Fairlight - The Frozen Heart

by Bluespectre

Chapter Five - Treading old paths

CHAPTER FIVE

Treading old paths

The sun was just rising when I awoke, the early light of dawn soaking its way into the room, filling up the dark corners and chasing out the shadows of the night. Luna had curled up into me on the rug before the hearth. I rubbed the sleep from my bleary eyes, careful not to disturb her. The once crackling fire was now reduced to nothing more than a pile of warm ashes, but was still radiating some heat onto my back. I hadn’t felt this relaxed in an age, and I felt remarkably invigorated consider how tired I’d been after last nights exertions. Luna sighed and snuggled into me before opening an eye to look up at to me.

“Good morning,” she whispered before placing a kiss on my nose. “The moon has already set and my sister’s sun is rising in the sky. As sad as it is for me to say, I fear we must part for now.” She smiled gently, “You have your own duties to perform today also, my lord.”

Reluctantly pulling myself to my hooves, I stretched and gave an expansive yawn. I really wished she wouldn’t call me that. She’d started doing it last night for some reason, and it would probably be best if I nipped it in the bud before it became a habit. Gods help me if Tingles started doing it too. Having to work with her was going to be difficult enough as it was without that adding to it. “My lady, forgive me,” I asked gently, “would you please call me ‘Fairlight’? I find the title ‘lord’, a little strange. I’m just a pony, nothing more.”

Luna shrugged, “Very well… Fairlight.” She rolled her shoulders and sighed. “I will grant you this, however your would do well to remember that wishes do not change the facts of what is, no matter how much we may pretend otherwise. It is what you do in life that defines who you are. A title is, after all, simply a name, nothing more.”

I gave her a light nuzzle. “You loved Lord Maroc didn’t you? Why didn’t you-”

“Why didn’t I marry him? Mate myself to him?” She paused, her eyes looking into a past I could never begin to comprehend. “It was a difficult time, Captain, and not one I wish to recall.”

I’d never learn, would I? Always putting my hoof right in it. “I’m sorry, your majesty,” I said quietly. “Forgive me for being nosy.”

Luna chuckled slightly as she stretched her hind legs. I watched as she busied herself with tidying the scattered cushions and other objects from last nights activities. “I was in love with him,” she said quietly, “but at the time I was... not myself. My mind was elsewhere, focussed on matters that had nothing to do with those of the heart.” Luna shook her mane and hugged me suddenly, taking me by surprise. “I missed my time. The opportunity had been right before me all the while and when I finally realised how foolish I had been… I had lost it all. Everything. Even love.” With a gentle kiss, Luna turned away from me to collect her cloak. “Thank you for last night, Captain, it mean a great deal to me. I may… ‘call’ on you again in the future, if that is agreeable? For now, go back to your duties and do not speak of last night to anypony. They may not... ‘understand’, yes?”

I bowed and backed toward the door, “As you wish, my lady.” The midnight coloured mare watched me go. I caught a glimpse of her face before I closed the heavy wooden door. She looked… sad.

Back in my billet I had a quick trim, collected a change of clothes, and checked the time. It was still early and I had a good hour to get showered and dressed for the day’s briefing. Hopefully I would be needed for something other than the sort of bland mundane bollocks they’d been giving me lately. Ever since the disaster at the coffee shop I’d had the distinct impression I wasn’t fully trusted, like I was a loose cannon or some such, but it could always have been my overactive imagination I suppose. Mind you, the letter had said to have a couple of days free before attending for a briefing so… yeah, I was probably being needlessly pessimistic. Time to go to work then! Shaking my worries off, I picked up my things and trotted out of the room. There was no sense in being miserable, especially after last night. By the gods, I felt like a new stallion! Luna could certainly work miracles all right, but I would have to keep our ‘liaison’ a closely guarded secret. Others may not exactly approve of a commoner ‘carrying on’ with their princess. Ha! I still couldn’t believe it! Mind you, Luna had said I was the new ‘lord of the fortress’, hadn’t she? Meh, something like that, but who cared? Lord of a load of rocks on a mountain? Nope, give me a nice warm bed, a roaring fire, and an equally warm mare and I was as happy as Larry. Whoever that was. And so, after a refreshing and thankfully uneventful shower, I found myself back in my room once more. The shower block had been quite busy that morning too, with ponies going about their business of brushing teeth, cleaning manes - the usual stuff that you do in the morning. But there’d been so many of them! I wonder if there was something going on today? Speaking of things ‘going on’, a nicely cleaned and pressed uniform had been placed in my room together with a bowl of those crystalline berries. I popped one in my mouth, careful not to spill any of the juice on my smart black suit, shivering as the electric sensation fizzled through me. If that wasn’t enough though, there was also a bottle - the same glass bottle from last night. There was no accompanying note, just a drinking glass and a small screw top flask sitting next to it. It was an ideal size to pop in my saddle bag when I went on missions, and opening it revealed a rolled up piece of paper inside. It read simply:

Thanks,

M

Well, that was certainly short and sweet. Good old ‘M’! Just as I put it down, the heat radiating from the note warned me of its impending combustion. Honestly, I thought to myself as the small message disappeared in a ‘whoof’ of green flame, I’m surprised the whole bloody place hasn’t gone up yet! I trotted down to the meeting after pocketing my usual issue agency gear and felt quite buoyant for once. I put it down to Luna’s ministrations. Knowing this place I was probably going to feel like crap later, but who cared? Right now, I felt good… great even! Ah, life, it was about flaming time I had a smile on my face. Unfortunately, as I already know to my cost, a good mood is like a soap bubble - all it takes is one little prick to ruin it. And there he was, standing in the doorway to the briefing room glaring at me as I approached. Warlock never said a word, but his eyes told me all I needed to know. He was seriously pissed off with me. It wouldn’t take a genius to work out why of course, he’d probably already come to the conclusion that I’d had a right royal bollocking from the ‘Mistress’ after my outrageous display in his office. I didn’t want to cause a fuss so I solemnly hung my head as I passed him; just to make him feel better, bless him. Typically though I couldn’t help but privately smirk to myself, even if it was a bit wrong of me. Well, just a bit. After all, what he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him, right?

When the last of us was seated the lights dimmed and the briefing officer walked up to the podium which was set to the side of a large projection screen. The projector at the rear of the room loudly clattered a slide into place. ‘Operation Postal’, the letters read. Very dramatic, I thought sarcastically. Maybe we’d been upgraded to mailponies? Stifling a chuckle at my own joke, I quickly glanced left and right in case anypony heard my snort. Thank Celestia they hadn’t.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts,” the officer began. “I would like to start today’s briefing by acknowledging the excellent work our agents both here and abroad have done in tackling the scourge of organised crime that has been blighting our country these last few years.” He nodded towards a small group of agents near the front who gave each other pats on the back, one of whom I noticed to my cynical surprise even cracked a smile. “Your contribution has been noted,” the officer announced plainly, “and it is an inspiration to the rest of us to follow your example. And that brings us onto the subject for today, everypony. You will doubtless all be aware that the off-world constructed weapons we’ve seen being smuggled into Equestria recently...” The stallion paused as the slide changed to show a variety of the tube-like things I’d seen more than enough of already. He continued, “...have been re-worked once they arrived, to fit equine anatomy.” There was a general murmur of agreement. “Several of these sites, or ‘armouries’ as the underworld know them, have been targeted and successfully shut down by agency operatives. In each case, large quantities of property were seized. Two this last month alone.” A loud stomping of approval echoed around the room and the officer waved a hoof for quiet. “Please note that these items are known more commonly as ‘firearms’, or simply ‘guns’. Although the generally work off the same principal, there are numerous design variations that we have encountered so far, from the type that are easily concealed, to the larger mounted types we discovered following the incident at the Manehattan Wharf. You should familiarise yourselves with them if you have not done so already.” Why did I have the feeling he was looking at me? “The appendix to the briefing report has a list of the names, types, and other details you will need to study,” he summarised, holding up a sheaf of papers.

Ah, I thought my chair felt a bit funny. I moved experimentally to one side and felt something sticking to an arse cheek. Damn it all! Keeping a straight face, I nodded along with the rest like it was all understood and that I already knew exactly what he was talking about. Come to think of it, after what I’d seen at the warehouse, I probably did know more than most of the ponies here. The briefing continued after a short interlude whilst the slides changed to show more of the ‘firearms’, ‘guns’, or whatever they were supposed to be. Damned things. And anyway, what the hell were these ‘criminal elements’ planning to do with them all? Equip an army? My mane quivered at the prospect.

“Intel has been coming in to suggest that the latest batch of weapons have been coming in pre-made,” the officer explained. “That is, that they are already custom made and not retro-engineered.”

So, the humans were now tooling up to make ‘guns’ for the Equestrian market now, were they? That was very enterprising of them. Still, it seemed that the whole operation was a damned site more organised than we’d previously thought. Our raid at the warehouse had probably been little more than a minor setback to them before they went and started a new route up elsewhere.

