It was still dawn when Twilight climbed down the stairs. She hadn’t gotten nearly enough rest after yesterday’s trip, but she hadn’t wanted to interrupt her sleeping schedule.

Twilight was hoping to get some breakfast before she continued on her journey to Canterlot, but as she stopped in the empty hall downstairs, that hope began to slip. The innkeeper was likely still in bed, thus making her meal impossible.

Tapping her hoof on the floor, Twilight thought about skipping it, but upon further consideration she decided that it wasn’t worth it. The road to Canterlot would take at least a week at trotting speed, so saving one to two hours wouldn’t make any difference. Besides, she had zero intentions of munching on some withering autumn grass on the side of a road.

I really need to buy some food for the way, Twilight thought to herself, returning to her room. Once there, the mare laid on her bed, summoning her saddlebag from the floor. She quickly found the journal with her notes about the artifacts inside, diving right in.

The reason why she was going to Canterlot was its library. The library in Starswirl Academy — from which she had graduated — was the largest one in Equestria, unrivaled even by the Royal Library in Birminghoof.

It was the most logical place to begin her hunt for ancient artifacts. She would have preferred to go through some books in the Royal Library first, of course, but with Twilight being the most wanted pony there, it just wasn’t possible. She had barely escaped the city as it was.

After a couple of hours of weighing her choices, Twilight had finally come to an important decision — she was going to search for the Alicorn Amulet. It was a better choice compared to the Elements of Harmony on every account.

The books she’d read attributed almost unlimited power to the Elements, but the biggest problem was that it wasn’t just one artifact, it was all six of them. Even if she were to find them eventually, there was a risk that one of them would be missing. Not to mention that there were some murky requirements on how to wield them properly.

Using the Alicorn Amulet, on the other hoof, was as easy as pie. It was just a necklace for a unicorn to wear that would magnify their power to the level of an alicorn. If Blueblood wore it, he could easily take on Everlight, while being directly backed by his whole order. That was the artifact Twilight would concentrate her main efforts on.

Putting the journal back into her bag, the mare swiveled her ear towards a sound coming from the first floor. It seemed like the innkeeper was finally awake. Her stomach growled in anticipation of a meal.

Getting off the bed without even bothering to make it, Twilight hurried downstairs once again. She froze with her hoof above the last step of the stairs.

Soldiers!

Before becoming completely enveloped in a wave of panic, the mare realized that the soldiers were simply having some food, chatting with each other relaxedly. Twilight sighed in relief — they weren’t here to get her.

Twilight quickly backed up until she was out of their sight anyway. What were the soldiers doing in some backwater village? It seemed like an awfully suspicious coincidence that a random group of them would just pop up in the same inn that she was staying.

Carefully peeking at them from behind the corner, Twilight examined the soldiers. It was about half a dozen ponies, all of them of earth tribe, and none of them was higher in rank than a private.

Twilight could say so for sure, having written a large dissertation on army designations in her academy days. That was if the insignia on the armors were to be trusted.

It could be just a rich group of mercenaries who had laid their hooves on some military equipment. In fact, Twilight was hoping that was the case — it would spare her a lot of nerves.

Twilight inhaled sharply, pulling her head back behind the cover, but she knew that it was too late. One of the soldiers had glanced at her! She had been discovered!

The mare galloped back into her room in panic, locking the door behind her. Rushing to the window, Twilight tried to open it, but it was stuck for some reason. Damn it!

Somepony tapped on the door, causing Twilight to twitch nervously. The unicorn faced the door wide-eyed, barely stopping herself from unleashing an instinctive torrent of magic at the threat. Thankfully, the rational part of her brain was telling her that if the soldier had recognized her for certain, he wouldn’t be wasting his time on knocking politely.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Twilight glanced around the room, hoping to find something to mask her features. As her eyes fell on a brush lying on her nightstand, she glowed with an idea.

Remembering the right spell was a cinch, so in a flash of light her mane and tail had changed their color from purple to sickeningly green. It was garish, there was no denying that, but Twilight knew it from her early Academy days. That hadn’t been one of her best decisions back then, but it would prove useful now. With enough concentration, Twilight could modify the spell to a different color, but she was in a hurry.

Her last touch was levitating a saddlebag onto her back to hide her cutie mark. Hoping that her little disguise would throw the soldier off her tail, Twilight approached the door and opened it, forcing her muzzle into a polite smile.

“Eh… Howdy there, miss,” the soldier said, looking past her shoulder into the room. “Are you alone in there?”

