//------------------------------//
// 81.6 Listening to Demands 
// Story: Prey and a Lamb 
// by Lambs Prey 
//------------------------------//

Things did not go back to being okay. They had never been okay to begin with, and surviving didn't ever mean it had been alright. But at  least that period of time in Prey's life had passed. Everyone has that one chapter of their life which they don't read out loud. 

That had been three days ago.

It wasn't now okay, that hadn't changed, but Prey had. And he chose to move on and focus on different things.

'I am such an idiot. I can't believe I stood there like an idiot, in the middle of the night, without any defences, while everyone just flew off, and left me alone with no witnesses. I was practically begging to get killed or kidnapped by a mimic.' Prey thought in self-recriminating disgust.

Although that disgust may have had something to do with where he was currently standing.

The cloying nasal fumes coming off of the pool of spent bone rot and liquified somebody at his hooves. He was down in the caves under Mount Canter again, this stone tunnel was one of the offshoots from the crystal lair that he'd only recently secured. Or thought he'd secured. 

The liquid was contained in a shallow depression in the cave floor, the dip spanning across the narrow tunnel. The roof here was low enough that anyone not a runt lamb would have to duck, and narrow enough that they'd have to nearly squeeze to get through.

A lethal choke point. There was a hollow pocket in the stone of the ceiling, invisible in the shadows, which was exactly where Prey had suspended a bone rot mine. You'd never spot it as you were forced to duck your head and shuffle underneath.

Prey had said it before and he'd say it again, tunnel warfare was like trying to fight while trapped in a coffin. The dark, the pressing stone, one way in, one way out, never being able to see what was waiting around the next corner. It was the stuff of terror and nightmares. 

If the enemy claimed a tunnel system first, you didn't try to reclaim those tunnels, that was the rule. You found a way around, looked for a hidden back entrance, tried to smoke or starve them out, but you didn't go in through the front unless you wanted to die.

Yet a mimic was lying dead at his hooves from trying. Or floating. Prey looked down at it, and had seen it all before.

This, all of this, Prey felt like an old hoof at. Like a cart's wheel slipping back down into the same rut over and over, he'd done this song and dance what felt like a thousand times. The traps, the dangers, the ambushes. It was old. Old, but new, and still just as fatally punishing now if he made a single mistake as the day the dance had first begun.

Prey hated death. He hated pain. But he had to keep what was his, and most irreplaceably of all himself, safe. He hated his own hoofwork floating before him, hated that he was so good at it, but not that it worked. The mimics were the ones who wouldn't leave well enough alone, not him. Survival isn't pretty. Everyone's hungry, but few are willing to hunt.

The mimics were willing to hunt. Or at least to recklessly pay the price for trying to eat.

Prey had a sinking feeling as he stared at what had once been a living, thinking being in the lantern-light. He'd had the sinking feeling for a long time now, whenever he thought about the mimics really. It had settled in, fermented, and only grown more potent as time had passed.

He felt like there was a huge, invisible hourglass somewhere. Grains of sand had been trickling down, one by one, for months. Individually inconsequential, but like snowflakes, they were inexorably building up towards an avalanche. 

First had been Mayflower. Nothing had come of it then, but it had been the start.

Next had been his chance sighting of one in the dark down the end of one of the tunnels.

Then, after the disaster with the thieves, the mimics had tried to enter his trashed lair after he was forced to abandon it. 

There'd been more echoes and scuffling in the shadows, picked up by the wickerwatch in the sewers, but it had then seemed like they'd withdrawn or given up.

And then all at once, they'd attempted to infiltrate the Night Guard, tried to mind control Prey through emotional manipulation, and had implemented their last minute replacement of Felyawn in an attempt to steal the Elements of Harmony, which had led into trying to spark hostilities and maybe even outright war between Griffonia and Equestria. 

And now they were pressing forwards aggressively, both in the sewers and here in the crystal caverns under the mountain. Why? What had caused the sudden shift in stance? Prey had yet to encounter or find any complete bodies, all he had was that one ripped-off leg. 

The mimics seemed determined to never leave behind a corpse or evidence, going to great lengths to scour all traces of their attempts and failures from existence before they vanished back into the maze of tunnels. The seeming disregard for their own lives frightened Prey. To retrieve a comrade from a trap, even those already dead, was almost guaranteed to get another mimic killed in the process. Prey wasn't proud of it, but he was sure of his runes and traps.

The mimics were losing people. And it wasn't stopping them.

That frightened Prey.

The mimic impersonating Felyawn had not hesitated to blow him or herself up, along with the other two captured normal griffins, once it became clear their mission had failed and Luna was going to interrogate them. Thinking back, Prey didn't even know what Shimmer's mission pretending to be a Border Guard in Mayflower had been, or why they'd died trying to distract the reaper king. A mistake? An oversight? He'd never know.

But all this meant that his oldest strategy wasn't working. Fear had ever been Prey's weapon of choice. Back when he had been the only one left, fighting the Border Guard, it had never been about destroying all of them. There were too many, they could get reinforcements, and it would've been impossible. So he'd resorted to fear.

Maybe if he'd gone all out, with runes and poisons and recklessness, he could've killed ten Border Guards at once before he himself was cornered and killed.

But if a trap managed to kill even one, if the nine survivors were then too traumatized by the one's horrible death to dare come back, then maybe he could win. Bone rot could kill a whole squad, but Prey'd never had the ingredients to make enough of it. But spring spikes, pit-falls, poison darts, dead-crushes, even a runt could make those. Prey could set a trap to kill at least one again, and again, and again.

But fear wasn't working against the mimics. As a group, they were prepared to sacrifice individual mimics on this reckless scouting.

What could drive them to such suicidal devotion to their cause? How large were their numbers?

'Why doesn't this cycle ever stop? Why can't someone for once just leave me alone? Live and let live, I'd settle for that if they would. I'm so sick and tired of the hunt.'

It might seem like Prey was winning, killing a mimic here and another one there, keeping all the areas he'd secured with runes locked down tight, but the mimics weren't playing by the old rules. They were willing to fight a war of attrition, and while Prey was winning individual battles, this was a case where he'd lose the war.

Prey didn't know what more he could do right now than he already was. And without knowing the mimics' overall goal, it would remain impossible too. 

He didn't know why they were pressing so hard. He didn't know how many of them there were. He didn't know where they hid, aside from somewhere in the dark caves under the mountain. He didn't know how their emotional control worked, why he couldn't hear their thoughts, or how deeply they'd already infiltrated every level of government and society.

'And I dare not venture further into the tunnels to try to claim more ground. I am only safe in the areas I've already covered with runes. If I'm stupid enough to go further, then it'll be me who dies suddenly and violently.'

Prey was trapped inside the safety net he'd built. While yes, he was safe inside, the mimics had everything outside to work with while he was blind to their movements. He was much like a turtle in its' shell.

Prey sourly eyed the thick puddle of bone rot, worry and unease squirming in his gut. 'Why are you doing this? What's so important it's worth your lives?'

He was fed up to his back teeth with this. Sick of the fear and fighting for his life against yet another shadowy threat. Why'd always have to be him? It was always him. Every time. Every single time! Nothing ever changes.

It was the same manure, just a different day.


------


"What's weighing on your mind, Prey?" Gloom asked, dropping back down from shoving a box filled with dusty reports onto the top shelf. Invariably, after spending any amount of time in their office, Gloom and Crimson were left with their armour sporting a fine sheen of dust.

Prey allowed the quiet huff of annoyance at the question to escape him, setting the pencil down on the desk. Gloom and Crimson were both still keeping a worried eye on him. Neither were convinced that he'd gotten control over what had been bothering him, and wasn't just hiding it much better. Maybe because he was. He was locking it away and suppressing it.

Prey took his time to answer, leaning back on his rather precarious stool and stretching until his neck criked, "I'm thinking that I'd like a proper lantern in here so I don't end up with aching eyes every single night."

Crimson looked up from methodically, and rather hopelessly, shifting through the latest dusty box of closed case reports for one which might help, "A proper lantern? Why? I mean, I always thought this one was fine."

Gloom looked up at the lone crystal lantern lighting the dim ISND office, "I thought it was fine too. Is it breaking or something? It doesn't seem any dimmer to me."

"No. It's exactly the same brightness as it always has been." Prey answered dryly.

Gloom and Crimson continued to miss the obvious. Gloom blinked, brows scrunching slightly under his helmet rim as he looked between Prey and the crystal light. 

