//------------------------------//
// Greater Good 
// Story: Just Us Little Ponies 
// by GrassAndClouds2 
//------------------------------//

Raindrops' already low spirits had worsened still as they tried one boot store after another, only to be met with clueless clerks and managers who had no useful information. As they approached the fifth store, she groaned out loud. "Do we really have to go in here?" she asked. "I hate these guys."

"I can take the lead instead," offered Carrot Top. "You could stay outside."

Cheerilee shook her head. "Raindrops needs to come with," she said. "She's the best at being intimidating."

Carrot Top said nothing, but nodded her head.

"Would it help if I gave you a hug?" asked Snails, still riding on Raindrops' back. He had started out walking, but the Elements had climbed up and down several levels in Canterlot since beginning their search for information on armored boots, and the foal had quickly tired. "Here!" And he hugged the back of Raindrops' neck.

The weathermare managed a small smile. "Thanks. But I still don't want to go to--"

"The last clerk said only the Guards might have boots as strong as the ones we're talking about," said Cheerilee. "And Fisher Armor is the Guards' biggest supplier of gear, including footwear. So if that boot really is Guard-grade, FA probably sold it. And if that's true, then the manager at their local store is our best bet for information."

"We don't have the boot, though," said Raindrops. "At most we'll get a bunch of model numbers, one of which might be the boot in question."

"And maybe a customer list. Maybe even customer cutie marks--if the boots are really being marketed as Army supplies, they're only allowed to sell them to buyers the Court vetted for security. And if that's the case, we should be able to get names, marks, addresses, and anything else we need." Cheerilee shrugged. "It's the best idea I have."

"Right." Raindrops began to trot a little faster and tried not to think about it. Fisher's one of the bastards who left our town to rot. That we're crawling to him for help is... She couldn't finish the thought. Let's just do this.

Fisher Armor (Retail) was a moderately-sized building on the upper levels of Canterlot. As the Elements approached it, Raindrops noted how the entire district seemed shut down. Bars, boutiques, and bodegas alike were closed, and the streets were almost empty of everypony except for marching soldiers. Above it all loomed Canterlot Castle, surrounded by a thick pink bubble and patrolled by what looked like a hundred Royal Guards. Notices plastered to walls 'strongly recommended' everypony to stay indoors except in case of emergency. "This is really creepy," said Raindrops.

Carrot Top managed a smile. "We'll fix it. We always do."

As Raindrops approached Fisher Armor, she saw that it, unlike most of the rest of the district, was still open. A pony stood in front of it wearing armor similar to Fisher's, and at her side floated a jeweled sword with etchings of strange metals. Carrot Top and Raindrops hesitated for a moment, but Cheerilee just marched right up. "Excuse me," she said, going for the door.

"Appointment only," growled the pony.

"Appointment?" Cheerilee smiled. "I'm sorry, it seems you weren't informed. We're the Knights of the Realm--"

"So? I'm the Grand Poobah of the Marshmallow Islands. No appointment, no entrance. Archduke Fisher's orders."

Cheerilee's smile grew razor-thin. "I didn't finish. We are the Knights of the Realm and we are here to pick up our armor before embarking on a very dangerous mission in defense of Equestria. Archduke Fisher has already given his approval."

The guard blinked. "But... an appointment is--"

"I'm sure you've read Fisher's opinions in the newspapers about the importance of keeping us Elements safe," said Cheerilee in a prim voice. "He believes that we should be monitored by round-the-clock surveillance, that a Night Guard battalion should be encamped within Ponyville, and that we should be required to travel with armed escorts when we leave the North Everfree--or, preferably, that we be locked in a secured underground bunker except for when we need to fight the Tyrant Sun. He said this all at the Grand Galloping Gala, remember?" Cheerilee's eyes narrowed. "I'm sure you can imagine his opinion on whether we should be denied access to his Armor--which, as he's said so many times in so many press releases, is the very best in the land--before going off to battle the Tyrant Sun and her legions of minions."

Legions? thought Raindrops. She's enjoying this too much.

The guard was starting to sweat. She glanced at Snails, who was sitting quietly on Raindrops' back. "But you have a foal with--"

"Agent Ento Moligist has already put on his disguise, not that it's any of your business. Let us in. Or do you want us to be go battle the Tyrant Sun without armor?"

"But... but..." The guard took a hesitant breath. "What mission?"

"You don't need to know that. Princess Luna and Archduke Fisher agreed it was to remain confidential." Cheerilee let out a soft sigh. "With the Tyrant Sun's spies everywhere, especially today of all days, why would you want me to spread state secrets in the street? Unless you're one of them?"

"No!" snapped the guard. "No, ma'am!"

"We'll see about that. Right now, it seems all you're doing is obstructing the business of national security." The teacher's smile vanished entirely. "Now are you getting out of our way, or do I need to go find Fisher and drag him back here to authorize keeping the Elements safe?"

They were let in.

Cheerilee snickered as soon as the heavy door had shut behind them. "And that, everypony, is why you don't rule a company based on fear or intimidation."

