//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: "...Is A Friend Indeed..." // Story: The Elements of Harmony // by MarcellusMiro66 //------------------------------// Ocellus arrived first at the outskirts of Canterlot, approaching the Badlands and landing on the rocky terrain. Taking in her new surroundings, it was nothing but a vast desert as far as the eyes (specifically her own) could see. It would take a miracle for the prisoner to make it out alive and across to the nearest town, but the more she investigated, the more she realized something peculiar. The prisoner... They should have had help... Not soon after, Ocellus spotted it... It...caught on a snag on a long-decrepit tree branch... "Lieutenant!" The Lieutenant swiftly soared down and abruptly landed beside her, unintentionally giving poor Ocellus a fright. Nonetheless, the youngest Changeling pointed out the piece of evidence in front of her, giving Lightning Dust room to work with. Approaching the crime scene, she used her metallic, magnetic wings to slowly retrieve it and bring it to her eyesight: a single strand of blue and purple hair with a single raspberry streak...entwined with a single strand of red-and-yellow hair. Now this... This is something interesting. "Now this... This is something interesting..." "W-What is, Lieutenant?" Ocellus asked nervously. "A pair of hair means a pair of Ponies," Lightning Dust replied, "A pair of Ponies mean a pair of prisoners, and a pair of prisoners means...a plentiful price on their heads." Slipping the strands into a glass flask and handing them to an arriving Thorax and Pharynx, Lightning Dust then noticed a trail of hoofsteps just a few feet from the tree branch. Beckoning the three Changelings to follow after her, she took a closer look and the realization was far more than what was expected. The dastardly duo of fugitives...had increased to a total of sinister six. "And the price has just piled up," Lightning Dust sinisterly smirked before softening up and offering the youngest Changeling a genuine smile, "Not bad, Ocellus. Not bad at all..." As she walked away, Ocellus returned her superior's smile, even though she would not directly admit that she was proud of her small achievement. "Do you think the prisoner and their group could have gotten this far?" Thorax glanced around in uncertainty. "I don't think, Thorax... I know," Lightning Dust continued following the trail, "Focus, commitment, and sheer will can do wonders when utilized correctly." "Or a miracle, maybe," Pharynx grumbled as he stepped beside his brother, "I suppose focus, commitment, and sheer will be our only way to make it to the group's destination?" "That would be a suicide flight," Lightning Dust replied as Tempest approached the quartet. "Have you found anything useful, Lieutenant?" "Not before Ocellus did. She found two strands of hair snagged on that tree branch. There was a trail of hoofsteps that I found afterwards not far off." Observing the trail for herself, Tempest nodded in satisfaction, "We should be getting close. Very close." "I guess this little pony got pretty far," Lightning Dust chuckled out a call-back, "but not on her own." Tempest rolled her eyes and beckoned the group to follow her just as Grubber approached fast with a small-enough army of Storm Guards. Yes. She is most definitely my hype pony... A Few Hours Prior. . . The spy in question flew across the Bone Dry Desert in less than six hours before spotting a nearby city, mostly likely a trading town. Landing on his hooves, he glanced around and surprisingly saw big activity around this time. The activity he witnessed most definitely fell on the backside of the criminal underworld. Despite his current profession, it disgusted him, and it only increased when he saw a young dragon attempting to escape a larger rat-like creature. As he approached, fury immediately skyrocketed when the fish creature slapped the dragon with enough force to knock her to the ground. The spy soared and rammed his entire body into the body of the rat creature, knocking him down backwards before retrieving a long wheel of rope, which he used to tie his legs up and trip him when he tried standing up. He then threw rapid-fire punches and ended up hitting pivotal pressure points in the process. When he recovered enough to throw punches, the rat creature's rage proved to be his undoing as the spy bind his hands and legs together, soaring downward and then upward to deliver an uppercut with his back legs, knocking him out completely. As a crowd began to build and murmur amongst