5 - Definitely Maybe
“I demand to see my father!” Velvet yelled, pounding a hoof against the table. She couldn’t have dented it if she tried. It had been designed to hold up to angry earth ponies. “I haven’t done anything wrong! You have no right to treat me like a criminal!”
“Calm down,” Sergeant Sky sighed. “You’re not being charged with anything. At least not yet.”
“Then why aren’t you letting me leave?” Velvet asked. “And why do I have this bloody ring on my horn? You’re acting like I’m some kind of, of dangerous monster!”
“The restraining ring is on your horn because you’re a flight risk,” the pegasus said. “Right now you wouldn’t be allowed to see your father. He’s in intensive care. If you calm down and ask nicely I’ll get you some coffee or something to eat.”
“I just…” Velvet deflated. “I’m worried about him.”
“I know,” Sky said. “If there’s any news, you’ll be the first to know, okay? We’re waiting for somepony.”
“Who?” Velvet frowned. “Wait, is it the Princess?”
“I wish,” Sky sighed. “We’re having problems getting word to her. No, we sent for an expert monster hunter. Unfortunately, she was apparently still sleeping when the call went out.”
“But it’s the middle of the day,” Velvet said, confused. “Why would they be asleep?”
The door burst open and a grey batpony in dark armor and sunglasses stormed in. “Because she’s nocturnal!” She yelled. “And was listening at the door. I don’t like walking in on anything blind.” She tapped the sunglasses with a hoof. “Figuratively, I mean.”
“Nocturnal?” Velvet asked, confused.
“If you hunt monsters, it’s a good trait to have,” she said. “Agent Clearwater, Night Guard, division six.”
The batpony offered a hoof, and Velvet shook it, confused. “Division six?”
“You like repeating what people say as a question, huh? I stopped by the museum before I came here,” Agent Clearwater said. “Looks like pretty nasty work. I had the monster’s remains put in secure storage. Things like that have a habit of not staying dead when they should.”
“What do you need from me?” Velvet asked. “It sounds like you already know everything.”
“If I knew everything my job would be a lot easier,” the batpony said. “Sergeant Sky, can you get me a cup of coffee? With, uh, seven or eight lumps of sugar. No milk.”
The pegasus sighed and left the room. Agent Tears waited for him to leave before she started talking again.
“I emptied the coffeepot once already when I came in,” Clearwater said. “It’s been a really long morning. We’ve probably got two or three minutes before he comes back. I wanted to apologize to you - we should have been more on alert, especially after Miss Rose was killed. You did really well for a civilian, though.”
“Thanks,” Velvet shrugged.
“If there’s anything I can do for you, let me know. Your father’s medical bills are going to be covered by the crown, and he’s getting the best treatment possible.”
“You could get this ring off my horn,” Velvet said. “It’s making my headache worse.”
“Promise not to run away on me?” Clearwater asked. Velvet nodded, and the batpony motioned for her to come closer before pulling it off with a wing and a few careful tugs.
“So what happens next?”
“We’ll do a few tests, make sure that monster didn’t leave any nasty surprises, and then you go home,” Agent Clearwater said. Her tufted ear twitched. “But unless I’m mistaken, Sergeant Sky is here with our coffee.”
The door popped open, and Sky put two mugs on the table.
“Thank you, Sergeant,” Agent Clearwater said, taking her mug and sipping, grimacing at the taste. “I should have asked for nine lumps.”
Velvet sipped on her own mug without complaint, the pounding at her temples and under her horn getting worse.
“It’s already more sugar than coffee,” Sky said.
“I hate to see what you feed your prisoners if this is what the staff gets,” the batpony muttered. “Miss Velvet? Are you feeling alright?”
The next thing Twilight Velvet knew, she was lying on the ground and the two Guards were kneeling next to her.
“...some kind of side effect from the monster attack?” Sergeant Sky asked.
“No, that was her own magic,” Agent Clearwater said. “Might have been brought on by exhaustion. She’s been through a lot.”
“What happened?” Velvet muttered, the headache finally starting to fade.
“I was hoping you could tell us.” Agent Clearwater offered a hoof, pulling Velvet to her hooves. “You had a magical surge and used your coffee rather artistically.”
