> Monsters
>  by Sharpe Quill
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue: The Source
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monsters

By Sharpe Quill

Prologue: The Source



Princess Celestia was breathing heavily. Sweat coated her neck and sides, her wings hung drooping at her sides almost to the ground, and her bright pink mane hung limply beneath a golden tiara. She had never felt as tired as she did at that moment. She stared wearily up at the one who had caused her and her sister, not to mention all the poor ponies in Equestria, so much pain and suffering.

Even in defeat, Discord couldn’t help but taunt them. In his final moments before the power of the Elements of Harmony had sealed him in stone, he had taken a grandiose pose, eagle claw thrust up and outward, head thrown back as though in song. A final act of defiance. The statue smoked slightly but gave off no heat.

Celestia tried to calm her breathing, but it was a difficult task. The magic required had been greater than any she had ever experienced. She could feel the trembling form of her younger sister huddled at her side, shaking in fear and exhaustion. She turned to look at Luna, and sympathy overcame her. Celestia wished there had been a way she could have spared her sister this, but even with all her awesome power, Celestia alone was unable to wield the Elements to their full potential, and nothing less would have been enough to handle Discord. She had needed Luna for this, and Luna needed her now. She would break down later, when there was nopony around to see.

“Shhh,'tis alright now, Luna,” she whispered soothingly, nuzzling her sister’s mane gently.

The small figure peaked out from behind her to stare at the new statue. “Is… is he gone?”

Celestia extended her wing out and drew her younger sister into an embrace. “Yes. He is gone. We have prevailed.” She forced a smile on her face. “Truly We are proud of thee, sister.”

Luna seemed to relax at the praise, managing a tremulous smile of her own. But then her eyes closed and she sighed in weariness. “I am so tired, Celly.”

Celestia could relate. The Elements’ power was not free. She felt as though she could sleep for years. She knew that she couldn’t, not yet. There was too much to do. 

Celestia and Luna stood in what had once been their castle, their home. When Discord had first appeared, he had taken great pleasure in turning the palace upside down. Literally. The thrones were on the ceiling and a chandelier somehow hung upwards not thirty paces behind them, the fire that flickered along their wicks gave off darkness instead of light, literally casting shadows about the room. The windows had been broken during the confrontation and fluffy pink clouds could just barely be seen outside zooming about manically.

She suddenly realized that she was lying down, right there on the “ceiling.” Odd, she didn’t remember moving at all. But since she was already lying down, and since the danger had passed, surely it would be alright for her to close her eyes and relax. Just for a second.

She felt the steady deep breathing of her sister pressed against her, beneath her outstretched wing. Her sister was safe, her subjects were safe, Equestria was safe. She’d earned a moment of respite, to relax. She closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, after what couldn’t have been more than a second, she was looking directly into the brilliant blue eyes of a dark violet unicorn mare with a silver mane, one of the her closest friends and advisors named Moonbeam. The weary alicorn was startled by the sudden vision so close to her face but carefully held it in check, allowing no reaction whatsoever to show on the outside. She calmly looked into those sparkling blue eyes and smiled.

“Thou hast done it, Princess!” the unicorn exclaimed happily. “Discord is gone! He is truly gone!”

Celestia gently shushed her friend before whispering, “Our dear sister is still weary from her ordeal, We would that she could rest for some time yet.” She raised her wing slightly, presenting the midnight blue form still sleeping soundly.

“Of course, Princess,” Moonbeam whispered, all serious once again. She ducked her head. “But there is much yet to be done.”

Celestia closed her eyes wearily but nodded. “Very well. Wouldst thou please take Princess Luna to a safe place where she may sleep in peace?”

“As thou command, Princess,” the unicorn responded, ducking her head again.

Celestia carefully enveloped the sleeping form of her sister in a golden nimbus of magic, lifting her up and placing her gently on Moonbeam’s back. Luna squirmed but didn’t wake. Moonbeam trotted away, careful to not disturb her precious burden. Celestia watched them leave before turning her attention to her surroundings.

The Great Hall was back as it was supposed to be, the correct way up and with everything back to obeying gravity. Luckily, the switch had not seemed to disturb them, and Celestia was now lying on the floor. Outside the still-broken windows, naught but fluffy white clouds were visible. The sky had the rosy blush of evening, and she realized with a small pang of guilt that she had slept through the scheduled sunset.

At once her long horn was enveloped in a halo of golden light and she focused her will on the arduous task of allowing the sun to slip into its nightly slumber while at the same time gently pulling the moon above the horizon and into the sky. It took significantly more effort than it normally did. She realized then just how much the fight had taken out of her. She shuddered to think about how much it must have taken out of her sister, even though she had purposely shielded the worst of it from her. 

Ugh, she needed a bath. And a grooming. And maybe a nice cloud to sleep on.

No. Unfortunately, Moonbeam was correct, there was still much that needed to be done. She had an eternity to catch up on her sleep. She forced herself to stand.



********************



The following day, Princess Celestia found herself in a meeting room surrounded by Moonbeam and eleven other advisors, mostly unicorns but with a few earth and pegasus ponies in attendance. The room itself had taken significant damage in the preceding months during Discord’s reign of terror, but it was serviceable. The council was discussing the aftereffects of said reign and how to handle the cleanup. Rain Fall, an orange pegasus mare with a light blue mane, was reading from a report.

“The effects of Discord’s magic have already begun to fade away throughout the country,” she said, “but it is strangely… selective.”

“In what way?” asked one of the unicorns.

Rain Fall studied her notes quickly. “It would appear that the majority of the superficial changes have been self-rectifying, however the deeper changes seem to be more resilient. Maybe even permanent. For example: all the buildings are correctly seated, the grass is green again, the clouds rain water. In short, nature is returning to its proper state.”

“But?” prompted Moonbeam from her place next to Celestia.

“But the animals for the most part have not.”

“What d’you mean? ‘For the most part’?” asked Rocky Road, a brown and white stallion with an unfortunate pink mane. “Is they or isn’t they?”

Rain Fall sighed. “Some have. At the moment we’re not sure why, but it almost seems as though Discord twisted some poor critters just as one of his sick jokes while others seem to have been more planned out. These latter creatures have spawned their own cruel offspring, equally twisted. Take these for instance: There are reports of a type of creature that seems to be a mix of a chicken and a dragon whose stare can turn ponies to stone. Or these so-called manticores, which are like big lions with wings and some kind of nasty stinger for a tail. All in all, it isn’t pretty. What’s worse, they seem to be spreading quickly.”

“Canst they not be killed?” asked Baron Blueblood.

Celestia winced very slightly. She hated the very thought of killing any creature, no matter how dangerous it may be. But she also recognized the incredible danger such creatures posed to her ponies.

Rain Fall didn’t seem to notice the princess’ discomfort. “It seems as though they can. Even when Discord was at his full strength, the creatures were mortal enough. The bigger problem is the progenitors.”

“Hold up a tic. The what now?” interrupted Rocky Road, a stalwart pony to be sure, but simple as they came.

“She means the creatures from which they all spawned,” explained a rose colored unicorn mare with a blue mane, appropriately named Rose, with a slight air of annoyance.

“Then why didn’t she just say so in the first place?” snapped Rocky Road.

“She did!”

“Well she didn’t need to be so hoity-toity about it!”

The two glared at each other across the narrow table. Feeling they were getting off track, Celestia coughed lightly. “Please, please, now is not the time. Rose, thy husband merely desired clarification.”

Both ponies blushed and backed down.

“Please continue, Rain Fall,” Celestia said, in the same gentle voice.

Rain Fall coughed. “Yes, well. The original creatures seem to be immortal. Any attempts to kill them have failed. Magic can slow them down but they’re remarkably resilient. The few times we’ve managed to hurt them before, they just seem to get back up. But with Discord gone, it is possible that they are now vulnerable.”

“How many of these ‘progenitors’ are there?” asked Moonbeam.

“Maybe two dozen. We’ve been keeping tabs on them, trying to make sure nopony runs afoul of them. They don’t seem to have any specific motivation, they just tend to wander. This is not counting the one you somehow befriended, Princess.” Rain Fall inclined her head towards Celestia.

Celestia smiled at the mention of her multi-headed friend. She and Luna had managed to get on the good side of one of the larger creatures that Rain Fall was talking about, and it had been their friend ever since. Although feeding all of its heads was something of a hassle.

“Well, if we can’t kill them? Then what?” asked the other earth pony in the group.

There was silence around the meeting table as each pony mulled the problem over. Finally, Celestia rose to her hooves, towering over the others. “A prison,” she said.

A series of murmured agreements spread throughout the ponies assembled around her. Celestia continued, “We know of such a place. And We believe that with Our magic, coupled with the threat of Cerberus, these creatures will be contained and pose no further threat to Equestria. What say thee all?”

Almost immediately there was a chorus of “Ayes” from the gathered ponies accompanied by short round of hoof stomping.

Moonbeam looked troubled however, and looked up at her friend and ruler. “But what if they get out?” she whispered, her words intended only for Celestia.

Celestia closed her eyes and bowed her head slightly. She whispered back, “Pray that they do not.”



********************



~ 2000 years later

“Oh no!”

“What’s the big deal? It’s just a lost dog flyer.”

> Chapter 1: Dock
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monsters

By Sharpe Quill

Chapter 1: Dock



The town of Dock was dying.

There was really no way around that fact, no matter how much Captain Belle of the Dock Constabulary wished there were. It was painfully obvious everywhere she looked. The warehouses to her right were all too empty these days, with only one or two showing any signs of recent activity. The river to her left was similarly deserted. Only three merchant vessels, barge-like in shape and dimension, were currently moored at the dock when once upon a time a pony could hardly see the water because of the sheer number of ships crowding the area.

Dock was situated at the widest point of the Canter River, which ran all the way from Canterlot, just north of the point where the Everfree River branched off from it before breaking into several tributaries, eventually reaching Baltimare and the Eastern Ocean. Not long ago the majority of merchants would use the rivers to transport their goods throughout all of Equestria, and Dock was the one place they all visited, its central hub. Everything from the famous Canterlot perfumes to Fillydelphian dresses and suits to Sweet Apple Acres apples, all of them came through Dock. The town had prospered.

But no longer. Several years ago, the railroad had been brought to Ponyville, which for the longest time had been just another simple neighboring town. The new technology provided faster and more direct transportation for the merchant ponies. Ponyville quickly became the second largest railroad hub in Equestria, eclipsed only by Canterlot itself, its location an optimal crossroads for the rail lines running south and west. Ponyville had grown while Dock had declined.

It had all happened so quickly too. Just a few years ago, Dock had been home to over two thousand ponies, with hundreds more passing through every day. Now, there were barely six hundred.

Belle’s hooves made dull thumps against the wooden planks beneath her. Most of the docks here were made up of solid stone with simple wooden jetties jutting out into the river itself, but she preferred to trot on the wood as often as possible. It was a somewhat childish enjoyment to hear the sound and feel the slight give as her hooves struck wood, but she didn’t care. 

The sun was well on its way towards its nightly slumber and the shadows were beginning to grow long. The docks were mostly deserted with only a hooffull of ponies still around, a few pegasi flitting about and one or two unicorns carefully unloading and stacking large crates of goods for storage. They moved quickly, hurrying to finish their duties and relax after a long day’s work.

Belle herself now approached the anticipated destination of the dock workers: a massive, three-story building, almost as wide as three of the smaller and empty buildings, which sat in the very center of the long line of structures facing the river. It was the only building that showed any kind of activity. It had the unfortunate name of The Hole, and it was Dock’s last remaining tavern. 

The sounds of the evening revelry were already in full swing; conversation, laughter, music, the clinking of mugs and plates all forming a happy cacophony. It was a sound Belle enjoyed hearing, the sound of happy ponies living life. She probably wouldn’t be needed here tonight, which was all for the good.

For all that she approved of what The Hole represented to the dock workers and visiting sailors, she herself disliked the place. It was too loud and boisterous for her tastes.

Belle approached the open doorway from which a bright glow streamed, forming a rectangle of light on the stone street in front. As she entered the regrettably named tavern, she took in the scene before her.

Situated around several dozen round tables sat a large number of creatures, mostly ponies. A few griffons were in attendance though, and she even spotted a trio of diamond dogs in a shadowy corner. Merchant ships attracted all sorts of races, and the mysterious ‘fingers’ that the latter two races possessed gave them a distinct advantage over most ponies. As such they were often in high demand from merchant vessels. A small mix of unicorns and earth ponies were on a short stage off to the side playing a variety of musical instruments, emitting a fast and jolly tune.

Belle had often imagined a scenario where she would enter through these doors, her silhouette standing out sharply, her imposing bronze armor glinting in the lantern light, and all sound inside would cease as all eyes would turn to her, cautious and respectful. She would enter slowly and confidently, hushed whispers following her as she approached the bar.

Not that she wanted to be feared or anything. It was merely a fun fantasy.

Of course, it never happened. Never had and most likely never would. When she stepped inside there wasn’t so much as a hitch in either the music or the conversation, not even from the five pegasi sitting at the table closest to her. Her armor failed to intimidate even the scruffy dog lying just next to the door, despite her efforts to keep it shiny.

She slowly made her way to the bar, winding her way among around the tables, careful to not disturb anypony. She paused, carefully raising a hoof to push the tinted glasses she always wore to the top of her head, revealing her dark blue eyes. Sitting at the corner of the bar, a mug of frothy liquid she greatly doubted was cider close at hoof, was her target: Brine.

Brine was the owner of The Hole, and he was a ruthless business-stallion. When the economy of Dock had first begun to sink, he had begun buying out the other businesses, consolidating all of the shipyard’s taverns into his own. He refused to tolerate competition against his business and had formed close alliances with the few remaining warehouse owners. But he also had a legitimate interest in the well-being of not only the town, but of the ponies who lived there. He provided jobs for almost a hundred ponies in his massive tavern. He often used his influence and power to help the ponies of Dock, taking a stand against shady merchants, and refusing to tolerate violence on ‘his’ docks. In a way, Belle’s own job had become less necessary due to Brine’s influences. That being said, he was always willing to work with Belle and the other constables should the need arise.

Brine looked as salty as his name implied. He was large but looked as though he had lost a lot of muscle mass with age. His disheveled brown coat was covered in a lattice work of pale scars, the most noticeable of which were matching spots on his flanks, completely obscuring his cutie mark. His seaweed green mane was liberally streaked with the silver of age. A dark eye patch covered what had once been his right eye and a web of scars radiated from behind it. 

In his youth he had been a prolific sailor, one of the rare competent earth ponies in that profession. Generally speaking, earth ponies made poor sailors, as they lacked the speed and agility of pegasi, and the versatility of unicorns. But Brine had bucked the stereotype, making a name for himself all along the Canter River, and even as a sailor on the Eastern Ocean. There were rumors that he had been a part of a fearsome pirate crew that had terrorized the coastal cities forty years ago. Belle herself had doubts about this, although his appearance did little to quiet the rumors.

Belle approached Brine and, despite her being on his blind side, he turned to face her before she announced her presence.

“Captain Belle,” he acknowledged with a nod. His voice was a deep, resonating baritone that she could practically feel in addition to hear.

“Brine,” she responded with a matching nod. Her own voice was light and slightly airy, something which had often irked her as she felt it detracted from her image as an authority figure. But she had been forced to simply accept it over time. “Anything of interest going on tonight?”

The mangy looking stallion shrugged his broad shoulders. “Nothing worth mentioning at the moment, although word is that a large shipment of gems is coming through in a few days, complete with a guard ship. Might be something to keep an eye on.”

Belle looked thoughtful for a moment. “Normal precautions I assume.”

“Of course,” Brine said with a slight inclination of his head.

Belle sighed silently. She knew that she and the other six ponies that made up the entire constabulary these days wouldn’t be much of a deterrent against a group of determined thieves. A tempting target like a large cargo of precious stones might attract more attention than they could handle. As much as it stung her to admit, Belle knew that Brine was in a better position to prevent an incident than she was. She would be there should he need help, or an official’s status, but otherwise he would handle it. The whole situation made her sick to the stomach but she knew that in the long run, it worked out better for everypony.

At least he never insulted her by trying to bribe her. He didn’t need to. He knew what the score was.

“Very well then,” she said at last, “let me know if you have any problems tonight. I’ll send Corporal Keen around later to check on things.”


He nodded with a slight smile. It might have been a condescending smile, but she didn’t think so somehow. It wasn’t his style. Brine was a proud pony, and he could be ruthless when necessary, but he wasn’t cruel. 

“Would you care for some salt before you go? Or perhaps a drink?” he asked politely, as he always did.

She declined, as she always did. “Not while I’m on duty.”

“It’s not as though the streets are teeming with villains,” he prodded, more than a little sarcasm tingeing his deep voice.

She glared at him with a quiet but emphatic, “No.”

He shrugged. “As you wish.”

He turned back to his drink without another word, his patch preventing any more eye contact. She gave him another glare and, just to make herself feel better, stuck her tongue out at him for an instant. There was no way he could have seen her, but his mouth turned up in a knowing smirk. She frowned and quickly turned away.

She made her way out of the tavern, her hoofsteps perhaps a bit more forceful than was strictly necessary. As she exited she dipped her head in a quick motion, causing her tinted glasses to slip back down and settle familiarly on her snout. The evening was fast approaching now and the sun was setting towards her left. It wouldn’t be long now before Luna began the moon on its own celestial journey. It was quiet and peaceful, the kind of evening she loved.

As much as he irked her, Brine had a point about her not being overly needed tonight. In truth her duties were often dull, barely more than a few minor fights here and there. Theft and vandalism were rare, and there hadn’t been a murder in as long as she could remember. Her job was often dull, it was often quiet, it was often unnecessary.

And she wouldn’t have it any other way.



********************



Belle approached the guard house at a brisk trot. The famous Running of the Leaves was still over a week away but there was already a slight chill in the air. She hesitated as she drew close; she could faintly make out the sound of raised voices coming from inside the small stone structure. The voices sounded familiar to Belle but she would need to see the owners’ cutie marks to know for sure.

She pushed the door inwards with a gentle shove and entered onto a scene of strife. Two unicorn mares, their cutie marks identifying them as Peach Blossom, a florist, and Ink Leaf, a librarian, were standing in front of the main desk, yelling at Sergeant Emerald Grass.

It was an unusual sight to be sure. Emerald Grass was the largest mare Belle had ever seen, bigger than most of the stallions in the town and with the mass to match; her white coat and pleasant green mane did nothing to alleviate the sheer imposing size of the gentle unicorn. Conversely, the two mares currently yelling at her were less than impressive in size, both being shorter than even Belle.

Emerald weathered the verbal abuse with her usual stoicism. Finally, she spoke in her normal voice, “Enough.”

The two mares quieted down at once, looking startled. Like many unusually large ponies, Emerald was very conscientious of her size and strength, and as such was always overly careful in all her actions. Her voice was no exception. Emerald’s normal voice was impressively loud, which is why she so rarely used it, preferring to speak in low whispers.

Once silence had been restored, Emerald reverted back to her low voice, which was still more than audible. “I know you’re worried, but if it’s only been a few hours, then there’s no reason to think that anything untoward has happened to them. When Captain Belle gets back, I’m sure that she will tell you the same thing.”

“But they’ve never been gone this long!” Peach exclaimed. “It’s just not like them.”

Emerald gave a small sigh, which caused several of the papers on the desk to blow halfway across its surface with its force. But then she looked up and saw Belle standing in the doorway. “Ah, Captain. So good to see you,” she whispered, sounding like she really meant it.

The two unicorn mares whirled around and immediately besieged Belle, both talking at once in such shrill voices that she couldn’t understand a thing they said. She happened to look up and just saw Emerald’s look of immense relief before she hid it away behind some paperwork.

Belle stomped her hoof once sharply on the wooden floor. This caused the pair to quiet down and for the first time Belle got a good look at them. They were both in obvious distress, their eyes brimming with tears, their ears laid back in panic. Belle’s own expression softened slightly at this but she addressed them firmly. “I need you to calm down and tell me what’s happened. One at a time.”

They alternated then, still speaking in panicked voices.

“It’s our fillies!” exclaimed Peach Blossom. “They’re missing!”

“They’ve been gone for hours!” interjected Ink Leaf. “We have no idea where they’ve gone! Something could have happened to them!”

Belle held up a hoof for silence.

“Alright, calm down now, we’ll find them,” she said before moving further into the building. The pair of mares let her pass but followed immediately behind her. Belle reached the main desk while Emerald surreptitiously slipped out from behind it, giving her space. Once she was safe behind the metaphorical shield of the desk, Belle turned back to the pair.

“Alright,” she said, trying to sound authoritative, “a few questions. First: who exactly is missing?”

Peach Blossom answered first, “Our fillies, Butter and Coal.”

“They’re both unicorns,” Ink added, “Butter is a pale yellow with blue hair, Coal is pink with grey hair. They don’t have their cutie marks yet.”

Belle took down this information on a sheet of paper on the desk before mumbling around the pencil, “And how long have they been missing?”

“Since this afternoon,” answered Peach.

Another note. “Where did you see them last?”

Ink answered next, “They were playing outside my house.”

“And they wandered off?” Belle mumbled, carefully taking down the information.

Ink looked a little unsure. “Um, I guess. I didn’t actually see them leave.”

“And is that common?”

Ink answered with a sniff, “Well yeah, they’ve been friends since they were foals. They play together all the time. They go around the town pretty often.”

“Hmm,” Belle said, not impressed with their parenting skills.

“Don’t get us wrong,” Peach interjected defensively, recognizing the tone, “we usually know where they’re going. And they’re smart fillies.”

Belle didn’t push the issue. “Have you checked with your friends and relatives?”

“Of course we did!” both mares exclaimed in unison.

Belle finished making copies of all the information before dropping the pencil. “Alright, calm down, please.”

“We’re just so worried!” they both practically shouted.

Belle sighed. “I know, but panicking isn’t going to help. Look, I’m sure they’re alright, they probably just lost track of the time. They’ll probably be back home as soon as they realize it.”

“So you won’t help us?” Ink asked, a mixture of anger and despair in her voice.

“I didn’t say that,” Belle said with a hint of a growl. She had to resist the urge to snap at the unicorn, to remind herself that she was just scared and worried. “I’ll personally take a look around the last place they were seen, make sure nothing’s unusual. In the meantime…”

She turned away from the pair and raised her voice. “Corporal Keen!”

A pegasus stepped out of a side room. He had a short, slightly curved sword in his mouth; most likely he had been sharpening it. With a deft twist of his neck he sheathed the blade into a scabbard strapped to his side beneath his wing. It was a single fluid motion, only possible through years of repetition.

“Captain,” he acknowledged in a quiet, rather sharp voice.

Keen Edge was a stallion of few words. His light red (but definitely not pink) coat and sky blue mane and tail often gave ponies the impression that he was light, happy, and most importantly not dangerous. But colors meant nothing to Belle; all she needed to see was the pegasus’ cutie mark, a pair of crossed swords, to know he was not somepony to take lightly.

“Keen,” she said, pushing a copy of the information she had taken down towards him, “I want you to do a fly over of the docks, keep an eye out for these two unicorn fillies. If you don’t spot them, check with Brine, in case he’s heard anything. Nothing goes on around the shipyard without his knowing.”

The definitely-not-pink pegasus nodded curtly and, without another word, took the paper and moved out the door. With a single powerful thrust of his wings, he launched himself into the sky.

Belle turned back to the distraught mares. “I know you’re worried, but right now the best thing for you to do is go back to your homes and wait there. Hopefully they will be there when you get back, but if they are actually missing then we will find them.”

The pair nodded hesitantly and exited the building without another word.

Belle sighed, letting her frustration and weariness show briefly before again slipping into her authority mode. She went into the side room Keen had exited from and, with a few pulls at straps, shucked her bronze armor. The local tailor, an abundantly cheerful unicorn named Needle, had once told her that her armor clashed horribly with her dark grey coat and silver mane, but to Belle one color was the same as another. Besides, she loved her armor, putting many hours into its upkeep. The only thing she didn’t like about it was the way it covered her cutie mark, a silver flower blossom.

She carefully cleaned and polished the bronze barding before replacing it on the armoring dummy in the corner. The two other full sets of armor let her know that Snowflake and Oak hadn’t reported in for the night shift yet. The absence of the heavy quilted barding owned by Morning Dew and Shining Star told her that the two unicorns were most likely already on patrol. She stepped back into the main room where a quick check of the duty manifest confirmed her suppositions.

With a stretch that caused a series of pops to ripple along her back, she turned to the side desk. “Em,” she said, a yawn punctuating the declaration.

The green unicorn looked up from her side desk. For such a large mare she could be quite discreet when she wanted to be. “Yes, Belle?” she responded quietly, meaning Belle could have heard it in the other room.

Belle stretched again, barely stifling another yawn as well. “I’m going to check out those mares’ homes and then head to my own if there’s nothing to find. Be sure to let Snowflake and Oak know about the situation before you head home. If anything comes up, let me know immediately.”

“Of course. Have a good night, Belle.” Emerald went back to her work, the halo of energy surrounding her horn also illuminating a quill, busy scribbling away at yet another report.

“Good night,” Belle called out as she left.



********************



The trip to the scene of the maybe-crime was uneventful. After ensuring neither foal had turned up, Belle had looked around but, as she had expected, neither saw nor smelled anything unusual. She had checked with the neighbors but nopony had seen anything.

Now she was making her tired way home. She knew that Keen was more than capable of handling the situation. A foal wondering off was a rare but not unheard of occurrence. Usually they turned up after a couple of hours, or whenever they finally got hungry. 

The whole situation bugged her though. Somehow things didn’t seem right; she couldn’t quite put her hoof on what exactly bothered her, but she didn’t like it.

Still, it had been a long, if otherwise uneventful, day and she was tired. There was nothing else to be done and she trusted her guards to do their jobs. She tried to force the matter from her mind as she made her way home through the empty streets.

Night was well under way, with the moon well above the town’s skyline, by the time Belle finally arrived. For Belle, home was the second story of the town’s best, and now last, ice cream shop. The store’s windows were dark, although its gaudy advertisements remained visible in the pale moonlight.

She trotted down the alley that ran alongside the shop and up a small flight of stairs to reach her door. She smiled as she pushed it open, already feeling some of the weariness of the day dropping from her shoulders.

She was greeted with the very welcoming smell of hot food. Sighing contentedly at the meal to come, she tossed her tinted glasses onto a nearby table with a practiced toss of her head and made her way into the kitchen. The sound of clattering platters and bowls masked her approach, and so she was easily able to slip into the warm room unnoticed by its occupant. A tall and somewhat stout unicorn stallion was fussing next to the counter, swaying un-rhythmically to music only he could hear.

Belle stepped behind him without his noticing and suddenly pounced, wrapping her forearms around his neck, burying her face in his short, scruffy mane. He flinched and the bowl of steaming greens he had been levitating dropped to the countertop with a clatter, although nothing spilled.

“Belle!” he exclaimed, relief filling his mild voice, “don’t do that!”

She merely smiled and continued to nuzzle him gently. Having finished his rebuke, he returned the embrace affectionately.

Lemon Sherbet (he refused to spell his name ‘Sorbet’ like those pretentious ponies in Prance) was about as unlikely a match for Belle, Captain of the Dock Guard, as any pony could imagine. He was a well renowned ice cream maker and vendor. He specialized in cold spells and had perfected a method of making ice cream that other vendors had been trying to replicate for years but never seemed able to quite get right.

Even in appearance they were a study in contrast: where Belle was small but hard, Lemon was large but soft. Where she was authoritative, he was rather laid back. Where she was often serious, he was often not. Even their colors were disparate: Belle was rather monotone, with her dark grey coat and silver mane, while Lemon was as colorful as his name suggested, with a bright yellow coat and two-tone orange and white mane. He used to always joke that he looked like a creamsicle, until Belle got so sick of it that she threatened to cut off his mane and tail in his sleep if he didn’t stop.

“How many times must I tell you to keep that door locked?” she asked softly, but there was no anger in her voice. “Somepony could wander in and hurt you.”

Lemon scoffed lightly. “With Dock’s top-notch guards? I think not!”

Belle snorted softly into his mane but slowly backed away, looking him in the eye. “I’m serious. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”

Lemon frowned. “I’m going nowhere, Belle. Now c’mon, have some food. What brought all this on?” He levitated the bowl of hot greens over to the dining table and gently prodded her to take a seat on the cushion placed specially for her.

Belle dropped onto the cushion gratefully and began to graze at the vegetables her husband placed before her. In between bites she told him about the missing fillies. He looked concerned but didn’t seem as worried as Belle. “Foals’ll be foals, Belle. I’m sure they’re jus’ fine.”

Belle nodded but remained unconvinced. She felt better, yet she couldn’t shake the tension brought on by the missing fillies. Her ‘Guard’s Instinct,’ as she sometimes called it, just wouldn’t let the matter go. She finished the last of her dinner, silently thanking Celestia for the umpteenth time that her husband was good with all sorts of food and not just desserts, and sat back, her body tense.

Lemon, noticing her stiffness, levitated over a brush and began to gently groom her mane. It had a soothing effect on Belle and soon enough she felt her muscles relax. She gave a great sigh of contentment and started to slouch.

Her mind was beginning to drift towards possible escalation when they were rudely interrupted by a loud banging at the side door. Groaning at the interruption, she was almost tempted to ignore it but knew that she couldn’t. A second loud banging followed immediately, and then a third. Whatever it was, it was urgent.

She rose and walked over to the door, leaving Lemon there, still holding the brush. She interrupted a fifth sequence of beatings, pulling the door open wide. Emerald Grass nearly fell on her face, her hoof fully extending when she had anticipated a strike. She recovered her balance but was still breathing heavily, obviously having run all the way here.

“Whoa, whoa, calm down, Em. Where’s the fire?” Belle asked with a slight chuckle.

“At the docks,” Em gasped quietly.

It took a moment for that to sink in, then Belle sputtered, “Wait, what? There really is a fire?!”

“Yes, Belle.” Em’s breathing was still ragged but she finally managed to calm herself down.

Belle recovered from the surprise, all business again. “How long?”

“Not long.”

“Where are the others?”

“Snowflake and Oak are handling the crowd, Morning and Shining are directing the unicorns, and Keen’s doing whatever it is he does.”

Belle nodded. “Alright, let’s go.”

Belle turned back to look at Lemon. “Darling, I need to go,” she said softly.

Lemon nodded, looking grim but understanding. “Of course. Just be careful.”

“You know me,” Belle said with a chuckle.

He muttered something under his breath but didn’t otherwise respond. With a skilled smack, Belle hit the ends of her tinted glasses’ arms, launching them into the air where they spun before landing perfectly on her forehead. She jerked her head once, forcing them to fall over her eyes.

“Em,” she said, back fully in her role as captain of the town guard, “let’s hoof it.”

She shut the door on her facehoofing husband.



********************



Belle and Emerald raced through the city, their hooves echoing on the cobblestone street. It was a cloudless night and the full moon provided plenty of light. Belle had sensitive eyes, one of the reasons she wore the tinted glasses, even this late, but could see easily enough. But even were that not the case, Belle knew her town like her own hoof; she could have run through it blindfolded.

Even this far from the shipyard, Belle could make out the faint glow tinting the skyline which betrayed the presence of the fire. The sight of the glow spurred her on even faster. Em was not a fast runner, but her long strides made her more than capable of keeping up with Belle.

They raced past dark alleyways between the many buildings on either side. At this time of night, Belle expected to find nopony up, even with the excitement and fear induced by a fire nearby; most likely news hadn’t even spread this far. And yet, just for a second, she thought she saw a large figure hidden just within the shadows next to the tailor’s shop duck further into the darkness of one of the alleys. This unsettled her, the Guard Instinct in her blood screamed that anypony who wished to so remain out of sight couldn’t be up to any sort of good.

She turned her head to try to catch a second look, but her speed had already carried her past the alleyway. She turned back forward with a disappointed grunt. She didn’t have time to investigate now.

Em glanced at her friend. “What’s the matter, Belle?”

Belle snorted, shaking her head. “I thought I… No, it was nothing. Let’s just hurry on.”

Em didn’t press the issue but instead remained quiet, focusing on her own galloping.

Before long, they breached the wall of buildings that lined the river and the long stone dock stretched out before them. The whole area, usually lit only by a few lampposts, was now bright as day. One of the warehouses up river, a large monstrosity of a building Belle knew to be empty, was completely engulfed in flames.

Large gouts of fire shot out from the structure dozens of feet long, licking the air like a parched animal. The roar of the flames rumbled and echoed across the gently flowing river, punctuated by the occasional sharp crack of a collapsing beam. Thick smoke billowed from the conflagration, mixed with large bursts of sparks and hung over the river like a thick veil before slowly drifting away on the gentle breeze. Belle was suddenly very happy for her tinted glasses as a blossom of fire burst from the second floor of the warehouse, lighting up the river for over fifty yards around it. Em recoiled slightly, stopping to raise a forehoof in front of her eyes.

The fireball illuminated the forms of several ponies dropping prone as it flowed over their heads while others leapt aside. It was with a certain sense of pride that Belle saw a host of ponies around the burning building, not panicking but working together to put out the blaze.

In some cities, a permanent, or at least voluntary, fire brigade was tasked with handling fires, but in a smaller town like Dock, and especially since its recent decline, firefighting was by necessity a communal effort, with ponies from all over joining together to save the town from further destruction. Fires were quite rare however. Belle could recall fewer than five in her twenty years as a guard, and none had been as large as this.

Two groups of unicorns were busy at the corners of the warehouse, forming lines from about twenty feet back from the building all the way to the river’s edge. The majority of them were drawing up water from the river in their telekinesis, siphoning it to the next group who were working together to pressurize the liquid before passing it on to the last two in the line. These two directed the flow of the now highly-pressurized water. The end results were two narrow but constant jets of water arching into the raging flames, beating back the larger fires and completely extinguishing isolated pockets whenever possible.

Meanwhile, above the blaze two dozen pegasi were gathering clouds and forming makeshift storms, jumping up and down rapidly in order to release as much water as possible before the clouds evaporated in the intense heat. Dock didn’t have an overly large pegasus population, but they were undeniably useful.

Earth ponies and a few other unicorns were also forming bucket chains, targeting the lower areas of the building and ensuring the fire couldn’t spread. A few more were just visible as silhouettes against the fire dashing about, not panicked, but with a purpose.

Belle and Emerald trotted up to a pair of ponies, the only ones not actively working. One of them was Brine, who looked on grimly, occasionally directing ponies here and there when necessary. It was the other pony Belle addressed now.

“Sergeant,” she shouted over the roar of the fire, “report!”

Sergeant Oak Root was practically the poster image for the Canterlot Royal Guard: large and muscular, white furred with a yellow-golden mane and tail, quiet but with a constant air of authority surrounding him. He was the only guard left in Dock with more experience than Belle, and she often consulted with him before making decisions. He was well named as he could be just as stubborn and unmoving as an oak root, but was also as dependable and strong as one.

“Captain,” he acknowledged with a quick salute, despite the fact that she was technically out of uniform, “it’s a nasty one. Corporal Snowflake is coordinating the weather pegasi. Corporal Keen is on lookout for possible spreading. Constables Morning Dew and Shining Star are assisting with the water jets. Mister Brine here has been-"

He was cut off by a strange hissing sound that broke through the cacophony of the fire, its pitching rising rapidly in intensity.

Sergeant Oak’s eyes widened slightly in surprise and he bellowed out as loud as he could, “It’s going to blow, everypony get back! Shields, now!”

There was a moment’s hesitation as confused ponies looked at him and it was almost too long. Emerald’s horn shone brightly and suddenly the four standing ponies were surrounded by a semi-opaque bubble of energy. Similar bubbles popped into existence around the groups close to the building. Shield spells were among the first learned by constables, and both Morning and Shining, while relatively new to the job, knew the spell practically on reflex.

It was not a moment too soon. The hissing reached a crescendo seconds later. Then a massive explosion burst from the building, fire and wood shooting out in a single wave of fury. It washed over the protective spheres sheltering the ponies and for a few heart-stopping moments everything was heat and light and sound. But not for nothing did the unicorns of the Dock Guard practice the shield spell hour after hour, day after day, month after month. 

When the fire had passed them by, the vast majority of ponies were shaken, but unscathed. A few unlucky souls had been too scattered to reach the shields in time. Although none had been close enough to be outright killed by the explosion, there were still about a half dozen ponies scattered around the dock, smoke rising from their singed fur and more than one bleeding from the splinters of wood which had accompanied the blast.

A quick glance up showed Belle that several pegasi had been directly above the warehouse and, while none had been burned or otherwise injured, the blast had knocked them about. The other pegasi were able to catch them easily and brought them to the ground so they could recover from the buffeting.

The shield dropped once the fire had passed, although the very air now felt like it was boiling. Belle recovered first. “Sergeant,” she yelled, “get the wounded away, and get them help! I want the walls of the warehouse pulled in, get a handle on this! Have the pegasi make sure the fire didn’t spread from that blast; we can’t have any other buildings going up. Get that water going again.”

The white stallion snapped to attention. “Yes, ma’am!” He immediately trotted forward, bellowing out orders and restoring a semblance of order to the fresh chaos.

Belle turned to the other ponies with her. Emerald gave a snort and shook her head, none the worse for wear. “Em,” Belle said, “help with the wounded.” The unicorn nodded and moved to assist.

Brine seemed surprisingly calm about the whole thing. Belle, on the other hoof, was not. “I thought that warehouse was abandoned, Brine!” she growled angrily. “Empty warehouses don’t explode!”

“I’m as surprised as you are, Captain,” he said, his voice even and only just loud enough to be heard over the fire and distant yelling. Yet the look in his good eye betrayed a hint of anger, although she got the feeling that it wasn’t directed at her. “But perhaps we can worry about it after the fire is put out?”

Belle glared at the earth pony but nodded. By now a new crowd of ponies had begun to gather, no doubt drawn by the loud explosion. Most immediately pitched in to help; although a few, those too old or weak to help fight the fire were mostly gaping in a horrified fascination. Belle left Brine among this latter group with a slightly smug feeling, trotting to help as best she could.

There was a series of massive crashes as the remaining walls were pushed inwards with unicorn magic, causing the building to finally fall in on itself. This sent up a huge cloud of smoke, ashes, and sparks that was quickly diminished by the steady rain the pegasi had finally managed to keep going.

At long last the concentrated efforts of the Dock ponies triumphed and the main blaze was finally dispersed, leaving only a few isolated pockets of fire. These were quickly quenched by a bucket of water from an earth pony or snuffed out when a bubble of unicorn magic cut off its oxygen. Before long all that remained was the blackened husk and ashes of the warehouse, soaked from the drenching it had received but still sizzling from the heat. With the threat finally extinguished, the adrenaline began to fade while a sense of quiet calm permeated the exhausted ponies.

Belle’s first task was to check on the wounded ponies, slipping her tinted glasses back on top of her head now that the dock was back in usual nightly shadows, the only lights coming from the intermittent lampposts and a few pony-held lanterns. She was relieved to discover that, while frightened and slightly singed, none had been badly hurt in the blast. Two had been struck by wooden shrapnel but they were superficial wounds, quickly tended to by a few unicorn nurses. After exchanging some comforting and encouraging words, she moved back towards the main group, trailed slightly by Em. 

As she was walking back, she was suddenly caught up in a rough embrace. Her instincts kicked in and she almost bucked her would-be attacker. Thankfully she managed to get a look at the pony before lashing out and immediately recognized Lemon. She relaxed into the embrace for a brief moment before breaking away. It wouldn’t do for ponies to see the Captain of the Town Guard hugging in public while on duty, even if she was out of uniform.

“What are you doing here?” she hissed, not wanting to draw attention to them. A quick glance showed that Em was currently very interested in the river to their right.

Lemon had no such qualms. “I got worried when I heard that explosion,” he exclaimed. “I just had to make sure you were okay.” He sounded relieved, but also out of breath; Lemon wasn’t much of a runner. “You are alright, right?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” she answered soothingly. She cast a troubled glance at the area where the wounded ponies had been moved to. “Relatively speaking.”

Turning back around, she saw that some ponies were beginning to tentatively approach the charred and smoking ruins.

“Lemon,” she said suddenly, “I’m actually glad you came, and thanks for checking on me, but right now I need to clear this area. It’s too dangerous for anypony to just wander around.”

He looked thoughtful for a second before breaking into a cheeky grin, the one she absolutely loved but often led to crazy shenanigans. “Just leave it to me, dearest. Be careful, and I’ll see you at home.”

He trotted off with a wink, neatly insinuating himself into a nearby group of ponies. After a second, she recognized the group as some of her neighbors: Mr. and Mrs. Loaf, the town bakers, the latter of whom looked rather ridiculous in her pink nightgown and pink fuzzy slippers; Mr. Zinger, the tea house proprietor; Ms. Eris, a veterinarian; and Mr. Flynn, one of the town’s farriers.

What was her husband up to?

Belle shook her head with a chuckle. Lemon could sometimes be too clever for his own good, and she just had to hope this wasn’t one of those times. She had more pressing matters to worry about anyway.

She turned back to focus on the burned out building. She quickly spotted the unmistakable figure of Sergeant Oak talking with Keen. She trotted up to them, Em approaching just behind her.

“Sergeant,” Belle said as soon as she was close enough for them to hear her, “cordon off the area, I don’t want any ponies wandering into this mess and getting hurt. Corporal Keen, have Constable Shining provide you with some light and check the ruins from above as best you can, make sure we aren’t in for any more surprises.”

The two stallions saluted and moved off, Keen to nab Shining Star from her spot in a group of tired unicorns by the pier, Oak already starting to chivy away the curious ponies getting too close to the blackened husk of a building. Belle allowed herself a brief yawn, feeling the stress of the fire compounding with her long day’s work. She quickly stifled it before turning to Em. 

“Em, I want you to take Morning and check the perimeter of the building. Make sure no ponies are hanging around the back, and take note of any possible damages to the adjacent warehouses.” She nickered softly. “When this is over, drinks are on me.”

Em smiled gently at her. “Sounds good to me, Belle.” She gave her own salute and moved off to obey her friend’s order.

Belle started looking around for Corporal Snowflake, but before she could spot the white pegasus, she heard a magically enhanced voice rise into the night.

“Alright everypony! That sure was somethin’, wasn’t it?” Belle had to resist the urge to facehoof when she recognized Lemon’s voice. “Y’all should be right proud of what y’all accomplished. By Luna’s starry mane, you just might have saved the whole damn town!” Her husband paused for effect, the silence filled with general mumblings of agreement from the distracted ponies. “As a way of sayin’ thanks, me ‘n my good friends here think a nice round of tea and muffins for y’all is in order, on the house. Might be a few sundaes around too, who knows? Who’s with me?”

A few cheers went up and slowly the multitude of ponies followed Lemon and the other shop owners away. By now they were talking excitedly, recalling the more harrowing moments with vivid and often overblown descriptions. This night wasn’t going to be forgotten anytime soon.

Belle had to hoof it to her husband. He might be crazy at times, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t one of the slyest stallions she knew. He had managed to move the majority of the crowd away from any more potential dangers with just some quick thinking and the willingness to accept a small loss in profits.

Within a few minutes the dock was almost completely deserted, save for the constables and, irritatingly but not surprisingly, Brine along with a few of his trusted helpers (thugs). She might as well get the worst over with. With a resigned sigh, Belle approached Brine, heedless of the two large earth ponies who stood close to him now, not exactly threatening, but obviously there.

“Alright, Brine, what happened?” she demanded without prelude.

Brine looked thoughtfully at the remains of the warehouse for a few seconds before turning his good eye on Belle. “What makes you think I would know?”

Belle snorted. “Because nothing happens on this dock without you knowing about it.”

“You flatter me, Captain. I admit to having a decent amount of knowledge about the going’s on here, but to say I know everything…” he trailed off, shaking his head. He faced the smoking ruins of the warehouse. “Unfortunately I don’t know much about this.”

Belle raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Well tell me what you do know.”

His eye narrowed slightly at her tone, but he complied curtly. “It started about a half hour ago. First I heard of it, some pegasus crashed through the doors, shouting about a fire. Whole place rushed out, and damned if there wasn’t a large blaze right here.”

“Who was the pegasus who reported it?” Belle asked at once.

Brine shrugged, causing the latticework of scars around his shoulders and back to shift in a slightly sickening way. “Never seen her before. Came in on the Star’s Retreat this afternoon. If I recall correctly.” Which he did. He always did.

Belle processed this news. It wasn’t exactly helpful, but any information was better than none. “Any ideas about how it started?”

“None,” Brine replied tersely.

Belle glared at him, wondering if he was hiding something. He seemed to realize what she was thinking, as he so often seemed to be able to do, much to her irritation. “It wouldn’t be in my best interest to hide anything about this from you, Captain. I assure you, I’m as eager to know who threatened my docks as you are.”

“And if you find out, you’ll let me know and let me take care of it?”

Brine smiled unconvincingly. “Of course.”

Belle was about to ask him more about the pegasus who had reported the fire when a flurry of wings followed by a few light clops of hooves on stone announced the arrival of Corporal Keen Edge. The normally stoic pegasus had a grim look on his face.

“Captain,” he said, “you need to see this.”

Belle nodded at once, and without glancing back at the salty earth pony followed Keen into the ruined husk of the warehouse. Unbidden, Brine followed closely behind them. Em met her at the edge of the burnt remains, her horn brightly aglow and creating a spotlight-like effect on the ground before her.

“This way,” Keen said, hovering above them and moving deeper into the husk.

Unable to fly after him, Belle and Em were forced to carefully pick their way among the blackened beams. The warehouse had been mostly empty with only a few empty crates stored near the front, but the darkness and the treacherous footing made it slow going. After a few minutes of picking their way through the scorched detritus, they spotted Shining Star, a small beige mare with a brown mane sporting a trio of five-pointed stars on her flank underneath her barding. She was standing just inside the doorway of what must have once been an office. Her horn was shining also, and she looked sick. The mares reached the entrance and Belle looked at what had caused such an effect on her constables.

When she saw it, Belle felt her insides seize up. Horrible realization coming over her like a slap to the face. She had known something was wrong before, but she hadn’t done anything about it then. She should have taken it more seriously. 

For there, now bathed in the light of two unicorn horns, burnt almost beyond recognition, were the horribly charred and twisted bodies of two unicorn fillies.
> Chapter 2: Questions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monsters

By Sharpe Quill

Chapter 2: Questions



Belle stared numbly at the small bodies lying before her. There were no discernible features left that could positively identify them, but she already knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they were the missing fillies.

She had brushed off their disappearance as simple foal’s play. Not something to be worried about.

Now they were gone. Forever. She had failed, and they had paid for it with their lives.

She should have tried harder. She should have checked the docks herself, put all her guards on the case. She should have taken it more seriously.

In her years as a town guard, both before and during her tenure as captain, Belle had experienced her share of failures. Sometimes things didn’t go her way. Sometimes she wasn’t fast enough. Sometimes the bad pony won. It was a simple fact of life: you just couldn’t win them all.

And yes, very occasionally somepony would get hurt, usually the pony causing the trouble, but sometimes even innocent ponies. But never before had anypony died as a result, certainly never a filly.

Death was natural part of life, and Belle had seen her share of it. Dock was primarily a shipyard, and when so many ponies were moving so much so often accidents were bound to happen. She had seen ponies horribly crushed by collapsed crates, trapped and drowned in the river, fall from great heights before any pony could catch them, and once she had even seen a whole sleuth of bugbears rampage out of the nearby forest, killing three ponies before they were themselves destroyed. But none of those had been caused by her own failure.

A gentle nudge to her flank brought her out of her self-recriminations. Turning, she saw Em standing just behind her, her eyes shining with tears. She slightly nodded her head to the side. Turning, Belle saw Brine standing on her right, between herself and Shining Star. His face had tightened into a grimace as he looked at the pitiful sight before them.

Em was right, Belle couldn’t break down now, she was the captain of the guard and she had a job to do. At the very least she owed it to Ink and Peach to find out what had happened to their children.

Ink and Peach. They were going to be devastated by this.

With a strong effort of will, Belle drew herself together, donning the now familiar mask of authority. “Corporal Keen.”

“Ma’am,” he acknowledged, his voice steady but his expression grim.

“Inform the medical ponies about this,” she ordered, her voice level but with a tense anger beneath it, “have them bring a cart to take the bodies away. I don’t want them in this Celestia-damned Tartarus-hole any longer than necessary.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said at once. He paused before adding, “Do you want me to inform the families?”

Belle had to swallow before answering. “No, I… I’ll do that myself.”

Keen nodded, sympathy evident on his face for a moment. He saluted and leapt into the air, his wings beating the air heavily as he went to follow his commands. Belle turned back, her gaze constantly returning to poor fillies’ bodies.

“Constable Shining,” Belle said. When she didn’t receive an acknowledgement, she looked at the tan unicorn mare. Shining was technically a rookie, despite having been on the force for almost a year, and she had never seen anything like this. She was staring, horrified, at the pitiful remains before them, looking sicker and sicker by the second.

“Constable Shining!” Belle said again, louder, with as much authority as she could muster. This snapped the mare out of her shocked staring. She faced Belle, her eyes full of sorrow.

“Er, yes… yes ma’am?” Her voice had a tinny quality to it and sounded weaker than usual.

“I want you to wait here until the medics arrive, and then assist them in any way they need. Help them move the… the bodies if necessary. If that happens, you are to treat them with the utmost respect. Understood?”

Shining Star gave a salute with a trembling hoof. “Ye… yes ma’am.”

Belle nodded, turning her attention to Em. “Sergeant Emerald.”

Em, realizing the seriousness of the situation, knew this wasn’t the time for the familiarity she and her friend usually shared. “Ma’am.”

“Inform Sergeant Oak about this. This place is officially a crime scene. Have Corporal Snowflake retrieve the camera, I want as many photos as possible before the bodies are removed and before the site becomes any more contaminated. After that, accompany the bodies to the hospital. For the time being, this is to be considered an accident, but something smells fishy about all this and I don’t want to rule anything out just yet. I want you to help Soil in examining the bodies, check for any signs of magical foul play.”

She realized just how hard a task that would be for the gentle unicorn. Official procedure be damned, Em was her friend and this was a horrible thing to ask of her, so she added, “I know this is difficult, but it needs to be done, and I trust you to do it best.”

Em swallowed nervously before nodding hesitantly and giving her own salute. “Um… Of course, Captain.” Her voice came out even lower than usual. She turned and began to pick her way back through the ruined warehouse to follow out her orders.

“Come with me, Brine,” Belle said evenly before turning to make her own way out.

