"So, let me recap and see if I've got this correctly..." Prey began, rubbing his face.
"Three weeks and two days ago, a burglary was carried out on one of Vanhoover's richest citizens, and earl to hoof, High Toff. Supposedly secure safes were found unlocked and emptied, and his mansion's carpets, paintings, sculptures, vases, book shelves and china were vandalised or otherwise destroyed. Correct so far?"
"Yes. The specifics and accurate bit values of the damages are written down here. Somewhere." Sunshine replied, with a vague hoof wave at the paper-strewn desk.
"But that's not the interesting part. The first bit being that no one-"
"-Nopony." Sunshine broke in.
Prey twitched a drooping ear and continued, "That no one saw anything. This is strange because apparently, this attack was carried out in the middle of the day, estimated between 12:00 and 4:00. Now, the strangest part of all is that High Toff doesn't remember anything about that day. Additionally, the first he knew of it was when he came to, lying in the middle of the hallway the next morning."
Prey tapped a hoof to his chin, "Added to this confusion, is that all the servants were out of the building. When questioned, they all swore it was High Toff himself who ordered them to go home, at around 10:00 that first day. Unusual is an understatement."
Sunshine nodded, "That it is. The fact that all the servants gave the same testimony, and that High Toff can't remember any of it himself, means only one thing. Mind magic." He snorted with disgust.
Prey shrugged, "One incident isn't enough to prove that."
"How can you say that? Of course it's the work of a mind leech!" Gold Bit broke in.
"I said one incident. Everyone's immediate answer to no memory is 'mind magic'. But they don't understand that's not how it works, and just how rare a competent practitioner is. But as you've told me, this wasn't a lone incident, there have been five further cases of robbery since then, all with similar circumstances. Valuables gone and the mansion vandalised. No evidence, no memories, no leads. Correct so far?" Prey checked.
"Unfortunately, yes." Sunshine sighed deeply.
"Then my next question is: what steps have been taken to prevent further attacks?" Prey asked.
"That's no concern of yours." Gold Bit interjected.
Sunshine frowned slightly, "The captain ordered that you are to have no details of anything not directly pertaining to the reports in this room or the victims of these attacks." He explained.
Prey sighed and waved a small hoof at the massive stacks of paper and scrolls, "Alright. Then, the only way to get any further information is to get to work on these reports. There's got to be something useful in at least some of them."
His tone was dismissive, but in fact, he was only too happy to begin. Finally having something, anything, to study was making him practically drool. Prey also doubted he was going to be able to worm anything further out of his two guards, but they were just two. He'd try again with the next two when they rotated shifts.
He smiled inwardly, because he already had the basis of a plan. A weak plan admittedly, but any chance was better than no chance.
All the while he had been listening and asking questions of Sunshine, he'd kept half his mind busy analysing and thinking ahead. The overconfident fools had freed his hooves, so now he had access to his runes again. Well, some of his runes. The problem would be getting any Guard close enough to touch, and then keeping them there long enough to work through their mind, all without the other Guard on duty noticing anything.
That wishful scenario didn't seem likely to happen any time soon.
So far, all the Solar Guards had wisely kept out of hoof's reach, and additionally, because he couldn't work on more than one mind at once, it ruled out the possibility of getting both Guards close enough to do at the same time. It was one at a time or nothing. Add in the length of time it took to properly take over a mind, and his chances were looking bleak.
Also, he wasn't currently able to simply drive an unsuspecting victim insane with a mere touch, so that option was out. The lock around his middle still kept that curse sealed away. His eventual escape (because he would escape, he was too afraid of what it would mean if he bungled this one chance), would take time and effort to pull off.
So Prey didn't plan to try and take any of their minds at all. He had his hooves free, he had his runic knowledge, his carefully preserved memories, and that would have to be enough.
With that in mind, Prey flicked the long chain on his collar out of the way, grabbed the closest report, and then without so much as a halfway caring glance at his two Solar Guards, dived right into it.
