Raichu for Hire

by CommanderX5

Ch 6.5 - Bodyguard Career pt.2

With her hope renewed and her plump bodyguard standing beside her, Coco Pommel focused her attention on the clothing production, carefully pushing the green material on the sewing machine. The repetitive noise ‘dun, dun, duh…' filled the room.

Once done, she took several seconds to attach a thread on a needle, and next grabbed it with her teeth. As useful as the sewing machine proved to be, some tiny improvements required a more personal touch.

With buttons and pockets attached to the newly created jacket, she released the needle and stared at her creation in pride. “I wonder… should I add zip fasteners to the pockets? Pickpockets are probably quite common in this part of the city after all.” She looked at her little companion and asked, “Nica, what do you think?”

“I think it’s a good idea, but wouldn’t it be too difficult for you?”

“Too difficult? Not at all. Why would you even think that?” Coco asked.

The pokemon stood on tip of her foot and stretched her forepaw, touching the top of her head. “I didn’t pay attention at first, but I just noticed that you don’t have a horn. You can’t use magic.”

Coco forced a smile and shook her forehoof dismissively. “Oh, that’s okay. Telekinesis or not, I can handle it.” She looked at her companion who climbed up onto the table and now stood next to the sewing machine, gesturing over the storage.

“You have so many materials in this room. Do you really want to turn them all into clothes with your hooves with no one’s help?” Nica asked.

Coco nodded, now understanding her bodyguard’s worries. “I do. I know it is difficult, but I always managed somehow despite not being a unicorn myself.” She held forehoof on her chest. “Without unicorn’s magic I can’t multitask and I need to rely on tools. Keeping up with the competition was tough and filled with struggle, but I never gave up.” She closed her eyes. “If I had to work more hours than the others, I did, if I had to fix my mistakes more often than others, I did. I know that this field of work is dominated by unicorns due to their natural advantage, but with enough determination, passion and talent, even an earth pony like me can have her chance.”

She stomped and opened her eyes, her head raised proudly. “All my hard work and achievements are proof that even earth ponies can… ummm… why do you have glitter in your eyes?” Her ears drooped and she felt uneasy, slightly creeped by the large smile and wide-glittering eyes of her bodyguard. Nica’s nose was only a centimeter away from her muzzle.

“You’re amazing!”

“I… am?” Coco asked before rubbing her arm, a blush appeared on her cheeks. “Oh, no no no, even with my hard work and dedication, I’m still barely keeping up with other talented ponies. There’s nothing special about me.”

“Of course you’re special!” Nica shouted as her tail flapped left and right in excitement. She stepped from the table and looked up at the earth pony in admiration. “You’re even better than Rarity.”

“W-what… b-but… I’m not…” She looked to the side. “The quality of Rarity’s work is above mine.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Nica said before nuzzling Coco’s foreleg, pressing her ear against pony’s fur. “My trainer always told me that the more power one possess, the more they need to accomplish to deserve their power, and the other way around. In your case, you’re an earth pony, so you’re handicapped when it comes to making clothes, yet you still kept up with the unicorns.”

“Y-yes… b-but.”

Nica stood on the tips of her rear legs and grabbed Coco’s face with her paws, pressing her muzzle against her nose. “Think about it. If Rarity was an earth pony, do you think she could manage to work as fast as you, or even reach your quality of work?” She released Coco and took a few steps backward. “Or if you were a unicorn, how much faster you would create? How much the quality of your work would improve?”

“Well… I can’t deny your reasoning… but still…” Coco said, her train of thoughts becoming a mess. Rarity was her friend, a very talented, kind, generous and hardworking mare. Was it fair to think that she could surpass her if she was a unicorn herself?

“My memories may not be fully recovered yet, but based on teachings of my trainer and my experiences, I believe that the more one accomplishes based on how much they can do, the greater they are.” She pointed at herself, her head raised proudly. “Using myself as an example, I was a tiny Pichu when I was young, I evolved into a Pikachu after hundreds of harsh battles, and I still don’t remember how much it took me to prove myself worthy to evolve into Raichu.”

Coco could do little but stare as her little bodyguard suddenly radiated with confidence and ideals, a big shift when compared to the humble cuddly creature from two hours ago.

Nica huffed. “Let’s say, hypothetically, that somewhere up there is a Pichu or a Pikachu who –with their hard work and determination– accomplished great feats, maybe even surpassing mine. From my point of view, they would be superior to me.”

