“—we faceless few, we whom hold back the black tide, we band of brothers that labour in the darkness to keep the world from consumption and ruination.” Holding his sword, Flicker’s gaze fell upon Piper as he opened his eyes. In a rare moment of creative inspiration, he added, “And sisters. I have always felt that we should make a change to add our sisters.”
“It’s really weird to see you passionate about something.” Piper’s voice was a low whisper and her eyes remained upon Flicker’s sword as he slid it into his sheath. “You do have feelings.”
Glancing once at Hennessy, Flicker thought about Piper’s words for a short time, then replied, “I was once just a colt. I was scared all of the time, and whiny, and I worried about everything, about all of the things that could go wrong, and I was constantly living in terror. I was scared of everything. I worried about everything. Now, I am part of something greater. I know my purpose. My fears have gone from me. I have grown up. I have learned to calm my mind from worry.” The colt blinked once. “I am part of an organisation whose purpose is to keep the light of civilisation burning. How could I not be passionate about that?”
“I get that, I think, but it is still kinda weird to see you have… well, feelings about it.” Piper’s expression became one of gentle concern. “Since I’ve met you, you’ve, well, you’ve struck me as being a little, you’re rather, uh, um, how do I say this politely—”
“Cold?” Hennessy finished, saying the word that Piper was hesitant to use. “Distant. Detached.”
“Clinical and calculating,” Piper added as her head bobbed up and down.
“Maybe I am.” Flicker shrugged. “My mother says I’ve changed since I’ve left home. I am just really happy with what I do. I’m proud of it. I have given myself over to what I am and I’ve kept nothing of myself for myself. I don’t know if that makes sense, but it sounds good in my head.”
“Actually, I understand that.” Piper leaned forwards. “I want to be a wizard more than anything. I didn’t get a talent for magic, I got a flute for a cutie mark, but I didn’t get discouraged. I know that I can become a powerful wizard, but I’m going to have to give myself over wholly and completely if I’m going to match somepony born with a knack for magic.”
“Yes.” Flicker’s voice was a hiss in the dim dark of the bunkroom. “Wholly and completely. Give yourself over and lose yourself in purpose. Become one with destiny and know the joy, the bliss, of never doubting yourself.”
“There he goes again, being creepy—”
“Shut up, Hennessy!” Piper gave the earth pony colt a stern look of disapproval.
“Well he is—”
“Hush it!”
“I am in a place beyond fear and doubt, where worry cannot reach me. I am one with my purpose.” Flicker seemed unconcerned that Hennessy and Piper were having it out for dominance and he didn’t seem bothered that they were giving each other fierce stares at the moment.
“Country bumpkin!”
“Piping Hot puke puddle!”
Mouth open in a perfect round ‘O’ of shock and surprise, Piper stared at Hennessy for several long seconds before she began to snigger, then giggle, and then she began laughing. Hennessy did the same, big belly laughs, and Flicker continued thinking about his purpose, his glorious purpose, with a blank stare upon his face. Even though he did not show it, Flicker, surrounded by friends who shared his purpose, was happy.
Looking at the map, Flicker studied his location. They were just a ways north of Applewood, just east of the Ashlands, Mount Maud, and the Even Ghastlier Gorge. Further north was the White Tail Woods. The community sat upon the edge of a river that carried runoff from the Ashlands and the Froggy Bottom Bogg. Looking even grimmer than usual, Flicker understood that all of these factors contributed in some way to the potential danger of the area, even if he didn’t fully understand the reasons why. He was learning though, and one day, he would know.
Doctor Sterling seemed to know. The doctor too, was studying the map, and Flicker had no doubts that Doctor Sterling was taking into account all of these variables. The colt’s mind lapsed into thinking about the doctor’s purpose. Doctor Sterling’s cutie mark was a silver syringe and Flicker recognised it as the symbol of a weapon against disease. Doctor Sterling was one of the most important doctors in Equestria, one of the most knowledgeable, a pony greatly respected by the Royal Pony sisters, a pony loved by many, a pony that could have had a job doing anything, with fabulous wealth and recognition.
