I'd noticed that, since about half an hour after I'd gotten my weapon back, my encounters with guards had dropped to nearly zero. Had they found out I was armed again so quickly? Were they actively frightened of me now, or were they trying to “give me space” as to not escalate things?

To be honest, I wasn't sure that I cared. I just knew that they were backing off, and I felt something that I'd had far too little of over the last few months- power over my own circumstances. And with that, I felt the pounding in my head recede, and a bit of the clarity of thought I'd been lacking returned... which had the less-than-welcome side effect of leaving me able to worry about what was going on inside my own body. It felt as though I was being overwhelmed by my base survival instincts, driven to respond in ways that I didn't want and that were actually making my situation worse.

And the most frightening thing about it was that I didn't know how to stop it.

I'm going to get myself killed like this, I thought during a moment of rest, staring down at the weapon in my hand and wondering why it was so difficult to put it back in its holster. I can't keep this up. I don't even know how it is that I'm still going. Is it something related to magic? The reactions I've gotten from the ponies who've tried to use magic on me make me think that what's been happening is definitely not the norm... and when I think back to the time I was stuck in that sideshow, Tent seemed not to want to use magic on me- was it because he couldn't?

Well, just because the ponies can't seem to use magic directly on me doesn't mean they're harmless. Sticks and stones will break my bones. I need to not make them want to use them on me... which means that I can't just go putting bullets in ponies without some seriously just cause. So- scare them off? It goes against everything I learned about proper firearms usage, but warning shots and making objects break near them is about the only way I can think of to keep them away without actually harming them.

And it seemed like such a great plan, until the next logical question hit my brain.

And then what?

I didn't have an answer. I didn't know where I could go, what I could do. I was stalling for time- but for what? Even if I could get out of this impossible castle, what was next on my agenda? And yet every time I considered turning myself in, either something screwed things up or my paranoia struck. If I'd gone beyond the tolerance of that sun-moving pegacorn queen, I might be better off just sticking my gun in my mouth, because all that I had left to look forward to was either a life on the run or a short and unhappy existence in a prison cell.

I couldn't find it in myself to give up so easily, though. There had to be another way; I just needed to figure it out. Maybe if I could find ponies I could trust outside of the power structure, who could shelter me and teach me how to understand their language- but how to even approach them, let alone make myself understood....

click

I instinctively moved out of sight of the door as it opened, cursing myself for taking refuge in a room with only one exit. From behind the small armoire I was crouched beside, I saw a single armored normal-pony stallion carefully trot in- but something was different this time. Rather than the authoritative air and measured steps the soldiers usually had, this particular pony was behaving differently... not frightened; there was too much confidence in his attitude for that. But he seemed reserved, careful, and above all else determined to be unintimidating. He called out something, quietly, in a voice that seemed inquisitive rather than demanding.

All of that didn't keep me from pointing my gun at him when he spotted me.

Credit where it's due; I could tell he understood what my weapon could do, but he didn't let it frighten him, though he did seem to have a healthy respect for it. He even managed to look me in the eyes as he continued talking, his voice gaining a pleading quality as he motioned with a foreleg towards the door. Is he asking me to come with him? I wondered, still staring at him past the sights of my gun. I wanted to believe it, really wanted to, but the idea that I was being stalled for an ambush was pressing at the back of my mind.

I decided to split the difference. I cut off the pony's talking with an upraised hand, then motioned for him to stay put; he apparently understood my gestures, and nodded. He didn't look happy at all as I backed away from him slowly, his eyes following me as I left the room- then closed the door and kicked the doorknob off. I only spared a few seconds to consider how bizarre a doorknob was in a building created by a species with hooves before I took off down the hallway. They'll find him eventually, I thought as I moved. And he'll tell them what I did. How they react is going to dictate what I do. If they attack me again, I'll fight back; if they keep up what he did... maybe I can get myself to believe that they'll take me peacefully.

With a sigh, and the hope that I could actually convince myself to follow my own plan, I picked the nearest staircase and made my way up. I was getting nervous about being underground- it was starting to feel like an exceptionally-complex dungeon.

