The Dresden Fillies: Great Power

Chapters

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Prologue
Chapter Ten

Chapter One

The Dresden Fillies: Great Power

Written by: psychicscubadiver
Edited by: SilentCarto
Proofreader: Coandco

Disclaimer: I don’t own The Dresden Files or My Little Pony, that is Jim Butcher and Hasbro, respectively. This is a fanfiction only. This story takes place between Seasons Two and Three in MLP and between books Eight and Nine in the Dresden Files.

Chapter One

The sun had almost set and only a dim orange glare illuminated the land. Six young ladies and one teenaged boy, most of their hair colored in hues not available without the aid of chemicals, trooped alongside a mostly empty ‘highway’. Every now and then one of the rumbling human carts raced by at incredible speeds.

“That could have gone better,” Twilight said, running her hand through her mane. Or whatever humans called the long hair on their heads. The lack of hair anywhere else wasn’t just weird, it was also completely impractical in this chilly weather. No wonder nudity was a taboo; humans must have to wear clothing all the time just to keep from freezing. Having hands had been useful thus far, though. Twilight could see why Dresden had been reluctant to give up his.

“You think? I had a good time,” Pinkie declared proudly, her arms still full of plush animals.

“When you get evicted from a diner, you know you’ve hit rock bottom, dear,” Rarity said. She sighed and began digging through the large backpack carried by the teenage boy. “It would appear that despite Dresden’s description of his home, we are somewhat less prepared than we might have hoped.” At last she found a more sensible pair of shoes for hiking than the crystal heels she had hoped to make a good impression with.

“Changing shoes again?” Dash asked from the front of the group.

“Yes,” Rarity replied testily. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but human feet are a tad more delicate than hooves.”

“Really?” Applejack asked. “I’ve been walking on mine all day, and they don’t feel too bad.”

“Well, your earth pony toughness and vitality is still a part of you. The spell I used shouldn’t affect any of our natural magic, just the shape of our bodies,” Twilight said. “That’s why Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash aren’t complaining about the cold, even though their clothing is probably the thinnest.”

Dash glanced at her thin shirt and knee length shorts, and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well whoop-de-doo. That silver lining isn’t worth much without wings. I thought it was bad enough when Discord took ‘em, but that was only for a little while. How does Dresden live like this?” she complained.

“Well, I think it’s fun!” Pinkie said, giggling slightly. “It’s like walking on stilts all the time!” Her various prizes had disappeared, but at this point in their friendship, the other ponies-turned-human didn’t even take notice.

“Whatever. So once Princess Dainty Hooves is done changing shoes, what’s the plan?” Dash asked Twilight, ignoring the loud protests from ‘Princess Dainty Hooves’.

“Plan A was to arrive normally, thereby attracting as little attention as possible. Given the distance between us and Dresden, that plan is untenable. Unfortunately, that distance also renders Plans B through E similarly untenable–”

Applejack snorted. “Do I wanna ask?”

“No,” Spike said solemnly, his eyes haunted. “No, you do not.”

“However,” Twilight continued as though she hadn’t been interrupted. “Plan F should still work perfectly fine. We just need a secluded place away from distractions with a hard surface I can write on.”

“I don’t know about ‘secluded’, but given how much asphalt humans seem to use, you’re certainly in luck there,” Rarity said as she finally finished packing her crystal shoes away.

“Well, I hope we find one soon,” Twilight said. “The sun is going down, and it will only get colder at night.” She frowned. “We didn’t exactly bring any camping gear, either.”

“That sign says there’s an exit in another mile. How about up there?” Pinkie asked, pointing to another bright green sign at the side of the road ahead.

‘Up there’ turned out to be a lonely stretch of road with nothing but an abandoned building of some kind. An old, faded sign declared that the building was a ‘Texaco’, whatever those were. Most of the asphalt surrounding the building was cracked and overgrown with weeds, but there was enough unbroken surface for Twilight to start scratching out her chalk circle.

“Rarity, could you give me some light here?” Twilight asked, scowling at the long shadows criss-crossing the ground.

Rarity straightened her dress nervously. “Oh dear. I’ll try. How do we use magic without a horn, again?”

Twilight sat back on her heels, glad that everyone had spent a little extra time getting used to being a human. There was a trick to balancing on two legs that was entirely different from standing on your hind hooves. “Just focus on your hands like you would your horn. It will feel a little strange, but it works the same way.”

“Very well. I shall do my best.” Rarity took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her hands shook as she extended them, but a few moments later tiny motes of soft white light appeared on the tip of each finger. The light they cast slowly grew brighter and brighter until they illuminated the entire area with an even glow. “Wha-ha-ha!” Rarity laughed with abandon, and the light from her hands pulsed even brighter. “I can do this! There’s no dimension in which fabulosity is not at my beck and call! Be warned, boutiques of the human world! I, Rarity, shall—” She cut off suddenly as she realized that everyone except Twilight was staring at her in silence. Rarity blushed intensely. “Er… or perhaps I am getting a touch carried away.”

“Yes, but it’s not your fault. Mastering a new type of magic always gives me a minor sense of euphoria.” Twilight worked as she spoke, still sketching lines and symbols into a large circle. With her back turned, she never saw the worried expression flit across Rarity’s face at that statement. “However, as a human, you use energy less efficiently, and therefore tire more quickly. I suspect that Dresden’s tools help him control his powers with less energy waste, performing the same function we naturally access through our horns.”

“Well, ain’t that strange. You thinkin’ that applies to all of us, or just unicorns?” Applejack asked, examining the muscles in her arm curiously.

“I’m not sure,” Twilight answered, pausing in her drawing to frown pensively. “I didn’t exactly have a chance to run tests with all of you. I would expect that, since earth pony and pegasus magic tends to be more innate, their effects would not be reduced. But only time will tell.”

“Okay, so any chance we can wrap up the egghead talk and get going?” Dash demanded. She glared at the growing shadows, and the nearby woods. “From what Dresden said, we don’t wanna get caught outside after dark.” A shudder ran through the group as a coyote howled in the distance.

“Almost finished. I’m not confident enough in my magic as a human to try this without some precautions. This circle has to be done right, or we could teleport into a wall. I’ve heard stories about that back in Celestia’s school. They never ended happily.”

Pinkie bounced a small rubber ball against the old building before snatching it out of the air suddenly. Her expression was strangely solemn. “Okay… so I’ve been thinking…”

“Did it hurt?” Spike quipped.

“A little,” Pinkie replied with a serious nod. “But I’ve figured out what ‘cars’ are. I think that’s what the humans call those weird carts that have been using the road.”

“Oh, ‘car’ like a train car. I get it,” Applejack said with a nod.

Fluttershy cocked her head. “That makes sense, but why would she expect us to have one? Not everypony owns a cart.”

“Maybe, but from how she was talking, I guess just about all the humans have one,” Spike said.

“Indeed,” Rarity agreed. “Likely it has to do with the size of Dresden’s country. Given how empty everything around here is, I doubt it would be cost effective to run enough trains to take everyone where they wanted to go. Those individual cars let people travel anywhere there are roads without a need to coordinate their travel. Perhaps in areas of more dense population, trains are more common; places like that ‘Mini-apple-less’ the waitress mentioned.” She paused a moment, seemingly surprised with herself. “And here I thought I’d never use those Economics classes.”

Twilight stood, dusting off her hands and tucking a large piece of chalk back in her pocket. The diagram she had sketched out was a series of concentric circles each one with a host of symbols and writings between each layer. There were six smaller circles linked to the main array by three parallel lines. “Okay, that should do it. Everyone stand in one of the circles. Just be careful not to smudge the chalk and keep everything inside the lines.”

“Fancy looking,” Applejack said. “Where will this take us?”

“Somewhere in Chicago. I’m centering it on Dresden, but there’s a, um, margin of error involved.”

“A what?” Dash asked.

“A chance we all go kaboom,” Spike answered drily. Dash jumped back as though the circle would bite her, and Fluttershy squeaked in fear.

“Spike!” Twilight shouted, glaring at him. “It will not ‘go kaboom’. The margin of error refers to how close we get to Dresden. At worst, we appear three hundred feet away from him. If we’re lucky, we’ll be right next to him, but if not we may have to do some looking around.”

“He’s not exactly an easy guy to miss,” Pinkie said with a laugh. “Lead on with your leading, leader!”

“Right,” Twilight said. Everyone was in position, so she stepped into the very center of the circles. A shiver went through her as the last of the sunset’s red light faded away. Darkness seemed to creep in all around her, and Twilight abruptly wondered why the building had been abandoned. Bushes at the edge of the forest rustled, and Twilight thought she saw a gleaming pair of eyes. Maybe it was a wild animal curious about several humans close to its territory. But maybe it wasn’t.

Either way, Twilight began her spell, closing the circles and focusing her will. “Harry Dresden. Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden.” She chanted his name several times, her focus and surety growing with every repetition.

White light flashed in the parking lot of the old Texaco off of I-94, and it was empty once more.

………

It was not the smoothest teleport Twilight had ever performed. An explosion of dust and lightning announced their arrival, and the force of their displacement tossed everyone away from the sizzling lines burned into the asphalt beneath them.

Twilight shook her head, trying to clear away her dizziness and disorientation. It had definitely worked, at least to some extent. They were in an alleyway between two buildings, and a peculiar roaring filtered in from the streets nearby along with dozens of other noises.

“Wowee,” Pinkie said, springing to her feet. “There aren’t any rides like that at the carnival!”

“Sorry the landing was a bit rough,” Twilight said.

“A bit?” Spike grumbled, pulling himself out from between two large garbage cans.

“Where are we?” Rarity asked, while carefully dusting off her dress.

“I’ll take a look,” Dash said. She did a couple of stretches, her head tilted up. By the time Twilight realized what she was planning, Dash was already putting it into action. Her long hind legs coiled like a pair of steel springs and she shot into the air, narrowly avoiding a fire escape on the side of one building. Up and up she went, far higher than Twilight had ever seen a pony jump, but there was limit, even aided by her pegasus magic. Dash’s momentum slowed to a crawl just short of the top of the building. Her hands lashed out in time to catch the edge, and she vaulted up and over before gravity could catch up. Twilight let out a long, slow breath.

“Did Dash just jump four stories?” Spike asked slowly.

“I did say that everyone would retain their natural magic, didn’t I?” Twilight said testily, trying to hide how nervous Dash’s stunt had made her. “She can’t fly without wings, but she can still get quite a bit of lift.”

“Did she know that afore she pulled such a foolhardy trick?” Applejack asked, staring worriedly at the edge of the building where Dash at disappeared.

“She probably didn’t even think about it,” Fluttershy said. “Dash is, um, used to going wherever she wants.”

“Wow, you guys are not gonna believe this!” Dash shouted, poking her head over the ledge. “Walk over that way and there’s a street around the bend in the alley. Once you’re out, look that way!” She pointed in two directions at once, but Twilight could figure out what she meant. She hoped. Pinkie bounced towards the mouth of the alleyway, rounding the bend in just a few hops, and the rest of the group followed her a little more cautiously.

Dash’s reaction hadn’t been overdone. Canterlot was a city of beautiful classical architecture. Manehatten was a working modern city with the tallest buildings in Equestria. Las Pegasus was a glitzy collection of attention-grabbing showpieces.

Chicago was massive.

It had dozens of skyscrapers, and for once, that name didn’t seem like an exaggeration. Twilight counted over thirty stories on the closest tower, and that was one of the shorter ones. All of the skyscrapers were at least half a mile away, but she had no problem picking them out. They dominated the horizon, each and every one of them awash in lights that dispelled any darkness that might dare to cling to them. With a muffled thump Dash landed somewhere in the alley behind them. A few humans glanced their way at the noise, but Dash was out of sight, and none of their gazes lingered long. Each one seemed too busy with what they were doing or where they were going.

“Ouch, remind me not to do that again. It’s killer on the hocks,” Dash complained, pausing for a moment. “Do humans call them hocks? They bend all funny.”

“Dresden referred to his primary leg joints as ‘knees’,” Twilight replied absentmindedly, still staring at those massive towers in the near distance. She stopped gawking and focused on her surroundings. A few passing humans gave them some odd looks, but most of the humans ignored them. The streets were not as crowded as Twilight would have thought, given the size of the city. At least, the sides weren’t. The middle was packed with more cars. There was considerable variety among them: everything from an extra-long black car that clearly flaunted wealth to a small dome-like car, covered in dents and mismatching colors.

“Shoot. And here I thought Manehatten was big,” Applejack drawled.

“So, what did you see from the top?” Twilight asked Dash. “Are we in a satellite city that’s in close proximity, or does Chicago actually extend this far?”

Dash frowned. “It’s hard to tell in the dark, but it’s solid lights for miles in most directions. I wasn’t really high enough to judge how far. I think those towers are just the middle.”

“Surely you jest!” Rarity exclaimed. “That would make this city larger than Canterlot and Manehatten combined! And not by a small margin.”

“Dresden did say that there were six billion humans,” Fluttershy offered quietly.

“Somehow, I believe him,” Twilight said. Then a thought struck her. “Wait, where’s Pinkie?”

“Girls! Lookit what I found!”

Twilight did not know what she had expected. Maybe some variety of human pastry? Certainly not a small human. Pinkie bounced along, and the child giggled and reached for her hair with tiny, grasping hands.

“Pinkie! You can’t just steal someone’s baby!” Twilight’s heart pounded suddenly in her ribcage, visions of human dungeons flashing before her eyes. There would be mold and rats, she just knew it. And big iron chains deep underground where nopony would ever think to look for her.

“I didn’t steal him! I found him.” Pinkie explained patiently as the child finally snagged a lock of hair and promptly stuffed it into his mouth.

“I think we’re gonna need some explanation here, sugarcube,” Applejack said, scratching her head. “Like where you found ‘em.”

“Okay, so I came out of the alley and saw the city in the distance and was like ‘Woah! That’s huge!’ But then I smelled something delicious and I followed my nose down the block and I found a bakery and everything looked delicious but we don’t have any human money so I was sad, but then I cheered right up because there was a playground right next to it so I went on the swings and climbed the jungle gym which incidentally is a lot easier with hands, almost like hands were what they were built for, which actually makes sense, I mean, why would ponies need to climb, because kitties and monkeys and lizards climb, but not ponies, so I was pondering the origin of Equestrian jungle gyms when I noticed this little guy toddling onto the playground, and I looked all around but I didn’t see his mommy or daddy anywhere so I brought him back with me! Can we keep him? Please?”

“Keep him?!” Twilight, Rarity and Applejack shouted in concert.

“If we do, I am not changing any diapers,” Spike declared, crossing his arms.

Dash just snorted. “We have to, don’t we? Now that Pinkie picked him up, his mother won’t recognize his smell and won’t take him back to the nest. I’m with Spike, though. I call ‘not it’ on diaper detail.”

“That’s not how primates work, even assuming humans weren’t sapient!” Twilight yelled. That got a few more stares from passing humans, and she distinctly saw one of them make a spiral gesture around one of his temples, causing his friends to laugh. A bright, hot flush washed across her face, and Twilight lowered her voice. “We need to find his parents, or failing that, turn him over to the proper governmental agency.”

“Aw, but he’s sooo cute!” Pinkie said. “Look at his tiny hands, and those chubby cheeks. And he even came with a little hat, look!” She pulled a floppy piece of denim out from somewhere and placed it on his head. The child giggled and grabbed the hat by both sides of the brim, yanking it down to cover his face.

Pinkie gasped. “Where’d you go?” And the child giggled and pushed his hat back up.

“Okay, I gotta admit, that is pretty darned cute,” Applejack said.

Twilight agreed with her, but this was no time to go soft. She needed to put her hoof down. And she would have if Fluttershy hadn’t suddenly stepped forward, her arms extended to the toddler. Pinkie handed him over with a smile, and Fluttershy drew him in close. The child made some happy murmuring sounds, as if he enjoyed being held by her. Fluttershy’s arms shook as they closed around the baby. She locked eyes with Twilight, her stare strangely intense.

“I want one,” she said.

“What?! Fluttershy, we are not keeping him!”

“It doesn’t have to be this baby,” she said plaintively, her possessive posture at odds with her words. “But I would take really good care of one, honest.”

“Well, I guess that’s settled,” Dash said. She was attempting to look bored, but Twilight had seen her making faces at the toddler when she’d thought no one had been looking. “So what are we going to name him?”

“He’s already got a name. It’s on his overalls,” Pinkie said.

“Osh Kosh,” Rarity read off while Fluttershy cooed and played with the little boy. “What a curious name.”

A vein began to throb in Twilight’s temple. Was she the only sane pony left, or–

“There you are!”

Twilight jumped like a nervous cat and did her best not to look guilty. Everyone turned towards the source of the voice, and they saw a tired-looking human woman pushing an odd-looking stroller. One of its two seats was filled by another human child that could have been Osh Kosh’s twin. The woman rushed towards them, the child in the stroller making whining noises the whole way. Slightly behind her was an older male human in a black, or maybe dark blue, uniform of some kind.

“Mama!” Osh Kosh shouted, stretching his little arms out to her, almost wriggling out of Fluttershy’s grasp.

“Oh, thank God! I thought I’d lost you,” she cried, drawing her child to her and squeezing him tightly.

“Mama, mama, mama!” Osh Kosh chanted happily. His brother whined and made pleading noises, stretching out his arms towards their mother, evidently wanting his share of attention.

“Awwww, that’s so touching,” Pinkie said, her eyes watering. She sniffed a couple of times and blew her nose into a hanky, showing no sign of her intentions to keep him not a minute before. Twilight let out a deep sigh of relief.

“Thank you, thank all of you,” the mother said. “Donnie was being fussy about getting into the stroller and the moment I had my back turned Leo just wandered off. I thought I was going to have a heart attack.”

“No need to thank us,” Dash said, crossing her arms and smiling smugly. “It’s the kind of thing heroes like us do.”

Fortunately, the mother was too busy wrestling ‘Leo’ into the stroller to notice. The older male, however, cocked an eyebrow at that. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Michaels,” he said to the frazzled mother. “I can take everything from here. You just get home safely, now.”

She thanked both them and the uniformed man again, and hurried off. Pinkie and Fluttershy waved good-bye to Leo, but Twilight kept her eyes on the older male. He was examining them a lot more intently than had any human before.

Applejack cleared her throat. “So… I didn’t catch your name there, mister…?”

“Officer,” he said.

“A pleasure to meet you, Mister Officer,” Rarity said. Perhaps not all human names were that different from Equestria ones.

He stared at Rarity for a second. “Officer Perkins,” he corrected, arching an eyebrow. “I just have a few questions for all of you.”

“Are we in trouble?” Spike asked, echoing Twilight’s panicked thoughts precisely.

“No, no,” Officer Perkins said calmly. He pulled out a small notebook from one of his many pockets and pouches and opened it up. “I just need some more details before I can write up my report on this. Approximately when and where did you find the child?”

Everyone turned to look at Pinkie. She frowned in concentration, her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth. “In the park over there about twenty minutes and sixteen seconds ago.”

“Uh-huh.” His pencil scratched across the paper, and his expression never changed. Fluttershy had hidden herself behind Applejack and Rainbow Dash, but Twilight could see her shivering and watching the officer warily. Officer Perkins continued his questions. “Did you see anyone else with or near him? Another child or an adult, maybe?”

“Nope,” Pinkie said.

Officer Perkins nodded. “That’s consistent with the mother’s story. But why didn’t you take him to the police station?”

“Because I don’t know where it is,” Pinkie replied. Twilight let out another sigh of relief. The officer didn’t seem to suspect them of anything. Hopefully, once he was done they could ask him for his help locating Dresden.

“Also, because I figured we would keep him and raise him as one of our own if we couldn’t find his parents,” Pinkie continued.

Officer Perkins shut his notebook with a snap, his expression unchanged. “Really?” he asked.

“I’m so sorry!” Fluttershy sobbed, falling to her knees. She looked up, her eyes wet with tears. “He was just so cute! I couldn’t help myself.”

“Ha ha, what a pair of jokesters those two are,” Twilight said nervously, offering her best and least insane fake smile. Officer Perkins just stared at her, and her smile cracked. “I wasn’t going to let them keep him. We really didn’t know what to do, but we weren’t going to steal that baby, I promise.”

Officer Perkins just let out a heavy sigh and started massaging his forehead. “This is going to be one of those nights, isn’t it?”

No one replied to him, but a few guilty glances were exchanged. Rarity bent down to comfort Fluttershy and offered a small lacy handkerchief.

The officer tucked away his little notebook and sighed again. “Just on the off chance you find another toddler, take them to the nearest police station. I would hate to pull any of you in for kidnapping over something this stupid.”

“Wait, please,” Twilight said before he had the chance to turn away. “We’re new in town and we’re looking for our friend. We don’t know where he lives, but his name is Harry Dresden. Can you help us?”

Officer Perkins frowned and started to speak, but then paused, thinking something over. “I’ve heard that name before. Huh, but where was it?”

“If I recall correctly, he’s a private investigator,” Rarity offered. “One who specializes in … odd cases.”

Officer Perkins snapped his fingers. “Oh, yeah. That where I heard of him. Harry Dresden, he’s some kind of ‘psychic detective’; the kooks down in SI call him up all the time.” He snorted disdainfully. “The psychic thing is a cheap gimmick, but I hear he’s not a half bad detective. Of course, if half the rumors about him and Marcone are true, he probably gets plenty of insider info.” He paused and looked concerned. “What do you girls want with a rough guy like him? If you need a detective, I can name plenty who do good work and aren’t so high risk.”

Twilight shook her head. “No, we’re just visiting. He came to our town a little while ago, and we became friends. We just wanted to stop by, see him and maybe see the sights here in Chicago.” Her smile this time was bright and warm. “This city is amazing.”

He chuckled at that a little. “Yeah, she’s a real piece of work, this city. Anyway, I don’t know where he lives, but SI should be able to help you there. You can follow me back to the precinct.”

“Thanks so much.” Twilight beamed. Despite a rocky start it looked like everything was going to be smooth sailing from here. “It’s close enough to walk?”

He frowned. “I meant in your car.”

“Oh,” she said her smile faltering. “Um… we don’t have one.”

He stared at them for a long time and at last he sighed again. “This is definitely one of those nights.”

………

The precinct looked like a small fortress. It was far from the humble police station that Twilight had been expecting. Still, the humans inside were certainly friendly enough, even if they did stare sometimes. It must be the hair, Twilight concluded. Even given her admittedly small sample size, she had not seen a single human with hair that was purple, pink, green or rainbow-striped. However, given that the staring was not terribly pronounced, perhaps such colors were simply rare, rather than unheard of.

Officer Perkins led them to a corner of the building that looked a little more careworn than the rest, except for a few odd patches of construction or repairs that looked only a few years old, rather than the decades that the rest of the building had seen. A sign next to a door read ‘Special Investigations’ and Officer Perkins breezed right through without knocking.

There was a gray-haired elderly human woman sitting at a desk, tapping away at something that looked like a flattened typewriter without any paper. Whatever it was, the woman stopped as the officer approached. “Good evening,” Officer Perkins said, nodded to her. She scowled and inspected both him and the entire group. Everyone hung back, uncertain what to do. The building was quieter here than elsewhere, but two or three humans still bustled around.

“Try ‘night’,” the woman answered sourly. “What else do you have for us? Half the department is already out and the rest are buried in paperwork. We don’t need any more problems dumped on us because the other departments can’t bother.”

“Aww, but we’re not a problem. Unless you’re unprepared for a ‘laugh riot’,” Pinkie said waggling her eyebrows. There were a few giggles from the group, but the police woman just scowled.

“And they crack jokes. I just can’t wait to take them off your hands,” she said caustically.

“Hey, don’t give me that, Doris,” Officer Perkins complained. “This bunch is just a group of out-of-towners looking to find Harry Dresden. I remembered you guys hiring him, and figured you could give them a hand.”

Doris snorted. “We can’t give that information out to the public. But if they want to beard Sergeant Murphy in her den, that’s their own business.”

“Shouldn’t that be Lieutenant Murphy?” Rarity asked. They had all read Dresden’s letters and heard a bit about his human friends, but Twilight realized with a start that Rarity was the only one that had caught that small detail. Were they different people? After all, Dresden had never mentioned ‘Special Investigations’ in any his of letters.

“Not anymore,” Doris said. “A shame, too. She knew how to get things done. Not that Stallings is a bad cop, but she could lead a squad into Hell and out the other side.”

Everyone blinked at her, uncertain how to respond. “And whereabouts can we find her?” Applejack finally asked.

“Second door to the right. She’ll be at her desk in the bull pen. She’s blond and shorter than your friend with the technicolor hair – you can’t miss her.”

“And that’s my cue to leave,” Officer Perkins said. “It was nice meeting all of you. I hope I never see you again.” For a moment everyone stared at him in shock. Twilight thought she saw tears welling at the edges of Pinkie’s eyes. Officer Perkins just chuckled. “Because I’m only likely to if you get in trouble with the law.” He threw a wave their way and left quickly, giving them no time to respond.

“Another joke. Someone must have slipped something into the coffee,” Doris muttered before turning back to her flat typewriter and the strange box it was connected to. The box’s screen suddenly turned bright blue; little white letters scrolled past with an ease of motion that puzzled and intrigued Twilight. Doris was not quite so happy with this turn of events. She began to curse with a quiet fervor the girls rarely heard from an older woman. Sure, Granny Smith could get energetic in her complaints, but she never used that kind of language where other ponies could hear her.

By unspoken agreement everyone retreated to the hallway past the desk, looking for the second door on the right. The ‘bull pen’ just looked like a bunch of desks. Some of them were neat, some were messy. Most were decorated with framed pictures and little flags or banners. Whatever the ‘Chicago Cubs’ were, quite a few of the police officers seemed to like them.

Doris had at least been correct about one thing: it was easy to pick out Sergeant Murphy. Out of twenty or so desks, only six were occupied, and Sergeant Murphy was the only woman among them. She had a similar build to Dash’s human body, though she looked a bit older. She was using another flat typewriter and growling at a similar box. Her back was to them, but evidently she heard them approach because she muttered, “Be with you in a second, I just need to get this report formatted.”

“That’s okay. We can wait,” Twilight said.

Sergeant Murphy stopped and spun her chair around. She grunted in mild surprise as she scanned them with a judgemental eye. She grunted again, differently this time, and stood up. One hand strayed back to the edge of her belt, but she extended the other one in greeting. “Nice to meet you, I’m Sergeant Murphy. You are?”

Twilight took her hand and shook it. The pressure from Sergeant Murphy’s grip was impressive; she was certainly strong for her size. As the greeting ended, Twilight shot a glance at her friends and nodded. It was time to put some of their preparations to work. “I’m Twilight,” she began, careful to leave ‘Sparkle’ off.

“You can call me AJ,” Applejack volunteered.

“Dash.”

“My name is Pinkie Pie!”

“S-shy.”

“Lady Diamond, if you please.”

“Emperor Drakon Magnus the Third,” Spike declared proudly.

The group fell into sudden and awkward silence. Twilight glared at Spike until he dropped his eyes and turned red.

“Lance,” he muttered sulkily.

Murphy just nodded, as though unsurprised with their answers. “It would be my great honor to help. What can I do for you?” Her tone was guarded, but strangely loud. Still, she did seem to fit what little Dresden’s letters had mentioned about her.

“We’re looking for Harry Dresden, and we were told you could help us.”

Murphy nodded. “I could.” She did not take her seat again, nor did she offer anyone a seat. The ‘bull pen’ was almost deserted, but the few humans there all watched the group. And Twilight wasn’t certain she liked the look in their eyes.

“Well… will you?” Rarity asked.

“Why do you want him?” Murphy asked. Her voice was flat, almost detached, but her eyes were cold. There was something behind those eyes that was harder than steel, and even though Twilight was a full foot taller than the human woman, she felt herself taking a step backwards in fear.

Applejack was a little more difficult to impress. “I don’t see as it’s any of your business, but we’re friends of his.”

Murphy’s body abruptly tensed for action. “That’s funny. I’ve know him for a few years, and he’s never mentioned any of you.”

“Okay, I’m fed up with this,” Dash announced, stomping forward. “Either you tell us–”

She never got to finish her statement. As one, every human in the room drew out a small metal object and pointed it at the group. The way they held them told Twilight that they were weapons, and she vaguely remembered Dresden holding something similar when he was about to kill Trixie. Apparently, Twilight wasn’t the only one to make that connection, because everyone else froze in place too.

Sergeant Murphy had out a similar weapon of her own, and she nodded in satisfaction. “Most of these are loaded with blessed, steel-jacketed rounds. Officer Dawson’s shotgun is full of rock salt, also blessed. I have someone waiting by the fire alarm set to trigger the sprinkler system and douse all of you in running water, and one of my men has already sent out a message with all of your descriptions. Even if you manage to kill all of us, the entire police force of Chicago will hunt you down.” She snorted, and eyes turned harder still. “I might not run this department anymore, but don’t think for a second that means we can’t deal with non-human ‘visitors’. Now, I’m going to ask again. Why are you looking for Harry Dresden?”

A trickle of sweat ran down the back of Twilight’s neck. She wasn’t certain just what those weapons would do, but from the hard certainty in the faces of all the humans present she doubted it was anything pleasant. She covertly begin to gather her power, but aside from a shield spell, she didn’t know what she could do that wouldn’t make the situation worse. Dresden’s world seemed to be just as dangerous as he had promised, even if it lay beneath a normal surface, and this city’s defenders weren’t exactly slouches when it came to defending.

“We weren’t lying,” Twilight said slowly. “We really are Dresden’s friends. He wasn’t supposed to mention us, and I’m glad that he kept that promise. He did tell us about you though. He said you helped him save his new apprentice from…” Twilight’s mind raced, it had been such a funny name, “Arctic Tor?”

Sergeant Murphy hesitated, but she didn’t lower her weapon. “Arctis Tor. And you still haven’t answered my question. I know how some of you types like threes, so I’ll ask again: even if you are his friends, why are you looking for him?”

“Because we’re on vacation!” Pinkie announced proudly. Thankfully, she stayed in place even though she seemed ready to bounce off the walls. “He’s always so busy he can’t visit us anymore, so we decided to visit him!”

Sergeant Murphy’s eyes slowly widened. “Wait a minute. When did he visit you last?”

Twilight thought for a second, thinking through Dresden’s references to the passage of time and the current season. “About two and a half years ago, he spent a week with us. The first time he visited was almost a year before that.”

Two or three chuckles escaped Sergeant Murphy. “So these are your ‘bigfoots’?” she murmured. Then she was all business again. “I hope you aren’t insulted by the precautions, but we’re going to need to bring Dresden in to confirm your identities.”

Everyone traded glances. “That’s kinda what we wanted to start with,” Applejack said.

“Yes, I daresay we would all be quite pleased with that turn of events,” Rarity added.

“One thing I don’t get,” Pinkie said, scratching her head with a curious expression. “What makes you think we aren’t humans? I, personally, am one of the humanest humans that ever humaned.”

Sergeant Murphy snorted again. “Aside from comments like that? The hair and eyes are good tip-offs, but those could be mistaken for dye-jobs and special contacts. Your teenaged friend is the biggest proof. Humans don’t have slit pupils, enlarged canines, or claw-like nails.”

Twilight felt another trickle of cold sweat. “He’s just got a … um … gland condition. I don’t know why you’d think we are anything other than perfectly ordinary, non-magical humans.”

“I didn’t mention anything about magic,” Sergeant Murphy stated flatly. “However, the fact that you did certainly suggests something. Also, it doesn’t help that most of you are wearing what look like handmade dresses, in September, with no underwear.” She gestured to their chests for some reason, and a few of the human officers chuckled or coughed.

Rarity smirked and Twilight felt like joining her in the expression. Another one of their preparations was about to pay off. It had been difficult to talk the rest of the girls into it, but this just proved once and for all that Twilight had known what she was doing in planning this trip. “I think you’ll find that you are quite wrong in that regard. Everyone? Show her.”

With that, everyone lifted their dress or dropped their pants to reveal a pair of black boxers dotted with yellow smiley faces. Rarity had spent days making sure she had gotten each of them exactly right, and Twilight couldn’t help but feel a smug sense of satisfaction at her excellent grasp of human culture.

Sergeant Murphy laughed so hard, she almost fell down.

………

The trail stopped at a tiny cave. There were seven scents, one of which smelled similar to a hatchling, yet at the same time very different. They would have been little more than a snack, but with nothing else, even that pitiful amount would have been welcome.

The dragon rumbled in dissatisfaction. Such trails always ended without prey. It was the way of this cruel place. However, with an active and aware mind, the trail was much more than a momentary disappointment.

If the trail ended here, it had to be a way out. A tiny crack in this vast prison.

‘Tiny’ being the important word. The glorious form that had consumed cities and struck fear into the mightiest of creatures would never fit through. To give up that form would be to lose it forever, or at least until enough power could be gathered to recreate it.

The first time had taken centuries, and that was without the fear of discovery. Whatever else, a new life would mean hiding from those foolish, jealous creatures that had built this prison. Still, the only other option was remaining here, slowly losing sanity to unquenched hunger.

In that light, the decision was easy.

Even at a much reduced size, the cave was not terribly impressive. It was shallow and bland in appearance. Its only saving grace was the delicious weakness of the veil between worlds. Unfortunately, it was not weak enough to simply break through. Still, that hardly mattered. The veil was weak enough that it would open naturally for a few precious seconds if one waited long enough.

Ouroboros, the Infinite Serpent, the Devourer of Worlds, the Eldest and Greatest of Dragons, sat and waited patiently.

Time would not be a problem.

Chapter Two

The Dresden Fillies: Great Power

Written by: psychicscubadiver
Edited by: SilentCarto
Proofreader: Coandco

Chapter Two

The man sitting across from me fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat. He had the look of middle-management normalcy down pat, and I could tell that my office wasn’t what he had expected. It could have been the general shabbiness – some of the stains were probably older than I was – or maybe it was my matter-of-fact approach to the mystical. One table was occupied with pamphlets I’d written myself like ‘Magic in a Modern World’ and ‘Learning to Cope with the Supernatural’.

Or maybe it was me. I’d spent last evening teaching Molly the delicate art of potion making, and I knew my eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep. She had apologized repeatedly, but ‘sorry’ doesn’t put out fires or fix acid damage.

When he didn’t leave after grimacing, that was when I knew things were bad. Generally, I get three kinds of people in this office. Most often I see skeptics looking to hire me for results without wanting to believe in how I get them. Next most common are the ‘true believers’ and other new age mystics. They’re the ones that believe in pyramid power and healing crystals. Those actually work, ironically, but only in the hands of people who actually know what they’re doing. Both groups are pretty easy to deal with. I get the job done for the skeptics and don’t rub their faces in my methods. For the true believers I check for magical potential and give them some advice. Typically it isn’t what they want to hear, but it iswhat they need. Once in a blue moon, they even listen to it.

The third kind of people I see are the desperate. They aren’t looking for magic. They’re looking for a miracle.

This man’s face was drawn, and he had lines around his eyes that had nothing to do with age. He probably looked good for a middle-aged man most of the time, but this was one of the worst days of his life.

For me, it was just Tuesday.

“Coffee?”

He started at my offer then shook his head. He hadn’t said a word since entering, but I had the feeling he was just working up to it.

“So how can I help you, Mister…?”

“Belfast. It’s my son. He…” Mr. Belfast stopped and fell quiet again.

“Discovered he has magic powers, and wants to know where his letter to Hogwarts is?”

He blinked at me for a moment until the meaning of my words sank in. Mr. Belfast gave a small, disbelieving laugh. “Not exactly. He’s gone missing. I approached Nicholas Christian, but he was busy with another case and recommended you.” Back when I was still earning my PI license, I’d worked for Nick Christian; he specialized in missing kid cases. Sometimes we referred work to each other when we were busy or if it played to the other’s strengths. Nick had sent me more than one client involved in the spooky side of things.

I nodded, getting out a pen and small notebook. I could probably commit all of the important details to memory, but it never hurt to be careful. And it made me look more professional. “How old is your son?”

He sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Twenty-two.”

I raised an eyebrow at that. It was a bit older than I had been expecting. “When did you last see him?”

“A week and a half ago. Ever since he started college he hasn’t been home much, but I always treated him to dinner on Saturday. When he didn’t show this past weekend, that’s when I first knew he was missing.”

I grunted mildly. “Have you checked his apartment?”

“Yes, and he wasn’t there. I shrugged off him missing dinner and his phone going straight to voicemail, because he’s been under a lot of stress lately. But when he didn’t answer the next two days, I got worried. I’ve got one of his spare keys, so I tried checking up on him two days ago. He wasn’t home.” His hands were shaking slightly.

“He was under a lot of stress?” I asked. Mr. Belfast nodded. “Why?”

At that he grimaced. “Sean, he… always wanted to write music and be part of a band. I told him that he’d better have a back-up plan in case music didn’t pan out for him, but when he went to college he chose Music Theory and Composition as his major. I told him that I wouldn’t pay for him to get a useless degree, and we had a… falling out. His mother paid for part of the first semester, but mostly he took out student loans. We patched things up, but only so long as we didn’t discuss his future.” Mr. Belfast ran a hand through his hair, and squeezed his eyes shut. Yeah, it’s funny how important some things can seem until something terrible happens. I hated to prod him for more, but if I was going to take this job I needed all the info I could get.

“Why does that translate into being stressed recently?”

“Because he finally figured out that he isn’t going to be a rock star. He’s in his senior year with a degree that isn’t going to get him a job, and he’s up to eyes in debt. He’s too proud to ask me for help after the fights we’ve had. One detective down at the police station told me he probably ran to get out of all his student debt. He thought Sean left to live with his mother in California.”

“But you don’t think so,” I said, reading between the lines. “Why?”

My client nodded. “There was too much in his apartment. Loose money, clothing, even his bass and songwriting notebooks. He never would have left those behind. Not willingly. I just…” He stopped, and I let him collect himself.

“I’m just afraid that he got himself involved in something he shouldn’t have, to earn the money he needed. He mentioned that he was getting a job the last time we had dinner, but he didn’t say what. I didn’t want another fight so I didn’t ask more. Now I wish I had.”

I gave him a moment of silence, before clearing my throat and going back to my questions. “Your son goes to the University of Chicago?”

Mr. Belfast nodded.

“Could you name some of his friends? Just whoever he was closest to.”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t. I don’t know who he spends his time with these days. He was in a band called… Heir of the Dog, I think. They were punk or hard rock or metal, I don’t really know what exactly they were. Sean and the band leader disagreed about something and he quit a couple of months ago.”

I nodded. “That’s about all I need. If you want to hire me, my fee is fifty dollars an hour plus expenses. I can’t promise you that I’ll find your son, but I can promise my best efforts. And if I can’t find him, I’ll let you know when and where the trail went cold,” I said, tucking away my notebook and leaning forward. It’s difficult to look someone in the face without meeting their eyes, but after the first couple of accidental Soulgazes, I managed to pick up the trick.

We sat for a moment as Mr. Belfast pretended to make up his mind. Then he pulled out a white envelope and handed it to me. “That’s a thousand dollar retainer. I’ll expect a full case report whenever you’re done, or a weekly report if it takes that long.”

I nodded and proved myself a wizard by making the envelope disappear. Fast. For once I wasn’t behind on the rent, but you never know when fickle fortune will turn on you. “I’ll need some things to investigate properly.”

He straightened himself up, becoming more business-like. “Name them.”

“First, I’ll need a picture of your son, the more recent the better. On the back please list any nicknames or pseudonyms he might go by and the address of his apartment. Also, put down a phone number where I can reliably reach you.”

He chuckled hollowly. “You don’t use an owl?”

“My last one got eaten by a dragon,” I replied with a perfectly straight face.

He paused, uncertain whether I was joking or not. I didn’t so much as blink, and he looked away, obviously uncomfortable. People might not admit magic is real, but deep down we’ve all got that quiet fear of the supernatural inside us. Still, I had to give Mr. Belfast his due. He pulled a photo out of his wallet and started jotting down all the pertinent info. I nodded in approval. “One last thing. I’ll need a key to his apartment and your permission to search it. Has anyone other than you been there since he disappeared?”

“Not to my knowledge, no,” he said, pulling out a ring of keys and working one of them off. His expression turned sour. “From what I encountered at the police office, I don’t think they even bothered to investigate. They certainly never requested a key.”

I frowned. That was a bit odd. It was one thing for the police not to put too much stock into a missing person case when they had plenty of reason to run, but not even a cursory glance at the apartment? It was possible that the detective was lazy, or just didn’t have the time to spare. Still, if there was a sinister motive involved it wasn’t impossible to buy off an investigation. There hadn’t been an organization built that was immune to bribery, the Chicago PD included. The real question was: if that was the case, what had the kid done to get on the bad side of somebody with that kind of pull?

I shook my head. I couldn’t let my imagination run wild. Sure that was possible, but that didn’t mean it was likely. Still…

“Do you have the name or badge number of the detective you spoke to?” I asked.

Mr. Belfast frowned in thought. “I don’t recall it off hand, but he gave me one of his cards. It should be at home somewhere. I’ll look for it tonight and give you a call tomorrow.”

I nodded and arose, extending my hand. “Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Belfast. I’ll do my best to find your son.”

Several emotions crossed his face, too quickly to pin down and define, but he settled on weary hope. “Thank you, Mr. Dresden. Don’t hesitate to call me. Day or night, I’ll pick up.”

He left my office with the weight of the world on his shoulders. I waited a moment then picked up my telephone. It’s a last century model made of thick, cheap plastic. Hell, I’m lucky it wasn’t a rotary. Being a wizard meant that modern tech got fried just by being near me. My original VW Bug, the Blue Beetle, is mucho sexy, but I don’t drive it to make a statement. I drive it because anything newer won’t survive more than a few days with me behind the wheel.

I didn’t bother with my rolodex for this one. I’d memorized the morgue’s phone number a couple of years ago. The phone rang a couple times before somebody picked up. “Chicago City Forensic Institute, Waldo Butters speaking.”

Yes, that really was his name. I don’t know what injustice he had inflicted upon his parents at birth, but they had gotten full revenge in naming him.

“Hey, Butters. It’s Harry.”

There was half a second of silence on the other end. Then he replied, his voice tense. “Sorry, I can hardly make out what you’re saying, Detective. The connection must be bad. I’ll switch to another line and call you back.”

The phone went dead with a click. I stared at it for a second, then hung up.

About a minute later my phone rang, and I picked it up. “Sorry, Harry,” Butters said. “Dr. Brioche was in the room, and you’re still persona non grata around here.”

“What crawled up your boss’s ass this time? You being too honest at work again?” Butters had been doubly unfortunate a few years ago. Not only had he been given the task of examining the bodies left behind from Bianca St. Claire's attempt to kill me, but he also had an open mind and enough courage to declare the remains ‘humanoid but not human’. He had been right – those skeletons were all that was left of several Red Court vampires after I burned down their mansion – but his bosses hadn’t been happy to see that in an official report. The differences between their corpses and a normal human skeleton were attributed to warping from the intense heat. Butters got suspended for three months and put under psych evaluation. He kept his job, but only by the skin of his teeth. And not thanks to any mercy on the part of Dr. Brioche.

He chuckled. “Not by half. I learned my lesson there. He’s just making his continued displeasure with me known. What did you call for?”

“I’m on a missing person case, and I wanted to see if you’d gotten any John Does in the past week and a half.” I hoped Sean Belfast wasn’t among the stiffs, but a quick check there would prevent hours of wasted detective time if he was.

“That is an entirely incorrect term in this enlightened age,” Butters replied sardonically. “If you mean ‘unidentified males’, we’ve only got a couple. Does an elderly caucasian or a thirty-something african american fit your profile?”

“Nope. Looks like I need to do some actual work, then.”

“I’d say it wouldn’t kill you, but I’ve seen the kind of work you do. How’s the hand?”

I grimaced and was glad he couldn’t see the expression over the phone. “Slowly getting better. I’m still not sold on this whole ‘learning to play the guitar’ rehab, though.”

He let out out a small huff of breath, and I could imagine the look of mild indignation Butters was wearing. “You need to reacquire dexterity in that hand somehow. Your amazing wizard healing might let your muscle and skin grow back, but without proper exercise that hand will always be stiff and unresponsive. I’m not asking you to open at a rock concert; just keep working on the basics.”

“Fine. You’re the doctor,” I said dutifully.

“Coroner,” he corrected. “Although, you’d hardly know it these days. Anyway, I have to get back to work. See you later.”

“See ya,” I said, and hung up. The good news was that Sean wasn’t in the morgue. The bad news was that I needed to figure out where he was. As a wizard, I had a bit of a leg up on your average PI there. But to form a tracking spell, I needed something connected to the target. So I gathered my gear, slipped a gun into one of my duster’s larger pockets, and grabbed the key Mr. Belfast had left. The address wasn’t too far from the University of Chicago, and I knew the area.

A murmured phrase brought my staff to my hand, and I locked up my office. It was time to go poking around and see what turned up.

………

Pulling into the parking lot of Sean’s apartment complex gave me a good idea of how much debt he might be in.

It was one of those newer apartment complexes; the fancy ones that come with all the bells and whistles. Definitely on the higher end of student living. Not a gated community, but still a far cry from the dorms. Living here couldn’t have been on the cheap side, and small-time bands aren’t known for raking in the cash. Between paying for college and this place, Sean must have borrowed some serious money. No wonder the police thought he ran.

I breezed inside like I belonged there. I got a couple of strange looks, but nobody showed any real interest. It’s amazing how far a confident stride will take you. Sean’s door had a printed note on it informing him that trash pickup had been moved to Thursday. I took it down and tried the key.

Anyone who’s read Dracula knows that vampires can’t enter a home without permission, but most people don’t realize that applies to just about all manner of supernatural creatures, and even wizards to an extent. Magic comes from life and one of the most fundamental needs of life is shelter. Living in a single place gives it symbolic importance, and therefore the supernatural power commonly referred to as a threshold. The more people, the tighter their bonds, and the longer they live in a place, the stronger that threshold becomes.

Karrin Murphy had inherited her house from her grandmother, and at least two generations of Murphys had grow up in that house. Her threshold was badass enough to act like a force field against all kinds of supernatural nasties. Pure spirits could never get in, and even physical creatures like a vampire would be all but helpless if they forced their way through. Wizards and other gifted humans could cross through, but we’d leave most, if not all, of our power at the door. Without an invitation, I can’t so much as make sparks behind a powerful enough threshold.

Normally, Sean being gone would be a problem, because the invitation needed to come from somebody that lived there. I wasn’t too worried in this case. Even if he’d lived here for the past three years, a single person in a brand new building wouldn’t produce enough of a threshold to slow me down. Only a faint sense of static washed across me as I entered the apartment. I’d called that one right.

My first instinct was that the room had been tossed, but then I took a second look. The mess was just typical teenager fare. Empty bottles and cans, unwashed plates, dirty clothing on the floor and other various bits and pieces. Sheesh. Even before I got my fancy faerie cleaning service (one of the only perks from a nightmarish job a few years ago) I’d never been a slob like this. I stepped carefully into the room.

I strained my magically attuned senses, but felt nothing significant. Not only was the kid vanilla, but nothing supernatural had come stomping in here. Time for some good old-fashioned detective work, then. I took note of the multiple pizza boxes around the garbage can. All of them were from pretty high end pizzerias, no Pizza ‘Spress or frozen deals. Likewise, the bottles were all good beer, either craft or high-end domestic. Sean was not a fan of Bud Light, it seemed. The clothing scattered on the floor was pretty high quality, most of it brand name. Good food, good beer and good clothes aren’t cheap. Between this and his choice of living arrangements, Sean seemed to like his luxuries without much thought to cost. Assuming he didn’t just develop the habit in college, Mr. Belfast might be a little higher on the corporate ladder than ‘middle management’.

I glanced into the kitchen where more dirty dishes occupied the counter and half of the sink. A couple of practically illegible notes were stuck to the fridge. Nothing important, it seemed, but I’d take another look at those notes if I didn’t find anything to give me a lead elsewhere. The hallway back to the bedroom was mostly clear, and I moved back that way. I kept my staff with me. Sure, I hadn’t sensed anything, but that didn’t mean there was nothing here. I’d rather be paranoid than get caught in a clever ambush.

The bedroom was neater than the living room, surprisingly. The walls were covered in posters of bands. Some of them I’d heard of, like Nine Inch Nails and Black Sabbath. Most of them were unfamiliar, but leather clothing, tattoos, and enough piercings to let them find magnetic north seemed to be the norm. There was a loaded bookcase in one corner full of horror novels, books on local folklore, and mythology collections. The bed was unmade, but the sheets looked clean, at least. Most of the mess on the floor was clothing with a few scattered papers thrown in. A bass sat in the corner on a stand with an amp next to it. The desk was occupied by a new-looking laptop, thankfully turned off, and several beat-up notebooks. I picked up the top one and flipped through it.

For a songwriter, there was surprisingly little music notation. Mostly, it was just lyrics. The handwriting here wasn’t that great either, but I managed to puzzle most of it out. There were a few anti-authority songs, some love songs – for a given value of love anyway – but Sean seemed to focus a lot on the supernatural. Especially the darker end of the supernatural.

My stomach twisted a little. Everybody knows about vampires and faeries, despite the various misinformation out there about them, but some creatures have managed to avoid or stop any kind of widespread fame like that. They prefer to work in the shadows and don’t take kindly to anyone who tries to get out the word about them. Manticores, Ahuizotls, Wendigos and plenty of other creatures are happier to be remembered only in legends, if at all.

I took another look at his bookshelf, and some of his sources surprised me. He actually had a fair number of accurate books. One of them outlined the differences between the three courts of vampires. It didn’t get into the serious details or naming names, but that was still better than assuming they all hated garlic. He had worked a lot of real information into some of these songs, apparently under the belief that he was just being faithful to the original legends. I doubted most of these creatures would have heard him, but the songs about Wendigos had me worried. They were native to these parts, and liked to walk among humans. It wasn’t too hard to imagine one of them hunting at a bar or club where his band played and deciding ‘he knows too much’.

Of course, all I was doing right now was imagining. There’s no sense getting too caught up in a single possibility, especially when you don’t even have any evidence for it. All the same, I gathered together his notebooks and tossed them in a nearby backpack. The laptop I approached cautiously, like petting a dog I expect to bite me. There could be very important info on there, which one of my more tech savvy friends could retrieve. Of course, that was assuming I didn’t fry the thing just by touching it. Thinking better of the idea, I grabbed a towel and picked up the computer with that, putting it in the backpack too. Nothing exploded or caught on fire when I unplugged it and stuffed the cord in after, so I was willing to call that a victory. There was no hairbrush in evidence, either here or in the bathroom, but his pillow was thick with loose hairs. I grabbed a handful and hoped that they weren’t too old. Then I saw the time and cursed.

Molly would be getting out of school right about now, and I’d promised to pick her up and give her another lesson in magic today. Molly was my new apprentice, and her training was one of my top priorities these days. She had a gift for sensitive, subtle magic, great for casting illusions and creating veils. Unfortunately, it was also great for invading minds and twisting thoughts. A few months ago, she used mental magic on two of her friends to free them from their drug addictions. One of them was in counseling and doing okay. The other went stark raving mad and might never recover. There’s a reason why the Laws of Magic forbid delving into minds and why ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Molly hadn’t just hurt her friends, she’d also opened up a dangerous part of herself that was okay with altering the minds of others to suit what she wanted. Sure, it was under the best of intentions, but that’s a real slippery slope, and I’ve seen what can happen to those who go down it. I intervened and staked my life on rehabilitating her. Right now she was under the Doom of Damocles, a fancy title for wizard probation. The next time she broke a Law, both of us would be executed without trial.

I scowled at the clock and grumbled. I hadn’t finished canvassing the apartment for clues. The hairs should let me track Sean, and I could always come back later. Still, it rankled that I needed to leave before I was done. I grabbed the backpack, careful to hold it well away from me in case the laptop changed its mind about exploding. Though, given that physical proximity was what caused me to hex things involuntarily in the first place, it was probably safer for the both of us. I locked up behind me.

I kept an eye out for anyone watching me or the apartment, but I was disappointed. Nobody aside from a couple college students were around and they only gave me a passing glance. Still, the case was young. One of the nice things about my line of work is that I can usually tell when I’m on the right track. When people – or, more typically, monsters – start trying to kill me, I know I’m getting somewhere.

………

I didn’t arrive at Molly’s school until almost forty-five minutes after it let out. As it turned out, though, I was still early. She’d manage to get herself a detention today and still had another thirty minutes until she was released. That was annoying, but while waiting I pulled out a few of Sean’s notebooks and started working my way through them on the concrete steps of the school. The lyrics were more of the same, though the list of creatures that might have wanted Sean gone got longer and longer. It might have been easier to find something he hadn’t thrown in there. Realistically, most of these wouldn’t have been turned into full songs, but I couldn’t know which of them had. ‘The Wendigo’s Hunger’ looked like a solid candidate, given that it had four versions and full musical notation on the final one. I really needed to track down his band. If these songs were behind his disappearance then all of them could be in danger.

Eventually, Molly appeared at the door of the school. Despite being only seventeen, Molly was built like the proverbial brick house. She was tall for a woman, but carried enough curves to make it look good. I’d never say that where she could hear it – for more than one reason – but it was true and she knew it. The wild pink and blue hair and multiple facial piercings detracted from it a bit in my opinion, but I’m a traditionalist at heart. If my apartment came with a lawn, I’d probably be yelling at kids to get off it.

No matter how Molly looked, she’d had issues with going back to school. Learning to control your temper is one of the most vital lessons in learning to control your magic. If I lashed out with magic every time I got angry, I’d have a bigger body count than Ted Bundy. And I’d be just as evil. It’s all too easy for righteous anger to give way to blind wrath. When you’ve seen some of the things I’ve seen, the anger is more than justified, but if you let it control you, you’re no better than the things you fight. The Abyss is real and playing with magic is a fast way to stare too long.

And that was the lesson I needed to teach Molly. I gave her one of my better glares and she flinched. “Another detention?” I asked, my tone less than cordial.

