//------------------------------//
// Chapter 23 
// Story: Bad Future Crusaders 
// by TonicPlotter 
//------------------------------//




        Canterlot Criminal Investigation Department
        Incident Report 55-027, B. Pinch, Canterlot Sentry
        Narrative
        A citizen of Canterlot was found trapped in a storage crate in the basement of the High Canter Hotel after calls for help were heard by hotel staff. The citizen, one Coffee Cream, was found suffering bruises around the neck and back after allegedly being choked unconscious from behind and being robbed of her clothing. It is worth noting her valuables, one (1) gold watch and one (1) pearl necklace, were not taken. Ms. Cream was unable to give a description of the assailant or even an approximate time, claiming it occurred in the hallway near the stairs and adding “[she] never even heard anypony coming” and “[she] woke up in darkness stripped naked”. She was admitted to Canterlot hospital but showed no additional signs of physical trauma.
        Additional comments, report 55-027, B. Pinch, Canterlot Sentry
        According to hotel owner Atlas, the hotel hallways are off-limits to anypony but registered guests and the basement is kept locked at all times and accessible only by hotel employees. The door was found locked; no damage to the latch or locking mechanism could be found. An investigation of all employees as well as Mr. Atlas himself is still pending.




Babs Seed held the papers between her hooves and tapped them lightly on the table to line them up neatly. “Probably,” she mumbled quietly to herself, “Probably…”
        Lost in thought she leaned back and pressed her wounded back against her chair, making her yelp quietly from the dull throb of pain that shot through her. She couldn’t keep her head in the game; it would be hard enough to focus with just these details to worry about, but the pain in her back and the latest addition to her team was maddeningly distracting. The changeling Featherweight had given her had been sitting off to the side of the desk completely motionless all morning. From the moment she had arrived and for what must have been at least an hour the thing had barely even seemed to breathe. It wasn’t even looking at her and yet she could just feel it there haunting her concentration, patiently listening to ever sound she made, and silently aware of even the slightest movement from her.
        Can’t take it anymore.
        “Sheesh, you are intense, Bright Eyes,” she said, making an earnest attempt to sound civil to the alien-like creature, “You care if I call you ‘Bright Eyes’?” The creature’s gradient eyes looked her way but it otherwise didn’t move. “Ya see, that’s what happens when you don’t give a name. I give you one. Now, if you’ve got a better name I’d be happy to…” she trailed off with a scoff as the creature went back to staring across the room as if it was some daunting task it had to complete. “Nah, you don’t seem to care about anythin’. By the way,” she said as she rubbed her neck, “Don’t take this as an insult, but… are you a he or she?”
        Bright Eyes blinked once, twice, and finally drew it’s head back with a dramatic flinch, frowning at her as if she had genuinely insulted it. It looked downright ticked, glaring at her angrily for a moment or two while she fought the urge to laugh in the poor thing’s face.
        “Don’t look at me like that,” she said as one lone chuckle fought free of her mouth, “Well? C’mon, gimme something to work off here. Can I just call you ‘he’? Don’t feel right callin’ you ‘it’. Demeanin’, you know?”
        His expression softened and his eyes seemed to lighten up a bit, as if he was okay with that. He chirped softly, perhaps the changeling equivalent to a scoff, and once again went back to staring at nothing at all. Babs Seed could only shake her head; how creatures that behaved so differently than ponies were able to pass themselves off as such would forever be a mystery to her. Perhaps this was the result of Featherweight’s ‘leadership’ over them—
        I don’t wanna know what he has going on behind closed doors.
        “You know,” she said in a sing-song voice as she fought the scenes her imagination had conjured up out of her head, “I don’t know what Featherweight has you doin’ but you’re on my bit now. You don’t hafta just sit there. Cool your hooves. Take a break or somethin’; I’ll call you when I need you.”
        That seemed to catch Bright Eyes’ interest. He turned to face her, cocking his head to the side and making a perplexed tittering sound.
