//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Hurry Sundown // Story: Beacon in the Shadows // by Dee Bee Doo-wop Cooper //------------------------------// Beacon in the Shadows or Cheerilee’s a Paladin Chapter 5: Hurry Sundown By DigitDaemon ~~~~~ Cheerilee woke up early the next morning. At some point in the night she had turned over and now was facing the back of the couch. She began to roll off but stopped when the light pressure on her back reminded her of the episode with Symphony last night. Cheerilee carefully turned herself over, into a sitting position. and quietly stepped over the still sleeping pegasus filly. She quickly grabbed the lesson material that she had prepared last night, along with her saddle bag, and headed out into the chilly, pre dawn air. She set her hooves on the path to the library, and within a few minutes of brisk trotting arrived. Cheerilee gave the door a solid knock, which was answered by Twilight. “Hello Cheerilee, Why don’t you come in for a minute and join me for coffee.” Cheerilee gave the lavender unicorn an incredulous stare, “What kind?” Twilight gave the school teacher a nervous smile, “Saddle Arabian?” “Perfect! Lead the way.” The two mares walked inside and Cheerilee took a seat at the table while Twilight poured two mugs of steaming hot black coffee. “I brought my materials over for you. I didn’t know how long or often I would be gone. So, I put together an outline for you. I’m sure you would have no trouble constructing your own lessons.” “Of course not. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. I’ve always wanted to know what it is like to teach young foals.” “No problem, and thank you for being so helpful despite the circumstances. Also, would you do me another favor? There will be a filly named Symphony in the class. It will be her first day, could you make sure she has a good experience?” “Sure.” At that moment, the two mares heard one of the door on the ground floor opened. Shadow walked into the kitchen and gave Cheerilee a nod. “Good morning ladies. You’re leaving for Appleoosa today, right Cheerilee?” “Yes. If I might ask. What are you doing here?” “Well, I had no place to stay, so Twilight offered to provide lodging. I don’t think that the dragon was too happy about giving up his bedroom though.” Twilight chuckled at the thought of her stubborn assistant, “Oh, don’t worry. Spike will get over it in no time. Don’t tell him I told you two, but he usually gets lonely at night in his room anyways.” Cheerilee giggled at the revelation. “I would join you two,” Shadow said as he finished making his own coffee, “But it seems that there isn’t a seat open. So, if anyone needs me, I’ll be in the living room.” “Hold on.” Cheerilee downed the rest of her coffee, “I need to get going anyways, the train is leaving soon.” Cheerilee stood up and donned her saddle bag once more. Twilight rose from her seat as well, “I’ll go with you and see you off. It’s the least I can do for giving me this opportunity.” “Sure, I would love the company.” Cheerilee waved to Shadow, and the two mares walked out the front door. It didn’t take them long to get to the Ponyville train station. A few minutes after their arrival, Berry Punch and Symphony arrived as well. Berry gave her sister a hug, “I better not be reading about you on the back page of the newspaper tomorrow.” “I promise I’ll come back.” The two broke the hug and Symphony ran up, giving the fuchsia mare her own hug. “Please be safe miss Cheerilee.” “I will.” Cheerilee set the filly down and walked towards the train. Before she boarded she looked over her shoulder at the ponies who had come to see her off. “Goodbye, Take care of yourselves,” and with a wave she entered the wooden carapace of the train car. It took Twilight about twenty minutes to get back home. She had to stop by Quills and Scrolls, to get extra writing supplies on the way back, and had been stopped by several of her friends, but luckily not Pinkie Pie. When she arrived home, she was meet by a smirking Spike and a crest fallen Shadow. “But...How could you have possibly known?” “Easy. After living with Twilight for so long, I started to pick up on how she thinks. Everything is like a list, or a schedule to her. So with that in mind, the train leaves at seven, give her five minutes for the walk home, plus ten to talk with friends along the way, and another four to buy quills; I had noticed last night that she noticed we were low. And thats nineteen minutes” Shadow looked at the little dragon in awe, “But down to the minute?” “I’ve lived with her a loooooonnng time. Now pay up.” Shadow reluctantly handed over the twenty bit note.” Twilight gave Spike a scolding glare, “Spike, what have I told you about gambling when you have an unfair advantage?” “You didn’t pay me my allowance last week,” the little dragon shrugged, “I had to make it up somehow.” ~~~~~ The cloaked pony climbed down from the tree in which she had been hiding. It didn’t take long for Peppermint to get back to the camp she had set up in Whitetail Woods, but what she found when she got there shocked her. All of her gear