//------------------------------// // Ch.11 - Into the Woods // Story: The Witching Hour - Looking Forward to the Past // by Chaotic Ink //------------------------------// “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Midnight grumbled as she stared down at the letter she’d just gotten. Windrunner and Hazelnut, who were with her observing the guards training in the courtyard, gave her a questioning look but she just waved them away with a wing. It was her first day truly back on the job after recovering from the trap she’d set off just over two weeks ago and already the princesses were asking her to do something. At least it wasn’t to babysit Discord, even if he was “reformed”. While all the uninterrupted cuddling with Sapphire and Squeaks had been a nice change of pace, she’d been determined to get back to work when she started staying awake all day and didn’t feel like she’d been hit by the express train. It just wasn’t in her to lay around all day, even if it was what made her housemates, marefriend, and even daughter feel better. As the reports she’d gotten while recovering had made it seem like all was quiet and calm back at the ruined castle, she felt that she could, at the very least, sit in and observe how training was going and possibly do some paperwork. After discussing it with Sapphire and promising she’d take it easy she’d gone ahead to the old castle. Not without escort, however. Her grandmother had shepherded her to the castle practically the moment she’d stepped outside and had made a place for herself just outside the walls of the training yard closest to where Midnight usually observed from. While the kirin was grateful to not have to deal with any of the forest's native predators, she still didn’t like feeling babied. Then again, there really wasn’t much she could do or say to stop the dragon so she lived with it. The revelation of her true relationship to Shoal had made the times she was awake interesting in ways the kirin wouldn’t have thought of before. First there was the fact that she was finally learning things about her father that she could never have from the few years her mother knew him, like how adventurous he was and how it drove her grandfather crazy at times. Next was how Squeaks took to learning that the giant dragon that could flatten Ponyville just by tripping was in fact her great grandmother. Points to the little thestral; she DID talk with Shoal, though from the perceived safety of under Midnight’s wing as the kirin sunbathed. Finally was how Summer and Shoal got along. The unicorn had been just as shocked as her daughter and had been nervous to approach her newly discovered mother-in-law. Summer had come over to pay her respects but soon found herself swapping stories of Windstorm with Shoal, who wanted to know how her only hatchling had met his wife and how he was doing the last time Summer saw him. By the time Midnight had started going back to the castle, Shoal was seen as another member of the family. Her guards welcomed her back and it was obvious that no-one, that she saw training, anyway, was slacking while she was recovering. She stopped at the Kirin’s Grove to pay respects to her aunt and the other kirins, then went to her office and began going through the more detailed reports when she felt tired all over again. Ever since the Kirin’s Grove had been opened, guards had supposedly seen things moving in the shadows. No-one had ever gotten a look at it but those that had seen it out of the corners of their eyes agreed that it was small so everyone wrote it off as some kind of mouse or rat that had been disturbed and that was that. At least until Dandelion had seen it. Then the shadow grew, had glowing yellow eyes, made stones slide and wood beams creak, shook old suits of armor, and stalked guards wherever they went. He may or may not have also claimed it was the ghost of her great-aunt, released from her tomb to haunt ponies. To Midnight and others, mostly the lieutenants and sergeants according to the reports, this was just a load of stories from a bored guard. To the rest it was enough to convince them that the old castle, if not out-right haunted, at least had something moving around in it that none of them wanted to meet while alone. It was frustrating to give a guard a patrol only to find them later either asking others to join them or for them to have conveniently found other work they just had to do instead. Midnight had cornered him when he’d come back from patrol that day and forbid him to tell any more stories. If she found out he was still flapping his gums, she threatened to give him a post in the darkest, most scary looking part of the castle they were free to still roam around in and keep him there until the stories died out or he grew old and retired, whichever came first. The corporal had emphatically promised to keep his mouth shut. It wouldn’t stop the stories right away, not with them being spread throughout the guard already, but it would bring down the fervor and, in time, become something just to spook future recruits. Now, to be fair, there were legitimate threats scattered through the old castle, as Midnight had learned first-hoof. There were other traps that needed to be disarmed by either Celestia and Luna themselves or highly skilled unicorns for starters. A lot of magic was still in the castle, either having seeped into the very stones themselves or from the many magical books that had been left in the library, which attracted magical creatures like bookwyrms and mistforms. The books themselves could be traps or have sensitive information. Other creatures could have moved in as well in the thousand-plus years the castle sat as ruins, like cockatrices or mimics. Even the ruins themselves could be