"So, you're looking for Pierre hmm? Well, you in the right woods, but the wrong neck. Pierre hides out in the poor part of Neigh Orleans, although his business do occasionally pass through these parts."

"So you know where we can find him?" asked Fleur.

"Not so much. What you do is express an interest in finding him, then he finds you."

"And what's the best way to do that."

"There is a house in Neigh Orleans they call 'The Rising Sun.' It's an... establishment run by a pony called Greenson. Word is you go to him and say a certain phrase and nothing'll happen right then an’ there but you might be visited by a pony later on who knows another pony that might have heard a thing or two about Pierre."

"That sounds horribly convoluted," said Trixie.

"Has to be, for safety. I wouldn't rush there though, spend a bit of time in town, make yerselves seen an' recognisable otherwise they's just going to think you working for the Duke, trying to hunt Pierre down. If you have some connections in the city that'll help."

"You know an awful lot about this," Octavia said sceptically. "You don't work with him do you?"

Mama chuckled heartily, "Now wouldn't that be a thing! Nah, I'm too well known by the authorities to get myself involved in secret organizations. Though, I haven't turned down anypony that asks for help either, if you know what I mean." Twilight raised a hoof, "Yes child?"

"When will I stop seeing things? I'd really like to stop seeing things."

"Hmm, only powerful ponies have that effect when they drinks me moonshine, ponies that have seen both the light and dark sides of magic. Have you tasted the darkness?"

Twilight's eyes swam as she tried to focus on Mama, "I've done dark magic yes, but it's not something I enjoy and certainly not something I do lightly."

"Good, though I ain't here to judge. If you want to know, that moonshine does things to ya, lets ya actually see the energy of a place, though you have to be powerful to pick up on it." Trixie pouted and folded her legs. "It works well for me 'cause I don't see too good otherwise and that makes it easier. It'll wear off soon enough."

"Good, because all these colours are really distracting."

"Yep, and I made it that way here on purpose. You won't find me working with no dark."

"You're a witchdoctor aren't you?"

"No way, no how am I a witchdoctor. Yes I practice voodoo but I am no witchdoctor. If you must have a title for me it'd be priestess I suppose but I prefer to not live on such a high pedestal."

"Are there any witchdoctors here?"

"O' course there are. Balance in all things child, though I suspect you know that since you done light magic too. Everything has its use, light and dark, though only the dark has a cost."

"What would you call normal magic then?" asked Fleur.

"Magic. If you're looking for good and evil in this discussion I suggest you stop because good and evil are subjective; it's what you do, not how you do it. The dark can be used for good just as the light can be used for bad. All the same though, the dark is wilful and has a cost as your friend Trixie there knows, and I suggest you steer clear."

"What do you mean the dark has a cost?" Octavia asked.

"The light gives selflessly, though it might not give you what you want because some things shouldn't be done. The dark though will always give you what you want if it can. There are limitations sure, but first a bargain must be struck and you might not know you've made it like Trixie who had power but at the cost of her sanity, and in the end the dark may end up using you rather than you using it. There are ways out of it but those tend to cost you a lot more in the end."

"But I've never struck any bargains," said Twilight.

"None that you know of, though you could be one of those lucky few that can make the dark dance to your tune instead of you to its."

"How do you know all this?" Trixie asked. She was annoyed that this total stranger seemed to know an awful lot for a pony they'd never met.

"You expect me to give away all my secrets?" Mama chuckled and took another sip of moonshine. "No Trixie, I cannot see your past. I can see that something did happen and the effect it left on you, but the details are between yourself and whoever else knows."

"All this crazy magic talk is boring," the filly complained. "Let's talk about something else."

"And what exactly should we talk about, child of Whiplash?"

The filly leapt to her hooves, "Don't say things like that!"

"Why live in denial about it? All these secrets you keep in you can't be doing you any favours."

"So you're saying I should go around telling everypony that I'm a pegasus but my wings were cut off so now I'm a freak as well? No fucking way!"

"No, but perhaps you should tell those who love you and care for you."

"Love me and care for me? Hah! They've barely even known me three weeks!"

"Who says love has a timescale?"

"Shut up! I'm not telling anything because there's nothing to tell!"

"Are you so afraid of losing them you would keep the truth from them?"

"What do you know about it? Nothing!" the filly shouted before running out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

"Was that really necessary?" Fleur said accusingly.

"Her reaction did seem over the top I'll admit."

"That's not what I meant!"

"Oh I know, but even with half her secrets laid bare the child clings onto the rest of them. She needs to tell somepony before she forgets how to. I was only trying to give her a little push in the right direction."

Fleur got up and followed the filly out muttering to herself, "Crazy old mares and their remarkable ability to stick their noses in where their noses aren't wanted."

"Anypony else want anything?" Mama asked with a smirk.

"No I think we're good," said Trixie. "Come on Twilight, the door's over there."

"But there's also a lot of yellow over there too..." Twilight rubbed her eyes and kept blinking rapidly but managed to get on her hooves and follow Trixie out, Summer following behind as she failed to notice that Octavia hadn't moved.

