Sunset gritted her teeth and stepped inside I Sell Mostly Sand-Free Books! Even as she passed the threshold, the sense of alien magic intensified. It wasn’t as bad as it had been when she’d first opened the door, but it was definitely there.

Sunset shivered and tried to ignore the sensation that something was wrong.

However, she did pay attention to the feeling that somepony was watching them.

The shop was dark, with shelves looming in the shadows and strange objects hanging from above, a ceiling that looked far too tall. The outside of the building was barely two stories high, but the ceiling had to be at least a hundred feet above their heads. Amidst globes, machines and other things Sunset couldn’t identify, hung what looked like a scale model of a bronze-scaled drake. If Sunset had to guess, the model was of a drake maybe thirty or forty years old. She wasn't very good with dragon ages. Most ponies weren’t.

Well, anypony save Celestia, but she didn't count.

"Hello?” Sunset called into the gloom. “Is anypony here?”

A noise came from deeper into the shop. Sunset swallowed and ignited her horn, but the light seemed to only stretch a foot or two before being swallowed by the darkness. She put more power into it, but the effect was the same.

“Ugh,” Sunset groaned, impatience quickly eclipsing fear. “Can we skip the whole creepy bookstore schtick? It’s been a long day.”

Nopony answered, so Sunset took that as a resounding no. She swore under her breath. If something was going to jump them, she’d rather they just do it and be done with it. After the day—or whatever—she’d had, she would dearly love to scorch something with sunfire.

“Sunset, look at this,” Twilight said from behind her. Like her, Twilight’s horn was alight with a small illumination spell, though her range didn’t seem any better than Sunset’s. She was standing in front of a display case, peering down through the glass at… something.

Sunset trotted over and investigated the display case. Within the case lay a strange collection of objects, all of which seemed oddly familiar. The first was a small ancient and battered-looking ornamental shield with six gems set into the rim. The second looked like… a mundane bar mug? The third was an exotic-looking leaf that Sunset couldn’t identify—she’d never been great at herbology. The fourth was a black griffon feather. The fifth was a small spherical ruby, encased in some sort of tarnished and half-broken mechanical globe.

Finally, the sixth object was a familiar-looking pristine book with a stylized unicorn on the cover.

Why do I feel like I know these objects? Sunset wondered. And why does Desert Winds have a new copy of Legends of Equestria? That hasn’t been printed in years.

Her questions were shoved aside as something moved within the shop.

Sunset froze. So did Twilight. Both of them looked around. They turned just in time to see the door close on its own. The instant the door shut, their illumination spells were snuffed out, leaving them lost in darkness and shadow.

Twilight let out a terrified squeak.

“Sunset…” she whispered.

“It’s okay,” Sunset said, wishing her voice wasn’t shaking. “We’re going to be okay.”

Something creaked. It wasn’t a pleasant creak. It was the creak of chains. And it was coming from…

Sunset’s head swiveled as she tried to see anything in the gloom. An odd yellow light began to permeate the room. It didn’t have an identifiable source, but it did allow them to see the shape of shadows in the darkness instead of total blackness.

And then the shadows vanished. There was a pulse of magic, as if somepony had clapped their hooves together. Instantly, candles ignited throughout the shop, casting strange outlines across the bookshelves and display cases. Sunset staggered backward from the sudden illumination and bumped into Twilight, who let out another terrified squeak.

A million things glittered in that strange light… but Sunset was more concerned with that sound…

Another creak. Louder this time. Movement. It sounded… living. It sounded like…

Scales.

Sunset swallowed hard. She glanced at Twilight. Twilight was white as a sheet but even her eyes were slowly moving upward.

Their gazes slid toward the ceiling.

There, hanging above them, hung a giant scaled face with glowing blue eyes that seemed to burn around vivid black slits. Beyond the curious look in those too-intelligent eyes… Sunset registered the rest of the snout.

Then she stopped and blinked a few times.

Wait, what?

The drake had its head cocked to the side like a curious chicken. It was also grinning. And despite the giant teeth, it wasn’t a grin of a predator. It was the grin…

The grin reminded her…

Harmony save me, the only thing I can think of is that it’s grinning at me like Minuette.

“Hello, Little Lost Ponies!” the drake chirped. It was an actual chirp too. The voice sounded about a hundred octaves too high to be coming from an enormous hulk of muscle, teeth and scales. “Yes, yes. Desert has been waiting for Little Lost Ponies!”

“Um…” Sunset tried to engage her brain, but it had hidden somewhere and left a note saying it had no desire to come out anytime in the near future. “Hi?”

The dragon grinned.

Now, Sunset had seen the occasional dragon. Never had one’s grin ever put her at ease. This one did, and for the life of her, Sunset couldn’t imagine why. Perhaps she’d finally gone mad from stress. It seemed the most reasonable explanation.

Twilight just stared.

“Why Little Lost Ponies afraid?” The drake cocked its head in the other direction. Sunset almost burst out laughing at the sheer absurdity of the movement. However, her eyes almost bugged out of her head when she realized the drake wore a turban. A bright turquoise turban.

How is that turban even on its head? And… how is it staying up there without flapping its wings?

Sunset craned her neck. The drake seemed to be hanging from some sort of harness attached to the ceiling with a complicated series of pulleys, ropes and chains. The harness wrapped around… the drake’s… suit?

Sunset rubbed her eyes, but there was no doubting it. The drake wore what could only be described as a suit. A horrific mint green and mustard yellow suit. A plaid mint green and mustard yellow suit. Complete with bright, shining topaz buttons all the way down its belly. Each gem glinted in the candlelight.

“Little Lost Ponies?” The drake’s smile faded just a bit. “What is wrong with Little Lost Ponies?”

“Um…” Twilight squeaked.

Come on. Just a dragon. Okay, yeah, it could eat us with like two bites. But really, drakes are just dragons after their teenage years. They’re supposed to be mellowed out… before they become the crafty behemoths later in life…

Despite herself, Sunset whimpered.

Get it together, Sunset! she shouted in the privacy of her own head. You are the personal student of Princess Celestia. She’s trained you in diplomatic negotiations with every race known to Equestria! That includes dragons! Now stop acting like a filly and act like the mare you are!

“Hello,” Sunset said. Her voice cracked like a schoolfilly’s. “My… my name is Sunset Shimmer and this is my friend, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Don’t fret! Desert knows that!” the drake crooned with a tiny little giggle. “Silly Little Lost Ponies. Lost, but not lost. Lost but found, in fact! Wonderful that you came to see Desert. Desert will be of much help to Little Lost Ponies!”

Okay, he’s… seems friendly enough. Just… just roll with it.

