//------------------------------// // Chapter Three: Paper Chain // Story: A Sheet in the Wind (Iota Force Issue #5) // by The Iguana Man //------------------------------// That evening, Icy was lying on the bed of the room she was sharing with Dinky. She was reading a comic, as she liked to think was her ground state, while making sure not to look at Dinky. Not that Dinky was doing anything objectionable. Quite the reverse, in fact – she'd decided to write a letter to Pip, despite having only been here for one day. However, she was still learning to write with her magic and the sight of her, her tongue poking out of the side of her mouth in concentration as she slowly moved the quill, was so adorable Icy didn't think she'd be able to look away if she saw it again. The silence was broken by the door opening. Dinky's horn flickered out as she was distracted while Icy just looked lazily up to see Sunny Flight walk in. Dinky and Icy both put their papers to the side while Sunny looked around the room. “Hmm, not bad for a barracks,” she said at the sparsely decorated but otherwise comfortable room. “Certainly beats some of the places I've camped out in, at least. Still, if I'm honest, not a patch on the Stantler.” She turned to Icy. “You sure you don't want to room with me? The room's big enough.” Icy rolled her eyes. “No, Mom, I told you, I need to be here in case something happens and I'm needed.” She paused for a moment before adding: “Besides, I didn't want Dinky to have to sleep alone.” Dinky blushed a little. “It's okay, Icy, I'll be fine if you want to...” Icy shook her head. “No, that's okay. Like I said, I need to be here anyway.” Sunny nodded for a moment before pausing with her head still up, looking off to the side and thinking. “Couldn't Alula sleep in here instead, though?” “No, she always sleeps in the same room as Lance,” Dinky replied. Sunny raised an eyebrow. “Why? Are they... you know...?” It took about five seconds of thinking before Icy realized what her mother was implying (or, at least, realized as much about it as she was going to at her age). “Oh! No, it's just that no one else can sleep near Lance.” Sunny's eyebrow remained thoroughly raised. “Why not?” Icy shrugged. “Well, according to Truffle, Alula sleeps like a log and Lance snores almost like a chainsaw, so it kinda works out.” “Ah.” Sunny raised a hoof as the circumstances became clear. “So, what about Truffle?” “Oh, Truffle's fine on his own,” Dinky replied. “Actually,” Icy added, “he said no one else would be able to fit into a room with him.” Sunny tilted her head. “He's not that fat, is he?” “No,” Icy replied, looking away innocently, “but you probably shouldn't tell him that. Anyway, why are you here?” Icy's eyes widened as she realized what she just said. She started waving her hooves and opening her mouth to clarify that she wasn't trying to be dismissive or insulting, but her mother beat her to it. “Oh! Oh, that's how it is, is it?” Sunny put a hoof to her head, her face a cartoonish mockery of pain. “You don't want to see you poor old mother! She can't even come and visit you without a reason, without wanting something! I see how it is! I'll just leave and go to cry into my pillow, lamenting the years wasted raising such an ungrateful daughter. In fact, I don't think I even need to leave.” She grabbed a pillow from Icy's bed and pressed her face into it, clearly enunciating “Boo hoo hoo hoo!” Dinky giggled at the display and Icy rolled her eyes, a slight smile poking through her exasperation. “Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. You done?” The instant she heard the word 'sorry', Sunny tossed the pillow back onto the bed, her smile being revealed as if it had never left. “Completely! Anyway, I just wanted to check on you, hear what's been going on, how much of Canterlot you've seen, that kind of thing.” Icy's face fell as that last item was said. “Oh. Well, to be honest, I haven't really had a chance to even go into the main city. We had to get into a... fight, kind of? Almost as soon as we got here.” “Really?” Sunny asked. “A fight that took hours?” “No, it was over fairly quick,” Dinky piped up, “but we had to chase a cart that was going around 17 miles an hour.” Icy nodded, filing away Dinky's ability to accurately determine the cart's speed to be impressed by later. “Yeah, so once it was done, I was kind of... bleeeh!” She stuck her tongue out of her wide open mouth, lolled her head to her side and splayed her legs out in all directions to pantomime her exhaustion. “Oh.” Sunny looked away awkwardly. “Well, I would offer to take you out to look around now – on my back if necessary – but...” Icy smiled in understanding and gratitude at her mother's willingness to help her. “Yeah, it's kinda late.” Sunny nodded. “Exactly. Also, the kinds of places in Canterlot that are open and interesting at