Edited by: SilentCarto
Proofreader: Coandco
Disclaimer: I don’t own The Dresden Files or My Little Pony, that is Jim Butcher and Hasbro respectively. This story takes place between books Eight and Nine in the Dresden Files.
Pinkie clawed desperately for breath. Her chest felt like it was wrapped in bands of steel; the pressure was crushing the life out of her.
She fell to the floor gasping. Blinking back tears, she turned towards her friends who did nothing but look on. “Tell Gummy I love him,” she whispered as her vision went dark around the edges. “And to never invest in lollipops; that market is for suckers.”
“Is she okay?” the salesgirl asked, staring on worriedly.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake, Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. “It can’t be that tight.”
The salesgirl hesitantly reached down and unclipped the torture device spanning Pinkie’s chest. Pinkie took in a massive gasp of air. “Freedom!” she breathed, her voice flush with triumph.
The salesgirl still looked uncertain, but picked up the bra. “Okay, we can try going up a cup size, or the same size, but with a looser, more relaxed style.” Pinkie glanced down at her heaving chest, then at the salesgirl, then back at her still heaving chest.
“Let’s try a larger size,” Twilight said, giving the salesgirl an apologetic smile, as if she was the one suffering through this. “Thanks, Monica.”
Monica the salesgirl left the little private fitting room, muttering something, and Pinkie giggled.
Twilight arched an eyebrow. “I hope you’re having fun.”
Pinkie stuck out her tongue. “It was too tight, and she should’ve known ‘cause of how hard it was to get on.” But the expression on Monica’s face totally made up for that, and Pinkie had another quiet giggle. “Can we hit the candy store on the way back? I’m pretty sure it’s in between here and the arcade, so we can go by on our way to get Spike.”
Dash yawned enormously and stretched, relaxing as much as she could on the narrow bench. “Depends on when we get done. Dresden said he’d pick us up around, what, nine?”
Twilight checked the pocketwatch that she’d gotten during their shopping. Pinkie had told her to get the wristwatch with the cartoon mouse, but Twilight didn’t think that was the best souvenir. Pinkie couldn’t see why not. Sure, it wouldn’t fit on a pony’s wrist, but Twilight had a horn to hang it from. She could totally launch a whole new kind of fashion for unicorns! For some reason Rarity’s face had paled when Pinkie suggested that.
“We’ve got about thirty minutes until then,” Twilight said snapping the watch closed. “Not that we need to make another stop there. We’ve already visited twice.”
“Yeah, but I ate all of the first bunch when we were watching the movie. So really, we’ve only visited once,” Pinkie explained slowly. Sometimes her friends didn’t seem to get candy-nomics, but she was happy to enlighten them.
Twilight sighed. “Fine, but only if we finish with enough time. Which is only likely to happen if you quit playing around.”
Pinkie thrust her chest out and saluted with perfect seriousness, which was completely unmarred by the way Dash laughed. “Ma’am, yes ma’am!”
Monica brushed the curtain aside and brought in another bra. It was visibly bigger than the other one, and deep pink in color. Pinkie nodded, sagely. “Points for the color, but let’s see if it’s up to the job.” Why they needed these ‘bras’ Pinkie still wasn’t totally clear on, but Molly had insisted and everypony had only been able to put her off for so long.
Monica helped Pinkie into the weird contraption, as Molly stuck her head in. “Are you three done in here, yet?”
“Not quite,” Twilight replied. “Mine was fairly easy, but Dash took a while, and Pinkie has been… difficult to fit.”
“You could say that again,” Monica muttered under her breath.
“Hey, I only took so long because everything she brought me at first was all lacy or flowery. C’mon, can you imagine me wearing that? This sports bra is pretty cool, though. Slick, streamlined, and Monica said I could totally fight in it.”
“Do martial arts in it,” Twilight corrected.
Dash shrugged. “Yeah, that too.”
Molly sighed. Pinkie wondered if it was something about the air here in humanland that made people do that so often. “AJ and Fluttershy were easy enough, but Rarity is about to drive me crazy. She’s tried on twenty so far, and she doesn’t look to be stopping any time soon.”
