The bat-winged stallion kept walking in my direction, traversing the long center aisle of the passenger car. His cloak clung to his body, still covering most of the stallion’s form. The few other riders aboard the train watched him curiously. I glanced at Vinyl. “Do you know him?”
“No. Do you?”
“Until a second ago, I didn’t even know ponies could look that freaky.”
“Well, it’s only a spell,” Vinyl explained. “It’s just like the uniformity magic that keeps all the Solar Guards looking exactly the same. I think it’s just a disguise; not permanent.”
We both fell silent at the stallion stopped in front of our seat. Ignoring Vinyl completely, his eyes locked with mine. His expression was neutral, perhaps with a trace of annoyance as he spoke. “Get off the train. You can’t leave Manehattan. I already warned you once.”
I blinked. “Uh...”
The stallion went on. “You will be sent home when you complete your task.”
Shaking my head in bewilderment, I asked, “What task? Did you bring me here?”
A slight frown appeared on his face, now showing definite annoyance. There was something else there as well, a slight caution. “What do you remember?”
“Nothing! Am I supposed to remember something? Did you do this to me?” My voice went up, even if he was standing only a few feet away. The other passengers appeared to be trying hard not to eavesdrop.
“Just listen to me, filly.” The stallion leaned forward over Vinyl, still ignoring her. His face stopped inches from my own. “You have a job to do.”
“The name is Miller,” I growled. “I’m not supposed to be here. I just want to go home and be with my wife.”
The passengers around the car were certainly listening now. The Lunar Guard stared at me. “You can’t always get what you want. Now, get off the train.”
My teeth clenched, trying desperately to contain some very pointed words. I didn’t know who this pony was, but if he knew anything about how I was supposed to get home, then I needed to find out what. I got up.
“Uh... what’s this all about?” asked Vinyl, breaking in. She was ignored again, and if there’s one thing a mare who calls herself DJ PON3 hates, it’s lack of attention. Before Vinyl could demand an answer, I stepped in front of her on my way out of the car. I didn’t like this situation one bit, but it was the only way I could see that might get me some answers and not cause a huge altercation.
The batpony followed me off the train. I turned to face him, seeing Vinyl step down onto the platform after him. “What are you doing, Vinyl? Don’t waste another ticket.”
Vinyl shrugged. I turned to glare the stallion. “You should refund her the money she lent me.”
In response, he pulled a bag of money out of his cloak. While it was exactly what I had asked for, some stubborn part of me was reluctant to take it. Maybe with as difficult as the pony had been so far, I hadn’t expected him to actually meet that demand.
I managed to hide my surprise and grabbed the bag with a hoof, hearing the coins inside jingle. “What do you want from me?”
The Lunar Guard fixed me with the most serious look he’d so far displayed. “I want the killing to stop.”
A second passed. I shook my head. “What? In case you’ve forgotten, I arrived in Equestria yesterday and without any idea how I got here. I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
The stallion’s expression changed again, regaining some annoyance, but also some concern. I wasn’t sure who he was concerned for. After a moment, the Guard said, “Don’t get into any trouble.”
He turned and headed for the station exit. I went after him. “Hey! I’ve got a lot of questions for you!”
The stallion spared me one glance over his shoulder and then pushed open the door. He took off into the winter sky before I was able to say anything else.
Vinyl stepped up beside me. She seemed a little hesitant to speak, clearly picking up on my mood. I gave her the bag of bits. She undid the drawstrings and poked her nose in. I kept staring at the sky, even though the batpony had long since disappeared into the darkness.
Faintly, I heard a voice call, “All aboard!”
I jerked in surprise. “Vinyl, you’re going to miss the train!”
She smirked. “No, dude. I’m going to stay and help you. Besides, there’s enough bits here to rent hotel rooms for like a week. Nice ones.”
I nodded in gratitude. I wouldn’t have blamed Vinyl for going home, but I hadn’t been expecting her to insist on staying. Something about that reminded me of how Vinyl had accused Octavia of “abandoning” her.