a hazard with crumbling stone bricks and rotting beams that could fall onto someone without warning. The guards had enough on their plates with what could really hurt them without being spooked by shadows and campfire stories. Thankfully, that had been the worst of it and the following days passed with relative ease. Midnight was even starting to fly again, though not without everyone telling her to take it easy and not to push herself so soon. The itch to get back into the air again wasn’t helped when Ember finally did so under her own power at the same time. The little kirin just wouldn’t stay on the ground after that and it made the older kirin want to be airborne even more. Maybe once she was fully recovered she and Sapphire would go on a flight to Canterlot and back; just a day of thermals and breezes and maybe a picnic in the clouds. It was a wonderful thought. Speaking of kirins, Norik was also adapting to life in Ponyville and seemed to be doing well. His cabin had been finished during the week Discord and Screwball were undergoing their little reform and Midnight had sent a letter to Eden to keep her son in Canterlot until the issue had been resolved. After the incident with the trap, Eden had brought Norik back to Ponyville and the teen had practically made a bee-line to Zecora when they’d been told what had happened. Apparently his teacher had told him about potions that could restore magic and energy in ponies and he wanted Zecora to teach him how to make it. The zebra agreed, but only on the condition that he only made enough of it for one dose. “A sip a day is all that you may,” the zebra had warned Midnight when she and Norik had come by with the potion, “otherwise those you love will fret; you will be just like Trixie with the amulet!” “It can corrupt me if I drink too much, got it,” Midnight said as she had inspected the green liquid. It didn’t look all that appealing to begin with. One taste, though, and she wanted to chug it all right then and there, not to mention she felt almost completely better and could have flown to Canterlot and back at full speed. Thankfully they had only given her the sip from a separate small glass and Sapphire had already hidden it by slipping out the side door and given it to Shoal to hide in the woods. Midnight eventually placated herself by eating through more of her gem stores than she normally did and despite feeling better stayed rested up in the house. Games with Squeaks helped pass the time. She kept up the swallow a day just on the off chance that an emergency happened but one thankfully never did and Zecora disposed of the potion once Midnight’s original allotted recovery time was done. While she was grateful to both Norik and Zecora for the pick-me-up, Midnight suspected it was why she was fidgety near the end. Once she was officially off sick-leave she’d gone and hunted down the biggest buck she could find. Despite that, because of what had just gone down with Discord and Trixie before that, not to mention the almost back-to-back runaround that had been the changeling invasion and the Crystal Empire’s return, she was ready for the rest of the summer and maybe even the fall up to and past her birthday to be nice and quiet. So of course the princesses decided to drop something else into her lap in the form of a letter popping out of a puff of smoke from the dragon fire lighter Midnight kept in her saddle bags. Midnight had caught it in her wing claw as it fell from the puff of smoke and let out a sigh of resignation and thought of asking Shoal if wyverns took naps as long as dragons did. Deciding that she was an adult with adult responsibilities, she broke the seal, unrolled the scroll and began reading. Captain Storm, We hope you are doing well and have made a full recovery. With what has recently happened we are reluctant to pass this along but we’ve received a request from the chief of Hollow Shades police, Night Stick, that you come back to Hollow Shades to help with an investigation of attempted break-ins happening around the town. While this would normally be something you wouldn’t be bothered with, the apparent culprit(s) are not ponies nor are they kirins (unfortunately) but something else altogether. He feels that you and your guard would be the best ones to help with this matter and Luna and myself agree. Not only are you able to turn into a wyvern and your grandmother is a dragon, but your ranks have some of the most action orientated guards of all three branches. If anyone could be relied upon to get such a job done in full, it is the Bearer Guard. We again understand you have just finished recovering, however we know your officers and know how capable they are and they’ve already proven they can handle themselves when they escorted Twilight and her friends up to the Crystal Empire recently. You yourself do not need to go and you can assign an officer to go in your place. Chief Night Stick will understand. Please reply as quickly as possible. -Princesses Celestia and Luna “All the things happening around here recently and they want to send us off to do police work in another town?” Disgust was clear in her voice and both Windrunner and Hazelnut looked at her again. “Don’t worry about it,” she told them, pulling out a piece of paper and writing a quick letter back to them. Princesses, Absolutely not. This is the BEARER Guard. If Chief Night Stick is so worried about a creature stalking the town that doesn’t sound like a kirin, send some Solar and Lunar guards. I’m sure they can handle running off some animal. The Bearer Guard has more important things to keep an eye on. -Midnight The short note disappeared in the flames of the dragon fire lighter that she quickly put back in her saddle bags. She snorted, just