Pinkie blinked, wondering how anypony would be able be put on twenty of those things. Unless they were like nesting dolls and each one got larger and larger. Ooooooh! Maybe she was going for a world record! Well, two ponies could play at that game. Or they could if going for the record wouldn’t make them run out of time for another stop at the candy shop. Pinkie warred internally. There had to be a really awesome, shiny trophy for world records here in humanland -- Dresden said there was whole organization with a yearly book dedicated to them. But that sweet, sweet human candy and the high-frustrate corn syrup that made it taste so good…
Pinkie sighed (proving that she was totally right about human air). “I guess Rarity gets the trophy; I’m too devoted to my sweet tooth.” Monica stared at her, but the rest of the group, including Molly, didn’t even blink.
“How does it fit?” Twilight asked.
Pinkie realized with a start that Monica had finished fitting her, only this time she could breathe. “Hmm,” she said, considering it. There was some pressure, especially on the shoulders, but she felt more… balanced, maybe, then she had before. She did a couple of quick stretches and bounces to test it out. The bra held up under the considerable strain, and Molly’s face turned a funny shade of red. “We’re good to go here. Thanks, Monica!”
“Don’t mention it,” the salesgirl said, and left in a hurry.
Twilight glanced after her. “I’m glad Rarity paid up front. They might be a ‘full service’ shop, but I suspect that we’ve tried their patience enough.”
“Nah,” Molly said. “This place is good enough to cater to the wealthy without being so high end that rich people respect the staff. Weirdness factor aside, I’m willing to bet they get way worse prima donnas and problem-cases than you six.”
“Great, so only Rarity left,” Dash said, springing to her feet. She was getting good at moving smoothly in her human body. Pinkie chuckled to herself. Dashie had been so mad when Spike kept beating her at Dance Dance Resolution, even though he had the advantage of walking on two legs for a lot longer. It had taken Applejack to drag her to the bra shop over the shouts of ‘one more game!’.
“Let’s hurry her up!” Pinkie said. “There’s candy waiting and no time to waste!”
Molly put up a hand, and Pinkie slid to a screeching halt, just short of it. “How about you put your clothes back on first,” she replied.
Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Puh-leeze, we finally got ‘bras’ and ‘panties’ like you wanted, and now we have to wear dresses on top of them too? What’s up with that? Why can’t I just head out?”
“Well, you could,” Molly admitted, “and you’d make all of the guys in sight pretty happy doing it, but you’d embarrass your friends, and you’d give people the wrong idea about what kind of girl you are.”
“Fascinating,” Twilight said, a notebook out and pen already in her hands. “Dresden already explained that nudity is taken as a sexual display among humans, but even certain choices in the amount or type of clothing could be taken as the same? Please, explain further.” Her pen scratched at a fevered pace. Molly took several steps back, but Twilight kept up, peppering her with questions all the while.
Pinkie took the opportunity to sneak by them. She crammed her dress back over her head as she crossed the store. The other fitting rooms were far away ‘for privacy’, but it was late, and there couldn’t have been more than eight, maybe ten, people who saw her. Just for fun she gave a wink to one of the boys that were watching her struggle back into her dress. The girl next to him said something that sounded rude, but Pinkie was already gone. “No time to waste; there’s candy on the line!” she shouted, bursting into Rarity’s fitting room. Rarity, Fluttershy, and their salesgirl screamed in response, but Applejack just tilted the hat off her face from where she had been napping and sighed. (What was it about human air? Seriously, it was an epidemic!)
“Wondered when you’d run outta patience.”
“Pinkie! Really, darling, must you be so uncouth?” Rarity demanded, blushing deeply. She’d really taken human customs to heart. Unfortunately for her, Pinkie's heart was too full of her love for partying, friends, partying, sweets, partying, games, and partying for anything like that.
“Rarity, I am as couth as ever, but you’re taking way too long to decide on something silly.”
“Silly?” the salesgirl said, crossly. “The undergarments establish the entire foundation of the outfit you wear. Imagine wearing a normal bra with a strapless dress. Or wearing a business skirt without the right hose. Honey, there is nothing ‘silly’ about it.”
Rarity nodded, her expression stern. “Thank you, Rochelle. I’m glad you understand. The rest of my social interactions in this city are utterly dependant on the choices I make here and now, Pinkie. I simply cannot make these decisions in any sort of hurry.”
