Now
Whumph
Shadowstar Whisperwing Midnight rolled sideways as his opponent slammed into the dirt at something approaching the speed of sound, leaving neat hoofmark where his face had been seconds earlier. The batpony tensed and leapt, trying to get some distance between himself and his opponent as she recovered from her impact. His tail brushed briefly against her face, and his upward momentum was converted into a neat arc as she grabbed it in her teeth. The crash of another impact echoed against the mountain tops as he struck the ground with more force and less grace than she had.
“Yield!” he groaned.
The grey-haired mare opened her misaligned eyes cautiously, then did a little dance.
“I won! I won!”
“I told you. ‘With a little refresher, you’ll beat me with your eyes closed.’ I was right. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to lie here for a while.”
“Are you okay?”
Her celebrations were cut short as she eyed him with a worried look. He dismissed her concerns with a gesture, then closed his eyes and tried not to think about the bruises he’d have by afternoon. Then he groaned again, and staggered to his feet. He wandered over to a fallen scarf, and picked it up, wrapping it carefully around his withers.
“Come on, Agent Bright Eyes. I owe you breakfast.”
“That’s Miss Hooves to you, Whisper! Agent Bright Eyes is retired.”
“Last I checked, she was dead, but I could be wrong. After all, a pony matching her description is about to eat excessive quantities of muffins.”
Derpy fluttered over to her friend with a squeak of delight, and the two began to walk down to the town as Celestia raised the sun, warming their aching muscles.
*****
“Why now?”
Derpy looked up with a vaguely interrogatory noise, then went back to her breakfast.
“You’ve been retired for the best part of a decade. Why go for a refresher course now? Not that I’m complaining. It’s been a nice break.”
She swallowed a mouthful of muffin with a gulp.
“Protecting Dinky.”
Whisper tilted his head in thought, then understood. The recent cataclysms that had wracked Equestria had ended reasonably well, but the sudden increase in catastrophic threats over the past couple of years had concerned many ponies.
“Ghost and Bubbles, right?”
A postmare was walking over, carrying a parcel. Whisper took it with an indistinct word of thanks, then bit open the packing tape, and began sorting the letters inside into two piles, carefully avoiding the debris from his enthusiastic friend’s meal. When she paused for breath, he nudged the stack addressed to his companion over with a wingtip. She glanced briefly at the top letter, then picked it up with a gleeful expression.
“Carrot Top’s written!”
She sliced the envelope open with a wingtip, magically sharped to a razor edge, and began to read. Whisper raised an eyebrow at the use of the rare technique, then continued to read his own post with little interest. That’s what working for the Night Guard did, after one too many impending catastrophes, they tend to blur together. After a few minutes with no cheerful news from across the table, he looked up, to see Derpy staring at the letter in shocked horror.
“Der… Bubbles! What’s happened?”
Derpy stumbled over her words as tears leaked from her eyes.
“She says Dinky’s father has come back.”
Whisper’s own expression suddenly matched hers. He snatched up the letter, and read it, the blood draining from his face.
“That’s impossible…”
He trailed off.
*****
Then
Crash
“Oops! Sorry, miss!”
The unicorn looked down at the fallen pegasus, as she blinked dazedly at the heavy book that had just landed on her head. He skittered down the ladder with surprising grace for his bulk, and helped her to her feet.
“Ooh. I feel a bit funny.”
She shook her head, and her vision cleared. She took a good look at the stallion before her. A well-muscled unicorn, his pale coat shimmered in the sunlight through the library windows.
“I’m so sorry, miss. Are you ok?”
“It’s fine, no harm done!”
She beamed at the unicorn, and an expression of relief spread across his face.
“Still, I feel I owe you. I believe the coffee shop across the street is open at this hour, can I tempt you?”
She nodded, and he smiled shyly
“I’m Starry Hope, and you are?”
“Ditzy Doo.”
*****
Now
Derpy hung up the phone and trotted over to the platform where Whisper was waiting, holding a pair of tickets and glaring at the clock.
