//------------------------------// // Chapter 71 // Story: The Mask Makes the Pony // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// Doctor Sterling’s silver floating orb of light led the way and Flicker followed, splashing through the mucky water of the sewer. Behind him, Hennessy and Piper trailed after him, laying traps every few yards as Doctor Sterling instructed. Piper was good at setting traps, better than Flicker was, even with his practice, but that was no surprise, seeing as how she had better telekinetic manipulation than he did. So far, not one rat was seen, which worried Flicker, for reasons he could not comprehend. If things felt wrong aboveground, down here in the dark depths of the sewers, it was almost panic inducing. He could feel the rats, sense them, they were close, but there were none to be seen, not a one. Coming to an intersection, Flicker came to a halt and looked around. This was a five way intersection, one of the sewer hubs. In the middle was a grate that drained downwards to another level, down below the storm drains where they now walked. Flicker could feel eyes on him, but he could not see them, which disturbed him a great deal. “We’re being watched,” Flicker said, his respirated voice echoing somewhat in the narrow confines of the tunnel. “I know,” Doctor Sterling responded as he too, had a look around. The four of them looked like strange birds in the sewer, their pale masks gleaming in the soft silver luminescence of Doctor Sterling’s glowing orb of light. Piper pulled a trap from Hennessy, set it, and placed it down on the grate, half submerged in the water. When finished, she lifted her head and had a look around. “How odd,” she remarked, “it does feel like I have eyes on me. I don’t like it. Come out, come out, so that Lord Death of Murder Mountain may stab you.” For Flicker, the sewers were home, but they didn’t feel like it now. They were strange, the darkness was oppressive, and devoid of life. The enchanted lenses on his mask showed nothing, not a thing. Not even insects were showing up, which was a worrisome sign. There should be cockroaches down here, but there was nothing. It was impossible for the sewers to not be infested, yet Flicker saw the evidence with his own eyes. He scanned the walls, the water, he even tilted his head back to look up at the arched ceiling above him; nothing. How could this be? How was this even possible? What could do this? Was this what Wicked was trying to investigate before making a hasty move? Flicker had questions, but no answers seemed forthcoming. “Come along, my apprentices, we must keep moving…” There were guards in the passage ahead. In the wall, there was an opening blown open, perhaps by magic, and at the other end of the opening, Flicker could see up into a house. Wardens were here, along with a number of unicorns wearing armor. Ever respectful, Flicker gave a ground-pounder’s salute, his booted hoof dripping slime when he raised it from the muck. His salute was returned by all present. “Ex Ignis Amicitiae,” said one of the unicorns as the group drew near. Coming to a halt, Doctor Sterling responded, “Ex Ignis Amicitiae.” And then, after a moment, he added, “Hail the Night Lady.” One of the Wardens snapped to attention and saluted with his wing. “Lord Shoe, I have much to report. I am Warden Maestus, loyal servant to Her Majesty, the Night Lady.” “And I am Malfeasance,” one of the unicorns present said in a soft, almost slithery voice. The unicorn in question was a slick looking character, and he appeared to be right at home in the sewer. “What sort of mother names her foal Malfeasance?” Piper blurted out. Grinning, Malfeasance replied, “I was not a good foal. Call me Malf.” “Mister Nicker, I don’t like him. He’s creepy. If he comes near me, stab him.” Piper backed away, her booted hooves splashing in the muck. “I don’t like the feel of his eyes on me. Don’t let him come near me.” “Warden Maestus, I’ll hear your report.” Doctor Sterling turned to look at Piper for a moment as she cowered behind Flicker, and then he glanced at Malf. “Don’t look at her, Malf. You may be geased to do good, but I know full well what you’ve done. I’ll geld you if you keep looking at her.” “And I won’t stop him,” Warden Maestus added and as he spoke, there was a squeak of leather against steel when Flicker’s swords loosened in their sheaths. “Lord Shoe, they burrowed in with earth moving magic and came up through the floor. Some of the wards were disabled, but not all of them, and help was dispatched right away. Princess Celestia lost several of her Immortal Solars last night in the battle that took place, but because of their sacrifice, Moon Rose was able to be sent to Manehattan.” “Which is what the enemy wanted,” Doctor Sterling said to the Warden. “Yes.” The Warden nodded. “The other assets were magicked away to Manehattan as well, as there was a coordinated attack made last night. Marauders made their way into Ponyville. Two of the assets were sent to some farm, I don’t know the location, but the enemy was ready and made an attempt to capture them there. The backup plan was initiated and both assets were sent to Manehattan. Once in Manehattan, the sanctuary where the assets were sent was breached by a pony known as Belladonna.” “We have been thoroughly infiltrated.” Doctor Sterling’s voice sounded sad and weary through the droning whirr of his respirator. “And it all started here. In these sewers. The attack was launched from here.” “Nopony knows these sewers like you do,” Malf said in his greasy, slick voice and his eyes darted over to Piper for one quick second before returning to Doctor Sterling. “I would find a place where there is a connection to the caverns down below, a thin place that could be excavated. Do you know of such a place?” “Several, actually,” Doctor Sterling replied. “Mister Nicker, if he glances at Miss Pie again, I want you to carve his ears off.” “Of course, my Master. Without hesitation.” Malfeasance froze up for several seconds, then scuttled away to be closer to Warden Maestus, while keeping his tail tucked between his legs. There was creepy, and then there was creepy—with Flicker being the latter. Looking disgusted, the Warden kicked Malf away from him, and the unicorn stumbled away, splashing through the fetid brown water. “I’m really very sorry,” Warden Maestus said to Doctor Sterling. “I find him repulsive, but his talents continue to prove useful.” Turning to look at Piper, he added, “My