Bright Sight sat uncomfortably in the alleyway, feeling exposed without his armor as he waited for their target. It was odd to be on duty, and yet have his yellow coat instead of the pristine white of the Solar Guard, but the Night Guard captain, Spinel Strike had assured him that incognito was the way to go. Blowing his blonde mane out of his blue eyes, he couldn’t help but frown.
If he had it his way, they’d have just marched straight to the mayor’s office, demanded to see housing records, and found their target that way, but the two Night Guards were quick to shoot that idea down. They weren’t in Equestria anymore and they couldn’t afford to go throwing weight around that they didn’t technically have. Intimidation would only work for as long as no one questioned their authority, and when that happened, they very well could be tossed in jail themselves.
With one of his guards already down from an asthma attack, they couldn’t afford another setback. Said guard didn’t even suffer from asthma, the thick amount of fungal spores floating in the home of Amethyst Thistle was enough to cause a sudden onset. And to make matters worse, there wasn’t a single clue to be had in the biohazard of an apartment.
All they knew for sure was that the dragoness was most definitely not getting her damage deposit back on the place.
“Stay focused, sunshine, I don’t want you missing anything because you were fantasying about your sun princess’ flank,” a rough, but clearly feminine voice rasped from the shadows of the fire escape above.
Bright choked on his own spit before screeching in a hushed tone, “Wha-? How dare you speak like that about our princess! Have you no shame!?”
“Your princess, you mean. Last I checked, my princess doesn’t stuff herself with cake whenever she thinks nopony’s looking.”
The unicorn couldn’t believe what he was hearing as he sputtered. “I-it’s a diarchy! Princess Celestia is your leader as well!”
“I didn’t vote for her…” Bright Sight could practically hear the shrug in the mare’s voice as his jaw fell open, mind scrambling hopelessly for the words to respond to such insanity. Before it managed the impossible task, Spinel chuckled. “Solar Guards always give the best reactions when they get all riled up like that.”
“Wait, were you just… teasing me?” Bright asked.
“What can I say, you sun worshippers make it too easy, and stakeouts get boring after a while.”
“Are you serious? This is no laughing matter! The princesses, both made it quite clear how important this mission is, so it’s certainly no time to be making jokes. Especially about our royals! Princess Celestia has been the backbone of our great kingdom for over a millennium, and an insult towards her is practically an insult towards our country!”
“Tone down the patriotism a notch, will you? I was just having some fun,” Spinel said, much to the stallion’s chagrin. He was about to explain how one should not be having fun at the expense of others, let alone the solar princess, but he was interrupted when she said sharply, “Look alive, I think I see her.”
Bright Spark whipped his head back towards the entrance to see a seafoam green mare with a blue mane and multiple rows of emerald green ones and zeros on her flank walking down the street, a slight sway in her step as she bumped into a minotaur. She merely giggled when she was told harshly to watch where she’s going and kept meandering down the road.
It was hard to believe that this sloshed earth pony was supposed to be some up-and-coming information broker for the seedy side of Ford Junction, but Lore Finder assured them that she was. At first, the guards had thought to merely go to the mare and buy the knowledge they needed, but Lore informed them of the unlikeliness of that tactic’s success.
Apparently, Two-Bit, the mare in question was adamant about not doing business with any form of legal authority as it could hurt her reputation with the criminals that made up her more regular clientele. After all, besides putting a dent in her profits, rumors like that could potentially get her fitted with a pair of concrete horseshoes. Never mind that there wasn’t a body of water for miles, when certain types thought you were a snitch, and there was the slightest chance you had dirt on them, they’d go above and beyond to tuck you in with the fishes.
This reluctance left them with plan B, as Spinel called it, and she gave Bright his cue. “Well, what are you waiting for, stud? Call the mare over.”
Sending one final glare up into the shadows, Bright Sight cleared his throat and stood. “Hey~” he called, stepping out of the alley with an engineered stumble. “S’at you, Two-Bit? Long see no time!”
