Flintlock led Pinkie Pie into the situation room in the center of Section Eleven while she slowly sucked on a candy cane. The room was a large planning studio, of a sort. The walls were covered in screens depicting locations or persons of interest. Three of the four walls had raised platforms so two sets of workstations could be crammed inside. Each one belonging to the support staff for Section Eleven. Field agents like Pinkie had larger offices that saw little use. Muted chatter danced around Pinkie’s ears involving various cases outside of her concern.
No, her focus was entirely on the missing Element of Harmony. Two days of orientation and introductions to everyone in Section Eleven was the lamest party ever. Seriously. The cupcakes she brought on the first day? Half of them were still in the lounge going stale in their boxes. No fun allowed, right? Thankfully for Pinkie’s already nebulous sanity, Sunset Shimmer had taken command of Pinkie’s recruitment paperwork, so she could get right to work.
Detective Pinkie rotated the candy cane to the other side of her mouth to give a square look to Flintlock, who was going over some data slates with a pegasus stallion. “So, if you buddies are done throwing papers at me, can I get to sniffing for clues now?”
“It’s the same procedure we all go through,” Flintlock chided with a frown. “But we understand time is a critical factor, which is why Keen Eye here has been collating all relevant information for the case for you.”
The pegasus used a wing to push a data slate across the map table towards Pinkie Pie. “It’d be faster if you just had a data jack. A small hit to your essence isn’t going to ruin your spellwork.”
“Yeeeeaaaa, no.” Pinkie Pie used her nose to move the pages as she read the bullet points. “What the? This info is only about the break-in at the lab. This is all we have?” She gave a flourishing scowl at the stiff-faced pegasus. “This is everything I told Flinty here two days ago!”
“Don’t call me that.”
Keen Eye didn’t take the bait and remained collected. “The lab heist is the first one targeting the Elements. There are no other heists.”
Pinkie’s flamboyance came to a screeching halt. “Oh. Well, good, that means I get to see this develop from the start.” Pinkie took a look at the city map displayed by the table. The presented controls appeared simple enough, so she commanded it to create a 3D hologram of the city above the table. “Okie folky then. First things first. What are these Elements exactly? The only thing I knew from Clover is that the Crown valued them like a baker loves flour, and that they’re powerful.”
Flintlock’s jaw tensed. He glanced at Keen Eyes to see the pegasus was just as hesitant to share classified information with a new hire. “Collectively, there are six Elements of Harmony. When used together, they’re a nigh indefensible weapon of purification. Outside of that, they are individually powerful artifacts that run the gambit between to being a catalyst in the healing process like Kindness is being used for, to…” Flintlock’s face soured with a deep grimace. “Indirectly giving you enough political forbearance to keep the princess from dispensing proper justice.”
“Political forbearance eh?” Pinkie rolled the candy cane in her mouth and made some loud sucking sounds. “A foreign government could use that, but making it public they stole it would be a declaration of war, wouldn’t it?”
Keen Eye gave the smallest of respectful nods. “That it would. Any of them who would be interested enough to go after an Element specifically would know how the Crown would react.”
“Any terrorist groups or other baddies claim responsibility?”
“No,” Keen Eye replied simply. “The Matrix has been very quiet about this.”
“Iiinteresting…” Pinkie Pie rubbed her chin and her eyes became distant. “Usually, runners like to blab at least something about successful runs, at least as much as they think their client is willing to accept. It’s their way of advertising their skill. No chatter could mean a lot of things, but I need more pieces of the cake. Alllrighty then.” Pinkie gestured at the holographic map. “Do we know where the other Elements are located?”
“We do.” Keen Eye took to the air and began poking different parts of the map. “Except for the Element of Generosity and Magic, the remaining Elements were all kept within Canterlot city limits. These are their locations.”
“Hmmm… a courthouse, ha! That’s rich. A hospital, I guess it makes sense. There’s one in the palace, kinda where they all should be… and… why is this last one in a residential zone?” Pinkie Pie jabbed a hoof at the offending building.
