Edited by: SilentCarto
Proofreader: Coandco
Disclaimer: I don’t own The Dresden Files or My Little Pony, that is Jim Butcher and Hasbro respectively. This story takes place between books Eight and Nine in the Dresden Files.
Pinkie clawed desperately for breath. Her chest felt like it was wrapped in bands of steel; the pressure was crushing the life out of her.
She fell to the floor gasping. Blinking back tears, she turned towards her friends who did nothing but look on. “Tell Gummy I love him,” she whispered as her vision went dark around the edges. “And to never invest in lollipops; that market is for suckers.”
“Is she okay?” the salesgirl asked, staring on worriedly.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake, Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. “It can’t be that tight.”
The salesgirl hesitantly reached down and unclipped the torture device spanning Pinkie’s chest. Pinkie took in a massive gasp of air. “Freedom!” she breathed, her voice flush with triumph.
The salesgirl still looked uncertain, but picked up the bra. “Okay, we can try going up a cup size, or the same size, but with a looser, more relaxed style.” Pinkie glanced down at her heaving chest, then at the salesgirl, then back at her still heaving chest.
“Let’s try a larger size,” Twilight said, giving the salesgirl an apologetic smile, as if she was the one suffering through this. “Thanks, Monica.”
Monica the salesgirl left the little private fitting room, muttering something, and Pinkie giggled.
Twilight arched an eyebrow. “I hope you’re having fun.”
Pinkie stuck out her tongue. “It was too tight, and she should’ve known ‘cause of how hard it was to get on.” But the expression on Monica’s face totally made up for that, and Pinkie had another quiet giggle. “Can we hit the candy store on the way back? I’m pretty sure it’s in between here and the arcade, so we can go by on our way to get Spike.”
Dash yawned enormously and stretched, relaxing as much as she could on the narrow bench. “Depends on when we get done. Dresden said he’d pick us up around, what, nine?”
Twilight checked the pocketwatch that she’d gotten during their shopping. Pinkie had told her to get the wristwatch with the cartoon mouse, but Twilight didn’t think that was the best souvenir. Pinkie couldn’t see why not. Sure, it wouldn’t fit on a pony’s wrist, but Twilight had a horn to hang it from. She could totally launch a whole new kind of fashion for unicorns! For some reason Rarity’s face had paled when Pinkie suggested that.
“We’ve got about thirty minutes until then,” Twilight said snapping the watch closed. “Not that we need to make another stop there. We’ve already visited twice.”
“Yeah, but I ate all of the first bunch when we were watching the movie. So really, we’ve only visited once,” Pinkie explained slowly. Sometimes her friends didn’t seem to get candy-nomics, but she was happy to enlighten them.
Twilight sighed. “Fine, but only if we finish with enough time. Which is only likely to happen if you quit playing around.”
Pinkie thrust her chest out and saluted with perfect seriousness, which was completely unmarred by the way Dash laughed. “Ma’am, yes ma’am!”
Monica brushed the curtain aside and brought in another bra. It was visibly bigger than the other one, and deep pink in color. Pinkie nodded, sagely. “Points for the color, but let’s see if it’s up to the job.” Why they needed these ‘bras’ Pinkie still wasn’t totally clear on, but Molly had insisted and everypony had only been able to put her off for so long.
Monica helped Pinkie into the weird contraption, as Molly stuck her head in. “Are you three done in here, yet?”
“Not quite,” Twilight replied. “Mine was fairly easy, but Dash took a while, and Pinkie has been… difficult to fit.”
“You could say that again,” Monica muttered under her breath.
“Hey, I only took so long because everything she brought me at first was all lacy or flowery. C’mon, can you imagine me wearing that? This sports bra is pretty cool, though. Slick, streamlined, and Monica said I could totally fight in it.”
“Do martial arts in it,” Twilight corrected.
Dash shrugged. “Yeah, that too.”
Molly sighed. Pinkie wondered if it was something about the air here in humanland that made people do that so often. “AJ and Fluttershy were easy enough, but Rarity is about to drive me crazy. She’s tried on twenty so far, and she doesn’t look to be stopping any time soon.”
Pinkie blinked, wondering how anypony would be able be put on twenty of those things. Unless they were like nesting dolls and each one got larger and larger. Ooooooh! Maybe she was going for a world record! Well, two ponies could play at that game. Or they could if going for the record wouldn’t make them run out of time for another stop at the candy shop. Pinkie warred internally. There had to be a really awesome, shiny trophy for world records here in humanland -- Dresden said there was whole organization with a yearly book dedicated to them. But that sweet, sweet human candy and the high-frustrate corn syrup that made it taste so good…
Pinkie sighed (proving that she was totally right about human air). “I guess Rarity gets the trophy; I’m too devoted to my sweet tooth.” Monica stared at her, but the rest of the group, including Molly, didn’t even blink.
“How does it fit?” Twilight asked.
Pinkie realized with a start that Monica had finished fitting her, only this time she could breathe. “Hmm,” she said, considering it. There was some pressure, especially on the shoulders, but she felt more… balanced, maybe, then she had before. She did a couple of quick stretches and bounces to test it out. The bra held up under the considerable strain, and Molly’s face turned a funny shade of red. “We’re good to go here. Thanks, Monica!”
