Chapter 8, Meeps!

Gleaming Shield has had her fair share of mishaps all throughout her life. Sometimes they were the result of rushed and overhasted actions. Sometimes they were pranks played on her by ponies of her own age.

Such as the incident during physical education, where she got herself stuck in the fence bordering the northern edge of the playing field. Gleaming simply had not watched where she was heading, preferring to keep her eyes on the ball overhead. It was the matchball after all! The one which would determine the games outcome! And Gleaming had the opportunity to make the final score!

Unfortunately Gleamings eagerness and unattentiveness caused her to crash violently with the fence. Once the connection was made her braces were refusing to let go and when Gleaming tried to rear back after recovering from the crash, she quickly realized the problem she had at her hoofes.

Other incidents, like her later guard comrades deciding to cover the inside of her guard armor with itching powder, were equally uncomfortable, but less of her own fault. Gleaming had always suspected Ironhoof to be the mastermind behind that last one. But she never had any concrete proof to show for it.

Being involved in so many misfortunes, regardless if selfmade or not, did have one positive side effect though. Over time it gave Gleaming a rapidly growing reservoir of more or less viable options to get her flank out of pretty awkward situations, with mostly minimal repercussions for herself.

None of those experiences would see fit to get her out of the current predicament however, for it was an entirely new affair. With the squashed remains of the unknown fruit still stubbornly blocking her mouth, Gleaming opted for voicing her pain around it instead, “AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!” HOT! HOT! HOT!”

Though it was muffled by the offending fruit, Gleamings sudden outburst still managed to jumpscare Threelegs. By pulling back his head and moving the upper part of his body out of harms way, he tried to stay clear of Gleamings motion range. The longer the situation remained unchanged, the more Threelegs realized his gift did not have the intended effect and head sunk along with his ears.

Despite his obvious signs of disappointment, he remained seated right where he was and slowly, deliberately extended a shaky hoof Gleamings way. A very hesitent “Meep!” was all he had to offer, while Gleaming oblivious to his plight, waved her hooves in vain to get fresh air onto her burning tongue.

Gleaming could literally feel the all the blood in her body rushing to her head, as it suddenly felt very warm. She was fairly certain her head was as red as the apocalyptic fire she felt raging on her tastebuds.

´AIR ISN´T HELPING!´

The normal reaction for somepony trying to eat something waaaaay to spicy would have been to spit it out and either consume some tea, milk or break to soothe the aggravated tastebuds. With every gulp or chewing motion the pain would subside bit by bit and the problem solved eventually.

Gleaming knew that much, thanks to prank as well.

Unfortunately for her she had neiter access to any of the usual soothing appliances, nor could she simply spit the tartarish fruit out and be done with it, because it was presented as a gift to her. Not to mention that her line of fire was blocked by the gifter himself.

Further comlicating the matter was, that spitting it out right in front of the gifting pony could be seen as disrespectful by all the others in here, who were busy watching the encounter right now. Gleaming could not afford that in her situation either.

The culmination of everything together, left her with only one open option: Swallow the damn thing and be done with it! So, with tears flowing freely from her eyes and a massive forced gulp, loud enough to be heard by her own ears, Gleaming started swallowing the cracked and pasty fruit.

At first the fruit stubbornly refused Gleamings attempts to disappear, but the large amount of saliva provided by the ongoing attack on her tongue helped to guide it down her throat after a rocky start. It took some time to get all of it down, as parts of the fruit refused to let go of its victim, but Gleaming somehow managed to stay strong throughout the ordeal and finish the entire thing off.

With the main threat finally removed from her tongue, Gleamings tastebuds keenly reminded her that the crisis was only halfway over. The burning was remarkably lessened by the absence of the main agitator, but still notably present. So much so, that Gleaming was stuck with sticking out her tongue in the hopes of getting more cooling air on it that way, while she looked for alternatives.

A task made that much harder as her eyes had started to water even more heavily since she had forced the fruit down and aggravated her throat with the juices as well now. In turn, Gleaming development a dry cough, signaling her throats distress.

´There has to be something in here I can use! Think Gleam, THINK!´

Gleaming quickly thought back on everything she had seen so far, which could immediately help her. The lake outside was in theory a good idea, but probably to far away to make a run for at the moment. The hay could serve to alleviate the pain she felt, but not in the bone dry condition it was in. She would have to chew for hours to get the effects going.

`Is there really nothing else…´

Maybe it was a stroke of luck, maybe it was all the blood rushing to her head that made her remember it, maybe it was her watering eyes catching a glimpse of it again. Whatever it was, Gleaming was more than grateful as she recalled the hose in the back of the stalls she passed by earlier. As far as she remembered it even had a small bowl underneath, sporting small puddles around it, strongly indicating that it was somehow used to procure drinking water for the residents of the barn.

Without little regards to anything, not Threelegs sudden surprised outcry of panic, not the protesting ponies crying out as she rushed past, not even potentially making an enemy of supermom again, Gleaming rushed inside the next best stall and quickly located the object of her quest, right where she recalled it being. Galloping past the residents towards it, she hastily checked the bowl for any trace of her soon to be savior. The mystical, soothing and cool liquid, called water.

But the bowl was empty. Safe for a few drops on the edge and center, which would not eve be enough for a bug sized Gleaming Shield. While she keenly observed the small droplets, Gleaming had sunken deep into her thoughts for a second. So much so that she briefly paused in her haste and the local ponies had time to recover from their stupor. Therefore Gleaming barely even registered, as the ponies around her started to close in to dispel the sudden intruder from their home.
The angered outcrys around her, pulled Gleaming quickly back to reality and she quickly resumed her quest after a quick headshake. She had a bigger problem right now!

The bowl was right where she remembered it being, as well as the hose dangling above it, but the round ceramic container sported no amount of liquid whatsoever and the hose barely even dripped.

´But it has to be here! You have got to be kidding me! They can´t all be going to the lake all the time!?´

After checking the angry crowd with a brief glance over her shoulder, Gleaming frantically searched the stalls backside for any sort of valve or switch that could be pushed or turned to get the hose to work. But nothing immediate sprung to her attention and the burning sensation in her mouth flared up once more as the only option to alleviate the pain was pushed further out of her reach.

In her sheer frustration or possibly out of pain, Gleaming angrily stomped her hoof down hard next to the empty bowl, scattering quite a bit of loose around herself. “Come on!”

Had Gleaming had the time and presence of mind as she fumed at the dried up water source, she might have taken notice of the advancing group of ponies halting in their steps at her small display of violence. They “Eeeped!” in unison and shared uneasy looks whith each other, clearly frightened by the stomp and unsure on how to proceed. Yet at the same time they appeared increasingly disgruntled with Gleamings presense and occasionally pushed each other with their muzzles in Gleamings direction. Each time the unlucky pony shoved closer to the intruder against its will, rapidly scrambled to get behind its friends again and emitted an angry, “Ouwou!” at the pusher.

After what felt to Gleaming like an eternity, but really lasted only a few dozen seconds, Gleaming realized a small section of the floor right next to the waterbowl had developed a depression. Right where she stomped her hoff in anger. Intrigued and desperate for clues, Gleaming found this part of the floor to be colored in a slighty different way from the rest. The section was rather easy to miss, if one was not aware of its presence, due it being partially covered with random bouts of hay, probably carried in here by some random careless pony.

Wasting not even a second thought on it, Gleaming pressed down hard on the previously hidden floor plate and felt it gave in easily enough. At the same moment of her applied pressure, she heard the hose above the bowl come to life and the familiar sound of running water greeted Gleamings ears, before the stream hit the bowl under the hose and gathered there.

Despite Gleaming not moving an inch from her spot and still pressing down on the plate, the rush of water stopped just as quickly as it had started, the flow randomly cut off by an unknown source. Acting on a hunch Gleaming let go of the plate and pressed it again, only to be rewarded with the exact same result.

A small amount of cooling white-blueish liquid was added to the bowls contents. The bowl itself was somehow attached to the surface of the ground, preventing somepony from lifting it up or moving it around to a new spot. This meant Gleaming would have to drink by sticking her muzzle into it to get the water into her mouth.

With the relentless burning in her mouth and the cough restarting, Gleaming wastes not one more thought on the matter, as greedily gulped down as much of the freshly procured liquid as she could. For the moment she did not care, if it could be tainted or where it even came from. All she could think about was the the soothing effect it had on her tongue and throat and how good it felt to be finally relieved.

Every time the bowl was emptied, Gleaming would press the plate once more to get a free refill. Each time she would not wait until it had filled up completely and just dove right in, not even caring about getting wet in the process.

It was only when she could drink no more and the burning on her tongue had subsided to a mere throbbing, that Gleaming collapsed in front of the bowl. She felt exhausted, relieved, but totally out of it. She pressed a hoof to her stomach and was not even the slightest bit surprised to hear the water sloshing around inside of it.

While Gleaming just lay there, praised Celestias mercyful soul and recovered the will to move, her mind restarted itself. Along that restart came all the new knowledge she had aquired about the locals with it. And with each little bit, Gleaming became more and more concerned.

She had boldly run into a stall claimed by a group of local ponies.

None of them had previously allowed her to come closer, yet alone inside.

And lastly she had used their water supply without asking for permission first.

´Horseapples! I even ignored their warnings…If all of them are like supermom i´m-´

With how territorial these ponies had been thus far, Gleaming dreaded what was probably brewing behind her right now. Suddenly, despite all the water she had had to drink, Gleamings mouth felt very dry. Her ears swivelled around to search for any sort of sound of approaching hooves, or the angry “Ouwous” which were surely to accompany them.

But Gleaming could not make out anything at all. It was dead silent in the barn all of a sudden. Not even the slight rustling of hay could be heard anymore. The only thing she could make out was a small, cautious sniffle right behind her. Steeling herself for what was to come Gleaming gulped and prepared an explanation for her behavior as she slowly got to her hooves and turned around.

Only to be greeted with…Threelegs.

Not a single pony beside him was anywhere in sight, not even in the stall right across.

Gleaming was all alone, sitting in this previously inhabited stall.

*Sniffle, Sniffle*

“Meep?”

The familiar and unsure sounding exclamation of Threelegs drew Gleamings attention back to her new friend. He had positioned himself half a pony length away from her and had his head lowered and ears laid back. With each sniffling sound his muzzle twitched a little. He looked apprehensive for some reason, maybe even scared.

´Did I do this?´

“Hi, uhm,” Gleaming scratched the back of her head, “…don´t worry I´m not mad at you.”

His head rose back to its usual height, upon hearing Gleamings words, but the rest of his posture did not change. After a moment of silence, he tilted his head.

Uhm…I´m sorry. Could you tell me where everypony went to?”

Head and ears perking up high, Threelegs blinked at Gleaming as if pondering the question for real. Then he briefly checked behind himself, scratched at his ear with a hoof and turned his attention back to Gleamings prone form, before cheerfully announcing, “Meep!”