realizing what Sapphire would say if she ever read the letter she’d just sent to the Equestrian Royalty. “I’m not getting a real break anytime soon, am I?” she grumbled. “Is everything alright, ma’am?” Hazelnut asked. “We can handle things here,” Windrunner offered. Midnight waved a wing at them. “Nothing the Bearer Guard should have to worry about and I’m fine,” she assured them, giving her wings a quick flap and standing up straighter. “All we need to worry about right now is getting everyone to do their job properly without jumping at shadows.” Windrunner and Hazelnut both rolled their eyes and looked back down at the drilling guards. A minute later, a sound came from Midnight’s saddle bags and another puff of smoke came out of them, becoming another scroll and being caught by Midnight before it fell. The kirin stared at the letter for a few seconds with tabled eyelids, then opened it just as Windrunner was about to say something. Captain Storm, Based on the report of what you and your guards saw last time you were there, about these “giant owls”, it’s clear to us that whatever is living in the forest around Hollow Shades would be more than a match for the Solar and Lunar Guard, even with the experience of the thestrals of the Lunar Guard. I believe I should remind you of the owlursus you encountered some time ago as an example of why the Solar and Lunar guard might not be able to handle the situation in the best of ways. The Bearer Guard has the most physically powerful fighters in its ranks, as well as the most experienced when it comes to dealing with wild creatures, so it only makes sense that it would be the Bearer Guard who takes on this assignment. There’s no need to send the entire guard or, again, even yourself, as you do protect the most valuable assets in all of Equestria. However, a detachment to perform a full investigation with the HSPD is warranted. Lives may be on the line if what happened to the farmsteads out there are to be believed. If something truly worrying is indeed happening out there, we will not hesitate to send reinforcements as soon as possible. One of your lieutenants leading a small team should be enough to investigate the matter. -Princess Celestia P.S.- Luna volunteers the thestrals of the Lunar Guard if you feel that helps in any way. Midnight sighed resignedly as she finished reading. “She has a point,” she muttered. For a few seconds she contemplated just going there with Shoal to burn the entire forest down, then decided she was once again being overdramatic. Instead she began mentally going over the roster to choose who to bring with her. “Captain?” Hazelnut asked. “We’ve gotten a request from Hollow Shades via the princesses to help in an investigation there for something that is stalking the town. As there’s a chance that what is there could be on par with an owlursus, the Bearer Guard is the one getting the assignment,” Midnight told her two lieutenants, pulling out the first letter and handling them both over. “I’ll make up a small team to bring with me while the rest of you stay here.” “According to this you don’t need to go,” Windrunner said as she finished reading the letters, “and you really shouldn’t. You just finished recovering from that trap.” “I can handle it,” Midnight told her dismissively. “Sapphire will agree with me,” the pegasus said, turning to fully face her. Shoal’s head lifted from where she was laying and cocked towards them. When Midnight stopped looking into the distance and turned to look at her directly, she continued. “You just had most of whatever magic you have sucked out of you by a trap that could have killed you and while you may be recovered that’s no reason to immediately jump into another situation. Lieutenant Hazelnut or myself can put together a team and go ourselves while you stay here and keep an eye on the bearers. You didn’t have a problem with us going to the Crystal Empire on our own.” Midnight studied her First Lieutenant and friend, then sighed. “Windrunner, whenever the bearers have gotten into real, serious trouble that requires the Elements, when have I NOT been physically injured? I’ll grant that when Discord got free the first time it was you who got hurt worse, but I still got my share of scrapes. When Chrysalis invaded I took a good beating and those crystal statues weren’t going soft on me and now just this last time when we set Discord free, well,” she motioned towards herself. “Not to mention the hydra, Spike during his greed-growth…” “Little Spike went through a greed-growth?” Shoal asked, leaning over to hear better. “I promise to explain later,” Midnight deflected. “I think the only times I wasn’t hurt was with the owlursus and the bunyips.” “You’re trying to say that you’d actually be in more danger here with the bearers if something went down than out hunting some unknown creature in a pitch-black forest?” Hazelnut supplied. “Basically, if the angle you’re going for is my safety,” Midnight agreed. “And you wouldn’t throw yourself into the fight while out there?” Windrunner asked a little hotly. Midnight raised an eyebrow. “And I wouldn’t do the same here?” the kirin countered. “Well… you..” Windrunner stammered, trying to argue. “Fine, you have a point there,” the pegasus conceded. “But you’re also the one that usually comes up with a solution or, at the very least, keeps everyone’s head level enough to think straight. If you’re not here, things could go sideways faster than Rainbow.” “So you’re saying that, contrary to what the princesses think and that I agree with, my officers are not capable?” the kirin asked casually. “Midnight!” Windrunner practically growled. “Why won’t you let us do this? You were hurt and don’t need to go! Shoal should hold you down until the train