//------------------------------// // 09: Like a Game of Chess // Story: For Queen and Country // by Gherkin //------------------------------// "When you can't tell your friends from your enemies, it's time to go." *** It was obviously rush hour at the Canterlot train station, however the bulging crowds proved to be of no concern at all to James and Twilight, as most of the ponies around them were giving the human a wide berth. Most of the city’s citizens refused to go near or even look at 007, either out of disgust or fear. Either way, it didn’t really matter to him. “Are you absolutely sure that this is the best idea, James?” Twilight asked as the made their way onto the platform. Her ears folded back against her head and she looked up at him pleadingly. “I mean, I can stay here and help you. Research, anything, you name it!” Bond turned to look down at her. “You heard what Celestia said. She thinks it’s too dangerous for you here. Besides, can’t you do some research back at your library and get Spike to send anything of importance to her?” The mare stopped and paused for a second, perking up again. “You know, in all this confusion and chaos, I never even thought of that.” She giggled slightly and rolled her eyes. “Seems typical of me, really. Missing the obvious solution.” She looked up at him and smiled. “Okay then. You’re right, it’s probably for the best.” Nodding, she trotted slowly onto the train as it’s doors began to close. “I’ll keep in touch!” she called, waving at him from a window. Bond smiled slightly and waved back at her. “I look forward to it.” He continued to watch as the train slowly moved out from the station, before it disappeared out of sight around a corner. Deciding to get down to business, he turned around to walk out of the station. He checked his watch. Eleven thirty. Time to spare, then. He stopped for a moment at a small kiosk inside the station to buy a cup of coffee. The events of the night before had been physically and mentally draining, and he hadn't gotten much sleep, so caffeine was exactly what he needed right now. The stallion behind the counter gave a sheepish smile as he handed James his drink, before getting back to his job. He thanked him, and went to walk out of the station. Yawning, he stepped out onto the busy Canterlot street and took a sip of the scalding hot drink. It burnt his tongue, but he didn't notice. In the crowd of ponies surrounding him, he had spotted a familiar unicorn mare. A mare with a short white mane and a soft purple coat. "Quill?" Bond said to himself, unsure whether it was her or not. Deciding to investigate, he decided to move towards her, struggling to keep her in sight due to the mass of ponies around him. She seemed to notice him and, strangely, started to turn and walk away. Where is she going? Picking up the pace, James followed her into an alley that she had ducked into. "Quill!" he called out, as she continued to walk away from him. "Lavender Quill?" The mare finally paused and turned around slowly. She looked up at him, and smiled. "Oh, hello Mr. Bond! I didn't see you there,” she said to him sheepishly. "Good to see you," he said politely. "How is everything?" "Oh, you know, I'm okay.” She coughed slightly and fiddled with her mane. “Quite a bit shaken up, but okay." "Good to hear," he replied, giving her a smile. "And how's everything at the University going? All the research on telekinetic spells going alright?" She nodded quickly and smiled back. "Oh, yes. They're going perfectly well. It’s very hard work though, of course. And after what happened I haven’t been able to concentrate as well as before!” She leaned to the right, and looked past him for a moment, before glancing back upwards. “But, if you'll excuse me, uh, James, was it? I'm late, and I really must be going." Without so much as a goodbye, she turned around and cantered quickly away. James stood there, suddenly very suspicious. She told me she worked on teleportation before, not telekinesis, he thought, making his way back to the street. Add to that the fact that she was loitering around here for no good reason, and it's starting to look like my good friend Lavender Quill isn't quite who she says she is. Grimacing, he downed the rest of his cup of coffee and threw it away. The crowd around the station had mostly dispersed now that the train had departed, for which he was thankful for. Now he could make his way back up to the castle without much hindrance. It wasn’t exactly far, but it was uphill, so the lack of ponies in his way was a small blessing. I need to speak to Celestia, he thought, setting off at a brisk pace down the main street. Before I get down to business, I need to get a look at the Canterlot University archives. Bond soon arrived at the castle gates. The guards, while no longer outright hostile, still gave him wary glares, and visibly tensed as he approached. He nodded towards them as he walked past, and they nodded sternly in return, not averting their unwavering forward gaze. Jogging briskly up the marble stairs that went up to the front door, he pondered whether Quill being there was just a coincidence, whether she was some pawn in the plans of these crazy ponies, or whether she was something else entirely. Something more sinister, perhaps. In any case, he needed to find out. Arriving at the main entrance hall, he crossed it quickly, reaching the large double doors on the opposite side. The doors were flanked by two armed guards, who stood to attention as she approached. “I need to speak with Princess Celestia,” James informed them. They nodded silently, and allowed him to pass. Stepping past them, he knocked on the door