Reformation... It's a Pony Thing

by Lets Do This

Part II --- Cat Out of the Bag

After a lengthy flight over rolling sand dunes, the terraced knock-together piles of Klugetown began to emerge from the yellow desert air like a junkyard fever-dream.

"The first thing we should do," Twilight said, "is locate Capper, and see if he's learned anything about what's been going on since he came back here."

"Makes sense." Captain Celaeno nodded. "If anyone would have an ear to the winds, it's him. An Abyssinian always lands on his feet."

"Agreed." Tempest turned to face them both. "But until we've found out how things stand, Princess, I suggest all of you stay aboard ship and below decks. We don't want to advertise we have a group of ponies aboard. Folks around here are money-hungry. They might grab first and think later, if at all."

"All right, Tempest. I trust your judgement. But you'll need at least one familiar face with you."

Tempest eyed Spike. "Preferably someone small and inconspicuous."

"Who, me?"

Twilight looked uncomfortable, but nodded. "Spike, would you go with them? Let Capper know Tempest is on our side now?"

"Well... okay..." he said doubtfully.

"Hey, don't worry, Spike!" Grubber beamed, slapping Spike's back with a paw. "You're with us! And besides, now it's my turn to show you the fine art of hench-hogging. Trust me, you'll love it!"

Spike looked worriedly at Twilight. He hoped it wasn't for the last time.

Celaeno brought the Phoenix into the upper airship dock. Then Mullet and Boyle trooped down the gangway and began arguing loudly and gruffly with the dock's excuse for a harbor master about how long they could stay and how much it would cost. And while the three of them were so busy shouting at one another, no one noticed as a tall cloaked figure, accompanied by two smaller shapes, stepped out from behind some crates farther up the dock and casually walked away into town.

"So, how are we gonna find Capper?" Spike asked.

"We can start by following the trail of damage," Tempest said, looking up the street.

Given that Klugetown was such a ramshackle dump to begin with, it wasn't surprising that they hadn't even begun cleaning up the collapsed timber and stone left behind during the ponies' escape. The trail of destruction led right up the main street, to the ruined grain mill at its height.

They climbed the hill toward it, then worked their way around to the street-level door at the top. And then they grimly looked through the still-open doorway, at the unoccupied room beyond.

It was a mess, thoroughly trashed.

"Okay..." Spike said worriedly. "Now what?"

"Now," Tempest replied, "we ask around... nicely!"

"Ohhh, I love this part!" Grubber rubbed his paws eagerly.

They strolled down to the marketplace and among the various stalls. The trades-creatures all had a pretty good memory, and one and all they gave Tempest and her friends a wide berth as she casually wandered from stall to stall, browsing, asking questions, making a show of not being in any hurry.

They quickly established a few things. Yes, Capper had come back to town. And Verko was still after him to pay on his debt. And no one had seen Capper at all for the last day or two...

... not since he'd last been seen arguing with Mong the fishman.

Just past the bird vendors they saw the familiar scaled, finned back. Tempest stalked up to him, and cleared her throat. Mong swung around, angrily. Then he froze, staring at her with a pop-eyed, choked look.

"Oh, you remember me!" she said sweetly. "I'm so glad!" She appeared to suddenly notice he was shivering in fright. "Oh, don't worry, big boy, nothing's going to happen..." She lowered her head, eyes narrowing. "So long as you can tell me where they've taken Capper!"

"And use lots of words," Grubber advised. "She's really into detail like that!"

As Mong stammered through a reply, Grubber smirked, and leaned toward Spike. "Ya see, Spike? This is what being a hench-creature's all about. Tempest is an artist, believe me! And every artist needs an audience, and a rooting section. The trick is to wait until after she delivers the tough line. Then ya follow it up... give it that extra punch!"

He looked up, surprised. "Uh oh! Looks like we're on the move again. Hey boss, wait up!"

He and Spike hurried after Tempest, who was rapidly disappearing down a side-street.

As back rooms went, and Capper had seen one or two, it was all right. Nothin' you wanted to write home about.

It had the chair in the middle, with himself tied to it. It had the heavy-set, pig-faced goon in a suit keeping watch to the left of the door, and the equally ugly-looking backup goon on the right. And dust and old crates and broken bottles and large, disquieting dried stains on the floor... because there was nothing like a little suggestion to help put guests in a talkative mood, right?

Above the single door there was a broad transom window. And any minute now the sun would rise just high enough so that the light falling through it would be right in Capper's eyes. And considering that the ropes binding him gave him very little slack to move, wouldn't that just be grand?

As he looked, a face suddenly appeared at the window. A small, familiar dragon face. Spotting Capper, the dragon waved urgently, then pointed from his eyes to the two goons.

