This must be what it's like to live in Disneyland, seriously.

The place really felt like a theme park- a good one, one that loved what it was and embraced it. Pity I can only see the attractions at night, I mused, peeking into the town from my little makeshift lean-to by the treeline, carefully constructed to look like just more brush and scrub. But hey, no standing in lines, at least.

My vantage point was good enough to see a fair bit of what went on in town, aided by the wide roads and generously-spaced buildings. It was really interesting to watch these ponies go about their lives; every morning a bunch of them set up stalls in the center of the town, and others would come by, apparently bartering for various things and paying with tiny golden coins. The rest of their day- or at least the portions I didn't sleep through- was apparently spent either doing jobs, walking around or staying inside. Granted, the language barrier meant that I didn't understand everything that was being done, and there was always a chance that some context was going over my head; I had to have misinterpreted that one store's sign- why would a business sell nothing but sofas and quills? But for the most part, it didn't seem much different from some middle-ages burg, only much more colorful.

I had learned yet another bizarre thing that set this world apart from home: The weather here was apparently controlled by ponies, something I'd figured out after watching a group of pegasi manipulate a ridiculously-low cloud deck and turn a sunny day into a light shower. One pegasus in particular, storm-grey with a blond mane and tail, seemed to enjoy bouncing on clouds until they shot out lightning, which got her yelled at by a couple of other pegasi. So they can not only push clouds around, but stand and even lay on them, I'd realized. Are they the only ones? I would've thought unicorns would be all over that sort of thing, and the regular ponies... who knows.

With not much else to do with my afternoons, I'd broken out my pen and notepad and started sketching. I was rusty, there was no doubt about it- I'd quit doing art after college, when I'd landed my first job- but I was rapidly falling back in love with it. It felt like a kind of self-directed therapy, where I could help myself deal with all the strangeness I'd found myself immersed in by abstracting it on paper, and the pastoral setting of this town didn't skimp on scenes to sketch. I had at least four different sketches of the three children- foals, I had to remind myself- that had seemed to get into trouble at least once every one of the five days I'd been near the town; even from a distance, it was easy to make out the winning smiles that apparently worked to get them out of any serious repercussions afterwards. I kinda wish I knew what it was they always got so excited about doing, I thought. Whatever it is, they like to shout about it! Guess kids are the same everywhere.

I also had a sketch of a weird type of pony I'd never seen before, a violet-colored one that seemed to have both wings and a horn. I'd only caught a few glimpses of that one, but judging by the way the other ponies reacted to her, she seemed to be someone really important- except for a half-dozen or so who talked to her like any other pony, as well as what looked like a short, squat little purple reptile of some kind that also could speak. Being apparently the only intelligent creature around who wasn't “up” on the lingua franca in this place was really getting on my nerves.

But the purple one- “pegacorn” was the best appelation I could think up, and only because “unisus” was just entirely terrible- had me thinking. If I was going to go ahead and give myself up to these ponies, why not go right to the most powerful and respected one around? If nothing else I'd at least find out what the “head honchoes” thought of me while I still had a chance to make a run for it if I didn't like what I saw... and as cute as the ponies of this little town were, I'd had enough of being stared at and feared from other small-town ponies to really want to risk putting myself at their mercy if I could avoid it.

So there it was, my plan for eventually turning myself in- sketchy, ill-prepared and full of all sorts of opportunities to go wrong. But it was pretty much all I had, and I was going to see it through to the best of my ability... even if the morbid side of me hoped that the ponies would at least write “Here lies Peter Collins: He saw it through to the best of his ability” on my tombstone.

The issue settled, I decided to head back to my little hideout for some rest. At least I was finally getting over the nightmares; I'd almost forgotten what an uninterrupted sleep cycle was like.

