//------------------------------// // XXVIII - Port Mule's Most Wanted // Story: Mortal Coil // by Reeve //------------------------------// “I really don’t think this is going to work,” I said from beneath my helmet as Spoon Bender and I marched towards the city gates. “I already used this tactic in one of my previous missions; they’re bound to check their own guards.” “Trust me, I have never been checked,” Spoon assured me. “Even with my helmet on, these guys just don’t care enough to. Besides, they had this coming when they left a spare suit of armour in that hut.” The gate to Port Mule was now being guarded by six armoured ponies, three on each side; this didn’t seem to deter travellers however. The guards watched everypony closely as they walked in and out of the city, but one of them had his helmet off despite the light rain, and true to what Spoon Bender told me, he didn’t look like he was paying very close attention. As we approached the gate I was very glad for the weather turning, the last thing I needed was to get cooked inside Liberator armour a second time, that would not have been good if I was required to run or fight at any point, plus the rain gave me a good excuse to keep my helmet on. “Okay, now’s the moment of truth,” Spoon said, starting to sound worried now that we were about to carry out our plan. “I hope your acting is good.” “My acting is fine,” I whispered back before raising my voice just loud enough to sound casual. “So he charged me the full price after all, even after I showed him the voucher.” “Seriously?!” Spoon replied in false shock as we kept walking straight towards the gates. “Did you ask to see the manager?” “I did, but he just told me the same thing,” I told him as we began meandering through the ponies outside the gate. “Well of course I made a scene, told them they wouldn’t be receiving my patronage ever again.” “Did you get anywhere with that?” Spoon asked, giving a polite nod at the guards to our left as we passed between them. “No, they didn’t seem to care,” I said as we left the guards behind us, completely unaware. “I spent the entire evening looking for another cake shop that could manage the order on such short notice.” “Cake shop?” Spoon repeated once we were far enough from the gates that we could drop the act. “You were talking about a cake shop? I was picturing a green grocers.” “What kind of green grocers does orders that involve vouchers?” I asked in bewilderment. “You know… green grocers,” Spoon said weakly. “Anyway, let’s keep moving. The last thing I need is someone going up to the bridge and seeing I’m not at my post.” “You can head on now if you want,” I told him. “I should be able to make my own way from here.” “It’s okay, I’d like to make sure you get there without any trouble,” he replied, taking the lead before stopping short. “You didn’t actually tell me where we’re going.” “The Botanic District,” I lied simply. “Come on, I’ll lead the way.” “Where about exactly?” he pressed as we began walking. “I mean, if we get separated we can meet up there.” “You’ll see soon enough,” I told him. “Can’t risk anypony overhearing, you know how it is.” We began walking through the city, the whole way Spoon Bender stayed right by my side. I decided to take the same route I did when I first came here with Applejack, that meant travelling through the market place and out the other side to the streets that would take me to the Botanic District. Before we left the Merchant District I took a quick turn into a side street, Spoon Bender almost losing track of me before hurrying to catch up. “What are you doing?” Spoon asked. “I thought you said Botanic, it’s the other way.” “I know,” I replied. “But you should always take the most roundabout route to your destination. It’s a spy trick, helps throw off… tails.” “You think we’re being followed?” Spoon whispered to me, not looking back. “We can’t be too careful,” I told him. “Don’t forget that we’re going to a top secret Rebel hideout.” “Of course,” he replied eagerly, quickening his pace to match my own. “Still, you should slow down. It’ll look suspicious to anyone who sees us.” “Well if we are being pursued we wouldn’t want them catching up with us,” I pointed out, only picking up more speed. “Anyone who sees us will just assume we’re on our way to investigate some disturbance, this disguise really is wonderful like that.” “I suppose…” Spoon grumbled. We kept moving at a quick trot, Spoon trying desperately to keep up with my strides and sudden turns. We ended up running all across the Home District before we finally arrived in the Botanic District, only then did I finally slow my pace to a proper walk as we made our way down the wide