Surprisingly, the stallion complied without a word to her brusqueness, picking his way through the ashes carefully. Without a unicorn to light their way, the journey was harrowing in the dim light of the lampposts. Belle stumbled more than once but resolutely continued without pausing or slowing down. The horror of the discovery was beginning to fade, replaced steadily by anger. Somepony had died in her town on her watch! She was going to get to the bottom of this, and if somepony had been responsible, then Celestia herself wouldn’t save them from her!

When they finally exited the burned out remains and clopped lightly onto the stone section of the pier, Belle rounded on Brine, heedless of his retainers who had remained outside but were still nearby.

“Alright, Brine,” she growled, “you’re going to tell me everything you know about this, right now.”

Brine frowned at her. “And what makes you think that I know anything?”

“Because you know everything that goes on around here. Somepony must have seen them. I want to know who, and when.”

He shook his head, casting a glance to either side of Belle. It was a meaningful glance, but she ignored it. “Look,” he said, “I heard about them going missing, but that’s all. I assumed they’d turn up in a few hours, none the worse for wear, and didn’t spare much thought for it. I get the feeling you did something similar.”

Belle flinched slightly and blushed in embarrassment. Brine nodded, his assumptions confirmed. “Odds are it was just an unfortunate accident. The foals must have wandered in, been in the wrong place at the wrong time. In fact it’s possible that they may have accidentally caused the fire themselves.”

Belle closed her eyes with a low snarl. The thought had occurred to her too, but she hadn’t wanted to admit it. She slumped slightly, weariness beginning to overcome her. She was so tired, and she still had so much to do.

To her surprise, Brine’s face softened slightly. “Why don’t you get some sleep, Belle.” He put a companionable hoof on her shoulder. “It’s been a difficult evening for all of us. You look like you’re about to collapse.”

Belle brushed the hoof off angrily. “Don’t coddle me, Brine. I’m about to go destroy the lives of two families forever. Do you think they’re ever going to be able to sleep soundly again?” It came out harsher than she had intended but she didn’t care. When he didn’t respond she pushed on. “This isn’t over. We’ll talk again soon.”

Brine nodded, the familiar scowl returning. He glanced over his shoulder, spotting the still illuminated form of Constable Shining Star, marking the spot where two small fillies’ lives had been tragically cut short. “Yes,” he agreed, his voice barely a whisper, “yes we will.”

Without another word Belle turned, barely noticing the two large stallions who were now much closer behind her than she remembered them being, and trotted away. 



********************



The next few hours were the most difficult of Belle’s life. She found Peach Blossom and Ink Leaf together in one of their houses, along with their husbands, Willow and Shade respectively, meaning she only had to deliver her terrible news once. Thank Celestia for small favors.

She would never forget for as long as she lived the looks of horror and utter despair on the faces of the two mares. There had been tears and sobs that evoked such hurt and pain that it tore at Belle’s very soul. She herself had begun to cry, unable to retain her detached stoicism in the face of such sorrow. Neither Ink nor Peach, nor their husbands, were close friends of Belle, but nopony could be unsympathetic to such pain.

None of the ponies blamed her for not finding the fillies in time. She almost wished they had, it might have been more bearable than their agonized sobs. And she couldn’t help but feel that she deserved it.

She had promised them that she would get to the bottom of the fillies’ deaths, but she knew it was an empty gesture. Nothing would bring their fillies back. Nothing would provide the comfort they so desperately needed.

The absolute worst part, however, was that when she had departed, they had actually thanked her for bringing the news. Thanked her. For destroying their lives, for failing them, for casting a darkness upon them that may never lift, they had thanked her. She hung her head in shame as she walked. 

In the predawn hours the streets were empty. Even after the excitement of the fire, nopony was out and about at this hour. She walked without seeing, without caring, alone in the darkness.

Eventually, she found herself standing in front of the town hospital. It was a two-story building painted a pleasant mixture of white, pink, and yellow. Even in the meager light cast by the street lamps it exuded a calming presence. And yet, it couldn’t soothe her anger or her sorrow. Despite how late it was (or early, depending on one’s perspective), several windows glowed, belying sompony’s activities, most likely the rooms of the ponies injured in the fire.

Wearily, she squared her shoulders and pushed the double doors open, entering the main atrium of the building. Inside, the nurse at the desk was nodding sleepily, weary eyes obviously not focused on the magazine lying open on the desk in front of her. Her head jerked up and she blinked hazily at Belle as she entered. When she recognized her, she shook her head vigorously, trying to wake herself up. Finally she was able to focus fully and smiled weakly.

“Belle,” she greeted, “I’d wish you a good evening, but given the circumstances…” She trailed off smile fading, sadness evident in her voice.

“Nurse Stripe,” Belle acknowledged formally with an answering nod, unable to muster any warmth into the greeting, “where are they?”

“Um, in the basement, I think. Soil received them and he’s doing what he can. I believe Emerald is down there with him.”

Belle managed a weak smile. “Thanks, Candy.”

Nurse Candy Stripe nodded her head genially before turning back to her magazine, tired eyes already beginning to revert back to their glazed semi-conscious state.

Belle followed the trail of oil lamps which lined the long, empty halls of the hospital, her hooves echoing slightly as she trotted. In truth, without the aid of the sun from the large windows at either end of the hall, the lamps provided only small islands of light in a river of shadow. She felt a shiver run along her spine. She found hospitals rather unnerving at the best of times but tonight, with the absence of other ponies, the unusually late hour, the odd lighting, and her own weariness and stress, it felt downright haunting.

As she turned the corner that would take her to the stairs, she caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye further down the main corridor, almost as though somepony had dashed across the hallway. She did a double take, staring intently into the shadows at the end of the hall. She even raised her tinted glasses momentarily, trying to get a better look.

Nothing.

Her ears perked, swiveling occasionally in an attempt to pick up the faintest sound of hoofsteps, but she heard nothing. She shook her head. She was more tired than she realized if she was beginning to see things.

She quickly trotted down the side hallway and pushed open the door leading to the broad stairs. As she descended, she could feel the temperature begin to drop. The basement of the hospital was bisected into two main areas by yet another hallway, even worse lit than the ones above. On her right were the hospital’s supply rooms, the custodian closet, and the water boiler. On the left was her destination: the morgue.

Dock’s morgue was not what one would expect considering its purpose. For one thing, despite its required low temperature, it had warm, almost cheery decorations. The walls had been painted orange and had several posters pinned to them. One such poster depicted a stylized rendition of the famous Wonderbolts, advertising one of their airshows from a few years ago. Another proudly displayed a gorgeous, yet demure pegasus with a long, flowing mane and tail modeling a beautiful dress, advertising some kind of new fruit drink; it had a tiny, barely noticeable signature scrawled in the lower right corner. Yet another poster showed a trio of almost unnaturally handsome unicorn stallions in dynamic poses levitating a variety of musical instruments, The Bridle Bunch scrawled at the bottom in highly stylized letters. Soft music played softly from a phonograph on a table in the corner.

In truth, were it not for the harsh reality of two sheet-covered bodies on small tables in the center of the room, Belle could almost convince herself that she was not in a room designed to accommodate the dead more than the living.

Rounding out the unusual and unexpected appearance of the room was the presence of the last pony one would expect to be a mortician: an overly cheery lime-green pegasus with a sandy brown mane by the name of Soil.

Soil was a bit of a puzzle. For one thing, he never gave his last name (Belle, who herself used only one of her names, could respect that, and didn’t pry), and was rather secretive about his past. But he had a seemingly perpetual cheerfulness about him that was quite infectious, even if he was rather overzealously zany at times. He liked to laugh and he liked to make other ponies laugh.

Ten years ago he had shown up in Dock, and set up Soil’s Funeral Home, and Taco Hut (“Turn your funeral into a Fiesta!”), much to the horror of the locals. But he somehow managed to make the ridiculous notion work. He treated the dead with respect and never came across as mocking to the grieving families. He even managed to bring a little happiness into the ordeal; to bring some light on the darkest of days.

Besides, his three-bean tacos were really good.

Belle was used to his sometimes manic cheerfulness, but tonight she was understandably not in the mood for his regular shenanigans. Luckily, when she returned his usual friendly wave with a grim glower, obvious even through her glasses, he realized her mood and dialed it back.

Soil immediately went back to examining one of the bodies, the sheet covering only half the form. He had donned some kind of rubbery boots over his forehooves as he gently examined the body, pausing occasionally to take a quill from a nearby stand in his mouth and scribble something on a form, or to take a sip through a large bendy straw out of a massive cup filled with some form of soda or other. The stallion was an addict.

Em was in one of the corners, trying unsuccessfully to look innocuous. She looked nauseous.

Belle approached the gurneys cautiously. She flinched slightly at the sight of the half uncovered form but forced herself to look, to see the fruits of her failure. Butter and Coal, she remembered. She would never forget. She looked up at Soil. “What can you tell me?”

Soil paused in his work to glance over at the form on the table. “Well, it’s rather odd,” he said with a slight twitch.

“Odd? Odd how?”

Soil went back to his examination of the second filly. “Well,” he said, heedless of the way his nonchalant handling of the body seemed to make Belle uneasy, “I’m working on the second victim now. The first was, for the most part, not unusual for intense burning, but I found several deep lacerations along the neck.” He was interrupted by another slight twitch. “I might have thought them just over large blisters, but they’re parallel to each other and go deep into the muscle, not just the skin.”

“And what does that mean?” Belle asked. “Was she attacked by something?”

Soil shrugged, his slight hovering made the motion overly exaggerated. “Dunno, but it’s possible. So far there’s nothing like that on this one.” He hummed quietly to himself as he continued, completely focusing on his work now.

Belle trotted over to Em. “Are you alright, Em?” she asked, knowing what the answer was already.

Em shook her head without looking at her, unable to look away from the grisly sight before them. “No, I’m not. Who could be?”

Not knowing how to respond, Belle merely nodded before pressing on. “Did you find any evidence of magic?”

Em shook her head again. “No. As far as I can tell, magic didn’t factor into their deaths. But…” She trailed off, a thoughtful look now encroaching on her sickened expression.

“But what?” Belle prodded.

“But something feels off. It’s like when you see something out of the corner of your eye but when you look it’s not there. I thought for a second that I felt something, but I have no idea what. It’s difficult to describe. I’m sorry.”

Belle patted her shoulder gently with one hoof. “Don’t worry about it for now, Em. But it’s something to keep in mind. If you can, find out more about it. Head back to the warehouse again, see if you can pick anything up there.” She paused, studying her friend’s face carefully. “After you get some rest. You look dead on your hooves.”

Em snorted and shook her mane. Finally, she looked at her friend, her eyes had a haunted look to them. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep for a long time after this,” she whispered sadly.

Belle nodded, she knew exactly what Em was talking about. “Even so, you should try. I’m going to need you fresh in case there’s more to this than an unhappy accident. Go on, I’ll hang around in case Soil finds anything else.”

Em sighed but began to move towards the door, a mixture of relief and guilt on her face. Belle wanted to comfort her, but she didn’t know how, not for something like this.

When the unicorn was gone she turned her attention back to the pegasus mortician, who was still doing… something… with the bodies, she couldn’t really tell what. He hummed along with the soft music as he worked, and he would alternate between hovering a few inches off the ground or clopping around lightly on his hooves. He seemed to be constantly in motion, most likely a by-product of all the soda he drank. It probably accounted for his nervous twitch too, but she couldn’t be sure.

Suddenly he froze, even his wings going still, causing him to drop the few inches to the ground. Belle noticed the sudden lack of movement and looked up from the table of tools he had against one wall.

“What is it?” she asked instantly. “What did you find?”

“Something unusual.” He beckoned her over with a nod of his head, or perhaps that was just another twitch. Either way, she trotted up to stand next to him, forcing herself to look at the grisly scene before her.

Soil gently cradled the filly’s head in his covered hooves and moved it slightly. It seemed to roll unnaturally, as though not connected to the rest of the body. Belle said as much to him.

“That’s because it isn’t,” he responded. “The vertebrae in the neck have been completely severed. The fire hid the obvious evidence from us, but it looks like her neck was broken. And it was broken before the fire.”

“What could have caused it?”

Soil twitched and shrugged. “A fall maybe, although I haven’t found any evidence of other broken bones. It’s almost as though a strong blow struck her directly in the neck. Put together with the lacerations from the before, it might have been caused by a direrabbit, but you don’t see those outside of Lepusia.”

Belle froze. What?

She had to ask. “What in Celestia’s name is a direrabbit?”

Soil glanced up at her with a raised eyebrow. “Never heard of a direrabbit? Bah, count yourself lucky. Mean buggers. Grow damn fine carrots, but don’t touch their cabbages. They get real picky about their cabbages.” He punctuated that statement with another twitch.

Belle gave him a skeptical look. “Alrighty then… moving on.” She cleared her throat. “So what you’re telling me is that these poor fillies were dead before the fire?”

“It does seem likely, although there’s no way to know with absolute certainty.”

This changed things significantly. “What can you tell me about whatever did this?”

“Um…” *twitch* “not much I’m afraid. It obviously has claws or talons of some kind with at least four toes, judging by the lacerations on this body.” He indicated the still-covered form. “And that it’s immensely strong to have broken a neck like this.” He paused to think. “I once saw a manticore break the back of a goat, paralyzing it but not killing it. It was toying with it, prolonging its suffering.” Soil’s voice, usually so light, and cheerful, was unusually serious. After a pause, and a twitch, he added thoughtfully, “And they have four toes on their paws.”

“So there’s a manticore loose in my city?” Belle asked, unable to keep all traces of skepticism completely out of her voice. “Wouldn’t somepony have seen it by now?”

Soil shrugged with yet another twitch. “Most likely. They’re not known for their intelligence.”

Well, it was something to consider at least. “Thank you, Soil. If you find out anything else, let me know at once. I should get this information to the guard house.”

Soil’s face broke out into a cheerful grin. “Anytime, Belle, whatever I can do to help. Should I have your usual ready for you this afternoon?”

Belle hesitated. She was exhausted but there was still work that needed to be done, who knew if she would be able to partake in her guilty pleasure. “I don’t know; we’ll have to see. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long day.”

Wearily she trotted out of the room.

By the time Belle reached the guard house dawn was beginning to approach. There was no tell- tale glow in the sky as of yet, but the air had that sense of anticipation; as though the world was holding its breath, waiting for the first break of a new day.

She entered the building and approached Morning Dew, the guard’s other rookie, who was on desk duty and looking bored out of his mind. Except in extreme circumstances, such as during the fire, a guard was always supposed to be at the Guard House, and they had a regular rotation. Morning particularly disliked the job. The young hotheaded unicorn hated being cooped up and longed to be out, patrolling, training, anything but just sitting. As Belle approached, she saw that he had been absentmindedly doodling on a blank parchment. She determinedly ignored that.

He threw her a quick salute. “Captain, it’s been all quiet since the fire.” His bored voice made it quite clear what he thought of that. “Sergeant Oak left a report on your desk, Corporal Keen checked in for the night, Corporal Snowflake and Constable Shining are still on patrol at the docks.”

“Thank you, Constable.” She forcibly repressed a yawn. “I’ll be in my office.”

He saluted again and she trotted into her office. The report from Oak didn’t give any new information. Preliminary investigations into the fire had come up empty. No new evidence had been found as of yet in the remains of the building, either about the deaths of the fillies or about the source of the fire. No new witnesses had approached. In short: the investigation was on-going.

Belle sighed. She supposed it was too much to hope that this could possibly have had a quick ending. Another yawn overcame her, and this time, without witnesses, she allowed it to stretch her jaws. She realized that she hadn’t slept at all in almost a whole day. How she longed for her nice soft bed with…

Oh horseapples, she had never returned home. Lemon must be worried sick about her. He had been expecting her shortly after the threat from the fire had passed but it had been hours since they had parted at the docks. He didn’t even know what had happened since then.

Guilt gnawed at her as she took a quill in her mouth and began to dexterously write out a note, explaining briefly what had happened, apologizing for not letting him know sooner and causing him to worry. When she had finished she trotted back into the main room and gave the letter to Morning.

“Morning,” she said, “take this to my home. If Lemon answers, give him this, if not, then just leave it on the doorstep. Remember to go to the side door down the alley.”

He saluted and took the scroll, clearly glad to be up and about, and not stuck behind a desk. Once he was gone, Belle went back to her own desk. Taking up the quill once again, she began to write up her report, based on her own observations and on Soil’s findings. It wasn’t much more than what Oak had reported, but it was important that everything be recorded.

Finally she dropped the quill and wearily laid her head onto the desk surface with a sigh.

Exhaustion began to overcome her. She couldn’t sleep though. Not yet. 

She cudgeled her exhausted brain into coming up with something. She tried laying out the facts in an orderly way, referring to the different reports as necessary.

Fact one: Sometime that afternoon, the two fillies, Coal and Butter, had gone missing. Whether they wandered off on their own or somepony had lured them away was as of yet unknown.

Fact two: At some point during the few hours between their disappearance and the start of the fire they had either gone into or been brought to the warehouse.

Fact three: They had died before the fire was set, most likely removing them from the list of suspects for how the fire started. What evidence there was hinted towards some kind of unknown creature being the killer.

Fact four: A warehouse that was supposed to be empty but clearly wasn’t had gone up in flame.

Fact five: Other than the wounds on the children, there was no other evidence or witnesses to corroborate the existence of a beast.

Conclusion: …

…

…

Nothing. She just wasn’t smart enough to figure this out on her own, at least not without more information.

She stared at the wooden surface resting against her cheek, trying to will it to give her the answer. This was beyond anything that had ever happened in Dock, let alone during her tenure as Captain, and she suspected that she may be in over her head. She was too tired, couldn’t think straight.

And this wood was surprisingly comfortable…



********************



A gentle prodding roused Belle from her slumber. She woke with a start, staring around her in confusion. Em stood next to her, a gentle hoof against her shoulder. Belle blinked rapidly, trying to clear the fog of sleep from her head. She groaned. “Em? What… what’s going on?”

“You fell asleep,” Em whispered. There was no reproach in her voice, but a hint of something else; concern maybe.

“Oh horseapples,” Belle sighed, letting her forehead hit the desk with a slight thump. “What time is it?”

“Just after noon.”

Belle sat there, trying to organize her thoughts. After a few moments Em cleared her throat surreptitiously. “I brought you some lunch.” She levitated a small paper bag with a stylized cartoon taco printed on the side onto the desk close to Belle’s head.

The sight, and the accompanying smell, caused Belle’s stomach to growl. She slowly reached out and upended the sack, revealing a carefully wrapped three bean soft taco. She inhaled the glorious scent briefly before unwrapping it and beginning to graze hungrily. A taco might not have been the best thing to eat so soon after waking up, but it wasn’t on her list of things to worry about.

“Thanks, Em.” she mumbled between bites. “Any news?”

“Not much. Soil finished his report.” She levitated several sheets of paper onto the desk, away from the greasy mess of Belle’s lunch.

“Did you read it?”

“Of course.”

“Thoughts?”

Em shrugged. “Hard to say really. If this was the work of some kind of creature, like Soil’s findings suggest, then what started the fire?”

Belle considered this. “It could be that the fillies started it themselves, maybe in an attempt to defend themselves. I’m more curious about how a creature big enough to inflict that type of damage managed to disappear without a trace.”

“Well, actually, I think the answer might be obvious.”

This caught Belle’s attention and she looked up at her friend. “Do tell.”

“Well, the warehouses. The majority of them are empty these days, and they’re large enough to hide something that large easily. In fact the whole dock area has enough alleys and buildings on it for something fairly large to move about fairly easily I’m sure.”

Belle paused to consider this. It made sense, only a few of the buildings on the waterfront were in use these days. But even so, it seemed unlikely that anypony or anything could be using one without somepony knowing about it.

Unless, of course, somepony most likely did know about it, and simply hadn’t told her: Brine.

They needed to have a talk.

She finished the last of the taco with not a small amount of satisfaction. “Em, I’m going to have a talk with Brine. Where’s Keen?”

Em rolled her eyes. “Where else? In the practice yard.”

Belle nodded. The pegasus was devoted, no question there. She stood up and stretched with a wince. It turned out that ‘slumped over a desk’ was not a good position for sleeping. “Alright, I’m going to take him with me to the docks, it’s time I did some personal investigations. I believe Oak is due to report in in a few hours, update him on the situation and have him be ready to investigate the warehouses. Are the photos from last night ready yet?”

Em glanced at the clock on the wall of the office. “They should be ready soon. I dropped them off at Light Flash’s first thing this morning.”

“Good. I want them on my desk as soon as possible.”

“Of course, Belle,” Em whispered with a nod.

Belle trotted around her desk and out of her office. The main room was empty, which meant that Em was the pony on desk duty today. No surprises there, she had always preferred the quiet work, away from any potential conflict.

In the equipment room she deftly donned her armor and buckled it in place with practiced motions. She briefly considered taking a spear from the rack also but decided against it. Her hooves had served her well so far and they suited her just fine. She also forewent the stifling helmet as usual. After checking to make sure all was in order, she slipped into a camera rig too, just in case, situating the trigger a few inches below her mouth. Feeling prepared, she trotted out.

Behind the main guard house lay the practice yard. Two lines of stuffed practice dummies were spaced out at dozen pace intervals. It all seemed quiet, but Belle could feel tenseness in the air, a sense of expectation; although perhaps that was simply because she had witnessed Keen’s practices before and knew what was coming.

Without warning, a blurred streak descended from the sky. It went right past two of the practice dummies seemingly without actually touching them, except for a resounding thwacking sound followed by the stuffed forms shuddering violently. The blur coalesced into the familiar shape of Keen Edge as he struck a third dummy with his front hooves. He curled inward and, planting his hind hooves, used the motion to springboard himself away, striking a fourth target in the second line. The curved practice blade held in his mouth struck yet another as he fought to regain his initial speed, his wings beating the air vigorously. He twisted at the last second before striking a sixth dummy with a vicious buck from his hind legs. His hooves struck ground momentarily as he reversed direction yet again. With a leap, he took off, blazing past two more forms in line, his blunted weapon striking them each at the ‘neck.’ He finally reached the last dummy and performed a tight spin, briefly forming a short tornado of wings, hooves, and weapon. The last target dummy shuddered multiple times before finally succumbing to the onslaught, a seam tearing, and spilling thick woolen stuffing onto the ground. Keen landed on the ground in a splayed ready stance, breathing quickly but evenly.

Sure that he had finished his routine, Belle approached him, shaking her head. “That’s the third dummy this month, Keen. It’s getting to be a bad habit.”

He spat out the practice weapon before acknowledging her with a nod. “Ma’am.”

“Suit up. You and I are heading to the docks. I’ll explain on the way.”

About a half hour later, Belle and Keen, now wearing his lighter quilted barding with the real curved sword strapped to his side underneath a wing, approached the burnt remains of the warehouse. In the light of day the ruined building looked more sad than dangerous. Charred wood and scattered ashes were all that remained. Already several squads of ponies, unicorns mostly, were engaged in the removal and disposal of the debris.

After exchanging a brief greeting with one of the town’s dock-masters, who were generally responsible for the upkeep of the docks as well as the official owners of most of the warehouses, Belle and Keen moved into the wreckage. Belle carefully picked her way to what remained of the back offices while Keen simply hovered above the blackened remains. Eventually they reached what remained of the back offices, where the bodies had been found. Belle began searching the area, trying to find anything to support the theory of the presence of a beast.

It proved a fruitless search, however. The fire had destroyed any possible evidence. Belle sighed in frustration. “Do you see anything, Keen?”

Keen dropped down from what remained of the upper floors, flapping his wings rapidly as he landed. “Nothing, it seems that the fire has destroyed the majority of the furniture. Only a back corner of one room was mostly undamaged, but except for half a couch, there’s nothing to be found.”

“I suppose it was too much to hope for.” She would have to rely on the photos from the previous night, although she was beginning to doubt they would be of much use either. “Alright, let’s go talk to Brine.”

Keen merely nodded, charitably not commenting on how much of a waste of time this had been. After making their way out of the rubble, the two guards trotted down the dock, making for The Hole. Only one ship was currently moored at one of the jetties, The Star’s Retreat. Belle recognized it as the ship Brine had mentioned the previous day, the one on which the pony who had first reported the fire was serving. Interesting, although it might just be coincidence; she filed that information into the back of her mind, just in case.

The tavern was uncharacteristically quiet, even considering the time of day. It was surprisingly dark inside, enough that Belle felt comfortable lifting her tinted glasses, and only two tables had any ponies sitting at them. No music played now and the only employee in sight was the barpony, a unicorn mare named Tumbler Glass, who was busy cleaning glasses with magic, and at the same time dexterously tossing and flipping various bottles with her hooves. Belle trotted up to the bar, Keen silently followed close behind her, his eyes darting cautiously around the room.

“Hello, Miss Glass,” Belle greeted, “I’m here to see Brine.”

“Captain,” the bartender acknowledged, carefully replacing two bottles onto the bar top. “I’m afraid Mr. Brine isn’t here at the moment.”

“Well, where is he?” Belle tried her best to keep the anger out of her voice, it wasn’t the unicorn’s fault that Brine wasn’t here. 

The unicorn shrugged. “He doesn’t tell me everything. I’m sure he’ll be back this evening though, he’s always here for the night hours. Do you want to leave a message for him?”

Belle grunted. “No, he knows what I’m going to talk to him about.” She paused, a thought occurring to her. “Do you know anything about what happened yesterday? Or did Brine happen to mention anything to you?”

“I’m afraid not,” Tumbler said with a shrug, “I slept through the whole thing, only heard about it all this morning.”

“Well, if you hear about anything unusual or out of the ordinary, let me know, will you?”

Tumbler smiled. “Of course, Captain.”

“Thank you.”

Belle turned to go. It was looking like this entire trip had been a waste of time. She’d have to hope something showed up on the photos taken the previous night, and that Brine would have some new information for her when she finally got a hold of him.

She exited the building, closely followed by Keen, ducking her head so that her glasses were once again in place. She turned to head back to the guard house, dejected at her failure.

“Any thoughts, Keen?” she asked.

“No, ma’am.”

“I don’t suppose you have any suggestions about what we should do next?”

“That would be a negative, ma’am.”

She glanced back at him. The cheeky grin on his face fled so quickly that she wasn’t entirely sure it had ever been there. “Well, if you happen to, don’t keep me in suspense.”

“Of course not.” 

She chuckled and turned back around. She happened to glance up, towards the edge of town, and froze. There, rising above the roofs of the remaining warehouses, a column of thick, black smoke was rising into the air.

“Oh you have got to be kidding me!”
> Chapter 3: Speculation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monsters

By Sharpe Quill

Chapter 3: Speculation



Belle took off at a gallop along the stone pier towards the pillar of smoke. Keen Edge, without waiting for orders, leapt into the air and took off on his own, soaring over the tops of buildings in a more direct route to the fire.

Belle’s mind raced as fast as her hooves. A fire in Dock was rare enough, but two in two days? That was unheard of, not to mention extremely suspicious. Was this just unhappy coincidence or could there possibly be some connection between the two fires? Was the theoretical creature to blame for this fire? Things were getting out of hoof, and she needed to regain control over it.

When she reached the end of the dock, passing the last in the long row of warehouses, she almost overbalanced due to the camera rig still around her neck. In retrospect she probably should have left it behind, but the possibility of finding anything useful at the warehouse had been too important for her to leave it behind. She couldn’t just leave it behind now though, so she was stuck with it for the time being.

The stone platform that made up the majority of the docks ended abruptly with nothing but water in front of her. She turned inland and saw the latest blazing building. Thankfully, it wasn’t nearly as bad as the previous night.

The building in question was a small house, practically a cottage, located on the very edge of town. She wasn’t sure, off-hoof, who it belonged to but she didn’t think it was abandoned. A scarce two hundred yards beyond it the forest could be seen, and beyond that, rising just above the tree line in the distance, the beginnings of the Rambling Rock Ridge was just visible. Or at least on a normal day they would be. Today, however, that view was obscured by a thick black veil of smoke rising into the air.

The house was two stories but still somehow managed to seem quaint. About one quarter of its heavy thatched roof, useful in keeping out the elements but significantly less in protecting against fire, was ablaze and slowly spreading. Parts of the wooden walls were similarly coated in a sheet of flame. However, the vast majority of the structure was still intact, and the roof, while obviously weakening, was still holding up. This fire was obviously much younger than the previous night’s had been when she had first seen it, and already a large group of ponies were busy working to put it out. The very dock-master she had seen previously at the remains of the warehouse was visible directing her employees around the burning house.

Also unlike the previous night, the ponies had obviously managed to get this one under control much faster. A large raincloud, almost indistinguishable from the smoke, was busy dumping gallons of water onto the inferno, and the unicorns were managing to keep the fire from spreading further with their combined magic. In fact, Belle had a feeling she wouldn’t actually be needed here at all. Even as she trotted up to the dock-master the fire was dwindling, hissing, and sputtering in the steady downpour.

“Ms. Foam,” Belle shouted over the sound of the dying fire, “what happened?”

Sea Foam, a greenish blue earth pony with a curly white mane and tail, nickered. “Captain,” she shouted in acknowledgement, “I have no idea. My crew was working on the clean up from last night’s fire when we noticed the smoke. I led them here at once, and we were able to get it under control pretty quickly.”

“Any idea how it started? Did you see anypony in the area when you got here?”

Sea Foam shook her head. “I’m afraid not. Nopony was in the area when we got here, at least not that I saw.”

“Is there anypony inside? Who does the house belong to?”

“We called out when we first got here and checked the windows but we didn’t hear or see anypony so as far as we know it’s empty. I don’t think anypony lives here anymore, but I couldn’t tell you for sure. You’d have to check with Brine or the mayor.”

Belle snorted. Of course Brine would be the one to know.

With a final hiss the last of the flames was extinguished, leaving an almost fully intact, if rather blackened, house. The few pegasi present, including Corporal Keen, began to disperse the thick rainclouds while the earthbound ponies all sat back, recovering from their exertions.

“Is there anything else, Captain?” Sea Foam asked, a tad impatiently. “Only there’s still plenty of work to be done, and now this place is going to be added to the list.”

“No,” Belle said, “that should be all for now. I’ll be sending somepony around to take statements from your employees.” Sea Foam grimaced slightly but nodded her understanding. After she had turned to go collect her workers Belle had a thought and called after her. “Don’t touch the house until my team and I have had a chance to examine it.”

Sea Foam stopped and looked back at her. “I’m sure Mr. Brine will have someone take care of it, Captain.”

“I’m sure he will,” Belle said with a snort. “Nevertheless, this is a crime scene until I say otherwise. I don’t care what Brine has to say about it, he is not above the town guard, no matter what he thinks. Is that understood?”

Sea Foam paused for a second longer than Belle liked. “Of course,” she said at last, her tone unreadable. With that she trotted forward and began herding her workers while Belle glared after her.

Keen Edge finished disrupting the last of the raincloud above the house and dropped out of the sky, landing lightly next to Belle, who turned towards him. “Good job, Corporal,” she said. After a pause she added, “But next time, wait for my order before rushing off. You’re a guard, never forget that.”

Keen looked sour. “What would you have ordered me to do, Captain? If I may ask.”

“Just what you did,” Belle said with a snort. “But that’s not the point. If you are with a higher ranking officer, you follow their lead at all times. Is that understood?”

Keen grimaced and fluffed his wings agitatedly, but he nodded and gave her a salute. “Yes, ma’am.”

Keen didn’t have issues with authority as such, but he was rather hot-headed and had a tendency to act spontaneously. It was this, along with his occasionally snarky comments, that had caused his rejection from the Canterlot Royal Guard. He was a work in progress as far as Belle was concerned, but worth the effort in her opinion.

She considered him appraisingly for a moment before returning his salute. “Good,” she said, “now go inform Sergeant Grass about this.” She glanced at the sun’s position. Not even 2 o’clock yet she figured. The only guard scheduled for duty any time soon was Shining Star. “If Constable Star is there, have her meet me here; if not go get her from her house. It’s going to have to be all hoofs on deck until this is resolved. Either way, I want both of you back here as soon as possible.”

Keen Edge saluted again and took off without another word.

As soon as he was out of sight Belle turned her attention to the house. Trotting up to one of the undisturbed windows, she peered inside. There were no lights and all she could make out in the gloom were several vague, white shapes. It took her a second to realize that they were pieces of furniture covered in sheets to protect against dust for long-time storage. So the house was vacant then, or at least not currently in use.

And yet the house hadn’t spontaneously combusted, so somepony had to have started the fire, either deliberately or by accident. The only creature she had ever heard of that could breathe fire, or otherwise cause a fire, was a dragon, and she was quite sure a dragon would be far too conspicuous to go unnoticed. It had to have been a pony. Well, technically it could have been a griffon or a donkey or a diamond dog, but only a few representatives of those species were ever present in Dock at a given time. Odds were good that the culprit was a pony.

She trotted around the house to the fire-damaged side. The walls were blackened and had pock marks in it where the paint had bubbled from the heat. Considering the amount of smoke she had seen, and the amount of time it had lasted compared to the amount of damage, it looked like the fire had started on the inside and moved outside through one of several windows, which on this side she could see had shattered from the intense heat. After doing a complete circuit of the outside, Belle tried the latch on the only door.

Locked. Now that was interesting, who would leave a house on fire and take the time to lock the door behind them? A quick buck took care of the dead bolt, it must have been quite old to not put up more resistance, and the door slammed open. She entered hesitantly, scanning the area intently.

Most of the inside was coated in dust with cobwebs connecting almost all of the pieces of furniture into a chain of ghostly objects. She examined the undamaged rooms first. Finding nothing pertinent except more undisturbed dust, and no sign of any pony having been there recently at all, she moved to the upstairs room on the burned side of the house.

A large patch of the roof was missing, the combined result of flames and concentrated rain. The floor beneath the open section had a large portion burned away; the edges of the hole were twisted and unstable. She kept her distance.

A shaft of light shone through the hole in the roof, descending to the floor and splashing through the unusual hole onto the ground floor where it illuminated a large pile of burnt and charred rubble. Odd that, a hole in the ceiling and the floor; it looked like more than simple fire damage, almost like something had punched a hole through the floor from the first floor, and then continued to the roof. She knew that she didn’t have much experience in such things, so it was possible that she might just be overthinking things. Whatever the cause, it was good that it had happened, otherwise the rain might not have reached the ground floor in time to extinguish the fire before it got out of hoof.

Finding nothing else of interest, she made her way to the ground floor to inspect the damage there. As she approached the burnt portion, she studied the pile of rubble on the floor. Much of the wall was sagging and the cloth-covered furniture in the area had been completely consumed by the fire and collapsed. Bits of charred wood and roof thatching also littered the area, fallen from above. Everything in the area was soaked from the drenching it had received but she could still feel the heat in the area.

She stopped to study the rubble for a moment. Figuring she might as well use the camera since she was stuck with it, she began to take pictures of the area. She walked carefully right up to the largest pile of burnt debris, a combination of several pieces of furniture (a pair of large cabinets she guessed), and a sizeable portion of the ceiling. Something seemed off about it, somehow, and she peered closely after taking a few pictures. There, that bit right there, that wasn’t wood…

It was fur.

The realization struck her like a buck to the face and she immediately began digging into the debris with her forehooves, pushing aside bits of wood and ash. Somepony was under there!

A few frantic seconds later she had cleared enough to see a furry leg and… paw? Not a pony then, but a diamond dog! Belle hesitated for an instant, surprised by this unexpected turn of events, but she immediately shook it off and continued digging.

Soon she had finished clearing the rubble off of the unfortunate dog. He (she supposed it was a he, since she had never seen a female diamond dog in the town) was obviously in a bad way. Belle was no medical pony, but even she could see that both his rear legs had been broken, probably from the collapsing ceiling. Both of his forearms had been covering his head and were heavily bruised but didn’t appear to be broken. He had been badly burned as well with large splotches of fur completely burned away revealing horribly blistered and seared skin; even what fur that remained had been singed and blackened. The poor creature’s blunt face was a twisted mask of pain.

Gingerly, Belle placed a large ear against the dog’s chest, purposely ignoring the feeling of revulsion she felt at the touch of the burned skin. The odds weren’t good that he could have survived all that damage, but she had to check. To her absolute shock she just barely managed to hear something. Yes, there was definitely a heartbeat. Weak, fluttery, inconsistent, but definitely there. He was breathing too, but it was so shallow and so thin that it wasn’t noticeable just from looking at him.

Just then she heard the clopping of hooves on a wooden floor. She looked towards the front door and saw Keen trot in, closely followed by Shining Star, already in her light barding. They froze when they saw her standing over the horribly broken body of a diamond dog.

“Keen!” Belle snapped. “Fly as fast as you can to the hospital and get help.”

To his credit, Keen didn’t waste time with questions. He immediately whirled around and dashed off, taking to the air soon after. Shining Star hesitated before trotting forward. Belle could see that she looked terrible, clearly still shaken by the previous night’s events. Belle wondered if she had managed any sleep at all.

Between the two of them, they were able to carefully pull the diamond dog completely from the rubble. Shining pulled a sheet down from one of the undamaged pieces of furniture and they placed him upon it as gently as possible. Even so, Belle couldn’t help but feel that he wouldn’t last long. After they were sure he was as safe as they could make him, they stepped back, looking at the unusual form before them.

This could be what Belle was looking for. The diamond dog had obviously been present during the fire and surely knew something about it. It was even possible that he had been responsible for it; and if, as she suspected, the two fires were linked, then it was even possible that he was the one who had killed the foals!

She should have left him to die in that pile!

Whoa, where had that come from? She needed to calm herself down and think rationally about this. There was no evidence at all to incriminate the diamond dog. She shook her head, it would all be a moot point if he didn’t survive to be questioned, and she couldn’t do anything about that now except wait and hope he would make it.

She went back to inspecting the pile she had found the diamond dog in. She stared at it, willing it to reveal its secrets, to give her some clue about what had happened here. The pile remained unhelpful.

Something about it was off, its placement didn’t seem right. She prodded it tentatively. It shifted slightly, sending soot and warm ash into the air but otherwise didn’t budge. She was just about to move on when something at the base of the pile caught her eye. Some of the grey ashes were settling on the ground, except in one small section, a small patch just next to a blackened loose bit of wood.

She pushed the board and almost stumbled forward when it suddenly gave way, falling into a small pit in the floor with a loud clatter and a fresh wave of ash. Half the pile followed it, dropping into the hole while the rest fell away and scattered along the wooden floor. Shining jumped in surprise, her tired eyes wide.

A square hole, an open trap door, was situated in the floor, almost large enough for two ponies to enter at the same time. Most of it was still covered by several of the larger pieces of burnt and soggy wood. Steep stone steps, littered with debris, disappeared into the shadows.

A basement?

She glanced at Shining Star, trying to decide her next course of action. She needed to investigate this unexpected development, and the sooner the better. But she knew that even with her sensitive eyes, without some kind of light it’d be pointless to go down there on her own. Shining Star, as a unicorn, could make her own light, but she didn’t want to send her in by herself, and she didn’t want to leave the injured diamond dog alone until the medical ponies arrived. Belle needed to go herself, and as soon as possible. She glanced at the unicorn again and the answer came to her. “Shining, I need your lamp.”

Constable Shining Star started slightly before turning her tired eyes to her Captain. “Hmm? Oh, of course, Captain.”

A nimbus of light surrounded the small metal box that was clipped to the front of her barding. As a guard who routinely worked during the evening hours, Shining’s equipment included a small oil lantern with a single windowed opening, which would create a spotlight effect. A flash of her horn lit the lamp and she levitated it over, clipping it onto the front of Belle’s barding.

“Thanks, Constable,” Belle said. “I want you to wait here for Keen and the medics. Help as best you can. Once they’ve taken care of our patient here, I want you to help Keen. He’ll know what to do. If I’m not back in half an hour…” She trailed off. This was unlike anything she had needed to handle before and she wasn’t entirely sure of the protocol.

“We should seal it off and make sure no one else goes in?” asked Shining helpful.

“What?” Belle looked genuinely aghast. “No, I want you to come in and find me!”

The tired unicorn smiled and ducked her head once in a nod. “Of course, Captain.”

Belle turned and, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, carefully descended the steps, stepping tentatively to avoid the detritus. The light from her lantern, hardly noticeable in the relatively light room above, seemed to brighten as she crossed into the darkness. The stone beneath her hooves was warm, most likely from the residual heat from the fire above. When she reached the bottom of the steps, some thirty paces below ground, she stopped to raise her tinted glasses.

Belle had very sensitive eyes, one of the main reasons she wore the glasses everywhere but in dimly lit areas. Direct sunlight was both blinding and painful. In the darkness, however, her vision was top notch. The small light from her lantern was more than enough for her to see clearly by.

She found herself standing at the beginning of a long tunnel, surprisingly large and wide; easily twice her height and wide enough for five ponies to walk abreast comfortably. Unlike the stone steps, the tunnel’s floor was mostly compact earth but it was clearly not a natural formation.

Belle had heard stories of whole networks of tunnels much like what she now saw that were dug by large packs of diamond dogs. Could this be the home of a pack? It would explain the presence of the poor creature in the house above.

But that couldn’t be right. For one thing, diamond dog packs in Equestria were almost exclusively in the southern plains. Outside of the occasional sailor, they were unheard of in Dock. Even more significantly, the tunnel was connected to a pony’s house. No, whatever this was, it was most likely not a diamond dog’s warren.

Of course that left the question of what exactly it was.

As she began taking a few tentative steps forward, she noticed that the air and even the dirt were quite warm. She noticed odd shapes in the walls and ceiling, and when she directed the lantern light towards it, she recognized them as wooden beams, heavy struts holding back the weight of the earth. Could this have been a mine? She had never heard of mining going on anywhere near the town, but it was worth considering.

The passage went fairly straight for a few dozen paces, large wooden supports showing up at regular intervals. Suddenly the tunnel split, forming a ‘Y’ shape. The left passage was caved in, rock and dirt spilling out, completely sealing it off from her. It looked recent too, the loose soil covering the ground of the tunnel around her hooves.

She trotted down the unblocked route, which ran straight as an arrow. She didn’t have the best sense of direction but she thought that it was taking her east, away from the town. The light grew steadily brighter as she moved until suddenly the passage began to rise, growing steeper, and steeper. Suddenly she could see the exit, a wooden door covering the mouth of the tunnel. Light was streaming between the surprisingly large gaps between the wooden slats. The light, which would have been barely enough for another pony to see by stabbed into Belle’s unprotected eyes. She flinched, snapping her head to the side quickly and clenching her eyes tightly closed. She was careful to replace her tinted glasses before continuing on. The lantern on her barding was still lit but no longer necessary.

When she reached the door she saw that the wood was quite old, grey and green from the exposure to the elements, but it seemed sturdy enough. She pushed on it, and was slightly surprised when the large door swung open without resistance. She exited and found herself surrounded by trees but could clearly hear the sound of running water nearby. Looking around, she tried to get her bearings. She guessed that she was within the thin strip of forest that was within sight of the now-burned cottage.

Other than the unusual existence of the tunnel itself, the area seemed plain and innocuous. Nopony was around and it felt like it was literally the middle of nowhere. She stepped out, her hooves sinking into the soft earth of the area. She looked down at her hooves and saw that the area in front of the entrance was littered with prints. They were overlapping and hard to make out but she was sure that they were at least mostly hoof prints. She examined the area and tried to find a clear set of prints, hoping against hope that she would be able to find some kind of clue.

She took a few pictures of the ground but despaired of finding a clear set. They were too distorted, and too many were overlapping. It was while she was doing this that she noticed, off to the side, two sets of prints that were clear as day. They were two different set of prints, and neither were of hooves. One set was large, larger than her hoof, and they reminded her of a cat’s paw print, with four distinct toes. The other set was rougher but deeper, four-toed and long, unlike anything she had ever seen before.

She took several pictures, including one where she had gingerly made a hoofprint of her own in the ground next to them in order to give a sense of the size. This could be the proof she needed that there was a creature, or in this case it looked like two creatures, present around the town. She needed to get these prints identified, and make sure all the ponies in the guard knew to be on the lookout. It looked like monsters had come to Dock.



********************



Belle made her way back to the house through the narrow strip of forest, forsaking the darkness of the tunnel. As she suspected, the tunnel’s exit was not far from the town’s border. As she approached the house after leaving the shadows of the narrow strip of forest she was pleased to see that Keen had returned and, in her absence, was roping the house off to discourage any curious ponies from wandering too close. Shining Star was nowhere in sight.

She was significantly less enthused to see a light colored unicorn mare with an elegant, and extremely curly mane. She had square lensed spectacles which she wore further down her snout than would theoretically be useful. A notepad and quill floated next to her, the quill scribbling away as she talked at Keen. He, for his part, didn’t appear to be answering, or even acknowledging her. If this bothered the mare she didn’t let it show.

Belle briefly considered just avoiding the news pony and just heading straight back to the guard house but knew that she couldn’t realistically do that. So she squared her shoulders and approached the house. As she got close the mare abandoned her fruitless efforts and turned to Belle, a wide and extremely bright smile gracing her muzzle. She planted herself directly in Belle’s path, forcing the earth pony to stop short.

“Captain!” she exclaimed with a slight Canterlot accent, evidently overjoyed at seeing her. “Mind if I ask you a few questions?” Without waiting for an answer she immediately began barraging Belle with rapid-fire questions.

“This is the second fire in as many days, is Dock under siege from an antagonistic arsonist? Do you have any suspects? Is it true that the two foals who died in the fire may were actually murdered? What can you tell me about that? Do you have any suspects? Should the ponies of Dock be worried about more fires?” 

Eventually she had to take a breath, and when she did Belle jumped at the chance. “Miss Curiosity, if you please,” she said, her voice taking a tone of strained patience and long-suffering, the one she reserved for news reporters and sales ponies. “I am trying to conduct an investigation here. As always, when we have something beyond theory and speculation, then we will inform the paper.” She moved to walk around her, lightly bumping into the newspony by ‘accident.’ But the unicorn would have none of it.

“Word is that the mayor is losing patience with you, how do you respond to that?”

That made Belle pause for a second. The mayor of Dock was not an unkind pony, but she didn’t have much regard for the city guard, considering them to be mostly superfluous at this point. The fact that she was good friends with Brine didn’t help matters much. If she was getting impatient, who knew what she might do.

It was a second too long. Curiosity immediately slipped back in front of her, quill still scribbling away like it had a mind of its own. She had a knowing smirk on her face.

Belle sighed. “I have no comment at this time.”

“What of the reports of a diamond dog recovered from the second building here?”

“No comment.” Blast, she must have seen the medics carrying him away.

“And what of these sightings of a large creature in the alleyways last night?”

“No comm…” Belle froze mid-word. “Wait, sightings? What sightings?”

Curiosity let her smile slip into something more genuine. “You haven’t heard? Oh there were at least six different reports given this morning alone! How about a little quid pro quo, Captain? Answer some questions for me and I’ll give you all the information we have. If not… well I suppose you could just wait and read all about it tomorrow…” She trailed off, letting the offer hang awkwardly out in the open air. She let her gaze slip from Belle and looked at her notebook curiously with an air of casual indifference.

Belle ground her teeth together. She didn’t want to play Curiosity’s games, but time was a factor. The longer the creature, or creatures, if the two sets of prints were any indication, roamed free, the longer the ponies in Dock were in danger. She considered just demanding the information on grounds of her authority, but she hadn’t sunk so low to abuse her power like that.

“Fine,” she growled. “Ask your questions.”

“Splendid!” Curiosity exclaimed joyfully before quickly growing serious, although she still smiled. “First of all, what can you tell me about the recent fires?”

Belle frowned and then shrugged. “Nothing really. We’re still investigating.”

“Surely you must know something.”

“Just speculations at this point.”

“And they are…?”

Belle frowned. “Speculations. It would be premature to voice them now. Without hard evidence I have nothing more to say on the matter.”

Curiosity looked slightly disappointed but transitioned smoothly to her next topic. “What about the two children who were found in the warehouse fire last night, what can you tell me about them?”

Belle forced her expression to remain neutral, hiding her pain. “Nothing more than was given in the official report.”

“But you suspect something?” Curiosity pushed.

Belle hesitated. “Just… speculations.”

Curiosity gave a small sigh. “Surely there must be something you can tell me.”

The captain glared at her for a few moments before relenting. Curiosity could be quite annoying, but she was still only doing her job. “Look, right now we simply don’t know for sure, we’re still investigating. As soon as we know something for sure, I promise I will personally ensure that you know immediately.”

The reporter nodded. “Very well, I guess that’s the best I can hope for. But I’ll hold you to that promise. Now, how do you respond to the mayor’s criticisms?”

Belle hesitated. She needed to be careful in what she said, the last thing she needed was to get on the wrong side of the mayor. “I can… understand the mayor’s fears, and I share them. I will be meeting with her to allay her concerns. For the time being, the ponies of Dock should rest assured that they are still safe, and that the guard is working hard to ensure their continued protection. That being said, if anypony sees or hears anything suspicious, they should bring it to our attention as soon as possible.” She paused. “Is that enough, Miss Curiosity?”

Curiosity smiled. She still wasn’t looking at the quill she held in her telekinesis which was still scribbling away. “For now. Thank you, Captain.” The quill finally stopped its scratching and, along with the pad, began to float towards a small saddlebag on her flank.

After a moment’s silence, Belle coughed. “So, what about those sightings?”

Curiosity gave a look of feigned surprise. “Oh! Of course.” She brought the notepad back out and levitated it in front of her face, flipping back through the pages until she found the one she was looking for. “Let’s see… Says here there were reports of unusual creatures in the warehouse district last night and this morning, two before and four after the fire.”

“Unusual how?” Belle had to work to contain the eagerness in her voice.

“Well… hmm, says here that they were large, but vague shapes, and that they kept to the shadows. Nopony managed to get a good look. Hmm, one pony reported seeing a large cat. Another swears she saw a small dragon. The only consistency is that all the reports said there was a terrible smell and heavy breathing. However, none of the witnesses ever stuck around to get a better look. So what do you think, Captain? Did a menagerie have a breakout recently?” Curiosity’s quill was poised once again.

Belle shook her head. “We’ll investigate the claims as best we can. If anypony else witnesses anything unusual, I would urge them to come let us know.”

“Of course, Captain. Thank you for the interview.”

Belle nodded, but she wasn’t focusing on the unicorn. Normally, sightings like this wouldn’t be cause for concern. There were always ponies claiming to have seen a jackalope or a human, and they were easily dismissed. But this was different. Coupled with the evidence she had gathered herself, it all but confirmed that there were some kind of mysterious creatures haunting the shadows of Dock. The reports of a cat-like creature and dragon-like creature were consistent with the tracks she had photographed at the exit to the tunnel. She needed to get those photos developed and the prints identified.



