//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6. Paper's apartment. 
// Story: In old Manehattan 
// by Askre 
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Chapter 6

“Aunt Gretel? I’m home!” Paper Scribbler called as he and four fillies entered a nice cozy looking apartment.
 
In the front hall alone were shelves full of various statues and figurines and the walls were littered with pictures, a lot of them were of the teenager at the various stages of his life. The Crusaders looked around in wonder, so far they could say this was the nicest looking part of Hoofington they had seen, even the street outside had looked marginally better than other parts.
 
“Uh, why did we come here?” Apple Bloom asked the colt who had repeated the name of his aunt, slightly louder this time. “Ah mean it is a nice lookin’ apartment and all, but we are kind of in a rush, plus what about the pony in the dumpster?”
 
“Yeah, is he really dead?” Scootaloo asked, still not quite over the news.
 
“Eh, maybe, I actually didn’t get that good look, but Spikes didn’t look too good and I couldn’t see if he was breathing,” Paper told her and shuddered. “As for why we are here, we need to report the body to the police.”
 
“Uh, shouldn’t we have gone to the police then?” Sweetie Belle asked confused.
 
“Yeah, no, I don’t go to the police,” Paper said and made a face. “They don’t take me very seriously around here and would probably just dismiss it. That’s why I need Aunt Gretel.”
 
“What noise is this, is that you, Paper?” an old voice addressed them.
 
Out of a room came an old looking female griffin. The feline part of her body was reminiscent of the spotted body of a jaguar instead of a lion, while the bird part reminded the fillies of an owl with grayish chest plumes and big luminous eyes. She wore thin framed glasses on her beak and wore an old dark blue shawl that looked knitted.
 
“Aunt Gretel, the girls here and I found Spikes in a dumpster down in Hoofington Junction, we need to tell the police,” the colt informed the old griffin who peered her eyes at him before shifting her gaze the girls.
 
“What were you doing in Junction, Paper. Haven’t I always told you to stay away from there and what were you young ladies doing there, that is no proper place for little foals,” she admonished the ponies with a stern glance. “Now what are your names little ones? Paper always forgets himself, he should introduce new guests first.”
 
“Oh, uh I’m Babs Seed’s, ma’am. This is my cousin Apple Bloom and our friends, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle,” Babs introduced the crusaders to the old griffin.
 
“What a nice polite filly, you need to find more friends like that Paper, they might influence your behavior better,” Gretel said with teasing smile at the colt who rolled his eyes. “Now what was it you said about Spikes? What’s the boneheaded stallion gotten himself into now?”
 
Paper proceeded to explain the situation as he currently knew it to his aunt who listened, rubbing her beak with her claws. The griffin shook her head when her nephew finished.
 
“I do hope you’re mistaken, Paper. Spikes is an idiot, but he deserves better than this. I will trot along to the police and let them know, why don’t you give your friends some refreshments until I come back, we probably need to help them get home,” she said and grabbed a purse from the nearby table and was soon out the door.
 
“Your aunt is nice,” Sweetie Belle complimented when Paper gestured the fillies to follow him into the living room.
 
“She is,” the colt agreed before leaving the crusaders in the room to go to the kitchen to get drinks.
 
The four fillies got seated in an old couch which had lots of soft yet old looking pillows on them. More pictures were on the walls, but now in addition to Paper those had griffins and other ponies. Few were even of a younger looking Gretel.
 
“You know, maybe he can help us get to Tango,” Scootaloo suggested, her friends nodded having thought the same.
 
“He does seem to know the area,” Apple Bloom said, she was glancing at all the pictures. She could spot two ponies that bore resemblance to Paper Scribbler.
 
“So, am I the only one getting bad vibes about the pony we saw? He was after that Barricade we met earlier,” Babs looked at the other crusaders who all fell silent when remembering what they just witnessed.
 
“Woah, hold on, you four ran into Barricade?” Paper remarked as he returned to the living room. On his back he was balancing a tray with glasses and pitcher of orange juice “Better yet, what were you four doing in Junction and yeah, explain Barricade.”
 
Shrugging Apple Bloom proceeded to tell the teenager what they were doing in Hoofington, told him about their meeting with Barricade and Snow Heart and how they had ended at the alley where the pony was beaten up. Paper listened intently while he slipped the tray down to the coffee table and started pouring the girls their drinks.
 
