//------------------------------// // 3 - Return // Story: Fable // by lunabrony //------------------------------// The three adult ponies had done well to act quickly upon finding out that the fillies were not where they had promised to be, and had acted accordingly. But as things turned out, even that might not have turned out to be enough. Back at the empty town, the Cutie Mark Crusaders filed out of the abandoned Nursery one by one, having found no further reason to be in there. Scootaloo looked back over her shoulder only once, giving a disapproving shudder. "Don't you guys think it's weird that fillies here played with a rocking horse?" She asked. "I mean, isn't that like giving a stuffed teddy bear to an Ursa Minor?" "Why would anypony give a teddy bear to an Ursa Minor?" Sweetie Belle countered. "Unless it's the biggest teddy bear Equestria has ever seen, an Ursa would rip it apart." "Still, it's weird," Scootaloo said. The three children entered another building, this one appearing to be a bank of some kind. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo ran behind the counter and immediately began checking drawers and boxes, hoping to find a bit or two that had been left behind. Apple Bloom looked at them disapprovingly, staying where she was framed underneath the frame of the entryway. The building, like so many others, was fairly sturdy still, but the expected amount of debris still littered the floor, and the insides had been taken over by rats and spiders. "Come on, Bloom!" Scootaloo called. "Don't you wanna get rich? I bet there's loads of bits here somewhere!" Her voice was excited, although Scootaloo was fairly easy to please. "Sure ah wanna get rich," the Apple pony said, "But not on money that don't belong tah us." Her voice was not as excited, and one not just of firm resolution, but also of disapproval. "It ain't right." "You spend too much time around your sister," Scootaloo said, and Apple Bloom rolled her eyes, entering further into the abandoned bank to join her friends, although she did not participate in the scrounging. "There's nothing here but dirt," Sweetie Belle pouted. "Rarity would have a conniption if she knew I was down here like this." "Bless you," Scootaloo said. "Of course there ain't," Apple Bloom said. "They didn't leave in a hurry or disappear overnight, they just moved to th' bigger buildings. Ah'm sure they packed everythin' up real careful like." The bell over the door tinkled, and all three children instinctively flattened against the floor. They were still behind the counter, invisible for now, but had suddenly become very frightened. "It's a robbery!" Apple Bloom whispered excitedly. "Just like in the old westerns!" "It is not," Scootaloo whispered back. "There's nothing here to rob. Everything's empty. Including your brain, apparently." "Should we go out and see who it is?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Not yet, it might be Rainbow Dash, and then we'd all be busted!" Scootaloo hissed. "Let's just peek over, real quick." The three of them did just that, rising ever so slowly and peeking their heads cautiously over the top of the banking counter. Standing in the doorway was a very tall and lean figure, mostly obscured by the dark back robe it was wearing, tied around the waist with a gold cord. It's appendages, whatever they were, were hidden within vast, oversized sleeves, and a large hood obscured its features. "I don't like this, I don't like this at all," Sweetie Belle whispered. The figure turned directly to them, and in a hypnotic voice, began singing. The voice was soft and sweet, unmistakably female. It had an older quality to it, one filled with wisdom and experience that only came with time. There were no audible words to the song, only musical notes, and the most part it didn't seem to be doing much at all. Then an odd noise came from Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo and Apple Bloom turned to look at her. Sweetie Belle's eyes and horn were glowing a bright shade of red, and the unicorn seemed frozen. The other two fillies looked at her with worry. "Belle? Y'all right?" Apple Bloom asked. "Get them," the stranger said, and Sweetie's horn glowed brighter. The two other children began backing up, but were lifted up into the air as if they were made of paper. Sweetie's horn glowed brighter, an expression of pain and dismay on her face, her body not at all used to exerting such levels of magic. "Stop..." Sweetie Belle hissed, her voice broken and afraid. But it did not stop, and coils of rope snaked up from the floor, winding tightly around all three of the small children. Only once the three were tightly bound did Sweetie's horn and eyes stop their crimson glow, and the small unicorn broke down into tears. Some of relief, some of discomfort. "Who are you..." Scootaloo demanded, her voice choking with effort. The ropes were tight, and dug into her limbs. "What did we do to you?" "To me? Nothing," the stranger replied, the voice very clearly female. "But you're about the right size to work for me. It's been many, many years since I last had slaves, and I do miss being in the game." Hands tipped with sharp claws appeared from the depths of the sleeves, and pulled the hood back. Thick locks of faded orange hair tumbled down across her shoulders, once vibrant and dazzling and now streaked with gray. Large pointed ears twitched from above her head, and feline features turned their harsh green eyes on the fillies. "I am Catrina," she said, straightening her back. "You three will work for me, and there's quite a bit to be done." She reached a hand into her robes, and pulled out a shining, silver orb, about the size of a tennis ball. Apple Bloom started to scream for help, but as Catrina's clawed traced across its surface, the orb rippled with light and all four of them vanished without a trace, silencing their screams.