I felt myself finally getting into my element as I combed over the maps spread out in front of me. The deck rocked gently as I examined them in turn, each one depicting the various plains, rivers, jungles, and other geography of the Dromaed nations. A shame the exact details never really lined up, and the differences ranged from small margins to outright contradictions. That was going to make it harder to figure out precisely where our destination was. Nopony who had come this far south had made a complete, accurate map of the southern half of the continent. Some zebras had tried over the centuries, but those resulted in the very maps I was using. I could only hope that the Dromaed had more accurate maps for their own lands that I could buy, though that might be wishful thinking on my part.

I opened the greenseer compass and compared its direction to my traditional magnetic compass. Capital’s ears perked as he watched me from the other end of the cramped cabin. “Finding anything interesting?”

“Just trying to triangulate where Zihlius might be.” I closed the compass and jotted down the newest readings into my journal, the page already nearly full from other readings. “Until I can get more readings I'm just guesstimating on where the City of Giants actually is. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to get to the region the compass is indicating in the meantime.”

I should be able to figure out where the city was once I had enough readings from different locations. Assuming the compass was working, it was just a matter of using math and navigational principles to find our destination. We were currently heading for the port of Haztuha, it's a trading post that we can stock up and prepare to move inland. From there we would travel upriver, across the savanna plains, and then into the hinterlands where I suspected Zihlius was once located.

“Why try to plan a route to a destination when you don't know where it is?” Capital asked as Proper set out a cup of tea for him.

“I don't know exactly where it is yet, but I have a general idea on where it probably is,” I explained. “We have to get close enough for the compass to be more useful. Keep in mind, there's only so many places you can put a city intended to run some massive empire. You need access to food, water, building materials—everything that lets you have a city at all, much less one with the economic clout to effectively control an empire.” I tapped the map. “Between these maps and the compass, I can at least narrow down the area we need to cover.”

Capital nodded along. “Of course, economics and supply lines. Granted, this was supposed to be a society that saw gold as nothing more than a useful writing material.”

“So the myth goes.” I took off my hat to wipe the sweat off my brow. This far south the heat was absolutely sweltering. It made me miss the desert; at least the desert was dry. Here the humidity was killer, and there was almost no escape from it. I’d had a few enchantments interwoven into my hat to help me deal with any number of climates, but they struggled to do any good against this kind of heat. “Trying to find the truth between all the myths, half-lost records and archeological artifacts hasn't been easy, especially when we're going halfway across the world. We’d be lucky to ever find it if it wasn't for this compass.”

Capital grinned and slapped me on the back. “Now now my dear Daring, we'll be more than capable of managing.”

Capital’s eternal optimism must have been rubbing off on me, because I couldn’t help but flash him a grin. “I haven't failed to find someplace I've been looking for yet.” I pointed to my compass cutie mark. “I've kind of got a knack for getting to where I want to go.”

Kukri squealed as she jumped up and down. “Because you’re the biggest and best explorer ever! If you can’t find it, no one can.”

“Darn right.” Daring grinned as she ruffled Kukri’s headcrest.

“Well said, my dear lady,” Capital answered. “We’ll be in the City of Giants in no time at all, you’ll see.”

The optimism started to fade as I considered some of the practical issues with our expedition. “So how's your retinue looking? I’m still not wild about dragging so many ponies around.”

“Bah, I say!” He waved my concerns aside. “The more, the merrier! This will be far more enjoyable with my retinue to keep us company.”

I grumbled under my breath. “They're gonna slow us down, and Ephemera is almost literally on our heels.”

This was an argument we’d had more than once. Sure, the specialized skills Capital’s retainers brought to the table might be useful, but I couldn’t help but think of them as unnecessary. I’d been on plenty of expeditions without hunters, chefs, porters, archeological assistants, and other servants, and while they could help carry around a bunch of supplies, there wasn’t anything I truly needed that a single pony couldn’t carry alone. At the end of the day, an expedition was only as fast as its slowest member. That was a real problem when Ephemera was neck-and-neck in the race to the City of Giants. If she got there first she was probably going to loot the place of anything that looked valuable, and then those artifacts would just gather dust in some rich snob’s private collection.

Capital held up a hoof. “Now now now, I'm sure we'll manage. She doesn’t have the compass like we do, and without that she isn’t going to have much luck finding the City of Giants.”

Daring narrowed her eyes at Puzzle. “Don’t think I don’t hear you snickering over there.”