(-)

When Twilight's vision cleared from the teleport sphere, she found herself back in the castle once again, with one of Celestia's personal aides- Timekeeper, if she remembered the mare's name correctly- waiting for her. “Princess Twilight,” the young earth pony said with a curtsy, “it's good to see you again. Princess Celestia and her guest are waiting for you in the Lilac Lounge. I'll take you there now.”

“Thank you.” Twilight fell in behind the other mare, letting her lead the way to one of the castle's many private meeting rooms. Timekeeper stopped outside the room, knocked lightly and then opened the door just a crack. “Princess Celestia, Princess Twilight is here,” she announced.

“Show her in, please,” came the reply.

Timekeeper pushed the door open then stepped back, motioning for Twilight to enter, and she did so. She heard the door quietly close behind her as she approached the two others inside the room- her mentor, and a griffin she didn't recognize, though she knew just who this other creature was. “Miss Windwhisper,” she said quietly.

“Princess Twilight.” Sveti Windwhisper bowed her head.

Across from the griffin, seated in an overstuffed easy chair, Celestia smiled. “It's good to see you again, Twilight,” she said. “Thank you for responding so quickly to my request. I know your hooves have been full.”

“I'm glad to make time for this, Celestia.” It was still so hard for Twilight to not call her “Princess”. “Miss Windwhisper,” she said, “firstly... you have my deepest condolences for your loss.”

“Thank you, Princess.” Sveti's expression didn't change from its distant, distracted look; Twilight could definitely understand. She took a seat on the opposite end of the couch from Sveti- close enough to be friendly, far enough away to allow for personal space. “Celestia, are we doing anything for Miss Windwhisper? With the embassy closed....”

“It has already been taken care of, Twilight. Miss Windwhisper will have lodgings here in the castle until such time as she no longer needs them.”

“I'm glad to hear that.” She turned back to the griffin. “Secondly, know that four of the five ponies that did this to you have been caught, and the fifth is being searched for as we speak.”

“Let me guess... Big Top?”

Twilight blinked. “Er... yes.”

Sveti snorted. “That sniveling little feather-plucker could give grease tips on being slippery.” After a moment, she looked down at the floor. “...I'm sorry,” she murmured.

“It's alright, Miss Wi-”

“Sveti. Please just call me Sveti. I'm not some dignitary or noble.”

“...Sveti,” Twilight amended. “Nopony can blame you for being angry. What was done to you was reprehensible. That you're still working with us speaks very well of your tolerance and understanding.”

The griffin sighed. “Yeah, well... ancestors know there's enough things griffins have done that I wouldn't want pinned on me.”

Twilight gave her a smile. “Sveti, there's another reason I've come to speak with you. About your time in the sideshow.”

“Princess, I already told Lt. Lining everything that happened.”

“And the report was exceptionally informative, and I thank you for that. But there's one thing in particular I need to discuss with you, a matter of great importance.”

Sveti looked up, her previous sullen expression replaced by confusion- and curiosity. “What?”

“The creature that you said freed you. The entity being called the 'Everfree Yeti'.”

“It's not a yeti.”

Twilight sighed. “That's what I've been trying to tell everypony,” she murmured. “...ahem. But anyway. He is still out in the wild somewhere, and I think it would be best for him and everypony else if we could get him someplace safe and secure.”

“...how can I even help you with that?”

“Anything you can tell us about him might help. Any sort of insight or knowledge could give us the clue we need to locate him.”

“What the pluck? Princess, don't you think it- I mean, he- has been through enough? He's not some mindless beast that needs to be in a cage, any more than I am!”

“Sveti, we've come to that realization.” Twilight sighed. “At first... I was worried that he might be blindly hostile, but after Broncton, I-”

“After what?”

“There's reports that he saved the life of a filly in Broncton. Of course, there's reports that he tried to eat her, too....”

“That's a load of cowflop! Ancestors, sometimes I just don't get you ponies!” She paused, glancing between Twilight and Celestia. “...um, I don't mean any offense,” she amended. “But honestly, some of you ponies just... you flip out when you're threatened.”