********************



On her way back to the Guard House, Belle dropped off her camera and film for development. The pony who ran Shadow ‘n Light Photography, a stallion appropriately named Shadow Nigellus Light, ensured her that they would be ready first thing in the morning. It wasn’t perfect but it was better than nothing.

When Belle returned to the Guard House, she found an unexpected and rather unwelcome surprise. The mayor was waiting for her.

Mayor Olive was a light, cream-colored earth pony mare, her mane was long and had at one point been ruby red but was now streaked with silver. These streaks, along with a few wrinkles around her eyes, were all that betrayed her age. A tightly bound scroll overlaid a large book on her flank, symbolizing her legal powers. Her large, light-green eyes always sparkled with intelligence and understanding. She was, however, completely devoid of any sense of humor.

“Good afternoon, Mayor,” Belle said politely when she saw her, trying to exude an aura of calm and competence.

It must not have worked because Olive frowned at her. “Captain,” she said in a surprisingly deep voice for a mare, “your office. Now.”

Managing to suppress an instinctual gulp of fear, Belle trotted past the mayor and led her into the building. Emerald was sitting behind the main desk, her horn surround by a soft light while she wrote out something on her desk. She rose when she saw Belle and opened her mouth to say something but immediately snapped it shut when she saw the mayor close behind Belle. She sat back down hurriedly, trying to look as busy as possible.

The captain led the earth pony politician into her office and quickly slipped behind her desk. There was something about being behind the wooden piece of furniture that made her feel bolder, as though the physical barrier was also a psychological defense. Mayor Olive closed the door behind her carefully before turning to face Belle.

“Captain,” she demanded without preamble, “what’s going on in my town?”

“How do you mean, ma’am?” Belle tried to sound as polite and suitably subservient as she could.

“I mean that there have been two fires, and two murders within the last twenty four hours. What. Is. Going. On?” Her voice took on an air of barely suppressed anger.

Belle flinched slightly but faced the mayor squarely. Taking a deep breath, she laid out all of her findings to the mayor briefly.

“So let me get this straight,” Olive said when she had finished, “you’re saying that some kind of animal is to blame?”

Belle shook her head. “To blame? I’m not sure yet, but somehow it, or rather they, if the prints I found are any indication, are mixed up in whatever is going on.” She had been mulling all of the facts over in her head ever since the second fire, trying to put everything together. She had reached the beginnings of an answer, but hesitated to voice them. But this was the mayor she was speaking to after all. “Right now, it looks to me like an attempt to smuggle some dangerous animals that went wrong.”

Olive raised an eyebrow. “And what led you to that conclusion?”

“The tunnels I found. If somepony was trying to illegally move exotic animals by ship to or from Canterlot, they would have to pass through Dock, but they can’t exactly register them at the shipyard, so they smuggle them in through the tunnel. I’d bet a dozen donuts that the blocked off passage of the tunnel led to the destroyed warehouse. Somehow something went wrong and the creatures got loose. The fires might have simply been an accident, or possibly used to cover up evidence.” Something that Brine had said the previous night suddenly came back to her. “Evidence like the murder of two foals, who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Her voice trailed off in the end as a sudden anger and realization overtook her. Brine was somehow mixed up with this, she could feel it.

The mayor cleared her throat. “Regardless of your… suppositions, things have clearly spiraled out of your control. Things are quickly getting out of hoof, and I will not allow anything to threaten the safety of my ponies. I’ve sent word to Canterlot asking for assistance, a representative should be here sometime tomorrow.”

Belle started in surprise. “What? You can’t be serious!”

Olive glared at her. “Captain,” she said, emphasizing the word as a reminder of Belle’s place in the current hierarchy, “I will do what I believe is in the best interest of the ponies of Dock. This representative will have complete jurisdiction, and I expect you to offer them your fullest support and aid. Am I understood?”

Belle could only stare at the mayor in shock. This had come completely out of nowhere. The mayor was clipping her wings, removing what small amount of power still remained to her. Why?

“Am I understood, Captain?” The anger in the mayor’s voice was clear now.

Belle slowly gave her a salute. “I understand.” After a pause, she added, “Ma’am.”

“Good. I want this matter resolved, Belle. The sooner, the better.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Belle’s voice was cold, seething anger just repressed by iron discipline.

The mayor nodded. Without another word she turned and, opening the door just as carefully as she had closed it, exited. Emerald stuck her head inside the office inquisitively, but ducked out again quickly upon seeing Belle’s wrathful visage.

The anger faded quickly, however, and Belle slumped behind her desk, feeling dejected and humiliated from this treatment.

Yet her mind raced. Some things didn’t add up. Why would the mayor call for outside aid so quickly? Belle knew that she had little use for the guard as a whole, but this was premature at best, and downright insulting at worst. Was there something going on that the mayor wasn’t telling her about?

She still had too many questions, and she needed answers, preferably before some busybody from Canterlot came in and derailed her investigation. And she knew the best place to get those answers too.

It was time she had a serious discussion with Brine. Whether he wanted to or not.
> Chapter 4: Answers?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monsters

By Sharpe Quill

Chapter 4: Answers?



At length, Belle finally calmed herself down. She rose to her hooves and shook vigorously, pulling herself together. Confident in her resolve, she trotted out of the office. After a quick stop in the equipment room to drop off Shining Star’s lantern, she headed out to talk to Emerald. Her unicorn friend tactfully didn’t bring up the mayor’s visit.

“I’m going to pay Brine a little visit,” Belle said as confidently as she could.

Em nodded. “Are you going to take somepony with you?”

Belle hesitated for a second before shaking her head. “No. I have several things that need to be done and I’m going to need everypony for them.”

“What do you need?” asked Em without hesitation.

Belle smiled at her friend’s immediate support. “I want Corporal Snowflake to go to the hospital.”

“Why?” Em frowned in puzzlement.

Oh, right. Belle was most likely the first guard back from the fire and so news of the diamond dog must not have reached Em yet. That reminded her that she would have to write up a report concerning the fire. Joy.

She briefly laid out what had happened at the second fire, including the discovery of the tunnel and the prints. Em looked surprised at the news of the wounded diamond dog.

“Do you think he might have had something to do with it?” she asked.

“I can’t think of a reason for him to be there if he wasn’t involved in some way. That’s why I want Snowflake there. I need somepony there if he pulls through.” It occurred to Belle that she had no idea about the state of the diamond dog now; it was even possible that he hadn’t survived to the hospital. “If he doesn’t,” she continued, “then we‘ll have to move on, but he’s our best lead right now.”

“Alright,” said Em, her horn alight again as she scribbled down her captain’s orders.

“Now then,” continued Belle, “the evidence all points to one or more creatures currently being loose in the city. They are obviously dangerous so we need to begin searching for them. I want Sergeant Oak to take Keen and Constable Morning Dew and do a sweep of the docks and warehouses. If there are monsters out there, I want them found.”

The large unicorn paused in her writing and looked up. “Are you sure they should be doing it this late though? It’ll be dark soon.”

Belle grimaced. “I know, but I won’t have another fire, or another injured pony in my town. I want this resolved.”

Em still looked uncertain but nodded, making another note. “Very well.”

Who was left then? Oh yes. “As soon as Shining Star returns, she’s to relieve you for the evening.” Shining’s haunted expression was still fresh in Belle’s mind; the poor rookie needed a chance to recover from the traumatizing discovery of the previous night.

Em frowned. “Didn’t you just say you’re going to need everypony? How is sending me home helping?”

“You’ve been up all day after a late night, and in case they don’t find the creatures tonight, then I’m going to need you tomorrow. Besides, you’re no good to me tired,” she said in a lightly teasing voice.

“Well…” Em still looked unconvinced.

“That’s an order, Sergeant.” Belle’s voice was firm but she had a smile on her face.

Emerald returned the smile and gave a crisp salute. “Yes, ma’am.”

Belle sniffed with an air of faux-impatience. “Good, glad that’s settled. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

The earth pony mare trotted out quickly and turned her head towards the docks.



********************



When she reached the tavern, Belle paused momentarily just inside the doorway to lift her tinted glasses onto her forehead. She was forced to squint in the light which, while dim for other ponies, was still quite harsh for her sensitive eyes. After blinking rapidly for a few seconds, her eyes adjusted as best they could; she took in the scene before her.

The Hole was uncharacteristically quiet on this evening. The music still played but was somehow quieter than normal, as though reluctant to call attention to itself. The common room was only a little over half full, and the normal chatter and laughter of the pony patrons had been reduced to barely more than a low murmur. Tumbler Glass, the barmare Belle had spoken to earlier that day, was still behind the bar, busy cleaning glasses. An oppressive atmosphere permeated the tavern, so heavy that it was almost tangible. 

When she entered, a few ponies paused in their muted conversations to glance at her but immediately turned back around. Belle entered warily, her hoofsteps sounding unnaturally loud in the unusually quiet room. She felt the urge to shy away, to retreat from the oddly heavy atmosphere, but she forced herself onward. She kept her head high and her steps unwavering as she tried to exude as much confidence and authority as she could muster. The room was unimpressed.

Almost halfway through the room she spotted Brine sitting at a small table in the back corner. Two of his cronies stood nearby with their backs to the table, their eyes scanning the room vigilantly. As she approached, their eyes latched onto her and followed her progress closely. Brine was sitting on a small cushion with his back to the wall, and he was talking to somepony opposite him, somepony who obviously didn’t want to be recognized as he wore a large cloak which completely obscured any identifiable characteristics.

As Belle approached the table, Brine’s eye flickered to her and a frown creased his forehead. He leaned forward slightly and spoke in a hushed tone to the cloaked figure. The two bodyguards moved to block her path. She didn’t hesitate for a second, knowing that if she did she would lose any control she might have. She pushed past the two thugs and as she did she whispered in a commanding and dangerous voice, “Don’t try it boys.”

She stepped up to the table just as Brine’s guest turned, keeping his cloaked back to her, and hurried out. Belle watched the figure leave for a second. She almost called out to stop him but hesitated, torn between her curiosity about the mysterious figure’s identity and her need for answers. Her duty won out and she turned back to face Brine, pushing the cloaked figure out of her mind.

“Captain Belle,” Brine said respectfully but with a hint of annoyance, “what can I do for you?”

“I told you we’d talk later, Brine,” Belle said confidently. “It’s later.

The scarred stallion looked around the room. “Is this the time or the place, Captain?”

Belle snorted quietly. “We can speak in your office if that’s where you feel safe,” she said with a hint of contempt, “but we will speak now.”

“I see,” Brine said in a dangerous voice. “And if I refuse?”

“We either talk here, or I arrest you and we talk at the Guard House.” Belle kept her voice as steady as she could, smothering her nervousness. She had never done anything like this before, and to do it to Brine of all ponies was nerve-wracking to say the least. She decided to ease off just a touch. “Look, we’re on the same side here. I’m trying to stop whatever is causing these fires before somepony else gets hurt. Work with me, Brine.”

The tavern owner looked at the captain for a long moment before giving an almost imperceptible nod. He rose without a word and scooted out from behind the table. He led the way through a door off to the side of the bar, giving Ms. Glass a significant nod as he passed. The barmare gave him an understanding nod of her own and turned back to her work. Belle followed him into the room and pushed the door closed behind her, leaving the one-eyed stallion’s guards outside. He turned his head when he heard the door closed but made no comment.

The inside of Brine’s office was frugal at best. A simple desk, its top worn and scarred from years of use, sat directly across from the door. Two cabinets rested along one wall and a small table served as a lamp stand graced the opposing wall. And that was it, no pictures, no photographs, not even a plotted plant gave life to the room. The only concessions Brine had made to any type of décor were a model ship, its style more reminiscent of an ocean vessel as opposed to the smaller but bulkier river boats, and a plain silver locket on a wooden pedestal. 

Brine moved to stand behind his desk and immediately sat down on a cushion. There were no other seats in the room so Belle simply stood across the desk from the stallion. His actions reminded Belle of her own when the mayor had visited, hurrying to put the desk between them. Could it be that Brine was somehow intimidated by her? It seemed a ludicrous idea, and yet…

She forced the idea from her mind, it hardly mattered right now. She needed to focus on her mission.

“Ask your questions, Captain,” Brine said once he had situated himself.

What should she ask about first? The issue of the unknown creatures was foremost in her mind, but in truth that was still mostly supposition. It was a matter that she wanted to know about. The deaths of the fillies and the two fires were things that she needed to know about.

“Tell me what you know about the fires last night and today,” she said at last.

Brine took a moment before answering; he seemed to be considering the best way to answer. At last he leaned forward and said in a low voice, “Very little beyond what you already know.”

“And how do you know what I already know?” Belle demanded testily. He was plainly stalling for time.

Brine didn’t answer but gave her a small, knowing grin that sent a chill down the captain’s spine. She shied away from his cyclopean gaze for an instant before mastering herself. She scowled at him, willing herself to look unbothered by his insinuation. He settled back slightly, almost imperceptibly, and let the smirk flee from his muzzle.

“What can you tell me?” Belle asked again, putting an annoyed edge in her voice.

Again Brine took a moment before answering, although a shorter one than before. “I know that the fire in the warehouse was an unfortunate accident. A crew of ponies was moving cargo and one of its contents proved more… volatile than previously imagined. I don’t know the specifics, but it appears to have simply been misfortune. As for today’s fire, I will admit that you are better informed than I.”

He inclined his head in a half bow. As happened so often, Belle couldn’t quite tell if he was mocking her or not. She decided to ignore it.

“I was told that the warehouse was abandoned,” she said, leaving the implication unsaid. She began to slowly pace the area in front of Brine’s desk.

“On most days, it was,” the scarred stallion said, watching her pace. “But it would occasionally be used in the services of, shall we say, discreet clients.”

“You mean smuggling,” Belle growled, speeding up her pacing in reaction to her rising anger.

Brine waved a forehoof in the air as though brushing away the offensive term. “Such a negative word,” he said in a tone that Belle would have described as flippant if she didn’t know the stallion better. “It is merely used whenever a merchant needs a shipment moved quickly and quietly. Think of it as an expedited service.”

The captain of the Dock Town Guard paused in her walking to glower at the older stallion. “It is still illegal, regardless of what you call it,” she spat, letting her anger get the best of her.

Brine gave a long-suffering sigh. “This is a discussion for another day, Captain. The most recent events are significantly more important, don’t you agree?”

She let her glower linger for a few moments more before giving a curt nod and resuming her pacing, this time at a more controlled gait. “You’re right. But when all this is over, there are going to be a few changes around here.”

Brine gave her another of his infuriating smiles and another of his ‘totally-not-mocking’ incline of the head.

“So the fire was an accident. What caused the explosion?” Belle continued, forcing herself to focus on the issue at hoof.

Brine shrugged, the scars across his back shifting unsettlingly. “No idea. I don’t ask about the contents. I merely make the proper connections. Whatever the shipment was, it was destroyed in the fire. My ponies found nothing of interest or of value in the wreckage.”

Belle stopped again, placing herself directly in front of the desk. When she spoke next, she didn’t bother to hide the barely controlled anger lying beneath the surface. “And how do the fillies factor into all of this? Why did they have to die? Who did it?”

Brine stiffened, his posture noticeably tensing. For just a second, true and unrepressed rage crept into his expression. It was not a defensive anger aimed at Belle for her implied accusation, but rather an anger in alignment with her own wrath. It was an intense fury directed at the needless loss of life, at the cruel ending of two children, and especially at whoever was responsible for it. The wrathful look fled as quickly as it had appeared, but his rigidity remained.

“I don’t know,” he growled, pronouncing each word forcefully, “but I aim to find out.”

The mare considered him for a brief moment before nodding. He most likely really didn’t know any more than he was saying, at least not concerning the fillies. Their deaths were clearly not something he condoned and he wanted to see those responsible brought to justice. The question was, whose justice? 

Belle carefully considered her next question while at the same time recomposing herself and reeling back her anger. “Whose cargo was it? I’m going to need to speak to them.”

Brine shook his head resolutely. “No, Captain, you won’t.”

The captain snorted. “Brine, I need to know who it is.”

“Trust me, there’s nothing more you can get from them other than what I’ve already told you.”

Belle wanted to stomp her hoof in frustration but she forced herself to remain calm. She did begin pacing again, however, with each hoofstep coming down slightly harder than was strictly necessary. “Brine, the only reason I don’t arrest you right now for smuggling is because we’ve got bigger issues right now. Don’t make me reconsider that.”

The suddenly smug stallion leaned forward again. “What smuggling?”

“The smuggling you just confessed to!” Belle spat, her anger again starting to get the better of her.

“I don’t recall confessing any such thing,” Brine said innocently.

“I just heard you say it, I can arrest you for it if I choose to do so.”

Brine’s mouth turned up at the corners, part grin and part sneer. “Based on what evidence?”

“Your own words!” Belle’s steps had become actual stomps at this point.

“Ah, but unless you have a signed confession or a third-party witness, it’s all just hearsay.” Brine relaxed back on his haunches.

Belle felt her face heat up in equal parts anger and embarrassment. The blasted stallion was right; she had no leverage over him. She was fumbling around for a response when, surprisingly, Brine himself came to her rescue.

“Look, Captain,” he said, all the smugness fading away, “I can’t give you any names. Besides, if such business transactions had been made, then theoretically they would have been done anonymously or at least with pseudonyms. I can assure you, there is nothing they could tell you that I haven’t already. We need to focus on what’s going on now.”

Belle ground her teeth together in frustration. She summoned the shredded remnants of her dignity about her and nodded. “Very well.”

“Is there anything else I can help you with?” Brine asked politely but with a bite of impatience.

Belle considered the question for a moment, still struggling to completely rein in her anger. At last she asked, “Did any of the ships to come through recently report any missing crew members? Specifically a diamond dog?”

The question seemed to generally surprise him. “No, why?”

Interesting. It seemed the stallion who was infamous for his knowledge of almost everything in Dock had not yet heard about the injured diamond dog. Belle fought to keep her own petty smugness in check. “Because I found a diamond dog in the second fire.”

Brine’s ears literally perked up at this. “Dead?”

“Dying,” the guardsmare said simply. “We rushed him to the hospital. I’m not sure of his current condition.”

“That’s very… interesting,” Brine said hesitantly. He looked down and to the side. He began to unconsciously chew on his lower lip.

Belle realized she was seeing something new. Brine was legitimately surprised by this news, and perhaps even a little concerned. The idea was somehow disturbing. Despite their occasional antagonism, Belle had a sort of begrudging respect for the tavern owner. He was always a solid fixture of everyday life, dependable and sure. To see him uncertain was like witnessing a mountain suddenly shift.

“I will ask around,” he said at last, looking up at her again, “and if I find anything useful I will pass it along to you.”

Belle nodded, realizing that that was about as much as she could hope for from Brine. She spoke again, almost as though it were an afterthought. “I also found a tunnel that connected the burned building to the woods east of town. I’m guessing that’s another thing that you are conveniently ignorant of.”

It came out more spiteful than she intended but Brine didn’t appear to notice. Instead he waved a forehoof in the air dismissively. “Oh, the tunnels? Of course I know about them. I’m surprised that you don’t.”

The blatant admission caught Belle by surprise. “Well, I don’t,” she said. “Enlighten me.”

“Well, it’s a part of this town’s history. Do you know how Dock was originally founded?”

“Um, it was the best location for a full harbor for Canterlot, seeing as how the city’s halfway up a mountain.” Belle had heard the story once or twice growing up but had never given it a second thought. What could it possibly have to do with the mysterious tunnel she had found?

“That’s the official story,” Brine said cryptically. “But the truth is a bit more complex…”

He trailed off dramatically, letting his words sink in. Belle stared at him. This had easily been the longest conversation she had ever had with the salty stallion, and she realized that he wasn’t quite what she had always pictured him to be. For one thing he wasn’t as all knowing as she had always pictured him to be. But even more surprisingly, he was a bit of a ham. She smiled softly at the realization.

“Y’see,” Brine continued, not noticing her grin because he had closed his eyes in reminiscence, “Dock was originally a- well, a smuggling town. When ships first began transporting goods along the river to and from Canterlot, the outpost at the base of the mountain was all that was required for the occasional ship. But eventually it got to the point that ships had to line up to unload at the single port. This location here was the widest and slowest flowing point of the river, meaning that the ships could wait their turn here easily. Eventually somepony realized the financial opportunity and built a small town for the idle sailors’ use. This turned into the best place for smugglers to unload merchandise. Soon after the first buildings were put up, the tunnels were dug to allow for the secret transport of goods of a more, shall we say, illicit nature. Eventually, of course, the town became a legitimate port and grew into the great city it is today.”

Belle wasn’t quite sure how he managed to say that last bit with a straight face but somehow he managed it. He finished speaking and looked at her almost expectantly. She took a moment to digest what he had said.

“So the tunnels were closed?” she asked. “They’re no longer in use?”

Brine gave her his more familiar smirk. “Not that I am aware of.”

He was lying. Belle knew he was lying. He probably knew that she knew. But without any proof, it was useless to call him on it. Deciding to let it go, she chose her next words carefully.

“Hypothetically, if they were still in use, what buildings would have access to them?”

The scarred stallion gave another of his unsettling shrugs. “I honestly don’t know. The tunnels were never mapped to my knowledge, although I do know that there are multiple levels, and literally miles worth of passageways underneath the town. Nopony knows every entrance. To be frank, Captain, it’s a huge maze.”

She scowled at him. “There has to be something you can give me. Was there an entrance in the warehouse that burned down?”

He made a show of thinking before answering. “I believe there was at one time, but I believe it was sealed years ago. It certainly wasn’t in use.”

Of course, he probably wouldn’t admit to it now even if it had been in use. She decided to take him at his word, for the time being.

She mulled over all the information she had been given. It was certainly interesting but didn’t help as much as she had hoped, let alone needed. So at least the first fire had been an accident, but she didn’t know how the second had started, or how the lost fillies had met their horrible end. Where did she go from here?

Brine interrupted her train of thought. “Is there anything else, Captain?” he asked, the impatience plain in his voice now. “Only, I do have a business to run. As willing as I am to help you in your investigation, I have responsibilities that must be attended to.”

When she didn’t respond at once, he stood up and began to make his way around his desk and past her. It was only once he had reached the door that she spoke. “This ‘perfectly legal’ shipment at the warehouse, it didn’t happen to include any large animals, did it?”

Brine froze, his hoof resting on the door latch. When he spoke, his voice was strangely even, as though he was forcing it to lack inflection. “Why do you ask?”

Not turning to look at him, the mare answered, “I found evidence that suggests at least two large, possibly dangerous animals are in Dock as we speak. I don’t know if they’re on the loose or being controlled, but either way, they’re involved in this. What do you know?”

She turned then to look at him. His expression was a match for his tone: an obviously forced mask of calm. “Nothing,” he lied.

Then, not waiting for her to respond, he pulled open the door and exited the room, leaving an angry and frustrated guardsmare standing alone in his office.


********************


When Belle left The Hole, the moon had been raised clear of the horizon and the lanterns running the length of the pier had already been lit. Her conversation with Brine had clearly taken longer than she expected. She decided to keep her tinted glasses on her forehead; the soft moonlight had always been easiest on her delicate eyes, and the lantern-light was not strong enough to overpower her vision.

She slowly walked along the pier, not actually paying any attention to her direction. She used the time to mull over the information she had learned from Brine in her head, twisting it and examining it from every angle she could. If the initial fire had truly been an accident, then it was entirely possible that it had nothing to do with the second. 

No, two fires within twenty-four hours of each other purely by coincidence? Not a chance. But what was the link between the two? The first was a warehouse harboring smuggled goods of some kind while the second was a normal house long in disuse, locked from the inside.

The tunnels were a link, possibly, although she still didn’t know if the warehouse even had an open entrance to them. But what did that tell her? From the way Brine had spoken, there were plenty of buildings which were similarly connected. The presence of an entrance in both locations didn’t actually lead her to any answers.

What else could possibly link the two fires beyond the tunnels?

Then it struck her, there was evidence that suggested the presence of unusual, large animals in both locations: the wounds on the fillies from the first fire and the different sets of paw prints outside the tunnel near the second fire. The beasts were the only link she could think of. She needed to find them. Whatever they were, they were dangerous.

That led her to wondering how the search party was going. She had every confidence in her guards, and particularly in Sergeant Oak Root, but the task she had assigned them was unlike any they had ever done. It was certainly more dangerous than anything they had attempted in the past, if her suspicions were correct.

She was interrupted from her musings by a loud slamming sound coming from her left. A quick glance showed her the very group she had been thinking about exiting a warehouse. Leading the group was Corporal Keen Edge, a small, lit lantern attached to the front of his light barding shining a small spotlight on the ground before him. His sword was noticeably closer to his mouth than normal, its mouth-grip just a quick turn of the head away. 

Behind him strode Sergeant Oak Root, his heavy hooves ringing loudly on the stone pier. A spear had been slung along his back, angled upright so as to avoid any accidents. It was securely but somewhat tentatively fastened so that, if necessary, he could unsling it quickly and wield it with a forehoof. 

Last in line came Constable Morning Dew, his horn glowing. Beside him a single arrow hung in the air, surrounded by a matching nimbus of energy; it was one of many filling a quiver which hung from his own light barding. Belle knew from seeing him in the practice yard that he was quite adept at launching an arrow from a bow made of his own magic with remarkable accuracy.

The only thing the three ponies had in common at the moment was their shared expressions of tense edginess. Whether that was because they resented being sent on a mission based on a guess and flimsy evidence, or because of their lack of success, Belle didn’t know.

The relatively bright lights from their lanterns and Morning Dew’s horn made Belle flinch, and she quickly duck her head to resettle her tinted glasses over her delicate eyes. Suitably protected, she faced the trio. “Sergeant Oak Root,” she said authoritatively, “report.”

The ponies started slightly; apparently they hadn’t seen her standing there. Oak recovered so quickly that he that he managed to turn his startled recoil into a sharp salute. Or maybe he simply hadn’t been startled to begin with; it was hard to tell with the stoic stallion.

“Ma’am,” he said in his low baritone voice, “we’ve searched three warehouses along the pier so far. Two empty, one in use. No findings to report.”

Belle accepted the news with a nod. “Very well, carry on, Sergeant. But be on your guard. If my suspicions are correct, then these creatures are large and dangerous. Don’t take this lightly.”

“Of course not, Ma’am!” Oak sounded almost insulted by the mere suggestion.

“We’ve got this, Captain,” Morning Dew interjected confidently.

Oak glared at him briefly but didn’t comment. Belle admired his spirit, but at the same time she was glad he had the sergeant there to temper his eagerness with level-headedness and intelligence. “Very well, then,” she said, still using her commanding voice, “carry on, gentlecolts.”

She made a move to continue walking when Oak Root spoke up again. “Begging your pardon, Ma’am, but Sergeant Emerald bade me tell you that she insists that you follow your own instructions.”

Belle hesitated, confused by the statement.

With a straight face but a knowing look in his eyes, Sergeant Oak clarified, “About getting a decent rest tonight, and being ready for tomorrow.”

The captain sighed. There was still so much to do. She had hoped to check in on the hospital, and find out the status of the injured diamond dog; to check the ship manifests for all the incoming traffic of the last two days, perhaps get an idea about who had brought in the smuggled goods; and, eventually, write up her report.

Noting her hesitancy, Oak Root added firmly, “I would also strongly recommend that, Ma’am. We shall watch over the city.”

She looked up to his face. She saw his determination and his confidence. He was right. She knew that he was more than capable of handling things for a few hours. Besides, she needed to get some rest. She might have slept for a good chunk of the morning in her office, but she still felt exhausted. It felt like more had happened to her within the last twenty-four hours than had happened within the last two years. Plus, a small and guilty part of her added, she hadn’t seen Lemon Sherbet in what felt like forever. She needed to go home.

“Hmm, very well,” she said with a begrudging nod. “But if anything comes up, I’m to be informed at once, regardless of the time. Is that understood?”

All three stallions threw her a salute, although Keen Edge’s was slightly slower than the others’. Belle moved on, turning the next corner, and three guards disappeared from view.


********************


When Belle reached her home, the lights in the shop had once again been put out already. She wearily trudged up the side steps and tried to open the door. To her surprise, it was actually locked. She reached back to her saddlebags for the key, and only then realized that she was still wearing her barding. She had completely forgotten to return to the Guard House and return it; she hadn’t even signed out for the evening. She must be more preoccupied that she had thought.

She had actually turned in order to go back to the Guard House when the door suddenly clicked and swung open, revealing her husband standing there.  He quickly looked her over, taking in the fact that she still had her barding on and gave her a gentle smile. He stepped back and gestured for her to enter. The debate inside her mind on whether she should do so or first return to the Guard House and finish her duties lasted all of half a second. She gladly entered and accepted a much-needed hug from her husband. If he minded the awkwardness of doing so while she was still in her rough barding, he didn’t comment.

He gently led her into the kitchen. “I’m sorry I never came home last night,” she said. “I hope you got my message at least.”

Lemon ducked his head in acknowledgement as he drew her up to the table, softly but insistently pushing her down onto the cushion in front of it. “I did,” he said. “I’m sorry you’re goin’ through all this, Belle. It must’ve been hard, findin’ those poor foals like that.”

“Not nearly as hard as it was for their parents.” Belle let her head rest on the table and closed her eyes with a sigh, remembering the pain she had seen on the faces of Peach and Ink and their husbands when she had delivered the horrible news.

Her ears perked up when she heard the clattering sound of plates and bowls. Looking up, she saw Lemon was throwing together a quick meal for her, his horn alight with magic.

Her stomach, which had only been satiated once that day (and with a three-bean taco no less), made its approval known fervently. In no time at all a large bowl of leafy greens mixed with sunflower petals and topped with three small cherry tomatoes was placed before her. Her favorite salad.

“I love you,” she exclaimed.

He chuckled. “Now, now, that’s jus’ your stomach talkin’,” he joked.

Belle tossed her head, causing her tinted glasses to fly off her face and land on the kitchen table next to her bowl of salad. With her eyes uncovered she looked into his. “I mean it, Lemon,” she said softly, “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

He smiled and winked at her. “I know,” he said, “I love you too.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Now why don’t you have some dinner and tell me all about it.”

And so Belle fell to with a will. She had to force herself to eat slowly and with small, manageable bites. In between mouthfuls she told him everything that had happened since they had parted at the dock the previous night. She left nothing out; not her theories concerning the hypothetical monsters, not her confrontation with the major, and not even her discussion with and realizations about Brine.

As she spoke and ate, Lemon used his magic to carefully loosen and remove her barding, placing it on the floor in a corner. Then, after retrieving a set of brushes with varying bristle lengths, he began to brush out her coat and mane using short, even strokes.

When she finished both tale and meal, she again laid her head on the smooth tabletop and closed her eyes contentedly. She felt relaxed for the first time in what felt like weeks. He paused in his brushing to lean forward and huskily whisper in her ear, “Would you care for some… dessert?”

She blushed and stammered incoherently, caught off guard by the question. A few seconds later she heard the sound of a platter deposited on the table before her. Surprised, she looked up to see a large bowl of ice cream topped with chocolate syrup and candied rose petals just a few inches from the end of her muzzle. Her ears laid back and her blush only deepened, this time in embarrassment. He kissed her forehead. “Enjoy,” he whispered with a soft laugh.

She did.


********************


The next morning arrived far too quickly for Belle. She blinked as the sunlight shone through the second floor window and splashed across her face. She quickly had to clench her eyes and turn her head to protect her eyes. Her movement didn’t go unnoticed since a few seconds later she felt the familiar form of her tinted glasses slide onto her face. Opening her now-protected eyes she saw Lemon standing next to their bed with an understanding smile. She blushed again, quite thankful that none of her guards could see her now. 

After a quick bath, she found that Lemon had a small breakfast ready, knowing that she preferred to eat sparingly this early in the day. When she had finished, he helped her back into her barding. She felt significantly better than she had the previous night, ready to face her challenges with a fresh mind.

“Be careful out there, Belle,” he said as he saw her to the door, his voice unusually anxious. “If there really are some monsters out there, then I know you’ll be the one fightin’ ‘em. Just, come back home to me, safe and whole.”

She kissed him. “Don’t worry, dear,” she said, trying to sound confident and reassuring. “After all, I’ve got the top notch Dock Guard with me.”

He chuckled. “Alright, well see if you can have it wrapped up by dinner time for once, I’m gettin’ tired of making two dinners a night,” he teased.

She kissed him one more time and then turned, navigating down the steps, and out onto the street, turning her head for the Guard House. It was a struggle not to look back, but she managed.

Her job was a dangerous one to be sure, now more so than usual. She knew that Lemon worried about her, although he rarely let it show, and that his fears were not entirely unfounded. It was entirely possible that one day she would be seriously hurt, maybe even killed; yet he never voiced a complaint about it and always fully supported her. She wished she could allay his fears but knew that she couldn’t truthfully do so. They both would rather face a difficult truth than try to live a lie. They had talked about it, fretted about it, but ultimately acknowledged it. This was her job, her life, and Lemon accepted it. And she loved him for it.

She shook her head. This wasn’t the time to be worrying about that kind of thing. She had a job to do and she needed to focus on that. It seemed likely that Oak Root and the others hadn’t found anything the previous night, or at least nothing worth interrupting Belle’s night at home. Something she was rather grateful for all things considered. At this point, it seemed like their best lead was the wounded diamond dog, so that needed to be her focus. Hopefully he had managed to pull through the night and would be able to answer some questions soon. She also needed to get the prints she had photographed identified, which meant a trip to Eris, the veterinarian. Plus there was the usual mundane paperwork and regular daily tasks that needed to be completed.

All in all, it looked like it was going to be a full day.

A few minutes later she was trotting up to the Guard House’s front door, ready for the day to come. She pushed open the door to the familiar sight of Emerald Grass sitting behind the main desk. Upon seeing Belle, the Sergeant rose and looked about to say something but Belle overrode her immediately, eager to get to her work.

“Good morning, Em,” she said briskly as she walked past the desk towards her office, “I’m going to need the reports from Sergeant Oak and his team from last night. I also need to know if there’s been any news from Snowflake concerning that diamond dog. We’re going to need to relieve her soon so I’ll need the manifest.”

“Oh, um, okay,” Emerald whispered in her large voice, “well, the manifest is already on your desk, as are the reports from last night. There hasn’t been any word from Corporal Snowflake. And, um, there was one other thing…” Her voice trailed off when Belle entered her office.

Belle stopped short, backing up slightly in surprise. Sitting inside her office was a young unicorn mare that she had never seen before with a book levitating in front of her. The intruder looked up from her reading to glance over at Belle with a slightly anxious look on her face but she gave a genuine smile. Before she could speak, however, Belle ducked out of her office to glare at Em.

“There’s somepony in my office,” she hissed to the large unicorn. “Why is there a stranger in my office?”

“Um, that’s what I wanted to tell you,” Em whispered, trying to make her voice even lower. “She said she’s from Canterlot in response to the mayor’s request for assistance.”

“Already?” Belle whispered angrily. “But that was only yesterday! I didn’t expect anypony yet, and I don’t have time to babysit some Canterlot milksop now. I’ve got too much to do as it is!”

“I’m sorry, Belle,” Em whispered. “She just showed up about an hour ago asking to see you. When I told her that she’d have to wait, she didn’t seem to mind.”

Belle sighed, placing a forehoof over her eyes in exasperation. “Alright, alright. I’ll figure something out to keep her busy so I can do my job.”

Em gave her a sympathetic look before returning to her desk. Belle squared her shoulders, prepared her most authoritative expression, and entered her office again, this time prepared for what she’d find.

The young mare was still sitting there, the book still levitating in front of her. She looked a little confused, but if she was insulted by Belle’s reaction, she didn’t show it. Belle took in her appearance.

She was a young mare, barely more than a filly it seemed. She was small in stature, about the same basic size as Belle herself. Her mane and tail were evenly cut with matching straight and very basic designs, clearly more for simple function than style. Her short, fluted horn split her mane into two even halves. She had a plain set of saddlebags covering her flanks, obscuring her cutie mark from Belle. She had large, expressive eyes that were looking into Belle’s own, through the tinted glasses. The young unicorn raised an eyebrow inquisitively at Belle’s cursory examination.

“How can I help you, miss?” Belle asked.

“Are you Captain Donna Belle?” asked the young unicorn in a light, slightly anxious voice. She sounded educated but lacked the snobbish Canterlot accent that Belle had always associated with Canterlot ‘elite.’

Belle flinched at the use of her full name. What had her parents been thinking? “It’s just Captain Belle, please.”

The young mare smiled. “Ah, okay then. Well, I’ve been sent by Princess Celestia in response to your mayor’s request.”

Belle’s mind reeled at that simple statement. The princess? Why would the princess herself get involved in this kind of thing? That didn’t make any sense at all. Surely the Canterlot Guard or some other group would have been the ones to respond, there didn’t seem to be any way a simple request like this would reach the princess herself. The suspicious Guard Instinct inside her perked up, there was more to this than meets the eye.

The young mare, who had paused when she saw Belle’s reaction to her statement, continued, “My name is Twilight Sparkle. I’m here to help find your monsters.”
> Chapter 5: Complications
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monsters

By Sharpe Quill

Chapter 5: Complications



Belle stared at the young unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, for almost a full minute before responding. Her mind spun at that simple statement. Here for the monsters? Was this a confirmation of her suspicions? Surely nopony, especially not the princess, would send somepony on just a hypothesis and a few vague and unsubstantiated sightings. 

And this unicorn mare was so young and by herself. Surely if it was a serious threat more than one pony would have been sent, or at least an older, more experienced pony. Why would the princess send this Twilight Sparkle by herself? Something about this seemed off, she just couldn’t quite put her hoof on it…

Belle glanced up from her musings. The young mare was looking at her with a raised eyebrow and a slightly less confident smile. Belle coughed. “Um, sorry, Miss Sparkle, I’m just a little surprised. I didn’t expect anypony so soon.”

“Oh,” Twilight said, “well, while I’m originally from Canterlot, I actually live in Ponyville, so once I got the letter from the Princess it was a fairly short trot here. Besides, she said to meet you here in the morning, and I’m never tardy. Never.”

Belle shied away slightly. That last statement had come out a little forcefully. And it hadn’t answered her question either. In fact, Canterlot was closer to Dock than Ponyville was, although neither was very far away. It was the short amount of time it had taken for the mayor’s request to be processed. Belle had figured on at least a full day before it was even looked at. “Um, right, anyway,” she said hastily, “how exactly can I help you? I’ve got a good bit on my plate as it is….” She trailed off, hoping that the young unicorn would catch her implied displeasure.

She apparently didn’t. “Oh don’t worry. I’m here to help however I can.”

“Look, Miss Sparkle,” Belle said slowly, “I’m sure you have the best of intentions, but this is my town, and I don’t need some amateur unicorn from Canterlot showing up and disturbing me, taking my time away from my work.”

She hadn’t intended to be rude, but this meddling of the mayor’s was a new low in Belle’s tenure as captain.

The young mare looked somewhat taken aback by Belle’s bluntness, but she made a valiant attempt to rally. “I understand, Captain, I really do, but I, um, well, I was asked personally by the princess to do this and I won’t let her down. I promise I won’t get in your way, and I won’t do anything without your say-so. Is that acceptable?”

Belle put a hoof over her eyes. She didn’t want to deal with this right now, but she didn’t have much of a choice. She couldn’t deny a Royal Representative. Maybe she could pass the young mare off to Em, keep her busy and out of the way. “Very well, Miss Sparkle,” she said at last.

“Call me Twilight, please,” Twilight interrupted cheerfully.

Belle gave a slight cough. “Right, well, I’ll have Sergeant Emerald fill you in on the details. If you’ll excuse me just a minute...”

Leaving the slightly bemused unicorn sitting in her office, Belle ducked back into the main room of the Guard House. “Em,” she whispered, trying to make sure Twilight wouldn’t hear her, “Em, I need you to do something for me.”

“Of course, Belle,” Em whispered, not because she didn’t want Twilight to hear, but simply because that’s how she always talked. “What can I do?”

“I need you to keep Miss Sparkle in there busy for a little while.” She gestured to her office door. “I need to get some work done and I don’t want some tag along slowing me down. This is too important.”

Em shot a glance at the door. “Um, alright, I guess. Whatever you need, Belle.” After a moment she added, “How?”

Belle rolled her hoof vaguely in the air. “I don’t know, improvise. Stall. Whatever.”

“Um, I will, of course,” Em whispered thoughtfully, “but I doubt it will be for very long. You know how I am with this kind of thing.”

Belle grimaced. Em was right of course, this was going to take a while and she wouldn't be able to avoid Twilight forever. But even a small diversion might be helpful. "Do what you can, stall her for as long as possible. I'll think of something."

Em nodded and Belle raised her voice. "Miss Sparkle," she called, "if you could join us out here."

The young unicorn trotted out a moment later, a slightly puzzled expression on her face. "Yes, Captain?"

"I've asked Sergeant Emerald Grass here to help you with your inquiries and bring you up to speed on things." Belle gestured towards the large and sheepish-looking unicorn with a hoof.

Twilight looked slightly confused by this turn of events. "Um, well, alright," she said hesitantly. "But I was under the impression that I was supposed to stick with and assist you specifically."

"Right," said Belle quickly, "but I have some things to take care of before we can move. And to be perfectly frank, right now you would be more of a hindrance than help. This will give you the chance to catch up."

Twilight looked skeptical but nodded. "Well, alright. If you say so."

"Good," said Belle hurriedly, "I'm glad that's settled. Now, if you'll excuse me."

She hurried back into her office before Twilight could say a word. As she was shutting the door, she just heard Twilight whisper to Emerald, "Is she always like that?"

Belle couldn't help herself. She paused just long enough to hear her friend's response.

"Oh, you'll have to forgive the captain," the sergeant whispered back. "She's under a lot of pressure right now. It's been a difficult week so far."

"Oh," said Twilight thoughtfully. After a second, she asked, "And, the tinted glasses?"

Belle closed her office door then, confident in both her friend's ability to keep the young mare occupied, and in her discretion. Em was one of only a hooffull of other ponies who knew her secret and she wouldn't give it up. Belle forced her mind to focus on the task at hoof, pushing the intruding unicorn out of her mind. "One thing at a time," she mumbled to herself.

True to Em's word, a folder of papers lay on Belle's desk. Shuffling through them, Belle studied the report from Sergeant Oak. Apparently the patrol had found nothing concerning any unusual creatures, although they had found evidence of the smuggling that Brine had talked about. It wasn't much, and it didn't implicate anypony specifically, but it was a start. That would have to wait, however; Belle's focus was on the creature, creatures, and/or ponies responsible for their presence and for the fire, not to mention the deaths of those two fillies. The patrol, once it knew to look for them, had also found several possible entrances to the smuggler's tunnels in multiple warehouses, although they had all been sealed or blocked in some way.

Beneath Oak's report was a small stack of photos, the ones Belle had taken herself. Good, she had hoped they would be ready. She studied them carefully, searching for anything she might have missed when she had taken them. When she didn't find anything, she carefully stowed them in her saddlebags. Eris, the town veterinarian and resident animal expert, would hopefully be able to identify the creatures that had made them. But there was one stop she had to make first.

When she exited her office, she found the unicorn pair sitting on either side of Em's desk chatting like old friends. "And she pulled an eye-patch out of the chimney! My chimney! I couldn't believe it, but that's Pinkie Pie for you. I..." Twilight trailed off when she saw Belle exit her office. "Captain Belle," she said, her tone much more formal and business-like than it had been a moment ago, "Sergeant Emerald had just finished filling me in. I believe I'm up to speed. Where are we off to?"

Belle threw an incredulous look at Em but the large unicorn only shrugged and whispered, "She's a quick study, she caught up surprisingly fast."

Twilight beamed at the compliment, although she seemed to be trying to suppress it. Belle sighed. "I'm going out to follow up on a few things and I don't have time to babysit a filly. No offense."

The young mare seemed to wilt slightly at Belle's harsh words but rallied admirably. She drew herself up to her less than impressive full height. "As I said before, regardless of your personal feelings, Captain, I have been sent by Princess Celestia herself to assist you in this investigation, so that's what I'm going to do."

"I can't bother with this right now," Belle growled. She moved to the front door and started to open it. A nimbus of magical energy suddenly surrounded the door and gently but forcefully pushed it closed again. Belle rounded on the young unicorn, who suddenly looked nervous. "What do you think you're doing?" she snarled.

Em cleared her throat, loudly, which means the ponies in the next house could probably hear it, and glared at her. "Actually, Captain," she whispered, emphasizing the title, "that was me."

That made Belle stop short, literally sitting down on the floor in surprise. Em was her best friend, but she had always been a very quiet and submissive pony, Belle had hardly ever seen her so assertive. "W-what?" she stammered. "Why?"

"I'm sorry, Belle," Em whispered, once more in her usual, familiar voice, "but you need to stop for a moment. I know you're upset that others are interfering with your work, but I think Miss Twilight here can be of great assistance to you. We haven't talked for all that long, but I can already tell that she's incredibly smart and intuitive. You should let her help. You said yourself: you need all the help you can get."

"That's not quite what I said," grumbled Belle in a low voice. She didn't want to admit it but Em was right, she couldn't afford to turn aside any help just to ease her wounded pride, not when the lives of her ponies could be in danger. She sighed. "You're right, Em," she said. "Of course, you're right."

Turning to Twilight, Belle said, "My apologies, Miss Sparkle, I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you."

Twilight, for her part, was looking very pensive, looking at Belle as though trying to figure out a puzzle. She roused, however, when Belle addressed her. "Hmm? Oh. Oh, think nothing of it, Captain, apology accepted. Now, how can I help?"

A still chastised Belle indicated the door. "Come on, we can talk on the way."

"Where are we going?" Twilight asked as she began to walk.

Belle grimaced slightly. "The hospital."


********************


As they walked, Belle explained to Twilight about the wounded diamond dog she had found in the wreckage of the second fire. Despite only having about half an hour or so, while Belle had been going over the reports, to learn about the details, it turned out that Twilight not only remembered the information but understood its significance. Belle couldn’t help but be slightly impressed at her study skills.

“So you think this diamond dog was somehow involved?” Twilight asked as they trotted down the mostly empty streets of Dock towards the hospital.

Belle nodded. “It makes sense. He was at the scene of the second fire. And the door was locked from the inside; the only way he could have gotten in was through the tunnel. I’d bet bits to apples that he was involved in the smuggling. I’m hoping he can give me something to go on, ‘cause right now all I’ve got is supposition.”

“Fairly sound suppositions though,” said Twilight kindly.

They trotted on in silence for a few moments before Belle asked the question that had been bugging her since Twilight had first introduced herself. “Can I ask you something, Miss?”

“Please,” insisted Twilight, “just call me Twilight. And of course you can.”

“Well,” said Belle, choosing her words carefully, “you said that you were here to help me find my monsters. Now I can’t help but wonder why the princess would send an agent so quickly based solely on guesses and a hooffull of vague sightings, without solid evidence.”

Twilight looked aside for a moment before answering. “Well, I don’t know all of the specifics myself, to be honest. The princess sent me a message saying that there had been stories of strange sightings in Dock, rumors that some kind of unusual monsters were stalking the streets. She asked me to look into it and assist you personally in your investigations. And frankly, looking at what you’ve found so far, I’d say that your theories are sound.”

Belle digested that for a moment. The thought that the Princess herself had requested for Twilight to assist Belle specifically was both exciting and slightly unnerving. She pushed that thought aside. “But why you?” she asked. “You seem rather young to be asked to do this single-hoofedly.”

“Well,” said Twilight reservedly, “I don’t like to boast about it, but I’m actually Princess Celestia’s personal protégé; I have been since I was a little filly. This isn’t the first time she’s asked me to look into something unusual. Just last year she sent my friends and me to talk a sleeping dragon into moving so that he wouldn’t spoil the sky with his smoky snores.”

“I remember that,” Belle interrupted. “We heard that it was a special task force from Canterlot. That was you?”

“Me and my friends, yes,” Twilight acknowledged. “And I do have a pretty diverse range of spells. You see, magic itself is my special talent.”

Belle raised an eyebrow at that. “So I’m assuming you can handle yourself in a fight?”

Twilight stumbled slightly, apparently caught off guard by the question, but recovered quickly. “I’m… well I’m not great,” she said modestly, “but if it comes to fighting monsters, I won’t shy away.”

Belle shot her a skeptical glance, somewhat mitigated by the tinted glasses, but didn’t comment. It seemed unlikely that this small mare would be much of a fighter, let alone a special agent of the Crown. But if she really was the personal protégé of the princess, as well as having magic itself as her special talent, then it was possible that she could be formidable. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that, but Belle would feel better knowing exactly what to expect out of the young unicorn if it came to a fight.

They soon reached the hospital, no more inviting to Belle now than it had been two nights ago. Inside, they found Corporal Snowflake sitting in the hallway outside of a patient room.

“Corporal,” Belle said with a sharp salute, “report!”

Corporal Snowflake, a white pegasus with a red and orange mane and tail, tilted her head slightly so that her left ear was facing them. She saluted her captain and, casting a suspicious eye at Twilight, answered, “Captain, the diamond dog brought in yesterday was tended to by Doctor Lighthooves and Doctor Crystal. They were working off and on for most of the night, they only stopped about an hour ago. They were… elusive when I asked them about his status."

"Are either of them around?" Belle asked. "I'm going to want to speak with them."

"I know Dr. Lighthooves went home right after they wrapped up their treatment. I'm not sure about Dr. Crystal, she might still be here."

"Alright, Corporal. Head on back to the Guard House and report in with Sergeant Emerald, then get some rest. I'm going to want you back by this evening. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." Snowflake saluted and, with another curious look at Twilight, trotted down the hallway.

Once the pegasus had disappeared from view, Belle stuck her head inside the room but could only see a curtain screen that supposedly hid the injured diamond dog.

When she ducked back out, she turned to Twilight. “Come on, let’s go find Dr. Crystal.”

As they made their way back to the front desk to ask the nurse on duty about the doctor, Belle decided to see what she could get from her unexpected companion. “Do you know anything about diamond dogs?”

“Some,” Twilight answered. “I’ve only interacted with them once, when a rather motley band kidnapped one of my friends. They weren’t the brightest lot, but afterwards I looked them up.” She began to list off facts as though reading them from mental notes. “They’re not indigenous to Equestria but they’ve been slowly becoming a larger presence, especially in the southern areas. Not much is known about their homeland or their culture since they tend to keep to themselves. They tend to travel and live in small groups, at least it is extremely rare for one to be seen alone. They eat gems mostly, although they have been known to eat meat. Their language is rather unusual, being a combination of vocal sounds and body posture, and is very different from Equestrian; they can learn Equestrian, although they seem to have some difficulty with our pronunciations.”