leaves!” Said dragon chuckled. “Because I need my best and brightest here where they can actually do some good if something goes wrong, not running around a pitch-black forest where there might not be anything at all!” Midnight snapped back. “I want to go, not only because I firmly believe that there’s a reduced risk of me getting hurt again so soon if I leave the bearers in your care, but because no-one else is going to have the audacity to tell Night Stick and the princesses to go jump off a roof if it comes down to that. How long are either of you going to stay in Hallow Shades even if you don’t find anything just because this was a request from the princesses?” The heat died in Windrunner’s eyes and both she and Hazelnut looked guilty. “Exactly,” Midnight said, “Sapphire’s right that it’ll get me in trouble one of these days but I feel it’s necessary to push that particular envelope on a regular basis. Weird as it sounds, I think it’s good for them, too. I know Luna appreciates the discourse over being surrounded by yes-ponies.” “That is because they are practical thinkers,” Shoal said, “and practical thinkers get tired of yes-beings easily. Is there any chance I could be part of your small team? As I understand it, when you dealt with the owlursus you needed your wyvern form to end the problem; I could be a good substitute in case more than that comes up.” Midnight examined her grandmother thoughtfully. “Knowing Hollow Shades, there’d be panic. That said, having you just step on whatever is out there would make things easier. As for me not having a problem with you all going up to the Crystal Empire,” she said, turning back to Windrunner, “that was you performing normal guard duties, so of course I’d have no problem with it.” From what she’d heard from Windrunner, she hadn’t missed much except some exasperation. From what she’d heard from Arina, Squeaks had saved her a headache by not sneaking off with the CMC. Windrunner sighed, knowing she’d lost the argument. At least her friend and captain would have a Tartarus of a body guard. “Sapphire won’t like this,” she warned again, “and shouldn’t you take more than a small group? Shoal can’t be everywhere you can.” “I’d feel better keeping most of the guard here in Ponyville, where the fan seems to be getting thoroughly caked as of late,” Midnight said. “I’ll take a carefully chosen team with me so that we have some advantage over whatever is going on out there and that can hold out if we really need those reinforcements.” The two officers looked back at the courtyard. “Maybe take Dandelion to get him out of here?” Windrunner suggested. “It might help with the ghost stories issue at least.” “Not a bad idea but this IS Hollow Shades; he’s just as likely to come back with even MORE stuff to make everyone jumpy,” Midnight said, rejecting the suggestion. Hazelnut nodded. “He would.” The kirin sighed. “I’ll let Sapphire know, get that out of the way, then go over the roster tonight. I should have a list ready in the morning.” The pegasus and the kirin did indeed argued about Midnight going when she’d been told what was going on. She had to admit, just like Windrunner, that the kirin made good points and the idea of Shoal watching over her helped sway the pegasus. “I want two more ponies to go with you as well then, since you’re not going to listen,” she finally demanded. “Okay, who?” Midnight asked, genuinely curious. “First, I want Lieutenant Iron Ore there. I want at least one medic there because who knows how tracking down a creature like the princesses are describing will end up. That, and I like how she stands up to you.” The kirin nodded. “Fair enough; I did like her answer during the interview.” Despite herself, Sapphire chuckled. “And the second?” “Me,” Sapphire said, “I’m going with you. I trust Shoal to keep your best interest in mind but I want extra insurance. The more voices telling you not to do something, the more likely you are not to.” Sapphire sighed and nuzzled her marefriend. “You just have this way of making me worry.” “It’s not like I go out of my way,” Midnight told her, nuzzling her back. “No but I wish you’d think of how Squeaks and I feel about it more often.” “Duly noted,” the kirin said, growl-purring. ----------------------------- They nearly woke up late the next morning and had just made it to the training yard as the guards were changing shifts. Midnight rounded up her chosen roster and took them to the side to brief them on the mission. Windrunner and Hazelnut took the officers to the other side to explain what was going on. Midnight’s choices were First Sergeant Night Sky, Corporals Scarlet Claw and Lance Breaker, and Privates Amber Armor, Autumn Pillar, Milk Run, and Bright Dawn. Night sky because she had been to Hollow Shades before and had seen what was most likely the cause of the trouble as well as her night vision, Scarlet for her tracking abilities, and the others to round out the main part of the team with a single earth pony, two pegasi, and two unicorns. Buzz and Trill were there because Honey had been asked at dinner if she could keep an eye on Squeaks while they were gone, thus finding out about the mission. She liked the idea of Midnight going about as much as Sapphire did and had forced her own two choices to be added to the list, namely two of her guards. To be honest Midnight liked the idea of having two changelings on this mission as they could sneak around so much better than any of them could. It might even be safer for them to enter the forest, though she’d only send them in if she really had to. Arina was going as well, of course. Midnight, Sapphire, Night Sky, Buzz, and Trill all had dragon fire lighters and Sapphire pointed out that if anything was going wrong in Ponyville there