//------------------------------// // Investigations p1 // Story: Crimson Tides // by CrimsonWalker //------------------------------// After leaving Princess Celestia’s quarters, Long Shot flew lazily and perched himself. He didn’t care what the paladins had to say, but he needed to know Celestia’s reaction to the ring. Above him, a pair of pegasi circled the castle, watching him. Celestia’s reaction was predictable. He flew off, noting the pegasi tracking him. With the night still young, and a stressful job looming, Long Shot banked towards the west. He didn’t try to lose his pursuers - he wanted them to follow him. He touched down near the nearby lake. It was large and had plenty of fish. Not many knew about it. “Would either of you care for some fresh grilled fish?” he asked coldly. No one responded. Taking out his bow, he pulled a specific arrow out. The arrow had a fine wire attached and the wire went to a reel. It didn’t take long, but he practiced his shots. Fish were much better than paper targets. He only missed three times and had three fish after his twentieth shot. Pulling out a small stove and grate, he prepared and grilled the fish. The pegasi looked away. It wasn’t uncommon for them to eat fish, but these two must have a dislike for it. They weren’t comfortable around others eating it. About ten minutes later, after waiting for him to finish eating his fish, they looked back, and Long Shot was gone. They cursed and launched into the air. After searching for a bit, they gave up and returned to Canterlot. Long Shot watched them from the shadows he’d slipped into. Idiot commanders, he thought captiously. It’s known that I love fish. Why would you send two to tail me if they couldn’t stand someone eating fish? Checking to make sure no one else was around, he opened the door and entered the base. Once the door closed, he let the illusion drop. His wings were leather, his coat darkened, his fangs extended, and his round eyes turned to slits. It didn’t take long for him to gather the appropriate provisions. They needed materials to deal with a very powerful demon spell caster or subdue a vampiric spell caster. Now, the questions if she is vampiric, who has slipped in? What are their plans? What class and type is she? With the materials gathered, he went into his room and hung himself on the bar above the cloud bed. Just before the sun rose, he left, reapplying the illusion and taking the sac of items. The flight wasn’t bad, and there was a bit more guard activity than usual. Landing near one of the squads, he asked what the extra present presence was about. They were looking for a dark figure with leather wings. After a bit of prying, Long Shot learned a pair of solar-based magic bolts managed to bring him down, but they lost him in the commoner’s area. The guard didn’t want to admit it, but he also told Long Shot they weren’t stun-bolts, more like bolts used in duels. Not lethal, but more powerful than a stun. Interesting. At the hospital, Long Shot found the rest of his team. However, there were no solar guards. Looking towards Ebony, she pulled out a report. “The knight wanted me to give you his report. The body of the unicorn was burned. It had demonic taint and its soul was ripped out by something. As for wounds, there were two: His sliced horn at the base of the skull and the crushed neck.” “Any bite marks? And the other knight?” Long Shot wrapped his wing around the report. Idly, he flipped through it. Only one thing stood out to him. The cause of death and the missing picture of the neck, near the jugular. He started to walk into the hospital and the rest followed. Arriving at the destination, Ebony continued. “I don’t know. They made it hard for me to observe, and towards the end, Ruby called me away. She had trouble with shadow demon lurking in the bookcase. It was dispatched. As for other information, he is in a similar age group as the other two. All three seem to have similar classes but excelled in different fields. His was ancient magic and runes. His horn had been sliced off near the base. It occurred minutes before his death. The time of death places him inside the library, near the second flare.” “Know which knights and their superior commander?” Long Shot posed. He wasn’t sure, but he suspected that some of the pictures were left out. “Only about the knight who didn't give me her report. Sir Flashing Blade was the commander.” Long Shot shook his head. Just what I needed. At least two insubordinate ponies.“Winter Chill and Summer Breeze, will you please go to the Church of Light and find which two knights were sent and their superior officers? Something is off with this report. I have a fairly large collection of photos, but none included the neck, and the bruising of the ribs indicates he was tossed aside. Thank you.” They saluted and flew off. Long Shot rubbed his temples. “Captain, is there something you know?” Amoux “Partly. After I left you all, I spoke with Princess Celestia and asked her for two knights to help with the autopsy. The problem is that both knights were to be told directly to run anything by Quick Fix or I. This may have consequences for all three.” Long Shot turned to Ruby. “Ruby, firstly, what kind of trouble did you run into? Secondly, what were you able to find out about the three circles?” “A shadow demon tried to take a book I had found. It acted oddly, to say the least, and never tried to finish us. Amoux and Ebony were finally able to dispel it, but it seemed to have engaged something in the book. I can't open it nor can I find a locking mechanism. It seemed nondescript at first, but I haven't taken a second look, and the circles were more interesting." Ruby paused. Amoux