Puzzle was trying to look innocent as he smiled, ‘trying’ being the operative word. “This one was just contemplating how some of your facts were wrong.”

“No small thanks to you,” Daring groused. “You caused me all sorts of headaches by giving Ephemera her own greenseer compass.”

“Weren’t you worried about Ephemera stealing your compass?” I asked. “I can’t say I’d be sleeping sound knowing she was on the same ship as me, all things considered.”

“Yeah, we’ll get to that in a bit.”

“You don't know Ephemera, not like I do.” I shook my head and paced in what little space I had to do so. “She plays for keeps. She's planning something right now, I just know it.”

“Doubtless she is, but I'm sure we'll be more than capable of handling the blackguard when she makes her move.”

“We're gonna have to.” I starting rolling up my half-accurate maps, past tired of pouring over them. “Just keep an eye out in case she decides to try something during the voyage. It looks like she only has her two bodyguards instead of the horde of goons she usually has with her, but she’s tricky when she puts her mind to it.”

“I hope she does make a try for it.” Capital slammed his forehooves together with an audible clack. “The sooner we see to her, the better.”

I grunted in agreement as I put my maps back in their scroll cases. “I hate the waiting. It’s much better to be doing something than waiting around for something to happen to us.”

Capital hummed and rubbed his chin. “What do you think we should do about Ephemera, then?”

I scowled. “I’m half-tempted to confront her right now.”

Capital crossed his forelegs over his chest. “Is there a reason we shouldn't? You know the mare better, so I'll follow your lead.”

“The captain might get mad at us, considering he didn’t want us causing trouble on his ship.” I shrugged. “But you know what? Screw it. I don’t feel like waiting around for her to pull something. Let’s go have a talk with Ephemera. It's been a long time since I've had a private chat with her.”

Now I really didn’t like Ephemera, but she loathed me. My past encounters with the mare had taught me she had a petty streak a mile wide, and that she wasn’t the type to ever forget a slight. She was behind us in the race to Zihlius, and she wasn’t going to tolerate that in good grace. No, she was going to try and even the scales by her twisted judgment of things, and that wouldn’t be good for us. Better to do unto her before she did unto us.

“It will let us take measure of her, if nothing else.” Capital rolled his head to stretch out his neck. “Well, no time like the present.”

I straightened my hat and made sure it was firmly on my head. “You'll get a good idea of what she's like real quick—trust me on that.”

It didn’t take us long to find Ephemera on the aft deck of the Buried Treasure. Flanked by her heavily armored bodyguards, she didn’t even bother to turn to face us as she watched the ship plow through the waves, instead sipping her tea as though nothing was amiss. She was always like that, putting on the air of being calm and sophisticated even as she plotted against everyone around her.

I stopped short of her guards, who gave me the usual ‘We’re big and intimidating, so don’t come any closer’ looks that all bodyguards seemed to get on their first day on the job. “Hey, Ephemera. We need to talk.”

“Do we now?” Ephemera craned her neck to spare me a glance. “About what?”

“Don’t give me that.” I stomped a hoof on the deck. “You’ve pulled way too much crap to play innocent with me.”

Ephemera scoffed and took another sip of tea. “I see somepony is going to dispense with even the thinnest veneer of subtlety or class.”

I snorted. “Like you know anything about class. You’re nothing but a two-bit crime boss who's pretending to be all sophisticated.”

Capital straightened his vest and nodded. “I must agree, there is more to being a noble than attitude and appearances.” To my surprise, he stepped ahead of me and flashed Ephemera and her guards a smile. “That is why I’m hoping we can find a way to put aside our differences and end this conflict between us amicably.”

My eyes widened and my head snapped in Capital’s direction. “You’ve gotta be kidding me! You seriously think we can deal with this creep?!”

Ephemera quirked an eyebrow and turned to face us. “You’re saying you want to make a deal with me?”

Capital nodded. “Absolutely.”

“No!” I shook my head. “Capital, she can’t be trusted! What’re you doing?!”

“Trying to put an end to this silly conflict before it gets any more out of hoof than it already is.” Capital straightened himself as he addressed Ephemera. “Now then, you seem like a mare who likes to present herself as a pony of class and distinction.”

Ephemera’s eyes narrowed. “Because I am a pony of class and distinction. I am a noble of Canterlot itself.”

