Chapter Six
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.
I arrived at the hotel with Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack in tow a little before ten. They seemed surprisingly calm after being ambushed by a pair of ghouls. If anything, they were more concerned for Molly than anything that happened to them.
“And you’re sure you’ll be okay?” I asked, handing Applejack the key card to their room.
She chuckled, wincing slightly at the movement. “Don’t you worry. A good night’s sleep and a day of rest’ll patch me up good enough. Just don’t start any fights until the day after tomorrow.”
“Hey,” I replied, holding up my hands defensively. “I’m never the one who starts the fight.”
“Nope, but you’ve sure got a habit of finishing them,” Pinkie said, hopping out of the car and giggling.
I rolled my eyes but didn’t argue. I mean, it wasn’t like she was wrong. “Okay, I’ll be back at eight in the morning with a rented van big enough for the group. A couple of my friends promised to keep you girls out of trouble and help with the sight-seeing.”
Rarity paused, while stepping out of my car. “You don’t want our help in your investigation?”
“Not right now,” I told her bluntly. “Most of what I’m doing is questioning people, and none of you know enough about my world to be helpful there.” That earned me a pout from Pinkie, but Rarity and Applejack gave half-hearted nods of acceptance. “If I run into a situation that needs your talents I won’t hesitate to ask.” Which was a blatant lie, because I sure as Hell would hesitate over anything that might put them in danger, helpful or not. “But until then you guys should enjoy your vacation.”
Pinkie sighed. “I guess so.”
Rarity gave a small, somehow decorous, yawn. “If you’ll excuse me, a lady needs her beauty sleep. Until tomorrow, Dresden.”
“See ya!” Pinkie shouted, waving goodbye. Applejack just gave me a nod and all three headed into the hotel. I waved back, and fired up the Blue Beetle. I hadn’t told any of them, but my investigating for the night wasn’t over just yet.
After getting the girls set up in their hotel room, I had spent most of the day at the University of Chicago checking out people who might have known more about Sean. I managed to grab a quick chat with his advisor, a matronly middle-aged lady named Ms. Sweitzer. She reported that he had seemed less and less involved on campus recently. The last time she had seen him was two weeks ago, when he turned in one of his projects with ‘less enthusiasm than usual’. Ms. Switzer thought that Sean had a ‘real gift for wordplay but an inability to accept criticism that left him creatively shackled’. I translated that to mean that he had his head up his ass. Not too uncommon for guys his age.
Surprisingly, plenty of people in the music department seemed to know him. The general reaction was summed up best by a kid wearing headphones and a pair of shorts with more pockets than your average utility belt: “Oh, that guy?” It seemed Sean had made plenty of waves, if not many friends. Most of his acquaintances hadn’t seen him for a while, even before he disappeared. One girl, who sported hair down to the small of her back that was dyed in colors that reminded me of Rainbow’s do, told me that he had a proud streak a mile wide, and she’d gotten on his bad side for ‘unjust criticism’ of one composition. She was by no means the only one who described him in such terms. A thin, pale guy in black just sneered and walked away.
The best info I got from the trip was a lead on his former band. I hadn’t gotten to meet with any of them, but they were apparently all fellow University students, because homemade flyers for ‘Heir of the Dog’ were on every bulletin board in the music department. They were playing at a bar tonight, and I figured on having a word between sets. Even if they didn’t know anything about Sean’s disappearance, I could at least warn them and leave a business card.
My other errand at the University was a lot quicker. I checked in with the Alphas, Chicago’s only band of vigilante werewolves. They patrolled the neighborhood around the University and kept the place pretty safe from both supernatural threats and mundane crime. Werewolves, with certain cursed exceptions, aren’t heavyweights in the supernatural world, but they had solid teamwork, experience, and the wisdom to back off from any fight they couldn’t handle alone.
Sean’s apartment was on the edge of the Alpha’s territory, so I was hoping, though not expecting, that they had seen or heard something. Will and Georgia, the married couple that led the pack, didn’t know anything, but they promised to check with the rest of the Alphas. Given my luck, they probably wouldn’t turn up much. On the plus side, Will had promised to search Sean’s laptop for clues and arrange for some of the group to chaperone the girls around tomorrow if I found a lead to follow.
I shook myself out of my thoughts as I pulled up on the bar where Sean’s former bandmates were playing. The Crazy Gecko wasn’t a dive bar, even if it kind of looked like one. It was a only a couple of blocks from the University and was a big enough part of Chicago’s local music scene that even I’d heard of it. The place was jumping despite the wallet-gouging cover charge and the fact that it was Wednesday night. With my significant height advantage, I managed to get the bartender’s attention and snag a beer. It was a local craft brew, not bad, but drinking Mac’s ambrosia has spoiled me for other beers. I scanned the room and quickly located an out-of-the-way table that put my back to the wall where I could watch both the band and front door.
I’ll say this for ‘Heir of the Dog’: when they picked a theme, they stuck to it. All three members were wearing spiked leather collars with dogtags and studded leather cuffs at the wrists. When the long-haired guitarist/lead singer smiled at the crowd, I could see that he also had long acrylic canines. At least, I figured they were acrylic. It would be pretty embarrassing if these guys turned out to be supernatural when I hadn’t even seriously considered that possibility. The other two band members were a dour-looking keyboardist wearing a mohawk and wire-cage muzzle and a chunky drummer in a dog-faced mask and a shirt depicting wolves howling at a full moon.
I sipped my beer and checked out the rest of the room. Most of the audience was college students, including a few obvious fraternity and sorority members. The band seemed to have a few fans, or at least people that were obviously listening to them instead of talking to each other. How anyone could have a conversation over all the noise was beyond me. I made my beer last, but it was long gone by the time ‘Heir of the Dog’ stopped for a break.
There was some scattered applause after their final riff died out and the lead singer nodded to the crowd. “Thank you! We’re gonna hit the john, chug a beer and then we’ll be back for more ladies and gentledudes.” That earned him some laughter and a couple rude suggestions from a few of the drunker guys. I was already moving by that point, having gotten up as soon as they stopped playing. I waited off to the side of the small stage as they put their instruments in order.
“Excuse me,” I said as they moved to walk past me. “I’m looking for Sean Belfast. Have any of you heard from him recently?”
The keyboardist rolled his eyes. “Jeez, now the debt agencies are sending out guys after him? Sorry, haven’t seen him.”
I shook my head. “I’m not with any company. I’m a private investigator hired by Sean’s father. He’s gone missing.”
The lead singer grinned. “Hell, given the rent on that apartment, I’d disappear too if I was locked into a lease like him.” Then his face grew serious. “But he didn’t even tell his dad he was going?”
