The Canterlot clocktower was just sounding midnight as I skidded into the alley. It's not as though I enjoy running through alleys at midnight. There were plenty of places I would rather be. But something had come up, and it wasn't the sort of thing that could wait until morning.
I cast a quick glance around the alley. Piles of junk strewn about, but no sign of my quarry. I muttered a few colorful oaths, and was trying to plan my next move, when one of the piles of junk nearby shifted and transformed into a pony. His eyes were barely open, whether from exhaustion or booze, I couldn't tell. Probably both.
"What're you doing, waking me up at this hour?" He slurred.
"Sorry to interrupt your sleep, old timer, but have you seen a mare run by here recently?" I asked. "Bit on the short side, purple fur, blue mane?" The pony squinted, then grinned at me, showing his cracked yellow teeth.
"Lost your marefriend, eh?" He chuckled.
"Oh, no actually. See, I need to kill her before she can cause any trouble. Could you point me in the right direction?" The pony chuckled for a few seconds more, then stopped. He fixed me with a confused stare.
"Wait... what?" He asked. Before I could answer, I felt a tingling in my horn. Some pony had just used magic nearby. And considering how few ponies would be awake at this hour, odds were good it was my quarry. I concentrated for a few seconds to zero in on the location. It was less than a block away.
"Thanks for the help," I called over my shoulder as I ran off. The old pony in the alley stared after me for a few seconds, his mouth still open in shock. I chose to ignore him. He would probably forget the whole thing next morning. Hopefully.
And if he didn't, I might find myself in this same alley again with a different target.
As I raced towards mortal danger, something I had mentioned to him finally registered in my brain. I was not out to kill this pony. Not if that was not necessary. I decided to be optimistic and blame the slip on adrenaline, rather than my...more colorful issues.
I reached the place where I had sensed the magic. It was one of the older buildings in the district, a run down foundry from when Canterlot had been Equestria's industrial heartland. The door was covered in splintery two by fours, and the layer of dust on them suggested they had sat undisturbed for years. Another pony, less well informed, might have assumed the mare had run right past it. But I knew my enemy, and I knew that trickery was one of it's favorite weapons.
I waved a hoof over the planks. Sure enough, my hoof passed right through the illusions and into the empty space beyond.
I bared my teeth in a grin. It was a good illusion. If I hadn't known what I was looking for, I might never have found it.
I paused for a moment. Walking into hostile territory was a great way to retire early. So before I entered, I spent some time weaving a fairly complex protection spell around myself. Then I took a deep breath, and strode through the door.
It was dark. And I don't mean dimly lit nighttime dark, I mean utter darkness. This foundry must have been hell to work in, because there were no windows anywhere. I decided it would be a perfect place for an ambush.
Apparently, my quarry and I felt the same way, because a dagger flew straight at my head mere seconds after I entered. It was fast, and I was no warrior. The dagger was on course to carve a nice new hole right in my forehead.
Then my spell kicked in, and the shadows in the room instantly coalesced around me in a cocoon. The dagger fell to the ground, all forward momentum dead. I wasted no time retaliating. My horn darkened to utter black and a wave of energy roared out of it towards the mare.
Her attack had been subtle and precise. Mine was neither. The blow hammered her backwards, sending her into the wall. Her head struck hard, and must have disoriented her, because her disguise wore off.
A sickly green light descended across her form, and as it passed over her, she began to change. Her purple fur vanished, revealing a black, chitinous armor underneath. A pair of insectoid wings spread out from her back. Her pupils vanished, her eyes instead becoming a uniform blue.
A changeling. A changeling blood witch, to be precise. One of Chrysalis' own hand maidens. They were fanatically loyal to their old queen, and had chosen exile over reform when she was driven from her hive.
All changelings used blood magic to a degree. It was how they gained their shapeshifting abilities. But a blood witch was something else. Not only could they change their own form, but if they had even just a drop of some ponies blood, they could make that ponies life hell. And if what my boss had said was true, this particular blood witch had obtained blood from a very important target.
The princess of the Sun herself. Celestia.
I have to give credit where credit is due. The changeling recovered quickly and was on her feet in just moments. She threw another knife at me. I let my shield take the hit and calmly blasted at her again. But by the time I reacted, she had already left the room and raced through a narrow doorway.
I slowly followed her through the door. We had come to the main floor of the foundry now. Old pieces of rusted machinery rose from the floor as silent sentinels. The walls were stained a permanent black from soot and ash. Several old chains lay strewn about the floor. A nice place to hang out at midnight. I slowly made my way around the room, never letting my guard down.
A jangling sound from above drew my attention upwards. Nothing, but then a storm of rusty metal shards began to rain down on me. My shield formed above my head like an umbrella. That was when the changeling lunged from my left side with a long needle of bone in her hoof.
My shield was overloaded, and I was too slow to dodge. The needle scored a deep slice across my cheek, and then the changeling was gone. I raised a hoof to my face. Blood. And if the blood witch had my blood...
My fears were confirmed a moment later as my muscles locked up. I grunted and tried to move. I could not. A force stronger than any chain was holding me in place.
