Where Only Silver Shines

by Etyco Filly

S5 — Glimmer of Hope

“One more thing, Captain, ma’am.”

Aurora looked up from her stack of papers: letters for important ponies, unit assignments and personal mail all chaotically mixed together. “Yes?”

“I’ve heard there is a monster running rampant near the Duskbringer prison. It could be dismissed as a rumour, but—”

“Oh yeah, I’ve heard.” What? I’d spent all that time preparing my evidence for nothing? It wasn’t amazing, but I’d still put thought into how I’d present it to her. At least the situation was under control. “What of it?”

I blinked. Her words caught up to me. “Huh?” I tilted my head and continued staring.

She raised an eyebrow. “If you’re wondering about how I heard about it, it’s the usual. Social gatherings and the like. Only thing they’re good for, really.” She rolled her eyes. “The rumour mill might not be good for hard evidence—Hades, it’s pretty bad in general; someone once tried to tell me my uncle sometimes goes on killing sprees in The Tower—but when you hear the same thing from three or four different sources, there might be a kernel of truth to it.”

She threw her head back, before letting out a long, theatrical sigh. “Fuck me, that reminds me I have another one of those stupid parties to attend, later this week. And it’s at the Redcroups’.” Sighing again, she sat upright in her chair. “I’m getting drunk and there’s nothing they can do to stop me.”

I stayed quiet, unable to form a coherent sentence. Why was she so casual about this? She’d grown more talkative over the weeks, but this…

Aurora looked at me for a few moments. “Was that all?”

“No, Captain, ma’am, I… If I may ask… If you knew then… then why aren’t you doing anything? I-I mean no disrespect, I know you must have a reason.” Damn it, why couldn’t I find the right words? And what the Hades was she thinking?

Her eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open. “Oh,” she mouthed. “Right, you wouldn’t know. So far, the attacks have only targeted their prison. The fact that they haven’t come to ask us means they believe their guard capable of handling the issue.”

“So we’re just letting ponies die because they’re too bloody stubborn‽” I caught myself off-guard with my outburst, but the Captain merely raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. It’s their land and their ponies. We don’t exactly have the ponypower to micromanage each and every prison. If it becomes too much of an issue for them, they won’t have a choice but to reach out.” She gave a stiff shrug and grimaced. “Alternatively, if that monster becomes a public safety threat, we’ll also have to get involved.”

I gaped at her, tail flicking. “If? You mean to tell me it ain’t already? It’s killing ponies!”

The Captain shook her head. “I meant public as in The Tower as a whole,” she said, gesturing around us. “Currently, it’s only impacting a single prison.”

“And why aren’t they asking for our, I mean, your help‽ It’s obvious by now they can’t!” I stomped on the stone floor. “Bloody!” Stomp. “Handle it!” Sweet stars, I needed to calm down. She was tolerating me for now, but—

“Honour,” she replied in a calm voice. Too calm; dangerous. “It’s extremely shameful for a family to have to request the Knights’ help.” Her clear and precise enunciation of every syllable that left her muzzle sent a shiver down my spine. “So far, they must think they can take these losses. It remains to be seen if they’ll have to change their minds.”

I gulped, but pushed aside my anxiousness. “Can’t you do something even without them asking?” Her flat look made me hesitate, and each of my words came out shakier than the last, until I broke eye contact and nearly mumbled, “That thing’s already foalnapped two dozen ponies.” I dared meet her gaze again, steeling my voice and putting on a weak smile. “Nopony has to know you helped.”

The Captain raised an eyebrow, her tone gaining an annoyed edge. “And how would we investigate? We would need to find out where that monster is coming from. We would be noticed in the process.” She leaned forward over her desk, her eyes harder than I had ever seen them. “Even if I did have the ponypower to spare, this would inevitably lead to tensions that The Tower just cannot take right now.” She glowered at me. “You do your job, and I will do mine.”

“I…” If I wanted to say anything else right now, her glare changed my mind before I could even think up the words. “I understand.”

---

I inspected a cave entrance, pushing aside needless thoughts. Nothing. Not how I thought I’d be spending my fifty-sixth birthday. At least it wasn’t one of the important ones, anyway.

Finding the beast’s hiding spot was proving far more time-consuming than expected. Each of the many, many caves, nooks and crannies surrounding the Duskbringer prison took a few seconds to check out. No wonder Aurora had refused to send anypony to investigate.

I flew away from the wall, looking for another cave. My wings were bloody tired, but I could keep going for another half hour maybe. At least it acted as a workout, so it made up for the time I would have spent exercising. I usually trained for speed and finesse, but I could use endurance as well.

Then again, all the flying I did during the day had got to count as endurance training as well. I shrugged. More couldn’t hurt.

I shook away those thoughts and looked around for another cave—or would those be tunnels?

Oh, there was one that I hadn’t seen before. Must have been hidden behind some rocks. I stopped a dozen paces away from it and stared. Something was different about this cave. A few flaps later, my heart tried to leap out of my chest. Claw marks near the edge of the cave. Individually faint, but numerous enough that somepony like me could spot them from a mile away. Or, in this case, half a dozen paces.

This was it! This had to be where the monster was coming from!

I landed on the side of the cliff and took a few steps inside, a gentle, stale breeze caressing my feathers. My heart beat faster as I made my way deeper into the cave. With every step, my surroundings grew darker, only illuminated by the gem on my chest. The deeper I went, the more tracks appeared in the dust, all leading in and out of the cave. That had to be at least four different animals. Five, if I counted myself. Did ponies count as animals? Whatever.

Thankfully, many of those prints belonged to prey animals. But then… how would a cow even reach this cave? The more I looked, the less sense it made. None of the tracks seemed to line up. Almost like each of the creatures only had one leg. Or maybe a single creature had left all of these. How would that make sense, though? I shook my head and carried on. Too much thinking would only waste my time.