“Don’t mention it,” the salesgirl said, and left in a hurry.
Twilight glanced after her. “I’m glad Rarity paid up front. They might be a ‘full service’ shop, but I suspect that we’ve tried their patience enough.”
“Nah,” Molly said. “This place is good enough to cater to the wealthy without being so high end that rich people respect the staff. Weirdness factor aside, I’m willing to bet they get way worse prima donnas and problem-cases than you six.”
“Great, so only Rarity left,” Dash said, springing to her feet. She was getting good at moving smoothly in her human body. Pinkie chuckled to herself. Dashie had been so mad when Spike kept beating her at Dance Dance Resolution, even though he had the advantage of walking on two legs for a lot longer. It had taken Applejack to drag her to the bra shop over the shouts of ‘one more game!’.
“Let’s hurry her up!” Pinkie said. “There’s candy waiting and no time to waste!”
Molly put up a hand, and Pinkie slid to a screeching halt, just short of it. “How about you put your clothes back on first,” she replied.
Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Puh-leeze, we finally got ‘bras’ and ‘panties’ like you wanted, and now we have to wear dresses on top of them too? What’s up with that? Why can’t I just head out?”
“Well, you could,” Molly admitted, “and you’d make all of the guys in sight pretty happy doing it, but you’d embarrass your friends, and you’d give people the wrong idea about what kind of girl you are.”
“Fascinating,” Twilight said, a notebook out and pen already in her hands. “Dresden already explained that nudity is taken as a sexual display among humans, but even certain choices in the amount or type of clothing could be taken as the same? Please, explain further.” Her pen scratched at a fevered pace. Molly took several steps back, but Twilight kept up, peppering her with questions all the while.
Pinkie took the opportunity to sneak by them. She crammed her dress back over her head as she crossed the store. The other fitting rooms were far away ‘for privacy’, but it was late, and there couldn’t have been more than eight, maybe ten, people who saw her. Just for fun she gave a wink to one of the boys that were watching her struggle back into her dress. The girl next to him said something that sounded rude, but Pinkie was already gone. “No time to waste; there’s candy on the line!” she shouted, bursting into Rarity’s fitting room. Rarity, Fluttershy, and their salesgirl screamed in response, but Applejack just tilted the hat off her face from where she had been napping and sighed. (What was it about human air? Seriously, it was an epidemic!)
“Wondered when you’d run outta patience.”
“Pinkie! Really, darling, must you be so uncouth?” Rarity demanded, blushing deeply. She’d really taken human customs to heart. Unfortunately for her, Pinkie's heart was too full of her love for partying, friends, partying, sweets, partying, games, and partying for anything like that.
“Rarity, I am as couth as ever, but you’re taking way too long to decide on something silly.”
“Silly?” the salesgirl said, crossly. “The undergarments establish the entire foundation of the outfit you wear. Imagine wearing a normal bra with a strapless dress. Or wearing a business skirt without the right hose. Honey, there is nothing ‘silly’ about it.”
Rarity nodded, her expression stern. “Thank you, Rochelle. I’m glad you understand. The rest of my social interactions in this city are utterly dependant on the choices I make here and now, Pinkie. I simply cannot make these decisions in any sort of hurry.”
Pinkie swelled with indignation (or whatever the word was, but her cheeks totally puffed out and steam came out her ears) and she was about to ‘accidentally’ summon her giant mecha and–
“Why don’t the rest of us get a move on while you finish up here?” Applejack said. “We can grab Spike, then take another run by the candy shop for Pinkie.”
“I like it!” Pinkie declared. “I’ll get Spike, and be back in a jiffy.” And she was gone before anypony else could say a word.
The human mall was super huge and super neat, but Pinkie had no time for that now. The mall closed at nine o’clock. Dresden said he would be there at nine o'clock to pick them up. So, clearly, she needed to find Spike, bring him back, and then make a run to the candy store, all before nine o’clock.
The arcade was halfway across the mall, but Pinkie made it in no time flat. The flashing lights and fun games called to her, but there was no time to spare. Spike had abandoned the dancing game and was busy racing through the streets of some human city. Or crashing through the streets of some human city. He hit light poles, mailboxes and other stuff often enough that Pinkie had a hard time telling whether he was supposed to do that or not.
“Spike!” she shouted, screeching to a halt beside him. He shot up in surprise, and she took the opportunity to yank him out of the seat. His pockets jingled with the little human coins as she did. “Notimetowastelet’sgo!” She pulled on his hand, making him jingle all the way back, like a big, complaining bell.
“Pinkie!” he shouted, “slow down!”
Then she stopped so suddenly he ran into her. “We’re too late.” Indeed, Dresden was already there, standing outside the bra store with everypony except Rarity gathered around him. Not fair, he was early.
“You’re just in time, Pinkie,” Twilight said.
“But I don’t wanna go yet,” she whined.
Twilight blinked, then rolled her eyes. “Not that, I meant because you brought Spike. We decided that you and Applejack could run by the candy store while Molly waited on Rarity. Dresden will take the rest of us and all of our purchases” –she gestured to the small mountain of bags that were mostly Rarity’s– “back to the hotel, then return for you four.”