Pinkie swelled with indignation (or whatever the word was, but her cheeks totally puffed out and steam came out her ears) and she was about to ‘accidentally’ summon her giant mecha and–
“Why don’t the rest of us get a move on while you finish up here?” Applejack said. “We can grab Spike, then take another run by the candy shop for Pinkie.”
“I like it!” Pinkie declared. “I’ll get Spike, and be back in a jiffy.” And she was gone before anypony else could say a word.
The human mall was super huge and super neat, but Pinkie had no time for that now. The mall closed at nine o’clock. Dresden said he would be there at nine o'clock to pick them up. So, clearly, she needed to find Spike, bring him back, and then make a run to the candy store, all before nine o’clock.
The arcade was halfway across the mall, but Pinkie made it in no time flat. The flashing lights and fun games called to her, but there was no time to spare. Spike had abandoned the dancing game and was busy racing through the streets of some human city. Or crashing through the streets of some human city. He hit light poles, mailboxes and other stuff often enough that Pinkie had a hard time telling whether he was supposed to do that or not.
“Spike!” she shouted, screeching to a halt beside him. He shot up in surprise, and she took the opportunity to yank him out of the seat. His pockets jingled with the little human coins as she did. “Notimetowastelet’sgo!” She pulled on his hand, making him jingle all the way back, like a big, complaining bell.
“Pinkie!” he shouted, “slow down!”
Then she stopped so suddenly he ran into her. “We’re too late.” Indeed, Dresden was already there, standing outside the bra store with everypony except Rarity gathered around him. Not fair, he was early.
“You’re just in time, Pinkie,” Twilight said.
“But I don’t wanna go yet,” she whined.
Twilight blinked, then rolled her eyes. “Not that, I meant because you brought Spike. We decided that you and Applejack could run by the candy store while Molly waited on Rarity. Dresden will take the rest of us and all of our purchases” –she gestured to the small mountain of bags that were mostly Rarity’s– “back to the hotel, then return for you four.”
Pinkie gasped in joy. “That’s perfect!”
“Aww, can’t I stay with Rarity?” Spike asked.
But Twilight just ruffled his hair and smiled. “It’s close to your bedtime, and besides, don’t you want to help her out by keeping an eye on everything she bought?”
Spike mulled that over and sighed (more proof). “I guess so.”
Dresden nodded. “Thanks. I could use your help carrying all this.” He picked up a piece of Stuff Mountain and grunted under its weight.
Pinkie sidled up beside him before he could get too far and gave him a quick hug. “Thanks, I’ll see you later. C’mon, Applejack, let’s get some of Rarity’s jewel money and hit up that candy shop!”
………
“Wowee, it sure got dark quick,” Pinkie said, blinking at the near empty parking lot. She set down her heavy candy bags and popped the sucker out of her mouth, giving it another lick. The doors behind them locked with a click. The old security guard tottered off, seeking more doors that needed the help of his keys. There wasn’t a ‘Closed’ sign, but locking the doors was a pretty good sign all by itself.
Molly scowled. “It shouldn’t be. Something must be wrong with these lights. Look, the ones further out are on.”
“Goodness,” Rarity breathed, shivering slightly. “Now, I wish they hadn’t taken my earlier purchases with them. That burgundy coat with the sandalwood buttons would be simply divine at the moment.”
Applejack chuckled. “If you coulda found it in all those bags. I still have a hard time believing Dresden managed to fit all them clothes in that little car.”
“Don’t worry, Rarity!” Pinkie cried, leaping towards her friend with arms spread wide. She hugged her tight, making Rarity squeak in surprise. “The blazing warmth of my passionate heart will keep us warm!” She paused for a second. “Or was it the passionate warmth of my blazing heart? Something like that anyway.”
Rarity’s cheeks were already flushed with warmth, and Pinkie gave herself a figurative pat on the back for quick thinking. “Pinkie! This is mortifying. I am not a little fil- girl that needs her mother for warmth. And where did you even get such a ludicrous line?”
Pinkie let go, satisfied by a job well done. Rarity’s mind certainly wasn’t on the cold anymore. “After we watched those Disney movies, I found some late night cartoons. They had normal sized eyes, and normal manes, and it was amazing! Next time we visit Earth, we’ve gotta hit this ‘Tokyo’ place.”
Molly blinked. “You watched anime?” She groaned, and cradled her head in her hands. “How am I going to explain this to Harry?”
