel sad for Rarity. She must be all crazy not being normal and away from her beauty products.”

“They’re in good hooves or hands in their cases with Luna. I was never really good at dealing with human affairs and Aetas and Luna were close friends. It was sad when I first heard about the first cases of the Plague of Mora and when the humans decided to seal themselves away.

“Um... could you tell us what happened?” asked Fluttershy.

“Sure my little ponies. Centuries ago, we ponykind first meet the humans. At first we were cautious but we soon became close friends. We shared knowledge and technology with them and helped each other. Then, a dark plague appeared, killing thousands of them in its wake. The plague was hideous like a ravenous monster with an endless hunger. In time the victims of the plague would find themselves unable to move their bodies. It was like their own body was a cage of slow torture... After the mass outbreak, only a small group was left and the last magical humans voted. They had decided to seal themselves once a rumor spread saying that someone had magically changed the virus to also attack ponies,” said Celestia.

“Were there any ponies that were killed by the plague?” asked Applejack.

“No thank goodness. Luna and Aetas watched as the humans sealed themselves away with the few survivors and the few that were luckily immune or partially immune. After that Aetas said her final goodbyes and joined the humans to lead them in their own cage,” muttered Celestia.

“That’s horrible!” muttered Fluttershy.

“I know Fluttershy but at least the last humans are still alive. Luna and I haven’t seen any humans since they erected the barrier,” said Celestia.

“It must have been since you have seen Aetas,” muttered Fluttershy.

Celestia smiled, “I bet Aetas is doing well right now. I only met her a few times but she was wise and being older than Luna and I, were both intrigued by the knowledge she had. Why don’t you stay for dinner? I’ll get Twilight and Rarity to report their journey each night or as much as possible until they come back.”

Applejack and Fluttershy smiled. “We would be both delighted to join you!” said Fluttershy.

“Good because setting the sun for Luna to do her job ALWAYS leaves me on an empty stomach!” exclaimed Celestia.

The three began laughing in a fit at Celestia’s humor.

After the rather long dinner, the three retired to Celestia’s chambers to finish their discussion and to see Twilight’s report on Sapios.

Applejack watched as a scroll materialized in front of Celestia before being levitated by the Princess’ magic.

“Dear Princess Celestia,

It seems that Aetas is missing and currently a man named Mortem rules Sapios. We haven’t seen any magic users since we’ve been here but it seems that humans learning magic is frowned upon. Rarity asked why and someone told her that magical humans only bring bad luck and misfortune to whomever they meet. There are small cases of plague outbreaks but we are luckily away from it all. Sapios doesn’t seem to be much of a place to live in. The King keeps a strict tab on any magic user that’s discovered and anyone who contracted the plague is sadly killed. It must mean the plague is extremely virulent and spreads rapidly. I hope we can find Aetas soon. We’ll be heading to Bigwell City the capital of Sapios tomorrow.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle,” said the scroll.

“Oh dear. Aetas is missing?” muttered Celestia as she closed the scroll.

“That doesn’t sound good. I hope they can return to normal soon,” muttered Applejack.

Fluttershy frowned, “I hope so too...”

“It’s ok. They’ll make it through. I believe they will,” said Celestia, “Now let me give you a chariot back home. It must have been a long trip walking all the way to Canterlot.”

The Princess of the Moon frowned as she looked out of the hotel window. Memories of her and her friend Aetas followed her mind as she tried to think of why Aetas would disappear.

“Princess Luna? Why are you up so late?” asked a sleepy-eyed Rarity as she noticed Luna standing in the window.

Luna sighed, “Just call me Luna for the time being. I’m worried about the state of Sapios. There’s a stigma against magical humans and people die left and right from an ancient disease. It makes me worried about what would happen if something similar befell upon Equestria.”

“It’s ok. We’ll find out why,” muttered Rarity.

“I hope so,” muttered Luna as she closed her eyes.

Rarity watched as the princess slowly lowered the moon, making sure nobody saw as she did.

“At least I can still do my divine duties away from home,” muttered Luna as she stared at her moon.

Chapter 4 - Onward to Bigwell!

Chapter 4

The morning quickly followed as the group quickly left the small inn. Rarity and quickly bought supplies and some bread and nuts for the others before they went out.

The group had found themselves walking down the path, eventually passing where they first arrived in Sapios. The first town they would have to travel to would be Riventevile, a small river town north of Littlecove. The trees that hugged the path were filled with their leaves as they rustled through the wind. The only sound was the small talk between the four to occupy their time.

“I wonder what other dragons there are in Bigwell City,” said Spike as he held onto Twilight’s bag.

“I wonder if there are any magical users in Sapios. We haven’t run into any since we got here,” said Twilight.

Luna nodded, “I agree. There was at least one magical human in each town as the local mage before the plague. The lack of any magic worries me.”

The group stopped as they noticed Rarity staring at the woods next to the path.

“What is it?” asked Twilight.

“I... I thought I saw something,” muttered Rarity.

The two waited for a few seconds before they returned to walking but again Rarity stopped as she heard the sound of leaves rustling nearby.

“What was that?” asked Luna as she looked around.

The group quickly scanned the area around them to see nothing. Whatever it way, it didn’t seem to want to say hello.

Suddenly, something grabbed Rarity’s leg before trying to pull her into the bushes, forcing Rarity to claw the ground in retaliation.

The others quickly noticed a large scaly tail wrapped around Rarity’s leg as she clawed the dirt for her life, screaming like a maniac in the process. Twilight quickly jumped forward and grabbed Rarity’s arm as she pulled back against the grip of the creature’s tail.

With her magic, Luna quickly conjured a long deep grey to black long sword with a midnight blue hilt before taking a swipe at the creature’s tail, cutting it cleanly like a hot knife through butter.

A large hiss quickly filled the air as birds flew away from the trees.

“What was that?!” exclaimed Twilight as she pulled Rarity free.

“I don’t know... But I don’t think I want to...”

Large fangs suddenly jumped out from the woods as they charged towards Luna but the skilled blue haired woman jumped out of the way before slicing the creature, creating a large gash in its hood.

“It’s... it’s a snake!” exclaimed Rarity as the creature held its head and stared down at the group. The three scattered as the creature lunged at them, filling its mouth with dirt.

“What do we do?!” exclaimed Rarity as the creature stood there stunned for a moment.

Luna gritted her teeth as she charged forward with sword in hand, “I’m going to kill this snake!”

With a quick stab, Luna pierced the snake’s throat before taking a second swipe and decapitated the monster, staining most of her clothes instantly.

The snake quickly fell and twitched as its ugly head rolled onto the ground.

Luna sighed, “I never knew this island had such terrible beasts.”

The princess quickly conjured a scabbard before sheathing her blade and returning to the others.

“Where did you learn to do that?!” exclaimed Twilight.

“I sometimes practice in my free time,” muttered Luna, “Maybe I should give you two a weapon just in case.”

“I don’t really like the idea of weapons,” muttered Twilight.

“I think Luna is right, if there are monsters like these then we can’t travel anywhere unarmed. Besides, I’ve got DIRT stuck under my nails now and my and Luna’s clothes are ruined! My nice shoes have... snake blood all over them!” said Rarity.

“Fine but I don’t want one. I really don’t think I can bring myself to kill any creature,” muttered Twilight.

“Is it ok to come out now?” asked Spike as he hid in Twilight’s backbag.

Twilight stared at the bloody mess as she thought of what to say. “Not right now. Stay in there until we reach the village,” said Twilight.

“Is there a specific weapon you’d like?” asked Luna.

“I don’t know... I don’t really want to get even dirtier,” said Rarity.

“I guess a bow and quiver should do,” said Luna.

The princess quickly conjured a bow and a quiver filled with white fletching colored arrows before handing them to Rarity.

“Once we reach town, you should practice. I noticed that blacksmiths usually set up dummies for people to test their products on,” said Luna.

Rarity nodded, “I will.”

The two quickly returned to their journey as they left the carcass to rot. Twilight looked around for a moment before catching up to the other as she felt like someone was watching them.

The group found themselves in the town by noon and it seemed as if something was going on as a large crowd surrounding something.

“Let me take a look,” said Twilight.

Rarity and Luna nodded as Twilight sneaked into the center of the large circle of people. In the middle were a few guards and a two men with the brown jackets and unusual emblems shaped a stylized V over a golden cog. Right next to them were a group of locals that were under arrested with their arms bound by unusual magnetic bracelets. Twilight quickly heard the townspeople shouting insults and jeers at the suspects as the guards kept a few from trying to give their own form of “due process.”

“Settle down. We’ve recently unearthed a den of magic users. As you know these magic users bring misfortune and chaos to peaceful towns such as this one. We thank you for your help in apprehending them and we will be escorting them to Bigwell City where they will face their just punishments. Remember, they released the plague and without your help, the plagues WILL ravish us all!” exclaimed a Seeker.

“We didn’t do anything!” yelled one of the arrested.

“Quiet! You are an enemy of the state and a danger to everyone. We WILL keep order and stop anyone who wishes harm to our great land!” exclaimed the Seeker.

Twilight watched as the guards forcefully opened a path for the Seekers to escort the arrested out of town. The crowd quickly dispersed as Luna and Rarity caught up to Twilight.

“What happened?!” exclaimed Rarity.

“They just.. they just rounded a group of magic users and accused them of releasing the plague,” muttered Twilight.

“What?! That’s utter nonsense!” said Luna.

“Be careful! We don’t want to attract attention,” whispered Rarity.

“Spike, you can come out now.”

Spike quickly poked out from Twilight’s bag as he overheard what happened. “That didn’t sound very pleasant,” muttered Spike.

“What’s going to happen to them?” asked Twilight as she saw the last Seeker disappear in the distance.

“I don’t know...” muttered Luna.

Rarity noticed a young girl behind a stall of apricots staring at where the guards went. She had short blonde hair and deep green eyes that seemed to match her light pinkish skin. She wore a white dress with black trimmings underneath her apron as she stood at the stalls. The look on her eye seemed sad as Rarity noticed a tear staining her apron like she knew someone.

“Why don’t you two look around town for a nice hotel? I’m going to browse a bit,” said Rarity.

The two nodded and went off as Rarity walked towards the stall.

“Um, excuse me but may I ask what happened?” asked Rarity.

The girl quickly turned to Rarity as her mind returned to reality, “Oh sorry, what can I get ya?” asked the girl.

“Why does the guards and those Seekers taking those people away?”

“Because they were discovered using magic. The King believes that the plague was brought about by those magic users as a way to kill off all non-magical people. People who know magic are completely immune,” said the girl.

Rarity sighed, “Do you believe what they said?”

The girl shook her head, “I don’t think so but most people believe otherwise. Anyways, what’s your name?”

“My name is... Rarity of Bigwell,” Rarity lied.

“So... Rarity... What brings you to Riventevile?” asked the girl.

“I was just visiting a friend of mine in Littlecove and I’m returning home.”

“It must have been a LONG walk. My name is Jenith. I’m from Brookway in the west of Sapios,” said the girl as she smiled”

Rarity smiled as she shook Jenith’s hands, “So... why were you staring at the group that left?”

Jenith’s smile quickly disappeared, “Some of those captured were close neighbors of this town.”

Rarity frowned, “That’s sad. I’d be a little sad too if close friends of mine were labeled as traitors.”

“Anyways, is there something I can do for you?”

“No, not really,” said Rarity.

“Well if you need something, just ask me. I see you got some Giga Cobra’s blood on your feet. I guess you got tangled with one of those creatures. Crushed rose petals combined with some salt in a water mixture can remove blood, “ said Jenith as she noticed Rarity’s blood stained shoe and leg.

“Thanks, I’ll try that once I get a chance,” said Rarity.

With that Rarity left the stalls and quickly found Twilight as she watched a few of the local farmers digging away within a local field.

“What are they doing?” asked Rarity.

“I don’t know... It seems as if they’re digging channels or something from the river,” said Twilight.

The two watched as some farmhands digged between the fields. The men quickly stopped and got out of the trenches before one man broke down a small wall holding the water from the river back. The river water quickly filled up the trenches at high speed as the men smiled and congratulated each other on a job well done.

Twilight looked in surprise at the small feat, “I think they’re water their fields.”

Rarity frowned, “Why don’t they just bring rain clouds in?”

“Remember what Luna said. Humans are detached from the environment so they have to force it to work into their favor. It seems they channel water to continuously feed the fields,” said Twilight.

“It must take a lot of hard work just to do that. The Apple family just gets the weather patrol to feed their fields and orchards,” interjected Spike.

“The three quickly noticed an open area nearby where a few cows were grazing. They seemed unusually tired looking before one of them mooed.

“What kind of cow... “mooes?” asked Rarity.

“I guess cows and other animals here don’t talk like in Equestria,” said Twilight.

“So in this world only humans and dragons can talk?” asked Spike.

Twilight nodded, “It seems so though the librarian mentioned that dragons are popular up north as rare pets, not companions with full rights like in Equestria.”

The three were quickly caught off guard as a rumbling sound filled the air.

Twilight and Spike turned to Rarity as she felt her stomach yelling for food.

“Sorry, I’m kind of a little hungry,” muttered Rarity.

“Let’s find Luna and eat lunch,” said Twilight.

The three agreed and quickly went around town searching for Luna. After a few minutes, the three found a small crowd behind a building chanting. As they took a closer look they quickly found Luna fighting a tall man in a sword fight. The crowd chanted as Luna kept her ground and fended off the man. Before long, Luna quickly disarmed the man, causing the crowd to cheer.

“You win...” muttered the man as he picked up his sword.

“I guess I won the bet,” said Luna as she sheathed her blade.

The three quickly noticed someone handing Luna a bag before two other people jumped into the circle with their swords ready while Luna left.

“What was that?!” exclaimed Twilight as she and Rarity caught up to Luna.

Luna smiled, “Oh that? Just a small game. I was able to us some money.”

Rarity quickly took the bag before examining it. There were silver colored coins inside the bag with the King Mortem emblem embedded on it. They were in different sizes with each size equaling a different amount of currency. Rarity quickly counted the coins markers before concluding that Luna had netted 342 pinions.”

“This is a good amount you won Luna!” exclaimed Rarity as she tied the bag and gave it back to Luna.

“What is the currency called anyways?” asked Twilight.

“Pinions. From what I’ve seen a good dress is worth a few hundred while a meal would equate to maybe 20 pinions at most,” said Rarity.

“Well that means if we need anything we have some money on hand,” said Twilight.

“Let’s get some rest for now. We have to head out tomorrow,” said Luna.

Applejack frowned as Fluttershy stood next to her eying the exterior of the museum in Canterlot. The museum was closed but Princess Celestia and asked them to come back so she could show them something. Before long one of the museum's caretakers came out and escorted the two in where the Princess was waiting.

“It’s nice to see you two again,” said the Princess in her calm and soothing voice.

Applejack smiled and curtsied with her two right legs as Fluttershy bows normally.

“I want to show you two something,” said the princess.

“What is it?” asked Applejack.

The princess smiled and escorted them to the museum’s storage area where extremely old artifacts were either waiting for restoration or were waiting for their time to see the light of day behind glass. Applejack thought of Twilight looking in excitement as she walked through the aisles of old items. The air was dry and warm as Fluttershy looked around, noticing either bones of ancient creatures and pictures of others.

The three eventually stopped at a small section that seemed to have been there for awhile. Most of the items were covered in a thin film of dust as Celestia showed the two the items. One artifact was a sword with a long hilt. The sword’s fuller gleamed under the light as bands of numerous metals made up its blade.

“This is a human made sword,” said Celestia as she levitated the weapon.

Fluttershy looked at in a bit of fear as it floating in mid air, only supported by the ethereal glow of Celestia’s magic.

“It looks like any other sword,” said Applejack.

Celestia smiled as she pulled out from the corner a scale of an ancient dragon.

“Do you know what this is?” asked Celestia as she held the large grey scale in midair.

“It’s... it’s a mountain dragon scale,” muttered Fluttershy as her mind pictured the original owner in their full ferocity. The thought made Fluttershy’s legs shiver at the image of the creature.

“Yes and next to diamond, it’s nearly indestructible,” said Celestia.

“What are you goin’ to do with that?” asked Applejack.

“Watch.”

Applejack and Fluttershy watched as the princess flung the scale up into the air. The scale started falling before a sudden quick swipe cleaved it cleanly in half. Applejack and Fluttershy looked in awe as Celestia rested the sword back in its place. It had no chip marks and had cut the scale like scissors through paper.

“How I the hay did that sword cut through that?!” exclaimed Applejack.

Celestia smiled, “You know understand what humans are capable of? They were masters at using metals and they also combined technology with magic. Here, follow me. I’ll show you something else.”

The two nodded and followed Celestia as she showed them a large sky blue crystal. It had a faint glow as it sat on its place in the shelf with its film of dust.

“This is a special crystal humans created to harness magic,” said Celestia as she levitated the crystal.

“So even a normal human could use magic with that crystal thingy?” asked Applejack.

Celestia nodded, “Yes. Even we don’t know how it works but it had become a common thing before the plague appeared. Now let me show you one more thing.”

The two followed Celestia until they reached the end of the aisle. At the end was something under a brown tarp with fragile written on it in big bold red letters. Celestia quickly pulled of the tarp to reveal a stained glass window. It was quite different from the ones that adorned the castle as it showed a picture of a silver haired creature in great detail. The creature wore pale silver and white robes adorned with jet black trimmings. In its hand was an hourglass that seemed to have black sand in it.

“What is this?” asked Fluttershy as she stared at the picture.

“This is a picture of Aetas, the guardian of humans. Very few have even known of its existence let alone seen it,” said Celestia as she slowly placed the work of art back in its place.

“Thanks for showin’ this to us Princess Celestia,” said Applejack.

“There’s no need. I just thought that you should understand what humans are capable of doing. I’ll get another report of Twilight tomorrow at some point,” said Celestia.

“We hope to see it soon,” said Applejack.

Rarity yawned as she looked around the small hotel room. She could barely sleep thanks to the basic beds the inn provided. The fashion girl sighed as she got out of bed. Twilight was across the room on her bed with Spike sleeping on top of her like her cat Opal did back in Ponyville, all curled up.

The loud sound of torrential rain reverberated through the building as Rarity looked outside. The small inn sat nearby the river that flow through the town. Upon looking outside, Rarity quickly noticed some of the townspeople placing large bags at the riverbanks. The river had apparently risen within minutes of the thunderstorm occurring and the rushing water surged downstream as the townspeople continued placing bags at the riverbanks.

Rarity quickly turned around and ran over to Luna’s bed which sat at the foot of Twilight’s. Luna frowned as she found herself unceremoniously woken up by Rarity.

“What? Is there something wrong?” asked Luna as she sat up in her bed.

“There seems to be a problem outside. We should investigate,” insisted Rarity.

Luna nodded and the two quickly ran outside as Rarity grabbed an umbrella from a drying rack next to the lobby door.

The thunderstorm was strong then before as Rarity felt the wind playing tug-o-war with her umbrella. Luna ignored the rain as it pelted her face and backside as they investigated the river.

“What’s happening?” asked Luna as she turned to one of the townspeople.

“We’re making a levee to stop the river!” she said.

Luna watched as the townspeople piled bags of sand on the river banks. The water surges periodically soaked the townspeople as each one worked their hands and legs to the bone to build the wall.

“We should help them,” muttered Luna as Rarity came up next to her.

Rarity nodded before noticing Jenith from earlier running away from the other townspeople.

“You help the others, I need to check on something,” said Rarity as she ran off.

Luna was about to say something but held her tongue as Rarity ran off. “I guess I should start doing something,” muttered Luna as she turned to helping the townspeople. The moon princess quickly picked up a sandbag that had fallen and began doing her part as the strong wings took their toll.

Rarity frowned as she felt the winds picking up. Before long, the umbrella quickly slipped through her delicate fingers, leaving her to face the rain alone. Rarity frowned but continued followed Jenith before ducking behind a rock as the blonde haired girl looked around.

Rarity watched as Jenith ran dangerously close to the surging river. The girl slowly dunk her hand into water as she tried her best not to be swept into the rapids. Suddenly, a sky blue glow appeared in the water before the water around Jenith’s hands instantly became ice. Rarity watched as Jenith pulled her hand out of the water and did the same over and over again until eventually she had small wall of ice holding some of the water back.

