//------------------------------// // 26 - You're a Lie // Story: The Other Side of the Horizon // by Rambling Writer //------------------------------// Twilight walked down the hall, staring at the tracker as the line within slowly swung to point more and more at the wall. This might just be it. She had a compass pointing to one side of a communication relay, the side of someone who’d tried to have Applejack killed. Someone who was almost definitely trying to have Twilight killed as well. With a little luck, they might be able to get every little bit of this whole mess sorted out before tomorrow, and she could rest easily tonight. Of course, it might be pointing at a patsy. Or the culprit might not have the earpiece. Or any one of a number of other things. But Twilight tried not to think about that. “Do you really think you can talk Mtendaji into giving herself up?” asked Stormwalker. “Assuming it’s her, she did try to kill you after she knew you could move the sun.” “I have no idea,” Twilight said, no taking her eyes off the tracker, “but I can try.” “No offense, but I thi-” “Don’t try to sway her,” Applejack said. “When she gets like this, there ain’t nothin’ y’all can do to change her mind.” Stormwalker paused. “Absolutely nothing?” “Absolutely nothin’.” Twilight barely noticed. She was too wrapped up in following the tracker. Finally, the tracker was pointing perfectly perpendicularly to the wall. A blank wall, but then it was unlikely it’d be pointing at a door. Twilight lifted the tracker up and down. The light moved enough for Twilight to guess that the other earpiece was less than fifty feet away. She looked down one side of the hall. The next door was quite a ways off. She looked down the other side of the hall. The door to the Imayini consulate was less than ten feet away. Twilight looked at Applejack and Stormwalker. Stormwalker huffed and rolled her eyes. Applejack jerked her head at the door. “Well, go on.” Twilight nodded and put her hoof on the door pedal. Someone yelled down the hall. “YourHighnessIwouldstronglyrecommendagainstthat!” And then Captain Mlinzi of the Zebrabwean Royal Guard had plastered himself in front of the door, looking terrified and breathing heavily. “Um… hello.” Twilight took a few steps back so her muzzle wasn’t less than an inch from Mlinzi’s. She glanced to one side. A small group of zebras, all of them armored, was following Mlinzi. “Hello,” said Mlinzi in a voice on the verge of panic. “Your Highness, do not go in there. We have evidence that your would-be murderer is a me-” “-is Mtendaji?” “-mber of… Ima…” Mlinzi blinked. “Y-yeah, actually. How, how’d you know?” “A bunch of little things added up to her,” said Twilight. “It’s a long story. How’d you know?” “Also a long story, but tracking down things,” said Mlinzi. “The quarrel. Talking to the cooks who were responsible for that dinner. Things like that. But what really did it was the assassins who attacked your friend Spike. It was a bit tricky — magic was involved, and no offense, but I frigging hate magic — but the information we got from their interrogations let us follow the money trail back to Mtendaji. And as far as we know, she’s in there.” He tapped the consulate door. And that was it. Confirmation from another source. Mtendaji definitely did it. Twilight expected it to feel like a lightning bolt, but if anything, it was more of a faint, half-hearted spark. Lackluster. Yeah, that’s the answer. You knew it already for quite some time, didn’t you? Well, at least you know for sure, now. But if the Zebrabwean Guard knew, too, they’d be more effective at putting her away than Twilight could hope for. “So if you know it’s Mtendaji, why’re you going in there?” said Mlinzi. “What were you planning on doing?” “I’m not sure, to be honest,” said Twilight. “I was thinking that maybe I could convince her to turn herself in.” “If you could, that’d be great,” said Mlinzi. “I brought along some of my zebras-” He pointed over his shoulder at the group of seven weapon-carrying zebras that had arrived. “-just in case things go wrong, but if you can just get her to walk out, I would love you forever.” “Uh… okay.” Twilight put her hoof back on the pedal, stepped, and- “It’s