December 14, 1:04 PM
Canterlot Castle
Dungeons
***
Before this moment, I've only been to the dungeons of Canterlot Castle once in my entire lifetime. My big brother took me to see them when he first got into the Royal Guard. I know that doesn't sound safe, but you have to understand that back then, I trusted my BBBFF with my life. I still do, as a matter of fact. The point is that even with Shining watching over me, the place gave me the creeps. Its dank and dismal atmosphere was a sharp contrast to the beautiful and elegant halls Canterlot Castle is known for.
Seeing the dungeons several years later, that feeling has not changed. Sure, the cells are well-kept, and the few prisoners that have been incarcerated don't look particularly uncomfortable. Nevertheless, there's still that distinct nip in the air, and the only illumination available are the torches that line the walls. It's not exactly a nice place to be. Then again, why would you expect anything different from a dungeon?
"Um, Twi? I think some of the locals are staring at us," Spike said nervously. He certainly wasn't wrong about that; I noticed it, too.
"Just ignore 'em, Spike," said Shining. "They can't hurt you."
Funny. He said the same thing when her first took me down here. But this time, it feel like there's a bit more meaning to it. It's probably due to the fact that I'm an alicorn princess who has stood up to some of the most dangerous threats Equestria has ever faced. That's all well and good, but that doesn't change the dark nature of this place.
"Regardless, we probably shouldn't stay down here any longer than we have to," said Kibitz, wiping some sweat from his brow. "Let's just find this Pine Talon fellow and be done with it."
"Is that him over there?"
I looked where Spike was pointing. In a small cell just up ahead, a strange creature with a wide-brimmed hat sat cross-legged on the stone floor. His brown cloak was torn and threadbare, and I noticed that he had a length of gauze wrapped around his left arm. His folded wings shimmered slightly in the light of the torches, though most of the plumage appeared dull and grey. The most noteworthy traits of the creature were his bright red face and long stick-like nose (which could've just been a mask; it's hard to tell). His odd appearance certainly made him stand out from the rest of the prisoners in the place, so I can see why Spike would make this inference.
"Let's go find out," I said, approaching the cell. I barely had time to clear my throat before the creature perked up and turned to us.
"Do you mind?" he grumbled apathetically. "It's rather difficult to meditate with all the racket you're making."
"Um, sorry," I said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to disturb you."
The creature sighed. "I get disturbed all the time. Your distraction is no different. So, are you here to change this blasted bandage already? Because if so, I hope you brought sedatives this time. It's never wise to treat a tengu's wounds."
It didn't take me long to connect the dots. "Are you Pine Talon?"
"Nothing gets by you, does it?" the creature scoffed. "After all, I am the only tengu in here. Who else would I be?"
"Mind your manners!" Kibitz scolded. "You're addressing a princess of Equestria!"
"Am I? Huh. I wasn't aware," said Pine Talon absently.
Kibitz bristled at the comment. "Wh-what? Th-that's preposterous!" he sputtered. "How could you not be—?"
"Kibitz, he's blind," I said curtly. "Celestia already told us that, remember? We're probably just a collection of unfamiliar voices to him."
Kibitz blushed. "O-oh. Right, yes. I, must've forgotten that for a second," he said, clearing his throat.
"You wouldn't be the first," Pine Talon snickered. "So, another princess has come to visit me. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"First, I should probably introduce myself," I said. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I'm conducting an investigation into what happened last night at the Grand Galloping Gala."
"Oh. That," said Pine Talon. "I suppose you want to question me as a suspect, then?"
I blinked. "Why would I want to do that? You're the one who got attacked, aren't you?"
"If I'm to be believed, then yes," said Pine Talon with a shrug.
I raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying that I shouldn't trust you just because you're a tengu?" I asked. "Because that would be rather prejudiced and wrong-headed on my part."
"You wouldn't say that if you knew the tengu like I do," said Pine Talon darkly.
"Ah, but you're not a typical tengu, are you?" I retorted. "Celestia already told me your story, Pine Talon. I have nothing to fear from you, nor do I have much reason to doubt your word."
Pine Talon paused for a moment as he placed a claw to his chin. "Hmm. I see. Well played, Princess Sparkle. You are certainly as sharp as your voice would imply."
"I'll take that as a compliment," I said. "Now then, about last night..."
