A City in Equestria
After the long journey, it was comforting for Shield to arrive to the train station in his hometown. With its glass roof, the water was harmless.
"Shield! Long time no see!" Said the immigration officer, his electric green hair tousled by a blue cap.
"Mountain! How are you? How's the family?"responded the knight.
"Excellent! Thanks for remembering! Hey, Fire Storm was here earlier. He said he would meet you back in your house."
"What about Thunder?"
"You know where he is."
"Shieldie!" Said a stranger with jet black hair and a diadem with two large round ears.
"Sound Check! Wazzup!"
"Who are the cuties?"
"Sound, these are Twilight Sparkle and Rarity, they are envoys from Princess Celestial herself. Miladies, this is Sound Check. He is a DJ known by another name: Deadmouse"
"That's deadmau5 the 5 represents the s."
"You are friends with a DJ, why is that? I remember you telling me you were a sarcastic, cynical scoundrel." Asked Rarity.
"He may be an asshole to anything with a pedigree, but to anyone born and or raised here he is incredibly friendly." Responded Sound.
"Also, DJs are information traders. If anything happens, be it good or bad, they will find out about it. And so they will inform us if there is anything we need to know." Responded Shield.
"That's right! Once I heard about this hydra breeder in Baltimare through my friend Wooden Toaster and I reported it to him, cuz you know, he's a Grey and shit. Two weeks later I got an invitation to become an auxiliary informant."
"Really? I thought all your missions were handled by the head of our government."
"I already told you, we are a para-government organization. We don't follow their orders, but they do get us contracts. Sometimes someone else will contact us directly, hoping to form a private contract. The DJs sometimes help us get those contracts. And they also tell us when someone is causing too much trouble." Responded the knight.
There was a crack of thunder, and a silver chariot appeared in the rainy sky. Gliding through the glass it was obvious who was riding it. The chariot was pulled by four pegasi with draconic wings, while mounted by a guard with pale blue skin and midnight leather armor with a sword on their hips.
With the sound of trumpets Princess Luna descended from her transport. She was wearing her regular attire, her midnight blue dress was always stunning.
Everyone in the train station immediately kneeled.
"Rise my loyal subjects." She said in her Royal voice.
All except Shield obeyed.
"Why do you refuse my order? You of all people have the greatest obligation to follow my commands." She said in a calm voice.
"Your Highness, I did not expect your arrival so soon. I imagined it would be tomorrow." He answered as he stood up.
"I came because I need to examine your headquarters, which lacks detail but uses three quarters of your salary." A shiver ran through him.
"As you wish your highness. Follow me, and don't worry about your luggage. It will be in your rooms once we have finished the tour." He started walking toward one of the sets of glass doors. Sound Check immediately followed, and the guards followed their princess, leaving behind their flying transport.
The doors led to a large concrete garage. Thousands of vehicles were parked, from small motorcycles to buses. Shield approached a minibus with a black paint-job. The doors swung open and inside was a chubby man with a white beard.
"Hey Shield, were off to?" Said the driver.
"Take us to our base." Responded Shield.
"Alright, wait, we're takin' everyone? Even the soldiers?"
"Of course! Let us show these people the Vanhoover hospitality!"
"Okay, all aboard is comin' aboard!"
The inside of the bus was very well kept, with the smell of vanilla very present in the air. As everyone settled themselves, the bus roared to life and began moving. The tour through the cobblestone streets was smooth. They passed through the main square, a beautiful plaza full of gardens, trees and limestone buildings. They arrived to a large glass-and-ivory tower. On the entrance a man was waiting for them.
The inside was a common office building, with a five meter tall roof.
"Welcome to FireFax Tower! In here are several reliefs for the various human ills. First five floors focus primarily on the physical illnesses, such as pedicure, manicure, spas, acupuncture, steam therapy, heck, you name it. Next ten floors are the hospital floors, with all sorts of medics. The last ten are the Grey's Headquarters and Barracks, Vanhoover branch, we live there and have all consultations for missions, both public and private."
"How can I help you Shield?" Asked the receptionist.
"Could you please call Pound and tell him to bring my guests' luggage please!"
"Sure thing! So, how did the mission go?"
"Great, except that Moon Dancer gave me wrong info as usual, is she still stuck up in the library?"
"You know her so well I would recommend getting married with her."
"You know that's impossible. Hey is Iron Cross here? I really need to talk to him."
"Sure, he still hasn't checked out, but you might want to talk to Stella first."
"Okay. Lets go!"
Shield walked all the way to the elevators, where he flashed his badge. The doors opened.
"Are you coming?" He asked.
The elevator was big enough to carry everyone. A couple of floors later they emerged to a marble white room. The entire floor made it up.
"Welcome to my humble adobe, this is the public room, next one is the gym, next two are training rooms, after that there is the two-floor library, the rest are barracks. Any questions?"
"Yes, I have one." Said the princess.
"What is it?"
"Do you expect me to believe that this tower uses nearly three hundred thousand bits a year?"
