Author's Note

This chapter is still very much in the editing phase and may change.

Ch 02: Hide 'n Seek's Over

"This is bad! This is so, so bad!" Bonbon chided, her hooves tapped the ground in quick little in-place steps. Her head snapped left and right looking for something, or more specifically, someONE. "I can't believe you lost it!"

"Hey," Lyra trotted up next to her panicking friend, "I didn't loose him, he escaped. And just because you don't like him that doesn't give you a right to keep him locked in our basement."

"He's dangerous!" Bonbon nearly yelled, her head whipped around to to glare at her friend.

Around them ponies of the small town were trotting blissfully to work or some engagement, while vedors were setting up shop and fillies and colts trotted to school. None were paying attention to the arguing pair as it was not uncommon to see them bickering, Lyra had done something and Bonbon was freaking out over whatever it was.

"Yeah, so?"

Bonbon looked at Lyra incredulously, "Are you freaking serious!?" she yelled.

"Why are you freaking out?" Lyra retorted, "He hasn't hurt anypony. He never once tried to hurt me when I gave him food or talked to him... Keeping him locked and tied up in our basement is still creepy, Bonbon. I mean, I know you're into that stuff but you-"

A sharp thwack resounded as Bonbon clipped the mint unicorn's fetlock with the tip of her hoof. Her cheeks burned ever so slightly at the mention of her secret fetish.

Lyra's eyes went wide for a second as an intense pain shot through her leg, "Ow! Geez, Bonnie!"

"Listen," Bonbon said darkly, "If he does hurt somepony, even by accident, it'll be our fault. We were supposed to keep him safely away from everypony until the princesses could pick him up and evaluate him. Now he's loose, the princesses and an entire platoon of guards from the day and night watch are coming here to find a creature that we lost! And-" she stopped suddenly, realizing how loud she had become and glanced around. Nopony seemed to have bothered to pay any attention to her rant, "And if you ever mention what I do with my 'spare time' in public again, I won't let you join me. Ever. Again." she said more calmly --well, less loudly, at least-- and poked her hoof at her friend's chest with those last words, driving her point home.

Lyra's head tilted backwards, her neck bent at an uncomfortable angle over her back to escape the volume and intesity of her somewhat frightening friend. "I'm sorry," she said meekly.

"Good. Now, you check by the library and inform Twilight what's going on. I'm going to see if I can't get Pinkie Pie to help. Celestia knows, she could find a palm tree next to a beach towel in an arctic tundra." Bonbon turned to walk into Sugar Cube Corner, but stopped and sighed. She looked over her shoulder and looked calmly at Lyra, "I'm sorry for yelling, Lyra. I know I can get pretty intense sometimes, but this isn't something to not get intense about. He's too much of a risk." she smiled softly and continued, "I promise I'll make this all up to you later."

Lyra smiled and nodded in understanding before turning around and trotting off to the library. Bonbon, on the other hand felt a slight pang of guilt in her stomach in a form of a small knot. She was going to have to make this up to her, like, really make up for all the yelling she'd done up till this point. She hated getting into these things with her best friend. She couldn't understand how Lyra could always be so nonchalant about so much, especially this. Bonbon loved her friend. Enough so that she thought about asking the mint colored mare out on a date many times before but just couldn't bring herself to do it.

Heh. Some Agent you are Sweetie Drops. You can fight horrible monsters and tyranical ponies... but can you handle love? Buck no! she laughed softly at herself.

"WHAT?!?!?!" a loud shriek rang through the air from the direction of the library. Bonbon hadn't even noticed she'd gotten lost in her thoughts.

Bonbon gave a short little chuckle at the sound, "I guess Lyra didn't waste any time." And with that she went into the Cake's shop to recruit Pinkie Pie.

* * *

"Now, Y'all know what to do? Ah'll draw 'em out, you two trip 'em up, then we wrassle 'em into the net and get out cutiemarks!" Apple Bloom said excitedly.

"Apple Bloom," Sweetie Belle spoke up, her voice sounding shaky and uncertain, "This isn't the best idea you've ever had. Scootaloo I can believe, but not from you,"

"Hey! What's that s'ppose'ta mean!" Scootaloo scowled at her friend.