“That should give them enough time to finish the levees,” muttered Jenith as she made sure nobody was watching.

Just then, a clash of lightning struck a nearby tree that made Jenith jump. The girl quickly lost her balance and yelled in fear as she felt gravity betraying her. Rarity quickly jumped out from her hiding spot as she ran towards the riverbanks downstream from where Jenith fell from. The purple haired girl watched the rapids in fear as she tried to discern any hint of Jenith’s whereabouts in the white foam. Suddenly, a hand and eventually Jenith’s head popped out from the water as she tried to keep her mouth above water. Rarity reached out as far as she could as she held onto the riverbanks for dear life. Jenith clawed the riverbanks until she felt Rarity’s soaked hands. With a big tug, Rarity pulled Jenith out of the water and onto safe ground.

“Are you ok?!” exclaimed Rarity as Jenith tried to catch her breath.

Jenith sighed, “I’m fine... Let’s just get back to the levees.”

Rarity nodded and helped Jenith back up as they returned to the rest of the townspeople. The two arrived as Luna finished placing the last levee in place. The river had calmed just enough to give the townspeople a chance as the levees stood there like an immovable shield.

“Is everyone ok?” asked Luna as the townspeople regrouped.

“What happened?!” exclaimed someone as Rarity held Jenith at her side.

“Someone get a towel or something! She’s cold to the bone!” exclaimed Rarity.

Luna watched as a man gave Jenith a towel.

“Luna, come with me back to the inn. We’ll take care of Jenith there,” said Rarity.

Luna nodded and followed Rarity as she took Jenith back to the inn.

“Just sit down and relax,” said Rarity as she showed Jenith her bed. the now soaked girl sat down on Rarity’s bed as she coughed a little.

“Do you feel dizzy or anything?” asked Rarity.

Jenith shook her head, “No, I’m fine. Just a little tired, that’s all...”

Rarity smiled weakly before noticing Twilight waking up.

“What happened?” asked Twilight as she rubbed her eyes.

“Jenith fell into the river. I was able to pull her out and I brought her here to rest for a bit,” said Rarity.

“What was she doing at the river?” asked Twilight.

“I was.... I was seeing how bad the river swelled. There’s been a sudden torrential thunderstorm and the town was trying to set up levees to stop the river from flooding,” said Jenith before having another coughing fit.

“Why don’t you rest for a bit? You’ll be fine by tomorrow morning,” said Rarity.

Twilight frowned as she noticed that Jenith was completely soaked and had probably caught a cold or something else.

“Rarity’s right. You should rest. A cold or worse a fever isn’t going to help you,” said Twilight.

“Thanks,” said Jenith as she pulled the blankets over her.

“What are you going to do?” asked Twilight.

Rarity sighed, “Well my ma...err hair is ruined and I’m all wet by the rain. I guess I’ll just dry myself off and buy some extra clothes to change into.”

“Ok. Where’s Luna?” Twilight asked.

“It’s almost morning. She went out to a field somewhere... You know Twilight,” hinted Rarity.

Twilight quickly understood what Rarity meant and left it at that knowing Jenith was right next to them.

Somewhere just outside of town, Luna was standing in a field as she looked at the sky. The storm had calmed down to a small drizzle but the ground was soaked as Luna’s boots sank a bit in the mud.

“It’s sad to see how much humans have lost since the beginning of the plague,” muttered Luna as she stared at the pearl white face of the moon.

The princess sighed and after checking her surroundings, closed her eyes and used her magic to begin setting the moon. As Luna finished her job, the moon began its slow descent towards the Western horizon as the sun began its rise from the East.

“I should return to the inn,” Luna muttered to herself.

The moon princess left the field as she walked back to town. On the way, Luna felt a shiver down her spine as she felt a presence watching her on the way back to the inn.

Chapter 5 - A Lucid Dream

Chapter 5

Twilight yawned tiredly as she woke up. Her arms stretched out while she allowed the day’s sunlight to enter her vision. The events of last night’s storm and the new girl Rarity had brought back had caused her to sleep in, much to her annoyance. It was a waste of daylight that she thought would be best used for walking to the next destination or checking the town more to learn about Sapios and humans in general. The room around her was rather spartan with wood covered most of it’s surface. It was not luxurious but it did its job as the wooden floorboards below her bed creaked with each step she took. The group had split into two separate rooms, each with its own bathroom. Rarity and Twilight had originally shared a room while Luna had her own next door with an extra bed to spare.

After the incident with the river, Twilight had gotten less sleep than she usually did with Rarity trading her bed for the one in Luna’s room. Now the blonde girl named Jenith laid in the bed next to Twilight’s, still tired and sleepy. She looked better as her fever had left at least. Is was then Twilight noticed how young Jenith actually was. Barely out of her teens, she had a very round and youthful face with a small nose and a very small and round chin. Her blonde hair was cut short with strands of it covering a bit of her forehead. Her now dry white dress seemed to have seen better days, indicating she didn’t have much money on her to afford cleaning or doing repairs as a few rips were noticeable. Her grey jacket sat on the bedpost with blue parallelogram shapes sewn into the cuffs. Sitting just below Jenith’s bed were a pair of grey boots with dirty white socks balled up in them. The boots still had mud encrusted in them but were not waterlogged anymore.

After showering and getting into a simple set of clothes Rarity had bought for her, the bookish girl looked at her bed nearby to see Jenith sleeping still. With a shrug Twilight went to the other room to check on Rarity. Spike slept next to Rarity, curled into a cute little ball of scales. The small snoring he gave off seemed a little cute to Twilight as she looked around. One bed sat empty while Rarity slept in the other.

“I guess Luna woke up earlier before I did,” said Twilight as she walked back out to the hallway.

Twilight quickly decided to see where Luna was and began walking downstairs to the lobby of the inn before heading outside. The storm had made most of the dirt streets a mess of congealed mud with the audible sound of it squishing under Twilight’s boots. The local townspeople were moving about at their own accord as Twilight wandered around. From the sun’s position the girl quickly surmised that it was past noon. A small rumbling of her stomach confirmed the time. She remembered how long it was since she last ate and it only served for the rumble to worsen. It didn’t take long for Twilight to decided that she would visit the local market for a bite to eat right away.

The market section of town was simply a row of stalls. Some sold produce while others sold trinkets and tools. The purple haired girl quickly noticed an unusual smell in the air. It somehow made her mouth water as Twilight began following it before finding its source. One of the stalls was a wooden table in front of a small mobile kitchen. A stove powered by a simple wooden furnace sat in the back while a block of dry wood sat in the center ready to fuel the inferno that powered the stove. As Twilight examined the stall, her appetite quickly left upon realization at what it was. Sitting there open to view was slabs of uncooked flesh peppered with spices and herbs. Defeathered beheaded pheasants hung from hooks among the stalls as the sound and smell of flesh burning on the stove filled Twilight’s ears and nose.

“What can I get you?” said a gruff and calm voice.

Twilight quickly looked down to see a rather large man with brown hair. He wore a makeshift apron that was covered in blood and residue. A large cleaver sat in his hand as he looked at Twilight waiting for an answer.

“Um... What is all this?” The girl pointed around at the meats with a small hint of disgust at their sight.

“We got pheasants, pork, beef, you name it! All arrived from the farms and local game! You seem like a nice girl. So, you want me to cook you a steak or something?” asked the man.

Twilight frowned as she thought of what the man said. Princess Luna had told her humans were omnivorous but seeing animals slaughtered for food out in the open was still sickening to say the least. Twilight slowly walked back thinking of what Fluttershy would think if she saw all this. Even a large skinned rabbit was there, waiting to be bought for someone’s next meal.

“No, that’s ok... I don’t eat meat...” said Twilight.

The cook sighed, “I don’t get you vegetarians... Why don’t you go run off and eat some cow feed or something then, huh?”

Whatever Twilight said had annoyed the man. “What are... vegetarians?” she thought to herself. The purple haired girl quickly went and left the market while she waited for her appetite to come back. She had gotten a little sick back when what Rarity told her was a Giga Cobra had been killed unceremoniously by Luna. Her mind told her it was different back then as it was either them die or the creature die but now, seeing animals dying just for food was a different thing altogether for Twilight.

Luna looked around with each step she took wandering around town. She had seen numerous guards moving about and they seemed unbothered about most of the towns people carrying their own weapons. Almost everyone had something at their side ranging from a small dagger to a long sword. Luna had surmised that due to local bandits and other dangers it was always important to carry a weapon at all times. Those who seemed to have stayed within the town had rapiers or daggers instead of the larger weapons. Only a few noticed Luna as she walked. She was slightly out of place with her deep blue clothes but it only made her look like some well off traveler who could afford looks with function. The ever blazing burgundy red of uniforms seemed to always creep into Luna’s vision no matter how much she looked away. Guards took their patrols and seemed to cover a good portion of the town. From the looks of the locals, nobody paid any attention to their existence. It was like as if they were invisible eyes that constantly kept vigilant.

“Luna!” exclaimed a familiar voice.

The lunar princess quickly turned around to see Twilight smiling as she ran up to her. “It’s good to see you’re up Twilight. I hope the storm last night didn’t rob most of your sleep.”

“I’m fine, if not a bit tired. I just can’t seem to find a library in town and the trip to the market quickly killed my appetite...” The girl quickly released her friendly grasp from Luna.

Luna listened as Twilight told her how her day at began and when she actually saw prepared meat. She could sense that the sight of meat had made Twilight feel uneasy when she explained her experience at the market. “Well... Let me go and buy some fruit and we’ll eat inside. The girl from last night and Rarity should be awake by now. I’ll meet you back at the hotel.”

Twilight nodded and watched Luna leave for the market before returning to the hotel. The lunar princess slowly moved about as she examined the numerous fruits available. Most were well known in Equestria with a few new fruits here and there that only grew in exotic farms and orchards. As she did, she overheard numerous conversations around her.

“Did you hear what happened? Those magic users were taken to the barracks nearby in the north.”

“... I hope they get rid of them! I survived a plague outbreak when I was a little girl. I’m too old to survive another one!”

“King Mortem makes them gone. They deserve whatever happens to them.”

As Luna listened on, she continued to hear more contempt for the magic users. Each insult seemed to feed a small fire of anger in her mind. The jeers quickly conjured images of how she was herself held in contempt by her own subjects. As she began thinking about what had happen back home, a small plan formed in her mind. The innocent were currently being held in a barracks nearby and it wouldn’t be hard to go in and free them. The magical humans were innocent and she was going to show everyone that.

Luna sighed while opening the door to her room to see Spike and Rarity staring at the unconscious girl laying on the extra bed across from where Twilight was napping.

“Her fever’s gone down but she’s been asleep since we brought her here,” Rarity spoke softly.

“Is Twilight ok?” asked Luna.

Rarity idled for a moment before remembering the small conversation she had with Twilight when she returned. “I guess seeing the gruesome sight she described would knock the energy out of anypony. I’m happy Fluttershy isn’t with us. Poor darling would have gone into a coma if she were in Twilight’s place.”

Luna nodded, “Yes but it’s understandable. Humans are a predator species who need to consume others to survive.”

“Really? Do humans have to go and slaughter innocent animals just to survive? It’s just... unnatural...”

“Rarity, it’s unnatural to us because we’re not human. We’re not made to eat the flesh of other creatures to survive. We make the land grow us food. Humans need to force things their way to survive. It’s just how the world works.”

“Well if you ask me, it’s some sick joke. I bet it’s possible for a human to survive on fruit and vegetables alone and I hope neither of us are pushed into eating the flesh of others.”

Spike pulled on Luna’s leg while he listened into the conversation, “We should keep this quiet. What if that girl from last night hears us from the other room?”

“Spike’s right. This is a pointless argument. We know humans have to eat animals to survive and that’s how it is. Bickering about it won’t change that fact.”

With a frown Rarity pushed the conversation away. “I guess that’s one way to end it. Anyways, let’s eat some lunch I bought from downstairs. A good hoofful hearty fruits should do the trick, darling.”

The princess nodded and sat down with Rarity and Spike at the small table each room was furnished with before Rarity pulled out lunch from a basket nearby.

As Luna told Rarity about the sights of the town, Twilight slowly tossed and turned while she slept in her bed. Her mind was somewhere else as an outside force touched her thoughts.

“Twilight’s always been a deep sleeper... Maybe it’s all the books she’s read,” said Rarity while her purple haired friend slept peacefully.

Twilight slowly opened her eyes as she felt the cold air brush against her skin. The room she was in had a dark and the damp stale air that gave an uncomfortable vibe. The slow dripping of water was the only sound that broke the deafening silence while Twilight sat there in the middle of the bleak dark room.

“Wake up...” said a deep voice.

Twilight slowly turned her head and noticed that the muscles in her neck were trying to fight her as if they had become stiff like steel.

“Aetas.... You seem awake as usual... A body with no need for sustenance must be nice...” taunted the voice.

The only light in the room seemed to be coming from below Twilight as she noticed a black silhouette in the only doorway to the room. She stood there thinking why the voice called her Aetas.

“Please Twilight... watch... “ A voice echoed within her mind. The voice reminded her of Celestia but there was a hint of sadness in it.

“Tell me Aetas, why is it that I suddenly felt something mess with the barrier of Sapios?” asked the voice in a hint of annoyance.

Twilight tried to move closer to find that she had no control of her body. Upon looking down, she discovered that she instead of her own, Twilight was within someone else’s body thanks to a mirror for a floor. The body was of a young woman, somewhat older than what Luna looked like. With tall and thin build it had no clothes except a thin film of an ethereal glow that hid any features to suggest nudity. Sitting on the ground with its legs crossed, the body’s hair was styled in deep silver curls that were let down in a mess as its hair rested on its back. Her eyes were grey but instead its skin caught Twilight’s attention. Lines of pitch black that turned at sharp angles covered her pale white skin. Only her neck and head were untouched as Twilight felt she had only control in those areas. Suddenly, Twilight’s lips began to move without her control like she was just an audience viewing through someone else’s eyes.

“Why should I tell you?” The echoing voice now announcing from the body’s own mouth. It was instead filled with disgust and contempt for the stranger that stood before Twilight and the body’s true owner.

“Because nobody should have more power than me and only someone with power has the ability to move through the barriers,” said the unknown figure.

“You are drunk on power. This is why man cannot be trusted with it!”

The stranger chuckled, “Your words mean little to me. The only reason why I cannot kill you is because if I did, time would be destroyed with you. Now if you won’t tell me what broke through the barrier, then I’ll just take a look myself...”

Twilight cringed while watching the stranger take his pitch black hands and placed them on Aetas’ forehead. Suddenly, Twilight felt her own mind run cold while the man’s hand began to glow with deep burgundy sigils. The dull glow revealed crystals that dotted the man with a blue artificial glow like some sort of device that the stranger wore. Slowly, the man began invading Twilight’s own mind.

“You’re not alone? Might as well see who this is... Celestia... Luna... Oh this is juicy!”

Twilight felt her mind being invaded; numerous memories of her friends and her teacher raced through her mind and each one becoming duller as the man looked at them. While he searched through Twilight’s mind, the mare began trying her best to suppress important memories of her and her companions’ location with some access. The memories stayed fresh and clean while the man scrawled the vast database called Twilight’s mind.

“Twilight Sparkle... Celestia’s student... A unicorn pony of immense magical powers... Thank you... for the information...”

“Let go of me!” shouted Twilight in her mind.

“As you wish...” Slowly the man released his metaphorical grip on Twilight’s mind. The girl could feel sweat running down her face remembering what just happened.

“He just... invaded my own mind!” Fear consumed Twilight when questions to what the man could do with such power began racing through her thoughts.

“Leave the poor thing alone! She doesn’t concern you!” exclaimed Aetas, now with pure hatred in her words.

“Tsk tsk tsk. Like you can stop me! I’ll find you Twilight and I’ll harvest that raw magic once I find you. You can hide your memories away but if Aetas slips up again... I will know where you are... The age of your kind will end and the age of humans shall be reborn!” exclaimed the male voice in a sinister laugh.

Twilight could feel Aetas’ anger as she pushed Twilight out of her body. Suddenly, Twilight felt as if she was floating now in someone else’s mind but without a body.

“I’m deeply sorry Twilight... If I had known he would feel your presence... I wouldn’t have pulled your mind out... What you saw is what could happen to your kind if you don’t stop all of this... Please... You and the others are the only ones who can free me from my prison,” said a saddened Aetas.

“What happened?” asked Twilight.

“Mankind, that’s what happened.... Luna had told you man’s greatest fault was their need for power. You see... Your kind are of pure order, pure harmony. Humankind... it is a species of balance.... Humans are like a double edged sword. They contain both good and bad in equal amounts but there is one thing that breaks their scales. They always have a need for power. It may have been the need to survive as they were a species of prey and predator.... I have little power... Go to Bigwell and look for the keys.”

“Keys? Why not rescue you?”

“I do not know where I’m being held. I’ve been driven to sleep for centuries at a time just to keep myself from losing my magical abilities... It makes me wish I was like your two princesses, Twilight...”

“Where... where am I?”

“You’re in my mind right now.... he’s already left and I’m keeping you away from his influence.... I miss Sapios... Please stay safe Twilight... I do not know what he plans to do but he knows of Equestria.”

“Why are you telling me this now?”

“I sense your magic. You are the Element of Magic and gifted. Though the Elements of Harmony will do no good for now, the power of friendship should be able to guide you into finding a way to stop all of this and save Sapios.”

“Why wouldn’t they work? We stopped Nightmare Moon and Discord with them! Please, tell me why!”

“They’re different... They’re the harmonistic connected of you ponies to nature itself. The universe’s natural order... Magic of us humans... it is different... it is more of the energies created by the constant imbalances within us all.... I tried to keep power away from them, knowing that it would cause only harm but in the end, it only made them yearn for it more and they killed for it... The Plague of Shadows was my fault and I do not deserve to wield this power anymore...”

“Aetas... what is this power you keep on talking about?” asked Twilight...

“I... I don’t have enough time... he is returning... Just keep Jenith safe... she can guide you. Your magic may be sealed away but she... she is powerful and can help you. Just guide her.”

Twilight frowned. “Tell me!”

Nothing replied as Twilight began falling upon feeling herself given a form. A million questions replaced the cryptic instructions Aetas ordered. While dropping down the ethereal abyss, a large glass clock face slowly appeared below. She kicked and screamed with each passing second as the bottom of the pit became dangerously close. Right upon impact, Twilight was quickly and violently thrown back into her body back the physical world.

In a cold fright, the bookish girl quickly sat up covered in sweat. She panted heavily as what had happened raced through her mind. Sitting her lap was Spike sleeping calmly, oblivious to Twilight’s night scare.

Twilight sighed, “At least... At least you’re all safe....”

The girl slowly looked around to see that she was back in the hotel room. Jenith was still asleep in the bed next to her’s with the slow rising and dropping of her chest evident under the thick blankets. The full moon sat low in the sky as Twilight examined the window. It’s white glow glistened in the leaves of the surrounding trees outside. After a few minutes of looking aimlessly at the moon, Twilight slowly checked on Rarity to see her sound asleep without a care in her room. Sitting across from her was an empty bed. It’s sheets were squared as if waiting for someone to occupy them.

“Luna?...”

The lunar princess frowned while hiding within the darkness of the night and the forest. Magic coursed through her veins, moon hanging low in sky in its fullest. It’s light allowed Luna to move about silently with each step while guards patrolled the wooden and stone barracks that sat before her in a large clearing. The sound of crickets and other nocturnal creatures accompanied the small chatter of tired guards.

In a quick instant, a lone guard who had passed Luna’s hiding spot quickly vanished without a trace. His torch going out harmlessly as Luna took her sword and plunged it into his throat between the plates of his armor. With her other hand, she muffled the small bit of screams he could make before his vocal cords became severed. Blood staining her sword and her gloves as she dropped the lifeless body onto the ground.

“By Celestia and I these innocent people will be saved...”

The lunar princess quickly used a spell to bend the moonlight to her will, concealing her into the shadows. As she kept against the walls, she hid her presence while guards passed her without noticing she was even existing. Luna quickly ran inside to see a few guards sitting in the mess hall eating their meals. With two quick swipes of her blade, the idle guards dropped without a sound.

