Watcher didn't seem bothered in the least by Lulu's comments, instead striding up to the castle gate with his companions close at hand. He walked up to a pair of rather large, and heavily armored, bears who were blocking the way in. "I would like an audience with Her Majesty."

The left bear gave him a hard look, but he didn't move. The other stepped forward a few paces, putting them between himself and Watcher. "Her Majesty is busy. You can make an appointment at the royal embassy."

Watcher folded a hand before his chest, tail curling behind him. "I'm afraid you have no embassy to my far removed nation. We are the first to arrive. Is this a bad time of day?" He didn't mention that it was night. "What times are her Ladyship available?"

The guard grumbled in a voice deeper than the sea. "Not today." He pointed at Twibright with the tip of his lance. "Is this your horse? It has been decreed that animals must be stabled at a certain hour, unless they are being used."

Watcher reached back, placing a hand on Twilight's head despite her mildly sour look. "She is a person, an assistant of mine, like the fine lady at my side." Lulu nodded, but kept her mouth shut. "I can wait. What accommodations will she provide?"

"She'll provide none. Go away!" The guard took a few more steps forward, a scowl not at all hidden as he raised a sharp spear into position.

Watcher looked between them. "Is it something I said? My my my, she'll be very upset if you fumble a diplomatic meeting before she even gets to make up her mind. I wasn't aware door guards wielded such power in this demesne. Progressive."

That made the guard hesitate and turn to his compatriot. "You think we should let this one in? Maybe she'll want to meet them?"

Lulu gave them a big smile with lots of teeth. The other bear looked them over. "We'll stay where you put us." She swayed her broad tail slowly. "Until she decides what she wants with us."

The guards both seemed to like that idea, so after some deliberation they invited Watcher and his assistants along. "This way, please."

Watcher moved to follow them, but stopped when Twibright didn't follow. His tail swished back and forth as he glanced around. "Are you two not coming?"

Lulu gave a nervous look to Twibright. "Come on, sweet thing. We won't get much done out here."

"I can smell it." She sniffed at the air. "And it's getting stronger." Despite her cryptic warning, she scrambled after Watcher into the castle. She stuck close to his side, her tail flicking back and forth in a sign of alertness.

Watcher reached down and gave Twibright an assuring pat. "I'm sure we'll find something." His eyes were already scanning, taking in the opulence that assaulted them from every direction. It seemed that the king was fond of grand architecture and even grander works of art. The hallways were lined with statues, many of which were of creatures in some state of undress, as well as paintings that depicted everything from battlefields to countryside, and many of which were rather graphic.

Violence, love, birth and death were all on display as if in gross tributes to every step of life's journey. The guards didn't bat an eye, though they did spare a look at Twi when she blushed at a statue. Lulu had no such modesty, openly admiring some of the more tastefully rendered subjects. "If I ran into that one." She fluttered her lashes at a particularly attractive work she was going past. "Assuming he wasn't an ass."

Watcher rolled his eyes, but let his tail drift behind her and gently brush against her with a smile. "It is certainly possible there are those like these here, or that you may find them to your liking." He raised an ear at her. "If your hormones get the better of you, I will not stop you. Do as you must."

Lulu gave him a flat look, ears drooping as she swished her tail right out of reach of him. "Oh, you care so much." She looked down at Twibright, giving the smaller creature a friendly smile and nod. "Don't be scared, little innocent pony." She brushed Twibright down her back. "I'll keep you safe."

The guard arrived at an ornate door. "Here." He threw it open, both sides at once. "Where she keeps people she's keeping over."

Lulu steeled herself for something unpleasant before stepping inside. The room was filled with plush beds, comfortable chairs, a table stocked with food and drink, and a large fireplace that kept the room comfortably warm. Lulu reached down to give Twibright a little pet, but Twi wasn't paying any attention to her.

Twibright was already wandering towards the book in sight, eyes sparkling at the sight of it.

The guard nodded. "Stay here. Don't wander." With a slam, he shut the door, and a heavy click of a lock sounded a moment later. They were trapped.

Twibright took a moment to stop and take a deep breath. She put a hoof to the side of her head, as if she had a headache. "I can smell it. Something in here is awful." Still, the allure of the book was too strong, and she hurried towards it. "This might give us a few clues."