Ignoring the whisper to tone it down, Bright smiled wider as Two-Bit glanced his way, ignoring the indignation he felt as the mare eyed him up and down, even flexing a little to help lure her in. As a royal guard, being seen as eye-candy was as routine as sentry duty and he at least took solace in the fact that it would actually be serving a purpose this time.
“Do I know you?” the mare questioned, stumbling across the street. “I think I’d remember a hunk like you.”
Looking crushed, Bright answered, “You don’t ‘member me? We use ta see each other all the time when we’s were younger... I-I even had a crush on you.”
While Spinel made gagging noises from above, Two-Bit quickly tried to make amends, “Ah, I’m sorry, sexy. Course I remember, your- your, ah, Yellow Face, right?”
“That’s right!” Bright beamed, hugging the mare as she reached him, acting as if her weight against his chest tripped him a step back into the darkness. “I’ma Sexy Yellow Face,”
Proud of herself, Two-Bit gave the stallion the best bedroom eyes she could manage while intoxicated. “Mmm, yes you are,” she hissed before lunging forward to mash her lips to his.
Gods, what has she been drinking? It tastes like latrine cleaner! The things I do for the Crown. Taking another step back to both lure their target further into the shadows and to keep her from chipping his teeth, Bright Sight was pleased to see those on the street making a point of not looking at the pony pair sucking face.
“So you had a crush on me, eh?” Two-Bit said as she pulled away. “Looks like your dreams coming true tonight, big guy.”
“More like your nightmare,” the dark figure of Spinel whispered as she seemingly materialized behind the informant as soon as they were fully concealed in the alley’s gloom.
“Wha-?” Before the green mare even finished turning her head, a leathery wing clamped across her mouth and she felt a weight settle on her back. Finding herself pinned to the ground and wrapped up tight by a pair of sinewy forelegs, Two-Bit immediately started to panic, struggling fruitlessly to escape.
“Now, now, none of that,” her attacker breathed into her ear, a fanged muzzle coming into view. “We don’t want anypony to get hurt do we?” one of those wickedly sharp canines ghosted against her neck, causing the earth pony to still. “Ah, much better.”
Two-Bit had tears forming in the corner of her eyes at this point and Bright Sight was feeling unsettled. Intimidation tactics weren’t his forte, preferring the more direct approach to keeping the peace, and he definitely wasn’t comfortable with using threats of violence. They were the good guys though, and so he would trust his fellow guard’s judgement.
“Now, I’m going to move my wing away from your mouth, and you are going to remain very quiet unless spoken to, got it?” Spinel asked, voice like poisoned honey, smiling wide when her captive gave a meek nod. “Good! I’m glad we’re all getting along so nicely. I was afraid I was going to have to let my partner here incentize you. Believe me, you don’t want to know what he does to little mares who make him angry.”
As the terrified eyes snapped to him, adrenaline working quickly to sober them up, all Bright could manage was a smirk as his insides churned. He was going to have to have a talk with Spinel after this; she was crossing lines neither they, nor any Equestrian should cross.
Seems the expression was enough however as Two-Bit began to shiver and the tears spilled down her cheeks. As the wing moved away, she didn’t make a peep.
“As you can probably guess, Bitsy, there’s something we want to know, and you are just the mare to tell us.”
“Please, I- I don’t know anyth-”
“Don’t lie to me!” Spinel hissed, putting more pressure on the green mare and getting a squeak of pain from her. “We know who you are and what you do, so you better pray to whatever deity you believe in that you got answers for us or I swear not even your own mother will be able to recognize your corpse, got it!”
The mare broke down into subdued sobs, but still managed to nod, getting Spinel to smile. “Good, I’m glad we’re on the same page now,” she said, using a wing to pet her captive's mane in what would have looked like a comforting manner had it not been for the small claw of the bat pony’s wrist pricking at Two-Bit’s scalp.
“W-what do you want to know?” Two-Bit managed, eyes screwed shut.
“Nothing much, just what you know about Zariba Arbez. Recent activities, where he is, where he’s going, anything and everything you can tell us.”
“Th-the doctor is an upstanding member of-”
“Really?” Spinel interrupted. “Do I really have to explain where that’s going to get you? Because here’s a hint, it’s a little bit everywhere. They’ll be picking you out of the cracks and crevices of this dingy alleyway for months.”
