Never Lucky

by Ferris the 1st

Chapter 10: Alone

I had never been more terrified in my life as that moment. Living in a small town myself, I knew that a lot of laws didn't extend past the reach of the guards in bigger cities, but this... this was something else entirely. Of course our scuffle had woken a few of the townsponies and my shouting had alerted a few more. Sheriff Lone Star was among the first to show up and it was a good thing that he did so. I was so panicked that I must have looked like I'd witnessed murder and the killer was on my heels.

A resounding smack across the muzzle brought me back to reality and he hurried me inside his office to calm down while he talked down the ponies that had been awakened. By the time he returned, I was numb inside and out and could only stammer out the story to him. I probably should have been more composed considering that I was representing the Royal Guard, but it's difficult to keep a straight face when you're in over your head.

Lone Star marched me back to my room and I reactivated the seals on the window and door before managing to fall into a restless slumber...

**

The next morning made me feel even worse as I looked over at the empty bed, feeling useless. Silent Stroke was a trained warrior and several times my better at most things and he'd been taken down like the town drunk. I didn't know what to do. I'd written a letter to Martial Cadence, but it would take days for the letter to make it back to Canterlot even if the winds held true for the couriers.

Every time I thought about going outside, I froze. I'd never felt fear so intense as this and it was all I could do not to flinch at every little noise that the old building groaned out. Truthfully, I was content to survive on rations until the Lieutenant showed up with a force of guardsponies to find Stroke.

Reality wasn't about to let me sit idle, however.

Lone Star visited me after the first few hours I was holed up in the room. I'll give it to the stallion, he was good at negotiating through my terror and eventually got me to open the door. He stood in the doorway and I sat on the bed, both of us staring at the empty bed and the saddlebags still neatly arranged next to it.

“...Sweet Celestia,” Lone Star breathed out, “here I was thinking he might be sent to cover it all up. If the lad was still here... I'm not sure I could properly apologize to him...”

I shook my head, “The best you would have gotten out of him was a grunt... he wasn't one to trade words he deemed unnecessary...”

Ironically enough, the sheriff grunted in agreement before fixing his eyes on me, “so... what now? If I can help you with whatever plan you're cooking up in the head of yours, I will.”

I laughed bitterly, “Plan? I don't have a plan. I'm not Silent Stroke or Martial Cadence. Merciful sun and moon, I'm not even a soldier! I just finished basic training when I got sent out here. My plan is to wait for the real soldiers to show up and take it from here! As far as I'm concerned, I completed my mission and found proof that something was going on here.”

Lone Star's frown was a face I'd seen a lot: disappointment. His eyes narrowed dangerously as he looked at me, “So... you're just gonna leave your partner out there at the mercy of those fanatics? That ain't exactly the kind of thing I want to hear from the Royal Guard? Where's all your honor and oaths, colt?” he spat at me condescendingly.

I snorted, “It wasn't even my choice to become a guard, sheriff. I was forced into it. If Stroke or Martial even heard me considering trying to take on these ponies, I'd be flayed alive. We weren't even supposed to confront them, but then Stroke had to get aggressive! I'm staying put until the legion gets here.”

I turned away from him, expecting to be shouted at, called a coward, anything like that. In the end, he did something that hit me harder than any physical blow or insult. I heard him cross the room and prepared for him to strike me in frustration only to hear him place something on the bed before his hoofsteps retreated toward the door, “You made a promise colt... I heard Earth Ponies don't make those lightly...”

Twisting my head, I noticed a pair of photos next to me. A pair of smiling foals stared up at me from them...

...damn it all....

**

I shifted my saddlebags across my back, each a little heavier from the equipment I'd pulled out of Stroke's bags. I was on edge, ears flicking at every sound as I made my way toward Digger's house. It was small, even for Springrun's standards; just a quaint one room house at the furthest side of town. The underbrush had been cleared away, allowing for flower patches to be planted around the house that looked uniform and well kept.

The stallion I was looking for was currently outside doing a little weeding. Digger turned out to be a gray colored unicorn with raven mane and tail. From my position, I had to pause as I caught sight of his cutie mark: a shovel in the dirt of a grave. It was little wonder why the other townsponies were freaked out by him. Even I was starting to get strange vibes as I closed the distance.

“Mister Digger?” I called out questioningly causing the stallion to look at me with deep brown eyes.

“Who's asking?” he countered guardedly.

I paused a few paces from him and answered, “I'm Lucky Signs. I'm with the Royal Guard and I was hoping I could ask you a few questions.” He regarded me with distrust, so I quickly pulled out the papers that Stroke had shown to the sheriff. His guarded stance didn't relax.

“I've said my piece.” he stated simply and returned this his gardening.

I blinked rapidly, confused by his behavior, “Mister Digger, please, I'm not here to be a bother and I-”

“Then leave.” he interrupted without looking up from his work.

