After Rollin Fields made that last statement, his colleagues became very uneasy. Bronze Star decided to bring some backup. He went back into the embassy, found Comet Frost, Blade Bearer, and Swiftdrive, and ordered them to accompany him. On his way to the front entrance, he encountered Lord Ronald Grump, who was still demanding an explanation. Bronze Star impatiently dismissed the CEO's request and told him to wait. That would not be enough to get the entrepreneur to stand down, but the prince already had enough to worry about. He was in no mood to contend with a restless CEO.
Bronze Star and the three officers of the Royal Guard headed outside and regrouped with Noble Edict, Haywood McCrank, Dapple Rhomb, and Rollin Fields. The eight ponies hastily made their way to the hospital.
They were totally unprepared for what they found when they got there. It was like something out of a horror novel.
The lobby was very overcrowded. Dozens of ponies were sitting in chairs, leaning against the walls, or lying on the floor. Many of them were groaning in pain, and all of them were clutching one or two of their body parts. Several doctors, nurses, and orderlies were scurrying to attend these new patients, but there were not enough of them to go around.
Bronze Star and his associates began to push their way through the crowd. As they moved across the lobby, they got a better look at the surrounding ponies. The majority of the injured looked as though they had a gash, tear, or deep cut on their limbs or their torsos. In other words, their wounds appeared to have been inflicted by a knife.
There were a few patients whose wounds had not been caused by a knife. Instead, they had what appeared to be a large grey dot on various parts of their bodies. The dots were not birthmarks; that much was obvious. Birthmarks do not ooze blood. These dots did.
At one point, Noble Edict tapped Bronze Star and pointed to the other side of the lobby. She pronounced "Look, over there!"
The gold stallion gazed in that direction and spotted Copper Hollow in the crowd. He was helping a pair of paramedic transfer a badly carved-up mare from a stretcher to a portable bed. Once she was on, the paramedics rushed her to the Emergency Room. Copper Hollow just watched them as they rolled the bed out of the lobby, and he continued staring in that direction even after they disappeared from his sight.
Bronze Star hastily approached Copper Hollow and placed his front hoof on his shoulder. He queried anxiously "Copper, what's going on?"
The copper stallion slowly turned to face the gold stallion. Bronze Star noticed there was a bandage on the side of Copper Hollow's neck. It appeared to be soaked thoroughly with blood. That was alarming, but not as alarming as the expression on Copper Hollow's face. It was virtually blank.
"What in the name of buck happened here?" Sir Haywood McCrank heatedly inquired.
"Where are the others?" Dapple Rhomb frantically enquired.
"Why are there so many wounded here?" Noble Edict sternly questioned.
Copper Hollow did not answer any of them. He simply continued staring at whatever was immediately in front of him.
"Copper?" Rollin Fields muttered worriedly, "Are you okay?"
The elderly stallion's remark drew the others' attention to Copper Hollow's well-being. He looked as though he was in a trance, and he did nothing apart from blink and breathe. It was like he had shut out everything that was going on around him except for his ability to react to it.
"Talk to us," Bronze Star bade the older stallion, "Please, talk to us. What happened?"
He definitely understood that question, but he had no desire to reply to it. After what he had just endured, one could hardly blame him. Still, he doubted he would ever forget the events of the last two weeks.
They had been the longest two weeks of his life, and they kept replaying in his head.
Copper Hollow had never been away from Ponyville for more than a day. Truth be told, He was quite alright with that. Although he had a bit of a fondness for adventure, he had never had a desire to travel around the country. He would have been content to stay in his hometown for his entire life without leaving it. He had been born there, he had been raised there, and he planned that he would ultimately die there.
Whenever he died, he also planned for it to be at the end of a long and fruitful life. Of course, nopony ever has total control over their longevity. There are a lot of factors that could prolong or shorten one's lifespan. Sometimes those factors occur abruptly and unexpectedly. One such factor is the result of meeting strangers.
If the stranger is friendly, he or she might positively impact the other party and somehow cause them to live longer. If the stranger is hostile, he or she might force that same pony to meet with their demise sooner than they planned. Maybe a LOT sooner.
Copper Hollow had encountered both types of strangers in the past two weeks. On the plus side, most of them fell into the first category. Unfortunately, there were a few individuals who undoubtedly went into the second category. The repercussions of his experiences with those few had been devastating.
The copper stallion could vividly recall the day he left Ponyville. He was certain he would never forget it. It was the first time he had ever been on a train. It was also the last time all ten members of the task force would be together in one place.
Copper Hollow had said farewell to his parents, Iron Hollow and Tin Hollow. He was very glad he had done that. For all he knew, that might have been the last thing he ever told them. If he was not coming back, he wanted the last words they heard from his mouth to be "I love you both."
He was not the only pony in his group who was leaving family behind. Almond Wheeler's cousin Cashew Lane had come to see her off, and Rough Rider had shared a tender exchange with his wife. Having no family of their own in town, Shakedown and Dread Naught simply resorted to shaking hooves with Bronze Star and the other four members of the task force.
Once everypony said their good-byes, Almond Wheeler, Copper Hollow, Dread Naught, Rough Rider, and Shakedown boarded the train. After their luggage was checked and their tickets were snipped, they went to the center car and got settled.
About ten minutes later, the conductor announced that their departure for Detrot was imminent. Shortly after, the train began to move. As it gradually picked up speed, many of the passengers on the left side opened their windows and leaned out to get one last glance at their friends and family on the platform.
Rough Rider was one of those ponies. Copper Hollow watched the olive stallion as he smiled and waved at Dapple Rhomb. He used his right front hoof to wave at her. That was the hoof with his legband around it. Even now, Sir Haywood McCrank had refused to remove Dapple Rhomb and Rough Rider's legbands. Copper Hollow and a few of the other members had suggested that the legbands were no longer necessary, but Sir Haywood had insisted that they needed to keep a close eye on their vigilante counterparts, and the legbands provided their best means for doing so. Still, Copper Hollow found it odd that the indigo stallion would wish to establish that sort of distinction between the two spouses and everypony else. Especially since Shakedown had not been required to wear a legband.
Once the train pulled out of the depot, Rough Rider sat back down in his seat. He still kept his gaze on Ponyville until it faded into the distance. After that, he continued staring out the window so he could admire the scenery. That was how he passed the time. Each of the others passed it in a different manner. Shakedown read a novella, Dread Naught studied his files, and Almond Wheeler did a few crossword puzzles.
Copper Hollow passed the time by meditating. He had so much on his mind at that time, and he only had until the train reached Detrot to get it all in order. He wished he could say he was prepared for what was coming. He most certainly was not. He did not even know he would be going to Detrot until the previous night's meeting. That was hardly enough time to get ready in any meaning of the word.
He was the youngest of the five ponies there, yet he had been charged with leading this group. He was understandably anxious about that prospect.
He did not doubt his ability as a leader. He was confident that he was up to the task, otherwise he would not have volunteered for it. He was widely recognized by his peers as a caring, reliable, and respectable authority figure, and he had worked hard to earn his position as Ponyville's deputy chief of security.
What really troubled Copper Hollow was the place he was leading this group. Other than what he learned in school and what he read in the international sections of the newspapers, Copper Hollow was not very aware of the things that happened in the country outside of Ponyville. However, he knew enough about where they were going to admit that he should be worried.
While no city in Equestria was entirely crime-free, most of them were very peaceful, pleasant, and prosperous. On an average day, a pony could trot through any one of those cities and have a very positive experience.
That was not the case with Detrot. It used to be as lovely as any other city in Equestria, but over the last century, it had drastically fallen into ruin. The industrialization of Equestria had left a negative impact on this coastal city.
A first-time tourist might even be inclined to think that Detrot was not a part of Equestria; it was that different. Some claimed that its biggest commodity was crime, and even amongst the city's natives, there were few who would dispute that allegation.
Detrot had developed at a slower rate than any other major city in the country, its progress was hindered by vice and misappropriation, the black market had been founded there, gangs roamed the streets by day, thugs roamed the streets by night, there were rumors of corruption amongst the police force, murders occurred at least weekly, and there were some ponies who did not acknowledge Princess Celestia as their ruler.
These were problems that the city's populace had to deal with on a regular basis. It was survival of the fittest in Detrot. One had to be tough, fearless, and strongminded to get by. Anypony who could not adapt did not last long. With that in mind, one would think that the residents would be too terrified to leave their homes. Quite the contrary, the locals had seen the struggle as an advantage.
That was actually the one upside to living in Detrot: the city's hardships could be used to strengthen its inhabitants. Many natives of Detrot regarded everyday life as a test of endurance and persistence. That enabled them to grow up to be stronger, more cautious, more aware and more resilient than most other ponies in the country. In fact, several of the best officers of the Royal Guard and officers in the military were from Detrot.
The ponies who were truly in danger were tourists and immigrants from other parts of the country. More than half of the cities' murder victims were originally from other cities. Unlike the locals, newcomers had no idea just how harsh and unsafe the city could be. Their lives had been considerably more comfortable and laidback by comparison. Basically, where they came from, they had could keep their guard down without worry of attack. That was not how it worked in Detrot. Oftentimes, keeping one's guard up was the literal difference between life and death in that city. Some new arrivals learned that the hard way, and it ended up being the very last thing they ever learned.
Fortunately, as a security officer, Copper Hollow had been trained to always have his guard up. Almond Wheeler had received the same training as him, and he was certain that Agent Dread Naught, Shakedown, and Rough Rider were capable of watching their own backs. After all, Dread Naught was from Baltimare, another city with a less-than-stellar reputation, and Rough Rider and Shakedown had helped bring criminals to justice before.
Still, security officers in Ponyville were nowhere near as seasoned in violence as the Detrot Police Department. Furthermore, Baltimare was as calm as Ponyville when compared to Detrot, and Shakedown claimed that they could expect no additional help from the other vigilantes. His reasoning was that he did not have enough time to contact the other vigilantes before they left Ponyville. Apart from that, he pointed out that if more of his people joined up with the task force in Detrot, their group would become too large and attract unwanted attention. So the five of them were on their own. Until they got back to Ponyville, they could not even update the rest of the task force on their progress or vice versa.
So the five of them would have to face all of Detrot's indigenous problems by themselves. That was bad enough for any pony, but the task force was presented with an additional difficulty. On top of everything else, they would have to deal with the Vermane.
That did not please Copper Hollow one bit. He knew full well that the Vermane were the only reason they had made this trip in the first place, but that did not make it any easier to accept that the five of them would be hunting for a bunch of unscrupulous assassins in the most unforgiving city in Equestria. Just the concept of that would be enough to unnerve the bravest of souls.
Copper Hollow could imagine that the others were afraid. He certainly was. For the first time in his life, he realized what it meant to be scared. Even the Nightmare Moon incident and the encounter with the Ursa Minor had not bothered him so much.
All the same, the copper stallion was not going to let his fear dictate his actions. He was afraid, but he was not a coward. He was going to see this job through, regardless of the hazards involved. He knew he had to be strong and firm for himself and for his colleagues. If he appeared to be fearless and bold, he felt that would be enough to give them hope and keep them united in this endeavor.
He was their leader. He sure as Tartarus was going to act like it.
Copper Hollow spent well over an hour meditating. Then lunch was served by the train's crew. It was nothing fancy, but it was filling. After eating, Copper Hollow decided to look for other ways to occupy his time. Rough Rider appeared to be a little bored, as well. That was understandable; a stallion could only enjoy staring at the scenery for so long, and it was a twelve-hour nonstop trip to Detrot.
Fortunately, Shakedown had brought over a dozen novellas, and Almond Wheeler had brought an entire volume of crosswords. Between those resources, there was plenty of entertainment to go around for all five ponies. Even so, Dread Naught was content to keep his muzzle buried in his files for the whole ride. The others did not protest; that meant more for the rest of them.
Finally, at one o'clock in the morning, the train reached its destination. By this point, the majority of its passengers had fallen asleep. Shakedown and Copper Hollow were the only ones in their group who were still awake, and the copper stallion had almost nodded off a couple times.
When the train pulled into Detrot's main station, the whistle was blown and the conductor shouted "Detrot, mares and gentlestallions! Watch your step!"
That had been enough to awaken most of the sleeping passengers, including Dread Naught and Rough Rider. Copper Hollow had to nudge Almond Wheeler a few times to rouse her. Once they were all up, the five ponies swiftly disembarked onto the adjoining platform. From there, they collected their luggage. After collecting their luggage, they promptly exited the station and entered the city.
The instant they stepped outside, they fully realized that they were in a very different place than what they were accustomed to. The air had a pungently foul scent, like a combination of blood, rotten food, and raw sewage. Although it was pitch black, only about half of the streetlights were on, and most of those were either dim or flickering. Despite the lateness of the hour, there were a number of ponies roaming through the streets. Most of them did not even seem to acknowledge the five members of the task force. The few who did gave them little more than a glare or the cold shoulder. There was not a grin or a friendly nod to be seen anywhere.
Copper Hollow was glad that he and his companions were armed. He was still wearing his belt which contained – among other things – his knife. He would be ready to brandish his weapon at a moment's notice. All the same, he was hoping he would not have to draw it for the duration of their stay in Detrot.
Out of concern for their well-being, he suggested that they find shelter as soon as possible. The others promptly agreed with the idea, and Rough Rider was able to offer a solution.
Since the olive stallion had been to the city before, he was familiar with all of its hotels. His favorite one was the Grand Alhoof, which was relatively nearby. However, it was still nine blocks away, and he knew it would be folly to trot that far in Detrot at night.
Luckily, Almond Wheeler was able to hail a couple taxis. At least the cabbies treated them kindly enough. They actually helped their five customers load their luggage onto the carts, and they did not even ask for any assistance
Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the front of the Grand Alhoof. The task force paid the cabbies and continued on hoof to the entrance of the building. A bellhop offered to help them with their bags, but they politely declined. Not only because they had packed very lightly, but also because they did not wish to entrust their belongings in anypony else in this town.
The five ponies quickly approached the front desk and requested two rooms. Since Rough Rider was a returning guest, he got to pick those rooms. He managed to get them two standard side-by-side suites with an adjoining door on the twenty-ninth floor.
Dread Naught could have used his status as a federal investigator to reserve them one of the finer suites in the penthouse, but their job in Detrot was supposed to be off the record, and Dread Naught did not wish to use his government credentials unless he had to, lest he risk attracting suspicion.
Anyway, once the suites were booked, the five ponies were given their keycards and took the elevator all the way to the twenty-ninth floor.
The two suites were standard three-room dorms. There was a bedroom, a bathroom, and a main room. Each bedroom had two queen-sized beds with fresh sheets, and the bathrooms were spotless. One of the main rooms had a couch and a minibar; the other had a kitchen.
Before the five ponies got settled, they unlocked the doors that connected their suites together and kept them wide open. That way, they would have total access to each other. They wanted to be able to converse as a group at any time.
They could have rented just one room, but no room in the hotel had five places to sleep. Shakedown was very against the idea of having anypony sleeping on the floor; he argued that nopony ever got decent rest from sleeping on the ground, and all of them needed their rest while they were in Detrot. With two suites, there were four beds and a couch. Shakedown and Rough Rider took the two beds in the suite with the kitchen, Almond Wheeler and Dread Naught took the two beds in the suite with the minibar, and Copper Hollow took the couch.
It was almost two o'clock by the time they were finally able to turn in for the night. Dread Naught beckoned everypony to get a good night's sleep. They would certainly need it; sleep would probably be their only source of solace while they were in Detrot.
