The Prophecy

I started the new day with a book about the griffin religion and the pantheon of gods, which was written entirely in the griffin language. This book was brought to me by two moon guards in the middle of the night the day before. This visit was unexpected, so I didn't immediately realize what was happening. On one hand, I was immensely happy about the princess's gift. On the other hand, I didn't like religion. It could be said that I had hated it since my previous life. But in the current situation it was a necessity to know about it. So I began to study the book carefully, absorbing the information like a sponge. Luna's lessons were not in vain, and I could read what was written in the book at a reasonable level. But it was still difficult. It was about the church's lofty style. It resembled something between Catholic and Orthodox Bible reading in Church Latin, adapted for the uninformed. But that was where the similarities with earthly literature ended, and significant differences began. For example, in the Bible it was written that greed was a sin, but in the griffins it was considered as a good, if not out of bounds, of course. War and the military caste are placed right after kings and priests in the hierarchy, which reminded me of modern Russia again for some reason. Military valor, honor, and chivalry, in general, were the cornerstone of the entire military structure of the griffin family and its pride. As it turned out, the institution of chivalry has not become obsolete even in the current time, and this fact intrigued me. I decided that it would be worth learning more about it in the future. The griffins had four gods, but I found information about only three. There was only one line about the last one. It was written in such a way that it stood out from the text. The first and foremost deity of the griffins was Boreas, the god of dominance, heaven and wealth. It was his gift to his «children», the idol of Boreas, that the griffins managed to lose. Boreas was especially revered and often organized similar «Crusades» in his honor. His churches were the largest and most richly decorated, and the priests themselves were dressed in such a way that even Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church would be envious. I could not say for sure, for I had not seen the priests of Boreas, but such a comparison came to mind. The second god in the pantheon was Arcturius, the god of war, metallurgy and sacrifice. He gave his «children» no gifts, but instead trained them to hunt and, according to local legend, made them the strongest predators on the continent. The churches of Arcturius are not so rich, but they embody real power, for they were built at military units and academies. They were also essentially small fortresses. Around them, you can often see squads of knights and heavy-armed guards. The servants of the deity are dressed strictly in military style. Their uniforms are distinguished only by special insignia, such as silver-trimmed epaulettes, which serve as a bright mark of status. Servants of Arcturius can often be seen in parades, drills, and sometimes even in battle. Priests of the god Arcturius often worked in forges, making armor and weapons for the order, and also did not consider it shameful to smear their paws for the production of equipment and to order simple griffins Sacrifices to this deity were widespread in ancient times. Back then, in the name of Arcturus, various creatures were killed on the altar, including intelligent species, but now only chickens or pigs could become victims. The third god was Eyre, the god of fertility, family and agriculture. He is the only one of the gods whose churches could be visited by simple griffins at any time, and not only on special occasions and holidays. At the same time, the churches of this god were the poorest and simplest among all three. They were usually built in rural areas or in small towns, where the main population was farmers. Among other things, the servants of Eyre acted as teachers in local schools, teaching geography, logistics, biology, chemistry and many other sciences related to the element of the earth. The servants of Eyre also did not hesitate to work like ordinary hard workers, but this was rare. The book described another interesting fact: families with more than two servants of Eyre had more active chicks, and they were much healthier. I also took note of this peculiarity. The last god was the sinister Maar, the god of death, madness and cruelty. I found only one line about him: «This creature is a stain on the creation of Boreas, and it is not worth knowing about it». The lack of any data about this god aroused genuine interest in me. I even decided to make a small note on the sheet, so as not to forget to return to this topic later. But the very name of what he was responsible for said a lot. However, there were still a lot of questions. All four of them were united by the fact that their superiors needed to be obeyed. In particular, the rabble had to obey the nobility, who ruled it by right