“Our supervision has decided that it is time to take the initiative and be more pro-active rather than re-active to the problems our home has been facing.” The officer peered at his sheet. “Operation Postal is the first phase of our initiative. Our target…” The projector clacked over a new slide. I stared wide eyed… as the officer said, “…Is Ponyville post office.”

Dear goddesses! I used to work that patch! In fact, I used to chat with that funny little mare that had the really bad strabismus. She was cute too, once you got used to the way she appeared as if she was looking at you and up your nose at the same time.

The officer cleared his throat. “Several consignments of Breeze and Ryetalin have been intercepted which we believe have originated from this location. How the drugs have been getting to the office is unknown, however it is believed they may be bringing them in via a portal on site.”

That made sense. The mail could then be distributed across Equestria quite legitimately by unsuspecting mailponies. Interruption of the Royal Equestrian Mail was a crime by royal edict and severely punished, so it was doubtful any of the drugs would be encountered accidentally. It was handy to have the name ‘Royal’ in your job title. Or ‘Celestia’ for that matter. I wondered if it would get me a little discount next time I went shopping…

A light came on near the lectern and the briefing officer stepped aside. He held up his hoof,“I’d now like to introduce our guest speaker, Dr Bunsen of the C.B.I mountain facility.”

The familiar cerulean blue mare with the massive spectacles, stumbled up the steps to the podium. I felt compelled to clop my hooves, but quickly put them down as it would have been embarrassing both for myself and the doctor for me to be the only one doing it.

“Um… er… yes, thank you agent… er… right!” She pushed her thick glasses up her muzzle making her eyes look frighteningly large. “This device, um… sorry, next slide please… yes, that one…” A peculiar box like object with a dish on the top appeared in the next slide. “This is a, um, magical energy detector. You’ll have seen them before of course, they’re, er, used for tracing specific thaumaturgical signatures and such like, but this one has many more, um, functions than that old thing!” She was beginning to sound excited, “It can be set to detect all sort of things. In fact the only limit is a pony’s ‘imaaaaginaaaation’!” She stood on her hind legs and waved her forehooves out before her in a semi circle. I half expected to see a rainbow. By the looks on the faces of the ponies in the briefing hall, they did too.

The briefing officer whispered something to the good doctor who tittered to herself, a hoof held to her mouth. “Sorry!” she chuckled. “Sorry, everypony. I get quite excited by new gadgets you see! Anyway, we’ve calibrated this device to help us, that is, to help all of you, to detect and locate the particularly unique magical wavelength signature of a transdimensional portal activation. It’s all quite simple really.”

A few ponies scratched their heads and muttered to one another.

“Thank you, Doctor Bunsen,” the officer announced, quickly helping to usher the bespectacled mare from the podium. Bunsen seemed a bit irritated about being removed just as she was getting into her stride, but shrugged it off, muttering something I couldn’t hear. She was probably used to it working for this miserable lot.

One of the officers in the room held up a hoof, “Sir, how will we be conducting the operation? Ponyville may be small in terms of population density, but the post office is situated in the centre of the town. There’ll be a high probability of numerous witnesses and the risk of collateral damage should there be any resistance.”

The briefing officer nodded, “Next slide please”. The following picture was of a bizarre looking contraption, something like a steam engine without rails. “The operation is set to coincide with cider season in Ponyville. The orchard owners, the well known Apple family, are notorious for running out of cider every year, so we have a little side show planned to keep everypony occupied, and to keep us informed of any suspicious activity. Gentlecolts…” He held out a hoof and two pale coated ponies in what I can only describe as carnival outfits complete with boaters, trotted onto the podium sporting huge grins. “Agents Cox and Pippin here will be masquerading as cider sellers to keep ponies away from the town should the Apple’s run out of cider early. The machine in the slide is the brainchild of the scientists at the hub.”

I could see Doctor Bunsen waving her hooves enthusiastically from the corner of the room. Everypony was trying desperately to avoid paying attention to her.

A cyan stallion next to me facehoofed when he saw the two gangly ponies on the stage. “Celestia’s arse, not ‘Half-Cox’ and… oh goddesses… Pippin,” he muttered. I was tempted to ask what he was mumbling about, but the two grinning characters were already leaving, and the briefing felt as though it had picked up a notch.

“With the locals distracted,” the briefing officer continued, “Alpha will be free to provide perimeter security, whilst Beta will provide sniper cover. Gamma team will move in from the front door and Delta from the loading bay doors to the rear. Epsilon, you will be held in reserve in case resistance proves greater than expected. We can’t be caught with our pants down here everypony.” I tried to ignore the word ‘sniper’, as a schematic of the building appeared on the screen. “A copy of this is in your briefing papers,” he explained, ignorant of the fact that mine were still stuck to my bottom. “Take particular note of the timings, but be prepared to adapt as necessary. There is expected to be minimal resistance as most of the postal workers will be regular ponies, so keep it non-lethal please everypony. We don’t need another coffee shop incident.”

Well at least they’d recognised that for the complete buck up that it was. Fortunately this operation had been thought through properly by looks of it, and better still was the fact we wouldn’t have to worry about any psychotic agents gunning down innocents either. The briefing continued for a while longer, with details of locations, times and leadership breakdown discussed before final orders were relayed. The operation was planned for tomorrow morning, early. The Ponyville ponies would likely be queuing for their cider from dawn if not earlier according to the briefing, therefore to maximise our effect we would need to set off from the Manehattan facility whilst it was still dark. An early bed was in order, but first, was a good breakfast, and what I dreaded most - facing Tingles.

The canteen was packed. With agents being pulled in from all over Equestria, we had to use side rooms and even chairs in the corridors outside to accommodate them all. Breakfast itself was massive too, no doubt in anticipation of an early start. Personally I felt sorry for the kitchen staff, but also slightly relieved that it was such a mad house I wouldn’t have been able to see Tingles if she’d been standing six feet away from me. All the same I kept my eyes and ears open throughout breakfast, but of the tangerine mare there was no sign at all. If she’d been in the briefing I’d certainly missed her there, and checking her room on the way back to mine showed that she wasn’t there either. Maybe she’d gone for a check up with the doc? After all, it was only the other day when she’d been shot out of the sky by the psychotic Wist. I mean, she wouldn’t be avoiding me, would she? Nah, surely not. It wasn’t like I’d been rude to her or anything. Had I? Huh, who knew with mares! I spent the rest of the day reading up on the now rather crumpled briefing paper, got in a little target practice, revised my TED protocols, and so on to pass the time. Before I knew it the sun was going down and the ever present tannoy in the corridor crackled into life, reminding everypony to retire early as it would be an early start. They weren’t joking either, we’d have to be up around 2:30am to collect our gear and head off to Ponyville to make sure we were there before dawn.

I dumped myself on the bed and rolled, rubbing my back into the rough top sheet. It was a far cry from the lush grass of the fields surrounding auntie’s village of course, but comforting nonetheless. A sigh escaped my lips and I flopped over onto my side. My saddle bag and panniers sat unopened on the desk, inviting me to investigate the contents. I still had a little time before I’d have to get some sleep, and it would be a pleasant distraction to see what she’d packed for me. Levitating them over, I undid the clasps and brought out the items she’d put in there for me. It was certainly a trip down memory lane alright. My pocket watch, hat and coat I already had, but auntie had found far more than she’d let on. The first thing I uncovered was my photo album, smelling a bit of smoke, but surprisingly undamaged. Meadow and I had never been one for photos, preferring to live in the now and not in the past as we looked at it. I’d always found it a bit unsettling too, looking at photographs, and okay, maybe that might seem a little strange to some, but personally I’d rather look forward to what was going to happen rather than what already had. Still, some of the pictures would evoke memories of a time before… ‘that’ happened. I closed my eyes and sighed, placing a hoof on the top of the album. I’d look at it later. Out next came several jars of preserve, an almost fluorescent red goo sitting inside the glass containers, each of the them secured with a little paper lid and an elastic band. I couldn’t wait to have a taste! I quickly found my knife, fork and spoon set in the side pocket of my saddlebag, and after a moment of fiddling with the lid, was soon humming in bliss as the sweet, tangy taste hit my tongue. It was a lot more potent than just eating the berries too, I was even a little concerned about becoming ‘high’! So, just to be safe, I locked them in a cupboard for later enjoyment. Maybe with some toast too, if I could sneak into the canteen. They didn’t like agents taking food back to their rooms. Gods, it was like being in school sometimes! My mum and dad’s photo came next, and I put that on the shelf along with a brooch she used to wear that had been neatly wrapped in bubble-wrap. It was a pretty little thing too; a small spray of silver work and gemstones in the form of peacock feathers. She’d worn it nearly every day after dad left home, which had always struck me as strange at the time. I suppose it did even now. In the end he’d out lived her, and had never even gone to her funeral. I looked at it for a while, wondering what my folks would think of me now, but guessed that I’d probably find out some day anyway so it was something of a pointless exercise really. Goddesses, I hoped they’d be proud of me. Mum would love me regardless no doubt, but dad? Well… He could be cantankerous at the best of times. A pocket knife, several other odds and ends which would be useful, including a compass and water purifier, were duly removed and put to one side. The smell of soap suggested that auntie had tried to remove the pervasive smell of burnt wood, but it was still clinging determinedly to the more porous items. It was a constant reminder of a terrifying chain of events that had brought me here, to this place, and a future that held nothing but uncertainty.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to ignore the more troubling thoughts that were never more than a heartbeat away. Instead, I concentrated on my investigation into the mysterious contents of my packs. The heavier objects had been thoughtfully placed at the bottom - two leather bound tomes, each emblazoned with a white unicorn’s head and inset with a tiny blue gem for the eye. So, not a pony then - a wendigo. I put them to one side. As the histories of the tribe, I suppose it fell to me to protect these for future generations. No pressure at all then…

Inside the top most volume, a small piece of paper was sticking out. Intrigued, I pulled out the note and read it, or rather tried to. The hoofwriting was so bloody difficult to read I seriously doubted whether the writer had actually expected anypony to be able to understand it at all! Goddesses have mercy, it was like reading spaghetti that somepony had just dropped onto the page, but at long last, and after managing to give myself a clanging headache, I finally began to understand the lettering style and could read the message that called out across the ages...