locked.” “Joy.” Mlinzi pointed to the group of zebras. “One of you, go back to the barracks and tell them we need the ba-” “I don’t think you’ll need to go quite that far,” Twilight said. “Hang on a sec.” She reached out with her magic and began poking the door around with it. The tingle from grounding still felt strange, but with earth pony magic mixed in, it didn’t actually do anything besides bug her. The lock itself was a simple deadbolt one, and Twilight flicked it back in a second. She nudged the door open. “And there we go.” Mlinzi stared at the door. “Okay, never mind. I don’t hate magic. I’m in a love-hate relationship with it.” “Trust me, y’all ain’t seen the half of it yet,” said Applejack. “Y’all ain’t seen the half of the half of it.” “I can only imagine.” Mlinzi looked at Twilight, at Stormwalker, at Applejack. Turning to his zebras, he said, “I think I’ll be safe going in alone with them. You all stay out here, but charge in if you hear the signal.” “Is the signal screaming bloody murder and lots of obscenities?” piped up a zebra near the back. “The signal is screaming bloody murder and lots of obscenities,” Mlinzi said with a nod. The lobby was deserted except for Uvivi and Visi having a conversation across the receptionist’s desk. Uvivi’s nose horn still hadn’t grown back (Twilight briefly wondered how long it took for abada horns to grow, and if their forehead and nose horns were any different, structurally), but she’d crowned the top of the nub with a little sort of cap. “-which is crazy,” Uvivi said, “because there’s no way th-” Upon hearing Twilight’s group enter the lobby, she twitched and spun around. She blinked. “Um… Visi, weren’t you supposed to lock that door? The consulate is closed, right?” “I… It is, and I did,” Visi said slowly. “I know I did.” “Oooookay, then,” said Uvivi. She coughed and grinned. “Anyway, um, nice to see you again, Twilight, even if you broke in for it.” She leaned to one side and stared at the door. “How’d you do it, anyway? The door was grounded. Any chance you can teach me that? Why’re you here?” Mlinzi spoke up before Twilight could. “We were looking for Mtendaji. You wouldn’t happen to know where she is, would you?” Uvivi frowned. “Uh… I don’t think so…” “In her office,” said Visi. “Take that door-” (Twilight stole a quick look at the tracker. It was pointing roughly at that door.) “-head down the hall, third door on right.” “Thank you,” Mlinzi said with a nod. Closely followed by the ponies, he set off through the door and down the hall beyond. It wasn’t especially long or busy, and they were halfway down when- “Hey!” Uvivi came trotting from the lobby and fell into line next to Twilight. “Um, why do you all want to see Mtendaji?” She craned her head to whisper to Twilight. “Especially the guard. That never means anything good. Why the guard? What happened?” Even after studying friendship for years, Twilight still didn’t know how to handle questions like that. She settled for blunt. “Mtendaji’s the one who’s been trying to kill me.” Uvivi blanched. “What?” she said quietly. “That’s… No. Really? She’s the one who…?” “She tried to go after me, too,” added Applejack. “Twice. And we’ve got evidence for that, too.” “Um, um, okay,” mumbled Uvivi. She rumpled her mane. “That’s, um, wow. Okay. Okay. You, you really have evidence?” “That’s what I said.” “Well, it’s, I know,” said Uvivi, still playing with her mane, “but it’s, um, it’s a lot to take in. Maybe. If it’s true. It’s, I mean, it probably is, but, um-” “Your Highness,” cut in Mlinzi, “Mtendaji’s office is locked. Is there any chance you-” “Can you stop asking her to do things?” asked Stormwalker. “She’s a princess, not a-” Mlinzi interrupted again. “Do you want to catch Mtendaji?” “Yes.” “Can you open the door?” “…No.” “I’d open it if I could,” said Mlinzi. “But I can’t. So…” He turned to Twilight expectantly. “Please, Your Highness?” Twilight threw Stormwalker a look as she magically fiddled with the lock. “I’d be doing this even if Mlinzi wasn’t here, you know.” Stormwalker huffed. She did that a lot. Mtendaji’s office was quite a bit larger than Twilight had been expecting, large enough to fit the whole party in comfortably and then some. Of