“I dunno either; it was really hard to understand what was going on, but I liked it anyway.” She giggled a bit at Molly’s expression, and almost missed the faint tingling in her left elbow and the three blinks from her right eye. The giggling stopped immediately, and Pinkie drew in her breath to shout even as the two men in large coats exploded out of the shadows.
They were fast, crazy fast. Faster than a … really fast thing. Pinkie was too distracted for good metaphors right now.
“Behind you!” she shouted. Molly’s mouth turned into an ‘o’ of surprise and she started to turn but she was too slow. Huge, spidery hands clutched her wrists and another one closed over her mouth, cutting off the scream.
This close up, Pinkie could see the men, and they were ugly with a capital ‘Ugh’. Her mommy Pie always told her not to be rude about things like that, but they were seriously bad looking on level that Pinkie had to wonder if they were even human.
Without a word they turned to leave, dragging Molly with them, but Applejack was already on them. She’d been the furthest away, but her reflexes and flying leap had eaten up that distance like a hot fudge sundae. Her fist shot forward and buried itself in one of the men, and he went flying, too. Until he smacked into the wall, that is.
The other man twisted with a growl, still moving crazy fast, and punched Applejack in the side with the hand that wasn’t holding Molly. There was a quiet crack, and she slid back a few steps, her face fighting back pain.
Then the man’s belt snaked out off of his pants, circled his hands and suddenly cinched together. A blue glow surrounded Rarity’s hands and the coat suddenly squeezed him tight as a straitjacket.
Mr. Ugly didn’t like that. He growled and the hand around Molly’s wrist closed with bone-crushing force. Which made the rubber duck that he found there let out a shrill and desperate squeak.
Pinkie let a single tear fall at the brave sacrifice of Sir Mallard of Quacksbury as she hurried Molly away from the fight. The poor girl was frozen in fear, and though she wasn’t crying, her eyes were getting themselves ready for the waterworks to start.
Seams all along Mr. Ugly’s coat began to burst and break as he strained against it. He managed to bring the thick leather belt up to his mouth and Pinkie saw sharp teeth flash as he began to chew through it. The one Applejack punched was back, and he didn’t even bother helping his friend, making a straight dash for Molly. Applejack was back too, but he ducked her swinging punch and kept coming.
Until his face slammed into the stop sign Pinkie suddenly planted in the ground. She blew her whistle at him, adjusting her very serious Policewoman’s hat and shining her already shiny badge. “Can’t you read?” she asked, pointing pointedly at the sign.
Claws sprang out of the tips of his fingers, and with a swipe he cut right through the sign’s metal post. “Uh… I guess not,” she quipped, snatching up the sign and using it to bat away another swipe aimed at her head. Mr. Ugly Sr. left gouges in the metal.
“Hey,” Pinkie said as she parried a couple more swipes that took more pieces out of her sign, “you should really look behind you.”
Mr. Ugly Sr. didn’t take his mean little eyes off her for even a second. Which let Applejack charge in and drop to her hands, delivering a massive kick into the small of his back. She lost her balance and fell to the ground, but he was already flying forward, right into a sweeping uppercut from Pinkie’s sign that lifted him off the ground. “Can’t say I didn’t warn you,” she said with a shrug.
“A little help would be appreciated!” Rarity yelled, as Mr. Ugly Jr. finally bit all the way through the belt, and ripped off the coat completely. Without it, Pinkie could see how weird he really looked. His long, yellow teeth were set in a jaw that was too wide and long to be human. His chest was covered in spiky, wiry hair. His shoulders were too broad and weirdly hunched, leading to arms that were covered in twisted muscle and too long at the ends. He let out a surprisingly quiet roar and charged Rarity.
He passed right through the image, almost rolling like a bowling ball, but he just managed to catch himself. Or would have, except the remains of his coat wrapped around his ankles, and sent him into a perfect faceplant. His face slammed into the ground, but nothing fazed him. With another growl he reached towards his feet, slashing through the heavy fabric easily with his claws. But when he turned back, Applejack was waiting for him.