Yes, please, whispered the voice in the back of her head. I don’t want to be eaten today.

On this, the two of them were in perfect agreement.

“I hope so.” Sunset nodded slowly. “Desert actually who we’re looking for. Desert Winds? Do you… ah… do you know him?”

“Yes, yes. Desert Winds is well known far and wide. This land, many lands. Across portal and leyline, dimension and plane. Many names, of course. Name must always change. True Name, remain, but that never shared. But Known Name? Yes, yes! It must change! Fit the creatures! But! But! Hat must remain same. Hat very important to image! Desert Winds told griffon girl the other day how important Hat is to image. Griffon girl snorted. Griffon girl always snorts. Desert Winds doesn’t mind. Desert Winds still loves griffon girl in that special way. Not that special way. Other special way. But still special. Always special.”

Sunset opened her mouth, only to find that her brain had come back long enough to declare the drake’s speech to be impossible to decipher. So, she took a shot in the dark.

“You said you know Desert Winds.” Sunset spoke very slowly. “Could you point him out to us? It’s pretty important that we meet with him.”

“Of course important! Nopony comes to shop unless important! Often they don’t know it’s important. Often they think it a little thing. Desert Winds doesn’t mind. Desert Winds knows those who come in.” The drake beamed at them with a level of cheer that seemed impossible for its draconic features to express. “Things come into Desert Winds’ shop? Those things never the same again. Always better! The things don’t always agree. But they do at the end of day. Or week. Or month or year. A few times decade, but special cases. Don’t worry about decades. All were very grouchy creatures. One was very red. Creature now happy with purple!”

An intense headache began to form right between Sunset’s eyes. Twilight still shook beside her, though it was now really more of a tremble with the occasional twitch.

“Look,” Sunset said, forcing her voice to stay even. “We have both had a very long day. And I don’t think it’s going to get any shorter. We came here looking for Desert Winds. Do you know where he is? Just… just answer yes or no!”

“Silly, silly little lost ponies. Of course Desert Winds knows where Desert Winds is.”

The headache spiked. “Then would you please tell us where—”

Twilight gently tapped her on the shoulder. Sunset shot her a look, then Twilight pointed up at the grinning drake. It had shifted in its harness and now beamed at them upside down.

When had it done that?

“Huh?”

“Um…” Twilight whispered, though Sunset didn’t know why since it was obvious the drake could hear them. “I think that’s Desert Winds.”

Sunset’s eyes shot back up to the insane dragon. “I’m pretty sure Pathseeker would have noticed if Desert Winds was a dragon.”

“Dragon?” the drake asked, sounding rather confused. “There is a dragon in here? One with scales and wings and teeth and more? Where do Lost Little Ponies see dragon?”

Sunset stared at the drake. There… there were no words to answer that question. No words in all of Equestria—or well, Saddle Arabia. For a long time, the drake stared at the two ponies. It seemed perfectly content to wait there for an eternity before it decided it needed to scratch its snout.

After doing so, it blinked and its gaze shifted to a talon about the size of Sunset’s foreleg. Then it looked down, twisting in a way that no creature with a spine could possibly do.

And at that moment, Sunset remembered something. Something…

Something from that book! The one Celestia gave me the day I met Twilight!

Sunset’s eyes fell upon the book in the display case. It was still right in front of them. The brown volume sat there quietly with its stylized unicorn head embossed and two large straps along the spine, all in gold. All new… pristine… perfect…

Sunset remembered her words to Celestia that day.

“But there’s all sorts of things in this collection! Everything on stories of the gray ponies from Discord’s reign to the legend of the Children of the Night.”

Sunset took a step back from the twisting drake. Twilight’s eyes fell on her. She could feel the fear radiating off the other unicorn.

It can’t be. He was defeated over a thousand years ago. Celestia and her long-lost sister took care of him! With… with…

Sunset cursed under her breath. She couldn’t remember what Celestia and her sister had used. But at the moment… it didn’t matter.

Suddenly, the drake collapsed into a manic giggling fit. Its legs and wings flailed about in its harness as tears of mirth fell from its eyes. The entire harness seemed seconds away from collapse from the sounds it made, but it never actually broke.

“Get ready to run, Twilight,” Sunset hissed.

“Sunset… what’s wrong?”

“Hopefully me,” Sunset said, hating the way her voice shook. “I really, really hope I’m the one who’s wrong.”

“Sunset… you’re scaring me.”

“Good,” Sunset said as she took another few steps backward toward the door and away from the laughing drake. “Now might be a very good time to be afraid.”

“Sunset—”

“Little Lost Ponies can’t leave yet!” the drake cried as its attention snapped back upon them. Both mares jumped backward and smacked against a bookshelf. They didn’t even turn when it fell over with a resounding crash. “Mission not accomplished! Very important mission! Vital mission!”

“And… what’s that mission?” Sunset asked carefully with another glance at the door.

“Why… to give present to pretty pony princess, of course! Book! Nice book. Not fun book. Not magic book. But nice. Nice is good! Boring, but good. But the fun books won’t work on pretty pony princess. Pretty pony princess doesn’t like the fun books. Remind her of old enemy. Or… old friend? Desert Winds doesn’t remember. Too long outside the plane. Memory gets jumbled. Little Lost Ponies know all about that! Memory jumble, tumble, rumble, bumble.”

The drake giggled again… then suddenly frowned.

“Oh. Oh, no. Sorry! Little Post Ponies forget that part. The jumble, tumble, rumble, bumble memory hasn’t happened yet. Well, tumbled has. Not jumble, rumble or bumble. Not yet. Requires two for that!”

If he is who I think he is… we’re already totally and completely screwed. So’s the rest of the planet, come to think of it. And this far away… no way to get a message to Celestia in enough time to bring help.

Sunset swallowed hard.

Well… time to play the hero, I guess. Not exactly how I wanted to go out, but maybe I can distract him long enough for Twilight to escape.

It was a foolish thought, but it was the only one she had.

“Who are you?” Sunset bellowed. “Who are you really?”

The drake froze, cocked its head again and smiled. “Desert Winds, Little Sun Pony.”

Sunset stiffened. “Don’t call me ‘Little Sun.’”

“You… you’re really Desert Winds?” Twilight asked, her voice trembling with every word. “Really?”

“Yes, yes. Of course! Desert Winds is Desert Winds. Unless Desert Winds is not here. Then Desert Winds is not. But Desert Winds is here, so Desert Winds is Desert Winds.”

“So… why didn’t Pathseeker mention you were a dragon?”