“Not only that,” I continued, “nothing was missing from his apartment. Not money, clothing, his instrument, or his song-writing notebooks.”
That took each of them by surprise. The drummer murmured, “Oh, shit,” under his breath and took off his mask. The keyboardist removed his muzzle.
The lead singer ran his fingers through his hair, actually looking worried. “Okay, there’s a green room in the back where we can talk. It isn’t much, but it's better than shouting out here.” He moved deeper into the building and I followed. He was right; the green room wasn’t much. My bedroom is barely large enough for my bed, but this place was smaller. Still, it had enough chairs, so I settled into one as the drummer shut the door behind us, dulling the noise of the bar to a low roar.
The lead singer nodded in approval and took a seat himself. “How can we help? Oh, and I’m Simon, the sour one is Keith, and the fat one is Paul.”
Paul went for a scowl, but it looked more like a pout. “It’s Mastiff, not Paul,” he whined. “And I’m not fat, I’m just a bit hefty.”
“Shut up, Paul,” Keith said, in a tone of voice that told me this was far from the first time he’d said it.
I ignored the byplay and offered my hand to Simon. “I’m Harry Dresden. Thanks for your help.”
Simon blinked. “Weren’t you on the Larry Fowler show that one time?” I fought the urge to roll my eyes, but that did tell me something useful. None of these three were involved in the real supernatural scene. If they were, they would have immediately recognized my name from something other than that stupid TV show. Plus, they’d probably be afraid of me. For some reason, that tends to happen.
“Yeah, once. So, when’s the last time any of you heard from Sean?”
They glanced at each other, thinking about it. Keith spoke up first. “Almost two months ago. He wasn’t happy with the way things in the band were going. He felt that none of us were taking things seriously enough. Don’t get me wrong, we all love the band, but nobody except Sean ever thought we were going to ‘get discovered’ and make this our career. Paul and I aren’t even Music majors, and Simon’s working to become a voice coach.”
“He took things uber-serious,” Paul added. “Everything had to be perfect with him. Plus, he was kind of a hipster, hating on any music that wasn’t ‘artistic’ enough.”
Simon nodded. “Yeah, though things didn’t get bad until we had a band meeting about our songs. The dude could write lyrics like nobody’s business, I’ve gotta give him that, but his music…”
“Sucked,” Keith finished bluntly. “He couldn’t write a decent riff to save his ass. We worked out a compromise where Simon would write the music first and Sean would add lyrics, or Sean would write the lyrics and Simon would re-work the music. That worked for a while, but Sean was never really happy with it. He just refused to accept that he was no good at composing.”
“To be fair,” Paul added, “we probably shouldn’t have been drinking during the meeting. That’s probably why things got so heated.”
I chuckled wryly. “Yeah, I can’t see how that could’ve gone wrong.”
“To quote him, ‘You fucking plebs will never appreciate my genius, so I quit!’ My response of, ‘If you had any genius to appreciate we wouldn’t be having this fucking conversation!’ sealed the deal,” Simon said. “I kinda regret saying that, but at the same time, he wasn’t the best bandmate.” He shook his head. “Still, I can’t imagine him leaving behind his bass or his books. Those things were everything to him.”
Looked like my earlier supposition about the relative position of Sean’s ass and head were correct. “So, you all knew about the amount of debt he was under?”
“Yeah,” Keith replied. “He bitched about his dad and their fight often enough, and we knew he wasn’t pulling down that much money with us. Plus, he spent like his dad was still bankrolling him, and his apartment was damned expensive. Paul even offered him a spot in this three bedroom he was getting with another guy, but Sean stuck to his fancy place. The man just could not be fiscally responsible, despite my best advice.” I stared at him for moment, and he sighed. “I’m getting a Bachelor’s in Accounting. I don’t know why that always surprises people.”
It was difficult, but I fought to keep my comments to myself. I still had more questions to ask and it was only professional. “Yeah,” I agreed, “what modern-day accountant doesn’t wear a mohawk and dog collar?” Oops.
Keith glared, but the other two members of the band laughed. Paul had a laugh like a hyena, that did more to dissuade me from more jokes than any glare from Keith. I decided to keep the questions rolling. “So did any of you hear about Sean getting a new job?”
Simon shook his head. “He didn’t have one when we were in the band, and I haven’t spoken to him since.” Keith and Paul nodded in agreement.
“Did anyone ever approach him after a show or ask any of you about him after he left?”
Keith rubbed his chin. “You get guys that want to talk music after a lot of shows – that’s how the music scene is around here – but I don’t remember anybody grabbing him for a private chat. People liked the lyrics, though, he usually got questions about that.”
Paul snorted. “He’d act like he was top dog anytime he got those compliments.” Then he grinned like he’d just told the funniest joke in the world.
Keith made a disgusted face, and Simon just rolled his eyes. “Yeah, ignoring that. Anyway, nobody’s come asking about him until you.”
I frowned. “Are you still singing some of the songs he wrote? Especially the supernatural themed ones?”
I got nods from the group. “Yep, I did the music so we’ve got at least half-claim on them. Sean could play them too if he wanted and we wouldn’t mind. He’s got just as much of a claim,” Simon said. Then his eyes widened as he made connections. I really, really regret doing the Larry Fowler show. And not just because that jerk is still trying to sue me for all of the damage my magic did to his studio equipment. “Wait, you mean his dad thinks that something made off with him? And he hired you because you’re a psychic detective? No way!”
The urge to facepalm was strong but I resisted it. “His father hired me because I have a history of getting results. That’s all. I don’t think he ran, so I’m trying to find a motive, any motive, for someone to make him disappear.”
“I guess,” Simon said, but he still looked suspicious. Keith just looked skeptical, and Paul looked entertained.
I fished a business card out of my pocket and handed it to him. “I’ll be checking on other leads, but if he contacts you or someone asks about him, please give me a call.” I hesitated. If they were still playing those songs, there was the chance that they could still be involved. Telling someone flat out that a ‘mythical’ creature might come looking for them doesn’t tend to pan out. People who believe will get scared and do something stupid. Most people will just think you’re nuts. “And if something,” I said, matching Simon’s emphasis, “weird happens or someone seems a little too interested in your songs, let me know about that too.”
Simon seemed surprised but took the card, Keith just looked bored. “Great, now can we piss? My bladder is about to pop.”
