It did not take too long for Luna's guards to locate Gerald. They had apparently found the old griffon getting rather wasted in the local bar next to the cafe, and was busily shouting about his exploits to anypony he happened to be near. When her guards brought him to her as she waited in a tent, Gerald was swaying from side to side, looking like he would topple over at any moment. She was honestly quite surprised he was still coherent enough to recognize that he was in the presence of royalty.
The two were now sitting on opposite sides of the tent, which felt entirely too small to the Princess as the smell of alcohol pervaded the entire place, and she wrinkled her muzzle in distaste. Looking at him now, at his bandaged wing and ruffled appearance, she was having a hard time believing that the griffon was some kind of professional monster hunter, much less a former member of the A.M.D..
"So, Gerald," Luna began, her tone of voice very business like. "Would I be correct in assuming that you had a brief encounter with the creature that supposedly killed the bug bear?" She asked, and she crossed her forelegs as she waited for his reply.
"That would be about right," Gerald replied with a very prominent slur in his already heavily accented voice, making him sound even more unintelligible. Luna had to fight back the urge to grimace as the smell his breath reached her nostrils. "Twash a beasht most fouler an' meaner than any I ever had the dishpleasure of meetin'. Pretty eager to take a bite outta my backshide if ya ask me."
"I did not," Luna replied. Surreptitiously she lit up her spiral horn and cast a quick spell to do away with the stench of rum and liquor that seemed to be coming off of the griffon in waves. Gerald hardly seemed to notice however, as his attention seemed to have become occupied by the plush pillow he was sitting on. Luna made a mental note to have the pillow burned later on. "I understand that, after your encounter with it, the creature was led away by Bon Bon, formerly known as Sweetie Drops when she was in the agency, correct?"
Upon hearing the question, Gerald seemed to sober up slightly as his shoulders slumped and his gaze became somewhat more focused."Aye," he said somberly. "Darn fool thing for a pony to do. She wash a good mare, when she wasn't hittin' me o'er the head all the time."
Luna nodded in agreement. While she was not personally aquainted with the mare, she was genuinely saddened by her potential death, and found herself hoping that she had somehow found a way to escape that terrible fate. But that was not what she had requested Gerald's presence for, as there were other matters that needed to be addressed before they set out.
"Rest assured that we will do everything in our power to see to it that Miss Drops is brought back safely Gerald," Luna promised. "However, while I was conversing with the mayor of Hollow Shades, I happened to learn that she has come across some rather. . . delicate information. Information that could-" Luna stopped when she noticed that Gerald had started to nod off. Snorting in frustration, Luna lit up her horn once more, and within a few moments Gerald was awake and alert.
"W-what? What happened? What was I just sayin'?" he questioned, right before he clutched his head in his talons and let out a pained groan. "Ack! What's goin' on here? Feels like my head's about to explode!" he exclaimed. Luna merely smiled as she levitated a pot of tea and a single cup over and began pouring herself a drink.
"I just helped you get over your problematic intoxication, since we obviously cannot have a coherent conversation in the state you were in." Another moan of agony answered her. "Although, while the spell returns one to their senses quicker, it unfortunately does very little to dispel of the hangover that immediately follows." Luna finished pouring her tea and set the kettle off to the side before taking a sip. "And now that you are at least somewhat more alert, we can continue."
Still rubbing the top of his feathered head, Gerald gave her a confused look and asked, "With what?"
"Oh, nothing serious. It only has to do with the fact that Mayor Quartz, a lovely mare by the way, is somehow in possession of knowledge regarding a certain organization that she should not have been aware of in the first place. Information that could prove harmful if it continues to be bandied about. Would you mind explaining to me how exactly she came across such information, Gerald?"
At this point, Gerald was now looking at the midnight blue alicorn with no small amount of fear and apprehension. The whites of his eyes could be seen as his pupils visibly shrank to the size of pinpricks, and he began to fidget nervously. The feathers on his neck were puffed out and his tail was swishing rapidly.
