Mistress Do Well: Revelation
by milesprower06
Reconciliation in the Home
Conflicted. That was the only thing Rainbow felt inside as she stood at the Ponyville train platform at 6:00 in the morning. As much as she despised Luna for her actions, she had to wonder, then, why she had decided to travel 800 miles at the drop of a hat.
What proof was there that this was going to help? Who was this pegasus pony in Mustang Springs, and how could they possibly help in her situation? She came to the conclusion, begrudgingly, that Luna was right; if screaming her head off at her in the middle of the Canterlot throne room wasn't going to get things off her chest, then she probably wasn't going to be able to take care of this alone. Seeing as how Thunderlane owed her a favor, she quickly swung by his house, and got him to cover her shift today.
Due to the sun rise, she heard the train before she saw it approach the platform. It slowed to a halt, steam hissed from the brakes, and the doors opened. A dozen or so passengers got off the train, and the conductor stepped onto the platform moments later.
"All aboard for westbound! Stops include St. Luna, Coltorado Springs, Las Pegasus, and Los Arabias."
Rainbow was one of five to board the sparsely populated passenger car. Right now, she figured this was going to be a waste of two days and a train ticket.
Twilight sighed for the sixth time in six minutes. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was barely past 10am. She didn't want to admit it. She refused to. She was in her element, the place where she could never run out of things to do. But alas, without Rainbow here for the first time in weeks, and having read every single book in here more than twice, there was no getting around it.
Twilight Sparkle was bored.
Rainbow had gotten her up insanely early, just to tell her that she was going on a trip to meet somepony, and that she'd probably be gone for a couple days. There wasn't really much time to explain things, as she had to catch the first train that came through. She just said she was headed somewhere near Las Pegasus. There had been a quick kiss and hug, and then she had gone right out the door.
She started browsing the Fiction shelves, wondering what tale to get lost in for the day.
"Ah, I've been wanting to read this one again!" She exclaimed, pulling Harry Trotter and the Horserer's Stone from the shelf. Her book of choice selected, she went to the kitchen to prepare a kettle of tea. Minutes later, teacup in her magical grasp, she was about to sit down and begin reading when there was a knock at the door. She got up to answer it, and upon seeing who her visitor was, knew that the wizarding world of Harry Trotter would be waiting for another day.
"Hey there, little sis." Shining Armor greeted.
"H-Hi, Shining. It's... It's been a long time." Twilight stammered. Indeed, it had been over a year since she had last seen her brother.
"I finally got a day off, and figured I'd come down and see how you were doing. I thought we... I thought we could talk."
"Of course, come in." Twilight offered, stepping aside, letting her older brother enter the library. Her boredom was suddenly a distant memory.
"Can I get you anything to drink?"
"Sure. That tea of yours smells pretty good. I'll take a cup."
In seconds, Twilight was in the kitchen pouring a second cup, coming back out to the main area and setting it on the center table across from hers.
"Say, where's Rainbow? I heard she's been living here with you."
"She has been. She took quite the unexpected trip west today. Didn't say much about why, but she'll probably be gone for a day or two. So what did you want to talk about?"
Taking a sip of his tea, Shining cleared his throat and looked at his sister across the table.
"Look, Twiley. I know we've been very distant ever since... Well, ever since it happened. I want to be honest and say how reluctantly I signed that re-enrollment form as a witness, but I think at the very least you deserve an explanation as to why."
Twilight sipped at her tea, listening intently.
"I... I never told you, or mom or dad, how I got my promotion back in the Royal Guard."
"Lieutenant, this is not a good idea."
"That's funny. I thought saving innocent lives was among the best of ideas."
"Yes, and so is obeying the laws we're set out to defend. This is trespassing and soon to be breaking and entering."
Shining turned to his Second Lieutenant, Bulwark Shield.
"Your objections have been noted. Twice. Yet you're still here. All of you are still here," he said, turning to the half dozen guards currently clothed completely in black cloth, to better hide them under the cover of night. "Because you all know that I've been undercover for the past four months searching for these kidnapping victims, and that if we wait to get through all this fucking red tape, that they're going to be moved and we'll lose them again."
He turned back to Bulwark.
"You had the chance to back out at base. We go all the way now."
"I'm not talking about backing out. It's not easy going undercover or coming out, I just don't want to see a damn fine soldier's career end because he wasn't 110% sure."
"Getting those mares is all that matters. I don't give a fuck about my career."
