Chapter 44 - A Storm On The Horizon
Laying on the bed, Sunbeam stared up at the ceiling. The scent of herbs and spices hung heavy in the air, and off to her right something bubbled.
Closing her eyes and trying to stay as still as possible, she let out a pained whimper.
‘O-o-oh. I ache! Every bucking part of me aches! I woke up feeling so good as well, so calm and relaxed for a change. Annnnd then I moved. I shouldn’t have moved. Everything started hurting when I moved. Everything! Especially my...’
Opening her eyes, she hesitantly lifted a hoof up to her muzzle but stopped short of actually touching it.
‘...My face. Why -does- my face ache so much? It feels like I’ve been hit in muzzle with a plank of…’
Her eyes narrowed as a single word was hissed out.
“Zecora!”
Baring her teeth, Sunbeam scrambled to prop herself up on the bed. ‘I'm gonna...’
There was a sharp intake of breath.
A few seconds passed before she, gingerly, began lowering herself back down onto the bed.
‘...L-lay back down f-for a bit. At least until all the s-spots in front of my eyes go away. Oh-hhh, that bucking hurt. No sudden moves filly. No sudden moves.’
Closing her eyes, Sunbeam whimpered again.
***
Steeling herself, Sunbeam gritted her teeth. ‘C’mon you can do this. You -can- do this.’
With a deep intake of breath, she slowly rolled her head to one side on the pillow.
‘Yay. I can roll my head to one side. There's no stopping me now. Go me. Go...’ Her eyes narrowed as she spotted Zecora in the corner of the hut. ‘Annnd look, there’s the stripy one herself, tending that damn cauldron of hers. Arrogant bitch, she’s even got her back to me...’
There was a pause and her eyebrows went up.
‘She’s got her back to me?’
There was another pause before a lopsided smile spread over Sunbeam’s face.
‘Now isn’t -that- a silly thing to do.’
Bringing her head down to her chest, Sunbeam pointed her horn at Zecora’s back.
The smile faded and was quickly replaced by frustrated look as her horn remained inert.
Letting her head roll back on the pillow, Sunbeam looked back up at the ceiling again. ‘Horseapples I can’t draw any magic in.’ Lifting a hoof up, she ran it down the length of her horn. ‘Can’t feel any inhibitor rings, she must have given me a potion or something. Wonderful, just bucking wonderful.’
Letting her hoof fall, and bounce on the bed, Sunbeam glanced around the hut again in resignation. ‘Chalk -another- one up to Zecora. That bastard-daughter offspring of a diamond dog and a…’
Her gaze stopped on a low table near the head of her bed.
‘Oh hello, what's this?’
Wincing as she did so, she rolled onto her right side to get a better look at the table... and the dagger laying on it.
Her eyes flicked to Zecora and then back to the dagger.
She fought the smile back down. ‘Don't smile! You'll only jinx it if you smile. Right, straight face and lets -do- this.’
Rolling to her right again, and onto her stomach, she purposefully perched herself on the edge of the bed so that her left legs dangled freely over its side. Keeping her eyes on Zecora, she then slowly began extending her left foreleg downwards.
Once she felt her hoof-tip make the lightest of contacts with the floor, she softly swept it back-and-forth to clear anything that could be laying there out of the way. Only when Sunbeam was sure that she wasn’t about to tread on anything, did she put the hoof down fully.
Her eyes never leaving Zecora’s back, her left-rear leg started edging towards the floor. It too swept the floor for debris before being put down.
With both her left legs now firmly on the floor, Sunbeam angled her front-half off the bed to free up her right foreleg.
It’s hoof-tip made sure the floor was clear before it was put down just like her others.
Zecora didn’t look round as Sunbeam silently stood up on three legs behind her.
Bringing her last leg up off the bed, and in in close to her body, Sunbeam grimaced at the sudden stabbing pain in her hip.
‘Buck! Need to… clear… the… bed…’ Closing her eyes, she fought the growing urge to just let the leg fall. ‘Oh buck! Clear… the… Oh b-b-b...!’
