Chapter Three - A higher cadence
Narrow, along with her deputy, Straight, looked as Midnight read the file she had been given. While she hadn’t shown much emotion as far as facial reactions go, her eyes blazed with righteous anger.
“So, you think you can handle this job?” Captain Narrow asked. “This isn’t Canterlot, we have to deal with real problems here, not some jokester god who gets put down by smiles and rainbows!”
She’d read about this case already, but the file she held contained greater details on the foalnappings that had been occurring for the last couple of months. It had started out as a few homeless kids going missing, so at first, nopony blinked an eye... but it soon escalated and most recently, a half dozen foals were taken from a local school.
“I’ll make sure I find the bastard that’s doing this,” she replied. “What do we have so far on them?”
“Well, we’re guessing that the foals are still alive. It’s been a while since this all started and we’ve yet to find a single body, so we’re guessing a smuggling racket,” Narrow said as she motioned to a whiteboard with newspaper clippings and police files. “At first the local police were handling it, but it’s grown too big, so we’re getting called in officially.”
“Officially?” Midnight blinked as she caught on to what the Captain was insinuating. “You started on this well before that huh?
“We cannot confirm our involvement. nor what our unauthorised investigations have or have not turned up,” Straight replied. “So Sergeant Song. Will you assist us on this case?”
“Count me in, Straight and Narrow... we’ll find these jerks and put ‘em where they belong.” She wasn’t sure who was behind this... but they’d better start praying to their maker...
Midnight had spent most of the day stalking the streets and talking with those that might know a thing or two. She now lay in Fredrick’s restaurant, her head on the table as she sipped cider through several joined bendy straws.
“What a waste of time, nopony in this city either knows anything, or friggen cares enough to help...” she sighed again, not even noticing that her mug was empty and she was sucking on air.
“Well, hello again roomie,” a familiar voice said from behind her. Midnight tilted her head to see Ledger standing over her.
“Meh...” she groused, going back to suckling on her empty mug.
“Something is amiss,” the ever-observant unicorn noticed. “Anything I can do to help?”
“Unless you know who’s kidnapping a bunch of foals around this city for the last few months...” she replied as she finally realised her mug was devoid of cider. “Fred! Refill!”
“Coming up in a moment,” the griffon said from his kitchen. The unicorn paused for a moment, before Midnight noticed a quill and inkpot hovering in front of her.
“I am truly sorry I cannot help you,” the stallion said as his quill began to defy those words.
Eight and Bridle. A foalnapping is planned for tonight. Make it look like you were there by accident. Don’t tell anypony how you know. Destroy this note.
“I wish I could do something to help those foals, but I don’t know anything I could tell the guard,” the stallion said, underlining the last bit and adding the word NOW to it. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll head elsewhere for lunch today. No offense, Fredrick, but I think I’m in the mood for the Chop Shop’s salad today.”
“None taken, and tell that cute waitress to drop by sometime!” the avian said as the unicorn quickly turned and trotted out of the restaurant. Midnight blinked and suddenly ate the note, grimacing at the tase.
“Blech! Now I need something to wash that down,” she said, winking at Fredrick. He chuckled and put her cider in front of her, before proffering a menu.
“If you’re that hungry, I do serve this remarkable thing called ‘food’ as well,” he joked. Midnight giggled and batted her eyes.
“Mm, and I bet you’d like to serve something else I’m hungry for as well~” She teased, needing something to distract her mind while Ledger made a hasty retreat. She didn’t know how or why, but when this was all over and done with... that stallion was going to have a lot to answer for!
“Yes, but whenever I try to flirt with a mare in armor, they always claim to be on duty and to save it for the others,” Fredrick sighed. “Pity, that.”
“Aw, you just have to try harder little birdy~” she giggled. She glanced at the sky, judging the time from the suns position. “It seems I have late patrol tonight. Got anything that’ll give me an energy boost?
