So much for going to bed after a long day out. I wanted to murder the police and the FBI.
I glared and gritted my teeth at the FBI agent standing in front of me. "Tell me that again?"
"We are going to keep contact with Ghadab to see if your friends are being held in the same place as the missing Blessingists. We are still trying to determine that location, and perhaps Malcomb Tibbs and—"
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME BEFORE THAT ALL THE BLESSINGISTS WERE BEING HELD IN ONE PLACE! YOU TOLD ME YOU WERE TREATING IT LIKE A GANG WAR!"
The agent gave me a long-suffering look like I was inconveniencing him. "The case was not clearly tied to you, and we had no reason to disclose information about an ongoing delicate—"
"FUCK YOU!" I roared. I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't believe it. How dare they not let me know. These were my family and friends I was trying to protect, and they were withholding critical information like the fact they already knew all the Blessingists had been kidnapped by the same people and were being held in presumably the same place.
He still didn't seem fazed. Couldn't they at least have an agent in charge who seemed to give a damn?! "We understand your anger and fear for your friends. We assure you that we are working hard with the Warden of Anger to get every detail we can about where the victims are being held and who is doing this so we can find all the victims and rescue them. We can assure you that everyone is still alive and receiving food."
I paced and fumed as the agents were leaving, having already questioned all the security people present and getting the names of those who had been here earlier in the day but had already gone. They'd also already asked everyone else about details. They now had agents outside, watching the house, and would keep them there, but that didn't make me feel any safer for myself or anyone else in the house. Malcomb's little house out back was a crime scene and being combed for clues.
We were all in the family room; everyone was tired, some of us were crying. My yelling likely hadn't helped with that. Jess was bawling her eyes out against her mother's shoulder about Silvia having been kidnapped. Silvia had not been just a therapist to the girl; she was a friend. I sadly couldn't help considering that Jess's magic was bound to start recovering from its exhaustion soon, and she now was highly emotional and more prone to surges as a result—surges she didn't have Silvia here to help her control. I couldn't send her and her family home; we were safer together. I just hoped the girl could keep it together as her magic recovered, but that might be asking too much from an eight-year-old.
Everyone was clearly on edge. Tempest was pacing just as much as me, and I could see her seething. Lántiān was trying to calm her brothers and daughter, with only partial success. My parents and Sinker were huddled close together, as were the Youngs, and my grandfoals with Rosetta. Paul was trying to quiet Dusk as Devon and Robby worked on trying to calm Jess. Starlight and Trixie had said they were on their way when I called to confirm they weren't kidnapped too, and the two of them seemed to have been shaken by the news.
One thing was for sure. I wasn't going to withhold information about what was going on from everyone.
I paced a little more before coming to a stop, taking a few deep breaths, and turning to face everyone.
"Attention, please!" I shouted. After they all turned to look at me, I tried to relax a little but wasn't very successful. "The FBI confirms that Malcomb and Silvia are alive. They were able to make contact with the help of Ghadab. They are being held in a pitch-black cell somewhere. The door is metal, and the walls seem to be stone, at least as far as they can tell from feeling around. Wherever they are, their magic is not working right. We do not know if this is because of something a pony is actively doing or something inherent to the cell they are being held in. Other than being scared and in the dark, they are unharmed."
I took another deep breath. "They don't know how they ended up there. They were at Malcomb's house out back, and the next they knew, someone struck them and knocked them out. They woke up where they are now. Security here saw nothing and saw no one come or go from the property. They are not the only ones being held wherever they are. There are at least a dozen Blessingists that can be found by dream, all being held in separate cells. There is also a twelve-year-old earth pony colt that doesn't seem to be affiliated with us or the Blessingists in any way, but has been flagged previously by the government as a magic outlier—that means either exceedingly strong or exceedingly unusual magic. However, they didn't clarify any details about him. All have similar tales of how they ended up there. They get food and water, but they don't know who is holding them, which their captors seem to deliver when they sleep. Some have reported hearing barking."
That last part was the part that really got my blood boiling. I had repeatedly told people about the barking, and no one thought to tie it to that detail of the missing ponies?
"I should have been here!" Jess sobbed. "I could have helped protect Silvia."
Devon hugged her daughter. "Baby, there's nothing you could have done."
Jess shook her head. "I've fought and defended myself before; I'm super-strong, I'm smart, I could have helped her."
