Pony Watch

by AppleBandit

Chapter III: Close Encounters of a Shadowy Nature

Twilight Sparkle snorted loudly as a knock woke her from her sleep. A line of drool snapped as it was broken between her lips and the Watch manual she'd been determined to study. She frantically tried to find a clock or some indication of the time it was. The lamp still burned on her desk and as she sleepily looked towards the window she saw the sun hadn't come up yet. It was still the middle of the night. Behind her, she heard the snores of Spike who muttered and turned over, clutching his blanket tighter. Twilight rubbed her face and looked back to the door.

"Come," she said silently as the door squeaked open slowly. Through the crack, Applejack popped her head in curiously.

"Evenin' ma'am, thought you'd gone to bed," she said before walking in fully.

"N-No, I was up going over a few things," Twilight said looking to the book that had become her pillow temporarily. Only on the first chapter and she'd already drifted off. She ran a hoof along her mane and sighed. "What about you, what are you doing here so late?"

"I'm on night's watch ma'am," she said with a grin. "I came in for a quick break before patrol an' saw fresh coffee along with th' light comin' from th' bottom of yer door. Thought somethin' was wrong."

"Nothing wrong, not exactly," Twilight said now focused on the drool stain she left behind.

"I got a bit before I start another patrol, ya'll got somethin' ya need off yer chest?" Applejack asked moving to the front of the desk with a look of concern.

"Well," Twilight began, her voice trailing off trying to figure out if she should.

"Ya'll can trust me, Cap'n," Applejack nodded firmly.

"I just have no idea why I'm here, Sergeant," Twilight said. "Princess Celestia sent me here thinking that I’ll still be really good at keeping things in tidy order and making schedules and organizing. I just don't feel like I am anymore. I have no idea how to do anything of a police nature, I even fell asleep trying to read the manual in hopes it would give me some guidance. Now I've got nothing but a headache and a bunch of ponies I know nothing about and have no direction to give them. It feels like you and Sergeant Rainbow Dash are the only ones I can count on, but that's not enough."

"Well ma'am, yer not th' first they sent here from Canterlot," Applejack said, trying to be as comforting as she could.

"What did the other captains do?" Twilight asked, now genuinely curious.

"At first there was Cap'n Midnight, he formed the Watch on order from the Princess after all the kidnappin's a year ago. He fell down a well. Then there was Cap'n Shines, she was a good one, jus' a shame about th' manticore gobblin' her up. Then there was Cap'n Boltrider who was th' last one. He got done in by his wife."

Twilight winced at the grisly tale of the last few captains before her. "That's rather unsettling."

"To be honest ma'am, we weren't expectin' another cap'n to get assigned to us," Applejack said.

"Well, here I am now," she said bringing her eyes back to the desk. "For who knows how long. I was so certain this was an animal attack or something."

"Well, Constable Fluttershy prolly woulda told us if it was an animal."

"Of course," Twilight replied thinly, exasperation washing over her. She rested her head on the desk and idly rubbed her head. The two sat in silence for a few moments before Applejack turned and began to walk towards the door. She halted as soon as she got to it though, and turned a bit.

"Sergeant Rainbow Dash an' I are here if ya'll need us, ma'am. Don't you worry none, we'll figure this case out."

"Oh, Sergeant," Twilight said, looking up to her for a moment.

"Ma'am?"

"I'm assuming with the night watch, you won't be here tomorrow, will you?"

"No ma'am, at least one day for recovery."

"Right, of course," Twilight said.

With that, Applejack was out the door and down the stairs leaving Twilight in her office with her head still on the book. What she hadn't wanted to say all this time she let out to someone she'd only known for a day and a half. She hated admitting when she was in over her head, but this was different. At one point she wouldn't have been this disorganized and all over the place. Of course, she wasn't facing a kidnapper then.

If this were the old days, she'd have read every last book she could get her hooves on about the Watch and know it front to back. She would know every last detail of how to work a job like this and wouldn't feel as lost as everyone else she seemed to work with. She felt like she was being swallowed alive by some terrible, remorseless creature. Her hooves moved to her face as her eyes turned back to the book in front of her.

