The next two hours passed without any disturbances taking place in Ward's patrol area, and as they walked down each street with Ward pulling his carriage all the way, Storm's mind lingered over what he'd been told earlier on by the Guardspony he was accompanying; a race of ponies, previously thought to have been systematically wiped out by the Equestrian Army during a major war several thousand years ago, had apparently persevered and lived on in the far north of Equestria to this day, with many of them apparently migrating to large population centers in the northernmost provinces of the country. What he'd been told by Ward that night seemingly contradicted the few history lessons Storm had about bat pony civilization, and although he quite reasonably still had his doubts about it all, a part of him wanted to believe Ward's ramblings, no matter how inane they seemed.
As the digital clock on Storm's cell phone reached midnight, they came to a short stop in front of what was very likely an old warehouse, and sat down along the wall to eat something, their eyes constantly scanning their surroundings back and forth in order to ensure they weren't being watched themselves while stuffing their faces and filling up their stomachs with the foodstuffs Ward brought with them from home. Yet, the closer they both looked, the more obvious it became that nothing was there, that nothing was watching them from the bushes just across the street. It seemed as though tonight was just going to be like any other, ordinary shift for Ward and his companion; quiet, dark and drawn-out, with nothing of interest happening on their watch, and to be fair, that was just the way he preferred it.
"Tired yet?" Ward asked, sipping on his coffee whilst gazing at Storm, who sat right at his side, staring off into the distance.
"A bit," Storm yawned, rubbing his crust-covered eyes with his hooves as he continued staring at the bushes just in front of the empty railroad, beyond which were the now not-so-distant lights of the city's airport. "What are your patrol hours again?"
"10-6."
"Goddamn it." Storm muttered under his breath, hoping Ward won't pick up his utterance.
"I know how you feel. Believe me, I hated my shifts when I first started out myself, but soon enough I'd grown used to them."
"How do you not get bored?"
"Well..." Ward began. "Truth be told, I do get bored, in fact, boredom is an inevitability for most guards... Most of the time we just sit or walk around waiting for something interesting to happen, but when something does happen, like a robbery, for example, you really do get an adrenaline rush from it."
"How do you not get tired yourself if I may ask, especially if your patrol lasts the whole night?"
"I do get tired, duh..." the guardspony responded with a chuckle, before pausing to yawn for a brief moment, as if on cue. "It just doesn't show as much, I guess."
"Since you're a Lunar Guard, I'd assume you sleep for much of the day, right?"
"Yeah, sort of." Ward began. "I actually take regular naps throughout the day, waking up only to eat and... to do my business, as well as just spend time with my family when the occasion calls for it. It's a strange daily routine I have, I'll admit, but it all adds up, in the end, I guess."
"I agree." Storm nodded. "But I guess it's something you're used to, huh?"
"Yep," Ward responded with a nod himself, turning away from the younger stallion and staring off into the distance with him, just as the moon rose over Silverwood from behind an area of broken cloud cover, casting its light down on the darkened streets of the industrial district and sheathing them in a gentle, yet eerie blue glow. "Hey, Storm."
"What?"
"Did you like your lettuce and tomato sandwich?" Ward inquired.
"Yep." Storm nodded.
"Good to know someone appreciates my...culinary skills," Ward smirked in response, his wry, self-deprecating comment warranting a slight smirk from his companion as he recalled what Lilli told him about Ward's cooking. "Want something to drink?"
"Sure. What do you have?"
"Aside from some coffee," Ward responded, passing him his flask over. "Pretty much nothing else."
"Oh well." Storm shrugged, opening the flask and taking a quick sip from it. "...Don't mind a drink of coffee every once in a while. So, you think anything might happen in the time we've got left?"
"We've still got just less than six hours to go." Ward took out his phone to check on the time, before being handed over the near empty flask. "Though as I've said before it's unlikely something will happen."
"Alright," Storm nodded in response. "But what about the bat ponies you told me about?"
"Well," Ward began with a sigh. "It's complicated. We know there's at least a few hiding around here, but we need a warrant to legally search any premises we believe could house bat ponies."
"Oh..." Storm's ears drooped down. "I get it."