"It does!"
"This place pays for itself and is tax-free. I you believe that would fool me you are gravely mistaken. I want to know where your resources are going and I want to know them NOW!"
Shield sighed. "I invest my money in the retirement fund in case I die, that way my hard work can be used by Hawk."
"And coincidentally your uncle is investing in the exact same fund?"
Shield looked surprised. "How deep have you been digging?"
"Deep enough to know that your retirement fund uses a million bits a year. Don't you think it's a little too much? Also I want to know why you have a gas station in the outskirts with underground digging permits."
"I guess I can't beat you. I will show you everything, but first I must consult my doctor about my medicine."
"Very well, and I would very much like to meet your doctor."
"Then follow me." He went back to the elevator. This time only Twilight and Luna followed.
"What is it Rarity?" Asked Twilight.
"Listen Twilight, as fun as meeting a doctor sounds, I would very much prefer to go to a spa right now. You have no idea as to how exhausting this little venture has been. I even feel like wrinkles forming up in my forehead. And I may have noticed a white hair somewhere."
"No prob. Go to the third floor and ask for Hot Rocks and tell her that I sent you." Responded Shield.
"Oh. Well, I thank you for the offer very much."
"Let's go!" And the elevator descended.
The floor was divided in various consulting rooms, and there was a general secretary standing behind a spruce desk.
"Hello Stella, how are doing today?" Said Shield.
The secretary was a pink haired lady, with a large bang falling in front of her left eye. She turned her head.
"Oh hey man. Iron Cross is in Operation Room 5 if you want to talk to him."
"Thanks. Um we need to enter in order to talk to the doctor."
"But she just said that he is in an operating room! We cannot enter in the middle of a surgery!" Said Luna.
Shield narrowed his eyes: "Watch me." And he went inside.
The women followed, and started hearing laughter. The scene inside the room was far too shocking to be true.
The room was beyond standard, with Sci-Fi looking equipment all over the place. A man with a white lab coat, stained with blood, was handling some sort of beating object. The man being operated was a large bald man with a red shirt and a large cavity. One of the machines was shooting a red beam towards this man's chest, and the beam occasionally spawned red crosses.
"And ven ze patient voke up, one of her kidneys vas missing und ze doktor vos never heard from again!" Said the man in the lab coat with a thick Germaneigh accent as he bursts out laughing. The patient laughed too, his voice not constricted despite that his chest was torn open.
"Anyway, zats how I became Ib'Xian's most vanted!" He said, suddenly a dove exploded from from the cavity.
"Triangles no! Get away!" He looked at the bear man. "Birds."
"Hello Iron Cross! And hello Iron Curtain! How's it going?" Asked Shield, taking them by surprise.
The doctor turned and greeted his friend, neglecting his patient.
"Oh! I see you've brought company! Hello miladies, I am Doctor Iron Cross." He extended his blood-stained hand. Needless to say, neither one agreed.
"Very vell, so vot brings you here Shield?"
"I need my shot as soon as possible, this one wore off faster and I'm already at stage one."
"Oh zat is bad news, you see, your medicine isn't ready yet."
"What are you talking about? It's almost end of month! I need that shot ASAP!"
"Sorry little friend, but we got delayed looking for Kingsfoil. We had to take from little baby goblins." Said Curtain, his accent marked him from the Hooviet Union.
"Fine, how long until you are done?"
"Actually, I am done." Said the doctor as he pressed the heart into its place and increased the intensity on the beam. Now brighter than before, it closed his body without leaving a trace.
"You just said you didn't have the medicine."
"Oh, zat vill be ready by ze end of das week."
"So where are you done?"
"On Curtain's checkup."
"Then come along, we are going to Ebony."
The doctor took a good look at Luna and said: "Entschuldigung your Highness!" He dropped to one knee.
"You may rise medic." He obeyed. He got within whispering distance of his friend and spoke: "Are ve going mit her?"
"I got no choice, she's my new boss, dad quit two days ago."
"Zis ist keine gut."
"She's seen the finances and she knows, so we have to go there. No more secrets."
"Very vell, it vos a pleasure meeting you."
"Likewise mein freund."
They left the floor and headed for the lobby. Waiting for them was a tall man with electric ginger hair adorned with yellow streaks across and red roots.
"So this is what happens when you go to fetch your friend's scryphone." He said. He withdrew a small gadget from his pocket. It was a silver rectangle, with a crystal screen. He tossed it to Shield, who caught it midair.
"Sorry man, but I left it charging."
"Yeah, that's what you always say. Why is Princess Luna with you?"
"Because she is our new boss. That's why."
"Oh, what happened to your dad?"
"Mr. Heart retired, hoping to be able to live the rest of his days in peace and quiet with his wife." Answered the Princess.
"Very well milady, allow me to introduce myself, I am..."
"Fire Storm, Grey Warden and from the line of the noble Storm family. You are now a Regulator."
"And why do I deserve this honor?"
"You have proven yourself worthy with your deeds."
Fire ignore the last comment and followed his friend out the building.