“This was different!” she said, raising her hands in protest. I cocked an eyebrow and she flushed slightly. “This was just for getting five tardies. Not for behavior.”

I sighed and kneaded my forehead. “The school year isn’t even a month old, and you’ve already got five tardies on top of the first detention?” Part of my conditions for teaching her was that she complete school. Anyone who didn’t have the patience and intelligence to earn a high school diploma had no business mucking around with phenomenal cosmic power. I had extenuating circumstances for why I missed out on mine, but I still managed a GED.

“Well, I’m trying to do better. It’s not easy fitting back in,” she said in a minor huff.

“Do or do not,” I commanded in a muppety voice. “There is no try.” She rolled her eyes at that but didn’t say anything. “C’mon, we’re taking a field trip. Where’s the nearest park from here?”

Molly looked at me quizzically, but she’d learned by now that I didn’t share anything until I was ready. She gave me directions as we walked to the car. It wasn’t late enough for rush hour to start, but it was getting there.

Once we reached the park, I grabbed the hairs out of the backpack, careful not to directly touch the computer. I gave Molly a ‘follow me’ gesture and started walking. It wasn’t a large park, only about half a city block, but there were enough trees and shrubs to give us a little bit of cover. I was glad for that. For some reason, people get all twitchy when you start drawing pentagrams in public parks.

“Congratulations,” I told Molly, brandishing the hairs I had collected from Sean’s apartment. “You just beat up a bad guy and even managed to snag some of his hairs in the process. Too bad he got away, blowing up your car in the process. Using only what you’ve got on you, show me how you would track him.” I held up a hand to forestall any protest. “You don’t need to actually cast the spells, but assuming you could how would you do this?”

She thought for a moment. “Can I get my backpack?”

I snorted. “Do you have it on you?”

“That’s not fair! You didn’t tell me I’d need anything.”

“Of course it isn’t fair,” I replied, and she seemed surprised that I would admit it. “But the bad guys don’t play fair. Hell, most of the good guys don’t either. You need to learn to keep the tools of the trade at hand, because you have no way of knowing when you’ll need them most.”

Molly scowled, but didn’t say anything. She examined her surroundings and traced out a circle in the dirt using a large stick. Then she took out one of her shoelaces, and made a pendulum by tying one end around a small rock. She looked nervous, but forced confidence into her voice. “I’ve got a circle and a basic pendulum as a focus. I’d tie the hairs I got from the ‘bad guy’ on this and then cast a tracking spell.”

I nodded in approval. “Not bad, but a necklace or locket would work better. Start wearing one, but make sure it’s on a thin chain so you can’t be choked with it. For now, re-lace your shoe while I perform the spell.” I pulled out the scarred silver pentacle I had inherited from my mother and tied three of Sean’s hairs to it. The spell was one I’d done a thousand times, just forming a quick link between two things that were once connected, but now were apart.

I finished the spell and broke the circle by smudging the line in the dirt. No longer constrained by the barrier I had erected with my will, the spell spread out into the wide world and… fizzled.

If the link had been successfully made my pentacle would have swung in the direction of wherever Sean currently was. Instead it hung there, fully subject to gravity. “So the spell failed. What are some possible reasons for that? Even if a spell like this doesn’t work that should still tell you something.”

Molly chewed that over for a second. “He could be in the Nevernever.”

“Good,” I said, nodding. “Or?”

“Or behind some wards, or a long way out on Lake Michigan.” Molly paused and mulled over possibilities. “If he knew you took it and had a big enough head start, he could have shaved himself bald and done some cleansing ritual. He could be out of range if the spell wasn’t big enough. If somebody else got to him, he could be dead.” I hoped that wasn’t the reason my spell had failed to find Sean, but she was right. It was a possibility.

“Those are all correct, but there’s one that you’re forgetting.” I paused a second as she searched her mind, trying to figure what she had missed. I chuckled. “I could have goofed up the spell. We aren’t perfect, padawan. Acting otherwise is the best way to leave yourself blind. Assuming I did the spell right there are a few ways to eliminate those possibilities. I can duck into the Nevernever and cast the spell there. Back here on Earth, I can try a spell with greater range to see if that’s the problem. If he’s dead or behind wards, I can’t find where he currently is, but with a starting point I could use a spell that lets me follow his trail. Even if all that fails, we’ve got other options, depending on how badly we want to know and how quickly we need the info. But never count out mundane methods. A human witness and a knowledge spirit you summoned up might tell you the same thing, but one of them is going to charge you a lot harder.”

She nodded, but I still don’t think she got it entirely. When you first start using magic it seems like it’s the answer to all life’s problem. I love magic, but that doesn’t mean it’s a one-stop shop for solutions. Good old vanilla humans keep improving things all the time, and it was no accident that I carried a gun in addition to my staff. The sun was setting in the distance and I scowled at it. “You got any homework due at school tomorrow?”

“Nothing I can’t put off,” Molly replied flippantly. I raised an eyebrow and she grinned. “No, I’ve got some stuff due Thursday but tomorrow is clear.”

“Okay, we’ll continue the lesson back at the apartment. No more potions this time. The lab still hasn’t recovered from your last foray into the alchemic arts. Instead, we’re going to work on tracking a little more. It’s time I showed you Little Chicago.” She grinned eagerly, like a kid that’s just been promised candy, before flushing and trying to cover up her excitement. I smiled, but didn’t let her see. She may have made some mistakes, but Molly was a good kid. We piled into the car and set off. My stomach grumbled, reminding me that it had been a while since lunch, and dinner would be more than welcome. I was debating with myself about stopping by Burger King on the way when I heard someone distantly call my full name accompanied by a sudden pressure on my mystic senses.

I hit the brakes, stopping short of a yellow light I could have caught, and twisted around, scanning the street.

“Harry?” Molly said.

Everything looked normal. People walked by just doing their regular business. The guy in the car behind me was glaring at me for stopping short, but he was the only one with eyes on me. I put together the clues and turned back to watch the road, my stomach sinking. I was about ninety percent sure that I’d just felt somebody using my Name. My True Name.

That was not good.

There are not enough adjectives in the English language to describe how very not good that was.

Anyone that had my True Name had a direct route to me, no defenses or cover possible. I needed to get home and behind my wards as fast as possible. There was no time for Burger King. Not even the drive-through. The light changed and the Blue Beetle puttered off. Maybe Bob knew a way out of this; he was more conversant with the more esoteric rules of magic than I would ever be.

………

“Wow,” Bob said after I explained the situation to him. “You’re screwed, boss.”

I restrained the urge to smash that fragile little skull into powder. I also resisted screaming, which was more difficult. “Thank you, Bob. Anything helpful to add or should I start making out my will?”

He snorted, despite not having a nose. Bob looks like a hokey halloween decoration, seeing as how he lives in a skull, and the eyes glow orange when he’s awake. He’s actually a spirit of air and intellect, bound to assist wizards in return for their protection. So long as I own the skull, he’s loyal to me… mostly.

“Fine, if you’re going to be a baby about it.” He sighed. “First off, there’s no point in raising the heavy duty wards. Anything using your True Name will bypass them. You might try jumping into the Nevernever; nothing here could reach you unless they threw a lot of power into it.”

I grimaced, and dismissed it with a wave of my hand. “That’s a temporary measure at best, and I’d still have to deal with surviving the Nevernever. I thought that mortal names had an expiration date. The last time I traded any of mine was years ago, and I always made sure the buyers never got all four. Not even if they mixed and matched.”

Bob nodded. “Yeah, assuming that time with Chanucy was the last deal, then they should be useless. I dunno, it’s possible you just haven’t changed enough yet.”

“Eh?”

“Change, Harry. It’s one of the few advantages you mortals have over everyone else. You’re constantly changing in one way or another, while spirits, immortals and everything else stay basically the same. Eventually, you’re different enough from your past self that you’re essentially a different person. Of course, that slows down as you age, too. A kid’s True Name is barely good for a year, but once a wizard hits two hundred or so they barely change at all. You’re kinda young to get set in your ways already, but it could happen.”

I shook my head. “Too many things have happened. Between what happened to my hand, the events of the Darkhallow, and playing teacher to Molly, I’ve definitely changed. Even if I hadn’t, it doesn’t explain where they got all four of my names. I know, I heard all four.”

“You are forgetting a rather important possibility, my host,” a feminine voice said in a pleasant, conversational tone. I went ramrod straight, took a deep breath and counted backwards from ten.

“I don’t remember asking for your opinion, Lasciel,” I growled.

A long time ago in a neighborhood pretty close by, I got tricked into picking up a coin that contained one of the Fallen. I buried the coin and sealed it away without accepting its power. For a couple of years I thought that put me in the clear. Then I found out that I’d been imprinted with its shadow, a copy buried in the deepest parts of my mind. The shadow didn’t have a hundredth of the original fallen angel’s power, but it had enough to tempt me. Hellfire for when I needed my spells to hit harder. Knowledge and advice whenever things looked their bleakest.

She was always polite and pleasant company. All the better for me to rely on her, to trust her, to believe her when she suggested that I should pick up the coin. After all, I could do so much good with that power; with her help I could save everyone who needed me and be ten times the wizard I currently was.

All at the low, low price of one soul.

Lasciel wasn’t known as ‘The Temptress’ for nothing. She had serious game, and if I’d been anyone without exposure to the organization that carried those coins, I might have picked hers up for good already. Unfortunately for her, I’d seen what the Fallen did to their hosts and what kind of people accepted the coins. And as I’d told Lasciel’s shadow once before, I would rather drive a spike of rebar through one ear and out the other before becoming anything like her big boss, Nicodemus.

“I apologize,” she said, appearing before me in her usual form: a beautiful blond woman in a modest toga. She didn’t exist outside of my mind, but her ability to play with my senses was both impressive and terrifying. I had to remind myself she wasn’t really there sometimes. “Nonetheless, I feel that you may be worried over nothing. You believe it is impossible that one of your enemies used your Name. As you are still among the living, that appears to be correct. So then it must have been one of your allies.”

I rolled my eyes. “Please. I can count the number of people who know my True Name on one hand without using all of my fingers. And all of them know better than to use it like that.”

A sparkle of amusement danced in her eyes and she smiled slightly. “All of them? Wasn’t there one young… female... who received your Name without an explanation of how to use it wisely?”

My stomach sank as I realized the implication of her words.

I had suspected for a long time that she could dig through my memories, and this confirmed it. Lasciel, or at least her shadow, knew about Equestria. That horrific thought aside, I also understood what she was implying. Twilight, and probably several other ponies, were here on Earth. I said something that should have peeled paint from the walls.

“I am ever at your service, my host,” Lasciel said before disappearing.

“What?” Bob asked. As the conversation had taken part in my head he wasn’t privy to it. He was smart enough to make guesses though. “Did the shadow help you figure what’s going on?”

“Yeah,” I bit out, grinding my teeth. “If my guess is right, Twilight is in town. Or somewhere on Earth, at least.”

“Ouch. So how much does your favorite unicorn know about human culture and the supernatural world?”

“Not even half as much as she needs to.” I started pacing back and forth, thinking out loud. Molly knocked on the door to my lab, but I was busy. “Not now, Molly. Anyway, this is bad. Not as bad as ‘the forces of darkness have my True Name,’ but still pretty bad. The real question is how I’m going to find her. I’ve got jack worth of squat for a tracking spell, and I have no idea what her disguise looks like.”

“Heh,” Bob chuckled darkly. “That’s assuming she even came as a human. I’ve got my hopes up for more naked pony girls. Oooooo… but if they were humans, they’d have boobs. Man, now that is a hard decision.”

Molly knocked again. I’d left her in the apartment above, because she had no business knowing about Bob at this point in her training. Perversion aside, he had enough magical knowledge to fill any five libraries and very shaky grasp on the whole ‘morality’ thing we mortals do. The temptation of his ‘help’ was the last thing she needed.

“Give me five minutes!” I shouted, then turned to Bob. “Cut that shit out, we’ve got a crisis on our hands. Twilight is too smart to come without a human form. Even if she can’t replicate the transformation, she’d at least throw out an illusion. We’re flying blind, but the best I can figure is to call Murphy. She might know about any weird sightings or crazy girls in town. Failing that, we round up the Wee Folk and promise them pizza to search for her.”

Molly knocked again more urgently. I swept upstairs and threw the trapdoor open. “Whatever it is, make it fast. I need to call Murphy ASAP.”

My apprentice just looked at me with the oddest expression on her face. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. She’s on the phone and she wants to talk to you.” Molly pointed to the phone off its cradle.

I crossed the room in a long pair of steps, and snatched the receiver off the table. “Please tell me Twilight looks like a human.” If I was wrong, it wouldn’t be the weirdest way I’d ever opened a conversation with her. And if I was right…

For about five seconds Murphy was shocked into silence. Then she recovered. “How the hell did you know what I was calling about?” I smirked to myself and opened my mouth to reply. I didn’t get the chance. “And I swear to God if you say ‘magic’ I will put a bullet in you.”

My mouth snapped shut, and I heard a few chuckles in the background that sounded suspiciously like Officer Rawlins. “Sorcery?” I ventured.

Murphy grunted in reply.

I chuckled. “Don’t worry. If she’s who I think, she's harmless. Either way I’ll be at the precinct as soon as I can.”

“And if she isn't?”

I shrugged even though Murphy couldn’t see it. “Then she's an eldritch abomination capable of ripping secret information out of my head without my notice, and we’re all dead.”

“That’s why I love working with you, Harry,” Murphy groused. “Everything is so neat and simple when you’re on the case.”

“I aim to please. See you soon.” I hung up, and turned to Molly. “Throw on some shoes, Grasshopper. There’s somebody we need to pick up.”

Chapter Three

Edited by: SilentCarto
Proofreader: Coandco

Disclaimer: I don’t own The Dresden Files or My Little Pony, let’s find out who actually reads this. The first person to use Harry’s full name in a comment can name a minor character. This story takes place between books Eight and Nine in the Dresden Files.

“And that one?” Spike asked, pointing to another weird doohickey on the police officer’s belt.

“That’s pepper spray,” Officer Rawlins answered patiently.

A condiment dispenser? That’s clever, Spike thought. I guess it’s more convenient than a shaker when you’re on the go.

“And that one?”

“That’s my radio.”

Cool, they can listen to music and stuff anywhere.

“And that one?”

“Collapsible baton.”

Spike frowned, trying to imagine why Officer Rawlins would need to conduct an orchestra. He just shrugged his shoulders. “You guys are really prepared for anything, aren’t you?”

Officer Rawlins chuckled. “You bet, kid.”

Things at the police station had calmed down after Sgt. Murphy called Dresden. She didn’t quite seem to trust them yet, but at least all of the police had put away their ‘guns’. From the way Officer Rawlins described them, guns were sort of like handheld cannons. That was pretty cool, but at the same time, he was glad he hadn’t known that back when there was a whole room full of guns pointed at him. Spike had seen the Royal Guards practice with some cannons before, and there wasn’t much left of whatever they hit.

“So, if you twist it like that,” Sergeant Murphy said, demonstrating some kind of martial arts move to Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie for some reason, “then you have all the leverage and it doesn’t matter how strong the other person is. You have control of their arm, and if they struggle you can dislocate it with a little bit of pressure. Between the pain and losing the use of one arm, that will stop them from fighting without doing more serious damage.”

“That’s very kind of you to share,” Twilight said, her face turning red as Sgt. Murphy held one arm behind her back, “but this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I suggested an exchange of knowledge.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have shorted out my computer,” Sgt. Murphy mumbled under her breath.

Spike hid a chuckle, fiddling with the sunglasses Officer Rawlin had found for him. Apparently humans didn’t have slit pupils, so he was better off covering up his eyes. That was a little annoying, but the sunglasses looked swanky, so he couldn’t complain too hard.

Bored, he considered trying to comfort Rarity again. She’d been in a state of shock ever since the police had explained human underwear in a little more detail. She took a slow sip of coffee, her hands still shaking. It was better than her quiet chant of ‘Am I still a proper lady?’ over and over, so Spike was willing to look on the bright side. He didn’t think it was that big a deal, but he still felt sorry for her.

There was a clatter and some fast footsteps coming from the hallway outside. The door swung open, and Dresden strode into the room. “Okay, the wizard has landed,” he announced. He was tall as ever, but he didn’t tower over Spike like he used to. It felt weird being more than half his height, but Spike didn’t mind. Being this tall was pretty fun.

Then Dresden got a better look at the room and all the ponies-turned-human. His confident grin vanished, and his face paled. “Oh, no...” He said in hushed tones.

“Dresden!” Pinkie yelled, bouncing out of her seat and across the room in a single hop. Before Dresden could so much as say a word, she wrapped her arms around him in an inescapable hug. “We missed you so much!” She buried her head in his chest, the highest place it could reach, and began nuzzling him.

Twilight’s hands flickered purple and she disappeared from Sgt. Murphy’s grasp with a bang. She reappeared next to him and smiled brightly. “It’s so nice to see you again, Dresden,” she said joining in the hug and nuzzling.

“C’mon, everyp– body!” Pinkie shouted, and the rest of the group joined in. Spike skipped on the nuzzling. Hugging was okay, but nuzzling another guy was just weird. Dash didn’t try nuzzling him either, but that could have just been because she wasn’t close enough. There wasn’t really enough space to go around.

The police watched in near silence, interrupted by a couple of awkward coughs, until the hug was done. “Is there something you want to tell us, Harry?” Sgt. Murphy asked, the expression on her face unreadable.

“I died,” Dresden said. “I died, and this is Hell.”

The police all laughed, and Dresden turned bright red. Picking up on those subtle clues, Twilight turned to Sgt. Murphy, her face confused. “Did we do something wrong? This isn’t like the underwear thing, is it?” Dresden coughed and turned brighter red at that.

“No, no,” Officer Rawlins said, still chuckling. “You’re just a little more, ah, open with your affection than we are.”

“Damnit, Rawlins,” Dresden said, his face still flushed. “It’s not what you’re thinking.”

“You sure, Sensei? Because from where I’m standing it certainly looks that way,” said a tall girl behind him. She edged past the pony pile and stepped into the room, glaring the whole way. She reminded Spike of Applejack for the most part, but she wasn’t as muscular. Or she didn’t look it, anyway. Her hair alternated between pink and blue, which made Spike nod in appreciation. Seeing bright colored hair like that was a relief after passing so many humans with subdued manes. Maybe the group wouldn’t stick out too bad after all.

“Well, maybe now that you’ve stopped sulking in the doorway, you’d have a better view. Anyway, girls – and Spike – these are Molly Carpenter and the fine officers of the Special Investigations unit of the Chicago Police. Everyone, these are my, er… foreign friends. Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Spike.”

“Dresden!” Rarity exclaimed, putting a hand to her chest. “How could you reveal our True Names like that?”

“You can’t give away another person’s True Name,” he replied, giving a small snort. “Unless they specifically sold it to you, but that’s a whole other can of worms. That’s where introductions come from; that way people could exchange names without giving anyone else power over them.”

Spike nodded. That made sense. That probably explained why humans seemed to have so many names, too. Some of the police weren’t as impressed, and Spike saw one roll his eyes. Huh. Even though they’re prepared to fight magical creatures, it seems like they don’t all buy into all the rules of magic. That was some food for thought.

“Besides,” Dresden continued with a glare at Twilight, “you bunch are the last people to be criticizing others for that. I heard what you did, and it scared me half to death. Even ‘harmless’ Name use feels like a slap in the face.”

Twilight’s cheeks flushed pink at that, and she looked down. “Well, it was Plan F for a reason.”

“That aside, thanks for introducin’ us, then,” Applejack said, stretching her arm towards Molly for a ‘handshake’. “Pleased to meetcha, Molly. Dresden’s told us all ‘bout you.”

Molly snorted and didn’t offer her hand in return. “Funny, he never mentioned any of you.” Applejack’s eyes narrowed slightly, and she let her hand fall back to her side.

“Molly,” Dresden warned, his tone disapproving.

“Hardly surprising, since the Princess asked him not to speak of us,” Rarity replied. “I’m sorry that precluded you from his confidences, but it is a relief to hear that he kept his word.”

Molly sniffed and crossed her arms. Spike frowned. She seemed upset over something, but he couldn’t even begin to guess why. He shrugged, not like it mattered. Girls would be girls, whether they were pony or human.

“Okay, speaking of confidences and everything else, what are all of you doing here?” His face suddenly turned hard, and in an instant he went from ‘goofy, overwhelmed tall guy’ to ‘furious battle wizard’. Shadows crossed his face, and his long-fingered hand tightened on the tall staff at his side. When he spoke his voice was threaded with a cold and merciless anger. “If some monster or something is wrecking Eq– your home, then we don’t have a minute to lose.”

Spike felt a chill go down his back, but at the same time he felt like cheering. That was what an alien-wizard-hero should look like. Comics were fun and all, but an adventure with Dresden was like living a comic book. Including all the danger and scary bits, Spike thought, hiding a shiver.

“No worries there, buddy,” Dash said giving him a light punch in the shoulder. “Everything’s fine back home. Sure, there were a couple scares – ancient chaos spirit running crazy, shapeshifter invasion, yadda yadda. But we took care of those.”

The tension and violence slowly drained out of Dresden and he frowned. “Then… why are all of you here?”

“To visit you, of course!” Pinkie exclaimed, darting back in for another quick hug. “We hadn’t seen you in ages, and letters are no replacements for quality time spent together.”

“Plus, we figured getting a chance to visit Chicago would be pretty cool,” Dash said. “Gotta admit, I’m a little impressed. This place isn’t half-bad.”

Dresden frown deepened with something that looked like confusion. “And the Princess was just… okay with that?” He rubbed his left hand like he was scratching an unconscious itch.

“Of course,” Twilight replied happily. “I sent her a full itinerary, and the risk analysis on the possible dangers of traveling. I was so worried she would turn it down, because of how cautious she is about the Nevernever, but she gave full permission.”

Dresden’s eyebrows rose almost to his hairline. “Seriously?” he asked, disbelief thick in his voice.

“Yes,” Twilight said, seeming put out at his less than happy response. “I dictated the letter to Spike, and he received a response a bit later. Isn’t that right?” She turned to look at Spike. So did Dresden and more than half the room.

“Errr…”

………

“– and given the time variable I have calculated using the span between our sent letters and replies, we should be gone for no longer than two weeks. Please use a Sending if we take longer. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Twilight Sparkle,” Spike echoed a few moments later. His right claw ached and cramped, which wasn’t surprising considering the mountain of filled sheets next to him. Twilight had been dictating her plan for their Earth vacation off and on for past two days. Still, Spike was certain the trip would be completely awesome and well worth all this effort.

“Excellent,” Twilight said beaming happily. Now, I need to make a copy of every page, just in case it gets lost or damaged, and we’ll be good to go. An hour later, hmm… or maybe two hours, to read through each page and make certain each copy spell worked perfectly, we’ll finally be ready to send it to Princess Celestia and get her permission. Oh, I’m so excited, Spike!”

“Two hours?” Spike said, the boredom already crushing his spirits. “C’mon, Twilight, we don’t need to bother with that. I can guarantee you it won’t get lost or damaged.”

“Oh?” she replied, arching an eyebrow skeptically. “You guarantee it? You know, you’ll be the one re-writing it if you’re wrong.” His writing claw twinged again at the thought of repeating everything he’d already finished. But what she didn’t know was that he had a secret weapon.

Spike casually dusted his knuckles on his chest scales. “You’re not the only one who’s been practicing, Twilight. I can send a letter to Celestia, wherever she is now. No more ‘Canterlot Castle’ only.”

“That’s terrific, Spike!” Twilight said, wrapping him in a big hug. “I’m very proud that you’ve mastered your Dragonfire to that degree.”

“Yep! Before you know, I’ll be full-grown dragon! Only… y’know, not the rampaging kind,” he finished lamely, still embarrassed over that time his greed got the better of him.

“I know,” Twilight sighed, squeezing him tighter for a brief second. “All right, go on and send the letter. I expect she’ll take a while to send a reply; though, she may come to a decision before finishing the report.” She paused. “I hope so, actually. My analysis on the possible dangers meeting our evil human doppelgangers and how to defeat them is a bit weak. I just don’t have enough data there, so I stuck it in close to the end.”

Spike freed himself from her grip and rose to his full, dignified height of two-and-a-half feet tall (including his crest). Sheesh, he wasn’t an egg-toothed hatchling anymore, even if he was still technically a ‘baby dragon’. “No worries, Twilight. Spike is on the job!”

She laughed softly and nuzzled the top of his head. “I’ll hold you to that, my number one assistant. In the meantime, I’m going to visit the girls and let them know.” She trotted downstairs, and Spike heard the front door of the library open and close.

“Okay,” he said, eyeing the towering stack of paper that he just guaranteed Twilight, he could handle. “Time to put up or shut up, Spike.” He breathed in slowly, but deeply, stoking his inner fires and preparing to transport the papers. He used to envision Princess Celestia from the many times he’d seen her in the castle, and those surroundings had helped to anchor the image in his mind, but he didn’t need that anymore. Instead he focused solely on Princess Celestia: her appearance, the sound of her voice, the downy softness of her wings when she used them in a hug, her loving and motherly personality. When that was complete, he released both fire and magic in a rush that instantly incinerated the papers before him without so much as scorching the desk they sat on.

He paused for a moment, blinking after the rush of power that had left him, but he felt confident. That gout of flames had been good; he could almost sense it soaring faster than the wind to reach Princess Celestia. Spike allowed himself a feeling of deep contentment. He had done well. And as a reward for doing so well, he really deserved a little something. There was still half a tub of choco-strawberry ice cream in the freezer. Plus, he could grab a piece of ice for his still-aching writing claw.

He’d barely gotten to the bottom of the stairs when he felt the sudden upwelling of magic inside of him that indicated a response. With a small belch, and contorted expression, he brought up a sealed scroll.

I’m sorry, Spike, but I’m afraid the papers you sent were utterly consumed by a ball of sunfire. Luna and I were sparring at her insistence, and your sending was unfortunately caught in the crossfire. I am, however, very proud that you have mastered your Dragonfire to the point that you can transport items directly to the recipient's side. –Yours, Princess Celestia

For a long moment Spike couldn’t feel his heartbeat. What were they doing sparring?! They were Princesses, not guards! Why did this have to happen to him? And right after he’d told Twilight she didn’t need to make a copy. His claw started twinging again at the thought of re-writing so many pages. Not to mention letting Twilight down after she’d trusted him.

Slowly, Spike got himself back under control. This wasn’t the end of the world. Most of Twilight’s stuff had been … well, junk. All she was really asking for was Celestia’s permission to take a couple of weeks off. Princess Celestia didn’t need a step-by-step guide to all of Twilight’s plans and contingencies. Spike nodded to himself, feeling certain in his decision. He began a new letter.

Hey, don’t worry. All of that was Twilight’s way of asking if she, me, and her friends could have two weeks of vacation time next month. –Thanks, Spike.

Spike fidgeted in place, waiting nervously, until a few minutes later he finally got a response.

Of course I will give my approval. Both of you have certainly earned the time off and spending time with your friends is a wonderful way to use it. Please let Twilight know that sending reams of information on her travel plans is unnecessary. I trust her judgment and have no doubt she is well prepared. Perhaps even too prepared. Half of the fun of traveling is in being surprised. Should worst come to worst, she will have you there to send me a letter. Do not hesitate if you find yourselves in need, but I suspect you will all simply have a good time together, and I wish you the best. –Yours, Princess Celestia

Letting out a sigh of relief, Spike wiped his brow. “Jeez, that could have been bad,” he commented to himself. And hey, panicking gave a guy an appetite. He moved into the kitchen, his mind already on the remains of that ice cream tub.

………

“Of course. I could even show you the Princess’s response,” Spike said, grinning widely. He felt a bead of sweat run down the back of his neck. Dresden still seemed suspicious, but Twilight was satisfied.

“See? I know this is a bit last minute, but we wanted to surprise you. If you’d like, you and I could work together to rearrange your schedule to fit us in.” She grinned, and with a quick flick of her hands summoned three small notebooks from one of their backpacks. “Oh, this will be so much fun!”

“Okay, as fun as it is to see Harry floundering,” Sgt. Murphy interrupted, “we’re trying to run a police department here. Let’s get everyone on the road.” She aimed a look at Dresden and mouthed ‘Princess?’.

Dresden gave her a look halfway between annoyed and exasperated that said ‘not now’. Then he shook his head and sighed. “Good idea, but we’ve got a problem. There’s no way I can move everyone in my VW bug. Not to mention that don’t have the cash to drop on getting decent hotel rooms for everyone.”

“We aren’t staying with you?” Fluttershy asked quietly. Her expression slipped into a small pout. “I wanted to see Mouse again.”

“My place isn’t nearly big enough. I’ve only got one bed and a sofa.”

“So? If it’s a big enough bed we could all share it. Just like we did after that night at Trixie’s castle,” Pinkie said. There was more silence and awkward coughs from all the humans in the room at that.

Twilight kneaded her forehead with a hand and sighed. “Pinkie, those were considerably different circumstances. Not only did we have to shove two beds together to make enough room, but the only reason we even managed any sleep was because everyone was so exhausted. Also, Spike wasn’t there so we’d be even more crowded if we tried it here.”

Spike nodded sagely in agreement. Even if he hadn’t gotten bigger turning into a human, he still wouldn’t want to try crowding everyone together on a single mattress.

“Twilight,” Dresden said, sounding pained. “I’m know you’re trying to help, but please…”

Dash chuckled. “Yeah, I get it. That night was pretty crazy. I was sore for two weeks after that.” Dresden winced, but she didn’t seem to notice. “So what’re we doing? I dunno about sleeping, but I could really go for some food right now.”

Dresden sighed “Well–”

“My shift’s almost up,” Sgt. Murphy said, her eyes narrowed and her lips pressed into a thin line. She sounded kind of like Twilight when she found a jam-stained clawprint on one of the library books. Like she was angry but trying not to be angry, only she was still actually super angry underneath the calm. Spike usually took that as a cue to leave the library for a few hours. “Let’s grab some food, and then we can set up some sleeping arrangements. I can put up four of them at my house.”

“And we’ve got room for two more at my parent’s house,” Molly interjected.

“Hey–” Dresden started.

“Then it’s settled,” Sgt. Murphy said, ignoring Dresden’s indignant expression. “You girls can sort out which four are coming with me, the other two will stay with the Carpenters, and ‘Emperor Drakon’ can spend the night with Dresden.”

Spike flushed and scowled. Somehow the way she said it, his totally amazing title sounded… stupid. Still, a sleepover at Dresden’s would be a ton of fun. A real guy’s night out. Or ‘in’, maybe, since they weren’t going anywhere. Hopefully, Dresden stocked ice cream. Oh, and human comics. Spike couldn’t wait to get a look at some of those.

“Fine,” Dresden said, sighing. “What were you thinking?”

Sgt. Murphy grabbed her purse and a thin jacket. “Hmm… IHOP.”

“So do I!” Pinkie Pie confided, throwing an arm over Sgt. Murphy’s shoulders. “But for now let’s focus on getting some dinner.”

Dresden and Molly chuckled, and Sgt. Murphy rolled her eyes. “Fine, how about we go to the International House of Pancakes?”

Spike’s mouth watered at the thought. Pancakes were delicious, and any restaurant dedicated to them had to make some tasty stuff. He nodded happily, gathering his backpack of Rarity’s belongings. “I could go for that.”

The rest of the group made various approving noises and everyone shuffled out of the room, following Sgt. Murphy. Dresden’s car wasn’t as nice as the police’s car, but it was still pretty cool. Rarity made a face after getting a look at it and rode with Sgt. Murphy. The trip didn’t take very long, which was another neat thing about cars, but Spike had to wonder if Dresden’s car was supposed to be making some of those sounds.

IHOP smelled delicious, but the building wasn’t that impressive for a place that was supposed to be ‘international’. Dresden grabbed a long table that was half booth and half seats and waved somebody over. The server brought over some menus and promised she’d be back in minute to take drink orders.

“Ooo, look at that! A whole rack of flavored syrups!” Pinkie said. She paused and frowned. “But they’re so little.”

“They’ll bring you more if we run out,” Molly said, examining her menu. “Or you can always take one from an empty table.”

Dresden folded his menu and sighed. “I hope it doesn’t hurt your feelings, but I’m really in the mood for something savory. I’m going to get a combo with plenty of meat.”

Everyone glanced back and forth, confused. “Dresden,” Twilight began, “why would that hurt our feelings? We may not eat meat, but we have, ah… neighbors that do. So long as you aren’t eating anything intelligent or making animals suffer unnecessarily, then we won’t judge.”

“Yeah, just don’t ask me to try any,” Dash joked, then picked her menu back up. “I dunno about you guys, but I want an omelette.”

“Lookie! All-you-can-eat pancakes! If that wasn’t made for me, I don’t know what was!” Pinkie said, licking her lips at the thought. The server returned and everyone gave their drink orders.

Spike slumped slightly. He been through the whole menu and hadn’t seen what he hoped against hope for. “No gems?” he said sadly, checking the ‘combos’ page once more just to be certain.

“You eat gems?” Molly gaped.

“Spike,” Twilight said sternly, then she sighed. “Yes, he does, but from what I gather, gemstones are far more common where we’re from.”

“Quite so,” Rarity said. “In fact, considering that all of us visiting you unannounced could be something of a financial burden, I took the liberty of bringing a small selection of gemstones from my shop. I thought we could use those to cover the cost of our visit.”

“You’ve complained for years about paying rent and making ends meet,” Sgt. Murphy said, shaking her head in disbelief. “And all this time you’ve had a backdoor to some place where jewels are so common that people eat them.”

“Hey!” Dresden said, raising his hands in protest. “I didn’t exactly have the chance to go digging for diamonds either time I was there. I could have if I really needed to, but that brings up the bigger issues–”

He stopped suddenly as their server bustled up with a tray full of drinks balanced on one hand. “Are you folks ready to order?” she asked as she passed them out.

“Sure. I'll get the Original Buttermilk Pancakes,” Sgt. Murphy said.

Molly took Sgt. Murphy's menu and piled it up with her own. “Double BLT for me.”

“All right. And you, miss?”

Twilight passed her menu to Molly in turn. “The New York Cheesecake Pancakes sound delicious,” she said.

“That one’s my favorite,” the server confided. “And for you?”

“Harvest Grain n’ Nut with the apple topping,” Applejack said. “I’m curious to see how they stack up to Granny Smith’s.”

“I want a cheese omelette,” Dash put in, leaning her chair back on two legs. “But it better have lots of cheese.”

“All-You-Can-Eat Pancakes!” Pinkie burst out on Dash’s heels, her voice a little too loud with excitement.

“And I want the Breakfast Sampler,” Dresden said, practically licking his chops.

“All right then. And you, hon?” the server said, looking to Spike.

“I’ll get the Rooty Tooty Fresh n’ Fruity Pancakes,” he said. Long ago, he had noticed a positive correlation between how ridiculously a food was named and how tasty it was. The Cakes’ MMMM was a prime example.

“And which topping?” she asked. “Whipped cream, peaches, strawberries, or cinnamon apple compote?”

“Oh, uh, whipped cream is fine,” Spike said.

“I shall have the raspberry and peach pancakes,” Rarity stated primly. “A short stack, if you please.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The girl looked expectantly at Fluttershy. “And for you, miss?” she prompted after a moment.

“Um, I’d like the strawberry-banana pancakes, please. Thank you very much.”

“You got it. Can I bring you anything else while you wait?” Everyone shook their heads. “All right. My name’s Mabel, if you need anything.”

Dresden watched her go, then leaned forward to put his elbows on the table and went back to what he was saying. “So, anyway. Without proof of where I suddenly came up with a bunch of jewels, just about any legitimate dealer would assume they were stolen or smuggled. That means I’d have to go underground to sell them, and that means dealing with Marcone’s people.”

Spike frowned at that. He didn’t remember Dresden ever mentioning this ‘Marcone’ in any of his letters, but if he lived underground and dealt in jewels, he must be something like a Diamond Dog. Spike disliked him instantly.

“And if I started trading in gems regularly, those same people would start wondering where I got them. I’m good at sneaking around the city, but it wouldn’t be hard to tail me out of town, and that throws the whole ‘secrecy’ thing out the window.”

Sgt. Murphy considered that and nodded. “Makes sense, but I doubt you’re ready to foot their room and board for a week out of your own pocket. As long as it doesn’t involve anything illegal, one sale shouldn’t put anyone at risk.”

Dresden grunted. “It’ll hurt my pride, but better that than my wallet. We’ll go see one of Marcone’s people in the morning.”

“I’m sorry to cause you such discomfort, Mr. Dresden,” Rarity put in. “I truly thought gemstones would pass for currency practically anywhere.”

“Don’t worry,” Murphy said with a wicked little smirk. “He’ll live. His pride could use a little deflating.”

The server brought the plates out on a huge platter a few moments later, stifling any reply, and then everyone was too busy eating to talk. Mostly.

“Do we have to use these?” Applejack asked as she fumbled with her silverware, glaring at it. “I get that y’all’s flat faces ain’t the best for eatin’ like normal folk, but I reckon I can manage just fine with my hands.”

Molly stared at her flatly. “If you’re okay with getting your hands sticky and, no offense, looking like a slob, then go for it.”

“Thanks!” Applejack said brightly, shoving her fork and knife away from her.
Pinkie went through her first stack of pancakes like a buzzsaw and sent the server back for more almost as soon as the poor girl had stepped away. Syrup flowed in steady streams up and down the table, and Sgt. Murphy wore an expression that could only be called jealousy.

“How any of you keep those figures is beyond me. You supernatural types have all the luck,” she said, but that didn’t stop her from drowning her own pancakes in strawberry sauce. Everyone set to work on their plate of food, or plates in Pinkie’s case, and before too long the table was finished.

“So,” Twilight said, carefully dabbing away a spot of jam with her napkin, “four at Miss Murphy’s, two at Molly’s, and Spike is going with Dresden? How do we want to decide who goes where?”

“I want to hang with Murphy for the night,” Dash said, grinning widely and nodding towards the sergeant. “You’ve still got plenty of those eye-key-dough moves to show me.”

Sgt. Murphy gave a small eye roll. “Aikido, but that’s fine with me. I’ve only got one guest bed, but it’s a double, and I have a couple of couches.”

“We’ve only got the one couch, and our family’s guest bed is a twin.” Molly shrugged. “Still, with all the kids and beds in our house we could probably scare up another one if nobody wanted the couch.”

“You live with a big family?” Applejack asked. “Shoot, I don’t mind taking a couch.. Be pretty interestin’ to see how big families here compare to the Apple family.”

“Lots of kids?” Pinkie exclaimed, licking clean her tenth plate. She’d stolen at least two of every kind of syrup bottle from the nearby tables in the process. “Count me in! This will be super fun!” Molly stared, and Spike chuckled. Molly’s family was going to get more than they’d bargained for after all the sugar Pinkie had just downed.

“That settles that,” Rarity said, taking a sip of her tea. She’d been disappointed to find that IHOP served it in a coffee mug instead of a proper teacup, but she was drinking it anyway. “I wouldn’t mind a quiet night at Sgt. Murphy’s. After all the walking we’ve done today, my– erm, ‘feet’ are killing me.”

Sgt. Murphy nodded. “I’ve got work in the morning, so I’ll drop all of you off at Dresden’s about seven thirty and you can figure out the hotel situation from there.” She fixed Dresden with an icy glare. “And you and I can have a talk about all this.” Dresden winced, and gave her a sheepish smile.

Twilight gave a small cough, her face set in hard lines, and got Sgt. Murphy’s attention. “I’d like to remind you that Dresden only did what we asked. Given the kind of supernatural threats of which you’re aware, is it surprising that we asked him to keep us a secret?”

“No,” Sgt. Murphy retorted, “but I don’t appreciate being forced to fly blind when my job is protecting this city. I trust Dresden when he says you aren’t a threat, but I’d like to have that trust reciprocated instead of being shut out.”

Twilight chewed that over. “That’s… understandable,” she admitted, but didn’t say anything more.

“Anyway, let’s get going,” Dresden said. “It’s a school night, and we’ve got plenty to do in the morning.”

“But I haven’t had all I can eat,” Pinkie whined, pouting.

“If we waited on that, we’d be here half the night, sugarcube.” Applejack chuckled. Pinkie shrugged, but her expression said that Applejack wasn’t wrong, and she got up to follow everyone.

“Thanks,” Pinkie said cheerfully to the shellshocked server that had barely kept pace with her. “That was de~lish!” She dug around in her hair and brought out a small sapphire that she flipped to her to cover the tip.

Night in Chicago was surprisingly bright. There were lamps or whatever on tall poles all around. Some of them were softly illuminated, but most cast a harsh glare that made the shadows around them stand out even more. Out in the ‘parking lot’, everyone exchanged hugs and Twilight reminded everyone to behave themselves. Spike understood why she gave Pinkie a look to go with the warning, but for some reason Twilight included him too. Still, glare or not, this was exciting. He’d never been to an all-guy sleepover before. Even if it was just the two of them.

Molly, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie got out at a neat looking little house. Pinkie was almost shaking with excitement, and Molly was looking more and more like she regretted her decision. She gave Dresden one last despairing look, but he just shook his head. “You chose this path, Padawan. Now you have to live with it.”

She flinched at that, but leaned in. “Okay, so we’re still working on your say-so, but she is safe, right?”

Dresden chucked. “She’s fine, but a little excited. Applejack should help you keep her under control; that girl has a good head on her shoulders.”

Molly bit her lip. “Yeah, but…”

“Aw, shucks,” Applejack said, slapping her hand onto Molly’s shoulder and staggering the girl for a second. “I know what it’s like, lookin’ out for your family. Pinkie and I are a mite odd, I won’t deny that, but we don’t mean no harm. I promise. Right, Pinkie?” She glanced beside her to find that Pinkie was missing.

“Come on, come on,” she whined, standing by the front door already. She fidgeted in place like a little filly that needed the bathroom.

Molly sighed. “Fine, make yourselves at home. Just let me dig out my front door key…”

“Woo-hoo! IT’S PARTY TIME!” Pinkie shouted, throwing open the front door of Molly’s house. Then she dove in. There was the sound of panicked shouting from within, accompanied by sugar-fueled maniacal laughter.

“That’s my cue to leave,” Dresden said. “Try to keep your mom from killing her, or we’ll have an interdimensional incident on our hands. See you tomorrow.”

Dresden raced – well, scooted – off into the night as Molly and Applejack sprinted into the house. Spike could have sworn he heard Dresden mumble under his breath, “Suspect the worst of me, will they? Those chickens are coming home to roost.” Spike was certain he must have misheard, because there wasn’t anything to do with chickens in this situation.

Spike tried to strike up a conversation, but Dresden seemed focused on something else. All of his replies were one syllable. Spike figured he must have a lot on his mind and shrugged. Instead, he watched the Chicago scenery go by, struck again by just how much of it there was. You could fit all of Ponyville into one of the parks so long as you didn’t include any farmland.

As it turned out, Dresden didn’t have a house.

He had a lair.

“This is so cool,” Spike said, throwing himself onto the old, cushy couch.

Dresden snorted. “This might be the first time my place has impressed anyone, ever.” He sighed and shook his head. “I’ll be in the lab, working on a case. There’re plenty of books and a few comics if you’re bored. I think there’s still some ice cream in the ice box, too. You can help yourself there. Thomas, my roommate, hasn’t been home most nights of the past week. He normally takes the couch, but he shouldn’t need it. If he shows up, tell him to take it up with me.”

Spike stopped bouncing, and his face fell. “We aren’t going to hang out? Even if you’ve got work, I could help! I’m Twilight’s number one assistant for a reason.”

“Thanks, but unless you can do my brand of magic or have some kind of dragon tracking ability, it’s better that I work alone. Besides, I’d hate to work you on your vacation.”

“I guess,” Spike said. Dresden nodded and went over to a corner, lifting up a rug and revealing a trap door – an actual secret trap door – and disappeared into his ‘lab’ down below. Totally a lair. He just needed some of Twilight’s science stuff and a secret entrance and he would be just like one of those brooding anti-heroes that were all the rage in today’s comics. That Thomas guy was probably his sidekick.

“Speaking of which,” Spike said, wandering over to a couple of over stuffed bookshelves. He clucked his tongue looking at the state of most of Dresden’s paperbacks. Twilight would have a fit if she saw these. His comics looked like they were in better condition. “Spider-Man, huh? Looks like he’s got a lot of these. Let’s see how human heroes stack up.”

………

Some days Officer Pearson regretted becoming a state trooper. Most often during the summer, when every one of Minnesota’s ten thousand lakes seemed full of mosquitoes. It wasn’t summer right now. September was usually that perfect time of the year, when the bugs of summer had died down but the frigid winter wasn’t here just yet. There was a crisp sort of perfection to the autumn woods, especially this far from major cities. Today should’ve been a day that Officer Pearson could enjoy.

“But no,” he mumbled under his breath, following an old logging trail into the deeper parts of the forest near town. “I have to be stuck out here dealing with this bullshit. ‘I swear I saw a snake, Chief Saunders. It was big enough to make off with my dog.’ Hmph.” If Austin wasn’t the Chief’s nephew there was no way he’d have been taken seriously. And now poor old Officer Pearson was out here on a snipe hunt for no better reason than he didn’t look busy enough when the Chief glanced into the room.

It was late afternoon, but a chill wind was starting to blow. Officer Pearson shivered slightly, and glared at the surrounding woods. He’d spend another hour looking, but then he was going back. Stupid assignment. This kind of thing should be Animal Control’s job anyway.

There was a rasping movement through forest, stirring the underbrush. He stopped and unholstered his pistol. It was probably nothing, but he didn’t want to be unprepared if a coyote or a wolf decided to attack him. He noticed distantly that the faint bird song of the forest had stopped. Everything was dead silent.

Officer Pearson swallowed nervously, and began to back slowly away, keeping his pistol trained on the area where he had heard the rustling come from. He glanced back to make sure he wasn’t about to walk into anything. When his eyes snapped back, he almost dropped his gun in shock.

There was a snake rearing up out of the bushes beside the trail. It was as thick around as an anaconda, and it was holding its head almost high enough to look him in the eye. Maybe Austin hadn’t just been telling tales. Only, this thing wasn’t really a snake. The head was too wide, the mouth filled with row upon row of teeth, and it had six eyes, three on each side. Bat-like wings stretched out from its back and a pair of stubby little arms or legs grasped the branches beside it.

Whatever it was, its body language said one thing clearly. It considered him dinner. Officer Pearson lined up his shot and stopped his hands from shaking. The gun went off with a roar, and the creature screamed and fell back into the bush. Officer Pearson stayed where he was, neither running or advancing. It probably wasn’t dead, and wounded animals were dangerous to approach. Running would just mark him as a target. Instead, he slowly backed away, never taking his eyes off where he had last seen it.

The underbrush rustled again, this time accompanied by a low pitched growl. That scream must have been more anger than pain. He kept his gun trained, but the thing suddenly shot out from under the bush, moving faster than he would have believed possible. It covered the distance in a sinuous motion that threw off his aim. He squeezed the trigger smoothly several times, then started jerking it frantically as the thing closed, but his shots just threw up soil and leaves around the creature, and then it was on him. It didn’t so much slam into him as clamber up his body, overbearing him with its weight and driving him to the ground. The gun went flying from his hand in the struggle. He tried to shove it off, but its stubby arms latched onto his shoulders and dug their claws in deep. Officer Pearson howled in pain and his arms lost all their strength.

Six eyes met his own, and suddenly the pain from his shoulders was nothing. There was a weird mental pressure on him, a relentless tide battering against his mind. It pressed on him for a moment, then broke through like a pick-ax to the skull. A breathless scream trailed out of him as memories and thoughts were torn to pieces, gobbled down like scraps of meat. Ghostly sounds and images began to flash before his eyes, meaningless. It eventually stopped, but far too late; he felt hazy, thoughts slipping through his fingers almost as soon as they formed. As the light began to die in his eyes, the creature started to change. Three eyes merged into one, scales smoothed into dirty ghost white skin, and stringy red hair grew from its scalp as the mouth and jaw shrank to human proportions.

The creature that crouched over him would have passed for a young woman that had once been pretty, but had spent the last few years strung out on meth and physically abused. Ribs poked from beneath tight-drawn skin, and she had nothing in the way of breasts. If she weren’t completely naked, he might never have realized she was a woman. Officer Pearson thought it was odd that his last moments should end in a haze of hallucinations, but it was probably better than feeling whatever that snake-creature was doing to his body for real.

“My, my,” she said smacking her lips as though she had just enjoyed something tasty. “You apes have done well for yourselves in my absence, haven’t you?” She locked eyes with him and he felt himself slipping away, the afternoon sunlight growing dim around him. “Shhh… don’t struggle. This is simply the… circle of life. The natural order. You’ve served your purpose.”

Everything was dark. He couldn’t feel his legs. Or his arms. Or anything, really.

“After all, meat is best when it’s fresh.”

Chapter Four

Edited by: SilentCarto
Proofreader: Coandco

Disclaimer: I don’t own The Dresden Files or My Little Pony, that is Jim Butcher and Hasbro respectively. This story takes place between books Eight and Nine in the Dresden Files.

And the dawn came up like thunder.

Or at least that’s what the savage knocking on my door at 6:30 AM felt like. I mumbled my way awake, pausing only to throw on a bathrobe and grab my blasting rod. Just because I was expecting Murphy didn’t mean that’s who was going to show up.

“Password?” I asked from the safe side of my steel door.

There was some confused mumbling on the other side until Murphy’s voice cut through it. “Open the damn door before I knock it down.”

I grinned. That was her, all right. I pulled the bolt back, muttered something to disarm my wards, and tugged at the door. It took a moment and some metallic screeching before the door came open. The door frame had been bent ever since a horde of zombies had tried to break in during one hell of a Halloween. Murphy and the girls she had hosted stood on the other side.

“Come on in. I don’t have coffee ready yet, but it won’t take me long,” I told them. For some reason they hesitated a second, and Twilight put forth one hand searchingly. Whatever she felt satisfied her and she marched past, yawning enormously.

“I’ve got some questions when you’re done talking to Murphy,” Twilight said over her shoulder.

Rainbow bounded inside next, looking surprisingly energetic, and Fluttershy followed. Where the other three were obviously dressed in the same clothing as yesterday, Rarity was wearing a pair of well-tailored black slacks, a stylish sweater, and a flat pair of shoes. Somehow that didn’t surprise me. “I’d rather have tea than coffee,” Rarity said, “but have no fear, I’ll set both to boiling. I’ll just be a moment.”

“So,” Murphy said, standing to the side with her arms crossed, “how about my explanation?” There were some faint circles beneath her eyes, so I figured that her night had been a busy one. I chuckled internally at that, but still stepped outside and half closed the door.

“Fair’s fair,” I said, “but I’m going to have to start with an analogy. Remember what I’ve told you about the Nevernever?”

Murphy nodded. “Spirit world, home to demons, fairies and most other supernatural critters. Traveling it without a known path is suicide, because it’s pretty much infinite and most of the stuff in it is happy to eat you.”

I nodded. “Good memory. I got chased off one of the known paths a few years ago and discovered that there’s more to it than just that. I used to think the Nevernever was something that just surrounded Earth. It’s more like the sea. And not just because it’s dark, terrifying, and full of massive predators. Just like any other ocean, it has islands. Earth is one of them. Those girls come from another.”

Murphy blinked at that, taking a moment to process it. “So you’re talking some kind of alternate world? Another dimension? This is some comic-book stuff, Harry.”

I shot her an exasperated look. “Murphy, you’re a cop that fights vampires and your best source of information is a wizard who pays the bills with PI work. We’re beyond the point where something like this is weird.”

She shrugged in response. “I get the point, but still…” She shook her head. “Alternate worlds and whatever are great and all, but if that’s the only thing, then why all the secrecy?”

My response was a grimace. “Well, that’s the thing about islands. Have you ever heard of Mauritius?”

For a moment the name didn’t mean anything to her, but then she got it. “Isn’t that the place where dodos came from?”

I nodded. “Yeah, it was small island in the middle of nowhere without any big predators or threats to the harmless birds that lived there. It’s not a perfect comparison – the girls come from a place with its own predators and darkness – but it’s nothing compared to our world. There are no vampires, no ghouls, no fae, and demons are so rare that they’re practically myths. Their demi-gods actually try to help people and use their power for good. I’ve spent less than two weeks there and the difference was unreal.

“I can’t be the one to ruin that, Murph. I found my way there on accident, and I never wanted to be the one to reveal them to the monsters here. Imagine the Red Court, or any other supernatural nation, discovering their home. They’d see it as easy prey and flood the place. Even if the Princesses and their armies beat them, it wouldn’t be without bloodshed. I couldn’t tell anyone, so there was no chance that the information could ever get out.”

Murphy stood silently for a moment, then a wicked grin split her face. “And it had absolutely nothing do with the fact that they’re fluffy little ponies with brightly-colored coats and big, expressive eyes?”

My blood turned to ice. “Oh God. They told you. Why did they tell you?”

The smile disappeared, and Murphy’s expression turned serious. “Actually, I took matters into my own hands. I couldn’t be sure they hadn’t gotten to you somehow, especially with how secretive you were being. So I didn’t invite them in or warn them about my threshold. The moment Twilight passed the doorframe her spell broke, and she transformed back.” A few chuckles escaped her and the smile was back and more wicked than ever. “Turned back into a little unicorn pony, complete with adorable little horn. Why didn’t you want to tell me all about your magical adventures with your little friends? Did they invite you to their tea parties and let you brush their manes?” The chuckles turned into full out belly laughs, and my face burned red hot.

“Hey! I’ll have you know I killed a demon with a superpowered magic blast thanks to them and uncovered a massive cult-cum-conspiracy the second time around. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows the whole damn time!” That only made her laugh harder.

Finally she slowed enough to speak and said, “Oh, I know. They gave me all the details of how they saved the day and pulled your ass out of the fire with the magic of friendship!”