(-)

“Your Highness, please. This entire section of the castle was ordered evacuated by Captain Armor more than half an hour ago!” Ensemble practically pranced in place out of sheer nervousness, glancing between the stubborn noble in front of her and the door behind her.

“I am not leaving without my favorite boutonniere!” Prince Blueblood pulled yet another drawer open and levitated its contents out to examine them critically. “It just wouldn't do! I'm sure that this 'evacuation' is nothing more than one of the Captain's useless 'precautionary measures' he enjoys foisting upon his betters in order to justify his no-doubt overly-generous paycheck.”

It took every ounce of self-control Ensemble had not to let out a sigh of irritation. “Prince Blueblood, far be it from me to even suggest that you-”

“Yes, far be it from a simple maid to tell a prince what he should and should not do.” He didn't even spare her a look as he continued going through drawers. “It's good that you know your place, my dear.”

Now she did sigh in irritation, careful to keep it inaudible. Insufferable little prat, she grumbled mentally. Somepony rescue me from this idiot!

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than her wish was granted, as the far door burst open and something large ducked into the room, slamming the door behind it. Both she and the Prince froze in place as they took in the sight before them- the Everfree Yeti in the hide, right there in the room with them! Ensemble felt her legs instinctively lock in fright, and she desperately looked for guidance from her leader-

-who was positively soaking the floor beneath him with urine.

“Monster!” the prince wailed, in a voice even higher-pitched than Ensemble's. “Get it away! Get it away!” The dresser drawer he still held in his arcanokinetic grip suddenly shot forward, and it was only due to his bad aim that it didn't brain the creature, instead shattering against the door it'd just moved away from. “Guards, help!” Blueblood screamed, even as he levitated more drawers out of their places to fling at the creature, who was practically sprinting through the room in an attempt to not get hit.

Then the other door opened, and a tall, muscular stallion bedecked in gleaming golden armor cantered in. “Your Highness!” he called out. “What-”

smash

The poor stallion never saw the oaken desk drawer coming and took the impact directly to the forehead, his helmet doing little to keep the blow from knocking him back out of the room, his fetlock catching on the door latch and pulling it closed. The creature came to a complete stop for a moment, an easily-recognizable look of shock on its bare-skinned face, and Ensemble heard it mutter something that just might've been a version of “what the buck” before something flew past her.

crash

The idiot prince had nearly brained her with another misaimed drawer throw. She'd turned to stare at him incredulously when a creaking sound made her look back- the drawer had hit the stately grandfather clock hard enough to rock it backwards, and now it was rocking forwards, teetering, falling towards her as she tried to get her legs to work-

-and then a fleshy, thin-clawed forepaw caught the edge of the clock, stopping it from hitting her, and pushing it back upright. The creature wasn't looking at her, though, but instead kept its gaze locked on the Prince, who seemed to be focused on lifting the very desk he'd pulled the drawer out of. “Get away from me!” he screamed, even though the creature was nowhere near him and making no movement towards him; the desk raised above Blueblood's head, and Ensemble realized with a thrill of fear that if he flung it at the creature, there was a very real chance that the extremely heavy desk would hit her instead.

BANG BANG BANG

An invisible force tore three holes through the desk, sending splinters everywhere and disrupting the Prince's magical field; he let out a yelp as the desk almost fell on him instead, the oaken furniture smashing against the floor sideways. The stallion's irises and pupils shrank to pinpricks as he backed himself into a corner, whimpering piteously, and Ensemble felt disgust and contempt well up inside her at the pathetic display.

Then the door the creature had come through flew open again, and a trio of guards stormed through, probably alerted by the deafening noise of whatever the creature had done. Two of them immediately placed themselves between the Prince and the creature, while the third moved to flank it, all of them watching it carefully but not making any overtly aggressive moves. “Your Highness, what happened?!” one of the guards asked.

