//------------------------------// // Excavated truths // Story: The Phantom of Canterlot // by Azure Drache //------------------------------// The heavy rain that the pegasi created over the now ruined factory was a great help in the extinguishing procedure. Dozens of ponies were fighting with the flames for quite a while before the rain clouds arrived. Luckily the debris flying around after the explosion didn’t cause much damage and the few airborne pegasi swiftly collected the burning bits of rubble from, and also out off the surrounding roofs, preventing the fire from spreading. Several fire brigade carriages surrounded the ruin and a few more were driving through the streets, refilling their water or returning to the place of action. The royal guard was also present, keeping the civilians at bay to let the firefighters do their job undisturbed. With the flames getting lower a small group of firefighters has stopped the attempts to extinguish the flames and were gathering around a waggon filled with equipment necessary to enter the building and search for buried ponies. Pulling on his clothes, the group leader, Pear Thrower, said, “Remember, we do everything by the book. Four groups, two ponies each, nopony goes alone! When the chief gives his ok, Toothpick and Filled Bucket, you two go first, search the middle of the factory.” Mentioned two nodded. “Juggler, you take High Pressure with you and go right after you pass the collapsed main entrance. See if you can find a way to the cellar, maybe it is still intact. If somepony has survived this, then most likely there.” “Roger that,” the two replied. “Teapot, Silent Hooves, you go left. The roof somehow managed to not collapse there yet, be careful, watch out for falling debris, no feats! If it seems too dangerous, stop the search and return to the main area. Understood?” “Yes Sir,” they said. “Good. Rookie, you come with me.” “My name is Listening Ears, Sir,” he replied. “I know, rookie. You stay at my side, we go last and then help Toothpick and Filled Bucket in what is left of the main hall.” He gave his ponies a look. “Any questions?” “No Sir,” was the only answer. “Alright.” They all finished putting on their clothes and took their equipment. “Get in position and wait for the signal from the chief. And remember, no feats! We don’t know if somepony was in the building at all. I want you all back in one piece and not toasted!” the leader said, his voice a little suppressed by his helmet. It didn’t take long till the expected signal was given, immediately Toothpick and Filled Bucket entered the building, followed by the others. The sight was discouraging, the place was filled with rubble, still glowing embers and a lot of mud from the water pumped in the ruin. Still, they didn’t hesitate to start the search and split up as planned. *** “How could someone survive being in an exploding building like this?” Listening Ears asked, his voice a bit muted from the oxygen mask, while he cleared some bricks from  the way to the next room. “You would be surprised, rookie, what a pony can survive,” the leader said from a few hoofsteps away. “Now concentrate on what you're doing.” “Yes Sir.” He let the bricks drop to the side and pushed himself slowly through the small opening. His helmet-lamp magically illuminated the area only insufficiently and the smoke and steam still lingering in the air didn’t help too. “Is somepony here?” he shouted. The only answer were the little sounds the ruin was making. Pear Thrower crawled through the opening too and stood next to him now. “Let’s move on and see if we can spot an indication that somepony is here.” Slowly the two continued their search, climbing over small hills of debris and evading small sources of fire. They repeatedly  shouted out and listened if somepony responded, but that never happened. At some point they reached a blocked door again, but this time there was a huge wooden beam in the way, crushing half of the door. Listening Ears grabbed his axe but was held back by Pear Thrower. “No, rookie, if you cut this beam the whole wall will collapse, we have to find a way around it.” “Oh,” was all Listening Ears said while he put back the axe. Then he followed the older stallion while he walked on to find a way around the beam. Small pieces of ash and ember were drizzling on their uniforms. “Over there,” Pear pointed at a hole in the wall in front of them, “seems like we have found a new door.” Next to the hole lay something, it was not clear on the first look what it was. Pear walked nearer, examining it. “Looks like some kind of… wheel? Maybe?” The thing was broken and some parts were missing, still it could have been a wheel of a wagon. “Whatever this was, it has crashed into the wall and created this hole for us.” He carefully laid the thing back and walked to the other side of the wall. “That must be the place where the main explosion happened,” Pear said. “Look rookie, how little is left from the walls that once have stood here and by that, you can guess where the center was.” “If you say so…” Listening Ears said a bit unsure. “It is not that difficult, look, the groundlines of most of the walls are still there and the debris is mostly on the outer side from the center of the explosion,” pointing at some of the spots he was going on, “and also you can see that there is a hollow over there. It is filled with rubble, still you can see where the ground is lower than the rest. This means either the falling debris has cracked a hole in the