Somehow Gleaming knew he would say this, but for once this did not matter to her. She could deduce on her own that Threelegs never would have had the strength nor the courage to scare this many ponies away. Even if she did not witness his earlier plight it was rather unlikely that the young colt managed to chase the barn inhabitants out of the stall, the one across the aisle or any part of the building at all.

No. Something else must have occurred. Something that Gleaming must have missed while drinking. Whatever had occurred, caused all of the ponies around here to instantly vanish out of sight.

The only thing which could have accomplished this feat, to Gleamings knowledge, would have been the reappearance of Pokey. But the whelpling was nowhere in sight. Nor could Gleaming hear his trademark clapping and laughter. Or the flaping of his wings.

´Maybe they went in the direction he was looking?´

*Sniffle Sniffle*

“Meep!”

Threelegs looked much more chipper than before with his second call. Gleaming rolled her eyes but smiled, “… Let´s go and find the others.”

Earning herself a confused look Gleaming watched him tilt his head at her response the other way. She briefly considered how much he actually understood, before she dusted herself off and turned to leave the stall behind. For all she knew, he might not have understood anything she just said. Just as well Gleaming could not make anything out of “Meep!” in return. But so far, Threelegs was as close to a companion as she could get. He had proven himself to be helpful once already in providing something eadible to her… even if it backfired dramatically.

Gleaming sighed, “Just stay close and follow me, okay?”

He chirped at back at her and nodded his head, “Meep!”

Wondering if he would comply, but still determined to see where everypony had suddenly gone to, Gleaming cautiously walked out of the stall, awaiting an ambush at any second. Looking back over her shoulder she checked the only other pony left behind in the mass-exodus, besides herself.

But he just blankly stared back at her, blinking few times.

“Uhh…you coming or what?.”

“Meep!” he responded before springing to his hooves and adopting a doopy smile on his face and cantering over to catch up with her.

Gleaming shook her head at his antics, “Whatever.”

Deciding not to question things any further, Gleaming ventured out into the aisle and briefly checked the corners of each box. Except for the odd pile of dried hay, nothing remained in the previously filled stalls. They were all vacated rather simultaniously by their former owners, as if commanded by an unseen force. And as evidenced by some of the hay being carried out into the aisle, they were quite in a rush too.

It was slightly spooky. But a short glance behind herself showed that Gleamings friend was as calm as can be and right on her heels. Occasionally he was sniffing the air, but seemed overall fairly attentive to what Gleaming was doing. Unlike herself, Threelegs did not show any signs of something being out of the ordinary.

´If he is´nt worried then there should be no reason for me either, right? This barn only has one exit and-!´

No sooner had Gleaming finished her thought and turned towards the barns front, did she spot the missing ponies. Every single one of them had gathered right in front of the barns double doors, huddled as closely together as physically possible. Unlike before however, they were not lazing about. Instead they all sat together and watched the tightly locked doors. It was as if they expected them to magically open any second.

´What are they up to, now?´ Gleaming wondered as she walked as close to them as she dared. She expected a hostile or defensive reaction at any second any step now, just like in her previous attempts.

But this time none of them paid any attention to the strange white unicorn at all. It was as if Gleaming was not even there. Gleaming felt like a ghost. Wholeheartedly ignored by the rest.

“Meep!”

´Well, not all of them.´

Everyponys eyes were somehow transfixed on the doors as if expecting them to magically open at any moment. Weirdly enough, even the ponies ears were aimed at the door and barely twitched to a random noise every few seconds, before snapping back to face the front.

“Erm…if you want to get out, you know there is a hatch to the side guys.” Gleaming stopped herself, “ You do know that, right?” After receiving no reply, Gleaming checked on Threelegs, if he could share any light on the matter. But aside from closing the gap and happily beaming back at her, he proved to be as helpful as the others.

“Ouwou!” one of the gathered ponies suddenly exclaimed, while raising his forelegs as far into the air as it could, before dropping them back down. Gleaming was about to raise an eyebrow, but after a small moment of silence another pony did the same. Then another. The odd scenery reminded Gleaming of ancient temple rituals, where ponies of old tribal cultures would gather around a high priest or altar and sing words of prayer while raising their limbs into the air.

Gleaming facehoofed. She did that a lot lately, she found.

´Hopefully it wont become a habit.´

“There no reason to pray to a door guys! It wont open that way either! Look you can just use the doggy door on the side!”

If they heard Gleaming at all or simply did not care, the “praising of the great doors” continued unabated. In fact Gleaming was certain that the intervals between the individual praises even shortened with each uttering of “Ouwou!”

With a hoof raised slightly off the ground, Gleaming intended to march over and show these ponies the small hatch on the side. But before she had a chance to go through with her plan, her friend objected, “Meep!”

A little perplexed at the sudden interruption from him of all sources, Gleaming shot a surprised look over her shoulder and was stunned to see him adopting the same pose the other ponies had. Ears up and forelegs, or the one remaining one, raised, he was facing the barn entrance and smiling up at it.

´Seriously am I missing something here? What is going on?!´

Then she heard them.

It was faint at the start and they sounded very distant. But there were distinct voices coming from the other side of the barn doors. And judging by the fact that they got clearer, the individuals they belonged to must have been heading straight to this very building. Gleaming made an effort to get as close to the doors as she dared, pushing her way past some ponies, who strangely did not object, and strained her own ears to get a read on just who she would be facing.

There were three voices…no…two voices, yes. And they were deep voices too…must be two males then. It was hard to make out any words, due to the “chanting” mass of ponies around her, but one of the strangers sounded slightly annoyed to Gleamings ear.

Gleaming sat down and closed her eyes. She forced her ears forward and tried to drive the weird ponies out of her head for the moment. She tried to envision the pair moving and talking as they came closer and closer, focussing on making out as many syllables as she could. At first it was hard to make out anything that was being said, but since the voices came towards her, it gradually became much easier.

“…would you hurry it up back there already?! The little ones are hungry, and if I were on my own I´d already be done with the morning round!”

´Morning? How could it be morning? The sun had not set yet… Have I slept through and entire night?! It didn´t feel that long at all…if so that’s bad. Anything could have happened in that timespan!´

The second voice grunted a little every few words, indicating that he either carried or pushed a heavy weight, which he was not quite accustomed to, “I´m trying my hardest here! But there are to many potholes in the grass and the cartwheels get stuck in each and everyone of them!” More grunting followed and what sounded like a foreign curse, “Why do we have to feed the furballs anyways? Theres enough green grass around here!”

“Because they only munch on grass whenever they are bored, or really desperate. Its not their primary source of nutrition-,“ the voice stopped itself and uttered a warning, “Watch out, there is a bigger gap here.”

A series of ceramic and metallic clattering followed before the second voice continued, “..ugh, see what I mean?! Just like that, every time! Ugh, why don´t you use floating carts around here anyways?! They don´t get stuck and everyone else uses them! Or at least fill up a couple of these stupid holes!”

“Okay, first one kid, I´m not everyone. And second, it´s much easier to strap a wheel back on one of these, than it is to fix a broken floater unit out here. And second, ponies like digging around for roots, the holes would be right back the next day. Not to mention they would wonder why we filled the holes in the first place and go dig around to see if we hid something.”

“Hey I´m not a kid! And whats with the rush anyways?! It shouldn´t matter that much, when the furballs get their meals. A few minutes sooner or later probably won´t make such a big deal. They can´t read the clock anyways!”

“Because I´d like to be done with the feeding in the morning, before Pokey wakes up. With him around the little ones are much more tense and eat a lot less than they would normally. Also they need to start to get used to you being around. If your late or not there, they won´t,” the voice finished explaining and then demanded in a commanding tone, “And now, quit stalling with your complaints and get going!”

Gleaming was not quite sure, but she thought she heard a small howling sound in response, followed by something being hissed quietly, “…yesss, Sir!” It reminded her a lot of the voices from the lizards in the alley…but it sounded off somehow. Maybe it was a younger one?

“Oh and one more thing. Stop with that stupid “Yes sir” crap. This is a farm, a simple business on Agria. Any type of military is far, veeery far away from here. So either address me as Mr. Pearce or Boss, or whatever else that isn´t an insult and lets me know I´m the one being mentioned. I don´t really care.”

“But auntie said it would be polite of me to-”

“Don´t know if you´ve noticed it yet or not, but your auntie has the tendency to overdo things a lot. She just wants you to get on my good side. But just for your information, I used to be part of the military a long time ago. Used to as in past tense. Nobody here cares about that stuff anymore and neither do I. Are we clear, boy?.”

Gleaming could pretty much hear the underlyling threat in his answer. It sounded like a touchy spot.

“Alright, you´re the boss, boss.”

Also that first voice sounded oddly familiar, along with the mentioned name… And it was not something Gleaming wanted to be correct about.

Unfortunately no further hint on their identity was shared between the two from there for a bit. A shortlived semi-silence followed before Gleaming could start to make out steps on the lush grass outside, as well as the squeaking wheels of carts being forceably shoved across it. The wheels pretty much screamed their protest over the weight they were supposed to carry. The ponies in front of Gleaming obviously heard the steps and squeaky wheels as well, as they started to shuffle their hooves in place with barely contained anticipation.

`Have they been expecting this? Do they know what is coming, or who? Didn´t somepony mention food? Does that mean this occurs every day?´ Slowly it dawned on Gleaming, ´Is this breakfast?!´ Gleamings stomach joyous rumble soon joined the orchestra of ponies and she felt her mouth starting to water, as she heard the squeaky wheels stop.

“Are you sure they are even up yet? Nothing has come out of that shack in hours!”

“Ponies have a very sensitive hearing, kid. They probably heard your constant whining from across the farm. Also they are very light sleepers.”

“Hey, I´m not whining. I´m just voicing honest concerns and like to point out possible improvements! Besides, auntie said you could use some hints.”

“I´m pretty sure she meant something else with that, but nevermind. This place has been running for many cycles without your improvements or your aunts meddling and will continue to do so for many more cycles. You may also want to keep in mind, that you know next to nothing about ponies and their way of life. So your ideas would only make things worse, due to a lack of understanding. Which, ultimately, is your reason for being here.”

“Then why arent you teaching me things already? Just give me a holofeed and I´ll be-“

The first voice started to sound aggravated again, “Listen, for I´ll only say this once. Pony handling cannot be learned by studying material alone. Its practical work. You need to be out here with the little ones. I know there are different ways of teaching, but this is mine. For let me tell you, that there is no failsafe concept A or B that works every time. Every single pony is an individual with its own personality and may react differently from expectations, due to its traits, flaws and habits. Even if, by random chance, one fancy trick works for a single one of them, its likely to fail you on another. They only share some common rules, by which they live together.”

“But-“

“And one more thing, you don´t always know the background of each animal. There might be hidden scars and traumas, which will cause even the best handler to fail and earn themselfes a hoof to the face!”

A small thudd could be heard from where the carts most likely ended up, when the squeaky noise died, “And how am I supposed to learn anything related to them if they constantly run away frome me? Thats kinda counterproductive. I tried to get them to like me all day, yesterday!”

