Night fell on Kane Street, allowing Blossom to shift her appearance into a dark blue mare. She similarly disguised her saddlebag and softly trotted towards the bushes she had spotted earlier. Without a sound she slipped into the bushes and crawled on her stomach towards a clearing beside the bushes. As she neared the edge of the bushes, her eyes landed on two sets of armored legs. She licked her lips and swiveled an ear closer to their direction.
"Do you think she'll come?" asked one of the guards. "I mean, what are the odds that she was even in Fillydelphia when we posted the notes?"
The other guard shrugged. "The way I understand it, we put fliers like that all over Equestria. Wherever The Nightmare is, she saw one unless she's completely in hiding."
The first guard clicked his tongue and shifted where he stood. "Did you hear where they took her sister? I mean, it's not just a ploy, right? Celestia really did order her foalnapping."
The second guard grimaced and nodded. "Yeah, but I don't know where they took her. The way I hear it, if The Nightmare doesn't turn herself in, different bits of the sister are going to be showing up every evening."
Blossom's eyes widened and she bit her tongue to prevent a whimper from escaping her lips. Her hooves were shaking as she reached into her saddlebag. She pulled out her knife and was about to jump out of hiding to kill the guards when she felt a hoof on her hind legs. She glanced back to see Rarity shaking her head and pointing at the guards. Blossom grimaced and lowered the knife.
"Are we really going to torture an eight year old filly?" The first guard scratched the back of his neck and softly sighed. "Are we even sure it would work?"
"The Nightmare killed her own mother, but didn't kill her sister when she had the chance." The second guard looked ahead at the house in front of him. "If Celestia and The Ghosts are right, she'll come looking for her sister. From there she either surrenders or gets ambushed."
"Only Princess Celestia and The Ghosts know where she is though, right?" the first guard asked. "I mean, she could just kidnap a guard and interrogate him."
The second guard nodded. "Right."
Having heard enough, Blossom snuck back out of the bushes. "All I have to do is capture and interrogate one of The Ghosts. Brilliant."
"You could find one the same way you found Shining Armor," Rarity pointed out as she trotted up alongside Blossom. "Get a guard to lure her out?"
Blossom shook her head. "They're going to be expecting that after Shining Armor." Blossom sighed and glanced back at the house the two guards were watching. "I think I'm going to have to be a little smarter about finding and capturing one of the ponies who knows where Comet is." Blossom scoffed and began trotting back to the city proper. "Before I do, though, I think I'm going to need some booze."
* * * *
Beta stretched out her legs as she reclined on a couch in a nearly empty home in Kane Street that was serving as the home base for the guards patrolling the area. It had been a few days since the fliers had gone up saying that Comet Blitz was missing, but there was still no sign of The Nightmare. Today the papers had reported that her tail had been found on a park bench near Fillydelphia's city hall. Tomorrow they would find something else, and Beta was unsure how many days Comet could go before they killed her. "The Nightmare had better show up soon," Beta muttered.
"What if she doesn't care?" asked a nearby guard. "I mean, what happens if The Nightmare just keeps on killing regardless of whether or not we have her sister?"
Bet shrugged. "I don't know. All we know right now is that it's our best shot." Beta sat up on the couch. "I personally think she's looking since we haven't heard anything about her killing. If she's not around already, she'll be here soon."
Before the other guard could respond, the door to the house flew open, revealing a wide-eyed guard inexplicably covered in soot. "Fire! There's a fire three doors down!"
Immediately the six guards in the house bolted out the door and in the direction of the house. Beta leaped to her hooves and levitated a bag towards her. "The Nightmare's here!" she said to the guard who came in. "Stay here and keep an eye on me while I contact Celestia!"
The guard saluted Beta and she opened up the bag and pulled out a quill, ink, and parchment.
Princess Celestia, The nightmare is here. She set a house on fire in an attempt to draw us out. Send reinforcements.
Beta rolled up the scroll and stuffed the ink and quill back in her saddlebag. She turned to the guard and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, she heard the window beside her shatter. A flaming bottle flew into the house, colliding with the guard in front of Beta. The liquid inside splashed over him, setting him alight. His screams of pain echoed throughout the house, and more of the liquid splashed inside, setting more of the home alight. Before Beta could cast a water spell, a second flaming bottle came through the window. Within seconds the entire room was on fire, and the screaming guard on the floor had stopped moving. There was nothing to be done for him now.
