Chapter Nine
The Dresden Fillies: False Masks
Written by: psychicscubadiver
Edited by: SilentCarto and frieD195
Story Image by: wyrmlover
Beta-reader: SA
Disclaimer: I don’t own The Dresden Files or My Little Pony; that is Jim Butcher and Hasbro, respectively. This is a fanfiction only. This story takes place before Discord’s return in MLP and between books six and seven in the Dresden Files.
Chapter Nine
Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, Rainbow Dash had tried to teach her friend Fluttershy how to cheer. The timid pegasus had plenty of enthusiasm, but she was quiet as church mouse. Dash had done her best, but her best just hadn't been good enough to get even a decent shout out of Fluttershy.
“AND YOU JUST LEFT HIM THERE?!”
Things were a little different now.
Rainbow Dash wasn’t afraid of anything, especially not a shy mare like Fluttershy, but when the little animal lover got into one of these moods... well... Dash had handled easier storm clouds. Dresden, or Blackstone, as they were supposed to call him (and Dash had to admit the new name was cooler) was holding his own against the storm, but just barely.
“No, Fluttershy. I carried a ten ton hydra almost two miles, just in case you could do something about the poison.” Dash noticed that, despite Blackstone’s backtalk, he was careful to stay out of reach of the frantic pegasi as she gathered her first aid kit. She smiled to herself. He was pretty darn mouthy, but he wasn’t stupid, and turning into a pony hadn’t changed that a bit.
Fluttershy hadn’t known what to make of ‘Blackstone’ at first. She had been even shyer than usual, even after Dash had explained that it was just Dresden. The constant blushing and inaudible sentences had been annoying, but Blackstone must have had some freaky powerful hearing, because he picked up on every word. Not that hearing her was currently a problem.
“You should’ve said something the moment you came in! Every second counts when you’re dealing with something like that!” The yellow pegasus glanced into her basket, nodded to herself and shot out the door without a backwards glance. Rainbow Dash let out a heavy sigh, as Blackstone stared after her incredulously.
“Is she serious?” the black unicorn asked. “The manticores were one thing, but she wants to take care of a thirty-foot rampaging hydra?”
“Hey, that’s Fluttershy’s thing. Don’t knock it,” Dash said, poking Blackstone in the flank with none-too-gentle hoof. Okay, yeah, she was kinda weird about animals, but that didn't mean Blackstone could make fun of her for it.
Blackstone shook his head and moved to follow the cottage’s owner. “I’m just saying that girl shouldn’t be so quick to jump to everything’s aid. She wouldn’t last ten minutes in the Nevernever.”
Dash shot through the open door ahead of him and banked into a sharp circle to hover beside him as he hurried down the track. Once they were eye-to-eye, or as close as they were going to get, she gave him a glare. “She may not be tough, but nothing can stop her when something needs her.”
“And that’s what would get her killed,” the dark unicorn replied. That made no sense, and Blackstone must have seen it in her expression, because he went on explaining. “It takes a hell of a lot more strength to be kind than to be cruel. Every time she treats a dangerous animal she’s putting her life in its hands, or claws, or whatever. Most Fae creatures have no concept of kindness; they only see it as weakness. Those few who do understand compassion, exploit it. They wait for you to lower your defenses, then they strike.” His voice was hard and flat, with a rumble like a distant storm underneath it. “Trust me. I’ve dealt with more than enough faeries to know.”
Dash fought to keep herself from shuddering. Blackstone was cool, no denying that, but sometimes he could be really scary too. Beneath that relaxed cynicism was a pony of steel and fire. One who wasn’t afraid to do what he thought was necessary.
The crack of breaking bone echoed in her head as remembered him bringing down the hydra. He’d laughed like a madpony as they barely escaped the massive jaws of one head, then sounded nothing more than coldly satisfied when the poison started to take effect.
Don’t get me wrong, she thought to herself. You don’t get to be as awesome as I am without knowing how take care of business. But Blackstone went beyond that. It wasn’t hard to believe that his entire world was basically one giant Everfree Forest. How does anypony live in a place like that? Blackstone had already given her the answer to that, even if it wasn’t in words. Be the toughest, strongest creature in the forest and trounce anything that challenged you.
Dash couldn’t help but glance at him, wondering why he ever went back. She hadn’t known him for long, but she knew that he deserved better.
Blackstone turned to look at her just in time to catch her staring. Dash flushed slightly in embarrassment and quickly broke eye contact. She almost looked back when he groaned in put-upon anguish. “Hell’s bells, not you too.”
Dash blinked. “What?”
He sighed. “Thus far, ninety percent of the female population seems to think I’m the hottest thing since toasted bread. Please, please tell me that you aren’t one of them.”
Dash’s jaw dropped and for a moment she speechless. Then she started to laugh, so hard that her stomach hurt and she looped and wobbled across the sky. She struggled to gain some altitude before her erratic flying took her into a tree. It took a minute for her to calm down, but Blackstone waited. When she was finally able to look at him without breaking back into laughter, she hovered down to his side.
He raised an eyebrow. “Should I take that as a ‘no’?”
That almost set her off again, but she managed to keep it under control. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re one of the last ponies I’d date. And not just because you’re really a great big monkey behind that magic.”
The black unicorn let out a deep breath. “Thank God. If you were, I don’t think I could run away fast enough.”
Dash shrugged, but the gesture came with a cocky smirk. “You couldn’t, but there's nopony who could if I was after them.”
Blackstone laughed at that, but he wasn’t the only one. That voice from before, the rude one, was laughing with him. Dash bristled, her face heating up as she spun toward the sound. “Who, or what, is that?!”
