It took a little while for the group to get back to Canterlot. For a start, the guard had to come down to the stopped train to deal with the robbed passengers. This normally would not have been necessary, as taking their statements could wait until they arrived back in the city. However, when the Paper Prince had collected his loot, he had put it all together and understandably not bothered labelling or categorizing it based on who each piece originally belonged to. As such, there was some... disagreement about who owned what, who ought to own what, who was always supposed to own what before the pony who actually owned what came and stole what away from them and many other disputes of that nature.
Fortunately, the group was not involved with that – if they were, Icy doubted there'd be anypony amongst them who would not have screamed. This was taking into account the fact that one always seemed pathologically incapable of anger and another was entirely mute.
Only once that was sorted out could they start making their way back to Headquarters. The station had sent out an emergency train to pick up the stranded passengers but, while Icy was sure that it could get them to Canterlot and come back to the crime scene several times in the time the rich ponies spent bickering, it apparently wasn't economical to do so. So, they spent quite some time waiting around in the train car before they could leave.
By the time they reached Canterlot, the winter sun had long since set. It was really irritating at the time, of course, but in a way, Icy was thankful for it once they were back in the city. In the hours since the tension had broken, Alula's anger had cooled somewhat. She was still very annoyed that they had, in her mind, wasted so much thought and resources, but the fury and humiliation was largely gone. This was helped along by Dinky, both because Alula had to give her credit for her contribution and because she listened to Alula recounting what happened, nodding sincerely and occasionally complimenting her on her ideas.
Icy was still mostly sure that Dinky was unaware of how intense and powerful her cuteness was, but she wouldn't have been shocked to find out otherwise.
Unfortunately, Lance had not been so easy to console. Not that Icy could blame him – his sword was both a powerful piece of equipment and necessary for him to contribute to the team, so losing it must have been a pretty big blow. However, she would have expected a bit of melancholy in his demeanour in addition to anger, but she hadn't noticed any.
Admittedly, it wasn't easy to tell. Of her teammates, three – Archer, Alula and Lance – were immensely stoic, to the point that many might consider reading the three of them the same difficult skill. However, in the time since she'd met them, Icy had learned that not only was the manner of their stoicism very different in each case, but so was the way their emotions did show themselves.
Archer, for instance, did actually show her emotions fairly freely, but they were usually very muted – what was to others a raging fury would manifest in her as mild annoyance and moderate sarcasm. It wasn't unknown for her to show heavier emotion – the business with the Miniac had riled her immensely, as it had for all of them – but it was very rare and evidently needed to be something that she felt incredibly strong about. All other times, it was fairly simple to see what she was feeling, but it took some practice to see how much she was feeling it.
On the other hand, Alula was very much the reverse – she always kept her emotions closely guarded and it was usually difficult to ascertain exactly how she felt about any given situation. That did seem a touch at odds with what had happened on the train, but only in as much as she eventually had to let out her anger. However, while in most situations, it was hard to tell what Alula was feeling, it was fairly easy to tell how intensely she was feeling it. In times of intense focus or stress, it was obvious to even casual observers from the way her speech would accelerate and she'd start dropping words that weren't completely necessary to communicate her points. However, even during less intense times, it was possible to read how strongly she felt about something from how slowly she talked, how much effort she needed to put into keeping her tone level and how much force she put behind her words. So, gauging her level of emotion was simple, but ascertaining what emotion it was was trickier, at least until it reached the point where it all spilled out, as it had after the train was stopped.
So, while it wasn't always easy, it was usually possible to read those two. Lance, though, was a different matter entirely.
The thing about Lance was that his stoicism was internal as well as external. It wasn't simply that he didn't show the emotions he felt distinctly or intensely, but that he kept a tight lid on his emotions within his own head. Icy had been assured that there wasn't any danger from it – while even she knew that that sort of repression wasn't entirely healthy, she also knew that the team's mental state was regularly checked by a royally appointed psychiatrist and that, if Lance was in any danger of damaging himself or others, he would be benched until those issues could be worked through. However, either he wasn't able to stop himself from bottling up his emotions or he still wasn't convinced that he should stop. Either way, he kept his feelings tightly bound at all possible times, only letting them out when they became overwhelming.
