//------------------------------// // Chapter One // Story: The Dresden Fillies: Great Power // by psychicscubadiver //------------------------------// The Dresden Fillies: Great Power Written by: psychicscubadiver Edited by: SilentCarto Proofreader: Coandco Disclaimer: I don’t own The Dresden Files or My Little Pony, that is Jim Butcher and Hasbro, respectively. This is a fanfiction only. This story takes place between Seasons Two and Three in MLP and between books Eight and Nine in the Dresden Files. Chapter One The sun had almost set and only a dim orange glare illuminated the land. Six young ladies and one teenaged boy, most of their hair colored in hues not available without the aid of chemicals, trooped alongside a mostly empty ‘highway’. Every now and then one of the rumbling human carts raced by at incredible speeds. “That could have gone better,” Twilight said, running her hand through her mane. Or whatever humans called the long hair on their heads. The lack of hair anywhere else wasn’t just weird, it was also completely impractical in this chilly weather. No wonder nudity was a taboo; humans must have to wear clothing all the time just to keep from freezing. Having hands had been useful thus far, though. Twilight could see why Dresden had been reluctant to give up his. “You think? I had a good time,” Pinkie declared proudly, her arms still full of plush animals. “When you get evicted from a diner, you know you’ve hit rock bottom, dear,” Rarity said. She sighed and began digging through the large backpack carried by the teenage boy. “It would appear that despite Dresden’s description of his home, we are somewhat less prepared than we might have hoped.” At last she found a more sensible pair of shoes for hiking than the crystal heels she had hoped to make a good impression with. “Changing shoes again?” Dash asked from the front of the group. “Yes,” Rarity replied testily. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but human feet are a tad more delicate than hooves.” “Really?” Applejack asked. “I’ve been walking on mine all day, and they don’t feel too bad.” “Well, your earth pony toughness and vitality is still a part of you. The spell I used shouldn’t affect any of our natural magic, just the shape of our bodies,” Twilight said. “That’s why Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash aren’t complaining about the cold, even though their clothing is probably the thinnest.” Dash glanced at her thin shirt and knee length shorts, and rolled her eyes.  “Yeah, well whoop-de-doo. That silver lining isn’t worth much without wings. I thought it was bad enough when Discord took ‘em, but that was only for a little while. How does Dresden live like this?” she complained. “Well, I think it’s fun!” Pinkie said, giggling slightly. “It’s like walking on stilts all the time!” Her various prizes had disappeared, but at this point in their friendship, the other ponies-turned-human didn’t even take notice. “Whatever. So once Princess Dainty Hooves is done changing shoes, what’s the plan?” Dash asked Twilight, ignoring the loud protests from ‘Princess Dainty Hooves’. “Plan A was to arrive normally, thereby attracting as little attention as possible. Given the distance between us and Dresden, that plan is untenable. Unfortunately, that distance also renders Plans B through E similarly untenable–” Applejack snorted. “Do I wanna ask?” “No,” Spike said solemnly, his eyes haunted. “No, you do not.” “However,” Twilight continued as though she hadn’t been interrupted. “Plan F should still work perfectly fine. We just need a secluded place away from distractions with a hard surface I can write on.” “I don’t know about ‘secluded’, but given how much asphalt humans seem to use, you’re certainly in luck there,” Rarity said as she finally finished packing her crystal shoes away. “Well, I hope we find one soon,” Twilight said. “The sun is going down, and it will only get colder at night.” She frowned. “We didn’t exactly bring any camping gear, either.” “That sign says there’s an exit in another mile. How about up there?” Pinkie asked, pointing to another bright green sign at the side of the road ahead. ‘Up there’ turned out to be a lonely stretch of road with nothing but an abandoned building of some kind. An old, faded sign declared that the building was a ‘Texaco’, whatever those were. Most of the asphalt surrounding the building was cracked and overgrown with weeds, but there was enough unbroken surface for Twilight to start scratching out her chalk circle. “Rarity, could you give me some light here?” Twilight asked, scowling at the long shadows criss-crossing the ground. Rarity straightened her dress nervously. “Oh dear. I’ll try. How do we use magic without a horn, again?” Twilight sat back on her heels, glad that everyone had spent a little extra time getting used to being a human.  