Her room is indeed still set up. After an enthusiastic hug and joyful greeting, Rosie takes her up. Everything's exactly as she left it, including the piles of printed legal notes she was obsessively consulting before her trial. She quickly takes these up in her magic and dumps them in the recycling. Only one thing has changed: small plush dolls of her five pony friends now sit on the floor next to her sleeping bag.
"I thought you might be missing them," Rosie says, "and it was the best I could do." Twilight nuzzles up against her.
"Thanks, they're great. How are things here?"
"I'm afraid I'm dead tired. It's been a long day, and none of my current staff are as good as you. Any chance I'm getting you back?"
"Of course," Twilight says, "I have to earn my luxurious room somehow." Rosie laughs. "And I hear I'm your secret weapon."
"Well, not so secret anymore. I've got some ideas. But we can talk about that in the morning. Now that you're back I can sleep easy, if you don't mind. I was just on my way to bed when you got here." Twilight nods.
"I'm heading out too," AJ says, "I've got an early morning tomorrow. Thanks for listening to my stories all night." Twilight smiles and shakes her head. "I'll see you soon."
She hugs both women, then they take their leave, and she fetches the tablet. After weeks in bed, and napping away the afternoon, she hardly feels tired. Mostly she feels energized, and eager to try to track down their attacker from earlier. She opens with her usual strategy: make a checklist. After she sets it down, item one is clear: talk to RD.
Recently she's discovered the wonders of the police scanner, available via the web. She pulls it up, hoping to hear her friend's distinctive voice reporting a location. She's in luck, and before long, Rachel reports patrolling in Cambridgeport, not far from the bar. With a flash of magenta, she's on the roof, then takes to the city air, heading towards the river. Before long, she sees a patrol car below her, and swoops low enough to make out the number. Eleven - it's Rachel's. She's stopped at the side of the road, but her lights aren't on and there's no one in the area; probably waiting for orders or setting a speed trap. Twilight descends and alights next to the car and peers in the driver's side window. RD is looking away from her, so she raps lightly on the window with her hoof.
Rachel spins, surprised, her hand moving to her side, then relaxes when she sees Twilight. She lowers the window.
"Hey there," she says, "I didn't know you were coming back tonight."
"AJ didn't want to call since you were on duty,' Twilight replies, "but I've done enough sleeping lately, and she and Rosie have early mornings. Got some time to talk?"
"I'm not really supposed to let civilians in the car," she says, "have you broken any laws lately?"
"Well I'm not really a civilian," Twilight says, "the Princesses are joint commanders of the Guard. And I'd say my presence in this neighborhood is clearly suspicious in any case."
"A foreign soldier with mysterious powers out after 10pm on a weeknight? Yeah, I'm gonna have to take you into custody, you're clearly up to no good."
Rachel opens the passenger door. Twilight teleports in and closes it.
"Show-off," RD mutters. "So what's up? How was the farm?"
"Beautiful. Fiona and I had a lovely walk up the mountain. I'm glad I got to talk to her a bit more, she seems very nice. And very well-read. I picked up a good suggestion for my reading list."
Rachel laughs. "Yeah, you two are both hopeless nerds. Shocking that you hit it off. So you came and found me for contrast?"
Twilight smiles back. "That too. But I'm also hoping you'll help me look into the attack."
"Hey now, I told you, that's not our department, it's the Boston police looking into it."
"Sure, but what's wrong with me looking into it too? They don't have all my skills."
"Gee," Rachel rolls her eyes, "I can't imagine why it might be a bad idea to look for the people who tried to shoot you."
"I have all my magic back now, and I'll be alert. I can handle it."
"I know you were a big damn hero in Equestria, but that's not how we do things here. I could get in big trouble."
"That's fair, I wouldn't want you to lose your job for me. I'll look into it myself." Twilight opens the door with her magic.
"Hold on," Rachel puts her hand on Twilight's barrel, "I didn't say no. If you're going to do it, I'm not going to let you do it alone. But it's risky, is all." Twilight closes the door again.
"I'm used to risk, Rachel. I know you only saw it in cartoon form, but Discord and Nightmare Moon were terrifying. I'm not saying human weapons aren't, the amount of power you people can throw around with hidden weapons is shocking, but I've faced danger before. Besides, I'm going to start working at Rosie's again. If I don't look for them, it won't stop them looking for me."
"You're right," Rachel says, "I don't like it much, but you're right. I'm in. What's the plan?"
Twilight smiles. "Well, first--"
She's cut off by the radio. She can't really make out what the dispatcher's saying between the poor reception and the police codes, but RD curses and presses the talk button.
"Ten-four, en route now," she says, turns on the squad car's lights, and starts driving.
"Stay in or get out, but someone just pressed the panic button at the Harvard Square 7-11, which usually means armed robbery in progress. I'm not sure we can get there in time to catch them in the act, but I'm gonna try."
"Harvard Square?" Twilight frowns, "Rosie's bar is right there, I know that 7-11. I can take us, if you don't mind leaving the car behind."
Rachel thinks hard for a minute, then brakes hard, takes the key out, and puts on her portable radio.
"I'm taking a shortcut on foot," she says to the dispatcher, ignoring the confused reply. "Ok Twilight, let's see what you've got."
Twilight puts a hoof on her leg, and they vanish in a burst of light.
"Whoa," Rachel finds herself still sitting, but now unsupported in midair. She almost falls, but catches herself with her hands. "Next time, let me stand up first."
