Dear Flamel,

I know that thou are not as familiar with us as my sister but in the brief time we have met, I agree that you are the best one suited for this job. As we must attend to our annoying necessary duties to Equestria, we cannot monitor everything that happens. I wish for thou to keep a close eye on this Gunhaver character for me. Something is not right with him, but I can’t put my hoof on it. I was rather surprised that he has such conviction for making amends for his past deeds considering what he is. Nonetheless, he has shown determination and aptitude for leadership and that can be a dangerous thing. Also, I urge thou to find out where and how much he knows about Rune Crafting. The strange communication device he gave me is disturbingly similar to the devices made before my banishment.

Sincerely,

Princess Luna

“Alright, we’ve got a lot to do and little time to do it in. I don’t plan on staying in this town longer than we have to. We need to start searching for signs of the Banshees as soon as possible.” I said. I was up on the bridge with Flamel, Storm Cloud, Check Mark, Star Streak, Magnus, Druel, and Meta, all of us around a table that was littered with maps that Star picked up in Canterlot. Right now we were parked just on the outskirts of Ponyville after our commission in Canterlot. I pointed to an enhanced version of a map of Ponyville on the table that Star Streak provided.

“Druel, I want you to take about fifty of the Dogs and search around the village for anything we can use. Lumber, ores, food, and things like that. As long as we don’t have to purchase it.” I pointed at certain locations along the borders, “Try the forest here and Rambling Rock Ridge. The quarry looks good as well.”

Druel stared thoughtfully at my suggestions. “We still have a few miners that can work that, but my concern is other possible dens. I doubt they would like any intruders on their land.”

“Hmm, good point. We don’t exactly have enough time to teach you all the life detect spell I have so you’ll be going in blind.” I thought for a second about any other possible solutions. “Go there and when you dig, try to keep an eye out for any signs of life. You should probably take on of the unicorns along as well to do a detection spell if they can.”

“And if we come across another den?”

I tapped the map a few times as I thought aloud, “We have some basic weapons and armor in the armory. Granted, I haven’t been able to acquire more than swords, bows and spears, but it’ll have to do. Grab some of that and if we get some good resources I’ll be able to expand the armory.”

“That’s as good as it’s going to get, I suppose.” Druel said, “I’ll bring along several of our fighters. I know there’s a handful still able to wield a blade.”

I nodded and silently wished for more people like Druel. Straight to the point analysis. He’ll make a good officer. “Make do with what you have. When you get back, be sure to have Check Mark here catalog it.” I said, “Now, Storm, I want you and Flamel to go through the town and pick up some more supplies. Sweet Apple Acres looks like a good place for grocery and they might have some rope and basic construction equipment. Most farms do. Rack up what you can and I’ll handle the bill.”

Storm chuckled, “That’s never a good idea to say that to a mare unless you have the bits.” Then she became serious, “On that note, do we have enough money? What about the other stores?” she asked.

I turned to Check Mark, “How much money do we have?” Funny, you’d think that after living on this ship since its creation, I’d know how much money is aboard.

Check Mark, who was wearing an old brown vest covered in straps and pockets pulled out a small notebook and quill. He flipped through a few pages before stopping on one that was filled with markings I couldn't read from my position. “I'm no pawn jeweler but I made an estimate that the gold and gems that we picked up from Magnus' den here, we have, at the very least, approximately fifty thousand bits give or take five grand.” he said, then gave me a flat stare, “Also, it doesn't help our finances if you keep dipping into the gems for your little experiments.”

“Hey, at least I told you first.” I grumbled, “I don't see you complaining about Magnus, or the crew for that matter, eating them.”

“That's because it's part of their diet, not yours.” Check said, not faltering in his gaze or looking away as he stuffed the notebook back into his vest.

I rolled my eyes, “Whatever, Storm, Flamel, both of you take a small chest of the stuff and any crew that can help carry and go get supplies. Check Mark, go through the supply list we have and list what we'll need for a long voyage with a crew this size.” The three of them gave a nod and set off to complete the order. I now turned to Meta. “I want you and your brother to start training the crew in combat. Get as many healthy dogs as you can into the training rooms. Go over the hand to hand combat I've taught you and try to get in some sparring, with and without weapons. I want them to be ready to fight on a moment's notice.”

Meta grinned, “Time to break in the fresh meat.” he growled with a chuckle.

“Just don't dislocate their shoulders this time.” I said warningly, “Go easy on them.”

Meta just shrugged, “What? It wasn't my fault that he didn't cry uncle.”

I rolled my eyes, “Don't do it again.” Meta nodded and turned to leave. “Druel, go help him pick out trainees. You know your pack the best.” I said. Druel nodded and padded out to catch up with Meta's stride.

“What would you have me do?” Magnus asked.