"Can I help you child?"

"When we first got here you said something to all the others but not me. Why was that?"

"Because there was nothing to say, you know what you're doing and what you want. You also possess a remarkable inner strength that isn't going to give in without a fight. There was nothing I could tell you that you needed to hear."

There was a creak from the door as Summer poked her head back in, "Are... Are you coming?"

"I'll be there in a moment Summer." Summer closed the door again and Octavia looked Mama in the eye as if weighing her up, "Farewell Mama, thank you for the hospitality."

"No biggy, but there is one thing I do want to say now that it's just you an' me. Take care of the pegasus, she needs you more than you realise. Oh, and don't think I can't tell what she done. Taking a life always leaves its mark."

"Tell that to the ponies that deprived her of hers." Octavia gave Mama a nod and left, shutting the door behind her, and turned to find Summer waiting for her. "Are you okay Summer."

"Mmhmm," Summer said, nodding. "Apart from the cloak thing that is. I'm not used to this. Not that I'm complaining," she said hurriedly. "This is so much better than if I was still on the boat."

"I know." Octavia gave Summer a quick hug around the shoulders. "Uh, where are the others?"

"Looking for the filly I think. She wasn't here when we came out."

"Drat. Okay, we better catch up to the others and find the filly before a snake eats her or something."

Mama sat back and made herself comfortable, her moonshine held in her magic nearby should she feel the need for it.

"An alicorn in Mareitania hmm? Interesting..." Anyone that knew Mama with any depth could tell she was surprised, and her poker face wasn't so good as to be able to hide it. As she sat there her mind’s eye played over events that either could be, wouldn't be, and most definitely shouldn't be. She knew that an alicorn in these parts could only spell trouble, but sometimes you needed a little trouble to shake things up.

"Winder, go keep an eye on our new friends, see that they don't come into any difficulties."

"Yesssss Mama."

"Filly! Where are you?" Fleur shouted as she trotted along the rope bridges ahead of the others. Trixie and Twilight had been with her originally but it quickly became apparent that Twilight was having difficulty telling the difference between things that were solid enough to walk on, and things only she could see and were in fact not there at all.

"Filly!" Fleur cursed under her breath. Why did the filly have to get so worked up about this? It's not like they were forcing her to tell them anything. She picked up her pace as much as she dared, as the rope bridges tended to bounce and she wasn't sure how strong they were. "Filly, where are you?"

She stepped off a bridge and rounded the platform that wrapped around the tree, almost tripping over the filly who was sat on the platform completely unmoving. "Gah! Why the heck are you just sat there?"

"The platform's slippy and I almost slid off so I thought I should probably wait here." There was a growl from the swamp below and Fleur stuck her head over the edge to look, seeing a trio of crocodiles looking back up at her.

"Good thinking. Soooo..."

"I'm not telling you."

"I wasn't about to suggest that you should. I got things from my past I don't want ponies to know."

"Really? But you're pretty and annoyingly perfect. What could you have to hide?"

"Perfect? Moi?" Fleur giggled and shook her head, "I don't know why you would think I'm perfect. I mean I steal, I curse, I'm remarkably apathetic at times, and I'm horribly petty if I think a pony's slighted me in some way."

"Sounds perfect to me. Actual perfection would be boring. But that's just it, you had a hard life growing up and know what it's like, and yet you got out of here and made a new life for yourself in Equestria where you probably live in a big castle and have everything you could ever want."

"I don't exactly live in a castle-"

"You're everything I could ever hope to be, and everything I never will be; rich, successful, happy, and really, really pretty."

"Actually I used to hate being this pretty."

"What? Why?"

"Because it got me a lot of unwanted attention. I used to think of mutilating myself, and would wish for something to either take my looks away or kill me." Fleur clenched her eyes shut as tears threatened to escape.

"Fleur?"

"Just as I said I didn't want to talk about the past..." She sighed deeply, "Here goes. When I was thirteen," Fleur's voice shook and she had to fight to keep it from breaking, "I fell in with a gang of homeless ponies in Prance. Nothing formal, they just worked together for mutual survival, and I thought myself so lucky to have them looking out for me."

"But..."

"But then it started, I'd hear the colts making little comments about me, about what they wanted to do with me because I was better looking than the other fillies. Then they started making passes at me and every time I would ignore it or laugh it off when in reality I should have gotten out of there and gone back to working alone."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because I was tired of being on my own after so long. It had been six or seven years since my parents had been killed and I hadn't reached out to anypony much until I joined this gang. Besides, the only way I would have stopped what they were going to do to me was to leave the city, which I didn't really want to do because it's my home."

"How bad was it?"

Fleur's faced scrunched as she tried to stave off the memories, "Bad. Five of them ganged up on me and there was no way I was going to fight them off, so in the end I just took it."

"Ouch... What happened then?"