She would have to figure something out. Go by it step by step until she got her groove back. She had to keep in mind just how important this all was. Ponies were missing, their lives were in her hooves as well as the rest of the Watch. That thought alone was enough to frighten her a tad. It was the way things were though, no matter how terrifying it may seem that they were what would stand between injustice and society crumbling around them.

Hours soon began to crawl by as Twilight flipped through the book. With every page, information was devoured by her brain. She felt renewed again! She felt like this would be it, that she would no doubt learn all she could. She seethed with a new purpose. Each bit of new knowledge planted in her mind as she tore through the book. She took a sip of the cool coffee next to her and recoiled. She'd need a fresh cup to continue. With a nod, she grabbed the cup and took it with her downstairs to refill it.

Twilight felt herself suddenly jostled from sleep by tiny clawed hands. She blinked and snorted, her head rising from her desk once more, another line of drool snapping between her and the book. Letting out a sudden, unintelligible grunt, she slammed her head down onto the book and released a muffled scream. Spike, through all this, recoiled in the thought she might try to throw him again.

"Spike," she muttered from the book.

"Yes, Twilight?" he asked, looking for the nearest convenient cover.

"What time is it?"

"Seven-thirty in the morning."

Twilight looked to Spike as he recoiled again. She had bags beneath her eyes and her hair was completely frizzed. To Spike, she looked like the kind of pony you see hiding in a dark alley wondering whose head would look the best for her collection. It was possible Twilight felt that way as well given how exhausted she was. None of last night had gone the way she wanted and she was no closer to figuring out what to do with the day. There was evidence to go over, but it wasn't very much. A torn piece of cloth was the equivalent of finding a discarded wrapper in Twilight's eyes. Still, she couldn’t discredit it.

After some grooming and making herself somewhat presentable, she popped on her breastplate and begrudgingly rested the helmet on her head. With a nod of affirmation in the mirror, she turned to head down the stairs. Sergeant Rainbow Dash was already downstairs and waiting. She fluttered into the air and puffed out her chest to give a sharp salute which Twilight returned in kind.

"Ma'am, good to see you up this morning," she said still floating in the air.

"You as well Sergeant, how did you sleep?" Twilight asked, trying to at least feign interest and some modicum of friendliness.

"Like a foal, ma'am," Rainbow Dash answered sharply.

Twilight nodded before letting out a long yawn, grabbing a cup of coffee to aid her in waking up. She turned to see the door opening as the miracle liquid ran down her throat with a lovely warming sensation. Fluttershy made her way in meekly, being greeted by an eyeroll from Sergeant Rainbow Dash and a nod by Captain Twilight. She nodded and sat off to the side silently before Twilight moved over towards her and cleared her throat. The response given was Fluttershy promptly standing up and nervously giving a salute.

"N-No need for that Constable, merely coming over to see how your evening was," Twilight said, wondering just what the pony wasn't afraid of.

"It uhm, it was fine," she said, shrinking away a bit.

"Oh, come now Constable, no need to be shying away from me," Twilight said, finding it in herself to sound cheerful. "After all, we're working together here and it helps to know one another a bit, eh?"

Fluttershy nodded, now staying quiet and curled up in her own little ball. Twilight held her smile somehow as she turned away and walked back to the desk. She turned her eyes up towards it, noticing the big "Welcome" sign she'd seen from the night before was still hanging up. Her mouth opened and closed as though words were desperately trying to climb out. All she could do was point at it and look back to the two officers with her.

"Oh, that's been there, ma'am," Rainbow Dash said. "It wasn't just hung up because you were coming in."

"Why do we have a welcome sign on our front desk?" Twilight sputtered.

"Constable Pinkie Pie added it; said it would make people more welcome when they walked in."

"Does it?" Twilight asked desperately.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Not sure, ma'am. I think most people ignore it when they come in. If they come in."

Twilight groaned as the door opened and Corporal Rarity along with Corporal Derpy walked in. Twilight turned her eyes to the giant clock just above the desk, taking note it was five minutes till. She took another sip to calm her frayed nerves before the door swung open to streamers and balloons flying in. Constable Pinkie Pie grinned wide as she strolled in and greeted the Watch with a bright cheer of "Hello!"