“First thing in the morning,” I said, “I’m sending a letter to Canterlot. It might take a day or two to get there, but I know who I need to talk to.”
The last time, I’d randomly run into a pony named Spangles who was affiliated with Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. While he may not have been that important, my comments had been passed from him to somepony who could do something about sending me home. I didn’t remember the exact Equestrian address format, but I did know enough of it to ensure that the post office could help me with the rest.
The two of us started walking. “Are we going back to the hotel where we stayed yesterday?” I asked.
Vinyl nodded. “It’s a good place.”
“I should probably tell Octavia that I’ll be staying around.” I quickly added, “Catch up with you later?”
“Sure. If you want, I can take your stuff.”
“Thanks.” I let Vinyl carry the bundle that I’d been lugging around since I’d arrived. We parted ways at the corner and I headed to The Metronome. I was almost there when I realized that all of Vinyl’s stuff was probably still in the baggage car on the train. I wondered when she would realize it.
Octavia was still playing her cello when I entered the club. Some of the crowd had left, as it was getting kind of late. I noticed Gilda was still there. She glanced up as I came in and was still staring at me as I slid into a table near her.
“Sorry about earlier,” I said. “It’s just been one of those days.”
She considered that for a moment before giving me a short nod. “Yeah, sure.”
I turned back towards the stage. A few minutes passed. I had to blink hard a couple of times to stay awake. The soothing music and long day were getting to me.
Apologizing to Gilda, even if I wasn’t at fault, at least eased the tension a little. If I was going to be hanging around for awhile, I didn’t want to have any more enemies than I had to.
My overly sleepy mind tried to come up with something to stay awake. For some reason, that involved striking up a conversation with Gilda. I searched for something we might have in common. She seemed interested in the music, so I asked, “Do you know Octavia?”
Gilda glanced at me. “Yeah, I’ve talked to her before. She’s pretty well known in the scene.”
The scene? I nodded as if I understood. “Do you play?”
She snorted, a sound that I wouldn’t have thought a beak could produce. “Nah, I hate crowds.”
Was this Gilda warming up to me, revealing some of her flaws? I bobbed my head in agreement. “Yeah, Manehattan is pretty large. At least Canterlot’s expansion is limited by the ancient city planning.”
Gilda stared at me with her unblinking bird eyes. “What, are you some kind of engineer?”
“Something like that. I worked in a fabrication job in Canterlot for a while.”
“There’s only a few good music clubs there,” Gilda mused. “The restaurants are better than Manehattan, though.”
I thought for a moment. “There was a griffon restaurant; Magnifique, I think it was called?”
“They’re famous for their fish,” said Gilda.
“Never tried it, but the pork is pretty good.” I clamped my mouth shut to stop any other inadvertent words from spilling out. This was not a conversation topic ponies were supposed to know anything about.
Gilda gave me a raised eyebrow, or whatever bird faces could do that looked like it. I was saved from an awkward explanation by the music suddenly ending. Octavia took a bow from her position on stage and there was applause from the patrons who had stayed around to watch her perform. Gilda got up and left some money on the table where she had been sitting.
While the other customers were leaving, Octavia stored her cello and came over to me. There was a concerned look on her face. “I don’t want to assume anything, but what happened this time?”
“Well, apparently the Lunar Guard wants me to stop the killing.”
She paused in confusion. “What killing?’
I threw up my hooves in frustration. “That’s kind of what I was wondering. On the plus side, at least I now know that it’s the Lunar Guard that did this to me.”
“Hmm.” Octavia frowned. “You’re sure?”
“Well, a stallion with bat wings was the one telling me I had a job to do.” Although, Vinyl had said the freaky-looking parts of his body were just a spell. A sudden uncertainty came to me. Could a non-Guard wear the disguise? Furthermore, how did I know he wasn’t acting alone? Ugh, the possibilities that opened up made my head hurt.
“Are you hunting a group of criminals?” questioned Octavia. “Like you did last time?”
I winced. “What, do they think I’m good at this or something? ‘Let’s go grab that Miller guy again; he’ll know what to do.’”