When they reached the front desk, Twilight took a breath while Belle inquired about Dr. Crystal. Once the nurse had departed to find her, Belle said, “You said they tend to move about in groups, well this one was by itself. Does that mean that there are others around?” She thought back to several nights ago, when she had seen a group of three Diamond Dogs in The Hole. Had the one she pulled from the wreckage been one of those three?

Twilight nodded. “It’s certainly possible, maybe even likely. Why do you ask?"

Belle shrugged. "I'm just trying to gather as much information as possible, anything could prove useful."

Twilight nodded sagely. After a minute of waiting in the silent entrance hall she commented, "Doesn't seem very busy for a hospital."

"Just the way I like it," said Belle, with no small amount of satisfied smugness.

Twilight grinned but was prevented from responding by the clip clopping of two sets of hooves. The nurse returned, followed by a tired looking elderly unicorn mare.

"Ah, Belle," said the doctor with a yawn, "hmm, pardon me. What can I do for you?"

"Dr. Crystal," Belle greeted with a polite nod. She gestured towards Twilight. "This is Miss Twilight Sparkle, sent from Canterlot, I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about your latest patient."

Dr. Crystal nodded wearily. “Of course, Belle. Nice to meet you, Miss Sparkle.”

Twilight smiled. “Likewise, Doctor. And please, call me Twilight.”

Dr. Crystal returned her smile, albeit with more exhaustion. “If you both will accompany me, my office is down the blue corridor.”

Belle and Twilight followed the fatigued doctor along a different corridor than the one which contained the room of the diamond dog. They passed several open doorways but only saw two that were occupied with sick ponies.

Twilight had been right when she said that the hospital wasn’t very busy, and while a large reason for that was the peacefulness of the city, Belle knew that the biggest reason was not a lack of violence and accidents, it was a lack of ponies. Dock’s population had been declining over the last few years; there were simply fewer ponies to get sick, to have accidents, to get into fights. It was a sobering and somewhat depressing thought for Belle, who hated seeing the decline of the city that had been her home for her entire life.

Belle was so lost in her thoughts that she almost walked past the corridor which Twilight, and Dr. Crystal had turned down. She quickly hurried to catch up. Dr. Crystal didn’t even seem to have noticed, but Twilight gave her a strangely scrutinizing look. Why was she looking at her like that? Belle scowled back at her in annoyance. Twilight turned back without comment.

They reached the doctor’s office, and she showed Belle and Twilight to a seat. “So, ask away, Belle,” she said, sitting down behind her desk.

Belle cut right to the chase. “What can you tell me about the diamond dog that was brought in yesterday?”

"Let’s see," Dr. Crystal began, her horn lighting up in order to float a clipboard in front of her face, "he suffered serious burns over approximately 70% of his body, suffered terrible internal damage, including a punctured lung and four broken ribs. He has severe head trauma and most likely suffered a concussion. Several vertebrae were fractured. His left arm was broken in three places, his right in two; should he survive the next few days he will need months of physical therapy before he has full use of his hands. Both of his legs were absolutely shattered, he'll never walk again."

She paused for a breath and flipped the top-most page over. Belle's mouth dropped open slightly. That was a lot of information, and the doctor had read it all off quickly so that Belle felt like her head was spinning. A quick glance to her side showed that Twilight had been listening intently, easily taking it all in. Beside her floated a notepad and quill, a tiny inkpot on the ground at her hooves. Good, at least she was taking notes; Belle could always refer to them later if necessary. Maybe this intruding mare could prove helpful after all.

The doctor went on. "It goes on like that, I'm afraid. And I'm only mentioning the worst damages. Frankly it's amazing he survived at all. As it is, we were able to keep him alive and stabilize him as best we could, but he's not out of the woods yet. If he makes it through the next few days, he might pull through. But the extent of the damages is massive, I don't like his chances."

"Diamond dogs are incredibly resilient, from all accounts," Twilight put in. 

Dr. Crystal nodded. "They'd have to be for him to have survived that."

"Is there any chance he could regain consciousness anytime soon?" Belle asked hopefully. But the doctor was shaking her head almost before she had finished.

"No, I'm sorry," the elderly unicorn said. "We had to cast our most potent sleep spell on him so we could work on him. It's designed for ponies, but I've no doubt he won't wake up for days. If he wakes up at all."

Belle frowned but nodded. "I understand, Doctor, thank you for your time."

She rose to go but paused when Twilight spoke up. "Did he have any deep lacerations, Doctor? Anything that stood out as being unusual?"

Belle turned back to the doctor with anticipation. Inwardly she was kicking herself; she should have thought to ask that question, knowing what Soil had found on the bodies of the two fillies.

The older mare frowned and looked down at her notes, scanning them hurriedly. "Now that you mention it," she said slowly, "I think there might have been something... ah yes, here it is. The patient's left hind leg had three deep lacerations in the lower leg. It might have just been damage from the falling debris, but the slashes seemed too clean, too straight. Odd, that."

She looked up curiously at Twilight, who finished writing with a bit of a flourish and quickly stowed her supplies back in her saddlebags. "Thank you, Doctor," she said brightly.

"Of course," Dr. Crystal said, a curious eyebrow still cocked at the slightly smug unicorn.

The two younger mares made their good-byes and trotted hurriedly down the hallways towards the exit. Belle paused in the entrance hall to request a message in case the diamond dog woke up.

“Where to now?” asked Twilight as they exited into the late morning sunlight.

“Now,” Belle said as she surreptitiously turned onto a road leading north, “I want to see somepony about identifying some tracks.”

Twilight hurried to catch up and walk alongside the captain. “What kind of tracks?”

“Animal tracks. I took some photos yesterday; hopefully I’ll be able to know what we’re dealing with. They’re in my saddlebags if you want to take a look.” She gestured with a nod to the bag riding outside her armor.

A glow enfolded the bag and it opened; three large pieces of paper floated out, similarly engulfed in magic. Twilight held them in front of her face as they walked, only half paying attention to where she was going.

“Hmm, well the tracks in these,” she held one page up higher than the others, “looks to be some kind of large cat. I’d say a lion, perhaps, but the size is wrong. And the shape just seems off somehow.”

Belle rolled her eyes at the obvious declaration but didn’t comment. Twilight didn’t seem to have noticed. “The other set look like a dragon’s.”

That caught Belle’s attention and she stopped short on the side of the road. Twilight walked past her for several steps before realizing. “Are you sure?” Belle asked. It had been a possibility that she had considered herself, but if somepony else came to the same conclusion, maybe there was more to it than just a guess.

“Well,” Twilight hedged, “perhaps not completely. But this photo here shows a mark very similar to a print left by a dragon’s left hind-foot. Not a fully grown dragon, obviously, but definitely larger than a baby dragon’s. Trust me on that one.” She smiled fondly but didn’t elaborate. “Anyway, perhaps an adolescent? Although again, something about it somehow seems off, I just can’t quite put my hoof on what though.”

Belle shook her head, and sighed as Twilight replaced the photos back into her saddlebag. A dragon in Dock; this whole mess just kept getting worse and worse.


********************


Eris’ house and clinic was the northernmost building in Dock, truthfully not very far from Belle’s own house, with the forest beginning literally in her backyard. It was a quaint little building, two-storied, with a thatched roof. The first floor was Eris’ workplace where she cared for animals, mostly pets, while she actually lived on the second floor. It had a lovingly cared-for garden in the front, large un-shuttered windows facing the path, several pens in the back for her larger animal patients, and an overall welcoming aura. All around it was the very model of a pleasant place to live.

But Belle knew better.

Lovely as the house might be, and as sweet and kind as Eris was, Belle knew that her home was the lair of evil. Eris kept several pets, but prominent among them was a grey old cat which Belle had long ago realized was the embodiment of evil. 

Miss Fluffles and Belle had become lifelong enemies the day they had met, although their antagonism of late had simmered into an uneasy case of avoid and let live. This was mostly due to the fact that Belle generally refused to go near Eris’ house. The old mare herself treated the evil-spawn as though it were still a kitten. It was the only thing she and Belle ever disagreed on.

And so it was with no small amount of trepidation that Belle approached the quaint clinic. Twilight noted her uneasiness. “Something the matter?”

Belle snorted and shook her head. “Let’s just say I’ve had some bad experiences here in the past.”

Twilight cocked an eyebrow but didn’t pry further.

Belle steeled herself and stepped past the front gate of the pleasant picket fence. When she wasn't immediately maimed, she took heart and proceeded to the front door, opened it, and went it.

Which was of course when the Tartarus-spawn struck.

A heavy weight landed on Belle's shoulders and a set of vicious claws pierced the skin on the back of her neck, just above the edge of her barding. She reared and screamed in her surprise and pain, which, since she was still only halfway through the doorway, caused her to smash her head against the top edge of the frame. The blow stunned her and she collapsed to the floor, half inside and half outside. There was an angry hiss as the demon in cat form streaked away deeper into the house and was immediately lost from view.

Belle lay there, dazed, for a while. Annoying flashes kept impeding her vision so she shut her eyes. Much better. She was dimly aware of the sound of voices around her. She couldn't tell what they were saying or even what kind of tone they were in. It didn't seem important.

Her head hurt something fierce, and the slightest twitch made it worse, so she decided to just rest for a bit. The doorway seemed as good a place as any.

She had no idea how much time passed, it could have been a minute, it could have been an hour, when a soft but heavy cool weight was rested on her aching head. That soon eased the pain somewhat and she was opened her eyes cautiously. The flashes from before were replaced by the two concerned faces of Twilight and Eris.

Eris was an elderly earth pony mare, with more silver in her mane and tail than red anymore. She had blue fur that was unusually dark, and mismatched eyes, one green and one yellow. Her cutie mark was slightly unusual, given her profession; it was a single golden apple with a bite missing out of a top corner. She had lived in Dock for as long as Belle could remember, and she couldn't recall the elderly veterinarian ever saying a single cross word to anypony.

"I think she's coming around," Twilight practically shouted. "Are you alright, Captain?"

"Now, now," Eris said in an equally loud voice, "don't rush the poor dear. Just take it easy there, Belle, don't overexert yourself."

"Please stop shouting," Belle whined as the pounding in her head seemed to increase.

The two ponies before her looked at each other, apparently confused. "We aren't," said Twilight in a lower but still painfully loud voice. "We're practically whispering."

"Oh," Belle said, feeling foolish. Slowly the pounding subsided and she made a valiant effort to rise. Carefully, with Twilight supporting her, she managed to move to a nearby couch. She allowed herself to be carefully lowered onto it.

Eris appeared out of a side room, a tray loaded with tea and small cakes balanced on her back. Twilight generously levitated the tray onto a low table in front of the couch. Eris smiled at her gratefully before turning her attention to Belle. "How are you feeling? That was a nasty blow you took."

The pounding in Belle's head had finally lessened into a manageable ache. "I'll live," she grumbled. She added under her breath, "Blasted cat."

Eris tsked. "Now, now, the poor thing was simply resting on the lintel over the door, it gets nice and warm in the afternoon you see, and you simply surprised her. The poor dear is probably shaking with fright in a corner somewhere."

Shaking with laughter more likely. But Belle knew there was no point in arguing with Eris. She sighed and sat up. The pack of ice that had been placed on her head slipped off and fell onto the couch. Belle dutifully picked it up in her teeth and placed it on the table next to the tray.

Twilight finished pouring the tea and gently levitated a full cup and saucer in front of each of them. "Thank you, dear," Eris said before taking a slow sip.

Belle sat there, her tea untouched, waiting for the pain to fade enough for her to fully function. Twilight and Eris made small talk, the earth pony inquiring about Twilight's occupation and home (she was a librarian? Seriously?), and the unicorn asking about Eris' work, referencing one of her friends back in Ponyville, who was apparently in a similar line of work. Her concentration shifted in and out while the pounding in her head continued, dwindling painfully slowly. Finally, the pain receded enough for Belle to focus. She caught clearly the tail end of the other two mares' conversation.

"So, Eris," Twilight said cautiously, as though unsure if she should broach a topic, "that's a very interesting and unusual name, if you don't mind me saying."

Eris laughed, which seemed to put Twilight at ease again. "Tell me about it," the elderly earth pony said. "My parents were scholars; in fact my father taught history in Prance for a long time. They said that when they saw my unusual coloration, it just kind of popped into their heads." She shrugged. "I've come to quite like it actually. It's too bad so few ponies even realize its referential nature. Schools these days..."

She shook her head sadly. Twilight nodded her agreement. Belle felt lost. Eris' name was a little unusual, but Belle had never really thought about it. "What do you mean?" she asked, surprising the other two.

Eris gave a look that basically shouted 'that's exactly what I'm talking about.' Twilight giggled, but then answered Belle. "In ancient pony times, Eris was the name of the ponification of chaos and strife. She was a dark pony who caused chaos and destruction around her. Legend says that she caused the great Tori War over a perceived slight." Eris nodded in agreement.

Belle thought back to her history lessons, something she had long ago promised herself that she would never do. The name didn't sound familiar. "I thought Discord was the physical embodiment of chaos," she said, feeling rather proud of herself for actually using the word 'embodiment' in a sentence correctly.

Twilight gave a shudder but shook her head. "No, that's a common misconception because he was so well known for loving chaos and spreading it wherever he went. No, he is the Spirit of Disharmony, which, while closely linked with chaos, is different. While his actions have always been perceived as chaotic, he was mainly considered to be more of a trickster than actively evil. Eris, on the other hoof, was considered a truly malicious spirit."

Belle mulled this over in her head. When the legends of Discord had proven to be true the previous year, all of Equestria had suffered during the mad prankster’s temporary freedom. Ponyville had been hit the worst, but Dock hadn’t escaped unscathed. Belle still couldn’t look at a banana the same way. Somepony more malicious than Discord seemed implausible, and was a truly scary thought.

To cover her musings, she took a sip from the tea. It had lost most of its heat while she had recovered, but it was still delicious. She shook her head, almost imperceptibly. This wasn’t the time to be thinking about myths and legends, she had enough real monsters to worry about without adding mythical monsters to the mix.

Eris set her cup down slowly with a contented sigh. “How is your head, Belle?” she asked.

“Much better, thank you Eris,” she said, and she meant it. She’d probably have bump on her head to rival a unicorn, but she could at least think clearly again.

“Well,” Eris went on, “I doubt you came here with the intention of having tea, let alone a concussion, not that I haven’t enjoyed the visit. I so rarely have the opportunity to socialize anymore. How can I help you ladies?”

Belle carefully placed the teacup back onto its saucer. “Yes, actually. I was hoping you would take a look at these.” She reached into her saddlebags and withdrew the photos, placing them onto the table in front of Eris.

Eris leaned forward and spread out the photos on the table top. While she mulled over them, Twilight finished her tea and placed it back onto the table, surreptitiously taking a third cake as she did.

Belle waited patiently while Twilight chewed quietly. Eventually, Eris sat back, a puzzled expression on her face. “Hmm, I think I need to check something. I’ll be right back.”

She rose and slowly walked out of the room, leaving the two visitors alone around the small table. Twilight looked at Belle concernedly, “Are you sure you’re alright, Captain?” she asked.

Belle nodded tentatively and was happy to find that it didn’t cause a resurgence of pain. “I’ll be fine. But if you happen to see that cat, do everypony a favor and kick it.”

Twilight’s eyes widened in surprise, but then she smiled and giggled at the perceived joke.

Right. Joke…

“I take it you two have a history,” she said, amusement lacing her voice.

“You could say that,” Belle grumbled, “damn beast has had it in for me for as long as I can remember.” After a pause, she said, “You and Eris seemed to get along rather well.”

Twilight nodded. “She’s a sweet old mare. Reminds me of one of my friends back home. And she’s led such an interesting life.”

Belle started at that, they couldn’t have been talking for that long. “You’ve been talking for that long? How long was I out?”

“Um, a while,” Twilight said sheepishly. “To be honest I was starting to get worried, but Eris kept reassuring me that you’d be fine; I almost didn’t believe her until you started drinking your tea.”

Belle snorted softly, not in anger at Twilight but in frustration at the delay. She really wasn’t good at keeping track of time. 

They settled into a quiet lull. However, Belle soon noticed that Twilight looked like she wanted to say something; she kept glancing at Belle and looking away. Finally, Belle got annoyed. “What?” she snapped. “Just say it.”

Twilight opened her mouth but hesitated. Then she said in a quiet voice, “Belle, what color are my eyes?”

Belle froze, her mouth hanging open. She had certainly not expected that. She tried to find a way out, but finally she gave up. “How long have you known?”

Twilight glanced aside and said in a low voice, “About ten seconds. I’m sorry, Captain, it’s not my place to pry. I just had a theory and couldn’t help but see if I was right.”

Belle sighed. “That’s alright, Miss Sparkle. It’s not something I let just anypony know, but so far you’re only the second to actually figure it out on your own.”

Twilight turned back to the earth pony, her curiosity prodding her on. “Is it complete?”

Belle nodded. “Yeah. The doctor called it a- achroma- er-"

"Achromatopsia?" suggested Twilight in a low voice.

Belle clicked her tongue once. "Yeah, that was it. Can’t see any color at all. Had a rather bad accident when I was just a filly, head trauma. It's been nothing but shades of grey ever since. All of the ponies I know, I can still remember their coloration so it’s not too big of a deal, but it’s difficult with strangers. Usually I get Em or my husband to describe them to me in secret. How did you know?”

Twilight smiled, not at all unwilling to explain her deduction. “The main clue was when you, er, accused me of closing the door. My magical aura is purple, Emerald’s is green. It was very unlikely that you could have mixed them up. Your tinted glasses were a pretty big hint too. Light sensitivity?”

Belle nodded. “Yeah. It’s not so bad when it’s overcast, and heck, I can practically see in the dark, which I’m not going to lie, is kind of cool. But on a particularly bright day, even with the glasses, it can be painful.”

The clever unicorn gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry."

Belle rolled her eyes behind her glasses. "For what? You didn't cause it, and it happened a long time ago. I've learned to live with it."

Twilight shook her head. "No, I mean: sorry for bringing it up."

Belle shrugged. "Whatever. You figured it out on your own. I would appreciate it if you didn't go sharing it with others though. It's hard enough being a captain of the guard without everypony thinking I've got some kind of disability too."

"Of course," said Twilight. After a moment she added, "They're purple by the way. So is my coat. My mane and tail are a darker violet with a pink stripe in both."

Belle looked at the unicorn, mentally adding the colors as she remembered them. It was oddly fitting for the young mare. She inclined her head slightly. "Thank you, for keeping my secret."

Twilight returned the gesture, and started to speak but stopped short when they heard the light but slow thuds that announced Eris' return. The elderly earth pony appeared a moment later, a heavy volume balanced easily on her back. She slid it off onto the table, causing the dishes to rattle. It was an old book with a thick and faded cover. A layer of dust was still clinging valiantly to it in patches, although much of it blew into the air when the book hit the table. The cover read Burrdan Bock's Book of Beasts.

Twilight made an oddly appreciative sound when she saw the book. "Oh my, is that a first edition? You can't find anything below a fourth edition for sale anymore. I don't think even the Royal Canterlot Library has one. Leastways I could only ever find the second through ninth editions." She sounded so excited, making Belle smile. The captain herself was less than impressed. It was a book, period.

Eris chuckled at the unicorn's excitement. "Indeed it is," she said, her voice full of fond reminiscence. "My parents gave it to me when I was just a little filly, a present for when I got my cutie mark."

Carefully Eris opened the book to about a quarter of the way in and began leafing through the pages before settling on a spot. "The first set of prints definitely belongs to a big cat, most likely a lion, although I suppose it could be a manticore, considering its size. The second set, however, is much more unusual. At first I thought it might be a young dragon, but while the shape was right, something about it seemed off."

"That's exactly what I said!" Twilight exclaimed proudly.

Eris smiled at her. "You have a good eye, Twilight." Twilight looked slightly chagrined at the compliment. Belle rolled her eyes.

"It took me a while,” Eris continued, “but I finally figured it out. See, in the photograph, the toes' impression is deeper than the area of the heel. That means that the weight of the creature is forward, on the toes. See what I mean?"

Belle looked closely at the photo, and, now that she knew what to look for, could see what the old mare was saying. Twilight gave a sudden gasp of understanding. Belle, however, was still confused. "So what does that mean?" she asked.

"Dragons are bipedal almost exclusively until they reach full adulthood," explained Twilight quickly. "Young dragons can walk on all fours, but usually don't. A creature walking on two legs has its weight more on its heel than on its toes."

Belle caught on. "So whatever left this print stood on four legs rather than two," she exclaimed.

Twilight nodded. "Which, when taken with the size of the print, basically rules out a dragon."

Eris coughed gently and shook her head. "You youngsters, always in such a hurry," she grouched. "I was gonna get to that." But she had a small smile on her face as she said it.

Twilight grinned sheepishly. "I'm sorry, please go on, Eris," she said.

The old earth pony cleared her throat. "So anyway, knowing that, I consulted this here book. My first thought was a basilisk, but they tend to be a bit smaller than this print suggests. Besides, you would have found quite a few more prints than these. Basilisks have six legs, you see."

She paused to take a sip of her cold tea, wetting her dry throat. Belle thought back to the muddy ground that she had found the prints in. There truly had not been many prints like this one around the area, and even fewer clear prints, surely not enough for a six-legged beast.

Her throat suitably moistened, Eris continued, "So, there aren't many other creatures that would make a print like this. In fact, all things considered, this is pretty much the only solution." She gently placed her hoof on the open page, pointing at an entry.

Twilight was at a better angle so she read aloud: "Drake. A drake is a large, lizard-like creature, ranging in size from five to fifteen paces long, not including the tail which can be as long as the entire length of the body over again. A carnivorous beast, the drake is a surprisingly agile hunter, although it prefers to move in short bursts of speed, and, when not hunting, is generally slow. While no longer native to Equestria, pony encounters with these fearsome beasts have been reported as nearby as the Crystal Mountains; such encounters have rarely ended well for the ponies. Their primary means of attack is the claws on their forelegs, which are noticeably sharper than those on their hind legs. However, what sets them apart from other, similar predators, is their ability to produce short bursts of flame, similar to that of a dragon, albeit in smaller amounts, and not nearly as often. Due to this, and coupled with their overall appearance, it has long been thought that drakes are a close relative to the dragons. Dragons themselves refute this, however, citing their high intelligence compared to a drake's, which is no higher than any other animal.”

Twilight sat back on her haunches, her face screwed up in heavy thought. Belle, too, considered this new information. A drake made sense; the prints, the fires, even the vague sightings, everything fit. And yet something in Belle's mind kept nagging at her, something was off. For one thing, how did the cat fit into everything? And if the first fire had been caused by the drake breaking free of its cage, then what had caused the second fire? If it really was just a dumb beast, then why would it go back into the tunnels when the open forest had stretched out before it? Surely it would have sought freedom rather than returning into the city. There were too many questions again, and not enough answers.

"Does that help?" Eris asked, looking from one thoughtful pony to the other.

"It does," Belle said, still somewhat distracted with her thoughts. She roused quickly though, she needed to think, but this wasn't the place. "Thank you, Eris, you've been a great help."

The elderly mare smiled and nodded. "Anytime."

Belle and Twilight made their good-byes and slowly walked out of the veterinarian's home. Belle could have sworn she heard a low, hissing chuckle coming from underneath a dresser as they left, but she didn't see anything. To be safe, she kept looking all around, even up, wary of another attack from the demon.

Once they were safe again on the road outside, Belle finally relaxed a little. A quick glance to the side revealed Twilight still deep in thought, her eyes staring blankly ahead. "What is it?" Belle asked.

"I just can't help but wonder," Twilight said, almost half to herself. "Your report said that all the tracks in the woods were headed into the tunnel. Why would an animal willingly head back into the tunnels after escaping captivity when an obvious escape route was literally at its feet?"

Belle nodded, Twilight and she seemed to be on the same page. "I was thinking the exact same thing before."

"Did you think of any reasons?"

Belle considered the question. "There's really no way of knowing without more information," she said at last. “But I don’t like it, there’s more going on than we’re aware of. I’m sure of it.”

Twilight nodded. "I know," she sighed, "I feel like we're missing something obvious here."

Belle laughed. "Welcome to my world, Twilight."
> Chapter 6: Investigations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monsters

By Sharpe Quill

Chapter 6: Investigations



"So what do we do now?" asked Twilight as they made their slow way down the path.

It was a fair question. Belle had been so focused on finding out what had been causing these problems that she had yet to formulate a plan for what do to do once she knew. A drake and a lion, or a manticore, were responsible, but she didn't know where to begin looking for them. She might talk to Brine again, share this information with him; it was possible he could know where to begin looking for them. However she also had to get back to the Guard House, file a report, and issue orders. She also needed to find out as much as she could about drakes. Lions and manticores she knew about, at least as much as any other pony, but she had never heard of drakes before today, and she needed to know what they were up against.

A low growl, however, pushed a more mundane need to the forefront.

"Now," Belle answered, "we get some lunch. Do you like tacos?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow but her answer came in the form of a matching rumble of complaint from her stomach. Twilight blushed sheepishly. "I suppose I could go for a bite."

Belle grinned and turned them down a side street.

Soil's Funeral Home and Taco Hut was a surprisingly cheery place. The funeral home portion took up the majority of the building but along the side was a separate window where ponies could order their food and several tables with strategically placed piles of hay where they could enjoy said food. The low-flying pegasus himself was always cheerful and full of energy. His attitude and respect had won over the shocked minds of the Dock ponies, and his unusual dual business was now just a normal part of Dock life.

Twilight, however, wasn't used to it.

"Oh, for goodness sake," Belle grumbled when she noticed that she had taken several steps by herself. A glance back revealed the unicorn frozen mid step, a hoof in the air, and her mouth hanging open. She went back to the stunned mare and couldn't quite suppress a small smirk. "Problem?" she asked casually.

"That's...that's just so... so...." Twilight trailed off, her loquacious lexicon failing her for the first time in recent memory.

"Come on," Belle said with a laugh. "I'll introduce you to Soil. Things tend to make more sense once you get to know him."

Twilight could only nod mutely and followed Belle up to the order window. There was no line and only one of the tables was occupied. A trio of stallions she didn't recognize sat at a table beneath a nearby tree. They were an unusual bunch: a pegasus with an oddly curly mane, and a thin but coiled tail, like a large spring, and a cutie mark of a glowing swirl; a sly looking earth pony sporting a thick mane tied back with a band, slipping free from an unusually flat hat and a cutie mark depicting a speech bubble, like what she had seen in her foalhood comics, with a squiggle line punctuated with an emphatic exclamation point; and a large unicorn with a rather bushy tail and a cutie mark of a quill superimposed over a drop of some kind of liquid.

They were complete strangers to Belle. That in and of itself wasn't unusual. Dock was a port town after all and saw a lot of ponies passing through, even now in its waning years. In truth she probably wouldn't have taken notice of them at all if the pegasus hadn't caught sight of her and Twilight and broke out into a cheeky grin. He started to rise only to be yanked back down by a burst of magic from the unicorn. The earth pony laughed and must have said something amusing because the other two soon joined in. Belle rolled her eyes. Morons.

Twilight didn't seem to have noticed, her incredulous gaze was still fixed on the order window of the restaurant. Inside the window, the familiar sight of Soil hovering about his small kitchen was visible, quickly frying up something greasy and fattening and oh so good. His usual giant cup of soda was on the table next to him.

Belle tapped a small bell on the window sill to get his attention. He spun around, spatula still in his teeth. When he saw her, he grinned around the handle and put it down. "Belle!" he exclaimed happily. "Good to see you. The usual?"

Belle smiled back at her old friend. "Yeah, thanks Soil. And whatever Twilight here wants." She stepped aside to reveal the still stunned unicorn.

Soil smiled. "Well hello, Miss Twilight, a pleasure to meet you," he said with a mischievous glint in his eye. "And I must say you're the prettiest little mare I've seen since last I crossed paths with a Vila." He winked at her, although the effect was somewhat ruined by one of his twitches. Nevertheless, his words shook Twilight out of her stupor and she blushed.

"You've seen a Vila?" she asked. "I always thought that they were just a myth."

"Ayup," said Soil proudly. "Back in my younger days. Me and my pa ran across a whole gaggle of 'em, way out beyond the Griffin Dominion. Course, they soon showed their true colors and tried to eat us, but they were still a sight to behold right enough."

Belle stared back and forth between the fascinated unicorn and the twitchy tall-tale telling pegasus. She had always taken Soil's comments and ridiculous references to be just nonsense, but Twilight actually recognized one of his fantastical creatures; perhaps there really was more to Soil than there appeared.

But there were priorities, food now, and then work. She could ponder the veracity of Soil's stories later. She roused herself with a shake of her head. Twilight was listening intently while Soil rambled about something called a hippogriff. When had they started that topic? Belle really needed to get her musings under control, not to mention her sense of time.

"Not that this isn't quite fascinating," she interrupted loudly, "but we do have work to do."

Twilight blushed again. "Right. Sorry, Belle." She addressed Soil, "I'll just have whatever she's having."

Soil, for his part, didn't look the least bit chagrined. He nodded with a twitch and set about preparing the food.

Belle placed  several bits on the window-sill (adamantly refusing Twilight's proffered coins), and, once Soil had placed her order up, moved to a nearby table, as far away from the trio of strange stallions as possible. She ate her normal duo of three-bean tacos in quiet contemplation, examining and rejecting plan after plan for her next move. Twilight joined her a few minutes later, her own tacos floating beside her. "That is an interesting stallion," she said as she sat across from Belle.

The earth pony raised an eyebrow. "You know he's in his fifties, right?"

The young mare blushed. "That's not what I meant," she said hurriedly. "But he talked about seeing Vila, and they're supposed to be a myth. And he talked about seeing the ruins of Camellot and the grand palaces of Saddle Arabia. Can you imagine the stories he must have?"

Belle, who had been subjected to Soil's ridiculous accounts for years, could only shrug. She swallowed a bite of delicious greasy goodness before answering. "I've heard a lot of them," she said, "and I don't believe most of 'em."

Twilight considered that for a moment, using the time to take a bite of her own taco. She quickly fanned her mouth with a hoof, having absent-mindedly forgotten how fresh it was. Once she got past the heat, however, she munched it appreciatively. Belle finished off her second taco by the time the unicorn managed to start her second.

"So what's the next step?" Twilight asked between bites.

"I'm not sure," Belle answered truthfully. "Most likely head back to the Guard House and report in. Without any solid leads, the best thing I can think of doing is to study up on drakes. The more information we have, the better."

Twilight's face lit up at the word 'study.' She swallowed the last of her lunch quickly. "I tell you what," she said, barely restraining the eagerness in her voice, "why don't I do the research for you while you return to the Guard House and do your reports. Then I can meet up with you later and let you know what I've learned."

Belle considered this. There was no doubt that having the research done for her would be a massive help. She was no fan of paperwork, reports, and the other bureaucratic aspects of her job, as evidenced by the fact that she, the captain herself, went out on regular patrols. Besides, the young unicorn just seemed so eager. "Alright," she said with a nod, "that sounds like a plan. Meet back at the Guard House in a couple of hours." She looked around for some kind of timepiece before spying the clock tower of the town hall just rising over the tops of some nearby buildings reading 1:40. "Let's say 4:30."

That should still give them about two hours before sundown. Twilight nodded. "That should be enough time. Where's the library?"

Belle gave her directions and the eager young mare trotted off happily. Belle sat there for a few moments longer, staring at the remains of her meal. What should be her next step? The diamond dog lead was still unavailable. She doubted she would get anything new from Brine. All of the tunnel entrances they had found so far were blocked or sealed in some way, and she couldn't order random searches of anypony's house for unblocked ones. She could look for the mysterious buyer of the smuggled creatures, but with Brine being so tight-lipped about it she had no idea where to start. She needed a break, a lead, something.

With a weary sigh she rose and, disposing of her rubbish, made her way back to the Guard House.


********************


When she entered the building, Em gave her a questioning and slightly skeptical glance. This confused Belle until she remembered that Twilight wasn't with her and the admonishment Em had given her earlier.

"Don't worry," the captain rushed to assure her friend. "She's doing some research for me. I will admit she hasn't been an impediment like I feared she would be."

That seemed to mollify the large unicorn and she nodded, a more usual smile replacing her skepticism. "Ah," she whispered, "thank you, Belle, for giving her a chance. I know you're under a lot of pressure here."

Belle didn't quite know what to say to that so she settled for a nod.

"Oh, and Brine sent a message," Em continued.

That got Belle's attention. With a hurried thanks, she rushed into her office. Had Brine found something? Was this the break she needed?

Unfortunately it wasn't. When she read the single page note on her desk, she was disappointed to find that it was simply a reminder that the next day a rather important shipment was scheduled to arrive in the mid afternoon. An escort of royal guards was expected to be on hand to oversee the shipment and escort it up the road to Canterlot.

That caught Belle's attention. What could possibly require such a heavy guard? Unfortunately, the message didn't say. Such shipments were very rare, if not unheard of in Dock. Usually it was a shipment of very rare gems, or some kind of important magical artifacts, and once even a dangerous prisoner transfer. Belle still couldn't help but smirk in amusement when she remembered seeing that foolish young unicorn, with his obviously fake wings and awful red and black paint job. Foolish and childish. Yet, he had apparently warranted a heavy guard, so he must have done something to deserve it.

Well, whatever the shipment was, it was clearly being treated with great care and caution. The note also acknowledged that the usual precautions would be taken by Brine. Basically, that meant that he would have a few of his own ponies on hoof to oversee things and any guard presence was merely for appearance's sake. Belle ground her teeth in anger, and in frustration. It was true that there was hardly a need for any guards to be there; the steady decline of the guards had coincided with the decline of Dock itself and these days Brine and his goons were more often in control than the guards.

It was just another distraction for Belle.

And yet, as much as she hated the current setup, she had to admit that this time it would most likely be advantageous, allowing her to focus on finding the dangerous creatures that had been causing so many problems and capturing whoever was responsible for them.

Begrudgingly content to leave the details of the shipment transfer to Brine, Belle turned her focus back on her more immediate obstacle: paperwork.

It was some time later before Belle finally let the quill drop from her mouth with a sigh. She had finished writing up her report on the morning’s work, drafted a perfunctory response to Brine, and set up that evening’s patrol schedule. Normally the patrol schedules were on a standard rotation, but until the lion/manticore and the drake were dealt with, she was partnering the patrols so that nopony was alone. It meant that the patrols would take a longer time to finish, but she was more concerned with the safety of her guards.

She had even managed to find a use for Twilight, partnering the young unicorn with Belle herself. The odd pony out was Keen Edge, but she had a specific task in mind for him. They needed information, and somepony knew something but wasn't talking. Keen could be brash and sometimes had issues with authority, but he was a good guard and she felt certain that if anypony could find more information, it was Keen. She just hoped he could do it without hurting anypony in the process.

She stood up, stretching slightly with a groan. Her back felt a little stiff. That worried her slightly. She wasn't old by anypony's reckoning, but she was no filly either. The thought of growing old would have been worrisome, but she didn't have time to worry. Her age would take care of itself; she had work to do.

As she trotted out of her office en route to the equipment room, she checked the clock in the main room of the Guard House: 3:15. It had taken her longer than had thought to finish, and yet she still had over an hour before she expected Twilight’s return. Paperwork had always been her most time consuming task, and the one she liked least of all.

Inside the equipment room, she was happy to find all of her guards already assembled. Corporal Keen was diligently sharpening one of his swords while Sergeant Oak Root was carefully polishing his armor to a degree that was almost unsettling. Belle took care of her armor, including the occasional polish, but she had always appreciated the ‘worn’ look, it showed that the armor had been doing its job; Oak’s armor was so polished that Belle could have used it as a mirror. The two stallions had been on duty since shortly after Belle herself but both looked as fresh as if they were just starting. In the back of the room, Corporal Snowflake was carefully putting on her light barding, fully extending her wings to ensure she had complete maneuverability. Constables Morning Dew and Shining Star, already armed and armored, were chatting amiably in front of the weapon racks. They were all there waiting for the evening's patrol schedule.

Belle cleared her throat loudly. Oak stood to attention immediately, followed shortly by everypony except Keen, who took his time putting his sword down before standing at what could, with some generosity, be called attention. “Alright everypony,” she said loudly, “I know it’s been a trying few days, and that things have been difficult. And I know that you all have been working hard for long hours, but unfortunately we’re not done yet. We’re going to continue with the double patrol until further notice. I want the focus to be on the docks since all of the activity has been around there so far. Keep your eyes peeled for anything unusual or out of place. Be careful out there, I don’t want anypony taking any unnecessary risks, if you find something or need help use your whistles and everypony else will come running.”

She posted the roster onto the wall before continuing. “Now then, evidence has led me to believe that we’re looking for two creatures: a drake, think a less intelligent, slightly smaller, wingless dragon, and either a large lion or a manticore. Now I know that’s not exactly good news…” she added quickly when the others began to shift nervously, “but I know that you all are the best damn guards there are. I wouldn't have anypony else by my side for a fight like this. No overgrown lizard and cat are going to cause any more problems in our town.”

She saw the two rookies draw themselves up proudly at that and shoot each other a significant glance. Oak nodded imperceptibly, either in acknowledgment or approval, Belle wasn't sure. Snowflake didn't react except for a small smile. Keen, however, just rolled his eyes and maintained his barely appropriate ‘at attention’ stance.

Belle moved on quickly. “Alright, are there any questions? No? Good. Be careful and watch each other’s backs. Move out. Corporal Keen, hold up a moment, I have a special assignment for you.”

The pegasus, who had moved to pick up his sword the second she had said ‘alright,’ slid it into the sheath on his left side with practiced ease. After a beat he gave a lazy salute. Belle didn't show any reaction outwardly. “Corporal,” she said with a barely contained long-suffering sigh, “I need you to do something a little different this time. I can’t shake the feeling that there’s a pony behind these creatures. I want you to hit up the docks yourself, especially The Hole. Somepony knows something, and I want you to find out what. So far Brine has been uncommonly forthcoming, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been holding something back. Also, see if you can find any more information about those tunnels beneath the town, I want to know where the entrances are. I know you can do it, but please, be tactful about it.”

“Of course, Captain,” Keen said with another lazy salute. His expression, however, promised nothing. Well, hopefully it wouldn't be too bad. Keen wasn't the most restrained of ponies but he wasn't stupid, and he knew how to get the job done.

A few moments later, Belle was alone in the equipment room. She was about to leave when her eyes caught sight of the weapon racks and she paused. She hadn't actually carried a weapon for several years, always comfortably relying on her own hooves. They had served her well, although she had never had to fight anything more dangerous than a drunken sailor during that time. But now she was facing something much more dangerous; surely hooves wouldn't be enough to stop a charging manticore, let alone a drake. She hesitated for a moment, but then she reached out and deftly scooped up a spear, carefully placing it in a secure holster on the side of her barding, allowing it to point upright but with a mechanism that would allow her to lower it for a charge. It was an unusual, but familiar, weight and she soon grew accustomed to it. Suitably armed, she trotted out of the room.

Em’s eyebrows rose slightly when she saw the spear attached to Belle’s armor, but she didn't comment. “So what are you going to do now, Belle?” she asked.

Belle had been considering this and had come to a decision. “I’m going to meet up with Ms. Sparkle at the library, see if she’s found anything useful yet. After that, if nothing else, we'll pay a visit to Brine and see if he’s turned up anything new.” Em nodded and tried to stifle a yawn but Belle caught it. “Are you going to be alright here, Em? I hate asking you to stay late, but I need everypony until this whole thing is cleared up.”

The large unicorn smiled gently. “Of course, Belle,” she whispered, “you've already said that. I understand, and I'll do my best.”

Belle flashed a grin. “Thanks, Em, I knew I could count on you. Hold down the fort.” She trotted out the door, the tip of her spear just missing the top of the door-frame.


********************


The library was hardly the town’s most prominent, or most visited, building. An unassuming, single story building, it almost seemed to be going out of its way to not draw attention to itself. A small row of bushes graced the front of it and, were it not for the sign outside depicting a book superimposed with ‘Dock Library,’ it could have been mistaken for just another house.

When Belle entered the silent building, she glanced around somewhat nervously. She doubted that Ink Leaf would be back at work so soon after her tragic loss, but better safe than sorry. Belle didn't think she could face the poor mare without having had at least some success in finding who was responsible for her daughter’s death and bringing them to justice. The memory of informing Ink and Peach Blossom and their husbands about the deaths of their fillies was still fresh in her mind, and it didn't seem to have any intention of leaving any time soon. But her fears proved to be unfounded as she saw the assistant librarian, an ashen colored elderly earth pony stallion named Dusty Tome, snoozing over an open book at the circulation desk. Belle kindly didn't disturb the old pony and slipped past him quietly. 

The library’s entire meager inventory was in and around a single large room. It had larger bookcases stretching floor to ceiling along the walls and several shorter shelves arranged strategically on the floor. The entire room had an old and dusty feel to it, even though there was actually very little dust to be seen. Along the back wall, the only wall not almost completely covered in books, two large windows let in a flood of afternoon sunlight. Situated between the windows was a small desk and at the desk, her back to the entrance, sat Twilight, her horn flashing occasionally whenever she turned a page.

Belle trotted up to her. "Twilight," Belle said softly. The unicorn didn't respond.

"Twilight."

Nothing.

Belle tapped the young mare on the shoulder. "Twilight!" she half shouted.

Twilight jumped with a yelp and spun around, the book she had propped open on the desk slipped to the floor with a soft thud. "Oh, Belle," she said with a rather embarrassed grin, "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in. Heh, I, um, I tend to get pretty engrossed when I study. Anyway, what’s up? Is it 4:30 already?"

Belle shook her head. “No, I’m actually a little early. How’s the research going?”

“Slowly I’m afraid,” Twilight said, her horn igniting in order to lift the fallen book back onto the desk. She then levitated a scroll up for Belle to see, it had a large number of neatly itemized notes listed on it. “This library doesn't have the largest inventory. For the most part there wasn't much more than what we read at Eris’. This book here gives a bit more information about their habitat and diet. This one talks some about the encounters ponies have had with them. This history here has a small section on how the drake population quickly declined in Equestria as pony civilization grew. Things like that. Fascinating in their own right, but not quite what we were hoping for I’m afraid.”

“Anything we can use?” Belle asked, scanning the list. Twilight’s writing was precise and organized, but the light in the room wasn't exactly ideal for a pony with her kind of vision difficulties.

“Hmm, not much.” Twilight moved the scroll in front of her face and read through it quickly. “They tend to be mostly nocturnal and they live in burrows and dens. This is consistent with what we know and makes the tunnels the most likely haven for the creature. Umm, let’s see. Oh! They are generally slow moving but have been known to have bursts of surprising swiftness and agility for creatures of their size. They are solitary animals, only seeking companionship during… er, well… mating season.”

She looked up from her notes. “I don’t know if any of that helps us.”

Belle mulled this new information over quickly. Twilight was right in that the tunnels were the most likely place for the creatures to be hiding in. Hopefully Keen could find an entrance and they could track the creatures properly. But that didn't give them any specific advantage like she had hoped.

Something nagged at her. “If drakes are solitary creatures,” she mused aloud, although mostly to herself, “then why does it seem to be hanging around with a lion, or manticore, or whatever?”

"Hmm,” Twilight said thoughtfully, “other than the footprints, is there any evidence to suggest that they’re sticking together? I mean, it could be that they’re not, that we’re actually dealing with two independent creatures and the footprints were just coincidentally together.”

That had not occurred to Belle before. Ever since she had found the footprints she had simply assumed that there were two creatures together causing these problems.

"Well, the fillies had injuries that seemed more likely to have been caused by a feline's claws than a lizards," Belle answered, recalling Soil's comments to that effect. "So that would place the creatures together at the warehouse, assuming the drake caused the fire. But other than that, we really don't know if they're still together, it could very well be that they've separated, or heck, one might have killed the other one. But until there is evidence to the contrary, I think it's best to assume the worst."

Twilight nodded. "Probably a good idea."

"Do you need more time here?" Belle asked, looking at the large stack of books on the desk.

Twilight glanced at the pile too. "Probably not," she said, sounding wistful. "The last three books didn't give me any new information and I have a feeling there isn't much more we can do here. Do you think I should go talk to Eris, see if she knows anything more about drakes?"

Belle shook her head. "Nah, I'm sure she would have told us already if she thought it could help, I got the impression she didn't know all that much about them."

"Alright," said Twilight, "so what's our next move then?"

Belle was rather impressed. The unicorn was still being true to her word and following Belle's lead completely, despite their lack of any real progress towards a solution thus far. Belle had a feeling that if their roles were reversed, she would not be as patient before taking the lead, or at least making her own opinions known. That couldn't be easy for somepony of Twilight's standing; despite her humble demeanor, she seemed to be used to wielding authority. To submit to another pony's decisions when one is used to power was a struggle that Belle was all too familiar with.

"I think our top priority right now," Belle said thoughtfully, "is finding an entrance to those tunnels. There are definitely ponies still using them, and that means somepony knows how to get into them and how to find their way around in them. I've got guards looking and asking questions, but unfortunately our authority isn't what it used to be."

Twilight gave her a slightly sympathetic look but didn't comment. Instead she asked, "So where do we start looking?"

Belle grimaced. "We don't." At Twilight's surprised expression she hastily added, "I mean us specifically. Like I said, I have other guards investigating already, guards who I trust to get the job done. Patience is one of the hardest parts of this job, believe me, but there's nothing we can do short of a door-to-door search that will find an entrance faster than what we're already doing."

Twilight seemed somewhat taken aback by Belle's apparent inaction. "So what do we do then?"

"We do what ninety percent of this job involves: we patrol."


********************


Patrolling isn't the same as simply walking, despite how similar it looks, as Twilight quickly learned. Patrolling had no specific destination in mind, so there was no point in hurrying. That didn't mean it was a leisurely stroll though. A guard on patrol had to be constantly vigilant to everything going on around him or her. What might be mistaken for casual glances involved intense, if brief scrutiny. Polite conversations with passing ponies masked ulterior motives as a guard would constantly be gathering information, all without the surrounding ponies' awareness. It wasn't something that just anypony could do, it took careful training before a guard could interrogate with casual questions, examine without staring, hear without obviously listening, move quickly without seeming to rush. For Belle it was practically second nature and she shifted into the patrolling gait without a thought.

Twilight, on the other hoof, took to it like an elephant to flying. To be fair, she was certainly giving it a solid effort, but after she had tripped over her own hooves and fallen into Belle for the ninth time she began to get frustrated. "This is ridiculous!" she exclaimed loudly. "I'm starting to think this is a prank to make me look foolish."

Belle couldn't suppress a short chuckle, remembering her own missteps in training. Twilight, however, must have thought the earth pony mare was laughing at her because she shot Belle an annoyed and rather hurt frown.

Belle quickly explained herself. "Don't worry, Twilight. It takes a long time to get right, and months to perfect the technique. I was just remembering how long it took me."

Slightly mollified, Twilight kept going, trying her best to be looking everywhere at once but usually just ending up going cross-eyed. "I can't imagine doing this all the time every day," she commented.

Belle shrugged even as she noticed two mares whispering together and glancing around across the mostly empty street. Most likely it was nothing. The entire town was still rather on edge about the fire, and reports in the newspaper about strange creature sightings, however farfetched, couldn't be helping matters. She noted their cutie marks in the back of her mind, just in case. "It becomes second nature after a while," she said to her unicorn companion. "Patrols used to be worse."

"How so?" asked Twilight trying to look over her shoulder and accidentally bumping into Belle. "Oops, sorry."

"Well," said Belle as she helped Twilight regain her balance, "we used to have to wander through the streets carrying bells, and every half hour shout the time as loud as we could and that all was well. Bloody nuisance, plus extremely annoying. The townsponies didn't like it either."

"What if all wasn't well?" Twilight asked.

"Well, there were two options," explained the captain, "Either you would go somewhere else where all was well, or you did your job and made it all well."

Twilight chuckled and went back to focusing on her attempts at patrolling.

They patrolled mostly along the northern blocks of town, the opposite side of the city as the docks. The streets were less busy here and the buildings were more homes than businesses. They passed Eris' clinic/house but the windows were all dark. In fact, most of the houses were dark. Many were awaiting the return of their lodger, from work or from errand; but far, far too many Belle knew were dark because there were no owners anymore. Belle occasionally felt a poke of nostalgic pain when she would see a house that used to belong to a friend. The Bluebottles, the Spuds, the Petals, all gone. Even that odd earth pony, Smith or some such, although he had left long before the town had started to dwindle. An odd pony and no mistake, although he seemed to get on surprisingly well with Soil, even understanding the bizarre pegasus' stories and references.

Belle repressed a sigh and shook her head angrily. She was captain of the guard, not some foalish teenager; she had a job to do. If Twilight noticed Belle's odd behavior, she didn't comment. Although the fact that her head was turned so far around while trying to look at something behind her that she almost walked into a mail box may have had something to do with it. Belle good-naturedly corrected the unicorn's path with a gentle bump. Twilight grinned sheepishly.

As happened so often, Belle began to lose track of time as she patrolled the mostly residential areas of Dock. Nothing stood out as unusual, and her guard's intuition wasn't throwing up any grayscale flags either. The autumn sun was well on its way to its nightly slumber when they reached the end of the evening's first patrol route, conveniently just a few blocks from Belle's home. She briefly considered stopping by to see Lemon, but decided against it almost at once. Priorities.

She stretched, hearing a shoulder pop as she did so. The patrolling motion may have been second nature by now but it was still somewhat unnatural for a pony. "I think it'd be best to head down to the docks," she commented. "If we run into a patrol I can get an early report and, if nothing else, I should talk to Brine again."

"Who?" asked Twilight, who was in the middle of a stretch of her own. She had gotten a bit of a cramp three blocks back and had given up any pretense of patrolling, content to walk in a slightly hobbled fashion as she tried to work it out. Belle had to give the inexperienced unicorn credit though, there weren't nearly as many finely chosen words thrown at her as she thrown at her own instructor when she had undergone her own training.

Belle told Twilight about the surly stallion as they walked through the streets towards the docks, outlining his status and his role as a de facto social leader. 

Even as they talked, Belle kept her senses tuned into her surroundings. Some aspects of patrolling were hard to turn off. All around them, ponies were moving hurriedly to their homes. The shadows had lengthened, and the sky had a dark look to it. Belle had used to love staring at the evening sky when she was younger. She still remembered the kaleidoscope of colors slowly fading away into blackness, but only for a brief moment before the stars and moon took their turn, painting a portrait of beauty still unmatched by any painter. These days, Belle couldn't enjoy those moments anymore, but she still liked to watch the sunset and remember the colors, mentally matching them with the various shades of gray. Sometimes, even if it was just for a moment, she felt as though she could see those beautiful colors again.