“I actually don’t have much for you beyond ‘keep training’.” I said, “Do you need something to do?”

“Anything to stave off boredom.” Magnus said with a snort, “As much as I’ve been training, I need something else to do.”

“Why don’t you go play with your sister? I’m sure she’d like that.”

“Depends if I can get her away from her new friends for today.” He grumbled, “I haven’t seen her a waking moment without one of them.”

I had to laugh a bit, “Magnus, the big strong dragon, is afraid of his sister’s friends?” Magnus gave me a growl, but I was too amused to care. “Just go and spend the day with her.” I said, “Small towns like this have a few good places to eat and play.”

“I’ll think about it.” Magnus said before walking out of the room.

When Magnus was out of earshot, Star Streak spoke up, “I don’t know about you but Magnus seems like a loose cannon about to blow.”

“He’s a teenager. Of course he seems that way.” I replied dismissively, “Add on that he’s had the responsibility of protecting his sister suddenly thrust upon him can put on a lot of strain.” I felt the memories of the event come back up with bile so I looked back at the map to plan my day with a forced intent. I could feel Streak’s eyes on me, but I tried to ignore it, letting the silence hang in the air.

“It wasn’t your fault.” He said eventually, “You couldn't have possibly known.”

“If I knew then what I knew now, I wouldn't be here and none of this would have happened.”

“Yeah, well life sucks like that.”

I gave Streak a flat glare, “You really know how to make a person feel better, don't you?”

“I'm an astrologist, not a psychologist.” he deadpanned, “Feelings aren’t in my job description.”

“Touche.”

I jumped up and down in excitement at the news my brother had given me. We were going to see the pony town! I never seen anything like it before since I was never allowed to leave the island. What would it be like? Do ponies live in homes made of sticks or rocks? What kind of games did they play? Ooh, were there any dragons among them? This stream of questions was cut off as I was grabbed by the tail and hoisted upside down in the air, soon facing my brother.

“Maggie!” I said, using my nickname for him, which he didn’t like, “Put me down!” I tried to reach up and pry his claws off my tail. Unfortunately, due to the universal laws of big brothers, he was stronger than me and I didn’t have a chance of escaping, but that wasn’t going to stop me from trying.

“I can see you’re excited but you need to calm down a bit.” he said, ignoring my attempts, “I don’t want you running off and getting lost again. Remember last year?”

I stopped trying to escape and pouted, “Hey, I was just trying to play with that bird and I almost had it too.”

“Nonetheless, I want you to stay close to me when we go.” He said sternly, “Promise?”

“I promise.” I swung myself forward and gave him an upside down hug around his neck. A thought came to me, “Hey can I ask some of my friends if they can come as well?” I asked. Maybe one of them live here? I never really asked where they were from. Then again, we were too busy playing to ask questions beyond names.

Magnus gave me the Look of Thought where he hmms and thinks about my request. Usually that Look led to the Smile of Acceptance where he lets me do as I asked. Why do older siblings and parents do that if they’re going to just let me do my thing anyways? Are they trained to do it or is it a part of being an adult? Why do they make so make funny and weird movements with their faces? Like that one look when Daddy and Mommy looked sleepy but they were active enough to play around with each other. Adults are strange.

Magnus finally gave me an answer after he Hmmed enough. “Only if their family will let them.” he said. The answer was a slight blow to my hope, but that was still technically a “yes”.

I grinned, “YAY!” I shouted with glee and scampered off to find my friends, not noticing that my brother had let go of my tail. After some running around under the adult’s legs and asking questions, I managed to get Astrid, Tails, and Airsoft. Rover was busy playing with the other pups and showing them around the ship, especially the obstacle course and the some of the secret places we found. I couldn’t blame him wanting to be around his own kind, especially now that there were a lot more. Stepper and Sanctum were in time out after they stole extra snacks from the kitchens. They were cheered up a bit when I promised to bring something back for them. The four of us swiftly got off the ship and went into the town.

It. Was. Amazing! There were so many sights and sounds and smells. It was much different than back home or what I saw of that fancy pony city from the ship. I noticed a statue in the middle of the road up ahead and used my tail to tap my friend’s shoulders. “Last one to the statue is a rotten egg!” I said before taking off on all fours. It was the only way I was going to have any speed over the others.

Soon enough, to my dismay, Astrid was flying above me, gaining speed. “Nyeh!” she jeered at me playfully. However, she was the next to be surprised when she was yanked back. I chanced a glance and saw Airsoft grabbing onto her tail and pulling her behind him. He always resorted to those tricks when we played. “No fair!” Astrid cried out as she tried to right herself.

“That's for the wet willies you gave me!” he shouted back.