“I could brew you up a mixture of a zebra’s herbal energy drink along with some proper coffee,” the griffon replied after a moment. “It’ll get you going for a good while.”
“Make it so!” Midnight said with a wave of her hoof. Fun and games aside, if what Ledger said was true, tonight was going to be interesting.
“This is stupid... really stupid... colossally stupid!” she muttered as she walked the narrow streets. She’d mentioned to Captain Narrow that she felt like night patrol, hoping that some clue or something would pop up.
She maaaay not have mentioned the lead she received from her roommate.
Once she was getting close, she spread her wings and wall jumped to the nearest rooftop. Since she had no backup and was up against an unknown enemy, the element of surprise would be vital.
She didn’t have to wait long, as a butler escorting a well-bred looking filly trotted down the street, towing a small carriage with the foal inside. Midnight tensed her wings as she looked around, scouting for where the attempt might come from. She didn’t have long to wait, as two Pegasi dropped out of the sky and knocked the butler out in seconds. The filly of course screamed and ran. One of the assaulters ran after her, while the other went to a large, tarp-covered object and pulled it away, revealing a wooden crate with air holes punched in it. If Midnight squinted, she could see the glint of metal inside. So a cage within a crate, then.
She dove from the roof, her fall was as silent as death and just as swift. Within seconds, she was now hiding in the shadows of a nearby building at ground level. She’d wait for that other stallion to return, once the filly was safely out of the way, she’d be free to take these two down.
After a minute, the stallion returned, the filly bound and gagged, held under one wing. “You’re takin’ too long,” his companion said. “We stick around longer than a minute after the scream, you know someone might show up.”
“Gimme a break, she’s a squirmer,” the one holding the filly said before gently placing her into the crate. “Plus that intel was off by a few streets. Butler could have given us the right time as well, for all the bits we paid him.”
“S’why I knocked him out,” the first stallion agreed as he moved to put the lid on top of the crate, flashing the logo on it at Midnight unknowingly. She’d seen that logo before... but where? Well, she could ask these guys about it later.
“And here my job becomes harder, since now I have three idiots to cart off to the cells,” she said from behind the first, her metal-clad hooves already being brought down on the back of his head. Once he was taking a nice nap, she looked at the other. “Now, will you come peacefully... or painfully~”
“Screw coming with you,” the stallion replied, already drawing a knife. “I don’t come back with the filly, I’m as good as dead.”
“Aw, and I’m told coming with me is an experience you’ll never forget~” Midnight cooed. Her wingblades had longer reach and she was certain that this thug had no chance. But he was standing awfully close to that crate, so discretion would be the better part of valor here.
“So big boy, you wanna dance~”
The Pegasus looked from Midnight to the crate for a moment, clearly thinking about something. “Hey, wait a minute. How’d you even know where to be?” he asked aloud.
“Guess I’m just lucky,” she smiled. “Sorry if I don’t meet all your expectations, now last chance little boy... drop the knife and come with me quietly. Or I will hurt you.”
“No, hang on a moment, I can work this out,” he said, thinking aloud to help his brain come to the, unfortunately right, conclusion. “The only ones that knew where and when we’d be there besides the butler were people in the office...so that means we have a dirty rat!” Unfortunately, the stress of thinking so hard had the effect of causing him to lower his knife. Not much, just a touch, but it’d be more than enough for Midnight to take advantage of. She raced forward, the flat of her blade striking his wing, causing the knife to drop.
Even as the stallion let out a surprised yelp, she struck three points on his body with a blurred motion. The first struck a nerve cluster that froze his wings. The second struck near his back leg, rendering the limb numb and unusable. The third knocked him out cold and even if he somehow woke back up, fleeing would be extremely difficult.
“Well that was a harrowing experience,” she muttered as she used his knife to pry the lid off of the crate, seeing the terrified little filly inside. She scooped her out, removing the gag and bindings in a flash.
