//------------------------------// // Part 1: The Pickpocket // Story: Black Gold // by Cardinal Dan Productions //------------------------------// It was a cold, Winter day in the Crystal Empire. Magical barriers created by the weather ponies had once protected the imperial city from the relentless blizzard from the Frozen North, but now, those barriers were gone, and the ponies of the empire quickly became blanketed in thick layers of snowfall. The palace pierced through the snow like a beacon of blue and pink jade. All across the elegant city that surrounded the towering crystal palace, ponies went about their daily lives, bundled up in preparation for the long Winter months that they would soon face and wishing for warmer days. There was, however, a pony who didn’t mind the cold so much as she walked down the street, clad in golden armor that signified to everypony around her that she was a high-ranking officer in her majesty’s Royal Guards. She wasn’t really a pony, but a changeling in disguise. Her real name, known only to her closest friends within the ranks of the Royal Guards, was Cicada. She was known more commonly by her pony persona, Gemini, but her friends liked to call her Gem. The guard was on patrol, walking the streets of the Crystal Empire with an almost aimless state of mind. Everywhere she went, ponies greeted her with warm smiles and friendly waves. Some even offered her short bows and thanked her for her service. It was times like this when old, unpleasant memories resurfaced and pulled at her thoughts. Gem wasn’t always a guard. She wasn’t even a nice pony. Before her transformation, she was a ruthless psychopath with an unrivaled hatred for ponies that burned in her merciless heart. She would lie, cheat, and kill in the service of her former queen, Chrysalis, and she often enjoyed it. Then, everything changed when she met Amethyst. The before mentioned pony was a crystal guard with a stubbornly loyal disposition. Amethyst foiled Queen Chrysalis’ sinister plots time and time again, and no matter how much pain Gem put her through, the guard forgave her and offered her compassion and companionship, two things she’d never experienced in her hive. Now, Amethyst was captain of the guard, and Gem served as her first lieutenant as well as her best friend. The unpleasant memories were quickly replaced by happier ones as Gem remembered the time she spearheaded an operation to surprise Amethyst’s daughter, Pyrite, with a birthday party a couple of months ago. Pyrite actually had no official birthday, just the day that she was rescued and adopted by Amethyst. The little filly was turning four, and Gem wanted to show her just how fond she’d grown of her, despite having tried on numerous occasions to kill Pyrite in years prior. She would even go so far as to say that she loved Amethyst and the rest of her new friends. Not out loud, of course. Gem was so lost in her own memories that she failed to notice the sound of little hooves galloping up the sidewalk behind her. Before she knew it, somepony had collided straight into her from behind, and both of them went tumbling onto the ground. When the guard’s eyes opened, she was on her back, dazed and confused as to what hit her. She rolled onto her side and, for the first time, caught sight of the pony that ran her into the ground. He was a little unicorn, probably no older than thirteen. He sported a jet black fur coat, and his mane was bright red, as though it was on fire, with a tail to match. The colt got to his hooves shakily and rubbed a hoof along the back of his head, letting out a groan as he did. “Ow... Ouch...” Then, he spotted Gem, and his eyes widened. By now, other ponies had stopped and gathered around to see if they were alright. He quickly approached the mare and offered her a hoof. Gem looked at the hoof before her, then up at the colt. His blue eyes shimmered in early morning snowfall. After a moment of hesitation, she took his smaller hoof in her own, and he pulled her up. Now at her full height, she towered over the little colt. She took a moment to brush herself off, sending clouds of snow away from her shiny armor. “Th-Thank you.” The colt looked beyond scared, maybe even frightened of her as he shook before her. “I’m so sorry, Miss Guard... I wasn’t looking where I was going, and...” His voice trailed away. “Well, I’m really, really sorry.” Gem raised an eyebrow as she stared down her snout at him. “It’s quite alright. Nothing more than youthful exuberance, I’m sure.” Then, she let out a long, frosty breath. “Would you mind telling me where you were going in such a hurry?” The colt shrugged innocently and raised a hoof, pointing somewhere up ahead in the direction they had both been walking before the collision. “I was just heading home. It’s really cold today, and I don’t have the thickest fur.” The guard took a moment to process the colt’s story. Schools across the empire were out for a short Winter break that separated the cold season from the Fall, so his absence checked out. Then again, there was something odd about the little colt that set her off. He seemed rushed and agitated, like she was holding him back, but he was too afraid to say anything. “If you’re cold, you should be wearing a proper coat. It’s far too cold for a young stallion such as yourself to run around the streets of the empire as you are.” Again, he shrugged her off, treating her words with little to no care. “I can manage, Miss Guard, really.” He backed away, ever so slowly. “I have to be going home, now. My parents are expecting me, and I don’t want to keep them waiting.” Then, he turned and bolted into the crowd of ponies, disappearing from sight. Gem looked