"Er, well, P-princess. . . ya see, I had just gotten back after bein' chased all night long by that foul beast, so I wasn't exactly in my right mind."
"Something tells me you were never in your "right mind" to begin with if what I heard about you is true, Gerald," Luna responded, her stoic expression morphing into a disapproving glare as she set her now empty cup next to the kettle, resulting in a sharp click of ceramic. Gerald flinched at the sound from a combination of the instant hangover and barely contained terror. "In fact, I am not sure if you are either incredibly brave, or incredibly foolish to even attempt to kill not only the bug bear, a monster in its own right, but the very thing that overpowered it."
Gerald began stutter, attempting to find some way to wriggle out of the mess that he had created for himself. Eventually he exclaimed, "Well what ya have me do Princess? Just let 'em roam free an' do whatever they wanted? Someone had to do something, and the mayor was willin' to pay me for my troubles. And you can't expect me to pass up an opportunity like this. I mean, can you imagine what it was like to see that thing for the first time, and then see it fend off a pack o' lupus minors? That right there to me was the opportunity of a lifetime, and I wasn't about to pass it up."
Luna had just about heard enough from the griffon, and was just about to dismiss him and call for her guards to take him away, until something he said stuck out to her, causing her to pause and question, "What did you say?"
"I said if it would've been any better to let 'em roam around an'-"
"No, not that," Luna interrupted, cutting him off with a wave of her hoof. "I mean what you said about the lupus minors. Nothing in the message we received said anything about them. You mean to tell me that this creature fought a group of them?"
Appearing to be surprised by the abrupt change in topic, Gerald hesitantly replied, "Aye?"
Luna put a hoof to her chin in thought. "Tell me what happened," she commanded. "Every single detail you can remember about that moment, and leave nothing out."
Gerald nodded, and proceeded to explain how he had used a wild boar as bait to draw in the creature that had taken his original quarry from him, if only to find out what he was dealing with. Luna listened attentively, taking in every word as he told her of when he first saw the creature come gliding out of the woods and consume the boar by using some form of magic he was not familiar with to actually inhale its flesh. Finally, Gerald proceeded to tell her of how the creature not only fought a trio of lupus minors, but actually managed to kill and consume them as well.
When his tale was finally done, Luna furrowed her brow and shook her head in disbelief. "That shouldn't be possible," she muttered.
"What?" Gerald questioned, unsure what she meant.
"I mean to say that it should not be possible for something, anything really, to be able to successfully kill a lupus minor, much less three."
Gerald raised an eyebrow and said, "Why not? Their just big sparkly wolves aren't they? I don't see how it couldn't happen."
Luna let out a heavy sigh, feeling the onset of a headache begin to plague her from how little the griffon actually knew, and she found herself wondering exactly how long he had spent in the former agency.
"Allow me to explain then," Luna began. "Lupus minors are what are known as celestial beasts. They are essentially made of magic. While they may look like a common wolf, their appearance is the only similarity that they share with each other. They are many times more powerful than any feral animal. They are also nigh immune to any mundane means of attack, and can only be combated through arcane means. You of course recall the incident when an ursa minor was spotted in Ponyville, correct?"
"Course," Gerald replied. "Was all over the papers, it was."
"It was only due to the quick thinking of the towns resident librarian that the creature was stopped when she soothed it to sleep before any major destruction could be caused. If she had not done so however, it is likely that all of Ponyville would have been leveled."
"Alright," Gerald responded with a slow nod. "But I still don't see what that has to do with our monster."
"Don't you understand you stupid bird?!" Luna snapped, rising to all four hooves. Her visage was filled with anger and annoyance, and her wings were spread to their full length, occupying the interior of the tent. The fluid motions of her mane and tail became more erratic. Gerald attempted to scoot away from her, but found himself held in the grip of her magic as she continued to speak. "No living animal should ever have the ability to fight off, much less kill and devour a celestial beast of any kind! If what you say happens to be true and this creature is indeed capable of such a feat, then the situation is even more dire than we have been led to believe. If it felt inclined to do so, this creature could very well kill you, me, and every living thing in Hollow Shades! It is a threat that must be dealt with as soon as possible."