        Babs Seed sighed and hid her growing grin behind a hoof. “You ain’t a dog. I expect you to do as I say and do it right, but you don’t have to be this intense. Go ahead, make yourself at home. You guys eat and drink, right? Swing by the canteen for a snack or a coffee or somethin’. Whatever you want. Just be ready when I need you, ‘kay?”
        Bright Eyes mulled it over for a minute and looked around the room. With his mind made up his wings opened out and carried him with a dull buzz to the couch in the corner. He ran his raggedy leg over his face and yawned silently, showing off an impressive set of fangs and one long, forked tongue, and curled up on the couch with his eyes closed and his head nestled into one of the pillows.
        Good. Now maybe I can focus.
        “Boss,” said Starlight as he entered the room and quietly closed the door behind him, “you’re early.”
        “Had a revelation, Star,” she said without looking up from her desk. “Couldn’t stop thinkin’ about it all mornin’. Here. Give this a read.”
        Starlight swept his unkempt mane back and gleaned over the papers from the guard who had found the pony locked in the crate. As she had told him the night before he hadn’t worn his armor today; other than a saddle bag he was completely naked, with his tail unwrapped and his shaggy mane draping down over the left of his head with no helmet to keep it in check. “Who jumps a pony and steals clothes but not jewelry?” he said as he cocked his head to the side, “This doesn’t make sense.”
        Babs smirked at him. “Exactly my point, Star. It don’t add up. None of this has added up. We’ve got a bandit-for-hire who normally robs places like museums and private homes suddenly goin’ all out and robbin’ the palace. A bandit with no qualms about killin’ suddenly sparin’ the life of our princess and this what’s-her-name in the hotel. A bandit who usually vanishes without a trace bein’ tracked real easy.” She made eye contact with him to see if he was following, which judging by his furrowed brow he was most definitely not. “A bandit, Star, who ‘always works alone’ suddenly havin’ her own little task-force to bail her out of trouble.”
        “What are you getting at, Boss?” said Starlight with a frown. “I’m no inspector; this makes no sense at all to me.”
        “It doesn’t make sense, Star,” she said, thrusting a hoof to his face to emphasize her point. “Know what I think? I think maybe we don’t know Silver Spoon as much as we like to think we do. I’m startin’ to think maybe she dropped the ball and showed some true colors.”
        Starlight waved his hoof back and forth. “Hold on. You think Silver Spoon stole that mare’s clothes? Why?”
        “We know she can pick locks like nopony’s business. She’d have gotten into that ‘secure’ basement faster than one of us could fumble for the keys, so tell me why not,” she said with a wink.
        “Well, why would she come into Canterlot and then steal a disguise? If she could slip through the city that easily she wouldn’t need one.”
        Babs Seed nodded in approval. “Very good. So what if she didn’t sneak? What if she checked into that hotel legitimately?”
        “Then she’d already have a disguise, right?” Starlight tapped the report from the guard and placed it on the desk, “There is no way Silver Spoon could just wander into the High Canter without at least a hundred ponies recognizing her.”
        Babs excitedly pounded her hoof on the desk, making Bright Eyes leap into the air in surprise only to buzz back down to the couch with a sour look aimed at her. She shrugged apologetically and patted Starlight’s shoulder. “Exactly! That’s exactly what I’m getting at! We’ve been lookin’ for the wrong pony, don’t you see? I think she’s livin’ a double life. Two identities.”
        Starlight sighed. “Didn’t you try this before, Boss, and get nowhere? Remember the Las Pegasus caper she pulled?”
        Babs Seed scoffed. “Ain’t forgetting that one anytime soon, Star. But what we’ve been doing wrong, is we’ve been looking for Silver Spoon’s alter-ego.” She gestured with her hooves, trying to draw what she was saying in the air, “I think Silver Spoon is the alter-ego.”
        There was no expression on Starlight’s face. “Come again?” he said as he scratched his head.
