//------------------------------// // Mission 1, Part 2: Case Closed // Story: Semper Pie // by deathtap //------------------------------// Glitter hated this. How long had she been tailing Copper? She didn’t know. How long had she been spying on her friend? She didn’t know. Playing the fun, happy-go-lucky new gal was painful, but it helped Magenta and her continue their investigation. How did things turn out like this? She was supposed to be a point of contact for Semper, but he had gone off and there was nothing but silence in return. She did forward the report on and half expected orders to ship back to the training camp, but so far no word from home. At least she had something to amuse herself in the meantime. Magenta had warned Glitter not to get into a scuffle with Copper. The beating she received when she first arrived was nothing compared to what she saw a couple days after when she single hoofedly took down three stallions on her own without breaking a sweat. Not just three stallions, but three Guards. Granted, they were a little intoxicated, but that was irrelevant. She put them down faster than she could’ve put one of them down. And all this without magic. Sneaking along the path that Copper has just traversed, she watched as the unicorn entered a small stone building. It was hard to see in the  dark, but she could see the faint glow through the cracks in the doorframe. The door wasn’t closed. Gently, she pushed the door open before closing it behind her and followed the source of the light up to the second floor. Inside she saw Copper looking over something. “What are you doing here, Glits?” Glitter sighed and appeared in the doorframe, her light from her own horn amplifying the ambience. “I could ask you the same thing.” “Well, I can’t tell you that,” Copper replied and folded the book she was reading and eyed Glitter intently for a second. “Shouldn’t you been in bed? You have first watch in the morning.” “Oh, that’s okay. I don’t need sleep. Besides, I’ve finally got you where I want you.” Glitter knew that a fight against Copper wasn’t the brightest of ideas, but she was fed up with running around. She was tired of chasing empty leads. “I know what you’ve been doing?” “You do?” Copper asked genuinely surprised. “How?” “Magenta told me. She told me everything.” “Magenta told you… everything? Wait? What?” Before Copper could say anything else, Glitter used her magic and threw the table at Copper. The contact was successful and the unicorn lay unconscious on the ground. Glitter trotted over and quickly put a dampening ring over the horn and put her hooves in iron shackles to prevent her from being able to take it off. With her quarry secure, she began looking at whatever it was she was looking at. Reports, guard changes, new recruits scheduled to arrive and replacements. There was also a book in her saddlebag that she had not noticed before. Taking it out, she looked at it. A lot of notes were written down, mostly finding out flaws and loose ends in the reports she had found. Something wasn’t right. As she looked, she noticed that all the ponies gone missing were always missing for several days. Only when an enquiry was initiated at the port of destination did things get noticed. That means somepony was fudging the reports when these Guards were boarding the airships home. Some of them never reached their destination and were not reported until much later. She also noticed that the Guard changes were fixed up so that certain ponies were always grouped together and that a series of them would be working portions of the wall that would help get ponies inside, outside. What was Copper doing here? This had to be a room where all the old records were kept. It should have been under lock and key. How had she come by it? A series of loud hoofs echoed from downstairs. “Glits? You in here?” It was Magenta. “Up here, Mag. Got Coop sleeping like a foal.” Magenta came into the small room followed by several Guards in full armor. “Wow! You did that?” Magenta asked walking over to Copper and picking up her unconcious head from the floor. “Not bad.” “Thanks.” “Thing is, I… might have been leading you on.” “Hm?” Glitter wasn’t really listening. She was still flipping through Copper’s notebook. Perhaps there were others involved. Maybe she could find them and bring an end to this, whatever it was. It was then that she noticed that the Guards and Magenta were all staring intently at her. “What did you say?” “You know, this is what I like about new recruits like you. You come here, not knowing anything and after a few days hanging out together you suddenly trust me enough to convince you that I’m doing an highly secret investigation. Didn’t you stop to think why?” Glitter felt something inside her knot. “Oh. That’s it. Now you’re getting it. I have to thank you, though. It’s not every day that a pony can best Copper. She’s been a thorn in my side for far too long, but she’s proven to be more than proficient at defending herself. Lost so many of my ponies because of her. Now, not only have we got her, but we’ve also got her alive. Do you know how valuable that is?” The knot inside her