At eight o'clock, the five of them woke up and started the first of many hectic days. After freshening up, they had breakfast in the dining hall. As they ate, Shakedown proposed that they go grocery shopping sometime later. He argued that it would be more practical and more discreet if they had most of their meals in their hotel rooms. The others agreed to that idea; all of them had some experience in the culinary arts. They decided they would have breakfast and dinner in the hotel's dining hall or in their suites. As for lunch, they would stop at a food stand or something else with fast service.
After breakfast was concluded, the five ponies headed back up to their suites. Once there, Dread Naught explained that he had already devised a plan for how they would continue the investigation in Detrot. He proposed that they start by going back to the city's main train depot. So they did. After putting on their saddlebags of supplies and utility belts, the five ponies confidently headed out into the city.
Dread Naught had kept the manifest of the train that had the Vermane had used to flee from Ponyville after they attacked Rollin Fields' children. When they got to the depot, the brownish-tan Unicorn approached the ticket vendor and requested to see with the stationmaster. As soon as the stationmaster arrived, Dread Naught showed him the manifest. He told him that he needed the names and locations of every railway employee who had been on that train for that particular trip. The stationmaster seemed perplexed by that request, so Dread Naught presented his government credentials and insisted it was a matter of national security.
The stationmaster left and returned twenty minutes later with a sheet of paper. On that paper was a complete list of the names and current whereabouts of all the personnel of that one certain trip for that one certain train.
Dread Naught's plan was for them to interview all of those workers and see if they could remember anything pertinent from that train ride. As luck would have it, several of those workers were at the depot at that time, and the rest of them would all be in Detrot sometime in the next two days. The task force wasted no time in taking advantage of that.
They spent the majority of the following three days at the train station, speaking with the employees on that list. For the first two days, they did not make a lot of progress. All the workers they conversed with either could not recall anything about that train ride or was able to tell them anything they did not already know.
However, on the third day, the task force members had their first major breakthrough when they spoke with one of the stewards. When they showed the steward the manifest, he recognized it straightaway. As a matter of fact, he claimed that he had written it. Dread Naught asked him if he remembered seeing three stallions – one Earth Pony, one Unicorn, and one Pegasus – who had sat together in the same row near the front of that train. The steward thought back hard and recalled that he had indeed encountered three such stallions.
Shakedown asked for a description of those three stallions. The steward was able to provide them with only a few details, but they were still useful tidbits of information.
For starters, all three stallions had been in their early thirties. The Earth Pony had a mint green coat and a mauve mane, the Unicorn had a tawny coat and a hoary mane, and the Pegasus had a cobalt coat and a puce mane. The steward tried as hard as he could, but he was unable to remember the color of those stallions' eyes or their cutie marks.
He recounted that all three of them had seemed very distant and inhospitable. They had barely spoken a word for the duration of that train ride. The steward also said that whenever he or anypony else went near those stallions, they had thrown an angry scowl in that pony's direction. As a lifelong citizen of Detrot, the steward was accustomed to receiving that sort of treatment, so he did not think anything of their unpleasant demeanor at the time. He just thought it was worth mentioning.
That was pretty much the bulk of what the steward could reminisce about the three stallions. Needless to say, he had no idea what those stallions' names were. While Dread Naught and the others were hardly surprised, they were still a little disappointed. Their investigation might have progressed much faster if the steward could provide them with a name or three.
That aside, the task force had still acquired enough information to further their search for the Vermane. Now that they had a partial physical description of what their three suspects looked like, they knew who to keep their eyes open for.
The next step was for them to do some digging around the city. They aimed to find out who else had encountered those three stallions.
They wondered how they would accomplish this goal. Asking around was out of the question. They would cast a lot of suspicion on themselves if they just went about the city and asked random bystanders if they had seen three certain stallions. Plus, the townsfolk of Detrot were not known to be particularly accommodating, especially with regards to strangers. Most of all, the five members of the task force were searching for three ponies in a city of over a million. Rough Rider proposed that they would need the aid of somepony who was obligated by their job or lifestyle to monitor all activity – criminal or otherwise – in the whole city.
With that said, Copper Hollow recommended that they check in with the Detrot Police Department. Rough Rider concurred with that proposal; he contended that the police in this city could be a reliable source of information. As long as you knew who to ask for help and how to ask for it. Between the five of them, they were bound to produce another viable lead. So they promptly headed to the Police Headquarters.
Since they were still trying to keep a low profile, Copper Hollow knew it would not be prudent to just saunter up to the officers behind the counter and start posing questions. He reasoned that they needed to be more discreet and careful. He asked Rough Rider if he personally knew any cops that they could go to for information.
Rough Rider happened to know three officers like that. One of them was shady, one of them was ruthless, one of them was upstanding, and all three of them gave reliable information. The only problem was that none of them freely shared that information; one had to pull some strings in order to get them to talk.
This was a task best-suited for Shakedown, Dread Naught, and Almond Wheeler. Rough Rider told them all he knew about those three cops, and then the three of them each went to spoke with one of those cops.
Shakedown consulted the shady one. As a former cop himself, the greenish-blue stallion did not delight in having to deal with a crooked police officer, but if Rough Rider said he gave good intel, Shakedown could tolerate that. Plus, he was an expert on acquiring leads through a variety of techniques. When he first approached him, the officer was very tight-lipped. However, after Shakedown offered him a substantial bribe, the officer quickly loosened his lips.
Dread Naught conferred with the ruthless one. Since the police worked for local government and the Intelligence Bureau worked for the federal government, the two forces hardly ever interacted with each other. However, the Intelligence Bureau was responsible for ensuring that the country's other law enforcement agencies did not violate their own laws. This police officer was known for being very abusive towards his suspects, and he rarely showed any remorse, even if they turned out to be innocent. Luckily, he did not lack common sense. Dread Naught just had to flash his government credentials and threaten to conduct an investigation on the officer's activities, and that was all it took to get him to cooperate.
Almond Wheeler visited the upstanding one. This officer was like a resilient model citizen. He had grown up in a treacherous setting but had avoided succumbing to its vices and immorality. He was incapable of being enticed, subdued, or soiled by illicit means. He always did everything by the book, and there was not a hint of corruption in him. Despite his legitimate mentality, he was very stern and withdrawn. He never discussed his files with anypony unless they had a good reason. Almond Wheeler actually had an excellent reason, but given the secrecy of her job, she was unable to share it. As a dedicated security officer, she could grasp some idea of how this police officer functioned. Almond Wheeler reached out to him by appealing to his sense of duty and his sense of righteousness. She insisted that lives were at stake, and he could help save them if he gave her his assistance. In the end, that was precisely what was needed to sway the police officer's mind and get him to open up to her.
Once Shakedown, Dread Naught, and Almond Wheeler had the attention of the three police officers, they informed them of their current predicament. To be precise, they were looking for three certain stallions. They convinced the officers to search the station's archives to see if they had a record of any pony who matched the physical description of those three stallions.
Considering how many ponies had criminal records in Detrot, the three officers were in the archives for quite a while. When they finally came out, they revealed that they did not have a criminal record of any Earth Pony with a mint green coat and a mauve mane, any Unicorn with a tawny coat and a hoary mane, or any Pegasus with a cobalt coat and a puce mane.
However, they found some ponies who matched those criteria in another part of their history.
Over the past several years, the police had gotten a few tips about a mint green Earth Pony, a tawny Unicorn, and a cobalt Pegasus. The ponies who filed those tips had reported seeing those three stallions behaving suspiciously in certain parts of the city. A few of those tippers had even claimed that those three stallions had mysteriously disappeared from those areas at various times and spontaneously reappeared in the same vicinities several hours later.
The officers apologized for being unable to provide more conclusive info about those three stallions, but Shakedown, Dread Naught, and Almond Wheeler reassured them that this piece of information would be quite useful on its own. All they needed to know was where the tips had come from, as well as who had filed them. Most of those tips had been submitted anonymously, but the officers were able to give them the names of about thirty ponies who had given their identities alongside their tips. They also notified the task force that all of those tips had originated from one of three places in the city: the marina, the oil refinery, and the largest high school.
At that point, the task force knew both who to look for and where to look for them. The five ponies spent most of the following nine days at one of those three locations.
They decided to start at the marina. Rough Rider mentioned that sixteen months earlier, he had conducted a business transaction with a bunch of fisherstallions there. Plus, as a native of San Franciscolt, he was well-acquainted with docks and harbors. Moreover, Shakedown had often collaborated with the coast guard during his days on the Manehattan P.D. He was very good at distinguishing all the different types of sailors, and some of them were often smuggling knowledge instead of goods.
Anyway, the task force could be found at the marina for most of the subsequent three days. On the first day, they explored as much of it as they could. They went through the stores, the shops, the stands, and – with the owners' permission – many of the boats that had been stationed there. They wanted to be absolutely thorough. If they had the time, they would have dredged the lake, as well. In the end, they came up with nothing that might have led them anywhere.
On the second day, they moved on to acquiring information through more direct means. They went around the marina and talked to a number of ponies in the area. They spoke with the harbor patrol, the dock hooves, the service manager, the concierge coordinator, the booking agents, the watersports directors, and the engineers. They also sought out some of the ponies who had filed the tips about their three suspects.
By the end of the day, the task force managed to obtain some useful information. Over a dozen ponies directed them to a certain building located in the interior section of the docks. Each of those ponies claimed to have seen a mint green Earth Pony, a tawny Unicorn, and a cobalt Pegasus enter or exit that building at one point in time.
For the bulk of their third and final day at the marina, the task force searched that building. It used to be the old registration office for boat owners, but it had been closed down years ago, and a new office had been built in a more strategic location along the docks. Although the building was boarded up, once Dread Naught showed the harbor patrol his credentials, the task force was granted unrestricted access to the rundown office.
The task force methodically went through all three floors of the office, and all they found were cobwebs, quill pens, and blank papers. And dust. However long this office had been closed, it must have been a long time. Dust could be found in abundance there. It covered every single surface in the entire building.
Except for the shelves on the bookcase in the closet behind the front desk. There was not a speck of dust on those. Shakedown was keen to notice that, and he drew the others' attention to the bookcase. They carefully looked the shelves over, and Copper Hollow spotted a latch that appeared to attach the bookcase to the adjoining wall. He pulled out his knife and used it to unfasten the latch. Once he did that, he lightly nudged the bookcase, and it slowly slid away, revealing a short flight of stairs.
The sudden appearance of this secret passage was alarming and unexpected, but it had to lead somewhere. Copper Hollow announced that they were going to investigate it. After the other four ponies drew their knives, they proceeded down the stairs.
At the bottom of the staircase, they arrived in a very dark room. Dread Naught used his magic aura to illuminate the place. The five ponies looked around and saw that there were a number of crates along the walls. Shakedown used his knife to pry open the lid of one of the crates, and the others gathered around to examine its contents.
Inside the crate was an assortment of jumpsuits in plastic laundry bags, daggers in sheaths, spyglasses, and cameras.
Almond Wheeler opened up one of the laundry bags and pulled out its jumpsuit to get a closer look at the material. She recognized it as the same type of jumpsuit that had been worn by the assailants in Whitetail Woods. She, Copper Hollow, and Dread Naught also noted that the spyglasses and the sheathed daggers were identical to the ones that were used by the Vermane.
Rough Rider inspected up one of the cameras and identified it as a Kojak Plus. He recalled that when he had shown Photo Finish the photographs that the Vermane made of the task force's loved ones, she had informed him that they had been taken by a Kojak Plus.
This marked the task force's next big development. They had located the Vermane's stash of resources. This officially confirmed that the Vermane were in Detrot.
The task force spent a couple hours cataloguing the contents of the crates. When they were finished, Shakedown advised the others to put the objects back right where they were. He cautioned them not to hold on to any of the objects, either. He reasoned that if the Vermane came back later and found anything out of place or missing, they would realize that somepony else had been there.
Another hour later, the basement looked exactly as it did before. After that, the task force headed back upstairs, slid the bookcase back in front of the staircase, refastened the latch, and departed from the building. Then they swiftly returned to the Grand Alhoof Hotel. For the first time since they arrived in Detrot, they all went to sleep that night with a feeling of accomplishment.
The task force spent a lot of the subsequent three days at the oil refinery. For the first day, they conversed with the ponies who lived in the nearby regions that bordered the factory. Most of the ponies who had tipped off the police were actually residents of that district. Half of them could not be bothered to help the task force, but the other half was able to point them in the right direction. They remembered seeing a mint green Earth Pony, a tawny Unicorn, and a cobalt Pegasus approach the plant many times. A couple of them even claimed to have seen the three stallions climb over the fences.
By the time the task force interviewed those particular ponies, it was already quitting time at the refinery, and non-employees were not allowed in after hours. So they chose to head back to the hotel early. This was the only occasion when the task force called it a day before the Sun had set.
The following morning, the task force showed up at the plant right when it opened. Before they got there, Rough Rider addressed how they would gain admittance to the place. Normally, the only ponies – apart from the workers – who got into the refinery were clients, the authorities, or in a tour group.
Everypony had to sign up at least two weeks in advance for a tour, and if Dread Naught presented his government credentials at the main entrance, word would have gotten around quickly that the refinery was under investigation. So the first option would have involved too much time, and the second option would have been too disruptive and suspicious.
To get in, Rough Rider suggested that they pose as a bunch of customers who were looking to invest their interests in the oil industry. They pulled off that performance relatively well; it got the plant manager's attention easily enough. He invited them up to his office to discuss business.
Once they were alone with the manager, the five ponies dropped the charade and revealed their true intentions for being there. He was mildly disappointed that they were not really clients, but he was far more surprised to learn that three suspects in a criminal investigation had been seen on his factory's grounds. He assured the task force that he would assist them in any way he could.
Although they did not think it likely, the task force asked the plant manager if he had any employees whose physical description matched that of the three stallions they were looking for. Unsurprisingly, he did not. He proclaimed that there were hundreds of workers at the plant, but most of them had been there for years, and everypony knew everypony. He even let them see the refinery's roster to prove his claim. Sure enough, there were no mint green Earth Ponies, tawny Unicorns, or cobalt Pegasi under that factory's employ.
However, some of the refinery's workers had filed some of the tips about the three suspects. The task force had the plant manager summon those workers to his office one at a time. When each one arrived, they questioned him about what he had seen that caused him to report the tip. Several of them had only seen three figures galloping in the distance for a few seconds before they vanished. However, the forestallion said he had unmistakably spotted those three stallions between the desalter and the steam reforming unit. He had attempted to pursue those stallions, but he lost them somewhere near the FCC unit. A couple of the terminal operators and project engineers gave more or less the same testimony. Wherever they had first noticed the three stallions varied by place, but they insisted that those stallions always disappeared by the time they reached the FCC unit. A couple times, they had called in security to search the place, but they never found so much as a trace of those three stallions.
Copper Hollow requested to see the FCC unit, and the forestallion and the plant manager escorted him and his colleagues to that section of the refinery. The on-duty technicians spent the better part of an hour explaining the functions of the unit, as well as what went on in this part of the factory. After that, the task force studied the FCC unit and its surroundings for another half-hour. There was nothing abnormal about the unit itself, but at one point, Almond Wheeler peered underneath the unit and spotted a grate.
The manager explained that that particular grate had no real function. It was not used as a drainage juncture or an exhaust port. He mentioned that as far as he knew, the grate could not even be opened.
Then Almond Wheeler reached under the unit, took ahold of the grate with her front hoof, and tried to lift it. It came up straightaway without any difficulty. The manager just scoffed and cheekily stated that he might have been wrong.
Shakedown crawled under the FCC unit, moved up next to Almond Wheeler, and gazed down into the hole in the ground. As she held up the grate, he announced that there were a set of rungs built into the side of the wall. He spat into the hole, and they heard an echo after only three seconds. This indicated that it was no deeper than thirty meters.
