~Chapter Thirty-One~

A growl of annoyance only just made its way past Dimmed Star’s snarling lips as she slowly stalked through the dark underbrush of the Everfree, a sorrowful young drake trailing in her wake. The two of them had been walking for nearly an hour, the path from Zecora’s to Ponyville being much shorter now that they could take the direct route instead of following Scootaloo’s faded scent.

“You were told to leave her alone…” Spike winced at the accusing tone in his guardian’s voice, his grip on her tail faltering only slightly. It was the first time she had spoken since she had dragged them away from Zecora’s home, his heart dreaded her disappointment. Nodding slowly, his eyes glanced up towards the back of the dark mare’s head, tears long dried beginning to reemerge.

“I… I know… I j-just… I wanted…” Dimmed Star could only sigh at the drake’s inability to express himself. Slowing her trot to a crawl, Spike accidentally walked into her at her sudden change in pace, stumbling slightly as he kept himself from falling. With a flourish of movement, Dimmed Star turned and pulled the youngling into her hooves, gripping his small frame tight against her barrel. Looking up in slight confusion, he found the darkened eyes of the mare peering down at him with an emotion he couldn’t quite place. Leaning down, she softly nuzzled the top of his head as he closed his eyes, accepting the embrace.

“I know, Spike, I know. But that doesn’t excuse what you did…” Spike’s eyes clenched tighter, his tears tracing down his face once more. Frowning down at the sight, Dimmed Star placed a soft kiss atop his scales, before pushing away and straightening herself before him. Spike sniffed as he wiped at his eyes with a forearm, looking up to the dark mare with a sad nod.

“You’ll be grounded when we get back, that means no toys, no crusading, no comics, and no books other than what you need for school work. You’ll only be allowed to see your friends during class and then you come straight home after. How long will be determined by your behavior after today, understand?” Though she spoke softly, Dimmed Star’s tone was strict and permitted no arguments. Spike’s eyes widened at her declaration before he bowed his head and nodded, not trusting himself to speak as he hiccuped. He’d never been grounded before… Dimmed Star felt her heart lurch at the drake’s reaction but forced herself to commit as she wrapped the young dragon within her dark aura of magic, depositing him on her back as she turned and continued their way through the forest. His claws shakily gripped her mane for support, his quiet whimpers drowning her heart in guilt.

‘I’m sorry, Spike, but this is a lesson you’re going to have to learn the hard way.’

~ ~ ~

The whistle of the Canterlot Express echoed through the Ponyville train station. Doors sliding open from its multiple cars allowed the many occupants within the opening needed to swarm the loading dock and begin to mingle with the crowd waiting to board on the train’s next scheduled route.

A grunt of pain was easily missed among the many conversations as a short pegasus mare stepped out hind hooves first onto the platform from the furthest cart. With another grunt of pain and exertion, Steel Blitz growled through her teeth that gripped the large suitcase she was struggling to pull free of the train, its bottom edge caught on the frame of the door.

“One-second Lieutenant!” A voice from within called before the bag was enveloped in a hazy green aura and lifted out of her grip and past her to the platform. Turning with a scowl, Steel Blitz glared at the jade green unicorn who gulped at her sudden animosity.

“Ah… s-sorry uh, Steel. Gotta get used to that…” Giving the stallion a stern glare for a moment longer, Steel released a sigh of annoyance, before wincing as her side twinged in pain. Using the leading edge of her wing, she gently massaged the bandaged stitches, aching to scratch the healing flesh beneath.

“It’s fine, Emerald, we’ve all got to adjust to being in a covert unit. Where are the others?” Steel glanced around her subordinate curiously, trying to spy out the other member of her squad and the two newbies. Seeing a chance at small talk with his commanding officer, Emerald grinned as he stepped up beside the smaller mare, his own luggage joining her’s in the air beside them.

“Light Shine is scouting ahead, he said he’ll catch up with us once he’s got an understanding of the town’s layout. As for the other two…” Steel nodded in acceptance of Light Shine’s excuse as she and Emerald began to make their way through the crowd, keeping to the sides of the large mass to avoid getting singled out by any who might recognize them from Canterlot.