Zecora suddenly reached out to the side for a bottle. Uncorking it with her teeth, she poured a dash into the cauldron before putting the bottle down beside her. Taking the handle of the wooden spoon that was in the cauldron, she began stirring.
Eyes wide and her heart pounding so loudly in her ears that was sure Zecora could hear it, Sunbeam stood frozen to the spot as she watched Zecora stir.
Zecora changed the direction she was stirring, but didn’t look round.
Sunbeam’s ears splayed out as she let out the breath she’d been holding. ‘Thank buck for…’ She grimaced. ‘Ugh! My hip! My hip!’
She just about managed to put the hoof down without a sound. The floor wasn’t checked for any debris first though.
Quietly panting through clenched teeth, Sunbeam glared at Zecora. Her tail twitching, she watched her stir for a few moments before turning her head to look at the dagger on the table.
Letting herself smile, she shifted most of her weight onto her back legs before lifting her left foreleg up and reaching out with it.
‘Easy. This is easy. This is…’ Sunbeam stopped dead, her left fore-hoof hovering an inch above her dagger. ‘Too easy! This is -too- easy!’
A suspicious expression crossed her face as she glanced around the hut again. ‘What am I missing? Zecora’s not stupid, I’m missing something.’ She looked up at the walls. ‘What am I...?’
Her ears fell as she saw it.
All of Zecora’s masks had a clear view of her as she stood there, her hoof reaching out for the dagger.
Sunbeam violently yanked her hoof away.
Zecora was leaning over the cauldron, so its bubbling drowned out the whimper of pain that came from behind her.
***
Zecora jumped as Sunbeam seated herself down next to her. Despite her initial surprise, Zecora still managed to note that Sunbeam was favoring her right foreleg, holding her left foreleg up to her chest as she sat down.
She glanced over her shoulder at the table behind her. The dagger was still laying on it, untouched.
Sunbeam just kept looking forward, cradling her left foreleg. “Yeah it’s still there, stripy-flank.” She sniffed. “You took the time and effort to suppress my magic, yet you left the dagger lying within easy reach of me. You’re not that stupid.” Pointedly, she looked up at the masks. “I kinda guessed that something bad would happen if I touched it.” She rolled her shoulders and grimaced at the action. “Annnnd as I couldn’t find anything else to cave your skull in with, I chose to sit down and play nice.” She turned to look at her. “First order of business: when is my magic going to return?”
Zecora smiled at her. “By my reckoning, in about an hour or two. You are up earlier than I expected, so you must have slept well.” She looked Sunbeam up and down. “But you must ache greatly right now.” Leaning down, she corked the bottle next to her. “The salve I have been applying helps reduce swelling and promotes rapid healing, but its side-effect is to make all your joints more tender to move. But as you are awake now, I can give you something to counter that.”
Sunbeam went to roll her shoulders, but thought better of it and settled for a glare. “You’re not rhyming. Should I be worried?”
Zecora shook her head. “I simply suspect that your mind is still somewhat clouded from having just woken up. Not to mention that all you aches and pains must be distracting. No I speak plainly purely for your benefit Miss Sunbeam. But first...” She pointed a hoof at her. “Would you have really attacked me when my back was turned. I shall know if you lie.”
Sunbeam turned her head away. There was a pause before a quiet: “You hurt me.”
Zecora nodded in the silence that followed. “As I thought. However, as you are attempting to be civilised for the moment, let me return the gesture, for the moment.” Turning away, she reached up for some cups. “Please sit and have a tea with me before you leave. Give your magic a chance to recover before you face the Everfree. The tea I shall make will help ease your pains.”
Sunbeam turned her head back to look at her. “Question: what would have happened if I had picked up the dagger?”
Zecora didn’t bother looking around as she got some herbs out. “Then you would have learned an important lesson.”
***
Landing next to the Guardhouse, Constable Walker folded his wings and opened the door. Nodding to Sergeant Buttress, he walked past her and towards the coffee pot with a yawn. “Morning, Sergeant. Morning Dew said you wanted to see me when she took over.”