The plant manager and the forestallion were just as intrigued as the task force was by this development. The manager went back to his office and looked up the refinery's blueprints, and the original design did not include a subterranean level at one hundred feet below the surface. By all accounts, that passage should not have been there.
All the same, Copper Hollow declared that they were going down there. The plant manager protested, saying that if the copper stallion or any of his companions incurred any form of injury while they were underground, the refinery would be held responsible. He insisted that his own workers should explore the passage first.
This expedition took up most of the afternoon, and lasted after most of the workers had gone home. In the end, all the assigned workers returned to the surface and reported that the passage essentially led nowhere. All they found was a labyrinth of hallways, all of which ultimately turned out to be dead ends.
Nevertheless, Copper Hollow told the plant manager that he and the rest of the task force wanted to take a look themselves. The plant manager seemed reluctant, but he agreed to grant the security officer's request. However, it was already well past closing time, and he could not afford to keep the refinery running all night. He told the task force that if they really wanted to know what was below the factory's ground, they would have to come back tomorrow.
That was precisely what they did. They arrived at the gates of the refinery very early so they could gain entrance as soon as possible. To divert the workers' suspicion, they continued masquerading as potential clients for the refinery. So far, only the plant manager and the forestallion knew who the task force really was and why they were really there. They planned to keep it that way.
After they were granted access to the refinery, they were escorted back to the FCC unit by the plant manager. There were only a few ponies working there at that time, one of which was the forestallion. At Copper Hollow's request, he assigned each of those ponies to handle another task at a different part of the facility. Once they were gone, he reached underneath the FCC unit, removed the grate, and stood aside for the five members of the task force.
One-by-one, the task force crawled under the FCC unit, lowered themselves into the hole, and climbed down the ladder. When they were all down, the forestallion slid the grate back into place and called his subordinates back to their stations. He continued working as though nothing had happened. In actuality, he was keeping watch until the task force got back.
When the task force reached the bottom of the ladder, they found themselves in a maze of tunnels. These tunnels appeared to be hoof-made by the looks of them, and they seemed to go on for at least a mile in every direction. It was a good thing all five members of the task force were very patient and committed to their objectives. Otherwise, they might have climbed back up the ladder the moment they reached the bottom of it.
The corridors were completely dark; there was no lighting whatsoever. The task force had brought flashlights, but even those could not project beyond a few meters. They made sure to stay very close together to avoid getting separated. They also remembered to keep a record of their route so that they would be able to find their way back to the ladder.
Their time underground was far from pleasant. The corridors always seemed to start or end abruptly, like there was no consistency to them. They also smelt heavily of sulfur, bulk tar, and petroleum. Since the tunnels were hoof-made, there was not gravel or concrete to be found; the floor, walls, and ceiling were made entirely of dried earth. Then again, they may have been made of something more.
At one point, Dread Naught stepped in a puddle of something which he was pretty certain was not water. Whatever it was, it almost caused him to slip a couple times, and it smelt no better than any of the tunnels' other odors. Breathing proved to be a challenge; the air down there was stale and bitter. The most unsettling factor of all was how apart from the echoes of their hoofsteps, there was no sound whatsoever. Not so much as a gust of wind. That great silence was profoundly unnerving for all of them.
For the next five hours, the task force aimlessly wandered through the tunnels, but they never really got anywhere. Every time they thought they were on the verge of success, they just encountered another dead end. Before long, this routine became more tedious than disappointing.
However, in the sixth hour of their search, they happened upon a tunnel that was much wider than any of the others. They followed that tunnel, only to meet another dead end. Or so they thought. The task force took a closer look at this wall, and they noticed something irregular. The dried earth that composed the wall was very rough and uneven. On all the other walls – as well as the ceiling and the floor – the dried earth had been smoothed down like cement. This wall was the sole exception to that.
The wall was wide enough so that all five members of the task force could approach it whilst standing side-by-side. They simultaneously ran their front hooves along the wall in effort to find an opening or something of the sort. Rough Rider had been standing the farthest right, and when he pushed down firmly enough, the wall budged. He informed the others of this, and altogether, the five ponies gathered around the right side of the wall and pushed on it as hard as they could.
Finally, the wall came loose and rotated on its center. Consequentially, the task force had uncovered another tunnel which the refinery workers had overlooked. They cautiously trotted down this tunnel and arrived at another room. Like the hidden compartment at the marina, this room was full of crates.
However, when Shakedown used his knife to pry one of them open, the task force discovered that there were no spyglasses, sheathed daggers, jumpsuits, or cameras within. Instead, they found piles and piles of ledgers.
Initially, they were confused by this. They could not imagine why anypony would go so far out of their way to hide several thousand ledgers. Then Dread Naught examined the ledgers more closely, and he recognized some of the names on them. He announced to the others that the names of some of the Vermane's previous victims were on the ledgers. Interestingly, none of the names appeared only once; all of them showed up on no fewer than fifteen ledgers.
After another two hours of examination, Dread Naught managed to put everything together. He explained to the others that the ledgers were basically a record of all of the Vermane's profit. Every time the Vermane killed somepony, an organization deposited a large sum of money into the account of that pony's loved ones. The organization was always one of six companies: two advertisement agencies named Uptown Mystique and Radical Innovation, two insurance corporations named MonuMarent and Landslide, and two banking firms named GrandiHorse and Fabian. Somehow, every time those companies compensated the victims' families, another equally large sum of money was sent out, as well. This sum of money travelled through dozens of other smalltime banks so that its value would increase exponentially in very little time. After a week of this process, the money would be twenty times its original amount. After a month, a hundred times.
Unfortunately, none of the ledgers gave any indication of where the money trails ended, but one thing was for certain: whoever was last to receive even one of those sums of money would be a millionaire for life.
Now the task force knew how the Vermane made all their profits. It was through six of the largest and most prolific companies in the country that they had gotten rich. Ironically, the five members of the task force in Ponyville had already made this same discovery only a few days beforehand. Of course, neither group had any way of knowing what the other had learned in the time since they had split up. Still, what mattered was that they were all on the same page by this point.
When they were done examining the ledgers, the members of the task force returned them to their respective crates in the exact order they had removed them. After that, they closed the crates back up, filed out of the hidden tunnel, and returned the revolving wall to its original position. Then they proceeded back to the ladder and climbed back up.
By the time they returned to the surface, it was past closing time for the refinery. Only the forestallion and the plant manager had lingered; everypony else had clocked out. The task force found the two stallions waiting for them got to the top of the ladder. The grate had already been removed; the five ponies just had to climb out of the hole and out from the FCC unit.
As they came out, the plant manager and the forestallion helped each member of the task force onto his or her hooves. When they were all present, the forestallion asked them expectantly if they found what they were looking for. Copper Hollow just gave them a very definite yes. He also notified the two stallions that the task force would not waste any more of their time.
The plant manager and the forestallion seemed pleased by that, but the task force members were far more pleased. After spending most of the day in a dark, foul-smelling, seemingly endless network of tunnels, none of them ever wanted to set hoof near an oil refinery again.
When they got back to the hotel that night, the five ponies treated themselves to hot showers and room service. After what they had been through, they had earned that much. Even better than the pleasure of those luxuries was the reward of how they felt; they had once again been overcome by the sensation that they had achieved tremendous progress in their hunt for the Vermane.
Of the three locations the police had provided them with, two had been fully accounted for; only one more remained.
The high school was the last place the task force visited in Detrot. They were hoping it would also be the most straightforward part of their investigation. Despite being located in the most dangerous city in Equestria, this particular high school had a great reputation. Its average GPA was well above the national average, the dropout rate was less than one percent, more than two-thirds of the graduates went on to college, the students were honest and respectful, the faculty was supportive and encouraging, and most of all, there had never been any murders at this school. It was one of the few large institutions in the city that had not been tainted by bloodshed.
With all that in mind, the task force figured that searching the high school would be relatively simple. At least this time, they knew what to look for. Given their findings at the marina and the oil refinery, there was bound to be a hidden passage or a secret room somewhere beneath the school. If they were lucky, it would have some information pertaining to where the Vermane were, or where they planned to strike next.
The day after they finished their work at the oil refinery, the task force went to the high school. It was a private academy, complete with uniforms and campus security. They waited until the first bell rang, and after all the students were in class, the task force headed inside.
There were metal detectors at the front entrance, as well as an officer standing guard. Before any of them passed through the detector, Dread Naught approached the on-duty guard, presented his credentials, and said that they were there for part of an investigation. He also let the guard know that they were armed. The guard was willing to let them into the building, but they were asked to leave their knives at the front. Shakedown seemed reluctant to part with his, but Copper Hollow urged him to cooperate.
Once they handed over their weapons, the members of the task force made their way to the head office. There they arranged to speak with the principal and the dean. When both of them were available, the task force discussed their current situation with them. They mentioned nothing about the Vermane or their activities at the marina and the oil refinery; all they did say was that they were looking for three stallions, and that they had been informed that those stallions had been spotted going in or near the high school. The principal and the dean did not seem entirely surprised by that news. They claimed that some of their colleagues, a few of the guards, and a number of their students had reported seeing a few unfamiliar faces on campus on occasion.
Dread Naught showed them the list of ponies who had filed a tip to the police about those stallions, and he asked if they recognized any of them. It turned out that most of those tippers were the ones who had notified the principal and the dean about those trespassers. The other tippers were concerned parents of some of the students.
Shakedown requested to interview everypony on that list. The dean consented to that, and he went to schedule a bunch of meetings between the task force and those other ponies. At the same time, Almond Wheeler asked the principal if she could provide them with a copy of the high school's blueprints. She seemed perplexed by that request, but she assented to do it, as well.
For the rest of that day and all of the following two days, the task force followed a particular schedule. From when classes began at eight o'clock in the morning to when they ended at four in the afternoon, they spoke with the students, parents of students, faculty, and guards who had reported seeing the mint green Earth Pony, the tawny Unicorn, and the cobalt Pegasus on the school grounds. Some were worried that their testimony might somehow incriminate them, and a few asked to have a lawyer present. After receiving assurances that they were not under suspicion, they cooperated with the task force fully. They also promised not to discuss these interviews with anypony else.
At the end of the school day, the task force stayed around to search the school grounds. The school was supposed to be closed by four o'clock in the afternoon; even the guards did not linger around after that. However, given Rough Rider's standing in the Detrot community and Dread Naught's status as a federal agent, the principal and the dean were compelled to let the task force remain after closing time. They even convinced the guards to allow them to carry their weapons then.
The task force used the information they acquired from the tippers to carry out their search. They also used their copy of the blueprints as their reference guide. They searched the building until after nine o'clock each night. On the first day, they concentrated on the second floor. On the second day, they moved down to the first floor. Neither day produced very favorable results.
However, on the third day, they had their last major breakthrough. This happened to be the day before Bronze Star learned how each of the Element Bearers got her cutie mark.
The task force started out this day in the same manner as the previous two. They left the Grand Alhoof Hotel at 7:30 and trotted all the way to the high school. When they got there, they yielded their weapons to the guards, checked in with the principal and the dean, and waited for the first bell. They spent the next eight hours conducting interviews and taking notes. They only stopped once for lunch.
At one point, the head of security stopped by the office to give his semi-daily report. He mentioned that a sophomore had come to him, claiming she had seen some strange ponies outside the campus grounds. He had followed up on that information, but his staff had not found anypony loitering outside the school. Even so, the task force took it into account.
By four o'clock, everypony else had gone home and the members of the task force were on their own once more. They had questioned everypony who had filed a tip to the police or seen those three stallions near the academy. In the end, they had been unable to obtain any new information from these interrogations. It appeared as though they had to put all their faith in exploration this time.
Now that they had searched through all the first and second stories of the building, it was time to go below ground. Shakedown mentioned that they probably should have started their search down there in the first place. He debated that the Vermane would not be so foolish as to have a hidden room above the surface. But what was done was done, so there was no use brooding over it.
The school's catacombs were not as unpleasant as the tunnels beneath the oil refinery, but they were not exactly pleasing, especially when compared to the rest of the academy. The hallways were dank, gloomy, and very uninviting. There were low-hanging pipes all along the ceiling, and the walls were so thick that the slightest sound could produce an echo. Had they not brought along the blueprints, the task force might have gotten lost.
At one point, Rough Rider told the others to stop, saying that he heard something. For a brief moment, they thought they heard the sound of hoofsteps reverberating off the walls. But when they listened a little more closely, there was nothing but silence. A minute later, moved on.
Every now and then, the task force stopped and listened again. Most of the time, they heard nothing. But on a couple instances, they could have sworn they heard something other than themselves. They knew it could just have been paranoia or their imaginations playing tricks on them, but they were not taking any chances, so they drew their weapons.
Three hours into their search, Almond Wheeler instructed everypony to stop once more. This time, it was not to listen to their surroundings. Instead, she did it to point out a wall they had just passed by. She showed the others the blueprints, and according to them, there was supposed to be the start of a corridor where that wall was.
Shakedown curiously approached the wall and extended his front hoof, as if he meant to touch it. But when his hoof came into contact with the wall, his front leg phased right through it. He hastily retracted his hoof and gazed back and forth between it and the wall, as though his eyes had received him. But they had not, otherwise everypony else's eyes had deceived them, as well.
Dread Naught quickly deduced that this was not an actual wall; it was merely an illusion of one. To prove his theory, he went up to the wall and trotted straight through it. When he announced that he was safely on the other side, his companions swiftly followed after him.
This new corridor led the task force to another hidden room, and in this room, they found more crates. As before, they used their knives to pry some of the crates, and this time, instead of gear or ledgers, they found what appeared to be personnel files.
Each of these personnel files seemed to be focused on a particular pony. Nopony was addressed by name in these files; the pony of interest was simply referred to as "subject." The content of the file was composed mostly of many events that pertained to the subject's whereabouts. Some examples of the descriptive statements included "Subject regularly inspects the building's electricity grid," "Subject is highly allergic to coconut," "Subject goes home alone frequently," "Subject will be visiting Chicacolt," "Subject leaves school grounds at exactly four o'clock," and "Subject has night shift at pharmacy." The last page of every single file was stamped with "Completed."
After about an hour of this, Dread Naught realized that all of the "subjects" were the Vermane's previous victims. Then it dawned on him: this room – the very room the task force was in – was where the Vermane planned their murders. He shared his conclusion with the others.
He contended that the Vermane had to accumulate knowledge about their targets by spying on them in secret, and then they came to Detrot to organize and finalize the murder plots. He also pointed out that in many of the files, there was over a year between the date of the first event and the date of the last event. That demonstrated how much care and preparation went into these murders; they only struck when they were absolutely ready.
At the end of Dread Naught's explanation, Copper Hollow stepped forward and beckoned the others to look at a file he had just found. This particular file contained a record of recent events in Ponyville. All the other files had been monitoring the happenings of one or more of the major cities. In addition to that, this file's most recent entry was dated only two weeks ago, and the last page had not yet been marked "Completed."
The reason for that dawned on them almost straightaway. This file was not about one of the Vermane's past victims, but rather one of their would-be victims. In other words, the subject of this file was still alive. This file pertained to the very murder that the task force had been striving to prevent for the last eight months.
Dread Naught seemed very satisfied by this discovery. He took the file from Copper Hollow and slid it into his saddlebag. After that, he announced that they were leaving. They had been unable to locate the Vermane, but with the information in this file, they would be able to determine who the next victim was.
There were still a lot of files scattered around the room. Copper Hollow proposed that they restore the room to its original appearance, but Dread Naught assured him that whenever the Vermane came back, they would already be long gone. Besides, once they looked in the crates, the Vermane would definitely notice that one of their unfinished files had gone missing, so it would make no different anyway.