"Right now, we don't have a warrant at all," Ward explained. "And as a result, we're only able to patrol the area...we aren't actually able to go into any of those office blocks."
"There are a couple of factories here that look to be deserted," Storm noted, recalling him passing by a seemingly derelict factory on the way into the industrial park. "You think there might be some bats in there?"
"Most of the factories here are, in fact, deserted," Ward responded. "Vanhoover's slowly shifting to a more service-based economy and as a result, more and more manufacturers are moving their plants elsewhere."
"Yeah, I know," Storm nodded in response. "So are most cities in fact, or so I've heard."
"Yeah..." Ward replied. "I doubt these factories have bat ponies hiding in them anyways, we've searched through all of them several times over a period of years and the premises are under 24/7 surveillance."
"You certain?"
"Yeah, they used to, though."
"How so?"
"That factory," Ward glanced to his right at a distant processing plant, noticing its towering, yet slowly crumbling smokestack in the distance, partially visible through the glow of the moon. "Was the site of a botched raid I was involved in along with a large group of other guards way back in '99. The fact that it'd been deserted for the past twenty years made it an ideal hangout and breeding ground for local gangs and drug dealers, but when we got there, we didn't find the ponies we were looking for...instead, what we did find was a large group of bat ponies, the first bat ponies I witnessed face-to-face. They'd apparently ran out of vampire bat potions and since most of them could not speak a word of English, it was hard to get any answers out of them. The ones that did speak English weren't much use either and instead hid behind their much stronger friends."
"What happened next?"
"We cornered the whole group and tried questioning them. We thought it'd be easy since the other bat ponies we've all questioned before did speak English. But with this group it was near enough impossible, so we were eventually forced to call up the Equestrian Border Patrol to take care of them." replied Ward, cringing slightly. "But before we managed to report these bats to Border Patrol, we were near-enough deafened by an ear-piercingly loud screech that made our coats stand up. I'm not kidding, I actually felt a blast of sound hitting my body and burrowing its way into my ears, though luckily I managed to hide behind something and cover my ears before it could do any lasting damage. To the extent of my limited knowledge of bat pony behavior, this is some sort of collective defense mechanism intended to disorientate their enemy, and as we cowered in fear, they shot up out through a skylight above, sending shards of glass raining down on us."
"Damn." Storm gulped, his heart skipping a beat.
"Yeah..." Ward nodded. "What happened that night...actually made my PTSD worse, and since we were all veterans of the Griffon War, they guard put us on a week-long, paid medical leave. The feds then obtained permits to search through all of the buildings here during non-business hours, and over the next few weeks, they ended up getting deporting all of all the bats in this part of town. And since then, bat pony activity here, at least, has become highly uncommon and irregular."
"Wow." Storm cringed.
"These were the first bat ponies I've ever approached." Ward shuddered.
"Damn."
"Believe me, Storm." Ward began. "You wouldn't want to mess with any of those ponies...I for one, hope that I won't have to get involved in something like that again."
"Same." Storm replied with a gulp before the sound of radio interference startled them both.
"Unit 582, do you copy? I repeat, do you copy?"
"Roger that, dispatch," Ward responded, promptly removing his radio from his belt and holding it up to his mouth. "Receiving you loud and clear."
"Good, good. We could use some of your help right now."
"Huh?" Storm gazed up, eyes focused on Ward and the small device he held in his hoof as his heart almost skipped a beat.
"Sure, just tell me what's going on," Ward replied, tensing up as he waited for a response from dispatch.
"Well...we're needing a few more guards up at a warehouse near where you are. There's something big goin' on in there."
"Oh?"
"The Equestrian Drug and Substance Authority has reason to believe that there are smuggled potions hidden in that warehouse. We need you to help flank the team while they go in and search."
"Damn." Ward gulped.
"Alright. And don't worry about your patrol area, we've sent one of the rookie guards to do your shift instead, alright?"
"Copy that, dispatch," Ward replied before he switched off the radio and put it back in his belt. Pausing for a quick sigh, he then stood up and dusted himself off, taking a long, hard look at Storm. "Storm?"
"Yeah?"