However, it seemed that, no matter how intense his emotions, none could overpower his discipline, so he never exploded, as many might. However, that didn't actually reduce how powerful those unbound emotions could be. As such, rather than being like a pressurized bottle, Lance's emotional state was more analogous to a rusted lever. It was immensely difficult to move and didn't move fast or hit hard when it did, but once it was changed, it was firm and would take a long time to change back.
Because of this, throughout the entire trip back to Canterlot, Lance had been scowling behind his mask, occasionally snorting or scuffing a hoof on the ground. He didn't partake in any interaction with the others, instead sitting a little way away from them, sulking bitterly. The one time Icy had tried to talk to him and lighten his mood with a joke, she had simply gotten a glare in return.
Admittedly, suggesting that his white suit might mean he could have infiltrated the Paper Prince's ranks instead of Alula wasn't a great joke, but she could still tell that he was very upset.
As such, when they had arrived back at headquarters and Lance immediately and purposefully moved away from the team's rooms, she couldn't help but follow, curious where he was going with such determination.
After a short while, she still wasn't sure exactly, but the amount of times Lance had had to stop and silently explain what happened to guards suggested it was not a place one went to casually.
Finally, they came to a door that looked almost as thick as it was wide – Icy had a sneaking suspicion this was their destination.
Upon seeing them, the stallion sitting at the desk beside the door stood up, his uniform identifying him as Private Mace.
“Oh, hello there, Lance. What can I...” He stopped as he noticed Lance' empty scabbard. “Oh. I see. Is it...?” He nodded when Lance shook his head solemnly. “Right, gone. Well, I'm afraid Cue is on leave at the moment and... Yeah, I know you couldn't get a new one immediately anyway, but it would have expedited things a little. I guess, but who knows when you'll next need it after this guy is beaten?”
As Mace continued his verbally-one-sided conversation with Lance, he trotted around the desk, fishing a set of keys out of his pocket. As he put it into the first of the several locks on the door, Icy felt compelled to ask.
“Who's Cue?”
Private Mace shook his head a little as he seemed to notice Icy for the first time. However, after a moment, he smiled at her. “Zyracue, our resident weaponsmith. Everyone just calls him Cue, though.”
Icy nodded. “Oh, so he's the guy who made our weapons and suits.”
“Oh, no!” Private Mace replied as he undid the final lock. “The weapons, yeah, but the suits are À La Mode originals. Cue might have given her a bit of help with some of the enchantments, but Mode's the one behind them.”
“Huh,” Icy began as the door opened, “so, how much does Cue... by the power of Skullgreymon!” She said in wonderment as she saw what was past the door.
Weapons. Lots and lots and lots of weapons were laid out on and beneath the far wall. They extended right up to the ceiling, to the point that even a fully grown adult would have to stretch slightly to reach them. Fortunately, none of the weapons on the ground were sharp, else such stretches would be immensely dangerous. The wall contained everything from swords to clubs to polearms to crossbows to even a section for guns, despite Icy having seen no Minotaurs among the base's personnel. Furthermore, it wasn't a small room – to her right was another thick door, but to her left, the room extended into a corridor, the density of weapons on the wall never lessening. Along the opposite wall, a series of training dummies stood, ready to be attacked and maimed without complaint.
Icy turned to Private Mace. “So... Cue made all these?”
“Yep!” Private Mace smiled at her. “He's one productive Zebra. Of course, none of them are enchanted yet, but they're all ready to receive them when needed. For the moment, they're just well made weapons. Which does mean they're lethal, so be careful, Lan-” He cut himself off as Lance gave him an irritated look. “Okay, yeah, you didn't need to be... sorry.” He coughed awkwardly to his side. “Anyway, feel free to choose a temporary replacement, I'll wait here.”
Lance nodded and trotted down the weapon-lined corridor. Icy followed him, the two travelling down to the end, where a small section lay filled with weapons sized for smaller ponies.
As Lance looked over the selection, his hoof on his chin, Icy scanned them as well, her eyes lighting up as they fell upon one particular sword.
“Hey, look, Lance! A katana!” Icy picked it up in her hooves, briefly tempted to swing it around playfully before she remembered the whole “deadly weapon” thing. Nevertheless, she held it one hoof, weighing it experimentally. “These things are so cool!”
She would have gone on had Lance not cut her off with a stern shake of the head.
Icy huffed a little. “I know, I know, they're not toys, but that doesn't mean they're not cool – katanas are just...”
This time, Icy noticed exactly when Lance shook his head as he pointed at the sword.
