Blood and Fire
Night Patrol ch 15
By Foxgear
It was early morning, much too soon for either princess to be up, but then again morning and night have long since blurred together since starting their little witch hunt against the nobles. After only one arrest they had not one, but two dead bodies on their hooves. Blueblood, who was found in the cemetery and Lady Vi Violetblood, who was found hanging from her bedroom ceiling by a maid this morning. At this time all the other nobles were reported to be locked up in their homes, patrollers guarding the perimeters, so no pony could escape.
“Tell me about Blueblood,” Luna asked the medical examiner.
The medic pony, Doctor Ducky, adjusts his glasses as he reads his report. “Well my dear princess, it seems whoever did Lord Blueblood in did him a favor. The poor chap was suffering from a server case of lung cancer, probably from pipe smoking. His liver wasn’t doing much better. All in all, he probably had only a few months to a year as best.” Ducky turned the page. “Onto the juicy details, the injury he sustained was induced by a unicorn horn, about ten to twelve inches long, not the most common of lengths among ponies, but still quite a sum of suspects. On too Lady Vi, she hanged herself by all accounts, but I found something strange with her mana pool.”
“Strange? Strange how,” Inquired Luna.
“Strange in the fact it was much smaller then I was expecting. Lady Vi was known for having quite a bit of magic, but the magic coil in her body would suggest a much weaker unicorn. Why I would say, she doesn’t have much more magic than a common maid.”
Luna pursed her lips in thought, nothing was making sense. “What about Blueblood’s dying message? What was it again?”
“Foals in the factory,” Answered Sixes, “I’ve already sent out teams to investigate every factory in the city and Gadget is looking into the orphanages, given his past with them he’s sure to find something of use.”
“Good call Sixes, how’s Celestia dealing with the populists? I’m sure two noble deaths are surely causing a stir in the lower houses.” No doubt lesser nobles were either plotting to take their place, or they were keeping their heads down lest they are suspected of committing the crimes. Still, that left the common pony folk, who would no doubt be spinning an uncountable number of tales before the dawn was over. It won't surprise her if the news has already reached the griffons of the nobles’ deaths.
“It’s hard to say, no pony has come forward regarding either death, she is having Violetblood’s staff questioned, and there has been no word from the Blueblood’s other than the fact that Cobalt’s eldest son is in mourning. That being said, there is something strange about Violetblood’s family.”
Luna looked curiously at the dragon pony. “What is strange about it?”
Sixes chewed his lip, mauling over what the investigation team had turned up. “Lady Vi has no living family. No parents, no siblings, no children, no pony to inherit her title and wealth. Another thing is the fact that her mother, her grandmother, and all before are all named Vi Violetblood.”
“I fail to see the issue here Sixes, it is common for nobles to pass on their names. I never quite understood the reasoning myself, but it’s not my place to question it.”
“That’s just it. There is no Vi Violetblood insert a number. They’re all just Vi Violetblood, and none of them have any records of ever being married or even a birth certificate. Every Lady Violetblood passed on her title to some random pony before her death, yet some of the older lesser nobles we asked have stated there was no difference between one Vi to the next, they acted exactly the same, had the same favorite foods, music, everything.”
The gears in Luna’s mind began to turn as she recalled the Vi Violetblood she met so many years ago after they defeated Discord. She hadn’t spent much time with either one, but from what she remembered both the Vi from then and the Vi from now looked exactly the same. Then there was something the Vi she had met back then said, something that didn’t seem important at the time, until now.
“I wish I could be young like you forever,” Muttered Luna as she removed the blanket from Vi’s body. Opening the dead pony’s eye revealed that her pupils wide with shock and fear, not uncommon for suicides, yet something was off to her. “Who was the maid that found her?”
Sixes and the other patrollers look between one another and shrug.
“Where is she now? Do we have her in custody for questioning?”
“We took her testimony and released her this morning,” Said Sixes recalling the brief interrogation. For some reason he couldn’t picture the pony’s face, it was almost like he couldn’t remember her at all. In fact, he barely remembered what they talked about this morning or what her answers were. “But then we released her. I’m not sure why we did that. Why would we do that? She was a suspect. Why did we let her go?”
Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Luna could feel it in her bones.
“Find her, find her now!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Gadget looked on with emotions he couldn’t name as he looked at his old home. Not the ratty apartment he and Dusk had been living in before moving in the princesses’ castle, but the former orphanage where he had been raised. The damn place still looked like a pile of manure on cinder blocks. The siding was coming part, rotting off the nails that held the planks to the studs, the foundation was crumbling, and in dire need of repair and the sign, a faded barely readable said: Sunnyside Orphanage. There was nothing sunny about it, nothing at all.
“Oh Starwind, You came to visit!”