“I can't do that, Mister Digger,” I took a breath to steady myself and find what little courage I could, “ponies are going missing and we have no idea what's being done to them right now. My partner has joined that list alongside a couple of foals from the town recently. I was told that your son, Onyx, had become friends with them, so he might have some idea of where they've been recently. If I could just-”

“No.”

“Mister Digger, please! This is an official investigation by the Royal Guard. I won't take up much of your time and I'll be out of your mane in no time.”

“I said no, MisterSigns. I don't give a damn if Celestia herself comes down here and wants to talk with him. None of you are going to bother my son, is that understood?” he glared at me and, for a moment, I had the odd realization that this stallion's eyes didn't hold a candle to the shark-toothed grin of Martial Cadence, but judging from his stance he was ready to fight.

So I nodded, “Crystal, Mister Digger. I'll leave you alone.”

Turning on my hooves, I began to walk away when movement in the nearby window caught my eyes. An almost carbon copy colt version of Digger was looking out at me. For a moment, we simply stared at each other, but then he frantically waved a hoof at me, gesturing toward the back of the house. Looking over, I noticed that Digger was engrossed in his task so I gave the colt, presumably Onyx, a nod and reached into my bag, pulling out a long cloak.

A simple “notice-me-not” spell weaved into the fiber made it a simple task to duck off the street and make my way through the brush to the far end of the house. A simple, wooden back door was open on this side and I slid up to it before pulling back the hood of the cloak to break the enchantment. Onyx was waiting for me and looked up at me with a measure of uncertainty. He lead me to the opposite corner of the house from his father and motioned me to lean down closer to him.

He spoke in a hushed whisper, equally frightened and hopeful, “They say that you've come to help, but that you don't know where to start. Is that right, sir?” I wasn't certain who “they” were, but I nodded quietly and he lit up his horn. A spark of magic appeared between us and a scrap of paper hovered to me.

It was a crude drawing of the town, but off to the side an “x” had been drawn. He gestured to the “x” frantically, “they took Buck and Misty there. Please help them, sir. I don't want Misty or Buck to get hurt.”

Things were getting complicated. I gently took the map in my mouth and slid it into my saddlebags before looking at Onyx, “Thank you. This is really brave of you. Do you know how many of them there are or what they plan to do to your friends?”

Onyx nodded, “Lots of 'em,” not so useful, “but I followed them into the cave a couple times. They keep the ponies there until this big monster comes to take them away.”

“A monster?” I asked, feeling a pit form in my stomach.

I received a nod, “Yeah. It's big. Bigger than anypony in the village and it talks funny. It's got claws and feathers and collects ponies for something,” he gulped, “I thought it was to eat them, but none of the missing ponies joined them.” he waved a hoof at the air around us and I was getting more confused by the moment.

Shrugging it off, I gently ruffled Onyx's mane, “Don't worry. I'll get your friends back to you. How often does this monster come around?”

He thought about it for a long moment before answering, “Once a week... I think. It should be back either tonight or tomorrow... please hurry sir...” he begged me, looking up at me with big, hopeful eyes.

Burying my own fear, I gave him a smile, “I will. Now, hurry back inside before your dad decides to check on you.” He bounded away, closing the door behind him as I readjusted my cloak in order to make it back to the inn without being seen. Once I was safely back in the room, I slid the map out and checked it over. It was a foal's rendition of the town, but thanks to a few hastily scrawled notes, I could at least figure out the general direction I needed to go.

I swallowed, hardly able to comprehend what I was thinking about doing. I took a seat and dumped out my saddlebags, looking over the equipment I had at my disposal. The things that I didn't have any clue as to their usage I quickly piled into Stroke's bag. Things that wouldn't work for my plan joined them until I had a simple collection of things.

The nighteye goggles were a must, along with the teleportation amulet, a hoof ring with a Zone of Silence spell, the flare hoof ring, and the Notice-Me-Not cloak. The last object was something I really wish I didn't have to consider. The sheathed dagger practically pulsated with negative energy as if it were excited at the prospect of being used.

I hated myself as I strapped the sheath onto one of my forelegs. I wasn't even sure what it did exactly, but I was certain that it would be bad for whoever felt the sting of the pointy end. Collecting the rest of my chosen equipment, I stuffed Stroke's bag under his mattress and climbed into my own after activating the door and window seals.

Settling down to get as much rest as I could, I tried to curb my anxiety. It was going to be a long night....

Comments

[Emperor]

Hah. Looks like Lucky tried to do the responsible thing. Too bad he got suckered in by his own promise 😩

At least one pony seems to want to help him out, even if it's a colt. From the sounds of it, it may be a griffon running a kidnapping ring is my best guess.

Maybe armed to the teeth with special ops magically-enchanted equipment will help Lucky Signs do something an unarmed Lucky couldn't do. Or, knowing his luck, it could lead to an even bigger disaster than it would have otherwise