“Parasol took off almost as soon as she got out of the cart, the filly was a golden blur before I could blink and could barely stay seated the whole way here as it was. Are you sure she’s up for this Lie- Steel?” Emerald only just caught himself, his eyes darting around to see if anypony had noticed his slip of the tongue while Steel glared at him again through the corners of her eyes.

“It’s not about what I think, Emerald. They were assigned to us, we just have to accept that and roll with it. What about the other one, Pack Rat?” Slightly shivering at the name, Steel silently thanked her parents for not cursing her with a name that had any relation to a hoarding tendency. Emerald groaned at the mention of their second new member, before glancing towards the front of the train as they approached it. A single bright lime-green unicorn stallion with a carefully combed black mane was still standing near the doors, speaking with one of the train’s employees. As they got closer, they could make out his cutie mark, a bulging sack that looked to be overflowing with a dark powdery substance. They had barely stepped within earshot before both were beset by the stallion’s childish whining; it reminded them of a certain prince they had to deal with only just over a week ago.

“I don’t want to hear it! I had exactly three luggage carts loaded before I left Canterlot, two with suitcases, one with duffle bags, have you any idea what even one of those cases is worth? You could not hope to obtain one with a year’s worth of salary! If you don’t produce them right now, I’ll-” Teeth gripped his short black tail and yanked, cutting him off mid-sentence as he yelped. Falling back on his haunches, Pack Rat turned to begin yelling at the sudden invasion of his personal space, only to meet the steely dark grey eyes of Steel Blitz as she glared at him dangerously.

“M-Miss Blitz! Oh, thank goodness you’re here! This hooligan has done something with my luggage and is refusing to cooperate!” Huffing loudly, Pack Rat rose back to hooves and made a show of dusting himself off as he glared back at the shaken employee. The poor stallion looked to be barely out of colthood and seemed unsure of what to do. It hardly took one look from Steel to see the corner of an instructions booklet peeking out from beneath the pegasus’ wings.

‘The first day on the job and he gets thrown to the timber-wolves.’ Steel gave the young porter a sympathetic look, before turning back to the current target of her ire as he opened his mouth to continue berating the new employee.

“Shut it, Pack! Your luggage will be here in a minute, all non-carry on baggage is held in the back storage compartment, you don’t need to harass the employees!” Pack Rat started at the aggressive tone, his head snapping to his superior officer in dismay.

“B-but Miss, I-” A stomp of her hoof cut him off as she glared at him.

“That. Is. Enough!” The whining stallion’s ears laid back as he was successfully cowed. With a snort of irritation, Steel looked back to the porter as he watched her with admiration in his eyes. Smiling softly, Steel absently plucked a single bit from a pouch around her hips with a feather tip and held it out for him.

“Here, for the trouble and the hasty retrieval of his belongings. I hope you won’t be discouraged by one bad apple.” The porter stared at her in awe for only a moment longer, before nodding his head with a smile and accepting the tip. With a happy kick in his step, the young employee took off down the platform, making his way to the back storage compartment. Glaring once more at Pack Rat, who watched the porter go with his mouth agape, Steel rolled her eyes and stepped past him.

“That wasn’t so hard, now was it? When you’ve got your stuff, get your flank to the guard shack in the next twenty minutes or so help me I will stuff you in a box and mail you back to Canterlot.” The moment the threat left her lips a large object slammed into the ground next to them. Everypony in the vicinity jumped at the noise and turned to see the source was a large brown package, the words, “Fragile,” and, “Handle with care,” stamped to nearly every crunched up side.

“My bad!” Looking up, a soft grey pegasus mare with a bright yellow mane was smiling sheepishly at them as she quickly flew down to scoop the package back up. Several of the local ponies chuckled at the mare’s antics, while Pack Rat only gaped at the mishandled material.

~ ~ ~

“Where is she now?” A clipped and professional voice demanded as the Bearers looked to one another nervously.

Mayor Mare stood before them, a scowl across her features as she and the Bearers stood just outside the yellow line of restriction tape that cut off the collapsed remains of Scootaloo’s home from the rest of the town. Two of Ponyville’s guards stood behind her, their armor a soft beige coloring. Both had been assigned to stand guard at the Town Hall for the day and were glaring daggers at the mares alongside their superior. The soft brown earth mare could swear that if her mane wasn’t dyed, it’d be naturally grey before the end of the day.