---The Past---
"The forest does not care about you. It does not care about me. It does not care about anyone. If you die, you will only feed its soil. If a monster eats you, it is just the law of nature. It is higher than you. You are lower."
The newly named Prey was trying not to tremble as he stood waiting for the zebra named Snake to turn and face him. There was no one else in the clearing with them.
Prey had been cornered by Stinger earlier this morning, and informed that he was going to be Snake's assistant from now on. The sadistic grin Prey saw under Stinger's mask as he delivered the news was enough to make Prey want to turn and run, but he knew what would happen if he did. 'The weak work or suffer'. Disobeying Stinger's order might even possibly result in being 'Put in the Mud.'
Prey had heard a host of stories about Zebra shamans, but even among the bloodthirsty Resistance, this zebra in particular, 'Snake', was spoken of with exceptional disgust and fear. All Prey knew was that Snake was the camp's voodoo witch.
"You will do what I say, when I say. If I tell you to pick a Blue Chime flower, you will pick a Blue Chime flower. If I tell you to act as bait for a strangler vine, you will act as bait for a strangler vine. If I tell you jump in front of a manticore, you jump in front of a manticore." Snake told Prey in exactly the same calm, accented voice as before.
The voodoo witch didn't even look at Gossamer as he spoke. He instead kept intently watching the yellow and black butterflies flitting through the sun beams in the clearing.
A long minute passed as they waited under the shadows of the trees, then another. Prey stood miserably considering what he had gotten himself into.
'Why me? Why me?' Half of him thought. The other half kept asking the same miserable questions he'd been asking himself over and over for the last month; 'Why did Fleece leave me? Where is my brother? Why did they burn our village? Why did they kill our mother? When will they finally kill me?'
"Do you know why you're here?" Snake eventually asked, voice flat and uncaring as if discussing the the qualities of dirt.
"T-to be your assistant." Prey forced out.
"Partially correct. You are indeed here to become my assistant, but do you know what that means?" Snake inquired.
Prey didn't answer, he knew Snake wasn't expecting one.
"No," The Zebra continued, "You know nothing. Remember that. You. Know. Nothing. Put simply, you are to be my hooves. You are to risk your life collecting, testing and handling my alchemy and potions. Your life is worth nothing compared to mine. If you want to stay alive, you had best be a fast learner, or else I will have to find myself yet another assistant. Do you want to know what happened to my last three assistants?" Snake asked, still not looking away from the butterflies.
No, Prey didn't want to know, but he knew there was only one answer he could give;"W-what happened t-to them?" He croaked.
"The first one spilled a test brew down his barrel and failed to cleanse himself in time. His skin melted down to the bone, and Stinger had to come and put him out of his misery. The second one tried to kill me in my sleep, and I fed him to the Deeper Green of the forest. The third one confused Half-Corpse mushrooms with Brown Caps, and died after swelling up to twice his normal size. It took over two days for death to come. I did not fetch Stinger that time. I pushed him out of the tent and left him." Snake said, as calm as a summer breeze.
Prey watched as Snake extended a long stick with a blob of something yellow and sticky on the end. One of the butterflies fluttered over and settled lightly on the stick, wings almost glowing as they caught a shaft of sunlight. Snake slowly drew in the stick as the butterfly sipped from the honey, never taking his eyes from the delicate insect.
"There are many ways to die in my service." Snake said quietly, "Take this butterfly for instance. Beautiful, no? Small, delicate, colourful, and deadly. This one alone has enough toxin on its wings alone to kill an adult bear if inhaled. Digesting even the smallest part of this butterfly is certain death." Snake said quietly, tilting his head to better examine the butterfly. In the shadows outside of the shaft of sunlight, his cold eyes glinted. For the first time Snake turned to face Prey.
Gossamer took a step back. Those eye's didn't see Gossamer, just a resource.