Pinkie gasped in joy. “That’s perfect!”
“Aww, can’t I stay with Rarity?” Spike asked.
But Twilight just ruffled his hair and smiled. “It’s close to your bedtime, and besides, don’t you want to help her out by keeping an eye on everything she bought?”
Spike mulled that over and sighed (more proof). “I guess so.”
Dresden nodded. “Thanks. I could use your help carrying all this.” He picked up a piece of Stuff Mountain and grunted under its weight.
Pinkie sidled up beside him before he could get too far and gave him a quick hug. “Thanks, I’ll see you later. C’mon, Applejack, let’s get some of Rarity’s jewel money and hit up that candy shop!”
………
“Wowee, it sure got dark quick,” Pinkie said, blinking at the near empty parking lot. She set down her heavy candy bags and popped the sucker out of her mouth, giving it another lick. The doors behind them locked with a click. The old security guard tottered off, seeking more doors that needed the help of his keys. There wasn’t a ‘Closed’ sign, but locking the doors was a pretty good sign all by itself.
Molly scowled. “It shouldn’t be. Something must be wrong with these lights. Look, the ones further out are on.”
“Goodness,” Rarity breathed, shivering slightly. “Now, I wish they hadn’t taken my earlier purchases with them. That burgundy coat with the sandalwood buttons would be simply divine at the moment.”
Applejack chuckled. “If you coulda found it in all those bags. I still have a hard time believing Dresden managed to fit all them clothes in that little car.”
“Don’t worry, Rarity!” Pinkie cried, leaping towards her friend with arms spread wide. She hugged her tight, making Rarity squeak in surprise. “The blazing warmth of my passionate heart will keep us warm!” She paused for a second. “Or was it the passionate warmth of my blazing heart? Something like that anyway.”
Rarity’s cheeks were already flushed with warmth, and Pinkie gave herself a figurative pat on the back for quick thinking. “Pinkie! This is mortifying. I am not a little fil- girl that needs her mother for warmth. And where did you even get such a ludicrous line?”
Pinkie let go, satisfied by a job well done. Rarity’s mind certainly wasn’t on the cold anymore. “After we watched those Disney movies, I found some late night cartoons. They had normal sized eyes, and normal manes, and it was amazing! Next time we visit Earth, we’ve gotta hit this ‘Tokyo’ place.”
Molly blinked. “You watched anime?” She groaned, and cradled her head in her hands. “How am I going to explain this to Harry?”
“I dunno either; it was really hard to understand what was going on, but I liked it anyway.” She giggled a bit at Molly’s expression, and almost missed the faint tingling in her left elbow and the three blinks from her right eye. The giggling stopped immediately, and Pinkie drew in her breath to shout even as the two men in large coats exploded out of the shadows.
They were fast, crazy fast. Faster than a … really fast thing. Pinkie was too distracted for good metaphors right now.
“Behind you!” she shouted. Molly’s mouth turned into an ‘o’ of surprise and she started to turn but she was too slow. Huge, spidery hands clutched her wrists and another one closed over her mouth, cutting off the scream.
This close up, Pinkie could see the men, and they were ugly with a capital ‘Ugh’. Her mommy Pie always told her not to be rude about things like that, but they were seriously bad looking on level that Pinkie had to wonder if they were even human.
Without a word they turned to leave, dragging Molly with them, but Applejack was already on them. She’d been the furthest away, but her reflexes and flying leap had eaten up that distance like a hot fudge sundae. Her fist shot forward and buried itself in one of the men, and he went flying, too. Until he smacked into the wall, that is.
The other man twisted with a growl, still moving crazy fast, and punched Applejack in the side with the hand that wasn’t holding Molly. There was a quiet crack, and she slid back a few steps, her face fighting back pain.
Then the man’s belt snaked out off of his pants, circled his hands and suddenly cinched together. A blue glow surrounded Rarity’s hands and the coat suddenly squeezed him tight as a straitjacket.
Mr. Ugly didn’t like that. He growled and the hand around Molly’s wrist closed with bone-crushing force. Which made the rubber duck that he found there let out a shrill and desperate squeak.
Pinkie let a single tear fall at the brave sacrifice of Sir Mallard of Quacksbury as she hurried Molly away from the fight. The poor girl was frozen in fear, and though she wasn’t crying, her eyes were getting themselves ready for the waterworks to start.
Seams all along Mr. Ugly’s coat began to burst and break as he strained against it. He managed to bring the thick leather belt up to his mouth and Pinkie saw sharp teeth flash as he began to chew through it. The one Applejack punched was back, and he didn’t even bother helping his friend, making a straight dash for Molly. Applejack was back too, but he ducked her swinging punch and kept coming.
Until his face slammed into the stop sign Pinkie suddenly planted in the ground. She blew her whistle at him, adjusting her very serious Policewoman’s hat and shining her already shiny badge. “Can’t you read?” she asked, pointing pointedly at the sign.
Claws sprang out of the tips of his fingers, and with a swipe he cut right through the sign’s metal post. “Uh… I guess not,” she quipped, snatching up the sign and using it to bat away another swipe aimed at her head. Mr. Ugly Sr. left gouges in the metal.