"Yes, yes. Of course," said Pine Talon, tapping his wounded arm. "You're wondering about this, aren't you?"
"Precisely," I said. "Spike, be sure to get all of this down."
"One step ahead of you, Twi," said Spike, opening up his notepad.
Pine Talon nodded. "Yes, well. As you already guessed, I received this wound last night from an unknown assailant."
"Do you know when you were attacked?" I asked.
Pine Talon shook his head. "Not exactly. I've never been one for keeping track of time, anyway. All I know is that it was just before Lights Out."
"For prisoners, that's usually around nine o'clock. Unless Holy Lance changed the schedule around, which I doubt he did," Shining mused.
I frowned. That means Pine Talon was attacked while the rest of the Royal Guard was distracted. It almost sounds like Blueblood was only meant to be a diversion from the real goal. By that logic, it appears that Pine Talon's death was the end goal all along. However, something about that scenario still doesn't sound right.
"Can you tell us anything about your fight with this assailant?" I inquired.
Pine Talon's face darkened. "Whoever it was, it was trained well," he said. "Not only that, but it had access to techniques that were supposedly lost to the annals of time."
"Such as what?"
"Such as the dark magic of the Kurama Tengu."
"Wait, the who the what now?" asked Spike, looking up from his notes.
"I don't expect you to know about such things; they were from well before you ponies even knew what the Tengu Dynasty was," said Pine Talon, his tone completely deadpan. "The Kurama Tengu were one of the most deadly clans in the dynasty, led by the crafty Sojobo. Using his silver tongue, Sojobo tricked a minstrel mage into revealing his secrets to him, and he then forged that magic into a weapon for his own dastardly purposes. Of course, no one with that much power lasts long in the Tengu Dynasty. For Sojobo's hubris, the entire clan was expunged with one swipe of the Wind's Mandate."
I felt a shiver run up and down my spine. The story itself was chilling enough, but the fact that he made it sound like a mundane occurrence was just, disturbing. I'm beginning to see why Celestia described Pine Talon as jaded, and why she described the Tengu Dynasty as the antithesis of Equestria.
"Um, did anyone survive from that incident?" I asked.
Pine Talon shrugged his shoulders. "No one knows. But if my encounter with this assassin is any indication, I'd say at least one of them is still around."
He might be correct. At least, that's the only reason I can think of for ponies claiming to have heard Pan's Music Code left and right during the Gala. But that brings us to another problem.
"So, you believe that your opponent was another tengu?" I said.
"No, it couldn't have been," said Pine Talon.
Kibitz arched an eyebrow. "How do you know if you couldn't see them?"
"It was too small to be a tengu," Pine Talon answered. "I could sense it in its fighting style. Its kicks were always aimed for my chest, and its wings flapped too often. And most tellingly, its blows were too smooth to be fists."
My brow furrowed. "You mean like a hoof?"
Pine Talon nodded. "Exactly."
"You think it could've been Mare-Do-Well's impostor, Twilie?" asked Shining.
"That's our most likely suspect right now," I said. "Although if that's true, it just raises more questions. After all, we still don't know anything about this impostor outside of the dark magic at her disposal."
"Well, if this impostor is indeed trying to impersonate Mare-Do-Well, she's going about it the wrong way," Pine Talon chuckled. "Instead of winning my trust and killing me when I least expect it, she opted to materialize out of nowhere and try to get the drop on me."
Oh, right. Celestia said that Pine Talon and Mare-Do-Well were on friendly terms. I should probably ask about that.
"You seem to know Mare-Do-Well quite well," I said. "The real one, I mean."
"I should," said Pine Talon, leaning back. "She's often come to visit me. I have no idea why she bothered, though. Maybe she thought I'd be a good friend to her."
"But you violated her privacy and told Celestia everything about her," I said darkly. "Good friends don't do that."
"Well, serves her right for trusting me then," said Pine Talon indifferently. "If a tengu keeps a secret, that means they're up to something. Ergo, if I want to show Princess Celestia that I'm willing to be reformed, I shouldn't hide things."
Okay, that is somewhat reasonable. I'm not sure if Pinkie would agree, but at least he's trying to break away from the culture he came from.
"So, how did Mare-Do-Well react when she found out?" I inquired.
"She was annoyed at first, but I explained my reasons," said Pine Talon. "I can't say for certain if she forgave me, but at least she didn't bring it up again."
