Mending Light

by Kiromancer

83 - Concealment

“That’s a pretty big house.”

I nodded as we looked up the uneven road towards the once great structure. It now sat in a sea of overgrowth, with great walls covered in ivy, nearly covering the empty windows. The mansion wasn’t totally in ruin, but it had clearly been neglected for years and nature was slowly retaking it.

Despite all of that, it was still impressive, that anypony had once lived there and kept the place maintained was incredible, and that only left the lingering question of what, exactly, had driven them away. The legend of the Necromancer alone didn’t seem like enough to drive ponies away from all of this, but I’d have said it didn’t seem like enough to cause all the panic back in Iron Shoe either.

Yet, here we were.

Mint shook her head and continued. “It’s sorta ominous and excessive, but comforting. Or at least, it probably used to be comforting.”

“I wonder what made it fall into ruin?” Icicle echoed my own thoughts as he gazed up the road. “Other than the obvious lack of repair.”

I frowned. “I don’t know. I guess we can be grateful that it’s just out of the way like this, if it can give us a bit of safe haven.”

We waited, perched off the main road to Pasture, crouched in the underbrush, while Merri and Starshadow did a stealthy patrol around the property’s perimeter. They’d been gone nearly a half hour now, and we were getting edgy.

There’d been no traffic on the road that morning, once we’d slipped out of Iron Shoe. No patrols walking the road, and no ponies fleeing from Pasture. Everypony who could get out either already had, or Moss’s Paladins had the place on lock-down tighter than Iron Shoe. I was far more worried the latter was the case.

Before we could continue our conversation, the twin sisters were back among us, Starshadow her typically grave self, while Merri’s expression unexpectedly mirrored her. We stood as they grew nearer, Mint and Icicle both turning to eye the main road for anypony nearby.

Starshadow spoke first. “There’s no signs of occupation within the mansion itself, at least, none recent. A few odds and ends have been disturbed, but we don’t think anyone is inside now.”

Merri sighed, “That’s the bad news. Also sorta good news? Dusky might have snuck in, but she didn’t stay. She probably proceeded onward making the same conclusions we did. We can definitely camp out there tonight if we need to, and probably won’t raise any attention.”

“Right. That’s probably for the best.” I looked up towards the sky, noting the time. Having someplace relatively secure to rest in was definitely preferable to camping out in the open while we were in enemy territory. “What about the observatory? She said she’d leave a message for us there.”

Merri at last broke into her more usual smirk. “That’s the other good news. We’re pretty sure somepony was there, and recently. There’s a lot of evidence that they fiddled with the front door, probably had to force it open.”

Starshadow nodded. “The observatory is a separate building off the main yard. It is not hard at all to move through the grass while staying totally unobserved from the road. We are confident Dusky was there.”

I wanted to breath out a sigh of relief. Even knowing she got this far was encouraging, even if the greater danger was up ahead. “Then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go find her message!”

With Mint and Icicle watching our backs, we made our way through the long grass as quickly and quietly as we could, towards the rubble of the stone wall that the two sisters had used to climb in. It wasn’t completely crumbled, but there was enough for the two agile unicorns to vault over with relative ease. For the rest of us, we risked a quick flight over the walls and down, into the overgrown front yard of the mansion.

Once inside, we could breath a little easier, as at least we couldn’t be spotted from the road outside. The tall grass and tree growth gave us plenty of points to hide, but I wanted to get to the observatory as quickly as possible. I motioned Merri and Star to lead on.

The estate grounds were impressive,if completely overgrown. There were large bushes that I imagined were once properly cut, but were now tangled messes. Long grass grew up through broken cobblestones, but it all provided ample cover.

Looming ahead was the tall, domed building that had to be the observatory. The roof was sadly long faded, and though the opening for it still existed, there was no great telescope pointing out into the sky. I imagined that, had I seen it in its prime, the building that might not have looked out of place in the upscale parts of Canterlot.

The door was once an ornate hardwood masterpiece, and some of the no doubt vibrant purple paint still clung to it. I stepped up onto the raised step, eager to get in, and tested the door knob. It turned easier than I expected, and with a nod backwards to the others, I pushed it open.

It groaned in protest, and I looked back again out of fear that somepony would hear, but we were still alone. Merri and Star already had their weapons drawn, crossbows and blade pointed into the observatory door, but when I turned back, there was nothing there.

I stepped in quickly, not wanting to linger in the open any longer than necessary. The others followed me in, spreading out around me. Starshadow entered last, closing the door behind her. The inside of the Observatory was dusty, run-down, and filled with broken furniture. A stairwell in one corner led up to where the remains of the telescope undoubtedly lay collapsed. I looked up, making sure nothing was waiting up above.

As if in anticipation, Mint came alongside me, “I’ll go check it out. Seems pretty quiet in here though, and I trust Merri and Star’s scouting, but it won’t hurt to check.”

I nodded, “Right. Just be careful.”

“Tell that to anypony thinking of ambushing me.” She grinned, then flew up towards the stairs.

“Hey, Night.” Icicle called over to me. He pointed a hoof down towards the floor. “The dust was disturbed. There’s still some pretty clear hoof prints, and I’m guessing they’re Dusky’s.”

Glancing down, I saw the trail of hoof prints through the ages long dust. They crossed back and forth with themselves a few times, but at one point, they clearly turned aside from the center of the room towards a far wall. I followed the path, and looked up at the wall where they ended.

Lunar Phases of the Moon. The poster was pretty large, dark black with four large yellow discs printed upon it, each showing the moon, depicted there with the Mare in the Moon still imprinted upon it. I grinned. It seemed like the perfect place to hide her message.

