The blue orb concerned Maud, but only just a little. Tarnish had been peeping into it all day and he had been acting a little peculiar. Distracted and a bit out of sorts. She tried not to make harsh assumptions—Tarnish was a unicorn after all—and she had a vague idea that the orb was like a very confusing book for him that he was trying to study.

He seemed fine now though. He was sprawled out beside her as they had a bit of a rest in the shade. It was breezy and delightful and she had taken her smock off so she could roll in the cool, damp grass. Laying on her side, she watched as Tarnish practiced making a doll. This one was being constructed out of twigs, grass, and some twine.

“My husband plays with dolls,” Maud deadpanned.

There was a snort from Tarnish, an indignant one, and it pleased Maud a great deal to hear it. She liked getting under his skin every once and awhile. He ignored her and continued to work on his doll. She liked seeing him take interest in new things and at least he wasn’t staring into the orb. He had stashed it away in his saddlebag.

“What would other ponies say if they saw my husband playing with dolls?”

This time, Tarnish reacted. He turned about, his lower lip protruding, reached out his hoof, and with a gentle shove, he rolled Maud over onto her back. She blinked once and stared up at Tarnish as the damp grass tickled her ears.

“The intrepid explorer has discovered a new land,” Tarnish said as he set the doll down upon Maud’s barrel. “It appears to be a fertile land, with lush valleys and inviting plains. Indeed, the fertile valleys look promising and ready for seed.”

“Tarnish, no… don’t be so silly.” Maud was tempted to roll her eyes. Horseplay? Now? She felt the doll made of twigs and grass travel down her barrel to her stomach, Tarnish was using his magic to make it move, bouncing it up and down, making it appear as though it was pronking.

“Oh my, that is an impressive valley,” Tarnish said as the doll edged closer to Maud’s teats. “And I am so thirsty… I wonder if I can find a watering hole? Perhaps if I go searching in a deep, moist cleft...”

This time, Maud did roll her eyes, and she did it as she pushed Tarnish away. He was just too silly. She rolled over onto her side and gazed up at her husband. She had far too many questions and was feeling far too serious to be so silly. Still, there was something endearing about Tarnish’s silly moments, she treasured them, she treasured him. She hoped that when he grew older, he wouldn’t change too much.

“So, what are you seeing in the orb?” Maud asked. “You’ve been peering into it all day as we traveled. I must confess, I am somewhat worried about it. I don’t want it possessing you or doing something weird to you. Not all magical items are good or trustworthy.” As she spoke, she saw Tarnish go still and his eyes locked with hers. Good. She had his attention. She gazed into his blue eyes, trying to stare down into their depths. They were the window to his soul.

“It’s filled with memories,” Tarnish replied in soft, muted whisper. “It’s filled with a lifetime of memories. There is also knowledge… spells… but it isn’t unicorn magic… it’s different. It’s the sort of magic the centaurs used. I don’t know. I’m still trying to make sense of it all.”

“What good is centaur magic to a unicorn?”

Before Tarnish could reply, the distant creak of wooden wagon wheels could be heard. Tarnish’s ears perked up and Maud rolled over so she could stand up. Once she was up, she slipped on her smock and made ready to leave her cool, shady spot.

Craning his neck, Tarnish now stood at his impressive full height and peered up the road, trying to see what was coming. He saw a wagon train, a collection of vardos. He had never seen anything quite like it. They were colourful, cheerful looking things, painted in every vibrant colour one could think of.

There were at least a dozen of them.

“Gypsies,” Maud said in a voice that lacked any sort of enthusiasm. She was, however, quite excited, even if she didn’t show it. It was always nice to meet a fellow traveller, and these were good ponies. She liked them quite a bit.

“Gypsies?” Tarnish’s head swiveled over so he could look at Maud.

“Long ago, before Equestria, gypsies stopped caring about tribes and they all got together and intermingled. Everypony hated them. They made no distinction between themselves and saw themselves as ponies. They were chased out of a lot of places. Here in Equestria, they’re just ponies and they are mostly free of persecution, but it still happens. I’ve met several groups in my travels.”

“Oh… neat.” Tarnish turned his head once more to watching the wagon train as it approached. Some of the axles needed a good greasing and each squeak made his ears quiver.

“We might be able to trade or buy some fresh produce,” Maud said to her husband, who seemed to be suffering from a growing excitement problem. He was almost bouncing in place. As she stood there, watching, waiting, a lone pony broke off from the wagon train and galloped up to meet them.

A dusty yellow pegasus with a pale blue mane approached. He looked a bit older and one wing hung crooked at his side. He had a half an ear and one nostril appeared crooked because of a pinched scar. He was smiling.