'-what's that I distantly recall, about something...? After Mayflower, that doctor said looking into getting glasses might be a necessity. But it's been so long-'

Crimson drew the same connection, bluntly blurting out, "The reaper king poison damage. Why didn't you say anything before now?"

Prey sighed, "Half marks for effort, but no. You're both completely overthinking this."

Both Gloom and Crimson looked at him, then up at the crystal light, then around the office. They really didn't get it. It was enough to amuse and distract Prey for a moment from his worrying mimic problem, 'Ahh. Sometimes so alert and sensitive, sometimes so stoic and unobservant.'

Prey sat up straighter on the wobbly stool and clapped his forehooves, "Okay, let's try a little thought experiment."

Neither Gloom nor Crimson even thought to protest at taking the time to take a small break. They'd been digging through these files for three hours straight. Two minutes doing anything but that sounded nice, even if Prey was going to be sarcastic about this.

"I, am a sheep." Prey stated. He waited for them both to nod unnecessarily.

"And you, are both thestrals."

Crimson blinked, "I'm not a thestral-"

"You count," Prey waved his hoof, "You were born to thestrals, you lived with thestrals, you were raised by thestrals, and you have the requirements of thestrals."

He politely didn't outright say; 'You need to drink blood like three-quarters of all thestrals', but both knew what he meant. Prey still recalled how badly they'd reacted to him first revealing he'd figured that out, so long ago. But now? Not even a twitch. Neither of them even thought Prey was being presumptuous by labelling Crimson basically a thestral when it really was up to Crimson to decide what he was.

"Right, so you're thestrals, I'm a sheep. What do thestrals have that sheep don't?"

"Wings." Gloom deadpanned.

Prey pretended that didn't cause the ember of deep jealousy he kept buried to spark. Not jealousy of them, because Gloom and Crimson deserved their flight, but jealousy of them not being runt lambs. He just raised one eyebrow instead.

Crimson unfolded a wing and began counting off on his pinion feathers, "Wings, fangs, cutie marks, a mane, uh, a tail sort of? Cloud walking, weather control magic, normal hooves, can wear horseshoes, I think you mentioned ambient magic or something once like that once? And... oh."

Prey smiled sweetly.

Gloom tapped a hoof sharply on the floorboards as he finally put two and two together, "Eyes. Or night vision, rather."

Prey nodded, "Yes. While I realise this office looks completely illuminated to you, it's rather lacking in decent lighting to me."

"Why didn't you say anything before now? If it was a problem for you, we could've fixed it." Crimson asked, frowning.

Prey shrugged lightly, "No real reason, I just didn't. But now since Sargent Gloom asked, I've answered."

Really, he could've easily said something before now. He just hadn't, choosing instead to squint and have aching eyes at the end of every night shift. Not the most intelligent choice Prey could admit, now having finally spoken out, and indeed he really didn't know why he hadn't said something before. Perhaps because he was unwillingly working here, and he never meant to stay here if he could ever actually find a way to escape. 

Prey knew why he'd said something now though, because he'd wanted an answer to distract Gloom with, and his goal had been achieved. Gloom and Crimson were successfully distracted from hovering over him.

Gloom tapped his wing claws together before him as he looked at Prey, "Sooo, this wasn't something dumb like suffering in silence, was it Prey?" 

He asked the question lightly, putting in levity, but in his yellow slit eyes they'd just been talking about was a hidden sliver of seriousness.

'And here's yet another thing I get all the more sick and tired of every time I see it. I'm going to be confined to a sick bed if I get much sicker of it.'

Prey silently counted to ten in his head and assured Gloom; "Your concerns are noted, and also unfounded. I just want a better lamp, or lantern, or something to see what I'm reading by."

"Sure. We can request that tonight easily. Or actually, hmm..." Gloom paused.

'-the requisitions department. The same requisitions department that took three weeks to get us this old desk and three rickety stools-'

"...Change of plan, let's not put in a request with the requisitions department. Let's get another light ourselves."

Crimson fanned some dust off his sleek armour with his wing, "Yes. Or we could ask Taffy, sir. I'm certain that she knows someone, who knows someone, who knows someone else in requisitions who'll do it because it's Taffy asking."

"Yeah, that'll work too." Gloom agreed.

'Distraction successful.' Prey thought, picking the pencil back up and returning to what he had been doing. On the surface, that meant going through the stack of reports on past crime rates and marking down the correct statistics. Internally however, it meant struggling on trying to think of a solution or even a partial solution to the mimics.

"Wait, which box were we up to? I got distracted." Gloom asked, passing as he looked between shelves.

"Shelf seven, the second box labelled 'F.D. reports for 906 C.'" Prey answered without needing to consult the list or look up.

The only minor consolation to even being here, in the Night Guard, working in the Palace, even though he could be much better utilizing his time in ten different, no, twenty different ways. Twenty-five. Thirty. He could think of more every second, actually. But anyway, the one and only minor consolation; they were in the office, where it was safe, where no one was trying to kill them, and he didn't have to interact with anyone outside of the ISND.

'Oh wait, never mind.'

Coming from down the corridor, the feedback from Prey's secret trail of runic arrays let him know that there was someone briskly trotting towards their office.

*Knock knock-knock*

Prey looked up in fake interest. Gloom and Crimson both stopped what they were doing and turned to see who it was in sync. Then Gloom realised he needed to allow the visitor to come in first.

"*Ehrm*, Yes? Come in."

A Night Guard, one of the new ones who'd come in with Lieutenant Vivid Edge, stood in the doorway and saluted to Gloom very crisply. Gloom blinked, just a bit nonplussed. He wasn't used to that. It wasn't the novelty of having someone salute him, even if usually the ISND were working under people of higher rank. No, rather it was that the Private seemed impressed and respectful of the ISND.

Gloom hadn't considered before how undertaking that secret mission in Griffonia would reflect on their internal reputation among the thestrals. From an outsiders' perspective, the ISND might seem extremely competent and worthy of respect. Specifically, an outsider new to Canterlot and the Night Guard, who'd come in and gotten to hear some of the stories about what happened before they joined, who would end up hearing about things like the Lumber Yard, Garrow, the Royal Inspectors, the train town riots and Wheat Plow, and possibly even a bit about Mayflower.

"Yes?" Gloom prompted.

"Captain Nighthawk apologises, but he needs you to come in tomorrow during the day. He said four o'clock, sir." The stallion replied. He looked like he was only maybe a bit younger than Gloom himself was. Prey squinted at the clan stud in his ear. Clan Cilldara, he was even from the same clan as Gloom.

However there was now a world of difference between not just their Guard ranks, but also the unspoken hierarchy of respect within thestral society. Prey didn't know why Gloom found it so startling, you need look no further than their differences in Guard armour for a hint that this had been coming. The ISND wore the new, more extensive and sleeker Lunar Guard armour, (as it was being dubbed), which the first bulk delivery of hadn't even been finished yet. Gloom and Crimson were literally wearing the prototype sets. 

Sure, once the bulk order had been completed, then every Night Guard would get a set, but the point still stood.

'And me with no armour whatsoever.' Prey thought, mentally rolling his eyes. It's what he would've done before. He was making an effort to try to return to that, even if only within the privacy of his own head.

Prey was not back to being okay. He hadn't even been okay before. He could scarcely think of Luna without being swamped by helpless hate. A black, broken hate. It was hard, trying to return to what'd passed for 'okay' before.

But for now Prey could make himself be more interested in why exactly Nighthawk was ordering, (the Captain was asking but really it was the same as an order), that they get up in the middle of day, when they were supposed to be sleeping, and come in. What of importance was happening at four o'clock in the afternoon?

'-moon take it, but this is going to be a long day. Oh well, duty comes first-'

The messenger was still waiting patiently.

"Got it. Please tell Captain Nighthawk we'll be there." Gloom told him.

"Yes sir." 

"What do you suppose this is going to be about?" Prey asked as the messenger left. He didn't quite have a bad feeling, but he was still apprehensive. When was the last time anything good happened when they were unexpectedly summoned to see the Captain?

But Gloom only shrugged with his wings and Crimson shook his head. They didn't have any more of an inclination than he did.

Prey rubbed at the scars and fur under his eyes, 'Whatever it is, it's also going to be another headache that I don't need.' 