and Ebony nodded to Long Shot confirming what happened. Long Shot gestured for her to continue. "The circles are based in old magic, with modern efficiency. The innermost was done quickly without the same neatness as the others. Together, they were designed to form into a gate, but there were a few flaws. We’re lucky that it formed a gate instead of completely collapsing and imploding. If that happened the Library would be a crater. However, the runes are too advanced and foreign for these students. I believe we’re looking for a fourth unicorn, one with a lot of knowledge on pre-NMM rune with tenth-century magic innovation. “The book I mentioned earlier was found away from the circles. Near it, I found the remnants of three spells close together. The spells were particular, to say the least. One dealt with bindings. Another was summoning. The third was powerful and used an unknown form of solar magic. It was burned into the walls. “Any idea to who the caster was?” Long Shot inquired. “It may have been Twilight, but spells seem tainted.” Nodding, he looked down at Quick Fix, curled in a chair. Nudging him awake, Quick Fix opened his eyes. He blinked once before they widened and he sat up quickly. “I haven’t missed the meeting, have I?” “You’re the last to give his report, and comment on anything that has been said.” “So, good news: Twilight Sparkle is stable. However, she sustained a myriad of injuries along her back, barrel, and ribs. The rib damage was caused mostly by Celestia’s maul. Along the side were solar burns, third degree, and under that, a healed slash running the length of her barrel. The back injury is consistent with being thrown into a wall. The last injury is a puncture from a unicorn’s horn. “As for her magic, it’s at stage four exhaustion, down from five. I had to extract solar magic from her since it was negatively affecting her health. That drained me and three of the eight doctors present. The final injury wasn’t physical. It was against her soul and is causing damages. I don’t know if the effects will be permanent or not.” Long Shot looked at each of them. None of them could see the thread between each piece, but it was there. Winter spoke before him. “Both vampirism and demonic infection affect the soul. Both are hampered by solar magic. Both can break the limits of magic. Which is affecting her?” The others were shocked, but considering their knowledge either had a strong case, and both couldn’t happen. “Winter, you’re right, which means we’re going to have a problem if we can’t isolate which it is. The test for demonic influence is currently inconclusive. As soon as we saw the injury with the horn, Quick Fix casted it. What Quick may not recall is that the demonic influence test doesn’t work unless the soul is controlled. If forces are battling for control, it's inconclusive.” “Now onto the possibility of vampirism. There is a very accurate test, but it involves drawing a blood sample. If it is positive, we have a rogue vampire. And Twilight will be mighty angry at who did the test. With her current condition considered, she would be inclined to kill you for drawing her blood. Do we have a volunteer or do we want to wait it out?” Summer raised his hoof. “I don’t mind.” “You understand and accept that if it is a positive result, she will most likely hunt, kill, and devour you?” Long Shot asked for confirmation he knew and understood the stakes. “Yes.” “We should wait it out. What is your estimate on how long before Twilight recovers? Also, can we move Twilight out of the worst possible area to fight either form?” Ebony asked. “No. Her injuries are too great to safely move her. Best guess: six to twelve days. Otherwise, six months. I would like to know the condition of her soul first. And I have one more fact: I asked Long Shot to get me a bag of A positive for a blood transfusion. This helped her, and another doctor gave her one more after I fell asleep. This bag, however, was a mislabeled B negative bag. It didn’t affect her.” “Since two have agreed to a course of action, we need to vote. We can let Summer Breeze draw the blood sample or wait for Twilight to recover a bit. Three days should be enough and I believe Long Shot knows someone with soul magic, even if it’s illegal.” Long Shot looked around. He knew how the vote would go. “Thank you, Ruby, for drawing the vote, but we aren’t. I will wait for three days. We need constant eyes or ears on her. You will also make sure no one else enters without my or Quick Fix’s permission. You have my permission to tap up to three ponies for entrance into the squad. Groups are at least two current members and two possible members. Ebony, Quick Fix and I are leads.” “That leaves you without current members,” Ruby commented. “I’ll be fine with two knights.” “Hey! What about us? We’re members, and...“ Summer Breeze insisted. “And you are leaving,” Long Shot interjected. “You carelessly endangered yourself trying to move Princess Celestia out of the way. If Quick Fix believed you could have succeeded, he would have told you to. The enchantment on the walls is twice as strong as your armors, and Celestia’s is solar saturated. The shadow spears you saw would have easily skewered you or marked you. You also lack judgment. The easy path is not always the best.” The pair of pegasi looked towards the others. Their emotions were neutral. They turned back to Long Shot, angered. Summer spoke. “You can’t be serious. We’ve only had three missions with you all, while most get at least ten!” “Then I have a question for each of you: Are all those here equestrian ponies?” Long Shot looked to Ruby. She nodded and her horn glowed. “No,” Winter Chill answered. The other pegasus balked