“Superior?” Coco asked. She sat and pointed at the pokemon. “So if I understand you correctly, you believe that since evolving makes you better…”

“Not better, just stronger, it gives me greater power and durability that I can use,” Nica corrected. “And a much longer tail.”

“R-right… so since evolving makes you stronger and allow you to accomplish more, if Pichu or Pikachu kept up with you despite their handicaps, they would be better than you?”

Nica held forepaws on her sides and nodded. “Exactly. If those weaker than me accomplished more, I would view them as idols, ones I should take examples from.” She pointed at Coco, her smile encouraging. “That’s why I admire you, Coco. I feel honored to work for an inspiring pony like you.”

Coco Pommel blushed once again, now even stronger than before as she hid it with her foreleg. “Thank you, thank you so much.” She looked at her bodyguard with an expression filled with confidence as a few tears started forming in her eyes. “You’re the first admirer I ever had. It’s nice to be appreciated, and now I feel more sure of myself than ever before.” She stomped. “Let’s make this shop a big success, no matter the obstacles!”

“That’s the spirit,” Nica said before her ears drooped. She held forepaws in a pleading gesture as she asked, “Ummm… I know I don’t have talent in cloth-making… but can I assist you in any way?” She looked around in haste, grabbing a nearby needle before attaching a threat to it, taking three seconds to do so. “See, I’m fast, I can be helpful.”

Coco Pommel rubbed her chin, deep in thought. “Well… I suppose you can be my assistant, aside from being my bodyguard. I could use extra hooves… paws around here.”

Nica cheered and jumped up in excitement, her head ended up stuck in the ceiling a moment later.

Coco flinched and yelped. “Oh nooo...!” She approached, stood on her rear hooves and pulled the long tail, freeing Nica before catching her with her forelegs and holding her like a baby. With a face filled with compassion and pity, she examined Nica’s head, not finding any sign of injury. “Is your head hurting? Do you need some ice or a bandage?”

Nica shook her head before pointing at the hole in the ceiling, her ears drooped. “I’m sorry for damaging your shop. I’ll fix it… please, don’t be angry.”

Coco sighed in relief and released her bodyguard. She cares more about the wellbeing of my shop over her own health. She’s just... precious. She shook her head and smiled warmly. “How can I be angry at you? It was an accident. Buildings can be repaired, but injuries may last for years. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Nica embraced her neck and nuzzled her cheek. “Oh Coco. If you knew about pokemon as much as I do, you would know that my health is unimportant.”

“Unimportant? What do you mean?”

She released the earth pony and scanned the area in search for materials to use on the hole. “Nevermind. I think it’s best if you don’t know.”

After patching the hole and hours of work, Coco locked her store and approached her bed, which was located in the corner of the storage she was working in. While the building itself was spacious, it had only two rooms, forcing her to use the acquired space the best she could. After a moment of stretching, she untied her neck-decoration and placed it next to a flower on the table. She climbed onto her bed and covering herself with a warm eiderdown. Glancing at Nica, she said, “I know there’s no space left on the bed, but you can sleep on me… like cats usually do. Or I can gather a few materials into a pile for you to sleep on.

“Sleep? I’m not going to sleep tonight.”

“Huh, why?”

“I’m your bodyguard, I’ll keep watch so no thief can sneak in.”

Coco shook her head and sat on her bed. “Oh no no no, I wouldn’t want you to trouble yourself. While I learned that this part of Manehattan isn’t the safest, I don’t think any thief would be interested in robbing a clothing store.”

Nica shook her head, her tail gently pushing Coco to a lying position before pulling the soft cover over her. “Sleep well, Miss Pommel. I’ll keep you safe.” She licked her cheek before running away.

Before Coco could protest, her bodyguard turned off the lights, leaving her in the dark room. Too tired to argue, she pressed her head into the pillow, relaxing herself while knowing that she wasn’t alone anymore.

Hearing a ringing noise, Coco pushed herself to a sitting position and rubbed her eyes, feeling refreshed after her first worry-free sleep she had in weeks. The sunlight peeked into the storage by small windows as the room was still a little bit dark. Most of her materials and gears were now lying in shadows. With her vision sharpening, she looked to the side, noticing a tray with a hay sandwich and a cup of water on the nearby table next to her ringing watch.