In the end, Copper Hollow agreed to go ahead and leave. He did not want to spend any more time in this city than he had to, and he was just as eager to get back to Ponyville as the others were.
The task force headed back through the illusionary wall and began trotting back to the staircase of the basement.
When they were halfway there, Shakedown bade the others to halt. He urged them to listen carefully. This time, the alleged noise was not a false alarm; there was definitely something or somepony else producing sound nearby. Worse yet, it appeared to be right on their current path.
Copper Hollow had the group take an alternate route to the entrance. He was hoping they could avoid the source of the noise altogether. That seemed to work at first. Until they realized that the noise was not fading away. If anything, it was getting closer. Much closer.
At one point, the noise appeared to be in the very next hallway. There was no way to go around it; their only option was the go right by it. Shakedown gestured for the others to slow their pace. They gradually approached the mouth of the adjoining corridor with their knives brandished.
When they were almost there, the noise abruptly stopped. But they did not lower their guard. Shakedown stood at the front of the group. When he reached the next corridor, he carefully peeked around the corner and shined his flashlight down it.
He breathed out a sigh of relief and informed the others that the coast was clear. They were just as relieved as he was, and the five of them calmly trotted moved on to the next corridor.
All of a sudden, there was a huge crash, like a stainless steel pot being dropped on a marble floor. It was promptly followed by a loud thud.
The crash originated from the other end of the corridor, but the thud came from right where the task force was. Copper Hollow shined his flashlight down the corridor, and there was still nothing there. He ultimately shrugged it off and began trotting forward, but before he could take two steps, he stumbled over something.
He would have fallen on his face, but Almond Wheeler caught him before he lost his balance. Once he was standing on his hooves, Copper Hollow turned his attention to the object he had tripped over. He pointed his flashlight downwards… and when its beam fell across the object, he nearly dropped it.
The object turned out to be Shakedown. He was lying flat on his back. His eyes and mouth were wide-open, and he was not moving.
Almond Wheeler, Copper Hollow, Dread Naught, and Rough Rider knelt down next to the brownish-tan Pegasus. They saw a hole in the center of his forehead, and in that hole, there was a small, thin capsule of lead.
Somepony had just shot Shakedown in the head with a metallic projectile. Just like that, he was gone.
Before the others even had time to let the shock of that set in, there was another crash from down the hallway. Copper Hollow jerked his head around in response. He suddenly felt a sharp pinch in the side of his throat. He placed his front hoof against that spot, and his neck felt strangely wet.
Another projectile had been fired. This one had grazed the side of the Copper Hollow's neck. Copper Hollow and the others did not even realize this until his wound started dripping blood. That was when the pain kicked in. The copper stallion groaned and collapsed against the wall. Almond Wheeler and Rough Rider rushed to his aid. While they did that, Dread Naught searched the immediate area.
When he came back, he told them that they had to keep moving. Almond Wheeler and Dread Naught gave Copper Hollow a helping hoof to get him back up. They were forced to leave Shakedown behind.
Before the four ponies even got through two more corridors, the noise returned. This time, it did not originate from any one spot; it was coming from everywhere all at once.
Dread Naught told them that they were surrounded. He did not have to say by who; the others had a pretty definite idea of that. Almond Wheeler desperately asked what they were going to do, and Dread Naught decisively announced that one of them would have to stay behind and divert their stalkers' attention elsewhere so that the others would be able to get away.
The other three ponies did not seem delighted by that suggestion, but Dread Naught insisted that that was their only option. He debated that as long as they stayed together, they were all in danger. But he was willing to make himself the sole target of that danger.
The greenish-blue Pegasus removed his saddlebag and gave it to the others. He told them to wait for him at the main train station, and that if he was not there by the end of the day, they were to go back to Ponyville without him. He also told Rough Rider not to worry about getting shocked by his legband; the tablet it was connected to was in his saddlebag, too.
Dread Naught bade the others the best of luck, and then he raised his knife and galloped in the opposite direction. That was the last they saw of the greenish-blue Unicorn.
A lot had happened that night. Quite a lot more had happened in the time since then.
Presently, he was still standing in the lobby of Ponyville Hospital, surrounded by friends and strangers alike.
At that time, the copper stallion finally came to his senses. He stepped forward, grabbed Bronze Star and Noble Edict, and pulled them into a firm embrace. The gold stallion and the red mare did not resist; they warmly hugged their friend in return.
Once they pulled apart, Copper Hollow managed to grin lightly. He uttered sincerely "I honestly thought I was never going to see you guys again."
At that, Sir Haywood McCrank stepped forward and whispered "Did you encounter the Vermane?"
"Yes," the copper stallion affirmed. He gazed around the lobby and professed gravely "They're responsible for all of this."
"How did this happen?" Rollin Fields queried. That was a question which everypony there – not only the members of the task force – was interested in having an answer to.
"They ambushed us twice," Copper Hollow grimly disclosed, "Shakedown didn't make it. I don't know where Dread Naught is."
"What do you mean you don't know?" Haywood McCrank murmured sharply.
"We got separated from him," Copper Hollow revealed. He looked to Bronze Star and stated "I know you ordered us not to split the group up, but we did not have any choice at the time."
"We'll worry about finding him later," Bronze Star reassured him.
"What about Almond Wheeler and Rough Rider?" Rollin Fields mumbled inquisitively.
Dapple Rhomb nodded her head in agreement and inquired pressingly "Where are they?"
Even though he knew that that topic was unavoidable, Copper Hollow did not seem pleased that it had been addressed. All the same, he was not going to stay quiet about it; the others deserved an answer. He released a deep sigh and proclaimed "Come on. I'll show you."
Bronze Star, Dapple Rhomb, Haywood McCrank, Noble Edict, Rollin Fields, and the three officers of the Royal Guard followed Copper Hollow out of the lobby. As he led them through the corridors, the copper stallion gazed over his shoulder and proclaimed "I should warn you… you won't like what you see."
When he saw the expressions on Dapple Rhomb and Noble Edict's faces, he hastily added in "Don't worry; they're alive. But they're not doing so well."
Copper Hollow continued to escort the other eight ponies through the hallways in silence. None of the hallways were empty; a doctor or nurse could be found aiding a patient or rushing to a room in every corridor. When they finally stopped, they arrived right outside the surgery preparation room. That alone gave them reason to be nervous, and a few of them were almost unwilling to go any further.
Regardless of that, Copper Hollow swiftly approached the door, pushed it open, and stepped into the preparation room. His companions scurried in behind him. Right away, they saw what had become of Rough Rider and Almond Wheeler.
There were eight stretchers in this room; each one accommodated a different pony. Over a dozen medical personnel were moving around through the room. They conversed with each other, studied their clipboards, reviewed their patients' charts, and tended to the stretchers' occupants.
The stretchers were arranged in two trios and one pair. The first trio was located on the far right of the room; the second trio was located on the far left side. The pair was located right in the center. The ponies lying on the first trio of stretchers were a mare who was coughing up blood, a stallion with a dent in the side of his head, and the carved-up mare Copper Hollow had helped earlier. The ponies on the second trio of stretchers had been covered up by white linen sheets; they were not at all visible.
The ponies lying on the pair of stretchers were Almond Wheeler and Rough Rider. At first glance, they seemed to be in worse shape than anypony else Bronze Star had seen since he entered the hospital.
Almond Wheeler had two large openings in her midsection. From the way the incisions were placed on her chest cavity, she almost looked as if she had been impaled from the side by a saw. It was as though somepony had stabbed her with two knives and attempted to use them to physically rip the skin from her lower body.
Rough Rider had one of those strange black dots a few inches below his throat. There was a ring of dried blood around that dot, and more appeared to be slowly but steadily leaking out. There was also hole in his lower stomach, which was dripping fresh blood, as well. It was like a very small, very thin object had pierced through the front of his torso and exited out the backside of it.
Neither Almond Wheeler nor Rough Rider gave any form of reaction to the arrival of the other members of the task force. They did not even appear to acknowledge their presence.
The doctors did, however. One of them impatiently called out "Please leave immediately. Unless you have some form of medical training."
"It just so happens that I do," Bronze Star declared, "Albeit CPR, treating third-degree burns, and bandaging are the extent of my expertise."
Noble Edict then took a step forward and gestured to Almond Wheeler and Rough Rider, saying "In any case, these two ponies are close affiliates of ours. Their well-being is our concern."
"That's our concern as well, Noble," a familiar voice pronounced. Everypony looked and saw the owner of that voice. It was Sharp Seams. Presently, he was examining the mare who was coughing up blood; an orderly was wiping her chin for her every few seconds. Dr. Seams glimpsed over at the task force and told them "You can remain here if you want. Just stay out of our way."
"We wouldn't dream of interfering, Doctor," Sir Haywood McCrank asserted. Most of the others murmured in agreement, but the federal investigator did not speak for all of them.
Dapple Rhomb hastily rushed up to Rough Rider's stretcher. She gazed down at him and uttered frantically "Rough? Rough, it's me. It's Dapple. Rough?! Say something!"
The olive stallion either did not or could not respond to his wife's pleas. Dapple Rhomb placed her hoof on his front leg in concern. She then realized that his body was drenched in sweat and burning to the touch, as if a fever had begun to set in.
Dapple Rhomb would have tried again to evoke a reaction from her husband, but before she could, another of the doctors approached her and disclosed "He can hear you, ma'am. He's just too weak to answer."
That did little to set the purple mare's mind at ease. She turned to the doctor and asked demandingly "What's wrong with him?"
"He took two metallic projectiles to the chest," the physician apprised her, "The first one went straight through his abdomen. The second one lodged in his spinal column, just below his collarbone. The damage to his abdomen is minimal, but the projectile in his spinal column is contaminating his bloodstream and slowing the flow of oxygen to his brain."
"Can you… fix that?" Dapple Rhomb hopelessly queried.
"We think so," Sharp Seams muttered in assurance, "He's about to go into surgery. I'll be performing the operation myself."
"First things first, though," an orderly remarked, moving next to Dapple Rhomb and picking up Rough Rider's right front leg, "We have to get this legband off him. Otherwise we can't administer the IV."
"Well, go ahead and remove it," Sharp Seams sardonically proposed.
"I've been trying to, sir," the orderly insisted, "But it won't come off. I can't even get it to move. It's almost as though the material is fused into his skin."
"Don't be preposterous," the other doctor rejoined snappily, "It's not that hard. Just find something to pry the legband off."
"Yes, sir," the orderly conceded, a little agitated.
As the orderly went to search through a tray of instruments, Bronze Star gazed at the legband on Rough Rider's front leg. He then leaned over to Sir Haywood McCrank and whispered something into his ear. After a moment's hesitation, the indigo stallion nodded his head in compliance. Then he reached into his suit jacket and removed his wooden tablet. He made a few adjustments to its settings, and then he placed his front hoof against the surface of it.
The orderly soon returned to Rough Rider's side with a pair of pliers. He managed to slide one of the prongs underneath Rough Rider's legband. He was surprised by how easy that was; a minute ago, he could not even separate the material from the skin. After fumbling around with the pliers for a bit, he managed to pull the legband off the olive stallion's leg.
"There we go," the orderly thought aloud in satisfaction.
He was about to deposit the legband into a bin, but Sir Haywood quickly approached the orderly and told him "I'll hold on to that for Mr. Rider. I was the one who gave it to him."
"As you wish, Sir Haywood," the orderly avowed, giving him the legband.
As Haywood McCrank slid the wooden tablet and the legband into the interior pocket of his suit jacket, Rollin Fields looked to Almond Wheeler. The grey mare's eyes were closed, and she appeared to be resting peacefully. The large openings on her chest said otherwise, though. The lime green stallion looked to Sharp Seams and inquired "So, what's the situation with Almond Wheeler?"
"She was stabbed in the lower chest twice," Dr. Seams notified him, "Her X-rays aren't ready yet, but we believe the knife went through flesh, muscle, and bone alike. There's evidence of internal bleeding, and her heart rate has dropped three beats in the last ten minutes. We've had to induce a coma to reduce the swelling in her abdomen."
"Are we going to lose her?" Noble Edict queried anxiously.
"Her wounds are severe, but not necessarily fatal," the other doctor disclosed, "We're confident she'll pull through. As soon as her X-rays are finished, she'll be transferred to surgery. I'll be conducting her operation."
"And you are…?" Bronze Star uttered inquisitively. Although Bronze Star had rarely visited the hospital during his time in Ponyville, he had become friends with virtually everypony in town. However, he did not recognize this doctor.
"This is Dr. Billow Health," Sharp Seams disclosed, "He's a trauma surgeon from Detrot."
"I was on the train when everything went down," Dr. Health commented. He was a middle-aged Pegasus with a russet coat, a cerulean mane, and fawn irises. His cutie mark was a retractor.
"What happened on the train?" Noble Edict said in bewilderment.
"Three of the passengers went on a murderous rampage," Dr. Health recounted, "Had it not been for Mr. Hollow and his colleagues, they would have killed us all."
"Give yourself some credit, Doctor," Copper Hollow debated, "If it wasn't for you, we would have lost a lot more ponies."
"Wait; so how many ponies have we already lost?" Noble Edict queried nervously.
"Just those three," Dr. Seams revealed, pointing to the three covered stretchers on the left side of the room, "They were dead long before the train got here."
"Who are they?" Rollin Fields asked.
"The ponies responsible for all this," Dr. Health grimly answered.
"Those are the assailants?" Haywood McCrank presumed in astonishment.
"Correct," Dr. Health pronounced.
"Why aren't they in the morgue?" Bronze Star inquired.
"Well, you've probably noticed that the lobby is overcrowded," Dr. Seams muttered, "The morgue is being allocated as an additional waiting room. We're just storing the corpses here for now. We also thought it would be practical to keep them separate from everypony else."
"Except these patients," Noble Edict pointed out, gesturing to Copper Hollow, Almond Wheeler, the carved-up mare, the stallion with the dent in his head, and the mare coughing up blood. "Odd how you decided to group the most critically injured ponies with the deceased."
"Well, this is still the surgery preparation room, after all," Dr. Seams contended, "And these five ponies will almost certainly die without surgery."
"Nopony else is going to die today, I assure you," Billow Health asserted, "I've treated ponies in far worse condition than this lot, and those ponies are living totally normal lives now."
"I'm a little amazed by your willingness to aid us, Dr. Health," Noble Edict commented.
"Were you expecting me to just stand by and watch while these ponies suffered?" the russet stallion sharply rejoined.
"No, not at all," the red mare proclaimed, "All I meant was… well, this isn't your hospital. This isn't even your town."
"Doesn't matter," Billow Health insisted, "This may be unorthodox, but a patient's still a patient. I swore an oath to do no harm, and if I did nothing to help these ponies, I would be doing harm by inaction."
"Dr. Health is very renowned in his field, Noble," Dr. Seams illuminated, "He's got more experience with an operating table than anypony else here, including myself. Besides, if everypony here is going to live through this night, we're going to need all the help we can get."
"Is there anything we can do to contribute?" Bronze Star asked hopefully.
"It would really help if you could maintain order here," Sharp Seams suggested, "We can handle a busy and overcrowded hospital. We don't need it to become a busy, overcrowded, and chaotic hospital."
"I could bring in more of the security staff," Noble Edict proposed.
"That'll do," Dr. Seams stated approvingly.
Just then, another doctor entered the preparation room with Almond Wheeler's X-rays. She gave them to Billow Health, and as the russet stallion studied them, he uttered decisively "Soon as the anesthesia's ready, we'll be taking them to surgery."