        “What do you think Silver Spoon does with the money she makes?”
        “I don’t know,” said Starlight with an over-the-top shrug. “I don’t know how thieves work, Boss. She mounds it into a pile, sits on it, and rubs her hooves together menacingly? I don’t know!”
        Babs couldn’t help but chuckle. “Exactly, Star, exactly. She’s pretty famous; it ain’t like she could waltz into a dealership and buy herself a fancy new carriage. So I’m thinkin’ what if it was her real self, that is her undisguised ‘Not Silver Spoon’ that came to the city all legitimate-like, then mugged Ms. Coffee Cream there for a disguise to protect her identity?”
        Starlight’s mouth hung open and he held up a hoof trying to add up what she had said. “Let me get this straight. You think ‘Not Silver Spoon’ came into the city, disguised herself as not ‘Not Silver Spoon’ to move around, then disguised herself as Silver Spoon to sneak into the palace.”
        “Yes,” said Babs Seed in a deadpan tone. “That’s what I think.”
        Starlight looked all around and rubbed his head with an exaggerated motion. “My brain hurts, Boss. How do you do this for a living?”
        Babs smiled and tapped the first of many disposable coffee cups that would grace her desk throughout the day. “So what we have to do is find out where Silver Spoon hangs her hat when she’s not Silver Spoon.”
        “Terrific,” said Starlight sarcastically as he fell to the floor to sit down, “That narrows it down.”
        “How about to one?” said Babs in a smug tone. “I paid Mr. Atlas a visit. Turns out there was one mare who never bothered to check out of his hotel. Paid cash in advance. Gave the name ‘Cloudy Cradle’. Well, I poked around her room and found her ticket stub; turns out this mare caught a zeppelin from Hoofington to Canterlot, and it’s two-way, and the timings all add up.”
        “Now we’re getting somewhere!” Starlight said happily. “My first patrol was Hoofington! It’s a small town and I know the place like the tip of my hoof!”
        Babs made no effort to hide her enthusiasm; the idea of putting a stop to Silver Spoon was enough to make her ecstatic. “It’s a good lead, Star, and let’s hope it’s real. We’re goin’ in, but not without a plan. We’re doin’ this as careful-like as possible. Firstly, were there any other reports? Anythin’?”
        “Not on her, no,” said Starlight. “But a letter for you from Broncton.”
        “Probably Harrier and Pavot,” she said as she took the letter and noticed both the guard’s insignia and herself addressed as ‘Sergeant’ on the envelope. “What I want you to do, Star, is I want a list of every business and institute you can think of from that town. Everythin’.”
        “On it, Boss.”




        Sergeant,
        We found some information on the pony with the gun. Not much, but it’s a start. We’ve located and searched her home. We found foreign clothing and tactical gear, and what looks like stuff for her gun. All of it’s been confiscated and is en route. Expect it in a week or so.
        The Captain and the unit were in town. We had no choice but to spill the beans to him. They left quickly claiming they already had a lead, following the railroad out of town. Apparently they’ve put the gunpony as high priority, you won’t need to worry about her anymore.
        Regardless, we’ve asked around town. This pony is a ghost. Doesn’t speak to anypony. No friends. Keeps to herself. Comes and goes. We did manage to get a name. “Apple Bloom”.




        Babs Seed lost her grip on the letter and it twirled to the floor. For a moment she felt as if somepony had put her heart in a vice and was cranking it ever tighter as images of her little cousin came to mind and were torn to shreds by the thought of that pony growing up into a killer.
        A hoof shook her out of her daze. “Boss,” said Starlight compassionately, “What? You’ve gone pale, Boss.”
        “Apple Bloom,” she said sadly as she picked up the letter and gave it to him. “I had a cousin named Apple Bloom.”