“Their armor may be stronger than my sword but they are slow...” the moon princess thought to herself.

Luna quickly used her magic to pull the bodies below the tables out of the way of any wandering eyes. Only blood stained the tables at it matched the numerous dried blood stains from rare meats and drunken brawls. Luna moved down the hallway before jumping up onto the rafts above as she noticed a large squadron of ten or so guards talking away. Some had taken their armor off, leaving only simple undergarments and clothes on while others suited up to start their shifts.

The group suddenly heard a thud and turned around to see the ethereal blue haired woman standing there.

“Who are you?” said a guard in a shaking voice as he tried to pull his blade out of its scabbard.

Luna smiled as angry bloodlust filled her eyes, “I am your worst nightmare...”

In a sudden flash, the guard watched in horror. His comrades were dispatched in seconds with the audible sound of a sword slicing the leather bands holding the armor together echoing through the room. Each stroke slicing flesh between the alloy plates as blood splattered across the guard’s face. One guard failed to catch his breath while it escaped from the new hole in his throat while another clutched his chest while blood poured profusely from his wound. Nine of the ten guards fell simultaneously as Luna stood there wiping the blood off her sword with her fingers.

“You... you’re not human!”

“You’re right... I’m not...” A scornful look covered Luna’s face as she slowly walked up to the guard.

The guard suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach before looking down. Luna stood there as she held the sword that was plunged into his chest and up into his heart and lungs. The guard simply stared in disbelief at the lunar blade before slowly turning his eyes to Luna. His soul quickly slipped away while blood splattered on the floor below. The now lifeless body slid off Luna’s blade when her grip loosened. Standing in the doorway was a young Seeker wearing a brand new jacket with the emblem shining brightly on his lapel. A standard issue sword sat in his hands. His blond hair stood on his head disheveled from being woken up. He trembled in fear and began falling backwards as Luna slowly walked towards him.

“Wha...what happened?” exclaimed the new Seeker as he found himself in a corner with his sword in hand pointing at Luna.

The princess scowled before swiping the sword easily out of his weak fingers with a quick flick of her lunar blade, “Tell me where the magic users are held... NOW!”

The Seeker quickly fumbled with something in his jacket pockets before producing a ring of keys. Blood dripped from his now cut fingertips as he stared at the lunar woman in fear. The princess eyed him back with her own form of the stare before watching him point down a hallway to the left.

“Tha..tha...that’s where they’re held!” blurted the boy.

“Try to interfere me and I’ll end your life here... King Mortem is a criminal and a monster that you oh so reverently follow like a loyal dog,” Her voice quickly made the room rumble with each syllable.

“Yes...yes... yes ma’am!”

Luna pulled her eyes away as she walked into the hallway. Cells lined both sides filled with those arrested days before. The arrested consisted of young men and women and a few children.

“Are you... are you a Seeker?” asked a young boy. He eyed the princess from behind the bars. The same dull golden bracelets were wrapped around his wrists that kept any of them from escaping, magic or otherwise. Even though she was covered in more blood than a wild manticore after a successful hunt, she smiled weakly as she sheathed her blade.

“No, I’m here to free you. Magic is not a curse but a blessing. Run and hide away from the guards and Seekers. Do not tell anyone what I’ve done and more will find freedom,” said Luna in a calm manner as she kneeled down and took off her gloves. The kid slowly felt Luna’s cool hands before noticing a sweet smile on her face.

“Where are you from, miss?” asked the boy.

“From the moon. I’m from the moon...”

Luna began unlocking each cell one by one before returning to the room she left the Seeker in. Lying there was a sword as the Seeker had made a quick getaway.

“Horse apples...” Luna cursed.

The young seeker ran through the woods as the scenario replayed in his mind. The guards were slaughtered like pigs with clean precision with blood splattered the walls. The woods had become a foreboding obstacle course that he found himself contending with has he tripped many times.

“Gotta... alert... the other... Seekers!” yelled the young man running towards the local town. He smiled weakly with each step taking him closer to civilization. The young seeker quickly arrived at the outpost as the guard noticed him running towards the town gates.

“What do you want?” ordered the guard.

The Seeker stopped in his tracks and collected his thoughts. “We were attacked by a woman clad in blue at the barracks. She slaughtered all the guards!”

The guard looked at the Seeker in surprise at only one person taking out the barracks “Follow me. The King’s Swift Sword is here. He should hear this...”

Thank you Ponydora Prancypants, R5H, and Nothing_is_Constant for helping with the chapter and grammar.

Chapter 6 - Capture and Evasion

A young man, just out of his teens, stood in the doorway of the northern barracks while a few guards examined what had transpired. He ran his hands through his grey curly hair. With his deep blue eyes, he stared at the gruesome scene before him as bodies of highly trained soldiers lay strewn across the floors like broken toys. He covered his nose as the pungent smell of rotten flesh filled the air.

“Who killed all of them?” the Seeker ordered, kicking a sword on the ground.

A guard ran to his side almost like a dog. The Seeker glanced at his collar and noticed a small bronze cog with another one on the inside indicating lower rank. “Sir, the only survivor reported that it was a woman with blue eyes clad in deep blue or black that did this.”

“What about the magic users arrested. Were they killed?”

“No, Sir. They were released by said intruder.”

With a frown the Seeker kneeled down at one of the bodies and inspected it. None of the soldiers’ armor was pierced directly. Every strike was at the joints between the thick armor with some of the leather straps broken. The Seeker knew this was the work of a trained swordsman and not a simple bandit or hired mercenary.

“Sir, what are your orders?” asked the guard.

The Seeker slowly got up before turning around to his subordinate, “First, find the magic users. They’re top priority. I’ll make a plan to deal with our intruder...”

Jenith yawned as she slowly got up with her body rejuvenated. Twilight was awake reading a book, while she sat in her bed. It didn’t take long for Jenith’s eyes to trail down to the large pile of books that littered the floor at their bedside.

“Did you... read all of those?” asked Jenith, as she looked at Twilight in amazement.

“Only a small portion. Do you know anything about some keys?”

Jenith furrowed her brow at the question, “What keys are you talking about?”

With a sigh, Twilight returned to her books. “Nevermind.” Jenith wasn’t going to be of any help for the moment.

“I see you’re awake,” said a voice.

The blonde girl quickly looked behind to see Luna sitting there at the small table. She jumped for a moment before noticing the deep blue coloring of her clothes. “For a second there I thought you were a litefoot soldier... or some bandit lady.”

“What do you mean? I never got any unusual glares since we’ve traveled from Littlecove,” said Luna.

“With that flashy jewelry and whatnot, people probably assumed you’re from a war family. Litefoot soldiers wear light armor similar to your outfit.”

Luna quickly examined her clothes. They did give off a certain adventurous vibe, but it wasn’t out of place. Luna had noticed that some mercenaries wore similar clothes albeit not as crisp and clean. “If you want, I can put the jewelry away.”

“Best if you do. You don’t want thieves eyeing you. You got dyed hair, wearing contacts probably... Yup, you’re probably from some northern village or city.”

“Well, we’re from different villages but... yes Rarity, Twilight, and I are not from around this region of Sapios,” Luna lied.

“Where’s Rarity, anyway?”

“In the room next door,” replied Twilight.

A sudden sound of crackling wood made the group jump as a commotion erupted from the lobby downstairs. The floorboards shook in rhythm to the sound of heavy boots from below. With a frown Jenith pictured numerous scenarios in her head. “Stay here. I’ll investigate the brawl we got.”

Twilight quickly closed her book before pulling herself out of bed. “I’ll come with you.”

“Then stay behind me.”

The two quickly ran halfway down the stairwell before stopping to keep themselves hidden. In the lobby stood a cloaked man with his arms out. Two balls of pinkish fire sat in his hands. The tongues of pink flames appeared unassisted until Twilight and Jenith noticed dull pink sigils glowing on the man’s palms.

“Damn it Lithico... What are you doing?!” Jenith scorned.

“You know him?”

“He’s a magic user, like me. Tends to use fire based magic. He was arrested a few days ago... How did he get back into town?”

Twilight quickly examined the room to see four soldiers wearing burgundy leather armor. The uniforms were eerily similar to Luna’s clothes, but with more leather padding and capes that went down in a v shape. Each soldier had a sword out ready to strike if the cloaked man attacked. The silence was only broken by an overturned table that was ablaze.

“If you make one move, we’ll kill you right here!” yelled the lead litefooter.

“What do we do?” asked Twilight as fear took hold in her voice.

“Just stay back and let’s not get into this mess. We need to-” In a quick second, Lithico began charging forward with the ethereal pink flames in his hands. He took out two guards with burns around their eyes, blinding them both, before succumbing to a sudden stab in the chest. The offending guard quickly pulled out sword before allowing Lithico’s now lifeless body to fall down on the floor.

“Put that fire out! We got one less of them to deal with...” ordered on of the guards.

“Damn it Lithico! You idiot!” cursed Jenith. She quickly grabbed Twilight by the arm before pulling her upstairs and back into their room.

“Where have you been, Rarity?” exclaimed Twilight as she noticed Rarity sitting next to Luna.

“I was in the other room, thank you very much. Jenith, what happened downstairs?”

Jenith frowned as she remembered her friend Lithico. He had been a friendly kid who knew how to make a good joke out of anything. “Someone released Lithico and the others last night from the barracks. He got back into town but the guards found him. Now he’s gone.”

“Did they just... murder him right there?”

“They warned him but he didn’t listen... We have to leave town as soon as possible! Litefooters are probably everywhere and we don’t have time to stand around here.”

“What do we do?”

Jenith hesitated for a moment before noticing the single window in the room. “The windows... We’re just one floor up. We can jump down and sneak out of town.”

“But we don’t have supplies for an extra person,” replied Twilight.

“I can survive. I’ve been traveling since I was little. Now let’s get going!”

“Wait... Luna... could you teleport us to the edge of town?” asked Twilight.

Luna shook her head, “If there are guards around town, there are probably more searching in the surrounding areas. I’d be teleporting us to our deaths.”

“Teleporting? What are you talking about?” asked Jenith.

“We’ll explain later. Can you get us out of town?”

With a nod, Jenith quickly looked out of the window and searched the back alleyway. It was well hidden behind the neighboring buildings and there were no guards peeking around. “Let me build a ladder.”

Twilight watched as Jenith stepped back and slowly concentrated on the window. Suddenly, ice began to form on its ledge until a hastily constructed ladder manifested out of ice.

“Don’t tell anyone!” ordered Jenith while she stood there breathing heavily. Her magic was limited and it had taken a lot of strength to form such a large and intricate structure.

The group quickly went down before the last person, Jenith, dropped the bags below and joined them. With a sudden and quick movement, Luna pulled out her sword and destroyed the ice ladder, leaving only small bits of harmless icicles hanging from the windowsill.

“Leave no evidence.”

“The inn sits just north of the town. I can get us out into the thick woods. Just stay with me and we’ll be fine,” said Jenith.

The group began following Jenith while she slowly moved around the labyrinth of alleyways, cutting through small streets ever so often. Luna quickly noticed how many had came to town. From the leather padded litefooters to the plated armored standard guards, they all were spread throughout town like a bug infestation. With every few steps, the sound of doors breaking down and screams of fear emanated from a few buildings nearby.

“They’ve begun searching through the houses and stores I guess.” muttered Jenith. The alley they were in was ending fast as another street came into view. The group stopped before Jenith looked around. They were in the middle of the market and numerous guards and soldiers were about. Without any chance of sneaking by the group had become stuck.

“Too many guards. What do we do?”

Luna thought for a moment as Jenith kept a vigilant eye for an opening. Sadly, they didn’t have enough time. With guards beginning to check other alleyways, a mad dash in the open would get them caught. “I’ll lead a diversion.”

“You can’t Luna! We need you!” exclaimed Twilight.

“Trust me. I can handle myself.”

“I’ll take that!” Jenith smiled as she allowed Luna to jump out into the street. In seconds, the guards had noticed her while she moved forward, giving the group a chance to run to the next alleyway and out of sight.

“It’s the one who attacked the barracks!”

“Get her!”

With a small smirk in the corner of her mouth, Luna tightened her grip on her sword’s handle as more and more litesolders surrounded her. She twirled around and counted each guard before noticing the others sneaking by unnoticed.

Twilight flinched and stopped in her tracks as the sound of the soldiers’ yelling echoed in the alleyway.

“Come on!”

The bookish girl quickly returned her mind to the escape plan and caught up with the two before reaching the end of the alleyway and the tall obstructive wooden walls of the town.

“What do we do now?” exclaimed Rarity as she saw it was a dead end.

Jenith smirked as she placed her hands onto the wooden wall. “Just watch and enjoy the show.”

In a low glow, a good sized portion of the wood slowly became encased in ice before a good and powerful kick from Jenith’s leg broke it into ice covered splinters. What was left was a good sized hole for one to crawl through and a window to the thick woods that surrounded the town. With a quick look, Jenith found no guards around and gave the ok before watching the others crawl through the new exit.

Luna flicked her sword as the last of the litefooters fell at her blade. The leather armor proved useless to a conjured blade but the plate armored guards had forced her to be careful and slice at the weak points between the plates. Luna smiled as she noticed a small audience of townspeople staring at her in awe. Before long, another smaller squadron of all plated guards ran to the scene.

“Hold your blades!”

The guards quickly held their spots and formed a wall before allowing someone through. Luna kept a poker face going as the guards produced a young man in his early twenties. He wore a deep brown tunic made of a thick fabric under a copper colored jacket. On his lapel was the infamous badge of Seekers and sword and scabbard at his waist that was unique and different from the standard sword Luna had seen. The gem in the sword’s hilt glowed a dull blue as the man examined Luna’s handiwork. With a cocky smirk the man began to slowly clap his hands.

“You’ve decimated a barracks and slaughtered almost every soldier and litefooter under my command. Impressive.”

Luna could feel the air of his bloating ego as he kicked away a corpse at his feet.

“Who are you?” asked the Seeker.

“I am the night. I am the moon. I am Luna and I’m here to show everyone that magic is not an evil,” exclaimed Luna.

“Really? All you’ve ever done was anger the guards and put yourself in shit’s creek. I’ve already rounded half of the magic users you freed. The others, well, they resisted. They didn’t last long.”

“You’ve got some nerve with that boasting of yours.”

“Guards. Take her down!”

In a quick flash of burgundy and plate armor, Luna quickly held her ground as she skillfully dodged swords without breaking a single sweat. Blood began to stain her blue clothes as she hacked and slashed all of the guards within one single fluid movement. Only two guards remanded and both of them were hesitant of engaging.

“Come at me. I’ve got plenty more where that came from!” taunted Luna.

With his evergoing smirk the Seeker lifted his sword a bit out of its scabbard before running towards Luna. She jumped back a bit in surprise at the speed as she shifted her weight to the left, dodging his blade by only a finger. After the initial failed strike, the Seeker twirled his body, using the momentum he gained to take another slash at Luna, this time cutting a small scratch into her shoulder. Luna jumped back, ignoring the small amounts of blood from her cut. It would heal.

“I see why that novice of a Seeker was afraid. You can put up a good show!”

“What is your name?” ordered Luna.

“You want my address as well? You’re rather fast and we’ve just met.”

Luna kept her mouth shut as she began to understand what he was doing. He was egging her on, hoping to make her fumble and allow him to deliver a dangerous strike. In a second quick dash, the Seeker jumped forward with his sword in hand at the inhuman speed. Luna ducked and watched as the fuller of the blade passed through her vision. In the quick instant she noticed the dull blue sigils glowing on the fuller. Luna gave herself a pat on the back with the smirk on the Seeker’s face weakening.

“You’re mocking me. You haven’t even tried to strike me! Why did you attack the barracks? Tell me!”

Luna gave her own cocky smirk as she pulled the air into her lungs. “What you and your leader Mortem are doing is immoral, crude, and downright evil. You round up magic users and pull them away from friends and families and you say you’re doing them a favor. You lie saying the plague is their cause when it was not. I’m simply here to right the wrongs you’ve committed. People of Riventevile! Do you believe his lies? Do you really think these magic users are the cause of the plague? Please, give me your answers!”

In an instant the townspeople began throwing their opinions out. Each one slowly removed the smirk on Luna’s face as she allowed her ears to consume the poison that filled the air.

“You’re the criminal! You’ve doomed us to the plague!”

“Kill her!”

“I hope King Mortem has your head for all this!”

“She’s going to allow the plague to consume us!”

With his cocky smirk back on his face, the Seeker pointed his sword at Luna as she stared in horror at the townspeople. “You’ve changed nothing. We Seekers are the only thing keeping the plague from killing us all. You are no savior. Just a maverick who allows her insane ideas to sentence innocent people to a slow and painful death.”

“Why? Why don’t you believe me? Do you really believe this man?” pleaded Luna.

The air quickly became heavy with anger as the townspeople kept silent. Their glares were the ones to give their answers before the Seeker began to laugh.

“You’ve caused quite a scene! On our first date no less! Either you come with me or I’ll just simply strike you down here.”

In a fit of rage, Luna restarted the brawl and charged in with her sword in hand. The sudden charge quickly wiped the Seeker’s smirk off as he used his sword to brace the sudden strike. With a quick push, Luna jumped back and tried another strike. With the sudden volley, the Seeker became stuck parrying away Luna’s constant barrage. After a good minute, the Seeker jumped back panting while Luna did the same.

This time, the Seeker jumped forward and with his blade coming from below his waist. Luna quickly blocked the attack before feeling her sword ring down into the hilt. She pushed the Seeker back with a quick counterattack, slicing a deep gash into his side as she did.

Standing there with free hand holding his side, the Seeker allowed his two guards to attack, only to watch them fall in two strikes. Using his sword’s ability would leave him too weak and she already showed that his quick swift dashes would work against him. He twirled his sword and went into a stance while Luna did the same.

After a moment of silence the two charged at each other and began their fight anew. Each strike threw sparks, some glistening in yellow while others flew in white as human alloy struck against god-created metal. The towns people kept their guard as they watched the fight and light show. As Luna fight, she kept her guard and swiftly dodged the Seeker’s strikes, making sure she didn’t use her sword as a shield. After some dodging, the seeker suddenly turned too quickly for Luna to simply move out of the way. Another block using her sword occurred and the blades grinded against each other.

In a quick instant the ever so annoying smirk returned to the Seeker’s face. “You know, we could settle this... in my bed.”

With her free hand, Luna quickly gave the Seeker a punch in the face, knocking him back and breaking his lips. A spit on the ground was all he needed as an answer. Luna flicked her blade and examined it in the corner of her eyes. The cracks had grown and it was obvious that human alloys were superior in the long run. She had to end the fight soon or she would lose a blade and with the townspeople eyeing the whole fight she couldn’t conjure a new blade without them swarming in on her. It was a surprise to her that they didn’t do that already.

In a rush, the seeker began the fight again, catching Luna off guard and forcing her to use her blade yet again as a shield. With a parry, Luna dashed forward and took a slash at the Seeker’s legs. The Seeker stumbled back and examined his injuries. He was faring worse than Luna. She stood there twirling her blade while he stood at the other end of the arena bleeding from two deep gashes and a broken lip. “I will not back down!”

Luna gave her own smirk as she allowed him to go on the offensive. Again she simply dodged the attacks before trying to stab him. The Seeker shifted his weight and instead got a stab into his other leg. The lunar blade was quickly pulled out as the two created some distance.

Before the Seeker could retaliate Luna charged in but only found her sword clashing against his. She pulled back, making sure he didn’t see the blade as she did and continued twirling it in her hand.

The Seeker quickly pushed his foot against the ground and began charging in at high speed. Luna quickly swerved to the right and dodged the attack before he retaliated, forcing her to parry and create another show of sparks. The fight continued for another minute before the Seeker tried to go for Luna’s neck. She blocked with her sword before throwing the other sword and its owner back.

Luna jumped forward as she tried to strike him. In a quick instant, the Seeker parried her blade and a sudden jolt of pain emanated from her thigh. As she looked down, The Seeker’s blade slowly pulled away from her leg as she felt herself falling to the ground.

