The trek back was tense. I don’t know what I really expected, seeing as how we couldn’t just wander about with a full escort of zombies. Ivory, understandably, was the most on edge, constantly looking here, there and over her shoulder. I caught a glimpse of a bird’s shadow every so often, so I knew she wasn’t entirely blind. Still, for someone who usually had a druidic awareness of what was going on in the forest, this must have been like running around with her coat shaved off.
Our formation was awkward, a wedge about four times as wide as me dividing Ivory and Feather Reed. Every so often, an uncertain glance would pass between them, then they’d look away. Blaze trotted just a bit ahead of us, guiding us between patches of good ground. We dared not let her get too far ahead, though, as without the advantage of her mud walking, any attackers would be significantly more dangerous.
Luckily, our plan actually hinged on not being too fast. The cover of the forest would only work for us so long during the day. Once we were inside a day’s travel to Pasture, it could very well conceal dozens of roving mercenaries. Knowing what we did about their downtime, we made camp just outside that range, stopping to rest until nightfall.
Blaze paced the tiny clearing we’d chosen as our site. It was situated behind a line of trees that sat atop a rather steep hill of roughly ten feet, keeping us concealed, yet also giving a clear view of the most likely approach.
“Cut that out,” Feather Reed said without turning away from her vigil at the tree line. “You’ll wear yourself out before tonight and I’m not carrying you.”
I nodded. “Also can’t have you half-asleep if you’re going to be pathfinding for us.”
“I know, I know.” Blaze sighed. “Just can’t shake the feeling we’re wasting time, y’know? We could be a third of the way through the forest by now.”
“Or withers deep in mercenaries.” This time Feather Reed spared a quick glance back. “Now that we have Ivory with us, it’s unlikely that we’ll be able to talk our way out of anything.”
Ivory didn’t say a word. She was sitting on her haunches, visible eye closed beneath a mildly furrowed brow. Light radiated off of her horn, fluctuating with the intensity of her expression. When she finally opened her eyes, she let out a deep sigh, fatigue pulling at the edges of her eye. “It is as we suspected. They’re watching the road, very closely.”
I nodded. “Sorry, Blaze. No setting out early.”
“Stupid sellhooves,” Blaze grumbled.
“That’s funny,” I let out a low chuckle. “Didn’t you try to hire me way back?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t think you were a sellhoof. You were totally a, uh... swashbuckling adventurer!” Blaze twirled her hoof.
At that point, Feather Reed’s head turned slowly, incredulously, almost owl-like. She stared at Blaze, then me, then back to Blaze. She opened her mouth, but after a few moments, simply shook her head and went back to looking over the forest.
“Right. As I tipped my fedora and spun a yarn about two weeks ago, when I grew claws and suplexed an Ursa Minor.”
“Yep.” Blaze grinned wide. “That’s exactly how it happened.”
It was my turn to shake my head. That’s when I realized Ivory hadn’t said anything else. She was still sitting on her haunches, focusing on a random spot on the ground. I trotted over to her side. “Hey, Ivory, are you feeling okay?”
She quickly pulled herself up and nodded. “There is a reason I rarely assume direct control. But I am fine now.”
“If you say so. Still, might as well get some rest—it’s not like we’ll be moving anytime soon.”
---
Moonlight that might have helped us in any other scenario was our enemy here. While the path, now clear of any patrols, was tempting, there was no cover. For that route to be viable, the darkness would have to protect our approach. Instead, it would have simply highlighted us, letting any half-decent unicorn ambush us at range.
Still, blundering blindly through the middle of the forest was likely to cause the equivalent level of problems in noise, so we compromised. Skirting the outermost edge, we struck a precarious balance between not having enough moonlight to see and letting any observers spot us. As usual, Blaze’s sixth sense helped out, letting us skimp a bit on the light.
A long night and a half-dozen bruises later, we somehow found ourselves within sight of the manor without incident. I was beginning to wonder why the mercenaries left everything practically abandoned each night. The more I thought about it, the more I realized it came down to bodies. Even adding the mercenaries and whatever Moss had brought with him together, it was highly unlikely that they were anywhere near the size of the Guard. I just couldn’t see Pasture having the bits.
With that in mind, there was no way they could afford to enclose the forest at all hours. It would spread them too thin when, for all they knew, there was an army of which the size was only limited by the amount of things that had died in that forest over several decades, waiting to burst forth from the the bushes. Putting myself in their horseshoes, even were I the strongest, nigh-invincible mare on the planet, I would be hesitant to push my luck on that. Perhaps the reason they had torched part of the forest so readily was a ruthlessness born of fear.
We circled around, approaching the main gate once more via the brush. I strained my eyes, staring up at the top of the observatory, looking for any signs of occupation—whether they be friend or foe. Nothing. Not even a stray bird.