“Your sister?”
“Too far away. And I couldn’t even reach the Doc. You?”
“There’s no active agents free, but I called an old colleague, she’ll keep an eye on things until we can get back.”
“Bon Bon?”
Whisper shot her a quizzical look, slightly obscured by his dark goggles. Derpy smiled sheepishly.
“Old habits.”
Whisper shook his head, then continued staring up the track.
“It’s still ten minutes away.”
“New habits? I couldn’t find a schedule anywhere.”
“It’s useful to know when the post will arrive.”
A toothy grin split Whisper’s muzzle, startling another pony at the platform, who edged away nervously, while a nearby foal laughed excitedly. The grin shifted to a wide yawn.
“I’m too tired for this. I’ll nap on the train if that’s OK?”
“Still not a morning pony?”
Derpy trailed off with a slight sigh. She gulped slightly, then spoke little above a whisper.
“He was.”
“You couldn’t have saved him, Derpy.”
“Maybe if I’d told him something. Anything.”
“It’d only have delayed matters. He’d still be dead, and you’d be a traitor too.”
*****
Then
Ditzy Doo wore a particularly startled look, one a human observer might call ‘Deer in Headlights’, as she considered a response to her coltfriend’s question. It wasn’t an unreasonable one, particularly after they’d known each other for over two months now. Tartarus, it was their third proper date, of course he wanted to know. It was just one she didn’t want to answer.
“Well, Ditzy, what do you do at the palace? You’ve never said.”
“I can’t tell you, Star, you know that.”
“Come on. Just a hint?”
There was an awkward pause, until she finally blurted out
“I’m a messenger.”
Starry Hope considered briefly, then grinned mischievously.
“I bet you see some juicy gossip.”
“Star!”
“What? Surely you can share something…”
“If I did, I’d have to kill you.”
Ditzy giggled nervously at her own joke. Or at least, she hoped he took it as a joke. Glancing about the room to avoid his disappointed gaze, she spotted a clock, showing almost quarter to eight. Had she really been chatting for three hours? That was longer than she’d planned. There was a reason she’d intended to skip dessert… Oh yeah…
“I’m late!”
Ditzy bolted to her feet.
“Ditzy! Are you OK?”
“I’m late for work! They changed the schedule last minute and I was going to tell you and I forgot and…”
“Ditzy, calm down! I don’t mind, and I’ll sort out the bill and everything, though you’d best get moving. Wouldn’t want to be slacking off on the Princess’s payroll, would you?”
She nodded, grabbed him for a quick hug, and then flew for the door. A couple of the restaurant’s patrons looked up disapprovingly, but by that point she was long gone.
*****
“Agent Bright Eyes reporting!”
Ditzy saluted the dour-looking unicorn in front of her. He glared briefly.
“You’re lucky your partner told us where you were, Agent. Grab your gear and get moving, you’ve got a long haul flight to Manehattan, Agent Quiet Wing will give you the mission on route.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, Ditzy trotted off to find her colleague.
“Bright Eyes!”
She yelped as the batpony appeared behind her. Whisper lived up to his name in his silent movement. His shout was… less subtle. He snickered as she awkwardly attempted to convey the impression that she’d intended to do that.
“I’ve got your kit. We need to leave.”
She took the folded flight suit and slipped it on, working her way past the thicker padding in the barrel, designed for absorbing a good hoof kick.
“Thanks for covering for me.”
“Don’t worry about it. You deserve some peace, and this one could wait a couple of hours. I hope you were having a good time.”
Ditzy looked suspiciously at her partner, something of a feat as he was helping her with the zip down her back at the time.
“What? If you weren’t it means there’s a stallion I need to kick into next week.”
She rolled her eyes at Whisper, clipping on her belt, its many pockets carefully packed to not shift and make a noise at an inopportune moment
“Agent Quiet Wing. Our authority is not to be misused for petty reasons. And I was having a lovely time. What’s the job?”