Snails climbed up so he was peaking over Raindrops' head. "Sometimes we fear that you'll assign too much homework."

"Well, that's not the same thing--"

"Woah." Raindrops held up a hoof and gestured to a display. Several sets of boots were sitting there... including one that looked approximately like what the pony on the tracks had been wearing.

"Jackpot," said Carrot Top.

***

"I'm sorry, Baron, but I'm just not sure how much I'll be able to help you."

Baron Max forced himself not to get up and start pacing through the warden's living room. Hangem Higher, the pony in charge of Foalsome Prison, was an older pegasus with graying hair and a drooping mustache. Max had seen him a few times before and had thought that he looked energetic and powerful despite his age; he had moved with short, brusque motions that radiated a sense of purpose. Now he just looked limp and tired as he slumped on his divan.

"I was hoping to talk to you about the jailbreak," said Max.

"I've already told the official investigators everything I know." Higher sank deeper into the divan. "I've been in charge of Foalsome for eight years. We've housed pirates, foreign mercenaries, insurgents, even that monster that attacked the Grand Galloping Gala last summer. Nothing like this ever happened until today. I thought I was doing a pretty good job. Guess not." He sighed. "I just don't know what went wrong. That's what I told the investigators, and that's all I've got for you. Sorry."

"I'm taking a slightly different tack than the investigators." Max leaned forwards a little so that he was at about the same height as the warden, a tip Posey had taught him for making ponies feel comfortable. "Warden, Foalsome Prison is relatively large, yet only about a dozen prisoners escaped. How was the jailbreak targeted?"

"Somepony cast a massive energy blast at the wall of the prison building, near where the Lucas and a few others were at the time. The pulse knocked a big hole in the wall, and the prisoners fled into the courtyard. Another pulse knocked down part of the outer wall. By the time we could muster any guards and block the holes, a dozen prisoners had gotten out."

Max nodded. "The mafia ponies left very quickly. So they were probably already awake, even though the jailbreak happened very early this morning."

"Because they knew about it and were ready, I would assume."

"That's one possibility. Another is..." Max trailed off, then said. "Let me ask you something else. Where were the prisoners? If they were just in their cells, I imagine they'd normally have been asleep."

Higher paused. "Well, no, they weren't in their cells. They were in a meeting room."

"Why?" asked Max, even though he had a pretty good idea of why.

"I... look, I"m not really supposed to go into this..."

"Unless Princess Luna or the Night Court has declared this a classified matter," said Max, keeping his voice calm yet firm just like Posey had taught him, "You have an obligation to provide me with the information I need in this matter. I'm on the Canterlot Security Ministry, and this pertains directly to the city's security." He paused for empahsis. Now, after the legal stuff, add a personal remark, just like Greengrass told me... "I need you to help me make this right, Higher. So everypony in this city, from the oldest senior citizen to the littlest foal, is safe again."

Higher was silent for a long moment. When he spoke, it was with a tired voice. "The government had been trying to flip the Lucas ever since they were arrested. Mareio Luca has contacts in a lot of the griffin kingdoms, including a few that the Shadowbolts think might be leaning towards siding with Corona. But Mareio wanted a get-out-of-jail-free card for that information, and one for Manetelli too, but Luna refused. She said she wouldn't let somepony who hurt Equestrian civilians go free to hurt them again, even in exchange for information that could help her manage the army."

"What changed?"

"Mareio made one of the prison gangs angry. Suddenly, he was a lot more amenable to a more reasonable deal. Ten years, medium security, for him and his brother, in exchange for his information. He and his brother were meeting with Equestrian lawyers to work out the plea deal when the attack happened." He raised one hoof, then dropped it again. "Look, I know. I should have known they would use the plea meeting as a chance to escape. I--"

"I don't think that's what happened," said Max. "Who else knew about the meeting?"

"Just me, a few staff members, the lawyers, and a supervising Shadowbolt."

Aha! "A Shadowbolt was there?"

"Yes, since the deal involved a matter of national security. Why?"

Max took a shot in the dark. "Would this happen to be an Agent Sneak Attack?"

"Why, yes." The warden paused. "How did you know that?"

The same one who brought Twilight up to Canterlot. At least his alias is consistent. "How did you know he was a real Shadowbolt?" If I can figure out how he falsified his identity, I might be able to track him. If he had an actual pony back him, maybe that pony's in on it too. If--

"Princess Luna told us."

Max's mouth almost dropped. "What?"

"She came by the prison and told us she was taking a personal interest in the case, because... well, because of the national security thing, and because she wanted to make sure we didn't just let Mareio and Manetelli walk away without paying any penance to the Equestrians they hurt. She told us that Agent Sneak Attack would be overseeing things, and that, since he'd spent several years working on Shadowbolt-level crimes--you know, criminals that kept evading the regular Guards for years and years, the really smart and really well-connected ones--he was just the right pony to have."

Max said nothing. He was staring off into space.

"What?" asked the warden.