“Hey,” Pinkie said as she parried a couple more swipes that took more pieces out of her sign, “you should really look behind you.”
Mr. Ugly Sr. didn’t take his mean little eyes off her for even a second. Which let Applejack charge in and drop to her hands, delivering a massive kick into the small of his back. She lost her balance and fell to the ground, but he was already flying forward, right into a sweeping uppercut from Pinkie’s sign that lifted him off the ground. “Can’t say I didn’t warn you,” she said with a shrug.
“A little help would be appreciated!” Rarity yelled, as Mr. Ugly Jr. finally bit all the way through the belt, and ripped off the coat completely. Without it, Pinkie could see how weird he really looked. His long, yellow teeth were set in a jaw that was too wide and long to be human. His chest was covered in spiky, wiry hair. His shoulders were too broad and weirdly hunched, leading to arms that were covered in twisted muscle and too long at the ends. He let out a surprisingly quiet roar and charged Rarity.
He passed right through the image, almost rolling like a bowling ball, but he just managed to catch himself. Or would have, except the remains of his coat wrapped around his ankles, and sent him into a perfect faceplant. His face slammed into the ground, but nothing fazed him. With another growl he reached towards his feet, slashing through the heavy fabric easily with his claws. But when he turned back, Applejack was waiting for him.
“I’ve still got some things to learn ‘bout kicking with only two legs,” Applejack admitted, “but I can stomp easy ‘nuff.” Her boot rose, then flashed down. Mr. Ugly Jr. jerked aside at the last moment and the concrete shattered beneath the stomp. Applejack moved with it, putting her weight on the foot she had just stomped with and raising the other one. He scrambled away from that one too, but she followed, leaving a line of craters until she caught his leg. It broke with a loud, wet snap, and Pinkie flinched.
Applejack’s face turned a little green, and she took a step back. “Can’t say I enjoyed that, but it serves you right for tryin’ to make off with our friend like that. Now, what made you–” but then she had to jump back as he lunged forward, trying to bite her. Using the temporary breather, he scuttled over to Mr. Ugly Sr. on three limbs and shook him.
Mr. Ugly Sr. stirred at the motion, then both eyes shot open. He leapt to his feet, glaring at them. Mr. Ugly Jr. stayed crouching low, looking more bestial than ever. Rarity’s hands were covered in blue light, and Applejack took a fighting stance.
“Harmony! Laughter! Transformation, go!” Pinkie cried, stretching her hand in the air and waiting for the magical sparkles to change her clothing and give her a super cool monster fighting weapon. Nothing happened, which wasn’t even close to right. She’d struck the pose exactly right and everything.
“Pinkie, did you get any sleep last night?” Applejack asked in disbelief, careful not to take her eyes off the equally confused monster guys.
Pinkie Pie laughed the laugh of the just. What a silly pony that Applejack was. Who needed sleep when you had twenty-four hour TV and all the sugar you could eat?
Mr. Ugly Sr. took the opportunity and darted forward. Rarity’s hands flashed brighter, but he ripped his entire coat off in one fluid movement as he came, letting it crumple in on itself. Applejack stepped forward to meet his charge. He was a big guy, but she dug in her heels. When he hit, she slid back two inches, maybe three. Maybe two-and-a-half. She’d need a tape measure to be sure. He looked surprised, and then it was Applejack’s turn. She put hands on his chest and shoved.
Muscles bunched beneath her shirt, tearing seams along the arms, and her boots dug even deeper into the ground. Mr. Ugly Sr. went flying first class on the Applejack Express and didn’t stop until he slammed into a light pole, leaving a visible dent in it.
There was a scream, and Mr. Ugly Jr. pulled Molly out of thin air. Rarity’s thick cloth belt shot across the parking lot and wound around his throat, squeezing tightly. “Let go of her you, brute!” Rarity cried, sweat beading on her forehead. But the blue glow around her hands was starting to flicker. Looked like Twilight was right (not that Pinkie was surprised), and Rarity was running out of magic way faster as a human.
Mr. Ugly Jr. kept one hand on Molly, but the other was fighting to keep the belt from choking him. Pinkie frowned as she thought, her tongue poking out of the side of her mouth. It was time to get serious.
“Party Time!” she declared, slipping a blindfold over Mr. Ugly Jr,’s eyes.
“How did you–” Molly started to say, but a rough jerk from a rough jerk cut her off.
Mr. Ugly Jr.’s nostrils flared and he twisted his head in Pinkie’s direction. His mouth opened super wide, and he lunged to bite her. Until she stuffed a huge cake right down it. He gagged on the mouthful of sugary goodness and spilled cake everywhere.
“Tsk,” Pinkie tutted disapprovingly. “And people say that I’m a messy eater.”
He finished coughing up the cake, and finally let go of Molly’s hand to yank off the blindfold. Rarity cried out and the belt stopped glowing, letting him rip that away too. He blinked, probably because there was a great, big barrel about four inches from his face.
Pinkie grinned widely from the other end of her weapon. Combining a Party Cannon with her Cupcake Launcher (patent pending) had been a stroke of genius. “And what party is complete without the decorations?”