There was a trick to balancing on two legs that was entirely different from standing on your hind hooves. “Just focus on your hands like you would your horn. It will feel a little strange, but it works the same way.” “Very well. I shall do my best.” Rarity took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her hands shook as she extended them, but a few moments later tiny motes of soft white light appeared on the tip of each finger. The light they cast slowly grew brighter and brighter until they illuminated the entire area with an even glow. “Wha-ha-ha!” Rarity laughed with abandon, and the light from her hands pulsed even brighter. “I can do this! There’s no dimension in which fabulosity is not at my beck and call! Be warned, boutiques of the human world! I, Rarity, shall—” She cut off suddenly as she realized that everyone except Twilight was staring at her in silence. Rarity blushed intensely. “Er… or perhaps I am getting a touch carried away.” “Yes, but it’s not your fault. Mastering a new type of magic always gives me a minor sense of euphoria.”  Twilight worked as she spoke, still sketching lines and symbols into a large circle. With her back turned, she never saw the worried expression flit across Rarity’s face at that statement. “However, as a human, you use energy less efficiently, and therefore tire more quickly. I suspect that Dresden’s tools help him control his powers with less energy waste, performing the same function we naturally access through our horns.” “Well, ain’t that strange. You thinkin’ that applies to all of us, or just unicorns?” Applejack asked, examining the muscles in her arm curiously. “I’m not sure,” Twilight answered, pausing in her drawing to frown pensively. “I didn’t exactly have a chance to run tests with all of you. I would expect that, since earth pony and pegasus magic tends to be more innate, their effects would not be reduced. But only time will tell.” “Okay, so any chance we can wrap up the egghead talk and get going?” Dash demanded. She glared at the growing shadows, and the nearby woods. “From what Dresden said, we don’t wanna get caught outside after dark.” A shudder ran through the group as a coyote howled in the distance. “Almost finished. I’m not confident enough in my magic as a human to try this without some precautions. This circle has to be done right, or we could teleport into a wall. I’ve heard stories about that back in Celestia’s school. They never ended happily.” Pinkie bounced a small rubber ball against the old building before snatching it out of the air suddenly. Her expression was strangely solemn. “Okay… so I’ve been thinking…”   “Did it hurt?” Spike quipped. “A little,” Pinkie replied with a serious nod. “But I’ve figured out what ‘cars’ are. I think that’s what the humans call those weird carts that have been using the road.” “Oh, ‘car’ like a train car. I get it,” Applejack said with a nod. Fluttershy cocked her head. “That makes sense, but why would she expect us to have one? Not everypony owns a cart.” “Maybe, but from how she was talking, I guess just about all the humans have one,” Spike said. “Indeed,” Rarity agreed. “Likely it has to do with the size of Dresden’s country. Given how empty everything around here is, I doubt it would be cost effective to run enough trains to take everyone where they wanted to go. Those individual cars let people travel anywhere there are roads without a need to coordinate their travel. Perhaps in areas of more dense population, trains are more common; places like that ‘Mini-apple-less’ the waitress mentioned.” She paused a moment, seemingly surprised with herself. “And here I thought I’d never use those Economics classes.” Twilight stood, dusting off her hands and tucking a large piece of chalk back in her pocket. The diagram she had sketched out was a series of concentric circles each one with a host of symbols and writings between each layer. There were six smaller circles linked to the main array by three parallel lines. “Okay, that should do it. Everyone stand in one of the circles. Just be careful not to smudge the chalk and keep everything inside the lines.” “Fancy looking,” Applejack said. “Where will this take us?” “Somewhere in Chicago. I’m centering it on Dresden, but there’s a, um, margin of error involved.” “A what?” Dash asked. “A chance we all go kaboom,” Spike answered drily. Dash jumped back as though the circle would bite her, and Fluttershy squeaked in fear. “Spike!” Twilight shouted, glaring at him. “It will not ‘go kaboom’. The margin of error refers to how close we get to Dresden. At worst, we appear three hundred feet away from him. If we’re lucky, we’ll be right next to him, but if not we may have to do some looking around.” “He’s not exactly an easy guy to miss,” Pinkie said with a laugh. “Lead on with your leading, leader!” “Right,” Twilight said. Everyone was in position, so she stepped into the very center of the circles. A shiver went through her as the last of the sunset’s red light faded away. Darkness seemed to creep in all around her, and Twilight abruptly wondered why the building had been abandoned. Bushes at the edge of the forest rustled, and Twilight thought she saw a gleaming pair of eyes. Maybe it was a wild animal curious about several humans close to its territory. But maybe it wasn’t. Either way, Twilight began her spell, closing the circles and focusing her will. “Harry Dresden. Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden.” She chanted his name several times, her focus and surety growing with every repetition. White light flashed in the parking lot of the old Texaco off of I-94, and it was empty once more. ……… It was not the smoothest teleport Twilight had ever performed. An explosion of dust and lightning announced their arrival, and the force of their displacement tossed everyone away from the sizzling lines burned into the asphalt beneath them. Twilight shook her head, trying to clear away her dizziness and disorientation. It had definitely worked, at least to some extent. They were in an alleyway between two buildings, and a peculiar roaring filtered in from the streets nearby along with dozens of other noises. “Wowee,” Pinkie said, springing to her feet. “There aren’t any rides like that at the carnival!” “Sorry the landing was a bit rough,” Twilight said. “A bit?” Spike grumbled, pulling himself out from between two large garbage cans. “Where are we?” Rarity asked, while carefully dusting off her dress. “I’ll take a look,” Dash said. She did a couple of stretches, her head tilted up. By the time Twilight realized what she was planning, Dash was already putting it into action. Her long hind legs coiled like a pair of steel springs and she shot into the air, narrowly avoiding a fire escape on the side of one building. Up and up she went, far higher than Twilight had ever seen a pony jump, but there was limit, even aided by her pegasus magic. Dash’s momentum slowed to a crawl just short of the top of the building. Her hands lashed out in time to catch the edge, and she vaulted up and over before gravity could catch up. Twilight let out a long, slow breath. “Did Dash just jump four stories?” Spike asked slowly. “I did say that everyone would retain their natural magic, didn’t I?” Twilight said testily, trying to hide how nervous Dash’s stunt had made her. “She can’t fly without wings, but she can still get quite a bit of lift.” “Did she know that afore she pulled such a foolhardy trick?” Applejack asked, staring worriedly at the edge of the building where Dash at disappeared. “She probably didn’t even think about it,” Fluttershy said. “Dash is, um, used to going wherever she wants.” “Wow, you guys are not gonna believe this!” Dash shouted, poking her head over the ledge. “Walk over that way and there’s a street around the bend in the alley. Once you’re out, look that way!” She pointed in two directions at once, but Twilight could figure out what she meant. She hoped. Pinkie bounced towards the mouth of the alleyway, rounding the bend in just a few hops, and the rest of the group followed her a little more cautiously.   Dash’s reaction hadn’t been overdone. Canterlot was a city of beautiful classical architecture. Manehatten was a working modern city with the tallest buildings in Equestria. Las Pegasus was a glitzy collection of attention-grabbing showpieces. Chicago was massive. It had dozens of skyscrapers, and for once, that name didn’t seem like an exaggeration. Twilight counted over thirty stories on the closest tower, and that was one of the shorter ones. All of the skyscrapers were at least half a mile away, but she had no problem picking them out. They dominated the horizon, each and every one of them awash in lights that dispelled any darkness that might dare to cling to them. With a muffled thump Dash landed somewhere in the alley behind them. A few humans glanced their way at the noise, but Dash was out of sight, and none of their gazes lingered long. Each one seemed too busy with what they were doing or where they were going. “Ouch, remind me not to do that again. It’s killer on the hocks,” Dash complained, pausing for a moment. “Do humans call them hocks? They bend all funny.” “Dresden referred to his primary leg joints as ‘knees’,” Twilight replied absentmindedly, still staring at those massive towers in the near distance. She stopped gawking and focused on her surroundings. A few passing humans gave them some odd looks, but most of the humans ignored them. The streets were not as crowded as Twilight would have thought, given the size of the city. At least, the sides weren’t. The middle was packed with more cars. There was considerable variety among them: everything from an extra-long black car that clearly flaunted wealth to a small dome-like car, covered in dents and mismatching colors. “Shoot. And here I thought Manehatten was big,” Applejack drawled. “So, what did you see from the top?” Twilight asked Dash. “Are we in a satellite