A small frown crossed Celestia's lips. “Sveti, you must understand that we ponies are a prey species,” she said quietly. “We are no less affected by instinct than you. Many of us can override that in dangerous situations, but not all of us. Some ponies might assume the worst of a seemingly-threatening entity, and that can cloud one's recollection after the fact.”

Sveti went quiet for a moment. “...well, it's still a lousy rap when some of us other species need to interact with you guys,” she grumbled. “But anyway. That creature- he didn't have to set me free. He could've been out of there in a flash after that manticore ran off. But he gave me those keys.” She went quiet for a moment. “I owe him, Princess. In the middle of all that mess, he gave me those keys. No filly-eating monster would've done that.”

Twilight nodded slowly. “We've been coming to that conclusion ourselves,” she replied. “Sveti, our goal isn't to imprison him- just secure him. Some ponies chased him when he escaped from Broncton, convinced that the 'Everfree Yeti' was some ferocious beast that would come back to slaughter them all if he escaped. Do I need to conjecture about what might have happened if they'd managed to corner him and make him feel threatened?”

Sveti frowned and shook her head. “No, I guess you don't, Princess. I... wait.” Her frown grew deeper. “The last time we were at Broncton was months before Top got that creature. It's not exactly out in the sticks, but still... how did stories that crazy get there that fast?”

“I've sort of been wondering that myself. Some of the Guard are reporting hearing outlandish stories about the creature all over the place, even conflicting ones. If you believe the rumormongers, apparently he was lighting buildings on fire in Manehatten last week while simultaneously hunting bison outside of Appleoosa. It's quite frankly getting ridiculous, and I've had to have talks with several mayors and councilponies about getting the facts out and squashing misinformation.”

“Huh.” The griffin seemed to contemplate this for a moment. “Something weird about that, but... yeah, ponies.” She shrugged. “Look, Princess- it's not that I don't want to help. Like I told you, I owe that creature, and Sveti Windwhisper pays her debts. I'd honestly love to help you get him to safety. But I didn't have a whole lot of contact with him... just how can I really help?”

Twilight smiled again. “You've got at least one thing in common with him that we don't, Sveti. You're a predator- and it seems like he's one as well. We at least know for certain that he's an omnivore, based on what he was fed while he was imprisoned, and it's not a stretch of logic to believe that his basic instincts would be similar. You've got a kinship with him that a bunch of herd-based herbivores don't. That, and having any experience with him, puts you well above most of us in being able to understand him.”

“Oh. Huh.” Again Sveti looked thoughtful. “I guess you're right,” she admitted, fluttering her wings a little. “So, um... what do I do first?”

Twilight gave Celestia a subtle glance, and got an almost imperceptible nod in return. “First... we'd like to get you set up in your new lodgings, and see about getting breakfast for you. After that, we can talk.”

For the first time since they'd met, Twilight saw Sveti smile. “I'd appreciate that.”

(-)

Entering the stream of consciousness proved much easier now than it had when she'd first done so, and Luna found herself once more within the dreams of the creature she'd been examining for a week. Her acclimation to his psyche had been rather swift, and while she had not the means to completely commandeer his dreams- his mind was too strong for hers to overwhelm in any manner, at least through the Astral Plane- she could make small alterations, introduce themes and build upon them gradually... and she was a subtle and patient pony when she chose to be.

So far, she had only worked towards lessening the nightmares he suffered from seemingly every night. Five nights of careful work had paid off; the “sideshow”, and the ponies who had been a part of it, hardly appeared in his dreams now. Her rationale had been to give herself more of a “clean slate”, or at least a less-chaotic canvas, on which to work, but she found herself pleased with her work for another reason: The creature, whatever his motives and aims, had been positively traumatized by his experience, and to have a hoof in healing the damage gave Luna a certain feeling of redemption- not only for the sins of other ponies inflicted upon him, but for the sins she herself had committed in the distant past.