“There we are little one, you’re safe now. The bad guys are taking a little nap.”
“Father is going to fire Jeeves when I tell him what happened,” the filly whimpered. “Out of a cannon.”
Midnight chuckled at the thought, kids these days were so adorable. “Well as amusing as that is. Let’s ties these guys up and call my boss. We’ll take you home and get you some cake okay~?”
“Yay!” she perked up almost instantly. “Strawberry flavored?”
“Is there any other kind?” she smiled as she cuffed the three to a lamp post. “Now, let’s go and get my boss...”
That... could have gone better. While Midnight still felt proud for saving that filly... and learned she wasn’t kidding about the cannon thing, Captain Narrow was freaking pissed.
“I can’t believe you had information like that! And went off without backup! Without a plan or a freaking clue!!” she yelled, the windows in her office rattled from the volume and somewhere, a lunar princess felt proud.
“Look, I didn’t even know if it was good info or not,” Song replied, bracing herself against the verbal onslaught. “My source isn’t all that reliable.”
“You’ve been in town four days! That is not enough time to get ‘a source’!” Narrow continued her tirade. “Just where in Luna’s blue butt did you find out?”
“Like I said, never met them before, just found a note at a restaurant telling me where to go,” she said. “Now is that all? I really need some sleep.”
Narrow grit her teeth so hard she could have bitten a diamond in half. “We are not done with this, but in light of everything, you did do some good work and now we have a solid lead. So go and get some sleep. You started this chaos and you’re sure as hell going to finish it!”
“Yes Ma’am,” Song saluted and left the office, heading for home as fast as she could.
“You’d better be there Ledger, cause you have some explaining to do!”
She entered the apartment building, giving the landlord a brief nod as she headed upstairs, her hoofsteps become faster and faster as she ascended the stairs. She all but bucked the door down when she entered.
“Ledger? Where are you!?”
“Right here,” he stated from the couch, sipping at a glass of lemonade. “No need to shout. How was your evening?”
She stomped over to him, placing a hoof on his shoulder and pressing her nose against his. “Well, aside from saving the life of the most adorable filly, certain coincidences have come to light.” Her gaze was relentless as it bore into his very soul. “Care to know what they are?”
“Oh dear,” he stated with a sigh as his glass was set on the table. “It would appear I am found out. An accountant who works for Pegasus Air with a heart.”
“Indeed, imagine my surprise when I found out it was Pegasus Air behind all this, all because some lackey was too lazy to remove a label.” She took a step back as she calmed down. “And then my even further surprise when I found out who was on their payroll.” She sat back and poured her own lemonade. It was no hard cider, but it would have to do.
“So, want to explain why you haven’t gone to the police or the guard yet?”
“Because the only thing greater than Toll Taker’s appetite for money is her appetite for vengeance,” the stallion responded. “I was taking a risk, pointing you towards that site I overheard in the office. But anyone could have heard that, so I’ll be safe for a little while. However, a good number of their plans? I helped put in motion. I help take them down, she’ll know, and I won’t live to see her put behind bars where she belongs.”
Okay, so he was in a tricky spot. “Tell me this,” she said. “Tell me that you had no idea what they were doing when you started that job, and tell me that you don’t condone it!”
“Of course I didn’t know,” Ledger said with a sigh. “I was only a small-time accountant for them to start with. It was only after that attempted mugging that she started bringing me in, wording her requests innocently...that’s when I realized something was up, and looked into all the things I had helped do.” He refilled his glass and cradled it against his chest.
“There are families that no longer have homes because there are casinos there now. There are business owners put out of business because she bought the place and turned it into a strip club. And now there are foals being taken and sold into slavery...because I helped. And if I could, I would melt her bits down and toss her into them.”
“With you, I can see that as a promise, more than an empty threat.” Midnight sighed as she raided his liquor cabinet for something with a little more kick. “Look, you’re my friend now, and even if you weren’t...” She looked at him with a gentle smile. “I’ll not let anypony hurt you. Just say the word, and I’ll protect you with all my strength.”
