“Hey! Wake up, prisoner,” a voice yelled into the cell.
The concrete room contained a toilet and a single cot, covered in a threadbare blanket. Light streamed in through a small window high on the wall. Other than a bit of bright green hair spilling out from under the lumpy blanket, the room looked unoccupied. Slowly, the bundle started to stir and deep blue eyes peered out, blinking groggily.
“Hurry up! We’ve got to process five more explosion suspects tonight,” shouted the Pegasus guard through the iron bars of the cell door.
The petite blue Unicorn sat up, flourished her horn to magically untangle the blanket from herself, and stepped gracefully down from the cot. Or so she had planned. In actuality, the blanket remained tangled around her legs and the pony toppled out of the bed and onto her face.
“Wuhh? My magic?” she mumbled. Oh right. Oh course prisons would have anti-magic wards, she thought.
“Stop messing around,” the guard said, then used a large, iron key to unlock the cell door. “You do not want to make the Captain wait.”
“O-okay, sorry!” The Unicorn stood up and put a hoof to her face, massaging the spot that had just been intimate with the concrete floor. “Ouchy…” she moaned. It hurt, but wasn’t serious. Her injuries never were.
The guard shouted again, “Harmony Fields! You are to be taken to your first interrogation. Come with me.” The white stallion was decked out in golden armor from flank to face, and was nearly a full head taller than Harmony, which put his mouth right at the level of her ears. Not wanting to give him any more reason to yell, the small pony stepped quickly out of the cell and started down the hallway where he was pointing.
Harmony looked around as she walked, noticing the jail cells that lined the hallway. Each one was occupied, and nearly every occupant was visibly injured. In one cell, a pony was unconscious in a stretcher, hooked up to an IV drip and life support machines. Am I the only pony that didn’t get hurt? she thought, turning her gaze to the ground and trying to ignore the accusing beep, beep, beep of the heart monitor.
Before long, they were out of the cell block and in an administrative section of the guard station. It was loud and hectic, with ponies rushing about and frantically passing papers and packages of evidence. The guard directed Harmony into a small room, followed her in, and closed the door behind him, sealing off the noise entirely. “The Captain will be here shortly. Sit on that stool.” He pointed to an uncomfortable and splintery-looking stool, in sharp contrast to the cushioned office chair on the opposite side of the table. Then, he stood rigidly next to the door and stared straight ahead.
“Oh, okay,” Harmony said. She sat down awkwardly on the stool and took in the room around her. It was small and featureless except for the table, chairs, and a single harsh light bulb. She took a deep breath and tried to settle her racing mind. Calm down, Harmony, she told herself. Be honest, and they’ll see that you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. You got this! Falling into an old habit, she absentmindedly hummed a tune to herself while she waited. Just when she started feeling comfortable and clearheaded, the door burst open and Harmony flinched in surprise. Another tall Pegasus in guard armor stomped into the room. Unlike the other guards Harmony had seen, he wasn’t wearing a helmet, revealing a very short slate-colored mane.
He turned to the first guard. “You’re dismissed, soldier. Go get some rest before your next rescue shift.” The Captain’s expression was sorrowful and kind as he watched the soldier salute and leave. However, when the grey Pegasus turned to face Harmony, his pale blue eyes turned cold and critical. The Captain sat in the chair across from Harmony, and set down a quill and a folder of papers.
“We’re going to do this quickly. Tell me if any of this information is incorrect.“ The Captain read off data from the file, “Harmony Fields. Unicorn. Blue eyes, light blue fur, green hair. Cutie-mark is a spiral resembling a music note. Career as a singer.”
Harmony interrupted, “Um, I’m not a singer anymore. I, uh, retired a couple years ago.” Her gaze drifted downward as she spoke.
“Huh. Quite young to retire…” He eyed her suspiciously. “So what brings you to Canterlot?”
“Being a tourist, I guess. I love to travel so I don’t usually stay in one place for long.”
The Captain noted something in the file and resumed questioning, “Why were you in Mountgomery Ward yesterday?”
