Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot

by Equimorto

Losing

Before anyone said anything to her, Twilight could already feel something had happened. It was a weird kind of electric buzzing in the air, one perceived but that wasn't really there, one that felt the way low murmurs in a crowd sounded. Something had happened. She could tell by the way ponies moved and looked, even if she couldn't tell what about it she could tell from seeing them. Maybe one day, if she lived long enough, she would learn to consciously pick up on what her instincts subconsciously alerted her to.

She would have asked what was going on to one of the ponies there, but it seemed one of her own guards had done her job for her already. Really, his own job, and she should have learnt to be grateful for it. "Another instance of what you came to investigate," he briefly summarised. "Reports seem to indicate it happened while you were in the town hall."

Really, he'd done a better job at gathering information than she would have. Maybe she should have started keeping one of them around at all times. "Take me there." She turned to another one of her guards. "Tell the mayor and whoever else might ask I went to investigate." The second guard nodded, the first began to walk, and she followed behind him. "What building?"

"A theatre," he explained, briskly marching his way down the streets.

"Any casualties?"

"No harmed creatures."

"How bad is it?"

"No structural damage evident from a first inspection. If I'm allowed, it seems more like a message than an attack."

"Any witnesses?"

"Some, and their reports are fairly consistent, but not particularly useful. They claim the cuts simply appeared."

They had gotten close enough to see the small crowd gathered around the theatre. Twilight accelerated until she was at her guard's side. "Stay here and take note of anyone who leaves." As he nodded and stopped, turning to another guard to signal what to do, she walked farther forward.

The crowd wasn't too big yet, and it wasn't distracted enough not to part as she approached. For once she was glad ponies could have that kind of reaction to her. She walked up to the front wall, as the few officers and other ponies inspecting the place nodded to her.

One look at the building was all she really needed, though. Same cuts as the ruins and the town hall, nothing peculiar about them. "Was anyone inside?" she asked, as her eyes subtly turned to the crowd.

"Only the owner and staff members," someone replied. She just nodded, still focused on the ponies looking at the scene.

"Have you found any notes this time?" A unicorn. That narrowed it down somewhat, if she assumed they were acting alone. There were at least a dozen of them there, likely closer to one and a half, and none looked particularly different in behaviour. Either her target had left already or they were good at pretending.

"None," the same voice said. "Would you like to inspect the damage more closely?"

It occurred to her that it was best make sure not to fall for something like that, and she checked to ensure the one talking to her wasn't a unicorn, and wasn't smirking. Same for everyone else there. "It won't be necessary." She returned to watching the crowd, more directly that time. Taking note of every face.

They were there. The damage done to the theatre was deliberately done, after weeks of inactivity, while she was in town, occupied elsewhere. They were taunting her, and that meant they'd stick around to watch, and know trying to sneak away would only backfire. It wasn't a certainty, but it was a reasonable lead, and it narrowed down her search considerably. She just had to figure out something.

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

Intriguing development. Hopefully this hunch pays off.

[Speckle]

The noose is ever-slowly tightening.