Gem moved throughout the busy streets of the Crystal Empire in search of the little urchin she had encountered before. That was some time ago, now, but she never lost track of her motivation to capture Carbon and bring him in for questioning. The streets were crowded and congested as ponies went about their lives, totally unaware of the changeling among them. The thought amused her, causing a smile to creep over Gem’s face as she envisioned herself in her true form amidst the bright and colorful ponies. Now that she was reformed, she might actually fit in, but there was no telling how the ponies might react. Besides, she liked the way she looked.
She turned onto a less traveled road that took her further and further away from the palace towards the street where Carbon hit her. Her reasoning was to return to the site of first contact with the little colt and go from there. With luck, he might even still be there. Gem tightened the grip her coat had on her body, snuggling it against her back as she braved the winter winds.
She passed by an ally, hardly taking the time to even glance inside, but something caught her attention. Two ponies, both of whom she assumed were stallions, were talking around the corner. They were concealed by garbage bins and snowfall, but that didn’t stop Gem from taking a second look and stopping just outside the ally with her ear to the corner of the wall that separated them.
“Where is that brat? He’s long overdue, and the boss is getting impatient.”
Then, she heard the second stallion.
“Forget about the little colt. I’m freezing my ass off here. I can’t stand the cold, but the boss wants this job done smoothly. You know, without the authorities knowing.”
“Yeah, but how well is that going? The brat got careless today, ran right into a guard. I saw the whole thing. He’s gonna have a lot to answer for when he shows his pathetic hide around here again.”
“He’s just a colt, Albite. Cut him a little slack. There wasn’t any harm done to the boss’ plan, was there?”
Gem began to back away slowly. They were talking about Carbon. It had to be him. She was almost certain of it. She turned to put some distance between her and the ally, and immediately tripped, falling over the hooves of another pony and hitting the ground. The commotion attracted several ponies walking by.
She looked up to see the pony that had tripped her and came face to face with Carbon. The colt recognized her instantly, despite her lack of armor. With wide eyes, the two of them stared at each other until Gem broke the stalemate and bared her teeth. “You...”
Carbon swallowed hard, wide-eyed and still as a statue. Then, in the blink of an eye, he bolted upright and ran. Gem struggled to get to her hooves, and she began to give chase, pushing aside two ponies that had gotten close after her fall. “Move! Get out of my way!” Carbon was small and fast, navigating through the pedestrians on the sidewalk with ease while the older mare forced her way through the crowds with brute force. “Stop him! Stop that colt!”
A random stallion up ahead tried to put himself in front of Carbon, but the little black unicorn sidestepped him easily and continued to evade her. Gem leaped over the stallion, clearing the top of him before hitting the pavement and continuing her pursuit. Carbon made a sharp turn onto another street, and a grave mistake.
As Gem rounded the corner, she realized that Carbon had been stopped by a pair of ponies moving a heavy crate from a wagon into a business. Before he could turn to make his getaway, she stomped on his red tale, and her horn began to glow. “Don’t you make a single move, kid. You’re mine, now.” Carbon looked around frantically, his eyes shifting from her hoof on his tail to the stallion movers that had blocked his path. Gem fired them a quick look. “This is Royal Guard business. It’s none of your concern, sirs.”
Then, with the magic from her horn, she began to pull Carbon by his ear, all the way back to the palace where she could question him. He offered little resistance, aside from the occasional pull from her magical grasp, but he didn’t say a word during the entire trip.
***
Back at the palace, Gem had thrown Carbon into an interrogation room before returning to Amethyst’s office to give her the good news. She knocked against the side of the door with her hoof to get the captain’s attention. “Amethyst... May I come in?”
Her friend’s eyes lit up when she saw her, and a wide smile came across her face. “Yes, Gem. Absolutely. Please, come in.” She stood up from her desk to greet the out of uniform guard. “I wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon. Are you having trouble with your assignment?”
Gem beamed and shook her head. “No, Amethyst. Quite the opposite, actually. I’ve found Carbon. He’s waiting in interrogation room four right now.”
Amethyst raised an eyebrow at her. “Interrogation? Don’t you think that’s a little much?” Her words and the tone of her voice sounded like those of a mother, but in a sense, she really was.
Gem shook her head. “No, ma’am. I found something else, too. While I was out, I came across a two ponies talking about some job their boss wanted completed. It hardly sounded legal, and it involved Carbon. I’m sure of it. I think this is something bigger than petty theft, and we have to know more. Carbon could have the answers we need.”
Amethyst looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding her head. “Alright, Gem. I trust you on this. I’ll have Bismuth question Carbon. Then, we’ll see about getting him processed and put into foster care.”