“Damnit, Murph!” I shouted, cheeks burning hotter than ever. “It was a lot cooler than you’re making it sound!”

“I know, I know,” she said. “I didn’t laugh when they told the story. At least, not until you got turned into a pony!” That started the laughing again, she wrapped her arms around her middle and nearly bent double as I stared on sourly. I had to remind myself that murder was generally frowned upon, even if you could just dump the body into the Nevernever and get away with it scot-free. I was about to tell her off again, which doubtless would have just resulted in more laughter on her part. But then I heard a faint sound that was growing louder and louder as I listened.

I put up a hand, hoping against hoping that she’d stop. “Do you hear that?” Nobody could doubt that Murphy was a professional. The laughter stopped almost immediately, and one hand slid towards her holster as she listened attentively.

“It sounds like...” she began, her expression confused, “singing?”

I took my front steps two at a time, blasting rod still clenched tightly in one hand. Given my usual luck, anything out of the ordinary would mean something bad for me. As it turned out, I was right, but not in the way I expected. A large family van pulled around the corner, and as it drew closer I not only realized that it was the source of the singing, but I could make out the lyrics, too.

~ Dough! For bread, for baking bread.
Ray! A funny looking fish.
Me! The person in the mirror.
Fa – ther Christmas grants your wish!
Sow! To plant our seeds for fall.
LA! A city on the coast.
Tee! It holds a golfer’s ball.
And we’ll make that Dough our toast!~

“One more time!” Pinkie cheered from the Carpenters' van as it screeched to stop in the driveway, and all of the kids cheered in response, ready to launch into another verse.

“Oh, look at that,” Charity Carpenter, the matriarch of the family, said a bit too loudly. “We’re here. Say goodbye to ‘Auntie Pinkie’ and AJ, children.” There was a chorus of disappointment, but Pinkie moved seat to seat somehow giving every child a quick hug before she popped out through the side door.

“Good morning, Dresden!” she announced happily, darting forward to hug me before I could react. Behind her Applejack climbed more sedately out of the car, saying something to Charity that I didn’t catch.

“Good morning, Pinkie,” I said cautiously. “Why does Mrs. Carpenter look like she wants to throw me through a window? Did you do something?”

She laughed easily in response. “Of course not, I was the perfectest guest you could ever want, and Applejack was pretty good too. Anyway, that rumbly in your tumbly tells me that you haven’t had breakfast yet, so I’ma gonna cook you up something tasty.” And with that she was gone down the stairs and into my apartment almost before I could blink.

“Mr. Dresden,” Charity Carpenter said in a cross tone of voice, “I’d like to have a chat with you.”

Murphy patted me on the back and trooped off to her car. “I need to leave for work. Try not to let your magical pony friends cause any trouble.”

I scowled at her, but put some steel in my spine before walking over to Charity’s van. She had never really liked me, mostly because she was convinced I was going to get her husband killed in one of our adventures. She warmed up a bit after I rescued Molly from the Winter Fae and then saved her from the justice of the White Council by taking her as my apprentice, but things still weren’t exactly chummy between us.

“So,” I said, leaning down, and resting my elbow on her open window, “how did you enjoy the guests that Molly invited to your house?” Charity glared at me, but all I did was smile. I vaguely heard something that sounded like ‘oh God’ from the back of the van where Molly sat amongst her many siblings.

Charity stared at me with all the intensity of a hawk watching a mouse, but when she finally spoke her tone was civil. “I’ve already discussed it with Molly, but I’d like to let you know a few things. I had no problems with AJ; she was as helpful as anyone could wish, though a bit odd. Pinkie on the other hand…” Charity snorted, and despite my expectations no flames or brimstone shot out of her nostrils. “She stormed into the house like a thing possessed, scared all of the little ones until AJ calmed her down, then all of her games and songs kept them up an hour past bedtime, after which she stayed up to watch our Disney movies until at least one in the morning. Then she had the gall to not only be bright and cheery at five AM but also to take over my kitchen!”

I thought briefly of the delicious pastries she’d made before, and was barely able to contain my sympathy. “Oh, how horrible for you,” I said, my stomach rumbling in agreement.

She fixed me with a gimlet stare. “Have somebody else take charge of your workroom or lab or what-have-you without your permission and then get back to me.” She sighed, and rubbed her temple. I noticed the dark shadows under her eyes; I suppose ‘one in the morning’ wasn’t just a guess on her part. “Next time I need a babysitter I’ll pay whatever she asks, but until then I’d rather you kept her out of my hair.”

I chuckled to myself, “They’re only going to be in town for a few days, so you don’t have much to worry about. They just got in late last night and didn’t have a place to crash. I’m taking care of that today.”

Charity looked like she didn’t know whether to glare at me some more or be grateful. “Thank you, Mr. Dresden. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a car full of children that need to go to school.” There were some half-hearted protests to that, but by the time Charity had turned around the kids were quiet.

“Sure thing,” I said, patting the roof of her van and standing clear. “Just send Molly my way after school today. I’ll need her help keeping this bunch out of trouble.”

Charity nodded, rolled up the window, and set off. I chuckled again to myself, and followed the stairs down to my apartment to find AJ waiting outside the door. She looked confused. “Twilight said I had to wait out here ‘til you specifically invited me in. What’s the deal there?”

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Twilight’s voice called out from inside the apartment. “Now hold still, Pinkie!”

I grunted, and rolled my eyes. Of course. Way to forget that. Though it was interesting to see that even a threshold as weak as mine would reverse their transformations. Given the effect of running water on magic, I’d better keep them out of the rain just in case. Thankfully, there were barely any clouds to be seen in the dim morning light.

“Come in, Applejack. You’re welcome in my home,” I said, and she cautiously took a step forward, seemingly encouraged when her transformation didn’t fall apart.

I followed her in, shut the door, and murmured something to rearm my wards. The ponies-turned-humans had certainly made themselves at home. A pair of piping kettles told me that Rarity was true to her word. Fluttershy was cooing to Mouse and rubbing his belly, entirely unfazed by the fact that he was at least twice the size he’d been the last time she’d seen him. As I expected, Pinkie Pie was back to being a pony, and Twilight seemed to be doing her best to reverse that situation. My rugs had been pulled back, and a circle had been scrawled on the floor in chalk. Pinkie was in the center, oohing and ahhing over my less-than-impressive apartment. Though, give her credit for good taste; she did seem to like my vintage Star Wars movie poster.

Power pulsed from Twilight into the circle, and with a sudden twist and motion too quick for the eye to follow, Pinkie turned into a human girl. A conspicuously naked human girl with plenty of curves all in the right places. I averted my eyes, but I’d already seen more than I ever needed to. My body disagreed, but what the hell does it know?

“Here. Put your clothes back on, darling. It’s dreadfully drafty in here,” Rarity said somewhere behind me. “And be glad you didn’t rip anything getting out of them like when Twilight changed back. It took me a good hour to restore her clothing to proper form.”

“I was caught by surprise, that’s all!” Twilight said, and I could hear the blush in her voice. She also sounded tired, but given the amount of power it takes to transform someone, that didn’t surprise me.

“So what the hay is happening there?” Rainbow asked, munching on some dry cereal, the heathen. “Does every human have an anti-transformin’ spell on their doors? Also, Pinkie’s dressed, so you can turn around.”

Pinkie was still struggling into her dress, striking all manner of poses that my glands enjoyed, but technically all of her bits were covered so I couldn’t blame Rainbow too much. I schooled my face to a serious expression and turned to her. “Murphy didn’t explain things?”

“Not quite,” Twilight said, clearing away the chalk marks on my floor with a wave of her hands and a quiet surge of power. “She told me that it had to do with a ‘threshold’ and how that protected people from magic and various supernatural creatures, but it still left me with plenty of questions she couldn’t answer.”

We weren’t exactly on the clock, so I went ahead and gave them the low-down on thresholds while Rarity passed around mugs of coffee and tea. Rainbow Dash and Applejack lost interest pretty quick, but Twilight was fascinated. “Amazing! That sort of thing is an entirely different form of magic from anything I’ve seen in Equestria. Is it actually a subtle form of innate magic unique to humans or simply a subconscious use of natural magic more akin to the abilities of Earth ponies? Oh, I wish I had more time here. I could write a whole thesis on the similarities and differences between Human and Equestrian magic. Which is to say nothing of the other creatures you’ve indicated as magic-capable.” Her smile turned wry and she chuckled. “Not that I could publish it even if I wrote it, but you know.”

I actually did know. Beneath the hard-boiled exterior that Chicago knows and loves (sort of) I’m really a great big magic geek. Believe me, projects like Little Chicago weren’t done by people who have things to do on Friday nights. “Speaking of those differences, I’ve got to ask about those transformations. Did you just copy the first people you saw and change the hair color or did you just make them up completely yourself?”

Twilight grinned. “Neither, really. We had to practice walking in this form before we got used to it and Rarity needed our measurements to make our clothing. I’m flattered you’d think I could whip these up all by myself, but I’d never even seen a female human before.”

A frown creased my face as I tried to puzzle that out. “Then how’d you manage it?”

“It goes back to how transformation magic works. Pinto, one of the earliest pony mages and philosophers, theorized that everything in the world has a ‘perfect concept’ only accessible through magic. I linked each of us to the concept of ‘human’ to perform the transformation. It’s energy intensive, but a very safe and effective method. However, any concept has many forms in the real world and exactly how something is transformed will vary. The prevailing theory is that the transformed object will act as if it had always been the new object. For example, if I had been born a human, this is what I would have looked like. The other theory is that the transformed object becomes its nearest possible match – in other words, it is most similar to its original form as possible within the confines of its new form,” Twilight lectured.

By this point, everyone in the room except me had wandered off to chat and enjoy their tea. I found it fascinating, myself, but something did puzzle me. “But wouldn’t it obviously be the second? All of you have the same hair and eye color.”

“Not quite,” Twilight replied. “I made those changes myself; the spellcaster does have some control over the transformation. The less the transformed object fights the change, the longer the spell will last. Adding or changing certain details can help the transformed creature accept the new body and fight the transformation less. Though, I stretched things too far when I tried to let Dash keep her wings. That was too far outside the bounds of ‘human’ and the transformation failed.” She blushed and rubbed one hand on the back of her head. “The magical fallout from that scorched one of my nicer rugs, but it was a valuable learning experience.”

“Jeez, enough egghead talk. Let’s get down to business!” Rainbow said. “We’re here to have a good time, see the sights, and maybe fight a few monsters!” Fluttershy eep’ed softly and hid behind Mouse at that one. “So where do we start?”

I rolled my eyes, but didn’t let her see. “I’ve got some work to do, and I’m sorry, but you’ll need to stay here until I can get back. Once that’s done, we’ll get those jewels changed into money, and Molly can take you shopping for more clothes.” Especially some real underwear, I thought. “Then we’ll get that hotel room and show you some of the sights, maybe grab some dinner.”

“What kind of work?” Pinkie asked, somehow popping up beside me. There was a stack of pancakes balanced on both of her hands, and I belatedly realized that my griddle was sizzling with more of them cooking. I hadn’t even seen her light the fire.

“Detective work,” I said, trying to evade the question and snag some pancakes. “Nothing special.” The last thing I needed was to get them caught up in whatever was going on with Sean Belfast. Last night’s work with Little Chicago, which my brother affectionately refers to as a ‘voodoo doll of the entire city’, had given me some of Sean’s movements over the past week. The trails were faint, weakened by the days that had passed, but there was enough to show me that he hadn’t left the city through normal means. Whatever had happened to Sean, he was still in Chicago.

“Don’t be like that,” Applejack said, as she set the table with my limited dishware. “Believe me, I know a thing or two about biting off more than you can chew. We don’t mind taking the time to help you out.”

“It’s just a missing college student. I can handle it,” I growled softly, still trying to get at the pancakes that Pinkie was ‘accidentally’ keeping out of my reach with how she bustled all over the small kitchen. “I don’t show up to your farm and tell you how to harvest apples.”

“Be that as it may–” Rarity began, but the screeching sound of metal on metal interrupted her. Someone was opening my door.

A quick mental check on my wards reassured me. They were intact, just disarmed. I had only trusted two people with a charm to let them freely in and out of my apartment, and I doubted Murphy had come back so soon.

“Hey, Harry, we have got to get that door fixed,” Thomas said once he finally had the door open. “Also, if Lara calls, I’ve been here since last night with my cell phone off.” Thomas is my half-brother and living, breathing commercial for those ridiculous body sprays. He’s also a vampire of the White Court, an incubus that feeds on life force gathered through lust. The sex appeal is part of their ability to hunt, and the people they preyed upon drowned in desire even as the last of their life was drained. Thomas was different, though. After almost killing the woman he loved while feeding, he had left his vampiric family and worked to live as a normal person. Well, as close as anything gets to normal around here.

He looked in my direction and seemed about to say something else, but stopped dead, his eyes turning a cold silver that meant his inner predator was rising to the surface. “Harry,” he said carefully, not moving a muscle. “Why are there five beautiful virgins in your apartment?”

The girls had also frozen. Every one of them stared at Thomas like he was the only thing in the world that mattered. Rarity’s eyes were lidded and she wore a small indulgent smile. Twilight was breathless, and a heavy blush obscured Fluttershy’s face. Applejack shook with what looked like restrained need. Pinkie grinned like she’d just found an extra big present under the Christmas tree, and Rainbow was biting her lower lip, trying – and failing – not to watch Thomas’s every move.

For one long moment the tableau was frozen that way, and the only noise was Spike’s snores from the couch. I faintly smelled some of the pancakes beginning to burn. One of the downsides to Thomas no longer draining people without regard to their safety is that he gets hungry. And when he’s hungry, the magic that attracts women to him gets turned up to eleven. When he has everything under control he can damp down that effect, but being caught by surprise like this would make it near impossible. This many healthy, beautiful young women – exactly the sort of prey his instincts would scream at him to pursue – in the place he called home was simply too much temptation for him.

I stood up, and crossed the room quickly. “Hey, Thomas. Right now really isn’t the best time. Sorry about that.” I grabbed his arm and tried to lead him back out the door with me. It was like pulling on steel beam. He didn’t move an inch and continued staring at the girls.

“Dresden,” Rarity said, standing and smiling, “don’t be so rude. You should introduce us to your guest.”

Thomas smiled back, his eyes turning paler still. “And I would be honored to meet such lovely ladies.”

The girls were starting to move towards him slowly, as if in a dream. Thomas didn’t even seem to register my attempts to drag him away, so I did what all great wizards do: I cheated. “And I’m sure Justine would be happy to see you well fed,” I said in a low voice.

Thomas turned to me faster than any human would be capable, glaring. “How dare–” he started with a low growl, but then he blinked. As my words sank in the hard, possessive anger went out of his expression. “Sorry, Harry,” he said, letting me lead him outside and shut the door after us. There were a few groans of disappointment from inside the apartment, but none of them ran after us. Which could have been a problem. I’ve seen women literally throw themselves at Thomas when he really has his power cranked up.

The silver faded from his eyes and he regained more and more control over himself. “Empty Night,” he swore. “Some warning would have been nice. That was like dangling well-aged bourbon under an alcoholic’s nose.”

“Sorry. I didn’t think about it until you got here. They showed up unexpectedly last night, and I was planning to get them a hotel room today,” I frowned. “Will you need to stay clear? They’re only going to be in town for a few days.”

“I can manage if it’s out in public somewhere. Just… don’t leave me alone with them.” His eyes flashed silver again for a brief second before calming back down, and his hands tightened in anger. Probably with himself. If the two of us were any indicator, guilt complexes must have run in the family.

“You think Lara might call for you?” I asked, looking to change the subject. Lara Raith is his half-sister (no relation to me), and she pretty much ran the White Court.

Thomas rolled his eyes. “She’s already tried my cell phone twice, and I’ve been ignoring her. I was out last night with a bachelorette party, and I wasn’t going to let her interrupt things.”

I stared at him with an expression that was pure disgust. “Stars and stones, how many women was it?” Yeap, definitely disgust, not even the slightest bit of jealousy.

He smirked. “Enough to make me feel halfway decent for first time in a long time. Don’t make that face at me. I didn’t sleep with the bride, and it’s easier to take less when there’re more girls to take from.”

I shook my head. “Any idea what she’s calling about? Molly can watch the girls if you need my help.”

Thomas stretched and yawned. “No, it’s family politics again. Just the usual backstabbing, lies, and manipulation. I’m dragging my feet because whatever part she has planned for me, I’m not eager to jump into it.”

I patted him on the back. “I’m there for you, buddy. Just a heads up for when you come back, there’s six girls in the group, not five.”

Thomas rolled his eyes. “Thanks, Harry, but believe or not, I can count.”

I frowned. “Then–”

“Think about it. I’ll see you later, assuming Lara doesn’t kill me first.”

He took the steps two at a time. After a moment I did think about it. The immediate conclusion I reached was that I should do less thinking about it. I went back into the apartment to find the girls recovering from the aftereffects of Thomas’s mojo.

“W-who was that?” Twilight asked, a light blush still adorning her face.

“More like ‘what’ was that?” Applejack said, looking faintly disgusted. “I ain’t never felt like that before. It was like every bit of sense fell straight outta my head.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow chimed in. “Hairless apes aren’t my thing, but with him I just wanted to–” she cut herself off, her dark skin flushing even darker and looking angry.

“That was my, er... roommate, Thomas,” I said. I felt bad not telling them the whole truth, but they didn’t need to know that we were brothers and letting the information slip even accidentally could doom both of us. We each had plenty of enemies that would take advantage of that fact, and given our allies … well, there was no sense letting the White Council know I was so closely connected to the White Court, especially since we were technically at war.

“Is he seeing anyone?” Pinkie asked with a big grin. I noticed that the burnt pancakes had disappeared and the ones she was making now were heart-shaped. “Because if not, I’d like to invite him to a private party.”

“Pinkie!” Rarity gasped. “There is no need to be so uncouth. A gentleman like Thomas would clearly prefer somewhere candlelit and romantic. Perhaps Dresden could suggest an appropriate restaurant for the occasion.”

Hell’s bells, I’d seen movie theaters that didn’t project as hard as Rarity could. “My first restaurant suggestion for any occasion will be Burger King,” I snarked, but then deliberately turned my expression serious. “But we aren’t having dinner with Thomas. He’s a great guy, but he’s also a vampire of the White Court.” I explained what that meant, and the rest of the group quickly grew just as serious.

“They pretend to love people and then drain them?” Twilight asked, her face horror-stricken. “Dear Celestia, and I thought changelings were bad.”

I nodded. “Par for the course here. Plus the other two big Houses of the White Court don’t use lust. They feed through fear and despair instead, which makes the process even uglier.” There was sounds of disgust from the group and I nodded again. “Most of the White Court don’t think about killing a person any more than you or I would think about eating dinner. Thomas, though, is trying to change. He’ll take a little bit here and there, but he doesn’t drain people beyond what they can heal and he takes as little as he can manage. Despite his family, he’s a good person.”

There were some glances exchanged after that, but Fluttershy surprised me by being the first to speak. “I think I understand. Some of my animal friends are carnivores and none of the other animals really like them, even though they only eat what they need to and don’t enjoy hurting others. If you trust Thomas not to hurt us, then I trust that.”

“Yeah, but if he tries that again on me, I’ll show him a few of moves Murphy taught me,” Rainbow bragged, throwing a few shadow jabs that seemed faster than a person should be able to move.

“Very well,” Rarity said, adjusting her outfit with a newfound sense of solemnity about her. “I believe before he walked in we were discussing our plans for the day.”

I snorted. “Somebody wake up Spike, and we’ll discuss it over breakfast.” Those pancakes smelled delicious. “Whatever we decide, the first step is clear. We need to get all of you that hotel ASAP. For that we’ll need money, and the only place to get it is somebody who works for a monster.”

………

‘Gentleman’ Johnny Marcone runs crime in Chicago.

I don’t mean he runs protection rackets, drugs, the sex trade or the black market. He runs all of them. Anyone committing crimes in his territory without his approval has a tendency to get turned in to the police or disappear entirely. It all depends on how much their involvement annoyed him.

He liked to pretend that he has a ‘civilizing’ effect on the criminal underground, but all he did was curb its excesses while making it churn out human misery more efficiently than ever. The police were hesitant to go after him even when they knew he was involved in something. Not only did he own all the right people and have an army of personal lawyers, but they were also afraid of the gang wars and violence that would engulf the city if they took out the man that kept everything in check.

Marcone and I had hated each other since the day I refused to work for him. He isn’t anywhere close to the worst enemy I’ve had, and I’ve even worked with the guy on occasion. But that doesn’t stop him from being a monster, and one day I’ll run out of enemies worse than him. He was convinced I would get myself killed long before that happened, so neither of us had moved on the other. Not yet, anyway.

Selling gemstones is not as easy as it would sound. Any reputable jeweler will only buy through certified, contracted sources. Pawn shops are fine for jewelry, but when it came to loose stones like the ones Rarity had brought, the black market was the only place to sell without proof of where the stones had come from. And anyone in that business would answer to Marcone, directly or indirectly.

Joseph Futney was a wizened little guy that looked way older than he actually was. He ran a hand through his iron gray hair as he squinted through a glass eye at the gem he was handling. “Peridot weighing thirteen karats, good quality, decently but not spectacularly cut,” he mumbled, scratching out notes in some sort of shorthand. “And you can’t tell me where it was mined? That matters for the pricing, certain areas produce better stones.”

Rarity glanced at me, but said nothing. I needed her here because she was an expert in the stones even if she didn’t know any better than I did what kind of prices we’d get. “Yeah, actually. I was just having fun the first four times I answered that question. That one comes from the land of rainbows and unicorns.”

“Wiseass,” Joseph said under his breath. But there was sweat on his forehead and he glanced nervously at me right after he said it. I just smiled back with plenty of teeth. He flinched away and continued studying the jewels. For some reason all of Marcone’s goons have it in their heads that I’m dangerous. It might be because Marcone and I have clashed before and certain buildings didn’t survive the encounter. Or it could be because he was in the know about some of my more... exuberant actions in the course of protecting the city.

I had scanned the place before coming in and the only danger we were in right now was dying of boredom. Magically, at least. I’d be shocked if he didn’t have some security beyond the thug sitting in the corner keeping a watchful eye on us. Joseph was a paranoid little guy, taking his sweet time examining the stones. He was probably worried that they were fakes.

“Mr. Futney, why are you wasting our time?” Rarity asked. I could see some nervous tension in her, but she hid it well beneath a mask of slight annoyance.

He sniffed and made a show setting one of the jewels down. “I’m being certain that these gems are the real thing and worth offering on. If you think Mr. Dresden’s reputation is enough to let you just waltz in here and drop off something without my utmost scrutiny then you’d be quite wrong.” His words sounded good, but there was more sweat beading on his forehead and the room wasn’t that hot.

“That is possible,” Rarity said pleasantly, “but you’ve examined all of the stones by now. Also, your notes are not terribly difficult to decipher, as they are similar to how I categorize my own gems. You’ve already marked down that all of them are real, an initial offer, and a maximum offer.” He clutched protectively at his notebook, but she continued. “That was five minutes ago, and everything you have added since is irrelevant and – in regards to the estimated size of my chest – inaccurate.” She glared daggers at him, and he shrank back. “I would like to know why.”

“That would be because he was waiting for me to arrive,” said a smooth, pleasant baritone. It was one that I unfortunately recognized.

Marcone wore a suit that cost more than my car and apartment combined. He had a strong, confident face. His eyes were the green of faded dollar bills, seemingly kindly, but cold ruthlessness waited just beneath the surface. He was flanked by his typical guards: Hendricks and Gard.

Hendricks looked like a gorilla that had been stuffed into a suit and given a red buzz cut, but I’d learned that he was smarter than he looked. And did I mention that his biceps were bigger around than my thigh? Yeah, I was pretty sure he could Hulk right out of that suit if he felt like it. Standing next to him, Gard was a beautiful woman over six feet tall. She had blue eyes, blond hair, and a chest that Joseph would have loved to estimate the size of. Her expression was colder than winter on Lake Michigan, but underneath it burned a battlelust that made most berserkers look tame. She’d left her double-bladed axe at home, which I took as a good sign, but I didn’t doubt that she other means to wreak havoc with her. Marcone and Hendricks were pure human, but she was a capital-v Valkyrie. Her service to Marcone cost a fortune, and from what I’d seen, she was worth every penny.

“Oh, how wonderful,” I said, staring at the procession without a trace of the entirely rational fear I felt at their sudden arrival. “It’s exactly the last person in Chicago I ever wanted to see.” Whatever Marcone wanted, he wasn’t out for blood, not yet at least. If he planned to kill me, he wouldn’t show up to taunt me first. He would set snipers to surround the building and hope to kill me before I knew I was even in danger. No sane man wants to take a wizard in a straight fight – even if he won, my death curse would kill him or worse.

Marcone grinned softly with an air of resigned patience. “Believe me, I enjoy your presence just as much, Dresden. However, after the most interesting story about you picking up a group of exotically-colored young ladies from Special Investigations crossed my desk I had to have a look for myself. Not only Mr. Futney but all of my subordinates were instructed to inform me if they saw you.”

The hair on the back of my neck rose. It would be one thing if this was between us; that was business as usual. If he was here specifically because of the girls, that was something else entirely. I gritted my teeth and glared at him. His smile turned a shade deeper, into something that was almost a smirk. He knew how protective I could be and enjoyed my reaction.

“Sir, if you don’t need me any further…” Joseph said, his body language indicating a clear desire to be anywhere else. His thug in the corner was radiating a similar vibe, but knew better than to speak up.

“Stay here, Mr. Futney,” Marcone commanded. “It would be very rude of me to interrupt your business just so I could have a word with your customers. Please, continue with your examination of the gems they brought.” Joseph slid back into his seat without a word of protest and immediately set to work, more sweat beading on his forehead.

“Now,” Marcone continued. “If you’d put away your more juvenile impulses and make introductions, I’d be grateful.”

Rarity had frozen at his arrival, and she glanced worriedly at me. I sighed and gave her a quick nod. I rose and gestured for her to do the same. “Rarity, this is ‘Gentleman’ Johnny Marcone. He runs the criminal underground of Chicago with brutal efficiency. Marcone, this is Rarity. She’s a close friend and more dangerous than she appears.”

“It’s a pleasure,” he said, clasping Rarity’s hand with both of his and lightly shaking it.

Give Rarity credit, she schooled her face into a polite mask and clasped his hands in return. “I thank you for the compliment.” The mask cracked a tiny bit and her confusion showed through. “Excuse me, but you aren’t how I thought you would be.”

Marcone took one of the remaining seats while Hendricks and Gard continued to loom behind him. I took a seat as well, but I didn’t relax, not a bit. Marcone chuckled lightly. “I think you’ll find I’m rather personable, provided you haven’t crossed me.” A touch of darkness glittered in his eyes at that, then it was gone. “And in Dresden’s case, I have made a temporary exception because we have been useful to each other in the past, and I anticipate further mutually beneficial arrangements in the future. In the right circumstances, even someone as hard-headed as him can see reason.”

“One reason I’d like to see is why you’re here,” I growled. “Cut the bullshit, John. You didn’t come just to chat and introduce yourself.”

Marcone raised an eyebrow. “As a matter of fact that’s exactly why I came. Well, and to make a few threats.”

The gears turned furiously in my head. “You had something to do with Sean’s disappearance? Was he working for you?” That would certainly fit in with how his dad had been afraid that Sean had turned to crime to settle his debts.

Marcone’s eyes narrowed very slightly, but there wasn’t a hint of recognition in his expression. “Believe it or not, Dresden, every unfortunate thing that occurs in this city is not somehow my design. No, I came to warn you not to interfere.” His face darkened, but his glare wasn’t focused on either of us. “Someone is testing my control over this city, and I will maintain it my way.”

I blinked. That was about the last thing I had expected. Things like a gang war or some other challenge weren’t exactly easy to keep secret, but I hadn’t heard a trace of whatever Marcone was talking about. “If people are being hurt, you know that all the threats you could make will be worthless. I’ll step in and end whatever’s causing it, with or without your permission.” Which might be exactly what he wanted, but it wasn’t like he could come and just ask for my help openly. Appearances aside, his pride would never allow it.

“The same holds true for me and my friends,” Rarity said, voice quiet but strong. “Twice now Dresden has helped us in our troubles. It would be only fitting if we returned the favor. Though, admittedly, that wasn’t how I was planning to spend our vacation.”

I scowled. “Rarity, if something is going on, the last thing we need is to get you and the girls involved. If I had died helping you, it would have been sad, but nobody would have come looking for payback. Even putting aside how I feel about you risking yourselves, calling it a ‘diplomatic incident’ would be an understatement. The– Twilight’s mentor would rip this town apart if something happened to any of you.”

Rarity shook her head and daintily tucked a curl behind her ear. “And as I’ve told you before, you don’t get to decide who can and can’t risk their life. The Princess would understand. After all you’ve done for us we cannot and will not let you walk into something dangerous alone. Not if there was the faintest chance that we could help.”

A light golf clap came from Marcone as he looked on with a wry smile on his face. “Very touching. Ms. Gard?” he asked, glancing back at the better-looking of his bodyguards.

“Ms. Rarity is not human, though I cannot tell what she conceals beneath her disguise. Her magic, although strange, doesn’t match what we found, and her speech, mannerisms, and body language are not those of a warrior. I doubt that she was involved.”

“You do meet some unique individuals, don’t you, Dresden?” Marcone asked, rising from his chair and brushing a miniscule speck of dust from his suit. “As much as I enjoyed this chat, I have business that needs handling.”

“What was this really about, Marcone?” I demanded, giving quick glare to Gard. Her expression was inscrutable as she moved to follow her boss. “What was Rarity not involved in?” I had the feeling that we’d been played, but I didn’t know how.

“Just another piece of business that doesn’t concern you, Dresden. Mr. Futney?”

“Yes, sir?”

“I recall Ms. Rarity mentioning a ‘maximum offer’ in your notes. That is what you will give our guests for their trouble.” He smiled, turning the charm back on like a light switch. “I regret leaving so soon after meeting you, Ms. Rarity, but I must go. Should you find yourself in need of my services in the future, please know that I am open to business with the mundane and supernatural alike, and I’m certain anyone with your good taste and wealth would represent a unique opportunity for investment.”

“Thank you, sir,” Rarity said with a small curtesy. “But I’ve been given the choice between the lures of high society and my friends before. I chose my friends then and would not hesitate to make the same choice now.”

“A pity,” Marcone said, sighing. Then he turned and strode out.

I wanted to give him a parting shot, but nothing good came to mind. I had a sour taste in my mouth. Marcone knew something I didn’t, maybe several somethings. But he didn’t know everything about what was going on or he wouldn’t have been curious about Rarity. Still, he had a leg up on me.

For a brief second I entertained the notion that whatever worried him wouldn’t affect me. It’s a big city, after all, and purely by the law of averages there should have been at least one crisis where I didn’t need to get involved.

Nah, the universe hated me too much to let that happen.

“Is something wrong, Dresden?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah,” I said, considering the hints Marcone had dropped. “The problem is, I don’t know what.”

Author's Note

As it turns out being sick for two weeks hurts your productivity. I'm feeling much better now at least.

Chapter Five

Edited by: SilentCarto
Proofreader: Coandco

Disclaimer: I don’t own The Dresden Files or My Little Pony, that is Jim Butcher and Hasbro respectively. This story takes place between books Eight and Nine in the Dresden Files.

Pinkie clawed desperately for breath. Her chest felt like it was wrapped in bands of steel; the pressure was crushing the life out of her.

She fell to the floor gasping. Blinking back tears, she turned towards her friends who did nothing but look on. “Tell Gummy I love him,” she whispered as her vision went dark around the edges. “And to never invest in lollipops; that market is for suckers.”

“Is she okay?” the salesgirl asked, staring on worriedly.

“Oh, for Pete’s sake, Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. “It can’t be that tight.”

The salesgirl hesitantly reached down and unclipped the torture device spanning Pinkie’s chest. Pinkie took in a massive gasp of air. “Freedom!” she breathed, her voice flush with triumph.

The salesgirl still looked uncertain, but picked up the bra. “Okay, we can try going up a cup size, or the same size, but with a looser, more relaxed style.” Pinkie glanced down at her heaving chest, then at the salesgirl, then back at her still heaving chest.

“Let’s try a larger size,” Twilight said, giving the salesgirl an apologetic smile, as if she was the one suffering through this. “Thanks, Monica.”

Monica the salesgirl left the little private fitting room, muttering something, and Pinkie giggled.

Twilight arched an eyebrow. “I hope you’re having fun.”

Pinkie stuck out her tongue. “It was too tight, and she should’ve known ‘cause of how hard it was to get on.” But the expression on Monica’s face totally made up for that, and Pinkie had another quiet giggle. “Can we hit the candy store on the way back? I’m pretty sure it’s in between here and the arcade, so we can go by on our way to get Spike.”

Dash yawned enormously and stretched, relaxing as much as she could on the narrow bench. “Depends on when we get done. Dresden said he’d pick us up around, what, nine?”

Twilight checked the pocketwatch that she’d gotten during their shopping. Pinkie had told her to get the wristwatch with the cartoon mouse, but Twilight didn’t think that was the best souvenir. Pinkie couldn’t see why not. Sure, it wouldn’t fit on a pony’s wrist, but Twilight had a horn to hang it from. She could totally launch a whole new kind of fashion for unicorns! For some reason Rarity’s face had paled when Pinkie suggested that.

“We’ve got about thirty minutes until then,” Twilight said snapping the watch closed. “Not that we need to make another stop there. We’ve already visited twice.”

“Yeah, but I ate all of the first bunch when we were watching the movie. So really, we’ve only visited once,” Pinkie explained slowly. Sometimes her friends didn’t seem to get candy-nomics, but she was happy to enlighten them.

Twilight sighed. “Fine, but only if we finish with enough time. Which is only likely to happen if you quit playing around.”

Pinkie thrust her chest out and saluted with perfect seriousness, which was completely unmarred by the way Dash laughed. “Ma’am, yes ma’am!”

Monica brushed the curtain aside and brought in another bra. It was visibly bigger than the other one, and deep pink in color. Pinkie nodded, sagely. “Points for the color, but let’s see if it’s up to the job.” Why they needed these ‘bras’ Pinkie still wasn’t totally clear on, but Molly had insisted and everypony had only been able to put her off for so long.

Monica helped Pinkie into the weird contraption, as Molly stuck her head in. “Are you three done in here, yet?”

“Not quite,” Twilight replied. “Mine was fairly easy, but Dash took a while, and Pinkie has been… difficult to fit.”

“You could say that again,” Monica muttered under her breath.

“Hey, I only took so long because everything she brought me at first was all lacy or flowery. C’mon, can you imagine me wearing that? This sports bra is pretty cool, though. Slick, streamlined, and Monica said I could totally fight in it.”

“Do martial arts in it,” Twilight corrected.

Dash shrugged. “Yeah, that too.”

Molly sighed. Pinkie wondered if it was something about the air here in humanland that made people do that so often. “AJ and Fluttershy were easy enough, but Rarity is about to drive me crazy. She’s tried on twenty so far, and she doesn’t look to be stopping any time soon.”

Pinkie blinked, wondering how anypony would be able be put on twenty of those things. Unless they were like nesting dolls and each one got larger and larger. Ooooooh! Maybe she was going for a world record! Well, two ponies could play at that game. Or they could if going for the record wouldn’t make them run out of time for another stop at the candy shop. Pinkie warred internally. There had to be a really awesome, shiny trophy for world records here in humanland -- Dresden said there was whole organization with a yearly book dedicated to them. But that sweet, sweet human candy and the high-frustrate corn syrup that made it taste so good…

Pinkie sighed (proving that she was totally right about human air). “I guess Rarity gets the trophy; I’m too devoted to my sweet tooth.” Monica stared at her, but the rest of the group, including Molly, didn’t even blink.

“How does it fit?” Twilight asked.

Pinkie realized with a start that Monica had finished fitting her, only this time she could breathe. “Hmm,” she said, considering it. There was some pressure, especially on the shoulders, but she felt more… balanced, maybe, then she had before. She did a couple of quick stretches and bounces to test it out. The bra held up under the considerable strain, and Molly’s face turned a funny shade of red. “We’re good to go here. Thanks, Monica!”

“Don’t mention it,” the salesgirl said, and left in a hurry.

Twilight glanced after her. “I’m glad Rarity paid up front. They might be a ‘full service’ shop, but I suspect that we’ve tried their patience enough.”

“Nah,” Molly said. “This place is good enough to cater to the wealthy without being so high end that rich people respect the staff. Weirdness factor aside, I’m willing to bet they get way worse prima donnas and problem-cases than you six.”

“Great, so only Rarity left,” Dash said, springing to her feet. She was getting good at moving smoothly in her human body. Pinkie chuckled to herself. Dashie had been so mad when Spike kept beating her at Dance Dance Resolution, even though he had the advantage of walking on two legs for a lot longer. It had taken Applejack to drag her to the bra shop over the shouts of ‘one more game!’.

“Let’s hurry her up!” Pinkie said. “There’s candy waiting and no time to waste!”

Molly put up a hand, and Pinkie slid to a screeching halt, just short of it. “How about you put your clothes back on first,” she replied.

Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Puh-leeze, we finally got ‘bras’ and ‘panties’ like you wanted, and now we have to wear dresses on top of them too? What’s up with that? Why can’t I just head out?”

“Well, you could,” Molly admitted, “and you’d make all of the guys in sight pretty happy doing it, but you’d embarrass your friends, and you’d give people the wrong idea about what kind of girl you are.”

“Fascinating,” Twilight said, a notebook out and pen already in her hands. “Dresden already explained that nudity is taken as a sexual display among humans, but even certain choices in the amount or type of clothing could be taken as the same? Please, explain further.” Her pen scratched at a fevered pace. Molly took several steps back, but Twilight kept up, peppering her with questions all the while.

Pinkie took the opportunity to sneak by them. She crammed her dress back over her head as she crossed the store. The other fitting rooms were far away ‘for privacy’, but it was late, and there couldn’t have been more than eight, maybe ten, people who saw her. Just for fun she gave a wink to one of the boys that were watching her struggle back into her dress. The girl next to him said something that sounded rude, but Pinkie was already gone. “No time to waste; there’s candy on the line!” she shouted, bursting into Rarity’s fitting room. Rarity, Fluttershy, and their salesgirl screamed in response, but Applejack just tilted the hat off her face from where she had been napping and sighed. (What was it about human air? Seriously, it was an epidemic!)

“Wondered when you’d run outta patience.”

“Pinkie! Really, darling, must you be so uncouth?” Rarity demanded, blushing deeply. She’d really taken human customs to heart. Unfortunately for her, Pinkie's heart was too full of her love for partying, friends, partying, sweets, partying, games, and partying for anything like that.

“Rarity, I am as couth as ever, but you’re taking way too long to decide on something silly.”

“Silly?” the salesgirl said, crossly. “The undergarments establish the entire foundation of the outfit you wear. Imagine wearing a normal bra with a strapless dress. Or wearing a business skirt without the right hose. Honey, there is nothing ‘silly’ about it.”

Rarity nodded, her expression stern. “Thank you, Rochelle. I’m glad you understand. The rest of my social interactions in this city are utterly dependant on the choices I make here and now, Pinkie. I simply cannot make these decisions in any sort of hurry.”

Pinkie swelled with indignation (or whatever the word was, but her cheeks totally puffed out and steam came out her ears) and she was about to ‘accidentally’ summon her giant mecha and–

“Why don’t the rest of us get a move on while you finish up here?” Applejack said. “We can grab Spike, then take another run by the candy shop for Pinkie.”

“I like it!” Pinkie declared. “I’ll get Spike, and be back in a jiffy.” And she was gone before anypony else could say a word.

The human mall was super huge and super neat, but Pinkie had no time for that now. The mall closed at nine o’clock. Dresden said he would be there at nine o'clock to pick them up. So, clearly, she needed to find Spike, bring him back, and then make a run to the candy store, all before nine o’clock.

The arcade was halfway across the mall, but Pinkie made it in no time flat. The flashing lights and fun games called to her, but there was no time to spare. Spike had abandoned the dancing game and was busy racing through the streets of some human city. Or crashing through the streets of some human city. He hit light poles, mailboxes and other stuff often enough that Pinkie had a hard time telling whether he was supposed to do that or not.

“Spike!” she shouted, screeching to a halt beside him. He shot up in surprise, and she took the opportunity to yank him out of the seat. His pockets jingled with the little human coins as she did. “Notimetowastelet’sgo!” She pulled on his hand, making him jingle all the way back, like a big, complaining bell.

“Pinkie!” he shouted, “slow down!”

Then she stopped so suddenly he ran into her. “We’re too late.” Indeed, Dresden was already there, standing outside the bra store with everypony except Rarity gathered around him. Not fair, he was early.

“You’re just in time, Pinkie,” Twilight said.

“But I don’t wanna go yet,” she whined.

Twilight blinked, then rolled her eyes. “Not that, I meant because you brought Spike. We decided that you and Applejack could run by the candy store while Molly waited on Rarity. Dresden will take the rest of us and all of our purchases” –she gestured to the small mountain of bags that were mostly Rarity’s– “back to the hotel, then return for you four.”

Pinkie gasped in joy. “That’s perfect!”

“Aww, can’t I stay with Rarity?” Spike asked.

But Twilight just ruffled his hair and smiled. “It’s close to your bedtime, and besides, don’t you want to help her out by keeping an eye on everything she bought?”

Spike mulled that over and sighed (more proof). “I guess so.”

Dresden nodded. “Thanks. I could use your help carrying all this.” He picked up a piece of Stuff Mountain and grunted under its weight.

Pinkie sidled up beside him before he could get too far and gave him a quick hug. “Thanks, I’ll see you later. C’mon, Applejack, let’s get some of Rarity’s jewel money and hit up that candy shop!”

………

“Wowee, it sure got dark quick,” Pinkie said, blinking at the near empty parking lot. She set down her heavy candy bags and popped the sucker out of her mouth, giving it another lick. The doors behind them locked with a click. The old security guard tottered off, seeking more doors that needed the help of his keys. There wasn’t a ‘Closed’ sign, but locking the doors was a pretty good sign all by itself.

Molly scowled. “It shouldn’t be. Something must be wrong with these lights. Look, the ones further out are on.”

“Goodness,” Rarity breathed, shivering slightly. “Now, I wish they hadn’t taken my earlier purchases with them. That burgundy coat with the sandalwood buttons would be simply divine at the moment.”

Applejack chuckled. “If you coulda found it in all those bags. I still have a hard time believing Dresden managed to fit all them clothes in that little car.”

“Don’t worry, Rarity!” Pinkie cried, leaping towards her friend with arms spread wide. She hugged her tight, making Rarity squeak in surprise. “The blazing warmth of my passionate heart will keep us warm!” She paused for a second. “Or was it the passionate warmth of my blazing heart? Something like that anyway.”

Rarity’s cheeks were already flushed with warmth, and Pinkie gave herself a figurative pat on the back for quick thinking. “Pinkie! This is mortifying. I am not a little fil- girl that needs her mother for warmth. And where did you even get such a ludicrous line?”

Pinkie let go, satisfied by a job well done. Rarity’s mind certainly wasn’t on the cold anymore. “After we watched those Disney movies, I found some late night cartoons. They had normal sized eyes, and normal manes, and it was amazing! Next time we visit Earth, we’ve gotta hit this ‘Tokyo’ place.”

Molly blinked. “You watched anime?” She groaned, and cradled her head in her hands. “How am I going to explain this to Harry?”

“I dunno either; it was really hard to understand what was going on, but I liked it anyway.” She giggled a bit at Molly’s expression, and almost missed the faint tingling in her left elbow and the three blinks from her right eye. The giggling stopped immediately, and Pinkie drew in her breath to shout even as the two men in large coats exploded out of the shadows.

They were fast, crazy fast. Faster than a … really fast thing. Pinkie was too distracted for good metaphors right now.

“Behind you!” she shouted. Molly’s mouth turned into an ‘o’ of surprise and she started to turn but she was too slow. Huge, spidery hands clutched her wrists and another one closed over her mouth, cutting off the scream.

This close up, Pinkie could see the men, and they were ugly with a capital ‘Ugh’. Her mommy Pie always told her not to be rude about things like that, but they were seriously bad looking on level that Pinkie had to wonder if they were even human.

Without a word they turned to leave, dragging Molly with them, but Applejack was already on them. She’d been the furthest away, but her reflexes and flying leap had eaten up that distance like a hot fudge sundae. Her fist shot forward and buried itself in one of the men, and he went flying, too. Until he smacked into the wall, that is.

The other man twisted with a growl, still moving crazy fast, and punched Applejack in the side with the hand that wasn’t holding Molly. There was a quiet crack, and she slid back a few steps, her face fighting back pain.

Then the man’s belt snaked out off of his pants, circled his hands and suddenly cinched together. A blue glow surrounded Rarity’s hands and the coat suddenly squeezed him tight as a straitjacket.

Mr. Ugly didn’t like that. He growled and the hand around Molly’s wrist closed with bone-crushing force. Which made the rubber duck that he found there let out a shrill and desperate squeak.

Pinkie let a single tear fall at the brave sacrifice of Sir Mallard of Quacksbury as she hurried Molly away from the fight. The poor girl was frozen in fear, and though she wasn’t crying, her eyes were getting themselves ready for the waterworks to start.

Seams all along Mr. Ugly’s coat began to burst and break as he strained against it. He managed to bring the thick leather belt up to his mouth and Pinkie saw sharp teeth flash as he began to chew through it. The one Applejack punched was back, and he didn’t even bother helping his friend, making a straight dash for Molly. Applejack was back too, but he ducked her swinging punch and kept coming.

Until his face slammed into the stop sign Pinkie suddenly planted in the ground. She blew her whistle at him, adjusting her very serious Policewoman’s hat and shining her already shiny badge. “Can’t you read?” she asked, pointing pointedly at the sign.

Claws sprang out of the tips of his fingers, and with a swipe he cut right through the sign’s metal post. “Uh… I guess not,” she quipped, snatching up the sign and using it to bat away another swipe aimed at her head. Mr. Ugly Sr. left gouges in the metal.

“Hey,” Pinkie said as she parried a couple more swipes that took more pieces out of her sign, “you should really look behind you.”

Mr. Ugly Sr. didn’t take his mean little eyes off her for even a second. Which let Applejack charge in and drop to her hands, delivering a massive kick into the small of his back. She lost her balance and fell to the ground, but he was already flying forward, right into a sweeping uppercut from Pinkie’s sign that lifted him off the ground. “Can’t say I didn’t warn you,” she said with a shrug.

“A little help would be appreciated!” Rarity yelled, as Mr. Ugly Jr. finally bit all the way through the belt, and ripped off the coat completely. Without it, Pinkie could see how weird he really looked. His long, yellow teeth were set in a jaw that was too wide and long to be human. His chest was covered in spiky, wiry hair. His shoulders were too broad and weirdly hunched, leading to arms that were covered in twisted muscle and too long at the ends. He let out a surprisingly quiet roar and charged Rarity.

He passed right through the image, almost rolling like a bowling ball, but he just managed to catch himself. Or would have, except the remains of his coat wrapped around his ankles, and sent him into a perfect faceplant. His face slammed into the ground, but nothing fazed him. With another growl he reached towards his feet, slashing through the heavy fabric easily with his claws. But when he turned back, Applejack was waiting for him.

“I’ve still got some things to learn ‘bout kicking with only two legs,” Applejack admitted, “but I can stomp easy ‘nuff.” Her boot rose, then flashed down. Mr. Ugly Jr. jerked aside at the last moment and the concrete shattered beneath the stomp. Applejack moved with it, putting her weight on the foot she had just stomped with and raising the other one. He scrambled away from that one too, but she followed, leaving a line of craters until she caught his leg. It broke with a loud, wet snap, and Pinkie flinched.

Applejack’s face turned a little green, and she took a step back. “Can’t say I enjoyed that, but it serves you right for tryin’ to make off with our friend like that. Now, what made you–” but then she had to jump back as he lunged forward, trying to bite her. Using the temporary breather, he scuttled over to Mr. Ugly Sr. on three limbs and shook him.

Mr. Ugly Sr. stirred at the motion, then both eyes shot open. He leapt to his feet, glaring at them. Mr. Ugly Jr. stayed crouching low, looking more bestial than ever. Rarity’s hands were covered in blue light, and Applejack took a fighting stance.

“Harmony! Laughter! Transformation, go!” Pinkie cried, stretching her hand in the air and waiting for the magical sparkles to change her clothing and give her a super cool monster fighting weapon. Nothing happened, which wasn’t even close to right. She’d struck the pose exactly right and everything.

“Pinkie, did you get any sleep last night?” Applejack asked in disbelief, careful not to take her eyes off the equally confused monster guys.

Pinkie Pie laughed the laugh of the just. What a silly pony that Applejack was. Who needed sleep when you had twenty-four hour TV and all the sugar you could eat?

Mr. Ugly Sr. took the opportunity and darted forward. Rarity’s hands flashed brighter, but he ripped his entire coat off in one fluid movement as he came, letting it crumple in on itself. Applejack stepped forward to meet his charge. He was a big guy, but she dug in her heels. When he hit, she slid back two inches, maybe three. Maybe two-and-a-half. She’d need a tape measure to be sure. He looked surprised, and then it was Applejack’s turn. She put hands on his chest and shoved.

Muscles bunched beneath her shirt, tearing seams along the arms, and her boots dug even deeper into the ground. Mr. Ugly Sr. went flying first class on the Applejack Express and didn’t stop until he slammed into a light pole, leaving a visible dent in it.

There was a scream, and Mr. Ugly Jr. pulled Molly out of thin air. Rarity’s thick cloth belt shot across the parking lot and wound around his throat, squeezing tightly. “Let go of her you, brute!” Rarity cried, sweat beading on her forehead. But the blue glow around her hands was starting to flicker. Looked like Twilight was right (not that Pinkie was surprised), and Rarity was running out of magic way faster as a human.

Mr. Ugly Jr. kept one hand on Molly, but the other was fighting to keep the belt from choking him. Pinkie frowned as she thought, her tongue poking out of the side of her mouth. It was time to get serious.

“Party Time!” she declared, slipping a blindfold over Mr. Ugly Jr,’s eyes.

“How did you–” Molly started to say, but a rough jerk from a rough jerk cut her off.

Mr. Ugly Jr.’s nostrils flared and he twisted his head in Pinkie’s direction. His mouth opened super wide, and he lunged to bite her. Until she stuffed a huge cake right down it. He gagged on the mouthful of sugary goodness and spilled cake everywhere.

“Tsk,” Pinkie tutted disapprovingly. “And people say that I’m a messy eater.”

He finished coughing up the cake, and finally let go of Molly’s hand to yank off the blindfold. Rarity cried out and the belt stopped glowing, letting him rip that away too. He blinked, probably because there was a great, big barrel about four inches from his face.

Pinkie grinned widely from the other end of her weapon. Combining a Party Cannon with her Cupcake Launcher (patent pending) had been a stroke of genius. “And what party is complete without the decorations?”

The Party Launcher (also patent pending, no matter how many rejections those office ponies tried to give her) went off with a flash of light and sound as streamers, confetti, banners, and all the fixings a party needed exploded out of the barrel. Mr. Ugly Jr. let out a really high-pitched shriek and scrabdoodled off on three limbs again.

Pinkie reloaded the Party Launcher (no seriously, it’s totally safe for indoor use) with an ominous ‘ka-chak’ and Applejack stepped up next to her, cracking her knuckles. Molly stayed back, being comforted by Rarity.

Applejack snorted. “We done here, or do we gotta kick your butts some more?” Mr. Ugly Sr. and Jr. were picking themselves up, but keeping a safe distance. Mr. Ugly Sr. was moving slowly and with a slight limp; Mr. Ugly Jr. still moved on three limbs and kept pausing to rub his eyes with small, dog-like whines.

The standoff was interrupted by the sound of a putt-putting car engine, and Pinkie turned in surprise to see Dresden’s little rainbow car scooting across the parking lot towards them. Mr. Ugly Sr. growled deep and low, but Mr. Ugly Jr. let out a panicked yelp and made for the hills. Mr. Ugly Sr., growled again, glaring at Applejack, then he said something in a weird-sounding language and followed his friend at a slow lope.

“Whew,” Pinkie said, wiping away some sweat. She had apparently swallowed her sucker whole at some point without realizing it, but at least the rest of her candy was safe in its bags. Nobody had kicked it, or tripped over it or anything. “That was an adventure and a half. How’s everybody holding up?”

Molly started crying, burying her face into Rarity’s shoulder.

Pinkie grin disappeared. “So, uh, not good, huh?”

The Dresden-mobile came to a stop next to them, and Dresden popped out of the driver’s seat, staff and rod at the ready. His face looked like pure anger, deeper and harder than anything Pinkie had ever seen in him. He watched the fleeing monsters, and she could tell he was tempted to run after and end them, even if it meant abandoning the four of them for a moment. But a fresh sob rocked Molly, and his expression softened, a flicker of guilt shooting behind his eyes.

“Is everyone okay?” he asked.

“I might have a cracked rib, and I figure Molly’s gonna have some bruises on her wrists, but otherwise we’re pretty much okay,” Applejack replied, stretching and grimacing when she touched her side.

“I also lost that darling new belt I purchased earlier,” Rarity said, holding Molly close. “Though, I suppose the fatigue from overworking my magic might be the bigger problem.”

“What were those guys?” Pinkie asked, popping open the storage area of Dresden’s car and tossing her candy inside. Except for one happy-face sucker, which she covertly pressed into Molly’s hands.

“Describe them,” Dresden said, taking Molly from Rarity and helping her to the car. She had stopped crying, but she still shook and didn’t look okay.

All three ponies started speaking at once, but Pinkie’s voice was the loudest, since she clearly had the best description. Dresden growled, and rubbed his temple. “Ghouls. That was about what I figured. They’re the cheap muscle of supernatural world. Strong, fast, and harder to kill than a cockroach.” He bit out the last bit, and some of that serious anger poured back into his expression.

