We resumed the seemingly-endless walk the next day. I didn't share the dream I had. There was no privacy, and I wasn't sure what either of my companions could take from it other than our meeting being likely to go south. Oh wait, we were already going south... I snorted softly at my internal humor, getting a glance or two, but otherwise we marched on quietly.

Around ten in the morning, a pony appeared in a burst of sparkles. The new unicorn bowed to Dust Kicker. "Message from the Queen!"

Dust Kicker tilted her head, then smirked triumphantly at me. "As you can see, she unlocks your mysteries and riddles. Teleportation is ours now, as this fine unicorn displays. What's your message?"

The unicorn pointed at me. "Kill them."

Dust Kicker took a step back. "What?"

The unicorn nodded. "Immediately."

Dust Kicker frowned. "But... She's much more valuable alive, and she isn't even resisting."

The unicorn shook her head. "You have your orders. For peace, it must be done." She saluted crisply. "Will you perform your duty?"

Dust Kicker turned towards me, her ponies already brandishing their hoof-claws dangerously. I was prepared to vanish if it came to it, but didn't want to do it until the last moment.

"Yeah, I'll do it."

The unicorn nodded. "As the Queen wills it." And she vanished in a shower of sparkles.

Dust Kicker kicked at the dust. "This doesn't make any sense! That unicorn has to be a rogue agent, trying to confuse us. Why would she have us escort you for a week just to turn around and want you dead now?" She scowled at me. "How do you make so many friends except when it counts?

Sandra dipped her head. "I'm glad you don't just accept orders blindly." A bright smile spread over her face. "Maybe we could become friends?"

Dust raised a brow at Sandra. "That is unlikely, but this is not like the Queen either..." She pointed at one of her stallions. "What do you think?"

The stallion looked startled. "Oh, um..." Clearly he wasn't asked what he thought that often. "No ma'am, that was muy loco."

Dust nodded. "Exactly. I don't have to follow obviously faked orders. If you see that unicorn again, subdue her and break off that damn horn of hers. We'll get answers..."

We continued our march, "You'll be happy to know we'll be getting a boat in the next town. No more walking, how about that? Something to look forward to." Dust Kicker's scowl was deep and unrelenting, clearly thinking about the disturbing order the unicorn had delivered to her.

We arrived at that next town the afternoon of the day afterwards. The place was full of ponies, as most of the continent south of America seemed to be. They were upkeeping the dock quite well, and we had no problem requisitioning a boat and boarding it.

One of the new sailor ponies saluted Dust Kicker. "Fully fueled and ready to go, ma'am. Permission to set off."

Dust Kicker's frown broke into a smile. "Go right ahead. The sooner we get there, the better."

And so the endless march became a sail, and we could relax and still make progress. Unfortunately, since we didn't need to walk, she had us put in a room and locked the door. On the bright side, this meant I could talk.

"So, I'm pretty sure that unicorn was not lying."

Dusk tilted his head. "Why did she change her mind like that then?"

I described the dream, with the neon-colored nemesis, and her volatile anger towards me. "I don't think she wants to meet us."

Cindy snorted softly. "Then she's smart, all things considered."

Sandra scowled. "And a psychopath. If she wasn't an awful pony, we wouldn't have an issue just, you know, shaking hooves. Instead, plan B."

Dusk tapped at his chin. "I saw which way the unicorn went, but not nearly well enough to try to follow her, especially days later, from a different direction. Next time it visits, if it visits, should we try to follow her?"

I wasn't so sure about the idea. "I trust your judgement, but keep an eye on how the actual meeting goes. If things go sour from Dust Kicker, we jump and don't look back. Even if we miss, it'll be better than the gentle caress of her hoof-claws."

Sandra sank to the floor. "I really don't think she's a bad person. She had her chance to 'just follow orders', and she didn't. She wants to do the right thing. She's never yelled at her soldiers randomly, or really done anything... wrong. I mean, sure, she agrees converting all of humanity is the best course of action, but that's a difference of opinion, not... I'm expressing this poorly."

Cindy tilted herself a bit. "Well, they already know we're a princess, right? Maybe we could use some of our 'princessly' powers?"

I raised a brow. "Such as?"

Sandra sat up. "Like removing their gift? They might appreciate the cleared minds. They probably don't even know they're being influenced by it, but they'll know when it's gone."

I shrugged softly. "I mean, we could offer? But I don't see doing it without their permission getting anything but a quick shanking and some choice curse words, and they wouldn't be entirely wrong, so let's ask politely and see where that goes."

Author's Notes:

Well, that escalated quickly. Was there a typo in those orders?