Capital held up a hoof. “Of course, of course. I wasn’t suggesting otherwise.” He kept up his warm smile despite Ephemera's scathing glare. “What house do you belong to, if I may ask?”

Ephemera stiffened. “Why do you want to know?”

“Just making polite conversation,” Capital assured her. “I find it best to get to know the ponies I’m talking with before we get to the nitty-gritty of negotiations. Best we come to understand one another as polite and civilized ponies, after all.”

I snorted at the suggestion that Ephemera was either polite or civilized. She was as rotten to the core as any pony I had ever known. “You’re wasting your breath, Capital. There’s no negotiating with the likes of her.”

Ephemera ran a hoof through her mane. “You always were the narrow-minded one, Daring. Which was why we could never work together.”

“I’m the narrow-minded one?!” I took a step towards her, and her guards interposed themselves accordingly. “You nearly killed me the one time we tried to work together!”

Ephemera’s mouth contorted into an ugly smile. “Only because you didn’t see reason and let me sell those artifacts from Neighlantis. Do you have any idea how much they could have gone for?”

I snorted. “Don’t know, don’t care. Those artifacts belonged in a museum and that’s that.”

Her eyes rolled. “Oh yes, now they can be admired by a bunch of snot-nosed schoolbrats who don’t have the least bit of appreciation for what they’re even looking at. That is clearly so much better than turning a profit.”

I shook my head. “What? That’s somehow worse than those artifacts being in some rich snob’s private collection where nopony would ever see them?”

“Yes.” Ephemera smirked in that way that made me want to punch her face in. “Because then I can I make a very tidy profit for what I’ve found. Your altruism is misguided, Daring; where you’re barely making ends meet and scrounging for bits for your next expedition, I’m living the high life and dining with the rich and famous with money to spare for more expeditions. Someday you’re going to die bitless, alone and unmourned, probably in one of your gods-forsaken tombs.”

“We all gotta die someday,” I told her with a shrug. “At least I can look myself in the mirror knowing those artifacts are where they belong.”

Ephemera’s nostrils flared and she turned her back on us to face the sea. “If you think I lose any sleep for what I do, you’re mistaken. The world is a zero-sum game. For every winner there’s a loser, and I have no intention of being among the have-nots. You take what you can get, because if you don’t then somepony else will.”

Capital cleared his throat as he re-entered the conversation. “Now I hardly think the world is quite so stark.”

“Says somepony born among the elite of Canterlot,” Ephemera spat, her words dripping venom. “Try asking those ponies under you who struggle to make ends meet how they feel about the state of the world.”

Capital grimaced and took a step back. “Come now, we can do better than this. What is it you want? I’m sure there’s a middle ground we can find if we’re all willing to negotiate?”

“You want to know what I want?” Ephemera sneered at us. “Give me your compass, go back to Equestria, and never get in my way again. Do those things and I may deign to forget that you exist.”

“Fat chance!” I took another step forward, bringing myself close enough to Ephemera’s guards that we could start taking swings at one another. “If you think I’m giving up then you’ve got another thing coming.”

Ephemera clapped her hooves together once. “And there you have it, Capital—there is no middle ground between us. Daring is going to continue to be the naïve and idealistic fool she’s always been, and I’m not going to give up on what might be the greatest find of our generation. A fortune is to be won or lost, and I intend on becoming very wealthy indeed.”

Capital winced and his ears flattened. “I am sorry that you feel that way. Really, please reconsider. There are still ways for you to earn a profit on this if you spin things right. Perhaps you could write a book about your travels and discoveries? There are plenty of ponies who would pay to read about the discovery of a city of gold.”

Ephemera tilted her head back in a great bark of a laugh. “What kind of sentimental drivel is that? How many idiots would pay to read something like that?”

“A great many people, considering A.K. Yearling’s success.” Puzzle grinned at Daring. “You have any idea how much she makes on her novels each year?”

Daring cleared her throat. “Enough so that money isn’t as big of a problem as it used to be.”

I felt kinda bad for Capital even while glaring daggers at Ephemera. He might have been overly optimistic about the world, but at least he was trying to do the right thing. Pity for him he was dealing with a mare rotten to the core. “See who we’re dealing with? She’s just in this for herself. All we can do is beat her and leave her in our dust.”

“You speak out of turn, Daring.” Ephemera leaned against the railing to glare at me. “You may have gotten lucky in the past, but your luck is just about out. This time I’ve got allies you don’t stand a chance against.” She looked between her two new bodyguards. “These two are but one benefit of the new patronage I’ve recently gained.”