Flintlock’s face soured so hard the cupcakes Pinkie Pie was storing in her mane rotted on the spot. “Denim Pants. The very last pony who even deserves to so much as look at a picture of an Element, much less Loyalty.”
Pinkie Pie dropped her hooves back to the floor and gave him a contemplative chin rub, to which he responded by smacking her hoof away. “If he’s that bad… and you know he has one, and you haven’t raided his house by now… ” Pinkie’s eyes widened a bit in understanding.
“Glad to know our newest detective can put two and two together,” Keen Eye remarked bluntly. “And before you go on, Section Eleven can’t touch this guy. Two other Sections are already planning to take him down soon, and if we interfere, it’s all our tails in the fire.”
“Even if his possession of an Element is relevant to us?” Pinkie countered. She finally noticed the cupcakes in her mane had gone bad, and started shaking like a wet dog to dislodge them all. Both stallions stepped back from the flying bits of ruined pastries.
Flintlock was the first to recover from his disgust, and dismissively nudged a bit of cupcake off his shoulder. “Yes. The other Sections are acting under the Princess’ direct orders, and she sees Denim as a personal affront. The very most we could do is a stakeout.”
Keen Eye opened his mouth to make a suggestion only to notice Pinkie’s tail was twitching with a life of its own. He got further put off by the ear flopping. “Uhhh… are you having a seizure?”
Pinkie Pie ignored the strange looks she was getting, and returned her gaze to the map. When her eyes laid upon the Pants estate once more, the jitters ceased. “We have to go there.”
“Did you not hear me?” Flintlock half demanded. “We can’t—”
“Something big is going down tonight, I can feel it.” Pinkie Pie gave Flintlock her I’m-being-totally-super-serious face, the best one around. “We need to be there. Tonight!”
It wasn’t exactly uncommon for shamans to get prophetic visions, so the stallions gave it some consideration instead of dismissing her outright. However, the acceptance of these visions were dubious at best in the eyes of the law. Keen Eye’s face was a mask of contemplation, mirroring Flintlock’s own. “Assuming you’re right. It’s probably a raid the other Sections are running. Unless you can give me a better reason than one of your little seizure visions, leave it alone, detective.”
“Fine.” Pinkie grumbled. She poked the map while spinning around to leave. “I need everything we have about the Elements in my office. I got some sniffin’ to… do…” Pinkie stopped midstride and turned back to the stallions. Waaait, a second! How do we know about the raid in the first place? Did Sunset Shimmer tell you?”
“No,” Flintlock replied with annoyance not directed at Pinkie Pie. “Director Claptrap got ‘miffed’ when one of Section Three’s mares was chasing a lead on a case and it led her straight to the Pants Estate. Claptrap had her pulled out before Denim or his staff could see her, and after that, he warned the rest of the Sections that the Pants Estate was off limits to the rest of us.”
Keen Eyes’ tone of voice became haughty. “That was five months ago. Even with the backing of the throne, he’s painfully slow in gearing up for an offensive.”
“Ah ha! That’s it!” Pinkie Pie cried in victory. “Think about it. The Clover Element’s biggest defense was its secrecy. It was a test.”
“A test?” Flintlock parroted, his eyebrow raising. “For who?”
“The shadowrunners, silly! The ones I went fisticuffs with. They must have been under direct orders to leave everypony they fought both alive and with no permanent injuries. Just to see how good they are. If the mastermind knew Clover was hiding an Element, then it’s hugely wugely possible that he also knows about the raid coming up.”
Keen Eyes’ annoyed frown deepened. “You are quite the mental gymnast aren’t you?”
Flintlock shook his head. “Alright, it’s not like we have any other leads currently so I’ll bite. Let’s say you’re right, and the Element of Loyalty is stolen right out from under Claptrap’s nose. That could only mean we have a breach very high up in the government. A government staff that Celestia hoofpicks herself.”
