> Freeport Venture: Auction Night
>  by Chengar Qordath
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Job
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was already in a bad mood before somepony started pounding on my front door. I’d spent half the morning trying to track down an obscure reference to one of Morning Star’s spells; never an easy task considering the fact that her spellbook was locked up in the Sealed Repository. While some of her later work obviously needed to be restricted, it was rather annoying that her earlier material had been similarly proscribed. It seemed that the Magi Council for the Restriction of Dangerous Materials preferred to ban everything related to her just to be safe. Besides, doing an item-by-item banlist would require letting somepony actually read everything she’d written to decide what was safe and what wasn’t.

None of that logic made me any less pissed off about the fact that I couldn’t find her formula for enchanting magic items. Now that I had my tower fully set up, it was time to start working on my personal equipment—and like any proper magus, I wanted most of my gear to be enchanted. With that much heavy-duty enchanting to look forward to, it only made sense to read up on famous enchanters through the ages. I didn’t want any mistakes that might end up wasting thousands of bits of materials because I forgot to go over the basics.

Needlessy to say, by the time somepony came knocking on my door, I was a boiling cauldron of frustration just waiting for the chance to unload on a good target. It probably wasn’t fair to take out my anger on whoever happened to be there, but one thing living in Freeport has taught me is that life isn’t fair. Well, I’d make an exception for Kukri. Just her though: Puzzle was a good enough friend to deal with me being in a mood.

Fortunately, my visitor was neither one of them. Instead, it was a mint-green pegasus mare with a white stripe through her mane. Strumming Heartstrings of the Equestrian Intelligence Service. One of Equestria’s better spies in Freeport, despite the fact that her identity wasn’t all that secret. And more importantly, the mare who’d imprisoned me and tried to have me deported back to Equestria. She’d backed down from that, but I still would’ve been perfectly happy to never see her miserable face again.

Strumming grinned at me from within the doorway. “Hey, Sunset! Been a while. How you doing? Love the new tower—I guess all that talk about how only males are into towers because of the whole phallic symbol thing is totally off-base. Though building the whole thing out of obsidian had to be a ton of trouble. Cool statement and all, but I would’ve stuck with something a bit less flashy. And cheaper.”

“I had the bits to spare after taking down that pirate. And like you said, it’s a statement. It’s supposed to be flashy.” Freeport’s ruling council has their headquarters in an obsidian-faced palace. Making my tower out of the same material let everypony know where I stood with them. I might technically be working for—no, with the Council for now, but I still planned on facing off against them sooner or later. Freeport was just too nasty and corrupt, and they didn’t seem to have any intention of fixing it.

Strumming looked up at the tower, then casually tapped one of my walls. “Well, you certainly made some kinda statement. And I guess it’s less of an eyesore than half the buildings here. But anyway, not here to talk architecture.” She paused, grinning hopefully at me. “Actually, I was hoping I could get you to do me a favor.”

I shut the door in her face without another word.

Sure, she’d only ever arrested me and tried to have me deported because it was her job, but that didn’t make any difference to me. It might not have been personal for her, but I took the prospect of spending the next several years of my life under house arrest in Canterlot very personally. I wasn’t exactly carrying a massive grudge against her, but I certainly wasn’t going to do her any favors either.

Unfortunately, Strumming was an annoyingly persistent mare. It was one of the things that had made trying to escape from her such a gigantic pain in the flank to begin with. Needless to say, having the door slammed in her face wasn’t enough to stop her. Soon she was pounding away at it again, and I was quite sure that if I just left her there she’d eventually take wing and start working the windows instead. Pegasi were annoying that way. Especially pegasi named Strumming Heartstrings.

I ripped open the front door and unleashed my best death glare on the mare. “What do I have to do to make you go away?”

Strumming chuckled and grinned. “Hey, nice to see you again too. Anyway, I think we started off our first talk on the wrong hoof.” She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a large sack. She shook it, and I could hear a lot coins clinking together. “I need to you to help me out.” She opened up the bag, showing me all the lovely gold within. “Please.”

While I was a bit tempted to just slam the door again, the big sack of money did catch my interest. Not that I was a greedy money-grubber, but I like getting paid as much as anypony. Back when I’d been Celestia’s personal student, there hadn’t really been much of a budget to worry about. After I took off on my own, I’d received a rather rude awakening about just how expensive some of the equipment she’d given me access to was. Expensive enough that somepony showing up with a big bag of money got my attention.

Sure, I didn’t need a laboratory-grade infused aetherscope, but it would be very useful for some of the projects I was working on.

My eyes lingered on the coins for several seconds before I reluctantly stepped out of the doorway and held it open for her. “You have five minutes.”

“Thank you.” She trotted in, casually looking around my front room. I’d put a fair bit of work into making the place look reasonably impressive. After all, this was what I wanted to show off to visitors and potential clients. Several bookshelves full of massive, archaic-looking tomes dominated one wall, though of course I kept all my really valuable books elsewhere. The same applied to all the magical equipment I had strategically placed around the room. I was particularly pleased by my gold-trimmed alchemy set, which looked utterly pristine because I’d never actually used any of the beakers for practical alchemy. They were showpieces to impress everypony with how intelligent I was, not actual working tools.

Strumming didn’t seem to impressed by any of it. “Hey, you got anything to eat? I’m feeling snacky.” I rolled my eyes and pulled a bag of chips out of the cupboard, which the spy enthusiastically tore into.

While she was gorging herself on junk food, I led the way to my office. Much like my front room, it existed primarily to impress ponies. I had a nice big high-backed chair, placed so that I had more of those impressive-looking bookshelves right behind me. My desk had a few carefully picked tokens of my accomplishments—newspaper articles about achievements like my capture of Metal Mome, and how I’d solved the World’s Port Bank robbery. And, of course, a photo of myself and Princess Celestia. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to remind Strumming that I was the former student of her sovereign.

Strumming trotted along behind me, then flopped into one of the comfortable but much less impressive chairs I kept for potential clients. She slouched down and put her hooves up on my desk, her body language plainly stating that she was not at all impressed. “So, like I was saying, I need your help. Well, technically it’s the EIS that needs your help. And we’re willing to pay you a reasonable amount to get it. Not that we don’t have backup plans in case you say no, but you would make this op go a little easier for us.”

“So you’re here representing the Equestrian Intelligence Service?” I wasn’t sure if that made me more inclined to hear her out, or less. The EIS being what it was, I still had no idea how much of my conflict with Strumming had actually been driven by her superiors at the EIS. She certainly claimed that she’d just been following orders, but I had enough experience with the mare to know that she would lie to me without a moment’s hesitation if she thought it would benefit her.

“Yeah, this is an officially sanctioned unofficial operation.” She smirked at me, then shoved another hoofful of chips into her mouth. “You know how it is, I was never here, we never had this conversation, and you have no idea why there are bunch more bits in your bank account. Maybe your great-aunt died and left you a lot of money or something.”

“And why exactly should I work with the EIS?” I demanded, not bothering to hide my annoyance at the thought. “Last time I had anything to do with you, it ended with me locked up in chains and en-route to a prison ship that would’ve taken me back to Equestria. How do I know you’re not just setting me up?”

“Well, for starters...” She waved to the picture of myself and Princess Celestia. “Her royal boss-ness doesn’t want us dragging you back to Equestria anymore. Second, if I wanted to pull you into a trap, I wouldn’t show up in person to do it. That’d instantly put you on your guard. I’d use a patsy; send in some random mare dressed up to look like she’s loaded with cash, then have her spin a nice story about a runaway daughter or something. You know, something to tug at your heartstrings.” She chuckled at her lame attempt at a pun. “Plus, she’d offer you a butt-load of cash. You’d be out the door in a minute.”

I glowered at her. “I’m not completely naive, Strumming. I know when a job sounds too good to be true.” Though I would probably be suspicious of the next client who showed up wanting my help to find a child who’d run away from home or been kidnapped by slavers. Living in Freeport seemed to be fostering a bit of a paranoid streak in me. Though is it really paranoia when there are ponies who’re out to get you?

“Yeah, you’ve been learning.” Strumming scarfed down the last of the chips. “But anyway, let’s get to business. You should work for the EIS because we’ll pay you a ton of cash, plus we’ll owe you one. And trust me, being owed a favor by the EIS is pretty handy. On top of that, the job we’re working on is something you’d want taken care of anyway, seeing as you’re setting yourself up as the Magus of Freeport and everything.” She paused, meeting my eyes with a surprisingly serious expression. “Before I tell you what’s up, can I get you to promise you’ll keep this under wraps even if you don’t take the job?”

I frowned. “You want me to promise to keep a secret when I don’t even know what it is yet? Yeah, that’s not happening.” I thought it over for a moment, then offered a slight concession. “But once I know what’s going on, I won’t go blabbing about it if I think it’s better to keep the information out of the public eye.”

Strumming spent a couple seconds crumpling up the empty bag of chips and tossing it into a trash can. “I guess that’s good enough. So here’s the deal: we just got a reliable tip that a copy of the Black Codex is going to be auctioned off early next week.”

My jaw dropped and my eyes went wide. “The Black Codex?! I thought that was just a myth!”