Well, except for her. Gadget smiled brightly as the old mare trotted over and wrapped him in a weak hug. Mrs. Flutter butter has taken care of the foals of Sunny Side orphanage since Canterlot’s construction. She was a cheerful old dear, who must be as old as Celestia, because no pony remembers a time when there wasn’t a Mrs. Flutter butter.
Gently Gadget hugged Flutterbutter back, minding her torn wings and her frail back. Briefly, he nuzzled in her long graying pink mane, taking note that her semi yellow coat was now nearly completely gray. For a moment, he was back in his foal hood, playing and laughing with the other foals. Wishing he could stay at peace like this forever, but he was an adult now and had responsibilities. There was no going back.
“Hello Mrs. Flutter butter, sorry Dusk and I haven’t been by lately. We moved out of Canterlot, so we can’t come by near as often I’m afraid.”
The elderly Pegasus waved him off, “Nonsense, I’m glad you and Dusk finally managed to leave this dreaded place. This place used to be a good place to raise a foal, but now day’s things just keep getting worse and worse. I can’t even get enough food feed the foals no more. No pony wants to donate anymore since times got tough. Some days I wonder what happened to all the kind ponies of the world.”
“They’re still out there,” Replied Gadget looking to the castle, “Trust me Mrs. Flutter butter, there are a lot of good ponies left in the world, and they're doing their best to make it better.”
The elder pegasus smiled warmly, “Sounds like you got some friends now. That’s good, that’s very good. I’m very proud of you, Starwind. I just wish Red Soul was here with you.”
Red Soul, Dusk’s mother, his wife, and a fellow orphan. They had grown up together. Left the orphanage together and then started a home together. He remembered the day they found out she was pregnant with Dusk, how excited they were to be parents. Everything had been going so great, but things changed. They changed fast.
“Starwind? Did I upset you? I’m sorry. I should have known better than too…”
“No, no, it’s ok. I’m fine.” He lied discreetly wiping his eyes. “I’m actually here on business from the princesses.”
“Oh, what could they want with me?”
“It’s not you personally, it’s hard to explain, but involves the late Duke Blueblood. We found him in the cemetery where the orphan foals are buried with a bloodstained message reading the foals in the factory. Does that mean anything to you?”
Flutter butter frowned deeply, “I don’t know. The orphanage is funded by the nobles, every once in a while when we get too many foals they come by and take some to orphanages out of the city, but… I never heard any more from them after that. Eventually, I’d get a letter saying a foal was adopted or they died of some monster attack or sickness. I tried to check up on them, but they threatened to cut the funding, so I let it go. The best I could do was at least give them grave markers. There are times, mostly when I try to sleep, that I wonder what really happened to them, but there’s just nothing I can do. I am old, I could risk angering the nobles by looking for the truth, but then who would watch the foals? I have no pony to take my place once I’m gone and I fear who they would pick to replace me, so I just hang on praying the day will come when salvation comes, and a nice pony takes charge of the foals.”
“I’ll see what I can do. We have a lot of ponies in the night patrol, perhaps a few of them would be looking to adopt.” At the very least they could live in the castle as Serfs under Luna. While it may not be the most appealing life; it was undoubtedly a better one than this. “One last question before I go, Mrs. Flutter butter, was there a foal by the name of Ferocious living here at any point?”
Flutter butter looked at him strangely, “Yes, there was, a long time ago, a few years before you come in if I remember right. He was quite the little pegasus. He didn’t adapt well to living on the ground, and he was the only one his kind in the orphanage at the time, so he got picked on by the local foals and few of the orphans, but I say this to you now, he was no pushover. He had the mouth of sailor pony and the seething rage of a dragon. He always got into fights. In fact, he even told lord Cobalt Blueblood to, pardon my words, to piss off, during one of the inspections.”
Gadget chuckled, that little foal had to have balls the size of the moon to say that to a noble. “And what the reason for Blueblood’s verbal rebutting? He said something the little guy didn’t like?”
“He made fun of his eyes, saying no pony would adopt such a savage feather brained pony with eyes like that.”
“Eye’s like what?”
“Oh, Ferocious had these beautiful golden eyes, like that of an eagle or maybe even a Phoenix. He had this wonderful shade of red for a coat with a red and gold mane, it made him look very striking and imposing like a phoenix. I have never seen anypony else look quite like him until I met this orange earth pony at the cemetery. There was this strange pony she was with sitting on a bench, he reminded me a lot of Ferocious, but I didn't dare to go speak to him. I didn’t want to get my hopes up.”
Gadget felt the gears turning in his head, and then it clicked, “Applejack and Fierce Fury, they said they asked an old mare at the cemetery where I lived. That was you. You were the pony that sent them to my doorstep.”
“Applejack? Yes, I think that was the mare’s name, funny how life does that sometimes. Gadget are you ok? You’re looking a little pale?”
“I’m fine. I need to get going is all. I’ll stop by another day with Dusk and some other ponies and see if we can fix this place up a little bit for you.”
