Ponies are going missing and it seems like the newly arrived griffin is to blame. Is he really and will Inquisitor Trixie's meddling make things worse?
Sunset and the others have been trying to live at least somewhat peacefully after the events prior. However, it seems fate doesn't want to let up. Ponies are going missing in and around Ponyville and a new Inquisitor has been sent in to oversee the town's defenses.
As well, a griffin and his apprentice have set up roots in Ponyville as of late and there are growing suspicions abound on them. Are they at fault or is there something else going on?
Equestria was amongst the finest countries in all the land. They boasted one of the grandest armies that had ever walked the planet’s surface, fighting off foes that would make lesser nations break in half. They had secured their borders and fought for them fiercely. For the most part, the inner parts of the nation were safe. Aside from occasional monsters or a bandit or two, ponies could live in peace. At least, as much peace as the world allowed.
Yet even with this perceived safety, a large column of guards trotted through the dark forest with general unease. The soldiers didn’t much care for how the night blanketed everything in pitch black. Equestrians knew the night was filled with evil intent. It’s why ponies didn’t do a lot out after dark. This was especially so after what happened a few weeks back.
So the guards were understandably armed and ready to fight. The group mostly travelled on their own hooves, with a couple of Gallimimus riders riding along. The elegant, bipedal dinosaurs carried their riders well. Their blue and red plumage, almost hidden underneath their light golden armor, was only seen when their torches cast their gaze at them.
In their midsts was the prize. It was a steel carriage. Driving in front of it was a hooved hadrosaur. A Six horned Saurolope. The beast’s front forelegs ended in hooves just like ponies, while the back were more akin of their other hadrosaur cousins. It had a crown of spikes running behind its head. The large beast pulled the metal carriage along with ease.
The old driver wasn’t all that bothered by the cold night as many of the rest were. One of them sat beside him. He eyed the mare’s hooves as they held fast to her crossbow, “Easy there. Any tighter and you might shoot somepony.”
The mare snorted, “If it’s my enemy then it will be a bolt well used. Are you not afraid of the wretched night?”
The stallion shook his head, “I’ve travelled these parts so many times over the years. Many of them happened at night and never once was I in danger. I don’t care how much that damned bitch from the moon put a fright into the nation. Equestria is safe within its borders.”
“Aside from the occasional monster.”
“True.”
“And rogue chaos cultists.”
“Very rare, mind you.” The stallion sighed as he was ousted. “Well none of that really is of concern. The monsters stay to the old forests and rarely come about. The insane Discord hooligans are never in numbers that would threaten even five trained soldiers. Having this many is killing it. We took care of Nightmare Moon and her followers. We are safe within Equestria. Isn’t that right, Cave?”
“Right, sir.” A soldier shouted back.
“Not so loud,” the mare hissed. “We could alert the enemy.”
“What enemy?” The stallion rolled his eyes. “I keep telling you, there isn’t anyone else out here.”
Everyone went silent as one of the bushes ahead started to shake violently. The mare fumbled with her crossbow. The soldiers tense and tightened their formation. The esteemed soldiers of Celestia prepared themselves for what could possibly be the defining moments of their lives…
“...You know, I never understood how cats can shake up bushes so much.” The stallion chuckled as a small family of cats walked out in the path before them. “See? Your enemy flees before you.” He slapped the reins on the hooved hadrosaur, spurring it onwards.
The mare grit her teeth, “Stop joking about this. Something could happen.”
“Like what? A large mammal-like reptile might attack?” The stallion snorted. “Those sail-backs might kill an unarmed civilian, but we are a group of highly trained soldiers. They don’t hunt in packs. They aren’t smart and I haven’t lost a pony to them thus far in my travels. Before you start on the cultists, I’ve checked. No activity here. It’s safe travels to Haycolt.”
There was a small thud to their right. The two of them looked over to see one of the Gallimimus riders had fallen off his mount. “Will someone pick up that foal?” The stallion snorted.
Before he could say anything more, one of the other soldiers spoke up. “He’s dead. Enemy arrow.”
The mare glared at the stallion, loading a bolt into her crossbow. “I told you.”
“Form up!” The stallion shouted as another soldier dropped to another arrow. “Get the shield up. Get the shield up!”
“Shield bearer down, sir.”
The stallion snarled and snapped the reins, “Go you daft dino.” The creature didn’t need to be told twice. Honking as loud as it could, it started to run. For a moment, he thought he could make it. His soldiers could hold off whatever was attacking them. No one could lay their hooves or whatever they had on their cargo. So he’d escape, or so he thought.
An arrow pierced the dinosaur’s skull. It briefly glowed red before exploding, sending bits of brain and skull fragments everywhere. The metal wagon lurched forward violently as the creature started to tumble. The stallion pushed his fellow soldier off it as he jumped to safety.
Laying on the ground, he looked over to the downed wagon. ‘Who could have done this?’ It just didn’t make sense. He looked around and none of the soldiers were coming after them. Hay, he couldn’t hear anymore fighting. Which either meant they had just finished fighting or…
Something pushed him to the ground. He tried to push against it, but the clawed foot hit him smack between his shoulders and he was face first in the dirt. The stallion breath caught in his throat as he heard the cretan above him load a crossbow. ‘I’m not dying today.’ He snarled and used his back legs to kick the cretans other leg. This sent his assailant stumbling and allowed him to roll over on to his hooves.
This didn’t really amount to much as he soon found himself staring down the sights of a crossbow, held in the talons of his assailant. He even had a front row show to the release…
Coco Pommel wasn’t the most sociable of ponies. If it was up to her, she’d have spent most of her time at the Carousel Boutique with Miss Rarity. She made her feel safe, but she had friends now. She had to go out with them on occasion. She did enjoy herself, but it was uncomfortable being around so many ponies. This is why Pizzelle would take her out to see the town. The talkative mare really wanted Coco to start socializing more often.
Unfortunately, today of all days was a rather busy place to be at the market. So Pizzelle had accidently gotten herself sidetracked with buying a few things for Hikaru. This left Coco on her own. The young mare shivered slightly in fear.
A large gruff salespony brushed past her, knocking her to the ground. “Watch where you’re going.”
“I’m sorry,” Coco spoke up before accidently bumping into another pony. “I’m sorry.” And again. “I’m sorry.” And again. “I’m sorry.” That is until she felt a hoof stop her from moving, “I’m sorry.”
“What for?” The mare asked. She was a pink earth pony mare with a short purple mane. Her fierce brownish eyes bore into her. The mare was garbed in what looked liked leather body armor. Her posture was similar to that of a trained soldier and something about her sent chills of fear down Coco’s back.
“F-for bumping into you?” Coco squeaked out and held herself close to the ground.
The mare rolled her eyes, “You didn’t hurt me so don’t apologize.” She pulled Coco up to her hooves. “Names Suri Polomare. You?”
“C-coco Pommel,” the timid mare gulped. ‘Does she work for my mother? Is she going to drag me home or something?!!’
Suri offered a small smile, “You don’t look like the type of pony who likes being out and about with so many ponies. You lost?”
“Not really,” Coco murmured. “I got separated from my friend.”
Suri nodded, “That happens on occasion. Though to be honest, my master is hard to lose in a crowd.”
“Master?” Coco blinked in confusion. That is until some ponies started to scream and run past. Several others quickly moved out of the center of the market place. Coco didn’t know why until she saw him.
He was a griffin. His more feline body was lithe and slender, yet seemed to hold quite a bit of power. His bird aspects were similar in build. His white plumage contrasted well with his yellowish fur. Of course this was all under leather armor similar to Suri’s. On his head was a helmet she had seen foreign legionaries from Trotingham use. “Top of the morning to you.” He even had a Trotingham accent.
Coco eeped and fell to the ground. She covered her eyes. The sharp beak had sent her mind into overdrive, “P-please don’t eat me.”
“Hey,” Suri roughly picked her up and glared right into her eyes. “He won’t eat anyone, you hear me?”
The griffin pulled her back, “Let’s not scare her more then she already is, Suri.”
Suri bowed, “Yes Master.”
The griffin sighed and took off his head to bow. There was several long feathers that fanned out like a crown of sorts. “Crowland Tempo, at your service.” He pulled up and put his hat back on. “Excuse my assistant. She tends to act before she thinks.”
“I-it’s no problem,” Coco started to calm down, though she did her best not to stare at his talons or his sharp beak. “I… I was rude.”
“It happens,” Crowland shrugged.
“Coco,” Pizzelle rushed over and looked the timid mare up and down. “Are you okay? You have to tell me if you’re okay. Ponies just came rushing by and I needed to know. Ponies just don’t run away like that in fright normally. Well, sometimes actually. A lot of are skittish, but you know what I mean.”
“I’m fine, Pizzelle.” Coco pointed over at the new duo. “They were keeping me company.”
Pizzelle turned around and without breaking a sweat, held out her hoof to Crowland. “Oh thank you so much for looking at her. I always said you could trust a griffin, but nopony ever listens to me. What do they know? I’ve travelled more than most.”
Crowland chuckled and took her hoof in his talon hand and shook it, “I’m glad to see a pony who doesn’t just scream in my face. This town especially.” He withdrew his hand and rubbed his ear-hole. “I sometimes think you’re trying to make me bloody well deaf.”
Pizzelle giggled, “Oh you just have to tell me about yourself. We don’t get that many visitors these days so I appreciate a new bit of info from such fine people.”
“I’d like that,” Crowland smiled, tugging on the strap on his back that held his crossbow...
Mayor Mare’s frustration was building. Normally she did a good job at keeping it at bay. Aside from some monster disturbances, Ponyville didn’t regularly have to deal with anything frustratingly important. Well aside from numerous holidays and celebrations the town held each year. Those earned a special ire within her, no matter how fun they were in the end.
No, this time was different. It was all different. Nothing had been normal after Nightmare Moon came to Ponyville. If it wasn’t dealing with a sizable loss of the town population, through death or simply leaving, it was dealing with reports from Canterlot itself. Housing the Elements of Harmony and the princess’s own daughter could very well put her in an early grave with all the stress that came with it.
Still, she had just finished up dealing with the construction crews. Just when she thought she had everything in order, a dragon attacks. They were finally getting somewhere with the town so it wasn’t a total loss. Thankfully the funds were being supplied straight from Canterlot. They didn’t have to worry about going bankrupt. ‘There’s always a silver lining.’ It didn't help that with all the crazy things happening in Ponyville, ponies were going missing on top of it. It hadn't happened that long ago, but they were just vanishing. She didn't have a clue what to do. Nopony did. There were no leads.
Her paperwork was done. She’d get more tomorrow but for now she could relax. She sat back in her chair and closed her eyes. She let out a sigh of relief, ‘It’s good to have a moment of silence from time to time.’
The door was slammed open, “MAYOR MARE!” Time Turner shouted in anger.
Mayor Mare sighed and straightened herself in her chair, “What is it, Inquisitor?”
Time Turner slammed down a few documents on her desk, “What is the meaning of this?”
The Mayor frowned and picked up the documents. Before she could open them, her daughter ran into the room.
Lady Justice came trotting up to the desk, “I’m sorry, mom. I tried to stop him.”
She held up a hoof to stop her daughter from speaking, “It’s no problem at all. Our fair Inquisitor is a rather understanding stallion.” She glared over at him, “Which is why I ponder the reason for all of this. Turner, you’re not usually like this. What’s in these documents that have you so flustered?”
Time Turner sighed and rubbed the bridge of his muzzle, “It’s… just read them.”
The Mayor’s eyebrows furrowed, ‘He’s usually a very collected fellow. What could have put him in such a state?’ So she opened one of the documents. A few photos of random, to her, ponies came out as well as a stack of paper. A single envelope was inside. Opening that as well, she took a look.
Dear Mayor Mare,
If you are reading this, then the letter Inquisitor Time Turner received arrived on time. If you are not the Mayor, then you will be executed for treason. It shall not be a swift execution for I, Inquisitor Trixie De Lis, spare not one ounce of sympathy for those who would so boldly read the words that come from one blessed by the sun goddess herself without her permission.
If you truly are the Mayor, then I shall let you know of my arrival. I am to be taking the place of your local Inquisitor until Ponyville is deemed safe. It is apparent that he and many others in the town you oversee are not doing a good job at keeping Celestia’s hard won peace. If I were you, I would do my best to bring back order. Fear not for I, Inquisitor Trixie De Lis, shall aid you in this endeavor. I will make Ponyville great again!
Or burn it to the ground. Until we meet~
Sincerely, Inquisitor Trixie De Lis*
The Mayor simply stared at the letter. Thoughts raced in her mind faster then she could process them. She could feel sweat trailing down her fur as she tried to think over the possibilities. ‘A new Inquisitor taking over? It almost sounds like she suspects me of heresy. What if she does? I haven’t done anything wrong, but she could charge me anyway. She could make everyone miserable and…’ She glanced over at her daughter and froze. ‘Please, not her….’
Lady quickly took her mother into a hug, “It’s fine. Everything is going to work out just fine. Isn’t that right Inquisitor?”
“It should be,” Time Turner shook his head and started to walk back in forth. His head was lowered as he pondered aloud, “How could this have happened? I’ve always done the empire proud. I’ve kept up to date checks and searches. I’ve done everything in my power to prove my loyalty and effectiveness. How was I supposed to know that Nightmare Moon was going to attack, or a dragon, or whatever?!!”
“Calm down!” Lady Justice raised her voice. “Both of you. Please, we need to keep our heads if we’re to assuage this new Inquisitor.”
Time Turner nodded, “You’re right. When is she going to arrive?”
“Today…” Mayor spoke up. “Any hour now.”
“....Oh bollocks.” Time frowned. ___________________________________________________________________
At the train station, Inquisitor Time Turner was internally seething. You could see some of it on his outward appearance. However he was a Time Charger. That meant his emotions ran deeper then most beings, so his fury was more akin to a volcano. This paled in comparison to other times he’d gotten furious, but this was still quite the achievement. ‘I gave this nation so many years and they still think I could turn traitor? The sheer stupidity!’
A hoof firmly placed itself on his shoulder, “Inquisitor Turner, calm yourself.” Lady Justice got his attention. “I’m sure this will be worked out shortly.”
Time Turner sighed, “I know, but… this? I’ve been serving Celestia for centuries. I’ve done more than a pony should in the service of her Majesty. I’ve lost so much… and now some upstart Inquisitor who probably just got off the tit is taking my place?!!” He was usually a collected fellow, but he growled in rage.
“She isn’t going to take your place,” Lady spoke. “They aren’t going to be stupid enough to replace you just like that. Isn’t that right, mom?” She turned to look at her mother, who was nervously biting her hoof as she paced, shaking like a leaf. Lady sighed. “So where’s Lyra?”
“Of to go get Princess Shimmer,” Time explained. For all intents and purposes, Sunset was a leading member of the town given her status. Any change on this scale had to go through her or at the very least, she had to be present. She didn’t need to intervene. ‘I hope she does though.’ The inquisitor thought to himself. He pulled out a watch from his pocket, “She should be back any minute now.”
“Any minute what not?” Lyra’s voice sounded off beside him.
“ANy minute for you to -GAH!” Time Turner jumped when he came nose to nose with his pupil. “Don’t do that.”
“Sorry,” Lyra sheepishly smiled. Time Turner and the others quirked an eyebrow at Sunset who was laying on top of Lyra, idly reading a book.
“Is this going to be quick?” Sunset asked. “I’m in the middle of a study session.”
“I found you cuddling Spike.” Lyra pointed out.
Sunset jumped off and scowled, “We were reading together. It’s easier to read the same book if you’re close. Now shut it and let’s meet this new inquisitor.” She looked around, “Is she here yet?”
“No,” Lady shook her head and looked back to find Time Turner pacing in the opposite direction of her mother. He was grumbling angrily under his breath while she was frantically trying to calm herself down. The young assistant sighed. “And we’re already falling at that seams.”
“Oh I’m sure everything’s going to be fine,” Lyra spoke up.
It was at that moment that the train sped into the station. The loud horn blared as it screeched to a stop. The group waited with baited breath as passengers started to walk out of the train. Finally after what felt like an eternity, three figures stepped onto the platform.
The first was a rather large pony. She was blue with very light blue and curly mane. Her stature had quite a bit of finesse as she was rather slim and long legged. She could easily look Big Macintosh in the eye, if not look down at him. She had cloven hooves and a long lion like tail. She wore the official Inquisitor outfit like Time Turner before her. A waving wand and a strand of magic was her cutie mark symbol.
Beside her was a changeling wearing that of a soldier’s garb. He was eyeing everywhere with a hint of caution. At least that’s what they thought. It was hard to tell what his eyes were doing given how they were just plain blue. A young, olive skinned human boy was the most surprising of the bunch. Wearing an acolyte’s outfit, he stood proudly behind the new Inquisitor. If they had to guess an age, he would be about the recently formed CMC’s age.
The mare inquisitor took a look around the town and sneered, “This is Ponyville? Trixie-" The changeling coughed, earning an annoyed twitch from the tall mare. "-I would have expected better from a town that houses the blessed child of our patron goddess.” She turned to Mayor Mare. “You are the Mayor of this town, correct?”
The Mayor nodded, “Yes I am.” She bowed. “It is an honor to have you, Inquisitor Trixie.”
Trixie harrumphed, “It is not ‘Inquisitor Trixie’.” She brandished her sword and used it to swiftly write something in the air before it. “It is the Great and Powerful Inquisitor Trixie to you.”
The changeling beside her sighed, “Trixie, enough with the dramatics.”
Trixie snorted and put away her sword, “Very well, Dot. Now then,” she turned to Time Turner. “I am your replacement.” He opened his mouth to protest, but stopped when she held up her hoof. “You are not to protest or anything of the sort until I have surveyed this town. If everything is well, then your position remains. If not, then I shall take your place and your rank shall be removed.”
“A Time Charger has never turned their back on Celestia,” Time Turner pointed out.
“Your companion,” Trixie tapped her chin. “What was his name? Ah yes, he liked to refer to him as ‘The Master’.” She pulled out a little scroll, ignoring how Turner tensed up. “A being who had gone mad in your ancient war and aided Nightmare Moon in the destruction of your lunar colony. Of course, you were the one who put the final bullet in his head so you were not his ally.” She glared at him. “Yet you seem to be incompetent as of late.”
“Don’t mind her,” Dot the changeling spoke up again. “She likes to push other ponies buttons.”
“As long as they aren’t mine, I honestly don’t care.” Sunset idly remarked as she sat and continued to read her book.
Trixie gasped and fell into a low bow, “Your Highness, I deeply apologize for not realizing you were amongst us. It is an honor to meet one who Celestia herself considers blood.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Sunset waved her off. “I’m great. Just go check the town or whatever you’re doing and be quick about it.”
“Of course,” Trixie stood up and proudly stepped away. “Come Dot, Cato” she referred to the human boy, “Let us be off.”
“Yes, Master.” Cato said as he stepped off after Trixie.
Dot stayed behind, “She’s honestly nice once you get to know her. I’m just thankful that-” He was cut off when a purple blur ran him over.
“PONYVILLE, OH MY CELESTIA,” a bubbly voice giggled as she hopped around. “A new place to wreak chaos~”
Sunset’s eyes widened, “Oh no, why?!!”
Twilight Sparkle’s grin nearly split her face, “SUNSET!” She glomped Sunset. “It’s so good to see you again.” She sniffed her. “You even smell more friendly than normal and a little more chaotic. Not much, but it’s there.”
Best Buy was a stallion of many trades. A blacksmith, a tailor, an author, and even, Celestia forgive him, a lawyer. Of course, none of those panned out well in the end. That or he just didn’t care for them. It mattered from one to the other. What he did excel at though was selling things. Right now, he was a house realtor. A darn fine one, if he had to say so. He did enjoy his job.
But as the unicorn saw his newest client, he started to rethink it entirely. He gulped as he shakily held a clipboard up in his magic. Before him was a rather unsettling earth pony mare. She was rather beautiful in an earthy way. Her body was a bit more lithe then a normal Earth, so he guessed she had a little unicorn pony in her. Still, he was rather hesitant to approach her. Her gear was indeed impressive, but it was her eyes that scared him. It was like she knew a million ways to kill him and she wouldn’t regret a single one.
Her companion was more unnerving on principle. A large griffon wasn’t something he looked forward to meeting. He had hoped he’d go a long life without seeing one of those meat eaters, but here he was, selling a house to one. ‘Oh please don’t eat me. Please don’t eat me.’ He kept thinking to himself.
Currently the three of them were on the very outskirts of the town. Given how sparse Ponyville was these days and the location, it would be easy for him to be killed right then and there and no one hear about it. He gulped, wishing he had the ability to teleport. Sadly, that was a rare skill and few unicorns could cast it. “S-so, do you like it?”
The griffon, who had introduced himself earlier to him as Crowland Tempo, walked up to the house and put a clawed hand on it. He smiled and gave it a good pat, “This’ll be perfect. We’ll take it.”
Best Buy sighed in relief, “Alright, just sign here.” Crowland nodded and walked over, taking the offered clipboard and pen. “So… what are you planning to do around here.”
“Hunting,” the mare responded quickly.
“Relaxing,” Crowland shot her a glare, causing her to flinch. “Just a little bit of relaxing. I’m getting old and this is a good place as any to retire.”
Best Buy inwardly panicked, ‘They’re staying here? Oh no. Oh no. I have to tell somepony!’ He gulped. “Well…. I hope everything works out for the best.” He quickly took the offered clipboard and shakily bowed his head. “Good day.” And then he was gone.
Once he was out of sight, Crowland smacked a hand upside Suri’s head. “Hunting?”
Suri grumbled as she rubbed the back of her head, “It was the first thing that came to mind, Master. It’s basically what we’re doing anyways.”
“You can’t just say something like that in front of a pony,” Crowland sighed. “I’m a griffon, remember. The last thing I need is the local guard snooping around the place like they usually do.”
Suri bowed her head, “I’m sorry, Master. I won’t do it again.”
Crowland nodded, “Good, now could you go out and get some supplies.”
“Why didn’t we get some earlier?” Suri asked, earning a deadpan stare from Crowland. “Oh right, griffon and the running and screaming part.” She nodded. “I’ll be back soon enough.”
“And don’t do anything stupid,” Crowland said as she started off. The old griffon sighed in agitation. “That mare’s going to be the death of me one day.” He walked inside, carrying his large sacks with him as he went.
As Trixie’s assistant, Dot’s job was the make sure his charge was well looked after. That meant he had to be there with her all the time. That wasn’t so bad. Sharing a bed was a rather pleasurable experience, but there were drawbacks. She sometimes did take a shot or try and stab him when she was angry, but she never meant them. That and these bloody meetings.
‘For Celestia’s sake, something happen.’ He mentally groaned as he listened to everything going around him. They had been listening to the local Captain of the Militia and the Chief of the law enforcement. Trixie hadn’t let Time Turner get a word in, aside from small questions here or there. Being a changeling, he could sense Turner’s growing resentment. He honestly did understand. Trixie had a way of getting under everyone’s skin.
Cato was taking notes behind us. The little human’s magic was astoundingly good as it helped him memorize and write down everything quickly. Most humans didn’t have magic, so it was lucky ours did. He was attentive as ever. Dot couldn’t help but smile at that. ‘Of course he is, he’s trying to impress mommy Trixie~’ He’d never say that out loud since he liked living too much.
“Trixie think that’s enough,” Trixie held up a hoof. The other ponies went silent. The word of an Inquisitor was a powerful thing after all. One word could stand between life and death. She held out her hoof to take Cato’s papers, which he gave her without a second thought. She nodded and looked them over, “After careful consideration, Trixie have come to the conclusion that Inquisitor Time Turner is not entirely at fault here.”
Time Turner gave a sigh of relief.
“You all suck at your jobs, if Trixie had to plainly put it.” Trixie stated.
Dot rolled his eyes, “‘I’, Trixie. You’re speaking in third person again.” Trixie shot him a glare. ‘She needs to get out of that habit.’
Captain Thunderlane slammed his hooves into the table, “My soldiers have put their lives on the line to save this town. Some of them even paid the full price and died with Celestia’s name on their lips.”
“I am not reprimanding the glorious dead,” Trixie bowed her head in reverence. “They are indeed lucky to have died with our Sun Goddess in mind, taking out the enemies of her Light. However, I take issue with how poorly your ponies were stationed about.”
“We only expected a monster or two at worst,” Thunderlane shot back. “How the bloody Tartarus were we supposed to know about Nightmare Moon coming back? Foalish stories from books written ages ago?”
“I expect better coordination of a senior officer,” Trixie scoffed. “You are a pegasus. It should come naturally.”
Thunderlane snorted in anger and made to speak when he saw, out of the corner of his eye, Inquisitor Time Turner shake his head ever so slightly. He sat back.
“The law enforcement fared no better,” Trixie chuckled. “Though I didn’t expect much there. You were trained to fight off thieves, not traitors. You are excused, Chief Night Watch.” Night Watch snorted in agitation, but said nothing. “Still, your officers will be trained to be up to a better standard soon enough. Mayhaps they may even come to be half as good as Canterlot’s own police force. That is stretching it, but since I am known to create miracles, perhaps it shall be so.”
“Thank you for the kind words,” Night Watch spoke through clenched teeth. The anger coming off everypony would have choked a lesser changeling.
Trixie tittered and shook her head. She shifted through the papers, “Dreadful. SImply dreadful. Sloppy. Yes, we’re getting somewhere.” She turned to look at everyone. “As of now, you are to defer to me before you make any new actions over the coming weeks.”
Inquisitor Time Turner stepped forward, “I know we may have gotten off on the wrong hoof, but I believe that you’re going a little too far here. Each and every one of these ponies have been cleared of heresy and have shown their loyalty to Princess Celestia, may she reign forever.”
“May she reign forever,” Trixie stated with a raised hoof, before smirking. “Ah, but you forget that I am in charge here. It is within an Inquisitor’s power to take the power from those they deem unfit, such as you Inquisitor Time Turner.” She nodded towards Mayor Mare. “And you.”
Mayor Mare’s eyes widened, “What?”
“From this point on, your daughter will be in charge of the town.” Trixie tittered and shook her head condescendingly. “The Great and Powerful Inquisitor Trixie-”
“I,” Dot corrected.
“I was making a point,” Trixie glared at him.
“Well you’re switching from first to third pony again,” Dot responded. “You still haven’t broken that habit. I thought we were making progress, but you’re kind of regressing.”
“This isn’t the time or place for this!” Trixie shouted in his face.
Dot was undeterred as he rolled his eyes, “When is it time for anything with you?” Trixie was seething, her blood boiling. ‘I shouldn’t antagonize her, but that shade of red makes her so cute.’
“Can you not?!!”
“I can,” Dot smirked, causing Trixie to smash her snout against his to get closer and glare right into his eyes. The hate wasn’t as strong as it looked, but even with the discomfort, he could still feel some love in there.
“Can we just get on with this?” Night Watch gruffly stated. He was silenced when a pistol came within a hairsbreadth of his face.
“Trixie-” She used her second gun to point at Dot, who kept his mouth shut. “-Has no time for this. Ponies are going missing. Strange chaos signatures and monsters are appearing and who knows what else could be happening right now. I require your assistance or so help me, I will consider the leadership of this town full of heretics and have you all executed. Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal,” Thunderlane grunted.
“Good,” Trixie nodded. “I also require a guide.”
“I’ll go,” one stallion, a blue unicorn with a bobby pin cutie mark, held up a hoof. He was dressed in an officer’s uniform.
Night Watch smiled, “Good man, Pokey. Pokey Pierce won’t let you down. He’s new, but he does a damn fine job.”
Pokey Pierce smiled, “Thank you, sir. It would be an honor to aid Inquisitor Trixie in her endeavors.”
Dot narrowed his eyes as he watched Pokey look at Trixie. There was obvious lust underneath his gaze, which pissed the changeling off immensely. ‘Back off, bub.’ Still, even with that, there was something strange about this stallion that he couldn’t rightly place. ‘I’m probably overthinking this…. Say, where’s Twilight and the Princess?’
“...And that’s why you should stand on your head when reciting prayers to Celestia,” Twilight finished explaining to a now seriously agitated High Sun Priestess. A disgruntled Sunset was sitting next to her, desperately trying to focus on her book rather then blast the annoying chaos mage.
“I fail to see how any of that has to do with honoring Celestia,” Bon Bon stated. “I fail to see how any of that has to do with anything! It was all gibberish.”
“But I don’t speak gibberish,” Twilight giggled and jabbed her hoof down her throat. She pulled out a little box and out sprung a giant list. “I speak a lot of stuff and the closest to gibberish is a southern diamond dog clan.”
“I’m from a southern diamond dog clan,” Lya eagerly raised her hoof and shook it with fervor.
Twilight gasped and teleported over, taking the hoof in her own. “You speak Gibberish.”
“I live Gibberish!” Lya exlaimed.
“That explains so much, yet so little.” Sunset remarked. ‘That sums up Twilight ever so nicely.’
“This is amazing!” Twilight squaled and hugged Lyra. “You are my new bestest friend!”
Lyra gasped and hugged her back, “You’re my new bestest friend!”
“No you are.”
“No you are.”
Both Bon Bon and Sunset face-hooved. This was going to be even worse than they imagined.
Whitetail Woods were as quiet and peaceful as ever. This didn’t sit right with Trixie. Not at all. She had grown up in the bustle of the city. This mare was used to hearing all sorts of sounds and voices ringing in her ears. Being out in the country was always strange for her. After going through her inquisitorial training, anything strange made the hairs on the back of her neck tingle. As she surveyed the peaceful woods, she prepared herself to draw her sword at a moment’s notice.
“As you can see,” Officer Pokey Pierce started to speak up. Trixie hadn’t much time to think of him, but he seemed trustworthy enough. “The woods are secure as they can be.”
“And yet there was a monster attack in this very spot,” Trixie snorted. “With traces of….’
“Chaos magic,” Dot said. He had been rather quiet, glaring at Pokey Pierce the whole trip to the woods. Cato was taking notes whenever he could. His posture was erect and trying to be threatening. However, he was still a human child so it didn’t work.
‘Awww, he’s trying to impress me. That’s so cute~ No, no I will be professional. I will snuggle my little one later.’ Trixie thought to herself. “How thoroughly did you check these woods after this happened? The reports are rather vague on the time and effort of this operation.”
“About a day’s search,” Pokey answered.
Trixie quirked an eyebrow, “Only a day?”
“It was called off due to no evidence,” Pokey stated.
Trixie scowled, “That is unprofessional. The Great and Powerful Inquisitor Trixie-”
“I,” Dot spoke up.
Trixie glared at him, “I won’t stand for this lazy stance on what should be an effective fighting force. I want every inch of these woods searched and even if it takes all week. I want results and so does the Equestrian Parliament. There are many officials who are rather… perturbed to know that ‘nothing’ is causing all these disasters.”
“The Chief isn’t going to like it,” Pokey shook his head.
“He doesn’t have to like it,” Trixie sneered. “And bring Thunderlane’s troops as well. The both of them should find something.” Pokey saluted and trotted off. “Honestly, this is sloppy every which way I slice it. Either the ponies of this town are completely idiotic-”
“Or there is a bit of corruption at play here,” Dot finished what she was thinking. “So what’s the plan?”
“Cato will be attending the school to keep an eye on the children,” Trixie explained.
“What?” Cato’s eyes widened. “But Master, I don’t need to do that. I want to be by your side.”
Trixie held up a hoof to shush him, “This is an important job, Cato. Only you can pull this off. Children are loose lips waiting to spill their family’s secrets. I need you to be there if one of them does so. Understood?”
Cato snapped to attention and saluted, “Yes ma’am.”
Trixie returned the salute and then dismissed it, “Good. Cato and I shall check the town and interview a few ponies that Canterlot seem to find suspicious.” She smiled which looked a little threatening.
“You know,” Dot spoke up. “You have a rather creepy smile.” Trixie glared at him only to receive a boop to the nose. “Never said it wasn’t cute too.” She blushed and huffed, walking off. Dot made a show of watching her butt swing idly side to side. “Probably should watch the hayburgers, but again, not complaining~” He ducked when a pistol shot whizzed by his head and laughed.
“Mister Dot?” Cato blinked in confusion. “Why are you laughing? She shot at you?”
“Well my dear boy,” Dot chuckled. “Love is a very strange thing. She likes to almost kill me with it from time to time.”
“Remind me never to be in love,” Cato shook his little head.
Dot snorted and rubbed the top of his head, “Don’t knock it till you try it, kid.”
Sunset Shimmer never wanted a day to end sooner. She was a princess of Equestria. She should be doing what she wanted to do, yet she was dragged to a crummy little bar by two maniacs against her will. She groaned as she saw Lyra and Twilight sit at the front bar. ‘Please mom, stop these mares. They are driving me to consider drinking.’
“Alright,” Berry Punch, the owner of this place, put two full glasses of alcohol before the pair. “Here you go. Just don’t destroy my bar while you’re drinking. That especially goes for you, Lyra.” She glared at the green unicorn who had the decency to at least shy away in embarrassment.
“In my defense,” Lyra spoke up. “You make one hay of a beer.” She chuckled and started to down her glass.
“Ooooh~” Twilight giggled and stared at her drink. “Trixie never lets me have any alcohol. Not since that one time I sunk Atlantis.”
“But Atlantis doesn’t exist,” Sunset piped up.
“Yep,” Twilight giggled. “Not anymore it doesn’t.” She took a large swig of her drink and let out a satisfied gasp. It was at that moment, everyone in the bar stood still. They watched and waited for what would happen. “You know, that’s….” Her eye’s widened and suddenly her body exploded into sparkling dust. Her legs and head bounced around the room for a moment, scaring the daylights out of many and scaring them out the door. Then her parts bounced into her seat and she was whole once more. “AWESOME!” She giggled.
Lyra laughed and slapped her back, “I knew you’d love it. Another!” She slammed her hoof into the bar, breaking it. She sheepishly smiled as Berry Punch glared at the duo.
“Lyra,” Berry growled. “Stop breaking my bar!”
“Oops?” Lyra shrugged, unsure of what to say to the mare. From what Sunset had heard, Berry was crazy strong. Perhaps Apple levels of it. It was either genetics or her alcohol was so good it gave her super strength. Either way, after throwing out a roving band of minotaurs single handedly a month before Sunset arrived ensured no one would try to cross her.
Sunset groaned, ‘Why? Why did this have to happen to me? Is it because I’m the Element of Friendship, I mean Magic. MAGIC! Not Friendship, even though mom sort of says they are the same thing. GAH!’ She held her head in her hooves as a headache started to form.
It was at that moment that the doors swung open. A pink earth pony walked into the place, wearing what seemed to be mercenary gear. “Hey, I’m looking for a clothe shop, mmkay? Does anyone know where I can find one, because I’ve been looking all over this Celestia damned place for it.”
Sunset’s eyes widened, ‘This is my chance to escape and I can make a friendship report about this. Helping a stranger find a boutique… granted, I’m going to have to word it properly later, but still.’ “I know where it is!” Sunset shot out of her chair and rushed over to the mare. “What’s your name?”
“Suri-”
“Great,” Sunset eagerly pushed her out of the bar. “So sorry, Twilight. We’ll have to meet later. Gotta go, bye!” With that, the duo were outside.
“Awww, and I even ordered her a drink.” Twilight pouted and poured it into her mane… which let the liquid dance over the hair for a few seconds before funneling down to her mouth.