The Party Launcher (also patent pending, no matter how many rejections those office ponies tried to give her) went off with a flash of light and sound as streamers, confetti, banners, and all the fixings a party needed exploded out of the barrel. Mr. Ugly Jr. let out a really high-pitched shriek and scrabdoodled off on three limbs again.
Pinkie reloaded the Party Launcher (no seriously, it’s totally safe for indoor use) with an ominous ‘ka-chak’ and Applejack stepped up next to her, cracking her knuckles. Molly stayed back, being comforted by Rarity.
Applejack snorted. “We done here, or do we gotta kick your butts some more?” Mr. Ugly Sr. and Jr. were picking themselves up, but keeping a safe distance. Mr. Ugly Sr. was moving slowly and with a slight limp; Mr. Ugly Jr. still moved on three limbs and kept pausing to rub his eyes with small, dog-like whines.
The standoff was interrupted by the sound of a putt-putting car engine, and Pinkie turned in surprise to see Dresden’s little rainbow car scooting across the parking lot towards them. Mr. Ugly Sr. growled deep and low, but Mr. Ugly Jr. let out a panicked yelp and made for the hills. Mr. Ugly Sr., growled again, glaring at Applejack, then he said something in a weird-sounding language and followed his friend at a slow lope.
“Whew,” Pinkie said, wiping away some sweat. She had apparently swallowed her sucker whole at some point without realizing it, but at least the rest of her candy was safe in its bags. Nobody had kicked it, or tripped over it or anything. “That was an adventure and a half. How’s everybody holding up?”
Molly started crying, burying her face into Rarity’s shoulder.
Pinkie grin disappeared. “So, uh, not good, huh?”
The Dresden-mobile came to a stop next to them, and Dresden popped out of the driver’s seat, staff and rod at the ready. His face looked like pure anger, deeper and harder than anything Pinkie had ever seen in him. He watched the fleeing monsters, and she could tell he was tempted to run after and end them, even if it meant abandoning the four of them for a moment. But a fresh sob rocked Molly, and his expression softened, a flicker of guilt shooting behind his eyes.
“Is everyone okay?” he asked.
“I might have a cracked rib, and I figure Molly’s gonna have some bruises on her wrists, but otherwise we’re pretty much okay,” Applejack replied, stretching and grimacing when she touched her side.
“I also lost that darling new belt I purchased earlier,” Rarity said, holding Molly close. “Though, I suppose the fatigue from overworking my magic might be the bigger problem.”
“What were those guys?” Pinkie asked, popping open the storage area of Dresden’s car and tossing her candy inside. Except for one happy-face sucker, which she covertly pressed into Molly’s hands.
“Describe them,” Dresden said, taking Molly from Rarity and helping her to the car. She had stopped crying, but she still shook and didn’t look okay.
All three ponies started speaking at once, but Pinkie’s voice was the loudest, since she clearly had the best description. Dresden growled, and rubbed his temple. “Ghouls. That was about what I figured. They’re the cheap muscle of supernatural world. Strong, fast, and harder to kill than a cockroach.” He bit out the last bit, and some of that serious anger poured back into his expression.
“I’m feeling like you’ve run into’em a time or two,” Applejack said. They’d all squeezed into the backseat, and with one last glance around Dresden putted off.
“You’d be right,” he said, and the conversation went quiet after that. Pinkie wanted to make a joke, to turn his frown upside down, but the mood didn’t feel right. “Tell me the whole story,” he continued. “What happened after I left?”
They took it in turns, filling him in, except Molly, who stayed quiet. Dresden asked a question here and there, but mostly he just listened. Eventually, they reached Molly’s house. Dresden walked her up to the door and took her inside. It took a few minutes, and it sounded like there was some yelling, but soon enough he came back outside.
“Is Molly going to be all right?” Rarity asked, fiddling with her jewelry. Pinkie nodded, feeling her hair droop a bit.
Dresden sighed. “Yeah, she’ll make it. She just… doesn’t handle combat well. She’s a Sensitive, and in a high-stress situation like that she feels everything that happens to each person. Pain, fear, anger, bloodlust, all of it. She hasn’t learned to filter it out yet.” His eyes hardened with anger again. “It’s pretty clear that they were looking to capture her, and her specifically, while I wasn’t around. Looks like somebody isn’t happy about my investigations into Sean’s disappearance. Or that competition Marcone is fighting heard about our meeting, and figured I was working for him now. Either way, they just made a fatal mistake.”
Pinkie could recognize somebody waiting for the set up to a hard-boiled one-liner and gladly obliged. “How?”
Dresden’s hands tightened on the wheel, his knuckles turning white, as fire danced in his eyes. “They made this personal.”
………
The last of the marrow was deep in the bone, but Ouroborous relished hunting it out. She snapped the other end and sucked down the delicious substance until it was gone. Then she tossed both parts of the cow’s femur into her mouth and crushed them with a contented sigh. The humans had done well domesticating the mighty aurochs into these dumb livestock. They ran and bellowed at her arrival, but none put up half the fight she would have once expected.