The changeling stepped forwards out of the dark, her eyes cold and unforgiving. "Foolish pony," she hissed. "You thought yourself a hunter. You and yours are prey, food for my brothers and sisters." I tried to deliver a witty retort, but whatever spell I was under held my mouth shut. "Still, your magic hurt." The changeling bared her teeth. "Few prey are capable of hurting me. I wish to return the favor." Pain, pure and agonizing, flooded my body. It was as though I was being crushed from the inside out by a hundred thousand angry hornets, while being forced to listen to poetry. The worst torture imaginable. I couldn't even scream to let the pain out, but I managed some pretty respectable grunting.
The changeling had positioned herself out of my line of fire. Despite all her bragging, she was still scared about what I could do. But if I couldn't aim my horn at her, there wasn't much I could do. I had to end her spell.
I found that I could still move my eyes. I searched around the room for something I could use to my advantage. My eye was caught by an old chain sitting on the floor. It sat less than two feet from the changeling's rear foot. I carefully lit up my horn, fighting off the pain every second. I caught the chain with my telekinesis, and began to drag it towards the changeling.
I had to go slowly. If I used too much power, the changeling would see I was using magic and kill me. If I dragged the chain too fast, the changeling would hear it and kill me. If the changeling decided she was suspicious, she would; well, you get the idea.
Slowly, second by agonizing second, the chain crept closer and closer to the changeling. She still watched me, amused by my suffering. I grit my teeth, thought up a small prayer to anybody that might be listening, then launched the chain. It wrapped around the changeling's rear legs and pulled back hard. She fell off balance, losing concentration on her spell
for just a second.
That was all I needed.
I whipped my head around to face her and lit my horn fully. I knew from experience just how fast she could recover. I had to put her down hard if I wanted to end this. I sent out my will, and every shadow in the room leapt to my horn. I gathered and shaped the energy into a lance, then sent it straight at the changeling.
I'm pretty sure it would have been less painful for her to get hit by a locomotive. The shadows crashed into the changeling, picking her up off her feet and hurling her against the wall. She struck with an audible crack, then slumped to the floor like a wet towel. I followed her example and collapsed, my chest heaving. After a rest that was far shorter than I felt I deserved, I rose and staggered over to the changeling.
"Alright. Now that we've established who is the predator and who is the prey in this situation, why don't you answer some of my questions." There was no response from the changeling. "Hello? Can you hear me?" Still nothing. I kicked her lightly. I'm no doctor, but the angle her head rolled to was definitely not healthy. Trepidation building, I reached down and felt for her pulse.
"Ah, fuck."
…
"Let me see if I understand this. You were told to take her alive...and so you threw her through a concrete wall."
I sat in a small office in the back of the royal palace. It was a nice office. There was a comfy couch for me to lay back on, and the various paintings adorning the walls gave me something interesting to look at. There was even a happy little potted tree in the corner. I had named it George. George was much more understanding than the pony behind the desk. I tried to explain the situation to the pony again.
"I told you, it was an accident. I was under some stress, what with the fact that I was being tortured and killed, and I made a tiny miscalculation." The pony behind the desk scoffed.
"Yes, a miscalculation. You certainly have had your fair share of those." My temperature seemed to drop a few degrees.
"Come again?" To any pony who did not know me, my tone might have seemed neutral. The few ponies that did know me knew that when my voice went like this, it was a good time to stop talking. George, for example, pressed himself back against the wall.
The pony behind the desk did not know me. "Reviewing your files, I have found an alarming number of casualties reported. It almost gives one the impression that you actually prefer killing your targets to leaving them alive. Why is that?" My hackles raised. This pencil pusher was getting on my nerves.
"You think I like killing?" I spoke the words slowly, methodically. For the first time in the debriefing, I turned to look at him. Something in my eyes must have warned him that he had crossed a line, because his skin flushed pale. "You want to know why so many ponies around me wind up dead?" I was suddenly standing up. A small voice in the back of my head seemed to tell me I was crossing a line, and George agreed, but I ignored them both. This pony was going to sit here and judge me? After everything I had done? I took a step towards his desk, my horn darkening.
"Soot Streak."
The voice filled the room like a thunderclap. Abruptly, my head cleared, all dark thoughts pushed away. There was only one pony I knew capable of doing that.
"Princess Luna. Always a pleasure to see you." I turned to the Princess of the Moon and gave her a slight bow. She inclined her head just a touch, then turned to the pony behind the desk.
"You are excused for now," she said calmly. He glanced at me once, gulped, then hurried out, barely pausing to bow to Luna. She waited until he was gone, then sighed and turned to face me.
"Soot, I know it's hard, but could you please stop terrifying the desk workers? Their jobs are hard enough already." I frowned.
"It's not like it's really my choice, your majesty."
"I know. How is your...other half?"
"Quiet, long as you're around. Pretty sure you scare him shitless."
"And when I'm not?"
I thought about it. "I don't really hear him as much as I used to."
"Because he's giving up? Or because his hooks are finally deep enough you don't notice them?" I didn't answer. Luna studied me for a second, then picked up my report from the desk. She studied it for a moment.
"Why?"
I didn't need to ask what she was talking about. "I was in a tight situation. It was kill or be killed, and I chose-"
"Bullshit." That made me start. Luna was infamous for keeping up a serious air. I could count on one hoof the number of times I had heard her swear. It occurred to me that as much as Luna scared the thing in my head, it might scare her even more.
"I know you, Soot," she continued. "I know what you're capable of. You could have found another solution."
"I didn't have time," I protested, but at this point, that excuse was even sounding thin to me. Luna's expression showed she agreed.
