Shadows Watching

by SaltyJustice

Chapter 6

New job, day one. My assignment this week arrived in the mail on Monday morning. As a class Q sitter (I still did not know what the Q meant, if anything) I would be required to maintain vigilance over specific properties, making sure they did not degrade to the point of unusability and cleaning up vandalism as I saw fit. What the letter was trying to tell me was that my first assignment was a house-sitting assignment, not foalsitting, which was a bit of a disappointment. I was good with foals, honest!

Well, except for Carlisle. Last year, in September, my Dad was out of town on some business trip like he often was. Mom was working on some case involving money laundering at a restaurant downtown, and I was just starting up school. Then, our neighbor, Mrs. Nenbaum, had a medical emergency. They said she just started bleeding, all over, and the doctors had no idea why. Her husband had abandoned her just after she had become pregnant with her colt, Carlisle, who was a few months old. She never mentioned the delinquent father, to my recollection, but she seemed happy enough when I saw her watering her garden.

Her sister lived out in Stalliongrad and it would be two days before she could get to Canterlot to take care of Carlisle, so my mom volunteered to take care of him until then. She watched him and I tried to ignore him. Every time he saw me, he'd start crying and wouldn't stop until I left, so I shut myself up in my room and never ventured out. The first day had passed without incident, but on the second day there was a big break in her case, and Mom had to go yell at the detectives at the crime scene. Dad was out of town. I was the only one who could watch the foal. It has haunted me since.

Carlisle had wasted not a second before he started crying. For three hours he cried and cried, nothing I could do would stop him. He cried harder if I left the room, but otherwise paced himself when I was present so as not to run out of air, air he could use for more crying. I tried funny faces, I tried singing, I tried getting him some food, some milk. It didn't work, he kept crying. I put a paper bag over my head, in case it was my face that was causing it, but that didn't stop him, he just kept crying. The sound began to worm its way inside my head, overwriting my thoughts until all I could think of was the unstoppable crying monster left in my charge.

Mom found me huddled in a corner in the kitchen. Carlisle had cried himself to sleep near me. I had blacked out at some point. There was ketchup everywhere. I couldn't remember what happened.

So other than Carlisle I was a great foal-sitter.

I was sitting for five properties, spread around town. I had to walk between them each day to check them out, making sure they hadn't been broken into or covered in spray paint. Four were houses of ponies who were out of town for some reason, probably government payroll types – they weren't too specific in the letter. The fifth property was a warehouse in the industrial district, which was a full hour's walk away from my house. Considering the curious connection between hazardous materials handling and foalsitting services, my best guess was that this was a mix-up, but I didn't complain, since there was nopony to complain to. At least I didn't have a boss breathing down my neck all the time.

As the weeks passed, the list of properties rose and fell, as workers returned home and others left, but the warehouse I was watching remained on the list the whole time. It was a huge building, with a high, arched ceiling and big support struts in the middle of it. It was almost entirely empty, a grand space for storage of, well, whatever you wanted. There were some offices in one corner, with a number of desks and old dusty books stacked atop one another. When I was bored, I would sometimes dust the place off, but more dust always came back in. Nopony ever came to examine the stuff that was left there, it was as if it had fallen off the face of the earth, and I had found it purely by chance.

Next to the offices were some 2x4 wooden boards, all leaning up against a wall, and a huge collection of boxes labelled "core logs, pitchblende, do not open", which my instincts told me not to mess with. These took up the rest of the corner near the offices, around 80% of the building was empty space. If you shouted, the echo carried for a while, bouncing off the concrete and weaving around the pillars. It was a fine enough place to get some homework done, with no distractions.

My essays had been pretty easy, since Ms. Burner would always have the chapters and books I needed ready to go. I didn't really mind writing them, it gave me something to do when I was ware-house-sitting. The material was dry though, pre-classical physicists and philosophers blathering about the nature of matter, and the four basic elements of fire, earth, water, and wind, which must have seemed like great ideas at the time but were ridiculous now. Once magic-engines were invented, other magic power sources had become of interest and much of what we knew about physics was revolutionized, but I hadn't gotten that far yet. It was still ponies talking into the dark and hoping something answered.