My eyes flicked between the two guards. They definitely weren’t the usual cheap muscle Ephemera usually hired. I’d been in enough scrapes to recognize when someone actually knew how to fight, and those two had the look and stance of professional soldiers. “Yeah, so who’s bankrolling you this time?”

Ephemera put on a nasty smirk. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

“Don’t want to tell me? Fine. You’re still not gonna get far.” I pulled on the string around my neck to reveal the greenseer compass. “Without this, you won’t even come within a hundred miles of the City of Giants.”

Something I didn’t like flashed in Ephemera’s green eyes. “Oh, you mean like this compass?” She pulled the gold necklace around her neck to reveal a small wooden box exactly like the one I was carrying. To put any doubt to rest, she snapped it open to reveal the emerald within. Its magic activated and formed a green arrow pointing in the general direction the ship was going.

My eyes widened. “What?! How?!” It had taken a ton of trouble and bits for us to find even one of the greenseer compasses. There could only have been a hooffull of the things left outside of the Dromaed kingdoms, and they were pretty zealously guarded by the hristak. Where did Ephemera get one?

“I have my ways.” Ephemera snapped the compass closed and let it dangle from her neck. “I have resources you could only begin to imagine.”

“Money is a resource I can imagine pretty good,” I retorted, though my voice quivered a bit. My one ace in the hole was now gone. If Ephemera had a compass too, then we really were in a dead heat in the race to the City of Giants.

Ephemera chuckled to herself. “Oh, that look on your face is so precious. You’re always used to being on top. It’s so nice to get to turn the tables on you.” The mirth in her features vanished and her eyes narrowed. “Though now I wonder why you decided to confront me. Were you hoping to start a fight?”

I met her icy cold glare with my own. “The idea has an appeal. I wouldn’t mind giving you some payback for stealing all my research.”

Ephemera snorted and tossed her mane. “Please, you don’t have the guts to do what needs to be done—something you’ve proven time and again. If you really wanted to be done with me, you would have already done it during our previous clashes.”

I grimaced. I didn’t like to admit it, but she had a point. I didn’t claim to be a saint, but I wasn’t a murderer either. More than once I’d had Ephemera at my mercy and then let her go, sometimes into the hooves of whatever local authorities were around. Not that anything ever seemed to stick to her, since she had a knack for being freed to cause trouble for me again and again. I had no idea how she kept getting out of jail, but here she once more.

“Though now that I think about it...” Ephemera slowly withdrew a wand from a bag at her side and held it aloft in her magic, pointing it right at my chest. “It might be convenient to dispose of you right now. Either one of my guards are more than your match, and I doubt that fool of a patron you’ve got will be much help in a fight.”

Capital stiffened and stepped closer to me. “There isn’t any need for that. I daresay you are taking this too far, milady. Think about what you’re contemplating.”

Small arcs of magical energy ran up the length of Ephemera’s wand, and several sailors who had been idly watching us while pretending to be working dropped the pretense. Sensing their master’s mood, Ephemera’s guards shifted into defensive stances. “Oh, but I have thought it over, and I like how the math is looking.” Her grin widened. “I think I hear the music of the waltz starting. Want to dance, Daring?”

I clenched my teeth together and lowered my stance so as to be ready to move at a moment’s notice. I might have miscalculated going after Ephemera like this. The more I looked at these guards the more they gave the impression of Zebrican janissaries—the alchemically enhanced and expertly trained elite soldiers of the Zebrican Empire. That would make fighting them a much dicier challenge than the thugs I’d gone up against back in Port Nowhere. Adding to that was Ephemera herself, who loved being able to whip out magical items to use against me. The wand was a new one, and I didn’t like the sight of it.

“You should have considered ambushing her,” Puzzle said. “You might have avoided the trouble of a head-on clash.”

“You would be the type to suggest just assassinating somepony in their sleep,” Daring grumbled under her breath.

“It does tend to leave this one far less bruised and battered than a frontal assault.” Puzzle shrugged. “This one hasn’t lived this long by being reckless.”

“My instincts usually carry me through,” Daring countered.

I thought over my options. It had been stupid on my part to bring Capital with me to confront Ephemera, since he was now was liable to get hurt and it’d be my fault if he did. My best chance was to get around the guards and knock her out right away. Maybe if their leader went down the guards could be convinced to back off. Maybe.

