//------------------------------// // The Darkness Inside: Found Out // Story: Horn And Wings // by Nameless Narrator //------------------------------// Sitting inside the Ponyville library, Icy Gaze pondered his situation. He could hear the muffled sounds from the cellar or maybe the voices were just inside his head. An operation of this scale was far out of his league but he was still clinging to the hope that whoever hired him would take their time protecting him. As if... It was pretty obvious that nothing of that sort would happen but maybe, just maybe, he might get away with just finishing his secondary objective and leaving quietly, in secret and most of all soon. Icy picked a quill from the stash right next to the table. At least this place was well stocked and he had to thank the stroke of luck that allowed him to do all this. With princess Twilight still being on the other side of the Everfree this place served as a base long enough. What would he do with the fillies though? True, they were the Elements of Harmony or their bearers or however the entire thing worked but they were still just young girls so killing them was out of the question. They knew his face and they could identify him but that could still be remedied by moving to the Griffon Empire for few years. The first half of the payment he'd gotten should suffice more than enough. No. Not counting the princess of Magic herself there were only two other bearers missing and he knew more than well their whereabouts. After he gathered all of them his job would be done, marginally, and he'd be able to leave without his reputation untarnished. As for the second part of his mission, the traitors... All he had to do was find them but if he reported their location and they left later on then he might be on the list of ponies to be deemed untrustworthy and worth removing. The planned extended visit to the land of griffons could be enough to save him but who knew how far the reach of Equestrian crown went and if the seal on the magic amulet used for sending letters over long distances and the one on the mission statement were to be believed it was princess Celestia herself who would be on his back for any failure. Icy sighed. Even out of his comfort zone he still had enough self-control to work out the best solution or at least one good enough. He would send a letter about the location of the traitors, see to it they stay there and then capture last two bearers. Crown or not, he was still holding few of the most valuable Equestrian citizens hostage and there might be enough ponies on his tail just for that. With the certainty of somepony who knows he'd be thrown to sharks if he made a single mistake he sighed again and started writing. Well, I don't have to feel guilty about anything because yesterday me and Chokey visited Bright Eye to see if everything was going okay and, surprisingly, it was. Turns out that Doomie likes to keep him company during evenings and since he spends most of the day in the asylum her sleeping schedule isn't really a problem. Bright Eye himself, as a fairly well-known resident of Ponyville, sleeps with windows open in his house and Doom Star spends most of the night flying around. I was ready to reconsider my relationship with Chokey when I realized she was willing to send two of her friends to take the fall just to give us a little time to gather our things and leave but after I stopped panicking I thought things through and came to the conclusion that nothing serious could have happened to Bright and Doomie anyway because, well, they aren't us. I have to keep repeating to myself that Chokey knew that all along. The problem is that I somehow feel that not even the forgotten side inside me believes that. Now, we haven't seen the guy stalking Chokey since but there are other things bothering me that might or might not be connected to us. The disappearance of three Elements of Harmony is one and the black stormclouds hanging over Canterlot for past days is the other. I have spent some time every evening in the Sugarcube corner where ponies go to share fresh gossip and there has been enough travellers passing through from Canterlot to overhear things about civil unrest. On one hoof that gives the princesses something to worry about besides me and Chokey. On the other it means, at least according to her, that some ancient evil is probably taking over Equestria again. She was smiling when she said that but it sort of scared me. Not in some personal danger sense but the general worry such as a wave of floods threatening to destroy some town might bring to ponies living there. All in all, things are weird, I can't do anything, Chokey is at work and I'm reading yet again. The book is boring but it helps keeps mind off things I can't deal with. The thing is that I'll never be able to do so if I just keep sitting here and repeating the pattern over and over. I have to change something or the time will come when I will just cry at being