“I’m feeling like you’ve run into’em a time or two,” Applejack said. They’d all squeezed into the backseat, and with one last glance around Dresden putted off.

“You’d be right,” he said, and the conversation went quiet after that. Pinkie wanted to make a joke, to turn his frown upside down, but the mood didn’t feel right. “Tell me the whole story,” he continued. “What happened after I left?”

They took it in turns, filling him in, except Molly, who stayed quiet. Dresden asked a question here and there, but mostly he just listened. Eventually, they reached Molly’s house. Dresden walked her up to the door and took her inside. It took a few minutes, and it sounded like there was some yelling, but soon enough he came back outside.

“Is Molly going to be all right?” Rarity asked, fiddling with her jewelry. Pinkie nodded, feeling her hair droop a bit.

Dresden sighed. “Yeah, she’ll make it. She just… doesn’t handle combat well. She’s a Sensitive, and in a high-stress situation like that she feels everything that happens to each person. Pain, fear, anger, bloodlust, all of it. She hasn’t learned to filter it out yet.” His eyes hardened with anger again. “It’s pretty clear that they were looking to capture her, and her specifically, while I wasn’t around. Looks like somebody isn’t happy about my investigations into Sean’s disappearance. Or that competition Marcone is fighting heard about our meeting, and figured I was working for him now. Either way, they just made a fatal mistake.”

Pinkie could recognize somebody waiting for the set up to a hard-boiled one-liner and gladly obliged. “How?”

Dresden’s hands tightened on the wheel, his knuckles turning white, as fire danced in his eyes. “They made this personal.”

………

The last of the marrow was deep in the bone, but Ouroborous relished hunting it out. She snapped the other end and sucked down the delicious substance until it was gone. Then she tossed both parts of the cow’s femur into her mouth and crushed them with a contented sigh. The humans had done well domesticating the mighty aurochs into these dumb livestock. They ran and bellowed at her arrival, but none put up half the fight she would have once expected.

Perhaps when she was whole, such a weakened prey would be disappointing, but in the moment it was a convenience that she was happy to take advantage of. She continued stripping the carcass of every scrap of usable meat, enjoying herself as she added another drop to the aching void in her belly. The meanest of her powers had begun to return, and she had healed off the damage from the human guardian’s ‘gun’. Yet, despite dozens of meals, she was still so hungry. Once, she had eaten entire herds in a single snap of her jaws as a mere snack.

She noticed the shadowy shapes moving in the woods around her, and smelled that they were not human, although they pretended to be. Growling, she swallowed her current mouthful and turned to face the largest of them. “Away, scavengers,” she commanded. “There will be nothing left for you, not even the bones, such is my hunger.”

“I am uninterested in taking your meal from you,” said one of the others. He stepped into the clearing, his smile broad and utterly false, though he did not seem to be lying about his interest in her food. “You have been busy, haven’t you? A clear trail of missing livestock all the way from Minnesota to here.” He chuckled. “With all the dairy farms in Wisconsin, a monster like you must have been quite pleased.”

Ouroborous swallowed her latest mouthful, keeping a careful eye on the enemies that encircled her. She could kill them all if she needed to, but it would be noisy and she would not escape without injury. Best to bide her time at the moment. “And what kind of monster am I?” she asked. Did this fool actually know who he taunted?

The false-man shrugged. “An ancient wendigo, a disguised baykok, or some such thing. Really, it doesn’t matter for my purposes.”

“And what are ‘your purposes’?” Ouroborous asked, enjoying the tiniest flinch of fear in his eyes as her teeth cut through bone as easily as apple flesh.

“There is a wizard in Chicago poking into certain things that he should not. I have tried to divert his attention once already, and it ended in failure. It is important that I take an indirect approach so he never knows my true means or intent until it is too late. That’s where you enter the game. You are a wild, rampaging creature without connection to me or my interests. Having you dog his heels will allow me to proceed unopposed.”

Ouroborous snorted. “And yet you neatly danced around why I am the one you chose. There are plenty of creatures that could serve your purpose.”

“Ah, but none so powerful as you, and none that I have leverage over.”

Her eyes narrowed into slits, and a rumbling growl rose in her throat. “Leverage?”

“Indeed. You should have been more careful in your choice of feeding. One of the herds you decimated belonged to the Green Lady, and she is most furious. You are lucky we found you first, as she is hot upon your trail.”

“The Green Lady?” Ouroborous asked, taking another bite of the cow. None of the humans she had eaten possessed much knowledge of the hidden world, the true world. The name was unfamiliar to her.

A frown crossed the false-man’s face, but he smoothed it away. “The Green Lady, high Sidhe of the Seelie Court, vassal to Titania, Queen of the Summer Fae.”

Ouroborous stopped in her eating, a mouthful of meat half chewed. She swallowed it, heedless of the pain to her throat. Titania was Queen now? Brutal, passionate Lady Titania who had helped her Queen, Mother, and Winter cousins seal away Ouroborous? The same who would recognize her instantly, without regard for the passage of years?

She found herself grasping the false-man by his throat, raising him off the ground. “Titania’s hounds and lackeys hunt me?” she asked, feeling the first real fear since she had finally broken into this lush, bountiful world. She was not ready for that confrontation, not for centuries would she be ready!

The others drew weapons and moved forward, but the false-man raised his hand and they lowered their weapons. “Exactly,” he said, smirking down at her fear. “Now put me down, and prepare to accompany us back to Chicago. We must erase your trail before the Green Lady comes hot on your scent, and we have no time to waste.”

Ouroborous scowled, her features twisting into a mask of hatred. “I am not your dog to be commanded.”

The false-man sneered, unconcerned with her. “Then you will die at the hands of the Fae. Obeying me is the only way you will live out the night, much less the coming weeks.” His eyes flickered with something dark, hungry, and possessive. “Now, do as I say and put me down.”

Reluctantly, she did as he said. Her disgrace and disgust was palpable, but at least for the moment she had to bear it. Soon enough her strength would return, and then they would pay.

Oh, how they would pay.

Author's Note

The original cut of this chapter was published late on 3/31 and as an April Fool's joke included the following paragraphs at the end. I'm leaving them here so that the comment section makes sense to those reading the story later.

“Excellent,” the false-man said, adjusting his tie and suit. “Mistress, I believe she is ready.”

A short, blonde woman walked forward, dressed in the ‘police’ garb of the human guardians. She smiled languidly, and ran a possessive hand over Ouroborous’s cheek. It was all she could do not to twist and bite the presumptuous woman’s hand off.

“Hello. I’m Mistress Murphy, Leader of the Black Council and your new master. I have so many plans in store for you...”

Chapter Six

Edited by: SilentCarto
Proofreader: Coandco

Disclaimer: I don’t own The Dresden Files or My Little Pony, that is Jim Butcher and Hasbro respectively. This story takes place between books Eight and Nine in the Dresden Files.

I arrived at the hotel with Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack in tow a little before ten. They seemed surprisingly calm after being ambushed by a pair of ghouls. If anything, they were more concerned for Molly than anything that happened to them.

“And you’re sure you’ll be okay?” I asked, handing Applejack the key card to their room.

She chuckled, wincing slightly at the movement. “Don’t you worry. A good night’s sleep and a day of rest’ll patch me up good enough. Just don’t start any fights until the day after tomorrow.”

“Hey,” I replied, holding up my hands defensively. “I’m never the one who starts the fight.”

“Nope, but you’ve sure got a habit of finishing them,” Pinkie said, hopping out of the car and giggling.

I rolled my eyes but didn’t argue. I mean, it wasn’t like she was wrong. “Okay, I’ll be back at eight in the morning with a rented van big enough for the group. A couple of my friends promised to keep you girls out of trouble and help with the sight-seeing.”

Rarity paused, while stepping out of my car. “You don’t want our help in your investigation?”

“Not right now,” I told her bluntly. “Most of what I’m doing is questioning people, and none of you know enough about my world to be helpful there.” That earned me a pout from Pinkie, but Rarity and Applejack gave half-hearted nods of acceptance. “If I run into a situation that needs your talents I won’t hesitate to ask.” Which was a blatant lie, because I sure as Hell would hesitate over anything that might put them in danger, helpful or not. “But until then you guys should enjoy your vacation.”

Pinkie sighed. “I guess so.”

Rarity gave a small, somehow decorous, yawn. “If you’ll excuse me, a lady needs her beauty sleep. Until tomorrow, Dresden.”

“See ya!” Pinkie shouted, waving goodbye. Applejack just gave me a nod and all three headed into the hotel. I waved back, and fired up the Blue Beetle. I hadn’t told any of them, but my investigating for the night wasn’t over just yet.

After getting the girls set up in their hotel room, I had spent most of the day at the University of Chicago checking out people who might have known more about Sean. I managed to grab a quick chat with his advisor, a matronly middle-aged lady named Ms. Sweitzer. She reported that he had seemed less and less involved on campus recently. The last time she had seen him was two weeks ago, when he turned in one of his projects with ‘less enthusiasm than usual’. Ms. Switzer thought that Sean had a ‘real gift for wordplay but an inability to accept criticism that left him creatively shackled’. I translated that to mean that he had his head up his ass. Not too uncommon for guys his age.

Surprisingly, plenty of people in the music department seemed to know him. The general reaction was summed up best by a kid wearing headphones and a pair of shorts with more pockets than your average utility belt: “Oh, that guy?” It seemed Sean had made plenty of waves, if not many friends. Most of his acquaintances hadn’t seen him for a while, even before he disappeared. One girl, who sported hair down to the small of her back that was dyed in colors that reminded me of Rainbow’s do, told me that he had a proud streak a mile wide, and she’d gotten on his bad side for ‘unjust criticism’ of one composition. She was by no means the only one who described him in such terms. A thin, pale guy in black just sneered and walked away.

The best info I got from the trip was a lead on his former band. I hadn’t gotten to meet with any of them, but they were apparently all fellow University students, because homemade flyers for ‘Heir of the Dog’ were on every bulletin board in the music department. They were playing at a bar tonight, and I figured on having a word between sets. Even if they didn’t know anything about Sean’s disappearance, I could at least warn them and leave a business card.

My other errand at the University was a lot quicker. I checked in with the Alphas, Chicago’s only band of vigilante werewolves. They patrolled the neighborhood around the University and kept the place pretty safe from both supernatural threats and mundane crime. Werewolves, with certain cursed exceptions, aren’t heavyweights in the supernatural world, but they had solid teamwork, experience, and the wisdom to back off from any fight they couldn’t handle alone.

Sean’s apartment was on the edge of the Alpha’s territory, so I was hoping, though not expecting, that they had seen or heard something. Will and Georgia, the married couple that led the pack, didn’t know anything, but they promised to check with the rest of the Alphas. Given my luck, they probably wouldn’t turn up much. On the plus side, Will had promised to search Sean’s laptop for clues and arrange for some of the group to chaperone the girls around tomorrow if I found a lead to follow.

I shook myself out of my thoughts as I pulled up on the bar where Sean’s former bandmates were playing. The Crazy Gecko wasn’t a dive bar, even if it kind of looked like one. It was a only a couple of blocks from the University and was a big enough part of Chicago’s local music scene that even I’d heard of it. The place was jumping despite the wallet-gouging cover charge and the fact that it was Wednesday night. With my significant height advantage, I managed to get the bartender’s attention and snag a beer. It was a local craft brew, not bad, but drinking Mac’s ambrosia has spoiled me for other beers. I scanned the room and quickly located an out-of-the-way table that put my back to the wall where I could watch both the band and front door.

I’ll say this for ‘Heir of the Dog’: when they picked a theme, they stuck to it. All three members were wearing spiked leather collars with dogtags and studded leather cuffs at the wrists. When the long-haired guitarist/lead singer smiled at the crowd, I could see that he also had long acrylic canines. At least, I figured they were acrylic. It would be pretty embarrassing if these guys turned out to be supernatural when I hadn’t even seriously considered that possibility. The other two band members were a dour-looking keyboardist wearing a mohawk and wire-cage muzzle and a chunky drummer in a dog-faced mask and a shirt depicting wolves howling at a full moon.

I sipped my beer and checked out the rest of the room. Most of the audience was college students, including a few obvious fraternity and sorority members. The band seemed to have a few fans, or at least people that were obviously listening to them instead of talking to each other. How anyone could have a conversation over all the noise was beyond me. I made my beer last, but it was long gone by the time ‘Heir of the Dog’ stopped for a break.

There was some scattered applause after their final riff died out and the lead singer nodded to the crowd. “Thank you! We’re gonna hit the john, chug a beer and then we’ll be back for more ladies and gentledudes.” That earned him some laughter and a couple rude suggestions from a few of the drunker guys. I was already moving by that point, having gotten up as soon as they stopped playing. I waited off to the side of the small stage as they put their instruments in order.

“Excuse me,” I said as they moved to walk past me. “I’m looking for Sean Belfast. Have any of you heard from him recently?”

The keyboardist rolled his eyes. “Jeez, now the debt agencies are sending out guys after him? Sorry, haven’t seen him.”

I shook my head. “I’m not with any company. I’m a private investigator hired by Sean’s father. He’s gone missing.”

The lead singer grinned. “Hell, given the rent on that apartment, I’d disappear too if I was locked into a lease like him.” Then his face grew serious. “But he didn’t even tell his dad he was going?”

“Not only that,” I continued, “nothing was missing from his apartment. Not money, clothing, his instrument, or his song-writing notebooks.”

That took each of them by surprise. The drummer murmured, “Oh, shit,” under his breath and took off his mask. The keyboardist removed his muzzle.

The lead singer ran his fingers through his hair, actually looking worried. “Okay, there’s a green room in the back where we can talk. It isn’t much, but it's better than shouting out here.” He moved deeper into the building and I followed. He was right; the green room wasn’t much. My bedroom is barely large enough for my bed, but this place was smaller. Still, it had enough chairs, so I settled into one as the drummer shut the door behind us, dulling the noise of the bar to a low roar.

The lead singer nodded in approval and took a seat himself. “How can we help? Oh, and I’m Simon, the sour one is Keith, and the fat one is Paul.”

Paul went for a scowl, but it looked more like a pout. “It’s Mastiff, not Paul,” he whined. “And I’m not fat, I’m just a bit hefty.”

“Shut up, Paul,” Keith said, in a tone of voice that told me this was far from the first time he’d said it.

I ignored the byplay and offered my hand to Simon. “I’m Harry Dresden. Thanks for your help.”

Simon blinked. “Weren’t you on the Larry Fowler show that one time?” I fought the urge to roll my eyes, but that did tell me something useful. None of these three were involved in the real supernatural scene. If they were, they would have immediately recognized my name from something other than that stupid TV show. Plus, they’d probably be afraid of me. For some reason, that tends to happen.

“Yeah, once. So, when’s the last time any of you heard from Sean?”

They glanced at each other, thinking about it. Keith spoke up first. “Almost two months ago. He wasn’t happy with the way things in the band were going. He felt that none of us were taking things seriously enough. Don’t get me wrong, we all love the band, but nobody except Sean ever thought we were going to ‘get discovered’ and make this our career. Paul and I aren’t even Music majors, and Simon’s working to become a voice coach.”

“He took things uber-serious,” Paul added. “Everything had to be perfect with him. Plus, he was kind of a hipster, hating on any music that wasn’t ‘artistic’ enough.”

Simon nodded. “Yeah, though things didn’t get bad until we had a band meeting about our songs. The dude could write lyrics like nobody’s business, I’ve gotta give him that, but his music…”

“Sucked,” Keith finished bluntly. “He couldn’t write a decent riff to save his ass. We worked out a compromise where Simon would write the music first and Sean would add lyrics, or Sean would write the lyrics and Simon would re-work the music. That worked for a while, but Sean was never really happy with it. He just refused to accept that he was no good at composing.”

“To be fair,” Paul added, “we probably shouldn’t have been drinking during the meeting. That’s probably why things got so heated.”

I chuckled wryly. “Yeah, I can’t see how that could’ve gone wrong.”

“To quote him, ‘You fucking plebs will never appreciate my genius, so I quit!’ My response of, ‘If you had any genius to appreciate we wouldn’t be having this fucking conversation!’ sealed the deal,” Simon said. “I kinda regret saying that, but at the same time, he wasn’t the best bandmate.” He shook his head. “Still, I can’t imagine him leaving behind his bass or his books. Those things were everything to him.”

Looked like my earlier supposition about the relative position of Sean’s ass and head were correct. “So, you all knew about the amount of debt he was under?”

“Yeah,” Keith replied. “He bitched about his dad and their fight often enough, and we knew he wasn’t pulling down that much money with us. Plus, he spent like his dad was still bankrolling him, and his apartment was damned expensive. Paul even offered him a spot in this three bedroom he was getting with another guy, but Sean stuck to his fancy place. The man just could not be fiscally responsible, despite my best advice.” I stared at him for moment, and he sighed. “I’m getting a Bachelor’s in Accounting. I don’t know why that always surprises people.”

It was difficult, but I fought to keep my comments to myself. I still had more questions to ask and it was only professional. “Yeah,” I agreed, “what modern-day accountant doesn’t wear a mohawk and dog collar?” Oops.

Keith glared, but the other two members of the band laughed. Paul had a laugh like a hyena, that did more to dissuade me from more jokes than any glare from Keith. I decided to keep the questions rolling. “So did any of you hear about Sean getting a new job?”

Simon shook his head. “He didn’t have one when we were in the band, and I haven’t spoken to him since.” Keith and Paul nodded in agreement.

“Did anyone ever approach him after a show or ask any of you about him after he left?”

Keith rubbed his chin. “You get guys that want to talk music after a lot of shows – that’s how the music scene is around here – but I don’t remember anybody grabbing him for a private chat. People liked the lyrics, though, he usually got questions about that.”

Paul snorted. “He’d act like he was top dog anytime he got those compliments.” Then he grinned like he’d just told the funniest joke in the world.

Keith made a disgusted face, and Simon just rolled his eyes. “Yeah, ignoring that. Anyway, nobody’s come asking about him until you.”

I frowned. “Are you still singing some of the songs he wrote? Especially the supernatural themed ones?”

I got nods from the group. “Yep, I did the music so we’ve got at least half-claim on them. Sean could play them too if he wanted and we wouldn’t mind. He’s got just as much of a claim,” Simon said. Then his eyes widened as he made connections. I really, really regret doing the Larry Fowler show. And not just because that jerk is still trying to sue me for all of the damage my magic did to his studio equipment. “Wait, you mean his dad thinks that something made off with him? And he hired you because you’re a psychic detective? No way!”

The urge to facepalm was strong but I resisted it. “His father hired me because I have a history of getting results. That’s all. I don’t think he ran, so I’m trying to find a motive, any motive, for someone to make him disappear.”

“I guess,” Simon said, but he still looked suspicious. Keith just looked skeptical, and Paul looked entertained.

I fished a business card out of my pocket and handed it to him. “I’ll be checking on other leads, but if he contacts you or someone asks about him, please give me a call.” I hesitated. If they were still playing those songs, there was the chance that they could still be involved. Telling someone flat out that a ‘mythical’ creature might come looking for them doesn’t tend to pan out. People who believe will get scared and do something stupid. Most people will just think you’re nuts. “And if something,” I said, matching Simon’s emphasis, “weird happens or someone seems a little too interested in your songs, let me know about that too.”

Simon seemed surprised but took the card, Keith just looked bored. “Great, now can we piss? My bladder is about to pop.”

“Thanks for your time, guys,” I said, opening the door and wading back into the crowd. I kept an eye out as I did, but no one seemed to pay any special attention to me or make any suspicious movements. Of course, if I was being watched by anyone good at their job, I wasn’t likely to spot them that easily anyway. I put my well-justified paranoia on the back-burner for now. I had another appointment this evening, and it wouldn’t be wise to show up late.

………

Chicago has some surprisingly big parks, some large enough to be small forests. In the middle of one, you could almost forget you were in a major city. You could feel truly alone, far from the noise and roads, surrounded by the sound of trees whispering in the wind. The only real difference was the neatly maintained hiking trails and the darkness of the night sky. There was too much light pollution here to see the stars like out in the real country.

I checked my watch and saw that both hands were almost aligned on the twelve. Midnight. Damned supernatural jackasses always had to do things like that. It couldn’t be 11:45, or 12:15. It had to be some time with deep and vast portent or some nonsense.

Still, I couldn’t complain too much. I had been lucky to get this meeting at all.

Wendigos were secretive, but they still left channels for contact within the supernatural world. They weren’t completely cut off from the political scene, just isolated. I had asked for a meeting with their representative on Accorded Neutral Ground. I had been hoping that we’d meet at Mac’s, but didn’t really expect that they’d go for even a semi-public place like that. Their reply had agreed to the meeting, but demanded a suitably isolated location. The message promised safe passage, and most creatures of legend were dead set on keeping their word. However, if they had it out for me, there were any number of loopholes they could probably find. Just for example, letting one of my enemies know when and where I’d be in an isolated location.

So, it was no accident that I had come armed and kept a careful watch on the woods surrounding me.

I spotted him walking down the trail towards the clearing with only a few seconds to go until the promised time. I knew it was my contact, even though to all appearances he looked like a perfectly normal human. There was something in his walk, in his utter disregard for the darkness and late hour, that set him apart. Even when an owl screeched and took flight only feet away from him, he did not flinch. Why should he show fear? He was not prey; he was the hunter.

“Good evening. How you been?” he asked, in a perfect Chicago-native accent. All of the immortals and long-lived creatures I’ve ever met sounded at least a hundred years out of date when they spoke. Even most of the older wizards didn’t keep up very well with how language changed. It made it all the more bizarre that I was talking to a creature that had probably been alive before Chicago was so much as a dinky trading outpost, and yet he sounded like he had been born and raised here not more than forty years ago.

Unlike a lot of the supernatural creatures I deal with, Wendigos aren’t immigrants to Chicago. Algonquin stories about them go back a dozen centuries or more. They start off as spirits that infect a normal person, digging down deep into their psyche. The victim is driven to extreme greed and hunger, always wanting more, never satisfied. If they aren’t exorcised in time, they turn to murder and cannibalism, completing the transformation and becoming a full-fledged Wendigo. Most Wendigos can’t control their hunger and immediately go on a destructive rampage that ends in their death. Any Wendigo more than a few years old has the strength and willpower to be a major threat. Especially given their ability to near-perfectly disguise themselves by reverting to their human form. There are still Wendigo-hunters among some traditional Native Americans and most other supernatural predators don’t like Wendigos on their turf, so any still living have developed cunning and secretive natures in addition to their shapeshifting. It’s more than a little unpleasant to think that anyone on the street could be a monster barely keeping its desire to eat you in check.

“I’m fine,” I answered cautiously. I straightened myself and gestured to the plastic cooler sitting beside me. “I brought a small token of my respect.” He nodded and gestured for me to open it, clearly not trusting me any more than I did him. I flipped the lid open, revealing three plucked, but ungutted and uncooked turkeys.

A slow smile spread across his face, getting wider and wider than was possible for any human mouth. “Thank you, Wizard,” he said, the modern accent discarded like an old hat. He sniffed the air and made a sound somewhere between a growl and a purr. “You were even considerate enough to leave in all of their delectable organ meat.”

I’ve seen shapeshifting before and most of the time it’s so quick that if you blink you’ll miss it. Whether by nature or design, the Wendigo was not that fast when changing forms. An elk’s muzzle pushed out from his human face, teeth growing and sharpening as stains and chips appeared. He reached for the cooler even though it was several feet away, his arms lengthening until it was in his grasp. Plain clothing melted into his skin as white fur sprang up. His legs twisted in a direction no human legs were meant to go and began to grow long and thick, ending wide, clawed paws. Antlers sprang from his head like trees growing in a time-lapse film. His skin stretched taut over his growing body, outlining the bones underneath. Along with the nauseating transformation, a putrid smell rolled out that made me glad my dinner had been many hours ago.

He settled back on his haunches, yet still towered over me. Standing erect he was probably better than twelve feet tall. He dangled one turkey over his mouth then snapped his jaws forward, taking half of it in a single bite. He gave a pleased rumble as he chewed. I waited for him to finish, still keeping a wary eye on my surroundings just in case. He swallowed then nodded. “Ask your questions, Wizard.”

“Do you know anything about a mortal named Sean Belfast?”

He pondered for a moment popping the other half of the turkey into his mouth and munching on it as he thought. The snapping bones almost made it sound like he was eating carrot sticks. “That name means nothing to me. Why do you ask?”

I studied his face as he answered, but it’s hard to tell much from a fanged deer head with pupil-less yellow eyes. “He has disappeared after creating songs that held truth about your kind. I was asked by his father to discover what happened to him.”

“Ah,” the Wendigo said. “A reasonable suspicion then.” He reached for another turkey, bit off the head, and squeezed it like an orange, draining the blood down into his open mouth. He licked his lips, smearing more blood around them than he removed.

I felt sweat drip down the back of my neck. Not only was he surprisingly unconcerned with what basically amount to an accusation of murder, but his eating habits seemed intended to unnerve me. Well, congrats to him, because they were creepy as hell. Still, this wasn’t the worst monster I’d faced, not by a long shot, and backing down isn’t my thing. “Nice Ozzie impression, you should’ve opened with that,” I snarked. “I know my suspicion is reasonable, that’s why I approached you about it.”

“And what did you expect to learn?” he asked, leering at me. “I’ve told you that I know nothing of that mortal. Even if I did, do you imagine that I’d admit it to you?”

I frowned, mostly because he had something of a point. “Then why did you agree to meet with me?”

“Partly because I knew you would bring me something to eat. But mostly, because I wanted to see you for myself. You are such a young wizard to have so fearsome a reputation.” He stuffed the drained turkey into his mouth and swallowed it whole, no chewing. “I can see why. Courteous to a point, yet solid as stone and fierce as fire underneath.” His blood-stained mouth twisted into a fanged smirk. “It is well that I had nothing to do with the disappearance of your mortal.”

“And you’d be willing to swear to that?” I asked, taking a step forward. “Swear upon your power and honor? If you’re telling me the truth then it wouldn’t be any trouble to do.” Which was and wasn’t true. Supernatural creatures hate being forced into committing themselves to their words. Getting any kind of promise, no matter how unimportant, is like pulling teeth from them.

He froze with his hand halfway to the cooler. Then his eyes narrowed. “Wendigos have no honor, only hunger. But even so, to give my word is not something lightly done.” He grabbed the final turkey out of the cooler, and bit it in half, never taking his eyes off of me.

I knew how this game went. That wasn’t a refusal, that was an invitation to make an offer. “What do you want?”

He stuffed the last of the turkey into his mouth, and chewed quickly. “Three humans and a horse. All skinned but ungutted.”

I snorted. He was trying to get under my skin, asking for that. I didn’t give him the satisfaction. “Get real. I’ll buy you a side of beef if meat is what you want.”

“Two deer, skinned but ungutted, and a dozen meat-lover’s pizzas. That is the least I deserve for my time and trouble.”

I blinked at that. “Really?”

He was entirely serious as he nodded. “I have heard the Small Folk talk about your provision of pizza. It is a less than traditional offering, but something I enjoy nonetheless.”

Huh, I guess just about everything liked pizza. Goes to show you. “I didn’t figure Wendigos for eating anything other than raw meat.”

“That is our preference,” he admitted then grinned unpleasantly. “But there is so much food to be found otherwise. This is a time of bounty, with food overflowing, requiring barely an effort to be taken. All-you-can-eat buffets dot the city, plying us with plate after plate. Enough food to quiet even our stomachs for a brief time. Even as the mortals fatten themselves, we sate our own gluttony as they stroke their own.” He spoke quietly, but with a fervent energy, and honestly, it was even weirder than the earlier bits with the turkeys. I had expected something like that, at least.

“Ooookay,” I said. “I agree to your terms. Now, swear that you knew nothing of Sean’s disappearance.”

“I swear by my power that I know nothing of the disappearance of a mortal named Sean Belfast. If any of my kind did this deed, they did it alone, without telling anyone,” he said. He tossed the cooler to my feet and yawned enormously. “Now, it’s time that I got dinner. We will meet again in a week and you will provide the promised food. I will contact you a day in advance with the location. Safe travels, Wizard.” He turned away, shrinking back into human form much quicker than he’d transformed into a monster. I knew the jerk had done that on purpose.

I waited several minutes for him to clear out entirely, then began the trek back to the Blue Beetle. The good news was that I could probably eliminate Wendigos as suspects. There was the possibility that one of them had acted as a lone agent, but there was no conspiracy among them to kill Sean. The bad news was that I was almost out of leads.

Earlier today, I had checked my voice message system and found that Mr. Belfast had left the badge number of the detective that had brushed off Sean’s disappearance. I was going to check on him tomorrow and hope that he had been bought off not to investigate, because otherwise I didn’t know where to go from here.

Most of the time, by this point in a supernatural investigation I’d have been attacked at least once or twice. That tends to confirm that I’m on the right trail and gives me an additional lead to follow back to the culprit. In this case, the closest we’d come was the two ghouls that tried to grab Molly. Those attackers were as close to anonymous as you could get, given how many factions used ghouls as cheap muscle. The timing of the attack also made me wonder if it was even connected to this investigation.

Marcone had put out the word that he wanted to see me, and he was currently tangled with something from the spooky side, or so Gard had implied. His competitor could have heard and sent those ghouls to snatch Molly and get a hold over me. I just didn’t know either way. The only thing I could be certain of was that it was no chance attack. They had tried to capture Molly instead of killing anyone, and they had been way too persistent for wild ghouls.

“What I wouldn’t give to get a break on this case,” I said with a sigh.

A blonde woman in a modest toga materialized beside me. My hand flashed to my blasting rod, but by the time it closed on the smooth wood I realized what had happened. “Good evening to you too, Lasciel. In case you were wondering, the answer is my soul.”

She grinned at that with what looked like genuine amusement. “Suspicious as ever, my host. I only wish to be of service. You were already talking to yourself, so I thought I may as well provide someone to answer.” She appeared to be walking in step with me, despite being a foot shorter and not having nearly the same stride. Of course, given that her entire presence was just an illusion, albeit a very convincing one, I suppose glossing over minor details wasn’t much of a stretch.

I snorted. “I talked to myself for years before you ever showed up. And I’ll keep doing it after I find a way to get rid of you.” A tiny flicker of unease and sadness crossed her expression, but disappeared the moment I looked closer. I felt some guilt at that, I won’t deny. Which is probably exactly what she was counting on. They don’t call her ‘The Temptress’ for nothing.

“Nevertheless,” she continued, “I would like to offer my insight.”

I gave a neutral grunt, and continued my way down the trail.

A miniature version of Chicago appeared in front of me, every building and tree done to scale. It was an image of Little Chicago, my thaumaturgic link to the city at large. I continued walking, but the image glided in front of me, moving as I did. Which made sense, as it only existed in my mind. The memory of the spell I had used earlier to track Sean’s movement on it flared to life, leaving streaks of glowing red winding between and among the pewter buildings. The red streaks were old, faint in some places, gone entirely in some others. Too much time had passed between Sean’s movements and my spell to given me a clear picture. However, there wasn’t even a speck of red near the lakefront, either airport, or edges of the city. Wherever Sean had gone, it wasn’t far.

I arched an eyebrow at the shadow of the Fallen. “Okay, I’ll bite. Where are you going with this?”

“Not to criticize, my host,” and she gave a small smile that immediately marked that as a lie, “but when you examined the result of your spell you were too focused on where he was, not where he had been.”

I frowned, but gestured for her to continue.

A blue circle appeared around part of his trail. “Sean drove to or past this area at least three times. If you examine it carefully you can see where multiple lines overlap. This part of town is several miles from the University, his apartment, and does not contain any shops, restaurants, or other places of entertainment.” I peered down and noticed that she was right. Most of the area within the circle was industrial, and not the nicest neighborhood either.

“You think his mysterious ‘job’ was somewhere in that area.”

She bowed, and gave me a wide smile. “And now, so do you.”

I rolled my eyes, and brushed the image of the mini-city away with a swipe of my hand and an effort of will. “It’s definitely worth looking into,” I admitted. I hesitated a second, then sighed. “And thanks. I wasn’t spinning my wheels just yet, but if that visit to the police tomorrow turns up nothing, I might have.”

Lasciel glowed with gratitude so sincere it had to be fake. I rolled my eyes and reminded myself not to give her too much credit. Otherwise she might get a swelled head. “Although, since you mention your plan to visit the police, I do have a suggestion,” she said. I glanced at her with a scowl and renewed suspicion, and she made a placating gesture. “I am only saying that your discussion with the detective should have a low chance of danger and yet would be considerably helped by a… girl that has an ear for truth.”

My scowl deepened into something that would make King Kong proud. “Oh, yeah. I’m sure you don’t have ulterior motive for suggesting that. Just looking to help with my investigation.” Sarcasm dripped from my tone. She really should’ve quit while she was ahead instead of reminding me that she knew about the girls.

“Be serious,” she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and ducking under a low hanging branch as if it wouldn’t have gone straight through her. “You even told them that you would ask for their help if they could help you. You’ve seen firsthand that she has great skill in that pursuit. And should it somehow turn violent, she is hardly inexperienced with combat; even in her unfamiliar human form, she bested a ghoul with little trouble.” She peered at me, her eyes piercing. “Why are you so afraid to involve them in this?”

“Because I don’t want them to end up like me!” I snapped. “They’re good. I mean fundamentally capital-G Good on a level that is fucking staggering. When they included me in their Harmony beam power-up thing, I felt a strength and purity in them that I can’t even describe. That’s the difference between us; that’s what I want to protect them from. I’ll stick it to the villains and stand up for the little guys, but at the end of the day, I’ve still got blood on my hands. I’ve done things I’m not proud of and I’ll probably do more in the future. It’s not about their physical safety – they can handle themselves in a fight, no problem. This is about putting them in a situation that stains them, that corrupts them. The further they get drawn into this, the more likely they are to do some necessary evil. They don’t have the Elements here, they don’t have the Princesses, and the one person they can depend on might just be the one to lead them down the left-hand path. In light of that, why am I not surprised that you want them involved?”

I glared at Lasciel with undisguised fury and my fingers tightened on my blasting rod. Despite knowing that she wasn’t really there, it was so tempting to shoot a fireball at her image, just for the pure catharsis of it. “Celestia was right. I can’t be trusted with you inside me, pushing my buttons and tempting me. You’re the shadow of a Fallen, and no matter how polite you are, no matter how ‘reasonable’ your suggestions, I can’t and won’t trust you. You’re one of the things I need to protect them from the most.”

Her expression cooled, and she folded her arms across her chest. “Then if I am such a danger and you are so concerned, perhaps you should warn them. Let them know who and what I am, and how you came to have me bound to your soul.” She gave a short, proper bow and rose, her eyes still hard and cold. “Until then, I wish you a good evening, my host.” She vanished, and once more I was alone in the middle of a hiking trail.

I cursed under my breath and stormed back the rest of the way to my car. She hadn’t called me a hypocrite, not directly anyway. She didn’t need to. My conscience did the job for her all the way home. Sleep was a long time in coming that night.

Chapter Seven

Edited by: SilentCarto
Proofreader: Coandco

Disclaimer: I don’t own The Dresden Files or My Little Pony, that is Jim Butcher and Hasbro respectively. This story takes place between books Eight and Nine in the Dresden Files.

Rainbow Dash flew through the air as the dawn broke before her. She closed her eyes and savored the wind flowing past her, the sunlight striking her face, her mane stretching out behind her. On pure instinct she went to flap her wings and catch the updraft she could feel coming. She wanted to launch herself into the sky and race through the clouds.

But nothing happened. Not so much as a twitch.

Dash reached the top of her jump’s arc and began to drop, still moving forward. She opened her eyes and scanned the landing. She would hit the rooftop a good two feet in and the fall distance was minor, no need to worry about the impact.

Her feet thudded into the rooftop and for a brief moment her mind fought to keep her balance in a way that couldn’t work in her new body. Dash stopped thinking about it and let herself move forward, relying on her new instincts to stay upright and keep her momentum. Without missing a step she surged forward, already gathering speed for the next jump.

It was so much easier when you didn’t stop and think about how unnatural it felt. Dash had always been good at listening to her instincts, and much of her training and practice had honed them to razor sharpness. At the speeds she flew, there was no time for thought, just action. But these new instincts were so … weird, it was hard to keep her mind from getting in the way.

The edge of the roof rushed towards her, and she had less than half a second to spot a safe place to land if she wanted to commit to the jump. The next roof over was a floor lower than the top of this building, but the distance wasn’t too bad and the path was free of obstacles. She launched herself into open air, enjoying the feeling of freedom, the brief illusion of flight.

She opened her eyes in time to realize that she had jumped too hard, she was coming in too fast. Here she needed to use her brain. Murphy had shown her how to roll with a blow, reducing the amount of force of anything that hit her. The ground wasn’t that different, right?

Dash tumbled forward, bleeding off speed and force. She meant to spring back to her feet and keep running, moving without stopping. But somehow, she couldn’t get her feet under her. Instead, she rolled over and over until she smacked into a great big air duct.

It didn’t hurt much, but she glared at the big metal box anyway. Stupid air duct. Stupid feet. She wanted to kick the air duct, but stopped herself. Dash took a deep breath, then got to her feet and eyed the next roof over. She exploded back into a sprint, letting her anger float off in the breeze.

When you fall, get up. When you fail, keep going. If you’re weak, get strong.

Never stop. Never hold back.

Being the best took talent and hard work. Dash had plenty of the first, no matter what world she was in, or what she looked like. All she needed right now was the second.

………

Dash had left the rooftops by the time she got to Murphy’s neighborhood. Not because she was tired of jumping; she could do that all day. But the roofs on all these houses were sloped, and they didn’t look all that sturdy. Plus, Dash didn’t want to wake anybody up. It was still really early.

So, Dash was on the streets, her pace slowed to a quick jog. She didn’t want to be out of breath by the time she got to Murphy’s house. There was some traffic, but not much. Dawn wasn’t that long ago, and the city was still waking up. The only other person around was another jogger, some human in a hoodie. Dash grinned to herself and poured on more speed, planning to easily breeze past the person.

“On your left,” she called out as she sprinted around them.

The human jerked back in surprise. “Dash?”

Dash blinked and glanced back at the person she had just passed. The voice had been hint enough, but seeing Murphy’s face clinched it. “Murphy?” Not too surprising, seeing as how I’m close to her house, but dang, that is some good timing on my part, Dash thought.

Murphy blinked in surprise. “Did you walk here?”

“As if! I ran. It’s not as good as an early morning flight, but it’ll do,” Dash said. She crossed her arms and struck a cocky pose, while still jogging backwards. She almost tripped over her own feet, but managed to keep her balance. Just barely.

Murphy arched an eyebrow. “And you knew how to get here?”

“Yeah! Fluttershy was poking around on that goggle-thing on the enter-net, because Twilight asked her to. She helped me use the maps part to find your address from the business card that Pinkie took.” Murphy scowled at that, and Dash briefly wondered if Pinkie had asked permission before taking a card from each of the ‘nice police officers’. “But, yeah. That was pretty cool. I never figured humans could do maps like that; it’s not like you have pegasus map-makers.”

“I don’t know if Dresden left a lot out of his explanations or if you just didn’t listen to anything that didn’t interest you.” Murphy quickened her pace, catching up to Dash. “Either way it shouldn’t really surprise me.”

Rainbow Dash was pretty sure that there was an insult lurking somewhere in there, but she shrugged it off. Murphy was just being tough on her, like any good coach. “Whatever. I came to see if you wanted to spar. I’m up for another round.”

Murphy snorted. “Sure thing, kid. Maybe this time you’ll give me a challenge.”

Dash’s face turned red, but inside she was cheering. “If you want a challenge, it’s a challenge you’ll get!” She grinned to herself, and turned around, tensing herself for a race. “Race you to your house!” She’d go slow at first to keep Murphy nearby, then speed up once they were close.

She heard laughter come from somewhere off to her right instead of just behind her. “If you insist…” Murphy laughed. Dash spun around to find Murphy rushing up the driveway to what must have been her house! Dash hadn’t been keeping a close eye on the house numbers!

Murphy had an huge distance advantage; she was almost there already. But Dash was no quitter, she killed her momentum entirely, screeching to a halt and reversing her direction. She blocked out all objects except the door in front of her. Muscles bunched like coiled springs and drove her forward as if she’d been shot out of the world’s largest party cannon.

She found it there. The feeling of flight, of pure speed that she’d been missing. For a moment she wasn’t shackled to some weird, two-legged, wingless body. She soared like the wind itself.

Dash found herself grasping the doorknob, breathing hard. But Murphy didn’t have a hand on the door at all. She had won.

Dash took a deep breath and let the glow of her victory soak in for a few seconds.

“Hey kid,” she heard from a fair distance away. Dash turned and saw in surprise that Murphy was standing on the porch of the next house. “You’re good, I’ve got to give you that.” Murphy grinned and reached out to touch the door next to her. “But old age and treachery beat youth and exuberance every time.”

Dash suddenly realized that the door she was touching didn’t match her memory of Murphy’s front door. She saw red and bolted over to Murphy’s side faster than the other woman could blink. “You cheated,” she insisted.

Murphy grunted doubtfully, but Dash noticed that she was breathing hard. “No such thing as cheating when there aren’t any rules. You just said first to my house won. You’re welcome inside, by the way.” She unlocked the door with a key from a small pocket in her shorts and went inside.

Dash swallowed a retort and followed her in, breathing a quiet sigh of mixed relief and disappointment when her transformation didn’t snap back. Human thresholds were weirder than human bodies.

“So about that sparring…” Dash said, following Murphy into the kitchen.

“After coffee,” Murphy said. “Or any spar we started would stop being ‘friendly’ real quick.”

Dash nodded. She didn’t need the extra boost, but she’d seen plenty of co-workers who were practically zombies until their caffeine kicked in.

Dash went downstairs and stretched out while Murphy got ready upstairs. She came down in a loose fitting set of clothes she called a ‘gi’. Dash was already loosened up and ready to go, but Murphy seemed to almost deliberately take her time as she got ready. Dash twitched in place once or twice and almost spoke up, until she noticed the slight - barely even there - hint of a smile in Murphy’s eyes as she watched. Murphy knew that she hated to wait. She was using that to get her keyed up, to make her make mistakes.

Instead Dash took a deep breath and focused herself. She was too awesome to let something like that get to her. Sure, maybe Murphy could get her goat, but if that was what she wanted, she was going to have to work a lot harder at it.

Finally Murphy finished her prep and stood on the opposite corner of the mat. She gave a shallow bow and Dash replied in kind. Then they entered the invisible ring and a soundless bell rang. Dash snapped immediately into a stance modified from her previous teachings to fit a human body. Murphy’s hands moved neither fast nor slowly as she flowed into an unfamiliar stance.

For a time they circled each other. Dash knew she was faster, but Murphy was positioned and ready. She didn’t have to be faster to intercept Dash’s attack, just well-timed. Murphy left a couple of openings that were too obvious. Dash was certain those were a trap of some kind. Instead she bided her time, then when the moment felt right she stepped in and committed to a swift jab at Murphy’s midsection. Somehow Murphy’s hand was already in motion before Dash’s fist was anywhere close. The jab was turned aside, and Murphy stepped into Dash’s space, seeking to grapple.

Murphy knew that Dash’s speed was her biggest strength. A wrestling match would take that away from her, and give the advantage to Murphy’s experience. The sensible move would have been to hop back and reset her stance, but a fight like this was almost as much mental as it was physical. Dash’s instincts told her that Murphy was expecting a move like that. No matter how far or how fast she jumped back, it was a trap.

If there was anything Dash had a talent for, it was the unexpected. Her leg muscles tensed then released, sending her straight up instead of back.

Murphy’s hand closed on empty air and her eyes began to widen just as Dash put her hasty plan into motion. Her jump was higher than that of any normal human and her feet lashed out, catching both of Murphy’s shoulders. They connected solidly and Dash heard Murphy bite off a curse as she was sent flipping backwards. One corner of Dash’s mind began to celebrate even as she went to flare her wings, to stabilize herself and swoop in to take advantage of her foe’s weakness.

She collapsed to the mat, unable to twist herself around in time to land properly. Murphy landed, and rolled backwards, then came up in a fighting pose.

“You okay, kid?”

Anger flared in Dash and this time she didn’t fight it. “I’m not a kid!”

She leapt to her feet and entered Murphy’s space faster than the human could register. A rain of blows fell on the woman, but they didn’t seem to do much. Murphy twisted, redirected, and backed up from the onslaught of punches. She took a few good hits, Dash was sure of, but she seemed to roll with them. Eventually, Dash overextended and had to watch as Murphy cut beneath her defenses and delivered a solid blow to her ‘solar plexus’ that gained as much of its force from her own momentum as from Murphy’s power. The breath went out of her, and she staggered back a few steps, awkwardly resetting her form.

If Murphy had pressed her advantage the fight would have been over then. Rainbow Dash could admit that to herself even if she’d never say it out loud. Instead Murphy just waited at the opposite end of the mat for Dash to get her breath back.

“So, what’s eating you, Rainbow?” Murphy asked, taking a surprisingly aggressive stance and taking a swing. Dash sidestepped, but didn’t get a chance to counterattack before Murphy had her guard up.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Dash said, throwing a couple of quick jabs. One of them hit home, but Murphy stepped into the blow with a slight grimace, and Dash had to jump back to avoid another grapple.

“Yeah, right,” Murphy replied. “You can lie outside the ring, but not once sweat hits the mat. Something is up with you.” Her eyes narrowed, and Dash cursed internally, taking a couple of bad swings just to keep those eyes from boring into her. Murphy didn’t let up. “You aren’t satisfied with your progress. You keep wanting to go bigger and better. Trying things that you aren’t ready to pull off.” She swatted aside a rapid-fire punch from Dash. “Why, though? You’ve been in your new body for - what? Two days? Your learning speed is nothing sort of amazing. You should feel proud.”

Dash took a deep breath, and let her guard down.

“I can’t be proud. I’m… I’m not good enough.”

She threw another punch, causing Murphy to swerve aside, then had to perform a dodge of her own to avoid a grasping hand that would have flipped her onto her back.

“I don’t know what Dresden told you, but I’m famous for my speed. One of the fastest fliers to ever live and that isn’t just bragging. Coming here cost me my wings. Twilight tried her best to let me keep them, but it didn’t work out. I told her it was no big deal, but I just didn’t want her to worry. But if I’m being honest? Losing my wings feels like losing part of myself.” She sprang forward and unleashed a kick that Murphy redirected into the mat. The padding wasn’t thick enough to keep it from hurting. Murphy wrapped her arms around Dash’s back, probably going for a suplex. But Dash still had one leg beneath her and Murphy didn’t count on it being powerful enough to send both of them careening into the wall. Murphy’s hold was broken, and Dash spun to face her.

“And everypony expects me to be the brave one. I’m Rainbow Dash! I’m supposed to lead the way and face anything without fear.” Dash grabbed Murphy’s arm while she was still stunned and forced it against the wall.

“You feel vulnerable,” Murphy said as she twisted her arms in an unexpected way, reversing Dash’s hold and flipping her to the ground. One of her arms got bent back at at angle that would have been impossible for any pony, except Pinkie, and even as a human it was uncomfortable. A weight settled onto her back, and Dash knew she had lost the fight. “You’re used to facing impossible odds and surviving on your own strength and suddenly it isn’t enough any more.”

The pressure on her arm and back disappeared, and Dash pulled herself back into a sitting position. Murphy was offering her a hand up, and Dash wasn’t too proud to take it. “Believe it or not I know what that feels like. I don’t know what it’s like where you’re from, but for a woman to make it this far in the human police force she has to be tough as nails. But I did it. I took everything the world had to throw at me, and even after I got sent to the worst department in the force, I still got results and proved people wrong. Then, this imposter that looked like Harry came along and wormed his way in.” She started to shudder, but stopped it with a deep breath. “He was inside my head and I couldn’t do anything about it. All my defenses meant nothing to him, and it took me a long time to get over it.”

For a moment they stood there motionless. Dash bit her lip, then looked up at Murphy. “How did you get over it? I mean, I’ll get my wings back when we’re done here, but that won’t solve everything. Between the Nightmare returning and that demon that fought the Princess to a standstill… I’m not strong enough and that scares me to death.” Rainbow Dash hung her head and felt her fists clench so tightly that the dark skin across her knuckles almost turned white. “I can’t let my friends down again.”

“Kid,” Murphy said, giving a tired smile and putting a hand on Dash’s shoulder, “I don’t think you have to worry there. I doubt any of them would think that you let them down in the first place. I don’t know if I’ll ever forget that awful feeling of helplessness, but it helped when I realized that I can’t do everything alone. I need other people, and so do you. You should always strive to be your best, but you need to trust them to be their best.”

“I guess,” Dash said. She wasn’t really sure, but it felt good to finally tell somebody. Like she’d taken a weight off of her wings. She stretch, listening to her joints pop, then grinned. “So, best two outta three?”

Murphey paused for a moment, looking tired for the first time that morning. “One more match would almost kill me, much less two. I’m ready to call us done and get some breakfast.”

“Quitter,” Dash taunted, sticking out her tongue. The rumbling sound from her belly betrayed her, and she rubbed her head sheepishly. “... but if you insist.” Murphy rolled her eyes and turned to walk away. Dash followed Murphy upstairs, thinking all the while. “Oh yeah, and Murphy? If you ever tell Dresden or the girls what I said, I’ll get rid of the whole human disguise and kick your butt.”

Murphy turned around with a slight grin on her face. “And if you ever tell Dresden that that imposter from all those years ago still bothers me, then I’ll break out my good guns and return the favor.”

Dash chuckled and threw an arm over Murphy’s shoulder. “Y’know, I think we get each other. Wanna trade embarrassing stories about Dresden over breakfast?”

Murphy put on a grin that could’ve belonged to Discord. “Oh, I can’t wait. Did he ever tell you his ‘brilliant’ plan for fighting an ogre when we were trapped in a Walmart?”

“No,” Dash said, mirroring Murphy’s expression. “You’ve gotta tell me that one…”

………

Murphy and Dash were just finishing up breakfast when Dresden and the van pulled up. The fruit was okay, but the oatmeal had needed a ton more cinnamon and sugar before it was worth eating. Dash hurried out front as soon as she heard the engine loudly cough to a stop. Murphy sighed and started following at a slower pace.

“Dashie!” Pinkie cried as she exploded from the the side of the vehicle with a burst of confetti. For all her speed Dash soon found herself trapped in a hug that she had no hope of avoiding. Instead she relaxed herself as Pinkie shook her to and fro like a colorful ragdoll. “We were so worried!”

“I wasn’t worried,” Fluttershy said quietly.

“Shoot, it would be nice if you let us know that you were headed off, Dash,” AJ said, giving her a quick noogie while Pinkie held Dash captive. AJ would pay for that, later.

“She told me,” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah,” Spike said. “Twilight was crazy worried when we realized you weren’t in the hotel. Plus you missed breakfast.”

“If everyone would have just listened…” Fluttershy mumbled.

“I hope you don’t plan on making a habit of this ‘sneaking off’,” Twilight said, but her smile made it sound a lot less stern than it could have.

Fluttershy just sighed.

“You guys…” Dash complained, but deep down it was nice to see them getting a little worked up about her. A quick tickle to the tummy made Pinkie let go with a giggle, and Dash managed to land on her feet and strike a quick pose. “You guys should’ve known I was just working out with Murphy. Gotta stay strong even on vacation.”

“Which likely means you intend to snooze through whatever sights Dresden has planned for us later today.” Rarity said drily, made up all fancy in her new human outfit. Dash doubted anything Dresden could show them would beat watching the sun rise over an alien city as she ran across its rooftops, but she didn’t say so. Fluttershy would probably get worried about her being up so high without wings.

“Whatever. So what’s the plan for today anyways? Is Molly going to be hanging out with us again?” Dash asked, inspecting the ‘van’ Dresden had rented. She didn’t know much about cars, but even she could tell that it was an old clunker. The rust spots and faded paint were some pretty good signs.

“Navy Pier,” Dresden said, coming out from around the other side of the van. He cast a doubtful eye at the thing, but turned back to the group with a shrug. “I figure we’ll do the Children’s Museum, the Funhouse Maze, the botanical gardens and catch whatever’s on at the IMAX. Plus there’s plenty of restaurants, shops, and other exhibits.”

“Geez, could you make a more stereotypical tourist?” Murphy asked, cradling a cup of coffee in her hands.

He snorted. “It’s popular for a reason, Murph. Plenty of stuff to do, none of it too pricey.” His expression darkened for a second. “And plenty of crowd. Nobody is going to try a snatch and grab in broad daylight there.” For a half a second his shoulders sagged, but he straightened up and forced a smile. “Molly isn’t coming with us. She has to go to school. But I called Will and you’ll get to meet a couple of my other friends here soon. ”

Murphy gave him a look. “And my house is the impromptu meeting place because…?”

“I had to get them out of the hotel quickly after the musical number at breakfast. I was worried about people asking questions.”

Dash’s jaw dropped. “Aw, I missed a song?” She fought the desire to blush. “Not that I wanted to sing, but Pinkie always comes up with the best lyrics and Fluttershy has a great voice.”

“Eyup,” Applejack said. “You missed a real catchy one too. It only took one chorus before all the humans in the place joined in. Though I’m a mite curious why one of’em brought his trumpet with him to breakfast.”

Murphy stared at all of them blankly. “You’re messing with me. Harry, you shouldn’t put them up to that kind of thing.”

Dresden put one hand over his heart and raised the other one. “My hand to God, Murphy. The whole room was singing along to the chorus while Pinkie somehow turned the regular continental into a breakfast banquet. It was spooky as hell, and I’m pretty sure she pinched some of that stuff directly from the hotel kitchens somehow.”

“It is not spooky,” Twilight huffed. “Mass singing is a rare, but perfectly normal event caused by confluence of magic, emotion, and imagination. We are naturally harmonious beings and that harmony can manifest in a sense of symphonic unity.”