“Thanks for your time, guys,” I said, opening the door and wading back into the crowd. I kept an eye out as I did, but no one seemed to pay any special attention to me or make any suspicious movements. Of course, if I was being watched by anyone good at their job, I wasn’t likely to spot them that easily anyway. I put my well-justified paranoia on the back-burner for now. I had another appointment this evening, and it wouldn’t be wise to show up late.
………
Chicago has some surprisingly big parks, some large enough to be small forests. In the middle of one, you could almost forget you were in a major city. You could feel truly alone, far from the noise and roads, surrounded by the sound of trees whispering in the wind. The only real difference was the neatly maintained hiking trails and the darkness of the night sky. There was too much light pollution here to see the stars like out in the real country.
I checked my watch and saw that both hands were almost aligned on the twelve. Midnight. Damned supernatural jackasses always had to do things like that. It couldn’t be 11:45, or 12:15. It had to be some time with deep and vast portent or some nonsense.
Still, I couldn’t complain too much. I had been lucky to get this meeting at all.
Wendigos were secretive, but they still left channels for contact within the supernatural world. They weren’t completely cut off from the political scene, just isolated. I had asked for a meeting with their representative on Accorded Neutral Ground. I had been hoping that we’d meet at Mac’s, but didn’t really expect that they’d go for even a semi-public place like that. Their reply had agreed to the meeting, but demanded a suitably isolated location. The message promised safe passage, and most creatures of legend were dead set on keeping their word. However, if they had it out for me, there were any number of loopholes they could probably find. Just for example, letting one of my enemies know when and where I’d be in an isolated location.
So, it was no accident that I had come armed and kept a careful watch on the woods surrounding me.
I spotted him walking down the trail towards the clearing with only a few seconds to go until the promised time. I knew it was my contact, even though to all appearances he looked like a perfectly normal human. There was something in his walk, in his utter disregard for the darkness and late hour, that set him apart. Even when an owl screeched and took flight only feet away from him, he did not flinch. Why should he show fear? He was not prey; he was the hunter.
“Good evening. How you been?” he asked, in a perfect Chicago-native accent. All of the immortals and long-lived creatures I’ve ever met sounded at least a hundred years out of date when they spoke. Even most of the older wizards didn’t keep up very well with how language changed. It made it all the more bizarre that I was talking to a creature that had probably been alive before Chicago was so much as a dinky trading outpost, and yet he sounded like he had been born and raised here not more than forty years ago.
Unlike a lot of the supernatural creatures I deal with, Wendigos aren’t immigrants to Chicago. Algonquin stories about them go back a dozen centuries or more. They start off as spirits that infect a normal person, digging down deep into their psyche. The victim is driven to extreme greed and hunger, always wanting more, never satisfied. If they aren’t exorcised in time, they turn to murder and cannibalism, completing the transformation and becoming a full-fledged Wendigo. Most Wendigos can’t control their hunger and immediately go on a destructive rampage that ends in their death. Any Wendigo more than a few years old has the strength and willpower to be a major threat. Especially given their ability to near-perfectly disguise themselves by reverting to their human form. There are still Wendigo-hunters among some traditional Native Americans and most other supernatural predators don’t like Wendigos on their turf, so any still living have developed cunning and secretive natures in addition to their shapeshifting. It’s more than a little unpleasant to think that anyone on the street could be a monster barely keeping its desire to eat you in check.
“I’m fine,” I answered cautiously. I straightened myself and gestured to the plastic cooler sitting beside me. “I brought a small token of my respect.” He nodded and gestured for me to open it, clearly not trusting me any more than I did him. I flipped the lid open, revealing three plucked, but ungutted and uncooked turkeys.
A slow smile spread across his face, getting wider and wider than was possible for any human mouth. “Thank you, Wizard,” he said, the modern accent discarded like an old hat. He sniffed the air and made a sound somewhere between a growl and a purr. “You were even considerate enough to leave in all of their delectable organ meat.”
I’ve seen shapeshifting before and most of the time it’s so quick that if you blink you’ll miss it. Whether by nature or design, the Wendigo was not that fast when changing forms. An elk’s muzzle pushed out from his human face, teeth growing and sharpening as stains and chips appeared. He reached for the cooler even though it was several feet away, his arms lengthening until it was in his grasp. Plain clothing melted into his skin as white fur sprang up. His legs twisted in a direction no human legs were meant to go and began to grow long and thick, ending wide, clawed paws. Antlers sprang from his head like trees growing in a time-lapse film. His skin stretched taut over his growing body, outlining the bones underneath. Along with the nauseating transformation, a putrid smell rolled out that made me glad my dinner had been many hours ago.
He settled back on his haunches, yet still towered over me. Standing erect he was probably better than twelve feet tall. He dangled one turkey over his mouth then snapped his jaws forward, taking half of it in a single bite. He gave a pleased rumble as he chewed. I waited for him to finish, still keeping a wary eye on my surroundings just in case. He swallowed then nodded. “Ask your questions, Wizard.”
“Do you know anything about a mortal named Sean Belfast?”
He pondered for a moment popping the other half of the turkey into his mouth and munching on it as he thought. The snapping bones almost made it sound like he was eating carrot sticks. “That name means nothing to me. Why do you ask?”
I studied his face as he answered, but it’s hard to tell much from a fanged deer head with pupil-less yellow eyes. “He has disappeared after creating songs that held truth about your kind. I was asked by his father to discover what happened to him.”
“Ah,” the Wendigo said. “A reasonable suspicion then.” He reached for another turkey, bit off the head, and squeezed it like an orange, draining the blood down into his open mouth. He licked his lips, smearing more blood around them than he removed.
I felt sweat drip down the back of my neck. Not only was he surprisingly unconcerned with what basically amount to an accusation of murder, but his eating habits seemed intended to unnerve me. Well, congrats to him, because they were creepy as hell. Still, this wasn’t the worst monster I’d faced, not by a long shot, and backing down isn’t my thing. “Nice Ozzie impression, you should’ve opened with that,” I snarked. “I know my suspicion is reasonable, that’s why I approached you about it.”
“And what did you expect to learn?” he asked, leering at me. “I’ve told you that I know nothing of that mortal. Even if I did, do you imagine that I’d admit it to you?”
I frowned, mostly because he had something of a point. “Then why did you agree to meet with me?”
“Partly because I knew you would bring me something to eat. But mostly, because I wanted to see you for myself. You are such a young wizard to have so fearsome a reputation.” He stuffed the drained turkey into his mouth and swallowed it whole, no chewing. “I can see why. Courteous to a point, yet solid as stone and fierce as fire underneath.” His blood-stained mouth twisted into a fanged smirk. “It is well that I had nothing to do with the disappearance of your mortal.”