“Way to go, Bob,” Blackstone said through a facehoof. With a short sigh, he squared his shoulders and stared back, somehow without quite meeting her eyes. “That’s Bob, my assistant.” The following explanation was one of the weirdest she’d ever heard, and knowing Ponyville, that was saying something. In the end, Blackstone had to show her Bob’s skull before she believed a word of it.
“Woah.” Dash said. When she moved the orange lights in the skull moved to follow her. Almost like a pair of real eyes. It was hard to tell whether Bob was the coolest or creepiest thing she’d ever seen. It was a tough question, but she was leaning toward creepy. The whining certainly didn’t help the case for cool.
“Now you’re going to apologize for that crack you made before the hydra showed up. You’re not the only one who doesn’t forget stuff.” Blackstone said, nettling the skull.
“Do I have to?” Bob complained petulantly. His employer wasn’t amused.
“Yes, because there isn’t enough superglue in the world to fix you if you don’t.”
Bob muttered something about knowing a good source of glue, but after some hem-hawing he finally spoke up. “I’m sorry for insinuating that you performed carnal favors for recompense.”
Dash blinked, then turned to Blackstone. “What’d he say?”
Blackstone sighed. “He said he’s sorry, and let’s leave it at that.”
“Though I do have one question, if I may,” Bob said. Blackstone’s eyes widened and he hastened to silence the spirit, but Bob hadn’t waited for a reply. “If you aren’t attracted to Blackstone, what kind of pony do you like?”
The blue speedster shrugged and replied easily. “Well, I like big wings.”
Blackstone’s expression changed from one of mild panic to the look of a little colt who’d just seen the pile of presents at his birthday party. Dash had seen him do that before -- it meant he was about to say something weird. She wasn’t disappointed. “So, you like big wings and you cannot lie?” he asked trying to hide a smirk.
What the hay was that supposed to mean? “I don’t see why I’d deny−” she started, glaring, only to be interrupted by gales of laughter from both Blackstone and his creepy friend. The black unicorn was laughing so hard he had to stop walking for a second to collect himself.
Bob recovered first. “That was funny, but it didn’t really answer my question.”
Rainbow Dash thought about it as she hovered. She tried to think fast; they were almost back to where they had fought the hydra. And Bob would talk to Fluttershy only over her dead body. “I dunno. I’m not really interested in romance, but if I did find somepony, they’d have to be athletic. Somepony who could soar with me for miles. Just the two of us and the endless sky.” She couldn’t help but imagine the crisp scent of high atmosphere, the roar of the wind in her ears and the warmth of somepony nearby. Dash flushed slightly trying to banish the thoughts from her mind. She was way too cool to get caught up in a mushy fantasy like that.
Surprisingly, Bob didn’t mock her statement, but he didn’t seem happy with it either. “That’s great, but I wanted to know−”
“More than what’s appropriate.” Blackstone interrupted. “Now shut the hell up.”
They had just crested a small rise, from which they could see the fallen hydra and the yellow speck of a pegasus flitting around it. Fluttershy seemed very busy as they approached, darting here and there. She had just finished splinting one of the hydra’s enormous legs. Dash puzzled over that for a moment. Blackstone came to the realization a bit sooner.
“Wait a minute. That thing isn’t dead?” He sounded surprised, and maybe even a bit relieved.
“He,” Fluttershy corrected firmly, “will be fine, given some time to heal. All of the breaks seem clean, and nothing pierced his scales, though it was close in a couple of places. It will be a while before he can walk again, but he’ll be okay.”
“Yeah, but what about the poison?!” Dash burst out, throwing her hooves in the air. “That’s what knocked him out the fight. Blackstone threw the whole bag of treats down his throat -- not cool, by the way -- and down he went.”
Fluttershy glanced over at Blackstone, suddenly noticing how close he was. She blushed slightly, her voice growing more restrained. “Well, not to be rude, but it wasn’t poison, exactly.” Dash strained to hear her and fought back a sigh. Now that her ‘patient’ was safe and Blackstone was back, Fluttershy acted as timid as ever.
The yellow pegasus floated over to the nearest hydra head and lifted one huge eyelid. “See?” The eye was blank, but not glazed over. A rumbling snore from one of the other heads just confirmed what was already obvious.
“It was a sleeping drug?” Blackstone said, sounding, if possible, more surprised than when he had found out the hydra was still alive.
Fluttershy retreated further behind her bangs, and her voice grew softer still. “Sort of. Take a closer look at his eye.” Both unicorn and pegasus moved forward, but once they started to examine it, the anomaly was obvious. Some of the veins in the white of the eye were a dull green, instead of a normal red or blue. As they watched, more of the tiny blood vessels changed colors, the shade tracing its way slowly from the edge inward.
Dash didn’t bother to hide her shudder. “Okay, so that’s creepy as all get-out, but what does it mean?”
Fluttershy cleared her throat and actually spoke up slightly. “That’s what happens when an animal eats a Slumber Shroom. It’s a little blue mushroom with orange spots. There are a lot of them in the Everfree forest, but you can find a few around Ponyville too if you look hard enough. Most animals know better than to eat it, but every once in a while a baby bunny or hungry badger tries one by accident.”
Blackstone rubbed his chin with one hoof, his balance wobbling slightly. “And it works that quickly, huh? What happens if you eat too much?”
Fluttershy nodded. “Well, depending on how much they ate, some animals will sleep for days, but I’ve never had any last longer than a week. I’ve never heard of an antidote, either.” Her face grew troubled and she ducked behind her bangs. “It can be dangerous. I almost lost a pair of bunnies to dehydration because nopony found them until a couple days after they tried some. But as long as I give them food and water, there aren’t any other ill effects.”