“It's... it's not a katana?” She looked down at the sword in her hoof. “Yes it is! I've seen katanas, this is a katana... right?” she finished, beginning to doubt herself.
Lance sighed and pointed at another sword – one that looked just like the one she was holding, only bigger.
“That's a katana?” Icy asked, before continuing after Lance's nod. “But that's just a bigger version of this. So, is this, like a... mini-katana?”
Lance raised a hoof to object before pausing a moment, then waving it horizonatally in a “sort of” gesture. He then launched into a short series of gestures with his hooves and ears.
Icy blinked as she interpreted them – Lance was good enough at communicating without words that he rarely resorted to actual sign language unless he needed to get across very specific information. If he was actually using explicit words, what he's saying must be serious.
After she interpreted the letters he'd signed out, though, Icy wasn't so sure of that.
“Wa... ki... za... shi...? Wakizashi? What's that supposed to... that's not even a real word, it's just a pile of noises!”
“It's a Neighponese word!” she heard Private Mace call from the other end of the corridor. “Katanas and Wakizashis are Neighponese swords, so... yeah.”
“Oh. OH!” Icy cried as she realized her faux pas. “Sorry!” She shook her head, her cheeks burning with shame, as she quickly changed the subject. “So, is it just a size difference or is there more?”
Lance shrugged off Icy's embarassment as he nodded, picking up the katana. As he did, he drew Icy's attention to the fact he was placing both hooves on the sword's handle. He then slowly showed how the sword swung, emphasizing how he pushed forward with his right hoof. He then stopped, drew Icy's attention to his left hoof and pulled it back towards himself. He then put the two movements together, creating a sort of levering motion with both hooves that even Icy could tell would make the sword swing much faster and harder.
He then whirled around and used this levering motion to decapitate a dummy in one swing.
Icy blinked in astonishment. “Huh. So that's how you use a katana, huh?” She thought for a moment. “So, I guess all those characters who use two katanas at once aren't too realistic, huh?”
Lance shook his head, but quickly held a hoof up to forestall any response. He then took the wakizashi from her and gave a few demonstrative swings, showing that the two different sizes of weapon being wielded together was a bit more viable. There clearly wasn't the same kind of power behind the katana's swings, but it was still perfectly viable.
After a moment, Lance nodded firmly and retrieved the scabbards for the two blades. He had chosen his weapons.
As the two rejoined Private Mace, he smiled at them.
“Alright, let's get out of here. I know Mode's been busy with this project of hers, but probably best to avoid getting caught up in...”
“Ah, zere you are! Excellent!”
Icy's head shot up at the new voice, her ears swivelling round to pinpoint its origin. She'd just identified it as coming from behind Private Mace when it spoke again.
“Yes, you, ze vun vith ze ice powers!”
Icy peered around Private Mace only to find a curious earth pony looking back at her through big, round glasses. She stood only slightly taller than Icy herself, barely coming up to Private Mace's neck, and stood up straight with, nevertheless, a certain degree of casualness in her posture. Her mane came down to just past her chin, the ends and fringe cut so precisely horizontal it probably needed a spirit level. She was wearing a black dress with several layered fringes along the body of it and black leggings. Her tail was cut with the same precision as her mane and her face was set into a serious expression. However, while Icy could have been imagining it, she swore she saw a slight gleam in her eyes.
Once Icy had stepped out to face her, the strange pony continued. “I see you are eager to see your new suit, yes? Oh, of course you are, vhy vouldn't you be?”
“Er, actually,” Icy began, a little unsure how to feel in this situation, “I was just coming with Lance to get him a new weapon. I... didn't know about this, I'm sorry.”
“Oh, nonsense, darling! Vhether eagerness or serendipity, I commend vhatever force brought you here in zis moment, as I have just finished it and I daresay it is some of my finest vork!”
Private Mace sighed. “Icy, this is À La Mode, our resident costumer and...”
“Yes, yes, yes, I sure she is avare of zat, now hush hush, mister army man, ze grown up ponies are talking,” À La Mode said to the only full-size pony in the room. “You just take ze dashing young swordscolt and leave Miss Icy to get to know her stunning new ensemble! Go, shoo shoo shoo!” She walked forward, making Lance and Mace back out of the room before she closed the door and turned back to Icy. “Now, come, come, your new look avaits!”
Swallowing nervously, Icy followed Mode through the now-open door to the right of the way they came in.