Perhaps when she was whole, such a weakened prey would be disappointing, but in the moment it was a convenience that she was happy to take advantage of. She continued stripping the carcass of every scrap of usable meat, enjoying herself as she added another drop to the aching void in her belly. The meanest of her powers had begun to return, and she had healed off the damage from the human guardian’s ‘gun’. Yet, despite dozens of meals, she was still so hungry. Once, she had eaten entire herds in a single snap of her jaws as a mere snack.
She noticed the shadowy shapes moving in the woods around her, and smelled that they were not human, although they pretended to be. Growling, she swallowed her current mouthful and turned to face the largest of them. “Away, scavengers,” she commanded. “There will be nothing left for you, not even the bones, such is my hunger.”
“I am uninterested in taking your meal from you,” said one of the others. He stepped into the clearing, his smile broad and utterly false, though he did not seem to be lying about his interest in her food. “You have been busy, haven’t you? A clear trail of missing livestock all the way from Minnesota to here.” He chuckled. “With all the dairy farms in Wisconsin, a monster like you must have been quite pleased.”
Ouroborous swallowed her latest mouthful, keeping a careful eye on the enemies that encircled her. She could kill them all if she needed to, but it would be noisy and she would not escape without injury. Best to bide her time at the moment. “And what kind of monster am I?” she asked. Did this fool actually know who he taunted?
The false-man shrugged. “An ancient wendigo, a disguised baykok, or some such thing. Really, it doesn’t matter for my purposes.”
“And what are ‘your purposes’?” Ouroborous asked, enjoying the tiniest flinch of fear in his eyes as her teeth cut through bone as easily as apple flesh.
“There is a wizard in Chicago poking into certain things that he should not. I have tried to divert his attention once already, and it ended in failure. It is important that I take an indirect approach so he never knows my true means or intent until it is too late. That’s where you enter the game. You are a wild, rampaging creature without connection to me or my interests. Having you dog his heels will allow me to proceed unopposed.”
Ouroborous snorted. “And yet you neatly danced around why I am the one you chose. There are plenty of creatures that could serve your purpose.”
“Ah, but none so powerful as you, and none that I have leverage over.”
Her eyes narrowed into slits, and a rumbling growl rose in her throat. “Leverage?”
“Indeed. You should have been more careful in your choice of feeding. One of the herds you decimated belonged to the Green Lady, and she is most furious. You are lucky we found you first, as she is hot upon your trail.”
“The Green Lady?” Ouroborous asked, taking another bite of the cow. None of the humans she had eaten possessed much knowledge of the hidden world, the true world. The name was unfamiliar to her.
A frown crossed the false-man’s face, but he smoothed it away. “The Green Lady, high Sidhe of the Seelie Court, vassal to Titania, Queen of the Summer Fae.”
Ouroborous stopped in her eating, a mouthful of meat half chewed. She swallowed it, heedless of the pain to her throat. Titania was Queen now? Brutal, passionate Lady Titania who had helped her Queen, Mother, and Winter cousins seal away Ouroborous? The same who would recognize her instantly, without regard for the passage of years?
She found herself grasping the false-man by his throat, raising him off the ground. “Titania’s hounds and lackeys hunt me?” she asked, feeling the first real fear since she had finally broken into this lush, bountiful world. She was not ready for that confrontation, not for centuries would she be ready!
The others drew weapons and moved forward, but the false-man raised his hand and they lowered their weapons. “Exactly,” he said, smirking down at her fear. “Now put me down, and prepare to accompany us back to Chicago. We must erase your trail before the Green Lady comes hot on your scent, and we have no time to waste.”
Ouroborous scowled, her features twisting into a mask of hatred. “I am not your dog to be commanded.”
The false-man sneered, unconcerned with her. “Then you will die at the hands of the Fae. Obeying me is the only way you will live out the night, much less the coming weeks.” His eyes flickered with something dark, hungry, and possessive. “Now, do as I say and put me down.”
Reluctantly, she did as he said. Her disgrace and disgust was palpable, but at least for the moment she had to bear it. Soon enough her strength would return, and then they would pay.
Oh, how they would pay.
........ Wat? That... that ending.... wat?
Uhh... what? I really hope that you're not turning Murphy into a bad guy, so that Harry can fuck Twilight.
Okay, that ending was unexpected to say the least... Just to be clear, Molly doesn't know that they're ponies yet, does she?
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I really doubt the the mistress is Karrin, if only for the fact that Karrin would much prefer that Chicargo stays intact which is a very hard thing to do when Harry Dresden is being hunted.
The better question is why is she impersonating Karrin.
Mistress Murphy?
... No way in hell that's actually Murphy.
Okay, this chapter was great. I really liked how quickly Pinkie got into anime and how she seems to be unaware of her sexiness (I'm calling that Pinkie is the one that lost her virginity as she was quick to wink to a guy who watched her get dressed) along with her dislike for bras and underwear. Likewise, I liked how Spike defeated RD at DDR and how Rarity took a long time to find a bra. The fight with the ghouls was well-written and it was enjoyable to see Rarity weaponize clothes, Pinkie use party weapons, and AJ being strong enough to fight ghouls barehanded. Ouroboros's history with the Fae is interesting and, although an antagonist, I do feel bad that she ends up being the part-time underling of that pompous deucebag. The ending with Ouroboros meeting "Lady Murphy" who is the leader of the Black Court was a complete shocker. Something tell me that misunderstandings will be plentiful in the subsequent chapters. Thanks for the amazing chapter. Hope May comes soon to see the next one.
