Chapter 6: How it Gets Personal
“Insects?” Raindrops asked incredulously, and in a wavering tone that belied she might not entirely disbelieve either. Trixie could see the pegasus mare was unnerved, the way her mane and tail bristled.
Trixie was unnerved as well. Panicked might also be a better word for it, but she was quickly taking control of herself, taking deep breaths. Carrot Top was still next to her, with a hoof on Trixie’s shoulder and a worried look on her face. Trixie gave the other mare a nod to indicate she wasn’t freaking out anymore and said, “Those pegasi aren’t pegasi. Their astral forms… I don’t know what else to call them but insects. Like somepony took a nasty bug and mixed it up with a pony’s shape or something! I don’t know what they are. I’ve never even heard of such a thing.”
“Well, whatever our mysterious friends are,” said Cheerilee as she eyed one of the rear view mirrors, “They look like they’re about to come down to give us a friendly hello. Or shoot us. One or the other.”
Raindrops, who was looking out the back window of the van, narrowed her eyes and nodded agreement, “Yeah, that’s a pretty clear attack run formation. Drek. They're seriously going to pull this here in the middle of high security corp territory? These fraggers are brain burnt.”
Trixie heard Lyra sigh as the mare turned a hard corner along the corporate sector streets, “CT, take the wheel. Get us to the rendezvous no matter what. I don’t care who gets hit, just keep driving until we reach our destination.”
“O-okay,” said Carrot Top, not moving towards the driver’s seat but instead strapping herself into the seat behind it. She closed her eyes and settled down, and Trixie knew the mare was using her built in cyber rig to take wireless control of the van, replacing her own senses with that of the van’s and controlling it as if it were now her own body. Lyra took her hooves off the wheel and unbuckled, coming into the back passenger area, and the van kept going, now fully under Carrot Top’s control.
Lyra snatched up her sniper rifle in a glow of gold magical aura and joined Raindrops at the back of the van. Meanwhile Cheerilee had taken out her machine pistol and loaded a fresh clip, rolling down the passenger side window with one hoof as she did so. Ditzy tried to rise from where she’d been laying down, but Trixie sat next to the mare and put a hoof on her, shaking her head.
“You’d better just sit down,” Trixie said.
Ditzy’s face looked pale and tired, but those wall eyes of hers were filled with earnest intent, “I should help too. Help my friends.”
Trixie held back a groan. These shadowrunners really were crazy. Ditzy had just had the equitant of a minor stroke for Moon’s sake! And the mare still wanted to play gun-tag with a bunch of flying insect ponies! Trixie took a deep breath and held the pegsus down, which was a lot harder than it seemed from Ditzy’s slight form. The little gray mare had a lot of strength in her, and Trixie had to almost resort to magic to keep her in place.
“Trixie’s right,” Lyra said, “Just keep your head down Ditzy. You too, Trixie. Unless we need the magic, in which case I’ll call you up. Hoping we can scare these guys off with a few shots.”
“This is gong to get dicey,” said Cheerilee, “I can’t imagine whichever security contractor has jurisdiction here is going to be happy with a running gunfight in their streets.”
“Moot point, here they come!” growled Raindrops as the top of the van suddenly started making loud plinking sounds as bullets rained down upon it.
----------
Raindrops didn’t bother trying to control her breathing, though she could tell that Lyra noticed something was up with her. She just didn’t care. Adrenaline coursed through her beyond what even would be normal for her boosted artificial glands, and what she was feeling couldn’t even properly be called rage. It was an anger of such white hot intensity that it somehow broke through the emotional spectrum and left her feeling deathly calm.
After all this time could this really be the moment she found them!?
Years of searching, digging up every occult reference and clue she could track down, sacrificing her social life, abandoning her parents, disfiguring her body with cybernetics beyond what had been needed to replace the leg she lost that night.
That night…
”Snails! Snails get back! Don’t go near that thing!”
“They’re calling sis. I gotta go. She's calling. The song...”
"Frag me, Drops, what is that thing!?"
"What's with his eyes, theyre fraggin' glowing green?"
"Dash, shoot it! Snails don't go near it, just back away!"
"Sis, you should come too. Hear the song. Its pretty."
"He belongs to me, little ponies. He's always belonged to me."
“Don’t touch my brother you monster!”