city that’s in close proximity, or does Chicago actually extend this far?” Dash frowned. “It’s hard to tell in the dark, but it’s solid lights for miles in most directions. I wasn’t really high enough to judge how far. I think those towers are just the middle.” “Surely you jest!” Rarity exclaimed. “That would make this city larger than Canterlot and Manehatten combined! And not by a small margin.” “Dresden did say that there were six billion humans,” Fluttershy offered quietly. “Somehow, I believe him,” Twilight said. Then a thought struck her. “Wait, where’s Pinkie?” “Girls! Lookit what I found!” Twilight did not know what she had expected. Maybe some variety of human pastry? Certainly not a small human. Pinkie bounced along, and the child giggled and reached for her hair with tiny, grasping hands. “Pinkie! You can’t just steal someone’s baby!” Twilight’s heart pounded suddenly in her ribcage, visions of human dungeons flashing before her eyes. There would be mold and rats, she just knew it. And big iron chains deep underground where nopony would ever think to look for her. “I didn’t steal him! I found him.” Pinkie explained patiently as the child finally snagged a lock of hair and promptly stuffed it into his mouth. “I think we’re gonna need some explanation here, sugarcube,” Applejack said, scratching her head. “Like where you found ‘em.” “Okay, so I came out of the alley and saw the city in the distance and was like ‘Woah! That’s huge!’ But then I smelled something delicious and I followed my nose down the block and I found a bakery and everything looked delicious but we don’t have any human money so I was sad, but then I cheered right up because there was a playground right next to it so I went on the swings and climbed the jungle gym which incidentally is a lot easier with hands, almost like hands were what they were built for, which actually makes sense, I mean, why would ponies need to climb, because kitties and monkeys and lizards climb, but not ponies, so I was pondering the origin of Equestrian jungle gyms when I noticed this little guy toddling onto the playground, and I looked all around but I didn’t see his mommy or daddy anywhere so I brought him back with me! Can we keep him? Please?” “Keep him?!” Twilight, Rarity and Applejack shouted in concert. “If we do, I am not changing any diapers,” Spike declared, crossing his arms. Dash just snorted. “We have to, don’t we? Now that Pinkie picked him up, his mother won’t recognize his smell and won’t take him back to the nest. I’m with Spike, though. I call ‘not it’ on diaper detail.” “That’s not how primates work, even assuming humans weren’t sapient!” Twilight yelled. That got a few more stares from passing humans, and she distinctly saw one of them make a spiral gesture around one of his temples, causing his friends to laugh. A bright, hot flush washed across her face, and Twilight lowered her voice. “We need to find his parents, or failing that, turn him over to the proper governmental agency.” “Aw, but he’s sooo cute!” Pinkie said. “Look at his tiny hands, and those chubby cheeks. And he even came with a little hat, look!” She pulled a floppy piece of denim out from somewhere and placed it on his head. The child giggled and grabbed the hat by both sides of the brim, yanking it down to cover his face. Pinkie gasped. “Where’d you go?” And the child giggled and pushed his hat back up. “Okay, I gotta admit, that is pretty darned cute,” Applejack said. Twilight agreed with her, but this was no time to go soft. She needed to put her hoof down. And she would have if Fluttershy hadn’t suddenly stepped forward, her arms extended to the toddler. Pinkie handed him over with a smile, and Fluttershy drew him in close. The child made some happy murmuring sounds, as if he enjoyed being held by her. Fluttershy’s arms shook as they closed around the baby. She locked eyes with Twilight, her stare strangely intense. “I want one,” she said. “What?! Fluttershy, we are not keeping him!”   “It doesn’t have to be this baby,” she said plaintively, her possessive posture at odds with her words. “But I would take really good care of one, honest.” “Well, I guess that’s settled,” Dash said. She was attempting to look bored, but Twilight had seen her making faces at the toddler when she’d thought no one had been looking. “So what are we going to name him?” “He’s already got a name. It’s on his overalls,” Pinkie said. “Osh Kosh,” Rarity read off while Fluttershy cooed and played with the little boy. “What a curious name.” A vein began to throb in Twilight’s temple. Was she the only sane pony left, or– “There you are!” Twilight jumped like a nervous cat and did her best not to look guilty. Everyone turned towards the source of the voice, and they saw a tired-looking human woman pushing an odd-looking stroller. One of its two seats was filled by another human child that could have been Osh Kosh’s twin. The woman rushed towards them, the