'The Wonder that is Equestria' - An old book written by none other than Princess Celestia, Sol Invictus, Day Bringer, Lady of the Sun, and a whole other host of titles. Only about two hundred pages long, but at the time of it's publication 836 A.C. it was avariciously sought by all the nobles and ponies who wished to say that they had read it.
None wanted to be the only pony who hadn't read the book written by their beloved ruler.
However, the book in and of itself ended up containing little of substance. What it amounted to was basically Celestia's personal musings on a short, abridged history of her Equestria. Everyone read it, privately struggled to understand some of the more flowery language, proudly told their friends they'd read it, then put it on the shelf and quietly forgot about it.
It was mostly broad, philosophical notations about events which no one alive remembered anyway. A vague reference to the old Lord of Chaos, the Cliffs of Dove, Old Unicornia, the Crystal Empire, and Cloudsdale creation.
There was not a single mention of her sister or Nightmare Moon.
"You seem...Different this morning Prey." Gloom said, pausing in strapping on his chest plate.
"I do?" Prey asked, pausing in gently checking his still healing ear.
"He looks happy." Crimson stated.
Prey turned a raised eyebrow on the Pegasus, "Really?" He drawled, "Well, how about that. That must mean I've never been happy since being press ganged into the ISND, doesn't it? Or, you know, that you just never noticed before. One or the other." He added with mock thoughtfulness.
Crimson blinked his slow blink, and didn't comment.
"Well it's obviously the latter." Gloom said, pulling on the last piece of armour, his helmet. '-have I been missing a problem? Not seen him happy. Is that bad? Nah, he's not depressed, he's just Prey. Has a different way of showing than everypony else-'
"Come on team, I set the alarm clock for this early this morning so we could finally get a shower. If today goes anything like every other single day so far, we aren't going to have time tonight. Too busy busting criminals." He joked with a fanged grin.
Crimson's comment from earlier had been partially right. Prey didn't do 'happy', as he hadn't had a reason to be happy in a long time, but right now he was pretty close. His step actually felt lighter, and the weight of the world not so heavy this morning. Because something was finally going his way.
Even the slowly accumulating sleep deprivation from the last three short nights didn't feel so bad right now. Although to be fair, all were all in the exact same bed shaped boat on that count.
Eventually they would have to pay back their sleep debt, but it didn't need to be today.
No, today was looking to be a good day. He could plan and scheme all day long while pretending to work, (something that inherently gave Prey a lot of satisfaction), and now he actually had a way to institute his plans instead of them just being grand ideas.
Because now he had Lemon Pink.
Still, Prey wasn't going to let his guard down or become careless, the enchanted gold bands on his forelegs were always prevalent in his thoughts, making him mindful that he couldn't escape from the Night Princess. But with Lemon Pink, the slack in his leash, theoretically speaking, had greatly increased.
Even his ear was feeling a lot better this morning, although that might've just been because he'd been careful not to fall asleep on it when he'd eventually drifted off last night.
Mentioning the night, the palace night staff were just finishing up and waiting for the day staff to replace them in time for sun rise. The whole palace's time table probably worked on Celestia's schedule. When she got up to raise the sun, everyone else in the whole world got the same wake up call.
'Actually, does an alicorn even need to sleep?' Prey wondered.
Gloom opened the door to the large gym area, now silent with no Guards exercising on the idle weight machines or running the circuit track.
They went quickly though into the showers on the other side of the gym, Gloom holding the door open for them, "Right, no more than thirty minutes, and then we've got to get to breakfast." He said, already pulling off his armour and setting it on the wooden slat bench.
Prey didn't know why Crimson and Gloom had bothered putting it on in the first place if they were just coming down here to the showers. It would've been much simpler to just carry it, since the Royal Guard armour all slotted away together into a neat, if heavy, metal bundle.
Well, that was their choice, Prey wasn't going to waste any more time now that they were here. These showers were a truly wonderful pony invention and he was happy to make full use of them.
Undoing the napkin-come-bandage he'd stolen yesterday, he hopped into the communal shower area while Crimson and Gloom were still struggling to get out of their armour and returning to their normal, unenchanted colouration.
The showers designers had been kind enough to install the shower taps at juuuuust the right height so that Prey, if he stood on his hind legs and really strained, could just about reach.
'Almost...Almost.... Got it!'
A *hisss-shroooff* rewarded his efforts, and soon Prey was ducking his head under the stream of hot water.
'Hot water.' That still felt like a novelty. Water gurgled delightfully in his ears as he started to scrub at his wool, getting out all those stubborn pieces of grass that somehow still managed to cling on from their double trip out to Hay Steam yesterday.
Crimson wasted no time in claiming a shower of his own and, surprise surprise, Prey noticed the first thing he immediately began to clean was his feathers. Kind of like how a warrior kept his sword sparkling clean and sharpened.
'A firm believer in the age old saying, look after your tools and they'll look after you, it seems.'
Prey ignored Gloom's juvenile amusement at him once again, '-looking like a drowned rat-' with his wool plastered down, and instead fantasised about; 'If I escape, is there some way that I could replicate a shower in whatever hole I end up hiding in?'
Prey pondered over the technicalities of hot water and runic arrays.
'Actually,' He thought, 'With Lemon Pink, that might only be when, and not if.'
---
Prey passed a very enjoyable ten minutes doing nothing but scrubbing himself clean in the relaxing shower of hot water, the warm steam adding a nice tint to the air.
"Sir, when were the new recruits for the Royal Guard supposed to turn up?" Crimson asked, squeezing water out of his lanky mane.
"Soon, but not till early next week I imagine. Why?" Gloom responded.
"They will all have received their basic training already, right?"
"Most of it. There's a month in boot camp, then once they get assigned to their divisions in the Royal Guard, there'll be additional weekly training for the next three months. Again, why?" Gloom asked, curiosity peaked.
Crimson gave his wings a vigorous shake, sending stray water droplets flying, "Sir, me and Prey have still not received any kind of standardised training. I mean, we know what we're doing yes, but not the procedure for doing so sir." Crimson said, expressing his concern.
'Really? He's still going on about this?' Prey thought.
Gloom paused in towelling down his mane, "You do know that we have a mandatory training day tomorrow, don't you? And by 'we', I mean everypony in the Night Guard."
Prey turned and joined Crimson in staring blankly at their Sargent
"No. You didn't mention it. Must've slipped your mind." Prey said flatly, speaking for the both of them, "You never seem to tell us anything until the second before it happens."
That was true. So far, it was one of the Sargent's more annoying habits. Like how they hadn't known they were going out to Hay Steam or pulling Guard duty last night until the minute before, or about Gloom's meetings with Captain Nighthawk that they were not allowed into. Sure, Prey and Crimson were still technically prisoners, but Gloom was supposed to be building a measure of trust between them.
"Ah, sorry about that," Gloom said, tufted ears flattening slightly, "I'll try to remember to keep you guys in the loop." He assured them, towel now draped over his neck.
"Going back to this 'mandatory training day' tomorrow, what exactly does that entail?" Prey asked suspiciously, pausing in reaching for his makeshift napkin bandage.
"T-Day, short for Training Day. It's going to be..." Gloom trailed off, a hit of a smirk curling the corners of his mouth, "Actually, it's better off as a surprise. Makes the training more effective."
"I am going to point out right now, that if you think I'm going to be swinging around a sword or the like, you're gonna' be sorely disappointed." Prey said. Crimson on the other hoof, from the way his wings flexed, was quite pleased with the prospect of the coming training.
"That certainly would be a sight to see." Gloom agreed, the smile growing an inch as he envisioned the lamb trying to lift a weighted practice battle axe.
Prey narrowed his eyes at his Sargent, "I can tell what you're thinking and you'll be disappointed. I can't even hold a sword." He repeated.
"Don't worrying about that, but don't think you'll be getting out of anything else." Gloom finally agreed, but still thinking of what 'else' T-Day involved. Prey read the Sargent's thoughts, and wasn't impressed.
'Idiot. I'm a runt, there's no way to do something like that.' He thought to himself, but kept quiet, instead reaching for a towel and starting to vigorously give himself a good drying off. It didn't matter. He had Lemon Pink, and things were going his way.
---
The Royal Guards in the mess hall were subdued. Most would've missed it, as their chatting and conversations on the surface were just the same as every day previously. They were trying not to let themselves worry, and believed that the smiles they wore fooled their friends.
'-no pony else is letting it get to them, so I won't either-'
'-see? Clover's still smiling-'
'-things aren't that bad yet. I'm overreacting-'
Then, one out of the stew of minds within Prey's perception range finally provided the context for their worry.
'-it's the dead line. Poor Rocky Bed-'
Apparently, today was the day that the search parties were escalated, moving out from Canterlot into the surrounding towns.
Why this was seen as a bad thing was apparently because Shining Armour had solemnly informed the Royal Guard that if things got to this stage, then the chances of ever rescuing Rocky Bed dropped to less than half.
So far, the kidnapping by Lemon Pink, (not that anyone else knew her identity), had been kept from the public as the Guard carried out its undercover search and rescue. Their commanders had planned to release the story once they'd successfully rescued Rocky Bed. Now however, things would change.