started to spread out to every pore on her body. Her skin felt tight and her stomach wanted to collapse in on itself. “That look! Oh, how I love that look. When they realize. So many before you have fallen for this and so many of you will!” Magenta giggled sadistically. “H-how could you do this? You’re supposed to protect Equestria-” “Protect? Protect what? Greedy politicians? A princess who doesn’t care about her own Guards? Protect what?” Magenta screamed as she pronounced the last two words. “Don’t you dare tell me what I’m doing is wrong. Do you have any idea how long I’ve spent on this Celestia forsaken town? Well, when I get back I want to live the high life and make up for all the time I wasted babysitting a bunch of foals!” Glitter looked down at the last page to reveal one name at the top-left corner. Magenta. Next to it, the words ‘ring-leader’. “Oh, don’t worry. Mares are highly sought after. You’ll fetch a hefty price. But not you, Coop. I’ve got a special ship waiting for you. Where you’re going, nopony is going to see you ever again.” Copper’s eyes opened slowly. She tried to move, found that she couldn’t then tried to use magic. Nothing. She looked around and saw Glitter and her eyes moved over to Magenta before realization dawned on her. Anger filled her eyes as she eyed her primary suspect with pure malice. “You won’t get away with this.” “Please, I’ve been getting away with it for years!” Magenta drew her sword and pressed it against Copper’s neck. Glitter made to stop it, but two spears were at her before she could take a third step. “And now I get to send you where the very concept of freedom is a luxury only for those of the royal family. They pay quite well for unicorns.” Copper growled. “Others will come.” “Then I’ll do the same thing I did to them that I did to the ones before you. A lot of ponies die out here in the wilderness. And sometimes bodies never get to go home.” Magenta made a signal with her head and Copper was dragged out by the underlings after being gagged. Magenta turned towards Glitter and smirked. “Couldn’t have done it without you.” Glitter wanted to make a snappy comeback. Perhaps even fight. But the moment the last word came out, a dull thud echoed through her skull and all went black. Glitter awoke with a headache that was quite unlike anything she had ever felt before. She rubbed the sore spot and wondered if all that had happened was a bad dream. She looked up to see Copper rocking back and forth, her hooves chained above her head and her legs to an iron bar along the floor. The familiar creaking and groaning of wood sounded through the silence and Glitter tried to move but found that quite impossible. “Nice to see you’re up,” Copper stated. Her face was a deep scowl. “How could you fall for her lies? You’re supposed to be smart!” It took a moment for Glitter to catch on. The blow to the head was a little harder than it needed to be. “I didn’t know, okay?” “No. Not okay. Now because of you we’re on our way to Lost Hope and will probably be sold to the Griffin Empire and whisked away across the sea. Do you know how many ponies have been disappearing from Almaty? I was so close! All I needed to do was get evidence and I would’ve ended this!” “How was I supposed to know?” Glitter muttered. “By minding your own business!” Copper shot back. “It’s too late anyway. We crossed the border hours ago. Out here… the laws of Equestria don’t apply.” The rode on in silence for hours. Glitter tried to come into grips about what was happening, but couldn’t really wrap her head around the situation. She would get free. Somehow, she would get free and make her way back to Almaty and stick a spear through Magenta’s head. Somehow. She swore on it. Then the cart came to a stop. The back swung open and Magenta looked at the two in front of her with a wide grin. “We’re here!” she sung out. She made a sign with her head and Magenta’s goons unbuckled the bar on the floor and slid the chains out and pulled them out to the road shoving them down on the ground. Glitter blinked at the bright sun trying to get used to its light. They must have been hours away from Equestria by now. She was led onto a small hill overlooking the road. There were quite a lot of ponies here. Some were prisoners shackled in chains. Others were just watching the entire commotion with a mix of facial expressions from the road. Despite the situation, those particular ponies did not seem very worried. “Keep an eye on them,” Magenta ordered and walked towards a cluster of heavily armed ponies standing on the road at the entrance to a densely wooded area. It was really hard to see in there from where she was. Glitter noted that they although the armed group were most definitely ponies, they were different than anything she had ever seen before. Those masks that they wore were especially grotesque. There was some talking before something was obviously wrong. Magenta started shouting, then pointing to her prisoners, before shouting again. She unsheathed her blade, but none of the strange masked ponies even flinched at this. That was until the one at the front took a step forward slowly and