child in the stroller making whining noises the whole way. Slightly behind her was an older male human in a black, or maybe dark blue, uniform of some kind. “Mama!” Osh Kosh shouted, stretching his little arms out to her, almost wriggling out of Fluttershy’s grasp. “Oh, thank God! I thought I’d lost you,” she cried, drawing her child to her and squeezing him tightly. “Mama, mama, mama!” Osh Kosh chanted happily. His brother whined and made pleading noises, stretching out his arms towards their mother, evidently wanting his share of attention. “Awwww, that’s so touching,” Pinkie said, her eyes watering. She sniffed a couple of times and blew her nose into a hanky, showing no sign of her intentions to keep him not a minute before. Twilight let out a deep sigh of relief. “Thank you, thank all of you,” the mother said. “Donnie was being fussy about getting into the stroller and the moment I had my back turned Leo just wandered off. I thought I was going to have a heart attack.” “No need to thank us,” Dash said, crossing her arms and smiling smugly. “It’s the kind of thing heroes like us do.” Fortunately, the mother was too busy wrestling ‘Leo’ into the stroller to notice. The older male, however, cocked an eyebrow at that. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Michaels,” he said to the frazzled mother. “I can take everything from here. You just get home safely, now.” She thanked both them and the uniformed man again, and hurried off. Pinkie and Fluttershy waved good-bye to Leo, but Twilight kept her eyes on the older male. He was examining them a lot more intently than had any human before. Applejack cleared her throat. “So… I didn’t catch your name there, mister…?” “Officer,” he said. “A pleasure to meet you, Mister Officer,” Rarity said. Perhaps not all human names were that different from Equestria ones. He stared at Rarity for a second. “Officer Perkins,” he corrected, arching an eyebrow. “I just have a few questions for all of you.” “Are we in trouble?” Spike asked, echoing Twilight’s panicked thoughts precisely. “No, no,” Officer Perkins said calmly. He pulled out a small notebook from one of his many pockets and pouches and opened it up. “I just need some more details before I can write up my report on this. Approximately when and where did you find the child?” Everyone turned to look at Pinkie. She frowned in concentration, her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth. “In the park over there about twenty minutes and sixteen seconds ago.” “Uh-huh.” His pencil scratched across the paper, and his expression never changed. Fluttershy had hidden herself behind Applejack and Rainbow Dash, but Twilight could see her shivering and watching the officer warily. Officer Perkins continued his questions. “Did you see anyone else with or near him? Another child or an adult, maybe?” “Nope,” Pinkie said. Officer Perkins nodded. “That’s consistent with the mother’s story. But why didn’t you take him to the police station?” “Because I don’t know where it is,” Pinkie replied. Twilight let out another sigh of relief. The officer didn’t seem to suspect them of anything. Hopefully, once he was done they could ask him for his help locating Dresden. “Also, because I figured we would keep him and raise him as one of our own if we couldn’t find his parents,” Pinkie continued. Officer Perkins shut his notebook with a snap, his expression unchanged. “Really?” he asked. “I’m so sorry!” Fluttershy sobbed, falling to her knees. She looked up, her eyes wet with tears. “He was just so cute! I couldn’t help myself.” “Ha ha, what a pair of jokesters those two are,” Twilight said nervously, offering her best and least insane fake smile. Officer Perkins just stared at her, and her smile cracked. “I wasn’t going to let them keep him. We really didn’t know what to do, but we weren’t going to steal that baby, I promise.” Officer Perkins just let out a heavy sigh and started massaging his forehead. “This is going to be one of those nights, isn’t it?” No one replied to him, but a few guilty glances were exchanged. Rarity bent down to comfort Fluttershy and offered a small lacy handkerchief. The officer tucked away his little notebook and sighed again. “Just on the off chance you find another toddler, take them to the nearest police station. I would hate to pull any of you in for kidnapping over something this stupid.” “Wait, please,” Twilight said before he had the chance to turn away. “We’re new in town and we’re looking for our friend. We don’t know where he lives, but his name is Harry Dresden. Can you help us?” Officer Perkins frowned and started to speak, but then paused, thinking something over. “I’ve heard that name before. Huh, but where was it?” “If I recall correctly, he’s a private investigator,” Rarity offered. “One who specializes in … odd cases.”  