powerless again. So... The guards in Ponyville apparently have no idea about my situation. During our shopping trips with Chokey none of the patrols bothered us in the slightest so I think the hunt for me or her isn't a priority at the moment. Yes, the stalker few days ago might be a signal to be more careful but supposedly he has no idea Chokey knew about him and he was very easy to spot if one knew who to look for. I need to get a job, preferrably something physical since we're not in money trouble and I don't really have any skills to do anything else. With the house being our property we don't have to pay rent which means that even not that significant pay Chokey gets is enough to live on if we don't go on some crazy shopping spree. I really shouldn't get my hopes up but it can't hurt to ask around. The red sweater I'm wearing covers my bronze fur well when I walk through the town to the one place I know I can get either the information I want or at least some other pointers. Something is off. I turn to look around but I don't see anything suspicious. That doesn't stop the unpleasant feeling which I now know from the restaurant experience is the better use of my senses by my, let's say, subconscious. If I can believe it then it means I am being watched but an exploratory turning of my head shows nothing. Alright then, there is no way for me to improve my hearing. Right... what now? What now? What now? Hmmm... Bait whoever is watching and never stay alone for too long. That sounds like a good idea and suits me just fine when I enter the Sugarcube Corner with a calm smile. I have to control myself not to grin when half of the occupants gasp at my entrance. They've been doing that since the dinner incident which worried me at first but now that I know nopony is going to do anything I just find it amusing... very slightly. "Good afternoon, mrs. Cake," I smile at the chubby mare working the counter. "Hello, mister Light," she snickers a bit. "What's wrong?" I lean back and my smile grows uncertain. "Nothing. Nothing. I was just talking yesterday to my husband about redecorating this place. We're thinking about something shinier, let's say, something in," she snickers again as the horror in my face grows, "dark crystal?" I utter something incomprehensible lost even on me but the look in her face and the collective hypervetilating of the closest guests force me to silently grin as well. Time to strike back. "Funny you should ask, I'm actually looking for a job and I was hoping you'd give me some pointers. You know everything going on in the town." "Is your lady trying to get you out more? Anything in particular?" "I think she likes me where I am but I'm getting old, fat and crummy so I need something to spruce me up, something with lifting." She considers this a stab at her and looks aghast so I add: "Not all of us have the luxury to mature with age just like good wine. I, for myself, just get flabby," I bow a bit but her knowing look and shifty grin sort of put me on edge. "You have the mouth rivaling your marefriend." Now I throw out an overly hurt look. "Well I never..." I say with the nobbiest voice I can muster. "Oh shush," mrs. Cake waves her hoof, "I took it the wrong way. Unfortunately I can't help you right now. Why don't you come back in few days and I'll ask around in the meantime." "Thanks. By the way, do you have anything extra interesting to surprise my batter half?" "Possibly a prayer for you if you try a pun like that again in her presence," she purses her lips in thought, "I do have something that would melt her teeth but don't expect any happy fun times after eating it, it's fairly filling. A bit pricy though, thirty bits a piece." "Worth it?" "Definitely." "Two servings to go, please." She pulls out something wobbly that smells heavily of fermented plums and drops it into a plastic serving box. "Here you go, have a nice day." "You too." Well, that didn't work as planned but I can't expect anything out of the blue. As soon as I walk outside the unpleasant feeling returns but I still can't spot anything or anypony. Sooo... are my nerves just playing with me? Possibly but not probably. A feeling of dread assaults me when I look into the distance in the direction of Canterlot. The clouds are hanging awfully low today and there don't seem to be any pegasi on the weather duty at the moment. Walking back home I try really hard not to start running. Now that I know where to look I manage to spot shadows behind some chimneys. Whoever they are I wasn't able to see them before but I was able to sense them... ... I could hear them but I didn't realize it. Still, my ears don't pick up anything unusual so they must be doing something my past self was familiar with. Thankfully none of them, whoever they are, decide to do anything. Never before have I been happy to find our house empty and I drop off the sweet treats and walk outside again. If the shadows are guards set on us by the one who followed Chokey