Soon enough they were in sight of the river. Belle had led them along the edge of town and as they were approaching the docks they walked past the site of the second fire. The clean-up team had obviously already started their work and much of the burned section had been covered in tarps to prevent any damage from the elements overnight. Twilight looked at it curiously but didn't stop or comment. Belle herself thought back to the fire. Had it really only been yesterday? She recalled finding the Diamond Dog in the rubble, and the tunnel underneath him. Had she missed anything at the time? Could she have done something different that would have put them in a better position now?

No. She had to stop thinking like that. She couldn't change the past and shouldn't worry about 'what ifs.'

Soon their hooves were echoing on wooden planking instead of clopping on cobblestone as they made their way onto the pier. As she often did, Belle briefly relished the feeling of being on the docks, the wide open space and the seemingly ever-present breeze a welcome contrast to the enclosed city.

The area was still moderately bustling with activity. Despite the onset of evening, a combination of the crew of the three latest ships tethered to the pier for the night and the residential harbor ponies busy going about their tasks with long practiced skill and ease: loading and unloading cargo, moving and storing goods, rushing to finish before the fading autumn light gave out completely. The two mares walked along, careful to stay out of everypony's way, until they reached The Hole.

"I don't get it," Twilight commented, staring at the large tavern before them. 

"What is there not to get?" Belle asked, confused.

"I mean, what kind of name is 'The Hole' for a tavern? It doesn't really sound all that enticing."

Belle sighed. "Yeah, tell me about it. But Brine likes the name. Apparently he finds it funny."

"How?" asked Twilight, still staring at the rather ugly building.

The captain rolled her eyes. "He basically said that since this is Dock, then there has to be a hole somewhere."

"Oh. Oh! But that's..." Twilight trailed off, her eyes going wide as realization finally dawned. Then she ducked her head and, even though she couldn't see for sure, Belle got the impression that the young mare was blushing

"Yeah it's pretty gross," Belle commented lightly.

"You have a... unique town here, Captain," Twilight said, apparently unsure of what else to say.

Belle laughed. "You have no idea, you've only been here a day. Heck, you haven't even met my husband yet. But for all that, it's still my town and I wouldn't live anywhere else."

"Your husband?" Twilight asked, but Belle was already moving to the open door of The Hole. The unicorn hurried to catch up.

The inside of the tavern was only partially full, the first few workers who had been fast or fortunate enough to finish their work already were filling several tables, drinking and eating while conversing in low tones. The entire mood was significantly heavier than Belle could ever remember feeling in The Hole at this hour. The visitors who were simply passing through seemed to have noticed it, and none so far dared anything lighter or more boisterous than the occasional chuckle. Even the musicians in the corner, who were most likely just getting started for the night, were playing much more serious, if still pleasant, tunes. The dim light which normally permeated the area didn't help the mood.

Belle paused to raise her tinted glasses. The low light of the room was actually quite suited to her as it wasn't strong enough to hurt but was plenty strong for her to see quite well, better than most in fact. She scanned the modest crowd, looking for Brine but also just keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. She spotted Keen sitting at a table with several sailor ponies and a griffin, chatting with them amiably over a drink. He seemed much more sociable now than he normally did. Belle couldn't help but wonder if it was an act or simply the fact that he wasn't doing the regular mundane and (to his mind at least) boring guard tasks. Knowing him, it was most likely the latter. He did look slightly uncomfortable, although that was most likely because he wasn't armed or armored. Belle didn't show any sign that she knew him, nor he her.

That odd trio of stallions she had seen at Soil's restaurant were also there and it seemed that much of the more jovial laughter was coming from them. They didn't have the look of sailors and she wondered what they were doing in the town.  But they weren't doing anything wrong or suspicious at this moment so she simply marked their cutie marks in her mind and moved on.

There were no diamond dogs present this evening and again she thought back to the other night, the night of the first fire, when she had seen a trio of them here. She wondered still if the dog currently in the hospital was one of those three. Although in truth it didn't matter since all of the ship from that night had long since departed.

Eventually she spotted the tavern owner sitting at the bar chatting with a rather dapper looking pegasus mare with a short and ruggedly cut mane and a bit of a grimace on her face. She had a not-suspicious-at-all cutie mark of crossed daggers. Like Brine, she also had an eye-patch covering her right eye.

As he so often did, Brine turned to her before he could have possibly seen her with his good eye as she approached the bar, Twilight close at her heels. "Ah, Captain Belle, what a pleasure to see you again," he greeted, his tone exposing the lie. "What can I do for you?" He seemed to suddenly remember his companion and added, "Oh, this is Captain Tanith, of the fine merchant vessel Shoobido, currently in our port."

The pegasus looked her over with a strangely appraising expression. "Charmed," she said. Her tone was pleasant enough but her scowl made her look annoyed. She had an odd accent that sounded foreign. Prench? Germaneic?

"Captain," Belle acknowledged with a slightly suspicious glance at the pegasus' cutie mark. Any pirate worth her salt wouldn't openly display her cutie mark like that, but still...

Belle turned her attention back to Brine. "I need a moment of your time, Brine."

Brine looked annoyed but after a moment's consideration nodded. "Very well then. But it will have to be fast, I do have a business to run." Turning to Captain Tanith he said, "Please excuse me, Captain."

Tanith nodded. "We will talk later," she said pointedly. It didn't sound like a question although Brine nodded in assent.

With that, the pegasus carefully picked up a plate that held a surprisingly large sandwich off of the bar. Still a little wary, Belle watched as she carried it over to the table where the three unusual stallions she had noted before were sitting. The pegasus stallion with the curly mane and strangely spring-like tail made some kind of comment and made a circling motion in the air with a forehoof. Whatever that meant, it apparently peeved the mare since she carefully put the sandwich on the table before slapping him sharply across the face. The unicorn and earth pony stallions laughed loudly, and even the slapped stallion grinned good-naturedly as the captain joined them at the table.

Huh, maybe she had been wrong about them not being sailors.

Bah, she needed to stop letting her minder wander off on tangents. She needed to focus. She quickly returned her attention to Brine. "Can we talk in your office?"

"If it's all the same to you, I think I'd rather talk here,” the stallion said bluntly. “Contrary to what you may think, I do have priorities beyond being interrogated.”

“Fine,” allowed Belle. She realized how antagonistic she had sounded and tried to rein it in. Despite her personal feelings concerning the crusty old stallion, they were technically on the same side here. “Have you found anything new?” she asked in a softer, more polite tone.

“Not much,” Brine said, perhaps catching on to her tone since he adopted a more polite tone of his own. “I did find out that the ship Princess’ Pride left port with one less crew member.”

“A diamond dog crew member perhaps?”

Brine nodded. “Indeed.”

“What was its cargo?” interjected Twilight, moving to stand beside Belle.

Brine quirked an eyebrow which had been split into two sections by a scar, glancing at the unicorn. He turned back to Belle. “Who’s she?” he asked bluntly.

Belle was going to answer but Twilight cut her off, staring defiantly at the scarred earth pony. “She is Twilight Sparkle, special envoy from Princess Celestia. You must be Brine. I’ve heard so much about you.” Her tone made the nature of said knowledge quite clear.

Brine considered her for a long moment, sizing her up. To her credit, Twilight didn't flinch or back down an inch. Finally he gave an imperceptible nod and answered as though their small confrontation hadn’t happened, “According to a copy of the ship's manifest, nothing worth noting, fabric mostly. I’m not familiar with the captain, a unicorn named Marequis, but I can tell you that there was no report of a missing crew member until after the ship had left port. I only found out about it when I had my clerks check the rosters from the last few days.”

Belle considered this new piece of information. If, as she suspected, the injured diamond dog was the missing crew member, then it seemed logical that his ship had brought the creatures. "Who received the cargo and where is it currently stored?"

"Officially, it was never stored, just passed straight to a traveling merchant bound for Canterlot."

That in itself wasn't too unusual. A good number of merchant caravans would often be present in town to receive merchandise from ships. At this point, more than half the goods received in the town left the same day, by caravan or on another ship; one of the reasons so many of the warehouses were so empty, but something Brine had said caught Belle's notice. "And unofficially?"

Brine grimaced. "Unofficially, rumor has it that several crates were stored in a specific warehouse. I think you can guess which one." Belle nodded with a grimace of her own, images of rolling flames and acrid smoke flashing through her mind, accompanied by the painful memory of looking down on two small, charred forms. Brine continued, "The ship's previous stop was out West along the coast. Some small coastal town called Acheron. Strange name, I know."

There was barely noticeable sound, like a sharp intake of breath from beside Belle. A glance to the side showed her that, judging by her expression, Twilight knew the town. Brine either didn't notice the unicorn's recognition or, more likely, didn't feel like commenting on it. He continued as if nothing had happened.

"Its next destination, I've been told, is Manehatten. Not that it will do us much good here."

Belle nodded. "I will send a message to the guard captain in Manehatten that this... Marequis was it? This Marequis is wanted for questioning here. It might not come to anything, and even if it did, it won't help us now. It's several days journey to Manehatten by boat. Was there anything else?"

Brine shook his shaggy head. "No. Not yet. You?"

Belle momentarily considered not sharing her findings with somepony who could almost be seen as her rival, but instantly crushed that thought. Whatever her personal feelings towards the stallion, Brine was helping her, and he had ponies under him helping. Withholding information could get ponies killed. "Based on tracks we found," she said, "we believe that we're looking for two creatures, possibly aiding one another: a manticore, or possibly a lion, and a drake. That's a large, fire breathing lizard. Neither are known for their intelligence apparently, so judging by their movements and the fact that nopony's gotten a good look at them, not counting several vague and unsubstantiated sightings, I believe that there's a pony behind all of this. Possibly somehow controlling or at least guiding them."

Brine's face grew more and more serious as Belle talked. "To what end?" he asked, half to himself. "Why would somepony do this? What are they after?"

Nopony there had an answer.


********************


As they exited the tavern, Belle turned to Twilight. "You recognized that town’s name," she said. It wasn’t a question. "Does it mean something to you?"

Twilight shifted nervously and hesitated, as though considering her answer. Finally she said, "Yes, I did recognize it. The town is on the edge of the wild, in the north-western corner of Equestria. The area around it is full of dangerous creatures, it's like they're drawn to it. Not unlike the Everfree Forest really. It's not a nice place."

"You sound like you've been there."

Twilight nodded. "Once. It... wasn't a pleasant journey." She trailed off into silence, a frown on her face as she remembered.

"So what does that mean?" asked Belle, matching the frown, albeit for a different reason. "Does the last place the ship made port make a difference?"

"Perhaps..." Twilight seemed to only be half paying attention to the conversation. "I wish I could get a message to Princess Celestia. I wish Spike was here."

"Spike?" Belle cocked her head to one side. The unicorn wasn't making any sense and it was getting annoying.

“Oh, he’s my Number One Assistant. His flame can send a message to the princess instantly.” At Belle’s increasingly confused expression, she clarified, “He’s a baby dragon.”

“Um, ok…” said Belle slowly, not quite sure how to take this. She decided to push on with the actual topic at hoof. “Anyway, what’s going through your mind? Why does this town change things?”

Twilight shook her head. “I’m, well I’m not sure. It might be nothing, but then again…”

“Just say it already!” snapped Belle, finally pushed past the edge of her tolerance.

Twilight flinched slightly but said, “Well, Acheron is the site of the Gates of Tartarus.”

> Chapter 7: Confrontation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monsters

By Sharpe Quill

Chapter 7: Confrontation



The two mares walked along the docks as darkness began to finally overpower the light of day. The street lamps around them were being lit by a team of unicorns.

“Tartarus?” asked Belle, confused. “You don’t mean the underworld, where all the ancient evil creatures were imprisoned?”

“Uh, yeah,” Twilight acknowledged. “That’s exactly what I mean.”

“But that’s just a story for foals,” argued the earth pony. “It’s not real. Is it?”

Twilight nodded seriously. “I’m afraid it is. It might just be a coincidence that a ship from Acheron arrives just before several fires break out and sightings of unusual creatures suddenly become common. But I’m not a big proponent of coincidences.”

“So you think that we’re dealing with monsters from Tartarus then?”

The unicorn shook her mane. “I’m not sure. Like I said, regular, ordinary monsters do tend to live around the town, so your theories about a manticore and drake are still possible. But still ...” She trailed off.

Belle’s mind reeled at the implications. Tartarus was a name out of myths and legends and Belle was the kind of pony who felt there were enough problems in the real world without adding mythical ones. Yet she found that she couldn’t dismiss what Twilight had said. Belle was pretty good at spotting liars, having witnessed plenty during her time as a guard, and Twilight struck her as a pony either too decent or too naive to lie. She was being completely serious about Tartarus.

Belle dredged through old memories, trying to recall the stories about the mythical prison. “Whatever the creatures here are, they can’t be from Tartarus,” she said at last. “Tartarus is guarded by that giant three-headed Rottweiler, Cerebus or whatever, specifically so that the monsters can’t escape.”

“Cerberus.” Twilight corrected in a low voice. “He’s actually closer to a bulldog.” Then she shifted slightly, as though not wanting to say more but knowing that she should. “And, um, that part of the story is true, but ... you see, he wandered away for a little while several months ago. He actually managed to get all the way to Ponyville before some of my friends stopped him.”

Belle stopped in her tracks, staring incredulously at the unicorn. “What?”

The unicorn paused too and turned to look at Belle. She had a smile on her face.  Not a ‘ha ha, gotcha’ smile like Belle had hoped, but a smile of fond memory. “You see, my friend Fluttershy is really, really good with animals. She actually stopped him with belly-rubs if you can believe it. Turns out he’s actually a bit of a softy once you get to know him.”

Belle continued to stare, unsure if Twilight was pulling her leg. The unicorn went on, oblivious to the captain’s reaction. “Anyway, I used a large rubber ball to lead him back to Tartarus. Once I got him back to his post, I did a quick check of the roster to make sure none of the creatures had escaped, then I teleported back to Ponyville.”

Belle’s mouth dropped open. She had heard of some of the more talented unicorns teleporting before, but to cross such a distance.…

She shook her head, trying to focus on the pertinent issues. “So, then these creatures aren’t from Tartarus itself, since you checked the roster.”

Twilight hesitated, which wasn’t very encouraging to Belle. “Well, you see,” she said, sounding slightly flustered, scuffing a forehoof against the ground, “Tartarus is a rather large place and it’s not actually safe to go into it. So instead there’s a magical method of checking on how many creatures are inside, and the numbers corresponded with the roster. I double-checked with Princess Celestia later on and she agreed with the way I handled it, although she did say that she’d keep an eye out, just in case.”

And in the months since this happened there’s been no sign of an escaped creature?” asked Belle as she started moving again, Twilight falling back in step with her.

“None,” said Twilight.

“So where does that leave us?”

“Well, honestly,” said Twilight in a pensive voice, “I think we should focus on what we actually know. The possibility of one of the ancient monsters being here shouldn’t be completely ignored, but so far the evidence points pretty strongly to a drake and a manticore. Yes, or a lion, but lion’s aren’t exactly exotic creatures whereas manticores are. If the drake was meant to be part of an illegal shipment, then it would follow that the other creature would be something equally exotic.”

Belle nodded. The possibility of these being ancient evils, and not just your run-of-the-mill dangerous creatures had been more than a little daunting to her, and she had to admit that she had momentarily panicked at the thought.

“Alright then,” she said, “well I guess …”

She was cut off by the shrill sound of a whistle echoing among the buildings around them. That was a guard’s whistle! Some of her guards were in trouble!

Without a word of explanation, she began to gallop as fast as she could in the direction she gauged the sound to have come from. The spear attached to her barding, basically unnoticeable when she walked, suddenly became a major impediment as it wobbled with her motion, upsetting her balance. She didn’t slow down though.

Twilight was just a step behind her, obviously confused but understanding that something serious was going on.

The whistle blast came again, closer this time and off to their west. Somehow it sounded more urgent now. Belle adjusted her direction and poured on the speed, ignoring the unsettling start of a burning in her hip.

The sun had completely sunk below the horizon by this point. The street lamps had already been lit in this area of the town and the faint glows created pools of light in the sea of darkness around them. Belle glanced around, trying to figure out exactly where she was. They were about five blocks from the hospital, three from city hall she guessed.

They were mere yards away from a cross street when suddenly something large and fast dashed across their path from right to left, staying in the shadows. She had just enough time to notice a vaguely serpentine tail before the shape was gone. Belle skidded to a halt, Twilight almost bumping into her as she stopped as well. Belle stared after the shape which was just an indistinguishable mass of shadows as it somehow managed to always keep to the darkness, slipping around the pools of light. She had taken two steps to follow the creature when she hesitated, remembering the whistle that had brought them here. Her guards might be injured, dying somewhere. And yet, could she really just let the creature go?

She was saved the choice by the arrival of Sergeant Oak Root and Constable Shining Star, running in hot pursuit of the creature. They passed the two mares at a fast clip, their hooves thundering on the cobblestone street. Without hesitation Belle immediately took off after them, continuing the chase. Twice more Sergeant Oak blew his whistle as they ran.

The dark shape turned a corner with remarkable agility considering its speed, and briefly vanished from their vision. Just a few moments later the group of guards, trailed by one plucky but tired unicorn, were making the same turn. Constable Morning Dew appeared out of a back street and joined the group. A quick glance overhead revealed to Belle the form of Constable Snowflake flying low over them. Good, all of the patrol guards were here. This was their chance. If they could corner one of the creatures here and now, then with this many guards present they had a good chance at taking it down.

They reached the square in front of the hospital. It was roughly twice the width of the normal street and was completely lined with street lamps. Except now almost half of them had been knocked over, leaving a good portion of the open space cloaked in darkness. The group drew up short, having momentarily lost track of the creature.

Why would the drake come here? All of the previous fires had been on the docks; the hospital was in the center of the town and had nothing to connect it to either of the other… two…

A horrible thought overcame Belle. No, there was no way it was that smart. It couldn’t be. Even if somepony was directing it, this was too precise, too direct. The creature hadn’t tried to evade the guards, other than keeping to the shadows; it hadn’t fought; it hadn’t even made a sound, and it had come straight here.

Her eyes, so useful in the gloom, carefully scanned the area. She didn’t see the drake anywhere, but she had a feeling she knew where it was headed. “Twilight!” she hissed urgently. “Can drakes climb?”

“Um, I don’t know, it wasn’t mentioned,” Twilight said, breathing heavily from the unexpected sprint, “I suppose it’s possible.”

Belle cursed under her breath before turning to Snowflake. “Corporal, fly up and see if you can spot this thing on the other side of the hospital. I don’t want us taken by surprise.”

The pegasus launched herself up into the darkness. The other guards kept a sharp lookout, eyes straining to see into the gloom. Snowflake returned moments later. “It’s on the other side of the hospital, lurking along the ground. I didn’t get a good look at it though; it’s still keeping to the shadows.”

“Alright, listen up everypony,” Belle ordered in a low voice, “I think it’s here for the diamond dog. Whoever’s behind this must be worried that he saw something and will tell us. Hopefully it doesn’t know where its room is, but we don’t have much time. Shining, I want you to head inside and have the nurses move the diamond dog someplace safe, as quickly and quietly as possible. Snowflake, head back up, and keep an eye on it, don’t engage unless you see an opening once we attack. If it moves away, let us know immediately. Oak, take Morning around the south side and take up position at the back corner. Wait for my signal. Don’t engage it early unless you have to. Twilight and I will go around the north side. If we get a chance to take it down fast, we take it. No unnecessary risks, but I want this thing put down tonight. Any questions?”

Nopony said a word. Belle took the opportunity to check on her guards. Oak had a look of grim determination, and confidence, not a cocky or brash look, but confidence in himself and in Belle. Snowflake looked somewhat edgy, but had enough experience to keep it contained. Morning Dew and Shining Star looked nervous, although in different ways: Morning had a nervous excitement, he had been waiting forever for ‘some action’ as he called it; Shining looked like she might vomit, but she also had a look of determination that somehow mirrored Oak’s. Twilight looked mostly confused and like she wanted to ask a few questions, but she kept quiet, perhaps realizing the weight of the moment.

Belle hadn’t just been blustering back at the Guard House, she really did have the utmost faith in her guards and wouldn’t have anypony else by her side in a situation like this. She trusted these ponies, and although she worried for their safety, she knew that they were well trained and capable guards.

“Alright,” Belle said, “everypony be careful. It probably knows we’re here, but it doesn’t know what we’re capable of. Watch each other’s backs. Remember, this thing breathes fire and is surprisingly fast.” She raised a forehoof and kicked her spear into the battle ready position. “Let’s do this.”

Without another word, the group of ponies split apart, each moving to their assignment. Shining slipped into the hospital silently as Snowflake vanished into the night sky. For the first time in her memory, Belle was thankful for the decline in the town’s population because it meant that nopony was out at this hour, at least not this far from the docks. With Twilight staying close behind her, Belle moved around the large building to the north.

She paused just before the last corner, suddenly aware of the unicorn’s shivering. She turned and saw the look of nervous tension in the young mare’s face. Belle whispered, “Twilight, just stay out of sight. You’re not a guard. Let us handle this.” She turned back without waiting for a response and peeked around the corner.

The back of the hospital was a straight wall with small, elevated garden beds jutting out into the walkway. On the opposite side of the path, separating it and the street, was a long strip of grass which also sported multiple trees, providing rare natural shade in the otherwise artificial city. The gardens extended several yards out from the wall and were almost head height for a pony. This was especially important because it partially blocked Belle’s view. About halfway along the wall, she caught her first actual look at one of the creatures that had been causing such chaos in her city… Well, half a look.

About thirty yards away, the creature was ducked into one of the alcoves created by the gardens, with only a single hind leg and its tail visible. From what she could see, it stood taller than she expected, easily taller than any stallion she had ever seen. Its leg and what little of its haunch that she could see were surprisingly lean, not thick and heavy, like she had been expecting from the descriptions of drakes she had heard; that explained how it was so much faster than she anticipated. The tail was long and slender, and seemed to have some kind of spiky protrusions near the tip, although it was hard to say for sure because it was constantly in motion. Its front half wasn’t visible, despite its height, so Belle guessed that its head was stooped close to the ground, possibly sniffing for a scent of the diamond dog.

The drake’s position meant that none of the guards had a direct line of attack. This was a concern for Belle because it meant they would have to get closer before they could get a good angle. In truth, she had hoped that Morning Dew would be able to take it down with his magically fired arrows. He had never needed to use them in actual combat before, but he had shown remarkable accuracy in the practice yard and Belle trusted that he would just as effective when it counted.

Cursing under her breath, Belle slipped around the corner and ducked behind the first of the protrusions, hoping they would provide as much cover for her as they were for the drake. She noticed that Twilight didn’t follow her this time.

Good. Belle couldn’t waste the energy or focus on Twilight. Despite Belle’s initial misgivings, she had been useful today, and Belle genuinely felt that she liked the young mare. But she wasn’t a guard and this wasn’t her place. Firmly pushing the unicorn from her mind, Belle focused on the matter at hoof and slipped silently to the next hiding spot.

Peeking around, she saw that the creature was just over a dozen yards away now. She dared not go any further on her own. Slowly, she lowered her lips to the whistle attached to her barding to signal the attack.

Suddenly, there was an ear-splitting roar and light flooded the area, completely blinding Belle despite her tinted glasses. She blinked her eyes rapidly, trying desperately to clear her vision.  Realizing her sudden danger, she ducked as far into the corner of her small outcropping as she could, trying to make herself inconspicuous. It took her a second to realize what had happened.

The drake had unleashed a massive torrent of flame into the window just above it, the flames washing over the outside wall. The glass shattered under the intense heat and the vegetation around the creature burst into flame.

Even in her corner, bright lights kept flashing across her vision. She tried clenching her eyes tightly but the light kept coming. She almost screamed aloud as the pain lanced through her head.

Finally she managed to shake the worst of it off, and risked a glance. The flowers in several of the gardens had been incinerated, and at least three of the trees along the street were aflame. That must have been one massive fireball to have ignited the trees behind the creature. All of the grass flanking the street was ablaze, creating an almost solid wall of fire. The flickering flames were horribly distorting her vision.

She thought she saw the shape of the drake, backed away from the wall and come into full view, but the shape was indistinct and somehow seemed… off.

Suddenly, time seemed to slow to a crawl for Belle. The distorted image of the drake appeared to turn its large head to look at her, its bizarre outline wavering in the flickering firelight around it. For a split second, she could swear that it was looking directly at her. She heard a sharp intake of breath, even over the roar of the flames, and suddenly knew what was coming. Belle closed her eyes.

She thought of Lemon, of her promise to him that she would stay safe. It looked now like she was going to break that promise.

Even through the combined protection of her tinted glasses and closed eyelids, Belle could see the brilliant burst of light as a column of flame came exploding from the creature, directly towards her. She waited for the searing heat. For the pain. For the end.

It didn’t come.

After a second, Belle opened her eyes in confusion. Through the intense and disturbingly shifting light, she could just make out Twilight standing next to her, her own eyes closed in intense concentration, and her horn giving off a glow almost brighter than the fireball had been. Then Belle noticed the slight shimmering around her that indicated a magical shield. She quickly had to close her eyes as the penetrating light again seared through her head. Belle felt her knees, already trembling from the pain and overwhelming light, finally give out as she collapsed to the ground.


********************


It felt like an eternity before her head cleared enough for her to open her eyes. When she did, she found the flames around her had dwindled to smaller individual fires, already starting to go out as they finished ravenously consuming their fuel. The air felt incredibly dry and hot, almost burning her lungs with each breath. Twilight still stood next to her protectively. Her horn was still glowing softly, but the magical barrier was no longer in place. Instead, one by one she was enclosing the pockets of fire around them, depriving them of oxygen.

Constable Morning Dew stood not far away, several arrows levitating around him, poised and ready for attack. His head was constantly moving around as he kept a sharp lookout.

Belle coughed, the pain in her throat and lungs becoming much more noticeable as she regained awareness of her surroundings. “Constable,” she rasped, “report.”

Twilight turned towards Belle immediately and started to ask something, but Belle gave a weary wave of a hoof, silencing her. Morning looked uncertain for a moment, but he quickly threw a salute. “Yes, ma’am,” he said. “The drake blasted the room up there with fire before your signal. Sergeant Oak and I moved in, but a second blast of fire took us off guard before we even got a good sight of it. It wasn’t targeted at us, but by the time our vision cleared it had taken off at a run. Sergeant Oak ordered Corporal Snowflake to shadow it, to find out where it went, and ordered me to stand guard over you until you came to. He went inside the hospital to check on the damage.”

Belle nodded to the Corporal and coughed again as she processed this as best she could. Her head was still throbbing from the luminous overload and her fur felt like it had been singed, despite Twilight’s protection. She considered Oak’s decisions carefully before agreeing with them. The drake had escaped, but by sending Snowflake to follow it from above, they could hopefully discover its lair, or at the very least an entrance into the tunnels.

The last of the flames outside of the hospital were extinguished, plunging the area into a cool and welcoming darkness. The only light came from the hospital windows, including the recently made hole in the wall where a window had once been, and the moon the above. Belle tried to struggle to her hooves and was immediately assisted by Twilight, who bent low to give her some support. She rocked unsteadily at first, but soon regained her stability. The air was cooling rapidly and she greedily breathed in the refreshing air, soothing her overheated lungs.

“Alright,” she said, her voice already sounding clearer, “let’s go inside.”

As they made their way around the corner towards the front of the hospital, Constable Morning leading the way, still with his arrows at the ready, Belle leaned in close to the unicorn partially supporting her. “Thank you, Twilight,” she said in a low voice. “You saved my life.”

Twilight smiled at her. “Any time, Belle.”

Inside the hospital they found a scene of chaos. The foyer itself was empty, even of the receptionist pony. Down one of the hallways, however, Belle could hear raised voices and the obvious sounds of activity. As the group moved down the hall, they saw ahead several nurses arguing animatedly with each other, and with Sergeant Oak. They stood outside the room that had obviously been the one attacked by the drake; the normally pristine walls blackened and with peeling paint. A heavy smoke still filled the air of the corridor, although it seemed to be dissipating steadily. The stoic stallion broke away from the group of nurses when he saw Belle and trotted up to them. The frown on his normally tranquil face spoke volumes to Belle. Something was wrong.

“Sergeant,” she said cautiously. “What’s going on here?”

“It’s bad, ma’am,” he said. “Constable Shining got the warning to the nurses, but the minute they began to move the diamond dog the window exploded and fire filled the room. In his condition the poor bastard never stood a chance.”

Belle’s heart sank. She had failed again; even having guessed the creature’s intentions, she hadn’t been able to stop it. Additionally, if the diamond dog was gone, then so was their best lead in this case, and any chance of stopping the pony behind it quickly. Some captain she was.

She mentally slapped herself. This wasn’t the time for self-pity or recriminations. She was a leader, she needed to lead. Then she noticed that Oak’s frown had evolved into a pained grimace. “What else?” she asked.

“Well, two nurses received minor burns. But Constable Shining was next to the diamond dog’s bed when it happened.” Belle felt her heart sink. “It happened too fast for her to get her shield up in time. She was struck by much of the shattering glass, and she was badly burned.”

Belle heard a small gasp from the unicorn mare behind her. She forced her own voice to be steely, to hide the tremble. “How bad is it?”

Oak shook his mane. “I don’t know yet. The doctors rushed her to the emergency room immediately. So far, the best I can get is that she will live. Probably.”

“I see,” said Belle. Inside of her, a new wave of sickening guilt and self-recriminations washed through her. She savagely beat it back. This wasn’t the time or the place for a breakdown. “Is the fire contained inside?”

“Yes, ma’am. Completely extinguished.”

“And the other nurses have been seen to?” Belle hated any delay in checking on her constable, but she forced herself to remember her priorities.

“Yes, ma’am,” Oak said again. If he was surprised by Belle’s line of questioning he didn’t show it. “They are both expected to completely recover. They were near the back of the room at the time of the explosion.”

Belle swiftly sorted her priorities. The civilians were safe and in no more immediate danger; the drake was being followed by Corporal Snowflake, who would keep an eye on it and hopefully find its lair; the fires were all out, both inside and outside, and were no longer a threat. It was time to look after her own. She turned to face the ponies who had followed her inside. “Constable Morning,” she ordered, still carefully modulating her voice, “take statements from all the nurses. Then go outside and check the area outside this room. If that thing left anything behind, I want it found.”

Constable Morning Dew, who lacked Oak’s level of stoicism, was looking slightly stunned at what had happened, and was clearly concerned for his fellow constable’s well-being. He hesitated for a moment, his gaze flickering briefly past her, further down the hall, in the most likely direction of Shining Star. But, to his credit, the moment passed swiftly before he saluted. “Yes, ma’am.” His tone also had the sound of somepony who is carefully controlling their voice.

Belle’s expression softened slightly. “I’ll let you know the status of Constable Shining as soon as I know.”

He nodded, a bit of the stiffness leaving his posture before he nodded. “Thank you, ma’am.” Then he trotted past them to the group of nurses that Oak had left, a notepad and quill floating out of the saddlebags of his barding as he did so.

That settled, Belle trotted down the hallway towards the emergency room, Oak and Twilight falling in step behind her. Belle had only needed to visit this area of the hospital a few times in her life, but never because one of her guards was being treated there. The knowledge that she had sent Shining to this fate was eating at her. There was no way for her to know what would have happened, no way she could have foreseen this outcome. That meant nothing to Belle. Ignorance was no excuse; her orders, her fault. She silently accepted the pain of that responsibility.

Soon enough they reached the emergency room. There was a muffled sound of activity from just beyond the large swinging doors, but it didn’t sound frantic. Was that good, or bad?

A nurse sat behind a desk to the side of the hall, just out of reach of the door’s swinging radius. She rose from her seat as they approached, and Belle noticed that she favored her right foreleg because her left was covered in fresh bandages. Despite the injury, she seemed to be in fairly high spirits.

“Captain Belle,” she greeted in a cheerful voice, which seemed to clash with the seriousness of the situation. “The doctors are finishing up now, they should be out soon. I’m afraid I can’t let you in though, not while they’re working. You know how it is.” She gave them a sympathetic smile.

Belle nodded. While she had never needed to come to the emergency room for another pony, she did know the correct procedures. Her hind legs gave out and she plopped into a sitting position, her eyes closing almost automatically. She was bone-achingly weary. The adrenaline from before had long since worn off, and now that there was nothing to do but wait, the reality of what had happened just within the last half hour all came crashing into her.

She had nearly died tonight.

Death had always been a possibility in her line of work. Heck, it had said so right there in the contract when she had first signed up. Part of her job was to face down death and danger so that other ponies wouldn’t have to. But up until now, that had always been theoretical, something that could possibly happen, but honestly was so unlikely as to seem impossible. Up until now, Belle had never personally been involved in anything more dangerous than a bar-room brawl. Now she had faced death head on.

And it scared the crap out of her.

Sure, she had almost felt a resigned calm when she saw the fire rushing toward her, but in reality she simply hadn’t had time to feel the fear. Afterwards, there had been things to do immediately. She had risen from her blackout and immediately got to work. Perhaps she had been unconsciously rushing to focus on something else, to not give herself time to think about it. Now that she had the time, the memory came rushing back. The strange, wavering shape in the searing light, the sound of the intake of breath, the blinding burst of fire, the roar of the flames, all of it replaying vividly in her mind.

She suddenly realized that she was trembling where she sat, and was aware of dampness on her cheeks. She felt the firm, reassuring pressure of a pony pressed up against her. A quick glance to the side revealed Twilight sitting beside her, smiling sympathetically. She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t need to, and Belle was thankful for it. A glance to the other side revealed Sergeant Oak, still standing tall, his head held high, pointedly not looking at Belle. Not, she knew, because he was disgusted with her weakness, but out of respect for her. Sergeants shouldn’t see their captains cry.

“Thanks,” Belle said to Twilight in a low voice. “Thanks, I’m alright.” She lifted a forehoof to raise her tinted glasses enough so she could scrub at her eyes and remove the evidence of her momentary weakness. She was suddenly very glad for her glasses, they would hide the telltale redness from others.

Twilight didn’t answer, but instead threw a foreleg around Belle’s withers in a quick hug. She released her immediately, and then she backed off just a little so that she wasn’t touching the earth pony anymore. Belle took a deep breath, steadying her nerves. She needed to be strong now, she couldn’t fall apart, not until the job was finished. But once it was, she had a feeling she’d finally take Brine up on that offer of a drink.

Once her nerves had calmed down and her delayed panic had subsided, the analytical part of her brain kicked in, almost unconsciously. This had been her first real look at one of the creatures, the final confirmation that all of her guess work had been correct. She shifted through her memories, replaying every moment slowly in her mind.

She had never gotten a good view of the creature; it seemed uncannily able to keep to the shadows. The only time she had seen it in good light, she had only seen part of its rear half. So she focused on that.

Judging from the length of its hind leg, and the height of its haunch, the drake was easily taller than a full grown stallion. That surprised Belle somewhat; up to this point, she had been envisioning a drake as low to the ground. Large yes, but with short and sturdy legs, like the alligators she had seen in the Canterlot Zoo when she was just a young filly. Instead, the drake had lean, powerful legs. The legs of a sprinter. Its speed had caught Belle off-guard and she needed to keep it in consideration for the future. Something else was bothering her about its size though, nagging at the back of her mind but unable to fully manifest as an idea. She decided to let it simmer and moved on.

The drake’s tail had been long and slender, but not tapered like a normal lizard’s. Its tip had flared somewhat and had had at least two spikes on it, although the constant motion hadn’t afforded her a good look in the short amount of time she had had. Interestingly, and she could be wrong about this, but the constant motion seemed to indicate that the tail was not used for balance, except perhaps while it was running. Perhaps it could be used as a weapon? She couldn’t be sure but it was worth considering. Better to be over-prepared than under.

Then there was the fire. Belle had, of course, known about the creature’s incendiary breath, but she had vastly underestimated its potency. The fireball the creature had unleashed had engulfed the hospital room, the entire alcove the creature had been ducked into, and even the trees behind the creature. The fire had been so hot that, for a moment, Belle had had the impression that the cobble stones themselves were burning. And yet the drake itself was completely unscathed. Clearly it was fire-proof. That made sense, since it breathed the stuff, but at the same time it seemed completely unfair.

Belle had only seen the front half of the creature briefly, and she had been mostly blinded by the intense light of the fire at the time. She tried to remember specific features, but found that she couldn’t. All that appeared in her mind’s eye was the vague, hazy outline of the creature, distorted by the heat and intense light. Even the memory of that light was painful; Belle winced and flinched slightly, even as she kept her eyes closed.

Twilight must have noticed. “Everything alright, Belle?” she asked in a low voice.

Belle shook her mane slightly in frustration. “I can’t remember what the drake looked like, it was too bright. It’s all just blinding light and pain, the best I can say is that it was there. Did you get a good look at it?”

“Not really,” Twilight answered. “I stayed behind the corner like you said. I only looked out after the explosion. When I saw you there, you looked sort of dazed so I figured the light must have been a bit much for... for you.” She looked around surreptitiously, remembering that they were not alone, and that Belle’s condition was not common knowledge. “Anyway, I just sort of reacted, threw up a shield around us.” Belle reached over and gently nuzzled the young mare who had saved her life, showing her gratitude. Twilight gave her a chagrined smile, but it quickly faded as she continued. “I’m afraid I really didn’t get a good look at it, what with the flame and my shield, just a vague shape. I can say that it was definitely bigger than I expected. Did you see it properly?”

Belle shook her head. Twilight’s knowing expression confirmed that she understood why. “What about you, Sergeant Oak?” Belle asked, raising her voice above their original whispers. “Did you get a good look at the beast?”

The sergeant turned to look at her, his stance rigidly at attention, as was his norm when speaking to her. To an outside observer, he would have seemed the very model of calm and collected; but Belle had known the stallion for many years, and she could see the signs of a troubled soul. The slight furrow of his brow, the miniscule twitch of his ears, the hint of a downturn to his mouth, all added up to an upset sergeant. She couldn’t tell what exactly he was upset about though. Perhaps he was angry at her incompetence, or at the fact that the creature had escaped uncontested, or just that a fellow guard lay less than two dozen strides away, badly injured, and there was nothing he could do to help. Maybe a healthy combination of them all.

He cleared his throat. “No, ma’am,” he said in a polite, but somewhat curt tone. “It happened too fast, our eyes couldn’t adjust quickly enough with the fire. Best I could see was a big shape with a long tail.”

Belle hadn’t really expected anything more than that. “Thank you, Sergeant.”

Oak nodded before turning to face Twilight. “We were never officially introduced,” he said. “I am Sergeant Oak Root.”

“Um, I’m Twilight Sparkle,” the unicorn answered, somewhat taken aback by the sudden and unexpected return to decorum. “I’ve been sent by Princess Celestia to assist in your investigations.”

Oak didn’t react to that, but merely said, “Thank you, ma’am. Happy to have the help.” With that, he went back to his original position, watching the entrance to the emergency room.

Some ponies tended to think that Oak was a bit slow, that his stern mannerisms and straight-forward approach to things meant he was little more than a grunt, a soldier who only knew how to follow orders. Belle knew this to be wrong. One did not reach the rank of sergeant by being stupid. He was a smart pony, and any deficiencies he had around other ponies were purely social. She could tell that Oak was internally asking the same questions she herself had asked when the young mare had first shown up.

Twilight didn’t quite seem to know what to say, so she stayed silent, although she did cast Belle an inquisitive glance. Belle merely shrugged in response.

After a short pause, Oak turned back to face Belle again. “Captain,” he said in a low voice, “may I have a word?”

Surprised, and perhaps slightly apprehensive, Belle nodded and walked a little ways down the hall away from Twilight and the nurse. When they were far enough away, Belle stopped and looked expectantly at her sergeant.

“Permission to speak freely, ma’am?”

Uh oh, this wasn’t a good start. Belle forced herself not to swallow nervously. Instead she nodded. “Go on.”

“Belle,” he said, his voice unusually low and slightly concerned, “what happened to Constable Shining wasn’t your fault. I can tell you’ve been blaming yourself for it, but you could not have known what would happen. It was the right call to make. This time it didn’t work out, but you shouldn’t blame yourself for that. Shining is a guard, she knew the risks when she signed up. No matter what else happens today, we can’t have you shaken here. We need you to lead us. Focus on the future, not the past. It won’t do you any good.”

Belle stared at the imposing guard in front of her in surprise. It occurred to her then that perhaps Oak had misinterpreted her earlier collapse and shivers as guilt for her decisions, not as the physical reaction to her brush with death. It was true that she felt responsible for Shining’s current condition, but she had accepted that reality already. It might haunt her for a long time, especially if Shining was permanently injured or, Celestia forbid, died, but she knew that now wasn’t the time for it.

“Thank you, Oak,” she answered. It felt odd using his name without his rank, but it seemed appropriate. “You’re right, of course. I’ll fall apart when this is all over. I know I’ve been asking a lot from you and the others, but we have to stop these monsters, and whoever is behind them. To do that, I’m going to need you fresh, so once your shift ends I’m ordering you to get some rest. With any luck, Corporal Snowflake was able to find its hiding place, and I’m going to have her watch it until the morning, make sure nothing leaves again tonight. In the morning, we’re going in, take the fight to these creatures. And this time we’ll be ready for that damn drake.” Her voice had taken on a hard edge as she spoke, and the last sentence came out as almost a growl.

Oak studied her for a moment, although Belle couldn’t tell what he was looking for. Then he saluted crisply. “Yes, ma’am.” His voice was once again full of confidence and determination. Good.

They moved back to rejoin Twilight in front of the emergency room entrance. The unicorn gave her another inquisitive look, but didn’t pry. Belle used the time to formulate a plan. Her words to Oak had been more or less spur of the moment, but the more she thought about it, the better it sounded. Snowflake was an excellent flier, although not quite as agile as Keen, and she had sharp eyes, if not the best hearing. With any luck, she had been able to find where the creature had run off to; Belle was guessing an unsealed entrance to the tunnels beneath the town. As long as the creature didn’t venture out again this evening, then they should have enough time to be well rested. She had no intention of going in after it at night, especially after what had just happened, but in the morning, she would take her guards into the tunnels and hunt the monsters down.

She had not forgotten the manticore, but in her mind the drake was the real threat. Its fire-breath was impressive and devastating, and would be much more dangerous in the enclosed tunnels than a manticore’s claws and tail. She remembered the loud intake of breath that had preceded the inferno that had almost cooked her. If they were careful, then their unicorns could have their shields ready in plenty of time. She knew it was risky, but she also knew that it was necessary.

As happened so often, Belle lost track if time, so it might have been ten minutes, or an hour later that the large swinging doors were finally pushed open revealing a frazzled looking stallion unicorn with a caduceus cutie mark. He had a grave expression on his face, but he smiled faintly when he saw Belle and her companions. “Ah, Captain Belle,” he said, “good, you’re here.”

He waited until all of them were gathered around him before he spoke again. “Miss Star has suffered burns along much of her body, some of them quite serious. Luckily, her barding protected most of her from the actual fire, but the heat was momentarily intense enough to blister the skin beneath it. It’s a good thing she wasn’t wearing metal barding. I must say, if somepony had to be burned, the best place would have to be in a hospital. We were able to treat her quickly and, barring any unforeseen complications, she should recover from her burns just fine. With any luck she’ll only have a few minor scars to show for it when all is said and done. More serious, surprisingly, were the glass shards from the window. Again, the barding stopped the worst of it, but she received several minor lacerations to her neck and face, and one large piece actually stabbed her in the neck. It missed anything vital, but it was still deep, and when we removed it a small piece broke off inside of her. It’s taken a while, but we finally got all of it out and were able to patch her up.”

Belle sighed in relief. She knew that Shining must be in terrible pain, but at least she was alive.

The doctor continued, “She’s going to need to stay here for a few days. Healing magic is an amazing thing, but it’s not flawless so I want to ensure there are no further complications. Besides, this has certainly taken its toll on her, she needs to rest. No amount of magic can take away fatigue. It will be a couple of days at least.”

“May we see her?” asked Oak.

The unicorn stallion shook his head. “Not yet. She’s asleep right now. We’re keeping her in the emergency room for the time being, but barring anything unexpected happening, we should be able to transfer her to her own room around about ten tomorrow morning. The spell we cast will keep her unconscious until at least that time.” The doctor glanced around at each of them in turn. “I hesitate to say this, but she was in a bad way when we put her under with an anesthetic spell. When she wakes up, it would help if there were a familiar face around. Does she have any family?”

Belle shook her head. “From what she’s told me, she moved here a few years ago from Baltimare, soon after her mother died. She’s never talked about her father, I always got the impression it was a touchy subject.” Oak nodded in agreement.

The doctor took this in stride. “Well, she should at least have a friend here when the time comes.”

“She will,” Belle said emphatically.

The doctor nodded and trotted off, back through the emergency room doors. Belle turned to Sergeant Oak “Sergeant, I want you to go and find Corporal Keen, he’s to find and relay the orders to Corporal Snowflake. Stakeout the location and make sure nothing comes out. If it does, she’s to alert us at once.”

Belle paused for a moment as she considered her next move. How she wished she had a full staff of guards. The roster wasn’t even half what it used to be. Up until now it had never been a problem, but now they were all overworked. She needed her guards fresh for what was going to come tomorrow, but she couldn’t send them all home. There was too much to be done, and there was supposed to be a guard presence at all times. Having Snowflake stay out was bad enough, but strategically speaking, she would be the least useful in the confined space of the tunnels. She hated thinking like that, but this wasn’t the time for sentimentality, it was a time for pragmatism. “Then you, Keen, and Morning are to go and get some rest. We’re going to meet at the Guard House at 7 AM sharp. We’re going in after these monsters.”


********************


Less than an hour later, after relaying the orders, and an update on the condition of Shining, to Constable Morning, and expertly deflecting the questions of one Miss Curiosity of the Dock Daily News, Belle and Twilight trotted towards the front door of the Guard House.

It was late, very late. It felt like forever since Belle had said good-bye to her husband that morning, and she could feel it throughout her body; it ached like it never had before. Her legs still trembled slightly as she walked, the residual effects of her brush with death. And, less extreme but more urgent, were the complaints from her stomach; outside of two small tacos hours ago, she had only had a moderate breakfast to eat all day. There simply hadn’t been enough time.

When she opened the door, she was slapped in the face by the amazing aroma of a well-cooked meal. Em was sitting at a side table with a large plate of food in front of her. Sitting across from her, an equally large plate of food in front of him, sat none other than Lemon Sherbet. He jumped up when she entered and, with a mock expression of horror and a teasing twinkle in his eye, he exclaimed, “Belle! What are you doing here? This ain’t what it looks like!”

Belle smirked, she could always count on her husband to lift her spirits. “Oh?” she said, playing along. “You mean my husband isn’t having a quiet, secluded meal with my best friend behind my back and without my knowledge?”

Lemon paused for a moment, glancing back at the table, and at the large, embarrassed unicorn mare sitting at it. He turned back with a sly grin. “Oh, well in that case I guess it’s exactly what it looks like.”

Belle laughed; her voice still held the tints of strain and fatigue, but it was a genuine laugh and she felt much better for it. Her husband grinned and trotted up to her. He took note of her stance and expression in a heartbeat. He had always been able to read her so well, and now he knew something was wrong. He didn’t know the specifics yet, and he didn’t ask. He didn’t need to know to understand that she was hurting inside. He kissed her softly, and then enveloped her in a hug (carefully avoiding the spear still attached to her barding), holding her gently but securely; he was her rock, her anchor. She let herself go, just a little, sagging into his embrace, just relishing the feeling. She returned the hug, burying her face in his neck. For a moment it was just the two of them in the world and nothing else mattered.

The moment passed quickly, however, as they both knew it had to, and she broke the hug. For the second time that evening, she was thankful for her tinted glasses, and for the same reason. She cleared her throat and half turned, gesturing towards the unicorn mare behind her. “Um, Lemon, this is Twilight Sparkle, sent by Princess Celestia herself to help us catch the monsters. Twilight, this is my husband, Lemon Sherbet.”

Twilight gave a small bow. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” she said in a polite but pleasant tone. She then seemed somewhat surprised to have a forehoof being shaken firmly by the large stallion.

“Heh, I’m just a simple pony,” he chuckled. “I ain’t no ‘sir.’ So you’ve been helping my sweet Belle, have ya?”

Twilight blinked at the question, as though something he had said confused her. Then she humbly said, “I’ve been trying to.”

“She’s been very useful,” assured Belle. “She saved my life today.”

That caught Lemon’s attention. The usual genial expression on his face sobered dramatically. “Come and eat,” he said softly. “I brought enough for the whole Guard House. Tell me all about it.”

Belle felt her stomach rumble its approval to at least half of that plan. She moved to the table, eyeing the assortment of food: glazed carrots, mushrooms sautéed in butter, a fruit salad, crispy home-made hay fries, and even grilled pineapple sprinkled with cinnamon. Where had he even found a pineapple at this time of year? The analytical part of her brain wondered when he had found the time to make all of this while at work, and how much it had cost. The more practical side told the first side to shut up and enjoy the food.

So they ate while Belle caught Lemon (and Em, although she was so quiet and unassuming that it was easy to forget that she was there, despite her imposing stature) up on what had happened that day. Twilight would occasionally add something, particularly when talking about the drake, but mostly contented herself with eating, apparently enjoying it immensely. When Belle reached the most recent events, including her fiery brush with death and the injuries to Constable Shining, Em gasped and Lemon looked momentarily panicked. It was an odd look for his normally jovial face, and she hated causing him to worry, but she knew that he needed to know. That he deserved to know.

When she finally finished, the four ponies sat in relative silence for a short while, they only sound coming from the munching of Belle and Twilight as they vigorously finished their dinner. Finally, Lemon got up and trotted over to where Twilight was sitting, and he gingerly gave her a hug, a whispered, “Thank you,” just audible to Belle. Twilight looked equal parts stunned, confused, and embarrassed. Belle rolled her eyes. Lemon was a bit of a goof, but deep down he was quite the ‘touchy feely’ sort. Lemon released the hug quickly and backed away, grinning slightly, although the obvious fear and anxiety from having so nearly lost his wife made the smile seem rather brittle. Twilight, who had just taken a rather large bite of pineapple, finally swallowed and grinned sheepishly. “It was noth...” she began to say but stopped, realizing that it was definitely not ‘nothing.’ “I was happy to help.”

After that, they settled into a more comfortable silence as they finished the meal. After returning from thanking Twilight, Lemon had sat down next to Belle, pressing against her side, as though trying to reassure himself that she was still there. While he had returned to his usual goofy and happy self, every now and then, she felt a slight shiver run through him, followed by him pushing just a little harder against her. She always pushed back just as hard.