Gem thought back to the two stallion’s she overheard. One of them had called Carbon ‘brat’, a term she had frequently used in reference to Pyrite a couple of years ago. She felt there was more to Carbon’s story that she wanted to uncover. Part of her felt sorry for his situation, a feeling she was not yet used to. Then, she let out a sigh. “Actually, Amethyst... I wanted to interrogate Carbon myself. It should be my responsibility. I caught him, after all.”
The captain raised an eyebrow at her. “Are you sure, Gem? You’ve never been in an interrogation room. You know, except for that time when we had to question you after the incident at the petting zoo.”
She felt her cheeks turn hot, and she bared her teeth. “Amethyst, you promised you’d stop bringing that up.” Then, she let out a long sigh. “Yes, please. I want to do this. Just give me ten minutes with the colt, and I’ll find out as much as I can about this operation he’s mixed up in.”
Amethyst nodded slowly and slumped against the desk behind her. “Alright, fine... You have ten minutes. Good luck, Gem.” Then, her lips curled into a smile. “You know I like to tease you. You’re just as sensitive as my husband.”
Gem didn’t want to believe that was true. Onyx was a hardened drill sergeant that could cry during emotional romance films. It was his rigidness that allowed him to connect so well with a wild mare like Amethyst. She bowed to her captain and smiled. “Thank you, ma’am. You won’t regret it.”
***
Dressed in her armor again, she peered through the one-way window looking into the small interrogation room. Carbon was sitting on a lone chair next to a table in the center of the otherwise empty box. After a few moments of silence, she braved herself for what was to come and left the window, rounding the corner and approaching the door.
A single guard stood outside, and he saluted her as she drew nearer. “Greetings, ma’am.”
Gem returned the salute and motioned with her head for him to step aside. “I’m here to question the kid.”
The guard nodded and moved out of her way, opening the door as he did so. “Yes, ma’am.”
She stepped inside, and the guard collapsed the door behind her, locking her inside the interrogation room with Carbon. The little colt looked up at her and glared but didn’t say anything. The verbal silence between them was deafening. Every time her hooves clopped against the cold, stone floor, they echoed loudly.
Gem eventually came to a stop on the opposite side of the table Carbon was sitting at, and she cleared her throat. “Hello again.” Still, the colt remained silent. Her eyes narrowed at him. “You know why you’re here, so why don’t we just make this easier on the both of us? You can’t be tried as an adult, but the trouble you’ve caused can ruin any chance you might have had at leading a decent life.” Silence. Gem bit her lower lip as she thought back to the ally. “Are you afraid, Carbon?”
Carbon shifted in the chair, and his gaze fell. “What would I have to be afraid of?”
Gem grinned. She’d finally managed to coax a few words out of him. Not wanting him to shut her out again, she pressed onward. “Those stallions you were going to meet... Are you afraid of them? If that’s the case, you needn’t be. You’re quite safe here, I can assure you.”
He looked up at her. “What do you want from me?”
Her smile faded. “I want to know what you know, Carbon. I want to know where to find the jewelry you took from that mare this morning. If you tell me what I want to know, I’ll make sure you are placed in a kind and generous foster home. You’ll be cared for and never have to worry about stealing to survive again. If you don’t... I can’t make any such guarantees.”
He glared at her, folding his hooves across his chest. “They tried to put me in foster care once, you know, after my parents died. That didn’t turn out too well.”
Gem winced, not having expected that kind of response. “I’m well aware of your previous attempts to escape the custody of your guardians, but I didn’t know about your parents... What happened to them?”
Carbon’s harsh glare softened, and the corners of his eyes began to water ever so slightly as he looked down at the table. “Why do you care?”
Seeing him cry caused her chest to twist into painful knots that she hadn’t experienced before. She circled the table until she stood beside him with her back to the window, placing a gentle hoof over his back. “Perhaps I care about what happens to you. Does that surprise you?” She paused for a brief moment. “If you don’t wish to tell me, we can talk later, alright?”
Then, she turned and began walking towards the door. Their session was over, so there was no point in continuing to pressure the colt into any more of an uncomfortable position. She didn’t want to cause him pain, but that seemed impossible to avoid the longer she remained in the room with him. As she reached the door and knocked to alert the guard outside that she was ready to leave, she heard a small voice behind her.
“My parents... They were killed by changelings...”
Gem froze by the door. Even after the guard had opened it up, her hooves remained glued to the floor. She didn’t dare turn back around to look at Carbon. She couldn’t. Overwhelming feelings she couldn’t describe began to wash over her. It was all she could do not to shake uncontrollably. “I’m so sorry...”
Then, she left the interrogation room as quickly as she could manage, shutting the door behind her.
***Up Next: Lost In Thought***