Two-Bit gulped. “R-right, I d-don’t know exactly what he’s been up to, but he left town a while ago with his caravan for one of his treasure hunts. A-a big one apparently.
“I was just trying to get some more information about it at the bar, you know? L-listen to the gossip, what p-people let slip when they get a few drinks in. There was a dog there talking about how Zariba was going to make them all rich with this hunt, and how he wanted to go himself. I slid up next to him, bought him a few drinks and acted real interested.
“He talked a lot. A-apparently, he was sent back with some others to keep an eye out for a dragon, probably Amethyst Thistle, i-if you know who that is. It sounded like Zariba really wants her captured.”
The two guards shared a look before the bat pony pressed, “And where are they going? Did this dog say?”
“No-” began the earth pony before her eyes shot open, “Wait! He- he was saying how he was upset about missing out on authentic gryphon food. That this place in the capital had the best around. That probably means that the caravan is going to the gryphon kingdom, yeah?”
“Hmm, can’t argue with that logic,” Spinel agreed. “So, you got anything else for us?”
“I’ve told you everything I know. Please, let me go,” Two-Bit begged, desperation clear in her voice.
“Well, if you don’t know anymore, than I see no reason not to,” was the jovial reply before the bat pony looked up at her partner. “Give the mare forty winks, Mister Yellow Face.”
With a curt nod and brief glance at the scared look Two-Bit directed a him, Bright Sight ignited his horn and sent a small beam flashing straight to the earth pony’s forehead, her eyes instantly rolling back. The unicorn felt a sense of relief wash over him as the interrogation was finally over and Two-Bit’s expression of horror relaxed in her sleep.
Stepping up from the unconscious mare, Spinel did a little stretch, muscles shifting under her plum coat as she flipped her flint colored mane out of her face. “See, I told you going with the gut was a good call.”
“Sorry if gut feelings don’t count as evidence,” Bright grumbled before speaking louder. “Listen, let’s just get out of here, that spell is only meant to keep a pony down for ten minutes tops and I doubt she’ll want to see us first thing when she wakes up.”
“Probably not,” the bat pony agreed. “Okay then, you go on ahead, I’ll watch over Two-Bit until she’s awake and on her way home.”
Bright had to raise an eyebrow at that. “Why?”
“You really think I’m going to leave a mare in a dark alley unconscious?” Spinel returned, equally incredulous. “Besides, I can take the time to send a message back to my lieutenant so she can start working on contacting Princess Luna in the dreamscape.”
She gestured to a black marking on her right shoulder and the unicorn flinched internally. There sat a six-point communication rune inked directly into the skin beneath her wing, bound directly to the mare’s own magic so perfectly as to last decades and always have power. Bright Sight could admire the rune as the piece of art it was and how useful it could be, but he had no doubt of how painful the etching must have been and was glad Celestia didn’t see fit to brand her guards with the same.
“Yeah, okay, you probably need to concentrate then.” He mumbled. “You going to be alright by yourself though?”
His concern earned him a roll of the eyes. “It’s just ten minutes and I’ll be hiding above. Matter of fact, I could probably beat you to Lore Finder’s place if I wanted even with the head start, but I’ll make sure to watch over you as well when I’m done here. Wouldn’t want a pretty boy like you getting taken advantage of in a big bad city like this.”
Bright didn’t give her the satisfaction of goading him as he simply nodded. “Alright then, I’ll see you there and we’ll inform Lore Finder together of what we’ve learned.” Brushing past the Night guard, he didn’t look back as he made his way to the street and turned out of sight.
Spinel Strike was an enigma to the stallion that he just couldn’t get a beat on. She could behave so improperly one moment, only to switch to a professional soldier the next. While she was interrogating Two-Bit, Bright Sight had to remind himself that it was just an act so as to prevent himself from tackling the seemingly deranged pony to the ground, her performance reminding him too much of some of the worst criminals he'd had the displeasure of knowing.
In the end, he couldn’t tell what was her true face, and what was merely a mask, and that unsettled him.