Haywood McCrank trotted over to the three covered stretchers, and he commented "If it's not too much trouble, I would like to examine these bodies."
Most of other ponies seemed baffled by that request. Dr. Health inquired "Why?"
"I'm a federal investigator," Haywood apprised him, "It's my job to investigate this type of crime. Obviously, questioning the perpetrators is not an option, but I can still learn something from their remains."
"By all means, take a look at the bodies if you think it'll help you, Sir Haywood," Sharp Seams remarked, "But if you want a proper autopsy conducted on them, you'll have to wait until later."
"Fair enough," the indigo stallion coincided.
"Is there anything else you need?" Dr. Health murmured restlessly, "We're almost ready to begin the operations, and we can't have any interruptions. This will be your last opportunity to speak with any of us for the next several hours."
Dapple Rhomb had barely spoken a word since Dr. Sharp Seams had diagnosed Rough Rider. For the past five minutes, the purple mare had been standing motionlessly at the side of the olive stallion's stretcher, staring down into his half-open eyes.
After Dr. Health made that last statement, she looked up at him and disclosed "This stallion is my husband. I need to know; what are his chances?"
"Well, he acquired those injuries shortly after noon," the russet stallion thought aloud, "We were closer to Detrot than to Ponyville at the time. I managed to stabilize him on the train, but he's been getting worse ever since then. If you got here a half-hour ago, you would have been able to talk to him; he was fully conscious then."
"Just give me a straight answer, Doctor," Dapple Rhomb pleaded, "Is he going to make it?"
"Frankly, I'm amazed he's lasted this long," an orderly observed.
That was definitely the wrong thing to say. That remark put Dapple Rhomb in so much shock that she almost looked as though she had forgotten how to breathe. A few of her companions scowled in the orderly's direction.
Sharp Seams grimaced and slapped the orderly on the backside of his head. He mumbled angrily "Leave the prognosis to the professionals."
"I'm sorry, sir," the orderly said apologetically, gazing off to the side.
Dr. Seams turned back to Bronze Star and his affiliates, and he announced "Rough Rider and Almond Wheeler have sustained some deadly wounds, but their vitals are promising. We can keep you updated on their progress while they're in surgery. Just check in with Nurse Red Heart at any time."
"Very well, Doctor," Bronze Star acknowledged. There was a short interval of quietness, and then he pronounced "Excuse us; I must speak with my associates."
The physicians did not protest. If anything, they would have commended the gold stallion for his excellent timing; the anesthesiologists entered a moment later to report that they were ready for Almond Wheeler, Rough Rider, and the other three critical patients.
With some difficulty, Dapple Rhomb managed to pull herself away from Rough Rider's side and exit the preparation room with the other eight ponies. She was not doing well; not in any meaning of the word. If she had more time, she might have looked like a nervous wreck.
Her uneasy appearance did not go unnoticed. Once the nine ponies were outside, Bronze Star gently placed his hoof on the purple mare's front leg and murmured worriedly "Dapple? Are you going to be alright?"
Dapple Rhomb did not even seem to feel her employer's touch. She did not appear to be entirely aware of her surroundings, either. She was staring blankly at the space in front of her. Her face was pale, her eyes were dilated, and her breathing was fainter than the calmest breeze.
"Dapple?" Bronze Star repeated edgily, placing his other front hoof on Dapple Rhomb's shoulder.
For a few seconds, the purple mare stood perfectly still. Then, without warning, her eyes rolled backward, her body slumped, and she roughly collapsed on the ground.
"Dapple!" Bronze Star yelled in alarm. The young prince knelt down by his secretary and raised her upper body with his left front leg. He could plainly see that she was unconscious. She tried shaking her, but that did nothing to revive her. He tensely looked around in all directions and shouted "We need help over here! Somepony help us, please!"
Straightaway, two unoccupied nurses responded to his pleas. Once the other seven ponies made way for them, the nurses swiftly approached the gold stallion. One of them knelt down next to Bronze Star and questioned "What's the problem, sir?"
"She just fainted," Bronze Star candidly apprised her.
The other nurse knelt down on the other side of Dapple Rhomb and lifted the purple mare's front leg to measure her pulse. After that, she turned to the gold stallion and told him "Give her to us, Mr. Ambassador. We'll take care of her."
"Thank you," the prince stated gratefully.
Working together, the two nurses managed to pick up Dapple Rhomb by her front legs, and they carried her unconscious form down the hallway. Bronze Star kept his eyes on them until they reached the end of that corridor and trotted into the next one.
After the three mares left his sight, Bronze Star looked around at the seven other ponies present. He ordered the three Royal Guard "Leave us for a moment."
Blade Bearer, Comet Frost, and Swiftdrive nodded in compliance and made their way to an adjoining hallway. Now the only ponies who remained in Bronze Star's company were Copper Hollow, Haywood McCrank, Noble Edict, and Rollin Fields.
The gold stallion noticed that Copper Hollow was shifting restlessly in place, and he was slouching. Out of concern, he enquired "Are you doing alright, Copper?"
"I'm as alright as I can possibly be right now, Bronze," the copper stallion replied, "All things considered, at any rate."
"Well, you look like you might faint, too," Noble Edict perceived.
"What do you expect?" Copper Hollow cheekily debated, "I haven't slept in over thirty-six hours, I watched Shakedown die, and I was shot in the throat."
"Is that how you got this?" Rollin Fields assumed, pointing to the bandage on the side of the younger stallion's neck.
"Yeah," Copper Hollow affirmed, pressing his hoof against the bandage, "I was lucky; the projectile only grazed me. Still, I lost quite a bit of blood before I patched up the wound. I temporarily lost my coordination, too, but at least I got that back."
"Perhaps you should get some rest," Haywood McCrank advised.
"No, not now," Copper Hollow countered, "I can rest later. Right now, I need to run an errand."
"What errand?" Noble Edict enquired.
"I have to pick something up," Copper Hollow clarified, "You see, the Vermane attacked us because we took something from them."
"What did you take?" Haywood McCrank asked curiously.
"A personnel file," the copper stallion elaborated, "That file contains extensive information about their next target."
"Where is the file?" Bronze Star inquired eagerly.
"It's still on the train," Copper Hollow elucidated, "When the Vermane attacked, Almond Wheeler got the idea to hide the file. So we stored it somewhere safe before we dealt with the Vermane. Even after that, we kept the file hidden as a precaution."
"How come?" Noble Edict said inquisitively.
"It occurred to us that more of the Vermane could have been on that train," Copper Hollow expounded, "Apart from the three who assaulted us, I mean."
"You were right to be wary," Haywood McCrank asserted.
"Glad you approve, Sir Haywood," Copper Hollow pronounced drily. After a brief pause, he stated "At any rate, the danger's passed. I'm currently the only one who both knows where the file is and is well enough to get it. I'm going back to the depot to retrieve it."
"Not alone," Bronze Star refuted. He turned to the eldest pony there and declared "Rollin Fields, I'd like you to accompany Copper Hollow to the train station. It's imperative that you find that file."
"You got it, Bronze," the lime green stallion conceded.
Bronze Star nodded in approval at that. Then he announced "The rest of us have other work to do. Sir Haywood McCrank, I know you wished to examine those three corpses as soon as possible, but before you do that, I need you to speak with the six CEOs."
"What for, Your Highness?" the investigator asked in bewilderment.
"Lord Ronald suspects something," Bronze Star explicated, "Once he shares his suspicions with the other five, they'll become suspicious, as well. One way or another, they're eventually going to find out what happened on the train and why it happened. I think it would be best if they received the truth from us."
"I understand your reasoning, sir, but how much 'truth' are we talking about?" Haywood McCrank uttered.
"Just tell them what they need to know and nothing more," Bronze Star expounded, "They don't need to know that this investigation has been going on for close to twenty years. As far as they know, it started eight months ago. Only share what we've learned since the vigilantes sent me that letter. But don't explicitly mention the vigilantes by that label; just refer to them as covert operatives or something."
"What about your… secret?" Sir Haywood queried.
"At the present, there's no need to share my identity with any more ponies," the gold stallion contended, "You can tell the CEOs that I authorized this investigation, but everything I've done on the task force, I did as Ambassador Gold Streak."
"As you say, Your Highness," the indigo stallion acknowledged.
Bronze Star then shifted his gaze to the only mare in the group and professed "Noble Edict, we're going to need a lot more security around this place. The townsfolk will inevitably realize what's going on here, but we don't need them poking around and getting in the way. Bring as many of your security officers as you can spare. Post them everywhere, inside and outside. Only the sick or injured should be admitted into the building."
"What about the families of the patients?" Noble Edict pointed out.
"They're allowed inside, too," Bronze Star decided, "Oh, and I think it would be appropriate if you brought Cashew Lane in here."
"I was already planning on that," the red mare revealed.
"Good," Bronze Star remarked. There came another short period of silence, and then he murmured "In the meantime, I'm going to try to contain the aftereffects of this disaster in my own way. We have to limit the number of ponies who know about this. There's nothing we can do to prevent the citizens of this town from realizing what's going on, but we can ensure that knowledge of this affair does not go beyond Ponyville."
"What are you going to do?" Rollin Fields queried.
"I'm going to speak with Mayor Mare and City Council," Bronze Star enlightened them, "Once I apprise them of the situation, they can monitor what is printed by the newspapers in this town, and we can prohibit word of this incident from leaving the town."
"We can't just censor the press, Bronze," Noble Edict claimed.
"My mother does it all the time," the gold stallion debated, "And that's our only option. If we don't censor the press, the panic and fear in this town will spread to other cities in Equestria."
"He's right," Haywood McCrank concurred, "We have a responsibility to protect the people from all threats to their safety, but they don't need to be fully aware of those threats."
"If you truly think that's for the best, then I have no objections," Copper Hollow muttered.
"Neither do I," Noble Edict murmured.
"Excellent," Bronze Star pronounced. He then called the three officers of the Royal Guard back, and once they returned, he gave them assignments as well. He told them "Swiftdrive, Blade Bearer, Comet Frost, I need you to stand guard outside Rough Rider, Almond Wheeler, and Dapple Rhomb's rooms. I don't care who watches over whom; just make sure they're protected."
"Forgive me if I sound out of line, Your Highness, but given the circumstances, we should be more focused on protecting you," Comet Frost recommended.
"I understand and appreciate your concerns, Comet," Bronze Star avowed, "But we're in no immediate danger. Also, I'm capable of defending myself, and Rough, Almond, and Dapple are all in a very vulnerable state. They're the ones who truly need watching over right now."
Despite some reservations they had, the three officers agreed to follow the prince's commands. Swiftdrive, Blade Bearer, and Comet Frost went to speak with Nurse Red Heart to find out where Rough Rider, Almond Wheeler, and Dapple Rhomb were being treated.
Bronze Star, Copper Hollow, Haywood McCrank, Noble Edict, and Rollin Fields trotted back to the front of the building. Half of the patients had been moved to the I.C.U., Urgent Care, or the morgue, which was being used for an additional waiting room. The situation was still not pretty, but the hospital's staff was working hard to improve it.
The five members of the task force headed outside and went their separate ways. Haywood McCrank went to the embassy, Noble Edict went to the barracks, Copper Hollow and Rollin Fields went to the train depot, and Bronze Star went to Town Hall.
Bronze Star noticed that a number of ponies were starting to gather outside the building. The security officers who were already on duty there were preventing them from entering. Still, that crowd would only grow as word of the train fiasco spread throughout the town. Bronze Star knew he had to move fast to keep the scenario from getting any worse.
As the gold stallion moved through the streets, he reflected on the past twelve hours. He found it difficult to believe that less than half a day ago, his biggest concern had been that the Vermane might have posed a threat to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Much to his delight, that was not the case. Plus, as a result of that apprehension, he had made a wonderful discovery about his cutie mark; it had somehow helped each of the Element Bearers acquire her cutie mark, as well.
Furthermore, Bronze Star had made contact with Clear Crest for the first time in seven years, and he had spoken face-to-face with Esopus Spitzenburg about the assassination conspiracy. Even better, at this time, Spitzenburg was under in the impression that Bronze Star was actually going to aid him in his endeavor to change the country, and he had agreed to commit no more mass murders. The first stage of Bronze Star's plan to end the conspiracy had been a total success; at this rate, it would be completed by the night of the Grand Galloping Gala.
Between the cutie mark stories and how he had perfectly fooled Esopus Spitzenburg, it had been a nearly perfect day for Bronze Star. For a while, he had been under the impression that nothing could ruin it.
Now at the end of that day, a train had pulled in with dozens of injured ponies. Technically, Haywood McCrank actually had been right about the Vermane making a move; he had merely misjudged the targets and location.
Half of the task force was currently indisposed. One member was dead, another was missing, two were in critical condition, and one had passed out. In addition to that, one of the five remaining members was exhausted and wounded. He seemed to be well enough to work, but even he did not have unending stamina.
By the time he reached the end of his muse, Bronze Star had reached Town Hall. He found the mayor's aide and requested an audience with her and the City Council. As the aide went to find those ponies, Bronze Star contemplated on what he would tell them. He was hoping he would not have to spend a lot of time with this meeting, but considering that he himself did not entirely know all the details, he could only imagine how many questions the Mayor and City Council would have.
The prince predicted that he and the rest of the task force would have their hooves full for quite a while.
…
Noble Edict had already arrived at the barracks. She had gathered most of the on-duty security officers together, and she had pulled a few off-duty ones from their houses on her way to the building. She had told them nothing so far; only that an emergency situation had come up. There were a few officers who were already aware of it, but those ponies were stationed at either the hospital or the depot.
Currently, all the uninformed officers were assembled in the lounge, waiting to be apprised of the nature of this "emergency situation." Normally, they would be in the debriefing room for something like this, but that space was far too small for a group this large.
Once Noble Edict had everypony's attention, she filled them in on the crisis at the hospital. Naturally, the bulk of them were alarmed to learn that a train from Detrot had shown up in town with more than half of its passengers gravely hurt. There were only a few who were not surprised, and that was because those ponies were quite aware of Detrot's reputation.
All the same, when Noble Edict mentioned that their colleague Almond Wheeler was one of the most seriously injured victims, every single pony there was both startled and shocked. Noble Edict could sense their unrest, and she assured them that she shared their uneasiness. Be that as it may, she reminded the officers that they had an obligation to impose stability and order in Ponyville, and the hospital was in desperate need of both of those features. As such, they had to get there as soon as possible.
Noble Edict spent the next twenty minutes assigning her officers to all the doors and windows at the hospital. She emphasized that they were only to allow the injured, the ill, and the relatives of the patients entrance to the hospital. Everypony else was to be turned away until the calamity was over, unless they had special permission from her, Bronze Star, or Sir Haywood McCrank.
Once everypony had his or her assignment, the majority of the officers promptly departed from the barracks and proceeded to the hospital. Only three of them stayed behind; they wished to converse privately with Noble Edict first.
One of those ponies was an Earth Pony stallion in his early thirties. He had a shamrock coat, a hickory mane, currant irises, and a picture of a town block for a cuite mark. He was Almond Wheeler's cousin and paramour, Cashew Lane. He approached Noble Edict first.
"There's one thing I don't get, Noble," Cashew Lane proclaimed, "Why would anypony want to hurt Almond?"
"I can't think of a reason, Cashew," the red mare contended, "The better question is: why would anypony raid a train?"
"Well, there's money, infamy, a free ride…" Cashew Lane sardonically uttered, "I'm not too surprised the raid occurred; the train was from Detrot, after all. But from the way you describe it, Almond Wheeler received worse injuries than almost everypony else. Why did the attackers have such a huge disdain for her in particular?"