One day in late May, I decided to read some other chapters that I hadn't been assigned in the new book I was supposed to work on. With any luck, I might find something I could use and get some extra credit. I read so much that I lost track of time, and was so focused I didn't hear anything that was going on as I sat in the dusty offices, poring over my book. I had felt a sense of security in the building, it was not to last.

I took a look up from my book after I thought I heard something, like a hoofstep. I was sitting away from the door of the office, since the only light in the room shone through a window on one side, coming from the Sun as it set. I looked over at the door, then out the interior windows which provided a view of the inside of the building from the office. I wanted to brush it off, but I thought better of it. I stood up to investigate, then I heard something fall outside, and a voice say something. It was deep and had an accent I couldn't quite place. It was coming from inside the building.

The locked building, and I had the only key.

I resisted the urge to panic and stayed low as I walked towards the interior windows across from me. There were two speakers, one was scolding the other for something.

" - ya rube, don't make no noise," one was saying. He sounded like a Manehattenite.

"I didn't mean to boss," the other apologized back. He sounded a little... slow. Horrible of me to say, but that's the impression I got from the way he spoke.

"Okay okay, there's gotta be sometin' in here if they locked it up. Check that office," the first one said. Urge to panic - rising.

I turned around and looked, but there wasn't much space to hide. Desks and old books were stacked up and left no spaces to crawl into. I could try to crawl out the window, except I wasn't sure if it could actually open all the way, and that'd waste precious time.

The door thumped. One of them was trying to open it. Crud. Time was already up.

I backed up against the window. I would try to hide out of immediate line-of-sight and make a break out the door if I could, my mind working overtime to calculate all the little possibilities. I'd have a split-second of surprise to make good my escape, that was it.

The door creaked open and a pony walked in. He was easily twice my size, but he didn't look around as he came in. He focused on the stack of desks opposite me as I silently padded towards the door. He had gone far enough in, I bolted for the door.

He turned just in time to see me streak by, I banked at the door and shot out – running right into his cohort. He backed up in surprise as I bumped into him, blocking my escape route. Panic hit, hard this time, as I recoiled off him and towards the stack of core samples.

"Well well well, whadda we got here?" he said. The bump didn't even rattle him. My heart was racing. The big one walked back out of the office as the smaller one moved to cut me off, trapping me in the corner as I couldn't vault over the stack of boxes. Started to wish I could fly right about now.

"I think it's a girl boss," the big one said.

"No kidding Rufus. Hey sweetheart, whatcha doin in a place like this?" he asked, trying his best to impersonate compassion. I wasn't going to fall for it.

"I'm, uh," I stammered. Couldn't think, too scared. "I just watch the place sometimes!"

"Maybe 'dis wasn't a total bust then," the smaller one said. His face took on a wicked grin. Oh. Oh NO. Disaster scenarios were one thing, but.. no. This wasn't happening.

The big one, Rufus, moved in closer. I backed up, bumping into the 2x4 boards and knocking one over. The crack of the board on the concrete rattled my brain once again, dislodging a memory and letting it swirl over my mind. I tried to fight it, I didn't have time for this, but I had no choice, the experience flooded my senses and overtook me.

The remains of a battle were all around me, corpses stunk everywhere, some stacked atop one another as the grim undertakers around me did their necessary, yet still revolting, work. Injured ponies, too wounded for any doctor to help, were moaning and groaning in agony, too hurt even to finish themselves off. That was my duty, though I had not asked for it, I did it because no other could.

I wandered, listening to the cries and going towards the softest ones I could hear, those were the ones in need of my services. Mangled stares, unblinking, unyielding, came from the earth as the fallen lay waiting to be carted off and buried. I found a poor mare, barely even old enough to lift a spear, who lay gasping. One of her legs was missing, she didn't have long as she bled out. I gave her a small mercy. I left a single tear staining her coat. My duties came with a cost.

A body nearby stirred, I had thought it was dead. A stallion, middle aged I think. He stood up, and seemed for all appearances to be healthy. He turned to look at me as I looked at him. His eyes crossed mine and I saw them unfocused, confused, but angry. He was one of the victims of scars not on his body, but mind.