Tempest rounded on the girl and shoved her against the back of the couch. "You stupid girl! I think you have some holes in your memory. What you did before was run for your life against a mindless enemy, only out-thinking them because they were incapable of thinking. Even then, you had to have a fucking invincible god-pony come and save all your flanks, and even with that, you still almost died, or have you forgotten why you are human?! These people are not some mindless beast; they plan, prepare, and are careful. I'm sure if you challenged them to a math and physics trivia challenge, you'd win at that, but you know nothing that can help you protect anyone here. You're strong, sure, but you don't have a clue how to fight. You also have no endurance and no stamina to speak of. You would be a pathetic joke. If you think you could do anything but have your parents crying and worrying about you being in the same situation as your friend, you don't have a brain in your head. Idiot! Super-genius, my ass!"
So much for calm and professionalism.
Jess whimpered and started crying again. Devon leveled a harsh glare on Tempest. "Get your hands off my daughter, and don't speak to her like that! She's just a kid!"
Tempest released Jess and sneered. "A kid who needs a heavy dose of reality. I'm making sure she gets that before you end up burying a daughter. I would think seeing her on life-support twice in her life would have been enough for you. Are you really eager to see round three?"
Robby got up and spread his wings threateningly. "Lay off my little sister!"
Jess was crying heavily now, and Dusk joined her in crying. Paul and Robby looked ready to attack Tempest. They were definitely furious enough to do so.
"Tempest…" Rosetta said, voicing it in half-exasperation, half-hiss. "I know you're frightened for the foals and frustrated at feeling as helpless as the rest of us, and this is you struggling to cope with that, but please, remember these are frightened kids, not adults. Try to be more gentle. Verbal abuse helps no one."
I needed to establish a little control and divert the conversation. "Until things are resolved, I think it is best that no one return to your respective homes. The more isolated you are from others, the more vulnerable you are. We are more secure grouped together." I frowned and looked down. "I am sorry for all of this. All signs point to this being someone's vendetta against me. None of you should have been caught up in this."
"It isn't the first time we have been in danger because our guardian was hated," Lántiān remarked. "No offense intended to you, ma'am, but I question my mother's judgment again."
"It's okay. You have the right to do so," I said in a low voice. It hurt, but I had to agree that Yinyu sending her foals to me seemed a dubious choice, now more than ever. I knew she thought I could make some connection, but was it worth the risk? Just because I could love and understand them didn't mean I was capable of defending them.
"Oh, no! We are not going to pull this again!" Rosetta shouted at me.
I flattened my ears and looked at her. "Pull what? I'm confused as to what you are talking about."
Rosetta shook herself free of my grandfoals and advanced on me. "Woe is me, Sunset, that's what! You've been in Colorado for the last year, trying to hide from everything, pulling this pity-party crap. Something finally happens that forces you to start interacting with others again, and to the shock of everyone, you might actually be a decent person, a good friend, a great mother—shocking, I know, but here we are. I have to say bravo to Yinyu and Arbiter for figuring out what it takes to fix you. It's their crowning achievement, in my opinion. We're not going to take steps back with you retreating into your hole away from others. You are not about to start feeling sorry for yourself again.
"You don't understand," I muttered.
"I understand perfectly well," Rosetta snapped. "I've been in the feeling sorry for myself hole. I know what it feels like. It took someone to help pull me out of it, and I fell in love with the mare who helped me. No one here resents you because we might be in danger because some bozos hate you. We're angry at them not only because they want to hurt us, but because they want to hurt you, and everyone here cares just as much about what happens to you as what happens to us. An attack on you is always going to be an attack on the rest of us, whether we are in direct danger or not."
I looked around and saw ponies and humans nodding in agreement. There was solidarity here.
As I was looking around, Starlight and Trixie entered the room.
"We came back as fast as we could," Starlight said as if out of breath. "I'm so sorry to hear about Malcolm and Silvia. Is everyone else alright? What's the plan?"
Plan? A plan indicated going on the offensive, and we were nothing but on the defensive. What could I do to turn that around?
I made a few decisions. "I don't know what you did with the Youngs guns, but they need them back. They need to be able to defend themselves. Before you do that, I need you to use a sleep spell on me—just strong enough to put me to sleep until morning."
"You are going to sleep? Now? With everything going on?" Trixie asked in disbelief.