The phantom pain still coursed through her left foreleg. It’d been torn clean off that night by the beast that’d taken her brother away. A creature that she’d only been able to describe as a giant, horrific insect in the shape of a pony.
It’d begun so simply, almost innocently. Snails, her little brother with his sweet smile and dopey laugh, had loved bugs. There’d been little doubt he’d follow in their mother’s hoofsteps as an entomologist. So nopony in the family, least of all Raindrops, had really paid it any mind when Snails started having more and more dreams about insects. It’d seemed pretty normal for him. After all he’d always go out of his way to go exploring around for new bugs, even if it meant wandering towards the nastier parts of town. Raindrops had gotten her first taste of fighting protecting her brother from slum toughs as he wandered around looking for neat city bugs to collect. She’d even joined a gang, the Dashers, just so her brother could walk around unmolested as a family member of one of the gang.
Those gang days hadn’t been so bad, though she’d butted heads more than once with the Dasher’s boss, a egotistical but admittedly quite capable flier by the name of Rainbow Dash. Dash’s gang ran almost all of the Ponyville Barrens, and while Raindrops wasn’t fond of gang life she was able to spare her family a lot of grief by being a part of it. Things had been good.
Then Snails had started having those dreams, and nopony, not even Raindrops, thought anything of it. Even when he started acting weird. Skipping school. Spacing out. Vanishing all day only for Raindrops to find him… almost nesting among the bugs. One day she’d found him in a dark back ally one night covered in bugs, just laying there in a slack jawed daze.
It had scared them all, Raindrops and her parents. They’d tried to get him help. Psychological at first, but it became quickly apparent that whatever was wrong with him wasn’t simply a matter of the mind. No, something magical was at work, and not the simple Equestrian magic of old… but the new kind of magic, Awakened magic.
Before they could bring in a proper Awakened mage or shaman to examine Snails the incident had happened. Snails had vanished one night. Not unusual in and off itself by that point, so Raindrops had gone to look for him like she always had, even calling in favors built up with the Dasher’s to help out with the search. Rainbow Dash herself had deigned to crawl off her cloud hideout to help out, even.
And they’d found Snails. Found him in the sewers beneath the Ponyville Barrens, just in time to see him approaching a horrible creature covered in black chitin, somewhat equine in shape, but with a unmistakable insect like appearance. Raindrops still remembered the beast’s holed legs, its pale green mane like slick slime, and a voice that resonated unnaturally in her mind.
”The little one is mine, ponies. He knows his Queen.
The memories faded from Raindrops as the bullets fell like steel hail upon the van. Carrot Top hadn’t built the Carrotmobile cheaply, however, the simple looking van actually armored with some of the best armor alloys available on the black market, and with its windows forged from thick bullet proof glass that’d take a cannon or missile to crack.
She could see out the window that there were ten ‘pegasi’ in plain black fatigues, likely armor-weave cloth, that had split into two wings of five. They were coming at the van from both sides, weaving between the overhangs, signs, and arches of the corporate towers around them. They were all armed with seemingly identical matte black assault rifles. While the van’s armor might hold, it’d still be a problem if any of those bastards hit a tire.
Lyra and she exchanged looks and Raindrops nodded, hefting her machine gun, tilting her head to the right to indicate she’d take that group. Sharp barking retorts sounding in rapid succession as Cheerilee opened fire from the passenger side window. Raindrops steadied herself on her hind hooves as Carrot Top took the van sharply to the left, then right, veering across the street to avoid the worst of the fire pelting them.
Lyra was now also on her hind hooves, and as one both she and Raindrops threw open the back doors of the van. Raindrops held her machine gun steadily in her fore hooves, bracing her hind legs as she took aim at the group of pegasi on the right just as they were cutting across the front of a glittering glass office building. Raindrops frowned, knowing that opening fire now some of her bullets would end up hitting that building. She just had to hope whatever corp owned that building had sprung for armored glass. Most did. Most.
She squeezed the trigger with her hoof and the machine gun bucked and jumped in her grip. The cybernetic limbs did their job well, the strength of the machinery easily keeping a tight and steady grip on the machine gun and keeping its aim from going off by too much as she wove a net of bullets through the air at the pegasi. The pegasi moved with shocking coordination, beyond what Raindrops would have expected from even well trained soldiers. The group moved as one, all banking simultaneously and diving below the stream of bullets from Raindrops. They leveled out almost hoof contact with the street and pursued straight behind the van, and Raindrops had to throw her own door closed quickly as bullets pelted her and the van. Armor and cybernetics did their work well, but Raindrops felt the impacts of a few of those assault rifle shots and grimaced at the pain as one managed to catch some of her flesh and blood hide.