Looking up from her desk, and the scroll with the princesses’ crest on she was reading, Buttress nodded. “Correct. No sign of Miss Sunbeam yet I take it?”
Walker shook his head as he poured himself a coffee.
She looked back down the scroll. “Well I have another assignment for you now. One that requires wings. I want you to go round to all of Miss Dash’s pegasus friends and ask if they’ve seen her. Once you’ve done that... go get your head down. You’ll be back on observation duty later tonight.”
“Great.” Lifting the cup up, Walker paused before sipping it. “Do we have a list of her friends?”
Buttress pulled a sheet of paper from under the scroll and slid it across the desk. “Yeah. There you go.” With a sigh, she looked back down. “And while you’re out and about, having fun, I get to write a letter back to the… higher ups. I need to explain why sending an entire squad of guards to assist us in looking for Miss Sunbeam won’t actually help us find her.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Uh, it wouldn’t?”
She shook her head. “Walker, this is the pony that managed to sneak up on Pinkie, remember? The whole ‘changeling-mask thing down by the lake thing'? No I get the feeling that if this pony doesn’t want to be found, she won’t be. And having a squad of guards, clanking around in full armour, asking for her would only drive her deeper into hiding.” Buttress tapped her nose. “No, the best course of action here is to do nothing. If we carry on like everything is normal and let her think everything is okay, she’ll eventually surface of her own accord. It’s all down to having the patience, and nerve, to do nothing for long enough.”
“But what if she’s already gone?”
Buttress lowered her head. “Then I’ll send you a postcard from my new posting. Somewhere where minus quite-a-lot is considered warm.”
***
Zecora watched as Sunbeam stared into the cauldron, ignoring the cup of tea next to her. “The tea is herbal and will ease your aches and pains, please drink.”
Sunbeam sat motionless, not touching the cup.
She raised an eyebrow. “You think I’d poison you at this point?”
Not looking at her, Sunbeam nodded.
“You worry too much Miss Sunbeam. It was much easier to poison you as you slept.” Zecora sipped her tea. “You couldn't protest as I poured it down your throat that way. So you might as well drink your tea. It will help soothe your injuries.”
In small jerky movements, Sunbeam turned her head to look at Zecora.
Zecora waved a hoof dismissively at her expression. “Oh relax Miss Sunbeam. I have only ‘partly’ poisoned you. All of the ingredients for a potent poison, bar one, are in your system right now. And due to the enchantments I have placed upon them, they will remain active within you for the next month, just waiting for that final ingredient to complete the poison." She leaned forward. "And that last ingredient is mortais root, so take nothing containing it, including Night Owl’s Slumber, for the next month.” She lowered her head. “I apologize, but given the limitations of ingredients to hoof, and the effect desired, it was the only thing I could create.” Reaching down for her cup, Zecora calmly took another sip of her tea from it. “It would be a slow and painful end to you by-the-way.”
Never looking away from her, Sunbeam slowly reached out for her cup. Lifting it up, she downed its contents in one go before putting it back down with a click and wiping her mouth with a foreleg. “You know what Zecora, I think I prefer it when you do rhyme. You're less scary that way.”
Zecora shrugged. “I need to make sure you do not take any more Slumber, Miss Sunbeam, and this is the most expedient way to do that. Like you, I do what I feel is necessary.” She tapped the rim of the cauldron. “And speaking of such things, there is one more issue I want to address.” She turned her head to look at her. “You still wish harm upon me don’t you? Do not deny it, I can see it in your eyes.”
Sunbeam looked away but said nothing.
Zecora narrowed her eyes as she pointed a hoof. “I find the idea of you lurking in the forest, waiting to catch me unawares like a some rabid timberwolf a most unwelcome thought.” Lowering the hoof, Zecora shook her head. “While I am confident of my abilities in face-to-face combat, you are smart enough to try and avoid that. Instead you would simply strike from range and then just walk away, never once getting close.” Zecora leaned in. “I would not even know you were there, not until after I found myself standing before the ‘guardian of the dream’ and having all my life’s actions judged.” The hoof was pointed again. “And for that reason you scare me Miss Sunbeam. You have every chance of success where others have failed.”