“Buck that noise,” he said, getting to his hooves. “I’m not hiding, and I’m not going quietly. Yeah, we’ll have to be sneaky, but I think if you did it just right, you could dismantle everything I helped put into motion.” With that, he started to head towards the study again...and motioned for her to join him. “Wanna see what I’ve been working on?”
“Are Celestia’s flanks as round as her sun?’ she smiled as she poured herself a shot of whiskey. “And I can do sneaky... so let’s see your plan Ledgie~”
The unicorn opened up the study door to show off every sign of a crazy conspiracy theorist, only in his case, instead of fuzzy pictures to go with his newspaper clippings and colored string around pins, he had pages and pages of account details, meticulously copied and hung up next to the relevant stories.
“Sweet Luna, I almost wish I’d came in here sooner,” she whispered. “Though... I’d have probably arrested you...”
The stallion pointed up towards the center of the ceiling, where all the threads came together around one simple note. Toll Taker. Each one branched off somewhere in the room, darting from one peg to another. “In order to get at her, you’re going to have to cut off her money. All these,” he gestured at the green and gold threads. “Are her revenue streams. The red and blue ones are various people she has in her pocket. Red for a simple local, blue for someone with actual authority.”
“The mayor? She has the mayor... ooh, she’s good,” Midnight muttered as she scanned everything, taking it all in piece by piece. “This would be a lot simpler if you weren’t so hard-headed, but I guess it’s also more fun this way.” She knew that Narrow wasn’t going to like this, and Ledger would have to give her a damned good reason.
“You’ll need to convince the Captain though, I was grilled like a cheese sandwich today thanks to your little stunt. So she’ll need to be on board as well if I’m going to help.”
“The explanation is simple,” Ledger said, indicating the last color of thread. “See those black threads? Anyone with a black thread, she has something on, and I know what. I’m probably the only one besides her that knows her full blackmail list.” He waited next to one peg in particular, waiting for her to come over and look. When she did, Midnight blinked and looked back at her friend.
“You... what does she have on you? A family member or friend?”
“Hopefully you’ll never know,” he cryptically responded. “If she goes down, then my secret stays safe.”
“Is this secret one that could get others hurt?” she asked warily. “Because I’m still undecided on the whole ‘serial killer’ thing.” She added, making quotation marks with her hooves.
“The only one it could hurt is me, if she decided to stop keeping it,” he rejoined. “And like I explained, I wouldn’t have killed anyone. Your concern is touching, by the way.”
“You know I love you,” Song giggled. “Still, okay... but I need the Captain’s authorisation... I could lose my job or even be arrested for helping without it.”
“Bring her by, but do it discreetly,” Ledger said. “She’s not on here, and not for a lack of Toll Taker trying...but she does have eyes and ears everywhere. Word is she’s nervous about you rooming with me already.”
“So she should be,” Midnight growled. “Alright, I’ll get the Captain to come by tomorrow... but right now? I need sleep, been up all night with this...” She downed her shot and hiccuped. “Ahh, that hits the spot.”
“I’ll put in half a day tomorrow, claim I’m coming down with a headache at lunch,” Ledger responded. “Bring her by afterwards, I’ll help make this seem...not so crazy.”
“That I can do,” Song nodded. She yawned adorably and smacked her lips together. “Sleeeeep... hmm, wanna join me~?”
Ledger paused and forced himself to not shake too badly at the offer. “I think you forget who you’re dealing with,” he said in only a slightly trembling tone. “Best we stick to separate rooms for my sanity.”
“Hrm, fine, but you will submit to cuddles eventually. I hear mine are extra-cuddly~” she yawned and turned for her room. “G’night Ledger... sleep tight~”
“You as well,” he returned as he headed to his own room. He’d cleaned up long ago, so all that remained was to go to sleep himself. In moments, he was out like a light.