When they had cleaned their respective plates, Lemon produced a large white cake which, when it was cut into, turned out to be completely made of several types of ice cream. Twilight stared in amazement as Lemon cut her a piece. After she had tasted it, she said, “Lemon, this is amazing. How did you come up with it? And how does it keep cold for so long? We’ve been eating for a while, but it’s barely soft.”

Lemon beamed proudly. “The idea just came to me one day. As for keeping it cold for so long, it’s a spell I use in the creation process. Can’t tell you about it though, trade secret.” He winked at her.

Twilight eagerly took another bite. “I know a pony who would probably blow a gasket if she saw this. I might have to introduce you two when all this is over. She’s a great baker and party planner; I bet she would love to serve these ice cream cakes.”

Lemon chuckled. “Thanks.”

Once they had finished their dessert (Belle noted that there was still a good bit of food left over, true to Lemon’s word), Em finally spoke up. “So what’s the plan now, Belle?”

Belle sighed, the weariness she had been able to ignore, thanks to good food and good company, came rushing back. “Now,” she said, “we go on the offensive. With any luck, Corporal Snowflake will have found the entrance to this thing’s lair. Unless it comes out again tonight, we hunt it down in the morning, after everypony has had a chance to rest. Yes, Em, that includes you.”

Em looked surprised. “Me? But I haven’t done anything yet. Honestly, I feel rather useless just sitting here. I’ve only had to do three things today other than paperwork. I don’t need any more rest.” She drew herself up, which in her case was rather impressive. She seemed determined now. “In fact, I am going with you tomorrow. I’ve been resting on my flank for too long. It’s torture, sitting here while you and the others are out there, risking your lives. I can’t... no, I won’t do nothing anymore. You can use my help.”

Belle looked at her friend intently. Emerald Grass didn’t like to fight, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t know how to. Like all the guards, she put in her time training. She was strong, devastatingly so, if neither particularly fast nor agile. Her magic was quite potent, although it tended to focus primarily on defensive spells. Her shield was one of the strongest Belle had ever seen. Although tonight had proven that Twilight’s was at least as powerful. Em would definitely be useful in the enclosed tunnels. And yet she was so rarely in the field that Belle couldn’t help but worry for her friend.

She made her decision. “Very well, Em. You’re right, we could certainly use you. But I’ll need you fresh then, so go and get some rest. That’s an order. I’ll watch the House, at least until Sergeant Oak gets back.”

Em, who looked like she had been expecting an argument, took a second to collect herself. “What about you? You’ve been through a lot today, Belle, you need to sleep.”

Belle waved a forehoof dismissively. “I’ll rest, don’t you worry about it.”

“I’ll make sure of it,” Lemon added seriously.

Em nodded slowly, but still looked slightly apprehensive. She collected her things and, saying her good-byes, left the Guard House.

The three remaining ponies sat around the table in silence for a little while. Belle got the distinct impression that Twilight felt uncomfortable and out of place in the presence of the married couple. She fidgeted slightly and wouldn’t look at either of them directly. Finally, she got to her hooves again. “Well, I should get some sleep as well.”

“Where are you staying?” asked Lemon casually.

Twilight froze, staring at him. She grinned sheepishly. “Um, actually, now that you mention it. I have no idea.”

Belle brutally beat back the urge to facehoof. Lemon simply chuckled. “Well,” he said, “you’re welcome to stay with us tonight. Really the only other place is The Hole, and ‘tween you and me, that place ain’t exactly the nicest, or the safest if ya get my meaning.” He nodded sagely.

“I wouldn’t want to impose…” Twilight said hesitantly.

Lemon glanced at Belle, as though double checking his next words. She gave him an almost imperceptible nod. Twilight had proven herself to be a good friend and a good pony. Despite her initial misgivings, the young unicorn had really grown on her.

“Stay, Twilight,” Belle said sincerely, “you’re more than welcome. I intend to wait here until Sergeant Oak returns, and then I’m going to obey my own order and get some rest before tomorrow.” She stopped, looking at her forehooves as she suddenly realized the flaw in her plan. She couldn’t leave the Guard House unattended, and she had just sent home the only pony who could realistically stay to watch the House. And for that matter, who would watch it in the morning? The only viable option was Corporal Snowflake. She would have to tough it out for a little while, but at least she wouldn’t have to do anything too intensive after a long night. For the time being, however, there was only one recourse. She sighed, “Actually, I’m going to have to sleep in my office. I don’t anticipate anything to happen, but somepony needs to be in the Guard House at all times, and I don’t have any other guards who can do it.”

Lemon looked at her, understanding what had happened. “I’ll be staying too then,” he said at once.

Belle glanced at Twilight. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I wasn’t thinking before. All I have to offer you here are some simple cots. There’s a bathroom and a shower, though. If you would still like to stay, you’d be welcome. It’s up to you.”

Twilight smiled. “Of course I’ll stay with you both. Thank you very much for your hospitality.”

Belle returned the smile. At least the young mare wouldn’t be alone. Not that she didn’t think that Twilight could more than take care of herself, but Dock was a port town, and not all the ponies who passed through were of the highest caliber. Best to not take chances.

The moment was spoiled, however, when Lemon suddenly spoke up in the most ridiculous faux-seductive tone Belle had ever heard. “So ladies… Just the three of us, eh? All alone…” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as he smiled.

Twilight blushed but giggled, recognizing the joke for what it was. Belle laughed at her husband’s antics.

But she still slapped him.
> Chapter 8: The Hunt
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monsters

By Sharpe Quill

Chapter 8: The Hunt


Late that night, after she had finally finished her reports and seen off all of her guards, Belle sat in her office. Twilight had gone to freshen up, the faint sound of running water proving that she had finally overcome her initial embarrassment of using an open, communal shower. Belle smiled faintly as she remembered the young unicorn’s mouth hanging open, her cheeks darkening so much that even Belle could tell. Of course, Lemon had made another lewd joke and Belle would bet Twilight would have fainted in embarrassment if she hadn’t burst out laughing despite herself.

Lemon was sitting next to her, pressed against her side. Belle relished the contact, pressing back constantly. They simply sat there for a while, content in each other.  Too soon, however, Lemon pulled away gently. “Well,” he said, a slight tenseness to his voice, “you should probably get some sleep. You have a big day tomorrow.” His voice cracked at the last word and he looked away from her.

Belle sighed, not in exasperation but in sympathy. “Lemon, I... I have to go. I have to do this. These things need to be stopped before they do anything worse. Besides, it’s my job.”

The large stallion kissed his wife’s cheek. “I know, Belle. I know,” he said with a sigh. “I just wish there was another way; that you didn’t have to do this yourself.”

Belle frowned, although not in anger. “I won’t send my ponies to do something dangerous while staying back myself, safe and sound. It’s not right.”

“I know,” Lemon said again. “I understand. Really I do. But that doesn’t make it easier for me, or for you.”

Belle nuzzled her husband fondly. “This needs to be done. I promise that I will be as cautious and careful as I possibly can be. This time we’re ready for these monsters, and for what they can do. Our unicorns’ shields can keep back the drake’s fire, and the close areas of the tunnel should help reduce the threat of the manticore’s sting and claws. Yes, it’s dangerous, but we’re not going in with our eyes closed here. We’ll be ready, I promise.”

She sighed and closed her eyes, again resting her head against her husband’s shoulder. “Please, Lemon. I know you worry, but I need you behind me on this. I… I couldn’t do this without your help.”

Lemon laughed gently. “Oh, Belle.”

He didn’t need to say anything else, he simply rested his head on top of hers, reassuring her of his presence, of his support, of his love. No more words were needed.

They sat like that for several minutes, both looking up when the door opened to reveal a still somewhat damp Twilight walking in, floating a sopping towel behind her. “I have to admit, I had my doubts, but your showers are actually quite…” she froze when she saw the couple sitting on the floor. The magical light enveloping the towel winked out and the wet cloth dropped to the floor. She ducked her head. “Oh, I… I’m so sorry,” she stammered. “I’ll just, um, I’ll just go… over there now…”

The unicorn dashed out the door of the office. The couple looked at each other. Belle couldn’t suppress a snicker, and Lemon laughed loudly at the poor young mare’s embarrassment.

After calming the panicked and apologetic unicorn, Belle decided that she really did need some sleep. Lemon had brought several of the cots into her office, including one for Twilight. Although, for the sake of the poor mare’s nerves, Belle had Lemon place it on the opposite side of the large room as the couple she and he would be using (the cots were much too narrow to share). It struck Belle as odd that Twilight, protégé of Princess Celestia, who’s special talent was magic itself, was more than able to stare down a raging inferno without missing a beat, but stammered and tripped all over herself at Lemon’s teasing. It was an odd combination of adorable and scary.

Finally, while she could still just hear the murmuring conversation of Lemon and Twilight, Belle fell asleep.

She had troubling dreams, full of fire and the cries of children, two young fillies that she had failed to save. More than once, she woke with a start, but felt the closeness of her husband, unable to hold her but still as close as he possibly could be. Eventually her dreams ceased and she was able to rest properly.



********************


With still a half hour to spare before the official meeting time, Belle surveyed her guards, all present and ready. Oak looked his usual stoic self, his armor impeccable, and his weapons ready. He too wore a spear rig like Belle had the previous night (and was now wearing again), but he also had a short curved sword, not unlike Keen’s, strapped to his side. The pegasus was his normal calm and collected self. In truth he almost looked bored, but the occasional rustling of his wings gave away his tenseness. Constable Morning Dew had a grim and determined expression. The injury to Constable Shining seemed to have hit him especially hard, and he was channeling his anger properly; although Belle made a mental note to keep an eye on him. That kind of anger could be useful, or it could be self-destructive. Em looked nervous, but she was making a valiant effort to conceal it. She didn’t have a spear strapped to her barding; instead, like Morning, she had a quiver full of arrows at her side that rattled somewhat when she walked. She didn’t have Morning’s skill or speed with them, but she was more than capable.

Beside Belle stood Twilight, who looked surprisingly calm given the circumstances. Belle had offered her a spare set of barding, but she had politely declined, claiming that she would be unused to the bulk and weight, and now wore only her saddlebags, which seemed to be mostly full of books. In fact, she had a book levitating in front of her even now.

Belle decided that it was time. They were all here and ready, delaying would only increase the anxiety and tension. Better to act now. “Alright, ponies,” she said, slipping comfortably into her most authoritative voice, “it’s time. Remember your training, stay calm, stay focused. We all know what’s at stake. These monsters have killed three people in our town, a diamond dog and two fillies, and injured more. It ends today.”

She considered saying more but ultimately decided against it. They knew what was at stake, and they were ready. They all looked at her, confident and resolute. There was nothing more to say. She nodded. “Corporal Keen, lead the way.”

The group trotted out with Keen leading them, taking to the air once he was outside. Belle hesitated a moment before following. Lemon was still in the main room, off to the side, unobtrusively watching. Now that the other guards were gone, he hurried over to her. Without a word he kissed her, gently at first, but with increasing ferocity so that by the time he broke away just a few seconds later (although she would have sworn it was longer), her face was flushed and she found herself wanting to go back for more. Instead she nuzzled him gently. “Be careful,” he whispered. “I love you.”

She smiled. “I love you too. I’ll be careful. And I will be back.” She momentarily succumbed, and gave him a brief kiss of her own. “You can count on it.”

Then, with a wink which he probably didn’t catch from behind her glasses, she turned and trotted out the door herself, hoping that her blushes had faded enough to be indistinguishable. Either they were, or the others were simply being polite, since nopony commented. She took her place at the front of the group, just behind Keen, with Twilight and Em flanking her, and the two remaining stallions just behind them.

They didn’t speak as they walked, the clatter of arrows in quivers and the creak of armored barding testifying to the nature of their mission. In the back of her mind, Belle couldn’t help but imagine their little procession from an outsider’s perspective: the imposing weapons, the grim expressions, the purposeful strides. It must have been an impressive sight, and it reminded her of the adventure stories she used to read as a filly. All they needed now was some dramatic, slow music to accompany them. Alas, there was none to be had.

The practical side of her brain shoved the day-dreaming side away. She needed to focus now.

Keen led them through the town. The first rays of the sun streaming between the buildings of the town, casting the streets in alternating swathes of light and shadow. Nopony was about at this hour, although Belle knew that wouldn’t last long. To her surprise, Keen led them north, away from the river, and away from the warehouses that she had assumed would be the most likely entrance to the creature’s lair. He led them to the very edge of town. In fact, when he finally slowed, Belle could make out Eris’ house just a block away.

They finally halted in front of an old, abandoned house. It wasn’t overly large but had the look of a building that had once been a happy home. Now, the laughing flowers painted on the mailbox had transformed into dreary blobs, the fence’s paint was flaking away, and in the back yard a rusted slide was just visible. Another victim of Dock’s decline. It didn’t at all look like the entrance to a monster’s den.

Keen gave a low whistle, and a few moments later Corporal Snowflake flew gracefully out of a second floor window and landed in front of them. She saluted crisply, but Belle could see the slight sag to her shoulders and the droopiness in her eyes that betrayed her weariness. “Ma’am,” she said, addressing Belle, “nothing new to report. Last night the drake went straight to that building across the street. I just caught sight of its tail disappearing through those doors. There hasn’t been any activity since.”

Belle nodded. “Good work Corporal. Head back to the Guard House and stay at the desk. With any luck, we’ll be back to relieve you in no time.” Snowflake saluted again. As Belle turned to study the building the guard had indicated, the weary pegasus walked past them, making inquiries of Oak about the status of Constable Shining.

The building in question was not a home, or at least not only a home, but had rather once been a blacksmith’s forge and shop. The forge itself was located off to the side of the main building. Belle could just remember that on most days the large, double-doors that now concealed the work area would have been wide open for better ventilation, but this particular forge had been cold for months. As so often happened these days, Belle felt a pang of nostalgia pass through her at seeing a part of her town so far fallen from its heyday, but she quickly refocused. Upon closer inspection, even from across the street, Belle could see that the large doors were closed but not latched or locked. Interesting.

“What do you think?” Twilight said quietly from beside her as she also surveyed the long dead forge.

“I think there’s no reason to wait,” Belle responded, not bothering to keep her voice low. She turned to face the group, just catching sight of the departing Snowflake as she turned a corner. “Morning, Em, lead the way. Be ready with your shields at all times. Oak, just behind them, in case there are any nasty surprises behind the doors.”

The ponies moved off at once. Em and Morning crept up to the doors of the forge, moving as carefully and quietly as they could in their equipment. They took up position on both sides of the doors while Oak moved up to stand directly in front of them, just beyond their opening radius. He dropped into an aggressive stance, the lance at his side lowered and ready. Once the two unicorns were in position, Oak began to simulate stomping his hoof, although he never made contact with the ground. On the third stomp, his hoof struck the cobble stones with a loud crack. Immediately, magic flared through the two unicorn guards’ horns as they grasped the door latches and pulled.

The doors flew open, revealing the shadowy interior. The room had been stripped bare when the inhabitants had moved away, the only indication that the room had once been a forge was the large fire pit against the back wall and the permanent blackness that had been rubbed into the floor and walls from many years of use. There, beside the long-cold fire pit, where the coal to fuel the flames would have been piled, was a large, open trapdoor, much like Belle had seen in the burned cottage. There was no sign of the drake or the manticore.

Cautiously, the three guards entered the large area, the unicorns projecting light before them as they ensured there were no surprises waiting for them. A few moments later Oak stepped outside. “Clear!” he called out.

Belle, Twilight, and Keen moved in, Belle raising her tinted glasses as she passed into the gloomy interior. They all congregated close to the entrance of the tunnel. It was surprisingly large, larger than the one she had seen before, and yet the edges were damaged in several places, as though something slightly too large had squeezed through. Beyond the hole, after a short, steep set of stairs, the descending tunnel opened up dramatically.

“Alright,” Belle said, keeping her voice fairly low, “here’s the plan. Em and Morning will lead. Morning, have your arrows ready and provide the light. Em, I want you go have your shield ready to go at a moment’s notice. Oak and I will be right behind with our spears. Keen and Twilight, you bring up the rear. Keen, keep an ear out for anything that might somehow get behind us, but if we need you in the front, you’re to get up here as fast as possible. Twilight, you’re our rear shield. If there’s even a suspicion of fire from behind, throw it up. Take no chances. I’d rather have to pause for a few seconds over a false alarm than be char broiled. Everypony understand?”

In the gloom, Belle saw five ponies nod silently. “If we see one of the creatures ahead of us,” she continued, “the shields should be up at all times. Ideally, we can take both of them down with just arrows, but if we have to fight one up close, keep the shields as close as possible and we'll use our spears. Keen, you’re our ace-in-the-hole. If things get out of hoof, use your speed to do what you can. Nopony take any unnecessary chances, I want everypony to come out of this alive. Any questions?”

She was met with a resolute silence. She nodded her head solemnly. “Alright, let’s go.”

The two unicorn guards dropped into the hole carefully, light already streaming from Morning’s horn. Belle followed immediately after, her hooves thumping into the packed dirt of the tunnel. Almost immediately afterward she heard the thumps of three more ponies landing behind her.

The tunnel stretched out before her, going at a steady but shallow decline, twisting out of sight just a few paces away. Support beams were spaced regularly along the walls and ceiling. The six ponies quickly got into the appropriate formation and slowly began to make their way down the tunnel.

Within a few minutes, they had a problem. The path came to a crossroads, the tunnel continuing straight but also branching off in either direction. They halted, staring at the different paths in turn. “This could be a problem,” Oak said, keeping his voice low so that it wouldn’t echo and give their position away. “Which way do we go, Captain?”

Belle studied the branching tunnels. Despite the light from the unicorns’ horns, she had decided to keep her glasses raised so that she could have every advantage possible; besides, if necessary, replacing them over her eyes was as simple as a quick jerk of the head. The dirt of the left-hoof tunnel seemed looser, not as packed down, while the air of the forward tunnel smelled old and musty, especially compared to the right-hoof tunnel. Also, straight ahead the ground started to rise up, which Belle assumed meant that it led to an exit. She made her decision, and prayed to Celestia it was the right one.

“We go right,” she said, trying to sound confident. “Twilight, as we go past, can you mark the walls so that we can find our way back?”

Twilight looked up, the light fading from her horn, the faint glow of the newly etched symbol in the nearest support beam still visible pointing the way back to the entrance. “Oh, um,” she said, looking somewhat chagrined, “okay?”

Belle smiled and nodded, glad that she and her new unicorn friend were on the same page. “Alright,” she said, addressing everypony, “let’s move on.”

Without the sun or any clocks around, Belle quickly lost track of how long they walked. Occasionally they would come to another crossroads with two or three options to choose from. Belle always picked the tunnel that seemed the most used, or that led down, while Twilight would mark the path that they exited from.

It was weary walking. The constant threat of attack had them all on edge, and the lack of anything happening was beginning to get to them. Couple that with the bland and repetitive scenery, consisting of little more than dirt, stone, and wooden beams, and Belle could sense the mounting tension and frustration.

Finally, they came to a point where the tunnel opened out into a large room. They quickly spread out into it, checking to make sure it was empty. The room was full of long-broken crates, crumbling chairs, and it had a large rotting table in the center. It appeared to be some kind of meeting room. Two passageways exited the room in addition to the one they had just entered from. A quick investigation revealed that one passage led into a second chamber full of decaying cots; some kind of sleeping quarters. The second exit was another tunnel like the one they had just left, going a few dozen paces before turning sharply to the right.

Belle decided to have a rest. “Alright everypony,” she said in a voice just above a whisper, “take five. Keep quiet for the time being, though, and keep an ear out for anything odd.”

The ponies all sat down on the floor, each one deciding not to risk the decrepit seats, relaxing visibly. Belle sat together with Oak and Twilight, who were in front of one of the walls, staring at a large faded piece of fabric, like a curtain, sporting numerous tears and holes.

“What is that?” she asked.

“I think it’s a map,” said Twilight slowly. “Or at least it used to be. A map of these tunnels.”

Belle stared at the fabric. With her vision, she couldn’t make out much, maybe the occasional darker smudge hidden underneath many years’ worth of dust. “Could it be of any use?”

Twilight shook her head. “Very little. It’s too far gone. I can only make out sections here and there. Although I think I can see several other large rooms like this one, but the direct paths to them have faded. Wow, it looks like not only are there multiple levels to these tunnels, but they all seem run the entire length of the town.”

“These tunnels are enormous,” Sergeant Oak said gruffly. “Ma’am, I don’t like this, we have no idea where we’re going, and every branching tunnel is another opportunity for one of those creatures to attack us from behind.”

Belle nodded. “I agree, Sergeant. But what choice do we have?”

“We could flood the tunnels. Divert part of the river into them and flush the damn beasts out.”

“Not a good idea,” Twilight interjected, not looking away from the tattered map. “These tunnels are obviously well made, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be damaged. If parts of these tunnels collapse, it could be catastrophic. Think about what’s above us.”

Belle’s imagination showed her destroyed buildings and dead ponies. She shook her head to quickly clear the image. “But I saw part of a tunnel collapse already,” she said, remembering the blocked tunnel underneath the burned cottage.

“It was on the outskirts of town though,” countered Twilight, “and on the far edge of the tunnel network. Far enough away to not do any damage, or start a chain reaction throughout the rest of the tunnels.”

They all fell silent after this, the only sound in the dark room the breathing of six ponies, which in the crypt-like silence of the tunnel sounded loud and heavy. At last Belle spoke. “We keep going. We have to see this through to the end. If there are other large rooms like this down here, it stands to reason that the creatures are using one of them like a den. They have to sleep sometime.”

“I can make out at least three rooms on what’s left of this map, but it’s possible that there are more and they’ve just faded from it,” said Twilight.

Suddenly Keen spoke up. “Are any of them along the edge of the tunnel network? Possibly along the river?”

Belle was surprised to hear the normally taciturn pegasus speak of his own accord. Twilight, who didn’t know him well enough to understand how rare it was, simply studied the map for a moment. “Um, yes, actually. If I’m reading this correctly, there’s a large chamber to the south. It looks like it has two tunnels leading to it, but one of them is very short; and it’s not just faded away, it clearly ends. Why?”

Keen shrugged. “Just figured a predator’s a predator. If they have a den, they’d want one that’s out of the way but fairly easily accessible, and so far, most of the attacks have been along the river.”

“It’s better than wandering aimlessly until we stumble upon it,” added Belle. “Twilight, can you read enough of the map to get us to that chamber?”

Twilight shook her head sadly. “Not without knowing which chamber we’re in at the moment. I would guess it’d be that one to the north up there.” She indicated with a hoof, but Belle couldn’t make out the area she was pointing to. “Besides, too many of the actual paths have faded away.”

“Well can it at least give us a clue?” interjected Morning.

“If we can head in a generally southern direction I’m sure we’ll reach it,” Twilight said, unfazed by the constable’s interruption. “But I’m afraid I have no idea which direction is which down here. I’m all mixed up without a point of reference.”

“Oh, that’s easy,” said Keen in a bored voice. “South’s that way.” He indicated with a wing towards the tunnel they had not come in from.

All of the other ponies stared at him in astonishment. He looked around at them. “What?” he asked, somewhat defensively. “I’m good at keeping my bearings.”

Twilight looked fascinated. “Really? That’s amazing. Is it an innate sense or are you able to keep track of the different turns in relation to your previous positions?”

Keen took a half step back. “Um, I don’t know?”

The inquisitive mare frowned, deflating somewhat. “Ah. Well, perhaps later on I could ask you a few questions about it. I’d love to study it. I’ve heard of other pegasi being able to innately know their heading while they fly, but I never suspected it would work even underground.”

The bewildered pegasus gave her a confused glance but shrugged with a noncommittal, “We’ll see.”

Belle cleared her throat to get the excited unicorn’s attention. Once she had it, she said, “Alright, let’s focus. We’ll make for that Southern chamber. In the meantime, the plan hasn’t changed. Keep to your assignments and don’t let your guard down for an instant. Is everypony clear?”

There was a general round of nods and a muttered, “Yes, ma’am.”

They moved on, returning to the same formation. Moving along the tunnel at the same careful pace as before, they made slow but steady progress. Or at least, Belle assumed they were making progress, since the tunnel itself didn’t change much. When they reached the first crossroads after the chamber, Belle consulted Keen and took the passage leading south.

Belle couldn’t believe how large the tunnel network was. They must have been walking for at least two hours by now, and it took less than that to casually walk the length of the town. She couldn’t imagine what it must have been like when they were actually being put to use. She imagined dozens of ponies transporting carts of smuggled goods through these tunnels, navigating the odd labyrinth with the casual ease that she herself had on patrol; they must have had unicorns, or at least cart lanterns to light the way since the supports had no torch brackets. The meandering maze must have been built to confuse authorities who came investigating, giving the smugglers time to evacuate. She could think of no other reason to make it so confusing and twisted.

The more she thought about the ponies who had built and used these tunnels, the more annoyed she became with them. Not only had they been running grossly illegal operations right under her predecessors’ noses (and possibly her own nose, depending on when they had fallen out of use), but they had done so in quite possibly the most annoying way imaginable. What kind of egomaniac built something this ridiculous? Would a straight tunnel be too simple? And now, those ponies’ greed had provided a haven for at least one, and most likely two, dangerous monsters that had been wreaking havoc on her town.

Her musings were cut short when Em suddenly stopped and raised a hoof, her shield manifesting in front of them instantly. They all froze, tensing as they stared ahead into the gloom. Em’s shield forced them to look through a hazy curtain, but they could still see enough by the light of Morning’s horn. Nopony moved a muscle, ears straining for any sound.

After several intense moments, a soft skittering sound could just barely be heard, getting steadily louder until at length something appeared out of the gloom. Several rats came scampering along the wall of the tunnel, racing along, heedless of the ponies in the middle of the path. An arrow from the nervous unicorn constable struck the floor just in front of one of the rats. It jumped back momentarily but didn’t stop, racing ahead behind its companions. Em let the shield drop, allowing the rodents to run past the six ponies.

They had been the first animals that the ponies had seen in the tunnels. That hadn’t occurred to Belle before now, but after seeing the rats, the fact surprised her. They hadn’t even seen any insects or spiders. For some reason, that thought made her shiver.

“Is it just me,” asked Morning in a low voice, “or was that kind of weird?”

“It almost looked like they were running away from something,” Twilight commented, still looking back down the tunnel in the direction the rats had run to.

“I think we’re getting close,” Oak said ominously.

There was a nervous silence for a few moments. “Be ready,” Belle said at last, “let’s go.”

They moved off again, slower now, every movement tense and ready.

They rounded a bend and everypony froze. “Cut the light!” hissed Belle. Instantly the light from Morning’s horn winked out, plunging the six hunters into darkness. But not complete darkness. There, a few dozen strides ahead of them, down an unusually straight passage, and around a final corner, streamed a faint light. They had found something at last.

“Let’s get closer,” Belle whispered. “Em, Keen, and Morning, hang a bit back and watch our backs. Nopony attacks until I give the signal. The closer we can get without it noticing us, the better.”

The group moved forward, Belle leading the way this time, simply because she had the best eyesight for the task; but Twilight was close behind her, ready to throw up a shield at a moment’s notice. They hardly dared to breathe as they slowly approached the corner. Less than three strides from the turn, Belle drew up short, causing the others to stop as well. She could just make out the last thing she ever expected to hear in a monster’s den: a voice.

It was probably a foolish decision, but Belle couldn’t pass up the opportunity to listen in, hoping to finally get some answers. Waving a hoof to keep the others back, Belle crept closer. As she came to the edge of the wall, she almost gagged. A nauseating smell was emanating from the passage ahead, a disgusting mixture of rotted wood, spoiled meat, and... a barn? Whatever it was, it was foul. Doing her best to ignore the smell, Belle leaned forward as far as she dared and listened intently, ears perked.

It was definitely a voice. A deep voice, unlike any she had ever heard before. It sounded agitated, perhaps annoyed, but it was too faint to clearly make out. She needed to hear this. Throwing caution to the wind, Belle peeked around the corner quickly, drawing back immediately, in case something was there. In the brief look she had gotten, she had seen a short, empty passage that ended abruptly about twenty strides away. But at the end of the passage was a sharply angled ladder leading to a large trap door, similar in size to a barn cellar door. It was open and light was pouring out of it, creating a large, rectangular spotlight on the floor of the tunnel beneath. In truth, she got the feeling that it was fairly weak light, but in the absolute darkness it seemed as bright as any spotlight.

Belle looked again, slower this time, assuring herself that it really was empty, before slipping silently around the corner, staying close to wall. She carefully began to creep along the passage, getting closer and closer to the trapdoor. Behind her, she could hear whispered orders being given by Oak. A quick glance behind showed her that all but Twilight were hanging back for the moment. The young unicorn, however, was right behind her.

About halfway down the passage, the voice became clear enough to understand. Belle stopped, listening intently. Twilight followed suit, ears visibly tensing, trying to catch as much as possible.

“-n’t care what your stomach says!” the deep, unfamiliar voice was saying. “I draw the line at that... that filth.”

The voice was unusual, it had a rumbling cadence to it. It was like she could feel the voice as well as hear it. It spoke perfect Equestrian with an educated, refined tone. But there was an underlying harshness to it that scared Belle.

There was a few seconds of silence, then the deep voice returned with a heavy sigh. “I grow weary of waiting and skulking in these loathsome tunnels.”

Again there was silence, Belle strained her ears. This sounded like a conversation, but where was the other pony? Who else was talking and why couldn’t she hear them?

“Bah, I am beyond caring what the luminous nag can see during her rule. I yearn to be free of this place, to return to our glorious purpose.”

A pause. “Yes, the other’s ineptitude during her rule has granted us leeway, but the night is not enough. And even then, she keeps us on a short leash. How dare...”

Silence. Then a low, horrible growl that made the fur on the back of Belle’s neck stand on end. “I know, I know. We will go along with her. For now. But I do not fear the sun monarch’s power as she does.”

Again silence. When the voice returned, it had gained a hard edge, making the already other-worldly voice seem downright monstrous. “That was long ago. She has grown soft through the centuries. Her powers have diminished, diffused to others. She is not the threat she once was.”

Another pause. “I do not share the mistress’ fears. When we have fulfilled our obligation, we shall not cower in secret, we shall...”

The voice cut out, as though the other, unheard voice had interrupted it. When the voice returned, it was filled with a cold anger. “How dare you speak to me in such a way! Were things different I would destroy you where you lie!” There was a sound almost like a muffled explosion, perhaps a loud snort? It was followed by a heavy, rumbling sigh. “Very well, I suppose you are correct. And it is not as though I have much choice. Bah! I strain at these restrictions, the sooner we are free of them the happier I shall be.”

The voice fell silent again, and this time it did not return. Belle shared a glance with Twilight. To the captain’s surprise, the young unicorn looked quite shaken. Belle signaled for them to fall back and quickly sidled back along the wall to where the others waited. Twilight followed on trembling legs. Once they had all regrouped around the corner, far enough away that their voices wouldn’t be heard, Belle described to the others the unusual half-conversation that she had overheard.

“What do you make of it?” asked Oak when she had finished.

Belle shook her head. “I have no idea. I mean, who was talking? I certainly didn’t recognize the voice. Who is this ‘mistress’ he was talking about? And what is his ‘obligation?’“

Nopony seemed to have an answer. Belle glanced at Twilight again, who still looked shaky, and now looked troubled and anxious. “Twilight,” Belle asked softly, “did that... conversation mean anything to you?”

Twilight didn’t speak for a moment. Instead she chewed nervously on her lower lip while not looking at anypony in particular. “Twilight?” Belle prodded.

Finally the troubled unicorn looked up, meeting Belle’s eyes. “Um, I’m not sure. But I think... I think that was the voice of a dragon.”

What?

Nopony moved. Nopony made a sound. The stunned ponies hardly dared to breathe.

“A dragon!?” hissed Belle finally. “A dragon! You said the tracks definitely didn’t belong to a dragon!”

“They didn’t. Er, they don’t,” Twilight whispered hurriedly. “But I’ve heard a grown dragon speak before, and that voice back there sounded just like one.”

Belle’s head wheeled at the possibility. The other guards looked as shocked as she felt. Even Keen’s normally bored visage bore an expression of unease. This was suddenly looking like it was way too big for them. “Wait, wait,” she said in a low voice, trying to push her sudden panic aside and use her reason. “That can’t be right. There’s no way an adult dragon could fit down here. These tunnels are surprisingly large, I will admit, but nowhere near large enough to contain something that big.”

Twilight nodded but didn’t seem convinced.

“Perhaps it’s a young dragon,” suggested Em, trying to be even quieter than she normally was. To her credit, she was mostly successful, meaning that she was only slightly louder than everypony else. “Perhaps it’s still growing.”

“Perhaps...” conceded Twilight, although she didn’t sound like she believed it. She sounded troubled, and... contemplative?

“The question is,” said Oak, looking directly at Belle, the momentary panic from the proclamation having been replaced yet again with grim determination and confidence. “What do we do now?”

What should they do? Realistically, what could they do against a dragon, even a younger one? This changed things. There was little chance of this small group living through a fight with a dragon, let alone winning. If they continued on, she could be sentencing her guards, her friends to death. But what was the alternative? They couldn’t let this thing run rampant any longer.

Hold on. She was thinking about this all wrong. What had Twilight said? She wasn’t sure that it was a dragon’s voice; merely that it sounded like one. She needed to calm down and not jump to conclusions. She needed to think this through. Up to this point, they had been working under the assumption that they were dealing with a drake, and a manticore. All of the evidence had backed up her guesses. Heck, she had at least gotten a partial look at the drake just last night. It had been big, sure, bigger than a pony; but it hadn’t been as big as a dragon.

This couldn’t be a dragon. There was simply no evidence outside of a shaky feeling from Twilight that this was anything other than a drake. But then who had been speaking back there? And who had been the silent responder? It seemed like every time she found an answer it just led to a half dozen more. She needed answers. Now.

“Twilight,” she whispered, “is it possible that drakes can talk, that that’s what we heard back there? I mean, they’re like smaller, flightless dragons anyway.”

Twilight considered the question for a long moment before responding. “Well... I suppose it is possible. There was no mention of it in my research; although to be fair it never said they couldn’t either. It did say they were definitely considered less intelligent than dragons. I’m sorry, Belle. I just don’t know for certain.”

Belle accepted this with a nod. She made her decision.



********************



The trapdoor was too narrow to allow more than two ponies through at a time. Belle worried about this until a quick glance through the doorway revealed that the chamber above was just an empty room, the only thing of interest was a doorway leading into a much larger room, like a hall, with the light streaming through the open door. There was no sign of the drake or the manticore; or, thankfully, a dragon.

Em and Morning went first, their shields ready to go at the first sign of danger. They climbed the steps as silently as they could, but Belle winced at every muffled thump of a hoof. Once they were sure it was safe, Morning waved the rest up. Belle took position with Em and Twilight on one side of the doorway into the next room while Keen, Oak, and Morning all huddled on the opposite side, waiting.

Belle peeked slowly around the door frame, scanning the adjacent room as quickly as she could before ducking back again. The room was large, much larger than Belle had expected. It almost looked like a warehouse. It looked to be about a hundred and fifty strides long, about half that wide. She could make out the vague shapes of several lanterns, unlit, hanging from the ceiling. Only two were lit, the two hanging on either side of the doorway on the opposite side of the room. The remains of crumbling crates littered the room, with piles of old and rotting wood crammed along the walls, forming several mountains of debris interspersed randomly throughout the room. There were multiple spots closer to the center of the room where the ancient wood had been smashed to pieces, not just rotted away; evidence of something large passing through. At the far end of the room, between and beyond the two lanterns, she could make out a patch of blackness that even she couldn’t see through, another doorway to another room. Other than the smashed boxes, there was still no sign of the drake or the manticore, or any evidence of a pony having been present recently.

Where were the monsters? This was seriously starting to get to Belle. She guessed that they were in that room at the far end of the hall. That posed a problem. In order to get there they would have to traverse the debris littered floor, in the open, in plain view. Unless the creature was asleep, it seemed unlikely that they could make it without being spotted.

Belle turned to Twilight and put her mouth close to the unicorn’s ear. “Too open,” she breathed. “We’d be seen. Can’t see any monsters. Suggestions?” She drew back, waiting for an answer.

The young mare pondered this for a moment. She even slipped around Belle to get a quick peak at the hall herself. Across the doorway, Morning looked confused, but both Oak and Keen were waiting patiently.

Finally, Twilight leaned in to whisper back in Belle’s ear. “I think we have to risk it. I could teleport us across, but it makes some noise and there’s always a bright flash of light. If we extinguish the lights, that would be a dead giveaway that something is up. Our best advantage is surprise. It’s not expecting us, so as long as we’re quiet, we should be able to get across the hall without it noticing. If it’s looking directly at us, then there’s nothing for it.”

Belle nodded. It was unfortunate, but she had to agree with the unicorn’s assessment. She looked across the doorway and met Oak’s gaze. She nodded to him and then gave a small jerk of her head in the direction of the adjacent room. Oak nodded his understanding and turned to whisper to Morning. Once the plan had been successfully relayed, Belle mimicked stomping her hoof three times, and on the third pseudo-stomp, Em and Morning ducked around and entered the room. Their horns weren’t glowing, but there was a tenseness about them that bespoke their readiness to cast a shield. Oak and Belle ducked in after them with Twilight and Keen following just behind. 

Slowly and carefully, they made their way across the hall. The fact that there had not been an uproar as soon as they entered boded well for them. If one of the creatures was watching from the next room, then it would have spotted them by now and reacted. They picked their way through the detritus strewn about the floor, each hoof cautiously placed on the hard earth, constantly wary of wooden shards that might make a noise. It took longer than Belle would have liked, but soon enough they were almost to the door. 

Things didn't go wrong until they were about a dozen strides away from the doorway. Suddenly a loud rustling sound came from the darkness between the small lanterns. They all froze in place, tense and waiting for something to happen. Belle cursed inwardly. Then a voice filled the enclosed hall, booming and echoing off the walls and ceiling. It was the same voice that Belle had heard before, but infinitely scarier because now it was larger than life, full of a malicious humor, and, worst of all, directed at them. "Well, well," the voice said with a horrible chuckle. "What's this? Six morsels coming to us, of their own free will? How wonderful."

Nopony moved, nopony said a word in response. Then, in the darkness between the two lanterns, a large, vague shape lumbered forward. Stopping just inside the doorframe, still mostly obscured in shadows, was something that only moderately resembled a lion. Where it was standing, Belle could see the distinctive feline shape to the creature's head, but it was off. Its ears were slightly larger than they should be, broad but tapering suddenly at the tip. Its mane was large but somewhat streamlined, not puffing out but lying flat. Its snout was slightly longer than she had expected, with vicious fangs that would have been visible even with its mouth closed. As it was, that horrible mouth was open in a surprisingly quiet snarl, its hackles raised and its beady eyes smoldering with rage. It was also enormous. If the head was any indication, then it would stand significantly taller than even Em. Only one of its forelegs was visible in the gloom, placed forward as though it were preparing to sprint. Oddly, it looked surprisingly lean, considering its size. Belle had only seen pictures of manticores, but they always seemed to have rather heavy legs and large paws. Like the tail end of the drake that she had seen before, this monster looked like it was built more for speed and endurance than for raw strength. Only the very front of the manticore was visible, and even that was just barely distinguishable in the darkness. Behind it, Belle could see little to nothing of the creature's body, creating a rather unsettling image.

Belle took this all in within a few seconds. She expected the monster to charge them, to attack, to do something. Instead it remained there, snarling. The voice rang out again. "Hmm, soldier ponies. How quaint. Come my little ponies, we have not enjoyed a good fight in over a millennium. We'll try not to end it too quickly." It gave a low laugh again that made Belle's blood run cold. 

Belle wasn't about to let that happen. She reached forward and tapped Em and Morning on the flanks, hard enough to be felt through their barding. Instantly, both their horns lit up casting new shadows in the room and throwing the manticore's face in sharp relief for a moment. During that moment, Belle thought she could see and odd lump along its back; its folded wings most likely. Five arrows flew through the doorway, magically launched with more force than any natural bow could have provided. They slammed into the manticore. One grazed its cheek before lodging in its mane; one pierced its foreleg, sinking to the fletching into its elbow joint; one struck its forehead but at a slight angle, causing it to ricochet off of its skull, leaving a vicious gash all the way to the bone; one struck the side of its muzzle, twisting with its momentum and left sticking out to the side like a grotesque whisker. The fifth arrow, launched with Morning's deadly accuracy, tore through the beast's left eye, punching clear through its brain. The beast roared in pain, staggering to the side before collapsing to the ground.

The cruel laughter was cut short by the deadly barrage, replaced by the cheering of five ponies (Oak didn't cheer, although he did allow a slight smile to grace his muzzle). Belle couldn't help herself. "Surrender," she proclaimed loudly. "Or join this thing's fate. I'll only give you this one chance."

Suddenly, a small sound made her freeze. It was the sound of an arrow clattering on the ground. "Give me some light!" she cried out.

Three horns ignited in magical energy, forming three beams of light that quickly centered on the fallen manticore. It had stumbled to the side so much that from their angle, only its bloody head was visible in the doorframe. Slowly, the arrow through its eye was being pushed out. The gash in its head was closed and the arrow through its muzzle had already been evicted, its clatter having alerted the ponies that something was terribly wrong. Even as the stunned ponies watched in horrified disbelief, the arrow slipped out of its skull and dropped to the ground, a horrible eye starting to reform in the gaping socket. Blood still covered its face like the mask of a nightmare, but no wounds were visible any longer.

Belle suddenly realized that the cruel laughter had returned. It stopped as the manticore stirred and started to rise. "Oh, you foolish foal," the voice mocked. "I have shared its fate for two thousand years!" It was cut off by an odd noise that Belle couldn't recognize, a long, reverberating, almost bleating sound. "Yes, yes," the voice said, sounding annoyed, "As have you. But enough of this. Come, ponies. Face your end." Its horrible laughter echoed all around them again.

From beside her, Belle could hear Twilight's voice whispering over and over, "No, no, no, no, no..."

Belle felt her stomach drop as the fear seized her in turn. What could they do against this thing? They couldn't fight something that wouldn't die.

They were all going to die down here.

...

...

...

Fuck. That.

"Twilight!" Belle exclaimed as the two unicorn guards shifted their spells from lights to shields. The young mare in question still looked stunned. Belle smacked her. "Twilight! You said before you could teleport all of us. Can you get us out of here?"

The poor mare, she shouldn't be here. She wasn't a guard, she hadn't been trained for this. It didn't matter, they needed her now. Belle needed her now. She blinked. "Wha... um, yes. It's dangerous but..."

"Do it!" Belle yelled. The manticore had risen back to its feet. It turned its murderous gaze on them.

"But..." Twilight began to protest. The creature drew itself up, inhaling deeply.

Wait. It looked like it was going to…

"Do it now!"

The leonine beast thrust its head forward, its maw wide open, a horribly familiar brightness beginning to burst forth, visible even through the shield.

Belle didn't close her eyes this time. She glared defiantly in the face of death. She didn't blink.

The world exploded.
> Chapter 9: History
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monsters

By Sharpe Quill

Chapter 9: History



For several moments, Belle wasn't entirely sure what had happened. She didn't feel dead; although, in retrospect, she had no real way of knowing what that felt like. All around her was nothing but darkness.

Then, everything exploded.

Again.

Huh. Apparently it was possible to explode twice...

When her vision cleared, Belle found herself standing in the main room of the Guard House, staring at a very surprised looking Corporal Snowflake, whose head had jerked up from its place on the desk, leaving behind a small puddle of drool as the only evidence of her sleeping.

Belle took a moment to take stock of herself. Her fur felt like she had been standing in front of an economy-sized blow drier for an hour. She could smell singed fur and, looking down, saw several darkened spots on her uncovered forelegs. The spots were smoking slightly. She also felt rather dizzy and plopped onto her haunches.

She looked around to make sure everypony else was alright. Oak and Keen both still stood as they had in the tunnel, poised and defiant in the face of death. They both had singe marks across their fur and barding. A glowing ember was fading from the tip of Keen's mane. They slowly relaxed, looking around them in some confusion. Em and Morning had stumbled and dropped to their haunches when they had reappeared, also with burned spots in their fur and on their armor. Em shivered slightly. Both soon began to get back to their hooves somewhat unsteadily. They were all alive and relatively unharmed.

All, that is, except for one. In the middle of their group, smoke rising from her fur, lay the young unicorn who had saved them all. She wasn't moving.

"Twilight!" Belle exclaimed, and immediately moved to kneel beside her, nuzzling her gently but insistently. Twilight didn't respond. "Call for a doctor!" Belle snapped. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Snowflake dash out of the door.

"Come on, Twilight," Belle said urgently. It looked like Twilight was alive; at least, she was breathing, although rather shallowly. The remaining guard ponies looked on with worry. Em hurried off after a moment to get some water, a towel, and their first aid kit.

Belle's mind raced like it never had before. What should she do? She didn't know what was wrong with the unicorn. There were no visible wounds outside of the superficial singeing; but they all had that and nopony else seemed the worse for wear.

Em came back quickly, levitating a bowl of warm water and two towels to the floor beside them. Not knowing what else to do, Belle took one of the towels and dampened it in the water. She then carefully mopped the unicorn's forehead, trying to clean up some of the grime and soot there.

As Belle was working, Twilight suddenly groaned and shifted slightly. There was the sound of several ponies exhaling in relief. Twilight opened her eyes, quickly focusing Belle's face. She smiled weakly and Belle returned it. She suddenly realized that her glasses were on her forehead still. She gave a single, vigorous nod, slipping them back into place. She hoped nopony had noticed the slight redness around them.

"What happened?" Twilight asked, her voice sounding a little hoarse.

"Heh, you saved us, that's what," Belle said. "You managed to teleport us back to the Guard House. I thought we were dead." The image of that... thing coming back from the dead was something that would haunt her nightmares for a long time. For the moment, though, she pushed them out of her mind.

"I did?" Twilight asked with a cough. "All of us? And all the way back to the House?" She chuckled. "Didn't think it would work."

That made Belle pause. "What do you mean? You said before that you could teleport us all."

Twilight, who still hadn't attempted to rise, shook her head. "I meant one at a time. I can teleport myself quite a distance, as long as I can see the destination or have been there before for at least a few minutes. Heck, at home I can teleport all around my library without even noticing. But it gets harder the further the distance, and teleporting more than one pony is incredibly taxing. I've only teleported six ponies once before, and that was only a few feet. To teleport all six of us that far... well, let's just say I'm glad we all made it. And with all our bits intact too." She smiled and laid her head on the floor wearily, the long explanation having apparently drained her.

Well, Belle supposed she was even more fortunate to be alive than she had realized. "But what's wrong with you?" she asked. "Are you alright?"

The young unicorn gave a soft sigh. "I think so," she said, her voice a low whisper now. "I seriously overtaxed my magic there. I've been getting better with more complex and more difficult spells, but I wasn't prepared for that. I doubt I could levitate anything larger than a coffee mug right now. Sorry, I'm afraid I won't be of much use for a little while, I'm going to need to rest." She closed her eyes.

Belle nodded. She rose to her hooves, realizing that there were still four ponies standing around her. She had to be their captain. She glanced at the clock on the wall: 9:40. They had been down there for about two hours. "Alright," she said, putting as much authority in her voice as she could, "I know we're all still a little shocked about what just happened. I think this is officially over our heads. When Corporal Snowflake returns, I'm going to send her with a message to Canterlot; we need help to stop these things. In the meantime, there's work to be done. Constable Morning, I want you to go to the hospital and check on Constable Shining. The doctor recommended that there be a familiar face there when she wakes up. Stay as long as necessary or until I send for you." Morning saluted smartly and trotted away, a pleased smile on his face.

Belle turned to Oak. "Sergeant, I need to talk to the mayor, she needs to know about this. Go bring her here, I want Twilight to be present but I'd rather not move her far unless absolutely necessary." She didn't need to give any further instructions. The stallion saluted, his stoic face grim but determined.

"Corporal," Belle said, turning to Keen, "I want eyes in the sky. If either one of those things comes out, I want to know about it. We might actually have a better chance of subduing it in the open. Do not engage on your own, however." Keen saluted crisply.

Belle blinked. Keen never saluted crisply. She looked closer. His eyes shone with an excitement she had never seen before. This was the kind of action he had been waiting for. She glared at him. ""Do NOT engage on your own," she said emphatically. He smirked but nodded before he turned and trotted out the door.

"Em..." Belle began, but she was interrupted by the sudden arrival of Snowflake, followed immediately by Dr. Crystal.

After a brief explanation, minus the regenerating monster, the doctor knelt beside the prone unicorn and began tending to her. Belle watched the her work for a few moments anxiously before turning to Snowflake. She drew the pegasus aside and explained exactly what had happened in the tunnels.

The pegasus' eyes grew wide as Belle described the way the creature had regenerated before their eyes. "So, once I'm sure Twilight is going to be alright," the captain finished, "I need you to deliver a message to Canterlot, ideally to the princess, but at the very least to the captain of the Royal Guard."

Snowflake looked nervous and more than a little scared, her wings occasionally fluttering uneasily at her side. Belle took notice and placed a reassuring forehoof on her corporal's shoulder. "You can do this, Snowflake. I know you're still tired from last night, and I normally wouldn't ask this, but Canterlot has to be warned. Honestly, I don't know if we can stop these things on our own, we need help. Can you do it?"

Snowflake stiffened, snapping to attention. "You can count on me, ma'am."

Belle nodded. "I knew I could."

She turned her attention back to Twilight. The young mare was standing now, albeit somewhat unsteadily, supported on both sides by Em and Dr. Crystal. Belle approached, shooting the doctor an inquisitive glance. "How is she, doctor?"

"She'll be alright," Dr. Crystal replied, not taking her eyes off of Twilight. "Magical exhaustion, she's going to need to rest for a while, take things easy. Also, she shouldn't use her magic much, preferably not at all, for a while, and even then, nothing too strenuous."

Belle nodded, hiding her disappointment. Twilight was obviously a powerful unicorn, she really could have used her help containing the monsters until help arrived from Canterlot. But at least Twilight would recover. "Very well. Thank you doctor," she said. She turned to Snowflake. "Wait here, Corporal, I'm going to write the message quickly and you can fly it to Canterlot."

Belle began to move towards her office but paused when Twilight's weak voice got her attention. "Address... address it to Princess Celestia. Say that it's... it's the Chimera."

Belle froze, staring back at the young mare. A chimera? What was a chimera? And why was she suddenly so sure about it? Belle wanted answers. Her eyes flicked briefly to Dr. Crystal, who was looking rather confused at the declaration. Twilight looked grim. Belle nodded and continued into her office. Perhaps she might finally get some answers.