Missing posters would be placed, newspapers updated with the foal's picture, announcements and a public statement would be made. The Royal Guard didn't like letting anything affect the appearance of a peaceful utopia. Princess Celestia was counting on them, they couldn't let this affect any more ponies than it had already.
Prey almost felt like laughing, 'If I'd known this last night, I would have ordered Lemon Pink to wait a day before dumping off the foal. But now they'll find him this morning and cancel the announcements. The population will be none the wiser and keep their happy little illusions of peace.' Prey thought.
'Huh...' He thought to himself in surprise, 'I really am in a good mood this morning.'
---
"Prey could you pass the-oh." Gloom stopped when he found that Prey had already placed the pepper shaker in hoof's reach, already predicting the thestral's desire to add some flavour to the mess of an omelette on his plate.
"Thanks."
Prey's droopy ear twitched, but he didn't look up from devouring his own breakfast.
The eggs were bland, and the diced broccoli and potatoes in the omelette somehow completely failed to add any sort of appreciable flavour to it. Prey didn't care, and anyway, he was too busy trying to listen to what was going on in the rest of the mess hall to focus on the taste. Or lack of taste.
Like always, this many individuals all talking and thinking, assaulting both his sensitive physical and mental ears, was slowly giving him a headache.
'It's good experience,' Prey reminded himself, 'Soon I'll be able to mentally filter everything into the background, and then it won't be so bad. I just need to get used to it.' He thought as he gulped down another mouthful.
"You're going to get a stomach ache if you rush your food like that." Gloom commented, taking a mouthful of his own unappetising meal. Another ear twitch was all he got in response.
"Do you not mind the taste?" Crimson asked from across the table, putting down the used pepper to make another gallant attempt at his food.
"Free food is free food. Taste is unimportant." Prey said with his mouth full. Crimson looked slightly leaner in the face than when they'd been introduced at the start of the week. Two meals a day with no time for lunch really wasn't cutting it for the warrior pegasus it seemed.
"Usually kids are much more picky that you. We should see about getting your taste refined a bit. And maybe some manners too. I mean, do you even realise how bad the mess hall food is?" Gloom asked.
Prey chewed quickly and swallowed to speak, "It's free food." He reiterated, like it was obvious.
Gloom sighed, "When next we get a night, err, day off, we're going to a restaurant or cafe so you can see the difference between free food and real food."
"The clans would be embarrassed to serve this." Crimson agreed, looking down at his tray.
"Then why're you eating it?" Prey pointed out.
"The rules of hospitality demand it. It would insult our hosts if we declined." Crimson said, reciting from memory.
"Our hosts are the palace kitchens, which are serving over four hundred Guards every meal. They're not going to care." Prey responded, pushing his now empty plate away.
"...Because as you say Prey, in the end it is free food. Waste not want not." Crimson finally admitted.
"Free food is free food." Prey agreed with solemn finality.
A cheerful babble rose across the mess hall, a couple of minor cheers rising up as a small squad of Royal Guards entered the mess hall. Prey turned to see what the fuss was about, expecting to see that it was some pony bringing the news of the mysterious recovery of Rocky Bed, but no.
A grinning pegasus seemed to be the centre of attention, handsome featured and tall, laughing easily as he greeted the other Royal Guards by name who'd risen to welcome him back from whatever trip he'd been on. Prey's sharp ears caught snippets of their words.
"-you made it back without getting eaten by quarry eels this time I see." Someone joked.
"Nothing can keep me down." The pegasus laughed back, giving the other Guard a hearty slap in the back with a wing that almost made the Guard face plant in his omelette, which brought another good natured laugh from around the table.
"What was it like out there in 'The Wilds'?" Another asked, making air quotes.
"Sand, stone, tricky cross winds, humid nights, dirt roads, and not enough mares. Couldn't get back to proper Guard duty fast enough." The handsome Guard joked, the rest of his squad joining in on the rehashing of their trip, which by the sound of it, had been somewhere at least two weeks travel away and across at least one mountain range.
"Who're those Royal Guards?"
Prey looked over, it was Crimson who'd asked, and for once he'd forgotten to tack 'sir' on the end of his address. Or perhaps Gloom's reminders that they weren't on duty during meal times had gotten through.
Gloom looked over at what had their attention, "Huh? That's Nimbus Feather. He's a Staff Sargent in the Royal Guard, been deployed on a long term mission for the last month or so. He's a favourite for promotion to Second lieutenant one day." Gloom said, sounding very indifferent towards the obviously popular Royal Guard.
"He's got a way to go up the ladder to get from Staff Sargent to Second lieutenant. That's a jump of at least five ranks." Prey commented.
Gloom shrugged, "That's just what I heard. He was in the same recruit group as Captain Shining Armour. I don't know him, but he seems nice enough. Hasn't given the Night Guard any grief yet anyhow." Gloom shrugged. That apparently counted for quite a lot in Gloom's opinion, '-enough Royal Guard officers interfering with our business already-'
Nimbus Feather, Prey noted, was one of the few Royal Guards who carried a sword. That privilege either came from his rank or special permission from above. Quite possibly his ties with this officer Shining Armour.
Prey "Tsk'd" and gave the popular Staff Sargent one last disparaging look.
Right now, the brawny pegasus was currently heartily scoffing down a heaped plateful of omelette with gusto in between exchanging jokes. 'Seems he appreciates the value of free food at least, even if his stomach is where his brain ort to be.'
Prey didn't like the pegasus, although that was hardly a surprise. Nimbus Feather was a Royal Guard, a pony, high ranking, popular, respected, strong, good looking, confident, dedicated, friendly, no doubt loyal, and overall an upstanding model of Celestiaism.
'Disgusting.'
Unfortunately, that was just the exact moment that Topaz Honey and another couple of her seemingly endless friends entered the mess hall. By chance, the first thing her eyes fell upon was Prey, and by then it was too late to hide.
It was, however, not too late to run.
Prey saw the mares eyes began to sparkle from all the way across the mess hall. She didn't even join the breakfast queue first, just making a B-line for their table.
Prey was having none that.
He ducked below the table to break line of sight, and then made off at an angle between the table and bench legs.
"Where you going Prey-?" Gloom started, automatically reaching out to block the lamb's retreat, but Prey shimmied around his hoof in an impressive display of agility and hared off between the tables with his head down.
"What-?" Gloom started, half rising to go after him.
"It looks like Honey Topaz has come to say good morning sir." Crimson commented.
Gloom looked over, "Ah, well that explains it." He said, falling back onto the bench.
"Morning all, you night shift lot doing okay on this lovely new day?" Honey cheerily asked, having arrived. The mare's presence seemed to physically brighten the more sombre Night Guard tables as she drew up. That didn't necessarily mean her presence was welcome.
"It seems to be as fine as any other," Gloom answered blandly, "Smokey." He added, nodding a greeting to Honey's Guard companion who had followed her over, the same mare from yesterday. No sign of the unicorn stallion Prize though. Seem's meeting the sharp toothed, yellow eyed bat ponies once was more than enough for him.
"Good morning sir." Smokey replied easily.
"Good morning." Crimson joined in, offering a serious nod.
"Right, I'm off. I've got a sheep to catch!" Honey announced with a big grin.
"Pardon?" Crimson asked.
"It's only polite to let somepony know before you go off to play with their foal," Honey Topaz answered, "I have now fulfilled my obligations." She continued dramatically, "So I am now free to go and find a soft furry lamb in a good need of a hug."
"He's not really a foal..." Gloom began.
"Prey does not like to be touched..." Crimson tried to add.
"Ta' Ta'!~" Honey trilled as she took off amid the rapidly filling up tables, looking for her target.
That left Crimson, Gloom, and Smokey. Smokey awkwardly glanced around at the Night Guards occupying all the tables in the general vicinity, a bit uncomfortable now that it was just him. Her eye's flicked about, searching for inspiration. She was saved in her failing quest by a question from Gloom.
"Was the only reason she came over to try and hug Prey?"
Smokey seized on the proffered conversation starter. Like most ponies, it appeared she grew anxious whenever there was any long pause, even though she was a Guard and should be more self confident than that. "Oh no. Well, yes, mostly I imagine. But Honey definitely came over to say good morning to you two too."
"Hmm." Was Gloom's comment as he watched the tall figure of Honey Topaz making her way around the mess hall amid the crowd.
"I doubt she will catch him. Prey can make himself scarce when he so desires." Crimson told Smokey.
"That's probably why she wants to give him a hug so much. Make's it all the more fun I imagine. I remember I thought I was too cool and grown up for that sort if thing too, and my dad would purposefully do that in public." Smokey laughed.
"Your father?" Crimson asked.
"Yes, my mom's an assistant in a dietary florist shop, but he works off and on in magus Radiant's mage tower. Just in the lower level, but still. They were very proud when I made it into the Royal Guard, got to set a good example for my younger brother and all that." She added with a smile.
"Mage tower?" Crimson blinked.
"Er, yeah. You know, a mage tower?" Smokey said.
Crimson showed not a hint of recognition.