I dug in my hooves and got ready to pounce when a great boom of a voice roared over the deck. “What is the meaning of this?!”

Captain Hazim stomped over in a fury glaring at all of us and flanked by half a dozen of his rougher-looking sailors. “You thinkin’ to start a fight on my ship?”

Ephemera scoffed and didn’t take her wand off of me. “These ruffians were threatening me. We were only trying to defend ourselves.”

“Now that just isn’t true,” Capital started to protest. “We were trying to negotiate and solve things amicably between us. She’s the one that—“

“I don’t care!” the captain yelled over him. He shot all of us another glare. “I knew you were all trouble the moment I set eyes on ya. But I have ways of dealing with troublemakers—I’ve half a mind to just throw the lot of you overboard.”

Capital’s jaw dropped. “Surely you jest!”

“I’m not, but lucky for you I’ve only got half a mind to do that.” Hazim grinned in a way that made his scars seem even meaner. “If you're gonna be fightin’ on my ship, then we’re gonna do it right.”

Ephemera frowned and her wand dipped slightly. “What are you talking about?”

“Simple as simple can be.” The Captain pointed to the center of the ship. “We’re gonna set up a ring right there and let you lot slug it out amongst yourselves. It’ll let you get your aggression out of your system and provide some entertainment for my crew. Sailing’s a hard life, and a little sport now and again goes a long way to keep morale up.”

Ephemera’s face contorted in confusion, which only improved her looks. “You can’t seriously think we’re going to fight for your entertainment.”

“What’s the matter?” I grinned at Ephemera. “Worried you’ll chip a hoof in a real fight?”

Her wand twitched. “I’m not some ruffian who dirties her hooves in slugging matches. Unlike some ponies I could mention...”

Capital pressed his lips together. “Still, this seems a bit ... mmm, extreme, don’t you think?”

Captain Hazim scoffed. “What’s extreme is having you lot running around my ship, starting fights and getting in the way of running this ship. You brought this one on yourselves. Don’t come crying to me because I’m giving you what you want—the opportunity to pummel each other to your heart’s content.” He drew himself to his full height as he addressed us imperiously. “Here’s how’s it’s going to go. Each of you pick your champion, and they’ll have at it. If you still want to go at it after the first round, we’ll go again with different champions until you have it out of your systems. Got it?”

“Remind me never to book passage on a ship with Hazim as the captain,” I said. “I can go without getting forced into fights when I’m trying to get someplace.”

“That’s why this one has never suggested going out Zanzebra’s way,” Puzzle said. “It’s a rough place out there, to say the least. Plus it’s just bad service to be turned into entertainment for the guy you just paid a service for.”

I grunted. As much as I would love to introduce my hoof to Ephemera’s face, I didn’t particularly like the idea of being forced into some kind of blood sport for some crazy captain’s entertainment. Naturally I couldn’t let Capital get involved in this, as one of the last things I needed to happen was for him to get torn to pieces by some ex-janissary. “Fine, I’ll volunteer.”

Capital snapped his head in my direction. “Daring, my lady, you don’t need to step up first. I can take care of myself, you know.”

I shook my head. I didn’t relish the idea of fighting one of the janissary-like guards, but I’d taken down bigger and badder in the past. “No way—not when I’ve promised to get you back home in one piece.”

Capital frowned as he took a moment to think. “Alright then, but if it comes down to it I’m taking the second round.”

I grunted noncommittally. Capital would never step into the ring at all if I had my way, but I’d been in enough tight spots to know that sometimes circumstances took the choice right out of my hooves.

Hazim turned to Ephemera. “And you, milady?”

Ephemera initially scowled at the Captain, but it slowly curled upward into grin. “May I take a few minutes to converse with my guards and decide who will fight on my behalf? We’ll need a bit of time to properly prepare for the fight anyways.” She waved a hoof. “I hear stretching is important before physical exertion.”

Hazim narrowed his eyes. “You may, lass, but no tricks. You have until we have the ring set up. Understood?”

“Well enough.” Ephemera huffed and ran a hoof through her mane. “Give me a few minutes below deck.” She turned to go, but Hazim held up a hoof to stop her.

“One more thing.” Hazim’s smile would have sent a cabin filly running. “There’s no point in a contest if there’s nothing on the line, so it’s time to fix that: whoever wins this contest gets their opponent’s compass.”