“I already told you! That was Rover!” she screeched

“Yeah, just like how he ate my snacks as well.” They bickered for a bit, slowly forgetting the race.

“I think Air has gone soft for Astrid.” A voice said next to me with a giggle. I nearly stumbled and turned to see Steam Tail had caught up to me...and was not even touching the ground. She just giggled at my surprise, “When you guys started calling me Tails, Mister Gunhaver told me about some creature with the same name and how he could fly. Look!” I gazed up to see her horn glowing maroon and a similar aura covering her tail which was spinning rapidly, holding her rump aloft. I felt a bit sad. She was about my age and she could fly. Tails isn't even a Pegasus! I wished I could grow up there and get my wings. As much as I liked running, I wanted to fly on my own. Maybe even have Mommy teach-

I slowed to a stop, letting Tails get ahead and win the race. Astrid and Airsoft broke out of their argument from Tails' victory cheer and sped ahead of me. I watched them play up ahead at the statue, completely oblivious of me. I gave a small sniffle.

“Is something wrong?” I heard my brother's voice appear above me. He was big and strong. How did he cope with it? I've never seen him cry over it at night. I pushed back my sorrow and shook my head. “No, I'm fine.” I said despite how I actually felt. He raised an eyebrow of suspicion at me, so I gave him a hug around one of his arms, “I’ll tell you later.” He seemed to accept that. I was about to catch up with my friends when I heard voices cry out nearby, “Is that a DRAGON?!”

I turned to see three colts about my age run towards me. Startled by their appearance, I stumbled backwards with a small yelp. I was soon surrounded by a lean white Pegasus with a messy brown mane, a grayish blue Pegasus with a short windswept mane, and an Earth pony that was white and covered in brown spots with a short brown mane.

“Way to go, Feather. You scared her.” The gray Pegasus said to the white Pegasus.

Feather looked away sheepishly, “Sorry, I just got a bit excited there.” He started fiddling around with the camera around his neck. As those two started to argue, the Earth pony pushed them apart, “Oi, the two o’ you need to break it up.” He said then extended a hoof to me, “Th’ names Pipsqueak. Pip for short. These two blockheads are Rumble,” he pointed to the blue Pegasus, “and Featherweight.” he pointed to the white Pegasus, “What’s your name?”

“Pearl.” I said quickly.

Pipsqueak grinned, “That’s a nice name, though ya look more like a gem than a pearl.” I felt heat rise in my face when he said that. I barely registered Magnus giving a snort of smoke above me along with a growl. “Woah!” Pipsqueak yelped in surprise, just now noticing my brother, “’Ello gov’nor. Are you Pearl’s brother?”

“Yes.” Magnus growled.

Pipsqueak giggled, “That figures. Ya didn’t look old enough to be ‘er dad. I read about that in a book once.” He said proudly, then turned back to me, “Hey, are you two new in town?”

I nodded, “Yes, but it’s not just me. My other friends are here too.” I noticed that they were making their way back to us from the fountain. Astrid flew over first. “Hey, Pearl. Who are these ponies?” I quickly made the introductions between them. Once that was finished, Pipsqueak spoke up. “Since you all are new. We’ll give you a tour around the town. Follow us!” They sped off and we followed.

For the next few hours, the three colts showed us around town. My brother just hung back close behind us, watching like a hawk, never letting us out of his sight and ready to intervene. We saw the school house, the meadows, and some of the candy stores where we got a few treats thanks to this strange pink pony. As we walked, Pipsqueak struck up a conversation, asking us questions as we walked. We talked about where we were from and what kind of things we liked to do and what adventures we've had recently. Basically, the important stuff kids talk about. Pipsqueak was very surprised and excited when we told him about the ship we traveled on, but was a bit sad when he found out we weren't pirates. Regardless, he kept asking about us. “So are you all gonna stay 'ere or jus' passing by?” Pipsqueak asked at one point.

“Passing by.” I said, “We're going to hunt monsters!” At this the three colts stopped and turned to look at me in shock and awe.

“Really?” Rumble asked, “What kind of monsters?”

“Do they live under a pony's beds?” Featherweight asked nervously.

I shook my head, “I don't know. I only saw them for a little bit. They looked too big to fit under a bed.”

“Are you kidding?” Astrid interjected, “Those things gave me the creeps, the way they burst out of the ground like that. Not that I'm scared of them or anything. They were creepy.” I glanced behind her to see Airsoft smile mischievously before he grabbed Astrid on her hind legs with a loud, “Banshee!” Astrid gave a yelp, then blushed furiously and proceeded to chase Airsoft around the street.

