"There," Eustace said, heaving a huge sigh of relief. "I hate that city at night, don't you?" He shook his head and stretched a bit. "Smooth sailing from here on out, I suppose. Come on, let's get back to the Research Hall and wait for morning."

He continued down the bridge which, true to his assumption, was empty, or nearly at least. A few dead bodies littered the path, marked with precise and wicked gashes and stabs. Some coffins, sacks and boxes also laid on the bridge, but otherwise it was entirely devoid of activity. Eustace stopped to take a closer look at a body, prodding it in a rather exaggerated manner. Apparently satisfied with what he found, he continued on, relaxed.

Lanterns hung, unlit, on poles along the length of the bridge, making the only source of light the moon. Above and to the left, she could see the Great Bridge and the Cleric Beast that had taken residence there. It hadn't moved since they had last seen it, and Celestia had to wonder if the thing had actually died there.

Not that she was eager to find out.

There was no gate on the other side of the bridge, it simply led into a set of stairs that slowly ascended into the rest of Cathedral Ward. While both Twilight and Eustace took those steps easily, Celestia remained tense. Even though Cathedral Ward was patrolled by the Doctors, she didn't trust them to have a flawless record, and after learning about the Church's involvement with the Beast plague, she certainly didn't trust Cathedral Ward to not have beasts in it at all.

As they ascended the steps, the buildings closed in around them once more, slowly leading them upwards. Despite its status as part of Cathedral Ward, Celestia couldn't not see the near identical resemblance to the deepest streets of Yharnam proper. Narrow streets, unlit windows and towering construction once again loomed over them, cutting off sight from all but a narrow sliver of sky.

Mere minutes later, they entered a small courtyard. Eustace stopped in the middle, clearing his throat. "Come out, crowfeather, I know you're there. Come on out, and let's talk."

If Eustace hadn't been completely relaxed, Celestia would have drawn her blade, and beside her Twilight had also stiffened. Instead, she waited to see exactly what he thought he was doing.

A door to their right opened, warm light from inside spilling out. A metal mask, eerily reminiscent of a bird's skull, peeked out from behind the door. It stared at them for a moment before disappearing from the doorway, leaving it open.

Eustace, against all of Celestia's instincts, went to enter the door and gestured the other two inside as well with a smile.

As Celestia entered, she took note of the room. It was plain, hardly furnished, but what was there was fairly opulent. Delicate carvings in wall panels and furniture alike gave the room a stately if cramped feeling, and, unlike the exceptionally few other houses they'd been in, everything was completely intact.

The three went through another doorway in the entry corridor, entering into a living room where an earth pony, engulfed in a cloak of black feathers, sat next to a window. The bird mask remained on and, unlike Eustace, this pony was covered head to hoof in cloths and leathers so that one couldn't even tell what color coat they had.

"Eustace."

"Eileen."

That's all that was said before he went and sat opposite from her, next to the window. The two alicorns let themselves in further, finding themselves under the gaze of this "Eileen", even if only for a moment before she refocused on Eustace.

The black feather clad pony leaned towards the stallion, taking an audible sniff. "You smell like shit."

"Oh really? I hadn't noticed," he replied in a perfect deadpan.

"Mm. You look like shit, too."

That earned the mare a disparaging look.

"Sorry," she chuckled, "low hanging fruit."

Eustace sighed wearily, and Eileen quieted while the two earth ponies looked out the window. The two alicorns, meanwhile, simply sat on what furnishings would seat them and let their tension slowly bleed away, content to listen to the two hunters.

"So, what brings you down here?" Eileen asked blandly, fidgeting with something underneath her cloak.

"Oh, many things," Eustace replied just as blandly, "but chief among them, a Cleric Beast on the Great Bridge."

"Is that right?" she said, drawing out the silence. "I can't blame you, Cleric Beasts aren't to be toyed with." She tilted her head towards the two alicorns, still facing Eustace. "They new?"

Eustace nodded. "Brand."

Eileen hummed, giving them a thorough look over. "Figures, sticking the recruits with you. Putting 'em through their paces?" If she noticed their wings, she hadn't bothered mentioning them.