“Not again,” Velvet groaned. The eggshell white wall of the room had been turned into an impromptu canvas. There were brown stains on the paint, half splashed and half drawn by hoof. It would have been unremarkable if it didn’t form a picture.
“This has happened before?” Clearwater asked.
Velvet looked up at the menacing figures depicted in brown silhouette. Three sets of eyes in vague outlines, the edges dripping where the coffee ran down the paint.
“It’s… it’s a kind of automatic writing,” Velvet admitted, looking away. “Sorry.”
“Tell me what you see, Sergeant Sky,” Clearwater said.
“Why me?” Sky asked.
“Humor me.”
“Well, ah,” the pegasus cleared his throat. “It looks like three figures, and the writing underneath it says ‘light and love fall without moon and stars.’”
“Interesting,” Clearwater nodded. “Automatic writing. I’ve come across that a few times. I heard Clover the Clever had the gift. Most scholars consider it a form of prophecy.”
“I can’t do it on purpose. it happens when I have a magic surge. My grandmother had the same problem - she got the same headaches and weird magic I do. I mean, there was the rumor she used it to win a few bets but I can’t focus it or anything or I’d have the winning lottery numbers instead of… instead of whatever this is.” She motioned at the wall.
Clearwater nodded. “I think I’ve heard enough. Sergeant Sky, I want you to release Miss Velvet and Mister Night Light into my custody.”
“I don’t have a problem releasing Miss Velvet, but the stallion--”
“I’ll vouch for him on my personal authority,” Clearwater said. “I think what’s important is that we get to Veneighs, not about proper procedure. Not when we can’t even get a message through to Her Highness.”
“What do you mean, Veneighs?” Velvet demanded.
“That’s where the rest of the artifacts are,” Clearwater explained. “Normally, I’d just pass this up the chain, but most of the chain of command is in Saddle Arabia waving the flag. There are important assets that might be at risk if we wait.”
“Important assets?” Sergeant Sky frowned. “I have duties here. I can’t simply leave!”
“Hm? Oh, when I said ‘we’, I didn’t mean you.” The batpony motioned to Velvet. “I’m going to travel with Miss Velvet and Night Light.”
“They’re civilians!”
“I’ll go,” Velvet said, before Sky could keep interrupting. “I promised my Dad I’d make sure these monsters didn’t hurt anypony else.”
“Are you sure?” Sky asked.
“Light and love fall without moon and stars,” Velvet said. “I’ve got stars on my flank, and I’m already in this mess. Night Light had a moon. There’s a good chance we’re involved no matter what.”
“That’s the spirit,” Clearwater crowed, patting her on the back. “Don’t worry. I’ve got a great ship in mind to get us to Veneighs safely.”
“You can’t be serious,” Velvet said. She’d packed light. For her, that meant saddlebags with a few necessities tossed in. Apparently, for Night Light, it meant two suitcases that felt like they were full of bricks but ended up just being most of his personal library.
The airship docks were packed with ponies moving cargo and passengers, and Night Light had been easy to spot as a dam in the flow as he dragged the bags behind him.
“We might need these,” he said. “I brought my research and all my primary sources and some of the reading those sources suggested.”
“We definitely don’t need all that,” Velvet retorted.
“Well, use your future vision and figure out which books we need.” He stepped back to let her see.
“...We won’t need any in the next minute or two,” she said, lamely. “Look, my precognition is only really accurate for a few seconds! I don’t know what’s going to be needed two weeks from now!”
“And that’s why I need to bring all of it,” Night Light said. “We’ll probably need to make our case in front of scholars. It’s going to be worse than my dissertation!”
“You kids realize we’re going somewhere with a library, right?” Clearwater asked, as she touched down on the dock. She’d left the Night Guard armor behind and was wearing a wide scarf fastened with a familiar looking pin.
“Wait a minute,” Velvet narrowed her eyes. “You’re part of the cult!”
“It’s more like a gentlemare’s club,” Clearwater said, her expression hard to read behind the dark sunglasses she wore. “Anyway, take like, half of that at most. Only what you can carry on your own.”