This happened to those lucky enough to survive multiple encounters with our foes. Even the toughest, most grizzled veteran was not immune. The faceless beasts tore not only at our bodies, but at our minds, ripping away at our love and comradery until all that was left was fear and resentment, or worse, anger. It was anger I saw in his eyes, he could not understand what he was angry about, only that he was angry. I had seen this sort of thing before, and there was only one thing I could do.

He picked up his spear and brandished it at me. I stood up with my sword and made a mocking, open pose. He charged, but his confusion left him clumsy and he swung more like he was tripping over himself. It was not a fair fight, but our enemies had not given us one either.

I made it as quick as possible, gashing open his neck. He started to choke, no doubt in great pain, but I needed him to stop moving. I cut his neck again, vertically, and then cut the vein on his leg, causing him to bleed out within seconds. Tranquility took over his face, and he stayed on the ground this time, finally at peace. Nopony deserves death, but sometimes it's all I can provide.

The memory faded and the real world came back in front of me. The two colts were still advancing on me, but I no longer was afraid. I had seen much worse things than these two idiots, if anything, I felt sorry for them.

I kicked the board with my rear hoof, causing it to stand on its end, then stood up on my rear legs and gripped it as I had my sword so many times in the past. It was a clumsy weapon but it would do the job I needed it to do. My face was grim, I narrowed my eyes at the thugs bearing down on me. For them, this would be no easy conquest.

The big one stopped his advance, suddenly unsure, but the small one didn't care. His mistake. He got close enough for a lunge and took his opportunity, clumsy, like he was tripping over himself. I took a step back and let him pass, neatly dodging and leaving him off balance. I swung the board and caught him in the chin, causing his eyes to water and knocking him further off balance. I slammed the board into his side to complete the attack, and he fell over. I turned my attention to the big one, who was now incensed at what I had just done to his friend.

He was no fool, but he was no warrior either. I could tell he was used to being bigger than his targets. He tried to rear up and swing at me with his forelegs, like a boxer, but my board gave me a much longer reach. I gripped it with both hooves, stepped back, and stabbed the end at his snout. He moved his head but not far enough, taking the board in the teeth. Blood came out of his mouth and he yelled something unintelligible. I wasn't listening, I stabbed the board at his chest and connected with a bone. He dropped back onto all fours, giving me the chance to swing at full power from right to left, hitting him in the temple. He slumped over, unconscious.

The small one had struggled back up, regaining his balance. He yelled something at Rufus. Rufus didn't answer, blood was pouring from his mouth.

"You bitch, you killed him! You killed him!" he screamed at me. The echo came back from the walls around us, giving his words a hollow ring. He grabbed one of the boards that was leaning up against the wall and took the same pose I had. He had nowhere near as much practice as I, but he was angry and desperate, a dangerous combination.

He swung the board with all his strength, but I knew how to deal with this. I tilted mine at an angle and stepped to the side, deflecting the force away from my body. I switched my grip to hold one hoof at either end of the board, and let him make his next attack. He brought his board down vertically, so I held mine up to counter it, blocking it in the air above my head and leaving him vulnerable. I backed up and disengaged, causing him to lose his balance and pitch forward. I brought my board down on the back of his head this time, causing his face to collide with the floor. He could hardly see for all the tears in his eyes now, but stood back up and swung blindly at me from side to side.

Time to finish this, I thought to myself. His swings left him open, and I had time. He took a swing too wide, so I stepped in close to him and shoved him in the chest. He was heavy, too heavy to push in one go, I had overestimated my strength, but it was enough. He dropped his board as he tried to regain balance. I bashed my board into his chin, and he was going down for the count this time. His head his the concrete floor and he lay stunned before me. I brought my board up, ready for the killing blow, ready to finish the madness that had overtaken him. No longer would he live in terror, lashing out at the shadows around him who were once his friends. I couldn't save him, but I could -

"STOP RIGHT THERE," a shout came from the doorway. Two soldiers burst in, breaking the door's lock. Another Pegasus soldier flew in through the windows on the roof the burglars had broken to enter. I dropped my board in shock, it clattered on the floor and bounced away from me.

"Just what is going on here!?" the soldiers said, bearing down on me. I was standing in an otherwise empty warehouse with two beaten stallions, unconscious and bleeding, and I had been holding a 2x4 with blood all over it. This looked bad.