Octavia considered that. She didn’t exactly smile, but there was care in her eyes. “I’ll help you in any way I can.”
“Thank you. It means a lot.” I got up. “I should probably go join Vinyl in the hotel. Crazy thing; that Guard was kind of a shifty-eyed harpy, but he did give us a whole bunch of money for expenses.”
I wondered when I had descended into Shakespearean insults. Also, if I remembered correctly, a harpy was female. Well, bend my gender and I’ll bend yours.
Pausing at the door, I shivered a little just thinking about going out in the cold. Octavia noticed. “Would you like to stay here for the night?”
I debated it for a moment. Odds were that I would be awake earlier than Vinyl anyway, so she wouldn’t miss me. And I wouldn’t have to go outside. “I think I’ll take you up on that.”
Iridium had finished up closing the club after the last customers had departed. Octavia bid him goodnight and escorted me upstairs. The rooms of the second floor were not really living quarters, but, as Octavia explained, she had been attempting to save some money after purchasing the club.
At least I got my own room. I thanked Octavia for the hospitality. Now I owed her for the meal earlier in the evening as well as the bed, although I doubted she would ask. She was not a landlord anymore, instead just my friend. I still didn’t know how long I would be staying, and didn’t want to impose.
I could think about that in the morning. The bed was perhaps not as nice as a hotel, but at least there was no unicorn trying to snuggle with me.
In actuality, I think that first night Vinyl had just rolled over awkwardly, ending up with a couple of legs draped over me. I had moved away, and she hadn’t touched me again.
It was difficult to sleep with so much on my mind, but the knowledge that I was unable to do anything about it was calming. Still kind of worrying, but calming.
I heard Octavia moving around early in the morning. I wondered vaguely what would cause her to not sleep in, as the club didn’t open until much later. Maybe she was just an early riser.
I sat up and yawned, slipping out of bed and arranging the sheets as best I could with hooves. It reminded me again that I should try to get my horn working. Then again, I would have been perfectly satisfied with having another, lower horn.
Shaking the dirty thoughts and TV references out of my head, I headed for the stairs. As a stallion, I had been of fairly average height. For some reason, I was now a little shorter than most mares. I was very displeased by this, but mostly about the female part, not the lack of stature.
I still kind of wondered whether body assignment was random or if it had been directed this time. If they had been trying to set me off balance and maybe be less combat effective, they had certainly succeeded. Now, I just had to figure out who “they” were and get some scrotum-for-scrotum revenge.
Octavia was downstairs. I nodded to her. “Thanks a lot. I should probably go check on Vinyl. I’ll try to be back later.”
She nodded to me, and I went outside. The sun was bright, glinting on a bed of fresh snow. It was only about half an inch deep, just enough to cover everything. I blinked at the glare, squinting as I made my way towards the hotel.
In doing research about all things equine at my Earth library, I had discovered that hoof material, keratin, was an excellent insulator. The cold air felt chilly, but the ground did not feel too frozen to walk on.
I had been doing the aforementioned research because getting yanked away from your home for a couple of weeks will leave lots of questions, particularly if you get turned into a pony along the way.
The clerk at the hotel desk told me where to find Vinyl and I went up to her room. It might still have been early for her, but I was raring to get started on the task the Guard had given me, even if I didn’t have any leads.
It took a few minutes of knocking to get her out of bed. When she appeared at the door, she was groggy but already wearing her sunglasses. Vinyl yawned. “Millie, it’s too early.”
I shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep.”
“Were you out all night?”
“No, Octavia gave me a room.”
Vinyl paused for a moment but went on. “Well, I’m up now. Do you want to go to breakfast?”
“Sure.” I waited while she freshened up and then the two of us left the hotel.
Vinyl squinted at the snow-reflected sunlight, even behind her shades. I asked, “Too bright?”
“Yeah, my eyes are really sensitive. Why do you think I wear sunglasses all the time?”
“Huh, I never knew that.”
She nodded. “I keep it to myself.”
Something about her tone was concerning. “Is there something wrong?”