ceiling of the cellar or, with the sorry state of surroundings in mind, the explosion did.” “Hmm, yes, now I see what you mean.” “Anyway we have to move on, be careful, watch your step, the ground could collapse.” Listening Ears nodded and slowly followed Pear while he approached the filled hollow. Step by step they moved closer, till suddenly Pear stopped and raised a hoof to tell Listening Ears to do the same. “What is the matter, sergeant?” “I… I think I heard something.” “A pony?” “No, more like—” a loud cracking noise interrupted his sentence, “—that! Pull back!” Swiftly the two turned around and galloped back as fast as they could, just in time. The floor was collapsing further and further in front of them. A huge part fell into the darkness beneath. “Faster!” Pear yelled when he reached Listening Ears and pushed him with his head. “There over this rest of a wall!” Both jumped over it, turning to see the crack wandering past them and finally stopping a dozen steps later at the next wall. “That was close,” Listening said and released a heavy breath. “How did you know it will stop at the wall?” “I didn’t,” Pear started, drawing a shocked gaze from his teammate, “but the fact that this level hasn’t completely fallen down yet means that some of the walls down there are still standing, or at least are intact enough to carry the ground level.” Listening just shook his head in disbelief. “Well, come on, we still have a job to do.” Pear pointed his helmet-lamp at the hole in the ground, but the small light cone had problems to get past the dust. “Is there somepony?” he shouted. “Sergeant? Is that you?” the voice of High Pressure was coming from the cellar. “High Pressure? Are you alright down there?” Pear asked. “Yes Sergeant, we both are okay. Was that you with falling ceiling?” “Yes, the floor seems very unstable, be careful down there.” “We are,” she replied and then added, “Juggler found something you should see.” “What is it?” “Waterdrop’s helmet, Sir, it is really battered but it is hers.” “Waterdrop?” he said thinking about it. “Isn’t she in Cool Air’s team? Has somepony seen her during the extinguishing procedure?” “No, Sir.” High Pressure’s voice was heard from below and shortly after Juggler’s followed, “Me neither.” Pear looked over to Listening but he shook his head too. “Are you sure it is hers?” he yelled down. “A few letters are missing, Sir, but her name is still on it,” this time it was Juggler who replied. “Okay, you two keep searching down there, Listening and I are heading back to find out if somepony has seen her. “ “Roger that,” they confirmed, starting to search the surroundings again. *** Pear and Listening made their way back to the area near the main entrance where they met with Toothpick and Filled Bucket. There, Sergeant Pear decided that Filled Bucket should go to the Captain and find out if Waterdrop reported in for duty or if she was missing while he stayed to organise the ongoing search. It didn’t take him long to come back and report that nopony has seen Waterdrop and that she should have been around this area anyway. “So we can assume that there is a high chance she was here when the building exploded,” Pear said. “Sadly that is true, Pear,” commented Filled Bucket. “But we only found her helmet, maybe she made it out or just lost her helmet.” “Can you remember the time you got your first real helmet, Bucket?” Pear asked. “The pride you felt? Do you think you would have simply lost it?” Filled Bucket covered himself in unpleasant silence. “Yes, I think the same,” Pear added. “We have to act like we know she was here, in best case she wasn’t and we just wasted some time and sweat, otherwise…” *** “Still no sign of anypony, Sir,” Teapot said. “We nearly completed searching what is left from the main hall of the ground floor and are now going for the cellar below, but it is getting darker, we need more oil-lamps and also could use a few more horns down there.” “I know, Teapot, I already told the Captain,” Pear responded. “He has sent a request for help to Baltimare, but it will take some hours till their ‘Building Shoring Unit’ arrives. We have to work with what we have until these unicorns get here with their supporting spells. Search room by room if there is no other option.” “Still no sign of Waterdrop?” Teapot asked. Pear gave her a look, scanning her dirty, mud covered boots, the ash covering her clothes from the back to the hoof tips and the sweaty mane with bits of dirt, now for everypony to see with her helmet hanging from a carabiner at her chest. “No, she isn’t at home and nopony has seen her since the factory exploded.” He sighed. “Cool Air is close to even searching Tartarus for her, he is asking me every ten minutes if we found her.” He pointed at the entrance to the pavilion they were in, the mobile headquarters of the firefighters at the moment. “If she just walks in, telling me she has fallen asleep and just woke up, he would hug and kiss her, a second before he’d tear off her ears for sending all of us and especially him into such worries.” “Couldn’t Her Highness help?” Teapot suggested a bit uncomfortable. “I mean, she is strong enough to lift some of these rubble hills and would make it a lot easier for us in there.” “I heard Her Highness is back in the castle, something is going on there. I don’t know what it is, but it needs her full attention as it seems.” “Really bad timing,” Teapot said, then she grabbed one of the water bottles that was standing near by and emptied it in one