Lyra’s shots came in steady rhythm, the mint unicorn mare’s gold eyes unblinking and filled with a concentrated, fierce light as she worked her sniper rifle with smooth efficiency. Raindrops kicked her own side of the back doors open again and lowered her machine gun, ignoring the way bullets tore at her mane as she sent a burst of fire straight at the pegasi flying behind them. She saw one already dropping from Lyra’s shots, the pegasus spinning away to plaster itself across a street sign… and Raindrops didn’t miss the fact that the blood that burst from that body wasn’t red, but a sickly, neon green.
She saw the same when her shots caught one of the other pursuing pegasi, the mare’s form spinning and jerking in the air as bullets tore holes through her, green blood spraying. Carrot Top pulled the van into a tight turn down small hill but before the body disappeared around the corner Raindrops saw the pegsus she’d shot seemed to be changing, green fire encompassing it to reveal a blackened form that Raindrops couldn’t quite see clearly but was certain was no pony.
So it is them! The ones that took my brother!
There was little doubt left in Raindrops’ mind, and she readied her machine gun for another pass, but at that instant there was a sound of sirens rapidly approaching and the unmistakable whine of VTOL rotors. Just as the pegasi rounded the corner to keep up pursuit a trio of small VTOL craft came rocketed from above the van. They were small, snub nosed affairs, their main rotors huge circles in the tail while smaller side rotors kept the VTOL’s stable, allowing the nose to sport dual tri-barreled rotary guns and spotlights, which snapped on the both illuminated the pegasi and the van. As the pegasi broke off and veered away a mare’s voice spoke over a loudspeaker from the VTOL’s.
“This is Silver Star Security! You are unauthorized in this area. Stand down and prepare-“
The pegasi opened fire on the VTOL’s, causing the mare on the speaker to curse, “Frack it! Ice ‘em, we’ll sort the bodies out later!”
Two of the VTOL’s opened fire on the pursuing pegasi. Two were caught in the fire, torn to shreds by the rotary guns, and the rest rapidly scattered in all directions, almost like cockroaches in Raindrops’ mind. However she couldn’t feel any satisfaction about seeing those bug monsters get slaughtered, as the third VTOL was now after the van and spitting rotary death at them. Lyra and Raindrops quickly shut the back doors, which shuddered under the impact of heavy rounds that were denting even the van’s armor.
“CT, how close are we!?” shouted Lyra.
“Nearly there!” said Carrot Top’s voice from a speaker on the van’s dashboard as her comatose body remained quiet and seated.
Raindrops was keeping an eye on the Silver Star Security VTOL, waiting for a lull in its fire so she could throw open the van and try and tag one of its engines, but even as she watched she spotted darting black forms. The pegasi were back and this time they’d dropped all pretense to disguise. The creatures had scattered by now swarmed back from the sides, faster than before. Their bodies were black, with four pony-like limbs, but many of them tipped in insect claws or pincers, and with faces that only somewhat resembled an equine shape, fanged jaws hissing as they dove upon the VTOL with translucent gossamer green wings.
The VTOL veered in the air as one of the monstrous insect creatures smashed at its cockpit window, not breaking through but still creating spidery cracks on the armored glass. Perhaps the creature might have eventually broken through or not, but it didn’t matter as the pilot had panicked and the VTOL’s sharp motion sent it towards the side of a nearby multi-story parking lot, the back tail engine snapping off in a shower of broken concrete, smoke, and flame. The VTOL went careening into the street below, smashing both vehicle and a few of the insect creatures that had remained on it, still attacking the doomed craft with single minded abandon until it smashed into the ground.
There was a thump on the roof and Raindrops looked up reflexively. Rapid scraping noises sounded across the roof and there was only a moment to realize where it was going and shout a warning.
“Cheerilee!” Raindrops shouted just as the magenta mare pulled back from the window, ducking aside as a black, scythe-like claw snapped down and tried to take Cheerilee’s head off. She ducked just in time but took a nasty cut on her brow as the horrible insect pony lowered its face into the window from above.