“Um, I was out shopping. I had just bought a watch for my dad’s birthday from Turner’s Timepieces, and I was returning to my hotel--”
The Captain interrupted, “That doesn’t explain why we found you inside the Ward’s rubble.”
“I, uh, I was,” Harmony started to answer, but stopped when she clearly couldn’t get a sentence out in that state. Embarrassed, she took a slow breath and tried again, “I had to use the restroom, and Ward’s stores always have nice, clean restrooms.”
“Hm. Okay then.” He wrote something down. “And I take it you were still in the restroom when the explosion went off? What happened then?”
“Y-Yes, I was. There was a bright flash. It shined right through the walls, and then there was a bang nearby. The restroom got really hot and steamy, and then the ceiling fell down. I was stuck there in the dark until a rescuer found me.” she replied.
“Oh? That’s how you survived,” the Captain muttered under his breath. He leafed through the papers and pulled out a diagram. He added notes to it for several seconds, then continued his questioning, “You were found in the furthest toilet stall. When you chose that stall, did you know it was next to the boiler room?”
She frowned. “Huh? No. Why would that matter?”
“You call yourself a Unicorn? Even I know that water is good at absorbing and deflecting magic.” When Harmony continued to look puzzled, he sighed and explained in a patronizing voice, “Steam is water. The explosion was magic. That random boiler malfunction kept you from being disintegrated.”
Harmony hadn’t even processed his insulting tone when her jaw dropped in shock. “Disintegrated?”
“Oh, right. You haven’t seen the news yet,” he sighed and slid a newspaper clipping across the table to Harmony. “Over 200 ponies missing or dead, most of them disintegrated. The rest were hit by the collapsing buildings. You were either freakishly lucky or you knew exactly how to escape that bomb.”
Harmony felt ill. Not again... Everypony around me gets hurt. I thought staying on the move would be enough.
The Captain stopped talking and massaged his temples with his hooves. After a moment, he continued, “I’m pretty sure you’re not smart enough to be in on the attack, but we’ll have a magic expert check you over anyway. Stay here.” The Captain gathered all the notes and clippings and turned to leave, but stopped when the door was opened from the other side.
A handsome tan Pegasus strode confidently into the room. “Oh good. I found the right room. Captain Stormfront, I’ll take it from here.”
“What? Who the hay are you?” asked the Captain, making no attempt to hide his displeasure.
The brown-maned pony brandished a shiny badge, pinned to a pretentious black vest that extended to his flank, mostly covering his cutie mark. “I’m Agent Reed, from the Royal Bureau of Investigation. I’ll be taking over the case of Harmony Fields.” He leaned forward and whispered loudly, “We have reason to believe that Harmony is a member of a multinational terrorist group. Above your pay grade, I’m afraid.”
“Hah! She’s practically the embodiment of dumb luck, not a terrorist. The Bureau’s always imagining threats where there aren’t any. Ugh, whatever.” The Captain gestured at Harmony. “Just make sure to take her to your offices quickly. We don’t have enough resources right now for you ‘burros’ to keep leeching ours.” He stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him.
Harmony had heard Reed’s whisper, and was visibly overwhelmed and shivering. She cried out, “But I’m not a terrorist! I’m nopony. I’m nothing.” She held her hooves to her chest and started to cry.
Reed rushed over to Harmony and put a foreleg around her shoulders. “Shh. I know you’re not a terrorist. I only said that to get Captain Stormfront to leave. Quite a fitting name for him, with that attitude, don’t you think?” He smiled kindly at her, but she still looked sad and confused. With his leg still around her, he lead her over to the comfortable chair and sat her down. “Relax and sit in this comfy chair. I’ve found the best inquisitions involve comfy chairs,” he quipped.
Harmony puzzled the massive shift in tone that had just occurred. Comfy chair… Inquisition… the Spanish Inquistion sketch? When the pieces came together in her head, she said, “Wait… was that a Monty Percheron reference?”
Reed smiled broadly. “Indeed it was. I can tell we’ll be great friends, with your taste in comedy and my impeccable style.” He lifted his badge, fogged it with his breath, and buffed it with his hoof. “I don’t get to play secret agent often, but boy do I enjoy it.”