------


The Palace slowly fell away behind roofs, buildings, and spires as the three of them walked down the street, having clocked out. The early afternoon sun overhead helped ward off the nippiness in the air, but since they kept to the shaded side of the streets purposefully, it didn't help much. That was the one downside of the night vision Prey wasn't blessed with; over-sensitiveness in daylight.

"I am not looking forwards to the meeting this evening." Crimson admitted. Then he cocked one ear, "No. What I mean is, I am not looking forwards to the aftermath of getting up only an hour later to resume our work again."

"It's going to be, what? If I manage to get straight to sleep, about three total hours of rest?" Gloom estimated morosely.

'-damn, I hate working through the day on top of the night-'

"So then why," Prey asked as he hurried as always to keep up with their stride, "Are we going to Carton Juice's house?"

"We're just going to be stopping by. At this point, five minutes isn't going to make a difference." Gloom replied as they turned into the street.

"And the why?" Prey repeated.

"Because we said we would-"

"You said we would." Prey corrected.

Gloom didn't even pause, "-And because Scenic and Lilly will be there. We haven't checked up with them, especially Lilly, recently enough."

"It is just a brief stop, Prey." Crimson joined in on subtly prodding Prey. He checked the few cloud banks there were in the sky, half closing his amber eyes against the bright blue of the sky. What for, Prey didn't know. Maybe just keeping an eye on the sky, like so many people forgot to do.

"Five minutes. I'm already tired, and at this rate, I'm going to be wasted by the time tonight rolls around." Prey grumbled. That was only half the reason why he was insisting, though. He had a long arduous trip down into the caves to meet up with Lemon before he could get any sleep. Although at this rate, getting even one hour was sounding more and more like a fleeting dream. Just like sleep.

As they came up to Carton's garden gate, with its cartoonishly carved bee and honeycomb, the swish of curtains in the window of the house next door caught Prey's attention. The pony inside probably thought they were being very sneaky, but Prey still easily spotted them with barely a glace, peeking out from behind the curtain's crack. The curtains were white. The pony's fur was green. Evidently they couldn't do the math.

'Someone's having regrets about moving into the house next to who they thought was a nice normal neighbour. Because nice normal neighbours don't get repeated visits from Night Guards still dressed in full plate armour. Why, I'd bet our visits are lowering the average property value of the whole street.' Prey thought as Crimson opened the gate, now just a tiny bit less annoyed about having to come along.

Gloom didn't even get a chance to knock.

"Gloom! Hello Prey, hello Crimson. Do come in, please all come in." Carton beamed in the open doorway, the head of the doorframe literally brushing against the tips of the huge mare's ears.

"Hello Carton Juice. Are Lilly and Scenic here?" Gloom asked, dipping his helmeted head politely.

"Yes, they arrived just now." Carton said, gesturing them to come in.

"We really can't stop, but thank you. We only came by to say hello for five minutes." Gloom apologised.

"Only five? That's a shame, but I'm sure they'll appreciate it anyways." Carton waved the excuse away, then went back to ushering them inside, "Come on in Crimson, Prey you too."

Carton had not held any kind of grudge for the scare on Nightmare Night, unlike Scenic, who was still a little sore over that. Prey'd been quietly informed that on the way back on Nightmare Night, Scenic had been desperate to find anywhere still open that sold corn on the cob to leave outside the door so the crow pony wouldn't come and take him. Desperate, and also desperately embarrassed and humiliated at his own fear over a mere story. But then again, the wolfing woods had only been a story too. Carton Juice didn't get it, and Prey guessed she'd been secretly a bit exasperated with her coltfriend.

Not that it mattered to Prey. And this was one of those things which genuinely didn't matter either.

Lilly was seated awkwardly on a floor cushion in the main room, her meldwood leg straight out to the side, the gnarled wooden end poking out of the sleeve of the long shirt she was wearing. Scenic himself had very obviously only just sat down at the sofa, the fresh teacup and saucer he'd just poured from the pot steaming on the coffee table, and Lilly's own cup placed right next to her on her good side.

Lilly awkwardly twisted her head to see who'd just walked in, the bulging roots growing down her face, and those just beneath the skin, standing out disturbingly. "Sir-I mean, er, Gloom." She said in surprise, almost knocking over her tea as she struggled to move.

"Please don't get up. Really." Gloom hastily told her.

"No, I should-" Lilly gave up and subsided back down onto the cushion, "-Alright."

Prey and Crimson spread out, each offering silent nods of hello to Scenic and Lilly. Prey, because he couldn't be bothered to say "hello", and Crimson simply because he was Crimson.

'Just five minutes, then I can go.' Prey repeated.

"Uh, how was work?" Scenic asked, not knowing what else to start with and really not wanting this to become uncomfortable for Lilly's sake.

'-she was just telling me today was a good day for her. Let's not ruin it-'

"Average. Work is progressing well. We aren't working on an active case at the moment, but that might be changing soon." Gloom answered as Carton squeezed back into the living room and went around to check Lilly's tea, even though it'd only just been poured.

"What case?" Lilly asked, perking up in almost a hungry way.

'-life hasn't stopped, I need to get back to it. I've got my goal, and I'm not going to quit until I'm back up there-'

'I bet she's already talked herself into loving that medal instead of hating it, too.' Prey thought, subtly shifting a bit further to the left to leave Lilly's active line of sight and hopefully also her attention span.

Gloom didn't get a chance to repeat that they didn't know yet, because there was a knock at the door.

"Oh." Carton exclaimed in mild surprise. '-I didn't see anypony else coming up the street. Who could that be?-'

"Please excuse me, back in a tick."

The rest of them, not having anything else to do, waited. Prey sniffed the air, finding that it was raspberry tea that he'd been smelling. He could see a pile of Carton Juice's beekeeping gear piled haphazardly on the table. Seems like time had gotten away from her or she'd been distracted, because Prey made a habit of memorizing other peoples' ticks and tells, and Carton was not a sloppy mare. By nature, she seemed to take delight in quietly organizing her own house to her satisfaction.

Things like making sure the flower pattern dishes were always stacked on the left of the cupboard, and that the yellow bee ones on the right. Or that the bee-stencilled calendar, along with the little statue of Celestia and all the other small ornaments on the plinth, positively tiny in her hooves, always all aligned properly.

Carton trotted back in, filling the doorway. There was an uncertain look on her face and a hesitant tilt to her ears, "Um. Uh. There's somepony at the door, asking for you Lilly dear."

Carton stepped aside, showing she was not simply passing on a message, but had actually also blindly let the stranger follow her in with her back presented to them all the way, "He says his name is Tallow."

Lilly jerked, this time successfully knocking her cup and slopping tea, "T-Tallow?" She gaped.

The peach unicorn wearing a rumpled coat and drawn expression waved nervously, just a quick motion of the hoof before he just as hurriedly lowered it. His eyes widened comically as he saw the two armoured Night Guards, his throat bobbing:

"Uh, hi. Yeah, it's me, Tallow." Lilly's brother quietly introduced himself.


---


Lilly's brother didn't stay long.

Barely five minutes, actually.

The rest of them were made to vacate the living room and give Tallow and Lilly some privacy.

That didn't mean they couldn't still hear what was being said as they all squashed into Carton's kitchen.

It was the five of them in there, all uncertainly looking back and forth between each other silently, and trying to pretend they didn't have ears.

"So, um, what have you been up to, Lilly?"

"What do you think, Tallow? Trying to recover so I can get back to my job."

"Ah, sorry. Wait, your job?"

"My job as a Night Guard. You know, the one I got injured in the line of duty doing?"

"No, I knew that, I just meant I uhhhhh, that wasn't what I was expecting." Tallow answered cautiously.

"Captain Nighthawk says that I'll always have a post in the Night Guard, just as soon as I get myself fit for the job again." Lilly declared, almost challenged.

"That's good of, him? It's a him, right? Right. It's just not something I keep up with, I haven't read the newspaper in a while, and the bat ponies haven't exactly been front page-"

"How did you know I was here, Tallow? Did you blab to the family, too?"

"No no, nopony else knows. I, well, this is the second time I've tried to find you. I tried your flat, but you were out both times-"

"That's not my fault, I still have a life to live. But you didn't answer my question."

Prey's ears picked out a quiet sigh from next door, "I was about to-Never mind. I asked your neighbours. They said you might be down the street."

So Lilly's neighbours were just as nosey as Carton's ones. Prey wasn't surprised in the slightest. Ponies were all convinced that any business was also their business.

"So you haven't told mom or dad? Or Pearl?" Lilly checked. Her strained tone suggested she didn't know which answer it was she wanted to hear.