"I was absolutely devastated, couldn't look at a stallion without being terrified. But the funny thing is it's not the attack that hurt me the most, it's what the other fillies did after. I needed help and tried to talk to them, but every one of them told me to get lost. Eventually I found out they had told the colts to do it because they hated me for being prettier than them and for getting all the attention. I never even wanted the attention!"

"Oh, that's low."

"That's when I left Prance, which eventually led to me leaving Mareitania." Fleur wiped her eyes and tried to compose herself, but was quickly waylaid when the filly threw herself around Fleur's neck in a hug.

"I'm sorry that happened to you Fleur. Nopony deserves that." The filly released her hug and nuzzled Fleur under the chin. "Since you told me that, I suppose it can't hurt me to tell you that I'm a pegasus from Whiplash and my name's Swift Wings despite my shocking lack of such wings." Fleur couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, fine. Could you at least tell me something small, like how old you are?"

"Fourteen."

"Fourteen?" Trixie blurted from the other side of the tree.

"Hey! You tricked me!" the filly said accusingly to Fleur.

"No I didn't! I had no idea they were there!"

"Actually," Twilight said sadly, "we've been here for a while. Fleur, I-"

"Don't Twilight, I said I don't want to discuss these things and I meant it. I think I've blubbered enough today without you giving me the talk about how sorry you are and blah blah blah."

"Seriously though," Trixie said to the filly, "you're fourteen?"

"Yeah? What's wrong with that?"

"Well, nothing really. Trixie just thought you were younger because you're so small."

"Yeah, malnutrition will do that to a pony."

"Right... sorry. I guess being older explains why you're so sharp then."

The filly clapped slowly, "Bravo Trixie, good save."

"I suppose now would be a good time to discuss our future plans just to spare Trixie's blushes," said Octavia. "Mama said we shouldn't head straight to the house of the Rising Sun, whatever that may be, so we may as well find something else to do."

"We do have something else we can do," said Twilight. "Trixie wanted to find her parents, and now we're in Neigh Orleans, more or less, with the time to do it. That and Mama said it would help to have connections in the city."

"If they're not dead," Trixie said morosely. "You know what that bar pony said in Prance about that thing they did as an example here twenty years ago."

"I know Trixie, but we can still try. Besides, even if they are, you know, gone... wouldn't you like to at least know where they're buried so you can say goodbye?"

"I guess so."

"Do you know where to find them?" Octavia asked.

"My aunty gave me an address but that's not much help when you don't know your way around."

"Then how about we head into town and have a look around. Maybe see the sights before asking somepony for directions?" Fleur said cheerfully, "Maybe we should find out where this house of the Rising Sun is first just so we know."

"Okay," said Trixie, "there's really no point in rushing is there?"

"Exactly! First though, I guess we better go find Swampy."

They found Swampy in town eating at what could only be described as Swamptown's premier eatery, if that was a description you could apply to an old mare cooking things on skewers over a brazier.

"Howdy folks," he said genially. "Mama give you what you want?"

"And what we don't want," the filly said bitterly.

"Yeah, she good like that, but she never says anything if it's not for a good reason. Anyway, what can I do you for? You lookin' to head into town?"

"Yes please," said Fleur. "We need to find a place called the Rising Sun."

Swampy's eyes widened and he choked on his food, and it wasn't until Fleur smacked him on the back that he was able to recover. "Why the hay would five fine mares and a filly like yourselves want to go there?" he spluttered.

"You heard of it then? What is it?"

"Yep, me an' every other stallion with a few marcs to spend know about that place. It's a gamblers den, a whore house, and a damn fine place to get shit-faced."

"Oh."

"Is this to do with that person what we did discuss on the way here?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Swampy winked, "'Course you don't, 'course you don't. Well I can get you most of the way there but it's in the back streets o' town and I can't 'xactly take you there by boat."

"Just get us as close as you can," said Twilight. "We can work it out from there."

"Alrighty then, that'll be eight marcs."

"What?" Trixie exclaimed, "But the last one was free!"

"Actually it was four marcs but I forgot to charge you. You should consider yourself lucky I ain't charging you more considering where we're going. No way I'm going past the Rising Sun without taking a gander inside."

"Here we are folks," Swampy said proudly, "Neigh Orleans, the crown jewel of the Mareissippi."

"Really?" the filly said skeptically as she looked at the collection of small greasy jetty's that fronted a myriad of equally dilapidated buildings.

"Well, okay so it ain't the nice part but it's still Neigh Orleans." Swampy tied the boat off and waited until they had all disembarked before climbing out himself. As soon as he did a long, dark body slid up out of the water and into the boat. "Now then Petey, you watch my boat good and I'll find you a nice tasty possum fer yer dinner, okay?" The snake coiled up on one of the seats and appeared to smile. "Right then, come on ladies."

He led them in a straight line towards the city center, and as they moved away from the bayou the quality of the buildings improved, but not much. But the ponies living there more than made up for it. There were market vendors, and street entertainers, and all manner of exotic smells wafting through the air.

"This is what Prance used to be like," Fleur said wistfully. "Y'know, before the martial law, and the riots, and the fires, and dead bodies everywhere..."