“And you’d be willing to swear to that?” I asked, taking a step forward. “Swear upon your power and honor? If you’re telling me the truth then it wouldn’t be any trouble to do.” Which was and wasn’t true. Supernatural creatures hate being forced into committing themselves to their words. Getting any kind of promise, no matter how unimportant, is like pulling teeth from them.
He froze with his hand halfway to the cooler. Then his eyes narrowed. “Wendigos have no honor, only hunger. But even so, to give my word is not something lightly done.” He grabbed the final turkey out of the cooler, and bit it in half, never taking his eyes off of me.
I knew how this game went. That wasn’t a refusal, that was an invitation to make an offer. “What do you want?”
He stuffed the last of the turkey into his mouth, and chewed quickly. “Three humans and a horse. All skinned but ungutted.”
I snorted. He was trying to get under my skin, asking for that. I didn’t give him the satisfaction. “Get real. I’ll buy you a side of beef if meat is what you want.”
“Two deer, skinned but ungutted, and a dozen meat-lover’s pizzas. That is the least I deserve for my time and trouble.”
I blinked at that. “Really?”
He was entirely serious as he nodded. “I have heard the Small Folk talk about your provision of pizza. It is a less than traditional offering, but something I enjoy nonetheless.”
Huh, I guess just about everything liked pizza. Goes to show you. “I didn’t figure Wendigos for eating anything other than raw meat.”
“That is our preference,” he admitted then grinned unpleasantly. “But there is so much food to be found otherwise. This is a time of bounty, with food overflowing, requiring barely an effort to be taken. All-you-can-eat buffets dot the city, plying us with plate after plate. Enough food to quiet even our stomachs for a brief time. Even as the mortals fatten themselves, we sate our own gluttony as they stroke their own.” He spoke quietly, but with a fervent energy, and honestly, it was even weirder than the earlier bits with the turkeys. I had expected something like that, at least.
“Ooookay,” I said. “I agree to your terms. Now, swear that you knew nothing of Sean’s disappearance.”
“I swear by my power that I know nothing of the disappearance of a mortal named Sean Belfast. If any of my kind did this deed, they did it alone, without telling anyone,” he said. He tossed the cooler to my feet and yawned enormously. “Now, it’s time that I got dinner. We will meet again in a week and you will provide the promised food. I will contact you a day in advance with the location. Safe travels, Wizard.” He turned away, shrinking back into human form much quicker than he’d transformed into a monster. I knew the jerk had done that on purpose.
I waited several minutes for him to clear out entirely, then began the trek back to the Blue Beetle. The good news was that I could probably eliminate Wendigos as suspects. There was the possibility that one of them had acted as a lone agent, but there was no conspiracy among them to kill Sean. The bad news was that I was almost out of leads.
Earlier today, I had checked my voice message system and found that Mr. Belfast had left the badge number of the detective that had brushed off Sean’s disappearance. I was going to check on him tomorrow and hope that he had been bought off not to investigate, because otherwise I didn’t know where to go from here.
Most of the time, by this point in a supernatural investigation I’d have been attacked at least once or twice. That tends to confirm that I’m on the right trail and gives me an additional lead to follow back to the culprit. In this case, the closest we’d come was the two ghouls that tried to grab Molly. Those attackers were as close to anonymous as you could get, given how many factions used ghouls as cheap muscle. The timing of the attack also made me wonder if it was even connected to this investigation.
Marcone had put out the word that he wanted to see me, and he was currently tangled with something from the spooky side, or so Gard had implied. His competitor could have heard and sent those ghouls to snatch Molly and get a hold over me. I just didn’t know either way. The only thing I could be certain of was that it was no chance attack. They had tried to capture Molly instead of killing anyone, and they had been way too persistent for wild ghouls.
“What I wouldn’t give to get a break on this case,” I said with a sigh.
A blonde woman in a modest toga materialized beside me. My hand flashed to my blasting rod, but by the time it closed on the smooth wood I realized what had happened. “Good evening to you too, Lasciel. In case you were wondering, the answer is my soul.”
She grinned at that with what looked like genuine amusement. “Suspicious as ever, my host. I only wish to be of service. You were already talking to yourself, so I thought I may as well provide someone to answer.” She appeared to be walking in step with me, despite being a foot shorter and not having nearly the same stride. Of course, given that her entire presence was just an illusion, albeit a very convincing one, I suppose glossing over minor details wasn’t much of a stretch.
I snorted. “I talked to myself for years before you ever showed up. And I’ll keep doing it after I find a way to get rid of you.” A tiny flicker of unease and sadness crossed her expression, but disappeared the moment I looked closer. I felt some guilt at that, I won’t deny. Which is probably exactly what she was counting on. They don’t call her ‘The Temptress’ for nothing.
“Nevertheless,” she continued, “I would like to offer my insight.”
I gave a neutral grunt, and continued my way down the trail.
A miniature version of Chicago appeared in front of me, every building and tree done to scale. It was an image of Little Chicago, my thaumaturgic link to the city at large. I continued walking, but the image glided in front of me, moving as I did. Which made sense, as it only existed in my mind. The memory of the spell I had used earlier to track Sean’s movement on it flared to life, leaving streaks of glowing red winding between and among the pewter buildings. The red streaks were old, faint in some places, gone entirely in some others. Too much time had passed between Sean’s movements and my spell to given me a clear picture. However, there wasn’t even a speck of red near the lakefront, either airport, or edges of the city. Wherever Sean had gone, it wasn’t far.
I arched an eyebrow at the shadow of the Fallen. “Okay, I’ll bite. Where are you going with this?”
“Not to criticize, my host,” and she gave a small smile that immediately marked that as a lie, “but when you examined the result of your spell you were too focused on where he was, not where he had been.”
I frowned, but gestured for her to continue.
A blue circle appeared around part of his trail. “Sean drove to or past this area at least three times. If you examine it carefully you can see where multiple lines overlap. This part of town is several miles from the University, his apartment, and does not contain any shops, restaurants, or other places of entertainment.” I peered down and noticed that she was right. Most of the area within the circle was industrial, and not the nicest neighborhood either.
“You think his mysterious ‘job’ was somewhere in that area.”
She bowed, and gave me a wide smile. “And now, so do you.”
I rolled my eyes, and brushed the image of the mini-city away with a swipe of my hand and an effort of will. “It’s definitely worth looking into,” I admitted. I hesitated a second, then sighed. “And thanks. I wasn’t spinning my wheels just yet, but if that visit to the police tomorrow turns up nothing, I might have.”
