Chapter 6- Strolling through the Park, that will become the Spark.
A fire crackled in the morning light, fueled by shards of wood, leather, and flesh. The stars above were just barely visible and the surrounding grass was catching fire as the blaze wasn't properly contained when it was first created. Before the newborn embers could eat enough grass to grow big, strong, and hot; the hard hooves of a pony crushed them for lack of oxygen.
The pony lazily stamped out more embers until he felt safe enough to sit down and have his caramel café mocha in peace. Clue sat in the wreckage of the train wreck and felt happy inside knowing he at least had a mocha to make the morning seem that much better.
"Why the hey are you drinking coffee at a time like this?!"
Everything from here is downhill. "I'll have you know that this is a caramel mocha. And its that time of morning when I typically have one." He softly gulped down a small portion, "You have to look on the bright side of things sometimes."
"You're unbelievable."
"Your Highness, I am most certainly believed. Otherwise how could I possibly be a investigator?"
He turned to his left and saw Princess Twilight Sparkle staring at him in annoyed disbelief. Clue lifted his hoof to her head height, and softly tapped her nose. "Boop." She only grew more annoyed. Clue decided it was about time to humor her. “Alright princess, what have you observed from the wreckage thus far?” Twilight suddenly became stiff, like when you are asked to do something you really don't want to do. Turning away from him, she could only see the mess of what was left behind.
The crime scene was so vast that it would take a mile of caution tape to wall it off, and then some. The debris was flown far from it’s original respective place upon the train; train car wheels with axles, doors, and in some places, horribly trashed bodies. These miscellaneous items were found 10-100+ feet away from their origination point. The front of the train and the caboose were indistinguishable from one another, other than the fact there was a larger crater at the front end, and a slightly smaller one at the back. Clue and Twilight sat parallel to where some car used to be. Its only indicating feature nearby of what it was at one time, was the piece burning before them.
“I...I d-don't want to look at this…why do I even-” Clue cut her off in a calm logistical demeanor, “You need to be able to approach these kind of situations with a sense of understanding, because the more you understand, the less afraid you are. The less afraid you are, the better your people will feel.” His voice was understanding and wise.
Twilight was still struggling to stare at the world around her, and only found safety looking at the ground at her innocent hooves. “How, how can I?” Clue sighed, “You're still young and innocent. I lost mine innocence when I was little, but you need to look at things like this from a factual point of view, from a brighter point of view.” Twilight looked like if she saw a dead body, she might breakdown. “All around you is a library of information about what happened here, you just need to learn how to read it...” His attention refocused to the mocha, “and drink in all it has to tell. Just observe one thing about the wreck.”
Softly, Twilight closed her eyes and inhaled. Upon exhaling she braved the world before her, and thought about looking at this more factually, like when Pinkie Pie investigated the crime of the Marzipan Masterpiece. In relating the current event to what was a positive memory, her brain clicked into place and began to approach this new field of investigation cautiously and discovery. As such with anything new, Twilight began with the basics.
The most obvious feature was the lack of any train at all, but thousands of chunks and millions of shards being the only remains. That said, in place of where everything would be was a large long trench that ended in either direction with a crater. As a part time mathematician, the image in her head resembled a line segment. “There’s a large even trench, like it all exploded at once.”
Clue spoke to her encouragingly, "What might that tell you about how the explosives were placed?" Twilight blocked out unsettling surrounding features and focused solely on the trench. "The explosives were laid out all along the track and were detonated at the same time." Her brain began to deduct possible facts, "The time taken to prepare them, let alone get them here, would have been painstaking."
Clue was growing a smile of great anticipation, “So, what can you conclude about them?”