“You... want me to do what now?” Captain Narrow said later that afternoon. “Because it sounded like you wanted me to come to your place... in disguise.”
“Pretty much,” Song nodded. “And you can’t tell anypony alright?”
“This is absolutely ridiculous,” Narrow sighed and looked at the now decidedly insane batpony. “You do realise how ridiculous this sounds right?”
“I’m aware, but it’s for a very good reason okay. Please...?”
Narrow’s horn flashed as a barrier surrounded the room. “Right. Why am I doing this? Why am I even considering doing this?”
“My source knows you and even me are being watched, so they’re playing it safe,” Midnight explained. “Look, it’s about what happened last night and you just hafta trust me alright?”
Narrow let out another exasperated sigh, “Fine... but if this is a waste of time...”
“Thank you Ma’am... just be careful that you aren’t followed.”
Narrow nodded as Midnight left on patrol. She had certainly made life quite interesting since arriving... right as Straight hauled in a few drunk ponies that had gotten into a brawl.
“Because my life isn’t exciting enough,” she muttered.
Ledger sipped at his sweet tea, waiting for his roommate to return as per their agreement. Hopefully with very careful guard intervention, this nightmare could be brought to an end, and he wouldn’t be looking over his shoulder every other day. In fear of being deported back to the Lands, because Toll had decided his usefulness had ended. The very thought sent another shudder through his form, and he took a big gulp this time.
So naturally, he nearly leapt out of his skin when the door opened and Midnight walked in. She gave the stallion an odd stare and blinked.
“A little jumpy there huh?’ she mused as she shrugged off her dented armour. “Ahhh... soooo much better...”
“We’re talking about the de-stabilization of a criminal empire, the leader of whom holds a dark secret over me,” Ledger returned, putting his half-empty glass on the table. “I would be surprised if anyone weren’t jumpy in my situation.”
“Well you have a point there... urgh!” she tried prying off one particular piece of armour. “Um, can you give me a hoof here... this piece is stuck.” She motioned at a plate that covered her rump, with a rather impressive dent in it.
“What were you fighting? Walls?” the stallion asked, lighting his horn up and giving the armor piece a gentle tug with his magic. The piece popped off, revealing an impressive bruise underneath.
“Eh, Changeling combat classes... and those pegasi don’t play fair,” Midnight winced as she sat down on the couch. “So I showed them how I can beat eight different kinds of snot out of them.”
“I find it interesting that many ponies think themselves capable of fighting off a shapeshifting, vampiric race,” Ledger said with a roll of his eyes. Midnight nodded and gave her wings a small twitch to ease out a few kinks.
“I was in Canterlot... during the whole wedding fiasco...” She narrowed her eyes as she recalled some of the things she’d seen the bugs do. “I’m one of the few ponies outside the city now that has had actual experience fighting them.” She rolled over to lay on her back, kicking her hooves into the air. “I don’t blame them for what happened really, they were acting out of desperation for their kind...”
“Once again, you think you do,” Ledger said, pulling the pamphlet out from...wherever he stored it. “Notice who was in charge of the whole fiasco on their side? Wanna bet how many of her soldiers were drones?”
“Queen Chrysalis right?” Midnight said. She’d gotten a brief glance at the bug queen when she’d tried to rescue the Princess and the Elements... and failed miserably. If only Celestia had permitted her to use lethal force…
“With one mind probably clouded by this garbage,” Ledger said, waving said garbage pamphlet around around before putting it back, “She was able to get in and drag an army of...well, basically slaves, in to take the capital. If not for that last-minute effort, she might be in charge now. If you were to run into a number of intelligent changelings, you might be singing a different tune than ‘oh I can totally fight a shapeshifter.’”
Well, Song’s ego suddenly took a tactical blast of magic to the face and died an honorable death. “W-well... I could still take ‘em. I’m pretty tough you know!”