"It may look nice but you gots ta be careful, there's all kinds of wrong'uns 'round here."

"And how, pray tell, do we tell the wrong'uns from the good'uns?" Octavia asked haughtily.

"Heck if I know, just be careful and you'll be fine."

"What are the guards like around here?" asked Twilight. She had been keeping an eye out for them but so far she hadn't seen any. At least she thought she hadn't. She could more or less see normally again as the moonshine's unwanted effects wore off but she wasn't about to believe everything her eyes told her.

"Normally they're the ones spending the most money if you know what I mean. Bunch of good fer nothing's the lot of them. I know that earth pony supremacy is all the rage in other cities up north, but 'round here us unicorns outnumber the earthies four to one and the guards know that ain't a fight they can win."

"So they're not particularly harsh then?" asked Fleur.

"Now I didn't say that. What I'm saying is that they're a bit more careful about their targets and you's less likely to be picked on just fer being a unicorn like you is in other places. They're still a bunch of assholes though and aren't above an old fashioned dehorning if they think you deserve one." Swampy spat, "Bastards."

They kept walking, taking in whatever sights there were, and it wasn't long before they started to hear music and the sound of raucous laughter amongst other sounds of a more carnal nature. "Here we is ladies, the house of the Rising Sun. Now begging your pardons but I'm heading in and you're welcome to join me. Anypony? No?" They all declined his invitation. "Suit yerselves then. Good luck ladies! Until we meet again." They watched him saunter in through the front door.

"So this is the house of the Rising Sun," Octavia said in an even tone of voice. "Doesn't seem very inconspicuous to me."

"That's probably the point," said Fleur. "Where better to hide than where nopony expects you to be."

"Guys, I think we better leave," said the filly.

"Why?" asked Trixie, "Embarrassed to be here?"

"Hardly. I'm actually suggesting we go because Summer looks like she's about to have a full blown panic attack." They all turned to look at Summer who was shaking like a leaf and had turned pale as she sweated.

"Shit," Fleur said quietly. "Come on, let's go." They picked a direction and started to walk, Octavia having to gently encourage Summer to move.

"Sorry about that Summer," she said. "I guess we didn't think about how a place like that would affect you."

"'s okay, I didn't know that would happen." Summer took a deep shuddering breath and released it with a snarl. "Sorry," she said, noticing the others questioning looks, "but those mares make me so angry!"

"Those mares? You mean the prostitute's? Why?"

"Because they want to do that! They want to let those stallions fuck them! They have a choice and choose to do that! I never got a choice and I never got anything for it except beaten because I'm a pega-!" Three shades of magical aura clamped themselves over her mouth.

"Keep it down Summer!" Fleur hissed, "You shout out loud that you're a... pony like that, and we'll all be in serious trouble." Summer nodded and they released her.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed, "but it’s just not fair..."

"I know, and I know this won't make you feel better but a lot of those mares don't think they have a choice either; it's either do that, or starve. Given that choice what would a lot of ponies do?" Summer nodded, but said nothing more.

"So, now what?" Twilight asked once it became clear Summer wasn't going to say anything further.

"Try to find Trixie's parents I suppose," Fleur suggested.

"Actually," said Trixie, "I want to look in there." She pointed to a doorway shrouded in curtains with a sign above it saying 'Doctor Deal Good's Mystical Emporium.' "Sounds interesting."

"Really Trixie? Really?" the filly said. "Are you actually being serious?"

"Yes, of course I am. Now come on, I only want to have a look." She trotted over to the doorway and feeling that they had little choice the others followed after her. Trixie squealed like a schoolfilly as she entered the room and saw various trinkets and other magical paraphernalia adorning the walls and shelves.

"Aah!" the filly squeaked. "Who in the hell does that!?" she shouted, pointing to a jar with several unicorns horns in it.

"Trixie," Twilight said in a whisper. "We should get out of here. This place feels really wrong."

"Don't be ridiculous, there's nothing wrong here. Apart from the jar of horns that is. I'm only going to have a look then we'll go okay?"

"Why the rush?" said a deep voice from the back of the shop, making them shout in surprise. "My sincerest apologies ladies, I did not mean to scare you." A dark grey unicorn stallion wearing a purple velvet jacket and a top hat stepped forward out of the shadows that filled the rear of the building. Those weren't his most distinguishing features though. His bright green eyes glowed with an eerie incandescence, and his face bore grey markings which, when looked at from the right angle, almost looked like a skull.

"It's okay," Twilight said hurriedly, "we were just about to leave."

"Nonsense. Stay a while and have a look around. You might just find something you want."

"Might you recommend anything?" Trixie asked.

The stallion picked a stack of cards up off a table in his magic before fanning them out and shuffling them. "How about a simple tarot reading?"

"Okay then, impress me." Deal Good grinned and floated the table and two chairs over, one on each side for Trixie and himself to sit upon. He shuffled his cards again and spread them out in a fan with the backs facing Trixie.