With everyone now assembled, Rainbow Dash did her usual of lining everyone up and calling them to attention. Twilight finished up her coffee and took over, stepping in front of the group. She looked them over for a brief moment, taking note they'd actually brought their truncheons (or tree branch in Derpy's case) and manuals stuffed in their breastplates.

"Well, it seems everyone is here and on time and has brought what I asked them," she began. "Which is good, because that means we can go straight into our lesson for today. You all managed to get your uniforms in order and looking somewhat decent. You look like the Watch, but now you need to act like the Watch."

"Yes ma'am!" they said.

"We're going to go over proper procedure for arresting a suspect. Corporal Derpy, Sergeant Rainbow Dash, front and center. Right, now turn to face the group, good. Sergeant, the Corporal here is your suspect. It's suspected she stole food from a vendor, now, show me the proper way of dealing with this."

Rainbow Dash nodded and in the blink of an eye she tackled Derpy to the ground and was pulling at her mane. Derpy flailed beneath her, trying to wiggle out from under the mare as she cried out from her mane being pulled. Twilight smacked herself on her forehead with her hoof at the display.

"Right, break it up!" Twilight shouted as Rainbow moved away from Derpy, who was tenderly rubbing her head. "Sergeant, you cannot be serious!"

"She stole ma'am, that's a pretty big offense!" Rainbow Dash replied proudly.

"I said she was suspected of stealing, not that she had actually stolen anything! For all you know you just attacked an innocent person on their way to take flowers to their sick Gran! Now they're going to get to their Gran and have her worried about the bruises and distinct lack of hair in one part of their mane!"

"Yes ma'am!" Rainbow Dash said before picking Derpy up and setting her right on her hooves. "Apologies ma'am, have a nice day and say hello to your Gran for me."

"Oh, it's quite all right," Derpy said, still rubbing her head.

"This isn't quite the point I was getting at, Sergeant," Twilight said with a sigh. "Back in line, Corporal Rarity and Constable Fluttershy, you're up."

Derpy and Rainbow Dash fluttered back towards the line as Rarity and Fluttershy took their place. Twilight thought for a moment before grinning and nodding.

"We'll do something simple. Rarity has just had something stolen from her shop, Constable Fluttershy, you're patrolling when she flags you down to tell you. Show me how you handle the situation."

Rarity and Fluttershy stared at one another for a moment before Rarity suddenly flopped onto her back dramatically and began sobbing.

"Oh officer!" she mewled. "It's so dreadfully terrible! All of my dresses were stolen from me and taken for some nefarious ne'er-do-well's plot! No doubt to take over all of Ponyville with high fashion!"

Fluttershy blinked for a few moments at Rarity who beckoned her to do something.

"O-Oh, that's terrible," Fluttershy muttered, eliciting groans from her peers.

Rarity stared back at her blankly before she spun onto her stomach and reached up to pull Fluttershy down to her level. "You must help me, officer! For if I do not get those dresses back I will surely lose my shop and my poor sick mum will kick the bucket! She's all I have left in this cruel world! Please, officer! Plu-lee-hee-hease!"

"Um, o-okay," Fluttershy said meekly before Twilight let out a grunt.

"While not as violent as Sergeant Rainbow Dash's approach, still not good enough Constable," Twilight said, rubbing her temples. "Far too timid, you need to be able to question somepony about what happened. Get some leads, find some evidence, something!"

Twilight felt proud of herself there, sounding a bit more like a true copper. Granted, she was really going off of what would make sense at the time, but she decided to cash in early before she got in over her head with questions.

"Sergeant Rainbow Dash, go over proper procedure when handling the general public if you would be so kind. I will perform a patrol to make certain something else hasn't happened while we've been here."

Rainbow Dash saluted crisply as they got their manuals out to the proper pages. Twilight could use this opportunity to not only patrol, but also find a quiet place to read herself. As she looked about, she noted that Ponyville seemed less lively than when she'd first arrived. Perhaps after so many kidnappings ponies were finally staying indoors unless necessary. A twinge of pity came over Twilight for a brief moment before she shook her head and trotted off to find herself a tree.

They weren't in short supply, the trees. But there had to be the perfect one that offered that proper balance of shade and light. She came upon what looked to be a park and grinned, finally, a nice place to settle down and relax. The manual floated out of her breastplate and settled on the ground before her. Resting herself on the ground, she flipped through a few pages to get to the chapter the others were working.