"You don't know of magus Radiant Flame's mage tower? It's like, one of the best there is, she's a relative of the Fell house. Her's is the big red tower with all the gold conductor panels in the North Quarter."
Still nothing from Crimson.
"Do you... Know what a mage tower is?" Smokey hesitantly tried.
"No."
"Oh. Well they're like really big, fancy, magical research towers. Only really important magus ponies have them, and they only get inherited by the most powerful unicorn families down the centuries. You have to either be very very skilled or very very rich to ever get into one otherwise. Did you know that even in Canterlot there's only nine full mage towers?" Smokey exclaimed, as if that number should convey to Crimson just how special what she was talking about was.
Another slow blink, "Ah."
Apparently the conversation had proceeded beyond Crimson's range of known interactions, and now he didn't know how to proceed. So instead, he just blinked slowly at Smokey and sat there, waiting for something further to be said. The awkward quiet came back and lengthened as Crimson continued to miss his social queue. Gloom wasn't even paying attention, he was trying to peer aver the heads of seated ponies to try and spot the sheep entrusted into his charge.
"So.. how're...?" Smokey coughed.
"I hope you have a nice day too," Gloom said, still not paying attention, "Crimson, I think it's time we find Prey and get back on the case. Give me a hoof would with that, you?" He said, standing up.
Smokey looked slightly offended to be so curtly dismissed.
"Yes sir." Crimson immediately replied. He looked at Smokey, "Oh, and thank you for wishing us a good morning. I wish you the same." Crimson added blankly.
""Err... Okay, well have a nice day too then." Smokey returned, looking only slightly mollified.
"If we head for the exit, I think Prey would probably follow us sir." Crimson suggested as they left.
"Worth a try. Seriously, it's only a friendly hug. He's completely overreacting." Gloom grumbled.
"I don't think he likes hugs sir." Crimson said, stating the obvious.
"He could just say no and politely ask Honey to stop. Honey is a Royal Guard, she knows how to be serious." Gloom continued to grumble, mostly to himself as they made their way between breakfasting Guards.
They reached the mess hall doors and turned about. "Well we're here. See him yet?" Gloom asked, scanning the area.
"Yes sir." Crimson pointed a wing behind Gloom outside. Gloom turned to find an angry Prey glaring round the corner of the mess hall doors at Topaz Honey, who was standing in the middle of the hall scratching her head in bemusement.
"Don't just leave like that Prey." Gloom scolded.
"Then get that mare to stop hunting me and I won't have to. Sir." Prey returned hotly.
"It's my job to keep an eye on the both of you. I can't do that if you're running off every meal time now can I?"
Prey switched from glaring into the mess hall to glaring at Gloom, "You know I wasn't running away. Really, I thought we were past this stage by now."
"So did I," Gloom returned sharply, before sighing.
"Just tell Honey to stop or give her a hug in return Prey. Seriously. It's only as big a deal as you make it." He said, clearly thinking that this was Prey's own problem brought onto himself by play acting a child during breakfast.
"That won't stop her harassing me. She only cares about what she wants to see, a foal. Evidence to the contrary she'll just blindly ignore, same as my protests." Prey argued, having mostly regained his composure but completely unwilling to even contemplate Gloom's ridiculous suggestion.
"Have you even tried asking her to stop?" Gloom asked, one eyebrow raised.
"A pointless endeavour if I already know the outcome." Prey snorted.
"Well in that case, it's your own fault and problem." Gloom shrugged, making a conscious decision to leave Prey to deal with his self created problems if he continued to insist on, '-continuing with this silliness-'
'Good, maybe now you'll stop pulling my wool whenever I have to deal with her then.' Prey thought.
Whatever Crimson thought of the exchange, (that to an outsider would appear as nothing more that a childish temper), he kept his opinion firmly to himself as they headed for the office. However, they were interrupted on their path there.
They passed a couple of Royal Guards in the corridors coming the other way. All seemed upbeat and happy about something. Prey had a good idea of what it was, but just then, Lieutenant Starry Wing round the corner and confirmed it to all three of them.
"Sargent Gloom, great news, they just announced that they found the missing foal this morning." He said, hurrying towards them, fangs unconsciously showing in his wide grin.
Gloom broke into one of his own. He didn't need to ask which foal, there was only one foal he could've been referring to. "That is great news sir. Who was the foalnapper?"
Starry Wing had arrived in front of them by this point, "We didn't catch the foalnapper. Rocky Bed was found abandoned in a trash heap in the early hours this morning. His memories seem to have been removed, same as his mother's." The Lieutenants smile dimmed as he related Rocky Bed's circumstances, and there was a simmering anger in the back of his slit eyes.
"They just abandoned him? After all of that, they just threw him away?" Crimson demanded, wings bristling. He even forgot to add 'sir' in his anger.
"It seems to be that way."
"Whoever they were, they didn't care about him." Gloom almost growled. He coughed and cleared his throat, "Who was it that found him, sir?" He asked much more controlled.
"It was actually a normal Night Guard patrol. They were on their last sweep and Brindle Spike just happened to spot a small red tail poking out of the trash. Thank Luna for that colt's sharp eyes." Starry Wing answered.
"Is Rocky Bed...okay sir?" Crimson asked.
Starry Wing pursed his lips, "It's too early to say for sure, but he seems to have been fed and looked after. Neither has he been...'abused'." Starry Wing struggled on the last word, his yellow eyes flickering momentarily over Prey, who'd so far just been standing there quietly with a slightly inane smile on his face.
"Thank Luna for that." Gloom agreed seriously. Both of the thestrals thoughts on the matter showed how relieved they were, the very idea that such a thing might ever have even been a possibly was almost inconceivable in its monstrousness.
'-I thank all that is holy under the moon that I have never witnessed such a case in all my life-' These thoughts were Starry Wings.
'-a millennia of her majesty Celestia's loving purview really makes all the difference-' Gloom's own thoughts read.
Prey had his own thoughts on the subject.
'I suspect that a Royal Guard is on their way to the mess hall to make the announcement of Rocky Bed's safe return as we speak. There will be many cheers at the happy ending, while the Night Guards will just be relieved that the worst didn't happen. Or what they imagine 'the worst' to be.'
Out of the two, the thestrals had the far wiser approach. Just because you choose to ignore the chimera doesn't mean it will ignore you.
"Sorry to cut this short Sargent, but I've got a meeting to get to. I thought as it was your case originally, even if only for a morning, that you should know." Starry Wing said, nodding a quick goodbye to the three of them.
"Thank you sir, it's appreciated." Gloom said, giving a quick salute as the Lieutenant left.
"No problem. See you later."
"Well today's looking up already." Gloom said, smiling.
"It was very good news," Crimson agreed, "I'm think I could even say I'm now in a good enough mood to match Prey's."
"Except now we have no chance of catching this kidnapper. At least while they held Rocky Bed, the Guard would've been able to identify who they were once discovered. Now though, they have no evidence tying them to the kidnap." Prey pointed out.
'And I'm all cut up inside about that, aren't I?' Prey thought, laughing internally. It was why he'd been okay with returning Rocky Bed.
"There must be some way to restore Rocky's memories, then we can just ask him." Crimson insisted.
"If there was, they would've done so with his mother already don't you think?" Prey responded.
Gloom's sudden uplift in mood soured again somewhat, "Tulip Bed is going to need help, just like you said Crimson. She doesn't remember her son. Let's hope Rocky Bed at least remembers he has a mother."
"So in the end we only get partial credit for getting Rocky Bed returned. His kidnapper is still on the loose." Prey summed up. He was purposefully raising these concerns because it would be out of character for him not to see the glass as half empty. Besides, he was confident they wouldn't catch Lemon Pink even if they had a lead.
"We can worry about that another time. Perhaps the foalnapper even had a change of heart, and that's why they released Rocky Bed again. For now, there is nothing further we can do. I'm just happy that we found him safe." Gloom said with finality.
A cheer arose from down the corridors, faint but obviously quite loud if they'd heard it all the way out here.
"Sounds like someone delivered the good news to the Royal Guards in the mess hall." Prey commented blandly.
"I think they have the right idea. Rocky Bed is safe. I am perfectly willing to accept that ending if it means a happy one." Crimson said.
"Took the words right out of my mouth." Gloom smirked, but the sentiment behind it was honest. He was relieved that Rocky was safe. '-and as an added bonus, the first case ISND worked on has been solved-'
"Sure," Prey agreed, all polite smiling mask again, "Let's go with that."
------
"Nope. Not a chance sir." Prey stated, sitting down right there on the floor boards and crossing his forelegs. "You give the presentation."
"It's just delivering the report to the officers Prey. And anyway, it's your formation idea." Gloom said, exasperation leaking into his voice.
"And I'm not the Sargent, you are. I'm not speaking in front of all those people-"
"-Ponies."
"-People. You understand the formation set up just as well as me, but they won't take me seriously anyway because I'm a lamb, sir." Prey told him firmly.
"Prey, they're not going to disbelieve you just because you're small. We're the Night Guard. Princess Luna gave you this post in the ISND. They'll listen to you." Gloom insisted, trying a different approach. Prey wasn't fooled.