"Three cards," he said, "past, present, and future." Trixie picked her first card and laid it on the table. "The ace of wands reversed hmm... You had what you wanted once and you let your focus fall from your work and onto yourself. You lost your way and then you lost everything. Your ego and arrogance played its hoof there I feel. Next card."

Trixie picked out her next card, laying it next to the other. "Death!?"

Deal Good chuckled, "Fret not, the death card is not literal and means you are undergoing a change, or a transformation if you will. You are your own pony and you choose your own path. New beginnings come from the remains of old ends. Now for your final card."

Trixie picked her final card and put it on the table. "The magician," Deal Good said with a grin. "A very good card indeed. You have potential Miss Lulamoon to wield power and use it to its absolute fullest, if you reach out and take the opportunity."

"But Trixie doesn't have that kind of power."

"No, but once upon a time you did, even if in the end it didn't give you what you wanted. What if I told you there was a way to regain such power but with none of the side effects you're so familiar with."

"Trixie, don't!" Twilight moved next to Trixie and glared at Deal Good. "He's trying to get you to use dark magic!"

"I prefer to think of it as 'misunderstood' magic. Besides, why should you be the one with all the power? Why shouldn't Trixie have a chance to have what you have?"

"I worked for my magic. Worked and studied for years-"

"And yet, in the end the powers you have now were given to you, hoofed over on a silver platter! Did you even consider saying no just once?"

"I, uh...I-"

"No, you didn't. You took that offer of power just as I am offering power to Miss Lulamoon. Give her one good reason why she shouldn't do the same."

"Think about it Twilight," Trixie said hopefully. "With what we're trying to do this power could really help us! I know you don't approve but we have to think of the big picture."

"Trixie, please! Don't do this!"

"Yeah, come on Trixie," said Fleur. "I know you want to be more powerful but this really isn't the way to do it."

Deal Good clasped his hooves together and rested his chin upon them, "You say that like you're an expert Miss De Lis."

"How do you know our names?"

"Ways and means, ways and means... It's also how I know you aren't too proud of your own magical prowess. The offer's open to you too if you so wish it."

"Thanks, but no thanks."

"Suit yourself." He watched as Trixie struggled with indecision, knowing that it was only a matter of time until she gave in, even if it wasn't today. "So what'll it be Miss Lulamoon?"

"I... I... I'll do it. I accept your offer. On one condition."

"Trixie! No!" Twilight gasped, her voice full of pleading. "You're making a mistake!"

"Excellent choice!" Deal Good said happily, cutting right over Twilight. "Now, what is this condition of yours?"

"Even if I do this I'm not obligated to use the magic."

"Of course not Miss Lulamoon, you never would have been. Now, how about your friends wait outside while you and I conduct our business."

Trixie turned to the others, taking note and trying to ignore the expressions of worry and disappointment on their faces. "Please guys, I'll be alright. In fact I'll be better than alright!" She grinned nervously but it faltered when nopony even tried to return it.

"You are such an idiot Trixie," Fleur said before leaving, the others following behind her, Twilight giving her one last sorrowful look before she too was gone.

Trixie's face fell, "Maybe I shouldn't do this."

"Neighsayers never achieved anything Miss Lulamoon. Think of how impressed they'll be once your new powers show their worth."

Trixie thought about it and even though she had plenty of reasons to not go through with this, she couldn't deny the truth of the matter. She wanted this, and she wanted it badly. "What do I have to do?"

"I can't believe she's doing this," Octavia muttered as they waited outside.

"I can't believe she would even consider it," said Fleur. "

"I can," said Twilight. The others stared at her and she went on to explain, "Power is addictive, and Trixie knows that better than any of us. Which only makes it worse that she would agree to this. I thought she would have learnt last time that dark magic just isn't worth it."

"But this time is different right?" the filly said hopefully. "The doc said that there's no side effects."

"No he didn't," Fleur pointed out. "He said there were none of the side effects she was familiar with, like for example, going bat-shit crazy. I imagine there are side effects aplenty of a different kind."

"Oh. Shouldn't we be stopping her then?"

"It's her choice," Twilight said weakly. "Who are we to stop her?"

"Um, her friends perhaps? Doi."

Twilight shook her head, "Wouldn't matter. In her mind she's doing this for us, to help us. She'd only resent us if we try to stop her."

"Does that snake look familiar to you?" Octavia asked. She pointed across the street at a snake slithering up the road and in through the door to Deal Good's emporium.

"Was that Winder?" said Fleur.

"Yes!" Twilight squeaked from her new position up a lamppost.

Deal Good pointed his horn at the table and it spat a blob of magic out that bubbled disconcertingly on the surface before spreading out and forming a contract. He then created a quill and inkwell next to it and offered the quill to Trixie, "If you would sign your name please."

Trixie took the quill in her magic and dipped it in the ink before writing her rather elaborate signature on the contract. Soon as she finished the final star around her name the contract flashed and a wisp of bubbling black magic shot out of it and coiled around her horn before sinking into it. She winced in pain but the feeling soon passed and once it had she had to admit that she felt no different. "Is that it?"

