//------------------------------// // 82 - Ground Zero // Story: From Dusk to Night // by KuroiTsubasaTenshi //------------------------------// Now that I’d been alerted to the Crusaders’ presence, it wasn’t difficult to avoid them. Them wandering about posturing in bright metal armour helped a little. Kiln Stoker’s advice was sound: they were pretty much only arrayed along the main road. I supposed they were banking on me being in a hurry. To be fair, it did almost work once. Fortunately, there were plenty of cheap motels on the side streets, from which one 'Soot Rose', environmental analyst, was able to discreetly get a room. The stallion at the desk was far more concerned with the bits making their way to him than her life story, leaving her to her uneasy sleep. In the morning, she departed as readily as she’d appeared. While taking to the sky again would provide nigh infinite maneuverability, such that it would be difficult for the Crusaders to post enough sentries to reliably intercept me, I wasn’t taking any chances. Blundering into another Iron Shoe situation could very well prove fatal. Instead, I followed the highway a couple miles out of town before breaking away. Once I was about a minute off the path, I followed it at a distance, using it to compensate for low flight’s lesser visibility. Progress was generally rapid, though there were spikes of total non-progress more often than I’d have liked. Every so often, I’d spot some figures along the path, prompting me to find cover until they’d passed by. Frustratingly, their pace was usually slow, sometimes meandering. At first, I wasn’t sure if it was because they were looking for me or were legitimately carefree travelers. The longer I went, the more I realized that both assumptions were largely wrong. While I did dodge a couple patrols, which were kind enough to mark themselves by wearing that gaudy imitation armour, the other groups turned my wariness to worry. Initially, I’d thought that their plain appearance simply meant that they could be patrols posing as travelers. Maybe some were, but the volume was just large enough for it to be impossible that they’d all be fakes. Further, they were all headed the same direction: Iron Shoe. As the pattern became clear, I couldn’t help but let out a low, grim chuckle. The first time I’d come here, a storm had forced my hoof. This time, I was headed straight into it. At last, the forest came into sight. What was once a vibrant barrier of greens, yellows and browns was now a series of jagged, glassy black pillars. The fiery glow of the imminent dusk almost gave the impression that the fire was still ongoing. I strained my eyes, trying to pick out something, anything. My heart sank when my gaze passed over the approximate location of where Ivory’s hut—or more likely, the ruins—should have been. I hoped against hope that I was merely missing it in the falling light, but given that I could barely see the half-charred border between complete devastation and the remainder of the forest, the chances were slim. The urge to fly straight in was overwhelming. Tapping into all my willpower, I held fast, breathing deep until I stopped shaking. Ivory is fine. She’s just hiding. Don’t do anything stupid. As much as I wanted to just charge in, this would be the worst side to approach from. With everything as open as it was, I’d only succeed in revealing myself to anyone observing—or worse, leading them in the direction of one of Ivory’s other cabins. What’s more, venturing into an enclosed area without knowing what was going on outside was just asking for trouble. It was bad enough that I was hovering there, gawking, for so long. Shaking off my stupor, I glided down to the ditch. From here, I’d need to go by hoof. My first stop was the estate, and if they had anyone stationed there, flying in would make me more than an easy target. As expected, moving through the brush was slow going, but was about the only way for me to conceal my approach. Of course, the path up to the gates was so broken and overgrown that it may have even provided adequate cover, if not for the fact that even in its state of disrepair, it would draw the eyes of any watchers. While the estate itself was a bit off the main road, once one was headed in its general direction, it was pretty much impossible to miss. It didn’t matter that the stone walls had begun to crumble; or that the tall windows of the stone manse had been rough and jagged for years; nor that the dull bronze dome of the Canterlot-style observatory was no longer gold—the message remained crystal clear: “I’m rich.” I slowed my pace, edging forward with an eye glued to the balcony of the observatory. It ringed the upper floor, just below the slit where the telescope should have been. After a few minutes, I got the impression that there really wasn’t anyone there. In fact, the only movement up there were a couple song birds, likely drawn to the lingering glitter of the dome. Still, that was no excuse to get careless. Slipping up against the wall, I lamented that it wasn’t crumbling just a little more. A nice, sizable hole that I could slink through instead of using the main entrance would have been nice. As it was, though, I could maybe squeeze a forehoof through most gaps. Eying the road again, I caught sight of the estate’s heavy iron gate, long fallen from its hinges. The weather had taken its toll, leaving the bars more orange than black, with a good one-third of it being slowly consumed by the earth. The yard was something of a mini-jungle, a blessing that allowed me to not feel like an idiot dashing through the open. That said, it did not come without downsides. Were someone truly lying in wait, there were many places where they could get low enough to be completely concealed. As such, once I got into my first clump of tall grass, I spent a long time pointing my eyes and ears at each of the others. I was met by nothing more than continuous crickets and chirps: a good sign. The observatory was a bit of an unknown