They were in the ISND's office, empty boxes stacked against one wall and a map on the floor between them, (still no desk or chairs). They we're currently arguing over who was going to present the plan to catch the riot instigator to an assembly of Night Guard officers.
"Sir, be honest. You're scared to speak in front of them." Prey said flatly.
"No I'm not." Gloom defended himself, rather unconvincingly, '-I'm not scared. Alright, maybe I am if I'm trying to get a kid to do it in my place-'
Who would've thought it? Sargent Gloom was nervous about having to speak in front of his peers.
Captain Nighthawk had already approved the idea, but had asked, (ordered really), Gloom to present and explain the idea tonight to the thestral squads who'd be taking part. Gloom had of course agreed, since Nighthawk was the captain, but now he was having second thoughts.
Not about the plan, just about the speaking bit.
If it'd just been the normal non-thestral pony Night Guards Gloom, he would've been totally fine with presenting. Most of them didn't want to be in the Night Guard anyway. But almost all of the thestral officers in the Night Guard were originally Gloom's elders and peers in the clans.
So although Gloom would be addressing them as fellow Night Guards, they were still essentially people he'd grown up under, people he respected. And respecting your elders was a big thing in the clans. Not to mention they were also of higher rank.
Now he was supposed to give them instructions? That was a bit nerve racking, even for Gloom.
'-Shrike's going to be there for Luna's sake. I used to steal fruit from his cave vines. I hope he's forgotten about that-', Gloom thought.
"Crimson, how about you? Are you prepared to give the presentation?" Gloom asked, turning quickly to the pegasus.
Crimson's wings went rigid, and for a moment he couldn't speak, "Must I sir?" He asked cautiously.
"Would you mind?" Gloom asked.
"Yes sir, I would mind." Crimson answered with blunt honesty.
"Ah..." Gloom trailed off.
"You're the Sargent, you do it." Prey told him, forelegs still crossed.
Gloom couldn't help but look at their situation and laugh, "Listen to us, arguing over who has to talk in front of them like we're foals again." He laughed.
"One of us still is." Crimson pointed out.
"Lamb, not a foal," Prey corrected coolly, "And there's only one of us arguing."
"I guess it's still me giving the presentation then." Gloom sighed, but still with some amusement at himself for how he'd even been trying to shift the responsibility. '-what am I, five again?-' He thought, shaking his head.
Prey thoughtfully considered Gloom and Crimson's reluctance to give orders to those of higher rank than them. "Hmm, hierarchy and standing within the clans is much more important than in normal pony culture, isn't it?" He commented.
"Woah. That's a lot of fancy words there Prey." Gloom lightly teased, but he didn't give Prey a reply.
Prey "Hmph'd." And didn't let himself be deterred.
Like they always did whenever Prey asked anything about the thestral clans, Gloom and Crimson double checked themselves. They didn't clam up, but they did became much more mindful of their words.
"I take it clan standing is partly determined by family, partly by personal merit, and partly by age or experience, like these elders you've mentioned." He probed. Prey already secretly knew far more about the clans than they would be comfortable with, but he wasn't above learning a bit more.
"The individual serves the clan, and the clan comes first. If we don't work together, we will die alone." Crimson said seriously, once again obviously reciting some clan motto or creed.
"So that's a yes then." Prey said.
Gloom scratched at his scar under the corner of his chest plate, "I'd like to think of it more as we're just closer knit in the clans. Make no mistake Prey, it can be a tough life flying up there, so you've got to support and trust one another. We don't go in for ranks or titles, aside from elder, but we stick together."
That wasn't really related to the question Prey had asked. 'Well since you're not giving me a straight answer...'
"In the clans, there is no physical measure of your standing. Honour comes from your peers quiet acknowledgement, whereas their equally quiet disdain means you have no self worth and are essentially an exile. Close enough?" Prey asked, looking directly at Crimson. The corners of the pegasus's mouth turned down, but he didn't look away.
Gloom scowled, "Prey, that's not really your business and hardly true anyways. Please don't insult our way of life."
"I get it, I get it," Prey waved him off, "It's not as simple as that, and by over simplifying it I'm misrepresenting your clan. I can't understand it without having lived it for myself and all that. Besides, I'm sure that sort of thing doesn't happen in your clan anyway sir." Prey shrugged, but he didn't break eye contact with Crimson the whole time he was speaking.
Prey's words had been clear, 'In your clan,' meaning Gloom's clan. He'd made no mention of Crimson's, and the outcast pegasus had not denied it.
Gloom started to nod, pleased that Prey admitted that he didn't really understand the secretive clans, before realising the unspoken words that had been directed at Crimson. "Prey." Gloom snapped.
"No sir, Prey is right. Your clan was far better than mine was sir." Crimson said.
"I'm sure that's not true-" Gloom automatically started.
"They are worthless and are no longer my clan. They lied, cast me out, betrayed Princess Luna, and killed my father sir. I owe them nothing." Crimson said, voice low.
Gloom bowed his head, "I wasn't thinking. My apologies."
"It's fine sir. I'm in the Night Guard now. Hopefully, I won't ever see them again." Crimson replied calmly, eyes still in Prey, "Kindly do not mention them again, Prey." He said.
Prey held the stare for a moment and then bobbed his head in agreement and also apology, "Okay. I'm also sorry, but I was merely-"
"-Merely nothing Prey." Gloom interrupted, "Don't offer an excuse, you're sharp enough to know what you were saying. Just admit you were wrong, give your apology, ask for forgiveness, and then leave it at that." He lectured.
'-how did we even end up on this serious topic? Never mind, I'm putting an end to it-'
Prey closed his mouth with a click of teeth, giving Gloom a look for having interceded when he was apologising to Crimson, not to Gloom. "I'm sorry Crimson. I will not ask about your clan again unless it is of great importance. Will you please forgive me?" Prey asked politely, regurgitating Gloom's formula.
"Did you mean any of that?" Crimson asked. He actually seemed less offended than Gloom had been with how Prey had been speaking about the thestral clans. He'd been far angrier when Prey had brought up his father's death at the hooves of his former clan that first night. Perhaps that was the difference.
"Yes." Prey lied with a straight face.
Crimson blinked, "Okay then." After a moment he added, "I accept. I mean." And just like that, Crimson was back to his normal, verbally awkward self.
Prey gave the atmosphere a moment to settle down, then asked, "So, you're still giving the presentation, right sir?"
"Moon curse it!" Gloom exclaimed. '-why'd you have to go and remind me kid?!-'
------
They spent another couple of hours in the ISND office, letting the atmosphere acclimatise back to a neutral level after the unexpected side track that Prey had thrown it down. Methodically, they worked their way through even more reports on the riots, searching for any further clue they might've missed.
It was boring, and largely pointless work.
They already had their plan of action to catch their target, and any important details in these reports had already been covered elsewhere. Looking at useless specifics like; 'Market stalls damaged', or 'rebuilding street lamp plan' wasn't going to help.
Prey placed some more runes about the office as they worked. Now that he didn't need to fear about conserving his energy for fighting some obsessed stalker, he could instead spend it on creating runes. Which he placed as he walked back and forth between the shelves and the work space in the middle of the floor, which had unofficially become the 'work table', minus the table. Because still no table.
'No crazy kidnapper, no Solar Guards, no Captain Valour, no unicorns, no dream invading moon goddess to stop me, just me, myself, and I to plan and think while I work.' Prey thought, smiling as he fixed another rune unseen to the base of one of the wooden support beams.
His smile faded as his gaze fell on the gold band on his outstretched leg, 'Except this.' He corrected.
"Prey, you doing anything important over there?" Gloom called.
"No, just taking a break." Prey answered, coming back over.
"Well good," Gloom said, slapping down his report and standing up with a groan, "Because it's my turn for two minutes. Here, you see if you can get anything out of this." He ordered, stretching his limbs under the armour to relieve the stiffness. '-by the moon, I need to stretch my wings soon-'
"Yes sir." Prey said, plopping down in Gloom's spot once the thestral moved out of hoof's reach. As Gloom went for a brisk jog once around the room to, '-keep the blood flowing-', Prey picked up the report.
"...Weather conditions were cloudy but fine at 2:00. Weather conditions were cloudy but fine at 3:00. Weather conditions were cloudy at 4:00. Weather team flew over at 4:35. Weather conditions were cloudy but fine at..."
It was, Prey reflected, a disagreeable fact about paper work that for every one useful report that someone wrote, at least ten more worthless reports were also written. Prey had been here a week, and already he could recognise just how far the bureaucracy of paper work had encroached into every aspect of Caterlot life. Hell, to escape, all he'd need to do would be cause as much mess as possible as he ran off, and in the time they spent filling out all the correct reports he'd get clean away.
Well, clean away from the Royal Guards. The Night Guard or the Solar Guard seemed more like the sort who acted first and made up the paper work later.
Prey also knew that Gloom still owed Taffy a whole heap of reports because of all the ruckus they'd been raising in Hay Steam. According to regulations, Gloom should've filed the reports within twenty four hours of the event.
Prey hummed in thought to himself, one hoof tip idly running through the fur of his ear while leafing through the report with the other. Across the 'work table' from Prey, Crimson took a moment to crick his neck and rub his eyes. Having to constantly bend his head to look at the reports lining the floor was no doubt a literal pain in the neck.