Pinkie gave a derisive smirk at him. “Don’t get me wrong, the Princess is Wooper Super, but she’s still a pony right? And ponies can make mistakes.”
Both stallions shared knowing, concerned looks. “Somepony in one of those positions would have more than enough bits to pay these runners twice in a row,” Keen Eyes pointed out while gritting his teeth.
Flintlock nodded darkly. “Alright, Detective, I’ll play it your way tonight, but if you’re wrong, it’s your tail that’s in the fire.”
“Silly Flintlock, Ashy Pants only chews on my tail when he's hungry.”
Flintlock decided to act like he didn’t hear her on his way out the door.
The Denim Pants estate was a callback to the old aristocracy of Equestria. From Rainbow’s perspective from the limousine she was exiting, the extravagant landscaping, ranging from shrubberies to golden statues, spoke of old, old wealth.
The estate sat on the edge of the city plate two tiers below the royal district, which allowed for the coveted ability to see the night sky mostly unimpeded. The estate itself was a three story mansion with a flat face covered in old Canterlotian windows and twin flags bearing the house coat of arms flanking the front door. Dozens of lights beamed at the pristine whitewashed stone of the building.
As the valet shut the car door behind Rainbow Dash, the driver took off, allowing her to join Rarity on the flagstone terrace. The unicorn had spared no expense for herself in painting a subtle beauty motif. Her satin black dress would make for perfect concealment when the time came, but for now, spoke of wealth and fashion awareness to the party goers. She also possessed a small purse that hung on a silver chain around her neck and barrel. Rainbow was wearing her usual dress for such affairs. She would rather die before using a purse. Despite its constant use, it was still well cared for, and looked the part of a rich socialite.
“Just breathe easy, Darling, think of it as another night out at the Slayer.” Rarity’s poise and confidence was unmistakable, practiced, and genuine.
“The worst the Slayer has to offer is all the horn dog stallions.” Although ultimately, the mission at hand was not what worried her most. Flutters will be fine. She has AJ for back up. All she needs to do is collect Jiggy Tea’s head from the drop point Celestia pointed out, then run it over to the fixer, then boom, the mob won’t start getting impatient and start snooping.
Rainbow shook her head to clear her thoughts. You got this, RD. You’re a winner, you’re a fighter, you gotta bring home the bacon and show the Princess you mean serious business! The personal pep talk got her blood pumping. She felt re-energized and turned to focus at the entrance to the Pants family estate when the limousine rolled in. Two muscle bound minotaurs of monstrous measurements in black tuxedos and mirrored visors were standing near the door. A holographic, distorted face of a pony was speaking with the guests, causing one of the guests to giggle madly. However, with the cars behind her, Rainbow couldn’t make out what they were saying. “Did you get a chance to give the IDs Queen gave us a once over?”
Rarity took the lead and started sauntering towards the distant, muffled sound of high society. A siren song if ever there was one for the decker. “Of course. They stood up to my scrutiny, so I can’t imagine this place will be able to defeat one of Queen’s best and brightest.”
The conversation switched to inane babble as they reached earshot of the security members. Once it was Rainbow’s turn at the security check, she threw on her best vapid, too-rich-mare face. “You bulls keep up the good work you hear? I don’t want anypony getting between me and my future husband.”
Rarity giggled with supreme embarrassment, made even worse when the bull’s glower managed to intensify without his face even moving. “She means well. Right, Scarlet Stream?”
“Just stand ready to be announced,” the grey furred minotaur grumbled emotionlessly. He gestured towards the odd hologram with a wave of his hand. “This is Dreams, he will be your assistant host tonight.”
Without a word between them, Rainbow pushed ahead of Rarity and stepped up to the odd hologram. If things go sideways, I’m better suited to holding off the cows long enough for Rarity to escape.