"The Resistance is full of monsters. But no matter who they are, there are always worse monsters in the Deeper Green. I may be part of the Resistance, but my loyalties lie elsewhere. With myself. If at any time I think you are endangering my life through inattention or carelessness..." The zebra paused to consider, "There won't be enough left of you to put in the mud. Am I understood?"
Prey nodded so hard his neck hurt, trying not to meet those blank eyes in the mask, 'I'm gonna die...' He thought hopelessly.
"There is always a worse monster out there." Snake echoed.
---Present---
Prey blinked, wondering for a moment why his cheek was stuck to a piece of paper, then realised he was lying on the desk. He hadn't even noticed he'd fallen asleep. 'Those memories... It's been a while. I must have been more tired than I estimated, to allow myself to dream of that without meaning to. Perhaps my subconsciousness is trying to tell me something?' Prey pondered.
It might be strange to think that someone like Prey, who was so objective and logical in his observation and analysis, would give any regard to a fleeting sensation. But that is where most people would be wrong.
Prey was logical, coldly so. But he'd seen too many things, experienced too much to ever dismiss his instincts like that.
Sometimes his instincts were wrong, or he misinterpreted them. But there had also been those dark nights alone in the rain and mud, where you couldn't even see the trees two paces from you, and all you wanted to do was get under cover but some horrible little voice inside told you not to go back to camp but to turn around and walk away. You didn't know what was waiting for you back at camp, but you knew it wasn't a manticore or a chimera or even a basilisk, but something else. Something worse.
Even if it ended up being nothing, those particular little voices had a way of getting you to listen.
Prey shook himself and raised his numb face off the desk, 'But I'm not in the forest anymore. I'm about as far from the Deeper Green as you can get. This time, I think it's just leftover from my bad dreams.' He decided, stretching out with a stifled yawn.
"You're awake." Sunshine said behind him. Prey swivelled a droopy ear in the Solar Guard's direction, but didn't turn. He didn't have to see Sunshine to be able to carry out a conversation with him, and the less he had to look at the unicorn, the better.
"Evidently. Has your shift not ended yet?" Prey asked, half listening as he considered the leftover report in front of him, 'Now what was I doing with this one?' He wondered.
"It did. This is our second shift. The other pair have already rotated through their twelve hours. Didn't you notice the Guards change?" Sunshine asked.
"You talk to the prisoner too much." Gold Bit muttered. Prey ignored him.
Now that he thought about it, Prey did remember the guard changing. He had been too busy reading through the reports and sorting them into piles to take note. Trying to hold all the various reports in his head while cross referencing them with what he'd already read, left little room for concentration on other things.
Prey stretched his neck under the metal collar, considering the multiple new stacks of files in front of him, papers sticking out all over the place.
There was a pile over there on the corner of the desk for reports on the victims traits. Another pile near his hoof for papers he deemed interesting. One over there for files about the servants of the rich pony victims. More piles for what'd been taken, the day of the week, times, types of locks picked, the weather, carpet choice, and even one for the colour of books vandalised.
There was also a scattered pile (more a dump) on the floor for reports Prey mentally marked as 'waste of time'. Prey looked at what would've seemed like a disorganised mess to anyone else and nodded in satisfaction. 'Everything is where it's supposed to be.' He thought.
Incidentally, he also now knew how many Solar Guards there were guarding him. If Sunshine and Gold Bit were back on duty, that meant there was only one other set of unicorn guards, if they were rotating on a twelve hour shift. Coupled with another two outside the door at all times, as Captain Valour had ordered, that made eight Solar Guards in total, excluding the Captain himself. Two in here, and two outside at all times.
'Eight. Eight in total. Better than I'd feared but worse than I'd hoped.'
Prey placed the report in his hoof into the 'Almost completely useless' pile. It was written by a certain city guard pony by the name of Grey Plod. Grey Plod had written six reports, one on each of the robberies. All but one of Grey Plod's reports had ended up in this pile. That one had ended up on the floor.