"Aren't we going to wait for Rarity?" Asked Twilight.
"By the time she's done with the first stage we will have returned from Manehattan." Said Shield.
Without complaining the bus was loaded again.
The travel to the gas station was about thirty minutes long, although to Twilight it didn't seem like much. Mostly because it hadn't stopped raining.
The building was of typical design, with a giant boulder directly behind it. Inside at the counter a teen with crimson hair was busy playing with his phone. It wasn't a scryphone, but a regular non magic portable phone.
"I would like two cherry sodas and nine Sparkles please." Said the regulator.
The boy just looked at him and said: "You know where to get them."
Shield walked to the nearest refrigerator painted in red and an 'out of order', opened the door and withdrew his badge.
From Twilight's view not much could be seen, but she guessed by the beeping sounds that there was more machinery behind. Proving her theory was that the clerk had stopped playing with his phone and lowered all blinds in the building. In should have been dark had it not been for the lights above.
Luna's guard went for their swords, afraid that this was an ambush. But relaxed when they noticed the refrigerators opening up.
"These are drop elevators, with the capacity of five each. Twilight, you are with me, the rest can figure it out." Said the ice-eyed man. The librarian followed, hoping that this would somehow help her task. Luna and her Guard took an elevator, and Shield's friends took another one. He elevator was quite roomy, although it was more of a metal box with a mirror.
The doors closed and the elevators descended. The store went back to business, leaving no trace that people had disappeared.
"What is Ebony?" She asked.
"It's a code name. Ivory is the FireFax tower."
Twilight set her distance, holding onto the rail. She didn't know what to expect, but was surprised when the metal box opened.
The room in front of her was at least a kilometer high and incredibly farther. The cave was coved in pearl white square panels.
"Pretty amazing huh." Said Shield. Before he could talk more he received a painful slap to his right check, and then slapped on his other one. Luna had been responsible. For this.
"What is the meaning of this? Explain yourself this very instant!" She demanded.
"Milady, I welcome you to Torchwood Fortress, home of the Dawn Guard!"
"How dare you keep an installation this large from our knowledge! This is a Grey facility!"
"And that is where you are wrong princess. Torchwood isn't actually yours, it's mine. I privately started this, for the good of Equestria."
"Why keep this in the dark Shield?"
"Follow me, and sorry for what you are about to see."
They walked to a one of the rooms with a label which read: Fire Room. The door was steel. And inside the name was justified.
It was a firing range, with several plastic monsters covered in bullseye. There were several people clad in white uniforms and holding green weapons. When the door opened all turned around to face the door and immediately saluted with their left hand, while holding their object on their right.
Their next action was to notice the woman clad in dark blue. With this they immediately dropped to one knee and shouted: "All hail the Queen of the Night!"
Speechless for at least a minute, she managed to regain herself before slapping Shield twice.
"What is the meaning of this? Explain yourself before I have my guards execute you this very instant!"
"First of all, ouch! Second, these are the Torchwood Stormtroopers and they are here to help us retaliate!"
"You mean to tell me you have trained soldiers to use firearms? Do you have any idea of how many agreements, treaties and other political documents you are defiling? What was the point of Protocol Stalliongrad if you still did this stuff?"
"And that's not even half of it." Whispered Fire Storm to Twilight.
"Quite simple, training takes years, and we have to be ready at a moment's notice. Do not worry, they are all extremely loyal men and excellent shots. TAKE AIM!" And as one all soldiers turned around.
"FIRE!"
The roar was unanimous, but there was no smoke, instead bolts of red magic erupted.
Closer inspection of the targets revealed that these were marksmen, as they managed to hit vital parts of every monster.
"I do not care if your soldiers are good or not, my concern lies on the fact that you have actually trained people. As a meter of fact, them being accurate makes me wonder how long you have formed this Torchwood."
"About four years, as soon as I returned from my travels. But you are missing the point. These Stormtroopers are the only thing standing between the Changelings and us."
"Then why bother making your stupid protocols if you will still ignore it."
"Because the protocols were made to legalize my actions. Had there been no authorization I wouldn't have revealed them, but since we are at level 1 there is no better opportunity to do so. On another topic, where are the elements of Harmony?"
"They are in Ponyville." Interrupted Twilight.
"I meant the jewels, not the people." Retorted Shield.
"Those are locked in a special vault in Canterlot protected by several spells. We had planned to return them to their owners." Answered Luna.
"Good to know, don't move them, this will only make it easier to neutralize them."
One of the soldiers broke ranks, he had a pockmarked face and a bicolor hair: left was sky blue and right was electric blue. "Sir, Arc Reactor was requesting your presence sir!"
"Thanks Blues, you may return to your training. And bring Apple, Bridle and Carrot to the Conference room." He resumed his firing position, but none of them fired, they just waited like statues. Shield gave another order to fire, and there was a roar across the room. He later instructed them to continue at their own will.
They walked for a while, until they arrived to a room labeled: Engineering.