of birth. After reading a lot, I decided to finish studying the book and put it on the table. «It's funny that, despite the differences in the written language, the Griffin language is in fact a complete analogue of German. I studied it at school and a little at the medical university. It was an interesting time...» I recalled the past with nostalgia, smiling a little. «Yes, I will miss that time, as well as the relatives who stayed there. I hope that one day I will see them, even though I can't believe it». I looked out the window and noticed that the sun had risen a long time ago, which means it's time for my morning workout. I had already established a clear daily routine and was now following it. The first thing I did was practice with telekinesis, and also practiced lunges with weapons. I was already getting ready for training when there was a quiet but insistent knock on the door. Cautiously looking out the window, I saw Spike strolling near the door. «Well, if he reappeared, then something must have happened». With a grunt, I went to the door and opened it, and the dragon told me right from the threshold: — Stevrian! Do you have any kind of spray or at least something else for insects? I blinked in surprise, not understanding what had happened. «Is there really no one in the city who can handle them?» — Insects? — I was amazed. — Yes, insects! — Spike ran into the house and began to frantically inspect it, — There is an outright mess going on in the city! Now that worried me. I tried frantically to remember when Ponyville had been attacked by insects in canon, but nothing came to mind. — What the hell happened? — I decided to ask, watching Spike panic. — Rainbow flies have taken over everything! — The dragon replied, almost shrieking. Something suddenly clicked in my head, and I remembered what kind of insects they were. «Holy shit! Parasprites, damn it! In the canon, the Six coped with everything on their own... or rather, Pinkie coped. I was actually tempted to take a look at all this». Sighing, I calmed down a little and approached the guest, wrapping my flexible tail around him a little. — Spike, — I turned to the dragon, — I really don't have anything for insects, but if I see them live, I'll try to think of something. — What about your disguise? — Don't worry, — I grinned and smiled at the corner of my lips, — I have an invisibility stone. I pulled a purple crystal from the top shelf with telekinesis and put it on the hoof, lifting it first. This item was brought to me by one of the Moon Guards. He also sent a message from Luna that this stone would make me invisible if I squeezed it a little with telekinesis. Knowing my habit of breaking the rules and excessive curiosity, she acted wisely. I squeezed an amethyst-like stone with telekinesis, and then I immediately disappeared from the field of view of the purple dragon. — Wow! — Spike looked at me in surprise, feeling my side. It was like he was checking to see if I had teleported somewhere. Only after making sure that I was still in the room did the dragon continue: — But a slight glow from the eyes is still visible! The contour, however, too! — Otherwise it won't work, so far. At this I put a special fastening around my neck, where I fastened the crystal. After that we left the house, the door of which I locked with a horseshoe. «Now I'll finally get to see the city where Six lives. Scared on the one hand, but curious on the other. The attempt is not torture». When we approached Ponyville, the first thing I did was to search with my eyes for the main Six's dwellings: the tree-library, the farm, the «Carousel» and «Sugar Corner» boutiques. They were easier to navigate, so that was important. Fluttershy's cottage was outside the city limits, and I couldn't see it. But the other landmarks were still there, and I decided to stick to them. The city itself turned out to be much bigger than I had expected. If in the cartoon series it was a jumble of a few dozen houses, the main square where everyone traded, and the brightly colored dwellings of the main characters, in reality everything turned out to be much bigger and larger. There you have a whole network of streets, and several roads that led from the city to the suburbs. Behind it was a huge apple orchard that belonged to the Apple family. In the center of town stood a huge tree with a telescope on top of it. The «Carousel» and «Sugar Corner» boutiques didn't look much different from the rest of the houses, so you could only tell where and what by the signs. In normal times the town must have been quiet and peaceful, but right now it was obvious to even a blind one, that all the ponies were bustling about. They were running around, screaming and just plain panicking. All around them, parasprites were scurrying around in huge numbers, like flies on fresh dung. The appearance of the parasprites struck me unpleasantly, for they looked quite different from what they had been shown in the show. «And these are parasprites?! They're some kind of dung flies! How can they be cute? The ponies are