'Grey Plod, you need a less demanding job. Perhaps rock farming, or anything that doesn't require higher brain functions. It's obvious the thief didn't come in through the window, the broken glass was on the outside of the building you foal.' Prey thought with disdain, reaching for another report from his dwindling pile.
"Aren't you hungry?" Sunshine abruptly asked, sounding a bit forced.
"Yes." Prey answered without looking up from the report. He was trying to decide between the 'Wednesday' pile and the 'Misdirected' pile. Not very inventive names, but seeing as no one else needed to know what each pile contained, he could label them however he wanted.
There was a long silence as Prey kept reading, the two Solar Guards exchanging looks behind him. Sunshine raised his eyebrows with a frown. Gold Bit scowled back, but then looked away. "You know, you are allowed to stop to eat. Even as a criminal, you still have some rights." Sunshine said. Prey flicked an ear but didn't respond otherwise.
Behind him there was a sigh, "It's been thirty six hours since you began, and you've been awake for thirty one of them going at those files. That's not healthy." Sunshine added.
Prey gestured with a hoof around the room, "I don't see any food here. What do you suggest I eat?" He asked, placing the report in the 'Wednesday' pile and picking up another.
There was another sigh, this time surprisingly from Gold Bit, "Sunshine is right. You need to take a break."
Prey did turn this time, blinking large blue eyes at Gold Bit in question.
Gold Bit scowled, "Don't misunderstand. You're of no use to anypony if you collapse from exhaustion. And I'm not just saying that, the Guard has enforced rest periods for a good reason. After a certain point, your alertness and thinking capacity is negatively affected. More so for the old or young. Like you." Gold Bit said with a pointed nod at Prey, not breaking from his annoyed scowl.
Prey narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, 'Soft. They're so soft.' He thought in disgust. Oh, physically and magically they were strong yes, in peak condition even. But all their regulations and rules bound them down and made them soft.
'It's because they have the luxury. They can afford to have things like 'breaks' and 'rest periods', and even the Solar Guard expect to have their comforts supplied it seems.'
Prey understood that these things did indeed make a more effective guard, but the fact that they seemed to think it was the norm and that even he, a prisoner, was somehow entitled to them instead of constantly having to struggle just to survive startled him. Startled and annoyed him, because it wasn't what he'd subconsciously expected from them. He didn't quite know how to proceed.
"There's still nothing here to eat. If anyone was supposed to be delivering rations, then it's probably safe to say they've forgotten." Prey pointed out, waving at the food-less office.
"Hmm, you might be right there." Sunshine commented with a frown.
"None of the city guard is to know the prisoner is here, so a meal schedule wouldn't have been set up." Gold Bit told Sunshine.
"She's still got to eat something."
"He." Prey muttered.
"Of course. I just meant that the Solar Guard will have to take turns doing it outside of our shift is all." Gold bit replied.
Prey tried to ignore their pointless mutterings while he sifted through the remaining reports. He estimated there was about another five hours of work before he'd sorted all the files. Then would come the task of re-sorting the more promising files again, and starting to build up a picture.
"Hey, here's a dumb question, but have you had access to the rest room yet?" Sunshine asked Prey awkwardly.
"No."
"Ahhh...."
---
It turned out that the other door in the room which Prey had first noticed lead to a small, windowless bedroom and toilet. It seemed he was actually meant to sleep in here, rather than chained to the desk as he'd been expecting. The mattress was even in a bed frame, not just tossed on the floor, and had sheets and everything. For some reason, it made Prey angry that they would even think to provide for him.
The sink was almost too high for Prey to reach though, and the fact he couldn't see in the mirror improved his mood somewhat. He could now be justified in thinking, 'Stupid Rag'Hagig ponies.'
Before he was led back out by the chain on the suppression collar, Prey lightly touched a cloven hoof to the bed frame. Under his sensitive hoof, he felt the slight thrum of dormant magic. A containment and alarm enchantment no doubt.
'Seems they've thought of everything.' Prey noted. He hadn't expected anything less, but he wouldn't know unless he double checked, and the same went for the rest of the room. If the unicorns had forgotten something, Prey would find it.