Lasciel glowed with gratitude so sincere it had to be fake. I rolled my eyes and reminded myself not to give her too much credit. Otherwise she might get a swelled head. “Although, since you mention your plan to visit the police, I do have a suggestion,” she said. I glanced at her with a scowl and renewed suspicion, and she made a placating gesture. “I am only saying that your discussion with the detective should have a low chance of danger and yet would be considerably helped by a… girl that has an ear for truth.”
My scowl deepened into something that would make King Kong proud. “Oh, yeah. I’m sure you don’t have ulterior motive for suggesting that. Just looking to help with my investigation.” Sarcasm dripped from my tone. She really should’ve quit while she was ahead instead of reminding me that she knew about the girls.
“Be serious,” she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and ducking under a low hanging branch as if it wouldn’t have gone straight through her. “You even told them that you would ask for their help if they could help you. You’ve seen firsthand that she has great skill in that pursuit. And should it somehow turn violent, she is hardly inexperienced with combat; even in her unfamiliar human form, she bested a ghoul with little trouble.” She peered at me, her eyes piercing. “Why are you so afraid to involve them in this?”
“Because I don’t want them to end up like me!” I snapped. “They’re good. I mean fundamentally capital-G Good on a level that is fucking staggering. When they included me in their Harmony beam power-up thing, I felt a strength and purity in them that I can’t even describe. That’s the difference between us; that’s what I want to protect them from. I’ll stick it to the villains and stand up for the little guys, but at the end of the day, I’ve still got blood on my hands. I’ve done things I’m not proud of and I’ll probably do more in the future. It’s not about their physical safety – they can handle themselves in a fight, no problem. This is about putting them in a situation that stains them, that corrupts them. The further they get drawn into this, the more likely they are to do some necessary evil. They don’t have the Elements here, they don’t have the Princesses, and the one person they can depend on might just be the one to lead them down the left-hand path. In light of that, why am I not surprised that you want them involved?”
I glared at Lasciel with undisguised fury and my fingers tightened on my blasting rod. Despite knowing that she wasn’t really there, it was so tempting to shoot a fireball at her image, just for the pure catharsis of it. “Celestia was right. I can’t be trusted with you inside me, pushing my buttons and tempting me. You’re the shadow of a Fallen, and no matter how polite you are, no matter how ‘reasonable’ your suggestions, I can’t and won’t trust you. You’re one of the things I need to protect them from the most.”
Her expression cooled, and she folded her arms across her chest. “Then if I am such a danger and you are so concerned, perhaps you should warn them. Let them know who and what I am, and how you came to have me bound to your soul.” She gave a short, proper bow and rose, her eyes still hard and cold. “Until then, I wish you a good evening, my host.” She vanished, and once more I was alone in the middle of a hiking trail.
I cursed under my breath and stormed back the rest of the way to my car. She hadn’t called me a hypocrite, not directly anyway. She didn’t need to. My conscience did the job for her all the way home. Sleep was a long time in coming that night.
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Oh an update! Thank you kindly sir!
Excellent chapter, as usual. Really liked the argument between Lasciel and Dresden. Furthermore, I liked the compromise that Harry and the Wendigos came up with in exchange for information.
How messed up is it that Dresden is right about how attempts on his life are one of the best ways for him to pick up leads in a case. I see that the Za Lords Guard has been spreading the tales of his generosity far and wide. Enough so that even a new, old, monster is curious enough to try it.
The highlight of the chapter though was the back and forth between Lasciel and Dresden. It's been too long in the main series since we've had the pleasure of their sparing.
Dammit scuba I need to sleep. Oh well just a few more minutes won't hurt.
A wonderful chapter, well timed during exam week too!
Couldn't have said it any better. Very nice and to the point. I like it.
In the end, everyone (and everything) wants free pizza.
Good chapter, in particular the Wendigo's description of the current era. From it's point view it's as much an age of plenty of them as it is for the developed world and I imagine from its point of view it's only a matter of time before the power structures that protect the self-fattening humans fall apart and give it can feed to its content.... though perhaps it doesn't want that to happen. I imagine it would be easy enough to take the occasional jaunt to somewhere it can get someone to eat before coming back to where it can taste all the delights of the modern food industry.
Was Lasciel in Harry at the end of the first story? If so, that she's still there after a good soak in Orbital Friendship Lazer should mean that this version of Lasciel is altered and re-aligned to some degree.
If not; nevermind.
7299928
No, I don't believe she was.
Maybe he should have another good soak...
You managed to do it again, you magnificent bastard. You wrote Dresden so well, that I forgot I was on the pony site for about three-quarters of the chapter.
7299993
That is something I didn't understand back in False Masks : why did Celestia exile Dresden from Equestria when she could have simply ask the Six to use the Elements on the wizard again?
7300076
'Cause if he comes back, things might follow?
***
Wonder how ponies would react to Wendigoes... Well, they aren't Windegos...
7300111
Celly left clear her main concern was having to deal with another Nicodemus, this time in Equestria.
And Dresden, for once, is not to blame for putting Ponyland in the supernatural radar ; that honor belongs to the Order Triune and Novel Notion 's cronies.
I take it the bands rather, ruff?
Given the preferences of the Wendigo, youd think theyd work in Crematoria or Morgues etc? Places where the body going in doesnt have much in size or comparison at all with the object coming out?
Wonder how much Vampires would complain if someone took an Oil Algae reactor and got it to produce O Blood instead? Its still produced by a life form.
7299928 7299993 7300076
Strange Friends took place between Death Masks and Blood Rites, so Lasciel's shadow was present, but dormant in Harry's mind. She did experience the power of Harmony, but was not expelled or 're-adjusted'. The Fallen and their shadows operate on the Free Will principle, in that they can only be picked up by free will and put down by free will. It's the reason that the Knights of the Cross can't just forcefully exorcise any of the Denarians even with artifacts on the level of the Swords of the Cross.
This is not to say the Elements of Harmony do nothing, their power is much like a super-charged version of entering a church, making the Fallen question and doubt themselves. Lasciel's shadow was suppressed for a roughly a year thanks to being hit by the Harmony beam; it's no accident that she took so long to show up. Yet, straight out banishing her is not an option.
Princess Celestia, despite recognizing Lasciel's sigil, doesn't actually know that much about how the Denarians work, since she only fought with Nicodemus the one time. What she does know is that from Harry's timetable, he was infected before the Elements of Harmony were used on him, yet the shadow still remains part of him, so she has no reason to believe further treatments would help. And honestly, discovering that her country's primary defense against evil seemingly did nothing is part of what scares her into laying down the law.
is dat some Three Wolf Moon?