With sword out of Luna’s leg, he quickly swung his sword. Luna quickly pulled her sword up to block the strike before watching in horror as her sword took the impact. Vibrations rippled through Luna’s sword before it crumbled into pieces. Out of the corner of her eyes, the audience started moving closer before she noticed the unique blade right under her chin.

The smirk returned to the Seeker’s face, hiding the amount of pain he was in thanks to Luna. “Do not interfere. She’s in Seeker custody now.”

With a scowl Luna watched as the townspeople kept their distance. The seeker kept his guard as he pulled her hands together and placed a regular set of cuffs on.

“Come on. You’re coming with me,” ordered the Seeker.

The group grounded to a halt as they felt their legs beginning to go numb. It had taken them a while but they were easily far away enough that none of the guards would find them. After Jenith made sure her suspicions were correct, she allowed herself to fall onto the ground as sweat rolled down her face. The others had done the same with Rarity collapsing against a tree and Twilight sitting down nearby.

“So much... running.” gasped Jenith.

“Twilight.... How far are we?” asked Spike as he collapsed next to Twilight.

“I think we’re far enough.”

Rarity frowned at how dirty her clothes had become but kept her comments to herself. It would be a waste to even bother bringing it up. Jenith looked up to see the first few stars of the night taking their places.

“I guess we should get ready to sleep at least.” Jenith quickly began making a shallow pit before starting a small fire. The guards had been called back to town thanks to Luna and it meant nobody would notice them. Their spot was also too far from the main road, leaving the small fire hidden within the woods. After settling down around the campfire, Rarity fed the others with some fruit she had in her bag.

“So, what are we doing tomorrow?” asked Jenith.

Twilight frowned. “We go back to town and get Luna.”

“Sorry but if she’s got some business with the guards, we should just leave. I’m NOT getting myself tangled with them.”

“What? Abandon Luna? Do you even care what she did for us earlier?” Twilight yelled.

“Sorry, Twilight but it would just be stupid to return to town after she saved us with her distraction.”

Twilight glared at Jenith before turning to Rarity. “You’re with me, right?”

“I want to be on your side but Jenith is right. Luna wouldn’t want us to run back to get her.”

Twilight stared at Rarity with her jaw agape. “Rarity Le Belle! Do you hear what you’re saying? We don’t abandon friends!”

“It’s not abandoning a friend, idiot. I’ve had many friends. Many of them lost thanks to Seekers and Mortem’s soldiers. If you want, you can walk straight back into town but I see you’re unarmed and I’m pretty sure the wood’s predators would LOVE to have you as a midnight snack,” replied Jenith.

“Hey! Nobody asked you!” said Twilight with a loud voice.

Rarity sighed. “Twilight, darling, Luna will be fine. She’s very resourceful.”

After a few moments of silence, Twilight turned to Spike, causing him to jump a bit. “Spike, you’re with me, right?”

“I... I don’t know, Twilight. Jenith and Rarity are right but I don’t want to abandon Luna either. Maybe we should talk about this later?”

“I guess so...”

Rarity turned to Jenith as she formulated some way to change to conversation, “So Jenith... How did you learn to use ice magic?”

“Well... It happened when I was a little girl in my hometown. I would play around a small creek collecting little frogs and toads that lived nearby.”

“Ew, why would do you such things?”

“It’s a small town, Rarity. We didn’t have much to play with. Anyway, one day I was catching frogs and I had caught one in my hand. As kids, we magic users have outbursts of magic. Some are big, which usually catches a Seeker or lone guard’s attention while others are small. My hands just glowed and next thing you know it, the frog was frozen solid! I was afraid I had killed it and I ran straight home. Later I would learn that some frogs and toads can be frozen with little to no ill effects upon thawing out.”

“So why did you keep up with your magic? Surely you couldn’t have created that large dam of ice when you were little, darling.”

“Well, after... when I got older I began to travel and I had relied on my magic to get myself out of some unlucky situations. One time some thieves tried to attack me, but I was able to freeze them and get away. I was wearing a hood so none of them noticed who I was, thankfully.”

“So you’ve been going from town to town dodging Seekers since you were little?” asked Rarity.

Jenith nodded, “Yup. I’ve met many magic users and I’ve come to believe that what Mortem proclaims is not true. I just don’t understand why we magic users are immune to the plague. We just are.”

“Can... Can you show me some of your magic?”

With a nodded Jenith concentrated as her hands slowly began to glow on the back and in her palms. Rarity noticed that the lines on her hands seemed to form an image of a pentagon shaped piece of ice with a swirl in it. It looked similar to a cutie mark but as one whole color like an outline of one. The glow subsided and a small plumbob of pure ice sat in Jenith’s hands. The ice was clear, almost like crystal, with no impurities. It didn’t melt in her hands as she slowly dropped the ice crystal in Rarity’s. To her surprised it was extremely cold, colder than a normal icicle in winter.

“I can control to a degree how hard the ice is. So far I can get it as strong as a plate of copper but against standard issue humasium alloy, it’s pretty much useless.”

“Humasium?”

“It’s the special alloy the standard armor and weapons are made out of. You should know. Really strong and expensive.”

Rarity falsely nodded. She had never known the metal used by Mortem’s soldiers was so strong. Maybe it was stronger than the enchanted armor Equestria’s royal guard’s used. “We should get some rest. Tomorrow's going to be a long walk.”

Jenith nodded, “I hope your Luna friend is ok.”

“I hope so too but she’s very clever and capable.”

The two turned to Twilight and Spike who both had already fallen to sleep. With a smile, Jenith closed her eyes and quickly found sleep herself.

Luna sighed as the dull blue glow around her hands dissipated. She still had a duty to lower the moon and at least she could do it in secret. She stared at her cuffs before trying to pull them apart. Sadly, they didn’t budge one bit and after making sure none of the guards nearby were looking, Luna tried again with the assistance of magic. In the end they were unmoving to her will. With a frown Luna turned to her guard and quickly grabbed his attention. “What metal are these cuffs made of?”

“Humasium. Standard issue of all Seekers, plate soldiers, and litefooters,” said the guard.

Luna cursed herself. She knew humans were master metallurgists and they had taken their secrets with them when they sealed themselves. With a frown Luna pulled at her cuffs just to hear the rattle again. The sound of footsteps caught her attention as the Seeker from earlier walked in. His leg was bandaged and his other injuries had already been treated.

“Guard, open the cell.” he smiled with his signature smirk as he held the hilt to Luna’s broken sword in his hand. 'Huh. Not much of a sword.' His grin broadened. 'it just pales in comparison against humasium. I don’t see any folding in it at all.”

The moon princess kept her eyes on the Seeker as the guard unlocked and opened her cell.

“So, Luna, where are you from? You seem well traveled wearing that nice clothing of yours. Leader of some bandit or resistance group?” asked the Seeker.

“No... I am alone”

“Hmm. It’s sad that such a cute girl such as you is locked up in here.”

Luna held back her hand as the urge to give him a sucker punch built up in her. “What do you Seekers do?”

The Seeker flicked a lock of his hair as he collected his thoughts. “Seekers, those who seek what is hidden. We are the special force that protects Sapios from traitors, dangerous criminals, and most importantly the Plague of Mora.”

“Plague of Mora?”

“It’s from an ancient word meaning halt. It’s fitting to the plague’s symptoms. Complete loss of all muscle function with the visible sign being black angular lines crossing the body. One dies simply by starvation, predation, or dehydration. It’s like the stare of a cockatrice but worse. At least you can theoretically stay alive forever if you were turned to stone. Now tell me, what makes you believe the magic users are innocent?”

“They ARE innocent. I know it. What have they done to hurt any of you?”

“Uraniya the Decayer. Monolitho the Stone Rock. Do these names ring any bells? They are the most dangerous warlords and criminals in Sapios history dating back eight hundred years ago just before the unification under King Mortem. Every one of them was a powerful magic user and guess what followed in their wake? The Plague itself. Magic users attract the plague even if it seems that it’s been eradicated. King Mortem, in his infinite wisdom, unified Sapios and has kept the plague back by our hands. You are doing nothing but allowing us to succumb to the plague’s grasp.”

Luna could taste the rage boiling inside of her at the atrocious idea that Mortem and his Seekers were somehow helping the last humans. “What if I told you... that there’s more beyond the barriers?”

The Seeker raised his brow. “I don’t believe you. Every sailor who’s ventured towards the barrier has seen nothing but giant waves, whirlpools, and superstorms. No ship has ever survived those conditions. Flying using manticores or dragons doesn’t work either. You hit the magical wall of the barrier at any height.”

“You are fools if you believe there’s nothing beyond the barrier.”

“Some DO theorize that there’s land beyond the barrier. Untouched by sentient kind thanks to the plague. But at last, it’s only theories.” he retorted. “Now then. Come with me.”

“And what if I don’t?” scowled Luna.

“I could kill you right here.”

Luna simply frowned as the Seeker pulled her by her wrist and with a few guards nearby, escorted her to a caravan outside.

Twilight yawned as she awoke to broken sunlight through the white bark trees around her. The fire pit next to her was cold as it had been extinguished last night before bed. Laying against a tree nearby was Jenith as used her grey jacket to cover herself with. A few leaves stuck into her straight blonde hair as she sat there still sleeping. With a scientific eye, Twilight examined the sleeping Sapiosian. She was petite for a female human of her age and even though she was well traveled, she has little to any scars to ruin her pinkish white complexion. In the corner of her eye, Twilight quickly noticed a small piece of fabric pinned to her jacket’s sleeve. It was white with red polka dots.

After a few seconds, Jenith slowly woke up to Twilight staring at her. “You’re still here Twi? I thought you would have left back for town as soon as you woke up,” said Jenith as she got up and placed her arms in her jacket.

“I can’t leave Spike and Rarity alone... But I still don’t want to abandon Luna.”

“Your Luna friend is probably good with her sword. She’s probably somewhere out of town already. Anyway, let’s get ready to leave before some big animal finds us.”

Twilight nodded and quickly woke Rarity and Spike up before packing her bags. The group eventually left and after walking aimlessly in one direction, found the main road.

“Which way do we go?” asked Twilight.

Jenith smiled, “North. Riventevile is directly south of Bigwell. Should take at most a day or so before we reach the city.”

“Jenith, when did you last visit Bigwell City?” asked Rarity.

“About, I guess half a year ago. During the Bigwell Ball. I worked with the catering for some decent amount of pinions. Bought myself a nice spa treatment at Bigwell”

“They have... Spas?” exclaimed Rarity in glee.

Jenith looked at Rarity wondering if she was going insane. She almost jumped at the sound of the word. “Yeah... there’s a spa in Bigwell. The city sits at the base of a volcano.”

“Oh this trip is going to be great, darlings! I can already smell the aromas of it’s soothing steam. The nice feeling of somepony taking all the aches in my back and joints away.”

Somepony? Jenith thought to herself. “Rarity, unless you have a nice bag of pinions I haven’t seen, I doubt the three of us, four if you count Twilight’s dragon pet...”

“I’m not a pet!” interrupted Spike sitting in Twilight’s bag.

“... dragon friend, will get a chance to enjoy any nice day of high class stuff.”

Rarity’s smile quickly went away at the realization. With little money on hand, the group was stuck only able to buy necessities and no luxuries whatsoever.

The group continued on until hunger began to set into their stomachs. Eventually they found a large boulder near the side of the dirt road and sat down for lunch. Rarity had quickly cut apart some veggies and a few fruits before passing them around. Twilight was thankful that Rarity was prepared for traveling.

“I wish I could have some gems,”moaned Spike as he slowly ate some carrots they had bought back in town.

“Maybe they’ll have some rubies in town to buy for you, Spike,” comforted Twilight.

Jenith looked at her handful of vegetarian food for a few seconds before eating. If only she had some delicious roasted pheasant or some rabbit to add to the small lunch. The girl quickly removed the thoughts out of her head as it caused her to hunger even more. “Let’s get going.”

It didn’t take long for them to finish and they found themselves back onto the road. As they walked, Twilight became slightly curious. With all the walking, they should have passed a caravan or someone traveling as well.

“Hey, Jenith. Why haven’t we seen anyone?” asked Twilight.

“The roads leading down south are not used that much. The most used roads are the northern ones and the eastern ones leading to the Cavern Mountains. We’ll be lucky to see some random courier or something.

“So the southern region of Sapios is pretty much the poorest.”

“You got that right. I guess they don’t tell you all this in the northern mountains.”

Twilight frowned. Equestria did have its ups and downs but economically, the nation was stable with low poverty. Form what Jenith described it sounded like Sapios wasn’t even trying to help the poor.

With a frown Rarity looked around. The air felt stale as if the wind had stopped and the uneasy feeling that they were not alone started to settle inside.

Jenith frowned as she and the others stopped in their tracks. She had a gut feeling going on. With her eyes closed and her mind concentrated the sound of muffled footsteps filled her ears. Jenith kept her guard up as a group of numerous thugs jumped from the woods and surrounded the four.

Twilight stumbled back towards Rarity and the others as the bandits encircled the group. “This is not good!”

Thank you R5h and FanNotaNerd for the help!
Thanks to Static_Shock, and GarlandGala and for grammar editing!

NOTE: Chapter 1 has been rewritten.

Chapter 7 - The City in the Night

With fear and horror in her eyes, Twilight could only stare at one of the bandits that encircled her and the others. The bandits wore cheap leather tunics and most carried short swords or daggers, all of which were made from simple metals. Many of them had creepy grins while others kept stone cold looks like this was a normal job.

“Hand over the pinions and we’ll give you no harm. Part of Southern Wood’s Trail Tax,” said a bandit.

Jenith gritted her teeth before speaking. “Why attack us? We have nothing to give you!”

The bandit that spoke laughed. “Really? Two Valleyians and a Southern Woodsgal? I can see you having nothing, but the other gals... I’m not buying it. Heck, the one with the curls looks like she’s loaded!”

Rarity slowly edged back to Twilight, close enough to whisper to her friend. “What do we do? We’re surrounded!”

The bandits kept their ground with everyone staying still. Twilight quickly looked around for an opening. “I...I don’t know.” She couldn’t think of anything. Magic was her answer but without it, she was defenseless. Just like with the gigacobra.

“Get them! Find whatever pinions you can get!” yelled the thief,

The bandits charged in with adrenaline filled fury. Jenith quickly concealed her hands before creating thick ice around her fists. The first bandit missed when he tried to attack Jenith and his reward was a powerful fist of ice in the chin, knocking him out instantly and throwing small shards of conjured ice into the air.

With quick but shaking fingers, Rarity drew an arrow and released it. The arrow was a direct hit in a bandit’s leg. Now incapacitated, more bandits took his place and forced Rarity to continue shooting arrows frantically, trying her best to keep them accurate but only getting miss shots and a few grazes. When the bandits began to get too close, Rairty quickly resorted to using her bow as a bludgeon.

Twilight could only watch Jenith and Rarity guard her. A bandit quickly tried to strike Jenith but she was more agile and had already ducked and grabbed onto something strapped to her boot. A large streak of the bandit’s blood was the next thing Twilight saw as Jenith returned the favor with a hidden knife. After pulling the blade out of the bandit’s shoulder, Jenith pushed him back and took on two more bandits, again taking them out without a thought.

“They’re getting too close!” yelled Rarity. Twilight turned around with Spike in hand to see only five more arrows in Rarity’s quiver. The bandits that were left had already pushed forward, giving little room for Rarity to breathe. Suddenly, one of the bandits jumped and pushed Rarity down before raising his hand up, knife ready.

“Don’t!” What Twilight saw in front of her was changing. The andrenaline that was in her body went into overdrive. Her mind, filled with fear, began to move away from what was Twilight and to something else. Her vision became blurred and her arms and legs began to move by their own accord. Only splotches of brown, purple, and red were in Twilight’s vision as she felt herself tumble around. Her mind was stuck in auto-pilot, following instincts and the need to self preserve.

“Twilight!”

Her name quickly pulled her out from the rush of adrenaline. Her vision becoming clear again and her senses returning. She couldn’t remember what she did. She saw Rarity in trouble and reacted. One of the bandits was now below her, dead from a dagger plunged into his chest. The sight made the world around Twilight freeze like a photo. Her arms were covered in red splotches and the crisp iron smell stung her nose.
There were bruises on her arm but the blood wasn’t hers.

Jenith quickly took out another bandit before turning back to her two friends. “Run! Both of you!”

Rarity quickly got up and saw Spike being cornered by a few bandits. With a good eye, she dropped the two bandits before scooping Spike up into her arms. “Keep your head down!”

Jenith took one more bandit before running up to Twilight, still dazed at what she had done. “Twi! Twilight!” She wasn’t responding. Jenith gritted her teeth before grabbing Twilight’s arm and pulling her away.

The three quickly ran away right when the bandits were confused to what had just happened. Their leader was laying dead with his own dagger in his chest, blood slowly pouring from his wound and staining his leather tunic.

“Will they chase us?” asked Rarity.

Jenith shook her head. “No. Twi got their leader. They’ll probably run back with their tail between their legs.”

“But they don’t have tails.”

“Figure of speech!”

The three ran as far as they can through the forest. To them, time was still. None of them could recall how long they had ran and after slowing down and allowing the adrenaline in their veins to dissipate, the three noticed they were now in a field of wheat. The forest was far behind them, only a wall of green leaves.

“Nice one, Twilight,” said Jenith with her blade in hand.

Twilight stared at the ground, thinking of what had just happened “I... I... I killed him.” Her mind could recall in detail what she saw. The blood. The blade. She had broken out of her normal logical self and reverted to an animal.

“Well yeah... Sometimes, the only option is to take the life of the enemy.”

Rarity frowned. “Jenith, I don’t think...”

“I killed him! I’m a murderer!” yelled Twilight. Tears rushed down her cheeks while she grasped her hair.

“Calm down! Why are you so worried? Is was him or you. Don’t you get it?”

“No!”

Jenith scowled and quickly grabbed Twilight by the arms. “This is life down here in the Southern Woods and fields of Sapios! I know you got the nice guards and low crime of the Northern Valleys but here, you fight to survive! Get it?”

The only thing Twilight could answer was a small whimper and a nod. It was an answer and Jenith loosened her grip. “Just... Just don’t worry about it. We’re safe now.”

Rarity stared at her distraught friend before turning away, hoping not to see Twilight break down even more. “Have you... had to take a life before?”

“... Yes. I don’t remember how long ago but two guys tried to have their way with me. I was lucky that the man’s dagger was easy to grab. Didn’t hesitate for a moment. Next thing I knew, he was dead and his friend’s neck was sliced open... I’m not proud of it but it was the only choice I had.”

“Is... Is this what happens in Sapios?” asked Twilight.

“Yes. Behind the smiles and the friendliness of the small towns, we have to fight each day just to survive the next. Many Northern Valleyians don’t understand what we have to do down here. It’s a shame really... Ignorant of what it truly means to survive.” Jenith quickly helped Twilight back up after she calmed down.

“So... Where is Bigwell City?” asked Rarity.

“It’s down this path. We’re in the large fields before the city itself.” Jenith quickly pointed to something in the distance.” You see those tower tops?”

Rarity and Twilight both turned towards the road to see the top of some tan colored towers in the distance. Three towers were sticking out from the rest.

“That’s Bigwell City. Home of King Mortem and home to the largest library of Sapios,” said Jenith.

“Library? How big is ?” asked Rarity.

“Well, I guess it’s bigger than most libraries I’ve been to. It’s the Sapios Archives for a reason. You’ll find whatever you two are looking for there.”

“Keys... Keys...” muttered Twilight.

“What, Twilight? Keys?” asked Rarity.

Twilight looked at Jenith for a moment before turning to Rarity. “The Keys. That’s what we need. The four keys.”

“Keys... Keys... Wait, you don’t mean the Four Time Keys, do you?” asked Jenith.

“I think so...”

“Those artifacts were never discovered. Why are you looking for them?”

“Well... I heard about them.”

Rarity looked at the two in confusion for a moment before replying. “What are these keys the two of you are talking about, darlings?”

Jenith sighed. “It’s an old myth that Aetas hid a powerful artifact away using these four keys. In the early time of Mortem’s rule, small resistance groups tried to look for them with no avail.”

“What artifact?”