“Because they need to learn to trust you first, before anything else. The little ones don´t like being surprised or approached by strangers. And before you ask, a stranger is everyone not related to the herd. Therefore we´ll help you get a voucher. Once you have one, we´ll move on from there. And the best way to do that is by familiarisation.”

The steps belonging to the first voice moved from left to right on the barns front now and Gleaming could hear something heavy scraping across the entire doorfront. A large bolt being removed or lock being opened perhaps?

“Heads up, by keeping your distance and allowing them to get to know you on their terms, you´ll intrigue them enough at some point and they´ll lose their fear. After all you could be a potential source of food and fun. And with ponies being ponies, they will eventually get curious and come to you. If you manage to gain the trust of the most curious ones and others see that, you´ve effectively gained a voucher. That’s how everyone starts.”

The second voice groaned, “That means I have to wait on them?!! And just how long will that take exactly?”

“Well, you are no pony. They can see that, yes. And you tower over them. It largely depends on how they perceive you. The more threatening you look, the longer it takes. In your case…I´d wager about a day or two, If you don´t screw it up on the first try. Then you might be looking at a week or more like Kelrianna, before another one is willing to get to know you.”

The groaning got louder and more distinct, “Why does it take so damn long? I could just feed them snacks and they´d trust me instantly, right? Works on any other critter too!”

“Wrong. Ponies aren´t your usual dog or cat. Second, ponies don´t take food from strangers. There is no shortcut around their natural survival instincts. There´s a reason why they can survive in the wilderness out here.”

A howl of frustration could be heard through the door, “I´ll never get away from this place that way… They probably think I´m gonna eat them! I´m stranded here forever!”

An annoyed sigh could be heard through the doors gaps, “Don´t be such a drama queen, you need to see things from their perspective to get aynwhere with them.” The steps stopped in the middle of the barns entrypoint, “Look, if some random creature finds them in the wild, its most likely something gonna be something dangerous. Naturally they will try to avoid the threat and react accordingly, through warning shouts or mounting a defense. By explicably not acting like a predator, you can circumvent a hostile response.”

“But I am somewhat of a predator! How can they not see me as one?”

“They don´t know what a predator actually is, only how it acts. Why do you think they like me? Or Cedritz and the twins. We´re working on the concept that you might not be one. Should you decide to force the issue however, you´ll most likely invoke a defensive response. And let me assure you, that almost always ends with a broken bone or two. Your aunt does not only treat the little ones, but sometimes the injuries they cause as well.”

The second voice scoffed audibly, disbelief dripping from it, “Pff, as if those little furballs could threaten anyone for real. They are not even half my size!”

The first one chuckled briefly, “You´ve apparantly never met a truly scared or angry pony then. Sure, they may look cute and cuddly and behave like teddybears now. But if you ever cross them, you´ll get to experience first hand just how hard and sharp edged a pair of hooves can be. Especially in a very soft region they have prime access to, due to their size.”

“Still, I don´t believe it.”

“Have it your way then, its your hide with the hoofmarks, who I´ll be sending back to your aunt.”

That detail seemed to have shattered a part of his confidence, considering how he phrased his next words after some hesitation, “…Just to be sure, what do I need to stay away from then?”

This time it was the first voice, who had found an angle of attack. But still, he answered the younglings question, “Stay away from any pony crying out in alarm, keep far away from any foal, lest you will incurr the mothers wrath and steer well clear of Muncher for the time being. He doesn´t like anyone, except the twins. Only the girls truly know how to handle him.”

´I figured that much out myself! I wish that warning came a little earlier… Wait, who is Muncher?´

“Who´s Muncher?”

The response that came was dark chuckle, “You´ll see. He is hard to miss. And his punches and kicks rather hard to forget.”

With that the conversation between the two male voices concluded. A loud click sounded from somewhere on the other side of the barn doors and with a loud groaning they finally opened up in protest. White piercing light greeted all ponies present and filled the barn to the smallest corner. It blinded Gleaming shortly and she rapidly blinked her eyes clear to see just who the voices belonged to.

Her heart skipped a beat in fright and cold dread made itself known to her once again. She was unfortunately right. The first voice revealed itself to be none other than the changeling himself, standing tall, and weirdly enough, smiling broadly at the gathered ponies. Strange was also that even the tiniest bit of white from his fangs, showing from his wide smile, did not cause any of the gathered ponies to scramble and run.

Instead they decided to stay and greet him the same way them had praised the great doors just moments before, with Ouwous and raised hooves. The only thing missing to complete the picture Gleaming had, was some bowing down to his hooves. To Gleaming it was more like staring down her nemesis. The one who brought her here and held her captive. To the locals it was…

“Ouwou!”

The Ling smirked and glanced back over his shoulder, “Told you they´d know we´re coming.” Then the Ling turned back and let let his gaze wander across the gathered crowd, “Good morning my little ones,” and a series of chirps greeted him back, “…I hope you slept well enough?”

Gleaming watched wide eyed as an impatient grey mare in the front row even dared to walk up to him and knock lightly on the changelings legs with her fronthooves. Gleaming expected the bugpony to retaliate at any second for that kind of assault, but he just smiled over it and ruffled her respective mane, “Yes, yes. I know we´re a little late, Pepper. We´ll get right on with the breakfast. Lets just do a headcount real quick! We don´t want anyone to miss out on it, right?”

Another Ouwou was send his way, but Ading ignored it and mumbled something under his breath, while briefly tapping the air over each ponies head, apparantly already lost in counting. While he was busy the second voice adressed him again, “Why bother talking to them anyways? They are just dumb animals. They can´t understand you anyways! You´re not actually awaiting a real response, are you?”

No longer obscured by the locked doors, voice number two revealed itself to be another one of those bipedal lizards Gleaming had met behind the vet clinic. This one however had yellow, almost golden scales covering most of his body. Starting at the visible portion of his neck and tail, darker orange scales took over and disappeared under his finely cut, loose clothing. The attire was covered over and over with weird patches of different proportions. His head, tail and his extremities sported the same fish-like fins like Nemora, indicating that he was very likely related to her.

´Is he related to her or just the same species?...Wait a minute!! Animals!? Dumb!? Hey!! I´m not accepting this!´ Without knowing it, Goldy had earned himself a prime spot on Gleamings, Do-not-like list with his last statement.

Still continuing his counting and oblivious to the fuming Gleaming among the crowd, Aiding of all things surprisingly came to the ponies defense, “These ´dumb´ animals are much smarter than most people you´ll ever meet in your life. Not to mention they are much more loyal.”

A single “Ouwou!” came from somewhere in the crowd.

The Ling chuckled, “Exactly!”

“What?!”

“Given time, you´ll see what I mean, and hopefully-“ Aiding paused himself momentarily when he came to Gleaming. For a very chilly second Gleaming thought her cover to be blown and considered her options. But then she came to realise it was not actually her, who caused Aiding to pause, but rather the pony next to her. “There you are Meeps! I was wondering where you ended up today.”

`Meeps?, Surely he doesn´t mean-´

With a single “Meep!” Gleamings companion confirmed Aidings claim on his indentity with a happy chirp.

“Who names their pony Meeps?” the yellow lizard burst out loudly as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned a little forward to peek over the crowd at Threelegs. The ponies around Gleaming tensed up at the lizards movements and froze in their spots. The happy atmossphere vanished in an instant and the ponies eyed him wearily. Gleaming witnessed first hoof how the crowds mood shifted from friendly to cautious in a mere second, as soon as the reptile violated an invisible wall.

´It’s the same when I-´

Goldy had unintentionally breached their safety zone, just like Gleaming had earlier in the barn. And the ponies reacted to that breach of protocol, just like Aiding predicted. He was…right. Something within Gleaming balked at admitting that fact. Still he had correctly foretold their behavior.

Aiding being right, did not sit well with her, and GLeaming sure as tartarus did not like the name he gave to her first and only friend around here either. But she could not do anything to change either at the moment. Therefore she thought it wiser to remain quiet, as he still did not suspect her of being anything more than the average pony he knew. Something that played well into her cards. So with a deep breath to calm herself, Gleaming wiped her face from any protruding emotion to stay in her role and maintain her cover.

“I do. Its better than naming a pony Buttercup. Every second pony is called that way these days it seems. Still, if he didn´t like the name he wouldn´t react positively to it,” Aiding explained over his shoulder. “…and you might wanna stop enclosing them.”

“What?! But I barely even moved!” Goldy started to object, but when he saw the ponies closest to him shrink back slightly , he reluctantly complied. After a short moment of trying to find the words to express his anger he instead opted to silent fuming and huffing his frustration. This time from further away, by taking a step back.

Him being a lizard however turned it more into an angry hiss. Gleaming felt the crowd shift uneasily upon hearing the hissing even more than the yelling or lack of distance. More than one pony threw a cautious glance Goldys way, keeping him in their sights.

“Stop that!” Aiding reprimanded him on the spot.

Goldy threw his arms up, “Oh come on! I didn´t even do anything for real this time!”

“Yes, you did. Stop with the hissing around the little ones. It’s a telltale sign of a predator and it scares them!” Aiding continued to lecture his apparent stubborn student. In turn the lizard threw up his arms dramatically one last time and plummeted down into the grass, deciding to silently mope by himself, in the vain hopes of not doing anything wrong by it. Again.

In a weird way Gleaming could somehow relate to him. She too had the unfortunate luck to unintentionally do the wrong thing first or catch the ire of her teachers. Twilight was always many, many times more telented on that front, despite her lack of social skills. Gleaming often thought, that Twilight inherited all the good traits, which made her an excellent student from their parents, while she herself came out empty on the bargain and only got the clumsiness.

From slightly behind her position, Gleaming felt the warm and fuzzy muzzle of her friend, poke her shoulder and then nuzzle into her cheek from behind, “Meeeeeep!” Ripped from her thoughts, she withdrew from the contact on reflex, as soon as she became aware of it. Awkward as it was, the sudden affection also made her realize something else and freeze. Gleaming unwillingly had let her head sink, when she thought back on her life. The longing and sadness making themselves unintentionally known through her body language.

´Was he trying to cheer me up just now?´

When Threelegs or Meeps saw Gleaming look back at him, he cheered with another “Meep!” and threw his forelegs into the air. Well the one he still had, at least. It made Gleamings heart feel a little warmer, and soft smile grazed her lips.

“What the hell happened to his leg?!”, Goldy suddenly shouted from where he sat, a look of severe shock on his face. By cheering for Gleaming, Meeps had unknowlingly exposed his condition to the lizard. Prior to the action, the lizards direct view on his limbs was obstructed, by the rows of ponies before him.

Aiding who had finished his counting and kneeled down next to one of the carts briefly glanced over his shoulder, shrugged and then went back to whatever it was he did. Then he casually commented “We sold it.”