Keeping his expression calm, Capper nodded smoothly, making it look like he was just resettling himself a little less uncomfortably.

And then, glancing from one guard to the other to make sure he had their attention, he started to sing:

As he hoped, the goons were staring at him with a mixture of annoyance and disquiet. Probably thinking Capper had lost it. Which, hey, was all good. He went on...

"I could really use a friend right now..." he added, as the guards got up and moved towards him, looking ready to gag him to keep him quiet.

A small, scratchy voice sang from outside the door, slightly off-key:

The next few moments were a bit of a blur, but thinking back, Capper could recall several things happening, practically on top of each other.

First, the door was smashed off its hinges, dropping toward the floor. Over the still-falling door a maroon pony came flying in midair, one rear hoof extended. She connected heavily with the skull of the goon on the right, who fell to the floor, poleaxed. The pony used the hit to relaunch herself at the other goon, grabbed his vest in her teeth and used the momentum of passing over his head to flip him, launching him upward to crash into a beam overhead, knocking him out.

She rebounded off the wall beyond and flipped back, landing on all four hooves on the fallen door... just as it hit the floorboards.

And not even breathing hard.

Capper blinked. "Tell me this is a nightmare. Is this a nightmare?" he asked. "'Cause if it is... I don't wanna wake up."

Grubber leaned around the doorframe, surveying the damage. "Oh yeah!" He shook a fist. "They are not gettin' up from that one! That's what I'm talkin' about, Spike!"

Spike looked in from the other side of the door. "Capper! Are you okay?"

"Well, hey there, little flamethrower dude," Capper replied casually. "How's it goin'?" He nodded his head. "Big scary pony here, she with you?"

"We came to bust you out!" Spike said, trotting over. "We need your help. Rarity's been kidnapped!"

Capper looked offended. "Well, now that's just not right, not right at all! Now you know, normally I'd be jumpin' up to help you but..." he shrugged his shoulders, then looked embarrassed. "Sorry, just gotta say it... I'm a little tied up!"

"Grubber, untie him!" Tempest snapped, turning to the doorway. "I'll keep watch."

"Gotcha, boss!" The hedgehog hustled into the room and around behind the chair. He whistled. "Wow! Would you look at this? These guys must be ex-Scouts or something. I mean just look at this! This is a double-overhand-stopper carter's knot!" He leaned around, peering up at Capper. "You're not goin' anyplace with a knot like this!"

"Thank you, little bro," Capper said drily. "I kinda figured."

"Grubber!" Tempest called.

"Oh yeah! Sorry, boss!" He struggled with it for a few moments, then grunted in disgust. "Urhhh! I hate knots like this! Hey Spike, c'mere and see if you can burn through it!"

"Oh, hey, I like my paws lightly sautéed. Just so you know." While the two of them worked on it together, Capper looked up at Tempest.

"So... how things goin' up north? How's Princess Twi, by the way?"

"She's fine. She's here to see you, actually." Tempest smirked at him. "And I'm her bodyguard."

"Really?" Capper said calmly. "She know about that, too?"

"I'm so sorry about your house, Capper," Twilight said.

The rescue party had returned safely to Celaeno's ship, and they had regathered in the storeroom belowdecks where Twilight and her friends had been hiding.

"Actually," Capper said, brushing some stray dust off his red coat, "I'm kinda glad they didn't bother cleaning up after they grabbed me. I'd just about got everything where I liked it. Don't want nobody comin' in and straightening up the place while I'm away. 'Cause they never get the knickkacks back where they belong, you know what I'm sayin'?"

"We could always help you fix it up again," Applejack offered sadly.

"Or if you want," Fluttershy said, "you know you're always welcome to come back to Equestria with us."

"I appreciate that, y'all. I truly do." He sighed. "But... as rough as this place is sometimes, I've come to like it. It's honest. A little harsh sometimes, but at least folks here tell you what they think to your face. And I'd thought I could make some progress here. Like talkin' to folks, encouraging them to change things for the better? From askin' around, I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way about it."

He cautiously peered out through the storeroom's porthole. "But it's worse than before. With the Storm King gone, Verko has free reign to be twice as nasty." He looked momentarily cross. "And that's just holdin' this place back. If it wasn't for Verko and his paid heavies keeping everyone here at each other's throats, this place might actually amount to somethin', you know?"

He forcibly relaxed, then smiled around at them, apparently at ease again.

"But y'all didn't invite me here just to catch up on small talk. Let's keep our eyes on the prize: getting Rarity back, and figurin' out who snatched her."

"Have you heard anything about an ivory trade?" Twilight asked. "Right now that's the only lead we have."

