A Murder Of Crows

Chapters

Prelude: The Birds
Act 1: Kaw
Act 2: Bird Box
Act 3: Groth-Golka
Epilogue: The Crow

Prelude: The Birds

Hitch tossed and turned, noticing an uncomfortable chill, before his alarm clock finally went off to alert him to the start of another work day. His rest had been uneasy, and once he awoke he realized why he was so uncomfortable. The bed sheets were soaked with sweat, as was his fur, causing him to shiver as he tossed the comforter back to air out the mattress. There was a strong scent of the ocean in the room, and he looked over to see if he had left his window open last night. A black bird cawed at him before quickly flying away.

He got out of bed and got ready for his day. Hitch took a quick shower, ran a comb through his mane, and put on his bandolier and badge. By the time he was done, the majority of the dream was fuzzy at best. He could remember beautifully cut masonry and being deep underwater, but whatever panic had awoken him was forgotten. With a busy day ahead he had little time to linger in the apartment and worry about a bad dream.

A bell rang as Hitch entered the coffee shop that was below his apartment. The smell of fresh baked bread and coffee filled his nostrils as he surveyed the scene of ponies starting out their day. There were pegasi hanging out with a unicorn along the wall and a few earth ponies scattered throughout, all of whom were simply enjoying each other’s company and their morning joe.

“Good morning, Sheriff.” Dahlia smiled, the elderly mare getting a cup of coffee and bagel ready to go for him.

“Good morning, Dahlia.” He took a bite of the bagel and reached to get a few bits to pay.

“Oh what have I told you, it’s on the house. You’re the best tenant I’ve ever had, plus the best Sheriff the town’s had.”

He put his bits back into a small saddle bag attached to his bandolier, just large enough to hold some loose change. “Thanks, I appreciate it as always.”

She looked around before leaning over the counter and smirking. “You know, Flour’s in the back if you’d like me to get her so you can say hi. I dare say she’s got a bit of a crush on you since you restored magic to Equestria.”

“Mom!” Flour complained from the back room where she was baking some bread, the sound drawn out and a bit pouty.

“Can’t blame me for trying,” Dahlia called back. She turned back to Hitch and whispered a bit quieter. “Better settle down soon, Sheriff, before all the good mares get taken.”

“Sure thing.” Hitch nodded. He was used to several of the mares in town trying to encourage him to settle down. “Though I’m quite busy at the moment, more and more ponies are moving into town and the Sheriff’s office just isn’t big enough for the town anymore. That’s why I’ve been trying to expand.”

The gray unicorn over by the door waved, and Dahlia hurried over to refill their coffee, while still talking to Hitch. “Oh, must be why you went and got that assistant?”

“Yeah, and if this next class goes well I’m hoping to have a dozen deputies. I’m not sure how Sprout and I made it work for so long with just the two of us.”

Dahlia walked back by Hitch, giving another suspicious glance around. “Just be careful if you got your eye on that assistant, I hear a pegasus can hypnotize a stallion with their feathers.”

Hitch chuckled and gave her a smirk. “Don’t worry, that’s just an old mare’s tale.” he made his way to the door. “And don’t go telling too many old mare’s tales to everypony, we’re friends now.” He heard her mutter something about “young’uns” as the door closed behind him.

In front of him, a dark pink pegasus landed, with long blond hair. “Assistant Sheriff Dawn reporting!” She offered a salute with a wing.

“Assistant to the Sheriff,” Hitch corrected.

She rolled her eyes. “So what was it today? Horn lasers? Eating our young?” Dawn pointed a feather through the window to Dahlia.

“Something about hypnotizing feathers,” Hitch stated. “But to be fair, she’s nearly eighty and that’s a long time to be listening to propaganda.”

“Yeah, and so far everypony has been really nice.” She lifted a wing and fished a small notebook out of a pouch. “So today you’re expected to meet with Phyllis about bylaws for the new apartment complex. The last one just finished, and all fifty units are already occupied by new residents from Zephyr Heights and Bridlewood.”

Hitch began to walk down the road towards the Sheriff’s Office. It was only a block away, one of the reasons he’d chosen the apartment just above the bakery. “Alright. Are we still having problems with littering and graffiti?”

“Just littering,” she replied. “The graffiti stopped once we got all the old posters down about the other races.”

There was an excited bird call, and two seagulls flew by dropping some pastry wrappers into a trash can. The pair flew over to Hitch before landing and saluting. “Hey Edgar, Allen, how’s it going?”

The lead bird with the tin can on his head, Edgar, replied with several short sounds.

“That’s good, thanks.”

“Wow, you can understand them? That’s so cool,” Dawn stated.

Hitch smirked. He couldn’t understand them, he just liked to hold one side of the conversation to make other ponies think he could. Some ponies had caught on by now, but the new arrivals in Maretime bay had no idea. If they thought Hitch’s ability to make any animal be friendly towards him included talking to them, then he found they were much less likely to break any laws. Birds in particular liked nesting in the town, so there was always a pair of eyes that were available to Hitch for surveillance of any ponies with ill intent.

“That just leaves Clippy, oh there you are.” Hitch looked down to see the small crab trimming one of his fetlocks that had overgrown his hoof a bit.

“You know, if you had more of the critters on your team I bet they could help with the litter problem. At least until we get Canterlogic to install more trash cans, and ponies to be a bit less lazy,” Dawn explained.

Hitch thought it over while they resumed their walk towards the police station. The seaside town did have debris and trash wash onto the beaches occasionally, and there were dozens of street vendors given the excellent weather. All it took was a stiff breeze and some full trash cans, or a few ponies in a hurry, and trash would end up scattered across the roads. If he could spend less time chasing litterers, he could spend more time training deputies and working on more important cases.

“That’s a good idea, actually, but seagulls don’t generally seem too interested in helping out. Other than these three,” he gestured to the critters following him, “they prefer to spend their time fishing.”

“What about that one?” the assistant asked.

Hitch looked at the trash can in front of the Sheriff’s office, where a jet black crow sat.

“Caw.”

It met Hitch’s eyes and seemed to approve. “A crow? I haven’t seen one of those in town before, but I hear they’re quite clever. If only I had some more crows, we could probably trade shiny objects for their nest in exchange for them helping clean up the town.”

“Caw.” The crow nodded once and took off.

“What’d he say?”

Hitch rubbed his head as he thought something up. “Uh, I think it was hungry.”

Dawn opened the door to the station. “I think we’d better get training started for today, before your appointment. Sprout and the other trainees are already inside.”

“I have a feeling this is going to be a long day.” Hitch finished off his coffee and tossed it into the trash.

The meeting with Canterlogic ran longer than expected, though most meetings did. As soon as one pony began a presentation, every other pony in the room would have to get their two bits in. By the time a dozen ponies had gotten done agreeing with each other, hours had passed.

Hitch had made it a point to get Phyllis to promise to do better about keeping the Canterlogic grounds clean. Most of their waste got shipped out to an energy plant that could sort and recycle the trash, then burn the flammable waste for power. However, the employees were some of the worst offenders when it came to littering. The factory was surrounded by enough trash on his way to the meeting that Hitch was tempted to cite Phyllis on the spot, but she had been paying out of pocket to help restore the older parts of town and build new housing, so he let it slide.