Brother,

The army is gone. The lord is slain. The princess has vanished, and our connection to her severed. All our hopes and dreams for our people lie in ruin atop the lifeless mountain that was once our home. The Celestian’s have won.

Our fortress at Everwinter has been destroyed and our people butchered as they fled. I, along with several survivors, reached the caverns and escaped into the depths and what we believed was safety. Some fled north to the dead lands, hoping to escape the fighting. Several of us: the wounded, the sick and the elderly, stayed in the caverns hoping for rescue.

The Celestians found us on the third day. They murdered everypony they found. None were spared except myself and two others who were still fit enough to outrun them. We hid for several weeks in the caverns, until I decided to return to the fortress under the noses of the Celestians to recover our most treasured of items - the histories of our people. If this is to be the end of the tribe of the four winds, then somepony must remember us.

To you who read this, I beg you to keep them safe, to remember us and who we were.

I warn you, do not seek the fortress of the four winds, it has been seeded with death by the forces of the white witch. Only death awaits you there. Death, and the dead.

Remember us.

Herath

Well, that was cheerful, I mused. It certainly tied in with what I had seen in Maroc’s ‘memory’ though, and what auntie had told me too. It had been a slaughter, the Celestian army cutting down their enemy completely without mercy. My ancestors, my forebears, had been butchered by our ‘benevolent ruler’ Celestia, the ‘White Witch’. Goddesses, no wonder auntie felt the way she did, but still, it was a hell of a long time ago and very different times. In any case, I doubted that the vengeance of the Celestians was unprovoked and that they had simply liked killing for killings sake. There was doubtless much more to this war than I knew. Or was ever likely to know either.

The adventurer in me was intrigued by the whole ‘fortress of the four winds’ thing, but the line ‘seeded with death’ kind of put me off a little. Okay, a lot! These days I much preferred staying alive and keeping my hooves firmly on the earth. Mostly. I paused, staring up at the picture of my family. Staying alive… How strange. Not that long ago all I could think of was death, death and being with Meadow. Had I really changed that much? Perhaps I had. I was about to put the pack away when I found it was still a little heavier than expected. There was something in a side pocket I’d missed. Opening the flap I magicked out a thick parcel tied with string. Within all the dense packaging was a framed black and white photograph; one I had taken some time ago, under a tree. A tree in a park.

Meadow looked back at me, her big eyes unmistakable beneath the large floppy sun hat she liked to wear whenever the weather allowed. Her long lashes, her smile… I could never forget how much I had loved her, or how much I still did. I brought the photo to my muzzle and kissed her image. “I love you honey. Goddesses, I miss you so much…” Tears dropped onto the glass and I hugged the picture to my chest as my heart began to beat so hard I thought it would burst. With a shake of my mane I stood on my hind legs and placed the photo next to the one of my folks. I wished I had a picture of Shadow and Sparrow too despite my aversion to photographs, but right now I wanted to see them all so much it hurt like hell. I wiped my face with a damp flannel and got ready for bed, pulling back the sheets and wrapped myself in a fuzzy world of woollen warmth. With any luck I wouldn’t dream tonight. The last thing I needed was to be up all night with memories tearing at what was left of my soul. Going on a mission when you were sleep deprived was a recipe for disaster. Still, not much I could do about it now.

Sleep was just starting to tug me into its embrace when a creak from the doorway made my ears prick up. Opening one eye I saw a sliver of light from the corridor spilling into my room, the dark shape of a pony entering, and the door close carefully behind them. Reaching out quietly, I slipped my magic around my PDW and drew it back beneath the covers. After what had happened to me recently there was no sense in taking chances.

In the dark, the pony shape slipped into the bedroom. “Fairlight? Are you asleep?”

I clicked the light on. “Celestia, Tingles! I thought you were an assassin!” Letting out the breath I’d been holding in, I placed the PDW back into its holster by the bed.

“I can’t sleep,” she said quietly. “Can I… Can I stay with you tonight?”

I closed my eyes and sighed. “Tingles, no… It’s not right. Don’t-”

“Please?” she begged. “Please, Fairlight, every time I close my eyes I see Wist’s face, and that beam of green light. Goddesses, I’m so frightened! I’m…” She looked over her shoulder at the door, her resolve faultering.

How could I say no now? She was my partner, and the fear in her eyes made my heart cry out to her. “Come on then,” I said resignedly. “You can have the bed, I’ll sleep on the floor”

She shook her head and smiled, “No, it’s your room… I’ll share.”

I wasn’t sure what she meant until the tangerine mare leapt onto the bed, nearly sending my flying into the ceiling. I’ll say this for the beds at the agency, they were well sprung. A little too well sprung for my liking right then. Why the hell didn’t she use her wings? I felt her lie down on the top of the covers beside me and snuggle in.

“Cap’?” Tingles said softly. “I know this is presumptuous of me. I’m sorry.”

“Its okay”, I replied. “Are you going to be warm enough? There’s another blanket in the airing cupboard if you need one.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m fine. I just want to feel close to somepony tonight, that’s all. It’ll help me sleep.”

Well, I couldn’t disagree on that point. “Sure.” I lifted a hoof to turn off the light but my partner leaned across my shoulder, stopping me. Looking up, I saw she was looking at the photographs.

“Is that her? Meadow?” Tingles asked curiously.

I smiled, “Yeah, that’s her. Taken on the first date we had together.”

“She’s beautiful,” the tangerine mare replied. “I’m sorry you lost her, Fairlight. I know what its like to lose one you love.” Tingles sighed and snuggled into me, sharing my body heat. “It hurts to be alone…”

I pulled my foreleg out from the sheets and placed it over hers, giving it a little squeeze, “You’re not alone, Tingles. I promise.”

I heard the smallest of whimpers from her. “I… I thought you didn’t want me to work with you any more…”

Gods, I felt like I’d kicked a puppy! Somepony had obviously let the cat out of the bag, and that somepony was either Luna or Warlock since they’d been the only two I’d spoken to about it, but honestly she shouldn’t have been surprised considering the circumstances. Judging by her tone of voice though she was more upset than angry about it. “I still don’t,” I explained honestly. “I can’t bear even the mere thought of you being hurt again because of me. Every time I close my eyes I keep seeing you lying on the ground with a hole in you, Wist standing there laughing like a lunatic, and... It was all my fault. You nearly died trying to save me.”

“But, you did save me…” she breathed.

I closed my eyes. “Tingles?”

“Cap’?”

“I never got a chance to say something to you that I should have when I had the chance.”

“What’s that?” she asked.

I let out a little huff and snuggled into the pillow. “Thanks.”

She leaned forward and gave my ear a gentle nip. “Next time, shoot them before they shoot me eh?” We both chuckled and my dear friend laid her head across my neck. “Goodnight, my captain.”

“’Night Tingles.”

That had to be one of the best nights sleep I’d had in a long time, despite being bear hugged by my companion when I tried to get up for the bathroom during the night.

********************

Morning brought with it a cacophony of noise. It wasn’t to be unexpected in a city of course, but in the normally quiet world of the agency, it was deafening. There was a constant bustle of ponies rushing to collect equipment, last minute team updates, the list went on and on. The TED was a constant chatter of information, and I switched it to another channel dedicated to our own, Epsilon, if for no other reason than to give my ears a rest. We were the backup team. It was a little disappointing, sure, after all we’d trained ourselves well and were working together a lot better as a team now. At least, I hoped we were a lot better than we had been at the coffee shop debacle. Nutcase ponies not withstanding.

My ‘sleeping buddy’ had gone off to the showers already and I had packed my gear ready to set off. Right on time, Warlock knocked on the door, three other agency ponies and Tingles bringing up the rear. She looked to have had a better night’s sleep than I had, and she knew it. The perky creature gave me a cheeky wink, unseen by her burly companions.