"I shouldn't have brought you along." Ward sighed as he glanced up at the overhead moon shining down on the dark, desolate street. "I should've realized it was too dangerous."
"...excuse me?"
"It's too dangerous for you here either way, no matter how calm it seems," Ward replied scornfully, turning back for a brief moment to cast a glance at the taller stallion before raising his head back towards the moon above.
"Wait." Storm paused him. "I thought you said I need to watch out for you."
"That's what I said, yes. But you're better off just going home."
"What?" Storm almost did a double take, pupils shrinking and eyes widening as he inched away slightly from the guardspony. "I thought you needed someone to calm you down if you end up having a panic attack, man. If it's too dangerous then why'd ya do it?"
"Hold on---"
"No, just tell me." Storm interjected, though with an angry tone in his voice. "Why did you drag me out here for half the night if it's too dangerous?"
"Storm, hold on---"
"Why the hay did you drag me out here?" Storm asked, suddenly raising his voice. "I thought I was supposed to help you, I thought you said you needed the reassurance, that you needed someone to watch out for you."
"Storm, listen to me for a moment," Ward replied with a bitter tone in his voice, resting a hoof on Storm's shoulder in an attempt to calm down the riled-up stallion. "Please."
"...what?"
"You head home, alright?" Ward asked, promptly letting go of Storm's shoulder before pulling out a standard, semi-automatic pistol issued to all Guards from the holster clipped to his chest plate and cocking it, Storm gulping as he watched the guardspony prepare his weapon. "This...what's going on in there is serious and I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."
"Just tell me...what is it that's going on?" asked Storm, eyes still glued to the gun in Ward's hoof.
"Right now, there's a large group of drug enforcement agents about to carry out a raid on a nearby warehouse." Ward sighed, putting the gun back in his belt. "Who knows what kind of ponies there'll be in there. Plus, I doubt they'd let you come with me."
"Ward, I promised you I'd accompany you tonight." Storm responded with an angry, resentful tone of voice, though one which was markedly calmer and collected than before, breaking eye contact from the firearm in his belt.
"I know you did," Ward replied, glancing down at the sidewalk beneath them in apparent shame. "But this is something I need to do myself...I'm sorry I dragged you all the way out here, but I thought I'd be on my own tonight."
"Ward, I'm not leaving you here." Storm replied firmly, before giving way to a long, extended sigh. "Come on man, I realize full well this is serious, but you're probably gonna need me in there with you. That, and I doubt I'll make it home anyways."
"No, I can't risk anything..."
"No, Ward." Storm shook his head, having heard enough. "If your PTSD is really as bad as you say it is, then you do need me to be there with you. I'm here, and I'm not leaving your side until your shift ends. I've seen enough back at home to convince me you need the help, and if anything does happen to you, I'll do what I promised you I'd do."
"Alright..." Ward shifted his gaze away from the sidewalk up at Storm, responding with a slight smile. "I don't know if they'd let me take you in though."
"I can just...masquerade as a trainee Guard, tell them I'm accompanying you on your patrol." Storm replied with a shrug, watching as Ward stared off into the distance. "What do you say?"
"I don't know about this," replied Ward with an uncertain look on his face. "I mean, that---they'd...they'd easily find out...especially since you are neither armed nor armored."
"Do trainee guards receive armor?"
"Depends very much on the circumstances," Ward responded. "Most guards usually receive their armor only when they graduate training...but trainee guards must wear some kind of protection when off-base and accompanying more experienced guards on patrols."
"Ah." Storm nodded in response. "Sorry if I was pressing you to take me. I felt obliged to help, especially after what I'd seen happen to you."
"It's fine, sorry I'm not able to," Ward replied. "Had this never happened, had I never been called out of my patrol...I'd probably let you come with me."
"I understand." Storm replied, ears pining down before an idea struck him. "Wait a minute..."
"Yeah?"
"I haven't told you this before, but..." Storm began, pausing to take a sigh as he turned to look back at Ward. "...back in Cloudsdale, I was wanting to join the Guard myself at one point. When I applied to enlist, I was rejected, probably because I was still in school back then... but instead, what happened was they offered to give me a taster session of Royal Guard life. This entailed a patrol around the city and a sparring session at the end of the day. It used to be my dream to enlist, but now...things have changed. It's not something I wish to talk about."