With that, he peaked his head over the crest of the long hill they were currently hiding behind. In front of them was a sizable mansion, currently lively with a party of wealthy ponies. Shining made note of the patrol routes of the guards on the balconies, and was trying to judge the distance between his team, the wrought iron fence, and the entrance to the cellar. He saw the closest guard turn his back, retracing his patrol, and gave two sharp pointing motions forward with his right front hoof.
The three unicorns cast Illusion spells to silence their movements as they quickly climbed the fence, and the pegasi effortlessly glided over, landing on the grass silently. Once they were all over, they made a cantering beeline for the door to the cellar. Bulwark opened it with a creak, and Shining was the first one down the concrete steps into the dimly lit basement. Coming out of the entrance hallway, his peripheral vision saw a hoof come flying towards his head from the right. He ducked to avoid it, but it came too fast, and it connected to the tip of his horn. He grunted, and swung back at the hired earth pony thug in the basement who had heard the door opening. He saw it coming and reared up to avoid it. Shining used the years of training he had at his disposal, and dropped and performed a long sweeping kick with his rear legs, catching the rearing guard completely off balance, and he crashed to the ground. Shining quickly pinned him, while one of his unicorn soldiers came and performed a sedation spell.
Finally, Shining could get his bearings, and look at the rest of the basement, confirming his worst fears. Blankets had been strung up in the rafters of the basement ceiling. The grids of blankets made makeshift rooms. He came to the first one on his left, and brushed the curtain aside, and Shining was aghast at what he saw.
It was nothing but concrete, a rug, and a cot. Laying on the cot was a young mare, who raised her head faintly and stared at him with half-lidded eyes. Shining knew this wasn't a look of seduction, but drugs at work to keep her docile. Her brown mane was tangled, draping down her silver pelt. She slowly got off of the cot and approached Shining Armor, her walk unbalanced and shaky.
"Everything's gonna be alright, miss." Shining said reassuringly. When she got within inches of him, she suddenly ducked down in between his two front legs. As soon as she felt her begin to nuzzle his underside, he took two startled steps back, confusing the mare.
"Bits... Please, give me bits..."
Shining realized what had happened. This poor mare had been drugged and conditioned for one purpose; intercourse. With a sad look of concern, his horn lit up, and he cast a sedation spell on her, and she fell into his hooves and he set her as gently as she could on the ground. One of his teammates came into the tent.
"Lieutenant, you'll want to come see this."
Shining left the now-sleeping mare under the supervision of another one of his soldiers while he followed his other teammate to another blanket room down the aisle. Two others were already there. Shining stepped inside, and his heart dropped. On this cot, was a mare he recognized. It was a recent victim whose kidnapping had pushed him to volunteer for this undercover work. She wasn't even of legal age yet.
Bulwark was already next to the cot, and put his hoof against her neck to check for a pulse. Several seconds later, he looked over to Shining, shaking his head.
One of the pegasi came up to him.
"Sir, we've completed our sweep. There's no one else down here. A total of seven mares."
"Get our reinforcements, now. The pony responsible for this is most likely upstairs."
Shining stood in the office of his superior in the Canterlot Royal Guard HQ. It had been three days since his raid on Shrewd Deal's mansion, and he was itching for a debrief. Even though he was back in headquarters, he was still, for all intents and purposes, undercover, and not allowed to contact his family.
The door to the office opened, and Shining stood at rigid attention.
"Captain Hidalgo, sir!" Shining saluted.
Hidalgo, a pegasus, sat down, dropping a file folder down onto his desk.
"Lieutenant Armor, you do realize that we had gotten your intel about the mansion, and were coming to a decision about an operation?"
"Yes, sir."
"But you didn't wait, and knowingly violated orders."
"Yes, sir."
"Explain why."
"Sir, I felt time was more limited than what my superiors thought we had. I had spent four months tracking those victims, and did not want to risk losing them when I was that close, sir."
"You don't regret any of your choices."
"Only that I did not act sooner than I did, sir. Another life might have been saved."
"You did what you could, Lieutenant."
"I'm sure her family is comforted by that, sir." Shining replied, unable to keep the sarcasm from his voice.
"Lieutenant, I know going deep undercover isn't the easiest thing, so I'll let the sarcasm slide this time. You willingly acted without authorization."
"Yes, sir."
"Because of that, six innocent lives are safe. I don't think I'm going to find a better note to retire on."