obviously crazy for mistaking their appearance for the ideal of cuteness». The parasprites did look like an ordinary fly, but they were the size of a human fist. Except that such parts as a full-fledged mouth instead of a proboscis stood out from the differences. But the fly-like body parts stood out a little less. Among these were segmented huge eyes and fur, as well as hairy paws. «Ugh! An abomination, in a word in my subjective opinion», — I snorted and turned to the dragon: — Spike? Do you also see these creatures as ugly fat flies? — Yeah, — Spike nodded and immediately feigned disgust, — I can't even understand why all ponies think these monsters are cute. They cherished them in every possible way until they began to devour everything around! — So you see it too, — I stated, and suddenly sniffed. My nose immediately caught a strange smell. The little dragon next to me looked at me warily. — Do you feel it too? — I asked him. — The smell? — Spike thought about it and also sucked in air noisily, immediately coughing, — Ugh! He started to wave away the bad smell with his paw, but it didn't help, and he coughed again, giving out in a hoarse voice: — Now I feel it too. — What are these creatures called? — I decided to clarify, to be sure. — Twilight, I think she said they were called parasprites, — The dragon replied to me. — I see what's the matter, — I determined, stepping aside and letting the unicorn run past me from another parasprite. — And what is it? — Spike looked at me expectantly. — These are pheromones, — I raised my hoof up with an intelligent look, — Do you feel a slight pressure on your head? — Since this morning, — The purple dragon nodded, — The parasprites have sat down for ever while I was sleeping. — How did you not notice that? — I don't know, — Spike shrugged, — They're light, even lighter than a feather. I heard a quiet buzzing right under my ear. Jumping aside, I noticed another of these «flies» next to me, but she looked so disheveled, as if she was about to die. But despite this, the parasprite opened its mouth wide and literally vomited out a lump of vomit, which turned into another one right in flight. The sight made me feel sick for a moment. «This is not what I expected to see. It's disgusting! On the other hand, it explains a lot. A lot of things» — I suppose these insects also affect the minds of others, — I said, looking at the mess around me. — How do you know that? — Spike asked, taken aback by my conclusion. — This is just a guess, — I twisted my muzzle and snorted, — How else can I explain this? I think there's nothing else. — Then why doesn't it work on us? — Maybe because their effects are tuned only to herbivores or even only to ponies? — I suggested. — Well! — Spike summed up, looking around, — I'm going to run and help the others for now. — Go, and I'll try to figure out how to get rid of the insects quickly. I began to run quickly through the rapidly emptying city streets under invisibility. Residents of the city tried to hide inside the houses, but it did not help them. The insects managed to get through even small cracks and take everything edible outside. Here they continued to devour everything edible and multiply. Passing by the mayor's house, I noticed how parasprites devour a bunch of apples that were lying on the ground, and literally half a minute later about twenty more new ones appeared near them. The process of reproduction of these insects resembled the reaction of nuclear decay in a nuclear explosion. «Nasty sight, but I've had worse in my life. I need to find Pinkie's tools if she doesn't find them herself sooner». The situation in the city very quickly took a catastrophic turn. The ponies were screaming loudly and calling for help. But none of them tried to resist the invasion of hungry flies, just running away. Moreover, some cowered in a ball, while others prayed to Celestia herself for salvation. «Their behavior amazes me. Such a contrast between the civilians and the military. No wonder they're scared half to death of Zekora, and now they're being invaded by a swarm. It's fucked up, that's for sure» Looking at their helplessness, I mimed a facehuff and headed further in the direction of «Sugar corner». At least I knew I was helping the unfortunate citizens of Ponyville. When I was a little way from the boutique, I intuitively felt how I needed to stop. Remembering to trust my gut, I slowed down. The next second, a large red earth pony mare with a cutie mark in the form of apples swept right in front of her nose. She was wearing a cowboy hat on her head, and it was by this distinctive sign that I recognized her as Applejack, one of the embodiments of the elements of harmony. She was heading towards the «Carousel». A well-groomed white mare named Rarity ran after the earth pony. And Spike was already following her, who stopped for a second and looked questioningly in my direction. — Spikey! — Rarity shouted, — What are you stopping for? — I'm running! — The dragon shouted and moved on without further ado. I stood motionless the whole time, hoping