“Any suggestions?” Velvet asked.
“Eh, books don’t do much for me,” Clearwater shrugged. “Come on. We’re meeting the Limozeen on dock eight.”
“Just give me one minute…” Night Light shuffled books between the two bags, every choice obviously a painful one.
“So is the Limozeen a Royal Guard airship?” Velvet asked.
“Funny you should ask that,” Clearwater said.
“This is a smuggler's ship,” Velvet said.
“And that’s why it’s funny that you asked if it was a Guard ship!” Clearwater explained, grinning.
“It’s a wreck,” Velvet said, looking at the airship. It hadn’t seen a coat of paint in so long that there was more bare wood and patchwork showing than color. The gasbag had been repaired so many times it was more like a quilt. She shared a worried look with Night Light.
“The Limozeen is the fastest ship in Canterlot,” called out a pony on deck, a brown-coated stallion a few years Velvet’s senior. “More importantly, it’s a ship for hire and willing to go off the usual shipping routes to avoid any, ah, entanglements.”
“Velvet, meet Mister Caballeron,” Clearwater said.
“Doctor, actually,” Caballeron corrected. "Correspondence courses, you see."
“Doctor,” Clearwater conceded. “You look good.”
“Oh, that means a lot, coming from you,” Caballeron laughed. “This is a rather special run, isn’t it? You three are my only cargo.”
“Wait, so I could have brought all my books?” Night Light asked. “Maybe I can still find that courier we asked to take the other suitcase back--”
“Kid, I’m saving you a headache later,” Clearwater said. “We’re not going camping in the middle of nowhere. It’s one of the oldest cities in the world.”
She started pushing Night Light up the gangplank.
“We’ll set off once you’re settled in,” Caballeron said, strutting off to check the rigging.
“Are you sure about him?” Velvet whispered.
“I’m sure it’s our best option,” Clearwater said. “For the last few days, we’ve been trying to get in touch with Celestia and failing. That already has the Royal Guard worried, and a few ships on the regular routes are late reporting in. Nothing big like a passenger liner, but a cargo ship here, a yacht there… it’s a definite pattern.”
“You think a smuggler can avoid that?”
“He’s not going to file a flight plan, and we’ll be outside all the usual traffic lanes. If something finds us, then we couldn’t have avoided it no matter what we do, so get comfortable. Or as comfortable as you can, anyway. This isn’t a luxury cruise ship.”
Night Light had a half-dozen books spread out in what was generously called a table in what was even more generously called a stateroom.
“It says here that the pookas are a kind of primordial chaos spirit,” Night Light said. “They were created when the four Harmonious Elements - earth, air, fire, and water - clashed. Over time, the energy born of that natural conflict gave birth to them and they resided in the most unformed, chaotic places in the world.”
“Mudhoney said he was a spirit of ooze,” Velvet said, looking over the crabbed hoofwriting on the pages, most of the books predating the printing press.
“Right,” Night Light said. “That’s a mix of earth and water, the water trying to dissolve the earth and the earth trying to turn the water solid. I think based on what we saw, they feed by converting harmonious magic into their own, like how a fire turns wood and air into ashes and releases a lot of light and heat in the process.”
“Sounds like a terrible creature,” Caballeron offered. “Where did it come from? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“Some grad student named Daring Do dug them out of a ruined temple in the Badlands,” Clearwater said. “I don’t think she knew what she was unleashing.”
“I’ll remember the name,” the older stallion joked. “I’ll make sure not to carry any cargo for her in case she digs up more monsters. So you think there are some waiting for you in Veneighs?”
“With any luck, they’re still sealed in stone,” Night Light said. “Princess Celestia petrified them, and from what I can tell, sunlight keeps the spell in place. They were buried with a gem that constantly shone light on them to keep them imprisoned.”
“And one got away, eh?” Caballeron shook his head. “I’ll make sure you get to the city. Monsters are bad for profit, and there are so many collectors and antiquarians in Veneighs who are good customers of mine. I can’t afford to lose them.”
“Very thoughtful of you,” Clearwater said, snorting. Her ears perked up. “Something’s going on outside.”