My wings snapped out. “What?!”

Ephemera’s hoof snapped to the compass hanging from her neck. “How did you know—”

Hazim cut her off. “Nothing happens on this old captain’s ship without him knowing about it. Your conflict doesn’t mean seagull droppings to me once you’re off my ship, but since you are on my ship, that means it’s my business to deal with how I see fit.” His grin promised many unpleasant things. “If you got a problem with that, you can talk about it with the fishes.”

I glowered at the Captain. “Well when you put it like that, how can we refuse?”

This one was busy doing what it often did: collecting information. The deck didn’t hold much of interest with nothing but the big, wide, seemingly infinite ocean to occupy this one’s attention, so this one turned its attention to those who spent their time below deck. Primarily, the Capital-stallion’s retainers; as this one knew from experience, you could always get a wealth of information about someone from their helpers. They tended to get everywhere, overhear everything, and go unnoticed when they eavesdropped on their employer. It wasn’t a perfect method for gathering intelligence, of course, as employees always have their own biases and tended to not pay attention to the things this one would most like to learn, but useful tidbits could still be gleaned.

This one got itself into a game of cards with several of the retainers and started with questions about themselves. People are almost always willing to talk about themselves, since it’ is the topic they know the most about, after all, and people like it when another is willing to give them an open ear to their daily troubles and opinions. They were a rough bunch, a mixture of ponies accustomed to spending most of their time alone in the wilderness or strong-backed workers living day to day on their modest incomes. From there, it was easy to move onto questions about Capital Idea and Daring Do.

This one learned quite a bit about the Capital-stallion, like the fact he belonged to a long-standing, wealthy, and influential noble house, had a love of the outdoors, was the eager sort, and possessed an intelligent if inexperienced mind. The retainers knew less about the Do-mare, though, as she tended to keep to herself or was off on one errand or another. Apparently though, she was supposed to be quite the adventurer. It would have been nice to gather more about the mare that was the center of this one’s deal with the Ephemera-mare, but it seemed that this one was going to have to meet her in person to get a better measure of what she was like. This one wanted to know as much as possible about its opponent before it acted against her.

“You were planning on hurting the Do-mare?!” Kukri cried out. “How could you?!”

Puzzle shuffled and didn’t quite meet Kukri’s accusing gaze. “This one was in a bit of a spot at the time, and didn’t really know the Do-mare. It was just a job this one picked up—it wasn’t like this one wanted to hurt her.”

I frowned as I finally asked a question that had been in the back of my mind. “And what exactly were you doing before going to Zanzebra? It sounds like you really ticked some people off before running from Freeport.”

Puzzle sighed and poked at some fresh shishkebab he’d put on the grill. “We’ll cover that later. This one doubts the Do-mare will let it get away not doing so at some dramatically appropriate point.”

“Not after the way you planned on killing me, or at the very least making my life very difficult.” Daring poked Puzzle’s side. “Besides, don’t you think you should be honest to your friends?”

Puzzle shot her a flat glare. “Right, because you don’t keep your own secrets that they would be interested in hearing or anything.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “Yeah? Like what?”

Daring cleared her throat. “Anyways, back to the story.”

In any event, this one had plenty of time to actually meet with the Do-mare. Neither of us was going anywhere until the ship reached port, and this one didn’t want to appear suspicious as it asked questions. That was much easier to pull off when everyone was at least a little bored waiting for the ship to reach its destination.

This one was even having some success flirting with a cute tracker from the retinue. If this one was lucky it might be able to convince her to come to its cabin for some fun, and to give it the opportunity to feed. Any discomfort she might feel the next morning from this one’s feeding could be excused by the ship’s excellent selection of drinks.

I frowned as I heard of Puzzle’s plans for the time. “Still pretty creepy to hear you talking about that type of thing. You’re basically talking about how you’re preying on ponies.”

Puzzle shrugged. “This one has to eat love magic. If it doesn’t, it will go feral and eventually die. This one doesn’t like that aspect of itself, but it can’t change its nature. There are institutions in Freeport to make these things neater, but in the wider world there isn’t.”

Daring scowled at that. “Instead, Freeport lets you pay a bunch of poor people to feed on them.”

“We both know it’s better than the alternatives,” Puzzle said evenly. “Those individuals who donate thyloplasm get some ducats, and Free Minds get to survive. If you’ve got a better solution then this one is all ears.”