“Because Desert Winds is silly sometimes, of course!” ‘Desert Winds’ proclaimed. “Desert Winds testing product with griffon girl out on errand. Desert Winds forgot to adjust the alchemical balance of dragon scale to alkaline water! Not much sleep. Too much coffee! Good coffee here. Always good coffee. Easy to have too much. But that’s okay. Desert Winds will become even more Desert Winds before any further questions!”

“What do—” Twilight began.

The drake exploded.

He exploded into a giant ball of purple smoke, sending a shockwave across the entire store. Sunset and Twilight got knocked off their hooves as the smoke poured in around them, making the shop vanish in the murky air.

“Sunset!” Twilight screamed.

“Don’t panic!” Sunset called, flailing out and trying to find Twilight and get them out of this insane shop. “Just stay—”

And then, in a great rush—a rush that reminded Sunset disturbingly of some of her more vivid nightmares—the smoke retreated.

In mere seconds, the insane shop had returned to its previous state—sans dragon. Not a single display item had even so much as budged. Even the fallen shelf had been fixed.

“Come, Little Lost Ponies!” cried the same insane voice from deeper into the store. “Come and see what Desert Winds has for Little Lost Ponies! Little Lost Ponies will love it! Desert Winds does!”

Sunset looked at Twilight.

Twilight looked at Sunset.

“Run?” Twilight suggested as she used her magic to fix her skewed glasses. Sunset noticed an odd golden sheen to Twilight’s normally raspberry magic.

Sunset took a deep breath and tried to approach the situation rationally. Considering what she had just seen, the possibility of this ‘Desert Winds’ being… that creature wasn’t negligible. And while she knew Celestia wasn’t infallible, Sunset was confident that if someone like him had escaped, the Princess of the Sun would know about it and would be acting to counter him. After all, this time, she had the might of all of Equestria behind her and not simply her long-lost sister by her side.

Plus, she’d probably let her personal student know that the living avatar of chaos had escaped his prison.

But… all the stories she had ever read about that creature had been ones about what horrible things it had done to ponies. The misery and pain he’d inflicted.

If this was that fabled villain—she couldn’t bring herself to even think of his name—she could see no strategic value in playing the role of a used bookstore owner. It didn’t fit with his previous tactics. Granted, trying to ascribe tactics to a creature of pure chaos was likely an exercise in futility, but she had to work with what she had.

“No.” Sunset shook her hand and stood, then helped Twilight to her hooves. “No. I… I don’t know what this pony… dragon… thing is… but…” She swallowed. “I don’t think he intends to hurt us.”

“You know who he reminds me of, right?” Twilight whispered.

“Little Lost Ponies?” cried the voice of Desert Winds. “Are Little Lost Ponies coming? Have Little Lost Ponies gotten lost? Desert Winds is quite positive Desert Winds’s shop is occupying the right plane this time! No way to slip into other worlds! Though accidents happen! Time, space, all silly things. Fun things, but silly. Little Lost Ponies?”

“Yes,” Sunset replied. “I know exactly who he reminds you of. Because he reminds me of the stories, too. But… do you think Pathseeker would have really sent us here?”

“Considering… um… his legendary power,” Twilight pointed out, chewing on her lower lip. “That could have been part of the illusion. This could all be one enormous act! Think about it… if he managed to get control of Celestia’s two students! What could he do to us? What could he do to Equestria? He could start an international—”

“Dammit, Twi. Enough with the international incidents!” Sunset groaned. “You need to—”

“Relax?”

“Okay, maybe not relax,” Sunset admitted, but her temper was running short. “Maybe… just chill!”

“Chill.” Twilight’s voice went flat. “You want me to chill. While we’re in Jeddahoof. While we’re in the shop of possibly one of the most dangerous creatures Equestria had ever known?”

“And how is panicking going to help?” Sunset demanded, ignoring her own panic.

Twilight peered over her glasses and glared at her. “Yeah, since it’s so very easy to—”

“Little Lost Ponies?” Desert Winds’s voice hadn’t changed one bit from the slightly—depending on one’s point of view—insane tone he’d had since he’d first started talking to them… as a dragon. “Where are Little Lost Ponies? Does Desert Winds need to come and find Little Lost Ponies?”

“No!” Sunset called immediately. “We’re coming!”

“Do we have to?” Twilight whimpered.

“Do you want to get home before the end of the week? To Canterlot. Our families? Our friends? Hearth’s Warming?”

Twilight ground her teeth. “Fine.”

With that, Sunset finally started walking toward the sound of the voice. However, the moment she turned the corner, she found herself facing the register. Which was odd since the register appeared to be against the far wall and that had been lost in the gloom a few seconds ago.

Twilight stopped, glanced behind them, muttered something Sunset couldn’t make out, and stomped toward the… eccentric stallion.

Actually, calling this pony eccentric is an insult to eccentric ponies everywhere.

The first thing Sunset really registered was the outfit he wore would likely have caused poor Coco to either go mad with rage or faint dead away. It had looked hideous on him as a dragon. It looked just as bad on him as a stallion.

He still wore the blinding turquoise turban, with a plaid mint green jacket with a mustard yellow shirt beneath. While the horrific outfit hid his cutie mark, there were two new additions to the garish ensemble. The first was a set of pinstripe maroon socks that went up to his shoulders. The second was a small metallic pendant hung from a narrow bit of bright red twine. Strange geometric patterns swirled around a single small diamond that glittered in the candlelight.

“There are the Little Lost Ponies!” The stallion beamed at the two of them. “Now, what do the Little Lost Ponies seek? What does Little Sun seek? And what does the Mistress of Three Books seek? Always seeking. Ponies always seeking. Almost as bad as hippogriffs!”

“I told you not to call me ‘Little Sun’,” Sunset growled as she marched up to the stallion, her fear disappearing in a flash of anger.

“‘Mistress of Three Books’?” Twilight repeated. “Um… no offense, sir, but I’ve dealt with far more books than just three.”

“Of course, of course!” Desert Winds crowed, her voice so loud it pinned Sunset’s ears to her head. “But there are books and then there are Books.” Desert Winds’s eyebrows danced. “There are far more important books than ones made of paper, of course, of course! Those are what Mistress of Three Books is Mistress of! The right books, the right times, the right places. Darkness and light. Despair and hope. Books, Books, Books!”

“Do you listen to yourself when you talk?” Sunset demanded. Any sort of handle she had on her temper quickly dissolved under the stallion’s verbal onslaught. “You have to realize that you’re talking total gibberish!”

“It is not the fault of Desert Winds if the customers of Desert Winds cannot understand the Truth of Things!” Desert Winds grinned at Sunset, his teeth sparkling in the candlelight. “Large contract laid out in tiny writing around door! Took many tries to get right! To enter is to accept this!” Desert Winds’s smile vanished and he looked at Sunset balefully. “Do not waste Desert Winds’s time by attempting to wield the hammer of laws against Desert Winds. Being sued is very dull. Desert Winds doesn’t like all the endless lawyer-speak. Bad for the humors, lawyers are!”