Berry Punch sighed, “I’m never, ever drunk enough to deal with what goes on in this town.”
Outside, Sunset let out a sigh of relief. “You don’t know how happy I am to see you.”
Suri snorted, “You were using me to get away from your friends.”
Sunset cringed, “Friends is pushing it. More like acquaintances. I don’t have a lot of friends at the moment and that’s fine.”
“Or maybe you just don’t want to classify them as friends,” Suri stated. “Nevermind, I shan’t pry. You’re just lucky to have friends in the first place.”
Sunset quirked an eyebrow, “You don’t have friends?” Sunset felt a tinge of irony as she asked. Not just a few weeks ago, friendship was something she thought a pony could do without.
“On the road a lot with my Teacher,” Suri stated.
“Who’s your teacher?” Sunset asked.
“A griffon.”
Sunset tensed up, “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you correctly. Did you say you were taught by a griffon?”
Suri nodded, “Does that bother you?”
“Do you know what griffons are like?” Sunset snorted. “They eat us, Suri. They kill whoever they feel like all the time. They are no better then dogs.”
Suri grit her teeth, “Who are you to speak about griffons? Have you ever met one?”
Sunset rolled her eyes, “Met a few when my mother went on her trips to see them. None of it impressed me or gave me any other reason to think otherwise.”
“No one gives a damn about those mainland griffons,” Suri snarled. “But not every griffon is like them. How would you feel like it if people feared you without meeting you beforehand?”
Sunset opened her mouth to respond, but then remembered how many ponies seemed to treat her back in the old days. Hay, she remembered how they still treat Twilight Sparkle. Even though she found her annoying, she didn’t agree with how mean spirited some folks treated chaos ponies. “I didn’t like it.”
Suri frowned, “Had a bad reputation?”
“When you tend to set ponies on fire-” Sunset sighed. “-you tend to garner one.”
Suri chuckled, “I can imagine.”
Sunset frowned as she knew she was supposed to apologize. It felt like she was going to throw up, “I’m…. sorry.” She almost gagged on the word. It was just so unusual to say, even after all this time.
“Don’t be,” Suri rolled her eyes. “I’m used to it.” The two kept walking for a bit, “How often did you-”
“All the time.”
Suri laughed, “I can’t believe they let you live in a town with wood buildings.”
Sunset smirked, “I can’t believe it either, but here I am. Stuck in a crummy town in the middle of nowhere. If it wasn’t for my friends, I wouldn’t ever want to stay in a place like this.”
“I honestly prefer the bustle of large cities myself,” Suri spoke. “There’s always something going on to keep my interest.”
Sunset nodded. It wasn’t long before they came across Rarity’s boutique. “So we’re here. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
Suri’s eyes widened slightly, before she smiled. “It was an honor meeting with you, Princess. Maybe we can talk for a bit later.” She walked to the door, “By the way, it’s Polomare. Suri Polomare. You gave me your full name. I’ll do the same.”
Sunset grinned as she walked away. She felt a little giddy as she skipped along, ‘Eee, I did something nice. Now I can just write a report and I should be good for a week. This friendship thing is a piece of cake.’
Crowland hadn’t spoken in hours. Instead he focused everything he had at the task at hand. His blade had to be sharp enough to pierce the thickest of hides. It came with the job. So after sharpening his blade for a while, he had the job of cleaning it. Many of his older blades were rather dull, so it had taken some time.
He was tempted to chuckle at how his gear looked as old as he was. Old and dull, that’s what many griffons would call him. Well most griffons don’t live to be his age, so he knew a thing or two they didn’t. Old or not, he was going to make it shine like new before his next hunt.
He sighed as he gave his sword a look over. It was a perfect long sword. Clean and efficient in its job. It hadn’t failed him before and he sincerely doubted it would fail him now. His face glinted in the metal. “Old bird, you pull this off and you won’t have to worry about another hunt.”
He sheathed his sword and went to look at the rest of his gear. As he did, his mind wandered to his apprentice. He furrowed his brow slightly as he rummaged through some old leather wear. ‘Gonna need to find a tailor.’ He poked his claws through some holes he acquired through some near misses and wounds. He made a mental note to ask Suri to get it fixed.
‘I’m not going to do it, that’s for sure.’ He snorted. He wasn’t the lazy sort and he knew how to fix clothing, but this job required magically enhanced clothes. Which meant he needed a unicorn or other equally fit magic user. He had heard about the one in town, but given the react of the ponies, he really didn’t want to keeping walking around with them screaming or pointing spears at him.
“One last job,” he grumbled. “And then it’s all over.”
Coco hummed in delight as she checked over the available mannequins in the store. The last few days had been rather slow, with more ponies leaving town and whatnot. It was bad for business and Rarity had made a few… overly dramatic speeches about this travesty. Thankfully for them, they had enough ice cream to placate her. Coco herself didn’t really care. It gave her more time to herself and to relax. That’s what she needed.
She narrowed her eyes as she looked over a little tear in one of the dresses. “Grundle, could you get me some white thread and a needle please?”
“Grundle do it,” the Grundle nodded and went off to find some.
Coco smiled as she watched him go. Ever since that dreadful night, this grundle had stuck around to help the duo out. She was grateful for that. He was actually a big help even if it took a long time to teach him how everything went about in the shop. He still had a hard time telling some colors apart.
It was then when she heard a knock at the door. Coco trotted over to the door and opened it. She slightly gasped when she saw the mare that was travelling with that griffon from before.
Suri spoke, “Can I come in? I need to place a few orders.”
Coco gulped. She was used to dealing with soldiers and the like. Ponies who were trained to kill in the name of Celestia. They however exuded an aura of protection whereas this mare just exuded an aura of death. It didn’t help that she was so friendly with a griffon but Coco wasn’t one to judge. He didn’t seem so bad and it would be really mean to act on her fear. “O-okay. You can come in. I’ll go and get Miss Rarity. You can come and sit down if you want. I mean, if that’s okay with you. I don’t want to force you to do anything you don’t want to”
“Oh it’s nothing major,” Suri seemed a little reluctant to come in the door as she nervously eyed whatever laid indoors. “I just need a few clothes stitched up is all.”
Coco opened her mouth to say something, but decided not to. ‘I’m sure she’s just shy. Maybe she’s kind of like me.’
“Coco, darling~” Rarity called from the back. “Is somepony at the door?”
Coco turned her head to see Rarity shooing away the diamond dog guards. Normally Rarity would have guards around even outside. It wasn’t that she was scared of Ponyvillians doing anything to her or her shop. It was more so that the dogs were really protective of Rarity and wanted to make sure she was okay. Now that there weren’t as many Ponyvillians around, Rarity wanted to make sure everypony felt safe and calm. Large and imposing diamond dogs don’t exactly create such a feeling.
“Yes,” she simply said.
Rarity trotted over and opened the door, “Welcome to Carousel Boutique. How may we help you this fine day?”
“Oh I just was wondering if you could patch some things up for me,” Suri stated. “I don’t have them with me, but I was hoping I could bring them along tomorrow. I just thought I’d give you a notice beforehoof.”
“Well I do greatly appreciate the notice,” Rarity smiled charmingly. “Would you like to come inside? I’m sure we could find something new that you would like or perhaps I could customize your attire.”
Suri nervously took a step back, “No, I’ll just bring them to you and you can bring them back here… outside… of the boutique.”
Rarity and Coco slightly tilted their heads in a unison question.
“...Okay,” Rarity spoke. “I can do that, but wouldn’t you want to at least-”
“I’ll bring the clothes and you fix them,” Suri cut her off. She was sweating slightly and had a slight glare to her features. “We don’t need to go inside. I’ll be back tomorrow.” She stormed off.
Rarity watched her leave, “What a strange mare. It’s almost like she was scared to come in.”
“Maybe she heard about the Diamond Dogs we employ,” Coco suggested.
Rarity sighed, “Mayhaps I should tell them to dig under ground or something for a while so as not to spook more ponies. Still, we shall carry on.” Rarity went to the backroom after shutting the door.
The stallion before her was shivering. Sitting on the other side of a table as you stared into the face of an Inquisitor can do that to a pony. Trixie wouldn’t regularly say this but she enjoyed putting fear into others. It made her feel powerful. Her parents of course had dissuaded her from completely taking to this approach but she indulged in it as much as she could.
“Do you praise the sun?” Trixie asked the squirming stallion.
“Y-yes, Inquisitor.” He stuttered.
Trixie snorted and let him stir a little bit more in his fear. She smirked as she took a sip of her apple cider, “Do you know why you are here?”
The stallion gulped and shook his head, “No, Inquisitor.”
Trixie quirked an eyebrow. Casting her magic, she pulled out a pistol and put it onto the table. This got a slight gasp from the pony. “Let me ask you again. Do you know why you are here?” The stallion had the gall to shake his head through his ever present shaking. Trixie narrowed her eyes as she placed a sigil of Nightmare Moon onto the table. “This was found in your home, was it not?”
“I’ve already talked with Inquisitor Time Turner about this,” the stallion tried to regain his bearings. “He’s cleared me…”
“And that’s why I was sent here,” Trixie sneered. “To clean up his mess.”
“Inquisitor, please.” The stallion pleaded, leaning forward in his seat. “They had my family. I had to cooperate.”
“How many ponies lost their families because you lacked a spine?” Trixie countered. “If you had done anything at all to inform another pony of their presence, many lives could have been spared. Instead you were a coward. You turned your back on everypony around you.”
“I had no choice.”
“Everypony has a choice,” Trixie snarled. “And you chose to turn your back on the Sun Goddess herself and allow the heretics to water her soil with the blood her her faithful.”
“I would never turn my back on Princess Celestia!” He seemed so sure of himself, but Trixie knew better.
‘I always know better,’ Trixie raised a hoof to face in a traditional noble lady laugh, “Oh-hoh-hoh-ho.” Her Prench was coming out a bit. “Vous imbécile naïf. Consorting with the enemy under any circumstance is an act of treason. If we allowed you to live, this would give other ponies the idea that they too can turn their backs on the one goddess who has saved our species time and time again. What travesty that would be.”
“Please,” tears collected at the corner of his eyes. “D-don’t do this. My family-”
“Your children will be taken care of,” Trixie spoke up. “They will be taken to an orphanage until such a time that a respectful and Celestia-abiding set of parents can care for them. They will grow up to contribute to this sun blessed country. Your wife will share your fate since she kept her mouth shut the same as you.” She stood up from her chair, “May Celestia’s radiance guide you.” She turned to leave.
“Inquisitor, wait!” The stallion shouted. “Please, you have to understand. What would you have done if they had come after your children?”
Trixie stopped and the thought of Cato in the grasp of heretics flashed through her mind. She snarled, pulling out her pistol as she twirled around. “I WOULD HAVE FOUGHT!” The stallion lurched back in his chair. “You dare to compare yourself to a blessed Inquisitor? You dare to ask that question to one who fights in her name. Who would do anything to safeguard this country? That I would just sit back and do what a blasted heretic says as they threaten my son?!!!”
She wanted to kill him. To paint the walls with his blood. She could do it. It was in her right as an Inquisitor. She had wanted to make his execution public, but now….
The door burst open, “Inquisitor Trixie!” Inquisitor Time Turner shouted as he pulled out a custom pistol that wrapped itself around his hoof. Useful for earth ponies. “Put the weapon down.”
“He is a heretic!” Trixie scowled. “He deserves to die for his crimes against Equestria.”
“He was forced against his will,” Time Turner kept his aim firmly on her. “I cleared his name. As a senior Inquisitor, you must respect my decision.”
“I am your replacement!” Trixie glared at him. “I respect nothing of yours.”
“Nothing is official until the Council says so,” Time smirked upon seeing her frown. “Do you think I wouldn’t know what’s going on in Canterlot? Oh I know they want to kick me out for things outside of my control, but I’ve been an Inquisitor for centuries. You don’t keep a job like this without a few connections. So until you have fair reason to oust me aside from reports, nopony will be executed unless I or High Sun Priestess Bon Bon decree it. So put down the weapon. Now.”
Trixie shook slightly with rage, “You… You dare?!!” She pulled out her second pistol and pointed them both at Time Turner. “You dare threaten the Inquisitor Trixie?!! Trixie has seen-”
“I have seen,” Dot poked his head in to correct her once again. “You’re going into third-” He ducked when a round almost took his head.
“Trixie doesn’t care!” Trixie’s chest heaved with her anger. ‘How dare he command me? I am a noble-stallion’s daughter. One of the richest and most influential families in all of Equestria’s empire! He should be doing what I tell him!’ She turned back to the shivering stallion. She hated this lowlife more than anything. She would never allow such a thing to get that far with Cato. Never… but she sighed and put away her pistols. “You win this round, Turner. Next time you won’t be so lucky.” She strutted out of the room.
She heard Time Turner sigh and try and calm down the stallion. It made her sick. ‘He is far too lenient to be an inquisitor.’
Dot nuzzled her, “Trixie, are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
Dot gave her a ‘really?’ type of expression, “I’m a changeling. I can sense your emotions. You’re anything but fine.”
Trixie snorted, “He tried to draw parallels to the pair of us and… I snapped. It won’t happen again. He will be executed.”
“You did try and do it behind the town’s back,” Dot pointed out.
“I am an Inquisitor,” Trixie scoffed. “I have the power to do so.”
“It seems this town isn’t going to bend over as easy as others have,” Dot added. “Speaking of bending over….”
Trixie stopped and glared at him. She snarled and thought about pummelling him into the ground before he looked up into her eyes. Without a second thought, she pulled him into a deep kiss that lasted a moment. Pulling away, she glared into his blue eyes. “I hate you.”
An Inquisitor was a being of routine. At least, the good ones were. That was what Trixie was taught when she had been a lowly acolyte. Now she was an Inquisitor thanks to her own skill and her father’s influence. She was quite happy with her position, though her current assignment was proving to be more trouble then she would have liked. She scowled, 'Damn that Turner. He should answer to me and yet he still chooses to defy my position.’
Of course, Trixie knew she couldn’t do nearly as much here as she wanted to. There were rules and regulations. She smiled however. There were ways around them and all she needed was the right opportunity. Right now that would have to wait. She had an extremely important task before her.
“How do you manage to mess up your mane so much every morning?” Trixie huffed as she combed down Cato’s hair. The little boy was sitting in front of a mirror as Trixie brushed him. Today would be his first day of school in Ponyville and he needed to look spectacular.
“I’m sorry, Master.” Cato muttered.
Trixie tutted, “Thankfully you have me to fix your mane. Otherwise I don’t know how you would survive.” She pulled her comb away, smiling at his reflection. He was wearing a standard military dress uniform. No medals or anything like that. Nothing too over the top. “You look great, Cato.”
Cato turned his head to beam a winning smile, “Thank you, Master.”
“What have I told you about calling me Master in private?” Trixie quirked an eyebrow.
Cato bowed his head, “To not to.”
Trixie smiled and kisses his cheek, “Good.” While she did enjoy being called such, she really didn’t like hearing him say it. It was a title since she was his Master in the sense of teaching him the ways of an Inquisitor. Still, she didn’t want that to be their only relationship.
Dot trotted in with a backpack specifically made for a human. Since Equestria did boast a sizable human population, it wasn’t hard to acquire one. “Everything’s packed and ready to go.”
Trixie nodded, “Good. You didn’t forget his lunch, did you?”
Dot snorted, “As if I would forget. Our little boy isn’t going to go hungry if I can help it.”
“Says the being who forgets to eat,” Trixie quipped.
“Hey, I feed off of love.” Dot shrugged.
“So that excuses the many times you forgot to bring the food to our picnics?” Trixie quirked an eyebrow. She smirked as he fidgeted with his hooves. “Now be a good changeling and take our little Cato to school.” She pulled the human boy into a hug and snuggled him.
Cato blushed, “Master, stop it.”
“Can’t I have some pre-school cuddles?” Trixie pouted.
“Not if you want him to get on school in time,” Dot chuckled and helped Cato out of Trixie’s embrace, causing the mare to fold her forelegs in defeat. “I’ll be back shortly.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Trixie smiled, “Be sure that you do. We have quite a bit on our hooves if we’re going to fix this town.”
On this bright and sunny day, Pizzelle made her way through the streets of Ponyville. She sorely missed the days when the town felt tight and full with a plethora of ponies to talk and gossip to and about. It made life interesting but she could understand why so many left. Ponyville always was a trouble magnet but that’s why she stayed here in the first place. Anyways, she could appreciate some elbow room. It was always nice to look on the bright side of things.
As she neared the marketplace, the quiet atmosphere was shattered. Dozens of ponies were huddled together in the streets. The air was alight with whispers and shouting. Normally this would be a good thing in Pizzelle’s mind. She did love gossip after all, but something about this was off. The ponies seemed to be antsy and not in a good way.
Pizzelle tapped on the whither of a local militia stallion, “Excuse me, I couldn’t help but wonder if you could tell me what’s going on. I know I can just fly over the crowd, but I know better then that. An antsy crowd is rather troublesome, that I can tell you. Why I remember-”
“We’ve had a break in,” the militia pony spoke, clearly hoping to stop her story.
Pizzelle frowned, “Oh dear, is everyone alright?”
“No one was present when the break in occurred,” the militia answered. “We’re working on finding out who did this as we speak.”
Pizzelle gave a sigh of relief, “That’s good to hear.” ‘We’ve lost far too many ponies as is.’ She decided to have a look for herself. Using her natural strength, she pushed her way through the crowd until she saw the local meat vendor's shop in shambles. “Sweet Celestia…”
“The place is clear,” Thunderlane walked out of the shop, trailed by two other militia and one of the few sun priestesses besides Bon Bon in town. “No sign of any corruption or any of that sort.”
“I don’t see why you’d go looking in my shop for that,” the meat vendor mare flared her wings. “I’m no crazy heretic and I doubt anypony would be stupid enough to try that stuff here… can they?” She worriedly looked to Thunderlane.
Thunderlane smirked, “I sincerely doubt they’d try Ponyville a second time, isn’t that right?” He turned his head to his compatriots who nodded in answer. “We’ll find the culprits soon enough.”
“It was probably that griffon,” another vendor mare snarled. “I saw the way that beaked cat was looking at my produce.”
Thunderlane snorted, “I honestly doubt a griffon as old as him did all this. He’d probably break his back taking all the meat with him.”
“He had an earth pony with him,” the meat vendor mare spoke up. “She’d be strong enough.”
Pizzelle’s eyes widened as the crowd started to agree with her, “Now see here.” She marched forward until she got to the pair. “Let’s not go jumping to conclusions. We don’t have any proof that he did anything.”
“He’s a griffon,” the meat vendor scoffed. “They’re all alike. They are viscious freaks that want to gobble us up for breakfast. I say we kick him out of town.” Some of the other ponies verbally agreed with her.
“Nopony is kicking anypony out of town,” Thunderlane spoke up, narrowing his eyes at the crowd. “You are to go home and let the local law enforcements deal with the problem. So don’t get any funny ideas like forming a mob or anything like that.” He looked into the back, “So put down those pitchforks and torches!”
A few disappointed ponies put down their mob supplies.
“Patrols will be set up to find this perpetrator,” Thunderlane said. “And-”
“Hold it!” The local police chief, Night Watch, marched right through the crowd with a few officers behind him. “This is a crime scene. You can’t be issuing orders or such about it. That’s my job.”
Thunderlane narrowed his eyes, “I’ve already had my militia check the surrounding area and crime scene. Maybe if you were quicker you would have gotten here sooner.”
Pizzelle sighed and rolled her eyes. Night Watch was a stubborn pony and his hatred of Thunderlane, for rather petty reasons mind you, seemed to have rubbed off on Thunderlane over the years. She got in between them, “Now there is no need to be angry with each other. We have more important things to worry about then blind accusations and arguing.”
“And pray tell, what do you suggest?” Night Watch snorted. “Lady, I really don’t care about what you have to say. For all intents and purposes, you think a fox is the same thing as a colt. Excuse me if I find your say flimsy.”
Pizzelle’s eyes widened at that. While Night Watch was a gruff, thick headed sort of pony, he had never talked to her with that sort of contempt before. She knew he’d still be miffed about Scootaloo getting hurt before, but she’d gotten better. ‘It was an accident.’
“Watch your tongue!” Thunderlane snarled and took a step forward. “She is a bearer of an Element. You will treat her with respect.”
Night Watch snarled. He looked like he wanted to talk back to the younger stallion, but a glance to the other ponies present stopped that train of thought. Accusing a griffon was one thing. Acting like this to Pizzelle? The nice, homely local baker, element bearer, and doting parent of what many ponies considered a cute little fox. Well they didn’t seem to warm up to the act given their scowls. Even his subordinates seemed appalled by his little outburst. He sighed, “Miss Pizzelle, I apologize.” He said through gritted teeth.
Pizzelle nodded. That was the best that she was going to get out of him anyways. “Apology accepted.”
Night Watch glared at her and Thunderlane, “My officers will take over this crime scene now.”
“Do what you will,” Thunderlane let the older stallion pass. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Miss Pizzelle.”
“Don’t think anything of it, don’t think of it one bit.” Pizzelle waved him off with a wing. “He’s been on my case ever since our kids got into a little scuffle. I don’t see why. Kids fight and wrestle all the time. I think he’s just using this as a means to get off all his frustration. Poor dear.”
“I wouldn’t try and sympathize with the old geezer,” Thunderlane snorted. “That will get you hurt one day. Anyways, you were with the griffon the other day, could you perhaps answer some questions?”
“Settle down, students.” Cheerilee hushed her class as she prepared to start a new day. She was thankful everything seemed to be calming down in town and getting back to some type of normalcy. ‘Knowing our present luck, it won’t last.’ She dourly thought. Still, she’d do her best to be chipper for her students. “Class is about to begin.”
That’s when she heard a knock on the door.
Cheerilee blinked in confusion, “Now who could that be?” She trotted over and opened it, gasping as she saw who was behind it.
A changeling and a human boy. Both of them were wearing Inquisitorial outfits, “Good evening, Miss Cheerilee.” The changeling said, bowing his head. The human matched his motion. “I was wondering if I could talk to you.”
Cheerilee stared at him for a moment, before she started to talk. “I’m sure we can talk when the students take their recess break.”
The changeling shook his head, “I’m afraid I can’t wait that long. You see, Inquisitor Trixie would like Cato here to attend your class today.”
Cheerilee’s eyes widened, “What?”
“She wants you to teach him just like you would teach any of these fine students you have here,” he motioned towards the little ponies around them. The changeling smiled at her. “I’m sure that won’t be a problem.”
Cheerilee furrowed her brow, “I’m sorry Inquisitor, there are rules and regulations about this sort of thing. If you come by later, you can sign a few admission slips and he can start next week.”
The changeling frowned, “I’m afraid that we won’t wait that long. He starts today.” He held up a hoof to silence her. His horn lit up and a little data crystal was lifted out of his breast pocket. He tapped the crystal with his hoof and it started to shine. It spun around, floating to the ground.
Suddenly, a ghostly visage of Inquisitor Trixie appeared out of the crystal. It was a full sized hologram, Cheerilee realized. Such projections were a little harder to pull off so most data crystals just used verbal messages. The visage looked down her nose at her.
“This is Inquisitor Trixie of the Ordo Hereticus.” The hologram started. “My apprentice Cato shall be attending your classes for the foreseeable future. You are to treat him as you would any other student. If I find so much as one hair plucked from his head, I will raze your school to the ground and have you executed. This is an order, Miss Cheerilee and a fact. I’d hate to see Ponyville lose such a capable teacher.” The hologram stopped and the visage disappeared.
Cheerilee gulped. An Inquisitor’s order was to be heeded without question.
“Miss Cheerilee,” the changeling sighed. “I don’t like forcing ponies to do what I want, but this is what Inquisitor Trixie wants. So Cato is to start today.”
“Very well,” Cheerilee nodded. ‘Might as well. I don’t lose anything by teaching him and I already have to teach a kitsune. A human shouldn’t be any trouble.’ She smiled at Cato, “Hello, Cato.”
The child moved forward and gave a crisp salute, “Acolyte Inquisitor Cato reporting for class, ma’am.”
“There’s no need for that here, Cato.” Cheerilee stated. “Please take a seat and we’ll start class. You’re lucky the school year just started so you won’t have to worry about catching up.” She looked over at the changeling. “He has been properly educated, right mr…”
“Dot,” the changeling chuckled. “Sorry about not introducing myself before. I’ve got a lot on my mind. Anyways, yes he has. He shouldn’t have any trouble following the studies.” He started to walk back out the door. “I’ll be back later to pick him up.”
Cheerilee’s smile faltered as she tried to think over her situation, but she shook those thoughts away. She had a class to teach and that came first. The education of Equestria’s youth was extremely important. As she watched Cato quietly take a seat for himself, she hoped that this wouldn’t end up in some disaster.
“So,” Inquisitor Trixie sat on the other side of the dining table from Pokey. The officer was eating normally, as though an Inquisitor wasn’t talking to him. The three of them, including Dot, were gathered inside a little restaurant. Trixie wanted answers and she felt this stallion could give them to her. “How long have you been on the force?”
“I’ve served three years in the local police force,” Pokey answered, taking a sip of his drink.
“And why did you join?” Trixie, out of the corner of her eye, glanced over at Dot. The changeling was keeping an eye on the subject. Unlike many other creatures, changelings had a perfect memory. So she didn’t have to worry about notes and such with this investigation. That and she had requested beforehoof that the establishment keep their area clear of pedestrians as she worked.
“To protect the good ponies of Ponyville,” Pokey Pierce stated. “I grew up in this area and I wanted to make sure that my friends here would be safe.”
“And what about your family?” Trixie quirked an eyebrow.
Pokey’s eyes looked downcast, “Dead. Killed by a manticore. I was happy to hear something killed it.”
Trixie nodded, “Very well. You are very noble to offer your services to the town. I’m sure your superior officers appreciate a good cop such as yourself.”
Pokey snorted, “If they didn’t stop arguing with each other.”
“Oh?” ‘Now this is interesting,’ Trixie thought to herself.
“The Chief, the Inquisitor, the priestess, and the local guard all quarrel with each other all the time.” Pokey said. “They focus on their own agendas and rarely ever come together. It’s frustrating and they don’t think to give out credit to their own. The Chief thinks of himself before the rest of us. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been passed on a promotion because he credits himself or somepony less deserving.”
“Hmmm,” Trixie digested this information, glancing at Dot to make sure he got all that. At his slight nod, she looked back at him. “This seems typical of less advanced towns. So you admit that the ponies in charge here, including Inquisitor Time Turner is unfit for their jobs?”
Pokey paused before nodding, “Yes, Inquisitor. I do.”
Trixie let a small smile grace her features, ‘I wonder how the other ponies in town feel about them.’ “Thank you for talking with us. I know it must be hard telling anyone of this.”
Pokey nodded once more, “I don’t want to lose my job. I love helping other ponies.”
“You have nothing to fear,” Trixie said. “I shall make sure none learn of this and if they try something, they will have to get through me.” ‘Which will endear the citizens of this town to me. The Inquisitors back in Canterlot will see how good I am and soon I shall be a Grand Inquisitor. Oh father and mother will be so proud.’ “Is there anything else you would like to talk about?”
“Well there is this griffon that-”
Trixie stood up immediately, “Griffon, you say?”
“He just came into town and some strange stuff has been happening about the same time,” Pokey stated, caught off guard by her rapid movements.
“Well I shall look into this then,” Trixie internally squealed. ‘YES! This is my ticket. Oh Trixie, you are on your way to the top for sure and this griffon is the key to doing just that.’
Pizzelle hummed as she strolled along an older path. She was thankful she had bumped into somepony who knew where the griffon and his apprentice lived, or it would have taken her a while to find the place. Her basket of treats was well wrapped up so even if it did take a while, they wouldn’t have gone stale. ‘Hopefully they’ll enjoy them. I know they will, but I can’t be too sure with griffons and their diet.’
The path eventually came to a crossroad. Pizzelle was surprised to see who it was. Rarity smiled over and waved at her, “Good day, Pizzelle. What brings you here?”
“Oh I’m just going over to give the newcomers a welcome to Ponyville gift,” Pizzelle nodded towards the basket to her side. “Somepony has to do it, don’t you know? I don’t think a single pony has as much as wished them a good day. Sad that is.”
“Oh I’m sure the rest of the town will come along,” Rarity added. “I’m heading there myself so I might as well tag along.”
Pizzelle smiled. The two of them were the center of pretty much all the gossip in town. They often got together just to discuss what was going on, when Rarity wasn’t busy of course. “So what brings you to their abode?”
“Oh the mare of the two came by my boutique yesterday,” Rarity explained. “She wanted me to fix up some of their outfits, but the dearie was too shy to come inside. It might have been the diamond dogs. I just thought I’d pop in and see if I could if I could help them there as well as ask her if she could stop by. Her physique is perfect for my upcoming line.”
“Going for the athletic build this summer?”
Rarity nodded, “Indeed. I don’t see nearly enough outfits in the market that can be both elegant and useful in combat. I mean, if you’re going to risk your life, you might as well do it fashionably.”
“I’m not so sure about the risking your life part,” Pizzelle spoke. “But I’m an Element of Harmony now, so it’s more likely to happen then I want it to.”
“So…”
“Make it purple,” Pizzelle’s favorite color. ‘Hopefully, she won’t go too overboard.’
“You shan't be disappointed,” Rarity beamed. Not long after that, they finally reached the abode. Rarity scrunched her muzzle. “That house needs a serious make-over.”
“They just moved in, Rarity.” Pizzelle said. “I don’t think they’ve had the time to do anything with it.”
“Oh I’m not begrudging them,” Rarity said. “But the place just screams ‘dead inside’. Perhaps I can help them out with redecorating.” The two of them approached the door.
“I’m surprised you aren’t scared of meeting a griffon,” Pizzelle spoke up. “Most of the ponies in town are scared stiff of him. I barely managed to stop them from forming an angry mob not long ago.”
Rarity scoffed, “Darling, I’m the Alpha of an entire Diamond Dog pack and have stared down the likes of angry nobles and even an inquisitor. One griffon isn’t going to scare me after everything I’ve been through. “
Just before the two of them could knock however, the door was opened by none other than the griffon: Crowland Tempo. He peered down at the ponies. He was currently wearing his usual combat gear and idly had his crossbow held in one hand. Crowland blinked in surprised, “I wasn’t expecting visitors.”
“Oh we just wanted to pay a visit and welcome you to Ponyville proper,” Pizzelle used her wing to hold out the basket to him. He gingerly took it and placed it inside. “That and we wanted to apologize for what the ponies did in town.”
“Yes, that was most uncouth of them.” Rarity snorted and shook her head.
Crowland shrugged, “I’m used to it. It doesn’t bother me any, since I know first hand why you lot don’t very much care for us.”
“Well you won’t face any of that nonsense with us around,” Pizzelle spoke. “May we come in?”
“Sorry,” Crowland shook his head and stepped outside. He quickly closed the door behind him, “I’ve got a few things to take care of. Perhaps another time.”
Rarity furrowed her brow, “What about the mare with you? Is she inside?”
“She’s in town,” Crowland started to walk off. “She doesn’t often get the chance to interact with ponies, so I let her have some fun.”
“And pray tell,” Rarity called out to him. “What are you doing with all that gear?”
“Oh just a little scouting,” he waved them off and kept going.
Rarity huffed, “So I came all this way for nothing.” She tapped her chin, “Maybe I can find that mare of his and discuss it with her.”
Pizzelle giggled, “That poor mare.”
Rarity lightly shoved her away, rolling her eyes. She turned her attention to the departing griffon, “Don’t you think it’s a bit odd. All those weapons and armor that he’s wearing?”
“Well the town has been attacked a few times recently,” Pizzelle pointed out. “I’ve seen enough in my time to know that it’s better to be over prepared than underprepared. My grandfather used to tell me that all the time. He served in the Foreign Legion for a time, you know-”
Rarity closed her eyes. She could gossip and go on and on. She was guilty of doing that on occasion, but Pizzelle was something else. She’d ponder on the strange newcomers later. Right now she was going to listen to her friend’s long winded story.
‘Next time, I’m going to find a way to teleport all the way back to Canterlot.’ Sunset groaned as she stared at the two unicorns now trapped in a bubble. Thankfully, they had gotten them out of the bar before anything bad happened. She hadn’t been in town long, but she knew well enough not to upset Berry Punch. Many an unfortunate pony or other such creature have learned that the hard way.
That didn’t save the local fountain though. It was trashed thanks to the two unicorns doing… something for fun. Sunset didn’t want to think about it or the silly dances they made the statue do before the brawl started. So she had put the two into separate magical bubbles.
“Awwww,” Twilight pouted and crossed her forelegs. “Why’d you have to glue the bubbles to the ground?”
“Because if I didn’t, you’d turn this place into a giant version of a pinball machine.” Sunset glared at her. She turned to what was left of the statue. It was just rubble… except for the one leg that was still hopping, singing heavy metal. Twilight had obviously cast some strange spells on it, since it was resistant to both Bon Bon and Sunset’s attempts to destroy it. ‘The magic will fade away soon anyways.’
“That would be awesome!” Lyra shouted in glee.
Bon Bon smacked the bubble with her staff, “No it wouldn’t.” She turned to Sunset, “Princess Shimmer, how do you want me to deal with these two?”
“Just keep them in those bubbles for a couple of hours,” Sunset sighed and headed back home. ‘She’ll probably break out before then, but eh. I don’t care at this point. Chaos is inevitable. I really hope Trixie leaves soon and takes her with her.’ As she walked on, she noticed Suri walking the opposite way not far ahead. “Hey.”
“Hey,” Suri nodded as she and Sunset came to stop, face to face.
“So how’re you doing?” Sunset asked. She was pretty sure you were supposed to ask something like that now and again to others. Their feelings and stuff were important, or whatever.
“Doing fine,” Suri answered. “I was hoping to relax in town and have some fun. I don’t get to stay near pony villages that often so I thought I’d make the most of it.”
Sunset quirked an eyebrow, “You’re not staying?”
“Might,” Suri shrugged. “Might not. Mostly came here for the job.”
“Job?”
Suri blinked in confusion before her eyes widened, “Ummm… just the job of hunting birds, mmmkay. Some birds can… offer large prices in the market.”
Sunset narrowed her eyes. That sounded like a lie. A part of her wanted to try and pry the information out of her. Another part of her declined, ‘It’s none of your business. You already performed one friendship problem with her and that’s it. You just have to worry about Quickfix blowing up the town next Tuesday or something and write up a report on that.’ “Alright, if that’s what you say.”
“Hey Sunset,” Lighting suddenly landed beside her. “I was wondering if you could check out some of my newest moves. You know, that I’ll be impressing the Wonderbolts with in the upcoming Young Fliers Competition.”
Sunset groaned. She never liked watching sports and flying maneuvers didn’t exactly do it for her. She always fell asleep during Wonderbolt shows. “About that…”
“L-lightning?” Suri stuttered. Her face took a hue of red to it.
Lightning Dust looked at Suri as she finally noticed the mare. Her eyes widened, “Suri? Suri Polomare?” Suri nodded, to which Lightning laughed. “Oh it’s been so long. How’ve you been? No wait, you finally became a famous fashionista like you wanted. Interesting choice of clothes. YOu used to like frilly stuff. This new look is actually pretty awesome.”
Suri’s blush got worse, “N-n-no, I… hunt things.”