Loved that bit with the wendigoo.
Actually makes quite a bit of sense that a monster of primal hunger with 'just' a preference for raw meat with enough restraint to not go after everything that moves would consider a modern-day city like Chicago a 24/7 banquet hall.
Indeed, in an area of around the clock all-you-can-eat restaurants, why rock such a tasty, tasty boat?
Still...
Wasn't Lachiel's title The Web-Weaver? I think that red 'classical' demoness with the sad-puppy act whose name escapes me at the moment is The Temptress.
7300164 Darn.
Oh well. Thanks for clearing that up.
Another enjoyable chapter. Great job.
The Za lord's reputation precedes him!
7300916
Lasciel is the Temptress, the Webweaver, and the Seducer. Powerful entities aren't stuck with just one epithet.
7300041
Wait, you mean it ISN'T Jim Butcher writing ponyfic under an assumed name?
Maaaaaaybe....
I forsee Pinkie and AJ both being appalled by hotel breakfast unless they're in a place that serves the good buffet stuff. I can just see Pinkie flipping made to order waffles for kids while AJ helps the elderly by getting their orders and chatting with them. And the hotel manager tries to hire them to help serve breakfast every morning.
I liked the investigation bits and the talk with the Wendigo... especially when it said it wanted pizza. I nearly died of laughter there.
I suspect the wording of the Wendigo is key here, it sounds like Sean probably had an assumed name, and that's how he interacted with the world.
I would have thought that ancient evils would go by solar noon or midnight, not what was invented to keep the trains on time and not colliding with each other.
7302108
Harry should really look into getting a lawyer on retainer or at least doing some law night courses at the local community college. There is a reason EULAs and their ilk are written in dense lawyerese; everything must e specifically, precisely, unambiguously defined and phrased. I can spot 5 loopholes in the Windigo's statement (granted I know nothing of the Dresden universe aside from these stories so I have no idea how valid these are...)
1. "I": Can Windigos themselves get possessed, voluntarily give themselves over to another being, come under the influence of mind/soul altering chemicals/spells? The "I" doing the swearing may be different than the "I" that did the doing...
2. "knew": Past tense. He may very well know now.
3. "disappearance": Sean did not "disappear" per se; he is still perfectly capable of reflecting sufficient quanta of EM radiation in the frequency band human eyes are sensitive to (never mind if he is trapped on a different plane or in several pieces).
4. "mortal": Sean may no longer be a mortal now.
5. "named Sean Belfast": "Sean Belfast" could be an alias, his true name something else entirely...
7302372 But watching non-lawyers scramble to come up with ironclad verbal contracts is half the fun of dealing with the supernatural!
7302372 It occurred to me, reading that, there's another loophole.
"...named Sean Belfast." That's not his true name. If the Wendigo knows Sean's full given name, then calling him "Sean Belfast" is like pointing to a random other stranger with a similar name, and asking if that person is the guy Dresden is looking for. For that matter, even if the Wendigo doesn't know Sean's true name, he would have reasonable grounds to suspect that Sean has more given names. Especially since the Supernatural can reach out and affect people the moment they know that person's true name. If it tried to claim Sean from range the moment Dresden said Sean's name, and failed to do so, that would be enough reason to know that there's a given name the Wendigo still doesn't know. Which would be enough to ensure that even if the creature knows where Sean is, and even if it actually kidnapped him, the wiggle room in Sean's name is enough to ensure it can give an oath like that without suffering any ill effects. It's enough wiggle room to guarantee the oath is meaningless. Which means it can remove itself from consideration, kill or corrupt its target, and still get Dresden to provide a Sunday dinner...
7300164 One of the things the various shows and movies make clear is that the Elements of Harmony don't kill. This is prominently why I think a lot of fanfics suggest Nightmare Moon was either a psychic manifestation like Tantabus, created by Princess Luna, or some kind of possessing third party spirit that got banished back to some extradimensional place, like in the comics involving Nightmare Rarity.
As for the Elements themselves, they clearly act as a CL1000 empathic cleansing effect. (Props for people who get that reference right off. For anyone else, look up "Marvel Advanced Superheroes.") It literally removes the capacity for hatred, self-doubt, anger, angst and so on from the person affected. It also fills them with the unshakeable knowledge that no matter how alone they feel, there's at least one creature somewhere in the universe which loves them. In doing so, several things happen.
If the individual is capable of accepting this and moving on, they become a better person. Maybe not right away, but with the capacity for self-doubt, anger and self-recrimination literally expunged from them, they can start on the path to becoming a better person.
If the individual cannot accept a life without the evil, angst and anger, the Elements probably drive them out. The only exception would be a possessing force which has no actual will of its own, and is just a clever programming trick. Without the capacity to live without its inner evil, it would just cease to exist. A possessed entity would be freed of their possession, largely because the possessing entity is driven out. Demons especially would fall under this category, because their basic nature is so foreign to the Elements, that to stay in its power is to be destroyed. They are either consumed, or driven out.
Lasciel-the-coin would probably have been vaporized by the Elements, because she's too set in her ways to be capable of change. Being hit with a beam of pure empathic energy on a scale no one on Earth can manage would either kill her or (possibly more likely,) banish the coin to some other Realm, instantly taking it out of Equestria, or away from the ponies.
Lash-the-possessing-entity is only a fraction of the original, and is capable of evolution independent of the coin's influences. This means that although she starts with a really steep Redemption curve, it is possible. And being hit with the Elements might well have knocked some of the underpinnings of Lasciel's corruption out from underneath Lash, making it possible for her to develop a more empathic relationship with her host.
Taking these stories into account in Dresden's life, it could be argued that the reason Lash was able to form a self-sacrificing personality, willing to give up her own independent existence to save Harry's, is because the Friendship Cannon literally blasted away the capital-E-Evil that served as her foundation. Without that, she had a much better chance of becoming a better person, in just a few years.
7301549
Fair point. Been quite a while since I read 'her' books, so probably why it slipped my mind.
to get
it's
Yes. Odd, that.
I have my own theory on Sean's fate, but I think I'll keep it to myself for now in case I'm actually right. Don't want to accidentally spoil people.
[youtube=ywfnDJfXsLA]
7302372
You are good. And Dresden should have been smarter than that. Not only he is an experienced wizard, but he has a faerie godmother ; didn't Lea teach him about wording and loopholes in her "training"?
7300160
Crematoria are a definite possibility, and there are probably one or two sneaky Wendigo in the city doing just that. The morgue not so much. Not only is the body expected to stick around for burial, but embalming fluid tend to ruin the taste.