"Did you not? Or were you merely told that there was no time, and to kill the target was your only option?" Luna frowned. "I fear that he may have finally taken you fully, Soot."
So. It was finally that time. "Will I be executed?" Luna studied me carefully. I could see her eyes judging me, reading me like a report. She shook her head.
"Not yet. I still have faith that you can hold on." I released a breath that I hadn't known I'd been holding. Guess my retirement was going to be delayed a while longer. I wasn't entirely sure Luna's faith in me was justified, but I certainly wasn't going to argue. "For now, the immediate threat has been dealt with. Return to your room and rest. I will have need of you tomorrow." I bowed to her, bid George good night, and left.
Not every pony gets a room in the palace. I do. It's a charming little place. Roughly sixty square feet and only a musty old straw cot to take up any of that space. The thick cobblestone walls and heavy iron door kept out almost all the sound from outside, as well as keeping the room cool in summer. And best of all, it even had a small window overlooking the thousand foot drop outside of Canterlot, with convenient iron bars to keep me from falling. Home, sweet home.
The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon as I settled down for bed. My whole body felt stiff from the fight, and I knew it was going to hurt tomorrow. But for now, all I could do was rest. My Princess had a job for me tomorrow, and I couldn't let her down. I pulled a thin blanket over myself and hunkered down for a long sleep.
…
Nightmares in Equestria are exceedingly rare.
This comes from several factors. The first, and arguably largest, comes from the peaceful lives of the inhabitants. Most ponies can go their whole lives, and never once face anything particularly frightening or distressing. The second reason is that Princess Luna takes it upon herself to travel through the dreams of her subjects and banish their nightmares. This combination results in peaceful sleep for almost all of Equestria's inhabitants.
Except that my job involves coming face to face with those frightening and distressing things that cause nightmares. And requires me to do it at night. Which means that I sleep during the day, when Luna isn't there to patrol my dreams.
There's just no end to the benefits my job gives.
The dream I was wrapped up in was a familiar one. I stood in the center of a small, pleasant town. The normally plain buildings were decorated for a festival, with multicolored streamers hanging over every road. Tables were set up all around the town square, offering food, games, and other activities. A crowd of ponies performed a circle dance in the center, laughing and singing. I looked around, forcing myself to take it all in.
One of the ponies from the circle looked out and saw me. She was beautiful in every sense of the word. She gave me a smile that would have made a flower wish it was prettier, and reached out a hoof for me to join. I knew what would happen if I did. I saw it almost every night.
I took her hoof.
Immediately I was swept up into the dance, no longer in control of myself but being pulled around and around by forces beyond my control. I just rode the tide, waiting for the telltale signs of change.
They came soon. The ponies in the dance slowly began to lose their color, fading from vibrant shades of orange and blue to a uniform pale grey. Then their bodies began to dissolve, flecks of them floating off into the wind. And still they danced on, ignorant of what was happening. It was only when they were nearly gone that they saw. Then they turned on me.
"What have you done?" They moaned out. They crowded towards me, shambling forwards even as their bodies dissolved. "What have you done to us?"
I met their accusing glares without flinching, forcing myself to look at each of them and remember their faces. "I killed you. I killed you all." They continued to press in on me. A mound of ash began to grow around my hooves, coming up to my ankles, then my knees, then burying my whole body. The ash pressed into my eyes, my mouth, my nose, choking me, blinding me, crushing me beneath it's weight. I merely closed my eyes and let it happen.
When I opened my eyes, I was back in my room. A thin layer of sweat clung to my coat, and my chest was heaving with exertion. And in my head, I felt a presence returned. Even Luna couldn't keep him out forever. A faint mocking laugh filled my head.
Fuck off, I thought as I rose and looked out the window. The sun was less than an hour from setting. I returned to my bed and lay down. I knew that I wouldn't sleep again that night. I merely stared at the ceiling and waited. Waited until I would be told what my next assignment was.
Waiting to die.
I was alerted to the other ponies presence by the cacophony of shrieking hinges. Some ponies might find squeaky hinges on a door a nuisance, but personally, I enjoy the early warning in case something tries to sneak up on me. I rotated my head to see who had violated my peace.
Umbrarum may not have company mixers, but we know each other well enough to recognize our fellow operatives. The pony in my room was named Flake. I recognized him from the oversized sword strapped to his back. It was an ugly thing, with jagged edges and sporadic curves running through the flint blade. Some ponies might laugh at the sight of a pony wearing it. I had heard of what it could do. I didn't laugh.
"Princess wants you," he said gruffly. His eyes didn't meet mine, focusing instead on a point on my chest. I had the disturbing notion that he was deciding where best to stab me. I rose quickly, before he could get any ideas, and followed him out the door.
We walked in silence. There was nothing to talk about, really. All members of Umbrarum knew that it might be their old allies they had to kill some day, and no pony liked to build bridges just to burn them.
As we neared Luna's office, I could hear a muffled conversation inside. I pushed the door open to see a prim and proper guard pony speaking.
"I am, after all, captain of the Canterlot guard. And as captain, I must know about this secret team of yours." Luna groaned and put her face in her hooves.
"Captain, for the last time, there is no secret team. That is nothing more than some conspiracy, likely concocted by the same ponies who believe we are all ruled by lizard people."
"But the evidence is overwhelming," the captain insisted. "Just last night, for example-"
"Captain, my time is valuable, and I cannot afford to indulge you in your fantasies. Please leave." The captain hesitated, then bowed and turned to leave. As he did, he caught sight of Flake and me. His eyes widened, then a faint smile played across his lips.