“Yes, of course,” Twilight chuckled, giving the soldier a worried look.

The soldier shifted uncomfortably, twitching his ear.

“I thought I’d seen — But never mind, I guess I was wrong,” the soldier shrugged and was about to leave when Twilight’s curiosity made her ask a question of her own.

“Who did you think you saw, if that’s not a secret?”

The stallion shrugged.

“Eh, I guess I just leaped at a shadow… Don’t you worry, miss.”

After apologizing for disturbing her, the soldier walked away, muttering angrily under his nose, with Twilight catching something about a reward.

As soon as he was out of sight, Twilight slumped on the floor, shutting the door with her magic. Her heart was beating fast in her chest — that had been a close call! The unicorn wasn’t quite sure if her disguise would work, so that small encounter had cost her a lot of nerves.

Getting back on her hooves, Twilight frowned. She had underestimated the government. Barely a day had passed since the king had been poisoned, but some random soldiers away from the capital already knew what she looked like.

Twilight’s new priority was to disguise herself with something more thorough than simply a mane of a different color. Perhaps she could make the dyeing spell work on her coat as well…

I need a mirror for this.

Half an hour later, Twilight was standing in front of one in the bathroom, gazing at her own reflection. A totally unfamiliar mare was looking back at her. Instead of Twilight’s purple coat, the mare’s coat was a light shade of blue.

Her mane had received some attention too. Twilight had changed her color to a nice, soothing shade of green that didn’t look quite as poisonous as her previous hasty attempt.

Doing all of the color changes had actually taken her less than ten minutes. The mare had spent most of that time struggling with a simple hairbrush, trying to comb her mane into a different style. The end result had definitely been worth the effort though.

Even her brother wouldn’t have recognized her.

The only problem left was her cutie mark. Twilight had made an attempt to change it, but for some reason her magic had had no effect on it. It would be an intriguing topic of research at any other time, but for now it was a hindrance. Twilight settled on covering her cutie mark with her saddlebags until she found a better solution. Maybe some body paint would do.

With her disguise done, Twilight went downstairs once again. The soldiers were thankfully gone by now. In fact, the whole place was empty, save for the innkeeper cleaning some tables.

He did a double take at Twilight.

“I don’t remember you staying here,” he stated, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

After all the work she had invested into her new look, Twilight would be surprised if he did. Putting an innocent smile on her muzzle, the mare tried to come up with some explanation.

“Sorry, I just needed to use the bathroom.”

“I didn’t see you entering either,” the innkeeper frowned.

“Eh… I came at night. In fact, I’m sharing a room with my friend up there. If that’s okay with you, of course.”

The pony shrugged. “Well, as long as the room is being paid for, it’s none of my business.”

Twilight nodded as she sat behind one of the tables. It was about time she finally had her much delayed breakfast.

Twilight left the inn with a full belly.

Before leaving the village, however, Twilight decided to buy some supplies for the road, with food being first on that list. The innkeeper had mentioned an apple orchard near the village — apples would be a perfect choice. She looked around as if expecting to see an apple stand, but of course there were none in sight.

What she saw was a group of ponies hanging about. Maybe somepony in that big crowd would give her some directions. Twilight approached the gathering and caught the attention of the nearest pony. The pony looked upset for some reason, but she explained how to find what Twilight was looking for nonetheless.

Thanking the mare, Twilight trotted on a small path away from the village. Just like she’d been told, soon she saw the farmhouse up ahead. She went faster, but immediately felt a discomfort in her hooves. Glancing down, a realization dawned on her.

She lacked horseshoes.

Twilight had left Birminghoof in a hurry the same night she had escaped the dungeon, before anypony had even realized she was gone. There had been no time to properly prepare for the journey, but at least Blueblood had given her a sum of money to buy what she needed along the way. She would add horseshoes to that list.

Twilight stopped as she approached the building, examining it with interest. It was made out of wood, unlike her parents’ house in Canterlot, while being much larger as well. Twilight’s family had to fit into a small apartment, while this one seemed to have the whole house all for themselves.

Moving her attention to one of the windows, Twilight noticed a filly. The mare waved, but the filly didn’t seem to notice. Shrugging, Twilight approached the front door and knocked.

It opened almost immediately. A large, red-coated stallion was standing there, silently glaring at Twilight. She gulped, being slightly nervous from such an unfriendly welcome, but there was no point in backing out now.

“Sorry for disturbing you, eh… sir, but I was told I could buy some apples here?”

