Trottingham Pink (Part III)
Later that evening, the sister agents were in their pre planned positions. Pinkie Pie was perched on the roof, carefully scanning the area below her, while Marble concentrated on doing sweeps and coordinating with security.
They had also been arguing about what had happened earlier that day.
“Marble,” Pinkie spoke, putting a hoof to her ear piece and shaking her head. “Can we please drop this already? I forgave her, it’s in the past, and we still have a job to do.”
“Pinkie, she took a peek at your soul and before that had every intention to kill both of us. How in the name of Cadence’s riding crop is that in any way, shape or form an okay thing?!” Marble countered, her tone biting. “I mean, if somepony tried that with me, I’d probably put a bullet through their head!”
Pinkie shook her head and rubbed the bridge of her muzzle. “Look, Marble, the important thing is that I can forgive her. Anyways, a soul gaze is a two way street, so I got just as good a look into her soul as she did mine,” she said, her tone softening. “And I saw a pony who deep down just wants to do the right thing, and is trying really hard to fix a broken place.. Is that so really bad?” There was a pause as Pinkie waited for Marble’s response.
“Pinkie, if you saw her soul too why didn’t ya say anything?” Came Marble’s sigh-laden response. “I mean, don’t you think that would have solved that whole problem?”
Pinkie shook her head. “I didn’t want to violate her privacy, and also, don’t you think me saying that I knew all that stuff about would help her confidence at all? I mean, if somepony came up to me and told me they knew everything about me, I’d be like ‘wha?! Digger you crazy!’”
Pinkie could almost hear the sound of Marble blinking in shock at the word, before her sister sighed again. “Ugh, fine whatever. Let’s just get this mission over and done with so I can go home and take a vacay or something. Sound good?”
“Super-duper-ultra-special good!” Pinkie chirped, returning to her normal upbeat self. “I’ve got some motion detectors set up so you can have a heads up if any meany-pants are coming.”
“Roger that. And the access door?” Marble replied, the sound of her checking a lock coming over the intercom.
Pinkie pulled out a wand like device from her mane and twirled it in her hooves like a baton. “Pulled out the sonic screwdriver and used Frequency 56.78 on it.”
There was a pause. “...what?” Marble asked flatly.
“It means I increased the strength and density of the door by fifty percent so that means, if anypony wants to knock it down, they’re gonna hafta really put their backs into it.” Pinkie clarified, crossing her arms in satisfaction.
“Oh. Okay then. You sure you trust that thing? I mean, we should probably take it to the tech guys back at the Triskelion for analyzing. I mean, it looks like a toy.”
“Oh I trust it. As long as it’s not a wooden door, we’re good.” Pinkie answered confidently.
“Why wouldn’t work on wood?” Marble asked, more sounds coming over the intercom.
Pinkie shrugged. “Dunno. The Doctor didn’t say.”
“Okay then, whatever you say,” came Marble’s ambivalent response. “Either way, just alert me if you see anything, got it?”
“Okie dokie loki,” Pinkie answered with a giggle, knowing that while Marble’s voice sounded rather unimpressed, her sister’s face was probably scrunched into something resembling a deeply perplexed modern art piece. She let the giggle pitter out, shifting her weight slightly to better make herself comfortable in her nest. She reached up to her ear, reaching inside to fiddle with the small electronic device inside. To everyone else, it looked like a standard earpiece, usually the kind attached to a radio. However, to Pinkie, it was a vital piece of technology that, if damaged, would be crippling.
It was a hearing aid. The reason for such a thing was simple. Instanbull. Of all the things that had gone wrong during that (admittedly enjoyably chaotic) mission, the loss of Pinkie’s hearing was something the pink-maned mare was most certainly NOT expecting. But alas, fate had decided to deal her a bad hand, and as such, she’d lost her hearing in a particularly violent gunfight. Of course, she had Twilight for a friend, so the threat of permanent deafness was averted, and a brand new, fancy pair of ultra-advanced hearing aids had been made especially for her.
Huh. That’s weird. Almost like I had a backstory dump or something. Pinkie thought idly, adjusting the hearing aid again to help amplify the ambient noise.