"And just who might the two of you be?" He asked. His voice oozed with a fake politeness.
"Petitioners," I replied. He scoffed and turned to Flake.
"Weapons are not permitted in the presence of her majesty, the princess," he said. He eyed the sword and laughed. "Although truthfully, that is not much of a weapon." Flake said nothing, but coolly contemplated the captain's chest. I shifted my weight. I may not have known Flake well, but he was still a comrade, and if it came to blows, I wanted him to know I had his back. Easier to cut him down from behind.
I slapped myself hard at that thought. The gesture was not unnoticed by the captain or Flake. The captain laughed. Immediately a cold rage ignited in my chest. I glared at the ignorant noble. His laughter died off as he stared into my eyes. Flake slowly began to move his hoof towards his sword.
"Captain." Luna's voice cut through the tension. All three of us turned to face her. Her presence commanded the room. "I believe I asked you to leave." The captain hesitated, then nodded.
"As you command, princess." He glared once at me and Flake, flinched at our returning stares, and slipped away.
"You may leave as well, Flake." Flake looked once at me, then back at Luna and nodded. I watched him leave.
"That guy gives me the creeps." Luna's mouth quirked into a smile.
"He frightens you?" I nodded. She laughed. "Tell me, Soot, how did you sleep?"
"Fine," I lied. I motioned to the paper on her desk. "What do you need?"
"I need a stiff drink, and at least a week without any threats to Equestria. Sadly, I believe I shall have to make do with only the first. Tell me, have you ever wanted to see Appleloosa?" I pondered the question for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"So, we're finally checking that out, are we?" A few months ago, a group of bandits had been found slaughtered in the desert just outside of Appleloosa. Ever since then, ponies had been showing up dead in the surrounding area. As far as I knew, only bandits and other criminals had been harmed. Still, ponies were scared, and some were even convinced some evil spirit was at work. "I'm telling you, it's just some vigilante gang. You know how ponies on the frontier are. The milk goes bad, and suddenly there's a ghost in the barn."
"Be that as it may, there is still a chance this could be a problem for us to look into. We have an obligation to protect our citizens."
"Oh c'mon, it's just some bandits that have been killed. No ponies gonna miss them." Luna gave me a judgmental stare. "Ugh, fine, I'll go check it out. But when it turns out that I was right, and I wasted my valuable time on this, I want an apology."
"If you are correct," Luna retorted. "Your train leaves within the hour. Good luck." I turned to go. "Wait, one more thing." I turned back to face her. Luna coughed uncomfortably. "We must address the fact that you may not be with us much longer." I shrugged.
"I've made peace with it."
"You may have, but you have valuable knowledge and experience we cannot afford to lose. I have been thinking, and I have decided that for this mission, you will have a protégé." I stared. The wheels in my brain slowly turned until the statement processed.
"You're saddling me with a fucking rookie?" Luna nodded. "As if potentially executing me in the near future isn't bad enough, you're going to make me take along a fucking rookie?"
"Soot, please keep a civil tongue in your mouth. Yes, you shall have a rookie. Trust me, she is a capable individual. True, she may be in need of tempering, but I feel that you may be the right pony for the job." I scowled.
"This may just be the worst mission I've ever had." Luna smiled sweetly.
"You never know. Something could surprise you." I tried to decide if that was code for something. Maybe the rookie would not be as bad as I thought. Maybe it would be fun to have a partner. I tried to imagine what she would be like as I walked to the train station.
…
My first thought upon seeing the rookie was that there must have been some mistake. There was no way the pegasus in front of me could be part of Umbrarum. She was maybe a few years younger than me, putting her just shy of twenty, and had an athlete's frame. Her fur was a vibrant shade of green that was almost painful for me to look at, and her face had the most insufferably sincere smile I had ever seen. She casually wore a pair of saddlebags containing who knew what.
I looked around for some other pony who better fit my image of a monster hunter. The platform was empty besides the two of us. The mare I presumed to be the rookie trotted over. She held out her hoof to shake.
"Hi there, I'm Mist! What's your name?" I stared at her hoof and silently wondered if this was Luna's idea of a joke. There were several uncomfortable seconds of silence. The rookie's smile began to waver. "Are you alright?" She asked. A loud whistle signaled the arrival of the train. I brushed past the rookie and approached the door. The rookie quickly turned and jogged up alongside me.
"So, you're my teacher, right?" I grunted. The train car was devoid of passengers inside. I moved to one side and sat down. The rookie- Mist, I suppose her name was- sat down beside me. "If you're my teacher, shouldn't you be teaching me things?" I cursed myself for not having a hat to pull over my face. "Are you at least going to introduce yourself?" Mist asked. I raised my eyes to the heavens and took several deep breaths.
"You want lessons? Here's lesson number one; Don't talk so much." I rose from my seat and crossed to the far side of the car. Mist started to rise to follow me, stopped, and slowly sat back down.
I smiled bitterly. I was an amazing teacher. I had already taught the rookie one thing ever Umbrarum agent knew. Never get attached to your teammates.
…
The train arrived in Appleloosa several hours later. By that time, I felt suitably shamed. Mist had spent the entire train ride glancing over at me when she thought I was not watching. My brain made the disturbing connection to kicking a puppy. I had resolved to do a better job teaching her.