Dash let out a breath. That was a huge weight off of her wings. Fighting the hydra was one thing -- she had no problems kicking flank when she needed to -- but killing it had been something else. Blackstone had been willing to do it because he thought it was necessary, and Dash had a hard time saying he was wrong. Whatever had been driving the hydra wasn’t going to stop until Blackstone, or maybe both of them, were dead. They’d dodged a bullet this time, but what if it was necessary again? What if she was the pony who had to make that call? What if she had to choose between... killing... somepony else, or letting them kill Dresden?
While Dash was struggling with a burgeoning moral dilemma, Blackstone seemed occupied with other thoughts. He stared at the hydra, mumbling slightly to himself, then he patted the front of his coat. His eyes widened and he came to some type of realization. He spoke in a slightly breathless voice. “The left hand doesn’t know what the right one is doing.”
Then he stomped the ground with a sudden fervor, making Fluttershy ‘eep’ and jump into a bunch of nearby bushes. He didn’t notice. “Of course, that explains so much!”
Dash snapped out her thoughts and landed next to him. Somepony needed to keep her hooves on the ground, though she couldn’t believe it was her. “What are you talking about? And what was that about hands?”
He answered in a rush. “It means that there’s been a breakdown of communication. Two groups that should be cooperating aren’t working together. Case in point, my assassins.”
That elicited a gasp from the bushes, and Fluttershy struggled out of them a few twigs and leaves stuck in her mane. “A-a-a-assassins?” Her eyes were wide, and her mouth began slowly drop open in horror.
Blackstone was oblivious to her surprised statement, but Dash realized with a start they had never explained to Fluttershy why the hydra attacked them. And after that they hadn’t had the time to mention any of the other attempts. Before she say something though, the full impact of Blackstone’s statement hit her. “Wait a minute. Assassins, as in plural?”
Blackstone nodded. “The styles are too different to be the same bunch. I should have noticed that right off. Half the attempts, while untraceable, were still really blatant and unrestrained.” He ticked off points with successive gestures. “Exploding welcome wagon, falling anvil, crashing cart and a compelled hydra. No matter how much skill they took, they were still really messy. Any one of those could easily have hurt a lot of other ponies. It’s as though they wanted to kill me no matter the cost.”
“But at the same time there were several far more subtle attacks. The sleeper hold in Rarity’s boutique, the pins in marketplace, and the drugged candy were all restrained, and most of them weren’t even deadly.” He glanced down at his front pocket and frowned. “In fact, I’m starting to doubt that the pins are tipped with poison. It’s probably more of that sleeping drug. Even if they accidently pricked someone else, it wouldn’t be fatal. And that mysterious shield in the marketplace probably wasn’t from the same pony who messed with the cart; they would already be long gone. This was done by somepony who wanted to bring me in quietly and without hurting anyone.”
Dash was starting to follow him better; it made sense when he put it like that. “So there are two different ponies trying to kill you?” she asked.
He gave a curt shake of his head. “More likely it’s several. We’re probably dealing with two groups, or two separate parts of the same group. That’s what my instincts say, at least.”
Fluttershy shivered in fear. “That’s terrible! How could anypony want to hurt you, Mr. Dresden? Much less k-k-k−” she couldn’t finish the word, and let out a soft sob. The yellow mare bowed her head and started to cry softly.
Blackstone winced, his face betraying a guilty pain. It was the first crack in that stoic mask of his that Dash had seen. He wrapped the shaking pegasus in a gentle embrace, his long forelegs easily circling her, and made reassuring noises as she cried. Dash hesitated for only a moment then she hugged her shy friend too. Gilda would have laughed at her for acting so soft, but if Fluttershy really needed her, then that cool image went right out the window. Her friends were a million times more important than something like that.
“I’m s-sorry.” Fluttershy said, her words coming between fresh lines of tears. “I shouldn’t be crying like this. I-It’s just that the night in T-trixie’s castle was the scariest thing that ever happened to me. I’ve had n-nightmares ever since. Nightmares where she won, where the traps worked, where I had to watch…” She let the sentence hang incomplete, but continued on. “I thought it was all over. I didn’t think I’d ever have to worry about my friends like that ever again.”
Dash’s stomach wrenched as she squeezed her friend, holding back a few tears herself. Why didn’t she ever say anything? Fluttershy had never seemed any different, and Dash hadn't suspected there was anything wrong. But seeing her now it was obvious the toll their terrifying adventure had taken on the innocent mare. It… hurt to see her friend like this, to know that she hadn’t been there for her.
The blue daredevil had had a few nightmares, waking up screaming and covered in her own sweat, but she thought she’d been the only one. Even then, it was only a few, and they had faded after the first couple weeks. Had Fluttershy really been suffering like that the whole time? Rainbow Dash wished she knew what to say, but she wasn’t any good with words. She just held Fluttershy even tighter.
Blackstone spoke after a moment, and his voice was serious as a heart attack, solid as steel. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you. I’ll protect all of you.” Dash snorted, letting him know how much she needed that protection. Both her friends chuckled slightly at that, but Dash knew it wasn’t enough.
Blackstone seemed to realize that as well. He paused and let go of Fluttershy, pulling himself away from her. “And I’m sorry to ask you this, but I need you to be brave again. It won’t be as bad as Trixie’s castle, but it’s still going to be dangerous.”