Dreams peered at Rainbow Dash with the warm, friendly smile of an uncle welcoming family home. However, his voice was unapologetically synthetic. “Scarlet Stream,” it started with mild amusement at Rainbow’s blue fur and currently black mane and tail. “twenty six years old, you live on ten nineteen Clover Way, you are the daughter of Sandy Shores and Brown Bag, you work at—”
“Ha ha!” Rainbow all but yelled. “So…” She hesitated, trying to remember the aristocratic airs Rarity coached her in. “So sublime Mr. Pants actually knows who I am.” Rainbow power walked her way inside to get away from the hologram. “Maybe I’ll try to woo Denim after all!”
Rainbow missed whatever Dreams said to Rarity other than her cover name: Lavender Rose. The disguised thestral was too focused on taking in her surroundings. The main entryway stretched almost all the way to the very back of the mansion, and had two sets of ornate mahogany stairs connecting the three floors along with wooden bridges. Art pieces and archaeological treasures lined the walls and the center of the long hall. Guests of all races were mingling. Only a scant few were actually interested in the displays, and instead were gossiping among themselves.
She tried to get a feel for the general mood in the room while casually walking towards a life-sized statue of a long forgotten alicorn. The alicorn’s head was bowed, her wings drooped in sadness. The abnormally large base for a single pony gave Rainbow a stark sense of loneliness. The statue was made entirely out of jet with a placard saying it was carved by none other than Celestia herself.
What a load of bull. The Princess is way too busy to personally make a statue. Rainbow started to look away when Rarity slid up beside her.
“I swear, that welcoming AI is disturbing.” The unicorn shivered hard enough to rattle her hooves on the stone floor.
“Why? Because it reads what ponies put on Hoofgab? Shouldn’t that excite somepony who wants to be a fashion master once we’re back topside?”
Rarity gave her a hard look that actually made Rainbow flinch at how serious she was. “That AI rattled off private details. Kinks, past lovers, the works.”
Rainbow’s smirk died real quick, and she whispered, “Your secrets or Lavender’s?”
“Lavender’s thankfully.” Rarity motioned for them to leave the statue behind and to move on towards an hors d'oeuvre tray. “But after hearing them rattled off as if I was supposed to be amused by it is making me rethink some things when I open my boutique one day. The things individuals like Denim could do with information we freely give up.”
The two friends fell into meaningless chatter once they were back in earshot of other party goers. While Rarity was more tactful in her sampling of the fine dining, Rainbow’s growling stomach and years of too many nights living off of only soy food made her scarf down the first three hors d'oeuvre before she could control herself. She could feel Rarity’s disapproving glare burning a hole in the back of her head, and let off a-little-too-rehearsed laugh at the butler holding the platter. “Well, glad to see Mr. Pants isn’t skimping on the cuisine.” Rainbow inwardly gagged at her own words and swiped one last hors d'oeuvre before strutting away.
Gentle, inoffensive music wafted through the air above. Everyone’s gaze was pulled upward to find Denim Pants looking down at everyone from the second floor railing. The stallion was immaculately dressed in a smart, three piece suit and a wood pipe hanging from his mouth. His grey mane was crisply styled, and his voice spoke of influence and power. “Welcome, ladies and gentlecolts to my annual display. I have found a number of new priceless artifacts and new works of art that will never see the light of day again. So enjoy it while it lasts.
“But as always, there is an exception.” Denim clapped his hooves, prompting a small part of the floor near Rainbow Dash to open up. A marble pedestal arose with what looked like a simple granite sphere with a recess of a thunderbolt. It sat there, taunting the two shadowrunners. All it would take was a quick swipe with Rarity’s magic and Rainbow could punch their way out before a lockdown could occur. Things were never that simple however, not for them. Worriedly, she glanced at Rarity who thankfully kept her horn dark.
He’s probably got some other deadmare switch tied to it that Celestia doesn’t know about. We still need to do it the hard way.
“That, my friends, is the Element of Loyalty. Gifted to my family line over one hundred years after the formation of Equestria. A symbol of the everlasting bond between the Pants line and the Crown.” His last comment got a round of polite applause, yet Rainbow’s ears twitched upon hearing faint laughter from one or two party goers.