Gold Bit re-clipped the chain to the bracket in the floor, while Sunshine watched Prey clamber back onto the chair with its precarious pile of cushions. Prey was just settling back into the rhythm of sorting the reports when he was interrupted yet again.
"Want a cupcake?" Sunshine asked.
Both Prey and Gold Bit turned to look at Sunshine.
"What? There won't be any meals for at least another ten hours, and I happen to have a cupcake on me. The prisoner should get to eat something, don't you think?" Sunshine shrug.
Gold Bit narrowed his eyes at his fellow Solar Guard, "This is a mind leech remember? Just because it looks like a lamb doesn't mean it isn't one. So don't go feeling sorry for it." Gold Bit hissed in an undertone. Prey was certain he wasn't meant to catch that, but large ears do have some uses.
Sunshine responded with a scowl of his own, "I know my duty. I will never put somepony's life at risk because of the prisoner. But seriously, what's the harm in this? It's just a cupcake." He hissed back.
Gold Bit held the glare for a moment longer then shrugged, "Fine. Whatever." He said flatly. He went back to being a statue on guard.
Sunshine looked away from Gold Bit and gave Prey a bright smile, "So, cupcake?" He asked.
Prey was giving Sunshine a very suspicious look, but he nodded. Sunshine's horn lit up and a cupcake with thick white icing was plonked on the desk in front of him. Prey wasn't convinced this wasn't some trick, or that Sunshine wasn't going to whisk it away the moment he reached for it as some joke. Sunshine's face didn't hide any guile however.
"Thank you," Prey offered cautiously; "But I think it's only fair that we split it."
"Nonsense, it's just a small cupcake. You eat it." Sunshine waved him off.
Prey put an innocent expression, tilting his head to enhance the appearance, "No no, please, I insist." He said to Sunshine. He stretched over the desk with his short forelegs and carefully broke the crumbly cupcake in two, "After you."
For a moment Sunshine didn't take it, and Prey was sure he'd been right. But then Sunshine's yellow aura surrounded the proffered half as the Guard took it.
Prey's eyes narrowed as Sunshine took a careless bite, the Guard raising a bemused eyebrow at the watching sheep as he chewed. Very suspiciously, with one final glare, the lamb copied him.
Prey went still and his eyes widened. Slowly he finished chewing the mouthful of cupcake and swallowed. "What is this?" He asked quietly, lifting up the cupcake to squint at it, as if it would reveal some great secret.
"It's just a cupcake. Vanilla." Sunshine answered with some puzzlement.
Prey didn't even look up at the Solar Guard. "It's... so sweet." He muttered to himself.
"Yes. It's a cupcake. What did you expect? Haven't you ever eaten one before?" Sunshine asked with a smirk.
Prey eyes narrowed ever so fractionally, but that was the only outward indication of the sudden anger that had flared to life in his thin chest. 'They know nothing. They don't understand how privileged they are to be able to take such simple luxuries for granted.' Prey thought to himself.
He lifted the cupcake and took another small bite, savouring the taste. He'd never had anything like it before, never in his life had he tasted sweets or sugar. On the farm, they'd never had the bits to spare. The Deeper Green had been strangely lacking in cake trees as well, and in Dreverton there was nothing but the tasteless fare every day, twice a day.
'Fleece would have loved this.' Prey thought absently taking another bite.
All too soon, the cupcake was gone. Prey had no choice but to return to sorting the desk, filtering the reports in search of something useful.
---
Prey was about a quarter of he way through re-sorting and cross referencing the more promising stacks of paper late that evening, when the door was thrust open and in marched the huge figure of Captain Valour.
"Anything to report?" He barked at Sunshine and Gold Bit.
"No sir." They responded as one.
The captain nodded at them, "Good job." He turned to Prey and his gaze soured, "Where is our loose criminal?" Captain Valour snapped.