The stallion gave her a nod and walked right past her outside, making a gesture to follow him. Twilight did so reluctantly, slightly put off by the pony’s unwelcome attitude. Making their way to the back of the house, the stallion stopped and turned around to face her.

“How many do you need?” he asked in a low, heavy voice.

“Enough to fill half of my saddlebag,” Twilight said, giving it a calculating glance. It wasn’t really suited for travel. “Speaking of which, do you happen to have a larger saddlebag? I would buy it as well.”

The pony thought for a second before nodding.

“I also need some traveling horseshoes,” Twilight smiled nervously.

“You got it!”

Having said that, the farmer gestured her to wait and opened a hatch to the basement at the side of the house. A few minutes later he got out, carrying a small basket of apples. He put them on the ground in front of her and left again, this time going into the back of his house. It took the farmer a bit longer to return this time, but soon he appeared with a saddlebag and some horseshoes, laying them on the ground as well.

“That’ll be five bits.”

Twilight paid the sum without trying to bargain.

The new saddlebag was indeed bigger than her old one, so she quickly moved her stuff to it. Taking a few steps back and forth, Twilight made sure it was comfortable to wear. After adjusting some straps, it turned out to be even more comfortable than her old one.

“Those were for my sister,” the stallion suddenly said, pointing at the horseshoes. “I never got a chance to give it to her.”

Twilight looked at the pony in surprise.

“Why not?”

He sighed heavily. “She’s gone.”

“Oh,” Twilight drooped her ears. “My condolences.”

“She’s alive,” the stallion corrected her. “She left, right this morning.”

Twilight was curious about what he had meant by that, but she kept her mouth shut. The farmer was obviously in a bad mood because of his sister leaving. At least she had been lucky enough to get everything she needed in one place without having to scout an entire village.

Having thanked the farmer, Twilight trotted away, making a new sound with her new horseshoes, which were securely strapped to her hooves. It would take some time for her to get used the sound, but it was much easier walking on the road’s hard surface with them.

When she had gotten far away from the farm, Twilight realized something — she had never bothered to learn the farmer’s name.

The horseshoes had been serving her well.

Twilight had covered a good distance already, two hours after leaving the village behind. The mare had quickly passed through a few of the smaller villages without even stopping for rest. The faster she got to Canterlot, the sooner she could begin her artifact hunt.

But even her resolve couldn’t keep her going at such a pace forever. The unicorn’s legs simply weren’t used to prolonged journeys. Even though the horseshoes were protecting her hooves, Twilight felt a growing ache in her muscles. She didn’t have to experience such difficulties on her way from Canterlot to Birminghoof — the king had sent a pegasus carriage for her that had made the whole journey in less than a day.

I need to hire a carriage as soon as possible, Twilight decided.

Of course, the mare had to settle for something ground-based this time, since finding a pegasus in a farm village was just as likely as finding flying pigs.

After five more hours of constant trotting, Twilight finally slowed down to a walk and eventually stopped altogether. She lowered herself on the grass at the side of the road, levitating a heavy saddlebag off her back, while exhaling heavily.

Getting her map out, Twilight examined it closely.

According to it, the nearest relatively big town was half a day’s walk away — Waterhoof. In there, Twilight should have the best chance of finding a carriage that would take her to Canterlot. If she really stretched herself, she could get to the town by nightfall.

Putting the map away, Twilight dove her muzzle into her saddlebag, grabbing an apple. It turned out to be surprisingly good, so she devoured three of them in quick succession, shutting her eyes in bliss as she enjoyed their sweetness.

The mare rested for an hour before resuming her journey once again.

Half a day later, Twilight’s legs were sore, but she had managed to stay on schedule. The sun was setting when she saw the lights over the town’s gate ahead of her. As she got closer, however, Twilight noticed a problem — the gate was closed. She growled in frustration.

Some cities closed their gates at night, but Twilight had never experienced it before. If only she had remembered it earlier, then she wouldn’t have to stretch herself so much. She could have stopped at some inn a long time ago!

Snorting angrily, Twilight looked around for a place to spend the night. She saw a good spot under a tree — a small clearing away from the road. Twilight walked there and dropped her saddlebag on the ground. Levitating a small towel, she threw it on the cold grass.

It would have to do.

Twilight sighed, thinking of some good meal she could have been enjoying right now. At least she had some apples… Twilight had half a mind to just bang at the gates until somepony opened, but considering her situation, it wouldn’t have been a good idea to draw attention to herself, even with her disguise.

