//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Hot Potato // Story: The Hatchling // by Dafaddah //------------------------------// Chapter 6: Hot potato Stormblast had just left guard duty at the castle. He bought a fast-feed bag and ate a dull tasting salad from it while hurrying to the warehouse district of Canterlot. For some reason there were a lot of ponies out and about tonight. All I get for my efforts is more guard duty! he thought morosely. For a third night in a row he was guarding the blasted egg. He sincerely wished they would hurry up and assemble a sufficient number of powerful unicorns to do the stone spell, so all this double-duty work would be over with and he could finally get a good night’s sleep. He looked around before entering the building. For a change there was nopony in sight, so he went straight in. Trotting up one flight of steps, he faced the door. He gave the secret knock and was let in. An aged stallion gave him the key, sketched a salute and, without another word, let himself out. Stormblast inspected the iron cage, the only furnishing in the room other than a lamp and a chair, making sure the egg still was securely locked inside. He turned around, sat down in the chair with a grunt, took out a pocket novel and began reading. It wasn’t very long when he heard the secret knock tapped on the door. The old codger must have forgotten his teeth or something! he thought in annoyance, and went to open the door. He pulled back on the latch, but instead of the same old pony he saw a unicorn in a paisley vest, striped tie and a rather reptilian looking pair of dark glasses. “Buddy,” he said, “Flash’s Fancy Wholesale Fashion Bargains is in the next building over.” “I know that!” said the stallion as if offended. “Don’t you think I know that?” Stormblast shook his head and had almost closed the door when the unicorn’s horn glowed. The door blew off its hinges, throwing him onto his backside in the process. He saw stars as the unicorn entered. “Where’s the Holy of Holies?” asked the unicorn. “The... holy... what...?” asked Stormblast, his head still ringing. The stallion focused his attention on the cage. “Oh, never mind! It’s all good!” he said with a smile. Stepping up to Stormblast, his horn pulsed with light again and then everything went dark. Captain Flash Sentry led the squad into the building. Since they began observing it one pony entered, a different one left, and a third one entered. The old pony who had left the building had been taken into custody as soon as he turned a corner. They went up a flight of stairs and were surprised to find a wide open armored door. Rushing inside they fanned out, with a pair of guardponies going to each of the two objects to be found therein: a pegasus stallion lying on the floor and, a short distance away, an empty cage, its door open and a padlock with a key still inside of it hanging off of it. One of the guards opened a bottle of smelling salts under the prone stallion’s muzzle. He lifted his head, and Flash felt the bitterness of anger and betrayal in his gut. He casually trotted up to the sputtering pegasus. “So, Stormblast,” he said. “Where did you put the egg?” Stormblast rose onto his forelegs and turned to look in the direction of the cage. The anger on his face couldn’t have been feigned. Sentry had known him for too long. “It’s gone, Captain,” said the traitor. “That fashion disaster of a unicorn must have taken it.” Flash felt his blood go cold. “Paisley and stripes?” “The very same, Captain.” Flash wasn’t sure whether to believe him or not. “We observed that stallion going in, but not leaving,” he said. “Lieutenant Fire Brand,” he called, “I want this building sealed tighter than a lactose intolerant stallion’s lips at a cheese eating convention!” He put hobbles on Stormblast. “Have you bothered putting a teleportation interdict around this building?” asked his prisoner. Flash answered with a glare. “Then you can forget about finding anypony. This fashion disaster was a rather high powered unicorn. I’m sure he teleported into one of the neighboring buildings and is blocks away by now.” Captain Sentry still didn’t say a word, but the traitor was right. “Book him, Fire Brand. Treason and egg-napping.” He left the building feeling far worse than when he had entered it. Now he had to explain to two princesses how Discord's egg had been stolen from within their grasp yet again. Twilight and her friends sat in their thrones. The mood in the throne room of Friendship Rainbow Castle was somber, to say the least. Fluttershy had stopped weeping openly and instead hid her face in her mane, wrapping herself in a cocoon of silence. Captain Flash Sentry walked into the circle to deliver his latest report. “Princess Twilight’s deductions were correct. The timing of the egg-napping left only a few potential suspects who could have possibly known that the egg was in Lady Fluttershy’s cottage. These included yourselves, the residents of Apple Acres Farm, Princess Celestia and her guard detachment. She also deduced from Lady Pie's report that the perpetrator may have been carrying a sword or spear at the time. By eliminating those who had an alibi for the time of the eggnapping, the only suspects left were identified as the two Solar guards. They were both tailed, and finally one of them led us to the site where the egg had been stored. “We raided the site, but were too late. A competing faction had apparently already stolen the egg from the one to which our traitorous guardpony belonged.” “What can you tell us about these factions?” asked Twilight. “The first one call themselves the Order of Harmony,” answered Captain Flash, “and their intent was to turn Discord’s egg to stone. The only thing that prevented them from achieving their goal was that they had not collected a sufficient number of powerful unicorns to cast the spell. We were aware of the existence of this group, but had not made efforts to infiltrate them as they had been deemed likely harmless to the general populace and crown of Equestria. “The other group is far more shadowy. The members of the Order of Harmony called them the Horde