"I'm just saying. Getting out cutiemarks in bounty hunting and animal trapping has got to start simpler than this. Why did we grab the most dangerous one off the board in town hall? We could have gotten a safer one from Rarity!"

"Wer not catchin' rats an' mice in your sister's backyard just b'cause her cat's as stuffy as she is." Apple Bloom got a little scowl before continuing, "B'sides. We already tried 'cutiemark rat catcher's' and Ah never wanna see another rat trap if Ah can help it,"

The trio shivered at the memory and rubbed their hooves at some phantom pain that seemed to come from it.

"How big could a lizard be? What did the flier say again?" Scootaloo asked.

Apple Blood pulled the wanted poster from her small saddle bag sitting on the ground next to her. "A lizard looking thing almost as big as a pony, walks on four legs, dark green scales and bright green eyes, moves quick, and has been eatin' pony's small livestock from all over the edge of town." she summarized, "Ah'll bet we get our marks for sure this time! Applejack and Big Mac almost got 'im last night. It came in and stole two chickens and a duck. Kinda sad, really, I'm gonna miss Quackers... a little."

"You're sad about a duck?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Apple Bloom nodded, "Ah hatched 'im with the rest of the ducks. Quackers was somethin' else. He used to get up with roosters an' crow. He sometimes got to mah window an' quack 'till I shewed him away." she hung her head sadly, her chest tightening as she remembered everything the strange bird used to do and sat heavily in her haunches. "Wow... I didn't think I'd mis 'im this much. Even if her did get on mah nerves." she gave a sad chuckle, "You shoulda seen what he used to do to Applejack. Ticked her right off every time too."

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked at each other then sadly at their saddening friend. They slowly hugged their friend and nuzzled her cheeks.

"It's going to be okay Apple Bloom," Sweetie soothed, "I'm sure Quackers was happy while you had him."

"Yeah," Scootaloo chimed in, "Besides, I'm sure Applejack would'a got to him first if that thing hadn't -Ow!"

Sweetie jabbed an elbow into Scootaloo's ribs.

Apple Bloom sniffled a big and forced herself back up. An increasingly determined smile on her face, "Yeah. Let's get this theivin' crock b'fore Ah hav'ta get mad."

They looked toward the dense line of trees than separated Ponyville from Sweet Apple Acres. Somewhere in there an unknown lizard was stalking and poaching chickens and if this trio had anything to say about it, it wouldn't be for much longer.

* * *

Another day, another boring eight hours behind an empty shop counter. Lilly Valley twirled her hoof around a lock of her golden mane, lightly brushing against the pink fur of her neck in the process. If boredom could kill, she was sure it wouldn't be this bad. Her flank was falling asleep sitting at the front desk of her shop. Working in a flower shop in Ponyville was like working at a restaurant. They sold flowers and other flora to eat, but Lily's little shop also handled decorations and arrangements. When a day this slow happened, normally she would be ecstatic to have some down time, but the recent rain storm left much of Ponyville covered in detritus for everypony to clean and had been that way for three days. She couldn't afford to close shop a risk loosing a sale for that long. But, oh, how dull these last few days had been.

"Lily," a voice called out from the back room, "Lily? Lily, could you come help me?"

Lily stood, her numb flank began tingling before long as she stepped into the back of the shop. Her muscles felt tight and a little hard. "What do you need?" she asked her sister.

Her sister, Rose, stood precariously between the edge of a chair and a cupboard. The chair had slid back and was threatening to send her toppling town. "Help..." Rose visibly shook.

Lily rolled her eyes and stepped behind the chair. She was about to push the chair forward to help Rose, but a devious idea crept into her mind and took hold like a drug. She grinned widely and quietly slid a heavy pot behind the leg of the chair.

"Lily, I can't stand like this forever." Rose said impatiently.

Lily walked over to her side and, still grinning, sat next to her sister. "No. You can't."

Rose looked to her sister, eyes wide. She scowled, "Lily. Don't."

Lily gave her a faux innocent pout and, reaching a hoof forward, gently slid the edge of her hoof along a particularly sensitive rib on Rose's side.

Rose cringed, contracting the muscles on her side and sucking in a breath. "Lily!" The chair shifted slightly and Rose straightened out again.