"No... no I haven't. Listen Lilly, things aren't good at home. I have to keep up with my job, but whenever I'm around, it's like... mom and dad, they're so listless. Nopony talks to each other. Or they hardly do. It's horrible-"

"Cry me a river Tallow." Lilly snapped.

Squashed into the corner of the kitchen next to the pantry, Carton flinched at Lilly's harsh inflection. '-oh dear, oh dear. Please Celestia I don't want them to start fighting-'

Scenic saw and reached over and briefly rubbed his marefriend's leg reassuringly. The earth pony himself didn't quite know what to think, it had all developed too fast. '-this might be Lilly's chance to reconnect. But, her family were the ones who were nasty in the first place-'

But in the living room however, things hadn't stopped. Tallow hesitantly spoke. Prey could've sworn he even heard the stallion swallow:

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like-not like... yeah, look, I came to find you to say sorry."

"Sorry? Sorry after you all just, what, gave up on me? Just like that?"

"It wasn't like that-Alright, some, but not all of it! You wouldn't even let us in."

"Look at me. No, look at me when you're talking to-Look at me Tallow! I'm not on the floor, I'm in front of you. This is my face. Look at it!"

"Lilly I'm, I'm not trying to make it about, about whatever the accident was. They wouldn't tell us, and-And I'm just here to try and start again."

A pause, "Start again?" Lilly asked, sounding thrown.

"You know, start again. Like, us. Brother and sister. Start again, you know?"

"Start again?" Lilly repeated, but this time flatly.

What sounded like another gulp, "Yes. We're family, we're supposed to have each others' back. I might've failed a bit there, I admit that, but better late than never, right? I want us to get over this."

"Get over-? Get over what? You have nothing to get over, Tallow." Lilly stressed the word into a hiss, "You're not the one who lost their magic, you're not the one without a leg, you're not the one who's got meldwood growing out of them."

"Lilly, please. I didn't come to start fighting with you."

"Do you know how hard it is to sleep at night? Do you, huh? I can't sleep on my side, or on my front, all these twigs get stuck on everything and they pull and they hurt!"

"Lilly, I'm trying. Okay? I'm trying. You've got some issues, I've got some issues, but we can get over them. I can't just pretend you're not my sister or part of my life."

Prey was ready for Lilly to respond with something along the lines of; 'Well you had no trouble pretending up until now', but surprisingly, Lilly reined her temper in. A vast difference from the mare who'd first swaggered so confidently into the barracks room that first day.

The tips of Gloom's tufted ears twitched in surprise as well; '-right. Just another reminder about how much this disaster changed her. We shouldn't be listening in on her like this though, but they both know we're all in here, so...-'

Lilly's sounded like she was trying to speak clearly, hoping not to catch on anything in her throat, "Okay. You've found me. You've said your piece, and, and I've heard you out."

"That's, that's great. I've been trying to find-"

"I wasn't done." Lilly interrupted her brother. She took a deep breath, "I've heard what you said, and your selfish reasoning."

"Lilly please! It's not selfish-"

"-But! But the world isn't fair. I've finally learnt that. A mare can't get everything she deserves. But everypony, they've all made me look for the positives instead. Now I know better, and I know to take what I'm given and make the best of it."

Prey's brows involuntarily went up. That was much more mature and grown up than he'd been expecting, even from this new and improved attitude of Lilly's. There was still plenty she was secretly bitter over, meaning although she'd been trying and had made great steps forwards, (at least by pony standards), Prey had still very much been expecting her to blow up at her brother.

Lilly's family had abandoned her in fear and disgust over her physical condition. That wasn't something a pony raised in Canterlot and swimming in privilege could just put behind them. They had too much pride and entitlement for that. Prey had never abandoned or given up on Breaker, even after all his brother had done. But things were different on the Border.
Prey really hadn't expected Lilly to have that same kind of loyalty in her.

Crimson caught his eye. The pegasus flicked his yellow eyes towards the living room to indicate Lilly, an eyebrow up in surprised approval. 'She's learnt one of life's lessons, that family is irreplaceable' was Crimson's silent message. 

It wasn't a happy message, because the lessons of life are harsh, cruel, and vicious. But it was still an acknowledgement of Lilly's effort.

Her brother Tallow obviously didn't get it. Tallow was here today mostly for himself, because he knew that if he didn't assuage his guilt, his conscious would continue nagging for however long it took for him to learn to ignore it. Tallow didn't want that, he wanted to think well of himself and to be able to say he'd done the right thing, but those were selfish reasons, even if he didn't realise so. 

Tallow came from Canterlot, where morality was bright, shiny, and easy. He wasn't acquainted with sorrow or grief. He'd never thought that it might happen to his family. This meeting right now in Carton's living room he was attending? It was mostly out of a misguided attempt to return things to the way they were before.

Tallow just didn't get it. He didn't get that there was no going back to how things were before, but he was trying anyway for his own sake. His own sake, not Lilly's. That's why it was only selfishness, and not true remorse.

But Lilly seemed to know that, even if she didn't have all the words to describe in those terms, she still knew inside what it was. But she was still willing to accept Tallow's selfishly motivated offer regardless, because she wanted to have a chance at reconnecting. 

At least in that one way Lilly, was on the same page as her brother. She knew her consciousness would plague her if she didn't grasp this opportunity with both hooves, even if she wasn't the one in the wrong here.

"So, how do you want to do this?" Prey heard Lilly ask, very calmly.

"Uh... how about coming back home-?"

"No. If mom and dad or Pearl want to see me, then they can come to my house. And no telling them where that is either! If they care, they can find it just as easily as you did."

"Lilly, please. It would help them, I'm sure of it."

"No Tallow. I'm not ready for that, and they need to come to me. They're avoiding me like I'm some kind of huge shame, or, or diseased. If it's not like that, then they need to prove it. But, just forget mom and dad for now, I'm not talking about them. How are we going to do this?"

There was another silence. Then; "If you're not going to come visit, then I don't know."

'You come visit', not; 'I can come visit you'. Tallow was still pushing, however Lilly didn't budge. "Okay, I'm going to do what the doctor said and take a step back. Let's both go away and come back. Tomorrow? Can you meet tomorrow?"

"I'd really prefer Friday, if it's all the same to you."

"...Okay. Okay, Friday then. And where? This isn't, uh, I don't want to impose on Carton again. This is kind'a her house." Lilly said, suddenly embarrassed.

"You have your own house, don't you? What's wrong with that?" Tallow asked, sounding confused.

"No way, that's-No, we're not back to there yet. Maybe if this, whatever this is, works out. But until then, neutral ground only."

"Alright, fine, have it your way. We'll just, uhhhh, I'll find a café that does private rooms." Tallow sighed, giving in.

"Right. Cool. It's agreed then."

"Yeah. For now, anyway. So, uhhh, I'll, I'll just be going then. I'll let myself out. Please pass on my apologies to, uh, Carton Juice, was it?"

"I will. See you Friday, Tallow."

"Till Friday. See you then... bye." The sound of the stallion's retreating hoofsteps came to them.

The five of them in the kitchen all shared a look, and by unanimous unspoken agreement, decided that they wouldn't mention anything from the private meeting they'd just overheard.

Gloom shared a look with Prey and Crimson, and cleared his throat, "We'll just be going too. Good afternoon Carton, Scenic."

With that, they skedaddled, getting out of there and heading back to their own flats for some precious rest before whatever it was that Nighthawk was going to lay on them this afternoon.


------


The three hours of sleep the ISND had hoped to get before having to return to the Palace for their four o'clock meeting ended up being more like two and a half, at best. Or if you were Prey, only one.

Prey's drooping eyelids were complaining that number felt overly optimistic, and that zero would've been more accurate. 

He quietly yawned as the three of them came to a stop outside the Lieutenants door. Vivid Edge and Starry Wing were sharing this office. Screech had his own, more cramped office down the corridor. Although all three Lieutenants seemed to rotate as and when some new crisis made it necessary. 

The Captain meanwhile got to do the smart thing and go home to sleep, leaving just the one Lieutenant awake on duty throughout the day. And also to deal with passing on whatever task required the ISND to be here at four o'clock in the afternoon.

'So who's the unlucky bastard this time?' Prey thought grumpily. Misery loves company.

Gloom and Crimson were just as bleary eyed as he was, although on the one hoof you needed to look more closely to see it under the grey recolouring by their armours' enchantments, but on the other hoof the old poison scars made them always look like they were tired.