“Fine,” Ledger said, smirking. “Half of a six-pony squad have shifted into unicorn forms and are charging stun spells, while the other half have turned into your mirror image, so that you can’t easily escape.” He waved a hoof at her so that she knew he was done outlining his scenario.
“Three stun spells, and three look-alikes?” Song pondered for a second as the battle ran through her mind. “My armour can deflect basic spells, I could take at least one without feeling the effects... so, use the nearest body as a meat shield to take the first spell, pivot and vault over the next clone to subdue the second unicorn... and bullrush the third, letting my armour take the hit. Still leaves two clones and I’m feeling good.”
“Except since you took four of them out, the two keep the ratio: one unicorn, one clone of you. And now he’s charging a mild shock spell,” Ledger said, actually enjoying this.
“A shock spell is interesting, however...” She motioned at her blades as they struck the ground. “Not only do Thestrals benefit from the same lightning resistance as pegasi, I can use my blades to ground myself. Now, let’s say that he’s a decent level caster... beta or gamma level. It’ll take five and a half seconds to re-cast, now...” She motioned with her wing as the blade detached. “These swords can be detached and flung, granted, I lose my weapon, but I gain a nifty ranged move... and I am very accurate.”
“Fair enough, you could do that twice. Let’s say you manage to nick his horn because he doesn’t dodge fast enough. Suddenly they’re switching places on you. You still have one unicorn and one Thestral to face, and now you’re down a sword.” Ledger made himself comfortable, enjoying the simulation they were running.
“Hmm, well providing that the spellcaster doesn’t suffer magical feedback from the disrupted spell... not sure how different a ‘ling’s magic is compared to a unicorn. I guess I’d fall back and rely on my Beats to buy some time until either backup shows up, or I take them out...”
“Good call on the backup,” a pony mentioned as she walked in. Her chocolate brown fur and platinum blonde mane was quite a sight to behold. The mare was stunningly beautiful. “You get full points rookie.”
Midnight looked up and blinked. “Uh... Captain?.. Ma’am... s’that you!?”
“It is,” she replied, closing the door and dropping her Illusion Confusion spell. Her coat now turned a soft peach color and her mane and tail reverted back to their usual coal black. “And, why are you running a Changeling combat sim with Ledger here?”
“He knows a lot about ‘em,” Midnight shrugged. “Can even read their language.”
“Is... is that so?” Narrow replied in a curt tone, giving the stallion a once over.
“I had a good incentive to learn when I found a bit of propaganda from their Dark Broodmothers on my last date’s nightstand,” Ledger replied tersely. “And thanks for not looking like you’re my sister anymore.”
“You could only be so lucky Ledger,” Narrow replied. “Alright rookie... where’s this ‘source’ of yours?”
“You’re looking at him,” Midnight replied simply. Narrow blinked and looked back at Ledger.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me...”
“Nope,” Ledger replied with a shake of his head. “I’ve been an account for them ever since I arrived. After that incident, they slowly started making me the accountant for them. Problem is, if Toll Taker goes down, she’s taking me with her before she even hits the back of the jail cell.”
“Alright, I can see how that’s a problem for you,” Narrow rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Alright, put on some coffee and let’s get to work.”
“I can do that,” Ledger said as he got up to go to the kitchen. “How about you show the captain the study and explain it to her while I do, Midnight?”
“Can do Level,” Midnight said as she got up and smirked at Narrow. “Well captain, care to see the crazy cave?”
“Do I really want to know what you two have gotten up to?” she asked dubiously.
“Aw, it’s nothing like that. Level has a few issues to sort out before any of that happens.”
“At least it isn’t that damnable gryphon,” she muttered. “I don’t think there’s a mare in Las Pegasus besides me that he hasn’t slept with...”
“He is my enemy!” Midnight growled. “An adversary that I must defeat in the art of flirting. My pride and reputation demand it!”