“Or in normal talk,” Dash said, “sometimes when ponies get excited they just want to sing and everypony else gets caught up in the excitement too. Nothing weird about that.”

Murphy and Dresden shared a look, but didn’t say anything. Why were they acting like they were the normal ones? “That weirdness aside, I have work so all of you be good. Especially you, Harry. I don’t want to hear anything about you bunch over the police band.”

Then Murphy turned around and headed inside before Dresden got a chance to make a joke. Pinkie still waved and shouted ‘bye-bye’, even though Murphy was gone from view.

Dash shrugged, Murphy had pretty much covered everything. One thing did confuse her. Why would any band, with or without police, be talking about them? Before she got a chance to ask Dresden, she was distracted by a new car pulling into the driveway. It was way nicer than the van; all sleek and shiny.

Dresden just grunted. “Nice car.”

“And that’s why you aren’t riding in it.” The brown-haired man that got out of the passenger’s seat was only a few inches taller than Dash, but was about twice as wide. Not that he was fat. He was just built wide and filled out with some solid muscle. The way he moved told Dash that was no stranger to a fight. She made a snap judgement and placed him as moderately tough.

Dresden shook his head sadly. “You ruin one SUV and suddenly nobody trusts you with their car.”

“For good reason,” said a woman getting out of driver’s seat. She was tall and thin with long brown hair, but it was a shade lighter than the man’s. She had muscle too, but hers were more lean. “You shouldn’t have complained about how many times your magic has shorted out your Beetle.”

Dresden grinned broadly. “Will, Georgia, it’s great to see you two. How’s the married life treating you? Have a good time on your honeymoon?”

Georgia flushed a bit and Will flushed a lot, but both were smiling.

“That good, huh?” Dresden asked, which made them blush harder. Dresden chuckled and turned towards the group. “Everybody, these are my friends Will and Georgia. They were teenage werewolves.”

Will rolled his eyes. “I hate you, Harry.”

“Not like it isn’t true.”

“Really?!” Spike asked, his eyes shining with delight. “You two turn into wolves? Did you have to get bitten by a werewolf first? Do you only do it on the full moon? This is so cool!”

“Hold on,” Twilight said, her brow furrowed. “You told me that transformation here is illegal!”

“‘Here’?” Georgia asked, looking at Dresden.

Dresden sighed and massaged his temple with one hand. “I imagine both sides are going to have a lot of questions, so let’s get going. We can have show ‘n tell in the van instead of out in the street.”

Twilight started to protest, but Dash knew if they let her get going, they’d be here all day. “C’mon people! We’re burning daylight,” she shouted, helping to get everyone packed into the van. She grinned to herself as Twilight yelped in protest. Navy Pier sounded like it would a ton of fun. It was time to forget about her worries for a little bit and just have some fun with her friends.

Besides, nothing went wrong when Dresden was around.

………

Ouroboros tore another chunk of meat from the bone and sniffed the air, not for the first time. The building had once been one of slaughter. Thousands of throats had been cut in this place to bleed out onto the floor below. Yet there was no sign of battle or even the markings of an execution ground. There were tools that might have been instruments of torture, but the building lacked the sort of dark energy that would have accompanied hatred on such a scale.

She had asked her … guard for an explanation.

It had taken some time to explain the concept of the mortal meat industry and the role this ‘Chicago’ had played in it.

The false-man had brought her here under the watchful eyes of his servants. The mortal city had been a startling sight, a testament to how far they had come in the past few millennia. It was leagues beyond the simple mud huts and occasional stone circles they had built before her imprisonment.

One day, when she was whole again, Ouroboros would topple those towers to punish the mortals for their pride and arrogance. They were little more than clever apes, yet they dared to presume themselves great. The old gods and spirits were weak and disconnected. The new creatures like the false-man enriched themselves from the mortals’ growth, but they were fools to keep the true world hidden. They thought themselves clever to rule from the shadows, but one day the shadows would be gone.

The shadow rulers had allowed their slaves to grow too strong, and the moment the mortals discovered their chains, blood would spill like never before.

Ouroboros chewed slowly on her latest meal, crunching vertebrae between her teeth and considering what the future held. The false-man had erased her track, or so it seemed, as no Fae had come in pursuit of them. She would serve him until she had a chance to destroy him and all his followers without causing alarm. Yet, she did not know how that would be accomplished, and the thought rankled her. The Queens of the Fae must not discover her or they would scour the Earth until she was found and imprisoned once more. Even crossing their servants was dangerous, as they would seek retribution for any death. Could she perhaps bargain with this ‘Green Lady’ without revealing her true nature?

The door to the room crashed open, disrupting her train of thought. She did not, however, glance up from her food or otherwise acknowledge the creature that entered.

“What are you doing?” the false-man demanded, his tone cold.

“Eating,” Ouroboros stated diffidently. Had he gone blind since she had last seen him?

“That is the guard I left to watch you.”

The meat was a bit greasy, but Ouroboros slurped down a long string of muscle anyway. “Is that so? I told you I was hungry and you left this creature in the room with me, so I thought it was supposed to be my meal.” These bones were stronger than human bones, but they still cracked and splintered beneath her teeth. “At least he gave me some small challenge. I haven’t had that since the first human I took in this world.”

The false-man radiated anger and bloodlust, but he brought himself back under control. Ouroboros didn’t pause in her eating. She played a dangerous game with him, but it was important to remind him that despite her temporary service, he did not own her.

“Do that again, and I will make certain that the Green Lady finds you. You will eat what and when I say,” he regarded her coldly, anger still lurking within his eyes that she had taken something of his.

A growl rumbled deep in her throat. “And if I choose otherwise?” Her teeth sunk deep into the skull, and she tore out a chunk. “I’m nearly done with this carcass and ready for another…” she said, eyeing him up and down.

He tensed, putting his hand on the mortal weapon at his hip, but did not back away. “I think you’ll find me a difficult meal, to say the least. But even if you succeed, I have means set in place to inform the Green Lady and my own people of your existence and the materials to track you. The moment I die your death warrant is signed, no matter how long it takes them to find you.”

Ouroboros studied him, but reluctantly decided that he wasn’t bluffing. There were so many mortals and ways to pass on a message now that there was no way she could catch or stop all of them. For now, she had to obey this creature.

The false-man read the defeat in her body language and smiled. “Do we understand each other?” She grunted a reply and took another bite out of the skull. The creature’s teeth crunched between her own.

“Good. Now it is time to earn your keep. The wizard and his new companions are at a mortal attraction called ‘Navy Pier’.” The false-man held up a picture of a tall mortal man surrounded by brightly colored mortal women. They were exiting a ‘police station’. He tapped the image of the man. “You will rampage a short distance away to attract his attention. If possible, kill him. If not, then lead him on a chase down into the undercity.” The false-man pulled out a map and more pictures and and explained to her the caves beneath the city. “Kill and eat whatever you want so long as you keep his attention. He must be dead or distracted. Return to this place once you are done.”

“I thought you wanted to use me to avoid any connection to your work. Yet, you risk that he will follow me here?”

The false-man gave her a pitying look. “This place is just an abandoned slaughterhouse. You and your guard were the only ones to stay here. I’m not so foolish as to believe that you wouldn’t betray me if you thought it would serve you. My real work is elsewhere.” He turned and strode out of the room, without regarding her further. “Leave as soon as you’re done eating. I’ll return with further instructions later.”

Ouroboros felt her nails dig into the poured stone floor, and forced herself to stop. Her hate was strong, and it was right, but she didn’t need it right now. She would let that hatred simmer and smolder until the right time came.

His meat would taste all the sweeter when she finally killed him.

Chapter Eight

Edited by: SilentCarto
Proofreader: Coandco

Disclaimer: I don’t own The Dresden Files or My Little Pony, that is Jim Butcher and Hasbro respectively. This story takes place between books Eight and Nine in the Dresden Files.

“Dresden!” Twilight barked, her pencil scribbling quickly across the notebook she clutched in her other hand. “Did you know that you can extract electricity from geothermal sources?!” She was staring wide-eyed at one of the more wordy displays on the wall, away from most children. “This diagram suggests that with the proper construction we could turn hot springs and magma flows into natural powerhouses! We’ve barely begun to explore hydroelectric power, but this could open entirely new possibilities!”

“That’s cool and all,” Dash said, pressing buttons on another display, “but I dunno how much you can trust it. This thing is telling me that lightning actually starts from the ground and moves up.” She scoffed at that and shined her knuckles on her shirt. “I’ve generated more than enough thunderbolts at work to prove that’s not true.”

“Huh,” Spike said, looking at a mural of Benjamin Franklin. “Kite-flying is fun, but somebody should really tell him that a thunderstorm isn’t the best place for it.”

“Well now, ain’t this neat?” Applejack had found a display that told kids to ‘turn the wheel to make the bulb glow’. She was spinning it fast enough to make the bulb pulse and shudder with brightness, and she didn’t appear to have even broken a sweat doing it.

I glanced over at Will, and he got the message. “Culture shock or not, I didn’t figure you were being serious when you called this babysitting,” he complained, but hurried over to her anyway.

It was a tough time keeping everyone on track with just the two of us, but I imagine Georgia was having an interesting enough time of her own. She was riding herd on Rarity and Fluttershy next door at the Crystal Gardens while Will and I managed the rest at the Children’s Museum. Rarity had flatly refused to visit a museum for children, but her shifty expression left me wondering what kind of mischief she could be planning for a garden. Fluttershy’s reaction had been even stranger. She had looked downcast, murmured something about keeping Rarity company, and then even quieter, added something like, ‘the children are too adorable to chance it’. I don’t know if giving the other five the run of the place was a good idea or not, but I will say that it was entertaining.

While Will made sure the others didn’t break anything, I stepped over to “Electric Animals!” where Pinkie had somehow acquired a group of children and was deeply involved in a philosophical debate with one little boy.

“Did not!”

“Did to!”

“Did not!”

“I did to see an eel this big!” Pinkie said stretching her arms out. “It wasn’t an electric eel like that one in the picture. It was a quarry eel, and they’re huge.”

“You made that up!” a girl with twin pigtails declared, pointing at Pinkie.

Pinkie gasped and stuck out her tongue. “Did not!”

“Did to!”

An old lady, the guardian of some kid from what I could tell, came over and patted me on the arm. “It’s nice to see that they let the special people out and about these days. You keep a good eye on them, young man.”

On one hand I wanted to defend my friends and tell her she was wrong. On the other hand…

“Electricity makes yer heart run? Now, that’s just silly!”

“Thank you, ma’am. I will,” I told her. We had just about explored all of the ‘Amazing Electricity!’ exhibit, so I signaled Will to start herding the group on to the next one.

I was trying to keep my distance from the exhibits, given my effects on technology. It was surprising that Twilight hadn’t caused any outages just yet, but then, she was so busy writing that she hadn’t really gotten ‘hands-on’ with anything.

Despite all the chaos, I was having fun.

It surprised me to realize that, but Spike and the girls had an energy and simple joy for life that was infectious. When we had first arrived at Navy Pier I had been on guard, still looking over my shoulder and waiting for the other shoe to drop at any moment. But that wasn’t easy to keep up when they were having such a great time.

Spike and the girls had loved the Ferris wheel and fairground rides. Pinkie had spooked everyone in the mirror maze, by appearing here, there and everywhere, including one point where Will swore that she stepped out of an actual mirror. Lunch had been nice, for a vegetarian restaurant. They knew better than to put bean sprouts on a pizza, at least.

I wasn’t exactly ignoring my instincts while we in the museum, but I had relaxed just a bit.

As we moved to the ‘Wonderful World of Ants’, I noticed Twilight was lagging behind, her expression nervous.

“Hey what’s wrong? Bugs creep you out?”

Twilight shook her head. She fell into step with me, but we were still a fair distance from the rest.

“No. As interesting as it might be to see the differences in ants between our worlds, I’ve got something more important on my mind. I was hoping we could have a talk…”

I took another look at her and realized that the nervous expression was less fear and more of an awkward anxiety.

Hoo boy.

Back when I last visited her world, she’d turned me into a unicorn to better blend in with the pony populace. Apparently, I had been a choice piece of beefcake as a unicorn for God-only-knows what reason, and she along with most of the other mares in Ponyville had crushed on me hard. I hadn’t seen much of that since she come to Earth, and I had hoped that between the time gap and me no longer looking like her dream boy, that Twilight had gotten over it.

If I was reading the situation correctly, that was not the case.

I suppressed a sigh and waved Will to go ahead. She deserved to be heard out; I owed her at least that much. The last thing I wanted was to hurt her, which is why I had to turn her down. I just hoped I wouldn’t need to dump a pitcher of ice water on her head, like I’d done to Molly.

“Thank you,” Twilight said once the group was out of earshot. Pinkie and Spike seemed unaware that we had left them behind. Rainbow looked like she was about to speak up when Applejack put a quick hand over her mouth and dragged her into the exhibit, giving Twilight a simple nod and supportive smile.

I steered us to a bench in a quiet hallway that ended in an emergency exit and sat down, waiting for Twilight to speak. She had a couple of false starts, but eventually said. “There’s something I need to tell you, Dresden.”

“I figured that when you said you wanted to talk.” I should have resisted, but be a wiseass for too long and it becomes a serious habit.

Twilight blinked at that for a moment, then laughed, some of the tension draining out of her. “I suppose I deserved that. It’s just not something that’s easy to say.”

I was about to tell her – gently – to just say it when the screaming began somewhere outside.

There are a lot of different kinds of screams.

Screams of anger, joy, surprise, pain, frustration, and many others. Go to a scary movie or haunted house and you’ll hear screams that mix terror and amusement. For an awful, alarming sound there is a lot of nuance to screaming.

These screams were from people terrified for their lives.

I leapt to my feet and Twilight was only half-a-second behind me. I glanced briefly back into the museum, but there wasn’t any disturbance further inside the building. Most people didn’t even seem to have heard the screams. Whatever the action was, it was coming from outside. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if the noise outside was just a distraction while someone or something tried a quiet snatch-and-grab on the girls inside the museum.

“Go grab your friends and make sure they’re okay,” I told Twilight, already up and quickly walking, not running, toward the emergency door. I didn’t know what was out there, and I’d eventually figured out that charging into something at a dead run was a good way to get, well, dead.

“And let you go out there alone?” Twilight retorted. “Not a chance.” Her hands flew down to her notebook again as she followed me. She quickly scrawled a note and it vanished in a puff of lavender fire tinged with green. “Spike can collect the rest of the girls.”

I tried not to scowl, but from the way her jaw set in stubborn determination, I wasn’t successful. “Okay, fine. Rules of engagement are simple: keep the magic subtle unless our lives are in danger. A convenient gust of wind is a lot easier to explain than a fireball.” I’d been known to play fast and loose with that rule and use some pretty obvious magic, but never with as many witnesses as we were likely to have here. It wasn’t peak tourist season, but it was a nice day and there were plenty of people at the Pier.

“Got it,” Twilight said, her expression serious. I hexed the door alarm and hit the crash bar.

We burst out of the museum and into the bright sunlight. Nobody was screaming bloody murder anymore, but there was plenty of yelling and cussing coming from the landward end of the pier.

The disturbance was on the patio outside a restaurant with a big smiling shrimp on the sign. One of the few perks to being the better part of seven feet tall was that I could easily see over the crowd surrounding two overturned tables and a scattering of spilled shrimp and fries. Three people were down already, moving weakly or not at all. In the center of the chaos was a woman that looked like she’d spent most of her food money on meth for the past few months. She was gaunt and dressed in ragged, stained clothing without any shoes. Her skin was a sickly pale and her wild red hair looked brittle and greasy. And she was holding a fourth man by the throat, forcing him to his knees and shaking a photograph in front of him. I started pushing my way through the crowd and heard a few of them speculating that she was hopped up on PCP or cocaine, but I didn’t buy that for a second. Adrenaline and drugs can bring out some insane moments of strength, but she was 5’4 tops and looked to weigh a hundred pounds soaking wet. She flat out didn’t have the mass to toss people around like this, and that meant she walked on the spooky side of the street.

Several people were already on their phones calling the police, and few with fancier phones were recording her. One guy was yelling at her to drop his friend, and a couple more were chiming in, trying to resolve this with words. The woman in the center was ignoring them.

Just before I could break through the ring of people, the guy yelling at the fake junkie finally charged. She paid him little attention even as he wrapped an arm around her throat and tried pulling her off his buddy. Without releasing her grip on the other man’s throat, she bent her head down and took a bite out of the guy’s arm.

I don’t mean she bit him the way most people would when struggling. I mean her teeth went through his skin and muscle like it was a ripe peach. When he screamed and scrabbled away from her, there was a bite-sized chunk of his arm missing. The crowd screamed again and backed off further, which made them miss what I saw all too clearly. The fake junkie didn’t spit out the piece she’d bitten off him. She swallowed it.

“Now,” she said to the man she still had by the throat. “Tell me where the man in this picture is or I’ll start taking pieces out of you as well.”

“I think I can help you with that.”

She turned her head at my voice and ran straight into my punch.

Newton had a pretty good grasp on physics. I might be thin, but I’m tall, so I pack a good deal of mass. I had the drop on her so I had been able to put my whole body into the punch and give it some serious acceleration. All that meant I had a good amount of force behind the blow and given her appearance of slight mass it didn’t matter how strong she was, that punch should have done quite a number on her.

Unfortunately, appearances can be deceiving.

The moment my fist made contact with her I discovered that in addition to super-strength, she had way too much mass for such a small body. She wasn’t a waif by any means. She wasn’t even dense like a bear or a horse. She was dense like a boulder. There was a split second where her head continued to turn despite my punch and I got a look at her disturbingly reptilian eyes.

Then I flipped Newton the finger and triggered one of my rings.

Higher mass or not, my force rings pack more wallop than a major league batter and her whole body went sideways, letting go of her victim in the process. Twilight, slightly behind me, grabbed him and started to pull him to safety as Miss Dense skittered a few feet away to better assess me.

I had been really hoping that surprise hit would put her down, but it didn’t shock me that she was still up. At least I’d proven myself to be the biggest threat. If her actions earlier were any indication, she should focus solely on me.

“You,” she said with a start of recognition.

“Are very handsome?” I asked, squaring up to fight. The crowd was still around us and if possible, I wanted to disguise my magic as a fist fight. Not like fireballs or windstorms would be a good idea with this many bystanders around anyway.

Miss Dense’s expression darkened. “Make your peace with whatever gods you worship, ape.” Her voice was husky and ancient-sounding. Like an eighty year old that only stopped smoking three packs a day a few weeks ago. Then she gathered herself and darted in faster than I would have expected from something that heavy, cracking the bricks underfoot. I summoned my shield with a quiet word, trying to make it as colorless and clear as possible. I leaned my shoulder into it make it appear that I was simply taking the blow there.

I almost did.

Her fist shot out and slammed into my shield, making my shoes slide a few inches back. I almost lost my footing, but I hung on. I replied with a punch to the stomach that included another triggered ring. It turned out that she could take a body blow a little better than a shot to the head, because she stayed up and took a swing of her own.

I worked to get the shield back up quickly, but Twilight had me covered. A slight purple glow, barely perceptible in the afternoon sun, caught her fist and pulled it to the side, making it look like Miss Dense had swung wide and just missed me.

The woman growled, sounding more like a predatory cat than a person, and her attention immediately went to the tall girl at the edge of the crowd. Twilight’s hands had a similar glow, but my dance partner had figured out where the magic was coming from a little too quickly to have detected it just by sight.

Whatever this thing was, she hit like a truck, and I didn’t want her getting anywhere near Twilight. I went to give Miss Dense a solid uppercut, but she was learning to respect me a bit more as a threat. She leaned backwards out of range, until another purple glow violently forced her head forward. I connected solidly and triggered another ring. Some buried part of my youth, from back when I didn’t have enough magic to short out arcade machines, surged forth.

“DRAGON PUNCH!”

The punch did briefly send her airborne, but as she went Miss Dense struck out with a kick to my chest. She didn’t have the proper leverage or form. Despite what movies and video games will tell you, midair is no place for a successful kick. And yet it still packed enough force to send me flying backwards and knock me on my ass.

Miss Dense landed, bloodlust in her expression. Another purple glow grabbed her right foot just as she was coming down and swept it backwards, but she rolled with it. Miss Dense caught herself on her hands, in a way that by all rights should have broken her wrists given all the weight she was putting on them, and skittered forward. She moved quickly and easily with an insectile grace.

I scooted backwards, still on my ass, in a dignified and manly fashion, trying to get my feet under me. I had no intention to get in a wrestling match with this thing, as I had no doubt it would take me apart.

“Incoming!”

Miss Dense may have been able to catch her own weight on all fours, but it was something else to deal with someone landing with their full body weight on the small of your back. Rainbow smashed her to the ground and hopped quickly off before the retaliatory swipe could catch her.

“Hey Dresden,” Rainbow said, grinning breezily. “Everyone else is on the way, but I rushed over. What’re we fighting?”

I got back up and eyed Miss Dense warily. “I don’t know, but she hits hard and takes punishment like nothing else. Don’t let her catch you.”

“Catch me?” Rainbow said, sounding incredibly insulted. “Just who the hay do you think I am?”

With that she darted forward landing a couple swift jabs on Miss Dense’s face. They may as well have been love taps for all she noticed. She swiped at Rainbow, but the girl dodged easily. Then, she went for a move she must have learned from Murphy, ducking in under the attack, grabbing the arm and attempting to flip the woman over using her own momentum. Against most opponents, even some huge guys, it would’ve worked great. Against something as small and heavy as Miss Dense, not so much so.

Which left Rainbow within easy range for a hold that even she wasn’t fast enough to get away from. Miss Dense recognized that and the arm Rainbow held moved to pin her. But Miss Dense had forgotten about me. She was just barely too far for my fist to reach, but I don’t actually have to touch something to trigger my force rings, as she was about to find out.

Or not, because as I lunged she shifted Rainbow directly into the line of fire and I had to pull the punch quickly. I could see Miss Dense grin as her grip on Rainbow tightened and she opened her mouth, no doubt about to bite into Rainbow’s neck or shoulder like she had that luckless guy at the start of the fight. Then, surprisingly, she paused and took a deep sniff of Rainbow.

Once again a strange emotion flickered across her face: recognition. She looked like she was about to speak when a three foot length of rebar slammed into the side of her head and sent her sprawling.

“Strange to see you here, Harry,” said Michael Carpenter, wielding a section of steel rebar like it was a sword. “Although, the circumstances are familiar.”

“No sword?” I asked. Michael was a Knight of Cross, and he owned an actual Holy Sword that kicked some serious ass when it came to the darker side of the supernatural.

Miss Dense was on her feet again, but suddenly she was having a hard time keeping them as one purple glow after another took them out from under her. I heard a growl behind me and realized that Twilight was done playing around after how close Rainbow had come to being hurt.

Michael grimaced, noticing the way his rebar had slightly bent after hitting Miss Dense. “I’m afraid not. I’m on a job. We’re renovating one of the shops here, but after I heard the fracas I had to investigate.” Yes, Michael could not only use the word ‘fracas’ to describe fighting the powers of darkness, but say it with a straight face too.

And, of course, this was just one more in a disturbingly long line of ‘coincidences’ that put Michael exactly where he needed to be at just the right time.

Miss Dense attempted to fix Twilight’s assault by stomping her foot down to plant it beyond Twilight’s ability to interfere. Instead, the bricks underneath flashed purple and Miss Dense easily drove her foot down through them, trapping one of her legs.

Never one to let an unfair advantage go, I moved in with Rainbow and Michael at either elbow. We surrounded Miss Dense and all took shots at her. She couldn’t focus on any of us and none of us made the mistake of staying inside her reach for more than a second. After about twenty seconds of that, the crowd’s mood started to turn against us. I’ll admit it sure as hell didn’t look like a fair fight, but whatever Miss Dense was, she wouldn’t go down. I’ve seen ghouls that could take less damage than her, and they’re about as difficult to kill as a cockroach.

Whatever we were doing it must have gotten through at least a little, because Miss Dense stopped swiping at us for a second and with a grunt of effort wrenched her foot out of the ground. Twilight once again used a little telekinesis to make her other foot slip, but she went to all fours without hesitation and started hauling ass northward. The crowd parted for her with another scream, and Miss Dense was out of there like a shot.

I followed at a run, but I might not have been as fast as could have. I practice running for situations like this, or more usually, for situations where I’m the one getting chased. But combat is cardio intensive, and whatever she was, Miss Dense had energy to spare.

Rainbow was fresh and she looked like she was only keeping pace with me so I didn’t get left behind. I heard the wail of ambulance and police sirens as we went, which was probably what had scared off Miss Dense. Monsters might mock human authority, but when people showed up with guns and the ability to call for even more people with guns, most of them split.

Although, I’d like to think that having her hands full with the four of us had been a deciding factor too.

Miss Dense hit Grand Ave and made a sharp right, heading further out onto the Pier. I had been expecting her to cross the park that borders Navy Pier and head for the city, or maybe even jump straight into the lake. Instead she skittered down the road that separated the Pier and the lake, faster on all fours than I was on two feet, opening the distance between us. A block or two further and she reached the parking garage underneath the Pier.

Miss Dense charged in without hesitation, but I threw out a hand to stop Rainbow. The garage was dark and full of angles that broke line of sight. If Miss Dense wasn’t truly out of the fight this would be a good spot to ambush us. I pulled out my slightly-less-than-legal concealed .44 and nodded to Rainbow. She got the message, and we advanced quickly, but cautiously.

After ten minutes of sweeping the top three levels it turned out that all my caution had been wasted. Miss Dense had wrenched the grate off three foot wide storm drain and I could still hear her shimmying her way through it in the distance.

We stared at it for a moment. “Y’know,” Rainbow said thoughtfully, staring at the tunnel. “I bet I’m thin enough to get through there.”

I shook my head. “Doesn’t matter if you could, since I can’t, and there no way any of us could take her alone in tight quarters.”

Rainbow bristled at that, but she took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t have to like it. We had her!”

I wasn’t so sure that was completely the case. Miss Dense had looked no worse for the wear despite the beating we had given her. But before I could say anything to that effect a distant voice echoed down the tunnel to us.

“- you, kill you, kill you, wizard. Make you suffer. Eat you slowly.”

It more than a little chilling, because I had no doubt that Miss Dense could make good on that threat given the chance. But one of best ways I had to deal with fear was to stand up and kick it right in the balls. So I aimed as straight down the dark tunnel as I could and unloaded all six rounds.

There was a scream of pain and rage, though mostly rage if I judged it right, and the voice died off.

Rainbow and I backed off, but kept our eyes on the storm drain in case Miss Dense was angry enough to poke her head back out. After a minute of silence I figured she was gone for now. Either in the regular sewers or straight into Undertown, the twisting maze of passages underneath the city.

“Crazy,” Rainbow said, shaking her head. “So what did she want?”

“I have no idea,” I told her truthfully. I gave the culvert one last look as we started to drift back towards Navy Pier. “But I expect we’ll all find out one way or the other.”

Chapter Nine

Edited by: SilentCarto
Proofreader: Coandco

Disclaimer: I don’t own The Dresden Files or My Little Pony, that is Jim Butcher and Hasbro respectively. This story takes place between books eight and nine in the Dresden Files and seasons two and three in MLP.

Rarity had not entirely lied to her friends. Visiting a botanical garden truly did sound far more interesting than going to a children’s museum, but neither had she told the whole truth. The Crystal Gardens were beautiful, if somewhat misnamed, as they were enclosed by glass and featured no statues or ornaments of crystal. She was certainly enjoying her walk among the exotic trees and shrubs. However, a faint sense of guilt stained her appreciation of them ever-so-slightly.

Rarity took a deep breath, enjoying the myriad scents of the blossoms around her, and calmed herself. What she was doing was right; it was necessary. Even if it involved a small bit of behavior that might be… less than ideal for a lady, for the future of Equestrian fashion she would make that sacrifice.

One way or another, Rarity meant to secure a cutting of a leather tree.

Thus far she had been stymied in all of her efforts. Fluttershy had assisted her in searching the goggle machine, but ‘leather tree’ had only brought up a store of the same name, and Rarity had not wanted to push too hard and tip her hoof. Mister Dresden had been less than no help, as he had actively avoided her questions anytime she asked something as simple as where leather trees typically grew.

Clearly, there was something going on here. Mister Dresden didn’t talk about leather trees. The goggle machine didn’t talk about them. They seemed to be a precious resource that humans feared to lose. Rarity could understand that to a degree, but to constrain such fabulousity to only one world was surely the greater crime.

A gardener glanced at her and Rarity smiled nervously, resisting the urge to tuck the handbag concealing a small pair of pruning shears behind her back. The gardener frowned quizzically, but only for a second before returning to her duties. Rarity let out a breath. She would much rather simply pay for a cutting, or an immature leather tree if one was available, but if the resistance she already had encountered was any indication then she would simply need to take the cutting on her own and anonymously donate an appropriate amount to the gardens after the fact.

However, it appeared that she would not even have the chance. The Crystal Gardens, while beautiful, seemed to contain only a few types of tree and none of them bore leaves at all similar to the luxurious material of Mister Dresden’s coat.

Rarity sighed. What had she expected? Surely a tree so valuable as to deserve all of this secrecy would not be on public display lest everyone take their own cutting, just as she had planned to. Still, she would make a last ditch effort. If nothing else she could confirm that no such tree had been planted here.

“Georgia,” she said, drawing the attention of the tall girl that accompanied them. “Forgive me if I’m trespassing on some hu- local custom, but is there a leather tree in this garden at all?” Dear Fluttershy glanced over at Rarity, her eyes full of comprehension. She was always such an understanding soul. Georgia merely blinked in confusion, as if she had not properly heard.

“A what?”

“A leather tree,” Rarity repeated patiently, careful to keep her voice low.

Georgia’s mild confusion moved into full puzzlement, accompanied by a mild frown. “Like a tree made of leather? That would be more of an art museum piece than something you’d find in a garden. Not that I can think of any art museums with one of those offhand.”

Now it was Rarity’s turn to be confused. “I beg your pardon? I’m referring to a tree that produces leather. Mister Dresden explained it to me when I inquired about his coat.”

“Why would Harry-” Georgia began, then her eyes went wide in realization. Rarity suppressed her annoyance at this reaction as she was still rather thoroughly in the dark. Georgia, however, was kind enough to continue. “Twilight mentioned that you’re herbivores, right? Like, the entire species?”

“We’ll eat animal byproducts like cheese, eggs, and honey,” Fluttershy said. She must have really warmed to Georgia, because her statement was almost audible. “But otherwise, yes. We’re biologically capable of limited omnivorous feeding, but culturally we would never do anything like that and most ponies wouldn’t be psychologically capable of eating meat unless they were starving.”

Both of the other women blinked and took a moment to process that… interesting tidbit of information. Rarity was the first to recover and put a reassuring hand on Georgia’s shoulder. “To give a shorter answer, yes. But why should that matter?”

“Well… you see, Harry may have somewhat, more-or-less… completely lied about where leather comes from.”

“I don’t understand,” Rarity said. “If it doesn’t come from a tree where does it come from? And why would Mister Dresden lie to us about its origins?”

Georgia sighed. “You might want to be sitting down for this.”

………

Rarity very much wanted to be angry with Dresden. To be sure, Georgia and Fluttershy likely suspected that she already was by the set of her shoulders, facial expression, and the less-than-dainty way she had stormed out of the Crystal Gardens towards the Children’s Museum.

If the full truth was to be told, she was piqued at Mister Dresden and fully intended to inform him of that fact once he could be found, but the lion’s share of her anger was reserved for herself. For a pony that prided herself on being attentive to detail, she had ignored a veritable cartload of clues as to the true nature of Dresden’s coat.

His secrecy and the lack of information on the human’s information system was not due to some ill-defined ‘cultural taboo’, but due to the simple fact that he had lied, badly, about the origins of his coat to preserve her goodwill.

Perhaps he had thought it necessary as a stranger in a strange land. However, the memory of Georgia’s expression of pity as she explained the truth was more than enough to maintain Rarity’s head of steam.

She neared the entrance of the museum with Fluttershy softly ‘eeping’ at her hooves in anticipation of what was to come and Georgia struggling to keep up despite her greater stride. The ticket-taker, however seemed much too taken with some disturbance occurring outside, the sounds of which vaguely drifted into the human bazaar. Rarity tried in vain to garner the attention of the young stallion working the booth. She was moments from venting her considerably swollen spleen upon him when a purely Applejackian turn of phrase from the ruckus outdoors caught her ears. Certain ‘country-isms’, as they could be politely described, were the norm when growing up in Ponyville, and yet the Apple family seemed to have its own secret list of phrases used to identify each other that transcended any town, borough, or regional accent.

The ticket-booth human finally seemed to notice her and, based on the small bits of body language consistent between ponies and human, was almost painfully aware of the fact he had been ignoring her not ten seconds ago. “Sorry about that, ma’am, how can I help you?”

“I don’t believe you can, but thank you,” Rarity replied. She had a new heading, and without a glance back, she made her way towards whatever was occurring outside. There was a considerable crowd present, including an ambulance and several of the human police, but Dresden’s height and the colorful girls surrounding him made them relatively easy to pick out. Although her anger had not yet fully abated, Rarity approached at a slower pace than her temper demanded. The presence of the police suggested that something serious had occurred and her concerns would have to wait.

For now.

“I don’t know what you want me to tell you,” Mr. Dresden said to a police officer with a notepad. “I heard screaming, ran to help, and some kind of junkie was assaulting people so I stepped in.”

The police officer, a rather plain-looking tan human with short hair, looked at him with a sour expression. Applejack wore a similar look. Rarity had seen her more comfortable with a burr under her saddle than she acted right now. She had continually glanced at Mister Dresden as he spoke, and almost opened her mouth to speak once or twice, but closed it again. Which led Rarity to suspect that Mr. Dresden was currently bending the truth rather badly.

Georgia stepped towards her husband and Fluttershy, after a glance at Rarity, followed Georgia. Rarity had her suspicions that Fluttershy only felt comfortable around them because she thought of the couple more as the furry forms they had demonstrated earlier in the privacy of the van. But in paying attention to her, Rarity missed some of the exchanges between the officer and Mr. Dresden.

“Uh-huh, and that’s why your friend Mr. Carpenter slammed a length of rebar into her head?” It was technically a question, but the officer made it more a statement of accusation.

A well-built human man with a short brown beard and blue eyes – to whom Rarity had not had the pleasure of an introduction – looked uncomfortable. “I saw her attacking my friend and reacted,” he said. A look of guilt crossed his face. “I did hold back a bit.”

The police man glanced at a long piece of metal on the ground as thick around as Rarity’s thumb. Halfway along the bar it bent at a small angle. “And still bent it?”

“Come on, it must have been a faulty piece,” Mr. Dresden cut it. “Otherwise that kind of force would’ve caved in the girl’s skull, right?” Rarity felt her gorge rise at the mental image that brought forth. The officer didn’t even blink; he just looked doubtful. Mr. Dresden stared back at him. “Believe me, I’ve had my bells rung enough times to know that you don’t just walk off a hit like that.”

Rarity glanced at Applejack. She imagined that asking her what had happened would be akin to opening the floodgates of a rather strained dam, and so instead she made her way over to Twilight and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Twilight started in surprise, but smiled as she realized it was Rarity. Rarity smiled in return. “Goodness darling, just what has happened in our absence?”

The smile disappeared. “Something was hurting the people outside so Dresden and I came out to deal with it. It looked like a human woman, but it was stronger and heavier than biologically feasible, and I could feel some serious magic coming from it.”

Rarity put a hand to her chest. “How horrible, but why is the officer so intent upon Mr. Dresden in such a case?”

Twilight winced. “Mostly because it looked like Dresden, Michael, and Rainbow Dash were severely beating a lone woman without mercy. Dresden said we couldn’t tell the officer it was a monster, because it’s unlikely he would believe us.” Rarity could hear a note of frustration in Twilight’s voice at that last bit and she could certainly commiserate.

“So that’s what has Applejack so disconcerted.”

“That,” Twilight agreed, “and the fact that she arrived too late to help with the fight. Rainbow Dash rushed ahead, but the creature was gone by the time everyone else got here.” She frowned. “Although that could be for the best. In all probability her ribs are still cracked from the fight with the ghouls.”

Rarity scowled at the mention of those beastly things. “We have had rather poor luck, haven’t we? Two monster attacks in as many days? At least in Ponyville they have the courtesy to wait a week between bouts of terrorizing the town.”

“Psh, luck,” Rainbow Dash said, waving a hand dismissively. “As if. Dresden’s clearly in the middle of another adventure. Come on; shadowy case he ‘doesn’t want our help with’, two goons try to kidnap his apprentice, another monster shows up where he’s hanging out with his friends? Totally an adventure! It’s like a Daring Do novel mixed with those ‘film nar’ movies you like.”

“Film Noir,” Rarity corrected.

“That’s a reasonable hypothesis,” Twilight said, thinking it over. “But we don’t have any proof that this incident is at all connected to Dresden’s current investigation.”

“Au contaire, ma soeur!” Pinkie said, popping up behind Twilight with no warning. “I have proof positive that it does!”

“Truly, darling?” Rarity asked. “Don’t hesitate to share, then. Oh, and I wasn’t aware that you spoke any Fancy, but I must commend you. Your accent was spot on.”

“Il y a le poisson dans la bibliotheque,” Pinkie said with a smile and a wink. “But, let’s get back on topic. Feast your peepers on this, recovered at the scene of the crime by none other than Master Detective Pinkie.” She whipped a photo out of somewhere in her dress. It was a small polaroid printed on the super glossy picture paper that humans seemed to use. It depicted Mr. Dresden stepping out of the police station with everypony gathered around him. That particular scene could have only be captured two days ago and it chilled Rarity to think that they had been followed and photographed without their knowledge.

It was a small mercy that their stalker had caught her good side.

“So that’s what it was showing to those guys before it knocked them out!” Rainbow exclaimed, thumping a fist into an open palm.

“Quite likely,” Rarity agreed. “I’d say Mr. Dresden is certainly involved in something more risky than he has let on.”

“And for all its power, that creature is unlikely to be the ringleader or even familiar with human society,” Twilight said. Her violet eyes narrowed, and Rarity felt as if she could almost hear the low whir of her friend’s mind working. “It came prepared with a photo, yet wore no shoes and had no idea how to blend into human society, demanding to get its way with violence rather than just search the crowd for us.” She winced slightly. “And we tend to stick out as a group so it couldn’t have been that difficult. And yet it had the correct location, meaning that it was directed here by someone or something that is better able to keep track of us.”

That thought made Rarity start with surprise and she hastily glanced around. There was still a crowd and few humans were noticeably staring at the group, but was that caused by their presence at the crime scene or due to… more sinister reasons? None of the humans looked particularly villainous, but Rarity supposed they would have made a very poor spy if they were, for example, wickedly twirling a waxed mustache.

Rainbow, for a change didn’t appear all that enthused at the prospect. “So, that thing we fought isn’t even the one in charge? Cuz, if I’m being honest? It was tough. Like, seriously tough.”

“Dashie, of course that wasn’t the final boss,” Pinkie said with an exaggerated eye roll. “What kind of story would throw the party against the real big bad only half-way through? She was just the mini-boss, or at best the bad guy’s top lieutenant. He’s gonna have at least twice her HP, and maybe even a second form.”

Rarity blinked at some of her friend’s …interesting terminology, but Twilight didn’t bat an eye. “Not necessarily. The leader of whatever group is coming after Dresden might hold his position because of lineage, appointment by someone higher within a hierarchy, proven skill in commanding, meritorious service, seniority, disc-”

“We get it,” Rainbow Dash said sourly, cutting off Twilight before she could list every possible reason.

Twilight coughed into her hand with a slight flush. “Right, anyway. The point remains that authority does not always equate to fighting prowess. Nonetheless, we need to tell Dresden about the picture and what we’ve gleaned from it and the actions of the attacker.”

“Detective Chapman?” Dresden stated loudly with a slight air of confusion. Rarity turned to look and found that he was talking to a new detective that had replaced the other gentleman at some point in their discussion. “Detective Preston Chapman?”

Detective Chapman had been smiling as he extended a hand, but at Mr. Dresden’s response, his hand fell and his smile withered. His pale skin turned slightly sallow in his apprehension. “Yes, although I’d like to ask how you know me. I don’t remember meeting before.”

Mr. Dresden grunted, then he carefully schooled his scowl into a more neutral expression, eyebrows steady, eyes lidded, and jaw squared, but not tense. “I planned to swing by your precinct later today. I had some questions about a missing person case that you closed.” He paused for a moment. “It’s strange because I thought you were based around the University.”

Some tension breathed out of Detective Chapman and the smile returned. “Oh, well that explains things. I am, but this was big enough that they pulled anyone nearby in on it. Five people attacked at Navy Pier, and two in critical condition? The top brass want a quick response and solution so the city doesn’t look bad. Can’t let the tourism take a hit, am I right? I happened to be in the general area following up on another case.”

The dam broke at last.

“Oh, fer cryin’ out loud!” Applejack exploded, sweeping the hat off her head and waggling a finger at the detective. “Of all the hooey I’ve listened to today that has to be the biggest load of–”

“APPLEJACK!” Mr. Dresden roared, killing the imminent tirade in its tracks. Applejack’s look of fury vanished in an instant, replaced with a wide-mouthed, shocked stare. Mr. Dresden’s violent tone disappeared as swiftly as it had arrived. “I’m sure you weren’t about to insult this fine officer to his face, but even so I’d be grateful if you’d let him speak and listen carefully instead of interrupting him.”

An apple-red flush spread over Applejack’s cheeks, but her fist tightly clenched the edge of her Stetson. She appeared ready to open her mouth again and say something even more inflammatory than what she had intended the first time, when Rarity laid a hand atop her own.

“Dear, clearly we should hear out the fine officer before jumping to any conclusions. I’m certain he has very good reasons for being here and it would be remiss of us to treat him rudely.” Rarity looked her oldest friend in the eye, the only other daughter of Ponyville present, and willed her to understand what Mr. Dresden had been implying.

Yes, Applejack had doubtlessly caught him in a lie, but accusing him of it and provoking a confrontation would do little good. It was far more beneficial to let him talk further and see what else he would lie about. Applejack slowly seemed to grasp that fact, or at least she decided that if two of her friends were suggesting that she keep quiet it must be for a good reason.

It was a mercy to all of Equestrian high society that Applejack had not stayed with her Aunt and Uncle Orange. A mare with a keen ear for the truth and the social training to take full advantage of it? She could have had all of Manehatten under her hoof before she turned fifteen.

Instead, she mumbled “sorry ‘bout that” in a rather unconvincing tone.

Detective Chapman raised an eyebrow at the behavior, but seemed willing to dismiss it. “No harm, no foul. Now, if I could get all of your statements?” They obliged him; largely repeating what Mr. Dresden had already said. Even so, it took some time to get through, time that thankfully allowed Applejack to calm herself.

“So, about that missing person case,” Mr. Dresden said once Spike, the last of them, had given his account. “I was hired by Mr. Belfast to look into his son’s disappearance. He indicated that you had been assigned to the case. I didn’t see any sign at the son’s apartment that he packed up and left, but I wanted to know if you caught anything I missed.”

Detective Chapman frowned. “I didn’t visit the apartment, actually.”

Mr. Dresden’s eyebrows rose in a way that was a touch theatrical. “Really? Did you find a lead somewhere else?”

“Yeah, I investigated the University first and heard from a classmate of his that he had spoken about leaving town for good.” Applejack stiffened at the statement, but she didn’t react further. “His mom’s in California, he’s estranged from his dad, and he wanted out from under the debt. Pretty open-and-shut case.”

Mr. Dresden nodded. “And I imagine you’ve got a desk full of other cases that need your attention. That’s understandable. Do you have the name of the classmate, offhand? I’d like to follow up on that. Either get a trail or at least find something to report to the dad.”

“I don’t recall it off the top of my head,” Detective Chapman said with a frown. “I’ll have to check my case notes and get back to you.” Applejack stiffened again.

“Thanks. I’ve been spinning my wheels trying to find a lead. It’s almost like the poor kid just vanished off the face of the Earth.” Mr. Dresden’s voice was still technically friendly, but there was an angry undercurrent to it. A fierce sort of protectiveness that held the subtlest promise of a threat. “Incidentally, did you find anything about the kid’s job? His dad mentioned it but there’s no record of it that I can find.”

Detective Chapman frowned. “Mr. Belfast mentioned that to me as well, but I never found out any proof of it either. Probably something off the books for someone shady.” To Rarity’s surprise Applejack didn’t react to that in the slightest.

“Okay, thanks. One last thing,” Mr. Dresden said. “Did you come over just because I was involved? Sometimes it feels like the regular cops don’t have all that high of an opinion of me.”

This garnered a laugh from the detective. “No,” Applejack tensed up once more, “It was just a pleasant surprise to find you here. But given all the rumors about you would it be a surprise if I said ‘yes’?”

Mr. Dresden chuckled darkly. “Not really, I guess. Thanks for your time, Detective.”

Detective Chapman shook hands with each of them, although Applejack was clearly having to hold herself back from crushing his hand. Even as it was he winced after she was done and rubbed some feeling back into his hand as he walked away.

“Sorry for yelling at you, Applejack, but accusing him of lying was the last thing we needed. Now when else did he lie? I need all the details.”

Applejack’s frustration drained away and she scratched the back of her head sheepishly. “Aw shucks, that’s what you’n Rarity were on about. I s’pose that does make more sense.” She began to share with Mr. Dresden, but Rarity had already seen her reactions and had a fair idea of what she would say. Instead, she moved to another conversation where Mr. Dresden’s friend appeared to be in dire need.

“So then he turned himself into crackers?” Pinkie asked in confusion.

“Not quite,” the tall, well-built man replied with only the lightest touch of frustration. He was shorter than Mr. Dresden, but still taller than Twilight and a good number of other humans. His work clothing was depressingly utilitarian, but his brown beard was tidily trimmed and blue eyes had many laugh lines around them. “You must und-”

“Well, I hope not!” Pinkie declared. “If I had that kind of power I sure as sugar wouldn’t waste it on crackers. Now brownies, or biscuits, or even biscotti maybe. Any of those would make for a better supper by far!”

“Pinkie, darling, could I impose on you to make introductions?” Rarity asked, hopefully cutting short whatever food rant she was about to embark on.

“Of course! You haven’t even meet yet, have you? Oh, oh! Mr. Carpenter, this is Rarity the fanciest, prettiest, most poised poooooopinjay.” Both Rarity and Mr. Carpenter stared at Pinkie as she gave a rare frown “What? It’s not like there’s a ton of ‘po’ words that I could’ve switched to. Would you have preferred ‘poseur’?” She shook her head rapidly, as if to clear it, and lost the frown. “Anyway, and Rarity this is Mr. Carpenter, Knight of the Cross, slayer of monsters, rescuer of damsels, and Dad of Molly.”

“Charmed,” Rarity said, offering her hand. He bent over it and kissed the back of it like a true gentleman. Age and speaking preferences aside, he seemed to be a human equivalent to Big Mac.

“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Rarity. Harry has told me little, but I gather that all of you are from further afield than his typical associates.” His eyes slid to the pink girl at his left – “Some more so than others.” – but it was said with a smile and sense of fondness.

Rarity nodded. “Indeed, and it is a pleasure to meet you as well. How is Molly faring? She seemed terribly shaken by that awful ordeal the other night.”

A flash of righteous anger darted through his eyes and was gone only a moment after Rarity noticed it. It still gave her something of a chill, and she would not wish to be the brute that laid hands upon Mr. Carpenter’s daughter should he ever catch them. “She was upset, but a good night’s sleep did much to fix it and now she’s more embarrassed by her reaction than scared.”

“It was the sucker that helped, wasn’t it?” Pinkie remarked cryptically. Mr. Carpenter blinked at her, but let it slide. He did appear to be getting quite used to her.

“I’m glad to hear that she is recovering, but she shouldn’t feel any shame at her reaction. It’s entirely reasonable given the circumstances. It took some time before I became accustomed to conflict myself.” And if she were to be completely candid, Rarity would admit that she still wasn’t comfortable with it. But she had accepted it as part of bearing an Element. There were things that mattered more than one pony’s preferences.

A sad smile graced Mr. Carpenter’s features. “I told her something similar, but I fear she thinks I’m just trying to console her.” He self-consciously frowned. “Having both a father and mentor experienced in fighting the forces of darkness may have given her unrealistic expectations. If you could say something the next time you meet…”

Rarity gave the dear man one of her more dazzling smiles. “Of course, I would be glad to help your daughter in whatever way I can.”

“Michael! Will!” Mr. Dresden called. “Twilight’s figured out some stuff and I want to move the whole group somewhere a bit more private.”

Oh, yes. And there was that bit of unfinished business.

“Please excuse me,” Rarity said. She spun on her heel and moved unerringly towards Mr. Dresden. He blinked in surprise as she moved towards him well into his personal space without any sign of halting. “Rarity? What-”

Her open palm caught his cheek with enough force to make her hand sting in an unpleasant manner. A decided disadvantage over having hooves, in her opinion.

Mr. Dresden, for all of his wizardly prowess, gaped at her with an open mouth as a red imprint softly spread on the side of his face. “That is for lying to me about the origins of leather,” Rarity declared. “A lecture might have been more lady-like, but time is short and I doubt it could have appropriately conveyed the depth of my pique at being played a fool for so long.”

Silence reigned for a moment among their little group.

“What’s leather?” Spike asked in utter confusion.

“I’ll tell you later,” Georgia muttered, having been drawn to the conversation by Mr. Dresden’s call.

“I suppose I deserved that,” Mr. Dresden said, rubbing at his injured cheek. Then he shook his head and laughed. “Honestly, it’s an improvement over a lecture. Okay, everybody, let’s get moving. Michael, you still on lunch break?”

The large man frowned. “It’s been over for a while, but my crew can continue without me for a time.”

“Groovy,” Mr.Dresden said. He led the group towards the parking garage where the van had been parked. It was away from the crowd and noise, but Rarity tried to keep an eye out to see if they were still being followed. It was not something she had a wealth of experience in, but by her limited reckoning they had not been tailed.

Once they were in the van, Mr. Dresden spoke up. “Okay team, we’ve got news to share. It’s safe to say that Detective Chapman is bought. Somebody not only paid off an investigation, but sent him out here to get the details of the attack. Either he’s on the take for multiple people or the attack is connected to my case.”

“Looking for that guy who’s missing?” Rainbow asked.

“Exactly. I think the second is more likely, but it’s not like we can squeeze the detective for more info. I’ll set somebody else to watch him. Right now I want everybody to fort up in case of another attack. The hotel isn’t safe enough if they’re willing to attack Navy Pier in broad daylight. You girls divvy up between my house and Michael’s.” He paused for a sec. “Uh, assuming that’s okay with you and Charity?”

Mr. Carpenter nodded. “I’d be glad to have them.” He paused and glanced at Pinkie. “But no more sugar for you, young lady, if you wish to return.”

Pinkie stuck out her tongue at him. “Fine! I’ll go to Dresden’s house and watch TV there!”

Spike poked her in the side. “Uh, hate to break it to you, Pinkie, but I can tell you from personal experience that Dresden doesn’t have a TV.”

“GASP!” Pinkie exclaimed. “So I have to choose between my old love of sugar and the novel allure of cartoons? Oh, how could fate be so cruel!”

“Anyway,” Mr. Dresden continued, “while you’re doing that I have some more investigating to do, then I’ll join you.”

“Investigating?” Twilight asked, her tone skeptical. “Alone? Just when you’ve said we need stick together because of the attacks?”

“She’s got a point, Harry,” Will said.

Mr. Dresden scowled. “Thanks, Billy. I’ll take it under advisement.” Then, his eyes darted suddenly to left, as if affixed on something only he could see, and his scowl deepened.

“Be reasonable, Harry,” Georgia said, echoing her husband. She had put a hand on William’s shoulder when he bristled at the ‘Billy’ comment. “The only reason you’re sure about half of that is because Applejack was there to hear the detective talk. Are you really that devoted to a ‘lone wolf’ investigation when she’d be a huge help?”

“I’d be more’n willing to help ya out, Dresden,” Applejack said. “It don’t sit right with me lettin’ them monsters do what they want when I could be helpin’.”

“I just… fine,” Mr. Dresden bit out, like he was swallowing a curse. “In for a penny in for pound. If either one of you newlyweds can spare the time I’d be grateful. We could swing by the kid’s apartment and let you get his scent.”

Will and Georgia traded a look. “I can do that,” Will offered.

“Then, our plans are set,” Rarity said with a flourish. She turned to Georgia. “However, I would be grateful if we could stop at a fabric shop before returning home.” After all, she hadn’t brought any spidersilk thread from Equestria with her, and if things turned ugly, it behooved a lady to be well prepared for action.

And if that preparation should involve a shopping spree, why, that was only a bonus.

………

Ourobouros licked her wounds and pondered upon the scent, as she ate. It was eerily familiar and yet she could not place it. The constant distraction from the yammering of the False-man did not help.

“Nothing! Not so much as bruise on the damned wizard for all your flailing around and attracting the notice of the mortal police!”

She ceased her attempts to pin down the scent for the moment and turned her attention to the creature berating her. “I was constrained by my human form and set upon by multiple attackers. The wizard is more clever than you let on, and the young mage with him possessed considerable power. Neither were brutes in the ways of the mystic arts, for all their power.” She scowled and her thin tongue lashed out to wet her lips. “To say nothing of the Reverent One and the strange-smelling female that joined them.”

The False-man still scowled at her, his anger unabated. “You knew you would be outnumbered. I still expected better from you.”

“Then give me a place where I can use my real power!” Ourobouros replied with a snarl. “I will not expose my true form where word of it could reach the Fae. There is no point in obeying you if it has the same effect as disobedience. Maybe if you had fed me better I could have accessed greater strength even when disguised, but I am a shadow of my former self. I do not consume out of mere gluttony, but out of a need to restore myself.”