“That beast tried to kill me!” Blueblood cried out. “Get it! Get it and throw it in a hole somewhere!” His horn lit up, and a jagged piece of wood wrenched itself free from the desk, flinging itself at the creature, who was just barely able to get out of its way; the hunk of oak embedded itself into the far wall like a spear.

The creature had apparently had enough, pulling the near door open and practically diving over the still-unconscious guard outside to escape. “Don't lose track of him!” one of the guards told the others, who immediately bolted after the creature; the remaining guard turned towards the Prince- only to find him curled up in a ball, blubbering to himself.

Then the guard noticed her, and approached. “...what the buck happened here?” he asked in a quiet voice.

Ensemble glanced between him, the broken furniture, and the still-sobbing royalty, and found that she just was too stunned to manage anything but brutal honesty. “...a lot of stupid happened,” she deadpanned.

(-)

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

Okay, so I knew that “shooting out a lock” was something you only did when you were a character in a badly-written action movie. I knew that the sound of gunshots was only going to pinpoint my location. And I knew I wasn't thinking ahead the way I should have been. But after what had happened in that room, I had reordered my priorities so that “get away from batshit crazy pony” was tops on the list. And since I'd found myself once again running out of escape options and presented with a rare encounter in this place- a locked door- I'd placed five careful shots around the doorhandle, then raised my leg and kicked it as hard as I could.

The shock of the kick traveled up my leg with a lot more strength than I expected, and I limped a few steps through the doorway to find myself in a wide-open ballroom of some sort, with glittering chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and a large fountain featuring a statue of two ponies dancing together that had a pair of wide, sweeping staircases on either side.

The heavy clops of hooves along the corridor I'd just come through brought my mind back to reality. Eager to keep my pursuers off my heels until I could find a better place to make a stand- one where I had a secured exit and they couldn't surround me- I backed up a few steps, raised my weapon towards the ceiling and fired three shots into the base of the chandelier. Whatever was securing it snapped, and the little crystals that hung from it tinkled against each other as it fell.

SMASH

The chandelier slammed into the floor almost directly in front of the doorway; anyone wanting to get through the doors would have to get around a bunch of bent metal and shattered glass. Satisfied that I'd blocked off pursuit for at least a little while, I made my way past the fountain and up one of the staircases, pausing at the top to change magazines, putting the nearly-empty one into my waist pouch and pulling out my one full mag in order to load it.

Then movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention, and I reflexively turned to look.

fwoosh-thwack

A blur of blue swept past me, the rush of air ruffling my clothes and overly-long hair, and I felt something knock my magazine out of my hand. It hit my knee, bounced along the floor a couple of times, and then- just as I was lunging to grab it- it slid between two balusters of the banister and fell into the fountain below with a quiet plunk.

Oh for fuck's sake- that's fifteen rounds gone! What the hell-! I turned to my left, and was greeted by an unexpected and unwelcome sight- a sky-blue pegasus mare, hovering a dozen feet or so away from me, watching me with narrowed, rose-colored eyes. But the most striking thing about her was the rainbow-hued mane and tail she bore, not like anything I'd seen on any other pony.

I didn't have it in me to be impressed. Not wanting to give her a chance to knock my weapon out of my hand, I slid it back into its holster and then spun on my heel, sprinting towards the first door I could find; it was thankfully without a lock, and I opened it, spun and slammed it shut as quickly as I could, not giving the pegasus even a single second to get through it behind me.

Which didn't explain how she was hovering there, giving me a smug look, when I turned around. She flipped her mane aside and said something that sounded teasing as I stared at her incredulously. Can she teleport too somehow, or is she just that fast? I thought.

Let's put it to the test.

As quickly as I'd entered the room, I exited, making sure that she had no chance at all to follow this time and then kicking the doorknob to jam it. Sure enough, I heard a rattle a split-second later, something that sounded suspiciously like pony profanity, and then a woosh of air.

I was halfway down the hall when I heard a door slam open behind me, and the chase was on.