We knew it was absurd that the Shadowbolts would officially try to capture Twilight and the others, so we assumed it was an imposter, thought Max. But what if it was just a rogue? A Shadowbolt who spent a lot of years chasing criminals he couldn't get any legal evidence on--or who managed to catch some but had to watch as they made a plea deal and got a reduced sentence--so he gave up on the law and took a shortcut by becoming a vigilante. In fact, I'll bet he was familiar with every one of those ponies I looked up earlier--they were all in the police records, they all had long and storied criminal careers, the Shadowbolt who was focused on Canterlot crime would know about them! He shook his head briefly. "I apologize. Can you tell me anything more about Sneak Attack?"

"Just that he always seemed very busy. He did good work, mind you; I never got the impression that he was letting prison affairs slide. But he always seemed to be doing so many different investigations."

That doesn't really help... wait. If he was just some random vigilante, he might be able to devote his whole life to this. But if he had a real job with the Shadowbolts, how much time could he steal away? He'd be noticed if he vanished for too long. And that means... yes. Cheerilee and Greengrass guessed that the vigilante was blocking Twilight's mail, but they thought he'd be doing it by sneaking into the post office to monitor the Ponyville letters. Now, if Sneak Attack was this busy, he wouldn't be able to monitor the post office 24-7. He could have one of the other conspirators do it, but they'd probably be noticed. Or...

Or he could have her mail redirected. He could file a notice with the postal service saying to send all of Twilight Sparkle's mail to another location so it could be checked; the postal service does that for criminal investigations, and they wouldn't question a Shadowbolt. But send it where? If the address was fake, or so far away it required more postage, the redirected mail would just be returned to Twilight as undeliverable and she'd know something was wrong. If it went to a real pony, that pony would wonder why Twilight was mailing them. But if it went to one of his own addresses, that could be a clue!

Max rose. "Thank you," he said. "You've been a big help." 

"Is there anything else I can do?" Higher rose as well. "I want... if there's any possible way, I want to make up for this."

"There is. Gather as many off-duty prison guards as you can who are willing to help me arrest some dangerous criminals."

"The Lucas?"

"Those who broke them out," said Max.

The warden's eyes shown for a moment, but then he said, "Everything's shut down, even carriages and chariots. My ponies live all over the city. It'll take time."

"Do it as fast as you can," ordered Max. "Have them gather at the train station. I'll meet them there if I can, or leave instructions for how they can help me." He allowed himself to smile. "We're gonna get these guys," he said. "I promise."

Higher nodded. "I'll do whatever I can."

***

"No," said the regional manager of Fisher Armor in Canterlot, after the Elements had sat down at his desk and refused to leave until he answered their questions. "It's impossible. We've never sold a single one of those boots."

Raindrops raised an eyebrow. "Are they on display for artistic reasons?" Snails gave a soft giggle, and Raindrops smiled at her brother. Then she said, "Why would you have them if they don't sell?"

"They're just a prototype. They--look." The manager's horn glowed and the boots slowly floated, in fits and jerks, over to the Elements. Raindrops noted how the manager was sweating profusely by the end. "They're supposed to be the greatest armored boots in Equestria--and they are. Problem is, they're too heavy. The weight-reduction spells didn't work."

Raindrops tried to lift the boot up. She could, but it took much more effort than she would have thought. "So they're here..."

"In case we get the odd pony who is strong enough to be able to use them. So far, we haven't. We likely won't sell any until they fix the problem, which shouldn't be for a few weeks." The manager shook his head. "So I'm afraid it's quite impossible that the pony you're looking for had them."

"He did," said Cheerilee. "I fought that pony long enough to know."

"Ma'am, we do have some similar boots--as do our competitors."

"I took a picture," said Snails suddenly. "Will that help?"

The manager frowned. "A picture?"

Raindrops was stunned for a moment--and then grinned. I thought he was trying to use telekinesis to throw rocks at the bad guys--but he was photographing everything instead with that spell Trixie taught him! "You can remember, what, three pictures at once now?"

"Three!" Snails actually looked a bit happy. "And I wanted to remember how awesome my sister and Miss Cheerilee were, so I took all three!"

"I believe you said the pony was obscured with some sort of magic spell," said the manager. "If that's true, I can't imagine the 'picture' this colt--"

"My brother," said Raindrops.

"Yes, brother, is clear enough to prove that our boots were used in such an act."

Raindrops shut her eyes so she didn't burn the other pony with her gaze. All he cares about is Fisher Industries not getting blamed in the papers for this. "Surely," she hissed, "It wouldn't hurt to look."

"Oh!" gasped Snails. "Even if the pony is blurry, I have a picture of the ground after Miss Cheerilee chased that pony away, and--"

"And if we see how much damage the iron rail took, we can see how strong the boots would need to be to let that pony survive the blast!" finished Cheerilee. "Very good, Snails!" The foal grinned from ear to ear.

"Can you show the image, Snails?" asked Carrot Top.

Snails nodded. "Miss Trixie showed me how."