Before he could reply again, one of his underlings rushed forward from elsewhere in the building. “Master, I have the detective’s report. The wizard is yet ignorant to the source of his troubles, but he suspects the detective. He asked questions about the disappearance of the mortal boy that interfered.”

The False-man grew still; his pinched face was pensive.

“Very well. No matter. Destroy your burner phone and drop all connections to the detective. He is a compromised asset. Rearrange your flesh-mask so that he cannot recognize you even if the wizard turns him. And Marcone?”

“Still assaulting the ghouls at the lakehouse. Still confused by the traces of Fomor magic we have allowed his witch to sense.”

“Excellent. Continue on.”

The underling bowed and hurried to do as his master commanded. Ourobouros snorted in amusement. “Does the wizard truly scare you that much? He is stronger and more canny than you implied, but he is still just a mortal.”

The False-man stared into the distance for a moment and his reply was curiously unheated. “Do you believe in Fate, beast?”

“No.” Yes, and mine is to devour this entire world no matter how long it takes!

“Neither do I, and yet that wizard would seem to challenge that. He has faced impossible odds and survived, even thrived, when his betters have died. The Fae think it is proof of his worthiness, my colleagues believe it is merely luck, my mother believes his grandfather manipulates the circumstances in ways we cannot trace, but I see it differently.

“He is a living font of chaos and he brings ruin to everything he touches. Should I focus all my energy into killing him I have no doubt it would only end in my own destruction. Instead, I will do all I can to keep him distracted, keep him at a distance, until I can grind this entire forsaken city into the dust.”

Ourobouros fell silent at that. The False-man clearly hated this wizard deeply, but it was no real concern of hers. That he would so laughably overestimate the mortal was a source of quiet amusement, however.

The False-man glanced over at her again. “Were you being serious when you said, you need more food to recover your power?”

“Yes,” she said cautiously, wondering if he meant to starve her into submission. She would take her chances with the Green Lady before she would allow that to happen.

Instead, the False-man pulled out a chunk of dark material the mortals called a ‘phone’ and spoke into it. “Yes, this is he. Re-route the next train of beef cattle to the following address. I don’t care what favors you use or lines you cross to do it. Understood?” The voice on the other end affirmed and the False-man slid it back into his pocket.

“You’ll get exactly what you want, creature. I hope you don’t disappoint me again.” Without another word he walked out of the abandoned slaughterhouse, leaving the dragon to her own devices.

Ourobouros lazily grinned as she finished off the last of the pig that had been awaiting her return. If the False-man truly provided her with a herd’s worth of cattle, then disappointment was the last thing he would feel when she was through with him.

Now, if only she could identify that mysterious scent…

Author's Note

It's a bit late for a Christmas present, but here's one last bit of Dresden for all of the fans before 2018 gives up the ghost.

Chapter Eleven

Edited by: SilentCarto
Proofreader: Coandco

Disclaimer: I don’t own The Dresden Files or My Little Pony, that is Jim Butcher and Hasbro respectively. This story takes place between books Eight and Nine in the Dresden Files.

“You are a good boy, aren’t you? Yes, you are. Yes, you are,” Fluttershy cooed. Her arms were stretched in two different directions, giving scritches to both cat and dog. Mister the cat purred in response and Mouse the dog let out a series of happy pants and whines.

Animals here in the human world weren’t quite what she had expected. Mr. Dresden had told her that, except for special cases, they weren’t very intelligent. She had assumed that meant they were maybe a little slower than the animals she was used to, but even the least clever animals in Equestria still responded to her talent so it shouldn’t be a problem. After all, she had met Mouse months and months ago and he was every bit as bright as an Equestrian dog, maybe even moreso. But Mr. Dresden had told her that Mouse was special and even after meeting only a few Earth animals she was willing to believe him.

Equestrian animals varied in intelligence and many of them had trouble understanding some of the more abstract notions that ponies took for granted, but Earth animals didn’t seem capable of abstraction on any level. The seagulls at the Pier, the dog at the park, the pigeons on the street, even Mister, Harry’s cat, couldn’t grasp what she meant when she tried to communicate.

Her talent still worked to some degree and Mister was genuinely fond of her, but so many animals here just weren’t capable of being her friends. Not like Equestrian animals.

It… made her a little sad.

Her left arm stopped first and Mouse let out a disappointed little chuff, but waited patiently. She used both hands to bring Mister’s scritches to a crescendo and then slowed down to a crawl. He blinked at her, glaring a little.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I need to go help your friend so we’ll have to stop for now.” Mister’s glare got stronger and he lazily batted at her hand, disappointed that she had stopped, but unwilling to admit how much he had enjoyed her attention. Fluttershy bit back a sigh as he sauntered off. He couldn’t understand why she had to go, and now he was unhappy with her.

Mouse, at least, nosed her in the direction of the trapdoor and smiled his doggy grin. Her smile returned, and she gave him a quick pat, fighting the urge to go back to petting him fully. Fluttershy glanced up to check on the progress of her other friends.

“– and that’s when Twilight drops the teleport and puts us back at the cave!”

“I don’t know,” Twilight mused, a notebook open and several pages scattered around her. “Are you sure the ropes would hold? Dresden described vampires as extremely strong.”

“Then we use ropes to start and lock’er in something a mite stronger once we got’er down. Port city like this has gotta have some thick chains around for the ships and such.”

They were still busy trying to come up with a plan to convince Mr. Dresden that they could take out the evil vampire without anypony getting hurt. It’s possible they would come up with something perfect for that and everything would work out, but right now Fluttershy was pretty certain that wasn’t what Mr. Dresden needed. So instead she moved over to the trapdoor, lifted it, and scootched down the small stairwell without a backwards glance.

Mr. Dresden had a lab downstairs. It was a little like Twilight’s lab, but there were fewer crystals and machines and a lot more clutter and random knick-knacks. She moved quietly, and with his back to her, Mr. Dresden didn’t seem to notice. He was so busy with his little cauldron and bottles that he might not have seen her even if he had been facing the stairs.

“Alright, Bob. What do we need next?” He asked.

Unlike its master, the skull noticed the moment she came into view and its eyes were already tracking her. Fluttershy once again fought the chill creeping up her spine. Contrary to what some ponies thought, continued exposure to her fears did not make them any less frightening. Skulls still had no business glowing or speaking, regardless of species.

“We need some meat on them bones,” Bob said, regarding her critically.

“Seriously?” Mr. Dresden asked. “Five minutes ago you told me the bones had to be ‘picked clean’. Is this a replacement for the blood or do we need some meat just to fill out the potion’s base?”

“Some filling out is definitely called for,” Bob said, authoritatively, while still staring at her. “Don’t get me wrong, the slim and cute look isn’t bad, but there are limits. Even a subtle curve is good but once you’re reaching washboard levels you might as well be looking at a boy.”

Mr. Dresden blinked in confusion at his words, breaking his reverie, and that’s when one of the stairs decided to squeak under Fluttershy’s weight.

Mr. Dresden spun around immediately, his staff leaping into his hand by magic. But by the time it arrived, he had realized who she was. His face creased with a scowl, but it wasn’t aimed at her. “Of course. ‘More meat on them bones’. Ha ha, very funny, Bob.”

Despite being nothing but a skull it somehow gave the impression of a shrug. “Hey, I call’em like I see’em. If you’re into that kinda thing, though, I’m not gonna judge.” He paused. “Unlike the police. They might take an interest even though she’s not technically–”

“That’s more than enough of that.” Mr. Dresden said, his tone firm. He sighed with a sense of much pent up frustration. “Just watch the potion and don’t say anything unless it needs my attention, okay? Can you do that without slipping into some level of perversion?”

“Fine, I guess,” the skull replied, sounding sulky. But it turned its glowing eyes away from her and towards the cauldron, so that was all that really mattered.

“Hey, Fluttershy. What did you sneak down here for?” Mr. Dresden said. He was trying to smile and sound kind, but it was in that I’m-tired-and-frustrated-and-yes-I-still-love-you-but-this-had-better-be-good sort of tone. Fluttershy... might have used the same kind of voice with her animals once or twice.

“Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack are trying to think of a plan to take on that vampire and convince you they can do it without any bloodshed so I–”

His scowl returned despite his best efforts and a little growl entered his voice. “Got sent down here to sweet talk me into following their plan?”

“No,” Fluttershy replied. His eyes widened slightly and his scowl shifted subtly from one of annoyance to one of bewilderment. “I’m not here to talk.” She settled onto a stool in the corner and gave him her full attention, careful not to look directly into his eyes since Twilight told her that could be dangerous. “I’m here to listen.”

“To what?”

“To you.”

He stood there for a second, his cauldron softly simmering behind him. He turned to it and stirred it, even though the skull hadn’t told him it needed anything. Fluttershy bit her lip, hoping she hadn’t upset him. But still, she had to try.

“I thought that since this is your world, you know it best. I don’t understand why we can’t just go out and defeat the vampire lady, but you probably didn’t understand a lot of things about our world. Everypony else wants to talk you into doing something our way and maybe they’re right, but I want to hear from you why we shouldn’t.”

He stopped stirring. “You heard what we said up there.”

“I heard ponies talking at each other, not with each other. Applejack was mad and you were mad too and maybe you’re both right to be mad. But I understand her side and I want to understand yours. Please, talk to me, Mr. Dresden.”

He let out a long, slow sigh and turned back around. He found another stool somewhere among the clutter and sat down on it. “Okay, I can’t promise I can do it well, but I’ll try to explain.” He paused another moment and ran a hand over his chin before speaking.

After a short chance to think he continued. “Okay, remember that Bug Queen Chrysalis you guys were telling me about in the letters? Let’s pretend that she had been smart. Let’s say that instead of attempting an all-out attack on Canterlot, she used her position as Cadence to replace certain ponies with changelings, and otherwise just lived normally. Then even if somebody like Twilight saw through it and figured out the truth, nobody would believe her, because it would sound crazy.”

Fluttershy couldn’t help but flinch at that. She and the other friends should have listened better to Twilight at the Wedding, but she had just seemed so stressed and angry over her brother only telling her at the last minute. And… and if she was being honest it had sounded crazy. Changelings had been banished from Equestria so long ago that hardly anypony remembered that they even existed.

But Mr. Dresden wasn’t finished. “And even if it didn’t sound crazy – because your world is even weirder than mine – nobody would want to believe her. When everything seems normal on the surface, it’s easy to dismiss somebody like Twilight for trying to tell you something scary. If she’s right you’d have to live in fear of those monsters so it’s easier to believe a comforting lie. But let’s say that Twilight pulls through like she always does and finds some incontrovertible evidence. Even then, you still have an entire hive of the enemy embedded into your population. Beating up Chrysalis, even killing or revealing her, isn’t going to make them go away. You’ll be fighting a long drawn out conflict where the enemy is inside your own country with ponies loyal to them whether because of money, mind-magic, or just because the changeling is a charismatic liar.”

Fluttershy wished that weren’t true, but Chrysalis had twisted a powerful unicorn like Twilight’s brother around her hoof without trouble and Fluttershy knew that some ponies were motivated by gold better than friendship, like the Flim-Flam brothers, or easily fooled into doing terrible things, like the Order Triune ponies.

Fluttershy thought she was starting to understand his problem with fighting the vampire lady, but he wasn’t done yet. “And let’s pretend that Obsidian still lives in another country and likes to send raiding parties to mess things up. So you’ve got demons destroying villages and killing ponies, but his country is too big and too far away to just send an entire army or you’d be unprotected from the Dragons that are just looking for a chance to attack. The changelings are willing to help against both Obsidian and the dragons because even though they’re monsters they want Equestria to be powerful and profitable because a strong Equestria means a strong hive, so it’s even harder to tell other ponies that they’re really monsters.”

His hands tightened into fists and his voice became harder and louder. He wasn’t looking at her anymore, but at something in the distance. “Then more Diamond Dogs start kidnapping ponies to work in their mines. Friends and family don’t even know their loved ones are still alive and needing rescue because nobody even knows where they are. They just disappear with no witness or evidence. And there are people who are supposed to be on your side, like the Order Triune let’s say, but those guys are a bunch of paranoid assholes who mistrust everyone even to the point of turning on their own people. While all this is going on Discord and Nightmare Moon are just on the other side of the Nevernever looking for a way inside so they can cause mayhem and havoc and the Elements of Harmony and Celestia are nowhere to be found.”

He stopped what had almost become a rant and took a long breath. His voice was softer, but his hands still clenched tightly. “And it’s not like things became that way overnight. They’ve always been that way. There’s always more monsters, more enemies, and some of them are stronger than you’ll ever be. So you learn to compromise. You stand your ground to protect the people you know, because you can’t protect everyone. You sell your soul bit by bit, because some things are too big for one person to fix.”

Fluttershy didn’t realize she had stood until her arms were already wrapping around Mr. Dresden, pulling his head to her shoulder. He was almost as tall as her, even sitting down. He stiffened in surprise, but she laid her head on top of his.

“You can’t blame yourself,” she murmured softly. She wasn’t crying, but her eyes were wet with unshed tears after hearing how much self-loathing and guilt his voice carried. “Nopony could expect you to fix a whole world. Especially not one like yours.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment or return the hug. Eventually he said, “If nobody tries, then the world stays broken. But that’s the problem right now.”

Fluttershy let go and took a step back as he continued.

“Everyone upstairs wants to fix my world without even realizing how big a task it is. Taking out Lara wouldn’t stop the White Court from being evil. If anything, she shows more restraint and intelligence than most of that family put together, and with her gone someone with just as much power and less morals would probably take over. If we wanted to stop the entire White Court, that would take an all-out war with the eight of us against dozens of powerful vampires and hundreds of combat-capable humans. That’s not a winning prospect, and it’s not like they’d fight fair. It would be safe to expect snipers, ambushes, and poison among other, more creative attempts at assassination.” He paused and sighed.

Fluttershy nodded. “I think I understand.” She reached out and took his hand, which seemed to surprise him.

“What?”

She pulled gently, but his hand barely moved. “B-bob, will the p-potion be okay for a little while?”

“Oh, so the waif is showing a dominant streak? Good luck pulling him into bed.”

Human ears couldn’t fold back, or both of Fluttershy’s ears would be flat to her head. Even so she flushed bright red. Mr. Dresden started to growl something, but she just took Bob at his word. “I’ll t-take that as a ‘yes’. C’mon upstairs, Mr. Dresden.”

He seemed unclear on her aim, but finally stood after she tugged two or three more times at his hands. He followed her up and they emerged in the apartment just as Twilight was adding the finishing touches to whatever her plan was for overcoming the vampire.

“AND THEN WE RELEASE THE KRAKEN!” Twilight thundered, a corona of light surrounding her head, despite the lack of a horn and her hair floating on end. Applejack and Dash, stomped in appreciation, but Fluttershy just waited. Once they died down, she cleared her throat.

“Okay, so on’ta plan number nine?” Applejack said. Nopony seemed to have noticed Fluttershy or Mr. Dresden.

“A-hem!” she said at a slightly higher volume, which caught the attention of the other ponies. Or maybe it was the way Mr. Dresden thumped the butt of his staff on the floor in time to her words. Either way, the other three ponies glanced at her in surprise.

“Oh hey Fluttershy,” Dash said. “You bring Dresden up here to listen to our plans? Personally I still think number five is the best. We just need to figure out where we could buy fifty chickens on short notice.”

“No,” she replied quietly. “I was just talking things over with Mr. Dresden and I… I agree with him. We shouldn’t try to beat up the vampire lady.”

That got the attention of all three of her friends. “Surely, you aren’t serious?” Twilight said, “From everything Dresden said she’s outright evil!”

“She is serious and don’t call her Shirley,” Mr. Dresden said, chuckling softly to himself before putting back on his serious expression.

Everypony stared at him for a moment, but Fluttershy used the opportunity to start talking. “Twilight, what if we had stayed behind and fought Chrysalis with Princess Celestia instead of running for the Elements?”

“Hard to say,” Twilight began, thinking about it. “Princess Celestia is probably still wounded from her fight with,” she shuddered, “that demon from Dresden’s last visit. Chrysalis was also very well-fed on Shining’s love so maybe we could have tipped the scales, maybe not.”

“We definitely would have,” Dash declared, gesturing curtly. “If we’d have been there as back-up Chrysalis would’ve gone down hard!”

“Either way, Princess Cadence and Twilight’s brother woulda thrown out that love shield and gotten rid of the changelings all the same,” Applejack added.

“But if we didn’t have the Love shield, would stopping Chrysalis stop the invasion?”

All three of her pony friends went quiet.

“Probably not,” Twilight admitted after a moment. “If anything the Changelings that targeted us on the way to the Elements would have joined in the fight on her side.”

Fluttershy nodded. “From talking to Mr. Dresden I think that’s about what would happen if we beat up the vampire lady. The vampires would still be terrible people doing terrible things and we’d start a war with them.”

“Technically the White Council is already at war with them, because they’re allies to the Red Court,” Mr. Dresden said. “But their support for the Reds has been half-hearted at best. If we took out one of their top figures then they’d jump into the war with both feet. Once they were done fighting amongst themselves to determine the new leader. And that’s aside from the hit squads they’d send after us for actually doing the deed. Eight people aren’t enough to fight an entire nation of vampires.”

“But we can’t just do nothin’!” Applejack shouted. “She’s evil!”

Mr. Dresden sighed. “I know. Believe me, I know. But she’s the least of several evils right now. We need to stop whatever is going on at that warehouse and starting a fight with the White Court will get us killed. This is the real reason I didn’t want to get any of you involved in my work. I didn’t want you to have to compromise your morals like this.”

“Dresden…” Twilight said. She sounded pained. “Nopony thinks you’re immoral because you can’t stop everything. That’s one of the reasons we want to help; so that you have a team who can do more together than you can alone.”

“Yeah!” Dash cut in. “No need to make it so complex. Even somepony as fast as me can’t be everywhere at once so it’s not like we blame you for not stopping everything bad.”

“But that vampire lady still rubs us raw,” Applejack punctuated her statement with a quick stomp. “I ain’t sayin’ any of this meanin’ to blame you, and I’m sorry if that’s how I came off cuz I was angry, but I’m gonna need some more convincin’ that we shouldn’t just take’er out. Maybe you give us more of a lowdown on the whole situation and listen to some of our plans and we reach some kind of understanding together.”

Mr. Dresden snorted faintly, but he looked better than he had a minute ago, less grim and more energized. “Couldn’t hurt,” he agreed, pulling over a chair.

Fluttershy smiled to herself as Mouse shuffled over and brushed against her right leg. Her hand found the sweet spot behind his ear and started scratching, much to his enjoyment. She was okay dropping out of the conversation now, because the hard part was over. Whatever the group decided on, it would be alright. Talk went back and forth but it wasn’t the same as before. They weren’t competing with each other, trying to make the other pony see things their way. They were listening to each other, willing to work out something together.

………

The old van was chilly in the early morning, and Fluttershy fought down a yawn. The others had held their ground until well past midnight – with occasional breaks to work on the potions – but in the end Dresden had pointed out enough problems and consequences about the plans to beat up the vampire lady that everypony had agreed she was a secondary priority. For now, at least. Helping him with the warehouse was the most important thing, but Twilight had made it plain that she wanted to draft some improved plans ‘for later’, possibly after getting Princess Celestia’s blessing to assist.

They had stopped by the werecouple’s house, then Mr. Carpenter’s house to pick up everypony else and got an early breakfast courtesy of Pinkie Pie. Apparently Mr. Carpenter had put his foot down on her sugar and TV consumption and she’d finally gotten a good night’s sleep. So thankfully there was less of a frantic edge to her boundless energy this morning. The waffles were still amazing, though.

But all too soon they rolled up on the strange warehouse that Dresden had said was the lynchpin to the plans of their mysterious enemy. A round human sitting in the guard shack looked up with an air of boredom as the old van approached, but once he laid eyes on Mr. Dresden he was suddenly wide awake.

“You…” he whispered in a mix of fear and disbelief.

“Are the man of your dreams?” Mr. Dresden asked, a wolfish smile on his face. “Yeah, sorry to burst your bubble, Doug. But you’d better just open the gate and find another job. No need to make this difficult.”

The pudgy human sweated for a moment, but the soft growl of a wolf behind him helped him to make up his mind. The metal gate began to clatter open and Fluttershy could vaguely see Doug running for a beat-up car in a nearby lot as they accelerated toward the wide, blocky building.

“All right, gang,” Mr. Dresden announced, “we’re pulling up right beside the nearest door and one way or another I’m busting us in. From there, we sweep the factory for anything suspicious. But we never go out of sight of each other! If you can’t see the group, the group can’t see you, so always check that everyone has eyes on you.”

He got a chorus of agreement from most ponies and Spike, but Fluttershy just nervously bit her lip. It was so much easier going into combat with her Element. Not that Kindness granted her any special fighting ability, but at least then she was useful. Still, she felt for the little medical kit they had picked up. She could assist her friends, at least.

The van stopped beside a gray door spotted with orange streaks of rust. Mr. Dresden went to work on its lock almost immediately with a set of little metal tools.

Will and Georgia caught up to them, still in wolf form after loping their way across the concrete lot, but Mr. Dresden was still feverishly working on the door. Less than a minute later he cursed as one of his tools clattered to the ground, falling from his left hand. “Fudge this,” he quietly muttered, only ‘fudge’ wasn’t exactly the word he used.

“Fozare!” Mr. Dresden shouted, a wave of magic smashing into the iron door tearing it from its hinges and giving them a sudden – if noisy – entrance into the factory.

Everypony streamed in, following Mr. Dresden with Fluttershy and Spike bringing up the rear. Just inside the building were two semi-human things with hunched shoulders and yellow fangs. Applejack and Dash rushed into fighting one of them and the other was paralyzed in place by ribbons of light the same color as Twilight’s aura. Then Mr. Dresden’s fire poured over the bound one in an angry wave. Its screams died off quickly, but Fluttershy couldn’t help but feel sick.

They were monsters. They wanted to hurt people. Given the chance they wouldn’t have the slightest reservation in killing all of her friends.

But that didn’t mean she had to enjoy watching them die.

Soon the ghoul held by Twilight was done and Mr. Dresden’s attention turned to the one Applejack had just slammed into the ground with a Germane Suplex. The impact stunned it and the moment Applejack was clear, fire hot enough to scorch the stone floor engulfed it. It screamed for a brief time before it died.

There was no hesitation or doubt in Mr. Dresden’s angry expression.

“Uh… that’s one way to take care of them, I guess,” Dash said.

“Ghouls are harder to kill than cockroaches,” Mr. Dresden said flatly. “Body blows will put them out of commission for a second, but you need fire to do any meaningful damage.” Silence greeted his proclamation. “Okay, that’s it for the welcoming committee, but there are going to be more of them. AJ and Rainbow take point. Will and Georgia scout the building, but make sure to keep out of harm’s way. Report back to us if anything looks hinky. Fluttershy, Spike, Rarity and Twilight, you take center. Pinkie and I will hold the rearguard.”

Most ponies nodded and Fluttershy awkwardly tried to get herself into position. Pinkie saluted with an almost silly degree of seriousness. Fluttershy didn’t know where she’d gotten the dark clothes and strange-looking goggles she was wearing. Or why the goggles had three glowing green lenses when she only had two eyes.

“Which way do we go, Dresden?”

“I say left,” Dash said decisively. “You always wanna go left when you’re in a maze, right?”

Mr. Dresden shrugged, “Left it is.”

The old factory was so full of rusting equipment, towering structures, and piles of boxes that Fluttershy didn’t even see the next foe until they were just about on top of them. Two ghouls turned in sudden surprise as the group turned the corner around the latest set of machinery. There was a half-second of surprise from both sides before Pinkie yelled, “Mr. Ugly Senior, Mr. Ugly, Junior? What are you naughty kids doing here?”

The smaller of the two ghouls yelped and flat out ran toward the nearest door marked ‘emergency exit’. The bigger one made a disgusted face at his former comrade and charged forward with a bellow. Rainbow Dash darted into his face, landed a couple jabs that distracted him, but didn’t seem to do much damage. Still, it slowed his charge as he paused to swipe at Dash.

Which only kept him from seeing Applejack coming.

She came in low and then shot up, as if she was kicking off the ground itself. Her fist crashed into its jaw, sending him rocketing up into the air.

“Pull!” Mr. Dresden yelled, with a slightly manic grin. His fire rod glowed as red as the breast of the first robin in spring, but Fluttershy couldn’t help but be frightened instead of elated.

The fireball that exploded out of his stick consumed the ghoul. It was still moving when it landed, but given the crispy, blackened texture of its skin she doubted it would be doing so for long. Her gorge rose at the sight and smell and she glanced back at her friend. He’d told her how evil ghouls were, but at the same time she wasn’t sure Mr. Dresden was entirely… well… stable when it came to ghouls. Something had happened to him; something painful involving them. But being the person he was meant that Mr. Dresden turned that pain into anger, and the ghouls certainly didn’t like it when he was angry.

Regardless, they were moving forward again, only this time their fight had been noisy enough that she was sure the bad guys had heard them coming. And she wasn’t wrong. A human-looking man was hunched over a complex arrangement of tubes and canisters that was hooked together with wires and all sorts of other strange things while two more ghouls advanced on them, claws out and yellow teeth bared.

“Twilight, Rarity!” Mr. Dresden called, “No magic! That thing looks technology-based and who knows what will happen if we hex it.”

Twilight gave him an exasperated look, but Rarity just furrowed her brow and took up a stance she’d gotten from one of martials arts classes she took for exercise. Pinkie, meanwhile, just unlimbered a more streamlined version of her previous cupcake launcher. With a muffled ‘fwip-fwip-fwip’ the bad guy was soon being pelted by small – but dense – little brownie bites.

The two ghouls weren’t about to let that go unanswered and they dove forward with claws out. Fluttershy squeaked with fear and… well… she… kind of... scrunched-in-on-herself-and-shut-her-eyes. From the sound of things her friends were getting the better of the bad guys – although Dash really shouldn’t use that kind of language – but it was really scary and difficult (Applejack too, for that matter) to open her eyes when she knew she wasn’t helpful – Spike must have learned that word from a book – but had to be there anyway.

It took a moment to find her courage, made longer by the thunderous blasts from Mr. Dresden’s ‘revolver’, but when Fluttershy reopened her eyes, everything seemed to be mostly settled. The ghouls were tied up tight with Applejack’s lasso and gagged with enough cake stuffed into their mouths that Fluttershy worried whether or not they were even able to breathe. The human-looking man was nowhere to be seen, but Twilight and Dresden were pondering over the contraption, Will and Georgina at their sides, muzzles disturbingly wet and red. The two mages seemed hesitant to even touch the machine, but while several locks of Twilight’s hairs had already sprung out of place, Mr. Dresden looked more contemplative.

“So… um…” she asked, slightly sheepishly. “What did I miss?”

“We kicked some serious butt!” Dash crowed.

“Which won’t matter at all if this thing blows and kills us all!” Twilight cried, her mane going into ‘full frizz’ mode.

“Funny, it don’t look much like a bomb,” Applejack commented.

“It’s not a regular bomb,” Mr. Dresden supplied. “It looks like all those canisters would release a deadly gas.”

“Oh!” Pinkie said with a start. “So like when Rarity went on that all-bean diet and–”

“Finish that sentence and I’ll have you in Court for slander,” Rarity said, a faint blush adorning her cheeks.

Mr. Dresden snorted. “No, I’m talking about a nerve gas that would kill us before we even smelled a thing.” He paused for a second. “Although given how weird transformation magic can be, for all I know you seven would be perfectly fine. Wouldn’t be the first time the Red Court has used poison gas, but Chicago is supposed to be Neutral Territory. I fought a duel against one of their Nobles to keep this city out of the war.” He sounded annoyed, but entirely unsurprised.

“That doesn’t change the fact that we have a bomb to deal with!” Twilight shouted.

Mr. Dresden shrugged. “Yeah, but watch this.” He took two steps away and quickly sketched a circle on the concrete floor. “Applejack, once I’ve got this way open, get ready to do the honors.” She nodded, slightly confused, but positioned herself next to the machine. From within the circle Mr. Dresden gave a quick cry of ‘Aparturum’ and a vertical line in the air just opened, as if he had cut through the canvas of a camping tent. On the other side of the tear was a jungle made of stone and among its concrete trees were dozens of gibbon-like monkeys.

Only… monkeys didn’t typically have needle-sharp teeth, three-inch claws, and scorpion stingers at the ends of their tails.

They just seemed to have noticed the tear in reality as Mr. Dresden scuffed the circle and shouted, “Toss it now!”

Muscles bunched as Applejack wrapped her arms around the contraption and flung it into the forest beyond the tear. A couple of the monkeys that had reacted first and rushed the portal were smacked out of the way as the machine took up the entire space of the tear. But for once Fluttershy wasn’t too upset.

They didn’t seem like very nice monkeys.

“Instaurabos,” Mr. Dresden shouted, causing the rift to seal up on itself. Fluttershy somehow felt the sensation of a distant explosion, without a sound to her ears or even a wind to ruffle her mane.

Twilight meanwhile was just standing there with her mane poking out at all angles. “It can’t possibly be that simple,” she murmured.

Mr. Dresden’s manic grin was back, and he looked Twilight straight in the eyes. “You’d be surprised.”

But their moment was interrupted when Rarity let out a shriek. She had been poking around the equipment and boxes at the edge of their group and the human-looking man from before had evidently been hiding there. He had a death grip on one of her legs. He clambered up her body despite his broken, twisted leg and her attempts to fight him off, and soon had an arm around her throat.

Less than a second later he was surrounded. Will and Georgia snarled at either side, Mr. Dresden’s fire rod glowed with cherry-red fury, Twilight’s hands glowed a furious purple, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Spike, and even Pinkie had their game faces on standing by to attack him.

“Last chance, asshole,” Mr. Dresden bit out. “You let go of the girl and you have a chance of walking away from all this. Hurt her and you won’t survive ten seconds.”

“What guarantees will you give me in exchange for my hostage?” the human-looking man asked. He was trying to be confident, but Fluttershy could tell he was more nervous than he let on. He reminded her of a cornered rat, desperate and frightened; ready to do anything to get out.

Rarity gasped as his claw grazed her, and for only an eyeblink his face softened, glancing at her worryingly. He restored his poker face almost instantly, but Fluttershy had seen it.

“We’ll let you go,” Fluttershy said, surprising everyone, including herself. But if what she thought was true...

“Fluttershy, what in tarna–”

“Do you swear it?” The man asked, his hand unconsciously loosened its grip from Rarity’s throat and she took a long breath.

“Yes,” she confirmed, even as Mr. Dresden opened his mouth to protest. It shut again with a snap. “You’ll be our prisoner and after a day we’ll let you go. I promise.”

He growled and his hand tightened again. “That isn’t what I wanted.”

Fluttershy swallowed and made her spine straighten itself. This was just like refusing Angel Bunny when he wanted an extra carrot. “It’s what you’ll get.” She shivered and hoped he didn’t see, but already she was studying him. There were some strange dissimilarities between him and humans. Bits of musculature moved under his skin as if he had a different skeletal structure and his ocular orbit was subtly different from a normal human’s as well. And all that was ignoring those rather prominent canines that weren’t too much bigger than Mr. Dresden’s but were just big enough to be noticeable.

Abruptly he took out a harsh breath and released Rarity. “I accept.”

“You’ve got to be kidding, Fluttershy!” Mr. Dresden said, anger rising from him like steam from an oven. “The Red Court,” he jerked a thumb as the human-looking man, “are trying to quietly gas the entire city. The tangle with Marcone, killing Sean when he noticed too much, trying to distract me, it all adds up to keeping people out of the way while they set up something to take out the entire city!”

“Yeah, but we stopped it right?” Pinkie said, hopefully. “Hip hip hooray?”

“I’d have preferred so, but given that the bomb was marked ‘#4’ I somewhat doubt it,” Twilight replied, her hair somewhat settled, but still not fully back in place.

Mr. Dresden grunted dourly. “Which makes sense, because Chicago is a huge city. One gas bomb alone is not gonna be big enough to cover the whole thing no matter how well it spreads.” He turned to look at the ‘Red Court’ man. “Which means we need to know where bombs 1-3 are located.”

Everypony turned to stare at their prisoner and the vampire shrunk back slightly. “I was promised my safety in exchange for surrender.” He reminded them.

Mr. Dresden scowled harder, but it faded as Fluttershy laid a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry. I have a plan.”

………

It wasn’t actually a very good plan.

She was willing to admit that to herself, but couldn’t say it outloud. Convincing Mr. Dresden to let her talk to the prisoner alone was already hard enough. If she let him know she was acting on a suspicion instead of a certainty there was no way he’d have let her. So in the end Mr. Dresden greeted her idea with a lot of bluster and anger, but it really just meant he was worried about her, so eventually he agreed.

But not before he chained the vampire to the thickest beam, with the thickest chain they could find and threatened him with any number of terrible fates if he hurt her.

“So… chained in place awaiting the wizard’s threats, but you’re the one to get me to talk?” The vampire chuckled hollowly.

Fluttershy took a deep breath and met his eyes. His face showed only contempt for her, but she could read fear in his body language and desperation in the way his eyes darted around. He was fixed solidly to a steel beam, and besides that he was already terribly injured. One of his legs was bent and twisted with thick, syrup-like blood dripping slowly from the hem of his pants. He wasn’t a good person, but she’d seen tiny hints of something other than a monster in him. Maybe she was just imagining it, but if she wasn’t...

Any animal was dangerous when wounded and a predator like him, doubly so. But she pushed that fear away to a distant part of her mind and took a single step forward. “Yes.”

He spit something onto the floor, staining it red. “And how will you do that?” He asked sullenly. “Gonna read my mind?”

Fluttershy pulled over a chair and sat down. “No,” she said, falling silent again, letting him get it out of his system.

He glared at her, and she fought not to tremble. “Then you don’t have a chance. I’ll die before I talk. Even if the wizard breaks our deal and tortures me, I won’t say a damn thing! You hear me?!”

Fluttershy nodded slowly. “I hear you.”

The vampire scowled. “Then what are you doing here? You can’t make me talk.”

She nodded again. “You’re right.”

He sat still for a moment and studied her. She could tell he was confused and uncertain. This wasn’t going how he expected, and he didn’t like it.

“I can’t make you tell me anything, but I hope you will tell me because it’s the right thing to do.”

He stared at her for a moment more before laughing. “Are you an idiot? You’d almost have to be since you’re dumb enough to hang around that wizard, but that’s ridiculous. Nobody would talk because ‘it’s the right thing’.”

Fluttershy frowned, then gathered her courage and met his eyes. “But people will be killed. Thousands of people: mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. People that have never done anything to you.”

“So, what?” the vampire sneered. “They’re livestock. No one would care if a herd of cattle fell over dead except the person that owned them.”

“I would care.”

He glared at her again. “Then you’re a fool.”

She watched him without responding and let silence fill the room. He became uncomfortable and broke eye contact with her. He was hurting, and it wasn’t just from his ruined leg. The fear in her began to lessen. It wasn’t that he was any less dangerous; she knew and respected the threat he posed. But, she was starting to understand him.

“Um… don’t get me wrong, but weren’t you human, too? Mr. Dresden told us that vampires have to turn humans to make more vampires.”

He hissed at her like an angry cat, but it didn’t scare her. She knew how to help animals like that. “No,” he spat out after she didn’t flinch. “I was never human. Not in any way that mattered. I was the fastest, the strongest, the smartest child in my village. Lord Ortega saw the truth about me and elevated me to my proper place.”

“But you were human? Whether or not you were destined to be a vampire you had a life and a family before you turned, right?” Fluttershy asked, her tone confused.

The vampire spat onto the floor again. The way he was eyeing her said that he was thinking about trying to spit on her. But Dresden had warned her about their addictive salvia and she had kept her distance. The vampire had evidently realized that too.

“The rest of the village feared me, respected me, from the moment my talents became obvious. They knew that one day our Master would elevate me. I was separate, different from them and everyone knew it. Nothing human ever mattered to me,” he sneered at her.

Fluttershy took another deep breath. This was going to be difficult, but she met his eyes again and steeled herself. “I imagine that your human family mattered to you very much before your master took you away.”

The vampire’s movements stopped entirely.

“Leave,” he hissed.

“No.”

“I said leave!”

“No. You’re hurt. You’ve hidden it for a long time, but that won’t heal it.”

“There is nothing to heal, witch. It is a sign of pride and honor when one of your children is chosen by Lord Ortega,” he stated coldly. He even sounded like he believed it.

“Then your parents were happy when he came for you?”

His flat, hateful stare returned. Fluttershy lowered her eyes and did not meet it.

“Is this how you hope to make me talk? Reminding me of when I was weak and human, like you?”

That wasn’t quite right, but she didn’t correct him. “I hope that you’ll tell me because it’s the right thing to do.”

“And you’re back to that. Look, I’m not telling you,” he said. “You may as well give it up.”

“I can’t. There are too many people counting on me.” Fluttershy fell silent again. She could tell that she was confusing him. She stood resolute, but made no aggressive displays or demands. Like any predator it unsettled him to have something he couldn’t easily fit into the categories of prey or competitor.

“Yeah, thousands of humans. You mentioned that.”

“And Mr. Dresden,” Fluttershy said. “If I give up, then he’ll try to make you talk. So long as there’s a chance it could save someone, he would take it.”

The vampire stared at her, his posture stiff and fearful again despite his claim that no pain could make him talk. “And he’s counting on you to keep his hands clean? That cowardly–”

“No,” she said. Fluttershy spoke quietly, but it stopped the vampire’s words cold. “I made him let me try. He’s so full of anger, so full of sadness. He tries so hard to save people, but he still fails sometimes and it tears him up inside. But he can’t do that forever. He can’t take everything on himself. He needs me to do this, even though he doesn’t know it.”

“Like I care about the wizard. Let him torture himself over what he ‘has’ to do. I don’t care.”

“You should. I think you’re probably a lot like him deep down.”

He growled again. “I am nothing like him.”

Fluttershy shook her head softly. “Then why didn’t you hurt my friend? The fight was over, and you couldn’t run, but you still could have hurt Rarity something awful. You probably expected to be killed or tortured, so why didn’t you? Why did you surrender even with one claw around her throat?”

He had no answer, or at least, not one he would admit to.

“It’s because you didn’t want to cause more pain. You knew it would be pointless; it wouldn’t let you win or escape. Deep down you don’t want to hurt people, you just feel that you have to.”

His laugh was ugly and full of contempt. “Girl, do you have any idea what I’ve done over the past century? The lives I have taken? The things I have done under my Master? The pain I’ve inflicted? I am a monster, and you’re an idiot if you think otherwise.”

“I believe that you’re a monster,” Fluttershy agreed, which came as a shock to him from the wide-eyed look on his face. “Because it’s easier to be a monster. Because monsters don’t have to feel guilt or regret. But you don’t have to be a monster.”

“You pathetic, weak little bitch,” he growled. “What makes you think I want anything else? I serve Lord Ortega with my life. I have sacrificed everything to be his lieutenant! I drank the lifeblood of my own sister to become a vampire!”

Silence ruled after his announcement.

Fluttershy slowly stood up and approached him. This was the riskiest part, but she knew she was close – so close – to reaching him. She felt fear, but she also felt sympathy well up within her. She put away her fear as she moved closer and closer, well beyond any safe distance. He hissed at her, and this time she flinched, but kept walking. Eventually she reached him and he stared at her in fearful uncertainty.

She reached out with both arms, bent down, and gathered him into a hug. He stiffened in surprise, but she did not let go. “And you have never forgiven yourself, have you?”

The breath caught in his throat. Then he released it and began speaking, almost mechanically. “Our first feeding is fatal. We can’t control the bloodlust right after turning. I was so thirsty when he put her in the room. She knew what had been done to me, knew what her presence meant, but still she smiled to see me again. I tried to resist, but he had given her a small cut and the smell was overpowering. She told me it was all right. She told me that she loved me even as I drank and drank until she was cold and gone.”

He took in a deep breath through his nose.

“You’re scared,” he said with no threat or anger. He was just stating a fact.

“Yes.”

“I could bite you right now. Maybe even kill you.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

She let go of him then, and straightened. “Because even monsters deserve a little kindness.”

He let out a breath in a long low sigh. “You remind me of her. She was weak, but her smile could light up a room, heal any heart. My Master believes that the weak are prey for the strong. He told me I should not mourn her passing, but celebrate how her death could serve a grander purpose.”

“What do you believe?”

“I believe I would have rather faced the wizard. I could have hated him and been strong no matter what pain he put me through. You...” he hung his head in shame, and fell silent. Fluttershy stayed quiet and let him think. Eventually he continued. “He would never forgive me if I told you. Lord Ortega has sacrificed everything to avenge his father’s death. His wealth, his connections, his status in the Court. Everything.”

“Maybe you’re not the one that should ask for forgiveness.”

“He gave me a home and a purpose!” the vampire replied, his voice heated. Fluttershy stayed silent and watched as the anger died and sadness took its place. “But only after he destroyed the ones I used to have.” Fluttershy put a hand on his shoulder. The hand trembled, but she didn’t let go. The vampire glanced up at her again.

“I’ll talk, witch. Maybe you worked some magic, maybe I’m just weak hearted. But you’re right; girls like my sister don’t deserve to die because of his grudge with the wizard. I’ll tell you where the bombs are.”

………

One of his sites wasn’t responding and Hector Ortega, former Margrave and pure-blooded Noble of the Red Court, was beginning to worry. He was close, so close, to erasing the damned wizard and his precious city. In mere hours everything would be ready. They could set the timers and he already had a contact in the Circle that would grant them passage into the Nevernever. Within minutes of the detonation the mortal poisons would cover the city, drifting through any threshold or supernatural protection. Millions of mortals would die, the wizard among them. And even if Hector was caught after the fact, his rather public expulsion from the Red Court several months ago would insulate them from repercussions.

It was a perfect plan.

If only site four would respond that they were ready to go.

A wild thought crossed his mind. What if site four had been compromised? What if despite all his precautions that damned wizard had found a way to disrupt this too? The idea rankled. It clawed at him from the inside. To fail and fall this close to the finish line was unacceptable, but then… he could always direct his subordinates to set the bombs off right now. If they didn’t wait for the Circle to provide a Way out, if they didn’t set the timers… well… not even the wizard could be everywhere at once....

They had all known going into this that the plan could mean their deaths.

They had already thrown away everything else, so what was one more sacrifice?

He reached for his phone, when the door slammed open. It was the ancient beast.

It still had a cow femur jutting out of its mouth like a strange parody of a human leaving a restaurant with a toothpick. But most humans didn’t snap their toothpick in half and began chewing the pieces. “What is it now?” he demanded. He had planned to send this benighted thing after the wizard one last time to ensure he was busy while the timers were set, but there appeared to be no time left. So be it. The thing would live or not based on the whims of fate and just how nerve gas affected its inhuman physiology.

“I’ve figured it out,” the beast declared, sounding inordinately proud of itself.

Hector bit back a sigh. Including this thing into the plan had been a mistake, no matter how good of an idea it had seemed at the time. “Figured what out?” he asked, paying little attention, pulling his phone out and dialing the number for his subordinate at site 2.

A small, slim hand darted out, grabbing the top half of his phone and wrenching it clean off.. Hector was alight with fury, but the moment he locked eyes with the beast that anger died a sickly death in the light of its grin.

“Where that scent came from.”

Hector had no idea what the thing was talking about, but it didn’t matter. Every survival instinct he had ever possessed told him this was a do-or-die situation.

He flung the scrapped remains of the phone at the thing’s face and followed that with a strike to its throat, claws fully extended. His flesh mask ripped away from his hands as they shot out like lightning. The phone bounced off the beast’s face but it didn’t even react to that.

It did however react to his strike by sweeping his claws away with one imperious hand then snapping forward with the other hand to grasp his throat in an iron grip.

No, not iron. Iron could be broken or twisted. This was something with all the implacability of stone. Ancient and unforgiving.

“I still have people in place to inform on your presence!” he said with something close to a squeak. “If you kill me, they’ll provide the Green Lady and all the Fae of the Summer Court your description and even items that could be used to track you.”

It tilted its head as he made his case, trying desperately to sound like he was still in control. He knew it feared the Summer Court so his measures should have been perfect. Or rather it had feared the Summer Court, but now his threat seemed to only amuse it.

“I’m serious!” Hector choked out. “Kill me and there’s nowhere on Earth you could hide!”

“You’re right,” it murmured, which gave Hector a great sense of relief. Finally it was willing to see reason and–

A great crunch interrupted his train of thought and the many little crunches that followed made certain that he’d never have another one.

“There’s nowhere on Earth I could hide.”

Chapter Twelve

Edited by: SilentCarto
Proofreader: Coandco

Disclaimer: I don’t own The Dresden Files or My Little Pony, that is Jim Butcher and Hasbro respectively. This story takes place between books 8 and 9 in the Dresden Files and seasons 2-3 of My Little Pony.

Against every one of my better senses Fluttershy had convinced me to let her talk with the Red Court Vampire we’d taken prisoner.

Alone.

For such a quiet little slip of a girl she could be surprisingly stubborn when she wanted to.

Eventually I gave in, but not before I chained the bastard to the thickest beam I could find in the factory and threatened him with any number of horrendous deaths if he hurt her. The ghoul and the ant hill from last summer would be nothing compared to what I’d do to him if he so much as touched a hair on her precious little head. But after doing that, I let her enter the room and shut the door behind me, leaving them alone.

Only to immediately put my ear to the door and begin to Listen to the conversation that followed.

Hey, I’m a wizard. It would be unnatural not to cheat.

The rest of the girls clustered around the door too, including Pinkie, who put her hands through a series of strange gestures before declaring her ‘jutsu’ complete. She then stretched her ear to something like five times its normal size and placed it against the door.

The sight was so utterly bizarre that I lost the beginning of Fluttershy’s conversation before I refocused my senses.

“Then what are you doing here? You can’t make me talk.” I could practically see the sneer on his ugly face as the vampire talked down to her.

“You’re right,” Fluttershy replied, with greater calmness and poise than I would’ve expected. Then a beat later she continued. “I can’t make you tell me anything, but I hope you will tell me because it’s the right thing to do.”

He laughed at that and insulted her, which is about what I expected. From her unperturbed demeanor, it sounded like it was about what Fluttershy had expected too.

It went on that way for a bit and after just a few minutes I could hardly believe what I was hearing. Forget playing therapist, the pint-sized pony practically had the vampire eating out of her hoof. And not out of any deceitful or manipulative work on her part. She had listened to him and heard more than he was letting on, sensing and helping with the pain he still carried from back when he was a human.

I’d heard rumors of the sort of horrible things the Red Court typically put their initiates through so this didn’t surprise me in the slightest, but nonetheless she was able to pull out his deeply-buried guilt and regret like it was nothing.

My mind couldn’t help but flash back on the conversation we’d had last night and how she’d gotten me to open up in a manner that wasn’t really all that different. It made me start to wonder just what was required to pick up an Element of Harmony, or maybe what side benefits you got if you qualified for one.

It’s no accident that Twilight holds ‘Magic’ and devours magical theory and learning like it’s candy. Or how Pinkie - the bearer of Laughter - can pull comical stunts and props out of literal thin air. Applejack’s truth-telling ability also seemed more than a little suspect in that light so maybe it wasn’t really all that surprising that Kindness somehow gave its wielder the abilities of a super-therapist.

Regardless, I was more than grateful for the results. There was a moment or two where things seemed touch-and-go, but Twilight put a hand on my shoulder each time I tensed up and wanted to intervene.

Eventually Fluttershy finished and the vampire gave her addresses for all three of the other bombs. She approached the door and all of the ponies-turned-human pretended they hadn’t been listening in, including Pinkie who had apparently stopped impersonating Dumbo when I wasn’t looking.

As Fluttershy opened the door and stepped out, Rainbow stopped her conspicuous whistling and pacing. “How’d it go, Fluttershy?”

I didn’t even try for a moment to fake it.

“That was amazing. How the hell you did it, I’ll never understand. But you’re sure those addresses are legitimate?”

She glanced at her friends who were pretending not to be guilty with varying degrees of success, then let out a small sigh, squared her shoulders and looked at me. “Yes, once you get to know him, Francisco is a real sweetheart.”

I held my own opinions about that, but there was no sense in arguing with her. “What about the creature that attacked us at the Pier?”

Fluttershy bit her lip. “Sorry, Mr. Dresden. I didn’t think to ask about that.”

I grunted, and started towards the door. “No time like the present.”

She put up a pair of hands that realistically couldn’t have stopped me on her best day.

Only, they did.

“Please,” she asked. “He’s in a delicate state right now and seeing you might make him difficult. Give me just a moment.” The heavy steel door shut in my face and after a moment to give a sigh of my own I put my ear against it again and waited while she asked him, but this time they kept their conversation a bit quieter. Almost like she knew some jerk of a wizard was trying to eavesdrop.

A minute later she returned.

“According to him, Mr. Ortega got word of a monster storming its way across the region and eating up c-cows from the dairy farms, because the Green Lady put a price on its head after it attacked her herd. So he tracked it down, showed up ahead of the Green Lady, and extorted it into working for him by threatening to reveal it to the Summer Court.”

I frowned. That was weird. The Green Lady was a high sidhe, and not somebody that any creature with sense should have been looking to piss off.

But older creatures supposedly had harder and harder times repressing their instincts, and it was clear even from my brief interaction with it that this thing was both ancient and inhuman. It might have lost its senses for a while and now was trying to ride out the backlash. “Okay, but what is it?”

She fidgeted for a second. “He doesn’t know.” The look on my face must have been something to see, because before I could even say something she already had her hands up in a placating gesture. “He really doesn’t! Mr. Ortega didn’t expect you to start looking into Sean’s disappearance, so once you did, he just brought the monster in as a way to keep you busy. Nobody really cared what it was so long as you were distracted.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose and let out a long sigh. The worst thing is that I could easily see that happening. There are way too many would-be dark lords more than happy to gain power without ever looking at the source or cost. Right now I doubt anything mattered to Ortega Jr. other than his plot for revenge.

“Fine. Let him know we’re going to leave him bound there for the next day to keep him under wraps until we’re done. In the meantime I’ve got some phone calls to make.”

I stormed out of the machining room and up into the offices. The Red Court hadn’t exactly gotten this place up to code again, but the electricity was on and there were still ancient-looking phones on a few of the dusty desks that had probably belonged to floor managers and other staff once upon a time.

I picked one up, started dialing, and put it to my ear. Only to realize that it didn’t have a dial tone.

Of course not. Why expect the universe to ever make things easy for me?

“Twilight, if you’ve got any binding spells now would be the time to set them on the vampire. Fluttershy, make sure he’s got some water because we won’t be back for a while.” Georgia and Will had scouted the place for any further ghouls while Fluttershy had her interview with a vampire, but they hadn’t found anything. Hopefully, any ghouls that had gotten away had packed it in and gone home. Given how the Red Court tended to treat messengers that brought bad news they’d have plenty of reason not to report in, but I couldn’t depend on that. We had an unknown time limit and three more bombs to disarm or else hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, were going to die.

No pressure, right?

Once everyone was back together we packed into the rented van and hauled ass. Pay phones weren’t common anywhere in Chicago these days thanks to cellphones, but the outdated nature of the industrial side of town worked in my favor and I found one only a few minutes outside the factory. I pulled up next to it, and wonder of wonders, the beat-up old thing actually had a dial tone.

I gladly fed it quarters and dialed a number.

It rang exactly five times, just long enough to tell me that the person on the other end wanted me to know that I awaited their pleasure, not the other way around, before it was picked up. A voice that could’ve sold ice cubes to eskimos purred into my ear, “How very prompt. And what did you find in that warehouse Mr. Dresden?”

“Trouble, right here in river city.” I paused for a moment to let her be confused by the reference before I told her the real details.

“If you tell me,” Lara Raith said in such a way that I could hear her arch an eyebrow, “that some unscrupulous sorts were shooting pool in that warehouse I am going to be very disappointed.”

I was silent as I tried to process the fact that a century-old vampire was apparently a fan of The Music Man, but the seriousness of the situation reasserted itself and I found my voice. “I wish. Problem is the Red Court is back at it and they had enough nerve gas in that place to take out a fourth of the city.”

She made an annoyed sound that was too refined to be called a grunt. “I had hoped that they would respect the terms set by your duel, but I can’t say I’m surprised.”

“Yeah, well, the big movers may or may not actually know about it. Turns out Ortega’s kid Hector is pissed at me for what happened to dear old dad. It could be ‘plausible deniability’ for the Red King, but given how unsubtle most of their moves have been it feels like this might really just be a personal grudge.”

“But you have dealt with it I trust.”

“This bomb, sure. The problem is that according to the vampire I captured and questioned, there are three more gas bombs. Hector means to take out the whole city.” I gave her the addresses of the other three bombs.

“Empty night,” she swore. “That’s insane. The industrial district and the mortal homes that surround it would have been one thing, but those other locations would threaten the holdings of several signatories. Not just mine, but Monoc Securities, the Svartalves, all of the Fae Courts, even minor ones like the Tylwyth Teg, have contingents here in Chicago. He’d be declaring war on every one of them.”

“That’s another reason I think he’s gone rogue rather than acting as a cat’s paw. I’ve got my team with me and we can hit another location, but I doubt we can get all three without somebody figuring us out and setting off the gas. Can you get a team together fast enough to hit one of them in the next hour?”

“Harry,” Lara replied, sounding insulted. “Did you think I was going to just sit here and let you ‘take care’ of things? The moment you gave me those addresses, I signaled Justine to call out my team of troubleshooters.”

I chuckled deeply. “That line’s the closest you’ve ever come to seducing me, Lara.”

“Of course,” she said flatly, exasperated. “No amount of sensuous lingerie or sweet nothings gets you going. Only the promise of mayhem and violence.”