When he got back outside again, he was very surprised to see all the litter was gone. In its place about a dozen crows had perched themselves on the street lights, the fence, and a few benches.

He went up to the nearest pair of crows. “Wow, you did all this?”

“Caw.”

“Thanks.” Hitch watched as the crow pecked in front of him. “Oh, I guess you want payment?”

“Caw.”

He fished out the bits from earlier that he’d try to pay for coffee with, and put them on the bench. Hitch also made a mental note to find some buttons or something a bit less valuable to give them next time.

The crows seemed to approve, flying over until they’d carried off all the shiny coins. He got glared at by a couple of the crows who hadn’t been rewarded with anything shiny, but they eventually took off after the flock as well.

As he walked back towards his apartment to relax for the rest of the day, Hitch noticed the town looked a little better already. A pair of crows were peeling off small heart-shaped stickers with unicorns and pegasi on them, most likely left by Sunny. Another set of crows seemed to be playing a game and dive-bombing a trash can, dropping the rubbish into the bins at the last second before soaring back up into the air.

On a few buildings, the crows would just sit on the edge, staring down over the wide streets as if daring somepony to miss the trash can. Whenever a pony would, a crow would take off like a missile to retrieve the trash and throw it away.

Hitch began to worry that if this kept up, he was going to run out of shiny rewards for the birds very quickly. He wondered what would happen if he couldn’t keep up his payments.

By the time he got home the sun was about to set, and he made himself a quick dinner. It was a small two-bedroom apartment and he kept most of his junk stored in the spare bedroom. Hitch was looking forward to a shower when he heard some pecking on one of the windows.

Hitch went into his bedroom and opened the window, where several crows were perched in a small planter that hung out of the window. A cactus in the planter was the only plant Hitch had managed to grow so far without dying. In the soil next to the plant were several bits and baubles.

“Oh, what’s this?” Hitch asked the nearest crow.

“Caw.”

He got a small cup and began to transfer the most interesting bits of trash the crows had gathered that day into it. A knitting needle, some buttons, a couple bright silver fishing lures, some vintage pony cola bottle caps, and a couple ten bit coins.

“Wow, thanks. Keep up the good work,” Hitch said.

The crows gave him one of those infatuated looks as if they’d fly into a hurricane for him, before taking off to seek out more wrongdoers. Hitch realized he might need to leave them a few trinkets at payment, so he went into the junk drawer in his kitchen. He got out some paper clips, assorted screws, and a few loose coins just to be safe. If they kept delivering him ten bits for every bit he paid them to pick up litter, Hitch might be on the way to an early retirement in a much larger apartment.

Once he got back to the window, he left the shiny objects in the planter for the crows to pick up overnight, then closed the window.

Outside as the sun set over the water, the brickwork making up the street shone orange. Ponies walked along the clean sidewalks, and in the gutters there was not a single wrapper, straw, or lid. A group of fillies were feeding some popcorn to some of the crows, and one bird even let the young pony pet its head.

Hitch was grateful to see the town clean and everypony happy. Taking care of Maretime bay had been more than a job, it had been his life, from sun up to sun down every day. With more ponies moving to town every day that meant he’d have fewer hours to himself every day. Hitch was optimistic, however, because with the new residents came these crows from further inland. Between them, and the new deputies, he might be able to cut his hours back and find more time to spend with his friends.

Hitch straightened up his bed before folding down the comforter and climbing in. He hadn’t heard from Sunny in a couple days due to how busy he’d been. Perhaps he could visit her tomorrow, if his assistant had left any time open for him during the day. Maybe they could invite some friends out on a fishing trip. Hitch smiled as he recalled memories of his parents and the old fishing boat they used to take him out on, before he discovered his talent for protecting ponies. It was still moored in the marina, though it was no longer seaworthy, since he had stopped taking it out to fish a decade ago.

Some crows landed near the window, but they seemed to be keeping the volume down. He couldn’t tell if they were picking up his gift, or leaving their own for him to find in the morning. His mind continued to wander, slowing down gradually, until finally he fell asleep.

“Caw. Caw. Caw.”

Hitch hit his alarm clock and rolled over to try and snooze another fifteen minutes. He always slept in on Tuesdays, because it seemed like nothing good ever happened on a Tuesday.

“Caw. Caw. Caw.”

He rolled over and hit the alarm again harder this time before the birds resumed their noise-making.

Hitch grumpily muttered a few obscenities before getting out of bed and looking out his window. Several crows had dropped off more “shiny trash” for him to deal with. They flew off once they got a good look at his unamused face. A quick look at the pristine town helped soothe his grumpiness at waking up early again.

The window creaked as it opened, and the small mountain of treasure shifted and poured through the window. There were small children’s toys, a couple laminated trading cards, and even Sprout’s deputy badge.

He went to fetch his trash can to more quickly throw all of this stuff out. With one hoof he began scooping all the things out of the planter. It only took a minute until he could see his cactus again, and after a couple minutes he had gotten almost all of the crow’s offerings out.

The last thing he saw in there he couldn’t identify at first. He knew what it looked like, but that couldn’t be possible. He felt a pit in his stomach as he took the item in his hoof and rubbed some of the dirt off.

One of the crows had left a severed eyeball in the planter.

Act 1: Kaw

“Caw. Caw.”

Hitch stared at the crow hollering at him from across the street before shutting the window and heading into the kitchen. He dropped the eye into a tupperware container and put it in a saddlebag, then attached his badge. There was somepony in town that the birds had hurt, and Hitch was going to find them and make sure they were okay. Then he was going to kick every single bird out of town.

His first stop, after rushing out of the apartment, was Dahlia’s apartment on the second floor. He started banging on the door to wake them up, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically.

The door finally opened and he recognized the sleepy-eyed pony. Flour had white fur, befitting her name, and a golden brown mane. Her hair currently stuck out in every direction except down, and she’d likely been fast asleep.

“Sheriff?” Flour tried to run a hoof through her hair, before giving up and just trying to lean behind the door a bit.

Hitch blushed, before composing himself. “Flour, are you and Dahlia all right?”

“Uh, yeah… you gave Dahlia quite a fright though. She went to take some of her medicine.”

He felt a twinge of guilt. “I’m sorry… I forgot about her heart condition.”

Flour smiled. “Don’t worry too much, she’s too stubborn to die until she finds somepony to help give her grand ponies. But what got you so riled up?”

“I found a severed—” Hitch caught himself, though Flour’s eyes had already gone wide in surprise. “I mean, I think somepony has been hurt and I need to figure out who, and why. So help me if it’s those crows…”

Dahlia walked up to the door behind her daughter. “Now, Sheriff, don’t be too hasty. My mother taught me never to be mean to a crow, you never know when one of them is actually a witch.”

Flour rolled her eyes. “That’s ridiculous, mom.”

“Hmph. And they said it was ridiculous the three tribes would get along, but we saw how that worked out.” Dahlia wandered off after saying her piece.

“Okay, just stay inside for a bit. It’ll be alright, I Just need to figure out what happened. I mean, it might not even be from a pony.”

“What’s not from a pony?” Flour asked.

