---

Tora made sure that she’d stowed her new gear away in a little nook outside of the building her ‘employer’ was in, then took in a deep breath to prepare herself before walking in to give her report.

‘Well...here goes nothin’,’ Tora internally mused to herself as she retraced the path she’d been led down when she initially arrived for her briefing, until she finally arrived at the mahogany door that marked the office of the mare she’d be giving a falsified report to.

Knocking on it, she was given a, “Come in,” in reply. Tora did as requested, and pushed through the door to see the same room she was in for her briefing about a week ago. Same Zebrican Ebony desk, same strong stench of incense, and the same chairs and couches one would find in some kind of parlor in a noire movie. The mare Tora was looking for was seated behind her desk, a stack of papers on one side, and a quill and inkpot on the other. The mare adjusted her glasses.

“Ah, Miss Tora, good. You have impeccable timing, I just finished my paperwork,” she gestured to the seat in front of her desk with a hoof, though her tone and face showed no hint of mirth or kindness. “Please, sit.”

Tora nodded and sat down in the chair, wiggling her butt a little until she felt comfortable before fixing her gaze on the mare’s eyes, “Paperwork - th’ bane of any bloke or sheila’s existence, eh? But ‘nuff o’ that, y’ want me t’ give ya m’ report.”

The mare - known as Gumshoe - simply nodded. “Yes, that would be good. Please start.”

“Well, fer starters, I asked Vinyl Scratch about her encounter with th’ creature, an’ she told me what she remembered about it before I left her home t’ gather more info. A conversation I passed by while walkin’ through the town - some kinda pink, hyperactive mare - said somethin’ about her family’s ‘rock farm’ missin’ some ores in their quarry without any kind o’ new tunnels or other signs that some dickhead was goin’ through their quarry an’ illegally minin’ stuff. While in th’ area, I found out about a minin’ company that was havin’ th’ bloody same problem, followed by rumors from a couple that had been havin’ a picnic near th’ Whitetail Woods an’ saw some kind o’ figure in th’ trees that matched th’ description Vinyl gave me,” Tora paused to take in a breath or two, stretching a little in her chair as she did so.

“So, I went in t’ investigate an’ had a burl with a monster that had th’ same body shape as th’ creature, but was...well, a poisonous an’ disgusting predator with a damn sharp tongue that nicked me a few times - once on m’ side an’ a grazin’ wound on my’ cheek. Managed t’ kill th’ fuckin’ dog with quite a bit of effort, but when I searched th’ rest of the forest, I couldn’t find nothin’ leadin’ to the creature. By that point, I was tired an’ kinda carking it from th’ poison, so I had t’ leave an’ get some damn medical help. That’s wot I got fer m’ report, sheila.”

Gumshoe frowned, and her disappointment was almost palpable in the air as she narrowed her eyes at Tora. “I see…” She pushed the bridge of her glasses back up with a hoof. “And what was the description Miss Vinyl gave you?”

“Tall, bipedal, covered in armor, built like a brick shit house, loud an’ baritone voice, an’ it had a stick-like thing that roared like thunda when shot an’ blew chunks outta th’ giant peeper that it was fightin’,” Tora recited the description she’d gotten from Vinyl, albeit summarized.

Gumshoe nodded slowly. “That does fit what she gave us herself.” She looked down at her desk. “Still…” She looked back up at Tora. “What forest was this encounter in again?”

“Whitetail Woods, near th’ northern fringe, about...five, ten minutes in at a casual walkin’ pace,” Tora replied quickly and easily.

Gumshoe ran a hoof through her pink mane, still frowning. “And this other creature you fought? What did it look like? You said it had a long, sharp tongue?”

“Like a fuckin’ spear. It was long enough t’ reach int’ th’ sky an’ snatch one o’ them tiny peepers outta th’ bloody air. Kinda like a chameleon or whateva th’ camoflaugin’ scalies are called. But it was also fast, easily able t’ catch up t’ me at full sprint an’ keep me on th’ defensive. Its drool was so poisonous an’ caustic it burned m’ fucking fur when a few drops landed on m’ arm an’ leg. Damn thing was…,” Tora paused as she considered how best to describe the Grave Hag in a way that didn’t give too much away. “...Hmm, y’know how th’ Moos- er, Minos get really hunched over an’ wrinkly when they get older? Th’ damn monster was like a really old, really nasty an’ hungry Minotaur sheila - a…’hag’, I think I heard th’ Minos call such old, mean Mino gals? In any case, it was like a ‘hag’ that almost...almost looked like it crawled right up outta th’ bloody grave or somethin’. Since I barely managed t’ kill th’ damn thing, y’ might wanna make sure t’ warn folks ‘bout these things. Aim fer th’ head, dismember its arms an’ shite so it can’t grab ya, that sort o’ thing. Oh, an’...well, there’s an old sayin’ back in Faustralia, ‘ifn it looks like a roo, acts like a roo, an’ sounds like a roo, it’s prolly a roo.’ If th’ bloody hag looks like it came out of a damn grave, an’ certainly sounded like it...y’ might wanna keep an eye on any graveyards nearby. Could be more o’ the damn things hidin’ round those parts.”