"Almost, there's one more thing we need to do if we really want to seal the deal." His horn glowed in a more normal looking green colour and he pulled a pin out of one of the fetishes he had nearby and floated it over, holding it point up in front of Trixie. "All I need now is a tiny drop of blood and then the power will truly be yours. Just let it fall on the contract and we'll be done."

Trixie took the pin off him and held up a hoof. She bit her lip nervously as she looked at his almost manically keen expression. She swallowed and nodded before jabbing the needle into the soft part of her hoof, producing a tiny bead of blood that trickled across her frog and gathered on the outer edge of her hoof.

The bead of blood built up and dripped off her hoof, and was about to land on the contract when the body of a large snake interspersed itself between her hoof and the paper, the blood landing harmlessly on its scales.

Trixie leapt back with a shriek as the snake reared up and hissed at Deal Good, though he seemed completely nonplussed. "Hello Winder, long time no see. Now if you'll excuse me I'm in the middle of a transaction." Winder lunged at Deal Good as if to strike him, "Damn it Winder, Mama knows to stay out of my business just as I know to stay out of hers."

Trixie sat back, cradling her hoof as she watched the bizarre exchange going on between the room’s other occupants. She watched as Winder lunged again just for Deal Good to catch Winder's head in his magic. Deal Good's eyes twitched to the contract and if Trixie had been better at reading ponies she might have seen the smile behind them.

Deal Good released Winder's head and held his hooves up in surrender, "Fine, you win. Take the mare and go. I will however be reminding Mama that she is to stay out of my business if she knows what's good for her."

Winder flexed his neck and narrowed his eyes, "Good choice," he hissed.

"You can talk!" Trixie shouted in surprise. Winder shrugged, a gesture for which snakes are poorly suited, and started bumping Trixie with his head, pushing her towards the door.

Once they were gone Deal Good pulled the contract over to him and smirked at the smudge of red Winder had left on it. "Good enough," he said, his eyes flashing.

"You ssstupid pony!" Winder hissed at Trixie as soon as they were out of the door. "Why would you sssign a deal with him?"

"Why can you talk?" Trixie shouted back.

"What's going on Trixie?" Fleur asked as she and the others trotted over.

"Trixie was about to finish signing the contract when this snake stopped me! And he can talk!"

Fleur raised an eyebrow, "Winder can talk? Really? Did that stallion drug you or something?"

"No, he did not drug Trixie! Winder really can talk!"

"I thought you said this dark magic thing wasn't going to send her bat-shit crazy?" the filly said.

"Guess I was wrong. Hey Trixie, what's your opinion of wheels?"

"Wheels are amazing! Winder, stop messing around and show them you can talk!" Winder appeared to think about it for a moment before attempting to shrug again. "Oh fuck you Winder." Trixie turned and stomped off.

"Alright, alright! Yesss I can talk, and no she's not totally crazy. Although she does have to be pretty darn crazy to sign a contract with Deal Good." Everypony blinked at him a few times, not sure how to react to the talking snake. "What?" he said defensively.

"See! I fucking told you he could talk!" Trixie shouted in triumph.

"Nope," Twilight said quietly before falling over sideways in a faint.

"Still better than vamponies," the filly said with a shrug.

"Twilight? Please wake up." Summer shook Twilight gently in an attempt to rouse her. It didn't work, and Summer wasn't entirely sure what to do. When she was in captivity and they wanted to wake her quickly they usually threw a bucket of water over her, but she didn't want to do that and lacked a bucket in any case.

She poked Twilight again and looked to where the others were arguing with Trixie and a talking snake, which was kind of weird but for all she knew talking snakes might be common. Feeling she had little choice since Octavia had told her to look after Twilight, she took her canteen out from under her cloak, opened it and poured a bit of the water down Twilight's nose.

The effect was immediate as Twilight choked on the intrusive water, snorting and coughing as she tried to get the water out. "Summer? Did- Did you pour water down my nose?" she asked once she had recovered enough to do so.

"Isn't t-that what you're supposed to do?" It always woke her up.

"What? No! Why would you even think that?" Summer folded her ears back guiltily and a look of shame crossed over her face. "Never mind, you don't need to answer that. Just... give me moment and I'll be fine." Twilight used her magic to get as much water out of her nose as she could so that she could at least breath without the feeling that something was dribbling into her lungs. "There. So, what did I miss?"

"Oh! Uh, not much. Fleur yelled at Trixie, then Winder yelled at Trixie, the filly laughed at Winder, then Octavia yelled at the filly for being rude-"

"Hold on, hold on. What do you mean Winder yelled at Trixie?"

"Winder, you know, the talking snake."

"That was real!? I thought I dreamt that!" She looked over to the others and watched as Winder jabbed his tail at Trixie before turning to talk to Fleur. Twilight swallowed and tried to garner some courage before heading towards the others. "Hey guys, what's happening?" she said as casually as she could lest she anger the snake.