"Alright, rookie," I said to her, "We just arrived. You know the mission, you know the rules. What do you think we should do first?" Mist started, either shocked that I had addressed her or that I had just spoken three complete sentences.
"Well," she said after a brief pause, "first we should try to find out what we can. The bar would be a good place to start." She looked to me for confirmation. I nodded. At least she had good instincts.
We got directions from the station manager, then set out across town. Appleloosa was vastly different than Canterlot. The buildings sat spaced apart, and everything was covered in a thin sheet of dirt and dust. It was a nice enough place, if not for the ponies. Every one of them smiled, tipped their hat, and said hello. I kept my head down and walked as quickly as I could. Mist, on the other hoof, greeted every pony back. After the fifth time, I turned to face her.
"Could you stop doing that?" She stared at me in confusion.
"Stop doing what?"
"Talking to ponies."
"But we need to talk to them if we want to find out about this bandit killer."
"That doesn't mean saying hello to every pony we see. Remember, most ponies don't even know we exist, and we want to keep it that way. If ponies know we exist, that means our enemies know we exist, and that puts all of us at risk."
Mist stiffened up. "You don't have to tell me that." I was taken back by the sudden hostility in her voice. She hesitated, then turned and walked away. "Let's just get to the bar." I shrugged and followed. It was clear there was something she wasn't telling me, but then again, we all have our secrets.
We arrived at the bar after a short walk and pushed through the double doors. Inside was the picture of an old western saloon. In one corner, a pony played a jaunty tune on a piano. Several cattle herders dotted the room, swapping stories over bottles of beer. A bartender with a bushy mustache cleaned a cup behind the bar.
I motioned towards a table in the corner. A group of ponies sat playing a game of cards. Mist nodded, and the two of us walked over. "Room for two more?" I asked. The ponies looked up, then glanced back at one pony who seemed to be the leader. He cast a look over us, then nodded. Mist and I took our seats, deposited some bits on the table, and were dealt in.
"You two new in town?" Asked the pony I had marked as a leader. I nodded. "Pleasure to meet you, my name is Silverstar. I'm the sheriff in town. What brings you here?" My mouth was halfway open before I realized my mistake.
Normally, in a situation like this, I would have made up a cover story to explain away my presence. But with all the drama around the rookie, I had forgotten, and now, there was no way for me to communicate anything to Mist without giving us away.
My brain raced quickly for a solution. Mist's mouth moved faster. "We're reporters!" She shouted out suddenly. The ponies stared at her. She shrank under their gazes.
"That's right, we're reporters from Canterlot," I stepped in to save her. The ponies looked back over at me. Silverstar stared quizzically.
"What paper are y'all with?" He asked. I tried to think of the name of a newspaper in Canterlot.
"It's a new magazine," Mist spoke up again. "We're investigating supernatural occurrences throughout Equestria."
"Does that mean y'all are here about... the killings?" One pony asked. Mist and I nodded. The whole room got quiet. One of the ponies at the card table grinned.
"In that case, you've come to the right pony. I know all about them killings, and the thing what's been doin' 'em." He raised his voice so every pony could hear. "You see, long long ago, before this town was ever here, there was a prospector by the name of Jenkins. He and his partners came out to these parts to find their fortune, and a fortune they did find. But old Jenkin's partners decided that a two way split was better than three. So one night, while Jenkins lay asleep, they put a knife through his throat, then hid the body down in the mines. They thought the matter was settled. But the next night, something wicked came out of the mines. It was Jenkin's spirit, and he was mighty angry about the betrayal. He dragged his old partners down into the darkness, never to see the light of day again. Ever since that day, Jenkin's spirit has roamed the land, searching for wicked souls to punish."
"Yer full of it, Tumbleweed!" Called out a pony from the bar. "There was never no pony named Jenkins!" Tumbleweed glared at the heckler.
"Oh really, Dusty? Then why don't you tell me where them killings are coming from?" All eyes swung to Dusty, who took a moment to soak in the attention.
"Well, my cousin from up north, he says that there used to be these creatures that lived there. They only came out at night, and when the morning sun rose, ponies turned up dead!" The bar patrons exploded into shouting.
"If them creatures lived up north, what makes you think one of them came down here?" One pony demanded. Dusty smiled.
"Well, my cousin says that one of them monsters was still alive in an old castle up there. But then, ponies stopped seeing it around there. They sent a group to investigate, and the castle was empty. But the very next week, the first killing happened here!" This set the crowd into another fit of noise.
Silverstar at the card table stood up. "Now settle down, all of you!" The ponies quieted. "These killings have nothing supernatural about them! They're the work of a pony, same as you or I! I don't want to hear any more talk about ghosts or goblins or what have you!" The patrons settled down into a sullen silence. Silverstar glared at Mist and me.
"Now listen, I respect journalists, but folks around here are already on edge. The last thing we need is the pair of you gallivanting about and stirring up more excitement. It would be mighty kind of you to keep your little investigation on the down low." I nodded. The pony struck me as one I would rather not annoy.
The card game resumed. I had always assumed I was good at reading other ponies and hiding my thoughts, but I had nothing on the cattle herders. They treated the game like a sacred art, and each and every one held a mastery of it like a musician in the Canterlot philharmonic held of their instrument.