'Or maybe, just maybe, that's because we are always tired.' 

"If that's Sargent Gloom, come in." The voice of Starry Wing filtered through the door in response to Gloom's knock.

Well, it was apparently time to get this show on the road. The three of them trooped inside, Prey bringing up the rear and shutting the door.

'Well, what do you know? Back to being stuck in a poorly lit office that everyone else has no trouble seeing in.' Prey thought as he took his place next to Crimson, and both of them behind Gloom as he saluted. It was the middle of the day, but the thick curtains were drawn tight across the office's window, and there was no other light source.

Starry Wing had his helmet off and set aside on a pile of paperwork, letting his neatly pulled back warrior's braid hang free, "At ease."

Gloom did so. The Lieutenant took a second looking them over, not just Gloom, but each of them in turn.

'-I hope to Luna that today doesn't somehow end badly. If Princess Luna rescinded all titles and made everypony start from equal again, it wouldn't be soon enough-', Prey heard Starry Wing think.

From that snippet, Prey interpreted that they'd been called in for something to do with a noble or nobles in some fashion. The last time they'd been forced to deal with a noble, Lord Vanish had stolen Crimson's jade necklace, gotten Crimson imprisoned when he then lost the necklace, and unknowingly started Prey's shadow war with the thieves.

"Captain Nighthawk didn't tell you why we called the ISND in beforehoof, did he?" Starry Wing checked.

"No sir."

The Lieutenant had already known that, but he'd still checked for the sake of proprietary. "I will be explaining why that is in a moment. But first, a question if you would."

"Yes sir?"

Starry Wing pointedly tapped his Guard helmet with a wing claw where it sat on the desk, and not on his head. "Unrelated, but a message arrived just last night with a flyer back from my clan. I'm sure you've heard, but the Fellion Council of Elders has been trying to keep a watchful eye out of any movement or sign of Clan Myrrdon."

Prey could almost feel Crimson tense through the air. Starry Wing turned his eyes to the pegasus and voiced his question.

"There have been distant sightings, of what they're certain are Myrrdon scouts way out on the edge of the territory. When they pulled back and disappeared, they all but emptied their clan caves. Now though, there's circumstantial evidence to suggest they're possibly looking to maybe return. That, or are simply foraging. They fly off when anypony gets close, and nopony has been able to track them. I know it's a long shot, but you don't happen to have any idea where or what Myrrdon might be doing, Crimson? Even just a rumour of an old clan cave from when you were there?"

Starry Wing was really holding out hope here, and Prey knew the answer even before Crimson started shaking his head, "No sir. I was always on the outside anyway, but, no. I didn't overhear anything like that."

Starry Wing shrugged, not surprised at all, "I didn't really think it would be that easy, but I thought I'd better ask just in case." He said, reaching over and picking up his helmet between both wing claws.

He dipped his head and slid the purple plumed helmet on, and when he look back up, he was Lieutenant Starry Wing of the Night Guard again, and the clan business was put behind them.

"Right, back to the reason we needed to call you in at this Luna forsaken hour," Starry Wing briefly quirked a lip at his own joke, before going back to full seriousness, "A representative has... actually, before I get to that, it'll be easier just to ask whether any of you know who House Fell are?"

"No." Said Crimson.

"Sort of." Said Gloom.

"Yes." Said Prey.

"So some of you do. But to summarise, House Fell is one of the three great noble households of Canterlot. And of the entirety of Equestria too, actually." Starry Wing was doing an excellent job of keeping his tone neutral, but his ears flicking gave away how 'great' he thought they were.

"For your information, the three are Houses Fell, Blood, and Crust. Fell and Blood are the two biggest ones, although you don't actually hear much about the Fells. They're the sort which just carry on in the background, but they're always in every background, if that makes sense. Most ponies don't have any idea just how much power House Fell actually has."

"So how much power do they have?" Gloom asked, not really getting it. And why would he? He and every other thestral alive had spent their whole lives mostly disconnected from Equestria. Why should they know the names of famous nobles beyond just what they overheard?

"Monetary wise? Lots." Starry Wing said bluntly. It sounded almost coarse coming from him. He lent back at the desk:

"Alright, how can I explain this? So, House Fell is rich. Stinking rich. Obscenely rich. Silly money. Gold bits coming out of their ears. Because of the representative's visit yesterday, I got shown the public financial accounts of their holdings they published last year. Assuming those were accurate, and that House Blood isn't holding back on something, outside of the crown, the Fells are the richest ponies in all of Equestria."

Starry Wing began tapping his hoof in time as he began to tick off points; "And I don't just mean, 'they have a lot of bits in the bank'. They own entire streets in Upper Canterlot, strings of apartment blocks in Manehattan, Fillydelphia, Vanhoover, Detrot, Cloudsdale, and everywhere else too."

He took a breath so he could continue going, "They've got thousands of acres of undeveloped land, the Old Forge Woods, the Caspian Forest, and a bunch of other private woodlands I forget. What's more, they've owned them for hundreds of years. You know the Crop Holders who won the election? Most of the farmland the landowners rent isn't actually their own, but the Fell's too. They've got airship dockyards and factories, they own an entire trade port on the coast, and their own small merchant navy to go with it."

Starry Wing gestured at the covered window, indicating the wider city outside; "You wouldn't know it to look at the signs above their doors, but House Fell own and maintain museums, art galleries, and old castle forts. Through various subsidiary companies, they're the leaders in nearly a third of all industries too. You know the Gemstone Refinery you investigated? They own that. They also own seventy percent of all mineshafts in the mine where those gems come from too. Did you know that they fund two entire mage towers, even? Because I didn't. The Dancer Tower and I've forgotten the other one, but I could point it out to you. But the point is, they control two entire mage towers, although they use a light hoof."

The Lieutenant exhaled and sat back, "And all of that list? That's about a quarter of their total holdings."

Prey had already known all of that. He'd made a point to keep up to date with Equestrian politics, even if it was all a pathetic joke to him. Still, the way Starry Wing had laid all of that out really did help to hammer down the point.

Gloom and Crimson were quiet in contemplation for a minute as they digested all of that.

"Okay, I think I've got all of that. But if I may, what has this to do with the Night Guard, sir?" Gloom asked with a hint of trepidation.

'Smart guy.'

The Lieutenant let out a tired breath that sounded like hours of overtime and paperwork, "Lord Triton Fell himself has reached out to Princess Luna with a private request. It sounds like a private investigation he wants carried out by the Night Guard. Usually, we'd say no immediately, the Night Guard is neutral, but Princess Luna has decided there is merit to at least hearing him out. Oh, and if you didn't know, Triton Fell is the patriarch of House Fell."

A sliver of ice shot through Prey's gut. This was ringing all sorts of alarm bells in his head. He'd killed Captain Valour, and Valour had been one of the two direct grandsons of Triton Fell.

'Surely we're not going to get told to investigate the very murder I committed? I made damned sure to remove all evidence and make it look like a candle tipped over in the night. The Solar Guard would've almost certainly conducted a preliminary investigation anyway, since he was their Captain, but they would've found nothing. Surely Triton Fell wasn't that close to Valour that he's become obsessed out of grief?'

But Prey remembered where or rather who he'd had Lemon Pink post the same lure totem he'd used to trick Valour with to. He hadn't acted yet, and the little statue of Celestia would continue to sit in its potential victim's house harmlessly, up until when or if he decided to use it. He hadn't been going to use it, it was just there in case he ever changed his mind. A child can't be guilty of the crimes of a parent. So he'd decided against exacting his revenge against Big Fields, despite his previous plans. It was part of working towards being a better person. Unless, that is, Big Fields started following in his parents hoofsteps.

While Prey was deciding if he needed to panic or not, Gloom was nodding slowly in understanding of the Lieutenant's words. '-well, if Princess Luna thinks Triton Fell is important enough to warrant this, then it must be-'

"Alright sir. And we've been summoned to meet Lord Triton Fell today?"

Starry Wing blinked, "What? Ah, no, not Triton Fell. Sorry, I wasn't clear. He's not going to actually come in pony, he's sent a representative of his House instead."

'-and he's enough of a big wig that he can get away with doing that, no questions asked-', The Lieutenant's thoughts accompanied his answer.

Prey silently let out his breath. That was probably a good sign, although there was absolutely no reason the Lord seeing him in person should mean anything to Triton Fell. Plus, having a representative deal with whatever the problem was on his behalf probably meant it wasn't a super secret matter either.