But she couldn't leave off what she'd originally come here to do- understand the creature's mind better. As readily as she'd initiated the plan, eager to do her part to protect her ponies, she now went forward with a certain amount of trepidation. I do not like what it is I am about to do, she thought. But it needs be done.

She concentrated, and the dark, featureless dreamscape around her began to change.

(-)

I was hungry. Starving. Ravenous. I couldn't remember how long it had been since I'd eaten, but the aching emptiness in my stomach told me it had been far too long. I crashed through the lightly-wooded forest, stumbling and even nearly running into trees as I ran forward, desperate to find anything edible before I simply collapsed and died on the spot.

A light in the distance caught my attention, and with nothing else looking promising, I headed towards it, eventually leaving the woods and ending up on the outskirts of a town. In the darkness, all that was visible was the light I'd spotted- a hanging lamp over the front door of what looked like a restaurant. Part of my mind noticed a strange lack of details present on the building, but the rest of me was busy yanking the door open like a man possessed; I could smell something, alien but strangely appetizing, within.

The dining room was similarly dark aside from a single oversized table in the center lit by a hanging lamp. On that table was an enormous serving dish, covered by a silver lid and surrounded by utensils and plates, from which the strange smell was coming; half-mad with hunger by now, I simply grabbed a fork and yanked off the lid, ready to start chowing down on whatever was underneath.

I was greeted by the form of an unconscious pony, laid out on the serving dish like a suckling pig, surrounded by garnishings and with an apple in its mouth.

“What the sweet fuck-” I managed to blurt out, rearing back in revulsion, before the fork clattered on the table-

-and I awoke with a start in my little shelter, panting for breath.

I was so disturbed by my dream that I couldn't even think coherently for a moment, grabbing my water bottle and taking a long swig, and then splashing some on my face for good measure. What the hell is going on with my brain? I wondered, wiping my cheeks with the back of my hand. Bad enough I've been craving steak and chicken lately, but now my brain wants to eat a pony? Ugh.

I straightened up, trying to stretch myself out, and let out a grunt as my elbow complained. I'd been getting a little stiff and sore lately; apparently my body wasn't too happy with my new sleeping arrangements. I checked my music player's clock and found that it was nine in the morning- too early for me to be up. “Hell with it,” I murmured to myself, laying back down. “Weird dreams or no, I need my beauty sleep.”

Thankfully it didn't take me too long to settle back into slumber.

(-)

“Lulu?” Celestia looked up from her morning tea and newspaper at the entrance of her sister, who looked far too exhausted to be up and about. “Lulu, is something wrong?” she pressed.

Luna kept her silence, and her head lowered, until she reached the seat next to Celestia, and pulled herself into it. Then, in a quiet voice: “I shan't do it again, Tia.”

Celestia frowned. “Do what, Luna?”

“Manipulate his dreams so incautiously.”

Now she understood. “Tell me what happened,” she said.

The lunar princess let out a soft sigh. “You tasked me to devise a test to understand the creature's view of ponies, to ascertain if it posed a threat. Through his dreams, I was able to deduce that his body's food requirements were ill-met; I heightened the expression of that need in his psyche, causing him to imagine that he was approaching starvation.” She paused a moment. “And then I presented to him a simulacrum of a pony, helpless and ready for him to consume.”

Celestia let that concept sit in her mind for a moment, and somehow managed not to shudder. “And... his reaction?”

Her sister's expression became pained. “Celestia, had he not awakened at that moment, I am convinced I would have seen him sick all over the dreamscape! The notion of eating a pony, even in a state of desperation, revolted him.” She went quiet for a few seconds. “I cannot give an informed report of his likely actions should he be angry, or afraid. But I can tell you this, Tia- a predator he might be, but not towards our ponies, nor I conjecture towards any creature he recognizes as sapient. Not in any but the most absolutely dire straits.”