Inside this door was a facility much larger than the previous one, and it was because here there were all sorts of machines. From white turrets to heavy armor, there were also several vehicles that Twilight failed to recognize.
In one of the workbenches was a man with really short brown hair. He was wearing a sky blue shirt, and when he turned around he hadn't buttoned the first three.
"Well hello Mr. Shield, how was your last trip? I noticed you left the phone I made for you." Said the man.
"Sorry about that Arc, I seemed to have misplaced it. What was so important that you needed to see me?"
"I was told hat we have escalated to Defcon three."
"Sadly enough yes, do you have phase one ready?"
"Yeah it's by the back with the Phase 2 prototypes."
"Load them unto the Harbinger now."
"But that'll take at least two days!"
"Then start now! We don't have much time!"
"Where are we going? And why the Harbinger? It's still a prototype."
"Manehattan, I have received from a trustworthy source that there will be an attack in the first of June."
"And Princess Luna gave you authorization to break every rule?"
"I did not k ow of this Arc Reactor, although I am surprised to see you here, as a Grey Mech-Wright I expected more from you."
"A What?" Asked Twilight Fire Storm grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her back gently.
"What do you know abut the Greys?" He asked with great curiosity.
Twilight told him what little she knew. His face was suddenly filled with disappointment.
"Typical of Shield, he never talks to anyone who works for royalty. Follow me this will need proper explanation..." He trailed off. "You came here with a friend right?"
"Um yes."
"Then now is not the time, I prefer to give this explanation to both of you. Do you want to get out of here?"
"But where would we go?"
"Back to FireFax, most of what they will discuss today is technicalities. And I received a letter from the other princess, telling me to help you in your second task. It won't be easy, but we can't talk here."
The librarian felt a pang of worry. This probably meant that Celestia didn't believe that she could handle this.
"So care to tell me what made you bring our new boss to the one facility where you know she could kill you if she as much as muttered the order?" Raised Arc
"Princess, would you like to take he tour? Little Pip here would love to show you around, isn't that right sweetheart?" A short girl clad in a charcoal grey jumpsuit with brown hair popped up.
"Of course sir! This way princess and guards, there is much to show!" Reluctantly, the princess obeyed.
Once they were gone Arc looked sternly at Shield. Without another word, Fire took Twilight out of the facility before things got worse.
"I want to know what drove you to bring royalty here after we clearly dictated that this would be a private and secret organization. You said that only if hell itself materialized here would you consider unleashing it!"
"Things change! Do you have any idea how bad I feel about this?"
"Sure! You are the golden boy! Nothing can hope to bring you down! But what about us? The poor bastards that blindly followed you when you promised us this would never be used!"
"Trust me, if the following dangers could be defeated via a defense using the Canterlot Guard then I would be leading them. But our enemy is strong, their weaponry is too advanced for pikes. If we are to succeed, Equestria will need Torchwood."
"Why does it feel like you are rushing this? You aren't even consulting things, something that was a staple habit of yours. What could be at stake that makes you take such rash and downright fucking idiotic. Have you even considered that you could be leading us into a trap that might not only get us killed, but also plunge Equestria into its first war?"
Shield was very surprised at this. It had never occurred to him. Sure the visions were real, but what if someone was counting on his rash actions to trigger a war? What if there was no avoiding this, like if it was scripted in fate. He couldn't think if there was anything that would somehow invoke someone's rage.
"So what would you do if you were in my situation?"
"I would do the thing you are known for: calling in meetings. Without a brainstorm session we won't be able to think of alternatives."
"There's no time for that. A brainstorm lasts at least three days, and we don't have enough time."
"What kind of danger is s great that you are wiling to trash the traditions put by your ancestors?"
"Changeling."
"Changelings have been defeated before, they did so in the Royal wedding!"
"How did you know about that?"
"I got an invitation, that's why I disappeared for a week."
"And you never bothered telling me?"
"I thought you had an invitation but as usual, chose to ignore it."
"I would never have missed an old friend's wedding!"
"Why are you such a masochist? What part of she's not into you don't you want to understand?"
"What if I don't care if she likes me? What if I just want to protect her for old times sake?"
"Then you are being stupid, why risk your life for one person with thousands?"
"We both know why she is important."
"Your theories are not important, although she is an angel, so that counts for something."
"Off topic question: why the fuck are you interested in rules if I hired you for the opposite reason."
"Because this time you put my ass on the line without telling me."
"Look, once this is over we can go back to hiding."
"No we can't, if our theory concerning the Precious family is correct, they will fear that you will replace the Guard along with their servants. They will strike hard and a rebellion worst than His."
"Nothing will beat that one."
"Enough arguing for today I have a unique present for you. But first tell me, when will you train your new girlfriend?"
"You mean Twilight Sparkle?"
"Duh, who else?"
"She'll start her training tomorrow."
"Not a moment's rest then."
"We're kicking the hornet's nest, there is no time for rest."
"I hope that if we burn, it's just Torchwood."