sharply. “Come in,” came the voice of the sun goddess from inside. Motioning for Bond to step aside, once of the guards pushed open the large doors for him, before resuming his original position beside them. “Ah, James!” Celestia said as he entered, looking up from the papers in front of her and setting down a cup of tea. James noted that she looked tired; her mane was slightly disheveled and unkempt, and he could make out slight bags underneath her eyes. “I trust that everything went well with Twilight at the train station?” she continued, giving him a warm smile. “It went perfectly fine,” he reported, advancing towards her. “She’s safe and sound right now, on her way back to Ponyville. She’ll be back with her friends before dinnertime.” “That’s wonderful to hear,” she replied, picking up her cup of tea with her magic and taking a sip. “I would have made sure of it myself, but, alas, royal duty calls, as always.” She set the cup down again and stared down at the mess of papers in front of her. “Requests from nobles, messages from foreign delegates, reports from soldiers stationed overseas." She picked up one lazily and glanced at it. "'Soldiers in Oatstralia are stretched few and far between.' Oh, royalty isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, James, I can assure you.” She sighed and released the paper from her magical grip, letting them fall onto the table. "Oatstralia?" She nodded. "A colony far south of Equestria that we established not long ago. It's rather warm down there, so I'm told." Dear God, you must be joking. James sighed and continued. “Well, at least you’re the kind of royal that actually does something for your people. I never was one for paperwork either,” he commented. “Where’s Luna?” “Out like a light upstairs,” the princess told him, chuckling. “She stays up most of the night, that sister of mine, which doesn’t come as any surprise. She only needs a few hours of sleep before she’s up and moving again, though.” She giggled slightly before looking back to him. “Now, is there something you needed, or is this purely a social visit?” “I need a favour,” he told her simply, pulling up a nearby chair and sitting down. “I need to look at the archives of the University of Canterlot. Specifically, a complete list of who works there.” The princess studied him for a moment, trying her best to deduce his reasoning. “Well, that shouldn’t be too hard. All you’d need is a written letter of permission from myself or my sister. Why, though?” “Call it a hunch,” Bond said, keeping a blank, unreadable expression. She looked up at him, before shrugging slightly. “Well, I don’t see why not. It’s not like they have anything to hide.” Her horn lit up, dragging a blank piece of parchment and a quill towards her. She dipped the quill in a jar of ink and quickly scribbled something onto it, before wrapping it up and sealing it. “Here you go, this should do,” she said to him, as the scroll floated towards him. “By the way, I decided to look into that Brute Force stallion you mentioned. Turns out, he runs one of the more, well, sleazier casinos in Las Pegasus. He’s a very rich stallion, so I have no doubt that he has no shortage of ponies on his payroll. I believe the place was called ‘The Gates of Tartarus.’ Rather apt, if you ask me.” He thanked her and plucked the scroll from her magical grasp. Nodding, he turned and walked back towards the door. Right, he thought as he left the castle. Time to get to the bottom of all this. The streets were as busy as ever as he stepped outside again. Ponies were trotting to and fro, whether they were hungry and looking for something to eat, or curious tourists gawking at the castle and other interesting sights. Bond knew, from a map of the city he had studied before traveling to the casino, that they university was only a few blocks away from the castle. While it was no Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, it was still nonetheless prestigious, as James could tell from the grand, gilded architecture of the building. The interior was no less lavish. The entrance hall was pristine, and beautifully decorated. James found himself admiring the architecture as he crossed the room to the receptionist’s desk. The stallion behind the desk looked up from his newspaper as Bond approached, and gave him an apprehensive look. Unphased, James pulled out the letter from his coat pocket and handed it to him. “Good morning,” 007 said, in a friendly enough tone. “I need to look at your archives. Specifically, I need a list of all employees and staff currently working here.” The receptionist stallion raised an eyebrow. “Very well. I assume you have written permission?” James nodded and tapped the sealed letter on the desk. “Yes, it’s right here.” “Okay, let me see.” Putting on a pair of spectacles, the stallion broke the seal on the letter and unfolded it, studying it closely. “Well, everything appears to be in order. Your permission is valid, and from Princess Celestia, no less!” He removed his spectacles and looked up at Bond. “Yes, I remember you now. You’re that new creature that’s been involved with the princesses. Oh my, there have been plenty of rumours flying around about you.” “Well, rumours are just rumours, aren’t they?” The receptionist nodded and got to his hooves. “Indeed they are. Very well, give me a moment. The employee records are around here somewhere.” He turned around and put his back to James, searching through a filing cabinet behind the desk. He shuffled through the papers, muttering to himself in the process, before finally emerging with the proper documents held in his mouth. “Here you go,” he said politely, dropping the