street, passing by the ruined houses until we reached my old home. I hadn’t wanted to return here, but it was a matter of necessity, I needed someplace safe to return to and this was the only location that I knew would be suitable. “Here we are,” I said, stopping outside number forty-two. “You should feel very privileged, very few agents know of this location, and we’re only permitted to share it with ponies we trust completely.” “This is it?” he asked, looking over the burnt out shell. “This is where the Rebel leaders are hiding out?” “Yes, why don’t we both go on inside?” I suggested. “M… me too?” he stammered. “Of course, after how you helped me reach here,” I began, pushing the gate open. “I’m sure the boss will want to congratulate you personally.” “Well, alright…” he replied slowly, glancing back down the deserted street. “Expecting someone?” I asked in a sweet voice, smiling beneath my helmet. “Come on, if we stay out too long they’ll get suspicious. They might even make a run for it if they think we’re a threat.” “Oh, okay, let’s go now,” Spoon said quickly, following me through the gate and up the garden path. As I approached the house, I removed my helmet, allowing my hair to tumble out and settle before indicating to Spoon to do likewise. He took off his own helmet, quickly glancing back into the street before following me the last stretch to the front door. Once there I knocked three times, paused, then knocked twice before opening the door. I gave a small sigh as I looked around the old house again before making my way over to the parlour doors which lay wide open. Once inside I found the room almost exactly as I remembered it, although the fireplace looked like it hadn’t been lit in some time and Mashed Potato was nowhere to be seen. I briefly wondered what became of him, if he moved on or if the Liberators found and dealt with him. Spoon Bender walked up beside me, looking around the empty room, a look of agitation growing on his face. “So… where are they?” he asked, clearly struggling to keep his voice even. “Oh, they’re about,” I replied nonchalantly as I griped my helmet in my magic and wound it back. “About where?” he demanded, turning to face me only to receive a face full of metal as I swung the helmet through the air, smacking him right across the face. He was knocked to the ground, clutching his jaw and moaning loudly in pain. “Huh…” I muttered. “That usual knocks ponies out. Here, let me try again.” His eyes snapped open and stared up at me in fury before the helmet came crashing down a second time. Once he was unconscious, I striped his armour off, chucking it into the corner of the room with my own before dragging his body over to one of the armchairs and began tying him up, using a length of the rope we had recovered from the slavers back outside Pivot. While I waited for him to regain consciousness, I searched the house, making sure Mashed Potato wasn’t somewhere else, hiding from what looked like two Liberator guards marching up to the front door. I wasn’t surprised when he was nowhere to be found, I just hoped he was safe somewhere far away from Port Mule. When I returned to the parlour I was glad to see Spoon Bender coming around, I took the armchair opposite him and waited for him to regain his senses. It took a little longer than I expected, and I was forced to wait in the armchair the entire time. I wanted to stretch my legs, but I was worried that if I left he would wake up and I wouldn’t be there to sit and look in control. So I waited impatiently, and when he finally did come around properly and open his eyes to me sitting with one leg crossed over the other and my head leaning lazily against my foreleg, the result was considerably more anticlimactic than I had hoped. “Wha… Ha… muh…” Spoon mumbled in an incoherent voice, not staring straight. My shoulders slumped in disappointment as he shook his head and tried to clear his thoughts. “You?!” he exclaimed suddenly. “What did you do?!” “You know…” I began, getting as comfortable as I could in the armchair even though I could still feel that accursed spring jutting into my rump. “I was sure I knew you from somewhere, the moment I laid eyes on you I knew we had met before. At first I was convinced you were the pony guarding the temporary bridge when my friend and I went to cross it, it certainly seemed that way when you admitted to being posted there for a while, but then I realised… “You were the pony who came to the market that day,” I continued. “The one who tried to get me to join the Liberators, you said I looked like I could handle myself in a fight. I admit you’re a very good actor, you had me going for a while, that you really hated the