"Maybe because she was one of the few who was capable of fighting back," Noble Edict hypothesized, "At any rate, you don't have to worry about Almond. She's in the care of a surgeon from Detrot. He's handled cases like hers before, and he's very optimistic about her chances."
"Okay, if you say so," Cashew Lane acknowledged, "I'd like to check up on her before I report to my post, though."
"Go right ahead," Noble Edict bade him.
As Cashew Lane departed from the barracks, Noble Edict turned her attention to the other two officers who had lingered. Interestingly, they happened to be Paisley Branch and Cassia Sprig.
"You need something, girls?" Noble Edict stated enquiringly.
"We noticed you didn't say much about the assailants," Paisley Branch remarked.
"They're dead, I assure you," Noble Edict bluntly disclosed.
"That's not what she meant," Cassia Sprig pronounced, "They were the Vermane, weren't they?"
"That's not your concern," the red mare drily mumbled.
"'Not our concern?'" Paisley Branch crossly uttered.
"It stopped being your concern when you left the task force," Noble Edict simplified.
"Well, we still have a right to know who put our friend in the hospital," Cassia Sprig argued.
"Fine, it was the Vermane," Noble Edict professed, "That's why Copper and Almond were in Detrot in the first place. We managed to track the Vermane to that city; they went were there to gather information."
"Did they find any?" Paisley Branch inquired.
"Copper claims they did," Noble Edict revealed, "Hopefully, as soon as he retrieves it, we'll finally be able to determine who the target is."
The periwinkle Pegasus and the cobalt blue Unicorn looked at each other for a few seconds, and then they turned back to the red Earth Pony. Cassia Sprig declared "We want back in."
"It's too late for that," Noble Edict firmly refuted.
"What do you mean too late?" Paisley Branch muttered in astonishment.
"At the last meeting you attended, I recall both of you clearly saying you didn't want anything more to do with the investigation," Noble Edict illuminated, "You made your choice then."
Cassia Sprig raised an eyebrow and stated "Noble, do I detect a hint of resentment in your tone?"
"I respect your reasons for leaving the task force," Noble Edict elucidated, "That doesn't mean I have to respect the fact that you did leave it."
"Are you condemning us for picking family over duty?" Paisley Branch accused.
"Of course not," Noble Edict asserted, "Truthfully, I had half a mind to leave alongside you. But I accepted the risks, and I still accept them. I just don't think you two can. I mean, look at what happened to Buddin and Sweepin Fields. That was just a warning. Something worse could have happened to Cashew Lane, Copper Hollow's parents, or my Aunt. The task force isn't safe, either. Copper almost died in Detrot, and Almond is fighting for her life. If you feared for your families before, that danger is nothing compared to now."
"You don't have to emphasize the danger, Noble," Cassia Sprig pronounced, "The danger is actually why we want to come back. The victims of that train massacre weren't our families; they were innocent bystanders. The Vermane attacked everypony indiscriminately."
"Any one of us could have been on that train," Paisley Branch debated, "We're convinced that the Vermane don't care who is after them and who is not; they'll simply attack anypony who gets in their way."
"So our families are already in danger, regardless of whether or not we're on the task force," Cassia Sprig debated, "At least if we rejoined the force, we'd be able to do something to stop the Vermane."
Noble Edict stood thinking about those remarks for a couple minutes. The other two mares were making some very good points, and inwardly, she was pleased to see them willing to aid the task force. Also, it had been their choice to join the task force, and it had been their choice to leave it. So they deserved the option to return to the task force by their own choice, as well.
Ultimately, Noble Edict turned to the two younger mares and told them "We'll talk about this later. For now, just report to the hospital and keep an eye on the place."
Paisley Branch and Cassia Sprig were content with that.
…
At the same time, Sir Haywood McCrank was in the meeting chambers at the embassy. He had just finished filling in the six CEOs on parts of the Ponyville task force's investigation. Specifically, he told them the parts that Bronze Star had permitted him to discuss with them. He said nothing about the vigilantes, the Vermane, or that he had been aware of the Vermane's existence for two decades.
Instead, he told them this story:
Eight months earlier, a special division of the Equestrian Threat Neutralizing Agency had picked up a disturbing rumor about a murder plot in Ponyville. ETNA subsequently passed that information to the Intelligence Bureau, and the Bureau had tasked Sir Haywood with investigating the rumor. After careful review, he had found it to be a genuine threat. When he discovered just how deep the plot went, he had presented his findings to Prince Bronze Star, and the prince had authorized an investigation to be conducted into this plot. Bronze Star had put Sir Haywood in charge of the investigation, and he had instructed him to do his work in Ponyville. The prince had also seen to the construction of a task force to assist Sir Haywood; the force was composed of Ambassador Gold Streak, the newly daubed Lady Noble Edict, and a number of her security officers.
Over the next eight months, the task force thoroughly investigated Ponyville. Along the way, they were joined by Agent Dread Naught and some operatives from the aforementioned special division of ETNA (which was where Dapple Rhomb, Rough Rider, and Shakedown came from). Overtime, Sir Haywood and Agent Dread Naught noted that their investigation had begun to resemble a number of the Intelligence Bureau's previously unsolved murders. Not long after, they established a definite connection between those cases and the murder plot. That was what led them to discovering that all those cases and the murder plot had the same culprit. Or rather, culprits. The task force had also concluded that the guilty party was not a single individual; an entire group was responsible for those deaths.
The ambush at Whitetail Woods and the mugging of Rollin Fields' children eventually came into the picture. Sir Haywood claimed that those two events were the only occasions when the culprits had exposed themselves, and that those appearances had merely been demonstrations of their abilities. He even mentioned that the culprits had sent them pictures of the families of the task force, and that they had lost a couple of their members to that warning.
Soon he told the CEOs about Shakedown's idea to track the culprits through the railroad company's records. Shortly after that, they had learned that a few of the culprits had gone to Detrot. It had been Sir Haywood's decision to send half the task force to Detrot to further investigate that city. They had left only a few days before the CEOs arrived in town for the conference.
On that note, Sir Haywood made certain to account for his alarming behavior from the conference. He revealed that when he had that episode, it was not because he had a few too many crème brûlées at the brunch for Celestia, even though he really did have more than a few. Anyway, the true reason he had seizure was because he had just noticed a correlation between the CEOs' companies and the culprits, and he been extremely overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of that newest lead. Never in his life had he been so shocked by anything.
When he was finally finished with this explanation, the CEOs were visibly astounded. They seemed to buy everything they had been told. That was fortunate. Most of what Sir Haywood told them actually had been the truth; he had only changed a few details to avoid contradicting himself or compromising Bronze Star's cover.
"That is quite a story, Sir Haywood," Lord Ronald Grump perceived, "So this is why you were so eager to help locate the foul play in our companies. You were trying to close the book on your own investigation."
"I did that for you as much as for myself, Lord Ronald," the indigo stallion pronounced, "I hope you understand why I didn't share this information with you and your associates in the beginning."
"You were doing your job; I know," Ronald Grump commented, "However, I recall you said that Prince Bronze Star gave you explicit orders not to discuss your investigation with anypony outside of your small task force. How will the prince react when he learns you violated those orders?"
"I didn't violate them," Haywood McCrank insisted, "He told me that I could make an exception and share the details of the investigation with anypony who could be helpful to us, or anypony who seriously needed to know. Right now, the six of you meet both of those criteria."
"Well, then we're glad to know you trust us that much," Ronald Grump professed. He gazed around the conference table and asked rhetorically "Aren't we?"
The other five entrepreneurs each murmured in agreement. Then Lord Cycle Geyser leaned forward and declared "I for one am glad you finally explained what your people were doing in Detrot."
That statement both intrigued and unsettled Haywood McCrank. He raised an eyebrow and stated inquiringly "Wait; you already knew I sent half the task force to Detrot?"
"We assumed as much," Cycle Geyser illuminated, "You see, a few days ago, I visited the barracks. Lady Noble Edict gave me a tour, and when we got to the deputy chief's office, I noticed it was empty. When I asked Lady Noble where her deputy chief of security was, she just told me that he was on vacation in Detrot."
Haywood McCrank nodded his head in acknowledgement, and then Cycle Geyser continued with "At first, I accepted her answer without any qualms. Then Lord Ronald came to me the other day and mentioned that he had asked you a certain question that same morning. Do you remember that?"
"I remember it well," Sir Haywood recounted, "He asked me why nopony else from the Intelligence Bureau was assisting us in the investigation into your companies, and I told him that Agent Dread Naught actually was aiding us, but that he was working from…"
"Detrot," Cycle Geyser interrupted him, "Strange coincidence, isn't it?"
Without even waiting for a response, Ronald Grump sat up and professed "Then, of course, there was what we all heard at yesterday's meeting. In this very room, at this very table, we all heard the ambassador's secretary Dapple Rhomb clearly announce that her husband was on business in Detrot."
"That's when we noticed a pattern," Cycle Geyser went on, "Several of the ponies who were close to the ponies involved in our investigation were all in Detrot at the same time. We came to the conclusion that they had all gone to Detrot for the same reason, even though we could not fathom what that reason was."
"Normally, I would call such a deduction a longshot," Haywood McCrank muttered as he straightened out his tie, "However, I'll make an exception in your case; you turned out to be correct. But tell me, did you share those thoughts with anypony else?"
"Well, we told everypony on our boards of directors," Ronald Grump disclosed, "That's about it."
Haywood McCrank gazed off to the side and rubbed in chin in deep thought. After a minute of silence, he turned back to the CEOs, rose from his chair, and proclaimed "I would like you to come with me to the hospital. There's something there I want to show you. Your input on it could go a long way in both investigations."
Although the CEOs were perplexed by this abrupt request, they saw no reason to deny it. After all, Sir Haywood had been courteous enough to trust them with the matter of the murder plot. They figured they owed it to him to do him a favor in return.
Sir Haywood McCrank, Sir Till Dates, Sir Cleave Cobs, Sir Lore N. Budget, Sir Red Burner, Lord Cycle Geyser, and Lord Ronald Grump swiftly prepared to leave the embassy altogether. However, just before they could depart, a particular grey, blonde, cross-eyed Pegasus showed up with a large envelope and a clipboard. The seven stallions encountered this mare right at the front entrance.
"Telegram for Superintendent Haywood McCrank," she announced, holding the envelope in the air.
"I'll take that," the indigo stallion said in response, extending his right front hoof.
The grey Pegasus smiled and handed him the envelope. Then she held out the clipboard and instructed him "Please sign here, Sir Haywood."
Haywood McCrank used the quill that went to the book at the front of the building; the one that everypony used to check in and out of the building. After giving his signature, he grinned at the mailmare and told her appreciatively "Thank you, Derpy."
She remained smiling and happily left the building.
Once she was gone, Sir Haywood gazed down at the large envelope. When he saw a certain symbol and writing on the front side, he frowned and muttered in perplexity "How peculiar."
"What is that, Sir Haywood?" Sir Red Burner inquired.
"It's a BUA," the federal investigator replied as he tore open the seal on the envelope.
"'BUA?'" Sir Lore. N Budget repeated in bafflement.
"Bureau Urgent Announcement," Haywood McCrank elaborated as he pulled out a small stack of papers and placed them on top of the envelope, "BUAs are priority-one communiques from the Intelligence Bureau. Under certain circumstances, the Bureau delivers them to all its members who are away from Headquarters whenever Headquarters acquires some unsettling news."
"What sort of unsettling news?" Sir Till Dates enquired anxiously.
As Haywood McCrank leafed through the stack of papers, he expounded "Generally, the Bureau only sends these out when one of two things happens: there's been a sudden nationwide catastrophe, or…"
When Sir Haywood arrived at a certain page, he abruptly ceased flipping through the papers, and he stopped talking. For the next twenty seconds, he just held the stack of papers in his front hooves and stared at the top sheet in profound shock and disbelief.
"Or what?" Sir Cleave Cobs beckoned.
Haywood McCrank slowly turned to the other stallions and finished with "There's been a death in the organization."
…
"Smells awful in here," Rollin Fields groaned in revulsion.
"Well, corpses DO have a very distinct smell," Copper Hollow contended, "I've heard that smell is very hard to mask or repel, even after the bodies have been taken away."
"Then let's not spend any more time in here than we have to," the lime green Earth Pony advised, "We don't need to be trotting around the town, reeking of death."
"I couldn't agree more," the copper Earth Pony conceded.
The two stallions had made their way back to the train depot. The train that had gotten in from Detrot had been quarantined from the other locomotives that were stationed there.
As two senior members of the security staff, Copper Hollow and Rollin Fields easily gained access to board and search the train. It was the scene of a crime, after all.
There were bloodstains on the flooring, seats, and windows of every single car. But the luggage car had the worst of it. That was where the two stallions currently were.
Nothing had been moved or removed; the luggage car looked exactly the same as it did when Copper Hollow last left it.
Near the front of the car, there was an overturned crate by the entrance. One side of it was stained with blood and chunks of fur.
Near the back of the car, there were two huge pools of blood. They were so close and so large that they almost overlapped.
Near the middle of the car, there was a third pool of blood. This one was smaller than the others, but it also had chunks of brain and bone in it.
One lone whiff of that car was all one needed to learn that somepony had died in there recently.
Rollin Fields could barely contain his disgust. After forty years in security, the stench of blood still repulsed him.
Copper Hollow was even more appalled. Just the sight of the blood pools made him want to vomit. Especially since he had seen all that blood get spilt in the first place.
In fact, he could vividly recall what had occurred on this train.
Back in Detrot, Almond Wheeler and Rough Rider had managed to escort the copper stallion out of the high school's catacombs. He had tried to persuade them to go back for Dread Naught, but they outnumbered him two-to-one, and he was still too dizzy to protest.
At any rate, after escaping the high school, the three of them had promptly returned to the Grand Alhoof Hotel. They only stayed long enough to bandage Copper Hollow's wound and pack their bags. They made sure to pack absolutely everything; they were not going to leave any trace that they had ever been in that Hotel. They even got the clerk at the front desk to erase them from the hotel's records.
Once they checked out, they headed back to the main train station. By the time they got there, Copper Hollow had fully regained his coordination. He still regretted abandoning Dread Naught, but it was far too late to go back for him, and there was a huge possibility that the greenish-blue stallion was dead.
Even so, Copper Hollow was not quick to give up on Dread Naught. Although the federal agent had told them to wait for him no later than midnight, Copper Hollow convinced Almond Wheeler and Rough Rider to remain at the train station for several hours after that. He was reasonably confident that Dread Naught might actually show up. Besides, the earliest train that went straight from Detrot to Ponyville was not scheduled to depart until two in the morning.
They ended up spending close to nine hours at the train station. For those three ponies, waiting was agony. They avoided interacting with everypony else, and they rarely left each other's sight, unless one of them had to use the lavatory. They ate dinner and breakfast at a restaurant in the station. The meals were less than pleasing, but given how uneasy they already felt, complaining about the food would have been trivial. At any moment, at least two of them were closely watching over Dread Naught's saddle bag. They guarded that personnel file with their lives.
A couple times, they considered studying the contents of the file while they waited. After all, this file contained information about the very murder the task force had been striving to prevent. Ultimately, they decided against examining the file; they believed that even taking the file out in public was too big a risk. They would at least wait until they were on the train to study it.
Almond Wheeler, Copper Hollow, and Rough Rider ended up staying at train station until sunrise. That was just before seven o'clock in the morning. By then, even Copper Hollow had admitted that they had waited long enough. Luckily, there was a train that was scheduled to depart for Ponyville at 7:15. The three of them bought tickets for that train, and within a half-hour, it took them out of Detrot. They were justifiably relieved to see that city fade away in the distance.