Lore Finder found herself sitting anxiously at the kitchen table once again, waiting for the two guards to return with news. She made them promise to tell her what they ended up learning before she let them leave her home the other day, and she prayed that they would keep their word.
She had told the pair everything she knew for certain in hopes that it would bring her friend back, as few as the facts were, before going on to share the theories she had concocted in her worried mind. They asked who in the city would want to hurt Amethyst Thistle, and Lore gave them a list of twenty names, explaining how Amy had a bit of a hero complex that the criminal underworld just loathed.
Most of them though, were bumbling morons who were no match for her friend save one, and that is who Lore believed they should put their focus on. She had no evidence to back up her claims, that zebracorn being far too careful to incriminate himself, but she insisted on the supposedly upstanding citizen’s guilt.
Apparently, the Solar Guard, Bright Sight, had actually read about Dr. Zariba and was skeptical of Lore Finder’s claims. The other, however, had listened more intently. The bat pony, who had been stoic until then, asked many questions about the doctor, nodding as Lore explained his ties to the black market and willingness to disturb sacred sites to make a quick bit. She also explained the numerous times Arbez had tried to kill Amethyst Thistle for getting in his way.
Amy had foiled his plans on more than one occasion and Lore Finder had no doubt that he would seek to remove her permanently from the board. In the end, Bright had agreed that it was possible while Spinel was far more convinced. After that, Lore had sent them to an informant she knew Amethyst complained about frequently.
The dragoness had often come over after a night of drinks, ranting about how the mare, Two-Bit, had tried to pump her for info on anything and everything, ruining her relaxation time. Seeing as such complaints came on the same night every week, Lore knew just where to send the guards to find the nosy mare. She had talked to them yesterday, and tonight would be the night they would return with what they had learned.
A knock at the door nearly made Lore Finder fall out of her seat as she was startled out of her thoughts. Quickly moving to answer, the pegasus mare had the door swung open and was speaking before she even saw who it was. “Did Two-Bit know… You aren’t the guards.”
Though the statement was in monotone, Lore’s heart had jumped into her throat. Practically nopony ever came to her and her husband’s home, and especially not at this time of night and in groups of three. The Manic grin of one was bad enough, but when the bored pegasus mare of the group looked at her, only for her expression to slowly shift to one of wide-eyed wonder, Lore’s nervousness grew. “Daring Do?”
~8~
Twilight Sparkle hoisted her stuffed saddle bags on and removed her checklist one last time. Ignoring the pang of how Spike would often be the one diligently reading it for her and checking them off, she ensured there was nothing missing.
She’d done this several times since they had boarded the train, but it was her only activity to keep her occupied on the long ride. They had already transferred between a few trains now and the sun was beginning to set over the horizon.
Across from her, Rainbow Dash sat, face smearing drool across the window pane while she snored away. They had left early in the morning and the athletic pegasus was trying to make up for it with another twelve hours of sleep.
Her other travel companion was still off exploring the train and Twilight was sure she was driving somepony crazy, throwing a party, or both. When the unicorn had gathered her friends and explained the situation, they were all shocked and quick to volunteer aid, but Twilight was sure they understood what they would be getting themselves into.
Twilight had indeed thought deeply about it herself between the time she left Celestia and talked to her friends and realized that this was indeed different from any of the adventures she and her friends had been on thus far. This wasn’t like Nightmare Moon when they knew salvation was just a walk through the woods away. This wasn’t like Discord where the draconequus sat in their town just waiting for them to show up.
This wasn’t even like the Crystal Empire where they at least knew who they were facing and how to defeat him. Every one of those battles were clear cut and quick, the last only taking them all from their homes for a week before they were able to return to their lives. Not like now. Twilight didn’t know who took her brother or where they were. She didn’t know how she was going to find them and what she would have to do to rescue Spike.
She didn’t know how long they would be away, but she was sure it was going to be for much longer than any their previous quests, and asking for such a commitment from her friends was not done lightly. In the end, three of her friends had to regretfully decline the call to arms, and Twilight did not blame them for it.
