Cherry Pie stares at Shade with a blank expression.

"If I get on the good side of the princess, perhaps she can help restore your horn," Shade adds to her previous statement of them staying for a "welcome" party.

Cherry Pie sighs. "I do not do parties."

"There will be three powerful magical ponies at the party tonight, all three of which may prove useful for your quest." Shade notices her words fall on deaf ears. She scowls at the hood wearing, grape pony, "At least pretend to get along with them. It is not hard to put up a friendly front. Life if a game; once you understand the rules and the players—you are that much closer to winning."

"Do you think they would help me? A stranger?"

Shade turns to leave out the station door, "What will you lose? What will you gain?" She leaves out the double doors.

Cherry Pie stares at the doors for a long moment. A sigh leaves her lungs as she steps towards the doors. She opens one of the doors and comes face to face with a smirking Shade.

"Wise choice," Shade states.

"I still want to send her to the Dragonlands," Shade voices her opinion out loud to the pink pony zooming around the bakery putting up decorations.

"She is like your long lost sister! We have to celebrate her being here!" Pinkie exclaims.

"That can be remedied," Shade deadpan.

Pinkie tries to say something but a yelp escapes her when the ladder she is standing in topples over. Shade catches the pink pony with magic.

Pinkie heaves a sigh of relief. "Thanks for the catch."

Shade lifts up her goggles to wink, "Anytime, love."

"They look longingly into each other's eyes and kiss," a familiar voice commentates.

Shade breaks away from her and Pinkie's kiss to glare at her doppelgänger standing in the bakery doorway.

"Wow! How'd you get in without the bell ringing?" Pinkie chimes.

"Secret," earth pony Shade winks, "love."

Tricorn Shade gnashed her teeth at her facsimile. "What do you want?"

Earth pony Shade pretends to shiver, "Ooo, what a scary face you are making." She smiles, "I need bits so I need to sale some of my loot. You seem like the right buyer."

That statement piques tricorn Shade's interest. "What do you mean?"

"I have old jewelry and armor I got from an Ursa cave a while back."

"Right," is tricorn Shade's dubious remark, "because an Ursa Minor just let you waltz right in."

"Of course not. I killed both the Minor and Major."

Tricorn Shade's smug expression makes way for shock. "You killed them?"

"Yes."

Shade releases a sharp, "Ha! Oh, okay. I'll look at your 'loot' maybe even buy a few pieces just to help you so you can pay the huge ass fine Celestia is about to give you for killing the only Ursas in existence."

"Kūížñō," earth pony Shade sighs the expletive.

"How do you know the Old Language?" tricorn Shade inquires.

"The same reason you know it?"

"You study it from going to digs with your mother?"

Earth pony Shade shakes her head, "Guess not." She turns to leave out the door. "Let us walk and talk, yes?" she says over her shoulder.

Tricorn Shade walks out and stops to look at a pony wearing a grey cloak and hood.

"This is my… associate, Cherry Pie," earth pony Shade introduces the cloaked pony.

"Hello," tricorn Shade greets the pony.

"Cherry Pie" nods her head as a silent reply.

Earth pony Shade walks off and speaks over her shoulder, "Your 'Old Language' is my native tongue."

"And where is it that you are from?"

"A place far, far away."

"There isn't a place on Equus that speaks the Old Language any more," tricorn Shade states.

"And there is your answer," earth pony Shade replies cooly.

Tricorn Shade stops in her tracks and stares at her doppelgänger.

Earth pony Shade stops and taps her chin in thought. "I have been thinking, since you are already established yourself as 'Shade' it will be easier for everyone else to address me by a different name. I would like to be called Evanescence henceforth."

"What?"

"My name. I am changing it to—"

"You are an alien?" tricorn Shade interrupts earth pony Shade.

"Technically," earth pony Shade affirms with a nod.

"That's not possible," tricorn Shade begins to laugh nervously and twitch.

Earth pony Shade deadpans at her doppelgänger, "Stop that. You are making me look strange."

"How? How is this possible?"

"Death, more than likely. She is the most powerful goddess and this place seems like something she would think of."

"My mother is not a goddess."

"No. No, she is not. More than likely she is a proxy for Death to use. She has used many a proxy in the past to walk the mortal planes since she is restrained to the Netherworld."