Liberators and wanted to help the Rebellion, I didn’t even think to question it when you went outside for that very long toilet break. You weren’t posted at that bridge to protect it; you were waiting there for me to come by, weren’t you?” Spoon Bender was grinding his teeth in anger and struggling against his bonds. “You could have captured me then and there,” I told him, unable to help smiling at his frustration. “Even better, you could have had me captured at the city gates once I was outnumbered, but you were just too ambitious. You heard me say that I had to meet my superiors somewhere in the city and you thought you could capture us all in one fell swoop.” “I was going to make you pay!” he spat. “I was going to make you all pay for what you did to Commander Typhoon and the Dreadnaught!” “Oh, so you did know about that,” I replied, a little surprised. “It makes sense; you’re clearly quite devoted to your cause. So, you brought me into the city, but instead of taking me then and there, you tried to have me take you straight to Maverick’s doorstep. I saw those guards at the gate begin following us as soon as we started walking, you signalled them when you nodded, didn’t you? And is that what you were doing when you were off having that incredibly long pee, sending word ahead and letting them know about your brilliant plan to destroy the Rebellion? Well it was a real shame I took all those turns and walked so fast, by the time we got here your allies had already lost track of us.” “They’ll find you!” Spoon snapped. “They’ll come for me and they’ll find you.” “I’m sure they’ll come for you,” I agreed. “But by the time they find you here, I’ll be long gone. You really didn’t help yourself, being so insistent that you come with me to the hideout; I had doubts before that, but you pretty much gave yourself away at that point. So, before I go on my way and leave you here to be found, why don’t you tell me what the Liberators have been up to since my last visit, any new weapons of mass destruction?” “Like I’d tell you anything, Rebel sow!” he shouted back. “I should warn you,” I began in a sing song voice, for a moment I really was turning into Pinkie Pie. “I’ve killed a pony, well… more like a dozen ponies.” “Really? You’re going to threaten me?” Spoon said, laughing at the idea. “Sorry lady, but you’re a bit too stuck up and snobbish looking for me to take that seriously.” I hesitated, playing with the idea of living up to my threat, of sticking my knife into his hoof. He would probably talk then, once he was done screaming that was. Before I could do anything of the sort however, my eyes were drawn to a chip in the mantel of the fireplace, a chip that had been there long before this house was torn apart during the war. I had been just a small filly, playing ‘the floor is lava’ with the sofa cushions strewn across the floor. After one particularly powerful jump I sprung off the cushion I landed on, propelling myself into the fire place where my head collided with the stone mantel. My horn knocked a small chip out of it and I fell to the ground, screaming my head off. My mother rushed straight in, scooping me up and kissing my forehead better. She sat down on the sofa after replacing the cushions, with me still on her lap, there I lay curled up while she gently rubbed my head and sang softly until I drifted off to sleep in her embrace. I stared at the chip in the mantel for a long time, deaf to Spoon Bender's shouting while I relived the memory over and over again. Once my mother was in my head I couldn’t get her out again, and I couldn’t help but wonder what she would think of her little filly now, a murderer who was contemplating using torture to gain information from her prisoner. I tried very hard not to think about how my parents would see me if they knew the things I had done, but now I couldn’t stop myself. It was only when Spoon Bender shouted particularly loudly that I finally turned back to him. “About time you woke up…” he began before he saw the tears in my eyes, his anger switching to confusion in a second. “Call for help,” I muttered, making my way past him out of the parlour. “I won’t be here when it comes.” Without waiting for any kind of response, I entered the hallway and made my swift exit from the house. I made it all the way to the street before my shaking legs gave out beneath me and I became a sobbing wreck on the pavement. For what felt like forever, I sat there weeping in the rain, truly hating myself. Even when I heard Spoon Bender’s muffled shouts coming from within the house I still didn’t move, I just couldn’t find the motivation to get up and keep going. I heard the faint sound of clopping, approaching