Fluttershy blinked back a couple tears, shaking slightly. “But I’m not brave. I’m a scaredy pony, a coward.” Her eyes dropped to ground, and her voice fell to a whisper that Dash could barely hear, much less understand. “You don’t need me.”
“Horse crap!” Dash shouted, startling both Fluttershy and Blackstone. She let go of Fluttershy and hovered angrily nearby.
“Rainbow!” Fluttershy gasped, her mouth wide open.
Dash glared at her. “Yeah, yeah, I shouldn’t swear, but that was nothing but the truth. You’re one of the bravest ponies I know. Who stood up to the giant dragon and made him leave town? Who stared down a cockatrice and made it change back everything it’d turned to stone? Who stopped a giant stone snake in its tracks and held it there?” Dash smiled, her tough demeanor disappearing. “You did. And you can do even more. I’m sure of it.”
Fluttershy stared at her friend, hope and fear warring in her eyes. “But I’m scared,” she said breathlessly.
Blackstone put a hoof on her shoulder. “Not being afraid isn’t courage, that’s insanity. Or maybe stupidity. Being brave is doing something despite the fear.” He gave her a smile of his own, tired and sad, but one that still said he believed in her. “And by that definition, you’re the bravest pony here.”
Fluttershy blushed, her cheeks turning bright red, but for once she didn’t try to look away or hide herself. She was quiet for a long moment before she rose to her hooves and brushed away any lingering tears. “You’re right. I can’t just sit here and cry. You said your puppy needs me.”
The yellow pegasus began to pack up her kit again. Dash and Blackstone were waiting on the other side of the unconscious hydra as she hurried over to them. They started off at a fast trot, though it was still a slow pace for Dash. She caught her friend glancing back worriedly at the sleeping reptile, and Dash rolled her eyes.
“Don’t worry, Fluttershy, he’ll still be there when you come back.”
Blackstone raised an eyebrow as if to say, Where else would he be?
Dash responded by sticking out her tongue.
Fluttershy ignored the by-play and sighed. “I sure hope so. But if we find the pony who did that compelling I’m going to give her a piece of my mind.”
Dash was certain she would, and for a brief second she actually felt a tinge of sympathy for that pony if Fluttershy ever caught them.
………
The Books and Branches Library wasn’t anything special in Dash’s opinion. Books were for eggheads, and while trees made good places to nap, the beehive hanging on one of the branches made that a grade-A bad idea.
But she’d never been so glad to see it before. Blackstone wasn’t at the door just yet, but his pace would bring him there before too long. She itched to catch up. He had insisted on going first once they entered Ponyville, just in case the Shadow Ponies made another move on him. That way she and Fluttershy wouldn’t be in danger. Or at least farther from it than standing right beside him. Her tail twitched in annoyance. She hadn’t wanted to trail him, but he pointed out that from behind they would spot anything he missed and they were close enough to come to his aid in case anypony made a try for him.
Luckily nothing had happened. There had been a lot of ponies looking at Blackstone, but none of them had done anything. Dash had thought it was his ego talking when he mentioned how many mares thought he was a top stud, but the evidence backed him up. There were a lot of mares who just outright stared at him as he went by. It was like when Big Mac came to town. Times ten.
Dash shook her head. “Can you believe that, Fluttershy?”
Her friend started at the sudden question. “Believe what?”
“All of those fillies drooling over Blackstone. I mean, he’s cool guy and all, but still.” The town stallions didn’t seem to know whether to hate or admire him. Though a few of them had looks that were very similar to the mares’ expressions. Maybe the sleeping potion wasn’t an attempt to kill; Blackstone might just have a really creepy fan. One who wanted to keep him all to herself.
Dash made a disgusted noise and tried to shake the thought off. Then she realized that Fluttershy hadn’t responded to her question yet. She turned to find the shy pegasus blushing and staring at the ground. Thinking quickly, Dash put two and two together and got five.
“Oh. Sorry, ‘shy. I should’ve known you don’t like talking about stuff like that.” She paused but bulled ahead anyway. “It’s just weird, especially knowing what he really looks like.”
“It’s not that weird.” Fluttershy murmured. Her voice as loud as a butterfly’s wing beat.
“Sorry, what didja say?” Dash asked leaning over and cupping a hoof to her ear.
Fluttershy shook her head. “Nothing.”
Up ahead, Blackstone had finally reached and entered the library. At last. Dash grinned and raced forward, her friend following at a more restrained speed. There weren’t many ponies hanging around the library today. Not even anypony enjoying the shade from the huge tree.
Dash glanced at the sign as she entered and saw that it was flipped to ‘Open’. She almost ran into Blackstone’s rump; the black unicorn had stopped cold only a couple feet past the door. Glancing over his shoulder, Dash saw that the library was as empty as the street outside. Well, almost, anyway. Spike was dusting the shelves of a spotless room. The little dragon grinned when he saw them. “Hey guys! How’d Twilight’s appointment go? Does she still have that perfect record?”
“She isn’t here?” Blackstone asked, his voice tight with concern.
Spike looked confused. “She never came back after her dentist appointment, so I thought she was with you. You know, showing you around and everything.”
Blackstone closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay, so we don’t know where she is. That doesn’t necessarily mean that anything went wrong.” It sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than anypony else, but Dash didn’t say anything. He turned away from Spike, his dash up the stairs giving lie to his previous reassurance.
In the meantime, Fluttershy had already found Blackstone’s dog, if the cooing and baby talk from the opposite side of the room was any clue. With Blackstone gone, a confused Spike turned to Rainbow Dash for answers. “What’s going on? Why does Blackstone look so worried?”