A long silence hangs between them as they make their way to the blue house. As they turn down the street to their destination, Grey watches the two of them walk by. He sees earth pony Shade stop and point at him while saying something to his daughter. The imitation of his daughter narrows her eyes at him and she proceeds to walk to Shade's house.

"Definitely a world created by Death if my fath—if Grey—is here," earth pony Shade comments as she closes the door behind her.

"Do you have a problem with my ex-husband now?" Deathly Belladonna inquires from the stairs.

"No… ma'am," earth pony Shade replies.

"Mum! What are you still doing here?" Shade hugs her mother.

"That is cringe worthy," earth pony Shade steps away from the two and shakes her head as she sets her bags down in front of the counter.

Deathly Belladonna ignores the negative comment and smiles at her daughter, "What? I can't take time out of my busy schedule to be with my daughter?"

"She probably is around to make sure I do not try to kill you again," earthy pony Shade states nonchalantly as she pokes around the shop.

Shade snorts. "Trust me, I won't be letting my guard down around you anytime soon. You won't be taken me down as easily."

Earth pony Shade grins devilishly at her facsimile, "As you say." She begins to dig through her large bag and takes pieces out to place onto the counter.

Deathly Belladonna eyes the cloak wearing pony. The pony bows and returns to absorb herself in examining the baubles on display.

"Mum. Please take a look at these," comes Shade's uncertain voice.

Deathly Belladonna's eyes grow wide when her eyes had found the worn, tattered banner Shade held in her hooves. "Incredible…"

"So it is Parandae?"

"Most definitely," Deathly Belladonna nods. Her eyes examine the necklaces and amulets on the counter.

"I have this, as well," earth pony Shade says as she pulls out a rusty chest piece and sets it on the counter. She returns to her bag and pulls out a helmet. "I am not expert at archaeology but I am a master smith. These two pieces were created by two different cultures."

"Yes," crimson magic engulfs the helmet and stops in front of Shade's muzzle, "this is pre-Equestrian earth tribe craftsponyship."

"We'll buy your entire bag," Deathly Belladonna states.

Tricorn Shade gapes at her mother while earth pony Shade smirks.

"Fifty thousand bits," Deathly Belladonna offers.

"Works for me!" Earth pony Shade chimes and extends her hoof to the cerise pony.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Shade pushes her mother's hoof away. "'Fifty thousand?!' That's ridiculous."

"History is worth any price!" Deathly Belladonna remarks.

Shade facehooves. "You are going to make us bankrupt, mare."

A pink flash of light at the end of the counter reveals large, brown sacks. "Two thousand there," another pink flash of light and a card and quill pop up in front of Deathly Belladonna. She writes on the card then levitates it to earth pony Shade. "And the rest here."

Earth pony Shade examines the card and smiles. "Could you please make this out to Evanescence? I decided to change my name."

"Oh." The card bursts into flames. DB conjures up another card. When she finishes, she lets Evanescence examine the card.

Evanescence accepts the card with her mouth and stuffs it into one of her saddle bags. "Pleasure doing business with you," she smiles. She starts to remove all the artifacts from her large bag and places them in the counter.

This goes on for five minutes.

Evanescence places a wad of cloth on the table. When it falls open there are shards of ruby. "I have no idea what this is or used to be."

Deathly Belladonna picks up a piece of ruby with her magic to investigate. "Hm. A powerful enchantment was once on these rubies." Her face scrunchs in confusion, "Tricorn in origin."

"Curious," Shade muses.

Evanescence occupies her time with loading the large sacks of money into her large bag. "Well, I know where to sell my future loot now. I will see myself out."

She heads to the door with Cherry Pie close.

"Wait!" Deathly Belladonna calls out and teleports in front of Evanescence. "Would you be interested in helping me with an excavation? As a sign of good faith?"

Shade's lower jaw hits the floor.

Evanescence smirks and focuses on the cerise pony before her. "Does the answer to repair broken horns lay within these ruins?"

Deathly Belladonna cocks her head curiously. "Uncertain. What I do know is that these ruins predate even the Trotans. Anypony's guess as to what awaits within."

"Alas, until my quest to fix a broken horn is complete, I will not venture away from my quest."

"Why do you wish to know how to repair broken horns? And what kind of horn?" Deathly Belladonna inquires.

Evanescence smiles and turns to leave out the door. "Why not?"