“Did she?” She stepped from her bed and picked up the hay sandwich, taking a bite. Not that it was a difficult dish to make, but how could she not appreciate such a kind gesture? After finishing her food and taking gulps of refreshing water, she put a collar with a scarlet tie on her neck, and next fixed a tri-shade hair clip in the back of her mane.

Once presentable enough, she started patrolling the storage. “Miss Nica, where are you?” Her call was answered immediately as Nica entered the room and yawned, her eyes half-closed and somewhat sleepy. “Oh no… I knew you staying awake at night was a bad idea.”

Nica shook her head and forced a smile. “D-don’t worry, I’m f-fine. I’ll manage.”

Coco glanced at her watch and bit her lip. “It is seven in the morning, we still have an hour before opening.” She pointed at her own bed. “Take a nap while there’s still time.”

She perched her bodyguard in her bed, stroking her gently on the head. Her stress grew in strength the closer she was to opening her store as she made final preparation, biting her forehooves on 7:50. She yelped upon feeling a gentle paw of her bodyguard patting her shoulder. Seeing Nica smile restored her confidence. “I hope everything will go without a hitch.” Upon noticing that the collar was still present on the pokemon’s neck, she pointed out, “There are still ten minutes left, and since you’re working for me, you deserve to look presentable and elegant.”

Nica nodded hesitantly. “It won’t involve hours of posing or standing still, isn’t?”

“Of course not, why would you think that?” Coco asked as an image of Rarity unleashing her creativity on the poor critter flashed in her mind.

Pressured by limited time, she ran into her storage, returning three minutes later with a black suit on her back. “Now turn around.” As she’d hoped for, the pokemon listened to her request. “I made it months ago, hoping I could sell it to a colt who wanted to look cool. It didn’t work out.” She put the black suit on Nica, covering half of her forepaws and most of her belly. She rounded the critter and attached a grey tie on her neck atop her collar, right under the name-tag. “And now for the finishing touch.” She put sunglasses on Nica, who’s ears proved big enough to keep it stable. “Perfect. You look elegant, professional and cool.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

Coco chuckled before unlocking the door, only for a crowd of ponies to rush inside. A moment later she felt Nica’s tail wrap around her foreleg as she was escorted outside of the excited crowd. “Thank you.” She sat behind the glass counter and fixed her tie as the room was now filled with murmuring ponies.

“That’s…. a lot of customers,” Nica commented.

“What can I say. Ponies here aren’t exactly rich and I sell practical clothes cheaper than anywhere else. I don’t earn much income with such prices, but I’m happy to help those with less luck than me.”

Nica nodded before approaching the exit, wrapping her tail around the stallion’s rear leg. “Excuse me… ummm… sir, but I believe you should pay for those first.”

The stallion with two punching gloves as a cutie mark and muscular legs turned around and shot the pokemon an angered glare. “And if I don’t want to pay for it, what will you do about it? Small fry.” A big green jacket with pockets with zippers lay on his back.

Nica lowered her head and sighed. She untied her collar and next pulled the stolen clothes away from the stallion’s back with her tail.

“Give those back if you know what’s good for you,” the stallion said, pinning Nica to the floor with his heavy hoof.

Coco observed the scene from behind the counter, a trembling foreleg was raised up to her face. The reason why she didn’t fear of thieves coming at night being due to some ponies stealing her work openly during the day. Her income had been poor for the past week as she couldn’t stand up against the intimidating figures. Oh dear… this isn’t good. As much as she wanted to yell at the stallion to release her bodyguard, she couldn’t get the words through her throat, her legs feeling as if they were made of jelly. Suddenly, bolts of electricity surrounded the stallion who lost his balance a moment later. She sighed, feeling a surge of relief. Maybe I shouldn’t worry about my bodyguard, but rather for the thief. That shock must’ve hurt a lot.

Nica wiped dirt and dust from her uniform before placing forepaws on her sides. <You’ll now pay for those clothes and apologize to Miss Coco Pommel, do we have an understanding?> Her words sounding more like, “Rai Rai Rai Raichu Raichu, Rai Rai Rai,” to the surrounding ponies.

“You little…” He slammed his foreleg against the pokemon’s head, only for it to be blocked by her shining tail. “What’s your tail made of, some kind of metal?” The tail wrapped around his foreleg and more electricity went through his body.

Nica picked up her collar from the floor and put back on her neck. “As I was saying, you’ll now pay for those clothes and apologize to Miss Coco Pommel. Do we have an understanding?”