"Aw. You're so helpless," Lily teased, "Too bad you're not ticklish. I'd hate to see you fall," her words dripped with so much sarcasm it would be bottled and sold at any Prancer's Gifts shops. She reached forward with her other hoof and, after a little adjusting, placed it on the other side of her sister's barrel, tickling another sensitive rib.

"Luna damnit, Lily! Stop!" Rose quivered, trying, and failing, to stop her giggles, "I'm gonna fall!"

"Oh that would be a shame. It's too bad I can't find any way to save. You will be missed dear sister! My only regret is that I never got to tell you how much I loved you," she vibrated her hooves against Rose's sides, sarcasm still oozing from her like sap on a tree.

"Cut it out!" Rose screamed, barely containing her laughter long enough to take a swing at Lily before nearly toppling over. She caught herself shakily, placing her hoof back on the shelf of the cupboard.

Lily didn't let up, she tickled harder and faster. Rose was screaming and laughing. Her body quivering and contorting, pushing the chair further and further back, stretched up like a plank between two sawhorses. Finally, Rose slipped and fell from her supports and tumbled down onto Lily. Lily caught her and, still giggling at her fun, carefully landed on her back. She held Rose in her hooves and started laughing heartily.

Rose pushed herself off Lily, "You bitch!" she said, glaring angrily, "I could have got hurt!" she waved a hoof around.

"N-no. I had you." Lily said through giggles and held up her hooves in mock defense. She pointed a hoof to the heavy flower pot behind the chair.

Rose looked at it then back at Lily and sighed, "You suck," she said insincerely.

"I was board. I saw an opportunity and took it," Lily said in a mock huff. She heard Rose sigh and looked back at her, "Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same," she continued and smiled knowingly.

"Heheh, yeah. I would have. Still, I'm going to get you back for this."

"Please do! I'm going to loose my mind if nothing happens soon!" Lily placed a hoof over her forehead, over dramatically mimicking a faint.

Rose smirked and caught a laugh in her throat before it could escape, "Why don't you just go out and find something fun to do? I can handle the shop for today."

"Because if I go out there I'll be expected to help clean up everyponies' street or the park or something."

"You know, for as hard as you work here you sure are lazy everywhere else. You'll never get a date if you keep hiding in here." Rose gestured to their quaint little shop.

"Puh-lease! The stallions here are so unexciting I could gag."

"Why not a mare?" Rose sighed, "It's not like there's any shortage of good mares anywhere."

"Not interested. Why would I want to go after something I already have? I don't need another one." She vaguely gestured to her plot.

"Suit yourself."

Suddenly, a loud shrieking sound came from the streets followed by yelling and a stampede. Ponies surged away from the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. Lily and Rose quickly ran to the front door and poked their heads out. Upon seeing what had scared everypony else their both yelped and ducked their heads back inside, slamming the door shut and peaking though the glass window beside it.

There, in the middle of the street, a strange grey and black creature stood on its back legs and covered in blood. It its claws it dragged an alligator and it the other it dragged the bodies of three young fillies. Lily gasped as she recognized the three as the Cutiemark Crusaders. She watched in horror as the creature looked around. Its ice-blue eyes caught site of her through the crack in the side-swept curtains and made its way over to her shop. Her heard suddenly started thundering in her chest. Her hooves felt like a vice held them and refused to move. It kept eye contact with her.

Beside her, Lily heard Rose gasp and then a thud. She had passed out. Lily didn't need to look to know what happened. She felt like she should be doing the same but her entire being refused to do anything. This was it. She was going to die and become some grotesque rag doll for that thing's pleasure. Would it eat her? Would it just kill her? She didn't know but she did know that, as it came closer, he life was no longer her own. This thing had her and her body was too scared to move. He vision started to quake. She might have thought the earth was shaking, except that when she focused on the feeling she found that it was her hooves that were shaking in fear for her life.

It moved to the door and with a swift kick, knocked the door in. Lily's head jerked over to see the creature step up to her. It looked over her with, what she assumed was contempt, and then knelt down.

"P-p-plea-ese. Don't k-kill me," she heard her voice tremble and she gasped for a breath she hadn't realized she lost.

