Ledger’s bones ached under his skin and he paused at the door to his room, taking a moment to lean against the wooden archway before he entered, part of him hoping the pain would ebb away until he could banish it with the painkillers he’d gotten after his last altercation. Instead, as he came to a rest, he only felt the pain settle in, as if preparing for a long stay. Despite the renewed ache, it was still several moments before Ledger forced himself to open the door and go inside.
As he reached to open the door he caught a glimpse of the purple bruises that adorned his knuckles, and he paused for a moment, looking at the wounds he’d gathered during his visit to the king’s court. The gloves that normally covered them had been abandoned when the bruises had caused too much discomfort against the cloth. He wiggled his fingers, the purple skin flexing and contracting with the movements. They felt tight against his joints, stiff and wrong. He forced his gaze to the door instead and entered.
The light was on inside, and Ledger lingered at the threshold in response. He’d turned the light off when he’d left. He stood there silently and looked around the interior of his apartment with keen eyes, doing his best to ignore the ache that lingered in his head. But nothing was out of place, at least not to his eyes. He knocked on the open door and took a step inward. “Is anyone here?” He asked, moving in. “I won’t try and stop you if you try and leave.” He continued, but there was only silence in response.
Cautiously Ledger advanced into his own apartment, fearful that someone else had taken it up during his absence. He left the small room that was at the immediate entry way and he took a few steps until he passed the second door that led into the greater part of the apartment. He glanced towards the kitchen, where it hid in an alcove to his left, but then his gaze snapped front and center as a loud thump issued forth.
A pony was tied up and bound on his front room table. He immediately recognized her and realized who was waiting for him to come home. He sat down at one of the seats around the table and recieved a dark look from the prisoner on the table, he did his best to ignore her and instead relaxed into the welcoming cushions of the chair.
“Did everything go okay then?”
“Ah, Misssster Ledger. I didn’t hear you come in. Sssssorry.” The voice came from the kitchen, and it took a large portion of Ledger’s remaining will not to look there.
Instead, Ledger leaned back as far as he could and closed his eyes, trying to forget the pain that ran through his bones. “Do you have your contacts in?” He said, changing his question now that his suspicion had been confirmed fully.
“Not at the moment, unfortunately. I came here sssstraight from the job. Assss you can ssssee, there was a ssssmall issssue.”
Ledger opened his eyes a slit to look at Rainbow Dash again, who’s look had gotten even darker while his eyes had been closed. “Yea, I wasn’t quite expecting a visit captain, you’ll have to excuse the lack of greeting. Didn’t have time to put the tea on.” She glared evilly at Ledger.
“Oh, don’t worry Missster Ledger. I assssure you. I’ve been a proper hossssst.” Ledger remained silent, but he did allow a small smile to come to his lips, though it didn’t stay very long. “Now, before we get into the nitty gritty of the deal, I musssst ssssay, I didn’t exxxxpect your ‘disssstraction’ to be quite ssssso… physssical.”
“Neither did I.”
“Sssso, you did do it for her to essscape. Alwayssss full of ssssurprisssesss aren’t you? Picking a fight with the king’sss ssson issss not to be taken lightly, as I’m sssure you found out.”
Ledger saw the memory flash against the black background of his closed eyes. Octavia, always so caring. She’d shown a bit too much kindness to Spike after she finished her performance for the king. The king’s son and his ale found it an offense to treat the lessers so well. There’d been a fight. And Octavia had escaped with Spike while Ledger had played pin cushion. Ledger wasn’t sure where they’d gone, but he hoped they’d gone there quickly. The king and his sons were not forgiving individuals.
“Sssstill, I sssuppossse you’ve garnered a favor from her should you ever need it.”
“I needed a distraction anyway, helping her was just a unexpected benefit.”
“Jusssst because I forced you to take a favor from me doessssn’t mean that everyone elssse will do the ssssame. You do have to learn to take what’sss yoursss occasssionally Missster Ledger. For your sssake asss well asss everyone elssesss.”
“I guess you’re right,” Ledger paused and rubbed his temples, only manging to stir up more pain instead of massage it away. “But it won’t matter much longer anyway.”
“Oh,” The voice sounded far more engaged than it had all night. “How do you mean?”
“Nothing. Just… nothing.” He didn’t sound convincing, and judging by the silence from the kitchen his conversation partner wasn’t convinced either. “It was… just a name right? Name of the pony that I got my mind reading done by?” Ledger leaned forward and grabbed a pad of paper and a pen from the table next to Rainbow Dash, the dark look having shifted to one of confusion.
He jotted down the name on the paper and held it behind his head. It was snatched away by some unseen hand almost immediately. Rainbow Dash had forced her eyes closed and Ledger kept his gaze firmly forward. Ledger sat still, waiting to hear the door close, or to hear the farewell, but only silence was there.
