Author's Note

I was originally going to give this chapter a second half, but after review, I decided that it was best to just let it stand as a short chapter. The first half had enough impact.

Chapter 1.10: The Wailing

Miss Sunset Blessing Unicorn Pony was a very violent pony.

Empathy cringed as he was escorted through the halls, trying to stay in front of Miss Charlotte to protect her. There was blood, a lot of blood. There were dead bears everywhere; not all were in one piece. Some of them were missing arms or legs or had holes going right through their bellies. Many were charred and burnt beyond recognition. And the smell…he had never smelled anything so foul in his life. Everybody had talked about how powerful the unicorn was and how capable she was of defending the manor. This wasn't just powerful; this was monstrous.

Miss Charlotte looked as nervous as he felt, nervous and sick. She zigged and zagged through the hallway, keeping as much distance between herself and the dead bodies. Only humans tended to the dead, with the only pony present, other than Miss Charlotte, being covered at the end of the hall with a sheet. It seemed an odd place to take a nap; maybe the pony didn't want to see what was in the hall. There was a human laying down with a sheet too.

Miss Andrea Glowing Pony-Human seemed less troubled by their surroundings, but still looked sick. She brought up the rear to protect Miss Charlotte from behind.

The guards stopped outside the room where he had first arrived and gestured for them to go inside while they stood watch at the door with two other guards who were already there. They held the door open just wide enough for the three of them to wedge through and seemed impatient for them to do so. The trio complied.

The first thing he noticed when walking into the room was the bear, and he almost retreated, and would have if Miss Charlotte wasn't directly behind him. He then saw the bear was tied to a chair with a blindfold and weird earmuffs, and the bear's head sagged. The bear was asleep but alive. Two humans stood next to the bear with guns pointed at it, and two of the shiny ponies stood nearby, also watching the bear.

He jumped as the door closed behind them.

"H-how bad is it out there?"

They turned to see Luster Dawn Unicorn Pony sitting in a corner. Her eyes were red from crying, and she looked frightened. There was no sign of Sunset Blessing Unicorn Pony.

Luster Dawn Unicorn Pony gulped. "Please, tell me. They won't give me details or let me out of the room."

Miss Charlotte looked ready to vomit. "If there really were only about a hundred bears in total in that other world, Sunset just dramatically reduced that number…maybe by a fifth? Does that count as a genocide?"

The other unicorn whimpered. "Sweet harmony…."

Miss Charlotte gulped. "It was a massacre. They didn't stand a chance. She was brutal. There's so much blood. I think the bears got two of our guards before she showed up. That's probably what set her off. She considers the guards part of the household, and when you hurt anyone in the household, she loses it."

"Where is Miss Sunset Blessing Unicorn Pony?" Empathy asked, wondering if she had been hurt.

The pony in the corner shook her head. "I don't know. She came in with the bear and guards, barked out some orders, and then teleported away without an explanation. Nobody is telling me anything. I learned more from you than any of these guards. They won't even talk other than telling me I can't leave."

Miss Andrea Glowing Pony-Human looked at the bear. "She must have only needed one of them alive to question. I can guess why Charlotte and Empathy were brought here, but why me?"

"I don't know," Miss Luster Dawn Unicorn Pony replied. "Maybe to have another crystal pony available? We don't know much about their magic, and you fought one already."

"Miss Andrea must be here to help guard Miss Charlotte!" Empathy asserted confidently.

Miss Andrea pointed at the door. "Did you pay attention in that hall? Sunset is all the protection anybody needs. The guards normally are just to deter invaders and catch them before they cause problems. Sunset can't be everywhere in the house at once or aware of everything, but when in a direct confrontation, she's the wrath of God made flesh. If we're in her office, that's about as safe as it gets."

"If she were here," Miss Charlotte reminded her sister. "Where is she if we're here and the prisoner is here?"

The door opened again, and instead of admitting Miss Sunset Blessing, two humans came in.

One of them instantly looked at Charlotte and balled up her fists. "Why did you bring us here? Is this about Charlotte? Is she okay? Why isn't she here?"

Miss Andrea walked over and put a hand on the woman's shoulder. "Mom, do you see the necklace and the lack of the scar or cutie mark? That's Charlotte. Sunset isn't here. Nobody seems to know where she is."

Miss Charlotte timidly waved a hoof at them. "Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad."

The two new humans gaped at Miss Charlotte before the woman spoke again, sounding frantic. "Charlotte? Why are you wearing that thing? You've never had it on before. Did you get hurt?! Is it like when Andrea got shot and-"

"I'm fine," Miss Charlotte quickly replied. "I just can't use my human magic like this. Having the necklace on prevents accidents."

"I think we are well beyond the point where we should worry about that. It looked like the invasion already started," Miss Charlotte's dad said breathlessly. "Maybe this will scare the bears off from trying again."

"Or make it all the more personal," Miss Andrea muttered. "After killing that many bears, I could imagine they are more interested in killing Sunset than the invasion."

"If they were invading at all," Miss Luster Dawn said. "They could have just been here to capture the elephant. We don't know much about him. He could be a criminal."

Empathy backed away. "I snuck into Care-A-Lot, which I'm not allowed to do, but I never hurt anybody! The bears were going to catch me and kill me!"

The pink pony gave him a doubtful look. "So I was told you said. It seems strange you would risk so much just to find a human. Until the Dreamwardens confirm your story, I find it suspect."

The door opened again, and this time Miss Sunset Blessing walked in. She was moving slowly, she had a black eye, and her eyes were red like she had been crying. She looked at them all as the door shut behind them. She didn't say anything, she just stood there staring, and her eyes started to water.

Miss Luster Dawn looked strangely relieved at the red unicorn's distress. "Are you alright? What happened to your eye? You didn't have a black eye right after the flight. I can see you're upset. I can only imagine that you have to be feeling a great deal of remorse after-"

"No, no remorse for the bears. I'd kill every last one of them everywhere if I could," Miss Sunset Blessing whispered, closing her eyes as she started crying. "I have always kept my family safe. I've lost guards before, but never family, not since Tonya. Today…today, I lost two. Every bear can burn in Hell."

The entire room seemed to stop breathing.

"Where's Kristin?" Miss Charlotte's mom asked, lip trembling and her voice trying to contain the sound of terror.

Sunset Blessing didn't reply; she just kept crying.

"Oh no…" Miss Luster Dawn gasped.

"WHERE'S MY BABY?!" Miss Charlotte's mom screamed, now weeping.

"Kristin…" Miss Andrea whispered, dropping to her knees.

Miss Charlotte backed away. "No! It has to be a lie! She can't…she can't…."

Empathy turned and hugged Miss Charlotte, and she broke down crying against him. Everybody was crying and hugging, except for Miss Luster Dawn, who sat in the corner, unable to bring herself to say anything, and Miss Sunset Blessing, who stood where she had been, crying and alone.

"You said two," Miss Luster Dawn finally said, breaking in. "Who else?"

Miss Sunset sat down, and her forelegs seemed so wobbly that they could collapse at any second. "Mèng…they killed my precious little Mèng. My son…." She choked as she let off a wail and licked her lips. "I heard the commotion and ran into the hall. I knocked out the first bear and intended to take the rest…then I saw the bodies…I don't remember what happened after that. Mèng…"

Her forelegs gave out, and she fell to the floor, wailing; the room echoed with the wailing of grieving parents and sisters. Empathy felt empathy for them all, but this time it brought him no joy.