It had taken them half a day to get to Detrot. Now they were facing another twelve-hour ride back home.
Somehow, this trip seemed even longer. They did not have as many books or puzzles as they did the first time, so they passed the time by talking. They tried not to speak about what they had just been through, even though they were not going to forget that ordeal any time soon. Still, they managed to find distractions through their conversation. Rough Rider could not stop talking about how much he was looking forward to seeing Dapple Rhomb again. Almond Wheeler was vocally just as eager to see Cashew Lane.
It was at times like that that Copper Hollow wished he was not single; he would have liked to have had somepony to go home to. Of course, he and Noble Edict were very close, but their relationship had always been platonic and professional. Plus, she was his superior officer.
On the whole, the first five hours of the ride were rather uneventful. But shortly after lunch was served, the most thrilling and most terrifying moment of the entire trip occurred.
Out of nowhere, a high-pitched shriek was produced from the back of the train. It was so loud and so shrill that its noise emanated throughout the entire locomotive. In response, most of the passengers immediately placed their front hooves over their ears. Almond Wheeler, Copper Hollow, and Rough Rider did not react that way. Instead, they placed one of their front hooves over the hilts of their knives, and they turned to the source of the commotion.
Eventually, the shriek ended, but more screams and shouts soon followed it. There was also a noise that sounded like a hefty crash. The three ponies on the task force realized it was the same noise they had heard in the high school's catacombs.
Before long, the screams, shouts, and crashes were overlapping each other, and they sounded as though they were getting closer to the task force. Rough Rider suggested that they check the problem out, but Copper Hollow and Almond Wheeler advised him to wait until the cause was within sight.
It was within sight soon enough. Just a minute later, not two cars down, amidst a crowd of frantic ponies, they spotted three figures in full-body jumpsuits. One was an Earth Pony, one was a Unicorn, and one was a Pegasus. The Earth Pony and the Pegasus were armed with daggers, and the Unicorn was brandishing a firing apparatus. The first two were hacking at everypony within reaching distance, and the third was launching projectiles in all directions.
Right away, Rough Rider, Copper Hollow, and Almond Wheeler knew the train had been besieged by the Vermane.
This time around, the task force had no place to retreat. But even if they did, Copper Hollow would not have taken it. He knew that no matter how many times the task force withdrew, the Vermane would just keep coming after them. So in any case, their only option was to fight back.
In spite of that, Copper Hollow knew that their main concern was not to fend off the Vermane or protect the train's other passengers. Their main objective was to keep the personnel file safe. If the Vermane managed to reclaim or destroy it, all their work in Detrot would have been for nothing.
He told Almond Wheeler and Rough Rider this, and they agreed with him; the file was top priority. Almond Wheeler came up with the idea to hide the file first and then deal with the Vermane. Rough Rider suggested storing the file in the luggage car.
Copper Hollow agreed to that proposal. He decided that he would hold off the Vermane while the two of them went to the luggage car. Once the gray mare and the olive stallion were ready to move, the copper stallion charged into the adjoining the car and confronted the Vermane. The two with knives waved their blades at him erratically, but the copper stallion managed to dodge or parry all of their blows. The one with the firing apparatus would have launched more projectiles, but his colleagues were in the line of fire.
While the Vermane were distracted, Almond Wheeler and Rough Rider took Dread Naught's saddlebag, slipped passed them, and galloped as fast as they could to the luggage car. Despite Copper Hollow's efforts to keep the Vermane's attention on him, the Pegasus noticed the gray mare and the olive stallion. He turned away from Copper Hollow and chased after them. The copper stallion would have tried to stop him, but the Earth Pony and the Unicorn were still in his way.
On their way to the luggage car, Almond Wheeler and Copper Hollow came across the mare who was coughing up blood, the badly carved-up mare, and the stallion with the dent in his head. The three of them had been the first victims of the raid. Alas, there was nothing the gray mare or the olive stallion could do for them at that time.
Once Almond Wheeler and Rough Rider soon reached the luggage car, they hastily looked for a place to stow Dread Naught's saddlebag. When last they looked, the Pegasus was only three cars away; he would be upon them in less than two minutes.
Rough Rider happened to look up when they entered the car, and he saw a tall pile of crates by the entrance. That gave him an idea. He told Almond Wheeler to hide the saddlebag somewhere. While she did that, he climbed the pile of crates and hid behind the top one.
It only took Almond Wheeler thirty seconds to find a good hiding place for the saddlebag. There was a bunch of empty boxes near the middle of the car; one of them was labeled "Confidential." Almond Wheeler tossed the saddlebag into that box, closed it up, and turned it upside down.
After she pushed the box into the shadows, she heard the door to the luggage car open. Almond Wheeler turned back to the entrance and saw the Pegasus enter. He held his knife in a menacing manner, and he started to approach her. Almond reached for her own knife, but before she drew it, she got a glimpse of Rough Rider behind the pile of crates.
When the Pegasus was at the base of the pile, Rough Rider pushed the top crate as hard as he could. The Pegasus did not even have time to react before the crate landed hard on him.
Whatever was in the crate must have been heavy; it broke both of his hind legs. His lower body was trapped underneath the crate, and he did not have the strength in his upper body to liberate himself. He just feebly struggled and moaned in anguish.
Rough Rider hopped down from the pile of crates and calmly knelt down in front of the Pegasus. Then he drew his knife, placed the blade underneath the Pegasus' chin, and used it to open his throat from cheek-to-cheek. The Pegasus made a sharp gasping sound as blood leaked out of his neck. He struggled to catch his breath, but Rough Rider had sliced through his jugular vein.
Within seconds, the Pegasus' head collapsed onto the ground. Blood continued pouring out of the deep cut along his neck. Rough Rider smirked in satisfaction at the sight.
After that, he trotted over to Almond Wheeler, and she showed him where she had hidden the saddlebag. He was content with the location.
By then, the shouts, screams, and crashes had decreased in number. That meant that either Copper Hollow had taken control of the situation, or the Vermane had.
The olive stallion and the gray mare decided to head back out to the passenger cars. Just when they turned to the door, it was kicked open, and the Unicorn appeared in the doorframe. He was pointing his firing apparatus directly at them.
As Rough Rider protectively shoved Almond Wheeler behind him, the Unicorn released two projectiles. Both of them hit Rough Rider in his lower and upper chest. The olive stallion slumped backwards, but the gray mare caught him before he collapsed.
The Unicorn gradually approached them. He kept his firing apparatus pointed at the two members of the task force. He demanded to know where the saddlebag was. He threatened to shoot again if they did not answer him.
Almond Wheeler would have drawn her knife, but that gesture would not have gone unnoticed by the Unicorn. However, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a monkey wrench lying on the ground behind her.
In effort to get him closer, Almond Wheeler claimed she would tell the Unicorn where the saddlebag was. He swallowed that lie easily enough; he slowly trotted towards her. Almond Wheeler continued holding Rough Rider in her front legs, and she occasionally glimpsed on the monkey wrench behind her.
When the Unicorn was close enough, Almond Wheeler reached behind her, gripped the monkey wrench, and swung it with all her might. She clobbered the Unicorn on the side of his head. He immediately dropped his firing apparatus and stumbled against the wall, groaning.
Almond Wheeler gently set Rough Rider down and went over to the Unicorn. Before he could recover from the first blow, she raised the monkey wrench again and bashed him in the face again. She struck him multiple times over the next few seconds. She did not stop until parts of the Unicorn's skull and brains were littering the ground. His horn was the only part of his head that was intact.
When Almond Wheeler finally relented, she let out a deep breath, tossed the wrench aside, and galloped over to Rough Rider. The olive stallion was bleeding profusely from two parts of his chest. Almond Wheeler anxiously looked for a way to stop the hemorrhaging.
She was so preoccupied with that she did not hear the luggage car door open again, or the soft sound of hoofsteps trotted up behind her.
Thirty seconds later, Rough Rider caught a glance over Almond Wheeler's shoulder, and he saw the Earth Pony coming near. The olive stallion tried to notify the gray mare of this, but he could barely move, and his voice was trapped in his throat.
Eventually, Almond Wheeler caught on to Rough Rider's warning, and she turned around just in time to see the Earth Pony raising his knife. He plunged it into her abdomen. She was so overcome with pain that she lost her breath, and she almost lost her lunch, too.
The Earth Pony extracted his knife and sank it into her lower chest again. This time he dug it in deeper and wider. Almond Wheeler would have shrieked, but the pain was too overwhelming for her to think of doing anything.
This time when the Earth Pony removed his knife, Almond Wheeler fell on the ground next to Rough Rider. Both of them were incapable of fighting back or defending themselves.
The Earth Pony grinned maliciously at them. He stepped forward, preparing to finish what he started. Then out of nowhere, he was seized from behind.
Out in the passenger cars, the Earth Pony had managed to overpower Copper Hollow. Fortunately, the copper stallion had recovered, and now it was his turn to overpower his adversary. He used one of his front legs to disarm the Earth Pony. The other, he wrapped around the Earth Pony's throat.
Initially, Copper Hollow had meant to take the Earth Pony prisoner. He was hoping to capture at least one of the Vermane alive, and Rough Rider and Almond Wheeler had already killed the Pegasus and the Unicorn.
However, despite Copper Hollow's attempts to subdue the Earth Pony, the latter stubbornly refused to yield to him. It quickly occurred to Copper Hollow that the Earth Pony would not surrender or go along quietly. Ultimately, the copper stallion realized that this scenario would have to have a different outcome.
Upon arriving at that outcome, Copper Hollow enclosed his left front leg around the Earth Pony's neck, locked it in place with his right front leg, and pulled as hard as he could.
The Earth Pony frantically tried to free himself from Copper Hollow, but the copper stallion was persistent. He gripped his opponent tightly and pulled even harder. Before long, the Earth Pony's limbs were flailing erratically in every direction. Copper Hollow was struck a couple times, but he did not back down.
Soon, the Earth Pony stopped struggling. An unpleasant gurgling was produced from his mouth, and his hind legs were twitching wildly. Even then, Copper Hollow did not let him go.
A minute later, the copper stallion slowly released the Earth Pony and pulled himself out from underneath. He needed a moment to regain his breath, but he was pleased by what he had accomplished. He had successfully asphyxiated the Earth Pony.
He had no time to revel in that achievement; Almond Wheeler and Rough Rider were gravely wounded. Many of the train's other passengers had been injured, as well. Now that the saddlebag was safe, the copper stallion made it his primary objective to aid the victims of this massacre.
He had gone back through the passenger cars to search for help. By some marvelous twist of fate, he found Dr. Billow Health on that train. The doctor had been able to stabilize all of the victims, including Rough Rider and Almond Wheeler. Still, he emphasized it was imperative that they get the wounded to a hospital.
The conductor would have diverted the train to another city, but this railway line ran solely between Detrot and Ponyville. So they had no choice but to proceed to their original destination. Ponyville was still more than six hours away at that time.
Those were perhaps the most unpleasant hours of Copper Hollow's entire life.
At least all the victims had made it to the hospital. That counted for something, but it did little to alleviate the lingering feeling of terror and unease. At any rate, the task force had other things to worry about.
"Where did you say it was?" Rollin Fields queried
"In the very back," Copper Hollow apprised him, "Under a box that says 'Confidential.'"
"Okay," Rollin Fields avowed. He headed to the back of the luggage car and probed through the area. Soon he found the aforementioned boss and pulled it out of the shadows. He overturned the box and there was the saddlebag. He grinned and announced "Bingo."
Copper Hollow smirked, trotted over to the older stallion, and picked up the saddlebag, saying slyly "There you are."
He opened the saddlebag up, removed the personnel file, and flipped to the first page.
Almost immediately, his smirk became a grimace.
…
Dapple Rhomb had passed out at approximately eight o'clock at night. She did not regain consciousness until the next day.
When she came to, she opened her eyes very slowly. She avoided hitting her head when she fell, but she still felt a little light-headed.
Once her eyes were open, the purple mare took a moment to study her surroundings. She discovered that she was lying on a soft bed, and she was dressed in a hospital gown. Evidently, she had been admitted to one of the building's rooms.
She quickly realized she was not alone. Bronze Star was sitting in a chair by the right side of her bed.
When he saw she was awake, he smiled and stated softly "Hey."
"Hey," she returned quietly. Bronze Star helped her sit up, and once Dapple Rhomb was lounging comfortably, she asked him "What time is it?"
"A quarter past midnight," he informed her, "You were out for four hours."
"What did I miss?" she inquired in interest.
"Nothing you'll regret missing," Bronze Star replied, "Almost all the victims of the train massacre have been treated. Some of them only had superficial wounds, but they're being cared for like everypony else."
"How's Rough?" Dapple Rhomb enquired restlessly.
"He's doing well," the prince enlightened her, "He got out of surgery about forty-five minutes ago. He's been transferred to the recovery ward. It could be a while before he wakes up, though."
"Is he safe?" she questioned pressingly.
"Yeah," Bronze Star asserted, "Swiftdrive is watching over him. She's letting nopony but Dr. Sharp Seams and Nurse Red Heart near Rough Rider."
"Thank goodness," Dapple Rhomb mumbled in relief. After a short pause, she queried "What about Almond Wheeler? How's she doing?"
"Almond's been out of surgery for over an hour," Bronze Star illuminated, "Even so, Dr. Billow Health is keeping her in the I.C.U. Before she's moved to the recovery ward, he wants to monitor her vitals for a while. I've also got Blade Bearer guarding her."
"Okay," the purple mare acknowledged. Then she anxiously uttered "So… how's everything else?"
"Well, as you can imagine, tensions are still a little frayed," Bronze Star elucidated, "Soon the entire town will know about this train ordeal. Nothing we can do to prevent that. But I've taken steps to ensure that news of the massacre will not spread beyond Ponyville."
"That's good," Dapple Rhomb commented, "If word of it got out, everypony in the country might become too afraid to go anywhere near a train again."
"That, and everypony would be demanding an explanation for why the attack occurred," Bronze Star pronounced, "Until we've captured the Vermane, we shouldn't let their existence become common knowledge."
"Smart thinking," Dapple Rhomb stated in approval. "By the way, where are the others?"
"Around town," Bronze Star disclosed, "I gave each of them a task to do. They're probably done by now, but I can't say for certain. I myself was with the Mayor and the City Council until about twenty minutes ago, and I haven't seen the others since right after you fainted."
Dapple Rhomb blushed a bit at that statement and looked away. She murmured "Yeah… sorry about that."
"It's okay, Dapple," Bronze Star assured her, "You were in shock. People were suffering all around you. Your significant other was staring death in the face. That's enough to make anypony faint."
"Maybe, but…" the purple mare tentatively began. There was a short pause, and then she turned back to Bronze Star and revealed "I love my life, Bronze, and I've never been one to look on the negative side. I could look back at any stage of my life and think of at least a dozen things I had that were worth living for. But Rough Rider is the only thing I've always had to live for. If I lost him… I don't know what I would do."
Bronze Star gently placed his front hoof on Dapple Rhomb's shoulder and spoke calmly with "Well, let me say this: you aren't going to lose him. Dr. Seams is positive of that, and I believe him. And even if Rough Rider did die, there are other ponies who would still be there for you."
"Such as?" she beckoned him.
"Me," he answered sincerely.
Dapple Rhomb was surprised. She raised an eyebrow and muttered "I thought you only viewed me as your secretary and a liaison to the vigilante group."
Bronze Star just scoffed and proposed "Dapple, look at your right front hoof."
The purple mare complied and gazed down at her right front leg. To her astonishment, it was bare. Her legband was gone.
