//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: The Chain Pony // Story: Belles of Bridlewood Detectives: The Chain Pony // by Short-tale //------------------------------// The moonlight painted the woods in a black and white painting. It washed the color out of the world. Everything was dark or light. There was no room for grey.  The road was in view and the air began to freeze the soul. If I didn’t believe the chain pony was real then the scene would have convinced me. We made our way down the street next to where we discovered the body. Though I am not one inclined to be scared by outside events my blood ran cold and I shivered. It was an odd sensation. I analyzed it for later use in my poems. Silent practically pronged down the street. I couldn’t guess what was in her head. We were looking for a demon, not a food stand. She was far ahead on the road. For pony that couldn’t hear us, I thought it wasn’t very sensible.  “Eeep,” whispered Lyrica. It was odd to hear a sound like that still whispered. “Look ahead on the road.” “What is it?!” I whispered back.  “I don’t know! It has huge eyes!”  Lyrica was frozen in fear staring down the dusty road. I looked in the same direction and saw it. A large pair of green shiny eyes. I squinted into the darkness. I could just make out the silhouette of the creature when it flew at us.  “Eep!” The bell clanged on the ground as Lyrica ducked and threw her hooves over her head. A small tone rang out and I noticed a strange ripple in the air as it echoed out.  The eyes soared into the sky and the body was easily seen in the moonlight. An old owl flew through the night sky. I breathed a sigh of relief. Then looked for the cowering pony. “Lyrica?” The wind blew any whispered answer away. It got cold. Very cold. The fur along my spine stood on end. I looked around for my friends but couldn’t see either of them. “Lyrica? Silent? Where are you, girls?!” My voice was a harsh whisper. It cut through the air in a panicked wave. Nothing moved. The normal night sounds were silent.  Then I felt it. The ground shook a little and I heard a thud that nearly stopped my heart. It was followed by another. Then a strange grinding dragging sound. The wind howled. My body began to shake.  A whooshing sound whipped through the air faster than I could even acknowledge it. The deep cold wrapped around my body and pulled me to the ground. The dust-filled my nose and eyes. I didn’t know what was going on. My body was freezing.  The stomping grew louder at steady intervals. Soon it was inches from my face. I could hear the ragged breathing and bursts of air through its nose. The very ground froze. “Hello, little unicorn. I sense ya are lookin’ fer me.” The air cracked with that putrid voice. I looked up and saw a form darker than the night sky. It was a massive Clydesdale with glowing red eyes and a large brown hat. He looked down on me like one would a bug. “Ya think ya can defeat me with some silly bell. Ya fooling’ yerself filly. I am eternal. I have always been here.” The voice froze the blood in my veins. I shook like a leaf. I never felt such horror. Those red eyes burned into my soul and told me nothing would get better.  “Yer friends were smart and ran off. It’s jest you and me.” I felt the cold squeeze me like a python. I looked at my body finally tearing away from those evil eyes. There was a chain wrapped around me like a tentacle. I couldn’t move. I could barely breathe. I gasped at the hoofs of the massive demon. “I could destroy ya with jest a sneeze. Ya can’t even control yer magic. Yer like a foal running inta trouble cause they ain’t got the sense ta know yer in ova’ yer pretty little head.” The chains squeezed again and lifted me in the air. I was inches from those burning eyes. I barely noticed my beret fall off to the ground. “Don’t worry. I ain’t gonna kill ya. I’m gonna help ya. I can help ya get that magic under control. Maybe make ya write some of the greatest poems yer town has ever known.”  The voice was still low but had a strange softness to it. It felt like a creature that was only attacking because it was cornered. I felt a pang of guilt. It was only defending itself. I was the attacker, not it. “See? I’m not all bad. All ya need ta do is give me some of yer magic from time ta time. Ya don’t even want it. If I take some I’m sure you’ll have more control. And you get a nice gift ta boot.” It sounded nice. All I needed was a little less magic and I could control it. And the inspiration to write and control to write it. I could return to the life I knew before this magical interruption.  “So little filly, what do ya say? Do we have a deal?” The eyes increased in brightness. The red faded to bright pink. The chain pony didn’t even seem as cold. I felt numb and excited. I could have all I wanted.  “No!”  “What in the hay?!” A shout roared through the darkness behind me. It was Lyrica with her eyes ablaze. She glowed in a field of gold. The darkness around me broke and I could see Silent laying on the ground in similar chains to mine. Lyrica was advancing with a chain sliding limply off of her.  The dancer touched the chains that bound Silent and me. A streak of golden light ran up them and I was filled with warmth. The chains loosened and dropped off. The road, forest, and my friends were right there. I shook my head to clear that awful voice.  “What is goin’ on? How can ya do that? Are ya a celestial? If ya are ya have ta tell me. There’s a truce and these fillies came on their own.” The chain pony’s voice still stung my ears. “I may be pretty but I’m not a Celestial,” my friend cried. Silent started to rouse as well and we stood near her. “An infernal then? This here is my beat. Ya best get yer own.” The chain pony’s eyes glowed a dark red like a deep pit of magma. His chains lifted like a spider threatening attackers.  “As if,” Lyrica spat. “I’m not anything divine. I am a dancer.” “What?” The chains shook slightly in surprise.  “I dance. Mostly lyrical but ballet too. And some hip hop.” Lyrica was talking in her normal enthusiastic tone. She was having a normal conversation with a demon. “I see.” A chain reached over and scratched his head. “Well whoever ya are. Ya, mind letting me do my job? And make some deals?” “These are my friends! And you’re bad news,” Lyrica turned up her nose at the demon.  The chain’s lashed out and smashed the dancer in the face. It happened so fast the unicorn barely saw it coming. She flew through the air and flopped on the dusty road behind us. Silent immediately ran after her. I followed but the chain caught me by the leg. I could feel that cold filling me, making life seem useless, fruitless. Nothing was good anymore. My friends would probably die in this fight. I would follow them. “I said stop!” Lyrica burst through again and the chain came off. “You two get the bell ready. I’ll cover you.” “What? How?” I asked the grey blur as it passed. Instead of an answer, Silent’s hoof began pulling me up.  Golden sparks erupted in front of my eyes as the chains bounced impotently off an equally golden shield in front of me. Lyrica’s magic flowed out her horn and pumped more magic into the defensive spell.   “I didn’t know you could do that!” I cried as the chains returned. The small slivers of glowing magic filled the air again. I followed Silent’s pull and moved away from the battle. “Neither did I” Lyrica admitted then shrieked as another chain struck the shield. “But I don’t think I can for long. Will you two please get that bell working?!” I looked at Silent who nodded at me. She powered up the multicolored horn on her head. Then her magenta aura wrapped itself around the landmark resting on the ground. The bell slowly lifted off the ground. Sweat poured off her brow as she pleaded with me to help. I didn’t need to know sign language to understand.  I tried my best to focus. The chain pony’s whinny sheared through my ears. The explosions of magical defenses protecting us shook my hooves. Silent’s soul-piercing plea ate at my heart. I wasn’t sure I could help at all.  Magical bits of golden shards flew past me as the defense spell shattered. Lyrica began to fall. Silent cried a voiceless scream. The bell was in mid-air and I had to do something. I pulled my mind from doubt and just did. The blue magic I carried wrapped around the instrument. It fused with Silent’s. Together we pulled the weapon up and looked in defiance at the irate fiend.  “Now!” I cried and hoped Silent understood my signal. We both shook the large clapper and slammed it into the silver edge of the bell.  The sound carried with it that warm feeling I felt before we stole it. This time my entire body vibrated with its mighty tone. A shockwave of blue and magenta energy pulsed through the air striking the chain demon. It screamed in annoyance and frustration. Dark shadows and mist erupted from its form. It scattered to the wind like black ash. It was beautiful.  The bell fell from our magical grasp with an unwarming clang. Silent winked at me and I nodded back. Then she looked down at the fallen pony in front of us and froze. Her eyes widened and she dropped to the ground next to our fallen comrade.  I followed her example and hoped Lyrica wasn’t struck. Those chains looked like they could do more than injure a pony. Silent was pressing her hooves all over Lyrica’s body. She looked at me with tears in her eyes.  I looked closer, the dancer’s eyes were open and she was looking at the horizon. They were empty. It looked similar to the body we found earlier. But she was still breathing at least.  