course, she was a CEO, but this was still just a consulate, not Imayini’s headquarters. The back wall was lined with shelves, which were filled with haphazardly stacked binders and overflowing papers. There wasn’t much in the way of decoration beyond a painting of the sun setting behind a mountain. Mtendaji herself was hunched over a desk, scribbling something down. Compared to her, the desk was oversized, a bit big even for Twilight. Maybe it’d been originally designed for a zebra. Mtendaji looked up, blinked and, when she saw Mlinzi, visibly twitched. “Um… that door was locked.” “It was,” said Twilight. “And grounded.” “It was.” “…May I ask how you did it?” “You may not.” Twilight didn’t like to admit it, but knowing Mtendaji was her almost-murderer, she found stringing her along to be more enjoyable than it had a right to be. “And you wouldn’t be able to do it even if I told you.” Mtendaji blinked again, then grinned. It was almost convincing. “So. Um. Hey. What brings you in here?” Twilight didn’t say anything and kept staring at the tracker. It was pointing towards the back wall, right at the safe. She moved it back and forth; the light moved more than it ever had before, always pointing at the safe. She picked her next words carefully. “My friend Applejack found a magical communication artifact of some kind on in the Serembarti,” she said (Applejack smiled hesitantly and waved), “and according to my tracking spell, the other side of it is in your safe.” Mtendaji froze for an instant, blinked, but quickly recovered. “So, what’re you saying?” she asked. “You think that just because it points to my safe, I’m involved? No offense, but you might’ve messed up your tracking spell. You think I’m the one that hired that bandit?” Twilight and Applejack exchanged glances. “We ain’t said nothin’ ‘bout no bandits,” said Applejack. Mtendaji’s mouth began curling into an “O”. Uvivi cleared her throat. “M-ma’am, you- you weren’t involved in this, w-were you?” “I, I, no,” said Mtendaji quietly. “Don’t, don’t be ridiculous.” “Ma’am,” Mlinzi said flatly, “we’ve traced the money used to pay for the assassins who tried to kill two members of the Equestrian ambassadorial mission back to you. And that’s just the start. You won’t get anywhere if you keep denying this.” Mtendaji froze, then huffed. “Fine,” she muttered. “Yes, I tried to have Princess Twilight killed.” “You WHAT?!” bellowed Uvivi. “That’s- that’s- No! You- You can’t- NO!” “Do you know how close we are to going belly-up?” snapped Mtendaji. “One good deal isn’t going to save us, and if Equestria tries to muscle in on-” “But- But- No!” spluttered Uvivi. “No! That’s- I- You know what, I quit! You can do your own diplomacy, you-! You-! Gah!” Before anyone could say anything else, she stomped out of the room and screamed up and down the halls, “Mtendaji tried to kill Princess Twilight! Mtendaji tried to kill Princess Twilight!” The echoes were still ringing several seconds later. It was Applejack who broke the silence. “Hold up. Y’all thought we were gonna try to… to muscle in on your bit of business?” “Well, yeah,” Mtendaji said, “why else wo-” “Excuse me.” Something bumped Twilight from behind. Okubi was entering the office, lightly shoving aside anyone in her way. She tapped Mlinzi on the shoulder. “I would like a word with Mtendaji. Right here, right now.” “Look, ma’am,” Mlinzi said, glaring at her, “I get that you probably want to have a nice chat with her, but we’re i-” “I would like a word with Mtendaji,” repeated Okubi. “Right here, right now. Ten seconds will be sufficient.” “Fine.” Mlinzi stepped to one side. “One one-thousand,” he whispered loudly. Mtendaji rolled her eyes as Okubi stepped up to the desk. “I got this, Okubi, you don’t need to babys-” In a flash, Okubi reached across the desk, hooked her front hooves behind Mtendaji’s neck, and smashed her head into the desk. Hard. The entire desk shook; papers fell to the floor, an inkwell rolled off and shattered, and when Mtendaji raised her head back up, she was moaning and clutching her nose between her hooves. A few drops of blood dribbled out and dropped onto the desktop. “Imbecile,” said Okubi. Then she turned around and walked right out of