“I’m paid to worry about you. As for the job, we’ve got a positive ID on a Manehattan crime boss, but local police are in her pocket. She’s a nasty one too, behind the slaver ring Day Break and Swift Hoof cracked last year. We need to explain Her Solar Majesty’s opinion on abusing her subjects, and suggest how she might avoid a return visit. Agent Black Tie wants her list of customers. Much easier if she hands it over willingly.”
There was a snap of elastic as Agent Bright Eyes donned her flight goggles.
“Got it.”
*****
Now
Whisper woke from his nap to the gentle rocking of the train compartment. Feeling the lack of his day-vision goggles, he opened his eyes cautiously, then fully once he realised the room was nicely darkened by the closed curtains. Looking across, he saw Derpy re-reading Carrot Top’s letter.
“You’ll hurt your eyes, reading in the dark.”
“You do it.”
“Yep. And I wear these normally.”
He reached up to a shelf and pulled down his goggles. After a couple of seconds adjustment, he had them seated comfortably, then he pulled the curtains open, taking a brief note of the Sun’s position. Nearly midday, they still had a fair journey ahead of them. Derpy glanced up, then gasped. Whisper looked down, and saw he’d left his scarf on the train seat, revealing the puckered scar across his shoulder.
“Sorry. Surprised you haven’t seen it yet.”
“Not since I retired. You’ve always worn that scarf when we weren’t practicing, and I had my eyes closed for that.”
Picking up the scarf, he wrapped it carefully around himself, concealing the ugly wound.
“That was a bad night.”
“It was when we found it.”
“We succeeded the mission though.”
“I was too busy worrying about you both to see what was right in front of my face!”
Whisper smiled in an attempt to lighten to mood. Derpy joined in briefly, but her weak grin soon faded. That had been a bad night. The memories were little better.
*****
Then
“The reason his records only go back a year is that that’s when he moved from Prance!”
“I know, and his immigration paperwork is impeccable.”
“I can’t believe you decided to do a background check on my coltfriend!”
Whisper leaned back slightly from the mare’s fury.
“You’ve been together, what, eight months? I waited until you were at least going steady. It’s not like I’m checking up on every stallion you meet. I’m just trying to take care of my partner.”
This was evidently the wrong thing to say, as the highly-trained batpony stallion found himself colliding with the wall at a not-inconsiderable speed.
“Two bits on the mare.”
They both turned to the small crowd that they’d both only just noticed, alerted by the hissed conversation. Ditzy and Whisper glanced at each other, then took off, vanishing out of an open window, to the sounds of disappointment from below.
“Sorry, Ditzy. I didn’t want to upset you, and I genuinely don’t have reason to doubt his story. I just wanted to make sure you were safe.”
“I’m Night Guard. We don’t do safe.”
The open sky was calm and quiet, the sun just dipping below the horizon. A flare flashed up past them, and they shifted course, heading down to a unicorn silhouetted on the ground.
“Is he okay, anyway? Sounds like those muggers really roughed him up.”
“The docs say nothing permanent, but…”
“I get that. Still in hospital?”
“Yeah.”
They touched down, and the unicorn looked them both over.
“Agents Bright Eyes and Quiet Wing. Are you fit for duty?”
Whisper looked over to Ditzy, who nodded.
“Yes, Agent Black Tie, sir!”
“Good. I’ve got word of a job we need doing. There’s a lot of movement at this address.”
The unicorn passed them both a slip of paper, the address of one of Canterlot’s warehouses scribbled on it.
“Which is odd, given that it’s currently empty and without owner. Care to take a look?"
There was a completely silent flurry of wings as both the junior agents took wing at once.
“I shall take that as a yes.”
Black Tie carefully adjusted his suit, then calmly walked away.
*****
The warehouse was dark from the outside, although a few chinks of light suggested that was due to black paint, rather than a lack of activity. Whisper set down across the street, scanning the building with his dark-adjusted eyes. A quick gesture, and Ditzy settled on the roof of the building, listening intently to the muffled conversation.