"Ah. I'm sorry."
"Do you have anything like that here?"
"Hmm..." Ward thought to himself. "Yes, yes we do...we're allowed to give 'ridealongs' as they're called, to potential Guards here...it used to be only the Solar Guard that was allowed to do that, but now the rules have changed."
"How so?"
"Well, though we are allowed to do ride alongs here in the Lunar Guard," Ward replied. "The rules here are much tighter. I'm obliged to keep you by my side at all times during one."
"That won't be a problem." Storm responded. "I'm only here to sit you out and calm you down if you have a panic attack."
"And you---you must do exactly as I say, alright?"
"Yep." Storm nodded in response.
"Just," Ward paused to sigh. "If something happens...hide or duck or just...run out of the building. I'm warning you...I don't want to be discharged because of this."
"Don't worry, I'll follow your instructions. You can count on that."
"Thanks for the help, Storm." Ward smiled. "You're a really great guy, you know that?"
"Thanks, man."
The trip to the warehouse took longer than anticipated despite Ward trotting there at full speed with his carriage in tow. All the while, Storm flew overhead at least a hundred or so feet in the air, watching as Ward navigated through the literal maze of streets and buildings like a hawk stalking its prey, whilst also trying to calculate his next move. The warehouse described over the radio could not have been more than ten blocks away at most, as Storm could see blue and red lights reflecting off surrounding buildings at least a quarter, maybe half-mile in the distance, ironically doing a much better job at keeping the streets lit than the poorly-maintained lampposts running alongside them. Even in mid-flight, however, Storm could feel tiredness slowly creeping up on him and embracing him whole, and within seeming minutes the thin layer of crust on his eyes that had formed at least an hour before had become more pronounced, though Storm tried his best to ignore it, hoping and praying the coffee he'd had earlier would keep him up for at least a few more hours. What was going on in there was serious and Storm needed to keep as alert as possible, although initially, he had no clue just how serious the situation was. As they both closed in on the site, however, Storm's heart must have skipped a beat or two as the size and scope of the situation dawned upon him, enabling him to finally realize what he'd gotten himself into; despite still being a good few blocks away, Storm could make out numerous Guard carriages lined up next to the building in what was probably a taxi rank, flanked by two much larger and presumably armored carriages. He assumed they both belonged to the EDSA, although he could barely make out the writing on the sides and the numerous silhouettes of ponies standing around the carriages were too blurry to fully comprehend, even at closer inspection.
Making a sudden swoop downwards, Storm dived into the industrial maze and landed on the roof of Ward's constantly-moving carriage, just before the guardspony pulling it made a left turn at a crossroads at what was probably 30-35 miles an hour. Another right turn soon followed, and as they entered a new street, the flashing blue-red lights in the distance became brighter and brighter, punctuated by sirens.
"So, you ready for this?" Ward inquired, briefly turning towards his companion before pausing for a quick yawn.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Storm responded with unease in his voice, following his reply with a yawn of his own. "I've never seen a drug bust in person, let alone taken part in one."
"I don't remember the last time I've been involved in a drug bust myself," Ward replied, eyes focused on the warehouse up ahead, which was just coming into view, lit by both the rapidly flashing red and blue lights of squad carriages as well as by numerous street lamps. "But I have taken part in standard Guard raids on criminal hangouts before."
"Yeah..." Storm responded in constant uncertainty, just as he jumped off the roof of the carriage onto the ground. "What do you think it's gonna be like?"
"Well, I know for sure it'll be dangerous for both of us," Ward responded, slowing down enough for Storm to catch up to him. "But if you stick to the rules I'd set out for you, I think you'll have a high chance of coming back home in one piece. You and me both, in fact."
"Alright," Storm replied with slight fear in his voice just before they made a sudden turn right onto Haywood Road, the location of the warehouse they were called up to. "Damn..."