would be ample ways for them to get told about it, so leaving the spider behind didn’t make sense. Midnight pointed out that the smoke and noise would be worse than silently telling Arina to give her a minute but caved when Sapphire further pointed out that Arina could sneak around places much better than any of them could sans the changelings and they could give her backup. This brought the team up to fourteen members. It wasn’t as easily divisible as Midnight had hoped if they needed to split up for any reason but it would have to do. “The mission for our little group here is to head out to Hollow Shades to investigate possible hostile creatures poking around the town,” Midnight explained. “The plan is to go in, discover whatever has gotten the natives’ dander up, deal with it appropriately, and then get back ASAP, hopefully in time to help with whatever has gone side-ways this week.” “Why are we going?” Private Armor asked. “Shouldn’t we be here, protecting the bearers?” “Corporal Claw,” Midnight said, turning toward the hippogriff and seeming to ignore the private’s question. “When we fought the owlursus, about how many guards would have been needed to subdue it had I not gone wyvern?” Scarlet thought for a moment. “I’d say at least a couple dozen? It wouldn’t make things easy so you could even need double or triple the numbers to finally take it out.” Midnight nodded. “And the Solar and Lunar guard can’t just send over fifty guards to a town at the drop of a hat, not to mention that would all be just for one creature. I was given reports that there may be more than one of whatever is out there.” The reports she’d been given when she told the princesses yes had indicated more than one pair of eyes being seen. “If it’s such a dangerous creature, then how come there haven’t been any reported casualties?” Private Milk Run asked. Midnight nodded at him as well. “What anyone who hasn’t been to the town before won’t know is that there have been many attempts to set up farms out of and around the town, just like Sweet Apple Acres is not within Ponyville proper. Every single one of these attempts have failed and the owners of these farms either leave the town in a big hurry… or are never seen again and their fates can only be guessed at. It is believed that whatever is getting those farmers is what is now poking around the outskirts of the town.” Something that stood out to her in the report the princesses had passed along was that there hadn’t been another attempt to set up a new farm in a while. If something had started seeing ponies as a somewhat regular food source out there, it wouldn’t be surprising that it would start sniffing around the town. It was possible that it wasn’t doing more than peeking through windows because the presence of so many buildings spooked it in return. If that was the case, that would only hold off the inevitable for so long. A quiet descended over the group until Corporal Lancer Breaker spoke up. “Y-You mentioned that Specialist Shoal will be coming with us,” he motioned to the dragon on the other side of the castle wall, her head poking over to listen, “but what about Private Long Spine? Shouldn’t he be going with us? If these creatures are starting to come into town, she won’t be able to help us.” “While it’s important for us to be as safe as possible, I cannot take so many with us that the bearers can’t be guarded sufficiently. Private Long Spine will remain behind so the guard here at home has some muscle.” “What about Private Umbra Shroud?” Night asked. “Wouldn’t her ability to move through shadows be helpful in a place like Hollow Shades?” “She had problems back in the Empire with almost getting lost in very shadowy places,” Midnight explained. “Hollow Shades is practically made up of shadows, so it’s better to keep her here.” “And I assume that Corporal Dark Cleaver and Sergeant Star Claw are staying behind for the same reason as Private Spine?” Night added. “Correct. That said, we will be having help when we arrive. The princesses have offered to send some Solar and Lunar guards to help, five thestrals and six ponies to be precise. The thestrals will be extra eyes and ears at night and the ponies will patrol during the day, hopefully reassuring the townsfolk that everything is under control,” she paused for a second, “and that Shoal isn’t going to eat them.” She’d asked for guards from the other two branches to be in the town with them so that someone could help Night Stick and his police keep the townsfolk calm while her guard did their work. She didn’t need fear-rattled ponies in her ear when she needed to focus. The brief explosion of snickers quickly died away and took some of the tension with it. “Also, we have the changeling guards Buzz and Trill going with us. I’ve seen first-hoof how they can change into animals that can toss some weight around, so we won’t be completely helpless if the creatures move further into town.” “One more thing, captain,” Night Sky said. “The last time we were there, the three of us saw those big owls over the forest. Wouldn’t it be better to have more flyers if that turns out to be the case?” “Except we don’t know for sure,” Midnight pointed out, “so I’d rather have a well-rounded team so we won’t be caught flat-hooved. Specialist Shoal can handle whatever we can’t.” “I’ll do my best,” the dragon said. “So, if there are no more questions, then everyone get ready and meet up at the train station in one hour.” The group dispersed and Sapphire sidled up next to her. “I’m glad that you’re saying that Shoal will take care of things, but I’m still worried you’ll jump in to help her if there’s more than one of whatever is out there.” “Not to jinx things but unless Shoal somehow can’t handle an entire flock of those