Prey met his gaze with a big innocent smile, "No idea."
It was the wrong answer, "Why not?" Valour roared.
Prey let the smile fade, "Are you being serious? You just threw me in here with a huge unorganised mess of reports and expect me to find something in less than two days? Think realistically. Most of these reports are irrelevant to start with, and none of them relate to suspects. How do you expect me to identify the criminal?" Prey asked.
Captain Valour stalked forwards, and Prey was very glad there was a desk between them as the captain loomed over him, "I've been patient, I've given you a chance at redemption, but my patience is running out. You will tell me what you've discovered, or I'm putting you back on a chariot for Dreverton tonight. Do I make myself clear inmate, 452?" The captain asked with deceptive calm.
'What brought on this fit of insanity?' Prey asked himself in disbelief. This unicorn's expectations were entirely unreasonable. Perhaps Captain Valour was simply testing Prey, to see if he could make the sheep slip up in a lie by pressuring him. Worse, the Captain would be half right if that was his suspicion.
Prey wasn't like one of these Guard ponies. His mind thought along different paths from their rigid moral structure of right and wrong. He could think like a criminal. After skimming these reports just once, (even with all the distracting side reports that got in his way) Prey had found what he wanted.
Prey had started seeing a deeper picture the moment he had compared the first two reports, and started to build it up from there. He had been lying to Captain Valour in a hope to be able to stall for more time to work on his real agenda, namely; escape. The fact that his completely believable excuse about 'not being given enough time' had been so harshly rejected forced Prey to rethink what he could get away with.
'This is a test, it's got to be. Is it merely a ploy to intimidate me to work harder? Is the captain growing desperate? Is it merely all a bluff? Or was I wrong and he does know more about me than I thought?' Prey thought, mind speeding from one possibility to the next. He regarded Captain Valour's dark expression.
'Unfortunately, I am in no position to test him. At a stomp of his hoof I could be thrown back into Dreverton to languish away until even I die. He seems just angry enough to make a snap decision like that, his all important investigation be damned,' Prey thought. 'I have no choice but to give him something.'
"Wait. I might have something-" Prey started.
"So you were lying to me?!" Valour roared.
"No, I wasn't." Prey hastily protested, "I said I didn't know who the perpetrators were. I do however have a profile of targets that these ponies are likely to strike at next."
Captain Valour took a long, slow breath, "You have five minutes prisoner 452. And if I even think you're lying to me again, you'll go down so fast you won't even have time to cry for your mother." He growled.
Prey resisted the urge to spit on the captain, instead lowering his hooves below the edge of the desk to hide the trembles of fear and anger. Fixing a penitent look on his face, Prey cleared his throat, "Right. Well, first, these ponies are targeting-"
"Ponies?" Captain Valour snapped.
"Yes, at least one powerful unicorn of magic tier six or higher, who else could wield such potent mind magic competently?" Prey pointed out.
The Captain contrived to somehow look even angrier about being told that his criminal was a pony, and a unicorn to boot. A powerful one too. 'Can't stand the idea of a unicorn falling off the straight and narrow can you?' Prey thought with venom.
"Yes," He continued, "I theorise a group between four and six individuals. Most likely all ponies, as anyone of another species would stick out amid the predominantly equine Vanhoover population. I estimate two Pegasi, who are both lookouts during the actual robbery, and scouts to stake out their next rich target. The rest of the group is most likely almost entirely unicorns, but with at least one earth pony."
"Explain." Valour ordered.
"The reports show that at least some of the vandalism that took place after the robberies showed hoof scuffs. Unicorns would use their magic. The Pegasi are most likely up on top of the building acting as lookouts, which leaves the only explanation of an earth pony. The earth pony was also probably the driver of a cart in which they covertly removed what they stole from the premises. There was simply too much stolen to remove it all in just saddle bags without arousing suspicion. It would look odd for anyone but an earth pony to be pulling a cart, no?" Prey asked.