Officer Perkins snapped his fingers. “Oh, yeah. That where I heard of him. Harry Dresden, he’s some kind of ‘psychic detective’; the kooks down in SI call him up all the time.” He snorted disdainfully. “The psychic thing is a cheap gimmick, but I hear he’s not a half bad detective. Of course, if half the rumors about him and Marcone are true, he probably gets plenty of insider info.” He paused and looked concerned. “What do you girls want with a rough guy like him? If you need a detective, I can name plenty who do good work and aren’t so high risk.” Twilight shook her head. “No, we’re just visiting. He came to our town a little while ago, and we became friends. We just wanted to stop by, see him and maybe see the sights here in Chicago.” Her smile this time was bright and warm. “This city is amazing.” He chuckled at that a little. “Yeah, she’s a real piece of work, this city. Anyway, I don’t know where he lives, but SI should be able to help you there. You can follow me back to the precinct.” “Thanks so much.” Twilight beamed. Despite a rocky start it looked like everything was going to be smooth sailing from here. “It’s close enough to walk?” He frowned. “I meant in your car.” “Oh,” she said her smile faltering. “Um… we don’t have one.” He stared at them for a long time and at last he sighed again. “This is definitely one of those nights.” ……… The precinct looked like a small fortress. It was far from the humble police station that Twilight had been expecting. Still, the humans inside were certainly friendly enough, even if they did stare sometimes. It must be the hair, Twilight concluded. Even given her admittedly small sample size, she had not seen a single human with hair that was purple, pink, green or rainbow-striped. However, given that the staring was not terribly pronounced, perhaps such colors were simply rare, rather than unheard of. Officer Perkins led them to a corner of the building that looked a little more careworn than the rest, except for a few odd patches of construction or repairs that looked only a few years old, rather than the decades that the rest of the building had seen. A sign next to a door read ‘Special Investigations’ and Officer Perkins breezed right through without knocking. There was a gray-haired elderly human woman sitting at a desk, tapping away at something that looked like a flattened typewriter without any paper. Whatever it was, the woman stopped as the officer approached. “Good evening,” Officer Perkins said, nodded to her. She scowled and inspected both him and the entire group. Everyone hung back, uncertain what to do. The building was quieter here than elsewhere, but two or three humans still bustled around. “Try ‘night’,” the woman answered sourly. “What else do you have for us? Half the department is already out and the rest are buried in paperwork. We don’t need any more problems dumped on us because the other departments can’t bother.” “Aww, but we’re not a problem. Unless you’re unprepared for a ‘laugh riot’,” Pinkie said waggling her eyebrows. There were a few giggles from the group, but the police woman just scowled. “And they crack jokes. I just can’t wait to take them off your hands,” she said caustically. “Hey, don’t give me that, Doris,” Officer Perkins complained. “This bunch is just a group of out-of-towners looking to find Harry Dresden. I remembered you guys hiring him, and figured you could give them a hand.” Doris snorted. “We can’t give that information out to the public. But if they want to beard Sergeant Murphy in her den, that’s their own business.” “Shouldn’t that be Lieutenant Murphy?” Rarity asked. They had all read Dresden’s letters and heard a bit about his human friends, but Twilight realized with a start that Rarity was the only one that had caught that small detail. Were they different people? After all, Dresden had never mentioned ‘Special Investigations’ in any his of letters. “Not anymore,” Doris said. “A shame, too. She knew how to get things done. Not that Stallings is a bad cop, but she could lead a squad into Hell and out the other side.” Everyone blinked at her, uncertain how to respond. “And whereabouts can we find her?” Applejack finally asked. “Second door to the right. She’ll be at her desk in the bull pen. She’s blond and shorter than your friend with the technicolor hair – you can’t miss her.” “And that’s my cue to leave,” Officer Perkins said. “It was nice meeting all of you. I hope I never see you again.” For a moment everyone stared at him in shock. Twilight thought she saw tears welling at the edges of Pinkie’s eyes. Officer Perkins just chuckled. “Because I’m only likely to if you get in trouble with the law.” He threw a wave their way and left quickly, giving them no time to respond. “Another joke. Someone must have slipped something into the coffee,” Doris muttered before turning back to her flat typewriter and the strange box it was connected to. The box’s screen suddenly turned bright blue; little white letters scrolled past with an ease of motion that puzzled and intrigued Twilight. Doris