//------------------------------// // Asking Nicely // Story: The Kingpin // by ocalhoun //------------------------------// Chapter 16 – Asking Nicely “Do you really think talking to the crusaders again will help?” Did Pinkie really think asking that again would help? The bright morning sun cut into Twilight's eyes cruelly, and she sagged. Her hair seemed to have wilted under the pressure of the frustrating, sleepless night. “I'm not going to be asking them nicely this time, Pinkie.” Pinkie stopped trotting along for a moment and stood still, staring off into space. She blinked, then stared some more. Twilight glanced back at her. “Oh.” With a shake of her head, Pinkie burst into her unique bouncing gait. “Okay!” Shaking her own head, Twilight also continued on. Fortunately, it wasn't much further. Even more fortunately, Pinkie hadn't even begun her 'are were there yet?' phase. Through the leaves ahead, she spotted the Crusader Clubhouse, perched in its tree. The ramp was raised, but she could catch glimpses of movement inside. Thankfully, the raised ramp would pose little difficulty to an alicorn princess/investigator. With a violet flash, both her and Pinkie stood in the center of the clubhouse, among the crusaders. In the following moments, a great many things happened. The Crusaders, Pinkie – everyone except Twilight – screamed out in panic. Hooves flew. Sheets were hastily thrown over secret projects. Posters disappeared from the wall. A live mongoose disappeared without a trace. “Cover plan alpha!” someone cried. Excuses were yelled out. Throughout it all, Twilight calmly observed. The screaming subsided and the dust settled, revealing the three Crusaders ever so calmly enjoying a bit of tea. Sweetie Belle took a slow, leisurely sip. “Is there something we can help you with, Twilight?” Twilight's eyebrow slowly rose. Apple Bloom took a moment to drop an extra cube of sugar into her tea. Pinkie asked, “Oh, can I have some too?” Scootaloo stared at her. “No.” That was enough farce for one day, Twilight decided... and it wasn't even time for breakfast yet! With a burst of telekinetic might, she swept the tea service off of the table, flipped the tablecloth up, and yanked three screaming fillies up by their tails. What had for a few moments looked to be a table was actually four crates pushed together. Their labels read, 'Salt: Dodge Junction Red, 200K'. Twilight smirked at her three hapless victims. “An underground salt ring, hm? Scootaloo, what would your mother think?” Scootaloo blew her a raspberry. The other two hung silently. Pinkie gasped. All semblance of mirth vanished from Twilight's face, leaving the stern visage of impending doom. All three Crusaders cringed. Twilight glared at them. “We know that the candy theft was perpetrated by organized crime. We know you know more about it than you're telling us. We know you're going to help us find their leader. And do you know why?” The three fillies shook their heads. “Because in exchange, I'm going to offer you immunity. Which means you won't get punished for this illegal salt operation of yours.” The Crusaders glanced at each other for a moment, then exploded into wild speculation. “The Spa ponies? Fluffle Puff?” Scootaloo offered. “The Cake twins?” Sweetie Belle said. “That's just silly.” Apple Bloom shook her head. “Oh, Ah bet it was Twilight!” Twilight's eyebrow arched. “I would know if it was me.” “Oh, right.” Apple Bloom tapped her chin. “What about Mayor Mare, or Vinyl Scratch?” “We're already investigating them,” Pinkie chimed in. “Snickerdoodle?” Scootaloo stuck her tongue out slightly, evidently in deep thought. “Diamond Tiara?” That brought on a bout of silence. All three of them froze, their eyes widening. “Yep! It's definitely Diamond Tiara,” all three of them shouted in unison. Twilight covered her face with a hoof. “Girls, I'm not interested in getting involved in your private grudges.” “But it's totally got to be her behind it all!” Scootaloo hovered in the air for a moment. “She's always sneaking around and doing nasty things!” “Ah've seen her doin' it! Caught her red-hoofed!” Twilight spared Apple Bloom a critical stare. “You caught her doing what, exactly?” “Schemin'.” Twilight groaned. “I saw her, too!” Scootaloo shot her hoof up. “She was definitely scheming.” “Me too!” Sweetie Belle jumped up. “You were scheming, too?” Twilight asked. “No no no. I saw her scheming!” The smile on Sweetie Belle's face was moving, no matter how biased the accusations were. “Well, that just about proves it,” Pinkie concluded. “Diamond Tiara is behind it all!” “No, it doesn't prove it!” Twilight whirled to face her partner. “It doesn't prove anything! It's just a bunch of wild accusations based on personal grudges between schoolfillies.” She put her hoof down forcefully. “If you're going to have accusations like this, you have to back them up with evidence and facts!” “Okay!” Pinkie jumped toward the door. “Let's go to Filthy's and get that evidence!” “Pinkie!” Twilight rushed to grab her, but she was no match for her friend's hyperactive speed. Pinkie dashed out through the door. There was a scream, a thud, and an “Ow!” as the ramp forcefully reminded her of it's upness, and then a pink blur disappeared in the direction of Ponyville. Before following her, Twilight gave one parting glare to the Crusaders. “This had better not be a false lead.”