“All set, Nox?” Warlock asked gruffly.

I nodded. “All set, Sir. Ready when you are.”

He looked over his shoulder at the others. “Okay everypony, let’s shift flank. They may not need us today, but we’d better be ready in case they do. Agent Tingles, you’re pilot on this jaunt.”

She nodded, and in silence our small band made its way to the landing area, joining the other teams one by one until we were indivisible from the rest of the river of black suited ponies, all of us heading in the same direction - Ponyville. Being part of a veritable flock of sky carriages was impressive to say the least. We kept formation high above the clouds, the moon still high in the sky. I tried to sneak a few minutes shut eye, but with the radio chatter had picked up and it was nigh on impossible. Within a few hours we were landing on the outskirts of Ponyville, the sun barely a glimmer on the horizon. An image of Celestia in slippers and sipping cocoa while yawning popped into my head and I sniggered aloud.

“Something funny, Nox?” Warlock asked, a look of disdain on his face.

“No, Sir,” I replied quickly. “Just thinking that it’s been a while since I was here last. I used to work the beat here when I was in the watch. Have some good memories of the place.”

He didn’t speak, but just sat there watching me. Bloody hell that was creepy! Did he know something I didn’t? The orange stallion huffed and looked away. I was definitely not in his good books, but who cared? Miserable sod. Well bollocks to him, the bloody arse. I was tired of ponies like him, and they always seemed to end up in positions of authority too, didn’t they? How in the name of the goddess did they do that?! Was it in the job description or something? Applicant must be a dull, miserable and generally unlikeable git. Ponies with personality need not apply. Yeah, something like that.

A voice crackled over the TED; it was Tingles. “Attention ponies, we are approaching target location. ETA is three minutes, no sign of activity so far, but stay frosty everypony. No trigger happy incidents here please, this is Celestia’s pet’s home remember.”

Celestia’s pet? She had that funny looking bird didn’t she? I’d seen a picture of it in the paper one morning when the bloody thing had caught a cold or something else just as equally scintillating that the publishers thought the masses were desperate to learn about. Ah, never mind. They lived in a different world here to the rest of us anyway. Ponyville had always been on the fringe after all. I mean, who needed a watch pony in a place where no crime happened? Literally, there wasno crime! ‘I lost my dictionary,’ or ‘somepony stole a cupcake,’ does NOT qualify as crime! Especially as the ‘thief’ would come back later because they had remembered they’d forgotten to pay. Goddess almighty, I’d been bored senseless here. Maybe I should have appreciated it more. I sighed as the carriage alighted on the ground with a light jolt, probably due to the extra load in the back. Probably Warlocks huge arse weighing us down, I thought to myself snidely. He lead the way out of course, the five of us following obediently. Buck me, this reminded me of the warehouse job a little too much: the dark sky, the dawn waiting to arrive, and us, waiting for a signal. In this case, one that probably wouldn’t be needed. Or at least, I hoped wouldn’t be needed. We stood there on station, weapons loaded and gear ready. The TED chattered constantly...

Alpha Team, area secured. Holding position.

Beta Team, area secured. Holding position.

Gamma Team, standing by.

Delta Team, standing by.

Warlock held a hoof up to his TED, “Epsilon Team, standing by.”

Confirmed. Gamma and Delta teams moving in.

We could see the post office clearly from where we were stationed. The hay shed was conveniently situated and had been selected as our jumping off point so as to provide both cover and to have us near to hoof in case we were needed quickly. Somepony had done their homework well, and everything was running like clockwork. So far, so good… We watched Gamma and Delta storm the post office. Shrieks of fright and the occasional muffled shout were all we heard across the TED, until a loud bang from the building made us all jump. There was no mistaking that noise.

“Warlock here, what’s going on in there people?”

“Sir, one of the postal workers has barricaded himself in the strong room with a mail mare,” a voice replied. “He’s threatening to kill her unless we let him walk.”

Warlock spat, “Nopony walks away, agent. Hold up, I’m on my way. Epsilon, let’s move out.”

We trotted across the cobbled street and straight in past two of the agents standing guard. Inside, black suited ponies ran detectors across the mail, opening some and tossing the more suspect packages into a wheeled basket for closer analysis. One of the agents waved us over to the steps to the basement where the strong room was located.

“Down here, Sir,” the mare stated. “We don’t know his name yet. The only other pony in here this morning was a grey pegasus mare. The male grabbed her before we could stop him and took her into the strong room. He’s armed and highly agitated. He fired at us when we tried to speak to him.”

“Anypony hurt?” Warlock asked.

The agent shook her head as we followed her down into the bowels of the post office. “No. Agent Lumier was lucky she didn’t get her head blown off though. Either that or our suspect’s just a bad shot.”

We approached the entrance hall to the strong room, noting the hole in the wall where Agent Lumier had so nearly come to a swift and sticky end. The heavy door was open slightly, and I noticed how the stallion inside occasionally peeked out like some furry cuckoo clock. His eyes were wide, but whether from fright or something altogether more chemically induced, it was too early to say. From further back came the occasional muffled whimper - the mail mare no doubt. The smell of fear was all pervasive, hanging heavily in air and reminiscent of the cellar of the coffee shop. Personally I suspected it to be more from the cornered stallion than the mare if his behaviour was any indication of his mental state. I placed my hoof on Warlock’s shoulder. “Can you feel it?” I said in a quiet voice. “He’s scared witless. In this state he’s liable to do something crazy. We need to calm him down somehow.”

Warlock barely looked at me, and I had the impression I’d been dismissed out of hoof. “Get hold of the manager and find out who he is,” he snapped at one of the agents. “Get names, family members, and do it quickly!”

Delta teams officer had overheard the conversation. “You, Agent Nox isn’t it?” he asked, walking over. I nodded as he continued, “You were an officer in the watch, weren’t you? Yes… Yes, I remember you. Do you have any negotiation skills?”

“Some, yes,” I agreed cautiously.

He turned to Warlock, “We don’t have time to buck about, Warlock. Send your pony in to deal with this. If there’s no joy in the next thirty minutes, we’re gassing him out.”

I didn’t know who he was but Warlock sure as hell did. He listened to the officer with rapt attention before nodding smartly and addressing me. “Okay Nox, this is your chance to show us what you can do. Buck it up and we’ll be taking you home in a body bag.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I replied sarcastically. I had thought Warlock had begun to warm to me a little, but I was beginning to think it was a lost cause; his personality clashed with mine far too much and my relationship with Luna wasn’t exactly helping smooth things out either. Edging to the corner of the hall I shouted to the pony in the room beyond, “Hey friend, what’s your name?”

“Buck off, Copper!”

“My name’s Nox, Mister Off,” I called back. “Or should I just call you ‘Buck’ instead? We can use first names here can’t we?”

“You smart arse bastard!” The stallion bellowed, “You want me to blow this pretty little filly’s head off? Do you? DO YOU?!”

I kept my tone jovial. “I’m sure you don’t really want to buddy. After all, you do that and you may as well shoot yourself. These guys will do it too, you know, they’re pretty pissed off with you right now.”

“I’ve already told you,” he called out, “get your goons to buck off or else. I want a sky carriage, and I’m taking my hostage out of here with me.”

“Okay, big guy, you’ll get the carriage,” I replied, “but let the filly go and you can have me as a hostage instead. How does that sound, eh?”

He laughed bitterly. “Yeah right! What a load of shit, you’ll try to trick me. I’m not that bucking stupid.”

“Fine, fine. Sheesh!” I made a show of flicking the keeper off my PDW holster. “You can have it your own way then, Buck. Tell you what, I’ll give you until the count of five and then I’m coming in there and I’ll gut you like a fish, okay? Right then, ready? One.”

“You take another step and I’ll kill her!” the stallion screached.

I nodded, smiling broadly. “No problem. Two.”

“You bastard! I’ll bucking do it!”

“Go ahead,” I called back. “She’s got no family and you’ll die too, so it’ll all be tidied up neat and clean. Three.”

I heard the weapon ‘click’, the voice panicked, “I’m warning you…!”

Warlock grabbed my shoulder, “What the buck are you doing, Nox? He’ll kill her, you idiot!”

I brushed his hoof off me, and focussed all my attention on the steel door of the strong room. “Not long now, Mister Off. You want me to send flowers to somepony?”

“What…?”

“Four.”

“OKAY! For bucks sake, okay!” The stallion’s voice sounded resigned, but he hadn’t quite lost his edginess. “You can come over, but you leave everything there. No weapons, no nothing, understand? And I want a bucking sky carriage!”

“Sure friend,” I called back, smiling. “Let the filly go and you can have me as a hostage as we agreed, right?”

“Okay ‘friend’,” the stallion shouted. “Come on in and join the party.”

I removed my coat and equipment, making a show of placing the pistol on the floor. “I’m coming over. Hold your fire, I’m unarmed.”

