Chapter 36: Cutie Mark Crusaders Search and Rescue
Rauf grunted his frustration as loose dirt rained on his head. Hopefully none of the ponies under the thrall of Pestis would notice a small concession to the growing feelings of hopelessness and desperation within the burly canine. His work crew busied themselves around him, putting up supports in the cramped tunnel that they had been expanding moments before, until that inept lumbering Broad Belt, damn fool of an oversized pegasus, had cracked a fault in the wall and half-buried himself in loose rock as a section of the tunnel collapsed on top of him.
To their credit the crew was not terribly bad, for a bunch of untrained ponies, but Broad Belt was becoming a hazard. Nearly indestructible he might have been but if this kept up he was liable to get them all killed. Perhaps his strength would have made up for his clumsiness normally, but with the influence of Pestis' will causing his physical coordination to suffer and his excessive enthusiasm for the work causing him to dig ahead of Rauf's inspections, and had led to no less than five partial cave-ins and other assorted minor disasters since the diamond dog had taken charge.
However, it had been made clear that the safety of the crew was considered a secondary concern, even by the crew themselves. The glory of Pestis' future palace took precedence over everything, including their lives. So Rauf couldn't make any decisions regarding the members of his team. He was to work with what he had. Even so . . . . "Broad Belt!" he barked in the most authoritative manner he could.
"Yes chief?" said the big bumbling would-be excavation specialist.
"Your mistakes are costing us time. Carry rubble out of the cave. No more digging for you."
Characteristic of the brain-washed servants of the plague bearing bitch, Broad Belt accepted this demotion without objection or offense, merely accepting that one higher ranking in their cult than he was had made a decision, and it was his lot to abide by it. Somehow, this was more disturbing to Rauf. An angry expression would have been a comfort here.
His crew working to repair the damage, Rauf went back to the business of judging the stability of the tunnel. In spite of the smaller cave-ins, the work itself had progressed well. This did not please him in the slightest, but he knew he had to keep up appearances for Pestis. He just needed to get Applebloom close enough without any interference.
It was odd but Rauf felt comfortable here. He had discovered that some of the mushrooms growing in the tunnels were actually edible, and between them and a few rats, he had kept himself well fed. As an alpha, he had often led digs in his old pack, so the work was familiar and relaxing. Maybe even nostalgic. Only the niggling thought of what might become of Applebloom if they stayed here too long kept him thinking about the possibility of escape, but how could he get her alone? Even then, how could he get her to escape with him in her obedient state?
"Frankly, your highness, the city is a mess." Lewis looked Celestia dead in the eye. He had recovered well, although it had occurred to him that perhaps he had been in the hospital a bit too often recently, prompting him to make a mental note not to anything insanely risky in the future if it could be avoided. To pass the time in spent in bed rest, he had taken on the work of collating reports from Canterlot PD. The sum of the reports was more or less as he said.
Canterlot's police and now even the royal guards were being run ragged. Celestia's return had calmed things down, but the crime wave had left local law enforcement resources drained. To everypony's dismay there had been casualties. Six police ponies and one royal guard had perished in the line of duty. The princess had cringed at hearing the figures of damages, grimaced at the shortages of effective equipment, but the fact that ponies had died because of something she may have caused, nearly unnerved her entirely.
None of this would have been observable to most ponies, as she was good at concealing such emotions. Lewis was harder to fool. The throne room was deathly silent. Only a few officials were present, as well as Twilight Sparkle who had refused to leave Celestia's side since her return, and Bourbon, whom had decided that every time his partner was out of sight there was bound to be trouble.
"I see," Celestia said, after a few moments. "I also have come to understand that you yourself have had some difficulties."
"Yes mam. The Brightlowe family has made it clear they intend to press charges."
"As well they should!" said a voice from the throng of officials.
"You have something to say, representative Haze?" Celestia prompted. The representative apparently didn't recognize the slight hardening of her expression. He continued.
"The Brightlowe family lost their heir, your highness. Lost him because of the actions of this 'thing' that has no place in the affairs of Equestria. He has no place in our society! Brutish, arrogant, and violent, with a clear score to settle with Brisk. Your majesty, I must object to your protection of this dangerous creature, before another pony is harmed!"
As this little speech progressed, Celestia tensed tighter and tighter. As he finished she nodded. Acknowledging his opinion. "Representative Haze? Do you understand what you have just done?"
"Yes mam," said Haze, "I have offered my opinion on the matter. I am confident I am not alone in my analysis of the situation."