was not quite so happy with this turn of events. She began to curse with a quiet fervor the girls rarely heard from an older woman. Sure, Granny Smith could get energetic in her complaints, but she never used that kind of language where other ponies could hear her. By unspoken agreement everyone retreated to the hallway past the desk, looking for the second door on the right. The ‘bull pen’ just looked like a bunch of desks. Some of them were neat, some were messy. Most were decorated with framed pictures and little flags or banners. Whatever the ‘Chicago Cubs’ were, quite a few of the police officers seemed to like them. Doris had at least been correct about one thing: it was easy to pick out Sergeant Murphy. Out of twenty or so desks, only six were occupied, and Sergeant Murphy was the only woman among them. She had a similar build to Dash’s human body, though she looked a bit older. She was using another flat typewriter and growling at a similar box. Her back was to them, but evidently she heard them approach because she muttered, “Be with you in a second, I just need to get this report formatted.” “That’s okay. We can wait,” Twilight said. Sergeant Murphy stopped and spun her chair around. She grunted in mild surprise as she scanned them with a judgemental eye. She grunted again, differently this time, and stood up. One hand strayed back to the edge of her belt, but she extended the other one in greeting. “Nice to meet you, I’m Sergeant Murphy. You are?” Twilight took her hand and shook it. The pressure from Sergeant Murphy’s grip was impressive; she was certainly strong for her size. As the greeting ended, Twilight shot a glance at her friends and nodded. It was time to put some of their preparations to work. “I’m Twilight,” she began, careful to leave ‘Sparkle’ off. “You can call me AJ,” Applejack volunteered. “Dash.” “My name is Pinkie Pie!” “S-shy.” “Lady Diamond, if you please.” “Emperor Drakon Magnus the Third,” Spike declared proudly. The group fell into sudden and awkward silence. Twilight glared at Spike until he dropped his eyes and turned red. “Lance,” he muttered sulkily. Murphy just nodded, as though unsurprised with their answers. “It would be my great honor to help. What can I do for you?” Her tone was guarded, but strangely loud. Still, she did seem to fit what little Dresden’s letters had mentioned about her. “We’re looking for Harry Dresden, and we were told you could help us.” Murphy nodded. “I could.” She did not take her seat again, nor did she offer anyone a seat. The ‘bull pen’ was almost deserted, but the few humans there all watched the group. And Twilight wasn’t certain she liked the look in their eyes. “Well… will you?” Rarity asked. “Why do you want him?” Murphy asked. Her voice was flat, almost detached, but her eyes were cold. There was something behind those eyes that was harder than steel, and even though Twilight was a full foot taller than the human woman, she felt herself taking a step backwards in fear. Applejack was a little more difficult to impress. “I don’t see as it’s any of your business, but we’re friends of his.” Murphy’s body abruptly tensed for action. “That’s funny. I’ve know him for a few years, and he’s never mentioned any of you.” “Okay, I’m fed up with this,” Dash announced, stomping forward. “Either you tell us–” She never got to finish her statement. As one, every human in the room drew out a small metal object  and pointed it at the group. The way they held them told Twilight that they were weapons, and she vaguely remembered Dresden holding something similar when he was about to kill Trixie. Apparently, Twilight wasn’t the only one to make that connection, because everyone else froze in place too. Sergeant Murphy had out a similar weapon of her own, and she nodded in satisfaction. “Most of these are loaded with blessed, steel-jacketed rounds. Officer Dawson’s shotgun is full of rock salt, also blessed. I have someone waiting by the fire alarm set to trigger the sprinkler system and douse all of you in running water, and one of my men has already sent out a message with all of your descriptions. Even if you manage to kill all of us, the entire police force of Chicago will hunt you down.” She snorted, and eyes turned harder still. “I might not run this department anymore, but don’t think for a second that means we can’t deal with non-human ‘visitors’. Now, I’m going to ask again. Why are you looking for Harry Dresden?” A trickle of sweat ran down the back of Twilight’s neck. She wasn’t certain just what those weapons would do, but from the hard certainty in the faces of all the humans present she doubted it was anything pleasant. She covertly begin to gather her power, but aside from a shield spell, she didn’t know what she could do that wouldn’t make the situation worse. Dresden’s world seemed to be just as dangerous as he had promised, even if it lay beneath a normal surface, and this city’s defenders