Sunset’s headache spiked again and she rubbed at her temples.

“We’re… we’re just trying to find a way home!” Twilight blurted out. “Pathseeker said you might have an idea on how we could… do that? A way that wouldn’t take us weeks?”

“Thank you,” Sunset muttered. At least Twilight seemed to be able to talk to this insane pony. Right now, it could go either way if this creature was the living avatar of chaos or just some crazed colorblind merchant.

“A way home?” Desert Winds blinked a few times. “Of course! Little Lost Ponies need to become unlost before giving present to pretty pony princess! Desert Winds forgot Desert Winds’s paperwork for the day. Silly, silly Desert Winds. Sometimes gets distracted by the Truth of Things. Do not worry! Paperwork will show!”

Sunset started filtering the stallion’s words, mentally rejecting everything she could. To do otherwise would invite a brain injury of some type.

“That… doesn’t answer the question, sir. We’re trying to find a way home to Canterlot… maybe even…” Twilight winced. “Even by leyline. Do you have something that can do that?”

“No, of course not!” Desert Winds sat on his haunches and clapped his hooves together. “Silly Little Lost Ponies.”

“Oh come on!” Sunset shouted, finally throwing herself forward and pounding a hoof on the glass display in front of the stallion. “You’ve got to be kidding me! Do not tell me that I just had to deal with your insane ramblings for all this time when can’t help us!”

“Sunset, please don’t do that again…” Twilight whispered.

“Do what?” Sunset glanced at her, only to see Twilight backing away a little, her face white.

Twilight pointed at the display beneath Sunset’s hooves. Twilight trembled.

Sunset swallowed.

I’m probably banging my hooves against some sort of alchemical experiment that could turn us all into newts. I hate today. So much.

Her eyes drifted down to look between her two hooves… and then finally landed a series of old-looking books with title she couldn’t quite make out through the dust. However, she could make out the covers. On one, she saw some sort of alicorn surrounded by stars, a tattooed white deer featured prominently on another, a third had two ponies lying in bed looking sad and the fourth featured a phoenix above some rocky ground.

“I don’t get it,” Sunset said. She slid hooves back on the ground.

“Look at the sign!” Twilight hissed.

Sunset cocked her head until she saw a small placard labeled ‘FIRST EDITIONS!’ She turned, pierced Twilight with a stare and replied, “Really?”

“You don’t mess with first editions!”

It was by sheer force of will that Sunset didn’t slam her face into the display cabinet.

“So, um…” Twilight began—apparently satisfied Sunset didn’t intend to damage the oh-so-precious first editions. “Why would Pathseeker have sent us here if you don’t have any way to help us?”

“Desert Winds doesn’t have one now. Desert Winds will have one so—”

Somewhere behind them, a door slammed open, letting in the sunlight and a gust of wind. A few seconds later, somepony gasped and the door slammed closed again.

“Seal it, Winds!” shouted a surprisingly soft voice. “His goons are right on my tail!”

“Silly Pithy Pony,” Desert Winds clucked, shaking his head. Then, he bellowed in a voice that should have come from a dragon, “Only invited guests can enter the stupendous shopping station of Desert Winds! Like the Little Lost Ponies!”

“Harmony, Winds!” called the same voice. “Did you just say other ponies are here right now?”

“That’s what Desert Winds said, Silly Pithy Pony!”

“For the love of Celestia…” the mare swore.

“Would somepony please let me know what in the name of Harmony is going on here?” Sunset shouted.

“That’s not…” The voice came closer, though Sunset could hear the shift of cloth and other things she couldn’t make out. “You’re sure about that door, Winds?”

“Silly Pithy Pony!” Desert Winds rolled his eyes and blew a raspberry. “This many years and Silly Pithy Pony still doubts Desert Winds’s doors?”

“It pays to be careful.”

Sunset and Twilight both turned to see a mare step out from behind a bookshelf. She wore a large gray hat with an off-white bow, an enormous pair of red glasses and a dark purple cloak that must have been murder in the hot Jeddahoof sun. Sunset couldn’t really get a good look at the rest of her in the strange shadows of the shop.

The mare froze for a moment at the sight of Sunset and Twilight. She blinked a few times before focusing on Sunset. It looked like she was going to ask a question, but apparently thought better of it and shrugged.

“Sorry to barge in on your… ahem… ‘customers,’ Winds,” the newcomer said. “I’ll make this quick and head out the… back.”

“Silly Pithy Pony always wants to use that door.” Desert Winds let out a long-suffering sigh. “Does not help Desert Winds’s image so ponies are seen to be coming in but not out!”

“Give it a rest, Winds,” the mare snapped. “Keep your mysterious shopkeeper routine for the paying customers. Let’s just get this trade done with and I’ll be out of your mane.”

“Ah, Silly Pithy Pony. Once upon a time, Silly Pithy Pony had time for the vision of things! To play with the Truth of Things!”

“Yeah, tell that to my publisher,” the mare muttered.

“Oh. My. Goodness.” Twilight squeaked.

The newcomer winced, but it didn’t stop her from stepping up to the counter, pulling something out from beneath her cloak and dropping it onto the display case. Sunset craned her neck to see it, but whatever it was wrapped in muddy brown paper held together by ratty twine.

“What’s wrong, Twi?”

“Sunset…” There were stars in Twilight’s eyes… again. “Sunset…”

Oh no. Not again. What is it this time?

“Sunset…” Twilight’s voice was barely above a whisper. “Do you have any idea who that is?”

“No, sorry?” Sunset eyed the cloaked pony. “I don’t exactly get to vacation in Jeddahoof very often these days, what with my schedule and all.”

The newcomer snorted something that could have been a laugh. “I like you, kid.”

Desert Winds trotted up and pulled out a large sack. In a blink of an eye, the package vanished… somewhere. The sack vanished just as quickly a moment later.

“That’s… that’s… A.K. Yearling!” Twilight squealed in a tiny, tiny voice. “I can’t believe it! A.K. Yearling! In Jeddahoof! In the very same shop as us! She’s right there! She’s actually right there! I’m such a huge fan!”

“Halfway around the world from Equestria and I still can’t escape the fanfillies. Or the goons, for that matter.” The mare facehoofed and let out a long-suffering sigh.

“Huh,” Sunset said. Thankfully, she could still speak without completely fangirling. Not to say she wasn’t a fan of the series, but she was too worn out to properly fangirl at this point. “Wasn’t expecting to find the author of Daring Do in the middle of Jeddahoof.”