“I’ve still got some things to learn ‘bout kicking with only two legs,” Applejack admitted, “but I can stomp easy ‘nuff.” Her boot rose, then flashed down. Mr. Ugly Jr. jerked aside at the last moment and the concrete shattered beneath the stomp. Applejack moved with it, putting her weight on the foot she had just stomped with and raising the other one. He scrambled away from that one too, but she followed, leaving a line of craters until she caught his leg. It broke with a loud, wet snap, and Pinkie flinched.
Applejack’s face turned a little green, and she took a step back. “Can’t say I enjoyed that, but it serves you right for tryin’ to make off with our friend like that. Now, what made you–” but then she had to jump back as he lunged forward, trying to bite her. Using the temporary breather, he scuttled over to Mr. Ugly Sr. on three limbs and shook him.
Mr. Ugly Sr. stirred at the motion, then both eyes shot open. He leapt to his feet, glaring at them. Mr. Ugly Jr. stayed crouching low, looking more bestial than ever. Rarity’s hands were covered in blue light, and Applejack took a fighting stance.
“Harmony! Laughter! Transformation, go!” Pinkie cried, stretching her hand in the air and waiting for the magical sparkles to change her clothing and give her a super cool monster fighting weapon. Nothing happened, which wasn’t even close to right. She’d struck the pose exactly right and everything.
“Pinkie, did you get any sleep last night?” Applejack asked in disbelief, careful not to take her eyes off the equally confused monster guys.
Pinkie Pie laughed the laugh of the just. What a silly pony that Applejack was. Who needed sleep when you had twenty-four hour TV and all the sugar you could eat?
Mr. Ugly Sr. took the opportunity and darted forward. Rarity’s hands flashed brighter, but he ripped his entire coat off in one fluid movement as he came, letting it crumple in on itself. Applejack stepped forward to meet his charge. He was a big guy, but she dug in her heels. When he hit, she slid back two inches, maybe three. Maybe two-and-a-half. She’d need a tape measure to be sure. He looked surprised, and then it was Applejack’s turn. She put hands on his chest and shoved.
Muscles bunched beneath her shirt, tearing seams along the arms, and her boots dug even deeper into the ground. Mr. Ugly Sr. went flying first class on the Applejack Express and didn’t stop until he slammed into a light pole, leaving a visible dent in it.
There was a scream, and Mr. Ugly Jr. pulled Molly out of thin air. Rarity’s thick cloth belt shot across the parking lot and wound around his throat, squeezing tightly. “Let go of her you, brute!” Rarity cried, sweat beading on her forehead. But the blue glow around her hands was starting to flicker. Looked like Twilight was right (not that Pinkie was surprised), and Rarity was running out of magic way faster as a human.
Mr. Ugly Jr. kept one hand on Molly, but the other was fighting to keep the belt from choking him. Pinkie frowned as she thought, her tongue poking out of the side of her mouth. It was time to get serious.
“Party Time!” she declared, slipping a blindfold over Mr. Ugly Jr,’s eyes.
“How did you–” Molly started to say, but a rough jerk from a rough jerk cut her off.
Mr. Ugly Jr.’s nostrils flared and he twisted his head in Pinkie’s direction. His mouth opened super wide, and he lunged to bite her. Until she stuffed a huge cake right down it. He gagged on the mouthful of sugary goodness and spilled cake everywhere.
“Tsk,” Pinkie tutted disapprovingly. “And people say that I’m a messy eater.”
He finished coughing up the cake, and finally let go of Molly’s hand to yank off the blindfold. Rarity cried out and the belt stopped glowing, letting him rip that away too. He blinked, probably because there was a great, big barrel about four inches from his face.
Pinkie grinned widely from the other end of her weapon. Combining a Party Cannon with her Cupcake Launcher (patent pending) had been a stroke of genius. “And what party is complete without the decorations?”
The Party Launcher (also patent pending, no matter how many rejections those office ponies tried to give her) went off with a flash of light and sound as streamers, confetti, banners, and all the fixings a party needed exploded out of the barrel. Mr. Ugly Jr. let out a really high-pitched shriek and scrabdoodled off on three limbs again.
Pinkie reloaded the Party Launcher (no seriously, it’s totally safe for indoor use) with an ominous ‘ka-chak’ and Applejack stepped up next to her, cracking her knuckles. Molly stayed back, being comforted by Rarity.