Up close it was even worse to look at. It had two blue glittering eyes, like tiny jewels, but these two eyes were joined by a dozen others at odd, twisted angles across its bulbous face. Its jaw unhinged unnaturally wide, with four fangs dripping a thick white fluid that couldn't have just been saliva. Its screech was unearthly, high pitched, and warbled with a tone that was… disturbingly musical, like a flute of violin terribly distorted beyond normal recognition.
“Oh buck this noise!” Cheerilee said as she shoved her machine pistol in the monster’s mouth, blood coating her face from her head wound, and pulled the trigger, sending over twenty rounds in a matter of seconds into the monster’s face. The full auto shots destroyed the beast’s face in a shower of green gore, and it fell away from the van, leaving Cheerilee coated in both its blood and her own.
“Augh! Gah!” Cheerilee wiped at her face, then at her chest, “It’s everywhere! Ugh, think some of it went up my nose!”
“Are you okay?” Lyra called back while peering out the back of the van, looking for more probably. Raindrops couldn’t see any more of the insect things chasing after them, but she remained wary, keeping a tight grip on her machine gun.
“Yeah… yeah, I’ll live,” said Cheerilee, already clambering into the back of the van to dig out a medkit from Carrot Top’s supplies to apple a slap patch to her head, the simple trauma aid designed to cover a wound and administer a number of contact medicines and stimulants for short term care. Raindrops hated using the things on head wounds, as they were basically as bad as duct tape to tear off later, and that usually meant a mane cut.
“Was that Silver Star Security I heard out there?” Trixie asked now that the danger seemed to have passed.
“Oh yeah,” said Raindrops, frowning, “Nasty, getting one of largest security firms in the country on us, but I doubt that were able to ID the van.”
“Nope,” sad Carrot Top’s voice over the van speaker, “This baby’s got fourteen different fake licenses and I’ve already switched them twice during the chase alone. Nopony’s gonna track this van down.”
“And…” Ditzy blinked a few times, as if she was dizzy, “And if they did, I could erase the data from SSS’ systems. We’ll be okay…”
Lyra came over, sitting next to Ditzy on the opposite side that Trixie was, and ran a hoof over the pegasus mare’s forehead, “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. I’d like to keep you off the Matrix until we know you’re going to be alright. Getting your brain fried isn’t something to just shrug off, Ditz.”
Ditzy blew a little raspberry, laying back and sighing, “I’m fine. Really. You’re all just being big worry warts. This isn’t the first time I’ve gotten a little brain jolt from some jerk using a black program.”
Ditzy’s walled eyes seemed to focus for a second as they narrowed dangerously, “If I run into that guy again he’ll be in for a few surprises. Ditzy Doo doesn’t fall for the same tricks twice and I’ve seen his codework now. I can break it, next time.”
Raindrops couldn’t help but admire the mare’s spirit, even if she shared the same worries the others on the team did. Danger was part of the biz, and each of them knew anytime they went into a run that they might not all come back… but Lyra had kept the team together for a few years, which was a lot longer than most shadowrunning teams managed to keep going without any casualties. Raindrops wanted to see that trend continue, and out of all the mares on the team, she wanted to see Ditzy get hurt the least. The rest of them might’ve had family somewhere, but Ditzy’s daughter was her whole world, and from what Raindrops understood, Dinky would’ve been lost without her mother.
It made Raindrops wonder, not for the first time, what made Ditzy run the shadows.
She turned the thought aside. It wasn’t her business. They all had their reasons.
“We’re here, girls,” said Carrot Top, the van going dark as it entered a tunnel built into the side of the mountain. The tunnel street was bathed in blue lighting and soon split off into an exit that Carrot Top took that circled upward like a spiral. Within a few minutes they exited onto a tunnel that went straight to a pair of huge metal security doors.
Tension in the van increased, but it seemed clear this was where they were supposed to be. The massive blue crescent moon symbol of Moonrise Arcane Science and Technologies was plastered on the doors, and in front of them was a full team of ponies in cerulean security armor and armed to the horns. All of them were unicorns. Each was levitating weapons that looked to Raindrops like the kind of experimental laser weaponry she’d heard tell about but never actually seen.
One of the unicorns approached the van and held up a hoof, motioning them to pull forward and roll down their window. Carrot Top did so just as Lyra got back into the driver’s seat, and Carrot Top let her take over, blinking her eyes open and stretching with a yawn.
“Lyra Heartstrings?” asked a young stallions voice from behind a full helmet and silver face-plate that showed none of his features.