Sunbeam cautiously looked back at her. “Others?”
Zecora smiled humorlessly. “A solitary zebra mare, living alone in the woods. Who knows what valuables I might have hidden in my hut. Or what fun could be had. And were I to suddenly disappear, everypony would merely think that some animal from the forest had done me in. Oh no, others have come to steal my power before Miss Sunbeam.” Her lip curled back. “And I dealt with them all.”
Sunbeam glanced at the door behind her, just a step away. She turned back to Zecora. “Look Zecora, I…”
Sunbeam recoiled backwards, half-lifting a hoof in front of her.
Zecora was silently watching her with glowing yellow eyes.
With her every movement was being closely followed, Sunbeam found her throat suddenly very dry. “I… ummm… Look I... uhh… I wouldn’t… uhh...”
Zecora stood up. “I do not enjoy the thought of having to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life, Miss Sunbeam. Wondering just where and when my end will come from. So I have decided to resolve that problem before it even starts.” She tilted her head. “You honestly thought I’d just… let you go?”
Sunbeam backed towards the door, her hoof blindly reaching out for the handle. “Look Zecora… I ummm… Look I ummm, promise not to…”
Zecora’s eyes glowed brighter. “No, Miss Flower, you will not sway me with words.” She smiled at Sunbeam’s startled intake of breath. “Yes, I do know your real name... Miss Singing Flower. And considering I already have some of your blood, it was easy to place an enchantment on you... and a curse. I shall always know just where you are, and if you try anything, the curse will activate." She pointed up at the walls. "And observe the curse’s effects.”
Sunbeam automatically looked up where Zecora was pointing and her ears folded flat against her head. Where the wooden masks had been, the faces of ponies looked back at her.
“L-look I won’t…”
The mask she was looking at, blinked.
Sunbeam slammed back against the door.
Zecora gestured around the walls. “Two unicorns, one earth pony, three changelings and a zebra from my own tribe would you believe? All of them tried to take my power from me at some point. Rest assured Miss Flower, if you try anything, you too shall join them.”
Sunbeam looked back at the glowing yellow eyes, her mouth opening and closing but no sound coming out.
Zecora stepped forward and Sunbeam cringed back.
“Be thankful Miss Flower that, unlike some, I have principles about doing such a thing.” She looked Sunbeam up and down appraisingly. “You would make a powerful totem Miss Flower. With all your hate and fear... you would make a very powerful totem indeed.” Leaning forward, she whispered into Sunbeam’s ear. “And considering that not many ponies would even notice you'd gone missing… Oh yes, you are a great temptation indeed.”
Turning her head away, Sunbeam whimpered as her hoof scrabbled around behind her, desperately trying to find the door handle.
“P-please… I promise... I promise...”
Zecora tapped a hoof on her chest, causing her to flinch. “Remember this above all else Miss Flower: there are two monsters in this hut right now. And I am more than willing to reduce that number to one.”
Sunbeam’s hoof finally found the handle.
***
Zecora stood there, listening to the sounds of galloping hooves getting fainter.
Her eyes no longer glowing, she looked up at her now wooden masks and bowed. “Thank you for that effective display my friends. At least this way, I have scared her out of trying anything that would require me to take more… drastic action against her.”
Lifting her head, she looked at each one in turn. “So thank you again my friends. I am most grateful.”
Zecora turned and walked out the door. Outside she looked around the clearing and sighed.
“I fear I will never see her again after that little… exercise. A thought which pains me, but a necessary sacrifice to save her.” Stopping, she looked up at the sky. "The sprout of friendship is still too weak and fragile for such a trial, and unfortunately, fear is the only thing that poor filly really understands. I did what was necessary."
Picking up a gardening hoe, she turned towards her herb garden. Stopping, Zecora shook her head. “Personally, I thought I oversold the act, but she seemed convinced enough.” A sly smiled formed. “And she honestly thinks that I was telling the truth about the poison? Of course such an affair would not work.”
