//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 // Story: Millie // by totallynotabrony //------------------------------// We had some lunch in the early afternoon. Iridium seemed to have gotten over any lingering feelings he may have had regarding my status as an extraterrestrial. The club wasn’t open yet, and since Iridium had more time to work than if a customer was ordering, the feast he laid out for the group was probably the most extravagant meal I had ever seen in Equestria. Iridium, Vinyl, Octavia, Gilda, Jenna, and I sat around a few tables that had been pushed together. Despite the fact that we now had just over two days to find the killer, the conversation was kept light and I was happy to find the meal very relaxing. Honestly, talking business might have been difficult. With Gilda in the room, we couldn’t cover the finer points of the case, such as the Lunar Guard’s role. Iridium took the news about Jenna and I pretty well, but he was also the most calm pony I had ever met. I realized that I didn’t really know Gilda that well. As a regular at The Metronome, maybe Octavia or Iridium were on more familiar terms. Still, Gilda was friendly enough and seemed committed to the cause. That raised another question; why? Other than maybe protecting us, what stake did Gilda have in this? For what reason was she so intent on getting the chance to stand up to a serial killer and maybe to Little Puffy Joe and the presumably bad ponies who worked for him? I glanced to the side, seeing Jenna talking animatedly with Vinyl and Octavia. Whether it was her intent or not, the pair of musicians were at least tolerating each other for Jenna’s sake. All three seemed to be swapping stories about whatever they had in common. That pretty much came down to two things: show business and me. Still, I was happy for them. Gilda was eating slowly, probably feeling a little left out. I gave her a tentative smile and said, “Sorry for getting you involved in this.” She looked up and shrugged good naturedly. “It’s okay. You needed the help.” “I wouldn’t want to take you away from anything.” Gilda chuckled. “I work at a gym coaching meatheads every day. This feels like an adventure.” “As long as they’re okay with you taking time off.” I don’t know why I was so worried about it. My problems were bigger than that. Gilda seemed to appreciate my concern though. “It’s okay, really.” Changing the subject, I asked, “So what do you know about Little Puffy Joe?” “I’ve heard his name around. From what I understand, he’s kind of a cripple. He can’t fly and only puffs smoke. Still, he’s the only dragon around and influential enough that ponies are willing to work with him, even if it’s only for the money.” “What do the police have on him?” I asked. Gilda shrugged. “I don’t know anything about the police.” She glanced down at the end of the table where Octavia, Vinyl, and Jenna were still absorbed in conversation and then looked back at me. “So who’s Curtain Call? A friend of yours?” I smiled. “My best friend.” Gilda seemed to relax slightly. “So tell me why you and all your friends are doing this again - citizens trying to catch a serial killer?” “It’s... complicated.” I shook my head. “I’d rather not talk about it.” There was a question in Gilda’s eyes and I could tell that she wanted to pry, but restrained herself. I steered the conversation back to where it was earlier. “So we were talking about Joe. Do you know what he does? Any idea why this killer is going after his associates?” Gilda put on a thoughtful look. “Well, somepony killing criminals sounds like a vigilante, not a serial killer.” I paused. “How did you know criminals were dying?” Gilda chuckled. “Well, who else would Joe associate with? I’m right, aren’t I?” I nodded. My question hadn’t been of suspicion, only mild surprise that she had guessed. “That angle hasn’t appeared in the newspaper.” “Could be a lot of reasons for that,” Gilda speculated. “Maybe the police haven’t told the reporters about that kind of connection. Maybe they don’t want to move the population to actually support this kind of thing. If this vigilante gets famous, who knows what could happen.” “Miller the Killer,” I muttered. “Huh?” Gilda glanced at me. “Where’d you hear that?” “Canterlot. That happened a few months ago; somepony took down a drug ring.” “I think I remember something about that.” Gilda shrugged. I couldn’t resist a little self-indulgence. “The police never caught him.” “Well, I hope we do better than that,” Gilda said. Iridium appeared at my shoulder, interrupting my line of thought. He had been alternating between tending to the rest of us and eating his own meal. “Somepony’s at the door and wants to speak to you, Millie.” “Who?” “It’s a Lunar Guard.” I got up. Gilda gave me an inquiring look, but remained in her