After finishing off another batch of apples — her supply of them was dwindling rapidly — Twilight laid her head down. Sleep, however, was eluding her. Unwelcome thoughts and memories flooded her head when she had nothing else to distract her.

Twilight’s thoughts wandered to the assassin who had poisoned the king. She recalled the pony in detail. Black coat, black mane — those weren’t natural colors. It wasn’t just the usual black: it was a coal-black, the darkest kind of black. Most likely the criminal had used some kind of a spell or potion to change it, just like Twilight had done earlier.

She remembered how easily the pony had leaped through the window, even though they had no wings.

The assassin is a powerful unicorn, Twilight concluded. Too bad I wasn’t able catch them.

Eventually her thoughts became more and more derailed, until her mind finally slipped into a slumber.

Twilight was awoken by the sound of hoofsteps nearby. Cracking her eyes open, she saw two soldiers approaching. A surge of panic overwhelmed her — she’d been discovered!

Scrambling to get on her hooves, Twilight charged her horn to strike at the soldiers. She managed to stop herself at the last second before she did something drastic, as her half-awake mind finally grasped the situation.

They’re not even armed, she scolded herself, releasing her unused magic.

The soldiers stopped a few feets away from Twilight, looking at the mare with half-grins.

“Did you sleep here all night?” one of the soldiers asked.

Twilight nodded, shaking a little from the adrenaline.

“You could have just knocked, you know,” the other one added and then winked. “We wouldn’t have left such a cute mare outside.”

Twilight’s cheeks flared red as she stepped from one hoof to another. The soldiers barked a laugh.

“Anyway, the gates are open now,” the first soldier told her, calming down. “You can enter this dump somepony called Waterhoof.”

Twilight thanked the pony.

The mare watched both of the soldiers make their way back to the gates, taking positions at its sides. They’d likely just wanted to check on a mare they had seen under a tree when Twilight had almost attacked them. The unicorn frowned.

Twilight didn’t really know any attack spells. What if the soldiers had really been planning to capture her? Would she have been able to resist?

I need to learn some battle magic pronto, Twilight decided. The library in Canterlot would surely have books on the topic.

Putting the towel she was sleeping on back into her saddlebag, Twilight brushed her coat off of grass and leaves. Her stomach growled, but the mare ignored its demands. She didn’t want to waste the few apples she had left, when she could get some snack in that town. Levitating her saddlebag onto her back, the unicorn moved out.

Twilight went past the guards, exchanging a nod with them, and finally entered the town. She didn’t get far, however. After making a few steps down the street, the mare thought of something and doubled back. The guards looked at her curiously when she appeared in front of them once again.

“Excuse me, gentlecolts, can I ask you something?” the guards nodded, so she continued, “I’m looking to hire a carriage to Canterlot. Do you know where I could do that?”

The guards both chuckled. “Gentlecolts…” one of them mulled over the word. “Nopony has called us that before, that’s for sure… Anyway, I don’t think you can hire a carriage here.”

“Nope,” the other one confirmed.

Twilight drooped her ears. That was disappointing. “Okay, thank you.”

She was about to leave, when the guard gestured to her.

“However, there’s a market in the town’s center — go straight ahead and you’ll find it. Some farmers come from afar to sell their stuff. Try asking them. I doubt anypony would get you to Canterlot, but for some bits they would probably give you a ride to their village. That’s better than nothing, right?”

“Thank you!” Twilight said, her ears perking up.

Following the guard’s advice, Twilight went straight ahead from the gate. With the bits she had, she was certain to find some ponies ready to take her much further than just their village.

It was quite early in the morning, judging by the sun’s position, so Twilight wasn’t surprised to see the streets deserted. What surprised her was condition the streets were in. The guard was right — it was a pure dump.

Twilight even had to watch her step to avoid stumbling into some pothole. Most of the houses the unicorn saw desperately needed repairs. However, as she got closer to the center of the small town, the situation improved a bit. The ponies who lived there could afford to keep their dwelling in a decent condition, unlike the ones who lived at the edges.

Soon, Twilight had reached the marketplace. It was empty save for a lone pony sweeping the paved square with his broom. Throwing a quick glance around the place, Twilight looked for some inn and sure enough found one in the corner, facing the market square.

Trotting up to the establishment, Twilight entered it. Once inside, she found it not much different from the one she had spent the previous night in. Similar-looking hall, same old furniture… The main difference was its popularity. Half the tables were taken up by ponies chatting with each other loudly. Most or even all of them were earth ponies, as Twilight had noticed.