She reached into her quiver, pulling out an arrow with a high powered taser at it’s tip, and readying her bow as she carefully scanned the crowd of ponies milling about below. She could see Marble’s greyish mane poking out among the technicolor explosion of other ponies’ manes. Most seemed like the typical kinds that frequented political events: Middle aged, dull and rather unassuming. However, Pinkie knew from experience that it was never a good idea to judge a book by it’s cover. Or in this case, a pony by their coat.
Is a coat the same as a book cover? Now there’s a question to ask Twilight when I get back. Oh! Maybe it’s that ponies’ coats are more like those nifty dust jackets you put over book covers! Oh yeah that’s tota-
Her train of thought came to a halt when she felt a tingle in the lower portion of her left leg, and she whipped her head around, catching the bright glint of something metallic for a fraction of a second. Her eyes widened and she dropped to the floor, the razor sharp sai piercing the wall across from her, having missed her by a mere inch or so. It had come so close that it’d even managed to snatch away three or four strands of Pinkie’s mane, and the bright pink hairs were now pinned to the wall.
Pinkie didn’t waste anytime bemoaning the loss of a few hairs, and instead popped upright, firing her arrow in the direction of the leather clad attacker, who merely dropped and rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding the powerful electric shock. Pinkie let out a frustrated grunt, notching another, this time lethal arrow and sending it sailing towards the assassin, who surprisingly batted it away with one of her sai’s without a second glance.
"Oh come on!" Pinkie grumbled, running after the assassin and notching her third arrow, which was sent flying towards her target, who, once more, dodged the arrow and its explosion of adhesive. Pinkie gritted her teeth. Magically dodging stuff is totally my shtick! She thought, recovering her spent arrows as she ran, and jamming them back into her quiver, where a spinning turntable automatically attached them to a new arrowhead.
Meanwhile, Pinkie notched her fourth arrow, aiming it towards the costumed figure running ahead of her. She muttered a quick prayer before sending the arrow flying. There was a sharp boom and a flash of blinding white light as a cloud of thick purple smoke billowed from the arrow head. The sound of the assassin coughing as the cloud enveloped them was music to Pinkie's ears.
"Praise the maker!" Pinkie cheered, yanking a face mask out of her mane and pulling it over her face. She dived head first into the cloud, slapping a button on the side of the mask, causing the previously clouded image to be replaced by the bright red and yellow patterns of infrared. She spotted her target, arm held over her face and coughing harshly. Pinkie smiled under her mask slightly.
Gotcha! And one more arrow was sent sailing, this one finding its mark and pinning the figure to the wall with a crash.
"High score!" Pinkie proclaimed, already moving towards the pinned assailant, arrow at the ready. “Okay…” she paused, taking in the pony’s uniform. The assassin was visibly feminine, if her body shape was any indication, and the suit she wore was dark red, and a mask covered her face. Pinkie blinked, pushing the arrow towards the pony so that it touched the forehead.
“...Red, you stay still, and we can totally for sure work this all out okay. Just put the fancy fork down, and everything will be fine. Capchie?”
“I capiche.” Came the assassins voice, and in a blur of movement, she reached over, yanking the arrow out, and knocking Pinkie’s legs out from under her and slamming the sharp arrowhead into the shoulder strap of Pinkie’s vest, shoving her to the floor violently.
“But I’d rather get the j-” The assassin was cut off by Pinkie landing a knee to her side, causing her to spew a series of harsh expletives as she rolled off in pain. Pinkie bolted to her hooves, shedding the vest in one fluid motion before firing another shot at the now standing assassin. The assassin however, deflected the arrow with a sai, before darting forward and stabbing at Pinkie, who ducked, swinging her leg out and knocking the pony off her hooves. The pony landed on her chest with a thud, and Pinkie pile-drived down on her.
“Gotcha! Now just give up and we ca-” Pinkie was cut off by a burst of pain to the crotch as the pony beneath her slammed an elbow into her crotch.
“OWCH! NO FAIR!” Pinkie cried, her voice sharp as she lost her place on the pony’s back. She slammed to the ground, her quiver stabbing into her back, causing her to writhe painfully, eyes shut tight. There was an explosion of pain in her right shoulder caused her eyes to bolt open, and she turned her head to see a sai poking out of her shoulder, a small pool of blood already forming.