For Prey, with his small stature, it was almost the perfect set up.
Prey stopped humming and looked up as Gloom approached, a stack of fresh papers under one leathery wing, "Here you go Prey." He said, dropping the stack in front of the lamb, who as always, shimmied back to maintain his distance.
Prey looked at the top report. The lines were blank and the category fields empty, "What's this?" He asked suspiciously, although he already had a feeling.
"You seem to have a knack for paper work. This swamp of other reports doesn't seem to even phase you, so from now on, you're on ISND report writing duty." Gloom announced, grinning. '-if I've got to give the presentation, you've got to do the paperwork-'
"So you want me to write all the reports you haven't written yet for Taffy." Prey summarised flatly. It seems Gloom hadn't forgotten about all those unwritten reports after all.
"Don't say it like that. You're the best at it." Gloom said with false praise.
"Your conclusion is based off circumstantial and very limited evidence, out of a small testing pool of only us three. That's hardly an achievement. Sir." Prey said.
"It builds character," Gloom told him, "Do it."
*Sigh* "Yes. Sir."
------
"Sargent Gloom, it's been too long," Taffy enthused the moment the thestral knocked on and pushed open her door, "You have all my paperwork, yes?" She immediately added without missing a beat.
"Yours?"
"Yep, all that paperwork you owe me belongs to me and I want it given back." Taffy confirmed brightly.
Gloom gave himself a small shake, brushing off Taffy's strangeness in claiming paperwork as personal property, although considering the sheer amount of it in her office, perhaps it wasn't so strange.
"Yes ma'am, I do in fact have the out standing reports. I did, *ehem*, we did them earlier. Here you go." Gloom said, taking the thick sheaf of papers from under his wing and laying them on table. Actually, to be more accurate, he balanced them precariously on the only free corner on the whole table.
Taffy was looking suspiciously at the stack, as if doubting its genuineness, "You really did all of it?" She asked.
"Yes ma'am." '-well, one of us did-'
"I'm not buying it. Who are you and what have you done with Sargent Gloom?" Taffy demanded.
"Your wit is as sharp as ever ma'am." Gloom dead panned.
"I know, right? Anyway, as long as it's all correct, who am I to complain? In fact, I think this is cause for a celebration, don't you think?" She asked their group with a happy smile.
Gloom glanced at Crimson, as if the silent pegasus somehow knew what strangeness she was talking about, "Taffy, we're a bit busy..." Gloom said, dropping the formalities as the mare pulled open a draw in her desk.
"Toffee fudge, caramel blend with marigold petals." Taffy announced, plonking a tray of neatly cut rich brown squares in front of them.
"One piece each. Except for Crimson, because I like him, he gets two. And an extra one for me, because I made them. Oh, and your little friend, because he's the youngest. Don't be shy, have a piece Prey." Taffy said. '-they're both too skinny. Put some fat on those skinny ma'linky bones-'
Prey backed off a step. He'd hoped to stay mostly unnoticed and ignored for this meeting. In fact he'd even asked if he could just wait outside the unicorn mares office instead, but Gloom had said no.
"So I'm the only pony who only gets one?" Gloom asked drily.
"Yep. Next time, bring the paperwork on time and I might let you have another piece," Taffy told him with mock seriousness, "Come on Prey, I promise these are good. Just try a bite. See? Crimson likes them." She added.
Crimson blinked at her misdemeanour, as he hadn't moved from his spot next to Gloom nor eaten one of Taffy's proffered treats. He glanced at Gloom, who rolled his eyes and gave him a nod, before he stepped forwards and took one of the toffees with a polite, "Thank you ma'am."
"Well, what so you think? Huh? Huh? Good isn't it?" Taffy grinned.
Crimson slowly chewed, "It is very sweet. And sugary. And sweet." He said again. "It's good." He added blankly after a moment and around a mouth full of toffee.
"See? It's great, now your turn Prey." Taffy breezed past Crimson, tray held in her telekinesis and almost thrust it under Prey's nose as he scrambled backwards, "Have a piece." She ordered cheerily, popping one into her own mouth.
Prey's eyes flicked left then right, but didn't find any escape. There was no choice, so Prey gingerly took a toffee, the treat very large in his small hoof. At least he'd seen Taffy eat one first, so they wasn't likely to be poisoned, nor was there any notion of poison in her fore thoughts. Prey took a quick sniff, and then resignedly ate the piece of toffee.
Prey almost coughed at the taste, 'What is this?'
Sweet. Sweet was the only word that came to mind. He'd never tasted anything like this. It was different from the half a cup cake the Solar Guard Sunshine had given him, this was far sweeter, almost enough to make him spit it out in surprise. The toffee fudge crumbled in his mouth and melted on his tongue. 'Sweet.'
"Good isn't it? I made it myself, have another." Taffy encouraged.
Prey backed off further, "No thanks, I'm fine." The sweet taste was still thick in his mouth. It wasn't nasty, but he'd never experienced sweetness like this before.
"Come on sweetie, don't be shy, there's plenty more."
Prey flinched. He flinched so badly that he almost knocked the tray out of Taffy's magical grip. Taffy paused, "Ah?"
"Prey?" Gloom enquired.
"Don't call me sweetie," Prey said, no, ordered. "It's not yours to call me." Only Gossamer's mother had ever called him that.
"Aww, but it fits you so well." Taffy joked.
"My name is Prey. Don't call me sweetie. Ever. Please." Prey said.
"Prey only likes to go by Prey, Taffy." Gloom added, sounding mildly amused.
'-Bleugh. Prey's such a nasty name though. 'Prey', like being hunted-' Taffy thought, her thoughts flitting about like a bird.
"Meh. But okay." She shrugged, "But have another toffee." Taffy insisted, right back to her normal happy go lucky self.
"No thank you ma'am." Prey said, straining to stay cordial and keep the mix of anger and fear from leaking into his tone.
"What's da' matter, you no like it?" Taffy huffed playfully.
"It was nice ma'am. Thank you, but I don't want another one." Prey replied. 'Another one from you.'
In his head, Taffy was added to The List.
Taffy seemed to lose interest, and jumped back to Crimson, "How about you, you want another one? I'll be making some different flavours next time, so we can work on finding your favourite type of fudge." She said, not giving Crimson any time to respond.
Crimson politely took another one and ate it, "I like this one better ma'am." He said after chewing. Obviously, he'd misunderstood.
"These were all the same flavour." Gloom told him.
"No sir, I liked the second flavour better." Crimson said.
"What?" Taffy asked.
"Pardon?"
"No, what what?"
"Pardon what?" Crimson asked in confusion.
"That's what I'm asking you." Taffy said, equally baffled.
"I like the second type better."
"Second type of what?"
"The toffee."
"What second type?"
Crimson stalled for a moment, "The second type you just gave me ma'am." He managed to answer.
"What second type? I've only made the one." Taffy said in puzzlement, lifting the tray up and looking underneath it as if that would somehow answer her question.
Crimson's feathers were staring to look a bit ruffled around the edges, "No, the second type was different to the first. I liked the second type more." He insisted.
"Oh, good. What're we talking about again?" Taffy asked.
"Your toffee. The second piece of the first type." Crimson said, a hint of desperation leaking into his tone.
"My toffee?"
"Yes."
"You liked it?"
"Yes."
"But you liked the second piece more?"
"Yes!" Crimson exclaimed, having finally gotten his point across.
"They're both the same type, caramel with marigold petals."
Crimson's wings sagged, "Yes ma'am."
Taffy blinked at him, then down at the tray. She lifted up a square of toffee, scrutinised it, then popped it in her mouth with a shrug, "Tastes fine to me. Want another to see if you like the first or second piece more?" Taffy offered.
Gloom managed to get his muffled laughter under control long enough to intervene, "Thank you Taffy, but I don't think we'll ever finish if we stay for a a third piece. By your leave ma'am?" He asked, making a motion towards the door.
"Oh, right, yes. That's fine, see you again next time. And don't forget to bring my paper work!" Taffy called out as the door closed behind them, cutting them off from the eccentric mare.
"So, you liked the second toffee better?" Gloom smirked out in the corridor.
Crimson's feathers drooped noticeably, "Sir, I'm not even sure anymore."
------
The presentation was held in Lieutenant Starry Wing's office latter that evening. It wasn't a large office, and quite reminiscent of Captain Nighthawk's, in that it was over stocked with a variety of Night Guard equipment that for some reason couldn't been stored elsewhere.
Never the less, all the thestral officers in the Night Guard participating, (meaning those of the rank Sargent and above), could fit into the office with room to spare. Because there really weren't that many of them.
'-need more recruits from the clans back home-', Prey heard Lieutenant Starry Wing think as he looked around at the small selection of gathered thestrals.
He wasn't the only one, a Master Sargent was thinking along similar lines, '-depressingly few of us able to serve her majesty Princess Luna-'
'-what a drag. This is going to end up offending the Day Guards in our ranks even more, I can just feel it-', A third thestral missing a chunk of her ear thought. It was beyond easy to work out what she meant.