“Somepony’s trying to bump him off.” Dash’s mouth stretched into a thin tight line. “And considering that, no wonder he’s upset that nopony knows where Twilight is.”
Spike’s eyes grew until they were the size of saucers. “Is it Trixie again? Did the Nightmare come back? Is it zombies!?”
Dash shook her head. “He doesn’t think so and I’d agree with him. This is somepony else.” She reflected on the past conversation, and frowned. “More like several someponies. And if they even touched Twilight,” she growled, “I’m gonna give them a beating they won’t ever forget.”
“You’re damned right about that.” Blackstone said as he thundered down the stairs. His pockets bulged with strange items, and he was holding his scarred staff. His face was grim and his eyes flashed with anger. “Here’s the plan. I’m heading over the dentist’s office to see if I can pick up her trail. Rainbow, I need you to check with the rest of the girls and find out if they’ve seen her. If they haven’t, send them over to the library. We might be overreacting, but it’s more likely that we’ve got a full-blown emergency on our hands.” He yanked the door open with a burst of telekinesis and marched towards it.
There came a low growl from the back of the room, followed by a weak, but still fierce bark. The little dog Fluttershy was treating tried to stand up, glaring at the front door.
“Oh, what’s wrong, boy? Does it hurt?” Fluttershy asked, trying to calm him.
Blackstone didn’t even glance at his dog, his eyes immediately widened, and his bracelet began spitting sparks again as he charged it with magic. “They’re waiting for us outside.” He said his voice hard. “We’ll rush them in three.”
But Dash wasn’t willing to wait that long. The blue speedster gritted her teeth and stretched her wings in a series of quick exercises. “No way. These bozos are getting what’s coming to them now!” Before the black unicorn could say anything she had already shot through the open door like a bullet. The second Dash was clear of the door frame her wings shot out to their full span and gave one gigantic flap, launching her into the air. Dash glared downwards, using her altitude to get a good view of the ground around the library.
She had outmaneuvered half a dozen ponies on the ground dressed in plain, unremarkable armor. Dash grinned to herself, they’d been caught off guard and now they were easy pickings. The best chance earth ponies or unicorns had against a pegasus was if they caught her on the ground. Now she was untouchable and could attack them at speeds they couldn’t come close to matching. Altitude was the best weapon a pegasus could have.
Unfortunately, the enemy understood that principle just as well as she did. Three pegasi burst out of a concealing cloud above her. Dash barely had time to glance upwards at the sound before they released a weighted net right on top of her. She twisted to the side, but the movement came too late. The net curled around her from every direction at once. The thick strands cut into her wings, strapping them to her sides. Dash began to drop like a stone, and her opponents, all of them clad in armor similar to the ponies on the ground, quickly surrounded her.
A wave of panic shot through her and every instinct screamed at her to fight for altitude. Dash ignored them. She was a strong flier, but trying to fly with the net over her would only tangle up her wings and drop her that much faster. Instead she carefully spread her wings, forcing the net off of her body and giving her some breathing space. That wouldn’t work forever. Her muscles were already beginning to scream in protest as they fought against the heavy weights, but it was long enough.
Dash pointed her nose to the ground, snapped her wings shut and dove. The net began to close on her again, but she’d held it open just wide enough. The blue pegasus cleared the bottom strands of the net right before it closed again. The pegasi chasing her didn’t move to intercept, but then the ground was really close and she was going really fast.
This is gonna be a close one, Dash thought, licking her lips nervously. She pulled back on the angle, spread her wings, and tried to pull out of her headlong dive. A few longer blades of grass lashed her stomach as she streaked past, and then she was rising again. She’d managed to regain fifteen or twenty feet of height, but her opponents were in hot pursuit and still had the advantage. Dash didn’t have the speed or altitude to fight them head on. Luckily, she didn’t need to.
“Vento Servitas!” roared a powerful voice from below. A fierce gust of wind suddenly hit the trio of pegasi from underneath, catching them by surprise and tossing them like leaves in the wind. Dash glanced down to where Blackstone was fighting the ponies on the ground. One of the unicorns was already down, hopefully just stunned, but the earth ponies and the other two unicorn were pressing him hard as he defended the door way. One of the pegasi dove to surprise him from the air, and Dash caught a glint of metal hidden among his feathers. But Spike, who was riding on Blackstone’s back, for some reason, puffed out his cheeks and sent a burst of flames toward the aerial enemy. It couldn’t have done more than singe him, but it was still sufficient to hurt and confuse the attacker long enough for Blackstone to grab him in a red-orange aura and slam him to the ground.
The entire sequence took only a few seconds, during which Dash gained some altitude, trying to keep an eye on both the two remaining pegasi at the same time. It’s wasn’t until she felt a rope draw tight around one of her legs that realized that only two of earth ponies were still fighting Blackstone. The third had pulled out a lasso and had snagged Dash with a throw that would have done Applejack proud. The heavily-muscled stallion gripped the rope tightly in his teeth, hoping to hold her still while his friends moved in for the attack.
Dash didn’t fight the pull. She’d been in more than enough fights with Applejack to know that you didn’t beat an earth pony in a contest like that. The best Dash had ever managed was to pull her off the ground by a few feet, and even then, the effort had been torture on her wings. This bruiser was closer to Big Mac’s size than Applejack’s, and he was wearing armor. His eyes widened in surprise as she flipped and raced toward him, but he stubbornly held onto the rope. That suited her just fine.