“Sucks to be you,” Pinkie looked towards the source of the voice, only to see the red pony already running towards the still closed doorway. Pinkie smiled thinly.
“Won’t work fancy pants,” She chuckled, wincing in pain as her shoulder shifted. “It’s locked *huff* and I-ow-don’t have the key.”
The pony’s eyes narrowed slightly, and she simply reached into a pocket in the chest of her suit. “Well then I’ll just pick the lock.” The pony then slammed what looked like white silly putty onto the door, and, with the flick of a wrist, revealed a small detonator. One push of a button later, there was an deafening boom and the door was no longer there. The pony tipped her head slightly, darting through the door and outside.
Pinkie let out a muffled curse, her hooves moving up to her ears. She reached inside, pulling out the two small metallic devices. Her ears drooped. In her hooves, now a fried mess of sparks and wires, were what remained of her hearing aids. She looked around, the world now completely silent. She caught sight of her radio’s light blinking.
Great. She grumbled, reaching over and pulling it out and pressing the talk button.
“Marble! Don’t try calling me. My hearing aids are out. A pony in a red suit and mask managed to down me and get inside. I think it’s the assassin Lin talked about. Get me a medic please.” with that, she lifted her hoof off the toggle, ignoring whatever it was that Marble was probably saying from the other side. Her left hoof moved to put pressure against her shoulder, and she let out a long groan as she finally let her body relax.
At least I’m alive...thank The Maker for that. she thought, closing her eyes slowly. Just keep Marble and Lin safe, okay Lord? she paused, her ears flicking slightly. A slight smile appeared on her face. Okay...thanks a lot.
////////////////////////
Meanwhile, downstairs, Marble wasted no time switching stations, and getting her staff at the ready. As she moved, her pace quickened to a run, her eyes darting about as she looked for the assassin Pinkie had mentioned.
Come on, where are you? She thought in a panic, before grinding to a halt when she caught sight of a blur of red at the far corner of the empty dinner hall.
Bingo! Marble let out a growl as she practically flew towards the assassin, only to barely miss her and instead go crashing into a pyramid of champagne glasses. The assassin meanwhile, flicked several dozen small throwing stars and knives towards Marble, who rolled off the table with a grunt and a thud. By the time Marble was on her hooves again, she practically shouted into her intercom.
“Attention all Guards, The Assassin is in the building and on the second floor heading towards the balcony of the second conference room, She is highly dangerous, try to contain her but lethal force is authorized.” With that, she once more started running after the assassin, who’d managed to get slowed by accidentally slamming into another table, sending several chairs sprawling. Marble let out a war cry, popping open her staff and swinging it at the pony, who stumbled away with a satisfying crack.
Marble didn't waste any time cracking her staff into two batons and charging towards the assassin, who countered by recovering surprisingly quickly and obliging with a pair of sais. The pair met with a crash, sprawling over a large table, both grunting and growling. Neither gave an inch however, seemingly stuck together like two gears going in opposite directions. Marble knew full well that she was the better close quarter fighter. Of course, it also helped that she was practically seeing red right now, and she twisted the assassins’ wrist painfully.
“And that’s what you get for stabbing my sister you bit-”
A headbutt to the face cut off Marble mid sentence, and Marble cried out. If there was one disadvantage to fighting while angry, it was that one’s perception of surroundings was warped. In her zeal to return the favor to the assassin, she’d forgotten to keep both of her arms equally pinned, and the assassin twisted loose, giving Marble one last kick for good measure. A now dizzied Marble staggered off the table, blinking fiercely in an attempt to get her eyes to focus.
She could barely make out the blurry red figure of her opponent, and she let out a roar, charging forwards like a wild bull. The blurry figure however, simply ducked out of the way, sending Marble slamming harshly into the far wall. Marble bounced off, throwing her batons in the general direction of the figure, only to be greeted with the sound of them clattering on the floor.