Rarity had a business to run. Applejack had to take care of the farm or else ask her brother to shoulder the burden alone. The animals under Fluttershy’s care could fend for themselves for a while, but some would inevitably need medical attention that she would need to be present to administer.
They all had responsibilities that they couldn’t simply drop without some assurance that they wouldn’t be globe-trotting for half a year or some such. The decision was at least made easier for them by knowing the princesses had sent their best after the small drake and that the culprit probably wasn’t some eldritch abomination. The guards didn’t exactly have a stellar track record with such beings, after all.
Rainbow and Pinkie had been the exceptions. The former, even as the head of the weather team back in Ponyville, wasn’t exactly what you’d call busy. She usually only worked an hour or two a day before spending the rest napping or practicing for the Wonderbolts, so it wasn’t hard for her to have Thunderlane take over while she was away.
As for Pinkie, while the Cakes were sad to see her go, they had managed well enough before they had hired the party mare, so they insisted they could handle things for a month or two without her. Even so, Pinkie left her pet alligator to take her place both baking and throwing any birthday parties scheduled until she returned. She assured Twilight that she was leaving her responsibilities in completely capable gums.
Finding Amy and Spike was simply too important for the mare, not only because they were probably in danger and in need of rescuing, but also because she now had a backlog of parties for the two. Amy still needed her ‘Welcome to Ponyville!’ party waiting for her, plus a ‘Congratulations On Being Reunited With Your Long Lost Family!’ party for the pair.
All in all, this was a very dire situation indeed for the party mare and she would stop at nothing to rectify it. Twilight was almost scared of how serious the pink pony was about the whole matter, but was also glad that the uncontainable force of a determined Pinkie was on her side.
“Arriving at Ford Junction,” a gruff voice called over the intercom, causing both Twilight and Rainbow to jolt.
“Whozza what now?” Rainbow blurted as she whipped her head around and blinked. Smacking her lips, she looked to Twilight “We finally there?”
“Seems so,” the unicorn responded, glancing out the window at the dingy city beyond the train station. It definitely wasn’t like any Equestrian locale she’d ever been to, already noticing a scale meant to accommodate a larger variety of creatures than just ponies. Plus lots of litter. Seriously, didn’t the town guard enforce anti-littering laws? “We better go find Pink-”
“Hi, Twilight!”
“Gah! Pinkie, where’d you come from!”
“Well, you see Twilight, when a mommy and daddy love each other very much- foop”
“Not what I meant,” Twilight said, pulling her hoof from her mysteriously appearing friend’s mouth and wiping the slobber on the seat cushion. “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve got directions to this Lore Finder’s home and I’d like to get there as soon as possible.”
Pinkie tilted her head with a frown. “But we just got here, can’t we explore a little first?” in an instant, her face was smooshed up against the glass, voice excited. “Think of all the new ponies, and gryphons, and minotaurs, and diamond dogs, and I think that’s a cat, and I don’t know what that is, but I want to meet it anyway. I want to meet them all!”
Groaning, Twilight ran a hoof down her face. “Pinkie, we’re not on vacation, we’re on a very important mission, and the more time we waste, the farther Spike could be getting away.”
“I don’t know, Twilight,” Rainbow said, yawning, “Sun’s already down. You sure we should go talk with this Lore mare now and not find a place to crash for the night? Go first thing in the morning?”
“No!” growled the unicorn with a stomped hoof. “We’ve already spent all day riding trains and put off leaving a day early as it is. We can’t be wasting any more time touring the city or finding a hotel. We are going to Lore Finder now and getting her to tell us what she knows even if we have to drag her out of bed.”
While Pinkie slumped a little, Rainbow frowned. “Okay, fine, don’t pop a vessel.” Pushing past her purple companion, she added, “Guess you haven’t written a friendship report about not snapping at your friends yet.”
Twilight flinched at the barb, but didn’t say anything as she followed suit, levitating a piece of paper from her saddle bags and reading the address. She’d have to check to see if they sold maps of the city here at the station.
Pinkie was the last to leave the room, sighing as she trailed after her friends. Was it really so wrong to try and keep everypony happy when they were so tense?