While Rainbow managed to keep her attention on the Element and Denim, she tried and failed to suppress a hard, bitter scowl. If anypony has the right to take the piss out of Celestia it’d be me!
With a second clap, Denim dismissed the pedestal, much to the chagrin to some of the true archaeologists among the audience. “Now please, wine, dine, and have a sublime night. Should anypony wish to purchase any of these wondrous pieces, you can find me in the lounge.”
Yeah well, you can find us in your little vault.
As Denim left his little speech balcony, the music started back up, and conversations resumed.
Rarity leaned into Rainbow’s ear. “You don’t think he actually destroys what he doesn’t sell, do you? Because that’s the idea I’m getting.”
Rainbow Dash tried to play it cool by scanning the rows of identical doors on the third floor, acting as if she were taking in the archaic decor. Celestia’s briefing packet said she has a mole on the inside that could disable the electronic security on the top floors. I guess that AI doormare was just there for show. Aaanyway, the key to the basement should be in Denim’s study. “I couldn’t care less what he does with his money. Let’s just do this and get out.”
There was hesitation in Rarity’s voice, but she was stalwart all the same. “Of course. You get the key, and I’ll be waiting for you.”
Rainbow gave her friend a playful smirk. “Try not to mingle too much.”
“No promises, darling.” Rarity winked at her and sauntered off.
Now alone, Rainbow Dash scanned the area to find a discreet place on the second floor she could fly or climb to. An opportunity presented itself when she spotted a two story tall mosaic of the moon towards the back of the building. Perfect, some art actually worth looking at, and nopony will think twice about me flying around the top.
As Rainbow Dash threaded her way through the partiers and tending staff, she kept an eye out for security. There were the expected sentries placed prominently around certain displays, but more importantly to Rainbow, she couldn’t see any cameras. If you don’t see the cameras, you’re already being watched, Rainbow chanted the shadowrunner mantra. But a distraction is always the best solution.
She reached the mosaic, and even to her untrained eye, she could see it was a brilliant piece. The mare on the moon was on proud display with Canterhorn mountain framing the left side. There was some other high artsy stuff that went over Rainbow’s head, but she wasn’t here to critique. Just spend a minute or two looking at it from the ground… Rainbow spread her wings to take to the air when a purring feminine voice coughed behind her.
“My, aren’t you the exotic beauty.”
She turned around to see a bat pony mare giving her a savvy grin. “Silk, at your service.”
Rainbow’s bile arose the instant she saw her. Silk’s slitted eyes were the typical yellow of bat ponies, rather than keeping the original colors that thestrals did. Her fangs were too long, going past her jaw. Lastly her dress’ style and colors drew all eyes to her figure and leathery wings; wings that she had flared out to flaunt. “Scarlet Stream,” Rainbow managed with a terse expression.
“Charmed.” Silk sauntered over to stand side by side with Rainbow and admire the art. “I make it a point to know everypony who has excellent taste in personal design.”
“What do you mean by that?” Rainbow asked, leveraging her weak acting skills to keep the revulsion off her face. All she could manage was disinterest. “I don’t have to have an eye for fashion when I pay ponies to do that for me.”
Silk gave a nerve-wracking laugh behind a hoof. “Oh, don’t we all? Mares like us are far too busy to follow the plebian clothing trends.” Silk inched in close to Rainbow Dash, studying every facet of the thestral’s body. “I’m far more interested in gene modding. I have a knack for knowing what company a batty goes to be… improved.”
Rainbow side stepped away, and struggled to keep from punching the mare right there. “Uh huh. Look, lady, you’re really not my type, so just beat it.”
“Oh ho ho, if you want to be left alone, I only need one thing from you.” Silk sized Rainbow Dash up like a piece of meat. Measuring her fangs, the way her wings rested on her barrel, everything that marked a bat pony, or thestral, as different from the other tribes. “I want to know the doctor who redesigned you.”