I gave her an actual laugh at that. “Now you’ve got my number. You move in on bomb two. I’ll take number three and I’m pretty sure I can get another team on the first. I’ll call you back if negotiations fail on that front.” Then I hung up on her. Purely out of a need to move quickly and not as some petty power play, of course.

Two quarters got me another call and this was picked up after three rings, indicating someone more interested in practicality than dominance games. “Marcone,” I said.

“Ms. Gard, actually,” the voice on the other end told me.

I shrugged. “If you’re answering the phone your boss can’t be that far off. Ask him if he’s interested in hitting the people who’ve been taking his turf.” I paused and let silence hang on the opposite end of the phone line. “Oh, and saving thousands of lives.”

“Mr. Dresden.” It was Marcone with an edge in his voice that wasn’t usually present. “Didn’t we have a conversation about your activities and my interests?”

“Yeah, but it’s a bit hard to keep my nose out when the Red Court is planning to nerve gas the whole city like they did that place in the Congo.” I filled him in on the details, giving him the same rundown I’d just shared with Lara. “I can hit one of the remaining bombs and I gave Lara Raith the address for another. Do you think you could gather a posse fast enough to hit the third location before they can set the bomb off?”

He paused. “You’re confident that your captive is telling the truth.” What he didn’t say was ‘how are you sure he isn’t duping you?’ but I took his meaning.

“One of the girls you didn’t meet, well…” I affected a terrible German accent. “She has vays of making zem talk.” I dropped the accent. “But yeah, I’m confident. Now are you in or not? I can get SI to take the last bomb, but I’d rather not throw pure mortals into a ghoul nest. Or Lara can split her forces, even if that risks one of the bombs getting set off. Either way, this needs to get done now before they realize one of their locations is already down.”

Marcone fell silent for a moment more, gears turning in his calculating mind. I glanced over at the van where everyone waited, tense and anxious to keep moving. I fought the urge to drum my fingers on the edge of the payphone as I waited for Marcone to decide. No sense taking the chance that I’d short out the damn thing.

I didn’t want any strike team stretched too thin or for multiple groups to converge and clash - God knows what the situation would look like if SI and the White Court tried working together - but if Marcone wasn’t willing to play ball I needed to go to the bench and there weren’t a lot of people who would A) believe me, B) have the power to make a difference, and C) could be mobilized in time.

“Fine. Give me the address and I’ll see to clearing out their stronghold. Do the bombers hold the gas on deadman switches or anything like that?”

“Not at my location, but be quick and sneaky anyway. We took them by surprise and I have no idea how long it would take to detonate those things manually.” I told him the address. In his usual precise way he repeated it back to ensure he’d heard right. That done, I hung up and hauled ass to the van.

“Floor it!” I told Will. He pulled off at a good pace, but stayed reasonably close to the speed limit. Which was probably for the best given that we’d have a hard time explaining the situation to any cop that tried to pull us over.

The location we were going to hit was the closest to our current location, but Chicago is huge and traffic isn’t exactly what I would call ‘quick’. I had enough time for a quick mental rundown of my gear: two of my force rings were still charged up, but the other three didn’t have enough juice for anything more than a love tap. My blasting rod and staff were with me as always and my .44 had been reloaded and tucked into the holster on my waist. On the other side of my belt hung an Escape potion and a ‘Flight’ potion. Next to them was a ‘potion’ that was a bit of an experiment. But it should work out just fine, y’know, in theory. I hadn’t needed any of those in the factory, but if Miss Dense or a huge pack of ghouls showed up they could be worth their weight in gold.

That done, I stared out the window as we sped out of the Industrial sector, tensely looking for any clue that the gas had been released. There weren't going to be any obvious signs like a huge green cloud, but I figured so long as there were birds in the air or sitting on telephone wires, it hadn’t detonated just yet.

Twilight seemed just as bothered, and probably for the same reason. “I wish we had something to deal with this gas in case we don’t get there in time. There are spells designed to purify air for use in mines, but I’ve never studied those.”

“Not to mention that the amount of air in a mine and an entire city differ by several magnitudes,” Rarity added, nervously fiddling with her compact.

Rainbow Dash slammed her fist into her hand. “Hey! What if I got my wings back and made a tornado that blew it all out to sea? Er, out to lake?”

Georgia shook her head. “I’m afraid all that would do is spread it around the city further unless we were right on top of the source. And if that’s the case I’d hope Harry or Twilight have spells that can deal with it.” She sighed. “Maybe it’s selfish to want gas masks, since there’s no way we could supply the whole city, but I still wish we had some.”

“Would something like this work?”

Something that looked suspiciously like a gas mask with an extended muzzle and two ear holes well above and behind the eye lenses dangled from Pinkie’s hand. Everyone took a moment to stare until Georgia reminded her husband to keep his eyes on the road.

“Where the hell did you get that from? I thought you guys were supposed to be peaceful.” Will asked, clearly fighting the urge to look back at her.

“I can’t rightly tell you where she got it from, but that’s a pest control pony’s mask. They gotta use all sorts’a sprays and gasses to control them critters. Why did ya bring one of them along, Pinkie?” Applejack asked.

“One?” Pinkie scoffed, standing up and opening a trenchcoat that she hadn’t been wearing ten seconds ago. “Puh-lease, I’ve got plenty of these babies.” True to her word, the inside of the coat was lined with over a dozen similar masks. “So,” she asked in a strange sort of voice, “what’re you buying?”

Everyone fell silent and stared.

Spike slammed his fist on the arm rest and pulled a small gem out of his pocket with the other hand. “I’ll take your entire stock!”

Everyone then took another moment to stare at Spike until Georgia reminded Will again that he needed to keep his eyes on the road.

Pinkie chuckled sinisterly and quickly palmed the gem. “Pleasure doing business wit ya.” She dropped all the gas masks to the floor and the trenchcoat disappeared as quickly as it appeared. She was once more the picture of innocence and picked up one of the masks to examine as if she’d never seen it before.

I was doubtful, but tried on one myself. Whether it was due to the flexibility of the rubber or some inexplicable pony magic, it fit my head just fine. The extended muzzle gave my face extra room to breathe and the overlarge eye-lenses gave me a surprising amount of peripheral vision. The ear holes felt weird, but the straps pulled the mask tight enough to my face that it still felt like I had a good seal.

Would this work against whatever nerve gas the Red Court were using if push came to shove? Probably not, if I was really being honest with myself. But seeing Pinkie’s earnest expression as I considered the mask still brightened my outlook. They were in over their heads, but every one of the girls were still doing the best they could.

“Thanks, Pinkie,” I told her, and her smile blossomed in reply.

The rest of the masks got passed out, except for Will and Georgia. The weird masks might have been flexible enough to fit both humans and ponies, but a wolf’s muzzle was a bit much. Not to mention how it would block off their sense of smell and ability to bite. We were all playing Russian Roulette to some extent but you have to give the werecouple some credit for being willing to dive in even without that small chance of protection.

“We’re just two blocks away, guys!” Will called out just as everyone finished putting on their masks. The second location was an old slaughterhouse in one of the poorer sections of town. It hadn’t been used in decades, but the area wasn’t worth enough to develop so it hadn’t ever been demolished, just left to decay. Fortunately, unlike the old factory, there wasn’t any fence surrounding the building – just boarded up windows, chained up doors, and messy graffiti everywhere.

I pulled the mask on and tightened it, holding the handle of the van’s sliding door in a death grip. Will pulled up next to the door nearest the street and as soon as the van had stopped, before the engine had even died, I opened the door and we all spilled out.

“Applejack, break the chains!” Twilight called.

“On it!” she called, easily dashing past me despite the fact I was the first out of the van. She took one look at the rusty - but huge - padlock securing the chain and gave it a yank and twist that ripped that section of chain clear off. The rest of the chain glowed purple and unspooled itself from the door in less than a second.

I didn’t even have to break my stride as I charged forward. “Little vamp, little vamp, let me come in! Forzare!” I bellowed, slamming a blunt lance of force into the center of the door. With an agonizing screech of bending metal the door buckled and gave, collapsing inward as the hinges gave out.

I was in first, but Rainbow followed closely on my heels and quickly dashed out ahead of me. We had broken into the killing floor and one or two rusty hooks swung softly from the impact I’d dealt to the building, but there was nobody to react to our sudden invasion. A pair of wolves streaked past me, then the rest of the girls funneled into the room and I was abruptly glad that the masks were probably cutting off their sense of smell.

“Stay in teams, but sweep quickly! We need to find the bomb before they have a chance to react!”

“Roger dodger!” Pinkie called out.

“And no magic until we get rid of it!” I continued. Twilight’s and Rarity’s expressions couldn’t be read beneath their masks, but their eyes at least looked serious as they nodded in response.

It’s probably stating the obvious, but slaughterhouses are creepy.

Mammals, as a whole, are social animals whether they come in herds, packs, or pairs. And we’re intelligent enough to note that the presence of other dead mammals is usually a sign of danger. Even the best janitors in the world couldn’t have wiped the sense of death from that place, and to the lizard brain, ten thousand dead mammals are ten thousand dead mammals whether they’re cows or people.

Add in the ominous machinery, half-functional lights, and oppressive silence, and it’s kind of surprising that more horror movies aren’t set in these kinds of places.

It might not have been as bad if there had been a ghoul or two to fight once we had broken into the building, but there was nothing. We swept room after room, careful to move fast, but also stay together, but there was nothing.

Well… nothing except some stains that looked suspiciously fresher than the rest of the building, but I tried not to think about those lest my lizard brain take full control and convince me to run. It was the northern end of the building where we finally got our first clue.

Will and Georgia, still in wolf form, flinched in concert. Then Georgia let out a small whimper.

That did not exactly build confidence, but when I looked at them they motioned towards the long hallway ahead and nodded. The hallway was actually the chute where cows came through before they met the business end of the slaughterhouse. It was dark, but I fought down the urge to light my staff or pentacle. If anything was close enough to fight, our wolves would’ve smelled or heard it and if something was far away, my light would make us an easy target in the chute’s narrow confines.

That isn’t to say my lizard brain didn’t get an extra vote or two to swing towards the ‘run away’ camp as we entered the darkness. Especially not when I heard the faint sound of crunching. I couldn’t place exactly what was causing it, but somehow it didn’t sound like another piece of machinery. There was an unpleasant and somehow organic sound to the noise.

I assume that was what caused the flinching between Will and Georgia, and while it was too dark to see the expressions on the faces of the girls their breathing was a little more labored than just the masks could explain.

There was, thankfully, a light at the end of the tunnel after a small curve. Sure the crunching was getting ever louder but it hadn’t done anything to us yet and at least we wouldn’t have to confront it in the dark. I put a hand on Rainbow’s shoulder so she’d stop and gave my troops one last hushed peptalk.

“Okay, boys and girls. When I count to three, we’re rushing down this chute and dealing with whatever’s on the other end. Hopefully all the bad guys have gone to lunch and it’s just an automated nutcracker.” That got me one or two panic-stricken giggles. “But on the off chance there’s something horrible up ahead, be careful. No magic until we’re sure the bomb isn’t there.”

In the darkness I couldn’t see them nod, but I heard the masks creak and flex as their heads moved up and down.

“Then let’s go,” I whispered, and we went.

The room beyond the chute was huge. Based on the train tracks that ran through the far end, this was where the cattle were initially off-loaded and held before being driven down the chute. The fact that there was room enough for a herd or two of cows between the opening of the chute and the train tracks was part of what made that assumption feel correct.

It was mostly empty except for a couple of things that stood out immediately. On the left was Miss Dense, lounging on a bed of dirty straw while chewing on an… arm that probably used to belong to a ghoul. I didn’t just assume that because of the wiry hair and long knobby bones, but also because of the small pile of dead ghouls next to her. On the right was another nerve gas bomb and several massive wooden crates that its components probably came from.

Miss Dense blinked lazily at our arrival and then the most unsettling smile crossed her face. “I was wondering just how to track you down,” she said, her voice reverberating with power in a way it definitely hadn’t back at Navy Pier. “And lo, Fate itself has delivered you unto me.”

She rose, but not in the sense that she stood, or even kipped up in a sort of martial arts move. One second she was lounging around like Mister after a particularly satisfying belly rub and then she was fully vertical and ready to fight. There was no intervening moment between the two, or at least none that my eyes could catch.

“Applejack! You’re on bomb squad with me! Everyone else, hold off Miss Dense. She hits like a freight train so don’t get in close no matter what you do!” I put paid to my word by dashing towards the bomb. It was hard to resist the fighting the god-awful monster, but not only could the bomb clear out a fourth of Chicago and kill everyone in the room, but it was also preventing us mages from using magic against Miss Dense lest we accidentally set it off. Give her credit for tactical thinking, because AJ came to the same conclusion and wasn’t more than a step behind me. Or she was just good at following orders, which was almost the same thing in this situation.

The circle I drew wouldn’t have earned me a passing mark under any White Council mentor, but I was free-handing with chalk while an inhuman beast nearly backhanded one of my few friends into next Tuesday. Will escaped with his head intact while Miss Dense lost a sprinkle of blood from a shallow bite, but it was a near-miss thing and couldn’t help but distract me.

Still, the circle was together and I was inside. “Aparturum!” I cried.

A vertical line split the air even as Rainbow got thrown across the room out of the corner of my eye. I didn’t even get a chance to yell ‘now’ before Applejack had sent the bomb soaring through the portal. If anything she was a bit too vigorous as I watched the bomb smash into a strange crystalline plant with thick, black fronds. There was the screech of twisting metal as the frame bent and crumpled around the otherworldly tree, quickly followed by the heart-stopping sound of hissing gas.

“Instaurabos, instaurabos, instaurabos!” I chanted, feverishly attempting to shut the dimensional rift faster than I ever had before. The open way to the Nevernever snapped shut and either the gas hadn’t made its way back through the rift quickly enough to kill us or Pinkie’s ad-hoc masks were actually doing their jobs. I wasn’t sure which was true, but I wasn’t in any hurry to take off my mask and put the second possibility to the test. Will and Georgia still seemed fine, but they were across the room so it would be wise to keep an eye on them just in case.

Our wolves were harrying Miss Dense from either side, careful to keep their distance and retreat at the first sign of her attention, but never straying too far from being a threat. Miss Dense evidently didn’t appreciate that as she feigned an opening that almost drew Georgia into a devastating counter-attack. But Pinkie parried her claws with a frying pan of all things, and four gouges got cut into cast iron instead of Georgia’s side.

“The bomb’s gone and magic’s back on the table!” I bellowed to the group as Applejack charged past me. “Oh, and Forzare!” I concentrated my lance of force down into the smallest, most compact form I could and sent it roaring towards Miss Dense. This wasn’t a public show like back on Navy Pier and I was more than happy to show her what a wizard could really do.

My spell caught her in the gut with the force of a car roaring down the highway, only it was compacted into the size of a man’s fist. I had tenth of a second to see her frenzied eyes, alight with fury and hunger before it bent her double and lifted her a couple inches off the ground. Which was the perfect position for Applejack to barrel into her with an open field tackle that would’ve earned her a yellow flag from any ref with a working pair of eyes. She used the momentum from my spell and slammed Miss Dense into the wall of the building, cracking some of the cinder blocks with the impact. Ribbons of purple light, thicker and less translucent than I remembered, flowed from Twilight’s hands and lashed Miss Dense to the damaged wall where she had just impacted.

Rainbow wasted no time, following just behind the spell. A flurry of blows landed on Miss Dense, a straight to her nose, an uppercut to her chin, an elbow in her solar plexus, a jab to her throat, a clap to both ears, a hook to each kidney. She struggled and fought, but Twilight’s bonds made her into little more than a sandbag for the moment and it was more than a little frightening to see how quickly Rainbow had learned the weak points of the human body after only two days of sparring with Murphy.

But Rainbow was as human… er, as mortal as anyone, and eventually the barrage of blows stopped. Miss Dense hung limply in the bonds of Twilight’s spell and for a very stupid moment I thought we’d done it. Then came a strange sound. One I couldn’t readily identify until I realized it was Miss Dense taking a deep breath in through her nose.

Her head snapped upright without a bruise to show from all the abuse she’d been taking. “So it was you,” she said with a grin. She reached out to touch Rainbow before her arm was stopped short by Twilight’s spell. A look of annoyance crossed her face like someone who gets their clothes caught on something.

“Enough of this farce,” she muttered, and everything went to hell.

Within a second she went from a rail-thin woman with stringy red hair to a sixty-foot serpent as thick around as my waist with dingy red scales and three sets of eyes. On the plus side, there were six eyes rather than four and they all matched, which meant she wasn’t a Denarian. On the minus side, the stubby legs and massive bat-like wings meant that she wasn’t just a huge evil snake.

She was probably a Dragon, with a capital ‘D’.

I only knew one man who’d slain a Dragon before and he had required literal Divine assistance, so all of a sudden our chances didn’t look that hot. At least this explained all the mass she was packing into her tiny human frame.

Give Rainbow credit, her first reaction was fight over flight. By the time I had realized what we were facing, she’d already landed another dozen blows on Miss Dense. Unfortunately, to borrow a term from our weekly Arcanos games, not one of them seemed to have got past Miss Dense’s Damage Reduction.

The Dragon stretched forward and Twilight’s bonds held for a moment, but then the cinder blocks that anchored them tore out of the wall, letting the ribbons of purple light to flop uselessly to the floor.

“No fair! I smell some major bullhonky!” Pinkie yelled. “You summoned Slifer without a duel disk or even a deck!” The Dragon ignored her as a claw big enough to palm Rainbow’s head like a baseball swiped through the space where said head had just been half-a-second ago.

“Cease this resistance and I might just let you and your friends live,” growled the same ancient, chain-smoking voice Miss Dense had used previously. It suited her current form a lot better than her previous one. She took a few more swipes and then tried to catch Rainbow in her coils, but our girl managed to stay one skip and a jump ahead of her.

A ray of blinding purple light struck Miss Dense straight in all six of her eyes, but she shook her head and soldiered on, giving Twilight’s spell little more notice than an irritating spray of water. My go-to offensive spells tend to be Wind, Fire, and Force. Wind wasn’t going to be picking up something as heavy as Miss Dense and using fire against a Dragon sounded like blasting a lake with a fire hose, so that just left force.

“Forzare!” I bellowed, slamming a wide plane of force into her midsection just where it rose off the floor. The spell bled around her, doing less than it should have but still rattling her cage for a moment. Unless I missed my guess, she was resistant to magic. Not immune, or she’d have ignored our spells entirely, but it still wasn’t a situation you wanted to be in as a wizard. Supposedly the upper echelons of Dragons are powerful enough that reality itself sorta warps around their real forms like the gods of ancient pantheons. Miss Dense seemed a little too worn and decrepit to do that, but if the change from yesterday’s fight to today was any indication then she was recovering those powers quickly.

Applejack barreled forward, moving only slightly slower than our spells. This time instead of a tackle she went all out with a wild haymaker of a punch. It was big and predictable, easy to dodge even at the speed she was moving, if not for the way Miss Dense seemed entirely focused on catching Rainbow. Her fist slammed into the Dragon’s scales and there was a distinct ‘crack’ that echoed throughout the building.

That got Miss Dense’s attention as part of her lower coils went skidding across the room with the shattered remains of a scale littering the floor. All six of her eyes narrowed and I got the terrible impression she hadn’t been taking us seriously until just then.

The coils Applejack had knocked away circled back, swiftly surrounding her. She got a couple more good punches, but no more broken scales, before they tightened. Soon it was all she could do to hold her arms akimbo and prevent Miss Dense from crushing her to death.

Georgia and Will were attempting to bite through her scales and the only thing they accomplished was to dull their teeth until she swept them aside with an errant slap of her tail. Rainbow landed light blows whenever she had the opportunity but they didn’t seem to faze Miss Dense at all. Pinkie had somehow clambered on top of the Dragon’s head, but it wasn’t clear just what she was trying to do. Any effort to pull Miss Dense’s head one way or the other failed and when she started to stamp her foot in rage Miss Dense easily shook her off, sending Pinkie flying across the room. Fluttershy managed to catch her, but the two of them went down in a heap.

Twilight vanished in a flash of light to reappear next to AJ and flash both of them out, letting the Dragon’s coils close on empty air. They reappeared on the far side of the room and stood stiltedly in place as Twilight charged up another blast of magic. Miss Dense didn’t let the opportunity go by and spat out a sphere of fire bigger than a beach ball. They tried to dodge, but it moved too fast and exploded into a red-gold blaze that left nothing but scorched concrete behind.

Which I’m sure made Applejack’s next punch a real surprise to Miss Dense. Twilight had actually teleported them to the opposite side, but Rarity’s illusions were pretty convincing, especially at a distance. Miss Dense growled in annoyance and Twilight had to blink herself and Applejack away again as a jaw that could - and did - tear through concrete excavated the section of floor where they’d both been standing.

And me? Well, resistant to magic doesn’t mean resistant to things moved by magic. Earth is not one of my stronger elements and in most circumstances a spell that required two minutes to complete was not viable for combat. But when you’ve got plenty of friends to distract the big bad? The strain of the spell was immense as I drew more and more of the Earth’s power into myself. I just barely managed to hold the titanic exchange of energies the spell required until it was finally ready.

“Get clear everyone! Gravitus, gravitus, maximus gravitus!” I intoned. If my calculations were correct, gravity disappeared from roughly the entire city block for three seconds. And for those seconds, all of it was concentrated on an area about the size of your average living room, the space that contained Miss Dense’s head and most of her upper body. A hundred times the normal amount of gravity slammed the Dragon to the ground, even as her resistance made silver streaks of light play across her as she began to fight my spell. But then she wasn’t the only one affected. The ceiling was old and rusted in places, but it was still solid metal construction. But as strong as they were, those I-beams had never been intended to stand up to Jupiter’s gravity. A full ton of Chicago steel slammed down on her head and buried her beneath the rubble as I wheezed and struggled to stay upright.

“Is it over?” Fluttershy asked from behind me. She had dragged Pinkie into the shelter of the crates and Spike was helping her apply a bandage to the comically large bump on her friend’s head.

Twilight and Applejack flashed into existence at my side as Rainbow began to poke at the motionless debris and I drew in a ragged breath to tell them of course it wasn’t ov-

“Looks that way to me, sugarcube.”

A dull red arm shot out of the rubble and grabbed Rainbow around her torso, slamming her to the floor as Miss Dense exploded out of the rubble. She reared her head back and hellish light began to build in the back of her throat.

I could see the wheels spin in Twilight’s head as she considered teleporting me and AJ out, before realizing that would leave Pinkie, Fluttershy and Spike in the line of fire. And instead she began another spell. I swallowed my weariness and followed suit. Applejack fell back, trying to move the other three, but I knew she wouldn’t have enough time.

“Twilight, change me back!” Spike yelled, charging towards us. I was a little more distracted by the gigantic Dragon charging up its flame, but Twilight’s eyes darted to him and with a quick yank of her right hand, not even interrupting the working she was still building with her left, the magic fueling Spike’s human guise suddenly disappeared. Within an eyeblink he was running on his own stubby little legs, clothing falling off him. That’s when Miss Dense finally aimed her head at us and the attack she’d been brewing was unleashed.

Several things happened at once.

“Ventas Tornados!” I bellowed, gale-like winds whipping around us, blowing fiercely upwards. It was almost enough to lift a person from their feet and my duster billowed impressively out behind me.

Milliseconds behind me, Twilight’s working completed and a triple-layer dome barrier made of purple light appeared between us and Miss Dense, narrowly enclosing us two and Spike.

Third, Miss Dense let loose her attack. And holy shit, it was by far the most significant of the many actions occurring all at once. Instead of the fireball from earlier, she had focused all that and more into a narrow beam as thin as a pencil. It was so hot that the beam was pure brilliant white with no other color to mar the perfection of its incandescence. My winds blew away the thermal bloom of superheated air that accompanied it, but they couldn’t hope to counter the concentrated fire that made up the core of her attack. It drilled through the first layer of Twilight’s defense without pause, then shattered the second layer just as easily. The third layer held out for less than a second, falling too swiftly for Twilight or I to have any time to respond.

But it was long enough to let Spike jump in front of us.

The little dude had to have jumped at least his own height, arms crossed in front of himself in a defensive posture. The beam of dragonfire slammed home, but rather than cut through him, it drove him into Twilight and she in turn was driven into me.

The three-body pile-up was sent tumbling back into the people behind us and then into the crates behind them. In an action flick it would’ve been empty cardboard boxes. I’ve seen more than enough B-movies to know that factories are supposedly full of’em. Unfortunately reality was somewhat less than accommodating. These things - even when empty - had to weigh twenty or thirty pounds. One of them came down on my head and while I wouldn’t have any permanent brain damage (I hope) it was enough to ring my bells and make everything that happened in the next few moments swim in-and-out of my struggling consciousness.

I felt people moving around me also buried in the pile of crates, and there was something incredibly hot among them. My view started to clear as crates got tossed this way and that by a blonde girl whose name was just on the tip of my tongue. Rarity and a pair of wolves appeared out of thin air on the other side of the room. I staggered to my feet and had to throw up as my stomach lurched with nausea. Everyone was shouting but it was just random noise to me as I struggled to get my head together.

It felt like forever, but it was only a few seconds later than my mind started to clear. “What happened?” I asked drunkenly.

“The dragon left,” Rarity said, her voice tight and drawn as if she was trying not to cry. “It left and it took Dash with it.”

………

It was a beautiful sunny day in Equestria and Celestia was enjoying the calm afternoon. The Morning Court had gone well and now she had nothing more than a bit of paperwork that needed her attention. Despite the pleasant day, there was a bittersweet tinge to her enjoyment of it.

The afternoon was calm, but it was the calm that came before the storm. She had felt the pulses of magic in the North growing greater and greater; soon the demesne that sealed the Crystal Empire away would fall and Sombra, although mortally wounded, had no doubt survived in one form or another giving his necromantic experiments. The Changelings likewise had been driven off, but not decisively beaten and Chrysalis still plotted in the Badlands stronghold for another chance to strike. Celestia’s spies had also informed her that Dragon Lord Torch was rumored to be stepping down and a new despot called the Storm Tyrant was building his strength in the Southern countries.

She had some hopes that Twilight had the potential to ascend, becoming an alicorn, and that Discord might be made into an ally rather than a foe. But neither was a sure thing, and what worried her most of all was that soon her ponies would have to face these threats without either sister to guide them. The Outsiders knew they lived in this world now and would seek to worm their way in all the more fervently because of it. Celestia and Luna needed to leave before Equestria became another battlefield in the war between Reality and the Outside.

The sound of distant running, flying, and shouting distracted her from her morose thoughts. Something was happening in the hall outside and whatever-it-was was drawing ever closer.

“Grab him! Do you have a horn or not?”

“He’s too slippery! I can’t get a grip!”

“He’s headed for the Princess’s study!”

And beneath was an intense frenzied muttering. “Why now? Why now? Why now? Why now when it’s almost too late?!”

With a gold glow she opened the door, telekinetic field and multiple spells at the ready. Even if she hadn’t been able to beat Chrysalis in a contest of power without exhausting herself further, Celestia was confident that she could handle whoever her guards were chasing. An elderly pegasus flew into view, taking the corner at full speed in the same moment the door opened, as if he had already known her decision. His unkempt coat was the faded red of old bricks and he appeared a bit short and scrawny for a stallion, without any sign of armor or weapon upon him. Despite his harmless appearance, Celestia took no chance and fired a spell of paralysis at him. He moved to dodge even as the stunning bolt of magic left her horn, twisting out of the way just in time.

But no amount of twisting would let him escape the netlike barrier that appeared between them and caught him, neatly as plump fish. He hung in the air, still babbling. “The infinite serpent, the oldest Dragon! It will come for us! Devour the world! Too late, too late, too late, my nightmares have finally been given shape and form too late!”

Her guards, a trio made up of pony from each race, rounded the corner only a moment afterwards. “Your Highness!” cried the pegasus colt. “Are you safe?”

Celestia fought the urge to snicker. They had every reason to be worried after the last few tumultuous years, but she was hardly delicate as spun sugar. “Calm yourself, Private Ice Mane. I’ve caught the miscreant, but he seems to be little more than a poor madpony.”

“Begging your pardon, Princess,” replied the unicorn as he glared crossly at the muttering stallion in Celestia’s net. “But I can’t imagine that to be the case. He flew right in through a blind spot in the guard’s patrols as if he already knew their routes and made a beeline for your office. Where he clearly knew you would be.”

Private Sun Down had a point, especially considering the way the old pegasus had dodged her opening shot with almost unnatural timing. “Very well then, take him to the interrogation chamber and sweep him for harmful magics. And follow the new Changeling protocols.”

“Ma’am, yes, ma’am,” barked Sgt. Wild Goose, his mustache quivering with anger as he eyed their prisoner. He nodded to Sun Down who took the glowing strands of Celestia’s trap in his aura and they began to haul him away.

“Princess,” the old stallion said, his voice shockingly calm and stable after his earlier rambling. Celestia glanced at him and belatedly realized that the eyes fixed on her were false ones made of glass. But the stallion followed her movements as if they weren’t. “Where is your student, Princess? Where is Twilight?”

“Silence, criminal! You have no right to address her Highness!” Sgt. Goose shouted. The old pegasus paid him no attention and continued to stare at Celestia silently until they carried him off and closed the door behind them.

That had been a… bizarre little episode. Especially his question at the end. Of course, she knew where Twilight was. She was off on vacation with her friends in…

Celestia realized she couldn’t recall the city Spike had said they would be visiting. Worry began to gnaw at her, a faint reflection of the madpony’s own, but she brushed it away. No sense fretting, she was certain they were fine, but just in case it wouldn’t take more than a second to dash off a quick letter and discreetly ask Spike to refresh her memory.

A few moments later, she blotted the page and then rolled the scroll, feeling silly that she was letting this get to her, but it would do no harm and so she cast the familiar spell and waited for the scroll to burn away. But after a flash of green fire the scroll reappeared and fell to the floor. Which meant that the spell had failed.

Celestia tried again, focusing her full attention on Spike and her spell of simulated dragonfire. And again the scroll reappeared, the spell still failing. Which could only mean one of two things: either Spike was somehow blocked from her magic, or…

He wasn’t in Equestria.

“Where is your student, Princess?”

Chapter Thirteen

Edited by: SilentCarto
Proofreader: Coandco

Disclaimer: I don’t own The Dresden Files or My Little Pony, that is Jim Butcher and Hasbro respectively. This story takes place between books Eight and Nine in the Dresden Files.

It was all her fault.

Twilight felt the weight of each one of those words as they dropped from the fore of her mind to the pit of her stomach. There was a part of her, her more logical side, that argued against such a thought. That part had facts and figures to argue its case, and although they were tentative facts and ad hoc figures, it promised that on deeper analysis they would prove to be correct. There was certainly a share of fault that could be assigned to her, but it was both ridiculously inaccurate and totally egotistical to believe–

It was all her fault.

–the entire outcome of this battle had rested on her shoulders.

But those tentative facts didn’t change a number of disturbing truths. Dash was gone, captured by the dragon and taken away to Harmony-knew where. Dresden had ripped off his mask and was vomiting profusely in the corner, showing all the signs of a concussion. But worst of all was Spike. She knew–

It was all her fault.

–his injuries weren’t likely to be fatal. As awful as the necrotic-black, crumbling scales looked, they weren’t life threatening. Even the still-glowing portions that prevented Fluttershy from applying burn salve were rapidly cooling and he was unlikely to be infected once the dead tissue was debrided. He would most likely heal. Even at worst he would only lose his left arm and–

It was all her fault.

–the burns on his chest and right arm would leave scars.

Spike’s eyes fluttered as he attempted to open them and Twilight’s heart fluttered in time with them. At first the only way they’d been sure he was alive was from the continuous rise and fall of his chest.

“Twilight?” his voice sounded smokey which didn’t make much sense given he hadn’t been the one breathing fi–

Focus!

“Yes! Spike, do-do you need anything?” Twilight felt words tumbling from her mouth, not even certain what she was saying.

He frowned, then winced, “No. Is everypony okay? Did I make it in time?”

He needed an answer, but Twilight felt tongue-tied since that was the last thing she’d expected him to ask.

“You did a great job,” Fluttershy told him gently. “You saved everypony from that fire ray.” She stroked the crest atop his head and he smiled tiredly.

“That’s good. Tell Mister Dresden that we’re square now. I’m… I’m going to sleep for a little bit. I’ll feel better after a nap.” His eyes shut again and his breathing became slow and regular.

Twilight stood and watched him sleep until–

“TWILIGHT!”

–she belatedly realized someone was calling her name, and had been for a while.

“Yes, sorry. What did you say, Applejack?”

Her friend wore a frustrated grimace, but it quickly softened. “I was sayin’ we need to get together and figure out where that snake took Dash. We gotta get her back pronto, and that means tracking this critter down to whatever she calls a lair.” Applejack pulled Twilight away from where Fluttershy was doing her best to care for Spike and led her to the rest of the group, standing in a loose circle. Dresden was still rubbing his temples, but otherwise he seemed healthy enough. Rarity stood with little of her usual poise, constantly looking over her shoulder to check on Spike. Pinkie was as serious as Twilight had ever seen her, barring the time she’d been warped by Discord. Will and Georgia had transformed back into humans, wearing the loose clothing they had stashed in the van.

Dresden sighed and winced. “Okay, we need to brainstorm and make it quick. My head is spinning like we went a couple rounds with an elder Dragon. So let’s hear what happened after the Dragon blasted us through those crates.” He turned to Rarity and so did everypony else.

“There’s isn’t much to say. She grabbed Dash, blasted everyone with her attack, and took to the sky through the hole in the ceiling. Then she faded into obscurity with a ripple of magic.”

“Dash still in her claws?” Applejack asked.

Rarity and Georgia nodded.

“But why?” Will asked, scowling. “The dragon left all those dead ghouls behind, so it’s not like she’s hungry.” A chill went through Twilight like someone had walked over her grave. The very thought that–

It was all her fault

–the dragon might eat Dash was nightmarish. But the pile of half-eaten bodies showed that in terms of depravity, she was far beyond the villains Twilight was familiar with.

“Yeah, she seemed weirdly fixated on Dash,” Dresden said, sounding like his head hurt from more than just the concussion. “Even back at the fight on Navy Pier, Miss Dense took her time sniffing Rainbow instead of biting her.”

Everyone frowned at that, trying to make sense of what sounded nonsensical, but was evidently true given the dragon’s obsession with catching Dash in the most recent battle.

Pinkie seemed to be the only one unconcerned with the question. “Maybe she just likes the smells of ponies, huh? It’s not like she got a chance to smell anypony else.”

“Pinkie!” Applejack said, glaring at her friend. “This ain’t no time to be joking.”

“No, she’s right,” Dresden said slowly, realization dawning. “Rainbow is the only pony she got a chance to sniff. And from her expression, Miss Dense recognized the scent.”

“And the first thing the dragon said when she saw us was that she was planning how to track you all down,” Georgia added.

“But what does all that add up to?” Applejack asked.

“Don’tcha get it, Applejack?” Pinkie gasped. “The dragon lady knows what ponies smell like, which means she must know we’re from Equestria! And she wanted to find us to force somepony to show her the way back! But Dashie would never talk.”

Dresden rubbed his chin, “No, she wouldn’t talk if it was just her life on the line, but if that monster threatens somebody else, she’ll crack. But that works in our favor. The only path Rainbow knows between here and Equestria is through the Nevernever desert. Which is the perfect place to ambush Miss Dense without having to worry about collateral damage.”

“Dash may even come to the same conclusion herself,” Rarity replied, a fire sparking to life in her eyes. “After all, even if the dragon is a swift flier, it will take hours to reach that cave, while we can arrive there by teleport.”

“Right, we’ll regroup and hit her again in the desert. We can’t let her get past us,” Dresden said, his face grim. “Your world might be home to dragons, but I’m willing to bet that none of them are on the level of that thing.”

“Darn tootin’,” Applejack agreed. “Even the one Fluttershy sent packin’ weren’t nothing compared to that beast.”

“Okay, Will and Georgia,” Dresden barked, all energy and action now that he had a plan. “Get a safe distance from the mages, pop the batteries back in your cellphones, and give Marcone and Lara a call. They should be finished with their bombs by now. Let them know that we’re done with ours and tell Lara to send Thomas to St. Mary of the Angels. Applejack, secure the van. Rarity, help Fluttershy prep Spike to move. We’ll drop him off at the church while we pick up Thomas. Father Forthill can watch him. Unless God’s a bigger dick than I usually take him for, Michael will be there too. After that it’s just a matter of dropping by my place for some supplies and Twilight can teleport us to the cave. Then, we’ll set the ambush.”

Twilight started at the sound of her name.

Right. Teleport.

She could do that, couldn’t she?

It wasn’t like she’d already screwed it up the first time she’d done that after arriving on Earth. It wasn’t like everything that had happened since they arrived was–

All her fault.

Twilight’s hands shook, so she tucked them beneath her arms. But still they trembled even there.

A minute or so later, she belatedly realized that Dresden was beside her and Pinkie was with him.

Instead of her usual manic energy, Pinkie wore a soft, gentle smile. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. We’re going to be okay, Twilight. Spike and Dashie are going to be okay.”

“You don’t know that,” Twilight retorted softly.

Dresden sighed. “Pinkie, do you think you could check up on Applejack?”

“Oh, I absolutely could,” Pinkie said, as she stood for several seconds without any movement to leave.

Eventually Dresden caved. “Would you go check on Applejack? I want to talk to Twilight for a moment.”

Pinkie frowned, but then shrugged. “Alright, but don’t blame me if she doesn’t cheer up without her good ol’ pal Pinkie Pie.”

It was almost enough to make Twilight giggle. Which was no doubt, Pinkie’s intention, but it was hard to laugh when–

It was all her fault.

–everything was so deadly serious.

But eventually Pinkie left and it was just the two of them in that big empty room. A room that felt all the emptier, because Fluttershy and Rarity had already left with Spike. She had watched him go knowing that–

“It’s not your fault.”

Her chin shot up and her eyes met Dresden’s. There was no fear of his ‘Soul Gaze’; that ship had already sailed. She stared at him slowly growing angry as he stared calmly back.

“It is my fault,” she told him as bits and pieces of her hair sprang out of place.

“Twilight, none of us knew what we were up against. Nobody expected Miss Dense to be a literal freaking Dragon.”

“I was the one who let Spike tag along even though he’s just a kid.” She met him stare for stare.

Dresden grunted and scowled. “Then in that case, it’s my fault for letting all of you come with me. I knew how dangerous it would be and I still let all of you, including Spike, come with us.”

Her hair grew all the more frazzled as Twilight’s glare intensified. He couldn’t just brush this aside as if she wasn’t responsible. She wouldn’t let him take the blame for it in some misguided attempt to make her feel better and it was making her angry to think that he’d even try. “I was the one that demanded that we help with your investigation!”

Without a pause he shouted back. “And I was the one that accepted the case!”

“All of us being here is my fault in the first place!” Twilight screamed at him, hair fully frizzed. “I made the plans, I convinced everypony that this would be a great vacation, I brought us here, and all for what? Because of my stupid one-sided school-filly crush on you!”

Dresden fell quiet and in the silence Twilight realized what she’d just said. She could feel blood rushing to her face, heating her cheeks and no doubt turning them an embarrassing shade of red. Suddenly she couldn’t even look Dresden in the face, much less lock gazes with him. “I-I mean it is stupid, right? There are a hundred reasons it wouldn’t work. We’re different species. We live in different worlds. It isn’t fair to ask either of us to give up everything just to be with the other person. And ‘long-distance relationship’ doesn’t begin to cover what a travesty inter-dimensional dating would be.”

She was rambling, and she knew she was rambling, but there wasn’t a thing she could do to stop it, because she had just awkwardly blurted out her feelings at the worst possible time in the worst possible way and there wasn’t a chance that he would–

Dresden’s hand slid under her chin and turned her head back to face his.

Oh dear Harmony, was he going to kiss her? She wasn’t prepared! She hadn’t done any of the 15 items on her pre-kiss checklist. She didn’t even have any breath mints with her!

Dresden brought her eyes back into contact with his, but instead of drawing close for a kiss he simply locked gazes with her. “It’s never stupid to care about somebody.” Twilight’s blush only grew, but she didn’t try to pull away. “You’re right that it wouldn’t work, for more reasons than you know, but take it from somebody who knows: Love isn’t stupid. Somebody in love can be stupid, but Love itself is pure magic. Even more than friendship.”

Twilight didn’t know if she’d go that far and the thought must have been evident from the look on her face given how he chuckled. Then Dresden leaned in and planted a kiss on her forehead. It was roughly where her horn would’ve been if she were still a unicorn, but as a human it didn’t feel much different than a kiss on the cheek.

“There. Maybe not what you wanted, but maybe it’s enough to let go of that guilt complex so we can go rescue our friend and save the day.”

He’d rejected her.

He had done it nicely, but she couldn’t see what he’d done as anything else.

Her rational mind had known it would happen. There were far too many perfectly logical reasons that a relationship between them would never work out. But there was somewhere distinctly illogical inside her heart that had wanted to give it a chance anyway. To forget what made sense and gamble on an uncertain future.

It hurt.

Not as much as she’d feared; her heart wasn’t shattered, like the melodramatic heroines of the romance novels she’d occasionally tried. It was a new and strange pain, but one she didn’t regret. Because looking into his eyes she could see a pang of regret for Dresden too. Maybe she was imagining it, but it was comforting to think that he had wanted this just as much, but had been too level-headed, or too burned by past experience, to take the risk that she did.

It hurt, but she couldn’t help but smile.

“Ahhhhhhhhhh!!”

Twilight and Dresden both turned slowly towards the doorframe where Pinkie Pie stood with her mouth hanging open. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! Is it official now? Twilight and Dresden are the new cross-dimensional power-couple!?”

“That’s not–” Dresden began, but a mischievous impulse in Twilight wouldn’t let him finish.

“Well, of course! You saw him kiss me and according to Equestrian Law that means we’re bound to be married now. But don’t tell anypony just yet. I want to make the announcement when we’re ready.”

“Ahhh! That means I get to plan a bachelor's and a bachelorette’s party!” Pinkie cheered, with no more understanding of ‘Equestrian law’ than one of the rocks on her family’s farm. “And a wedding party!”

She dashed off while Dresden was already sweating bullets as he slowly turned to face Twilight. “Wait, no, did I really just…”

Twilight let him stew for a moment more, “No, it’s traditionally a kiss on the lips to seal a wedding, but that’s after both parties already agreed to it. Even if it weren’t, I wouldn’t try to trap you with customs of which you weren’t aware.”

A look of relief settled over Dresden before he gave her a wan smile. “You’d be about the first woman that didn’t,” he said. It was strange seeing that smile and knowing that it would never truly be hers.

There was still a pang in her heart, but somehow Twilight felt better than she had before confessing to him. It wasn’t that the situation had grown any less serious. There was the issue that–

It was all her–

Shut up.

She had led her friends into something dangerous and one of them had been captured and the other injured. But she could lead them out of it too. It wasn’t like they hadn’t faced impossible odds before. Discord’s revival, Nightmare Trixie, the Changelings' attack, the Order Triune, even the first time they’d met had involved facing down Nightmare Moon herself.

“That’s more like it,” Dresden said, in an approving voice, with a daredevil’s smile on his face. He seemed to shine in situations like this. Becoming stronger and more determined just when everything seemed bleakest. It sent another fleeting pain through her heart, but he was right. It was better than the choking miasma of guilt she’d felt after seeing what had happened to Spike.

If she wanted to save her friends, she couldn’t be paralyzed by fear.

“I hope you’ve got lots of paper and a good pen, because I’ve got some serious calculations to make.”

He snorted and shook his head before waving her to follow.. “Not exactly the most badass one-liner, but it will have to do.”

………

The feeling of flying snapped Dash back to consciousness.

She immediately moved to flare her wings, catch the wind and gain some altitude. Her muscle memory assumed she’d passed out mid-flight from pulling too tight of a turn before she even had time for a conscious thought.

But her wings didn’t flare. Instead, foreign muscles flexed weakly against something as hard and unyielding as a mountain. Dash’s eyes shot open and everything came rushing back to her. The weird building, the fight, the dragon, the Dresden spell, the arm exploding out of the rubble and dashing her head against the hard concrete. Everything was a little jumbled and part of her head felt sticky, but nothing majorly wrong as far as she could tell. She tried to reach up to touch her head, but found that her arms wouldn’t move.

Dash was trapped in the claw of the dragon, held in an iron grip, as the dragon flew through the clouds.

She threw everything into a twisting motion with her whole body, trying to force her way out of the weak point in the grip where the talons met the top of the claw.

Nothing budged.

Turned out the claw had no weak point and all she did was wrench herself into an uncomfortable position. Never one to quit, Dash kept squirming and struggling to free herself. She hadn’t thought about what would come next since her human form couldn’t exactly fly, but Dash was certain she’d come up with something in time.

The claw suddenly tightened, driving the breath out of her.

“Cease your struggle, horse, or I will bite off one of your limbs.”

Dash froze in place. She hated doing what the bad guy wanted, but she’d seen more than enough evidence to know that this dragon wasn’t the kind to make an empty threat. Still she wanted to say something like ‘I’m a pony!’ or ‘Where are you taking me?’ but she had no air to breathe, much less to speak.

The dragon evidently didn’t notice or care and just continued talking. “Good. Now, I have a deal to make with you, horse. We are flying back to the Nevernever, to the desert that you and your companions passed through to reach this land. You will lead me through the spells and deceptions that protect your realm, and in exchange I will let you leave with your life. I will swear this by my Name and my Power. Will you accept?”

Dash let out a small squeak that sounded a bit like Fluttershy in one of her shyer moods. Fortunately the dragon realized what that meant and loosened her claw enough to let Dash breathe. After a few hasty gasps, Dash rasped out, “You’ve gotta be kidding me! No way am I gonna betray Equestria! No deal!”

The crushing grip returned again, but even tighter.

“I could kill you right now, you flitting little insect. Consider your next words more carefully.”

Dash only growled in response.

The dragon fell silent then her claw loosened once more. “Ah, mortal ‘courage’. The need to sacrifice oneself to ensure the survival of the group. Very well. I see a human town ahead. Accept my deal or I will raze it to the ground. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, will die. Refuse me again and I’ll find another town and do the same. Refuse me a third time and I will simply eat you and take one of your companions, offering them the same deal.”

A horrible sinking feeling filled Dash’s entire stomach.

She couldn’t let this thing into Equestria. The dragon was a monster more depraved and twisted than anything they’d fought before. But Dash couldn’t just let her kill innocent humans or hurt her friends. The dragon may have run from the battle after capturing her, but she had no doubt that those threats to return for her friends were deadly serious. She didn’t know what to do, every option was bad, and she couldn’t fight back, trapped in both the dragon’s claw and the wrong body.

The more she pored over the choice in her head, the more she realized she couldn’t fix this. She couldn’t beat this.

Not alone.

But then, she wasn’t alone was she?

“If I agree to your deal, what about my friends?”

“I shall do no further harm to you or your friends if you uphold your end of the bargain. I will not seek you out or hunt you down. Challenge me again and I will not hold back, but stay out of my way and you all may do as you wish.” The dragon practically purred in satisfaction, already thinking that Dash would cave.

“You aren’t afraid we’ll tell everypony about you?”

The dragon actually laughed at that in choking, raspy tones. “Even if anyone believes you, nothing in your world could contest me when last I visited. I doubt it has changed much in the intervening time. And given the spells of secrecy shrouding your trail, I doubt your mages would call upon the Fae Courts to deal with me. That would be like inviting a nest of vipers into your house to deal with a single rat.

The laughter died off and the dragon twisted her head to stare at Dash with three piercing eyes. “Now, what shall it be, horse? I’m nearly over the human town now. Will they die or will you accept my offer? Accept it, live to fight another day. Maybe you can rally your world against me, maybe you’ll find a way to win. Or you can choose to die fruitlessly.”

The stare intensified and the claw tightened ever so slightly.

“What shall it be?”

A sour taste built in Dash’s mouth. She wanted to throw up.

“I accept.”

“Then by my Name and Power I, Ouroboros, do swear to honor this pact. In exchange for truthful directions to your Realm I will release you unharmed and shall not seek out you or your companions. By my Name and Power I swear. Thrice by my Name and Power, I swear this.”

A strange sensation of alien power washed over Dash. There was magic in what the dragon had said and she could feel it. There was an ancient edge to the creature that she hadn’t felt even when fighting Nightmare Moon, a legend from a thousand years ago. There was something primal in this monster, something that belonged to a wild past before ponies built cities or moved in groups larger than a herd.

It scared her.

So she really couldn’t resist smack-talking her. “Ouroboros? More like Ouro-boring.”

The claw suddenly squeezed her like a vice, her bones creaking in protest as they were pushed to just short of their breaking point. Moment after agonizing moment passed until Ouroboros finally stopped.

For a minute Dash just breathed shallowly, adrenaline still rushing through her. Eventually she said “I thought you said ‘unharmed’.”

Ouroboros turned to stare at her again, twisting enough to let Dash see all six eyes narrowed in anger. “Our deal does not grant you immunity to punishment for any half-witted gibes. I would rather suffer the consequences of breaking my word than listen to mockery from a creature so far beneath me. Now, speak respectfully, or better yet, not at all.”

Dash returned the dragon’s glare with the same fierce intensity and did one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do.

She kept her mouth shut.

“Good,” Ouroboros said and returned her attention to their flight.

Dash remained silent. As hard as it was, she had to wait this out. She couldn’t beat Ouroboros alone, but it wouldn’t be long until she got her chance.

She just had to trust in her friends and wait.

Chapter Fourteen

Edited by: SilentCarto
Proofreader: Coandco

Disclaimer: I don’t own The Dresden Files or My Little Pony, that is Jim Butcher and Hasbro respectively. This story takes place between books Eight and Nine in the Dresden Files.

Thresholds typically need years if not decades to get going, but humanity has always been good at finding loopholes. And pretty early on we realized that the easiest way to drum up a powerful threshold fast was building a church or temple or whatever. The specific religion didn’t really matter all that much so long as you had a core group of people that truly, deeply believed in whatever the church preached. Of course, the bigger the group and the more devout their belief, the stronger the threshold, but even a small village with a new building could keep out minor supernatural predators. Not so much other humans, but that was a different problem.

Saint Mary of the Angels had served thousands of Catholic families for almost a hundred years in addition to being a brick monster of a building. It had a threshold that surpassed even the strongest home. Plus, given that a Knight of the Cross regularly worshiped here, I’d be shocked if there wasn’t at least one literal angel watching the grounds.

I wasn’t expecting Miss Dense to suddenly come back and attack us, but even so, it just made sense to regroup here before we set out. I wasn’t particularly religious – there was too much wrong with the world for me to believe that any ‘creator’ was particularly wise or merciful – but I’d take whatever allies I could get.

And if Lasciel was quiet whenever I visited a church, then that was just a bonus.

“My host?”

Usually quiet, at least.

I was pacing in the antechamber, waiting for Thomas to arrive. The ponies were in the backrooms of the church with Father Forthill and Michael, who (surprise, surprise) had been here already.

She appeared before me, clad in the same toga as usual. But her bearing was less sure, less confident than it usually was. She typically looked and acted like she had all the answers, but now her eyes were downcast and she seemed subdued.

I glanced to make sure there was nobody around before I replied. “Careful there, Lasciel. Bump into the holy water by accident and you might just disappear.”

She rolled her eyes at me and swept her arm straight through the baptismal fount. The water didn’t even ripple at her passing. “Please, you know more than well enough at this point that this form is nothing more than an illusion.”

“And if I dropped the coin in there?”

Lasciel smiled wryly. “I could teach you to call it to your side if that is what you wished to do, my host.” But there was no real energy to her pitch. She already knew what I’d say.

I snorted and shook my head. “If it were that simple you jokers would’ve been exorcised a long time ago. But that’s neither here, nor there. What are you here for? Do you have any tantalizing tidbits about the Dragon we’re fighting?”

She paused as though she hadn’t considered that, which was odd, but then began speaking. “Yes. Her name is Ouroboros, the eldest of Dragons,” she replied.

I frowned, “I thought Ferrovax was the oldest Dragon around.”

“So did he. Until I saw her earlier I would have thought so also. As far as anyone knew, she was locked away thousands of years ago by the united efforts of both Fae Courts. Left to wither and fade until the stars grew cold,” Lasciel sighed softly. “I will be of little help to you, my host. Most of what I know of her has passed into myth and legend at this point and scarcely applies to your present difficulties. Were she still the beast I recall, you’d already be dead.”

“That’s hardly encouraging,” I told her flatly.

She gave me a small smile. “That you are still here should offer some measure of hope, then. Ouroboros appears greatly weakened by her imprisonment, even if she is regaining power quickly.” Her smile disappeared. “But there is something else I wished to tell you…”

Lasciel trailed off, hesitation in her body language before she straightened her back. Even after seeing her hand pass through solid stone it was hard to remember that I was looking at an illusion, only seeing what she wanted me to. She could seem so real, so genuine sometimes.

“I think you were correct to turn down Twilight’s advances.”

That wasn’t the last thing I’d thought she’d say, but it definitely made the top ten. “I’m sorry, what? We’re facing a creature out of myths more ancient than most religions and you’re trying to counsel me on my love life?”

Lasciel didn’t answer for a moment. She stared at the other end of the church. There was nobody present. Nobody praying in the pews or taking care of the altar, which gave the scene a solemn sort of loneliness. Dressed stonework stood beside delicately sculpted statues. Painted scenes of divine figures were lit by the sinking sun, filtered through stained glass in a rainbow of colors. It was a scene of beautiful serenity and I had to wonder what a Fallen Angel, even the Shadow of one, thought about when looking at it.

For all that I don’t put much stock in religion, it drove people to create some of the most inspired art the world has ever seen.

Eventually she answered. “Yes, for all that it seems foolish now that you point it out. Perhaps I’m just glad that I don’t have to share you.”