Releasing the griffon, Luna inhaled a few deep breaths to calm herself down. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have urgent business to attend to." With that, the Princess trotted past him. Before she exited the tent she paused and called over her shoulder, "Oh, and don't believe for a moment that this means you are free to go. As of right now you are under arrest."
"What?!" Gerald shouted, his voice forming into a harsh squawk at the end. "But I didn't do nothing!"
"On the contrary, you willingly divulged sensitive information to a civilian without the express permission of a superior. Were you still in service to the agency, that would be cause for a number of lifetimes spent in a prison cell. However, given the current situation, you are just going to have to remain here until we figure out what should be done with you. You would do well to consider very carefully what you say and do in the very near future, Gerald."
Leaving the griffon stuttering and struggling to find a response behind her, Luna stepped out of the tent and into a field in front of the town gates. The entire area was bustling with activity, with armored ponies running back and forth, carrying equipment, forming into neat ranks, and setting up the giant crossbows onto huge iron wheels. Addressing one of the two thestral ponies standing guard, she ordered, "Keep an eye on this one, and make sure he stays put. He is not to leave unless I permit it. Understood?"
"Yes Princess," he replied with a quick salute.
Nodding her approval, Luna turned to the other guard and said, "Go find Captain Stalwart. Inform him that we are marching within the hour. We have tarried here long enough as it is."
"Right away Princess," the thestral replied before spreading his bat like wings and taking to the sky.
It had taken even less than an hour before most of the small army of armored ponies was ready to march. In short order they began a steady rank by rank walk forward towards the treeline, leaving behind them a city of tents that felt abandoned compared to the flurry of activity only a short while ago. A small contingent remained behind to protect Hollow Shades in their comrades absence, although Luna did not hold out much hope that they would be able to successfully fend the creature off should it choose to circumvent the main group and attack the town directly. The information that Gerald had told her regarding the beast still echoed in her mind, and she found herself feeling a certain amount of anxiety as the army neared the trees.
As they departed, many of Hollow Shades' residents had come out to watch them from the top of the wooden wall surrounding their town. But there was no great sendoff, no shouts of praise for the ponies marching away to what might be their doom. Instead they looked on with grim and worried expressions, like they were saying a final, silent farewell. It was nothing at all like the enthusiasm of when they had arrived to relieve them of their plight.
But as Luna surveyed the scene from the air, with four of her guards hovering around her, she knew that she could not blame them. They had already been through so much in past few weeks.
Still, she could not help but feel that maybe they knew something that she did not, like she was making a mistake in going through with this. Not that their intentions were wrong, but that they may have potentially bitten off more than they could chew. But Luna had set herself on this path, and she was not the type of mare to change her mind once she has made her choice.
Besides, there was still the matter of the nightmares that Luna had felt originate from within the woods. She had felt its presence earlier that day, but it was so faint that to try to make contact would have been a wasted effort. It always seemed to be just out of her reach, which frustrated Luna to no end, acting as another reason to move as soon as possible. She knew it was risky to do so when evening was only a few short hours away. It would not be long until she had to raise the moon. While she could leave the cycle of the heavens alone to aide her, Luna felt it would have been selfish to do so, leaving her the choice of putting the safety of her troops at even greater risk or waiting for the following morning.
When she consulted Stalwart on the matter, he reasoned that as long as they the moon was full and there was a team of pegasi keeping an eye out for anything in front of them, then it would not be too much of a risk. While she was more than a little adverse towards endangering the guards on the ground, Luna supposed it was a sound strategy. But still she worried over what might happen if the creature chose to engage them, and she found herself seriously questioning whether or not this was a wise course of action.
It was too late to back now however, as the first group of the royal guard trotted past the treeline, the only indication of their presence behind the branches being the metallic clank of their armor. Luna sighed, feeling a sense of dread as she moved to follow them. As she flew she spared a brief glance at one of the two airships that had accompanied them as it moved away to scout other sections of the forest per her command. She wanted to have as many eyes covering the area as possible to make sure they would not be caught by surprise.