that I hadn't been noticed. Then I quickly and without problems got to the «Sugar corner», where there was the largest concentration of parasprites. They scurried everywhere, looking for food. Carefully making my way past them, I ran into an empty house and began to look for a pantry or at least something similar to it. «If Pinkie Pie keeps his musical instruments in the house, it's definitely out there somewhere. Another thing is that she loves a mess, which means she'll probably have to look for them carefully» At first, as far as the situation allowed, I calmly searched the first floor, fortunately no one interfered. Then I ran into the second floor and burst into Pinkie Pie's room, which was also empty. There I started searching the cupboards and nightstands until finally I found what I was looking for. Trombones, flutes, harmonicas, drums and even a guitar were all in a large closet. The first thing I noticed was that they were slightly different from their human counterparts. On the same accordion, instead of many small buttons, there were only two large keys, but with several smaller buttons, which, perhaps, made different sounds when pressed. The drums were no different from human ones, however, as were the trombones, but they had additional flaps. The flutes also looked like human ones, but this was only at first glance: upon closer examination, I noticed that they had additional notches for the tongue, which, apparently, allowed us to repeat what people do with their fingers. And finally, the guitar — it was quite bulky, with thick, strong strings. At the same time, it had a more comfortable shape for ponies — with an expanded main part and cutouts on the sides. Otherwise, she was a pure analogue of a human. I took all the tools out of the closet and put them in the most visible place so that Pinkie could immediately notice them when she returned. I was about to leave the room when suddenly the owner of these tools appeared in the doorway. The appearance caught me so suddenly and abruptly that it was only by a miracle that I managed to jump aside so that the hyperactive pink earth pony would not touch me. — Ah! — She exclaimed. — There you are! While she was collecting tools and putting them on herself, I quietly decided to move to the door. But suddenly Pinkie Pie turned her head in my direction and, smiling, exclaimed: — Thank you very much! I've been searching around trying to find them. I was taken aback by this and froze in place, my mouth hanging open. Pinkie Pie stormed out of the room along with the musical instruments, and I, still stunned by this behavior, slowly slipped in after her. Outside, I examined myself carefully and, making sure that invisibility was still active, I sighed heavily, wiping cold sweat from my forehead at the same time. «Holy shit, how is she...?» — I thought at first, but suddenly stopped, realizing, — «Eyes! How could I forget?! But then why do they glow during the day? Or is it just a disguise that shows through? I didn't think I was so visible even under invisibility. I hope no one will believe Pinkie if she decides to blurt out about me» After taking a couple of steps, another guess entered my head: «What if Pinkie's special instinct worked? In the animated series, she often demonstrated this. Anyway, I need to be careful» I heard a loud noise on the next street. Cautiously peeking around the corner, I saw Rarity, Twilight, and Applejack gathering parasprites into one pile. The unicorns, with the help of a magical wind and a special shield, gathered the flies together and drove them towards the forest, and the earth pony led the whole process. It's not torture to try, of course, but I remembered perfectly well that they wouldn't succeed. «I would like to tell them about it, but I don't want to ruin the disguise. Especially since I'm already on the verge of it. How difficult it is!» While the city was getting a much-desired, albeit short-term, respite, and also trying to move away from the panic, I headed towards the outskirts. Spike was already waiting for me there, from nowhere. — Stevrian! — The little dragon waved at me with his paw, — Twi and her friends have removed these annoying creatures from the city! — I'm afraid not, — I shook my head, — They'll be back again. — Do you think so? — I know, — I nodded, — I would use a spray gun and a lighter against them for lack of any other way to burn them en masse, but... Spike frowned in displeasure and let out an indignant growl. — That's cruel! — Would you like them to eat everything around and spread all over the country? — I asked, raising an «eyebrow». I pressed my lips together sternly and gnashed my teeth, thinking of a more pragmatic way to rid Ponyville of such a scourge. And seeing me in this state, the purple-green congener retreated a little, lowering his gaze. — Nope, wouldn't want to, — He replied confused. Remembering how Spike can release flames, I chuckled a little and asked: — Then tell me this: is your breath hot enough? — I didn't measure it, — The young dragon shrugged his shoulders