the office, everyone staring after her in shock. Did that really just happen? Mlinzi broke the silence with a cough. “Nine one-thousand,” he muttered. “Huh.” Mtendaji dabbed at her nose, glaring at the droplet of blood on one of the tips of her hooves. “Stupid…” she muttered, wiping it off on her desk. Twilight almost asked her if she was okay, purely by reflex. But she didn’t really care, one way or another, and Mtendaji obviously wasn’t hurting that badly. Besides, some small part of Twilight said, she deserved it. “So that’s it?” Mlinzi asked. “You tried to kill off an ambassador just because you were afraid she might be a business rival?” “To be fair, she and her country’d be an exceptional business rival,” Mtendaji said, wiping her nose off with a tissue, “but I don’t get what’s so ‘that’s it?’ about it. She was going to take our money.” “Well, to be honest,” said Twilight, “trying to cause an international incident just for money is… kinda disappointing.” “Disappointing?” said Mtendaji. “You find money disappointing? It’s… It’s money.” “And that’s the thing: money’s everywhere,” said Twilight. “They make more of it every day. It’s way too common for something like… something like this.” “…But it’s money. The stuff you buy other stuff with. The stuff nations depend on. It’s one of the most important resources in the world. How is that disappointing?” “‘Cause money ain’t the only thing out there,” said Applejack. “And money can’t buy everythin’. Happiness, to start.” “No, but you can rent it.” “But it’s still just money!” said Twilight. “You tried to kill the sovereign of another nation just for money!” “In this case, it’s not just money,” said Mtendaji with a snort. “It’s lots of money. Our last mine out west was a colossal bust, basically a smelter we kept throwing lijamu into, and we’re barely staying afloat. And if you- ponies came over here, you’d see our predicament and snatch all our opportunities right out from under us, giving you access to Zebrabwe’s foreign coal business.” “I know you won’t believe me,” said Twilight, “but Equestria isn’t here for money.” “Uh-huh, sure. And how do you explain the pony running around, gathering all the information she can about Zebrabwe?” “Her interests are strictly academic, an-” “Hardly. She’s traveled too far for that,” Mtendaji responded. “She’s more than just a professor.” She sighed and slumped in her seat. “You know, what’re the odds? I make a few faked laws to close off the ports, and not only does she decide to stay in the most isolated one out there, but it’s the same one you landed in.” Which confirmed another one of Twilight’s theories, but that was pretty minor by now. “And the kashata? Was that poisoned?” “Will you believe me if I say no?” “No.” “Then why bother asking?” snapped Mtendaji. “Yes, I poisoned it. Uvivi came back one night, blabbing about this diplomat she had to help with, so, well, I had some poisoned food made to smuggle in with magic and give to you. A little magic kept it from affecting me, too.” Figuring she might as well cover all her bases, Twilight asked, “What about the theater?” “I figured if I mentioned it, you’d think about going there. Set up a zebra there ahead of time, just in case.” Mtendaji grinned crookedly. “Almost worked, too. You getting separated from your assistant was just a bonus; thought he’d go with you.” Applejack squirmed her way to the front of Mtendaji’s desk. “And what about me?” she asked. “What’s goin’ on with y’all tryin’ to kill me? I ain’t even done anythin’ yet.” “Last-ditch attempt to bring Twilight down,” mumbled Mtendaji. “After the theater, there was no way I’d get to her again, not directly. But if you died, she’d be depressed, and she’d probably screw up something during the talk with Inkosi. Not much, but all I had to go on.” “Thank you for being so helpful,” said Mlinzi. Mtendaji shrugged. “You already knew it was me, so why bother trying to hide it? It’d come out eventually. And you wouldn’t believe me if I lied. Heck, you wouldn’t believe me if I told the truth and you didn’t like it. Why bother trying to lie?” “Regardless. Now, if you’ll come with me-” But Mtendaji was smirking. “Nope. You can’t do that.” It was like Twilight’s