A hoof waved at me, beckoning me in from the door to the strong room. As I reached it, a lime green unicorn slammed me up against the wall, the muzzle of a pistol jammed into my forehead. “One move, one bucking move, and I’ll paint the wall with your brains you agency puppet. You get me?”

“Oh yeah, I get you friend.” I nodded to a coil of bright blue cording on the floor that was used to secure the sacks. “Say, why don’t you tie me up?” I suggested, trying to sound helpful. “That’ll make you feel better won’t it? There’s some binding there from the post bags you could use.”

He looked at me quizzically. I could almost hear the cogs turning as he asked, “Why’d you say that?”

I gave him my friendliest smile, “Because you want to leave here in one piece, don’t you? I want to leave too. We play this right then we can both walk out of here unharmed, and if this helps put your mind at ease, then I’m happy for you to do it.”

Apparently he was. He shoved me into a chair and quickly began to bind my legs to the furniture. Meanwhile the grey mare next to me peered at me with her unusual eyes. I thought I’d seen her before! Good grief, how did she find addresses with eyes like that?! Anyway, I’d make her my first priority when the time came. And by the looks of it, that time was rapidly approaching.

The stallion finished tying my bonds. “There, trussed up like a roast.”

“Great!” I said approvingly, “Now, let the mare go and you’ll get your sky carriage!”

“Oh no, not so fast,” the stallion leered. “I don’t trust you, you’re up to something.” He leaned forward and poked me in the chest. “I’m changing the game, ‘buddy’. I’m going to take you both hostage and then I can shoot one of you and use that to lever your pals into letting me go. Two birdies for the price of one! How does that sound to you, eh?” He sneered mockingly and then let out a raucous laugh, showing me his pristine white teeth. Ones I’d like to kick down his throat.

I shrugged, “Good thinking there my friend, you’ve got me beat. The guy you need to talk to is called Warlock, he’s the big orange bucker hiding behind the wall. Tell him I sent you.”

The pony wiped a sweaty foreleg on his mail. “Yeah… yeah I’ll do that, but the slightest glow from that horn of yours and you’ll go first, capeesh?”

I smiled and nodded, winking at the terrified mare next to me.

The stallion walked to the door, pistol raised, and shouted over to the assembled agency ponies. “Hey you! You black suit buckers! Yeah, you… the big orange bastard. Warlock, isn’t it? I’ve got your buckwit pal and the bitch in here. You don’t get me that sky carriage and I’ll kill one of them to show you I mean business, understand?”

Warlock shouted something back, but I couldn’t hear it. I was concentrating on other things…

I didn’t know what the ‘big orange bastard’ had said, but apparently negotiations weren’t exactly his strong suit. “I’ve bucking had it up to here with you wankers! That’s it!” the stallion screamed at Warlock, “I’ve warned you. Now I’m going to blow this… this buckers…” He slowed, looking down at the sparkling white mist swirling around his hooves. Without a word he turned to look at me, the frozen remnants of rope cracking and dropping on the floor. I shook the last pieces off as his eyes bulged. “What!” he gasped. “Wha-? What the buck?!”

Smiling, I stretched my legs. “And there I was thinking you didn’t like first name terms, Mister Off.”

“Ah! Buck, buck, buck!” he screamed, firing off several shots directly at my head. Every round hit a solid wall of crystalline ice before dropping harmlessly onto the ground. His weapon gave a click and his eyes widened in shock.

“Oh dear, Buck,” I smiled, “you seem to be out of ammunition. Sorry, do you mind if I call you buck?” I took off my sunglasses. “You can call me Nox if you like. After all…” I could feel my teeth growing, their sharp points poking up like mountain peaks above the mist dripping between them, “…we’re such good friends now, aren’t we...”

“Celestia’s cocking arse, whatare you? What the buck are you!” he shrieked.

I laughed, “Don’t be coy, Buck, I’ve come a long way to play with you today. But if you want to know ‘what’ I am, don’t worry, there’ll be plenty of time to find out... in hell.”

“Oh goddesses, NO!” The terrified stallion threw his empty firearm at me impotently and charged out the door, followed my echoing laughter. Great Luna, it was GOOD to be alive!

A few moments later Warlock appeared around the door, by which time I had relinquished my hold on the spirit and the protective ice shield around the mail mare was disappearing quickly as well. I shook my mane and helped cut her bonds. With a sudden cry of something completely incomprehensible, she ran out the door where she was accosted by Tingles, who deftly took her under a wing to another room.

The big orange stallion approached me. “I don’t like your methods, Nox.”

“You have your prisoner don’t you, Sir?” I asked politely. “It may have been unorthodox but the result is what mattered, and nopony was hurt.” I deliberately left out the ‘this time’ qualifier which I so desperately wanted to get it.

“You’re dangerous and reckless Nox,” Warlock huffed. “The mistress may approve of you, but I don’t! Get your gear and help clean up the mess upstairs.”

“What about the portal?” I asked.

“Its been secured,” Warlock said levelly. “You don’t need to worry about that now, it’s all in hoof. Go.” He dismissed me with a wave of his hoof.

By the doorway the delta team officer clopped me on the shoulder, “Damned good work, Nox! Don’t know what you said or did in there, but that fellow absolutely shit himself. Quite literally actually. We’ll have to hose him off before he gets in the carriage of course, but a top job my young friend.”

I blushed and several other ponies congratulated me as I headed up the stairs to the ground floor. Tingles glanced at me with a smile from a side room while she poured a cup of tea for the mail mare and offered her a muffin. That seemed to perk her up a bit.

“You both okay?” I called in gently from the doorway.

Tingles nodded. The grey mare however, watched me intently with… one of those eyes I suppose, before letting out a sudden ‘sqwee’ and lunged at me like a furry rocket. Before anypony could stop her, the little grey pegasus mare began hugging me for all she was worth, her wings flapping happily and covering my coat in muffin crumbs. We all laughed, more in relief I think than anything else, until Tingles was able to sit the mare back down and waved me out with a twinkle in her green eyes. Upstairs, some of the agents were still sifting through the huge number of parcels and I was quietly motioned towards a pile of ones that were still awaiting inspection. One of them immediately caught my eye, in fact several of them did. They were large, square, brown paper wrapped parcels. In fact there was nothing particularly unusual about them at first glance, but they were all similarly packaged, and had my horn tingling whenever I looked at them for some reason. Searching around I found a sharp parcel knife and lifted the first of them onto the bench. Carefully, I slit the packing tape and drew the paper back. Inside was a cardboard box, but inside that was the real prize. It was a plastic tub, surrounded by packaging to keep it from rattling around. My magic enveloped the lid, slowly rotating it until I could see what I suspected would be in there all along. It was. The tub was full of a fine white powder, like flour almost, but with a peculiar tinny smell that made my nose itch furiously. It was Breeze, and a lot of it. There had to be tens of thousands of bits worth in there if not more. Replacing the string I hoofed the box to the lead agent and went back down to the office with Tingles and the bubbly grey mare.

“Hey there miss,” I said happily to the mail mare. “I was wondering if you could do me a favour?”

********************

The house was pitch black, the distinctive smell of burnt wood pervading everything from the ceiling to the floor. They’d sealed it up pretty well, but not well enough to deter a trained watch pony. And knowing where the spare key was kept was always a bonus I suppose. The lovely new settee we’d bought was still by the hearth, and I ran my hoof over it recalling scenes from happier days: the smell of cooking, Meadow’s singing, the little looks she would give me - the ones reserved only for me. I closed my eyes and listened. Silence. There would be no more singing in this home, in fact, it wasn’t even a home at all now. At least, not for the living. The only things here were ghosts and memories, and every turn brought my past back to me with frightening clarity, haunting me with images of what was and what could have been. Ironically, it had all been lost long before the flames engulfed our dreams.

The kitchen was still as I remembered it, my wendigo eyes providing a surprising amount of clarity in the boarded up property. The fridge had been emptied, probably by Aunt Pewter. She was thoughtful like that. Not that anypony expected me to magically return from the dead for a quick sandwich of course, but these days you never knew what was around the corner. My stomach grumbled at the thought of food, and I rummaged through the cupboards until I found a forgotten tin of biscuits languishing in a dark corner. They were surprisingly still edible. Well, almost! The stale things were at least a change from the boring fayre on offer at the facility, and needs must… Wolfing down another of the sweet treats, I steeled myself and climbed the stairs. Memories continued to assail me from all sides, and despite it being my own home I could feel my hackles go up when I entered the bedroom. The floorboards creaked underhoof and I caught a glimpse of what I thought was movement from the opposite corner. A bird? No, it had been too big. Far too big. Quickly, I brushed the spirits power with my consciousness, keeping it ready, and at the same time drawing my pistol. Quietly edging past the bed, I strained to make out whether anything was there… Nothing. Damn it, I was seeing things even in my own house!