night are the kinds of places fillies really shouldn't go.” Icy just nodded, not questioning exactly what her mother meant. “Tell you what,” Sunny continued after a moment, “how about we go out and about tomorrow morning? I don't have to be at the BoCEaGS at any particular time and there probably won't be anything for you to do for a couple of hours, so that seems like it'd work.” Icy thought for a moment before nodding. “Yeah... yeah, it should. I was hoping to go to bed early tonight anyway.” She looked around her bed at the various comics she'd already read. “Compared to normal,” she added before finishing with, “Would seven o'clock be okay?” Sunny's eyes widened. “Well, if you're sure, then I'm fine with that.” She turned to leave before blinking for a second and turning to Dinky. “Hang on, though, I don't want to wake you if...” Dinky cut her off with a shake of her head. “No, that's usually when I get up anyway. Actually, I could maybe give you my letter to post while you're out, if that's okay.” Sunny smiled in realization. “Of course, mailmare's daughter. That'd be fine, Dinky.” She lit her horn and opened the door behind her. “See you tomorrow, then, girls,” She said as she left the room. Dinky smiled after her for a second before unrolling her letter again. She lit her horn for a moment before dousing it and turning to Icy. “Icy, what's the... Bow-keegs?” Icy sighed a little at the awkward acronym. “B-little-o-C-E-little-a-G-S. Where Mom used to work. The Bureau of Carto-” She was cut off by a massive yawn from Dinky. “Sorry,” Dinky said, lighting her horn and picking up the quill again, “I should probably finish this and get to bed.” Icy nodded. “Good idea, there's only three more issues to this story arc, so once it's done, I should probably go too.” Dinky looked out of the corner of her eye at the various comics strewn about the bed and the sizeable pile on the bedside table. “Er, Icy, how many comics did you bring?” Icy grimaced slightly. “Well, you know my suitcase?” “The one that you needed the porter's help to get on the train? Yes.” “That many.” That night was... interesting, at least to start with. A few minutes after they had gone to bed, Icy had gotten up and, briefly forgetting there was someone else in the room, opened the window to let a bit of the freezing winter air in. This, naturally, got Dinky's attention. As it turned out, she was not nearly so enamoured with the cold as Icy was. Alula would later explain it as the same law that made them easier to teleport – something about surfaces and areas and volumes that Icy sort of understood. However, at the time, it simply meant they were at a slight impasse about what to do with the temperature. Now, this would have been solved in a matter of seconds were it not for the fact that both ponies were so polite. As such, Dinky insisted that Icy open the window to make herself more comfortable and that she'd been fine with just an extra blanket or five. Meanwhile, Icy insisted she close it and that she wasn't that dependent on the cold and that, even if she was, she could just use her abilities to cool herself, regardless of how tiring that would be. Eventually, Icy won the debate by freezing the window shut. Not that Dinky was trying to force it open (yet, at least), but Icy argued that, if the room wasn't warm enough to melt the ice immediately, it wasn't warm enough to warrant opening the window. This did settle things before it could blossom into a full-blown argument – Icy couldn't really imagine Dinky getting angry like that, but she didn't want to risk seeing it. However, it also meant both went to bed slightly uncomfortable – Icy physically, because of the temperature, and Dinky mentally, because of having lost and not being able to make Icy more comfortable at her own expense. Sadly, neither of them noticed the radiator in the corner of the room or thought to simply turn it down. However, after that initial stumbling block, things settled down and they both got a good night's sleep. A sleep that was sadly interrupted as Icy felt a hoof shaking her awake. It took a moment for her to gather her thoughts enough to register things like movement and reality, and another to register the small size of the hoof shaking her. “Okay, okay, Dinky, I'm getting up.” She let out a massive yawn and, with a colossal amount of strain, managed to open her eyes. The world was blurry, of course, but she could just about read the glowing hands of the clock on her bedside – 6:30. “Kind of early, isn't it, Mom. I thought you said...” she trailed off as her vision cleared enough to recognize colours – that the adult behind Dinky was not the bright yellow of her mother but the muted green of a uniform. “Yeah, sorry about that, Miss Flight,” the voice of Corporal Ton echoed in her head for a moment, “but I'm afraid he's struck again.” “Well, I'll say this