“Something we like to encourage as many ponies as possible to continue believing,” Strumming answered without missing a beat. “If everypony knew there was really a how-to guide for just about every form of black magic under the sun floating around, we’d have a lot more wanna-be warlocks to deal with.”

“I bet.” The Black Codex had supposedly been created when a cabal of warlocks decided to get together and write down all their collected knowledge into a single definitive tome. It was basically a dark magic textbook. It didn’t have any of the really advanced stuff; mages always guard their best spells jealously, and warlocks are even more secretive because they’re using forbidden magic. But the Codex did have all the basics of necromancy, mind control, demonology, and a dozen other fields of dark magic.

In some ways, that focus on the basics made it even more dangerous than a grimoire full of highly advanced stuff. Only somepony who already knew a lot about dark magic could use a book on the most complicated aspects of necromancy, while any random unicorn could pick up a copy of the Codex and learn basic dark magic. Sure, they wouldn’t be unleashing hordes of zombies or bending entire nations to their will, but it gave them all the tools they’d need to eventually develop those skills on their own. If the Codex was in general circulation it could easily spawn hundreds of low-level warlocks, each one making the world just a little bit worse.

I grimaced and shook my head. “Maybe it’s just a fake? There’s no shortage of merchants in Freeport who’d be willing to scam someone.”

Strumming sighed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, because we didn’t think to check something that simple before I came over here.” I glared at her, and she cut back on the sarcasm. “The guy auctioning it off isn’t some two-bit huckster; it’s Goldtalon.”

I growled out several words Celestia wouldn’t have approved of. Goldtalon was Freeport’s richest and most reputable dealer in magical artifacts and tomes, and he had a reputation for always delivering on what he promised and never trying to cheat his clients. The odds that he would destroy his carefully cultivated credibility with a fake book were close to zero. It would ruin his entire business, which was worth way more than he could ever make scamming somepony with a fake book.

I quickly ran through some possible solutions to the problem. “Does the Council know about this? Maybe we can get them to shut down the auction.”

Strumming frowned skeptically. “And here I thought you were getting less naive. I’ll tell you exactly how the Council would respond to this: ‘Freeport doesn’t have any laws against selling or owning books.’” She scoffed. “Because it’s not like a big book of dark magic might lead to more warlocks. As far as they’re concerned, we can’t even prove Goldtalon’s selling it to somepony who would use it. It’d be easy for everyone at the auction to claim they just want it as a curiosity piece, what with it being an infamous book that most folks think doesn’t even exist.”

“So a bust is out.” Not that I was surprised; Strumming wouldn’t be coming to me for help if she had a better way of solving her problem. “Why not just send somepony to the auction to buy the book? I’d bet the Equestrian government could out-bid any private collectors or wanna-be warlocks.”

“That’s our current game plan,” Strumming agreed. “There’s just one little snag: it’s a private auction, invitation only. And the EIS isn’t invited. Probably because Goldtalon knows that half the other guests are on our wanted list. Which means we need somepony who can get invited to represent our interests. Somepony like the new magus of Freeport.”

Ah, so that’s what her angle was. “You want me to be the EIS’s stand-in, then? Buy the book for you and hoof it over?”

“Got it right on the first try.” Strumming grinned and slapped me on the back. “Don’t worry, we’ll cover whatever you have to offer. You just go in there and make sure you put in the winning bid on the Codex. Money’s not an issue; better to spend a million bits buying it now than ten million hunting it down later.”

“Sounds simple enough.” My eyes narrowed suspiciously. “A little too simple, actually. What’s the catch?” I mulled it over in my mind for a second and came up with a pretty good guess. “You mentioned that some of the attendees are on the EIS’s wanted list. I’m gonna take a wild guess that they’re not very nice and might try to cause problems, especially if they knew I was fronting for the EIS. Or if they thought they could just take the book from me for free after the auction’s over.”

Strumming smiled approvingly. “Oh, you are getting nice and sharp. I was afraid I’d have to remind you about them.” She opened up her saddlebag and pulled out a pair of files. “Out of the confirmed attendees, we have two problem cases.” She opened up the first file, revealing a nicely dressed white unicorn stallion I vaguely recalled from one or two high society functions in Canterlot. “Fancy Pants is an up-and-coming noble who’s a long way from Canterlot. We’re not sure what he’s doing in Freeport or why he’s trying to buy a book of black magic. He’s got a squeaky-clean reputation, so it doesn’t fit. Either he’s dirty and very good at covering it up, or he’s got some other angle. Hay, for all we know he’s buying the book so he can give it to the authorities. It’d certainly help his standing in court. Bottom line is, we don’t know what his agenda is, and that makes us wary.”

“So keep an eye on him and figure out what he’s up to.” Now that I had a name to go with the picture, I did recall him from the one time Celestia dragged me to the Grand Galloping Gala. Not that I remembered much in the way of details beyond him being friendly and charming. Hopefully it wouldn’t lead to too many complications. “Alright, who’s the other one?”

“Bad news,” Strumming announced grimly. “Exactly the kind of person we do not want getting his claws on the Codex.” She opened up the folder, showing me a picture of an almost skeletally thin gryphon with brown plumage. “He calls himself Marius. He’s a facilitator. A mercenary who’s sort of like Puzzle Piece, except Marius is specifically focused on helping out the bad guys. Studies all kinds of forbidden magic, but never actually uses any himself or gets mixed up with cults or warlock covens. Instead, he hires out his expertise to anyone who’s up to nasty business and willing to meet his ridiculous high rates. We’ve busted at least a dozen warlocks, cults, and criminal organizations he helped become way more dangerous, but he always manages to keep his beak clean.” She grimaced. “I’m sure I don’t have to explain why we don’t want someone like him getting the Codex.”

“It’d make him even better at what he’s already doing.” I picked up the picture, committing it to my memory. “And it sounds like he’s been causing all kinds of trouble for you as it is.” I frowned as a thought occurred to me. “So why haven’t you gone after him? I can’t see lack of evidence being enough to stop you by itself.”

“He’s very well-connected, and good at keeping up a respectable front back in Gryphonia. He was smart and invested a lot of his profits into reputable businesses.” She grumbled and ran a hoof through her mane. “He practically runs Gryphonstone’s economy, and his mansion is more like a small castle. We’d need an army to take the place down and be certain of killing or capturing him. Too much force to bring to bear without the local government’s permission, unless we want to risk starting a war. And the government certainly won’t let us arrest the guy who effectively owns them all.” She scowled. “We tried petitioning the Council for extradition, but they consider him a ‘legitimate businessgryphon’ until we can prove otherwise.” 

“You think he’ll be a problem for me?” I asked.

“I’d keep a close eye on him and his flunkies,” Strumming cautioned. “I don’t think he’d go after you directly—it’s too messy by his usual standards. But he wants the Codex, and bad things tend to happen to anyone who gets in the way of what he wants.”

“Right.” I got up from my chair and stretched out. “Fine. If he tries anything, I’ll be ready for him. And as you should be well aware, bad things also tend to happen to anyone who tries to come after me.”
> The Competition
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once I agreed to the job, everything fell into place pretty quickly. So quickly that it was obvious Strumming had been setting things up before she’d even asked if I would take the job. That irked me—I didn’t like the idea that she’d just assumed she could win me over. Granted, a chance to remove a major threat to Freeport’s safety and earn a big sack of money in the process was a pretty tempting offer. I consoled myself with the thought that maybe she hadn’t been specifically planning for me, but just laying the groundwork for whoever she recruited to be the EIS’s patsy.

I thought about checking in with Puzzle, just to let him know what was going on and get his take on the situation. However, in all honesty, I wasn’t too bothered when I found out he wasn’t at his house. A part of me wanted to handle this job on my own. It wasn’t like I needed Puzzle holding my hoof and guiding me through every single aspect of every job I took. And I could definitely handle Strumming all by myself.

Maybe that was a bit prideful; I’m sure Puzzle would say so. But to hay with it, there’s nothing wrong with having a bit of pride.

Soon enough it was time for the auction itself. Naturally I dressed for the occasion, buying myself a brand new magus robe made of pure silk. One thing I’ll say for being a magus, it makes fashion nice and simple. Which was probably a good thing, since I would probably be the poorest pony at the auction. Not that I was poor by any objective scale, but all the other attendees were ridiculously rich. Fortunately, I managed to stick the EIS with the bill for my new robes. They were definitely necessary mission equipment if I wanted to blend in. If only I could’ve convinced them to cover my trip to the bookstore, too...

Just how rich everyone else attending the auction was became quite clear once I arrived at Goldtalon’s auction house. The place reeked of casual wealth in a way that reminded me of the mansions nobles owned in Canterlot. Though after a moment’s reflection, I realized that was probably exactly what the owner wanted: when you’re selling stuff off to the super-rich, your shop should make them feel at home. The massive tapestries, the huge vaulted ceilings covered with highly detailed frescoes, and all of the walls done in high-quality marble that Goldtalon must have paid a ton of bits to have shipped all the way out to Freeport. He might as well just put up a gigantic sign that said “I am incredibly wealthy, and thus definitely the social equal of any of my potential clients.” Though considering what I’d done with my tower, I was reminded of the old saying about those who live in glass houses. Especially since obsidian technically was glass.