The Royal Guards assigned to the Night Guard were going to take their exclusion from this operation personally, because they couldn't see in the dark whereas thestrals could. However, this operation was based on practicality, not some fool's sense of superiority and pride.
Mentioning non-thestrals, Crimson and Prey were getting some evaluating looks as the Night Guard officers studied them.
The officers had seen the two of them before yes, but this was the first time seeing each other up close for both sides. However, unlike the Royal Guard, they at least kept their expressions neutral and their thoughts private. Well, their thoughts would've been private if Prey couldn't hear them.
Starry Wing decided it was about time they kicked things off.
"Ponies," He called, making them all come to attention, "Captain Nighthawk and 2nd Lieutenant Screech will not be joining us. He has however given the go ahead to Sargent Gloom's proposed plan of action. Sargent Gloom, could you please explain and answer questions?" Starry Wing said, waving a wing for Gloom to step up.
Gloom fired off a quick salute, "Yes sir." He cleared his throat to stall for a minute to ready himself, '-it's simple, just keep it short and to the point-' He reassured himself. Prey rolled his eyes from where he stood against the wall next to Crimson.
"You all know about the riots happening along the railroads, and the recent work the Night Guard has put into stopping them. At first, it was thought each town had its own different trouble makers causing it, since we couldn't ever find a deeper underlying cause. The trouble makers were arrested or punished, and we thought that was that." Gloom paused to clear the rasp from his voice, or at least return it to normal levels of raspiness.
"However, not too long after this, more riots began appearing, set off by different ponies to the first. This was the case in every town, and left us no clue to the real reasons why." Gloom explained. The assembled Night Guards listened carefully, quiet and focused.
Gloom continued, "However it has been determined, through careful study, that there's a pattern nopony has previously noticed. These riots are actually a string of occurrences caused by an individual, or group of individuals, who travel from town to town, setting up the populace for a riot in the background before moving on, all without the town's residents ever becoming aware they're being manipulated. It's an external influence, not an internal one."
"Which pony figured this out?" A thestral in the audience asked.
Gloom almost answered honestly by naming Prey, but he looked over and saw Prey rapidly shaking his head. Prey didn't want to draw any more attention to himself than he could help.
'-why won't he just accept that we're all on the same side here?-' Gloom thought in exasperation.
It obviously went against the thestral's principles to claim credit for someone else's work, but Prey wanted to stay unnoticed. The Sargent deliberated for what only took a second in real time, but to Prey, who was glaring at Gloom, felt longer.
"It was a combined effort of the ISND sir," Gloom answered, settling for joint credit, before glossing over it all together and moving on. "Captain Nighthawk has approved a suggested plan to try and catch this pony or ponies." Again, Gloom's eyes briefly flicked to Prey.
"The plan is as follows; Royal Guards will be present in the three towns of Cartwright, Home Stead, and Coal Clack during the day to act as decoys."
The mare with the torn ear from earlier tapped her hoof on the floor thrice, interrupting Gloom's explanation, and everyone looked expectantly at her. Apparently this was an accepted means of politely interrupting someone to ask a question in the thestral clans.
"Yes ma'am?" Gloom asked.
"Two questions if you would." She said formally.
"Of course ma'am. Please."
"Has the Royal Guard already agreed to this, or do we need to convince them?"
It was Starry Wing who provided the answer, "Yes, Captain Nighthawk has already spoken and gotten an agreement from Captain Shinning Armour."
"Thank you. Second question, why those three particular towns?" She asked. Starry Wing looked back to Gloom and signalled for him to continue with his explanation.
"Ma'am, those three towns are the ones that are most likely to be next targeted for a riot, if they follow the pattern we've noticed." Gloom explained.
No one questioned if this pattern was accurate or not. This plan had already been pre-approved by the Night Guard Captain, a well respected and trusted superior. Even if he ended up being wrong, Nighthawk would not be blamed. A lesser thestral would lose respect, but not Nighthawk. If the plan failed, then that meant none of them could've done any better in his place. Circular logic.
"These ponies will likely arrive in one of these three towns in the next few days. They'll try to set up a riot, then skip town before it actually takes place. The plan is for the Royal Guards presence to act as a deterrence during the day. During the night, the Royal Guard will be resting, so that's when our suspects will come out to work. We can see in the dark, they can't. Following them will be easy." Gloom summed up, not needing to explain what would happen once they confirmed their target.
The plan sounded simple and basic, but only because someone else had already done all the thinking. These thestrals weren't arrogant, (alright, Prey actually thought they were highly arrogant, just in in their own way), but they could clearly recognise that this plan hadn't just been pulled out of a hat.
'-somepony worked very hard and found the patterns that nopony else could-', One acknowledged to himself.
'-credit is due to Gloom and his team-', Another officer thought, nodding in Gloom's direction.
One of the more senior assembled thestrals tapped his hoof three times, "The difficulty will be in following all the ponies we suspect. We can rule some out yes, such as ones with young foals, ponies with established families already in town, those who come in for regular work, etcetera, but that still leaves a surplus of suspects."
The other officers didn't nod or verbally agree, but there was a sense that they all agreed by some silent signal that wasn't immediately apparent to any non-thestral participant in the room. Meaning Prey. The lamb was very much on his own in here. Even Crimson was more aware of the unspoken social rules than he was.
"Is there a proposed solution to this problem?" The senior thestral asked.
They were all waiting for an answer from Gloom, who found he didn't have one, '-did we talk about this? Did Prey explain something I forgot?-' He glanced quickly at Prey, hoping for some help. All the officers were waiting for an answer.
'You can recall the answer for yourself Gloom. It's not exactly a trick question.' Prey thought. No way was he going to step forwards in front of all these officers and draw extra attention to himself. So he just offered Gloom a bland shrug and a 'Get-on-with-it' gesture.
Gloom licked his lips, "The plan. Right. The plan is to split up thestrals into pairs, not squads, to maximise the number of available surveillance teams, so we can monitor twice as many suspects." Gloom managed to remember.
More silent agreement from the officers, as they continued to wait and give Gloom the opportunity to explain or offer further reasons.
Gloom however, was now stumped.
Really, what he'd said so far should've been enough for the officers. This was a military organisation and they'd have to follow Nighthawk's orders to execute the plan anyway, but in front of his peers, Gloom felt the need to add some further justification. Or perhaps it was just the Sargent's nerves finally getting to him.
Good intentions aside however, and nervous or not, Gloom couldn't think up anything further. And why should he? The plan was already good enough, there were always going to be aspects they couldn't foresee or control. This senior officer
was just playing devils advocate in Prey's opinion.
'Old people,' Prey snorted to himself, 'They're always interfering and implying you could do better.'
That's probably why at thousands of years old, Celestia felt it her right to interfere and meddle with the entire world.
Gloom was forced to concede he couldn't think of anything further to satisfy his peers. He dipped his head, "I'm afraid we will just have to do rely on intuition for which suspects to follow, that's all." He said.
Then Prey got to see another interesting aspect of thestral hierarchy and society. All the gathered officers who'd been standing in judgement of Gloom looked at each other, nodded in agreement, and didn't offer any further objections, like Gloom had met their expectations.
It was like Gloom had been taking a test, one without any pass or fail mark, but definitely one where you were being graded.
'-the colt has grown a tad-', '-didn't stutter this time-', '-did well-', '-we must all serve Luna's pleasure-'
"Thank you Sargent Gloom, is there anything else anypony would like to further add?" Starry Wing asked, drawing Gloom's presentation to a close and opening up the floor.
Gloom hid a sigh of relief now that the attention was off him and quietly made his way over to Prey and Crimson, who still stood by the office wall, as the Night Guard officers began to discuss logistics.
"Sir." Crimson greeted him.
"That was the easy part. Now comes the hard part, getting the plan to work." Gloom said. He couldn't help but glance to Prey and ask again, "You sure this'll work?"
"I'm sure it has a chance to work." Prey corrected, but he did so quietly so he wouldn't be overheard.
'I could've made a plan that would've definitely worked, but that would involve blood, screaming, and lots of runes.' He added mentally.
"Well a chance is better than no chance. Let's hope anyway. Oh, and good work for coming up with a plan at all." Gloom added, trying for a lopsided smile that was supposed to be encouraging. Apparently though, he was still running high from nerves so it didn't really work out. The fangs and all that.
Actually that was an understatement. The smile was nearly as bad as one of Crimson's.
------
The Night Guard officers involved in the meeting managed to come to a decision with remarkable rapidity. Aside from the one senior officer who'd questioned Gloom, they didn't spend any more time arguing over trivial concerns, like 'Who was going to be partnered with whom', or 'What if the weather team don't have any clouds to use'?
Those points weren't insignificant, (the small details were the downfall of many a carefully laid plan), but they stuck to the important points and let the minor ones take care of themselves. Staying hidden, identifying possible suspects, and communication were what they focused on.
To Prey, nothing was more important than that last point.
Knowledge and communication were critical. Time was the currency of life, and knowledge was power. From his experience, accurate information at the correct time was just as dangerous as a whole squad of unicorns. They couldn't kill you if you weren't where they thought you were, because you were setting up a bone rot trap mine back in their unguarded camp.