P.S: Is the anime that Pinkie likes and talks about in this chapter named Guren Laggan?
Murphy.....................That name spells trouble...as in literal and metaphorical.
What the actual balls?
You know, I'm half thinking that the last two paragraphs or so were just to troll us based on when he published this chapter...
Pretty clearly Mavra disguised as Murphy.
But freaking why? To confuse Harry? To get Ourobouros to attack the real Murphy? Stupid vampires, not behaving straightforwardly.
Also, props for writing Pinkie's perspective. Hard to do.
Yeah, definitely someone impersonating Murphy. But not many people know the name "black council", since Dresden coined it and only uses it with the people helping him fight them. And "Mistress Murphy" would probably know that, considering pretty much every reason to impersonate Murphy would be related to antagonizing Dresden.
"Murphy" rolls a 1 on Bluff check.
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Probably so that whenever Expendable Minion #38 and Orobos get taken down by the inevitable White Council goon squad/The Marines/Dresden And Friends, our favorite wizard and his human compatriot get in deep doo-doo for black magic, breaking the Unseelie Accords, and poor clue-masking skills.
As usual all the characters have a great voice which brought a number of genuine smiles to my face and a handful of laughs.
Assuming the Murphy bit isn't April 1st foolery, it is a fairly cheap bit of insurance for the antagonist. If someone is pretending to be Murphy they accomplish two things at the same time. First they remain anonymous so that Ouroborous doesn't pursue them. Second if Ouroborous does get out of control she will be pointed in a direction that will still cause her to come into conflict with Dresden.
Woah, woah, woah... back up a little. I'm sure you mean Black Court and not Black Council. Because if I remember the time line of this series correctly it's a bit too early for that second one to be playing ball this hard.
I'm thinking April fools, or some such sillyness. Obviously it's not really Murphy, but I can't imagine who it could be. A shapeshifter? Someone else who could pass for Murphy? Murphy under some sort of compulsion? Doubt it's the last, that would be quite obvious and I'd think she'd be hard to manipulate so overtly at this point.
Black Council... saying that doesn't really do much, could be an Author thing, but the true actors in the books wouldn't call themselves that, save to Dresden maybe, but even then I'd doubt it.
It's more his own private name for the cabal. Green Lady, interesting terms and places them fairly high in the true world hierarchy, but we'll see...
Well, we see that three of the Mane Six can handle themselves quite nicely against the dark things of the world. It wasn't a curbstomp battle by any means, but the bad guys didn't expect the skills they had. And it's only going to get worse when Harry-- and likely Twilight-- catch up to them. (Especially Twilight, who is likely to take great exception to these things even existing-- talk about unharmonious-- and can reverse engineer spells at the drop of a hat. Does Dresden wear a hat? Because he totally should drop it.)
7083183 7083250 The Black Court is the third of the major vampire factions and includes Mavra. The Black Council is the group of rouge wizards and 'others' that Dresden has been wrestling with for a while and is most likely composed of agents of The Nemesis. That name was also coined by Dresden and his allies and wouldn't be used by them to refer to themselves unless they were talking to him and wanted him to know.
Loved the dialogue, thought it perfectly fit their characters and I could practically hear their voices as I read it.
Pinkie narrating part of the fight was different. She uses some novel metaphors.
Ok, loved the chapter, but I kinda wonder if the current date might have something to do with that last bit.
You know, the first of April and all.
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So glad to see this back and kicking
There's a lot of subplots starting to develop here. Add too many more and we might need a flow chart to keep track of everything. Also not sure what to make of the ending. With how well you've stuck to Dresden canon so far I can't imagine it's actually Murphy but I'm definitely going to make use of this clip while I can.
I have to confess, I let out a delighted squee as I saw this update!
Then I got worried because it's the 1st of April, then I appreciated the chapter all the same (Pinkie finding out about Anime... that doesn't sound good for Equestria!) and now I'm confused by the chapter's ending like pretty much everyone else.
7083389 Oh, good eye, I misread that.
Now I really don't understand what's going on.
Was the last part of the chapter an April Fools joke?
If not, then I am SO confused right now.
I mean, even if that's someone disguised as Murphy to confuse Ouroboros and Dresden, how would they know to call the shadowy organization Harry's working against The Black Council? Pretty sure Hary was the one calling them that.
Everybody's so focused on "Mistress Murphy", that nobody's talking about her companion. My guess is Cowl, as uncreative as that is.
Wild mass guessing time: "Mistress Murphy"'s name actually is Murphy and she's an original character. It's not like Karrin's family had a monopoly on the name, after all. ;) Now whether she's actually related and, indeed, how far beyond "short, blonde woman in a police uniform" the resemblance even goes...that remains to be seen.
Ok the ending has to be one of three things. First this is an april fools joke. Second the big bad of this story is impersonating Murphy. Or third this story has broken severly away from the main series aside from the MLP elements as Murphy actually being a villain is completely braking her character to the point it is only superficial similarities that make her the cop we all know and love.
Pinkie watched Anime? Why does that thought send a shiver of dread up my spine?