“Get … the city, then … burn … warehouse down, … a trace.”
She and Whisper flashed signs across the street, then she crept towards the back of the building, while Whisper took flight. He swept down, whistling at a pitch normal ponies couldn’t hear, shifted course at the last moment, and smashed through a window. Judging by the sounds of pain, he crashed into an unfortunate pony inside. A door beneath Ditzy crashed open, and the earth pony charging through it suddenly found himself sprawling as a surprising weight landed on his back, before a quick punch sent him into darkness. The pegasus immediately following bounced off the building’s wall as she was struck by a powerful kick and spiralled into unconsciousness.
Ditzy dived through the door, a knife whistled over her head and she swooped up in a low arc, a headbutt interrupting the unicorn responsible before his spell could throw another knife. Dazed, he was unable to resist as she grabbed him in a full body lock and battered him until he succumbed to unconsciousness. A series of cries from up ahead suggested that Whisper was having similar experiences. Glancing across the ground floor, it appeared empty, and certainly there was nothing moving. She flitted up a staircase to the second floor, reaching the top just in time to have an earth pony cross her vision at speed and crumple against a wall, and Whisper stepped forwards, dusting himself off.
“Downstairs is clear.”
“Most of the activity was in an office just along here. Ladies first?”
Ditzy smiled and lead the way, entering the well-lit office, where a blackboard against the wall immediately caught their attention:
Bright Eyes Ditzy Doo - Under Observation
Quiet Wing ?
White Dancer ?
Silver Blade ?
Flawless Breeze ?
Prize Amethyst ?
Ghost Step Shadowblack Darkblight Nightstar IV - Compromised
Golden Fur ?
Outside Chance ?
“I’m not generally prone to profanity, but…”
Ditzy just stared in shock. It was a couple of seconds before either spoke again.
“That’s our class. Everyone who trained with us. They know who we are.”
“Yes, but who knows? And how much? Come on, Bright Eyes, we need to know as much as we can.”
Whisper stepped forwards.
“Quiet, what if the muggers… weren’t.”
Her partner froze, and turned slowly, realisation dawning in his eyes.
“They know who you are, they could be targeting you.”
“We have to warn Black Tie, all of them.”
“I’ll head back to the castle, you get started here.”
The batpony left. A couple of seconds later, he shrieked in pain. Ditzy flew over the desk she’d just approached and whooshed through the door. Outside in the corridor, Whisper was curled up, whimpering, a long line drawn across his shoulder with a knife, currently floating in a unicorn’s magic field. The unicorn looked up at her approach, and stepped forward, away from the fallen Whisper.
“You hurt my brother, Miss Doo. I suppose it’s a fair trade for hurting your coltfriend. Because of that, I’ll be merciful. You’ll die quickly.”
A red mist descended across her vision, and Ditzy dived forwards. The knife carved a whistling path through the air, and Ditzy corkscrewed, missing the razor-sharp blade by a hair. The unicorn’s eyes widened fractionally, then the impact blasted him through the side wall of the warehouse. Ditzy dashed to her fallen friend’s side.
“Got to warn the others…”
“Stay with me! Stay with me, Whisper!”
He didn’t feel the trickling dampness, or the sting of salt in his wound.
*****
Now
The train came to a halt in Canterlot station. The moon was high as the stars wheeled gently overhead.. The two ponies stood up, carefully stretching their wings as they stepped outside the station. Whisper groaned slightly.
“Are you OK?”
“Just regretting your victory a bit.”
Derpy took off, flapping a few feet off the ground, smiling encouragingly.
“Come on! Besides, you’re the one that planned this.”
“It’s the fastest way. We’ll be there by morning.”
“Not if you can’t fly.”
This was met with a sarcastic grimace, and Whisper gingerly took off. Derpy’s wide grin gave him strength and he shook it off with a wince. He then looked up at her while she cavorted in the sky.
“Stop looking at me like that. You’ve given birth, which I am reliably informed is significantly more painful than this is.”