"The rest of you," said Celestia, "Do some of you agree with this statement?" There were a few nods, soft statements of assent. She returned her gaze to the representative. This time, the fury in her expression was evident. "You have just accused not only a citizen of Equestria, but a federal marshal, the one that uprooted an entire underground syndicate in Ponyville, saved my younger sister from the same pony that he purportedly killed, and not two days ago saved my own life, personally, from a fate worse than death, with one of the most heinous crimes in Equestrian law?" She stood, and in an instant, seemed to be looking the unfortunate, stammering Haze eye to eye not an inch from his face. "If the Brightlowe family wishes to push this issue, then I shall deal with them. But tell them that they should deal with these issues personally, rather than paying off representatives to badger me with their complaints. I tend to take it as an insult against my intelligence."
The still-babbling pony had to be escorted from the room. "As much as it pains me to say this," she continued, "I admit that the Brightlowe's do intend to push this issue. An investigation must be arranged." She looked regretfully at Lewis as she said this. "Lewis, I regret to say it but by law, you cannot remain in the city during this investigation, unless you submit to house-arrest. Therefore, I would ask that you do some work for the time being."
"Of course, Princess Celestia," Lewis replied.
"Good. Pack your things, and gather your friends. I am sending you back to Ponyville. From there, I want you to travel with Magnus to the Everfree Forest. There is something happening there that needs to be investigated. I believe it may be related to what has been happening in the town."
"By your word," said Lewis, rising to go.
Before he could, Celestia swept close to him, whispering. "I am sorry, I know you want to help, but I promise that we will find the evidence to clear your name."
"Thank you," he whispered back.
"Oh, and congratulations, I understand we have a new warden leading law enforcement."
"Thank you again, I'll do my best."
"Is this it?" Scootaloo was a bundle of nerves. The idea of big meaty paws ripping out of the ground to grab her and drag her away was messing with her. As she always did in moments of stress, she pictured what Rainbow Dash would do. Once again, it only half-worked.
"Yeah, I'm positive," said Spike, "This is the exact spot we went in last time." They stood in front of a great number of crumbling little dirt piles.
"How do we get down there?" Sweetie Belle wondered aloud.
"Simple," said Spike, dragging a bag forward with a grin and enjoying his own cleverness, "We get their attention." He spilled the bag open, revealing an assortment of rare and beautiful gems. He winced a bit, knowing he would most likely never see his special stash again, but if it was for Applebloom, he would toss them away quite happily. For several minutes, however, nothing happened. The clearing was silent.
"What's wrong?" asked Scootaloo. She was ready to just have this whole thing over and done with, and the sooner the better. It was scary out here, and besides, she had to use the little filly's room worse than she ever had in her life.
"I dunno," said Spike, scratching his head, "Maybe they moved on or something. Do diamond dog's migrate?"
Sweetie Belle shrugged. "Oh well. Let's head back to Ponyville and see if we can think of another way to do this."
"Alright," Spike resigned himself to the long plod back to town. As they turned, the ground beneath their feet rumbled and number of large dark figures erupted from the earth, menacing barks and growls issuing from throats large enough to accommodate large portions of a filly. Scootaloo no longer needed to use the bathroom.
The big diamond dog smelled the scent of fear and pony urine. The first inclination was to growl, exasperated, but then he noticed the bag full of gems. As a guard of his pack, he was never expected to do much other than throw himself on the occasional intruder, but a bag full of gems was a powerful find indeed. The only things standing between him and his prize were three fillies and a tiny dragon. A dragon he recognized. "Ah! No! Go away! Take your gems somewhere else, and keep the loud whiny one away from us! Not welcome!"
"If we're so unwelcome, why are you holding our friend?" Sweetie Belle yipped in an accusatory tone, unwilling to back down to a brute, "Wouldn't it make more sense if you wanted us to leave if you just let her go?"
The dog looked this little filly irritant, and found that she was small, which he liked as it reduced the threat to him. That said, this was rapidly becoming more trouble than it was worth. His orders were to keep the dragon and any ponies associated with him far, far away from the den. Even the sack of gems was becoming less of an incentive. "We don't have any ponies," he said, trying to convey this as absolute truth. It didn't work.
"That isn't good enough," the bossy purple dragon said, "We know that Applebloom was last seen in the company of Rauf, a diamond dog!"
The big canine snorted at the temerity of the trio. "Rauf is not one of us, because none of us is Rauf. Rauf is desert dog name."
Spike looked up at the insulted expression on the dog's face and couldn't help acknowledging that it was rather convincing. "What do you mean? Of course he's one of you! He's a diamond dog!"