Uttering a quick prayer for everypony under her breath, Luna resumed her self appointed task of watching over the ponies on the ground.
Unsure exactly which direction she was heading in, Angela weaved between the tree trunks, trying and failing to avoid scraping against them. Each time she made contact resulted in coarse, aggravating sound as her skin ran up against the bark.
She had not noticed it until now, but it felt as though everything around her had simultaneously shrunk in the last few hours, and the only reason she could guess as to why was that she had grown. It did not take much for her to realize that she had evolved. There was simply no other explanation for it. What made it odd however was that she had absolutely no recollection of the event. Aside from a few brief snapshots of a certain moments last night, she could not remember actually evolving.
Angela was not entirely sure how to feel about this, as she was genuinely curious to know what the overall experience felt like, but at the same time she was afraid it had been not at all different from her transition into actually becoming a wraith. She could remember that as a horrifically painful experience that she never wanted to go through again. Considering this, Angela supposed it might actually have been a blessing that she could not remember her most recent growth spurt. Maybe it was a result of her subconscious attempting to shield her from the agony of having her bones and flesh rearranged. From what she could recall from her brief exposure to the game, the process of evolving did not look to be very pleasant. It may have even been a factor in her most recent homicidal episode.
Whatever the case had been, Angela's increase in size was making it rather difficult to move through the dense forest without making too much noise. She would honestly not be surprised if that was the reason why she had not found anything to eat yet. If she did not find a way to address this issue, and soon, she would once again go insane from the hunger. The last thing she wanted, especially now when she had decided to confront the ponies was to devolve into a mindless predator. She did not exactly put very much faith in herself to control her own urges.
Focus Angela, she thought to herself, shaking her head in an attempt keep a hold of her faculties. Just keep your cool, and everything will work out.
She knew of course that was easier said than done, but Angela forced herself to ignore her urges for just a little while longer to come up with some sort of strategy to deal with how she would go about finding something to eat, preferably without having to chase it down and tearing apart half the woods in the process. Coming to a halt, Angela dulled her senses and attempted to clear her mind of all distractions as she thought.
Her answer came in the form of a dull roaring sound not too far away from her current position. Angela immediately recognized it as the sound of a waterfall, and soon an idea began to form in her mind.
Angling herself in the direction where the sound seemed to be coming, Angela got the distinct feeling that she recognized this place. The reason why became apparent as she eventually emerged from the trees, and she saw the familiar sight of the tall cliff that she had so enjoyed diving off of into the large pool of water a mere day ago. The same place where she first realized she was in Equestria. It honestly felt like it had been an eternity since that moment to Angela.
She briefly wondered what had ever become of that one pony after she had let her go, the same one that she almost-
Angela quickly discarded the thought before she ended up going down that road. What had happened had happened, and there was nothing she could do to change the actions she took in the past. All that mattered was that Angela was able to stop herself before she took things too far. Maybe that would even help her when she eventually encountered the ponies again.
That would have to wait until later however. For now, Angela had to focus on figuring out how to get herself a meal. Hovering over to the waters edge, Angela discovered multiple sets of tracks, most notably ones that she immediately recognized as belonging to a whole herd of deer. It stood to reason that many animals would come to this place to get a drink. She was tempted to start looking around to see if any were still in the area, but she wrote that off as the quickest way to alert them to her presence if they were not aware of her already. Perhaps she had come away with something useful from her uncles hunting expeditions.
Moving over to the water, Angela gradually began to ease herself chest first into the pools depths until she felt the tips of her tails touch the surface before suddenly dipping into a shallow dive beneath the small waves. She found her movement in the water to be just as smooth and fluid as it was out of it, and she could not help but feel like some sort of great sea serpent. Angela was not sure how long she would be able to hold her breath as a wraith, so she found this to be both an experiment and a potentially effective hunting strategy, and seeing as how she did not experience any adverse effects right away, even after spending whole minutes underwater, she would wager that she could remain like this for quite a while. In fact, Angela found the cool liquid felt rather nice on her wounds, and the dull pounding of the waterfall in the distance was almost therapeutic in an odd sort of way.