Reed’s face took on a more serious expression as he continued, “Anyways, we don’t have time to explain everything right now, so I’ll say this for the moment: you’re no longer under arrest, we know all about your chronically bad luck, and we have a solution to it.“
At that, Harmony’s eyes went wide. She hadn’t told anypony about the cursed luck that seemed to follow her all these years. “Whatever could you mean?” she blurted, awkwardly trying to hide her surprise. Constant secrecy was a hard habit to break. “What bad luck?”
Reed smiled knowingly. “The bad luck you’ve had since around when you got that.” He pointed at her cutie mark. “You’ve got a destiny, and something’s been trying to push you towards it for a long time. We’ll work with you to get you on the right path. You can hear the rest of the details before you make any major decisions.”
Harmony thought for a moment. After all her misfortune, she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth, so she nodded in agreement. “Okay. When will that be?”
“We’ll need to get out of the Captain’s mane before he catches wise, so let’s head over to my office. Put this horncuff on, stay quiet, and act arrested. Gotta keep up appearances, after all.” He pulled a black metal ring from a vest pocket and placed it over Harmony’s horn where it seemed to fasten itself. She could feel her magic being locked away: a different sensation than it being blocked by the prison’s wards. Reed opened the door and guided Harmony out ahead of him and through the chaotic guard station, brandishing his badge overzealously at anypony that got near.
Harmony had no trouble being quiet, as asked. She was lost in thought trying to process the strange sequence of events. I’m destined for something? That’s cool, I guess. Better than just being unlucky and on the run all the time, she thought. She barely even noticed when they left the station and followed a walkway to another government building nearby. Had any of my teachers mentioned that thing about water blocking magic? Maybe in Hardcastle’s defensive casting class. His voice always put me to sleep, so I definitely wouldn’t remember if he had, she was pondering, when Reed called out.
“Here we are, Harmony: The Royal Bureau of Investigation, West Division. Or, as I like to call it, not-actually-the-Royal-Bureau-at-all.” Reed pushed open a door emblazoned with a RBI crest, revealing a featureless hallway behind. After ten feet, the hall turned abruptly to the left and opened to a small lobby area. “Now that we’re away from prying eyes, let’s get that awful thing off,“ Reed said, then he tapped the horncuff with a special sequence, gently removed it, and pocketed it. He gestured to one of the chairs along the wall. “Take a seat while I fill out some paperwork.”
Harmony sat down and looked around the room. There were several guest chairs, a check-in counter where Reed was currently filling out a huge stack of paper, a closed doorway behind that, and a large receptionist’s desk. A very yellow Earth Pony was seated there, intently reading something on the desktop. Above the desk, large gold letters proclaimed this the Department of Fate. Harmony wondered what that could mean, but was interrupted when a grey Pegasus bounded in from the hallway and beelined for the receptionist.
The Pegasus was wearing a postmare’s uniform and two saddlebags bulging with mail. “Hey, Safflower, I got a package for you to sign for,” she called. Her pale yellow mane bounced as she planted her front hooves on the counter. Using her mouth, she pulled a clipboard and a small box from a saddlebag and dropped them clumsily on the desk, knocking over a quill holder and a small potted plant.
“Thanks,” said Safflower as she casually righted the plant. She used the quill to sign the paper and returned the clipboard. “You sure are keeping busy, for your day off. Wouldn't things be easier for you if you just worked the one job here?"
The visitor smiled. “Maybe, but I love meeting ponies and seeing their happy faces. And I don’t want to let this little curse be my whole life.” She tucked the clipboard away, but dropped several letters in the process. She bent to pick those up, and yet another letter fell out.
Safflower shook her head. “I get what you’re saying, but don’t call it a curse. You do great work here and you help a lot of ponies, even if they’ll never know it.”
The mailmare finally got all the letters put away and she stood up. “Aw, thanks, Safflower. Well, I better get back to work. I’m about an hour behind schedule. Seeya!” She sped away before Safflower could respond, so she just smiled and waved at the grey blur.