of Discord, but that is almost all we know. Their objectives, membership and intent in stealing Discord’s egg are all unknown. The Royal Intelligence Services have focused all their considerable assets into locating this group, but I must advise you that as of today we have no useful leads to follow-up on, only a partial description of one member, as he was wearing a disguise. We found out afterwards that several of our agents actually crossed paths with him while we were tailing the traitorous guard pony. It’s amazing how a truly horrendous outfit can make a pony overlook the obvious!” He bowed. Twilight rose from her seat. “Thank you, Captain. We’ll look forward to your reports.” He bowed again, and pivoting on his rear hooves, left the throne room. Fluttershy rose from her throne. “They’ll never find him in time!” she wailed. “He became my friend, and then betrayed my trust. He won it back, and then he died. And now, it’s happening again! Why didn’t I see this coming? Shouldn’t I have learned by now!?” Sobbing, she galloped out of the room. Again, it was Rarity who took off after her. “Okay, listen-up!” said Twilight. “I’m going to ransack every library and cache of books from here to the Crystal Empire to find something, anything about this ‘Horde of Discord’. Dash!” “Yes, ma’am!” The pegasus saluted. “Get to Cloudsdale and find out if any pegasi have ever heard of the Horde, and if so what they have heard!” Dash flew up towards the ceiling window. Twilight’s horn glowed and the window opened just in time. “Applejack! If I recall correctly earth ponies can sense Discord’s egg if it’s on land with which they have a connection. Please provide a detailed description of this feeling to the Royal Intelligence Service so they can comb for any earth pony reported incidents that might fit that profile.” “On it, Twi!” Applejack galloped out of the room, leaving Twilight and Pinkie Pie. “What about me?” said Pinkie enthusiastically. “What should I do, hunh?” Twilight scratched her head. “I don’t know Pinkie. I’ve kind of run out of ideas.” The pink mare’s ears drooped. Her bangs suddenly lost some of their curl. “Really? You don’t have anything you want me to do?” “I’m sorry Pinkie.” Twilight’s ears also started to bend down, and then her eyes widened. “But then nothing’s more important than helping Rarity cheer up Fluttershy, right?” Pinkie’s ears shot up and she nodded emphatically. “Yer darn tootin’ nothing’s more important!” Her hair puffed out like a huge ball of pink cotton candy and she bounced out through the door. Twilight heaved a sigh of relief. She turned to Spike who sat on his throne, now almost as big as her own. “Looks like we have some books to hit!” He grinned. “Just like old times!” He rose and walked over to Twilight, taking one of her forelegs in his. “Just like old times!” She nodded, and with a flash of her horn teleported them away. Pinkie Pie pronked out of the castle as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Of course she knew that Twilight’s suggestion she go help Rarity cheer up Fluttershy was just her friend’s attempt at making her feel better, not Fluttershy. She also knew that the white and yellow mares shared a very close relationship that predated Twilight’s arrival in Ponyville. If anypony could help Fluttershy now, it was Rarity. Pinkie would only get in the way. However, just the fact that Twilight tried so hard to make Pinkie feel better actually did make her feel better! For the umpty-numpteth time in her life Pinkie thanked her lucky stars for having brought her and her friends together in Ponyville! The feeling only steeled her resolve that she needed to do something to help Fluttershy, and Pinkie had had an inspiration! With one last bounce she arrived at her destination: her own bedroom at Sugarcube Corner. Hastily, she got a paper and pen out from her dresser drawer. Placing it on the floor, she lay down on her belly and began writing. Dear Cheese Sandwich, I need your help! Please come to me now! Signed, Pinkamena Diane Pie She quickly folded the letter into a paper airplane, opened the window and threw it out with a flourish. She looked at it do a few loops as it flew off. “That ought to do it!” she declared with a smile and went back to her dresser to close the drawer. There was a knock at her door. She bounced over to it and opened it wide. Before her stood a tall earth pony with a burnt orange coat, wearing a yellow bowling shirt, from which protruded a long neck topped with a stallion’s face with pink eye, shrouded by a frizzy brown mane in which a paper airplane was stuck. “You called, oh party of one?” asked Cheese Sandwich. “Yiperoo!” said Pinkie. “I need your advice!” “My brain and memories are yours to command, Pinkie, you know that,” said the stallion while bending his left knee. Pinkie looked down. “Why do you kneel on your left knee?” she asked, curious. “I used to use the other one. But then I caught an arrow in it.” He grinned. “Good thing we ponies have four, right!?” “You said it!” Pinkie draped a foreleg over his back. “But tell me,” she whispered, “where would you go to buy the cheesiest outfit in Equestria?” “How Cheesy?” he whispered back, “as cheesy as a paisley vest with a striped tie?” “Yiperoodeedoo!” “Hmm,” he stroked his chin while turning his gaze upwards. “I would go to Flash’s Fancy Wholesale Fashion Bargains in Canterlot. You won’t find cheesier, at any price.” He looked back down and saw a pink pony with a mustache. “Who are you?” he asked archly. Pinkie waggled her eyebrows and pulled off the fake ‘stache. “It’s me, silly! Like my disguise?” “It’s brilliant! You going on an investigation?” “How did you guess?” He raised one eyebrow high. “I’m blessed with razor-sharp situational awareness! But then, –” he walked back to the door “– my work here is done. Goodbye, Pinkamena, and good hunting!” With a final shake of his mane, he was gone. Pinkie Pie put the fake mustache back on. “And I have a perp to catch!” She bounced out of Sugarcube Corner, bound for the train station. The two fifteen express to Canterlot was warming up to depart, and Pinkie had a ticket with her name on it.