“Vanilla Cream, that name is familiar.” Paper frowned a little as he thought the name over.
 
“We are hoping Tango knew her, he used to know everypony in Ponyville back when he lived there, only Pinkie Pie is better than him at knowing everypony,” Apple Bloom remarked, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement. “Of course, we were also deliverin’ a parcel to him but that got stolen.”
 
“Well you can forget that parcel, it’s long gone, but I do know where Tango lives,” Paper told them, lifting the crusader’s spirit already, but before he could proceed to tell more there was a hard knock on the apartment door.
 
Paper arched his brow and glanced at the clock on one of the shelves, the crusaders figured this meant that the colt wasn’t expecting anyone.
 
“Hold on, I’ll just be a minute, maybe it’s just our neighbor,” Paper said and trotted out of the living room, there was another hard knock.
 
The teen went to the hall and opened the apartment door. His eyes bulged out in shock when seeing Barricade standing out in the corridor along with Rain Storm. Just behind the stallions were Applejack and Sunflower.
 
“Hello Scribbly,” Barricade addressed the young pony.
 
“Um, Barricade… w-what are you doing here?” Paper said and grinned nervously at the towering unicorn in front of him.
 
“See these mares? They are looking for four fillies that aren’t supposed to be here in this part of Manehattan. Since you are always all over the place, I figured you had seen them,” Barricade grunted.
 
Paper glanced at the mares and could spot family resemblance with two of the fillies in the living room. The teen considered his options quickly, knowing Barricade would want an answer right away. The fillies hadn’t asked him not to tell that they were here and if he was guessing correctly those were family members looking for them.
 
“Well you’re in luck, I just happened to find four filles down in Junction and brought them here,” he told them.
 
“What? The fillies are here?” Applejack asked, raising her eyebrows. Sunflower sighed in relief. Barricade and Rainstorm looked mildly surprised at the luck.
 
“They’re in the living room,” Paper told them and had to quickly step aside as the mares rushed inside. He didn’t need to tell them where the living room was since it could be seen from the front hall, they were soon in there and the surprised exclamation from the girls was heard.
 
Paper was going to follow but a dark gray leg wrapped around him and pulled him closer to the unicorn. The colt cringed as he glanced at Barricade whose eyes had narrowed, he looked deadly serious.
 
“Scribbly, Junction is a bad place to be right now. I’ve been pushing the worst scum of Hoofington to it lately and there is no telling who are lurking there. I’m sure you’re already aware of all that that, but…” Barricade started to talk in a quiet but stern voice, but Paper interrupted him.
 
“Tell me about it, the fillies witnessed Spikes being beaten up and dumped into a dumpster.” The words just escaped the colt’s mouth. He hadn’t really planned to tell about it, but he was just so stressed at being held so close by Barricade.
 
Barricade arched his brow as he regarded the teenager, then glanced at Rain Storm who had frowned when hearing the news. The unicorn looked Paper again and let him go, he was about to say something when the loud voice of Applejack interrupted.
 
“Ah don’t want to hear it. We are marching right to the nearest subway station and goin’ straight back to Hooflyn!” Applejack and Sunflower were herding the fillies out of the apartment. “Ya should feel lucky we aren’t also taking the next train right back to Ponyville!”
 
“But Applejack!” Apple Bloom protested, but to no avail, Babs couldn’t even get a word in with her sister, Sunflower just gave her a glare. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle figured the smart thing to do was just be silent.
 
“Well, thank you kindly, Paper Scribbler, for finding and keeping my sister, cousin and their friends safe,” the apple farmer addressed the teenager who just nodded. Applejack then looked at Barricade. “And… uh thank you as well, Barricade. Appreciate the help.”
 
“You’re welcome, you and your family should hurry back to Hooflyn. Hoofington isn’t a safe area,” the unicorn advised her.
 
“That is exactly what we are going to do.” This time it was Sunflower who spoke and the mares continued to usher the fillies away.
 
The two stallions and one colt watched the six ponies disappear down the stairs, before Rain Storm and Barricade returned their attention to Paper.
 