“Ugh… fine,” he said and groaned, picking up the jacket from the floor and murmuring annoyed words to himself quietly.

Coco Pommel felt her heartbeat increase in speed with each of the stallion’s steps. She gulped, forcing a smile as the muscular pony now sat in front of her counter.

“How much for these?”

“T-ten b-bits… plus a hundred bits for all the other clothes you took from my store without paying the other day.”

The stallion groaned and was about to slam his hoof against the glass, only for a metallic tail to intercept it. The thud like a mace colliding with a sword followed.

Nica crossed her forepaws and shook her head, the black glasses still present on her eyes.

“Fine!” He took a small bag of bits from his saddlebag and threw it at Coco, yet instead of hitting her head, the bag was grabbed by pokemon’s tail. “I’ll never buy anything here ever again.” He turned around and left the store, his head lowered as one could imagine a dark cloud floating over it.

“T-thank you…” Coco said, still feeling the rapid beating of her heart. She could only stare as Nica went towards the middle of the store and addressed the crowd.

“I apologize for the commotion, dear customers,” Nica said, performing a polite bow while holding her glasses in place, a lesson no doubt picked up at Rarity’s workplace. “I’m here to ensure everyone’s safety, so please, buy at ease and have a nice day.”

The ponies either shrugged or nodded, returning to their shopping, though a few more suspicious individuals wearing capes returned the clothes and left the shop with panicked faces.

Coco smiled warmly. The more she learned about her new bodyguard, the more she enjoyed her company. It became obvious that Nica could use electricity to hurt others and had combat experience, having good enough reflexes to block various attacks. Yet she also proved herself to be calm and friendly, even when dealing with aggressive opponent. Clearly, the bodyguard of her dreams.

Nica had mixed feelings… On one side, she was proud of herself, fulfilling an important role while helping a pony whose kindness and sweetness could give Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy a challenge. On another, trying to stay awake proved to be quite a struggle. Her eyes closed on their own for a minute or two, which was well hidden behind her sunglasses. It wouldn’t be a problem if the customers didn’t ask for permission to stroke her head from time to time, forcing her to hide her sleepiness.

As the store had ten minutes before closing, –something Nica looked forward to– the double door at the entrance slammed open with a loud thud.

The pokemon glared at the three entering ponies, sensing their hostility while seeing grins on their faces. Two stallions and one mare had more than just one tattoo covering their bodies, with flame-breathing beast and a bird made of flames tattoo on their sides being the most noticeable. Their manes were cut shortly, and looked strange.

“Oh no, please no... not you again,” Coco said, ducking behind the counter in fear.

“You know what we’re here for,” said the mare in the middle. “You have such a nice-looking shop here, it would be a shame if something happened to it.”

Nica grit her teeth, only now noticing that the stallion on left and on right side were both armed with metallic objects. Not bothering to take off her collar, she ran forward, getting in their way.

“Huh? That’s an odd looking pet you got there, little Coco, though I must say, I like its style,” the mare said, giving the store-owner a satisfied smile. “I see you not only know how to dress up ponies, but pets as well, good. My dog could use some free-samples for the winter.

The stallions laughed.

“Miss Nica… those are the ponies who… I told you about,” Coco muttered, as if trying to be heard by her bodyguard, but not by the armed ponies.

Nica glanced at her boss, seeing only her ears and mane standing out from behind the cover. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.”

“Wow, and it talks, talk about exclusive pets,” the mare said before lowering herself to Nica’s level. “I think I’ll be taking you. A cutie like you may earn me lots of bits on the black market.” She chuckled. “I bet some rich snob will pay a lot for something like you.”

Nica took a deep calming breath, relaxing herself. She slapped the mare’s nose with her paw and said calmly, “My name’s Nica and I work for Miss Pommel as her bodyguard. I am not a pet you can make fun of.” She took off her glasses and placed them in small pocket in her uniform. Narrowing her sleepy eyes, she pointed at the intruders and shouted, “I demand that you return the money you stole from Coco, or… or… or I’ll be forced to hurt you!”

The mare raised to her full height and looked at each escorting her stallions before the trio burst into laughter.

After wiping a tear of joy from her cheek, she spoke, “Listen, fluffy ball. Your jokes put me in good mood, so I won’t take protection money from your owner today. I’ll just take you instead.”

Nica flinched and slapped the forelegs of the mare with her tail, staring at her with an angered glare. “I wasn’t joking.”