Lightning quirked her head to the side in question, “Hunt things?”
Suri nodded, “Y-y-yes, for bits.”
“Doesn’t sound like something you would enjoy,” Lightning scratched her head in unison.
“You two actually know each other?” Sunset asked.
“Of course we do,” Lightning walked over and turned to Sunset. She put a hoof around Suri and pulled her close to her. Suri ‘eeped’ in surprise. “We were best friends growing up.”
Suri nodded, “Yeah, best friends.” She seemed to be a bit down about the ‘friends’ part.
‘Must be a friendship thing,’ Sunset thought.
“We’ve got to catch up,” Lightning smiled. “How about you come watch me perform some tricks? Like how we used to, but I have to warn you. I’ve become pretty epic over the years. I might blind you with my awesomeness.”
“I’m sure I can handle it,” Suri smiled.
“How about you, Sunset?” Lightning asked. “You coming?”
“Well-”
“I’d really appreciate the support,” Lightning said.
Sunset grit her teeth. She wanted to say no, but this friendship stuff was important now. ‘Curse you friendship. You make me actually care about other people.’ “Fine.”
Lightning hoof pumped, “Oh yeah. Don’t you worry. You won’t regret it.”
Cheerilee prided herself on keeping an open and friendly classroom. She believed she had done a good job so far, with many parents giving her their praise in bettering their children. She couldn’t help but feel happy and proud of aiding the developing minds of the future generation. Their smiles were what she lived for.
As well, she never had much trouble with children. While she had a number of troublesome students over the years, she always found someway to get them to behave. Even if they continued, it was always just small annoyances that could be dealt with. This however?
Cheerilee glanced at the human in her classroom. She had nothing against humans. She hadn’t met many, but the ones she had met were nice. Equestria did house a sizable population of humans so they were of course normal Equestrians like everyone else. What did shake her nerves was that he was the acolyte of an Inquisitor. An Inquisitor that wanted to dispose of Time Turner. That didn’t set well with her.
Still, she would teach the human child like she would teach any colt or filly. She took in a kitsune well enough, with minor problems. She doubted ‘Cato’, as the human was called, could disrupt her class as badly as an illusion of Hikaru’s could.
That’s when she heard someone jumping out of their chair and screams. Turning around, she gasped. Cato had taken out his pistol and was aiming it at Silver Spoon’s head, “Cato, what is the meaning of this?”
“I caught her cheating,” the human boy answered.
“And you felt the need to point a weapon at her?” Cheerilee scolded the boy, glaring at him.
Cato shrank a bit from the stare, “W-well, my master says it’s always good to emphasis your strength to make a point.”
“Cato,” Cheerilee sighed. This was going to be tougher than she thought. “Just because you can use force to threaten someone, doesn’t mean you should. You could have easily just alerted me of the cheating and I would take care of it. No one’s going to get hurt over this and no one is going to threaten anyone. Do you understand me?”
Cato nodded and sat down.
Cheerilee sighed, ‘Well at least he listens to me.’ With that done with, she went back to writing down another math problem for the children to answer.
“If you do anything like that again,” she heard Scootaloo speak up. That filly really had a hard time whispering anything. “I swear, I’ll hurt you.”
She heard Cato jump up from his chair, “Threatening a member of an Inquisitorial team is an offense punishable by death.”
Cheerilee turned to see Cato pointing his pistol point blank in Scootaloo’s face, “Cato! Put your weapon down.”
“But my master-” Cato started.
“I don’t care what your mother says,” Cheerilee started. She knew well enough the type of relationship he had with Trixie. Dot had been kind enough to give her the basics of Cato in a little file so she could have an easier time teaching him. “Threatening someone else is wrong, especially in a classroom. Give me your weapon and we will continue.”
Cato looked down at his pistol, “But… but it’s my pistol.”
“You can have it back when class is over,” she patted the desk. “Now place it on the desk and we can move on.”
Cato frowned as he walked up to the front and put down his pistol. He glumly walked back to his seat and sat down. Scootaloo could be heard snickering, alongside Silver Spoon.
“Scootaloo, Silver Spoon.” Cheerilee spoke up. “I want to see you both during recess.”
They gasped, “Why?” They said in unison.
“What you did was wrong and I will send a report to your families ,” a bit overkill, but they were misbehaving, again, and she didn’t want to seem like she was going light on anyone in case Trixie took out her anger on her. She really wished this day would be over quickly.
The usual night watch was mostly just a dozen local militia. Ponyville, before recently, had never really had to worry about anything outside of a possible monster attack. Even then, those were rare. The little town never had to worry about invading armies or anything serious, so it didn’t need to worry about keeping a large force up at night. It was mostly for show as ponies were uneasy about the nighttime.
Now though, that dozen had become three. The police had bolster their numbers a further dozen. With everything going on, the recent attacks and the current theft, no one was going to stand idle while pony lives were in danger.
One such militia was Cherry Fizzy. The earth stallion was in charge of guarding the weapons depot in Ponyville. It wasn’t a big building, due to the small need for arms before recent events, but it still had enough to aid them in a time of need. That and it could pose a problem if someone with ill intent got their hooves on them.
On top of his musket and keen senses drilled into him by his drill instructor, he had a locket that housed a gem that could detect shadow magic. Inquisitor Time Turner had given it to him since he suspected that some of Nightmare Moon’s fanatics might be involved with the theft.
Cherry Fizzy kept himself close to the Inquisitor as he checked out the crime scene. If anything happened to him, it would be their heads. As well, Time Turner had pretty much been with Ponyville since its founding. He was a local hero and many of the ponies looked up to him. Cherry Fizzy was one of them.
The Inquisitor was checking out the interior. His gaze never missed detailing every inch of the place as he moved about. He hummed in thought, checking every crevice and underneath everything he could lift. He muttered to himself in a language Cherry had a hard time following. Probably Gallopfreyan.
“Are you sure you should be messing with the crime scene, Inquisitor?” Cherry asked.
Inquisitor Time Turner clicked his tongue, “An Inquisitor has the right to do so if he, she, or they wish. Besides, I have an impeccable memory. I dare say, I haven’t forgotten-” His eyes widened when he came across a semi-shredded box. He took out a gem from his pocket and it glowed blue, getting brighter the closer he got to it. “Oh dear, this isn’t good.” He put the gem in his pocket before trotting back and forth in thought.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” he muttered to himself. “Why attack a meat store? They wouldn’t risk… Sunset mentioned something about their wolves in their employ, could they… no, but possibly…” He turned to Cherry, “I think I might have a clue as to who did this.”
Nightmare remnants, he supposed. Time Turner wasn’t one hundred percent sure this was the case, but it seemed possible. He wouldn’t be surprised if it was true and some of the Nightmare cultists had survived. He couldn’t help but smirk at that. They’d be few in number, weak, and easy to take on. He clutched his musket. They didn’t scare him.
He chuckled and spun his musket in his hooves. He threw it up into the air and caught it, “Come on out, thief. I’m waiting for you.” Cherry Fizzy felt very confident. He was a good shot and while it was dark, the town had a number of lamps and light gems to make it easy to see what was going on. So he doubted that he would be taken by surprise.
As he practiced aiming down the site of his musket, he noticed a light blue light. Looking down, he saw that his locket was glowing. He grinned, “Okay, you’re finished.” He prepared to fire on the next thing that moved.
Unfortunately for him, he received a rather harsh strike to the back of the head.
Time Turner scowled as he looked at what used to be the town’s weapon depot. Now it was trashed, several weapons were missing, and a bruised guard that was lucky to be alive. Oh he was just ‘loving’ this. ‘If I had the time and resources, this wouldn’t be a problem.’ He silently cursed the fact that so many ponies had left after the events of previous attacks on the town, leaving him understaffed.
Not to mention that he was sure Cherry would have done alright. That gem he had given him and some of the other ponies guarding the streets that night, should have given him ample time to be aware of dark magic approaching. ‘So why was he taken by surprise? That just doesn’t make any sense. Maybe… this isn’t a typical Nightmare attack.’
His musings were cut short when a familiar unicorn Inquisitor and her changeling and pony company walked over to him. He couldn’t help but grit his teeth at her annoying smirk.
“Well, well, well,” Trixie stopped before him. “I see that another successful robbery has happened right under your nose and look. It’s a weapons depot. How marvelous it is to know that so many weapons are now in the hooves, or whatever they may have, of thieves. You must be feeling so great right now.” She tapped her chin, “And I do recall some of them having gems that you yourself gave them to detect this so called ‘Nightmare’ threat? I see that it’s worked out swimmingly.”
“It is unfortunate,” Time Turner cleared his throat, slightly glaring at her. “But nopony was killed, so we can thank that small mercy.”
“Someone might be killed soon,” Dot spoke up, looking over the wrecked weapons depot. “You wouldn’t go to the trouble of stealing weapons without ill intent.”
“Perhaps you should have done a better job of guarding it,” Trixie snickered.
Time Turner scowled, “I don’t have enough ponies to adequately safeguard this town. If I could just call in reinforcements-”
Trixie raised a hoof, “An Inquisitor must make do with what they have.” She smirked, “Don’t tell me that you can’t. That wouldn’t be very professional, now would it?”
“I can help patrol the area,” Dot offered, shocking Trixie a bit. “My senses are a bit sharper than your average pony. I can see in the dark and heretics are usually very vocal about their emotions.” He stuck out his tongue in disgust, “Annoyingly so.”
Trixie worked her jaw for a moment, before sighing. “Very well,” she turned to glare at Time Turner. “One more chance, Time Turner. If something else happens, The Council won’t look fondly on somepony with such a bad streak.” With that said, the trio left.
Time Turner sighed, ‘She came all this way just to threaten me. Gods, I hate that mare.’
“Sir,” Officer Pokey Pierce rushed up to him and bowed his head. “Cherry Fizzy just woke up.”
“Oh?” Time Turner smiled, thankful that the injury wasn’t so serious. “What did he have to say? Can he identify his attackers?”
Pokey simply held up a locket, “It glowed blue. That’s what he said.”
Time Turner sighed, “I really hoped that wasn’t the case.” He made a mental note to amp up his security with more measures to stop this Shadow threat.
Not far from there, Apple Cobbler was giddy. She was currently watching the investigation from an alleyway. Not alone, since she had brought her brother Caramel along with her. “Yes, I can make this work~”
Caramel was obviously nervous about this whole thing, “Ummm, Apple Cobbler? Are you sure we should be here?”
She rolled her eyes, “Leave everything to your big sister. I know what I’m doing.” Hiding in the alleyway, she rubbed her forehooves together as she grinned. “I’ve got a plan.”
Caramel gulped, “I already don’t like it.”
Apple Cobbler scoffed, “It’s a good plan. Now, this thief has hit the weapons depot and the meat shop. Obviously, they’re going to hit again tonight.”
Caramel nodded, “And what does that have to do with us?”
“Everything,” she chuckled. “This is the perfect way to impress Princess Sunset Shimmer. Imagine it. You, the hero of Ponyville. The one who single hoofedly stopped this threat and saved the town. She’ll be putty in your hooves.” Her eyes sparkled, “And then we’ll be richer than anypony alive.”
“I honestly don’t think this is a good plan, sis.” Caramel nervously rubbed his foreleg. “I’m a bit too… clumsy to make this work.”
She rolled her eyes again, “You’re not Ditzy levels of clumsy. Gods forbid, you aren’t anywhere near the level of destruction that Lemon Drops gets herself into. You’re Caramel and you’re going to be fine.” She walked off, “Now little brother, we’ve got a thief to catch.”
Inquisitor Time Turner was having another terrible morning. Again, someone had struck Ponyville. This time the damage wasn’t so severe. A few explosive bolts had struck the barracks. Again, no one was seriously harmed by it. The damage could be quickly patched up in a day or two. It was just that this being was able to do so and get away with it. Thankfully, the wards preventing shadow forces from getting in was working as intended. The being hadn’t tried to go inside the circle at all, opting for a ranged attack. That didn’t fit with the other two, so Time Turner believed he was onto something.
That didn’t lift his mood however. None of it did. While he typically would more at ease with this information, another failure would have Trixie biting at his heels. Three in a row would not look favorable to the council of Inquisitors. The only thing that gave him hope was that this seemed more like a small incursion then anything. The damages were small and could easily be redone. Nopony had died either. He could still make his case to the council.
Turner knew, however, that Trixie would still do her best to blow this out of proportion somehow. She was rich. She had influence. On top of that, the council was more than half likely to side with her. He needed to play this smart. He couldn’t afford something jeopardizing his reputation now. Thankfully, Trixie was dealing with her child and school. His condolences went out to Cheerilee, but this bought him some time to organize and prepare for her arrival.
“Sir,” Thunderlane walked in. “There’s something I think you’ll want to see.”
Turner turned his head towards the soldier, “Well? What is it?”
Thunderlane walked over and placed a few feather down onto the table Time Turner was sitting at, “We were able to find this in an abandoned building. Given the trajectory of the marks, it’s the best place we could hope to look for. Perfect view of the barracks from the room we found them in.”
Time Turner glared down at the feathers, “White feathers? Could be anything, even a large bird.”
Thunderlane nodded, “Yes, or it could be the suspect’s.”
“We can’t jump to conclusions,” Time Turner stated. He pushed them towards Thunderlane. “Take them to Redheart. She and the hospital staff might be able to gleam some information out of them.”
Thunderlane nodded and took the feathers into his own, “Yes, sir.”
“Be sure to not mention this to Trixie, will you?” Time Turner spoke up. “This find isn’t anything substantial, but she might try to force something out of this before we know for sure.”
Thunderlane scoffed, “I honestly can’t stand that mare. I’m just grateful she’s dealing with the police and not the militia on this, otherwise I might end up clubbing her.”
“Do that and you’ll be shot,” Time Turner smirked, inwardly chuckling at the thought of Thunderlane knocking Trixie out with the butt of his musket.
Thunderlane gave him a grin, “Worth it.” The two shared a small laugh at that. Once they were finished, he spoke his mind. “Do you think it’s the griffon?”
Time Turner frowned, “Why would he do this?”
Thunderlane shrugged, “Well, he is a griffon. They are kinda violent.”
Time Turner rolled his eyes, “Old grudges never die, it seem.”
Thunderlane’s grin grew, “Can’t help my genetics, sir. I’ve been itching to fight him ever since I saw him. If it’s him, I can’t wait to kill him. If it’s not, a little sparring session is in order.”
“Just don’t try to kill him if he’s innocent,” Tim Turner shook his head with a mirthful smile.
Thunderlane gave him a teasing smile, “I’ll try, but I promise nothing.” With that, he started out the door from whence he came.
Time Turner’s smile left him the moment Thunderlane closed the door. He looked to where the feathers once sat and thought for a moment, ‘Crowland, you aren’t guilty. I know it. That young griffon I knew all those years ago wouldn’t stoop so low as to do what this bandit is doing. Not without a reason.’
Pizzelle tapped her hoof as she waited for her son to pack up his bag and come downstairs, “Hikaru? Are ready yet? You’re going to be late for school if you keep this up.”
“I’m coming, Miss Pizzelle.” Aki Hikaru called down to her.
Pizzelle couldn’t help but sigh, ‘He still doesn’t feel comfortable enough to call me mom, or mommy, or mother. Just a little something like that would be nice.’ Still, she wouldn’t let that bother her. He was her son no matter what and he’d eventually come around. She wouldn’t force him to call her anything.
The little golden kitsune ran downstairs with a gleeful smile on his face, wearing his backpack now. “I’m ready!” His little tail wagged behind him.
Pizzelle couldn’t help but giggle at how cute he looked. She gave him a little nuzzle, which he returned. “Good, now let’s hurry. You’re not going to be late on my watch.” With that, they trotted outside.
*A Few Moments Later*
Pizzelle hummed a peaceful little tune as she trotted alongside her son. She kept close to him as she was a bit afraid he’d fall back on his mischievous ways and try something. That and she was afraid something might try and get him. Usually, fillies and colts were safe enough in Ponyville that they could walk on their own. The monsters in the Everfree never got anywhere close to the school. With everything going on, she wouldn’t take any chances. Still, everything seemed to point to a very pleasant day.
That is until she saw who was standing in front of the school.
“And pray tell,” Trixie snarled down at Cheerilee. Seeing them so close together really emphasized how big Trixie was. Dot was idly standing beside her, while Cato was nervously fidgeting with his feet behind. “Why did you think that removing his gun from his person was a good idea? Don’t you know that an Inquisitor is supposed to remain armed at all times?”
“He threatened my students,” Cheerilee retorted. “What was I supposed to do? Wait for him to actually fire the third time? Maybe if you taught him to restrain himself-”
“Are you implying that Trixie didn’t raise him right?” Trixie glowered down at the teacher, causing Cheerilee to flinch but keep her stance.
“I was entrusted with the safety of my students when I took this position,” Cheerilee stomped her hoof, shaking the ground slightly from her strength. “I will not allow him to enter my school with firearms, especially after his behavior yesterday.”
Trixie narrowed her eyes, “Your actions could be considered treason.” Her magic lingered on her on her sword handle.
Pizzelle knew this was about to get ugly. ‘Oh dear. Oh my. I have to do something!’ She turned to Hikaru and nuzzled him, “Stay here, sweetie. Mommy will be right back.”
Hikaru nodded and sat down, “Okay, Miss Pizzelle.”
With that done, Pizzelle chipperly trotted over to the pair. ‘I’m confident I can make this work and nopony will get hurt. I’ve dealt with enough cranky Inquisitors to know a few things.’ She cleared her throat, gaining their attention. “Hello there. Isn’t it a lovely day we’re having? Why, I don’t think we’ve had a day as lovely as this all spring. It reminds me-”
“You are Pizzelle, the Element of Truth are you not?” Trixie interrupted her.
Pizzelle paused for a moment before nodding, “Yes, that’s me. I still can’t believe that actually happened though. To think, a small town baker becoming a national hero.” She chuckled, “But even so, it’s nice to meet you. You must be Inquisitor Trixie.”
Trixie nodded, “That is who I am. I am pleased to meet one of the holy bearers of the Elements of Harmony.” She gave a short bow, before righting herself. “I am sorry, but I am in the middle of something at the moment.”
“I can see that,” Pizzelle put herself between the two. “That’s why I’m getting involved. I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation and before you both say something, I have plenty of experience mediating between two parties. I didn’t travel with Presto himself for nothing after all.” She gave a delighted sigh, “Oh, those were the days. Why, I recall this one time I had to stop a Tatzlpony and griffon from fighting over-”
“Pizzelle,” Cheerilee interrupted her. “I hate to interrupt, but this isn’t exactly the time for one of your stories.”
Pizzelle nodded, “Too true, Cheerilee. Too true, but it is a good one. I’ll make sure to tell you it later.” She cleared her throat, “As I was saying, I have plenty of experience with things like this.”
“And pray tell,” Trixie spoke up. “What are you suggesting?”
“Well, Cheerilee is in the right for doing what she did.” Pizzelle smiled, not really noticing Trixie’s slight twitch at being called ‘wrong’ on something. “Imposing a weapon onto a child and then letting said child attend school is asking for trouble. I mean, the only reason she didn’t take it away is because of that little law, but I think we can all look past that when children are involved.”
“Why?” Trixie narrowed her eyes. “My acolyte must be armed at all times, no matter his age. If he is to be safe-”
“He is safe,” Cheerilee cut her off, earning a scowl from Trixie. “I have made sure that every filly and colt is safe within these walls and not once has anything happened to them, Nightmare forces or not.”
Pizzelle nodded, “Very true, she did break a number of limbs when some of the Nightmare cultists tried to go at the ponies hiding in the school.”
“And for that,” Trixie spoke. “I thank you for doing your duty to Equestria. That does not mean she can impose her will onto an Inquisitor. That is our job!”
“But isn’t it a law that no harm shall come onto children?” Pizzelle pointed out. “And that a teacher has every right to ensure their students safety and are expected to do so.”
“Exactly,” Cheerilee nodded.
“But-” Trixie started.
“And aren’t the laws of Equestria approved by Celestia herself?” Pizzelle quirked an eyebrow.
Trixie gritted her teeth, “Yes, they are.”
“So that gives Cheerilee the right to disarm her student,” Pizzelle finished. “Although, I could go get Princess Sunset Shimmer. She could write to her mother-”
“That is enough,” Trixie groaned. “Fine, she can have it her way but if Cato gets hurt-”
“He won’t,” Cheerilee said. Trixie didn’t say anything, just glaring at her before leaving.
“Sorry about that,” Dot whispered to the two. “She’s just a bit cranky is all. Good job there, Pizzelle. I honestly thought I would have had to step in.”
Dot pouted, “Well I best be going. Don’t worry about her hurting your or doing anything to the school. She’s more bark than bite, trust me.” With that, he started off.
With Trixie and Dot gone, Pizzelle turned to Cato. ‘The poor thing looks so confused. I’m sure all he needs is a friend… lightbulb!’ She smiled over towards her son, beckoning him forward. “Hikaru, you can come over!”
“Yes, Miss Pizzelle.” Hikaru rushed over.
Pizzelle hugged him, “I want you to keep Cato here company. I’m sure you two have a few things in common as he’s not a pony either.”
Hikaru smiled. While he hadn’t complained about being the only non-pony in the class, it would be a bit of a relief to have someone else different even if he already had two best friends. Rumble might be his third, though, since his other two friends were bringing him along. Maybe Cato would be too, “Okay.” He rushed over and tried to push Cato forward, to no avail. “Come on. We’re gonna be late.”
Cato frowned, “Okay…” He made for the door, before looking over at Cheerilee. He walked over and kneeled before her. “I’m really sorry, Miss Cheerilee. I didn’t know I couldn’t do that.”
Both Pizzelle and Cheerilee frowned at that.
Cheerilee sighed, “You should never harm someone unless you absolutely have to and even then, you must think things through. You might end up doing something you regret.”
Cato nodded, “I’ll remember that, Miss Cheerilee.” He stood up and walked into the school.
Pizzelle made a mental note to try and talk to Trixie about how she was raising Cato. ‘I’m sure she loves that boy, but still.’
Princess Sunset Shimmer didn’t want to be out in the middle of a field. She wanted to be inside, reading her books. IN HER LIVING TREEHOUSE! Something she was still ecstatic about and swore to destroy anything that dared place harm upon it. No, she wasn’t inside her awesome house. She was outside, watching her friend perform some tricks.
She had to admit though, they were pretty cool to look at. ‘Still doesn’t mean I have to like doing this. Stupid friendship.’ She slightly pouted, keeping her eyes on Lightning. As was Suri Polomare beside her. Sunset noted that Suri seemed to have that stupid grin on her face that she saw all too often on mares that were with Spike. ‘Pfft, as if I care. No one’s ever going to see that grin on my face.’
“Isn’t she amazing~?” Suri asked.
“Yeah, sure…” Sunset rolled her eyes. “Could you not ogly my friend while she’s performing? It’s kinda creepy.”
Suri blushed in embarrassment, “Sorry, it’s just… it’s been awhile since we’ve seen each other and I almost forgot how great she is in person, mkay. I think she’s even found a way to be even better.”
“Well she is pretty impressive, I’ll give you that.” Sunset remarked truthfully. “So you have a thing for her?”
Suri blushed, “Wh-what? No! No I don’t.”
Sunset shrugged, “Just asking. You had that stupid grin on your face that mares give my brother.”
Suri was silent for a moment, “... A little, mkay? Just not sure if I should do something.”
“Don’t ask me,” Sunset snorted. “I’m not good with these kinds of things. Just don’t buck with her, okay?” Suri nodded and opened her mouth, “And no, I won’t tell her. I don’t want to get involved in this stupid love thing you have going on.”
Suri frowned, “You don’t have to call it stupid.”
“Well,” Sunset paused. ‘Damn it. I’m the Element of Magic and friendship and stuff. I’ve got to be a bit nicer about these things. Quick, say something nice to make up for it.’ “Well I’m not a love expert, so I wouldn’t know. So…” She growled as this was hard for her to do. “Oh just shut up and watch the show.”
Suri rolled her eyes, “Fine. I will.”
“SURI!” Crowland’s voice called out to her. The two mare’s turned their heads to see an obviously frustrated griffon walk up to them. His feathers looked ruffled and a few singed. “What’re you doing here?”
Suri stood up, “Just watching a friend perform.”
“Well we’ve got to prepare for our next hunt,” Crowland grumbled. “The last one didn’t work out so well.”
Suri frowned and looked back at Lightning. She sighed and went to her Mentor’s side, “Gotcha. I’ll see what I can do to help. Maybe I can finish it this time.”
Crowland chuckled and ruffled her mane with his clawed hand, “Don’t get full of yourself. That never works out for any good hunter.” Sunset spotted a few bear patches on that arm.
As the two departed, Sunset stared at them with particular interest. ‘What are they really hunting?’ She thought to herself. Suri had obviously lied to her yesterday and this griffon was strange in his own ways. Of course, she didn’t have a high opinion of griffons. Not a lot of ponies did. Add that to the fact that he showed up around the time that the strange attacks were going on and her suspicions only grew. She’d have to keep an eye on him, or at least Suri.
Lightning landed beside Sunset, “Wasn’t that awesome?” She grinned in triumph, before she looked around in confusion. “Hey, where’s Suri.”
“Left with her mentor,” Sunset spoke.
“Darn,” Lightning scuffed the ground. “Oh well, I’ll see her later.”
“Yeah,” Sunset nodded. ‘I’ll definitely see her later.’
Normally, Apple Bloom and her friends would be playing during Recess. Usually it was tag, but Rumble could fly and now that he was their friend, that was a bit unfair for her and Diamond. So they instead did a few other things like hopscotch and whatnot. This time however they had something else to focus on. A human boy who was just leaning against the schoolhouse, watching everyone intently.
Apple Bloom was doing her best to spy on him, while not looking like she was spying on him. She kept peeking out from the tree as she kept thinking about what he could do.
Diamond Tiara sighed, “How long are we going to sit behind this tree?”
“We’ve gotta keep an eye on him,” Apple Bloom said. “In case he tries somethin’.”
“But he doesn’t have a gun anymore,” Diamond huffed and crossed her forelegs. “He’s harmless and this is boring.”
“And it was kind of awesome how he stood up to Scootaloo and Silver Spoon like that,” Rumble spoke up. Hikaru nodded.
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes, “There’s a difference between standin’ up and threatenin’ a pony with a gun.”
“Well when you put it like that…” Rumble backed off the subject. “Maybe he is kind of dangerous.”
Apple Bloom threw a hoof to him, “See, Diamond? He’s dangerous. What if he tries somethin’ on Cheerilee?”
“What if we get in trouble for spying on him?” Diamond shot back. “We could get in a lot of trouble. My daddy says that the Inquisition are nothing but bad news for ponies. We should just steer clear of him and be done with it.”
“But Diamond,” Apple Bloom said. “What if we get our cutie marks in spying? Oooh, what if he does try somethin’ and we get our cutie mark in defending ponies?”
Diamond Tiara huffed, “You do have a point. We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”
“Yeah,” Apple Bloom smiled. “When’s the next time we’re gonna have an oppurtunity like this?”
“What about that griffon? He’s sort of suspicious.”
“What’s he done?”
“Be suspicious,” Diamond shrugged. “I mean, he lives far away from ponies, buys a lot of meat for himself, and just so happens to come into town when a lot of bad things happen? Suspicious to me.”
“Yeah,” Rumble piped up. “Griffons are a lot of trouble. That’s what my big brother tells me and remember Cheerilee’s history lesson last week?”
Apple Bloom nodded, “Yeah, they are a rowdy bunch. So, what if we spy on Cato now and spy on the griffon later?” The other two ponies nodded. “Alright! Cutie Mark Crusaders have a plan.” She looked around. “Ummm, where’s Hikaru?”
Cato was irritated at… well, everything at the moment. He had a right to use that gun, even though Trixie hadn’t given him any bullets. She told him just to use it to scare the other children. He’d done that and now he was in hot water with the teacher. She seemed nice. A good teacher, but he was still miffed that he couldn’t have his gun anymore.
He couldn’t help but tap his hip where the gun holster should have been. Trixie had kept it with her, though she had muttered something about possibly using it on Cheerilee. He knew she wouldn’t she threatened basically everyone like that but never followed through with it. Well, unless they tried to kill her first. ‘And I sort of like Cheerilee.’ She had been nice to him when she had taken him aside to talk to him. She seemed like a loyal Equestrian mare.
Still, he felt naked without his gun, bullets or no bullets. He didn’t exactly need it anyways. He was a magician. He had magic, something not a lot of humans had. He idly let out a little circle sigil in the air. Trixie had made sure to teach him how to properly use his magic and hone it to better use. For that, he basically trained every day. He wasn’t as good as Trixie, but he’d get there someday.
“Hello,” a boyish voice spoke up.
Cato wheeled around, his fingers splayed out as he prepared to fire a spell. He blinked in confusion as he looked down to see a black fox, “Did you just talk?”
The fox tilted his head, “Yeah, why are you surprised?”
Cato scratched the back of his head, “Just… it’s nothing. You just surprised me is all.”
The fox smiled, “That’s what I aim to do. My name’s Aki Hikaru. What’s yours?”
Cato mulled over the thought of telling him. ‘Mother does say that I’m not supposed to tell a stranger my name.’ However, this was just a young fox. It wouldn’t hurt, “Cato Schmendrick.”
“That’s a funny name,” Hikaru chuckled.
Cato huffed and crossed his arms, “Is not. You're the one with a funny name.”
Hikaru shrugged, “Maybe, but I can still laugh at yours.” He giggled at Cato’s glare. “So why are you all alone out here?”
“I’m observing my surroundings,” Cato rolled his eyes. “Duh.”
“So when are you going to join in?” Hikaru asked. “There’s a lot that you could do and it's all pretty fun. Trust me.”
“I’m not here to have fun,” Cato huffed and straightened himself up to look taller. “I’m here to observe and report back to my superiors. Those were my orders.”
“Who gave you those orders?” Hikaru tilted his head.
“My Master.”
“And who’s your master?”
Cato paused for a moment. The kids already knew that, so it was okay to tell him. “My mom.”
Hikaru’s eyes widened, “She’s your mom?”
Cato nodded, “Yeah, is that a problem?” He was sort of used to some ponies or other races being uneasy with the whole ‘cross-species’ adoption thing. He thought they were all idiots, but he kept that to himself.
Hikaru shook his head, “No, it’s just…” He looked down at the ground. “Why do you think of her as a mommy?”
Cato frowned, “What sort of question is that?”
“...Miss Pizzelle is a pony,” Hikaru spoke. “I’m not and… after losing my mommy, I don’t know if I can call her mom. I want to, but… it’s just hard.”
Cato pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘This is not what I wanted to do today.’ He sighed, “Look, I never knew my blood mother. She died when I was a baby and I was given to Trixie to raise, so we aren’t alike there. That doesn’t matter. She took care of me when no one would. She loves me unconditionally. She’s weird but she always takes time for me. Take my advice and just call her what she is.”
“Just like that?”
Cato nodded, “She cares about you a lot, right?” Hikaru nodded. “Then she’s your mom. Doesn’t matter about what species she is.” Hikaru seemed to lose himself in his thoughts. Before Cato could say anything else, a trio of ponies ran up to him.
“Hikaru,” a little yellow, red maned filly spoke up. “Are ya alright?”
Hikaru nodded, “I’m fine, Apple Bloom. I’m just talking to my new friend.”
Cato’s eyes widened, “Wait, we aren’t-”
“Friend?” Apple Bloom blinked in surprise. Then a large grin appeared on her face. “That’s perfect.”
“Perfect?” Both Cato and the pink filly asked at the same time.
Apple Bloom nodded, “Yeah, just think of all the cutie marks we could get with his help.”
The gray colt gasped, “No way, you’re right.”
“But I-” Cato tried to speak but was cut off again.
“Well,” the pink filly rubbed her chin. “You’ve got a point. He could be very useful and who knows what sort of tricks and ideas he has up his sleeves.” She stomped a hoof, “That settles it. Human, you’re our new friend and there’s no backing out of it.”
Cato sighed and his shoulders sagged, “Great,” he grumbled.
Caramel loved his sister. He really did, but he often found himself in troubling situations because of her. It was always one get rich scheme after another with very little in between. He understood why Apple Cobbler wanted to get rich. She didn’t want to be a lowkey farmer the rest of her life, but it was just agitating that he was always dragged into it. Still, she was his sister. He couldn’t very well say no to her.
He really wanted to right this moment.
Caramel gulped, “Okay, could you explain this to me again? I’m so scared that I think I might have forgotten something.”
Apple Cobbler sighed, “Fine, one more time. Tonight, we’re going to capture this bandit or whatever they are. When you do, Princess Sunset will finally see how magnificent you are. She’ll be putty in your hooves.” Her eyes twinkled, “And we’ll be swimming in bits in no time for the rest of our lives.”
“You seem to have missed a few steps,” ‘Like how I’m supposed to woo in after I capture this bandit,’ Caramel thought but kept that part to himself. “How am I supposed to catch-”
“The bandit?” Apple Cobbler rolled her eyes and pulled out a blowgun. “Cheap but effective. Just use the darts in your bag, put them inside, and blow. Hit your target and they’ll be out for several hours. Short and simple. Now don’t let me down.”
Caramel took the blowgun and the little bag that housed the darts, “And why aren’t you coming?”
Apple Cobbler snorted, “I’m the lookout. I’ll make sure the bandit doesn’t escape or at the very least, I’ll make sure you look brave in defeat.”
Caramel sighed. He knew this wasn’t going to go down well, but he could never say no to his sister. Besides, being rich didn’t sound so bad and Sunset was a looker. He’d try his best.
Inquisitor Time Turner was smiling. This wasn’t a new occurrence, he lived in Ponyville after all. You’d have to be a complete sourpuss to not smile once or twice a day there. However, ever since Inquisitor Trixie had arrived, it had vanished. If it wasn’t Trixie putting her nose into his business, he was having to clean up the mess left by Twilight Sparkle. She seemed nice enough but apparently didn’t know when enough was enough. At least, until Trixie got her ear. Even then, that wasn’t a guaranteed thing.
No, he had finally found something to smile about. He had placed a ward around another ammo depo. He knew that the perpetrators wouldn’t strike the same place twice. As well, the barracks wasn’t all that used these days since the guard were stretched thin in order to protect the town. Time Turner knew this was the night he would catch this vandal. Once he did, he’d be able to get The Council off his back and Trixie out of his town.
At his side was Shade. Once a loyal minion to Nightmare Moon, now he was a somewhat loyal Equestrian. Time Turner had kept a close eye on him and so far, he seemed trustworthy. He had brought him in to test the barrier and make sure it would work. The tests went expertly, aside from Shade getting hurt in the process.
“So,” Shade spoke up. “Do you think they’ll really attack here tonight?”
“Most assuredly,” Time Turner spoke. “Most of our ammunition is inside. At least, that’s what I’ve told everyone. In case of failure, it only houses a portion of our supplies. If the perpetrators are really your former brethren, then they’ll think we’ll be a pushover.”
“And they’ll be in for one buck of a surprise,” Shade chuckled. “So, why are you trusting me with this information.”
“Because I trust you,” Time Turner said. “You could have easily killed the Element bearers when they were going after Nightmare Moon. You didn’t. You’ve shown your want to help others. Also, with your luck, you’d be dead before you could accomplish anything.”
