//------------------------------// // A Wild Update Appears! // Story: I Blame You // by Whitestrake //------------------------------// “Where could he have gone?” Celestia was addressing herself, but questioned the entire group as well. “He ducked into an alley, Your Highness, we lost him.” A Pegasus guard had his head down as he spoke. “Were there any likely exits?” Celestia didn't sound angry, in fact, she wasn't. Jay had made certain to ease her fears about his friend. But the Princess knew better, she had experience with humans few other beings could ever hope to match. She knew how much of a wild card a human could be, especially when in unfamiliar territory. “We checked the entire alley, there were two doors at a dead end” The guard still hung his head in shame, “We checked the unlocked one, but the owner must have moved out some time before, nothing had disturbed the dust on the floor.” “Taylor is a master when it comes to escapes.” Jay felt he needed to keep up his little charade, for the time being. “How did you catch him before?” The guard raised his head to the human. Protocol dictated that all operations were in the hooves of more experienced personnel, and right now, that was the flute player. “We didn't have to.” This response drew a number of curious looks from the gathered ponies, excluding the Princess. “Could you, um, explain, please?” Fluttershy was still scared of the prospect of an assassin on the prowl, and it showed. “If that's not too much.” Jay couldn't help but smile at her reluctance to speak. “Taylor and I used to work together, in the same department, under the King Billy.” That was a shock to those gathered, even Celestia was curious of this new twist in the teen's web of lies. “Our government kept people on staff to, how should I put this?, silence dissenters, rebels, heads of foreign nations, and, occasionally, a guard that asked too many questions.” The flutist finished by giving the two uniformed stallions a strange look. “As much as I enjoy you terrorizing my guardsponies, I must ask you to be serious.” Celestia's voice was firm, yet she was gentle in her chastising. “Fine, ruin my fun, Taylor is going to go after the remaining Elements. I'd check Rarity's boutique, or Sugarcube Corner.” Before any questions could be aired, Jay answered them. “We have files on the Elements back in the palace.” “Sugarcube Corner is on the other side of town, are you sure he'd target Pinkie this late at night?” Twilight was attempting to put the pieces of Jay's web of lies together. Thankfully, it was like solving a five thousand piece jigsaw puzzle of clear, blue sky. “I've worked with the guy, he always goes for the obvious targets, the distance is a deterrent for investigation.” Jay was lying out his ass at this point, there was no way Taylor would cross that much ground at night, not when there were plenty of homes he could break into. “I would suggest sending a squad to guard the Elements of Generosity and Laughter, while Princess Celestia and I will guard the remaining Elements.” Even the Princess couldn't find a flaw in the plan, and she knew he was lying. “Captain Glade, I want you to head the squad in charge of the Element of Kindness,” Celestia gave the order with authority, “Captain Flare, you're protecting Generosity, make sure the assassin doesn't come within thirty feet of them.” “YES, YOUR MAJESTY!” Both the stallions barked the affirmative, and set out at a blinding pace. Jay almost lost his cool at their voices, both were combat veterans, if Taylor ran into either of them, the flutist doubted he'd survive. “Now that Tweedledee and Tweedledum are gone, we can start on the real plan.” $%$%$%$%$%$ I left shortly after Lyra. A passing squad nearly caught me, I really wanted to avoid them, the one at the front scared me. I wonder why they didn't check the bush I was behind, because that's where they found me the first time. Contrary to the earlier bits of evidence, I am quite stealthy, just easily made oblivious to my surroundings. All was quiet, fog was rolling in larger amounts than before, but the clouds had uncovered the moon, so anything in the mist appeared as a silhouette. Just what I need, my camouflage rendered useless, unless I crawl. I'm not crawling, it'd be a waste of energy and time, I'll sacrifice safety for speed. Walking on the unpaved, grassy streets was a silent, relaxing way to get around. Even so, my senses were tuned to the surrounding area, searching for any noise or sign of movement. So, it's foggy, nighttime, and I’m on the run, yep, Equestria is way better than Earth. The fuck was that!? Oh, just a stray cat, my bad. Another squad went through the intersection just ahead of me, crossing my path, but not noticing me. I have to admit, I think I'm going to have a heart attack, I've seen too many horror movies, I know something is just going to jump out at me. Not that I’m jumpy, or anything, I just want to protect my life. There was the library, Celestia and the traitorous fuck I called a friend had cleared out, probably scared the assassin would come back. Taking a step forward, my foot broke a small cord. Floodlights turned on all around me, catching and scattering their light on the fog. I was blinded by the bright, white glow. Hooves pounded near me, to my rear and left side, both equal distances from me. What felt like a linebacker slammed into my side, and I skidded on the ground, what does the Princess feed these guys?. “Ow, damn,” I muttered as I tried to right myself. That was, at very least, a few bruised ribs. I stood quickly, holding my knife in a defensive posture, blade pointed downward. Okay, so maybe I'm not that good when it comes to fighting with a knife, but at least I'm trying to avoid being captured. A guard charged me, his silhouette giving him away, I clocked him with my best left hook. If I haven't made my point to Sir Isaac Newton, I shall reiterate, I hate you with the passion of a thousand suns. Inertia sent the stallion crashing into my legs, bastard must have weighed as much as me, at least. I slugged him again, this time with my right, the blade caught him just above the eye. With a kick, I was freed from his substantial weight, and blood was already blinding his left eye. I ducked, and his partner flew over my back, I punted him in the jaw, and immediately wished I hadn't. The steel toe of my boot sliced into my foot. While I was off balance, another pony engaged. I slammed whoever it was to the ground, green eyes. Did Celestia really just allow Applejack to fight me, the person she thinks is a deadly assassin? Regardless of the possibility, I got up and started back on the two guards. “That's quite enough, Taylor.” The voice was commanding and regal. The fog cleared, revealing Princess Celestia and that sonofabitch that betrayed me. “Listen, dude,” Jay began. “I can help but you have to cooperate with-” “GO FUCK YOURSELF, JAY!” “I must ask that you watch the language around my subjects.” Celestia was annoyed at my foul mouth, but she had a strange glimmer of understanding in her eyes. What the hell was going on here? “We can get this all sorted-” Jay was cut off by a glowing object crashing into the side of his head. Was that a flying tire iron? “The Great and Powerful Trixie is here to rescue you!”