"Wait," said Cheerilee. "That takes a kiss, I thought, and--"

But Snails was already starting to cast. His mouth moved a bit as if he were mouthing magic words, and his horn sputtered up and cast a greenish glow. A few moments passed. And then, slowly, a hazy image flickered into existance between the Elements and the manager. It showed a bewildered Cheerilee and a destroyed track, with a hemisphere of iron rail and concrete foundation blasted out of existance. It was like a bomb had been dropped in the middle of the track.

"Could any boots besides your prototypes survive that?" demanded Raindrops.

The manager scrutinized the image carefully, his green coat slowly paling. "I... I mean, yes, granted, that's a lot of damage, yes, most boots wouldn't provide protection, but after all this is just an image, it could be altered, the foal could have made a mistake--"

"Look," growled Raindrops, "First of all, ponies tried to kill us and our friends. Second of all, we have the right to approach Luna at any time and petition her about anything. Third, Luna takes a real dim view of obstruction of justice, especially when it relates to attempted murder." 

"I appreciate that, but--"

Raindrops stood in one quick motion, then knelt, placed her hooves under the manager's desk, and lifted. The businessstallion gaped as the weathermare slammed it into the wall and shattered it. I am officially done with all of this! "Fourth. Lives are at stake, and we're out of patience. Tell us everything you know. Now."

The manager sagged back into his chair. "Alright, I know of no other boots besides the model you pointed out that could enable a pony to take a blast like that at his hooves and survive--but I tell you, we haven't sold them! We couldn't get rid of them as a gift! Except for a few of Fisher's Factory Security guards, I can assure you nopony has worn them." He frowned. "And all of those ponies are back in Stalliongrad, guarding Fisher's factories. The ones in the city have the lightweight models--sleek and strong. There isn't a single pony in this city who has bought these boots."

"Was anypony recently removed from Factory Security?" asked Cheerilee. "Anypony that was strong enough to wear those boots, and might have come here after being let go?"

"I don't know. You'd have to ask one of them--"

Cheerilee was already halfway to the door. She returned in a moment with the pony from outside. "Let's ask her, then."

That pony hesitated after hearing their story and their questions, but responded once the manager urged her a few times. "Well... the only one I know of that was fired recently was Goliath. He headed up security for Fisher Mining; they develop drill bits, mining carts, blasting spells to punch into mountains. Things like that. But..."

The Elements exchanged a glance at the mention of blasting spells.

"But he couldn't!" the Factory Security pony said. "He wouldn't have been able to put together any kind of plan to lure a pony somewhere to hurt them. Don't tell anypony I told you this, but.. Goliath was kind of a charity case."

"Archduke Fisher doesn't believe in charity, except for suitably 'meritorious' ponies," said Cheerilee. "He thinks it diverts resources from the strong to the weak."

"A tabloid made that quote up," said the armored pony. "But that's not how I meant it. Goliath was... 'slow'. He thought like a foal; he couldn't understanding any kind of complexity or nuance. A smart foal, sure, give him instructions and he could do them; give him a spell and he could learn it, but when it came to making his own judgement of something? No way. Either he'd just take whatever somepony gave him, or he'd come up with something really simplistic."

"I'm waiting to hear why he was head of security," said Raindrops. "Since that job would seem to require, you know. Judgement."

"Like I said, he was great at following instructions, and that was what Fisher needed. Goliath patrolled, he carried out orders, and if he had to fight somepony, he was incredible. You know how some fighters freeze up against certain opponents and start worrying about whether they can win or whatever? Goliath never did that. If Fisher told him that 'ponies who sneak into the factory are bad', then he knew they were bad, and he threw them out. Add that he was one of the best fighters Fisher could find, and his qualifications were obvious."

"You do realize how exploitive this sounds," said Raindrops. "I hope."

"Goliath had a better life, more important work, and a larger salary than he'd have gotten anywhere else. How many ponies would hire somepony with the judgement of a foal? Would go through the laborious process of training them? Would--"

"I believe we were discussing why he was fired," said Cheerilee.

"Besides," said the pony. "He was also a legacy. His big sister is in charge of Factory Security, she oversees the guards at all of Fisher's properties, and--"

Raindrops stared. "Big sister? Bigger than what, a zeppelin?" Goliath was huge! How can his sister be even bigger? Was that family half-giant or something?

Cheerilee coughed. "Why was Goliath fired?" she repeated.

"It happened just two weeks ago. Fisher had a new facility erected last year for his mining research. Sixteen days ago, it collapsed. Apparently the contractor used substandard materials and bolted with the extra bits. Nopony was hurt or killed, since it happened at night, but Goliath took it hard."

"Because Fisher had convinced him that the mining company was Good, so if it was hurt, that was Bad with a capital B," muttered Raindrops. "And, like a foal, he doesn't understand nuance. Terrific."

"I'm guessing that contractor had done that before?" asked Cheerilee.

"Yes, actually. We found out later. How did you know?"

"Lucky guess."

