//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 // Story: In the broad daylight // by Askre //------------------------------// Chapter 12 It was quiet in the town hall at the moment. Most of the royal guards were currently out searching, the last pair of searchers had reported in about ten minutes earlier. Twilight Sparkle was going through a small stack of papers with Tango and Mulberry who were Ponyville’s only two police officers and the lieutenant who was in charge of the guards. “Very little on our only suspect who has a name,” Twilight remarked with disappointment. “Worked various small jobs for a while after his accident until he completely disappeared five years ago,” Mulberry said, the Earth Pony was stocky and only a bit taller than the librarian. “That is until he popped up in our town and foalnapped a filly,” Tango grunted. “Still think we need more excitement in this job?” “Well considering that most major disasters happening in this town have been handled by others, no offense Twilight, yes I do,” Mulberry claimed. Twilight blushed a bit in embarrassment while the lieutenant raised an eyebrow at the sudden bickering of the two Earth Ponies. “Well I like it quiet, Mulberry. I’m happy we work in a town that’s so quiet,” the taller officer snorted and tried to return back to the papers in front of him. “Wait Tango, are you calling witnessing the return of Nightmare Moon, attack by a Ursa Minor, Dragon in the mountains nearly chocking us with his snoring smoke, invasion of Parasprites that nearly ate the whole town, our local Librarian going so crazy that she enchanted her doll so everypony went nuts after it, again no offense Twilight, several disasters happening during that Mare-Do-Well incident, our local dragon growing up and going on a rampage, two con-ponies trying to drive our local apple farmer out of the town and various other things I’m probably forgetting, quiet?” Officer Mulberry asked astonished. “No I’m not, what I mean is that we have a low crime rate,” Officer Tango clarified. “Guys,” Twilight tried to intervene but the two dark gray Earth Ponies either didn’t hear her or ignored her. “That almost begs the question why we have police in this town at all, even having two seems to be overdoing it.” Mulberry rolled his eyes. “Officer Mulberry! Officer Tango!” The sharp voice of the mayor rang in the room. Soon enough Mayor Mare came storming out of her office not looking too pleased. The two bickering police officers hung their heads and their ears lowered. “Are you two arguing? Again?” she asked annoyed stomping towards the four ponies, her entire focus on the Earth Stallions. “Well I…” Mulberry started. “We were just…” Tango tried to say but both ponies were waved off by the mayor. “Do I need to remind you that we have been honored by the presence of the Royal Guards of Canterlot. Who are helping us finding the foalnappers and their lieutenant doesn’t need to see what our local police force seems to be best at. Arguing over petty things,” she ranted while pacing right in front of Tango and Mulberry. “Ah, she does know I’m standing right here doesn’t she?” the lieutenant whispered to Twilight. “She’s in speech mode, don’t worry about it,” the Unicorn told the Pegasus who nodded in understanding. Their attention was brought to the door when Spike came running inside and seemed to be in quite a hurry. Twilight and the lieutenant looked at Mayor Mare who continued chewing out the officers. They shrugged and trotted over to the young dragon still catching his breath, allowing the mayor finish with Tango and Mulberry. “Hey Spike what’s up?” Twilight asked. “Foal…nappers… caught… hospital now… fight…Big Mac…” Spike said between each breath. He was nearly thrown off balance when four surprised voices shouted: “WHAT?” Before Spike could really elaborate further, purple aura surrounded him and he was flung onto Twilight’s back. The Unicorn galloped out of town hall, followed by the lieutenant, Mayor Mare and the two officers. But they had not been the only ones informed of the current events, several ponies were also heading for the hospital and there were many already crowding up in front the building. The royal guards had managed to create a perimeter by the front entrance, making sure that the citizens of Ponyville wouldn’t overflow the hospital. When Twilight and the others arrived the lieutenant immediately flew up past the crowd and the line and ordered the guards to let the group he