I gave my mane a hard shake. I’d expected something like this. Coming here, my old home, the signs of fire, the smells, the echoes of a life that was just coming into bloom before it was turned to ash. Being haunted by the ghosts of the past was something I was beginning to learn to live with now, no matter how much I wished it were otherwise. Gods, what a life. Still, whilst I was in here I’d have to see if my old secret stash of goodies would still be there. They should be, I hadn’t seen any signs of any break-ins, and I doubted Pewter would have known to look here. Perhaps the stories of the place being haunted that Pewter had told me about had kept my old home safe from the ravages of the local criminal element after all. Who knew. I stepped round the bed, trying not to focus on it too much. Fortunately the old wardrobe in the corner had been built to last, and came with a handy compartment at the back complete with a hidden release switch. I’d installed it myself, not particularly in case of theft, but rather in case Meadow and I had any foals and we didn’t want them getting into things they shouldn’t. Sparrow would have had quite the time finding this place. Sparrow… I could almost see her standing in the doorway, watching me with her… Buck it! I didn’t have time for this sort of stupidity! Emotions could bloody well wait until later. I had a job to do here, and I couldn’t afford to be seeing ghosts every five blasted minutes. Pulling myself together I swept my hoof over the inside and felt for the catch. Just along the beading I found the tiniest of joints in the wood, and pressed. With a click the concealed door swung open, and I quickly began rummaging inside the dark compartment for my long lost treasures. Thank Celestia, they were still there! I pulled out the items and laid them on the bed, careful not to use my magic. With the house in such darkness, any light could give away my presence to anypony watching outside. But here, in the darkness, I could see well enough to make out the shape of my dad’s old short sword and spare truncheon. The baldric was still in surprisingly good condition, if a little musty, and I was able to strap it under my overcoat quite comfortably. A touch of saddle soap later would soon have it coming back to life, and get rid of that nose tickling pong too. I tapped the brass and cord bound hilt of the sword, marvelling at the fact that the Watch only up until recently had always been armed with both sword and truncheon. I had been one of the last to train with one in basic, with the expectation we would be able to rely on being able to get close enough to a villain to bash them over the head, or shoot them with a crossbow. What the thought process was behind it was lost on me, but it was all very nostalgic. My time in the Wither world had been the last time I’d actually used a sword, and in some ways I’d hoped it would be the last. But now, I’d take all the help I could get, and dad’s sword was a reminder of him to boot.

My ears pricked up suddenly. Something moved. Damn it, were there mice in here? A scratching from under the bed made me jump and I clambered on the bed, pistol ready. What the hell was that? I waited, my heart pounding and sweat breaking out on my brow. Images of ghosts and spirits infiltrated the primitive recesses of my equine mind making my adrenaline levels spike. I knew I was probably being foalish, but goddesses, I didn’t like this at all. The scratching noise came again, and this time I clearly saw the bed covers moved slightly. That was no bloody mouse! A pitiful whimper emanated from beneath and I moved slowly to the edge. “Whoever, or whatever you are, you’d better come out,” I whispered, “fair warning, I’m armed.”

A small gasp followed, high pitched like a foal’s. I was suddenly acutely aware of being on my own in a dark, boarded up house that ponies thought was cursed. Stories of the ghosts of dead foals flitted through my mind, the images of dead staring eyes and vengeful spirits clawing their way from the pits of hell freezing my soul. Damn it all, they were only stories! What the hell was wrong with me? I’d been to the ‘other side’ and come back again for goodness sake. I was the last pony who should be quaking in their shoes over spooky bloody stories, right? Right! So... why did my spine feel like jelly, then? Instinctively I felt for the magic, allowing its cold essence to comfort me. It was there, waiting, eagerly anticipating the call. And then, abruptly, I let it go. The spirit hissed and spat at me angrily, but I ignored it. I couldn’t keep relying on it the way I was. I had to be the one in charge here. The spirit reacted to emotion, and showing weakness or fear would be playing right into the damned things hooves. No, I had to do this myself. Even if I did feel like bolting for the door. Getting a grip of myself, I took a deep breath and climbed off the bed. Without another thought, I threw back the covers with a flourish.

I don’t know who was more frightened, me or the owner of the bright red eyes glinting in the blackness under the bed. Whoever or whatever they belonged to, they backed away from me.

“Come out,” I said as calmly as I could. “I’m not going to hurt you, but I don’t have time for this. Please.”

A few seconds passed before a quavering voice drifted out from the owner of the glistening eyes. “Are…Are you going to take me away too?”

“What?” I blinked in confusion. Take them away? I shook my head, “No. No, of course not. I’m with the agency, I protect ponies. Come out, I promise I won’t hurt you, okay?”

“I want my mummy!” the voice said full of fear and sadness. Whoever it was began to sob quietly. It would have been heart wrenching if I hadn’t nearly pissed myself in fright at the surreal experience. Goddesses, I wasn’t good with supernatural stuff at all! Well, other than the fact I spoke to dead ponies on an alarmingly regular basis, but that was different. Wasn’t it?

The eyes blinked and moved forward towards me, until the head of a tiny foal appeared, peering up at me. The child, barely old enough to be on his own, came out from his hiding place shaking in fear. For Luna’s sake, what was he doing under my bed?!

“Where’s mummy? D’you know where she is?” he sniffed, wiping a tear away from his big eyes.

Well she sure as hell shouldn’t be in my house! Part of me felt like shouting at the child about trespassing in my home, whereas the other part wanted to comfort him. He was clearly distressed, but I wasn’t the best with kids, and I certainly didn’t have time to be messing about foalsitting now. Unfortunately I couldn’t just chuck the poor little bugger out on the street either. He’d probably been playing with his friends and wandered in here as a dare or something else daft that young ones get up to. Damn it, of all the times...

I leaned down to and smiled, “Sorry little one I don’t know where your mummy is, but I’ll help you find her, okay?”

He smiled weakly and nodded, “Okay.” Suddenly he eyed my panniers. “I’m hungry.”

My heart ached for the little fellow, and I gave him the rest of the biscuits I’d found. His eyes went wide as he eyed them, and he all but pitched into the tin muzzle first. Following the fire the water had been shut off to the property, but I’d come prepared for that and gave him the water from my canteen to help wash down his rather suspect repast. Under normal circumstances I’d probably have got into trouble feeding a child some manky old biscuits, but as I sat on my haunches watching him wolfing it all down, he didn’t utter even a single complaint. Luna’s mercy, he was so thin I could see his ribs.

“I’m Nox. What’s your name little guy?” I asked him trying to sound cheerful.

“I’m Brandy Snap,” the foal replied, licking crumbs from his muzzle. “Are you a watch pony, Mister? You’ve got a funny name.”

Cheeky little beggar! Anyway, I hadn’t chosen ‘Nox’ myself had I? Still, best to keep up appearances I suppose, even to a young one. “I used to be in the watch, but I’m with the agency now,” I said pleasantly. “We work for Princess Luna and Princess Celestia to help keep ponies safe.” I wasn’t sure if he was listening, as he so busy cramming his muzzle with biscuits I was starting worry he’d end up choking. I cleared my throat. “Can you tell my why you’re in my house, Brandy?”

He gobbled down the last of the biscuits and looked up at me. “The bad ponies came and took mummy and my sister into a big carriage,” he explained. “I was frightened and ran away really fast. This house has a hole in it and I climbed in so I could hide. I kept as quiet as a mouse!” He paused, frowning comically. “Is this your house? Billabong said it’s haunted.”

A big hole in it? I’d have to have a look at that later. What was really concerning me though was what he said about bad ponies taking his mother and sister away. It could the watch, maybe even the agency, but I doubted they’d leave young Brandy behind. Something stank here, and I had a sickening suspicion I had ties to the operation that used the coffee shop. I kept my concerns away from the little one. He didn’t need to know. “I don’t know about being haunted, Brandy, but yes, it’s my house. What’s left of it anyway,” I nodded to him. I checked my pocket watch, it was nearly 6:00am. The post would be arriving soon. “Listen, Brandy, I have an important job to do and I want you to be a good foal and stay under the bed and keep quiet. Can you do that for me?” He nodded, and without another word shot back under the bed as I replaced the covers. “Stay there Brandy, okay?”

“Okay, Mister Nox. Are you coming back?” came the muffled reply.

I felt my heart skip a beat at his innocent question. “Yes. And then we’ll find your mummy and sister. Deal?”

“Mmhmm.”

Doing my best to put the foal out of my mind, I settled down to wait. I didn’t have to wait long either. Before long I heard the distinct crunch of hooves on the gravel path, the squeak of the letter box being opened, and a rustling thump as several heavy parcels were pushed through followed by the sound of wings as the mailmare took off to her next delivery. Good old Miss Hooves, I’d have to make sure I supplied that most diligent of mares with an extra large box of muffins for this one. Now, all I had to do was wait. I just wished I didn’t have to worry about a certain foal in case things got… interesting.