“Nothing, sorry, the last thing we need is panic.” Hitch offered a weak smile. “Just promise you two will stay inside until I figure it out?”

“Hitch, it’s four in the morning. I’m going back to bed, and the worst thing Dahlia will get up to is throwing some bagels in the oven,” Flour explained.

Dahlia returned with a styrofoam cup full of coffee. “Here you go, Sheriff.”

“Thanks, Dahlia. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Probably get turned into a frog by an angry witch. Why just yesterday this unicorn tried to trade me some homemade butter for a bagel and had this weird sparkle in her eye,” Dahlia explained.

Flour groaned, but shot Hitch a brief smile as she closed the door. He could hear her on the other side trying to remind her mother that unicorns didn’t run around melting brains with horn lasers.

Hitch headed downstairs on three legs while sipping his coffee. He didn’t want to pull the eye back out just to try and figure out whose eye it was. Even if he had a great memory, there would be dozens of mares with a green iris. He decided the quickest course of action would be to head to the town’s medical clinic and see if anyone had come in with an injury.

The walk to the hospital was a bit quieter than yesterday, most ponies were still asleep. He took his time, but there really weren’t any clues to be spotted on the ground. It was pristine in fact, though he noticed a lot more bird droppings around than there were yesterday. The sky was a big foggy too, but that would clear up as soon as the sun finished rising.

Every rooftop appeared to be outlined in black. Perched side to side with no gaps between them, most buildings now had a veritable army of crows sitting atop them. Most of the birds were watching Hitch, while others took to preeing their flight feathers or pecking into the garbage for bits of discarded food.

He lost count after about a hundred, and started just shooing away as many birds as he could that got close to him. Hitch threw away his empty coffee once he finished it.

When he got to the hospital he was glad to finally be inside again. The lobby was empty, no injured ponies waiting to be seen was a good sign. The sterile white walls, smell of chemical cleaners, and absence of chattering birds was comforting.

“Sheriff, what can I help you with?” Nurse Cynthia asked.

Hitch walked up to the counter. “Has anypony checked in since yesterday missing an eye?”

She raised an eyebrow. “No. One foal with a fever, and a stallion who had too much to drink, but that’s all. Why do you ask?”

He looked around again to make sure the room was empty, and pulled out the plastic container. “I found an eye outside, and I need to know who it came from.”

Cynthia took the container, opening it up and glancing inside. “Hmm, about the right size, but if somepony lost an eye why wouldn’t they come to the hospital right away?”

Hitch paused for a moment as she held up the container to look closer, feeling his stomach shift a bit. “How can you be so detached?”

She offered him a smile, closing the container again for his benefit. “Trust me, the medical staff has seen it all. I’ve helped a surgeon fix a globe luxation before.”

“What now?”

“An eye that popped out, partially.” She gestured at the container. “As far as I can tell, this wasn’t cut out by a blade, and I doubt anypony would hold still anyway while it happened… so I figure you should look for one of two things.”

“I have a feeling I’m not gonna like the answer, but what are they?”

Cynthia nodded. “A pony that was already dead, and that an animal got to. Another option would be a criminal who got into an altercation, and can’t afford to come into the hospital as the Doctor would have to report him to you, Sheriff.”

“Could the crows have done this?” Hitch asked.

“I can’t rule it out, but the eye’s intact. Even if it came from a dead pony, could a crow get it out in one piece?” Cynthia sighed, handing the container back. “Sorry, Sheriff, I know you hate Tuesdays but it looks like this is going to be another long day for you.”

“Thanks, Cynthia.” Hitch put the container back in his saddlebag. “Well most of the town isn’t up yet, but if anypony does come in missing an eye, or injured by the birds, you find me at once. If you can’t, then find my assistant, Sprout, or one of the trainees. I think we’re going to need all hooves on deck to get to the bottom of this.”

As Hitch left the hospital he almost stepped on a small pile of buttons left outside the doors. A couple of the black birds stared down at him. Hitch scooped them up and carried them over to the trash.

“Caw.”

He looked at the crow perched on the rim of the rubbish bin and sighed. “What aren’t you telling me?” Hitch pondered. If ever there was a time to be able to talk to animals, this was it. Finally, he stuck the buttons into his saddlebag so as to not antagonize this crow.

“Caw.”

It seemed pleased, flying off to rejoin the others.

Hitch wasn’t sure why, but he felt like he should go check on Sunny. Perhaps it was the fact Sunny and his neighbors were the most important ponies in his life. Maybe Hitch just needed a little bit of that patented optimism right now; for Sunny to tell him that everything was going to be right. Either way, he should head over as soon as he could, and at the very least ensure she was okay.

The first order of business though, was to stop by Sprout’s house. He needed his deputy to help him out, for the time being Sprout’s past sins would be forgiven. They’d need all hooves on deck to get to the bottom of this mystery.

Sunlight was streaming through the windows to the modest mansion that Phyllis and Sprout lived in. After trying the doorbell a few times, Hitch gave up and just held the button down. Eventually the door opened and Phyllis appeared, curlers still in her hair.

“Sheriff, what seems to be the problem?” she asked.

“I need to talk to Sprout,” Hitch stated. “You too.”

“Oh, no problem.” Phyllis turned around and yelled “Sprout! Hitch is here to see you!”

“One minute!” Sprout shouted.

“No yelling in the house, sugarcube!” she replied.

Hitch heard a groan from upstairs, but a minute later Sprout headed down the stairs. He looked like he had just rolled out of bed, at least he had the good sense to get his deputy’s badge on the way.

“Hey, Boss, what’s up?” Sprout asked.

“Something’s off about these crows that have started showing up around town. I only asked a few of them to help with litter but there must be hundreds all over town now,” Hitch explained. “I need you to round up the trainees and get everyone to the precinct.”

Sprout leaned out the door to get a better look at the flock perched along the picket fence surrounding the house. They didn’t look menacing, unless he counted the power washing he’d have to give the fence later to get all the crap off it. “Sure. Are we under attack?”

“I’m not sure yet, the hospital reported no injuries but somepony lost an eye. Don’t agitate the birds, and sit tight at the station until I make sure Sunny’s safe at her lighthouse. Then I’m gonna have to find a way to convince them all to go away.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Phyllis asked.

Hitch thought about it for a few moments. “Help keep everypony calm, and get anything at Canterlogic that can be used as a bird cage ready. I have a feeling this is going to be a long day.”

Phyllis nodded, and noticed a cowlick in Sprout’s mane. She spit on a hoof and started straightening it out.

“Mom!” Sprout whined. He escaped her out the door and started to walk through the front yard with Hitch.

“Okay, Sprout. You’re in charge until I make sure Sunny’s okay. Don’t start any wars while I’m gone,” Hitch stated.

“Too soon, Hitch. Too soon.”

The trot up to the lighthouse was rather peaceful. All the crows seemed content to sit atop the rooftops as the sun came up, keeping a silent vigil over the town. The dirt path to the lighthouse was empty, with no places for the crows to perch. A couple were flying overhead looking for food, but for the first time in a couple days Hitch had finally gotten away from the incessant wailing. Hitch looked back at the town from the top of the small cliff that surrounded half the bay. On the other half was a smaller cliff, the two protecting Maretime bay from storm surges. From a distance the town’s terra cotta roof shingles gave most of the community an earthen brown appearance. Mixed in would normally be some warm reds, oranges, and white walls. Instead, the roofs had turned black as birds fought for space to nest.