hoofsteps and I still didn’t look up, I heard no metal in those steps so I doubted it was a guard in their heavy armour. “Excuse me Miss,” a warm voice spoke in front of me. “Is something the matter?” Sniffing back my tears I craned my neck to see who was talking to me, and saw myself looking up at a lavender unicorn wearing in an old brown robe. “Twilight Sparkle?!” I exclaimed in amazement and no small amount of shock. Twilight gave a loud ‘eep’, leaping back from me, her eyes initially fearful before recognition began to dawn on her. “Uh… Rarity?” she asked, uncertain. “The dress maker from Canterlot?” “Yes,” I confirmed as I stood up, my previous thoughts temporarily vacating my mind. “What in the name of Celestia are you doing here?!” “Well, the thing about that is…” Twilight replied nervously, glancing up and down the street to make sure it was deserted before she leapt forward. I instinctively stepped back from her, but not before her outstretched hoof grabbed hold of mine and her horn flashed with a brilliant purple light. The teleportation was just as I remembered it being when I was in the Tower back at Arclight, a brief second in which I could neither see nor feel my own body, and when the light faded my surroundings had shifted. This time when the light faded I found myself in a neat little bedroom, complete with a single bed, ensuite bathroom and window that looked out over the Horseshoe Bay. “Where are we?” I asked in bewilderment as Twilight began pacing back and forth across the room. “My safe house…” Twilight replied quickly before flinching. “Actually, forget I said that! Oh, it’s just my luck that I run into the one pony in Port Mule who’d recognise me.” “Aren’t you pretty famous?” I asked, but Twilight seemed too lost in her own dilemma to acknowledge what I was saying. “And now I have to deal with you so you don’t tell anypony you saw me,” she said, more to herself than to me. “D… deal with me?!” I stammered, backing up from the other unicorn who turned to face me. “Could you please not tell anypony you saw me today?” she asked, giving a wide, strained smile to which I just stared back in mild fear. “Oh it’s no use; I told Princess Celestia she was sending the wrong mare for this.” “The Princess?” I repeated. “Twilight, what’s going on? Don’t you realise how dangerous Mule is for you?” Twilight glanced back at me, now she was the one who looked surprised. “Oh, uh, don’t worry about me,” she tried to assure me, although I could tell she was just trying to take the focus off her. “But what about you? Don’t act like I didn’t just see you crying in the street.” “Oh, that,” I murmured, trying to look away from her even though I was sure my eyes were still bloodshot. “It’s… personal.” “If you’re sure,” Twilight replied uncertainly. “But I’m here to help even if you need me, I know we don’t exactly know each other beyond a single brief meeting, but you’d be surprised how often I have to help other ponies through their problems.” “In your position, that doesn’t surprise me at all,” I told her, contemplating the idea. Perhaps talking to somepony who had no knowledge of all that had happened was exactly what I needed to help clear my head. “Well…” I began slowly. “As I said, it’s rather personal but… The thing is, ever since I came back to Panchea I’ve… done some things that I’m not proud of. Sometimes I did them out of necessity, other times…” Twilight stopped me by putting her foreleg around my shoulders and leading me over to the bed where she sat me down, placing a pre-emptive box of tissues between us. “Thank you, but I think I’ve cried myself out for today,” I said with a humourless laugh. “I’ve been telling myself that it’s all for the right reasons, for the greater good, but recently I started thinking about what my family would think of me if they knew. Once the thought was in my head I couldn’t get it out, and I… But then you came by, it was kind of hard not to lose track of my thoughts after that.” “Well I’m glad my screw up did some good for one of us,” Twilight replied with a weak smile. “So you’ve done some things, and you’re worried about what your parents will think about you.” I nodded as Twilight contemplated the situation briefly. “But you also said that you did it out of necessity,” Twilight continued. “That you believed it was the right thing to do.” “Sometimes,” I reminded her. “I wish I could say I never had a choice.” “You can’t always make the right choices though,” Twilight pointed out. “You’re going to make decisions that you’ll come to regret, everypony does, but if you go into those decision with the best intention, and feel that very regret when they go badly, then you’re still a good