It leaned in close to her ear and whispered softly and slowly. Even at this volume she heard a deep rumbling sound that she imagined could conjure up demons, just barely able to decipher what it said. It stood up and loomed over here again,. She looked at it, her wide eyes and constricted pupils tried to make sense of what it had asked. It stomped once and she gave a shill eep! Her hoof snapped into the air and pointed to the Ponyville hospital. It nodded its thanks and left.

The eerie silence left in the creature's wake was replaced by a light breeze that pushed the front door on its hinges, creaking and groaning. Lily's mind slowly came back to her. She felt cold sweat all over her body. She smelled the reeking stench of adrenaline that had accompanied the fluids of her body on their way out. She looked down to see that, not surprisingly, she had wet herself and was now sitting in a small puddle.

She let out a shaky, quivering breath and tried to stand. Her hooves shook violently as she stumbled over to her sister. She shook Rose in an attempt to wake her. Rose didn't wake. Oh how Lily wished she could have passed out too. Nothing made sense to her at the moment, she thought. Until, that is, her mind stated putting a few things together.

"Maybe..." she whispered as a few ideas came her way. Maybe it wasn't... and they weren't...

* * *

"You lost him?" Celestia asked, the contingent of her guard standing ready behind her.

Bonbon nodded, "Yes, Princess Celestia," the calm over Celestia's voice was even more frightening to Bonbon than any anger she's seen on the Princess before. She'd failed. Bonbon had failed possibly the single most important charge of her life, and now, Celestia was voicing her disappointment.

"To be fair sister," Luna said, standing next to Celestia with her contingent of guards, "Nothing is really known about this creature. It could have just as easily freed itself sooner. Could it be as Discord is? Could it possess a power our little ponies were not prepared to handle?"

"With all due respect, Princess Luna," Lyra spoke up, "It's rude to keep calling him 'it'. And, I've talked to him. His name is--"

"Rage. Yes I am aware, young Lyra Heartstrings. It was not my intention to sound calous or uncaring. You must forgive our speach and mannerisms. They are from a time so very long since passed." Luna smiled warmly at the mint unicorn.

"Oh! N-no! I didn't mean it like that. Well, maybe I did... I'm sorry." Lyra looked at her hooves.

"Thou art quite forgiven," Lune chuckled lightly, amused by Lyra's stuttering and blunt honesty, "But this is quite serious. Thou hast seen this alien creature the most and conversed with him. Prey-tel, is her Dangerous? Does he have a power great enough to be a threat?"

All eyes were on her now. Lyra didn't want to tell. She liked Rage. He was pleasant enough to talk to once you got past his obsceanaties. She sighed heavily, "Yes. Yes he is dangerous and powerful. When I first saw him he was fighting with a Hydra."

Everypony in attendance did a double take, all except the Princesses, at Lyra's tale.

"You mean he was defending himself from a hydra?" one of the guard captains asked from beside Celestia.

"No. I mean he was fighting it. He killed it on purpose. If anything, the hydra was the one running away from him," she gave a quick shiver at the memory.

Even Bonbon looked on in surprise. Lyra had only given her the barest details of what she had seen, "Lyra,"

"Do I have to tell you how he did it?" Lyra looked up at Celestia, the Alicorn Princess looked back at her with a sad, motherly smile. It was comforting.

"I'm sorry to say, but yes. The more we know about this 'Rage' the better it will be for everypony when we see him." Celestia said comfortingly.

Lyra sighed, her heart sank, "Just, please. He's not really all that bad."

Bonbon placed a warm hoof on Lyra's shoulder, "It's okay, Lyra. I may not like him much, but he didn't hurt you... not that he could,"

"Bonnie? Rage slipped out of his cuffs all the time. Half the time I went downstairs to feed and talk to him he was just lounging around freely. He could have left at any time."

Bonbon's face contorted several different times. First shock, then anger, then fear, then anger again. It continued for a while until she spoke, "And you didn't tell me?!"

"What was I supposed to say! 'Hey Bonbon, Rage thinks your knot-tying is a joke. He's going to get out of your love dungeon when he finally gets board.'" Lyra caught her little slip and watched as her friend's face turned red enough to glow.