“I get around, kid.” Yearling glanced over her shoulder at them. “Researching adventure stories is hard work.”

Desert Winds let out a snort.

“So, Lost Page was right, huh?” Sunset blinked. “Okay, I’m impressed—gak!”

Suddenly, A.K. Yearling was less than six inches away from Sunset’s muzzle. “Lost Page? What about her? Tell me she’s not here!”

“Uh… no?” Sunset said, taking a step back. “She’s back in Canterlot… back where we should be if we hadn’t got swept up in that stupid Linking Chamber floor of hers.”

“It wasn’t stupid!” Twilight protested with a stomp of her hoof.

Yearling’s jaw dropped open. “The Linking Chamber? The old RCA one? She got it working?”

Sunset’s head jerked to the side, indicating Twilight.

“How… How is that possible?” Yearling said, now staring in wonder at Twilight. “You managed to solve a riddle I worked at a good three months!”

“I’m sorry!” Twilight squealed, her eyes wide. “I didn’t mean to! It was an accident and I’m sorry, please forgive me Miss Yearling, because… you’re like… my second favorite author of all time…”

A.K. Yearling jerked back, shock shifting into a genuine smile. “Second-favorite author?”

“Oh Harmony, I didn’t say that out loud, did I?” Twilight looked ready to keel over. “Please tell me I didn’t say that out loud.”

Desert Winds chortled. “Truth of Things is always so wonderful for all involved!”

“Who’s the first?” Yearling demanded in a tone that brooked no argument.

Twilight quailed and backpedaled until she was against a bookshelf lined with black crystals. Sunset caught movement within a few of them.

However, Yearling didn’t advance on her. She just looked very interested in Twilight’s answer.

“What’s this all—” Sunset began.

“Shush!” Yearling snapped. “You’re not in Canterlot right now, Sunset Shimmer. I need to know this!”

Sunset knew better than to ask how A.K. Yearling knew her name.

“I’m… I’m sorry!” Twilight gibbered. “I meant to say you’re my favorite adventure author of all time, just… just…”

“Who?” Yearling shouted, though she didn’t look angry. In fact, she looked elated.

“Jade Singer!” Twilight squeaked.

Sunset’s eyes darted back and forth between them as the silence stretched out.

“I don’t believe it.” Yearling let out a delighted sigh and flopped to her haunches. “I just… don’t believe it. Like a drink from an oasis after three days in the middle of the Neighara Desert. You’ve got good taste, filly. Jade’s a good mare.”

“Um… thanks?” Twilight stopped cowering and now just looked confused.

“I’ll have to stop by and pay her a visit next time I’m in Canterlot,” Yearling mused.

“Wait, what was that all about?” Sunset protested. “Seriously, why’d you just interrogate her over who her favorite author is?”

“Why, feeling protective?” Yearling smirked at her.

“I get that way around my friends,” Sunset shot back.

Desert Winds snorted.

Sunset pierced him with a cold glare… that did absolutely nothing to erase his cocky smile. Instead, his eyes sparkled, and Sunset saw something in there. In a flash, Pathseeker’s words came back to Sunset.

“Desert Winds knows things, Miss Shimmer.”

Sunset swallowed and turned away quickly, before she saw something in the stallion’s eyes she didn’t want to see. Like the look Basil had given her.

She didn’t look at Twilight, either. Instead, she focused on Yearling. She raised an eyebrow, inviting the other mare to speak.

Finally, Yearling laughed. “It’s rare that I meet a ‘fan’ who can admit I’m not the greatest thing in the world, okay?” Yearling shrugged and stepped back over to the counter. “It’s… just a thing I have. Let’s not get into details right now, okay?”

“And Lost Page?” Sunset asked.

“I miss that crazy mare,” Yearling mumbled to herself. “One of the best partners I ever had.”

“Lost Page was your actual partner?” Twilight gasped.

“Focus, Twilight.”

“Sorry.” Twilight went crimson. “Sorry!”

“Huh.” Yearling considered the two of them before she nodded. “I can’t believe you two figured it out. Lost Page talked about that damn floor endlessly, about finding a way back into the leyline network, but I never thought she’d pull it off.” Yearling’s eyes snapped up to Twilight. “Just who are you anyway?”

“I’m… I’m… uh…” Twilight licked her lips. “I’m the Assistant Lead Archivist at the Royal Canterlot Archives. My… my name’s Twilight Sparkle.”

“You? Assistant Lead Archivist?” Yearling cocked her head. “Aren’t you like… twenty years too young for that position?”

“Ink Method brought me on directly out of GU!” Twilight said with a tiny bit of a huff.

“Ink Method’s still playing his games,” Yearling chuckled to herself. “Should have known. Still, you have to have some impressive skills to get poached like that.”

“You seem to know an awful lot about these ponies… and these Linking Chambers,” Sunset pointed out.

Yearling shrugged from beneath her huge coat. “I did a lot of research on it for a book that didn’t pan out. My publisher didn’t like it.”

“Uh-huh,” Sunset raised an eyebrow.

Yearling turned to study Sunset. “Are you implying I’m hiding something, Shimmer?”

“Do I have to?” Sunset glared at her.

“Well, it’s always an interesting experience when talking about the truth around ponies like Desert Winds.”

Sunset winced. When she opened her eyes again, Yearling’s own eyes danced a bit behind her glasses. And still, there was something else there. A note of sympathy… maybe even empathy? Sunset saw the peace offering and took it. She nodded slightly and Yearling smiled.

“So, if you’re here, you either escaped the Athenaeum, because the Curator would have had your heads if you popped into her Linking Chamber.” Yearling leaned against the counter with a smile. “Or you landed just shy of it.”

“Second one,” Twilight replied, playing with one of her bangs. “But now we’re trying to find a way back… but Desert Winds says he doesn’t have anything for us.”

“Silly Lost Ponies,” Desert Winds clucked a few times. “Always forgetting details. Never reading instructions. Warned and warned… but nopony ever listens to Desert Winds. Ah, but therein lies fun!”

Sunset blinked a few times as she tumbled Desert Winds’s words in her head. It took less than ten seconds for her to facehoof.

“I forgot,” Sunset said, sheepishly. “We were supposed to give you something from Pathseeker, weren’t we?”

“Ah, finally!” Desert Winds crowed. “Little Lost Ponies aren’t so lost anymore!”

Sunset ruffled through her saddlebag, searching for the scroll and an orb of shimmering red light Pathseeker had given her as their ‘offering’ before they’d left the Wayfinder.

“So, what did Winds here look like when you two first came in?” Yearling asked casually, though Sunset could hear the laughter lurking behind every word.