She scanned her herb garden for any signs of weeds.
“And I have more than enough masks.”
***
Panting, Sunbeam slowed down to a walk.
The walk became a stagger.
Finally she stopped and collapsed onto the track, her legs splayed out. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she lay there.
“O-oh buck.”
Laying there, she took a swipe at a rock with a forehoof, sending it skipping off into the undergrowth.
Closing her eyes, she wrapped a hoof over them. “Annd I just remembered my saddlebags are still back there!”
There was a pause before she lifted her head. “Buck it, she can keep ‘em. They're just things and I can get some more made up easy enough. Just need to remember to ask for extra padding on the back.”
She rested there for a few moments before burying her face in the dirt.
“I woke up feeling so good today. I felt so good...”
***
Sunbeam trudged along the path lost in thought.
Suddenly stopping, she looked over her shoulder.
“You called me a monster! But hey, at least I’m not the one decorating my house with bits of ponies.”
Half-turning, she jabbed a hoof behind her. “So you’re the monster, not me! I'm not a monster.”
Her hoof fell, along with her head.
“I wouldn’t want to leave evidence laying around like that. But that’s beside the point.”
She rolled her shoulders and looked back up. “And at least I do try to make it quick. Mostly. And let’s not forget that you’re the one that’s poisoned me Miss Slow-and-painful. It’s me that can’t take any Slumber for a month. Do you have any idea what that’s going to do to me? Any idea...”
Her rear legs gave way and her flank landed heavily on the ground.
Sunbeam stared blankly forward. “I’d forgotten about that. I’d forgotten...”
Her throat felt dry again.
“A whole extra month! That’s too long! I’m going to remember long before I can stop it. I’m going to remember!”
She felt her heart start to thump painfully in her chest.
“I’m going to…”
Putting a hoof on her chest her breathing became shallow and fast.
“I’m going...”
The world started to spin and she began swaying unsteadily.
“‘I’m… I’m…”
Shivering, she looked down at herself.
“W-what's wrong with…?”
Her eyes went wide as clutched at her throat.
‘Can’t breathe! I Can’t...’
Sunbeam toppled sideways onto the track, fighting for breath.
***
Constable Walker knocked on the door of the last name on the list.
After a few minutes, a pegasus stallion opened the door and looked at him. “Hello?”
Walker looked down at the list. “Hello Mister... Thunderlane?”
“Err… Yeah?”
He put on his best smile as he put the list away. “I’m here on official guard business, Mr Thunderlane. Have you seen Miss Rainbow Dash in the last few days?”
Thunderlane immediately shook his head. “Nope. Haven’t seen her for quite a while now.”
Walker sighed, trying to hide his disappointment. “Oh well, thank you for your time. But on the off-chance you do see her, let her know that there is a chariot waiting to take her to Canterlot on bearer business. It’s parked by the mayor's office and the guards are stationed there from early morning to late evening. Any time after that and they are staying in ‘The Pony’s Leg’.
Thunderlane nodded. “Got it. If I see her I’ll tell her that.”
“Thank you.” Walker turned and spread his wings. Stopping, he looked over his shoulder. “Oh, by any chance you haven’t you seen a unicorn mare by the name of Miss Sunbeam around either?”
Lifting a hoof Thunderlane rubbed his chin. “Isn’t that the waitress down at ‘The Swift?”
Walker nodded.
“Not for a while. Cute flank. Terrifying, but a cute flank.”
“Well, if you see her, let somepony in the guard know as soon as possible. I think the princess wants to see her as well.”
***
Sunbeam lay on her back on the track, her hooves spread wide as she looked upwards. Her breathing was still a little ragged, but it had returned, almost, to normal by now.
As she lay there, she idly noted that the sun had moved from one side of the gap in the tree canopy to the other. She listened to the birds as she lay there.
Lifting her forehooves up to her eyes, she examined them. “Tingly, but at least they ain’t shaking now.”