Applejack snorted. “We done here, or do we gotta kick your butts some more?” Mr. Ugly Sr. and Jr. were picking themselves up, but keeping a safe distance. Mr. Ugly Sr. was moving slowly and with a slight limp; Mr. Ugly Jr. still moved on three limbs and kept pausing to rub his eyes with small, dog-like whines.
The standoff was interrupted by the sound of a putt-putting car engine, and Pinkie turned in surprise to see Dresden’s little rainbow car scooting across the parking lot towards them. Mr. Ugly Sr. growled deep and low, but Mr. Ugly Jr. let out a panicked yelp and made for the hills. Mr. Ugly Sr., growled again, glaring at Applejack, then he said something in a weird-sounding language and followed his friend at a slow lope.
“Whew,” Pinkie said, wiping away some sweat. She had apparently swallowed her sucker whole at some point without realizing it, but at least the rest of her candy was safe in its bags. Nobody had kicked it, or tripped over it or anything. “That was an adventure and a half. How’s everybody holding up?”
Molly started crying, burying her face into Rarity’s shoulder.
Pinkie grin disappeared. “So, uh, not good, huh?”
The Dresden-mobile came to a stop next to them, and Dresden popped out of the driver’s seat, staff and rod at the ready. His face looked like pure anger, deeper and harder than anything Pinkie had ever seen in him. He watched the fleeing monsters, and she could tell he was tempted to run after and end them, even if it meant abandoning the four of them for a moment. But a fresh sob rocked Molly, and his expression softened, a flicker of guilt shooting behind his eyes.
“Is everyone okay?” he asked.
“I might have a cracked rib, and I figure Molly’s gonna have some bruises on her wrists, but otherwise we’re pretty much okay,” Applejack replied, stretching and grimacing when she touched her side.
“I also lost that darling new belt I purchased earlier,” Rarity said, holding Molly close. “Though, I suppose the fatigue from overworking my magic might be the bigger problem.”
“What were those guys?” Pinkie asked, popping open the storage area of Dresden’s car and tossing her candy inside. Except for one happy-face sucker, which she covertly pressed into Molly’s hands.
“Describe them,” Dresden said, taking Molly from Rarity and helping her to the car. She had stopped crying, but she still shook and didn’t look okay.
All three ponies started speaking at once, but Pinkie’s voice was the loudest, since she clearly had the best description. Dresden growled, and rubbed his temple. “Ghouls. That was about what I figured. They’re the cheap muscle of supernatural world. Strong, fast, and harder to kill than a cockroach.” He bit out the last bit, and some of that serious anger poured back into his expression.
“I’m feeling like you’ve run into’em a time or two,” Applejack said. They’d all squeezed into the backseat, and with one last glance around Dresden putted off.
“You’d be right,” he said, and the conversation went quiet after that. Pinkie wanted to make a joke, to turn his frown upside down, but the mood didn’t feel right. “Tell me the whole story,” he continued. “What happened after I left?”
They took it in turns, filling him in, except Molly, who stayed quiet. Dresden asked a question here and there, but mostly he just listened. Eventually, they reached Molly’s house. Dresden walked her up to the door and took her inside. It took a few minutes, and it sounded like there was some yelling, but soon enough he came back outside.
“Is Molly going to be all right?” Rarity asked, fiddling with her jewelry. Pinkie nodded, feeling her hair droop a bit.
Dresden sighed. “Yeah, she’ll make it. She just… doesn’t handle combat well. She’s a Sensitive, and in a high-stress situation like that she feels everything that happens to each person. Pain, fear, anger, bloodlust, all of it. She hasn’t learned to filter it out yet.” His eyes hardened with anger again. “It’s pretty clear that they were looking to capture her, and her specifically, while I wasn’t around. Looks like somebody isn’t happy about my investigations into Sean’s disappearance. Or that competition Marcone is fighting heard about our meeting, and figured I was working for him now. Either way, they just made a fatal mistake.”
Pinkie could recognize somebody waiting for the set up to a hard-boiled one-liner and gladly obliged. “How?”
Dresden’s hands tightened on the wheel, his knuckles turning white, as fire danced in his eyes. “They made this personal.”
………
The last of the marrow was deep in the bone, but Ouroborous relished hunting it out. She snapped the other end and sucked down the delicious substance until it was gone. Then she tossed both parts of the cow’s femur into her mouth and crushed them with a contented sigh. The humans had done well domesticating the mighty aurochs into these dumb livestock. They ran and bellowed at her arrival, but none put up half the fight she would have once expected.