The look of shock that took a hold on goldys face morphed into downright horror and Gleaming was sure his scales had lost a few shades of color. He slowly, very carefully shuffled backwards on the grass with his arms. Crawling away from the apparent crazy Ling. It was obvious he was trying to get out of his reach, and gain some distance between himself and his crazy tutor.

Gleaming meanwhile was furious. Her gaze shifted between her friends leg and the Ling and she was about to march over to him and do the worst things she could possibly imagine to him. She did not know yet what exactly, but it would not be pretty. Of that she was certain. With his back to her once more the odds would be in her favor too…

Even if she failed in the end, she could at least leave a mark on him. One, he would never forget!

But then she spotted the slightest hint of a smirk tugging at the corner of Aidings fanged mouth. A smirk that made her reconsider for some reason. Something within herself told her to be cautious and on high alert. That faint little smirk…it was not an indicator for somepony about to laugh, but rather…calculative, predictive. Like a predator, who was sizing up his prey before the inevitable strike.

´It’s a trap!´

Gleaming watched as Aiding carefully glanced sideways by keeping the front of his face between his cart and the pony crowd and his backside to his trainee. The Ling maintained the status quo for bit, careful so the lizard would not spot the verbal trap too early, but still kept him under surveillance from the side, gauging his reaction with a fairly neutral expression.

Gleamings anger subsided a bit, but did not evaporate completely. Something felt off here.

´What´s he up to?´

Finally Aiding turned around without a word and his faint smirk completely gone, like it had never been there in the first place. He looked at the shocked lizard and sized him up, keeping his own gaze locked with him, “I thought you said they were just some dumb furballs, hm? So…, why do you care?”

Goldy, despite shaking like a leaf, held the eye contact, before he fearfully lifted a claw in the one ponys direction, who started all this, “H-h-hhow could you do this? I mean, I know they are sold as food, but-but…THIS IS JUST CRUEL FOR NO REASON!”

Taking the shouting in stride, Aiding got up and marched over to him, before he leaned down to his eye level. Mere inches were seperating the two´s face from one another, as Aiding checked his students face for any emotion betraying his thoughts. Eventually Gleaming saw his lips moving, but had to strain her ears to hear just what he said. It was a short message he wispered at a barely audible level, “You passed.”

Gleaming could literally see the gears in Goldys head grind to a halt. Gone was the fear and shock from his face. Infact, everything was gone from it, really, for he only had a blank stare left to send back to his teacher.

“I-I don´t unerstand, didn´t you just-“

Interrupting him with the smirk now back on his face Aiding explained, “What? Insinuate exactly what you just thought? Yes, I did. Worry not, it was a test.”

“A test? What for?!”

“For your integrity,” Aiding spoke over his shoulder as he walked back to his cart. “Selling ponies in part or at all for food production is highly illegal on Agria. For it is extremely cruel and unjust to these smart creatures. Not to mention they are a national idol here.”

´So that’s why that kitchen was so hidden back then. And it also explains why the cooks were less than enthusiastic about having a witness!

…Wait, if they see ponies as animals here…

…they never expected me to sell them out! These monsters were more concerned with getting me to-´

Gleaming had to press a hoof to her muzzle to suppress the bile from leaving her body at that revelation. Luckily both the lizard and the Ling were to deep in their own conversation to notice.

Realising he had been pranked, the look on Goldys face morphed into annoyance, “Okay, but why do you neeed to test me?! Auntie is pulling my fins enough as it is!”

“Just because its illegal, doesn´t stop people from doing it. And some of those… individuals try to sneak into my farm from time to time under the guise of a student,” Aiding shook his head, “I´m sorry but I needed to see your honest reaction for myself.”

Goldy grumbled with his arms crossed, “You didn´t have to be so scary when doing it…”

“Then you should stop being so gullible. Nemora was right, I´ll have to remember that!”

Being the perfect image of a spoiled child who had just been told that it could not have the toy it wished for, and with cheeks turning red from embarrassment Goldy grumbled further, “…so what has really happened to him? Will you tell me that now?”

Getting back up with a sizeable tower of colored stacked bowls in his forelegs, Aiding marched over to the second cart while he explained, “Honest answer? We don´t know for certain. He arrived here the way you see him now.”

Gleaming watched on, as Aiding placed the bowls down, before he opened up the second cart, revealing multiple buckets ladden with exotic and , to Gleamings relief, some familiar fruits. Even if she could not tell what most of the exotic ones were, the aromas floating her way, told her, they were most likely more than edible as well. The ponies around her sure thought so as well, because they started to get anxious again. All their eyes were zoned in on the food, like eagles about to strike.

“The most likely cause of his predicament is a swollok attack though.” Aiding pointed in Meeps general direction as he reached for a bucket with his other foreleg, “If you take a careful look at the edge of his stump, you´ll note the serrated edge of the former wound, which looks remarkably similar to a swolloks set of teeth. Possibly the upper jaw.”

´There is was again. And I still don´t know what a swollok is! But seeing what it does…´

A short moment of silence followed, as Goldy visibly contemplated on what he just had heard. Then he spoke up again in a much softer voice, “And why haven´t you done anything to help him?”

´Yeah, why didn´t you help him, you pony enslaving bastard!´

Aiding gave a dry chuckle, all the emotion drained from his voice, as his tone got very serious all of sudden, “Who says I didn´t? We, as in the team and I, tried everything possible in todays world. Any type of prosthesis we tried to attach to him, he downright refused. Either by shaking it loose, scraping it along rocks and trees or gnawing away at it until he finally got it off. He simply does not see it as a part of his body, but instead something foreign.” Aiding turned his attention back to the bowls and Gleaming watched as he started to fill a selected amount of fruits into each of them with a small shovel. Each shovelling motion was closely observed by the hungry eyes of many ponies. Some even started licking their lips in anticipation.

Aiding angrily pointed with his shovel over the horizon, “The only remaining option would be to genetically regrow the entire limb in a lab tank. Money isn´t the problem, but with the current state of laws, it is not an available option for animals and I quote -reserved for sentinent species only- unquote.”

When Aiding had finished his rant and the words had sunk in, the annoyance and red on Goldys face was gone and a soft sadness took hold of it. “So he´s stuck like that?”

Gleaming glanced at her companion with a new set of eyes. This young colt had barely lived a fraction of his life and already been marked for eternity. Face to face with a lethal predator, staring death in its literal jaw and narrowly escaped with his life. But he paid a hefty price for it.

´That is, if the story fits and he´s telling the truth…but there is little evidence to the contrary.´

Returning to his task the changeling lamented, “For the time being, the unfortunate answer is yes. But I have your aunt looking into things. Maybe there is another way, that we haven´t thought about yet.”

After that, Aiding decided to let his last words linger in the air and remained quiet for a while, silently shovelling fruit into each bowl until he had a dozen or so filled up to little mountains. As he arranged the bowls into a straight line, he glanced over to Goldy, who in turn had not let his eyes leave the young colt. “You know, personally, I still consider him a very lucky indiviual.”

“Lucky? How can this be lucky?? How can losing part of yourself be considered good fortune at all?”

Gleaming found herself agreeing with Goldy there. She could not imagine losing a part of her body and still remain the pony she was now. There would be hurdles in her life. Hurdles she never even thought about. As a unicorn she would have less of them than an earth pony for example, but even the reflex of opening a door with the wrong hoof could lead to a sad reminder each day.

“Think about it for a minute. He encountered one of Agria´s most lethal predators and got away with his life. On his own! I´ve met a lot of ponies and people, who had far less luck in their encounters. Additionally he found his way here, where he can safely live his life the way he wants, far away from any danger.”

Goldy did not say a word. Either he did not have an answer, or he took things to heart and was thinking deeply about what he just heard. The way his jaw moved and the way Gleaming saw him look at Meeps, told her that he thought not only about the ponies fate.

“No need to be so downtrodden. Take a piece out of his book instead!” Aiding pointed with the small shovel in the general direction of the pony he referred to, “Do you see him being all sad and mopey? No, you don´t. In fact, you never will! He is one of the most chipper animals I have. Always gets up in a bright mood each day. Second only to Pokey. Right Meeps?”

“Meep!” the threelegged pony chirped, to which every other pony stopped eying the food and shot him an annoyed look.

Animals…there it was again.

Ever since arriving in this weird place, Gleaming could never be quite sure, if these ponies were animals, slaves or simply mind controlled. The latter was only realistically possible by the black colored insectoid kneeling next to the arranged foodbowls.

The only option of the three she could definitely rule out by now was the slavery part. Thus far she had neither seen shackles, forced labor or the typical overseer cracking a whip overhead to encourage the labourforce to break their backs. This was not saying that it could not still be the case somewhere, but the chance was fairly low. Especially if what Ading said about a national idol was true.

Which essentially left Gleaming with two options. Either mind control or she really just was surrounded by nothing but preevolution, stone age ponies.

When Gleaming woke up earlier, she had briefly suspected to be under a spell of some kind or kept in a magical field, maintained in secret by the Ling, to disguise himself as a benevolent harmless local, while in reality the case was different. However, neither could Gleaming detect any magic field being powered up, nor had she seen the Ling cast any spell whatsoever in the time Gleaming had seen him.

Gleaming was not a master spellcaster by any means, and she also was not certain if her powers could still be altered someway she did not realize yet, but even she should have been able to pick up any trace of magic emenating from him. It was as if his magic simply…was not there at all.

And then there were these local unicorns. Neither one of them had used magic this far either. Or at least not in way that Gleaming would have noticed or seen.

“There. Done. This should be sufficient for now,” Aiding announced, seemingly havng finished his reparations. Satified with his work, he turned his head to look behind him at his student, “Now, tell me what exactly you know about ponies, boy. Maybe your aunt told you something vital to the cause already?”

“Why don´t you use my name already, Mr. Pearce? I do have one too, you know? Its Zix!”

“I´ll use your name when you earned it, kid. And if you refuse to answer me, that path will be even longer than earning the little ones trust.”

Zix grumbled with his arms crossed. A thing he did quite often Gleaming noted. Apparantly he was thinking about a witty retort. But seemingly decided the time was to short or the fallout not worth it, “I know there is a whole bunch of them living around here in the forest and beyond. And they live in groups…and…, and what was it auntie said…oh yes! They are herbicores or something!”

Being done with shedding his knowledge Zix lead a pleased smile play over his scaly lips. But when he spotted Aidings unimpressed look, he went right back to his defensive posture, continuing to brood.

Aiding turned away from him and back to the crowd of hungry ponies, who Gleaming noted had creeped almost imperceptibly slow, closer to the foodbowl, while Aiding was not looking their way. Gleaming herself almost had missed it as well, but the sudden free space she had in front of her could not be explained otherwise.

“To be frank, that’s not much. And if you´re honest with yourself you´ll admid that too.” In the background, Zix huffed to himself. “…But to tell you the truth, you´re far from the worst I´ve had to start with, so listen up.”

Aiding took a few of the bowls he had prepared and marched over to a portion of the pony crowd to Gleamings left, “You are right that ponies live in groups, quite large ones too, for they are very sociable animals. These groupings are called herds and can easily contain up to 500 individuals.”