to me. Like with a few rooms in her estate, Ivory had taken me to the doorway, but found herself unable to step inside. With no urgent matter demanding we move forward, I refrained from pressing her too hard. I hoped that one day she could get past it, but it needed to be on her own terms. Still, provided the faded purple door hadn’t rusted shut, I at least had something to go on. I snuck up to the door, keeping one eye behind me in case there was someone really patient and skilled lying in wait, just looking for me to turn my back. To that end, when I actually reached the door, I only half-heartedly tried the knob. There was an awful, gritty sound as the mechanism attempted to return to life. I let this go on for a full ten seconds before finally pressing the knob for real. Turns out that loosening the innards by messing around was a good thing, as I needed to push a good three times before the door finally relented. Casting one last glance behind me, I slipped inside, cringing as the door groaned loudly, echoing out into the yard. Hastily closing the door behind me, I scanned my surroundings. There were several tables in the middle of the room, of which one had had a leg rotted out from under it. Regardless, nothing was hiding beneath them. The rest of the room was lined with heavy cabinets and yellowed reference posters that ran its perimeter. Of the former, all of them had a layer of dust that almost looked more like a tangle of spider webs—the result of decades of neglect. Even if not for that, even the largest cabinet door would require an exceptionally lithe person to hide within. This left only the spiral stairs in the back as a possible approach for assailants. Crouching low against the entrance door, I pressed an ear to it while my eyes lingered on the stairs. Silence. I didn’t know whether to take it as a sign that someone was sneaking up, their presence scaring off the woodland creatures, or that there simply wasn’t anyone there. Several painful seconds passed as my brain continued fighting with itself, only relaxing when the muffled chirping of birds once again reached me. Letting out a sigh of relief, I drew myself tall. I wasn’t done here yet. I gingerly made my way across the floor, careful not to step on any of the assorted books or mapping implements that the rotted table had scattered across the room. Idly, I wondered if between the pages of Astronomy 101 would be a good place to leave my message. I shook my head. Not notable enough. About halfway through the room, my eyes drifted to the right, to a black poster, wrinkled over time from moisture, giving the yellowed moons on its surface a very odd texture. The upper-right corner had come loose, flopping down, though not enough to obscure the big, bold Lunar Phases of the Moon written in the centre. I stared for a moment, a slight grin creeping up my lips. Perfect. Of course, I couldn’t very well write my message with next to no information, nor was it even a particularly good idea with potential hostiles upstairs. As I tucked the tidbit into the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but chastise myself for being so easily distracted. Each stair was a potential trap, a sound mine that could give me away entirely. I kept to the side nearest the wall as best I could, but inevitably, I felt the step give, filling the stairwell with a deafening echo. My heart raced faster and faster until at last, I poked my head up above the landing. Empty. It was a small room, not unlike the main room below, featuring a completely legless table and significantly more beaten mapping implements. The biggest difference was the large telescope that had become dislodged, embedding itself into the thick wooden floor. To be perfectly honest, I was surprised it hadn't found its way downstairs. The very last rays of the sun streamed in through the windows and open doorway. I don’t know if there ever was a door there, but if there was, it was gone now. I circled the room, checking the outer balcony from the safety of the windows. By this point, I wasn’t too surprised to find nothing. If someone was going to ambush me, it should have been at the top of the stairs, not from someplace I could see from inside the room. I did have to wonder why, if they had gone to such lengths as to start a forest fire, they were paying so little attention to the estate. I supposed they might have assumed that no one could cross the remnants of the razed forest and make it here without being spotted. They were probably right and in my mind, that only served to reinforce why I shouldn’t go to the forest just yet. Now that I had something resembling a safe place to lay low if things got crazy, I wanted to check out the town. I knew it would be dangerous, given that those Crusaders were actively searching for me, but I had to know the disposition of the town. My greatest fear was that they would be on the verge of breaking out into an angry mob. Not only would that make things even worse for Ivory, but I would have to be extra wary of things that might set them off. Having one of those show up at my rear could potentially hem me in against whatever dangers I’d already be facing while trying to scout out the forest or manse. That did bring me back to Moss’s Crusaders. Given the resources in place at Iron Shoe, they were obviously very concerned about my potential involvement, but I couldn’t fathom why. Yes, I’d been an enemy of the Cartel for some time, but a good deal of that was bias founded in personal grudges. In the grand scheme of things, I was a mere thorn compared to the Mob, which had brought the Cartel to its knees at a very inopportune time. I supposed this Moss who may or may not be Ivory’s Moss might have thought himself outside their reach, safe enough to rebuild his forces. Still, that wouldn’t explain why I was the next concern on the list. With a sigh, I glanced out the windows. Perhaps, in an hour or two, when I could slink about in total darkness, I would find my answers in Pasture.