Prey could see that the captain and the other Solar Guards were listening intently, even if they still had their professional masks of disinterest in place. You just had to know what hints to look for. He found the ears were a particularly good indicator in ponies.
Prey took a breath and continued; "Right, onto the second point. This group always hits the same type of rich ponies. Ones with enclosed mansions or walls to avoid prying eyes while they do the deed, and ones which have had their fortunes for at least five generations. As to what the thieves are after-"
Here came the delicate part, to hide the fact that he was almost certain about what these ponies were after, although not the reason why. This would take some careful misdirection.
"-I would suggest that these targets are picked out based both on their wealth, and some sort of grudge the thieves carry. Family feuds perhaps? That would explain the otherwise pointless vandalism to the mansions after the thieves have already managed to steal everything they can carry off."
"Wait, I disagree." Gold Bit broke in, then balked slightly when the captain looked at him, but at a nod he continued;
"Sir, I disagree with 452. What's to stop them taking everything? If they have such powerful unicorns, why not teleport in and take everything and teleport out? If they have one strong enough for the level of untraceable mind magic we've seen, they're definitely strong enough to handle one large teleport with all of it." Gold Bit explained.
"Almost right," Prey said calmly, "Aside from one thing, all of these mansions are old, the newest one is still pre-Altherate era."
"Why is that important?" Valour demanded, the patience with which he had listened to his subordinate immediately replaced with barely restrained anger when it was Prey whom was speaking.
"Because all of these mansions were built before said era. Back then, all of the richest house owners had their mansions built on bedrock along a leyline. There used to be a huge market in obtaining such plots of land, if you had the bits for it."
"Get to the point!" Captain Valour almost yelled. Prey mentally cursed himself for flinching. Gritting his teeth he continued:
"Long story short, you can't teleport into or out of one of these particular mansions unless you were either exceptionally powerful, at least magic tier eight or higher, or had a certain room built off from the leyline that could accommodate teleportation. But unless you knew which room it was, you wouldn't know it was there, nor could you scan for it. Something about the signature being lost amid the rest of the ambient natural magic." Prey said with a dismissive wave of his small hoof.
If any of the Solar Guards thought it was odd that such a young sheep somehow knew all this information, none of them mentioned it.
"Sir, permission to speak?" Sunshine asked from where he stood guard behind Prey.
"Granted."
"Thank you sir." Turning to Prey; "You missed one. Proud Table is an exception to that pattern. He's only recent to the upper class ranks, yet he was still targeted." Sunshine pointed out.
Prey lifted an eyebrow at the Guard's alertness, "Correct, but he's just that, an exception. However, if you look back at Proud Table's family tree, you find it traces back to the old country gentry. Can you guess what you soon spot if you have a look at the rest of these victims' family trees?" Prey asked.
It wasn't really a question, the answer was obvious.
"And this supports the old family feud idea." Gold Bit muttered to himself, but everybody heard it anyway. Prey saw the two Solar Guards behind the captain exchange thoughtful looks of their own, 'Ah, so they think they're starting to understand. Yet they miss the fact that I'm misleading them in their moment of self-enlightenment.'
"So, here is what I suggest." Prey said, drawing their attention back to himself. "Find out how many rich ponies there are that own one of these houses and have been around for at least five generations or more. Then see where their ancestors hark back to. Next, place undercover Guards around their mansions to be on the lookout for anything suspicious. The moment the alarm is raised, gather your guards, wait until the thieves move in to rob the mansion, then jump them while they're unable to teleport away." Prey told them.
It was a good plan. It was simple and had logic behind it. He could see that Captain Valour liked it. Although from the way he was working his jaw, the captain was seriously considering throwing it out just because it came from him.
'Too bad it'll never work.' Prey thought smugly, 'Just another ploy to keep them pointlessly busy and out of the way while I prepare to escape.'
Prey allowed his hoof to brush against the underside of the desk. There, he felt small rune he'd painstakingly traced into existence over the last forty hours. It had been slow going. Always having to be careful to hide his actions under the pretext of reaching for another report.