file on the table. “If you’re going to be reviewing this, I suggest you take a seat over there.” He pointed to a set of comfortable looking chairs and a table to the side of the room. Judging from the size of the files, James decided that he might need them. "Thank you." James smiled at the receptionist before making his way over to the chairs and sitting down, spreading the files across the table. The chairs, obviously built for the size and stature of a pony, were a lot smaller than he was used to, but not uncomfortably so. He sat there in silence for a few minutes, going through the records over and over. "Quill... Lavender Quill," he muttered to himself, triple-checking the files to make sure. Not finding the name, his suspicions were confirmed. She doesn't work here, and she never has. Damn it, I've been played. Scowling and cursing to himself, he scooped up the employee records and unceremoniously dumped them on the front desk before storming out of the university. Wait, if she was at the train station this morning, was she just keeping an eye on me, or was there another reason? He vaguely remembered that the next train after the Ponyville one was headed for Las Pegasus. That's way too convenient to be a coincidence. Passing the front gates of the castle once more, he paused and turned to one of the guards standing beside them. "You," he said, advancing towards him. "I need a favour." The guard looked up at him and nodded. "Very well, what is it, sir?" There were two trains departing to Las Pegasus today. "Tell Princess Celestia that I'm heading to Las Pegasus. Wouldn't want her to worry about where I've wondered off to now, do we?" The guard nodded sternly again. "Yes, sir." With that, he turned around and began to canter up the steps to the castle. James watched him go for a moment, before setting off towards the train station once more. The sun now stood high in the sky, signalling him that it was around midday. Sure enough, he checked his watch to find that the time was a quarter past twelve. If he remembered correctly, the next train to Las Pegasus was scheduled to leave at twelve thirty. Thankfully, the station was much quieter than it was earlier. A few ponies still lingered about, but Bond found that he could now move around with ease, without a huge group of wary ponies blocking his path. From what he could see, the citizens of Canterlot had finally gotten somewhat used to having him around. Most of the snobby looking ones still turned their noses up at him as he walked by, but, for the most part, they acted indifferent, apart from a few friendlier ones that smiled at him as he passed. The train was already waiting by the platform, waiting for it’s proper departure time. A conductor stood by the front of the train, announcing it’s destination and that it was able to be boarded, so James bought a ticket and hopped into one of the carriages and found a seat near a window. After not getting much sleep the night before, he was all too ready to get some well earned rest before diving into the hornet’s nest. Not too soon after, the train’s whistle blew and it started to edge out of the station. Within a few moments, the glamorous cityscape had passed by his window and been replaced with rolling countryside. Stretching and yawning, Bond settled down, and slowly nodded off to sleep. *** Sighing and taking a deep breath of fresh air, Twilight Sparkle stood up and trotted off the train, now that it had arrived at Ponyville station. It felt good to be back home after the chaos of the last few days, and she couldn’t wait to get back to the library to see Spike and start looking for any kind of information that might help James on his quest. Basking in the mid-afternoon sun, Twilight smiled and set off at a canter through Ponyville. It seemed to be a slow day for the market, as the town was a lot less busy than it usually was. She didn’t mind, however. Less ponies meant an easier and quicker route home. “Excuse me!” the sound of a young stallion’s voice caught her attention. “Excuse me, ma’am!” Turning around, she saw a earth stallion galloping towards her. “You’re Twilight Sparkle, right? Please, I need your help. I lost my friend in the Everfree Forest and I’m afraid he’s in trouble. I ain’t a strong pony, and you’re one of the best magic users I’ve ever seen.” He looked at her with a pleading look in his eyes. “Please, will you help me find him?” The unicorn gasped in shock. “Oh, well of course I can! Quick, show me where you last saw him.” The stallion nodded quickly. “Oh, thank you ma’am! Follow me, I’ll take you to the part of the forest where I lost him!” He turned and started to gallop away. Concerned for the stallion’s friend, Twilight began to run after him. She followed him out of Ponyville and up to the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. “Hurry, it was this way!” he called back over his shoulder. He disappeared into the forest for a brief second, before Twilight entered as well and caught up with him. Suddenly, he stopped in the middle of a clearing. “Is this where he went missing?” Twilight asked, stepping towards him. “You could say that,” he replied, in an unusually dark tone. Before Twilight could respond, she found herself paralysed. Huh? What’s going on? Is this some sort of paralysis spell? She tried her hardest to move, but only her eyes would respond. Completely helpless, she could do nothing as the offending unicorn stepped into view. “Hello, Miss Sparkle,” he said to her, smirking. His horn started to glow brighter, and Twilight found herself feeling drowsy. “I think it’s time you came with us. After all, you’ve got a date in Las Pegasus.”