Gumshoe chewed her lip at this influx of news. “There have been many reports of graves being dug up…”

“Prolly damn ‘Grave Hags,’ as we should probably call ‘em. Make sure y’ got fire an’ fuckin’ damn good reflexes, otherwise...any regular bloke or sheila y’ send is gonna be tucker fer the damn things,” Tora warned, subconsciously rubbing at her bandaged side as a faint phantom pain burned at it.

Gumshoe once more, slowly nodded. “Right…” she looked Tora over, eyes narrowing once more. “Where did you get that armor, by the by? I’ve not seen any leather like that…”

“Th’ Grave Hag was munchin’ on some other beastie before it started tryin’ t’ eat me. I went back after th’ fight and started messin’ with th’ corpse - y’know, testin’ if any others like it I saw in th’ future had any weaknesses t’ exploit - when I noticed that m’ carvin’ blades were bouncin’ right off th’ hide. Since it was a big bloke - roughly...five or six times th’ size of an adult griffin or Timber Wolf - I decided t’ skin it an’ use th’ hide t’ make m’ armor corker,” Tora said as she patted the front of her cuirass for emphasis.

Gumshoe winced. “Right…” She shook her head. “Is that all?”

“Well...th’ creature Vinyl encountered might be underground somewhere, if th’ missin’ ores without any new tunnels in th’ quarries an’ its apparent talent at pullin’ a disappearin’ act are any indication,” Tora ‘admitted’ with an unsure shrug of her slender shoulders. “Either that, or there might be underground beasties t’ worry about, but...I really hope that m’ first guess is right rather than th’ second.”

Gumshoe nodded. “As do I.” She looked to the clock on the wall. “Well, if that’s all then you can go. Stay in contact, though. You were contracted to finish a job, not turn in half-baked work.”

“Wouldja rather I kept fossickin’ in th’ area ‘til some nasty beastie got me an’ I ended up as its next dump? But fine, I’ll make bloody sure t’ keep in touch, ma’am,” Tora shot back in annoyance, standing up from the chair and giving Gumshoe a curt nod before turning tail and leaving.

‘Fuckin’ drongo bitch, actin’ like me almost carkin’ it ain’t an excuse fer ‘giving a half-baked report’ and shit,’ Tora internally seethed, tail lashing angrily as she made her way out of the building, discretely got all her new gear back, and headed out.

---

“And that’s all she could gather? After nearly a week and a half of searching?” Tempest queried, giving Gumshoe a critical look.

The royal blue mare nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

“We may have to double our efforts to find it, then,” Luna mused, lifting a cup of tea with her magic and taking a sip.

“Our own prized monster hunters might be of use,” Celestia proposed.

“Granted that they don’t already have other jobs lined up with all these other beasts appearing,” Star Swirl added, stroking his beard.

“Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood are busy enough, yes,” Celestia conceded.

“Hmm…” Tempest furrowed her brow. “It might be best to not use too many resources on something like this. As of now, that creature is of little more importance than many of the others. We have seen them all fight against each other, after all.”

“Agreed,” Luna said with a nod, putting her tea cup down on its saucer before she looked to Gumshoe. “Keep up the search for now, but if nothing is found soon, then don’t fret about it. A thousand other things take precedence as of now.”

Gumshoe nodded and bowed her head. “Yes, Your Highness.”

---

By the time Tora arrived in Ponyville and could see her destination - the Scratch residence - growing closer by the second, her paws were killing her and she felt like falling down on the nearest sufficient sleeping surface and just conking out for a while.

