Seeking Safety

Fleet sat down at his desk, fuming.

It had been twenty-four hours since Lilac had disappeared, and with each passing minute his frustration mounted. He scowled at the ceiling and laughed bitterly. It was funny in a way. There were thousands of ponies in this city, yet no one had seen her?

He clenched his teeth and tried to concentrate. He knew he was missing something, if he could only figure out what it was...

But Fleet didn't have long to brood. A moment later, he was literally brought crashing back to earth as a hoof collided roughly with the back of Fleet's head. Ears ringing, Fleet was about to start cursing out the offending stallion when he realized who he was looking at.

He froze, and cursed under his breath.

Standing in front of him was none other than Captain Frostfall, a gray pegasus stallion with a mane white as paper and a bushy mustache to match. (It wasn't always like that, but had instead turned white from age.) He was livid, and Fleet silently gave thanks to Celestia that he had not soiled himself then and there; such was the intensity of the captain's gaze.

"My office," Frostfall said menacingly. "Now."

Reluctantly, Fleet followed him.

A few moments later, the captain's door was slammed violently. The officers on duty remained where they were and glanced anxiously at one another, each nervously pondering the unpleasant outcome that was sure to follow. And though they strained their ears, they could hear nothing coming from the hall leading to the captain's office.

Then the screaming started. As to what the captain's rant consisted of, the less known the better. Suffice to say, everyone was soon desperately stuffing their hooves into their ears in an attempt to blot out the captain's savage roars. In fact, the level of rage was so extreme that afterwards it was noted that all the wall shelves in the precinct had gone crooked from the sheer force of the captain's voice alone.

From what they understood later, Fleet had been suspended for an indefinite time. This was on account of the fact he'd been caught printing warrants for the arrest of his own wife, who he'd clearly been abusing for some time as evidenced by his rampant alcoholism. As punishment, he'd had his badge taken away. In addition, Captain Frostfall had made it painfully clear that Fleet had a week to clean up his act and grow a backbone, "or else."

Now dismissed and disgraced, there was nothing left for Fleet to do but beat a hasty retreat from the building. No one was sorry to see him leave. Within a few minutes of his departure, everyone got back to work as though nothing had happened.

But Fleet was far from being finished. After a few minutes the shock of what had just transpired had worn off, and he stood on the sidewalk, feeling a terrible rage build within him.

In less than two days, he'd lost everything. And why had he? Because that stupid cunt couldn't take a few bruises and ran away. If she'd stayed put like she was meant to, he wouldn't have had to go looking for her, right? Everything was her fault.

Without hesitating, Fleet began walking in the direction on the train station.

He was going to find that stallion who helped her get away that night and make him talk.

No matter what it took.

.....

As soon as Fleet had gone, Frostfall sat back down at his desk. Quickly, he pulled a piece of paper from the drawer and began to write a letter. When he finished, he placed it in an envelope and sealed it shut. After including the name and address of the pony he wanted it sent to, he walked out of his office and spoke to the first officer he saw.

"Get this to the post office immediately," he said. "Tell them it's urgent."

There was no need for him to explain further. The officer took one look at the red seal and nodded with wide eyes.

"Good lad," said Frostfall. "Now go."

The words hardly left his mouth before the officer was was sprinting for the exit.

Frostfall returned to his office. He sat down behind his desk, thinking. He knew that it was only a matter of hours before Fleet figured out where Lilac had disappeared to. From what he'd been told by his informant (a stallion called Rod) at the train station, the place she'd gone was none other than Ponyville. As everyone well knew, it was the home of the Elements of Harmony and Princess Twilight Sparkle. Meaning that even if Fleet did find her there, it wouldn't be easy to go through with whatever he was planning. In any case, when he turned up at the station and asked if Rod had seen her, Rod, having been told of Lilac's situation by Frostfall, (who in turn had been made aware of it through a friend at the shop Lilac worked in) had then told Fleet with an expressionless tone that he hadn't seen her. Fleet obviously wasn't convinced, but knew better than to harass a senior citizen in public. Rod never even batted an eyelid. He'd taken hits from far worse characters in his lifetime and therefore knew to stand his ground. If Fleet so much as laid a hoof on him, he would soon discover why Rod's first name was Iron.

Still, Frostfall knew Fleet wouldn't stop until he'd found out where Lilac was. That was why he'd written the letter to Princess Twilight Sparkle urging her and the local authorities to keep on the look out for him. With luck, she'd receive it in time and would be able to stop Fleet from doing further harm.

Lilac's life depended on it.