“Worth it.”
“So’s this. Just give me a minute to get up to speed.”
Whisper’s wingbeats got stronger, and he caught up to the pegasus as she drifted towards Ponyville. They flew through the midnight sky, flapping regularly in a cross-country rhythm.
“Who do you think it is?”
Whisper considered the question
“I don’t know, but if they’ve hurt Dinky, I’ll kill them.”
“No.”
He turned to his friend, her expression stony.
“I need you to be calm for me. Like before.”
A single, deliberate nod was the response.
*****
Then
Whisper ran through the drill, kicking at air, turning twists and rolls with the agility born of long practice.
“Nearly there!”
He smiled wearily at his partner.
“Just about, still more tiring than it should be. How’s the investigation going?”
“Lots of dead ends. We managed to warn Ghost Step though.”
She was sat on his lawn, sipping a cider with a muffin on a plate next to her, as the Mare in the Moon looked balefully down at them, somehow failing to diminish the beauty of the night. He flopped down next to her, picking up his own glass, and took a big gulp of cider.
“Now, what was it you wanted advice on?”
“You know Starry and I have been…”
“Dating, for about eighteen months at this point.”
“Yeah.”
Whisper took note of her tone, and carefully wrapped her in his hooves.
“What’s happened? He’s not been hurt, has he? Has he hurt you?”
Ditzy looked up in shock.
“No, no, nothing like that.”
There was silence for a long time.
“I’m pregnant.”
“Ah”
There was another silence
“Are you angry?”
“Why would I be angry? I get a cute foal to spoil rotten!”
Ditzy facehooved.
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am! As an honorary uncle I will take my duties very seriously. They are going to be the happiest foal in Canterlot when I get a chance. On a more serious note, does Starry Hope know?”
“Not yet.”
“You need to tell him, sooner, rather than later.”
“I’m scared.”
“You’d be an idiot if you weren’t, and an idiot you aren’t.”
A rain of shooting stars filled the silence. Ditzy listened to her friend’s heartbeat, taking solace in the rhythm as they watched the spectacle.
“I’ve got a plan. We’re going out for a picnic tomorrow night. I’ll tell him then.
“Good plan. How do you think he’ll react?”
“I don’t know.”
She munched her muffin thoughtfully.
“Can you be there? Not, visible or anything, just…”
“Lurking? Just in case. Yeah, I can manage that.”
*****
Now
Dawn broke as they passed the outskirts of Ponyville, Whisper lowered his goggles, and they descended towards Carrot Top’s farm. As could be expected, the golden mare was up. Derpy settle in a cloud, observing the farm, while Whisper descended to speak with her. Carrot Top jumped as the batpony touched down, then turned to face him.
“You’re that batpony hangs around Derpy?”
“I visit occasionally.”
“A ‘yes’ would have done. Do you know where she is?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
Whisper remained silent.
“Will you tell me?”
“No”
“Are you being annoying?”
“Yes. Derpy was concerned about your letter.”
“The one about Dinky’s father?”
“Yes. I must speak with him.”
“Why? He’s been the perfect gentlecolt, even if he is a bit inexperienced with foals”
“I want to know how he came back from the dead.”
Carrot Top’s look of horror amused Whisper’s darker side, but his lighter one rushed to explain.
*****
Then
Ditzy Doo carried both baskets with ease, while Starry Hope puffed some distance behind, looking between the trees as the pegasus mare danced joyfully at the peak of the small hill, waving at the stars.
“Come on! I’m hungry.”
“You… can’t be. Only… ate an…hour ago”
“You’ve packed muffins! I can smell them.”
Ditzy set the baskets down, and began digging in search of the treat.
“Hang on!”
Starry Hope jogged a little, closing the distance quickly, and gently extricated her. With a glimmer of magic, he spread a blanket, then passed her a muffin. She settled, and began chewing enthusiastically. After demolishing one muffin and coming up for breath, she looked over at him.
“I’ve got something important to tell you.”