Shortly after the mailmare left, Reed returned from the check-in counter, stretching his lips and face into strange expressions. “I really hate writing with my mouth. My kingdom for a horn,” he muttered. He sat down next to Harmony. “Oh, I’m sorry, I never properly introduced myself.” He pointed to his badge and said, “I’m Dusty Reed, and despite appearances, I’m not actually a ‘burro’." Dusty grinned. "That’s our little nickname for Bureau of Investigation agents, and boy do they hate it. Did you notice that even the Royal Guard is using it now? Ha!”
Harmony chuckled at that. “Are they so bad? I always thought the RBI kept everypony safe from terrorists and stuff.”
“Yeah, they do a bit of that, but the ones doing the rest of the work are the Royal Guard and the good old Department of Fate. The Guard deals with the day-to-day baddies, and we deal with the really crazy stuff: cultists, ancient evil, end of the world, that kind of stuff,” he said in an oddly casual tone.
Harmony was overwhelmed for the umpteenthed time that day. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. I still have no idea what’s going on. What is the Department of Fate, and what was that stuff about my destiny?”
“Oh, Sorry. Someday I’ll remember to do this whole recruitment business in the right order,” Dusty said. “Let’s start with the basics, and if you want more info after that, we’ll go meet the lead researcher.” He turned to Harmony and looked her in the eyes. “Stop me if any of this is wrong, but I don’t think it will be. You always feel like you’re supposed to be doing something important, but you don’t know what. Lots of little things go wrong, making everypony think you’re clumsy. Most of all, you’ve never been seriously hurt, but ponies around you get hurt a lot.”
Harmony nodded furiously. For almost ten years, she had been going through exactly that. After the first year, she could no longer call it just bad luck. In the fifth year of it, she was convinced she was cursed. After the big disaster two years ago, she decided that staying in one place and having a family was simply impossible for her.
“Well, all of that is because of Fate, with a capital ‘F’. Fate is a force, kind of like Magic, only bigger and less understood. When Fate wants something, she chooses a few ponies to get it done. These Fate’s Chosen are driven to do that task, and nothing can stop them. Fate keeps them safe, even in really dangerous situations, until they complete that destiny,” Dusty explained.
Harmony’s brow furrowed. The puzzle wasn’t coming together for her. “But that doesn’t explain all the misfortune. Why do things go wrong and ponies around me keep getting hurt?”
“Cutting right to the tricky part, eh?” Dusty took a deep breath and began to explain, “Earlier, I said Fate is bigger than Magic. Well, Fate is MUCH bigger than ponykind. We’re like ants, compared to Fate. Now imagine that you picked a single ant to guide and keep safe at all costs How would you go about that? You can’t communicate with it, and it probably doesn’t even realize you exist. You could try to steer it towards your goal, but it would usually wander off in some other direction. You could nudge it away from danger, but then you might squish the other nearby ants with your hoof.”
“And that’s what the misfortune is? Giant clumsy hooves trying to guide and protect me?” Harmony asked.
“Yup, that’s exactly it, minus the hooves. We tend to think of Fate as a mare, but no one knows what she or it really looks like. Could be an Alicorn like the Princesses, or a dragon, or have no shape at all,” Dusty said.
“I feel like I’m starting to understand, but I still have no idea what you all do here,” Harmony said.
“The basic version is: Fate’s Chosen get to go out and do amazing things for the good of Equestria. Kind of like secret agents or super heroes,” he said nonchalantly. “We can send them out on missions to gather information, stop an evil plot, or protect people. Since Chosen are protected by Fate, they always make it back safe. Quite handy, if I may say so myself.”
“Okay... So if I do join you, what would that mean for me?” she asked.
“You could be an agent too, or work here in the office if that suits you. Of course, you don’t have to join. You could go back to your normal life. We don’t want to force you, after all.”
Harmony shuddered. “I’d rather not go back to that misfortune and having to move all the time.”
“Understandable. Anything else you want to know before you decide?”
Harmony took a deep breath and asked, “Just what IS my destiny?”
“Aha!” Dusty laughed. “I was wondering when you’d ask that. For that, we’ll have to go meet the head researcher, Cascade Falls.”