But if the cow ponies were musicians, Mist was the conductor. She knew exactly what every pony held before they did, and never gave a hint of her own cards. Within several hands, almost every coin at the table was piled up beside her. The ponies around us watched in amazement, calling out shouts of encouragement to Mist and insulting the rest of us.
One pony at the table seemed to take defeat a bit more personally than the others. He rose angrily. "You're cheating!" He roared at Mist. The rookie hid her face behind her cards.
"Prod, I think you've had a bit too much to drink," cautioned Silverstar. Prod ignored him and stormed over to Mist's side. He towered several feet above her. I made no move to stop him. If I solved all the rookie's problems for her, she would never learn. Still, I started charging my horn. If things did turn bad, ponies would be picking bits of Prod out of their drinks for the next week.
Prod glared down at Mist, who stared back up fearfully. "Now, let's all just calm down," she said in a stuttering voice. "No need for things to devolve into senseless violence." Prod glared.
"Why don't you show me where you're hiding those cards," he growled, and seized Mist's shoulder. Something in my chest snapped. I lowered my horn and prepared to send Prod into the next life.
I never got the chance. One second, Prod was beginning to assault my rookie. The next, he was lying in the shattered remains of the card table. Mist clutched the leg which had been holding her, which now bent at an unnatural angle. Prod moaned slightly. Ever pony stared at Mist in shock, myself included. She grinned sheepishly.
"Oops," she squeaked. "Sorry." Silverstar shook his head.
"Don't be," he said, "If you hadn't, I would have. If I had the chance, considering your friend there seems ready to kill something." He looked down at Prod's prone form. "I think Prod here needs some time in the drunk tank to cool off." He lifted Prod onto his back and began to walk out the door. Just before he left, he turned back. "Do you two have somewhere to stay tonight?" Mist and I shook our heads. "I'd prefer you not to have the impression that all us Appleloosans are like that. I would be honored if you would stay at my house for your visit."
"Oh, we wouldn't want to intrude," Mist stammered. Silver Star chuckled.
"It wouldn't be an inconvenience. Besides, I feel a bit bad about my comments to you earlier about your work."
"Thank you for the offer, sheriff," I said. "We'll take you up on that."
"Glad to hear. My house is two blocks down, first on the right." He handed me a key, then turned and left. I went over to Mist. She was perched on the edge of her chair, her eyes darting wildly around the room.
"Mist?" I gently called out. Her head whipped around to face me. "We're going now, okay?" She hesitated, then nodded. The two of us left as ponies behind us stared. I watched Mist carefully. She seemed slightly shaken by what she had just done.
"Well," I said slowly, "So much for keeping a low profile." Mist looked at me, then softly chuckled.
"Yeah, I guess so." We reached Silver Star's house soon enough. It was a pleasant little two story abode, nestled among what seemed to be the good part of town. We let ourselves in.
Inside, the home was nicely ordered. A small rug rested on the floor of the living area, with several couches dotted about. A cozy little fireplace sat against one wall. A small doorway led to a kitchen in the back, and a set of stairs led to the sleeping quarters upstairs.
My attention, however, was fully captivated by a map spread across the coffee table. I moved over to examine it. It seemed to be a map of the town and the surrounding area. Red x's marred the landscape sporadically.
"Ah, I see you found my little project." I glanced up to see Silver Star coming through the door. He gestured to the map. "That's my record of every kill that's happened in this area for the last few months. I started it once I realized some of these are connected."
"Some of these," I interjected, "But not all of them?" Silver Star shook his head.
"The desert... well, it's not the most hospitable place. Sometimes, ponies just turn up dead without reason. Could be the vigilante's work, could be the desert, could be something else." Mist peered closely.
"What's this place?" She asked, gesturing at one spot which was coated with x's.
"That there is the Labyrinth. It's a big honking rock, except it's got all sorts of tunnels and crevasses running through it. Pony might just wander in a few steps to check it out, turn around, and suddenly they're lost. We've had to seal the area off. Too many folks go missing there." Silver Star did not miss the look Mist and I gave each other. "Oh no, don't even think about it. There is no way I'm letting you two run off there and get yourselves killed."
"Don't worry, sheriff," I assured him. "We promise, we won't set hoof anywhere near there." Silver Star stared at Mist and I for a few seconds, then nodded.
"You better not. Remember what I said."
"Yeah, yeah, certain doom and all that. Tell you what, I'm pretty tired. Think I'll turn in for tonight."
"Alright. Your room is first on the right. Just tell me if you need anything." I went to the room. Inside was a cozy sleeping space, with two cots and a wardrobe. Maybe not as high end as my accommodations at the palace, but it would do. I settled into the bed on the right and hunkered down for sleep. Mist entered a few minutes later and went to the opposite bed. Within minutes, both of us were asleep.
…
I awoke at the first stroke of midnight. It was clear that Silver Star didn't want me anywhere near the Labyrinth. He seemed like a good pony, but overly protective. If I wanted to check the place out, I had to go now.
I rolled out of bed and crept over to Mist. I didn't want to speak, in case Silver Star would hear. I reached out and gently shook Mist's shoulder.
A second later, I was trapped in a sleeper hold. "Gckkk… Mist! It's me, Soot! Stop choking me!" The hold abruptly loosened.
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! It was just instinct, I promise I won't do it again! Are you okay?" I growled and began to charge my horn to teach her some manners. Just before I could blast her, I looked her in the eye. The genuine concern on her face stopped me in my tracks. What was I doing? Was I really about to attack my rookie?