Watcher settled onto a chair as Twibright examined the tome. "That does smell quite unpleasant. What are you reading?"

Twibright's voice shook as she set eyes on it. "It's a history book." She flipped it with a glowing horn. "This is just what we wanted! We can see how things have changed, and how they've always been. Looking to the past to learn the present and from there, the future." She clapped her hooves with building excitement. "What a find!"

Lulu didn't look so happy. She was examining a window. "Not that I disagree, but we can also get out of this place." The skunk pushed that open to reveal a garden outside, far enough away from the walls to make a leap unwise, but it looked peaceful. "Eh, maybe not much of an escape unless we get to climbing." She breathed the cool air of the night. "Nice view though."

Watcher smiled at Twibright as she began to devour the pages of that tome. Lulu wandered by, looking over their equine companion's shoulder. "What's it say?"

"Well," she started as she read quickly, "There have been a lot of kings here, and it looks like they've taken a lot of forms." She brought her hoof down on an open page. "I'm still looking how lineages are decided, but almost no two kings are the same kind of creature. How is that possible?"

Lulu tilted her head. "Maybe they don't care about bloodline? Maybe it really is the best of them. That'd be interesting, wouldn't it?"

Watcher shook his head slowly, letting his tail swish slowly in thought. "Shouldn't you know, Lulu? You do live here."

Lulu blinked at him. "It's my job, as a person who lives here, to not get too close to any of the kings and continue to enjoy breathing. I have no idea how they operate other than they're in charge." She placed a hand at her chest. "I like breathing."

Twibright nodded as she read on, the pages flipping with her magic. "There are a lot of kings, though." Her ears went back. "And the histories seem almost intentionally vague." She worked back. "There, oh." She slowed to a stop at a section colored a menacing read. "Oh, oh." She leaned in, scanning intensely. "It would seem there aren't many repeats because most kings do not retire peacefully. Each jump in creature is because the last one was murdered."

Lulu swallowed heavily. "That's more or less what I expected, I'll be honest."

Twilight's tail flicked with agitation as she read. "This book isn't perfect, it's clearly just an overview, but I think it's a good one to go off of. I feel more educated about this than I did before, even if it is awful." She shook her head. "Our princess ruled for over a thousand moons! The idea of a pony wanting to hurt her, let alone kill her? Inconceivable."

Watcher's eyes narrowed as he thought about it. "This is a harsh world. It would make sense to have harsh rules, and a harsher punishment." He rose slowly and wandered towards the door. "But that you are finding it in a history book means we're not here to fix that." He trailed a finger along a desk as he went. "That is how this world was, and will be, until and unless someone native to this world can change it, if ever they will."

Lulu looked at Twi. "You think they'd ever change?" Her ears were back. "I mean, we've always lived like this. As long as we have history, anyway." She hugged herself with a tremble. "And you're not going to change it. Damn it. A fancy dream, at best, hoping someone else would come fix it all for us."

Twilight's eyes went wide. "Lulu, I'm sorry, we didn't mean—"

Watcher stepped in front of Twibright with a soft smile. "Twi, let her know that we do need to leave once this is done, but we will help what we can, if it takes this world away from not speaking the story it was made to tell. If this isn't your fault, I promise to fix it, so that you can change your history." His tail swished slowly, his tone calm as he spoke. "But that is for you to do, not us."

Lulu let her arms drop to her sides, tail lashing with anger. "I'm just a blasted merchant! I won't change the world. I can barely change my prices." She grabbed Twi away from her book. "These are bigger problems than me."

Twibright held out her front hooves, but looked down. "Lulu, we'll help where we can." She leaned forward and gave Lulu's nose a nuzzle. "I don't want to see anyone hurt."

Lulu's cloudy expression broke into a bright smile. "Have I mentioned recently how perfect you are?" She hugged Twibright close. "What are you doing over there, sourpuss?"

Watcher turned with a frown. "The smell is worse over here. There's something very wrong in this room. It's not just the decorations." He approached the fireplace, then shook his head hard. "Something near—" He wandered towards that fire, as if mesmerized by the crackling thing.