Goldtalon had several guards posted at the entrance, but they let me in without any trouble. I’d expected them to at least stop to confirm my identity or ask to see the invitation Strumming had obtained for me, but presumably they just knew me by sight. I guess their boss didn’t want any of the guests feeling harassed by all the security. Though that would make it far too easy for a changeling wearing my face to slip in—unless Goldtalon had something set up to prevent that. A quick magical scan confirmed that the auction house had extensive magical defenses. Which only made sense, considering he sold expensive things to spellcasters.

Naturally, the defenses were strongest on the auction floor itself, since that was where all the goods being sold off were on display. I was impressed by how subtle all the spellwork was—it certainly wouldn’t stand out to anyone who wasn’t a magical expert like me. I suppose that was part of Goldtalon’s high-class appeal; too much obvious security might make his clients feel like he was treating them as potential thieves.

I quickly scanned the room for Goldtalon himself. Introducing myself to the owner of the establishment was only polite, after all. Fortunately, he stood out from the crowd.

Goldtalon was a large, portly gryphon swaddled in enough silk to make at least two new sets of robes for me. His outfit was a particularly rich shade of indigo, and he was wearing enough jewelry to put a Canterlot diva to shame. His head-feathers were worn long but slicked back, and an obsequious smile never left his face.

At the moment, he was chatting with a pair of unicorns. The white stallion in the nice suit and monocle was obviously Fancy Pants, and I presumed the pink-maned mare hanging off his side was his requisite arm candy and/or trophy wife. Fancy was holding up a bust of Duke Clearheart the Crooked, casually looking it over and presumably commenting on its quality.

Since Fancy was also on the list of guests I wanted to check out, I saw no reason not to handle both tasks at the same time. I trotted over to Goldtalon, plastering on the best charming smile I could manage and offering him my hoof. “Master Goldtalon, thank you for the invitation. I must say, I would’ve come to your auction house much sooner if I’d known just how exquisite your goods were.”

The gryphon turned to me, smiling broadly and throwing open his arms. “Ah, if it isn't Freeport's magus.” To my surprise and considerable discomfort, he hugged me and kissed me on each cheek. “It’s wonderful to finally have you as a guest! I’d been hoping you would do me the honor of gracing my home with your presence. And I must say, you’re far more beautiful and charming than I’d heard.”

“Er...” I took a moment to shake off my surprise at his rather enthusiastic greeting. “Well, considering the goods you had on offer, I knew I couldn't miss it.”

He chuckled, which made his paunch quiver quite a bit. “Excellent. If I had known I needed to put better goods on display to pull you out of your tower, I promise I would’ve done so months ago, when you first arrived on our lovely islands. Now then, I can show you several goods that I think you'll be quite interested in.”

“That so? I'll look forward to seeing them, then.” I shot a casual look at the other two ponies. “Once you’re done with them, of course. I would hate to interrupt more than I already have.” I feigned a quick double take at Fancy, pretending to recognize him. “Wait ... Fancy Pants, right? I believe we met at the Gala last year.”

Fancy had been in the middle of polishing his monocle when I spoke, and quickly put it back on, turning to me with a polite smile. “We did indeed, Miss Shimmer.” His arm candy didn’t deign to respond to me, instead frowning at me and sniffing haughtily.

Goldtalon looked between the two of us, grinning jovially. “Ah, you two know each other, then? Wonderful! I hadn’t realized my humble auction would also allow two old friends to renew their acquaintance. And it saves me the trouble of introductions.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t presume to call Miss Shimmer an old friend,” Fancy demurred. “We only met in passing at the Gala. I believe the princess was making a point of introducing her to all the guests that evening.”

“She was.” Not one of my favorite evenings. Any pleasure I derived from the fact that Celestia wanted to show me off to Canterlot’s nobility had quickly been outweighed by the sheer mind-numbing tedium of the Gala itself. After the tenth time Celestia introduced me to some minor lordling, the novelty had worn off.

Fancy looked me over, then chuckled. “After the Gala, I certainly never imagined we would meet in a place like this. Life truly does take us in unexpected directions.” He glanced back at his arm candy, then waved her forward. “Miss Shimmer, I don’t believe you’ve met my paramour. This is Fleur De Lis.”

Unsurprisingly, Fleur had the accent to match her name. “Enchanté, Mademoiselle Shimmer. You were Princess Celestia's student, non?”

Despite everything that happened between us, I was still proud of the fact that Celestia taught me. “The one and only.”

Fleur looked down her nose at me and let out a haughty sniff. “Not so.”

“Now now, dear Fleur,” Fancy gently chided. “Miss Shimmer has been out of the loop for a while. You can hardly expect her to be up to date on the latest court gossip when it’s been nearly a year since she was actually at court, can you?”

“What court gossip?” My eyes narrowed, and I frowned at both of them. “What are you two talking about?”

Fleur ignored my question, keeping focused on Fancy. “Are you sure, mon coeur? I would have thought she at least kept abreast of the news from her old home. And everypony’s been talking about how Princess Celestia has been looking for a new student...”

A new student? A new student?! I took a deep breath and tried to calm down before I caused a scene. “No offense, but those rumors are ridiculous. Celestia has no reason to go looking for a new student.”

Fleur fixed me with a politely condescending look. “Well, you would know the most about her educational methods, no? Nonetheless, she has been spending a lot of time looking in on the School for Gifted Unicorns.”

“She always does that,” I countered. “It’s called Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.” Of course, I’d always assumed that the main reason she stopped by the school so often was to check up on my progress and make sure all my teachers were doing a good job. But that was just more proof that she wasn’t trying to replace me, because she wouldn’t do that.

“As you say,” Fleur conceded with a shrug. “Nonetheless, the talk around court is that she's been keeping an eye open for new talent. Asking professors about their best students, looking over the list of applicants for the next school year...”

Despite my best efforts, my teeth started grinding. It was completely ridiculous. There was no way, no way Celestia would ever consider replacing me.

Fancy gently cleared his throat. “Now now, my dear, I’m sure it can’t come as too much of a surprise to you. After all, it’s been nearly a year since you ... graduated.” He left just enough of a pause before that word to make what he actually meant clear. “Teachers do eventually take on new students once the old ones complete their education. It’s the natural cycle. It’s only natural for ponies to move on. It reminds me of what happened to Princess Cadance. Her magnanimity in the face of what she went through in recovery is ... worthy.”

“Recovery?” I had a feeling I knew exactly what they were talking about, but I didn’t want to believe it. “What recovery?”

“Don't you remember?” Fleur asked airily, before her eyes narrowed. ”You burned her.”

“So the rumors say, at least,” Fancy continued. “I’m not entirely certain I believe them myself, but the whole mess did provide no shortage of gossip. The new princess badly burned, when Princess Celestia’s star pupil is known to be a talented pyromancer. And then there was your rather unexpected departure from the city the day after Cadance’s injuries. It’s only natural the rumormongers would try to connect the two events, despite Celestia’s claims Cadance’s injuries were the result of an unfortunate accident.”

That was ... technically true. I hadn’t meant to burn her as badly as I had. I hadn’t meant to hurt her at all, just scare her a little. And she certainly hadn’t been burned badly enough to require an extended ‘recovery’ afterwards.

Fancy politely cleared his throat. “Regardless of the circumstances surrounding her injury, Cadance moved on.” He turned a curious look my way. “As, it seems, have you. I must say, I certainly didn’t expect to meet Princess Celestia’s former student in a Freeport auction house of all places. Especially considering the fact that some of the goods being offered for sale are ... not of the sort she would approve of.”

I glowered at him and tossed back the obvious question. “Well if some of the stuff for sale is so bad, why are you here?”

Goldtalon stepped in, clearly trying to defuse the budding confrontation. “My friends, my auction house is world famous. I bring in rare and valuable objects from every corner of the map, and my clientele is equally as prestigious and varied. Whether it’s Equestrian nobles, the honored Magus of Freeport, or a respectable captain of industry such as Marius, all are welcome here.” He paused, then chuckled loudly. “Well, so long as they can afford my prices, of course! And like any humble merchant who has prospered, I sell those goods that are in demand, even if certain parties think those goods are ... problematic.”

“Which is precisely why we are here,” Fleur cut in. “Fancy and I will make sure that some of the more powerful items do not fall into ... shall we say, questionable hooves.”

“Well said, my dear.” Fancy smiled and pecked his paramour on the cheek. “As I’m sure you’re aware, several of the items for sale belong in the Sealed Repository. I have every intention of purchasing them and then turning them over to the Royal Magi to deal with as they please.”

And no doubt rake in the political capital that would come from such an accomplishment. I knew enough about Canterlot court politics to be suspicious of anypony who claimed to have altruistic motives. Turning in the Black Codex would net Fancy a ton of prestige, not to mention the Mage Corps would owe him a huge favor. And in High Society Canterlot, favors were a far more valuable form of currency than bits.

Fancy turned back to me, his polite smile still firmly in place.  “Now that I’ve satisfied your curiosity, Miss Shimmer, might I ask you to return the favor? I would certainly like to know what brings you here.”

“I would think that would be obvious.” My first instinct was to scoff at him, but I restrained the urge. Better to keep things friendly for as long as possible. “First off, I’m a magical adept and Goldtalon deals in magical goods. Secondly, I'm the Magus of Freeport. Considering the sort of things Goldtalon sells, it’s part of my job to keep an eye on him.” I turned to the auctioneer and nodded. “No offense intended, of course.”