She let them drop out to the sides and looked back up at the sky.
“Stress. That’s all it was, a bit of stress. It’s been a stressful month what with everything. And then Zecora... No! Everything had just built up inside me and it just needed to vent. That’s all it was, a one off event as I released stress. It's certainly a thing which won’t ever happen again. An event which I won’t let happen again.”
Grinding her teeth she closed her eyes. “An event... which I had in the middle of the bucking Everfree forest... you stupid bitch. How could you let that happen to you?” Lifting a hoof, she slammed it backwards into the ground. “Helpless! You let yourself be helpless again. Anything could have walked up and chowed down on you. You let yourself be helpless….”
There was a howl of a timberwolf off in the distance.
Lifting her head, she looked around. “Okay, freak out later. Get to safety now. Get up! C'mon get up. Get up you stupid mare! Get-yourself-bucking-up!”
Slowly, she rolled onto her stomach and stood up on wobbly legs.
“Forget about everything else right now! Just focus on getting home, focus on putting one hoof in front of the other. Once you’re home, then you can freak out, but until then, it's just one hoof in front of the other." She forced a smile. "And who knows, once I'm home maybe a few drinks will help me calm down.”
Sunbeam lifted her head as the smile turned genuine. “Yes! That’s it! Once I have a few drinks in me, I’ll relax.” The smile grew. “Yeah, that’s all I need, a little R and R and I’ll be a lot better. I just need a chance to calm down and get my act together, chance to chill myself out." She lifted her head. "A beer and pizza night! Oh yeah, that sounds soooo good. A night off with beer and pizza that's what I need. I'll... I'll deal with everything else later.”
She felt some tension ease from her shoulders.
“That was just some stress venting. I just need to keep myself relaxed... and such a thing won’t ever happen again."
With her legs still a little shaky, she set off.
“It won’t happen again.”
“It won’t…”
"It won't..."
***
Thunderlane closed the door and a voice called out from the kitchen.
“You think Sunbeam’s got a cute flank? Do not let her hear you say that.”
He looked around to see Rainbow walking out of the kitchen, a heavily bandaged wing pinned to her side.
He nodded towards the door. “You heard all that?”
Her head dropped. “Yeah. Thanks for covering for me. I’m not ready to go see the others right now. I just need some time to get my head sorted out.”
Thunderland stepped forward. “I don’t like lying to the guard Rainbow, however, you can stay here for as long as you like.”
She nodded. “Thanks. I’ll go as soon as my head’s clear. I just don’t feel I should be around them right now. I feel…” Sitting back, she rubbed her forehead. “Ugh, why is it so hard to put what I’m feeling into words?”
Thunderlane stepped forward and put a wing on her back “But personally, I do think it would be good idea to go see the Princess. She and your friends could help you.”
Rainbow shook her head. “No! I can do this by myself! I…” Her head fell. “I don’t want them to see me like this. All weak and…”
Thunderland leaned in. “Do you know you were calling out in your sleep last night? I could hear you in the next room.”
Rainbow’s head snapped up, “I… I keep hearing the crunch when that guy hit the wall. I keep hearing it! I just need some time to get myself together before I go see the princess. I just need some time. I don’t want them to see me like this, all broken and…" She stamped a hoof. "I'm supposed to be the tough one.”
Thunderlane pulled her head round with a wing to look her in the eyes. “You’re not broken Rainbow. Troubled, but not broken. And being tough doesn’t mean not asking for help, sometimes it means the exact opposite. I’m sure the princess, and your friends will help you, you’re an Element Bearer and a Wonderbolt for buck’s sake. Of course they’ll do everything they can to help you.”
Rainbow sighed. “This is so un-awesome. I’m sure they're all dealing with this way better than me.”
Thunderlane leaned in. “Do you think Scootaloo will copy you if she sees you not asking for help when she really needs it? Maybe next time she might try to tough it out when she really needs medical help. She might end up going to the hospital too late and...”
A hoof thrust into his mouth cut him off and Rainbow gave him a glare. “Low Thunderlane. That was low.”