Starry Wing got up from behind the desk, gesturing them out ahead of him, "Come. The representative is already here in the Palace. I'll take you up to him."

One of Crimson's wings twitched, "Up?"

"Up in the main Palace." The Lieutenant explained.

In the Upper Palace. Not down here in the Guard section. But up in the Palace where all the gold, gems, and glitter were reserved for nobles, dignitaries, and heads of government. The divide and message here wasn't at all subtle.

Triton Fell the representative might not be, but incredibly important they still were. They'd requested a meeting at four o'clock, set the place, and made the Night Guard come to them. An unspoken statement that the name Fell demanded privilege and concessions even from the law.

'Arrogance and power at its finest.'

Not concessions from Luna, though. 'I hate Luna, I hate Luna, I hate Luna.' Why she was deigning to humour Lord Fell's request, Prey knew that it wasn't because of the name 'Fell'. Lord Vanish had thought he could make demands, and indeed Luna had let him steal Crimson's necklace that one time, but Prey was certain it hadn't been because Vanish had been able to pressure Luna. She was an alicorn. She'd just decided to play along with the overconfident lord that one time. 

Maybe Triton Fell thought because of all his wealth and power he could do something similar. If so, he was a fool. Because as Prey was so often unwillingly reminded, the hated alicorn of the moon was immortal. Fell was just a mortal. Maybe that was why Luna had let Vanish win, because she was interested to see who else would be dumb enough to copy him. 

Or maybe it was nothing to do with any of that, and it was all for a completely different reason. To be Lord of the richest, the biggest, and one of the oldest Great Noble Houses, which had stayed successful for centuries, Prey doubted one could also be a complete idiot.

'Let's see what this oh-so important House Fell representative wants first before jumping to any conclusions.' Prey thought grimly, as they followed Starry Wing out into the much brighter hallway.


---


Setting can be important. It can and often does set the precedent for the whole direction and tone of a conversation. The influence their surroundings have on a person can trick them into behaving in a manner they would normally never consider.

Setting is important. Would you perform a wedding in a graveyard? Would you lay out a picnic in the middle of an art museum?

Those were simple examples, but what about a bigger one? It was the setting which allowed a king to get away with being a 'king'. If not for appearance, everyone would realise that a king is just another nobody. That the title king didn't physically empower that person. 

Expectations. Rules. Promptings. Non-verbal cues. Setting.

A king's power was all in appearance and setting, which was why they went to such efforts to make sure no one ever forgot they were a king. Because if people forgot they were a king, then they were a king no longer. It was the truth. It was why a king had all their titles, and heralds, and crowns, and royal clothes, and castle, and jewelled sceptre, and everything else that you expected a king to have, to say, and do. So as not to let anyone forget they were king.

If someone seated on a golden throne, dressed in rich velvet, with a red carpet leading up to them, flanked by stained glass windows, in a huge hall, and wearing a crown gave you an order, you'd be a thousand times more likely to listen to it than if a muddy beggar wearing rags on the street gave you the same order. They could be the exact same person, but because of the setting, you'd respectfully listen to the one and ridicule the other.

Much can be gained from the mere appearance of invulnerability. That was the big scam of kingship, run by great con-artists.

Because kings die just the same as everyone else, and that at its heart was the difference between a petty king, and the alicorn rulers of Equestria. The Sun Wolf's power did not come from royal appearance, golden palace, and throne. She had all of those things certainly, but it was different. Celestia was an alicorn. The most magically powerful being in the world, ageless, immortal, and able to control the sun.

That was the difference between Luna and Celestia, and everyone else. It was why they ruled, because might makes right. 

If, by all the godless demons in Tartarus, an alicorn was just to appear out of thin air, it was why they would be able to take or do whatever they wanted. They would be immediately worshipped, revered, and obeyed. No one would question them. No one would ask for proof of their lineage. They wouldn't need a throne to sit on or a crown to wear.

They wouldn't even have to do anything. Setting and appearance didn't matter to an alicorn. They didn't need any of that to 'trick' people into obeying them, because there was no trick. They were an alicorn. They could own not a single material possession in the whole world, or literally crawl into existence out of an open sewer, but if in the same breath they gave you an order, you would obey. Because they were immortal and all-powerful, and you, you were only mortal.

So for mortals, for the nobles and lords to whom maintaining their position of power over you was so ingrained, setting was very important.


---


The Fell representative was making use of a private sunroom in the Palace. It was the background details which really made the setting and let Prey know what dealing with the smartly dressed grey unicorn was going to be like. The stallion was sipping from the silver tea set, which a maid had laid out and poured just for him.

Small details, like the rich, exotically embroidered tapestry on the wall which came from Neighpon. 

That tea table made from ebony, covered with a lace cloth that had real gold thread in it. 

The 'modest' chandelier which even this small room sported, that was hung with clear diamonds, and not glass. Almost certainly no ignius diamonds, but still.

The ceiling wasn't just plain white either, no, that wasn't good enough. It was exquisitely painted with an image of the sky, deep blues, elegant flying swans, and clouds in every colour of the rainbow.

Really, the whole room was part of the effect. The velvet curtains, the absolutely spotless room, the polished blood oak floor, the gold painted plasterboard, the huge tassels on the curtain drapes, all of it.

The Fell representative had requested a private room, for a private meeting, at the time of his choosing, and this is what had been quickly provided for him.

The waiting unicorn unhurriedly looked over as they entered, not pausing in sipping his tea as he evaluated them, and 'evaluated' was definitely the correct term. It was completely obvious in the grey stallion's eyes that he was judging them as Starry Wing led them in. What's more, he didn't seem even momentarily freaked out by Gloom and Starry Wing being thestrals. 

One brow arched imperiously in condescension as he spotted Prey, but that was it. It would be un-gentlecoltly to be so crass as to voice his disdain when he could convey it all with a look.

'-let's get this over with-', Starry Wing nodded to the suit wearing stallion:

"Thank you for waiting. May I introduce the ISND of the Night Guard, the most successful investigator unit to date serving Her Highness, Princess Luna, as requested. This is First Sargent Gloom, along with Crimson, and Prey."

Again that judging eyebrow went up at Prey's name, as the unicorn unhurriedly lowered his teacup from his magical aura and dabbed at his mouth with a pure white napkin. Starry Wing pressed on, ignoring the look. He wasn't going to play any kind of non-verbal game:

"And this is Dunlop Scrims, aide and servant of House Fell. He's been sent on behalf of Triton Fell-"

"-His Lordship, Triton Fell." The stallion interjected calmly. His voice was as smooth and cultured as his outfit and combed fur.

Starry Wing didn't pause in correcting himself, "-Slip of the tongue, on behalf of Lord Triton Fell. Now that we're here, what did you want to discuss with the Night Guard?"

Dunlop inclined his head, "Not discuss, it would be more accurate to say request." He corrected with surprisingly civility. It detracted from his previous appearance of complete upper-class arrogance.

But Prey heard his accompanying thoughts; '-an honest mistake should be forgiven, provided it isn't repeated. Not everypony can have the privilege of meeting nobility in their life-'

'Wow.' Prey was in some ways impressed. That was so arrogant it wasn't even really arrogance anymore. Rather, misguided benevolence.

Lieutenant Screech made a subtle almost-nod to Gloom that their unicorn guest missed. It was a nod that clearly indicated Starry Wing's unspoken intent that went along with it: 

'-the stormcloud is now in your sky. I'm just the spectator now-'

Starry Wing was backing off and letting Gloom take over control of trying to run this conversation. Gloom got the message, and cleared his throat, "Ehrm. No offence, but what might House Fell need to make a request to the Night Guard for, Mister Scrim?"

"Simply Dunlop Scrim will be fine," The stallion magnanimously corrected, straightening one of his already perfectly straight cufflinks, "And yes, a request. I'm sure you appreciate, as the spokespony of House Fell within Canterlot, I am a busy stallion. You will have no problem then if I move us straight on to the crux of the matter that concerns us today?"

It wasn't really a question, but Gloom shook his helmeted head anyways, "No problem. Go ahead."

Dunlop waited a moment to see if Gloom was going to correctly add his name in addressing him, but when he saw that Gloom wasn't aware, he frowned minutely and moved on. He hadn't asked if any of the four of them wanted to take any of the other seats around the ebony table either. 