They must be the farmers I need, the mare thought, excited.

Forgetting all about her planned meal, Twilight chose her first target. She approached a table in front of her that was occupied by two earth stallions. They threw her an annoyed glance upon having their conversation interrupted. She smiled nervously.

“Hello, ponies,” Twilight said. “I’m looking for a ride to get me to Canterlot, fast. I’ll pay.”

The ponies exchanged a look and then laughed out loud. Twilight drooped her ears, her smile disappearing.

“Don’t you want any bits?” she asked, frowning.

“And who’s going to watch our tomatoes, filly? You?”

“Tomatoes?” Twilight repeated.

“Tomatoes,” the pony nodded. “That’s what we come here to sell, you know.”

Twilight did not despair at the first rejection. However, when she attempted the same strategy with a couple more farmers, she got the same result — nopony wanted to give her a ride to Canterlot. By now, everypony knew what Twilight wanted and simply shook their head as soon as she came near.

She had little hope when she approached a table with a lone, gray stallion, but before she had even opened her mouth, the pony there grinned.

“I’ll get you to Canterlot in a blink, filly,” he said. “If you pay me a hundred bits, that is.”

The ponies around her shuffled, observing the situation with interest. Such a sum was quite a lot by their standards. Twilight’s own family could live off that money for an entire month. Despite the mare’s purse having thousands of bits from Blueblood, she was reluctant to agree.

Did she really need to hire anypony at all? It would be difficult, but she would be able to reach the city on her own. Perhaps it would take her a bit longer, but what were a day or two in the great scheme of things? On the other hoof, Blueblood had urged her to hurry. He wasn’t sure that Everlight wouldn’t try to get rid of him eventually. And since those were his bits anyway…

“Fine,” Twilight groaned. “I’ll pay you that much. But we should move out in an hour.”

The stallion stared at her dumbfounded. He blinked a few times, shaking his head.

“Whoa, filly, would you really pay me that? I was just messing with you.”

“Oh,” Twilight sighed in disappointment. “So you won’t get me to Canterlot?”

“Well, of course I will!” the stallion jumped on his hooves.

The other ponies glared at him with jealousy in their eyes. Nopony had really expected the unicorn to have that much money, otherwise most of the farmers would have dumped their tomatoes — or whatever else they were selling — to take her wherever she asked. They weren’t going to make even half of that sum with an entire cart full of tomatoes.

“Finally,” Twilight smiled at the pony’s enthusiasm, oblivious to the others staring in their direction. “What’s your name, by the way?”

“The name’s Spinach!”

After a healthy breakfast, Twilight and the farmer went to the inn’s backyard. A whole lot of carts full of tomatoes, potatoes and other greeneries were parked in there. Spinach approached one of them and quickly harnessed himself to it. Grunting, he pulled the cart to the middle of the yard.

“Jump on, Dawn Glister!” Spinach said, calling her by the fake name she had recently come up with.

Twilight snorted when she saw the cart’s load — it was full of actual spinach. Climbing up, she settled right on top of it. It was quite comfortable, almost like hay. When she was ready, she waved for Spinach to move.

While they were going through the town, their pace was pretty slow. But as soon as they got outside, Spinach sped up considerably. He was trotting at a steady pace, actually moving faster than Twilight would do on her own — and he was dragging the whole cart along! Those earth ponies were so strong.

Too bad some unicorns consider themselves to be superior, Twilight reflected, Everlight and Blueblood coming to her mind first.

The king wasn’t like that.

“So, are you noble or something?” Spinach interrupted her thoughts.

Twilight bit her lip as she carefully considered her answer. She didn’t want to seem suspicious. On the other hoof, a unicorn mare with a bunch of bits hiring a carriage in some backwater town was suspicious on its own. Nopony in their right mind would be wandering around alone carrying that much. Not to mention that those who had such money could usually afford to have a personal carriage.

“I’m a commoner,” Twilight finally answered. She might as well tell the truth.

“Oh, alright then.”

The pony walked in silence after that. Twilight didn’t know if he’d believed her words, but it didn’t really matter. Relaxing, she tried to simply enjoy the ride, glancing at the trees passing by.

An hour passed like that.

The silence was getting on her nerves, so she had started a conversation with Spinach. The farmer told her about his village and his wife awaiting him there. In turn, Twilight told him about her own family in Canterlot. Without sharing any details, she explained that she’d been working in Birminghoof and was now returning home.

“So what did you do to earn so many bits?” Spinach asked.