All she needed now was a full stomach, and as long as she was willing to be patient for a little longer, she would soon have that as well. Sticking close to the shoreline of the pool, Angela quickly checked that no part of her was visible that would give her away, and settled in for what she hoped would be a short wait. She did not even notice as she began to doze off, for once feeling some semblance of peace and satisfaction with herself.
Nothing but trees, trees, and even more trees as far the eyes could see in almost every conceivable direction. Occasionally there was the odd clearing or glade to break up the status quo, but for the most part all that could be seen from the airship was endless forest. While it could not even begin to hold a candle to the vastness that was the Everfree, the woods that surrounded Hollow Shades were rather large in their own right, and Crisp, the captain of the airship, could see why it was so easy for a creature that was apparently as big as a dragon to just disappear and hide.
It had only been a few short hours since he and his crew had been ordered by Princess Luna to scout other portions of the woods while the rest of the Royal Guard marched on foot in a different direction, and already the aging cobalt blue pegasus was feeling the onset of monotonous boredom invade his mood, knowing that if whatever this thing was that they were looking for chose to hide, it would take ages to spot it even from the air. It did not help that it was fast approaching dusk, further limiting their visibility. They had spotlights of course, but Honey Crisp found himself wondering what the Princess had been thinking when she gave them their orders.
Still, Crisp and his crew would perform their task to the best of their capabilities, no matter what the conditions might be. He just hoped that those poor sops on the ground did not run into this mysterious beast before he did. At least from here, safely suspended below the envelope of the metal clad airship in the large gondola, they had an advantage. In his humble but well aged opinion, it was always better to deal with dangerous situations like that from a distance. Quick, clean and easy; that was how all problems should be handled. He got the feeling that Princess Luna favored more personal confrontations, but to each their own. He was not about to try to change her mind on the matter.
Briefly scanning the bridge of the airship, Crisp gazed upon the pleasing sight of no less than a dozen mares and stallions at their designated work stations, carefully monitoring the devices controlling the great beast of metal and air, maneuvering it through the sky like an airborne whale. The airships of the Royal Guard normally did not have so many crew members, or were even as large, but then this was no normal airship.
The cobalt pegasus could not help but feel a small amount of pride as he looked upward at the nose of the airship, confident that whatever had been causing so much trouble lately would find itself to be more than outmatched by the weapon it housed inside; it really was quite amazing what could be done with a few storm clouds and layers of containment spells designed specifically for the sole purpose of keeping them under control. He had heard some of the ponies in the upper branches of the Royal Guard refer to it as a literal "storm in a bottle", and Crisp was inclined to agree.
The captains moment of appreciation was interrupted when one of the ponies, an orange coated mare by the name of Horizon, perked up suddenly as a soft buzzing sound erupted from the pair of gem powered earphones near her. Crisp watched with mild interest as she quickly donned it, and in a few moments Horizon said in a very business like manner, "Understood." Turning towards him she then said, "Sir, one of the spotters has caught sight of something sixty degrees to the North-East of our position."
Crisp shifted his wings in slight anticipation, wondering if they had found the creature already. He did not think they would have finished up so early, but he was never one to complain about good fortune.
"Have they determined what it is Miss Horizon?" Crisp questioned. The mare repeated the question into the headset, and within moments she replied, "Yes sir. It's a pony, she seems to be trying to signal us."
"Really?" Crisped said in surprise. He put a hoof to his chin as he pondered the unexpected information until he finally said, "Well, then, by all mean bring us around and set us down. It would be rather rude to leave her out here after all."
"Right away sir."