Unable to do anything else, Beta ran out of the room and towards an adjacent room. Smoke filled her lungs, disorienting her and making it harder for her to breathe. She looked up and was horrified to see that the room she had run into was a dead end save for a simple window. Without hesitation, Beta crashed through it and tumbled onto the ground below. She spent the next minute or so coughing, trying to get the feeling of the smoke out of her lungs as the house beside her burned.
Before she could do anything else, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head.
* * * *
Beta slowly woke up some time later. Her head felt like somepony had driven nails into it, but she was alive. She slowly opened her eyes and raised her head. She was in a basement somewhere. It was full of clutter, but nothing that indicated exactly where she was. She looked down at herself and saw that she was sitting on a chair. She tried to move, but her body did not respond to her commands. To complete the picture, a horn blocker had been slipped over her horn.
"Not good," she muttered. She took a deep breath and tried to fire up her horn in case she could break the blocker, but a sharp pain streaked through her head, causing her to grunt in pain.
As the headache dulled, she heard a set of hoofsteps coming down the basement stairs. She turned her head in the direction just in time to see The Nightmare herself enter the basement. Beta softly gasped when she saw the sheer volume of scars, some all too fresh, covering The Nightmare's body. However, it wasn't nearly as terrifying as the murderous look plastered on The Nightmare's face. She had a saddlebag on her back that she put down a few hooves away from the chair.
Beta's face twisted into a glare. "You'll never get away with this." Beta motioned up to the upper level. "Do you seriously think that you're not going to be found down here?"
Blossom rolled her eyes and opened the saddlebag. "Do you seriously think I only went halfway on my diversion? Not only did I set two houses on fire, but I changed the appearance of a mare near the first house to look like me. Your guards went for her like a dog to a bone. On top of all of that, I killed the couple who did own this house and put a sound dampening spell on the basement. Plus, I killed a mare about your size and tossed her body into the house you were in. They're going to think that you burned to death." Blossom reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a gleaming butcher's knife. "You and I are going to have a talk, and we have as much time as I want to have it." Blossom moved in front of Beta and pointed the knife at her. "Now..." She tapped Beta's horn with the blade. "Before our talk is over, you will tell me where Comet is. I know that you know."
"She's at--"
"No, no." Blossom put a hoof over Beta's mouth. "I know you've been instructed to give me a false location for a trap. I also know that she can't be in the palace because there are too many ponies around and it is likely that she'd be discovered." Blossom flicked the knife forward, drawing a small cut across Beta's cheek. "I read the papers. I know you cut off her tail and planted it on a park bench. What's coming off next for her, hmm?"
Beta's glare returned. "Probably her mane. Then maybe one of her ears. I'm not sure; only Celestia really knows."
"Right." Blossom flicked the knife again and made another cut on Beta's other cheek. "So that's why you're going to tell me where she really is. To get to that point, I'm going to torture you in ways you can't even begin to imagine. First I think I'm going to cut off an ear, then I'm going to leave you for a half-hour to think about it. Then I'll cut off the other one, maybe go for a hoof then too." Blossom shrugged. "It all depends on my mood, I suppose. After you think about that some more, I'm going to crack your horn in half with my hammer. I'll pour alcohol in your eyes and the open wounds from time to time so you don't pass out. After every waiting period, I'm going to ask you where Comet is. Every lie or show of defiance means that I up the ante." Blossom smirked and tapped the now whimpering Beta's horn again. "All of that stuff I described? That's if you cooperate."
Beta whimpered and flattened her ears as tears streaked down her face. "Look, she's here in Fillydelphia! Th-there's a warehouse about a mile from here in the industrial district that we took her to, I swear!"
Blossom smiled and patted Beta on the head. "Excellent. That's a really good start. Mind if I get the address?"
"Four-nine-one Gunnar Street," Beta whispered. "Warehouse three."
"Very good." Blossom levitated a quill, ink, and parchment out of her bad and jotted the address down. "Okay. Let's get started then."
Beta widened her eyes and pulled her head back. "NO! I t-told you where she was!"
"And what assurances do I have that you're telling the truth?" Blossom ran the flat of the blade up and down Beta's face. "I know that Celestia would have told you to give me a false address for a trap just in case this very thing happened." Blossom ignited her horn and tugged Beta's ear. "So without further ado..."
* * * *
Four hours later, Blossom wiped her knife clean. She had finally broken one of Celestia's cursed Ghosts. She stepped back and smiled as she admired her work. Both of Beta's ears were missing, as was the upper half of her horn. Her severed forelegs lay on either side of the chair, the left one was laid right next to Beta's right eye. Her hind legs had sustained several stab wounds, and her back hooves were missing as well. The only thing that Blossom neglected was her mouth, as Beta needed that to tell Blossom where Comet was. To complete the picture, Beta was soaked in a bottle of Cognac that Blossom had purchased before the session began.