Her eyes ran along the page, focusing on the contents of the rather dry read. The information was certainly useful, proper use of truncheon, simple questions to ask during investigations of theft, kidnappings, vandalism, even public displays of indecency whatever indecency meant in a society that often lacked clothing. It all seemed rather interesting, enough to give her a bit of a twinge at the back of her head. It was a twinge she hadn't felt for a while. A need to learn things, a desire to know everything in and out.

She felt her heart start to race as that feeling overwhelmed her. Time started to slip by and the world fell away beneath the tree. Page after page was read, her eyes streaking over every word. There was a smile on her face, a genuine happy smile. All good things must come to an end, however as the sound of a stick breaking behind her brought her away from the book. She looked around trying to place the sound, behind her were a few trees and bushes but nothing much else. Another snap made her get to her hooves, however.

"Who's there?" she demanded. She scanned the trees and bushes, trying to find some sign of life. Seeing nothing, however, she planted herself back onto the ground and huffed a bit. She continued to read until another snap brought her right back to her hooves and looking for movement around her. She packed up the book, sliding it back into her breastplate and slowly backed away nervously. No one could possibly be daft enough to try and capture her, right?

Another snap of twigs caused an eruption of magic to fly from her horn into the area. The bush smoked from a hole now dead center of it. Up from the hole poked a mouse who seemed to be shouting at her and shaking its little fist. If Fluttershy had been here, she would no doubt be disappointed in the creature's potty mouth, but Twilight could only assume the horrid things spewing from the tiny maw. She quickly apologized and trotted off, certain the mouse had said something to the effect of "Swear on me mum I'll deck you!"

Twilight was a bit frayed, now looking about the town for any sign of a creeping shadow or pony with a crooked eye and more scars than strands of hair. She saw nothing, but the feeling of eyes on her was undeniable. She walked along the road with a frown on her face back towards the Watch house. Something was awfully wrong.

**********

As Twilight passed by the buildings and homes, a black robed pony was pressed against a wall trying to keep out of sight. A slow sigh escaped from beneath the darkened hood as it made a mad dash towards the park where Twilight had been. It looked around and saw no one around before peering down into the bushes.

"You alright, Shadow Four?" the hooded figure asked seeing the other pressed as close to the ground as possible without actually digging a hole.

"She nearly took my head off!" Shadow Four exclaimed.

"Thankfully she didn't, I'm going to need you for tomorrow!"

"Is it time for step two, Shadow Three?" Shadow Four asked with a grin, sliding within the darkness of the hood.

"As soon as Shadow Six makes the last 'napping tonight," Shadow Three said. The two of them gave one another a pat on the back as they galloped away before someone caught them. After all, two hooded figures chuckling to one another beneath a tree in the middle of a park would be more than enough to put anyone off.

**********

Twilight finished the patrol and began to return to the Watch house. The patrol had done wonders for her nerves, though there was still the nagging feeling of eyes and the world peering down onto her. She had managed to find other places to stop and read, but every time she stopped she was certain someone was watching. It was comforting to at least be back at the Watch house. As the door open, Twilight trotted in and took a breath to say something.

"Stop right where you are!" Fluttershy shouted suddenly, startling Twilight and making her stop right where she was and sit right down. "O-Oh! Sorry ma'am, I didn't mean to give you a fright, only practicing."

"No no, it's fine Constable, that was very good," Twilight said still stunned from the shouting. The group gave her curious gazes before Rarity cleared her throat.

"Ma'am, are you feeling alright?" she asked.

"Yes, just a long patrol, lots of questions asked about our kidnapper," she said with a slight smile, hoping none of them caught the sudden nature of the answer or the high pitch she'd just used.

"We were just finishing up," Rainbow Dash said, changing the subject with a proud grin.

Twilight nodded, looking over the other ponies. They certainly seemed to have worked up a sweat and looked worn in. In her mind, this was how a proper copper looked. Rugged but gentle, almost like the burly gentlecolt at a seedy bar who kisses the hooves of ladies daintily. She was very pleased despite the overall feeling of nerves attempting to uncoil. She looked up to the clock; another day had passed her by it seemed. With a nod, she turned back to them and was quite surprised by the next words that tumbled out of her mouth.