The door suddenly burst open, skinny ferrets of guards moving to either side as the king entered, her trunk waving slowly with each step. Each movement was slow and deliberate as she strode into the room. She was a massive elephant, and yet she looked at all three of them with an almost casual disdain. She wore only a cape across one shoulder and jewelry across her head, neck, and arms. Her horns also glittered with rings that adorned them from the base to near the tip. "I am told that I am entertaining a guest."

She raised a hand, one of her guards shutting the door behind her. "Quite a surprise. We would think we would be the one to order guests." Her eyes went to Twibright. "Especially guests so strange as to bring their horses into my castle."

Watcher bowed deeply, his ears back. "Your Majesty."

Twibright looked between them nervously as Lulu gave an equally deep bow of her own, her tail curling down to match the height of her head. To match, Twibright lowered down to a knee.

The king brought her hands together with a firm clap. "You have manners. That buys you the time to explain what you're doing in my castle."

Watcher rose smoothly. "Your Majesty," he began, "I would not be here except for a matter that I hope you might be able to shed some light on."

The king's ears flared with anger. "I am not a passive repository to be consulted. You have a king confused with a tome!"

Lulu's tail began to twitch in fear, her eyes darting to Watcher with concern. Twibright was already shaking, but she didn't dare speak.

Watcher raised a hand. "No, Your Highness." Watcher raised both ears and tail. "Something foul is attempting to influence your kingdom and steal power from you. Unforgivable. I'd like to know if you have been feeling unusual at all? Anything that seemed strange or unpleasant?"

The king's eyes narrowed, then widened. "I had a dream..." Her hands came up to her head. "Wait. I don't even know who you are, but you almost had me spilling my secrets. Smooth tongues, perhaps fit to be removed from your skull." She stormed closer. "Tell me who I speak to, and be quick."

Watcher gave her another deep bow. "My name is Watcher, and I am here to stop the source of whatever ails you. If you have something that can help us do that, it would be much appreciated."

Twibright pointed to the history book. "The history of your people is fascinating."

"Is it?" The king glared at Twibright. "And why does an equine look through our library?"

Lulu gave another bow, lowering herself nearly to her belly. "She is a trusted advisor. She may have four legs, but she has wit, and magic besides."

That brought the king to a surprised halt. "You have magic?" She gave Twibright a long look, then a sniff. "Well, I suppose you smell like it. What does she do for you?"

Watcher raised his chin. "I'll tell you, if you tell me what has happened to you."

"A trade?" She glared at Watcher. "Your tongue really would make a fine trinket. You." She fixed her look on Twibright. "Tell me what magic you can perform, now. Speak quickly if you don't want your employer to experience new and exciting pains."

Twibright winced back. "Please, don't threaten him!" She swallowed heavily. "I'm, well..." She focused on the fire in the room, which suddenly flared up in response, flames shooting out towards the ceiling. "I am a scholar, of both academics and magic." A violet bubble popped into being around her. "I know a wide variety of tricks, um, Your Majesty."

The king's ears were back slowly in surprise as Twibright displayed her magic. "I see." She gave Twi another long look, before turning to Watcher with her trunk held out. "You have something we would like. Surrender that magical four leg and you could have our cooperation."

Lulu gave an angry hiss, tail lashing behind her. "Not for any price." She rose from her bow. "Twibright isn't just some thing, some tool, she's a friend."

The king waved Lulu's words away like the buzzing of an errant fly. "Be quiet before your betters. What say you, Watcher? The assistance of your king is a prize beyond all others, and all you must do is hand over something so small and unimportant."

Watcher fixed her with a look. "I am afraid I must decline, Your Majesty. I already offer you something you surely want, one less competitor for the throne you reside on. The power of rulership should rest in your hands alone, unshared." He spread his hands. "Assist us in our work, and we will protect your rights and your throne. This is my offer. We are friends."

The king gave him a long look, then let her trunk rise higher. "I want to tear you apart, but you are intriguing in refreshing ways at the same time." She moved to Lulu, just to shove the skunk over. "Most of my people know better than to stand in my way, but you must be from afar. You don't even tremble before me." She leaned over Twibright, who didn't budge as the king sniffed her. "This one has the excuse of magic, though I suppose you're still standing after seeing my guards."