Silent tugged on my sleeve. There was panic in her eyes underneath the tears. I didn’t know how to help either. I just shook my head sadly. Maybe we could get her back to town and some pony there could help. The sound of hoof steps rumbled in the distance. I followed the sound with my head. There were a lot of them. I could see the billow of dust in the moonlight as they galloped down the dusty road. I touched Silent’s hoof and pointed.  Soon the ponies were close enough to identify. It was the unicorns of Bridlewood. I knew them all. It was our town. Were they here to chastise us or aid us? It was odd we were sitting next to another pony like this. “What’s going on?” Alphabittle, the large grey unicorn that ran the Crystal Tearoom, asked.  “Why did you ring the Bridlewood bell?” asked Bindle Wood, the school teacher. “I … well you see..” Any explanation I could give might make me sound crazy. Though in the world we live in we should be more open. “They chased away the Chain Pony!” shouted Wispy. “They’re detectives. Supernatural detectives no less. Ya all don’t remember the danger that comes from having magic anymore. I do. But these fillies saw the danger and rushed to fight it.” Was Old Stallion Wispy respected enough to be believed? I had no idea. But the unicorns looked at each other with concern and fear.  “Is this true?” Rune Dustbrush asked me. I thought the purple pony’s eyes were going to pop out of her head.  “We helped defeat the chain pony, but Lyrica did most of the fighting. Silent and I just rang the bell.” It was normal of me to downplay my involvement. Another pull on my leg reminded me of the true issue. “Lyrica is injured. Does any pony know healing spells?” “Yeah, of course,” a nurse pushed her way in and scanned her body with a red magical glow. I shuddered thinking of the chain pony’s biting red eyes.  “She’s depleted of her magic,” the nurse said in a much calmer voice. “She’s fine, she just overexerted herself. It’s part of gaining our magic. I know we’re not used to it yet but this must have taken a lot.” “She defended us against the demon,” I told them. Silent was sobbing over her friend. She hadn’t heard the diagnosis. I didn’t know how to tell her it was fine. I needed to learn sign language. “I’ll restore what I can but she needs at least a week of rest from magic.” The nurse’s horn increased in strength and a bright red glow illuminated the street. Lyrica began to glow in the red field. Silent looked at her in panic. I could only run over and hold her to reassure her.  The glowing stopped and the light returned to Lyrica’s eyes. She coughed and blinked. Then her pink maned head lifted off the ground and stared at everypony there.  “Did we win?” “Yes,” I answered. My answer was lost as Silent wrapped her hooves around Lyrica’s head. She was still crying. It was odd seeing such an enthusiastic pony cry. I made a mental note to write a poem about a crying balloon. Or perhaps a clown. I shuddered at the thought of a clown. Worse than cheerleaders. “They seem to be telling the truth.” Alphabittle turned to the much smaller unicorns gathered. “I think we owe them a lot. We all have to be careful and more open to accepting new things and ideas. Princess Sunny Starscout taught me that.” He turned to us. “You mares have saved our village. Thank you. I’ll find a space for your detective agency in my building, let’s hope you’re not too busy. The Bells of Bridlewood. I can see that.” “Thank you?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a detective. I was a poet. Poetry and detective work didn’t go together that often. But Lyrica popped off the ground in excitement. “The Lyrica’s Belles of Bridlewood Detective agency! ” The unicorn cried in triumph then nearly toppled over. Silent caught her quickly. The deaf pony started signaling immediately.  “Fine, I’ll drop the name,” sighed the weary warrior. “Alright. We thank you for your offer Alphabittle but Silent and I think it might be better to have the agency in Silent’s studio.” “No problem.” The huge unicorn shrugged his mighty muscles and picked up the Bell of Bridlewood with his hooves. Then he placed it on his back and steadied it with his magic as he turned towards the town. The town ponies followed him.  “Silent and I will carry you back,” I told Lyrica who looked like she was about to protest, then relented as her legs shook. The walk back was mostly silent. I tried not to think about the Chain Pony or any other demon that could be waiting to take its place. Magic was a part of us now. It wasn’t going anywhere. But that didn’t mean we were safe. In fact, it seemed to make us targets of worse things than earth ponies and pegasi. And on top of that, I was one of the first defenses this town had. It was a dark future ahead, but then they didn’t call me Gloomy for anything.