The guard shrugged. "Goliath began acting erratically. He attacked another employee who had some sort of assault charge in his past--twenty years old, he'd been a model citizen since, but Goliath didn't care. Just kept roaring that criminals are 'Bad' and should be punished. Volk, Fisher's bodyguard, had to separate them. Fisher placed Goliath on leave, and Goliath vanished. But... he should have returned all his equipment."

"I guess he didn't." Cheerilee stood. "We'll be sure to mention that to Luna, along with all the rest of it."

"But--"

"I think we can take it from here," said Raindrops. "Seeing as how your lot hasn't exactly been terribly useful so far in stopping this mess."

The Elements turned to go. Behind them, the manager rose. "Hey, weren't you getting armor?" the pony asked. "At least let us outfit you--"

"On second thought, I don't think we want to have anything to do with Fisher Industries," said Cheerilee.

"But--"

"Oh, one more thing," the teacher added. "It occurs to me that, if this Goliath is caught, the world will learn that a Fisher-trained employee using Fisher equipment and resources attacked thirty or so ponies, including three Knights of the Realm, a noble, and a foal, all while Fisher pranced around and sent the Guards running in circles looking for escaped prisoners that had nothing to do with anything. That might be bad publicity for Fisher. In fact, it might destroy him" She smiled, but nopony in the nation would think that smile contained any fragment of kindness. "You might want to think about the possibility that Goliath is a little smarter than you thought. That he knows that what you did to him, taking a pony with a mind like a foal and turning him into some kind of war machine, was unfair and wrong. And that he's figured out a way to take all of you down."

The manager's mouth dropped. "But--"

"Just think about it," she said, and left the store. The other Elements and Snails followed.

***

"Thank you," said Max, gulping down the coffee the postal clerk had provided him. The Canterlot Central Postal Repository had mostly shut down due to the civic emergency, but one junior employee had been made to stay behind to keep the doors open. The employee, Priority Mail, was a short filly with a tannish coat, a soft yellow mane, and a postal scale as a cutie mark, and she'd been as accomodating to Max as she could possibly be. Namely, she had provided him access to the titanically volumous postal redirection instructions, which contained every change-of-address and other 'don't use the listed address, send it here instead' notice for the last fifteen years in an order that might as well have been random. She had also provided him coffee. Which, having been running around for most of the day, excepting the part when he'd been beaten up by a criminal, Max sorely needed.

It was ironic, the Baron thought, that lives might come down to his ability to get through the postal paperwork, given how much he had once hated the stuff. He had determined easily enough that a redirect had indeed been issued for Twilight Sparkle's mail one week ago, such that all letters sent from her to her family would instead be sent to an address in the city. But he'd guessed that there might be multiple layers of redirects, and--after fifteen minutes of searching--he was proven right, as he found the instructions for that address insisted that all arriving mail sent by Twilight Sparkle should instead be sent to a third place. That took another fifteen minutes of painsakingly searching through the book, and then there was a fourth address, and so forth. An hour had passed, and Max was still at the table.

If they write a ballad about this, he thought, This is the part where they'll cut away to something more interesting. He smiled ruefully. But I never give up, and I'm not starting now.

The fifth redirect sent Twilight's letters to 392 Silly Smile Street. Mailing instructions for that address were not listed under 'Sil' or 'Smi' or even 'Str.' It wasn't listed under its neighborhood or its district. Max flipped the pages, forcing himself not to give up. Poise under pressure, Max. Just like Posey says. "Priority Mail, do you have a street map? I think this one might be filed by building name. At least, that's the only other thing I can think of."

Priority Mail came over with one, as well as a fresh cup of coffee, which he gulped down. "You know, in all seriousness, your coffee might save dozens of lives today."

The clerk blushed. "I didn't know it was that good..."

Max found 392 Silly Smile Street in the atlas and noted that it was the Peppy Pony Party Store. Looking back to the redirects, he saw nothing under 'Pep' or 'Pon', but under Party, he found it. Mail from Twilight Sparkle, redirect to...

He paused. "Um, Priority Mail? This address is just 'Gate 19 Below.' What street is that?"

"It's not a street. 'Below' means the loading docks and airship bays beneath Canterlot itself. They're technically in another mailing zone." She turned a page in the street guide. "Below the lowest level of the city--there's a path down the Canterhorn."

"Pretty big docks," mused Max, looking at the map. Wait... that might be big enough to hold all the abducted ponies! Using just one facility would make it easier to avoid detection, so maybe he's been redirecting Twilight's mail to the same place where he's got his base of operations and all his captives! Unless... "Where would I find a redirect for those in these instructions?"

"We don't do automatic redirects from Below. A company courier has to redeliver the mail to us for those facilities. But we haven't had anypony like that come in for at least a week--it would be in the records if they had. So--"

So this is the end of the line! Max sprang to his hooves. "Thanks!" He dashed for the door. "I'll make sure to give you credit later!" he yelled as he vanished into the streets.

Priority Mail watched him go. "I guess it was really good coffee," she decided.