"Oh," Twilight giggles, "right, sorry."
They're less than a hundred feet from the convenience store now, though at this angle they can't see in through the window, so don't know if they're in time. RD radios in that she's arrived, once again not bothering with the questions. Twilight sets off towards the store at a brisk pace.
"Twilight," Rachel whispers, "we need to be careful, they're likely armed."
"Don't worry," Twilight whispers back, "I've already got the shield up."
"There might be civilians in there! How many can you do at once?"
"Three or four."
"What if there are more targets than that?"
"Then I'll put the shields around the guns."
Rachel shakes her head, but Twilight isn't stopping, and there's no more time to argue. They turn the corner and now have line of sight in the window. A masked human (Twilight is pretty sure a male) is holding a handgun to the employee, who's dumping cash out of the register into a bank deposit envelope. Twilight lets RD get a bit ahead of her, and she hears the human murmuring something into her radio. Then she looks back at Twilight, who nods encouragingly. Rachel pushes in the door, Twilight right behind her.
"Stop right there," Rachel says, flashing her badge, gun in her other hand "you're under arrest."
The attacker turns to look at her.
"Yeah, right. What the fuck is this? I'm gonna take this money, and then I'm leaving, and I'm taking this guy with me. In ten minutes I'll send him back safe. Otherwise, he won't be safe at all. You understand me, pig?"
Twilight moves in to the doorway beside her, horn glowing brightly.
"Your backup is that fucking purple unicorn robot? I know I'm small time, but come on."
"Laugh it up," Rachel growls, walking towards him, "but I wouldn't try to do anything with that gun but drop it, if I were you."
"Hey, what the-" the clerk starts, but is cut off by the robber.
"Fuck you." He quickly turns the gun to Rachel and pulls the trigger.
It's one of the strangest and grossest things Twilight has ever seen, and she winces. The invisible shield surrounding his gun and the hand holding it stops the bullet dead as soon as it leaves the barrel, as she intended. But she hasn't figured on the differences between a physical projectile and a blast of unicorn magic. Fragments of the shattered bullet ricochet inside the shield, carrying all the lethal force of the shot into the robber's hand. He lets out a piercing scream, and the invisible bubble becomes a lurid crimson, the inside painted with blood.
"Oh, buck," Twilight says, and drops the shield. The robber's hand is shredded and covered in blood, and falls limp to his side. She doesn't want to look at it, but can't look away. The gun hits the floor with a thud.
"We need a paramedic here," Rachel says into her radio, "the perp's weapon misfired, I have him in custody." It isn't quite true, but he's staring at his hand, shaking like a leaf. She moves over to him and reads him his rights. The counter attendant is staring at Twilight. He also looks like he can barely stay on his feet.
"I didn't mean to do that," she says.
"Thanks anyway," he replies, and sits down heavily behind the counter.
Twilight and Rachel trudge up the stairs to her room, exhausted. The sky is already beginning to grow lighter with the dawn.
The police asked Twilight a lot of questions, but in the end, as Rachel had expected, it seems like she won't be in any trouble. They're highly sympathetic to the rescue of one of their own, and there's nothing on the books about uses of unicorn magic in self-defense.
Still, Twilight feels awful, and exhausted by the whole affair.
"Thanks for believing in me," she says, for at least the third time, "and sorry I messed the shield up."
"Hey come on," Rachel says, "I know you've got my back. And I've got yours. And I get you didn't mean to do that, but he chose to shoot that gun at me. He was trying to do a hell of a lot more than cut up my hand. You saved me, and he got off easy. If I'd had a human partner with me, they'd have shot to kill, no questions. So chin up there. You did good."
"Thanks," Twilight nuzzles her side. "I've seen plenty of fighting, you know, but it's really rare that unicorns cast to kill. It's far more effort, for one thing, and, well...magic is about making what you want true in the world. Ponies that want other ponies to die tend to pay a price for it."
"So do humans," Rachel says, "I've talked to some veterans. And some older cops, too."
"Well, I think we'll be paying a price soon, if we don't go to bed." Twilight wants, on some level, to talk to Rachel about where she might be in ten yeas, the price she might pay. But it can wait, she thinks, until they're not so beat.
"Yeah, you're right." Rachel holds out a closed fist, and Twilight obligingly bumps it. "You did good there, Princess. I think you're right. We can find those guys who went after you. I'll look into it first thing after I get up."
"Look into it in the police files? That sounds like it might get you in trouble."
Rachel shrugs. "Worth it. Like I said, I've got your back." Twilight nuzzles her again. "Besides," Rachel continues, stroking Twilight's mane gently, "even I've got enough of a six-year-old left that I can't say no to a damn purple pony. Goodnight."
She turns down the stairs, and Twilight giggles. She opens the door and walks into her room.
"Good evening, girls," she says to the plush figures beside the desk, then crawls into the bedroll. Just before she passes out, she feels something land to her side. Curious, she opens her eyes wearily. The Rainbow Dash plush has somehow fallen off the desk and is lying beside her.
With a shrug, she wraps it up in her forelegs, and promptly falls asleep.
When she wakes, it's gloriously warm and cozy. Her forelegs are still wrapped around the plush, but it feels hot and soft and larger than she remembers. One of its wings is tickling her nose, and she swears she feels the feathers.
Then she feels her cuddle buddy's steady breathing, and her eyes snap open. Rainbow Dash is still wrapped in her forelegs - but she's not plush at all.