“Oh, that would be very kind…” Flutter butter said, but Gadget was already galloping away at full speed. “I wonder what got into him.”
Dusk was bored, really bored, she’s been studying alone in the library for the past few hours and long to go out and play with the other fillies and colts. It’s just she couldn’t bring herself to do it. The foals were welcoming, even after her ‘growth spurt’ as she has been calling it, but things just weren’t the same. She couldn’t label herself a filly at heart either. Kids her age don’t usually kill other ponies.
Her mind drifted back to the battle for the Crystal Empire. The carnage around her, ponies falling over dead, their lifeless eyes staring at her as Applejack shouted for her to get down. She remembered this one particular moment where she froze, and Applejack ended up crushing a changeling’s skull with her hoof. She remembered bits of its brains and skull splattering on her helmet. And then she remembered Applejack’s words as she hoisted her to her feet.
(Stand and fight! Stand and fight right now and kill these bastards!) The words rung through her ears even to this day. The look of pure rage on Applejack’s face made her shiver to this day, and she’s avoided talking to the mare since the battle. For the past three weeks since the empire’s fall, Dusk hid from everypony but her father, Princess Luna, and Applejazz.
Applejazz, her best friend, she was so grateful for their friendship. The young apple filly always came to check on her and ask her to play. A few times, she indulged, but her new size and strength didn’t make it fair to play many games, and her new magic was still a bit hard to control, hence the studying.
(Still I wished I had somepony to talk to.)
The door of the library swung open with a hard crash, prompting Dusk to look around the bookshelves to see who entered. Surprisingly, it was Nightingale. The wingless pegasus has undergone quite a change since the battle. She was never quite as cheerful as before and kept away from most ponies. She was still undergoing therapy for her injuries. Most of them involved reminding her she couldn’t just jump off a balcony and land safely, which she has done on more than one occasion. The bigger question was why was she here of all places? Dusk left her studying and cast a quick ‘Don’t see me’ spell so she could spy without being noticed.
“There’s gotta be something here,” The ex-pegasus grumbled glancing over a section of books. A strangled sigh escaped Nightingale’s throat and moved on to the next section. “Urgh!” She growled again stomping to the next set of shelves with Dusk quietly following behind.
For the next hour, Dusk watched Nightingale throw book after book off the shelf, her anger growing with each title that failed to satisfy her search. Her curiosity boiling over Dusk peeked at one of the book titles.
(Advanced Medi magic)
(Is she trying to grow back her wings?) Dusk wondered as the ex-pegasus threw another book while breaking down into the tears. Sobs racked Nightingale’s body, powerful hiccups added to her wails were interrupted with painful gasps of air.
It felt wrong to watch such a sturdy pony break down in such a way, so Dusk began to slowly back away so Nightingale could keep her dignity. But then she backed into a stack of books, breaking her silence spell as she let out a yelp as an avalanche of knowledge fell on top of her.
“Who’s there?” Choked Nightingale as she tried in vain to cover up her tears, her cheeks burning red with embarrassment as she discovered snot on her forelegs from wiping her nose. This is why she hated crying, she looks so pathetic, it was terrible enough to wail like a foal at her age, but for some reason she always got a runny nose to go along with the tears.
“Um hi…” Dusk waved meekly as she crawled out of the book pile, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude, well I did because I followed around for an hour and then you started crying, so I thought I better leave, but then I bumped into these books, and they fell…”
“Dusk,” Yelled Nightingale covering the young mare’s mouth with her hoof, “It’s alright, I get it.” She said gently, pulling Dusk from the pile. “I get it. You didn’t mean to spy on me, don’t feel bad about it.”
Dusk exhaled deeply, her entire body slumping over as she relaxed. “Thanks, I needed that.”
“No problem, now what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be out playing or something?” Asked Nightingale, wondering why the magically aged mare wasn’t out enjoying time with her friends, then she promptly smacked herself at such a stupid question. Of course, it would be awkward for Dusk to play with her friends when she looked twice their age. “Um never mind, forget I asked that.”
“Ok,” Dusk replied quietly, looking the other way. “So um why are you here, if you don’t mind me asking that is.”
Nightingale sighed, of course, she would ask the question. That didn’t mean she needed to answer it, but… she did want to get it off her chest.
“I was looking for a spell book on growing limbs. I overheard Celestia and Gadget talking one day about trying to get my wings back. I got so excited I thought I could nearly fly again! Then Celestia and Luna started investigating the nobles, and then Gadget was called in to help, so healing my wings got pushed to the side. I thought I could help by looking through the library, maybe find something that could help them, but all I found were books on how to make temporary wings or books on the theory of limb regeneration, nothing about actually growing limbs back or just magically giving me new wings.”