Bon Bon felt a monumental amount of relief wash over her as her hooves touched on the metal ramp leading up to the interior of the gondola of the large airship, and she was pleased to be greeted by a pair of uniformed pegasi and a unicorn with a pair of medical bags slung over her back who rushed up towards her. Bon Bon had virtually no time to say anything as she suddenly found herself being bombarded with questions by the mare, mostly pertaining to her health, such as, "Are you hurt?" or "Do you feel woozy?"
Bon Bon quickly assured the mare that aside from a few scrapes and scratches, including a rather large bruise on her chest, she was largely unhurt. At the moment, her greatest complaint was a lack of any decent rest. The possibility of a bed located somewhere on board was so very enticing to her. But that would have to wait for a little while longer however; for she still had to tell somepony about her discovery.
The memory of the creature was still fresh in her mind. The sight of it enduring what she knew must be an incredible amount of discomfort. It really was no wonder why it had been so aggressive, and Bon Bon felt more than a little guilty for misreading the entire situation. But now that she had been found, she had the opportunity to correct her mistake before any lasting damage could be done.
Feeling ready to fall asleep on her hooves, Bon Bon quickly followed the mare inside the airship as the ramp closed shut behind her with a dull clang, accompanied by the din of hissing steam and turning gears. The lighting was somewhat dim, and the scent of copper lingered in the air.
"Thanks for picking me up," she said, putting the observation aside for the moment. All three ponies nodded before the medic continued in her examination of Bon Bon, looking for any sign of serious injury. "Is your captain available?" she then asked, not bothering to hide the urgency in her voice. "I need to talk with whoever's in charge here right away."
"Now hold on there ma'am," one of stallions said with a raised hoof. "We'd be happy to take ya to him, but only after we check to make sure you're not gonna pass out on us. No offense, but you look you've been through Tartarus and back."
"There's no time for that!" Bon Bon exclaimed. "Look, I can sleep later, but right now I really need to talk to your superior. I have vital information that could be very important."
The two pegasi glanced at each other, appearing to be unsure if she was telling them the truth. Eventually the one on the right said, "Alright then. I'll take you to the bridge. You can speak to Crisp there. Just don't go pushing yourself alright?" Bon Bon nodded, willing to do almost anything just to tell somepony about what was going on. As long as things kept going the way they were, this whole situation would be resolved in short order. She might even be back in Ponyville by the end of the week, where she could hopefully put this entire ordeal behind her.
As she followed one of the stallions as he led her through a long metal corridor to a short staircase designed for ponies, Bon Bon felt a slight lurch, indicating that the airship was taking off again. Along the way to the bridge she took notice of some of the features of the airship, noticing the overall structure of the craft seemed quite a bit different than what she was familiar with, and she found herself wondering what kind it was.
Whatever breed of airship it was, Bon Bon would have to figure it out later as she noticed the hallway open up to a wide command deck with multiple ponies milling about at their stations, occasionally pulling a lever of twisting a knob. Only a few bothered to spare a brief glance at their guest before returning to their work. A huge glass window offered an almost panoramic view of the world below as the airship steadily rose higher into the air. She wanted to ask her escort for some kind of explanation for the number of crew members, as there seemed to be than here than what was necessary to maintain it, but then she spotted what appeared to be the captain. He was old looking cobalt blue pegasus dressed in formal attire.
Deciding to file her questions away for later, Bon Bon trotted up behind cleared her throat before speaking.
"Excuse me sir," she said, "but are you the pony in command here?"
The stallion turned his head towards her, and she could not help but notice the gleam in his eye as he replied, "Yes I am miss." Turning to face her fully the stallion extended a hoof in greeting. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am captain Honey Crisp, but you don't have to refer to me as that." Bon Bon took the stallions hoof and gave it a firm shake. "Now then," he said, "If I may be so bold as to ask, who might you be?"
Clearing her throat a second time, Bon Bon quickly introduced herself, although she chose to refrain from using her former designation so as to avoid any confusion. Maybe if she get him to agree to agree to speak with her in a more private setting she would fully disclose her identity, but she did not want to risk it with so many ponies around at the moment.
"Sir," she began, "I can assume that you are here under the orders of the Princess, correct?"