“She’s gone into the Everfree in search of Scootaloo… We’re not sure how long it will take or… even if she will find her.” Glancing nervously to her trembling, rainbow maned compatriot, Rarity leaned further against her side to offer what assurance she could while Fluttershy did the same on Rainbow’s other side. Looking up shakily, Rainbow offered a small, if unsure, smile of thanks, before casting her eyes back to the ground below. Mayor Mare watched the interaction quietly, offering what support she could through a softer gaze at the downtrodden pegasus. Raising a hoof to her temple, the Mayor sighed as she felt the incoming signs of a headache. She had arrived at the scene as quickly as she could when some ponies from the neighborhood had rushed the Town Hall with news of the home’s collapse. What she and the guards had come across was the Bearers and Big Macintosh attempting to clean up what amounted to a crime scene of all things! She had ordered the two young fillies with them to return home and had every intention of speaking with them later to get more details, but for now, it was the Bearers who held her immediate attention.

“And when she returns? You of all ponies know I can’t let this go. She has to be taken in.” Taking a moment to steady herself, straightening her slightly crooked glasses, the Mayor looked back to the Bearers intent on giving them a stern lecture about how they could be counted as accessories to a crime, only to step back as she found all of them glaring dangerously at her.

“Y’all might wanna rethink that. The last time somepony tried that there trick, it didn’ end well fer ‘em.” Applejack’s gaze was locked with the Mayor’s, emerald eyes shining dangerously. Taking a step forward, Applejack tilted her hat as if readying for a fight while the two guards on either side of the Mayor quickly stepped between them.

“Don’t move another step!” The guard to her left threatened, raising a sword in his aura as his partner hefted a spear in his hooves. A heavy thud to their left caught them off guard as Big Mac bore down on them now, his own deep green eyes glaring daggers at the two armored stallions who were beginning to sweat nervously. The Mayor looked shocked at the sudden change in the attitude of the Bearers and Big Mac as they all glared back at her and the guards with vehemence.

“Wh-what has gotten into you mares? I understand being there for your friend but… for something like this!?” She gestured with a hoof to the destruction behind them along with two tarps that covered the remains of a pair of bodies that were not meant to be seen by any who wished to keep their most recent meals down. Stamping a hoof into the mud and stone below, she shook her head in denial.

“This is too much, even for a hero of Equestria, even as the student of the Princess! Murder is murder!” She tried to meet the eyes of each Bearer, but found that only Rarity and Applejack were able to raise their heads high enough as Fluttershy, despite her muzzle scrunched into a scowl of her own, was too occupied trying to comfort her oldest friend who could only glare at the mud-soaked ground beneath her.

“Listen, Mayor Mare, I understand where you are coming from, truly. But you need to believe us when we say that this will not end well for you. This is for your own good!” Rarity, her gaze softening somewhat, pleaded to the head of their small town. Mayor Mare snapped her gaze to the fashion designer, confusion clearly prevalent in her features.

“So you and Applejack have said, but I fail to see where this skewed reasoning is coming from!” Sighing dejectedly, she tried to give the mares one of her kindly smiles that seemed to always help get others on her side, it worked wonders during the elections.

“From what you’ve told me, it paints the deceased as the villains here, but none of you can provide proof for your claims, nor have any other witnesses without a bias. An investigation has to happen and all parties must be present for it! Despite what you each have said, one truth rings out that cannot be ignored. You admit that Twilight Sparkle killed that stallion, and all of you are attempting to cover for her! If you will not back down, I will not have a choice but to detain each of you as well for accessories to murder!” She stamped a hoof once more to punctuate her rant. Her kindly smile slowly morphing back into a scowl near the end.

“I’m a witness…” Blinking owlishly, everypony turned in surprise at the sudden declaration, gasping at the roughed up and trembling frame of a mulberry earth mare. Cheerilee smiled weakly at the group as she trotted forward, her mane still a mess and her coat covered in dirt and dried mud. Several dark bruises were showing through her fur and a few scrapes crusted with dried blood from her previous altercation with Brutus Meadows. Glancing over to the tarps, she shuddered at the idea that he was likely one of the two bodies that lay nearby. With trembling hooves, she carefully approached the Mayor as one of the guards moved to intercept her. Stopping short of the guard, she glared at the stallion as her eyes hardened, before looking past him to the confused expression on the Mayor’s face.