"Ah, Twilight, you're awake." Octavia moved Twilight's head around with a hoof, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Me? Pfft, I'm fine. No problems here at all!" Twilight's eyes darted to Winder, "Nope, none whatsoever."

"Winder's not going to hurt you," Octavia told her.

"Why would I think that? I mean he talks, so he must be totally civilized and no threat to anypony. Right?"

"What'sss her problem?" Winder asked.

"Scared of snakes," Fleur told him.

"But only non-talking ones! No way is there any possibility I might be scared of the talking ones!"

"Good luck there then. I'm the only sssnake that talks in these partsss."

"I still don't get how you're talking at all," the filly said.

"Let's just say I'm living proof of why it's a bad idea to make a deal with that con-pony in there. It also meansss I know what I'm talking about when I say we should take the unicorn to Mama."

Trixie threw her hooves into the air, "Alright! Fine! I'll go to Mama if it makes you poor delicate flowers feel better about all this, but honestly, Trixie feels fine."

"You won't be saying that when you're turned into a sssnake if you break contract."

"That what happened to you?"

"Sssomething like that. We best go find Swampy and get a lift back. I imagine you left him in the Rising Sun?"

"Yeah." Winder slithered off and they followed after him, but didn't follow him into the building. Instead Octavia and Summer looked the other way and very pointedly talked about something else while Fleur asked the filly why she was almost bouncing with happiness.

"Weird shit's happening again! I love weird shit! I never even realised how mundane my constant struggle for existence was until I met you guys and the crazy crap that comes with you. It's awesome!"

"Glad somepony's enjoying it." There were a few shouts and screams from inside the building and a minute later Swampy stumbled out.

"Alright y' slithering bastard, I'm coming damn it!" Swampy looked at the six ponies in front of him before looking back to Winder, "Aww, what the hell y'all gone and done if you got Winder involved?"

The filly pointed at Trixie, "She did it!"

"Hey!"

Mama stared unseeing at Trixie, "You're going t' have ta say that again because I refuse to believe what it is my ears are trying to tell me."

Winder sighed theatrically and said it again for what felt like the hundredth time. "She signed a contract with Deal Good."

"I thought that's what you said but I don't suppose you could run that by me again?"

"Mama!"

"Alright, alright, simmer down." Trixie shifted nervously as Mama kept staring at her, "What did he offer you?"

"He offered me power."

"Dark magic I assume."

"Well, yes, but I don't have to use it if I don't want to."

"You are, without a doubt, one of the stupidest mares I have met in a long time."

"Excuse me?"

Mama sat down and took a pull of moonshine before answering, "Any unicorn with a lick of determination can use dark magic if they want. It sure don't feel nice at first and takes some getting used to, and that's assuming you can put up with the idea of it damn near consuming you from the inside out, but it has the advantage that you don't need to know much 'bout magic to use it. That contract you signed gave you nothing you couldn't already have had if you went and tried hard enough."

"Then... Then what do I get out of it?"

"Did you even read the contract?"

"No!"

Mama sighed heavily, "Why does nopony ever read the contract? To put it as simply as I can your life belongs to Deal Good for whatever nefarious purposes he deems fit. Probably to pay off his own debts."

"But I didn't do the blood thing, Winder got in the way!"

"Then he must have got some on it by accident because I can see its magic hanging over you."

"The contract did do something when I signed my name," Trixie said hopefully, "could that be what you're seeing?"

"Nope, that's just to give you a taste for the magic, make it easier for you to use that first time. It also makes it seem like he gave you something."

"But you said you had to make a bargain to use dark magic!"

"No I didn't, I said anypony can use dark magic as long as you realise there's a cost, and the only way to negate that is... Oh. I didn't mean a literal contract though! And certainly not one made with a pony!"

"Then how do I get out of this? How do I break the contract!? Help me! Please!" Trixie fell to her knees begging. Not a normal thing for her to do but at this moment she was too scared to care.

"The only way to get out of the contract is to physically destroy it, but since it's made of a conjured vellum of pure dark magic it's damn near impossible to destroy."

"What if we used light magic?" Twilight suggested.

"Nope, won't work, believe me because Winder wouldn't be a snake if it did. Dark magic won't work either before you ask, and don't even bother trying to cheat your way out of it because Winder tried that and look what it got him."

"At least his life is his own!" Trixie shouted in desperation.

Mama glared at Winder who lowered his head in shame, "That's 'cause the life he signed away wasn't his own. Changed his mind and tried to lie his way out of it, but Deal Good is too damn clever for that. He claimed the other pony involved and turned Winder into a snake for his trouble."

"I'm doomed," Trixie said forlornly. A tear slid down her cheek as despair set in, joined by plenty more as she hugged herself.

"Is there nothing we can do?" Twilight asked as she moved in to comfort the sobbing Trixie.

"Not 'less you can kill Deal Good, but believe me when I say that is far easier said than done." Mama sat back and ran a hoof down her face, "This is my fault. I shoulda warned ya about Deal Good."