Twilight hesitated, trying to come up with something, when she caught a sound coming from behind. Her ear swiveled backwards — it was a rapid clopping of hooves.

Turning back, Twilight noticed two figures catching up to them. Spinach heard it too and slowed down, trying to see what was going on behind him, but the cart was blocking his vision.

“What’s going on?” he asked nervously.

“Two ponies are galloping toward us,” Twilight answered, squinting her eyes at the figures.

They were still hundreds of lengths away but were catching up quickly. Nopony traveled that way, since galloping was pretty exhausting over long distances. Considering that the road was empty otherwise, the pursuers were definitely coming for them, and likely with unfriendly intentions.

Spinach finally stopped, hastily unharnessing himself from the cart. Twilight jumped on the ground, standing beside the farmer. Together they stood there, waiting for the unwelcome visitors to get close. When they did, Twilight was surprised to recognize them — they were the first ponies she had approached at the inn.

“Howdy there,” one of them smiled, stopping just a few lengths away. His partner remained silent.

“Hey,” Spinach nodded.

“So, how is it going?” the smiling pony asked.

Twilight was tense. She didn’t like those ponies’ sudden appearance. Spinach seemed to share her feelings.

“Cut the crap, Barne,” Spinach frowned. “What do you want?”

The smile disappeared from Barne’s face. He reached behind his back, grabbing a club out his saddlebag. His partner followed his lead. Twilight ears went flat as both of them turned their attention to her.

“We’re here for her money,” the stallion explained calmly.

“Don’t be stupid, Barne,” Spinach said, flickering his tail. “You’ll be caught.”

“Not if we kill her. Nopony would even know.”

Having said that, the farmer took a step towards Twilight, swaying his club menacingly. Twilight recoiled, lighting up her horn, but Spinach stepped between the two.

“It’s not worth it, you moron,” he growled. “You’re not a killer.”

Barne furrowed his brows.

“We’ll split the money with you, don’t worry,” he said, pushing Spinach out of his way and coming straight at Twilight with his club high above his head.

Twilight reacted at once.

Grabbing the club in her magic, she wrestled it out of the earth pony’s grip. Barne followed it with his eyes as it flew up and then landed on his muzzle with a thump. It wasn’t enough to bring him down as Twilight had hoped. Roaring in rage, he jumped at Twilight, tackling her to the ground before she could use her magic again. He hit her head with his hooves, each hit ringing in Twilight’s head like a bell.

Squealing, the mare raised her forelegs to protect herself, taking a few painful punches on them as well. It was still better than getting her head hammered and it gave the unicorn a much needed moment for her to collect some magic.

Twilight’s horn flared brightly and discharged a torrent of raw magic at the assailant. The pony made a small arch in the air and hit the ground like a rock. Some of his ribs cracked and he groaned, scrambling back on his hooves.

Twilight got up first, rubbing her bleeding cheek. She glared at the second farmer, who was just standing at the side of the road, wide-eyed. Noticing Twilight’s stare, he dropped his club and took a step back.

“I didn’t do anything! Don’t hurt me, please!”

The unicorn blinked and shook her still ringing head. She twitched when somepony put a hoof on her withers, lighting up her horn again, but it was just Spinach. He retracted his hoof rapidly.

“Sorry,” he said. “Let’s leave these fools here and go.”

Twilight nodded without taking her eyes off the failed attackers. With his friend’s help, Barne was able to stand up. He scowled at Twilight but was in no condition to attack again. It suited Twilight just fine, as she wasn’t sure she would be able to handle it.

“I’ll allow you to keep your bits,” Barne waved his hoof.

Shoving his friend, he limped away without his help. His friend shrugged and followed him. Twilight and Spinach watched them leaving in silence.

When they had gotten far enough, Twilight dropped on her haunches.

“I really need to learn some fighting spells,” the unicorn said to Spinach.

“What you really need is some medical attention.”

“That too,” Twilight agreed, looking at her bloodied foreleg. She carefully touched her face and cringed in pain.

“Yeah… Your face looks really beat up. But we can probably find some healer in the next village. Jump on, it should be pretty close.”

The unicorn did as he had asked, putting a towel on the spinach first — she didn’t want to spill her blood all over it. As soon as Spinach had harnessed himself to the cart, they resumed their journey.

Twilight hoped that no more adventures awaited them.

Another chapter is done!
I hope you liked it. As usual, leave your comments below. Or not. That's for you to decide. I would like to hear some opinions though.

As always, thanks Purple Smart2 for his great editing work.