came with through. Inside in the waiting room, they were met with Applejack pacing in front of Apple Bloom. The farm pony had a mix of relief, worry and anger in her expression as she seemed to be both scolding and congratulating her sister simultaneously. “Ah don’t know if Ah should spank the livin’ daylight outta ya or hug and congratulate ya. What in tarnation where you thinkin’ goin’ off to actually look for the foalnappers?” Applejack ranted “But sis we weren’t gonna do anythin’, just find Claymore Cottage and let the guards know,” Apple Bloom explained. “An’ see where that got ya, Big Mac is being treated for injuries and Sweetie Belle has a sprained ankle,” her older sister immediately pointed out, causing the yellow filly to cringe a bit. “Applejack,” Twilight interrupted as she, Spike, the lieutenant, Mayor Mare and the two officers approached. “Oh hey Twi, ya heard? They got the foalnappers,” Applejack greeted her friend. “Yes, what can you tell us?” the purple Unicorn asked. “Nothin’ too much to tell, the Crusaders went off to Claymore Cottage, met up with Time Turner and somehow convinced him to take them to it. There they ran into the foalnappers, one chased after them but Big Mac who was helpin’ with the search managed to stop him after big fight. Mister Turner managed to get Sweetie Belle back to town only to realize that Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had snuck off and gone back to the cottage and ran into the other thug but luckily Rainbow Dash and… can you believe it… Gilda took care of him. They found Diamond Tiara in the cottage and got her out of there and then finally alerted the guards to take care of the hoodlums,” the farm mare explained. “Mr. Rich is already with Tiara, they are giving her a checkup. I think there are guards with the foalnappers, they needed to be patched up too. Rainbow Dash is with Gilda who also needed to be checked for injuries,” she added. The lieutenant nodded after Applejack seemed to be finished. He walked to the front desk and asked to be allowed to go in along with two officers. Twilight and Spike decided to remain in the waiting room with their friends, but the mayor accompanied the others. The dragon used the opportunity to jump off the purple Unicorn’s back and to the floor. “Right now Ah’m deciding whether to punish or reward my sister for her little stunt.” The orange Earth Pony glanced down at her sister who tried to smile innocently. “Well I guess she meant well. How is Sweetie Belle, you mentioned something about a sprained ankle?” Twilight asked. “She’s at Rarity’s and doing fine all things considerin’. Scootaloo had to go home since her mother sent for her, apparently they have a visitor she wants her to meet.” Applejack finally sat down, putting future punishment/reward for her little sister on hold. Twilight was about to sit down as well when the doors opened and a nurse looked in. She smiled at the two Apple sisters and walked over to them. The farm mare figured this must be about their brother and rose up again. Apple Bloom shuffled closer to stand beside her sister. “Big Macintosh is doing fine, he does have a cracked rib and has a mild concussion, otherwise it’s just bumps, bruises and minor cuts,” the nurse told them. “Will he be here long?” Applejack wondered but didn’t frown since the nurse almost immediately shook her head. “We just want to keep him overnight for observation but he should be good to go tomorrow,” she said. “Can we go see him?” Apple Bloom asked feeling more perky now that she knew her brother was alright. “Of course come with me.” The nurse beckoned them to follow and the two sisters, Twilight and Spike followed her into the corridor beyond the door. She led them to a room where Big Mac lay on a bed. The stallion was awake but did look tired; he had rib bandages on his body and some band-aids for some of the cuts he had received in the fight. He looked up when his sisters, Twilight and Spike walked in and smiled a little. “Jeez big brother, can’t ya do anythin’ without hurtin’ yerself?” Applejack joshed as she approached the bed. Big Mac chuckled weakly but said nothing. “Ah’m awful sorry big brother that you got into a fight on mah account.” Apple Bloom raised herself up, placing the front hooves on the edge of the bed. The stallion smiled and reached to ruffle gently his little sister’s mane. “Think nothin’ of it Apple Bloom. Ah’m just glad to see ya and yer friends safe,” he said. Then he looked at Applejack