“There’s no true name to it so it’s simply called the Power. I don’t know much but legend states the one who wields it could command the world and shape it to their will.”

“Sounds like something very dangerous.”

“I guess it is but it’s just a simple myth. A myth many famous wars were fought over before Mortem’s reign. We should get going before dusk. Timberwolves like to stalk the fields at night.”

Rarity nodded and got Twilight back onto their feet before following Jenith.

Luna stared in boredom at the guard in front of her. The journey was long as they had barely cleared the woods yet. Something about a detour and recent bandit attacks had made the journey to Bigwell longer. The Seeker was sitting nearby with a leather bound book in hand. He had his injuries already looked at and would soon heal without a problem. Whatever he was reading, it had him engrossed.

“How long is it until we reach the city?” asked Luna.

The Seeker smiled while still keeping most of his attention to the book. “About a day at most. We’re in no hurry anyway.”

Luna sighed. “So. Why are you bringing me to Bigwell? Shouldn’t you just kill me right here?”

“I’m not a judge, now am I?”

With a huff, Luna understood that he was in no mood to talk. The Seeker returned to his book and for a moment, the silence was the only thing giving Luna any form of entertainment.

The screech of a falcon above caught Luna and the Seeker’s attention. Riding on the currents, the falcon looked down. Something was tied to its leg. Luna’s attention quickly switched to the Seeker who had already pulled out a thick glove from his pocket.

The Seeker held his arm up with glove already on, allowing the falcon to land on his hand like a perch. The reward for the falcon was a piece of meat the Seeker had recently brought with him. There was a small scroll strapped to the falcon’s leg with the emblem of Seeker emblazoned on it.

After rewarding the trained bird, the Seeker took off the scroll and allowed the bird to fly off; probably back to Bigwell City. The Seeker silently read the message inscribed in the scroll before quickly ripping it up. Whatever the scroll said had wiped the grin off of the Seeker’s face. A sour frown was all that replaced it.

“Stop the cart!” he ordered.

The cart took only a second to slow down. Luna watched as some guards got off for a moment, one of them conversing with the Seeker but too low for her to hear clearly. The Seeker turned to Luna after finishing his conversation.

“What does King Mortem want?” asked Luna.

The Seeker frowned. “Follow me. Guards. Stay here and watch the caravan.”

Twilight stared at the large tan walls before her. Bigwell City’s walls were menacing to say the least. With thick stone and many guards moving about the top of it, the wall showed no signs of wear and tear.

“Bigwell City. The center of Sapios and its crown jewel. Heck, Manton City fails in comparison to its splendor,” said Jenith in awe.

“Manton City?”

“City in the Southeastern coast. Best seafood I’ve ever had!” said Jenith with a big smile across her face.

“Yeah... So, what can you tell me about Bigwell?”

“I’d like to hear about its history. It’s quite a beautiful city... Almost like Canterlot,” said Rarity.

“Canterlot? Anyway, Bigwell had been the capital of Sapios since before Mortem became king. If I remember correctly, the stories say Aetas herself had created the well to feed a thousand people after the volcano nearby erupted. The well now serves as the water source to Bigwell City and its also used to power it.”

“Power?”

“Some new experimental thing. Bigwell and a few cities are testing electricity. Some say it will change the future. I just wish small towns had it. Would make the night less dangerous.”

Twilight became curious to how Bigwell used water for electricity. Equestria had power everywhere via enchanted gems but there was little to anything suggesting Sapios had enchantments.

“Just be careful. This is the capital and guards are everywhere... Maybe I can find a small shop to find a nice Forgetempo dress.” Jenith wondered.

The three quickly returned to walking and found themselves at the large impressive gates. If the greyish colour and subtle swirls in the gate's material were any indication, it was all humasium. Twilight quickly noticed two guards, in the standard burgundy uniforms.

“How many people live in Bigwell City?” asked Rarity.

“I don’t know. Manton City is the largest by population but Bigwell is known for its appearance,” said Jenith.

One of the guards walked up to the three, ignoring the fact that they were in a conversation. “Bags please?”

“What do you mean? I shall not hand over my bag,” said Rarity.

The guard sighed. “Look, it’s standard procedure.”

“He’s right, you know,” Jenith replied.

With a reluctant sigh, Rarity handed the bag over to the guard who quickly searched it before handing it back. “You’re clean. Now the girl with the two tone hair.”

Twilight wasn’t paying attention when the guard pointed at her. “What? Me?”

“Bag please.”

The searching was short and the guard allowed the three in after giving Twilight a small chat about Spike.

“What did the guard say to you?” asked Rarity.

“He just told me to watch Spike. Apparently, Spike isn’t a citizen and I’m his legal guardian or something,” said Twilight.

Jenith nodded. “Well, yeah. The only dragons that get full citizenship are those that work in the military.”

“Why?”

Jenith shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t heard of a single dragon being bothered about it. It’s just how the system works. For two Valleyians, you sure are both living under a rock.”

Rarity frowned at the slight jab and continued to follow Jenith and Twilight into the city walls. What they saw made the two gasp. The buildings around them were large. Made from tan bricks, they were draped in burgundy and gold tapestry and many trees and flowers lined the roads. Numerous people walked about wearing colorful clothing. To Twilight and Rarity’s surprise, the humans of Bigwell had a full spectrum of eye and hair colors. It actually made the two feel not as obvious as before.

The three were standing near a large well, the namesake of the city. The well had a large clock over it with a very intricate clock face. Half of it was dark grey while the other was light silver. For a second, Rarity was having a déjà vu.

Behind the big well stood a large building of the same tan blocks the other buildings were made from. This one was the largest with large burgundy flags hanging from its walls with the Sapios emblem on them. The large opening allowed many men and women, most either guards or wearing business clothing, to enter and leave the place. The building was topped by three spires, the middle and tallest one holding another clock with a large “M” in the clockface.

“Why didn't we see anyone wearing all this before?” asked Twilight.

“This is Bigwell City, duh. Most people here are well off. They can afford dyes and lenses.”

“Lenses?”

“It’s mostly used for looks. Some transparent plant that grows in the Northern Valleys. Twilight? Are you even listening?”

Twilight stared at the carts that were moving by. Each one was pulled by manticores. What caught Twilight’s interest was that the manticores looked nothing like the ones back in Equestria. For one, they were smaller. Only big enough for maybe two people to ride on their backs without an issue. Their manes were thinner and they all wore metal greaves around their legs and paws. Their fangs were also smaller and their wings were somewhat larger.

“Manticores?”

“Why are you looking at manticores, Twilight? You want to ride one?”

“No. It’s just.... nothing. So, where is the Sapios Archives?” asked Twilight.

Jenith sighed. “Well... They’re located in Tri-Spire palace.” The girl pointed to the large tan building behind the big well.

“So that’s... the home of King Mortem himself?” asked Rarity.

“Yeah and it’s getting late. The library’s probably closed. If anything, we should find a lodge to stay at. Rarity, didn’t you say you had family here?”

“No, I did not.”

“Really? I thought you did.” Jenith scratched her head for a moment before shrugging it off. “I know a cheap place that’s actually nice!”

Rarity nodded with a smile. “How did you find it?”

“A small job. I’ll show you.”

“Stop,” ordered the Seeker.

Luna frowned before looking around. The guards had stayed back with the caravan while the Seeker escorted her to some part of the woods. Behind her, only trees were visible and not a single guard. The canopy above was thick and little to no light penetrated through. The loud sound of birds filled the air.

“Who are you?” demanded the Seeker with anger in his voice.

“I already told you. I am simply Luna.”

With a heavy sigh, the Seeker stepped back, looking around. Luna frowned as he stepped behind her, craning her neck to keep him in her line of sight. “What are you–”

The rasping hiss of a sword leaving its scabbard cut her off. A moment later, she felt a hideous crunch midway up her chest, and a feeling on unbearable cold. Shaking, she looked down, at the blade sticking out of her chest. With a quick pull, the Seeker yanked the blade free. Then the pain struck her.

A low moan escaped her mouth as the strength left her legs and she slumped to the ground, celestial blood pooling around her. Why... she thought, struggling to breathe. With every breath, blood bubbled up in her throat.

“Who are you?” she heard the Seeker yelling, as if from a great distance. “You should be dead, dammit!”

Luna summoned up the last of her strength and spat a stream of blood in the man’s face. “Bite me,” she rasped.

The rage that appeared on the Seeker’s face was terrifying. For a moment, he looked like he was about to strike Luna’s head from her shoulders – but he quickly reined himself in. Instead, he settled for a violent kick to the chest that cracked a rib. “Whoever you are,” he spat, “King Mortem will find out. And so will I.”

Luna ignored him and focused on breathing. Already, she could feel the stream of warmth from her chest beginning to slow.

The Seeker forcefully pulled Luna back up onto her feet. Dragging her by the scruff of her shirt, Luna was pulled through the woods while the Seeker looked around for something. The search ended upon the discovery of a small stream nearby.

Luna stared at the stream for a moment before she felt the Seeker’s hand push her down. The next thing Luna knew, she was gasping for air, only to receive more water down her throat. I don’t believe it, she thought. He’s trying to drown me.

An eternity later, the hand on the back of her neck pulled her back out. Luna coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of turgid riverwater. The portion of her mind not concerned with expelling water from her lungs filled with grudging admiration. Smart. Easier to explain why I’m soaking wet than to explain why I’m covered with blood.

She stiffened as she felt cold steel against her neck again. “Move,” the Seeker said coldly. “Hopefully a bit of a beating will dissuade you from trying to escape through the river.”

Luna gritted her teeth. She saw what he was doing. “Understood. It won’t happen again.”

As the Seeker roughly pulled her back toward the caravan, several of the guards stood, concern etched into their faces. “What happened? We heard something, and–”

“The prisoner tried to escape,” the Seeker snapped. “Thought she could get herself swept away by a river.” He glared at her. “Get moving. King Mortem wants to see the prisoner immediately. You know where his encampment is.”

Luna fought to keep her face neutral as they dragged her back to the carriage. Mortem’s here?

With a smile, Jenith allowed herself to call into the nice couch of the room. The sun had already set and thanks to a few pinions and a few string pulling, she had, her and the others had a place to stay for the night. Jenith looked around to see Rarity examining the decor of red and gold, a common theme even in the lower costing inns.

“How did you get us a room, anyway?” asked Rarity.

Jenith quickly gave a cocky smirk before stretching for a moment. “I did a job a few months earlier and the manager never had a chance to pay me back. So I made a deal with him.”

“What deal?”

“Something I’ll tell you...”

The thumping sound of knocking quickly caught the two girls’ attention. Rarity quickly got up and answered the door. Standing there was a tall lithe man wearing a dull grey tunic. His caramel colored skin matched the the wallpaper of the hallway and his curly hair was slightly unkempt but still attractive. His muscled arms were crisscrossed with numerous scars.

“Hey, Jenith. I need ya for a second.”

“Yeah, Davin?”

The man gestured Jenith to come outside and the two left the room, leaving Twilight and Rarity alone.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” asked Twilight.

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s having Spike in the building? He could be seen as a potential fire hazard.”

“I hope not... I rather not wake up Spike and have a cranky dragon on our hooves.” Twilight remembered that he had fallen asleep since they reached the hotel, apparently the day’s ordeal had gotten the best of the little guy.

“Say, Twilight, darling. What did you mean by keys?”

Twilight stared at Rarity for a moment, her logical mind scrambling to find what she meant. The keys Twilight had mentioned, a moment after she had... done the deed to someone.

“I... It’s hard to explain.”

“Trust me Twilight. I doubt it’s harder than what we’ve been through,” Rarity deadpanned.

“Well... I had a dream... I think. I saw Aetas and... she was hurt. But worse, I think whomever had hurt Aetas knows who we are. I tried my best to keep him away from knowing where we are at least... but now he knows that I’m the Element of Magic.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well... when he searched through my memories, I could feel something. Like something bad. Well, after that experience. Aetas told me to go look for keys in Bigwell.”

“So you talked to Aetas herself? I’ve heard of Princess Luna appearing in the dream of foals but how is that possible? Did Aetas say where she was?”

Twilight shook her head. “No. And I couldn’t tell when she allowed me to see what she saw. All I know is that she’s hurt and she’s in some dark dungeon or something.”

“Twilight... I think this more than we originally imagined. If Aetas, a goddess no less, is in serious trouble, then we need to help.”

“But what do we do? We don’t know anything about Sapios.”

“Yeah... And we can’t just bring Jenith along with us.”

Twilight paused for a moment before something clicked in her mind. “Wait, Aetas told me that Jenith is a part of all this. She has to come along!”

“Twilight? We can’t. She’s an innocent girl who barely gets by. What if she gets hurt or worse... dies?”

“I... I don’t know. I can’t have another life in my hands...”

Rarity sighed. “I understand it must be hard for you but you had no choice. Like Jenith said, it was you or him.”

“But Rarity. You should know it’s wrong to take another life. What if he had children and he has parents!”

“I understand that, Twilight, but sometimes... You have to take drastic measures in these circumstances.”

With a sigh, Twilight ended the conversation. “Maybe some other time.”

Rarity nodded and began taking some fruit they still had and began cutting them apart before giving Twilight some. “Eat.”

The slices of apples were very inviting to Twilight’s tongue and reminded her of back home. A tear dropped from her face. “I miss Equestria.”

“I do too.” Rarity sympathized with Twilight. They had been away far too long from Equestria. The innocent face of her sister, Sweetie Belle, produced a few tears on her face before she ate another slice of Sweet Apple Acre apple.

After dinner and a minute of waiting Jenith returned. She looked at the two, confused to what made the air feel so heavy. “I’ll be gone for an hour or so.”

“Why?” asked Rarity.

“Davin asked me to do something and it wouldn’t hurt to get a few extra pinions. Besides, I haven’t seen either of you with any so I guess you lost yours or something. May help you for the road.”

“Thanks but...”

“No buts. Consider it my generosity to you two!” said Jenith with a smile.

With a small thump, the door closed, leaving Rarity a bit curious to what Davin wanted Jenith to do.

A few minutes passed with Twilight sitting at a table nearby. She was staring outside at the illuminated streets of Bigwell. Men and Women walked about still, even during the night. It was different from the small towns, which had little to no people outside during this time.

“Humans are very... unique,” Twilight thought out loud.

“Yes and yet they’re so like us.”

“What do you mean Rarity?”

“Think about it? There are good and bad humans. Just like ponies. They live, they love. The differences between them and us are only superficial. I don’t think they should be sealed away from the rest of the world.”

“I don’t know... We were attacked by bandits and considering what we’ve learned, humans can be very selfish at times.”

“Aren’t there selfish ponies? I may be taking this from AJ but ‘Don’t let a few bad apples ruin the whole bushel,’” said Rarity sternly. “That reminds me. When do you think Celestia will contact us? We haven’t heard from her for a while.”

It was then that the sound of a certain dragon hacking away caught both of their attention. In a small flash of green fire, a familiar scroll materialized, leaving a very grouchy dragon who was shaken awake. “Can’t I get some sleep?”

Rarity stifled a laugh. “Sorry Spike, but that was cute.”

“You really think so?”

“Yes, but let’s get to the letter.”

Twilight nodded and quickly scooped the scroll into her hands before reading it out loud. “Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I hope everything is fine in Sapios. AJ and Fluttershy are worried and AJ tells me that it’s getting increasingly hard to keep your current adventure a secret. So is Fluttershy as well. The two both miss you and hope for the best. I want to hear about how Luna is doing. I bet she’s having a good time. We hope to see you soon.”

Your loving teacher,

Princess Celestia.”

Twilight frowned at the letter at the thought of Princess Luna. How would she tell Princess Celestia that her sister was not with them? She could have been captured or stuck in another city for all Twilight knew.

“You’re thinking about Princess Luna, aren’t you?” asked Rarity.

Twilight nodded.

“At least we know she’s safe somewhere. otherwise there wouldn’t be a moon outside.”

Twilight slowly turned and looked outside through the room’s window. Indeed Luna’s moon was hanging in the sky with its white glow but Twilight still wished the princess was still with them. She gave off an air of confidence and when Luna was around, Twilight knew she was safe.

The sudden muffled sound of something downstairs caught Rarity’s attention. It sounded like cheering with other things but Rarity couldn’t make it out.

“I’ll be back.”

Rarity slowly walked outside to the hallway, trying her best to locate where the noise was coming from. It felt a bit harder considering human ears were unmovable. After the noise got a bit louder, Rarity walked towards the large stairs leading to the front desk. Nearby was the entrance to the Waterwood Cafe, a small restaurant that was also managed by Davin, the hotel manager.

Rarity’s curiosity got the better of her and she slowly poked her head into the dining room. Sitting around the tables were many men and women, most of them wearing more bland colors and thus, what Rarity assumed, were the lower class of Sapios. Men and women who did the more simple and physical jobs.

The tables were simple with clean white clothes and simple silverware and each one had a small candle in the center covered with some glass. The tables were situated in front of a stage where three men in tan tunics were. Two of them had guitars while another sat on a wooden box. The guitars were somewhat different to what Rarity had seen back in Equestria. For one, the strings were all closer and one man was playing chords that only a unicorn could play if they trained their magic well enough.

Rarity’s attention quickly turned to three women who were standing there. Their dresses were beautiful with intricate designs and many frills at the bottom in three layers. One woman with curly red hair was grabbing onto the upper set of frills. Upon pulling at them, Rarity realized that the skirt was made of three layers, each one longer than the one on top and ending in frills. The women all wore thick black heeled shoes.

Among them was Jenith but she looked different. For one, she wore makeup and the strands of hair that partially covered her face was pulled back with a simple metal hair clip. Her dress was a light blue with black swirling patterns starting from the frills. To Rarity, it reminded her of simple snowfall, albeit the black was something Rarity would have changed.

The lead guitarist began to pluck at some strings and a soothing melody started. At this point the crowd had stopped and stayed silent. Suddenly, the man slapped his guitar, silencing the strings and began again.

The red haired woman walked up stage before stopping. She simply stood there, eyes closed as the song went on.

Suddenly, the next guitarist joined in and with the percussionist, the three switched the tune with energy and vigor. The woman on stage started to pull on the front of her dress, revealing more of her feet. She took a step in tempo with the song and slapped her heel on the stage. She did this a few more times before going into a quick successive stomping spree. Its sound reverberating through the wooden stage.

The song went on, filling the room with energy. The woman twirled her arms around and slapped her hands together, creating a sound similar to slapping two cups together. The guitar was slapped again and returned to a lower note before climbing up. The woman, with the song, stopped and started slowing before rising to a faster pace of tempo as well.

The man continued to slap his guitar at every beat and the woman slapped the floor hard with it. In between, she would tap her feet with the music, creating more energy in the song. It continued to rise until the man crescendoed with quick riffs as the woman did the same with her shoes.

The song returned to a soothing low melody like how it started while the woman quickly moved back with Jenith and the other one. This time, Jenith came on, eyes closed and in focus to the song.

Now in the spotlight, Rarity could see how pretty Jenith was in the dress. Her eye shadow was ice blue, like her dress and her eyelashes were thick with mascara. Her lips were a ruby red with sparkles of white on them. Her blonde hair shined in the spotlight as did her dress.

The song quickly got back into its energy filled piece and Jenith did the same, dancing around the stage while stomping on the ground in tempo. Each time a fourth beat was reached, Jenith would give the stage a rage filled stomp as did the guitarist did with a riff. Suddenly, the two other women came on with the one with red hair taking center stage.

The three moved around, twirling and shifting around with finesses and grace. The song continued and just when Rarity thought it would go back in its cool low point, the song repeated its upbeat part and switched to a beautiful finale. Its sound curvy yet still with energy. The red haired woman was the main dancer but Rarity could say that Jenith had the most spirit. Each stomp on the stage was filled with delight and power yet she looked relaxed and happy, like if in a trance.

The song repeated its energy filled point the fourth time and the red haired woman had moved back, allowing Jenith and the other one to be in the spotlight. The guitarist began to wane out the pace between his notes in a quick pace. Jenith and the other women did the same with their feet stomps before going into big stomps with the final riffs. The final notes flew by with beauty and the final pints of energy left before the guitarist did three more riffs at the second beats and a final pull of each string from high to low. Jenith joined in the final part with a final twirl, two stomps, two claps, repeating three times before sliding her feet at the final riff.