weren’t exactly slouches when it came to defending. “We weren’t lying,” Twilight said slowly. “We really are Dresden’s friends. He wasn’t supposed to mention us, and I’m glad that he kept that promise. He did tell us about you though. He said you helped him save his new apprentice from…” Twilight’s  mind raced, it had been such a funny name, “Arctic Tor?” Sergeant Murphy hesitated, but she didn’t lower her weapon. “Arctis Tor. And you still haven’t answered my question. I know how some of you types like threes, so I’ll ask again: even if you are his friends, why are you looking for him?” “Because we’re on vacation!” Pinkie announced proudly. Thankfully, she stayed in place even though she seemed ready to bounce off the walls. “He’s always so busy he can’t visit us anymore, so we decided to visit him!” Sergeant Murphy’s eyes slowly widened. “Wait a minute. When did he visit you last?” Twilight thought for a second, thinking through Dresden’s references to the passage of time and the current season. “About two and a half years ago, he spent a week with us. The first time he visited was almost a year before that.” Two or three chuckles escaped Sergeant Murphy. “So these are your ‘bigfoots’?” she murmured. Then she was all business again. “I hope you aren’t insulted by the precautions, but we’re going to need to bring Dresden in to confirm your identities.” Everyone traded glances. “That’s kinda what we wanted to start with,” Applejack said. “Yes, I daresay we would all be quite pleased with that turn of events,” Rarity added. “One thing I don’t get,” Pinkie said, scratching her head with a curious expression. “What makes you think we aren’t humans? I, personally, am one of the humanest humans that ever humaned.” Sergeant Murphy snorted again. “Aside from comments like that? The hair and eyes are good tip-offs, but those could be mistaken for dye-jobs and special contacts. Your teenaged friend is the biggest proof. Humans don’t have slit pupils, enlarged canines, or claw-like nails.” Twilight felt another trickle of cold sweat. “He’s just got a … um … gland condition. I don’t know why you’d think we are anything other than perfectly ordinary, non-magical humans.” “I didn’t mention anything about magic,” Sergeant Murphy stated flatly. “However, the fact that you did certainly suggests something. Also, it doesn’t help that most of you are wearing what look like handmade dresses, in September, with no underwear.” She gestured to their chests for some reason, and a few of the human officers chuckled or coughed. Rarity smirked and Twilight felt like joining her in the expression. Another one of their  preparations was about to pay off. It had been difficult to talk the rest of the girls into it, but this just proved once and for all that Twilight had known what she was doing in planning this trip. “I think you’ll find that you are quite wrong in that regard. Everyone? Show her.” With that, everyone lifted their dress or dropped their pants to reveal a pair of black boxers dotted with yellow smiley faces. Rarity had spent days making sure she had gotten each of them exactly right, and Twilight couldn’t help but feel a smug sense of satisfaction at her excellent grasp of human culture. Sergeant Murphy laughed so hard, she almost fell down. ……… The trail stopped at a tiny cave. There were seven scents, one of which smelled similar to a hatchling, yet at the same time very different. They would have been little more than a snack, but with nothing else, even that pitiful amount would have been welcome. The dragon rumbled in dissatisfaction. Such trails always ended without prey. It was the way of this cruel place. However, with an active and aware mind, the trail was much more than a momentary disappointment. If the trail ended here, it had to be a way out. A tiny crack in this vast prison. ‘Tiny’ being the important word. The glorious form that had consumed cities and struck fear into the mightiest of creatures would never fit through. To give up that form would be to lose it forever, or at least until enough power could be gathered to recreate it. The first time had taken centuries, and that was without the fear of discovery. Whatever else, a new life would mean hiding from those foolish, jealous creatures that had built this prison. Still, the only other option was remaining here, slowly losing sanity to unquenched hunger. In that light, the decision was easy. Even at a much reduced size, the cave was not terribly impressive. It was shallow and bland in appearance. Its only saving grace was the delicious weakness of the veil between worlds. Unfortunately, it was not weak enough to simply break through. Still, that hardly mattered. The veil was weak enough that it would open naturally for a few precious seconds if one waited long enough. Ouroboros, the Infinite Serpent, the Devourer of Worlds, the Eldest and Greatest of Dragons, sat and waited patiently. Time would not be a problem.