Blossom took a deep breath and looked down at the parchment by her hooves. Two addresses, two possible locations for Comet. She licked her lips and put the knife back in her saddlebag which she strapped onto her back. She glanced up at Beta and smiled. "I know you're still alive. You're going to bleed out in a few minutes, so it will all be over soon. Just try not to think about how you failed Equestria, okay?"
Chuckling to herself, Blossom trotted up the stairs of the basement, taking a moment to disguise herself as the mare who used to live in the house she was in. She opened the door to the house and poked her head outside. The remains of the two houses had been put out, and the bodies of the mare and the guard were underneath sheets. Blossom trotted out of the house, and in the opposite direction of the chaos.
It was time to find Comet.
* * * *
Hard Helmet trotted through the dark warehouse he was stationed at, nodding at the plethora of soldiers he passed. Ever since his promotion to Captain of the Guard after the death of Shining Armor and the disappearance of Battle Charge, he had been given near total command of the guard in the attempts to find Blossom. He answered only to the Ghosts and the princesses themselves. Under normal circumstances, this would have been a dream come true for him. The head job was one that he had pined for all of his life and now it was his. Still, he didn't want to get the job because his predecessor had been tortured and murdered.
After completing his round of the warehouse itself, Hard Helmet went towards a back room. It used to be a small storage closet, but now it served a new purpose. He reached it and the guard in front of it saluted him. "Sir."
Hard Helmet saluted back. "How is she?"
The guard grimaced and glanced at the door. "I haven't looked. I just..." The guard closed his eyes and shook his head. "Every time I even think about it I can hear her screams in my head from when we cut off her tail. I don't even want to know what it's going to be like if we have to take something else."
Hard Helmet nodded. "Which we will if The Nightmare doesn't turn herself in. Princess Celestia ordered me to take her mane off tonight and put it on the steps of city hall." Hard Helmet stared at the door and tightened his jaw. "At first I tried to argue with her about it. I told her that just having her would be enough to draw The Nightmare out. But..." Hard Helmet ran a hoof through is mane. "She started yelling at me. H-her mane and tail even caught fire a-and she promised that I'd find myself in the dungeons awaiting execution if I didn't follow her orders."
"You didn't have a choice," the other guard muttered. "Her tail will grow back. So will her mane."
"But we're not stopping there." Hard Helmet glanced up at the guard. "Tomorrow the town will find her mane, but the next day the’ll find part of her ear. That doesn't grow back."
The guard looked back at the door in disgust. "Princess Celestia ordered that?"
Hard Helmet nodded. "The benevolent ruler of days past is gone now. Even Princess Luna and Princess Cadence don't recognize who she is anymore. As far as I'm aware, Princess Luna doesn't even know we have Comet. She thinks that Blossom has gone off the deep end and is torturing the only pony she has any attachment to left. It's not too much of a stretch since she's killed the rest of her family." Hard Helmet took a deep breath and motioned to the door. "But I have my orders, and I don't want to die for disobeying them. It's... it's only her mane, right? The Nightmare will give herself up after she finds out. I-it'll grow back."
The guard frowned. "So you want me to open the door so you can cut her mane off?"
"Yeah." Hard Helmet began blinking rapidly and took another deep breath. "It's not going to be so bad, I guess. It'll only take a minute."
Slowly the guard opened the door, allowing Hard Helmet access to the room. The previously pitch black room was filled with a dim light, revealing the shaking green pegasus filly huddled in the corner. Her tail had been cut down to nearly nothing, and her ribs were beginning to show. Three plates of food lay in the other corner, completely untouched.
"She's not eating?" Hard Helmet asked.
The guard shook his head. "No. We're going to try force-feeding her tomorrow if she still hasn't eaten."
Comet squeaked and curled into a tighter ball. "I want my mommy," she whimpered.
"You'll see your mom soon, I promise," said Hard Helmet in his best attempt at a soothing voice. "You just have to stay here for a little while longer."
"No!" Comet moaned. "Just let me go. I promise I won't tell my mommy and daddy that you cut off my tail. I-I'll just tell them that it was an accident and that Princess Celestia had nothing to do with it."
"You'll see your mommy and daddy soon, I promise you. Just be brave for... for..." Hard Helmet took a deep breath and shook his head. "Screw it."
"Sir?"
"No. No, this isn't what I bucking signed up for." Hard Helmet turned around and fixed the guard with a glare. "I want to protect Equestria from The Nightmare, but this isn't the way to do that. I'm getting her out of here and back to her family. I'll tell Princess Luna to hide them like she hid Battle Charge and his family. I won't do this anymore."