and Twilight and his expression became a bit more serious. “But Ah could almost swear the pony was as reluctant to fight as Ah was. Heck he could have easily done me in easy at one point but he didn’t and saved me from a very bad fall,” he told the two mares. “That’s curious.” Twilight furrowed her brow in thought, Applejack nodded in agreement. Rainbow Dash tried not to snicker too much when she was finally let into the room Gilda was in. The female gryphon had several bandages on her body and due to her head feathers almost looked completely white with few brown spots. “I still can’t believe you managed to talk me into going here,” Gilda complained and jumped out of the bed. She cringed a bit when stressing some of her wounds too much. “I don’t recall I had to talk you into anything,” the Pegasus reminded her. The Gryphon grunted and hung her head. It was true and she had in fact just woken a while go in the hospital and saw ponies busy mending her wounds. The last thing she recalled was trying to interrogate her cousin after his rather cryptic remark, everything was blank after that. “So what happened?” Gilda asked and walked over to the window with Dash following. “They say you probably collapsed from exhaustion, no adrenaline left to keep you up. When I came back out with the Crusaders and Diamond Tiara you were out cold right on top of your cousin. He was still awake whining and complaining since you weren’t doing his wounds any favors,” the Pegasus explained. “Huh, serves him right,” her old friend snorted. “And shortly after that royal guards arrived and they took you and your cousin to Ponyville Hospital. Your cousin’s room is currently under guard though I’m not sure you want to pay him a visit,” Rainbow Dash shrugged, she wasn’t too surprised Gilda snorted again. “Seen enough of that idiot to last me a good while,” she growled and opened the window. The Pegasus’s brow rose high when the Gryphon prepared to climb out through it. “Hey wait where are you going?” Dash raised one leg, prepared to halt her. “I’m not staying here a minute longer, besides I’m not so sure I’m very welcome here… after last time…” Gilda said and glanced back at the pony. “Well… no guess not,” the Pegasus agreed. “Maybe if you apologized?” “Not going to happen. Look it’s probably just better this way anyway,” the Gryphon claimed and managed to climb fully out and was now hovering just outside the window. “Well I know you well enough that nothing I will say will convince you otherwise,” Dash said and poked her head out of the window. “But I am still going to say I think you are wrong about that. My friends can be pretty forgiving if you are really sincere.” “Whatever,” Gilda waved her talons dismissively. “So where are you going?” Dash asked since it was obvious, just as she suspected, that the Gryphon wouldn’t be talked out of this. “Well it’s crummy, but I don’t think my cousin needs this apartment right now, so I’ll be there,” her old friend answered and began ascending. “Bye Dash, this was fun.” “Bye Gilda, thanks for the help,” Rainbow Dash called back and watched Gilda fly away for a moment before turning around shaking her head. Diamond Tiara couldn’t be happier at the moment. She was no longer in the small uncomfortable cage or in the musty old cottage. The filly was still in the hospital but had been given a clean bill of health, except for some minor bruises. The doctor said she only needed a good proper meal and she would be fine. Her father had arrived very shortly after she was brought back and for a while it was questionable if he would ever stop hugging his daughter. Tiara was much the same and even as the doctor gave her a checkup she remained close to Filthy Rich. “We can most definitely arrange the meal, we’ll go to your favorite restaurant and order whatever you want,” Rich told her after the doctor had left the room to allow them to be alone. They were momentarily waiting because either the royal guards or the police would probably like to question the filly. “I’ve been dying all weekend to go there dad. It was horrible, they only gave me carrots, well one muffin, but there was almost nothing else to eat,” Diamond Tiara complained and hugged her father again. “Don’t worry Tiara, you’ll get much better food now and I’m sorry this had to happen to you,” Rich said and returned the embrace again. “By the way, how is Silver Spoon?” his daughter asked, remembering her friend. “Oh she is fine, she had quite a scare