I stopped and composed myself quickly. "No harm done, but let's get out of here quickly. I think all that ruckus may have woken up Silver Star." Mist cocked her head in confusion.
"Oohh, we're sneaking out to the Labyrinth, aren't we?" I nodded, and gestured for her to follow. Mist reached into her saddlebag, and drew forth a pair of wicked looking steel daggers, which she strapped to either foreleg. So that was what was in the bags.
The two of us slipped out of the room. From down the hall, I could hear the sound of Silver Star's jackhammer snores. Guess he was still asleep. All the better for us.
Mist and I left the house and proceeded towards the labyrinth. While the day had been blazing hot, nighttime in the desert was freezing cold. It defied logic, and I silently cursed myself for not packing warmer clothes.
We left the limits of town soon enough. The wind whistled across the empty desert, a lonely lullaby for the landscape. Less than a half hour of walking brought us into sight of the Labyrinth. The enormous rock face stretched out before us, as imposing as any prison or fortress constructed by pony. A gaping fissure opened before us, daring us to approach. We obliged it.
As we travelled the twisting corridors, I realized the futility of our mission. I had hoped to find signs of life or a trail to follow, but within the tight walls, the wind roared about with a vengeance, destroying any trace of passage. Every time we took a turn, Mist scratched an arrow in the rock with her knives. Without those marks, I had no idea how we would have found our way back.
After an hour of travel, I realized that we were woefully underprepared. I turned around to tell Mist to go back, when she held up a hoof and silenced me.
"Do you hear that?" She whispered. I cocked my head.
"Hear wha-" something struck me from behind and knocked me to the ground. My vision swam as I turned my head. I saw Mist surrounded by three ponies, struggling to fend them off. I knew I must have hit my head pretty hard, because from where I was laying, it looked like she was winning. She swept the legs out from one assailant, then pivoted around to block the strikes of the second. Even as I watched, however, two more ponies joined the assault and overpowered her. Something grabbed me from behind and hauled me to the wall. I felt rough ropes bind my hooves behind my back. Mist was dumped next to me, similarly tied.
I got a good look at our assailants. A rag tag group of ponies, all rough and wild looking. Each of them wore a scarf around his face to hide their features. They all glared down at us.
One of them stepped forwards, and the rest stepped back. He slowly walked towards me and Mist, then dropped to a crouch. He leaned in close to my face.
"I don't see no badges, which means you're no posse. Course, I don't recognize you, which means you ain't no bandits either. So why don't you tell me what you're doing in our neck of the woods?" I stared at him. Then I turned to Mist.
"Luna owes me an apology," I told her. The pony in front of me squinted.
"What'd you say?" He asked. I turned back.
"I said you fucked up. Just guessing here, but you folks are the ones behind all the murders out here lately?"
"Justice," corrected the pony. "Don't count as murder if the things we're putting down are less than pony."
"Glad to see we agree on that," I told him, "but not every pony sees things as clearly as you and I. See, you've got folks so rattled up, some of them are saying you must be ghosts, or spirits, or some dark force come to avenge the dead, or right the wrongs, or what have you. And that's not something we can have in Equestria, now is it? Which means some ponies have to come and deal with it. Now, you may be asking yourself, why am I telling him all this? Well, the answer, simply put, is I plan to kill you and your friends before I leave." The pony stared at me, then gave a snort.
"Please, spare us all the big talk. You're trussed up like a Hearth's Warming turkey. What exactly do you think you're gonna do?"
I gestured at Mist. "You saw my partner take down half your friends? Let's just say she's not the one you should be scared of."
"C'mon, Quick, let's just cut their throats and be done with it!" One of the ponies called out. The pony before me, the one called Quick, turned back.
"You know the rules! They ain't no bandits, we ain't gonna kill them."
"But they just threatened us! Are you gonna-" Quick shut him up with a glare.
"I said, we ain't gonna kill them." He turned back to me, then gestured back the way Mist and I had come.
"You know how to get back to town?" I nodded slowly. "Good. Now, you and your lady friend are gonna go on back to town, catch the next train back to Canterlot, and go on and tell ole' Luna what's going on down here. And you can tell her, once we see some proper protection down here, then ponies like us will stop defending ourselves." He got up and began to walk off.
"Are you at least gonna untie us?" I called after him. He just laughed as his posse fell in behind him. I muttered a few choice words after him, then turned back to Mist.
"Mist, can you..." my voice trailed off as I saw her standing in front of me, the ropes that had tied her up lying nearby.
"Well, at least you were right," she said as she cut my ropes with her dagger. "It's not spirits." I stood up and gently massaged my hooves. Mist turned and began walking back in the direction of town. She stopped when she realized I wasn't following.
"Soot?" She called back tentatively. "Aren't you coming?" I stared in the direction the ponies had gone.
"You go on ahead," I called back. "I have something I have to do first." She froze stiff, and stared at me with an odd expression.
"Soot, they're just ponies. They're not our responsibility. We have to go report this to Luna." I waved her off and began to follow the trail the vigilantes had left. "Soot, don't do this!" Mist shouted. "You don't have to do this!" I casually lit my horn. A second later, I heard her body hit the rock wall.
With another quick spell, I merged into the shadows and began to slither down the trail. Within minutes, I had come upon the vigilantes. The leader, Quick, walked in front, with the pony that had called for my death at his side.