Shade gulped and nervously chuckled, “Yeah… you’ve got me there.”
As they patrolled the area, they caught Officer Pokey Pierce tapping one of the gems. The devices looked like black triangles, about the height of a pony’s knees. Circular dark blue gems were emplaced on each side and they pulsed every few seconds. He looked up and gave out a salute.
Time Turner returned it, “At ease. Can I ask you what’re you doing?”
Pokey stood at ease, “I was just curious, sir. I wanted to make sure they were working properly. I’ve never dealt with objects like these.”
Time Turner nodded, “True, but trust me. These are working perfectly. I tested them out myself before they were put into use. The culprit won’t be able to make it inside. I mean, they’ve worked thus far. Now, the traps are in place?”
Pokey nodded, “All in order and ready to be employed. They won’t know what hit them.”
Time chuckled, “Good, very good. By this time tomorrow, this will all be behind us.” Suddenly, the gem’s color turned red and shone brightly. He grinned, “And that’s our cue. Officer Pierce, you stay here with a few officers to stand guard. I’ll take the militia with me to apprehend this perpetrator.” Pokey nodded.
Time grinned as he made his way to the site. He had programmed the crystals to glow the brightest when the trap closest went off. Given how bright it was, it was close at hoof. He saw a number of other militia running to the scene as well. His grin grew. ‘This is it. I’ve got this little terrorist in the bag.’
“Dunno about you,” Shade spoke up. “But that Pokey guy always gives me the creeps.”
Time Turner just rolled his eyes. He didn’t really need Shade’s input right now.
When they got to the site, they didn’t find some evil dark sorcerer or soldier like he thought he would. No, it was none other than Caramel. He was dressed in a black turtleneck and had a little pouch with him. He spied a blow dart in his hooves. The trap had created a see through square of magic, outlined by the light blue edges, “Caramel? What in the pits of Tartarus are you doing here?”
Caramel sheepishly smiled, “Umm… hello Inquisitor. Nice night we’re having.”
Time deadpanned, “Yes, it is.” He sighed. “Get him out of there.”
One of the militia tried to speak up, “But what if-”
“If he’s an undercover agent, then I’m an albatross.” Time Turner snorted. “I’ve lived long enough to know the difference between a clutzy oaf and an agent that is pretending to be a clutzy oaf. He’s the former. Not the latter, so get him out.”
The militia ponies sighed and moved to turn off the trap. The magic dissipated and Caramel stood up, “I’m so glad that you arrived. I didn’t- OW!” He rubbed his cheek after Time Turner had slapped him.
“You idiot!” Time Turner growled. “I told everyone to stay inside tonight, but you just had to come out anyway. It was that gold digging sister of yours that put you up to this, wasn’t it?” Caramel didn’t answer. He just looked to the ground. Time sighed, “Look, I know you’re a nice guy, but this is important. We need to catch this perpetrator before they do somepony some serious harm. Stunts like this aren’t going to help anypony. It’s just going to tip off the vile criminals of our plans.”
Caramel nodded, “I know and I’m sorry.”
Time Turner couldn’t help but pity the stallion. Before he could speak anymore, a loud and short cry broke the air. His ears perked, “It’s coming from the ammo depo!” He shouted and the militia ran on back. Smoke started to trail up to the sky, causing them to quicken their pace.
The group finally made it back to the depot, just to find it burning. He found the fire unusual for it wasn’t the usually bright sort of fire. It was dark blue and barely illuminated the area. The officers were strewn about, obviously knocked out as they were still twitching and heaving. The gems were destroyed as was their light. The only reason they could see anything in the area was because of the low, flickering flames.
A vague shape stood a distance away.
A vague, griffonish shape.
A low sound touched his ear. He saw the figure parry the blow with a sword, sending what was apparently a dart into Time Turner’s chest.
Caramel gasped and rushed to him, “Sorry, I thought I had him.”
“That’s alright,” Time Turner smirked and pulled out the dart. “I’ve got two hearts. It will take more than this to take me-” A much larger dart hit his chest. “Hmmm, that will do it.” With that said, he fell forward. The last thing he saw was the figure racing into the dark alleys with the militia rushing after him.
Night Watch was seething as he walked through the market. Everything was falling apart. His officers weren’t turning up anything new about this perp. Half of them were in the hospital after their last attempt last night. That really left him in a bad mood, but he wasn’t going to bad mouth Time Turner about that. No, he saved that for Thunderlane and his militia for leaving his ponies alone. If he had been there instead of staying with his granddaughter, he’d have set things right.
So now he was stomping his way through the market to make it to the town hall. Mayor Mare had called him there to sort things out. He’d be gladly giving Thunderlane an earful and maybe, just maybe, Inquisitor Time Turner would finally listen and kick that pony out of time. ‘One can only hope.’
As he looked about, he noticed something. Officer Pokey Pierce was chatting it up with a few stand owners, the three well known flower ‘sisters’. Not really sisters, but the earth pony mares acted close enough to be considered family to each other. They seemed to be shaking slightly, scared of something. He marched on over.
“What seems to be the matter?”
Pokey Pierce jumped slightly off the ground in fright. He quickly turned around, sweating slightly. “Oh, nothing Chief.”
“He was just talking with us,” a red maned earth pony named Roseluck spoke up. Her two friends nodded.
“Yes,” Daisy spoke. “He was just trying to calm our nerves. There’s been rumors floating around town and it’s frightened us like nothing else.”
Night Watch quirked an eyebrow, “And those rumors are…?”
“A griffon,” Lily shivered. “A horrible griffon is attacking Ponyville.”
Night Watch turned his head to Pokey Pierce. The young officer caught the unspoken accusation and his eyes widened. Pokey shook his head, “No sir, I didn’t say anything about this to anypony. Maybe it was the milita.”
That immediately turned his attention from Pokey to Thunderlane in his mind. He scowled, “That bird brain.” Thankfully, there weren’t any pegasi around to hear that. “I’ll strangle him the next time I see him.” He marched off, “Come with me, Pierce. We’re going to the town hall.”
“Why me, sir?” Pokey trotted up next to him.
“Because I need somepony to hold me back when I try to strangle that bird brain,” Night Watch growled.
Sunset Shimmer paced back and forth inside the town hall. She was alone for the moment. Everyone else was in the much larger meeting room. She felt an emotion she didn’t feel often: nervousness. This annoyed her greatly. ‘I’m a Princess of Equestria. Making important decisions is what I do.’ However, this wasn’t a normal meeting.
Sunset knew someone was going around and attacking Ponyville. No one was killed, thankfully, but it was still worrying. All Sunset wanted to do was stay at home and read in peace. She knew that wasn’t possible. Ponyville was bound to have something happen given its luck so far. She sighed, ‘I guess that’s partially my fault.’ She mused to herself.
Now things had gone out of hoof. Several officers were in the hospital after last night’s failure. Inquisitor Time Turner was one of the wounded. It seemed the dart carried a nasty drug that played havoc with his peculiar biology. Nothing fatal, but he wouldn’t be walking around for a few days. Sunset hadn’t really gotten to know Time much, but he seemed like an ok stallion so she was thankful he was alright.
None of them knew who was doing this. It was a mystery to everyone. Time Turner had thought it was Nightmare cultists, but his measures proved to be ineffective. All they knew was that it wasn’t a pony.
It was a griffon.
Sunset chewed her lip. She already had a suspect and she knew he probably did do it. It still didn’t sit well with her. A life was going to be placed in her hooves. Oh yes, she had killed a warlock before and a few mindless cultists and whatnot. Those were different. That was during combat. She had to do it in order to survive. Now, she didn’t but she knew what would happen to the griffon if he was found guilty. Given that she was a princess, she knew it was going to come that eventually.
She gulped, ‘Maybe being a Princess isn’t always great.’
It was at that moment that Lady Justice, Mayor Mare’s daughter and right hoof mare, walked into the room. “Are you alright, Princess Shimmer?”
Sunset gave her a nervous smile, “Of course I’m alright. Why wouldn’t I be? I’m totally alright.”
‘I’m not buying it’ was written clearly on Lady Justice’s expression, “You’re nervous.”
“Pfft, says you.” Sunset scoffed. “I’m never nervous. I’m a Princess. I can’t afford to be.”
Lady Justice rolled her eyes, “Princess, it’s alright to be nervous.”
“Oh don’t take that tone with me,” Sunset glared at her. “I know what we’re going to talk about. It’s the griffon. I’ve heard the rumors. I talked with a couple of militia on the way here. So what do you know, his fate will come straight to my hooves.”
“Well the others could deal with it.”
“I’m a princess,” Sunset scoffed. “Of course they’re going to have my word as the final say. Yes, let’s trust the word of the pony who routinely burns others and damaged her own friend’s farm. Let’s throw the life of someone at her hooves. I’m sure she’ll be fair. No, I don't want it. I threaten others. I’ve burned others, but given everything I know, it’ll be him and he will die when I say that.”
“Didn’t you kill a few nightmare ponies before?” Lady Justice quirked an eyebrow.
“They were monsters out of their mind,” Sunset said. “I talked to Crowland. Hay, my friends have routinely talked to him. He doesn’t come off like that, though he’s pretty suspicious.”
“Sunset,” Lady smiled. “I’ve felt the same way when I got into law. I’ve had to convict a pony or two and live with what I did. I don’t let it bother me because I made the best decision I could and believed they deserved it.”
Sunset sighed, “I know… I just wanted to relax and read something. Is that too much to ask, or is this place just a danger magnet?”
Lady Justice chuckled, “A little.”
“...And how did you feel when you had to make that decision?” Sunset asked. “Like, before and after.”
Lady sighed, “Like the weight of the world was on my shoulders and I didn’t know if I wanted that responsibility. No, I didn’t want that sort of responsibility but I did it anyways because it was my duty. Somepony has to step up when danger lurks its head. I’m sure you know that.”
Sunset snorted and gave a weak smile, “Yeah, I pretty much am the expert on ‘world on the shoulder’ feelings, if that’s a thing.”
Lady smiled, “Exactly, now let’s go and see the others. Inquisitor Trixie is getting antsy and I don’t like how she’s fiddling with her pistol.”
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Sunset trotted out with the mare.
The Meeting Room was large and spacious, housing a long table that could sit a couple dozen ponies. Right now it was just her, Lady Justice, High Priestess Bon Bon, Dot, Inquisitor Trixie, Mayor Mare, Chief Night Watch, and Captain Thunderlane. Oh and Pokey Pierce was standing off in a corner. Sunset found it a bit odd that he was here too, but said nothing of it as she took her own seat.
“Now,” Mayor Mare spoke. “You all know why we are here, correct?”
“Of course we do,” Night Watch scoffed. He stabbed his hoof out at Thunderlane. “We’re here to talk about how he fucked up.”
Thunderlane growled, “I was just following orders. Maybe if your officers were better trained they wouldn’t have gone down so easily.”
“Why you-”
“Gentlestallions,” Mayor piped up. “Cease this hoof pointing at once. What’s done is done.”
Trixie nodded, “Yes, quite.” She smiled, which unnerved everyone especially the ‘gleeful’ tint in her eyes. “We’re here to talk about what’s going to happen now.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Inquisitor Time Turner?” Thunderlane asked.
Trixie chuckled and shook her head, “No, I recieved a message from the Council of Inquisitors. He’s relieved of duty until they seem fit to restore his station. I am in command of Ponyville now.”
“Don’t you mean, you’re just filling in for him?” Mayor Mare pointed out.
“No,” Trixie snorted. “I am an Inquisitor. I outrank all but Princess Sunset and High Priestess Bon Bon. However, due to the pressing circumstances, I am forced to use my powers to usurp those positions until the danger is dealt with.”
Bon Bon scowled, “So what are you saying? That I should just bend over backwards because a bunch of inquisitors sitting on their asses in the safety of the capital told you, you could?”
Trixie smirked, “Said inquisitors have a lot of power, High Priestess. Don’t fret. I shall do my duty and save you all, for I, Inquisitor Trixie, shall come out on top. Now that’s settled, I do believe we have a culprit to catch.”
Night Watch scowled and held out his hoof to Pokey Pierce. The young officer levitated a file over into his hooves and he put it down on the table, “The report is basic.” He opened it and gave it another look through. “Several officers beaten. Munitions up in flames and a shadowy form that was described to be like a griffon.” He snorted, “Seems pretty clear who did it to me.”
“I can’t argue with that,” Thunderlane grumbled, clearly not liking the fact that he agreed with Night Watch on anything.
Bon Bon nodded, “And he was also able to get past the shadow defenses. That means that we’re not dealing with Nightmare cultists.” Everyone let out a sigh of relief. “That still means we’re dealing with a rogue griffon.”
“Could be the start of an invasion,” Thunderlane said. “Damage the infrastructure of your enemy. Destroy the means of fighting back.”
Bon Bon shook her head, “We’re too far from the border to strike and we would have heard something about this if the griffons tried something with other towns. Besides, they aren’t that discreet as a species.”
“Or maybe it’s after the Element bearers,” Trixie mused. “If they can sneak one griffon into Equestria, who knows what they have hiding nearby.”
“I sincerely doubt that they could get any significant number of griffons into Equestria,” Thunderlane shook his head.
“Whether or not it’s true,” Trixie spoke. “This griffon, Crowland I believe, should be brought in at once and questioned.”
Bon Bon moved her head to look at Sunset, “Princess, are you alright? You haven’t said a thing since you got here.”
Sunset Shimmer was sitting quietly with her head held low as she was lost in her thoughts. ‘Damn it, I knew they were going to bring it back to me.’ She inwardly groaned. “I’m fine, High Priestess.”
“So shall I go and collect him now?” Trixie asked.
“We don’t have the evidence he did it,” Bon Bon shot back.
“We saw a griffon,” Night Watch scoffed. “He’s a griffon. The only one in town, I add. He’s also been up to some suspicious things these past few days. Won’t talk about his past or anything of the sort. He’s obviously guilty.”
“We shouldn’t just grab him without knowing for sure,” Bon Bon spoke.
“And let this happen again?” Night Watch growled.
“Enough!” A little of the Royal Canterlot Voice tinted Sunset’s own. All eyes were on her now, “I’ve made my decision…” She sighed and stood up. “Bring him in and question him on what he knows.” She cast a glare towards Trixie, “Unharmed.”
“Of course,” Trixie nodded. “So you give me your blessing to do as I wish?”
“Sure, whatever.” Sunset pushed herself away from the table. She had done her part. She didn’t want to have anything else to do with this. ‘I just want to read my books.’ “Just don’t make a mess of things.”
“As you wish, my princess.” Trixie called over to her.
As Sunset closed the door behind her, Mayor Mare cleared her throat. “Now that’s out of the way, let us discuss how-”
“I’ll take care of it,” Trixie cut her off.
Mayor Mare blinked in confusion, “Pardon? I believe we should do this together so that-”
“I’ll take care of it,” Trixie said again. “Did you not hear me the first time, or are you too incompetent to understand me?”
“Watch your tone,” Thunderlane growled. He found a sword tip pointed at his muzzle.
“Do not test me, Captain.” Trixie smiled a bloodthirsty smile. “I am no longer constrained by Time Turner. I have full authority here, blessed by the Princess herself. That means I come up with the plans and you carry them out.” She stood up.
“You can’t do this,” Night Watch stood up and made to move around the table.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Dot spoke up.
“Shut up, bug.” Night Watch scoffed, earning a death glare from Dot. Only his training kept him from attacking. Referring to a changeling as anything insectoid was a major offense to them. “I ought to have a say in what my ponies do and I will not have some upstart-”
A sword pummel met his cheek, pushing him to the ground. The stallion groaned in pain. Bon Bon was at his side in an instant.
“Again,” Trixie chuckled. “I am in control and I don’t appreciate your attitude.”
“Inquisitor Trixie,” Mayor Mare slammed her hoof down on the table. Bon Bon was using her solar magic to heal the bruise on Night Watch as she talked. “You can’t treat us like this. The Council will find out about your actions.”
“And they will applaud me when I sort this mess out,” Trixie scoffed. “A mess, I might remind you, none of you can sort out. Therefore I shall do this myself and you will follow orders.” She glared at Night Watch, “Besides, I didn’t hit him because of his outburst. It was the ‘bug’ comment.” She huffed and trotted out.
His Master/Mother had always explained to him that a good Inquisitor always had to be on the case. No matter what, they couldn’t abandon their quarry. Acolyte Cato Schmendrick took that to heart. That’s why he had to pursue this griffon. Trixie had told him not to, but he thought he could circumvent this problem. He wasn’t that big and the griffon wouldn’t think much of a human boy. He couldn’t help but smirk as he sat inside a bush. His binoculars were up to his face as he peered through the lens, watching the griffon walk into the Everfree Forest.
‘What are you up to?’ He couldn’t help but ponder to himself.
“So what’s he doin’?” Apple Bloom asked beside him.
“Shhh,” Diamond Tiara put a hoof over Apple Bloom’s mouth as she whispered, “Be quiet. He could hear us.”
Cato sighed. He would get this done no matter what. Even if that included taking along his new ‘friends’, or whatever he called them. They hadn’t been that bothersome so far, so he didn’t make a comment. He also took to heart the other saying his mother had told him.
‘If you can bring others with you, do so. They can help you perform your mission and/or serve as fodder and distractions for escapes.’
“So what are we going to do?” Rumble asked. “We can’t just go into the Everfree Forest.”
“You’re going to cover me,” Cato looked over his pistol. It was an older type and took longer to reload. Trixie had been hesitant to give him the newer Colt’s, as they were called, since she had some fear that he’d get too trigger happy since they were faster and more powerful. If he pulled this off, he might be able to talk her into giving him some new pistols for his birthday. “I’m going to take him in.”
“Wait, by yourself?” Diamond Tiara spoke up. When he nodded, she gasped. “You’re insane.”
Cato smirked, “That’s what I want him to think.” As the griffon was out of sight, he quickly moved out from the bush. He frowned and turned around to see them stepping out of the bush too, “I said, stay here.”
“No,” they all said.
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I can use my powers to make you think we were still here,” Hikaru spoke up.
Cato paused and just blinked a few times and then sighed. His shoulders slumped, ‘He’s got a point. Accursed Kitsune powers.’ “Fine, just stay quiet.” They all nodded, ‘This mission was doomed before it started.’ With that thought in mind, he and his ‘friends’ made their way into the forest. His hand glowed slightly as he used a tracking spell to keep after the griffon.
“So,” Diamond Tiara spoke up. “Do you often wander around creepy forests by yourself?”
“No,” Cato grumbled. ‘Why does she have to talk to me?’ “I’m usually with my Master.”
“Sounds like you have a dangerous life,” she said.
“Yes.”
There was a silence between them.
“So can I get a suit like that?” Diamond broke the silence, much to Cato’s frustration.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Just no.”
“That doesn’t explain why I can’t have it. I’ll have you know my daddy is very rich and-”
Cato stopped to glare at her, “You can’t just buy an Inquisitor’s outfit. It’s just… wrong.”
“Can I get someone to make it from scratch?”
“No!” Cato threw up his arms in exhasperation. “It’s part of what makes an Inquisitor… an Inquisitor?”
“Includin’ the silly cape?” Apple Bloom spoke up.
“It’s not silly!” Cato growled, brandishing his cape around himself. “It’s stylish and makes me look fearsome.”
“Makes ya look silly to me,” Apple Bloom smiled.
Cato facepalmed, ‘If this is what friends do, then I can’t wait to be rid of them.’ “Just shut up and follow me.”
“I was just asking,” Diamond sent Apple Bloom a small glare. “And I think the cape is awesome.”
“You would,” Apple Bloom chuckled and nudged her shoulder. Diamond Tiara huffed and nudged her back.
Cato couldn’t help but notice a small smile on Diamond Tiara’s face when she looked away. ‘I guess teasing is a part of friendship.’ Before he could ponder it further, he heard something rustling in the forest nearby. It wasn’t anything major, but it made the back of his hair stick up. ‘It was probably a rabbit or something.’ The rustling stopped and he let out a little sigh of relief, ‘See? Nothing to worry about.’
The Everfree Forest apparently was delighted to prove him wrong.
That moment, a creature burst out of the bushes. Cato barely had any time to do anything except a simple shield spell that shielded the front half of himself. The creature smashed into it. Cato cried out as his shield was shattered and he fell back. Thankfully, the shield held on long enough to throw the creature back. It quickly stood up and snarled at them. The others let out screams of alarm from the sudden attack.
It was a medium sized theropod, the forest’s local Herrerasaurus. The beast’s poisonous saliva dripped down from its fangs as it greedily eyed up its prey. It stared at them for a moment. Cato quickly stood up and tried to form another shield spell. It was that large, about twice his width as he exerted himself, and still only covered one side of them, but it was the side facing the beast. The Herrerasaurus looked at the shield and snorted, going back into the underbrush.
Cato kept up his shield for a moment before dropping it. He sighed in relief, “It’s gone.”
“What was that?” Rumble shivered.
“It’s a dinosaur and it’s gone,” Cato answered quickly and took a step away. He heard the rustling again. “Hikaru, can you make it appear that we’re not here?”
Hikaru nodded and closed his eyes. He opened them and smiled, “There, all done.”
Cato smiled and waved for them to follow, “Alright everyone, let’s go catch a griffon.” They marched on and he was confident that they were safe. Then he frowned and sniffed himself. The Herrerasaurus couldn’t see them.
But could he smell them?
It burst out again, too close to Apple Bloom for him to do anything. The moment he turned around, the beast’s jaws were too close. It was too late…
Until the beast was drop kicked by their original target. The dinosaur tumbled for a moment, before righting itself. It shakily stood on its legs, shaking its head before glaring at the griffon.
The griffon brandished a long, jagged sword. “Do you want to try me?”
The Herrerasaurus was hungry. They were supposed to be prey but they had the see through walls of pain and now another predator was asking for a challenge. He growled. He could find easier prey somewhere else or attack the group when the see through wall maker and the predator was gone. So the beast walked away, keeping his eyes locked on the griffon. He would not run away and expose his back to him. He was not prey.
The griffon watched the dinosaur leave intently before turned to look at them, “What are you doing here?”
“Followin’ ya,” Apple Bloom said before Cato glared at her. “What? I can’t think of anythin’.”
“Me either,” Rumble shrugged. Hikaru did as well.
“I mean,” Diamond Tiara spoke up. “Pretty much any other explanation would be stupid. This is a forest of death, after all.”
Cato opened his mouth before he shut it. He literally had no excuses himself and he slumped down, “Yeah.”
The griffon snorted, “I figured as much. Your clothes give it away.”
Cato facepalmed, “Damn it.” He muttered to himself.
“And I knew you were following me the moment you stepped into the forest,” the griffon put his sword away. “When you take up my occupation, you learn to notice these sorts of things.” He took off his hat and bowed, “Crowland Tempo, at your service.” He straightened himself up and his hat. “Now follow me. I’ll get you out of this bloody Tartarus-hole.” He turned and started to walk.
“So…” Diamond Tiara trotted in place. “Are we following him?”
Cato sighed, “We’ve got no choice.” ‘I still want to know what he was doing in the Everfree Forest. Probably nothing good.’
Thankfully for all of them, it didn’t take them long to get out of the forest. He brought them to a road and they could see Ponyville in the distance from here. Crowland turned to the children, “Alright, this is where we part ways.”
Cato glared up at him, “I don’t think so. You’re coming with me.”
“... Why?”
Cato held up a finger and opened his mouth and shut it, “Well, there’s a griffon who struck last night and you’re a griffon so…”
Crowland gave him a deadpan stare, “Remarkable deduction, sonny boy. I bloody well never thought of that.”
“Ah-ha,” Cato smiled. “You did do it.” He pulled out his pistol, “I place you-” He found a crossbow staring in his face.
“Too slow, kid.” Crowland said with an even tone. “Put down the pistol before you hurt yourself.” Cato quivered and nodded, putting the pistol back in place. Crowland sighed and put his crossbow to his side, “Didn’t mean to scare you, but you should only pull out a weapon if you intend to use it.” He looked into Cato’s eyes, “You don’t seem like the killing type to me. Piece of advice, kid. Never draw when your opponent is ready and staring right at you. Wait until they are off guard and aren’t paying you any attention.”
“Halt!” Three voices cried out from above. They all looked up to see three Militia pegasi, holding up muskets as they kept them on Crowland. The sounds of hooves stampeding their way spoke of more milita and a few guardsponies who came to a stop and pointed their spears and muskets at the elderly griffon.
“Inquisitor Trixie wishes to see you,” one of the guardsponies said. “Come with us peacefully and you won’t be harmed.”
Crowland eyed up the ponies and sighed, “Well, seems the jig is up.” He put up his weapons, “Take me to your leader then.”
The hospital was as busy as ever. Nurses and doctors busied about, helping the injured. Thankfully, no one had died recently. That was a relief. Well, to most. Sitting beside a still unconscious Time Turner, Lyra frowned and looked down at her master. He had always been so strong. Nothing could take him down and now… he wouldn’t wake up. The doctor’s told her that she just needed to give him a day or two for the potent sleep potion to work its way through his system. That didn’t make her feel better at all.
‘I should have been there,’ Lyra growled to herself. She should have, but she had been with Bon Bon last night, making sure she was safe. She had thought that the saboteur might attack her, given that she posed a threat to any Nightmare cultists around. Nothing, and now her master was out for the count. It made her blood boil. ‘You stupid pony. Bon Bon can take care of herself. Your master needed you and you weren’t there for him.’
Time Turner had always been there for her. Ever since he took her under his wing, he’d done everything in his power to make her a real pony and have a nice life. He’d help her parents and educate her. He was basically a part of the family and now this happened…
A sudden ‘poof’ noise beside her clued her in that Twilight was in the room. She turned her head to look at her, “Hey.”
The chaotic mare, having conjured up a one legged polka dotted chair, couldn’t help but tilt her head. “You don’t sound bubbly today, Lyra.”
Lyra sighed. She and Twilight were basically friends now, so there was no point in lying. “I’m just upset with myself.” She nodded towards Time, “He’s my Master. Taught me everything I knew and was always there for me. Now he’s unconscious and this villain got away. I just feel so useless. Like I should have been there and if I was, he wouldn’t be like this.”
“Oh pish posh,” Twilight was now floating in front of her upside down. Their noses touched and she smiled, “You were protecting your friend. No one would get on to you for doing that.”
Lyra blinked in confusion, “You were there?”
Twilight giggled, rolling in the air before falling onto her hooves on the ground. “Yep, I was the lamppost.” She grinned slyly, “I love how you use those chew toys of yours~ Could I help?”
Lyra blushed before she growled, taking an aggressive stance. “You… I’ll bash ya skull in.”
Twilight teleported to her side again before nuzzling her, “Your secret is safe with me.” She hugged her, “Now stop moping. He’s gonna be fine and we’re going to catch this guy or gal. Trust me, I know how these things play out.”
Lyra sighed, “I hate it when I can’t solve something by breaking it.”
“Oh I’m sure you can break the next problem,” Twilight giggled. “You did everything you could, Lyra. You’re a good pony.” Lyra quirked an eyebrow, “Well, maybe not a ‘good’ pony but… wanna fight a giant book monster?”
Inquisitor Trixie was feeling good about herself right now. Everything was going to plan. They had just captured the griffon and taken him into custody. Time Turner was out of the picture and Princess Sunset had given her a blessing to do as she pleased. Trixie could have had the right to do as she pleased anyways, but the princess’s word carried a lot of weight. Weight she was more then happy to bear. She was now effectively in charge of Ponyville.
She was ecstatic. This was one step in the right direction. One day, the Council would recognize more of her talents and thusly allow her a seat. Why stop there? No, she was going to become the High Inquisitor one day. Her place was at Celestia’s side. She would have the Grand Princess’s ear and she’d make sure that Equestria would trot into a golden age. She would be lauded as the greatest inquisitor to have ever lived! She could see it so clearly.
And it all started here. Here in the town square as she looked down at all the citizens of Ponyville. Well, most of them. She wasn’t sure if all of them would be attending. From the recent records of this town, a lot of ponies had moved away so this could be all of them. Either way, it didn’t matter. She just needed an audience.
“Ponies of Ponyville,” she smiled. “I am so glad to see your faces on this fine Celestia blessed day. Truly, our goddess’s radiance shines upon us for I am here to assure you that the danger is over!” She could hear the crowd start to mutter amongst themselves. “Yes, I can assure you that the culprit has been caught, no small part by the efforts of your local law enforcers.” She grinned as the crowd started to cheer. She held up a hoof to silence them.
“Spearheaded by me of course,” Trixie grinned. The ponies were looking for somepony to give out a little good news. It had been nothing but tragedy for them since the Summer Sun Celebration. She was that pony, “No longer will you have to worry about cultists wreaking havoc on your town or dragons burning you to a crisp. No longer will you have to worry about this scoundrel terrorizing you in the dead of night.
“I will and have succeeded where your previous officials have failed. I have put an end to this griffon’s rampage. Yes, my ponies. It was indeed a griffon.” Scowls were seen in the crowd, most of them from pegasi. “The same griffon the likes of Time Turner let wander the streets and choose his next target at leisure. They allowed you to be harmed emotionally, and in the case of the poor officers in the hospital, physically.”
She slammed her hoof down on the podium, “I will never allow a single hair on your heads to come to harm. Never would I have allowed the griffon menace to walk among you so freely and destroy your livelihoods. Never would I have allowed nightmare cultists so close to your homes. Incompetence has spread like a disease amongst the officers.” A few ponies nodded. They were getting tired of things going wrong in town.
“I will fix this,” Trixie snorted. “A new management is in order. Unfortunately, it will not be so neat and clean. Inquisitor Time Turner was injured during last night’s raid.” Trixie inwardly growl at the concern they showed for Turner, “So I shall take his place. Trust me, my fine ponies. You will never know fear again!” A cheer went through the crowd. Her grin grew, ‘Soon they’ll love me more than Turner. The Council is going to love this.’
Still, there was one other thing she had to take care of.
Crowland Tempo sat in the middle of an empty room. Well, empty besides him of course. They had taken his weapons from him, but that didn’t bother him. His claws and beak were weapons enough. Besides, he was confident that he could get out of this. One way or another. He was not going to rot in some Equestrian cell for the rest of his life.
‘It was supposed to be simple. One final job then I’m done.’ He sighed. ‘Seems life is never simple.’
All he had to do was sit and wait. That’s all he could do. His apprentice was hopefully somewhere safe. ‘Best case scenario, she skips town.’ The last thing he wanted was for her to get punished alongside himself.
The door opened. Several guards trotted in, pointing their spears at him. Crowland eyed them up. These weren’t the local forces. These were trained soldiers. They’d offer a bit of a challenge, but he’d faced worse in the past. It was the Inquisitor that troubled him.
Inquisitor Trixie, as he had come to know her as, did not look like she was pleased to see him.
Crowland offered a small smile and nod of acknowledgement, “Inquisitor.” She said nothing, so he made to stand. “Now I know-”
He was cut off when the metal butt of a sword slammed into his stomach. When he was younger, he’d be able to take that with no sweat but age and his own sub-species more lithe bodies weren’t made to take abuse. So he gritted his beak and took a step back, “Let’s talk about this.”
Her magic forced him to his knees. Before he could respond, her hoof crashed into his cheek. He shook his head slightly to clear himself of the blow.
“Listen, I-”
Her magic acted up and it felt like every nerve in his body was on fire. He fell onto his hands, trying not to cry out in utter pain. As quickly as it came, it left him. He gasped and panted as he tried to collect himself. He gave a weak chuckle, “Not the first time someone’s done that to me.”
“And it won’t be the last,” there was ice to her tone. “You are Crowland Tempo, renowned as one of the greatest poachers the world has seen. Is this correct?”
Crowland nodded, “That would be me.”
“You moved to Ponyville,” she circled him like a predator would their prey. “Just a few days ago. Is that correct?” Crowland nodded, “Very good. I’m thankful you are being cooperative.”
“I don’t have much of a choice,” he huffed, earning a backhoof from Trixie as she pushed her head close to his to stare into his eyes.
“You don’t,” Trixie seethed. “You are in a lot of trouble, Crowland.” She pulled herself back and cleared her throat as to collect herself from her angry outburst, “You have multiple accounts of illegal operations under your belt.”
Crowland nodded, “None of those were in Equestria.”
“Perhaps you are lying,” Trixie narrowed her eyes. “Of course, that’s not why I brought you here. First things first, the matter of drawing a weapon on a member of an Inquisitor’s team.”
“What?” Crowland blinked in confusion. “The human boy? Lady, he drew his weapon first and I had no intention of harming him.”
Trixie gave him a sweet smile, “I believe you.” Then she used the ‘pain’ spell once more for half a moment, before letting up with a scowl. “That boy is special to me. Besides, if you were a native to Equestria, you would know the penalty for doing such an action. You are lucky to be alive right now.”
Crowland sighed, “I apologize, but maybe you should teach the boy to be a little more cautious about pulling a gun.”
Another wave of pain.
“Duly noted,” Trixie snorted. “Now, I have plenty of evidence to convict you of this crime. Before I begin, I want to know your thoughts on the matter.” She drew her sword and placed it by his neck, “All of them.”
Crowland sighed, “It was just a simple job. Just a clean cut job, shouldn’t have taken me anymore then a week to accomplish.”
Trixie grinned, “So you admit it. Good. That makes things simpler.” She made to leave, “Do not worry, I’ll give you a fair trial.”
‘I sincerely doubt it,’ Crowland grumbled to himself.
Suri Polomare cursed her luck. She had watched her master get taken into custody by the ponies and she had done nothing. She just hid in some shrubbery as they passed. Her master had seen her, but he’d just shaken his head. She should have ignored him and helped. Sure, they’d have to go on the run but it wasn’t like they hadn’t done that before.
Either way, she couldn’t change the past. She needed to think of something. Something that would allow her to travel through town without raising suspicion. She wasn’t going to kid herself and believe they wouldn’t take her in too. They had seen her with her master often enough in town to know they were together.
‘So what am I going to have to do?’ She pondered. ‘Sneaky escape plan? A bit risky, especially with the Inquisitor in town. No, I’ll have to think of something else. I can’t just rely on the alleyways or things like that. Not this time.’
So Suri puzzled and puzzled, till her puzzler was sore. That was until she remembered a certain pony. A shy earth pony that worked with the local dress maker. She remembered her. Coco Pommel was her name. Yes, she was an Element of Harmony. The element….
‘Of Selflessness,’ Suri grinned. ‘Ohohoho, I just need to get her to help me and it’ll be as easy as pissing off a diamond dog… gotta remember to watch out for those in her shop.’ With that in mind, she had a plan. Now she just needed to wait a while for things to cool down in town.
Princess Sunset Shimmer was a simple mare. All she needed was a book and a quiet place to read. Sometimes that would include a certain dragon who would read with her and perform brother/sister cuddles that would never be spoken outside their home or someone would wind up dead.
A very simple mare.
After everything that had and was going on in town, she desperately needed some alone time. Usually, she never balked from ordering others around. However, the past while had shown her that that doing everything herself had consequences and she wasn’t sure that she could handle this situation well enough. Besides, she wanted to relax. ‘I really need to install a jacuzzi in this house. Maybe next week.’ That would certainly be lovely.
She smiled… until the whole tree house shook. She yelped and jumped out of the comfy chair she was sitting on. Quickly putting away her book, she stuck her head out the window.