On the one hoof, I felt some level of relief. If my friends had been so easy to spot, then they would have been easy targets. On the other hoof, there was also no telling if Prideful Policy’s goons had occupied the estate. The last thing we needed to do was throw everything away by waltzing into an ambush.
I glanced back at the others. “Chances are someone is there. No indication of who.”
“Didn’t you say you sent your friends here?” Blaze whispered.
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean that they were able to remain in the observatory.” I stared up again, looking in vain for something to go off of. “With the way things have gone, there’s the distinct possibility they may have had to retreat—or even back off and avoid it entirely.”
“Blaze and I could go,” Feather Reed said. “We’re here on official business. As long as you two stay hidden, we could throw our weight around a little.”
I frowned. “I doubt they’d be happy to see anyone not on their payroll.”
“Not happy is better than attacking on sight,” Feather Reed reasoned. “We’re just scouting the situation. If they get uppity, we can back off and leave.”
“They’d probably even be happy to think they scared us off,” Blaze added.
“Right. Then I guess this is in your hooves now.” I looked back at Ivory, just in case she had any objections.
Tweet! Warble. Warble. The sound echoed up from inside the manor walls.
I arched an eyebrow. “What kind of bird is that? Ivory, is that something that’s supposed to be around here?”
“It’s not. But I recognize it,” Blaze said, a grin creeping up her face. “It’s the call of a yellow-tailed Guard Scout.”
“Wha—Blaze!” I hissed. “Where are you going?”
“To meet them,” she whispered. This was followed by her own impression, one that was a bit shakier than whoever had initially called out. Tweet. Tweet. Tweeeeet!
“She’s correct,” Feather Reed said. “It is a legitimate Guard call.”
“But aren’t you supposed to be the only unit out here? What if this one is compromised?” With that, I pushed ahead as quickly as I dared.
Blaze was already nearly twenty feet ahead, practically running as she chased another set of bird imitations.
The next sound to come stopped me in my tracks: “Sergeant Mint Creme, reporting.”
No enemies? No complications? Mint right here in front of us? I have to be dreaming.
Throwing caution to the wind, Blaze trotted past the fallen gate, calling out, “Sarge!”
“Blaze, get in here quick. We need to stay out of sight until we can move.” There was a certain worry to Mint’s voice that got me moving again.
No, of course there’s complications.
“Hold on. I’ll get the others.” The ground crunched as Blaze pivoted.
“Others?” Mint asked. “Who else is with you?”
“There’s me, Sergeant Reed, Dusky, and Ivory!” Blaze’s smile was audible.
“Explains the preliminary caution, then.” The worry in Mint’s voice fell away ever-so-slightly.
“Dusky?” Night’s voice rose distinctly above the others’ and I felt my heart propel me forward. I paused just long enough to signal Ivory and Feather Reed before hurrying through the gate.
“Go get her, loverboy~.”
“Night—” I began, but he was already there, hugging me tight.
“Missed you, Dusky… Love you,” he said, emotions moving faster than his mouth.
I nuzzled into his mane. “I missed you too. Did you have much trouble getting here?”
Slowly, reluctantly, he released me. The look he gave me told me there were definitely complications. “Nothing getting here… plenty of trouble after that, though. That… that matters less now, though. You found Ivory?”
“And some other company. Blaze, and her commander, Sergeant Feather Reed. How many did you bring?”
“Myself, Mint, Merri, Star, and Icicle. Not as many as I’d have liked, but these are the only ponies I could trust to come.”
I raised an eyebrow, my gaze falling on Icicle Gleam. No armour or weapons. Nor did he look especially on the ball. “If there’s a good reason why he’s here, then alright.”
Merri grinned, “I vouched for him, Dusky.”
I looked at Night, who shrugged. I supposed Merri did generally know what she was doing and he was already here. There was little point arguing over it now. “Alright.”
Mint walked over, waiting for Ivory and Feather Reed to catch up before saying, “Sergeant Reed, hm?”
Feather Reed saluted, a stiff, automatic gesture, as concern overtook her face. “Sergeant Creme. I wasn’t aware you’d been assigned to this… problem.”
“I haven’t. Not officially, at least. That’s my brother, and the mare you’ve been working alongside is my sister-in-law, and I’m not the type to stay behind and let anypony in my family get hurt. You’re here more officially, yes?”
“Sent to investigate the veracity and the threat presented by the legend of the Necromancer of Pasture. Findings are… inconclusive.” Feather Reed stole a glance at Ivory.
Ivory looked away. I couldn’t blame her.
Night watched them for a moment, but caught himself and snapped to. “Listen, we’ve been scouting Pasture, spying on the mercenaries’ movements, and on the Mayor, and we need to move. We were just getting ready to leave.”
Ivory stared at Night. “Why the hurry? What did you find out?”
“This mansion, this forest, this whole area, Mayor Prideful is ordering those mercenaries to burn it all down to find you. That camel and his fighters could be here any moment now,” Night said all at once, lowering his head as though he was somehow personally responsible for Prideful Policy’s insanity. “I’m… sorry.”