for the colt,” Truffle said as he looked over the tableau, “he knows how to make a statement.” They were standing in the middle of a street in the less-developed side of Canterlot – that is to say, a pleasant residential suburb that most of the nobility avoided as if being middle-class was somehow infectious. In front of them was an interesting sight – three adult stallions, all unicorns, hanging upside down from one street light each. Their hooves were all bound with paper chains – the front and back hooves bound separately, then another chain looping around those chains and up over the lights. On their horns were shiny black rings – magical inhibitors or, as they were often colloquially known, “horncuffs”. While not impossible for a civilian to acquire legally, particularly if one was willing to go into certain shops that, well, a colt the Prince's age really shouldn't have been frequenting, they tended to be regarded as solely professional equipment. As such, the Prince had most likely acquired these on the black market – sadly, there were plenty such dealers who wouldn't think twice about selling to a child if said child had the money. Below the horncuffs, though, were curious-looking devices. Each one was a square frame of folded paper, far wider than the horns, with four spikes going inwards. Despite their paper construction, the spikes looked remarkably sharp and were poking their horns in what looked like a very uncomfortable way. Icy assumed that they were to make absolutely sure the unicorns couldn't summon up enough magic to break through the inhibitors – an unlikely prospect, but still possible, as they weren't military grade. The only other explanation was that the Paper Prince just wanted them to look silly. Which, admittedly, was a possibility, but hanging them upside down from paper chains would do that anyway. And the deep pink origami rose in each of their mouths, preventing them from speaking, was just icing on that particular cake. The house behind them was also slightly altered – above the open front door was a big, paper arrow pointing down into the entrance. Inside was an ordinary looking house but, towards the back in the kitchen, Icy could see that the massive stove had been moved aside and the tiles beneath it taken off. Icy couldn't see what was beneath the tiles, but there was another arrow above it pointing down, so there was clearly something down there. “So, what is all this?” Icy asked Corporal Ton after a few moments. “Smugglers, it looks like,” Corporal Ton replied, ignoring an indignant “Mmph!” from one of the bound ponies. “Using a tunnel beneath this house that goes down into the caves below the city and through the mountain. Looks like it ends in some kind of cave under the river.” “Have you questioned these stallions yet?” Alula asked, looking intensely at the hanging ponies. “Not yet, wanted you all here before we did,” Corporal Ton replied. “Also, those chains are pretty stubborn – got someone fetching a pair of bolt cutters now. As if on cue, a unicorn in uniform came running up to them, what looked like a pair of bladed pliers in her magic. “Thanks, Private,” the Corporal said, taking the tool and placing it around the top of the chain. “Now, make sure to grab hold of him when I cut, don't want him to fall on his head.” The unicorn, whose nametag identified her as Private Grunt, nodded and lit her horn, taking the chain in her magic as Corporal Ton slammed the cutters shut. However, the instant it was cut, the rest of the chain seemed to suddenly remember that it was made of paper and crumpled instantly, the part below Private Grunt's aura tearing and sending him plummeting towards the ground. Fortunately, Grunt's reflexes were better than her foresight, so she caught the bound pony before he hit the ground. “Yeah... might want to hold on to the pony next time,” Corporal Ton said with a good-naturedly withering glare. Private Grunt apologized as her magic grabbed hold of the paper rose in the stallion's mouth and pulled. For a moment it stuck in there before the magic aura intensified and it flew out with a loud pop. The stallion groaned, moving his jaw around silently, no doubt trying to get some feeling back in it. He tried bringing a hoof up to it, but the chains binding them together remained solid, having been separate from the one holding him upside down. After a few moments, Private Grunt left to bring down the other two while Corporal Ton walked up to the prone stallion, looming over him just a little. “So, you and your mates were using this place to smuggle things into the city, right?” The stallion frowned but nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, we were.” The other two started to protest (or, at least, make protesting “MMPH” noises) before he interrupted them. “Oh, give it a rest guys! Face it, we're busted. No real way we can