“Excuse me?” Rainbow growled, failing to keep her rich girl act up. She caught herself before opening her mouth again. “Why does it matter?”
“Because you look like you should get a refund,” Silk laughed as if it was obvious. “Your fangs are practically invisible. “What’s the point of having those tiny things at all? And I know you must love your eye color, dear, truly, but come on now. Yellow, gold, or jade are the only ones that matter.” Even ask Silk mouthed off, Rainbow’s blood was boiling. “I’d say your ear tufts are serviceable, probably your own efforts, I’m sure. But those wings of yours.” Silk jabbed a hoof at Rainbow’s left wing shoulder, causing her to yelp and flare up. Silk’s eyes glittered from a cyber implant. “Ugh, your wings are so opaque and… muscly?” It was only now that Silky actually looked at Rainbow’s physique and noticed just how toned and fatless her body was.
Rainbow had just enough self-control to keep from magically empowering her hoof. All the same, she pulled her wing back while gracefully moving into a solid stance to punch the grating bat pony. Oooohhh this rich slut’s had this coming. “Why don’t you—”
“Oh deary me, how could anypony wear that horrid eyesore?” came Rarity’s voice, stopping Rainbow Dash midway through raising her hoof. Silk appeared not to have noticed how quick she was about to have her face smashed in because she turned away from Rainbow without a second thought.
The decker had a drink floating in her magic and a horrified look on her face, complete with a hoof over her mouth. “Please tell me you’re actually blind, because that could be the only excuse to wear… that,” she said while waving her hoof at Silk.
The bat mare looked Rarity up and down with dismissive eyes. “Ugh, I don’t have time for regular ponies.”
“Oh trust me, there aren’t any regular ponies here.” Rarity finished trotting over to them, giving Silk a look as if she were about to lose her lunch. “And it shows. You look like you bought a dress from the clearance aisle at some backwater flea market. Oh my, is that a loose thread I see? A torn seam!” Rarity delivered an decisively disturbed scoff. “You would have been better off coming here wearing nothing at all.”
Silk threw her nose up in a huff. “I just might. Clothing can only hide my perfection anyway.” She stormed off, giving neither shadowrunner so much as a second glance.
Rainbow gave an equine snort, dispelling her anger a little. “Thanks. Somepony needs to cave in her perfect little face.”
“Agreed, but not here.” Rarity threw Rainbow a friendly smile. “I must say though, she was right about your ear tufts, some product could do wonders you know.”
Rainbow leveled a foreboding glare at the snickering unicorn. “You bring any of that manespray near me again and you’re going to need surgery to remove it.”
“Oh, you’re no fun.” Rarity teased with a titter. “You may not let me work my magic on you, but that adorable little filly of yours will absolutely love it one day. Mark my wo-ords.”
“Oh, you wouldn’t dare!” Rainbow challenged with the most admonishing furrowed brow she could muster, but Rarity was already trotting away.
“I’ll be off now so any attention that that brought follows me instead of you.”
“You always did like the spotlight,” Rainbow called out, her ire dissipating.
“You know me too well darling, ta ta.” Rarity sauntered off towards the nearest stallion.
Rainbow Dash flew up to the top of the mosaic, and focused on the mare on the moon. She briefly rested a hoof on her chest where her crescent moon pendant rested. Mother Moon, protect me this night. Not willing to risk anyone catching her casting a spell, Rainbow Dash resumed her methodical study of the mosaic until she heard Rarity belt out laughing, a signal to move.
With a burst of speed, Rainbow shot up towards the third floor, and slipped over the railing. Laying as flat against the floor as she could, Rainbow weaved a wallflower enchantment over herself. She then laid there for half a minute, her ears tracking for any errant sound.There we go. Piece of cake. Calling on her memorization of the structure’s blueprints that Celestia provided, she knew where the master bedroom, and likely Denim’s room, was located.