The section of street leading up to the warehouse itself was entirely cordoned off, with several patrol carriages lined in front of the concrete barrier both intended to seal off the warehouse from any unwanted intruders and to prevent any suspects from getting far. Parking his carriage along the sidewalk next to a two-story office building, Ward promptly trotted up to the police roadblock with Storm trailing not far behind, where two Lunar Guards wearing bulletproof armor were discussing arrangements for the raid. As they approached the two Guards, Ward waved a hoof at Storm, motioning for him quickly to get behind him.
"Halt!" one of the Guards turned towards both Ward and Storm, his purple helmet gleaming under the light of a nearby streetlamp. "You Unit 582?"
"Yes, sir." Ward nodded, Storm backing out from behind him and shifting to his left.
"Who's this, might I ask?" the Guardspony, at close inspection a Pegasus himself, inquired as he cast a questioning and suspicious gaze at Storm.
"I'm a..." Storm began, trying to quickly come up with a reasonable explanation for his presence. "...I'm---"
"He's with me," Ward responded for Storm, turning to wink at the stallion briefly before turning back towards the two Guards. "He's wanting to enlist in the Lunar Guard himself in the future, so I thought it'd be a good idea for me to take him out on my patrol."
"So, he's with you, huh?" the Guard asked, his suspicious gaze seemingly dissipating.
"Yes sir," Storm nodded in response, shuddering slightly as he watched the other Guard pull out a radio from his belt.
"Just hold on a second," the stallion replied, throwing a brief sideways glance at his partner. "we're just letting them know you've arrived...Windward, is it?"
"Yeah, that's me," Ward replied.
"Why isn't he wearing any armor?" the other Guardspony, presumably an Earth pony or a unicorn asked, lowering his radio. "Every Guardspony needs to be wearing some protection off-base unless they're undercover. Both of you should know that."
"He's not a recruit..." the Pegasus Guardspony responded, receiving a nod from his partner. "He's just here for a taster session."
"Alright." the second Guardspony nodded in response, before turning back towards Storm and Ward as he put away his radio. "This is a rather dangerous job for try-outs, as we call your type."
"I realize that fully sir," Ward shook his head, eyes locking with that of the other Guardspony. "But then again, please note that Storm is only here to see us in action - he's not actually gonna get involved in anything."
"Uh-huh." the Guard shook his head, apparently unconvinced. "Listen, Windward...he's your problem. If something happens to him, you're the one that's responsible, alright?"
"Yes, I know." Ward nodded. "I'll take full responsibility if anything happens."
"Alright, come on in." the Guardspony smirked, motioning for both Storm and Ward to fly over the concrete barrier, which they did. Landing around a dozen or so feet behind the barrier, the apparent size and scale of the operation taking place became clear to both of them almost instantaneously, with at least ten, maybe twenty other Guards visible along Storm's line of sight. By the looks of it, these Guards were either preparing their weapons or discussing how the raid would play out with their friends.
"Storm," Ward began, turning towards his companion. "You ready for this?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"Relax man," Ward replied soothingly, although with a slight tinge of anxiety evident in his voice, something which was picked up Storm almost immediately as both of them noticed a trio of agents standing near a stack of crates. "If you stick to my rules, nothing will happen to you."
"You certain?"
"Yeah."
The sound of thick, metal chains rattling and clanking as they fell to the ground echoed through the air as a Guardspony cut through them with a large and heavy bolt cutter. As the buff earth pony Guard relentlessly cut his way towards the padlock through the web of chain links, Storm, clad in a heavy-duty bulletproof vest, watched from a safe and comfortable distance behind a large wooden crate with Ward and a few other Guards, all of whom had their hooves on the trigger in fervent anticipation of an inevitable counterattack or ambush. All the while, Storm's heart raced within his chest and butterflies fluttered within the confines of his stomach as he wondered what would await the team of Guards inside the warehouse, as well as the drug enforcement agents they were tasked with protecting, although he doubted it'd be anything good. Speaking of which, whilst waiting for the doors leading into the warehouse to open, Storm finally caught a better glimpse of the agents involved in the raid. The ones he saw sitting behind crates adjacent to the door were to some extent also armed, yet most of them were not wearing Guard-style armor; instead, the agents were clad in a bulletproof vest similar to what Storm wore, wearing a blue shirt beneath their kevlar-laced armor, which was clearly marked EDSA at the back in large yellow-gold lettering which shone beneath the orange lamps overhead. This strange combination of agents and Guards unnerved Storm even more than he already was, and made it certain that whatever was going on here was serious without a doubt.