Synthetic blood wouldn't feed the Red Court, because it lacks the same magical/symbolic power as the the life fluid of free-willed beings like humans. Find some way to infuse the generator with an equivalent amount of magic and then it's a possibility.
7300291
Nice spotting. It is in fact Three Wolf Moon that Paul is sporting. He still doesn't understand why people snicker when they see it either.
7300916 7301549 7302709
Lithl is correct. All three of those are Lasciel's titles. Rosanna's are not listed, though she likely has some as well, and if nothing else is know as Tessa's second-in-command
7302301 Ah, but even noon and midnight were invented by humans that tracked the movements of celestial bodies. Only dawn and dusk are truly traditional times.
7302372 7302593
Well, I will say a few things about the possibilities you raise.
1. There is only one entity in all of the Dresden Files that could make this true. And it is major league bad news.
2. That is actually a typo. It should be 'know'.
3. Not a valid loophole in this case. Dresden has established that Sean has disappeared (i.e is no longer present in his daily life) and supernatural community cares nothing for a scientific use of that word. Sophistry on that level could not be sworn to.
5. His father would know his True Name and what he provided Dresden is correct (specifically his whole name is Sean Patrick Belfast). Sean could have used an alias when meeting members of the supernatural, and if the alias was all they knew, then they could swear not to have known him. However, if the Wendigo was aware of him as Sean Belfast or Sean Patrick Belfast then it could not swear to not having known him on mere suspicion that they weren't the same person. He would have had to ask Dresden to be more precise. You can get away with vague or misleading interpretations with pronouns, but names have power.
Also, just to add the phrase 'If any of my kind did this deed, they did it alone, without telling anyone,' was also part of that oath.
Happy theorizing.
7302639
And to think my first reaction to CL1000 was 'that rust cleansing laser? Makes sense'.
7302639 This is roughly my impression of the Elements, too. I've referred to it as a "group hug for the soul" before. Moreover, the purity of the user(s) is apparently important as well. Celestia was only able to banish Nightmare Moon, while the Mane Six could actually revert her to Luna. I think this is because having six different souls involved, each with their own failings but excelling in a specific virtue, can more perfectly embody those virtues than a lone soul ever could.
I sort of suspect the Elements going dormant on Celestia was also a deliberate snub. "How exactly did you let it come to this? *sigh* Okay, we'll help you out this one time, but then you're on your own."
Good to see an update, even if it is mostly setup.
Nice take on the wendigo, that was the high point, though I agree with the other commentators on the loop hole. Most of it anyway.
One thing that struck me as odd. It might just be me, but the descriptions of the people he finds before the Dogs seem unnecessary, unless they are supposed to be foreshadowing. Usually, general information gathering is glossed over, except for the odd person that really makes an impression. But that might be a matter of opinion.
Looking forward to the next update. Happy writing.
7302593 That's not how it works. You need the name from their lips. However, the "named" deal might apply if he knew him by an assumed name like "Raven Darkmoon" or whatever.
Oh man, Wendigo! My favorite monstrosity! And an update! I need more so much its burning me.
Seriously though, I say it Everytime but you do a masterful job at capturing Harry's character I forget it's not the original author. You are a fucking gem sir and or madam.
7299493 typical "adventuring party" investigation.
Also, was the Wendigo supposed to look like the Cleric Beast from Bloodborne, or was it a coincidence?
More Dresden and Ponies? YES PLEASE!
Okay, so, something just tried to grab Molly, likely as a sign to Dresden to stop poking his nose into this case... proving the guy behind it is a total freaking idiot. Not only is that the fastest way to make sure Dresden takes you down hard, simply for fucking with those he cares about, but also thinking he can bully a freaking Uber-Dragon-thing, that will quite gladly rip him apart once it gets back it's power. So yeah this guy is a moron. Now how bad will he screw things up this time?
To be fair, being attacked by some kind of super power monster is like, a weekly thing for them. They are used to this.
Sadly.. this being Dresden.. we know how hard that's going to be.
Well, he has a point. Maybe not ALL the time, but yeah most of the time fights come looking for him.
Also, once again, there is much wisdom in the Pink one.
Oh this is not good..... hopefully those gems left a LOT of money leftover, and Harry bought every bit of extra insurance he could on that thing. Cause the odds of the rental van surviving the next week are extremely slim. Best case, he simply blows out a few parts through his Murphyonic Field. Feel sorry for the poor guy that has to try and repair that thing after he turns it in. Assuming it's in enough of a single piece to get turned in.
Good point. They can definitely hold their own in a fight, but they really are out of their league here..... then again I'm sure even here Rarity could turn on the charm and get stuff Harry can't, or Pinkie Pie make friends and what not. They really could help out a bit in some ways.
And they don't quite know Dresden well enough to see how blatant that lie is. Still, Harry, by now you should know they are going to get involved one way or the other no matter what.
... I am sure there is so so much that could be made out of this line. So many ways to look into it's 'true meaning' and all the ways it might be referring to stuff.... but nah, I don't really go for that kind of stuff. Still, nice phrasing.
Not sure if meant to by DJ-PON-3 reference, or I'm just WAY over thinking it. I mean he does talk so.. yeah likely just over thinking it.
OHHHHH Yes yes yes. Get some werewolf action going too! And now I'm picturing one of them showing up in wolf form, or transforming in front of the Mane 6.. and Fluttershy just stopping everything to treat them like a puppy.
And given this is before Proven Guilty........... ouch.
Let's see, Fluttershy wanting to treat them like Puppies, Twilight wanting to study their magic and how they do it, RD just geeking out over how 'cool' turning into a badass wolf was, Rarity likely aghast at the rather simplistic clothing they wear, wanting to make them something far more fashionable, AJ... just wanting to rest up and sleep off the fight still? I got nothing with her.
Something agreed upon even across dimensions.
Given this is you Harry.... would you be at all surprised if they were really vampires or something? Still, not corpsey enough for Black Court, White doesn't have fangs, Red wouldn't be messing with this in his territory.. unless it's some rouge Ramp just doing it's own thing. But doesn't mean it couldn't be some other type of supernatural thing.. they do have that dog theme going.... and.. the Big Bad idiot treated Oroboros like a dog kind of, at least wanted that same type of relationship between a master and dog..... huh........
Okay... interesting way to go.. and clearly Harry was not the first to come looking for him.....
Hmmm, as in "Him leaving that means something really is wrong" or "Oh shit this guy is onto something" I'm leaning more towards the former for now.
Okay so they are on the up and up? I'm not going to fully buy it yet, I know how Dresden's life goes.