“I have a condition.” Vinyl said it, but looked like she really didn’t want the conversation to go farther. Despite that, it was the kind of statement that only inspired more curiosity.
“Is it something serious?” I asked.
Vinyl steered me into a café without saying anything. We got seats at a table and she leaned forward, sliding her sunglasses down just far enough so I could see a sliver of her crimson irises. “Can you keep a secret, Millie?”
I leaned forward too. “Of course.”
She glanced side to side and then whispered, “I’m albino.”
“...Oh.” I took a couple of seconds to process that. It certainly explained her unique coat and eye color. The lack of pigment in her eyes could cause light sensitivity.
Preempting my next question, she said, “I dye my mane. These lighter streaks in the blue are places where the color is starting to fade. I usually like to change it up with other colors, but since I’ve started to make a name for myself as a DJ, I kind of have to stick with a recognizable appearance. It’s like brand identity.”
I thought for a moment. “What about your cutie mark?”
Vinyl’s face flushed and she glanced down at the simple, monochrome black double-eighth note on her body. “I... I draw it on with a permanent marker after every shower. If I have a real cutie mark, it’s colorless. I’ve always been a blank flank.”
“A what?” I asked.
She tapped herself on the forehead with a hoof. “Of course you wouldn’t know anything about that. I’m sorry Millie, let me explain. The reason I don’t tell anypony about me is because cutie marks are kind of a big deal. Foals sometimes pick on each other over who is still a blank flank, and in adulthood it’s a big indicator about what kind of job you could be hired for.”
Well, that explained why I could tell at a glance that the amateur band ponies at the club were not as good as Octavia, whose special talent actually was music. I could also see how kids would single out somepony who was different.
I did appreciate that Vinyl trusted me with this. It did open up a few other questions, though. “So how do you know your talent really is music?”
“Well... I like music.” Vinyl shrugged. “Honestly, the uncertainty is sometimes difficult. It feels like I don’t have direction or purpose. It’s almost like I never grew up. I’m still a blank flank no matter what I tell myself.”
Humans had to figure out their own purpose in life, so I could sympathize. Something nagged at me, though. “I thought the flank was the part of your side between your ribs and hip. That isn’t where cutie marks are.”
Vinyl shrugged. “It’s just an expression. I suppose it’s a little nicer than ‘clear rear.’”
We were still chuckling about that when the waitress came by to take our order. After she was gone, the conversation shifted to my problem.
“I’m still trying to figure out what that Guard wanted you to do,” puzzled Vinyl. “I mean, a hint might have been nice.”
I shook my head. “‘Stop the killing.’ That’s great, but who, what, where?”
“Maybe we should think about why they picked you,” suggested Vinyl. We paused the conversation while the waitress brought our food.
I took my first bite. The omelette was amazing. If I was forced to say something nice about Equestria, it would be the food. I looked back at Vinyl. “Yeah, okay. Why me?”
“You did a very good job breaking up a gang in Canterlot,” Vinyl pointed out.
“Well, that’s mostly because the mob bosses put too much faith in me and I totally screwed them.” I shrugged. “Also, that was a drug ring. And meeting up with them was completely random chance.”
“What about some advantages you have?” asked Vinyl.
I frowned. “I... have a good poker face? I don’t know. Nopony in Equestria knows who I am because they gave me a new body. I don’t have any form of identification except my driver’s license from back home, for all the good that will do me.”
“Well, it does offer deniability, I suppose.” Vinyl thought about that. “Maybe they want you to do their dirty work because you can’t be traced back to anypony?”
I considered that. If the “instant Lunar Guard” spell could be applied to just anypony, then that theory could certainly be true. Then again, were there other, probably-legal disguises out there that didn’t involve impersonating a government official?
I went on with my breakfast quietly. If everything worked out, we would go to the post office, send the letter, and my problems would be over shortly. I wouldn’t have to stop any killing or be the victim of extortion anymore.
Of course that happy thought went out the window as we exited the diner after eating. I glanced at the rack of newspapers by the door, one catching my eye. The headline, in big black letters, declared: SERIAL KILLER ON THE LOOSE.