Alternatively, if a warning arrived too late, it was the same as if the message had not been sent at all.
Gloom and Crimson, who didn't feel they were qualified to add anything to the issue, were merely listening, Gloom periodically murmuring comments to Crimson.
"If they're so concerned about communication, why not just give them all enchanted crystals?" Prey asked no one in particular, remembering the crystal the Solar Guard had used on the roof. He asked not to be helpful, but because he was keen to discover more about those crystals. It might be useful if and when he came up against the Solar Guard again. Prey hadn't forgotten the name 'Captain Valour' on his list.
'I have a silk noose made from a ribbon with your name on it Valour.' Prey thought darkly.
Gloom tilted his head in thought, "Enchanted crystals? I haven't heard of those. What are they Prey?"
Prey blinked and affected surprise like he'd only been talking to himself, "I thought the Royal Guard had enchanted communication crystals they used in case of emergencies."
"I've certainly never heard of them. Are you sure about that Prey?" Gloom asked.
"Not really, it's just something I heard about from one of the officers. I may be wrong." Prey shrugged.
'So Knowledge of these is not wide spread. Is it a tool restricted to the Solar Guard only then?' Prey thought to himself.
"The idea sounds very useful. How would such crystals be made?" Crimson asked.
"No idea, it's just something I half overheard." Prey repeated.
"Well they involve magic, so they'd have to be made by unicorns," Gloom observed, "Wait here a minute, I'm going to go ask if that's a real thing and if so, you can suggest-"
Gloom caught Prey's look, carefully constructed to say 'coward' and changed his sentence, "-Fine, I'll suggest we use them."
'Good. Just as I wanted.' Prey thought in satisfaction as Gloom start towards Starry Wing. Gloom would ask the officers for him without Prey having to reveal anything about where his knowledge came from.
A minute later Gloom was back, "That idea's a no go." Gloom told them, settling back into his place along the wall. Prey personally thought Gloom should be over there discussing the upcoming operation with the other officers. The ISND was responsible for this case after all, but evidently Gloom felt his opinion wasn't needed anymore.
Well, the three of them weren't actually taking part in the surveillance part of the operation, so Gloom had a point.
"Why not sir? Do they not have them or did Prey mishear and they don't actually exist?" Crimson asked.
"Actually, apparently something like what Prey said does exist. It's been around for years, some unicorn invented it. But it's of no use to us. Too expensive, and it doesn't actually help with this situation anyway. It's got a limited range, can only send a signal, something like a flag pin, to a pre-prepared enchanted map of the area the crystal is used in. Which we don't have. Oh, and it's one use only." Gloom explained, filling Crimson in on what Starry Wing said.
Prey, having listened in mentally to Gloom and the Lieutenant while the conversation was going on, had heard the more detailed explanation, (even if it had only been explained in depth within Starry Wing's thoughts), and which'd naturally come to the forefront of the lieutenant's mind when Gloom asked about; "Magic communication crystals."
The crystals were actually originally one crystal split in half, or even into many pieces, after an enchantment had been placed upon it, somehow linking all the pieces together. A signal was sent when one of these pieces were crushed to the remaining pieces.
'It must be an energy conservation based enchantment.' Prey thought, 'When one piece is destroyed, the magical energy stored inside it is transferred to the remaining pieces. It's a smart idea. If an agreed upon event happens, crush your piece and send the signal that whatever that event was has come to pass. In the Solar Guards case, the predetermined event was, 'Emergency!'
'However, the more pieces exist, the less noticeable the transfer will be, therefore there's a limit on how many pieces one map can support. And again, that function is almost certainly limited in range. Too far, and the signal will dissipate before it arrives. The spell itself is likely to only last about a month too, before fading by dint of the fact that it's original cast point was broken into pieces. Hmm.' Prey analysed, his interest piqued.
To Prey's understanding, such spells didn't last if their anchor point was disrupted or altered.
'Still, as a silent distress flare, it's pretty useful while the enchantment lasts.' Prey thought. He would like to get his hooves on a set of crystals to have a look at himself.
Prey blinked. Someone was addressing him.
He gave his head a shake, ears swishing, and turned to Gloom who had broken him from his thought process, "Yes sir?" He asked, using the correct title because of all the other Night Guard officers in Starry Wing's office.
"I think First Sargent Eclipse wants to speak with you two." Gloom told him, nodding politely towards the thestral mare from earlier with the missing chunk from her ear.
When Prey and Crimson looked up, Eclipse nodded back and made a motion with her wing, one which apparently meant they were supposed meant to go over. Eclipse was on the other side of the office and therefore more than five meters away, meaning,Prey couldn't hear her mind. 'What does she want?'
Prey raised a questioning eyebrow at Crimson, who merely raised one back. Clearly he didn't know ever.
Prey shrugged, "Alright, sir." He answered Gloom, then to Crimson, "After you."
Eclipse was a First Sargent. Prey and Crimson might technically be outside the rankings because of the ISND being a special division, but they could hardly refuse Eclipse's summons.
She was an officer. It was as simple as that. The golden bands around their legs clearly marked their status difference, at least to those who knew what the bands were, and didn't mistakenly think them a fashion accessory.
The drew up in front of Eclipse, and Crimson saluted, which Prey thought it best to emulate too, "Ma'am."
"At ease." Eclipse automatically returned, even though they hadn't been standing at attention, they'd merely saluted. She didn't say anything for a minute, just studied them with her bright, slitted eyes. Because Prey could hear her thoughts, he knew what was coming.
'Here we go again.' He sighed internally, but he kept his face straight and waited for her to speak first.
"How old are you, little ewe? Prey, wasn't it?" Eclipse asked, addressing the lamb.
Prey gave the age he'd given to Gloom and Crimson, "Fourteen, I'm a runt and small for my age. I'm also not a ewe, ma'am."
Eclipse had to actually pause for a second to readjust her view point, '-she's not a filly? Wait no, he's not a filly. And a stunted runt, why're you in the Night Guard? We can't make foals fight our battles for us-'
It occurred to Prey, when he thought back, that he didn't remember seeing this thestral in the hall when Luna had him conscripted him. This Eclipse obviously knew he was part of the new ISND unit, but not that he was an actual contributing member, and not just a child being babysat by Gloom for some obscure reason.
"You're in the ISND, correct?" Eclipse double checked.
"Yes ma'am." Prey answered. He thought he was being very patient and polite here.
"Why?" Eclipse asked.
Prey blinked, "Because Princess Luna put me here."
"No, I understand that. What I mean is...Why are you here?" She emphasised, yellow eyes flicking to Crimson for a heartbeat. She probably thought Prey had missed it or that he wouldn't understand the implications in her look; '-is he an exile or a lawbreaker too? Surely not at such a tender age-'
"I'm here because this is where her majesty, Princess Luna, put me after she decided that she had a use for me. It's better than prison anyway." Prey added with another inane smile, deciding to not waste anymore time and just cut her off from dancing around the question. 'This is five minutes of my life that I'll never get back.' He thought morosely.
His answer didn't make Eclipse a happy mare.
'-should I ask? No, it can't have been a major crime. Just a foal, too young to have done anything serious. But why is he here and not back with his family-?' Eclipse wondered, pursing her lips as she now had her answer, and found she didn't like it.
"What happened to your ear? If there is any fighting to be done, you shouldn't have to be in the line of fire." She asked, a touch of guilt in her demeanour.
'You're one to talk.' Prey thought, looking at the mare's own ear. Giving Eclipse an honest answer wasn't going to make her shut up and let them go, so he gave an indirect one.
"Oh this doesn't really even hurt anymore ma'am, and it was just an accident. It's almost better now anyway." Prey said, giving his ear a twitch to prove it.
"I'm sorry to hear that happened, but it sounds like you are well on the flight path to recovery." Eclipse said.
However, that didn't seem to be enough to assuage her conscience. She evidently felt compelled to say something else, if only to salve her own unease, "You're young Prey, and Night Guard life is hard. If you need to, please go speak with Captain Nighthawk, Sargent Gloom can assist you with that if you ask politely, and he can help you get a message to Her Majesty."
'-and I'm going to keep an eye on you Prey, make sure Gloom is keeping his wing over you-', She added to herself.
Her guilty concern mildly made Prey want to spit on her hooves, but of course all he did was smile cutely and dip his head, "Thank you very much ma'am. But you don't need to worry, I'll be fine. Sargent Gloom is very good at looking out for me, and Princess Luna chose this position for me specifically."
Crimson's wings twitched, but Eclipse didn't notice his disapproving reaction to Prey's honeyed words. Being able to read her thoughts, Prey had intentionally picked his words to head off the mare's concern before it became an issue, because he didn't want her trying to watch out for him. The less ponies watching him, the better.
Anyway, Prey's reassurances seemed to have mollified Eclipse somewhat, "Yes, Sargent Gloom is new, but it's clear he will make a good officer one night, so you are in good hooves Prey." She agreed, although it was obvious to Prey she was saying the words as much to herself as to him. Her considering gaze switched to Crimson.
"Did you know Prey before you were brought here?" She asked.