had been neatly packed and was sitting in a small pile. She walked over to the pile to investigate. Her short walk was interrupted by an even shorter trip to the ground. She grunted in pain as she tried to stand back up, but she felt like somepony had covered her in lead. She gave a few more attempts to stand before she ceased struggling. “I’ll make this short,” a deep male voice said from behind her. “I’m going to release my trap. Do not think you have any hope of overpowering me, or escaping. Both would be futile.” The weight disappeared from Peppermint’s body, and she immediately spun around and attempted to jump on her captor. She was caught in mid air however, by a cluster of stone spikes, which erupted out of the ground to hold her without harming her. “They never do listen, I suppose. What is your name?” Peppermint stayed silent. “Strike one.” The stone shifted slightly, pulling Peppermint’s front legs out of their joints, and dislocating them. She screamed but other than that, gave no reply. “Who are you working for?” Peppermint still didn’t respond. “Strike two.” A sliver of stone pushed into the cloak she wore and pierced her right wing. Peppermint screamed again, but still did not reply. “What are you doing here?” Peppermint closed her eyes and braced herself for what would obviously be the end of her life. But, the final blow never came. Reluctantly, she opened up one eye and saw that the imposing grey figure just stood there. “If you're going to kill me, just do it. I won’t tell you anything.” “But, you will. I don’t intend to kill you, at least not directly, thirst will take care of that. Or maybe, if you get lucky, the timber wolves that prowl these woods at night will get you first, it is a quicker way to die. Enough though, I will now take my leave.” Loadstone turned and began to walk away. “Wait!” Peppermint, tried to squirm into a more comfortable position, only to figure out the genius of the trap she was in. With her front legs immobile, she was unable to provide leverage in front, and if she pushed with her hind legs, the stone splinter in her wing would be forced deeper. “I don’t know very much.” Loadstone turned back around. “But, you do know. All information is vital, no matter it’s content.” “They told me to look for a Paladin. It’s that school teacher.” “Have you reported back to the rest of the Children?” “No, I was going to after I got back here.” “Good, go on.” “I was supposed to tell them so that they could set a trap in wherever she went next.” “What do you know about Appleoosa?” “Silvered Tongue mind controlled one of the deputies.” “Thank you for your cooperation, I’m afraid this will hurt slightly.” The stone retracted back into the ground, and Peppermint fell with a grunt of pain. “It would be better for you if you slept.” Despite the adrenaline rushing through her, Peppermint’s eye grew heavy and she fell into a deep sleep. Thin vines grew over her and, as gently as possible, reset her front legs. Another vine curled up around her wing and the wound closed itself. His work done, Loadstone left, moments before Lieutenant Flurry Wing touched down. She had been dispatched to look into a anonymous tip, regarding the whereabouts of a camp belonging to the Children of the Night. Chainmail emerged from the brush moments later, “What happened?” “Looks like somepony else got here first and subdued her magically. There isn’t a scratch on her.” ~~~~~ Cheerilee woke up in the compartment she had claimed in the train . It was early morning, on the second day of her trip, which meant that she would be arriving at Appleoosa in just a few hours. “Might as well get some work down.” She pulled out the file she had gotten from Turncoat and began reading. The Children of the Night pulled their name from a popular book based in a time of political turmoil. We do not yet know the identity of their leader, only that he calls himself Leader. Due to recent events it is assumed that the group has access to powerful magical assets. The Children of the Night’s purpose is unknown at the moment, but it is believed that they have considerably more influence than we currently know of. The Children of the Night have been sighted using mind control and dark magic, both of which are illegal under the Arcane Safety Act. At this time we have no further information. “Well that is disappointing,” Cheerilee said to herself, “And Shadow wasn’t able to give us much more either...But, I could look into powerful unicorns that have disappeared, I suppose that’s another route if Appleoosa doesn’t pan out.” Cheerilee spent the next hour reading the latest Daring Do novel, which she had confiscated from a certain orange and purple filly. She would have been overjoyed that Scootaloo had actually been reading for once, except it was in the middle of math. Beside, this copy in particular was three weeks overdue to the library anyways, and Twilight did say she would do anything she could to help. Whether or not she had meant helping fight off boredom was debatable. The whistle, announcing the trains arrival to Appleoosa, finally sounded. Cheerilee packed up her saddle