Camel. Of course. That’s what he was. I’d never met one before, but even with how little I’d known, that rancid scent should have been a telltale sign.
Ivory took a step back, frowning. “Burn the mansion? He can’t… he wouldn’t?”
Merri gave a solemn nod. “We heard it ourselves. Him and Moss, but the Mayor’s the one who ordered it.”
I turned to Ivory. “I know it’s hard to leave it behind, but we still need to get you out of here.”
“I can’t, Dusky. I can’t. If that’s what Prideful ordered, if he’s ready to go that far… I need to stay. I need to find a way to end all this bloodshed. Nopony else should get hurt because of me.”
“That’s… you can’t do that, Ivory. It’s not just Prideful Policy anymore, he has a whole mercenary camp hired on to hunt you down. Moss has ponies all the way out to Iron Shoe looking for you.” I looked Ivory in the eye, pleading as much as reasoning. “Staying here is… it’s crazy!”
“I know. Yet… I don’t think there’s any choice left for me now.” Ivory stared off into the distance, like this was a destiny that had finally caught up to her.
Gritting my teeth, I glanced over everyone here. We had enough veterans to make a stand. We even had a chance of winning. But that cost would almost certainly be too high. “No… we’ll find another option. We just need a plan.”
---
A blanket of dread hung over the manor. With both groups linked up, Ivory was able to let us into her safe room, yet, we were still running short of time. While we could escape into the wilderness at anytime, if we wished to do anything decisive, the estate was the best battleground. The question was: what could we even do?
To that end, all of us except Merri and Icicle Gleam had cleared out one of the storage rooms and unpacked an old dining set to create a makeshift strategy room. I would have preferred everyone present, but we couldn’t afford to let the mercenaries sneak up on us and Merri had volunteered to keep watch.
“If the problem is that he won’t stop until you’re gone, what if we make a show of you taking the highway out?” Feather Reed suggested, leaning back in one of the ancient wooden chairs. “There would still be some danger, but far less than fighting until only one of you is left standing. If his opponent is gone, continuing with this war would only make him look like a fool.”
“Pasture trusts him too much,” Ivory sighed. “He could keep sending mercenaries to chase me to the ends of Equestria and they would accept it.”
“Or worse,” Blaze chimed in as she leaned over the old dining room table. “He’d spin it as a trick, that there’s no way Ivory would give up her power over us. She’s just rebuilding her army, hiding a bit farther back until they let down their guard. Believe me, I… I used to buy into that schlock.”
Blaze gave Ivory an apologetic look, which was met by a tired smile.
Star frowned. “He is adept at politics, I will give him that. I do not think that engaging him will have the result you desire. Even if we bring him down, Pasture will see him as a martyr, and you, a villain. It is then likely that the Equestrian Guard will have to step in and I doubt there is anything Sergeant Reed could say to quell that momentum.”
“Much as I hate to admit it, she’s right.” Mint sighed, frustration painted all across her brow. “No matter the intention, a large-scale battle always looks bad. A crisis force will be sent to respond.”
“Then running really is the best way to keep suffering to a minimum?” Night’s voice was full of hope.
Ivory shook her head. “If I simply disappear, nothing will change. He’ll see ghosts and shadows around every corner.”
An idea hit me like a runaway cart, dragging me behind it. “What if we let him win?”
Blaze tilted her head. “Dusky, you… uh, feeling okay there? I thought I just heard you suggest letting him win.”
“I did.” Turning to Ivory, I asked, “What are the chances we can create a zombie that looks like you?”
“It would take some time, but the necessary spells are not terribly complicated. It will take more effort to mask the smell.” She paused. “Are we… faking my death?”
I nodded. “Think about it. If he believes he has thoroughly won, to the point that he has found a corpse, then he cannot pursue this any further. He would never undermine his own victory, so he’d have to let his vendetta go, hopefully becoming a better mayor in the process.”
“We would need to make it believable,” Star said. “A stallion like him would not accept a kill that seemed too easy. If he suspects anything at all, we run into the same trickery problem.”
“We could pretend to attack Pasture,” Blaze suggested. “Let him believe everything bad he’s said is true. He’d take to it like a bass on a crankbait.”
“No.” Feather Reed said. “We can’t endanger civilians.”
“I said ‘pretend’.” Blaze raised an eyebrow.
“She’s right,” I said. “Fighting is chaotic, even if Ivory keeps her zombies in check, the mercenaries and townsfolk will be in a frenzy. Accidental collateral is almost a certainty.”
“Then why not here?” Mint pointed a hoof at the ceiling. “We know they’ll be here sooner or later, so why don’t we take advantage of that?”
I pondered a moment. “That’s… perfect. We draw them in, stage a battle and let them push the zombies back. When the body double goes down and we’re certain the mercenaries have confirmed their ‘kill’, we retreat into the safe room and disappear into the wilderness.”