"Wait, wait! It was self defense! I work here!" I pleaded. I was still wearing my ID card around my neck. I held it up with my magic, and the Pegasus soldier inspected it. The other two went and inspected the two burglars.

"This seems to be in order miss," he gave me a suspicious look as he compared my face to the picture on the card. He didn't sound very convinced. "Why were you attacking these two? Why didn't you call for help?"

Oops. What was the first thing to do in a crisis? The panic had completely overtaken me, I had forgotten to call for help. The soldiers must have overheard the thwacking sounds the boards made as they collided.

"Uh, I panicked, honest. They were gonna..." I trailed off. I didn't want to think about that. Bastards got what they deserved.

"Hmm. I see," the soldier put his hoof on my soldier. "It's okay now miss, they can't hurt you." Was he trying to comfort me? He hadn't done anything!

"Yeah, yeah, it's okay. I'm okay," saying it to myself helped me to calm down.

"We need to get these guys a medic," one of the other soldiers said. The Pegasus trooper nodded and quickly flew off, zooming out the window and disappearing out of sight.

"What say we just wait here until our backup arrives, hmm?" the third soldier said. The message was clear, I wasn't going anywhere. I didn't want to, as the events that had just happened unfurled themselves in my head. It had been a blur, I didn't know what came over me, where I learned to fight like that. I hadn't learned to fight like that, it was impossible- what I just did was impossible, but the two thugs on the floor were proof it had happened. I wanted to curl into a ball and cry.

The Pegasus trooper came back after a few minutes, followed by an EMS technician. A few minutes later, a Unicorn doctor came through the door and some more soldiers came in. They started asking me questions as one made notes about the scene and another took pictures. The doctor was busy bandaging up the crooks and then had two of the soldiers drag the smaller one off to the hospital. I did my best to answer their questions, even though my Mom had always told me not to, that I should wait for a lawyer - that was her job, after all – but I was too dazed to put up much resistance, or be much help. The whole thing was a blur, winding together and unwinding as I tried to recollect it.

There was a commotion at the door as somepony was trying to get past the soldier guarding it. He relented when he saw a hoof present a prosecutor's badge, and my Mom came barreling in.

"Cadence Cadence Cadence," she blurted, kissing me on the cheek and giving me a hug all at once. "Are you all right dear? What happened?", she kept asking. I just enjoyed the hug, finally feeling at ease. Mom would take care of this.

"I'm all right, I'm just..", I stopped. I thought for a second, piecing it together. "These guys broke in here while I was studying in the office," I said, pointing to the office with its door still hanging ajar. "They were gonna - " I stopped again. The reality of it hadn't hit me until just then. I had been seconds away from the worst experience anypony can have. A miracle had saved me, that was all. Tears flowed down my face, my throat clenched, I couldn't speak anymore. Mom gave me another hug, and I buried my face beneath her coat.

Mom took me home after the soldiers made sure everything was in order. Having a famous prosecutor to protect you has its benefits, they didn't even need to book me or take me to the guard post. The papers had a headline the next day, but Mom had made perfectly clear that my name was not to be mentioned. "Burglars get Busted Up in Break-in". That was one way of putting it.

I wasn't going to be getting any more warehouse sitting assignments, not after that. The department gave me two weeks off with pay and started undergoing "internal reviews" after my mother lodged an official complaint. "Heads were rolling" as she told me. It didn't make me feel better. My friends would not be privy to the full extent of it, but I eventually told them about the break in and resulting scuffle. I left the implications out, but I think they intuited it. Gabby tried to console me, but I wouldn't have any of it, it was over, and I wanted to keep it over.

The Summer Sun festival was coming up in a few weeks, so I tried to keep us focused on that. I wanted us all to be together there, so we made plans and squirreled away funds to spend at the fair. Anything to forget.

Lost in the commotion was the memory that had saved me, buried now beneath the rest of my thoughts. Whatever it was, I was thankful. I no longer was afraid of being lost by these experiences that would periodically reveal themselves to me, as I slept or when I was bored. I felt a feeling of gratitude and reverence towards them, I let them come when they did. It was a feeling of becoming whole, like I had lost something and was just now finding it.

It was not just me who had lost something, this time, another had as well, and in me, they found it. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Author's Note:

Questions, comments, death-threats, and corrections may also be sent to: saltyjustice AHT derpymail DAHT com