It took Princess Luna and her team, along with Celestia pushing ten more ponies into the mix, almost five days to find the information. As fast as they found it, Twilight would receive it and she would call Rescue over.
Now, it was all hooves on deck. Stacks and stacks of newspapers, including forty boxes of files, all packed into the room they were using in the princess’ castle. The map had many new pins on it, strings of all colors of the rainbow ran here and there in what looked at first to be a haphazard. Only on a closer look would one see the patterns there.
Rescue yawned and took a sip of coffee as he glanced up and blinked. “Sun is coming up, we have been at this all night,” his ears laid down. “That means... today is…”
Fluttershy gave a little soft squeak. “Day thirty-two,” finishing the big draft stallion's sentence for him. “But, we have still not found who it is. We still have six ponies who it might be.”
Applejack sat down with a huff and slammed her hoof into the floor. “Darn it all, if this ain’t as hard as findin' a needle in a haystack.”
Twilight frowned. “Girls, we have to keep going. It's in here, we just have to find the right bit of information.”
They all exhaled deeply and got back to work, thankful that Spike was bringing them coffee and food as they poured through the mounds of paperwork. It was around seven in the morning when suddenly, for no, reason Ailan’s wings snapped out and he let out a loud snarl. He said nothing, he looked at no one, he just spun and shot up, and like an arrow, he crashed through the window near the top of the room and was gone just like that.
Rescue cried out with wide-eyes. “Ailan!” as the mares all looked up, shocked at the sound and sight of falling glass. Rescue just blinked and looked at the now-broken window. His head turned and he looked where Ailan had been sitting.
“You want me to chase him down?” Rainbow Dash piped up.
The big draft shook his head and walked over slowly to the pile of paperwork and folders. ”To what end, Rainbow? We need to find out why he left like that,” flipping through them, looking, flipping back. What could have made him so mad? What could have sent someone so peaceful into a rage like that?
It took all of them pouring through the pile almost ten minutes before Rescue opened one folder. His eyes looked over it, then the color ran from his face. His ears going flat, his mouth falling open a bit, before he whispered. “N-no. We have to find him, we have to stop him,” looking up at the confusion on all the mares' faces. “He is going to kill him.”
Turning the folder around, showing them all, Twilight's eyes went wide, then Applejack’s. The other girls didn’t understand at first. Rescue opened another folder and the light of understanding came to them, too... then the look of horror as they all scrambled.
“Rescue, we will find him first. Come on, girls, we have to!” Twilight called out as she took to the air and out through the broken window. The others ran out the door with Rescue at their hinds, following the princess out.
---
Almost half an hour later, they had found where Ailan was. Rather it was someone who had called in a report of yelling and fighting to the guards that found them. The girls and he had raced with all their might.
It was Applejack and Rescue who crashed through a doorway to see bedlam. Ailan’s eyes were red with rage, his forehooves lifted as he reared back above a grey unicorn, who’s flank bore the mark of a stone split in half with flame, intent on crushing the life out of the stallion on the floor.
The room, what appeared to be a basement of some kind, was destroyed. Broken boxes, chairs, and glass were all over. The heavy stench of some sort of paint thinner or varnish hung in the air. There in the corner was a set of floorboards missing, and even a casual glance could see it was filled with jars of some kind of fluid...and three bright yellow boxes with ‘Funtimeco’ printed in bright red on them.
Rescue could see the unicorn was in bad shape already. The unicorn's left eye was swelled shut, his muzzle broken, but what was the worst by far? His horn was snapped off mid way up, the raw nerves exposed, blood welled up and ran down the unicorn's face from it. There was blood everywhere, some on Ailan’s hooves, a gash along the pegasus’ side said he had not escaped this fight unharmed.
Applejack wasted not a second of time, bashing into Ailan, using her shoulder, with all her might to knock him away, Rescue in second place, both landing on Ailan pinning him to the ground near the corner of the room. The big-winged pegasus was enraged and far stronger than usual. He thrashed bellowing out.
“No! He killed one of us, he dies!”