(-)

Dash's first impulse was to go get the guards, or maybe find Twilight or that griffin she'd mentioned, or at the least tell somepony that she'd spotted the creature. But then he'd pulled that door maneuver on her, and her competitive side kicked in on overdrive- if he wanted to challenge her, he was going to see just what she could do. I mean, just how hard can it be for somepony as fast as me to keep track of something with two legs and no wings? she'd thought.

She found out the answer to that rather quickly, the first time he lost her. How the hay does he climb so well?! she wondered as she finally spotted him pulling himself up onto a balcony. The second time, he'd lost her for a good ten minutes until through sheer luck she'd spotted him poking his head out of the cabinet he'd hidden in, and the third time it was twenty minutes- and only the shouts of guards a good distance away from where she was looking alerted her to his location. If we were in an open area, he'd never get away from me, she thought with a quiet grumble. ...but then again, he probably knows that! Argh, this definitely isn't as easy as I'd thought it would be.

As the night wore on, Dash began to realize why the Royal Guard had had so much trouble pinning the creature down. It wasn't that he was really fast; anypony could beat him in a straight gallop. Nor was he very strong- it looked like he'd maybe be an equal to Dash herself, she could admit, but he'd never hold a candle to Applejack. It was when she'd seen him do a running jump ten feet from one balcony to another- with a five-story drop between them- that she realized his strengths... he was clever, he was agile, and he was absolutely determined.

Eventually, though, his luck ran out, and he wound up cornered in one of the castle's many display wings, basically a cul-de-sac lined with various works of art the Princesses had collected over the centuries. Dash hovered above the entrance, which was blocked by three guardsponies. Okay, tough guy, we finally got you, Dash thought, still feeling the adrenaline of the chase pumping through her veins. Just... come along peacefully, okay? This has all really got to stop.

Something caught the creature's attention, and Dash looked downward to see Princess Celestia enter the room behind her guards. The creature himself seemed to cringe for a moment- why, Dash couldn't begin to guess; she'd never seen the Princess look so disarming and gentle- before he let his shoulders slump and what seemed to be a resigned look came over his strange face. He raised his hands and took a step forward, and a smile crossed Celestia's face as she opened her mouth to speak.

“Auntie!”

Dash spun in midair, hearing the sound of somepony galloping towards them from outside the room; it took her a moment to place the voice- Prince Blueblood, the jerk who'd humiliated Rarity at the Grand Galloping Gala a few years back. What the hay is he doing here? she wondered, noticing out of the corner of her eye that the creature was not at all reacting well to the sound of that voice.

“Auntie, I'm so glad I found you! You wouldn't believe what horrible thing has happ....” The voice trailed off, and a moment later, the unmistakable smell of urine hit Dash's nose. “That beast! That horrid beast is here!” came an ear-piercingly high scream. “It's going to try to kill me again, Auntie! Squish it!”

Dash almost didn't catch the thuds of the creature's foot-coverings against the lavish rug that covered the floor. By the time she looked back, he was two-thirds of the way to the far window, a large colorful mural of some celebration involving ponies twirling fabric around a pole. Even as she flexed her wings to follow, she saw him pull something from a strange holder on his leg- that weapon Twilight warned us about- and raised it in one hand, pointing it at the window.

BANG

Part of the window exploded, sending cracks through the rest of it; the creature returned the weapon to its holder and lean forward, barreling toward the window full-tilt-

-oh, you have got to be bucking kidding me, that window leads outside!-

-and smashing through it like a wrecking ball with a bang that rivaled that of his weapon.

The sound hadn't finished echoing off the walls of the hall before Dash was soaring through what remained of the window, shards of glass bouncing off her hide as she aimed for the creature, who was rapidly dropping towards the sharply-angled roof of a home. Unwilling to let the creature kill himself out of foolishness, she dove in, sliding her forelegs under his arms and flapping her wings to pull him up-

-only to feel all of her considerable wingpower fade away like it'd been siphoned out of her.

Oh, right. Touching him does that. Smart, Dash, real smart.