earlier then they know where she works and it will be better for us to stay together. If worst comes to worst then I'll ask Bright Eye to let Chokey go home early and we'll leave immediately. The dark shadows are moving through the clouds hanging over the asylum already. "Heya," I wave when I enter through the front entrance to the asylum trying to keep my voice steady. It helps that my little bat is completely fine and waves back at me cheerily. I look around the entry hall which is completely empty. "Chokey," I lean to her and whisper, "there are some guys moving through the clouds above the town and there's a lot of them on the roof and everywhere around." "I would say they are the weather pegasi but the terrified look in your face makes me doubt it. How did you notice?" "I... I don't know. Something kept bugging me all the time I was outside but I couldn't see anypony." "Aaaah," she shushes me, closes her eyes and begins moving her ears, "Oh buck me backwards." "What? Here and now?" "Nightguards. You were able to hear their high-pitched screeching but you, I mean you you, had no idea what it was." "Here for us?" "Unless it has something to do with the strange news from Canterlot then yes. I think Luna has plans for us. How many of them were outside?" "A lot. Ten, twenty and way more all around town unless it was just one group following me." "Hmmm, I wonder why they aren't doing anything." A white pegasus mare enters the asylum lobby. Outside of her being remarkably good looking there isn't anything too particular about her. Danger! Danger! Danger! ... friend? "Chokey, I'm getting really conflicted messages about that mare," I nod unnoticeably towards the mare who stopped just few steps into the hall and is looking around and whisper, "Do you know her?" "I very much doubt it," the mare smiles evilly and looks straight at us. Both of us turn towards her but that's about as much as we manage to do because the entry door gets kicked in followed by a stream of batponies in silver armors rushing inside. "Kill them!" The pegasus measures our reaction with her green eyes and smiles when I shove Chokey behind me. It's a reflex, all I can do is take a blow for her at best. The Nightguards form into a half-circle and then... ... a bronze changeling with a metal construction resembling a griffon arm in place of his left front leg walks inside. "Wait, what?" the guards turn around from him to us with confused whispers. The standoff seems to go on forever or at least until the point when one of the guards shouts. "AFTER HIM! Secure the witnesses!" Five heavily armed guards take their steps towards us while the rest follows the changeling. "Heh. That worked better than I hoped," says the pegasus. "Cooperate with us and-" begins the leading batpony but can't finish when a green mist swirls around the pegasus mare's forehead, forms a shape of a horn and all five guards rise up and slam at blinding speed into the nearest wall. "I doubt that..." she purrs amusedly and the guards slam to the marble floor. None of them even tries to move this time around. With me and Chokey staring, frozen in place, she comes closer and green fire envelops her head, showing a gnarled horn. "Queen Chrysalis?" Chokey stutters. "In the flesh," the horn disappears again and all that remains is a pure white pegasus. "What's going-" "Be quiet," she orders, allowing zero resistance, "You, bat, go round up whatever constitutes for local armed forces and get them ready to fight off the other bats. I've got business with this guy so I can't leave him here." "What the heck is going on?!" "What's going on is that I'm doing Celestia a little favor and you a huge one. There's a high number of thestrals under the influence of mind-control magic even I can't break running around. Scream asked me to help in this case but failed to tell me more details so I don't know too much." "So what do you want with Blaze?" "He has... sentimental value, that's all. I've just warned you as well so there's that. Until I know more I'm not involving myself in this." "Fine." "What?" I turn to Chokey. "Blaze, go with her. This isn't a being that offers help from her nature." "I can't leave you here alone." "What did I tell ya about waiting for the right moment to help?" "Damn! I'm not useless! I can at least take an arrow for you!" "What do you think would hurt me more?" she smiles sadly. "WHY?! WHY CAN'T I STAY HERE AND HELP?" "STOP ACTING LIKE A LITTLE FOAL!" she yells right in my face, "There is something ya can do right now and that is not being in the way." So... all this time I was just a burden. I was lying to myself. "I... okay." The fire inside dies out. I hang my head. "Now go with the nice lady." "Okay." "It's gonna be all right." "Okay." Choking Darkness scribbles a note on a paper, leaves it on the reception counter and runs outside. "Come," Chrysalis commands. "Okay." At this point... ... nothing. I can't do anything at all. I'm just a liability to be protected.