The audience began to clap and cheer wildly while the three women curtsied. Each woman had a large smile on their faces. Jenith’s smile was the widest and Rarity couldn’t help but join in the cheering. She didn’t even notice that Jenith had a slight rip, barely noticeable at all, in her dress.

“Thank you and we welcome our three lovely ladies for their performance as well as the band. We hope you have a great night! May your times be eternal!” exclaimed Davis while walking up on stage. “Now then, dinner shall be served!”

Jenith quickly left stage while the other two started to prepare for the next song. It was then Rarity began to look around for a way backstage. It didn’t take long for her to swiftly move around the tables before going through a door normally reserved for employees.

The back area was a simple with black painted walls. A few other band members were there with instruments Rarity didn’t recognize. Some were similar to instruments back in Equestria but most would not be possible to play with hooves. There even was a brass kind of instrument with three push button valves in the middle of it.

“Rarity?” Jenith called out.

Right around the corner was Jenith inspecting the small tear in the dress. With a detailed eye, Rarity began to scrutinize the dress, checking every detail and fiber.

“Do you need help with that?” asked Rarity.

Jenith nodded. “I kinda got a little rough with it. Heh.”

With a smile Rarity pointed to a small spool of blue thread and a needle at a desk nearby. Jenith quickly handed them over before allowing the designer to do her work. With her fingers, Rarity fixed the tear, making sure it would be invisible to the eye and make it look like the tear never occurred.

Jenith smiled. “You’re really good. Do you make dresses or something?”

“You could say that... I saw you on stage.”

“You did? I bet you saw how bad I was.”

“Nonsense, darling! You were wonderful! I’ve never seen a dance such as that nor have I heard such a style of music!”

“I guess you’re a fan of Forgetempo as well?”

“Forgetempo?”

“Yeah. It’s a genre of music well known in the Southern Woods and fields. If I remember correctly, it was mostly influenced by the Western Deserts.”

“How long have you been doing this?”

“Well... I did this since I was little. I loved dancing and it’s really fun. Davin had a spot open, something about the original dancer being sick and he had this dress available.”

“Well, I think you did great! I wish Twilight came down with me to see it.”

“That reminds me. Is she going to be ok about what happened earlier?”

Rarity nodded. “I think so but she’s more thinking about Luna.”

“Oh... Well, let’s just give her some time to think. I understand losing a friend can be hard. Maybe I can show you around Bigwell? I know some beautiful sights!”

Rarity nodded. “That sounds lovely.”

With a smile, Jenith quickly went into a room nearby before coming back out wearing her normal attire, complete with boots, dress, and jacket. The only thing she still had from the performance was most of the make up but it would be fine for now. “Now let’s have a girl’s night out!”

Rarity followed Jenith outside. Now that the sun was down, the temperature had dropped and the cool air was jarring for a moment. It didn’t take long for Rarity to get used to the air and the cool sensation of the air against her skin quickly became a lost thought.

The two, with smiles on their faces, walked into the market. Around them, many Bigwell Citizens were still about. Chatting about the day’s events in their lives and things that would be of the norm. Many shops were still open, eager to make many sales in the dinner rush of everything. Beautiful jewelry hung from all the world to see while other stalls had small trinkets to catch the wandering eye.

Rarity looked around in awe until the sound of a hammer against hot metal filled her ears. She quickly pulled on Jenith’s sleeve and the two quickly found the source of the sound.

A large man wearing only a simple white shirt behind a thick apron and gloves was grueling away at a piece of metal. Each smack of his hammer warped the metal, turning it into the desired shape. While he did, a young man, barely out of his teens, was watching the blacksmith do his trade.

“What is he making?” asked Rarity.

Jenith paused for a moment until the man quenched the hot metal. Among the steam was a silver axe head, still dull with a flat edge, waiting to be ground at the wheel. The man quickly called for his assistant who examined the axe with a detailed eye. The master blacksmith took the axe head back and began looking at it himself.

Rarity was curious in how he looked at it. She could see how the master blacksmith looked at the axe head with the same detail she would when it came to dresses. Checking how thick it was. How fine each edge was.

“Hey, Rarity. I think I found something!” said Jenith.

Rarity turned to her friend and nodded before following her towards another part of the market. Standing in front of her was a man with that familiar brass instrument in his hands. The man was old with dark brown skin and a simple smile on his face. His eyes were hidden behind opaque sunglesses that he wore for whatever reason someone would need to wear sunglasses at night.

With a smile, the man began to blow into the instrument. The sound that came out was high pitched but not too high. It was similar to the trombone Pinkie Pie had played once but lower. The man began playing different notes through the work of the three push button valves that sat in the middle.

To Rarity’s surprise, the combination of notes was rather clean and enjoyable, not harsh sounding like Pinkie Pie did. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed Jenith taking out a few pinions before throwing the coins into an upside down hat sitting on the ground. The song was soothing and to Rarity’s mind, she could add on a double bass and a piano as well. She could picture the orchestra from the Grand Galloping Gala playing a more energetic tune with the old man. Each instrument flowing together to create wonderful music.

The man continued his song. Rarity at one point almost wanted to dance. A few people had already stopped to listen, throwing their own pinions into the hat as well.

Eventually the song ended and the man pulled the brass instrument away from his face before giving Jenith and Rarity a warm smile. “It’s a pleasure to play for you, girls.”

Jenith nodded. “It was beautiful.”

“I’m here every night. Come again if you want to hear another tune,” said the old man.

Rarity smiled and followed Jenith to view more attractions around Sapios. After a minute of walking, the two reached the beginning of the business district where storefronts were located down both sides of the road. Nearby, a carridge still connected to a manticore was sitting. The driver was feeding some uncooked steak to his giant feline. The flesh made Rarity flinch a bit but she quickly calmed down, knowing that a manticore was a complete carnivore and could never survive on plantstuff. She could picture of loving cat, Opalescence, eating her cat food.

“Can I pet him?” Jenith asked.

The manticore’s caretaker, a middle aged man with hair dyed a deep midnight blue, nodded with a smile. With confidence, Jenith walked up to the manticore before bringing her fingers to a spot behind its ears. She scratched the small spot before the beginnings of its mane and the manticore smiled, enjoying the nice scratch.

“Come on. He won’t bite.”

Rarity looked at Jenith for a moment before looking at the manticore. The last one she remembered tried to ruin her hair and eat her. When she looked at the manticore, she noticed how different this one was. It was obviously smaller but this one seemed very docile, almost like a cat who only wanted a nice petting.

With a weary hand, Rarity slowly began petting the manticore. For a moment, she was afraid it might revert to the ferocious beast she a manticore was but instead, the feline began to purr loudly. Now with confidence that the manticore would bring her no harm, Rarity moved to scratching its chin. The feline enjoyed every pull of her fingers and purred even louder, even fluttering its wings in joy.

The caretaker nodded with a smile on his face. “You must be good with cats and manticores. Big Whiskers here really likes you.”

“Thank you,” said Rarity. “I think he’s a wonderful manticore.”

With a hearty laugh the caretaker patted Rarity on the back. “He sure is. If you need to travel to the north, I bet Big Whiskers here would be more than splendid.”

“Thanks but we’ll be here for awhile,” Jenith replied.

“That’s ok. Same goes for me. His original greaves broke and we’re waiting for a local blacksmith to forge new ones. Won’t be long now, though.”

“Hey, Rarity. Want to get a bite to eat?” asked Jenith.

Rarity smiled. “Sure, darling!”

The two went off and after a bit of searching,Rarity found one restaurant that seemed quite appropriate. After checking the menu, Jenith agreed, finding it decently priced. It didn’t take long for a waitress to arrive and take their orders.

“So, Rarity. What do you do back home?” asked Jenith.

“Well... I make dresses.”

“Really? What kind of dresses?”

“I make special dresses. I want to make a new fashion trend, get my name out there. It must sound like a silly thing but I want to see even the high class wear my dresses with awe and beauty.”

“Nah. It doesn’t sound silly at all! I bet with a little hard work, you could get your name around!”

“Really?” Rarity wondered. Sure, back in Equestria, she could make good dresses and after the recent antics her and the girls and gone through, she had a small name for herself mentioned in a few magazines. Nothing big yet but maybe Jenith was right. With just hard work and dedication, she could get her name out there and make dresses for the most well known mares and stallions of Equestria.

“Maybe you should make dancing dresses. You know, like Forgetempo ones.”

“Forgetempo?”

“Yeah. I was wearing one back at the hotel. They’re traditional but I love the flare they give out and they're always fun to dance in!”

Suddenly, a rush of ideas ran through her head. Each one more magnificent than the last. She saw one where the frills were orange and upon twirling them, they mixed with the dress’ red to look like fire. Another one was green with brown swirls in it to appear like branches. No, gold. Golden branch swirls.

“Jenith. How about one like the one you were wearing? But with a few gems embroidered into the frills. Not too many but baby blue sapphires. No, too blue. How about white opals cut into hexagons? It’d be like snowflakes, darling!”

Jenith thought for a moment and tried to picture the dress in her head. She could only get a simple rough idea but it seemed fairly simple. “You’d have to draw it for me. I’m not really good in thinking up of designs.”

With a keen eye, Rarity looked around for a moment before noticing the paper napkin that sat at the side of the table. In the salt and pepper holder was a pencil. With her mind going away, Rarity began to draw preliminary sketches into the napkin, careful enough not to puncture it.

The first few lines were imperfect, a testament to her bad penmanship but they quickly formed to smooth curves. Jenith watched as curves and lines crossed each other. Each line adding more to the bigger picture. Slowly, the rough sketch formed into a detailed humanoid figure wearing a wonderful dress that flared at the hemming. Perfectly square gems sat at the bottom and yet, a few sat around the neck and a ruffle of fabric sat on one shoulder.

“It’s just a sketch so changes are expected.”

“No... This is perfect! How do you make something so beautiful?” asked Jenith.

“Well... You make a basic sketch. This one may have had a tad bit too much detail. Maybe not as many gems at the hemmings. I just do what comes to my head but it;s not just the dress.”

“What do you mean?”

“There is also who wears it. The dress must match the characteristics and personality of the wearer. A brash personality calls for a dress with free range of movement and must give them an air of confidence. A person with a soft and caring personality must have a dress that shows their natural beauty. It must show how if you were hurt, that person would run to your aid even if it was a simple scratch.”

“Wow... That is deep. I could never think of that.”

“It takes a special eye to see what a dress truly shows. I guess, like a blacksmith. They must made the metal into the perfect shape. Not too big, not too small. It must be functional yet not look like a simple block of iron or something.”

Jenith nodded. “I think i get it now. A dress is an extension of the body. Not something that simply covered it up.”

“Now you’re getting it, darling! Your jacket shows how tough you can be in a situation yet your dress shows that behind that rough exterior, you have a beautiful radiant personality like a geode.”

“That’s pretty observant of you, Rarity. When I first saw you in Riventevile, I thought you were the boring bratty Northern Valleyians that I usually see. But when you first talked to me, you were kind and generous. You are a good person and a really good friend.”

“Thank you, Jenith. Those words mean a lot to me.”

“Order’s ready,” said the waitress.

Rarity turned to see the young woman holding a platter of different foods. After settling them down, Rarity became curious to what Jenith had. Sitting on her plate were slices of a pinkish thing while next to it were olives. In a bowl sat an orange soup with herbs on top.

After looking at Jenith’s dish, Rarity turned to hers. She had ordered a simple salad complete with tomatoes, mint, and hard boiled eggs. She eyed her salad for a moment before returning to Jenith’s dish. What caught her curiosity was the pink slices. They were arranged in a neat pattern around the bowl and a piece of mint sat on top of the top most slice.

“May I ask, what did you order?”

Jenith stared at her plate for a second before remembered the names. “Well, I have serrano ham, manzanilla olives and the soup is gazpacho.”

“Ham? Is that? Meat?”

“Yeah... It’s very good. Salted and cured for a while. It’s actually my favorite.”

It was then that Rarity remembered Twilight’s experience with meat. She had seen it uncooked, hanging from a stall but Rarity could only see was beautifully prepared food. The slices of ham were shaped almost like petals and the mint only added to it. Then it hit her.

Though humans did eat meat, they made it into something to enjoy. It wasn’t a animalist and barbaric thing but a part of their culture. They treated it with respect, trying to make it appetizing and fit with the rest of the food. They had to kill to survive but they made sure nothing was wasted. Each petal of ham served to add to the soup while the olives were something to eat in between.

The waitress quickly brought Rarity back into her senses. A large orange bottle sat in her hands while two wine glasses sat in the other.

“This a gift from the gentleman. He wishes to remain anonymous,” said the waitress.

Jenith smiled and watched as she poured the amber colored liquid into the wine glasses. “I guess we’re popular.”

“Have a good evening and enjoy the food,” said the waitress with a smile.

Rarity picked up the wine glass by the neck and examined it for a moment before taking a sip. The taste was dry yet very sweet to the tongue. “What is this?”

“Sherry. It’s probably from a town in the southern fields,” said Jenith.

Rarity took another sip before returning to her salad. To say her salad was delicious would have been an understatement. It was a wonder burst of flavors that made Rarity want more and she had to fight herself from engorging on it.

“Want to try some of my soup?” asked Jenith.

Rarity stopped for a moment and looked at it. “Does it have any meat in it?”

“No. It’s a tomato based soup. Just a few peppers, onions, and olive oil."

With a nod as an answer, Jenith took her soup spoon and dipped it into the soup. Rarity frowned a bit, seeing the spoon ruin the nice lines of oil that sat on top of the soup around the piece of herb. After lifting the spoon, Rarity took it into her hands and took a bite.

The soup was cold but it was tangy yet a bit spicy. “It’s very good.”

“I guess my compliments to the chef!” said Jenith with a smile.

The two finished their meals with a smile and the sherry was the perfect add on. After that the waitress came back with the receipt to which Jenith paid, happy about the reasonable price of everything.

“I wish Twilight was here to enjoy it with us,” Jenith said. A bit sad about it only being her and Rarity. Twilight might have liked to see the nightlife.

“Yeah but she has more important things on her mind,” said Rarity.

With a small chuckle. “She seems like a girl who would spend time in a library.”

“You have no idea, Jenith.”

“Anyways, let’s get back to the hotel. I’m tired and it’s pretty late.”

Rarity nodded. “Yeah. I guess it is time to get some rest.”

The two left the restaurant with the hotel in their sights. They laughed and conversed as two close friends on the way back. Yet this was only the beginning of a long journey.

The night was a short one. Twilight’s mind was fixated on where Luna could possibly be. She hoped that Luna had gotten away and was hiding in a nearby town somewhere but a small portion of her mind told her that she was captured. The numerous scenarios that played in Twilight’s mind was like torture. Self torture. She didn’t want to lose a friend.

Eventually, Twilight had retired to bed, knowing that Rarity was probably with Jenith somewhere. Spike had already sent back a reply letter to Princess Celestia. She had on purposely kept Luna’s current whereabouts absent from it, hoping that if Celestia could still sense Luna’s presence to the moon, then Luna was safe.

After sending the letter, Twilight conversed with Spike on things he mostly had little understanding in. Magical theories were one but eventually the conversation had switched to comparing and contrasting Sapiosian culture to Equestrian.

For one, Sapios was technologically inferior by a few good decades. Twilight had surmised that they just started their industrial revolution and that some things were still waiting to be invented. Mortem was a major factor in this. Maybe he manipulated the path of technological evolution? That and more questions went through her head but a few questions were ones Twilight wish she could answer completely.

Why does Mortem attack magic users? How does he keep the Plague of Mora in check? Why is Sapios so disharmonious?

The questions eventually took a toll on Twilight’s mind and she found sleep rather easily. At first her dreams were simply the numerous adventures she and her friends had gone through. Each one had brought them closer and truely, theri friendship was magic.

But soon, the dreams became faded, hard to see. Eventually, they all evaporated into an obtrusive fog in Twilight’s mind.

“Where... where am I?” Twilight asked herself.

The ever blocking fog slowly coiled around the area. The only light was from a larger version of Luna’s moon hanging above against a starless sky. The ground itself felt wet and upon looking down, Twilight could see she had hooves. The dream felt too real and too lucid to be a simple fabrication of her mind.

“Hello?” Twilight asked.

Her voice echoed in the fog and for a moment, Twilight felt alone. Why did her mind create such a pointless dreamscape?

It was then a shadow appeared in the fog. Twilight reeled back for a moment and almost forgot to breathe. The shadow got bigger and Twilight quickly swallowed her throat before the fog departed.

Standing there was the Princess Luna. Fully alicorn self and wearing her obsidian and blue silver regalia. Her mane was, just like Celestia’s, bellowing in a non existent wind. The only difference was that the same sword Luna had conjured before reaching the river town was strapped to her side yet it completed the regalia.

“Oh, thank Celestia. You scared me for a moment,” said Twilight with joy. She quickly went into a gallop before forcefully hugging her teacher’s little sister.

Luna chuckled playfully. “That’s ok. I was just teasing you. It’s nice to see you Twilight.” The two embraced each other for a moment before calming down.

“So it is to see you,” said Twilight.

“Good. Now Twilight, there is much we need to discuss about.”

Author's Note

Thanks to FanNotANerd for editing and giving a few great additions to the story.

Sorry for the long delay. I seem to only get inspiration in college so being at home for the holidays really didn't help. I'm already working Chapter 8.

Chapter 8 - The King of Sapios

“Luna... Where are you?”

The question seemed to hit Luna hard and a frown crossed her face. “I... I don’t know, Twilight. I was captured and now a Seeker knows that I’m not a normal human... But I’ll be fine. Have you located Aetas?”

“No... I should have told you this but... I had a dream... No, not a dream. I think my mind was dropped into her body for a moment or something. I saw she she was seeing.”

The lunar princess simply nodded. “That would be within her power. Did she speak to you?”

“Yes but... I felt... scared. She told me to look for these keys. But after I talked to her. After we got separated... When you left, Jenith took charge and well.. she’s somewhat brash. She knows a lot about Sapios but we were attacked by bandits. We were able to escape but only after I did... something horrible.

Luna raised a brow for a moment before slowly putting her hoof under Twilight’s chin. “Tell me what you did. I will not judge.”

With tears running down her face, Twilight began to tell Luna what had happened. “One bandit had tackled Rarity... I just snapped right there. Spike fell out of my arms and I pushed the bandit away.”

“That sounds quite courageous of you. I’d do the same if you were in harm’s way.”

“No! It’s not that. I... I don’t know what happened. I was on top of him and the next thing, I..I... “Twilight began to stutter, trying her best for form coherent words in her mouth. “I killed him! I killed him!”

Luna flinched in surprise when Twilight began to bawl in her forelegs. She nuzzled the poor mare, hoping it would calm her down. “There there, Twilight. It’s alright.”

“It’s not alright.” Twilight sobbed. “I killed someone! It’s horrible!”

“Twilight. Would he have hesitated to kill you given the chance?”

The question made Twilight stop for a moment. She thought. What if that bandit had gotten her down on the ground? Would he had hesitated? Would he put his actions to the same moral guidelines Twilight had?

“I... I don’t know.”

“The answer, Twilight, would be no. Humans are not like ponies. They have to kill to survive. To them, the world is against them and survival means death. Now, many humans would not hurt another unless pushed to the point but there are many that think otherwise. There are those who would murder someone to get by. There are those who would murder just to take what they have.”

“That’s... That’s horrible! How could humans be so cruel?”

Luna sighed. She could see the fear in Twilight’s eyes. “Twilight. That’s only a part of humanity. As many of those who would easily murder, there are those who find it vile, just as you do. Humans are twofold, like a double edged sword. At one side, they can be caring. Helping those in need. While another, they can be selfish and greedy. Doing anything to put themselves above others. But, you must not assume all are ready to strike.” The words made Twilight’s tears stop. “You must use friendship and trust as the greatest tools to discern whether the human you talk to is good or bad. Do not think he or she is but an animal but an intelligent, thinking being.”

“But... What if I’m deceived?” asked Twilight.