“Well, you’d need to be Discord to actually physically give you wings again,” Dusk explained, reading through her pool of information on the ex-pegasus’s plight. She quickly regretted her words as Nightingale's frown deepened on the verge of tears again. “But that doesn’t mean anything! I’m only a beginner! I’m sure dad and Celestia can figure something out!”
“Yeah, I’m sure they can,” Nightingale replied quietly.
Dusk’s ears droop down from the lifeless tone in Nightingale’s voice. She wished there’s something she could do to cheer her up. Her mind turned to Applejack and well she was a bit afraid of the mare right now, but Dusk was sure she could help Nightingale. Applejack and Nightingale were friends after all and friends help each other, right?
“You seem a bit down. I’m not really… experienced with helping ponies, but maybe Applejack could be of help? You two are friends, right? Maybe talking to her would help you feel better?”
Nightingale snorted as she tried to cover up her laughter, but she couldn’t contain herself and ended up laughing very, very, loudly. “I’m sorry, kid, but I’m not good with the touchy feels either.” She blawked, holding her side. “But you may have a point. Commander Applejack and I seemed to be closer since the battle. She’s come by and visited with me whenever she can when I was laid up in bed. I don’t know if you’re in the gossip thing yet, but I think her and Rawhide maybe a thing now. Maybe. I’ve never been good at reading those things. But yeah, maybe I should talk to Applejack, or at least get some of her homemade cider. That stuff always makes you feel good.”
“You do know alcohol is depression drug, right? It actually makes you feel worse and sadder.”
Nightingale waved her off, chuckling all the while, “Some sour slump of a pony probably wrote that because he didn’t know how to have fun.”
“The book was written by Starswirl the Bearded.”
“And when was the last time anypony saw him partying it up hmm?” Dusk fell silent. No pony has seen or heard from Starswirl in a long time, not even the princesses, though that probably wasn’t a valid argument against the effects of alcohol.
“Anyways, I’ll see ya later Dusk and thanks for the talk, it was nice.”
“Oh, you’re leaving…” Dusk’s ears drooped down the side of her head, making Nightingale freeze at the corner of the bookshelf. The wingless pegasus rubbed her foreleg nervously, a wave of guilt passing through her as she looked at the sadness radiating off of Dusk.
“Well... I guess I have some time to play a game or two if you want. As a thank you for helping me out, so if there’s anything you want to play, count me in. Besides you look like you could use a break from studying anyways.”
Dusk instantly perked up.
“How about a game of chess, I’ll go get the board!” She bounds off before Nightingale could get a word in, leaving the white mare to chuckle to herself at the unicorn’s antics.
(She may look like a mare, but she’s still a filly at heart.)
“I got the board!” Yelled Dusk, returning with a four-tier chess board. Nightingale’s ears dropped at the sight of it.
“Are you sure that’s a chessboard?” (What the heck there’s four boards stacked on top of each other!)
“Yelp! Dad and I always play it this way!”
“Oh, ok, umm... you got a rule book?”
“Got that too, and it’s only two hundred pages long! I’ll explain how the mechanics work.”
(What’d I get myself into?) Sighed Nightingale as she slumped down on her rump for Dusk’s lecture. She was going to be here awhile it seemed, but the smile on Dusk’s face was worth it.
Luna and Celestia were chatting intensely in hush tones. Looks of anger and stress clearly mark their faces as they went back and forth on the issue they were discussing. Only a fool would dare to interrupt them with a minor cause. Unfortunately for Azure Blueblood, he had to for he held in his hooves the answers they were seeking, but at this critical time, his courage had left him shaking outside their door, the eyes of two big brawny guards staring down his back with suspicion. The only comfort was the guards were regulars and not the monsters he had heard of on the way here. Ponies that looked like miniature dragons were a genuinely frightening prospect.
“Are you going in or not,” The guard gruffly demanded.
“Oh, yes, sorry. I am a little nervous. I never met either princess before, so meeting both at once is a little overwhelming, you know?”
“Understandable, I would advise you to reschedule. The princesses are very busy and would probably not welcome you with warm smiles and tea as usual.”
Azure nodded in understanding to the guards but opened the door anyway. Along eerily squeak cut through the chatter making all eyes turn to him as he nervously walked into the room. The guards were right, the princesses didn’t look happy to see him, not at all. Hopefully, the book would change that, if they didn’t stomp him to death after reading it.
“Hello your majesties, I am Azure, son of Cobalt Blueblood…”
“We know who you are.” Luna leveled a hard glare at Azure, making the blue pony tremble as she stepped towards him. “What do you want? We have little time for the likes of you.”
“Luna,” Celestia scowled whispering into her sister’s ear, “He just lost his father. Cut him some slack. Look at him. The poor dear looks ready to cry any minute.”
Luna frowned at him, seemingly staring into his soul before she finally sighed and offered a small warm smile. “Is there something we can help you with dear Azure? Thy father’s death must surely find thee distressed. We wish we could give thee some clearance in thy father’s passing, but we have found little in that regard so far.”