“That’s us,” Lyra said, “We have the package. Ran into some trouble on the way in-“
The stallion cut her off, “You can tell everything to my employer yourself. She wishes to see you immediately. I’m to escort you through at once.”
At his words the large metal doors rumbled as they split open and revealed a sizable elevator meant for cargo vehicles. The stallion walked alongside the van as Lyra drove it into the elevator, the other guards standing aside to let them pass. Once the doors closed again and the elevator shuddered slightly as it began to move, the stallion wreathed his helmet in a glow of magic and removed it.
A two toned blue mane spilled out, frame a white coat and handsome, if young face. The stallion’s eyes were harder than his years, though. Raindrops had come up to the front of the van and noticed the distaste in the stallions’ gaze as he looked at Lyra, then at her.
“What?” Raindrops asked in a challenging tone.
The stallion blinked, then shook his head, “Nothing. Nothing at all.”
Raindrops snorted. Like drek it was nothing! This guy was looking at her and the rest of the team like they were parasprites that’d just eaten his morning corn flakes! She was about to press the issue when Lyra just put an arm on hers and shook her head.
Raindrops bit back her anger and sat on her haunches, arms crossed over her barrel as she waited for this job to be done with.
----------
Lyra was tired, and still tense from the run, but it was nearly over. This part, anyway. But it was a big step, one she’d been desperate to have happen for years. She glanced back where Octavia was being carried rather gently by Carrot Top while the rest of her team filed in behind her, following the white stallion as he led them through the front doors of a massive office building.
This wasn't M.A.S.T’s main tower, but rather one of the side towers built from the side of the Canterhorn, a black glittering spire that served as a hub for the aerial transit station that cargo elevator they’d gone through before led to. It was an out of the way part of the company’s holdings but still maintained an air of power, grandeur and wealth. An artificial garden had led from the stairs they’d taken up after dropping off the van in an underground parking lot. Trees lined a broad marble sidewalk with fountains spaced at regular intervals.
The front doors of the office were a chrome line in the otherwise obsidian glass front of the building, and once inside it was like entering a strange world of sharp angles and onyx architecture, punctuated by lines of glowing electric blue lighting. Reminded her of the one time she’d ever gone to Las Pegasus and checked out the Luxor. Bon Bon had gotten more of a kick out of the casino styled after the ancient Griffin Kingdoms, complete with sky jousting.
Lyra fought back the painful clench in her heart. She’d rescued Octy, but Bon Bon… her Bon Bon, that was a job still to come. If her employer kept to her word and helped her find where Bon Bon was.
She thought it odd that no security detail was here to relieve them of their weapons, or that there was any extra guards other than this blue maned stallion… but she supposed given that nature of the pony they were delivering Octavia too there was no need for further security. After all what kind of threat would they be to an alicorn like Luna herself?
Lyra was a tad nervous. She’d only been contacted by Luna through secondary channels and hadn’t realized the midnight blue pegasus mare who’d been the “Miss Johnson” for the job had actually been the alicorn herself until she’d revealed it to impress upon Lyra the sincerity of her offer to help find Bon Bon. Lyra still didn’t know Luna’s motivations for the offer, however, or why she wanted Octava. And Lyra didn’t care. As long as Luna kept her end of the bargain, that’s all that really mattered to Lyra.
They were led to yet another elevator that took them up nearly to the top of the tower by Lyra’s estimate. It opened up into a large, luxuriously furnished lounge big enough to serve a score of ponies with room to spare. The far end of the room was dominated by a slanted window wall that gave a stunning view of the corporate district this side of the Canterhorn. Lrya could see the blinking lights of VTOLs swarming about the lower buildings like fire flies. Probably Silver Star Security still buzzing about after the chase no more than a half hour ago.
“Take seats here,” the white stallion said, nodding towards a trio of thick, blue, plush couches set up in a triangular pattern in the middle of the room around a black, circular table. Lyra could see platters of food and pitchers of iced drinks set out already. Lyra glanced back at her team, many of whom still sported wounds both big and small from the run.
“Certainly, but could you maybe have a few medical ponies come up here? Some of us are pretty beat up and could use some attention.”
The stallion’s eyes flashed and he frowned, “You’ll be taken care of if and when the words is given,” he began, but another voice cut him off, one that was strong, resonant, and unmistakably feminine.
“Consider the word given, Shining Armor.”