Oh good point... cause yeah these three do not come off as smart enough to be putting on an act.
Gee I have no idea why.....
Yeah I already didn't care for this kid, this isn't helping.
It's like he tied a steak around his neck and rang the dinner bell while holding a big "I am very easy to take advantage of!" sign over his head.
Umm, what he said.
Okay no real comment I just love this bit cause yeah, you really do clearly get Harry, and this does feel SO much like him.
Huh, okay, I was wrong about that early bit then.
And not JUST for the lawsuits and legal fees.
Would a vicarious facehoof help?
Which so far this bad guy has not really shown signs of having the best lackeys or judgment. Granted almsot definitely someone working for Marcone watching you in here.
Okay, so not Toot-Toot, Harry wouldn't have to be out here for that. So... who or what is he meeting?
Yup, the entire supernatural community is one giant group of Rules lawyers. They must be hell to try and do a D&D game with.
So... just like you are all the time at this point?
Okay, really like this little tangent, just a nice bit of world building that works very well with the setting.
...
Ditto all the stuff on Wendigos... very very nice.
Very very awesome description of a Wendigo as well.. damn I am loving this... mostly... well in theory, also a little bit of
to go with it.
Even on this end.. very great job at the story.
Rather poetic yet... fully apt description of him.
Hmmmmmm, I don't quite think it applies to any and all "supernatural creatures" I had the impression that was more a 'Fae' thing then a "Any supernatural entity" thing. Yeah most would not like being forced into this kind of thing, but it was really more antithetical to the whole mindset of Fae in particular. Not a huge point, just a minor
I could be wrong, but that's the impression I'd gotten from the books.
.........
Pizza, the single greatest currency in the supernatural world.
And yeah first time this chapter you've actually made me burst out laughing.. good job.
I suddenly don't feel AS sorry for those places once Pinkie Finds them. Or maybe I should... if even compared to Wendigos she is a force they've never faces.....
Weird, maybe. Awesome and very very well done? Definitely
\
Given Marcone is involved, not an unlikely situation.
Hmmm, possible. But when has your life ever been that simple Harry?
Ummmm, shouldn't that be "The answer is not my soul"? I mean he might be being sarcastic but it really does not come off that way at all. And yeah.... Lash has been way to quite this story. Almost forgot she was still in his head.
Precisely as she wants you to.
Once again, great minds think alike. And yeah I love when this happens.
So, if he was wrapped up in some kind of drug dealing, great place to pick up his supplies. Or any other less then legal things he might be up to. Good call Lash.
Yes we need more ponies. This chapter has had a startling lack of them. (Yes for good reason and not really complaining, but we could always use more Pony.) So, Lash already knows everything Harry does about them so but maybe just want to get a better look at them in action in the human world? Or, really just being helpful? No end to the plans she could be enacting here.
Well maybe not "bested" but did do a hell of job holding her own. And yeah, these 'girls' are far far FAR from helpless Harry and you know it. Still I am curious what Lash is up to. I don't trust her anymore then Harry does.
Technically Lash saw that too.... ohh maybe trying to do just that? Corrupt them a little? Chip away at that 'goodness'?
Good of him to realize this, but his reason for still wanting them out.. they do make sense and....... just wow.. very well done story.
Ouch.... but she's not wholly wrong.
Still that was a surprising bit at the end and... yeah loved it. Though Dresden, once again, it makes sense, but at the same time it is underestimating them, and making decisions for them they should make on their own. Which is 100% Harry Dresden being harry Dresden, so great work on that story.
So yeah another great chapter.. the mystery deepens, but no real revelations, and a bit of a look at why Harry is keeping them at arms length.. for good reason, but also bad ones he does not see. They are not that fragile mentally either Harry. And, not sure if this is intentional or not, but it is so perfect it almost has to be.. the chapter opening pointing out that very fact, how little they were affected by the ghoul fight. Only concerned with Molly. Their "Goodness" isn't some thin, fragile thing that will shatter if they learn about something bad. They know bad stuff happens, they know how dark things can get, but they never let it change their views. They are a lot stronger then Harry gives them credit for. Still, so damn well done a conflict for him. He's wrong, but it's fully in character for him to be wrong like this, and he has good reasons.
7303324 I have a different take on why Celestia never used the Elements after that. Well two reasons. One, they are meant to be used by multiple ponies, and she knew she simply could not effectively wield them on her own. The other, It wasn't The Elements judging her unworthy (Remember they did not actually server there connection to her till the Mane 6 took them up) but rather it was her that saw herself as 'unworthy' putting up a mental block to prevent her from even trying to use them. OR, the pain of using them like that simply made her want to forget about them.
7300164
Until Skin Game I would have guessed they couldn't possess nonhumans at all. But I guess even the ponies are still free-willed mortals. Just seems weird that the corruption of fallen angels might apply to creatures that have no knowledge of the associated faith.
I can't wait for them to all go to McAnally's for their first beers. Mac is probably the only entity in the multiverse who won't be nonplussed by Pinky.
7306586 I'd be more inclined to agree with that point of view if the Elements themselves hadn't gone dormant.
7306567
No, because he said "What I wouldn't give..." So what he would not give is his soul.
Updates are never enough! Why do I torture myself by reading new chapters when I know it's not finished!?
7308481 True, but that still doesn't account for the fact the she explicitly did not lose her connection to them until the Mane 6 came along. Since that was what cause Discord's prison to break.
also
..... Ah right, yeah that works.
7309094
Right, but retaining a connection doesn't mean she can use them, and being unable to use them doesn't mean the connection was entirely broken.
7311216 Seems odd they'd still be connected to her if she can't use them. Or vice versa. Plus it doesn't quite explain the whole "When these five are gathered a spark will create the sixth" given that is not how it went for Tia and Luna either. That had to be set up somehow.
Could have just been Tia setting things up to make sure anypony that found them would be able to, and worthy of using them. Just putting them into "sleep" mode since she didn't want to use them alone.... lots of options. Though given the Tree was that damn close, not sure why she didn't just stick them back there instead.........yeah there are a LOT of questions about just what went on with the Elements after NMM was banished.
But just "They deemed Celestia unworthy" it just... does not feel right, at all. She saved all of her subjects, the whole world from being ruled by by a nigh immortal tyrant. Seems the thing that is right up the Elements ally.
Unless it's more a glitch like The Twilight Enigma implied. Where it was simply the Elements were to narrowly programed, and so "Attacked her sister" was all it was able to register and note, not actually getting the full context. But even then... IDK, just that idea of that act in anyway making Celestia out to be a "Bad pony" does not sit well with me.