***

Cheerilee had wanted to race off and find Goliath right away, but Carrot Top had pointed out that they didn't know where he might be hiding. Reluctantly, she had agreed to go back and rendezvous with Max.

"Did you really mean that Goliath might be trying to take down Fisher?" asked Carrot Top as they stood several meters away from the train station.

Cheerilee shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. If Goliath is as foal-like as they say, he might not be able to think of consequences like that. One of the other ponies--the Shadowbolt or the one in the crane, assuming they aren't the same--is probably the mastermind and is just using Goliath for muscle. But we should keep the possibility in mind."

"Do you think Fisher might be--"

"Behind this?" Cheerilee asked. "I'd love to take him down, but honestly, there's no way he's responsible. He would never have tried to kill us in the tunnels. He wants us imprisoned in a secure vault, not dead. No, he's not behind this. He's made some terrible decisions--especially today--but he's not one of the vigilantes."

"Well, that's something." Carrot Top frowned. "Actually, about the vigilantes... do you think we can beat them? Especially Goliath?"

The teacher was silent for a long moment. "With enough time, yes. I'm faster than him, and even he can't take unlimited hits. I could take him down if I had an hour to pick away at him. But if he has hostages..." She trailed off. "Well, we'll think of something."

"Maybe Max will come back with a bunch of reinforcements," said Carrot Top.

"I hope so, but I doubt it." Cheerilee shook her head. "Fisher has them chasing the mob and the Sun Cultist. Trust me, when this is over, I'm Approaching the Hay out of Luna and telling her what I think of her War Minister."

"I'll be right beside you," said Carrot Top. "Speaking of that--any thoughts on formations for when we go after Goliath? I could be right besides you, or even take point." She smiled. "I'm happy to help."

Cheerilee hesitated. "Um... actually, I was hoping you could help in another way. The criminals were strong enough to take down mafia thugs. Even if we can beat them, we'll probably get hurt. If you can mix us up some healing potions..." she trailed off as Carrot Top's face fell. "What's wrong?"

The farmer was silent for a long moment before sinking to her fetlocks. "Sorry," she said. "I know I'm not as good in a fight as you and Raindrops--"

"Hey." Cheerilee sat next to Carrot Top. "You'd be helpful if you came with to help us beat up the criminals too. Honest. It's just, we don't have your herbology skills--"

"And I don't have Raindrops' martial arts, or all your experiences running around the country, or even Max's hard head." Carrot Top sighed. "I'm sorry. It's just, I'm feeling kind of useless. I haven't been good for anything all day, and even the mafia wasn't afraid of me. Maybe Luna knighting me was a mistake--"

Cheerilee put a hoof over her mouth. "You," she said, "Are an industrious, dedicated, incredible mare who has done as much for Ponyville and your friends as any other one of us." She quirked a smile. "And if I have to sit you down right next to Snails and explain this to you, I will. Carrot Top, you're an important member of the team. It's just..."

It didn't seem to have an effect. Carrot Top just sighed and said, "Right now, it's better for the team if I hang back and work on the healing potions." The farmer nodded. "I'll do it, don't worry. I just wish I wasn't so useless compared to the rest of you--"

"You're not."

As the two talked, Raindrops sat down with Snails a few feet away. "That was a great spell!" she told her brother, for about the fifth time. "I could see everything! It's like you've got a camera in your eyes!"

"I know," said Snails. He sounded faintly proud, and even a little pleased--not as much as Raindrops would have liked, but she would take it.

"See? You said earlier that you weren't good at anything. But this was a great one, right there!"

Snails nodded.

"So... now you get that you're a wonderful little brother and you're exactly what a sister as awesome as I am deserves, right?"

Snails nodded, in the manner that Raindrops knew implied partial agreement. 

"What?" asked Raindrops. "Why don't you agree?"

"No, I do." Snails took a long moment to speak again. "I'm just worried."

"About what?"

"If I'm only good at things like bugs and memory spells. Cause they don't come up a lot." He paused. "Raindrops? When we go home, can you help me figure out when the things I'm good at are really important and matter all the time?"

"Of course," said Raindrops.

Snails smiled--a truly happy smile, the first Raindrops had seen since he'd fled the Insectarium. And Raindrops embraced him

"Knights!" She looked up to see Max galloping into the empty square. They were the only ponies in the usually-crowded open area in front of the train station, excluding two dozen Guards standing in front of and just inside the station itself. It was, Raindrops thought, a frankly creepy feeling. "How did your investigation go?"

"We think we know the identity of that pony shooting those magic bombs at us," said Raindrops. "Goliath. Used to work for Archduke Fisher."

"And we already know about the fake Agent Sneak Attack," said Carrot Top. "That just leaves one that we know of--the one in the crane. Assuming he's not the Shadowbolt."

"I'm pretty sure Sneak Attack's a real Shadowbolt." Max thrust one hoof towards the end of a street. "But more importantly--I think I found their base. I think the bad guys are hiding in Gate 19 Below; it's one of the airship docks. It's where Twilight's letters to her family were forwarded, and it's big enough to hold all the prisoners."

