//------------------------------// // Chapter Three: Dropping the Ball // Story: Cape and Cowl IV: Smoke and Mirrors // by Artimae //------------------------------// 1 Snow Storm stopped in her tracks as she rounded the corner of Main Street. City Hall was being swarmed by countless ponies, all with flashing cameras. The mass was split down the center, being only barely contained by metal barricades which were at their breaking point. Several newsponies stood near the curb, ready to ambush the occupants of each carriage. The carriages themselves formed a line almost the length of the street, with more pulling up. Talk about claustrophobic, Snow thought, feeling a shiver go down her spine. She had never been one for these social functions. She looked over at her family - Mosley looked back and nodded. She understood. It’d be a while before they got out, so she may as well go in by herself. They could just as easily get out right here, but that would not be proper etiquette. Besides, something told her that they were even less ready than she was. She trotted on, her heart and her mind both racing. What if one of the newsponies cornered her? Bombarded her with endless questions? Maybe she could sneak in… No, not with that many cameras around. Somepony would see her. She didn’t mind pictures when she was Mare do Well, but here she was vulnerable. Did her bun undo itself? She felt like her mane was coming unraveled. And the dress - why was it so tight? She reached the opening right as an almost incandescent carriage stopped. The noise of the crowd erupted exponentially - the barriers were straining hard against the swarm. Some posh pony opened the carriage door, releasing Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and their entourage. Snow Storm felt like she could have a heart attack at any second. This was possibly the worst time for them to appear. Newsponies swarmed the Princesses like in the zombie movies Snow enjoyed. She could bolt right past them, but would that be uncouth? Was cutting a Princess in line some sort of punishable crime? She blinked, and she was inside the foyer of city hall, being ushered along by a mare in a black cowpony hat. “C’mon now,” the mare said with a mild Appaloosian accent. She guided Snow Storm to a less crowded part of the room, right by a wall. “Have yerself a sitdown. I’ll be back in a flash.” The mare took off, leaving Snow Storm to sit there. The room was tilting slightly to the left, throwing her off balance. All of a sudden, she decided she didn’t want to be here. She would just have to tell her family to go on without her. This was too much. How did she even get here? An entire sequence of events had just been erased from her mind. One second she was gawking awkwardly at the Princess, and now some cowpoke was wrangling her. Before she could get up to leave, the mare was back with a glass of water. “Ain’t much,” she said a little sadly, offering Snow the glass. “Should hold ya over for now, though. You doin’ okay?” “Better,” Snow said, downing the water in one go. It felt like the best glass of water she had ever drank. “I guess I just got startled by the Princesses.” The other mare chuckled. “Yeah, they do that to ya. I work for ‘em and I still get a little floaty. Say, the name’s Ember. Ember Plume. How ‘bout you?” “Snow Storm,” she answered. The heat in her head was cooling down now. She was feeling more and more herself by the second. “Well met, Snow Storm.” Ember flashed a smile. A bolt of lightning flashed through Snow’s brain. Was that the cutest smile she’d ever seen? It might have been. “Hm, you look like you’re ‘bout ready to bail on this fancy-pants dance.” Snow Storm snorted. “I’m already halfway out the door,” she said. Ember laughed. “Aw, I promise it ain’t that bad.” She threw a foreleg around Snow, who let herself be led again. “Once we get to the food, and the drinks, you’ll be right as rain. I been to a hundred of these things, and I’m still alive!” “Shouldn’t you be with the Princesses right now?” Snow asked. It was her, admittedly weak, attempt to try and get away. “Naw, they’re fine,” Ember said. “Besides, they’d want me to help you out.” She led Snow Storm into a grand chamber which had been converted into a ballroom. Tables lined the walls, leaving a large empty space in the center for dancing. Each table held a vase of flowers, and empty plates, waiting for their future occupants. Ponies filed in behind the two, each of them looking for a free table to sit at. At the other end of the room, a long table was already host to several guests, including the Princesses themselves. Their entourage, besides Ember, had all seemingly disappeared. More likely, they had blended in with the crowd, hiding in plain sight. “D’ya wanna meet ‘em?” Ember asked excitedly. Before Snow could even answer, she was being dragged towards the long table. This was going to be a very long night. 2 "How's the security looking in there?" Smoke Screen asked. Around him, a couple of guards were laid out, unconscious. Beside him, Mirror Shield ran her glass cutter on the museum's skylight, creating an entrance for them to sneak through. "Hard to tell," she answered. Her entrance was almost complete, and soon they'd be inside the museum. "Think I see movement, but it could just be shadows." "No chances," he told her. "This job's too important." "That's why I hate working for somepony," Mirror growled. Clients almost always meant trouble. Soon enough, her circuit was complete. She grabbed the suctioned handles she had attached to the glass, and pulled it away. They both sat silent, listening for any hint that they'd been noticed, but nopony down below seemed to realize anything was amiss. “But you love the money,” Smoke pointed out, grinning that too-damned-cute grin. He reached into his saddlebag, pulling out a picture of the Mare do Well he had clipped from a newspaper. Mirror studied the picture intently. After a moment, her horn glowed. She enveloped herself in a bright light, and just as suddenly it was gone. Apparently, so was Mirror Shield, and in her place stood the Mare do Well. “Whoa, weird,” Mirror said, waving a hoof around. She could see the costume on herself, but her illusion magic didn't let her feel it. She had given