“It is fine my Princess,” Azure humbly bowed, “In fact is it I, who wishes to help you in this matter. I have a… item. Left by my father, that may prove valuable to your investigation.”
“The item in question,” Asked Luna intrigued by the prospect. This could be the clue they were looking for.
“This book,” Azure held up the book up to Luna, who took it with her magic. “I must warn you, Princess, the contents are… disturbing.”
“We have seen many things in all our years young Azure. Nothing in this book could compare I’m certain.” Luna said, opening the book.
(Bluebloods Journal)
Page 1 winter year 0 AD (After Discord)
I begin this account on this day in winter, on the third day after the tyrant Discord was defeated, the day we officially make the alicorns Celestia and Luna, our rulers. Many of my fellow noble ponies are disgruntled in the fact they have chosen the title of Princess over Queen. They think of it as a sign of weakness to the other nations, and thus far they have not announced any suitors. Though I’m sure, they will find themselves flooded with them soon enough.
Spring 1 year AD (After Discord)
I have succeeded my father as Lord of the Blueblood estates as have many of my friends. On our first meeting, a strange conversation took place. My dear friend, Shirker Yellowblood, a fearful fellow always jumping at his own shadow, expressed interest in the subject of immorality. His reasons are vague, but he had decried it is not fair that Alicorns live forever and we unicorns still die with the rest of the ponies, despite our superior breed. It is a subject I wish to avoid, such fantasies are better left in one’s head, though I have not the heart to tell him this.
Fall year 10 AD
Time as pass and so has my father. At the funeral Shirker seemed shaken by the sight of my father’s corpse. Perhaps it is because of his own father has died just a few short months before. I fear for his sanity as he continues to search for a way to become immortal, spending Celestia knows how many bits on the matter. Strangely Lady Vi Violetblood seems to encourage the obsession.
Spring year 15 AD
Time as past and the days mundane and I find myself with not much to write about till today. Shirker and Vi have roped Ruby Redblood and Tangerine Orangeblood into their little search of immortally. They keep it secret, but I wonder how with the amounts of bits they spend on their project. They speak whispers of meeting a brilliant pair of ponies doing research on the matter and on alicorns and their ancient magic. I find myself intrigued by what they may encounter. Thus I have decided to join in with Lord Greenblood, who has become the money manager of the operation.
Summer year 20 AD
More than five years has passed since I’ve joined in on the hunt for alicornhood and our secret researchers have requested materials to begin their experiments. The articles in question are live ponies, foals, in fact, the younger, the better with or without cutie marks and from every race. This disturbs me greatly, but they say they will not be harmed. The decision was made to purchase several orphanages both in and out of Canterlot to acquire the foals.
Summer Year 25 AD
Princess Luna is proving to be a thorn in our side. She is much too brash and straightforward, going where ever she feels. Her dream magic keeping us awake at night. We acquired some potions to stop dreaming, but she started asking why we weren’t dreaming and worried if there was a problem. I’ll admit it’s hard to plot against a pony that shows concern for you.
Yellowblood seems to have a plan to get Luna out of Canterlot. I wonder what he is plotting.
Spring year 30 AD
It took five years, but we finally managed to get Luna to leave. A lot of bits were spent to make it happen, but it finally worked. Staff were bribed to speak ill of the princess behind her back and always in listening distance. Papers spread ill rumors, asking why we need the night and what’s so important about the moon? Attacks like these seemed to hurt her the most. But the coup de grace was Yellowblood’s plot at the gala. I must say though even I felt terrible about what we had done.
I remember the night well. Celestia had just arrived and began chattering. I overheard her speak of Luna’s reluctance to attend, but she managed to convince her otherwise.
Princess Luna arrived in what must have been the most excellent dress ever sewn in Canterlot, it shimmered in the moonlight, hugging her frame perfectly, she even wore a bit of blush on her cheeks to give them a rosily look. She seemed the happiest she’d been in months, and we ruined it.
She entered the garden at about midnight for some air. I watched from the window as Yellowblood set his plan into motion. His youngest son, Yellow Rupee and his friends waited above the entrance with bucks of unsavory contents.
When Princess Luna reentered the ballroom, a bucket of liquid cow dung was poured onto her. The look on her face was one of shock and heartbreak as the foals snickered, prompting the entire gala, safe Celestia, to laugh with them. Since they were foals, no pony was the wiser to the actual plot behind their actions, so they were let off with a warning to never do such a thing again.
I remember the absolute look of defeat on her face as she left the Gala, her dress ruined, her pride and dignity gone. I never saw her in Canterlot again after that night.
Winter year 35 AD
I have remained silent for many years. Our system is perfect. Thousands of foals were relocated to our researcher’s location over the past years, and today, we’re finally seeing what has become of them. I am excited to see a certain red pegasus again that I found in a Canterlot orphanage. He was such a spirited lad, I considered adopting him, but chose against it after some thought. I’ve regretted my hesitance ever since. I wonder what sort of stallion he’s become.