fudge that we weren't, might as well make it easy on ourselves.” Corporal Ton nodded. “That's very helpful, sir.” The stallion snorted. “Nah, just common sense. Still, though, eleven years without you people having any idea about us? That's pretty good, huh?” He gave a half-amused, half-patronizing smirk. “Guess it's true what they say about the guard – unless it makes a show of itself, they couldn't catch their own tail. Too busy watching the skies to look down under their noses- OW!” He looked to his side where Truffle had just smacked him. “Hey, that's police brutality, that is!” Truffle shrugged. “No it isn't – I'm not police.” The stallion was about to argue when Alula interrupted him. “As fascinating as this is, do you think we could talk about exactly how you got caught? You know, the colt with the paper powers?” “Huh?” The stallion looked at Alula strangely. “You mean he wasn't one of yours?” Alula sighed. “If he was, why would he have left you like this instead of bringing you in himself? And I'm guessing he took some of your loot.” She paused for a second for the stallion to nod before continuing. “Believe me, we want him caught just as much as you do.” “Ah, so it was a bit of unfriendly competition?” The stallion hummed for a moment. “Alright, I'll tell you what I remember. It started when...” “Hold on a moment,” Corporal Ton said before waving over one of the ponies looking over the crime scene. “Private Sprite, you know the Flashback spell, right?” At the mare's nod, he turned back to the stallion. “Do you submit to it?” The stallion sighed. “Yeah, probably for the best. Heck, no reason not to, right, ain't like it's dangerous.” As the mare lit her horn, Icy turned to Alula. “What's a Flashback spell?” “Memory aid,” Alula replied, not taking her eyes off the stallion. “Lets you recall exactly what happened in a specific timeframe for long enough to communicate it – everything that happened, every word that was said, every breeze you felt.” “Huh, so it makes you tell the truth?” Icy asked. Alula shook her head. “No, you can still lie – although I don't think he will, will he?” She raised her voice a little, making sure the stallion heard her but continuing before he could respond. “And it's still just one pony's perspective, as vulnerable to bias and interpretation as any story. It just means you're able to communicate as much about what happened as possible. Icy thought for a moment. “So, it basically means he can tell the story exactly how it happened, to him, at least, without worrying about forgetting or misremembering things?” “Essentially.” Alula turned an eye towards Icy and gave a slight smile. “It's a pretty useful thing.” “Right, all ready!” Private Sprite said, holding what looked like a lot of energy on her horn. “Okay, go for it,” Corporal Ton replied before turning back to the stallion. “And, like the little lady said, please don't lie.” The stallion gave a slightly bitter chuckle. “Oh, I won't. Like you said, I want this guy caught too.” As he finished speaking, the spell hit him and his eyes went white. So, it all went down around three this morning. We were all on our boat, coming up to the bend before we reached the county line. Ain't too many inspectors before it, so no need to hide before we get into the county. Anyway, we did it like we always do – all at the same time, I made us an air bubble, Skiff brought the boat down to the bottom of the river and Mirage cast the illusion spell – made us blend right in with the water. Real neat trick, no wonder you didn't catch us for... yeah, yeah, alright. So, anyway, we went down under, like we'd done a million times before when we saw something weird in the water on our port side. Was a bit hard to see at first, but 'Rage shifted the illusion a little to make some light – risky, I know, but we weren't in a dangerous zone yet – and we were able to see it properly. It looked like... Well, I mean, it was a paper fish. But not like the ones you usually see, this one didn't have a solid body, it was split between the top and the bottom, like a mouth. Not only that, but at the front, each half ended with a big folded tooth, like some sort of piranha. But the weirdest thing was that it wasn't just floating there, falling apart like paper should. No, it was swimming along, comfy as anything, like it was a real fish. It was swimming right next to my air bubble, so I reached out to it. Yeah, yeah, I know, not the smartest move I could have made, but I'd like to see you see that and not get curious. Moment my hoof got near it, it tried to bite me. No, seriously, it did. The tail... well, tails, I guess, there were two folded but up till then they'd been together... anyway, the tails split apart and the paper opened up and lunged at me. Luckily, I pulled my hoof back just in time – see this nick on my hoof? Yeah, carved that like it was