“Do not fear. If you stay by your values, you’ll make friends that will protect you from those that deceive and cheat. Take Jentih for example. How do you gauge her?”

Twilight began to think of Luna’s question. Yes, Jenith was brash and she probably would kill without hesitation but only to protect herself or others who couldn’t. She was a human to trust. “I think I understand what you mean, Luna... But what about the Seekers?

“They are simply agents of Mortem. They do not know what they are doing. Does the sword know who it’s killing? Does it know if the enemy it stabs had a family? No. The Seekers are like a sword. They have been trained to be ignorant of who they attack. They are trained under the lie that what they do helps Sapios as a whole. Do you understand that Twilight?”

Twilight nodded.

“Good. Now then, may I ask where you and the others are now?”

“We’re in a hotel in Bigwell City. Right now, Rarity is probably with Jenith downstairs.”

“That is nice to hear. Maybe you should call it in for the night?”

With a chuckle, Twilight agreed with Luna. “I might as well. I already am dreaming.”

“Yes, that is true.” said Luna, trying her best not to laugh. “I’ll talk to you some other time. On that, good night.”

“Good night to you too, Luna.”

“I’ll need it.”

With that, Luna’s form quickly dissipated in a cool blue celestial aura. The dreamscape around Twilight slowly morphed into something more recognizable. Eventually, the familiar memories of her friends were back, complete and clear as day.

Smoke. Fire. The sound of wood breaking under the stress of itself. Jenith looked around, only to see ember flying around her. The opaque smoke loomed above her yet each breath she took was free of it. Jenith slowly looked around to see a familiar room. A few wooden toys were strewn about, unharmed from the fire nearby for now. In her doorway was a large inferno from which the smoke came from.

Jenith stared at for a moment before hearing a voice.

“Help! Where are you?”

The voice seemed to grab at something within Jenith’s heart and she slowly walked forward. Each step became faster and soon, she was in a sprint. The girl rushed through the fire yet it seemed to push away from her. The air around her was cold, strangely, like if a cold snap was coming in.

The tongues of the inferno’s flames whipped about around Jenith as she ran through the wooden building. Each hallway she passed, the doorway was blocked by fallen beams. Jenith continued on, following a strange path the inferno took her though.

“Jenith! Where are you?” the voice called again.

The voice was now louder and yet more frantic. It only quickened Jenith’s pace until she reached what was the master bedroom’s doorway of the small wooden building she was trapped in. Fire and smoke blinded her view of what was calling her but Jenith ignored it and began to walk towards the doorway. Each step felt slower and the doorway became larger.. no... she was getting smaller.

Upon reaching inside, Jenith found herself being towered by the room’s walls. The room itself was ablaze and now, Jenith could feel the hot air yet still her breaths were cold like snow.

Her eyes scanned the room. In the corner sat a tall grand-goddess clock that was eerily familiar. It’s pendulum swung aimlessly, ignoring the fact that its casing was on fire and it soon would melt from the heat. Jenith turned to someone who was laying on the floor. Their skin was covered from head to toe in angular black lines. It crossed every inch of their skin.

“Jenith...Go,” said the woman on the floor.

Jenith could tell who it was. The long straight blonde hair. The grey eyes. She wanted to give this woman the same cold air that enveloped her body but she knew not how. The woman’s robes were long but the tongues of a small flame, started by a simple ember, was eating away at a piece of the robe.

The image made Jenith freeze up. She didn’t want to abandon this woman. She didn’t want to abandon her.

“No... I can save you.”

Her face was clear of the lines but as each second past, the lines crawled up her neck a bit. Her body was paralyzed from the neck down. The woman cried. Her eyes staring back, knowing she was powerless from doing anything.

“Run. Jenith. RUN!”

Jenith slowly inched back before her heel hit something. Behind her was a large mass of something that was on fire. The blaze and already consumed it and only a hand was still visible. The hand was muscular, owned by a strong man, yet he was defeated by a fire. An all consuming fire.

Unbeknownst to Jenith, a tall woman with pale white hair and dressed in light grey robes stood in a window. She frowned watching the helpless child yet she couldn’t do anything. She was only an observer.

Jenith looked around frantically before noticing the doorway from which she ran through. She looked down to see a small doll. It’s dress was still unharmed with its red and white polka dots. Without a thought, Jenith grabbed the doll and ran out of the master bedroom. The inferno was ten times worse now. Beams and pieces of wood fell around her. The cold air now gone, she could feel the fire and it was making her sweat. Jenith looked at her palms to see the familiar runes glowing. Her skin, covered in thin ice, served to protect her from burns.

With quick little feet, Jenith ran down the stairs before seeing the front door blocked by fire and fallen wood. Tears now stained her ice frosted cheeks.

“Mom.... Help...”

Jenith closed her eyes, hoping the fire would cease. It did and Jenith could feel her body jolt back up.

Around her was the familiar red and gold room. The dim morning sun was only starting to creep into the room, allowing the beds nearby to shine a bit. She was back in the hotel in Sapios. Away from the fire. A nightmare. Only a nightmare.

Jenith stared at her hands for a moment. The blue runes now gone. They were covered in her sweat as was the rest of her body. After calming down a bit, the girl allowed her head to return to the pills and the rolled up jacket she had used. She tried to think of what happened last night. The laughter. The smiles.

“Mom... if only you could see me now.”

Twilight looked over at the second bed nearby to see Rarity still asleep. The dream after conversing with Luna had been a pleasant one and she felt well rested. Now she sat there in her bed just examining the room around her. Celestia’s sun had made the gold and red wallpaper shine a bit. Upon looking outside, Twilight could see the large mountain that towered over Sapios. in the distance northward were large light grey clouds.

“Hey, you’re up already?” asked a voice.

Twilight quickly turned around to see Jenith standing there wearing a sleeveless chemise and bloomers. She looked a bit tired and had a glass of water or something in her hand. Her hair hadn’t been brushed yet and many strands were stuck on her face; apparently she was unfazed by them.

“Did something happen while I was asleep?” asked Twilight.

“Eh. When you go to bed late and wake up early, you’ll understand how little sleep I got.”

“Oh... I understand. I had that happen once. I was trying to get the most amount of reading time within a night and day. I almost fell asleep while standing in the middle of town.”

Jenith chuckled at the thought of Twilight standing in the middle of town, probably badly dressed, sleeping. “That’s quite a story. Anyways, after Rarity gets up I’ll show you around for a bit and then the library.”

“Hey... What was that thumping noise last night?”

“Last night? Oh! Well... It’s something you’d probably find boring.”

The sound of Rarity yawning quickly caught both of their attentions. Rarity looked around, curious to why the two were staring at her. “What? Is there something on my face?

Jenith chuckled a bit. “No. It’s just that your bed hair is kinda funny.”

With a pout, Rarity got up and quickly went to the bathroom to do her morning routine.

Twilight was the first to take a bath, then Jenith. Both of which were short but when it came time for Rarity, it became a gruelling task. Twilight’s head pounded after a good minute of Rarity complaining behind a door that the water was not the right temperature and that the conditioners were inadequate.

“Jenith? Is it possible to get the conditioner in my bag? The ones the hotel furnishes are just horrendous. How can I work my beautiful mane with us cheap knockoff products?”

Jenith could only slap her face while trying her best to keep calm. “How can you even survive her constant whining, Spike?”

The dragon smiled. “To me, it sounds like a thousand singing birds.”

“Twilight. I think you need to get your dragon to a doctor. He might be partially deaf or something.”

Twilight stifled a laugh before handing Jenith the proper conditioner fit or someone as high maintenance as Rarity. She eyed the cover for a moment and was a bit confused to what it picture. On the front of the bottle was the picture of some equine shaped creature with a bellowing mane. Maybe whatever this is works for her.

Jenith placed the picture in the back of her mind before opening the door a bit and handing the bottle to Rarity.

“Thank you, darling,” shouted Rarity after grabbing the bottle.

With a sigh of relief, Jenith closed the door before slumping down onto the floor. Happy that Rarity wasn’t going to whine anymore. “Please kill me. I can’t stand that whining...”

With a sigh, Twilight pulled the last apple from her bag. She eyed it for a moment. It was the last thing from Sweet Apple Acres and until they got home, they would have to rely on fruit here. The scent of apples reminded Twilight of Applejack and her warm smile. She may have been a stubborn mare but she always got a job done no matter what.

“That reminds me. I’ll get some breakfast upstairs for ya. Is oatmeal fine?”

That word made Twilight’s mind move around until it stopped at a certain pink maned mare. Her laughter could cheer up any situation and she could always put a smile on anypony’s face.

Jenith sighed when she saw Twilight’s frown. “Twilight. I’m sorry if I hit a bad button but let me show you something after Rarity’s finish her... luxury wash.”

Twilight nodded, allowing a smile to return to Jenith’s face.

The trip into the market area was short but it took awhile for Rarity to get ready. She had to brush her hair and curl it which seemed to annoy Jenith a bit. Spike, the whole time, kept watching her. He admired her and it seemed a bit cute but the time it took Rarity to do everything was a bit bothersome. After passing a forge, Rarity decided to try practicing her bow and quickly left the group with a farewell. Spike decided to stay with Twilight and sat in Twilight’s backbag.

Twilight examined the scenery around her as she and the others walked through the streets. The tan structures were beautiful and shined in the sunlight. Trees sat in special plots of dirt in perfect intervals in front of the buildings and many of them had small gardens.

“This is the Market Quadrant of Sapios,” said Jenith. “You can buy almost anything there. They also have great shows from traveling caravans and nice restaurants.”

“Where are we going, Jenith?” asked Twilight.

With a smile, Jenith pointed to a large building nearby. “There. The Museum of Bigwell.”

Twilight stared at the museum in awe. It’s tan facade was covered in matching pillars and the upper section above the large archway entrance had three statues. Men and Women were entering a leaving the building to their accord.

“Let’s go inside. I bet you’ll love it!” said Jenith.

Rarity stared at the target nearby. Its blue and red circles taunted her with she shot she took. With her anger in check, Rarity pulled another arrow out of her quiver before nocking it on the bowstring. She brought it to full draw. Slowly, she brought her breathing to a repeatable pattern and closed her eyes before slowly loosening her fingers.

The last finger released the bowstring, allowing the arrow to fly through the air. After hearing the familiar sound of wood and metal bouncing on the stone ground and wall, Rarity opened her eyes to see the arrow laying lazily on the ground.

She tried her best to keep a lady like composure but inside, she was truly angry. Nearby, Rarity noticed a few men and women with archery equipment going at it with their targets. Most of them would hit with decent accuracy.

Each arrow sinking into the wool targets taunted her. How in the hay are they doing that?

Unbeknownst to Rarity, a familiar hotel manager was standing nearby. He watched Rarity draw another bow before releasing it. The arrow, again, missed the target completely and like a mean spiteful child, smacked into the stone wall behind before breaking at the shaft.

With a smirk and a sigh, Darvin relaxed his arms before walking up to Rarity who had already drew another arrow. He slowly placed his hands on Rarity’s arms, surprising her and making her flinch.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Rarity snapped, yanking her arm away.

Darvin took a cautious step back. “I’m... just helping. Your arm should be straight when drawing. Level with your other arm.”

“And what makes you an expert?” Rarity challenged.

Darvin extended a hand. “May I?”

After a moment, Rarity handed over the bow. Darvin carefully nocked an arrow, and took it to full draw with a grunt. “Well, there’s your first problem,” he said, letting off and examining the limbs. “This thing’s way too heavy for you. This is about a twenty kilo draw. You look like you should be drawing around ten.”

Rarity folded her arms as he drew the bow again. “And I suppose my being a woman means I’m not strong enough?”

“I’m not saying that,” Darvin protested, sighting down the arrow at the target. “You just haven’t built up the necessary muscles yet.” He released the bowstring with a snap, and the arrow slammed into the center of the target.

Rarity blinked. She’d been having trouble enough hitting the target. “Very well,” she admitted grudgingly. “You know what you’re doing.”

With a smile, Darvin gave Rarity her bow and quiver back before watching her bring another arrow to draw. This time, she kept still and allowed the man to touch her wrist. His blood vessels moved a but under his scarred skin on his arm.

Up close, Rarity could see how muscular Darvin was. He slowly moved Rarity’s arm and wrist into a more straight form. With the other arm, he pulled on Rarity’s draw hand and made it straight as well.

“Stand perfectly straight. Don’t slouch and keep it steady,” Darvin whispered.

Rarity could own blush. His chest rubbed against her back and she could feel his warm breath against her neck. She could feel his strong hands holding her arms steadily.

“When you think the time is right, let go but don’t hold the bow firmly. Let your palm and fingers relax but not too much. You want to have a straight bow while the arrow goes through.”

Rarity followed instructions and calmed down. Right as she exhaled, she loosened her fingers of her draw hand and allowed the arrow free.

The wooden arrow grazed against the bow and over Rarity’s hand but she kept still. With fingers relaxed the arrow flew through the air before making a thunk sound.

Rarity looked at the target in surprise. The arrow was perfectly embedded in the bull’s-eye. Its arrowhead completely driven in.

Darvin released his light grasp and allowed Rarity to bring her arms down. “Does that help.”

Rarity nodded. “Yes... That does help a lot. May I ask where you learned all this?”

Darvin answered with a warm smile. “Before I opened my hotel, I would hunt game in some woods East of Bigwell City. You gotta be good with a bow to get them. If you do go hunting, I suggest you lead your targets. The arrow isn’t instantaneous.”

“Ok.”

“I guess I should head back to the hotel.”

“Good-bye then.”

Darvin turned around and began to walk away before Rarity stopped him for a moment.

“Oh and Darvin? Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

Twilight’s jaw fought to break the laws of the world and touch the ground. Sitting in front of her was a giant cog and gear machine her eyes had never seen before. Within it, columns of numbers in specific patterns sat connected to more gears. Rods moved around the machine in specific locations.

With a smile on her face, Jenith began explaining to Twilight what it was. “This is a differential engine. A local man named Babbarge made it.”

“What... What does it do?” asked Twilight. She could feel her legs tremble with joy. There was nothing in Equestria like this. The gears meshed cleanly with each other within the metal casing and a box sat on one side with a spool with paper ready to go. On the other side was a second box with more gears and a lever of some kind.

Jenith quickly walked over to a small sign that sat next to the large machine. “It says here Babbarge made it as part of three piece set. It’s supposed to do complete calculations based on differential tables.”

To Twilight, the whole thing made sense. She could connect all the numbers and in her mind, a fully functional differential table was visible. “So each column represents differences.”

“Um... You’re talking to the wrong gal, Twilight. I may have picked up a lot on my journeys around Sapios but that kind of math is out of my league.”

“Can we try it?”

Jenith eyed the black and bronze machine for a moment before noticing a museum clerk nearby. The woman wore a simple burgundy vest over a white blouse. “Hello? Can I ask you something?”

The museum employee turned to Jenith. “Yes?”

“My friend was wondering if we could try that machine.”

“Yes. It’s open to public usage. Just don’t break anything and when you turn the crank, try to be even. The thing’s delicate.”

With a smile, Jenith nodded and said thank you before returning to Twilight.”You can try it, Twilight.”

Jenith’s answer made Twilight smile with glee. To even see this contraption actually do its job was like when she was a little filly opening Hearth’s Warming Day presents. With her hands on the crank, Twilight began to turn and give life to the mechanical beast. The clacking sound of gears and rods was like music to Twilight’s ears. Already, Twilight was doing differential equations in her mind, racing the machine to see who could get the highest numbers and how fast it took to calculate them; not to mention if errors would occur.

Columns moved up and down, carrying values across with ease. Soon, Twilight stopped, holding a whole list of numbers in her mind. Jenith stood at the other end and ripped of a piece of paper that had the engine’s answers printed out.

“Let me see... Oh my sweet Celestia... How does it do all this? It’s... It’s error free!”

“Are you sure?”

“Jenith. I could do these equations in my sleep and I can tell that no errors have occurred. This thing could do complex calculations of large numbers without error. Why did Babbarge build such a machine?”

“I guess it was because of navigations. There are small islands surrounding Sapios and sometimes, sailors get lost. The currents tend to do that. Anyways, it was something about finding errors in navigation manuals or something.”

“I would love to meet Mr. Babbarge! What other machines did he invent?”

Jenith sighed. “Twilight. If you keep this up, you’re going to fry my brain! Let’s continue on the museum. There’s more for you to see.”

With a wide smile, Twilight followed Jenith around. They went through a number of exhibits from other technological inventions like a special loom using punch cards to the wildlife of Sapios. At one point, Twilight found a display of a large scorpion. It’s body covered in stardust with a blue shell.

“A Scorpio. I’ve heard of those in the Western Deserts. Big nasty things.”

Twilight nodded in agreement. Equestria had them as well. The good thing was that they were located in the badlands and were small in numbers. The chances of finding one were rather astronomical.

“Worse thing about it is when you find them in the dunes.”

“What?”

“The burrow in the sand and catch you off guard. I’ve heard of men being dragged to their deaths by them.”

“Ugh... That sounds horrible.”

“You tell me. Anyway, do you like biology?”

Twilight nodded. “Yeah.”

“There’s an exhibit nearby. You learn wonders about your own body.”

The two moved on to the exhibit Jenith talked about. There were panels talking about different functions of the human body. Some things caught Twilight’s interest from the appendix, which the panel said may have originally facilitated eating some kinds plant matter to which humans couldn’t do anymore.

But what caught Twilight’s attention was a human skeleton. It was a bit taller then Jenith, about average height for a human male. It was similar to an ape but fully bipedal as expected. The unusual thing was the hands and arms. The bones had numerous ridges and lines spidering across its surface.

“What happened to the skeleton?” asked Twilight.

Jenith turned to Twilight for a moment, confused at the question. “Nothing’s wrong with it. It’s normal.”

“What are the lines called?”

“Eon lines. Nobody really knows what they do. They’re just... there.”

Twilight stared at them for a moment. The rest of the human skeleton had smaller more minute ridges on its surface. “Wait, where did they get a skeleton from?”

Jenith quickly looked around before noticing a small tag on the pole holding the skeleton up. “Says here it was donated by a man who died of a stroke. Meh. Guess he wanted to have his remains hung up instead.”

“It’s for science. I guess it’s not that bad,” Twilight added.

Jenith looked through a few other exhibits until she found something. It was in the ancient history area and there was a piece of wall on display. The engravings were weird and in some unknown language. “Twilight. Look at this.”

Twilight turned to Jenith to see the large stone tablet under display. Etched into its surface below the writing was pictures. Pictures of a unicorn and a human being. They were crude but it showed them conversing about something.

“I wonder what it says or even what that is,” said Jenith.

The artifact made Twilight uneasy. What history was hidden away and what happened before the sealing? Why did the Plague of Mora appear? The questions seemed to rattle around in Twilight’s mind.

Jenith pushed Twilight’s shoulder a bit. “Let’s get Rarity and grab lunch. After that, we can go to the library.”

“Sure.”

Luna was bored of the whole trip. The ride was uncomfortable and the whole time, the Seeker kept staring at Luna. His face in a scowl look.

In the distance, a few tents were set up, some of them with Mortem’s banner flying high. The sight made Luna’s stomach turn and she wished she was with Twilight. They were probably having a good time in Bigwell City before looking for the keys Twilight mentioned. It was hard trying to find the perfect time to lower the moon. The Seeker’s gaze barely broke and only when his own body succumbed to sleep did Luna have a chance to secretly lower the moon. It was harder with her hands bound but none of the guards noticed and that was good enough. She had found it a bit harder to bring the moon up after Celestia began setting her sun. Finding the perfect time when the Seeker and the guards weren’t looking was painfully hard.

With a sigh, Luna looked around to see that wherever they were, trees had become scarce. In the distance, the grass slowly gave way to rock and eventually a desert. The tops of what looked like buildings were visible but the sight of them made Luna frown.

Some of the buildings were on fire and sound of numerous footsteps were audible.

“What’s happening?” asked Luna.

The Seeker simply stared at the carnage before turning to Luna. “The Plague. It’s consumed another little village.”

The cart quickly came to a stop. The guards got off and after getting in line, the Seeker pulled Luna off. Around them, numerous guards and litefooters were about. Most of them were in normal conversations while others were getting ready to do whatever they were out her doing. Nearby, a few voices were talking rather loudly.

