For a creature with no feet, Teza had always had a remarkable ability to put hers in her mouth. I didn’t hold it against her; it was the only tell she had that she actually cared about someone. Our relationship didn’t end for lack of feelings for each other. It ended because of conflicted feelings about the rest of the world. There are three prerequisites to greatness, my dad used to say: ambition, intelligence, and compassion. Teza had the first two in excess, and was nearly devoid of the third. Nearly. Not completely.

The other coatl’s name was Azl, and his scale was skewed even further. Teza told me that as she had shadowed him, looking for ‘the artifact’ herself, she’d watched him become more and more ruthless in his pursuit. Making the Vivid pony was one thing, but killing a Sphinx…

They are not a plentiful creature. They don’t take kindly to losing their own. Nothing kills a Sphinx unless it has nothing to lose, or a very, very impressive trump. Teza hadn’t originally thought this trinket she was seeking was really all that potent. Apparently we were both mistaken.

Somehow, I think Malachite knew. She hadn’t let me touch it, and she gave it to the biggest, strongest entity she could find to keep it safe. Its difficult to tell what she’s thinking about now.

When the sphinx died, she didn’t have the artifact with her. Azl wouldn’t have bothered attacking me if he already had the thing. I certainly don’t have it, which means the Sphinx stashed it somewhere. I fly over these forests regularly, and I know most of the landmarks. There is a temple with cyclopean architecture, a veritable golden fortress, that is said to be cursed sphinxcraft left over from a time where their influence was wider than it is now. Its the only place I could think of in Equestria with any connection to the species, and it seemed like the best place to start looking.

I can almost hear the ticking clock in my veins.

The real problem with vivid venom is it feels amazing. Even the hard parts of it feel amazing. At least, to the right ponies. The vomiting rainbows, the shuddering, the sweat, it feels like fire dancing on your skin. Its intoxicating, and extremely addictive. A lot of the food in the Serpent lands have similar properties, and the feeling is familiar. Nostalgic. I’ve missed it. I’ve missed the heat and the passion and the pain and the color. I almost hate how much I’ve missed it, because it makes it hard to prioritize properly. For instance, I know there’s a very cunning snake and a vivid pony waiting for me at the end of this flight. I know if I’m late, I’m going to become one myself and he’ll have two under his control. I know I’m no match for the one that’s already there.

But I also know that its almost certain to take too long to get help, and, somehow, I survived an attack that should have killed me. So I’m going after him anyway. Because he needs to be stopped before he can get what he’s after, and he needs to pay for what he’s done, and that vivid pony needs to be released, and I need to be rid of his influence.

And because, for all my clouded thoughts at the moment, I have a profoundly stupid plan, and I believe in the power of profoundly stupid plans.

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16) you are here

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