'-it is not my job to reprimand them as I would a maid or butler under my oversight-'

"Then I will lay out my Lord's request clearly. His Lordship has reached out to Princess Luna in relation to the duties of the Night Guard, such as yourselves."

Even without being able to hear thoughts, Prey could have picked out the implication there. Nothing in Dunlop's correct posture or professional tone said it, but if you looked for it, you would see it in the words. 'Reached out to Princess Luna' implied Triton Fell was doing Luna a favour by giving her a chance to prove her good intentions after her recent return from exile, and not the other way around.

But of course, that was only Dunlop's view on this 'request'. As Prey had already deduced, Triton Fell himself couldn't be a complete moron like Lord Vanish had been, trying to insinuate or maneuverer an alicorn into getting what you wanted was the height of foolishness. This was just Dunlop's interpretation of his master's words.

Gloom didn't quite get the implications, however Starry Wing did although he gave nothing outwardly away. And Prey couldn't hear Crimson's thoughts, so he couldn't tell if his friend had picked up Dunlop's misguided view either.

"It's offensively simple in its common nature, it irks me say. Our nation has enjoyed bountiful prosperity for an age, but, sadly, despite the abundance every pony has been granted according to his station in life, there will always be somepony who coverts what their betters have earned through hard work and diligence."

"You mean theft." Gloom summarized after a moment.

"Correct. Theft of House Fell property. While we hold all our direct employees to the highest standards, House Fell's interests and assets are too vast to manage everything directly. As I'm sure you are well informed, you must likewise be aware that House Fell has a near endless list of subsidiary ponies and businesses who all work indirectly for us. Only those who possess an outstanding business reputation, of course, but the oversight of their own employees is left to them. Regrettably, this has left the potential for abuse of his Lordship's trust."

'-so in other words, you think somepony in one of the businesses you don't directly control is stealing from you. Why not just say that instead of wasting all those words?-', Starry Wing thought from off to the side, more or less echoing Prey's own thoughts on Dunlop's overly formal speech.

The grey unicorn switched to absently fussing over his opposite cufflink, "If it were a small lost value, our policy is to deal with such matters internally. However, the stolen items are anything but negligible, nor are they completely free from the possibility to cause harm."

Dunlop looked hard at the four, well, three of them since he'd already dismissed Prey as nothing more than a young filly, and therefore unimportant. "I trust you now understand why his Lordship has reached out to the Night Guard. It is not just about reclaiming House Fell property and seeing the ponies responsible punished, but also about preventing potential harm."

The unicorn now held all of their undivided attention. Three pairs of yellow eyes stared unblinking at Dunlop's face, waiting for him to explain. Dunlop might've not reacted earlier, but even a gentlecolt couldn't help but purse his lips uncomfortably under the combined weight of their yellow stare. But Prey wasn't watching the unicorn's face, although it would've looked like he was if anyone were to have glanced at him. 

Rather, he was watching the unicorn's horn out of habit, and thinking about how this might tie in with the mimics, if at all. It didn't seem likely, but still.

'-if whatever this theft was could pose a risk to pony life, then why by Luna's starry mane make us wait until this meeting instead of telling us the dangerous details right away?-', Gloom thought.

Their Sargent struggled to keep any of the judgement from his tone as he prompted; "Go on. What items? How are they dangerous, and to what extent."

'-getting angry here helps nopony-'

"House Fell directs and entirely funds two mage towers here in Canterlot," Dunlop said with understated pride, repeating what Starry Wing had said just before they came here, "Those being the Dancer Tower of Rites, and Golden Tower Shimmer."

Prey blinked in recognition, 'Oh. So that's the other one Starry Wing forgot the name of. Shimmer.'

If you excluded the Royal Mage Tower, then out of all the rest, Tower Shimmer was supposedly the best and most successful. There weren't any graphs or scales to measure with between the mage towers, but just going by hearsay and public opinion, that was certainly the case.

Dunlop's pride turned into a frown of deep irritation as he went on, "This funding we provide also extends to the acquisition and supply of rare magical reagents, items, artifacts, and raw components. Both for research purposes, but also to keep a healthy stock of. As you can imagine, the rarer they are, the more expense and time consuming such items are to source and supply. House Fell is not short on means by any token, but even express airship transportation from abroad takes time."

'-perhaps a bit of background for the magically uneducated wouldn't go amiss-', Dunlop thought.

"Such highly magical and sensitive components cannot simply be teleported either, at least if a pony is sensible enough not to risk both life and limb of not just themselves, but of everypony in the vicinity. Have any of you gentlecolts heard of orichalcum, by chance?"

The grey unicorn barely waited just long enough to see that they didn't, before he drove on, shifting forwards on his seat to better gesture and emphasise his point:

"What was stolen from one of the tower's external storerooms was raw orichalcum. There is no sign of how the intruder got past the alarms and magical wards. The strongboxes containing the raw orichalcum were set to be transported into Tower Shimmer. The upper floors there are strictly protected, and is where all charged orichalcum must be stored, along with the other magical metals such as atlarus, carmot, or rubracium to name a few. But that is not important for you to know right now."

Dunlop paused to refrain from letting any ungentlecoltly anger slip into his tone for his next words, "But somehow, it seems the worker responsible for moving the strongboxes in signed off early sick that evening. In the morning, the raw orichalcum was gone. The pony responsible has, of course, since been dismissed from service. By the by, this all took place two days ago."

'-two days? You waited two days to report this?-', Gloom thought in aggravation. It wasn't just him either, Starry Wing was judging heavily too.

"Two days?" The Lieutenant put in as politely as he could manage, "From your words, this magical metal can be very dangerous if used incorrectly. Why has alerting us been delayed so long?"

Dunlop gave Starry Wing a polite but very reproving look, "Two days ago is when the raw orichalcum was taken. However, the theft occurred during the night, and it was not noticed until yesterday morning when the strong boxes were opened. An internal search was of course carried out, which took more time, and then longer still to filter up the chain of command to his Lordship directly."

In other words, things happened on the Fells' timetable, or not at all.

Gloom took a silent breath, "Back to this raw orichalcum. What is it, and why is it dangerous?"

Crimson and Prey weren't saying anything here, but they were listening closely.

Dunlop sniffed, "That is a reasonable question to ask. To answer you, raw orichalcum is dangerous in a few different ways. The first, and most immediate danger, is to any pony who comes into unprotected contact with the metal. Understand, raw orichalcum is volatile. It will absorb any magic it comes into direct contact with, including sucking the ambient magic right out of a pony. Second is if orichalcum absorbs too much magic too fast. If an unskilled unicorn was to channel magic into the metal, depending on the mass and density, it could easily reach criticality and explode."

Dunlop waved a hoof, indicating the very nice room they were in, "A house the size of this room or a litle bigger would almost certainly be completely levelled. Worse, if the stolen orichalcum is being kept all together, that could easily cause a chain reaction, and the destruction scales exponentially from there. If all the raw orichalcum was to go up at once, an estimated area the size of a warehouse and grounds would be violently destroyed. And lastly-"

'-there's more on top of that already?-', Starry Wing thought.

"There is the possibility that our emboldened thief knows exactly how to turn raw orichalcum safely into charged orichalcum, and intends to use it."

"Use it for what?" Gloom asked.

"Why, for anything a pony can use charged orichalcum for. The possibilities are wide and varied. A ritual, enhancing leylines, building an artifact, invisibility cloaks, and way beacons to name but a few, but I fear their purpose is more nefarious. It could be used to build something much more dangerous than any of that."

Dunlop didn't need to provide any examples. Gloom and Starry Wing could all too easily think of some themselves.

'-something to teleport an entire building a mile into the sky, or bury everything under ice, or arrows of spellfire. Anything's possible-'

'-a scarecrow, like at Mayflower, or acid bombs, like those Prey made in the forest-', Gloom wings shivered at his sides.

Prey had already known most of that about orichalcum. It was something he'd researched back before he had Lemon steal that spool of electrite, actually. Value wise, gram for gram, electrite was worth more, but orichalcum was still very valuable. Knowing what he did, Prey could and already had come up with a few ideas of what you could use orichalcum for to add to Gloom's list.

'I could combine it with my runes to create a near unquenchable, clinging, self sustaining fuel source, that burns in water and doesn't need air, and which could also melt through iron. In theory.' Prey thought. And that was only one such idea he had.