“Why is that important to know?”

Aiding placed the bowls he carried right in front of three ponies, who had oddly not objected the slightest bit against him coming closer to them, “Because a group of animals of that size will locically only work with a set hierarchy. There is an undeniable leader and sub leaders among them with varying degrees of responsibility in between. Every one of these make sure that the herd stays cohesive and all tasks of survival are taken care of.”

´That’s absurd! Ponies haven´t lived like that in centuries, maybe even thousands of years!´

“And whats that gotta do with feeding them?”

Aiding smirked again, but only Gleaming could see it from her spot, “A lot, kid. For the highest ranking individuals of the herd always get to eat first. Then the second then the third. That way the leader or alpha makes sure they understand their position and maintains their loyalty. Its pretty much the same with wolfes or other similar creatures.”

“What´s a wolf?”

Gleaming heard Aiding sigh, “A pack hunter on Terra Prime, but that’s not important. Now look here,” Aiding leaned back a bit, so Zix could better see around him, “The ponies on my farm are essentially one big herd. It is only due to the circumstances around here that they´re divided between the barns into smaller groups. Mostly for feeding and grooming. And the leader of this particular group is this little bugger right here, whom we call Blaze.”

A black coated unicorn stallion with a fiery red mane stepped forward as soon as the name had left the Lings lips, leaving the other two mares in the group behind. He continued to walk towards Aiding until only a ponylenthg seperated the two, with the bowl in between. And it was then that Aiding kneeled down and finally pushed one of the bowls towards him as the first pony to get breakfast.

The back unicorn dubbed Blaze, stomped his hooves in approval, let out a whinny and began immediately digging into the small mound in the bowl, causing it to rapidly shrink. Small bits and pieces of the meals flew around as the stallion delved deeper into his food, searching for the most jiucy bits. Munching and crunching the pony visibly enjoyed his meal while he held onto the bowls edges with his fronthooves, not wanting it to escape.

Gleaming was at a loss for words. What she saw there was the final straw in her theories and it all became loose. Even the last ditch glance to the Lings horn and a really quick check with her own, could only confirm what a back portion of her mind told her since she came here. These ponies were simple animals. Nothing more, nothing less, but the way ponies had been prior to building up their societies.

It all came back to her once more. The pony on a leash. Nemora being a vet and not a real doctor. Everyone around her assuming the same stance the Ling had. The way the ponies behaved around here and towards herself. The way they conversed…

´I´ve been trying to talk to an animal…´ Gleaming would have facehoofed, if that would not give her away. She always had to be wary of being watched after all. But still…

What surely was the jackpot for any biologist or historian studying into the past and origins of ponykind, was a true nightmare for Gleaming. She now knew she was utterly alone out here. The only lighthouse in an ocean of darkness.

Gleaming would have liked to withdraw into a corner and cry about her situation, but one single thought stopped her from doing just that: If her assumption was finally on point, then what was the Ling doing here? He was the only thing not fitting into the overall picture.

And if that was the case, then he must have come from Equestria too, right? Did that mean he knew a way back? Or were there others of his kind nearby she would have to worry about? Did changelings come from here instead?

Of course Gleaming could not just waltz over and casually ask him about it. Neither had she any reason to trust him, nor wanted Gleaming to notify a potential enemy of Equestria about her plight and exploit it for his own reasons.

“Why is he called Blaze?” Zix called out from where he sat, carefully studying the munching equine for clues from his position.

Aiding chuckled, “He´s called that way because he has the tendancy to set everything around him on fire, when angered.”

Gleaming was suddenly very glad she had not started picking a fight with this stallion.

Upon seeing Zix trying to retreat again, Aiding rolled his eyes and added, “We´re not in any danger here kid. The fires he causes are mostly started by sparks from his horn, as he doesn´t quite have it under control. Which is the reason he´s here. But as you can see he´s all good.”

Zix looked aghast, “Why are you taking such dangerous pony in?”

Not answering at first, Aiding instead moved the other two bowls to the mares waiting behind the stallion, who wasted no time in digging in too. Then he turned his attention back to the black stallion and moved a hoof through the chewing ponies mane.

Blaze hummed in content at the touch and briefly lifted his head with his eyes closed while the contact persistet. When Aiding stopped petting him, the pony returned to attacking the remains of his meal with just as much vigor as before.

Aiding then quietly spoke, “Because he doesn´t have anywhere else to go. Like most around here.”

Zix seemed perplexed, “Huh. What do you mean? Can´t he go back to the wild?”

As Blaze finished off the last crumps and bits in his bowl, licking along the edges, Aiding turned to answer Zix, “Not an option, cause he´s been raised in captivity all his live. He would not survive for long out there. Not to mention his anger issues.”

“And why not sell him to someone else then?”

Aiding gave a dry chuckle, “And who, may I ask you, buys a pet which can spontaniously set your house on fire?”

Gleaming could see Zix mouth opening to retort, but no words came forth from it. Wordlessly he closed it and remained silent, while watching the black pony licking his lips.

“I don´t know if your aunt told you or not, but my farm is pretty much the final station for most ponies you see here. Take Meeps for another example, if you don´t believe me.”

“Meep!” the pony next to Gleaming piped up. It was only now, that Gleaming noticed, that unlike the other ponies, who had migrated to the food, Meeps had opted to stay behind, right by her side.

“No. If a pony ends up here, that’s mostly the end of the line for them. Which is the main reason why my farm sometimes gets refered to by the colonists as the -Sanctuary-, even though it doesn´t have an official name. For I take any of them in, rather than see them send over to a permanent cage in an animal shelter or worse.”

Gleaming did not know what to feel. It was either a life behind bars, slowly eeking out an existence here or turned into food. The available option for unwanted ponies here were not pretty. All the more reason for her to get away from this crazy place!

“Why would you take them in, if you can´t resell them or anything?”

Blaze meanwhile had finished his serving. The pony had sat down in front of the empty bowl and looked up at Aiding before emitting the typical “Ouwou!” When Aiding did not react, the black unicorn instead used the top of his muzzle to push the bowl closer to the Ling with a low whine. “The answer to that is complicated. All you need to know is that I do. And before you ask, no, your aunt doesn´t know either.”

Visibly unsatisfied with the answer he got, but a new question burning on his tongue, Zix wasted no time to voice it, “Whats he doing?”

Aiding chuckled, “Isn´t it obvious?”

Turning back to watch the pony in question more closely, Gleaming spotted him now tapping the bowl with one of his hooves. The “Ouwou!” that came along with the action also being more vocally demanding in turn.

Zix took a closer look at the stallion, moving his upper body this way and that, while humming in thought. Gleaming understood. She had seen many a dog and even Spike and Twily do the same when their were little. He was asking for seconds.

´No not asking. More like demanding.´

“Does he want more?”

A small nod was all he did, as Aiding approved his student without turning around, “Good. Very good. Pony care is all about reading their intentions right.”

“Uhm, but why aren´t you giving him any?”

“Because ponies are piggishly greedy for food. They don´t stop eating until its all gone. If I were to feed them until they stopped on their own, they could only move around via rolling after a week.”

Suddenly Gleaming felt very different about the hungry gazes ponies had sent her way when she was offered the green tomato. Despit the hefty cost she paid, it was probably safer to eat, than reject it and cause a race for the fruit.

Instead of fillling the bowl back up or giving him a new one, Aiding ruffled the stallion mane and gently pushed his head to the side, before pointing to the rest of the ponies. At first it seemed Blaze would not yield as he tried the same moves a second time to get his will. He even stomped his hooves angrily, barely missing the bowl. But it was to no avail and Aiding eventually removed the emtpy bowl entirely to signal that the argument was over.

With the bowl gone and Aiding not about to move any further to get a new one, Blaze seemed to realize his defeat. His head sunk and ears drooped, as he slowly turned around and shuffled back to his place in the crowd. Another low whine escaping him as he dragged his hooves along the grass.

“Awww but he look so sad….can´t you give him any more?”

Aiding shot him a warning look, “Don´t fall for it. Expecially not in front of all the others watching. Ponies are the masters of looking sad. With their big puppy dog eyes, the long face and hanging ears its all to easy to break a heart. If I were to feed him more, the others would want the same. Also, he knows that there will be another meal soon. There! Just take a look at him now!”

Gleaming and Zix both turned to look to the previous very definition of gloom, but spotted him no different than he had been before the feeding, minus the fruit juice he was licking from his lips. His face a mask of neutrality he eyed both pony parties just as they were watching him.

´A clever trick. He´s right back to normal…

Does that work for me too?´

Aiding chuckled as he prepared himself for the next ponies in line, while the two mares were about to finish as well, “Told you they are fairly smart buggers. They have a couple of tricks you need to be aware of. This one being among the more important ones to keep in mind. They use it quite often.”

While Aiding reached over to his assortement of prepared bowls, Zix voiced his thoughts, “And how can I tell if they are actually sad then?”

“Easy. Watch the tail. If its tugged in close, they are depressed. If its anywhere but that, it’s a ruse.”

As the forth and fifth pony today began happily munching away on their share of breakfast, Gleamings ears perked up. And when she cast a gaze over the crowd of assembled ponies, she knew they had heard it too, probably even sooner, but how many of their heads had turned away from the feeding taking place.

´He was right about their hearing too…´

Shaking the thought from her head, Gleaming focussed back on what she picked up. Just like this morning, it was faint at the start, but steadily continued to get louder. This time however not due the noise coming closer, but rather the same noise was made by different indiviuals closer related to her own position on the farm.

“Eeeeeep!”

A short pause. Then it came up again.

“Eeeeeep!”

By now even Aiding had noticed something amiss, as he stopped overseeing the ponies eating in front of him and instead gazed over his shoulder in the rough direction of his house. His webby ears also travelled the same way, further indicating that he had heard something too.

It was different speaker each time, but always the same message.

“Eeeeeep!”

Gleaming knew, what it was by now. Having been on the receiving end, or rather the reason for it not to long ago. It was a warning cry. Somepony or something was coming, and was not slowing down or stopping, which resulted in the ponies on guard duty to warn others nearby. Even Zix must have noticed that something was going on, as proven by his next line.

“Whats going on?”

Aiding returned his focus to the ponies sitting in front of him, two of which had finished their meals and were now looking up at him for a potential bonus, just like Blaze before them. “That, is the reason why I don´t need an overly expensive alarm system,” he stated while removing the empty bowls and beckoning the next ponies in line forward. “Thanks to these little guys, I´ll always know when someone is on my grounds, regardless which time of the day it is.”

´Sounds convinient idea to make use of their calls. But why is he so calm about it, if they are indeed reporting a threat approaching the farm? He´s not making any effort to check it out!´

“Aren´t you worried that it could be dangerous to your animal stock?”

Again the Ling just chuckled, “…Didn´t I tell you earlier how they operate upon intrusions on their perceived territory? If whoever it is, gets to close, they are going to be the one having a problem. Especially so if they happen to cross Muncher. Pony hooves maybe tiny compared to an actual horse, but theres a lot of them,” Aiding explained while exchanging another set of bowls. “Besides, I have a fairly good idea on who it might be.”