The assassin meanwhile, ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She’d been obscenely lucky so far, dispatching both the vest wearing pony and the one in the catsuit. She still had a ways to go however, and she wasn’t about to rest on laurels. She opened the door to the main ball room silently, quickly moving to walk on her toes, and making sure her steps were widely spaced. She moved smoothly, being sure to dart behind a pillar or under a table whenever a security guard passed. She could hear some loud chatter over someone’s intercom, and she paused to listen in.
“Guys. She’s in the ballroom. She got past me, so keep an eye out for her. Remember, red suit and mask.” Came the familiar voice of the catsuit pony. The assassin rolled her eyes. Things were going to get harder before they got easier. They always did.
She crouched down, moving slowly and carefully, continuing to remain in the shadows as much as possible. After what seemed like an eternity of stalking, dodging and hiding, she was finally within striking distance of her target.
The unicorn across from her was in full Guoxian garb, and was giving a spirited speech to everyone in the room. Of course, the assassin cared not for whatever babblings the Guoxian was saying, since, if her luck continued, she’d soon be seeing a couple thousand appearing in her bank account. The assassin pulled out a special red sai, an ornate affair with old Skrosian inscribed on it. To anyone else, it would have seemed like some sort of good luck charm, but to the assassin, it was simply the kind of sai she always used for the kill shot. It was always fun to leave a calling card of some sort, if only to mess with ponies heads. She had at least a half dozen back at her home, so losing this one in the line of duty was standard operating procedure.
With a small smile spreading beneath her mask, the assassin took careful aim at the senator, and, in one fluid motion, sent the sai flying towards its target. It sailed clean through, impacting the floor with a thud.
The assassin blinked. Wait what?! She didn’t have much time to process how it was possible for somepony to become instantly intangible however, as a length of rope wrapped around her neck, the heavy weight at the end making her gag.
“Surprise, bet you’d seen the last of me, murderer?” Came a harsh voice, and the assassin glanced as best she could over her shoulder to see the exact same Senator, holding the rope around her neck and pulling it tightly. The assassin let out a choked gasp, her hooves darting up to the improvised garrote. Her eyes darted about wildly, trying to find an opening, and her legs kicked viciously, only for the unicorn’s horn to light up and lock them in place.
“If you value your life, I suggest you cease moving.” The Senator growled, emphasizing her words with a dagger poking at the assassin’s back. The assassin gritted her teeth, halting her movements and letting out a stifled sigh. She heard approaching footsteps, and her eyes darted over to see the catsuit garbed pony running over, a piece of gauze stuffed up her nose.
Marble meanwhile, ran up to the senator, quickly producing a pair of hoofcuffs and slapping them onto the assassins wrists. “You alright senator?”
Lin simply nodded, keeping the rope around their shared foe’s neck. “Perfectly fine, Agent Pie,” she then cracked a thin smile. “I told you the illusion would work.” She then yanked the rope slightly, causing the assassin to grunt in pain. “But I’ve had enough of them. Time for some truth, yes?”
Marble glanced towards the assassin and then towards Lin, nodding. “Yeah. About time we got this halloween reject off our friends face.” With a sharp yank, the mask came tumbling off, revealing the now somewhat bruised, yet decidedly frustrated looking face of a gray pony. The pony’s silver mane was bundled in a tight bun, and her brown eyes rolled.
“Limestone?!” Marble’s jaw dropped open, her eyes blinking as she tried to comprehend what she was seeing. The pony shrugged slightly.
“Oh hey sis. How’s your nose?” she replied with a sarcastic grin, only to get it erased by another tug at the throat from Beifong.
“‘Sis’? What sort of deception is this?” Lin’s eyes darted towards Marble, who simply put a palm to her forehead.
“It’s not a deception. Lin, meet Limestone Pie. She’s my twin sister.” Marble then narrowed her eyes. “Or at least was, before we went our separate ways.”
Limestone let out an scoff. “Oh please, Marble, don’t give me tha-”
“Separate ways? What are you talking about?” Lin pressed, cutting Limestone off by tugging the rope tight and keeping her pinned to the table. Marble let out a sigh, rubbing her still very sore nose.
“We were twins. Pinkie is our younger sister. We have another sister, Maud, but I haven’t seen her in awhile. Our dad trained us. Said the world was rough and cruel,” she sighed. “And he was right...more or less.”