********************


About a half hour later, Belle and Em were sitting expectantly next to a cot in the Guard House's back room. Twilight lay on the bed, looking cleaner but still tired. Snowflake had moments ago departed, Belle's urgent message safely in a saddlebag. Dr. Crystal had also departed after giving Em some last minute instructions regarding Twilight's care. Em looked worried, Belle felt conflicted. On the one hoof, she was scared of this new creature, this... chimera as Twilight had called it; on the other hoof, she was glad that Twilight was doing better; on the third hoof, she was anxious about her message.

Canterlot was fairly close by, at least for a pegasus. Snowflake was not a fast flyer. She was agile and nimble, with impressive precision and control, but her speed was lacking. She had tried out for the Best Young Flier's Competition when she was younger, but her wing power hadn't gotten beyond five and she hadn't advanced past the second round. On top of that, air space was strictly guarded around the city, which would significantly slow her down. All things considered, Belle estimated that it might take over an hour for Snowflake to reach Canterlot, let alone gain an audience with either Princess Celesta or the captain of the Royal Guard. All in all, there might not be any reinforcements until the evening. She just had to keep everything together until then.

Twilight was sitting up in the cot, awkwardly lifting a bowl of warm tomato soup that Em had quickly made for her in her hooves.

"So, Twilight," Belle said at last in a tone of forced nonchalance. "I would very much like to know what happened back there. Did you recognize that... that thing down in the tunnels?"

Twilight gently put the mostly empty bowl down on her bed. She sighed. "I'm afraid so. It was the Chimera. I should have seen it sooner. Now that I look back on it, the clues all add up."

"But what's a chimera?" asked Belle, trying hard to suppress her impatience. She knew Twilight was here to help, she just wished the unicorn could cut to the chase and plainly explain things.

"Isn't a chimera just an animal that is a composite of other animals?" Em asked in her usual low voice. "Like a manticore or a hippogriff?"

Belle stared at Em. Where had she learned that? Noticing her look, Em sheepishly whispered, "I... I read a lot. There's a lot of downtime when I'm at the desk."

Belle chuckled at her friend's chagrin, but Twilight looked solemn. "A chimera is just that," she said, emphasizing the indefinite article, "but their name is a reference to The Chimera, one of the worst monsters left over from Discord's reign of chaos over two thousand years ago."

"Wait, wait," Belle interjected, "you're saying this thing is two thousand years old? So does that mean it really is from Tartarus?"

Twilight nodded. "I'm afraid so."

Em gasped, covering her mouth with a forehoof, her eyes wide. Belle forced herself to remain calm, although on the inside she felt like she was going to throw up. "What can you tell me about it?" she asked, only the smallest quiver in her voice betraying her fear.

"A good bit," said Twilight. "After the incident with Cerberus that I told you about, I did research on Tartarus and the monsters imprisoned there. I found the diary of a unicorn, Moonbeam, in the Canterlot Royal Archives. She was a close advisor to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna around that time. She was there when the worst of the monsters were sealed away into Tartarus."

Belle scooted forward slightly, intent on the unicorn lying before her. "Tell me everything you can."

Twilight nodded and began.


********************


~ two thousand years ago

Moonbeam stood on the edge of the battlefield, overlooking the devastation laid out before her. Her back ached from all of the extra weight she was carrying, and she was stiff all over from having had to sleep in her chainmail. She had never liked wearing armor, and now she had been wearing hers for over two weeks. How she longed for a proper bath. But the work wasn't finished, and until it was, the armor stayed on.

Standing beside her, dwarfing Moonbeam by her majesty, stood Princess Celestia. Her normally snowy coat looked somehow dulled, her pink mane hung limp and lifeless. And yet, despite this, the princess stood tall, head held high, a grim expression marring her muzzle. She wore armor of her own, exquisitely crafted plate armor that covered her back, sides, neck, and much of her legs. Her wings, currently folded at her side, were left unrestrained and her helmet sat before her on the ground. She looked... tired. Sure, she held herself still, rigid even, and her posture displayed nothing but strength and confidence, but Moonbeam had known the princess her entire life and she could tell; something about her eyes.

It was no wonder that the princess was tired. It had been six months since Discord's defeat, and for those six months, Celestia had been working non-stop around Equestria to undo the lingering effects of his evil. By far the most onerous task had been hunting down the abominations that had been created by the Spirit of Disharmony's madness. These creatures were extremely dangerous, and there had been casualties. Moonbeam knew that each death weighed heavily on her princess.

The first few creatures had been fairly easily hunted and subdued. The alicorn sisters had harnessed the power of the Elements of Harmony to seal each monster away. The Elements seemed incapable of destroying the creatures outright, instead putting them in some form of magical stasis, after which they were sealed in the labyrinthine dungeon, Tartarus. Strangely, twice the Elements had actually managed to undo Discord's magic and revert the monsters back into the creatures they had originally been. Celestia had said it had to do with the minds and souls of the creatures, but it had all gone completely over Moonbeam's head.

The trouble came from the fact that using the Elements of Harmony was incredibly draining on both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Celestia bore it stoically, but it was difficult for Luna, and each time they were used, the sisters had to wait longer and longer before Celestia would risk using them again. As a result, even though there were only twenty-four of the nigh immortal beasts which had remained after Discord's defeat, only twenty-two had been defeated in those six months. And for some, it had cost them dearly.

The many headed Scylla had savaged their ranks before being subdued, and her brood, colloquially known as hydras, were devastating. The princess herself, against the wishes and urgings of her generals, had personally entered the fray to bring the creature low. Kampe had gone down surprisingly fast, given its draconic nature; but then, Moonbeam guessed being buried in a rockslide would ruin pretty much anypony's day. The Calyboar had actually surrendered; it was one of the two who had reverted to its original self after being struck with the Elements of Harmony, reverting back into a large, but really rather pleasant boar. The worst, by far, had been the dreaded Wolpertinger. The mere thought of that beast sent shivers down Moonbeam's spine. The creature still visited her nightmares. Even Celestia had been visibly shaken afterwards. Really, the less said about that monstrosity, the better. She quickly refocused on the matter at hoof.

Before them, stretched out for over five hundred strides in every direction, was a charred and ravaged landscape; a once pleasant little vale among several small hills, now utterly destroyed. The ground had been scorched, with any grass or shrubbery having been engulfed and consumed by the monster's flames. Blackened husks were all that remained of several once mighty oaks, small plumes of black smoke still rose from some of them. Wisps of steam rose from places along the ground as any moisture in the soil vaporized. Some distance in front of them was a patch of dirt that had been burned black, and at the heart of it all was the creature they had come to stop.

The Chimera was not the largest, or even the most intimidating monster they had faced. In fact, at first glance, one might almost laugh at the absurdity of the whole thing. It's front half looked like a lion. A massive, golden lion with a reddish-gold mane. Its face actually had an almost serene and noble look to it, but it was normally marred by a snarl. Intelligence sparked in its great, green eyes, betraying the fact that this was no normal lion. It stood tall on two sturdy forelegs, ending in large and heavy paws. Its vicious claws seemed to always be extended, sharp and terrifying.

However, any resemblance to a true lion ended there. Rising from between its shoulder blades was another head, a goat head. The dull grey of the goat fur clashed horribly with the vibrant gold below it. The odd, angular head was upright, giving it an unusual, almost tree-like appearance as it grew out of the lion's back. The horns of the goat head were gnarled and twisted. Its eyes were strangely vacant, the odd, rectangular pupils staring dumbly ahead. The tufted beard hanging from its chin wobbled as it masticated continuously on who knows what. All in all, it was a bizarre and ridiculous sight, especially in comparison to the regal lion to which it was attached.

Any amusement garnered from the unusual pairing withered once the remainder of the creature was observed. About halfway down the body, just past the creature's ribcage, the tawny fur ended abruptly, replaced by horrible brownish green scales. The creature's rear half was that of a dragon, scaled down to be proportionate with the lion part of the body. The long, lean hind legs ended with horrible claws; they appeared to be almost blunt because they were so large and thick, but, while not as neatly razor sharp as the lion claws, they were still viciously keen and deadly.

Rounding out the incredibly bizarre amalgamation was the monster's tail. At first glance it appeared to be a normal dragon's tail, long and tapered with a spiky protuberance at the tip. However, on closer inspection, that spiky tip was actually a small head. A dragon's head, shrunk to an almost laughable size, but still recognizable by its maw and horns. This head's eyes burned with an intense hatred that was almost palpable, even from this distance. And yet, the fire the creature breathed came not from the dragon's head, but from the lion's.

Moonbeam shivered. The creature was an abomination, and it was lethal. Not all of those charred lumps were tree stumps. This creature was not on the same scale as Scylla or Kampe had been, so Celestia had only brought a small squad of ponies, her so-called Royal Hunters, with her to take it down.

That had proven to be a mistake. A third of the soldiers now lay dead. Whether it was some last trick of Discord's or the inherent magic of its dragon portion, unicorn magic could not affect it physically. Any magic that came into contact with it imploded immediately. Attempts to bind it, cage it, or even lift it the air had all failed. Worse, it tore through a unicorn's shield as though it were water. Luckily, its fire breath did not seem to share this ability and was easily stopped by a strong enough shield. The problem was that it was shockingly nimble. It had raced across the battlefield, tearing through the soldiers with ease, it was constantly leaping and dodging, never in the same place for more than a moment. In fact, the only reason it was standing still at the moment was because three dozen arrows had rained down upon it. A well timed shot had managed to cripple a foreleg momentarily. That moment was all the Hunters needed. A swarm of arrows had immediately descended upon it. The creature had unleashed a great explosion of flame, incinerating many arrows in flight, but not enough. The beast had gone down, but not for long.

Like all of the monstrous Progenitors, the Chimera was immortal. The arrows had been slowly pushed out of its body, broken shafts and arrow heads littered the scorched earth around it. Even as Moonbeam watched, the monster rose unsteadily to its mismatched legs. It gave a horrible, hacking cough, like a cat trying to dislodge an extra-large hairball. It retched, expelling from its lion mouth a mixture of blood and mangled iron. Some of the arrowheads must have broken off in its throat or stomach and had to be forced out through its mouth. Despite the deadly and evil nature of the beast, Moonbeam couldn't help but wince. The wince turned into a shudder of fear as she realized that the creature was once more up and ready to continue the fight. 

Celestia took a step forward, a determined expression on her face. "”STAY DOWN,” she called out, her powerful, majestic voice ringing through the air. Celestia rarely used the Royal Canterlot Voice, finding it rather pretentious and more than a little annoying, but when she used it, she really used it. “WE DO NOT WISH TO CAUSE THEE MORE HARM. SURRENDER, AND ALL SHALL BE DONE TO UNDO THY CURSE.”

Moonbeam marveled at her princess. This creature had ravaged the countryside for months, killed who knew how many ponies, and still, she was giving it a chance.

But the chance was wasted. A low, cruel chuckle rolled through the air, clearly audible even from this distance. The Chimera turned two of its heads to look at Celestia (the goat head stared to their left, as though oblivious to everything going on around it). The Chimera spoke. None of the creature's mouths moved, and yet, somehow, the voice rang out loudly and clearly. “Waste not your empty promises upon me, nag. I shall destroy you and all your kind for the travesty committed against me and mine. The blood of your precious ponies will darken your rivers, it will poison your fields. My fires will consume all that is yours. Face me, Celestia, and perish!”

If Celestia was shaken by the monster's terrible promise, she didn't show it. Rather there was a look much like... grief? She took another step forward. “PLEASE, CREA!” she called. Crea? What was she talking about? Moonbeam stared at the princess, confused. “PLEASE, REMEMBER US. REMEMBER OUR FRIENDSHIP! THIS IS NOT THEE! DISCORD HAS TWISTED THY HEART AS WELL AS THY BODY. WE WERE FRIENDS ONCE, REMEMBER? WE WOULD VISIT THEE IN THY CAVE. PLEASE, LET US HELP THEE.”

The Chimera snarled. “I remember! I remember that you involved me in your fight with the Mad King! I remember he tortured me, he broke me, he turned me into this... this thing! Then, to mock my torment, he took from me the release of death! This is YOUR fault, Celestia!"

The lion's head let out a terrible roar, Moonbeam could swear she felt the earth shake beneath her hooves. She shifted, scared, and inched a little closer to her princess. All around her, she could hear the shifting sounds of armored ponies as the Hunters readied themselves for combat.

Celestia hung her head, her mane drooping almost to the ground. Moonbeam thought that, just for a moment, she saw a tear slip down her snowy cheek. Then, she raised her head, her eyes dry. “WE ACCEPT THY BLAME. PLEASE, ACCEPT OUR HELP, SO THAT WE CAN MAKE THINGS RIGHT AGAIN. PLEASE,CREA, OLD FRIEND.”

For a long minute, the Chimera hesitated. Moonbeam held her breath, hoping against hope that this would end without further bloodshed. The only sound was the faint rustling of a gentle breeze whispering among the soldiers.

“BURN!” thundered the horrible voice at last. A column of fire rushed towards them. Celestia's shield was up so fast it was though it had always been there. Time seemed to slow for Moonbeam. The raging inferno washed over the shield like a wave breaking on rocks. In the terrible brightness, the unicorn could see Celestia close her eyes, a great sadness evident in her face. Then it was gone and a terrible, grim determination overcame her normally beautiful visage. Moonbeam saw her lips move in a silent whisper, as though in prayer, but who would Celestia, goddess and princess, possibly pray to?

With the shield still raised, the fire still raging against it, slowly, as though in a dream, Celestia's helmet rose from the ground and slipped it onto her head, her horn sliding through the slot specially designed for it. Then her majestic wings opened, again slowly, as though in a dream, and were soon fully extended.

Time snapped back to its normal course without warning. The fire was gone and the shield vanished. When her vision cleared, Moonbeam almost screamed. The Chimera had begun charging before the fire had fully dissipated and was almost on them, moving with unnatural speed. By the time she had fully registered what was happening, the monster was in the process of leaping. Suddenly, a portion of the ground itself glowed and deformed, a massive rock, buried for who knows how long, burst from the ground like an arrow from a bow, surrounded in Celestia's golden magical aura. The makeshift missile smashed into the Chimera mid-leap with bone shattering force. The magical aura vanished the second it made contact, but the boulder was already moving with such velocity that it didn't matter. With a horrible crunch, the broken body of the abomination bounced across the burned and blackened ground.

Not content with this, Celestia launched into the air, a fury evident on her face so beautiful and terrible that Moonbeam could scarcely look at it. Where the Chimera finally came to a stop, its horribly mangled body was already twitching as bones and sinew began to reknit themselves. The ground shifted around it and more stones burst out, forming a heavy cage-like structure that pinned the creature to the ground. Celestia hovered over it, her horn blazing like the sun she controlled. The rock she had first struck the monster with flew over and the princess smashed it down onto the squirming form.

For a long moment there was no sound. Moonbeam was stunned by the ferocity of Celestia's attack, and overjoyed in its effectiveness. It looked like the battle was already over.

There was no warning. The stone that had been used to crush the creature suddenly shot into the sky. Celestia was caught off guard and the rock slammed into her, knocking her out of the air. She crashed to the ground with a horrible thud. Moonbeam gave a cry of dismay. The soldiers around her shifted uneasily, but, true to their discipline, didn't speak.

Celestia slowly rose to her hooves, looking shaky. She fluffed her wings, making sure they weren't badly damaged. In the meantime the Chimera was pushing and shoving, extricating itself from the its stony prison. By the time Celestia had fully recovered, the Chimera burst free with a roar. It charged at Celestia, lion mouth snarling. Celestia launched herself into the air, wings beating furiously. The Chimera's lashing claws just barely missed her. It skidded to a stop, turning with unnatural speed and launching itself into the air. Celestia unleashed a blast of solar magic directly into its face, but the magic simply washed over the creature without affecting it in the slightest. The Chimera barreled into Celestia and they both plummeted to the ground.

Somehow, Celestia managed to retain her composure and had taken the blow well. She rolled in the air, going with the direction of the attack. The Chimera, surprised, was overextended and ended up being on the bottom when the two smashed into the ground again. Celestia jumped back, away from the beast's flailing claws. There were scratch marks marring her elaborate armor now, but her white hide remained undamaged. The princess reared up and struck with her forehooves, which were shod in special bladed shoes. The blows caught the lion head square in the face, ripping a bloody gash from nose to cheek and also disgorging one of its eyes. The lion's head flinched with a yelp, drawing back. The dragon-headed tail whipped forward and tried to sink its terrible fangs into her, but the stumbling of the monster caused it to draw up short, vicious jaws snapping futilely.

The goat head continued to chew on nopony knew what.

The Chimera recovered quickly, the gashes in its face already mending. It inhaled deeply to blast the princess with fire from point blank range. Celestia's bladed forehooves smashed down upon its snout. Celestia used the motion to push herself up into the air, her wings flapping to try to keep her airborne. Fire spewed from the mangled jaws, but with the head forced down, it merely washed over the ground all around the beast.

As the princess flew past, trying to gain speed, the draconic tail snapped forward, sinking its terrible fangs into her right hind leg, just above the ornate greave. Celestia gave a cry of pain and, since she was now effectively tethered, was slammed into the ground by her own momentum. She lay there, stunned for an infinitely long moment.

Moonbeam gave a cry and started forward, not knowing what, if anything, she could do. She would probably die there, but she could not stand by any longer.

The crash had dislodged the dragon's bite, and Celestia was able to stagger to her hooves. The Chimera rounded on her, lashing out with its lion claws. The claws scored against the heavily armored chest of Celestia, scraping across the metal but not penetrating it. They did, however, scrape far enough to reach her unarmored wing. The claws bit deep into her wing joint, drawing blood. Celestia screamed.

Moonbeam redoubled her speed, spurred on by the cries of her friend and ruler.

She never reached the struggle. Celestia's eyes suddenly started glowing like the sun she controlled. She glared at the Chimera with such fury that it was amazing it didn't keel over from the sheer intensity. The monster reared back for another blow, but the alicorn was faster. She pivoted, planting her forehooves into the charred dirt, and bucked the Chimera right in its chest with her bladed rear hooves. The blow tore apart the creature's chest, shredding it horribly. The monster was lifted from its feet and sent flying away, crashing down a dozen paces away, mangled and bleeding. Celestia turned back to face it, the light from her eyes now matched by the light from her horn, her pink mane suddenly rising, billowing as though in a strong wind.

Moonbeam instinctively skidded to a stop, still several dozen paces away from the conflict, her hooves digging short furrows in the dry ground. A moment later, she was very happy she did. With a roar that no animal, pony, or even dragon could have made, a solid beam of blinding energy shot down from the sky, smashing onto the broken but mending body of the Chimera. It was as though a pillar carved from the sun itself had dropped from space. For a few eternal moments, everything was light and heat and sound.

Eventually, the roar died down. Moonbeam dared to open her eyes again. Where the Chimera had been was now only a shallow, smoking crater. Its inside had been blasted with such heat that it looked like blackened glass. Even from a distance, the air was scorching hot and Moonbeam's lungs felt like they were breathing fire, not air. After a few moments, Moonbeam began to tentatively move forward. Ahead of her, she could see the princess standing in the same place. One wing was flared wide, the other tucked painfully at her side. The magical light faded from her horn and her eyes, her mane falling limply once again. As Moonbeam watched, Celestia's face drooped, the righteous anger fading, replaced by a great weariness; her eyes closed and she sank to her knees.

Moonbeam rushed to her princess’ side, kneeling to lean against her side. “Are you alright, Princess?” she asked, her entire focus on her friend.

Celestia shook her head slightly, not opening her eyes. “We… We need a moment, that is all.” She seemed to suddenly realize that Moonbeam was next to her. “Moonbeam, thou ought not to be here, ‘tis not safe.”

Moonbeam didn't answer. Instead, she looked towards the smoking cavity. Now, she could properly see the bottom of its shallow basin. The remains of the Chimera lay at the center of the smooth, black crater, its body could hardly be differentiated from the ground. All that remained was a half melted, twisted pile of blackened bones. It looked as though it had partially sunk into the molten ground itself.

“Princess,” Moonbeam exclaimed in awe, “what- what did you do to it?”

Princess Celestia drew herself up to her full height, her expression grim but not without a hint of smugness. “What We had to. Nothing is so fireproof so as to withstand the very sun.”

Moonbeam stared into the blackened crater, dumbfounded. “But... I thought it was immune to your magic.”

Celestia allowed a small smile to grace her muzzle, although it was tinged with sadness. “We merely focused the sun's energy for a moment. The energy was not our magic, merely the natural sunlight. Think of a magnifying glass and how it may be used to focus the light enough to cause a burn. 'Twas just so, merely... larger.”

Moonbeam looked up at her friend. “That's...” what? Good? Amazing? Astounding? Brilliant? Terrifying? “... truly something,” she said lamely.

Celestia inclined her head slightly, the expression on her face indicating that she guessed Moonbeam's thoughts. An awed hush fell over them as they both looked upon the sun's devastation. It was a sobering sight. 

The silence was broken by a truly terrifying sound. The sound of cracking glass. Moonbeam's mouth dropped open as she watched in disbelief as one of the bones at the bottom of the crater shifted, cracking the solid, crystalized earth. It took her a second to realize what was happening, but when she did, her blood ran cold. The Chimera was reforming!

“Impossible,” she whispered.

“Summon Princess Luna!” Celestia commanded urgently.

Moonbeam ran faster than she ever had before. She dashed back to the group of surviving Hunters, who seemed more at ease after the apparent destruction of their quarry, but still grim, as befit the situation. They parted for her and she reached the back of the group where Princess Luna waited.

Princess Luna was surprisingly different from her sister. She was a little taller than Moonbeam herself. She looked young, although Moonbeam knew that she was actually quite old, and she was normally much more energetic and lively than her sister.

Now, however, Luna looked older, wearier than Moonbeam had ever seen her. She was not as strong as her sister, although none would ever say that, least of all Celestia herself, and the repeated use of the Elements had taken a heavy toll on her, both physical and mentally.

She wore armor similar to her sister’s, although where Celestia’s was of white and gold, Luna’s was of midnight black. The armor looked… wrong somehow on the smaller frame of the deep blue alicorn. Despite her armor, Celestia had expressly forbidden her from taking part in the fighting.

Flanking the princess were two of her dark grey Night Guards, their unusual batwings folded at their sides, their dark blue armor complimenting their mistress’ colors. They bore on their backs two cases bearing the Elements of Harmony.

“Princess!” Moonbeam exclaimed, “Princess Luna! The beast is down, but not for long, we need the Elements.”

Luna looked up from her contemplations, her eyes weary, but she nodded resolutely. She unfurled her wings and leapt into the air, her guards following silently behind her bearing the Elements. Moonbeam raced back through the line of Hunters, arriving back at the glassed crater just as the sisters were preparing to strike. They each wore their Elements about their necks and were standing at the lip of the crater, their sides pressed together.

Moonbeam cautiously approached the edge herself and looked down. The bottom of the crater was no longer smooth, it had cracked and the bones were now completely free of the ground. They had slowly reknit themselves together into the disturbing form of a blackened skeleton unlike any she had ever seen. A small, green tinted cloud of energy was writhing around mismatched bones, somehow reforming organs.

Beneath her horror and revulsion, a clinical part of Moonbeam’s mind was fascinated by the anatomical structure of the bizarre beast. Despite its three heads, it appeared to have a normal sized lungs, for a lion at least, but there was only one throat and windpipe, connected to the lion’s head. That might explain why the goat head was constantly chewing but never swallowing: there was literally nowhere for it to go.

The trouble was that the Chimera was regenerating fast; and it seemed to be getting faster. Even as Moonbeam watched, bands of muscle began to stretch along the bones. What were the princesses waiting for?

Apparently nothing. “Now, Sister!” Celestia said, her voice hard.

The alicorns’ eyes opened wide, magical power causing them to shine with an intense white light. The wind picked up and seemed to swirl around the two and actually lifted them into the air. A magical glow began to wind its way around them along with the wind, building up a great aura of power about them. An hint of color began to suffuse the aura, a ribbon of rainbow colored magic wrapping around them. It reached a crescendo and burst up into the air, arcing over and coming down like a hammer blow into the crater, slamming into the reforming body, pounding it flat against the broken ground. The crater exploded (again) in blinding white light.

Moonbeam covered her eyes with a forehoof, trying to block out the intensity. When the light finally faded, she looked down into the cavity. At the bottom now stood a statue. A curled up form, half lion, half dragon, with a goat’s head rising from its back. Somehow, the carved features of the lion and the dragon looked almost peaceful while the goat head looked as vacant as ever. She wondered if, somehow, they were at peace in their prison. It was the kind of thing Celestia would do. 

When the last of the magical light finally faded away, Moonbeam looked towards her friends. Celestia stumbled, just a fraction. She doubted that the Hunters even noticed from so far away. But Luna had sunk to her knees beside her sister, her head bowed. Celestia stooped down to gently nuzzle her sister.

“Easy now, sister,” she said in a soothing, low voice. “It is done.” The bat-winged guards stared straight ahead, apparently unfazed by the powerful magic or the momentary weakness of their mistress.

Moonbeam stared at the statue. Just like that, it was over. The creature was contained, hopefully forever. She shuddered at the thought, frozen forever in stasis. She wondered if they were aware. Monsters though they were, she hoped not, it was a cruel fate; but was it worse than death? And yet, the creatures could not die…

Such matters were well beyond her ken. She didn’t envy her friend the role of judge here. Moonbeam wondered if part of Celestia’s weariness wasn’t caused by the fate of these creatures; she was, despite all her strength and majesty, a gentle soul.

Once she was certain that her sister was well, Celestia turned her attention to the statue. “Oh, Crea,” she whispered with a heavy sigh, as though to herself, “would that thou would have accepted our aid.”

She raised her head and spoke louder, “Moonbeam, please summon the Hunters to take her… it away.”

Moonbeam turned away, trotting quickly back towards the group of Hunters, who now looked noticeably more at ease.

Despite the horrible devastation surrounding her, Moonbeam couldn’t help but have a small spring in her step. The Chimera was down. That made twenty-three; only one more to go. Soon, the last vestiges of Discord’s evil would be scoured from Equestria.

And that last one couldn’t possibly be any worse than what they had already faced.

Could it?


********************


Twilight leaned back and closed her eyes, the long story having drained her of much of what little energy she had. Her soup bowl lay on the floor, long since emptied and forgotten. Belle sat on the floor, her head spinning from the tale Twilight had told. Was this the creature now loose in her town? What could she, a simple Earth pony guard, do to stop, or even slow down, a foe that had fought Celestia herself? Against an immortal, fire breathing, magic immune monstrosity? What hope could she possibly have?

She glanced to her right and saw Em. Her unicorn friend looked scared. Not her normal, shy, cautious trepidation; but real terror in the face of this nightmare. Belle's own fear spiked, and she nearly panicked right there. She swallowed, trying to push her fear aside, but it wasn't budging.

But as she looked at her old friend, Belle felt something else stir within her: a rising anger. This thing, this Chimera, had come to her town, burned her buildings, hurt her ponies, ruined her peace, and killed children. The anger rose like a living beast inside of her, slowly overwhelming her fear. She was not going to let that damn monster cause any more chaos, not in her town. She embraced her anger; she would use it.

Em glanced over at her, the fear even more evident in her eyes, but the unicorn hesitated at Belle's expression. "Belle?" she whispered, a hint of concern in her low voice.

Belle rose to her hooves steadily, a little proud that they were unshaking. Twilight lifted her head and opened her tired eyes to look at the captain. "Thank you, Twilight," she said, carefully regulating her voice. "Try to get  some sleep, we may need you again before all this is over. Em, follow me please." Belle didn't wait for Twilight's acknowledging nod before turning and leaving the back room, the solid but surprisingly light hoof steps of Em following her into the main room.

As soon as they had left the room and closed the door, Belle turned to her friend. "Em, I need you to hurry to the docks and tell Brine what's happened. We're going to need all the help we can get here, and if I can't be rid of him then I might as well use him. Tell him that I've sent for the Royal Guard, but that we need to be ready in case this thing moves before they get here."

Em took a long look at her friend's expression and demeanor before saluting sharply. "Yes, ma'am."

Belle nodded and turned to go into her office, the sound of Em trotting rapidly out the front door following her.

Normally she would have tried to follow the order up with some friendly reassurance, but not this time. Now she was fully in the role of Captain Donna Belle of the Dock Constabulary. It didn't matter that the town guard was a shadow of its former self. It didn't matter than they were a joke in the town, secretly mocked and openly ignored. It didn't matter that the monster was an unstoppable killing machine.

It didn't matter, because she had sworn an oath to protect the ponies of Dock, to shield them from whatever threatened them. And by Celestia, she was going to do just that.

If only she knew how.


> Chapter 10: Strife
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monsters

By Sharpe Quill

Chapter 10: Strife


Belle sat at her desk for a long time, her mind racing. She kept pulling up different possibilities, and summarily rejecting them. She was in over her head here. She had written her reports and now simply sat in front of her wooden shield, staring at them. Was there anything she had missed? Was there anything she should have done that she had not done? Something she should do now but wasn’t? She just didn’t know. Her head drooped and thumped against the desktop in frustration. Ponies had been hurt, killed because of this Chimera thing, and yet she couldn’t think of any way to stop it, or even to slow it down.

She sighed in frustration and weariness. Her mind started to drift back to places she really didn’t want it to go. For a moment, she once again saw the bloom of fire bursting from a narrow doorway and she shuddered. Twice she had faced a fiery death, within the last two days. Both times she had been saved by the unicorn now resting in the other room.

She heard the front door of the Guard House burst open and then slam shut a few moments later. She sighed and rose to her hooves, trotting towards her office door. She found three ponies standing in the main room.

The first and most obvious pony she saw was Sergeant Oak. He had a scowl on his face that seemed to be directed at his companions; in particular at a pony that Belle had never seen before.

This stranger pony was a pegasus stallion. He was a large specimen, heavily muscled and with a bob of a tail, cut short, military style. He wore the heavy metal barding of a Canterlot Royal Guardspony and had a thick, short spear with a broad, leaf-shaped blade strapped to his side. His helmet framed two piercing eyes that glared at her suspiciously. In a way, he reminded Belle of Sergeant Oak, only with wings; and lacking the usual look of respect that he showed her.

The third pony was the mayor, and she had a glare on her face that almost made Belle take a step back.

"Captain!" Mayor Olive snapped. "What is the meaning of this? I have too much going on right now to play your games. You have no right to drag me here."

Belle stood her ground resolutely. "Mayor," she began as politely as she could manage, "we've discovered something rather urgent in the case, and it requires your immediate attention."

"Couldn't it have waited?" Olive demanded.

"No, it cannot wait!" Belle said levelly. "There's a huge threat to Dock loose, and I..." She swallowed, hesitant to admit the next statement out loud. "I don't think it's something we can handle."

That seemed to catch the mayor off-guard, she hesitated for a moment. She continued to glare at Belle, but her expression slowly shifted to one of surprise and comprehension. “What did you find?”

Belle very briefly detailed the morning's events.

"The envoy from Canterlot herself was in favor of seeking assistance," she finished.

For a few moments, Olive seemed unable to speak, and for the first time she looked uneasy. “And have you sent word to Canterlot?” Belle nodded and the mayor’s face became more neutral, as she regained her composure. “Then there doesn’t seem to be much else I can do. Even if you didn’t imagine the more, shall we say, fantastic portions of your story, which I’m not entirely convinced of, then we’ve already done all that we can do.”

Belle stared at her in amazement. She had no idea how to respond.

The mayor seemed to take her silence as agreement. “So, until we receive support from Canterlot, there seems to be little else to be done. Continue to monitor the situation until we hear from the Royal Guard.”

Belle took a step forward, as though trying to physically object. “But…  you can’t really mean to do nothing.”

"What would you have me do?” Olive snapped, glaring at the captain. “What is it that you expect, Belle? I do not have a secret army just waiting for me to say the word! There’s nothing that can be done, except what you’ve already done. Keep a sharp eye out, and do the best you can. That’s your job isn’t it? There’re more serious situations going on than you know.” She glanced at the imposing pegasus guard with a look that almost seemed nervous.

Belle’s eyes flicked to the stranger also. ‘More serious situations’? What could that mean? The mayor looked nervous at the large Guard’s presence. Who was he anyway?

"Well what about him?" Belle asked, nodding towards the imposing Royal Guard. "Can he help?"

Before the mayor could answer, the burly pegasus took a step forward. He frowned at Belle as he said, "Captain Sunspot, ma'am. And with all due respect, I already have my orders, and I cannot deviate from them for anything." He had a deep, authoritative voice, the kind that Belle herself had always wished she had instead of her light, slightly breathy voice.

"But Captain," Belle said, "we have a major situation here. You're the Royal Guard! Surely-"

Captain Sunspot cut her off with a wave of his armored forehoof. "Exactly, I am a Royal Guard, and we only take orders from royalty. I have my orders already, and I will not disobey my princess."

Belle stared at him in shock and disbelief. Surely he couldn't ignore a threat like this. "But-" she tried to say, but Captain Sunspot turned and walked towards the door.

"Mayor, we have a shipment to unload," was all he said before he disappeared out the door. Olive gave Belle what might have been a sympathetic look before turning to follow without another word.

Oak watched them go with a deep frown on his face. He turned back to Belle once the door had shut behind the mayor. "What now, Captain?"

Belle shook her head sadly. "I don't know."


********************


Belle, with Oak following closely behind, cleared the last row of buildings and saw the river flowing lazily past, the late afternoon sun sparkling and dancing before her. She turned right and saw a trio of ships docked a short distance away from the front of The Hole. Two of the ships were smaller than the third, light and sleek, with several smaller sails as opposed to the larger double sails of merchant ships; they were designed for speed and Belle knew that they could zip along the river in either direction with surprising ease, especially if there was a talented unicorn on board who could boost the wind speed. These two ships had a full squadron of Royal Canterlot guards each, ten unicorns and ten pegasi per squad, in addition to the ships' crews.  Between the two faster vessels lay a much larger boat, a true river boat with shallow draft and a top speed slower than even the slowest pegasus.

A large number of ponies were bustling around the latter boat, unloading a multitude of large crates and boxes. These were being sorted by an official looking harbor-master unicorn stallion whom Belle didn't recognize. Some crates, most of them quite large and heavy judging by the four unicorns visibly straining to move each of them, were moved aside to a pile where a group of dockworkers were busy moving them to one of the warehouses adjacent to The Hole, supervised by Sea Foam, the mare Belle had talked to at the second fire. The remaining crates, however, were being carefully stowed in a line of large carts with the Princess' Royal Seal on their sides. Another squadron of guards, mostly earth ponies, was surrounding the carts, the shipments defenders. A Royal Guard earth pony was harnessed to the front of each of these carts, only recognizable as such because of their bearing, posture, and mane and tail styles.

That was odd. Why would guards be pulling the carts instead of the usual drivers? What exactly were they transporting?

Belle spotted the distinctive scarred form of Brine standing next to the unicorn supervisor. The mayor and Captain Sunspot were also with them. The mayor looked a bit uneasy, but Sunspot was standing tall and unwavering, his head slowly moving as he constantly surveyed the area. If he was at all uneasy about the presence of the Chimera in the city, he didn't show it.

Belle saw Em trotting towards her from the direction of The Hole. The large unicorn mare started to say something in her usually loud whisper but was interrupted by the sudden arrival of Keen dropping out of the sky to land in front of Belle. He saluted sharply, to her surprise. "Captain," he said immediately, "no sight or sound of the creature. I have some contacts among the pegasi on the lookout around the city, but so far it’s all quiet."

Belle returned his salute. "Good, maybe we'll get lucky and the backup from Canterlot will get here before it shows itself again."

Em silently joined the group. If she was at all upset by Keen’s interruption, she didn’t show it. She instead whispered, “Captain, who’s at the desk in the Guardhouse?”

Belle sighed. “Technically nopony. We need everypony here, that thing is bound to show up again. For the official records, I deputized Miss Sparkle temporarily and she is currently in the Guardhouse. Unofficially, she’s still resting in the back room. I locked the front door.” Em swallowed nervously but nodded.

Keen, who didn’t seem to have been paying attention to this exchange, glanced at the large number of soldiers surrounding the ships not a hundred paces away. "What about them? They look like they could handle the creature."

Oak snorted and, to Belle's surprise, answered before she could. "They won't help. Captain Sunspot claims it isn't part of his assignment, and that his priority is guarding the cargo." His voice was laced with a surprising amount of anger. He seemed to be taking Sunspot's callous treatment of their situation personally.

Keen snorted and gave a short, derisive laugh. "Shame. Would have been ideal timing. I mean, what are the odds of there being a half regiment's worth of Royal Guards in town at the precise time that we have a ravenous and unstoppable monster in town?"

Oak matched his snort. He was being surprisingly effusive today.

Belle didn't respond, rather she stared at the ships and the large crowd of soldiers. Soldiers who refused to help her. As she watched, a pair of unicorns in elaborate robes appeared on the deck of the ship levitating a strange and ornate casket between them. A cloaked figure trailed behind them. A dim memory kicked in from the back of her mind. She wondered if that was the same pony that Brine had been talking to the other day when she had first gone to confront him. She supposed it hardly mattered now.

Suddenly, she froze, Keen's words echoing in her head. What were the odds of having this many Royal Guards in town? Dock had never seen this large of a Guard presence from Canterlot, not even for that one prisoner transfer. That was unusual by itself. To happen at the same time as the Chimera appearing... it was an extraordinary coincidence. There was only one problem: Belle didn't believe in coincidence.

Time seemed to slow as the facts suddenly lined up in her head, memories appearing in flashes as though projected onto her tinted glasses.

She saw two small charred corpses and Brine's voice, how they may have been "in the wrong place at the wrong time."

She saw Brine's letter detailing the special shipment on its way to Canterlot.

She saw the Chimera specifically going out to kill a simple Diamond Dog. Why? What could it have seen in the tunnels that it feared?

She heard Brine describing the smuggling business in Dock, "Expedited service." The Chimera had been smuggled into the town on a ship, which meant that a pony or ponies had arranged it.

She heard again the horrible voice of the Chimera itself. It had spoken of a mistress and an arrangement.

She thought about a casket being levitated by two seemingly high ranking magicians.

She thought of a contingent of heavily armed Royal Guards.

No such thing as coincidence...

It clicked.

She suddenly broke out into a gallop, heading towards the knot of ponies where the casket bearing unicorns were just placing it onto one of the carts, the only one covered, shrouded by a canopy. Oak, Em, and Keen, taken by surprise by her sudden outburst, hurried behind, trying to catch up. She reached the knot of guards surrounding the scribe, Brine, the mayor, and Captain Sunspot. The two closest guards flinched and made as if to block her approach, but they hesitated upon seeing her own guard's armor. She slipped past them.

"Captain!" she called out. "Captain! Listen to me!"

The four ponies all turned to look at her with matching frowns. "Now Captain..." the mayor began to say, but for the first time in her life, Belle ignored her.

"Captain Sunspot," she said urgently, "the Chimera... it's not a coincidence. It's here for that!" She pointed with a forehoof at the cart now bearing the casket and its three attendants.

"What?" he said sharply. "What are you-"

But he was cut off. For the fourth time in three days, a massive burst of flame completely washed out Belle's vision. The front half of the warehouse next to the one where the dockworkers were storing crates suddenly exploded outward, scattering and knocking over many of the dockworkers. One of the guard ships was directly in front of the warehouse and was caught in the blast, capsizing into the river and sending guardponies flying. Some of the pegasi managed to catch themselves, but many of them, and all of the land-bound guards were slammed into the water.

Sunspot’s head whipped around, his eyes wide behind his helmet. “What the-”

Before anyone could react further, a massive shape burst out of the inferno. The Chimera’s leonine form trailed fire and smoke as it burst onto the boardwalk. For the first time, Belle got a good look at the creature that had turned her world on its head. Twilight's description didn't do it justice. The Chimera's lion head was massive, its heavy maw open in a ferocious snarl, its horrible teeth bared, its eyes flaming with a hatred that was palpable even from a distance. Its heavy front paws struck the wooden boards of the dock with such force and weight that the planks would crack slightly. Its shaggy mane was wild and unkempt, matted in places with dirt, grime, and ash. The goat head rising from between its shoulder blades looked off to the side, its odd eyes staring vacantly as the head was bounced around by the violent movement of the monster's appearance. Its beard bobbed irregularly as it masticated unconcernedly. The dragon portion looked just as Belle remembered it from the hospital, but it was infinitely more horrible now that she saw the full form and knew that it was not just a drake.

Belle took in the creature's appearance in a moment, which was all the time she had. The Chimera charged the nearest group of soldiers around the rearmost cart with breath-taking speed. The unfortunate ponies had no chance to defend themselves. The Chimera moved with an almost sickening, liquid agility, like a striking snake. It tore through them, claws lashing out, dragon head tail striking viciously at any unarmored parts of the ponies' bodies.

The squad didn’t have a chance. In the space of fifteen seconds, seven ponies lay dead, five more horribly wounded and maimed, screaming in pain. The Chimera stood over the carnage it had wrought, breathing deeply, as though enjoying the first breath of fresh air it had taken in centuries.

The horrible, deep voice once again forced its way through Belle's ears. "At last!" it said, drawing it out as though in pleasure. "At last I am free again, to wreak my vengeance upon the ponies who-"

The voice suddenly cut off as an arrow suddenly blossomed out of its left eye, accompanied by a burst of blood and gore. The Chimera wobbled before collapsing to the ground.

Captain Sunspot was no fool. He barked a few orders and all of the remaining soldiers on the dock had formed up around him. The earth ponies with their heavy armor and long spears formed the front ranks while the unicorn archers stayed behind them. Overhead, the pegasi hovered, blades and spears poised and ready. Despite being a pegasus, Sunspot stayed on the ground, leading from the center of the line. For a moment, not a sound disturbed the docks except for the crackle of fire from the exploded warehouse and the pitiable moans of the wounded ponies around the downed monster.

Then, with a bellowed order, Sunspot charged the monster, which was already starting to get back to its mismatched feet, the arrow clattering to the wooden floor as its eye regrew. Moments before the charge hit the creature, a volley of arrows arched over the attacking ponies and slammed into the Chimera. It staggered but didn't fall. Then the wave of charging ponies broke upon it. Spears slammed into the creature, forcing it back as the weight of so many ponies overbore it. It was forced to rear up just as the pegasi swooped down, striking expertly at the right moment and knocking the beast onto its back. The moment its back struck the floor (the goat's head was smashed to the side, its neck obviously broken), earth ponies slammed more spears into it with such force that the spearheads bit into the wood beneath it, pinning it down.

The entire encounter lasted less than half a minute. Belle stood staring, astonished at the precision and skill of the Royal Guard ponies. Behind her stood Brine, the mayor, and the scribe, along with the remaining dockworkers. A cheer began from among the latter at the creature's subduing, and Belle was tempted to join it, but it died in her throat. The Guards' victory was short-lived.

With a burst of flame that forced the ponies back, the Chimera tore itself free of its restraints, heedless of the damage it did to itself. It leapt to its feet and attacked. The Royal Guards scattered, although not haphazardly. They spread out around it and tried to keep their distance, attacking whenever its back was turned. This tactic was not nearly as effective as it should have been because the Chimera's dragon head watched its back and struck whenever a pony got too close. Plus, the beast was just so fast, it was nearly impossible to keep out of its way. Factoring in its fire breath, Belle knew that this fight could have only one outcome.

She shook herself, forcing herself to look away. She was a Dock guard, and her first priority was the safety of its citizens. She quickly barked out orders. "Oak, Em, get everypony here to safety, The Hole will have to do for now. Get them there as quickly as you can! Go!"

Without a salute, the two guards swiftly began herding the stunned spectators away. Belle turned back to the fray in time to see several unicorn guards, out of arrows and clearly having discovered the creature's magic immunity, manage to throw one of the large and heavy crates at the Chimera. The creature dodged at the last second but, fast as it was, it wasn't completely fast enough. The heavy crate clipped its side, sending the monster crashing to the ground, right at Sunspot's hooves, who slammed his spear down straight through its lion head. The dragon head snapped forward and struck Sunspot, but in his armored chest. The vicious fangs didn't penetrate, but Sunspot was thrown backwards by the force of the blow. He flared his wings, trying to slow his flight, and Belle saw that one of them was partially mangled, explaining why he wasn't flying with the rest of the pegasi. The crate, meanwhile, broke open, spilling its contents, heavy cylindrical lumps of a black metal, across the wooden pier.

As Belle saw this happen, she noticed behind the fray that one of the carts had been knocked over in the conflict, trapping its drivers beneath it; and that it had caught fire from one of the Chimera's blasts. She motioned to Keen and rushed to the fallen cart, skirting the edge of the battle as much as possible. Keen followed reluctantly, his wings fluttered at his sides. He was clearly anxious to get into the fight himself but, like Belle, realized that his presence would be more of a hindrance than a help to the Royal Guards' tactics.

Belle and Keen reached the collapsed cart and Belle lifted the cart as much as she could, drawing upon all the reserves of strength she had in her compact, earth pony frame. Even so, she only managed to lift it a few inches; but that was enough for Keen to duck under and neatly cut the harnesses that restrained the two panicking drivers. Belle strained under the immense load, but Keen pulled the two wounded earth ponies to safety in a few seconds, allowing Belle to let her burden go. The blazing cart crashed down as she leapt away. "Get... get..." she gasped, out of breath, to Keen, "get them into The Hole!"

Keen helped the two drivers to their shaky hooves and helped them limp to the tavern. Belle turned her attention back to the battle. It wasn't going well.

As she watched, the Chimera reared over an earth pony that had been backed against the remaining stacked crates. His spear broken, the brave Guard pivoted and bucked the monster right in the face. The lion head snapped back and Belle distinctly saw several of its horrible teeth go flying. But it was a futile action. The Chimera lashed out with a heavy paw and struck the pony hard. He smashed into the heavy crates with a sickening smack and fell lifeless to the ground.

Almost at the same time, the dragon head lashed out to the full length of the tail and snagged the wing of a swooping pegasus. The pegasus tried to break free but with surprising strength, the dragon-headed tail slammed the unfortunate pony down before lifting it back up and shaking it like a dog shakes a rat. A large chunk of the pegasus' wing tore free, leaving a mouthful of flesh and feathers in the dragon's maw, and the limp body went flying. It struck the ground, sending several of the heavy metal cylinders skittering and rolling around.

The recovered goat head... did nothing.

One of the rolling cylinders bumped into Belle's hoof, momentarily distracting her from the horrifying battle before her. She recognized it now as a lump of lead. She had no idea what it was used for, but it wasn't an uncommon piece of merchandise that came through Dock.

Her eyes were forced back to the carnage. Most of the Guards were down. Senseless or dead, they were out of the fight. Sunspot had rallied the remaining ponies to him. There were fewer than twenty left, most of them pegasi.

The Chimera faced them, pacing slowly like a cat, clearly in no rush to end the conflict. A horrible, rumbling chuckle emanated from the creature, although still without any obvious speaker.

"Well," the horrible deep voice said once the laughter had died, "we have not had that much fun in a millennium!" It stalked a little closer. "This task is worthwhile, even if just for this sport!"

It took several more steps towards the remaining guards but then suddenly stopped, its lion head cocking to one side as though listening. A moment later the voice returned. "Bah, very well. But we will continue the sport after!"

The Chimera turned away from the guards and instead began moving towards the cart that housed the strange casket from the ship. Its gait was ungainly, now that it was moving at a medium pace instead of dashing or stalking, it looked alien and unnerving. The cart in question was not two dozen paces away from where Belle still stood, stunned and unsure of what to do. The lion's eyes were fixed on its target, but the dragon head, which was swaying as the beast walked suddenly fixated on her. The monster stopped walking and turned to face her fully.

"Ah, the fortunate guard," the strange, seemingly disembodied voice said with a horrible chuckle. "You have been sticking your nose in our business and been a nuisance for too long. No friends around to save you this time. When we are finished with our task, we shall enjoy ending you." It turned back to its target cart while Belle's knees shook and she almost fell.

Suddenly, a small object was tossed out of the covered cart and smashed onto the ground right at the Chimera's lion feet. There was a sound of shattering glass and a massive cloud of smoke quickly enveloped the creature. It stumbled out of the cloud, the lion head coughing and retching as the acrid smoke filled its lungs. The dragon head, which wasn't coughing, snapped around, looking for the source of the projectile. The goat head still didn't even appear to notice what was going on.

Before the monster could recover, the cloaked figure burst out of the covered cart, the cloak slipping off of him as he moved with almost supernatural grace. He was a zebra. His stripes stood out even to Belle's rattled mind. He had several small bottles attached to a bandolier that was slung around one shoulder and met a belt around his waist that carried even more small bottles on it. They were securely placed, since they didn't dislodge or even rattle as he moved. He dashed up to the staggering monster and bucked it in its lion face. The Chimera stumbled slightly. The dragon head snapped forward, but the zebra was too fast and dodged aside, sweeping a leg at one of the lion legs, catching it right in the joint. The leg buckled and the monster stumbled. The nimble zebra leapt up onto the creature's back, using its dropping shoulder as a step. He kicked the goat head as he went past it and, somehow spinning to avoid another strike from the dragon head, landed on the ground directly behind it and lashed out again. His hoof caught the knee joint of the dragon leg on the same side as the lion leg that he had initially struck. This leg buckled too and suddenly the whole creature collapsed to the ground. The zebra leapt aside again and, with a skillful twist of his head, pulled another glass bottle off his belt and hurled it at the beast. It shattered against the dragon scale-covered haunch. Instead of smoke though, a thick liquid splashed out, coating a good sized section of the dragon leg. With a horrible sizzle, the scales began to melt, along with the flesh beneath.

For the first time since the battle had begun, the Chimera roared in pain.

Even though Belle's mind was completely overwhelmed with terror at the Chimera's words to her, her Guard's Instinct refused to shut down and registered what was happening. She shook herself vigorously and looked down at the lump of lead at her hooves. Suddenly, the spark of an idea kindled in her mind. 

Meanwhile, Captain Sunspot took advantage of the sudden onslaught by the mysterious zebra. He roared a command and he and his remaining guards charged. They fell upon the monster like an avalanche. The hole eaten away by the zebra's acidic potion was already starting to mend, albeit slower than the other wounds had. This time, the guards had a better time of it. They worked flawlessly together, striking quickly and leaping away, never staying still. The remaining unicorn guards were constantly on the alert for the occasional spouts of flame, and for a while the ponies held their own. And all the while, the strange zebra constantly adding to the confusion. Apparently none of its remaining bottles would be effective against the Chimera since he stuck to his hooves; but even those proved extremely effective. The zebra seemed to know precisely where on the creature to strike, and every blow clearly caused the creature discomfort or pain.