Caballeron opened a shuttered port, and the sound changed from a light tapping that only the bat noticed to a rattling riot like pebbles hitting a roof.
“Hail,” he said. “Not the usual kind of weather for this latitude.”
“Do you sense anything?” Clearwater asked, turning to Velvet.
“I’m not a monster detector!” She huffed. “But no, I don’t see anything bad happening to us in the next few minutes.”
“Then what’s that light?!” Night Light demanded, pointing. A dim, flickering violet light danced along the rigging and spars of the airship.
“Saint Anger’s Fire,” Caballeron said. “A bad omen, but nothing truly dangerous on its own.” He closed the shutter. “There’s an old tradition to be done in poor weather with a bad sign. Would you all care to join me in it?”
He opened a small chest and pulled out a glass bottle and glasses.
“I’m up for that,” Clearwater said. “Rum?”
“No, no, rum is for pirates,” Caballeron said. “I am a stallion of taste. This is limoncello, made by hoof. It keeps the scurvy away and lifts the spirits.”
He poured the glasses, careful not to spill anything on Night Light’s books, more out of concern of the drink than the text.
“Salud, dinero, amor,” Caballeron said, before downing his drink. “To health, money, and love, may we find at least one of the three when we arrive.”
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Ooh, some Caballeron foreshadowing. Nice. Wonder how he goes evil.
I can kinda see the cult (or "gentlemare's club") being the Nazi parallel, with maybe Clearwater as Stroheim? Night Light is Caesar, probably (except he lives presumably).
Ah, born of conflict between the elements. Clever.
So going by the pattern (sides not opposites) we have possibilities for:
Earth Water Ooze
Earth Fire Lava
Water Air Smog
Air Fire Lightning
Cabelleron, nice touch. I wonder how Canelleron got caught up with ANOTHER ancient chaos spirit...
So the bat pony monster hunter is blind and is getting around with echolocation? I’m assuming they’re nectivores given how she likes her coffee.
Is there really all that much vitamin C in limoncello?
Well, at least the quasielements aren't getting involved. I'd hate to see a pooka of Vacuum.
"Your next line is going to be..."
Also, that prophetic streak may be part of the similarity to Celestia's magic...
Ominous overtones, though I quote like what you've done with Caballeron. Looking forward to more.
9276749
If we're going by the Planescape combinations, Air and Water become Ice, which makes me very concerned about unseasonable hail. (Also, Air and Fire make Smoke.)
I see what you did there
I also spot a MiB reference
9276817
Ice would make sense, though of course we could get the worst of both worlds with freezing clouds that have a liking for lungs. Sure it's no Vacuum paraelemental, but Belkers are nothing to sneeze at.
Of course, maybe Vacuum isn't in there because it isn't one of the four harmonious elements. Instead it's one of the chaotic ones we can infer from that description. Wonder what the other chaotic elements would be. Vacuum, Dark Matter, Neutronium, and Antimatter?
Also, can say from personal experience that if Fire and Air don't make Lightning then fire tornadoes are both real and very impressive to see.
9276825
Oh yeah! Hope she doesn’t pull out the neutralizer. If she does, Hope our precog knows to blink.
If it's not paraelementals, I'm putting imaginary money down on Mudhoney being water, just so the rest can be Earth, Wind, and Fire.Also interesting to see their kids being assembled.
Me am nosleep reading comprehendsion
9276829
The quasielements are produced by combining an element with positive or negative energy, as opposed to paraelements that formed from two elements. Positive energy yields Lightning, Steam, Minerals, and Radiance. Negative energy produces Vacuum, Salt, Dust, and Ash.
9276829
Obviously the chaotic elementals are Vacuum, Dark Matter, Surprise, and Cheez.
*Sees first chapter title* Ah, I see you're a Stand User of culture, as well.
Neat.
9277833
How could I possibly forget the element of surprise?
So, Cabelleron went from Han Solo-type smuggler to an Indiana Jones villain? Strange how it works.
I bet he lorded over Daring for this first mistake.
Too true
"love" is probably Cadance, not sure about "light" though
Definitely the father of Twilight Sparkle
Interesting