"Shouldn't there be an airship there?" asked Carrot Top.

"No," said Cheerilee. "Not if it's away. I'll bet anything that whatever airship is supposed to be using that dock is on a trip halfway around the world by now."

"Anypony coming with us?" asked Raindrops.

Max sighed. "I have a stallion rounding some up, but I guess they aren't here yet. The public transportation and carriages are all shut down--"

"We don't have time to wait." Cheerilee's voice brooked no argument. "For all we know, Goliath and his partners could be getting ready to kill their prisoners right now. We have to go."

Max looked pained. "But--"

"She's right, Max," said Carrot Top. "We can't wait."

The Baron was quiet for a moment. "You're right," he said at last. "I just wish there were some other way so that, when the guards I found get here, they'll know where to meet us."

Carrot Top held up a hoof, then trotted to one of the Guards outside the train station. "I'm Carrot Top, Knight, and I have a favor to ask. Could you please keep an eye out for..." She looked back at Max. "How many?"

"About a dozen prison guards."

"A dozen prison guard-type ponies, and if they come to this square, tell them that Baron Max and the Knights went to Gate 19 Below?" 

The Guard glanced at another pony, one wearing officer insignia, who nodded. "They're the knights," she said. "We trust you. We're not allowed to leave our posts, but we'll pass along a message, if that will help."

"It will," said Carrot Top. "Thank you." She walked back to the group. "Anything else?"
'
"Yes," said Max. "Dame Raindrops. Your brother."

Snails hugged Raindrops, and she hugged him back. "Just a little longer, Snails," she said. "Then I'll spend all the time in the world with you, if you want."

Snails managed a smile. "I know. Beat up some more bad guys, okay?"

"I promise."

"Where can we leave him?" mused Cheerilee. "I doubt the daycares will be open. Max, do you have any friends who might be willing to let a foal like Snails stay with them for a little bit?"

"Most of them are in the castle, which is blocked off." Max frowned. "The rest... honestly, I'd worry that, if something did happen, they wouldn't be strong enough to protect Snails."

Raindrops groaned. "Please tell me we have some option besides taking Snails into a battle against a Shadowbolt, an explosives expert with the mind of a foal, and that crane operator maniac."

"Well," said Max. "We do have one other option."

***

"I hate this option," said Raindrops.

"Relax," Cheerilee said. "We were planning on making a pit-stop here anyway."

"Why in the world of Equestria would we do that?" Raindrops demanded. 

Max just smiled at the banter and opened the warehouse door.

Greengrass was waiting for them by the time they reached the bottom of the steps. "Ah, hello!" he said. "Save the day yet?"

"Working on it," Max said. "We were hoping we could leave Snails with you."

"'Hope' isn't quite the right word--" Raindrops stepped down the stairs and looked around. She hadn't expected all the vegetation. "Woah."

"Yes, beautiful, isn't it?" If Greengrass was bothered by the Elements being in his garden, he gave no sign of it. Instead, he raised a hoof and swept it across his plants. "Flowers from all corners of Equestria, carefully tended to in order that they reach their peak of beauty. Marvellous, if I say so myself."

Snails headed down the stars after Raindrops, smiling up at Greengrass. "Mr. Greengrass, can I stay with you for a little bit? My sister has to go save the world."

"Of course," said Greengrass. "Go have fun. In fact--I think I saw an albino bumblebee hovering by that patch of fire lilies over there."

"Wow!" Raindrops couldn't help but grin as Snails scampered over, heedless of Greengrass's calls to stay on the path. "Thanks, Mr. Greengrass!"

Cheerilee descended to the basement. "Where's Twilight, Greengrass? She was supposed to be staying with you."

"She should be in the garden shed." He turned and raised his voice to call, "Miss Sparkle? Your friends wish to check on you!"

A door on the western wall of the room opened and Twilight poked her head out. The sparking ring was still around her horn. "I'm fine!" she yelled. "Just working on making a potion to lower my magic enough to get this ring off! Herbology's not really my strong suit, but I'm sure I'll get it in a few hours!" 

Greengrass turned back to the Elements. "Anything else?"

"Yeah." Raindrops flapped her wings and moved right in front of Greengrass's face. "Look, we're pressed for time, so I'll make this quick. You hurt my brother, I'll make you wish you were back with the Sun Cult. Got it?"

The Duke beamed. "Of course. I--"

Raindrops shot a hoof out and slammed it against his mouth, forcing it shut. "This isn't a joke," she hissed. "Lose the grin. Now."

Greengrass seemed unperturbed. "Why, Raindrops," he said, once the mare had removed her hoof. "You mean you haven't forgiven me after all this time? Baron Max has, and--"

"You might have fooled him, but you won't fool me. I haven't forgiven or forgotten any of the horrible things you put us through." Raindrops' eyes blazed like fire. "You broke Octavia to get to Lyra, and you almost wrecked both of them. You sent two con artists at Carrot Top to get her to work for you. You put Trixie through Tartaros just so you could wrangle political advantage from her. You're a bad pony, and bad ponies like you don't change and don't deserve forgiveness."