The smell of rock dust hung in the air, though thankfully not strong enough to irritate my nose. The mere idea of sneezing made me clench my jaw and hold my breath before I made myself relax. Being tense wouldn’t save me. Being alert would. I knew what I was doing.

For anypony else, it would have been far too risky to walk down such a cave. However, an experienced hunter like myself would know how far he needed and could afford to venture.

A sharp crack, quiet and distant, echoed up from deep in the cave, making my fur stand on end. Maybe a small rock falling. Maybe a bone snapping.

I gulped. I knew what I was doing. I would be fine. My goal was to find its lair. Nothing else. I would avoid any danger if I turned tail the moment I came close. This last part would be difficult for somepony else. Me? I'd seen more than enough monster lairs to know what to avoid. I knew what I was doing. Besides, I wouldn’t bump into it by chance. The ponies of the prison said no attacks ever happen this late. I would be fine.

Would I, though? I knew next to nothing about this monster. Was it faster than me? Possibly. Was it venomous? Maybe. Was it large enough to pose a significant threat? Absolutely. What if it could hear me long before I reached it?

Calm down, Silver. I had to calm down, or I would only make it harder for myself. Eyes and ears ahead, I focused. The tunnel was dark, to say the least. The gem on my chest hardly illuminated everywhere I needed to see. Unlike the other tunnels, this one was natural, its jagged walls casting long shadows downhill. Shadows the beast might use to hide in, to ambush me.

No, something as large as that monster couldn’t hide in shadows like these. The tunnel was wide, but it would need to be at least twice as big for it to hide behind those rocks.

What if the monster was smaller than they remembered?

Focus. What a stupid thought. Ponies had a tendency to exaggerate sizes, but not to such an extent.

I stopped for a moment and listened. My hearing was nothing out of the ordinary, but it would have to do. This monster was big and fast. In other words, it had no need for stealth when it could rely on strength.

I continued down the cave, occasionally stopping to listen while watching for any sign that I was approaching its lair. Any tufts of fur that could indicate where it relieved its itches, any droppings, any smells. Anything that could show where it spent its time. My life depended on those early warnings.

Yet none of them came as I walked for nearly a quarter-hour, always downwards. Despite the rather mild slope, I’d definitely reached the deepest I’d ever been in The Tower. Well, save for the time I ended up past the seal. Stars, that felt like half a lifetime ago, yet it hadn’t even been two months.

I gulped. I’d almost been here half a year. Whatever, not the time for distractions.

Soon, I found myself approaching an opening of some sort, light pouring into the cave from beyond it. When I stepped out, I found myself in a large, open cave. Its walls glimmered with hundreds of tiny, silvery-blue gems; enough to see ahead of myself without a light. I hid my lamp in cloth before continuing.

Near the centre stood a ruined building, at least two storeys tall. Its walls had crumbled, and many of the rusted bars in the windows had fallen out. I started walking towards it.

Most of the broken sections had merely collapsed, but a few showed signs of being torn open by an explosive force, with bits of rubble lying far from the wall they’d originated from.

A few steps later, I froze. On the ground, a few paces from me, lay a wooden board—probably part of an old cupboard. Several long gashes had torn into the wood, splinters coming off where claws had ripped into it.

Tufts of orange fur were stuck to most of the sharper corners. Claw marks adorned the stone near the entrance.

I pooled magic in the base of my wings and bolted before the beast had any chance to notice me. Something collapsed inside the building, but I was already gone.

---

“I’m here for Captain Aurora,” I said to the butler of House Redcroup.

He eyed me a moment, saw my collar, and nodded before disappearing inside. When he opened the door, the sound of a piano and a pony singing reached my ears.

Unlike what I’d heard in a nearby pub as a colt, the piano was on-key, and the singer’s voice resonated in his body; he didn’t just shout. I stayed there for maybe a minute, listening to the beautiful music. When the door opened, I had to bite down a pang of disappointment. I couldn’t stay here, though, I had things to do.

Swaying, the Captain emerged from the doorway, giving me the biggest smile I’d ever seen on her. She wore a dark purple dress that shimmered as she moved. It hugged her form perfectly, showing off her lean, toned body. “If it isn’t my favourite pegasus,” she slurred.

“Good evening, Captain. I hope I ain’t interrupting a fun evening.” I knew I wasn’t. She hated it.

“Nah, laddie, yer right on point.” There was the shitty accent again. Just don’t roll your eyes, Silver. “Truth be told, yer savin’ me life, ’cause I was dyin’ o’ boredom.”

“I’m relieved to hear.” My voice dripped with sarcasm I couldn’t fully suppress.

She threw her head back and groaned. Dropping back down to my level, she sighed, letting me enjoy her alcohol-heavy breath. “So, if ya didn’t come here to rescue me, whadayawant?” It took most of my willpower to not cover my snout.

I nodded and kept my tone level. “I’ve looked into the monster we talked about, and I’ve found its lair.”

“Oh c’mon, you’re draggin’ me away from booze fer… fer that?” She rolled her eyes. “Can’t it wait till tomorrow?”

My jaw was tensing up again. Oh, I was grinding my teeth. “No, Captain, ma’am, it cannot wait. Every day, this monster kills at least another pony.”

“Oh, fine, fine. How ’bout you and I go back t’my place and you tell me more there?” She didn’t mean anything by this, obviously. I still raised an eyebrow, drawing a chuckle from her. “The world’s kinda spinny for me right now, ya see,” she added, confirming my explanation. “Help a mare walk, would ya?”

I rolled my eyes, sighed, and walked over, allowing her to put a leg over my withers.