bag, and started to head towards the door so that she could exit quickly when they opened. Once they did, and she got off the train. She was met by two ponies wearing badges, one badge silver, the other gold. The gold one sat neatly on the vest of a dark orange mare, with a darker brown mane. “You must be Cheerilee.” Cheerilee nodded and shook the outstretched hoof. “That would be me.” “Good, I got a letter by dragon post last night. General said you would be doin’ some investigative work. Oh, but where are my manners? I’m Sheriff Swift Sundown, It’s a pleasure to meet you.” “Pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Cheerilee replied. “And this stud here,” Sundown gestured towards a young brown stallion, “Is Deputy Braeburn Apple, The finest we have if you ask me.” Braeburn blushed as Cheerilee shook his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you ma’am.” Sundown motioned for Cheerilee to step closer, and said in a hushed voice, “Now I don’t mind you doing any investigating around here, but if you find anything, You come to me first. This is my town and I won’t have my authority usurped.” “Of course.” “Good. We will get out of your hair then. I hope you enjoy your stay. Oh, the letter also said to fill you in on anything suspicious goin’ on, but I’m afraid that there isn’t any news in that regard. we a had a little shoot out a week ago, lost our previous sheriff, but we rounded up those responsible. They called themselves...Children, I think. All they are now is dead.” “Thank you, and I’m very sorry for your loss.” Sundown nodded and the two law ponies walked off and leaving Cheerilee to stand for a moment in contemplation. So the Children of the Night have been here, but it doesn’t sound like they fared all that well. Those two both seem fairly nice, but I definitely get the feeling that Sheriff Sundown doesn’t want me here. She’s probably just afraid of me stepping on her hooves. Cheerilee walked off of the station platform contemplating her next move. Before she could get much further she was stopped by an odd sensation in on her right hoof. she picked it up to investigate, and found a piece of paper had been taped to it. The sheriff or deputy must have put it there, I wonder why?” She opened up the note and read the contents. Dear Paladin, Under the fourth clause of chapter three of the Paladin’s code. I summon you to a meeting at the Summer Silk storage house, at eight tonight. A friend “Okay, that’s just strange.” A few passing ponies turned to look at the school teacher, who shook her head, indicating that they need not be concerned with her. Eight o'clock it is then, but what to do until then? Cheerilee kept walking down the main street, looking for a hotel to stay at. Deciding on a rather charming, rustic building she walked up the steps and entered the establishment. The smell of salt and cider immediately assaulted her senses. “Welcome to the great horned spoon, can I help you?” came a friendly shout from the bar. Cheerilee turned and saw the speaker to be a young blue earth pony mare. “Yes. I was wondering if you had any available rooms for tonight?” “Sure do. Fifteen for a room, twenty if you want hot water in the bath.” “A regular room would be fine.” “Sure thing,” the mare took a set of key off the wall behind her, “Follow me if you don’t mind.” Cheerilee obeyed and followed the blue pony to the second floor. “This one's yours, hollar if you need anything. Names Windy by the way.” “Thank you Windy.” The pony left Cheerilee at the door to a small room. There was a bed, big enough for a single pony, a small night stand, and a door to what Cheerilee assumed would be the bathroom. She quickly made her way in, set down her bag, and headed into the bathroom. After a quick, cold shower, Cheerilee was ready to head out again. She locked the door to her room and headed back outside. Now what am I going to do? The Sheriff already told me there wasn’t anything strange going on...except for that note, of course. Perhaps ask around the saloons. Cheerilee was knocked out of her contemplation by a rather hard object landing on her and sending her sprawling. “Ow...Oh, I’m so sorry miss.” Cheerilee got to her feet and turned to face the cause of her fall. Behind her, sat a draconic creature, about the same size and shape as Spike. Unlike spike however, this creature was leaner and had further bone protruding past his claws. The bone structures were then connected back to his body my a thin membrane of skin creating wings, which lay exposed on the underside, but were covered in feathers on top. Feathers also protruded from his head and back in a manner similar to the spines on a dragon. All of this was a clear indication that he was not a dragon, but a cousin of the species known as wyverns. The baby wyvern was bluish in color, and his feathers ended in a light grey at the tips. “I was coming down to land at town hall, but I got caught in a thermal and pushed off course. I hope I didn’t hurt you too badly.” Cheerilee shook her head, “No, I’m fine. You knocked the wind out of me, but otherwise, I’m fine.” “Whew, thats good. I’m