Crimson came to attention, "No ma'am. The first we'd first seen of each other when we were brought here." The implication being, 'We came from different prisons.'
Crimson's answer seemed to further reassure Eclipse, '-good, that means Prey only came from one of those juvenile detention centres Celestia's made then-'.
Completely inaccurate, but that meant whatever Crimson had done constituted of a more serious punishment than petty theft. Annoyingly, the mare only had guesses herself as to what Crimson might've done.
Eclipse gave Crimson an examining look, "What is your weapon of choice?" She abruptly asked.
Crimson, who remained at attention the whole time, answered without hesitation, "My father's wing blades ma'am."
"Hmm, thought so. Non-standard Guard carry though. Is that why you don't carry your father's heritage, or is it something else?" Eclipse inquired.
"They have been locked away ma'am. I have Sargent Gloom's word that they are being kept safe. That is why I do not carry them right now." Crimson answered, probably not even noticing how his own feathers bristled.
"Your heritage is your right, as they came down to you from your father. However you must still earn the trust to wear them." Eclipse informed him.
Prey noticed how Crimson's mental walls started to shift in anger at Eclipse's judgement of him, but Crimson did what Prey had done earlier and kept himself calm and his tone polite, "My father's blades belong to me. I will take them up again." Crimson answered.
He left the response open, letting Eclipse take his answer to either mean he was agreeing to regaining whatever honour she seemed to think he had lost, or a blunt statement that he would get his blades back one way or another.
Eclipse was sharp, she heard both what Crimson said and what he was implying, but she chose to hear the best.
"Then work hard for her majesty Princess Luna. We are all in her service and indebted to her. There is a long flight path ahead of us all on that cloud front." Eclipse opinioned, stepping back and moving to rejoin her fellow thestral officers still discussing the plan, her previous questions now satisfied.
"Night watch over you. And talk to Sargent Gloom, Prey." She added to the meekly acting lamb. '-something I can't put my hoof on-'
Prey nodded and smiled innocently up at her again, while Crimson just did the nodding bit, both of them strangely united in their private disdain of Eclipse's words to them.
'At least she's not going to be a problem for me in the future.' Prey thought. He'd successfully deterred the First Sargent from taking too keen an interest in his already unstable future here in Canterlot, where he was trying to stay unnoticed by those powerful individuals who might suspect something.
But as Prey was congratulating himself and following Crimson back over to where Gloom waited, Eclipse realised something, just as she was about to leave his mental perception range.
'-that's what I couldn't put my hoof on. That lamb looked right at me, he didn't look away. He wasn't intimidated by our eyes. Didn't judge us as unnatural. That's not something normal in a foal-'
------
"Sir, what did Crimson do to be imprisoned?" Prey asked Gloom, standing at the foot of his bunk.
Dinner and another long stint in the office had come and gone, the elder alicorns evening having eventually giving way to the younger one's night.
Gloom stopped undoing the strap on his chest plate and straightened to face Prey, "You know I'm not going to tell you that. If you want to know, you can ask Crimson himself instead of going behind his back."
The red pegasus in question was currently in the toilet down the corridor. Gloom did at least trust them enough to do that without fearing they would run away. Although with these gold tracker bands, running would have been an exercise in futility anyway.
"Okay, never mind." Prey said simply, and let it drop as if that was that. However he'd just been given his answer, because when he'd asked the question, Gloom's thoughts had automatically jumped to the reason. And the answer wasn't even a surprise, it was one of the likely scenarios Prey had envisioned.
Gloom however, wasn't willing to let it drop.
These last few days had raised a number of small conflicts between the Sargent and Prey. They weren't big ones, in fact if they had happened between a normal Sargent and a member of his squad, they would've likely already been forgotten.
But this wasn't a normal squad, and, to put it in Gloom's own words, '-my cutie mark is tingling that something, somewhere, somehow or in someway, the kid is doing something funny-'
"Not so fast. You purposefully waited until Crimson was out of the room, then went behind his back. So when Crimson comes back in, you're going to ask him exactly what you just asked me to his face." Gloom told Prey.
Prey had absolutely no intention of doing that.
"I only asked because it might've been something that was important for me to know. Whatever Crimson did might have an effect on me because I'm in his team, so if that's the case then I think I have a right to know." Prey responded, easily picking out a rational lie.
"Normally, you might be right. We have to have each other's backs. But this isn't one of those times. It's private to Crimson and has nothing to do with you. If Crimson wanted you to know, he would've told you. But you are still going to ask Crimson when he comes back in." Gloom repeated, his rasping tone firm.
Prey shook his head, "You misunderstand, that's precisely why I asked you, because you're the Sargent. But you won't tell me, and that means it's okay. Because if it was something that posed a risk to me, you would've told me. But you didn't, so I don't need to worry. It had nothing to do with wanting to pry into Crimson's personal life." He explained.
Gloom paused as he comprehended Prey's logic, '-oh, I didn't think about it like that-'
"Fine, okay Prey. If it's really like that, then let's forget about it." Gloom said.
Prey didn't offer Gloom one of his innocent smiles, because Gloom already knew Prey well enough to realise that when Prey did that, he was actually privately mocking the recipient. Normally, that would have been an ideal reason to smile at Gloom, but this time Prey wanted to appear genuine.
So Prey merely offered a bored shrug and a cynical "Yes, sir." And left it at that.
When Crimson re-entered their bunk room, Gloom wasted no time in clapping his hooves together and getting their attention.
"Alright, share and tell time," He announced, "We're getting up early tomorrow before T-Day even starts, because we've been assigned last minute to cover the last couple of hours of some ponies' night shift. So without further delay, what have you learnt today?"
Prey was getting sick and tired of doing this every night. At first it had been amusing, but now it was annoying.
"Well let's not stand on ceremony, or sit in my case," Prey spoke up, jokingly patting the bed where he sat, "I'll start. I confirmed beyond a doubt that I was correct about the thestral clans unspoken policy of honour. That policy being, don't speak about it. Because if you do, you're already doing it wrong. Treat it like a skittish rabbit that will flee if you even look at it too hard." Prey said, pulling his pillow over. The pillow was only marginally smaller than he was.
'-this again? Well I see your game, and we're not going to play it-'
"Humph," Gloom huffed, "Well I learnt that everypony, clan or individual has their secrets. And it's not your right to pry."
He gave Prey a very obvious stare in case their was any doubt as to whom the comment was directed at. And accompanying the stare came the thought; '-I'm getting tired of having to corral you all the time-'
Prey pretended he didn't have a clue that Gloom was talking about him and pretended to be plumping his pillow instead.
Gloom sighed, "How about you Crimson?" He asked, deciding he'd had enough for one day and giving up.
Crimson spent a long time considering, his face its' usual blank slate self. "I think..." He eventually decided, "That I am getting better at paperwork."
They waited.
Nothing else was forth coming after that enlightening statement.
"Okay... Well, the thestral teams will be deploying tomorrow night over Coal Clack and the other two towns. That's when you think these riot instigators could start arriving, right Prey?" Gloom asked to double check.
"That's what I predict. It could end up being earlier, but it'll probably be somewhere in the next four to five days. Or nights." Prey confirmed.
'-you'd better be right, there's a lot gliding on this cloud-' Gloom thought, but he didn't say it out loud as it might've sounded aggressive.
Instead, Gloom just said, "Let's hope to Luna that the plan pays off." He picked up the alarm clock and started to wind it, missing the glare Prey gave the brass device, "Anypony got anything further to add or ask?"
"No." Prey answered, pulling back the blanket and climbing under.
Gloom wished them both a good and told Crimson to blow out the candle when he was finished.
------
It was almost a pre-requisite by now, but Prey did his usual sleeping act and waited until Crimson had finished and gone to bed.
Once satisfied the pegasus was asleep, Prey sat up and got to work on building more runic arrays on his blanket. If one wanted an edge, one needed to be prepared to make sacrifices. In this case, resisting the soft lullaby of his pillow.
Tonight however, it wouldn't be working on studying the gold tracer bands trapping him. It'd occurred to Prey that if some maid came in and took away the bedding for cleaning, he would lose all his hard work.
He wasn't worried about anyone discovering the runic arrays themselves, because even if put through a scanning spell, nothing more than a normal blanket would be revealed. It would take a powerful mage to detect anything, and why would a mage be scanning a blanket?
That just left the problem of the cleaning staff.
So once Crimson blew out the lantern and retired for the night, Prey worked a number of minor memory runes and illusionary arrays into the blanket. Prey wasn't great at illusionary runes, but he had the know how. And he was great at memory runes.
These arrays would make anyone who touched the blanket distracted and forget about it, hopefully to move on. They'd probably think the bedding had already been replaced or something similar. Unless someone was purposefully looking for this blanket, their eyes would just pass over it, as if it were a piece of the background.
That done, Prey lay looking up at the slats of the bunk above him.
'All things considered, today wasn't such a bad day.' He admitted to himself.
He still had Lemon Pink, nothing life threatening or dangerous had happened, no one had tried to use magic on him, or make him run up and down cobble streets, or touch him.
So, all things considered, today really hadn't been such a bad day.
---I---