going through butter. If the whole thing had been in its mouth, I'd be one hoof short right about now. Made a real weird “chomp” noise, too. We all looked at each other. Didn't say anything, didn't have to – when you've been doing this as long as we have, you learn to keep your mouth shut even when things get weird. Anyway, we were about to decide if we should do something about it when another chomp noise came from starboard. We looked over and there was another one. Then we heard a lot more chomps behind us. We turned around and, let me tell you – wow! There must have been a dozen of the things, all swimming behind us, and a few above us looking ready to chow down if we tried to surface. Still, though, they didn't seem to be coming for us. I mean, obviously, they couldn't swim in our air bubble, but even so, they didn't look like they were going to attack us yet. Just waiting for us. At least, that's how it was until we stopped for a second to figure out what was happening. Then they got real busy, swimming around, chomping, looking real hungry... for bits of paper, at least. After a few moments, we got the message – we weren't being attacked, we were being corralled. Not something we were too keen on, but we couldn't really do much about it then. So, we went along with it for a bit. Course, we were ready to bolt the moment they tried to get us away from our hideout but, turns out, that's where they wanted us to go. Was kind of bizarre, to be honest with you. Fact, at one point we tried to go another way to see if they'd let us and got a nasty nip in the side of our boat for it. So, to our hideout we went, under guard it looked like. Followed us as we came up to it and ducked into the cave. Even followed when we surfaced, just waiting there, their paper jaws sticking out and occasionally biting at nothing. We got out, real careful-like, and unloaded the cargo with our horns. Normally we'd have had at least one guy getting hooves-on, but with those things under us, we didn't want to take any chances. Once it was all unloaded, I got to admit, I got curious. So, I took a piece of driftwood lying in the cave and lowered the end of it toward the paper piranhas. Soon as it got within jumping distance, they were off. The nearest ones leapt up, bit clean through it. I dropped it in surprise and the rest of them swarmed around it, chomping it to splinters in about three seconds. “Yeah, sorry about them,” we heard a voice come from a dark corner of the cave. “Only put enough life in them to swim and bite, so they ain't the brightest. Still, they got you here.” “We were coming here anyway,” Skiff grumbled. He didn't look too happy with the nicks those fish had given his boat. While he was talking, Mirage lit up his horn, showing us who we were talking to. Turns out, it was just a colt, about the same age as you lot. He was wearing a white hoodie with... huh, picture? Actually, yeah, that's exactly what he looked like. Anyway, he was sitting in the corner, hindhooves up on the table and our schedule book open in his lap. What, course we have a schedule book – we're traders, ain't we? Gotta keep account of all the comings and goings, right? Anyway, he just smiled at us. “Maybe, but I wanted to make sure. Plus, it made quite an impression, didn't it?” 'Rage grunted a little. “Yeah, it did, but how the...” well, he said a word I don't think kids should hear, though this colt did, “did you know about us? Nopony knows about us.” The colt chuckled. “Oh, I didn't, not at first. I didn't know you were smugglers, I just saw you were comin' upriver with cargo on one of my flybys. Thought you might make a good target... or at least, the best I was gonna find comin' into the city by river. Imagine my surprise when you suddenly vanished beneath the surface.” Skiff snorted. “What, d'you think we're stupid or something? We always check the skies when we go under. We'd have seen you if-” “Too high up,” the kid interrupted, sounding just as annoyed that Skiff didn't believe him. “I was well above the cloud layer, you wouldn't have seen me. I know, cause you didn't. But I could see you – amazin' what a pair of binoculars can do, ain't it? Even if they are just a pair of paper tubes.” 'Rage thought for a moment before asking. “Okay, guess that sorta makes sense, but how'd you follow us?” The colt shrugged. “Again, I didn't, I just folded myself a turtle to follow you. Under the boat, of course, since there ain't no reason your illusion would go down there, right?” he snorted, his smug smile dropping a little. “What? Think that just cause I'm an earth pony I don't know jack about magic?” The smile returned. “Anyway, he followed you – good thing you only go at night or you might have spotted him – came back to me and guided me to this little bolt-hole. After that, it was just a matter of figurin' out when you'd be gone and back,” he tossed the ledger onto the table, “and waiting for the right day to start my little spree.” 