He looked up from where he was unpacking the other basket. She turned nervously away. Suddenly her rehearsed speech had fled her mind, and the bits she remembered seemed incoherent and daft.
“BRIGHT EYES! DOWN!”
Whisper’s yell triggered an instinctive response, and she threw herself flat as a bolt of coherent light passed overhead. A dark shape went the other direction, and as she rose, she saw Whisper drive a hoof into Starry Hope’s barrel. A spark of magic sent the batpony flying, and Ditzy gaped in shock.
“What?”
Starry Hope turned to her, a psychotic smirk on his face.
“You really are dumb, aren’t you? I just tried to kill you.”
Ditzy’s body responded on instinct, diving to one side as a second blast of magic carved through air.
“But… why?”
“Because you won’t tell me anything! Because you’re too good at your job and my masters are sick of waiting for you to slip up and tell me something useful!”
She glanced about wildly, looking for Whisper’s dark shape anywhere, looking for something sane.
"But, you were attacked..."
"Knew you'd never doubt it for a second after that. They were careful not to do too much damage"
She stumbled and fell, her wings flapping madly to right herself, and half the primary feathers on her left wing vanished in a flare of magic.
“I love you…”
“I never loved you. I was assigned to seduce you. Guess what. It worked!”
As her mind caught up, her eyes filled with tears, while her emotions battled to tell her it wasn’t true. Then her blurred vision filled with light. A searing pain blasted across her skull and the world slipped away.
She didn’t see Whisper come hurtling from the darkness.
She didn’t see it as the liar known as Starry Hope lost his horn to a vicious kick.
She didn’t see as Whisper crushed his skull to paste.
*****
She regained consciousness in a hospital bed. The room looked wrong, all fuzzy. A dark blob grabbed her in a hug, and she heard Whisper’s voice, but that was fuzzy too.
The next couple of weeks were a blur. Her hearing came back, mostly, and her vision got better, though never all the way right. Whisper was there constantly, even sneaking in at night when he really shouldn’t. He wouldn’t stop apologising, and she couldn’t work out what he was sorry for.
She was the idiot who’d trusted an enemy spy. She was the one who’d missed the signs.
Black Tie came by. He talked to the doctors, then he came to talk to her.
“Your usefulness as an undercover operative is over. Your cover is blown. The doctors tell me that your vision is probably permanently impaired. If you wish to continue with the Night Guard, we have roles you could fulfil, but they would not be field roles. I am sorry, you were a good agent.”
And that was it. Her life was over.
*****
Now
Whisper stepped carefully into the farmhouse kitchen. Dinky looked up from her breakfast.
“Uncle Whisper!”
His grin was genuine, and he swept the unicorn filly up in a hug, giggling slightly as her hair tickled his leathery wings. He set her down, and gave her a serious look.
“Listen to me, I need you to go with Carrot Top. Behave yourself today.”
“When’s mommy coming back?”
“Your mum will be back soon, I promise.”
Dinky grinned widely, then skipped over to Carrot Top. The farmer gave Whisper a dark look where Dinky couldn’t see, before picking up the filly’s schoolbag and leading her out. A few seconds after they were gone, Derpy entered. She walked over to the fridge, smiling at a picture pinned to it.
“Dinky mentioned she’d done that.”
Whisper turned to admire it, his fangs showing in a toothy grin.
“It is rather good, isn’t it?”
They admired the picture briefly until a small voice came from behind them.
“Can I help you? If you want to do business with the farm, you’ll have to talk to Carrot Top.”
The two ponies turned around slowly. Whisper spoke first.
“I presume you are Dinky’s father?”
The stallion before them was rather slender, somehow managing to look small despite his surprising height. His dark coat seemed to drink in the light. He looked nervous at the question, and responded in a quavering voice.
“Who wants to know?”
“Her mother.”
Derpy’s voice was scarily quiet, somehow conveying enough menace to drive off an army in a volume little more than a whisper. The stallion backed off slightly. Whisper took over.