They sat in silence, Trixie's muted sobs being the only sound in Mama's house. Trixie had unwittingly doomed herself and there was nothing any of them could do.

"What did you mean Deal Good might use her to pay his debts," Octavia asked in an attempt to break the sullen quiet.

"Hmm? Oh, Deal Good made an agreement with the dark for eternal youth. He was once like me, but as age caught up to him he became afraid of dying, so he made a deal with the dark; eternal youth in exchange for the souls of other ponies. I hate to think of how many ponies he's damned just to keep his sorry skin walking this world."

"How old is he?" Twilight asked.

"Centuries at least. He's powerful too, which is why nopony has ever managed to kill him."

Trixie suddenly stood up, "I'm going to find him. Since I'm doomed anyway I might as well try."

Mama shook her head, "You won't find him."

"Why not?"

"Because him and his 'emporium' are never in the same place twice."

"That's... That's some serious magic," Twilight said, sounding more than a little awed.

"As I said, he's powerful. Best you can do is stop here for the night and hope that tomorrow presents a solution."

"I'm still impressed that we managed to walk around Neigh Orleans for fifteen whole minutes before Trixie got into trouble," the filly said cheerfully.

"Trixie is starting to remember why she doesn't like you."

Deal Good leaned back and sighed happily. He had finally got somepony to sign a contract for the first time in ages, meaning that hopefully his creditors will get off his back for a while. He got a good pony too. Gullible as she might be, Trixie Lulamoon did have potential.

There was a knock at the door, "We're closed!" he yelled. There was a moment of quiet before the door was violently kicked open, granting entrance to two figures in black armour.

"And now we're open," Deal Good said grinning nervously. Something about these two didn't feel right. "How might I be of assistance to your fine selves?"

The two ponies looked around the shop for a minute, the bigger of them snorting in amusement at the jar of unicorn horns on the shelf, before the smaller addressed him. "You apparently had six ponies in here earlier. Who were they?"

"How do you expect me to remember something like that? Lots of ponies come in here."

"Tha's not what we heard," the bigger one said with a snigger.

Deal Good narrowed his eyes and was thinking about ways to remove these two intruders when the smaller said, "It would be of great importance to the Duke if you were to remember." That said, Deal Good suddenly lost his impetus to get rid of them.

"Well I don't rightly remember-"

"Then let me help you. There's three unicorn mares, one purple, one white and the other blue. A grey earth pony mare, and two others that were yellow and blue."

"What do you mean two others?" Pearl stomped a hoof on the table, cracking it. "Okay, okay! Yes they were here!"

"They sure were boss," Breaker said, looking at a stack of papers. "That blue unicorn signed this contract for..." Breaker squinted at the writing, "What the hell kind of contract is this?" Breaker tried to pick the contract up, but it turned black and bubbled where his armour touched it, the runes glowing a dark red colour. "What the fuck?" Soon as he removed his hoof the paper reformed.

Deal Good eyes widened, nothing could damage his contracts. At least not until now. "Don't touch that! It's very important!"

"Then tell us what it's a contract for," Pearl said with no small amount of threat.

"That is none of your business!" Deal Good's eyes flashed green and emitted wispy purple smoke as his horn flashed and bubbled. He shot a blast at the two intruders that demolished most of his shop's interior, but it was worth it to get rid of them and save that contract.

The smoke slowly cleared, revealing the two figures standing where they were before like nothing had happened, the only difference was their armour which now glowed an angry red from the hundreds of runes covering them. "Fucking witchdoctors," Breaker spat.

Pearl held up a hoof to stop her partner. "We need him alive," she said before narrowing her eyes at Deal Good. "I don't think you appreciate how much trouble you're in right now. You've attacked two agents of the Duke using illegal magic in an illegal establishment-"

"With an illegal name," Breaker added.

"With an illegal name, full of illegally made contracts. For your sake I hope you don't try anything again because I will remove your horn and force you to eat it, shit it out, and eat it again before killing you very slowly, am I clear?" Deal Good nodded emphatically. "Good."

Pearl pulled a brown cloth bag from her armour and tossed it to Breaker who caught it before removing his hoofguards. He then rolled the contract up, placed it in the bag, and shoved it into his own armour before replacing his hoofguards.

"Since that contract is important enough for you to try and kill us I will give you a chance to reclaim it. Help us capture these ponies and we will not only return it, but we might also forget we ever saw you and this place. Refuse and we'll see how well it can resist this armour's touch. Deal?"

Deal Good said nothing for a moment. What choice did he really have? He couldn't afford to lose that contract and he doubted his creditors would be patient enough for him to find another. It didn't matter to him if Trixie was in prison either so he had absolutely nothing to gain by refusing.

Admitting defeat he bowed deeply, "Of course oh masters of mine, your wish is my command."

"You bet it is."

Author's Notes:

One of the problems with taking breaks from writing is that I tend to lose the thread of what I was doing. I'm sure there's a point to the things in this chapter I'm a little meh about.