Crisp raised his eyebrow slightly at her question, apparently not expecting her to have knowledge regarding the mission she knew he was a part of.
"Yes," Crisp answered. "How could you know that?" he then asked.
Rather than answering in a way that would make it plainly obvious to everypony who she was, Bon Bon instead chose instead to say, "Word gets around at the home front." As she said this, Bon Bon casually flicked her left ear. To anypony watching, it would appear as nothing more than a brief, instinctual reaction to a distant sound, of which there plenty of on the ship.
The captain noticed it right away, and his eyes widened very slightly as realization seemed to dawn on him. His betrayed nothing however as he said, "I see." A brief moment of inactivity passed, during which he seemed to be pondering his next course of action as though he had suddenly found himself in an elaborate game of chess. Eventually he added, "Well then, in that case how about I help you get settled in. I can certainly tell that you've been through quite the ordeal."
"You have no idea," Bon Bon responded with a slight chuckle.
Addressing the pony standing behind her, Crisp said, "Weathervane, would you mind seeing to it that a spare bunk is prepared for our guest here?"
With a sharp salute, the pony known as Weathervane replied, "Yes sir," before he trotted away, the click of his hooves on te metal flooring gradually receding in the distance behind Bon Bon.
Walking past her, Crisp said to her, "If you will follow me miss."
Bon Bon obliged him, and allowed himto lead out of the command deck to a separate section of the ship. His quarters were practically indistinguishable from any of the others, aside from the small name plate on the door indicating who it belonged to. In a few moments she and the captain were behind a locked door, and as he sat down at the little desk tucked into the corner of his quarters he gave her a curious look before asking, "So tell me, what exactly is a member of the A.MD. doing all the way out here?"
In short order Bon Bon related to the captain everything that had happened to her up until this point, from the anonymous message she had received in Ponyville regarding the bug bears presence to her discovery of the creature that killed it for her. She even told him of when she and the others had almost been run down by it. She had to abbreviate sections of her story so as not to waste time, but the captain seemed to be nonetheless impressed by her tale. He looked especially intrigued to hear how it underwent a sudden and massive growth spurt.
"And that's pretty much how I ended up here," Bon Bon stated, finishing her story.
For a long while Crisp was silent as let what she just told him sink in. "Well," he finally said, "that's quite a bit to take in miss."
Bon Bon nodded in agreement. "I know it's pretty hard to believe, but it's true."
"And this monster that you speak of certainly sounds like something to not be trifled with if what you are saying is in fact true. From your description this thing could pose a very serious threat to anypony that encountered it. I fear that if it is not dealt with soon there may be casualties if the ponies on the ground confront without any support."
"Actually sir," Bon Bon interrupted, but then stopped herself. She was unsure exactly how what she would say next would be received, and it suddenly occurred to her that it may just end up making her look sound like a crazy pony. In the end, she decided it was worth looking foolish if it meant avoiding any future misunderstandings. Summoning her resolve, she proceeded to say, "Sir, I don't think we should be so quick to try and kill this creature."
Crisp raised an eyebrow, and he readjusted his position in his seat as he said, "Oh really? And why not? You said it yourself that this monster attacked you, clearly demonstrating itself as a very credible threat, and all of a sudden you don't believe killing it would be an appropriate response?"
Bon Bon swallowed loudly, unsure why she was suddenly feeling nervous in front of this stallion. She decided to chalk it up to the difference in rank. She nodded in confirmation to his question.
"Do you mind explaining why?"
Clearing her throat once more, Bon Bon obliged, telling the captain of how she had been in the creatures clutches when she attempted to lead it away and give Gerald and the pony whose name she had forgotten time to escape. She even went back even further to explain how it prevented the pony from dying from a trap set for it.
"Sir," she said once she had finished, "I really do not believe that this creature actually wants to fight us. So far the only times it has been aggressive is when it has been provoked. Given this, plus the fact that it purposefully saved a pony's life, I believe that we need to start considering a different plan that does not involve trying to kill it."