Celestia nodded, outwardly remaining calm but feeling as though she'd just had a boulder lifted off her back. “I understand, Luna,” she said comfortingly. “I thank you for what you've done; I know it can't have been easy. But... can't I persuade you to at least continue watching his dreams?”

Luna considered for a moment. “That much I can do, yes,” she answered. “And perhaps comfort him in some small manner, or at least keep his nightmares at bay. But I cannot twist his dreams in such a way again. His eyes....” She shook her head. “I feel unclean for what I did, Celestia. I have manipulated the dreams of enemy and friend alike for the sake of our ponies, but this....” She shook her head. “I have taken an injured creature and salted his wounds. It may have proven necessary, but I cannot take any joy from that.”

Celestia left her seat to trot over to her sister and give her a gentle nuzzle. “I'm glad you feel that way, Lulu,” she said. “It shows a strong conscience.” She returned to her seat, and nodded to a servant at his station by the doors; the young stallion immediately trotted up. “If you're going to stay awake, Luna, perhaps you'd like some coffee?” she asked.

“I... hmm.” She seemed to consider for a moment, then nodded. “I... believe I would, actually.”

“Your usual, Your Highness?” asked the servant.

“Not on this occasion, good Note Taker. Sweeten with sugar and honey, but do not add cream.”

“At once, Your Highness.” The servant cantered off to fill the order, and Celestia smiled. “I told you you'd like coffee,” she teased.

A little smile crossed Luna's lips, despite an obvious attempt to hide it. “Yes, well... I suppose I was bound to find a few new things that do appeal to me since my return.”

“Coffee and nightclubs.” Celestia grinned. “I shouldn't have been surprised.”

Luna replied with a most un-Princessly raspberry.

(-)

“I have been having the un-weirdest feeling all week!”

Fluttershy paused just as she was about to take a bite out of her hayburger, peering over her meal at Pinkie. “Um....” she murmured. “What does that mean?”

“Un-weird! You know.” Pinkie scrunched her face up. “When something should be weird, but isn't!”

“I... I don't follow....”

“Okay, well, lemme explain. You know about my Pinkie Sense, right?”

“As- as much as anypony besides you knows about it....”

“Well, I've had a sneaking suspicion that it should have been going off about something all week! But it hasn't!”

“Okay. Um... why would that happen!”

“I have no idea! And it's really bugging me.” The pink mare unrolled her tongue, placed her hayburger on it, then rolled the entire thing back up into her mouth and swallowed the meal in one gulp. “Mmmmm, honey mustard. Oh, I almost forgot- I have to check on all my hidden rubber-ball reserve stashes in the greater Ponyville area! Hey, 'Shy, are you busy tomorrow?”

“I, um... I'm washing my bear.”

“Didn't you do that yesterday?”

“Um... well, you know how bears are....”

“Do I ever!” Pinkie rubbed at her chin with a hoof. “That's okay. I'll ask Dashie if she wants to help.” With that, she crumpled up her empty food packaging into a ball, and tossed it blindly over her shoulder; it landed perfectly in a wastebasket fifty paces away. “I gotta hustle back to the Corner! Thanks for lunch, 'Shy.”

And in a flash of riotous pink mane, Pinkie Pie was gone, leaving Fluttershy to wonder anew about her longtime friend's grip on reality.

(-)

“So what are we going to do today to try to get our cutie marks, girls?”

Scootaloo looked up from where she lay at Apple Bloom's all-too-familiar question. “You know, I'm not even sure,” she answered, laying her head back down on the lush grass. “I mean, we've tried almost everything we can think of that wouldn't end in disaster. And a bunch of stuff that did.”

“Yeah, well... what haven't we tried?” Sweetie Belle wondered. “I mean, there's got to be something we're missing. Let's think.” The unicorn filly furrowed her brow. “Construction?”

“None of us are allowed to touch tools after that 'table' we made for Lyra exploded,” Scootaloo answered.

“I'm still try'na figger out how it did that,” grumbled Apple Bloom.