go. “Time to get back to work,” she added and returned to help the others. *** It took them all night and the following day to dig out the cellar below the main hall and to shore the remaining walls enough to make the work safe. The task was exhausting, they had to work in shifts and take pauses very often. The progress was painfully slow, but they all gave their best, aware that with every passing hour the chance to find somepony alive was decreasing. It was then, when exhaustion demanded its price, that the Captain of the Canterlot firefighters decided to call them back and ordered them to take a rest. It was far too dangerous to let them work half-asleep in this kind of place. They weren’t happy about it, but considering how fatal even the smallest mistake could be, they left the ruined factory. “You can’t pull back yet!” Cool Air was yelling at Captain Big Helmet. “She is still in there and needs our help!” Big Helmet gave him a stern gaze, “There is no other option and you know that, Cool Air. The mares and stallion are tired and nopony will be helped if they too get injured or buried in that building.” “We can’t stop yet, we need to help her!” “I understand how important this is for you, still, I won’t risk the life of a dozen ponies for one individual. You can’t expect that from me.” “You would think different if Waterdrop was one of your mares!” Big Helmet raised a hoof, pressing it to Cool Air’s mouth. “Enough! Waterdrop is part of the fire department, therefore, she is one of my mares too. I want to find her as much as you do, but the team needs a rest!” Cool Air pushed away the captain’s hoof. “Fine. If the other teams need a rest, they can have it, but I and my team will continue to search her.”  He turned around and put his helmet back on. “Stop!” the Captain ordered, “my orders also apply to you, your team needs a rest as much as the others do.” Cool Air turned around to face the Captain again. “My team will take a rest when we find Waterdrop, not a single second earlier.” He threw a challenging gaze at the Captain. “You can ask every member of my team, they all will tell you the same.” “You don’t have my permission for that, I gave you the order to rest!” “And I don’t listen to your orders.” He turned around again and moved towards the exit. “Try to hindrance me if you dare!” “Cool Air!” “What?” he asked over his shoulder. Big Helmet took a few heavy breaths.“I hope you find her.” With a nod, Cool Air left the pavilion. *** “Where in tarnation are you Waterdrop?” Cool Air thought. As he expected all members of his direct team had not hesitated to disobey the Captain's orders and followed him back into the ruin, now clearing more and more from what was left of the the cellar beyond the main hall. “I know you’re here somewhere,” he thought, “if we only knew what happened at all, maybe we would also know where you are now.” “Cool?” one of his subordinates interrupted his thoughts, “I think you should see this.” He turned around to the mare and saw her raised hoof. Small orange bits lay in her grip, something tiny and… “Are those… feathers?” He took them from her and turned them around in his hooves, “How can that be?” He looked her in the eyes. “Where did you find them? And why are they not burned?” “I don’t know, Cool, but we found them in one of the rubble hills that the collapsing ceiling created.” She pointed towards the direction the others were working at the moment. “Just a few rooms further.” “Maybe they are from the pegasi that created the rain?” “No, it was under the rubble, not on top.” “Could be, the feathers fell into the factory during their work and later when they lay on the ground a wall gave in and the ceiling of the room collapsed and buried them under the rubble?” he guessed. “Unlikely, very unlikely, we have dug them out just now and we’ve been moving rubble away for hours already, they’re very deep in the stack. Also it is a bunch of feathers, not only a single one. If the pegasus that lost them wasn’t in a fight with some swarm of birds over the building, then I don’t know how they all could have fallen out and landed in the building together only to get buried under a stack of rubble afterwards.” “Hmm,” Cool thought about it for a moment, “show me where you have found them.” The mare, Oven Cloth, lead him to the place they found the feathers at. Two stallions were busy there, moving more and more shattered bricks and other detritus out of the way and into a small wheelbarrow. When Cool entered they looked up and one of them said, ”Ah, there you are, did you see the feathers?” It wasn’t really a question and he just continued, “We found more of them while Oven Cloth was informing you.” Like he said, on a nearly intact brick next to the two stallions lay another bunch of orange feathers and some single green hairs. “We also found these,” the stallion explained. “We cannot figure it out however, how can they be that undamaged. The building was on fire, on fire! And these hairs are not even slightly ruffled by all the heat.” Giving them a look, Cool said, “That is strange.” He walked closer and picked a hair up, after a second of examination he continued, “But I guess that mystery can wait for later. More important is if the owner of them was in the building when it exploded. All of this was found in this room?” “Yep,” the other present stallion replied, “all was somewhere deep in this mess here.” “Considering we have no other clue for where Waterdrop or any other pony might be, we also can focus