        “Sheesh, that’s some family you came from eh Boss?” said Starlight absentmindedly as he read it, “First that R.E.A.F. flier and now this one—”
        Babs Seed growled angrily and punched the wall hard enough to crack the brick, making Starlight leap back and awakening Bright Eyes who dove behind the couch with an indefinable panic sound. “Get this through your skull. That sociopath in the R.E.A.F. ain’t no cousin of mine,” she said viciously. She felt her leg buckle and coughed into her hoof, and when she saw the mark on the wall and Starlight’s frightened apologetic face her own expression softened. “I’m sorry, Starlight. Look, my little cousin died in Ponyville with my aunt and uncle. It’s just somepony with the same name.”
        Starlight patted her shoulder and didn’t need to speak; his eyes apologized for him. “Here’s my list, Boss,” he said quietly as he handed the letter and a hoof-written sheet of paper to her, “Everything I can think of is here.”
        Babs nodded to him to accept the apology. “Yeah. Let’s focus on this. Now, I doubt Silver Spoon’d just be livin’ there as a citizen. A pony comin’ and goin’ with no job and an influx of money would draw a lot of attention in a small town.”
        “There’s not many places to work there,” said Starlight, “Most of the youngsters end up leaving looking for jobs. Or become guards like us.”
        “She’d want somethin’ small where she could do an unassumin’ job,” said Babs. “A place with access to medical supplies and probably a place to sleep, in case she took an injury.”
        “Volunteer work,” added Starlight. “She’d never get away with an erratic schedule unless it were volunteer work.”
        “Good thinking, Star.”
        “So a school then, you think?” said Starlight. “Or a hospital maybe?”
        Babs Seed shook her head. “Schools and hospitals are government ran. Even the volunteers are background checked. It’d be beggin’ to get caught for her to work there.” She scanned down Starlight’s list, only vaguely aware of how unbelievably neat his hoofwriting was, until one name happened to stick out. “What’s G&P?”
        Starlight clamped his teeth together and exhaled. “‘Great and Powerful’. It’s basically a glorified daycare for little unicorns where they can learn magic.”
        “So it’s a private business?”
        “Yeah,” said Starlight. “The mare who runs it, Tracy is her name? Trixie? Trish…? Something like that. It’s kind of hard to handle her company for too long. Not a bad pony, I guess, but… well… you’d understand if you met her. I remember this one time I was on patrol, yeah? And she comes out of…” he slowly trailed off and all the pleasantness drained from his features as the realization set in. “Boss, you don’t think…?”
        “Know what I think?” said Babs in a wary tone, “I think we should go have a chat with this Tracy.”
        “When?!” he said, “I won’t get another night’s sleep thinking about a killer like that hiding out with a group of foals.”
        “Easy does it, now. We can’t just rush in blind and put those kids at risk. If there’s one thing Silver Spoon loves, its hostages.”
        Starlight’s blank expression became one of disgust. “We need a plan.”
        Babs Seed eased back in her chair, cringing at the hot dull pain from her back as her wound pressed against the back of the chair. She put a hoof to her chin and thought, determined to come up with a way to protect those kids. They couldn’t just sneak in and jump her; what if Silver Spoon wasn’t there and they pounced on an innocent in her place? Evacuation or an inspection was out; Silver Spoon would smell that a mile away and be gone. The foals would be at risk if they just tried to make an arrest; simply wandering in and tossing hoofcuffs on her wasn’t possible.
        Or is it?
        A devilish and self-satisfied smile came across Bab’s face. “Take a seat, Star. I’m brewing me up an idea. Hey Bright Eyes! Where’d you get off to? Come on out!”
        Starlight nodded and took his place on the couch, and a moment later a shiny dark face cautiously peeked up from behind where he sat. Bright Eyes stared at her briefly, clearly still spooked from her little outburst, but quickly skittered over the back of the couch and took a seat beside her deputy.
        “Listen up, you two,” said Babs as she paced back and forth before the couch, “I’ve got a plan, and it’s gonna take all three of us to pull it off.”