"Ah'hem" Luna cleared her throat. Lyra looked up to see a slight blush on several faces standing around them, "Perhaps thou should tell us more about thy meeting?" Luna said, steering the conversation back on course.

Lyra blushed and gave a half-hearted chuckle, "Sorry. Anyway. I heard screaming and roaring from the everfree and I thought maybe somepony was in trouble so I went to help," Lyra regaled them with everything she had seen before and after meeting Raje. She told of how, when she saw him, he had a weapon but must have lost it inside the hydra. She told them of how she had seen him tear the hydra apart from the inside out. A few of the unseasoned guards lost their lunches while many, many more turned green in he face, "Yeah, I lost my oats too. Though, to play my own harp, I lasted a few hours before loosing it." she giggled weakly.

After her tale was over, much to everyponies' relief, Celestia spoke again, "Thank you, Lyra. I'm sorry I made you relive those memories. If you ever need to talk to someone, I can refer you to a pleasant psychiatrist." she offered.

"Thanks, but I think I'll be okay." Lyra said.

Celestia nodded, "Alright," she then turned to the platoon and, in a commanding voice that even Lyra found herself unable to resist, began giving out orders to find Raje. Lyra imagined Celestia commanding a mountain to move a few inches as if it weren't where it should be, and the mountain moved.

"Princess Celestia!" came a voice behind Lyra, she recognized it as the voice of Twilight Sparkle, "Princess, we have a problem!"

"I'm well aware Twilight, we have brought the necessary force to deal with it." Celestia gestured her hers and Luna's guards.

"It's not that. Three fillies are missing and several ponies claim to have seen that creature dragging three dead fillies through town along with an Alligator!"

Lyra couldn't believe what she was hearing. Raje had never even made a move to harm her. He'd made plenty of hollow threats, but he never even tried.

"Are you sure, Twilight?" Luna asked darkly. If there's one thing that most ponies knew, it's that Luna was highly protective of younger ponies and foals. She watched their dreams and played with them in those dreams. She was the Night Mother many ponies had come to love. Now she was pissed. Very pissed She kept pretty good control of herself despite the seething anger steaming from her, Lyra noticed.

"Twilight," Celestia interrupted, "You're sure? These fillies weren't mistaken as such? Could they have been something else?"

"No princess. Several ponies I've talked to swear that they saw these fillies. They even recognized them. I.. I-I know them. Their names are Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. I tried to find out more about what might have happened, but all I got was ponies telling me they only saw three bloody fillies and a monster before they hid or ran."

"This isn't going to end well." Bonbon muttered into Lyra's ear.

"He didn't hurt them!" Lyra shouted, "I know him well enough to know he wouldn't have hurt any pony."

"Lyra..." Bonbon tried to reason with her, but Lyra swatted her hoof away.

"No! He wouldn't! He's a really nice stallion!"

"Lyra, he's vulgar and barbaric! How do you know he just didn't hurt you because you're an adult? He have killed them just because they annoyed him." Bonbon said.

"You edged him on! If anyone annoyed him it was you every time you blew up in his face!"

"He called me a slut!"

"And you called him a dick!"

"To which he implied I wanted!"

"You gave him ammunition! If you would ever shut up long enough to listen to him he wouldn't have teased you."

Bonbon groaned and slapped a hoof over her face.

"U-um... excuse me?" everypony looked up to see another new face interrupt their arguing. A white earth pony with a pink mane and red cross cutiemark trotted up to them, "Princess Celestia? I think you should come to the hospital. Three fillies were brought in not long ago for emergency care by a grey skinned creature with black markings, horns, and white hair.

"Is he still there?" Celestia asked,

"Yes. He's just sitting on the roof..." she said hesitantly,

"That's all he's doing?"

"No. He's screaming... and singing... it sounds like a song of sorts but without music and a discernible structure." she said looking away towards the the hospital in thought.

"Very well," she said a turned to her guards and revised her previous orders.

Before long, they were all headed back to the hospital to see the alien creature screaming on the roof.

"I told you her wouldn't hurt anypony," Lyra said smugly to Bonbon, who was trotting next to her.

"We won't know that till we talk to the three fillies." Bonbon reminded her.

"Whatever." Lyra pulled out ahead of Bonbon.

* * *