Target 2: Golden Fork
Wanted, Alive.
Scootaloo left the apartment and quickly went toward the location of the information broker. According to Blood Eye, he could be found in the same place for two days only. As they waited for the broker, a strange motion caught Scootaloo’s attention. It was nothing irregular, she did it herself. Blood Eye shook like a dog for a moment, and her fur bristled in the chill. Scootaloo turned as the broker emerged, and handed him the two bits, holding out the wanted poster.
“Golden Fork eh? That’s a real shame, she gives me a lot of my business. You want the Tiara Spirits drug shop off Elderbirch Drive. Pick me up a pack of catnip while you’re at it, all the colts are sniffing it nowadays, I can make a steal.” The information broker tossed one gold coin back as a sign of good faith, and vanished into the shadows. Scootaloo opened up her map and quickly pinpointed the location of the store. Turning, she and Blood Eye matched pace as they made their way through the maze of back streets in the city.
“Golden Fork, seems they’re not very original in their naming.” Scootaloo chuckled to herself, surprised to see Blood Eye had raised an eyebrow in response.
“Oh uh, you see, these two bounties have been ponies I grew up in ponyville with. Sn1ps was a little bit of a weirdo, but he was a nice guy really. Golden Fork is likely Silver Spoon, another one of my childhood...ponies. I wouldn’t say we were on good terms.” Scootaloo bit her lip and looked down, giving a sigh. Even in the white, things weren’t as cut and dry. Sure things were happy over there, but as soon as she had passed The Wall, things had started to...change.
“The darkness changes ponies, just as it has changed you.” Blood Eye spoke a single sentence, and yet Scootaloo felt as if she had spoken a paragraph. Was it really that simple? Surely there were decent ponies over here too? Blood Eye was decent, somewhat, right? Scootaloo sighed, and lowered her head.
“I miss those days, before the Pulse, back when I had my best friends, and my sister. It all felt so...bright.” Scootaloo paused as the sight of the shop came into view from the alleyway, and narrowed her eyes. Scoping out the place first was important, security was likely to be a problem otherwise.
“Does the white not feel the same?” Blood Eye raised an eyebrow at Scootaloo, who blinked and returned the gaze.
“No, but yes at the same time. It’s hard to explain without having actually been over there. But I was sorta happy.” Scootaloo noticed one mare walk by the shop, and stop out front. After a few moments she passed on. Barely a moment later, a second mare did the same action.
“Then why leave? Blood Eye had noticed the pattern almost instantly, but let Scootaloo work through it at her own pace. Looking up, she also noticed a stranger watching them from the roof. Scootaloo had yet to notice.
“It’s complicated. Over there problems don’t seem as large as they do over here. I wanted to bring Sweetie Belle back, and possibly find...Anyways Celestia just happened to be considering sending a party in to see if this land was worth saving from the darkness, to see if ponies here deserved redemption.” Scootaloo bit her lip, glad she had managed to stop herself from talking about her sister. It was really just too soon.
“Very well,” was all Blood Eye said in response. If Blood Eye had any opinions, she kept them to herself. Scootaloo finally noticed the guard on the roof, and sighed, knowing their cover had been blown. Standing up, she began to walk directly toward the entrance. Security was tight, but not as tight as Sweetie Belle’s.
“Oh my, Scootaloo!” The gray mare with a necklace of fake pearls approached the two, and brought Scootaloo into a hug, stepping back a moment later. Scootaloo’s eyes widened as she realised the cutie mark was in fact of a golden fork.
“Oh nevermind that, it’s just some fancy makeup. I had it done so people wouldn’t be able to recognize my lineage.” Silver Spoon, for of course it was her, quickly led the two into a small room away from the counter. It opened up, revealing a large factory behind the store. Various ponies could be seen packaging various herbs of unknown origin.
“The Information Broker asked me to pick up some catnip.” Scootaloo blinked as a small bundle was tossed to her, and she quickly pocketed it.
“Oh anything for the broker, he has helped me out many times before. If I find out you're lying I will be procuring his resources to hunt you down you know.” Silver Spoon winked, but Scootaloo could tell she was dead serious. It was lucky Scootaloo was telling the truth. Finally, they entered another door, and Silver Spoon sat down at a desk. Scootaloo took the only seat, and Blood eye took a corner of the room.
“Now, could you show me the wanted poster?” Silver Spoon held out a hoof, and Scootaloo numbly held it out. After a moment, she scowled and scrunched it up, tossing it into the bin.
“This has Platinum Crown all over it, darn her. What an inconvenience this is.” Silver Spoon clapped her hooves together, and a burly stallion came in and deposited a bag of money on the table, and left the room. Silver Spoon kept her hooves clasped together.
“Now Scootaloo, I need you to listen very carefully. You see, this poster is put up by my competitor, Platinum Crown. If you take me in, my business will gain a bad reputation, and we will likely have to foreclose. However, if you take this bribe of twice the amount you would receive for handing me in, I won’t receive any negativity from my customers and I will quickly be able to regain the amount I give to you. So, what will it be Scoots?”
Scootaloo listened carefully to the words, as Silver Spoon has asked, and felt her inner morals die a little on the inside. On one hand, this was an obvious drug operation, and it going out of business would be a good thing. But another one would just spring up in it’s place, and nothing would change. However, if she took the bribe, she would be that much closer to getting the one pony she could out of the black as soon as possible. And Silver Spoon didn’t really deserve to be ruined.
“Double the bribe, and you have a deal,” she replied, putting a hoof out. Silver Spoon mused for a moment, and then smiled and grabbed the hoof and shook it.
“You have a deal! Come back anytime for a 1% discount on any drugs you buy!”
“I’m just not sure I made the right decision.” Scootaloo sighed and lounged on the couch. Blood Eye was making expired noodles as usual.
“There was no right decision kid, there normally isn’t. You forget where we are.” Blood Eye quickly ate her food, and quickly entered her room, locking the door and going to sleep. Scootaloo raised her head, and blinked in surprise to see a second cup of noodles steaming on the bench. Sitting at the bench, she ate them as if they were the best food she had ever eaten. But why had Blood Eye done it?
Why?