“Oh, right, I forgot.” Sweetie stared down at the ground. “Cooking?”

“Two words,” Scootaloo said. “ 'Burnt juice'.”

“Filmmaking?”

“Camera got confiscated after that 'Equestria's Funniest Home Injuries' project.”

“Martial arts?”

“Done, and we ain't doin' it again,” Apple Bloom countered. “I'm still sore from where Scoots hit me tryin' t' do that flyin' kick she saw Spruce Lean do in that Enter Th' Chimera film.”

“Uh, yeah.” Scootaloo chuckled nervously. “Still sorry about that, by the way.”

“Well, darn.” Sweetie took a seat in the grass next to her friends, frowning. “I don't know, girls. I can't come up with anything new.”

Bloom looked thoughtful. “Mebbe we can try that 'monster hunter' thing again.”

“No way, girls. Not after what happened with Fluttershy and the cockatrice.” Scootaloo shook her head. “The problem with being a monster hunter is that sometimes you find what you're hunting!”

“Well... then what?” Sweetie asked.

“I dunno. Let's... let's just not worry about it right now, okay? I mean, it's a really nice day, we're going back to school soon... let's just go enjoy the weather. I'll hitch the wagon onto my scooter and you girls can ride around with me, how's that?”

“Okay!” “Sure!” All three of them got up-

rustle

-and turned at the sudden noise near the trees by where they'd been resting. “Hey... did you hear that?” Sweetie whispered.

“Yeah,” Bloom replied just as quietly. “Thought I saw somethin', too. We oughta check it out.”

“Uh... okay....” Scootaloo would rather cluck like a chicken than admit it, but the idea sounded like a bad one to her- she really was starting to get tired of running with her tail tucked under her because they'd done something dumb like disturbing a hornet's nest. And with stories of some “Everfree Yeti” flying around like confetti at a Pinkie Pie party-

“Hey, there ain't nothin' here,” Bloom declared.

Scoots let out the breath she hadn't known she was holding... then caught a strange scent when she inhaled. “Hey, do you smell that?”

“Smell wh-” Bloom took a deep sniff. “Ohh. I ain't never smelled nothin' like that, and I been around all sorts 'a critters.”

“Yeah, it's weird.” Sweetie looked down behind the strange pile of branches and grass. “And there's some kind of markings here, too.”

“Y'know what I think it is?” Bloom said. “I think some animal was tryin' ta nest here an' we scared it off.”

“Awww. I hope not!” The unicorn filly looked around for a moment. “Well, maybe if we leave it alone, it'll come back.”

“Yeah, leaving it alone sounds like a great plan.” Something was unnerving Scootaloo; she couldn't put a hoof on it, and she wouldn't admit it out loud, but this situation made her skittish. “C'mon, girls,” she said, her voice maybe just a little higher-pitched than she would've liked, “let's go do that cart ride, huh?”

The cheers of Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle echoed through the woods, as did three sets of hoofbeats a moment later.

(-)

I let out a quiet sigh of relief as the three fillies charged off. I didn't know why the little orange pegasus wasn't flying, but I could tell that she'd been a bit nervous for some reason- but whatever she'd said to get the other two moving had been cheerful, not fearful, and it certainly didn't look like they were running off to get adults to come deal with me.

It was my own damn fault they'd nearly caught me in the first place. I'd never seen them approaching, much more quietly than I would've expected, and by the time I realized their presence they were too close for me to move without risking being spotted. I'd had no choice but to hold position while they talked to each other, and when they'd finally gotten up to leave I'd made a break for it- only to have them hear me run through the brush that served as concealment for the sides of my “observation post”. It was more due to luck than anything that they'd come around the long way and hadn't spotted or heard my mad dash for the treeline.