As if on cue, one of the avians, who worked for the Ling, came running across the grounds, right towards the group gathered outside the barn entrance. In tow she had a random mare running after her with its tongue poking out and and expression of glee on her face. Apparantly the pony was thinking her rush to be a sort of game and she happily galloped along the feathered handler to whereever she might be headed.

A little out of breath, the oversized bird came to a stop a little behind her superior with some dirt and grass still clinging to her clawy feet. The pony accompanying her skidded to a stop at next to her and looked up at the bird to see if she might continue the race. “…Chief, theres…hah…I mean…”

Not turning around ,but acknowledging the avians presence by addressing her, Aiding instead kept his gaze locked on the ponies munching away in front of him as he spoke, “Easy Kel, take a deep breath and start again.”

Kel complied and pressed her claws to her chest before loudly inhaling through her beaks holes. She kept the air in for about three seconds, before she released it and moved her wingarms along on her chest, as if pushing a heavy weight away. “…Phew…The marshal just drove into the slip, chief… Me and the others just wanted to give you a warning ahead of time.”

´Does he have trouble with this marshal guy? Is he in trouble?´ Gleaming wondered.

“That’s nice of you guys, but entirely unnecessary this time. I´ve asked for him to be come here whenever he could spare some time.”

The avian put a claw in the air and opened her beak as if she wanted to say something, but after a few failed tries, where she opened and closed it wordlessly, she gave up. Instead she opted to put her claws into her hips and voice her confusion, “Why would you do that for? I still recall the last time you two met, both of you were shouting loud enough that even the little ones in the barns got scared!”

´That sounds a little excessive.´

Despite Kel obvious aggravation, Aiding kept as calm as a rock. The pony who had accompanied Kel on her way here, sat down next to her and kept knocking on her leg with a hoof. A few chirps were emitted by the mare and the ponies next to Gleaming, who were still waiting for their turn started chirping as well in response.

“Contrary to popular belief my relation with the marshal is not as bad as it looks. In fact we have a relation of mutual respect for one another. After all he sends his troop here for sensibility training every few cycles for a reason,” Aiding calmly elaborated while fending off a particular stubborn attempt by a grey coated mare to secure herself a second bowl. She did not succeed and puffed out her cheeks in protest, “Pepper, NO! Out!”

“Ouwou,” was the mares answer as she finally turned around and stomped off. She looked back over her shoulder at the bowls and carts still holding potential food, before ducking into the crowd by lowering her head.

After having dealt with the pushy mare and glancing up to his left, Aiding went on, “I asked for his presence here, to discuss the circumstances of out latest addition to the herd. Namely your Snowflake and how I suspect her have become the way she is. I heard you had trouble feeding her yesterday?”

Hearing the name she gave to Gleaming, Kel scanned the crowd until her eyes located the alabaster unicorn sitting in the back row, or what was left of it. When she saw that Gleaming returned her gaze, hey hawk-like eyes lit up in an instant and she gave a small wave, “Good morning, Snowflake! Did you sleep well? Did you enjoy your bath?” Kel pointed proudly at her feathery chest, “I hope you did, cause I give the best scrubbs!”

´Not this again…´

Either not realizing or completely ignoring the glare Gleaming leveled at her, the large bird kept smiling, apparantly waiting for a vocal response of some kind. Gleaming had a fair idea what she expected, but of course had no intention of giving any Ouwou, for she did not want to reinforce the avian in her quest to pin that name on her with a false positive reaction. In her search for a way out Gleamings eyes fell on the Ling.

´Should I do something? Aiding is looking at me too now…´

Luckily Gleaming did not need to decide, due to Aiding interjecting with a groan, “…Are you still trying to pin that name on a white pony? I thought your sister and I made it clear that they pick their own names.”

Not moving her eyes from Gleaming Kel countered quickly, “I´ll get her to like it, you´ll both see! I think we have a connection.”

´No, we don´t.´

With mighty eyeroll Aiding seemed to put a lid on the topic, “…fine. I won´t address this any further. But back to yesterdays events. What happened after her bath?”

Blinking a few times, before breaking eye contact with Gleaming, Kel answered her boss, “…well yes, I…gave her a proper scrubb down, being mindful of course, but then she suddenly fell asleep. Pokey saw her being out of commission and probably went to harass some other unfortunate pony by then.” She shuffled her chickenlike feet, playing with a silvery ring attached to one of the talons, “I briefly considered to leave her with a small plate of something, but by the time I had gotten the shacks key from my sister, it was well past feeding hours.“

“…Well that’s unfortunate, but probably for the best,” Aiding stated after some consideration.

´For the best?! Hey, I´m starving here!´

“If she was out, and the plate unguarded, some other pony might have taken it, and we would be none the wiser, thinking she ate properly. Rest assured it was the smarter move,” Aiding praised his student. “Also she doesn´t look like she´s gonna starve anytime soon. Her flanks are well rounded.”

´What the- HEY! Are you calling me a fat-flank?´

Despite the hidden insult, Gleaming begrudgingly had to admit, that was an option. It might be the likely result of her very unhealthy diet in canterlot and the sudden lack of training. But her belly still demanded a proper meal! And come Nightmare Moon or Tartarus she would get one, before the end of day!

“Now while you are here, you might as well take over for me… and keep an eye on our greenhorn over there,” Aiding ordered her before dusting himself off and rising. Then he went over to the cart with the buckets inside of them and spoke over his shoulder, “The beta had his share already and so did most of the gammas. These ones are the last before the rest. Make sure they don´t sneak over and get themselves some second helpings. And keep a steady lookout for Pepper. She might be up to something again.”

“Ouwou!”

“Yes, yes, you know we are talking about you guys, don´t you?” Aiding stated while ruffling the mane of a close by pony. The affected pony squealed in delight and closed her eyes, pressing into the contact. A broad smile of joy erupted on the mares face face and her tongue poked out, when the Ling started to scratch behind her ear.

Taking her boss´ former spot, Kel carefully placed herself next to the hungry crowd and addressed him one last time, “Sure thing chief! And what are you going to do, now?”

“Take care of our guests,” Aiding said to her, while starting to walk towards his house in the center of the clearing.

“Hey what about me?!” Zix shouted after him.

“You, stay and watch Kel. She was in your spot last cycle. Listen carefully to what she says, and ask her, before you do anything!” Aiding replied, almost out of earshot. Zix grumbled in response and went back to drilling holes in the air. His forked tongue danced angrily across his lips.

Gleaming meanwhile was presented with a different problem than Zix now. On one hoof, she needed to stay around the Ling in hopes of finding a way to get him, or possibly herself back to his ship and out of this crazy place. And somehow hope that he did not see through her. Also she really wanted, no needed to know more about him for her own survival, in case things went south and she had to improvise for her cover or find his ship on her own.

On the other hoof, she really really did not want to miss out on the only meal in a day or more. Not counting the green fire tomato, which almost oblitered her tongue and sense of taste. Her stomachs relentless rumbles seeming to agree with her line of thoughts.

Unfortunately the culmination of those two objectives, left her with only one choice: She would have to find a way to speed up the feeding or help herself to some of the goodies. With approximately three dozen ponies around and only ten or so of them fed by now, the potential time loss was simply to big to ignore. Gleaming had already missed out on whatever was being said between Nemora and the Ling back at the clinic. She did not want to miss anything else that could get her out of this mess and finally back home.

And she could barely make out his figure as he strode off towards his home by now.

Gleaming wracked her brain for a solution to her problem and was soon rewarded with one, as her eyes drifted over to the cart where the Ling had originally filled the bowls from. The cart was in a perfect position for Gleaming to shield herself from the lizards gaze. And once she had reached that semi dead spot, all she would have to do was watch Kel for a moment, where she could slip inside the wagon unseen.

The contents of the carts buckets were removed to the point where they no longer spilled over, but Gleaming was certain that they were not entirely emptied, as Aiding only ever took a bit out of each. If she coul get to the goodies without either the bird or the Lizard spotting her, she could skip her turn in line and get right after the Ling with only a few second behind him. Hopefully.

´What was it the changeling said about ponies being hard to refuse? Maybe that’s my ticket!´ A quick glance at the avians ineraction with the crowd changed Gleaming mind. After all she was the one who got her stuck with that name… ´But then I´ll have to….ugh lets just put it on the backburner as plan B in case I get caught…´

Having reached a conclusion to avoid the oversized bird, Gleaming watched the two handlers present for a bit and when both of their attentions was aimed on the next ponies in line, while changing the bowls and Kel had to reject another, Gleaming made her move. Cautiously, almost imperceptibly slow, she moved sideways towards the bucket cart. Her eyes trained on the bird and the corner of her eyes keeping the lizard in check for any flash of movement.

Despite the clock ticking on her, Gleaming made sure her movements were not hasty enough to cause anypony around to notice, that she was moving at all, until she slipped into a dead angle.
From here Kel could no longer see her unless she craned her neck and Zix would have to lean forward to the extreme to spot Gleaming because his vision on her was now blocked by the cart.

´So far, so good,´ Gleaming smiled to herself. She felt a little like a secret agent, sneaking around, avoiding guards…and now she would be able to steal something too! It made the filly in her heart giggle with glee. The giddy feeling persisted until Gleaming reached from her position around the cart, whose doors luckily have not been closed, to claim her prize. That is, when her hoof came into contact with something warm and fuzzy.

´What kind of bucket is this? Must be a fruit, which had been lying in the sun for to long.´

“Eeeeep!”

´…Or not.´

The shocked outcry of a pony erupted from within the very same cart Gleaming had reached into and she felt the warm and fuzzy mass in contact with her hoof rapidly bending and scrambling to get away. Gleaming then heard how the pony knocked over some of the buckets within the cart, before leaping out of the container and onto the grassy plains. A few buckets and their contents following the escaping mare either by sudden wind or cohesion. Once she had landed outside, the mare sat up quickly and looked around with shock in her wide open amber eyes.

Everyones and everyponies attention was promptly transferred to the mare, who had just made her presence known. She was covered from head to tail in copious amounts of mashed fruit remains of mostly red and yellow, as well as their juices and was looking around frantically like a deer caught in a headlight. It was hard to tell, due to the relocoration, but her original coat color may have been a metallic grey at some point. All in all she was the very definition of a filly caught with its hoof in the cookie jar.

Kel recovered first from the interruption and decided to address the scared food thief, “Well, well…good morning to you too, Pepper!” Upon hearing Kel´s voice the mares eyes normalized. The grey mare sat down in the grass and promptly started licking off the fruity remains from her coat, “Ouwou!”

*Slurp*

Apparantly Gleaming was not the first pony to have noticed the dead angle between the two guards. And this mare had somehow managed to get in before her, ruining her plan…or did she?