and had a nasty bump on her head. But her parents took her away for the weekend to help her recover from the ordeal,” the Earth Stallion explained. “Can we go somewhere for a while?” Tiara pleaded. Her father smiled warmly and nodded. “I’ll need to arrange it but I’m sure we can go somewhere later this week,” he assured her. Diamond Tiara frowned and almost considered pleading they go immediately after the visit to the restaurant. But then she remembered something else and let go of Rich and began searching furiously through her tail. Her father could only watch, wait and wonder what his daughter was up to until she finally drew forth the metal piece she had hidden there. “Look dad, she broke my tiara, the one mom gave me,” Tiara sniffed and presented the metal strip to him. “She?” Filthy Rich frowned, he was pretty sure they had told him both foalnappers were male. “Snow Heart. She had me foalnapped, she even kicked the cage I was in and broke my tiara,” his daughter explained and tears began forming in her eyes. “Snow Heart?” Rich blinked in surprise. “Yeah, but she wasn’t in the cottage when they rescued me, I don’t know where she is,” Diamond Tiara said and leaned on her dad again. “Tiara, are you…” her father was interrupted by a knock on the door. “Ah come in.” Into the room peeked Officer Tango, the gray Earth Pony walked fully in and with him came one of the royal guards. The police officer smiled gently at father and daughter but the guard remained rigid as a statue. “We have just finished speaking with the suspects, that is, the one who was the most willing to talk and actually could talk. Is it alright if we ask your daughter few questions as well? Just to wrap things up,” Tango wondered. Filthy Rich looked down at his daughter who nodded slowly. The officer came closer and sat down in front of them. He managed to produce both a notebook and a pencil from his uniform. “Well Miss Tiara, can you tell me about what happened ever since Friday?” Tango asked. The filly hesitated a bit before she began recounting the best she could the events from the weekend. At first all Tango did was hum and nod but when she reached the part with Snow Heart, the officer frowned in confusion and looked at her father. “Wait hold on, Snow Heart as in your old house keeper?” he asked. “I think so, Tiara are you sure it was her?” Rich looked at his daughter who nodded furiously. “She was horrible, she laughed at me, kicked the cage I was in and broke the tiara mom gave me,” the filly told them and showed the metal strip again. “I see,” Tango’s brow sunk heavily and he began shifting through his notebook, even the guard showed a curious expression. “Is something wrong officer Tango?” Filthy Rich asked impatiently. “Hold that thought, why don’t you finish Tiara?” Tango looked at the filly who shrugged and finished telling the rest. When she was done the police officer didn’t look any less confused. “Your story almost matches except for one thing, the Gryphon, Paul, is claiming full credit for the whole foalnapping,” he told them. “WHAT?” Diamond Tiara shouted. “He mentioned no Snow Heart, said he only really hired Silver Axe to help him keep everything safe until he got the money. He would then give the Pegasus a cut in the ransom,” Tango explained. “But…but…” the filly protested. “Now don’t worry, we will look into it and talk with Snow Heart and hear what she has to say,” the officer assured her. “What? You know where she is?” Tiara blinked. “Tiara, Snow Heart returned to Ponyville earlier today, I made the mistake of approaching her at the Café while feeling a bit distressed over your abduction. She has not quite forgiven us for the last time she was here,” her father explained. “Arrest her! She had me foalnapped. She broke mom’s tiara. Dad she’s evil!” the filly shouted and waved her legs in agitation. “Tiara, please calm down,” Rich tried his best to hold her still. “Like I said, we will have a word with her,” Officer Tango repeated, he began backing away and nodded to the guard to head out with him. “We’ll um, leave you two be for now.” Filthy Rich didn’t really notice as he was still busy trying to calm his daughter down. He was inclined to believe his daughter, but there was still small tinge of doubt in the stallion. Having met Snow Heart at the Café earlier didn’t help much either. If she was responsible for foalnapping Diamond Tiara, why would she return to Ponyville? It just doesn’t make sense, he thought. End Chapter 12.