“I was there, Mrs. Mayor. I saw the… p-proof, of what happened…” The memory of the hallway coated in blood, the shadow of the large stallion standing over the mess, nearly caused the mare to heave as she cautiously glanced over to the destroyed home, her stomach turning as she looked over the remains. Mayor Mare looked between the school teacher and the debris, curiosity overtaking her anger at the Bearer’s strange actions.

“Miss Cheerilee, my Celestia, what happened to you?” It took a moment before Cheerilee could bring herself to look away from the wreckage, her breathing slightly erratic as she looked back to the Mayor, before staring at the ground at her hooves, light tears trailing her face.

“I-I’m sorry it took so long fo-for me to get here… A-after I helped Pinkie, I h-had to return to the schoolhouse and check on the foals. I… sent them home early t-today…” The Bearer’s eyes widened at the mention of their pink friend, each questioning what the baker would need help with that had prevented her from coming to their aid as well. Looking back up, the Mayor only nodded slightly in understanding, before motioning with a hoof for the mare to continue. Taking a deep, shaky breath, Cheerilee glared back at the guards who suddenly felt as though they were now the ones on thin ice.

“I guess I’ll start at the beginning…”

~ ~ ~

In an alley nearby, a blue unicorn stallion with a blonde mane and tail sat listening to the conversation as the Mayor and the other’s talked. A soft groan made its way out of his throat as he rubbed at his temples with both hooves.

‘Not even one damned day and we already have a situation…’ Looking to the sky and glaring in the general direction of the Sun, he lamented his place in the world.

‘The Lieutenant is gonna have my cutie mark for this.’ With a sigh of resignation, Light Shine leaned back against the wall of the alley and continued to make mental notes of everything the mare’s discussed.

~ ~ ~

Mayor Mare found herself struggling between the Law and her own morals as she and Cheerilee made their way to the town guard shack. The two guards that had followed the Mayor were given direct orders, one to remain and prevent others from passing the restriction tape and the other to retrieve a medical team from the General Hospital to retrieve the bodies for examination. Glancing silently to the mare beside her, the Mayor shivered slightly at the fire in her normally kind eyes. Cheerilee was a mare on a mission, and that mission was what led them to their current circumstances.

It had taken only a few minutes for Cheerilee to recall her part in the events that lead to the destroyed home and dead ponies, her testimony supplementing that of the Bearers and leading the Mayor to relent, if reluctantly. She still requested that they send Twilight, or the mare that now called herself Dimmed Star, to her office as soon as she arrived back in town. Once that was settled, the mare’s excused themselves to go and search for their baker friend Pinkie Pie, worry etched into their features after Cheerilee had told them of the condition that the mare had been found in. None had noticed the flash of blue fur that had scurried away from the scene as they all took separate paths.

Now, the Mayor found her stomach twisting into knots as she and the teacher made their way across town, her demeanor slowly changing with every step.

“Uh, pardon if I’m being a bit upfront, Miss Cheerilee. But why did you insist that I accompany you to the guard shack?” Cheerilee looked over to the Mayor with a smile that was practically beaming with sadistic glee, it almost made the Mayor wish she was still staring down the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony rather than be the focus of such a smile.

“Oh! I’m sorry Mrs. Mayor, I thought you’d have figured it out after my testimony. We’re going to the Guard Shack because I’m going to demand some severe changes!” The Mayor blinked as she paused in her steps, Cheerilee coming to a stop just ahead of her.

“I-I’m sorry? Miss Cheerilee, I get that you were a bit upset with the guard not being there to escort you, but I’m certain this is something that could be brought up at the next Town Mee-” Cheerilee’s eye narrowed dangerously, causing the Mayor’s voices to choke up as her ears began to lay flat against her skull. A feeling of dread washed over her as Cheerilee’s unblinking eyes stared into her very being. She knew this feeling well, everypony knew this feeling. There wasn’t a student in Equestria that hadn’t been subjected to the look at least once in their lives. The disapproving, reproachful eyes of their teacher that had just found them doing something that they weren’t supposed to, it made her heart pound thunderously in her chest as she suddenly felt as though she were still a filly in class.