Coming through, Icy found herself in a room that seemed halfway between the Carousel Boutique and Princess Twilight's laboratory, with a pinch of a fallout shelter and a supervillain's lair for good measure. Poniquins and sewing machines stood side by side with banks of glowing buttons and strange, ray-gun-like devices Icy could only guess at the purpose of. The walls were a stark grey and the lighting was dark. The only area that was differently lit was a large area in front of a thick, transparent wall – Icy couldn't tell if it was glass, perspex or something else, but it hardly seemed to matter. Beyond it, she could see only darkness.
“Erm, Miss Mode,” Icy began, “I... er, they didn't tell me...”
“But of course not, darling!” Mode interrupted as she took a seat before the walled-off area, gesturing for Icy to do the same. “Vords can only produce a pale imitation of ze glorious realities! Zat is vhy I must show you my creation!”
As Icy sat down, the lights behind the barrier flared up, showing a poniquin wearing what Icy could only assume was her new costume. It was a bright, bold blue, a shade just different enough from Icy's coat that it would stand out while still maintaining her overall look. It was all in one piece, covering the whole body of the poniquin and coming down to just above her hooves. Behind the poniquin's head, a hood was lying along the back of the suit, with small tassels hanging from the neck to draw it up. The hood and the cuffs were all lined with white, fluffy fur. From the back of the suit came two long, branching stretches of material, presumably to go over her wings. They were the one part of the suit that completely matched her coat colour, though Icy couldn't guess as to their purpose. Overall, she liked the look of the suit, but she wasn't sure what had Mode so excited.
Before she could even think to ask about it, Mode started speaking. “Now, it of course has all of ze standard protective enchantments – not so much as your heavy friend, of course,” she started, sounding almost bored, “but zey should be more zan sufficient.”
Without warning, a massive axe blade slammed down over the form, bisecting the poniquin. Icy glanced to the side, only to see Mode smiling at this development. Looking back, she saw the axe raise again, the suit instantly snapping back to its previous state, without so much as deforming or tearing. It even held the now-detached halves of the poniquin within steady.
“Immensely durable, of course, and completely elastic, it should be unaffected by vhatever damage and degradation you might subject it to. Fully resistant to all slashing,...”
A series of blades whirled to life around the suit, carving deep gashes into the poniquin beneath it while leaving the cloth itself unblemished.
“...piercing...”
A barrage of crossbow bolts launched into the form, penetrating deep into the body before bouncing out thanks to the material.
“...and impacts.”
A couple of gunshots rang out from the walls, going into the suit and creating deep craters in the body within before bouncing off and ricocheting around the walls a few times. Icy tensed to leap behind her chair, but the walls and transparent partition held.
Mode continued. “Capable of vithstanding temperatures of up to vun thousand degrees Coltsius,”
Flames sprang up to life around the suit, reducing the exposed head and hooves, as well as the parts close to them, to ash but not so much as darkening the fabric.
“... or eighteen hundred degrees Marenheit, if you prefer, and resistant to some of ze most powerful magicks a pony is capable of producing.”
Finally, a ray shot out from the wall, entirely disintegrating the poniquin but leaving the suit untouched, hanging empty from the poniquin's pole.
Icy finally blinked, drawn out of the horror she was witnessing to look to the suit's designer, who was smiling to a worrying degree.
“Er, Miss Mode?”
“Oh, do not vorry, darling, ze dust vill vash out easily – I vould never design somezing zat could not be easily cleaned.”
“Er, yeah, I mean... don't get me wrong, that's all incredible, but...”
“Rubbish, darling, zat is nozing special, entirely standard, no, no, no! Ze truly genius part is how it interacts vith your abilities.”
At this, a door opened to reveal a pony dressed in a full hazmat suit. Despite the thick clothing covering his face and body, Icy could still see the nervousness he carried himself with. In his horn's magic, he carried a glass container filled with wires and metal. Suspended within a field, that was apparently created by the apparatus, was a glowing nimbus of pale blue energy that Icy recognised.
“Hey, that's my freezing energy!”
“Indeed, Princess Tvilight vas kind enough to provide me a sample of it and ze means to keep it in suspension.”
Icy blinked. Though the Princess had offered to help Icy understand the nature of her strange powers, it so far hadn't amounted to much from her perspective – a couple of times, she had come to the castle's laboratory and made a few gusts, after which Princess Twilight had taken samples with an odd machine and then fiddled around with it and hummed until it was time for her to leave.