“You dare to defy me? They call me Breakbone for a reason, and trust me, you don’t want to find out why.” She looked at the mare hiding behind the glass counter. “Maybe I should demonstrate the meaning behind my name on your owner. This should make you more obedient.”

Nica sent a calculated amount of power into her tail before lightly slamming the mare’s chest, throwing her across the store and out the opened door. Yelps of pain followed as the mare bounced across the street before hitting the trash can on the other side.

“The stolen money, return it now!” Nica commanded, slamming her tail against the floor with a weak quake. While she needed her collar to communicate with ponies, restricting her use of electricity as a side-effect, she still had her tail to count on.

The angered mare ran inside the store and yelled, “Smackdown, Crusher, stop staring like a bunch of idiots and smash that stupid pet!”

“B-but… if we damage her, she’ll be worth less when–”

“I don’t care!” Breakbone yelled in rage. “Unless you want me to call you Douchebag and Jerkface for the rest of your lives, beat this rabbit-rat thingy into submission!”

Nica kept glaring at the stallions, now sensing hesitation and even guilt. The aura of malice was surprisingly weak. I see. It seems they are hanging with the wrong crowd. Her glare softened. She turned her head slightly and gestured at her cheek. “Go on, hit as hard as you can.”

“W-what?”

“Come on and hit me, I won’t resist.”

A foreleg holding a metallic weapon started to tremble and drops of sweat fell down his forehead. Smackdown gulped and glanced at his boss. “B-but… it would be animal abuse.”

“If you don’t want me to show you pony-abuse and break your jaw, hit that critter now!”

Smackdown’s ears drooped and he lowered her head. “Sorry, little girl, it’s either you or me.” He raised his weapon like a baseball player preparing to hit the ball.

Coco peeked from behind the counter before yelling. “Nica, get out of the way! That crowbar is sharp!” The pupils in her eyes shrank at the following scene.

Nica pushed her tail into the floor for support and closed her eyes. Her legs sank into the floor of the shop while her tail kept her stable despite the force of the impact. The metallic object hit her even harder than the beast’s paw in the Everfree Forest.

“You call that a hit, she doesn’t have a single scratch? Strike harder, strike with the sharp edge.”

Nica sensed a big rush of guilt as she was hit again, this time the sharp edge struck her cheek with even more strength than before. The noise of metal hitting the floor reached her ears. She opened her eyes and massaged her cheek. According to her memories, even Nidoqueen’s ‘Horn Attack’ hurt way more. She gazed between the floor and the broken weapon in the stallion's forelegs.

“It seems you broke your tool, allow me to fix it,” Nica said before wrapping her tail around the two pieces of weapon, pulling them into her own paws. She threw both parts up and slashed with the sharp part of her tail, catching four parts instead. “Oops, I think I damaged it even more, let me try again.” She repeated her action two more times, now holding sixteen pieces of metal while sensing auras of fear. “Please, count for me,” Nica said before pushing sixteen pieces, cutting them in mid air as her tail moved in speed too fast for the pony eye. She pointed down and asked, “How many pieces are now on the floor?”

Both stallions gulped and ran towards the exit.

Nica dashed, bypassing the intruders while charging at the angered mare, who grabbed the nearby glass counter with boots and threw it. The easiest option would be jumping over, or she could block the attack with ‘Iron Tail,’ yet it could damage Coco’s property, and she would have none of that. She took the hit head on, wrapping her paws around the counter while using herself to soften the fall. Using her own body as a pillow was a strategy she didn’t really mind using if necessary. Huh, that was close. She rounded the counter and struck the mare’s legs with her tail.

“You annoying little pet,” Breakbone said while massaging her foreleg.

Nica struck the mare in the head with the blunt part of her tail, limiting her strength just enough to knock her out without injury. The stallions behind her stopped and started trembling in fear.

“We… won’t bother your boss ever again.. Just please, let us go!” Smackdown shouted in panic.

Nica shot them angered glare. “Will you return the money you’ve stolen? I really don’t want to use more violence than necessary.”

“B-but… we don’t have it,” Crusher said.

“We have it at our hideout,” Smackdown said, receiving a side-bump to his foreleg.

“Shut up you fool.”

“I won’t! Stealing bits and breaking stuff is fine, but I didn’t sign up on smacking ponies or animals. And if you haven’t noticed,” he pointed at the large critter, “We are outmatched.”