Gleaming looked at the mare, whos back was turned to her, as she licked herself clean. All eyes present were on her at the moment and the cart left to itself once more. She may have made a mess in there, but surely some the food must still be in an appetizing state, Gleaming figured. So when Kel turned back to the Ouwou-shouting ponies closest to her, probably to calm their rightfully growing protests about the holdup, Gleaming hopped inside the cart looking for anything she might recognise.

Quickly going through the buckets still inside and upright, Gleamings effort of sorting through the mess was soon rewarded. Multiple yellow and red fruits she knew by heart were massed in some container, who still remained largely untapped, by both the Lings shovel and the intruding mare.

´Hey banana slices are in this one! And that one has pineapples in it! Strawberries!! Jackpot!!!´

Gleaming wasted no time to dig in and shoved as much of anything she could indentify into her muzzle as she could. Her chewing could barely keep up with the amount and her stomach voiced his approval with a small growl. In addition and because Gleaming knew she was running on borrowed time, she opted to float a few selected fruits right outside the cart in a light telekinetic grip for later comsumption. Despite her earlier fears the magic flowed naturally again and the field was fairly stable to hold what she considered an appropiate amount.

Gleaming was so absorbed in the process and enjoyed her stroke of luck, that she almost did not hear Kel frantically shouting, “SNOWFLAKE! NOOOOOOO!” amidst her search.

With stuffed cheeks like a chipmunk and some more fruit floating around in her magic, Gleaming turned around just in time, to see how every single pony, regardless if they ate already or not, started charging towards her after Blaze gave a mighty whinny.

*Gulp*

As she walked towars the changlings house with a full belly, Gleaming briefly glanced up at the two suns high in the sky. The bigger of the two, the one that looked like it would devour the world at any moment, luckily did not seem to grow. In fact, as far as Gleaming could tell, it did not even move in the slightest. It was covered in horizontal stripes of whiteish clouds, which travelled across its surface. The smaller one in contrast glintered softly right next to it, flickering occasionally like a white star plucked from Luna´s nightscape to shine brightly, but only during Celestias day.

It was weird to look at but also somehow…pretty. So far as the situation in the sky was not deteriorating it was probably okay. Still, Gleaming was no astropony. Who knows, how long it would stay that way?

´Speaking of deteriorating…`

Back in the cart, Gleaming barely had enough time left to jump out to safety before it was stormed by a vicious mob of greedy ponies. Her primitive relatives left nothing standing in their wake to secure as much of the food for themselves, right after Kel´s shouting. The resulting chaos of Ouwous, Eeeeeps and loud munching noises would have made even Discord proud.

Kel had tried in vain to regain control of the feeding frenzy, but the three dozen or more ponies were simply to much for her to handle on her own. Expecially so, after a few random ponies from across the meadow came galloping over to join the rebel group in their cause, effectively drowning the poor bird in bodies.

Zix meanwhile just looked at the scene once, fell over and held his belly, while a series of quick breaths and hisses escaped his mouth and scaly nostrils. Gleaming did not understand at first, what exactly it was that he did, but the body language helped immensily to relay the message to her. His laughter renewed itself and increased tenfold, when Kel started waving in distress from her position in the sea of ponies. Struggling against the pushing equines, she was crying for help one second, only to disappear a short moment later among them. She was like a ship out at sea during a massive storm, going up and down tall and unrelenting waves.

To Gleaming it was a surreal experience. And the first time she got away scot free, even though she was probably the one reason things escalated. She did not know what exactly she did wrong, but even Gleaming knew that the situation started escalating right after she had found the pony in the cart and jumped in herself. Sure she had to drop a few of her gatherings to deter some persuers as fled the scene, but for the most part the other ponies let her have her share.

Taking one last almost guilty glance at the massacre behind her, Gleaming hoped that her friend would get something out of it too. He could use it, and probably deserved it even more.

´Maybe I should keep some of this and hide it somewhere safe for him,´ Gleaming thought idly. ´After all he gave me something too.´ Gleaming made a mental note to save some food for him, it was the least she could do. And as Princess Celestia always said,´A little kindness goes a long way.´ As she neared the changelings oversized cottage Gleaming could see neither the Ling nor his guests anywhere around it. She figured that they must have already gone inside.

What she spotted instead were a lot of ponies evenly spread around the entire clearing encircling the house. Most of them were playing in small groups, but a few singular ones always sat a few spaces away in between the groups and on the edge of the grassy plain, where the forest started. The majority of the groups ignored Gleaming completely, but the single ponies kept thir eyes on her at all times, while slowly munching on a patch of grass. Whenever Gleaming came to close to any of them, they stopped to chew briefly, only to resume it when the distance between herself and the pony grew again.

Gleaming hated to admit it, but Aidings predictions seemed right as far as these ponies were concerned. But he did not know that to her great relief, because Gleaming could almost imagine the fat smug he would wear should he ever come to realize this. It fitted into his character.

Finally arriving at the house, Gleaming climbed the few stairs up to the terrace surrounding it. Her hooves touched solid wooden planks beneath her, which creaked slightly with each step she took.
Of anypony heard her inside the house, they did not seem to care, as nopony was coming to inspect the noises her steps made.

Glancing up at the remains of her booty from the food heist, Gleaming stopped herself from eating the very last three. She wanted to save them for Meeps in case he got unlucky in the chaos and also to repay her debt. Scanning the terrace for a possible hiding spot, she found a ceramic jug sitting next to an old looking brown bench. Peering inside the dark jug revealed it to be empty and dry, as far as Gleaming could see and she carefully lowered the leftovers into it until they safely reached the bottom.

As she completed her task, Gleamings ears picked up voices coming from right around the corner. They were fairly clear already, but she did not want to miss anything being wispered as well. So she tiphoofed her way closer to the source, which was ultimately just a window left slightly ajar to vent the stale air from the inside of the house. Gleaming sneaked closer until she was just below it, always mindful of leaving as little indications to her presence as possible. She aligned herself carefully so that her horn and head were hidden by the dark brown window-sill.

“…hasn´t changed at all since the last time I´ve been here. Some new décor could work wonders every now and then Aiden.”

´Aiden? Who is Aiden? Does he mean Aiding?´ Gleaming was certain she had hear him say the first, but that did not make any sense to her. After all Aiding Pierce was a much more sensable name in her mind. ´Do changelings have different names than ponies?´ Also Gleaming did not recognise the voice speaking. She figured it to be one of the guests, but did not yet know who. All she could make out was, that it was a male.

“Sure. But then I´d have to change it every few days due to all that holiday nonsense, seasonal festivities and other vital dates. And each time I´d have to buy more and more useless junk, which ultimately just serves to collect some dust out of season.”

That voice Gleaming knew by now. It was the Ling. And he was very stingy it seemed.

“You can´t just hole up out here and ignore the calendar. Also it would add some color to your life.”

“I place antlers on the little ones each christmas. That´ll have to do.”

The new voice sounded sceptical, “…they let you do that? I thought they dislike any attachments.”

“Some of them do, but most of them just ignore it and continue as usual.”

“Marshal, were getting off topic.”

Gleaming did not know that last voice. From the strict sound of it, it belonged to a fairly young female. Most likely she was the second guest, who came along with the Marshal. By the way the word Marshal was said, it sounded like the pony wielding it was quite the authority and yet Gleaming could not shake the feeling that the female thought herself to be in charge.

A loud sigh was heard, “…yes,yes. No smalltalk, no pleasantries with you, is there?”

The female did not respond vocally, but Gleaming had the feeling that some looks were shared, before the conversation resumed.
“Let us move this to the kitchen. Can I offer you something? Coffee, tea…,” the Ling asked his guests and Gleaming could hear how multiple feet and/or hooves started moving away from her.

´Darn it!´

Hastily but still concerned to remain unnoticed, Gleaming ventured along the houses outside to the next window. This one was unfortunately closed tight, but as long as things around her very relatively quiet, she would still be able to catch on.

The scraping of wood on wood could be heard and a few cupboards were opened and closed, “You do have some real coffee Aiden? Where did you get that?” The Marshal sounded fairly surprised.

“From my last trip.”

“Then I´ll take a cu-…mug please. I haven´t had some in ages! All you get here is that cheap knockoff they make from seashell or something.”

“Marshal were here on official business! I must insist we-“

“New to Agria, is she?”Aiden interrupted her, while Gleaming could hear and smell the distinctive sound of a coffee maker starting up. “Fresh from the academy, I take it?”

“Indeed she is.” A vary loud scraping of a chair, pulled across the floor, sounded from within the house. “Take a seat girl. Things around here move at their own pace.”

“B-But protcol strictly-“

“The political head bureau is very far away from here. Nobody over there really cares what happens on Agria. And long as the agricultural transports arrive on time, nobody will come looking either,” the old voice of the Marshal explained things to her. His voice sounded a bit distorted to Gleaming. Maybe he sported a beard?

“Want a cup as well, Junior-Inspector?” Aiden offered.

After a small pause, Gleaming could hear how somepony slumped down into a chair. Probalb ythe one the Marshal dragged out. “…alright, but only a small one.” She sounded defeated.

“I´ve got to apologize, Aiden. New ones they send us, are always to eager to get promoted,” The Marshal grumbled as explanation.

“No harm done Wilford,” Aiden answered while a loud -DING- announced the coffee being ready. Gleaming could almost imagine the way it was filled into three cups as the typical noise of a fluid flowing into something filled the air. Then the knocking of hooves on the floor indicated that Aiden was walking over to the table, where his guests sat.

“Milk?, Sugar?”

“Nah, I´m good,” Wilford the Marshal said before he took a first audible sip of the hot beverage. “Aaaah that is the good stuff! You’re a hero, Aiden!”

The female was way more hesitant, “…uhm… some milk, please, Mr Pearce.”

“On the counter behind you, young lady. Spoons are in the drawer below it.”
A moment of silence passed as the female law-agent stirred milk into her drink. The loud clinking of the metallic spoon against the ceramic cup filling the air as the only soun, before the scraping of her chairs legs indicated, that she took her seat again.

“…So…,” the Marshal began, “What exactly is the problem you think you´ve found this time?”

Aiden chuckled, “Straight to the point after you had your fill.”

The Marshal chuckled too, “You know how it is.”

“Right.” Aidens chuckled died and he begaan to sound much more serious. “You know how I went to the nearby outpost to buy me some spareparts for the lightfence recently, correct?”

“Yes, of course. Departures at the port a recorded you know?” The Marshal asked him back, before he added, “Is that were you got the coffee from?”

“Yes, but that’s not the point.”

“You´ve intrigued me now,” The Marshals voice got lower, indicating he as leaning forward on a table of some sorts as he spoke.

“When I was halfway back, my ship broke down suddenly…and no, before you asked I haven´t missed any inspections. All was fine at launch,” he took a sip from his own drink. “Drifting aimlessly around was no fun, except for maybe Pokey, but it wouldn´t serve to get me anywhere. So I set out and checked all the systems.”

“And?”

“And guess what I found?” Aiden paused a moment, “A pony, unicorn to be precise, had attacked the cooling unit of the jump engine. Poor thing knocked herself out in the process.”