Winter year 35 AD (The day after the inspection)
It’s horrible, unimaginably horrible. The foals, the foals at the factory, they are treated as mere lumps of flesh. The experiments... How could any pony possibly do that to children? How could they... How could I allow myself to be involved with such a thing? These ponies are mad! There is no question, we are going to hell.
Fall year 50 AD
I’m dying. There is no cure for my sickness. The promise of immortally is but a pipe dream in the clouds that I have deluded myself in. I fear only now for my family. I have decided to betray my so-called friends and bring justice to those I have wronged.
Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, if you are reading this and have read of the horrors of what I have seen, please do this for me. For the foals. For justice.
Kill the nobles and destroy Rainbow Factory. Such a horrid place should never be compared to such beauty, burn it to ground, save those foals that remained trapped there.
To my son, I can only say I’m sorry for failing you.
(End of Blueblood’s journal)
Luna’s mouth went dry as she tried to fathom the horrors written. She turned to her rinin ponies staring at them with disbelief and pure terror as she came to the realization that they were not born, but made.
“Princess is something wrong?” Asked Sixes stepping towards her, she shied away from his outreached claw muttering something barely audible, but he managed to hear her words.
“I’m sorry... I never noticed… we never noticed. We failed all of you.”
“Princess Celestia?” Sixes asked uncertainly to the older alicorn, who wasn’t looking much better as she looked ready to break down herself as she clung to her sister, whispering soft coos into the younger alicorn's ear.
“Commander Sixes….”
“Red and Orangeblood are attacking! They’re trying to free Greenblood!” Nico Vega announced charging into the room. The mood shifting drastically.
Luna brushed Celestia off, her face covered in angry tears as she shouted in a Canterlot voice so loud the entire city heard it.
“Kill them all! Not one of those pieces of filth is to leave this city alive! I want their heads and hindquarters on a platter before the day is done! Now go!”
“Yes, Ma’am!” Roared the night patrollers as they storm out of the room in a frenzy, their teeth and fangs out, and their eyes glowing with rage. They didn’t know what happened, but their Princess was crying, and they would make the ponies’ responsible pay. They would pay dearly.
“Come on, we got to run!” One of the red guards yelled as they lead Greenblood through the back alleys of Canterlot. They almost made it out the castle unnoticed, when the noble tripped and was spotted by some of the night patrollers. A fight broke out, and half of their unit was left behind. Judging by the neighing roars, their comrades were not victorious.
A chill ran down their backs as a chorus of roars resounds from the castle. Scores of dragon ponies, earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns pour from the castle, breaking into four groups. From their flight path, it seemed they were heading for the nobles' homes, where the remaining Color Guards were stationed. They duck behind some crates as a rinin flew by overhead.
The lead guard, Rufus, trembled at the sight of the pony’s eyes. The pony’s eyes were growling red. Not figuratively, but actually glowing red like a demon overtaken with rage.
In the distance, a column of fire erupts from the direction of Yellowblood’s home.
“Come on, let’s go,” Rufus ordered softly.
“Protect the estate!” Was the battle cry of the yellow guard as they fire a volley of magical blasts at the invading ponies. They had been told a day like this could come by the veterans of the guard, the ones that had actually served in the royal army before it was disbanded. They just never believed them, so they were caught unaware as ponies swoop down from the sky with fire and lightning as a line of unicorns and earth ponies surround the complex. There was no escape.
“Take them down!” Snarled Sixes breaking through his own lines and charging right into the fray, dodging every which way as he made his way to the front entrance of the house, the ponies before him were nothing compared to ones he faced in the Crystal Empire. They actually had some skill. These ponies were barely half as good. Puffing up his chest, he stops short just a few feet in front of the enemy lines. He felt the burning hot drip of liquid fire run down his chin, and he knew his attack was ready. Exhaling he unleashed a stream of hot lava onto the Yellow Guard. The flaming liquid burnt through flesh and bone with ease, melting armor, and pony all at once. The terror was evident in their eyes as they scream and ran.
Sixes looked to his comrades. “Well, you heard the Princess! Get them!”
The patrollers roared as they charged the house. The fire spreading everywhere, engulfing the entire mansion with everypony inside, including Yellowblood’s family. The house groaned as it collapsed muting out the last of the screams.
“You lot go to every gate and make sure no nobles try to sneak through, Unit two will patrol the surrounding countryside, Unit three keep watch here, Unit four tell the residents not to leave their homes. Canterlot is now under Marshall Law.”