Both looked at each other until Rainbow slumped and took her hoof away. “Fine, I’ll go tomorrow morning. Tonight though, I’m going to see if I can find Sunbeam.”
She smiled wanly. “The princess probably just wants to give Sunbeam a medal or something for helping us. So I’m gonna try and get her to tag along as well.”
***
Sitting there Sunbeam stared at all the fallen trees, some of which lay across the track.
She stared at the trees she'd felled on the way to Zecora's.
Her eyes darting around, Sunbeam stood up and hesitantly made her way towards them.
All her previous worries were now replaced by a single one.
“He’s not here. He was never here. I was sleep deprived and had a hallucination. That’s all it was. He was never here. Greywing was never…”
She stopped mid stride as she felt her hackles rise.
"He's not here! He's..."
Sunbeam broke into a full gallop, clearing the first fallen tree in a single bound. Without breaking stride, she cleared all the other fallen trees lying across the track like the best of show jumpers.
She didn’t stop galloping until she was clear out of the forest and nearly back in Ponyville.
***
Sharp Fang looked up at the two scouts as they stood in front of him.
“Report.”
One turned and pointed behind him. “There’s a hut, about half a kilometer south-west from here. One zebra mare, who was gardening when we found her. We withdrew without incident as soon as we saw her shaman markings. She didn't see us.”
Sharp Fang nodded. “Good, we don’t want to go messing with any bucking zebra shamans right now. We used up too much magic getting through this damned forest already. And too many ponies.” Taking a breath to calm himself, he looked up at them. “Go get some chow and rest up. You’ll be out again tonight doing a preliminary recon of the target zone. Good work both of you.”
“Sir.”
After they had left, Quick Blade, who'd standing to one side, stepped forward holding a note. “Camp is set up and all guards and wards are in place. We’re also close enough to the edge of the Everfree for messages to get through now, sir.” He looked down at the note. “It appears that the princesses have been cured. But, they are still suffering the aftereffects of the cure, so they’re not up to full power yet. Our orders state that we are to proceed, but with extreme caution. We are to abort if we even think we’re about to be discovered. Also, further updates from Canterlot Castle are not to be expected. Effective counter-espionage is now being employed and all assets are either being withdrawn or going into deep hibernation.”
Sharp Fang nodded. “Understood. So let’s not get caught then.” He smiled. “Okay Quick, I want you to make sure everypony is well rested and fed tonight. I want everypony’s ‘A’ game for what's coming.”
"Sir." Quick Blade nodded and left.
Looking away a determined expression settled on Sharp Fangs face. ‘Close, so close I can feel you little sister.’ He smiled. ‘Please hang on just a little bit longer Icefang, big brother is coming to take you home.’ His expression darkened. ‘And I swear I’ll destroy anything, kill anything, that gets in the way of that! I’m bringing my blood sister home no matter what.’
***
Listed Scrolls lay down in his cramped cage with the sun low in the sky. He glanced at the weakened hinge on the door and carefully kept his face blank. One good push was all it needed and it would fail.
There was nothing else to do now but wait for the right moment.
Closing his eyes, he settled down to sleep, a content smile on his face.
***
Sunbeam glared out at Ponyville’s marketplace from the shadows of the alleyway. While it was getting late and the sun was low in the sky, there was still a lot of ponies around.
She looked out at all the ponies in the marketplace.
She found herself watching one pony in particular. She’d walk from stall to stall with a basket in her mouth and each time she stopped, she’d smile and chat to the stall holder for a bit. She’d even stop and wave with a smile at ponies between stalls, and they’d smile and return the wave back.
Turning her head, she looked over her shoulder at herself; at her battered and bruised body; at the burn marks where her cutie marks should have been. She lifted a hoof up to touch her half-ear, then to touch the notch in her horn.
She looked back out at all the ponies, laughing and gossiping as they bought their groceries.
Her hoof fell limply from her horn as her ears folded flat.
After a second she stood up, turned, and headed back into the shadows without a sound.