“Of course. The loss of cooling would see to the energy intensive system to overheat rapidly and then fail entirely in a matter of seconds,” Gleaming heard the female speak.

“Precisely,” Aiden approved her diagnosis.

“And then?” the Marshal beckoned him to continue his tale.

“I exchanged the damaged cylinder with the tools I had and barely made it to dock,” Aiden winced, “Probably wouldn´t have made it through inspection on launch, but it worked for a while.”

“…I understand it was an emergency. I won´t hold it against you.”

“Thanks, Wil.”

“But,” the Marshal shifted back to leaning into his chair once more, by how it creaked under the weight, “…why do you think this is a matter of concern for me?”

Gleaming could almost hear the smirk on Aidens face, as he answered and she could see it in front of her mental eye to. She hated that smirk somehow. It made her feel uneasy.

“Because of the little one who caused my unplanned stop. She has a mark on her flanks, Wil, and we both know what that means.”
The old Marshal remained silent for a bit as he let that fact sink in. After a while he sounded much less relaxed and way more offical than anytime before, “Are you certain its them again? Can I see the pony?”

“As for being certain…It does not necessarily have to be the same group, but there could be another. And I had Kel take a picture of her, while she slept,” he shuffled through his clothings, “Here take a look for yourself. I doubt she is very keen on being touched with the way she acted at Nemoras.”

“Understandable,” the Marshal grumbled before he lapsed into silence once more. Gleaming could hear something being moved over the table and his mug being placed down.

“What is this about Marshal?”

“She hasn´t been briefed much on Agria, has she Wil?” Aiden intercepted.

“No, but feel free to enlighten her if you will, I gotta take a closer look at this.”

“And whats this about a lightfence?”

Aiden chuckled, “Suddenly eager for smalltalk, off topic, are we?”

The female grumbled.

“Agria is a planet which rotates very slowly, which causes very long dark seasons, instead of the day and night cycle on most other worlds. By itself the darkness isn´t so much a problem, but rather what it houses.”

“Swolloks,” the Marshal grumbled, “You should know about these ones at least.”

The female scoffed, clearly offended, “Of course!”

“Good. But have you seen one yet?”

She sounded hesitant again, “Erm…no. Not exactly. But I´ve seen pictures. Nasty things, if I´m honest.”

“And why do you think that is?”

…

“Swolloks live exclusively in the dark. Light hurts them tremendiously, to the point of death. They avoid all bright places like the plague,” Aiden explained and added, “…which is our luck.”

“How so?”

“We can´t just move every single house and family a few meters each days, just to avoid the dark season. Its simply not possible. Not to mention very expensive. It would make Agria far less profitable as an agricultural colony,” Aiden stood up and the scraping of ceramics across the table, indicated that he took the cups with him. Presumably empty. “So we put up light post and fences and wait the darkness out. The swolloks simply avoid the lit up places and we can coexist without much trouble.”

“I know it sounds mean,” the female started after some consideration, but why not simply wipe them out, if they cause so much trouble?”
“Because the excrement of the predators is the reason why the ground is so fertile here, that the farmers can grow two harvests each cycle,” the Marshal explained. “Exterminating the threat would cause the economy to collaps with sinking harvest returns. SO we shield the houses and leave the field to be fertilized.”

“And what about the ponies?”

Aiden answered her, “They live her longer than the first colonists. These little buggers are smart enough to stay in well lit areas.”

“Okay and what this about the mark on the pony?”

“A while back,” the Marshal started, “…the laws surrounding these little equines were much different. And to not bother you with to many historical details, they were used for animal fights, as soon as people discovered, that they could indeed fend even swolloks off, if they had too.”

“And to mark their best fighters, each syndicate gave theirs a burnmark on the flank,” Aiden finished.

“So this one, is…”

“Yes, youngling, we think so. And if they really are back around these parts, that’s bad news. Any more leads s far Aiden?”

“Afraid not. She just appeared on my ship randomly. I think she must´ve snuck on board somehow. Or a very thoughtful and hearfelt pirate got her out and placed her on the next ships leaving the station.”

The Marshal chuckled, “Yea, a pirate with heart, sure.”

“As for their operation. If they did it like last time, you probably would´ve found them by now.”

“So?”

“I think they moved their operations into a ship. A flying arena of sorts with a low profile to reduce detection.”

“Hm,” Wilford the Marshal considered his words. “Well, if we can´t say where they are hiding I´m afraid I can´t do much. But I´ll kep my eyes peeled for anything suspicious and double the patrols, just incase.”

“With nothing solid, yet, that as much as I can ask for, thanks Wil.”

“Think nothing of it. And if it turns out to be a ruse after all, it´ll be good flying practice. You and I both know how many flying hours these youngsters need.”

“Speaking of suspicious,” the female sharply interjected. “There is still another matter, Marshal.”
The commanding edge in the Junior-Inspectors voice was suddenly back.

“Hm,” Aiden asked innocently, beckoning her to continue. “Anything you want from me, Wil?”

“Ouwou!”

Gleaming almost jumped into the window-sill she was hiding under. Somehow a pony had snuck up on her and poked her with its muzzle. Half.expecting Meeps to the cause of the interruption, Gleaming turned slowly around and was surprised to see rosy eyes instead. The light blue stallion looked at her with an expression of genuine interest, but had his head tilted a notch, as if not sure on how to proceed.

Gleaming lightly hissed at him and motioned with her hooves, “Sssh, go away! This is important right now!” Then after a few seconds Gleaming facehoofed, ´What am I doing here? He doesn´t even understand!´

As if on cue, the stallion chirped happily, joy sparkling in his eyes, as he repeteated the same gesture Gleaming did to shoo him away. After he had finished, he returned to the same pose as before, his eyes closely watching Gleamings every move to continue the game. `Ughn…I got not ime for this,´ Gleaming thought to herself and decided to ignore the bothersome stallion and his antics of copying her.

Unbeknowst to Gleaming, the stallion had no intention to be ignored by her.

Wilford cleared his throat, “Erhem, erhem…last evening we were called by the local fire department, for they had a false alarm…“ he trailed off, shortly before continuing, “…instead of a fire they found the entire workforce of the establishment bound and gagged, all of which had minor injuries-”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“I was getting to that!” Now were was I?”

“You were about to say what the firefighters found next, sir.”

“Oh yes, you probably won´t believe this, but in the back of the place they found an illegal butchery for ponies, probably supplying the local black markets or outright serving it to their own customers. For you see, the place were talking about is owned by the Ska´jar amabassador himself.”

“I´ve told you many times before, that guy is up to no good. But I still fail to see, why you´re telling me this…,” Aiden said with a voice that was rich with desinterest.

“Because, my friend, and you´re not gonna believe this…you were seen at the crime scene, multiple times.”

Aiden gave a dry chuckle, “Of course I was seen there more than once-“

“Ahah! We got him Marshal, he´s admitting it!”

Calm as a rock in a storm Aiden responded, “I did no such thing. You didn´t let me finish.”

“Go on, then!”

“First, I was there visiting Nemoras place, getting our new one checked through and through. Then I had to chase her down after she hadescaped Nemoras clinic, where I had an interesting encounter with some goonies in the backalley, mind you. And lastly I had to go back before days end, due to my employees forgetting to restock before the dark season.”

“That is-”

“Totally accountable for. If you do not believe me, ask the people at the store. As usual I had the luck to find the slowest cashier on the planet.”

The silence which followed spoke volumes of ho much wind the Junior-Inspector had lost from her sails. A fact that did not escape her mentor either, “So as usual,” Wilford started.

“I have a perfectly explainable reason why I was seen, yes,” Aiden finished.

“Ouwou!”

Beside Gleaming, rosy eyes had enough with her inactivity and was pushing her with his hooves to move. “Hey, stop that!” Gleaming hissed, hoping nopony would hear her or the pushy pony next to her. But it was too late.

“What was that?” asked the female from inside.

“What was what? Wilford asked her in turn.

“I just heard someone talk outside!”

´Horseapples!´

“Let me have a look,” Aiden announced and Gleaming could hear his steps getting closer to the window. There was no time to get back around the corner to the bench, nor was she certain that the floorboards would remain silent enough when she moved. So instead she pressed herself as close to the wall as she could, hoping that the angle from inside would not allow her to be seen.

After a few seconds, which felt like minutes, Aiden spoke, “Its just Cotton playing outside. You must have misheard.”

“No I haven´t!” the female grumbled.

Wilford laughed, “Bwuhahah, Its quite alright, dear. We´ve all been there thinking they can talk to us. Never hurts to dream.” Then he added, “Watcha looking for Aiden?”

“Nothing, its just strange. Cotton isn´t the type to play by himself. He´s even willing to play with strangers if no one else is around. Maybe I should check on him.”

´Oh no. Please don´t come outside, please don´t come outside. I don´t have a hiding spot!´

As if to answer her plea, Cotton reared up and pressed his fronthooves and muzzle on the glass, “Ouwou!” it sounded a little muffled, but the messages still reached the people inside the kitchen.

A rubber ball from somewhere, suddenly landed next to Gleaming. It bounced off the wall and slowly rolled away from it, to where it could be seen from inside. If anypony would see it, open the window and reach for the toy, they was no way in Tartarus, that Gleaming would be missed. ´Away with you!´, Gleaming angrily tossed the rubbery object sideways as far as she could.

“See?”

“What does it want?”

“Most likely it saw people go inside and is now wondering where they went. Now he knows.”
“Don´t you think he´s just playing Aiden?”

“Nah.”

“Why not?”

He chuckled, “Ponies play different than other animals. People often compare them to dogs, but I find that comparison lacking.”

“Ouwou!” *Plonk*

“Lacking how?”

“Well, for one if you play ball with a pony it won´t fetch the toy for you.”

“Don´t they like playing ball?”

“Oh they do. Very much so. But if you play ball with a pony…the ball comes back.”

“What?!”

`Comes back?! Uh oh!´ Gleaming had barely enough time to to finish her thought and turn her head to make out the rubbery projectile speeding towards her. There was no time to dodge.

*PLONK*

Author's Note

I´m terribly sorry how late this chapter comes to you. I tried my hardest to keep my promise, but it was simply out of my hooves. For against the almighty bluescreen I am put a powerless mortal.
It took me not only quite some time to get my old rumblebox running again, but once I did, I noticed that half the chapter was missing
So I had to rewrite a big portion, before I got to the juicy bits, I was itching to finish...
On a plus note, I am much more happy with how it turned out this time. There are ups and downs to everything, I guess.
Oh well, I hope the big fluffy pink pony forgives me and will enventually stop trying to squeeze herself through the wall on my left O.o
I did however, despite the circumstances, keep my word in regards to the promised content of this chapter. Hope you like and happy ~~Helloween~~ I mean Nightmare Night to you folks.

PS: I ll get a new PC (hopefully) by the end of january. Then I can send my old rumblebox to the eternal hunting grounds.