our search here,” Cool Air decided. “You three stay here, keep going and I will send Hot Cheese and Potato Cream over to assist you. In the meantime, I and the others will concentrate on what is left of the corridor nearby. So if you find another clue for somepony being around here we are not far away.” *** About one and half an hour later they dug out the end of a huge steel beam. Unfortunately it continued straight forward into the rubble hill before them, most of it still buried, making it far more difficult to advance their progress through the debris. Annoyed Oven Cloth gave it a kick, “Stupid beam! Can’t you lay somewhere else?” “Whoa, be careful Cloth, we don’t want this stack to get into movement,” Potato Cream said. “I am sorry, just… arg, I feel so helpless at the moment.” Cloth grumbled. Potato Cream set the handle of the wheelbarrow back down and walked over to Cloth, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “I know how you feel, but we just can’t give up. We will find her eventually and she will be okay.” “Are you sure?” Cloth asked with an unsure look. “It has been nearly two days already and all we found are some stupid feathers and hairs that are not even hers.” She gave one of the stone pieces at the ground a kick and it smashed against the beam producing a loud noise. “I… I am sure we will find her, don’t worry.” Potato Cream avoided a full answer they both knew could be a possible lie. “I ho…” Cloth started when her ears peaked up. “That sounded like...” she thought. “What is it Cloth?” Potato Cream asked, noticing her friend's body language had changed to full attention mode. “Shh! I think I heard something.” She waved with her hoof. “Shh everypony!” Now everypony was looking at her, while she closed her eyes and moved around her ears. This lasted for a few seconds till one of the stallions asked, “What…?” “Shhh!” Cloth repeated and then turned her attention back to listening. After half a minute without anything happening, the others gave each other a look and Potato Cream said, “Maybe you misheard?” Cloth let her head hang down. “Maybe...” “That’s just the exhaustion,” Potato Cream guessed. “Give yourself a pause for a few minutes.” “No, I am fine, poss…” Her ears perked up again and focused on the beam. “There! There was it again!” She rushed over to the beam and placed her ear on it. “Cloth…” Potato Cream started. “I am sure! Just be silent!” “You're overworked, you are starting to hear ghosts.” “I am not!” She kept listening but again nothing happened. Now one of the stallions spoke, “It can happen, Cloth, being underground all day and with all the hard work, surely it will be the best if you take a pause.” “I don’t need a pause and I don’t hear ghosts!” She grabbed a small stone from the ground and knocked it into the beam, producing that loud noise again. After a few seconds she repeated it a few times. But like before nothing happened. “Cloth, that is enough! Take a pause and drink something before you drive us all crazy.” The stallion pointed at the door. “But…” she started. “No, no discussion. Just leave and come back later,” he insisted. Potato Cream placed a hoof on Cloth’s shoulder and pushed her away from the beam and towards the exit. “Come Cloth, you can help me with the wheelbarrow on the way out.” The other mare nodded in defeat and let her colleague navigate her towards the exit. They just picked up the handle of the wheelbarrow together, when a faint metallic noise came from the beam and reverberated quietly through the room for a short moment. Now all ears were directed at the beam, shortly, after a second, a second metallic noise followed. The handle in her mouth forgotten, Cloth turned back, nearly throwing the wheelbarrow over. She returned to the beam, sitting down. Grabbing another stone, she hit the beam with it three times in rapid succession, listening for any response. Everypony held their breath, till finally, the response came in the form of one tone, followed by two others with some delay. “Somepony is there!” Cloth cheered. “Do it again! “ Potato Cream said, her enthusiasm suppressed only slightly. “We have to make sure it is not some happenstance, make a short melody, Cloth.” They all gathered closely around the beam when Cloth drummed the beginning of Equestria's best known song. The following silence was nearly unbearable, second passed after second, their enthusiasm slowly vanishing. Cloth exchanged a look with her teammates, shrugging their shoulders. Worry creeped its way back into their faces. What if they were wrong and nopony was there? She repeated the melody… and again, nothing happened. “This can’t be! Somepony is there! I know it!” In this moment the melody continued, played by somepony else. It was too slow, missing the rhythm and barely hearable, but it was the melody Cloth had started. The following jubilation was ear deafening in the room, Cloth grabbed her whistle and blowed it as hard as she could. Not that it was necessary at all, their cheering had already alerted the others and they were galloping over. “Somepony is there!” Cloth yelled. “Somepony is still alive!” *** With the rough knowledge of where the buried pony was, it was far easier to decide how to get to it. Instead of digging through the cellar, they returned to the ground floor and tried it from above. The fact that they got so close to find somepony refreshed their powers, the newly-found vigor pushing them through the rubble into shouting range. When they noticed that the pony below