“Dragon,” Twilight mumbled, shivering.

“Dragon.” Yearling glared at Desert Winds, who smiled happily back. “Seriously? A dragon? And you expected them to remember a Rite?”

Desert Winds shrugged just as Sunset pulled out the scroll, though she had to dig a bit more to find the little orb.

“What’s a Rite?” Twilight interjected.

“Desert Winds here is an… old-fashioned pony,” Yearling muttered. “He likes his games.”

“The Truth of Things is not a game, Silly Pithy Pony!”

Yearling rolled her eyes. “Come up with a new name, Winds.”

“Desert Winds doesn’t choose names,” the stallion replied with a sniff. “Desert Winds only speaks the Truth of Things.”

“Why she had me team up with you, I’ll never understand.” Yearling shook her head. “You’re more trouble than every villain Daring Do has ever had to deal with.”

Desert Winds took a step back, a hoof to his chest. “Why… that’s the nicest thing Silly Pithy Pony has ever said to Desert Winds!”

“You’re welcome.”

Sunset paused for a moment, looking at both the orb and the scroll. It felt like days since she had talked to Pathseeker back at the Wayfinder. He’d said something about one going first…

“Scroll first,” Twilight mumbled.

“Thanks.”

Sunset levitated the scroll over to Desert Winds, who took it in a single hoof and ripped open the seal. He giggled like a little filly as he read whatever Pathseeker had written there.

“Little Lost Ponies finally remembered,” Desert Winds said with a satisfied smile. “So wonderful! So much magic! Happy Desert Winds gets to see this! Moments between. Moments of transition.”

Sunset ignored his gibberish and levitated out the glowing red orb, about the size of a small apple. Desert Winds took this one carefully, smiling even wider.

He let out a contented smile, cradling it against his chest like a newborn foal. Then he chucked it behind him.

It bounced off the wall—decorated in a horrible paisley green—then the orb fell to the floor and out of sight. The sound of shattering glass seemed to echo through the entire bookstore.

“What in Equestria was that?” Twilight gasped.

“You’re not in Equestria,” Yearling pointed out with a chuckle.

Swirls of red and black magic began to float into the air, twisting in a column of glittering power. Sunset took a few steps back as it formed only a few steps behind Desert Winds. The stallion looked completely unconcerned and just smiled at them all with an insane little giggle.

Sunset shielded her eyes when a brilliant lance of blue fire erupted in the swirling mass. Twilight squeaked in surprise and stumbled backward.

Yearling just snorted. “Really?”

A few seconds later, the beam of light vanished and something floated in the strange magical field.

“Silly Pithy Pony?” Desert Winds asked as if whatever he wanted was completely obvious.

“Hey, Shimmer?” Yearling called.

“Huh?” Sunset asked, trying to figure out what this was all about. “What?”

“You owe me one.”

Yearling reached under her coat and pulled out a thick notebook. With a sigh, she chucked it at Desert Winds. With the speed of a cat, Desert Winds swiped it from the air, riffled the pages, grinned and threw it behind him. It vanished into the swirling stream of magic. To Sunset’s surprise, words appeared in the red and black currents, though they moved too quickly for Sunset to see. In a few seconds, they were nothing more than a blur, with a little blue star shining in the middle of it all.

“I know that color!” Yearling groaned. “It better not come back with coffee stains this time, Winds!”

“Silly Pithy Pony always worried about little things,” Desert Winds replied with a giggle. “Words will be fine. All will be fine in time. Until the twins of Little Sun and Mistress of Three Books arrive. Desert Winds won’t be here that day. It’ll be a bad day. Maybe good days after? Not sure. Hazy thing. Many, many bad days before then, too. Maybe happy after? Who can say?”

“I hate your freaky prophetic mumbo-jumbo,” Yearling grumbled. “You know it’s never actually useful to anypony?”

“Anypony? Maybe not.” Desert Winds cackled. “But anyone? Not so true! The Truth of Things must be seen, even if it can never be found!”

Desert Winds clicked his tongue once. The magic behind him vanished. He turned in a whirl of motion and before Sunset could blink twice, he held out two lime-green bags, one to Yearling and one to Sunset.

“What,” Sunset said.

“The path that opens next, only special lights will give Little Lost Ponies eyes to see! Within is Torch of Scrolls. Old relic. Was collecting dust! Now, useful again! All things useful, though. First for dust, now to aid Little Lost Ponies! Gift inside, too, help when lights go out! And free candle. Free with every purchase!”

“We… didn’t buy anything,” Sunset said, still looking at the lime-green bag warily.

“Yes, you did, Little Sun.”

Her eyes narrowed. “We didn’t pay you.”

Desert Winds’s eyes glittered. “Yes, you did. And yes, you will.”

“Okay, well, that’s not creepy.” Sunset snatched the bag in her magic and glanced inside. Frowning, she levitated out what looked like… a metal torch? It had an odd swirling pattern, like it was made of scrolls. Whatever it was, it looked old. There was a whisper of vaguely familiar magic around it, but that vanished seconds after she held it.

Twilight was at her side in an instant, studying the strange torch in her magic. Sunset made sure to let go before she grabbed it.

“What is it?” Sunset asked.

“I…” Twilight frowned. “I don’t know? It really just seems like an ornate torch made of designed to look like it was made of paper?”

“Wait, what?” Yearling asked, her own bag already vanished into the depths of her cloak. “Let me see that!”

Yearling rushed over and studied the thing up and down. It took less than a minute before she let out a groan.

“What, is it some sort of ancient relic?” Twilight squeaked. “Maybe with strange powers?”

“It might act a little strange considering how Winds got it over here, but no, that’s a pretty normal decorative torch. It’s the design that’s special.” Yearling shot a glare at Winds. “Isn’t it?”

“Scroll-style art perfect for utilization of magic fields found on coming path!” Winds looked so proud of himself he might burst. “Magic grew around imagination, so book-design excellent vessel for transit and protection! Cannot have Little Lost Ponies being eaten by shadows. Bad for business. Very bad.”

“Eaten by shadows?” Twilight whimpered.

Yearling didn’t seem to notice. She kept glaring at Desert Winds. “And you just had to pluck one from the Athenaeum Curator’s Office, didn’t you? You just stole from freaking Curator Lush Oasis!”

“Desert Winds never steals!” Desert Winds proclaimed.

Yearling cocked an eyebrow.

“Desert Winds simply borrows!” He beamed at them.

“With a spell that powerful, she’ll have agents down on you in a few minutes. Even they could get through your door, Winds.”

“Silly Pithy Pony! Always details, details, details!”