“‘Allo, my name is Wolke,” he said in a strange accent as he introduced himself.

“We’re friendly,” Maud replied as the pegasus came to a stop. “My name is Maud and this is my husband, Tarnished Teapot.”

“Hi.” Tarnish grinned at the stranger standing before him.

The pegasus had a look around, eyeing the place where Tarnish and Maud had stopped for the day, he looked at the trees, he made a strange face when he saw the silver egg, and after a minute or two, he turned to Tarnish and said, “Do you mind if we camp with you?”

“That would be fine,” Tarnish replied.

“Perhaps we can do some trading,” the pegasus added in a hopeful voice.

“Maybe.” Maud looked over at the approaching wagons that were slowing down so they could come to a stop. Some of them had garden boxes on the sides and barrels that had green things growing out of them. Chances of having a fresh salad for dinner seemed good.

A group of foals seemed to materialise out of thin air and then began to run around, playing tag with one another. Little earth ponies, little unicorns, and little pegasi. Without realising it, Maud became distracted as she watched the little ones playing, and she lost track of several minutes. It wasn’t until Tarnish bumped up against her side that she snapped out of it and she blinked several times as her mind processed the lapse.

Feeling a little self conscious, Tarnish eyed his fellow alchemist. He wasn’t exactly an alchemist, not yet, he was a dabbler, but he wanted to learn. The mare had a lot of goods, glassware, beakers, flasks, decanters, phials, and even had a few small, clever, and oh so very portable alchemical stills for sale. He had bits, but he wasn’t confident about his haggling skills.

“Tell me, do you have salts?” Tarnish asked. “Nothing with any drugs laced in them.” He thought about his own encounter with drug based salts. He cringed at the memory and a part of him wished that he hadn’t said anything. He felt a keen sense of shame and hated that part of his life.

“We have flavoured salt licks,” the mare replied in a thick, strange accent that seemed to be a mash of Grittish and something strange, something exotic and unknown. She flashed Tarnish a smile. “Perfect for a doting husband, yes?”

“She doesn’t like anything sweet.” His eyes narrowed as one eyebrow raised and the other eyebrow lowered. Tarnish turned to look at Maud, who was talking to the vegetable seller, and then he returned his attention the alchemist.

“I make salts for every taste.” The mare’s ears stood up. “I have three licks that might interest you at the moment. Black walnut with rose hips, one with fenugreek and cumin, and the last one was made at a customer request, but he never bothered picking it up—black truffle oil and a shocking amount of peppermint.”

“How much?” Tarnish wondered if his hopes were about to be dashed.

The mare gave him a shrewd smile. “I am going to guess that you have poison joke… there is something I need, but it is far too dangerous for me to get on my own. I need—”

“The stamens, so you can make antidotes and cures for exposure?” Tarnish felt pretty confident that he knew what the mare needed and he felt a growing sense of pride when he saw her eyes light up.

“Why yes,” she replied. The mare, an earth pony that seemed to have a faint striped pattern to her pelt, looked relieved.

“I can help you. I can spare some.” Tarnish could not help but wonder if the mare was part zebra, but he knew that it would be impolite to ask. She had an amazing smile. She was a somewhat older mare, but when she smiled, she somehow seemed young. She had a smile that defied aging.

“I will give you the salt licks… and do you one better,” the mare offered. “I will show you how to make them.”

That got Tarnish’s attention. He might have to summon up a bit more poison joke, if he could, just to make sure that this mare got a fair supply of what she needed. That seemed fair. “That’s very generous of you. You have a deal…”

It was going to be a pleasant evening. There was a strong breeze that carried with it the suggestion that summer was coming to an end and held the promise of autumn. Maud sat sipping a cup of tea and watched as Tarnish took lessons from an older alchemist with stained hooves. There were wonderful smells coming from the different campfires. Foals were playing. Everything seemed wonderful.

The Egg looked a little out of place among the vardos, but that was okay.

A short distance away, a pony was operating a small hoof powered lathe. He pushed the pedal up and down, causing the lathe to spin. He was making something, Maud wasn’t sure what, but she guessed that it might be a leg for a chair. The scent of wood and oil filled the air, mixing with the scent of food, and the overall effect was intoxicating.

A unicorn mare, her forelegs slick with grease, was doing a bit of wagon maintenance. She didn’t seem to be using magic, Maud never saw her horn light up even once. She worked using her fetlocks to grab stuff, doing it the hard way. Perhaps she was a magical dud or maybe she just prefered to get her hooves dirty. She reached up to wipe sweat from her brow and left behind a black smear.