Perhaps when she was whole, such a weakened prey would be disappointing, but in the moment it was a convenience that she was happy to take advantage of. She continued stripping the carcass of every scrap of usable meat, enjoying herself as she added another drop to the aching void in her belly. The meanest of her powers had begun to return, and she had healed off the damage from the human guardian’s ‘gun’. Yet, despite dozens of meals, she was still so hungry. Once, she had eaten entire herds in a single snap of her jaws as a mere snack.
She noticed the shadowy shapes moving in the woods around her, and smelled that they were not human, although they pretended to be. Growling, she swallowed her current mouthful and turned to face the largest of them. “Away, scavengers,” she commanded. “There will be nothing left for you, not even the bones, such is my hunger.”
“I am uninterested in taking your meal from you,” said one of the others. He stepped into the clearing, his smile broad and utterly false, though he did not seem to be lying about his interest in her food. “You have been busy, haven’t you? A clear trail of missing livestock all the way from Minnesota to here.” He chuckled. “With all the dairy farms in Wisconsin, a monster like you must have been quite pleased.”
Ouroborous swallowed her latest mouthful, keeping a careful eye on the enemies that encircled her. She could kill them all if she needed to, but it would be noisy and she would not escape without injury. Best to bide her time at the moment. “And what kind of monster am I?” she asked. Did this fool actually know who he taunted?
The false-man shrugged. “An ancient wendigo, a disguised baykok, or some such thing. Really, it doesn’t matter for my purposes.”
“And what are ‘your purposes’?” Ouroborous asked, enjoying the tiniest flinch of fear in his eyes as her teeth cut through bone as easily as apple flesh.
“There is a wizard in Chicago poking into certain things that he should not. I have tried to divert his attention once already, and it ended in failure. It is important that I take an indirect approach so he never knows my true means or intent until it is too late. That’s where you enter the game. You are a wild, rampaging creature without connection to me or my interests. Having you dog his heels will allow me to proceed unopposed.”
Ouroborous snorted. “And yet you neatly danced around why I am the one you chose. There are plenty of creatures that could serve your purpose.”
“Ah, but none so powerful as you, and none that I have leverage over.”
Her eyes narrowed into slits, and a rumbling growl rose in her throat. “Leverage?”
“Indeed. You should have been more careful in your choice of feeding. One of the herds you decimated belonged to the Green Lady, and she is most furious. You are lucky we found you first, as she is hot upon your trail.”
“The Green Lady?” Ouroborous asked, taking another bite of the cow. None of the humans she had eaten possessed much knowledge of the hidden world, the true world. The name was unfamiliar to her.
A frown crossed the false-man’s face, but he smoothed it away. “The Green Lady, high Sidhe of the Seelie Court, vassal to Titania, Queen of the Summer Fae.”
Ouroborous stopped in her eating, a mouthful of meat half chewed. She swallowed it, heedless of the pain to her throat. Titania was Queen now? Brutal, passionate Lady Titania who had helped her Queen, Mother, and Winter cousins seal away Ouroborous? The same who would recognize her instantly, without regard for the passage of years?
She found herself grasping the false-man by his throat, raising him off the ground. “Titania’s hounds and lackeys hunt me?” she asked, feeling the first real fear since she had finally broken into this lush, bountiful world. She was not ready for that confrontation, not for centuries would she be ready!
The others drew weapons and moved forward, but the false-man raised his hand and they lowered their weapons. “Exactly,” he said, smirking down at her fear. “Now put me down, and prepare to accompany us back to Chicago. We must erase your trail before the Green Lady comes hot on your scent, and we have no time to waste.”
Ouroborous scowled, her features twisting into a mask of hatred. “I am not your dog to be commanded.”
The false-man sneered, unconcerned with her. “Then you will die at the hands of the Fae. Obeying me is the only way you will live out the night, much less the coming weeks.” His eyes flickered with something dark, hungry, and possessive. “Now, do as I say and put me down.”
Reluctantly, she did as he said. Her disgrace and disgust was palpable, but at least for the moment she had to bear it. Soon enough her strength would return, and then they would pay.
Oh, how they would pay.