“This isn’t just about them not escorting me Mrs. Mayor… I ran through this town, screaming at the top of my lungs for help. I came very close to dying today because the guard is failing horribly at doing their jobs! The most I have seen them do is stand around at the Town Hall and maybe, maybe, patrol the occasional neighborhood once in a while. Ever since the, ‘Heroes of Equestria,’ came about, they’ve been lazy and useless! It's not the Bearer's fault of course, but the truth is that the guards are using them as an excuse to slack off! They haven’t had a single training session in the fields outside the schoolhouse in months!” Breaking her gaze from the Mayor, Cheerilee continued her path through town as she now set her sights on the building ahead of them. Mayor Mare quickly moved to follow, an urging in the back of her mind demanding that she follow and stand straighter as instincts from her school days took hold.

“I absolutely refuse to let this go. Not while my students are at risk because they won’t do their Celestia damned jobs!” Her hooves were now stomping across the cobblestone road as she and the Mayor closed in on the Guard Shack. Gulping nervously, Mayor Mare could only whimper as she and the irate educator made their way through town, several of the nearby ponies watching curiously as the mulberry mare fumed in anger.

“M-Miss Cheerilee, please, le-let’s discuss this at my o-office, I’m sure we could a-arrange something!” The distraught Mayor was now panicking as she stumbled, struggling to keep up with the pace that Cheerilee was setting. In a blink, Cheerilee was on her again, her harlequin green eyes blazing.

“If you won’t do something about this, I will take it to the courts in Canterlot! I will not tolerate it, Mrs. Mayor!” Mayor Mare backpedaled with a yelp, falling over herself to get away from the enraged mare.

“That won’t be necessary.” The new voice caught both mares off guard as they looked to see an approaching mare along with an emerald green unicorn, a stack of luggage floated along behind them. The mare’s steel grey eyes locked onto the two of them for a moment, before she cast her sight over to the Guard Shack that was now only a few yards off from them, the window guard simply watching the scuffle out front with a bored expression as he leaned back in his chair.

“I apologize for interrupting, but I’m glad I ran into you when we did, it’ll save us a trip to Town Hall later on. I’d like to speak with you Mrs. Mayor, you too ma’am, privately.” Returning her gaze to the two mares, she raised an eyebrow as the Mayor quickly rose to her hooves in embarrassment, wiping off the dirt that had collected on her coat and collar.

“I’m sorry, but we’re already busy, and I have a few heads I want to knock some sense into.” Cheerilee would later deny that her voice had carried a growl akin to a wild animal, causing the Mayor to take an extra step away from her. The short grey pegasus only smirked at this, before turning to the Mayor.

“This is urgent business from Canterlot, I’d appreciate it if you would both cooperate.” With a slight nod towards her squadmate, the green stallion quickly opened one of the suitcases and produced a manilla envelope, levitating it over to the Mayor who gasped at the seal emblazoned on it.

“Your discretion is appreciated, of course.” Steel Blitz grinned as the Mayor quickly nodded in affirmative, clutching the envelope close to her chest and taking the lead as she took a brisk trot towards the Guard Shack, Cheerilee following in confusion, but still fuming as Steel and Emerald took up the rear.

Author's Note

Twilight: "Come on Shaded, we aren't gonna do anything."

Shaded: "That's exactly the kind of thing you would say if you were gonna do something!"

Dimmed Star: "Look, we understand that you had... have a lot going on. We can't blame you for having to push back updates due to work, especially with a pandemic flying around."

Twilight: "Besides, it's not like we ever actually hurt you! All there are around here are props and plastic tools. Nothing to be afraid of."

Shaded: "... Okay... I'm coming out..."

Trailer door slowly begins to open

Twilight/Dimmed Star: "GET HIM!"

Shaded: Girlish screaming

Shaded Blood does not own MLP: FIM or the Equinox ponies. A special thanks to Kuunlehti for proofreading and editing! Also a special thanks to Neonyoshi, Umbra Animo, Morior (Discord) and Ancientarchdemon (Discord), for Test reading and providing great Feedback! If you are enjoying the story, leave a like and comment, also don't forget to follow for blog updates. The link to the Discord, Twitter and Facebook pages will be below!

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