The guard face-palmed. Hard. "No, stupid dragon, desert dog, Rauf is desert dog name! He might be diamond dog, but not one of us. Different pack, different names, see? We are hill dogs, we don't use stupid desert names!"
"So what's your name?" Spike asked, suddenly curious.
"Donovan Argentine." The crude, ugly-looking guard dog said it with a completely straight face. Spike believed him. The only way a big gruff thing would say that would be if it really was his name.
"So you don't have Applebloom?"
"NO PONIES!" Donovan roared, "Not after the whiny one left."
"And none of you is Rauf."
"Stupid desert dogs," the gently-named thug grumbled disapprovingly.
"Then we'll just go now."
"Umm . . . ."
Spike saw that their informant was staring at his sack of gems. "Here," he sighed, parting with a sizeable ruby, "Enjoy."
The defeated trio trudged away, being bid fond farewell by their new friend Donovan. "Goodbye dragon and little ponies! Thank you! Don't ever come back or I bite you!"
"Now that was a waste of time," said Scootaloo.
"Not necessarily," Spike replied.
The fillies looked at the dragon incredulously. "How do you mean?" Sweetie Belle finally inquired.
"Well," Spike mused, "We know one more place that Applebloom isn't. That's a step in the right direction." This observation did not significantly encourage the crusaders.
"Uh, Spike?" Scootaloo pointed out, "You do know that basically leaves just about the whole world, right?"
"Yes, but I really didn't want to go down into those tunnels again," Spike admitted. Neither of his companions said a word but you could almost hear the sound of eyes rolling.
Rauf growled with exertion. The tunnel had broken through into a larger chamber that they were busily clearing out. Given the number of moldering bones inside, Rauf had concluded they were amongst a system of ancient pony catacombs. The remains did not cause any undue discomfort to the ponies on his crew, but that sure didn't spare him from the smell of ancient, recently unearthed death. How he kept his composure when the initial outer wall had been breached, he would never know.
Message runners came and went, carrying missives and reports to and from Rauf, every hour without fail. Or so they said. Not that there was a way to tell in the depths. Most of the reports were terse and simple, a few gruff words from Rauf about the progress of clearing rubble from the cave. Broad Belt was finally coming into his own, shifting massive amounts of debris and no longer causing problems. Rauf examined the crew as they went about obeying his terse, barked commands. Like clockwork. If they were diamond dogs, they might even have matched his old crew.
Still, however dedicated organized and obedient, they were ponies, and he had to micro-manage everything just to prevent them all from being buried. It was frustrating that way. All the while, he thought constantly of how to gain freedom, to get Applebloom away. What could he do? The moment he let somepony know he was operating on his own free will, the alarm would certainly be raised, and after that he would have a very narrow window of opportunity to escape. Thinking he had a moment to himself, he unleashed a series of diamond dog expletives that need not be interpreted here beyond, "very inappropriate language." Some of them were mixed in with pony tongue, which he had been learning. He very much liked the sound of "ponyfeathers."
That was the point when he felt the breath of somepony on his shoulder. Broad Belt had heard every world of his outburst. Heard him acting like something other than a drone. It was a ridiculous mistake, not true puppet of Pestis would ever complain. Any moment now those big hooves would come down, smashing him to paste. Rauf prepared his mind for death with a last silent good bye to Applebloom, Lewis, and the desert wastes that were his home.
"Boss," said Belt, his tone completely without inflection.
"Yes Belt?" Rauf replied, wondering what would happen.
"The rubble is cleared. Were those naughty words supposed to be orders from Our Lady? Because that last one sounds like it would hurt and . . . ." Rauf stopped listening. This changed the game quite a bit. The dumber elements of the group, the drudges, were mentally stunted by the brain washing. They didn't notice when something about one of them was out of place, which is where the plague-bitch Pestis wanted each of them to be: incapable of disobedience or being roused by brave speeches. Complacent. After all, who could resist her mind-control? This changed things entirely. "All of you!" he yelled at the crew. "Get into the catacombs."
They obeyed without question, assuming that Pestis' will was being done. "Broad Belt!" Rauf barked.
"Yes boss?"
"You're back on digging duty. Expand the catacomb entrance."
"Okay," he said, looking a little too gleeful considering he was supposed to be an emotionless puppet. Apparently he loved his job. With gusto, he tore into the entrance with a pickaxe, rock and debris showering everywhere.