Lyra was laughing like a maniac as she pummeled what appeared to be…. A giant book with eyes and black noodle arms and feet that ended with gloved hands. The book monster roared, sending waves of paper that sliced through whatever they touched. Lyra dodged by rolling out of the way. Her magical fist shot out, stretching as quick as a bullet and smashed into the monster’s leg. It toppled over with a groan.
Sunset frowned and then looked up to see that Twilight Sparkle was laughing and throwing what appeared to be supplementary spells to the monster to aid it somehow. Sunset sighed and thought about going back to reading, but remembered this was a book monster. She needed to put it out of its misery.
‘I hate this town sometimes,’ she groaned and made to leave.
Ponyville usually was a place of free commerce and general freedoms. The town militia and cops were rather lax since they didn’t have to worry about any heretics or the like until recently. Even then, the population had largely thought the danger was over and kept at it as they usually did. Ponyvillians were hard to break. They constantly had to worry about danger, but they still kept a more free and level, if stubborn, head. This was the attitude of their founders and it stuck.
That wasn’t the case anymore.
Now Ponyville had a plethora of guards that rigidly patrolled the streets. They were stationed in several spots in and around Ponyville. They were professional guard, numbering up to two hundred strong. These guards had been called in by Inquisitor Trixie herself to bring law and order into the town. The ponies never said anything against it. Many thought it was safer to have all those guards around.
That is until the new laws had come into place.
A plaque with the rules clear as day was hung from a pole in the town square. Everyone was instructed to follow them. Some wondered why the extra precautions, but they were reasoned that there still could be danger lurking about. There was a pony that was allied with that griffon that was still loose and there could be more. That didn’t mean the ponies of Ponyville had to like it.
Pizzelle surely didn’t as she walked through the town marketplace. She frowned as she saw all the guards about. Not many ponies had come out today and the few who did weren’t smiling. They seemed scared and unsure of themselves. She was glad Fiddlesticks was still working on the farm, tending to the damaged trees. She’d have gone ballistic with all these frowns.
She went over to Carrot Tops cart and gave her a warm smile, “Hello, Carrot Top. Fine day we’re having.”
Carrot Top huffed, “As fine as it could be. So a bushel of carrots?”
“Three actually,” Pizzelle smiled. “Some of the girls are planning a little get together to talk with Sunset later, so I wanted to make some snacks.”
Carrot Top looked around herself and hesitantly watched a few guards pass, “Well when you do, tell the Princess she needs to reign in that new Inquisitor.” She whispered. “She had my cart and bloody house checked. I just reported someone stealing my water gems and I’m treated as a criminal.”
“What?” Pizzelle frowned. ‘Inquisitor Trixie can’t possibly think Carrot Top is suspicious.’ “Are you sure it was that bad though? I know Inquisitors can be rash, but they usually mean well. Not all the time, not all the time I tell you, but most of the time. I however did bump into an Inquisitor that-”
“Do you want your carrots or not?” Carrot deadpanned.
Pizzelle blushed in embarrassment, “Sorry for that. Can’t help but going on and on, you know?” Carrot Top nodded with an amused smile. “So, five bits?”
“With everything going on?” Carrot Top spoke. “Twelve. I’m sorry, I have to amp up the price or I won’t be able to make it through the winter.”
Pizzelle nodded in understanding and pulled out the bits. She was very lucky that she had made a killing before the Summer Sun Celebration with tourists coming to Ponyville so she had enough bits to last her quite a while. “Thank you. I hope you can find some replacement gems for your gardens. If you need any help-”
“I’ll come get you,” Carrot Top chuckled. “Don’t you worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
Pizzelle smiled and took the carrots, “Well I wish you the best. May the gods watch out for you.”
“Hopefully the nice ones,” Carrot quipped and the two giggled.
Pizzelle hummed a little tune to herself. While the atmosphere of Ponyville was much gloomier these days, she was sure it would get better soon. Stuff like this happened often enough in their history and she had to go through a trial or two through her adventures with Presto in her youth. So it didn’t bother her much. A little, but not a lot.
That is until she was grabbed and dragged into a small alleyway. The pony who did it forced a hoof over her mouth and shushed her, “Don’t say anything until I’m done talking.”
Pizzelle narrowed her eyes, before they shot wide open. This was Suri Polomare, the mare hanging around Crowland Tempo.
“Look, I know everyone’s saying we’re guilty of something and they maybe right.” Suri huffed. “But this wasn’t our choice. We were paid to do this job and it was supposed to be our last… his last. My master is many things, but he is not a cruel griffon. He shouldn’t be locked up. Not for something like this. I need your help and trust me, no one will get hurt.”
When Suri took her hoof away, Pizzelle looked at her quizzically. “But if he’s guilty, why should I help you?”
“Because he’s just being paid to do it. He didn’t come up with this job.”
“That’s not a very good excuse.”
“Whatever. It’s not like he’s doing anything bad. I mean, the dragon did try and burn this town to the ground.”
Pizzelle just stared at her, “.... What?”
“We were paid to hunt the green drake by some stallion,” Suri huffed. “I know it’s against the law to hunt sapients, but this dragon did try and kill ponies. So… kinda a loophole?” She shrugged, “I’m not a lawyer, so I don’t know.”
“Wait, what about all that stuff you’ve been doing at night? Damaging buildings and stealing energy gems? That sort of thing.”
Suri’s eyes widened, “Everyone thinks we did that?”
Pizzelle nodded, “You didn’t know? I know you don’t live in town, but it’s been in the town gossip for ages now.”
“I don’t listen to gossip,” Suri deadpanned. She moved over and smacked her head against a wall. “This is bad. Like, really bad, mmmkay. With the dragon thing, I could make it work. This? No, no this can’t do.”
Pizzelle put a hoof on her shoulder, “I know you didn’t do it.”
“Why?” Suri huffed and turned to glare at her. “Even if I didn’t know this was being put on us, I can still see why. My master is a griffon. Everypony hates griffons so of course he’s going to be blamed.”
“Well they did see a griffon last night.”
Suri put her hooves over her cheeks, “OH! OH! So you see a griffon and you just assume it’s my master? Why? Because he’s a griffon? Oh that’s not specie-ist at all!”
“Shh,” Pizzelle put a hoof over her mouth. “Be quiet. Someone could hear you. As for everything else, that’s not my opinion. I never believed that report. At least, not that it meant your master. He was a nice enough fellow and the secretary griffons are a pretty nice bunch. They aren’t like the lion griffons.”
“Hate those guys,” Suri scoffed. It was known that the griffons of the Griffon Empire had, many centuries ago, committed a purge of all non-standard griffon subraces. This is mostly because of the constant fighting between the subraces and the fact that many subraces of griffons were allied to Equestria or other nations that held animosity to the Empire. There weren’t a lot of subraces left these days. Secretary, or cheetah (depending on what you prefer) griffons weren’t nearly as militaristic as the mainland griffons and had broken away over a thousand years ago. Still, they weren’t that common, at least not in Equestrian territory so many ponies just lumped them in with the mainland griffons.
“Alright,” Suri started to pace. “So he’s being charged with assaulting officials, including an Inquisitor. Attacking a village, theft, and causing terror to the populace. I…” her breath started to quicken. “Oh no. Oh no no no no no no! He’s going to be executed. I have to do something.”
Pizzelle took a hold of her, “You will do no such thing.”
“But I have to save him.”
“We will,” Pizzelle gave her a reassuring smile. “We’ll get him out of there. I promise you that.”
Suri looked her in the eyes, “Why should I trust you?”
Pizzelle’s grin grew, “I’m the Element of Truth, dearie. I’m not really one to lie. In fact, I don’t think I’ve really told much of a lie. A little white lie here and there, but that was more stretching the truth. Anyways,” she shook her head to get back on track. “You can trust me. I’ll see if I can talk to the rest of the Elements about this.”
Suri smiled, “Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Pizzelle chuckled and patted her shoulder, “Think nothing of it, dearie.”
“I can’t believe you two,” Sunset stormed back and forth between Lyra and Twilight. Both of them were slightly scorched from Sunset’s attempts to stop the whole fight and when she turned her anger on them. “I just wanted a moment of peace. Just a moment of peace and what do you two do? Create a giant book monster and make it fight you for no reason other then to fight.”
“But it was fun,” Lyra weakly defended herself.
“Not for me,” Sunset huffed. ‘That poor book. He didn’t deserve to die.’ She wanted to cry about its death but that was for another time. “You two are going to pay for this.”
“Okay,” Twilight smiled and pulled a giant bag, easily three times her size, of bits out of her cloak. “Will this cover it.”
“Not your bits, you idiot.” Sunset groaned and rubbed her forehead. “Just… Just stay with Trixie. If you be good, I won’t kill you.”
Lyra laughed, “Oh you’re silly.”
“Oh she’s serious,” Twilight responded.
Lyra blinked in surprise, “Huh… that would be a pretty epic fight, actually.”
“GO!” Sunset used the Royal Canterlot Voice, which caused Twilight’s colors to fly off. The chaos mare blinked in surprise and teleported. Lyra shrugged and started off. Sunset sighed. ‘I really wish I could just do something to those two mares, but I’m an Element of Harmony now. Friendship is supposed to be my thing and that means not burning ponies alive. Still very tempting though.’
Her further thoughts of fire and carnage were interrupted by Lightning Dust swooping down, “Hey Sunset, Pizzelle wants to call a meeting.”
Sunset quirked an eyebrow, “A meeting? Why?”
Lightning shrugged, “I dunno, but she said it was important. I’ll meet you at your tree house.” With that said, she flew off.
Sunset sighed and trotted after her, ‘Let’s see what it is this time.’
Trixie could help but smirk as she cleaned her guns. She was sitting in the Mayor’s large office, which was hers as of now. The Mayor had been moved downstairs. Outside, there were a number of ponies demanding the griffon’s head on a platter. She was too happy to deny them the request. It was perfect, actually. The more they clamored for his death, the more they would love her for doing it. ‘All is going according to plan.’
In then came in Pokey Pierce. The cop had proven useful to her these last few days. He’d been giving her intel on everypony in town. Very much needed intel that had allowed her to make leaps and bounds when it came to securing her power. ‘Perhaps I’ll give him a raise or something for his services.’
“What is it?” Trixie spoke, still idly cleaning her weapons.
“I just wanted to report in, Inquisitor.” Pokey bowed his head and put a few folders on her desk.
Trixie smiled, “You’ve done well, Officer Pierce. I will not forget this.” The folders themselves contained documents on all the officers and militia in town. ‘I may have to sort through those I find useful later. The others I can lay off. They haven’t done a good job anyways, what with the recent attacks and all that.’
“I’m just doing my duty,” Pokey responded.
“That you are,” Trixie finished cleaning her gun. “Is that all?”
“Inquisitor,” Pokey started. “There have been some… disgruntled comments running through the officer ranks. I also hear a few whispers amongst the militia that aren’t very favorable towards you.”
Trixie frowned. She used her magic to pull her sword out of its sheath and looked it over, “Do you know where I got this sword, Officer Pierce?”
Pokey shook his head, “No, Inquisitor.”
“My previous master gave it to me,” Trixie paused. “Shortly before he died. He was a forward thinker and I wouldn’t be the mare I was now if it wasn’t for him. Do you know what he often told me?”
“What, Inquisitor?”
“Sometimes you need to prune the ranks of even the most faithful in order to keep the whole healthy,” Trixie spouted and swished the sword through the air. “I think Ponyville is ready for a little pruning.” She put her guns and sword back into place, “Thank you for the feedback.”
Pokey nodded and left Trixie to her own thoughts.
‘I’m grateful that I’m a forward thinker too,’ she thought to herself. ‘Otherwise I would be forced to use militia and cops that hold grudges against me. They would force my hooves, cost me time, and even make me blunder. I can’t afford that. Thankfully the guards I brought in should have no problem replacing them for now. That is until I can pick and choose the new local militia and cops.’
The door creaked open, “You know, someone really needs to oil these joints.” Dot spoke.
Trixie turned to him, “What is it, Dot?”
Dot smirked, “Is that the tone you’re taking with me now?” He closed the door behind him.
Trixie rolled her eyes as he walked over and kissed her cheek, “Dot, I am busy.” She used her magic to separate the documents. “I have a town to manage.”
Dot gave her another kiss, “That can wait.”
“But what about the griffon. I have to work on his trial.”
Dot deadpanned, “And what are your plans again?”
“... Guilty?”
Dot sighed, “Is it too much to ask to at least give him a bloody fair trial, lassy?”
“Don’t lassy me!”
“Trix?”
“IE,” Trixie growled. “There is an ‘eee’ sound at the end. Just saying ‘Trix’ sounds like I’m sort of trickster or con artist or something like that. Besides, it’s stupid.”
“I think it’s cute,” Dot smiled. “Like you.”
Trixie blushed, “Shut up, you idiot! I’ll run you through with my sword if you don’t be quiet.”
“Funny,” Dot tapped his chin and gave a lecherous grin. “I was actually planning on running you through with my ‘sword’.”
Trixie stared at him, “I’m leaving.”
“What? Come on.”
“That was bad and you should feel bad.”
“Oh I know you loved it.”
“S-Stop reading my emotions, idiot!”
“Make me,” Dot shot her a challenging grin.
Trixie scowled. She wanted to stab him. Shoot him. Throw him out the window. She wanted to make him hurt so much at this moment. Which is why…
She pulled him into a deep kiss and pulled away, “I am going to crush your hips.”
“Is that a threat or a promise?” Dot nuzzled her, secretly enjoying being the smaller of the pair. Of course, he always had a thing for bigger females.
History would mark this day as one for the history books. It was the start of something new. Something never seen before. It was a fresh start of an old idea not realized. This was the first of many momentous occasions that would incur from now on. For this was the first meeting of the Elements of Harmony. Six mares of different kinds who had come together to save Equestria. All of them now sat in a room, ready to discuss the current situation. Many more times would they convene together and aid the future of not just Equestria, but the entire planet. For all hinge on these mares.
This day truly was important and thus was taken incredibly seriously.
“”Strawberries are better than apples,” Lightning Dust crossed her forearms.
Fiddlesticks stomped her hooves on the long table in Sunset’s living room, “HERESY!” When Lightning stuck out her tongue at her, Fiddlesticks jumped over to pummel the pegasus.
“We just started this meeting,” Redheart groaned, rubbing her forehead. “And it’s already falling apart.”
“Oh this reminds me of the time me and Presto attended a meeting some minotaur delegates,” Pizzelle started. “Let me tell you, they are quite prone to violence. Well not all the time, but-”
Quickfix just shrugged and jumped into the fight, “Don’t forget about me.”
Coco was just shyly trying to keep her head low, almost below the table.
The same table Sunset was using to smack her head against, “I hate you all.” Smack, “I hate you all.” Smack, “I hate you all.”
Truly, we are all in safe hooves.
“Sunset,” Redheart glanced over at her friend. “Can’t you just use your magic to stop everypony?”
Sunset paused her smackfest and looked over at Redheart, “... I’m glad I thought of that.” With that said, and an angry glare from Redheart, Sunset used her magic to stop the little brawl and put them back in their places.
“But Ah was about to win,” Quickfix spoke.
“No.”
“But-”
“No,” Sunset gestured her hoof down to the floor. “Stay.” Quickfix pouted and did as she was asked. “Good girl. I’ll remember to get you a treat later.”
“Sometimes ah want to punch ye so hard,” Quickfix snorted.
“That’s just a part of the friendship process,” Sunset smirked. ‘Or at least I think it is. I mean, it’s got to be a rule somewhere that wishing your friends bodily harm, and sometimes acting upon it, is a prerequisite of friendship. Else I’m just being a jerk and I can’t be a jerk. That’s just….. Okay, maybe we’re all a bit of jerks.’
“Alright everypony,” Redheart started. “Let’s get back on track. This isn’t a social meeting and before you saying anything, Fiddlesticks. Yes, we will go on that picnic you wanted.” Fiddlesticks grinned at that. She had been trying to get everyone to go out together more often, “Right now we are here to discuss a few things. Namely, what to do with the young mare over there.” She gestured to Suri Polomare.
Said mare was leaning against the wall, eyeing them intently. “You know, when somepony says ‘young mare’, that’s usually a sign of patronizing.”
Redheart ignored her, “Now is everypony up to speed?” Everyone else nodded, “Good, that means we can sort this out quicker.” She turned to Suri, “Could you be a dear and stand outside? This is just a meeting between us.” Suri nodded and walked out the door, closing it behind her.
“Right,” Lightning nodded. “Short and sweet. Suri says he’s innocent, so he’s innocent. Okay everypony, let’s head down to the jail and get him out.” She stood up.
“Sit yer bum down, ye git.” Quickfix scoffed. “The rest of us haven’t decided if she’s innocent or not.”
Lightning scowled, “What are you talking about? I’ve known Suri since we were foals. She’s never lied to me and I don’t think she’d start doing that now.”
“Well course ye don’t,” Quickfix snorted. “Yer Loyalty not Truth. Too loyal for yer own good, if’n ye ask me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“She’s a damned mercenary,” Quickfix scowled. “Who was trained by a griffon! They don’t give a flying fuck about loyalty or the truth. They are sellswords through and through and ah’ll be damned if’n Ah just take their words at face value.”
“Calm down you two,” Redheart glared at the two of them. “We are here to judge them as a group and we can’t do that if we’re chewing each other’s heads off.”
“Why do we need to talk about this?” Lightning seemed angry and confused. “She’s my friend.”
“Your foalhood friend,” Redheart spoke up with a soft expression. “Ponies can change, Lightning.”
“Not Suri,” Lightning snarled. Suri watched on as Lightning defended her. Her cheeks heated up as she lightly pranced in place with a giant smile on her face. Thankfully, nopony was looking at her.
“Redheart is right, Lightning.” Fiddlesticks seemed a little somber when she spoke. She looked at Suri, “Some ponies can change… for the worst.”
“Fiddlesticks?!!” Lightning recoiled. “How could you say that? You’re the friendliest pony I know. You should be by my side on this.”
“I…” Fiddlesticks couldn’t meet her gaze. “Just trust me on this.”
“Well I for one think Lightning is right,” Pizzelle spoke up firmly. “I have spoken with them myself and I can assure you, Suri means what she says.”
“I…” Coco gulped and nodded. “She seems sincere.”
Lightning nodded and smirked, “See? They agree with me. That’s three against two.”
“Three against three,” Redheart raised a hoof. “I’m sorry, Lightning. I can’t just blindly follow you on this one. If they can choose to hunt a sapient, even that dragon, what stops them from attacking the town?”
Lightning gaped at her, “Redheart…” Redheart had always had her back in the end. She practically raised her in a way and even though they didn’t always get along, Lightning thought she could trust her. Now… She turned to Sunset, “You have to see this is crazy. She’s a nice pony.”
“She’s a mercenary,” Quickfix snarled. “They only act ‘nice’ when they have to be.”
“Mercenaries aren’t bad people,” Pizzelle spoke up. “Some of them can be nice and gentle. It’s just their job to be ruthless. That doesn’t define them. I knew a number of mercenaries during my travels with Presto. There was this one charming stallion who was the nicest pony you could ever meet. Wouldn’t ever hurt a fly when he was off his job. Hated his job but it made plenty enough for his family.”
“That still doesn’t change the fact that we have no evidence she’s telling the truth,” Redheart sighed. “I don’t want to be the bad mare here, but someone has to say it. There is ample evidence that Crowland Tempo is the culprit.”
The door suddenly swung open. “That’s a lie!” Suri shouted, stomping her hoof in anger.
“It’s the truth,” Redheart met her stare evenly. “Until you can provide evidence for his innocence then I can’t with good conscious allow him to roam free.”
Suri just glared at her before shutting the door.
“Then we’re just giving Crowland up to Trixie?” Lightning growled.
“Oh she’s not so bad,” Coco spoke up. “She and I have known each other a long time.”
Lightning quirked an eyebrow, “So she’s your friend?”
“Fight on!” A tiny Trixie shouted, waving a wooden sword with her magic. “Smash the foe to smitherins!”
An even tinier Coco Pommel looked up over a pillow. A bunch of dragon and monster plushies were strewn out before them. She shook slightly in fear, “But… I don’t wanna smash. I wanna play something else.”
Trixie glared at her, “Coward!” She raised a blocky wooden gun. “Bang! Bang. Bang.” The little filly couldn’t help but jump up and down as she ‘fired’ her toy gun.
“Playdates can be rough,” Redheart muttered, patting Coco’s back. “I’m sure she’s… changed.”
“Right,” Lightning rolled her eyes. “I’m sure she has. That’s why she’s enforced this curfew and is getting Time Turner fired. Hay, I’ve heard she’s probably going to replace Thunderlane and Night Watch too.”
“We don’t know that for certain,” Redheart counter argued. “Everyone is under a lot of stress these days and she’s simply doing what she feels is necessary.”
“Oh come off it,” Lightning snarled. “You can’t honestly be defending her. Sunset, come on. Talk them out of this.”
Sunset looked around at the other ponies. Her eyes conveyed her hesitancy, which confused the other ponies. She never seemed all that hesitant before to speak her mind. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
‘Is this really happening? Being put on the spot between my friends and having to choose? I didn’t want to upset any of them again, not after what happened at the farm. Yet now I’m being forced to once again upset my friends. How did it come to this?’ Sunset mentally whimpered before she let out the long breath she was holding. ‘I’m going to have to do this. I can’t back down. Mother always said that you won’t please everyone. A princess must be decisive or they could hurt all those under their rule. I will not allow anyone to be hurt on my watch… Well except when it’s me that’s doing it but then it’s justified.’
Sunset’s eyes opened. Her eyes once again held the same fire she usually held, “Trixie isn’t a nice pony.”
“See!” Lightning grinned in victory.
Sunset lifted a hoof to silence her friend, “She’s not a nice pony. She can be cruel, selfish, and refuses to see the whole picture when it suits her.”
“Kinda like you?” Fiddlesticks piped up.
Sunset gave her a slight glare before sighing, “Kinda, but she’s a bit more… extreme than I could ever hope to be.” She winced slightly from previous encounters, “But she means well, I think. Not just that…” Sunset frowned, “We should trust her. The Council wouldn’t send her here for no reason.”
“But the Council isn’t too fond of Time Turner,” Pizzelle spoke up. “I’ve heard enough about them to know that they’d do anything to take him down a notch or several.”
“They wouldn’t risk our lives in such a petty manner,” Sunset scoffed. “Besides, this shouldn’t concern us.”
“It shouldn’t concern you?!!” Lightning stomped her hooves on the table. “Suri says he’s innocent of attacking Ponyville and you’re just going to let him rot?”
“Inquisitor Trixie has authority in Ponyville now,” Sunset shot back. “What she says go. I am going to trust that she’s competent enough to know what she’s doing. This problem isn’t of our concern.”
“But he’s innocent-”
“Quickfix was right,” Sunset cut her off. “They are mercenaries. Not to mention a mercenary griffon. We can’t just blindly trust them. They could be planning to stab us in the backs and run for it. We’ll let Trixie sort this out.”
“Where did that awesome princess go, huh?” Lightning bore her fangs. “You know, the one who would take everything into her own hooves and be damned with what everypony else said.”
Sunset simply stared at her for a moment. Everything seemed to freeze in that moment before Sunset stood up from her chair, “Do you know what happens when I take things into my own hooves, Lightning?”
Lightning blinked in confusion, “Uhhh… you get stuff done and be awesome?”
“No,” Sunset shook her head. “I get others hurt. I burn my teachers. I burn classmates. I burn possessions. Everyone around me burns. Why do you think things got out of hoof in the orchard not long ago? Not to mention how many times you’ve been hurt because of me. My friends! I’m the reason you got hurt. Why you could have nearly died. You. Spike. Rodan. Everyone!” Sunset seethed. The air around her started to heat up as her aura started to seep out.
“I don’t make good choices when it comes to others. I make horrible choices. Choices that hurt everyone, Lightning. I will not make anymore. Not now. Let Trixie make the choices. Let her be the one who wins or loses. Let her be the one that has to get dirty to get the job done. I just want to relax and be slightly annoyed and happy as I spend time with my friends. I just want a simple life without something fucking it up! NO. I say NO. This isn’t my problem and it will be none of yours. I cast my vote to have that griffon stay behind bars. Let justice sort him out.” Sunset heaved. She wasn’t used to talking so much, especially at that volume, and briefly wondered how Pizzelle did it.
Lightning had her face cast down at the table. It was hard to gouge what she was thinking. Sunset hoped that she would see what she was getting at. ‘She’ll see and then we can relax and have fun like friends do.’
That didn’t come. Instead, Lightning said, “You’re a coward.”
Sunset’s eyes widened in shock, “Excuse me?”
“I said you’re a coward,” Lightning dourly said. “You’re letting your fears get to you.”
“I am-”
“You want to keep us all safe, but you’re going to just someone die and do nothing. Seems like a pretty cowardly thing to me.”
Sunset snarled, “Listen, I’m doing what’s best for all of us.”
“You’re doing what’s best for you, not me. Not Crowland and not for Suri. Just you. I thought you were better than this, Sunset.”
“I am. Now sit back down and we can-”
“No,” Lightning stood up and made to leave. “I’m leaving. I’ll be back when you crawl out from your library and actually do something, coward.” With that said, she walked out of the room and slammed it closed.
The others sat in silence for a moment.
“So… we win, right?’ Quickfix spoke up, earning a punch to the shoulder and glare from Fiddlesticks. “Hey, I’m just asking.”
“No one won that,” Pizzelle frowned. She turned to Sunset and noticed her legs wobbling slightly. “Deary? Are you alright?”
Pokey Pierce lightly knocked on the door to Inquisitor Trixie’s room. “Inquisitor Trixie? I wish to converse with you?” He frowned when he didn’t get an answer. He put his ear to the door and heard some thumps and grunts. ‘She must be training.’ With that thought in mind, he pushed open the door. “Inquisitor?”
“WHAT?!!” A blue hoof shot up from behind the bed. “What is it that is so important that you’d barge into Inquisitor Trixie’s room?”
Pokey blinked a few times, wondering if she had fallen over the bed or something. “I was just wishing to ask if you were ready to move on to your next phase.”
“Ousting those two oafs from their positions?” Trixie grunted and gripped the sheets. “Stop that.” He heard her whisper, “And to answer your question, yes. You may take care of Chief Night Watch yourself. I shall take care of Thunderlane.”
“You are very much welcome,” another voice, one he recognized as Dot’s, spoke up.
“SHHHH!” The blue hoof came back down and evidently smacked him given the noise and ‘oomph’ of pain that emitted from the bed’s side.
“Is that changeling with you, Inquisitor?” Pokey asked.
“Pay Dot no mind,” Trixie nervously chuckled. Pokey really wished he could see what they were up to, but he dared not interrupt or come inside himself. “He’s just helping me with a few… things. Now go.”
Pokey bowed and made to close the door, “As you wish, Inquisitor.” Right before he closed it, he could hear plainly one thing.
“Dot, I told you to lock it.”
“I didn’t think I needed to.”
“Another mistake like that and I’ll have you sleeping with the pigs.”
“How dreadful that would be. I’d rather cuddle this flank instead. Much cushier~”
“Sh-shut up, idiot.”
‘A very odd couple,’ Pokey thought and smirked. ‘But just the right sort of odd.’
Night Watch rubbed his head in frustration as he sat behind his desk. He was thankful that he had his own little office in times like these. It gave him somewhere to vent alone and reflect on everything without having to bottle it all up till he got home. Right now, he didn’t think he could keep it in that long anyways. He scowled as he looked over the reports coming in. Some of them by his own cops, but others were from the new Inquisitor and the soldiers she had brought in town not long ago.
“Damnable Inquisitor,” Night Watch muttered to himself. He was also thankful he could say things that would normally have him killed when in public. ‘She should just let me do my damn job. She has no right to question me or make my cops pay for someone else's mistakes.’ A part of Night still believed that the militia, more specifically Thunderlane, was at fault for the night disaster.
Night thought about sending another patrol into Whitetail Woods. There had been reports of some strange occurrences there, but nothing substantial. ‘Perhaps this could get Inquisitor Trixie off my tail.’ His thoughts were interrupted when there was a knock on the door, “Come in.”
In walked none other then Officer Pokey Pierce. Night couldn’t help but smile. He had been assigned to the new Inquisitor and from the sound of things, she greatly appreciated his help. ‘My ticket into her good graces.’ “Ah, just the pony I wanted to see. I was thinking of sending another patrol to Whitetail Woods and I wanted-”
“I am taking over as Chief of Police.”
Night Watch blinked in surprise. He rubbed his ears for a second, “I’m sorry, boy. I don’t think I heard you correctly. Could you repeat that?”
Pokey nodded, “I am taking over your position.”
Night just stared at him for a moment before he broke out into laughter. He slapped the desk in his laughing fit, “Oh now that’s a good one. No seriously, we have more important-”
Pokey flashed a scroll in his face and unraveled it, all with his magic. “Inquisitor Trixie has given the order, former Chief of Police. You are relieved of duty.”
Night Watch scowled, “Now see here. I’ve served as a police officer for most of my life and I will not have some young Inquisitor oust me from my position. Now go tell Inquisitor Trixie that I will hear no more of this nonsense.” He snorted and looked back at his plans.
“Are you disregarding the intentions of an Inquisitor?” Pokey spoke up, causing Night to tense. “You know that is testimony to heresy.”
Night Watch gritted his teeth. Pokey had a point there. He couldn’t very well do anything in this situation. Trixie had all the power and without Time Turner around, he had no one but Princess Sunset Shimmer to turn to. ‘I can’t believe I’m thinking this, but I miss Turner.’
Night tried and failed several times to think of something. Anything. He couldn’t help but gaze around his office. The same one he’d been in for over twenty years. ‘I can’t get out of this one. Looks like it’s the end of the road for me.’ he admitted to himself. He’d keep his mouth shut though. He would never give anyone the satisfaction of seeing him in defeat. So without further ado, he calmly stood up from his chair and made for the door. Just as he was opening it, Pokey spoke up.
“Your badge, Night Watch.”
Night Watch’s eyes widened for a second before narrowing. ‘Pokey never dared take that tone with me before.’ He snarled, ‘Already letting the power get to him, the damned ingrate.’ He took the badged off of himself and hurled it at Pokey. Pokey caught it with his magic, infuriating Night even more. “I hope this backfires on you.” With that, he shut the door.
What Night didn’t see was Pokey smirking and throwing the badge up in the air repeatedly, “Doubt it.”
Thunderlane yawned as he made his way to the front door. The incessant knocking had been going on for a few moments, but he had been content with his sleeping arrangement. Now he couldn’t ignore it. ‘I bet it’s something dangerous. Damn, and I was going to enjoy my day off.’ He opened the door to see Inquisitor Trixie, Dot, and several Royal Guard outside. “What can I do for you, Inquisitor?”
Trixie couldn’t help but glare at him, “I would think you would show a little more respect to your betters.”
“I normally would, but this is my day off.” Thunderlane put a hoof over his mouth. “Besides, I’m a bit too tired to think properly. Can’t it wait till later?”
Trixie smirked, “No, Trixie thinks not.” Dot nudged her, causing her to roll her eyes. “I think not. For you see, Thunderlane. I have no more use of you and your militia. Ponyville needs a strong and firm hoof to guard it. I would think of none better then the actual Royal Guard.”
Thunderlane’s jaw dropped, “You… you can’t do that!”
Trixie chuckled, “Of course I can. Besides, Princess Sunset Shimmer lives in this very town. Do you think your measly militia can do anything to protect her.” She raised a hoof to stop his answer, “No, no you can’t offer the protection she needs. I can.” She gestured to the soldiers behind her. “And so can these brave guardsponies. So continue to relax and enjoy your day off. You can think about your next career choice in the meantime. Perhaps being a weather pony might suit you.”
“I have served in Celestia’s name for years,” Thunderlane growled. “I have fought back a number of her foes. I deserve this position.”
“You deserve a long vacation,” Trixie chuckled. “And now you have it. Take care no.” With that said, she pushed him back with her magic and closed the door.
Thunderlane couldn’t help but stand there, staring at the door. ‘She… she can’t do that… She can.’ He growled, ‘She can and she did, that damnable mare.’ Thunderlane would need to think of something to get around this. Perhaps he’d try and find something with Time Turner or Rarity. ____________________________________________________________________________
Trixie couldn’t help but have her spirit soar. Everything was going as planned. Even better in some cases. Soon, she would have everything in order. Then she could climb the social ladder and take her spot on the council. ‘Then I shall have the honor of sitting by Princess Celestia’s very side.’ However, she couldn’t help but notice Dot’s agitated expression. “What are you so agitated about, Dot?”
“I still think disbanding the local militia is a mistake,” Dot grumbled.
Trixie snorted and rolled her eyes, “I have told you already. I have no need for them. They had too much influence on the town and were loyal to Time Turner. Besides, the royal guard are better armored and have the finest training that Equestria has to offer. Ponyville loses nothing with this exchange.”
“The militia have fought well in the past,” Dot countered. “And they know the area better than anyone. If we could use them-”
“We. Have. No. Need.” Trixie emphasized each word. She smirked as they walked by one of the new munitions depots. Militia were lining up to relinquish their weapons and outfits. More often done reluctantly. They were shoved aside by the guard when that happened. She gestured to them, “This is the future of Ponyville, Dot. At least, the start.”
“I don’t doubt that you have the town’s best in mind,” Dot mumbled. “But perhaps you shouldn’t rush into this.”
“I have to capitalize on this recent success,” Trixie hummed to herself. “Which is why I have chosen the date for the griffon’s execution.”
“He hasn’t had his trial.”
Trixie waved him off, “Nopony cares. He’s a griffon. He’ll die tomorrow by beheading. Everypony will cheer my name for this act and you know it, Dot.”
Dot nodded, “Yeah, I know it. I just think you might be a bit too hasty with this.”
“And I think you’re being too cautious,” Trixie snorted. “Now let us continue onwards. I’m sure Mayor Mare will want to hear my decision posthaste.”
Unbeknownst to them, somepony was listening in on their conversation. Said pony was none other than the most wanted pony in Ponyville: Suri Polomare. Said mare needed to do everything in her power to stay hidden and try to clear up this mess. Yet she was so tempted to fling herself from her hiding place in an alleyway and sever Trixie’s head from her shoulders. It would be easy too. She didn’t doubt Trixie was skilled, but Suri was close enough that Trixie wouldn’t be able to summon or do pretty much anything before she was dead.
‘The changeling could be a problem,’ she kept going with this train of thought. She idly rubbed her hidden and compacted spear. ‘And there are a number of guards around. I might be able to slice her head off an escape. ‘Might’ being the crucial word here.’
However that train of thought was interrupted when something crashed down behind her, “There you are.”
Without a second thought, she spun around and activated her spear which jutted out until it was an inch from the other mare’s neck. All in the blink of an eye. Thankfully, she noticed who she was pointing her weapon at before anything more could happen. “Lightning?” She quickly put away her weapon.
“A bit jumpy, aren’t you?” Lightning Dust couldn’t help but idly rub her neck where the blade almost punctured.
“I’m a wanted mare,” Suri responded. ‘Oh if only you wanted me, Lightning…’ “So could you not try and make my life a bit harder.”
Lightning nodded and whispered, “Right. You’re hiding. My bad.”
Suri nodded back, “Yeah, so I would appreciate a little quiet. Thank you.”