Limestone let out a grunt, and Marble motioned for Lin to loosen the rope slightly. Limestone let out a sharp cough, clearing her throat. “At least I finished my training. Not like you. You and Maud just up and left me and Pinkamena. We had to do everything alone. Some sister you were. Me and Pinkamena had to fend for ourselves. Work our flanks off.”
“Really? When was the last time you saw Pinkamena, Limestone?” Marble asked tersely, leaning in close. Limestone’s face scrunched in thought for a moment.
“I don’t know...like...ten years ago. She told me she had some contract for some sorta intelligence agent or something.” she then looked up at Marble. “I didn’t like sticking my nose in her business. You know that. I never heard back from her though, so I just figured the mission went sour or something.
“Who do you think the pony on the roof was?”
Limestone shrugged slightly. “I don’t know. All I know is that she was in my way. So I dealt with her. She was pretty damn good though, I’ll give her that. Why? What’s got your panties in a bunch? She your girlfriend or something?”
Marble greeted that with a sharp baton end to the stomach, causing Limestone to groan in pain.
“The fu-”
“That was Pinkie, Limestone. Are you that short sighted that you couldn’t even see that?" Marble asked, shaking her head slowly as her voice grew heavy.
Limestone meanwhile, simply blinked, looking down at the ground in shock. Pinkie's alive?! Was the first thought that came to her head. It'd been ten years since she last spoke with her. In her job, she knew full well that if someone didn't call you back, it usually meant they'd been captured...or worse. Of course, Limestone wasn't usually one to meditate over the darker aspects of her job, but as much as she'd verbally deny it, she had cared deeply for Pinkie. It'd been just the two of them, trapped with a father who didn't care for them. Limestone always handled the harsh treatment with a snide backhanded remark or witticism. But Pinkie? To see a smiling filly slowly and steadily transform into something entirely different had been a strange and disturbing sight.
The sound of the radio intercom and Marble answering it caught Limestone's ears, and she glanced towards her sister.
"Is she okay?" Limestone finally asked, her voice now quiet and tentative. Marble simply looked down, and exhaled sharply.
"She's fine. They have her on morphine right now. As for you, you're going to a NEIGHS prison, and hopefully, out of my sight." Marble then put her hoof to her lips, letting out a piercing whistle and motioning for two other agents to come over.
"Take her away." She said coldly, and the two agents nodded, grabbing Limestone and taking her away. As she was dragged away, Limestone looked over her shoulder.
"I'm sorry." She said quietly, while Marble simply turned away, leaving a visibly confused Lin behind.
////////////////////////
"Okay, asides from the stab wound, she's fine," The doctor said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "The blade missed her artery, so really, she just needs a few weeks of rest and to avoid using the arm and she’ll be up and ready. We have her on morphine just so she isn't in any pain. Understand?"
Marble nodded. "Yeah. I understand. Can I see her now?"
The doctor nodded. "Sure. Just don't take long. She needs rest."
Marble nodded mutely, walking into the hospital room to see Pinkie, lying on the bed, a dopey morphine induced smile on her face.
"Hey Pinkie. How's it hanging?" Marble smiled, taking a seat next to the bed. She glanced up at the big 'get well' balloon that was tied to the side of the bed. "Twilight was here?"
Pinkie nodded. "Yupperooney. She was all worried 'bout me." Pinkie let out a giggle, before wincing slightly in pain. "Ooch...that pony really got me though."
Marble nodded. "Yeah, she did. But don't worry. She didn't hurt anypony else."
Pinkie raised an eyebrow. "So the illusion worked? Lin safe?"
"Yup. Senator Beifong is safe. Apparently her speech was very well received."
Pinkie's smile grew a little more. "Huzzah. What about the assassin?"
Marble hesitated. "Well...uh...we managed to identify her." She began, only to get cut off by Pinkie laughing.
"Limestone right? It was Limestone?"
Marble blinked. "How did you know?" She asked, raising an eyebrow incrediously. Pinkie motioned to her ear.
"Her voice. I knew I'd heard it somewhere, it just took a bit for me to make the connection." Pinkie's smile faded, and she gave Marble a concerned look. "Is she okay?"