in confusion, — But my flame is only able to teleport objects wherever I think. «So that scroll was not accidental», — I mentally noted, remembering how the scroll from Twilight Sparkle came to me. But at the same time, I nodded at Spike. — It's a useful property, — I said thoughtfully, — But it's absolutely not suitable, unless, of course, you teleport them directly into the sea or into the mouth of a volcano. The dragon winced, averting his eyes to the side, clearly imagining something bad, but then he looked at me again. — Can try, but there are too many of them. — You right, — I sighed, — If it were possible to invent something that... Without finishing the sentence, I was struck by what seemed to be a brilliant idea: — Griffins have such a thing as a flamethrower! Don't you have it? Spike was completely horrified by my thoughts. He shook his head indignantly and said in a stern voice: — Only representatives of the elite, guards and princesses themselves have the right to carry weapons in Equestria, — The lizard put its paws on its sides, — And such terrible weapons are generally prohibited! It turns living creatures into charred bones or ashes. «Yeah... Friendship is fucked up, damn it. Then you'll complain later that you can't deal with some flies. A disgrace, not a country!» — And how do you know all this? — I asked with a sly smile on my face. «It's unlikely that ordinary ponies have even heard of such weapons, but how does a little dragon know about such a thing? That's really where from?» — I may be almost eleven years, but we dragons, — Spike held up the index finger of his right paw, — Learn and grow mentally much faster than others. I know a lot of things. — Like what? — I asked, raising an «eyebrow». — For example, where do children come from, — Said the purple dragon, proudly raising his head up, — When a stallion and a mare love each other very much, they sometimes retire and do «shura-mura» with each other. Spike made a gesture of quotation marks with the fingers of his paws raised to head level. — After which the mare gets pregnant and after a while they have a foal. I let out an involuntary giggle, turning into a natural horse neigh. «I would never have thought that he would know such a thing at his age. Honestly. He is really more mature in real life than he seems. What a pleasant surprise. Only this expression is «shura-mura»... Twilight probably replaced the word «sex» with this when she told him where children come from» I tried to stifle my laughter, but it didn't work. The little dragon was looking at me resentfully at that time. — Why are you laughing so hard? — Spike asked, poking me in the leg, — Did I say something wrong? I had finally finished laughing and was now trying to catch my breath. — It's just unusual to see such an intelligent dragon, — I smiled as if nothing had happened. Spike scratched his head thoughtfully in response. — Have you seen a lot of them? — The dragon asked. — Except for a glimpse, and that: they were all somewhat... illiterate, — I replied, remembering what is currently known about the local dragons. I remembered this from the conversations of the guards, because at least a couple of times they mentioned winged lizards. — Is that so? — Spike let out a long «mmm», then nodded, — I willingly believe it. But not... Suddenly, screams rang out from the direction of the city again. I turned to the source of the sound, but at first I didn't notice anything. However, we soon discovered how parasprites flew into the city again in a whole wave, scaring the residents who had just come out onto the street. — I told you... — I looked at Spike again, rolling my eyes wearily. He just hung up in response. — You're pretty good at predicting, — The dragon snickered, — So what are we going to do? — Try to drive them away from the houses with your fire, and I'll help. — With what? — Spike wondered. — You'll see, — I smiled enigmatically, and we both headed back to the town. While Spike, having gone out to the central square, imitated a live flamethrower, exhaling green flames and teleporting «flies» that accidentally fell into it to no one knows where, I stepped aside a little and decided to use a new ability that I had mastered during training on the site. I remembered how once, concentrating, I tried telekinesis to affect not a certain object, but the space itself around me. Roughly speaking, for air. And then I began to notice how it gradually thickens from exposure and with a slight pop causes a weak shock wave, accompanied by a slight purple glow. The wave lasted for fractions of seconds, but it allowed repelling foreign objects. This psionic wave turned out to be a very useful ability, which I wanted to put into practice when the opportunity presented itself. Closing my eyes and concentrating, I concentrated the energy and released it into space. Waves of energy pushed the parasprites away from me and drove them towards the forest. It almost looked like a jedi mastery of the force. Of course, it was hard for me to handle the entire swarm of flies alone, but