“I quite understand,” the gryphon answered graciously. “And of course, I am more than happy to cooperate with the Council and its agents if they can prove that something sold at my auction house was used to break the law.”

Fleur let out a loud, haughty sniff. “So, you call yourself the Magus of Freeport, non? Curious, since you never earned the title before you left Equestria.”

Goldtalon chuckled and shook his head. “Ah, I think there’s a been a misunderstanding here. As she noted, Miss Shimmer is a Magus of Freeport. That title was given to her by the authority of the Council, I assure you. And given her accomplishments since her arrival in the city, I think she’s quite earned the title.”

“A Magus earns their title through hard work, dedication, and service to the rest of ponykind,” the trophy declared proudly. “It is not an honor that should be passed around like a party favor. You do not deserve to call yourself a magus, but it seems that honorable titles are also for sale in this city of cutthroats and thieves. Though given what you did to Cadance, perhaps it is no surprise you are at home in this place.”

To hay with keeping my temper under control, nopony is allowed to talk to me like that. “Nag, if you insult my city one more time, we're going to have a problem.”

“I say now!” Fancy stepped between us, glowering disapprovingly down at me. “Are you threatening my paramour?”

“No.” I stepped forward, glaring daggers at the stuck-up mare. “Now tell her to back off and keep her gold-digging mouth shut, or I'll rip her horn off and shove it up her plot.” I gave it a moment to sink in. “That was a threat. See the difference?”

Fleur’s horn lit up, and I immediately prepared to counter whatever spell she was planning to use. She hadn’t formed a proper spell yet, but I was a bit surprised by how well she’d focused her energy. It was enough to make me wonder if the future trophy wife had some teeth.

Before I could find out, Goldtalon quickly interposed himself between the two of us. “Please, everypony, there is no need for any unpleasantness.” He turned to me with an easy smile. “We're all here to enjoy the evening, and for you to give me preposterous sums of money for priceless items. The only arguments we should be having are bidding wars.”

I took a calming breath and reluctantly backed down. I was here to do a job, and picking a fight with some stuck-up nag who was just asking for a lesson in humility wasn’t part of it. Though I might classify it as a bonus. “Fine. I won’t start any trouble. It would make me a terrible guest in your lovely home, Goldtalon.”

“I would hate for my lovely mansion to suffer the same fate as the Glimmer home.” He chuckled and waved at one of his large and no doubt expensive tapestries. “Rumor has it you can be quite destructive when somepony tries to fight you.”

“The thief did most of the structural damage, actually,” I reassured the gryphon. “If I’d been responsible, it would’ve burned down, not collapsed.”

“Something I am sure is a great comfort to the house’s owner,” Fleur sniped. “That is another thing a true magus learns: how to control their power so they can capture a single thief without leveling buildings in the process.”

Fancy gently put a restraining hoof on his arm candy’s shoulder. “That's enough, my dear. We’re here on business, and coming dreadfully close to causing a scene.”

Fleur closed her eyes and nodded, leaning into her sugar daddy’s touch. “Yes, of course, Fancy. I should not lower myself by arguing with such a mare.”

Goldtalon pointedly cleared his throat, and Fleur at least had the decency to look slightly abashed. “If I might be so bold as to make a suggestion, perhaps now would be a good time for us to mingle a bit more? I am sure Fancy has others he would like to speak with before the auction starts, and I know several of my guests are eager to be properly introduced to Magus Shimmer.” I grinned at the slight stress he put on my title.

“Now then,” the gryphon continued. “Fancy, if you like, I believe I see Sweet Roll, the owner of Freeport's largest sugarcane island, over there by the Scrolls of Troxus. I'm sure he would love to speak with you.”

“Ah, thank you quite kindly.” He offered his foreleg to Fleur. “Shall we, my dear?”

“Yes, mon coeur.” The mare shot a final withering look my way. “I think I would quite enjoy some civilized company.”

As the two of them trotted off, the auctioneer turned to me. “And perhaps I could show you a few of the items on auction today, Magus Shimmer?”

“That sounds great.” Getting a chance to look at the Black Codex before the main event would probably make my job a little easier, and I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing what else he had to offer. After all, I was getting a nice big reward from the EIS once this job was finished.

“Then by all means, allow me to give you the grand tour.” He extended one of his talons to me, then slowly set it down when I didn’t take him up on the offer. “Now then, was there anything  that you’re specifically interested in, or shall I just use my own judgement? I like to think I know what my clients want.”

I saw no reason not to get straight to the heart of things. “Well, the Black Codex is certainly an intriguing item. After all, the conventional wisdom is that the book is just an old mare’s tale. Normally I would dismiss anyone claiming they could provide a copy of it as a two-bit con artist, but given your reputation that’s obviously not the case.”

“But of course not,” he reassured me with an easy smile. “I assure you, I have several experts who assist me with validating the authenticity of any goods I offer for sale. I had an accredited  expert on rare books who confirmed its age and that it matched known descriptions of the Codex, as well as a diviner who was able to determine that no magic was used to forge it. I even had a few of the simpler spells tested to ensure that they functioned. I can of course give you their names and credentials, or even introduce you to them. Naturally, they’re both attending the auction in case anyone has questions.”

He led me over to a glass display case, containing what could only be the Codex. I was a bit surprised by the book—I suppose I’d been expecting something a bit more dramatic. The Black Codex wasn’t bound with equine skin, the pages used normal ink instead of blood, and there was a distinct lack of skull-shaped decorations. It just looked like an ordinary, unremarkable book of the sort that would look right at home on my bookshelf. After a moment’s reflection, I realized that was probably the entire point—for it to blend in. Considering the EIS burned every copy they could get their hooves on, it only made sense.

Goldtalon chuckled, waving towards the book. “A remarkable little piece of history is wrapped up in this unremarkable-looking book. The book itself was begun by the infamous warlock Hidden Facts and several of his acolytes, though work on it continued for many years after his death during the Equestrian Civil War before it was declared complete. The Equestrian Magi naturally outlawed the book as soon as they learned of its existence, which of course means that finding an intact copy is quite the coup.”

“I bet.” I was more than a little curious about just how he’d pulled that off, though I was pretty sure he would just tell me one his buyers got lucky and stumbled across it. Odds were he bought it from some clueless sap who had no idea what he was holding, and said sap probably wasn’t paid a tenth of what Goldtalon would make selling the book tonight. Merchantry is a cutthroat business, and speaking of cut throats... “Aren't you worried about selling off something that dangerous, though? I mean, the Codex is full of spells that have no real use beyond causing pain and suffering.”

Goldtalon shrugged away my concerns. “It's hardly the most dangerous artifact I’ve ever sold. And to be quite honest, most of the spells within are no more dangerous than the contents of any war magus’s grimoire. A bound elemental spirit is quite a bit greater of a threat than a mere zombie, and draining the life out of someone is no worse than setting them on fire or impaling them using telekinesis. The Codex doesn't even cover the more advanced spells, so in many ways it’s less dangerous than some of the ‘legitimate’ books on combat magic.”

I’d heard Goldtalon’s reasoning before, back when Celestia had given me lessons on Magical Ethics. While there was merit to the idea that magic’s morality ultimately derived from how it was used—murder is still murder no matter what spell you use to do the deed—my own experience with dark magic had given me a slightly more developed view. Bending and breaking minds, raising the dead, stealing life and magic from others ... it was all too easy to abuse, and way too tempting. I didn’t trust myself with some of the things dark magic could do, so I certainly wasn’t going to trust anyone else with it either.

With that thought firmly in mind, I threw a question Goldtalon’s way. “What if someone uses the spells in that book to hurt others? Don’t you share some responsibility?”

The gryphon answered with an uncaring shrug. “I have no control over what my clients do with their private property. Would you hold a merchant responsible if the kitchen knives he sold to a married couple were used in a murder? No, you would blame the one wielding the knife.”

“What you’re selling is a lot more dangerous than kitchenware,” I countered.

“But the same principle applies,” he maintained. “Once I sell one of my goods to a client, I have no more legal claim or responsibility than any random citizen on the street. Would you forbid me from selling an old, enchanted spear because it’s still a weapon?” He pointed to another display case, which held a plain, undecorated knife. “How about the dagger used to assassinate High Queen Livia XXII? Purely of historical interest, but the blade is still sharp. Or perhaps the scrolls of the great alchemist Chausiku? His apprentices killed each other for years after his death over who would possess his secrets.” He smirked and placed a talon on one of the statues dotting the walls. “I'm sure if you got inventive, you could bludgeon to death someone with this art piece. All it would take is enough strength or a good spell.”

Dammit, I was getting steamrolled. I suppose it shouldn’t have been a surprise; his response seemed so well rehearsed that he’d obviously had the question thrown his way before. I still didn’t agree with him, but I didn’t think arguing the point would accomplish anything. I certainly wouldn’t change his mind, so all I was likely to accomplish was pissing him off. “Right, I see what you mean. I suppose I was just wondering if you're worried that selling a book full of dark magic might draw out the wrong sorts.”