Dash whipped around him in a tight turn, the circular movement jerking him off his hooves. She powered forward, pushing through the pain of towing him. She couldn’t let him get any traction or he’d stop her cold. She moved toward the battling ponies and shot past one of them so close that she swore she could see the nicks in his armor. Either her baggage didn’t realize in time to let go of the rope, or he had too much forward momentum to stop anyway. The stallion holding her tether crashed into the one she had just passed and they went down in a heap. Free of her constraining weight, Dash moved even more quickly. Blackstone was beating the stuffing out of the remaining ponies, but Dash wasn’t going to let him have all of the fun. She skimmed the ground, putting her hooves down and twisting her entire body around only a couple feet from her target. Her hind legs shot out, transferring all the force of her breakneck speed into a kick that sent a lightly-armored unicorn mare flying and her sword skidding across the ground.
The last earth pony standing charged Blackstone head on, ignoring the flames that Spike sent his way. The poor idiot never realized that those were the least of his obstacles. A hardwood staff snapped up catching him across the chin, then spun around and delivered a crushing blow to his back. “Forzare!” the black unicorn cried, as he smashed the charging warrior to the ground. Dash flapped her wings, gaining some height though the rope still dangled from her left hind leg. Their attackers were beginning to get back up, all except for the stallion at Blackstone’s hooves. They were bruised, and a little bloody, but not yet beaten. One of the pegasi gave Blackstone a smoldering glare, but his ears twitched at the distant shouts of other ponies.
Dash wasn’t surprised. The fight had been loud enough for ponies in Canterlot to notice. From the noise, half the town was headed their way. The pegasus glaring at Blackstone was evidently in charge, because he barked out a quick order and the rest of them converged on him. The unicorns lit their horns, and before Dash realized what they were doing, all eight ponies disappeared in a flash of light. They had gotten away quickly, but only by leaving behind the fighter Blackstone was all but standing on.
Dash’s mouth dropped open as she realized that they had sacrificed their friend for the clean getaway. The shock faded as her blood began to boil. “What a bunch of weak-winged cowards!” she screamed at the empty air. “Get back here, you backstabbing sons of nags, and take what’s coming to you!” Nopony appeared to answer Dash’s insults, but that didn’t stop her from continuing to disparage their characters and ancestry.
Blackstone was more occupied with their captive. With his telekinesis, he dragged the beaten warrior into the library, pausing only to strip him of his bladed bracers. Dash finally gave up her tirade and moved to follow, not because she was any less angry, but because she had run out of insults. She eyed the weapons as she passed, privately glad she hadn’t faced the nasty-looking blades head-on.
As they entered, Fluttershy rushed forward with her first aid kit. “Oh goodness, are you three okay?” The yellow pegasus was worried, but thankfully not panicking. Dash shook her head. She was sore all over, but she didn’t have any injuries.
“I could use a throat lozenge.” Spike said hoarsely, rubbing his neck. “I’m not used to breathing that much fire that quickly.”
“Nothing critical.” Blackstone said. Her friend wasn’t even breathing hard, but for some reason he was covered in sweat and shaking slightly. “Besides, we need to deal with this guy before we do anything else.” He glared as the pony at his hooves tried to rise. A swift blow with the staff stopped that, and the large stallion collapsed back to the floor.
Dash stared at him, getting a good look for the first time since the fight had begun. She’d already noted his color, a strange kind of greenish purple, but now she could tell that his mane was metallic blue, and his eyes were a bright gold. Dash didn’t make a habit of memorizing everypony in Ponyville (unlike a certain friend she could name) but, this guy didn’t spark even a flicker of recognition. He wasn’t focused on her, though. Every ounce of his hate filled gaze was fixed on Blackstone.
The black unicorn was regarding him with open hostility in return. Blackstone leveled the staff at his face and spoke in a measured, but still furious tone. “Answer me three questions honestly and I swear to you on my power that you will be treated well and released after this is all over.” He leaned down, the red in his eyes making them look like two burning coals. There was just as much heat in his voice as he bore down on the motionless earth pony. “But if you lie to me or refuse to answer I will make you suffer in ways you can’t even imagine. Where is Twilight, who are you idiots, and why are you trying to kill me?”
Blackstone leaned back watching him warily. “And I want answers in the next thirty seconds. Tick tock, buddy.”
The downed stallion gave Blackstone a look of utter loathing and replied. “Go to Tartarus, Obsidian.” Then he bit down on something. There was a flash of light, and Dash backed off instinctively, but there wasn’t any damage and the light hadn’t been bright enough to blind anypony. The only difference she could see was that the earth pony’s expression had gone from one of absolute hatred to one of intense confusion.
Gold colored eyes blinked innocently, inspecting the world around them without understanding. “W-where am I? Who are you?” He suddenly seemed to choke and spat out a cracked piece of wood, scarred lines running throughout it.
Blackstone slammed the stallion against the wall, holding his staff in the hollow of the pony’s throat. “That’s not what I asked. Where. Is. Twilight?”
The dumbfounded pony sputtered helplessly, “Wha- what?”
“Where you from?” Blackstone roared.
The previously threatening fighter looked close to crying. “What?!”
“What ain’t no country I ever heard of!” he yelled. Dash almost stepped forward. He was being really tough on this pony, but then it was hard to blame him given what they had been through.
“What?”
“Do they speak English in ‘what’?” Dash almost felt sorry for the strange pony as Blackstone continued his bizarre verbal assault.
“What?”
“English! Do you speak it?!”
“No! I don’t know who you are, I don’t know where your ‘Twilight’ is, I don’t who I am and most importantly I have no idea what an ‘english’ is!” The terrified pony closed his eyes tightly and cringed away from the threatening unicorn, obviously expecting the worst.