And yet he chose to work with the Rat Catcher’s Guild.
The good doctor didn’t have to get dirty and mucky crawling through the sewers. He didn’t have to put himself at risk down in the dark. The doctor was beyond all of that, and yet, he chose this life. Flicker admired that, drew inspiration from that, and this was the reason why the colt worshiped his mentor.
“Okay, here is the plan, such as it is,” the doctor announced. “We go in, check with the community, give Hennessy a chance to use his nose, and then once we clear the community, we begin the rat hunt. This is a farming community, with lots of irrigation canals where rats can swim, and granaries for the rats to hide in. We have a lot of ground to cover, so we’ll be using stilts as we sweep through an area.”
“No gas,” Flicker said, his voice sounding just a little sad.
“No gas around food or the ponies of this community. If we find a burrow or a warren and I deem that it is safe, you may gas it.” Doctor Sterling ignored the manic gleam of fervour in Flicker’s eyes. “Piper, we’ll be using your talent a lot here. Wicked wants a thorough field test to see what you are capable of. Now is the time to pull out all of the stops. If you wish to impress me, this is the time and the place. What you do here in this place determines your future within the guild. Are you a major resource or just a curiousity?”
A fearful expression took over Piper’s face as the doctor’s words settled in. She nodded, swallowed with a gulp, and then a look of steely resolve flared up in her eyes as she looked over Flicker. Continuing to nod, Piper looked her future in the eye and did not flinch.
“Hennessy, when we do the meet and greet, you are to remain glued to my side. Follow my lead and use your natural charm. These are earth ponies for the most part, farmers, superstitious sorts that are both scared and suspicious of magic and unicorns. You’ll have a connection to them that we will not have, and I plan to exploit that for all it is worth.”
Licking his lips, Hennessy looked at the doctor and nodded.
“We are no good to a community if they can’t trust us and we can’t help them.” Doctor Sterling’s words became hard and harsh. “It is very difficult for them to trust us, we represent the unknown, we represent death and disease. We are plague doctors… rat catchers… ponies in general don’t like killing things, they’re a squeamish lot, and we kill for a living. We slaughter on a scale that most have a hard time imagining. If any of you do anything, commit any infraction that causes mistrust, if you besmirch our reputation and our good name, your punishment will be a flogging or walking papers.”
“Uh…” Piper, looking a little scared, looked up at the doctor. “What does that mean exactly?”
“It means,” Flicker replied in a flat monotone, “that you have freedom to choose your punishment. If you commit a major infraction, you can take a flogging and earn the forgiveness of the guild, or you can walk away in shame, stripped of all rank, titles, and privileges as a guild member.”
“Thank you, Mister Nicker, for your succinct summation.”
“If’n I screw up, I’m taking a flogging.” Hennessy’s eyes narrowed. “I ain’t no quitter.”
Silvery, bushy eyebrow arching, Doctor Sterling gave Hennessy a nod.
“Well, I’m certainly not about to throw away my life’s aspirations if I make a mistake. A flogging will be over soon enough, I suppose. Of course, I don’t plan on making any mistakes. I seldom do. Rules are easy enough to follow.” Piper sidled up a little closer to Hennessy and with her ears drooping, she met the doctor’s gaze. “I think I understand Flicker’s devotion.”
“Mister Nicker,” Doctor Sterling said, correcting Piper. “He is your associate and you will address him as such. He is your esteemed colleague and his devotion is extraordinary. Miss Pie, you would do well to cultivate his devotion to you.”
“Yes, of course, Doctor Sterling.” Piper bowed her head and her ears drooped in supplication as she sought the doctor’s forgiveness.
“You’re a fine filly, Miss Pie.” The doctor, who felt his praise was warranted, let out a sniff and then smoothed his mustache over with magic. “Now, come on, all of you, we have work to do. It is a little past dawn and we have a full day ahead of us. Mister Walker, Miss Pie, you will soon discover that we keep long hours. Pace yourselves, it will be a long day.”