“You… you just stole from the Curator of Saddle Arabia?” Twilight squeaked and turned to stare at Sunset. “Um… Sunset… this might actually cause a—”

“International incident.” Sunset rubbed her temples. “Yes. I know. One problem at a time.”

“Well, why the delay, Little Lost Ponies? Don’t Little Lost Ponies want to get home?”

“Of course we do!” Sunset shouted. “But I wasn’t expecting to tick off the head of the whole damn library system of Saddle Arabia in doing so!”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Yearling muttered. “They won’t be able to trace it to you… as long as you’re not here when they arrive.”

“Well, there’s also the little detail that we have no idea how to use this magic torch thing!” Sunset bellowed.

“So wonderful to meet such exciting new ponies!” Desert Winds said, clapping his hooves with glee. “So exciting. Griffon girl is going to be sad she missed it.”

“You’re still tormenting White Brook?” Yearling asked with another groan. “You’ve had her locked in that body for five years now, Winds.”

“Excuse me, can we—” Sunset tried to interject, but Desert Winds ran right over her.

“A contract is a contract is a contract!” Desert Winds proclaimed, as unrepentant as anypony Sunset had ever seen. “Anyway, griffon girl is now dating Yonder Sweet’s assistant. All part of the plan. As is the mending of coats by Feathered Meekness! As is getting Little Lost Ponies home is part of the plan! That way, they can find their happily ever after!”

Sunset froze.

Twilight froze.

They both stared at the stallion, mouths open.

“Eventually.”

“Don’t worry about him,” Yearling said with an annoyed wave. “Ignore the idiot. He just likes screwing with ponies. I should know. I’ve had to work with him more times than I want to admit. Now, listen, I’ve tried this trick once or twice, and… it’s not going to be fun.”

“Sounds like a good summary of the night,” Sunset muttered.

“Idiot.” Yearling swore toward Winds, shaking her head. “If I had known you were going by leyline, I would have tried to get him to wait.”

“Wait for what?” Twilight asked, shifting from side to side, bits of her mane startling to curl in a few places. “What’s going to happen?”

“By the way, Angry Book Ponies are coming!” Winds shouted as he chucked a book at them like a discus.

Sunset caught it without thinking. Yearling yanked it from her magic, only to slam it to the floor and flip to a specific page. “This will have to be good enough.”

“Good enough for what?” Sunset demanded. “Look, we’ve heard some nasty stuff about leyline travel and—”

“You probably heard the bedtime story version. Let me give you the real version. If you screw this up, you’re not coming back out.” Yearling looked up at them, her eyes intense behind her giant glasses.

Lightning cracked over the shop. The three of them looked up to see a pink and yellow thunderstorm floating in the ceiling above their heads.

“At least you’re good for something!” shouted Yearling over the roll of thunder.

“Silly Pithy Pony showering Desert Winds with adoration! Desert Winds adores Silly Pithy Pony, too!”

Yearling groaned and turned back to Sunset and Twilight. “Okay, here’s the deal. When you get to the other side, you need to do two things.”

“What?” Twilight asked, glancing between her, the book and the strange colored storm. “What do you mean ‘other side?’”

“Focus!” Yearling pointed at Twilight. “You, you’re going to have to focus on your destination, Canterlot. Keep that firmly in your head, right?” The storm crackled again followed by another roll of thunder. Yearling stared at Twilight, both of them lit in a strange combination of yellow and pink, which somehow came out to plaid in places. “The second is your thoughts. Where you’re going responds to your thoughts. Whatever you do, do not let yourself feel anything like despair or hopelessness.”

Twilight’s eyes were huge. “I don’t like this plan.”

“Best chance you got unless you want to go with the Curator’s goons. And that’s prison for a minimum of three months in a Saddle Arabian jail cell. She’s never been able to get Winds, so she’s going to take it out on you. Not even the Sultan can countermand her, girls.”

Twilight went paler with every word, letting out a small squeak at the end of Yearling’s devastating description of the situation.

“Why can’t we feel things where we’re going?” Sunset demanded. “And where are we going?”

“Shimmer, you have the same rules,” she said, ignoring Sunset’s question. “No hopelessness.”

“Now wait a—”

“And you…” Yearling hesitated, glancing at Twilight and then back at Sunset. Something sparked in the author’s eyes and Sunset’s heart sank.

I really do have a sign around my neck, don’t I? Okay, I can buy the bookstore owner thing, but why Yearling? She’s just an author! It’s not like they’re social geniuses!

The little voice in her head just laughed at her.

“You just be careful what gets to the front of your mind.” Yearling said, pointing a hoof at Sunset’s chest. “Don’t get distracted. Things that distract you in there… they can be pretty damn dangerous.”

“Things that distract—” Sunset whirled and shouted at Desert Winds. “Oh Celestia, the book! Do you have—”

“Little Sun will be disappointed,” Desert Winds proclaimed as somepony knocked on the door to the shop. He sounded complete unconcerned—and completely prepared for Sunset’s question. “The answer is no! Sold last copy this morning to traveling camel of sales! Left already! Won’t find. Do not worry! Desert Winds knows of a copy for Little Sun! Within Canterlot! But first, Little Lost Ponies must stay lost.”

Desert Winds tossed something else at Sunset. Without thinking, she snatched it out of the air. It looked like nothing more than a golden anklet, the kind she’d seen the zebras in the marketplace wear.

“A trade for a trade and then around again! Maybe. Question of time in that. Perhaps yes. Perhaps no.” Desert Winds replied as the banging on his door became more insistent. Sunset could hear the shouts of Saddle Arabians outside. “Give to the Whispering Sleeper upon the airy dreams where songs flutter! Speak with her as Knitted Wings work to repair! Whispering Sleeper give Little Lost Ponies last piece to get unlost, plus the Sign to find the Little Sun treasure!”

“What… what are you talking about?” Between the thunderstorm—that had to be chaos magic—and the pounding on the door, it was almost impossible to think straight.

“Are you kidding me?” Yearling demanded. “You’re talking about Whispersong? They’re going to Canterlot, not Cloudsdale!”

“We can’t go to Cloudsdale” Twilight cried. She glanced around as if afraid the floor might stop drop out from under her. “I don’t know any cloudwalking spells! Nor do I like the idea of walking on clouds! Because they’re clouds!”

Sunset laughed. It was either that or start screaming. Though she kind of wanted to scream, too.

“Didn’t I tell you earlier, Twi?” Sunset said as she held the odd torch in a hoof. “I used cloudwalking spells for my date last night!”