oversized owls, I doubt I’ll need to go wyvern,” Midnight told her, trying to dismiss a sudden thought of a gang of dragons descending on the town. ----------------------------- They met Chief Night Stick and the Solar and Lunar guards at the train platform when they arrived in Hollow Shades later that evening. “Chief Night Stick,” Midnight said with a nod. “Captain Storm,” the officer replied with a nod of his own, “thank you for your help with this. Ponies have been getting more and more jumpy; a unicorn just blew a hole in his wall last night when he thought he saw something outside his window. Speaking of ponies being jumpy,” he looked up into the sky, “is your, um, special weapon close behind you?” “Shoal is going the long way around,” Midnight told him. “She’ll be landing in the woods nearby after dark. If anything is waiting near the town, she’ll scare them off. Before dawn she’ll move towards one of those abandoned farms to hopefully stay out of sight. Speaking of which, I’d like the location of those farms; if what is bothering the town now is the same thing that caused ponies to abandon them, I want to steak them out to see if they’ll come back if Shoal doesn’t flush them when she gets here.” She was about to turn and address the officers of the other guards when she added, “the ground is going to shake a bit when she lands as a heads up.” Night Stick nodded in understanding. “Since you’re going into those woods, I suggest you remember what I said the last time you were here and NOT get separated. For me, anyway, something as big as a dragon close by actually make me feel safer in a way.” Midnight nodded back to him, then she turned to the thestrals of the Lunar Guard first. “Lieutenant Star Chaser, it’s good to see you again.” “Yourself as well, ma’am,” Chaser said with a slight bow, “I can only assume you want us to act as scouts during the night.” “I do but your group and Night Sky will be the tip of the spear should things go down tonight. I plan to have the same schedule I kept the last time I was here; awake for half the night and then half the day. As you most likely won’t see any ponies out and about after dark you probably won’t have to deal with the public that much. You lot, on the other hoof,” Midnight turned to the Solar guards. “Sergeant Sharp Eye, ma’am,” the head of the group of Solar guards said, saluting with a white hoof. “Sergeant, you and your guards are going to have one of the toughest jobs here: keeping the townsfolk from panicking. If they do they could hurt themselves, each other, one or more of us, or even give whatever is stalking the town a chance to make a move. I don’t see a need to have you go into the woods but still be prepared to just in case. If we have a worse-case scenario go down, it’ll be all hooves on deck.” “Understood ma’am. Will any of your guards be joining us during the day?” he asked, looking at the rest of the Bearer guards present. His gaze swept over the changelings but didn’t linger on them, Midnight noticed. “More than likely we’ll be spending the day time patrolling the abandoned farms, so only tomorrow morning before I get up should the two guards mingle. Only if someone gets injured enough out there will they come back here and at that point I doubt our medic will allow them back on patrol so soon.” “Damn right,” Iron Ore said just loud enough to be heard. “In short if we start truly combining the guards, things are going south in a hurry,” Midnight continued. “That said, do keep an eye out anyway; who knows what these creatures may be up to and since ponies here barely even look at the forest, they might be missing something very obvious.” Sharp Eye nodded. “We’ll keep an eye out, ma’am. I was in Canterlot during and after the changeling invasion, so I understand how a spooked populous can get.” “Really?” Midnight said, studying the earth pony carefully. Arina, who had been sitting quietly on her owner’s back, leaned over to see him better and made an unsure chirp. “Yes, and I can assure you I personally harbor no ill-will towards them, as do none of the guards with me,” he told her, his volume dropping a few levels. “Captain Holly was rather specific on that point.” “I appreciate that, sergeant,” Midnight said, “it gives me one less thing to worry about. Now,” she said, loud enough for everyone to hear, “with your permission, Chief, we’ll set up in the inn again. As the Bearer guard will be moving out to inspect the farms tomorrow, we shouldn’t be a problem for the inn-keeper for long.” “Rumchata was pleased with how you all acted last time,” Night Stick said, “so I doubt he’ll have an issue with your group staying again.” “Let’s hope this stay ends on a positive note as well,” Midnight said, motioning for them all to move off the platform. “So you’re going to stay up for most of the night and wake up late the next morning?” Sapphire asked as they made their way into the town proper. “It means not being around for the morning shift change, I know,” Midnight told her, “but considering I have better night vision than normal ponies I feel I should spend some time with the thestrals on night patrol like I did last time. I’d stay awake better the first half of the night than I would be woken up in the early hours of the morning.” “That would better explain the sleeping on the train,” Sapphire admitted, having been worried again about her marefriend’s health when she’d immediately conked out once the train left Ponyville. Before they had left Ponyville, they’d gotten into another argument, this time about what Sapphire would be doing while they were in Hollow Shades. Midnight wanted her to stay with the guards back in the town while Sapphire said she was going to go wherever Midnight was going. She’d already packed her