Narrow took a step back and looked at Ledger. “Uh, is she... always like this outside of work?”
“Wouldn’t know, I’ve known her only of four days,” the unicorn stallion said with a smirk. “Right, try not to mess with anything? I have it all just so.”
“Alright Mom!” Midnight giggled. “We won’t touch anything.”
“I’ve been here less than five minutes and I’m so done,” Narrow sighed. The room was something else though, and the Guard Captain had a new-found respect for the stallion’s attention to detail. “Holy... she has her hooves in this many... even my guards!”
Oh, this bitch was going down.
“But not you,” Ledger said, hovering three cups of coffee in front of him as he joined the mares. “Not because she hasn’t tried, mind. But the fact that you’re not up here is the reason you’re in here.”
“So what’s the plan you two cooked up?” she asked, snorting in irritation as Ledger floated over some coffee. “I can only assume that a Swat force or a contingent of guards would not be the answer though.” She sipped at the drink and a small blush graced her cheeks. Oh, this was good coffee~
“We have to cut off her funding first,” Ledger said, pointing at the green and golden threads. “Green are things she legitimately owns, Gold are the things she’s merely pressed into paying her tribute. The best way to do any of that…” Here the stallion raised a hoof and brushed the black web of strings. “Is to find a way to carefully disentangle a victim of hers in such a way that she doesn’t know it was me that told you how.”
Narrow stared until she saw a familiar face. “Well now, what do we have here~?”
“Something up?” Midnight pressed and Narrow nodded, pointing at one of the ‘black’ ponies.
“This one, he’s the deputy of the LPPD, and a stallion I’ve known for years. If he’s helping her, it’s not because he wants to... she got something on him and I’ll need to know what before I can make a move.”
“He’s the only one there in a decent position... if she loses him, she loses the whole PD,” Song pointed out.
“That’s actually an interesting tale. Apparently he got drunk some years ago and had a one-night stand...which resulted in a foal. Toll Taker helps him pay child support and stops his wife from finding out as long as nobody in the PD looks in her direction,” Ledger supplied. “To break her hold on him, you’d probably have to find the mother and kid, then arrange a meet-up between the husband, the wife, and the ones he’d rather stay at hoof-length.”
“Damned idiot,” Narrow muttered. “He jumps in the frying pan and I’m the one that constantly bails him out... never knew about this though...” She gave a resolute nod and turned back to the others. “Alright, leave it all to me. As a concerned friend who’s looking out for his interests.”
“So what do I do?” Midnight asked. “Got a secret mission? Or maybe some spying or espionage~”
“Yeah,” Ledger said, looking at her sternly. “Lay low. A lawyer talked to the two you caught, Midnight. Your description is well known in the company now, and they’re probably going to start looking for rats, and I’m not talking about vermin. You go poking any more hornets nests, Toll Taker will not take kindly to it.”
“Lame,” Midnight pouted. She knew he had a point, and she wouldn’t want his life to be put in harms way because of her... not again...
“You’ve done good so far Rookie,” Narrow nodded. “We were at a dead-end til you stirred things up. Leave it up to us for the moment.”
“Actually, considering she’s my roommate still,” Ledger pointed out, “She’s in a prime position to come up with plots to undo Toll’s plots with me, then deliver them to you. She just can’t partake of any active missions unless she wants to walk off a building with her wings bound.”
“Oh, that sounds like a riot,” Song deadpanned. “You can’t do it Captain, don’t leave me alone with the one male in Equestria that can resist me!”
“She’s all yours Level,” Narrow actually laughed. “Play nice now, she’s a collectors item.”
Ledger shrugged and pointed at the captain’s form before she left. “Forgetting your make-up? And do make sure to brush your tail before you get there.” Or, translated from code-speak: Put on your disguise, and make sure to lose any tails you pick up.