Twilight eyes widened in realization. “They must have some kind of, overwhelmingly large supply of explosives, or even a supplier! They also must have a large professional workforce, and they must have had some way of knowing when and where the train would be, so they must have some ties to the rail lines!” Clue had just finished his drink and threw the mug behind him aimlessly before clopping his hooves together in a fit of pride. “Yes! That is exactly what I’m looking for in you! Quick, logical deduction, that opens up the door to many outcomes.” Twilight came back to earth when the sharp sound of Clue’s clapping snapped her out of her faze, and blushed out of flattery. Clue walked closer to her, “Now then, are you afraid?” She looked around her, the thoughts and images that scared her before were still present, but locked behind the force in her mind that is curiosity and push for discovery. “Not as much as before.”
“Twilight, we now must carry on with the art of deduction, for we are surrounded on all sides by potential evidence.You are well on your way to becoming a fellow investigator!”
-Meanwhile-
The carriage flew away from the drop off zone as two ponies made their way into the grand metropolis of Canterlot from the airport. One was a tall unicorn mare with a red carpet coat, milk chocolate mane done in long thin curls, with a tail rivaling Rarity’s, and eyes of aquamarine. The mare was levitating a long, rectangular, black suitcase with a number combination. Her magical glow was lavender. The other was a body guard who stood slightly shorter than her, but Sneak Shiv was never the less fearless of those who dare approach her, however he wore a disguise straight out of The Blues Brothers and therefore was unrecognizable.
They both made their way through the city of the rich with posh gazes towards ponies of respected power and wealth, all the while being somewhat protective of the levitating case. Looking at his watch, Sneak Shiv warned his friend, “Madam, we should get a cab if we are to stay on schedule.” The unicorn did not look toward his comrade but stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, invoking glares from passing annoyed mares but still attracting hungry eyes from almost every stallion around, her expression failed to acknowledge any of them. She turned to the cab parked on the side of the street who had just stopped to pick up a passenger.
“Excuse me, Sir?” Her voice was like a soft, enticing purr of a cat, but of one who knew how to use its own sharp front claws, “I’m in a bit of a hurry, could you be so kind to share the cab?” The stallion, turned around to deny her, but hesitated when he saw her. She was merely asking to share it anyways.
The stallion did his best to flirt with the big beauty, but she was more difficult to read than a human telephone book. That and Sneak Shiv was obviously suspicious and would probably prevent him from seeing her in the future.
The ride stopped in front of the Golden Bit Hotel one of the most well known in Canterlot. Sneak tossed coins to the driver and quickly leaped from his seat so that the Miss could escape the constant chitter chatter of the stallion. As she hopped off the carriage, with the case, she “accidentally” smacked the passenger in the head. Regardless, the carriage departed and the pair continued their important errand. The hotel lobby was of gold and white with Greek architecture and ponies trotted into the main lobby with gusto as most were of upper class.
Approaching the VIP registration, a mare in a simple bow tie was already looking at the list of the pre-scheduled and therefore should be quickly able to distinguish ‘who’ they were. “Good evening madam.” The mare in question only nodded and spoke her name so that she may proceed into the elevator behind her greeter, “Miss Quickscope.” The mare, despite having read the list before hand, scanned it again. “Oh, there you are.” She smiled in a typical way, and hoofed over the keys to Sneak, for his hoof was open and outstretched. “Enjoy your stay!”
The elevator was actually a unicorn powered teleport spell. Activated if one stood in the center of a stationary circle of four unicorns. At request, they were teleported directly to their room, and a different set of unicorns on the same floor would be of service to move them to the lobby, dining area, etc., at their request again.
As the pair appeared in the bedroom, Quickscope placed down the large briefcase on top of one of two beds in the room. The overall atmosphere of the suite was a combined familiarity of The Golden Nugget of Las Vegas, and of Caesars Palace, also home in Vegas. Elegant gold and marble color schemes were present once again in Greek pony architecture and decorations, but to not blind the guest the main color of the walls was a light blue. The beds were pure white, however.
Turning to her well dressed companion, Quickscope spoke with a new voice; rough, dry and one that preached Australia's way of talking, “Mate, I feel dirty, I feel wrong, and I never want to do this again.” Spy was still wearing his disguise like Sniper still was, but it was clear it was him from the hysterical laughter and snorting. “Its not funny.”