Stepping away from the map, the doctor turned his full attention upon Flicker. “Mister Nicker… today, you are to be more than an apprentice. Today, you will teach. You will instruct. You will aid Miss Pie and Mister Walker. You will answer their questions. And… should the situation take a bad turn, you will act as their first line of defense, as you have earned the right to bear arms, so more is expected from you. My boy, you are one of the youngest to have earned this privilege in a long, long time. You’ve shown potential, so now, we demand more of you.”
“Yes, Doctor Sterling.” Flicker bowed his head and then looked the doctor in the eye.
“Very good.” Doctor Sterling smiled. “Let us get to work.”
Looking around, Flicker saw a paradise for rats. Thatched roofs, wooden buildings, stucco, all of these things were practically an invitation for vermin to come and make themselves welcome. He himself prefered stone, hardened clay, and metal. Tin roofs were fine roofs, and made a nice sound when it rained. Stone walls were secure walls.
And the canals. He understood the importance, canals provided irrigation and allowed for ponies to move goods with great ease. A few tons of goods could be loaded onto a barge and then pulled by just a few strong draft ponies of stout stock. But the rats. The vermin. He could feel them all around him, in the homes, in the granaries, in the storehouses, Flicker could feel them and he didn’t like them.
This place was crawling.
“Doctor Sterling,” Flicker whispered, “it is worse than you know.”
“Duly noted, Mister Nicker.”
“This place needs to be purged.”
“And that is your professional assessment, Mister Nicker? Is your rat-sense giving you trouble?”
“Doctor Sterling, it is with great regret that I must report to you that it is currently taking all of my willpower to restrain myself.”
“Oh my.” Doctor Sterling paused and gave careful, thoughtful consideration to Flicker’s words. “Change of plans,” he announced. “Mister Walker and I will draw away the residents of this settlement over to the Don’t Panic, where we shall begin our inspection and examination of them. With the village cleared, Miss Pie, you will demonstrate your talent to Mister Nicker, you will lure the rats out of hiding so that he may deal with them, and you will obey his every instruction. Mister Nicker… prepare for a purge. Help Miss Pie suit up and show her what needs to be done. If she receives so much as a single nip, Mister Nicker, you will find yourself down in the castle middens, earning your forgiveness.”
“Doctor Sterling…”
“Yes, Mister Nicker?”
“If I do well, if everything goes as planned, may I please go into the castle middens… as a reward?”
“Mister Nicker… you are dreadful pony.” The doctor suffered a very visible shudder that he could not prevent. “We are blessed to have you, but sometimes, you scare me. That was intended to intimidate you, so that you might do the best job possible and have a fear of failure.”
“But… I like the middens.” Flicker almost looked like a kicked puppy as he spoke.
The doctor, looking shrewd, eyed Flicker with a squint. “Mister Nicker, if you fail me, I will withhold you from the middens.”
There was an audible gulp from Flicker, whose ears drooped. “Doctor Sterling, I will purge this village like no village has ever been purged before. I understand that gas is restricted, but what about flea candles?”
“Those will be fine, Mister Nicker. I’ll tell the residents to prepare for a day away from the town. Perhaps have a picnic or some such social activity. I’ll give you and Miss Pie plenty of room to work and I’ll join you later after my examination should I deem it necessary.”
“I will not fail you, Doctor Sterling.”
“No, Mister Nicker, I do not think failure is in your vocabulary or realm of possibilities.”
“Come, Miss Pie.” Flicker turned his steely gaze upon his companion. “We must conduct a purge. You have an exciting day ahead of you and there is much to do.”
“Okay, I’m game, but I’m not coming with you to the middens, whatever those are. Do I even want to know what the word ‘middens’ means?” Piper gave her overzealous companion a concerned, almost sisterly stare. “I’m almost terrified to think about the sort of place that would make you happy, Mister Nicker…”