As he approached the lighthouse he noticed that a large group of the birds was perched all around the upper levels. She must’ve been watching him approach. Before his hoof could make the first knock, Sunny opened her door and yanked him inside. Hitch stumbled in her living room as he heard the door close. The mare caught him and latched on in a hug so tight he had to push back a bit just to breathe. That was when he noticed how badly she was shaking, bad enough that perhaps she’d not have been able to stand without him to lean on.

“Are you okay? What happened?” He asked.

“I… I don’t know… I was just feeding the birds yesterday…”

Hitch noticed a wet spot on his shoulder where Sunny had cried. “It’s okay, I’m here. Just show me what happened, okay?”

It took her another minute to let go, before she took a deep breath and gestured towards the back door. “They started nesting on the lighthouse, and I’ve heard birds like peas. So I started cooking some to feed them, but more kept coming. They must have been happy because they started leaving… gifts…”

“Oh no. Please tell me it was bottle caps and yarn?” Hitch inquired.

She shook her head. “It’s right outside the back door.”

He gently pulled her legs off, ending the hug. “Okay, have a seat and I’ll check it out.”

Sunny nodded, taking a seat as he headed towards the door.

Hitch opened the back door and closed it behind him, looking over the assorted gifts the crows had left.

Surrounding a small garden that Sunny had planted was a pile of strange looking things Hitch had never seen before. The first that drew his eye was a large purple scale, it looked like it belonged to some sort of giant reptile. Next to that was a jagged black unicorn horn, except that it had several holes that pierced through it, and it looked sharp enough to cut flesh.

Beside that was a large hoof, cloven and too large to belong to a pony, or any domesticated livestock Hitch had heard of. A severed gray paw from a large dog lay atop two yellow halves of a shattered beak, again too large to be from any animal Hitch recognized. A large severed tentacle, perhaps from a squid, was still twitching in the pile.

A large stinger, curved and more wicked looking than any scorpion, was still dripping toxins. Beside that were two antlers of different sizes.

It occurred to him that it would be valuable to take some photos of all the unidentifiable parts for later. He pulled out his work phone and began to snap picture after picture of the different alien looking objects, from carapace to wings and horns, each distinctly alien.

Hitch stopped cataloguing and surveying the gruesome pile. He grabbed the black horn with holes in it, and stuck it in his saddlebag. Maybe a unicorn in town could tell him if they’d seen one like it before. He also took a rainbow colored insectoid wing, and one of the smaller reptilian scales.

By the time he got back inside Sunny had brewed some tea to calm her nerves. She looked up at him expectantly.

“I’ve never seen anything like it, other than a few bits of sea life I don’t recognize any of this stuff.” Hitch sighed, going over to find a cup of tea that had been prepared for him.

He noticed that Sunny still looked worried, so he put a hoof on her shoulder to comfort her.

“Do you think they’re hurting ponies?” Sunny asked.

Hitch thought about the eye in his saddlebag, but decided to spare that detail to her. “Most of it must be wild animals, but none I’ve heard of. I’m also going to call Zipp, maybe she can convince the Queen to send some of her guards to help us out. I need real reinforcements to deal with this.”

“Zipp mentioned taking some biology classes to me when she was studying to learn why Pegasi couldn’t fly. Do you think she’d recognize any of the… stuff in my yard?” Sunny shuddered just thinking about it.

“Couldn’t hurt to ask.”

He sent off a few quick text messages explaining the situation, and queued up a couple dozen pictures of the macabre effigy piled up in Sunny’s backyard. Hitch watched them send one by one, grateful for the stronger cell phone signal up at the lighthouse. It only took a few minutes to get confirmation from Zipp she’d do all she could to help out.

“Looks like we’re set on that front.” Hitch put his phone back and latched his saddlebag closed. “I think it’d be best if you come back to town and stay with me until we sort this out.”

Sunny opened her mouth to say something when the walls shuddered and an explosion of angry screaming shook the windows. The sun was blotted out for a moment as dozens of angry crows circled the building. Several of them attempted to fly through the windows.

They both looked around trying to figure out what had happened, when somepony screamed outside. Hitch vaulted over the coffee table and ran to the door, cracking it open to make sure no birds flew in.

A large black mass of undulating feathers seemed to be rolling across the ground, with brief flashes of pink fur and feather beneath it. The crows were diving in, beaks open and claws spread wide.

“Caw! Caw!”

Hitch rushed to help the pony being attacked by the swarm. “Stop this! Now!” He shouted.

Most of the crows turned to regard him and halted their attack, but there were still several angrily pecking at the pony. She was covering her face with her forelegs, both ears and wings flattened to her side as she curled into a ball.

“Stop, or else!” He started to bat away the crows with a foreleg. He got a few angry shrill cries, but they seemed unwilling to attack Hitch. Feeling bolder, he less gently hit the last few crows off. “Get lost!”

The crows watched him and he could sense their anger, but not one made a move to attack the pegasus again. Hitch recognized Dawn, and helped her to her hooves, before hurrying her inside.

As soon as Hitch had gotten some distance from the crows, whatever power he had over them broke. They began screeching and impacting the lighthouse looking for an opening again. The resulting cacophony of noise was panicking the mares, but the lighthouse held together.

Now that they were safe from the birds, he helped Dawn onto the couch. Sunny had gotten up and returned with a small first aid kit.

“What happened?” Hitch asked.

Sunny gave her a hug until Dawn calmed down a bit. “I was looking for you, Sheriff. When I was landing I accidentally stepped on one of them, and they went insane!” She winced in pain, spreading out her wings. Over half the feathers had been torn out. Her fur was a mess of small gashes, and tinged red

“I think I can clean up most of these wounds for you,” Sunny said.

Hitch sighed. “Crap, well I don’t think it’s a good idea to bring you into town at the moment. They seem to… tolerate me when they’re in a rage, I’d rather not try to walk you two out of here right now.”

For the first time today, Sunny finally cracked a smile. She knew how to be there for a pony in need, same as Hitch did, and having Dawn here to take care of seemed to embolden her. “Go on, Hitch. They just rebuilt the lighthouse and the windows are already closed and locked. I’ll take care of Dawn, you take care of the town.”

“You’re certain you’ll be fine here?” Hitch asked. “I have a feeling this is going to get worse before it gets better.”

“Yeah. We’ve still got the old storm cellar too, in case they get through the windows. We’ll do our part, Hitch.”

He smiled. “Hoof to heart.” He tapped Sunny’s hoof before heading towards the door.

Author's Note

Revision:
Prelude dream sequence slightly revised and moved to Act 2, so if you read that on Thursday, you will notice it again tomorrow.

Act 2: Bird Box

Hitch wandered down the long hallway, kept company only by the echo of his hooves on the obsidian floor. The darkness seemed to creep forward from the shadows, threatening to quench the faint green glow produced by barnacles that hung from the ceiling. Their bioluminescent glow guided his steps, helping him avoid the jagged growths and shells clinging in patches to the floor. The ceiling dripped moisture from the many stalactites and fine strands of algae hanging from them. A chilling sea breeze blew in through the passageway behind him, carrying a salty aroma.