just as puzzled and perplexed as she felt. He was an odd figure, to say the least. As she collected herself, she mentally hopped Amethyst would keep better track of her own daughter than the parents of the colt that had just pushed her down. Figuring the best thing to do would be to continue her patrol of the district, she turned around to walk into the opposite direction, and the level of excitement in her day shifted once again, skyrocketing as she ran straight into another pony. Her clothing and jewelry signified her as a mare of immense wealth and class, but the look on her face was one of shock and disbelief. The pony looked straight at Gem, saw that she was a guard, and let out an exhausted breath. “Oh, thank Celestia! It’s you! You’ve got to help me!” Gem could hardly believe the chances of being run down twice during the same five minutes, much less on the same day. She raised a calming hoof in an attempt to subdue the ecstatic mare. “Alright... Just breathe for a moment and tell me what’s going on. What happened?” The mare fanned herself as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Well... I... I was just leaving my stylist down the block and going to... to visit some friends in the shopping area... You know, the one by the Palisades Strip. Then, out of nowhere, this colt came running up behind me, and we both fell.” The guard froze, and her eyes widened. What the pony before her was describing sounded awfully familiar. “Go on, please. I need to hear more.” Full on crying now, the mare nodded and tried to collect herself. “Well... I thought nothing of it, at first. He was so polite and pleasant, and he even helped me up, but when I felt for my broach to fix it... I chaff easily, you see, and the precious metals on the broach can sometimes irritate my fur, but I just love the color pallet, and-“ “Ma’am, focus!” Gem’s sudden outburst stunned the rambling mare. “I’m sorry. Please, I just need you to get back to your story. What happened after the colt helped you up?” The tearful mare nodded again before she broke down completely. “It... It was gone! My beautiful broach is gone, and that miserable little monster stole it right from around my neck!” At last, Gem understood. There was a pickpocket loose on the streets of the Crystal Empire, and she’d just let him slip through her hooves. She placed a reassuring hoof on the mare’s shoulder. “I need you to get a hold of yourself, ma’am. I’m going to look into this immediately and find your little thief.” The mare choked up but agreed as her sobbing came to an end. Gem turned and looked in the direction she last saw the colt run, and her thoughts started to drift. She wondered who he was and where he came from. Both were questions that pulled her back towards the barracks, leaving the streets behind. The barracks were the center of all police and military operations in the Crystal Empire. It was also the place she spent the most of her time when on duty, but now that she was first lieutenant to Captain Amethyst, she had her own apartment in a nice part of the city close to the palace. It offered her a quite place to herself but mostly acted as a status symbol reflecting her prestigious position as an officer. Needless to say, Gem enjoyed the perks of command. Now, she was approaching Amethyst’s office, where the pony was no doubt being buried by paperwork. Sure enough, as Gem turned the corner and looked into the open door that lead into the captain’s office, she saw a mountain of forms and other assorted documents come into view. She gently tapped on the frame of the door with her hoof. “Hello? Amethyst, are you available?” At her desk, the purple unicorn’s eyes lit up and a huge grin came over her face as she saw Gem. “Yes!” She stood up and circumnavigated the large, wooden desk until she was in front of her. “I always have time for you, Gem. I don’t care what it is, just say you need me for something, anything to get me away from this.” She gestured to her desk. “I swear... If I see another requisition order for helmet plumages, I’ll shred it and use the scraps for kindling.” Gem let out a light-hearted chuckle and nodded towards the door. “Well, if you’d like to walk and talk, I’ve got a favor to ask you regarding a potential case.” Amethyst nodded quickly and followed her out into the corridor, and the two guards began walking towards the commissary. Once she was sure nopony else was around to overhear them, the captain looked over at Gem. “Alright, what’s this about? You’re not still searching for Chrysalis, are you?” Gem shook her head quickly. “No, Amethyst... It’s nothing like that at all. I’ve almost given up on hunting her down entirely. Azalea is still determined, though... I’ve tried talking her out of it, but she has fire for revenge in her heart. Anyway, this is about something else. I’ve encountered what I believe to be a pickpocket this morning, and I need access to all case files on the subject.” Amethyst raised an eyebrow at her. “A pickpocket? Really, Gem? I honestly think we have more pressing issues than petty theft.” Gem shook her head. “No, captain, I think there’s more to it. He was only a colt, and he took something from another mare, her jewelry or something like it.” The purple pony frowned and narrowed her eyes. “I see your point... If this colt isn’t straightened out now, he could be a bigger problem in the future. Let’s get you that case file.” Gem felt a sense of relief wash over her, happy that Amethyst was on her side. Together, they passed the interrogation rooms and entered evidence storage. There, hundreds of filing cabinets held the records of every case ever conducted by the Royal Guards grouped by