herself different faces before, much like the Changeling magic, but she'd never made anything this complicated. “How do I look, babe?” “Like a superhero,” Smoke said wryly. “You sure this is gonna work?” “Work?” Mirror repeated. “It's better than we could've hoped for! We have some faceless pony to pin the blame on. All I have to do is go down there, make a scene, knock out the guards, and we're home free! They'll think - no, they'll know this weirdo did it!” “I still have a bad feeling about this,” Smoke Screen grumbled. Though he couldn't see her face, he could still sense Mirror's annoyance. “You took this job, dear,” she said, a little more snippish than she meant. “Alright, I'm going in. Keep those cute eyes open for me.” Before Smoke could respond, Mirror Shield leapt through the skylight and into the museum. With his heart pounding in his ears, Smoke Screen followed suit, hovering silently in the air and sticking to the shadows. 3 Snow Storm shuffled awkwardly in front of the head table. Princess Celestia offered her a polite, yet casual greeting, which she returned. Meanwhile, Princess Luna simply stared at her. The knowing look from the Princess was far more uncomfortable than even the dress. It was flat; completely devoid of any emotion or intention. Of course she'd know me, Snow thought, trying to avert her eyes from Luna’s gaze. The eyes of the Princess were hypnotic, however, and she couldn’t pull away. Scattered thoughts burst forth through Snow’s mind - was the Princess a mind-reader? Was it actually Nightmare Moon staring at her? Was it approval, or rather disapproval of her lifestyle? Did Princess Luna watch her every night? Was she, Snow Storm, actually under the protection of Princess Luna’s magical night? As if on cue, Luna gave Snow a small smile. Is that it? Are you watching over me? A chill colder than the deepest winter ran through Snow Storm’s spine. She nearly jumped out of her skin when Murdoc spoke up. “You're moving up in the world, I see!” Captain Murdoc said. “I never knew you had friends in such high places.” “She does now!” Ember blurted out, squeezing her new friend in a vice-like hug. “I found this one right outside, nearly passed out!” Her Appaloosian accent came out more and more as she grew more excited. Snow resigned herself to her fate of being squished by this surprisingly strong mare - in fact, she kind of liked it a little bit. Stop it, silly-filly! she admonished herself. You’ve only just met! This was true, but if the last year had taught her anything, it was that she should live a little more. “What’d’ya say, Snowy? Wanna go find some drinks?” Ember asked, loosening her grip enough for Snow to breathe. The question, however, felt entirely rhetorical. Before she was even allowed to answer, Ember was talking again. “D’yall mind if we mosey?” Captain Murdoc looked slightly bewildered, but Princess Celestia simply chuckled. “Of course. Go enjoy yourselves.” “Will do, ma’am!” Ember gave an exaggerated parade salute, and pulled Snow Storm away from the table. “C'mon Snowy, let's go find some drinks!” 4 Mirror Shield's plan went smoothly for far longer than she expected. She saw two kinds of guards in the museum - the apparent regulars, who seemed like they'd rather be anywhere else, and a couple of ponies that were clearly from Luna's personal stash. There were only two of the latter, both Fulake, and they stood before a large vault door, unmoving. They almost looked like statues, if statues could kill you with a flick of their hoof. The regulars, however, were easy prey. Mirror Shield patrolled the museum as though she belonged there. Most of the regulars gave her a cursory glance, then went back to their routes - apparently, this Mare do Well was really trusted. “Hey!” somepony said. Mirror froze in her tracks, holding her breath. An older stallion sauntered up to her, practically beaming. “They even got you making rounds here? Must be super important.” “Uhh, yeah,” Mirror said. She hoped to every goddess that nopony here knew what the Mare do Well sounded like. “Yeah, y'know, I'm just an extra bit of insurance. The mayor personally asked me to be here. Say, d'ya think I could see the Scepter? I wanna double check that there's no way in or out of the room it's in.” The older security guard frowned slightly. Damn, he caught me, Mirror thought. She was just getting ready to knock him out when he finally said, “I don't think so. Princess Luna's guards look at us funny if we even get too close. Not very talkative, those two.” “Oh well.” Mirror shrugged nonchalantly. “I can still try anyways.” “Good luck,” the guard said, and went back on his patrol. Mirror let out a sigh of relief - now she'd been established, and she didn't have to knock anypony out. Doing so would've drawn suspicion. She turned, walking up to the pair of Luna's guards. Their eyes locked in on her immediately, though they remained silent. A shiver ran down her spine. “Hey, fellas,” she said, trying to keep her voice friendly and casual. “I was told to check in on the Scepter. Is that cool?” They said nothing in response. However, they crossed their spears when she placed a single hoof closer. She backed off, offering up a nervous chuckle. “Hey, hey, it's cool,” she said. “I'm Manehattan's number one super hero!” The guards were, predictably, unmoved by her proclamation. “Erhm…” Think, damnit! “Princess Luna ordered me to personally inspect this vault.” “Her majesty gave no such order,” one guard said, glaring daggers at Mirror. “Leave. This is your only warning.” “Okay, okay! Damn, you guys play hardball.” This was it. This was the moment where Mirror's beautiful plan was going to go to shit. There was a blinding flash of light, and the two Fulake collapsed into heaps. “Boring conversation anyway. Let's go, Smokey!” The regulars began running towards the commotion. Smoke Screen swooped silently through the dark sky, picking them off one-by-one. Whoever he missed, Mirror hit with a magic spell, sending them into a deep sleep with vivid, and not always pleasant, dreams. After a brief moment, they stopped coming. “Go make sure there aren't any stragglers,” Mirror said. “I'm gonna crack this door.” “You got it, babe,” Smoke Screen said, disappearing into the night.