'Rage looked back at the boat and I could see him thinking about how to extend his illusion. While he was doing that, me and Skiff kept our eyes on this colt. “Alright,” I said, “so you've found us. So, whatcha want? You wanna join us? Or take our loot for yourself?” The colt swung his legs down slowly and climbed to his feet. “Nah and already did.” He stretched out, groaning a little as his spine popped. “Nah, what I want is to take you three down, hang you up outside and show you to the whole city.” We all looked at each other for a moment before lighting our horns all at once. “Well, see,” I said, “that's gonna be a problem, squirt.” The colt sneered at us. “What is it with you unicorns? You think that just cause you got magic that makes you all-powerful. Makes you better? Means you never have to worry about anythin'. Well, I got news for you – those magic twigs on your heads don't mean a damn thing if you can't use them.” We all paused, a little confused about where he was going with this. After a few seconds, I said, “Well, maybe, but I dunno if you'd noticed, but there's three of us and one of you. 'Less your little fishy friends can fold themselves some legs, I think we've got you outnumbered and outgunned.” The colt smiled again, but it was even less nice to look at than the last one. “Outgunned? Yeah, I can see that but, like I said, it ain't the guns, it's whether you can fire them. But outnumbered? Maybe if you count size – half the size means half the numbers and that kinda thing – but otherwise,” he snorted into a nasty laugh, “hoo boy am I not outnumbered.” We all looked around us, left, right and behind, trying to see what he meant, but he just shook his head. “Nope, wrong way. Here, allow me,” He said with a sarcastic bow. Then he started whistling. It was a real high pitched whistle. Little annoying, but nothing too bad. Least, at first. After a couple of seconds, there were these little noises around the whistle. These kinda chitters and squeaks. Took a moment to realize that they weren't coming from the colt, but from behind us. And above us. We turned around and, well... Bats. Loads and loads of little paper bats came swooping down at us from the cave roof. Couldn't tell how many there were – twenty five? Forty? Fifty? By the time we'd figured out what we were looking at, they were on us, flapping round our head, ramming us, getting in our eyes and whacking our horns before we could cast anything. We got driven away from each other, part of the swarm focused on each of us. Couldn't tell what happened to the others, I was too busy dealing with my own flock. Tried batting them away but they were too damn quick and the hurt they were giving my horn wasn't helping. Ain't sure how long I was fighting them, but before long I felt something wrap around my front hooves and force them together. Looked down and, well, take a guess what it was. Hint: the same damn thing on them now. Before I could do anything, he wrapped another one round my back legs, and stuck these things on my horn. I fell down and the bats didn't fall with me – small mercies, I guess – so I tried powering up a spell but this damn cuff stopped it. Couldn't even try and power through it either with these frigging spikes poking it. I opened my mouth to call out and warn the others – doubt they'd have heard me but it was worth a try – but then he pointed at me and one of the bats flew into my mouth. Tasted disgusting and stopped me saying anything. Could only watch as he strolled up, casual as anything, and took the others down the same way. Didn't even hurry or nothing. If anything, he went slower than you'd think. Once he'd got us all on the floor and helpless, he sneered down at us. Didn't say anything, just went over to a corner and pulled out... well, it was kinda weird. It was a pile of paper, but real big, bigger than he was, and covered in plastic wrap. I guess to keep the water out of it, I don't know. Anyway, he unwrapped it, took a piece and started folding, having to use both hooves, his mouth and sometimes his body on each crease. He looked up at us. “Sorry, this might take a little while, just hang tight for a while, kay?” I tried to follow how he was folding the thing but I got lost real quick. All I know is, about five minutes later, he's done and there's a paper pony standing there, even smaller than him. Weirder, the moment he did the last crease, a weird kinda glow came over it and it... well, it didn't start moving, but it just looked... stronger, you know? Like it had become more real somehow. He did the same thing two more times – was a real long and awkward time, I can tell you. Once he'd done, he waved at them. Now they started moving. Went over to each of us in turn, picked us up, ignoring our struggling, and