type, race, age, color, and any other categorizing features even Princess Twilight would be proud of. Because of the crystal guards’ efficiency, it didn’t take Amethyst long to find what they were looking for. “I think I’ve found something, Gem... Here’s a case file from nine months ago. An elderly mare reported having been pickpocketed by a little colt with black fur and red hair. She stated that he appeared to be around twelve or thirteen years old.” Gem took the file offered to her and looked it over. The age matched almost perfectly, and the fur and mane were a total match. “This is a good start. Is there more?” Amethyst nodded before showing her another document. “Here’s a case report for the pickpocket. He was found by guards and processed. He has no parents or legal guardians, so he was going to be sent to a local orphanage, but before his sentence could be carried out, he escaped. His name is Carbon, and he’s fourteen years old. He hasn’t been seen since.” Gem let out a long, shaky breath. “Until now...” She hadn’t known he was an orphan, but how could she? “I can find him, captain. I’ll bring him in, so we can put this behind us for good.” Amethyst nodded and offered her a supportive smile. “Good to hear. You can have point on this one, but I want this done quick and clean. That means no repeats of last year and the petting zoo fiasco.” The guard’s ears folded back, and her cheeks turned red. “You promised you wouldn’t bring that up again... Emerald’s never going to let that go, and you know it.” She took the case file and report up in her cloud of magic and tucked them both in her saddle pack. Gem turned to leave, but before she could reach the door, Amethyst stopped her. “Gem, wait...” She turned around, expecting her captain to offer her one last piece of advice, but she instead encountered a friendly embrace that pushed her cold, metal armor against fur. Amethyst had wrapped her prosthetic hoof around her back and pulled her close. “Be careful, alright?” Gem felt herself melt in her friend’s hooves. The touch assured her that everything was fine and that it all would turn out fine. She nodded slowly as she breathed into the purple pony’s neck. “I will.” When they pulled away, she turned and left the evidence room before taking the case report back out of her saddle pack and studying the document in depth. Determined now more than ever, she marched out of the barracks and back onto the streets of the empire. Gem tucked the report back away and looked in the direction she first walked earlier that morning. To find her suspect, she knew she’d have to retrace her steps, and of course, her plan to capture him would require a little changeling trickery. With everything she felt she would need for her new assignment, Gem began the long walk back to her personal quarters. Along the way, she passed by her former enemies, now her friends and allies dressed in their shining armor. A group of guards stood outside of the commissary, talking amongst themselves, but they quickly grew silent when one of them spotted her. All of them saluted her, and one stepped forward to greet the officer with a stern look, saluting her as well. “Good morning, lieutenant.” Gem didn’t bother waving back or returning the salute. She knew the private very well and in more ways than one. “Good morning, Private Azalea.” She quickly glanced over the other three guards and flashed them a smile. “You’re all at ease. May we speak alone, please?” Without a word, the other guards nodded and disappeared into the commissary, leaving Gem and Azalea alone by the entrance. With the degree of privacy they both shared now, Gem removed her helmet and tucked it under her right leg before leaning in to plant a quick kiss on her fillyfriend’s lips. Azalea reciprocated the action, pressing her mouth to Gem’s, but the kiss ended as quickly as it started, and she pulled away. “You’re on duty, Gemini. There’s rules and regulations against such intimacy between Royal Guards.” Though her words said one thing, Gem knew she enjoyed it. She could tell Azalea was struggling to retain a smile. “Maybe... Captain Amethyst and Sergeant Onyx are married, though, and they break that rule all the time.” Azalea looked at her indifferently and rolled her eyes. “Yes, but they have the professionalism you lack. Why I put up with you, I’ll never know. I suppose it’s just another one of life’s greatest mysteries.” Gem let out a soft chuckle and took a step closer, shortening the distance between them. “You know exactly why you put up with me. You like me.” She raised the mare’s chin with her free hoof. “I like you too, Azalea...” Gem kissed her again, more tenderly this time and over a greater length of time. When it finally ended, both mares let out a long sigh. “I have some work to do, but I want to see you in my quarters tonight. Am I clear, Private Azalea?” The younger guard snapped to attention, raising a hoof to her brow to salute the lieutenant, all while she wore a wide smile on her face. “Ma’am, yes ma’am!” Gem cracked a silly grin and put her helmet back on. “Very good. Carry on.” She then continued on her way, leaving Azalea behind to meet back up with her friends. She had her own task to carry out, and the sooner she accomplished it, the better off everypony would be. She stopped by her quarters to undress and relieve herself from her armor, choosing to brave the cold Winter in her regular clothes before leaving the barracks and stepping outside. “Alright, Carbon...” She let out a shaky breath, watching the frost dissipate into the crisp air. “Let’s play your little game.” ***Up Next: Cat and Mouse*** Want to read more? 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