7083926 Aside from no noose how do you know it couldn't have been nicodemus or one of his knights that was the companion. Really their are to many enemies that come back to try and kill harry multiple times, though with the mention of summer I'm waiting for mab to pop up now
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The Second one is most likely. My money is on this being one of those wheels within wheels kind of evil plans. They're probably giving the monster a secondary target so that when she inevitably decides she's regained enough power to turn on those blackmailing her, she STILL unwittingly provides a distraction for Dresden because she'll likely target Karin Murphy.
Hell they probably knew exactly who the monster was and her history with Titania so assuming they aren't fae they could totally be lying about the Summer Court being on her trail. Of course if they are Fae they could just be creatively presenting half-truths. Fae are bastards like that.
Basically these evil doers are playing this monstrosity for a chump.
I freaking knew there would be an April Fools gag in there somewhere.
7083878 Don't forget that Harry often confides in Murphy whenever he needs her help. It wouldn't be too farfetched to think that he told her about his suspicions of a Black Council. If it is Murphy, she would know. If it is NOT Murphy, she might have spied on the real one and heard it from her.
I always find it amusing when the big bad monster finds itself terrified because it managed to piss off a bigger, badder monster.
Hah!
Talking about prima-donnas and problem cases
Haa, subtle one, that! I like it
Well it's practically a clown car. Like the TARDIS, those things are bigger on the inside
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
Huh. Ghoul, vampire, or some kind of werewolf-thing?
Probably ghoul.
Ah yes. The anime. The earlier "summoning her mecha" suddenly makes sense too
Haa. Reminds me of the Korean comic "The Gamer", where the main character (who's stuck with RPG rules in the real world) does a bunch of weird stuff to try to gain a new skill, and ends up with something like "making an ass of yourself: 5 second confusion attack". Being the magnificent bastard he is, though, he actually ends up using that at a critical moment in a battle
Aww. You're supposed to use that confusion, Pinkie!
Ahh, deez descriptions, monsieur! Zey are delectable!
Ahh, that moment you realize you're actually a hardboiled adventurer completely desensitized to life-threatening situations.
Still loads safer than the Yukarimobile. No matter what anyone claims
Yiiikes
um wut
Remarks and corrections:
> "I tell Gummy I love him,"
I have a feeling that first "I" shouldn't be there.
> by keeping on eye on everything she bought?
"by keeping [an] eye"
> Looked like Twilight as right
"Twilight [was] right"
> Then you will die the hands of the Fae.
Missing word: "die [at] the hands of the Fae"
> Soon enough her strength would return, and then they would pay
Missing period at the end.
Oh, and I reread a bit of the previous chapter to catch up, and spotted this one, too:
> would represent an unique opportunity for investment.
Should be "a unique opportunity"
But didn't Harry made up the name of Black Council?
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That, combined with the fact she's impersonating Murphy, and the fact there's still barely anything known about this "black council", is quite a lot of reason to assume they're not the real thing, yes. They just seem to have been stalking Dresden for quite a while, and seem ready to push all his buttons...
......da HELL??
7083926 Probably because there wasn't much to go on in that scene... aside from the reaction to Ouroborous's fear. Between that and the hunger crack I'm guessing the White Court house that feeds on fear. White Court types are even more obsessed with proxies and manipulations than the fae.
7084509
Umm, no. No 'u' is not in fact a consonant, it's a vowel... such is proceeded by an 'an' not an 'a'.
A great chapter. Well done.
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https://www.google.com/search?q=%22an+unique%22
One google, man. Really. Sheesh.
7084509 Yikes doesn't cover making something personal with powerful magicker; ie Dresden, Sauron, Anakin Skywalker, High level Fae, higher class demons (I think you get the point). You get to the point of this (1:46)
Hmm. I suspect Mistress Murphy took the name as a nod to Murphy's Law - "Anything that can go wrong, will. You know why? Me."
The fact that it shares a name with one of Dresden's friends is probably coincidence.
7084281 I agree though just because of the timing I'm not willing to rule out my first point, But I doubt it would be one of the Fae with how far the cannon story of Dresden is I'm more willing to put my money on an outsider or a demon of hell like Nicodemus' little group as all of them have some shape shifting ability though I'm more willing to place money on a skin walker(not even going to try and type their original name that took Ingin Joe to stop), Or an outsider possessed Fae as we saw in cold days other then it creating wholes in the cannon story plot.
7083388
Harry and hat's is actually a bit of a running gag in the series. The illustrator of the book cover keeps giving him one, but Harry never actually wears one in the books themselves. A t this point it's rather deliberate.
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A name, sure, that could be coincidence.
A name, a physical appearance and a police uniform, though? Nope. That's foul play.
7084945
You put much more thought into that than I did. It certainly could be someone from the White Court (and I believe the house you're looking for is Malvora). That said, the very mention of the Black Council, however strange it is, implies a level of knowledge of the goings on in the White Council that mist Whampires just won't have. While it isn't impossible, and is certainly more thought out than "hey, a bad guy with a hidden face, it must be Cowl!" I am not entirely convinced.
7085497
Yeah, that's what I was going to say. That is impersonation, plain and simple.