Her would-be rescue turned into a panicked flailing of her wings as she practically clung to his back. His feet hit the tiled roof and immediately slid, and his quick attempt at grabbing the top edge of the roof failed, leaving him to slide down its length diagonally; he managed to grab the raingutter right at the edge- only to have that break away on him seconds later, though it gave him the opportunity to grab a window ledge instead. Now I see where Twilight came up with the ape comparison, she thought as he clambered down the wall with amazing precision, getting himself- and her- down to street level unharmed.

And then he pulled Dash off of his back and unceremoniously dropped her in a trash bin before running off again.

“Ack!” She struggled to get out of the garbage can, almost tipping it over before she managed to pull herself up, swatting a discarded banana peel off of her muzzle before shaking her head and narrowing her eyes.

“Okay, tough guy... it's on.”

(-)

Okay, so maybe dumping the pegasus who'd tried to save my life into a garbage can was a little... well, asshole-ish. But at the moment, my focus was on getting the hell away from Prince Psycho-Crazy-Bonkers before he started flinging more furniture at me. Some of these ponies seem to be completely out of control, I thought, even as I ran down a darkened alley. And just as I thought I was finally done running... well, here we go again.

I ducked underneath an awning as a flash of blue, dimly lit by the various street lamps, flashed overhead. The rainbow-haired pegasus- who I'd dubbed “Rainbolt” for her flank mark and ridiculous speed- was obviously on the hunt for me. Can't blame her, I thought, pulling one of my two remaining magazines out of its pouch and checking it- six rounds remaining. I drew my weapon, slid the mag home and released the slide catch.

Hooffalls behind me spurred me on. Amazingly enough, even at this hour- it had to be past midnight, by my reckoning- there were ponies out on the streets; this and the bright lighting of the roadways made stealthy maneuvering extremely difficult, and it wasn't long before I was trapped between a well-lit and populated intersection and the sound of pursuit not far behind. I could just make a run for it through them, but there's the chance that somebody could be the heroic type and try to stop me, I thought. Better to make a distraction- one loud enough to scare all of them off. Panicked crowds running away ought to help keep the guards off me, too. Okay, remember... check backgrounds- good, nice thick walls behind my targets; aim, focus, squeeze the trigger on exhale....

BANG-pop

The report of my handgun seemed muffled somewhat, but the explosion of the streetlamp on the opposite side of the intersection made up for it. Most of the ponies stopped whatever they were doing to look up at it, confused murmuring breaking out and some of the more skittish ones backing away.

BANG-pop

The second lamp blowing out got some of them to take off, but most of them seemed more bewildered than frightened, and a few were looking in my direction. Letting out a groan of frustration, I decided that I might as well finish off the rest of the lights and at least give myself some darkness to work with.

BANG-pop

BANG

BANG-pop

I cursed at myself for missing what should've been an easy shot; an unmoving target at fifteen or so meters should have been a gimme, but adrenaline and fatigue were turning my nervous system into pudding. But I'd gotten the desired effect- with the intersection plunged into almost-complete darkness, the ponies were scattering for anyplace lit, some of them almost trampling each other in fear. I winced as a nearby elderly stallion was shoved roughly into a wall by a mare who was apparently more concerned with leaving than with whatever was in her way. Okay, maybe not entirely my desired effect, I thought, but take what you've got!

A glance behind me showed movement, and that spurred me into action. I bolted across the darkened crossroads, almost tripping over a pony who'd just collapsed on the street with her forelegs over her head, heading for an alley I'd spotted on the far side. I could see circles of light playing across the buildings near me, and figured that there were unicorns with light spells or whatever involved in the search; I decided not to test if my weird magic-canceling thing would keep them from spotting me, and instead practically dove into the alley.

I paused for just a moment to check my ammunition situation. I'd emptied the magazine, with only its last remaining round still in the chamber; dejectedly, I tossed the empty mag aside- not much point in keeping it when I'm not going to be finding any more ammo anywhere, I mused- and drew my last one, finding it holding four more rounds. Well, that's it, then, I thought, not finding much comfort in the metallic click of the magazine sliding home. Five more shots, and then I'm defenseless again. The ponies may not know that, but they seem smart enough to be able to figure it out.