"Me too. Now, follow me, I'm going to speak with Apple, Bridle and Carrot." Shield thanked the stars that Luna arrived at the moment his conversation ended.
He went to the conference room, where twenty four uniformed men and women were seated.
"Ladies, gentlemen, I have called upon this meeting for one reason. I am sure that you have heard the bad news, but in case you didn't, we have ascended to Defcon 3. I won't sugarcoat it, this is going to be dangerous. But I am confident that you can and will triumph. Questions?"
A woman with yellow hair raised her hand.
"What is it Dust?"
"How do we know that the threat is genuine?"
"It just is. I can't give any details, but we are facing changelings, so get ready to ship off on the last day of May."
"Where are we going?"
"To Manehattan."
"Will the police give us backup?"
"I have sent instructions to evacuate the city, but they haven't responded yet."
"So we're going rogue?"
"Something like that, lets just hope that we won't be fighting them also. Dismissed."
He picked up his trench coat and a holster belt.
They left the building, once outside Shield offered Luna a ride back to HQ, but she declined.
"I must return to Canterlot immediately, I must inform the families of what has happened here."
"What? No no no no, you can't do that, if the families catch wind of this they'll go berserk!" said Shield.
"I have no choice, as a Princess I must warn them of what will come! I need to tell them that you have produced firearms and war machines."
"You'll only inspire panic!"
"What am I supposed to do, sit back and wait for the complaints? They have every single right to know that you have been secretly preparing for war."
A sudden cocking sound was heard and Luna turned around.
She was facing a very cut-down version of the rifles she had seen in Shield's base. It looked more like a pistol.
Her guards immediately reacted, drawing their swords. They were at least ten meters apart, but they could still lunge.
"Do you really think your toys are going to stop me? I hope you can kill me and four guards and still explain to your friends why you turned a traitor." She I'd with confidence
"Who said anything about killing?" And he pulled the trigger. Luna reacted by deflecting it with her arm, and her guards by striking. One of them slashed vertically, aiming for Shield's unarmed hand, but was surprised when he revealed another pistol. The pommel had a hand guard running toward the clip. The rogue reacted by swinging his right hand and smashing the thin sword. To his right another guard attacked. He dispatched both of them by firing a single crimson bullet from both pistols.
The next two charged, urging their escort to get to safety. She obeyed, but never really had a chance. Her guards didn't last long, as they were immediately gunned down. Knowing that running would certify her death she raced for a sword and charged.
Shield deflected her flurries with ease, almost as if he was toying with her.
"What do you gain by slaughtering my guards?"
"I didn't kill them, they are merely unconscious." He replied as he pulled the trigger and shot her stomach. It took him five more shots to fully knock her out.
"I hope you are happy, but remember, your treason will not go unnoticed. I am expected in Canterlot in three hours. Tomorrow your home will be flooded with guards and Shadowbolts. Eventually they will find me and they will arrest you. My sister will turn Equestria upside down just to find me." Said Luna with staggered breaths.
"I know, but she won't find you. I don't need to kill you. I just need to stop you. You see, some families are getting restless. If they were to know about this, they would revolt quickly, implying that you have been covering up for me. They are already armed, that's why I had to beat Silver Platter to a pulp." As he finished his sentence the princess's breathing calmed down, signaling that she was now fully unconcious.
He grabbed his scryphone and dialed the base. He used only the audio option, preferring to not have to reveal himself. "Arc, I need a cleanup team here in the gas station, take them to the detention area and keep it quiet. I need to return home, pronto."
His ride back home with Sound Check, Iron Cross and Iron Curtain was rather relaxing. He wondered why Fire had run off with Twilight.
.oOo.
Fire's car was a black hatchback. His explanation was that he really didn't like driving, and a small vehicle allowed him to focus at all times. Their drive was mostly silent, since Twilight didn't want to make him mad.
"Don't worry about angering me, that is an impossible task."
"Very well, I want to know why Princess Celestia gave you instructions to help me. Doesn't she trust me?"
Fire laughed softly. "No, of course not, in fact she believed that you could do it all on your own. But she insisted thatI help you because Shield is too rough around the edges on order to function correctly outside his job."
"Yeah. What is it with him and royalty?"
"Oh, you must have heard of various incidents. There was this one time he interrupted a Grand Galloping Gala just because they were wasting money! He also gets into all sorts of trouble, mostly justifying his bullying saying that it will turn those softies into worthy leaders. Truth is Shield was born with a lot of pressure. And especially after his, incident, he has been even more on edge."
"Wow. Do you know anything about the four years he disappeared?"
"Of course I do, I was with him the whole time!"
"Really?" Asked Twilight with delight. For the first time she found someone with the ability to show her the taboo.
"Yeah, but it is a really tough experience and I don't feel too comfortable talking about it."
And so her hopes were destroyed once more.
"Sorry, but that really is a touchy subject, maybe later. Oh thank Celestia we are here." He said as he pulled into the parking lot.
Ass they were getting off, a silver car pulled right next to them. Emerging from it was Shield and company, all laughing at some joke they must have said before.