gradually my influence began to bear fruit. And the most interesting thing is that no one has seen me yet, except for Spike himself and, possibly, Pinkie Pie. Of course, flashes of purple energy could have given me away, but in a panic, no one paid attention to them. However, Spike appreciated my ability by running up to me: — Wow! How do you do that? It looks great. — It's just a lot of practice with telekinesis and persistence, — I said, smiling proudly. By that time, almost all the parasprites had already found themselves on the outskirts of the city and were trying to break back inside, but Spike's fire and my energy waves prevented them from doing so. Spike and I formed a team and now we worked together: I stunned the nasty parasprites with waves of psionic energy and knocked them into piles. The little dragon teleported them with flames, leaving absolutely nothing of them. — You did well, — I smiled at my friend with a strained smile because of the headache caused by overexertion, — Where did you teleport them? Spike looked down briefly, but then said, trying to catch his breath between exhalations of flame: — Into the mouth of the volcano... everything is as you advised. I smiled with satisfaction. «At least he realizes that sometimes you have to use less than pleasant methods to get things done. That's good» That made me like Spike more and more. He was interesting in the canon, but here he became just gold in my eyes. «Twilight Sparkle was very lucky to find such a dragon» When some of the flies were finished, the Six ran up to us, but only Pinkie Pie was missing. When I noticed them, I immediately hurried to step aside so as not to be noticed. — Spike? — Rarity wondered, approaching the dragon, — What are you doing here? — I, — The dragon still couldn't catch his breath after hard work, — I'm helping you... — You? — Rainbow Dash protested, — What did you do? Did you run to the library to get boring books? — Sugar, — Applejack intervened, addressing the blue pegasus with the rainbow mane and tail, — What are you doing? Are you still mad because he accidentally teleported the Daring Doo book to the wrong place? — Yes! — Rainbow said, — I am. The element of harmony, Twilight Sparkle, intervened in the argument, stepping between the two of them and stomping her hoof indignantly: — Can we not get mad, fillies? Especially my brother! — Excuse her, sugar, — Applejack replied, and then turned to Spike, — How did you help us? The purple dragon finally sighed and scratched the top of his head. — While you were running, I sent the parasprites away with my breath, — He said, — They definitely won't bother anyone. — Here, — Twilight said, looking at her friends, — Do you see? — It's a big deal, — The cheeky pegasus snorted with displeasure and turned away. — Rainbow Dash! — The lavender unicorn raised her voice, — If you say even one bad word about my little brother again, then I will take away all the books and magazines from Daring Do. It worked, because the impudent mare turned her head anxiously: — No! Not the magazines! I swear I won't say anything bad about Spike, just don't touch the magazines! All this time, I stood not far from them and watched the conversation unfold, periodically putting my foot to my forehead. «What kind of nonsense they sometimes do. They argue from scratch, can't organize themselves in difficult moments, and don't appreciate their friend's work. It's an outrage!» Spike looked in my direction and shook his head ruefully, as if tacitly agreeing with my reaction. A minute later, I heard the clear voice of the snow-white diamond seeker, who finally called on the others to finish what they had started: — There are less than half of the parasprites left, — Rarity reminded everyone, — We need to get rid of them somehow. — Sugar, we're doing it anyway, — Applejack told her, — But it seems we've forgotten about someone. Pinkie Pie! Everyone started looking around. It was only now that the Six began to realize that they had lost their hyperactive girlfriend. — Yeah! — Spike was the first to realize, — Where's Pinkie? The answer came by itself: a pink pony, covered with musical instruments, appeared from the nearest bushes. How she managed to carry everything on herself at once is unknown. But, looking closer, I noticed that she was all hung with straps and various fasteners. But while I was thinking, Pinkie Pie, without further ado, began to perform a chaotic cacophony of sounds from all instruments at once. From such a terrible melody, I pressed my ears to my head, however, like everyone else. The pink pony, paying no attention to anything, went to where the flies that Spike and I had cornered were. All Six of them rushed after her, but I did not follow, but just sat down on the grass, rubbing my temples and trying to calm the headache that had arisen again. «I know that I shouldn't overexert myself, especially with new abilities, but no, I will definitely do exactly the opposite», — I swore at myself, — «I used the ability of psionic waves too often, so now I feel an unpleasant