The leaders of each group saluted and fly off to do their tasks. Sixes stared at the fire for a few moments, thinking of the ones inside, both the guilty and the innocent. The entire Yellowblood family had been inside, all of Yellowblood’s sons and daughters, his wife, and many others. All of them were now merely ashes, Lord Shirker Yellowblood himself should be dead with the rest, but there was a feeling in his gut that said otherwise. Yellowblood was known to be a coward, perhaps the biggest coward in Canterlot and there was no evidence of the noble going back home after the discovery of Blueblood’s body. It was only a gut feeling, not even a hunch, but he knew the coward had run away a long time ago and left his family behind.
“I’m sorry,” He whispered to the flames as he walked away. “I’ll make sure he joins you and stays with you like he should have.”
“Tie ‘em up tight! Don’t let any of them get away!” Applejack hollered directing ponies with a point of her hoof. The battle for Redblood’s mansion had been swift with the Red Guards putting up little resistance. A report from Overheat’s squad told the same story for Orangeblood’s forces. However, both nobles were still uncounted for, and the guards were not very cooperative, even against advanced interrogation. Something was going on.
Approaching one of the bound guards, Applejack pressed her boot against his throat. “Alright spill the beans buddy or Ah’ll have to get rough.”
The guard smirked, “I’d like to get rough with you. Not bad for a filthy mud pony.”
There was a shared grimace among the patrollers as Applejack punched the guard hard enough to knock his helmet off. Everypony was expecting another blow for the stallion’s crude remarks but were surprised when none came. Applejack stood frozen with her hoof in the air, staring at the guard with an unreadable expression.
“You…” She whispered, her eyes narrowing as she glared angrily at the stallion, “I know you.”
“What? That’s impossible this is the first…”
“You and your friends tried to foalnap Dusk!”
Every pair of eyes turned eerily to the guards all at once. One of the guards gulping loudly as the calm professionalism from before faded to anger. Claws and teeth slowly come into view as the rinin ponies closed in around the guards.
“That’s, that’s not true! I wasn’t there that night… oh… oh crap.” The guard blathered, his comrades shooting him hateful glares for him to shut up. He gulped as he felt one of the rinin take him by the neck and lift him off the ground.
“What should be done with him?”
“Nothing yet,” A voice called out. The crowd of ponies moved aside as the father of Dusk, Gadget, enters the courtyard. “Seems the princesses figured things out already, shame I did all that investigating for nothing.”
“Gadget? Where have ya been all this time?” Asked Applejack as the stallion trotted up to their prisoners.
“As I said, investigating, I did a little digging into the local orphanages listed under the names of the nobles, seems foals have been going missing for quite some time and always when the nobles came to inspect the orphanages. Always the most talented of the bunch, and then there are the attempted abductions of my daughter, a filly with more magic than any unicorn her age. Too good a prize to pass up isn’t she. That’s why you tried to kill me, but you only got my wife Red, you didn’t expect me to put up much of fight being a simple researcher.” Gadget grabbed hold of the guard with his magic and held him tightly. “Now you are going to tell me all I want to know and more.”
“I’ll never squeal!”
Gadget chuckled darkly, “Who said you have a choice?”
Black magic flared from his horn drilling into the guard’s head, his body flailing and shaking violently as Gadget probed his mind. Drool poured from the side of the guard’s mouth. His eyes whitened out, eventually, his body stopped moving, and Gadget dropped him to the ground, his body lifeless.
“Now who’s next?” He asked, charging his horn as he picked up the next one. “He didn’t tell me anything new, except for one little thing and that is the nobles’ escape plan. You get one chance to answer. I know you surrendered so that we would waste time interrogating you one by one. Now, where are the nobles going? What is their route of travel? Answer now!”
“That’s mind, magic! That’s illegal! Even if we have committed crimes, the princesses would never allow such a thing!” The guard cried, Gadget held his throat tighter.
“You are correct. It is illegal, but the princesses aren’t here, are they?”
“But Ah am.” Declared Applejack, “And Ah know this isn’t the way we do things and Ah know you know too. We are better than this.”
Gadget snorted angry, “When you have children came back and speak to me about ethics, till then, I suggest you look away.”
The guard screamed as Gadget worked his spell. Applejack bowed her head, covering her face with her hat as she turned away. When the screams stop, she looked back to see Gadget working on the next pony. She couldn’t bear the sight of the brain dead ponies lying lifeless on the ground, so she trotted away.
“Glad to see we all made it.” Said Yellowblood emerging from the brush as the other remaining nobles met him. They didn’t look too happy with him at the moment. “What is the matter, my friends? The plan worked, did it not?”
Redblood steps forward, crossing horns with Yellowblood, who quickly broke away from the red unicorn, running no less than ten yards away.
“You left early. Your guards were supposed to back up mine in case things went south, which they did, and instead of our forces fighting together, they were divided and easily taken down. Our window of escape is now much shorter than predicted. My Guards are tight-lipped, but that will only buy us a day or less, and we have a hundred miles literally to trot. Might I remind you that traveling in a group slows us down, not counting yours and Greenblood’s poor physic.”