The gunshots and subsequent panic had definitely drawn attention, and a number of guards were clustered in the intersection, light spells and lanterns deployed. No going back, then, I told myself, looking for a way forward.

I'd cleared about six city blocks or so before I found myself stymied again- this time not by guards, but by citizens who'd apparently taken up the search for me themselves. Shit, the guards would've been better, I thought, watching the line of what looked to be middle-class ponies purposefully advance up the street, some of them levitating torches and lanterns. At least they haven't got pitchforks.

I was so intent on the group ahead of me that I didn't notice a window behind me had opened, until I heard a short gasp followed by a shill scream. Startled, I jumped out from my hiding spot- right into full view of the crowd, whose initial reaction of fear quickly turned into determination. I instinctively took a step back as they began to advance on me, a wall of equine ferocity. I raised my weapon to fire a warning shot to scare them off.

click

Frowning, I tilted the gun to check the exit port; sure enough, the little indicator next to it showed that the chamber was full, and I pulled the trigger again.

click

Misfire, I realized with a cold jolt of fear. The crowd, emboldened by my failed show of force, surged; I turned on my heel and ran up the street, which quickly hit a steep hill that would probably slow me down a lot more than it would the ponies pursuing me. I racked the handgun's slide to eject the bad round, then glanced over my shoulder- they were too close to me now, and moving far too quickly, for a second show of force to be really effective, and I still didn't want to actually fire at them unless it was absolutely necessary.

Then I spotted the heavily-loaded scaffolding on what looked to be a bank of some sort near the top of the hill.

Three barely-aimed, on-the-run shots were what it took to get the thing to start to collapse. I gave it a good kick as I passed it, and it obligingly crumbled, spilling cans of paint, chunks of rock and metal bars into the street, stalling my pursuers- none of whom were pegasi, thankfully- and forcing them to use magic and strength to block the avalanche of building materials as I continued on.

I found a short cul-de-sac to hole up in to catch my breath once more. My entire body shook now, my legs felt like rubber, and every joint felt like it was on fire. I practically sobbed for breath there, only willpower keeping me from curling into a ball on the spot, forcing myself to re-check my ammunition just to give myself something to focus on; the magazine was empty. Last bullet, I thought morosely. Final stand time?

A metallic sound echoed through the street outside my hiding spot, and with what felt like the last of my strength I got back to my feet, raising my gun in shivering hands. I heard the dull thunks of metal against stone approach closer- another pony, apparently- and fought the urge to put my finger on the trigger.

Then she stepped into view. The Queen. The one I'd seen actually move the sun. She'd followed me out here, chased me down, and now she'd found me. Her deep pink eyes locked onto mine, her body filling the entrance to my hiding spot, her strange ethereal mane still waving in a wind I didn't feel. I stared down the sights of my handgun at her for a moment, everything seemingly frozen, a moment in time suspended into infinity.

Then I felt the last of my strength drain away from me. I couldn't pull the trigger; not on her. What good would it even do? She could probably catch the bullet in mid-flight, or melt it into leaden vapor, or send it right back down the barrel it came out of. Hell, even if my weird magic-nullifying skill actually worked on her, she wouldn't even need magic to kill me... she could trample me with those golden-armored hooves, or spear me with that enormous horn.

I could feel every last drop of my willingness to fight evaporate, leaving me with nothing but an ice-cold feeling of despair and resignation. It was over. I'd done my best, fought harder than I'd ever thought I could, and maybe gotten farther than most people could in my position- but here we were at the endgame, and I'd lost.

My gazed flicked down to the weapon in my hand. Still, I had just one thing left to me, something most people didn't.

The ability to choose the time and manner of my own death.

I saw the giant pegacorn take a step back as I raised my weapon again- and placed it against my head. “Fuck the lot of you,” I half-whimpered, half-growled. “I'm out.”

click

...no, don't even tell me....

click

And as quickly as despair had welled up inside me, I felt it replaced by fury; the world seemed to turn red around me, and once more I felt blood pulsing in my ears. All this, and now I can't even die if I want to?!