“Naturally,” Narrow smirked as she weaved the spell again. “Ah, there we are... thanks for the coffee, little brother~”
“Anytime,” he rejoined, taking the mug back. “Be careful, the streets are filthy out there.”
“They usually are,” Narrow muttered.
“You all suck,” Song sighed as she poked at the ground. “I outrank you all and you all suck.”
“Have fun Rookie,” Narrow laughed again and left the apartment, leaving the two friends to their own devices. Ledger looked to the batpony, then up to the web of black string.
“Where shall we begin?” he asked. Song looked up and smiled.
“Cut the black strings one by one... then her influence comes undone.”
“A pretty poem,” Level said with a smile. “Let’s see how easy it’ll be to actually do.”
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Great chapter, as usual.
Yay!
I'm singing a high note~
Ah-ah!
I'm having a bad stroke~
Ah-ah!
I want to die soon!~
Ah-ah!
Get blasted to the moon!~
Ah-ah!
Where was I?
awesomeness!! most read more!
What? What? I don't get how this is a response.
Last chapter he didn't let her see records and others out of principle. Now he's going all full disclosure? Wtf is this...
Again it's not even a chapter ago that he said "Don't tell anyone" and he brings her here.
Also the secret Toll has on him is WAAAAY too obvious because you have a cover art and the tag. It's like Kirito's Sister in Alfheim ((or something)) Online where we already know so it's not surprising at all. I'm honestly wondering why someone didn't figure it out last chapter.
That's the only gripe I have with this story mainly. There are some HUUUGE contradictions and the surprise you are building up isn't even a surprise, at least as far as I know.
Let's see what you got.
6184897
It's a kind of rhetorical question where you answer a question with a question that has an obvious answer.
Or possibly a better explanation...
Jesus this guy's a moron... And a lucky guesser.
6184897 You didn't forget the brief scene when Ledger morphed into his changling form in the shower in chapter one, right?
It's not supposed to be a secret to the reader, and it never was.
Kind of interesting, even if the character's seem kind of flat to me. Ledger seems kinda pushy, what's with that anyway. I get that he'd like the fire put out before someone dumps him out of it, but why should anyone listen to him and/or let him push them around. Song seems lackadaisical and Narrow doesn't seem enough like a proper office of the law.
I also feel like he should have been found out as a potential mole, etc long ago, given how loose his lips are with details.
P.S.
Something deeply ironic about his name...
Nope, they are even rounder.
Oh, the plot thickens.
Chryssie got mentioned. Here's hoping she does appear at some point and not to die or something.
Most awesome filly, I hope she meets Midnight again and starts calling her big sis or something. And I like her idea of how to fire the scumbag buttler. And yes, the spelling on that is correct, since he's an A$$!!!
a vary impressive story and if I am right I see a few references to movie and story quotes in this.
Interesting, interesting. Since story already has—
—Oh my. Looks like I’ve got a lot to catch up on.
I can’t help but notice something though. You’ve used the British spelling (armour, flavoured, endeavour) in the first two chapters, but switched to the American spelling (armor, honorable, Mom) in this chapter. What gives?
It's funny how he's talking about "three layers of disguise" and "importance of keeping up appearances" in the first chapter, and then he's showering Midnight with hints in second and third chapter. Unless it's a part of some sort of plan of his?
P.S. I'm still not sure what happened in the last chapter. Screaming at him gets him excited or something? Or he gets it at random times?
its ghost recon wild lands Los Pegasus edition
so of course i though of this:
8594102
Thank you for showing me this.
The straight and narrow...
Heh.
7286791
You've never heard of morning wood? It happens to guys sometimes.
near the end ig felt like level had become the quest viver in a game... like it was creepy
I love it
Damn magnificent chapter and overall story
So Ling are not allowed in Equestria?
Maximum sneaky
Solid Snake theme incoming! Were did i put all my Cardbord Boxes?
I read a few stories that dismantle criminal networks, always worth a read ♤