seat. I moved around the table, stepping around my giggling wife who was becoming fast friends with Vinyl and Octavia. Pushing open the door, I stepped outside. Sure enough, the batpony was there waiting for me. I hoped this wasn’t too important so I could go back in and get out of the cold as soon as possible. There was something off about him today. He didn’t look like an ass. In fact, was that some kind of shame or nervousness I spotted on his face. Rather than immediately tearing into him about the three days - well, now two - I had left, I warily asked, “What is it?” “I need to come clean with you.” He paused and looked away for a moment. “I really shouldn’t be here telling you this, so I’ll make it quick.” He heaved a sigh as if preparing himself. “The project is going to be shut down in two days. The only way you can stop that is by getting results; catching the killer.” “What project?” “When you first came to Canterlot months ago it was a mistake, right? Since then, the magic was refined and this time it was on purpose, a spell specifically targeted for you.” I broke in. “What about my wife?” “I’ll get to that.” He gave me a look and went back to his story. “This is a very secret and experimental project that very few ponies in Equestria know about.” “A project to kidnap me,” I broke in again. Surprisingly, I still hadn’t managed to antagonize the Guard. He nodded. “It was decided that your results in Canterlot might be applied to Manehattan in order to catch this serial killer.” “What happened in Canterlot was an accident. I was just a regular guy trying to go through life and then this happened. I’m not some sort of super universe-hoping badass justice-spreader.” The stallion considered his next statement for a moment. “I realize that. Not only isn’t this part of your skill set, but it was wrong to bring you here without your consent.” “You’re damn right it was!” The Lunar Guard took half a step back and held up a hoof. “Look, don’t kill the messenger. I’m only telling you all this because I agree with you. Maybe the project had the idea that we would only bring in some sort of automaton, not a honest-to-Luna sapient creature. If any of this gets out - the fact that we inadvertently made contact with another world and then experimented on it - the uproar would be huge. That’s part of why the project is being shut down.” I bit my lip, thinking hard. “And what if I succeed in bringing down this killer? Does that make the project a success? Will it continue? With me or anyone else from my world?” “I...” He shook his head. “I don’t know. I’d like to think not. It isn’t very accurate, as evidenced by the inadvertent transfer of your wife. It also causes memory loss.” “I noticed,” I said dryly. “So if it’s a bad project, why don’t you just send us home now and forget about it.” The Guard hesitated. “There’s been talk about a fire sale - everything must go. If you can’t at least get some return, I’m afraid they might just bury any evidence that you existed.” That wouldn’t be hard. I had no ID or records. The problem was, I couldn’t tell if that meant the government would just ignore me or hunt me down. I was suddenly too afraid to ask. “Now you know the stakes.” The Guard sighed deeply, as if releasing a heavy load. He started to turn, as if wanting to get as far away from this as possible. “Hey wait,” I called. “You’re with the Lunar Guard. Does that mean Luna is involved?” He stopped. “I’ve never heard her say anything about it. Truthfully, I don’t know if she’s aware. She doesn’t sign off on every project. There are a lot of other ponies in high places in the government who would take a hit if this came out.” “What if I went to the press with this?” I asked. “They can’t just sweep me under the rug and pretend that this didn’t happen.” “The reporters would think you’re crazy,” he advised. “Even if they ran the story just imagine what would happen. The whole planet would be different with the knowledge that we can reach into other universes by using spells. What could happen if that magic fell into the wrong hooves? Furthermore, just what kind of ramifications would that have for your world?” “Well, what do you want me to do?” I demanded, my voice rising again. “Does an easy choice even exist? Who am I supposed to complain to if it isn’t your fault? Where is your boss? Who’s leading the project?” The Guard looked away. “I... I can’t give you that. I’m sorry. What happened to you is wrong, but you’re one pony. I have the rest of Equestria to think about.” He turned again, spreading his wings. I started after him. “Wait! You can’t tell me this and then just leave! How am I supposed to catch this killer?” Ignoring me, he took off. “Come back! HELP ME!” I kept screaming at the stallion until was out of sight, but he never looked back.