"I see," said I. "Tell me, did she warn you about anything like this happening?"
"You mean what happened last night? No," said Pine Talon. "In fact, I haven't seen her for a few weeks now. I haven't thought anything of it, though. She's often busy playing the hero and all that."
That much is true. But if Mare-Do-Well didn't warn Pine Talon, then when was she made privy of the attack? She obviously took the time to write me a note; why not warn her other friends, too? Now that I think about it, that warning was only addressed to me. She didn't breath a word to Spitfire, Octavia, or Sparkler about any of this. It's actually very unlike her. If she's in Canterlot, and I end up bumping into her, she has a lot of explaining to do.
"I think we're about done here," I said. "Just one more question."
"Yes? What is it?" said Pine Talon.
"How bad is it? Your wound, I mean."
Pine Talon lifted his arm. "Oh this? Meh, I've had worse. You should've seen her, though. I don't know what I hit, but I managed to draw some blood myself."
Wait. That last bit could be important.
"Mr. Talon, with your permission, I'd like to take a look around inside your cell," I said.
"Your Highness, have you gone mad?!" Kibitz sputtered. "Th-that's unheard of!"
"It's quite alright," said Pine Talon. "As long as we don't make physical contact, she'll be unharmed. You know, reflexes and all that."
Kibitz swallowed. "Your Highness, you can't trust what he says. He's a convicted assassin!"
"He's been pretty straight with us thus far," I said with a shrug. "Besides, he's hardly the first foe I've had to deal with. I can take care of myself just fine."
"I still object to—"
At that point, I completely tuned Kibitz out and activated my teleportation spell. In the blink of an eye, Spike and I were on the other side of the bars.
"Ugh. W-warn me next time you do that," Spike said in a dazed groan.
"Sorry, Spike," I apologized. "It's good you're here, anyway. I could use an extra hand looking for crucial evidence."
"Search away, Princess Sparkle," said Pine Talon. "As I've said, I have nothing to hide."
I simply nodded and scanned the cell from top to bottom. Right away, I spotted a silver speck glowing on the floor. I knelt down for a closer look. It appeared to be a droplet of liquid. Carefully, I lifted the droplet with my magic.
"Alright, now what can we use to store this in?" I mused.
"Twilight, look over there!"
I looked up and cast my gaze over to where Spike was pointing. There was a barely noticeable loose stone in the wall, right behind where Pine Talon was sitting.
"Spike, you mind digging that out?" I requested. "I'm, kinda preoccupied at the moment."
"Oh, sure. No prob, Twi," said Spike. He then shifted the loose stone away and gasped. "Whoa."
Whoa indeed. Resting behind the loose brick was nothing like what I expected to find. They appeared to be a pair of ankle bracelets with long claw-like blades protruding from them. They both were coated in the same luminescent substance the droplet was made out of. Right then and there, something clicked in my mind.
"You didn't mention your opponent using any weapons, did you?" I asked Pine Talon.
"Why would I? She didn't," said Pine Talon with a shrug. "Why?"
"Because I found some hidden in your cell," I said.
"Well, I didn't put them there," said Pine Talon, sounding offended. "All of my weapons were confiscated when they locked me up in here."
"I-I wasn't going to imply that was the case," I said, clearing my throat. "But even so, I think we might've found our big break in this mystery. Spike, hang on."
I activated my teleportation spell again, and Spike and I returned to Kibitz and Shining Armor with the new evidence in tow.
"Shining, you'd better take these," I said, indicating the ankle bracelets. "And be careful with them. We can't risk contaminating the evidence."
"Of course," said Shining, taking the weapons in his own magic.
"Okay, now we're done here," I said, bowing to Pine Talon. "Thank you for your help."
"Thank you for not suspecting me," said Pine Talon slyly. "May the winds sing of your victory, Princess Sparkle."
"Right. Thanks," I said. With that, we started heading out of the dungeons. "Kibitz, is the alchemy lab still here?"
"Well, of course," said Kibitz. "Um, Your Highness. If I may be so bold, you seem a bit, excited. Why?"
I gave Kibitz a knowing grin. "Call it mare's intuition, but this is probably the most valuable evidence we've found yet. And we're going to use it to find out exactly who this faux Mare-Do-Well is..."