Now protected from sight, I returned to my little campsite, opening up the small breadbox I'd liberated from someone's trash and pulling out the last two of the carrots I'd snagged from someone's garden. Monster cannot live on baked goods alone, I thought, taking a hearty bite out of the first carrot. But lemme tell ya, if by some miracle I ran into an Outback Steak House around here, I'd tear down the walls with my bare hands just to get a single porterhouse.

With visions of hamburgers dancing through my head, I sat down on a fallen tree, picked up my notepad and started to sketch.

(-)

“What happened?! Who broke it?!”

“Whoa, whoa, calm down, sis!” Shining held up a hoof to block her sister's angry advance towards the scientists clustered around the strange carriage. “Nothing's broken. They just found something everypony overlooked before.”

She blinked at him, then lowered her head. “Oh. Sorry, everypony,” she murmured, visibly calming herself before she trotted with him up to the vehicle. “...wait a minute... that part of it opens up too?!”

“Yep. I was just checking in on things when one of the scientists realized why an entire section of the carriage seemed hollow.” He arcanokinetically pulled down the section of metal that was raised up like the tail of a cockatrice, and pointed to a small silver circle. “That... is a keyhole,” he said melodramatically.

“Ohmygosh.” Twilight took to the air to look inside as Shining moved the cover back to its fully-open position. “It's... some kind of storage compartment?” she wondered.

“Seems to be. I asked the crew not to take anything out until you got here.” He grinned.

“Aw, you're the best, Shiny.” Carefully, Twilight levitated a number of objects out from the compartment- a thin bag made of a strange crinkly material, a large, black fabric case of some kind, a smaller red one, and an even smaller still hard-sided box. She set all three objects on an examination table, and everypony in the room dropped what they were doing to come see as she made ready to open the first one. “Quick Check, are you ready to log what we find?”

The unicorn in question levitated her quill and clipboard. “Absolutely, Your Highness.”

Even Shining had to admit that he was eager to see what was inside, though most of his reasons were much different than those of the ponies around him. Still, the five-year-old colt inside of him who'd read every last issue of Buck Withers in the 15th Century from cover to cover was practically prancing in glee at getting to see more seemingly alien technology-

“The first bag appears to be....” Twilight seemed to search through the container. “...full of clothes.”

Shining swore that he heard a plate break somewhere.

Still, these clothes weren't quite like anything he'd seen before. He recognized pants and shirts, obviously built for something that stood on two legs- and the size of them gave him a real sense of scale as to how large the creature who owned them really was; there wasn't a pony on Equus who could hope to fit in them, aside from possibly Princesses Celestia and Luna, or maybe that socialite Fleur De Lis. He really is closer to a minotaur than a pony in size and shape, he realized. I just hope it doesn't go the same for strength, too....

The second, smaller bag proved much more interesting. He couldn't even begin to fathom the purpose of many of them; there was a flat, lightweight object that looked like a clipboard without the clip, some strange kind of cord that ended on one side with a small metal piece and the other with a black block with two silvery prongs sticking out, a thin plate covered in small buttons that were each labeled with one or more symbols, a sheaf of papers with neat, precise writing in more of that strange language... the only two things he recognized straightaway were a strange award plaque of some kind, gleaming bronze and with a symbol sort of like what one would find on an archery target, and a picture frame with an amazingly clear, color photograph. And it was what that photograph showed that got everypony in the room to stop stock still.

“Sweet Celestia... there's more of them?!” somepony blurted out.

“Relax! Relax, everypony.” Twilight raised a hoof. “If there were more of these creatures here in Equestria, at least one other would've been spotted by now. It's very likely that this picture was taken before the one we're looking for came here.”

The scientists visibly relaxed. Shining took a long moment to study the photo; the creature they were looking for was shown standing on the lowest platform of what looked like an awards stand, holding up the very same plaque they'd found in the bag. Two others of its species stood on higher platforms, holding silver and gold plaques. It was hard for Shining to judge age in a species he'd never seen before, but it seemed like their “Everfree Yeti” was the youngest of the three by a fair margin. I wonder just what they won at, he thought idly, taking a good look at the by-now familiar figure in the photograph. He certainly looks pleased.