at that. “There’s no way Princess Celestia would allow…” “Ruby.” “Yes, sir.” A bubble formed around the male pegasus. No sound came from him. “Please continue.” “I believe only two of you are equestrian: Ruby and Long Shot. I don’t know enough about the species outside, so I could not tell what each is.” Winter glanced at her brother. Although he couldn’t hear him, she knew he didn’t like her answer at all. “Why do you believe that Quick Fix isn’t an equestrian pony while Long Shot is?” Ebony asked. “Quick Fix parted the shadows, and was able to take a few hits from them.” Ebony and Amoux looked to Long Shot. He nodded. Ruby lit her horn and the male pegasus was gone. “You were right about four of the five, however, even if Long Shot is considered equestrian pony, he’s not, at least to us.” The pegasus’s eyes wandered, landing on the two wolf-like ponies. Ruby and Quick Fix looked normal. Long Shot had a pair of canines sticking out of his lip. She began to shake but got it under control. Her wings were extended and one could see lightning dancing across. “Your brother will be assigned to one of the lower squads. If you are willing to work, I am considering you for our squad.” “What are each of you?” Trepidation permeated her question. Long Shot gestured to Ebony and Amoux. “They are wolf ponies. I am a thestral pony.” Long Shot let that sink in and judged Winter’s reaction. She was shocked, but there wasn't any fear or hatred. Curiosity was briefly present. He continued, “There are two classifications of thestrals: One can eat any kind of animal meat, while the other can only eat fish and shellfish. I am of the animal eating kind. Both enjoy fruit very much, especially citrus.” “In the vampire pony world, there are three main subspecies and three types. The three subspecies match the pony trips, but wings and a horn are not uncommon among the royal vampire ponies. The types are Shepard, Enchanter, and Hunter. All three will occasionally eat a whole pony, and all prefer meat over fruit and veggies. The difference between the types is how they go about acquiring the blood of others. Each subspecies has a preferred type. For the unicorn, it’s a pegasus. A magically exhausted vampire is a very hungry one. It’s your choice in the end, but what you’ve seen can’t be shared at all. You may ask us questions.” “Does Princess Celestia know?” “Not about Ebony or Amoux. She knows about me being one of the thestral species. She knows that I sometimes feed on the blood of others.” “I have one final question: What’s the history between the vampire ponies and Equestria. I know about the Crusades, but not much more.” Ebony and Amoux tensed, their teeth almost bared. “Equestria started them. You know the Heart’s Warming story goes. Well, the ponies were more violent towards all of the others. After Nightmare Moon’s banishment, it became much worse.” “Winter Chill, the relationship is a strained one, one that forced the night tribes into hiding. The crusades didn’t just attack vampire ponies. They attacked all night tribes. However, Amoux did make a mistake. It was not Equestria that turned, but Princess Celestia. She started and finished the crusades, killing off the five major vampire pony clans. These clans worked with all the tribes and kept the peace between the night and day tribes of ponies.” “What was the straw that broke the camel’s back?” Winter looked at the others. None seemed to have the answer. Long Shot was looking away, towards the western sky. “We don’t know exactly, but Nightmare Moon is involved,” Quick Fix answered. “You’ll have time to make your decision, and we will hear it once this mission is done. Thank you for your assistance.” Winter planted her hooves. There was more going than what they were letting on. Before she voiced her opinion, Long Shot guided her towards the door. He whispered, “Now is not the time to question orders or gather information. Your brother may be worried about you. Talk to him, but don’t share what you’ve learned. I’ll come by once we’re finished.” ”I want him to get a second chance. He’s usually ill-tempered when you intend to hurt Princess Celestia. Our conversation isn’t done. You know more than what you’re letting on.” “It’s only the beginning. As for your brother, I will consider it. However, he has to realize Princess Celestia is not all-knowing. That she has and will make mistakes. If he doesn’t accept what’s happening, tell him that his actions were reckless. That you believe he isn’t fit for the squad. Nothing about what we’ve discussed. If he still sees no errors, then he doesn’t belong.” “I’ll return once I’ve talked to him.” “I won’t bar you, but you’ll be in the most danger. Please remember your other task. I rather you find them than Twilight.” The pegasus nodded and left. She found her brother and guided him home. “Long Shot and Quick Fix, it's time for you to rest. We’ll take it from here.” “Thank you, Ruby. Wake me if the pegasi return.” The two found spots and laid down. Long Shot fluffed his wings stretching them over his mark and slept. As soon as Quick’s head touched the pillow, he fell asleep. Ruby lit her horn, multiple circles and barriers followed her as she sealed the wing. Only those that Quick or Long designated would be allowed through. A few doctors and nurses did run into them, but it didn’t take long to get them to stay away. Once Amoux returned, Ruby looked back at the book. She had mentioned it, but it must have slipped their minds. Looking at the book, she could tell it was old and worn. The book was bound with a strong leather twain. The book was also leather, but she hadn’t figured out what kind. It was careful work, but she figured out what it was. Pony hide.