Icy didn't blame her, of course – she was a princess, she had to be busy – but it was a surprise that anything had come from it.
She was shaken out of her thoughts when Mode pointed to the suit. “Now, vatch zis!”
Looking back, Icy saw that the suit had been turned around so the neck hole was facing them. Furthermore, the protected pony's magic was holding it up so that the air within it was clearly visible, the glass chamber hovering in front of it.
“Your energies are of a kind I have never encountered before, so it vas qvite a challenge creating a material that would be both impervious to and insulative of it. However, I finally managed it – a fabric zat can fully contain your energies...”
All at once, the pony ripped the lid off the chamber, dropped his magic, dived back through the door and slammed it shut.
The instant the lid came off, the energy within shot out and into the poniquin. However, rather than freezing it as it did most things, the energy instead ricocheted around inside it, bouncing off the insides of the material until it finally shot out of one of the cuffs, creating a chunk of ice at the suit's hooves.
“...and yet has ze texture of ze finest Saddle Arabian silks!”
Icy blinked, a little confused. “O... kay, so I'll be immune to my own blasts. I guess that's... pretty cool, if someone reflects them back at me or something.”
“Oh, nozing of ze sort, darling, zat is, at most, a fringe benefit. Ze true power of ze suit comes from how you channel ze energy inside it. Come, come, let me demonstrate.”
The lights behind the wall faded once again as those of the main room came on fully. Mode hopped to her hooves and trotted over to a corner of her workshop, where a covered form lay.
Pulling away the sheet, Mode revealed another version of the same suit and beckoned Icy over as she pulled it off the poniquin.
Icy came over to her slowly, muscles still tensed in case Mode had any more surprises waiting for her. However, nothing jumped out or popped into being as she came over.
She looked over the suit, picking up one of the wing coverings. “Won't these be kind of restrictive.”
“Not at all, darling.” Mode assured her as she picked up the suit and began helping Icy into it, not waiting for permission. “Zey are designed to lie beneath ze feathers, to allow full, free movement and remain qvite invisible.”
Still hesitant, Icy pulled the suit over her, guiding her hooves into the sleeves and pulling the top of the suit up to her neck. She slid her wings through the back slits and into the sheathes, only to find that, indeed, they slid under her feathers and clung to the flesh underneath, tightly enough to stay in place but lightly enough to not restrict them in the slightest.
Smiling at the feeling, she did up the zipper on the torso of the suit, sealing it around her body.
“Now, zen, if you vould care to try a bit of your freezing techinique on zat target.” Mode pointed to a bare poniquin ten metres away from them. Shrugging, Icy tried to call up a moderate amount of energy.
However, to her shock, rather than the smooth build-up of energy along her wings that she was used to, she felt the energy surge along them, racing down the bones and muscles and firing into the feathers along her wings, from the base to the tips.
She flapped her wings, half how she intended to and half out of surprise, firing a blast of energy at the poniquin. Instead of the patch of ice she had expected to form over the poniquin's chest, a massive chunk of it sprang up around it, freezing its entire front half.
Icy's head whirled around to Mode. “I.. but how... it doesn't... wha? Is this suit amplifying it or...”
Mode gave a slight smile. “Oh, not a bit of it, darling. Zis is just you using your full power for ze first time.”
Icy's face scrunched in confusion. “What do you mean?”
Without warning, Mode grabbed one of Icy's wings, stretching it out. “You see, you channel your energy along your wings, yes?” She waved a hoof over the wingbone, indicating how the energy flowed. “However, previously, as ze energy travelled along, much of it vould diffuse into the air around it before it could reach ze point you could let it loose. As a result, only a small proportion of ze energy vould actually be channeled into your gusts. However, vith ze insulation covering ze pathvays up your ving, zat diffusion is almost eliminated, allowing you to retain nearly all of zat energy until ze moment of release.” She grinned, the gleam in her eyes now obvious. “I calculate zat zis vill triple ze power of your gusts at ze very least.”
Despite the bizarreness of the whole situation, Icy found herself smiling back. “Wow, this is amazing, Miss Mode. Thank you so much!”
“It vas my pleasure, darling. Feel free to take it vith you, I vill have ze spare sent to you as soon as it has been cleaned.”