personal set of hoof-blades. “Why are you being so stubborn about this!?” Midnight had finally yelled. “You know what happened when the owlursus came to town!” “Because something is going to happen!” Sapphire shot back. “I don’t know what it is but with Norik arriving in town and Shoal turning out to be your grandmother and finding your great aunt’s grave; I just know something is going to happen with you and your family and I… I want to be there with you when it happens. I need to be there. It’s like what I felt when you went away to the dragon migration, only worse. Call it a premonition or whatever but I know something is going to happen.” Midnight had brought Sapphire in for a hug and wrapped them I her wings. “You know I would never abandon you and Squeaks,” she told her as they nuzzled, “not even if it meant losing my dad for good. You two are my family, too, you know.” “It’s not just you choosing to leave us behind,” Sapphire said. “You’ve had more close shaves than I want to think about.” “Yeah, I have,” Midnight agreed, “and it can’t be easy for you. All I can say is to let me focus on what needs to be done, and I should be able to come home each night. Other than the trap, all the other times have been to defend you and Squeaks, am I right?” Sapphire had nodded. “I think that’s why this last time especially made me scared; because it was over something not worth risking your life for.” “Makes sense,” Midnight agreed again and sighed. “Just promise me that when I tell you to do something, you’ll do it without hesitation. If I tell you to haul tail, I better see a blue trail like Rainbow’s or Windrunner’s going over the horizon. If you’re not in danger, then I won’t have a need to be in the meat grinder again, right?” “Right,” Sapphire had said with a nod. Back in Hollow Shades, Midnight leaned in conspiratorially as they approached the inn. “Had this not come up, I wanted to take a day to just spend time together, whatever we wanted to do. How about I make it a week?” she whispered, the last sentence being in a seductive tone. She smiled as Sapphire leaned into her. Arina, sensing her third wheel status, ducked into the saddle bag opposite of Sapphire. “Normally I’d say to just keep it a day, but yeah, I’ll take a week,” Sapphire said, nuzzling her neck. “A nice, long week. Midnight growl-purred. ----------------------------- “So, this is one of the farms?” Milk Run asked as they landed, the cart holding the non-flyers creaking ominously in the quiet woods. The farm house they’d come down in front of looked older than any of them expected it to. What wasn’t covered with overgrown plant life was rotting or peeling and had the look of being abandoned for decades instead of the few years reported. It was the kind of place that foals would whisper was haunted and adults would keep clear of, both because of the structural instability and because they couldn’t help but feel the foals were right. It would have been right at home in one of Midnight’s horror novels. “And the place we’re going to stake out tonight,” Midnight told him, carefully moving closer to the building. There might not be ghosts but there could certainly be something living in there that would put up a fight. She was thankful she already had her armor pieces on and ready to deploy. The previous night had mostly been a bust. When Shoal landed things had indeed been sent running but nothing big had moved between the town and the dragon, so any hope of catching their mystery creature first thing was down the drain. The thestrals reported that they could see the giant owls far out into the forest, flying over the trees and Sky said there were more of them then last time but they weren’t coming anywhere near the town. Buzz and Trill, who had changed into thestrals themselves, agreed. Arina, who had been skittering between houses at the edge of town, hadn’t seen anything either. With Shoal there now, they probably wouldn’t anyway and they debated if the increase of numbers was due to Shoal scaring them up, like a cat jumping into a group of crows or pigeons. In the end nothing much else happened and without knowing for sure that the owls were responsible Midnight didn’t want Shoal going after them, so the next day after she’d gotten up they went ahead with the next part of the plan. Not wanting to go into the trees and risk getting lost unless they absolutely had to, Midnight had arranged to rent a large cart to carry the non-flyers. If worse came to worse, Shoal could just pick it up and carry them all in it. It’s presence outside the house might also signal to whatever was out here that ponies were back and occupying it again, thus giving them a reason to come out of the trees. This would be further encouraged by Shoal staying where she was from the night before unless she heard any kind of loud commotion coming from the direction of the house. If she did, she’d be on the scene in a heartbeat. “I want the place swept from basement to attic before we set ourselves up for the night,” Midnight told them as she carefully moved up the stairs, “the last thing we need is for something to pop up among us while something outside has our attention.” They all followed her up the stairs and into the house, the front door being wide open. When they got inside, they discovered it broken in pieces on the floor and a closer inspection of the hinges showed they were almost pulled out of the frame. It was obvious something and broken the door down. “Looks like someplace you’d enjoy,” Sapphire said as she looked around the interior of the house which looked just as creepy as the outside. “Someplace I’d enjoy reading about maybe,” Midnight corrected, moving down a dark hallway, “never said I wanted to live one of them. Everyone keep