The issue with that (and the reason for the twinge of doubt and nervousness she was trying to suppress) was that she wasn’t sure if the two mares would allow her to crash at their place or not. She knew they were nice and all, but that didn’t mean they were going to be willing to let Tora squat in their home until she got proper living arrangements sorted out. Plus, she just didn’t like having to ask or rely on others for things as important as food or shelter, when she was so used to taking care of all of that on her own.

Trudging up to the innocent-looking domicile, Tora started to hear very odd music emanating from it. It wasn’t classical or techno, but rather a mix of the two as well as...Her ear flicked. Was that hip-hop? Her face wrinkled; she didn’t like that hip-hop crap unless it was genuinely good. Tora rapped her knuckles upon its wooden portal.

“Oi, sheilas? Y’ in there? I got somethin’ t’ ask of ya!” Tora called out, shifting from one foot to the other as she waited for a response...if she even got one.

A few moments later, the music stopped and a VERY fluffy pink pony opened the door, staring up at Tora with her jewel-like, sea green eyes. At Tora’s confused look of such a fluffy pony, the mare simply blew raspberries.

“Pbbt?” In a questioning manner, no less.

“...Uh, w-wot? Er, I’m...l-lookin’ fer Vin. Sh-she in, at the moment?” Tora asked with uncertainty, looking at the address number tacked on the wall beside the doorway to check if she was at the right place.

“Pbbbbt!” the mare looked over her shoulder to the innards of the house. “Pbbbt pbt pbbt pbbt pbbbbbbtt!”

“Who is it, Fluffle?” Vinyl’s voice called from within.

“Pbbt pbbbt pbt pbbt!” ‘Fluffle’ answered.

“Cat lady-? Oh, sweet! Tavi, Tora’s here!” The sound of four pairs of hooves on hardwood floor came closer and closer, until the two mares of the house came to the door. Vinyl lifted her shades as she looked up at Tora. “Hey Torry! How’s it hangin’?”

“Goin’ ace, Vin. I...uh...a-a’ight, before I get t’ th’ point of this visit, who...who or wot the hell is this...thing here?” the tigress asked with a glance at ‘Fluffle.’

The bright pink mare gasped, eyes tearing up as she stared at Tora like she’d been smacked.

“That was kinda harsh, there, Torry,” Vinyl said with a small glare. “But to answer your question, her name is Fluffle. She has a rare condition that makes her fur grow faster and shit.”

“Well forgive me fer not expectin’ t’ find her at th’ door an’ speakin’ in fuckin’ tongues! M’ nerves are shot as-is, so her sudden appearance didn’t help!”

“I will admit it is hard to understand Fluffle, but the point with her is the same as it is with Pinkie; don’t try to understand her,” Octavia interjected, straightening her bow. “Still, calling her a thing was a bit harsh either way.”

Tora looked down at Fluffle and sighed, kneeling down so that they were at eye-level, “Look, I’m...I’m sorry fer sayin’ you were a thing, but I just got back from m’ report t’ my employer about a...certain matter that happened a few days ago, an’ not only am I worried that she’s not convinced by m’ report, but I also have t’ worry about asking these two t’ let me stay here instead of tryn’ t’ sleep outside ‘til I can get a hotel room or somethin.”

Fluffle looked at Tora for a seemingly long span of time, then, to Tora’s surprise, the mare hugged her leg. “Pbbt pbbt pbbt.”

“She said I forgive you,” Vinyl translated.

“Ah...r-right. Th-thanks, sheila. If it makes m’ reasonin’ fer saying that any more palatable...I kinda thought y’ were some exotic subspecies o’ equine, like them Breezies or seaponies. Never met anyone with your...condition before,” Tora said slowly as she gently stroked Fluffle’s head.

Fluffle simply nuzzled Tora in response. Tora looked and felt quite uncomfortable in the embrace, clearly at a loss on how to react. After an awkward moment of Vinyl and Octavia smiling at the two and Tora and Fluffle hugging, Fluffle broke the hug and gasped, galloping off and down the hill.

Vinyl and Octavia chuckled. “I think you might be in for something soon, if you stay in town,” Octavia noted, smiling.

“Speaking of that, you said you wanted to stay here?” Vinyl asked.

“Oh, yeah, umm...when I got here th’ day I met y’ two, I...I’d been meanin’ t’ get a hotel room booked fer as long as I was gonna stay here, but...then I got th’ leads t’ his place, an‘ I forgot like a drongo. So...I have nowhere t’ stay at th’ mo,” Tora admitted with a sheepish expression on her face, clutching her arm and rubbing it up and down.