gonna be in enough trouble when my grandpa finds out I stole the mail bag and went on the Eastern mail route alone.” “I was wondering why someone so young was all alone, especially so far from his own territory.” “The Draconic Expanse isn’t that far away, just twenty miles west and my cavern is the first over the border.” “Still won’t your parents be angry?” “My dad is most likely in some prison somewhere for getting my mom pregnant before marrying her, and my mom is the one who gave me the key to the mail room. No, it’s my grandfather who’s going to have my teeth. He is the village elder, and my misbehaving doesn’t look good for him.” “Then why do you do it?” “Cause it’s the only way I can get out of that cave. Grandpa wants me to be a forge master. Now don’t get me wrong, forge master is a great job and all, but I want to fly freely. Like my mom, she’s a messenger, or maybe I could be a scout.” Cheerilee looked around at the scattered envelopes and scrolls, “How about we get all this cleaned up and then I could get you some lunch. Twenty miles is still a long journey, even by wing, you must be hungry.” “Sweet! Oh, my names Phox by the way.” He stuck out his right claw. “I’m Cheerilee,” she replied shaking the outstretched appendage. The two spent the next few minutes cleaning up the mail and returning it to the mailbag. Cheerilee then escorted the wyvern child to town hall. “You’re an hour late!” The pony at the desk set down the newspaper he had been reading, ”...Oh, it’s you.” “Sorry Breaker, I got caught in a thermal and crashed.” “Phox, how many time have I told you to land in front and walk through the door like everyone else. You are too small to fight that thermal, and when you’re bigger, your weight will prolly collapse the roof.” “Sorry.” Phox placed the bag on the counter and walked out the door with Cheerilee in tow. “You seem to be a regular here. I’m kinda new here myself. Do you know anyplace good to eat?” Cheerilee saw the devilish glint in the young wyverns eyes. “Affordable place to eat,” she amended. “Aww. Well the Chow Line has a pretty good hayburger.” “Lead the way.” The two spent the rest of the afternoon chatting over lunch. “And thats how the wyverns managed to fight off the Cobalt Tribe and earn our independence.” “Fascinating, I never knew that the Draconic Expanse had so much history.” “Well, more bloodshed than history, but we’ve got a lot of that too.” Their conversation was ended by a thump outside, one that made Phox cringe. “Thats grandpa.” “We’ll, I guess I better return you then.” “Are you sure you can’t hide me instead?” Cheerilee shook her head and picked up Phox, placing him on her back. She walked out into the afternoon sun to be greeted by a large wyvern with a brownish coloration and greying feathers. He wasn’t nearly as big as a full grown dragon, but was big for an adult Wyvern. “Hello there miss,” he said in a deep booming voice, “I hope my grandson hasn’t been giving you as much trouble as he gives me.” He shot phox a withering glare. “Oh no, not at all. He was regaling me of the glory of the Wyvern Clans.” “Ah, good...good. My name is Ghanthorph,elder of the Coal Tribe. Thank you for keeping him out of trouble then, relatively speaking.” He craned his neck and pulled one of the feathers off of his back. “If you should ever need the help of my clan, show them this feather and they will let you speak with me,” He dropped the feather at Cheerilee’s feet and pluck his grandson off of her back. “As for you rascal, you will need to be punished thoroughly. Perhaps I will sentence you to run the north route for the next week.” Phox let out a joyous shout as his grandfather took to the skies with a mighty beat of his feathered wings. Right before he was out of sight, Ghanthroph shouted back, “May Celestia light your path, Paladin.” Leaving Cheerilee stumped. How did he know? She shook off her confusion and returned to her room, spend the rest of the afternoon sleeping. When she woke, she went down to the saloon on the first floor and had a quick dinner. “Windy” “Yes hun?” “How do I get to,” Cheerilee pulled the note out of her pocket, “The Summer Silk storage house?” “Oh thats an easy one, you take the main road to the opposite edge of town and it’s the last building on the right. Don’t know why you’d want to go there though.” “Yeah, I’m meeting a...friend.” Cheerilee made her way outside and started down the main road. She noticed that despite the arid climate it was infact quite cold at night. Shivering she continued down the empty road. Thought the roads were relatively empty, the town was not quiet. The saloons were quite busy serving to the population of Appaloosa. When she finally arrived at the warehouse the doors to the massive metal structure had been left open but the interior was completely dark save for the moonlight that shone through the windows. She was about ten feet in when a voice echoed out from the darkness. “That’s far enough.” Cheerilee turned to face the speaker as he stepped into a beam of moonlight. It was a ruggedly handsome colt wearing a silver deputy badge and a stetson. “Braeburn?”