The rest of us ignored them, but the three colts exchanged looks for a second. “Know what that means?” Pip asked, “We need to find out how to hunt these monsters! To the library!” He led the way as we scrambled to the library. We reached our destination (which was a tree!) and realized a big problem, none of us could reach the handle and Astrid was still chasing Airsoft. Pipsqueak took the first action by pushing Rumble and Featherweight around until they made a pyramid. “Alright, somepony has ta go an' open the door. We'll hold you up.”

Tails seemed a bit nervous to go, so I went instead. I placed a claw on Rumble's back, careful not to scratch him, and then pushed myself up and on top of them. After a few seconds of finding my balance, I grabbed the handle and pushed. At that exact moment, the door started to open and a voice emanated from within, “Hey, Twi. I'm gonna go and see if Rarity needs help with-” he was cut off as our little pyramid was pulled forward, causing us all to tumble to the ground.

I heard my brother’s heavy foot falls as he came towards me, “Are you alright?” he asked.

“I’m fine.” I said as I recovered from the tumble. It’s a good thing Dragons have hard scales, otherwise it would’ve hurt a lot more. I squirmed out of the pile and saw that I had fallen on top of not a pony, but a dragon like me. He was about my size with purple scales and green underbelly and spines. Right now, he lay lying on his side, facing away from me. I gasped, “Oh my gosh! A dragon!” I yelled as I leaped off of him. He slowly got up and looked at me. He blinked, “Huh? Who're you?” he asked.

I grinned, “I'm Pearl. What's your name?”

“Spike.” he said bluntly as he looked at the colts just now getting untangled. I giggled a bit. “What?” he asked.

“It's a funny name.” I said. Spike sputtered as his face turned a bit red, “No it isn't.”

I only nodded, “Uh huh. It's like being called 'Leg', or 'Arm'. What kind of dragon names their hatchling after a body part?” Spike grimaced.

“I wasn't named by a dragon. I was named by a unicorn filly.” he grumbled. Now it was my turn to blink in surprise.

“Huh? How come?” I asked, “Where are your parents?” I wondered briefly if he suffered a fate similar to mine. ‘That would be terrible!’ I thought. I suddenly felt really bad about what I said.

Spike, however, just shrugged, “I was born when Twilight got my egg to hatch during a test. Never really knew where my actual parents were and Twi’s the closest thing to a mom, so it’s not that bad.”

“Oh. That’s good, I guess.” I said. A small awkward silence filled the air between them, but it was soon broken by Rumble. “Hey Spike, do you have any books on monsters?” he asked, pulling his last leg free of the pony pile.

Spike gave him a confused look, “Yeah, but why do you need them? Nightmare Night won’t be here for months yet.” I wondered what this ‘Nightmare Night’ was. Stepper and Sanctum mentioned it once but didn’t really elaborate much on it. I’ll have to ask later.

“We know, but she,” he pointed a hoof at me, “said that they’re going to be hunting monsters.”

Spike’s eyes turned straight back to me, wide as ever. “Really?” he asked incredulously. I felt a bit of heat rise to my face from the sudden attention as I nodded. “Awesome!” he shouted, “What kind of monsters?”

“That’s wot we came ‘ere for, Spike.” Pip said, “We need to find out wot we can so we can help them hunt the monsters!”

Spike gave him a skeptical look, “Hunting them, but wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

“It’ll be fine. My brother can scare off any monster.” I said proudly. It was true too. He fought off Gunhaver until they stopped for some reason. Of course, Gunhaver wasn’t trying to attack us. He was tricked by that big meanie Erebus, just like my parents were. I just hope the two of them can catch the meanie like they promised.

“Brother?” Spike asked, and then he was suddenly enveloped in a cloud of smoke. I gave a glare at my brother that said I didn’t want him covering my friends in smoke. He just gave me a smirk, whatever that meant. I need to learn more grown-up face talk. Spike coughed a bit as he tried to disperse the smoke. He turned to look at the origin of the fumes and recoiled in surprise, “Whoa! How did I miss him?” he wondered aloud.

“Spike!” A voice called from above, “Did you burn something?”

Spike rolled his eyes, “No, Twilight. You have safety spells for that, remember?”

“Then why do I smell smoke?” Twilight asked. ‘Is that the pony that took care of Spike?’ I wondered.

“It wasn’t me! It was the other dragon!” He yelled. Twilight’s laugh rang from above.

“Nice try, Spike.” she said, “Crack a window open. I don’t want other ponies smelling smoke on the books, much less myself.”

Spike’s eye twitched, “But- I-He…ugh, fine.” He said before walking over to a window nearby and opening it as told. ‘This Twilight doesn’t sound very nice.’ I thought. Spike came back over to us, “So, I’ll go find the books and we can plan the whole hunting thing over at the park.” he said. The rest of us nodded. This was going to be the best hunt ever!

Author's Notes:

Thanks to Reaper1543, Thardoc, and Fordgedha