It remained like that for several minutes until a strange cane came into view, an unseen hand holding it from somewhere outside Ledger's field of view. The wooden cane was carved with the pattern of snakes crisscrossing over every inch of it’s surface. “What’s-” Ledger started, before being interrupted.
“A gift from the Ssssnakehair clan, Missster Ledger. Asss thanksss for ssserviccess rendered.”
“I- I couldn’t-”
“Take the cane missster Ledger. And don’t die would you? That would be a horrible wassste of potential.”
Ledger reached out and grabbed the cane. It felt warm in his hand, comforting. “I can’t make that promise,” Ledger said immediately, not wanting to convey any kind of assurity he didn’t think he could back up.
“Yessss, I thought you might sssay that.” Ledger waited for the cane to be taken back, but instead he heard the door to the apartment swing closed. Ledger glanced back slowly, carefully making sure that the owner of the voice had indeed left.
He then looked towards Rainbow Dash, who cracked her eyes open as well. “Well then, let’s get this over with too.” He stood from the chair and deftly untied the knots that had kept her bound on the table. Undoing the gag on her mouth last, desperately trying to put off the next round of talking for as long as he could.
“What was-” Rainbow asked immediately, standing up on all fours again. Ledger interrutped.
“Don’t.” He said simply, reaching for a bag that rested next to the table and picking it up. He lifted a round stone out and held in front of Rainbow Dash. “You were after this right?”
“I wasn’t after anything, I was just patrolling-” Every word sounded fake and Ledger interrupted again.
“No, don’t give me that. You were looking for something and you got in the way and that’s why our mutual acquaintance had to gag you and move you here. So I’ll ask you again.” Ledger rotated the sphere in his beaten hand, showing off every angle of it. “You were after this right?”
“I should have known the Queen was on to us!” Rainbow shouted immediately, rage boiling to the surface of her skin. “How did she know we were after the elements huh? Do you have any idea how much effort we’ve put into keeping it a secret?”
“Shut. Up.” Ledger said, rubbing his temples again as a headache began to form. “So you have the others then?”
“You would know!” She continued yelling.
“I had this hope that this conversation would go smoothly, I can’t believe how deluded I was.” Ledger said, rolling his eyes. “Look, I don’t want to have to deal with moving this through customs without anyone finding it. Can you fly it back to Canterlot and get it to Twilight for me?”
“Ha, what? Is there a trap there waiting for me? You think I’m just gonna lead your flunkies to the resistance’s headquarters? How stupid do you think I am?”
“I’m gonna try and not answer that question.” That got him a dirty look from her. He continued. “Look, I admire your loyalty to your friends. I really do. But I need you to take this to them, it’s the only thing you’re missing.”
“Shows what you know, we’re missing two.”
“Magic doesn’t count. It’ll show up later.”
“Wha- So you have been spying on us!”
“I don’t know why I said that, it’s a really stupid thing to say in hindsight.”
“Yea, just like you and all the Queen’s minions!”
“You know what? Fine. I didn’t want the world saved anyway. Why would I go through the trouble of tricking you into leading us to the resistance when I could just have you imprisoned? The elements only work with all six. If you were out of the equation we wouldn’t need to worry. Not to mention that we have one of the elements with us as well. so that firmly kills off your rebellion. Heck, what if we kill you? I’m sure you’ve been told that I knew you were in the resistance since the start, if I really wanted to destroy your chances why didn’t I have you killed?”
“I-” Rainbow stopped as she thought about it.
“Look, don’t take it to them right away, I don’t care. Sneak it to them in a pie for all that it matters to me. Just please.” Ledger handed the element to her. “Please get it to Twilight.”
Rainbow looked at it carefully, then to Ledger with narrowed eyes. “Alright,” She said, taking it and placing it in her saddlebags. “But if this is a trick, I’m gonna make you wish you’d never been born.” She left before Ledger could reply, dashing out an open window and leaving him alone in his apartment.
He watched her leave until he couldn’t spot her in the darkness any longer. “Too late.” He said to the darkness, then closed the window. He grabbed the decorative cane from where it leaned against his chair and made his way to the bathroom to get his pills.
“Gee Mr. Cane. What do you think? I feel pretty rough. Should I up the dose?”
“Well I see no harm in upping it a little bit Mr. Ledger, you’ve had a bad day after all.” Ledger moved the cane up and down spastically as he imitated a different voice.
“Thanks Mr. Cane, You’ve always got my back.”
“More like I’ve got your side. Hahahaha.”
Ledger glanced towards the mirror as he did the fake laugh and then let it slowly die away. He coughed slightly and leaned the cane against the wall. “Right, less of that Ledger. Try not to go insane quite yet.”
He took the pills and stared at himself in the mirror, his eyes half lidded in exhaustion. “Just gotta make it a few more weeks is all. Then it’s all smooth sailing.”