Dunlop's horn glowed with a muted blue aura, and he neatly slipped a notebook out from the inside of his suit's inner pocket. With a well practiced flick, he snapped the book open to the last page of entry, and removed a folded sheet of thick, cream-coloured paper. Dunlop spoke on as he unfolded the sheet:

"This is to be your copy. It details the near exact times the losses were reported, the rooms and areas it was taken from, and quantities of orichalcum. It has been double checked and verified directly by House Fell staff."

The thick sheet of high quality paper floated across to Gloom, who took it between his wing claws and looked it over. Prey had to hide a wince as Gloom didn't even blink twice at coming into contact with the magical aura.

Gloom's hoof twitched, like he wanted to reach up and scratch at his chest scar, but of course, it was hidden under his chestplate, and they had important company anyway.

The unicorn wasn't finished however. Dunlop  snapped his notebook shut with the same flick he'd opened it with, returning to his inner breast pocket, and then going into the opposite pocket. This time, he removed a heavy red seal trailing a black tassel. For a second, Prey thought it was made from wax. But it wasn't, as Dunlop held it up in his magic, it caught the light better, and Prey saw that it was actually carved stone. The seal on the front was intricately carved by what must have been a master mason, so fine were the details.

"And this is your seal of access. It is recognised by all Fell staff, and grants you permission to their assistance. With it, feel free to visit Tower Shimmer and any other establishments you think wise over the course of your investigation. Please do not lose it, and once your investigation has wound up, I expect it returned promptly."

The ISND hadn't actually agreed to anything yet, but Dunlop evidently thought it was a done deal. He likewise levitated the red stone seal across to Gloom without leaving his seat.

Distracted, Gloom took it and looked the carved insignia over. It showed the crest of House Fell, a grand unicorn standing on land, cloud, and waves, and in the corner was carved the romane numeral 'IV'. So they had access into any Fell property of level 4, whatever that meant.

Dunlop folded his white napkin and set it on the porcelain tray next to his now-cold tea. He straightened his gold cufflinks one last time and stood up. Standing, it turned out Dunlop was actually the shortest person in here, excluding Prey of course. However he still held himself with absolute confidence that he was still the most important person in the room:

"Alternatively, if you need to contact me, my secretary can put you in touch. Simply ask at our office at the City Hall and show your permission seal. Since this is a matter of importance, I will instruct her to set up any meetings at my earliest convenience, where possible. Good day to you all."

He nodded to everyone but Prey, not as equals but simply a polite acknowledgement as fellow ponies, and without another word left them standing there. Although Dunlop didn't use the front door, but rather the private door at the back of the room, which led into the nobles' section of the Palace. Because of course he did.

Left behind in the decked-out sun room, Gloom and Starry Wing looked at each other, and Prey and Crimson looked at each other too.

'So, I guess this is what we're doing now then, huh?'


------


'So now the ISND is on the hunt for yet another thief. One whom the Night Guard is very worried might be a terrorist.' Prey thought, taking the next turn in the tunnel. 

The shadows on the stone were dark and the air was cold, but Prey had his lantern balanced on his back, and by this point, he could probably take this route down to his lair blind anyway. These winding tunnels were protected with runic defences, and he could use the touch of those runes to guide him if need be.

But that wasn't something he would try, even if he was confident in being able to do so. You didn't willingly go down into the dark earth without a light.

Prey felt the long strings of invisible runes under his hooves, running up and down the corridor both ahead and behind him. Their presence was a comfort, because they represented safety, but damn if they hadn't taken an exhaustive amount of time and effort to draw.

Ahead, there was the glow of a light. It came from out of the scoured entrance into the crystal cavern, inside the walls and stone floor scored smooth from the thieves' attempt to destroy his lair. They'd failed. He'd won. His crystal lair still stood, and was now better than ever. Not the superficial damage or all the rubble still littering inside, but rather the runes were better. 

Prey relaxed as he stepped inside, the wooden boards of the walkways he and Lemon had laid out before his hooves. No one who wasn't supposed to be here would be able to even see the lair's entrance. Prey trotted forwards, the lantern on his back no longer needed. In here, he was safe. Gravel mixed with sharp crystal shards crunched lightly underneath the boards of the walkway as he walked.

Prey cast his eyes over his lair once again.

Over there, barrels of rations and water were prepared just in case. Near the other side, crates of the other kinds of supplies were stacked higher than Prey's head; harvested leaves, dried herbs and poisons, metals, wicker, thread, catalysts of all kinds, a few gemstones, metals like tin, copper sheets, silver wires, iron filings, and much more.

Here, on a solid patch of the floor, made from some stone slabs placed over the rubble as opposed to wooden boards, was braced a set of thick, lead-lined pans for boiling up bone rot. Currently empty, but Prey always intended to have a nice stockpile of the mines.

There, on the stump of a shattered crystal column and surrounded by runic circles, Selenia's pincushion sat inert.

Over here, a metal table with draining channels and laid-out buckets, for processing the stolen bodies from the Canterlot morgue. Squat, dark stone vats held removed organs and unicorn horns, again preserved by runes.

On its own small table, the torn-off mimic leg he'd managed to get with one of his wicker walkers lay, surrounded by a little circle of tools and scalpels.

By themselves, looking very plain and ordinary, a number of blocky, irregular pieces of materials sat. A wooden plank, a stone chunk, a metal block, and the like. However, each was set very carefully by itself, and when you looked a second time, you realised they were actually hovering and not touching anything else. Runic experiments in progress.

And there, on the largest section of boardwalk, was Lemon Pink. Once his tool, and now mostly a person. Her cloak was removed so it didn't hinder her work, and she was carefully undoing the complicated locks on a small sealed box, about the size of a loaf of bread. She had seven other identical boxes beside her too. You wouldn't know it from the outside, but those boxes were actually lead lined. 

Prey trotted up as Lemon put the box down and turned, the tri-coloured sheet of her mane swaying as she nodded, "Hello, Prey."

Prey didn't verbally return the greeting, simply going straight to business, "Slight adjustment to the plan. The mage tower already noticed the theft, and escalated it up to their benefactors. House Fell."

Lemon glanced back at the box she'd been unlocking. The seven other identical boxes sat there, locks already picked. Within them, rested all the stolen raw orichalcum. 

'Average Accountant' had come back out of 'retirement' for one last job.

And here lay the fruits of her, and Prey's, labour. Eight boxes of raw orichalcum. Lemon lifted the lid off one of the boxes by hoof. Inside, the orichalcum sparkled. Thin ingots, each roughly only the length of a pencil. The colour though... 

The metal wasn't a colour Prey could have ever accurately pinned down. 

It looked like a solid liquid somehow still in motion, and it wasn't the colour of anything else in the world. A silvery, sparkling purple mercury blue, but with greens and oranges somehow mixed in there too. The raw orichalcum was captivating to look upon. The colour of magic.

When Dunlop had given the name of Tower 'Shimmer', the name Starry Wing had forgotten when giving his explanation, Prey had immediately realised.

When the pompous, arrogant unicorn had been listing out disaster scenarios for the orichalcum in the wrong hooves, Prey's own ideas hadn't simply come to him on the spot. They were ideas he'd considered before. Thought over. Planned for.

'Looks like I was right to be worried House Fell wanted the ISND to investigate a crime I committed. I was just mistaken about which one.' Prey thought, part amused, part relieved. This he could easily solve. Indeed, he already had a plan to do just that. It was why he'd come down here.

Prey twirled the free end of his ribbon, the silken touch smooth and reassuring, as he looked at the box of sparkling, glittering, rainbow metal.

Prey had a plan for claiming back the near-infinite twisting paths of the caves below the mountain from the mimics. Because even if he could risk venturing out from behind his runic defences to try to claim more ground, he just didn't have the time or resources. Look how many hundreds of hours Prey had to pour into completely securing the crystal lair from everything.

The few other tunnels he'd managed to claim weren't nearly as well defended as right here in the middle, but they still had enough runes to make them what he considered 'reasonably safe'. Or to at least buy him enough time to flee.

But all he'd claimed was perhaps only one percent at best of all the winding crystal tunnels and caves still down there.

He didn't have the time to take over them all, and he wasn't even going to try. But he couldn't let the mimics hold them unopposed either.

So Prey had his plan.

But first, he had to throw House Fell, and more importantly, the ISND, off the scent.

And wasn't that a weird thing to think?

"We're going to have to sacrifice some of the orichalcum for a sufficiently flashy and noisy distraction. It's a good thing that we took more than we need."


---I---


Prey would remember, though. He never forgot.