“Hey, I resent that! I lost five pounds in prison.”
“You could have lost a hundred, and it wouldn’t have made a difference you fat slob.” A higher pitch voice said emerging from the darkness. It was a mare, young and vibrant, with a cream coat and a purple mane. “Honesty the nerve of you stallions leaving me to fend for myself like that with no escort, I say you may have made my list.”
“Vi? Is that you?” Questioned Orangeblood, looking over the other noble mare, she looked… younger. “What’s happened to you? You look twenty again!”
Vi chuckled, “Oh this little trick? I’ve done this for centuries. You see, my special talent is mental magic, specifically body transfer. Every few years when I start to feel the effects of age I arrange my will, pick a lovely young mare to be my heiress, change her name and then take over her body, leaving her mind in mine. Unfortunately, they never get to really enjoy the noble life till their unfortunate end, of natural causes, of course. I also place a little “forget me” spell on some ponies, so no pony asks any… damaging questions.”
“You’re immortal?” Gasped Yellowblood, “Why would you hide this from us! Our entire goal was right in front of us, and you kept it secret!”
“First of all, don’t get in my face,” She said, pushing Yellowblood away, causing the stallion to stumble and fall on his rump. “Second I am not immortal, I simply jump from one body to the other, while doing so has allowed me to live far longer lives than any of you, but I can be killed just as easily as any other pony. Thirdly this is my talent, only I can use this magic, meaning you a lot would have been left out, so be grateful that I included you in my quest for true immortality.”
“Enough arguing we need to get going, we’re wasting time,” Orangeblood reminded them, heading off, Redblood following her.
“They are right. I suppose. We can talk on the way,” Commented Greenblood.
Vi helped Shirker to his hooves and followed after them, leaving the cowardly noble behind. He quickly gave chase, forgetting to cover their tracks.
Up above hiding in the clouds was Sixes, his gaze intensely bearing down on the noble ponies, but he waited, wanting to find out where they were going. He knew that Luna wanted answers, answers he also wanted. He took a peek in Blueblood’s book before taking off. This was his chance to find the past him, and his brethren had lost, and he owed it all to that purple maned mare. Whatever spell she put on him and others really did make them forget about her, but not her perfume, which she wore right now making her easy to track.
“Why did you two follow me? Fury, Nico?” He asked the two as they emerge from the cloud next to his.
“Patrollers never patrol alone, you know that commander,” Nico Vega said with a much too smug smile in Sixes opinion. They may not know their ages, but he would consider Nico, a sort of little brother in some strange way.
“And you Fury? Luna and the rest will notice if we are both gone.”
“That is the plan. Once things settle down and Luna straightens out her thoughts, they can follow our bread crumbs to us, and just in case, we also have our commutators with us to call for back up. Really Sixes you need think things out better for going lone ranger on us.”
Sixes smirked, chuckling, “Says the pony that usually just gets mad and starts slashing things.” They share a laugh before becoming deadly serious.
“Let’s go hunting.”
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Cool world building so far! This story gets better and better.
6589216 Thank you! I do my best.
Nice to see the Nobles get what was coming to them. They must be running to where the foals are experimented on. You'd think Vi would have been noticed at some point if she has been doing that for at least 3-6 mind swaps. The magic she uses must be really rare if she knows of no others that can perform it, assuming she did try to teach others how to swap minds.
6591884 Somepony might have noticed, as said in the chapter some did, but that's what the "forget me spell" is for if any pony started asking questions she'd zap them and they'd loose interest.It's like this mind worm thing I saw on Doctor who, one bite and you forget the last hour of your life or something along those lines. As for teaching the body swap magic to others, I was using the theory of the more ponies that know the spell, the more chance of being discovered, so she never actually tried to teach other ponies out of fear of being discovered.
All that being said I wonder what would have made a good mark to represent a talent in mind magic, cause I don't think I ever gave her a mark on her original body.
at first, when righteous anger fell on the nobleman's houses, I felt satisfaction, but only then I thought about the fact that the night patrol troops acted too radically burning houses and estates of the nobles. (Okay, but the children, maids and other household servants could be completely innocent.)
although I like the idea of gray morality where there is no absolute evil and good
So uh...they murdered a bunch of innocent ponies in the hope that they'd get the nobles, knowing that the nobles would likely escape anyway? Congrats Night Patrol, you've broken the Geneva Convention
10280668
404 Error, the file you looking for does not seem to exist in this parallel universe please enter the mirror and try again, thank you have a nice day.
But yes, they did commit several crimes that would get them in a lot of trouble if there weren't tied to rulers of a nation. The scandal of the Nobles really helped cover that up in the aftermath. And the fact there's no 24 hours news, TV, or a vast communication network besides the Gem com system.
Thanks for commenting! 🦊