As I made my way down through the long passageway I began to feel uneasy. This corridor offered nothing in the way of cover. It was completely straight and a bit narrower than I would’ve liked. No deviations save for the rare left or right turn but all one path, nonetheless.
This is reckless. More reckless than you usually are.
“It’s not like I have much choice. If I want to find this girl I need to know where she’s gone and I know she’s gone down here,” I said, fighting with the voice in my head in an attempt to both steel my resolve and calm my nerves.
You won’t be much help to her if you end up dead in a secret tunnel under Canterlot.
“Yea, and I won’t be much help to her if I just go home and hope for the best. We both know I don’t operate like that,” I came to a corner and slowly peeked my head around making sure the coast was clear before moving on. “Besides, if we’re gonna get paid then we’ve got to do all we can find her.”
You’re doing this job for free, you idiot.
“Then there’s much less to worry about if I die. No pony will be upset that I didn’t finish the job.”
Satisfied that I had silenced the voice in my head, I peeked around another corner. Still no pony in sight but there was a light coming from down the tunnel but something wasn’t right. I let my horn go out, waiting and watching. After a moment I figured out what had caught my eye. The light was moving. And much to my dismay, it was moving toward me.
I had to act quickly. If I didn’t want to backtrack and lose all this time I’d have to try something that even I had trouble mastering. I backed into the corner nearest me, seeing the torch swaying as it moved my way and concentrated for all I was worth, my horn glowing a black color. After a moment the magic aura grew and began to envelope my body. As the light neared me, the spell completed and I hugged the wall remaining perfectly still.
“I’m telling you, she’s not worth the trouble. Do you know how long it’s been since our order had to use these Celestia forsaken tunnels?” His voice sounded old but cultured.
The second colt sighed, “Yes, I’m aware of how long it’s been. You tell me every chance you get.” He had pronounced ‘been’ like ‘bean’ which made me roll my eyes. Yea, these guys were of a very rich and cultured standing.
As they rounded the corner and passed as close to me as they would come I held my breath. If they had looked directly at me they would’ve like seen nothing more than a shimmer. This was a very special spell Twilight Sparkle had taught me, though only after much begging. She had warned me that it would only work if I remained completely motionless and had mentioned something about me not using it to spy on others. I had told her it would be for emergencies only, which wasn’t a lie.
I had used this spell three times in my career. Four, now. Each time I was certain my life would have ended if I hadn’t had it to rely on. Though this time wasn’t exactly life or death for me, it meant being able to continue my hunt for somepony who may be in real peril.
As the two colts turned the corner the older colt stopped. My heart stopped with him.
“I say, what is that smell?”
The other colt laughed. “The smell of a dank tunnel that hasn’t ‘bean’ used in ages.”
Their pretentious laughter carried them onward and I finally let my breath out. What did he mean by the smell!? I waited for them to move a little farther down the tunnel before I dove for the wall in the direction that had come from, becoming visible at the same time. I peeked around the corner and watched them walk away for another moment before I turned and headed up the tunnel. I kept my horn light low and moved a little faster.
What did that colt mean by Order? It’s been a long time since you’ve heard of any secret societies around.
In an attempt to keep my noise to a minimum I fought back with my mind, in my mind. Well, they are secret societies. Normal folks like myself aren’t meant to know about them.
So? That didn’t stop you from knowing about all the previous ones.
I was in most of the previous ones.
Yea, but secret societies don’t just happen overnight. These ponies have a code. A plan. A final solution. How’re you going to get yourself in and not make it obvious why you’re there?
Well, I’m going to continue to be a super spy, probably knock out several guards and rescue the damsel in distress.
You’re such a romantic. It’s going to get you killed.
There are worse ways to go out.
I reached what appeared to be the end of the tunnel. Moving slowly, with my horn as dim as I could make it, I tested the trap door above me. It gave way easy enough. I pushed it up and looked around. No pony in sight, but where was I?
I stepped from the trap door and closed it gently; looking around at the extravagant house I now stood in. The furniture was neat and clean. The floor was covered with ornate rugs. The drapes looked exquisite. There was a fire roaring in the fireplace across from me. Whoever owned this place was beyond rich. This made sense given the rich accents the colts in the passage way had had.
I moved to my right and looked out the nearby window. I could see nearly all of Canterlot. But if I was above everything in town that meant that I was..
You’re in the castle, genius.
Yes, I was in the castle. This job had already thrown me for a loop, with my target singing right in front of me, but this was a different situation entirely. I wasn’t prepared for this magnitude of a case. I backed away from the window and looked to the only door leading out of the room.
Too late to back out now.
The hell it is.
I moved toward the door and looked around in the hallway. The lights were on since it was night time, which would make this a bit of a challenge. I began to slink down the hall. Ducking into rooms here and there, making sure no guards had a chance to sneak up on me.
I don’t exactly know what I was looking for but I felt certain my intuition would kick in when I needed it to.
As I approached another door I recognized something about it. The symbol emblazoned on the door matched the cutie mark of one of the colts I had seen in the tunnel. I turned the knob slowly, expecting a lock. With a little luck on my side, I slipped inside the unlocked door.
I immediately approached the desk. Who was this pony? What did he want with Octavia? I rummaged through papers on the desk, finding nothing of glaring interest. As I searched it became clear just who I was dealing with. This colt was the one who had taken over when Shining Armor had gone on his honeymoon. This was the office of the captain of the guard.
You’re in way over your head on this one.
Looking through the drawers and files I finally found something useful in the trash can, of all places. It was a torn note. I apparently held the right side of the note in my hoof. “…ving …via …geons …’ll talk soon.” It was signed by somepony named Red.
I pocketed the note and felt it was time to be making my exit from the castle. I hustled back down the hallway to the room that contained the trap door. Barring another run-in in the hallway I could make my way out and be checking into a hotel just as Celestia got to work bringing the sun up.
As I moved back through the tunnel I had another argument with myself.
You’re going to need help with this.
No, I won’t. I’ve never needed help.
Tell that to Rainbow.
Rainbow would tell you the same thing. She washed her hooves of me the last time.
You really expect her to stay away if you told her what you’ve found?
I haven’t found anything yet. Some garbage and a secret tunnel isn’t enough to warrant a full scale assault.
Listen to you. Rationalizing being away from the one pony you ever loved. You know she’d be right on your tail if she knew where you were right now.
Yea, well, she doesn’t and she isn’t. And if I can help it, that’s the way it will stay. I won’t have a repeat of last time. Never again.
You’re such a nice colt. Just remember, there’s always Las Pegasus.
I shook my head as I left the other side of the tunnel. Just at the mention I knew Las Pegasus would plague my dreams that night. Sneaking back onto the street and walking to the nearest hotel, I checked in and went to crash. It had been a long night and I needed to collect my thoughts.
As I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling, I felt a pang of guilt. Las Pegasus. I would never live that down. Rainbow had long since forgiven me but I couldn’t forgive myself. Never again could I bring a partner on a job. Not after her.
I drifted into a troubled sleep, plagued by dreams of what could have been.