pony at heart. I know it’s hard to see right now, but I’m sure whatever it is you did, given time you’ll come to terms with it. And you shouldn’t worry about what your family will think of you, if they love you, they’ll understand and accept you no matter what mistakes you make.” I grabbed a tissue for good measure after that, sitting in silence while Twilight’s words sank rang in my head. “Thank you,” I said quietly. “I really do make the most wonderful friends.” “Friends?” Twilight repeated with no small amount of shock. “You consider me… a friend?” “Well of course,” I replied casually. “Only a friend would sit and listen to another pony’s problems and show genuine care.” I dabbed my eyes with the tissues while Twilight sat in silence, while I waited for her to respond, I thought back to our last meeting. I remembered how embarrassed I was at making a fool of myself in front of her, I remembered her complementing my talent at dress making, and I also remember how put down she was when I treated her differently upon learning of her status. She had said it herself, how her position made it difficult to find friends, the idea that I had just called her one must have been mind-blowing. “I… I don’t know what to say,” Twilight stammered. “Um… thank you! I think.” I couldn’t help but explode into a fit of laughter at that, all my previous worries forgotten as I fell back onto the bed and rolled around, giggling my head off. Twilight turned bright red, screwing up her face in annoyance which didn’t last long; very quickly her own laughter sputtered out and took over. Once we had finally calmed down, I just lay there getting my breath back, I felt so at peace with my new friend that all notion of secrecy vacated my mind and my next words ended up being very stupid. “I need to get back to Maverick soon,” I mumbled to myself. “I’ve wasted too much time already.” “Maverick?” Twilight repeated, causing my eyes to snap open in horror at what I had just said. “You don’t mean… the leader of the Rebellion, Maverick?” “Uh…” I droned, my mind too relaxed to come up with a convincing lie. “You do mean him!” Twilight exclaimed, I couldn’t tell whether she was angry or not. “So you’re a Rebel soldier… wait, you’re not a Liberator are you?!” “Of course I’m not,” I insisted quickly. “I lived in Equestria for two years; I would never help those maniacs. Also I’m not a soldier…” “Well, what are you?” Twilight pressed. “Because I very much doubt Maverick meets up with general supporters.” “I’m an… agent,” I replied awkwardly. “Sort of… it’s part time.” “I really didn’t take you for an agent,” Twilight told me, raising an eyebrow. “No offence, you just don’t strike me as the type.” “Well I’m nothing officially,” I explained. “I just helped with a couple important missions, I don’t even really care about the Rebellion or its goals, I just want to bring an end to all the fighting.” “Really…” Twilight replied thoughtfully. “Like you wouldn’t believe how close the Liberators were to declaring all-out war on Equestria until I helped stop them,” I continued, all sense apparently leaving me as I continued to divulge information to Twilight. “It’s actually the reason the entire Liberator army is out for my head right now, it was a real pain trying to get back into the city.” “This is… very interesting,” Twilight said slowly. “So you’re now a Rebel agent, as in you have direct contact with Maverick and the other leaders.” “It’s just Maverick now,” I explained. “The other leaders all split off, it’s actually Typhoon who leads the Liberators.” “Ah, I see,” Twilight replied. “Needless to say, Equestrian intelligence is practically non-existent in Panchea following the war; we’re a little sketchy on everything that’s been happening since we surrendered.” “Well, I am in contact with Maverick,” I continued. “He was the one who tasked me with helping to stop the Liberators.” “So the Rebels and the Liberators are enemies?” Twilight asked. “As in, the Rebels don’t also want to take over Equestria?” “On the contrary, Maverick told me he wanted to form an alliance with Equestria in the near future,” I informed her. “Is that so?” Twilight said, beaming. “This is perfect, the Princess and I wish for the same thing. Oh… but that makes my mission all the more important.” “Your mission?” I repeated curiously. “Why exactly are you here? And in Port Mule of all places? If the Liberators found you here, you’d be in serious trouble.” “I’m aware, but my mission is too important,” Twilight explained. “Especially if an alliance is ever going to work out in the future. Tell me Rarity, since you’re in the Rebellion, have you ever heard of the Solar Empire?” “I… don’t know, I’ve never