At the far end of the room, directly in front of the windows, there was a shimmer of air and a smoke like cobalt blue aura of magic crept up from the black carpet. It swirled and danced in the air, its dark blue depths sparkling with the twinkles of starlight, until the smoke parted to reveal a tall, regal form. Twice the size of any normal pony, Luna, CEO of Moonrise Arcane Science and Technologies, was an imposing sight. Her deep midnight blue coat was lustrous under the room’s florescent lighting, even where her coat turned into a inky splotch of pure black where her cutie mark of a white crescent moon could be seen. Her mane was a cerulean shred of mystical energy that wavered in the air like a haze, specked with starlight. Turquoise eyes gazed at Lyra and her team with unblinking depth, somehow radiating authority, power, kindness, and understanding all at once. Massive wings spread to either side of her, looking less like a threat and more like a comforting, welcoming gesture.
It was easy to see why this mare had once been all but worshiped as a goddess, and had ruled the old nation of Equestria as its Princess. Lyra could only imagine what the older sister was like before her fall and banishment to the sun. Either way it was all to clear to Lyra that, even though she’d cast aside the title of Princess, that Luna was still very much the ruler. Every inch of her bespoke of regal strength and authority.
If this mare really wanted to… drek, she could frackin’ have Equestria still. The corps couldn’t stop her, Lyra thought. Or at least that was the impression Luna gave off.
The stallion, Shining Armor, bowed deeply, in a gesture that certainly wasn’t the kind you’d give a CEO, and said, “As you command. I’ll go inform the medical staff immediately.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Luna said and the stallion turned curtly and marched from the room, leaving Lyra and her team with the alicorn. No other CEO in the world would want to be left alone with a shadowrunner team, no guards or security about. With Luna it was clear no such precautions were needed.
Luna smiled at them, “I apologize for his manner. Shining Armor is the Captain of my security forces and as such he’s had plenty of contact with members of your profession, only on the other side of the playing field, as it were. Please, do sit. I have ensured the very best medical ponies in the nation are present here in case you suffered any serious injuries during this task you have performed for me. The food and drink as well, are the best I can provide. Make yourselves comfortable, I wish for you to be at ease.”
It took them a moment but soon enough they were all seated in the couches, which not only turned out to be just as comfortable as they looked, but Lyra wouldn’t have been surprised if there was some kind of enchantment woven into the fabric to make them instantly start to sooth her aches and pains, draining tension straight out of her body. Practically all of the mares let out sighs of relief to one degree or another, especially Trixie who seemed to all but melt into her seat.
“Oh sweet Luna’s rump this feels good…” Trixie said, eyes nearly closing as if she were about to drift off to sleep, only to snap open as she realized what she’d just said and in whose presence, “That is to say that this couch is extremely comfortable and in no way reminds me of any particular part of any individual’s body that is commonly theorized to be quite plush… you’re going to banish me to the sun, aren’t you?”
Luna’s expression barely changed aside from a slight quirk at the corners of her lips that might have been the start of a smirk, “Not to worry, I think I can forgive you,” now she very clearly was smirking, “This time.”
Lyra had sat next to Octavia, who was still very much asleep, and she made sure that the earth pony mare was propped up in what would be a comfortable position. Octavia shifted, murmuring in her sleep, and Lyra gave Trixie a questioning look, “How long will she be out?”
Trixie, who still looked half terrified of Luna, glanced over, blinking, “Huh? Oh, right. A few hours at least. She’ll be fine. At least in that regard. Still have no idea what was done to her.”
“I may be able to explain that,” said Luna, coming over to stand before the table between the couches, giving the mares all a solemn look, finally resting her eyes on Lyra, “I believe its it’s time to, as you shadowrunners would say, ‘get down to biz’.”
The alicorn’s horn glowed with dark blue magic and from thin air appeared six thin, black plastic cylinders with circuitry laced through them. Luna floated one to each mare, “Six certified credsticks each containing your individual fees for the completion of the task you agreed to. You may feel free to check them to ensure they contain the correct balance.”
Lyra set her credstick aside, “I don’t think that will be necessary.”
Luna nodded, as if she had expected as much, “Very well. For five of you, then, that concludes our business. Once you feel you have been sufficiently treated by my medical staff you may depart at your convenience. I extend my personal gratitude for your hard work, and will certainly keep you in mind for future tasks if you’re willing.”