"I wish," Eustace scoffed, "we've spent the last seven, eight hours slogging through the city, crawling through gutters and alleyways like rats, avoiding the damned hunt." He shook his head, cradling it in his forehoof. "Skulking in shadows… it makes me feel like I'm a beast. It doesn't suit me."

"You're right, it doesn't," Eileen agreed, "but remember Eustace, without fear–"

"–we are no better than beasts," Eustace finished with her. "I know, trust me, I've heard it enough from you to never be able to forget it. It's not that I'm not afraid," he began, looking at her straight on, "it's that it'd have been damn quicker if we'd just gone through the mobs, rather than skirting around them. Then we'd have been through this mess long before now. Feels inefficient, I guess," he finished with a shrug.

Eileen simply hummed in response.

"And besides, if I ever went that far over, you'd take care of me. I know it."

"What purpose were you lot going through the entire city for?" Eileen said quickly, almost talking over Eustace.

"Not a clue," Eustace said, flicking an ear. "All I knew was that I was to get these two as far from Yharnam as I could, and then return to the Research Hall after they were satisfied."

Eileen didn't reply immediately, but remained silent for a minute. "Research Hall? So, Choir business then. I'm not going to ask, because I don't want to know. I've said it plenty already, but you should keep distance from those ponies. They're not right, I'll tell you, they're all missing something very important."

Eustace shook his head and gave a weak laugh. "After tonight? I think I will."

Eileen gave a low chuckle as well. "If I had something to calm, I'd offer you some. Sadly, I'm out hunting tonight, so I haven't got any."

"Is that so?" Eustace's face turned grim. "And what prey are you after?"

Again, Eileen fidgeted with something beneath her cloak. "Gascoigne."

"Gascoigne? He was going," he sighed sadly, "I'm sure it has to be done."

Eileen nodded solemnly. "Indeed. He's killed Henryk, and you know how they were. Inseparable."

Eustace nodded and sighed again. He sat there, looking out the window.

They remained like that for another few minutes, idly watching the street outside. Finally, Eileen stood up, the crowfeather cloak wrapping around her form and mostly covering her legs from the fetlock up. "Well, I should be going. Ponies don't hunt themselves."

"Do you want us to come along?" Eustace said, watching her leave.

"No. Leave the hunting of hunters to me, Eustace, and I'll leave the hunting of beasts to you. All the same, I wish you luck." With that, the hunter Eileen left, leaving behind Eustace, Celestia and Twilight.

Eustace turned again to look out the window. "Likewise," he muttered, more to himself than anypony else.

Celestia stood, followed by Twilight, and moved to sit across from him, where Eileen had been sitting, while Twilight sat facing the two.

"You know her well?" Celestia asked, partially curious and partially to soothe the somewhat agitated looking Eustace.

"Yes," he said, rubbing his chin, "quite well. I've known her since I was a recruit, and she was still hunting beasts."

Celestia nodded. Get him talking, and he'll say what's bothering him. "You two seemed like good friends."

"I suppose you could call us that, yes."

"Did you know Gascoigne?"

"No, but I do know that he is a damn, damn good hunter. Eileen should be able to take him…" he said, brow furrowing, "but, she is getting up there in age. I'm worried he might be too much for her."

"He's gone blood-drunk, hasn't he?" Twilight interjected.

Eustace nodded. "That's right, and blood-drunk hunters are the most dangerous hunters. Eileen is truly much more skilled than I am, but…" he stood, moving to the door, "perhaps we should check on her."

Celestia and Twilight got up to follow, but one question remained for Celestia. "How will we find her?"

Eustace chuckled. "If you know the signs, you can find anypony, anywhere, and I've known Eileen plenty long enough to know her signs. We won't have any trouble finding her."

Author's Note

So, here's the next chapter. I've been sitting on this one for a while now, so it feels good to finally get it out the door.

The next chapter is already finished, but I'm going to decide first where I want to go next, as well as how I'm going to do that before I post it. Expect a few weeks.