“Y-yes it i-i-is, ha ha ha, oh merde! The looks those stallions were giving you-hah-hah-so rich!”
Sniper left Spy in the bedroom so he could laugh to his heart’s content, and went into the kitchen. Like any hotel room you go too, the fridge is almost always empty, and what ever might be in it is ice or cold water. This was no exception, the counters were a plush gold, and the cabinets, wine racks, and tile were of complementary colors. Sniper turned to Spy who had reappeared from the bedroom, “You finished?” He straightened his suit, “Yes.”
“Good, since you're the one with the most experience with the pony public, you'll be down at the tucker store to get us dinner.” Spy rolled his eyes in annoyance and sighed as he knew the bushman was right. “Fine, I’ll be down at the market, and you jarate man, are to not leave the suite.”
“No worries mate, I'll do some reconnaissance from here.” He gestured to the window that overlooked the local park where the rich play. The next day, in that park, a royal family member would appear to do his weekly stroll. This little stunt was possible thanks to Spy sharing his disguise kit with Sniper. In an emergency, Spy could turn invisible and Sniper could keep the kit.
Sniper looked around the room once again absorbing its design as Spy left. “Bloody hell,” He picked up a glass with delicate iron etchings at the base of the glass and at the rim. “A bit too high class for my taste. Tall toppie mongrels.”
-Smokey Mountain-
Medic now handled a small pile of soul gems he grabbed from the gem box while Soldier stood nearby the fire, which was alive and warm, with the orange gem flickering a few feet from him on the floor. The rest of the present crew looked on at a safe distance away. Medic approached Soldier who removed his helmet where the soul gems were then placed, followed by a silent nod which then the doctor retreated to safety among his brethren. The rocket man out stretched the arm holding the gems in the helmet, and with his other hand, began to swirl it above the stash in a rhythmic motion. The gems began to brightly glow, until with a muffled whoosh, a phantom force with a lavender tint engulfed the man’s hand. Dropping the helmet, empty gems spilled onto the rocky floor with a noisy clatter. Two hands clasped together, both now covered in the aura, before Soldier shouted, “IDENTIFY GEM IDENTITY!” and threw his hands open toward the object. This motion sent the purple glow from his hands, and into the gem.
In return, the gem returned an orange haze back toward the caster who willingly accepted it, eyes closed. A few moments of silence, and he bent down to retrieve his headwear. “Well, that’s not a big surprise.” Desperate to know, Medic approached him, “Vhat? Who is it?” Soldier turned to this eager medicine man and spoke in a blunt voice. “Redwood, the pony mentioned on the plaque.” Medic was somewhat dissatisfied with this news, as he would have preferred a powerful wizard instead of a warrior, but he couldn't complain. "How do ve use it zen?"
Rubbing his neck in thought, Soldier came to a sound conclusion, "The best solution is to use him for soul fusion, that's the power that unites gem souls to your own. If he is a warrior, then the lucky individual will get increased melee combat skill." Picking up the glowing gem, he turned to Engineer who was, like the rest of the group, disbanding from the huddle up to continue the day as normal. "Engie?" The Texan glanced towards him. "I need you to make a necklace for this gem." Looking at the gem, Engie held out his hand and the contained soul was tossed to him. "Necklaces ain't my forte but I'll give 'er a shot." Turning back to Medic, Solly made a point, "Soul fusion requires the two bonding souls to be compatible with each other, it is entirely up to Redwood for who to bond with, so once Engie is done we need each of us to try on the necklace."
Over at the beds, Rifleman sported his new piece of gear, that being the vest Spy delivered, on himself. The colors were re-painted with colors they had Derpy order from Mann Co. The new vest sported a dark Forrest Green base color and a light purple horseshoe, because the two colors were in favor of the owner. Demo put his hand on the shoulder of his constant companion, "Now las, ya need ta name your vest, it be TF tradition ta name unique equipment." Thinking aloud, Rifle decided on a simple name. "How about Lavender Luck. Because it has a purple horseshoe."