I had a wealth of reasons not to date Twilight. Everything from her species to her age to the fact that we lived in two different dimensions. But hearing Lasciel approve my decision for that reason was more than a little chilling. She’d seen firsthand the kind of power Twilight and her friends could bring to bear. Was she genuinely afraid of what might happen if I had accepted Twilight into my life? And if so, what did that mean?

“Afraid that True Love’s kiss would’ve broken your hold? That I’d be free of you?” I went for snark, but somehow my heart wasn’t into it.

For only a heartbeat there was an expression on her face that was a layered combination of shock, sadness, and… pain. But then it was gone and in its place was a mask of cold civility. “If you truly believe so, then perhaps you should call her back and tell her that you’ve reconsidered. I apologize for appearing before you without your direct permission, my host. Should you require my aid, you need only ask.”

And she vanished.

Those expressions had been fake, the hint of a tear in her eye was part of her illusion. The slight trembling in her voice as she gave me the cold shoulder was just what she wanted me to hear. I still remembered the taste of her lips when she was pretending to be ‘Sheila’ even though they hadn’t been any more real than the rest of her appearance.

I knew it was all fake, all a way to tempt me into caring about her, listening to her, and eventually taking up the coin.

But there was a part of me that didn’t care. A part that wanted it to be real so much that it hurt.

Which, I reminded myself, is the whole point in the first place.

I don’t know how long I stood there and watched where she’d vanished, but eventually the door to the church opened, breaking my reverie. Thomas looked tired, but none worse for the wear. Unlike Red and Black Court vampires, the White Court were human enough to enter a church. How much of his Hunger’s power he could draw on was a different question, but the powerful threshold didn’t even slow his stride.

“You look tense,” he said, quietly. “I’m guessing that this isn’t over just yet. Is it another bomb? More ghouls?”

“I wish. Walk with me.”

Thomas frowned. “Did Ortega Jr. get away? You’re being awful cagey.”

I glanced around again just to make certain no old ladies looking to pray had wandered in while I was spaced out, but the church was still empty. “Lara mentioned the creature at Navy Pier, right?”

The frown transformed into a scowl. “No, can’t say that she did.”

Odd. But maybe she was being petty. Or just hadn’t wanted Thomas distracted from whatever skullduggery she’d set him on.

“Long story short, me, Michael and the new girls tangled with something on Navy Pier. It was working for Ortega Jr. at the time, but turns out it’s actually an ancient Dragon that was lying low, prepping for a comeback. It was waiting at the second bomb location and snatched one of the girls. We think it’s going to force her to let it into their country so it can wreak havoc there.”

My strides were long and quick, so we were already out of the main area of the church and into its back hallways, but Thomas didn’t have any trouble keeping up.

“Empty Night, Harry. It can’t ever be something simple, can it?” he jokingly complained. Then he paused. “You said ‘their country’. I was a little too distracted when we first met to ask, but just who are these girls?”

I grimaced. “Okay, now this part gets a little weird–”

“This part gets weird?”

“– but it turns out that the Nevernever connects Earth to other dimensions. The girls are from another reality that I accidentally stumbled across when I got lost a few years ago. I helped save their friend from a demon-possessed sorceress and we’ve traded letters ever since. They decided to visit me for vacation and chaos ensued.”

Thomas looked pensive. “So you’re telling me those are their natural hair colors? Did you open a portal into some kind Japanese cartoon world?”

Now it was my turn to be confused. “You’re taking this awfully well.”

“I’ve been to the Nevernever,” he said with a snort. “You could tell me the Evil Goatee universe from Star Trek was somewhere in there, and I’d take your word for it.”

We came to a stop in front of an old wooden door. I could faintly hear the chatter of young women talking beyond, with the occasional deeper voice of Michael or Father Forthill adding to the discussion. “Well, that makes things simpler at least. The issue is that we mean to rescue that girl from the Dragon, so I’m gathering a posse. All the girls are combat-experienced, and Michael’s onboard. I was hoping you would join.”

Thomas’s face clouded with shadows. “Harry,” he began, then stopped. After a moment he resumed. “I’m grateful you trust me that much and I want to help, but I don’t think you realize how tempting those girls were. Even being on guard and aware, they would be a constant distraction. And that’s not even mentioning what could happen if I get damaged in the fight and my Hunger needs to recharge.” Fingers that could bend steel were digging into his palms enough to draw faintly pink blood. “You might have to save them from me, if I went with you.”

“I get it. It’s hard, but I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t trust you. And we’ve taken steps to help. You won’t be tempted by them this time.” I paused. “Or you shouldn’t at least.”

“You don’t get it,” he bit out, his features hard. “You think because we’re in a church or you dressed them modestly it’ll help? You could stuff them in a burlap sack and it wouldn’t change a thing.”

Seeing was believing, so rather than argue with him further, I just twisted the knob and shoved the door. The sound of it opening got the attention of everyone inside and they all turned to look at us. Except Spike, who was still unconscious, and Twilight, who was absorbed in her papers. Two adult men, one young woman and four multicolored little ponies all stared at my brother and me.

“Now,” I told him, trying not to laugh. “If you still find them so ravishingly beautiful that you can’t help yourself, I understand. We’ll leave you off the team.”

Thomas let out a long, low sigh. “You’re a real dick. You know that?” But there was relief in his voice as he said it. There were a lot of things you could call my brother, but it was a relief to see firsthand that at least he wasn’t as big of a pervert as Bob.

Twilight finally looked up, her brows still furrowed in concentration. “I’m glad you’re here, please get whatever gear you plan to bring with you and return immediately. I’m going to need precise dimensions and weight for this teleport to go as smoothly as possible.”

“Teleport?” Thomas suddenly looked apprehensive.

I put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ve done it before and it won’t kill you. But you might lose your lunch if her calculations are off so I’d do what she says.”

He gave me a long-suffering look. “Fine, I’ll grab the rest of my gear out of my car. Be right back.” He made good on his promise and hightailed it back the way he came, but before I could enter the room the sole human female threaded her way over to me.

“Harry,” Molly said, fidgeting awkwardly. “Can we talk?”

That made me raise an eyebrow, but I somehow managed to refrain from cracking a joke. “Sure, Molly. I’m pretty sure Father Forthill has an office around here somewhere.” I shut the door behind me so no casual passersby got an eyeful of several alien horses and moved down the hall toward one of the many offices that lined it.

“So…” I drawled once we were alone. “What do we need to talk about?”

Molly dove straight into it. “You need to convince my Dad that I should come with all of you. He said I should stay here!”

For a long moment I didn’t reply. “And what makes you think he’s wrong?”

A bright red flush spread across her cheeks, but give her credit, Molly mastered her emotions and the blush receded almost as quickly as it had arrived. “I’m your apprentice, of course I need to be with you! You have to give me a chance to prove myself.”

I didn’t have to do anything, but I didn’t press Molly on that at the moment. Instead, I leaned back against the wall and stared at her. We had already Soulgazed, so that wasn’t a concern, but even so, she could only meet my stare for so long before she had to look away.

“You’ve been my apprentice for less than a year. I’ll admit that you’re older than most first-year apprentices, but even so most wizards don’t take their apprentices into battle until they’re full-fledged wizards in their own right, and even those apprentices that go have several years of experience.” I softened my voice to something less severe. “It’s dangerous, Molly. Dangerous enough that we cannot afford to have anyone who isn’t absolutely essential there. Will and Georgia aren’t going. Why should you?”

She hemmed and hawed and made excuses about how helpful she would be, but I think she knew as much as I did that this wasn’t a genuine attempt to help. It was a way to patch her ego after how useless she’d been when the ghouls ambushed her and the girls outside the mall.

I remained silent until eventually she ran out of steam. Then I stayed quiet for a moment more just to let the gravity of the situation sink in.

“If I’m going to let you come with us,” I started, and I could see the hope flare in her eyes, “then you’ll need to pass a test.” That hope quickly transformed into wary concern. Good, at least I’d taught her that much. “You have to promise me; you have to swear on your Power that you’ll stay here if you fail. But if you succeed, you can come with us.”

Molly bit her lower lip and sucked in a quick breath. “Is it a fair test?”

I couldn’t help laughing. She really was picking up what it meant to be a wizard. “As fair as I can make it.” I promised her. “And I’ll swear to that on my Power if I need to.”

Eventually, she nodded. “I, Molly Carpenter, do swear upon my Power to abide by the test my Master has posed and to stay here in Chicago if I fail.” I could feel the power of her Oath wrap in upon itself. Which was good, since the last thing I needed was her disrupting Twilight’s teleport by sneaking into the circle while invisible. I nodded in approval and pulled out the item I had prepared.

I’d been expecting something like this for weeks so I’d made something that was a near replica to what Ebenezar had tortured me with as a dumb teenager.

Molly stared curiously as I revealed a plain string of thirteen glass beads.

“The test is simple. Lift the beads from the bottom of the string to the top using magic. No workarounds, no tricks, no flipping the string upside-down. If you can’t lift each and every bead then you fail.”

She stared at the string and smiled. It had been a few weeks since we’d covered levitation, but she still felt confident. Same as I’d been at that age.

I gave her the string and she held it vertically, so the beads hung at the end with a scant few inches separating them from the knot at the top. Molly licked her lips and focused on the beads, shutting out the rest of the world around her. She lifted one in only a couple of seconds, and the second one followed almost as quickly. But by the third bead the effort was clearly wearing on her. It moved slowly, crawling up the string as sweat beaded on her brow. It finally clicked into place behind the second bead, but the fourth bead only trembled for a second before all of them collapsed.

“It’s decided then,” I said. “You’ll stay here.”

“Wait! Wait! Give me another chance! I know I can do it! I lifted stuff way heavier than these before.”

I sighed. “Listen. If you aren’t ready, you aren’t ready. Keep the beads and practice, but you aren’t coming today.” I paused a second then added “You swore on your Power. Don’t take that lightly or you won’t be a wizard for long.”

Nobody wants to be told they’re sulky, but there honestly wasn’t a better word for Molly’s expression. “This is so unfair. There has to be some kind of trick to it.” Her eyes flickered to me and I could practically hear her thoughts. I hadn’t actually sworn on my Power that the test was fair even though I’d offered to.

I reached out for the bracelet and she reluctantly handed it over. I dangled it in front of her, thought about the lessons I’d learned as a teenager, about my time fighting evil, and most of all why I was about to square off against an Elder Dragon, a creature so far out of my League that I was barely fit to play ball boy against it. All thirteen beads zipped up one after the other with barely a pause between them.

“I guess it really is that easy,” Molly said, definitely not sounding jealous.

I gave her a hollow chuckle as I handed back the bracelet. “It’s never easy, Molly. But nothing worth doing ever is. Practice, Padawan. Nobody becomes a Jedi overnight.”

We rejoined the group in time to see Twilight sizing up my brother, taking a variety of measurements for both him and his gear. That was expected. The presence of the small blonde cop in the corner wasn’t.

I made my way over to her, accepting a warm cookie that Pinkie pressed into my hand as I passed her (though I hadn’t gotten the faintest idea how she’d gotten access to the church’s oven) and leaned against the wall, casually glancing down at my good friend Sgt. Murphy. “I hope Marcone and Lara kept things quiet enough that Chicago PD wasn’t getting too many calls,” I said.

She gave me an even stare and that made me worry.

If she had been here to yell at me for not telling her about the gas bombs until after the fact, then I’d have understood. If she was calm because she understood my reasoning, then why was she here? And if she was angry, even coldly angry, then I should have been able to read it somewhere in her expression.

“There were scattered reports of ‘unusual noises’ in a few neighborhoods,” she recited mechanically, “but no confirmed gunshots and no established claims of personal or property damage.” She reached slightly up to poke my chest with a finger. “But that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook.”

“Put it on my tab,” I told her. “Things went from zero to one hundred really quickly today and I didn’t have the time to call everyone.”

That earned me an actual scowl. “Bullshit, Harry. You had enough time to get Marcone and the vampires involved. You could have spared the thirty seconds it took to give me a call.” She lowered her voice. “My demotion wasn’t your fault. Don’t be afraid to let me be involved.”

I fought not to flinch and I don’t think I succeeded all that well . “Dammit, Murph. I wasn’t gonna send you and your people into a ghoul’s nest. Especially not one where you’d have to explain the presence of several canisters of nerve gas to your superiors.” Her face went professionally blank at that and I realized that she hadn’t been quite as clued in as I’d just assumed. “I don’t think, ‘I got an anonymous tipoff’ would have held up once Homeland Security got involved and started asking questions.”

There was a moment of silence that stretched between us. Broken only when Murphy took in a deep breath and then let it out in a long sigh.

“I hate it when you keep things from me, Harry,” she said, her expression grim. “The only thing I hate more than that is knowing that sometimes you’re right.”

I gave her a sidelong glance. “So that does that mean I’m off the hook?”

She let out a breathless laugh. “Only on one condition.” She paused and nodded to Twilight and the growing pile of scribbled pages. “I’m coming with.”

The phrase ‘The Hell you are’ made it as far as the back of my mouth before my better sense choked it dead only moments before I said it out loud. Instead I gave it a moment’s thought and tried a more diplomatic approach. “I don’t know if anyone told you, but this isn’t exactly going to be a summer picnic. We’re hunting an actual, factual Dragon. It will take a miracle for all of us to survive, much less win.”

“Which I’m assuming is why you brought Michael,” she replied, gesturing to the man praying in the corner of the room. Molly was kneeling with him, although I suspected her lips were moving more out of rote memory than any particular devotion at the moment.

“I’m not joking. This thing’s scales are so thick that a pistol may as may be a squirt gun. Even your fancy Belgian gun won’t make her itch. There’s no shame in sitting this one out, Murph.”

Murphy didn’t respond in words.

She responded by pulling the sheet off of something that had been leaning against the wall next to her. I had noticed it of course, but this was a room cluttered with a lot of things and I had assumed it was a mop or some curtain rods. Maybe a some kinda fancy Catholic candle stand.

It was not a candle stand.

It was a gun almost as tall as Murphy.

“This is a Barrett M82 anti-material rifle. It’s a semi-automatic rifle that can accurately shoot a 50 caliber round over a mile. In WWII they would’ve called it an anti-tank rifle.” She took her attention away from the gun to glance at me for a second. “I call mine, ‘Harry’.”

I belatedly realized the entire room had fallen silent and everyone was looking at us. And I felt like I had to ask. “Because…”

“Because it’s also a huge pain in my neck.”

That earned her a smattering of chuckles, but the biggest reaction was a frustrated sigh from Twilight as she tore out a page of notes, made them vanish in a flash of heatless fire, and gestured for Murphy to approach her table.

The woman in question ignored her for the moment. “Trust me, I’ve got no intention of being a hero. I’ve got every intention of camping underneath the best illusion one of you mages can cook up and shooting that bitch anywhere she doesn’t have scales until we get Rainbow back.” She quirked an eyebrow at me. “So, am I on the team, coach?”

I nodded to her, suppressing a chuckle. “Decision has already been taken outta my hands,” I said, gesturing to the impatient unicorn and her levitating pens. “Just get your ass in motion and promise me you won’t take any stupid risks.”

Her grin was self-satisfied to say the least, “You mean other than following you?”

“Just cuz all the cool kids are doing it doesn’t mean you need to join in.”

She laughed as she lugged her ridiculous rifle over her shoulder. “Yeah, yeah. Next you’ll tell me the Surgeon General has put out a warning that it’ll get me killed some day.”

I said nothing as she got all of her particulars sorted out with Twilight. Partly because she’d more than proven her point. And partly because I was afraid she’d be proven all too right.

I just hoped it wouldn’t be today.

………

It may have taken her a bit time and about three notebooks, but you’ve got to give her this: Twilight’s fully prepared teleport was miles ahead of the rough jumps she usually did. My sight blurred for only a moment between the scene of St. Mary’s backrooms before the small parking lot of the cave near Snake’s Bend focused into view.

Twilight had re-assured me that even if there was something occupying our target location, the magic would gently push it aside as we arrived. The single car in the parking lot, an old beat-up sedan, was shoved back a few inches so I don’t know how ‘gentle’ it would’ve been on a person, but fortunately we didn’t need to find out.

Nobody was in the car, but I wouldn’t have been worried even if there were. Unless we hit the catastrophically bad odds of arriving in front of an actively filming news crew, it wasn’t like anybody would believe someone who claimed to see us. Hell, once upon a time there had been a video of me killing a werewolf on camera and most people just complained that the special effects were lousy.

“Wowee, that was slick, Twilight!” Pinkie announced, as proudly as if she’d taught Twilight herself.

Twilight let out a quiet puff of breath and I got the impression that she was trying not to roll her eyes. “Thanks, Pinkie. The spell is much easier when you have a definite start and end point in mind and the ability to set all of the variables in chalk as part of the spell matrix rather than having to make estimates and hold them in mind while casting. It’s much slower, but human magic and its circles have a lot of in-built efficiency.”

“Hey, so long as my stomach isn’t lurching, take as long as you need, Ms. Purple,” Thomas flippantly replied.

“I don’t sense Miss Dense anywhere, but let’s not get overconfident. We need to get in position ASAP.” I gestured to the cave that was our ticket to the Nevernever purely for the benefit of the newcomers in our group.

Michael nodded sagely. “I remember dropping you off here a couple of years ago.” He glanced at the colorful ponies following my lead. “Not that I ever would have guessed what it was in service of.”

The door to the cave was open again and for a moment I was afraid that we’d arrived too late, until I noticed that the only part missing was the lock. “What did you girls do on your way here, melt the lock?”

“Nah,” Applejack supplied. “After a couple minutes a’ lock pickin’ didn’t do it, Twilight just ripped’er right out.” Twilight flushed and glanced away, but it was honestly more patience than I’d have shown.

Unfortunately, an open cave had more consequences than we might have guessed and after only a short walk we soon met the owners of the only car in the parking lot.

“Holy shit, bro. This time it’s purple.”

“And there’s one with a cowboy hat.”

“What about the white one? I really like her mane…”

A small group of what I hoped were legal adults were laying around the cave floor of the area where the gate to the Nevernever desert was. I couldn’t tell you what their substance of choice was, but I knew for a fact that they weren’t just high on life.

“All right kids, yeah, the pretty ponies are great. Now let’s get all of you out of here before the dragon starts chasing you.”

“Are the rest of you seeing this NBA Clint Eastwood?” one of the local Lotus Eaters asked.

I carefully started counting to ten, but before I even hit seven Murphy had touched my arm and softly murmured “Let me take care of this.” She stepped forward, cleared her throat and pulled out her badge. “I’m Sgt. Murphy of the Chicago PD and I want every one of you to line up for substance testing.”

If I had blinked, I’d have missed how quickly those kids exited stage left.

With a few muttered words I soon opened the rift between dimensions and we were once more in the endless desert that I had trekked multiple times to visit the world of ponies. Once we were all across, Twilight and Fluttershy blinked out of existence. The rest of us were left to trudge our way through the desert at least a mile or so away from the cave entrance so Miss Dense couldn’t just turn tail and flee once we’d sprung our trap. Meanwhile, Twilight had taken everyone’s favorite yellow pegasus to the other exit and shoved her across another dimensional barrier to alert Celestia and collect the Elements of Harmony.

It was a bit of hope on our end that Celestia and Fluttershy would return before Miss Dense showed up, but it was better than letting the oldest Dragon into a world where she could essentially hunt and kill to her heart’s content.

And so we picked our ground and waited. After a few minutes, I felt the unpleasant twinge of my True Name being used again and Twilight popped back beside me. At some point I really needed to tell her just how awful that felt, but for now I was willing to endure it.

“What’s the situation?” Twilight asked almost the moment after she had flashed back.

“Rarity and Murphy are disguised on the ridgeline. Applejack and Thomas are south of the trail, Pinkie and Michael are north, and I’m building another gravity charge to knock that bitch out of the sky the moment she comes within range.”

Twilight glanced at the circle I was outlining in chalk. “I see you’re using some of my notations.”

I shrugged. “What can I say, your command of magic is inspiring even to an old hand like mine.”

She blushed as if I’d just called her the most beautiful girl in the world. Internally, I cursed myself. I had to watch saying things like that. I’d finally convinced her that I cared even if I didn’t love her. It wasn’t fair to lead her on, even if that wasn’t what I had been intending with that comment.

“What do you think our odds are?” Twilight asked as she stared at the horizon.

“Depends,” I answered, focused on finishing my array. Wizards are hell on wheels when it comes to prepared magic. Fae can craft enhancements that last decades and vampires can curse you to death, but when it comes to good old-fashioned earth-shaking magic nobody can craft spells like a wizard. There’s a creativity and flexibility to human spellcasting that lets us do damn near anything, provided we’ve got enough skill and prep time. There’s a reason my mentor was able to satellite-drop the original Ortega’s compound with little more than a telescope and some math.

I didn’t care how much magic she was carrying, Miss Dense still had to pay at least notional homage to gravity, and I was about to multiply her cost to that particular deity ten-fold. “So long as Fluttershy shows up with Celestia and the Elements, I’d be 95% confident that we win.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

I drew the last chalk stroke and shrugged. “I dunno, about 10%?”

Twilight grunted softly.

“Why?”

“Because the dragon is almost here.”

Prologue

The Dresden Fillies: Great Power

Written by: psychicscubadiver
Edited by: SilentCarto
Proofreader: Coandco
Cover arrangement by: Novel Idea

Prologue

Marge had spent thirty-odd years serving truckers, drunks, teenagers, insomniacs, and whatever odds and ends washed up around 1 AM at a small all-night diner off of I-94. It wasn’t the easiest life, but she had managed to raise a kid and keep herself out of poverty without ever needing a government handout. As a side benefit, Marge had never needed to travel to see the strange or exotic; at a place like this, the weird stuff found its way to you.

It was close to sunset, and her shift had just started when some of that strangeness showed up. The college students peering in the front window weren’t the strangest folks she’d ever seen, but they certainly made the top ten. There were three girls in their late teens or early twenties. That wasn’t too strange; sometimes the diner got kids up from the University of Minnesota looking for directions. It was their appearance that made these three stick out. Two of them nodded to each other like soldiers readying themselves for battle, and the third tapped her foot impatiently and pouted. At last, one of them opened the door and they entered.

The first girl through was thin and taller than most men, with skin that hadn’t seen much in the way of sunlight. The dignity of her sensible haircut was undermined by its deep purple color and the pink accents. She must have been wearing contacts, because her lavender eyes matched her sweater-vest. The rest of her clothing, a blouse and long skirt, was royal purple. Marge figured she could guess the girl’s favorite color without too much trouble.

A short black girl stormed in behind her, warily hostile. Her hair put Ms. Purple’s to shame; it was dyed every color of the rainbow in alternating streaks and looked like it hadn’t been brushed this year. Her pink eyes – must’ve been another set of contacts – blazed as she strode into the diner like she was the toughest thing in town. Despite the girl’s lean, corded muscles, Marge doubted she’d have an easy time backing up that attitude.

A pair of bright blue eyes peered here, there and everywhere as the third girl stared at everything in the diner with an almost comic sense of wonder. She was rosy-cheeked and built like a Bavarian barmaid. Her dress was a frilly, overly busy pink thing not often seen outside of little girls’ birthdays, and it struggled to contain her chest as she bounced between her friends with the energy of a sugar buzzed toddler. Her curly, wildly frizzed hair was dyed almost neon pink, which was only par for the course with this bunch.

Marge waited for them to take a seat or come up to the counter. They did neither. Instead, Ms. Purple closed her eyes and stood perfectly still. Ms. Attitude glared at everybody in the diner, protectively circling her friend. Bouncy Girl hopped over and started playing the claw game, though Marge didn’t recall seeing her put in any money.

Right about then, the lights started to flicker throughout the building. The cash register turned off and on, making that horrible start-up noise, and a whining buzz of static squealed briefly from the TV that muttered in the corner. Marge cursed the lousy wiring in the old place under her breath. The cooks in back did it at the top of their lungs – thank goodness there weren’t any kids in the dining room to hear them. Ms. Purple opened her eyes and smiled. She leaned over and whispered something to Ms. Attitude. They retreated to the entrance of the diner and both yelled something that was lost in the roar of the nearby highway.

Whoever it was meant for must have heard, because another three girls and a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boy came into view.

When Ms. Attitude strutted in this time, she had a shadow. A short little slip of a girl in a yellow summer dress almost hid behind her. Marge couldn’t decide if the new girl’s trembling was because of the early September breeze or the nervous expression that she guarded behind her rose-colored bangs.

An Asian girl watched her steps carefully as she entered, trepidation clear. Expertly applied makeup and an elegant hair style suggested money; the diamond studded necklace and bracelets confirmed it. Indigo hair and royal blue eyes were a strange combination, but hardly worse than any of her friends. Her dress could have been mistaken for an evening gown, and Marge would’ve sworn she was wearing actual glass slippers. Her hourglass figure filled out her dress perfectly, which quickly grabbed the eye of every man in the place. The fact that it was a chilly evening and she wasn’t wearing a bra made that a guarantee.

All that interest wasn’t missed by the Hispanic boy close at her side. He glared at anyone watching her with the same expression that Ms. Attitude gave to everyone, but at five-two and thin as a rail, he wasn’t going to slow down much of anyone. Still, there was something about him that made Marge uncomfortable, and it wasn’t the baggy jeans or plain black t-shirt. His canines seemed too long and his nails looked sharp. Then there were his intense eyes: emerald green, the same color as his spiked hair.

The last girl to enter was the only normal one in the bunch. Tall, muscular and corn fed, she looked like she could have just walked off of any farm in the Midwest. No crazy hair colors or outfits, just blond and blue jeans with a plaid flannel shirt and a worn Stetson. Whether those other girls had always been weird or if college had just encouraged them to ‘go wild’, this one looked to be the group’s voice of reason.

They all gathered together for a whispered conference, except for Bouncy Girl, who was still busy hunting stuffed animals. The dinner rush wouldn’t come until another hour or so, but Marge’s patience was still starting to fray. At last they finished, and Ms. Purple cautiously drew up to the counter.

“Hello,” she said with a careful smile. Her nose wrinkled, and her smile faded for a moment before she forced it back. Marge crossed her arms and tried not to scowl. The Cold Country Diner wasn’t exactly a five-star restaurant, but they ran a clean place and served better food than any stereotype would give them credit for.

Her reaction didn’t go unnoticed. “Sorry,” Ms. Purple said with a sheepish smile. “I’m not used to the smell of cooking meat. It’s… difficult to adjust. I just need directions to a friend’s house.”

Not used to meat? Her parents must have been hippies, or some other flavor of vegetarian. That would go a long way towards explaining her appearance. In an instant, Marge’s heart went out to the poor girl. “Sure thing. I’d love to help. Where does your friend live?” And if it got these kids out of the diner, that was just a bonus.

Ms. Purple beamed, and the boy celebrated the news with a fist pump. The rest looked hopeful, but they were a little more reserved in their reactions. “Thank you. His name is Harry Dresden, and he lives in Chicago.”

There was a moment of silence as Marge digested this information. With anybody else she would’ve sworn this was some kind of weird prank, but these girls had an earnest look that couldn’t be faked. Maybe they were Canadian? And somehow hadn’t checked a map before setting off on a trip to Chicago? “Well, the good news is that you’re on the right road. The bad is that Chicago is around five hundred miles southeast of here.”

Their jaws all but dropped. Ms. Attitude shook her head in disbelief. “You’ve gotta be kidding me! What, does he live on the other side of the country?”

“Dash…” Ms. Purple scolded quietly, her shoulders tense.

“No...?” Marge ventured cautiously, the weird meter ticking higher and higher. That settled that they were foreign, but for the life of her, Marge couldn’t imagine where they were from or how they’d ended up in the middle of Minnesota with no idea where they were going. She grabbed a road atlas from the small spinner next to the counter and flipped it open to the ‘Continental US’ page. They gathered in closely to get a look. “This is about where we are,” she said, then traced the thin line that represented I-94 down to the southeast. “This is where your friend lives. He’s only a couple of states away.”

“It appears we underestimated the size of our friend’s country,” the Bombshell Asian said.

“Well, all right. Is there a train station nearby?” Cowgirl asked in a strong Southern accent. Which was an odd thing to hear from somebody who was supposed to be foreign.

“Maybe in Minneapolis, but not around here. Besides, you’re on the right road. Why not just drive it? Is there something wrong with your car?”

All she received was a sea of blank looks. Ms. Purple forced a smile and chuckled nervously, a couple of locks of hair springing out of place. “Right. Our car. Because we definitely have one of those, like normal humans.”

Bouncy Girl wandered back to the group, her arms overflowing with stuffed prizes, even though Marge hadn’t noticed her win anything. Pushing a Pikachu knockoff into Ms. Shadow’s hands, she stage-whispered loud enough for the whole diner to hear, “What’s a car?”

Chapter Ten

Edited by: SilentCarto
Proofreader: Coandco

Disclaimer: I don’t own The Dresden Files or My Little Pony, that is Jim Butcher and Hasbro respectively. This story takes place between books Eight and Nine in the Dresden Files.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Dresden, but we’ve never had anyone named Sean Belfast employed here.” The tired-looking HR woman gave me a pretty believable fake smile and nodded politely, subtly, toward the door. I took the hint that she wanted us out of her hair and glanced at AJ for confirmation of what I already suspected. Her small head shake told me everything I needed to know.

“Thank you for checking that for me. If you happen to see him around the neighborhood, I’d be grateful for a call. I’ll leave you a business card.” The look on her face told me that she could’ve done without it, but she took it with another fake smile anyways. She probably figured it was the fastest way to get us out of here. She was right, but I wanted her to have it just in case it didn’t end up in a trashcan less than a minute after I left.

I gave her another nod and left. AJ followed close on my heels.

Noir movies and books leave out most of the boredom.

Investigating, even with magic, involves a lot of fruitless searches and drawn-out waiting. The area of town where Sean’s mystery job was located was large and there were a lot of factories and complexes still running even though Chicago’s manufacturing sector wasn’t anything like what it used to be. We had visited six different facilities that made everything from soft drinks to industrial chemicals – not that there’s that much difference between the two – and none of them had ever heard of Sean.

About twenty feet away from the entrance to the factory, I sensed more than saw a low-slung form melt out of the shadows of a nearby alley. I glanced at the wolf, but Will gave me a head shake that was a mirror to Applejack’s. He hadn’t scented Sean anywhere nearby. I sighed and opened the driver’s side door, letting Will jump into the Blue Beetle. I gave him time to clamber into the back seat before I climbed in myself.

The girls were forted up at my place and Michael’s for now and I had sent a warning to most of my friends. Whoever was watching me knew enough that identifying my friends wouldn’t be too difficult. I doubted that they’d hesitate to sic Miss Dense on somebody I cared about if they thought I was getting too close.

Assuming I wasn’t too close already.

I still felt like I was stumbling in the dark, but Miss Dense’s attack had been a move of desperation. She was unidentifiable and didn’t give me any clues as to who was pulling the strings, but you don’t send a monster to kill someone in broad daylight at a crowded location unless you needed them gone ASAP. Somebody thought I was too close, even if I didn’t know exactly what part of my investigation worried them.

“Land sakes,” Applejack said, interrupting my reverie. “Just how many factories and workhouses have y’all got in Chicago?”

“Not as many as we used to,” I said, pointing at more than a few of the rusting and abandoned husks of old factories. “We’re going to check out all of the legitimate businesses around here first. If that doesn’t pan out, we’ll start breaking into the abandoned places and looking for criminal activity.” Sunset was approaching and I figured we didn’t have long until legitimate businesses closed and we had to start looking for trouble.

“Criminal activity? Like sellin’ stolen stuff or runnin’ moonshine?”

She wasn’t entirely wrong so I just nodded and chose not to mention the gun-running, human trafficking, illegal gambling, and drug dealing that we were more likely to run across. I’d burn that bridge when we came to it.

Next on the list was a place called ‘Lake Michigan Canning and Dry Goods’.

There was a guard shack sitting watch over the entrance, but you could almost mistake it for one of the crumbling ruins to either side. The small parking lot beyond the chain link fence was deserted. I would’ve just assumed I had the wrong place until a guy in the shack popped up at my arrival. I had a brief moment where I worried about getting Sonny Corleone’ed.

Fortunately the guy wasn’t armed with anything more dangerous than a nasty scowl. “No trespassing,” he barked practically the second I started rolling down my window. It set his jowls to wobbling, and I somehow gathered that his stint as a guard didn’t include much in the way of patrolling.

I wanted to roll my eyes, but somehow refrained and went for a professional response instead. “Not looking to trespass, buddy.” I flashed him my PI badge. “Just looking for a guy that went missing and got a lead that he worked somewhere in this neighbourhood. I’d like to ask the personnel department a couple of questions.”

He shook his head and snorted. “Good luck. This dump’s been closed since before I got outta high school. Your guy couldn’t have worked here. Now get lost.”

I felt my eyes start to narrow. Not just because the dogged old guy in front of me was being a jerk, but because some things weren’t adding up. The gate wasn’t exactly new, but it looked in decent shape and the opener motor appeared to be in good repair. Why not have it chained shut if they were closed? Why have a guard shack at all if they didn’t have any traffic?

“Closed, huh? Why have they got you guarding an empty building, then?”

He shrugged. “Probably to keep out all the bums, junkies, and crooks that’d sneak in.” His hairy eyeball said he could believe that I’d fit in any of those categories. “Honestly, I don’t know and don’t care. I do my job; I get paid.”

I heard scratching at my lower left and saw Will briefly paw at the door then look at me. He wanted out, and I didn’t think it was to use the bathroom. I opened my own door and left it open so he could get out behind me. Then I moved towards the shack. “Fine. I’ll just ask you then. You ever seen this guy around here? He goes by Sean Belfast.” I fished the picture Sean’s dad had given me out of my pocket and showed it to him.

The guy glanced at it. “Nope, now beat it.”

I’ll give the guy credit: I believed him until I heard AJ softly growl, “Horseapples”. My head swiveled and my eyes zeroed in on hers. She nodded slowly.

I turned back around and got in the guy’s face. “I don’t think you took a good look at the picture.” I shoved it in his face where he couldn’t avoid looking at it.

“Back the fuck off, asshole!” The guard shouted, but I could see the sweat on his forehead. “I said I never heard of the guy!”

“An’ you were lyin’ when you did!” Applejack shouted, the car door slammed as she got out and joined me.

“Both of you need to leave. Now!” The guard said, his face turning red and his jowls wobbling to and fro. He started to reach towards his belt where a pistol hung next to a small radio. I didn’t know which one he was reaching for but I didn’t want him using either one.

“Forzare Minimus,” I murmured, putting a little extra pressure on his already strained belt buckle. It came off with a pop and the belt - along with the pistol, radio, and pants - dropped to the ground.

“Shit!” he yelped, bending over in a futile effort to preserve his dignity. Once he was halfway down he caught sight of Will and froze. The low snarl or the inch long canines might have had something to do with that.

“Now, I’m going to ask again and I want you to be honest this time. Have you ever seen Sean Belfast before?”

“Yes!” The guy sounded properly scared and I didn’t need to glance at AJ for confirmation. “He worked here for a few weeks. He told me he heard some weird noises from the old factory. I told him not to poke his nose into anything, but then one day he got fired and I didn’t see him no more.”

“What kinda ‘weird noises’?” AJ asked.

“I don’t know. Footsteps and some loud bangs; like heavy stuff getting moved or a bunch of people working.”

“What are they doing here?” I glanced at his nametag, “Doug? Why do you keep people out?”

He flinched first from me, then again when he realized he had put himself closer to Will. “I don’t know, man! I swear to God I don’t know! I-it’s probably something shady but I never asked. Got hired over the phone, and I’ve never met my boss, but it’s such a cushy job I didn’t want to rock the boat.”

I leaned further over the counter into the shack itself. “Then why’d you lie about seeing Sean?”

His laugh was short and bitter. “I’m no genius, but I can do the math. You’re here looking for the kid after he goes missing. That means whatever he found, people are willing to kill to keep it quiet, and I don’t want any part of that. I ain’t got a chance of outrunning a hitman.”

“Okay, Doug. I believe you.”

He looked surprised. “You do?”

“I do,” I said. “Now find your belt buckle and put your pants back on.” I know I’ve walked into a fight undressed more than a few times, but it felt wrong leaving the man standing there in a pair of black boxers spotted with yellow smiley faces. He proceeded to do so, his face flushed from either exertion or shame.

Once he had himself together I nodded to our resident wolf. “Now if you’d transform back, Will.” Everyone present stared at me for a variety of reasons. Will gave me an ‘are you sure?’ look and I nodded firmly. Doug the Guard started to sidle away from me like he was concerned about my sanity, and poor AJ just looked confused.

“Okay, buddy, maybe-”

“Done,” Will said, having gone from a large wolf to a heavily muscled - and naked - man in the space of a second.

“What the fuck!” Doug stumbled away from Will which brought him within reach of me. I put one hand on top of his head and hooked the other one in front of him. The BO was an unpleasant consequence of being this close, but Doug had nothing on a troll or ogre in terms of smell. Then I fired up a little spell that I had been practicing to scare my apprentice with. It wasn’t where I wanted it to be just yet, but a small, intense fireball flashed to life in the hand he could see.

That killed any attempt to struggle before it even began. Doug stayed very, very still.

“Don’t worry. This will all be over soon.” I poured power into the hand holding his head. “Dormius, dorme, dormius.” Doug slumped over bonelessly, and I wasn’t in a great position to support all that weight so he more or less toppled to the floor.

“What in tarnation!” AJ yelled, rushing forward. She leaned over the counter saw that he was just asleep and wiped her brow. “Goodness. Don’t scare me like that, sugarcube. I thought he had went and had a heart attack from you spookin’ him.”

“C’mon AJ, I’m not that bad.” Probably not anyway. “Will, I take it you caught Sean’s scent?”

“Yeah, he spent a lot of time here in the guard shack. From the smell, he was a nervous wreck for days. It’ll probably fade away in another week or two, but we were in time to catch it. Also, any chance you’ll tell us what that performance was all about?” Will asked. He turned back into a wolf before I could answer, but thanks to my time as a unicorn I understood that it’s much less embarrassing to be naked with fur on than as a human.

“Yes, actually. Our friend Doug needs to finish out his shift without telling anybody we were here. Threatening him to stay silent isn’t likely to work, making him disappear – not like that, I meant taking him with us – will just alert his boss that something’s up. The weirder things got, the more likely he is to write the whole thing off as a dream and keep his mouth shut.”

Will nodded and padded his way over to the car.

“That’s right clever of ya, Dresden.” Applejack said, as she helped me position Doug back in his dingy chair. “Good thinkin’!” she said with a hearty slap to my back that probably left a bruise.

I rolled my eyes as I tried not to wince. Gosh, it’s almost like the wizard knows what he’s doing.

I settled back into the driver’s seat. I glanced around, but didn’t see anyone watching us. I had paid a Noid’s ransom in pizza to the weefolk to alert me if they found anyone spying on me, but they hadn’t reported anything and my own finely honed detective instincts agreed. I don’t know if the person who took the photo and reported my trip to Navy Pier had been shaken or if they were watching my apartment.

The second might suggest that it was actually the girls they were interested in, but in the short term I was just glad to have a reprieve.

“So what do we do now?”

I grimaced. “There’s definitely something shady going on at that warehouse. Marcone doesn’t know anything about Sean’s disappearance unless I completely misread him back at the jewel fence, so unless it’s our mystery villain then there’s only one other player who might be running something like this in Chicago.”

AJ frowned. “That don’t tell me what we’re gonna do about all this.”

“I’m gonna set up an interview with a vampire.”

………

McAnally’s Pub is a special place.

Not just because their steak sandwiches are delicious and the beer is poured from God’s own cask. Or even because of the thirteen pillars, thirteen tables, and thirteen mirrors all placed in such a way to dissipate and deflect negative energy.

It’s one of the only places in Chicago to have a small sign that declares it ‘Accorded Neutral Territory’. To most people that would just be a weird, maybe kitschy, bar sign, but to anyone in the know, the Accords are a Big Deal. Big bad Queen Mab herself gathered representatives from all of the major supernatural powers and most of the minor ones together and they hashed out a set of rules codifying interactions between supernatural nations. It’s easiest to think of it as the magic Geneva Convention. Get caught breaking it and you’ll open yourself up to war from several people, mostly importantly the Winter Court.

One of the provisions in the Accords is for certain locations or establishments to be declared neutral (i.e. start a fight there and Mab will pull your balls off). They make trade, deals, and information exchanges much easier and safer for all involved.

Long story short, that’s why AJ and I showed up outside Mac’s just a couple hours after sunset. I could have sent her home with Will, but she’d more than proved her worth and I wanted every advantage I could wring out of a meeting with Lara.

McAnally’s is decorated like an old world tavern, which is the sensible thing to do when a decent chunk of your clientele can destroy modern technology just by being in a bad mood. Not everybody who comes here has some form of power, but everyone has some kind of connection to the supernatural.

“Now this place is a mite more homey,” Applejack said, taking in a deep breath.

“Yeah, Mac’s a real old school kinda guy. And speak of the devil. Yo, Mac! I’ll take a steak sandwich, fries and one of your darks.” The bald barkeep who could’ve been any age from thirty to fifty raised an eyebrow at me, glanced at AJ, then started making my sandwich. He’s a real chatterbox, Mac is. “Order whatever you want, AJ. I’m pretty sure Mac has menus at the bar. I’m going to find us a table.”

I had just settled myself at a high top in the middle of the floor that was easily visible from all angles when all heads turned towards the door without conscious effort or thought. It wasn’t just that the door had opened. It had opened to reveal a presence.

She was tall and perfectly portioned for her height. Hair so black that it was almost blue fell in an elegant waterfall to her shoulders. Her dress hugged her in ways that shouldn’t have been sensual, but still made my pants about three sizes too small. No wrinkle or imperfection marred her cream-colored skin even though she was at least double my age, if not more. She was like the Platonic Concept of a woman; perfect in every conceivable way.

She was Lara Raith, de facto head of the White Court.

With a deep breath, I shoved my libido down. It was not easy, but I managed.

Mac just grunted and tapped a second ‘Accorded Neutral Territory’ sign that hung behind his bar. One day I will have that man’s level of control, I swear.

“Of course,” Lara said, her tone amused. “My apologies, Mr. McAnally.” The brain-draining phenomenon of her presence didn’t disappear, but it lessened to reasonable levels. Lara looked across the room as if noticing me for the first time. “Good evening, Mr. Dresden. Good to see that you’re eager for this meeting.”

I was eager for a lot more than that, but that’s how the White Court gets you. Start thinking with what’s in your pants around them and soon you won’t be thinking at all, just mindlessly doing whatever they whisper in your ear.

Applejack moved from the bar to my side, her posture defensive. “Did I look like you just did when Thomas was a-flirtin’ with us?” Applejack asked, glancing at me with a look of embarrassment and anger.

“Probably,” I murmured in reply. Lara grinned slowly, said something to the woman trailing behind her, and stalked over to take the seat opposite me. I recognized the woman she had sent away. Justine was a petite, pretty woman, still somewhat underweight after almost dying to the Hunger of a White Court vampire. She was the woman my brother loved, and it had been his Hunger that almost killed her. Their love was… complicated, but no less real for its weirdness.

“So what is so important that you need me to meet you here, Dresden? Has my brother indicated some concern that you feel needs to be addressed?” Lara knew that Thomas and I were half-brothers, but unlike us, she could be public about being his half-sibling. We both cared about him in our own ways, but Lara wouldn’t hesitate to put him six feet under if she felt it necessary.

I shook my head. “This is something different. I need to know if you own or operate a business out of a seemingly abandoned warehouse.” Her look was somewhat bemused. “A specific one, I mean.” I gave her the address for it.

“I’ll have to ask my secretary for the particulars,” Lara said and a small gesture brought Justine from the bar to her side. Justine’s love meant that other White Court vampires couldn’t seduce or control her, which as part of a family with Chronic Backstabber Syndrome, Lara must have valued in an employee. Lara repeated my request, and Justine rifled through a sheaf of papers before whispering something in her ear.

Lara stretched lightly, which did some very interesting things to her chest that she was perfectly aware of. “How interesting. Why do you wish to know, Dresden?” she asked with a languid neck roll.

“Because I’m probably going to burn it down,” I told her bluntly.

That got her attention. “Knowing you, I can’t claim any surprise, but you’ll have to be more forthcoming than that.”

“It’s cuz that’s where the feller he’s looking for went missing,” AJ interjected.

Lara wrinkled her nose, whether at Applejack’s interruption or her accent, I couldn’t tell. After a second, the look disappeared and she grinned instead. “I haven’t had the pleasure of an introduction, but my, what a lively one you are.” Her eyes flickered silver. “You’re just brimming with vigor, aren’t you?”

“Which she’s not in any hurry to give away,” I shot back. “AJ, it looks like our food is done. Would you mind?” She gave Lara a scowl, but nodded to me. “What she said is right, but it’s not the full story. I think it’s safe to assume you heard about the mess at Navy Pier.” She waved her hand in a way that implied ‘of course’, and her eyes went back to normal. “And the pressure on Marcone?”

“Yes, someone has been taking some territory using ghouls as muscle, but they haven’t interfered with my activities and Mr. Marcone seems likely to take it back with time. I haven’t concerned myself overmuch, but you’re going to imply that I should.”

I nodded. “You bet your sweet ass, I do. Nothing came after me until I started poking around to find this missing person and then suddenly somebody attempts to kidnap my apprentice with ghouls. After that failed, somebody sent that thing to the Pier. It was seriously tough, not just some minor league monster. We kept things as covert as possible, but four of us were laying down the hurt, and whatever that thing was, it took everything we had and kept fighting. What we did to it would’ve killed a ghoul three times over, and you know how resilient they are. Then my missing person case leads me to a warehouse where something shady is going on and has been for a while. I’ve got good reason to believe that Marcone isn’t behind it, so if it isn’t you then we sure have one interesting series of coincidences. I think someone with power is moving on the city in a big way and so far they’ve managed to fly under all our radars.”

Lara considered me carefully. Like a cat eyeing a particularly large and dangerous bird. “And if I did have something to do with your missing person? What would you do?” I tried to catch Justine’s eye to see if that was the truth, but she stared resolutely at the floor before sliding away to visit the bar.

“We’d teach you a lesson.” AJ said coldly, settling into the seat next to me. She put my plate in front of me, her own piled high with fried mozzarella and three whole apples. Which is weird because I didn’t think Mac even stocked fruit.

Lara just grinned. “Oh, there are many things I would enjoy having Dresden teach me, but he’s resistant to the idea for some reason.” Her eyes turned a faint shade of silver and she put a finger to her lips. “Ah, my food has arrived.”

Mac doesn’t carry food to anyone, but that’s why Lara had sent her secretary in her place. Justine set a plate with a steak, sauteed mushrooms, and some vegetable dish I couldn’t identify down in front of her boss along with a glass of red wine.

“So was it you?” I asked, trying to get things back on track.

“Perhaps. What would follow if I said ‘yes’?” Lara cut a small piece off her very rare steak and ate it delicately. She cocked an eyebrow at me, and I got it. This was a power play. I had called her here, getting an appointment on my time and she needed to make the point that she didn’t answer to me.

“I would like to hang you from the nearest tree, but I’d settle for weregild and something to provide closure to the family.”

“Dresden, you can’t be–”

“AJ,” I interrupted. “We can discuss this later. I’m not exactly keen to argue in front of the supernatural predator capable of killing us both.” Not the subtlest way to stroke her ego, but Lara would know that I wasn’t kidding.

AJ glared and seethed, but she kept quiet aside from a muttered, “Tain’t right to let bad apples like that run roughshod over good folk.”

Lara’s smile just got more smug, which I hadn’t thought was possible. “This is delightful. Wherever did you find such a wonderfully naive young woman?”

“Laugh it up all you want. In her home country you’d be flash-fried by a literal sun goddess the moment you set foot across the border.”

Lara knows that I’m not good at lying and that statement surprised her even if she hid it well. “You’ve piqued my curiosity.”

“And you still haven’t satisfied mine. You’ve made your point clear, I don’t get to boss you around. But if you don’t give me a straight answer whether or not that place is yours then I’m gonna assume it’s not and go in guns blazing.”

Lara sighed. “Uncouth as ever, but I suppose you’d be much more difficult to deal with if you weren’t so plain with your intentions. Simple levers move a simple man, I suppose. No, that warehouse is not mine. In exchange for that information I expect you to alert me to whatever you find there.”

I waved my hand tiredly. “Fine. You’ll be the first to know.” The meeting had been tiring as all Hell, but it was worth it to know that the warehouse had to belong to whatever third party was pulling the strings. Even if my theories about their involvement in my current troubles was wrong, they were definitely involved in Sean’s disappearance. I’d settle for solving at least one of my mysteries right now.

………

Applejack fumed in the passenger seat all the way back to my apartment. It didn’t take but a few seconds for the wee folk I had bribed to report ‘all clear’, but AJ still seemed to rankle at the delay. I knew there was a storm coming, but I figured it was better to hash out once we were safely behind my defenses. I opened the door and held it for Applejack. “You’re welcome inside my home.”

“Thank you,” she replied stiffly and got almost immediately floored by Rainbow Dash.

“Finally! You guys were gone forever! It’s been so boring having to wait in here all day. I’m about to go crazy!”

“Sorry, Rainbow,” I said, stepping in and shutting the door behind me. My wards clicked into place and the steady hum of that defensive energy did a lot to soothe my tired nerves. “I didn’t know if Miss Dense would come back, and my apartment is one of the safest places in the city.” Aside from Michael’s, which is why Pinkie, Rarity, and Spike were spending the night there.

“That’s okay,” Fluttershy said, stroking both Mouse and Mister at the same time. “These two sweeties kept us company.” All three of them looked like they could have spent the entire day like that, perfectly content.

“It was interesting to examine your lab and your literature,” Twilight said, then she paused and pouted. “Although, I’m not sure why Bob said I couldn’t look in your green notebook.”

My heart stopped for a second. I thought I had hidden everything dangerous in my lab, but Twilight was apparently a real champ at hide n’ seek. My green notebook contained the names and summoning instructions for a veritable host of demons and other unsavory spirits. I’d traded for information with some of them, but most were more of a ‘last resort’. If nothing else, you needed to know something’s name to banish it. Twilight might have let her curiosity get the better of her, and unlike most people who stumble onto the names of demons, she’d actually have the ability and knowledge to summon one.

I owed Bob any number of Playboys for stopping her.

“The good news,” I said, “is that we’ve found where my guy went missing and I think it’s connected to the people who attacked us. Tomorrow, we can visit the warehouse and get to the bottom of this.” I paused for effect. “The bad news is that I think this is all a lot bigger than it looked at first. I want–”

“For goodness sake, we ain’t sittin’ on our rumps, letting you go into danger alone,” Applejack shouted. Her temper was fully frayed and she vented. “We’re gonna knock some sense into you one way or another. And you need to tell me why we let that White Court lady walk away. I get that she’s your friend’s sister, but when you said them vampires hurt and killed people I thought you meant they were hidden about it t’where you weren’t sure who was doin’ it. She was practically rubbin’ our faces in the fact that she coulda done it and got away with it!”

Everyone turned to look at me and I felt a headache coming on. “She was baiting you, Applejack.”

“Then it’s pretty darn good bait!” Applejack said, she slammed her fist onto my kitchen table and cracks spread from the impact. “She outright implied she does that sorta evil all the time. If that hussy is making honest folk disappear we gotta put a stop to that.”

“Wait a minute,” Rainbow said. “You actually know where the White Court live and who they are? You said they blended in well with humans.”

“They do, and it keeps normal humans from noticing. Wizards like me know differently, but it would be a hard sell to anyone not in the know.”

“Then why don’t we just kick her butt like you do everybody else?” Rainbow asked, already cracking her knuckles in anticipation.

“Thank you, Rainbow, but it’s not that simple.”

“How is it anything but simple?” Twilight asked, a flush rising in her pale cheeks. “If she’s a villain we should take her down once we’re done at the warehouse.” Her smile was bright, fierce, and beautiful.

That made killing it all the worse.

“Are you willing to kill her?” I asked in a clipped tone, trying not to let my growing anger show.

“Wha-what?” Twilight's grin slipped away.

“Are you willing to kill her? Because you can’t jail her, beating her up will only make her come back for revenge twice as hard, and I’d love to see anyone capable of convincing her to stop what she’s doing.” I took a deep breath, trying to keep my anger in check. It was boiling up inside me hot and strong, but I didn’t want to take it out of her. “Sometimes you have to live with something horrible. Sometimes you fail. Sometimes the goal isn’t worth the cost.” Those words hurt. For me of all people to say them was ludicrous, but they were true.

Instead of being dejected, instead of being hurt, instead of being browbeaten, Twilight just smiled. “You’ll never know until you try.”

“Yeah! Where’s the ‘go get’em attitude, Dresden?” Rainbow yelled with a cheer. “You can’t let jerks like that walk all over you!”

“Darn tootin’, Dash. Give us the word and we’ll teach them troublemakers what fer,” AJ said with a cocksure grin that finally made my temper boil over. Their stubborn, beautiful, idiotic refusal to face reality just did it for me.

“There are limits to my power!” I roared at them. The room fell silent. I could have been quiet, but instead I drove the lesson home. “I don’t have a demi-goddess or omnipotent magic jewelry backing me up, and now, neither do you. Learn to pick your battles, because here you don’t get second chances. You just get killed.”

I stormed down into the subbasement that held my lab and slammed the trapdoor behind me as I went. I heard conversation restart after I left, but the floor was too thick for me to hear what they were saying. Good. I didn’t want to know anyway.

There, I thought at Lasciel. I let them be part of the investigation and help me. Now they have to either compromise their principles or start a war with the White Court. Are you happy now? I didn’t get a response, but I didn’t expect one. I hated her with a righteous fury right now.

But not as much as I hated myself.

I kept a cot in my lab, but I knew I wasn’t going to get much sleep. Instead, I turned to my workbench. “Let’s get to making some potions, Bob.”

Author's Note

Neither I nor the story are dead.

Just a bit... slow.