I was dimly aware that I'd grabbed my gun by the front end, and before I even realized what I was doing, I'd slammed the butt into the side of the pegacorn's head as hard as I could. As she staggered from the blow, I pushed past her, my now-useless gun falling from my numbed fingers as I focused on running- where, I didn't care anymore, just as long as it was away.

(-)

Ah hah. Found you again, tough guy.

Dash dropped altitude to glide above the creature as he ran pell-mell through the streets. But almost immediately she could tell something was wrong- he wasn't even looking back at her, didn't seem at all to be paying much attention to where he was going, and had seemingly given up all pretense of caring about his own safety, judging by the way he was jumping, sidestepping or even crashing through obstacles rather than change course.

It was when he'd literally tackled a guard that Dash realized things were completely out of control. Oh, jeez, I've gotta stop him before somepony gets really hurt, she thought. But how? I can't even touch him if I want to stay airborne, and I don't think I like my chances against him on the ground... I know! I'll try to distract him, get him to slow down so that somepony else can get him to stop.

She began zipping by him when it was safe to do so- she could see that he no longer had that weapon, so she wasn't worried about him using it on her, but she could tell by now that he wasn't harmless without it- trying to cut him off from escape routes and keep him on the main thoroughfare until another pony could get in position to stop him. But it didn't seem that he was willing to play along, and she couldn't keep him from taking a side path that led towards a collection of alleys and a steep staircase along the back of a building. Realizing that she could very well lose him again if he got into those alleys, Dash landed in the pathway, setting herself, ready to tackle him if it was necessary in order to keep him from getting away. “Okay, tough guy,” she called out, “this has gotta stop!”

She was prepared for him to try to jump over her, or go through her, or turn around. What she hadn't expected was him jumping up onto the railing, taking five quick steps along it, and then leaping almost a dozen feet towards the staircase.

He didn't quite make it; his left foot clipped the railing of the staircase, and he slammed shoulder-first into the stairs, tumbling uncontrollably down them and crashing into the walkway at their base.

“Ohmigosh!” Dash didn't know anything about this creature's physiology, but nothing could have gone through that without injury; she skidded to a landing next to him, finding him huddled up in a ball, and carefully pressed a hoof to his shoulder to move him for a better look. She gasped at what she found- he'd taken a large gash to his forehead, and blood flowed freely from it as well as his nose; he was clutching at his chest, bruises already forming on the bare skin visible beneath his open shirt. And yet his eyes were locked on her in obvious fear, and he was trying feebly to get away from her.

Then there was a woosh of air over feathers, and something came to a landing next to Dash; she looked to see a furious-looking griffin hen advancing on her. “What the pluck did you do to him?!” she demanded.

“Nothing! He tried to make a jump and hit the staircase! And just who the buck are-” Dash fell silent for a moment. “Wait... you're that griffin Twilight told me about, aren't you?”

“Yeah.” She looked down to see the creature still staring at Dash; he flinched when she gently grasped his hand in her talon, and when his eyes focused on her, his fearful expression rapidly turned into a mix of recognition and confusion. “Shhh,” she told him quietly. “It's okay. I'm... I'm here for you, alright? I'm going to watch out for you now. You don't need to run anymore.”

Dash knew the creature couldn't understand- the incomprehension was clear on that strange, bare-skinned, tiny-eyed face- but the tone of the griffin's voice seemed to have an effect on him... at least until his eyes rolled back and he collapsed.

“Oh, jeez. We need to find help for him.” Dash raised a hoof towards the creature, only to have the griffin grab it.

“I'll stay here with him.” The hen glanced between her and the creature. “If you're who I think you are, you'll be able to get help a lot faster.”

“Yeah. Right, got it.” With that, Dash immediately took to the air, speeding off in the direction of the last group of guards she'd seen.

(-)

“Can ya believe it?” Apple Bloom shook her head slowly. “Th' Everfree Yeti was right here in Ponyville! An' nopony even knew!”