This was a travelling city that moved about Equestria on wheels. They never stayed in one place for too long, staying only long enough to rest and see the local sights, but never overstaying and burning up all of the available resources in any given area. They lived with the land, the seasons dictated their travels, and they lived a good, worthwhile life that valued hard work and togetherness.

The idyllic setting was shattered by a cry of alarm. Maud was on her hooves in a hot second, her ears straining to listen, and her sharp eyes darted around, trying to find trouble. The foals were herded into an especially sturdy looking wagon and the door was slammed shut. The adults began to group together to form a united front. The weak and the injured retreated into another wagon, this one also sturdy looking, but not as sturdy looking as the one that now held the foals, the very future of the gypsy tribe.

“Timber wolves!” a pony shouted as he came running into the camp. “I was out picking mushrooms when I spotted them! They’ve followed us! They’re after our weak ones, the ones hurt after our fight with the diamond dogs!”

“Get fire!” a pony cried.

“No!” Tarnish’s voice cut through the chaos and a bright blue glow filled the camp. He held the blue orb in his magic. “Don’t burn down what trees there are. Stay together and leave this to me.”

Maud could not help but wonder what Tarnish was doing, but she decided to trust him. Of course, that trust came with a back up plan. She moved to his side, curious about what he was doing. She could hear them coming, the strange sound of creaking wood, like wind through a forest.

And then, she saw them. These didn’t have the glowing blue eyes of the timber wolves they had previously encountered. No, these wolves had eyes that blazed green. They were made of logs, sticks, twigs, branches, moss, and other debris from the forest.

“Stay back,” Tarnish bellowed as he held the blue orb aloft. He strode forward with a shocking level of confidence, armed only with the orb and his wits.

Every muscle tensed as Maud waited. If Tarnish was in danger, she would strike, but for now, she waited. Already, she was lining up strike points, weak places, places where she could smash a foe, beat it down, and then the helpless body could be burned.

But Tarnish seemed to have other plans. The orb flashed with a brilliant, blazing blue light. The air filled with the scent of ozone and something crackled. His horn glowed with an intensity that matched the blue orb. The timber wolves all froze, locked in place, unable to move.

“All of you were corrupted,” Tarnish said as the timber wolves writhed against their invisible bonds. “You were the guardians… the protectors… you were made as self replicating defenders, an unstoppable army, but your purpose was corrupted. You were turned against those you were made to protect!”

Then, Maud saw it. Poison joke sprouted from the ground and the tendrils began to grow through the timber wolves’ bodies. Fierce growls filled the air. The wolves were surrounded by a blue glow.

“Return to your service,” Tarnish said to the wolves. “Be cured of the polluted magic!”

As Tarnish spoke, a wolf howled, a strange sound, like a gale force wind blowing through old tree branches. Others joined in. Glowing green eyes began to take on a blue tinge, changing as the poison joke grew through their bodies so it could consume the bad magic.

Maud was almost holding her breath.

The wolves, now freed from their invisible bonds, approached Tarnish, their heads low, and stood before him, almost as if they were awaiting instruction. Some even sat down, their glowing blue eyes focused upon the chocolate brown unicorn holding a glowing blue orb over his head.

“Go forth and spread the cure to others,” Tarnish said to the pack. “Do no harm. Keep ponies safe and fulfill the purpose for which you were created. Go into pockets of bad magic and spread poison joke.”

With a howl, the wolves lept away from Tarnish and the whole of the pack took off at a swift run. As suddenly as they had come, they were gone again, they vanished from sight, leaving behind a sweet scent in the air.

Turning her head, Maud looked at her husband, trying to understand what had just taken place. Everything about him seemed different. He was commanding, confident, he was fearless. She eyed the orb, wondering what it was doing to him. As she stood staring, the orb went dim, the light now nothing more than a faint hint of blue illumination.

Hearing a commotion behind her, Maud saw that the gypsies were breaking camp as quick as possible. She knew that they would be gone in minutes and would brave the road at night. She knew why they were leaving too. Something had scared them, spooked them, there was something scarier than the wolves.

Her gaze fell upon her husband once more and she felt a pang of worry. Ponies were terrified of things they didn’t understand, and Tarnish was an enigmatic mystery, an unknowable riddle. She felt bad for the gypsies as they broke camp. Maud, a creature of logic and critical reasoning, refused to allow her life to be ruled by superstition and fear.

For better or worse, she loved him, even if he did play with dolls.

Author's Notes:

Who in their right mind runs a sewer main near an entertainment area?