Rescue let out a sob, not once had he seen this side of his husband. Never had he seen such anger, so much rage from the peaceful and kind pony. Ailan continued to thrash and try to get away as others rushed in. Twilight in the lead, two guards with her, saw what was going on. Her constitution failed, and she turned her head and heaved, upchucking breakfast across the floor.
Applejack slapped her hoof into the pegasus’ head. “Darn it, Ailan, quit! Look around, he is down, he ain’t getting up. Look what you are doin' to Rescue!”
While the gray unicorn was already being held down by the two guards and Pinkie, who was suddenly just there and sitting on him, her mane flat as can be. Ailan looked up slowly, the red starting to fade from his eyes, seeing his husband. His quiet, set in his ways, earth pony stallion.
Tears ran down Rescue's cheeks even as he lay there on top of Ailan helping to hold him down. Eyes shut tight, ears flat, he didn’t hear Ailan’s voice beg the apple mare to get off him. He didn’t feel Applejack shift some, the first thing he knew was being held in an embrace.
---
Rescue sat pressed close to Ailan, who had a long bandage along his side, and thirty-one stitches beneath. He would not flying for a few weeks, and he was under orders from the doctors to not work. The pegasus was looking down at the ground, lost for the moment. The big brown stallion stayed quiet. Ailan had apologized a million times, and a million times Rescue had forgiven him.
Looking down the hall where no less than four of the Celestial guards stood in the hall, both knew another four of the Lunar guards were inside, watching the prisoner. Princess Twilight had placed him under arrest even before they had started first aid and transported him here.
“I... I can’t believe it was Point Break the whole time. I mean, Granite, Red, and I have worked with the guy for over ten years, Res. Ten years, and the guy was going out and…he killed ponies, Res... why?”
The earth stallion hooked his leg around his husband once more, with a light touch. “I... don’t know the answer to that, Ailan, I wish I did. I have no clue, but, something is broken in that pony. Something is… “ he exhaled.
“While you were in surgery, I had to clear the house for the guards. We found over three-hundred jars of tetrahydrofuran, two full boxes of over three-hundred yellow balloons, and the rest of his burn kit. We found…”
The stallion shut his mouth and closed his eyes. Ailan was pressing harder to him, but it was a noise, a throat cleared near him that made Rescue look up and open his eyes again, finding himself staring upon three alicorns, why was he not surprised?
Celestia had a very sad look in her eyes, it was clear she was upset. Luna, on the other hoof, looked angry, a righteous kind of rage burned in her eyes. Poor Twilight, she just looked tired, dragged out tired. It was the huge alabaster alicorn that spoke.
“Chief, I know this is trying for everypony, but, please. Could you fill us in on what you found?”
He gave a bit of a nod and shut his eyes. “Souvenirs, Princess, small keepsakes that look to have been taken from every fire this pony set. I stopped counting them when I got to fifty-six of them,” he said, looking up at the three, making eye contact mainly with Luna but speaking to them all.
“Small children's toys, adult jewelry, little knick-knacks,” he continued, shutting his eyes tight, a sob almost strangled him and he felt the touch of hooves on his shoulders and a hug around his waist. He finally took a shuttering breath. “Archer’s badge.”
A gasp, a stomp of a hoof, and a tiny sob made him open his eyes again to see all three princesses beyond shocked and upset. Luna lowered her head, and before her sister could speak, she said in a soft, firm voice.
“We promise you this, Chief Sunstreak. He will never hurt another pony again. He will stand trial for his crimes.”
In a voice as tiny as a foals, he whispered out, making both Celestia and Twilight lift their eyebrows.
“Thank you, my princess.”
It was Luna who lifted her hoof and set it on his shoulder once more. “Nay, Rescue, it is we who thank you. Without your work, how many more would have known the pain of loss?”
Deep inside his mind, the voice spoke up. The hated voice, spoke words that were perhaps true, and perhaps even a shock to him.
“She is right, for once, you did good.”
He just gave a shudder and leaned all the harder into his husband.