brain shattered. There… there was no way that was possible, right? Mtendaji had tried to kill an ambassador, she’d flat-out admitted to doing it, so why did she look so confident about wiggling out of it? “This is a consulate,” said Mtendaji. “That means it’s technically Wilayabadn territory.” Oh, no. No. Not that. That meant- “That means you cannot remove me from here,” crowed Mtendaji. “You can’t cross borders and drag people back over to Zebrabwe, because you’d be violating Wilayabada’s sovereignty. That includes me. You really think I’d just tell you everything if you could force me out?” “Ah,” said Mlinzi, who looked a lot less perturbed than he should have. “So that’s how it is, then.” “Oh, come on!” yelled Applejack. “That’s a big steaming load of night fertilizer!” Mtendaji shrugged in faux resignation and smirked. “That’s the way it is, sorry. I am going to stay right here on my little bit of Wilayabada, until someone from Wilayabada comes and gets me out, and there’s nothing you can do to drag me out of it.” Her smirk grew wider. Mlinzi coughed and adjusted his armor. “Very well. In that case, as it is actively protecting an enemy of the state of Zebrabwe, you may henceforth consider this little bit of Wilayabada under siege.” Mtendaji froze, her smirk suddenly turning brittle. “We will shut off the power within the hour,” continued Mlinzi. “Goods will not be allowed in. This includes food. Additional people will not be allowed in. The exit will be kept under watch at all times by a minimum of five guards. Anyone who leaves will be food, board, and shelter, but closely watched to be sure they do not return. All of these measures will be lifted should you turn yourself over to the Zebrabwean Royal Guard.” The smirk slowly started sliding off Mtendaji’s face. “Fortunately,” Mlinzi went on (Twilight could hear a bit of smugness creeping into her voice), “once you do turn yourself over, your trial will be quite swift, considering you just confessed to the Captain of the Zebrabwean Royal Guard, one of the Princesses of Equestria, and numerous other witnesses.” He tipped an imaginary hat. “Thank you for not thinking this through in the slightest and have a nice day.” He turned around, flicked his tail, and walked out of the office with his head held high, leaving Mtendaji inside in a state of shock. Twilight took a few steps back, looking between Mtendaji and the door out, her mind racing. With a whisper, Applejack quickly voiced what Twilight was thinking: “That… that ain’t it, is it?” “I… I don’t know,” muttered Twilight. “I… guess.” She started flipping through the bits of diplomatic knowledge she had that were relevant to this situation. The problem was that, because she didn’t have the slightest interest in flaunting Zebrabwe’s laws, there wasn’t much of it. She barely knew anything about how consulates or embassies interacted with the outside world, or whether they even worked the same way Equestria treated them, or- She cut herself off. “Let’s just get going.” She left the room; Applejack and Stormwalker followed a moment later. Abadas and zebras alike were poking their heads out of rooms to look up and down the hall. Some of them were muttering: had that really just happened? Was their CEO really a would-be murderer? A few of them were staring at the ponies. Some in shock, some in accusation, but none of them made any move to stop the trio. Twilight wasn’t exactly sure what she’d do if she were in their situation; what could she have done? Outside the consulate, there were six zebras still there: four of them, who were lounging about with spears, another one, who was overseeing the first four, and Mlinzi, who was screaming through clenched teeth and smashing his (helmeted) head against the wall. He paused once Twilight and Applejack were out. “Hello, Princess. Hello, um… other ambassador.” “Applejack,” Applejack prompted. “Right. Sorry. Hello, Ambassador Applejack,” Mlinzi said. “Hello, bodyguard.” And then he went right back to screaming and smashing his head. Twilight and Applejack exchanged Looks, and even Stormwalker looked a bit weirded out. Eventually, Mlinzi stopped his stress-relieving exercise. “Sorry,” he muttered, “but… gah!” Wham. “Of