“...oh my gosh.” Twilight's quiet exclamation caught his attention, and he saw her staring into the smallest box. He trotted over to have a look... and his jaw dropped.

Inside the hard shell of the box was a square of strange, springy material, in which had been cut out three shapes- one of which matched the shape of the weapon the creature had been seen using. And underneath that square was what seemed to be a small booklet made of shiny paper, with a picture of the weapon, and some strange brass-like objects, emblazoned on the front.

Recognition struck. “Twily,” he murmured. “Those metal things-”

"Ohmigosh." Immediately, Twilight disappeared in a flash of magic; Shining pulled the strange square out of the case, noting the weird spongelike consistency of it, then lifted out the booklet; he'd just started leafing through it when Twilight returned in the same spot- wisely left vacant by the scientists; though the spell would've simply failed if something solid had been in that spot, that would've made Twilight have to walk back and cost her valuable research time- levitating two small objects in front of her. Shining recognized one as one of the brass cylinders, but not the other. "What's that?" he asked.

"A lead slug that was found by the carriage when we first discovered it. We found others like it in the bodies of the naga and Cobalt, but they were deformed." Twilight furrowed her brow and brought the two objects together- and the wider end of the lead slug fit almost perfectly into the end of the cylinder. "This... this can't be what I'm starting to think it is," she half-whispered, before looking up. "Minder, what progress has been made on translating this creature's language?"

“Not much, Your Highness,” came the reply from a nearby earth pony. “They've having a lot of trouble building a reference chart. I talked to one of the translators last week- apparently this language uses two sets of characters.”

“Two? That's crazy....” Twilight shook her head even as she took the booklet in her magic and quickly flipped through its pages, stopping at one in particular and gazing at it. “Well, please do me a favor and let the translation team know that we've got a new priority item for them to examine.”

Shining craned his neck to look at what she was staring at, and saw on one of the pages what seemed to be a diagram of the weapon, every single piece shown and labeled. The sheer number of pieces, their size and complexity, gobsmacked him. “Sweet Celestia, how does something that complicated even work?” he wondered.

“That's exactly what I want to find out, big bro.” She closed the booklet and laid it back into the case, then glanced back towards the carriage; somehow it seemed more enigmatic, even more menacing to Shining than it had earlier. Why do I suddenly feel like we are in way over our heads? he wondered.

(-)

“Aircolt Wind!”

Swift Wind looked up from the new issue of Guard and Protectorate Weekly Notices. “Yes, Sergeant?”

Air Sergeant York held out a clipboard. “Patrol routes have changed again. Your wing will be handling Ponyville, effective second watch tomorrow.”

“Ponyville? Not that I mind, Sarge, but I thought we were trying to cover maximum territory.”

“Command changed their minds.” York shrugged. “Scuttlebutt says that they're learning more about the creature, and they figure he's got to stay by towns for food and the like.”

“Another one of Scuttlebutt's crazy theories. Why does anypony listen to him anymore?”

“Heh, I know, but he might be right about this one. Either which way, though, here's your orders. I expect you and the rest of your wing to be in top shape; Princess Twilight lives there, after all, and since she doesn't like having a guard contingent, that means everypony else in the area has to be sharp.” She pulled loose a piece of parchment and laid it down on the table in front of him, then turned to leave- and stopped for a moment. “Oh, and Aircolt?”

“Yes, Sergeant?”

“I'd like to not hear about you spending your on-duty hours making time with that flower seller with the rose cutie mark.”

He felt himself blush. “Understood, Sergeant.”

York walked back to the entrance to the barracks, then stopped and looked back. “Remember, though, Aircolt... off-duty hours are an entirely different thing, of course,” she said, with maybe just the trace of a smile cracking her professional demeanor.

She was gone before he could react, leaving him to chuckle to himself before pulling the parchment towards him for a closer look.