themselves, the spy approached the equally shocked dragon and helped her up. "Are you okay, miss?" The dragon nodded as the spy helped her up, "T-Thank you." "You don't need to thank me," The spy shook his head, "I'm just a Samaritan passing by." "Good or bad?" The spy turned around to face a male cat approach to observe the damage himself. He had light malachite green eyes, moderate gamboge fur (his face, ears, paws, and tail were of a darker shade while his chest was of a lighter shade), and a tuft of dark greyish indigo hair. He wore a dark red coat around his body and violet tape around his tail. "To be honest with you..." The spy shrugged, "I wasn't sure myself when I was hired by my Lieutenant. And your name might be...?" "Capper," The cat introduced himself with a bow, "A friend in need." A Few Hours Later. . . "So, that's how you two met." Served tea with soup, Twilight and Sunset were seated with a table with Capper, the still hooded associate, and the young dragon Capper's associate saved. Her name was Smolder, and she had moderate cyan eyes, moderate orchid spines, and brilliant gamboge scales with a light gold underbelly, wing membrane, and ear fronds. Seemingly older than Spike back home, the former unicorn nonetheless almost immediately developed a doting nature towards her, tending to any injuries she sustained or that remained. The act both amused the latter unicorn and touched her heart, wondering what could have been in her home dimension. "Yeah," Smolder nodded as she spared her savior a glance, "Thanks for saving me by the way." "You don't have to thank me, kid," The spy scoffed as he went for a third cup of tea, "I was just a passerby." "Well, I don't think Miss Smolder could thank you even if she tried, passerby," Capper retorted, "We still haven't had the pleasure of learning your true identity." "That comes later. Right now..." The spy glanced toward the restroom and sighed ruefully, "...is the restroom." The restroom itself, meanwhile, was currently occupied by no less than four ponies. Trixie and Photo Finish were fighting and fussing over the shower, knocking over more than a few toiletries in the process. By contrast, Starlight and Apple Cobbler were acting civilized, passing the toothbrushes, toothpaste and mouthwash to each other after heading out of the shower. "You know...remembering my little rant in the desert before arriving here...you would think that I would be the most relieved about being here." "You gave it time...and time gave you a musical sequence." "Pass me the shampoo!" "Pass me the body wash!" Starlight and Apple Cobbler listened as Trixie and Photo Finish argued over the toiletries and exchanged looks of amusement. "Should we go or, at the very least, stop them?" Starlight frowned. "Actually..." Apple Cobbler smiled, "I want to see the outcome of this." The head crime boss and designated mayor of Klugetown was none too pleased about the town's lack of noteworthy sales. A naked mole rat whose weight overshadows his height, his main outfit was primarily red and one that was far too small for him to don. Nonetheless, even with the wear-and-tear showing its age, he continued to wear it as a symbol of his declining authority and his deteriorating sanity, a pathetic shell of the former glory he once had. "What...is...the hold-up?" Verko growled to his two enforcers. "There has been a recent decline in sales, sir," The male enforcer stated the obvious. "Yes, I am aware of this problem, but not the solution." "We're singling out safe and specific methods that would best fit you, sir," The female enforcer attempted to alleviate his worries. "I do not have all the time in the world for "safe" and "specific" methods," Verko sat up from his desk and glanced out the window of his office, "I need quick and easy..." Suddenly, the door burst open and a heavily concealed raccoon ambled into the room before placing a slip of paper on his desk, prompting Verko to take a good look at it. With each word came each gear in that little brain of his grinding into place. When he finished reading, a smirk began to grow on his face as an idea began to grow in his head. One shot... one chance... One more time to prove his worth...would prove to be his undoing. "Let's pay dear Capper a visit." "I don't understand." "I honestly don't expect you to." Smolder, along with the rest of the group, were listening to Capper's backstory as they recuperated. "When I was younger, my hometown of Panthera was invaded by the Storm King's forces before they did battle with a gang of pirate parrots. Their