"Sir?"
"It's been a long time coming, Lieutenant. Your success in this undercover mission, your insubordination included, proves to me that you know one of the most important aspects of being an effective leader; knowing when to put ponies before procedures and protocol."
Hidalgo got up from his seat.
"First Lieutenant Shining Armor, I hereby promote you to the rank of Captain, with all the rights and privileges thereto."
He opened his drawer and pulled out a polished oak box, and slid it across to Shining, who took it in his magical grasp, and opened it, revealing the shimmering bars of the insignia of his new office.
"The paperwork will come through in the next few days. For now, go home to your family. You've earned it, Captain."
"You shut down a sex trafficking ring? That's why we didn't hear from you in six months? You were... Undercover?" Twilight asked. Shining nodded.
"Some of those mares needed years of psychological reconditioning to even basically function in society again. One was so bad that there was absolutely no improvement even with the most powerful spells, and we had to induce amnesia, completely erase her memory. We couldn't send her back to her family like that..."
"Shining... I had no idea..."
"I know. To this day, neither does mom or dad. I'm glad my promotion helped me vent, because I don't think the consequences were enough. Shrewd's punishment was behind closed doors. His fortune was publicly donated to charity, and he's been on a work farm ever since. But there was no public shame, because they were afraid it would tarnish Canterlot's image. Then when I heard that my little sister had possibly gotten involved in something like that..."
"Shining..." Twilight said, tearing up a bit. "Rainbow... Rainbow and I are seeing each other... After everything that happened. Is it right? Do I deserve her love?"
"I thought about that on the ride down here. I'm glad I was up in the Crystal Empire when this all went down, because if I was still part of the Royal Guard... If I had to see another sex crime get swept under the rug... I would have resigned my commission right then. But I did keep in mind that you were the one who put a stop to it. You were the one that pulled them out of there. That mobile brothel down in the basement... Twilight, I can say with absolute certainty that's where Rarity was headed. That is the future you saved Rainbow and Fluttershy from. If you two love each other, then it doesn't matter what happened, or what anypony else thinks."
Twilight sniffled, the tears becoming more difficult to hold back as her gaze fell to the floor.
"Twiley..." Shining began, bringing a hoof to her chin, raising her eyes to meet his.
"I forgive you."
That did it. Twilight broke down into sobs.
"Hey, come here." Shining pulled Twilight into a tight embrace. Being held by a family member after all this time just brought on more of her waterworks.
"I love you, Twiley. Don't ever forget that."
The train ride from Ponyville to Las Pegasus had been long, boring, and uneventful, and the stagecoach ride fifteen miles east from there was a good deal hotter. But when she stepped out into the evening heat of Mustang Springs, she immediately wished for the shelter of the stagecoach. The setting sun wasn't terrible but the hot breeze made it feel like the middle of the day.
The town was most certainly small; a speck compared to the neon-covered metropolis that was Las Pegasus. She mused that the only reason this town was in business was it's proximity to the casino-laden city, and the hot springs that dotted the landscape among the sand and rocks. A few small restaurants and a single hotel lined what she assumed was the town's main street. Off to the south, aside from the main drag, there were about two dozen dwellings, confirming the town's small population.
She approached a stagecoach about to leave for Las Pegasus, and trotted up to the driver who was getting the reins ready.
"Excuse me, is there an orphanage around here somewhere?" She asked. The driver pointed down the road to the edge of town.
"Last one on the left," he said, before heading the opposite direction towards the city, the carriage wheels leaving a trail of dust in their wake.
A tumbleweed blew across the road as Rainbow approached the edge of the town. There it was, on the outskirts, a simple adobe building, appearing entirely too small to be an orphanage. Across the street was a small wooden shed. Directly next to that was a 10-foot pole with a large bell at the top, with a rope hanging down to the ground. She felt a pang of sorrow in her chest when she figured out what the device was for.
She walked over to the simple wooden door, and knocked a few times. Several moments later, the door opened, and there stood a pegasus with a midnight blue pelt. A long, purple mane nearly fell over his violet eyes. One ear was white, which transitioned to a dapple all across his body. His cutie mark was a simple lit candle with a candlestick. He greeted her with a warm smile.
“Um, hi there, I'm-”
“Rainbow Dash,” the pegasus finished, surprising her. Rainbow nodded.
“Luna told me you might be coming. The mane kinda gave it away. It's nice to meet you, I'm Noctilucent.”