was actually able to hear them, because they made noises with the beam every time the firefighters shouted to them, the squad did their best to assure that they would be there any minute now. “Just hold on, we’re almost there!” Cool Air shouted. “Only a few bricks and small wooden beams,” another stallion added. “We’ll get you out of there!” “Careful now!” Cool commanded when they lifted another beam and the small hole below was revealed. “Potato Cream, the lantern!” She handed it over and he slowly let it sink into the hole by the attached string, the small flame inside illuminating its depths. Under some broken stones, a lot of other things and also the steel beam, a black hoof was for all to see. No, it wasn’t black, it just was covered over and over with soot. “There they are!” Cool looked deeper into the hole, and raised a hoof to suppress the starting cheering. “That can wait for later, we can’t get to them from here.” He pointed at two spots nearby. “There and there,” he ordered two ponies to one spot and himself and Potato Cream to the other, “we have to dig the other beams out first! Cloth, you are the smallest, see if you can push yourself deep enough into that hole to reach them, keep their company while we get rid of the rubble. Cloth strapped the helmet closer to her head and also pushed her uniform and boots as close as possible to her body, before she started to crawl through the entrance of the hole. Pushing away a stone or brick here and there, she made her way deeper into it. Small trickles of scree were sliding down to the bottom while she tried to find a good spot to place her hooves. First her chest, then her rump vanished, so only her tail remained visible from outside. “Hello there?” she said softly, “Can you hear me?” Pushing herself closer to the visible hoof of the other pony she tried again, “Talk to me if you can hear me, please.” She heard the other pony cough several times before they actually replied, so faintly, she had trouble to hear them. “Cloth? … Cloth is... that you?” A series of coughs followed that short sentence. Baffled, Cloth needed a moment to answer, “Yes, yes it is me, with whom do I talk?” “Flöck… Water…” another wave of coughing stopped the pony from speaking further. “Water, yes of course, just hold on a few moments longer, we will give you some, once we dug you out.” Cloth tried to say it in an up-cheering tone, still thinking about who the other pony could be. “No, Cloth… it is…me... Waterdrop…” the other pony, a mare, said. “What the hay? That isn’t Waterdrop’s voice!” Cloth thought. “Waterdrop?” she asked unsure and reached out with a hoof to touch the other mare’s soot-covered hoof. Gentle as she could, she brushed away a small part of the soot just to get her hoof grabbed by the other mare. “Don’t worry, I’m not going away,” Cloth assured her, still looking at the hoof. In the light of the lantern it wasn’t clear to see what colour the mare's hoof was, so she activated her helmet-lamp, pointing the scone at it. Black, even more so than the soot itself, was the color revealed. “Definitely not Waterdrop.” So much was clear for Cloth. “Whatever, play along with it Cloth, this mare is buried here for two days, even if she said she was Princess Celestia herself, just roll with it.” She said aloud, “Waterdrop, oh yes… of course. You got us worried out here, we are searching for you a while now, you are really good at hiding.” Cloth considered giving herself a facehoof for the nonsense she just spilled, but it worked. The other mare let out something like a weak giggle or maybe a  stifled cough. “You… you never were… good with… words, Cloth.” The words were still interrupted by coughing, but were a bit louder now. Cloth began to stroke very softly over the other mare's hoof, simultaneously trying to keep herself firmly wedged in the hole. The broken bricks and wood splinters below her didn’t look too inviting.  “Well, maybe not, but I am good with gestures.” Continuing with the stroking, she waited for a response. After nothing happened for nearly a minute, she asked, “Are you still with me? Waterdrop?” She shook the hoof softly. “Waterdrop? she asked again, a bit louder this time. “Ouch.” “Oh sorry,” Cloth said and instantly stopped to shake the hoof, returning to stroking it. “I… drifted away… for a… second.” “You have to stay awake, please, do it for me, okay?” “I… know the… danger of sleeping… Cloth… but… I am… so tired…” “Oh no!” Cloth insisted in a louder tone, “You are not going to sleep on my watch, Waterdrop! Speak with me, if you know the hoofbook, you know how this is played.” “Talking about… my family? Friends… and… such?” “Yes, yes exactly.” Cloth agreed, “I’ll get on your nerves with questions till we got you out of here if necessary.” “You always… were a… pest… Cloth, “ a whiff of a smile was hearable in the mare’s voice. “Where does she know me from?” was still a thought in the back of Cloth’s mind. “Always happy to be, so keep talking, tell me about your family.” “I never... told you much then… not yet… my parents are dead, that's… it. And you… know… I have no… other siblings… anymore.” Giving the hoof in her hoof another look, Cloth was wondering for a second if this really wasn’t Waterdrop, but it remained black. “Probably a friend of Waterdrop? Maybe she was hit by a stone on the head and thinks she is her now?” “You never told me what had happened to them.” “And you… think… this is the… best moment to ask?” “I would talk with you about anything to keep you awake