Marble simply nodded, her face bitter. Pinkie smiled sympathetically, moving her hoof to give Marble a gentle pat. "Hey," she began, motioning to herself. "Even the injured ponies can get healed. They just need time."
Marble smiled thinly. "That the 'Tao of Pinkie'?"
Pinkie shook her head. "Nope. Just me saying what I know is true. Give her a chance. Just like you did with me. Who knows, you might be able to get your favorite twin sister back."
Marble sighed. "Well...I don't know..." She caught sight of Pinkie's eyebrows lowering. "But I'll do my best. Not everypony is as forgiving as you, you know."
Pinkie merely shrugged. "But they can if they just give it a shot. Anyways, I've been told I'm infectious."
The two sisters shared a quiet giggle, and the sound of someone knocking on the doorframe caught their attention. They both looked towards the doorframe to see a mail pony standing in the doorway.
"Um, letter for a Miss Pinkie Pie?"
Pinkie lifted a hoof. "That's me!"
Marble meanwhile stood up, causing Pinkie to give her a quizzical look. "Hey, sis, where you going?" Pinkie asked, and Marble motioned towards one of the water fountains across the hallway.
"I gotta have a drink..." She let out a slight grunt as she walked, rubbing her thigh. "And a physical therapist. But don't worry, I'm coming right back. Read your letter."
"Oh. Okay then. Stay safe." Pinkie called out as the mailpony handed her the letter. Marble simply nodded.
"You too." She was followed out by the mail pony, who moved on to wherever else he was due. Pinkie meanwhile, looked down at the letter, her smile growing.
"Oh yay, she sent me another!" She exclaimed, opening the letter and reading the simple hoofwriting:
Dear Agent Pinkie Pie,
First off, I’d just like to say that I’m so incredibly sorry that I haven’t been able to write to you in awhile. Things have been hectic lately, something about a hammer in Appleloosa. The good news is that I’ve kept my promise and been having regular sessions with Dr. Silverhoof. Who knew a psychologist could be so nice? She’s been very understanding and she’s helped me go such a long way towards getting rid of The Other Mare. I do find it odd that Dr. Silverhoof keeps telling me that New Fluttershy is just an extension of my psych, something I can control. I find that very hard to believe. How can that -- that monster be a part of me? I keep saying I want to lock her away in some cage and forget about her, but Dr. Silverhoof keeps telling me that I shouldn’t keep repressing Her like that. Says it’s bad for my mind. She said I should try to keep my thoughts focused elsewhere, so she suggested trying online school. So I gave it a shot, I’m going for something in Bio-chemistry. Apparently I have a knack for it, since things have been going smoothly. Mom says it’s good I’ve been studying, since, like I said before, it keeps my mind off The Other Mare. I just hope I do well...I mean, I really want to find a way to make myself useful around here. Everypony’s working to help ponies and all I do is talk with Dr. Silverhoof and sit in my room.
It makes me feel kind of useless. Maybe that’s why I was alright with school. It’s the least I could do to make up for what The Other Mare has done. All that pain and suffering.
But enough of me being sad. I know you said you didn’t want to see me sad. So I’m going to keep looking for the positives in things...just like you said. I’m hoping to throw you a nice little party when you get back from wherever it is you are. The least I could do for the pony who helped me so much this past year.
Your friend,
Fluttershy Braveheart Wing.
P.S. I got that package you asked about in your last letter. The suit is actually really comfy and stretchy, if a little tight around my neck. Maybe I just need to break it in a little. I’m not quite sure why you felt I needed such an outfit, but I guess it’s the thought that counts. Thanks for sending it. Kinda wish it had sleeves though, but I guess I’m just used to wearing hoodies all the time.
Pinkie smiled warmly. It did her heart good to see Fluttershy doing better. It was probably going to be a long road to recovery for the mare, but with Pinkie by her side, it was sure going to be worth it.
Pinkie looked around, spotting the notepad and pen that Twilight had left behind, apparently so that Pinkie’s ‘mind could stay occupied’. Pinkie reached over, letting out a grunt of annoyance as her shoulder flexed. She picked the notepad and pen up, settling back into her place with a sigh.
Clicking it open, she set out writing a letter in response.