The guard shifted his gaze between Comet and Hard Helmet for a few moments before taking a deep breath himself. "Yeah. Yeah this isn't what I signed up for either. If Princess Celestia is going to punish me for this, I'm going into hiding myself until this blows over."
"Same here." Hard Helmet turned back to Comet and sat down in front of her. "Hey, Comet? We're going to get you out of here, okay? We're going to take you back to your mommy and daddy."
Comet slowly raised her head and stared at Hard Helmet with wide eyes. "Right now?"
"Yes, right now." Hard Helmet ignited his horn and lifted Comet onto his back. "You're a very brave young mare. You just gotta be brave for a little while longer while we get you back to your parents."
"Okay," Comet squeaked.
"Right." Hard Helmet turned around and walked out of the room. "I know the patrol routes. We'll take her out one of the side exits. We shouldn't have any problems if we time it right. If there are guards there you take the filly and I'll order them somewhere else, okay?"
"Okay."
"Okay." Hard Helmet adjusted Comet on his back. "Let's get her out of here."
* * * *
Blossom poked her head around the corner of a run-down shed next to the warehouse Beta had directed her to. She had seen a lot of guards around when she had scanned the place from a nearby hilltop. They were guarding something very important, that much was certain. Of course, there was still the big issue that Blossom didn't know how to get inside the warehouse. There were too many guards to start fighting, and the patrol routes meant that any missing guards would be discovered and the alarm raised. Then who knew when she would get the opportunity to get Comet out?
"I'm not going to let you hurt her, Celestia," Blossom growled. "If I hear that you've hurt her, I will find a way to kill a goddess. That's a promise."
As Blossom snuck around the grounds, she spotted a side entrance to the building that was lightly guarded. Only two guards standing in front of it. It would be as good a place as any to get in, and if she was fast she could get out with Comet within minutes. Blossom slid the knife out of her saddlebag and got ready to sneak up on them.
Just as Blossom was ready to begin her attack, the door opened and a third guard came out. Blossom growled, but stayed in the shadows. Maybe he'd go away soon. He seemed to just be exchanging a few words with the guards. The two guards saluted the third guard and, to Blossom's utter delight, they moved away from the door. Once the third guard left, she could get in completely undetected.
The guard exited the warehouse and held the door open. He motioned with his hoof for somepony to come out, and yet another guard walked out of the building. The guard was carrying something on his back, something small and strangely familiar. Blossom's eyes widened when she realized who it was.
"Comet!" Blossom's eyes narrowed and she cracked her neck. "They must have heard about that Ghost already. They're trying to move her." Blossom chuckled and began tailing the guards. "Little slow there."
Slowly Blossom followed the guards, being sure to keep her distance in case they heard her coming. If they did then they might hurt Comet. They seemed to be heading for the hill that Blossom had first observed the warehouse from. Good. It was nice and secluded there.
The guards reached the hill after a few minutes, and Blossom followed from behind, completely undetected. The guards stopped at the hill's peak, and the one carrying Comet set her down. Now was as good a time as any. With a cry of pure fury, Blossom leaped towards the guards, swinging the knife once she was close enough. The guard carrying Comet fell to the ground with his throat slashed. Before the other guard could move, Blossom had already stabbed the knife at him. The blade sunk to the hilt in his throat.
"YOU WILL NOT HURT MY SISTER!" Blossom screeched. She pulled the knife out of the twitching body and stabbed it into the guard again. "I'll rip out your guts and--"
"Blossom?"
Blossom's eyes widened and she looked up to see Comet sitting on the ground, staring at the carnage in front of her. Blossom let go of the knife and wrapped her sister in a hug. "Big sister's got you now, Comet. Big sister protected you."
"Blossom, y-you killed them," Comet whimpered.
"I know, Comet, but they were going to hurt you. They cut off your tail, didn't they?"
"They said they were going to take me back to Mommy and Daddy." Comet began shivering in Blossom's grasp. "They were gonna let me go."
Blossom sighed and nuzzled Comet. "Comet, did you really believe that? They took you away from Lilly and Dad. They were just moving you somewhere else. They were trying to make it so that I couldn't find you." Blossom stroked Comet's mane. "But big sister has you now. Big sister isn't going to let anything bad happen to you. You're safe with me. It's going to be okay, Comet. I promise you."
Comet uneasily returned her sister's hug, and nuzzled up against her chest. Still, she couldn't help but look down at the two of them and see the blood covering both of their bodies.