recoil. But fortunately, I had plenty of time to rest. No one nearby will bother me» Spike decided to follow the others, leaving me alone for a while, for which I was grateful to him. Rest was like medicine for me right now. After a while, the Six returned with Spike, congratulating Pinkie on how she came up with a clever plan to lure the colored «flies» into the depths of the swamp. After standing in place for a while and watching the crowd of residents chanting the names of the saviors of Ponyville, I decided to return to the city center and make sure that everything was in order there now. However, as soon as I appeared in the city square, while still under the invisibility spell, a flying «cart» appeared in the sky, surrounded by flying pegasus bodyguards. They shone brightly in their incomplete light white and gold chain mail. Looking at the «cart», I recognized Princess Celestia. «Oh, no! Celestia! Not her», — I snorted and hurried away far away so as not to interfere with the others, but to observe this scene from a safe distance. The cart was gradually approaching the city, and the citizens, noticing it, parted to make room for boarding. She was bigger and wider than in the cartoon, but here she had a significant difference: it had no wheels. Also, the pegasi did not pull her along. As the cart began to descend, I noticed on its underside something resembling the honeycomb of a beehive. I immediately assumed that the cart was most likely flying either on magic or due to some mysterious anti-gravity technology that had not even been invented on Earth. This picture was noticeably different from what I had seen in the animated series, so I found it necessary to remember this detail. When the cart and the pegasi landed, Celestia came down to the main square, all magnificent and hung with her usual regalia. They sparkled so much in the sun that they almost blinded everyone who dared to look at her. After looking around, alicorn walked around Ponyville Square in her royal manner, proudly raising her head and gracefully shaking her rump. Then she headed towards the Six who were waiting for her. As soon as Celestia appeared in all her glory in front of them, they simultaneously bowed their heads in front of her. And after them, the rest of the inhabitants of Ponyville fell on their faces. I didn't do it, although subconsciously something was trying to make me do it. — You don't have to bow to me, my little ponies, — Celestia said with an innocent look on her face, — I only came here for a few minutes to make sure everything was okay and that my apprentice was in good health. — Come on, princess, — The mayor said as she slowly stepped out of the crowd, — We're glad to have your company. — Thank you, too, — Diarch smiled back, — But I really must take my leave. There's been an emergency in Phillidelphia, and I have to be there. At that moment, the magic element raised her head and smiled a little sheepishly at Celestia: — But could you stay for tea at least? — I'm afraid not, my faithful apprentice, — Celestia shook her head, — This is more important, but thank you for the offer. Having said that, the white mare turned around and walked back to the cart, making an expression of disgust when it seemed to her that no one had seen it. «Apparently, it's not worth mentioning tea in front of her», — I thought, standing on a small hill. From here, I watched the whole scene, thinking about how the princess of the day was treated. «She babbles in front of everyone, and when no one sees, she reveals her true face. She probably needs the Six purely as a tool to resolve various problems. This is bad, but on the other side, she is the ruler and therefore cannot be absolutely kind. You can't get into her head, and therefore you won't know what this mare has in mind. Maybe in the future I will learn more about the ruler of Equestria? Who knows, who knows...» As soon as Celestia and her bodyguards disappeared from the sight of the citizens, and the cart soared into the air again, the city ponies began to return to their business. They started by restoring what the parasprites had destroyed. Everyone felt tired, but happy that it was over. The experience was interesting, including for me. By that time, I was already tired, and therefore I lost my vigilance: I did not notice how a parasprite flew up to me, I do not understand where it came from. He was very interested in the invisibility crystal that was in my mount. Too late, I noticed his attempt to taste the artifact on his teeth. In a panic, I began to try to brush away the voracious fly, but accidentally hit the mount with my hoof and because of this, the crystal fell out at my feet. The next moment, slipping out of the blue, I fell head over heels off the hill and flew straight into the square, where the bulk of the ponies were now. «What an asshole that fly was, almost...», — I thought, but when I looked up I could only squeeze out a single word: — Fuck... The eyes of all the ponies, including the Six, turned to me. And the invisibility spell was no longer supported.