Her explanation finished, Bon Bon waited patiently for Crisp's answer, wondering how exactly he would react to her story. His face was completely unreadable as he looked her, and she was unable to discern his thoughts. He remained like this for several long and tense moments as he looked at her. Finally, after what felt like far too long for Bon Bin he finally opened his mouth to answer.
"Miss Bon Bon, are you sure of this?" he asked. Bon Bon was slightly confused by the question, but nodded anyway. What he said next was not what she wanted to hear.
"Miss Bon Bon, just how long have you been out in these woods?" Crisp asked with a raised eyebrow.
"What?!" she exclaimed.
"I'm sorry to say this, but do you really expect me to believe that this thing, no matter what its behavior may indicate, is anything more an animal? It's already hard enough for me to believe that it wields some unknown form of magic, but that it's actually capable of rational thought? Even you have to admit that's a pretty large pill to swallow."
"And why not?!" Bon Bon demanded angrily, almost yelling. "It saved a pony's life! It spared me!"
"And how do you know that it was not just following its instincts like every other animal? How do you know that it didn't just decide you were too small to eat?"
"Nine years hunting down actual monsters that have tried to eat me that's what! That's nine years of protecting your sorry ass from being chewed on by things that would not have even once hesitated to kill me or you!" Crisp began to say something, but Bon Bon cut him off. "I know what I saw sir. I made a mistake in thinking that this thing was no better than the bug bear." Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Bon Bon continued, " Sir, you have to listen to me on this. Because if you don't, then you are putting dozens of lives in danger. This creature is in pain, maybe even scared of us. And if you back into a corner where there is other option for it but to fight, then you are crossing a line that there's no coming back from."
Her tirade finished, Bon Bon and Crisp stared each other down. He met her stern gaze with his own and neither one of them seemed willing to back down. Their standoff was only interrupted when a knock sounded from the door to his quarters.
"Yes?" Crisp said loudly, not taking his gaze off of Bon Bon.
"Sir," a mares voice said through the door. "We've spotted something up ahead."
"And?" Crisp demanded. "What is it?"
". . . I really think you should come see for yourself sir."
A brief pause followed, after which Crisp finally said to Bon Bon in barely contained anger, "We will continue this later." With that, Crisp stomped past her with a scowl etched on his face and shoved the door open. Bon Bon reluctantly trailed behind. She was only coming just to see what had required his attention. Within moments they were all back on the command deck of the airship, where they found a number of ponies looking at something outside of the panoramic window.
"Alright Horizon, what's the matter?"
"Come and see sir," an orange mare replied, apparently unable to look away from whatever was out there. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Bon Bon begrudgingly totted alongside the captain and peered out of the window, leaning over to try and discern what was beneath them. She noticed that the airship was hovering over what appeared to be marsh or swamp of some kind, with trees suspended over the murky water on stilt like roots. At first she did not see anything that could have given them cause for alarm. As far as she could tell there was only trees, water, and an oddly shaped hill that-
It only took second for Bon Bon to realize what exactly she was looking at, and she found herself at a loss for words.
"Sweet Celestia," one of the ponies muttered, summing up her thoughts for her as they continued to look at the body of the mutilated body of the hydra. It was massive, not at all like the runt that frequented Froggy Bottom Bog near Ponyville. This one must have been at least a few centuries old, a living relic that had born witness to ages long past, and here it was, dead in the water with gaping wounds that even now continued to pour out blood. Crows and other carrion eaters swarmed around the carcass like flies.
Bon Bon was unable to tear her gaze away from the scene, having difficulty trying to process what her eyes were seeing. She knew without a shadow of a doubt what had done this, she just simply did not want to believe it. She did not want to believe that the same creature that had spared her only hours ago had done this, only to leave the hydras body to rot in the mud. The only explanation she could think of was that the creature had somehow felt threatened. Coupled with the pain inducing gems embedded into its neck, it added up to something akin to a ticking time bomb.
And right now, there was an entire army of ponies head straight for it.
"Oh buck."