"All of you stay put and await further orders!" They nodded their acknowledgment even as the entrance caved in at last, sealing them into the tomb. It would take only a matter of hours to open up for a crew that had trained under a diamond dog. Any other's trying to remove the rubble would be at it for days. So the ponies would be in there, while Pestis' control formula had the chance to work its way out of their system. Then, when they left, they would be hungry, but more than a match for the clumsy drones that would remain, even after digging themselves free. At least so long as they didn't let Broad Belt do the digging.
Without a backward glance, Rauf was off and running, looking for Applebloom and hoping desperately that she was alright.
"I don't understand." Bourbon stared at Lewis, an uncomprehending expression plastered on his features. For his part, the marshal could only sigh and try again.
"They have to investigate what happened, and ah can't be 'round because that could mean ah'm interferin' with thah investigation." Lewis said this as he looked out the window, mournfully watching scenery blur past as their train rumbled down the track.
"But you told them what happened," Bourbon persisted, still not grasping the concept. In spite of the advances he had made, sometimes the stubborn work horse displayed a surprising degree of naiveté. He struggled with subtleties like the difference between what actually happened and what appeared to have happened. These distinctions were simply beyond him and so he did not understand why they were leaving Canterlot, especially in the state it was in. It felt like running away from a fight, which did not sit well with him.
"That don't matter Bourbon," Lewis said finally, "Princess Celestia wants us to do this and she's in charge."
The steed merely shrugged and left it at that. It was all Lewis ever really had to say. There was no need to confuse him. He decided to excuse himself and sit with Fluttershy as the train steamed along towards Ponyville.
Lewis glanced across the row where Big Macintosh sat. His breath had steamed up the window and the ever observant law-enforcer could have sworn that he had traced the name "Luna," within a little heart. The damned surprises just kept on coming. Somehow he would bet good money that the Princess of the Night would be making more frequent visits to Ponyville.
Deciding that he himself would enjoy a slight change in company, Lewis went to see how Applejack was doing. Sadly, he found her in the middle of an engaging discussion with Rarity and after giving her a quick peck which earned him a warm smile and tight pants, elected to sit with Twilight. Most likely she was the only one on the train more dejected than him.
"Heya Twilight," he said, relaxing into the seat beside her. She looked up sharply at the unexpected presence, but managed a weak smile.
"Hello marshal," she said, "Can I help you with something?"
"Please, just Lewis. Or should ah start callin' yah 'Miss Sparkle' from now on?" This got a small giggle out of her at least.
"Alright Lewis, you win. No more formalities. Shouldn't you be with Applejack? I thought you two would be enjoying the trip together."
The human's eyes narrowed a bit. "Ah'm not enjoyin' thah trip at all. Ah understand why we have to do it, but dangit Bourbon's right, this feels like runnin' away."
"I know how you feel," the lavender unicorn agreed, "Princess Celestia just recovered from a terrible ordeal. I should be there with her, but instead . . . ."
"Instead she packed you onto this 'ere train and said somethin' 'bout the value of your safety and the need to get you outta the capitol while things cool off. Same speech she gave me come tah think of it, just worded different."
Twilight's wry smile made him chuckle. "We fall for it every time, don't we?" she asked.
"Course we do, she's the princess. Can't go arguin' with royalty an all, right?" Now they both shared a laugh, real and friendly.
"Would you mind telling me more about earth?" Twilight asked.
"Not sure there's much more to tell," said Lewis thoughtfully. Twilight noticed the change in the way he spoke, the absence of his typical accent. "There are good people and bad ones, no different from here. Mostly the same, with more of the worst parts thrown in. Less healthy you might say."
"So, lots of battling evil inter-dimensional beings for the fate of the world then, huh?" They both snickered at this.
"Why Twilight, I believe you just told a joke!" Now that made her laugh.
When they stopped, Twilight looked out the window. "I admit, I am a little homesick. I wonder how Ponyville is doing without us?"
As it happened, Ponyville was not doing especially well at all. Applebloom had been the most recent in a series of disappearances, which was a large part of the reason that Granny Smith had been having so much trouble finding any help: few were willing to leave the safety of their homes. It wasn't that they didn't sympathize, but they had their own families to look out for.
The old mare was frantic. Usually her thoughts were a jumble, but nothing was more important to her than family and her granddaughter's disappearance had given her a focus she hadn't had in years. Sadly her body wasn't keeping up with her mind, and the time she had spent running around town had worn her out.