Capper put his paws together sagely. "Word on the street is, with the Storm King out of the picture his territory has been split up by the Big Three amongst themselves. Now Klugetown and environs, that's Verko's patch, obviously. And some bigshot prince over in Saddle Arabia has grabbed up the eastern regions, out past Abyssinia. Now, I don't see him as the type to be into scrimshaw. He's more into tribute, and lots of it!"

"Which leaves?" Tempest asked.

Capper shrugged. "Now there's the problem: no one knows... for real, this time. Whoever it is has grabbed up the southern and western regions beyond Klugetown and pulls all the strings third-paw, so no one's ever seen them. But, given how little contact we have with anyplace west of us, my money says it's from the south that this ivory trade of yours is comin'."

"But the only major nation south of here," Twilight said, "is Seaquestria... the hippogriffs."

"Queen Novo?" Applejack asked, disbelievingly.

"No! It can't be her!" Twilight objected. "The hippogriffs have been hiding out ever since the Storm King invaded. They'd have no reason to do something like this."

"Someone else, maybe?" said Rainbow. "Some big baddie running things out of their turf? Wouldn't the Queen put a stop to it if she knew?"

Capper shrugged, with a sad, cynical look. "Kings and Queens and the like, they don't always know what's goin' on in their own back yard. Or care much either, most times!"

"B-b-but," Spike cried, looking panicky, "that means we don't have a clue where they've taken Rarity!"

"Now hold on, Spike old man," Capper said reassuringly. "Keep it together. So happens the reason ol' Mong turned me in to Verko, and you had to come get me, is because we'd been having a heated discussion about whether or not I'd brought in another cartload of ponies to try to run my little pastelus coloritis number on him again. And the reason this fact particularly sticks in my mind is, he'd seen them being put on a ship... which I know for a fact was bound for Abyssinia." He shrugged. "I would've tried to get word to y'all, but right after that Verko's goons nabbed me. They've been keeping me on ice since, until the boss gets back from some meetin' or other."

Captain Celaeno, who'd been listening quietly the entire time, stood up. "So it's Abyssinia then? Any particular port of call?"

Capper looked distinctly uncomfortable. Then he shrugged. "Panthera," he said. "Might as well go straight to the top on this one. But... word of warning, I make you no promises once we get there. We'll have to play it by ear."

With a glance at Twilight, Celaeno left to give orders to her crew.

Twilight put a hoof on Capper's shoulder. "If it brings up unhappy memories, you don't have to come with us. We could always swing back this way, pick you up when we return."

Capper shook his head. "Nah! You might need my dazzling charm with the locals!" He smiled. "And... after being tied up for a couple days, I really feel the need to stretch my legs a bit. Y'all can count me in!"

As the Phoenix undocked and came about, turning steadily towards the southeast, Tempest and Grubber sat down near the tip of the long foredeck, watching the dunes and yellow dust clouds sweeping past before them.

"You know," Grubber said, "you were really somethin' out there. Takin' charge, takin' no guff, takin' no prisoners. That's the Tempest I remember!"

"An artist, you said?" Tempest eyed him, amused.

"Oh, uh... you heard that, huh?" Grubber tapped his paw-tips together. "Yeah, well, I meant it. I mean, I could never deliver the smack-down the way you can. Bein' able to tag along and watch a professional in action... it's a privilege! You're really good at this, ya know?"

"A little too good," Tempest sighed. She rested her head on her forehooves. "I'm supposed to be putting this kind of thing behind me. I mean, even playing bodyguard for Twilight, I should be keeping her out of danger, not leading her straight into it. And it's hard... precisely because I like it too much. Show me a thug in a dark street, I'll make him eat dirt. Put me in charge of an army again, I'll be right back at it, tossing out orders and not caring where they land. It's what I like doing... it makes me feel really alive!" She eyed Grubber crossly. "And you're not helping by encouraging me."

"Oh." He looked downcast. "Sorry 'bout that, Tempest. Um, I suppose I could just be proud on the inside, if it would help."

"I didn't say I wanted you to stop." Tempest smirked. "Because you're right. I do appreciate having an audience. And a rooting section... even if your material could sometimes use a little work!"

"Hey, that's what I'm here for!" Grubber beamed, showing his bear-trap teeth. "That and a slice of cake every now and then, that'll do me!"

Tempest was silent for a long while.

Grubber looked at her worriedly. "You're... not really thinkin' of giving it all up, are ya, boss?"

"I don't know." she replied. "Tell you what, Grubber. We'll get Twilight's friend back, and put a stop to whatever is behind all this. And then... and then we'll just see how we feel about it, okay?"

"Now that," Grubber said happily, "is a plan I can get behind."