When he finally left the dark hall, he found himself in a room with a ceiling far out of sight. Seven marble pillars seemed to dance in the flickering light cast through large slit windows built into the walls. The pillars reaching upwards towards the roof were so tall, they appeared to curve slightly as they vanished into the black.

The combination of moonlight and waves cast a rippling series of silver lines across the floor. As Hitch examined the nearest window, he could just make out the faint silvery sphere despite the depth of the sunken cathedral. He felt as if some presence was trying to warn him, but he was already quite aware of how deeply unsettling this underwater labyrinth was.

His hooves carried him forward again, guiding him down a path that felt so familiar he wondered if he had been here before. The end of the room revealed cracking and crumbled pillars which led further into the encroaching shadow, as the refractive properties of the windows were no longer there to scatter the moonlight. Ahead was an emerald orb on a pedestal and he wondered what it was used for as he approached. It had the same swirling silver light as the ocean outside the window did. In a large archway behind it, several pairs of red eyes began to open.

There was a long sorrowful cackle from a nearby bird. Hitch saw it perched in the corner of the room on the bones of some long-forgotten aquatic beast. It bade him not to touch the orb, but Hitch was unable to stop his hoof as his gaze returned to the orb. The sphere flashed as it made contact with his hoof.

A thundering roar, like that of a thousand waterfalls crashing down, reverberated across the walls of the cavern. The angry beasts of the obsidian citadel joined the cacophony with their own shrieks and bellows.

Hitch had a fitful night’s sleep, never quite sure if he was dreaming or awake. The crows had been raising a racket all night long. Maretime bay Sheriff’s Office had been turned into a fortified bunker since Hitch’s visit to Sunny’s lighthouse yesterday. His bed was a small cot made for camping, placed in the corner behind his desk, with a single sheet to keep warm. As he lay there, Hitch realized he could recall his nightmare more clearly now than on the previous night. He had the sense that something had awoken in the depths, causing him to flee from it back to the waking world.

Wide awake now, he muttered a few choice words as he listened to the cursed talons scratching away at the drywall. They had gotten out all the hurricane supplies and hunkered down. Each window was thoroughly boarded up with two by fours. The entire staff, mostly still in training, had slept here overnight. Despite doing their best to keep the birds from infiltrating every nook and cranny of the building, he could hear one now crowing behind the light switch.

Hitch’s hoof hit the wall hard enough to knock a calendar off of it. Sprout and a couple of the other deputies shot him a concerned look. “You okay, Sheriff?”

“Can’t you hear them?” Hitch asked. “Crawling around in the walls, constantly burrowing their way into the building?”

He got up and checked one of the windows. Peeking through it revealed the sun had risen, making this the third day since the first crow had been sighted.

“Boss, you’re worrying us. You tried all day yesterday after talking to Sunny to get the birds to calm down, but couldn’t. You had us all spend the night in the station. What’s our next step?” Sprout asked.

He pulled out his cell phone, checking for any messages from Zipp. The last one had been yesterday, a couple dozen guards were headed to Maretime bay to help in whatever way they could. There had been no messages since then, and his phone was getting no signal. He would have to head out and see if they made it to town, or he could at least get reception.

Hitch groaned. “I’m not sure, I can’t seem to make them do anything unless they’re close to me, and once they fly off I can’t tell if they leave or rejoin the swarm.”

“I think it’s important we keep sending out patrols, so ponies can see we’re trying. I…” Sprout gulped, “I volunteer to go out there.”

The Sheriff slammed his hoof on the wall again to quiet the sound of something scurrying about. “Huh. Yeah, I guess that’s fine. I think I could use some fresh air, and we can go check on as many ponies as we can.”

The two of them went over to the door, releasing the deadbolt. Together, Hitch and Sprout stepped outside, and heard one of the trainee’s bolt the door behind them.

Maretime bay had changed drastically since Hitch returned to town yesterday and instructed everypony to stay indoors, windows and doors shut tight. The sunlight was faint, almost like it was overcast, but he looked up into a clear sky instead of clouds. Hitch saw a thick wall of dark birds circling the town. Most of the birds were small, but other larger shapes seemed to move among them.

Hitch looked up towards the lighthouse, but it was lost in a sea of black shapes. Occasionally a glimpse of light would shine against the swarm, and he realized that Sunny must have turned on the lighthouse’s light to let him know she was doing okay. Returning his attention to more immediate concerns, he saw the streets weren’t completely empty. Two of the other deputized ponies were doing their own patrol, going door to door. They were being very careful not to injure any of the crows, and to toss out bits of day-old bread to any that got in their way to keep them satisfied.

Near the town’s storm wall, a stallion was walking down the road with a blindfold over his face. Hitch tapped Sprout on the shoulder to get his attention. “Let’s go see why he’s out and about.”

The two caught up to him easily. He seemed to be trying to find his way through town by only occasionally peeking out of the blindfold.

“Sir, what are you doing?” Sprout asked.

The stallion jumped in surprise. “Huh?” He almost lifted the blindfold before thinking twice. “Are you a crow?!”

Hitch sighed, swiping the piece of cloth off his face. “You’re supposed to be indoors until the birds leave.”

He gasped and covered his eyes with a foreleg. “Sheriff! It’s safe to go out as long as you don’t make eye contact… they don’t like it when you make eye contact…”

“Fine. How far’s your house?” He handed the blindfold back. The stallion quickly put it back on.

“Just a block left to go.”

The stallion began to walk across the road towards his home, only to be grabbed by Hitch. “Careful, you almost walked into a trash can and knocked it over. That would have been bad.”

“Thanks again, Sheriff!” He hurried and only tripped twice trying to get up the steps to his front door, before letting himself in.

“Well, that was weird,” Sprout observed.

“Yeah.”

Hitch and Sprout began to walk down the road in silence towards the edge of town. While the crows had been mostly dormant yesterday, today they’d left the rooftops and were all in flight. There was a seabreeze headed inland, and Hitch wondered how much of it was created by the vast flock circling the town.

Near the edge of town, the two stallions had to stop walking as they approached the large wall. From here Hitch got a better look at the murder of crows. There had to be thousands, if not millions, of them to circle a town this large. As he looked up into the sky, he judged it must be a hundred hooves tall to the top of the swarm.

“I’m going to try and walk through it,” Hitch said.

“That sounds like a really, really bad idea, Boss.” Sprout observed.

He took a tentative step up, trying to get the birds to part. Then Hitch tried speaking. “Out of the way.” The birds parted for an instant, but they were flying too fast and the gap closed right back up. Last he tried reaching a hoof through, when something large, black, and leathery flew by and knocked him back onto his rump.

“The hell was that?” Sprout shouted.

Hitch tried to catch sight of the larger bird, but whatever it was had long since flown off. “This is crazy.”

“Maybe we should try the cell phone again?”

The Sheriff reached into his saddlebag, pulling out the phone. He held it up in the air and waved it around a bit, getting a brief flicker of signal before losing it again. Another few minutes of trying had yielded no better results.