It didn’t take much to pull the poster aside, the right side already about to give. Sure enough, pulling it down revealed a small, folded piece of paper, neatly wedged against the wall. I quickly unfolded it, reading the seemingly vague message.

N-
Still searching, but so are they. If feeling safe, scout out town. Beware red armor.
-D

She’d been here, and not long ago by the looks of it. I sighed, the hope that she and Ivory would already be out safe fading.

Mint swept back down the stairs. “Top floor’s all clear.”

I nodded grimly. “Then I guess this is as good a place as any to spend the night. Tomorrow, we’re going to scout out Pasture.”

---

We rotated watch through the night, but there was nothing else coming or going from the mansion. Save for the sound of the wildlife, crickets and birds, it was quiet all night. When morning came, we decided that Starshadow, Mint, and myself would go scout out Pasture. Starshadow and Mint had more tactical knowledge than the rest of us, and their observations would be invaluable, and as for myself, I simply was too antsy to stay behind. Merri assured me that she and Icicle would be fine keeping watch on our fallback position there at the mansion.

The three of us opted to stay off the road as best we could. Mint and I could fly quickly and quietly just above the forest floor, and it was shocking how silently Star could move through the trees when she wanted to.

The treeline broke a few hours later, leading into a thick grass field surrounding the town. Mint kept us low, not wishing to attract any unwanted attention. Even if the ponies of Pasture didn’t know me or the others, they’d undoubtedly be suspicious of anypony lurking around. Fortunately, between Starshadow’s magic and Mint’s training, we had the advantage, or so we initially thought.

“This place isn’t a village, it’s an outpost.” Mint sat on a tree branch just above myself and Star. She was holding a spyglass in hoof as she watched the movements of the ponies within the town. “Those are practically military fortifications. They expecting the Crystal Empire to invade?”

Star nodded thoughtfully, “That is definitely more of a defensive structure than I would have expected this deep into Equestria. I would have argued they are meant to keep out local wildlife, but those walls all appear newly constructed.”

I frowned. “Local wildlife, or an army of undead. At least, I’d wager that’s what the populace thinks.”

Mint nodded. “I’d say you’re right, Night. I can see some of the townsfolk moving around in there… but there’s way more guards… actually… what even are those guards?”

I tilted my head curiously. “Well, we know the Cartel has ponies here, it could be their guards. Or it could be more of those paladins?”

Mint shook her head. “Those aren’t just villagers playing pretend like those ponies in Iron Shoe. They wear that armor too comfortably. Take a look, Star.”

Starshadow took the spyglass from Mint with her magic and peered through. “Definitely professional soldiers. If I had to guess, they are mercenaries. And there is something else… That symbol they wear upon their armor… there is something familiar about it.”

“I saw that too, some kind of split hoof print. But I can’t place it. Not a lot of work for mercenary squads in Equestria.” Mint lowered her head.

Still peering through the spyglass, Star suddenly frowned. “Oh dear. That would most certainly explain Dusky's warning. There, towards the center of town. He’s hard to miss.”

Mint took back the spyglass, “Hmmm… I don’t… wait, no. By Celestia, what is that?”

She passed me the spyglass, pointing out in the direction where I should look. There, in the town square, was the object of Mint’s shock. A massive, seemingly distorted, hooved being in thick, deep red armor. Its every moment seemed wrong, the legs bending oddly, its back was arched up in a permanent hunch, and its thick skull seemed completely off proportion. I stared, trying to comprehend it.

“That is a camel.” Starshadow stated gravely. “The leader of this mercenary group, if I had my guess.”

“A camel? I’ve never heard of camels…” I continued to stare, at last giving Mint back her spyglass.

Star sighed. “Ostfriesen rests to the east of the Badlands. Camels hail from further west. We have seen them rarely, often as raiders on our outlying forts. They have the most terrifying natural defense against us. Something in camels raises our most base instincts when they draw near, and no matter what, you will be afraid. You cannot help it.”

Mint raised an eyebrow. “Afraid? Star, I’ve been in fights before, I know that fear.”

“Not this fear. It is something deeper. Like the instinct to jump when you find a spider crawling upon you. All the hair upon your neck stands up, and even the bravest of knight has to fight back the instinct to run. Just run.” Star grit her teeth. “I experienced it once. I had never thought that I might encounter another camel, never mind here of all places.”

“Sounds like he could use to have his flank kicked.” Mint frowned, watching the camel longer.

“You would be within the minority if you could manage it.”

Mint’s expression deepened. “That just makes me want to try all the more.”

Star glanced down. “Regardless, we have more than enough information on the town’s defenses. And with those mercenaries there, I do not think it safe to investigate deeper.”

I glanced at Mint, seeing an odd spark in her eyes. “She’s right. We should head back to the mansion and let Merri and Icicle know what we found… and try to figure out our next move.”

Mint nodded slowly, at last putting down her spyglass. “Right. Well… if this camel is as bad as you say, I just hope Dusky didn’t run into him.”

I nodded, looking back towards the town. The distant figure of the camel was out of sight now. “Yeah… me too.”

Comments

[Yami Vizzini]

So far, so good....

It's a shift to see a camel treated with such gravity and fear, but Star knows what she's talking about. Here's hoping the gang can reconnect before things go off the deep end.

[Kiromancer]

9446612
Based on real life! Horses tend to shy away from or react irrationally around camels, and Generals were even known to use Camel cavalry in war specifically to spook horse, possibly falsely, but the idea moved into a few video games. In this case, it's something about their smell, seems to paralyze a pony with fear...