“Dinky appears unharmed, so I have no particular reason to harm you. Why are you here?”
There was a sudden flash of green fire, and a changeling cowered behind the kitchen table. He looked small, even for one of the chitinous drones.
“I was hungry, please don’t kill me!”
“Buzzik?”
Both changeling and pegasus looked at the batpony in shock. Whisper shrugged.
“I found your mother’s body. And her last message.”
“He’s an orphan?”
“Last of his kind, so far as I can tell. Buzzik, you’ll need to come with me to Canterlot.”
The changeling shrank back, cowering in the darkness. Derpy advanced, her spread wings seeming to fill the room, cutting off any escape.
“Have you harmed Dinky?”
Buzzik didn’t speak, but shook his head violently.
“Have you fed off her?”
Buzzik just shook, and didn’t respond
“HAVE YOU!?”
The plates rattled. A quivering nod. Then blurted words.
“It didn’t hurt her. I didn’t take too much. I’ve been starving, please don’t hurt me!”
Derpy folded her wings, but continued to approach the shivering insect.
“How old are you?”
Buzzik looked up in surprise, and didn’t answer for a minute, Derpy just carried on looking at him with one eye, while the other wandered around the room.
“Twelve winters.”
There was a long pause.
“Whisper, give us a second.”
The batpony looked like he might object, but caught the expression in his partner’s face. He nodded, and left.
*****
Then
“What will you do now?”
Ditzy didn’t look up from the parchment, its formal statement of facts, Date of Birth, Address, Species, and so on seeming oddly out of place for what it represented.
“I don’t know.”
Whisper didn’t move, his emerald gaze boring into her skull.
“He’s definitely dead, you know.”
“I know, it says here, Cause of Death: Severe Cranial Trauma”
There was a long moment of stillness before she spoke again.
“I don’t know. All I ever wanted was to protect people. The Night Guard gave me that, but now I can’t do that, and with a foal on the way…”
She sighed.
“I wish I could have seen the body.”
A dark smile crossed Whisper’s face, before he banished it.
“Corpses don’t tend to keep more than a few days.”
“It’s over. It just doesn’t feel like it.”
The pegasus moved away from the desk, and walked past Whisper, who moved to follow as she proceeded down the corridor, unhindered by the slight bloat in her belly.
“You found his employers?”
“And dragged them before the Princess. They’re not going to hurt you again.”
She stopped by a window, and looked out at the park below them, where ponies laughed and played.
“I don’t know what I want to do. But I know what I want to be.”
Whisper turned to her. She smiled mischievously, but there was an edge of sorrow.
“Promise me you’ll help me.”
“I’ll do what I can.”
“I want to be a mother.”
*****
Now
Whisper looked at her in shock, unable to speak at the sheer audacity of the mare’s suggestion.
“He’s a child, who’s lost his mother! This is the best option!”
The batpony found his voice.
“Maybe, but you’ve done enough! This isn’t something to take lightly!”
“You promised!”
He sat down abruptly, and lowered his head in submission. He knew when he was beaten. Still, he decided to go down fighting.
“This isn’t the same. It’s not like he’s an innocent newborn.”
Derpy just glared at him. With both eyes, something he found oddly unnerving.
“Fine! I’ll have to bring it to Director Raven though, and she’ll take it to the Princesses.”
“I’ll argue with anyone I need to.”
He smiled wistfully.
“I don’t doubt you will. Very well, Miss Hooves, we shall do it your way.”
A pegasus colt crept out of the farmhouse, his night-black coat clearly visible against the sunlit farmhouse.
“I can stay?”
He whispered nervously. The batpony looked down at him with more sympathy than either expected.
“At least unless the Princesses say otherwise, and if they have any sense, they won’t.”
*****
Then
Whisper passed Ditzy the envelope of documents, and she leafed through them, pausing at one.
“A postmare? Really?”
“It was available, and people aren’t going to look twice at your qualifications.”
She nodded in acknowledgement, and continued reading.
“Thankyou for this.”