"How did you get here so fast?" Asked Fire.
"We drive faster than you." Retorted Sound.
"Yes, so it seems."
"Stop fighting, I want to get to the Spa ASAP. My back is killing me!" Said Shield.
Without waiting for anyone he entered the elevator and disappeared.
.oOo.
Rarity was just finishing her steam session when she started hearing commotion outside. Intrigued she took off her eye-covering cucumbers and opened the door. At the entrance of the Zen Garden was Shield Heart talking to Hot Rock, one of the lovely owners.
"So it will be the usual Shy?"
"Not this time. I need something stronger, that mission was harder on the back than before."
"Oh Celestia, please tell me this isn't like that time you had two tumors on your back."
"I doubt it. I'm just really stressed that's all."
"Well then, step right in! We were done with your friend Rarity anyways. She is a very cultured woman. You should totally consider dating her."
Rarity was surprised by this, she tried picturing her dating him. After a few minutes she concluded that it would be her grave.
"You know me girls, I can't do that stuff. It's just not my style." Replied the knight.
He stepped into the changing room, where after a few minutes he emerged wearing nothing than a black, skintight body-glove and a crimson bathrobe.
"Rarity! Your time's up!" Said Hot.
Making sure she looked as beautiful as usual, the seamstress emerged from her steam box with glamour. Her eyes became fixed upon that cold hearted man.
"Hello miss Rarity, I hope you enjoyed the service of these two fine young women." He said.
"Of course I did. These two women are extremely talented. Although I have to wonder why are you dressed like that." She replied
"This is my spa outfit."
"I can guess what the robe is for, but why are you wearing a skintight suit?"
"Because it's comfortable and I don't like being naked."
"Very well, I hope you enjoy your time here as much as I did. Ta ta!" She said as she disappeared into the dressing room.
Hot guided Shield to the massage table, and began working.
"Good God! What the hell is wrong with your back? I just found like eight knots?"
"I told you, it's been hard. Ooh yeah, that's the spot. That one's called Cadence. Ooh and that one Luna, and that mmpfh! Rarity, and that's Twilight. Ooouch! That one is Shining. Ah! That is Celestia. And those last three have no names yet." Said Shield as each knot was unmade under the skillful hands.
"What can you tell me about Rarity?"
"Well, I can tell she is extremely cultured. She mostly stuck to fashion, but when we changed the subject she followed it without problem. We first changed it to how you met. Usually your recommendations are poor girls who have seen too much misery. I was surprised when she started talking about a royal mission to reform you."
"Well, chuckle in the irony if you want. It I assure you that I don't need reforming. I am the model citizen, all right, I am hardly the ideal man but I'm not bad. Or am I? Ouch!"
"I'm not going to answer that. Being good or bad depends mostly on you, so I can't decide wether you need help or not. But as the friend and psychologist that I am I would strongly suggest you take whatever help you can get. Maybe someone who can teach you manners."
"I am well mannered!"
"Yeah, that's why you started a fight with bullets! I can feel the holes."
"Ooooouch! Dammit, that really hurt!"
"You should have healed these before coming with me."
"I did!"
"Then you did a really lousy job. Next time try going with a real doctor, or at least with Iron."
"What are you talking about? Iron is a great doctor!"
"Who doesn't have a medical license. I don't feel very comfortable with a psycho treating you. It feels wrong, like you could drop dead any second of the day because of some shit going wrong."
"I've told you a thousand times, he is ridiculously reliable. Remember that time I got stung by an albino scorpion? Had it not been for him and his knowledge of poisons I would be decomposing on a grave."
"Yeah, but he knew the antidote because he has fucked up so many times it's a surprise he's still alive."
"I don't care if he messed up, he knows how to fix things."
"Fine, have it your way. Now get your lazy ass up and into the sauna, I still have to do some facial cleaning."
"You watched your language near Rarity right?"
"Fuck yeah! What do you take me for?"
"A sailor mouthed Spa owner, I should start calling you Sailor Moon."
"Shut up bastard!"
"Sailor Moon, could you help me up?"
With a punch to the side ribs she throws him out of the cot, and he lands with pain on his injured shoulder.
As he recovered, he limped to the spruce box filled with steam.
Inside he fell asleep, he was finally feeling the exhaustion get the better of him. His dreams were nightmares as usual, but at least Sheogorath had disappeared from his vision. Five minutes later he woke up covered in sweat, and to his horror Sheo was with him. The elder was wearing only a towel, exposing a hideous chest. The left pectoral was Caucasian skin, but the right one was dark skinned. His stomach was chitin-like and his back was full of white fur.
"Well hello Shield! I missed you so much!" He said.
"Hi." Responded Shield with a grunt.
"Oh, is the man grumpy?"
"Of course not! What makes you think that?"
"You can hold unto your sarcasm, I don't need it. Anything I can help you with?"
"Unless you can make my problems disappear, no."