carried us over to the lift we use to get up and down the mountain. As they did, the colt himself went and did something to each of the bats and then each of the piranhas. Couldn't see what exactly, but it looked like he was giving them an extra crease. Each time he did, another glow came on the thing he was folding for a second, then went out and, well, they turned back to just paper, looked like. Bats fell to the ground, piranhas started dissolving in the water. After that was all done, he came onto the lift himself. “Sorry about that, didn't wanna leave any loose ends, know what I mean?” he said. He jerked his head towards the lift's pulleys and his little minions went over and started pulling. They were stronger than they looked, but still tiny, so we were rising real slow. He looked at us... well, not us so much as what was in our mouths. He looked thoughtful for a moment before saying “Ah! I got it!” He took three more pieces of paper, normal-sized this time, and folded three roses from them. He then reached down and plucked out the bat from my mouth. I was about to ask him what was going on, but before I could, he shoved the rose in my mouth. Did the same to the others, too. Only 'Rage got anything out and that was just another word kids shouldn't hear. To be honest, even if I could complain, I wouldn't – the roses actually didn't taste half-bad. Well, they started to after a couple of hours, but it was nice while it lasted. Anyway, not much else to tell – brought us up into the house, hung us up outside and left us to rot. Hung there for hours, got seen, you got called and that's where we are now. Miss Sprite nodded as she lit her horn again, dispelling the dictation spell she'd placed on the notebook and quill she was holding. She tore off the notebook, gave it to Corporal Ton, saluted and went back inside the house. “That all you need?” the stallion asked. Alula nodded. “For now. If there's anything else, we'll be sure to ask you again. It's not as if we won't know where to find you.” The stallion gave a half-amused snort. “No chance of getting a lighter sentence for helping you out, then? Or at least getting outta these damn chains?” Rolling his eyes, Corporal Ton called over a few uniformed ponies and had them stand guard over the stallion while he cut the chains. “It'll be taken into account, sir. Don't worry, you'll get a fair trial, just like this colt will. The stallion grumbled, sounding a little unhappy at the prospect of a fair trial for the Paper Prince as he was led away. Corporal Ton then went over to unchain the other stallions while the members of Iota Force huddled together. “Well, that was interesting, don't you think?” Alula said. Truffle hummed loudly and Lance put his hoof to his chin silently, but after a moment they both shrugged. Icy, too, wasn't feeling flush with new information. “I guess. Though... was it just me or was there something weird about what he told us?” Alula raised an eyebrow. “Not really. It seemed to line up with how his abilities work and how he operates.” Dinky nodded in agreement. “And I'm pretty sure he wasn't lying so, with the flashback spell, it was probably pretty accurate.” Truffle, on the other hand, gave an encouraging smile. “Well, I didn't notice anything wrong either, but I trust your judgement, Icy. I don't suppose you have any idea what was wrong with it.” At Icy's shrug, he gave one of his own. “Well, give it some thought, maybe you'll come up with something.” “In the meantime,” Alula said, cutting off any response, “we learned some pretty valuable information.” “Yeah,” Dinky said, her eyes going up and to the left as she thought. “He seems to have a real problem with Unicorns. And I was right, he definitely wants to be seen.” “More... immediately important,” Alula said, a little quickly but not dismissively, “we learned his methodology. He said he was looking for a target that was going via river. So first he went for a flying chariot, then a ground-bound cart and finally a river boat. Suggests a pattern, doesn't it?” “That it does,” Truffle responded after a moment. “Land, sea – well, water at least – and air. But then where'll he go for next?” There was a moment's pause as everyone thought before Icy answered. “What about trains?” Alula nodded, her eyes going right as she rapidly thought. “Yes, that would make sense. If he's going for another kind of transport, that would be the next logical step.” Icy nodded. “Yeah. Also... train robberies are kind of a thing for robbers and, if Dinky's right and he wants to make a show of it, that'd be a good way to do it.” Truffle's hoof landed hard on her back. She knew it was a gesture of camaraderie and not an attack due to the fact she was still standing, but it knocked the wind out of her nevertheless. “Good thinking! Back to HQ, then – we'll be ready for the little princeling this time!”