"Almost there... Almost there...and...there!"
A deep metallic clank punctuated by brief rattling sounded as the massive padlock landed on the coil of chains, followed by a near-silent, yet persistent creak, which built up to a crescendo as the aged, wooden doors swung outward across the asphalt, screeching across the surface much like aircraft tires impacting the runway upon landing. Storm's heart near enough skipped a beat at that point, a surge of adrenaline racing through his body as he came to the conclusion there was no backing out now, especially seeing as he was only really here to help Ward out in case he was to have a panic attack in the line of duty, something he deemed very likely in these circumstances especially. The immense responsibility of looking after a PTSD-stricken war veteran for even a few hours rested on his shoulders, and though Storm was hesitant about it all, part of him wanted to heed that call. After all, Ward needed his help, and no matter how reluctant he felt at that point about going into the warehouse, he needed to somehow assist the stallion he promised to help out.
"You ready, Storm?" Ward asked, watching as Storm peered over the crate into the darkness behind the distant doors.
"I guess so," Storm responded with an uncertain nod, glancing down at his 'partner' with unease evident in his eyes. "I've never been involved in anything like this before."
"I'll say," Ward admitted with a slight sense of foreboding in his voice. "It's creeping me the buck out."
"It is?" Storm's heart rate picked up.
"Believe me," Ward nodded, the very sound of his voice at that point sending shivers down Storm's spinal column. "I can only hope that this raid is a false alarm, that they find nothing."
"Ward, I'm here for you," Storm sighed, resting a hoof on the stallion's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. "Alright? You've got nothing to worry about. If anything happens to you, I'll be there."
"I know, I know." Ward nodded frantically. "It's just...I'm scared. I don't want this to end up exactly like that raid I told you about."
"I doubt that...that will happen." Storm replied, unease growing as he recalled what Ward had told him before about the feds carrying out sweeps of the industrial park over periods of time. "Yeah, my guess is that it won't. I mean, you did tell me that they got rid of all of the bat ponies living here."
"They did, yes," Ward nodded, clenching his teeth slightly as a shiver traveled down his spine. "But there's no way to prove there isn't any in there."
"I guess you're right, but I wouldn't exactly count on it." Storm responded, taking a quick glance at the looming warehouse to his left. "Let's just...hope for the best."
"I guess."
"Alright boys, let's move in!"
After that statement, the atmosphere grew tense and foreboding, yet remained mostly quiet as the Guards present cocked and filled their weapons with ammunition, all of them knowing equally well that there is no turning back now, especially Storm, whose heart skipped another beat and jumped into overdrive as all of the possibilities of what could happen ran through his mind. His gaze shifted between the wide-open door leading into the warehouse and Ward sitting in front of him, crouched behind a wooden crate right next to his. The poor stallion's eyes were filled with uncertainty and unease, yet much to his companion's surprise, with some determination evident in his voice he managed to croak out, "Let's do this."
"You sure?"
"Yeah," Ward responded with an uneasy smirk. "Remember what I told you before."
"I'll stick with you no matter what, Ward." Storm nodded in response, before taking a sudden, unnerved glance towards his left into the bleak, cold void behind the open doors leading into the warehouse. The very look of the place was enough to scare him, not just the prospect that something might happen to him or the stallion when inside, and he was certain his body language displayed his fear perfectly. Crawling out from behind their hiding spots, the ten or so Guards present at the scene slowly poured into the warehouse, their weapons fully locked and loaded and ready to use against any potential ambushers. As Storm and Ward walked through the doors of the warehouse with the main group of guards, which was joined by the smaller group of drug enforcement agents shortly afterward, Storm took a long, hard look at the interior of the building lit through the combined efforts of numerous hoof-held flashlights, flares and flashlight attachments on pistols and rifles, in an attempt to spot anything that might seem even the least bit suspicious or out of the ordinary.