“If Zipp’s out there, I have no way to call her. They probably would have flown over the crows if they could, so I think we should assume we’re on our own for now,” Hitch explained.

“What’s that over there?” Sprout asked.

Hitch followed where he was pointing, noticing a disturbance in the living wall. A large ball of the feathered fiends rolled down into the grass, and he thought he could hear a pony shouting. The pair of stallions ran over to see what was going on, Sprout keeping up until the last second when he fell back to let Hitch brave the wrath of the aviant swarm.

“Get back! Shoo!” Hitch marched right into the angry ball of crows, breaking them up with a foreleg. It only took a minute to scare them all off, but there was nopony there. He reached down and picked up a single yellow feather. It was too large and colorful to come from any of the black crows circling the town.

“That looks like a pegasi, and I hate to ask but… where’s the rest of the pony?” Sprout inquired.

“I have no clue. No blood or hoofprints.” Hitch looked around but the grass was devoid of any other signs. “Maybe somepony tried to get through from outside? At this point, I think it’s best we just get back and get every pony hunkered down in their homes, treat it like a hurricane warning, and board up the town.”

Sprout nodded. “Whatever you say, this is above my paygrade.”

Hitch sighed. “We’re paid the same amount of money, Sprout.”

“Then you should ask for a raise after this.”

Together the duo walked back into town, stopping several times along the way to check in on ponies and perform headcounts. By the time they got back to the Sheriff’s office, several of the bravest temporary deputies had gathered up outside. They were speaking to anypony brave enough to head outside.

One of the new recruits waved him over. “Hayes, right?”

“Yes, Sir. We’ve been talking to anypony who had to go out for food, or who came to report a missing pony.” Hayes checked a small notebook he’d been keeping tally in. “We’ve got thirty two ponies missing, no reports of injuries worse than scratches when somepony upset a bird though.”

“At least nopony is getting hurt too bad, right?” Sprout asked.

“Yeah, but thirty two missing plus the five we heard about on the way back is pretty horrible.” Hitch sighed and wished for a moment his special talent had been plumbing. There had only been two missing pony cases in his ten years as sheriff, and now he had almost forty in a single day.

“So what’s the plan?”

Hitch turned to address the officers, noticing several civilians also standing around. A couple of them must have met the stallion from earlier, because they were also sporting blindfolds.

“Well first off, you look ridiculous with the blindfolds. Just don’t litter or harm a crow and you’ll be fine. Secondly, Hayes, take two ponies and get to Canterlogic. See if Phyllis has some secret tesla generator or some doomsday device we can use.”

Hayes raised an eyebrow. “Doomsday device?”

“I’ll take any help I can get now,” Hitch said. “And I’m desperate. We’re pretty much going to be stuck indoors for days if we try to wait this out.”

“Yes, Sir. I’m off to find one mad scientist.” He gave a mock salute, grabbed a couple deputies, and headed off.

Hitch looked out over the town, noticing the turbulent sea. The waves must have been cresting about ten hooves tall and that was inside the bay, behind the storm breakers. Bad weather on top of everything else was the last thing he needed.

“Hitch!” a familiar voice called out.

His ears swiveled, and he turned to address them. “Flour? What are you doing out here? It’s not safe.”

“No duh, Sherlock.” She chuckled nervously, her attempt at humor falling a bit flat. “It’s Dahlia… I think you and a few ponies had best come over right away.”

Hitch and Sprout started to follow her, and he gestured to two other ponies to follow. He instructed one to grab a tarp. Hitch had a sinking feeling in his stomach, and shook his head when he saw Sprout about to ask the question they were all thinking. Dahlia was old with a heart condition, and Flour’s eyes were red, her cheeks a bit puffy. Nopony had to tell Hitch what had happened.

It didn’t take them long to get to the apartment, and get inside. Dahlia’s bedroom door was closed, and he noticed Flour didn’t approach it, opting to stay across the room.

“Okay, I’ll head in first with Sprout.” Hitch whispered to the trainees. “It’s a lot to ask, but we’ve all dealt with loss. We’ll need to carry her out and to the morgue, and be respectful as Flour’s dealing with a lot right now.”

They all nodded their heads.

As Hitch opened the door the first thing he noticed were the small white pills scattered across the floor. A medication bottle sat in the middle of the room, next to a dead crow. It must have tried to eat some of the nitroglycerin tablets and died. A bit of a breeze came through, the window cracked to let some fresh air in. Apparently it had let the crow in too.

Dahlia lay on her stomach, eyes fixed on the wall. Her pillow and blanket were hanging over the bed, spilling onto the floor. Hitch decided she must have been startled, gone to get her meds, and fallen.

“At least it’s natural causes.” Sprout carefully walked around to examine the window. There was an end table and a glass of water on it, along with a lamp. Sprout turned the lamp on, helping to light up the room.

Hitch started laying out the tarp next to Dahlia, so they could carry her out, when she twitched.

The trainees jumped back, but Hitch had trained in CPR. He reached down to check for a pulse, but was having trouble finding anything. There was some movement, but he wasn’t sure what to make of it, so he checked her breathing next. He leaned down to feel for the air against his cheek, and listen for any noises. It felt like she was breathing faintly, but again he couldn’t be sure.

Dahlia twitched again, causing even Hitch to take a step back. She rolled her head over to stare at Hitch. He thought he could hear the scratching again, as her mouth opened wide. A pair of jet black eyes stared back at him from inside her throat.

A slick black crow began to wiggle its way out of Dahlia’s mouth, coated in slime and bits of flesh. Everypony in the room was fixed in place, staring at the feathered demon, as it began to spread its wings and pulled itself out onto the floor.

“Caw!”

The crow stood up and shot Hitch a nasty look, before turning and flying out the window.

“What the buck. You’re not gonna be the only one who can’t sleep tonight,” Sprout stated.

Act 3: Groth-Golka

Hitch walked down a familiar hallway, though at a slower pace. Several inches of standing water now flooded it, the icy water freezing his hooves and slowing his circulation. He had to walk on the tips of his soles to keep his soft frogs from getting cut by the several jagged crustaceans and mollusks embedded in the floor.

There was an acrid scent in the air, and he tasted something coppery in his dry throat. As he entered a familiar obsidian hallway, the moonlight shone through the windows brighter than his last visit, revealing an intricate pattern on the floor. The lines in the cut stone spiraled and squirmed, giving him a headache the longer he stared at them.

What have you unleashed? I can’t contain him any longer.

He tilted his head and let his ears move as he tried to find the source of the voice, but it ended too soon for him to pinpoint it. Hitch continued forward, staying on the well lit part of the path that lay before him. It struck him that something was guiding him, and no sooner had he thought this, than a waterlogged red carpet appeared in the shallow sea water.

Several pillars had fallen across the room, forcing Hitch to climb over them to find the pedestal. Something was missing, but he couldn’t remember what. It stood empty now, in a pillar of moonlight.

Destroy the orb. Do not let it remain anchored.

He turned to the right, from where the voice had come, noticing a hole in the wall. Hitch then looked to his left, seeing eyes opening in the dark and glaring back at him. The room began to rumble.