a partner!” she called out as they began to move into different rooms, “the last thing we need is for someone to get lost or hurt and no-one know about it!” They cleared the first floor with only a few floorboards breaking in some places. Buzz found a set of unused candles while Private Pillar found a lantern and some oil for it. Midnight decided to save the candles for when night fell and the lantern for when they checked the basement and the attic. When Private Armor found some more oil, Midnight had them fashion some torches from thick sticks they found by the fire place in the living room and rags made from cloths they found in the kitchen and pulled off from the furniture and lit by her fire. With the first floor done, they checked the basement/cellar with Midnight in the lead, a tongue of flame on her lips for both light and in case something was living down there. They all jumped out of their skins when a raccoon bolted out of the darkness only to get caught by the fire blast Midnight shot out. Other than that there were no other signs of life down there but cobwebs and mice dropping. They did find some planks of wood, nails, and tools down there, however, and took those upstairs to board up some of the windows to make it harder for anything to follow them inside. Midnight made sure to close up her armor before ascending the stairs back to the first floor. She would have taken the raccoon up with her as well so as not to waste food but she’d been more liberal with her fire in the heat of the moment. Whoever eventually discovered the charcoaled animal was welcome to it. The second floor went about as easily as the first did though the beds and closets meant there were more corners and dark places to check. Several ominous dark patches on the walls and covers sent shivers up their spines but they cleared the rooms nonetheless. Once that was done they all picked rooms to set up in and prepared themselves for clearing the attic. Midnight sent Private Pillar and Scarlet back outside to fly up to the attic windows at the back and front of the house to check if they could see anything first. They didn’t but reported that enough sunlight was going into the attic that they should be able to see well enough without the torches. Midnight decided to bring the lantern to check the darker corners anyway; the low ceiling of the attic rant the risk of getting caught on fire if they brought the torches. They entered the attic with as much trepidation as they had the basement but when they made it up the flight of stairs and into it proper they eased up when Scarlet and Pillar were proven correct about how easy it was to see up there. Nothing was up there except more cobwebs an old furniture but Corporal Breaker gave them all heart attacks when he suddenly screamed like he’d seen a ghost. Spinning to see him, for a second they all thought he had seen a ghost when he pointed at something white a floating in front of him. As it turned out, it was just a mannequin covered in a sheet and Night Sky pulled it off and knocked it over to avoid any more jumpy nerves. “Definitely a good idea not to bring Corporal Dandelion,” Midnight muttered and everyone made a noise of agreement. “Okay,” Midnight said once they’d regrouped back down on the second floor. “With the point of all this being to find out what has been stalking the town and it being believed that whatever happened to the farmers disappearing are linked, what we’re going to do is get this place ready for tonight. I want as many of the windows and doors on the first floor boarded up and blocked by furniture as possible. Once that’s done, get the second floor set up with the candles and even the torches, if they’re placed safe enough, to be lit once the sun goes down.” “So, the plan is for us to become bait,” Ore said, giving Midnight an unhappy raised eyebrow. “In a sense,” the kirin confirmed. “That’s why I want the first floor blocked as much as possible. The front door was broken down but the only evidence of… what happened is on the second floor. None of the windows were broken in, so whatever attacked can’t fly. It’ll try to come in via the first floor again, which will give us plenty of time to figure out what it is and either mount a defense or get Shoal over here to help us evacuate. If we have to we can back up into the attic and throw things down the stairs to block it off long enough to get the ground-pounders out of the windows and down to the cart and take off with them.” She turned to Scarlet. “While we’re doing that, I want you and Buzz or Trill to head outside and see if you notice anything unusual; game trails, footprints, anything that shouldn’t be near a settlement like this. We might get some idea of what we’re dealing with before we might face it tonight. Use the attic windows so we don’t have to worry about leaving someplace open on the first floor.” “Will do,” Scarlet said, grabbing Trill and heading up into the attic. “We should also get a fire going in the fire place,” Buzz added, “smell will carry farther in these woods than light.” “Good point,” Midnight agreed, “see to that after the first floor is closed off. Arina, your job is to stay on the roof and keep an eye out from there. You might be able to see details but just seeing a shadow approach the house will be enough of a warning.” Arina chirped and hopped off to scuttle up the attic stairs behind Scarlet and Trill. “Is this a smart idea; turning us into bait?” Sapphire asked as everyone began to move down stairs. “Better than wandering around blindly in the dark woods,” Midnight told her before beginning to go downstairs herself. “You didn’t say it’ll be alright,” Sapphire said. “Because I don’t think tonight will be,” Midnight told her with a serious look.