While the agents monitored the plethora of crates stored within the warehouse using various different pieces of sensory equipment, the Guards scoured the warehouse, making their way deeper and deeper into the surprisingly large and vast building with nothing but flashlights to guide their ways. So far, the place had seemed empty enough, but Storm could note that some of the Guards were feeling uneasy about all of this, especially Ward, whose pace seemed to slow down as he looked around the building and up towards the I-shaped beam running down the middle of the ceiling, providing support for both slopes of the roof, which judging from the still pools of water of varying sizes on the cold, concrete floor, was leaking from various different places; the stallion's momentary determination and seeming optimism had disappeared and Ward seemingly reverted back to his former uncertain, uneasy self. Storm himself knew the feeling, and as such could completely resonate with him, though the growing silence as they made their way deeper and deeper into the building wasn't helping whatsoever. The silence was omnipresent, and even the slightest creaking of hooves or a light trudge across a puddle was enough to send shivers up Storm's spine, though he decided not to show it.
Though despite the initial concerns of a few of the Guards, they did not find anything or anypony suspicious, which relieved some anxiety within the group.
"Well, it looks as though the coast is clear." one of the Guards, a tall, lanky unicorn smirked as he took a long, hard look around, wiping his mane free of sweat with a vacant hoof.
"Truth be told, I expected an ambush in here." a tall, red pegasus Guard chuckled heartily, eliciting chuckles from the rest of the Guards present, including Storm, who momentarily seemed to calm down. Even Ward, who was for most of the time quite uptight, seemed to lighten up upon realizing that they were for the most part, safe.
"Same," Ward smirked in response, having completely loosened up.
"See, I told you it'll all be alright," Storm turned towards Ward, relieved himself. "That's what you told me yourself."
"Yeah, I guess I got a bit carried away," Ward replied with a smirk, before taking another look around. "Have our friends from the EDSA found anything yet?"
"I don't know, personally I doubt they have. The place seems more or less empty by the looks of it."
"So why'd they call us out here?"
"Exactly."
"I don't know," Storm shrugged his wings. "False alarm, maybe?"
"Maybe, although I'm not entirely counting on it." the purple unicorn responded. "It's best we just stick around here for a little while, see if anything happens."
"I guess so," a gray Earth pony Guard with a silver mane nodded. "But then again, what if he's right? What if this is indeed a false alarm? What if we've been called out here for nothing?"
"Well then---" A sudden chirp-like noise sounded directly above them, being loud enough to catch their collective attention, though initially, they dismissed it, with some Guards claiming it was the beam itself that was making that noise.
It only took a few more noises for the group of Guards to actually react.
At the fourth or fifth noise, the whole group glanced up at the overhead I-beam supporting the roof structure, focusing their flashlights on it to catch the source of the continuous chirruping. Both Storm and Ward especially scrutinized the beam closely, trying to catch anything out of the ordinary on it, though Ward had a feeling he knew exactly what was causing the noise.
And just like that, they did.
A pair of glowing yellow eyes in the shadows out of the collective light of the flashlights watched them from the top of the beam. As the light of the moon peering out from behind the clouds seeped in through the glass and cascaded down on the form, it's true shape was revealed slowly and its outline became more visible.
Ward, observing the form from his vantage point at ground level was shocked especially, as were the other Guards and Storm. Pulling his gun out of his holster like the rest did, Ward fixed his gaze onto the distant shape, the silhouette of which resembling that of a pony's. It soon dawned upon him exactly what the source of the noise was.
"Holy shit," Ward's pupils shrunk and he shivered in fear, the memories of that fateful night back in '99 flashing back through his mind.
"What is it?" Storm asked Ward, his eyes not letting off the pony sitting on the beam before he remembered exactly what Ward was talking about earlier. "Oh, no."
"Told you they'd be back, Storm." Ward turned towards him, his body shivering slightly as he responded with an unnerving shrug.
"You know what that thing is?" the purple unicorn turned towards them both, raising an eyebrow as he lowered his gun.
"I sure do." Ward nodded in response, his heart skipping a beat. "Gentlecolts, that's a bat pony up there... and by the looks, and sounds of it, it's clearly not happy to see us."
To be continued...