It wasn't much, and this rune hardly did a thing. It was just a test to see if it tripped any alarms.
This particular old rune, 'J'nud', was very particular in its use. The only thing it did was act as a mild activation trigger. Prey was sure if there were any scanning enchantments for the old Runic alphabet in the room, they would've been triggered. Yet none had.
Prey felt the old sick feeling of the Hunt stir within him, the flutter in his stomach of nerves and writhing anticipation. The nervous fear. Herbivores weren't meant for the Hunt, but all in the Resistance knew it well. He hated it and loved it. It was the feeling of closing silently in. He was in magical chains, watched by the strongest magical Guards in all of Equestria, but in the end, would that be enough to stop him? Only time would tell.
'When they leave, I can go back to pretending to study these reports. Then tomorrow, I can feign needing more information to work with, and from there I can formulate-'
Prey never got to finish his mental scheming. Instead, his carefully constructed gambit to both distract and meet the Captains' demands, while setting himself up to seize upon their blindness later, was rudely crushed underhoof.
Just as it looked like Captain Valour was finally done with his own mental planning, and about and leave to commence staking out all of Vanhoover, there was that magical ripple over the door and it burst open. One of the pegasus Solar Guards rushed in.
"Sir! The thief has struck again!" The winged guard shouted, snapping off a quick salute.
The Solar Guards response was immediate, "Form up and head out! Two teams, we brief on the way!" Captain Valour shouted as every pony in the room scrambled.
Prey covered his soft ears as best as he could in the resulting barrage of shouted exchanges:
"Location?"
"Hoofdally lane, Cedar Fields' mansion."
"City Guard?"
"Local guard unit on route to site. Five minutes."
"Our ETA?"
"Eight minutes gallop, four by wing. No teleport beacon."
Captain Valour cursed, "Horseapples. They'll be long gone. Change of plan, we go as one team. Our objective is to intervene before the City Guard can disturb anything. Strong Flight?"
One of the Pegasus Guards snapped a salute, "Yessir!"
"Get to Hoofdally Lane. Take command and do not let any of the City Guard in. Go!" With another salute the Pegasus accelerated out the still open door and away.
Captain Valour gestured sharply with his head, "Everypony else, fall out. The thieves are probably long gone, but we might yet still catch something fresh. Once there, split up into pairs and sweep the mansion. You know the drill, fall out!"
Amid the unanimous shout of 'Yessir!' the Captain seemed to remember his prisoner. He frowned at the sheep, before nodding decisively as he came to a decision, "Gold Bit, get a large travel cloak to hide the prisoner, he's coming with us."
Sunshine's blink of surprise at Captain Valour confirming that the sheep was indeed a 'he' was lost to Prey as the Captain's horn lit up and a thick golden aura surrounded the sheep.
Prey went ridged as he was lifted into the air. He gave a muffled yelp of fury and grabbed hold of the closest object to hoof, the top most cushion on the chair, and flung it at the Captain, "Don't touch me!"
A cushion was not high on the list of most dangerous objects ever thrown, but the Solar Captain's trained response was automatic.
The magic lifting Prey vanished as a golden shield burst into life a foot in front of Captain Valour's muzzle. Unsurprisingly, the cushion bounced lightly off, but that was just the distraction.
Prey latched hold of the desk and launched himself over it with a warbling squeak of fury mixed with terror. It was fight or flight instinct, and the only way out of the room was past Captain Valour. The fact that he was still chained and surrounded by Guards didn't even register in that moment.
Prey wasn't seeing Captain Valour in front of him, for that split second there was only Fire Strike.
Nevertheless, the moment the cushion left his hoof, the Solar Guards' training took over and they leapt into action. Prey didn't even manage to get halfway across the desk before the stunning spell hit him in the face, another two impacting not a split second later.
Prey didn't even feel himself hit the floor in a mess of chains.
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[[[Bonus Picture - Snake from the Resistance]]]