at the moment.” A few seconds passed till the other mare spoke again, “Really? Everything?” “Anything you want. If you promise to stay awake while we speak.” “So… you and... Silent Water… ” The hot feeling of blood rushing into her cheeks hit Cloth. How could she know? “She can’t be some random friend of Waterdrop, she promised not to tell somepony!” “Waterdrop promised to tell nopony! How can you know?” At once she wished she had bitten on her tongue instead of saying that, if the other mare thought she is Waterdrop it wasn’t healthy at the moment to put that in question. “I… I…” the black mare started, but was interrupted by Cloth. “Oh silly me, excuse me Waterdrop, I was just surprised by your question. Well, Silent Water and I are dating for a while now.” “Aaaand? Did he ask…  you already?” “Asked me what?” Cloth replied sheepishly. “If you… want to… be his… special somepony.” “Waterdrop, it is very rude to ask something so private. Can’t we talk about something else?” “You… said… anything… ” Considering in what state her talk partner was, Cloth gave in and said, “Yes he had. A little early of course, on our eleventh date.” A long moment of silence followed, till Cloth asked again, “Are you still awake? You promised not to sleep in!” “I am… sorry… what did you say?” Turning her head to the hole opening above, Cloth yelled, “Can you please work a bit faster!” She turned to the mare, saying, “Yes he asked me and… I said yes.” “If you had... said no… I would have… dug myself out… and… kicked your… flank.” “I was close to saying no,“ Cloth confessed. “He really rushed it with asking so early, but he is indeed very likeable besides that.” “Likeable?” “Maybe a bit more than that.” Small pebbles started to rain down on them, first a few, then more and more. “Cloth!” Cool said from the entrance of the hole, looking down, “We have reached the last beam, but it is all across them, we have to cut it, so we can lift the part above. That might set a bit of rubble in movement, be careful down there.” “Will do,” Cloth responded, then turned her attention back to the other mare. “You see, Waterdrop, just a few minutes more and you’ll be free.” “I think… with a little… effort… I can lift… my left wingtip… to cheer… a bit.” A moment later, she added, “Nope, doesn't… work, I think… it’s broken, don't… feel it though.” “Wings?” Pictures of dozens of  pegasi rushed through Cloth’s head, everypony close enough to Waterdrop to have the knowledge the other mare had. “It simply doesn’t fit, Waterdrop is very very nitpicky about her friends, she didn’t have many and as far as I know, there are no pegasi mares so close to her.” “Spare your power, Waterdrop, just move as little as possible. I am sure your wings will be fine, just let us get you out of here and then we can care about them.” “They really… could use… a preening… but... ” her voice fainted away. “Waterdrop!” Cloth yelled. “Stay awake!” “So… tired… have slept… a few times... since… being here… already… can’t hurt… so… much… ” “Don’t you dare! You hear me? You stay awake the last few minutes till we got you out of here or by Celestia, I’ll pull you out by your hoof myself!” “You are… far too… small for that. Our… soft little… firefighter filly.” A little laugh, followed by coughing followed. “I can... feel your… ears shift in… anger… from here…” Normally, exactly that would have happened, Cloth was used to getting teased with her shortness by her teammates but that didn't mean she was okay with it. Now however, she was far too worried to let such thing annoy her. “And there goes your chance for a preening anytime soon, I will tell everypony that your wings are far to sensible for that for at least two weeks.” “You… are… so… evil…” “No, I am far too short for being evil, I am cute.” Cloth did her best to keep this friendly fighting going on for the short time till the others had finally cut off the part of the beam in question and lifted it away. “Careful ponies,” Cool commanded as they picked up the last few scraps that covered the mare. In the light of their helmet-lamps more and more of the black body was visible. Together, the other two stallions lifted the one big rubble-part that covered her head, constantly speaking with the mare. The euphoria had caught them all. One hoof pushing the rubble-part, Cool lowered his head to look in the mare’s face as soon as possible, a bright smile on his face. The view he got however, was, even for him with his years of experience as firefighter, horrifying. A short scream of fright escaped his mouth before he could suppress it. In the light of his lamp, he saw the mare's head, but it was all black. Not only the coat, the ears, the mane, even the eyes, were all black. “Dear Celestia!” Cool yelled with a hoof to his mouth. The others were first wondering what has scared him so much, but when the stallions had thrown the rubble over, it was clear for all to see. A wave of disbelief and fear went over them. “What the hay?” one of the stallions asked. “How can that be? Cool, how is that possible?” the other asked. “I… really don’t know,” was his response after he regained his self-control. “Charming… as… ever… Cool,” the mare said. “You… really… know how to… speak to… mares…” “Sorry miss,” he said. “I was just …” he hesitated to find the right words, “surprised how beautiful you look like considering the circumstances.” “You are… even worse at… lying than… Hot Cheese…” The black eyes of the mare wandered from one pony to the other. Then she started