"If I disappeared your problems where would the fun go? No, this is something you know you can accomplish, and if you do this you can stick it in everyone's eyes. They will see that you were right. Equestria needs Torchwood."
"Who are you? Really. Because that whole I am Sheogorath act is no longer working on me."
"It doesn't mater what my name is. Call me Loki if that's so important to you."
"But what's your real name?"
"Oh, I never use my real name. In fact, I can't seem to recall what my name is!"
"Yeah an I'm a new born baby. I don't believe you for a second."
Loki started losing gravity, for he started to float around. Snapping his fingers he changed into his red and purple clothes.
"Hot! I think I'm done!" Said Shield.
"No you're not! You still Need five more minutes!"
"Fine!" He yelled. A second later Fire Storm entered wearing only a towel around his waist. His body was scarred heavily in the front, with a long stitch starting from his belly button al the way to his left shoulder.
"Where's Princess Luna?" Asked his friend.
"Who?"
"Don't play dumb with me, I asked: Where is the princess?"
"Oh, our new boss, she's on her way back to Canterlot."
Loki reappeared, looking very smug.
"I don't think he believes you." Said the Master of Mischief.
"It's the truth Fire! What makes you think that I'm lying?" Said Shield to his friend
"For starters, her luggage is still here! Alongside with her chariot and her pegasi." Responded his flaming friend.
"Yeah, totally forgot about those." Said Shield under his breath.
"What did you do to her? I want the truth NOW!"
"It's nothing, I just shot her and her four guards." He said casually.
"Just attacked her and her guards! Are you insane? Do you have any idea of the amount of trouble you just put us in? Dammit what were you thinking of?"
"She threatened with telling the nobles, what was I supposed to do?"
"Let her tell them!"
"Not when the Precious are getting ready for war!"
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about Silver Platter buying nine mills and shooting me in Canterlot!"
Fire immediately dropped his head and pressed his hands unto his eyes. "Things can't get any better, can they?"
"No, there's no rest for the wicked."
"This isn't going to sit well. I know that you did the right thing, but couldn't you have told her about this?"
"Under what proof? I told you because you always believed in me and you've seen what they are capable of doing."
"Yeah, about that, I want to see the guns myself."
"Are you doubting me?" Scoffed Shield.
"Well, yes, you took too much for granted!"
"Fine! Lets go to my room and I'll show you."
Shield got up, exited the sauna box and changed his clothes. Fire did the same, and disappeared quickly. A minute later he was accompanied by Twilight and Rarity, looking very fresh.
"If you insist, follow me to my apartment, your luggage is already there." He headed for the elevator and called it. It was a very awkward moment, Twilight had hundreds of questions, but she felt that right now was not the right moment. She wanted to talk to Fire, who appeared to be kinder than Shield for a large stretch.
When the doors opened they were released into a very large living room. There were several cushions scattered around the place. The room was minimalistic, with little to no decoration. Everything hat was there had a function.
A small bell rang, and a lilac cocker spaniel burst from underneath a pillow. She had a long streak of pink in a mass of purple and was wearing a golden necklace with a tag that read: Zoe.
Shield dropped to one knee and started petting it. "How's my little girl? Of course you're good, of course, of course of course!" He said with a fake voice. The dog was completely restless, moving about every possible second.
A sharp whistle ran through the floor, and Zoe rushed away from Shield, dashing toward a woman with midnight blue hair streaked with light blue and silver. She was wearing a white shirt and a black skirt reaching up to her knees. Her feet were wearing black flats, and her legs had black nylon stockings.
She approached Shield, always putting one foot directly in front of the other.
"Hey Moon, how's it going?" He asked with a grin. She smiled back, although it looked faked. An instant later her hand dashed toward his face, slapping his right cheek.
"What was that For?" Asked Shield as he nursed his cheek.
"That was for taking Hawk away, you should have bloody well have known he was in exam week! Actually, I'm pretty sure you did that on purpose you cheeky bastard!" She then slapped him in the left cheek. "And that's for taking Saphira while she's having a fit!" Her accent marked her as coming from Trottingham. She attacked once more, but was immediately blocked by Shield's right hand.
"Not this time!" He said. She countered with a swift knee to his man purse.
Shield let out a scream of agony while holding his crotch.
"And that was for incinerating twenty five Diamond Dogs!" She said as her face burned with anger.
"That wasn't my... Fault." He said amidst gasps.
"You know it bloody well is, if you take that volatile drake while she's on therapy it becomes your problem.!"
"How did you find out?"
"It's simple, they told me while you were off playing tourist with the princess." Shute turned to Twilight and Rarity and immediately smiled.
"Well hello! I'm Moon Dancer, and you are Twilight Sparkle if I'm not mistaken. I remember inviting you to my party, fortunately, you didn't come, that was a nightmare." She said with joy. "But I am afraid I can't remember your name."
"I'm Rarity, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Said the seamstress.
"Of course! Rarity! How could I have forgotten you? I remember the dossier!"
"That's nice honey, but we need to get going, there's stuff to do..."said the Knight.