“Are the townspeople of this portion of the village evacuated?”

“Yes, Lieutenant. We made sure that those who aren’t infected were able to leave.”

“Good. I want the buildings burned and any bodys to be cremated. We need to stop the plague from spreading.”

A litefooter quickly ran up to the armored man, panting from running such a distance while wearing his armor. “Sir, I got some news.”

“Is it good?” asked the lieutenant.

“Good and bad. A large portion of townspeople are fighting against us.”

“What’s the good news?”

“His majesty is here.”

“What?”

“We also have a Seeker with us, The Swift Sword, specifically and he brings a prisoner.”

“Well then, garrison some guards and meet up with me after King Mortem talks to our Seeker.”

Luna watched as all the guards began to form proper formations. The Seeker followed suit near the other superior officers while a few guards stayed around her, making sure she had no chance of getting away. I wonder how many of the guards the Seeker actually outranks.

A group of guards wearing more ordinant uniforms appeared but what caught Luna’s attention was a middle aged man standing in front of them.

His cool grey eyes scanned the guards, checking every miniscule detail. The man had dull amber hair with numerous grey streaks that were pulled back. He had well maintained facial hair and fine eyebrows and wore clean cut clothes. With a deep red double breasted jacket over a black undershirt, the man was rather fit for his age. There was a large dull white golden necklace around his neck with a grey jewel sat as the centerpiece of it. Runes, similar to the ones on that Seeker’s sword were etched around the jewel.

His outfit was rather ordinate with bronze colored trimmings and two humasium gauntlets with brown leather gloves. Behind him, a large burgundy red cape with a bronze cog with an M in the middle followed him, bellowing in the wind that ran through the encampment.

Luna could only scowl at seeing him. She already knew who he was and she loathed be within throwing distance at him.

“Ah, Egil. It’s good to see you,” said King Mortem. His voice was charismatic with a slight joy. “I see you’ve brought our little fighter. How was the trip?”

The ever so cocky smirk quickly returned to the Seeker’s face. “It was good. My injuries are healing fine but I’m still fully capable of doing my job.”

“Good. Please report back to the palace, Egil. I’ll see you there after I deal with this mess.”

“Yes, your majesty.” With a bow and salute, the Seeker quickly fell out of the ranks and went to a lone manticore, furnished for speed and ready to go. After watching his Seeker leave, Mortem returning to his guards, all of whom had kept their eyes on Mortem like frozen toys.

The ruler of Sapios rubbed his chin while examining his guards until his eyes gazed upon Luna. She looked at him with resentment. To Luna, the man standing before her represented the oppression of Sapios and the murder of innocent people. If she had known this was occurring for over eight hundred years, she would have intervened right when she returned from her banishment.

“I hope your trip was comfortable.”

Unbeknownst to Mortem and the guards around her, with them all staring at him, Luna had quickly conjured a dull knife and had already began cutting at her bindings.

With the final strand of rope cut, Luna seized the opportunity and threw her arm at Mortem. It lasted only a fraction of a second but within that time, Luna had found her arm had been already caught by Mortem and guards around her and pulled out their weapons, ready to attack if she did anything else. The dull conjured dagger fell out of Luna’s hand and fell harmlessly in the grass.

“Now, now. Let’s not get feisty.” said Mortem. He quickly pulled down Luna’s arm before letting go. She could only stare at him. Her eyes were filled with pent up rage and for a moment, Mortem thought her pupils had turned into slits like a cat’s eye.

Luna huffed before calming down a bit. The guards, seeing her loosen herself had already brought their swords and spears down.

“Now then, come with me.”

The guards pushed Luna forward and the group followed Mortem over to the edge of the encampment. Around her, guards returning to their posts and nearby a few wounded guards had been brought back. Most of the injuries were stab wounds at the joints where there was no armor.

“What do you see?”

Luna turned to see what Mortem was talking about. The sight she saw made her heart sink. She was on a hill and at the bottom had once stood a small peaceful village. Now, it was an inferno of guards fighting townspeople who had taken arms. Among them there lightly armored swordsmen, wearing dark grey armor. The rebelling townspeople fought but the powerful guards only advanced further, loosing little to any vigor in their steps. Blood stained the grass below everyone with the sound of metal upon metal filling the air.

One woman fell and a piece of pauldron fell off. Below where her armor once sat was a bare piece of skin but covered in angular lines. Other rebelling civilians were fighting, trying their best to fight with constrained limbs. This is not fighting. It’s slaughter...

“The plague is already spreading. These rebels won’t have a chance,” said Mortem. A small smirk, more sinister than that Seeker’s, was on his face.

“How? How could you even live with yourself?”

The smirk disappeared from Mortem’s face when he turned to his royal captive. “If you had seen what I’ve lived through, you’d understand. This is the only way order and peace can reign in Sapios. Even as we speak, the rebelling region of the Western Deserts plan to hinder my movement.” Mortem was trying his best to hide his own anger but Luna could see it as bright as her moon. “But you wouldn’t understand that, would you? Imprisoned in the sky for so long leaves the mind to wane.”

Luna stared at Mortem in horror. How did he know? No one in Sapios has had any outside contact for over a millennium!

“Guards. Please find... appropriate arrangements for our guest. I want to speak to her tonight. Alone,” King Mortem ordered.

Luna didn’t resist when the guards pulled her away. She simply kept her angry scowl at Mortem before losing his disgusting sight.

Twilight stared at the open in room around her. The Tri-Spire Palace’s foyer was twice to three times the size of the one in Canterlot Castle. The room itself was shaped as a dome with a flat top ceiling. Sitting in the middle of the room was a large fountain with benches around it and flanked by two curving stairs, leading to balconies on the second floor. The walls were a deep tan and the floor was white marble.

Standing next to the doorways were well armed guards, all wearing ordinant burgundy armor. Each guard held in their hands large halberds. After staring at them, Twilight could make out the swirling dark lines in the metal, indicating that it was humasium.

“This place would be beautiful... if it weren’t for the fact of what it is,” murmured Jenith.

Rarity was following behind with Spike in her arms. She stopped upon noticing the large fountain and eventually, the rest of the palace.

Around them, numerous men and women were moving about. Some wore business outfits while others wore regular clothes. From time to time, a Seeker would walk by, going wherever he or she needed to be.

“Jenith... How large did you say this place is?” asked Twilight.

Jenith shrugged. “I don’t really know. It’s pretty big and it’s connected to the local barracks. Anyways, we should head to the library now.”

With a nod, Twilight followed Jenith towards a large doorway. As they entered the library, Twilight noticed how many people used it on a regular basis. Nearby sitting quietly were scholars and other people reading whatever material they need to or wanted to.

Twilight looked around to see that the library was two floors tall. Old wooden bookshelves held numerous tomes and the inviting smell was welcoming to her. It reminded her a lot of Canterlot Library but it looked alien to Twilight. The bright red walls contained classical looking columns at each end and there were repeating geometric patterns sprawled on the walls.

“So, Twilight. Where do we start?” asked Jenith.

“Well... Aetas would be... Follow me.”

The two followed Jenith around, as they did, Twilight read the spines of the books the lined the shelves. She wished she could read them all but the Keys were a more important matter to attend to. Placing some of the titles in a storage cabinet that was her organized mind, Twilight returned to Jenith, who had already stopped at a shelf and began running her fingers across the books. Under her breath, Jenith murmured the titles, trying her best to see which book would help Twilight the most.

“Hmm... Um... Damn it. It’s not here.”

Twilight frowned when she heard Jenith’s words. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Considering it was a tale from many years ago, it should be in this section but I don’t see a single book even mentioning Aetas.”

Twilight became dejected and looked down for a moment. They were now at a dead end.

“... Idea!” chimed Rarity.

The two turned to their diva to see her stuck in thought as if a light bulb had appeared. “What about newspaper articles?” asked Rarity.

Twilight and Jenith turned to each other for a moment before the thought properly clicked in their heads.

“That’s a great idea! Jenith, can you show me where the newspaper clippings are stored?”

Jenith shrugged. “I don’t really know...”

Suddenly, Rarity felt the little dragon in her arms squirming around. Upon looking down, she saw Spike trying his best to get down. With reluctance, she brought him down to the ground.

“Follow me! I bet I can find them in no time!”

The three nodded to each other before following Spike around the library. Aftering seemingly like an endless maze of shelves, the group reached a small alcove in a dark corner of the large place. Books were covered in thick films of dust and it seemed like nobody came here in years.

To Twilight, this was a crime. A crime of book neglect. What secrets could these books hold? Again, Twilight caught herself getting off track and quickly returned to the problem at hand.

“Here! In these cabinets!” exclaimed Spike.

The three walked over to where Spike was pointing. Standing right there was a an old and rusty steel cabinet with small cards set up at each drawer. Jenith quickly dusted the labels off one at a time before finding the right one and opened it. Inside the drawer were hundreds, if not, thousands of folders. All contained dates and names of the articles.

“We need either Keys or Aetas,” instructed Twilight.

“Uh huh.” With a nod, Jenith meticulously searched through the folders. From time to time, she would get some dust in her face, forcing her to turn her head and sneeze away, less she damaged the old and probably fragile clippings.

“Got it!” It took a few seconds but once Jenith pulled a folder out, both Rarity and Twilight smiled with glee. Spike quickly bowed, giving himself a job well done moment before being scooped up and receiving a flourish of kisses. All of which he loved and became lost in thought over.

“Come on. This might take awhile,” said Jenith.

After finding a well light table, the group sat down and opened the folder. Inside were numerous clippings which fell out onto the table in a mess.

“We need something about the Keys or something mentioning Aetas,” said Twilight.

The group quickly broke the pile into four sets and began reading each clipping. Every time they got something that might be what they were looking for, they would push the clipping back into the center. It took them a moment of eliminating pointless clippings until they arrived at about five or so left.

“Ok, let’s see what this one says,” Twilight chimed.

Jenith took the clipping and began reading it out loud. “Recently, a science team has uncovered one of the mysterious Time Temples located outside a northern village. Currently there seems to be no way of getting in but further investigation is required. There is an outside mural telling of one of the four keys in an ancient tale of a locked away artifact.”

“That looks like our Key,” said Rarity.

With a nod, Twilight took another clipping. “This one says that the town is called Armston. Spike, can you get us a map?”

With a salute the dragon nodded. “Already on it, Twilight!”

Jenith watched the purple dragon charge away, ready to claim his bounty for his purple haired commanding officer. “Wow Twilight, never knew he was trained like that!”

“What do you mean? He’s my assistant.”

“Assistant?” Jenith stared at Twilight for a moment, worried a bit that she might have said something wrong but after seeing her calm down, she shrugged it off. “Ok, he’s your assistant. No harm, no foul.”

It took a few minutes but soon, Spike was back with a well sized book which seemed to have been used regularly. “One Atlas of the Island, coming right up!” The book fell on the table with a nice thud and Twilight quickly flipped through some pages, most of which were pointless topography of the different regions.

“Here it is. Armston. Located west of Oakwind City,” said Twilight.

Jenith stared at the town’s name with disgust. “Ugh...”

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh nothing. Just the normal hives of pompous jerks that we’re going to be travelling through,”

“What do you mean pompous?”

“Well... When I say pompous, I mean completely uncaring and ungrateful ignorant idiots who only want to lavish in their giant mansions and eat expensive pastries all day.”

Rarity cringed a bit at the small triade. “That’s kinda... harsh.”

“Well, they’re not like you two. I already can tell you’re both different. But there are always a few good grapes on a withering vine, as they say. We’ll need to rest before going to the North. Best we make there soon, I’ve heard the cold snaps have already hit Armston.”

“Cold snaps?”

“Yeah. Temperature drops? It’s late autumn. Of course cold snaps occur. We’ll need to buy coats and other things. Otherwise, it’ll be pretty much a boring trip. Rarely do the animals bother travelers. Maybe an occasional curious ursa minor.”

“That doesn’t sound safe at all!”

Jenith chuckled a bit. “Trust me, they’re more afraid of you then you are afraid of it. It’s the ursa majors that you should be afraid of. Now those, well. If you see one ready to strike, well... you get the idea.”

Almost instinctively, Twilight and Rarity both pulled on their collars while swallowing their throats. With a chuckle, the group calmed down and collected the clippings together. Twilight quickly got them in order and in a flash, Spike placed them back where they belonged.

“Ok, so first, we get something to eat. After that, we can buy some coats and jackets before the evening, ok?”

The two Equestrians nodded. “Got it!”

“Good.”

The evening for Luna was dull and void. It didn’t help that she was stuck in a tent with only a blanket and two guards watching her every movement. The sound of metal clashing had died down and only the familiar ugly smell of burnt wood and bodies lingered in the air. From what she had seen, her tent was outside of the encampment, far enough that the closet tent was a good acre or so away. The guards outside chattered about their lives, from boring things such as sports to talking about female guards that they had seen.

Eventually, sunset came and again, Luna had to carefully find the perfect time to quickly pull the moon up into the sky while Celestia’s sun waned in the distance. Again, she found it a bit difficulty as the guards were weary of any sudden movements or sounds.

Luna had to wait after more pointless chatter between the two guards. Their shifts ended and two female guards took their place. By that point, it was only a few hours until midnight and even Luna found herself succumbing to sleep’s embrace. Seeing it as a nice vacation, and the only thing to occupy her time, Luna accepted the invitation and quickly got the thin blanket over her.

Slowly, her mind left the normal realm entered the dreamscape, the land of unbuilt dreams. It was a small joy to Luna. She would sometimes enter the dreams of young foals, helping them grow and fight their nightmares. But for now, Luna was looking for a specific mare’s dreamscape. Around her she could see the foreign dreamscapes of human children. It wasn’t until she noticed the picture of Twilight and her friends, did a smile appear on Luna’s face.

Slowly, she inched closer through the timeless dreamscape until she could touch Twilight’s mind with ease. Slowly, her ephemeral form entered the dreamscape of Twilight’s and her image in the realm morphed into her alicorn self.

“Twilight? Are you there?” Luna yelled out.

She looked around, only seeing a well detailed reconstruction of Ponyville. She was surprised how well Twilight’s mind created the place. She could see the minute parts of the leaves that rustled under the moonlight. The splinters on the wooden sidings. She could even see a perfect reflection of a copy of her moon in a bobbing tub nearby.

“Princess Luna! You’re back!” exclaimed a cheery voice.

Luna turned around to see Twilight, as her pony self, fully adorned in her Nightmare Night costume. With its blue pointy hat, complete with bells, and a silky white bead, the Starswirl the Bearded ensemble was complete. Now only if Twilight’s coat was a bit darker.

“I see you’re having a nice time,” said Luna with a smile.

Twilight nodded. “Yeah... I guess I’m missing home, that’s all.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll get through. Now, did you find anything?”

“Yes. The Keys may be located in an old temple in the Northern region. Near a small town named Armston.”

“Good. How are you, Rarity, Spike, and Jenith supposed to get there?”

“Well, Jenith said the paths up north are pretty clear of any threats so it’s going to be mostly endless walking.”

“That sounds good....”

The sound of little foals cheering nearby quickly caught Luna and Twilight’s attention. Suddenly, more and more ponies appeared, all dressed up for the night. Even Pipsqueak was there, wearing his pirate outfit and ready to go.

“So, this is a memory, not a dream,” said Luna.

“Well... It’s a dream of a memory.”

“Yes... well, I’m trying to find a way to get out of my current... problem. If I can, I’ll be able to arrive at Armston in a half a week or so, assuming nothing hinders me.”

Suddenly, a white glare appeared out of the corner of Luna’s vision. She paused for a moment, trying to figure it what it was but after looking around and seeing only the normal citizens having fun, Luna placed the thought in the back of her mind. “Well, I hope Rarity is doing well. Have you found a way to get some money?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes. Jenith had some money she received. Something about a job she did weeks before.”

Again that glare appeared, causing Twilight to look at Luna in confusion while she frantically looked around. “Are you ok, Princess?”

“Huh? Oh, sorry. I thought I saw something.”

“Run away,” said a strange yet familiar voice.

Luna quickly looked around again. “What?”

“Princess? What are you doing?” asked Twilight.

The voice came back, a bit faded but still audible in Luna’s mind. “Run away! He’s coming!”

“Twilight! You need to get to that temple as soon as possible.” Luna now sound very nervous; like if something was getting closer. Unbeknownst to Twilight, the dreamscape began to fade a bit. Cracks appeared within Luna’s vision.

“Luna? What do you mean?” yelled Twilight in fear.

“Do as I say!”

“Run!”

A loud sound of a mirror breaking apart upon impact threw Luna back into reality. When she opened her eyes, she found her vision obstructed by something and whatever it was, it had pulled her up forcefully out of bed. With her human hands, Luna began to claw at the obstruction, only to feel metal and leather fingers unwilling to let go.

Luna tried to let go, but each second of resisting proved futile. A strange feeling began to creep into the back of her skull.

“What is this, Luna? Your sister’s little student?” said Mortem’s voice.

Luna’s stared at the blackness in horror. Suddenly, she realized what Mortem was doing and using all the immortal strength she had, Luna began to take any information he was looking for and hide it away. She tried but it was too late. That whole time while she was in the dreamscape, Mortem has found everything he needed.

The man released his vice like grasp and allowed Luna to fall flat onto the dirt and blanket. A snid smirk plastered on his face. Luna coughed, feeling as if the air was sucked out of her lungs. Her muscles ached with fatigue and she could feel mucus constricting her airways.

Luna looked up to see Mortem towering above her. He was just like before but wore strange gem encrusted gauntlets. Each blue jewel glowed a dull blue and a strange burgundy mess of lines was glowing in his palm. Luna then realized that Mortem’s face looked a bit older, as if bits of age were added onto his years.His skin was a bit paler and the creases of his face more prominent.

“Thank you,” said Mortem. The king turned around and walked out of the tent. Luna then noticed that the two guards from before were gone. Suddenly, ideas began to emerge in her mind.

Mortem payed no attention to Luna and instead was looking around for something. With an opening, Luna quickly jumped forward, her hands out and open. Grabbing onto the sword in its scabbard, Luna pushed Mortem back and drew out the sword.

In her hands was a standard humasium sword with a few modifications. It had a similar bronze look on its fuller and a more ordinate guard but other, it was a regular sword, not like the one the Seeker carried.

Mortem stared at Luna with anger and rage in his eyes. It was only a second, but it felt like minutes going by when Luna began her first strike. Using his gem encrusted gauntlets, Mortem blocked Luna’s attacks with keen movement and skillful finesse.

Luna swung her sword more and more, hoping to break Mortem’s guard. The clash of humasium against humasium rung through the area and Luna could see the orange glow of torches in the distance. Above them, clouds began to roll in and the moon’s cool white glow slowly turned to a dark blue. It was as if the night sky was drunk on rage.

Mortem kept his guard and when he got a chance, the king of Sapios caught Luna’s sword with his hand, ignoring the slight cut he received in doing so. Suddenly, a burgundy glow emanated from his hand and the sword broke apart in a shower of silver shavings.

“Do you want to fight me, goddess of the night? I am stronger than you!” Mortem taunted.

Luna threw the broken handle away before ducking, just barely dodging a punch in doing so. Luna began to throw her own punches but they were useless. She felt humasium plate armor underneath his clothes and with instinct, she did the only thing viable. She ran.

Mortem watched Luna dart behind the tent before running off towards a field of tall grass, ducking so to lose her pursuers. After watching the blue blur dissipate among the grass, a lone guard ran up to Mortem’s side. The glow on his hands gone and his gauntlets inert.

“Sir, are you alright?” asked the guard.

Mortem frowned. “Get me Javina. I have orders to send. Men, search the fields for that woman! I want her found and brought to me! Now!”

Luna could feel the grass give way to woods and seeing how far she was from the encampment, she quickly used her magic to return to her alicorn form. Now in a full gallop, Luna dodged trees left and right before eventually winding down. The clouds were gone and the moon returned to its healthy white glow above her.

“Twilight... You need to go,” Luna murmured. Tears flowing down her face before mixing with the dirt below.

Author's Note

Thank FanNotANerf for editing and basically creating the archery scene!

Now I have properly shown Sapios' current technology.