Dapple Rhomb looked up at the gold stallion and said in bewilderment "Um…"
Bronze Star smirked and held up a small piece of cloth. That turned out to be her legband. The prince explicated "Remember when I had Sir Haywood deactivate Rough Rider's legband? Well, I told him to deactivate yours, as well. I would have removed yours when we left the preparation room, but you collapsed before I could. In any case, it's off now, and it shall stay off."
"Great; I haven't seen this part of my leg in over a month," Dapple Rhomb bluntly remarked, caressing her right front hoof with her left front leg. She then turned back to Bronze Star and uttered inquisitively "But tell me; why'd you take it off?"
"The whole reason I had you put this legband on was because I didn't trust you," Bronze Star apprised her, "Now that the legband is off, I'm saying I DO trust you. And believe me, a pony has to earn my trust in order to get it. There are very few ponies that I trust, and I've known most of them a lot longer than I've known you. Even so, you've proven that you're trustworthy."
Now Dapple Rhomb was smiling widely. She asked hopefully "What about Rough?"
"I've come to trust him, too," Bronze Star declared, "Not just because he voluntarily risked his life. Copper Hollow claims that Rough Rider saved his life in Detrot. In addition to that, he's also done a great many things for the benefit of the task force. So I'm inclined to keep his legband off, as well."
Dapple Rhomb was delighted to hear that. She placed her front hoof on her employer's front leg, and she remarked "Thank you, Bronze. You have no idea how much that means to us."
"I bet I have some idea," Bronze Star cockily countered. He then rested his free front hoof on the hoof Dapple Rhomb had set on his other front hoof, and he professed "By the way, I was wondering… when all this business with the Vermane is finally over… would you be willing to continue working as my secretary?"
"I would love to," she happily replied, "While we're at it, maybe we could establish a firmer alliance between you and my group."
"I was actually planning on something like that," Bronze Star revealed, "I'll wait until Rough Rider wakes up to discuss it with you."
"I look forward to it," the purple mare pronounced giddily. She then leaned forward and wrapped her front legs around the gold stallion's upper body. He lightly grinned and returned the embrace. Sure, Applejack was the mare he loved, but that did not mean he could not be affectionate towards other mares he cared about.
A minute after they came apart, the door to the room opened and Nurse Red Heart entered.
"Good evening, Nurse," Bronze Star bade her, "Or morning, rather."
"Hello," the white mare said in response. She was carrying a clipboard in her left front hoof. After she approached the bed, she looked to the gold stallion and told him "If you don't mind, Mr. Ambassador, I would like to speak with Dapple Rhomb in private."
"Oh, I don't mind if he's here, Nurse," Dapple Rhomb claimed.
"No, after what you've been through, you at least deserve this much privacy," Bronze Star contended. He rose from his chair and trotted to the entrance of the room. Before he left, he gazed over his shoulder and stated "I'll check in on your later."
"Okay," the purple mare conceded, "You can still stay if you want, though."
"No, I'll leave you alone for this," Bronze Star insisted, "It's none of my business."
"If you say so," Dapple Rhomb avowed.
"He'll find out what I'm about to tell you soon enough, anyway, Dapple," Red Heart proclaimed.
Bronze Star found that remark intriguing, but he did not question what it meant. He solemnly left the room. Comet Frost had been standing guard outside the entrance. He held the door open for the prince, and he saluted him as he stepped through the threshold.
"At ease, Comet," Bronze Star commented.
"Yes, Your Highness," the aqua stallion remarked, "Oh, by the way, Mr. Fields came by a few minutes ago. He requested that you meet him, Mr. Hollow, Lady Noble, and Sir Haywood in the security office."
"Thanks for informing me," Bronze Star avowed.
The prince made his way to the security office, where he found Rollin Fields, Copper Hollow, Noble Edict, and Haywood McCrank gathered.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," he told them sincerely.
"No worries, Your Highness," Haywood McCrank assured him.
"I take it you just came from Dapple's room?" Copper Hollow assumed.
"Yep," Bronze Star responded.
"Is she alright?" Noble Edict enquired.
"She's fine," Bronze Star revealed, "I am a little concerned, though. Nurse Red Heart implied that she may be sick or something."
Rollin Fields snickered at that. That gesture did not go unnoticed by the prince. He queried "Something amusing, Rollin?"
"She's not sick, Bronze," the lime green Earth Pony drily apprised him, "I already know what's going on with her."
"You do?" Bronze Star mumbled in astonishment.
"Think about all the changes we've seen in her," Rollin Fields pointed out, "Her diet is different, she's developed cravings for foods she rarely used to eat, she becomes agitated and fatigued more easily, and according to Sir Haywood, her libido is stronger. Oh, and she frequently stops by the bathroom, which is more often for nausea than for the customary uses. My ex-wife went through all of those symptoms four times."
"I've figured it out, too," Haywood announced, "I may not have any children of my own, but I don't have to be a parent or a doctor OR a federal investigator to determine what Dapple Rhomb's going through."
The realization finally dawned on Bronze Star. Recently, he had seen Cup Cake exhibit almost all of those aforementioned symptoms. He knew full well what the cause of them was in the baker's case. That could only mean one thing for his secretary.
He faced his companions and conjectured "She's expecting?"
Nopony gave a verbal reply or even a nod of the head. Instead, they just smiled knowingly at the prince.
Ultimately, Bronze Star smiled as well and muttered under his breath "Now she has another thing to live for."
While Bronze Star was thrilled to learn that Dapple Rhomb and Rough Rider were going to be parents, that was easily the most delightful bit of information he learned during this discussion in the security office. Nothing else the others told him was especially pleasing.
Noble Edict reported that the security staff had made the hospital impenetrable. Nopony with any ill intentions would be getting into the building on their watch.
She also mentioned that Paisley Branch and Cassia Sprig wished to come back to the task force. While part of Bronze Star was thrilled to hear that, the other part was still cross with the two mares for leaving the task force in the first place. However, he was not one to turn down valuable allies, and when they were still on the force, Paisley Branch and Cassia Sprig had proven their capabilities many times.
Ultimately, he decided that he would consider reinstating the cobalt blue Unicorn and the periwinkle Pegasus to the task force. However, he would not worry about making a decision until later.
Sir Haywood McCrank had some very grave news. He showed the others the Bureau Urgent Announcement he had received, and the message it contained was grim. The best thing about it was also the worst thing: Agent Dread Naught was no longer missing.
His body had been found in an alleyway two blocks from that high school in Detrot. There were some thick, deep cuts imbedded into the center of his throat, which indicated that he had been garroted. He had nothing on him at the time, except his government credentials. The Detrot Police Department had taken him in very early the previous morning, and when they found his credentials, they notified the Intelligence Bureau that one of their agents had been killed.
Four other bodies had been picked up near Dread Naught. One of them was Shakedown. Apparently, the Vermane had moved his body from the high school's catacombs to one of the adjoining buildings. The task force could not guess what the Vermane's motivation might have been for doing that, but at least they respectfully deposited Shakedown's body outdoors.
There was no form of identification on the other three bodies. However, they had been found in close proximity to Dread Naught. The forensics team had already determined that they had been fighting with Dread Naught; he had killed all three of them before he in turn was killed. Sir Haywood had already concluded that those three must have been members of the Vermane.
That was not the most fascinating piece of information Sir Haywood had to share. He revealed that when he received the Bureau Urgent Announcement, the six CEOs had been with him. The entrepreneurs had convinced the indigo stallion to let them see the Announcement. The contents of the Announcement included pictures of the three stallions who had been found dead near Dread Naught. When the CEOs saw those pictures, Sir Cleave Cobs, Sir Red Burner, and Lord Cycle Geyser each claimed that they recognized one of those stallions. In fact, each of those stallions had recently worked for one of them until a few months recently.
That was enough to rouse Haywood McCrank's suspicion. Earlier, he had developed an elaborate theory about the Vermane. Now he had a reason to believe his theory was authentic. Just to be certain, he did what he had planned on doing beforehand, and he brought the CEOs to the hospital. There he led them to the surgery preparation room and showed him the bodies of the three Vermane from the train massacre.
It turned out that the three assailants were a mint green Earth Pony, a tawny Unicorn, and a cobalt Pegasus; the very same ponies Copper Hollow's group had been pursuing for the past two weeks.
At any rate, once they saw the bodies, Sir Till Dates, Sir Lore N. Budget, and Lord Ronald Grump each positively identified one of the dead stallions as a former employee of theirs.
Sir Haywood McCrank needed no more proof to validate his theory. He was convinced that most of the Vermane – if not all of them – either worked or used to work for one of the six CEOs' companies.
The deaths of Shakedown and Dread Naught were a grievous loss. However, Copper Hollow and Rollin Fields brought even worse news to the conversation.
The two stallions had managed to find Dread Naught's saddlebag on the luggage car. The file was still in the saddlebag, and all the papers in it were accounted for. However, the words on the papers were not.
When Copper Hollow opened the file, he discovered that the writing on each page had inexplicably become illegible. There was a huge smudge over every single letter on every single sheet. It was as though the words had been – for lack of a better term – melted.
Needless to say, the papers were incomprehensible. But that was not the worst part. The worst part was that after the massacre ended, Copper Hollow had rarely taken his eyes off the box that hid the saddlebag, and there was no way anypony could have gotten to the file without him noticing. That meant that sometime before he and Rollin Fields returned to the depot, somepony in Ponyville must have snuck onto the luggage car, located the file, and damaged its contents.
Although Copper Hollow, Rollin Fields, Bronze Star, and Noble Edict were distraught that they had apparently lost their best lead, Sir Haywood McCrank bade them not to lose faith. He inspected the papers in the file, and he assured his associates that the clues were not completely gone. He explained that he was familiar with this sort of sabotage, and if that it would be possible to salvage the information in the file. He assured them that this was just a temporary setback. Recovering that data would be an arduous and delicate process, but it could definitely be done.
The task force was relieved that the data was not lost, but this assurance did not overshadow the fact that somepony had damaged the file in the first place. These allegations of a saboteur in Ponyville were alarming, but not entirely unexpected. After the discovery Sir Haywood made regarding the CEOs' employees, it came as no shock that other members of the Vermane might have been loose in town. Bronze Star declared that they would have to be even more watchful and alert than ever. For all they knew, anypony in town could have been a member of the Vermane.
When the five ponies finished their discussion, it was already after two o'clock in the morning. Normally, each member of the task force would be in bed at that time. However, none of them really felt like sleeping. Even Copper Hollow was wide awake, and he had not laid down in two days.
While the task force would not be getting any sleep that night, they decided to get something to eat. All of them had skipped dinner, so they were fairly hungry. Luckily, the hospital's kitchen was always open, and they had a diverse menu.
The gold stallion, the red mare, the indigo stallion, the lime green stallion, and the copper stallion spent the next half-hour at a table in the cafeteria, eating. The hospital was still bustling with activity, but the tense atmosphere had calmed down considerably. At first glance, one might never have thought so many patients had been admitted there because of an massacre. For the first time since the train got in, the task force was able to have a moment of peace.
Unfortunately, that moment did not even last long enough for them to finish their meal.
Before any of them could clean their plates, Nurse Red Heart rushed into the cafeteria, approached Noble Edict, and stated uneasily "Noble… I need you to come with me."
"What's wrong, Red?" the red mare inquired nervously
"It's Almond Wheeler," the white mare answered ominously.
She did not have to say anything more. Although Red Heart had only asked for Noble Edict, all four of the stallions went with them.
Three minutes later, they arrived in the Intensive Care Ward. Soon they reached Almond Wheeler's room. They found Blade Bearer and Cashew Lane outside it.
There was a large window on the wall that adjoined the door to that room. Cashew Lane was standing right in front of that window, staring through it.
That window was big window for two more ponies to stand side-by-side in front of it. Cashew Lane made room for the others, and Copper Hollow and Noble Edict stood next to him. Bronze Star, Rollin Fields, and Sir Haywood McCrank stood behind them and gazed over their shoulders.
On the other side of the glass, Dr. Billow Health, Dr. Sharp Seams, and a few other doctors were clad in scrubs. They were tending to a comatose Almond Wheeler. She had an IV in both of her front hooves, and an oxygen tent in her muzzle. She was also connected to a heart-rate monitor, which was fluctuating erratically.
"Get me twenty CCs of anistreplase," Billow Health demanded.
"You heard him," Sharp Seams snapped at a nurse.
The nurse hastened to get that medicine, and she gave it to Dr. Health. The russet stallion injected it into one of Almond Wheeler's IVs. A few seconds later, he looked to another nurse and shouted "Status?"
The nurse examined Almond Wheeler's chart, and she reported "She's still dropping!"
"Ten CCs of papaverine!" Billow Health called out.
"On it!" the first nurse acknowledged. She prepared another syringe and turned it over to Dr. Health. He administered it to Almond Wheeler's other IV.
After a few seconds, the nurse at the gray mare's chart yelled "No effect!"
Before Dr. Health could give another command, the readings on Almond Wheeler's heart-rate monitor changed. It had been displaying a series of huge wavelengths, but right then, it collapsed into a straight line.
"She's flatlining!" the second nurse pronounced.
"Get the cardiac unit!" Billow Health shouted.
Two more nurses rolled over an automated external defibrillator. Dr. Seams applied some medical gel to the pads, and then he handed them to Dr. Health.
Dr. Health stood over Almond Wheeler and waited for the signal.
Once the defibrillator was charged up, Dr. Seams declared "Ready!"
"Clear!" Dr. Health avowed, pressing the pads against Almond Wheeler's chest. They gave her a jolt, but other than that, she did not react.
"No response!" the second nurse disclosed.
Dr. Health waited for the cardiac unit to charge again, and when it was, he shouted "Clear!"
He firmly pushed the pads against Almond Wheeler's chest again. Her body jolted again, but her heart-rate monitor remained the same.
Dr. Health repeated this routine another half-dozen times, and each one had the same dismal result. After the ninth attempt, three minutes had passed since Almond Wheeler had flatlined. Her brain had been without oxygen for that long. So at this point, it made no difference what anypony did; it was too late.
Dr. Billow Health slowly placed the pads to the defibrillator down. He gradually removed his medical scrub face mask from his muzzle. Then he picked up the blanket on Almond Wheeler's bed by the edges, and he gently pulled it over her head.
Once the gray mare was fully enveloped by the blanket, Billow Health turned to Sharp Seams and asked "Time of death?"
The tan stallion glimpsed at the clock above the door, and he dejectedly announced "3:10 A.M."
The russet stallion glumly nodded in acknowledgement. He then looked back at Almond Wheeler's covered form and gazed at her sorrowfully.
The task force had witnessed that entire scene. That did not make it any easier to accept. It did not even seem real; it was so abrupt and shocking.
Cashew Lane was frozen in disbelief. All he could do was stare through the window. He did not move, blink, or breathe; he looked almost as lifeless as his cousin.
After a minute, Noble Edict placed her front hoof on the shamrock stallion's shoulder and said tentatively "Cashew?"
Cashew Lane slowly turned to her and continued staring. Then, after ten seconds of uncomfortable silence, he broke down sobbing and wrapped his front legs around the red mare's upper body.
Noble Edict gently hugged him back. Tears started flowing from her eyes, as well. Copper Hollow and Rollin Fields struggled to avoid breaking down, too. Even Haywood McCrank rubbed his eyes a bit.
Bronze Star shed no tears. But he did feel a tremendous amount of pity. He pitied Almond Wheeler. He pitied Dread Naught. He pitied Shakedown. He pitied every other member of the task force. He pitied Cashew Lane. He pitied all the victims of the train massacre.
As strange as it may seem, he pitied the Vermane, as well. He pitied them because he had decided that once he found them, nothing in the world would protect them from him.