Only for Blackstone to start laughing. He didn’t remove the staff or back away, but somehow the interrogator from Tartarus image disappeared, all with a few weary chuckles. “None of you ponies can ever get the quotes right, damnit. Just when I thought I’d finally gotten one, you mess it up.” The dark unicorn sighed, brought out the black mesh bag that had been hanging at his side, and pulled out the freaky skull inside. She glared at him, but held back. Now wasn’t the time for arguing.
Blackstone positioned Bob so that his orange eyes were staring into the gold ones of his captive. “Tell me what just happened, Bob.”
Bob whistled, though how he did it in the absence of lips Dash had no idea. Fluttershy was staring in ill-disguised horror at the macabre sight, her mouth hanging slightly open.
“Damn,” the skull commented, its tone intrigued. “That is one hell of a memory charm.”
Fluttershy fainted, and if Dash hadn’t moved quickly, the shy pegasus would have just dropped to the floor. The captured warrior followed her example and hit the ground only seconds later.
“So what are we dealing with? What was that flash and why did he go from Sergeant Slaughter to Pansy the Wonder Wuss?” Blackstone asked, moving the skull so it could inspect their prisoner’s head from multiple angles.
“I hope you realize that you’re asking me to theorize on a completely foreign type of magic, at short notice, right after an intense combat situation−”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Blackstone interrupted. “You’re hell on wheels with a flaming chainsaw when it comes to this stuff. Ego stoked, now give me the analysis.”
Bob let loose with an overly dramatic sigh. “Fine. The charm, rune, or whatever equivalent the unicorn magic system has, just wiped this guy’s mind. As far as I can tell, he doesn’t have even the slightest personal memory. The subconscious stuff is untouched, but you couldn’t pull anything useful out of there without a lot more time and trouble than it’s worth.” The skull grunted in an almost admiring tone. “Whoever did this was good. Fast, clean and with barely a trace of residual magic. I guess it beats giving them cyanide pills, but that gets into moral territory, and I can’t really judge there.”
“Damn.” Blackstone said with quiet vehemence. He glared at the unconscious stallion for a second before rolling his shoulders and turning to face Dash. “Okay, new plan. I need you to handle the police and anypony else who shows up here, I need Fluttershy to take care of this idiot and keep him safe just in case he is useful somehow, and I need Spike to research anypony named Obsidian, maybe fictional, maybe historical.”
The sound of approaching ponies was growing louder by the second and at this point a knock at the door was all but inevitable. Dash still glared at Blackstone, letting out her breath in a huff. “And where will you be during all of this?”
Blackstone gave her a daredevil smile and picked up his oaken staff. “I’ve got an appointment with the dentist.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.102 seconds
Total duration
877 users online
727,439 hits today, 2,814,898 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Frabgis day! Woo!
Fantastic as always Psychic! Loved the pulp fiction reference.
Keep it coming!
You know, I do believe that is the first time Dresden has ever been happy to visit a dentist.
Funnily enough, I think Dresden will be the dental surgeon here. Doing a bit of rearranging of Colgate's jaw.
*Grins* Poor Colgate...this is going to get uglier than Angel Bunny being starved.
And keep this in mind: What may have just been a sleeping dose for the Hydra might have been a fatal dose for Blackstone or at least render him comatose.
And that was an awesome song reference, the whole "I love big wings and I cannot lie." Can't recall the name of the song but definitely hilarious.
I wonder if Celestia or Luna know Bob, or at least of him? Given how much Mab hates him, he can't have been that small a player in the Fae realms. This of course makes one wonder if Celestia or Luna know about the Fae queens.
Cheers
GM
SQUEE!
...that's really all I can say right now.
If Colgate were still in Ponyville, she'd be screwed.
Good thing for her she's not. Hopefully the trail doesn't run cold.
Hooo boy, are those guys screwed now. Why's that?
Dresden's specialty is tracking spells. All he'll need is something from Colgate's office.
At least they can learn about Obsidian now.
1417734
According to what Flutters said, increasing the dose only increases the duration of the sleep, because magic.
Also, now I really want to see Twilight lead Dresden to their base, since she's probably halfway done dismantling the suppression spell from the wrong side. Do want!
How did you manage to update on the same day as My Little Denarians after such a long break?
Oh, crap. You have gone and hurt Dresden's friends.
When this is over, you'll wish that you were dealing with Obsidian.
1417734 i dont think i have ever seen the truth quoted in a more perfect way :D
Roaring Rampage!!!!!
Cry Havoc and unleash the dogs of war.
Have fun Dresden
Oh, what's next. But now, Blackstone and company are setting up for the comeback. I mean, even if the dentist visit comes up a bust (I get the image of him referencing that song from Little Shop of Horrors now), anything Spike may come up with on Obsidian (short of 'absolutely nothing') might mention the Order or something. At the very least he gets a frame of reference.
Also, dear author, your Dresden seems a bit more... musically inclined than others I've seen. I like.
Please Sir, I want some more.
1417870
He'll almost certainly find information about Obsidian. Twilight knew of him and didn't seem to think much of it. Dresden will probably get the same info about Obsidian that all the non-insane ponies have, though I'm not sure knowing which evil wizard they think he is will be particularly helpful with finding their secret organization.
1417919
He just needs to ask the right questions, is all.
1417734 - I love big plots and I can not lie? I don't know the name of the song either, but still, amusing. I'm still waiting to see more about Bob. Not sure what's going to happen in the next book, they might just skip over him forever. I'd assume Celestia/Luna know about the Fae queens, being one of the prime powers in the normally accessible NeverNever. They are of similar power level themselves though.