Ditzy put down the papers, and looked up at her friend.
“Ponyville’s a quiet place, where you can raise her in peace.”
“You’ll visit, won’t you?”
He wrapped her in his leathery wings, holding her close, and stroked the mane of the foal strapped to her chest, who stirred softly in her sleep, and didn’t move.
“As often as I can. Like I said, I take being an uncle seriously. Besides, I promised.”
He released her, and stepped back.
“Goodbye, Derpy Hooves.” He bent down to the foal. “Goodbye, Dinky. I’ll see you both soon. Now you’d best go, or you’ll miss your train”
Derpy smiled, and left, pausing briefly at the door to wave goodbye. Whisper held his composure as long as he could, then quietly curled up and began to sob.
*****
Now
Whisper carefully sat down at the table, placing a slice of Battenburg in front of his own seat, a chocolate muffin opposite from it and an ice-cream sundae to one side. A few seconds later, a grey blur collided with the chair, clattered to the floor, said something unpronounceable, and Derpy popped her head back above the table. Shortly afterwards, Buzzik, still wearing the form of a pegasus colt, trotted over. After a nod from Whisper, he seated himself in front of the sundae.
“Well?”
Derpy rolled her eyes at the question, set the chair right, sat down and began chewing.
“Fluttershy is still up for the relay team, which’ll help me stay in shape. Mister Zippy is over the moon that I’m back, not that he’ll admit it, and Mayor Mare has promised to help with all the paperwork.”
“The Doc?”
She swallowed loudly and took another bite before continuing.
“Not been seen for a couple of days, but I found a note, he’ll be back soon.”
They sat in companionable silence for a while, eating their respective treats. Whisper broke the silence first.
“Are you sure you’ll be OK?”
“Nope! But it’s not like I’m ever sure.”
He smiled weakly.
“I’m just scared.”
She beamed at him.
“You’d be an idiot if you weren’t, and an idiot you aren’t.”
His smile turned into a genuine grin. Then his eyes widened almost imperceptibly, and his grin broadened further. A couple of seconds later, Derpy toppled over as a purple filly grabbed her from behind in a tackle-hug.
“Mommy!”
“Dinky!”
Dinky giggled and kissed her mother, who wrapped her in a feathery embrace. Carrot Top cantered over, looking distinctly out of breath. Whisper looked across at her.
“I did tell you not to tell her, Dinky can outrun anything when she puts her mind to it.”
The farmer glared at the spy, who looked back with a complete lack of sympathy.
“I didn’t, she worked it out herself.”
Derpy and Dinky surfaced from their hug, and Derpy pointed out the third figure at the table.
“Dinky, this is Buzzik, he’ll be staying with us a while.”
Buzzik waved anxiously, and Dinky bounced over to him and looked him over critically.
“You’re very thin, you need feeding. Mommy?”
“Of course, and pick what you want as well.”
Dinky grabbed Buzzik, and dragged him into Sugarcube Corner.
“Are you sure that’s wise? He’s already had one sundae.”
“Of course it is, Whisper, you’re paying.”
Whisper facehooved dramatically, then caught sight of the clock on the wall.
“I’ve got to go, or I’ll miss my train.”
The two agents hugged each other, he saluted Carrot Top with a sarcastic manner, which did nothing to diminish her scowl, and walked off down the street. Once he was some distance away, Carrot Top turned apprehensively to Derpy.
“Are you two… together?”
Derpy turned to Carrot Top with an expression of surprise, then shook her head. There was a long pause, as Carrot Top drew little circles in the dirt with her hoof.
“JUST ASK HER OUT!”
Whisper’s yell made them both jump. Derpy then burst out laughing at Carrot Top’s expression, while the other mare stood rigid, stunned shock written across her face. Whisper waved cheerily and cantered out of sight.
“Did you Ha not know Ha Ha! that batponies have excellent hearing?”
Carrot Top still didn’t move.
“Mommy, what did Uncle Whisper mean?”
Derpy just laughed harder.