all the… stupid… little…” “There’s really nothin’ more y’all can do?” Applejack asked. “I mean, she’s right there.” She pointed back at the consulate. “Politics,” spat Mlinzi. “It’s… it’s complicated. Long story short, no, there isn’t.” “We could drag her out.” “That’d qualify as an illegal kidnapping,” mumbled Mlinzi. “Look, short of her coming out of her own free will, there’s no way we’re getting her out and still getting her in jail.” He turned to the small group of zebras still in front of the door. “Remember your orders. Don’t let anyone in. Arrest anyone who comes out.” They saluted, and Mlinzi set off down the hallway, hanging his head. Twilight trotted up to Mlinzi’s side. “I know that you need to think of that as Wilayabadan land,” she said, “but… but it can’t extend to protecting a would-be murderer, can it?” “It can, and it does,” muttered Mlinzi. He sighed. “It’s complicated. If we say we can violate Wilayabada’s sovereignty for this good reason, then what other good reasons can we say we can violate it for? It’s a slippery slope. Or at least, that’s what the politicians will say.” He groaned again. “Believe me, I wanted to drag that scumbag out in a headlock, but Inkosi specifically — personally — ordered me to not use force once we entered the consulate. It’d avoid any ‘international shenanigans’. And, honestly, we were pushing our luck as it is, entering the consulate without permission.” “Oh. Great.” Twilight hated politics. Hated hated hated hated hated politics. She was pulled out of her funk by someone yelling from down the hall. “I’m telling you, I’m not with her! I had no idea what she was doing!” Twilight recognized that voice and bolted down the hall, Stormwalker on her heels. Uvivi was being escorted away by two zebras. They weren’t restraining her and she was making no move to run, but they weren’t listening to her protests, either. “Look, go ask Princess Twilight, I’m-” Twilight cleared her throat. “You can let her go,” she said loudly. “She’s good. She wasn’t involved at all.” The trio turned around as one. Uvivi started grinning, but the guards looked skeptical. Mlinzi trotted up after Twilight. “What’s going on here?” he asked. “This one exited the consulate shortly after we arrived,” said one of the guards, pointing to Uvivi, “but Princess Twilight says we should let her go.” Mlinzi cocked her head at Twilight, who said, “There’s nothing wrong with her. I know for a fact that we can trust her.” “Your Highness,” Mlinzi said slowly, “she might be working for Mtendaji. Would you bet your life on her not being involved?” “She saved my life before I made that bet. Remember, she’s the one who ground up her horn for an antidote.” “She actually did,” Stormwalker interjected. “There’s no way she’s a danger.” Mlinzi blinked. “She… she ground up her horn?” He coughed and shuddered. “Well, um… release her, then.” He rubbed his nose and shuddered again. The guards looked at each other. One of them shrugged, and lightly nudged Uvivi away. She half-toppled out from between them and to Twilight’s side. Uvivi shook herself off (not that she was dirty) and said, “Thanks.” “I have to report on this,” said Mlinzi. “Well, not this-” He pointed at Uvivi. “-but that.” He jerked his head back towards the consulate. “If you need me, your guards know where to find me.” He and the two other guards left, leaving Twilight, Uvivi, and Stormwalker alone in the hall. “I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Twilight said to Uvivi. “Learning your boss tried to kill me can’t feel good. Are you feeling okay?” “Nope. Totally screwed,” muttered Uvivi. “I’ve got no job, no place to sleep, maybe no money available…” She rubbed her face. “That was most definitely the stupidest decision I’ve made in my entire life.” “Don’t worry,” said Twilight. “You’ll get through this.” “I know, but until I get back to Wilayabada, I… I have no idea what I’ll do.” “Maybe you can stay with us for a while,” Twilight suggested. “We’ve got room, I’m sure the others won’t mind-” “I won’t,” Stormwalker said quickly. “-and it’s the least I can do,” finished Twilight. She looked over her shoulder. “What do you think, Applej-” The hall was empty. Applejack wasn’t there.