Lightning grinned, “Gotcha, so what’re doing out here anyways? Why didn’t you stay back at the tree house? Sunset could have kept you safe there.”
Suri gritted her teeth, “I… I just wanted to get out for a bit. Stretch my legs, you know?”
Lightning’s stare told her she didn’t believe that, “You’re going to try and break him out, aren’t you?”
Suri’s eyes widened, “N-no. I wanted to-”
“You should have just asked me if you wanted help with that,” Lightning smirked.
Suri blinked in confusion, “You’d… help me?”
“Of course I would,” Lightning’s grin grew, “Why wouldn’t I help a friend? Also, it’s a bit personal.” She narrowed her eyes as the memory came back to her.
Flashback
“You should get a haircut,” Trixie offered, eyeing up Lightning’s mane. “Honestly, that look doesn’t suit you and is rather an eyesore.”
End
Lightning snarled, “No one calls out my mane like that. I spend hours on this thing to make it perfect. Hours!”
“And it pays off,” Suri whistled with a smile. She wanted to stroke that mane and snuggle that mare, but she had to resist. A light blush was on her face. She had more important things to worry about. “So you’re going to help me break him out? You aren’t going to stop me or tell Princess Shimmer?”
“Sunset,” Lightning rolled her eyes. “Princess Shimmer just sounds weird to me and yeah. I’m going to help you. If you say he’s innocent, he’s innocent.”
Suri chuckled, “Thank you.” She pulled Lightning into a hug. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Lightning returned it, “What are friends for? Anyways, what’s the plan?”
Rarity had seen and done a lot of things. Many of which had never been done before. That went without saying since she was Equestria’s first pony to be in charge of a diamond dog clan. That was stressful enough in its own way, without adding into her already booming fashion business. She was planning on opening up a few new stores soon so she had hoped for some peace and quiet.
This was Ponyville after all, so she never got that. It had thrown everything at her and the town. Now she had to deal with this on her own.
A crying princess laying on her couch eating up her third tub of ice cream.
“And… and we yelled at each other,” Sunset blithered as she took in another bite. Rarity was thankful she had a ton of ice cream on hoof. It was her comfort food afterall. “And then she stormed off. Now… now she might not be my friend anymore!”
“Now Sunset-”
“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Rarity’s ears splayed back as she tried to block out the crying, “Princess Sunset Shimmer!” Sunset stopped crying and looked at her. Well, at least she wasn’t shouting or anything. She was still tearing up with her tear stained cheeks puffing out from frustration and ice cream. “She’s still your friend.”
“But we had a fight,” Sunset sniffled. “And she got angry with me and now she won’t want to see me anymore.”
“Friends fight all the time,” Rarity shook her head and took a seat beside her on the couch. “We can’t always get along. I mean, you get into fights with your brother.”
Sunset sniffled some more, “But he asks for it.”
Rarity chuckled, “Well so does mine and vice-versa. Siblings are like friends except blood related.”
Sunset ‘ooohed’, “I didn’t know that… I’m still new to this friendship thing so I still have a lot to learn. Still… she didn’t seem to want to talk to me anymore.”
Rarity pulled Sunset into a hug, “Give her time. She’ll come around. In the meantime you just have to work up the nerve to apologize.”
“...But I just wanted to keep her safe,” Sunset said quietly. So quietly Rarity almost didn’t hear her. “If we got involved…”
“I understand that you want to keep them safe,” Rarity spoke up. “But sometimes the best option isn’t always the safest one. Also, you’re a princess. Trixie will listen to you and if she doesn’t, call your mom.”
Sunset pouted, “I don’t have to call mom to solve all my problems. I’ll deal with this myself…” She looked down at her ice cream tub. “After I have some more ice cream.”
Rarity chuckled, “A good cry and some ice cream always makes everything better. Gets your frustrations off your chest.”
“The diamond dogs told me that fighting did that for you,” Sunset piped up.
Rarity groaned, “...A little, but never mention that to anyone. It is uncouth for a lady to partake in such activities just to satisfy her own aggravations.”
Sunset smiled, “I’ll keep it to myself.” ‘Hey look, talking with others does make me feel better.’ Sunset thought to herself. She had been too hesitant to talk to her friends about this, but Coco had done her best to get Rarity in on the problem to sort it out. An outsider's perspective is all. Maybe everything would be alright.
A knock on the door told her that her other friends had come, “Sunset?” Pizzelle called inside. “Are you alright, dearie?”
“I’m alright,” Sunset called out. Her friends soon trotted inside. The moment they saw her, Sunset’s eyes widened. “NO!” They rushed her and pulled her into a group hug. “Group hugs! Why do you do this to me?”
“Because we’re your friends,” Fiddlesticks grinned.
“So we like to see you suffer,” Quickfix also grinned. “Also, I fixed your alarm clock.”
“...Will it kill me?” Sunset asked.
“Only if you push the red button” Quickfix answered. “Never hurts to have your clock act as a secret bomb.”
“Oh that reminds me of the time I had to use a clock to escape a Baryonyx,” Pizzelle quipped. “Oddly, it sort of exploded too. I think that’s because…”
Sunset groaned. These were her friends. This was what real friendship was. All the heartache and headaches were included. Now she just had to get Lightning back on her side. ‘Because at this point, I know that idiot has gone and gotten herself into trouble. Might as well rush in and save her. Maybe next time she’ll listen. Doubt it.’
It was nightfall in Equestria. Everyone was inside of course. Not many did business during the dark. It evoked too much terror within the Equestrians. This is the exact reason Suri and Lightning were about so late. The pair of them sneaked about as several guards patrolled the streets. The guard had made sure everyone had gone to bed at a ‘reasonable hour’ as Trixie had put it. The guardsponies were ready for anything, but if Suri had it her way, they wouldn’t know they were there.
“I still don’t know why we don’t just storm the place,” Lightning whispered. “We can so take them.”
Suri sighed, “I know sneaking around isn’t your style, Lightning. But this is the best option. Besides, I thought you liked Daring Do? She does this sort of thing all the time.”
Lightning huffed, which made Suri want to hug her. “Alright, you’ve got me there. I’ll follow you on.”
Suri smiled and simply said, “Good.” She was going to do her damnedest to get her master back. Although, she also wanted to prove herself to Lightning. ‘Maybe after this, she’ll notice me ‘that’ way.’ She idly thought to herself. The guards weren’t something to be trifled with. These weren’t just standard militia. That she could handle just well enough. No, these were actually Infantry. They were better trained and while she was still sure that she could take on a few, they could prove to be more trouble than it was worth.
Still, she had gotten to know a thing or two about Ponyville in the short time she was there. She was confident that they’d pull this off well enough. It didn’t take them too long to find their way to the local jail. Coming up from behind, the duo spied a single guardspony defending the back entrance. Suri quirked an eyebrow at that, but she assumed that Trixie was a little too confident in her own capabilities and hadn’t put much in defense of the jail. This would cost the Inquisitor.
Suri pulled out a dart and threw it. Without a sound it hit the guard in the neck and within a second, they fell down. “Clear.”
“Did you-”
“They’ll wake up in a few hours,” Suri frowned. “You didn’t think I’d just kill somepony like that, right?”
Lightning snorted, “No, just asking is all.”
“Alright,” with that said, they continued on. Suri quickly picked the lock on the back door and quietly walked inside. She came to a stop before a corner. Her ears perked and she heard a couple of ponies shuffling about. She readied two more darts. Without another thought, she rolled over and threw them all within a couple of seconds. Too quick for the two guards to notice before they were on the floor, unconscious. The two rounded the corner, careful not to step on the guards. Suri took the keys and looked over to her master.
To which she almost dropped them… and slit the guards throats. Even in the low light, she could easily spot the numerous bruises criss crossing his body. His ankles and wrists were bound in chains connected to the back wall. It made her blood boil.
“Easy now,” Crowland Tempo spoke, opening up an eye. “Don’t go blowing this breakout with your temper.”
“Master,” Suri seethed. “Tell me the individuals who harmed you and I shall end them.”
Crowland sighed and shook his head, “I’ve had worse. These,” he held up his bruised arms and chuckled. “Are nothing. Try being in an actual griffon prison those damned Khorne loving bastards own. Now that’s a horrendous experience. Now quickly, unlock these blasted things.”
Suri didn’t waste any time to do just that and quickly escorted him out of the building, “We’ll get you out of here.”
Crowland quirked an eyebrow at Lightning, “Friend of yours?”
Lighting grinned, “Yeah, the Lightning Dust. Element of Loyalty and future Wonderbolt, glad to meet you.”
“Glad to meet you too,” Crowland smiled. “Suri can’t stop talking about you. Just as cute as she told me.” He chuckled at Suri’s blush.
“M-Master,” Suri sputtered, doing her best not to look at Lightning. Said pegasus wasn’t paying much attention to them. She was looking out for any guards. Thankfully, they weren’t any around. They might just make it-
“PRISONERS ESCAPED!” A voice cried out. “THE PRISONERS ESCAPED!”
Suri sighed, ‘Dammit, shouldn’t have been too quick to think that. Guess we’ll go out the hard way.’ Suri steeled herself as she moved. Her Master was leaning against as they walked.
Trixie curled herself around her little human, using herself as a pillow for him to rest his head on. A book was in her magic as she flipped a page, “And that’s when the brave Inquisitor lifted his sword and said-”
“I will not fear you, monster.” Little Cato finished with a smile. “As long as Celestia is in my heart, I shall know no fear.”
“Very good,” Trixie smiled and kissed his head. “You seem to have memorized this book well enough on your own. Maybe I should choose a different one.”
“No,” Cato quickly said. “I like this book.”
Trixie chuckled and nuzzled him, “Very well, but no interruptions, young colt.” It was times like this that Trixie cherished the most. Her little one nestled safely against her as she watched him drearily yawn. Years before, she never would have imagined herself a mother, especially not to a human. Now though… she wouldn’t dream of anything else. ‘I will keep you safe, my little Cato. That I promise you.’
Suddenly, the door was forced open by a guardspony. “Inquisitor, the prisoner has escaped!”
Trixie just stared at him for a moment. Her mind was processing exactly what he said, before her face bore a scowl. “Stay here, Cato. Master has a few things to set right.”
Suri heard the guards getting closer. With just her and Lightning, she was sure they’d escape without anyone seeing them. Unfortunately, her master was in no condition to be going anywhere that fast or swiftly. Somepony would find them. Soon. She needed to buy them time.
“I see them!” She heard a voice call out.
Now was that time. She pushed her Master onto Lightning Dust, “Get him out of here. I’ll distract them long enough for you to escape.”
“What are you talking about?” Lightning glared at her. “I’m not leaving you. We can make it out of this. Hay, I’ll fly us out of here if I really need to. I’m not a slouch.”
“You can’t carry both of us,” Suri stated. “At the very least, not without slowing us down even if you could. The guardsponies would catch up and shoot you down. No, I’ll stay and buy you some time.” She gave her a reassuring smile, “But don’t worry. I don’t plan on getting caught. I’ll meet with you late on.”
“You better,” Lightning snorted.
Her Master weakly ruffled her mane, “Just remember what I taught you. Don’t overextend yourself.”
Suri smiled, “I won’t, Master. Now get going.” When the two started on without her, Suri turned back to the stampeding guards. She knew most of the guards were on that side of the town, having scoped it out herself. Lightning and her Master could evade the very few their way. She’d deal with most of them.
One of them came into view. The guard turned her head to yell back, “I see somepony!” A dart to the neck made her stumble and fall to the ground just as soon as she shouted.
Suri would fight them off, but she’d avoid killing them. They were in enough trouble as is and trying to prove her Master’s innocence would prove tricky if she just up and killed a bunch of ponies. Even if that was in self defense, but she knew the courts wouldn’t see it that way.
Suri’s ears perked. She nimbly leapt out of the way of a earth pony guard who had jumped down from atop a building, trying to skewer her on a spear. She idly remembered that a few guards, both unicorns and Earths were patrolling the rooftops. The buildings were all similar in height, apart from a few, and so close together that it made this easy enough. She’d have to watch the rest of them more carefully on her way out of town.
The guard pulled his spear out from the ground and glared at her. She gave him a clear ‘come get me’ quirk of her head and he was already charging straight at her. Pulling out a little electric rod from her belt, she spun around him as she raised herself on two legs. Her hoof drove the rod right behind his head, the electric charge was strong enough to send him reeling to the ground, clearly out of the fight for a while. She put the rod back onto her belt after deactivating it, only to duck from an arrow. She pulled out her retractable spear from her back, spinning and blocking two more bolts.
She quickly identified two pegasi archers flying over head. She swiftly blocked two more bolts with her spear before ducking one hoof into her dart pouch. The two pegasi fired again and she knocked them both aside before throwing the darts with her hoof. She was very much thankful for her Master’s training or she’d never have been able to do this much while on her back legs. It helped that her mother was a unicorn so her body was nice and lithe, allowing her to dodge a bit more easily.
The two pegasi fell out of the sky as the darts took effect. Suri used this opportunity to run. She wasn’t foolish enough to fight off all of them and hopefully, seeing four of their comrades out of the fight would make them hesitate. She’d be able to escape then.
She was knocked off her hooves when something smashed into her. She looked up to see a unicorn guard snarling down at her. He raised his hoof to smash against her face. She blocked it and squeezed his hoof. She might have been half unicorn but she was still an earth pony. The unicorn winced at her squeezing and she used the opportunity to roll them both so now she was on top. One swift and heavy punch and he was out like a light.
Two other guards charged with their spears pointed straight at her. She backflapped out of the way and ducked when one of them tried to stab her skull. She punched the guard, which made him stumble, and jumped back when the second guard made to stab her. Suri gave him a roundhouse kick to the face, which sent him flying.
The other guard rushed her. She turned and pushed the spear out of the way to punch the guard in the face. The guard dropped her spear and tried to headbutt her. Suri twisted around her to grab her midsection and throw her right into the charging guard she had kicked earlier. Swiftly, she grabbed her spear and activated it. The spear jutted out and the flat end smacked right into a guard that had been trying to sneak on her. She turned and smacked her spear a few times on the guard, before nailing him in the forehead hard enough to knock him out for a while.
Suri took this opportunity to run again. She made sure to keep her ears perked as to not be surprised again. Unfortunately for her, she wouldn’t be getting far. Up ahead, Inquisitor Trixie came walking out of another alley. Even with the low light, she could tell the Inquisitor wasn’t happy. She stopped a ways from her, “Inquisitor Trixie…”
“Suri Polomare,” the Inquisitor seethed. “I’ve been reading up on you, mercenary. You have quite the list of… achievements. I’m almost impressed.”
“What can I say?” Suri’s body tensed as she readied herself to get moving. “A mare’s got to make a living for herself.”
“Indeed,” Trixie readied her two pistols in her magic. “Though I’m afraid this is where your adventure ends.”
“My Master is innocent!”
Trixie smirked, “I have sufficient evidence to say otherwise.”
“Oh buck that,” Suri snarled. “You’re just forcing it without trial. You were even going to execute him tomorrow. Why? He deserved to be given a chance to voice his innocence.”
“Because I knew-”
“You knew nothing!” Suri glared at the Inquisitor before her eyes widened. “You didn’t care. You didn’t care if he was innocent or not. You just wanted to use him.”
Trixie chuckled, “Very astute. Yes, a troubling mercenary with a blood soaked past. Add in the fact that he’s a griffon and no one will blame me for killing him.”
“Except your conscious.”
“Oh please,” Trixie rolled her eyes. “He’s a griffon. Whether he’s guilty or not doesn’t matter. If he isn’t guilty, then I shall find who is post haste with nary any detrimental effects to my image.”
“But what if I could prove that he’s innocent?”
“You won’t have the chance, I’m afraid.” Trixie readied her aim. “The execution is already scheduled. You can join him if you love your Master so much. Save me a bit of trouble, or how about I just kill you right now?” With that said, she fired.
Suri jumped to the side to avoid the first bullets. She pulled out her spear and ran towards Trixie. Her spear blocked the bullets with each swing, something her Master had taught her. Bullets were harder to see and thus block then arrows, but she was confident she’d be to pull it off. She jumped onto the side of the building, and using just an ounce of magic thanks to her unicorn heritage, used it to allow her to run along the side of the building on her hindlegs. Trixie was slightly surprised, but caught herself just as Suri jumped and tried to smack her with her spear.
Trixie raised her sword to block it, forcing Suri to jump back and land in an offensive stance. “I’m impressed. Actually impressed. That doesn’t happen often.”
“I’m glad,” Suri gripped her spear tighter. She knew she hadn’t seen much of the Inquisitor’s battle technique. Inquisitors weren’t pushovers. She had to fight one in the past and that was certainly a challenge. “Now let me go in peace and I won’t have to impress you with my spear again.”
Trixie laughed, “I don’t think so.” She charged with her sword raised. Suri parried and parried again. Fighting a magic user was always a bit tricky. Since the sword was being held by magic, it was a tad harder to predict exactly where it would land. Still, she did her best to keep the Inquisitor at bay.
Trixie pressed herself up close to her, “Ready to give up?”
Suri pushed herself closer, almost nose to nose with the Inquisitor. “Never.”
That’s when she felt two pistols, each on one side of her head. Trixie chuckled, “I think you better give up now or I’ll be forced to execute you. How about ten seconds to think it over, hmm?”
Suri’s eyes widened and as she watched Trixie silently mouthing the numbers, she slowly reached down for her electric rod.
Trixie was focused solely on Suri’s face that she didn’t notice it, “Zero. Ah, so sa-” Trixie’s body shook as electricity sparked about it. Suri had his her chest with the prod, causing Trixie’s magic to turn off. The guns and sword fell to the ground, allowing Suri to smash her spear against the side of Trixie’s face. Using her spear, she planted it on the ground and jumped, kicking Trixie’s face again, sending her a few feet into the air before landing on her side.
Suri smiled and bowed her head, “Impressive, but not good enough.” She made to turn when she saw the Inquisitor in front of her, with her sword at the ready. She moved her head to see another Trixie. Then another. Then another. Her eyes widened when she saw seven of them surrounding her.
“Impressive,” all of the Trixie’s spoke. “But you forgot about one little thing. All Inquisitors have a trick up their sleeves and mine just so happens to be duplication magic. Now prepare to die!” The clones then charged.
Suri had to duck and weave to avoid the swords. At first, she just thought they’d be illusions but one of them nicked her cheek when they tried to make a lunge. It was known that some illusionists were powerful enough to make their projections actually feel real but this was her first taste of it. She didn’t like it. She thrusted her spear and stabbed one of them in the chest. The Trixie clone looked at her in shock and then disappeared in a magical dissolve. Suri quickly had to use her spear to block another sword, push it away and then roll out of two more swings. She had her work cut out for her.
The Trixie’s laughed, “Tired yet?”
“I’m just getting started,” Suri snarled. She pulled out a small dagger and threw it, hitting one of the clones in the head, destroying it. The other five charged and she was back on the defensive. She blocked two blows from her assailants before, stabbing one of them in the chest. Another clone down.
“Three down,” Trixie seemed amused. “Four to go.” Suri let out a small hiss of pain when one sword cut into her foreleg. It wasn’t too deep, but it was a long cut. “But can you take out the last four without dying?”
The four Trixie clones had surrounded her and this time, they had closed in closer. One of them even nicked her in the side of her chest. Again, nothing too deep but Suri felt like her luck was running out. The clones wouldn’t tire out. She could. Suri needed to do something quick to turn the tide. She ducked when the four all tried to stab her at once and thrusted the butt of her spear down. She then jumped and used the spear to thrust her back hooves straight into the face of one clone. She rolled and stabbed on clone, before quickly pulling back and stabbing the down clone while she was at it. She jumped back when the other two clones made to stab her, only missing her by inches.
She huffed. The cuts covering her body were starting to sting, but it was nothing to her. She’d had worse. She moved her hoof and gave a ‘come here’ gesture. The two two clones charged and she charged with them. At the last second, she dived in between them. She rolled and then turned back to stab one of them in the haunches. The clone didn’t feel back but it stumbled and fell. The other turned to face her, swifter than a normal unicorn would. Suri fought this one head to head, before smirking. She let the clone pushed against her spear, before using the electric rod for the same trick that had befallen the real Trixie beforehoof. It worked and the electricity destroyed the clone. The last one tried to make its last stand, but Suri finished it with a thrown dagger.
Suri was confident that it was over. That is until she felt a gun right against her forehead.
“You really did live up to the reports,” Trixie smugly spoke. “Of course, you still don’t hold a candle to my own abilities. Goodbye, Suri Polomare. I’ll make sure to deal with your Master soon enough. Just take heart that you die by the hoof of the grandiose Inquisitor Trixie, soon to be High Inquisitor of Equestria.”
Suri closed her eyes and prepared for the end, ‘Master, I hope you forgive me for my loss. Lightning… there was so much I wanted to say to you that… I hate myself more than ever for not saying it before the end. I hope you find someone who’s really good for you.’
The end never came. She heard Trixie let out a small pained cry and then someone smashing into a building. Suri opened her eyes to see a pony she wasn’t expecting, “Lightning? What are you doing here?!!”
“Came to save your sorry butt, that’s what.” Lightning snorted. “Don’t worry. I got Crowland far enough from here to be safe. Now come on,” she leaned down so that Suri could climb on. She didn’t see Suri’s blush at the close contact. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
“NOOOO!” Trixie screamed. She stood up, bruised and dishelved. She raised her gun and fired three times, all of them narrowly missed the pegasus. “Lightning Dust, Element of Loyalty. You betray your Element!”
“I’m loyal to my friends,” Lightning snarled. “And you aren’t one of them.”
Trixie leveled her guns, “Don’t make me kill you.”
“Try it,” without another word, Lightning zoomed off.
Trixie just stared at where they were before quivering.
Dot came running over, “Trixie!” He rushed to her side, “Are you alright?”
“They… escaped.” Trixie’s voice was hollow as if she didn’t believe what happened really just happened.
“The prisoner?” Dot asked, to which Trixie shakily nodded. “We’ll get them all back.” When Trixie didn’t talk, he nuzzled her. “Come on, where’s that overconfident mare I know and love, huh?”
Trixie looked at him which made him flinch. The overwhelming hatred both in her emotions and her eyes were immense, “I want them now! Do you hear me, now! I am so close… So close. They will not ruin my chance.” She looked over at the guards starting to amass about her. “FIND THEM! FIND THEM NOW, YOU INCOMPETENT IDIOTS!” The guards whimpered and ran off to try and track the speeding pegasus. “I will not lose them.” Trixie moved forward, stomping the ground as she did so.
Dot gulped, “I’ve got my worked cut out for me.” He sighed. He’d have to keep a close eye on Trixie to make sure she didn’t overextend herself… again.
Living on the run wasn’t something Lightning Dust ever thought she’d have to do with herself. She had always imagined herself in the limelight. Somepony to look up to. She thought she’d end up as one of the most famous ponies in the history of ever and that she’d be able to go anywhere she wanted. Well, she was going to be famous alright. Just not for the reason she had hoped for. She sighed, ‘Life isn’t fair sometimes.’
Lightning looked over to see Suri tending to the passed out Crowland’s injuries, “Is he going to be alright?”
Suri gave her a reassuring smile, “Absolutely. The bruising isn’t that severe and given a few days of rest, he should be back to tip top shape. I’m just glad this is all of it. I thought Trixie would have been more severe, but then again, she was planning to execute him. It wouldn’t do to rough him up too much for the show.” She snarled.
“Hey,” Lightning put a comforting hoof onto Suri’s shoulder. “Calm down. We’ve got him out safely. Now we just have to wait for Sunset to sort this thing out.”
Suri quirked an eyebrow, “Do you really think she would help us? I mean, last time I checked you two had a nasty conversation.”
Lightning waved it off, “It wasn’t that bad and hey, I’ve argued with Redheart a lot over the years and we’re still friends. Friends argue and hate each other now and again, but I shouldn’t hold one argument against her forever.”
Suri blinked in surprise and gained that much more respect for her friend, “Lightning, that’s-”
“It’s also good to guilt trip your friends about arguments and stuff they were wrong about,” Lightning grinned and smoothed out her mane. “Maybe I’ll get her to pay for my spa treatments or a lifetime supply of ice cream.” She cackled and rubbed her forehooves together as she thought about what to get herself.
Suri sighed and smiled, “Same old, Lightning. You haven’t changed.”
Lightning Dust laughed, “Guess I haven’t. You haven’t either. You might be a badass, but you’re still the same Suri I called my friend all those years ago.”
Suri blushed, “That… That means a lot, Lightning.”
“What are friends for?” Lightning said before mulling over her thoughts. “So… what happens now?”
“We can’t go back to the house, nor yours since they know you helped.” Suri stated. “We’ll just have to hold out in Whitetail Woods until your princess friend sorts this out.”
Lightning nodded, “Gotcha, shouldn’t be too long. Still, if those guys show up to take you guys in, they’ll have to go through me first.”
“Don’t count me out so quickly,” Suri smirked. “I think I can take them just as easily as I did before.”
“Before I had to save your butt, you mean?” Lightning chuckled at the slight glare. It felt right being able to joke around with Suri again. ‘I promise you, Suri. I won’t let you down.’
Sunset Shimmer couldn’t help but tap her hoof in anticipation. She and her friends had been brought to the town hall. She hadn’t been told exactly what this was about, but she could hazard a guess it wasn’t anything good. She knew Trixie would never try anything on her. She was far too loyal to her mother to try it and so were all of the guards and such present. It was just… she had a bad feeling about this.
“What…” Coco gulped. The poor mare was trembling as Pizzelle held her comfortingly. “What do they want with us?”
“Nothing serious, I assure you.” Sunset narrowed her eyes. “Don’t worry, Coco. I’m still a princess. They can’t do anything to you or anyone without my say so. Besides, we’re Elements of Harmony. The worst we’ll get is a scolding and we haven’t done anything wrong, so there’s not even that.”
“I wouldn’t say you haven’t done anything wrong,” Dot spoke as he entered the room. He quickly shut it behind him as he stared down all six elements in the room. “So the gang’s almost all here. Great.”
Sunset blinked in confusion, “What’s so great about that? Aren’t we going to wait for Lightning?”
“Yeah,” Fiddlesticks piped up. “Don’t know why ya want to start without her. She’d get riled up something fierce if she found out ya did.”
“And then we’d have to avoid sparks of lightning,” Quickfix huffed. “Bad enough when it’s just me but when my equipment is around…” She snarled.
Dot held up a hoof, “This meeting is about Lightning Dust and what we’re going to do with her now that she has turned traitor.” When all of the mares present stared at him in shock, he sighed. “Well I wasn’t going to dance around the issue. So-”
“WHAT?!!” They all shouted.
“What do you mean she’s turned traitor?” Redheart spoke up, standing up as she did so. “Lightning Dust is the loyalist pony you could meet. She’s the Element of Loyalty, for Celestia’s sake. So I do not appreciate you commenting about her in such a… dirty manner when she is not present. Please, explain yourself or I will rip off that blasted raised arm and smack you with it. You know I can. I'M A NURSE!”
Dot, and everyone else, gaped at the glaring and huffing mare. “Uhhh… First of all, don’t kill me.”
“No one’s killing anyone,” Pizzelle stood up. “Redheart, I know that Lightning is basically family but I don’t think this is going to help her.”
“Why do we need to help her?” Redheart kept glaring at the changeling. “She’s not a traitor. How could-”
“She helped the griffon escape last night and attacked Inquisitor Trixie,” Dot interjected.
All of them stared at him.
“Come again?” Fiddlesticks rubbed her ears. “Ah don’t think Ah heard that right.”
“Last night, she aided the one known as Suri Polomare in freeing her master from prison. Multiple guards were injured, thankfully there were no casualties.” Dot explained. “Still, this is an act of treason if I ever saw one.”
Redheart blinked in utter confusion, “But… but that doesn’t sound like her at all. She has to have a good reason for doing this.”
“Could be somethin’ goin’ on between ‘em,” Quickfix chewed on that thought. “Met ‘em once when they passed by. That Suri mare had that look in her eyes whenever she saw Lightning. It was obviously a crush. Maybe Lightning found out and love blinded her.”
Pizzelle smiled and sighed in bliss, “Awww, young love~ That’s so precious.”
“Just like aiding a murderer,” Dot scowled.
Sunset frowned, “I don’t remember murder being among the charges.”
Dot cleared his throat, “You wouldn’t. The incident was covered up. However, not long ago a small caravan was cut off and attacked. The drivers and personal present were killed and the contents stolen. This incident and the ones happening in town are too close and too soon to one another that it is entirely possible they were committed by the same parties. Therefore, Inquisitor Trixie has no choice but to arrest Lightning Dust for her crimes.”
“I will not allow this,” Sunset glared at him. The room growing hotter and hotter by the second.
Dot nodded, “She will just be locked up until this whole mess is cleared up. No harm shall fall upon Lightning Dust. Her compatriots are another story.”
“I still believe there is more to it,” Pizzelle frowned. “It just doesn’t add up to me. If he was behind all of this, why come into town at all? Why buy a house? Why be so open with his weapons? It doesn’t seem like he’s the one that did any of that.”
“He could have his reasons,” Dot explained. “Trying to look inconspicuous or he just didn’t believe we had any real evidence to convict him. Besides, griffons are usually armed so that isn’t so unusual. At least for foreign born griffons. Still, for now we shall treat him as the culprit unless some out of the blue evidence comes along.” His voice indicated he doubted that would happen. “I just wanted to know if-”
“We did not know Lightning would do this, nor did or would condone such actions.” Sunset spoke for everyone, before sighing. “Fine, you have my permission to capture her but I swear, I will tell my mother if harm should fall on Lightning Dust.”
Dot gulped softly, “Understood, Your Majesty.” With that said, he quickly made his way out of the room.
The mare’s traded nervous glances, “Umm…” Coco, of all of them, broke the awkward silence. “What do we do about this, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I… I don’t know,” Sunset answered, feeling a little hollow. None of the other mares knew what to do except hope that everyone made it back safely.
Trixie cut him off, “No butts, Cato.” She lightly glared down at him. She was in front of their temporary home in Ponyville in full armed garb. Several armed guards were waiting around for her orders. He could count a few dozen with her. “These people are far too dangerous for you. Besides, they are only three strong. I’ll be back soon. Dot will be back from talking with the other Elements soon to look after you.”
Cato stomped a foot down, “But I can help you. I’m good at magic.”
“You are good at magic, but good will only get you so far in life.” Trixie sighed and kissed his forehead. “Stay inside until I get back. After that, everything should go swimmingly.” She frowned at his dejected look, “Hey, how about a smile? We’ll go and get your favorite ice-cream if I hear you were a good boy while I was gone.”
Cato sighed, “Okay.” With that, he dejectedly walked inside. He could barely hear her tired sigh before she started to shout at her guards and get them moving. He waited till they were gone before dashing to the armaments. Once there, he started to grab his pistols and armor.
“What are you doing?” A familiar voice spoke up behind him. Cato whirled around and gave a sigh of relief when it was just Hikaru, the local kitsune and his sort of friend. He wasn’t sure if they were friends or not because he wasn’t used to having one.
“Just getting my things,” Cato responded, finishing up doing so.
“I heard what your mom said,” Hikaru spoke. “She told you to stay here.”
“And I’m going to show her I’m useful. I’m tired of being coddled. I want to show my Master that I’m an Inquisitor.”
“So you’re going alone?” HIkaru cocked his head to the side curiously.
Cato nodded, “Yes, I can handle whatever these heretics can throw at me.”
Hikaru blinked for a few moments before grinning, “Then I’m coming with you.”
Cato’s eyes widened, “But you can’t. You have to stay home.”
“That’s basically what your mom said but you’re going anyways,” Hikaru smugly replied as his tail wagged in delight.
Cato sighed and his shoulders sagged. Kitsune were known to get on people’s nerves, “Fine, but don’t get hurt, okay? A good inquisitor doesn’t let his subordinates get hurt.”
“Friend.”
“Subordinate.”
“Friend.”
“Subordinate”
“Subordinate.”
“Friend and that’s final,” Cato smugly replied and then moved forward… Then he stopped and glared at Hikaru. “Hey!”
Pokey Pierce leaned back into his chair as he looked around the chief’s office. His office. ‘Yes, finally. After all this time, I get to have some actual power around here. Not just be lead by some oafs in charge. I can’t believe Equestria is still running with these guys in power. A good sweep of their ranks and numbers should do the trick.’
He had ordered many of the officers home and to take some time off. The only ones on staff at the moment were rather incompetent or on his side. He planned to get rid of the more competent ones soon enough and replace them with his own bunch. With that set in place, no matter what happened with Trixie, he could enjoy some peace and comfort here.
That is, until his drawer started to shake. He quickly opened it and took out a purplish crystal ball and put it on the desk before him. Clouds of purple mist started to move before a voice sounded out from within, “I trust you are doing well, Pierce.”
“As well as I can be, my lord.” Pokey kept his voice respectful, lest something happen to him. “Everything is going as well as we’d hoped.”
“Good, good.” The voice seemed rather pleased. “You have done well. Everything is going well on our part. We should have everything prepared for in a few days lest the Inquisition pops up. I’m sure you kept her in town for that length of time.”
Pokey Pierce blinked for a few moments, then he remembered something. Then he started to sweat, “Uhhhh….”
“...What have you not told me?” The room went quiet. Deadly quiet.
Pokey rubbed the back of his head, “Well, the prisoner escaped and the Inquisitor is going out to search for her. I’m sure she will not-”
“Insolent fool!” the voice nearly knocked him back. “We cannot afford to have our location spotted, nor do we have the numbers at this location to deal with any significant threat. Because of your folly, you must fix it.”
Pokey’s eyes widened, “But… but… I don’t need to. You’re powerful enough that-”
“I need my power for the ritual,” the voice explained as if he was talking to a brain dead child. “I can only afford to expend some of it, but not enough to take them all on. You must either thin their numbers or kill them. Take a few prisoners for the coming sacrifice. If we are to succeed, we must not let this fail.”
Pokey sighed, “Very well, master. It shall be done.”
“See that it is,” the voice responded.
Just then, a cop burst through the door. “Sir I have to report that... “ He looked towards the crystal and took a step back from the foul prescance. “What is that, sir?”
“None of your business,” Pokey sighed before quickly pulling out a pistol and shooting the cop through the head. “Now I have to clean that up. Chaos is great but fickle with its offerings.”
Whitetail Woods was a relatively peaceful place. That’s what the general reports about this place lead Trixie to believe. There was something about a rock gator or some other creature getting loose here, but she didn’t pay them much mind. There wasn’t any danger here that could threaten her or her trained soldiers at her beck and call.
So Inquisitor Trixie marched on through the woods. She was so confident in her abilities that she had even left Dot back to watch over the town and especially the Elements. If Lightning Dust tried to come back, he’d catch her. There was no doubt in her mind about that fact. Cato would be safe with him as well. She smiled as she thought of his happy little face when she succeeded in this venture. He would be so proud of his mom-er, his master.
“Inquisitor,” the leading member of the guard accompanying her spoke up. “Do you by any chance know where we can best find them? While we know they came this way, they could be anywhere.”
“We shall not split up our forces,” Trixie scoffed at the very idea. “This mare is a mercenary and last night proved she is skilled enough to take on small numbers of foes at a time. We must strike with all of our force at once or she will get away along with her companions.”
“Very well, Inquisitor.” The soldier bowed his head and didn’t press any further.