"So, what is everypony doing afterwards?"

The group looked stunned and stared silently at one another.

"Well, we were thinking of going to The Dancing Mare, save for Corporal Rarity who has night's watch," Rainbow Dash said, finding a cure for the sudden case of slack-jaw.

"Is that a bar?" Twilight inquired a bit too happily.

"Yes, it's a cider bar just outside of town," Rainbow Dash said.

Twilight swooned to herself. She hadn't had a drop of the good stuff since she'd left Canterlot and it would be just the thing for those frazzled nerves. A lovely drink, a team building experience, a chance to get to know her colleagues a bit better. Dear Celestia, what was she thinking? Only this morning she'd wanted to string them all up and now she was prepared to go and drink with them? Oh, right, that was the key word. Drink! The answer to many of nature’s quandaries.

"Suppose I'll slip out of uniform and, erm, join you then," Twilight nodded and turned to trot up the stairs gleefully. The other ponies looked to one another, exchanging worried glances. They felt as though their Captain had been replaced somewhere along the way. With shrugs being passed around though, they too made their way out the door save Rarity, who made her way back to the desk and began to go over her Watch manual.

The Dancing Mare was the sort of place where one would expect the panes of glass to be replaced after every drink service from bodies flying through them. The truth of the matter was despite its appearance as a dive bar, it was a rather relaxed atmosphere. Of course, the bar owner keeping a few unicorns around adept at shearing a sheep from five hundred meters with nary a glance was always a good deterrent from fights breaking out.

Twilight had made her way down the rough path to the bar, taking note of the rather rustic look. She could practically smell the cider in the air, making her head swim. She felt lighter than air entering the establishment, though that could have been the thick atmosphere of musk and testosterone. The other Watchmares flagged her down to a corner table as she entered. With a smile, she crossed the room towards them, attempting to avoid the other patrons.

"Hullo Cap'n," Derpy said with a lazy salute.

"Evening all," Twilight said, climbing neatly onto the bench next to Pinkie Pie and resting her hooves on the table. "Shame Corporal Rarity couldn't join us."

"She never comes out with us when we do these get togethers," Rainbow Dash said with a snort.

"Oh?" Twilight asked curiously.

"Says these places are, how'd it go?" she asked herself before primping her hair and affecting the best impression of Rarity she could. "Full of nothing but ruffians and beasts looking to take advantage of some poor inebriated mare!"

The group gave a chuckle, Twilight joining in awkwardly.

"Well, she does seem a pony of high standards," Twilight said with a nod, trying to make the awkward go away. It did with the appearance of the waitress who giggled and twirled her mane.

"Hey! Welcome to the Dancing Mare, what can I getcha?" she asked in a bubbly tone.

"Five ciders!" Pinkie exclaimed as though she fed off the mare's bubbly nature.

"Five ciders, you got it!" the waitress exclaimed before sulking off muttering something about a bloody dunderhead or some such.

Twilight looked about at the patrons of the bar, taking note of the number of ponies she'd seen during her patrol the other day. It seemed to her that the ones speaking the most of Nightmare Moon's return were here and from the looks of things already sauced. This made her grin inwardly. What made her grin outwardly was the cider suddenly slid in front of her and the bubbly waitress storming off in a hurry.

She grasped the handle with her hoof and took a deep smell of the amber liquid. It was practically heaven within a cup. Before she could even get a drop inside her waiting mouth, Rainbow Dash rose her mug skyward.

"To our new Captain!" she shouted, which lead Twilight to halt and be part of the toast. Finally she could drink deep from the elixir of life she held. It was pleasant at first, everything she could have hoped. That was until the bite hit. It was like being sucker punched by a boxer then thrown down a cliff to add insult to injury. She coughed and twisted her face as the burn clawed all the way down her throat. This, of course, meant laughter roared around the table before Pinkie Pie rose her mug.

"To Applejack and her family's amazing cider!" she cheered, which had them all taking drinks of their cider and Twilight attempting to right herself from the unsteady feeling it gave her. She continued to cough and stand from the table to go find a washroom. Her everything felt like it was either tingling or on fire, so when she bumped into a black cloaked stallion, she thought nothing of it. Neither did the black cloaked figure, who ducked into the back of the bar swiftly after the encounter.