“I wish I'd known!” Scootaloo exclaimed, flitting up into the air for a moment to lash her forelegs out as if she were fighting something. “I'd have... have....”

“You'd have what, exactly?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“I, err....” The pegasus blushed slightly as she landed. “Okay, I don't know what I would've done, but whatever it was, I'd have done it twice!”

“You girls read the posters,” Sweetie replied. “They told us to just stay away from it. And Rarity told me that she heard from Twilight that the thing was kept in a cage by somepony!”

“Well, that's what you do with dangerous animals, right?”

“It ain't no animal,” Bloom countered. “I heard from somepony that it talks. Animals don't talk!”

“Well then how come it ran away after it hurt that poor guard? Why didn't it stay and tell us what happened?”

Bloom's expression fell. “Well, um....”

“Not everypony can speak Equish,” Sweetie said. “Zecora told me that she had to learn it before she came to Equestria. I mean, we've heard her speak Zebrican, right? And none of us understand it.”

“Oh. Huh.” Scootaloo slowed for a moment, her expression thoughtful. “I didn't think of that.”

“Well, they're takin' 'im t' Canterlot now,” Bloom said, “so I guess none'a it matters anymore, right? What do we....” Her voice trailed off as she looked towards the woods. “Hey, what's that?”

Scootaloo turned as well. “Huh. Yeah, what is that? C'mon, girls.”

Sweetie followed in mild confusion, not sure what they'd spotted until the group drew closer to a trio of thin trees covered with branches and leaves. She realized after a moment that this was where they'd heard that strange sound a few days ago... and then her eyes caught what the others had apparently seen- a glint of sunlight off of metal.

“Wow.” Scootaloo was there first; she leaned behind one of the trees, then dragged out a strange-looking bag of some kind with a long strap attached to it. “This is the weirdest set of saddlebags I've ever seen,” she commented, looking at the complicated-looking latch and strange fabric.

“That ain't saddlebags,” Bloom said. “It's just one bag, an' that strap is way too long to sit right on a pony. It'd be draggin' on the ground even if Big Mac was wearin' it.”

“Weird.” Sweetie waited until Scootaloo set the bag down, and then magically tugged at the buckle holding it closed. “We ought to have a look inside,” she reasoned, “and see if there's anything in it that shows who it belongs to so we can return it to them.”

A hopeful look crossed Scootaloo's face. “Do you think we'll get property-returning cutie marks?!” she asked; the flat stares that she got in return wiped the goofy grin from the pegasus's face, and she looked down. “...yeah, I guess that's kinda dumb.”

“Darn it. How do you open this thing?!” Sweetie groaned in frustration as she worked her neophyte magical skills on the bizarre latch. Finally, completely by accident, she found that squeezing two small depressions in the sides of the bottom buckle got the top one to release and pop open, and the three fillies looked inside as Sweetie pulled open the flap.

What they found inside was both confusing and maybe a little worrying to Sweetie- a number of objects she didn't recognize and couldn't figure out, a large clear bottle made of a firm but crinkly material that still held a small amount of water, and a large pad of paper with a thin, metallic tube clipped to part of it. She opened the pad and began leafing through the pages one by one. “Whoa,” Bloom breathed. “Lookit that!”

The first thirty pages of the pad held drawings- sketches, really, but very nicely detailed ones that Rarity probably wouldn't mind putting up on the walls. Sweetie recognized herself and her friends, her sister, and a number of other ponies depicted in the drawings, all of which looked as though they'd been done from a viewpoint of about where she stood now.

And then everything clicked into place in Sweetie Belle's mind. “Girls, we need to get this stuff to Twilight,” she said quietly.

“Huh?” Scootaloo blinked in surprise. “This stuff isn't hers, is it?”

“No, but she's got to see it.” She levitated up the bag by its strap until it was about six feet in the air. “You've all seen pictures of the Yeti, right? Imagine if it was standing right about there with that strap on its shoulder.”

Both of the other fillies stared for a moment. “Yer right,” Bloom breathed. “We gotta get this stuff to Twilight. Let's get to th' library an' tell Spike!”