Not waiting for what he recalled happened next, he approached the gap in the wall, noticing it was shaped like a pony. It looked just large enough to fit him, as if the hole had been cut into the stone just for him. Hitch heard an angry growling from deep within the ruins, and stepped forward into the hole unsure of where it led.

He fell to his hooves on dry cracked soil, a loud booming filling his ears. All around him trees were burning, the thick smoke making it difficult to see anything but vague shapes in the shadows. Up above him he saw flashes of light, and heard screams loud enough to cause trees to uproot and fling themselves through the air.

Hitch wasn’t sure what he was seeing, but he could feel the aura of malice as several indistinguishable shapes collided in the air. A beam of energy cut through the ground near him, as a large shadow flew overhead slamming into the ground behind him.

Some things should stay dead, slumbering, never awoken.

There was a familiar doorway in a tree just ahead of him. As he approached it he felt a deep rumbling shake his bones as the shadowy figure that had crashed behind him lurched up to its feet. Hitch looked up and saw only the silhouette against the moon. It was tentacled with wings and two red eyes, and just to gaze upon it for a second gave Hitch a jolt of pain that made him close his eyes and wish he could gouge them out.

He recovered a moment later. Two distant specks that could have been ponies approached the horror behind him, and something slithered out of the bushes. They rejoined the battle, and the pressure in the air built up enough to cause Hitch’s ears to pop and his breathing to falter. Hitch pushed his way through the doorway in the tree in front of him.

Banish it.

Hitch stumbled out of the Sheriff’s office and was met with the loud siren used to signal a severe storm warning. He looked back inside the precinct, but there was nopony in it. Turning back, there was nopony on the street either.

The rooftops were lined with crows, every single one facing out to the sea. He followed their gaze. Lightning flashed over the bay, and a distant storm was rapidly moving towards the town.

Release me.

“Sprout? Anypony?” Hitch called out.

There was no answer as he made his way slowly towards the storm wall, and gazed down upon the beach. The water had withdrawn, further than low tide, revealing a stretch of sand a couple hundred hooves wide. Down in the dirt were more dead animals. Everything from rats to birds to bovines, and again dozens of species he could only begin to guess at, all in various states of decay.

He looked up towards the ocean as the town siren grew louder. Hitch knew he should be worried, but couldn’t remember why. There was a loud crashing sound, and he looked up to see a large piece of cliff falling into the bay. A wave at least fifty hooves high had hit the storm breaker and washed right over it. By the time it reached the wall he was standing at, most of its energy had been lost.

This wasn’t a good place for him to be standing, and he should have turned to flee, but he had seen something in that massive wave. A dark shape, riding right into the bay. Hitch doubted he actually saw it, until the lightning flashed in time with the next wave, revealing that something large was out there.

The silent crows began to call out in unison, forming a chorus that hurt Hitch’s ears. He couldn’t cover them and walk at the same time, so he tried not to focus on their song. Every crow in town was flying out into the bay at once.

Save me. I will help you.

They were diving into the water, towards the dark shape, and letting the ocean consume them. The darkness grew. Hitch stood there transfixed on what was happening, unable to look away.

Finally a massive wave hit the cliff and sprayed over the top, misting the lighthouse. He noticed the beacon was lit, shining out over the sea. The other side of the bay barely slowed the massive wave down, and Hitch finally found his common sense. He turned to run as the massive tsunami bore down on the town.

He shouldn’t have looked back, but he had to know if he was outrunning the wave. It had collided with the storm barrier, and shot up into a massive shower of seawater. A wall of water collapsed, washing through the streets and knocking over any trolleys and food carts that had been left out.

Hitch had made it just far enough up the incline towards the lighthouse to escape the wave. Looking back, the lightning seemed to have stilled and the bay appeared normal again.

There was a skittering sound as something dashed behind Hitch, darting down an alleyway. He didn’t get a good look, but gave chase anyway. Perhaps it was some pony who could tell him what was going on, or the voice he had heard from earlier.

He came to a gap between buildings and was uncertain which way to go.

This way.

The voice called to him again. Hitch turned left, approaching a sewer cover that had been knocked loose.

“Hello? Anypony there?” Hitch asked.

When there was no reply, he lifted the sewer cover and peered inside. He didn’t have a flashlight with him, but there was a familiar green glow emanating from inside. It was the same he had seen earlier in the underwater citadel.

Hitch lowered himself down the ladder and gave his eyes some time to adjust. There in the darkness loomed a vast shape, slowly shambling towards him. As it neared the light coming through the access hole to the sewer, Hitch recognized the glowing barnacles on the creature.

Beneath a ragged cloak were more growths and hundreds of feathers. Leathery skin stretched between the wings and the beast’s hide. It was dripping a noxious black substance, staining the ceiling and walls with his passage. The entity looked too big to fit in a sewer, yet somehow continued squeezing itself closer.

Little pony. Come here.

Hitch stood his ground, unsure he could climb back out of the sewer before it reached him. As the creature righted itself, two sets of glowing purple eyes opened and gazed down on Hitch. The effect was immediate. The creature let out a soft cooing sound. It unfurled a large talon, pushing aside its cloak.

The razor sharp claws reached for Hitch, and just as he reached for the ladder, they clamped down around him. He braced for pain, but the touch was gentle. It pulled Hitch in close, and he felt another claw from somewhere patting him on the head.

The creature was hugging him.

Hitch squirmed and tried to push away. His head was throbbing and he felt a burning in his lungs as he breathed in the foul scent of the creature. The insides of his ears itched, and his eyes felt like hot coals were being pushed into them just to gaze upon this unearthly being.

I shall hug you and pet you forever.

He screamed as the creature spoke again. His heart was racing as he noticed something beneath the cloak with him. It was a small emerald orb. There was something important about it, but Hitch couldn’t quite recall. Something a voice had said. A warning.

Hitch realized as the pain grew that he couldn’t breathe well. His ribs felt like they were on fire now, the talon clenched too tightly around him. He recalled the voice from the moonlight’s warning. He had to destroy the orb.

With both hooves he reached out and tried to pry the orb free from the small claw that was clutching it. The creature screamed, a thousand crows crying out in anger at once. The tattered cloak burst into flame as the ancient evil unfurled its wings. Dozens of birds issued forth at once, clawing and biting at Hitch in anger.

He refused to let go of the orb, even as his vision was blurred by blood. His body was breaking, but he was resolved to end this here and now. He would send this dead god back to whence it came, no matter what.

Finally, the orb was pried free, falling to the floor and shattering. The talon gripped like a vice before seeming to vanish completely, dropping Hitch to the floor. He landed with a splat in a puddle of expanding obsidian fluid. The liquid was rising, threatening to drown him, and Hitch reached out desperately to grab the ladder and haul himself free.

The intense pain in his skull crescendoed and the pressure built until he blacked out.

Epilogue: The Crow

It was a bright and sunny day in Maretime bay, the clear skies extended in every direction as a lone crow circled in the air, looking down on the town. The streets were still damp from the recent tsunami, the flooding had washed ashore all manner of debris from the ocean. Sunny was grateful for the many pegasi guards that had come to help the town recover from the disaster. They had greatly sped up the efforts to clean up the town and helped organize the locals.