"Honey?" Asked a confused Twilight.
"Yeah, this woman here is my wife." He said in a tone that hinted sarcasm.
"You are married, you the scoundrel?" Asked Rarity.
"Of course not, who would ever be in love with him? I'm the one who acts as a mother to her brother and that drake." Responded Moon.
"So she comes with the nagging of a wife but without any of the benefits." He replied. This earned him a swift strike at his right cheek.
"So what are you doing here Shield, shouldn't you be with Luna?"
"No, she left for Canterlot, saying something about a meeting with those nobles."
"So why are you here?"
"Because this is my house?" He said with a mocking tone.
"I meant, why are you not somewhere else? Like the pub, with Thunder, or with your friends at the gas station, or murdering the local wildlife."
"Kill one out of control monsters and you'll never hear the end of it."
"That monster was a gryphon, and it went out of control because you kept pestering it!"
"Damn, for the last time, I'm sorry I kept poking it with a pointy stick!"
"That pointy stick was you're sword! And let's not forget the time you played toreador in Baltimare!"
"I'm out! Fire, come and see the evidence." Said Shield while dashing to a door with a sign that read: enter at own risk.
Inside this room was Shield's office, with this being the second floor, the floor below it was where he took consultations and jobs. This floor was more of a dojo, with several punching bags, sparring equipment and several bulls-eyes lined up.
Shield was somewhat of in a rush, as he showed Fire the pistols that had damaged him, including the beautiful hand gun he took from Silver. Twilight, Rarity and Moon just watched as he removed them from black suitcases labeled: evidence.
"So that's the problem. If the Precious are managing to get weapons I wonder what would happen with the rest of the families." Said Fire with a dark tone.
"This is just the tip of it, smuggling weapons isn't easy, so no sane smuggler would dare smuggle just five guns, they're used to bulks, it's the only way to make it worth the risk of getting caught." Said Shield
"But that makes no sense! Why should it be easier to smuggle large amounts of illegal products rather than just small amounts?" Asked Twilight
"I said it was more profitable. Some containers can be left unchecked if they have the right paperwork attached or are immune to our screening, but we always check everyone, no exceptions. If we catch someone it's the thousand year dungeon for them, but it's the same sentence in case they import enough to arm all of Equestria."
"So you mean that every single Precious could be part of this?"
"Totally. Those bastards have been discussing the needs for a revolution."
"And do you believe they are responsible for the attacks by he changelings?" Asked Rarity.
"Maybe, I don't think they hired the changelings, but I'm sure they lowered their guard on purpose."
"That's nonsense talk! Why would a Royal family seek to overthrow Celestia" asked Twilight. This was getting out of hand. Importing firearms was something, but accusing a Family of treason was completely different. "And what makes you think this was imported for malevolent reasons?"
"Have you ever seen one of these in action?"
"No."
Shield cocked one of them, pointed at a flesh-colored training dummy and unleashed a storm of bullets. Unlike the guns in Torchwood, these were far louder and left a trail of smoke. The dummy exploded, spilling red jam everywhere.
Both women let out a scream.
"Now tell me that is for peaceful solutions." He said coldly. "I have addled your minds enough for today, please go to your rooms, tomorrow we will return to Torchwood to train you. Last thing I want is two deadweights who don't have basic training."
Moon Dancer ushered them off, guiding them to the female dormitory. Like the Canterlot barracks, they were composed mainly of bunk beds. But they were left in one of the private rooms.
"I must apologize for his behavior, but Shield just wants to help you." Said Moon Dancer.
"Why does everyone apologize in his name?" Asked Rarity.
"Because he fails to see when he behaves like an idiot, which is usually always. Although I have to ask: what are you two doing here? I doubt you wanted to get dragged along with this."
"Of course we didn't want to be here. All I wanted was to decorate Princess Cadence's room, but Princess Celestia had something completely different in mind."
"Really? Let me take a wild guess, she wants you to help Shield become friendlier."
"In some sense, yes, she wanted us to turn his inanity down just a bit."
"Ha! That's new. Finally the Princess notices that her top servant has mental issues! I wonder what disaster she heard of."
"So the princess has never sent anyone on this task before?"
"Never, and he's had this condition in critical for a long time. I'm surprised she never noticed before."
"I'm sure she noticed, but never found someone who could do it."
"No, I bet she knew. It's impossible to not know that your most efficient servant has a severe case of the wierdies."
"Why do you call him a servant. He has told us that the Greys were considered out of the government."
"Yeah, but philosophically we have always been for Equestria. We are separate for legal reasons. If the nobles could use half of the damage he does as an excuse for anything, he would be so dead by now."
"Really, I don't suppose you could tell us something." Said Rarity tentatively.
"Not today. You really should rest, because that training is not going to be easy, trust me, I've been through that hell various times. But Shield is right, whatever the problem is, if you can't defend yourselves then you are only endangering the rest of us."
"But..."
"Good night, tomorrow I will wake you up at eight o'clock. I'll have a good breakfast going too!"