“Fine, do what you want, but I won’t spill the beans,” Crusher said before attacking with his crowbar, which was blocked and cut in half immediately by the metallic tail. “Okay, fine, fine, we have all the stolen goods in our hideout in the old abandoned storage, I can lead you there, just don’t hurt me!”

Smackdown rolled his eyes. “A bit late on the pattern recognition there, bro.”

“Shut up,” Crusher responded.

Nica smirked. Not only had she defended her owner’s store, but she gained an opportunity to return stolen bits and goods to their rightful owners. She rounded the stallions and shouted, “Coco, please close the store and wait for me. I’ll go raid their hideout!” Overwhelmed with excitement, she waved at her boss and turned to the stallions. “Lead the way!” Using her tail, she picked up the unconscious mare and followed her captives.

Coco just stared at the scene before her, her eyes wide and mouth agape. Not a single muscle in her body moved for the past two minutes as even her blinking slowed down to one blink each twenty seconds.

“What just… happened…” she murmured to herself. Her cute, cuddly and chubby bodyguard just took a powerful hit into the cheek, yet she didn’t lose a single drop of blood, not even having a scratch. For the first time in her life she witnessed violence between ponies and animal, her heartbeat and breathing were heavy as her mind struggled to come to terms with what happened just a moment ago.

“In short, your bodyguard scared two thugs, beat up the third one, and now she’s going to raid their hideout.”

Coco looked to the side, only now noticing that one of her customers was hiding between her clothes on the left wing of her store.

“S-sorry for hiding like that. I heard your shop is well guarded, and…” he gulped, “... those thugs were after me. I’ll be leaving now.”

Coco walked from behind the counter and approached the pony. With no clothes in the way, what she saw almost caught her off guard, causing her to flinch. It was a colt with a few bruises and black mark under his eye. “W-wait…”

“Huh?”

“You’re hurt, I’ll go get some bandages.”

“You… you want to help me?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I?” Coco asked before going into her storage, returning with a first-aid kit she bought recently in case of emergency. “What’s your name?”

“Quiet Leaf,” the colt answered, gritting his teeth upon being touched on his injuries, but didn’t complain.

“Nice to meet you, Quiet Leaf,” Coco said. Now that she looked at the young pony from close, he had a green leaf as a cutie mark and a horn on his head. “So, why were those mean ponies after you, and where are your parents?” As the colt looked to the side, Coco gently moved his head to look at her, pushing aside his violet mane which hid part of his face. She kept smiling in compassion. “You can trust me.”

The police station in the Manehattan, a big place filled with ponies in blue uniforms, a few cells which from time to time contained a criminal or two. With most of the officers patrolling the large city, a few were left to accept complaints and reports of crimes.

A box with donuts and cup of coffee lay on a desk with one slightly relaxed unicorn officer sitting behind it. A mustache was present on his face. He levitated his coffee cup back onto the desk and stood from his seat, his attention now focused on five stallions and three mares covered in tattoos, bruises and burns who entered the station, numerous bags were present on their backs. “Who are you, what’s the meaning of this?” One thing was certain, it wasn’t a group of innocent citizens.

The stallions and mares groaned in annoyance, none but one interested to speak.

“My name’s Smackdown, a member of the Crushers gang. We… want to surrender ourselves.”

The police officer stared at the group for a few seconds before checking a small stock of paper under his deck. He heard the name Crushers a few times before, so no doubt he would have some data about them, yet he couldn’t lower his guard just yet. He glanced over the group and asked, “And if I may ask, why are you surrendering yourselves. What’s the catch?”

The stallion walked to the side and pointed down.

The officer blinked in confusion, staring at a long-tailed creature with silly-looking ears wearing a black suit. A grey tie and blue collar with a few shining white gems were present on its neck and sunglasses covered its eyes.

“Hello, officer, my name’s Nica, and I work as a bodyguard for Miss Coco Pommel.” She gestured at the group of ponies. “This gang was demanding protection money from my boss, so I raided their hideout and convinced them to surrender themselves.” She climbed up onto the back of a nearby stallion and pointed at the bags. “All bits and items they stole are in these. I hoped you could help return them to their rightful owners.” She yawned a moment later.

The officer kept staring at the critter for a few seconds before looking at his desk at the half-empty cup. “I swear, once I find out who accidently put drugs from the evidence room into my coffee, he’ll clean the bathroom and toilets for months.”