I nodded. "Malcomb, Silvia, and all the other victims might be trapped, but they still dream. I know Ghadab has had them talking to law enforcement already, trying to get details. I think it is time I started talking to all the people suffering because of me and trying to figure this stuff out myself. I've been told a few times that I am Sunset Blessing, which is supposed to mean something. I take what I am given and make something greater than the parts. It's time I start looking at all the parts and seeing what I can do with them."
Starlight bit her lip briefly. "If that's what you want, I can do it. Did you want me to do it now, or did you need to wait?"
"Just do it now. The sooner I figure this all out, the better."
She lit her horn, and the next thing I knew, everything was fading from view.
"Asleep due to magic again? What will I do with you, my sunshine?"
I was in the temple again, and Tonya may have been speaking gently, but she was in her Dreamwarden form, sitting on her throne.
I walked towards her. "I need to speak to Ghadab. Can you get him?"
Her lips pressed tightly together. "There is no need to ask me to get him. Ghadab is just like Yinyu and me; he is always here, and he is everywhere. You need only call upon him."
"I'm here, false prophet," another voice sounded. I turned to face it and saw the living flame that was Ghadab.
"I never claimed to be a prophet," I said defensively as I faced the flame.
It advanced and circled me. "Yet you spent years saying you were speaking the mind of God. What is a prophet, but that? What is a false prophet, but one who makes such claims and is speaking falsehoods? Don't feel special; the churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques all overflow with such filth. It's sickening enough to turn anyone away from the faith. Where have the humble servants of God gone?"
Tonya reached out and rapped Ghadab on his head with her staff. "Douse the flames, brother, and try to be nice." She then looked at me. "Go ahead and ask this Ssatan what you need to."
Ghadab did douse his flames, rubbing his head absently with a wing, and now appeared as I assumed he did in life. He glared hastily at Tonya. "She could have just as easily asked you for aid, synchopant. We share all the same powers."
"True," Tonya said with a nod. "But who am I to correct her, especially when what she is going to ask falls under your purview? I'm glad she is taking action, and don't wish to throw her off with correcting little details like that. You act like it is such a burden to deal with her. Be nice."
He growled and turned to me. "You are coming to me to speak to the victims who would otherwise have no voice, correct? I shall see if any of them wish to speak to you."
"Give him a few seconds," Tonya advised. "Even with twisting time, it takes time to get clear answers, and he has several ponies to speak to."
I sat down, prepared to have to wait, but no sooner had my butt hit the floor I was no longer in the temple. Now I was in a perfect recreation of the chapel of the Bastion… almost a perfect recreation; there was no Shimmerist iconography anywhere to be seen. I was not on the stage, but at the front of all the seating, and I was surrounded by ponies.
"It's her!"
"She's going to come to save us!"
"I knew she wouldn't leave us to our fates!"
Excited murmurings continued as they advanced on me and pressed against me. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't get answers like this, and I definitely didn't want to be treated like some savior. Being back here, back in the Bastion where I had spent so much time was also throwing me off, I struggled to even open my mouth. Why had Ghadab chosen this setting?
As quickly as their advancing on me began, they were suddenly away from me, each seated in a seat of the chapel, looking around themselves in confusion.
"I think that Sunset will have an easier time if you all just stay in your seats," Tonya announced. "Please stay. I don't want to do something more drastic."
"I wasn't even doing anything!" a teenaged earth pony colt to my right complained.
"We weren't either!" Malcomb shouted as Silvia nodded agreement from beside him.
"The police already asked us tons of questions. What's she going to ask that we weren't asked already?" the teenager continued to protest. Well, at least one unfamiliar pony here didn't think of me as a magic messiah.
Arbiter scowled at them all. "Hush. Let Sunset ask her questions. She wants to help you, but we need order for that."
I looked out at the hopeful and frightened faces in front of me. These ponies needed a hero. I wasn't prepared to be anyone's hero, but they were where they were because of me, and even if this wasn't personal or dealing with me, I couldn't in good conscience do nothing.
I stood and faced them. "I know you are all frightened and have been through a lot. I know the police have asked you many questions, trying to find you. I might end up repeating a lot of those questions; please be patient with me. This was done to you to hurt me, and I will not allow you to suffer because of me. I promise you, I'm going to find you, and I'm going to see whoever did this is punished."