"No spring chickens 'ere, that's fer sure," she groaned, setting herself down on a bench in the marketplace. A state of emergency had been declared after the foalknapping and now the area was empty even though it was the middle of the day and commerce should have been in full swing. She was alone. For the first time in a very, very long time, things looked so hopeless that the ancient pony nearly burst into tears. She wished her other grandchildren were there. For that matter, she wished her son and his lovely wife were still there. Now that thought got her crying. It is one of the cruelest torments to burry one's child, and even crueler to outlive them by so many years.
"Aww, ponyfeathers," she said, bringing her sobbing under control, "Ah've survived the worst this life kin throw at a pony, an' ah'm still 'ere." She forced herself up onto sore, stiff old legs that were decades past their prime, but she didn't wobble once, while her eyes gleamed with determination, as they once had long ago when she was young. "Ah'm a-commin' fer yah Applebloom!"
She set off to enlist help from the only ponies in town she hadn't tried.
"What do we do now?" Scootaloo moaned. The crusaders (and Spike by special temporary admission to the group) had returned to the clubhouse, empty handed and tired. The young dragon sat nibbling on a particularly sweet emerald while they worried and fussed over the next step in their plan. The first idea was a bust: it seemed unlikely to them that the diamond dogs had their friend.
"Well, let's think about this," said Sweetie Belle, "If Rauf didn't drag Applebloom off to the other dogs, maybe he didn't take her?"
Scootaloo considered this. "Maybe, but nopony's seen him either, and since they were both last seen together, it kinda seems like he would be our first suspect."
"I don't know if I agree with that," Spike interrupted, "The marshal seemed to trust him, and that guy sure knew what he was doing."
"Hey yeah, you're right," Scootaloo realized, "It was the marshal that brought him here in the first place! He wouldn't do that if he thought Rauf would hurt anypony. Something else must have taken him too." At first this seemed to make her feel better, but then her face turned deathly pale.
"What's wrong Scoots?" Spike asked.
"I just thought of something," the flightless pegasus said, looking at her friends with a horrified expression.
"What's that?" the dragon and unicorn filly enquired as one.
"If whatever the culprit is was big and mean enough to take on that Rauf guy, what might it do to Applebloom?"
This was met with a silence from the youngsters so long and weighted with fear and worry, that the sound of a hoofstep outside the door made them all jump. "Youngsters?" said an elderly female voice, "Are ya in there?"
"Granny Smith!" they all cried in excitement, hurrying to usher the old mare inside.
"What's going on? Have the grownups agreed to look for Applebloom yet?" Sweetie Belle asked enthusiastically.
"Nope," replied Granny Smith with a dark expression, "Buncha cowards 'n such 'n such."
She softened at the downcast expressions on the filly's face. "Ah, but doncha worry, we're gonna find 'er ourselves!"
"Really?" Scootaloo asked, "You'll help us?"
That confused Granny Smith. "Help you? Ah thought ah was the one askin' fer help 'ere?"
They looked at each other with nervous expressions. "Well, see . . . ." began Spike.
"The thing is . . . ." Sweetie Belle tried to continue before trailing off.
"We already went looking at the diamond dog den!" Scootaloo blurted out.
Granny Smith was taken aback, but then she smiled gently at the loyalty of the trio. "Y'all did a good thing, tryin' tah help yer friend like that," she said, "But ah take it they didn't have 'er, did they?"
"No," Spike admitted, "We sorta assumed that Rauf took her there."
"Well young 'uns," said Granny Smith, "Let's see if we can't think of a better idea." She looked into the beaming smiles of the children and thought silently, 'Celestia forgive me for bringing children into matters so dangerous.'
I feel pretty good about that one. This one is dedicated to my good friends ShiningShadow1965 and the lovely Biggmomma46. They've had some trouble because of the hate they've been getting off some trolls that don't like their style. If I've said it once, I'll say it a thousand times, the point of sites like these are to share our stories, and help each other get better. Constructive criticism good, trolling bad. For the record: I like song fics and experimental literature. This is me, Silas Grimm, saying that I like their work. Anybody got a problem with that? Don't mess with my friends.
I also want to let people know to keep an eye out for work by up-and-coming writer Eriugam. I've seen some of his stuff and the guy has potential. I look forward to seeing what he can do.
I've been reading a bunch of FimFiction work recently, and I'd like to recommend a few: "Chaos is a Friend of Mine" by RyuVampiress, "Shipping and Handling" by Pegasus Rescue Brigade, "Even Rainbows Fade" by Pracca (good tearjerker), and "It Takes a Village" by determamfidd.
One of my favorites here on fanfiction is "At Her Side" by C. M. Spinks. I know I've recommended this before, and I'm now doing it again. Check it out.