But it was not enough. They were fighting an immortal, unstoppable creature. Eventually it would get the best of them, and Belle knew it. She turned to run into The Hole and retrieve her guards, she would need their help, only to find all three of them hurrying towards her. They all had grim and frightened expressions, although Keen still had an edge of excitement in his; but they were there. Despite the horror, despite the fear, they had come back. Belle hurried to meet them halfway.

"We don't have much time," she exclaimed sharply, without pausing for a salute, "they won't last much longer against that thing. I have plan, but it's going to be dangerous, and I don't even know if it will work." She paused, waiting to see if any of them would speak, or leave. 

Oak did speak up. "We're with you, Captain. All the way." The others both nodded their agreement. Belle swelled with pride, but she didn't have time to linger on the sensation. She quickly laid out her idea.

To her surprise, nopony scoffed or left.

"Ok," she said when no one objected, "do you all know your roles?" They all nodded. "Good, get to it, we don't have much time."

A brief glance at the conflict showed her just how true this was. The unicorn guards had slipped, and most of the attackers were down, dead or grievously wounded, she couldn't tell. Even as she watched, the zebra stranger, despite his incredible agility and speed, missed a step and was seized by a foreleg in the dragon head's jaws and was slammed to the ground, several times. When the Chimera finally let go, the zebra didn't get up again.

Only Captain Sunspot and three of his guards remained, one earth pony and two unicorns. They wouldn't last long, but they continued the hopeless fight.

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Keen struck.

For the first time, Belle saw him fully unload his pent up energy and really display his skill. He dropped like a thunderbolt on the top of the Chimera, landing with both forehooves directly on the spine of the creature, just behind the goat's head, right where the fur gave way to scales. The result was immediate. There was a sickening crunching sound and the spine snapped. The Chimera roared in pain and collapsed. Keen sliced about with his freshly sharpened sword, almost completely decapitating the goat head. He leapt up into the air and quickly shot away, only to return a few moments later, flying at full speed, sword at the ready. He caught the Chimera just as it was struggling to its lion forepaws, its back legs still useless from the broken spine. The blade caught the lion head right at the mouth, slicing neatly along, almost cutting its face completely in half.

Keen wasn't done. He looped around and dived again, this time sliced at the ankles of the lion's paws, his wings almost brushing the ground as he flew by. The legs crumpled and the beast collapsed fully. Keen sped away, making sure to avoid the dragon head, which snapped around to strike at him. The spine was already healing and the back legs were scrabbling frantically, carving deep gouges in the wooden pier.

But just then, with the monster's attention fully on the harassing pegasus, Oak struck, and struck hard. The burly earth pony smashed into the creature, lance leading the way. The spear caught the Chimera in the shoulder just as it was trying to rise again on its rapidly healing legs. Caught off guard, the blow flung the larger and heavier creature to the ground. Oak didn't stop there, he reared up and brought both of his heavy forehooves down on the lion head, again and again, crushing the thick skull and literally battering it to a pulp. The dragon head lashed forward, but Oak had been expecting it and turned aside just in time, the sharp teeth struck a glancing blow only, scraping futilely against his bronze armored flank.

Oak sprang away, knowing that he couldn't match the immortal monster in a straight up fight. He and Keen had taken it completely by surprise, but that advantage was quickly diminishing. Sunspot and his guards now renewed their attack, and actually managed to keep it at bay. But it couldn't last.

Belle and Em hadn't been idle though. They stood over their makeshift weapon. "Do you think it will work?" asked Em in her regular voice, which was loud enough to be heard over the din of the battle.

"It has to," said Belle. "It's our only chance."

"But why you? Can't someone else do it?" Em asked, fear in her voice.

Belle shook her head, forcibly swallowing her own fear. "It has to be me, it's too heavy for Keen to use on his own effectively, and I'm the only one small enough for it to work."

Em nodded but looked worried. Belle looked at her. "I trust you, Em. It's going to be tough, but I know you can do this." Em smiled.

Belle turned back to the fray. It had to be now. The attack was already stalling as the Chimera managed to gain its footing back. A burst of flame drove the guards back.

Ok, this was it. Belle whistled as loud as she could.

In a few seconds Keen landed on the ground close by. He was panting from the exertion of combat and was covered in blood and grime. As soon as he landed, he began struggling with the buckles of his barding. Belle, who had already removed hers, helped him out of it. They needed speed now, and the armor would just weigh them down. Besides, it wouldn't help them now anyway.

"The timing has to be perfect," Belle said loudly to Em. Em looked grim but nodded.

"Ready, Keen?" Belle asked, turning to the pegasus.

Keen gave her a cocky grim and saluted. "Born ready, ma'am."

Belle climbed up as best she could onto the pegasus' back. It took some maneuvering to position properly and allow him room to fly. Em levitated the makeshift weapon up to Belle, who gripped it in her forelegs, bracing the heavy spear carefully. The moment they were settled, Belle gave another loud, sharp whistle. Keen took off, a little ungainly from the extra weight, but managed to steady himself and pick up speed. He wouldn't be able to fly far, but then, he didn't need to.

Oak, upon hearing the whistle, shouted something to Sunspot. Sunspot shouted something in reply, although Belle could hear neither because of the wind whistling in her ears. Sunspot and his guards pressed hard against the Chimera, driving spears and arrows into it, momentarily pinning it.

Oak slipped around to the creature's rear and struck. His aim was impeccable, his strength unbelievable; while the dragon head was lashing out at a unicorn guard who had gotten momentarily to close, Oak drove his broad-bladed spear right at the creature's dock, striking true. The blade cleaved right through the scales, which had proven much less sturdy than a normal dragon's and completely severed the tail. The long tail, tipped with the small dragon head flew off, blood and gore spattering the ground. The Chimera roared and wheeled about to destroy Oak, but the sergeant was already retreating.

Oak joined the other guards as the Chimera, in a terrible rage, unleashed another inferno over them. The unicorn guards' shield held, although barely; they were clearly at their limit from the battle. Another blast would do them in. The monster seemed to realize this and inhaled deeply, ready to strike. The dragon tail was already starting to regrow behind it.

Flying low and with as much speed as possible, Belle, on her pegasus steed, struck. It happened in the space of a few seconds, but for Belle, it seemed to last an eternity.

They flew over the wooden pier low, on level with the Chimera. They approached at an incredible speed. Before them, head on, the Chimera was just beginning to exhale and spew forth a torrent of fire. Keen passed right by the huddled and defenseless guards. At that instant, a dome of magic which Belle knew, but couldn't see, was tinged with green, appeared in front of them and around the guards. The first flickers of the fire splashed across the shield and were turned aside. Belle held her breath and steadied the spear in her forehooves, aiming as best she could. She saw for half an instant the raging eyes of the lion head, the vicious fangs of its gaping maw as flames rushed out.

For one last time, she faced the fire.

Then, the spear she held went right down its throat.

The second they made contact the shield collapsed and for half a moment, they were in the flames, but their momentum carried them through and over the creature. They clipped the goat head and crashed into one of the two remaining carts, the uncovered one. At the last second, a nimbus of energy, green she bet, surrounded both her and Keen as they smashed into the sturdy wooden cart. The heavy, fully laden cart splintered but held firm, although it rocked on its wheels. Keen and Belle bounced off.

The magic probably saved their lives, but it wasn't enough to keep them from harm. Belle staggered to her hooves, although Keen simply lay there groaning. Her right hind leg hurt terribly, but she didn't think it was broken. She looked around to the Chimera to see if her plan had worked.

To her great surprise, it had.

The Chimera was staggering around, gagging and trying to draw a breath. The two heavy lumps of lead that Belle and Em had secured to the spear head had lodged in its throat. The intense heat from the fire had softened it just enough so that it molded to the shape somewhat and had stuck fast right in its throat, completely blocking it. Unable to draw breath to melt it enough to dislodge it, the Chimera's airway was completely blocked. The other two heads flailed frantically, even the goat head; but as Moonbeam had noted so long ago, the other two heads had no windpipes and could not draw breath. The creature's healing factor failed it. There was nothing to heal. Unable to dislodge the lead, the monster collapsed, one last time.

Belle limped forward, her face grim. The monster lay, twitching. The lion front lay still, the eyes wide in panic but already starting to glaze. The goat head had already ceased moving completely and was slumped on the ground. The dragon head, which had still fully healed, seemed almost to be pulling, as though trying to escape from the rest of its body's fate, but it was clearly losing strength. Belle stopped in front of the dragon head just as it finally slumped. It looked up at her and seemed to try to strike at her, but it barely moved and could hardly keep itself lifted off of the scorched planking. Its horrible eyes glared at her, but the light in them was starting to fade. The horrible voice came one last time, ragged and strained. "You..."

Belle thought of the scores of dead soldiers around her. She thought of the terror this monster had inflicted. She thought of bursts of flame rushing to engulf her. She thought of Constable Snowflake lying wounded in the hospital. She thought of the burned out hospital room. She thought of Twilight, exhausted and recovering in the Guard House. She thought of her husband's worried face. She thought of two dead foals lying in the ashes.

Belle raised her glasses to stare into the dying eyes. "Get out of my town!" she spat. She raised a hoof and brought it down on the dragon head with all the force she could muster, driving it to the ground. The head struck hard, and the life in the eyes went out at last.

The monster twitched one last time and then finally lay still. The Chimera was dead.

Ish.

Belle wasn't sure, but she suspected if somehow the lead was removed, it would recover very quickly. Best to never find out.
> Chapter 10.5: Perspective
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monsters

By Sharpe Quill

Chapter 10.5: Perspective

Brine fumed behind his bar inside The Hole. He hated this waiting, this feeling of helplessness as outside the roars and screams of combat echoed inside the mostly-silent common room. All around him, ponies were huddled in groups as far away from the main doors as they could be. No one spoke, not even to whisper. The only sounds were the occasional whimper. From the smell of it, more than one pony had lost their nerve in a much more literal sense.

How he hated being old! In his prime, he would have been out there now, fighting this monster that had dared to disturb his home. Now he had been shunted aside, forced to hole up with these others, herded into his own place of business like any common dock worker. If his old crew could see him now, how they would mock him. Luna rest their salty souls.

He snorted in frustration. Beside him the mayor lay on the floor, quivering in fear. He couldn’t see, since she was on his blind side, but he suspected that she was crying. A small part of him felt some sympathy for her. She was a fine politician and a decent organizer, perfect for the kind of community that Dock normally was, not to mention amenable to Brine and his business, but this was far beyond her scope of control.

When she had first come to Brine with the news that a zebra historical society would be transporting some kind of magical artifact along with a shipment of gems, she had been slightly frantic about the whole thing. Apparently it was some kind of dangerous, cursed object or some such, not that the mayor believed in such things (Brine knew better of course. He had seen many things in his youth, and knew to not scoff at curses), but the Royal Guard had considered it a rather significant threat or some such, and sent a full contingent of soldiers to escort the object to Canterlot.

The mayor was not as corrupt as many believed her to be, but any politican gets nervous at the presence of Royal Guards. It was a lot of pressure for somepony who usually had little to no pressure on them, and Olive had been showing signs of cracking. Her handling of the fire and in particular the deaths of the fillies had been lackluster at best, and Brine knew for sure that once this all blew over, there would be serious repercussions for the mayor.

'If we live that long,' he thought as a roar reverberated through the building, followed by several whimpers from the terrified ponies inside.

Brine kept sorting through things in his head, trying to remember if there had been any indication of just who had been the one to bring the monster here. It was better than spending time thinking about what would happen to them all if the Guards couldn't stop that creature. He knew the shipment that had brought it of course, but he had been telling Captain Belle the truth, he really didn't know who had arranged for it. Anonymous transactions were common for his kind of work, and Brine hadn't gotten where he was by being nosy. It was not uncommon for rich merchants or nobles from Canterlot to smuggle illegal goods into the city itself, and Brine had spent years building his reputation as a reliable and discreet pony, so when he had received the message detailing the shipment of an exotic animal and instructions for when and how to transport them to Canterlot, he hadn't thought it unusual. Especially considering it had come with double his usual rate fully in advance.

Something must have gone wrong in the warehouse and this creature, this 'Chimera' as Sergeant Emerald had called it, had woken up and gotten loose. And had been causing havoc ever since. Assuming the guards could actually put it down and they didn't all die here today, Brine planned on having a long chat with the merchant that the package was meant to be given to. One way or the other, he was going find out who was responsible for bringing that monster to Dock and he was going to make them pay. He might even bring Captain Belle with him, she had been performing admirably over the last few days. Besides, she might prove useful.

There came a particularly violent roar of fire from outside, but this time, it was suddenly cut off. This was followed immediately by a loud crashing sound, and then silence.

Nopony moved. Nopony made a sound. It seemed like nopony was even breathing. Was it over? Who had won? Were they even now waiting for the approach of imminent doom?

After nearly a minute of absolute silence, a few of the ponies closer to the door began to creep slowly toward it. Some ponies started whispering to each other, and soon the room was full of whispers. Brine focused on the door himself, staring and waiting silently. Next to him, he could hear the mayor shakily rise to her hooves.

Suddenly, the door slammed open. A few ponies gave cries of startled terror but quickly fell silent. Brine stared.

Captain Belle stood in the doorway. Something on the pier was on fire and it flickered behind her, casting her shadow along the floor. She wasn't wearing her barding and the silver flower bud on her flank stood out against her dark grey coat. Her mane was dirty and unkempt, and singed badly. Her tinted glasses were down, covering her eyes completely. She stood with her head held high, but there was a weariness about her that was noticeable, even from a distance. Nopony made a sound as she walked into the tavern. She was limping, one of her hind legs dragging slightly. Her hooves echoed on the wooden floor. Everypony there stared at her with a mixture of awe and nervousness as she slowly made her way forward. The crowd of ponies parted for her as she finally reached the bar. She raised her glasses to her forehead and looked Brine straight in his good eye. There was a hardness to her expression that almost made him take a step back.

"Brine," she said, her voice tired, dry, and slightly hoarse, "I think I'll have that drink now."

> Chapter 11: Resolution
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



Monsters

By Sharpe Quill

Chapter 11: Resolution

Less than an hour after the battle had ended, the chaos on the docks had effectively been replaced by 'aftermath.' Belle, once again in her barding, stood on the docks, trying to keep as much of her weight off of her injured leg as she could. One of the doctors who were even now tending to the many wounded ponies had splinted her leg and told her to not do anything strenuous with it.

It had only been maybe a quarter of an hour since the fresh contingent of soldiers had arrived on the scene, accompanied by Twilight and Corporal Snowflake. They had double-timed it from Canterlot as soon as Snowflake had given the warning and had returned to the Guard House, but found only Twilight there. 

Now the unmoving form of the Chimera had been roped off. The bodies of the slain guards were being carefully and respectfully gathered together. Past the bustling and busy ponies, Belle could occasionally see the armored form of Captain Sunspot directing soldiers about and conversing with a large, similarly armored mare who seemed to be in command of the new contingent of soldiers from Canterlot.

Belle wasn’t exactly sure what she was supposed to do. 

She was still somewhat in shock from the whole thing. It was amazing how much life could change in an hour. She looked down at the blood-stained wooden pier at her hooves and shivered.

Next to her, Twilight turned to look at her. The unicorn seemed to have recovered a good bit from her magical exhaustion, although there were still faint circles under her eyes. “Are you alright, Belle?” she asked.

Belle started to nod but then stopped. “Honestly, Twilight,” she said, “I don’t know.”

Twilight merely nodded, her expression grim. “Can’t say as I blame you,” she said somberly, scanning the devastation around them. 

Despite her own horror, Belle couldn’t help but be thankful that Twilight hadn’t seen the attack. No matter what the young unicorn had said about facing down dragons and a hydra and Discord himself, she didn’t have to see this kind of bloodshed. ‘Not that I should have to see it either,’ thought Belle, ‘but at least I’m a guard.’

Twilight shook herself, as though trying to throw off dark thoughts. “I can’t believe what you did, Belle,” she said, pointedly looking away from the blood stains. “I mean, shoving lead down its throat? That was rather ingenious.”

Belle shrugged, Twilight’s praise hollow in the wake of the disaster. “It worked,” she said, “that’s all that matters.”

Twilight didn’t quite know what to say and they just stood there for an uncomfortable few seconds. Belle took pity on her and finally broke it. “I wonder what they’re going to do with it.”

Twilight looked at the still form of the Chimera. She had taken the time to examine it before it had been roped it off, being careful to not get too close or touch it, and had jotted down whatever information she had gleaned onto a scroll before stowing it in her saddlebags. For her part, Belle had had an up-close look at the creature, at the eyes and teeth and mouth, and never wanted to see the foul thing again.

“I don’t actually know,” Twilight said. “I would guess they’ll find a way to transport it back to Tartarus. I suppose-“

She was cut off by a commotion coming from near one of the smashed wagons. A raised voice yelled unintelligibly, and the nurses seemed to be struggling with something. Paling, Belle rushed over as fast as she could on her bad leg, Twilight close beside her. They had to push through some of the Royal Guards who had clustered around the scene as well. When she finally managed to get through, Belle saw the zebra who had managed to nearly fight the Chimera to a standstill. She had thought him killed by the blow, but apparently he had been merely stunned, for he was now thrashing about. Two Royal Guards held him down as a nurse tried to tie a splint onto one of his forelegs. He was gesticulating wildly with his other forehoof.

“The gem! Is it safe? Please, you ponies, let me see, I must see it!” He had a heavy, exotic accent, and he was shouting in frantic tone.

Belle and Twilight exchanged glances. Belle stepped forward. “Wait!” she said, putting as much command in her voice as she could. “Let him speak.”

The Royal Guards who were trying to quell the thrashing zebra looked at her, confused. Their gaze immediately shifted to the side. Belle glanced over too and saw Captain Sunspot standing nearby, battered but unbroken. He looked at Belle for a second and then nodded to the two guards. They took a step back, just as the nurse finished tying off the splint. The zebra immediately struggled to his three good hooves, heedless of the protests from the nurse, and hobbled over to the one remaining intact wagon, the one from which he himself had sprung when he had attacked the Chimera. In all of the excitement, Belle hadn’t given the wagon a second thought.

The zebra threw open the concealing curtain and gasped. Belle, who had followed him, looked inside and froze. Inside of the wagon, the two robed ponies who had carried the ornate chest lay slumped in the plush seats, their throats neatly slit, dried blood coating their robes. The chest itself was lying on its side on the floor of the wagon, its lid open. It was empty.

The zebra gave a cry of dismay at the sight and began spouting something in a language unknown to Belle. Twilight glanced into the wagon as well and flinched, covering her mouth with a hoof. She looked like she was going to be sick.

Belle rounded on the zebra. “What was in that chest?” she demanded.

The zebra yammered in his own language for a few more seconds before fairly shouting, “The Apple! It is the Apple. It is gone! We must find it!”

Belle stared in confusion. “An apple?” she said, skeptical. “You mean this whole thing is about an apple?”

The zebra shook his head violently. “Not an apple! A gem, a stone of power! The Apple of Discord! It has been taken!”

Twilight spun around to face the zebra. She still looked sick, but her eyes were intent. “Apple of Discord?” she said quickly. “Is that what you called it? Are you sure?”

The zebra nodded. He was quivering now, and seemed to be about to collapse. Two nurses arrived and tried to coax him to lie down on a stretcher. Twilight looked troubled. Belle caught her eye. “What? What is it?”

Twilight bit her lower lip. “I think we might be in trouble.”



***********************************************************


Twilight and Belle walked briskly down the street towards their destination, the latter limping somewhat with her bandaged leg. Behind them, silent and unassuming, Sergeant Emerald followed just behind, her large hooves barely making a sound on the cobblestones.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Belle, struggling to keep her voice even and calm. Her leg hurt her worse than she had wanted to admit, and she knew she would have to get off it soon or it might get much worse.

"Well," said Twilight, "I don't have any proof. It's more of a gut feeling. But at the very least it's worth investigating."

"But why?" asked Belle. "What did the zebra say that makes you suspect her of all ponies?" It was a testament to her trust in her new friend that Belle had even considered investigating her suspicion without actual proof.

"He said the gem was the Apple of Discord," Twilight replied.

Belle snorted. "So? What's that got to do with Eris? I thought Discord was trapped in stone."

"He is," said Twilight with a bit of a shudder, "and with any luck he'll remain that way forever. No, the Apple of Discord is an artifact from ancient myth." Twilight's voice took on a more comfortable, almost lecturing tone. "It's said that several thousand years ago, when pony civilization was still in its infancy, Discord, the Spirit of Disharmony, became fond of Eris, the Spirit of Chaos. It makes sense in a twisted sort of way, chaos and disharmony go together wonderfully, and where one is, the other is likely close by. Anyway, according to legend, Discord, in an unusual display of affection, gave Eris an apple-shaped gem that actually contained a small bit of his very essence. Wherever the apple was, disharmony would follow, even if Discord himself was not there. It wasn't nearly as powerful or... showy as the Draconequus himself, but was in fact surprisingly subtle. Anyway, the Apple is best known for its role in starting the Tori War, before Equestria was founded."

Belle listened to the story curiously. When Twilight finished she said, "But what does that have to do with our Eris? She's just a regular pony, she's not the physical embodiment of chaos. I've known her my whole life for Celestia's sake. I think I would have noticed."

Twilight chewed on her lip for a few seconds before answering. "I don't know. Like I said, it's more of a hunch. It just seems like too much of a coincidence that an artifact connected to the Spirit of Chaos is stolen in the town where a pony named after the Spirit of Chaos lives."

Belle nodded but wasn't convinced. Eris was such a sweet old mare. Belle really had known her all of her life, and they were certainly friendly, if not outright friends. It seemed impossible that such a frail and unassuming pony could be behind these atrocities and destruction. Although, she had to admit, the last few days had certainly been chaotic, and Belle could certainly relate to Twilight's questioning of the coincidence. She chuckled as a stray thought crossed her mind. "Heh, maybe it was her cat."

Twilight simply rolled her eyes and kept walking.

They arrived at Eris' house and veterinarian clinic a few minutes later. It looked as it always did, quiet, peaceful, even quaint. No lights were visible in the front windows, although the gate to the fence was wide open. There was no immediate sign of either Eris or her demon-spawn cat. Belle was quite thankful for the latter. They approached the front door and paused, listening. No sound could be heard from inside. Belle felt a slight shiver run along her spine, although she couldn't pinpoint why. She raised a hoof and knocked.

The sound of her hoof striking wood reverberated through the house, and they could hear it echo oddly back to them. Belle quickly put her forehoof back down as she felt a fresh throb from her twisted back leg. There was no response, and no sound yet from inside the building. Belle knocked twice more with the same results.

"Should we try to force it?" asked Twilight hesitatingly after a few seconds.

Belle looked at her flatly, an expression readable even from behind her glasses, and didn't say anything.

"Well..." Twilight hedged, "I don't know what the procedure is."

Belle snorted and rolled her eyes. She reached out a hoof and tried the latch. To her surprise, it turned easily and the door swung open noiselessly, without any resistance. Twilight and Belle exchanged a surprised look. “Well,” said Belle, “this is technically a clinic, I suppose it would make sense for it to be open.”

Twilight frowned. “But then why are all the lights out?”

Belle ignored her and took a few steps into the main room, wary of falling cats. "Eris!" she called out loudly. "Eris, it's Captain Belle! I'd like to have a few words with you if you don't mind. Eris! Are you here?"

There was no answer. The only sound was the soft hoofsteps of Twilight entering the building behind her. "Eris!" she yelled again.

“I don’t like this,” said Twilight in a low whisper.

Belle looked around the room. None of the lamps were lit, and the light from the open doorway seemed to cast unusually long shadows around the empty waiting room of the clinic. Something about it felt wrong. There was a heaviness in the room, like the air before a summer storm.

“She should be here,” she whispered back to Twilight. “She runs the clinic alone, and she would have closed things up if she were out.” She turned to Em, who had silently followed them. “Go check the pens around the back of the house, Em. Maybe she’s feeding the animals.”

Em hesitated for a moment, as though unsure if she should leave the two smaller ponies alone, but then nodded and slipped out the front door in her usual quiet way.

Belle and Twilight cautiously made their way through the main waiting area, Twilight’s horn glowing softly, providing just enough light for her to see by, but not enough to overwhelm Belle’s own vision. They searched the office and examination rooms but still found no trace of Eris, or anypony else for that matter. Finally, they found themselves at the foot of the stairs leading up to Eris’ living area. The stairs had walls completely enclosing them, and the top was completely shrouded in darkness, but a darkness seemingly deeper even than the rest of the house, almost as though it were resistant to Twilight’s light.

The darkness yawned like an open maw, and for a moment Belle’s mind flashed to the Chimera’s jaws, dark as death, moments before being lit by its own brand of hellfire. She surreptitiously shook her head, throwing off the fear, hoping that Twilight hadn’t noticed. 

After taking a moment to collect herself, Belle determinedly faced the dark stairs. She hesitated before moving up them. Not because she was frightened, she told herself, she simply because she didn’t want to intrude on Eris or pry into her personal life if she wasn’t involved, not without more to go on than a hunch. She turned to Twilight, and was surprised to see the young unicorn staring into the darkness above intently.

“What is it?” Belle whispered.

Twilight shook her head. “There’s… something going on up there. Something strongly magical, but it’s… wrong. It’s not unicorn, or even alicorn magic. It feels older, more primal, less sophisticated. It feels more like…” She went rigid and her next words were in a terrified whisper, so low that Belle could barely hear it. “Like Discord.”

Discord. The name sent shivers down Belle’s spine. The Chimera had been bad enough, but now the physical embodiment of disharmony? This was definitely above her pay-grade. “We need backup, now,” she said definitively.

Twilight shook her head. “There’s no time. Whatever’s happening up there is happening now.” She resolutely began climbing the stairs. Belle hesitated for a brief moment before hurrying as best she could to follow.

Belle caught up with the unicorn at the top of the steps. Twilight’s eyes were closed, her head swaying gently, evidently trying to determine the location of the magical disturbance. The light given off by her horn cast unusual shadows down the hallways that branched from the top of the stairs as her head swung. Finally she made her decision and began to move off down the left hallway and turned to push open the second door, Belle close at her heels.

Belle pulled up short when the entered the room. It was Eris’ bedroom. It was comfortably furnished with several dressers, a vanity, and a large bookcase standing against the walls. Pictures and nick-knacks graced the tops of furniture and several shelves, casting odd shadows from Twilight’s light. A large, classical-style painting, depicting a handsome stallion holding an apple facing a trio of unfamiliar alicorns, hung over the head of a large bed.

Eris lay in the bed on her back, her blanket pulled up almost to her neck, her forehooves lying on top of the covers. At first, she seemed to be peacefully asleep, but then Belle noticed that her breathing was so shallow as to be almost non-existent, and there seemed to be an unusual quality to her stillness. Suspended in the air above her was a large, translucent, apple-shaped gem. It bobbed somewhat, as though floating on unseen waves. It was giving off some kind of aura, bathing the unmoving Eris in an unnatural light.

Belle and Twilight stopped in the middle of the room, staring at the unusual sight for a moment. Then Belle took a step forward. “Eris?” she called, her voice barely more than a whisper.

There was no response from the reposing figure. Belle took a few more steps forward, Twilight close behind her, but she had to stop up short, causing her to put more weight on her injured leg than she would have liked. She winced in pain. Some kind of unseen force blocked her from progressing further. “What the…?”

Twilight took a tentative step forward and, leaning forward, touched the barrier with the tip of her glowing horn. The air itself shimmered briefly for a second, completely closing off the bed and the hovering gemstone.

“It’s some kind of shield,” said Twilight thoughtfully, in a low voice, “but unlike any I’ve ever seen before. It’s not unicorn magic.”

A horrible, hissing laughter suddenly filled the room, echoing oddly off of the magical barrier. For a few heartbeats, Belle couldn’t locate the source, but then she caught a flash of movement from the hallway through the open door. The laughter repeated itself and then, stalking through the open doorway, came the last thing she had ever realistically expected: Miss Fluffles.

The two mares simply stood there staring at the laughing cat for a solid ten seconds. The cat seemed to find this particularly amusing, judging by the expression on its cruel face. It waved a paw and suddenly the lamps in the room were lit.

Twilight recovered her voice first. The glow from her horn winked out. "What are you?" she demanded, her voice firmer and stronger than Belle felt. "What do you want? What have you done to Eris?"

The cat cocked its head to one side, its eerie smile still on its face. "What have I done?" it hissed, a horrible happiness dripping from its voice. "Why, I have freed her of course!"

"What do you mean?" Twilight pressed.

For a moment, Belle wondered why Twilight didn't just blast the smug feline with magic, but she supposed that she must be sizing the creature up. It clearly had some magic, judging by the unnatural shield and the lamps, who knew what else it was capable of. Plus, Twilight might still be weak from magical exhaustion, it was entirely possible that she wasn't confident that she even could do anything as strenuous as fight. Belle gulped, they could be in serious trouble here.

The cat stretched its back leisurely before answering. It then fixed its vertically slit eyes on Twilight again. "I mean I am finally freeing my mother from her two thousand year punishment."

"Your... mother?" Twilight sounded confused now, and curious.

"Yes!" hissed the cat, almost gleefully. "My mother! Eris, Spirit of Chaos! For too long has she been confined to this mortal form, for too long has she been forced to live the life of a... a pony!" It spit out this last word. "Finally, she shall be free to spread her wonderful chaos across Equestria again! She shall awaken my father and bring about a new world!"

Twilight gasped in sudden recognition. "Atë!"

The cat grinned broadly and made a spiraling wave with a forepaw, an acknowledgement, but said nothing. Belle, however, couldn't help herself. She turned to look at Twilight. "Atë?" she asked.

Twilight nodded, never taking her eyes off of the cat. "Atë, the Spirit of Ruin and Folly. Daughter of Chaos and Discord. According to myth, she was never as powerful as her parents, but reveled in their work, assisting in the downfall of ancient heroes and causing mischief wherever she could."

Belle didn't know how to respond to this. She stared back at the cat with its manic grin and mad eyes. "A cat?" she asked finally.

The grin faded from the cat's features. "Bah," it spat, "I have been forced to hide my powers away, lest that accursed nag Celestia sense my presence and bind me as she bound my sires. But soon, my mother shall be free again, and with the sisters' power diffused to other, lesser mortals, nothing will be able to stop her from freeing my father and returning the world it its natural, chaotic state!"

"But why now?" asked Twilight, her brow furrowed. "Why wait this long? With Princess Luna returned, you would face much stiffer resistance. It doesn't make sense unless..." Her eyes went wide. "The Apple! Of course. Your power alone wouldn't be enough to undo the binding, you needed more, and the Apple has a portion of your father's power in it."

The cat cackled, its horrible smile back in place. "That's right!"

"But why here?" asked Twilight, as though she couldn't help herself from asking more questions. "This is an odd place to wait, so close to Canterlot."

Atë smiled broader and stretched again. "Ah, but it was the perfect place. A hub of merchants, a place where I could easily gather information, but just enough out of the way as to be unnoticed by that nag. I have hidden here for generations, in plain sight, watching out for my mother. Her mortal prison is renewed every few decades, and I have worked hard to ensure that she remains innocuous and unimportant. Ponies notice her, but then forget her. None here realize that she has been here since before this wretched town was built. She herself is unaware, her true mind locked away. But now at last, she will be reborn!"

"And the Chimera?" prodded Twilight. "Where does the Chimera come in?"

The cat sat on its haunches, and began licking at a paw. "Ah, the Chimera," it said between licks, "such a brute. I overheard in the tavern one night that the zebras had unearthed an unusual artifact, an apple-shaped crystal gem. That made me pause, if it was his apple, then it could be what I had been waiting for all these long centuries. I kept my ear out carefully, and discovered that it was to be shipped to Canterlot for study. I knew then that this was my chance. The Apple of Discord was perfect. It would have enough power to unravel the bindings and free Eris. I waited patiently until I heard when it was scheduled to be shipped here. The Zebra lands are far away and I knew that I would have time. I arranged to have Cerberus set loose from his post, and escaped with the Chimera in stasis. I myself placed a magical decoy in its place so that it would not be missed for a while, long enough for my plan to be completed. I arranged for the Chimera to be shipped here."

"How?" interjected Twilight, as though unable to stop herself. " And why? If you had the power to free Cerberus, to steal the Chimera, and even to fool me when I checked the roster of Tartarus, then why all the secrecy? Why not simply take the Apple yourself when it came here?"

The cat lifted the paw it had been licking and wiggled it. "Magic," it answered almost gleefully. "But I had to be subtle. Such workings were small enough, and I used various agents to accomplish my tasks. I yet have connections throughout Equestria. As for stealing it myself, I knew that it would be under heavy guard, it was doubtful that I could acquire it without drawing unwanted attention to myself. Besides, I knew the Chimera would cause considerable chaos in this town, and that is all the more conducive to my goal."

"How did you free the Chimera?" Twilight was in full academic mode it seemed. "Undoing such a binding should have been impossible without considerable magic."

"Ah, yes," the cat chortled, "that was actually much easier than I ever could have hoped for. The Chimera is a creature of such rage, such anger, that it took very little on my part. There is such resentment and ill will in this dying town that I had but to sneak into the warehouse at night and cause a spark. After its initial outburst, which even I thought was tad extreme, I was able to communicate with it and lead it down into the tunnels. I struck a bargain. I would help it get its vengeance against Celestia and her precious ponies if it would but retrieve the Apple for me. Bah, its incompetence nearly cost me. It allowed one of the smuggling crew to see it and escape. If word got out, I knew Celestia would at once recognize its work and come to stop it. All of my plans would be ruined. Keeping a monster of such power and rage in check was taxing, but I must admit, seeing the chaos it caused was quite satisfying."

All this time, Belle's mind had sluggishly been trying to keep up. She felt so tired, all of the week was catching up with her, and her leg was aching. This all seemed ridiculous, farfetched, as though a dream. She was standing here, next to one of the most powerful magic users she had ever heard of, chatting with a demon-spawn cat while the cat's comatose owner, a pony who Belle had known her entire life, was apparently really a prison for an ancient embodiment of chaos. It was all too much, after the horrors of the last few days, especially that day, her mind rebelled and basically shut down.

But her Guard Instinct didn't. Perhaps reinvigorated by the mention of a spark, doubtless the presence of those two poor fillies in the warehouse, it kicked in and focused on facts. The cat was talking to them. In fact, it was being surprisingly chatty. Why? Could it be that it simply didn't consider either of them a threat? If so, then why confront them? And if it did consider them a threat, why not attack them and kill them immediately, why waste time with the banter and explanations? Unless...

Belle's eyes widened slightly behind her tinted glasses.

Unless they were a threat, and the cat, Atë, didn't have enough power to overcome them. It had said that it had limited its powers so as to avoid detection, but what if its powers were still limited, not necessarily of its own volition? What if it wasn't bantering, but stalling? Whatever was happening to Eris clearly hadn't finished yet. What if it was waiting for the process to be complete? Then they would be facing a fully liberated Spirit of Chaos. This creature was trying to keep them occupied, and it was working. Despite everything else, Twilight had become enamored with curiosity and the opportunity to get answers, while Belle was too exhausted and overwhelmed to react.

That needed to stop. They needed to act. Now.

But what could she do? She was just a tired, injured earth pony, what could she do against a being of such magic?

Her mind went back to two small, still forms lying among a charred ruin; to two families, full of anguish, which would never be the same again. She felt a familiar anger boil up inside of her. Her reason failed, but her instincts kicked in: she charged. With her injured leg it wasn’t a very impressive charge, more of a fast hobble. But considering she was only a few strides from the laughing demon-cat, it was enough.

The move seemed to have caught everyone by surprise, Belle included. Despite her handicap, she had crossed the distance between herself and the demon cat in just a few heartbeats. She pivoted and bucked hard with her good leg. Atë’s eyes were wide in shock; she apparently had not anticipated a straight-forward attack and had hesitated for too long. Belle's hoof made contact with the demon-cat's face with a crack that was oddly satisfying.

The cat went flying, slamming against the hallway wall across from the room. Whatever else it may have been, it was still physically in the shape of a cat, and not an overly heavy one at that. The form crumpled to the floor. Belle hobbled forward and pressed a forehoof down against the cat's back, holding it to the floor and pinning it in place. She turned her head sharply to look over her shoulder at Twilight. "Twilight!" she barked. "The Apple!"

Twilight roused herself with a shake, took a moment to register what Belle had said. When she did, she nodded sharply and turned back to the shield. Her horn shone brightly and with a bright flash the shield collapsed, leaving her path to the Apple unimpeded. She moved in to study it. Belle watched her for a few seconds but her attention was drawn down to the floor at her hooves as she felt the cat stirring beneath her hoof. She looked down and her eyes met the harsh, vertically-slit pupils of the demon. Atë snarled and squirmed beneath Belle's hoof, trying to get away.

"Remove yourself, cow!" it snarled.

Belle snorted and pushed harder against the struggling form.

The cat squirmed and tried to swipe at Belle's hoof, but couldn't turn enough to get at her. "Stay still, Miss Fluffles, and stop squirming," Belle ordered, putting as much authority in her voice as she could. "You're under arrest. I advise you to cease resisting and not make things worse for yourself."

The cat raged against her hoof, hissing and spitting. Belle turned her attention to Twilight, who was now leaning her head forward with her eyes closed, the tip of her horn a few inches from the hovering fruit. The aura surrounding her horn seemed to meet the aura surrounding the apple and the two merged, forming a link between the unicorn and the floating fruit. The air seemed to get heavy and thick, as though in anticipation.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light and a smell of ozone. Twilight stumbled backwards, a puff of smoke rising from the tip of her horn. The aura around the apple vanished and it fell, bouncing off the prone figure of Eris and onto the floor.

“Twilight!” Belle cried out, but she resolutely remained in place, her hoof pressing against the struggling form of the cat.
But the very next moment, she was struck in the gut by some kind of blow. Her barding absorbed the worst of it, but she was lifted off her hooves and thrown back into the room again, landing with an “Oof” of expelled breath. There was muffled crunch and a fresh wave of pain shot up her hind-leg.

When she looked up, her head spinning, she saw the cat rise up, now standing on its hind legs, its eyes glowing. It stepped into the open doorway and stared at Belle. The foul voice came from it again. “You meddlesome horse! You have interfered for the last time!”

Belle shook her head dazedly, the pain nearly overwhelming her, but managed to say groggily, “Miss Fluffles, this is your final warning. Surrender.”

The demon cat snarled and began to change. Still on its hind legs, it began to grow larger. Horns, one pronged like a stag’s, one curly like a ram’s, began to sprout from behind its ears. Its fangs began to length and slip over its lower lip. One of its hind legs began to shiver awkwardly and change, the fur receding and small overlapping scales replacing them. Within a few seconds it was already twice its original size.

“I will crush you, and your little friend too!” Atë snarled. “And once I have released my mother, she and I will bring this sickeningly orderly nation to its knees. You won’t live to see the darkness we will wrought! The time for secrecy is over!”

It threw back its misshapen head back to laugh once more.

Which is why it saw, just too late to avoid, the massive, heavily armored hoof of Sergeant Emerald Grass slam down right against its face. There was a short burst of sickening crunches and the half transformed creature collapsed, its spine folding over upon itself. Its laughter cut off abruptly.

With a grim look on her normally kind face, Em lowered her forehoof to the floor. In her usual, quiet, and overall gentle way, she had come looking for Twilight and Belle, creeping up the stairs and had moved behind Atë, completely unnoticed.

She looked at Belle. “Are you alright, Captain?” she asked in her usual whisper. Nothing about her expression or manner belied any kind of nervousness or fear.

Belle stared at her Sergeant, barely able to focus on her with the pain starting to overpower her mental functions. “I’ve… been better.”

Em carefully stepped around the collapsed form of Atë and walked quietly up, bending down to examine Belle’s injured leg. “I think this may be broken, Belle.”

Twilight carefully levitated the Apple and put it in her saddlebag. She then moved over to examine the collapsed form in the doorway. After a moment, her horn glowed again and a nimbus of energy surrounded the mangled figure.

Belle winced as Em began to repair the splint around her leg, which had cracked in the fall, mimicking Belle’s own leg bone. She grimaced but said, “What are you doing, Twilight?”

Twilight didn’t take her eyes off of the amalgam cat. “Just taking precautions. Atë, like her parents, isn’t just some evil creature, she’s a literal force of nature. Damaging or destroying her physical form won’t stop her forever, she’ll recover. I don’t think she’s quite powerful enough to reform quickly, but just to be sure, I’m going to try to keep her unconscious and block her from her power.”

Belle stared at her, disbelieving. “You can DO that?” Her question turned into a grunt as a fresh wave of pain coursed through her.

Twilight shrugged. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I never could have if she were conscious and aware, she’d be able to fight me off, but now…” She trailed off. “Like I said, a precaution.”

Belle nodded, but winced again with a sharp intake of breath as Em tightened the last bandage. “Thanks, Em.”

Em nodded. She seemed surprisingly calm about everything, composed. But Belle noticed that she shifted a little, as though unwilling to put weight on her bloodied forehoof, and she pointedly refused to look in the direction of the doorway.

Belle reached out a forehoof and placed it as high on Em’s other foreleg as she could (which, since she was still lying down, was barely higher than her knee). “Thank you, Em. You saved us, and you stopped the one responsible for all of this… mess. What you did was necessary.”

Em didn’t say anything, but Belle could see gratitude in her eyes. Belle smiled. “Now, Sergeant Emerald, kindly go inform Captain Sunspot that we have found his missing gemstone and apprehended the party responsible. And kindly request that he send some guards to secure both.”

Em smiled at that before slipping back into her guard role. She saluted, which seemed doubly ridiculous to Belle from her position on the floor, and she carefully left.

Belle laid her head back down onto the bare floor with a sigh. She felt a tension that had been growing for days slowly start to drain away replaced by a deep exhaustion like nothing she had ever felt before. She sighed deeply again and closed her eyes. This time she didn’t fight it, but allowed the darkness to overtake her.


***********************************************************


Belle opened her eyes, jerking slightly as she woke. Her dreams had been filled with fire and blood and the screams of the fallen. Luckily, it was already fading. She immediately screwed her eyes shut against the harsh light of the room she was in. She was lying in a bed, too thin and narrow to be her own. That, plus the muffled sound of voices and general bustling she heard, made her guess that she was in a hospital.

There was a soft sparkling hum of magic and she felt something settle onto her snout. Cautiously she opened her eyes; her darkened glasses rested comfortably in place on her snout, greatly reducing the glare of the light.

She looked around the hospital room and immediately spotted Lemon sitting next to her bed. His large face brightened with a huge smile when he saw her looking at him.

“Hey there,” he said softly.

She smiled, feeling much of her unease and anxiety, built up over the last few days, drain away. “Hey.”

She was surprised by how weak her own voice sounded. She stirred, trying to sit up more, but Lemon gently but irresistibly held her down.

“Don’t move, love,” he said softly. “You’ve been through a lot and even if you can’t feel it, you’re in for a lot of pain and problems if you move around too much.”

He nodded towards the foot of Belle’s bed. Belle looked down and saw that her injured rear leg was wrapped in a large cast and was raised above the bed with straps. This surprised her because she hadn’t felt it. Then, with a sudden panic, she realized that she couldn’t feel her other hind leg either.

Lemon must have noticed her realization because he quickly shifted the hoof that had been holding her down up to her head and he started stroking her mane soothingly.

“It’s alright,” he said in a calming voice, “the doctor cast a pretty powerful anesthesia spell on you. She warned me that when you woke up you might not be able to feel your hindquarters, but that it would wear off eventually.”

Belle forced herself to calm down, nodding at this new information. She swallowed before find her voice. “How bad is it?”

A dark and fearful expression passed over Lemon’s amiable face briefly. “Bad. It turns out you had pretty badly fractured your leg at the start, but then there were complications caused by the second… trauma.” He almost choked on the word. “It was bad, Belle. Dr. Crystal said you might never recover the full use of it.”

Belle took this news as stoically as she could. She stared straight ahead, not really seeing anything, quietly thankful for her husband’s continued mane stroking. She tried to think, to focus. Now what, if she couldn’t walk properly? There was no way she could perform her duties as Captain of the City Guard. What would become of her?

She didn’t know how long she sat there, staring at nothing, but soon she shook her head forcefully. This was foolish, she refused to feel sorry for herself. Her future wasn’t set in stone, and there was no way she would give up before she had even begun to fight. ‘Might’ was a nebulous word, and she could overcome this.

But that was a battle for another day. She turned as best she could, focusing on her husband. He was looking at her, patiently, steadfastly. He had always been her rock and her support. She smiled and leaned forward to kiss him. He studied her expression (he had always had an uncanny knack for that, even with her tinted glasses) and smiled back. The tension that had grown while she had processed the news quickly drained away from him.

Belle settled back against her pillows. “How long have I been out?”

“About two days, well, three nights and two days,” said Lemon. “It's the morning now. You were in bad shape when they brought you in. They had to do surgery on your leg, so the doctor put you under. Honestly, it got a little hard to follow everything she said, I’ll just let her explain it herself when she comes back in.”

Belle took a moment to process this. Two whole days. That seemed impossible. There was so much that had yet to be done. She had to get out of the hospital, she needed to see the investigation through to the end.

With his usual uncanny ability to read her, Lemon said, “Don’t worry, Oak and Em have been handling things. They’ve stopped by a few times to check up on you and they filled me in. You can relax, Belle. It’s over.”


***********************************************************


Of course, it wasn’t really over, not yet.

The rest of the day passed slowly, and yet at the same time it felt unreal, like a dream. Lemon, and later on Em when she stopped by to visit, filled Belle in on what she had missed. Apparently five strange ponies had arrived the day after the Chimera’s attack, friends of Twilight Sparkle. The six of them together had performed some kind of flashy magic that had somehow transformed the bodies of the Chimera and Atë. When all was said and done, the Chimera had been turned into a stone statue and Atë had become a wooden statue of a regular-sized cat.

Oak, serving as acting captain while Belle was laid up, had worked through the majority of paperwork and the two statues had been officially signed over to Captain Sunspot to be returned to Tartarus. Eris, who had been brought to the hospital at the same time as Belle, had still not woken up and was being transferred to a Canterlot hospital. The golden Apple of Discord had been collected by some of the Royal Guards and already been hurried off to Canterlot. Things in Dock were slowly returning to normal.

Belle had several visitors during the day, including a brief one from Twilight and her friends, who seemed to be a rather merry bunch. They couldn’t stay long, but it was a happy visit and greatly improved Belle’s spirits.

Later in the day, Dr. Crystal came to check in on her. She explained as best she could what had happened to her leg, but Belle was never quite able to comprehend it properly. The gist of it, however, was that it had been a bad break. As Lemon had said, it was likely, if not certain, that she would never recover the full use of it, although with some rehabilitation she should be able to get around serviceably. The doctor examined it while she was there and informed Belle that, barring any complications during the night, she should be able to leave the next day, although she would be confined to a wheelchair for the foreseeable future.

True to the doctor's word, Belle was released early the following morning. Even though she had to remain in a wheelchair for the time being, she felt significantly better to be out and about again.

That afternoon, Lemon brought her to Soil’s Funeral Home and Taco Hut. While Lemon was ordering, a familiar unicorn approached Belle’s table.

Belle looked up. “Hello, Twilight.”

Twilight smiled at her. “Hello, Belle. I’m glad I found you. I went to the hospital, but they said you had been discharged. I was hoping to see you before I left.”

“So you’re leaving soon? Do you have time for one more burrito?” Belle nodded to a vacant chair at her table.

Twilight shook her head. “I’m afraid not, My friends and I are leaving right away actually, they're waiting for me now, but I didn’t want to leave without saying good bye.”

Belle smiled and unthinkingly made to move over to shake her hoof, but was stymied by her wheelchair. She grinned sheepishly at Twilight, a little embarrassed. Twilight moved around the table and hugged her. Belle was surprised, but not unhappy at the affectionate gesture, and returned the hug gladly.

“Thank you, Twilight,” said Belle. “I couldn’t have done any of this without you. You saved a lot of lives here, including my own, several times. Princess Celestia should be proud of you.”

Twilight blushed slightly but looked pleased at the praise. “I have a feeling you would have found a way on your own. I wouldn’t bet against you, not even with a Chimera and minor Spirit of Folly thrown into the mix.”

Belle grunted skeptically but didn’t feel like making the effort to argue, but instead decided to change the subject. “What will happen to Eris?”

Twilight shrugged. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I suspect it will depend on how she is when she wakes up. In Canterlot, she’ll be supervised, and Princess Celestia herself will be nearby should things go wrong. With any luck, she won’t remember any of it and still be her own self.”

“But… she’s not even really a pony, is she? She’s just a vessel.”

Twilight shook her head. “No, I think she is a pony. I think that even if Atë was right and not just crazy, the Spirit of Chaos has been buried so deeply that she’ll never be able to reemerge. She’s still the pony you’ve known, Belle. With any luck, she always will be.”

Belle nodded slowly, not fully reassured. “And the cat?”

“Atë and the Chimera,” Twilight shuddered at the name, “have been sealed into their own prisons by the Elements of Harmony, and they are going to be locked back into Tartarus. This time there won’t be any more escapes.” She trailed off into silence, looking thoughtfully at nothing in particular.

“Twilight?” Belle prodded after minute’s silence. After no response, she said again, “Twilight? Are you alright?”

Twilight roused. “Hmm? Oh, sorry. I was just wondering, if I missed the Chimera’s absence when I checked Tartarus, what if something else got out too? Something else I missed.”

Belle shrugged. “Well, if anything else did escape, I wouldn’t want to be them once you found out. I’m sure you can manage anything. I have a feeling you’ve got some big things in your future.”

Twilight smiled, blushing slightly again. “Thank you, Belle, you’re a good friend. Get well soon, Dock needs you.” She extended a forehoof.

Belle managed to reach out far enough to bump forehooves. “Take care of yourself, Twilight. I’ll see you around, I’m sure.”

With one last smile, Twilight turned and walked away, quickly disappearing behind a corner. Belle watched her go but then noticed Lemon walking back to their table, tray of burritos floating beside him. Beyond him, she saw Soil at his counter, waving enthusiastically at her. Lemon smiled at her, sliding the tray onto the table.

Belle glanced down at her wheelchair, a renewed sense of purpose and resolve filling her. Nothing was set in stone, she reminded herself. She could come back from this. She could and she would, no matter how long it would take.

This was her town, and she would be there for it. Some may say Dock was dying, but as long as she was alive, it wasn’t dead yet.





THE END