Time oozed by with complete indifference to my miserable surroundings. In reality it was probably only a few minutes, but each second felt like hours sitting there in that absolute silence. It reminded me of being stuck in school on a Friday afternoon, waiting for the clock to slowly clunk round to four o’clock, and freedom. There was no real sense of time here now anyway. The old clock on the wall had long since wound down, and the light and life that had once lived here had been replaced with a heavy oppressive silence and a sense of total emptiness. Occasionally the house would creak like some wounded beast, still suffering from its recent brush with death. It was lucky too; the fire hadn’t caught properly, and there had only been superficial damage. Ironically, most of the damage had been from the fire department’s hoses, but that was a small price to pay for having my home saved. Somehow though, I doubted I’d ever be back here again after today. Everywhere I looked there were too many memories, and to the world, Fairlight was dead. And dead he must remain, at least for now.

Suddenly my ears pricked up. Hoofsteps. One pony by the sounds of it. They were approaching the front door without making any attempt at being stealthy either. Was it overconfidence? Or something else? With a click the front door was unlocked and then pushed open. Even with my unnatural eyesight I had some trouble seeing in this light, and it wasn’t helped by the fact I had to make sure to wear the sunglasses to disguise their glow too. Might have been fun to see their reaction of course, but for now, caution was key. Whoever it was though, they didn’t waster any time. They simply collected the parcels, turned, and walked away into the night.

I turned to Brandy who was still under the bed. “Okay, Brandy, I’m going to leave you here until a friend of mine comes to get you. She’s a pegasus mare called Tingles, and she’s got an orange coat and green eyes and hair. Do what she tells you and be a good foal okay?”

His squeaky voice tried desperately to be no more than a whisper as he replied, “Okay, Mister Nox.”

I edged to the door and saw the cloaked figure climb into a sky chariot and take flight straight away. I rushed to the door and hit the transmit button on my TED. “Tingles? They’ve taken the bait. Listen, there’s a foal in here, you’ll have to pick him up and get him back to the facility. I’m going after our target.”

“What?!” the voice blasted back through my earpiece. “Are you crazy? You can’t do that, you don’t know where they’re going! We’ll lose them!”

I ran off into the night releasing a small amount of the power, my wings bursting from my back and carrying me up into the early morning sky. “You’re not the only one with wings, you know,” I reminded her. “Please, Tingles, we can’t leave him there, he knows something that can help us.”

“How do you know that?” She sounded flustered.

I didn’t have time to argue with her. “I just do, okay?” I said a little testily. “Get him to safety and then catch me up.”

“Damn it Cap’!” Tingles huffed. “Okay… Bugger it all…”

She was picking up my habit of swearing lately. Fairlight, a guaranteed bad influence on any pony. Sighing, I kept my altitude low and swept out above the roof tops keeping an eye on the chariot in the distance. Hopefully, they wouldn’t spot me behind them, but I was a good distance back using full advantage of my ‘freaky eyes’. Huh! I could thank Wist for putting that comment in my head. Judging by their flight path though they were heading for the docks, and right to where I had a hunch it would be - Shire Wharf. Goddesses, I had hoped I’d been wrong, but there it was in its all its ramshackle glory. The damned place was probably still soaked in the blood of my comrades in the watch too. I’ll give them one thing though, they had some neck using this place after what had happened last time. But perhaps that was precisely why they had. After all, who could believe that a criminal organisation would set up in the exact same place they’d been raided once before? Not many. Even so, I would have thought the local Watch would have kept tabs on the place for a while afterwards though. But if they were, they weren’t doing a very good job of it. Still, whoever was behind this was going to regret their decision alright. Right after I’d fed them their own balls.

The sun was just starting to peak over the horizon when the chariot landed in the shadows behind the warehouse. Using the clouds as cover I watched the two of them, both the pilot and the passenger, climb out and enter the side door of the warehouse. It was the same bloody door I had entered through too, but there was no way I was using it this time. If somehow they’d realised they were being followed, a hole in the head would more than likely be the only thing awaiting me on the other side. Fortunately I could remember the layout of this inauspicious place all too well. The entrance at the top of the gangway on the opposite side of the building led to the office above the main warehouse floor, and after a surprisingly well controlled glide, I alighted on the metal platform outside. Thankfully, it was unlocked. With a little push and a nudge I slipped inside, relieved that they obviously weren’t expecting company. Were they getting sloppy? Maybe a different gang? As always there were far too many questions and not enough answers, but with any luck I’d get some shortly. I certainly intended too, whether whoever was in here liked it or not.

In the items from my house had been my spare tactical hoof covers that helped muffle sound and gave better grip on smooth surfaces. Being a bit of a hoarder I’d kept a spare pair hanging up in the wardrobe, and I’d had the forethought to put them on while I’d been waiting for our morning ‘collection’. Thanks be to Luna for that! I’d have to speak to the stores pony at the agency to get these in for our operations in future. Quietly crossing the office floor, I checked to see if the inner door was unlocked. It was, but something made me pull up short. My horn was tingling, usually a reaction to magic fields nearby. It wasn’t much, but somepony was using magic, and they were close. Very close. Pausing and listening intently, I could definitely hear breathing coming from the other side of the door. Somepony was there, possibly a guard, I couldn’t tell. Testing the hinges with a hoof, I found they were still oiled from last time. If I was I careful I could quietly open the door and neutralise the pony on the other side, but it was a risk, maybe too much so. There was another way. There had to be. Looking around the room I saw a small metal nut and picked it up, tossing it behind me onto the metal gantry outside. The metal clanged on the wrought ironwork, echoing in the office. To my ears it sounded painfully loud, and I could only hope whoever was outside on the gantry would take the bait.

I heard a snort outside, the creak of leather straps, and the sound of hoof on metal. My plan was working, or at least it was so far. I squeezed myself into the corner as the inner door opened and the dark shape of a pony walked in. They were cloaked, and wearing one of those ‘gun’ things strapped to their back. I instantly recognised the ‘firing mechanism’ for the device too, held in the pony’s mouth and no doubt ready to unleash a fiery torrent of flesh rending death at a moments notice. Reading the familiarisation document had actually been useful for once, despite being creased to hell. But knowing the names of the components wouldn’t help me with what I had to do next. That was all up to me. I stepped quietly from the shadows and rammed my ‘shocker’ into the unsuspecting creature’s neck, and with a thankfully quiet fizzing noise, the stunned creature collapsed into my waiting hooves. I lowered the stallion down to the floor and removed his cloak and gear, ‘gun’ included. I didn’t recognise him from our briefing, but there was no sense in standing out from the crowd for all the wrong reasons here. Besides, this guy would be out for a good hour at least, he wouldn’t miss it. He probably wouldn’t miss the gag and hobbles I’d trussed him up with either.

Wriggling into the harness was awkward, but the weight was surprisingly light considering the size of it. The levers were apparently intended for pony use but were still a bit cumbersome. Interestingly the device looked to be partly powered rather than fully mechanical, the energy source being a small magical battery pack attached to the main assembly. No doubt it was that which I had picked up on, otherwise I probably would have blundered right into the guy, and I doubt that would have ended well for either of us. Thankfully the briefing paper had covered the way these alien devices worked in detail, but they certainly didn’t prepare you for the uncomfortable and altogether horrible experience of putting somepony else's bit in your mouth. Ugh! The guy must have had terrible teeth or been eating something off the floor for it to taste this bad! Still, no time to stand on ceremony, I had a job to do, and the quicker I got it over with the better. Disguise complete, I moved quietly through the now open door.

The warehouse interior was much the same as I remembered it, minus the ‘bullet’ holes. Somepony had been busy, patching up the great rents and tears the strange weapons had torn in the fabric of the warehouse. Those funny little bits of metal could have turned me into paste as they had with so many of my friends that night. We’d had no idea what we were up against and had walked in as unsuspecting as a chicken in a griffin butchers shop. But now a little wiser and, I hoped, more prepared, we had something approaching a fighting chance of dealing effectively with this scourge that was quietly infesting our once peaceful homeland. I moved to the landing and peered down into the depths. A pony waved up at me, and I waved back, signalling all was well. Down in the darkness several lanterns had been set up and a group of ponies waited nearby quietly talking between themselves, the boxes from my house sitting on a packing crate next to them. Patience was something needed on jobs like this, but fortunately for me, I didn’t have to hang around for more than a few minutes before the side door opened again and two more ponies trotted in. One of them, the largest of the group, was clearly annoyed if their body language was anything to go by.

“What the buck are you doing dragging me out here at this hour?” The mare, judging by the voice, had a heavy sounding accent, one I vaguely recognised but couldn't quite but my hoof on.

“Somepony’s been messing with the merchandise,” one of the others said, pushing another of their number forward.

A slim pony, the one who I recognised as the one who had collected the parcels, glared back at his harasser. “Bullshit! I never had time to do anything anyway,” he snapped. “I came straight here!”

Another pony spoke up, “It’s true, boss. He went to the house, got the packages, and came straight back to the chariot. We came here immediately, just as we planned.”