“Ah yes, with the Echo of the Party Pony!” Desert Winds nodded like an insane marionette. “Too bad it won’t last. But much fun will be had! Until it doesn’t. Ah, love can be so silly, can’t it? Little Sun will see the light. After Little Sun sees Little Sun is the light. Well, as long as Mistress of Three Books chooses the right book.” Desert Winds frowned. “Desert Winds hopes Mistress of Three Books write the right one. Bad things happen if Mistress of Three Books doesn’t.”

He shivered in a ridiculously overdramatic way. Sunset sort of wanted to slap him. Actually, no, she really wanted to slap him.

“Okay!” Sunset shouted. “I think I’ve had just about enough of… all this.” Sunset gestured to Desert Winds.

“You just gestured to all of him,” Twilight pointed out, her voice tinged with hysteria.

“I know.”

Yearling burst into laughter as the pounding changed into hammering. As in something was trying to beat down the door.

“Time to go!” Sunset cried and whirled on Yearling. “What do we do?”

“Both of you hold the torch above the book!” Yearling grabbed both of their hooves and shoved them together around the torch. “Winds will trigger the chaos magic storm above. When it hits, it’ll shatter the boundaries between us and the leylines. Basically turn this spot into a miniature Linking Chamber. Or… half of one. Just remember what I said. Hold on and the torch will be yanked in! You’ll go with it!”

“Is this guy actually Discord?” Sunset cried as the storm grew louder. “You know… the real…”

Yearling glanced back at the madly-dressed stallion and then turned back to shrug. “I don’t think so?”

“Does it matter right now?” Twilight asked, her eyes wide with terror.

“No… not really,” Sunset admitted as shouts managed to penetrate the store as the guards managed to probably break one of the hinges on the door.

“Have fun in your adventure, Little Lost Ponies!” Desert Winds gave a merry little wave and smiled. “Oh, and Little Sun?”

“What?” Sunset shot him a glare.

“When Little Sun sees Young Moon, say hello for Desert Winds, yes?”

“If I ever actually figure out what in Tartarus that means, sure.” Sunset rolled her eyes and sidled next to Twilight. “You ready?”

“I am literally the opposite of ready!” Twilight cried as she let go of the torch. “I don’t want to do this!”

A sharp crack announced the failure of the last hinge of Desert Winds’s front door.

“Unless you want to end up in a Saddle Arabian prison, you’d better change your mind!” Sunset tried to yank Twilight’s hooves back onto the torch. “Twilight, we don’t have time for this!”

“But… but… what if I see something again?” Twilight cried. “What if something gets us? This is insane, Sunset! Monsters live in the leylines!”

Sunset grabbed Twilight’s shoulders with her magic and held out the torch with a hoof. “I’ll be here. Trust me, Twilight. We can do this.”

“I don’t want to,” she whispered. “I can’t see that again, Sunset. Don’t make me.”

“I see them!” bellowed a voice from the front of the store. “They’re conducting a ritual with the stolen object!”

“Allow me through!” said another gruff voice. “I shall blast them through a wall for their sacrilege.”

“Now would be a very good time!” Yearling said before she darted into the depths of the store. “Good luck! And for your own sake, stay out of the shadows!”

“Thank you! Come again!” Desert Winds said cheerfully as he glanced up at the storm.

Sunset could feel the magic being bottled up, barely being held back from grounding itself through the torch and into the book. Somehow, the stallion was controlling all of this, though all Sunset could feel was the insane jumble of true chaos magic everywhere.

Twilight stared at Sunset.

Sunset stared at Twilight.

“We can do this, Twi,” Sunset whispered. “You and me.”

“I’m not like you, Sunset,” Twilight whispered. “I’m not… enough for this.”

Sunset met Twilight’s eyes and saw stars again. “I believe in you.”

Twilight’s eyes were rimmed with tears, but she nodded anyway. With a sniffle, she reached out and grasped the torch.

Instantly, a blinding strike of pink lightning ripped through the air and into the torch. Sunset had tried to brace herself for the shock, but the top of the strange torch simply lit up with a friendly pink flame while a bolt of yellow lightning cracked into the book below. But the book remained entirely unharmed. Unlike the last time they’d done this, the bubble immediately snapped around them, but this one was far smaller, shoving the two mares of them together.

The storm continued to rage as lightning raked the surface of the transparent bubble. Twilight cringed with every impact, but Sunset felt the magic and realized the storm was empowering the bubble. Both of them clutched the torch as the bubble rumbled with wild magic.

“There they are!”

Two enormous Saddle Arabian unicorn stallions charged into view, each armored in white ceremonial armor of the Highguard. With a snarl, one of them unleashed a bolt of blood-red magic at Twilight and Sunset.

To Sunset’s surprise, the bolt of magic never hit the bubble. Instead, another wave of magic swirled around them, absorbing the magic in a glittering blue shield of light.

“No, no!” Desert Winds called. “Do not inject magic into Little Lost Ponies’ matrix! Cause many things to happen!”

“Oh, Celestia save us…”

The first stallion unleashed another bolt at Sunset and Twilight, while the other one fired a blast at Desert Winds. The bizarre bookstore owner slipped to the side, without bothering to pass through the space in-between. He was there one moment, then a few feet to the right the next.

The blast left an enormous scorch mark on the wall behind them.

The scene outside became increasingly hard to see as the teleportation spell solidified. They were shoved together even further, Twilight clutching Sunset as Sunset tried to ignore the blush rising on her cheeks.

“Take us home, Twilight…” Sunset murmured. “I really want to go home.”

The bubble flickered.

“No!” Sunset cried.

Twilight looked up, saw the flickering and squealed in panic. She did the only thing she probably thought she could do.

She funneled more power into it.

“Twilight!” Sunset grabbed her and shook her, trying to get her to break the connection, but she was lost in her panic. “Stop! You have to—”

“Little Lost Ponies! Do not increase! Is normal! Allow to function as designed! Do not wish to end in shadow—”

A thunderclap tore the world apart.

Oh. My. God. Desert Winds. DESERT WINDS. DESERT FREAKING WINDS!!!

I love this guy. Adopted from an old non-MLP series of mine, now you folks get just why he's so freaking maddening and so freaking fun. He was so wonderful to write again. Fun fact, my first attempt at an MLP story was going to star none other than Desert Winds and Daring Do as they conduct a sting operation in Jeddahoof on behalf of Princess Luna to capture Anugyptian smugglers.

So it's perfect that A.K. shows up, huh? We needed someone to translate Winds's gibberish. She was fun to write with the whole "Kid, I've been doing this forever, just shut up and pay attention" attitude.

Also, you are more than welcome to try and figure out what Desert Winds is actually saying here. He says so much. Remember, he never lies. But... his perspective on what's true and what's not doesn't always jive with other ponies.

Especially regarding what he calls his customers.