From the washroom, Twilight coughed and hacked, trying to get water out of the tap and splash it in her mouth and on her face. It was nothing at all that she'd expected, it tasted so foul and bitter. She had always been used to perhaps, softer ciders that you have eight of before you feel the world properly spinning beneath your hooves. She groaned and continued to splash water on her face in hopes that would have some effect other than getting her very wet.

**********

The back door of the bar opened and into the night stepped the bubbly waitress that had served Twilight and her colleagues. She sulked and pressed herself against the back wall with a sigh, staring up towards the moon. She examined it for a few moments, before a shooting star streaked just above it.

"Berry Punch, just what are you doing here?" she asked herself with a sigh. "You should have moved when you had the chance. Gone to Manehatten, become a star, not have to act like an idiot just to make other idiots feel good about themselves."

Her eyes came down from the moon before they rested on a cart. The back had barrels resting on it that she identified as the cider they pumped into their patrons every night. She curiously turned her head and walked over to them. That was off, generally it was here earlier to drop off the barrels before drink service. It was only when she got closer that things got decidedly dark.

She tried to scream, only to find a hoof over her mouth and herself tossed into the back of the cart. She managed a scream before hitting the back of the cart. That was when things got especially dark and fuzzy for poor Berry Punch. The last thing she remembered was the cart being pulled away.

**********

The scream had echoed into the bar, causing Twilight to burst from the washroom. Her associates were already crowding out of the door and she with them. They looked around the darkness before a shadowy figure bolted from the trees nearby. Rainbow Dash was the first one to go flying towards it, only to go soaring right through it. She looked about confused before another broke out from the trees and took off towards the town.

"Sergeant! That way!" Twilight cried out as Rainbow took flight once more to go after the hooded pony. Twilight and the others scrambled into the street to give chase as well but with Rainbow's speed it was like a snail catching up to a cheetah.

"Captain, what now?" Fluttershy asked.

"You and Derpy get in the air, see what you can see and if you happen to see Rarity get her back to the Watch house to hunker down in case of a riot. Pinkie, you stay here and question every last person in this place, I want names, what they saw, heard smelled, the whole bloody thing! I'll chase after the Sergeant."

Without a word they flew and galloped in their different directions. Twilight turned her eyes to the sky to watch a rainbow trail streak the sky and headed after it.

Rainbow Dash soared above the rooftops nearly taking them off as she tried to keep up with the pony on the run. Every twist and turn saw Rainbow slowing down and quickly trying to regain her speed. This pony was good at evasion, but Rainbow Dash wasn't so quick to let go. She flew just above the pony and glowered.

"Stop, in the name of the law!" Rainbow shouted before the pony turned another corner. She grit her teeth as she slowed and turned harshly. Her wings burned as she cut the air with them. No more alleys though. Nowhere for the pony to run. Rainbow flew straight at them, the distance closing fast before suddenly a puff of smoke erupted right before her face. She let out a shriek, trying to stop quickly but simply couldn't.

Suddenly, she felt the ground being dug up by her hooves as they were dragged along it. She tumbled wildly before crashing straight into a pile of crates. As she groaned, she caught sight of a black robed figure trotting out of view. It wasn't soon after Twilight came into her field of view and placed a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder.

"Sergeant!" she shouted. "Sergeant, are you alright?"

"I'm not sayin' anything until the three of ya stop yelling," Rainbow uttered before her eyes went wonky and her head fell back onto the ground.

"Somepony help us!" Twilight cried into the night, looking around frantically for anyone that would come to aid them.

**********

Berry Punch felt the cart slowing as she started to regain consciousness. She was still confused, unsure of where she was and who she was, but the familiarity with the rough treatment she received in being pulled from the back of the cart reminded her. She took a deep breath to scream, only to find it muffled by a hoof over her mouth, shoving the burlap sack on her head into her mouth. She struggled against it, trying to get it out before she felt wood beneath her hooves.

The wood soon turned to cold stone before she was dropped onto it and the sack lifted from her head. Before her stood several menacing figures and behind her she could hear the whimpering of ponies. Her eyes tried to adjust to the lack of light before the figure just in front of her stepped out with a grin.