As if summoned by those very words, a tall, skeletally thin brown gryphon stepped forward. He smiled at both of us, though the expression never quite reached his eyes. I recognized him from the photograph Strumming had shown me; Marius was even wearing the same fancy brown suit-and-tie combo. “Might I ask what sorts would those be, my dear magus?”

Goldtalon immediately turned to the other gryphon and pulled him into the same sort of hug he’d subjected me to. At least he was consistent. “Ah, Marius! My old friend! So good to see you again.” He waved me forward. “This is Magus Sunset Shimmer's first visit to my auction house. She seems to be enjoying herself thus far, but it seems that she isn’t aware of just how respectable all my guests are.”

Considering Goldtalon was talking to an infamous cult and warlock facilitator, he certainly had an interesting definition of ‘respectable.’

Marius turned a dry smile on me, and took a moment to adjust his tie. “Suffice to say, magus, the sort of riff-raff who would try to cause problems simply aren't invited. And ... well I’m sure you’ve noticed the rather formidable magical defenses guarding this establishment. It would be most unwise for anyone to attempt to steal the Codex. Or anything else in Goldtalon’s vaults.”

Well, that gave me one useful piece of information. After I got the Codex, I was probably safe until I left the estate. If Marius or anyone else wanted to steal it, they would probably assume it would be a lot easier to rob me than it would be rob Goldtalon. Sure, I was a magus, but I didn’t have a small army of bodyguards or the best wards money could buy.

The merchant nodded along with Marius, chuckling. “Of course, of course. I only market to the highest clientele. Quite simply, the vast majority of people can't afford my prices. And really, I am wealthy enough as it is. To be honest, half the reason I sell my goods is to have an excuse to invite so many notable beings into my home.”

“And the other half is because you do love to take our money, even if you don’t need it.” Marius smirked at the auctioneer. “Not that I am bitterly complaining about your prices. While yours are almost always higher than I would like, I never felt that I received a poor value for what I paid.” He shifted his attention to me, cocking his head to the side. “It will be interesting to see how you bargain, Magus.”

“I do like to introduce new elements to these auctions now and again.” Goldtalon cut in. “It keeps things interesting. Certainly I enjoy the company of my regulars, but it's nice to bring in new up-and-comers like the magus here who are hungry to prove themselves.”

“I am looking forward to seeing her in action.” Marius smiled and offered me one of his talons. “I have heard quite a few things about your work, Magus. I must say, your defeat of Metal Mome showed ... promise.”

I tried not to shiver at the reminder of what I’d done to the pirate captain. My first real experiment with dark magic, and one I’d rather not repeat. Or be reminded of. And certainly not praised for, especially by someone who specialized in training warlocks. It was more than a little unsettling to think he might be looking at me as a potential recruit. I barely managed to force out a polite, “Thank you,” though I couldn’t bring myself to shake his talon.

“You're quite welcome.” He looked me over, then nodded to himself. “I would enjoy properly making your acquaintance, once this auction is done. Perhaps we could arrange to have tea together some time in the next few days? There are a great many things we could discuss about possible future endeavours.”

“I’ll see what my schedule looks like,” I answered noncommittally.

“But of course.” The facilitator turned his attention back to Goldtalon. “Well, if there is nothing else, shall we get to it?”

The auctioneer glanced towards one of the large, ornate clocks. “Yes, I suppose it is getting a bit close to time for the main event.” He politely bowed to both of us. “If you two will excuse me, there are a few things I need to attend to before we get started. The usual last-minute preparations. I'm sure you understand.” We both let him know that we did. “Excellent! Best of luck at my establishment.”

“But of course.” Marius glanced my way, then smiled dryly. “And best of luck to you, Magus. I hope you do add a bit of fire to the proceedings. I have found that auctions can grow a bit ... dull.”

“You’re in luck then.” I smirked. “Usually when there’s complaining about me, it’s because I made things too interesting.”





True to Marius’s words, most of the auction was fairly dull. I didn’t really care who got a dagger used to assassinate an old queen or a statue of somepony who died two thousand years ago. I suppose I should’ve been watching how everypony handled the bidding to try and get a sense of who they were and what strategies they used, but what was the point? Since the EIS was covering my bids, I had access to the entire royal treasury; nopony was gonna beat me in a bidding war.

Besides, everyone else here was probably trying to figure me out too. And I didn’t like the idea of anyone getting inside my head and finding out what made me tick, which was why I pulled out one of my old journals and put the finishing touches on a new spell I’d been working on for the last week or so. I didn’t look up once, no matter how heated the bidding got.

I didn’t even take my eyes off my notebook when Goldtalon brought out the Black Codex. The auctioneer cleared his throat and began introducing the item. “The Black Codex, a tome of magical lore long thought to be—”

Without even breaking stride on jotting down my notes, I calmly declared. “Ten million ducats.” Jaws dropped, and everypony’s eyes turned to me. I continued to pretend none of them existed. Sure, I’d dropped a gigantic bid, but it’s not like the money mattered to me. After all, the EIS was going to be paying for it, and if anything making them pay extra counted as a bonus. I could just imagine the chewing-out Strumming would get when she hoofed that bill over to her bosses.

Goldtalon certainly didn’t seem to mind, even though I’d interrupted his speech. I suppose offering him eight figures was enough to offset his miffed pride. I was a little surprised nobody questioned my ability to pay that much, but I guess exclusive super-expensive auctions don’t ask about that—they just assume you’re good for it. Like restaurants where the menu doesn’t have any prices. Or maybe Goldtalon was hoping I couldn’t pay so he’d have a massive debt to hold over my head. He was probably rich enough that having a unicorn with my skill and power owe him a huge favor was worth losing a few million bits. “Very well then, Magus Shimmer has opened the bidding at ten million Freeport Ducats. Would anyone else care to offer another?”

Fancy Pants grimaced and reluctantly shook his head. I guess the Canterlot gentleman adventurer didn’t have enough cash on hoof to outbid me. The auctioneer’s gaze then turned to Marius. The other gryphon said nothing, but the cryptic smile on his face was answer enough. I suppose he’d decided it would probably be cheaper to hire someone to kill me and steal the book from my collection than it would be to outbid me. Hay, maybe Fancy Pants had decided that too. Fancy might look like a prim and proper gentleman, but so did Marius, and he was a warlock who worked to set up black magic cults. And even if Fancy was as much of a good guy as he claimed to be, I knew first-hoof that good ponies could still do nasty things when they convinced themselves that they had no other choice, or the greater good required it.

Goldtalon rapped the gavel on his podium. “Very well! The Black Codex is sold to Magus Shimmer for ten million ducats. Now then—”

The Codex vanished in a flash of light as I teleported it away, the book landing neatly on top of my journal. I closed the journal, then put both books away beneath my robes. With my business finished, I saw no reason to stick around any longer. If Marius or Fancy were planning anything, the last thing I wanted to do was give them any time to set things up. So without another word, I rose to my hooves and headed for the door.
> The Prize
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I almost got back to my tower before they caught up with me. Too bad ‘almost’ getting away is really just another way of saying I got caught.

I was going through one the nice plazas that serves as an open air market during the day. By now it was late enough that most of the market stalls had closed down and emptied out, but there were still a few enterprising merchants doing business with anyone who happened to be out this late at night, and enough lamps to provide a reasonable light level despite the late hour, especially since there was a full moon out. I’d picked a route that went through the plaza because there were almost always condottieri stationed there, even at night. After all, if somepony was murdered in the middle of a marketplace—even late at night—it might discourage business.

The first sign that there might be a problem with my plan was when Marius swooped in low and landed at one of the plaza’s exits, placing himself right in the middle of the path between me and my tower. While I could just teleport right past him and keep walking, I rather doubted he would have openly shown himself to me without having a backup plan in place. One downside of making your home in a massive obsidian tower is that everypony in Freeport knew exactly where I lived.

And as importantly, that would mean he’d made me run. I wasn’t going to jump at shadows and flee for my life just because some two-bit warlock was getting in my way. It was a lot better if I stayed calm, confident, and in control. That would buy me time, and let me think of a smart way out of this mess. Maybe I could even talk my way out of any trouble.

So instead of heading for the entrance, I went to one of the nice little benches scattered around the market plaza and took a seat. I didn’t have to wait too long before Marius took the hint and padded over, taking a seat on the opposite end. “Magus Shimmer, once more it is a pleasure.”

“Wish I could say the same,” I answered neutrally. “You’re following me.”

“I am,” the skeletally thin gryphon admitted. “I have something of a business proposition for you. I would have spoken to you at Goldtalon’s, but your rather abrupt departure made that impossible. I apologize if I offended you.”

I answered with a grunt that acknowledged his apology without quite accepting it. Apparently that was good enough for him, because his head bobbed in an almost imperceptible nod before he continued. “Now, I will not waste any more of your valuable time and get straight to the point. You are now the proud owner of the one of the most sought-after books of forbidden lore in the world. However, the Black Codex was never meant to be a single book squirreled away in a mage’s collection. Its authors dreamed of making the book as freely available as other such foundational works as Principio Evocatio, Star Swirl’s Book of Simple Spells for Simple Unicorns, or Spheres of Power. I would like to carry on their dream.”