apologies, Miss.” “Just what is it that he does that makes him so useful anyhow?” Hennessy asked. “He can summon a variety of magical eyes that allow him remote viewing… including eyes that allow him to see through solid objects,” Warden Maestus replied. “Yes!” Malf hissed, and then he let loose a lugubrious-sounding half cackle that died in his throat. “I can see what you see not…” His words died on his tongue when Flicker’s sword came halfway out of its scabbard. With his eyes focused on the menacing colt, he skulked further away, his head low in a posture of utter submissiveness. “I can feel this one’s eyes burning into me!” “You…” Flicker’s voice was a demanding mechanical growl. “What do you know?” “All I know is that whatever lies below in the darkness blocks my eyes,” Malf replied as he continued his retreat until he bumped into the wall. “There is only blackness… darkness… impenetrable.” “We should be going. We have much ground to cover.” Doctor Sterling bowed his head to Warden Maestus and then cast a final glance at Malf. For a moment, it seemed as though the doctor had something to say, but silence was held. “Good luck, Lord Shoe.” Warden Maestus raised his wing in salute once more. “Good hunting!” As the group headed east, nearer to the catacombs, Flicker became increasingly agitated, though he could not say why. The feeling of being watched became even stronger, and he wondered if perhaps Malf was watching them. If he was, Flicker resolved to stab him at some point in the future. Oh, not a fatal wound, but something that would bleed a lot and be quite painful while healing. Coming to a three way intersection, he stopped. Still no bugs in the sewer, which was weird. No sign of rats, either. Flicker could feel them though, the rats, and he knew that they were close. Cautious, he looked about, checking both passages, scanning for signs of life. When nothing could be found, he continued up the tunnel on the right, which was narrower and older, with a lower ceiling. He had been down this passage before, and it was a favourite of the rats. Above, there was a Saddle Arabian Saboni, a fancy soap maker’s shop, and many exotic fats as well as delectable ingredients ended up washed down the drains. His mask blocked out the clean scent of soap that he might smell in this area. This was an older, more exclusive part of town, full of ponies whose shit didn’t stink. Piper put down the last available trap, lightening up Hennessy’s load. The earth pony colt followed close to Flicker and he kept up in silence. Doctor Sterling cast spells that made the walls glow in a weird, eerie light, and in some places, on the stones, the strange looking spidery symbols of glyphs and magic became visible. Flicker had no idea what any of them meant, and he didn’t bother asking. “Stop!” Doctor Sterling commanded. Halting, Flicker was almost bowled over by Hennessy plowing into him. Turning his head, he looked at Hennessy, but said nothing. Piper shook her leg, trying to get a clump of something sticky off of her boot. Meanwhile, Doctor Sterling was looking at some strange symbols on the wall down near the waterline. “These are wards,” he said to his apprentices. “Wards to block divination spells and clairvoyance spells. They’re fresh, too. They’re quite strange, this is not unicorn magic. See how they resist the light? These come from darkness. Pay attention, and give them a look, Miss Pie.” Doing as she was bid, Piper bent her head down to have a look. “These were carved into the stone,” she said as she peered through the lenses of her mask. “I can see the scratches. Do you think this was done with a claw?” “Most likely,” Doctor Sterling responded as he had a look. “So the rats have scribe based magic… glyphs, scribed wards, and written spells. Fascinating. This suggests literacy.” Turning about, his boots squelching in foamy muck, Flicker stared at Doctor Sterling, not quite believing what he was hearing. Rats… who could read. Grinding his teeth together, Flicker did not like how that sounded, not at all. Reading meant learning, learning meant organisation, and organisation meant advanced battlefield tactics. The rodent problem beneath Canterlot was getting out of hoof. Frustrated by these new facts, Flicker reoriented himself and continued down the passage once more, pressing ahead while the others gawked at rat scribbles on the wall. There was only one cure for rat literacy, and that was total and complete annihilation of the rodent swarms beneath Canterlot. A task easier said than done, all things considered. The guild had been hunting rats for centuries and hadn’t managed to exterminate them from the city. Pausing, Flicker came to a halt when he noticed a faint strand going from wall to wall, like a spider’s web. He didn’t like it, not at all, and backed away from it. Something about it seemed off. “Doctor Sterling, I think I have found a trap,” Flicker announced. “I almost didn’t see it. If I wasn’t wearing my mask, I don’t think I would have seen it at all.” The doctor’s boots splashed in the mucky, foamy, soapy water as he approached, and he tilted his head to one side to see better. He cast a spell and the strand glowed with a fierce, throbbing light. The good doctor grunted, then cast another spell, then another. The strand vanished with a wisp of smoke and then bubbles of darkness rose up from the water, actual bubbles, which were as black as night and had a strange dark glow to them. “Blindness hex,” Doctor Sterling said to Flicker. “At least, I think. It’s different than anything I’ve seen, but it is close enough that it is almost familiar. Whomever did this was powerful and strong… I think you’d need a princess to break this hex.” “I’ll be very careful going forward.” Flicker began to advance once more, peering ahead and down into the water, glad that his mask allowed him to see through minor barriers, walls, and water. The last thing he wanted to do was step on some poisoned caltrop. He didn’t get very far before he saw another strand hanging down from the ceiling. It might have been mistaken for a bit of cobweb, but Flicker was wary—and paranoid. He nodded upwards and backed away so that Doctor Sterling could remove the devious magical trap. This was magic that was entirely beyond Flicker and his abilities, a weakness if ever there was one. The colt hoped that Piper was paying attention. Sighing, Doctor Sterling said with a huff, “It’s going to be slow progress making our way down this passage…”