The large mare walked over to the parcel and examined the packaging. “It’s been opened,” she hissed. “Check his pockets and the chariot. If there’s even a grain missing you’ll be a bucking stain on the floor when I’m finished with you.”

The slim pony quailed, “I never took any! For Celestia’s sake, I wouldn’t betray you Bl-”

Quick as a flash the mare’s foreleg swung out and smashed the stallion in the jaw, lifting him off his hooves and sending him crashing into a pile of packing crates. She rushed over to him and brought a hoof down on his head, “How many bucking times do I have to tell you not to use my name?!” she shrieked. “By all the gods in the goddess cursed heavens, why do I have to work with such a bunch of imbecilic bucking cretins like you?! You can’t take orders, you can’t follow even the simplest of bucking instructions. Why are you so damned stupid? Can you tell me? Can you?! Why?! WHY?!” She stomped down on the hapless male again and again, foam flying from her mouth, the sound of hoof hitting bone echoing around the warehouse. The pony’s whimpers and cries gradually subsided to nothing more than a rattling gasp as the brutal attack continued with a ferocity that was frightening to behold. The other ponies did nothing to intervene. Whoever she was she had them in awe of her… or was that fear? The slim male had stopped moving and the mare backed away, the steam of sweat rising slowly from her back. Shaking herself, the telltale movement of wings beneath her cloak showed all I needed to know. The last piece of the puzzle was put into place.

“Oh goddesses, no…” I whispered to myself under my breath. “Not you. Please, no…” The last time I’d seen her, she’d been mourning the loss of her lover. She’d been a comrade in the watch, not necessarily a friend as such, but a valued workmate. We were a team, all of us. What the buck was she doing here, doing… this? How could she-

My train of thought was interrupted by the pony coming back in from inspecting the chariot. “Nothing there ma’am,” he said calmly noting the body as it were simply an accepted everyday part of the job.

“And the package?” she asked.

One of the others had checked the box and nodded his head to her, “Looks like it’s all here, boss.”

“Damn! Check it for bugs,” she ordered.

One of those assembled produced a device from under his cloak and waved it over the box. He shook his head, “Nothing.”

The mare wasn’t convinced. “Buck it, something stinks here. We’re being set up, and you dickheads have brought me here too! Shit, lets get the buck...” She paused, bringing up a small brass device to her ear. I strained to listen but could only hear muffled words from the thing. The big mare waved a hoof and one of them rushed out the side door. “Come on, it’s time to go,” she said, her voice sounding suddenly a lot more neutral than I’d expected. The ponies collected the boxes and packed them into their saddle bags. Two of their number collected their fallen comrade. To my surprise he was still alive, if barely. As they were leaving, the big mare stopped and threw back her hood. She smiled. “Won’t you be joining us, Captain?”

I started in alarm. Oh, buck me, she knew I was here! Backing quickly into the office, I turned in time to see a purple unicorn jam a gun barrel into my face. “Make a move agency pony and I’ll turn you into a bucking sieve,” she snarled. I had no doubt she meant to back up her threat too if I so much as twitched.

Two other pegasi trotted into the room and pointed guns at me. There was no way I could fight my way out of this one. Two others were coming up the steps on the other side now too. I made a quick calculation of my chances - they were not good. In any case, I’d get a chance to meet the lady herself and, it would seem, she wanted to see me too. Shoving me roughly down the stairs, the ponies pushed me at gun point until I was standing before their leader.

The mare’s unusual silver eyes looked me over with a slightly indifferent air. “Take off your sunglasses. Nice and easy now, we wouldn’t want any accidents, would we?”

The business end of one of the guns was shoved roughly behind my ear, and obediently I carefully removed my sunglasses and put them in my pocket. Some of them gasped as they took in the sight of my glowing blue eyes. The pony in front of me however, didn’t so much as flinch, but I still noticed her pupils widen momentarily.

“My goddesses,” she breathed. “I didn’t want to believe it, but it’s you. The scar, the broken horn, and…and those eyes! But… yes… it is you, isn’t it?”

“Hello, Blaze” I smiled bitterly. “Looks like grey is this years in colour, eh?”

She laughed, making the ponies around her shift nervously, “Oh, Captain, you always were a card!” She smiled and waved a hoof nonchalantly. “But I’m afraid you’ve blundered into my extracurricular business activities at a rather bad time, wouldn’t you say?”

“It sure looks that way Blaze,” I said levelly. “Care to explain? I mean, it’s been a while and all.”

She hung her head, “Yes… Yes, it has, Captain. But it’s all rather strange, isn’t it? I mean, the last I heard you were dead, burned up in that cabin. We tried so hard help you too, you know that? Burned feathers and fur, tears and sleepless nights thinking about you dying in that inferno. And all that time… you were alive.” Blaze’s voice took on a dangerous tone, “Bet that gave you a good laugh didn’t it? Bet you had a real good chuckle at our expense, whooping it up while we buried you, while we shed our tears for you?”

I kept my voice neutral. “It wasn’t like that, Blaze,” I explained. “I had no say in what happened. The agency do things their own way, you know that. Besides, do you think I staged the murder of my wife and friend as well?”

She shook her mane. “I cried for you, Captain. Like I cried for Dawn, when I buried her too. Something… broke in me that day; the Watch, the princesses - all of it. What was it all for? What was any of it for?”

“So what, you’re blaming the deaths of ponies to justify,” I waved a hoof around me, “all of this? Do you realise the misery, pain, and death you’re spreading by dealing in this shit, Blaze? After all we went through, together as a team, you’ll throw it all away for bits? Is that what this is all for? Bits?!”

She stepped forward and glared into my eyes. “What the buck would you know? This whole rotten land of sunshine and bucking rainbows has got you fooled the way it has with so many other idealists and dreamers.” Blaze’s eyes flashed dangerously. “Can’t you see? It’s a façade! It’s a lousy, stinking lie. It all is, Captain, every last stinking crumb of it. We’re fighting a war we can’t win, and Dawn, my Dawn, was butchered fighting for those cloistered, pampered arsed bitches in their ivory bucking tower!” Blaze spat on the floor. “Do you think they gave a buck about you, Meadow, Mitre, Dawn, or all the others who died that day?” Her anger peaked. “NO! Not one of those bucking alicorns bothered a single damned feather to come and pay their respects to our brothers and sisters. So buck them I say! And buck Equestria too! I’m going to make as much money as I can from this rotting carcase of lies and get the buck out of here before the whole stinking place falls in on itself.”

“Goddesses, Blaze!” I snapped. “I can’t believe you’re the same pony I worked with. You were a sister to us, a friend we trusted and loved like one of our own family. We swore an oath to protect Equestria and its ponies, the princesses too. And yeah, maybe I am blinkered, maybe I do look at world in simplistic terms, but I don’t give a damn about these ‘lies’ you’re talking about, and I certainly don’t give a toss about money either. The Watch are there to help those who can’t help themselves, and here you are, helping your self at the expense of their suffering. Blaze, please, can’t you see how wrong this is? For the goddesses sake, stop this before it goes too far!”

She hung her head slightly, a tear glistening in her eye. “I can’t, Fairlight, it’s... It’s gone too far now. There’s no turning back for me, not for any of us. Celestia doesn’t forgive. You don’t know what happens to ponies who don’t fit into her ideal world…”

I took a breath, hoping I could reach out to her. She had been a good officer once. Maybe, if I could appeal to what was left of that honour within her, I could help her by appealing to her reason. “I do, Blaze,” I said gently. “Believe me, I do. But it’s shit like the powder you’re selling that’s causing even more suffering amongst those who we used to protect. But you can stop this. You can stop all the pain, all the sadness. I’ll do what I can for you, I promise you that. Please, Blaze…”

For a moment I actually thought she would agree with me, and all this mess, all this horror, would come to a stop. Sadly, it was all too obvious what was coming next, and no amount of wishful thinking could change it.

Blaze’s eyes were wet as she looked into mine. “I’m sorry, Captain, but like I said, it’s too late for me now. The things I’ve done, the things I’ve seen…” She nodded to a pony beside me. “You should have left things alone, Fairlight. And really, you should have stayed dead.”

A bolt of energy surged through me, sparks flashing in my eyes as I crashed to the ground.

“Put him on the ship and bind his arms and legs.” Blaze paused. “Oh, and put a neutraliser on that horn of his. I wouldn’t want any more… ‘surprises’.”

Darkness pushed in on me until one of them decided to make sure of the job and hit me with another pulse of energy, sending me down into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness. This time, I didn’t think I’d be coming back.

Comments

[AmicusBestia]

8814891
I read somewhere above 1000 wpm, so seeing someone pump out a few hundred k words in a month is just the best.

[Tholamas]

"https://lunewen.deviantart.com/art/Thestral-Sombral-251727045" If you want to know who the artist is.

[Bluespectre]

8824232
Thanks! I'll pop a reference to the artist in the description when I get min.

[Bluespectre]

8824101
I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

[Fallen Knight]

Do i detect that that is Flim and Flam who are Agents Cox and Pippin? Heheh