The crow glided down, landing on top of the Sheriff’s office as Sunny walked inside. The mood was somber as Dawn talked to Sprout. The pegasus had recovered from the birds attacking her, though her feathers would take several more weeks to regrow.

“See to the funeral arrangements for Dahlia and Hitch, that’ll be all for today,” Sprout said.

“Thanks, Sheriff,” Dawn replied.

Sunny tensed up at the conversation she’d walked in on, feeling the same pain she had felt when her father had passed. “He could still be missing.”

Sprout and Dawn noticed she’d walked in on the conversation at the same time. Dawn looked down at the ground, ashamed, while Sprout took a deep breath and glanced at the calendar with Hitch’s photo on the wall.

“I’m sorry, Sunny.” Sprout apologized. “The last time anypony saw Hitch, he was heading out to make sure everypony had gotten to shelter during the tsunami. I tried to get him into the storm shelter sooner, but he refused until he made sure nopony was left outside.”

Dawn came up to Sunny’s side and gave her a hug. “There are only thirteen ponies still missing, we’ll keep looking but we need to start preparing for the worst.”

Sunny wiped her cheeks and nodded. “I know… I just don’t want it to be true. I think I should go work on salvaging my smoothie cart, so I won't dwell on this.”

Sprout nodded. “I’ve got some big horseshoes to fill, but I’m here for you Sunny.”

“Me too,” Dawn added.

“Thanks, everypony.” Sunny smiled at them before turning and walking out the door.

Above on the roof, the lone crow let out a sorrowful “caw.” Sunny tensed for a moment, before glaring up on it, then walking away. The crow flew across the street, staying perched where it could keep an eye on the orange mare.

Sunny only made it halfway to her cart when she noticed Zipp and Phyllis talking. She drifted over to check on her friend, and listened in on the conversation.

“I went through some of the books in our library,” Zipp explained. “There’s no records of any creatures matching the descriptions or photos that Hitch sent me. You know what the weirdest part is? I found an old tome of something called Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and it did describe some of the creatures.”

Phyllis nodded along excitedly. “Probably the changeling, right?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?” Zipp asked.

“Canterlogic didn’t always produce products to protect from pegasi and unicorns. I was able to find some old records from my Grandparent’s time. X-ray goggles to detect shapeshifters, and notes on a race of bugs that could suck the love out of a pony, and the rumors got weirder from there. Flying yeti’s, golems, bat ponies, and more.”

Zipp laughed. “Sounds about right, there were also stories about giant dragons that ate crystal ponies in the book I found. But what are the odds, right?”

Phyllis shrugged. “Well, non-zero given the photos Hitch sent, and some of the debris the storm washed ashore. I just wish the storm hadn’t washed away all the best evidence.”

Sunny finally spoke up. “Hey, how’s it going, Zipp? Phyllis?”

“Okay,” Phyllis shrugged.

“I’m glad to see you!” Zipp gave Sunny a hug which comforted the earth pony greatly.

“Caw.”

The three ponies glanced up at the crow, now perched on a closed umbrella and watching over them.

“Ignore it, don’t encourage it,” Sunny muttered.

“I’m sorry about Hitch,” Zipp said. “If you want to get away to Zephyr Heights for a while, take a little vacation, maybe we can get you smiling again.”

“That does sound nice, but I have to stay until I know for certain.” Sunny looked out over the bay, noticing the large chunk of the cliff that had been knocked out by the massive wave. “I hate not knowing. Hitch could be washed to sea, or he could be trapped somewhere in town.”

“Sunny!” Izzy shouted.

The unicorn, followed by Pipp, were hurrying over to join them at the table. Phyllis smiled, “I think I better go check on the repair crews. You girls have fun.”

Izzy and Pipp both embraced Sunny to comfort her for the loss they were all feeling. Izzy let go first, something catching her eye.

“Caw.”

“Oh look at that!” Izzy pointed up at the crow. “It’s got a silver sparkle!”

“Huh?” Sunny asked.

“I’ve never seen an animal with luminescence before. Do you think it’s a special crow?” Izzy asked.

“It’s the only one left in town,” Sunny complained. “I for one have seen enough to last a lifetime.”

Everypony sat down at the small table that overlooked the ocean. There was a gentle breeze coming in from the bay, and they were all happy to have a little time to relax after the busy week trying to put a town back in order.

“So, what are you up to today?” Pipp asked.

“I was going to repair my smoothie cart,” Sunny explained. “Maybe Zipp is right though, once we clean up the town a vacation might be nice.”

“Oh!” Pipp beamed. “I know the perfect place for a makeover, and a masseuse that could work the knot out of a boulder without breaking a sweat.”

“Do you want to help with my cart?” Sunny asked. “It’s got a lot of water damage.”

“Sure, we can help,” Zipp said on behalf of herself and her sister. “How about you Izzy?”

“Huh? Oh I’ll catch up,” Izzy stated. She was still staring up curiously at the crow.

The other ponies crossed the road to the smoothie stand while Izzy sat for another minute before speaking up. “So you seem like you have something to say?”

The crow tilted its head and let out a long chirp, pointing a wing across the street.

“Either your wing itches or you want me to follow you.”

“Caw!”

The crow glided across the street and landed on a sign outside a coffee shop, looking back intently at Izzy. She got up from her seat and galloped across the street, humming a tune to herself. As she approached the bird, it flittered onto the next sign, then the next.

Before long, it was guiding her down a series of alleyways into the heart of the town. If Izzy had tried to wander this way on her own, she would have gotten lost or turned around several times. The crow seemed to know exactly where it was going.

It finally landed on a sewer cover, leading into a series of storm drains that fed into the ocean.

“Oh, there must be something important inside?” Izzy asked.

“Caw!”

Izzy’s horn lit up, levitating the metal cover and the crow up into the air and setting it down beside the hole. She peered in, her horn casting some light into the inky black and a glint caught her eye.

“This is interesting.” The bird landed on her back, perching just behind her mane. “In we go.”

She carefully climbed down the ladder into the sewer and renewed the flow of magic to her horn, lighting up the small chamber. There was a carved channel in the floor through which water was trickling, flowing downhill towards the ocean. Most of the stones were stained and slick with algae, except for a large patch that appeared painted black. The blackness reflected no light from Izzy’s horn.

In the middle of the dark patch were several bits of emerald glass, and a silver badge. The Sheriff’s badge had Hitch’s name engraved on it. It took Izzy a moment to pry it from the ground with her magic and realize who it belonged to.

“Oh, no…” Izzy frowned as she looked back at the crow. “We’ll have to go show this to Sunny.”

The crow seemed to deflate a bit and let out a sorrowful “caw.”

Izzy glanced from the crow to the badge and back again. “You know, Hitch’s sparkle was silver too.”

The bird looked up at her. “Caw!”

The unicorn climbed back out of the sewer, and the bird took off again to guide her back to Sunny. She followed along, wondering about the strange week it had been. Now Izzy had found a rather interesting crow, deciding to keep it as a pet until she could figure out this new mystery. Every single crow had vanished, except for this one, and it had led her to Hitch’s badge. Maybe in some small way, their friend was still watching over Maretime bay.