crying, even her tears were black! “I am… so happy… to see you… guys…” “Shhh,” Potato Cream whispered, “shhh, it is okay, everything is alright now.” Her face however, didn’t match what she said. She shared unsure looks with her teammates, “Does somepony know who that is?” was the clear question behind it, also “What is with her eyes?” Another scream was heard, this time Cloth’s. She has crawled back out of the hole and joined them. “What…” she started but stopped when her attention was grabbed by Cool heavily shaking his head. Now the black mare got a bit worried. “What?” She shifted her gaze from one pony to the other. “What is it?” A series of coughing stopped her questions. “Nothing, shhh,“ Cool tried to calm her down. “Everything is okay, we’ll just get rid of the last few obstacles and then we can get you out of here. He gave Potato Cream a wave, she moved closer and pulled out a small water bottle, opening it. “Little swallows,“ she said, her voice nearly calm, while she lifted the mare’s head and set the bottle on her mouth. Avid, the mare drank from the bottle, so Potato Cream had to lift it to stop her. “Slow… slow or you will drown.” She set the bottle down again, now the mare drank a bit more carefully. “That’s better, just take your time.” Again she had to take away the bottle when the mare started to cough. Meanwhile the others started to put away what was still on the mare and also fetched a lantern so they weren’t in need of the small helm-lamps anymore. The moment the light of the lantern hit the mare, Potato Cream yelled in surprise and threw the bottle in the air. The mare was now orange! Covered over and over with soot and dirt, still her coat was orange! And her mane was two-tone green, even her eyes had regained colour and displayed a light green iris surrounded by white. Potato Cream pulled back her hoof so the mare’s head dropped on the stone, “What kind of dark magic is working here?” she yelled while she slid back on her hind hooves. Everypony who has seen her now orange coat took a step back from her by instinct and after the others had recognised it, alerted by Potato Cream, they took a step back too. “Cool!, what is going on here?” one stallion asked, near to panicking. “Mares are not supposed to change colours!” All eyes were now switching between Cool and the orange mare, waiting for an explanation. “Ahh… “ was all Cool had to say at first, then he swallowed and added, “I don’t know, but I am sure there is a logical explanation for this.” “A logical explanation?” Potato Cream stopped to move her gaze between the mare and Cool, “First her eyes were black, black! Now they are green and her body was black too!” she yelled. “I see it, but I can’t explain it right now. I don’t know how this is possible,” Cool said. The stallion holding the lantern moved another step back, so the lantern didn’t illuminate the mare completely anymore. Her body, now a mixture of orange and black, was half covered in light by the lantern and half by the helm-lamps. The colours following exactly the movement of the light from the lantern. It took them a moment to realise what they saw, but then Hot Cheese grabbed the lantern from the stallion and covered its light with a hoof. Now the mare was completely black, including eyes and everything else. Removing the hoof and holding the lantern higher, the mare was coloured again. Disbelieving, Hot Cheese repeated that a few times, everytime the same effect. “What is… it, what... ” the orange mare started, “what is happening?” She tried to lift her free hoof, but she was too weak for it. “Cloth…“ she moved her head a tiny bit, “Cloth…?” The addressed mare took another step back, not willing to move closer. Instead it was Hot Cheese who had the courage to get closer again, the lantern still in hoof. “Cheese?” the orange mare asked, but Hot Cheese didn’t answer. She lifted the lantern above the other mare’s head, focusing the light on it. “Like the hair we found,“ Cloth said. Looking at her, Hot Cheese asked, “What do you mean?” “Remember the green hair we found and the feathers?” Cloth’s voice was unstable from shock. “It is all the same here.” She pointed at the mare’s green mane. “Not singed in the slightest.” Hot Cheese moved her head closer to examine the hair herself. “You're right!” She moved the lantern down the mare's body, followed by the worried gaze of the orange mare, “and not a single burn either!” Everypony fell into silence after that discovery, both from shock and fear. It was Cool who regained his composure first, so he said, “I think you owe us an explanation miss.” “I am… fireproof…” “Nonsense!” Potato yelled, “Nopony is fireproof!” “I am.” “That’s some kind of dark magic for sure!” Potato proclaimed. An idea formed in her head. “Maybe she has set the building on fire!” She looked around and saw the unsure glances from her teammates. “Think about it, she is here in the ruin of it, buried under the rubble, completely unharmed by the fire, nor is she choked by the smoke! And her strange reaction to the light of the lantern, I say she is one of Discord’s spawns!” “You can’t be serious!” Cool shouted quickly, “Discord has been gone for three hundred years already and all of his creatures have left with him!” “What if she is right?” one of the other stallions said. “What if, “ he pointed at the orange mare, “ she had set the building on fire?” “She could be an evil enchantress,” the third stallion added. “There is no such thing like an evil enchantress, Chimney Cleaner! And