captain...Celaeno...offered me and my friend Chummer positions as a member of their crew. We worked with them for a while before the Storm King eventually caught up with us. Chummer and I escaped and ended up in Klugetown, where we were employed by our boss Verko. We offered to trade him the Misfortune Malachite, a jewel that was in the possession of the Storm King at the time, in exchange for money. However, Chummer betrayed us and made off with the real one...not that I liked him or Verko anyway. It opened my eyes, though, to the reality that not everyone could be considered your friend." Despite the route Capper would eventually take in his life, many of the group were sympathetic for the feline con artist. Specifically, Twilight was horrified at the prospect of somepony utilizing friendship and twisting it for their diabolical ends, going against everything she was taught about it up until that point. Trixie, meanwhile, singled out similarities with his past and her own, the only difference being that she was a stage magician and he...was not. "Why would he do that?" "In hindsight, his name was a pretty dead giveaway," Capper bitterly chuckled as he sipped on his beverage, "But honestly, some people are just born that way." As Capper served the group another bowl of soup and accompanying cup of tea, the atmosphere become somewhat peaceful. Somewhat...too peaceful. "Is that why you and your associate sold us out?" Twilight asked as she calmly sipped on her tea. "Yes," Capper responded after a moment's hesitation. "That's what I thought," Twilight sighed solemnly, "How much time do we have left?" "20 minutes at the most. That was two hours ago." "20 minutes, then we have to go." As the group gathered any belongings they had lounging around, Capper sighed as regret began settling in. He had small interaction with them, but in those few hours, he found himself caring about someone other than...well, himself. The group themselves were dismayed to see a potential ally sell them out for indeed a "quick buck", but they harbored no further animosity towards him while expressing very little surprise at the betrayal, considering the environment he had grown up in (or, in this case, grown accustomed to). "It's not your fault, Cap," Trixie did her best to assauge his worries, "I know how you know feel. I betrayed people in the past." "Is that supposed to make him feel better?" Starlight's eyebrow shot up in confusion. "It's the thought that counts," Trixie asserted, which Capper could not help but smile at. "Please! Please! I don't know anything!" Tempest, Lightning Dust, and her small army eventually arrived in Klugetown. Their method of interrogation varied depending on the specific member. Thorax, Ocellus, and Grubber opted to use a passive approach, while Tempest, Lightning Dust, and Pharynx relied on the aggressive. The Storm Guards performed most of the figurative and literal heavy lifting, ranging from wooden boxes to living creatures. "You really think the ponieth got thith far?" Grubber glanced around as he ate away at a chocolate-dipped, candy-sprinkled apple. As soon as he asked this question, Lightning Dust spotted another snag of hair on a wooden board, this time purple with a hint of greyish aquamarine. She gestured this to Tempest, who gave it a gentle whiff before smirking. "Oh, they're here. Attention!" That little smirk disappeared as quickly as it appeared as a stoic expression was immediately plastered in its face the second she called for attention from the other denizens of Klugetown. "A little purple pony passed this way. She is a fugitive of the law. Tell me where she is..." "...or thumpin real bad'th gonna happen," Grubber tempted fate as Mori, the largest of the lot, approached with murder glinting in his eyes, causing the hedgehog to wisely stand down. "You think we're gonna fall for this again?" Mori casually (albeit unintentionally) swatted away a cheering denizen, "I don't know what kinda scam you're workin' with Capper and the rest of your friends, but poison or no poison, you're gonna pay!" Friends...? Tempest and Lightning Dust shared the same thought...before working in tandem to take down Mori. The former ducked to avoid the first punch thrown while the latter caught his fist and twisted it, causing him to shout in pain. Tempest performed a leg sweep before Lightning, still holding to his fist, flew up to lift him up and slam him down into the ground. "Ohhhh, Fishman juth got dropped!" Grubber cackled as Tempest approached a beaten Mori, murder glinting in her eyes. "Now...about this "Capper"..."