heard that name before,” I replied honestly. “They are a group, made up of rogue Equestrian agents,” Twilight continued. “Some ponies didn’t like the fact that Princess Celestia surrendered the war, they felt losing Panchea would only be the first step in Equestria losing its global power and influence. So a number of them banded together and have been working undercover here to retake Panchea for the Equestrian Empire. Think of them like the Equestrian equivalent of the Liberators, and like the Liberators, if they succeed in their mission or even attempt to put it into action, it could destroy any hope of our countries becoming allies in the future.” “So you’re here to put a stop to them?” I asked. “They must be a serious threat if the Princess would send her closest advisor to deal with it.” “They really are,” Twilight confirmed. “And while we know they are being led by members of the Princess’s court and government, we haven’t been able to identify who exactly, where they operate or what their plan is. So my job was to travel here in secret, identify the rogue agents and have them captured and returned to Equestria for trial. I’ve been here for a week now and not only have I made absolutely no progress; I’ve also been identified by your good self, making my most secret mission not so secret. Like I said, I am the worst pony for this job.” “Don’t be like that,” I said, trying to comfort her. “The Princess must have believed you were the best pony for the job, and sure it might not be secret anymore, but maybe that’s a good thing. I’m surprised Maverick and the others don’t know about this Solar Empire, but I’m sure it would be in their best interest to help you stop them.” “I was actually thinking the same thing when you revealed you were working with them,” Twilight admitted. “I just don’t know this country or this city as well as you would, I don’t think I can do it on my own.” “Well then today is your lucky day,” I told her. “Because as your friend I will not let you undergo this mission alone.” “Thanks Rarity,” Twilight replied before jokingly adding. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen any rogue Equestria agents wandering about Port Mule, have you?” We both shared a laugh, although I very quickly cut off as a memory began to surface and my eyes went wide. “By Celestia, I actually have!” I exclaimed. “Wait, seriously?!” Twilight replied, equally shocked. “I was just joking when I asked that.” “It was a while back,” I explained. “After my first mission for Maverick, I was returning to the hideout when I saw a pony I knew. His name was Feather Duster and he was a sailor on the ship that transported me back to Panchea from Equestria.” “A sailor on the Siren?” Twilight repeated. “In Port Mule? That can’t be right, those ships were supposed to dock and drop the passengers off at Daybreak Landing.” “It did, which is why I found it so weird that he was here in Mule,” I continued. “And he was even acting like he didn’t want to be seen. I was curious as to why he was here so I followed him to a random house in the Home District.” “Rarity, do you know what this could mean?!” Twilight asked, her voice brimming with excitement. “If Feather Duster is one of the rogue agents, then you might have just discovered one of their hideouts!” I was left reeling after that possibility, the idea that I had accidentally stumbled upon an enemy faction’s headquarters and identified one of their agents, but that had been over a week ago, and this was Feather duster we were talking about. I just couldn’t believe that that friendly deck hand could be part of a secret group plotting to take over Panchea, but then I remembered my final interactions with him. He turned back to me, looking as if he wanted to say something important, in my foolishness I assumed he was going to confess some feelings for me, but what if it had been something more serious he wanted to confess to… to warn me about? “We should go meet Maverick,” I said. “He’ll help us deal with this, and I have other important business to bring to his attention.” Twilight bit her lip, hesitating. “Is something wrong?” I asked. “It’s just… this is my first lead,” she explained. “I really don’t want to risk losing it by waiting too long.” “No, I understand that,” I replied. “Fine then, we’ll head to the house now and take care of it ourselves.” “Are you sure?” Twilight asked, still a little uncertain. “It’s okay if you want to get reinforcements.” “No, it should be fine,” I assured her. “I mean, you’re only the most powerful mage in Equestria and I’ve gotten pretty good with this sword.” “If you’re sure you don’t mind,” Twilight said with a single nod. “Then lead the way Rarity.”