-Later, back at the Golden Mane-
Sniper nor Spy are vegetarian people. Added to the limited diet of fruit and veggies, the pair decided on a simple BLT dinner together with a side fruit salad. In this case, the B stood for blue cheese. The beginning of the meal was slightly awkward at first, because even while their true identities known by one another, they still couldn't ignore the fact that one looked male and the other female. Spy tried to break the ice, “I like your BLT, grilled nicely.” To a degree it worked, “Thanks mate, I like the salad.”
“Glad you like it.”
Sniper stopped eating for a moment and looked out the window. “I’ve been thinking Spy.” He looked over to the stallion and found that his response was not possible as he was caught with food in his mouth. So Sniper continued anyways. “You know what this is? What our mission tomorrow morn’ will be like?” Spy looked curious at this question, and having swallowed said, “Know, I can't seem to recall-”
“It’s like the beginning of world war one.” Sneak Shiv’s eyebrow rose. “How so?” Quick’s attention returned to his roommate across the table. “Before that war the world powers were trying to prove to the whole world that each of their own countries were the best, people made alliances and choose sides. The spark-” Cutting Sniper off, Spy finished the sentence, “Was the assassination of the Austrian Archduke.”
“Right, now the world is split between ponies and humans.”
“Political and democratic ties are stressed.”
“Each side claims it is the better life form.”
“The public is angry at the enemy.”
“The war generals are shining their shoes.”
“All they need is a reason.”
At the same time the pair both said, “All they need is a spark!”
“...”
“JINX!”
“DOUBLE JINX”
“TRIPLE JINX!”
“...Wanker.”
“Jar man.”
(Knock, Knock, Knock) “Room service.” Called a happy mare behind the door. Quickscope instantly smiled innocently and glanced left and right while Shiv’s countenance demanded explanation, in return. “I pulled Derpy’s budget a little and ordered dessert…” This was innocently said in her feminine voice. Sighing, Sneak got up to answer the door. “Hello, sir. Angel food cake as requested.” All spending of said budget was thrown out the proverbial door as Spy quickly tossed a tip to the servant and closed said door with the quality crafted cake in hoof. If there was one thing the both of them loved, it was Angel food cake. “I dont know my dear, it would be dreadful if you lost your figure.” Shiv offered as he carefully absorbed it’s edible decorations.
“Shut your damn hisser, and give me a piece of that bloody cake!”
“You get the milk.”
“Fine..”
-Morning-
The air was heated by the fresh morning sun shining down upon the land below and the morning dew was softly glistening in mentioned light. The time was about seven a.m with ponies trotting around the park on their own personal business. A pony sat on a bench, reading his newspaper, and thus had his features obstructed. The eyesore of this perfect scene was the golden one pony carriage holding Prince Blueblood and being pulled by a poor servant of his. Nothing says those of snobbish royalty can't appreciate a 'stroll', as it were, through the park on a perfect day.
BlueBlood looked slowly around at the scenery of fresh grass and the fresh morning breeze that flowed through his cologne tainted mane. “Hmmm, feel that breeze. It tickles my senses like the mares at the Sky Yacht club.” That wind was also cutting into the lungs of the tiring mare pulling him. “Ye..Yes sir, very nice..w-wind sir.” The soft sound of chirping birds and soft chatter of ponies welcoming eachother was, apart from the hyperventilating servant, the only sounds in the area. “I should do this more often. Good for the soul, and for you my servant, good for your thighs.” Bitterly she was polite enough to agree between clenched teeth,
“Yes..good for my..thighs.”
About midway through the path through the park, the trigger was pulled. A shot was heard ringing across the city, and it would be heard around the world like few in similarity before it. The killers were already gone and the limp body hit the ground behind the frightened servant. The rifle was purposely unsilenced in order to take the cruel statement a step further, and so that the assassin's exact position could still remain anonymous.
This was the spark that lit up the fuse which would ignite the explosion and start the war. It was the moment the world was waiting for. In the window of the hotel room, vandalized across the walls, marker drawings of the PHR sign appeared to once again, prove authenticity of the artists