He held up a talon to forestall any objections I might have. “Not by taking away your book, of course. It is yours, bought and paid for. All I ask is that one of my acolytes be permitted to make a copy of the Codex. You can, of course, observe the entire process and employ whatever security measures you wish to ensure that your copy of the book is not altered or damaged in any way. You will retain the Black Codex, and I will have my own copy of the knowledge within it. In exchange, I offer the same ten million ducats you just paid Goldtalon.”

Ah, so that was his angle. I guess it made sense; why get into an expensive bidding war when he could let me have the book, then pay for the right to make a copy? He still got what he wanted, I made back the cost of buying the book for practically zero effort, and we both saved money. And since I hadn’t actually paid for the book with my own money, I’d really be making a ridiculously huge profit on the whole deal.

I admit, I was a bit tempted to take the deal. Sure, Strumming would be mad that I broke our contract, but she wasn’t even offering me one percent of what Marius was. And maybe I could even set things up so Strumming didn’t know I’d cut a deal with Marius. That would get me the best of both worlds. A ton of cash and the EIS thinking I was on their side and helping them out. Sure, it would mean letting a dangerous book go out into circulation, but there were way worse things already out there. The Codex just covered the basic stuff, after all...

Marius must have sensed me wavering, because he tried to sweeten the deal. “And of course, you would also have my gratitude, and that can come in many forms. I could give the names of mighty fiends who would offer you power and wealth beyond compare. Or initiate you into higher mysteries of magic that you will never learn elsewhere, or introduce you to social circles that could pave your way to anything you want. Or I could offer you copies of a few tomes from my own personal collection. It is a fair trade, if nothing else. I am given to understand you have dabbled in the mental arts and necromancy; I could help you master both.”

He really should’ve kept his mouth shut. As long as it was only money changing hooves, I might’ve rationalized my way into cutting a deal with him. But once he started offering me more, he reminded me of exactly who I was talking to.

This wasn’t about money—this was about me handing over a lot of knowledge and power to someone who’d devoted his entire life to causing misery and suffering. Maybe he sat back playing the facilitator instead of getting his talons dirty, but that didn’t change the fact that a whole lot of innocents had suffered because of his activities.

No. Selling him the book was off the table. And that was only the start of it. Fleur De Lis might be an annoying, stuck-up nag, but she’d been right about one thing: if I was going to call myself a Magus, I needed to actually act the part. A true Magus wouldn’t let a warlock facilitator come into their city, try to get his talons on a bunch of dark magic, and then walk away. He’d come into my city, and he was already trying to spread his poison by recruiting me. And I’d just smiled politely and talked business with him.

So everypony in Equestria thought I didn’t deserve to be a Magus? Fine. I’d show them all just how wrong they were. Of course, the Council would throw a fit if they thought I was attacking wealthy foreigners for what they would see as no good reason. Thankfully, I had a solution for that.

I tapped my chin in mock ponderance, then gave Marius my answer. “Before I accept your offer, would you mind if I read the book first?” I smirked at him. “It only seems reasonable to get an idea of what I’m selling before we make a deal.”

The gryphon shrugged. “So long as it doesn’t cause too much of a delay, I have no objection to it. I will be in the city for a few more days on business. I trust that will provide you with adequate time to peruse the book’s contents and give me your answer?”

“Yeah, that should be plenty of time. I’ll get on it right away.” I shifted on the bench so that he couldn’t read over my shoulder, then pulled the book out from within my robes. I flipped through it quickly and settled on a random page. “Huh. I don’t need that spell.”

My horn flashed as I tore out several pages, then set them on fire.

“What are you doing?!” Marius shrieked, his eyes bugging out in shock.

I answered with an uncaring shrug. “What? I didn’t want those spells in a book that I own, which also means I didn’t want to sell them to you. So I got rid of them. It’s my book, and I’m allowed to do whatever I want with it.” I paused to let that sink in, then tossed out another careful barb. “If you want, we can renegotiate the price on that deal you offered me. Especially since there’s probably other spells I won’t want to keep.”

He stared at me incredulously, his mouth working silently for several seconds before he managed to put his thoughts into words. “You—you can’t just rip pages out of the the Black Codex and burn them!”

“That’s weird,” I shot back, smirking. “‘Cause I just did. And in fact, I think I’ll burn some more, ‘cause this demon-summoning spell really doesn’t seem like one I’d ever use.”

Marius let out a strangled cry and lunged for the book, trying to snatch it away before I could do any more damage. I immediately used my magic to lift it out of his grasp, slowly building up a ball of fire on the tip of my horn.

Marius did the only thing he could to protect his precious book: he attacked me. His talons came slashing straight at my face, and I could see them crackling with ugly purple energy that would probably be very bad for my health if it hit me. I teleported away before the attack could connect, rematerializing right next to the plaza’s small condottieri contingent. I leveled an accusing hoof at the gryphon. “Marius! You just assaulted and attempted to steal from a Magus of Freeport in the middle of a public marketplace. By my authority as Freeport’s leading Magus, I am placing you under arrest for grossly violating the Council’s laws.” I turned to the condottieri, using a tiny bit of magic to ensure that my cloak flared dramatically. “Take him into custody.”

Much to my annoyance, the leader of the condottieri squad didn’t follow my orders. Instead he just glared at me. “Oh. You again.”

I blinked in surprise, then took a closer look at the mercenary. I hadn’t recognized him at first due to the low light and his face-covering helmet, but the voice was distinctive. The same one who’d been at the riot in Sandy Shores. The one he’d helped cause, and nearly started back up again after I’d quelled it because he cared more about his personal profit than doing his job. Of all the damned luck, why did I have to run into him again? “Right. You. Well if your greed isn't going to get in the way of doing your job again, arrest him.”

Marius calmly walked over to us, wearing an easy, confident smile. “Now now, we hardly need to turn this into a ruckus. We’ve already caused enough trouble as it is.” He waved towards one of the market stalls, where merchant and customer alike were hastily clearing out and running for cover. I guess they could all see the fight brewing and didn’t want any part of it.

The gryphon’s talon dipped into the pocket of his suit, and I tensed, expecting him to draw a weapon. Instead he produced something far more dangerous: a very large, very full coinpurse. “I assure you, this is a private matter between myself and Miss Shimmer. The condottieri don’t need to involve themselves.” 

The captain smirked at me, then trotted over to the gryphon he was supposed to be arresting. “I do believe I see your point. In fact, you’ve made around ... five hundred good points.” The gryphon nodded and passed over the coins. The captain counted his money, then stashed it in his pouch. “I see nothing that requires our involvement here. Let's move along, men.”

Marius grinned smugly. “Thank you for your diligence. It is a credit to Freeport.”

I clenched my teeth and hit the corrupt mercenary with my best death glare. “You don't seriously think you'll get much time to spend that money once I'm done with Marius, do you?”

The gryphon sighed and mournfully shook his head. “Now now, Magus, threatening the guards is likely what helped get you into this mess to start with.”

“It's not a threat,” I growled. “It's a fact.”

Marius turned back to the captain, pointedly clearing his throat. “Good sir, this lady is being quite difficult over a book I merely wish to copy. She is threatening me with violence and has already disrupted the commerce of your good city. I must request that you take her into custody for disturbing the peace.”

The captain tapped his chin in mock-ponderance. “That’s a serious charge. We could run her in, but that would cause all kinds of paperwork and expense. It could easily end up costing ten thousand ducats by the time it’s all over.”

My jaw dropped. I’d known a lot of the condottieri were corrupt—it’s inevitable in a city like Freeport, but I hadn’t been expecting anything this blatant. Not to mention this stupid. “You have to be kidding me. You really think you can get away with arresting me?”

The captain took his second, larger bribe, then turned to me solemnly. “The laws of Freeport apply to all citizens, Magus. Even you. Your title does not give you the right to harass merchants visiting the city on legitimate business.”

I snarled and gave the best answer I could think of. “Go buck yourself.”

“Such language,” Marius huffed out. “Hardly proper conduct for a representative of the Freeport government. It seems she’s quite determined to cause a scene. I'm sure you know how to handle this situation.”

“Quite so.” The mercenary drew his weapon, and most of his soldiers followed suit.

I quickly teleported away from the guards I’d expected to have backing me up, buying a little breathing room. “Fine!” I shouted, my horn blazing brightly. “I'll take you all on!” I surrounded myself with a circle of fire to ward them off and keep them from rushing me. Plus it looked dramatic and scary, and I was hoping to scare some of the mercenaries off. There’s no point in taking a bribe if they didn’t think they’d live to spend it. “Who wants to die first?!”

As I’d hoped, none of the mercs seemed particularly eager to step up. They could probably take me down eventually—they had me outnumbered a dozen to one—but I would do some damage before I went down. Nobody was eager to take a hit so their buddies could profit.

Marius chuckled, then flexed one of his talons and slowly reached into his jacket once more. “I hope you don't mind if I help a little bit, Captain. As a civically minded civilian, of course.” He drew out a small runestone and flicked it down at my hooves. Before I could do anything to contain the spell inscribed on the stone, it activated and instantly snuffed out my flames. He shot me a coldly triumphant grin. “Pyromancy is one of the most common choices for combat magic, child, and one you’re well known for specializing in. Did you really think I wouldn’t have a counter prepared?”