you know that!” Cool scolded him. “Some evil creature nonetheless,” Potato said. “Whatever she is, she has to do with this all.” Potato gestured to the burnt walls and caved-in ceiling. “You can’t know that, Potato, I won’t let this turn into a monster hunt!” “Why don’t we ask her?” Hot Cheese interrupted them. “Let us hear what she has to say.” “Yes, awesome idea!” Potato said ironically. “Let the Discord spawn explain it, she totally will confess she burned everything down.” “It doesn't hurt to listen,” Cool decided. “Stop!” He silenced Potato, the mare raising her hoof to retort. “Enough of your panicked mongering, even if she had burned down everything, she doesn't seem very dangerous at the moment.” He pointed at the orange mare. “She can’t even lift a hoof, she isn’t going to jump up and eat you.” There wasn’t much Potato could say to that, so, for the moment, she contented herself with a snort. Turning his attention to the orange mare, Cool said, “We all are curious about your explanation, miss, you better have a good one.” “What do… you want to… know, Cool?” “Maybe start with your name?” he said. It took the mare a long moment till she responded to that, it was clear she was thinking about her answer a lot before she said anything, giving them one by one a gaze. Then she made a decision, “You know me… for nearly five years… already, the name I use…  around you… is Waterdrop.” “A lie!” Potato stumped with her hoof and the others also didn’t seem convinced. A loud tumult followed as everypony proclaimed their thoughts about this statement. “Be quiet!” Cool shouted. “Miss, that is nonsense, we’ve all known Waterdrop for a long time now, and she has neither your coat colour nor your voice and definitely, she is not a pegasus.” Affirmative murmle followed his words. “It is the truth, I am… not a Discord spawn… but I can… copy a pony's… body once… I touched it… I met… the pony whose… body I used for… Waterdrop… many years ago.” “I said she is an evil enchantress, she can steal the body of somepony!” Chimney Cleaner yelled worried, hugging his other male teammate. “Copy… not steal… I look the same but… I’m still me…” “I never heard of a creature able to do that,” said Cloth. “You are saying you can copy anypony?” “Yes, everypony.” Waterdrop answered. “Even us?” Hot Cheese asked. “Even you.” “I heard of a creature like that,” the third stallion said, pushing Chimney away. “My grandmother told me about some kind of… ‘bug-pony’, I think it was something like that. They camouflage as ponies and eat them. I didn’t believe her and thought that was a horror story of hers though.” “Bug-ponies?” Hot Cheese asked. “Are you sure about that?” He raised his hooves. “It was a long time ago when she told me that.” “I don’t eat… ponies, nor am I … a bug-pony. I am… a pegasus.” “At the moment,” Cloth said. “No, I was… born as one,” Waterdrop corrected her, “and to make… that clear… I am far too… young for being a… Discord spawn… I am twenty-two.” “And you think we will believe that?” Potato asked. “How stupid do you think we are?” “I have to agree with Potato Cream here, “Cool said. “Even if the part about your ability to copy bodies is true, you can tell us anything, we can’t prove it. You could very well be five hundred too.” “Does it really… matter? I am not… able or willing… to harm you… anyway.” “We only have your word for it,” Hot Cheese said. “I… promise, I don’t want to… eat you and my condition is… obvious.” A promise was something even the most evil villains honoured, so that one calmed things down a bit. “Okay maybe she will not eat us,“ Potato Cream said, “but still she could be the one who set the factory on fire, or blew it up in the first place.” “I may… have to… do with it… but I am not to… be blamed for it.” After this explanation, Waterdrop started to cough again. After a second, Cloth overcame her worries and picked up the water bottle nearby, luckily it wasn’t broken. There was still a bit of water inside. She moved it over to Waterdrop and let her empty it. “Now tell us what happened,” Cloth ordered, “step by step.” “Can’t that wait… till you… get me out of… here?” “I don’t think so,” Cool added, “you told us you are an bodycopying pony, fooled us for years and are found in an exploded, burnt-down factory. I think an explanation is necessary.” “We don’t get you out of here till you tell us everything,” Potato Cream added. “Shouldn’t we bring her to the hospital first?” Hot Cheese asked, scratching her head. “She is not in the best of all conditions.” That was a good question, they all were unsure what would be the best. On one side, this mare, who fooled them all for years was a possible great danger to them. Could be that she burnt down the factory and Celestia knows what else she could do or has done already. On the other hoof however, she was a pony in need of help, they all had agreed to help those in need when they had become firefighters and this mare needed help. “The short version, miss- Waterdrop, if that is your name.” Cool said, “If we believe you, we will get you out of here.” Waterdrop took a few heavy breaths, then agreed. “Alright Cool, I guess… I owe you all at least that.” And in a slow speed, with many pauses in-between, Waterdrop told them a very short version of what happened, beginning from her seeing the griffons, till the building collapsed above her. Only the part with her magic she let unmentioned. In case of her firebreath, there was not enough time or energy in her to come up with a plausible lie.