Trixie was glad. His subservience was what she, as an Inquisitor, should be readily gifted by the populace. They were the bastions of safety to them. They routed the heretics and other enemies of the country and burned them to a crisp. She was their protector and deserved every ounce of respect they could give her. “Do no worry. I memorized the griffon’s energy signature. He’s not far from here.”
As was standard procedure for criminals, they had a shroud of magic planted on them. This was to keep tabs on them and locate them in prison or if they should ever escape. Given that it was a griffon, it didn’t have any magic nullifying attributes placed inside it. He was weak and she had enough magic and soldiers to take him and his compatriots in. That Suri Polomare wouldn’t escape this time. She would die by her blade. She couldn’t help but smirk. ‘Everything is going according to plan.’
It was at that moment that one of the soldiers cried out in pain. Trixie looked back to see a large wooden stake swing had swung down from the tree and smashed into the armored side of one of the soldiers. Said soldier’s armor was dented and he was sent flying into a tree. The guard groaned and two other guards ran over to their comrade to right him.
Trixie glared into the woods, “Who dares to strike a member of an Inquisitorial team? I demand you show yourself and be judged accordingly.”
“It would seem that meer wooden poles won’t do much to you or your compatriots,” a familiar voice chuckled. “But no matter. That was simply a test run. Now that I know, well…”
A purple spear of energy pierced one of the soldiers. This time the weapon went clean through, killing and impaling the soldier on a nearby tree.
“I think we’ll kick this up a notch,” the voice cackled. “Kill them!”
“Defensive formation!” Trixie spoke. Without pause, the soldiers formed a square around Trixie. Given her size and stature, she could easily see over and give commands. They in turn would protect her from harm.
It was at that moment that several chaos cultists made their appearance out from behind several trees. They sneered, cheered, and danced in anticipation of the coming blood frenzy. The soldiers and Inquisitor stared them down, daring them to try something. They didn’t have to wait long. The cultists gave a scream of wild abandonment as they charged. The first wave didn’t do at all well against the well armored and armed soldiers. They cleaved through the unarmored forms of the cultists with ease. The last few scuttled back to scowl at the soldiers.
“Form a shield,” Trixie called to the unicorns who quickly formed a magical shield around the group. Just in time too as several spears of purple magic came slamming into it.
“Quick thinking,” the voice called out. “But you are sorely outnumbered. Leave now and you may get to live another day.”
Trixie snarled, “I will give you a most welcomed death, traitor.”
“As confident as you are beautiful,” the voice cackled. “I will enjoy breaking you in, Inquisitor Trixie. You will enjoy a life of chains. Well, if my master doesn’t sacrifice you first. Beg for your life and I can make sure you survive.”
“Oh just shut up and throw your next pathetic attack,” Trixie called out.
The voice cackled again, “You know, if you had been paying more attention, you would have felt the chaos in the air. The insignias around you, but you are really blind to what matters, Inquisitor Trixie.”
Before Trixie could inquire what he was talking about, the air around the group hummed. Chaos sigils burst from the ground and floated around them. Trixie aimed her pistol. She didn’t get a chance to fire as they burst in the air. The shield evaporated as the shockwave smashed it and the heads of the unicorns to pieces with its power. The other soldiers balked, but did their best to stand ready as they were covered with bits of their comrades.
“That little trick took quite the little bit of power and time to make,” the voice spoke. “I’m really glad you stumbled into it or it would have been all for nothing but I knew you’d be coming this way for that precious bounty hunter. Now would you be so kind as to lay down your lives now?”
“Come and take them!” Trixie shouted in anger. More so out of being tricked then actually losing soldiers.
“Very well then,” with that said, another rush of cultists sprang forth from the woods. Again the soldiers cut through them like butter. Their advanced training and armor making up for their numbers. This time, arrows rained down from the woods at segments the cultists weren’t attacking. The soldier’s armor protected them. Unfortunately for one, an arrow pierced the eye slit, felling the soldier. Another was killed when the unknown assailant sent out another purple chaos spear of energy, skewering a soldier.
Trixie used her own magic to bat away another spear, “Pull back. Pull back to another position.” With that, Trixie ran out of the group, slicing through a cultist as she did so. The soldiers orderly followed. Not all of them made it as two more were speared by the chaos mage in hiding and another caught and dragged into the middle of a swarm of chaos cultists. Even with his armor, the raving madponies eventually and sadistically killed him.
Trixie spied a rather large tree and used her magic to cut it at the base. It fell and was thick enough for a pony to hide behind and shoot over if they so wished. She sliced some nearby trees with similar widths and soon had herself a square. She gestured the rest of the guards to follow her inside it and they did just as they were told.
A shower of arrows shot out from the woods. Trixie blocked the ones coming at her with her magic, whereas the others ducked behind the logs. The cultists charged, stopping when the guards fired a few crossbows and earning a few kills. They pulled back, shouting insults at the guards.
That’s when they heard barking noises. The cultists were back, but this time in front of them were several hounds. These hounds were different, covered in spikes and reeked of chaos influence. The dogs howled and charged, bearing their teeth as they prepared to tear into them. A normal hound would have no chance at getting through the soldier’s armor. These weren’t normal dogs.
The few crossbows they had fired, smacking into a number of dogs before they reached the logs. The dogs nimbly climbed them and jumped at the soldiers. They cut through a number of them, but there were a number more. Trixie snarled and shot two down. She sliced another one through the top of its skull like butter with her sword. She pointed and fired another shot, killing a dog that had jumped onto a soldier’s back.
Trixie heard a twang from above before she moved to the side, narrowingly avoiding an arrow. She looked up to see a number of crossbow cultist pegasi giggling as they pulled back and let loose more arrows. She knocked aside a few arrows, listening as three more soldiers were downed by the onslaught. Another was injured and quickly set upon by the hounds as they tore through the guard, armor and flesh alike.
Trixie readied her pistols and narrowed her eyes. She counted twelve pegasi. ‘The perfect number,’ Trixie couldn’t help but inwardly think as she smirked. Focusing on her magic, it flared around her pistols. They fired. All shots. Within less than a second. All the pegasi were down, killed by the rounds that tore through them. She slashed through another pair of dogs. They were finally pushing the dogs back.
A roar shocked the lot of them. They looked up to see the cultists making another charge. This time in front of them was none other than a Smasher. The brutish chaos pony was huge, easily the size of a Knight and bigger then Trixie. Just as muscular as you’d expect from a brute, it’s top half of its body was covered in a thick metal armor the same with the top of its head. It carried a large mace which couples with the long mace like tail gave it an intimidating presence. The beast of a pony easily side swiped one of the logs, breaking it in half and taking out two soldiers with it. With another swing of its mace it crushed a soldier before its mace-like tail smashed into a second.
Trixie knew she had to take that thing out quickly or else she wouldn’t have much of a force left. That wouldn’t do. Not when she was so close to what she so desperately needed, “You dare to strike the Great Inquisitor Trixie’s soldiers?!!”
The Smasher looked towards her and grinned, “You Inquisitor? Me smash you!”
“As stupid as you are ugly,” Trixie sneered, readying her sword. She had put her pistols away since she knew they wouldn’t do that much to the beast before her.
With that said, the Smasher roared and charged her. She easily sidestepped around him. Her long, elegant form helped her keep out of his reach with ease. Though she knew, she just knew that just one swing could take her out of the fight. She had put her self-shield up, but even then she knew that would only get her so far. She slashed at the beast, but he turned at the right moment so the blade just barely scratched his armor. She jumped back when his tail mace almost smashed into her. Ducking again, she sliced through its cheek.
The Smasher snarled, “I kill you!”
“You’re going to have to do a better job of it if that’s the best you can do,” Trixie snorted as he kept on swinging. With each swing, she was cut into his flesh yet it seemed like it wasn’t fazing him at all. It barely got through his thick muscles. She couldn’t hold out on this. She needed to kill it now. So she focused on cutting his legs. Again, thick muscle stopped her from getting anywhere.
The Smasher was obviously tired with dealing with her as he pushed himself forward hard enough to knock her to the ground. Trixie shook her head, thankful her shield held though she knew another blow would connect. She turned her head up to look at the Smasher. He had had reared up and roaring, hoping to crush her with his large hooves. She rolled out of the way of the strike, but the force of the ground blow forced her even further then she was intending. She gave a pained ‘oof’ as she hit the side of one of the broken logs. She looked over it and noticed how the end was rather pointed.
“Smash you good now,” the Smasher sickenly grinned as he prepared to strike.
Trixie moved, rolling to the side as she grabbed the log with her magic. Given her magical strength, she took the log easily with her and avoided another strike. With a grunt, she swung the log. It hit him in the side of his head, shattering the upper half of the log but disorienting the Smasher as well. With another heave of strength, she brought up the pointed end and stabbed the Smasher right through where the jaw and throat met. Another burst of magic had it blowing up inside the wound, sending the beast of a pony’s jaw flying off.
The Smasher gave what she could only assume was a roar of pain as he tried to kill her with his mace. She dodged and then jumped away as the Smasher had twirled around in an attempt to catch her with his mace tail. The Smasher turned and tried to charge her and that’s when she made her final move. She sent a blast of magic that pushed the beast’s head up before her sword sliced through the wound and cut right into the brain. Trixie smirked as she pulled it down, cutting more of the inside of his skull before pulling out. The Smasher fell to the ground, most assuredly dead. Looking around, she noticed that the other cultists had been pushed back but she had only half, if that, of her original force still with her. “Form up and prepare to strike out!”
One of the soldiers, the leader of the group she had brought with her, approached her. “I’m sorry, Inquisitor, but I have to say that we have to retreat.”
Trixie frowned and stared at the soldier for a moment, “What did you say? I think I misheard you.”
The soldier sighed and looked her straight in the eye. The mare took off her dented helmet, exposing a blueberry colored earth mare. Her white and dark blue colored mane billowed out. As short as it was, the helmets were enchanted enough that you could have quite long mane and it wouldn’t be a problem. This was something invented because of the Sisters of Vengeance who really liked their long manes, “I’ve lost over half my ponies and we’re not closer to beating these cultists. They took us by surprise and the only reason they aren’t attacking us right now is if the leader is toying with us or we really did do them a bad turn that last attack. Either way, we don’t have the forces necessary to strike out at them.”
Trixie scowled, glaring down at the pony before her. “We will not retreat. We will win this day and secure the infernal traitor element and bounty hunters. We will bring them all to justice.”
“You aren’t getting the situation, Inquisitor.” The mare glared up at her. Trixie noticed there was a slight country twang but it wasn’t that overt. “I am not throwing the lives of my soldiers away for your victory. We are leaving. We’ll contact Canterlot and get some reinforcements before continuing this battle.”
As she turned away from Trixie, a million thoughts were racing through her mind. ‘No. I can’t leave now. If I do, some other Inquisitor will take my glory. I’ll be seen as a fool who led her troops into a trap. The bounty hunters will get away and the townsfolk… the Inquisition will lose trust in me. No, I can’t let that happen. Not when I’m so close. Not when I have so much planned.’
She glanced down at her pistols, then at the soldier. ‘I have the authority. No one would call me out on this. I was shooting down a coward. A pony who dared to order around an Inquisitor. She would pay for this. She was in the way. No one would blame her and when I won the day, she would receive none of the grandiose praise I so rightly deserve.’ She closed her eyes and pulled out the pistol. Aiming it at the back of the soldier’s head, she screamed. “COWARD!”
“Then shoot me!” The soldier turned and glare at her, shocking Trixie enough to stop herself from pulling the trigger. “Just shoot me instead of calling me a coward. Go on, do it.”
“How dare you speak to an Inquisitor like this,” Trixie snarled.
“If it means keeping my ponies alive, I’ll talk to ya in the way I like.” The mare glared back. “We are leaving. Now.”
Trixie shook slightly and kept her gun trained on the mare. ‘I should shoot her now for this! How dare you talk back to me. ME! An Inquisitor. She deserves to die for this insubordination.’
“Have you ever executed a pony before?”
Trixie blinked in confusion, “I… I don’t understand the question.”
“So you haven’t,” the mare snorted. “Look, I know you’re an Inquisitor but please, don’t start acting like one of those gun toting maniacs on the border territories. You’ll end up with a sword in your back in no time or an ‘accident’.”
Trixie scowled and turned her head. She had heard of those stories before by some of the Inquisitors. It was true an Inquisitor had the power to execute anyone and make them do as they wish. Most of the time no one dared oppose them on their decisions. However, there were times where the more wild guardsponies would take it into their own hooves or other extremities if they weren’t ponies to make sure the Inquisitor had an ‘accident’. It’s why her master had tried to dissuade her from unnecessary executions. They were bad for moral, he said to her. In the past the Inquisition didn’t fear reprisals but after Celestia’s many reforms, ponies a bit safer from Inquisitorial reprisals.
With a frustrated scowl, Trixie glared at her. “What is your name, soldier?”
“Blueberry Frost,” the mare spoke. “Pleasure to meet you.”
“We shall retreat to Ponyville,” Trixie said and turned. “But we will not call Canterlot. Not yet. We have enough troops and we can rearm the local militia. They still have enough munitions to sustain themselves for one good fight.”
Blueberry Frost sighed, “Very well, but I still believe-”
“Your beliefs do not matter to me,” Trixie said. “You will do as I say and think nothing of it. You are lucky I am so generous or you would be dead already.”
Blueberry Frost turned away, “Fine, Inquisitor. We shall do as you say.”
Trixie couldn’t believe the level of disinterest in her orders Blueberry Frost was exuding. She was an Inquisitor and deserved respect and should be listened to no matter what, ‘I will teach her to know her place soon enough.’
Cato wasn’t one to let suspicion and doubt get the best of him. His master had taught him well enough to not let those sorts of things get the better of him. He was to remain calm in any and all situations. He was a future Inquisitor in the making after all. Nothing but the best was to be expected of him. He was to make her proud. Yet, as he moved through the forest, he kept getting the nagging feeling he should get out. To run away. He pushed those thoughts down. He wasn’t a coward. He would meet up with his master and settle this matter. He would show her that he was a real Inquisitor.
It was a serious situation, which was something he wouldn’t take lightly. Well if it wasn’t for a certain kitsune. He sighed as he watched the little fox sapient hum a spy tune as he sneaked about. Sometimes he would basically disappear as he let his illusions confuse the forest around him, including Cato himself. “Hikaru, can you take this a bit more seriously please?”
“I am taking this super seriously,” Hikaru spoke up as he grinned. The kitsune appeared on Cato’s head, looking down into his eyes. “I have to be at top form if I want to beat the bad guys. That’s what the comics Miss Pizzelle has says.”
“She reads comics?” Cato was unsure if mothers or rather female parental figures actually read those things. Trixie never did, but she did keep those romance novels of hers that Dot always teased her about.
Hikaru nodded, “A few, but most of them are really old and some of them are just boring.” He stuck out his tongue to show how he felt about them before jumping off his head. “Still, I had to read up on what it means to be a hero like Miss Pizzelle.”
“You can just call her mom, you know.”
“You first,” Hikaru gave him a challenging stare, causing him to huff. The duo did really care about their parents but they still weren’t sure if it was the right time for that stuff.
“So…” Cato started to say after a moment of silence. “What did the superheroes in those comics do?”
Hikaru stared at him for a few seconds, “Don’t you read comics?”
Cato shook his head, “Master doesn’t think they are worthy of my time. She always wants me to get smarter, go to college, and become an Inquisitor like her.”
“College?”
Cato shrugged, “She said it’s what she did and Celestia’s School for the Gifted is the perfect place to do it. They have different portions of the school for ages. So Master is going to teach me how to do magic until I get old enough then send me there.”
“Sounds like she has everything planned out for you,” Hikaru noted. “What about you? What do you want?”
Cato opened his mouth and then closed it. He scratched the back of his head, “I guess what Master wants. I want her to be happy and she always knows what’s best for me.”
“That sounds boring,” Hikaru said. “You should do what you want. I’m sure she’d be happy anyways.”
Cato frowned, unsure about what he was saying was true. He never really stopped to think about that sort of stuff. He just did whatever his Master told him to do. She was always right after all… Yet he knew she was wrong about his abilities. She would show her how great he was.
“You should listen to the fox,” a wicked voice cackled in the forest, prompting Cato to pull out his pistols. “It’s going to take more then that, boy. Still, you’ve got guts coming here. I think I’ll take you alive instead of kill you.”
“Just try it,” Cato scowled as he readied himself for combat. He really hadn’t much experience in real combat situations but his Master had taught him well enough. He turned towards Hikaru and nodded. Hikaru stared at him for a moment in confusion before he smiled.
“Well if you children wish to fight me,” a small distance away, a unicorn teleported to face them. “I might as well show my face since you won’t be walking away from here.”
Cato’s eyes widened,” YOU!” It was none other then Pokey Pierce, except he was wearing the shroud of a chaos sorcerer.
Pokey laughed, “Yep, it’s me. I’ve been playing your dear old mare this whole time. Oh I can’t wait to see her face when she sees me for what I really am. I was planning on using her some more, but this is fine too. Bringing in her son will be an added bonus to watch that smug bitch fall to pieces.”
“You won’t be taking me anywhere,” Cato aimed his pistols at his opponent.
“Yeah,” Hikaru spoke up. “We’re going to take you down.”
“Such bravado for ones your age,” Pokey smirked. “It’s almost a shame to kill you, but alas, we need more sacrifices.” With that said, he formed a spear with his magic and fired it. The two children dodged and right to their right. He smirked as he formed two more spears and the children narrowly dodged them as well. “I don’t have all day now, kiddies. Just come with me and I promise it won’t hurt.”
“You’re an idiot if you think that’s going to work,” Cato called out.
Pokey narrowed his eyes and threw a magic spear towards the sound of the voice. He cracked a smile when he saw the boy running to escape his wrath. He would take the boy alive, but just barely. So he threw more spears, tearing apart several trees. “Stop now boy and-” His eyes widened when one of his spears actually hit the boy… and went right through him as if he wasn’t there. ‘An illusion? That blasted fox tricked me!’ His ears perked up and he turned his head. This was lucky for him since a gunshot rang out into the air. The bullet that would have taken his life now simply took his ear. Pokey yelled in pain as he clutched where his ear used to be. He could feel the small bit of holy magic which made the pain worse.
Pokey teleported a small distance forward to avoid another gunshot, “You little brat! You will pay for this!” With that said, several magical spears formed around him and shot out into the forest. He heard the small gasps from one direction and turned towards it, advancing quickly enough to finally spot them.
The boy fired twice more. Pokey used his spears to block any bullets fired his way as he shot out more at the boy. That’s how it went for the next moment. Cato needed a way around the chaos magi’s spears. Thankfully Hikaru’s illusions threw off many of his spears but he couldn’t keep this up forever.
His luck was starting to run out. One of them missed him by inches and the second he had to use a shield spell to deflect. That’s when Pokey noticed where he truly was besides the illusions. He grinned and fired several spears. Cato had to stop and summon a strong shield spell, gritting his teeth as they impacted.
“Can’t run now!” Pokey cackled before he heard a light growl and then pain in his leg. He yelped and looked back to see that Hikaru had bitten into his leg. He raised his leg and tried to shake off the small kitsune. “Get off!”
Cato knew that this was his chance. Without sparing another moment, he raised his guns and fired. He was thankful that the bullets were magical in quality and that these guns were easy to load with their six shots. His old ones were only one shots. He’d have to apologize for taking these ones instead without his Master’s permission. Unfortunately, only one of the shots hit their mark.
Pokey cried out as a bullet his leg before he teleported off to Cato’s side. Using his magic to rip Hikaru off, taking some of his own flesh with him, he threw the kitsune right dab into Cato. The toy boys rolled on the ground for a moment before stopping. Cato just had enough time to throw up another shield before the strong blast from Pokey’s magic burst through it and hit the two boys. They cried out in pain and went still.
Cato fought for a moment before the darkness encroached onto his vision. ‘I’m sorry, Master. I’ve failed you.’ With that, his eyes closed.
Pokey huffed and limped forwards. He was able to find out they were alive, just a bit bruised and knocked out. “I will make your sacrifice extremely painful, mark my words.”
Trixie huffed as she trudged along, keeping up with Blueberry Frost and the other soldiers. A part of her still contemplated executing Blueberry but she still knew that was wrong. That was especially so when she needed as many bodies between her and the enemy as she could get. So she knew she had to bear it and deal with insubordinate soldiers. Of course she’d probably put in some recommendations for assignments for the soldier. Probably on the southern griffon border for instance.
“We shouldn’t be far from our destination,” Captain Blueberry Frost called out to the troops. “Given another hour, we’ll be safe within the confines of Ponyville.”
“Oh thank Celestia,” Trixie huffed.
“Perhaps we shouldn’t have made such a deep foray into the forest, Inquisitor.” Blueberry pointed out. “It would have made getting out all the easier.”
Trixie glared at her, “Do not question my decisions again, Captain. You forget that I am still an Inquisitor. I can make your life rather difficult easily.”
“True,” Blueberry nodded. “But as a soldier, it is my duty to make sure an Inquisitor returns safely. If that means I must disobey them, then so be it.”
“Commendable, but foolish.” Trixie said as she scanned the forest around her. It still unnerved her how easily they were taken by surprise. She made a note not to let that happen again. It was her duty as an Inquisitor to do the best she could. What sort of Inquisitor would she be if she continuously let foes get the drop on her?
A purple magic spear penetrated the ground in front of Trixie. She instantly pulled out her sword, “Who dares?!! Is it you again, miserable chaos mage?”
“Yep,” the voice cackled. “This time however, you are coming with us.”
“Do you really believe I would be stupid enough to do that?” Trixie scoffed. “You’re even more stupid than I thought.” A part of herself cursed the fact that she had left Twilight Sparkle in town, but she hadn’t thought this would be of any trouble. Besides, Twilight was a troublemaker and that battle in town with Lyra had landed her in a bit of trouble so she had put her in ‘time out’. Which meant that Twilight wasn’t to leave the town till she said so. Again, Twilight was full of inconveniences.
“Oh this is the reason why,” out from the woods stepped, or in this case hobbled, officer Pokey Pierce. Except now he was wearing a chaos mage garb. “Surprised?”
Trixie’s eyes widened before she snarled, “You traitor! I should have known it was you all along.”
“You didn’t because you are an ignorant fool,” as he said that, his magic flared up and a cage floated beside him. Inside, which caused Trixie to gasp and nearly drop her sword, was none other then a young kitsune and her acolyte, Cato. They were both unconscious and bruised but still breathing. “I have your little acolyte, Trixie. If you want him to survive this day, you must come with me.”
“Inquisitor,” Blueberry spoke to her. “Listen to me. I know this might be difficult, but you know he won’t keep his bargain.”
“Quiet,” Trixie whispered, not taking her eyes off of the cage.
“Inquisitor, listen to me.” Blueberry said. “He will not keep his word. We should depart now before he throws his forces at us.”
“I said quiet!” Trixie moved her sword to point it at Blueberry. “I will not sacrifice my precious pawns.” She huffed and tried to calm herself from her rage. “Especially not one that I practically raised from birth!”
“Is he…” Blueberry’s eyes widened before she groaned. “Oh Celestia damn it. I can’t convince you to leave your son.”
“He isn’t…” Trixie snarled. “He is... “ Then she furrowed her brow, “Just listen to me, Captain. I can’t lose him. I just...”
Blueberry put a hoof on her leg, steadying her body that she didn’t know was shaking. “I understand.”
Trixie let herself calm down again and gave the soldier a nod. She then turned to glare at the chaos magi. “We will go with you as long as you do not harm him.”
“I have no intention of harming the boy that gave me so much trouble,” Pokey snorted. “You are my target, not him.”
“Trouble?” Trixie smiled as she saw the injuries on Pokey: a missing ear and a bleeding leg. “I see. Still,” she sheathed her sword. “We are in your care… for now.”
Suri Polomare had watched the whole thing. She had used her naturally honed abilities as a mercenary to keep out of sight. Sometimes she had to perform assassinations or kill monsters without being seen. The chaos mage, this Pokey Pierce, was sloppy so she had no trouble getting past his goons. She scowled as she watched Pokey bring out the children and especially so when Trixie agreed to go with them.
She knew it was a stupid decision but she also knew it was the best one. While he may be sloppy, Pokey had enough forces under his command to kill the assorted ponies before him. It might take a while and hurt him in the long run, but he seemed like the type to her that wouldn’t care about casualties. Unfortunately, Suri didn’t see a way to save them without getting the children killed.
‘Damnit,’ Suri thought to herself. ‘I couldn’t do anything. Again. Why does this sort of manure always happen to me?’ She huffed as she decided to let Lightning and her master know. They needed to make a plan to save them or at least do something. She wasn’t a monster after all.
So she quickly and quietly made her way around some of his chaos forces and back to her camp. It wouldn’t take her long to get back there, but every second counted.
Lightning Dust couldn’t help but pace back and forth. Waiting for her friend to return felt like torture. ‘She’s alright. She’s alright. Suri is a badass. She wouldn’t let just any guard get the drop on her.’ She was certain about that. However, it didn’t help that every moment she couldn’t help but think back on her fight with Sunset. She could remember the heartbreak and anger on her friend’s face. ‘Maybe… Maybe I went too far.’
She shook her head, trying to dispel her own thoughts. ‘No. She was letting her own fear get to her. Someone needed to get through that thick skull of hers. If she doesn’t turn around, I’ll be sure to buck her straight.’ The more she thought about it though the less she was certain she could do that. Sunset and her weren’t seeing eye to eye right now. Lightning wouldn’t budge and she knew that Sunset wouldn’t either. At least, that’s what she thought Sunset would do. She frowned, ‘I haven’t spent that much time alone with her, have I?’
The past few weeks had been hectic. With one disaster after another and ponies leaving town, there was just so much to do. She noted that it had been a while since she just hung out with her friends. At least all of them. She wasn’t sure if all of the other Element Bearers were her friends yet or just acquaintances. That thought irked her. It made her angry. They were Element Bearers. They should be friends. She’d have to change that once this whole thing blows over. ‘If it ever does.’
“Quit that,” Crowland huffed. His injuries may have looked bad, but he didn’t seem to really notice them anymore. He was just casually sitting back against a tree like he didn’t have a care in the world. “Pacing will do you no good but riling you up further.”
“Oh shut up,” Lightning scowled. “Suri isn’t back yet so I can pace all I want.”
“Suri can take care of herself,” Crowland snorted. “But it’s not her that’s eating at you, is it?”
Lightning paused, “I had an argument with a friend, that’s all.”
“About what?” When Lightning turned to glare at him, he held up a hand. “I’m just asking is all. It might get you to stop pacing if I help you out with it.”
“You don’t like pacing that much?” Lightning quirked an eyebrow.
“Pacing without purpose, that is.” Crowland corrected.
Lightning rolled her eyes, “She didn’t want to help Suri.”
“Ah, I see.” Crowland nodded. “She thought I was guilty.”
“Well… It was more like she didn’t want me to get hurt.” Lightning snorted. “Which is stupid. I can take care of myself and I knew you weren’t guilty. Suri would never lie to me.”
“Well your friend doesn’t know Suri,” Crowland pointed out. “To her, Suri is just a random mercenary who came to town. It makes sense why she wouldn’t be so prone to believe her story.”
“She should have taken my word for it,” Lightning scowled. “I’m her friend. She should trust me.”
“Sometimes a friend will try and do what’s best for you even if you don’t believe that to be the case,” Crowland said. “As well, intense emotions can make people act in ways they normally wouldn’t otherwise.”
Lightning shook his head, “Whatever you say, old man.” She didn’t really want to think about it anymore. It would all blow over anyways. ‘But she seemed so… sad.’ She didn’t want to think about it! It just made her feel terrible for what she did. ‘I was justified. Stop letting that old bird get to you.’
Thankfully for her, Suri chose that moment to return. “Miss me?”
Lightning grinned, “You know it. So did you see anything? Are we in the clear?”
Suri paused and frowned, “The guard were close but…”
“But?” Lightning quirked her head to the side.
Suri took in a deep breath then started to talk again, “Chaos cultists captured them.”
“What?” Lightning nearly shouted in disbelief. She rushed forward and grabbed her friend’s shoulders, shaking her violently. “Please tell me you’re just making that up.”
Suri pushed her away and huffed, reorientating herself after being shaken about. “What I say is the truth. Rogue chaos cultists have taken Inquisitor Trixie and a number of her soldiers captive. I don’t know why or what they are planning to do with them though.” She raised a hoof when Lightning opened her mouth, “I couldn’t stop it. There were too many of them.”
Lightning growled, “Well we’ve got to do something.”
“Why?” Suri narrowed her eyes. “You know what Trixie was planning to do to my master even if he was innocent.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Lightning said back at her. “She’s still a pony, the same as the rest of those soldiers. Even if we don’t like her, we’ve got to save her.”
“And how are we going to do that? We can’t take them on ourselves. We don’t have the equipment or the numbers to raid a chaos camp. It would be suicide.”
Lightning looked down at the ground for a moment, mulling over her thoughts before she closed her eyes. “You’re right. We don’t have the equipment or numbers.” Her wings flared open, “But I know where I can get them.”
Suri’s eyes widened, “You don’t mean… Lightning you can’t go back into town. They’ll detain you.”
“Not if I talk some sense into Sunset first,” Lightning snapped. “Even if I have to beat it into her thick skull, I’ll get the help we need.”
Suri put a hoof on her shoulder, “No, I won’t let you do this. They will put you behind bars. They won’t listen to you. You know why? You’re a criminal now, Lightning Dust.”
“I’m also an Element Bearer who’s a friend of a princess,” Lightning retorted. “If that means nothing then I may as well be thrown in jail anyways.”
Suri sighed, “You’re going to try even if I try and stop you, aren’t you?”
Lightning nodded and flashed her tomboyish confident grin that made Suri blush, “You know it.”
Suri sighed again, “Very well. If you insist on doing this, please make it quick. We don’t know what’s going to happen to the captured ponies.”
“Gotcha,” with that said, Lightning took off akin to her namesake.
Crowland whistled, “She’s quite the mare, Suri. I can see why you like her.”
Suri blushed even more so, “Sh-Shut up, master.” She groaned when he just laughed at her reaction.
Sunset finally tugged the last of her survival gear on. She was wearing a camouflage green and black shirt and pants with her mane tied up in a long braid. She just finished putting some black mascara underneath her eyes to help with the look. She smiled into the mirror, “Perfection.”
Spike decided at that moment to poke his head in, “Uhhh… Sunset. Why are you playing dress up at a time like this?”
Sunset scowled, “It’s not dress up! It’s for camouflage, you dolt! Gah, didn’t you pay attention in class.”
“I did, but if I wanted to get that sort of thing done, I’d leave it to the professionals.” Spike pointed out. “I’m sure Miss Rarity could have helped you pick out something.”
“This isn’t the time and place for that, Spike.” Sunset marched over and started out of the room. “Besides, you’d waste her time trying to get under her tail.”
“A nice and calm dinner, actually.” Spike retorted with a grin. “Whatever you might say, I am not that lecherous.”
“No,” Sunset snorted. “You’re worse then that.”
Spike put a hand over his heart, “You wound me, Sunset. You really do.”
“Good,” Sunset smirked. “Maybe it will teach you a lesson or two.”
“Probably not,” Spike shrugged, causing Sunset to glare at him. “Oh hush, you know you love me as is.”
“I would never say such a thing.”
“But you were thinking it,” Spike booped her nose, causing her to scrunch up her muzzle. This in turn caused him to laugh. “Ah, you are always so cute when you try to hide your feelings.”
“I hate you.”
“I love you too.”
Sunset finally reached the bottom of the stairs where the rest of her friends were. She frowned and blinked in surprise when they were all looking relatively normal with some small backpacks in some cases with them. “Hey, why aren’t you all dressed up as well.” She brought out a book with her, “It says right here that this is the type of attire you don when tracking villains through forests. I gave you all copies to study for crying out loud.”
“Sunset,” Redheart deadpanned. “It’s a Ram-Bo novel.”
“Fiction can be an excellent teaching utensil,” Sunset sagely nodded.
Fiddlesticks hopped to Sunset’s side as she was the only other one who was dressed up like her, “Yeah, Sunset’s got a point, Reddy.”
Redheart sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, “Let’s just get this over with. Lightning wouldn’t have gone far.”
Sunset took in a deep breath, “My friends, today we embark on a venture that could shape the very fabric of our friendship. We-”
“Are ye really givin’ a speech now?” Quickfix piped up. “Seems kinda stupid if’n ye ask me. We should have been hightailin’ it over to where Lightnin’ is and beatin’ some sense into her head.” She grinned, “I call first swing!”
Sunset snarled, “Quickfix, I worked for three hours to write this speech. So I want you to shut up or I will burn your legs to a crisp, do you understand me?” Quickfix just rolled her eyes and nodded. Sunset cleared her voice, “No matter what we may find lurking in that forest, we will not give up hope. We will not falter. We will not-” Something crashed through a window, “Oh what is it now?”
Everyone’s eyes widened when they saw it was Lightning Dust, “Sup!”
“LIGHTNING, YOU IDIOT!” Sunset shouted in fury. Flames flickered about her. “I had a speech all prepared to inspire everyone to find you. I spent three hours on it. Three whole hours and I never got to even finish it. No, you just had to come crashing through my window and…” Sunset stopped when she realized she was yelling at Lightning. The flames around her flickered out.
Lightning laughed, “Seems I couldn’t have chosen a better time to crash through your window, right?”
Lightning was surprised when Sunset rushed over and pulled her into a hugh. She could feel tears on her fur as Sunset kept repeating, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Lightning smiled and returned it, “I know and… I’m sorry too. I was an idiot.”
“No I was an idiot.”
“No, I was the idiot. I shouldn’t have been so… well mean.”
“I shouldn’t have been so protective.”
“Well I’m the idiot.”
“I will burn you if you don’t accept my idiocy!”
“Girls!” Pizzelle shouted before pulled them apart. “I know you all have a lot to say and whatnot. This reminds me of the time when me and Presto got seperated in the jungles of Afhoofica, but in that instance we had to wait before we could talk it out. The same for now.” She turned to Lightning, “Now where is Suri and her master? Are they alright?”
Lightning nodded,” Yeah, they are. However, Trixie and her soldiers were captured by some rogue chaos cultists.”
“WHAT?!!” The others shouted in unison, well except Coco who just gave a quiet “Huh?” instead.
Just at that moment, Dot burst through the door. He carried a long spear with him in his magic, “Okay Lightning Dust. You’re coming with me.”
“Trixie’s been captured!” Lightning quickly shouted.
“Likely story,” Dot narrowed his eyes. “Trixie wouldn’t just let anyone capture her. She’s too smart for… that.” Dot blinked as a few thoughts came to him, “Wait, was it in the Whitetail Woods?”
“What’s wrong with them?” Coco asked.
Dot turned to her, “There were reports of some strange magics and events going on in there. I’m sure Miss Dust remembers the Cragodile incident.”
Lightning rolled her shoulders, “Yeah, a bit of a pain but I showed him who’s boss.”
“The creature was a she,” Dot corrected. “Still, even if that could be a possibility, why should I believe you?”
Sunset got in front of Lightning Dust, “By my authority as a princess, I say that you must trust her.”
Dot was taken aback by this, “You would trust her so easily?”