"I'm telling you, we should've killed 'em!" He protested. Quick shook his head.
"We have rules, Cider. It's what makes us different from the ponies we kill." I moved, undetected by any mortal senses, and slid right next to Cider's side.
"Well, we still should've done something else with 'em. That unicorn, he gave me the creeps."
"How rude," I leaned in and whispered to him. He jumped at least a foot in the air and stumbled into his companions. They fell over like a line of dominoes. All of them stared up in fear as I rose in front of them, molding the shadows to my body to create a horrifying form. I laughed at their expressions.
"He is right, though," I continued, then stared down at Quick. "You really should have killed me." Chains of shadow lashed out from the earth to bind the vigilantes in place. Their eyes were white as snow as they stared at their impending death. I closed my eyes and prepared to savor their dying cries.
"Soot, stop." I paused and opened my eyes. Mist was standing between me and the vigilantes. I cocked my head in confusion.
"Didn't I throw you into a rock?" I asked. She rudely ignored the question.
"Soot, I know this isn't you," she continued. "You would never hurt ponies like this. You would find some other way." She hesitated. "Before we left, Luna told me... if you went too far, I was supposed to kill you." I was a bit surprised by that.
"Do you really think you can kill me?" I asked, more out of shock than anything else. Mist's eyes stayed hard.
"I don't know, but I really don't want to find out." She leaned in closer. "Soot, please."
"Kill them all," whispered a voice in my head. "Kill them all, then claim your godhood." I felt my horn light up again, ready to blast. I felt my head lower to aim.
Then I felt myself stop. Something pushed back against the voice, something solid that hadn't been there before. And for the first time, I questioned why I was there. Sure, the vigilantes were a threat, but it was not my call on if they lived or died. Heck, I had been the one who antagonized them, not the other way around. I slowly released the shadows from my thrall, becoming just Soot once again. I looked at Mist, then nodded. She nodded back, although her eyes remained hard. I looked at the vigilantes, then released their chains. Quick stared at me in confusion, then rose and helped up his men. Some of them began to approach me, but he stopped them with a shake of his head. The whole gang slowly rose, then disappeared into the Labyrinth. Mist and I turned and went the other way, back towards town.
…
"And that's what happened." I finished my report with a small exhale and lay down on the couch. I couldn't look at Luna, instead focusing on the plant I had named George. Luna said nothing, merely contemplated me with a veiled stare.
"Thank you, Soot, that is all for now. Please return to your room to await further assignment." I didn't move.
"Princess, I have just one favor to ask. Could I at least... could I say goodbye to my parents?" She looked at me in confusion.
"Why? Are you going somewhere?"
"Please, no jokes, not now. I know what has to happen. I failed. The spirit got full control over me. That makes me a liability. I just want to let my parents know I tried before you execute me."
Luna stared at me. "Soot, I have no plans to execute you anytime soon." That took me by surprise.
"What? Why?" I sat bolt upright. "I-I failed! The spirit- it- he-"
"Gained control of you, I heard that part. I also heard about how you managed to take back control." I shook my head.
"Well, yes, but; if it got control once, it can get control again!" Luna glanced down at the transcript she held of my report.
"Tell me, Soot, when is the last time you heard the spirit's voice before this event?" I thought back.
"I don't know, I guess... a year or two ago?"
"So not only did you retake control of your mind, you drove the spirit far enough back that it can no longer directly manifest in your subconscious, but has to speak directly to your conscious mind?" My eyes widened as I realized the significance.
"It can't control me anymore?" Luna waved a hoof.
"Well, it could never control you fully, but it could manipulate you into believing that it's thoughts were yours. Now, you should be able to recognize when the spirit is pushing you towards something, and push it back." I felt a wide grin spread over my face. Luna saw it and smiled back. "Yes, it is a relief, is it not? And to think, all these years, all these spells and treatments, and in the end, all it took was a pretty young mare who cared about you." I smiled and nodded along, then processed exactly what she had just said.
"Wait, what? No, no, no no no, that is not at all how it is!" Luna laughed.
"As you say, Soot, as you say. Still, from now on, agent Mist Dancer will be accompanying you on all your missions."
"Princess, I swear, it is not like that," I protested as she left. It was not at all like that, I told myself. The voice in my head groaned. I politely told it where it could stick itself, then left the briefing room and prepared to catch up on lost sleep.
I was nearly back at my room when I was halted. A stocky pegasus stallion stood in the middle of the hallway, a perpetual glare on his face. As I said earlier, Umbrarum agents did not socialize, but I recognized this pony regardless. Any soul in Umbrarum would have. Blade Dancer was nothing short of a legend. The longest active member, he had almost single handedly eliminated more threats to Equestria than the rest of us combined. He stared me up and down.
"Can I help you?" I asked as politely as I could. He looked at me distastefully.
"So you're the pony training my daughter?" He asked. My brain was far too tired for rational thought at this point, and far past the point of polite responses.
"Wait a minute, Mist is your daughter?" I asked in confusion. He gave a good effort at killing me with his eyes.
"I've read your files. Let me be clear on one thing. If anything happens to my daughter because of you, I will make sure you regret it." Even my brain, frozen though it was, caught the threat. I gulped, then nodded frantically. He pushed past me roughly, then continued down the hall.
I returned to my room and sank onto my bed. My head hit the pillow, and I was asleep in moments.
For the first night in years, I had a dreamless sleep.d