"Well, at least I never maimed a friend of mine at flight camp," said Greengrass in a breezy tone.

Raindrops had to take a few moments so as to avoid decking the pony. "That's different and you know it," she growled. "I did one bad thing and changed. Your whole life is bad."

The Duke's smile faded. "Is that so?" he asked.

"Yeah. It's so. So I won't appeal to your better nature. I'm speaking your language, Greengrass, and that's to say: if Snails gets hurt, I will make you suffer. Are. We. Clear?"

"Of course, Dame." Greengrass gave a theatrical bow. "I solemnly swear I will not let any harm befall your brother. I promise."

"You'd better not," said Raindrops.

Max trotted over. "Actually, Greengrass, I think you've changed quite a bit."

"Really?" said Greengrass, almost airily. "I don't."

"Raindrops, we might be able to provide Snails with another chaperone for a little while longer," said Cheerilee. She turned to Carrot Top, who had entered the garden last. "Does this look like it will work for you?"

The farmer was gazing at the plants with a look of wonder. Her unhappiness seemed to have been washed out by the sight of the gorgeous garden. "Oh, yes," she whispered. "This is a fantastic selection."

"Selection?" Greengrass frowned. "This is not a flower shop."

"No, but we were hoping you would allow Carrot Top to use some of these plants to make healing potions," said Cheerilee. "Seeing as how all the shops are closed. Also, she could try to make a potion to help Twilight. If she could get that ring off, she could really aid us against the abductors."

Raindrops blinked. "How did you know those flowers might be usable for that?"

"Oh, I dated an alchemist for a while," said Cheerilee with a faint grin.

Greengrass, meanwhile, looked incredulous. "You want me to let you tear up my garden? Why would I do that?"

"Because we're asking nicely?" drawled Raindrops.

"I suppose I could refuse you in the politest of ways. Would that help?" Greengrass smiled. "A few hours ago, you were too good for my help. A few minutes ago, you threatened me. Now you come back on bended knee and expect me to provide assistance? What's in it for me? If I help you, will you tell Luna I've achieved redemption and should retake my seat on the Court?"

Max trotted in front of the Elements and said, simply, "Greengrass, lives are at stake."

"I fail to see why I should not obtain at least some benefit--"

"And I seem to recall how you felt when your secretary's life was at stake, and nopony would help you because they thought it was more important to make sure Princess Luna didn't get mad at them for working with you, and that Notary's life was trivial compared to that. Is that what you're telling the Elements now? That a few flowers and some favor are more important than the potions that will keep them alive?"

Greengrass said nothing for a moment. Finally, he managed, "That's a bit low, don't you think?"

"Hey, Posey taught me how to be noble. But you're the one who taught me that 'noble' doesn't always mean 'nice.'"

The noble sighed. "Indeed I did. Well played. You may harvest as you please, Dame Carrot."

Carrot Top grinned and immediately ran into the garden, squeaking like a foal at Hearth's Warming Eve. Greengrass turned back to the Knights. "Well? You've availed yourselves of my secret hideout and my plants. What else would you like of me?"

"Nothing for now, but we'll let you know if we change our minds." Cheerilee turned to Raindrops and Max. "That's everything. Carrot Top and Twilight will catch up when they can, but for now..."

"We have lives to save," said Max. "All the ponies that were abducted--Fetlockson, Duty Enpay, Arnaqueur, the mafia escapees, and the rest. Let's save them."

Raindrops shut her eyes. I could refuse. I could say that I won't go, that I'l stay here with Snails. That I won't put my life at stake to save criminal beasts.

"Raindrops?" asked Cheerilee. "Are you ready to go?"

She looked back at her brother, who was gazing at a big bug crawling up a flower stem. No. I'll go, because I have to. But they'll pay for this. The vigilantes and the rest of them. "Yes," she said. "Let's go."

***

A few miutes after they left, a thin, lanky mare peered out from within a neighboring alley. After looking around for a few moments, she ducked back inside and cast a spell.

"Stompina," Clubby Hoof said. "I heard everything. The Elements Raindrops and Cheerilee plan to attack the ponies that have our bosses. They're going with some noble of the Court I've never heard of. They left the little brother behind in a warehouse with Carrot Top, that Greengrass pony that got turfed from the Court six months ago, and Night Light's daughter, Twilight Sparkle."

Back in his base, Stompina grinned. "Good. Very good."

"Shall I continue tailing them?"

"No, there's no need. We'll get them to come to us."

"Huh?"

Stompino turned to her thugs. "Go to the warehouse. Capture everypony inside, especially the brother and the other Knight. Got it?"

The thugs nodded.

"Good." Stompina chuckled. "We'll let the Knights do all the hard work of freeing our bosses. Then, we'll just tell them that, if they want their Snails and their Carrot Top back, they'll give us the Lucas and help them get out of town. And if they don't believe us..."

She grinned and took a heavy sap from her desk. 

"Well, then we have a little fun."