Before I attempted to swoon my new pet. Yes, this horse would be mine, but I didn't want to capture Shalgoth; I wanted the Nightmare to come to me.

First, Bee-fore I did that, this needed to Bee fixed! QUEENY! Please make it stop; it's making me look stupid!

'Deactivating Bee-guage. While this is deactivated, you will not be able to talk to Divine Entities. The more you use the Bee-guage, the easier it will be for you to connect and speak with Beezli, but it is fine to deactivate it for now. Unfortunately, puns are the speech of Gods, and they are all horrible with them, not that there are good puns,' Queeny said, giving an internal sigh.

Be? Pulling? I am free of the extra Bees! Now before this horse decides, I am no longer interesting.

"Is there something I can do to help?" I asked.

This would be the only way to really make friends with someone scorned like this.

"Help? Can you purify the water of all the filth that has been drained into it?" Shalgoth snorted and shook his head.

"Oh? It's more than just people coming and putting stuff in your water? Who lives upstream? Queeny, can you check out the water and see what is wrong with it? Sorry Mr. Shalgoth, but do you mind if I take a look at the water while you explain?" I asked.

I was all over the place with my thoughts. This wasn't good if there was someone dumping trash or waste upstream.

Even if I could somehow purify the water here, it would just become gross again, but I needed to see what was wrong. Queeny popped out in a puff of smoke and then zipped over to the water, but I was still waiting to hear if Shalgoth would allow me, but he was still silent.

Then I remembered something that Queeny told me about my Champions Instinct. I needed to be confident and exude that feeling to establish trust because I did want to help him and his brother.

What was being done to them wasn't fair, and I intended to get to the bottom of this now that I was here. I built myself up, telling myself that my intentions were good, and once I had enough information, I would act to change the outcome of the Nightmare's current existence.

The tension thinned, and I could see some of the roped muscles in the Nightmares shoulders smoothed. Shalgoth let out a breathy sigh that flapped his lips a bit and tossed his head towards the water.

"Go ahead, but I don't know what you will be able to do at this point. The water makes us sick, but it is the closest, and the midnight black our coats absorb too much heat. That means that most days when it is sunny, we have to stay near shade, or our bodies overheat," Shalgoth explained, and I nodded to him.

"I am sorry to hear that, but I might be able to help with that if we can get the water fixed, right? Let me talk to my friend, and I will see what we can do," I said, and the Nightmare nodded its head.

I got closer to the water, and then I could smell the rancid smell of a hippy gone wrong. I turned back around and looked at the Nightmare; I didn't need Queeny to tell me what was in that water.

"Is that a Skunk Folk village that is up steam from here?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, but there is nothing we can do. The Skunk Folks village is out in the open, and they are one of the few that can dispel our curses," Shalgoth said with an angry snort while stomping his front right hoof.

"Yes, I heard about that on the way here. Shalgoth, I will be back tomorrow, but I don't know if I will have the whole solution, but I need to visit this village upstream. I think we have some profiteering going on here, and I don't like it. First, tell me the races that come and bother you," I told Shalgoth.

"Ferrets," Shalgoth said, glaring over at the boys that were looking anywhere but at him, and then continued. "Snake, Raccoon, and Ant Folk. Why is that important?"

I turned to the boys, and they looked at me.

"I thought that you said the weasels were doing this as well?" I asked them, but they shook their heads no.

"Sorry, my most Queenly Queen, we just assumed since everyone else was doing it, so did they. Sorry for that," Tag said, looking down.

"Try to only give information that you know is true, not stories, because these little things can be important. If the Weasels aren't doing it, then I think they may have something to do with it, but regardless, the Skunk Folk are doing something to the water. Whatever it is, it will stop, but I will have to figure out how to make them non-violently," I said.

The information part would be essential in the future. Telling stories was acceptable to your friends, but I was looking for facts as reference points.

"Do you think you can make them stop?!" Shalgoth asked incredulously, and then he shook his head, waving the twisted sparkling black spear around.

"I will make them stop; it's just a matter of figuring it out. I think it might come from some outside pressure, but I could be wrong. Regardless, leave this with me, and I will be back tomorrow," I told Shalgoth, but he just stood there puzzled.

"Why help grouchy old beasts such as myself and my brothers who only bring bad luck?" Shalgoth asked me.

"Are you a grouchy beast? Or are you just tired of drinking skunk piss water? I can tell you think I would be one pissed off Honeybee if that was all I had to drink. So, I think it's stupid and unfair, and I am going to do something about it!" I said with a determination that made the stallion step back.