I didn’t, and judging from Daring’s lengthy silence, she didn’t either.

This one was interrupted by a flash of pain from something hitting the side of this one’s head. This one’s hoof instinctively rubbed the sore point, and it looked down to see a piece of hardtack lying on the floor. Guessing the trajectory of the excessively hard piece of bread, this one’s eyes settled on a nearby doorway. Barely perceptible to anyone in the room, one of the Ephemera-mare’s zebra guards stood hidden on the other side of the doorway. He flicked his hoof for this one to come.

Now that was indeed curious. Did the Ephemera-mare want to see this one? And if she did, for what purpose? The idea had been for us not to see one another on the ship unless a good excuse for us to meet without drawing suspicion could be made. So unless it was the guard that wanted to talk to this one, something was up.

“Hey Puzzle, you daydreaming on us?” one of the ponies in the retinue asked as he shuffled the deck. “Hope you haven’t had too much to drink already, I’m just getting warmed up.”

This one grinned cheerfully and snorted. “Hardly, I was just thinking to get up and stretch my legs for a bit.” It definitely wouldn’t do to tell them all that this one was going to meet one of the guards for their nemesis. This one would prefer not to put itself in a situation where someone might want to club it in the head in the middle of the night.

Another one of the ponies, a cook by profession, gave this one a wry grin. “What’s the matter? Trying to run off with your winnings before your luck turns?”

In truth, this one had just been using the card-counting and game theory tricks it had been taught to gradually build up its winnings. With some patience and knowledge of how the mechanics of a game worked—and perhaps a little bit of luck—you could go far gambling. Though that did depend on you gambling with the sorts not prone to breaking a leg or two due to poor sportsmanship. Thankfully, this bunch were in relatively good spirits.

“Nah, I figured I would be nice and not take all your money right away,” I countered. “There’ll be plenty of time for that before we get to port.” Speaking of this one’s winnings, it scooped its winnings into its purse. Waste not, want not.

“Yeah yeah, just don’t keep us waiting,” another pony said. “The game’s more fun with more ponies—and pony-zebra hybrid things, for that matter.”

This one gave them a final grin. “The word you’re looking for is ‘zony’, and don’t worry—you’ll get to see me again soon enough. Now if you’ll excuse me...” This one departed the group and headed to to the doorway.

The guard turned and started walking to a different portion of the ship, his steps surprisingly silent against the ship planking. His lack of explanation irritated this one. “So does Ephemera want to see me?”

He grunted neutrally.

He didn’t seem like much of a conversationalist, but this one pressed again. This one wanted to get an idea of who the Ephemera-mare’s guards were anyways. That might be important information to exploit later, and ideally this one could get them to like this one. Preferably enough to not beat this one up should the Ephemera-mare ever tell them to. “So, what’s your name? I don’t believe we’ve been introduced.”

He grunted again, this time sounding irritated.

Being friendly didn’t work, so time for a different tactic. “Did you have your vocal cords cut or were placed under a geas? Because if that’s part of working for your employer then I’m going to have to reconsider my long term employment decisions.”

“No,” he growled in a voice like gravel.

“So just not the talking type?” this one asked. “Really, we might as well get to know one another consider we’re going to be together for awhile.”

Instead of answering this one, the guard stopped in front of a cabin door where the other guard was standing and gestured for this one to enter. This one sighed and scratched behind its ear. It seemed that the Ephemera-mare’s guards were going to be tough nuts to crack. “Alright then.” This one patted him on the shoulder. “Nice talk—”

This one was caught off guard when the guard snatched this one around the pastern and started squeezing painfully. The glare he gave this one sent a nonverbal message loud and clear: ‘Don’t ever do that again. Ever. I’m not your friend, I will never be your friend, so don’t even bother pretending, you lowly piece of mercenary trash. If you do, I’ll break your leg off at the joint and do very unpleasant things to you with it.’

“Your mistress is waiting.” The guard’s grip was like a vice, but this one grinned through the pain. Showing weakness at a moment like this would only have made things worse. No one respects a wimp.

He finally let this one go, and it resisted the temptation to rub its sore leg. This one fought through the pain as it put weight on its leg and entered. The Ephemera-mare’s cabin was small and unadorned like the others; the furnishings consisted merely of a small uncomfortable-looking cot and a small desk barely large enough to write on. Luxury accomodations were, as usual, short on a merchant ship.