Icy instinctively waved a hoof. “Thanks, but I don't think I'll be...” she stopped abruptly. “It's not hot.” She held a hoof out, looking at the fabric and fur covering it. “It looked like it'd be hot, with all the fur and the fabric and everything, but it's not.” She paused, paying close attention to the temperature. “Actually, it's kinda cool. Really cool.”
“Ah, yes,” Mode replied, suddenly looking uncomfortable. “Zat is ze vone flaw in ze design – in order to contain your energies, ze suit must be fully resistant to heat energy. On a normal pony, zis vould qvickly create an unbearable heat, but vith your energy, even vhen it is not being used, it causes the temperature vithin to remain very low. To combat zis, I vould suggest- Ah!”
Without warning, Icy darted up to Mode, putting her face up to hers, nearly touching. “Can you make me more of these clothes? Like, not a suit for action, just clothes I can wear every day, to school and out around town and that kinda thing? Oh, and maybe some pajamas, too? I mean, would that... er...” Icy suddenly realized what she was doing. Despite how many times Mode had violated her personal space, she still felt abashed and backed off a little. “Er, would that be okay?”
Other than her small initial gasp, Mode seemed relatively unfazed. “Zat should be possible, zough zey vill not be cheap. However, I can make zem, if you... really want.”
Tapping her hooves together nervously, Icy explained. “Sorry, it's just... I kinda have this problem with heat. Cold's fine, I barely feel it, but when it gets a little warm, it's horrible. I was... actually kinda scared about what'd happen when summer came around – whether I'd be able to go out and go to school and fight with the team and...” She closed her eyes for a moment, centring herself. “But, if I had a few suits of this around, that wouldn't be a problem. If you're right about it keeping all the heat out,” she raised the hood up over her head, pulled the tassels to tighten it and pressed the fabric against her skin, smiling as she felt the temperature drop, “I could stroll out into a heat wave and still stay cool as a cryohydra!”
After a moment, though, her smile dropped slightly as she thought about something else Mode had said. “I'll have to talk to Mom about the money – if it's really expensive, we may have to only get a couple of things.”
Mode smiled, waving a hoof. “Oh, do not vorry, it vill not cost a fortune. It is simply zat ze materials are qvite difficult to make and acqvire, particularly vhen I need so much as to cover ze whole body.”
Icy giggled. “Yeah, it's a good thing you don't need to cover a grown up yet. Or a lot of grown ups – I don't know where you'd get enough material to make that... much...”
Something about what she just said struck a chord with Icy and she blinked, bringing her speech and thoughts to a halt as she tried to identify it.
Material... you'd need a lot of material to make something the size of a pony. Like...
Her eyes widened.
Like an origami pony! So...
“Where did he get the materials?”
The group, all gathered in Icy and Dinky's room after Icy had indicated that she had an idea, looked up at her declaration.
“What do you mean?” Dinky asked, sitting on her bed with her legs curled underneath her.
“Well, I was talking to Miss Mode a few minutes ago...”
“We noticed,” Truffle interjected cheerfully. “Love the new suit, by the way!”
“Oh! Thanks, I guess.” Icy said, knocked out of her thoughts by the compliment. She had entirely forgotten that she was wearing her costume which, she supposed, was probably a good sign in and of itself.
Shaking her head, she refocused on her point. “Anyways, while we were talking, I realized something. The Paper Prince has made a lot of stuff, including some really big things, like a grown up pony and that paper plane of his...”
“So where did he get paper big enough to make them?” Alula finished, her eyes widening as she considered the question. The others all nodded as they began to think.
“I don't suppose he could have bought it, I doubt any shops would sell sheets that large,” Truffle thought out loud.
“Probably not, wouldn't be easy to find one that did and the sale would be distinctive enough for shopkeepers to remember – unlikely,” Alula rattled off quickly.
“Also, I don't think he'd want to pay for it if he could avoid it,” Dinky added, looking a little uncomfortable as she related her insight. “He's very focused on making himself seem as powerful and capable as he can, plus his “prince” thing is all about authority. I think he'd want to avoid just buying his materials if he could help it.”
“So, he'd need a place either in or around the city where he could get or make extremely large sheets of paper, and a lot of them, as well as a lot of smaller ones,” Alula concluded, laying out the available facts to start working on them in her head. “Also needs to be somewhere he can bring creations to roads, tracks and tunnels.”