unsheathed a sword. “No.” Glitter felt her heart pump hard. She recognized that stance. Any Guard would. Including Magenta. There was some more shouting and Magenta screamed about how this wasn’t Equestria and that he had no right being there. All she got in response was the sword moving firmly into a combat stance. Magenta screamed and threw herself forward. Before Glitter could blink, the fight was over. The masked pony sheathed his blade, casually walking past Magenta as if nothing had happened and towards where Glitter sat. Magenta stumbled a few steps and fell to the ground. Glitter could hear some shouting around her and she noticed that the ponies guarding her and the others on the hill all yelped as bolts flew from the trees and clouds above them piercing their bodies. The few that tried to run did not make it very far before they were engulfed in raw magic. Fire, ice, earth, whatever. Although she heard all this, Glitter never stopped looking at the figure walking towards her. Then it stood over her, and the pony removed the mask. “Slavery no longer exists in these lands,” was the first thing he said. Then he smashed Glitter’s chains with his sword shattering it to pieces. The gesture was more than just words, it was symbolic. Just what had happened? “I’m sorry,” Copper stated sarcastically, “but these lands don’t abide by the rules or laws set forth by one pony.” Copper’s mouth froze when she saw the expression on this pony’s face. “The law of Equestria applies here now. Every creature here is now free.” Copper gulped. “Impossible. Do you know how long we’ve tried to bring Equestrian law here?” Glitter put a hoof on Copper’s shoulder and shook her head. “If he says it is, then it is.” “But… how can you be so sure?” At those words Glitter looked at the stallion and the red plume that dangled from his helm. “Because he’s Semper Pie.” A red plume soaked and stained with blood. Zecora rushed into her mother’s arms and received her million and one kisses with happiness and joy. She knew that the kisses and loving words would turn into scolding and punishment later, but right now she was so happy that she was home that she didn't care. She had survived an ordeal no nobody her age or race or whatever should have to suffer. “Momma,” she said in her native tongue, “I am so happy to be home.” “As am I, my little one. You do know that it will take me a long time to put aside my fears of letting you venture off on your own now.” “Oh, momma, that stallion saved my life. He came for me, momma. Me. He risked his life and saved so many others to save me.” Zecora couldn’t help herself. She felt her face heat up. “I… I wish to be his bethrothed.” “Can it be so?” Zecora’s mother took her daughter in a tight embrace. “But he is a pony. Surely he will not wish to remain here.” “I will go to Equestria.” “But-” At that moment Zaku came in. There were happy exchanges of words and hugs. Zaku had spent his days being by her mother’s side, making sure that there was always somezebra with her to help her whenever she needed it the most. Zecora could almost see why her mother was not so insistent in making her stay in her home now. The thought made her give her mother a look that spoke volumes, to which her mother just blushed. But all mirth evaporated when Zecora spoke about leaving with Semper. “No. You cannot go,” Zaku stated bluntly, shaking his head firmly. “I know I am not your father nor your mother, but I will forbid it.” “You cannot forbid it! I am almost a fully grown mare! I have my right to choose my husband-” “No!” Zaku all but shouted. “You do not understand. He is Tai Jaicho! You cannot be his wife because he isn’t capable of thinking of anything except what is good for all.” “W-what do you mean?” Zecora asked, not sure what he was getting at. At those words, Zaku placed Zecora down on a stool and knelt looking at her in the eyes. “He did not go after you to save you. Don’t be fooled by that. He did go after you to save you, but not because he had feelings for you. You know this. Think.” Zecora paused and thought. That coldness. That iron-like resolve. How he ensured that she was kept safe from harm, how he had moved everything to get her home. If he did not love her, then why did he do all of it? What was Zaku saying? She didn’t understand. “Did he tell you he loves you? Did he kiss you when he found you? Did he even hug you in private?” Zaku asked. “And you believe that he loves you?” There was a long period of silence at Zaku waited for his words to sink in. Then he spoke calmly and gently. “Do not feel bad, it is what he is. Not who, for the who in his case is only a small piece of what makes him so. He is Tai Jaicho. He sees that which we cannot see, far, far, far away. His reasons are beyond our understanding. Go to Equestria if you must, but not because of him. Do it because of you.” The truth hurt, but Zecora finally understood. It wasn’t love that brought Semper out to her. As much as she wanted that to be true, she also felt so much relief that it wasn’t. How could she love a stallion like that? She wasn’t sure if her tears were of sadness or relief, but she shed them anyway.