Ephemera herself was sitting on the cot and busy smoking a cigarette as though she didn’t have a care in the world. “Puzzle,” she said simply and pointed for this one to sit.

Deciding it wouldn’t be best to be obstinate in this case, this one sat and leaned against the desk. “So why’d you send the guard to retrieve me? You know we weren’t supposed to see each other so soon, and definitely not this openly.” This one couldn’t count on anyone not seeing this one with the guard and then entering her cabin. If someone had seen one of those things then rumors of it had probably spread all over the ship by now. That was going to make collecting information more difficult, never mind its other activities.

The Ephemera-mare took her time answering this one as she took a long drag off her cigarette, probably using the delay to establish her dominance in our relationship. Those who speak last controlled the conversation. “There’s been a complication.”

This one frowned. “What sort of complication?”

The Ephemera-mare put out the last of her cigarette. “Daring confronted me a little while ago, and nearly started a fight with me on the ship deck.”

This one raised an eyebrow at this news. “So what happened?”

She pulled out a fresh cigarette and lit it. “The Captain intervened before anything serious,” she said with a cold detachment, “but that’s not why I called on you. Our dear captain has decided on an unusual solution to my conflict with Daring: here within the hour he intends for Daring and a champion of my choosing to slug it out inside a ring.”

This one didn’t like the direction it sounded like this was heading. “I would have thought you had a couple very good picks to be a champion for you.” This one gestured at the doorway and the two guards standing outside. “You don’t keep those two around just for their looks, do you?”

“No, I don’t.” The Ephemera-mare took a long puff of her cigarette. “But they’re special. They’re my ace in the hole if Daring tries something. They were given to me by my employer to protect me and that’s how I intend on using them.”

This one frowned. “Your employer? This is the first you’ve spoken of being hired by someone else.”

The Ephemera-mare’s mouth spread in a sly grin. “I’ve only recently come into his employ, but he is powerful—and more importantly, quite wealthy. He rewards those who please him.”

And by extension, if this one pleased her this one would please her boss. Which in turn could result in this one getting some nice rewards. Though that led this one into a rather relevant question. “So who is this boss of yours?”

She blew out a long stream of smoke, creating a haze within the confines of the cabin. “You’ll get to meet him soon enough if you can prove your worth. You see, while I know the worth of my bodyguards, you’re an unproven asset.”

It would have been nice to know more about this boss, but Ephemera was as usual unwilling to part with so much as a name. She liked her secrets. This one decided to get to the point. “In other words, you plan on having me be your champion.”

“Yes.” The Ephemera-mare took another puff. “You said you can counter Daring. Prove it now.”

This one frowned as it thought this over. “I planned on trying something a bit ... sneakier than getting into a direct bloodsport match with her.”

“Adapt,” she answered. “The compass you put all that work into getting is on the line. Captain Hazim has seen fit to use our compasses as the wager to make the fight more interesting, which means we have to win here.” Her eyes narrowed. “Do I make myself clear?”

“Quite.” This one didn’t like this. It was much more preferable to fight at a place and time of its choosing to ensure as many variables were in one’s favor as possible. Something quick and messy like this went against this one’s grain. Pity it didn’t have much choice; it was either do as the Ephemera-mare desired or sever ties with her. This one would have vastly preferred to have used one of her guards to fight. Either one of them would probably have beaten her to a pulp.

“Hey.” Daring glowered at Puzzle as she crossed her legs over her chest. “I’m not exactly a wimp, you know.”

Puzzle held up a hoof to placate her. “This one is merely stating what it was thinking at the time, not facts.”

“Better be, buggy,” Daring groused, though the grin at the corner of her mouth offset it a bit.

It seemed the Ephemera-mare had picked our course, and this one was just going to have to deal with it. Fine, this one had worked under worse circumstances. Even if this job was going to be a tricky one. “Alright, this I’ll see to it that it wins this fight for you and acquire the other compass.”

“Oh, I don’t just want you to win.” The Ephemera-mare smiled in a manner that didn’t reach her eyes. “And I don’t just want you to just hurt your opponent, or break her. No, Puzzle, I want you to kill Daring Do.”

Author's Notes:

Thanks to my editors Chengar Qordath and Comma-Kazie for all their help, and to my pre-readers Brony Writer, wolfstorm56, Trinary, 621Chopsuey, Rodinga, PoisonClaw, and Swiftest for their hard work editing.