Good chapter! Nice to see Blackstone lay down some smack, non-fatally even. Memory Charm anti-interrogation though, interesting.
I have a strong suspicion that I know who the second group of "assassins" are. And why they're after Dresden. If I'm right, it's pretty hilarious.
Been waiting all day for any updates to my watch list, and you show up.
First, I was all
Then I was
baby got much flank! Also brilliant, this story is so action packed and there's always new stuff going on. Very excited to see what happens next.
> The little dog Fluttershy was treating tried to stand up, glaring at the front door.
Wait, what? This is Mouse, we're talking about, right? I'd assume so, since a paragraph or two later it's referred to as Harry's dog. If so, "little" is the last word I would use to describe Mouse.
HEhehehaHAHAHAHEheh I love this story!
Ok i know this is supposed to be about Dresden but after previous chapter Twighlight definitely wins the 'Badass of the story' award.
That being said, things are nicely closing in on a dramatic showdown, i wonder what will win in the end, logic and resoning or all out brawl between both sides.... oooor if an actual evil pony necromancer finally shows up.
In other words...
Mooooar dear sir, moooooar if you please!
Shouldn't they send a letter to the princess or something? Her personal student has been kidnapped.
What...Is your name?
What...is your quest?
What...is the capitol of Syria? You don't know? Forzare!
Goddamnit Spike.
Ponies possibly trying to kill Dresden. Check.
Twilight possibly pony-napped. Check.
An "overwhelming" force of anonymous ponies assaulting civilians in broad daylight in a residential area. Check.
A prisoner who probably requires advanced magic to A, regain the pony he once was, and B, be able to provide some answers. Check.
Letter sent to Princess Celestia. ...
...
...
Grrrrrr...!
I can hear the sound of the approaching storm...
Mares of Ponyville assemble, Dresden needs an army.
Dentists are sadists anyway! Sorry Colgate, but it seems you're about to meet a real cavity.
Great chapter, can't wait to see Dresden get into his groove and solve this mystery. And burn down the Order's secret base, regardless of what its made of or if its underground. He'll find a way.
I wonder if he'll find the similarities between Kemmler and Obsidian creepy, what with the whole constantly coming back thing. A pony-analogue of the greatest evil wizard the White Council has waged war on in a long time, nothing weird about that.
1417939 The song is Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-a-lot.
Huh, I just noticed, Fluttershy said 'her' when talking about the pony who compelled the hydra to attack Dresden. I think an accidental spoiler is here, at least for the gender of one of the attackers. And from there, a specific gender may mean a specific semi-important character who Dresden fights in the future, probably named.
1417734 I think the name of the song is Baby Got Back
1418129
Maybe Kemmler is Obsidian? Somehow?
Aw yeah ! Dresden in da house!
1418025 - The story is set for soon after the events in which Harry got his hand crispified and gained Mouse. He's still a puppy, thus, small is appropriate. Harry used to carry him around in a pocket of his trench coat.
1418085 - Seconded... Hey Spike, take a letter....
Dear Princess Celestia,
WTF is going on?
Signed,
Dresden
New update of Dresden Fillies?
cdn.styleforum.net/d/d1/d199a11a_Jizz_in_my_Pants_by_Mani_B.jpeg
And holy crap, Dresden is pissed. I smell brimstone on the horizon. things are going down soon, I can tell.
I saw what you did. Now I have to wait in anticipation for Dresden's dentist appointment.
New chapter of False Masks?
HELL YES!
*cracks knuckles*
Reading right [censored] now!
287713 dude, your avatar pic is scary. like really fucking scary.
Ah Psychichscubadiver! Your updates always make my day!
1418062
24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lc1w8dIW5G1qalcu6o1_500.gif
Dashie likes big wings ... i thought that would have been more Twilight's bag of tea
1418129 Dead Beat pages 26 & 27, Harry does not know about Kemmler yet.
Fluttershy returns to the hydra, which seems to have recovered and eyes the little pony curiously with all four heads. "Oh, Mr. Hyra, are you feeling better now?" The hydra's heads stare at each other in disbelief for a moment. Then one shrugs and glomps Fluttershy. From inside its mouth, Fluttershy's voice mumbles meekly, "I-I guess that's a 'yes'? Uhm... could you, maybe, let me out. If that's ok?" The hydra swallows. A few last words emanate from the hydra's gullet, "Oh dear..." Then a soft squeak.
And that was the end of Fluttershy!
“You’re damned right about that.” Blackstone said as he thundered down the stairs. His pockets bulged with strange items, and he was holding his scarred staff. His face was grim and his eyes flashed with anger.
I think you're forgetting that he's been changed into a pony. You know. Quadruped?
How's he holding his staff?
1418245
Fluttershy likely said her because most of Equestria's population seems to be female. Or at least most of the population we know of.
1418690
He got a coat from Rarity. I forgot about it until your comment. As for the staff, likely his telekinesis.
colgate's gonna get fucked up
Wait! I thought they were in Ponyville?
1417804 Hah, I was thinking the same thing. At least we got to enjoy a dresden-filled day. Also Colgate seemed pretty pissed about the way the order was treating Twilight, so I wouldn't be that suprised if she just up and tells Dresden the truth. Also she may be back in ponyville considering she stormed out of the secret base earlier.
1418690 It sticks to his back while he casts> Have you never played World of Warcraft?
1418108 this made me cackle insanely. With the goo-goo eyes every mare in Ponyville is making to Dresden, all it would take is literally a short, pithy sentence from our dear wizard, and he WOULD have an army of ravening mares at his beck and call.
It
Would
Be
GLORIOUS
1418690
Great chapter, as always.