“Did the kids tell you what they saw?” Barricade asked.
 
“Uh yeah, yeah they saw Trails and Spikes talk with each other, then those four other ponies showed up, oh what did they say one of them was called, doctor something,” Paper told him and tapped his muzzle in thought. “Doctor Caballaro something.”
 
“Doctor Caballeron.”
 
Paper looked at Barricade who had whispered the name and inhaled sharply. The colt wasn’t sure what to think, the unicorn was starting to look pale, he looked at Rain Storm who could only shrug, he had never seen his boss like this.
 
“Wait, Doctor Caballeron? Isn’t he a character from those Daring Do novels?” the teenager suddenly realized where he had heard the name.
 
“Yes, yes that’s exactly what he is.” Barricade suddenly laughed nervously and pushed Paper back into the apartment. “Don’t worry about it Scribbly, I’m sure the kids were mistaken, heard the name wrong. You just forget about it. I take it you had your aunt go and report that Spikes is in the dumpster? I won’t worry about it then. Take care, remember, stay out of Junction.”
 
With those words spoken the unicorn grabbed the apartment door with his magic and slammed it shut. Then Barricade hurried down the corridor towards the stair, forcing confused Rain Storm to run after him. They didn’t notice the apartment door open a little and Paper peeking out after them, the teen looked utterly confused but also partly amazed.
 
“Uh boss? Boss?!” Rain Storm called after Barricade once they were out of the apartment complex.
 
“What was that all about, isn’t Caballeron the…” the pegasus slammed his mouth shut when Barricade whirled around, red hot fury was suddenly in the unicorn’s eyes.
 
“Don’t. Say. That. Name!” Barricade snarled, glaring daggers at the smaller pony. The unicorn turned around but didn’t start walking again. “I’ve cursed hearing that name spoken for years... if my family knew… he was the one… he was the guy I was… stealing for from mom and dad…” Barricade looked up at the night sky, gritting his teeth.
 
“This is the guy who almost killed dad, left him for dead in the badlands. This is the one guy who can make mom mad enough to get visibly angry… and I became one of his many lackeys…” the unicorn glanced back at Rain Storm.
 
“He’s the one. He’s the one who filled me full of this shit. That I could be a big time criminal hot shot and still have normal family life. That I could do whatever I wanted and never get in trouble with the police or the royal guards. He’s the guy who told me that rules were meant to be broken and bent if they got in my way,” Barricade sighed and hung his head.
 
“So, what was he doing in Hoofington Junction and why did he possibly kills Spikes?” Rain Storm ventured to ask.
 
“We need to find Trails. Paper said Trails was there too,” Barricade said and suddenly took off. The pegasus had to fly to keep up with him, but the unicorn didn’t run very far, after two blocks he suddenly halted.
 
“Boss?” Rain Storm landed next to Barricade who was staring forward. The smaller pony looked in the direction the unicorn was looking and his brow rose high.
 
A large pony was standing and staring at them at the other end of the street. It was a stallion by the looks of it, dark brown. His mane, tail and hooves were silver gray in color. The stranger was too far away to see the cutie mark. Rain Storm felt that something was off about him, the eyes looked strange, he could have sworn the eye white was green, but he was too far away to see clearly.
 
Suddenly the strange stallion stomped a hoof on the ground causing both Barricade and Rain Storm to brace themselves for an anticipated charge. No attack happened, the stranger spread his wings, revealing himself to be a pegasus and took to the air. In few wingbeats, the pony was gone into the night.
 
“Did you see that? You saw a big pegasus there, right? It wasn’t just me.” Barricade looked at Rain Storm who nodded.
 
“Okay, let’s forget Trails for now, he’s probably holed up somewhere right now and laying low… Damn, that was downright creepy, did you see something off in his eyes?” The unicorn cringed a little. He didn’t want to admit it, but there was something familiar about the gleam he thought he spotted.
 
“I thought I saw something, yeah, the eyes looked blank, vacant,” Rain Storm muttered, agreeing fully with his boss about the creepiness.
 
“Let’s go home, but be on our guards, I don’t like what is happening. Caballeron, that freaky pegasus,” Barricade muttered and turned around to head home, followed quickly by the smaller stallion.
 
End chapter 6