“She is the Bearer of Loyalty,” Sunset pointed out. Then she turned around and smiled, “And my friend.”
Lightning was taken aback by this, “Sunset…”
Sunset turned around and glared at Dot, “I will not have you wrongfully putting my friend into jail. Even if it’s just us, we are going back into that forest and getting Trixie.”
Dot stared at them for a moment before lowering his spear and sighed, “If that’s how you want it to be, then fine. I’ll see if I can round up some of the old militia around here and reinstate them into service. Shouldn’t be too hard.”
Sunset nodded, “That sounds like a plan.”
As Dot left and closed the door behind him, Lightning walked to Sunset’s side. “You’re trusting me this easily?”
“Aint nobody gonna tear us apart,” Quickfix nodded.
“I agree with the others,” Coco softly said with a smile.
“You can always count on us, Lightning.” Redheart inclined her head.
“Same here,” Pizzelle chuckled. “Oh this reminds me of the time where my great grandfather was able to band together a bunch of strange but colorful characters to stop this evil bandit from plundering a town. Oh it’s a riveting tale and I would just love to share it with you. You see, it began-”
“Now’s not the time for stories,” Lightning said before wincing when Redheart glared at her. “Sorry for interrupting, but yeah. We gotta go. Now.”
“What about Dot and the militia?” Sunset asked.
“Were you about to stop and wait for them when you were going to look for me?” Lightning asked.
In most circumstances, Trixie would be spending her time shouting out obscenities and threats towards the cultists who dared to hold her hostage. She was an Inquisitor in Princess Celestia’s service. There was no reason to treat her in such a manner unless they were nothing but lowly heretics. That’s how she felt anyways. However she couldn’t do that. She had two children with her, one of which was her own apprentice. So she had curled her body around the two shivering boys and tried to keep them calm. It was her duty of course and it hurt her deeply to see Cato so scared. She would make these cultists pay dearly for that.
“I’m sorry, Master.” Cato pushed himself closer to her. “I had the shot but I missed. If I had taken it-”
“Shhhh,” Trixie nuzzled his head. “Don’t talk like that. You did well, Cato. I’m sure you did. He’s an experienced chaos magi. The fact that you were able to do anything is impressive in its own right. I’m proud of you.”
“R-Really?” Cato looked up at her, his eyes sparkling with unshed tears.
Trixie smiled and kissed his forehead, “Of course.” She looked down at Hikaru and nuzzled him as well, “The same goes for you, little kitsune. I thank you for helping out Cato.”
Hikaru nodded, “I did my best. I’m sorry it wasn’t enough.”
“Neither of you should apologize,” Trixie narrowed her eyes as she hugged the two youngsters closer to herself as some of the chaos cultists moved closer to her cage. She would have liked nothing better then to smash their skulls in, but unfortunately, they had put a magic suppressor ring around her horn so she couldn’t get out of this situation. The same went for Cato and Hikaru. Now and again some of the cultists would point and laugh, jeer, or make lewd comments at her. She ignored them and did her best to not let Hikaru and Cato know the meaning behind some of the things they said.
She couldn’t help but gaze over the chaos camp. It was haphazard and there was no order whatsoever to where the tents and equipment were placed. That made sense to her. They were barbarous chaos cultists after all. Even the loyalist chaos cultists were more organized then this group. The other soldiers caught with her were kept in their own cages, with Blueberry right next to them. However none of that really mattered. What mattered were the fleshy columns sprouting out on the large rock pedestal in the middle of the chaos camp. They gave off a vibe that made Trixie want to run away. She suppressed that feeling and did her best to calm the children.
“Now HIkaru was it?” The little kitsune nodded when she asked. She gave him a smile, “Do you have any family to go back to? Parents?”
Hikaru nodded, “Miss Pizzelle is watching over me.”
“Is she your mother?”
Hikaru hung his head down and sniffled, “I don’t know. I want her to be but…”
“You’re afraid something will happen to her?” Trixie asked. HIkaru nodded which caused her to nuzzle him. “You shouldn’t be afraid of such things. Bad things happen, yes. That is the way of the world, but you can’t spend your days worrying about them. You must strive forward and make the world your own, no matter how many things don’t go your way. So cherish her as much as you can, for as long as you can. Don’t let the fear of the past cloud your present.”
Hikaru seemed to be thinking it over, “Maybe…. Maybe you’re right.”
Trixie smirked, “Of course Trixie is.” She said, her pompous attitude returning. “The Great Inquisitor Trixie is always right, don’t you forget it.”
“Umm, master?” Cato spoke up. “You’re talking in third person again.”
Trixie huffed and crossed her forelegs, “Alright, alright. Trixie, I mean, I will cut that out. At least for right now.” She booped Cato’s nose with her hoof, “Don’t be like Dot, Cato.”
Cato nodded, “Yes Master.”
Trixie sighed as he answered and looked over the two boys. Hikaru was still was shaking slightly in fear, curled up into a little ball by her side. Cato was holding on stronger, but it was obvious he was unnerved by the whole situation. She couldn’t blame either of them for feeling like that. It made her feel all the more terrible for inadvertently getting them into this situation. She pondered for a moment before an old memory popped into her head. “Ah yes, do you remember when you were a child, Cato? The old song I used to sing to you.”
“Yes, master.” Cato nodded.
“Magnifique,” Trixie smiled, nuzzling him. “How about I sing you again?” Cato’s eyes widened as a small smile started to come to his face.
“Oh please,” Pokey Pierce shook the cage slightly with his magic as he scowled at them. “If I want to hear your insistent screeching, I’d just torture you right now.”
“Oh just let her sing, damn it.” Blueberry Frost scowled from a nearby cage. “It’s not going to kill you, traitor. Even though I really hope it does.”
“Oh like I’m one to give her the pleasure of it,” Pokey sneered, before another cultist ran up to him and whispered into his ear. He sighed and nodded, “Very well. I’ll be taking off. Sing all you bloody well want, you damned loyalist. It’ll be the last thing you ever do.” Then he started off.
Trixie huffed. A small part of her thought about just pushing off the song. It wasn’t important and she had more important things to think about. Yet when she looked into Cato’s face, she couldn’t help herself. So she started to sing. It was an older song that her mother used to sing to her. A Prench song.
“J'en vois des qui se donnent Donnent des bijoux dans le cou C'est beau mais quand même Ce ne sont que des cailloux Des pierres qui vous roulent Roulent et qui vous coulent sur les joues J'aime mieux que tu m'aimes Sans dépenser des sous
Moi je m'en moque
J'envoie valser
Les trucs en toc
Les cages dorées
Toi quand tu me serres très fort
C'est comme un trésor
Et ça, et ça vaut de l'or
J'en vois des qui se lancent
Des regards et des fleurs
Puis qui se laissent
Quelque part ou ailleurs
Entre les roses et les choux
J'en connais des tas
Qui feraient mieux de s'aimer un peu
Un peu comme nous
Qui nous aimons beaucoup
Et d'envoyer
Ailleurs valser
Les bagues et les cœurs en collier
Car quand on s'aime très fort
C'est comme un trésor
Et ça, et ça vaut de l'or
Moi pour toujours
J'envoie valser
Les preuves d'amour
En or plaqué
Puisque tu me serres très fort
C'est là mon trésor
C'est toi, toi qui vaut de l'or.”
Cato and Hikaru had set themselves against her as she finished. Trixie chuckled and nuzzled him as a few trapped guards gave a few whistles and claps.
“Didn’t know you had it in you,” Blueberry called over. “Maybe you’d have made a better singer then an Inquisitor.”
Trixie scoffed, “You are very much lucky we are trapped at this moment or I would make sure you regretted those words this very instance.”
Before either of them could say anything more, another set of claps drew near. “That was quite a show you put on, Inquisitor Trixie.” A confident male voice rang in their ears. There was something off about it. It just didn’t feel… right. Into their view stepped a chaos robed sorceror, except this wasn’t just any regular one. This was a Blood Magi. His skin was pulled back to the bone so there was no doubt that there was no flesh underneath. HIs eye sockets were empty besides a red glow to them. His cape was covered in red gems, each one filled with warp infused blood that powered his magic. Blood Magi were the strongest chaos sorcerers barring Discord’s chosen. Having one before them was not good news at all.
“I apologize for my disciples treatment of you thus far,” the Blood Magi bowed his head. “That was wrong of him and I intend to correct that mistake.”
“So you’re going to let us go?” Blueberry spoke up sarcastingly.
The Blood Magi laughed, “Oh no. I need you for the upcoming ceremony but I’ll make your last moments on this planet as pleasant as I can.”
“I sincerely doubt that,” Trixie scowled.
“Oh but I must,” the Blood Magi smiled, which was off putting since his skin moved unnaturally when he moved in any which way. “Without your help, I would be dealing with Inquisitor Time Turner by now.”
Trixie furrowed her brow, “So you believe you were using me to your ends? Ha! I am not one to be used, especially by traitorous filth like you.”
The Blood Magi chuckled, “Oh but you were. I needed an influential but thick headed Inquisitor to keep the town running around its own tail. You did that well enough. Oh and I am sorry for not introducing myself. I am Selfias, a pleasure to meet you.”
“The pleasure is all yours,” Trixie scoffed. “I’ll make sure to kill you when I get out of here.”
“By the time anyone figures out where you are, you’ll be dead.” Selfias quipped.
“You put too much faith in your own abilities,” Trixie scowled. “And not nearly enough into our revered goddess. You will burn before the end of this day for your transgressions, Selfias.”
Selfias laughed, “Defiant until the end. You are indeed humorous.” He turned back to the large pedestal in the middle of the camp. “I’m thankful that my servants were able to bring a few of you here alive. The crystals we gathered in town were a poor substitute even if they allowed us to get as far as we needed.”
Before any of the captives could question him further, the columns started to glow a bloody red color. Several gems came to life within them. The columns seemed to move in place as the flesh that made them moved. The energy seemed to flow around them, unearthly and chaotic in motion. It felt wrong just looking at it. Within the center, a spark seemed to ignite. The jagged magic seemed to be taking a corporal shape akin to something you would see in a children’s version of a star.
“Behold,” Selfias began. “What you are witnessing is the beginning of the end of the age of order. Your sacrifices will be made in order to summon one of Discord’s chosen. A being who will lead us into a new age and one who brings back our beloved god who was unjustly put to stone all those ages ago.”
“Master,” Pokey went to his side. He sneered at Trixie’s cage. “I think we should start with those ones right there. They seem like the most potent. If we need more, the guards can act as a backup plan.”
Selfias looked back at them. The glowing redness in his eyes unnerved Trixie and the way the two boys shook against her, they felt the same way. “Very well. Take one of them and bring them here.”
“With pleasure, master.” Given his tone, Trixie knew Pokey meant every bit of that. He stopped before the cage and smirked, “I’ve been waiting to do this for a long time. That arrogant smirk of yours really pissed me off.”
Trixie spat into his face, “The feeling is mutual.”
Pokey scowled as he wiped away the spit, “You’ll regret that.” His eyes turned to Cato. His smile made Trixie subconsciously coil more so around him. He pointed to the boy, “He’ll do.”
Trixie’s eyes widened, “You are not touching-” She cried out in alarm and then pain when Pokey’s magic slammed her against the back of the cage, away from the boys. With an extra dose of magic, he sent a current of pain through her body. She tried to still her cries of pain, but they still escaped her lips. It infuriated her to hear his chuckles through it all.
“Alright boy,” Pokey dragged Cato out and pushed Hikaru away when he tried to snap at him. He hoofed him to a few other cultists. “You’re going to do us a great service today. You should be proud.”
“You bastards!” Blueberry slammed her body against the bars of her cage. “Let him go.” Several of the other guards tried to do the same, calling out curses and the like.
Pokey just laughed, “Keep it up. It’ll make your sacrifices all the more delightful in the future.”
“Stop taunting them and bring the sacrifice over,” Seflias called to him.
“Master!” Cato cried out as he was dragged away.
“Cato!” Trixie sprang forward but the cage door slammed into her face and locked her back in. ‘I can still remember when he first looked at me. The little babe held in my master’s arms. I was told to take care of him. It was my mission, he said. I didn’t know what he meant.’
“Master!”
Trixie had never been more frightened than at that moment. She usually prided herself in her composure. Well, her version of composure anyways. She got angry often, but never scared. Not once in several years time, yet now she felt fear. Fear like she had never felt before. Hearing Cato’s cries were breaking her heart. “Cato!” She banged herself against the metal bars.
‘He is my responsibility,’ Trixie’s rage grew stronger. ‘I hated him then. I feel disgust at that emotion now. I cannot hate him. I need him. I need to care for him because… because…’
“Master!” She could see the tears streaming down his eyes. How he was holding his hands out to her, wanting nothing more then for her to snatch him up in her arms.
“Cato!” A cold feeling welled up inside of her seeing him like that. A cold but powerful feeling. As though she was being rejuvenated by her own motherly desire. ‘I have to take care of him. I have to save him.’
“M-Mommy!”
Trixie’s eyes widened as she looked into his sobbing face. Hearing that made everything stand still for a moment. She wanted nothing more then to hug him right then and there and tell him everything was going to be okay. It should have been. None of this was supposed to happen. He was supposed to be safe. Her baby was supposed to stay back.
“Quiet you!” Pokey snarled and slammed his hoof into Cato’s face, silencing him.
Trixie’s heart stopped at the sight. Her eyes widened as her nostrils flared. Everything was silent to her as her mind focused entirely on the action. On her boy calling out to her and the strike. The building sensations inside of her flared. They turned red hot with her anger as she glared at the chaos sorcerer. The anger. The power. All of it flowed through her body and pulsed right underneath her horn. She screamed and slammed her body against the bars. Again and again she did so, drawing Pokey’s attention.
He just laughed, “Awww, are you angry Inquisitor Trixie? Good. Maybe that anger will help fuel the summoning ritual.” He stood up on his hind hooves and spread out his forelegs dramatically, “Be honored that your child will be the first to go!”
“CATO!!!” The anger burned through her form, threatening to overtake her before she heard something snap. She moved her head back as her horn shined. The ring over it broke in an instant, falling to the side as she shot her head forward. She pointed it right at him. ‘HE IS MY BABY!’
“What?” Pokey’s eyes widened just as a large bolt of magic destroyed the bars in front of her and shot right at him. Just before it hit, he teleported to Selfias’s side. The bolt struck a cultist behind him. The cultist burst like a balloon, showering her compatriots with her remains. They yelped and scooted back.
“Pokey!” Selfias snarled as Trixie took her first steps out of the cage, an inner fire burning behind her eyes. “You didn’t use a strong enough ring.”
“B-But she wasn’t that strong!” Pokey was slapped by his master. His master, even though he was just skin and bones, still had enough strength to split his lip.
“You should have taken into account magical surges!” Selfias snarled.
Trixie’s magic surged as she sent out a little signal. Thankfully she had tied her sword with her own magical insignia so the moment she did, it came soaring from the cultist’s junkpile. Slicing off a cultist’s head as it did so, it made its way to her side. She slashed through two more cultist’s before she stood over Cato’s prone form. “If any of you dare to touch him, I will kill you!”
Selfias sighed and took a step forward. He gestured to the chaotic spark in the middle of the pillars. “You cannot stop the future, Inquisitor. You only delay. Please lay down your arms. This doesn’t need to end violently.”
“Oh your way is plenty violent,” Trixie snarled. “I can’t believe a pony would stoop this low.”
“After my last plan with the Rockadile failed,” Selfias explained, reminding Trixie of that report filed away back. “I had to find another way to gather the necessary flesh and power. The Rockadile was supposed to keep your attention and allow me to gather enough flesh for this but it was found out too early.”
“And now you’ve come to this,” Trixie spat in disgust. “I will cleave your head off that putrid body of yours. Maybe then you will find absolution in Celestia’s light.”
“Celestia will fall,” Selfias scowled and raised a hoof. Several cultists readied their weapons as they surrounded her. “And there is nothing that can change that.”
Before any of the cultist’s could kill them, one of them noticed a sizzling sound and something bumping his leg. He looked down to see a spherical piece of metal with a burning fuse. His opened his mouth to speak as the fuse burnt itself to the core. It exploded, sending the cultists nearby flying. Most of them were injured or dead due to the metal pieces flying right through them. Three more flying pegasi cultists fell to the ground as three arrows were let loose. The cultists screamed and tried to find whoever fired.
“What?” Selfias shouted in surprise before glaring at Pokey Pierce.
Pokey gulped and rapidly shook his head, “I don’t know who that is. I made sure no one was following us.”
Selfias scowled as more cultists fell down to the arrows coming at them from the forest around them. He narrowed his eyes. “There are only two of them. Break up and find them before they whittle you down!” The cultists tried to do just that as two more explosive spheres sent more sprawling.
“I’ll take care of the Inquisitor,” Pokey smirked as he made his way towards her. Two magical spears hovered around him.
Trixie scowled and stood in front of Cato, brandishing her sword. “Do you really believe you can best the great Inquisitor Trixie?”
“I don’t believe I can,” Pokey readied himself. “I know I can!” With that said, he threw both his spears right at her. Trixie slashed them out of the air. “I’m glad I get to kill you. Else this,” he changed his shape into that of a griffon. “Would have been for nothing?”
Trixie’s eyes widened, “You can change?”
“Well I had to leave some clues for you to find, now didn’t I?” Pokey returned to his regular form as he thrust out another spear which Trixie deflected. “And you fell for it, just as you will fall to my spears.”
As that was going on, a mare sprang out from the forest. The Earth pony ran on her hind hooves as she held a spear in her hand. She swiftly sliced off the locks on all of the cages, stopping before Blueberry’s as she finished the last one.
Blueberry smiled, “Mare, am I ever glad to see you. What’s your name?”
“Suri Polomare,” the mare smiled and twirled, stabbing a cultist that had tried to charge at her through her chest. “And I think we have a few problems on ours hooves right now.”
“Name’s Blueberry,” she smiled as she picked up a crooked cultist sword in one hoof. “But I think we might be a bit out numbered here.”
Suri smirked and raised a rocket, “Not for long!” She sparked it and it shot off into the sky. The explosion sparked in the air. It sent out several great sparks flying around and exploding again to send out more sparks to continue the process for another moment.
Selfias scowled, “Damn it.” He turned to look at the portal he was trying to create. That mare obviously was trying to bring reinforcements. He needed to finish the ritual and finish it now. He looked at the large pulsing purple gem holding the spirit of one of Discord’s chosen. He narrowed his eyes as energy flowed into it. It needed more. A larger sacrifice. He looked to the bodies around him. The dead were adding up. He smiled, “That will do.”
Meanwhile Suri and the escaped soldiers were pushing back the haphazard attacks by the cultists. The soldiers thankfully still had their armor, since the cultists were in a rush to get them here, so they were able to stave off some attacks. Although without any weapons, a couple had gone down already. Suri looked up to see some archers taking aim at them. She knocked aside a few bolts with her spear before shooting one through the head with her retractable crossbow.
The other airborne pegasi hurriedly reloaded their bows and prepared to aim. Just as they did, a greenish blur smashing into one of them. The others let out shrieks of surprise and pain as sparks of electricity ran through them, causing them to fall to the ground. Suri turned to see Lightning smirking at her.
“Thought you could have all the fun, eh?”
Suri chuckled in response, “Not a chance.” She readied herself into a battle stance as another wave of cultists charged at them. “Ready?”
“Oh I was born ready!” Lightning grinned as the two let out their battle cries and charged at the oncoming traitors. Several of them were sent flying as Lightning smashed her hooves into them or shocked them with her lightning attacks, or slashed and skewered by Suri’s numerous weapons.
“Oi,” Blueberry called out to her troops that were huddled up into a group. “Do you want to be outdone by a civilian and a mercenary?”
“No!” Was the resounding answer.
“Then let’s show them how the guard does it!” With that the guard charged and struck the chaos line.
Trixie had her own hooves full with just one cultist. She dodged and weaved around Pokey’s spears, slashing them out of the air as he kept throwing them. “Is this all that you possess, heretic?”
“It’ll be enough to kill you,” Pokey summoned ten more and threw them right at her.
Trixie scowled and her horn lit up. Instantly, nine copies of herself appeared and slashed away the spears. They all smirked and charged. Pokey threw his spears but all of the Trixies scattered. Coming at him from all directions they slashed at him. He teleported a few meters in front of him and turned around. He threw his spears and most of the copies blocked them save one that disappeared as it was struck in the chest.
Some of the Trixies then fired bolts of magic while the others charged. Pokey blocked the bolts with his spears before having to contend with three Trixies slashing at him at once. One of them slashed across his right cheek in a lucky blow before he skewered it in the head, causing it to vanish.
“You think your smoke and mirrors will kill me, Inquisitor?” Pokey scowled. “I can do this all day!”
“You will slip up!” The Trixies shouted as they kept up their assault which was pushing Pokey back. “And when you do, I will slice you in half!”
“That’s if I don’t slice you up first!” Pokey shouted as a burst of chaos magic pushed the clones away. He used his magic to hover himself a few meters above them. Several more spears appeared and idly stood by. “You loyalists sicken me. You stand by that decrepit sun goddess who leads you to complacency. To an era of utter order! It’s disgusting. I will enjoy tearing it apart. Discord will reign forever!” With that said, he threw several dozen spears straight down at them.
The Trixies did their best to bat them away with their swords or magic. Three of them weren’t up to snuff as they were slashed out of existence. Trixie gritted her teeth as the onslaught kept going. ‘I have to finish him soon or my luck will run out.’
Pokey laughed as he looked down at her condescendly, “The Great Inquisitor Trixie De Lis. I cannot believe such a name applies to filth like you. You will be wiped away from this earth and I am honored to be the one to do it.”
Trixie snarled up at him as she kept up her assault. She made sure to keep herself over Cato in case Pokey’s attacks were directed at him. ‘I… I can’t lose to a filthy heretic. Not when I have someone to protect!’
Of course, her silent prayers were answered when a green fiery blur smashed into Pokey. Pokey let out a cry of pain and surprise as he was smashed into the ground. Trixie’s eyes widened as she tried to comprehend what just happened.
“Trixie!” Dot shouted as he moved over to hug her.
Trixie was silent as she stared down at him, “You came?”
Dot smiled and gave her a little chuckle, “Of course I did. I would be a pretty lousy-”
He was cut off when Trixie pulled him into a deep kiss. Dot’s tongue was overwhelmed by hers for a moment before she pulled back. A trail of saliva still attached to their lips. She licked hers seductively, “I love you~”
Dot blinked in surprise, blushing slightly. “Well… I’ve got to save you more often then.” To which Trixie just laughed. He looked down and his eyes widened, “Cato!” His magic ran itself over Cato, healing the boy’s light injuries.
Cato stirred and opened his eyes, “Wh-what happened?”
Trixie pulled him into a hug, “You’re alright!”
“You bastards,” Pokey screamed as he interrupted their reunion. His left side was singed and his chaos shroud was laying tattered on the ground. “You think you can stop me? Chaos will always prevail. Hail Discord!” Several more spears appeared before him. “Now die!”
Dot quirked an eyebrow as the group prepared themselves, “This guy is too full of himself.” He helped Cato steady himself and gave the pair their guns back. “Figured you’d need them.” With that said, the group smashed aside the first wave of spears with magic, sword, and bullets.
“Die,” Pokey screamed as he kept it up. “Die. Die. Die!” He suddenly screamed as he felt something bite into his leg. He snarled as he looked back at Hikaru, “You worthless mutt!” He grabbed him in his magic and squeezed him. “Any last words?”
“M-m-m,” Hikaru sniffled and cried out. “Mommy!”
Pokey laughed as he kept up his assault on the others so they couldn’t interrupt, “Like that’s going to work a second time.”
“Coming baby!”
Pokey’s eyes widened as a familiar lightly colored Element Bearer pegasi smashed into him and took Hikaru into her arms.
“Shh,” Pizzelle nuzzled him caringly. “You’re safe. I’ve got you.”
“Mommy,” Hikaru hiccuped and nuzzled into her chest.
“Will you bastards stop doing that?” Pokey stood up and readied another attack. “Just stand still and die already!”
“I think you should bloody well take your own advice,” another voice called out. Pokey turned his head to see the griffon bounty hunter running at blinding speed right at him. He gasped, having only a second to move his spears in that direction and fire. Crowland battered them away as he moved forward, throwing a dart which hit Pokey in the chest.
Suddenly the dart exploded in a shower of electricity, shocking Pokey as he cried out in utter agony. That didn’t stop there as Crowland neared his destination. The blade in his claws glimmered as he slashed through Pokey’s horn, adding to the chaos sorcerer's agony. The spears around him disappeared without a source of magic to draw upon.
“That’s the end of you,” Crowland kicked him to the ground. He looked over at them and gave a wave, “I see you lot are doing well.”
“Thanks in part to you,” Dot smiled and elbowed Trixie. When she sent him a glare, he nodded towards Crowland.
Trixie sighed and walked up to the griffon, “I…” she gritted her teeth. “I apologize for my actions. They were… wrong of me.”
Crowland stared at her for a moment before patting her head which caused her to stiffen, “Don’t worry about it, young one. I’ve had worse. No literally. I doubt you could top the Shadow Deer in the torture department.”
Trixie’s eyes widened, “You were captured by the Shadow Deer?” The Shadow Deer were a splinter group of the Deer. They followed the teachings of Tirek and were incredibly cruel and sadistic.
“Darn right I was,” Crowland shook his head. “But that’s in the past. So I don’t hold anything against you honestly. Just try not to go overboard next time, alright.”
“I’ll make sure she doesn’t,” Dot chuckled, earning a light smack in the back of his head by Trixie for his comment.
“Well I think that’s enough for now,” Selfias’s voice got their attention. Around him streams of blood and flesh flowed into the glowing purple gem drawing everyone’s attention. “Not as much as I would have liked, but perhaps just a little more chaos will do the trick.”
“You have failed, Selfias!” Trixie snarled.
“Failed as a teacher, yes.” With that said, Selfias tapped one of his gems. A droplet of blood pooled out before shooting outward.
“Wh-what?” The droplet pierced Pokey’s head, bursting it like a watermelon struck by a high caliber round. The group gasped and Crowland had to jump slightly back from it.
“I will do better next time,” Selfias said. “This is my time to exit.” He took the gem into his hooves as the glowing stopped. “The rest of the troops should be any time now.” One of his gems shot out from his cloak to protect him from a fireball. “Such as Princess Sunset Shimmer herself. I am honored.”
“Save your breath, heretic.” Sunset snarled. “Today will be your end.”
“No it won’t,” Selfias calmly stated before two more blood gems popped off and swirled around him. Sunset fired another fireball but the gems exploded and with those bursts of blood, Selfias vanished.
Sunset stomped a hoof onto the ground in anger, “Damn it. He got away.” Several armed guardsponies and local milita arrived onto the scene, quickly rounding up the remaining rogue chaos cultists.
“We’ll get him next time,” Lightning landed beside her. “Thanks for coming by the way.”
“No problem,” Sunset let out a small smile.
Trixie sighed and rubbed her forehead, “This is going to take a while to sort through.” She honestly doubted she’d still get to be an Inquisitor after this debacle but looking at Cato, she wasn’t as worried as before.
Inquisitor Time Turner adjusted his hat. He couldn’t help but have a smile upon his face as he did so. It had not been but a few moments before he got a letter from the Inquisition stating his reinstatement. It was short and to the point, something he wasn’t really surprised about. The Inquisition did pretty much want him kicked out for one reason or another. A bunch of blowhards, he thought they were. Still they were better than the lot he had to deal with centuries ago. It helped that he was close with Celestia too, but even that wouldn’t save him if he really ticked them off the next time.
Which meant he’d stay in Ponyville for the time being. Now that really made his smile grow. The little town was basically paradise for him. He wouldn’t trade his new friends and acolyte for anything. The loud crash in his house though made him grumble about that fact. He moved over to find Lyra and Twilight playing with pies. Which basically had them flying around, sometimes literally on their own power, at each other.
He honestly didn’t know when he found himself with Twilight under his care. He had been released from the hospital and as it turned out, Twilight was basically to be looked after at all times. This applied to now more so given that Trixie wasn’t in town and didn’t want to bring along her chaos sorcerer. He didn’t know why she would do that at the time. Now he knew. Twilight was a headache to keep on target and it would take away from her investigation. This all lead to now where he had to deal with two rather messed up ponies.
“Attention!” He cried out. Several pies hit the floor as the two ponies stood in front of him. Lyra gave him a salute with her forehoof and panted like a dog with her tongue lolling out. Twilight just grew out her tail and morphed the hairs into a hand to do the same thing. The tongue thing included. He sighed, “What are you two doing?” ‘I already know the answer, but the best thing is to keep them talking so they don’t get right back to it.’
“Just playing, sir.” Lyra dutifully answered. He could at least count on her to be honest with him. “Since Twilight is to be under our command for the time being, I thought it would be good to unwind.”
“Just make sure it doesn’t go like your last attempt,” Time Turner narrowed his eyes when they nervously chuckled. “You’re still on lockdown because of it. If you hadn’t, maybe Trixie would have brought you on her mission.”
Twilight pouted and crossed her forelegs, “It’s not my fault I get bored easily. She’s just so… orderly sometimes.” She stuck out her tongue in disgust at saying that word. Then her smile broke out into a grin as it morphed into Trixie’s, “But the look on her face when I surprise her is priceless.” She made an angry face with it, which Turner wondered if that was Trixie’s regular expression.
“Nonetheless,” Turner started as Twilight morphed her head back to normal. “Trixie should be coming back any moment soon. We’ve just got a message back that she’s safe and sound and being transported-” Twilight then vanished piece by piece as if being popped like a bubble. He sighed, “And now we have to catch her before she causes more damage. Wonderful.”
He honestly wouldn’t trade this headache for anything.
“So everyone,” Sunset said as she stood upon a platform overlooking the citizens of Equestria. Standing behind the podium, she stared down at them as she kept talking. Beside and behind her were several of the more important creatures involved in the recent battle, including her friends. Of course, her voice was amplified with the Royal Canterlot voice so there was no way anyone could not understand her. “What have we learned?”
“Not to judge someone based on their species,” the ponies grumbled.
“And?”
“Not to rush into things and misuse your power for your own gains.”
Sunset smiled and looked back at Trixie. She was currently cuddling Cato to her chest as she talked with Pizzelle who was doing likewise with Hikaru. Dot was nestled beside her. Sunset cleared her throat, gaining Trixie’s attention. “Did you get that as well?”
Trixie huffed. Everyone had basically been chewing her out for everything that had been happening as of late. Usually she would take offense to this. She would come up with some excuse for her actions, but right now she wasn’t feeling like it. She simply nodded, “Yes, I heard every word of it.”
“So take that to heart then,” she heard Blueberry comment beside her. Sunset had to hand it to her, Blueberry seemed like an awesome soldier. Even more so now that she knew she was staying in town to bolster the local militia. Thankfully they were sending a few more troops, and magic users, to replace her loses.
“I will, Blueberry.” Trixie frowned and looked away.
Suddenly, Lightning Dust landed right beside Sunset. Sunset gave a little yelp and her horn lit up with a fireball before she cancelled it out and instead just glared at the pegasus. “And let’s not forget the most important lesson!”
Sunset groaned, “To trust your friends word.” ‘I swear, if she wasn’t my friend and a fellow element bearer, I would burn her to a crip and laugh as I used her ashes as pillow stuffing.’
Lightning smirked, “Not so bad, is it Sunset?”
“Oh can it before I actually incinerate you.” Sunset huffed which only caused Lightning to laugh at it. Seemed things were going back to how it was, which caused Sunset to let out a little smile. She turned back to the crowd. “So what do we say to the nice old griffon?” She gestured to Crowland.
“We’re sorry,” the townsfolk relented, although some just grumbled or mouthed the words. Saying sorry to a griffon didn’t come natural to many and some would never do it. This was the best they could get.
“Apology accepted, mates.” Crowland tipped his hat to them.
Suri let out a breath of relief, “Glad that’s out of the way.”
“Yeah,” Lightning idly put a hoof over her shoulder and pulled her close as she gave her a cocky grin. “I wouldn’t leave a friend hanging if I can help it.” Suri just blushed in response, unsure of what to say to her secret crush.
“Now that’s out of the way,” Trixie huffed and moved forward. “You are all free to leave.” To which the townsfolk were more than happy to comply. She turned back to Sunset Shimmer and bowed, “I’m sorry for my actions, princess. I have shamed this fair country of ours.”
“Oh don’t be so dramatic,” Sunset rolled her eyes. “I’ll put in a good word for you and hopefully you’ll end up on the southern front dealing with the ‘griffon menace’.” Sunset’s wicked grin unnerved the others. “It’s the least I can do after you tried to kill my friend.”
Trixie gulped and shivered, “Y-You are most kind, my princess.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary, Princess Shimmer!” They all turned to see it was Inquisitor Time Turner shouting out to them. Inquisitor Acolyte Lyra Heartstrings was trailing close behind. They both stepped onto the stage and walked up to her, giving a small bow of their heads. “I have received news from Canterlot about the situation.”
“That was quick,” Sunset quirked an eyebrow at that.
Time Turner simply grinned at that, “With the right spells and tech, the Inquisition does its job well.” He paused as he looked over Trixie and then back to Sunset, “So I’ve been reinstated and have been given the status for Trixie. Effective immediately Inquisitor Trixie de Lis is to be stationed in Ponyville and to hold equal power to my own.”
“What?!!” Pretty much everyone else shouted in confusion.
Time Turner nodded, “Yes, that is their orders. It seems some of the Inquisition don’t want you back or the others want you to learn a few things from me. Either way, Trixie is here to stay.”
Trixie gritted her teeth, “Great. As if this day couldn’t possibly get any worse.”
“Trixie~!” With that being said, Trixie was glomped by a flying purple blur. Trixie looked up only to have said blur, which was Twilight Sparkle by the way, to kiss her on the lips. Trixie’s eyes widened as she struggled in her hold before Twilight pulled up. “I was so worried about you. I would have come but I was on lockdown which I’m not anymore so yay~” Twilight teleported away when a sword slashed where her neck used to be.
Trixie quickly got up on her hooves and snarled, “Te crétin sale!” (You dirty moron) She rushed the teleporting and giggling maniac, trying in vain to slash her down. All she got out of her efforts was frustration and slicing air.
Sunset rubbed her forehead. ‘This is going to add so many headaches to my day. I mean, why did I have to end up with Twilight in the same area again? The gods hate me.’
Selfias wasn’t like most chaos sorcerers. They would usually break down in a tirade about their loss and their hatred of the ‘heroes’. They would scream, shout, and probably kill some of their subordinates just to make themselves feel better. He wasn’t like that. Partially because he needed as many resources as he could get given their recent failures had drained him of some much needed cannon fodder. That and he was more level headed.
Chaos was random, but sometimes it had a purpose. Selfias knew that purpose and he was guide it on its way to victory. This was the long game and he had all the pieces he needed to play his hand. The loss of his trained apprentice was agitating though. It would take a while to find someone of his caliber again. One that could at least stay sane with all that chaotic power but for now, that wasn’t as much of a concern as the thing before him. He looked down at the jewel which pulsated with life inside of it. He gently touched it.
“Soon you will be reborn and with you by my side, we will bring back our god.” He grinned as a small chuckle bubbled its way to his lips. More plans came to mind that would have to proceed that, but for now he could at least allow himself to get lost in the certain future. “That much I promise you.”