Something flicked across Icy's mind at that last word, and she closed her eyes, focusing for a moment to try and grab hold of the thought and extrude it into something useful. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes again.
“It has to be outside the city!” she declared. “Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to wrap the paper in plastic to bring it into the smugglers' tunnel – he could have just brought it down from the city instead of going underwater.”
Alula nodded. “Good point.”
“Could he have brought it all with him?” Truffle asked, though it sounded like he was more trying to inspire the others' thought processes rather than suggesting it seriously.
Alula shook her head. “Not feasibly. Logically, he must have come to this city somehow – train, walking, his plane – and transporting large paper, especially multiple sheets, would have been impractical.”
“Do we know for sure he didn't come from Canterlot?” Icy asked.
“I don't think he did,” Dinky replied. “If he did, I don't think he'd be focusing on things going in and out of the city, he'd probably... no, I'm sure he'd be focusing on stuff in the city. I mean, it's not... I don't exactly have any way to prove it, but...”
“Your evaluations are usually trustworthy,” Alula assured her, though she didn't look at her as she did, her eyes remaining focused on the middle distance as she thought. “Other than maybe paper plane, needed to get all paper from somewhere in vicinity of city that has access to either ready made large paper or facilities to make it.”
She hopped down from her chair and trotted towards the door. “Will go and do quick research, ask Colonel for help, see if can find any paper mills in area.”
“Probably look for ones that have been shut down, abandoned or left alone for a while,” Dinky spoke up just as Alula was reaching for the handle.
Alula's head turned slightly, enough for Dinky to register in her peripheral vision. “Good point, would be easiest for him to take from.”
“Um, yeah,” Dinky nodded, “but that's not... I mean, that is a good reason, but it's not why I thought...” she trailed off before closing her eyes and swallowing hard, gathering confidence for her assertion. “I think... I think he'd really want, like, a hideout – a place of his own. He wants to be a prince, so he'd want something like a castle or a stronghold.”
“Demesne,” Icy said thoughtfully.
Dinky blinked, looking suddenly contrite. “Oh, I didn't mean to demean him, I'm sorry, I just thought... I'm so sorry, I...” Dinky started talking rapidly before Icy put a wing against her mouth, silencing her.
“No, no, that's not what that word means,” Icy assured her, giving Dinky a gentle smile. “I don't think you were insulting him or being, well, de mean one.” She gave a couple of forced chuckles that no one returned. “Um, anyway, I meant “demesne” – spelled D-E-M-E-S-N-E – it means the bit of land that a noble owns. Like a king's kingdom or an emperor's empire or a baron's... barony, I think?”
“Yes, barony,” Alula confirmed, hoof still hovering over the door. “That's where the word County comes from – land owned by a count.” Her speech had slowed down and regained all its words, indicating that her mind was no longer in its state of intense focus. “Though I admit I'm a little surprised you knew the word “demesne”, Icy.”
Icy smiled as she recalled learning the term. “Well, see, there was this one time when Captain Equestria was fighting Baron Blood and...”
“Ah, I see,” Alula interrupted, turning the handle and walking out of the room.
Icy blinked, a little disheartened at that.
Dinky put a hoof on her shoulder. “Don't worry, she didn't mean to be mean,” She assured Icy, not seeming to register the repetition. “I think she just wants to get ahead of this whole thing. I'm interested in the story.”
Icy gave a weak smile, rubbing the back of her neck in discomfort. “Well, it's not that much of a story. Just that Baron Blood... he's a vampire, but the way,” she added offhandedly, “accused Cap of “trespassing in his demesne.” So, I had to go and ask Mom what a demesne... actually, I asked her what a “demeznee” was.” She gave an uncomfortable laugh at the memory. “Still, she told me how it actually sounded as well as what it meant, so that was okay.”
“That was nice of her,” Dinky remarked.
“Um, well, kind of.” Icy gave a slight grimace. “She first convinced me that it meant a special kind of garden that vampires cultivate, where they can grow blood begonias and plasma poppies.” She gave a nervous laugh. “She managed to get to the exact kinds of “sanguine soil” they use and where to get them before I realized something was up. Probably wouldn't have if she didn't start laughing, either.”
Dinky giggled at this, quietly and gently, while Truffle gave a deep chuckle.
“Well, can't really blame you for that,” He said as he and Lance got up to return to their rooms. “You must have been much younger at the time, right?”
Icy sighed. “Sure, let's go with that.”