"Excellent work Shadow Six, I wish the other members were as efficient and silent as you," Trixie said with a grin, glaring down at Berry Punch. "As for you my dear, welcome. You are the final piece to the puzzle, the final pawn to be set upon the game board. It is through your capture that we shall bring night time eternal, and rule Equestria!"

She laughed maniacally as she rose into the air and posed. Behind her the other cultists made instrument noises with their mouths that sounded somewhat evil, or at the very least what they believed evil sounded like. It would have to do though as Trixie returned herself to her hooves and turned around.

"Throw her in with the others," she said as she walked through a door with the others in tow save for the one that had dragged her down there. That one dragged her further towards a set of iron bars and threw her in with the other ponies, one of whom Berry Punch identified. As the shadowy pony locked the gate, the door at the end of the room was opened and it disappeared from sight.

"L-Lyra?" Berry asked quietly.

"Yes," Lyra responded, sitting off on her own in the corner of the cell.

"You were the one they got yesterday, I heard all about it!" Berry cried, crawling towards her. "Are we going to be okay?"

Lyra turned to look at Berry with a slight smirk. "Matter of fact, I think I can get us outta here."

**********

Applejack rose slowly from her bed hearing a noise outside. She blinked sleepily, having rested off and on during the day. Peering out the window resulted in seeing nothing though, the moon was far too dim though she swore she saw something like a shadow moving. She grabbed a lantern and began to move down the stairs dangling it from her teeth. The sound of the creaky door downstairs opening made her tense up.

She took it slow, one step at a time, trying not to make any noise and point the lantern in a different direction, hoping to catch whoever just wandered in off guard. No one should be up at this hour. She steeled herself as every muscle in her body went tight. Dryly she gulped, sweat beading on her forehead as she knelt down just slightly.

"Hold it!" she cried out, leaping from the stairs and down to the floor hard, looking prepared to charge at whomever may be in front of her. Her eyes squinted past the light of the lantern to see the surprised look upon the face of her brother. He quirked a brow and rubbed his head curiously.

"B-Big Mac?" she sputtered.

"Eeyup," he answered.

"What in the hay are ya'll doin' up so late?" she asked.

"Deliverin' cider. Didn' get a chance to earlier what with all the apples needin' harvestin'."

Applejack put a hoof to her forehead and shook it. "Well shoot, I thought you was tryin' to break in here like you was one of them kidnappers. I forgot all about th' cider delivery."

"You should get some rest Applejack, you look exhausted," he said stoically.

"Yeah, should get rest, got a busy day ahead of me I'm sure. G'night big brother."

"G'night," Big Macintosh called up to her. She could hear Applejack talking to Granny Smith and Apple Bloom, who had gathered at the top of the stairs, explaining it'd only been Big Macintosh. He stood downstairs in the living room for a few moments until he heard the closing of doors upstairs. With a hefty sigh, he reached down behind him and grabbed the black cloak he'd stuffed in the corner.

Comments

[Joural]

huh.

Wonder who the other four are going to be? background characters... Hmmm...

Obviously one of them is , XD

[Tatsurou]

O.O
Big Mac is part of the conspiracy?
...never would have seen that coming.

[Nethaufer]

That wasn't cider, that was scumble!

[koolerkid]

2638991
Well, scumble is made from apples. Mostly apples...

[HJSDGCE]

Big Mac is the bad guy?!

Or maybe he's a secret double agent!

[Swift Decision]

"Swear on me mum I'll deck you!"

LMAO

[NopeNopeNope]

I would have thought that Big Mac would realize the hell that endless night would be for crops.

[AppleBandit]

2638991

You have pleased me with your catching onto that reference.

Also, the rest of you have pleased me with your reactions to the end of the last chapter. If only you knew the path that lay before you.

images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100702150415/simpsons/images/6/6a/Mr_Burns_evil.gif

[meerkat8472]

What in the heck is Scumble? Poor AJ is going to be heartbroken when she finds out Big Mac is a kidnapper.
Also, I'm curious to see what Lyra has planned, well can't be too hard to outsmart Trixie right?

[Pearple Prose]

Gotta love them bloody bleedin' bastard British pones

[djthomp]

Big Mac, huh. Didn't see that coming.

[aceotaku]

2656488 I did