Octavia and Vinyl looked to each other briefly, then back to Tora. “We don’t really have a problem with it. There’s a guest room you can use, but really all we ask is that you pull your weight for the typical home stuff,” Vinyl explained.

“Upkeep, expenses,” Octavia shot a mild glare to Vinyl. “Chores.”

“Hey, I do the chores, same as you!” Vinyl argued, returning the glare.

“And the fact that you leave candy wrappers and snack bags on your floor so much?” Octavia countered.

Vinyl rolled her eyes. “I’ll clean it up when I clean it up.”

“Uh, sheilas?” Tora asked awkwardly, looking between them with a nervous expression.

“Oh, sorry Tora,” Octavia said before clearing her throat.

“Anyway, you prepared to do all that?” Vinyl asked.

“S-Sure, I’ll do whatever it takes t’ have a roof over m’ head,” Tora replied with a firm nod...a little too quickly, if the look in her eyes was any indication.

The two didn’t seem to notice, though, and smiled. “Great! Come on in, then!” Vinyl urged, her and Octavia standing aside to let her in.

Sighing and nodding gratefully, Tora walked in and briefly hugged the two mares around the neck before letting go, “So...where’s th’ guest room? I need t’ set m’ stuff down an’ then get some tucker.”

“Upstairs, door at the end of the hall,” Vinyl answered. “You go do your thing. Me and Tavi have to clean up, since we were making some music with Fluffle.”

“Call us if you need anything,” Octavia told her, before the two went off to another portion of the house.

Tora stood in place for a moment, then made her way to the guest room and set her stuff down on the bed before sitting down on its edge.

“...Well, got a roof over m’ head. Now...what t’ do next?” Tora wondered aloud, pulling Gabe onto her lap and staring at it as her thoughts turned to Durin. “...I could go an’ find ‘im to see if he wants me t’ join ‘im on his little ‘adventure’ shit…wonder where he is, anyways.”

She looked up from Gabe after a short while and set him down on top of a nearby dresser, then laid down on the bed for a quick nap.

---

“Do you think she’ll be alright?” Octavia asked as she moved some of the equipment Vinyl used into a closet.

This question had been on both their minds since Tora first showed up, and it was, in all fairness, a good question. Neither needed to say how dangerous it was for Tora to lie to her employer. And, whilst they knew not who that employer was employed by herself, they were certain it was somepony in the government, which meant the Princesses.

The two did not like the idea of incurring their wrath, and few did.

“She’s a tough cat, she’ll pull through just fine,” Vinyl said, waving it off as she levitated an amp into its place in the closet. Octavia gave her a look. Sighing, Vinyl lifted her shades once more, and paused in her work. “...I wasn’t lying. She’s tough as nails, but...Yeah, I’ll, say it. I am worried.”

Octavia frowned, halting in her work too. “...” She looked to the floor. “...How do you think the Princesses will respond if they found out?”

Vinyl lowered her shades, as if to hide the worry in her eyes. “...I’m not sure.” An uncomfortable silence followed, before Vinyl changed the subject. “Do you think Durin will be alright?” It wasn’t a subject that improved the mood, admittedly, and it was a rare action from Vinyl.

Octavia sighed, letting herself fall to her plot as the cognitive gears in her head turned. “...He’s been evading discovery so far, hasn’t he?” she replied.

“But for how long can he do that?” Vinyl pressed.

“...I don’t know.”

“...” Another uncomfortable silence. Then, “Maybe we can find some way to clear his name?” Vinyl suggested.

Octavia’s frown deepened, and she looked up to her friend. “You know how risky that is, Vinyl. Besides, how would we do it anyway?”

Vinyl opened her mouth to speak, then stopped short. She grit her teeth, then sighed and deflated, sitting on the floor as well and staring hard at the hardwood floor with furrowed brows. “...I don’t know.” That was the third uncertainty they’d spoken. However, Vinyl looked up at Octavia. There was an inexplicable fire in her garnet-red eyes. “But I’m not leaving this alone. He saved us. Me twice. I can’t call myself a mare without repaying him somehow.”

Octavia looked her friend in the eyes for a time, neither backing down, before Octavia closed hers and sighed. “Alright. I’ll help you.” She smiled. “I did promise, after all.”

Vinyl smiled herself. “Thanks, Tavi.”

“Of course, Vinyl,” Octavia replied, before standing up. “Now come on, we should get back to it.”

“Right.”

Next Chapter: 14 - Results and Consequences: Evaluations Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 10 Minutes