"They tried to stop us." Watcher placed his hands together slowly. "But we told them our stay should be at your control and leisure, Your Majesty. To miss us would incur your wrath likely."

"It would have." She danced her fingers against one another. "You counseled them well, and they can continue their job. Blast, you're not wrong. A thousand forces conspire against the throne, and if you have words on how to defeat them, that is a considerable offer." Her eyes narrowed on Twibright. "Tell me, equine, what would you say about this?"

Twibright blinked at the king. "Um, I'll let Watcher speak for us both." She cleared her throat. "But he isn't lying. Something is threatening you, your people, everything's control, really. It's working quietly and insidiously. If it could be fixed by just taking out the cause, he would have done that already." She looked aside nervously. "I'm sure of it." The bubble around her faded away. "That's what he does."

"It is." Watcher spread his hands. "Consider me a monk of sorts, here to expunge impurities, and nothing more. You can consider Twibright a guest here as well."

The king slowly folded her arms. "We are not convinced. We want more than pretty words. Bring us the proof you promise, and we shall be allies." She snapped her fingers. "You have a week. Make of this room as you will. If my guards see you reaching for anything in the castle you shouldn't, they will run you through long before I hear of it. Do not think this gives you permission to defy me." She stormed from the room and slammed the door behind herself, guards accompanying her.

Watcher's tail swished slowly as he thought, then he turned to the others. "Well, that went well enough."

Lulu snorted and rolled her eyes. "Somehow, we still have our parts attached to us." She patted herself down as if to be sure of that. "The way you were talking to her, I really wasn't sure I'd get to see the sun rise tomorrow, not that I usually watch it. My bed, my sleep." She muttered a few things about what she'd like to do to certain elephants.

Twilight let out a long sigh. "Watcher? That was very dangerous."

"Was it?" He waved at himself. "This is a borrowed body. It wouldn't be the first time I lost one of them. Very unpleasant, but that's usually equally brief. You two would have suffered more than myself." He looked between them. "But now we know what we need to do."

Lulu gave Twi a helpless shrug, clearly not understanding Watcher either. "Twi, why you hang out with that lunatic is beyond me. He doesn't care about you. He sure as all the hells doesn't care about me." She flopped on the bed. "Pretty sure I'm just in his way. He'd watch with that cool gaze of his as I was torn apart. Not sure how much of his attention I'd keep, really."

Twibright hopped up onto the bed next to Lulu with a frown. "Lulu, please don't say things like that." She curled in next to the skunk. "We have a week. Let's find what's causing this problem as quickly as we can."

Watcher moved over and gently placed a hand on both of their heads. "You will both see, I'm certain. We have a week to discover what's causing this. For now, it is getting late. I can see you're both tired. Would you like me to sing you a song of sleep?"

Lulu started at that. "W-what? You have a song to sleep by? You may be a mystery, but a bard I didn't expect." She pulled Twi closer. "This I have to see, or hear. Go ahead."

Watcher gave them both an amused smile, then drew himself up to start.

 "Rest now, dear travelers of infinite paths

Through branches of time where each moment lasts

I've watched all your stories unfold in the deep

Now close your tired eyes and drift off to sleep

In one world you're dancing through starlit affairs

In another you're breathing mountain air

Some worlds hold your laughter, some hold your tears

All equally precious through infinite years

The cosmos keeps spinning its intricate dance

Each choice splits reality, born of pure chance

But here in this moment, this version of you

Is safe in my keeping, your dreams sailing through

The multiverse whispers its secrets so vast

Of futures unfolding and moments long past

But time cannot touch you while safe in this space

Where all possibilities merge in this place

So dream without worry of paths not yet seen

Of lives you might live and the ones that have been

For I'll keep on watching through space and through time

While you rest secure in this moment sublime."

"D-damn." Lulu snuggled in closer to the already sleeping Twibright. "Damn. That was a nice song, and it'll give me nightmares." She sniffled even as she smiled. "Thanks."

Author's Note

A week, plenty of time, one hopes?

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