To be honest, I hadn’t really considered the possibility that he would have something specifically to counter me. I suppose it was flattering to know I had that much of a reputation already. Though obviously he didn’t know everything about me. “So fire’s out? Good thing I'm not just a pyromancer, then.” The condottieri had started closing in now that my wall of fire was gone, so I tossed a sheet of ice across the cobblestones, tripping them and scattering them.

Marius let out a resigned sigh and pulled out a pouch from one of his pockets. He tossed it at me, and when I tried to snag it with my telekinesis the spell just slipped off it like water off a duck’s back. I blasted it instead, but that just made it burst open, scattering a strange powder I vaguely recognized but couldn’t quite place. The powder immediately started whipping around me, driven by eldritch wind, and Marius intoned a single word that reverberated with magical power. “Halt.”

The compulsion hit the instant he spoke, slamming down on my mind like a ton of bricks and locking up all my muscles. I tried to push the spell away or redirect it, but whatever that powder was, it had enough mojo to keep the spell firmly in place. I could find a way out of it sooner or later, but I was rather pressed for time.

Marius took advantage of my temporary paralysis, pulling out a ball of string and whispering a word to it. The string instantly unwound and darted over to me, shooting in between my limbs and thoroughly tying me up while the compulsion held me down. I wasn’t too worried about it; after all, I could just teleport out of the ropes as long as I could still cast.

Which was probably why Marius turned to the captain and said as calmly as if he were asking for a bit of sugar in his tea. “Cut off her horn before she can recover. Even I’m not in the habit of carrying a suppression ring capable of containing her.”

I was almost grateful for being magically paralyzed, because that meant none of them could see how much that order scared me. Sure, I might be able to eventually grow my horn back if they didn’t completely remove it, but that would still mean years without my magic. And a magus without any magic is ... well, not much of anything.

I redoubled my efforts to break free of the spell pinning me down, but that just seemed to make it tighten up on me even more. And while I struggled to break free one of the mercenaries stepped forward, his longsword going through a few practice swings as he prepared to cut away the source of my magic.

Then his eyes went wide in shock, and the blade tumbled from his hooves as they shot up to his throat, clutching the steel spike that had embedded itself there. As the guard fell Strumming swooped in, landing protectively in front of me. “Yeah, that’s not happening.”

Marius raised a single dignified eyebrow. “And who might you be?”

Strumming smirked, spreading her wings to show off several more throwing spikes. “I’m Nunya. Family name, Business. Allow me to introduce my friends, Buzz Off and Get Lost.”

A pair of strange, grip-less dirks darted towards the bought-off condottieri in a pink telekinetic field, sending them staggering back and bleeding. A moment later, their wielder charged into view, another pair of hiltless blades hovering protectively near her. When one of the condottieri tried to flank her, Fleur De Lis took him down with a cry of, “Montjoie!” 

Fancy Pants trotted up behind her, brandishing a dandyish cane with surprising self-assurance. “I say now. Quite ungentlemanly to threaten a lady so crudely.”

Backup. Granted, I would’ve preferred Puzzle and some of his friends or Kukri and a squad of her clanponies, but beggars can’t be choosers. I had some breathing room, and could take a moment to relax and figure out how to beat the spell pinning me down. As it turned out, that was exactly what I’d needed to do. Just like that one children’s toy, the harder I’d tried to break free of the spell, the tighter its hold had gotten—which made it a perfect trap for somepony like me whose first instinct would be to try and break the spell with brute force. However, now that I’d spotted the trick, all I needed to break free was a single small, precise little surge of power.

Marius glared at the new arrivals who were keeping his bought-off condottieri at a standoff for the moment. After several seconds he fixed attention on Fancy, presumably seeing something of a kindred spirit in his fellow gentleman. “To be fair, the magus is hardly a lady. And I think you would agree with me in that regard.”

Strumming cut in before he could answer. “Eh, fine, she’s not a lady.” She looked over her shoulder and grinned at me. “Honestly, she's pain-in-the-flank hot-tempered stuck-up jerk who kinda hates my guts. But I like her anyway.” 

Marius grunted and waved his talons. “And might I ask what precisely your intentions are? Are you here to steal the book from Sunset, or merely deny it to me?”

The spy shrugged. “A little from column A, a little from column B, and a side helping of ‘I like her, and I don’t like you.’” She glanced back at me and smirked. “I'd ask you if you were gonna thank me for the rescue, Sunset, but I know you'll just say you had it under control.”

I teleported myself free of the ropes, then burned them for good measure. “I did.” After a moment, I reluctantly added, “But thanks for the backup anyway.”

Strumming put a hoof to her cheek, feigning open-mouthed shock. “I didn’t think you even knew how to say that word.”

Marius smirked, dipping a talon into his jacket once more. “She is an ungrateful child, isn't she?”

Strumming chuckled and shook her head. “You have no idea.”

“Strumming,” I grunted out. “Keep the guards off my back. I’ll deal with Marius.”

The spy rolled her eyes, but nodded. “Proud, too. Did I mention how proud she is? I bet it really pisses her off that I saved her from—”

“Shut up,” I growled, glaring at her.

She let out a put-upon sigh, then finally got out from between myself and Marius, turning her attention to the corrupt mercenaries. Thankfully, none of them seemed to be in too much of a rush to jump into the fight now that I had backup. I guess they’d decided to wait and let things play out a bit more before committing to a side.

I wasted no time getting right back into the fight, conjuring up a spear of solid ice and hurling it straight at the gryphon. To my annoyance but not my surprise, he had a counter ready for that, pulling out an amulet that lit up to conjure a hemispherical shield around himself, shattering my attack before it hit. “Such a temper...” he chided.

Strumming snorted. “Once again, you have no idea.”

The gryphon grimaced and shook his head. “It doesn't seem that we are going to be able to reach an agreement with one another, Magus. I had hope that after we exchanged a few blows you might listen to reason, but it seems you’re quite determined to play this farce out to its inevitable conclusion.”

“And that just breaks my heart,” I snapped back. Since he’d countered all of my pyromancy and cryomancy thus far, I opted for a change of pace and unleashed one of the newer spells I’d come up with. All across the plaza the lights dimmed, while a tiny sun formed on the very tip of my horn. Considering I’d only ever used this spell in battle once, I was pretty sure he wouldn’t have something up his sleeve to block it.

Marius’s eyes widened, and he brought his amulet up, calling the defensive screen into being once more. While he cowered behind his shield, he called out some sort of incantation in a language I didn’t recognize. Though given how the guttural growl of his words made my ears twinge, it was probably better that I didn’t know exactly what he was saying.

Whatever he was up to, it was a pretty safe bet that I didn’t want him doing it. As soon as I’d concentrated the light I’d gathered enough, I sent it all right at his face in a single tight, coherent beam. 

Marius’s defensive shield caught my attack, but his little amulet wasn’t completely up to the task of stopping me. While my beam didn’t break through the field, Marius dropped his now slightly molten amulet with a shout of pain. That was the problem with relying on enchanted gadgets in a magic duel: I could always break his toys. If anything, the fact that I’d needed such a powerful spell to destroy his defensive amulet was testament to the quality of its craftsmanship.

There was also one other benefit to my attack. While his shield kept my spell from directly injuring him, it was still a light spell. A very powerful light spell, and while he hadn’t been looking directly at it, he hadn’t shielded his eyes either. His eyes were so red and watery I didn’t think he could see anything, at least for a while.

I would have to call rendering my opponent blind and defenseless a decisive victory. “Is that it? I was expecting better out of you. Throw in the towel and quit while you’re ... well you’re not exactly ahead, but this will only get worse for you if we continue.”

Marius glared balefully in my general direction. “Hardly. I’m a facilitator, girl. Do you really think I have to use my own talons to kill you?”

Before I could ask what they hay he meant, the fountain in the center of the plaza stirred. I carefully stepped to the side so I could watch the water while also keeping one eye on the temporarily blinded but still very dangerous warlock. Unfortunately, that meant that I still saw far too much of the creature that emerged from the fountain.

There were tentacles. There were claws. There were gaping mouths full of needle-like teeth. And none of them were arranged in anything remotely resembling natural or sane anatomy.

Horseapples. Back when he’d been trying to buy me off, he’d mentioned having the means to contact powerful demons. I should’ve guessed he would have one ready to summon, just in case he wound up in a tight spot. Part of being really good at magic is always thinking ahead and being prepared for threats before the fight starts.

The demon let out a shrieking battle cry that resembled nothing I could describe, but made me clench my teeth and briefly consider covering my ears. Or pulling out my eardrums. Whatever it took to not hear that sound anymore. Then the mass of tentacles and other random body parts surged towards me.

I went with my first instinct when facing something that absolutely should not exist in this word. I tried to set on fire.

The demon couldn’t move fast enough to dodge my spell, and the flames washed over it. For a second I breathed a sigh of relief, until I noticed that despite being covered in fire the monster wasn’t actually burning. The flames just passed right over its rubbery flesh without causing any damage, then slowly, slowly winked out, leaving nothing behind.

Dammit. Of course he would summon a demon that was immune to fire. After all, he’d clearly prepared for the possibility of fighting me. I switched up and hit it with another blast of light instead, only to find that had no more effect than the fire.

It wasn’t just immune to fire. It was immune to magic. Horseapples.

The thing shambled forward with surprising speed, and several of its limbs lashed out at me. I quickly conjured a protective coating of ice around my chest and forelegs, just in time to block a tentacle tipped with a gaping shark-toothed maw that wrapped around one of my legs and started trying to chew through my improvised armor.

I tried to pull away, but now that it had a good hold on me it wouldn’t let go. I had to spread the coating of ice across the rest of my body to protect myself as it drew me into a crushing embrace, beaks, claws, and tentacles all trying to break through my armor. I knew I couldn’t hold it off indefinitely, but I could at least take solace in the fact that the ice was holding it off for now. Clearly its immunity to magic didn’t extend to letting it get past conjured armor.

Still, things weren’t exactly going my way. “Gyah! Okay! Okay!” I shouted out from within the monster’s slimy hold. “You can have the book, just call this thing off!”

Marius smirked and shook his head. “I am so sorry, but as soon as I learned you would be at the auction, I consulted my information network about you. I knew you would never accept defeat gracefully. It seems far more likely to me that you are only offering to surrender as a ploy to buy time and space to find a way to strike against me.”

I hate fighting smart enemies. Why couldn’t I just go up against another stupid-but-powerful dropout from Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns?

“You're right about that.” I admitted. I reached into my robes, or what was left of them with the demon busily shredding them to try and get to me, and pulled out the book. Despite his earlier words, Marius held up a talon and the demon eased up slightly on its attack. I guess he didn’t want to risk damaging the Codex.

That suited me just fine. I tossed the book high up into the air, then shot a fireball at it. The book exploded, burning pages scattering all across the plaza.

Marius’s eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in cold fury. His beak clenched, and he snarled. “Kill that whorse!” He glanced back to the mercenaries he’d bought off. “Kill her friends! Kill them all!”

The abomination probably would’ve gotten right to work on doing that if I hadn’t teleported out of its grasp as soon as Marius gave the order. I reappeared at my best guess for what qualified as behind the creature, but it immediately started shambling towards me without even needing to turn around. I teleported again to put a set of market stalls between the two of us to slow it down, but it immediately shifted directions again and charged straight through the wooden stalls, shattering them with another one of its unearthly battle howls.

I chanced a quick look at the rest of the battlefield. Marius seemed to be busy trying to salvage as much of the burning book as he could, while Strumming, Fancy, and Fleur were all occupied with his mercenaries. Watching Fleur employ her telekinetically wielded blades gave me a flash of inspiration, and I conjured up a sword made of solid ice. When the demon charged in again I swung the blade at it.

My strike bounced right off its rubbery flesh. I tried to bring it back into position for another strike with the same sort of fancy flourish Fleur was using, but it wound up getting tangled up in the creature’s tentacles. Several of them wrapped around the blade and crushed it.

So much for that idea. I could’ve just conjured another sword, but I didn’t see any reason to expect it to work any better than my first attempt. After all, the closest I’d ever come to actually using a sword was watching the Royal Guard practicing, and even then I’d been watching the ponies more than the swordplay. Teenage hormones. So glad I got over those.

I teleported clear once more and the creature charged again, smashing through more market stalls as it came. Its reckless charge gave me another burst of inspiration, and I teleported all the way across the plaza, putting as much distance between myself and it as possible.

Predictably, the demon reversed course once more, tentacles and claws scrambling at the ground as it hurled itself towards me. I suspect my habit of teleporting out of its reach was frustrating it. So much the better. If it was angry it wouldn’t be thinking clearly, and wouldn’t see the trap I’d set for it until it was too late.

I waited until the creature was fully committed to the charge, moving far too fast for even its flexible anatomy to reverse course on a moment’s notice. Then I pulled all the water out of the nearby fountain and conjured it into a thicket of icy spears, spikes, and hooks, all right in front of the oncoming beast.

It couldn’t stop itself in time, and the demon’s own momentum hurled it onto my spears. Some still bounced off its rubbery flesh, but others found purchase and punched right into it. The most indescribably horrendous smell I’d ever experienced assaulted my nostrils as ichor poured from the beast’s wounds, melting both ice and the stone of the plaza wherever it struck. The beast let out a keening wail that paused the ongoing fight between the mercenaries and my backup as everyone stopped to cover their ears.

I didn’t want to take any chances with the demon, so I conjured several more spears in the air, then slammed them down straight through the demon, pinning it to the ground. It let out another cry, but this one sounded weaker and more strangled than the last. As I watched, the monster gradually seemed to deflate as more of its acidic ichor streamed out of its wounds, slowly shrinking until the mass of tentacles was smaller than a young child before it finally stilled, its body evaporating into a foul-smelling mist.

The demon’s defeat took the fight out of the remaining condottieri, who hadn’t been doing all that well against my backup in any case. However, Marius wasn’t in the plaza anymore, and a quick scan of the skyline showed him flying off, the burned pages he’d managed to salvage clutched in one talon.

Strumming scowled at the retreating gryphon, spreading her wings and preparing to take off in pursuit. Meanwhile, Fancy took it upon himself to disarm the remaining mercenaries. “I suppose we should follow you as best we can on hoof, Agent Heartstrings?

“Don’t bother chasing him,” I advised.

Strumming paused and shot me a curious look, while Fleur glared at me. “He has a book of black magic! Because you didn’t burn it properly.”

“Does he now?” I smirked, reached into the shredded remnants of my robes, and pulled out the Black Codex, tossing it down at Strumming’s hooves.

The spy grinned, picking up the book and looking it over. “Oh, sneaky sneaky. You burned a decoy instead of the real thing.” She tucked the book away, then frowned and stared back at the fleeing gryphon. “Securing the Codex is more important, but I don’t like the idea of letting Marius get away. We’ve been after him for a long time.”

“Don’t worry about that,” I assured her. I couldn’t help smirking at Fleur again. “I’m a master pyromancer. If a single page of that book didn’t burn, it’s because I didn’t want it to burn. Something Marius probably would’ve realized if he hadn’t been so freaked out over me burning the book at all. It took me all week to figure out how to make a decoy book that would explode on command, but—” I hesitated a moment, my confidence fading as I realized the one big problem with my plan. “It was suppose to just stun whoever grabbed it, but as high up as he is right now...”

“Bad guy go splat,” Strumming finished for me. She paused a moment, then put a hoof on my shoulder. “I’m probably the last pony you want to hear advice from, but I think that when your options are killing the guy or letting the dangerous warlock-teacher get away to cause more trouble, it’s pretty obvious what needs to be done.” She held my eyes for several seconds. “I don’t suppose there’s any way I could trigger it instead of you.”

I grunted and shook my head. “No, if my spell’s gonna kill him, I’ll do it myself. Passing it off to somepony else would just be cheap.” I took a deep breath. “Ignis.”

In a flash of light, it was all over, and I claimed yet another life. The long week I had spent on a nonlethal spell bore no fruit. And no matter how much I tried to reassure myself, I could not help but shudder at how easy it was. One word. One word was all it took. Killing another sapient being shouldn’t be that easy.

For a long moment, nopony said anything. Then Strumming reached over and gave me a pat on the shoulder. “You did the right thing, Sunset.”

“Coming from you, that means almost nothing,” I grunted out.

“Ouch.” She put a hoof over her chest. “That gets me, bacon-mane. It gets me right here.”

A bit of a mocking smirk returned to my face as we fell back into the old banter. “What, there’s a heart somewhere in that hollow cavern?”

Strumming chuckled and shook her head. “Don’t tell my boss, I’d be done in the EIS. As it is I’m gonna have to give you a bonus for taking out one of the agency’s most wanted. And it’ll probably save me from any grief over that crazy bid of yours. Ten million ducats is a lot, but we’ve paid more than that to deal with guys who weren’t as bad as Marius.”

“You’re welcome.” I paused, my gaze shifting to Fancy and Fleur. “But there’s one thing I’m curious about. Strumming following me and backing me up wasn’t a huge shock, but where do you two come into it?”

Fancy grinned and adjusted his monocle. “Why, the EIS approached me more than a month ago when they first learned of the auction. They needed somepony with the resources to be invited to the auction, as well as unimpeachable character and loyalty to Equestria.”

I glowered at Strumming. “Funny. When she hired me last week, she said the EIS didn’t have anyone in the auction. And specifically said she had no idea why you were at the auction or what your agenda was.”

“She did not mention your involvement to us either,” Fleur declared archly.

Strumming met our combined anger and suspicion with a shrug. “I wanted a backup in place, and the best way to make sure all of you acted natural around each other was to keep you all in the dark. That’s how the spy game works: you get information on a need-to-know basis.”

Which struck me as a very good reason to never take another job with the EIS. Well, not unless they were offering a lot of money, and I really needed the cash for something important.

“And speaking of secrets...” Strumming continued, “I wouldn’t have minded a heads-up about your exploding decoy book. Between the two of us, we might’ve been able to come up with something really interesting to do with it, like get it to Marius without the whole big fight where we trashed a marketplace.” She paused, then grinned at me. “Unless you were planning on giving me the exploding fake and keeping the Codex for yourself...”

Tempting as that idea was, I hadn’t really considered it. Well, not for very long. No reason to tell her that, though. “Sorry, Strumming, that information is on a need-to-know basis.”