“Wait,” said Carrot Top, “Five of us? What does that mean?”
“It means that I still have business here besides getting paid,” said Lyra, looking over at Carrot Top with a slightly apologetic look as she gestured at Octavia, “I need to not only make sure Octy is going to be okay, but Luna has promised to help me find Bon Bon, as long as I help her out more in turn.”
“Hold up a sec,” said Raindrops, a blunt frown on her face, “You plan on just skipping out on the team, now?”
Lyra held back a sigh, taking a deep breath and forcing a calm look on her face, “I have to do this. I’m not abandoning the team permanently; I’m just taking care of some personal business first. I don’t expect you to understand.”
Raindrops’ frown slowly slipped away as the mare looked at her metallic, cybernetic hooves, mane obscuring her eyes, “Thing of it is… I do understand. If you’d just come out and told us about your old marefriend and this Octavia pony then I would’ve fracking offered to help you out between jobs. I’m still pissed at you for letting this personal affair get mixed up in our biz without trusting us enough to just tell us what was going on. Now that we’re here, I get it, okay? I get why you did this. Doesn’t mean I agree with how.”
“Raindrops, I-”
“No, Lyra. You used us. Yeah, we’re shadowrunners. Getting used is the damned job description, but you shouldn’t have screwed with our trust like that,” Raindrops said, then raised her head, eyes meeting Lyra’s. She could see that there was an entire flood of emotions the cybered-up mare was holding back, not just anger, but an intense sadness that caught Lyra off guard.
“I can’t speak for the others, but for me it’s gonna take awhile before you really earn my trust back for not telling us why you took this job. But… I do understand it. I know what it is to have ghost in your past that’s driving you in the shadows. That’s why I’m sticking with you Lyra, because after what we saw chasing us out there, I know I got a personal stake in this now, too.”
Lyra cocked her had, still feeling guilt weight on her from Raindrops’ words, but now also curious. She’d known that Raindrops was a very private mare who’d never really opened up to the team beyond a professional respect. She’d not once talked about anything personal beyond basic small talk, and even that kind of talk had always been dry from the jasmine pegasus. Lyra didn’t know anything about her personal life or past, or what had driven her into the life of a shadowrunner. The others leaned forward as well. Except for Trixie, who just looked uncomfortable with the conversation and was lightly fidgeting in her seat.
“Well, you going to keep us in suspense or actually elaborate on that?” asked Cheerilee, sitting on the edge of the couch as she leaned forward and looked sidelong at Raindrops, who was seated on the same couch. Raindrops frowned, looking between them, then settling her gaze on Luna, who merely met Raindrops’ eyes with a steady look that was both patient and welcoming.
Raindrops drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly, and said, “I don’t know what those insect monsters were, but I know that they’re the ones that foalnapped my brother three years ago. Luna, if you know anything about those bugs, then I want to know about it. If there’s any way you can help me track down my little brother the way you’re helping Lyra with finding her marefriend, then I want in. I don’t care what it costs me. I’ll take on any debt you care to name. Just… help me. It’s been three years and I’ve found nothing. I can’t keep telling my parents the same line, ‘sorry, nothing yet’ each damned month.”
Luna was silent for a moment, then she closed her eyes and lowered her head, “I will accept your offer, young Raindrops. I will not ask a great debt from you other than the willingness to perform one more task, the same I ask of Lyra Heartstrings. Do that, and you have my oath as Luna Equestris that I will spare no resource or effort in restoring your brother to you.”
Lyra could see that Raindrops was trembling slightly, even her usually still cybernetic limbs, and it took her a moment to realize the mare was holding back tears as she said, “Just one job? You’ve got it. I don’t even care what it is.”
“Very well, then allow me to explain just what this next job entails and what it is I… we, are fighting.”
Luna’s horn glowed once more and now images began to take shape above the table with the still mostly untouched food and drink. Carrot Top and Ditzy had grabbed some, but the others had not. The images that formed were off the bug like pony shaped monstrosities they’d run into just a short time ago. They came in many shapes and sizes, the most common almost looking like proper ponies if not for the black chitin and fangs.
“When the world Awakened to the new magic many things changed,” Luna said, “Our world became merged with that of another, whose rules of magic differed from our own. You’ve spent your whole lives seeing the growing ripples of change that resulted from this Awakening. Trixie Lulamoon as an Awakened mage can manipulate the mana of the Astral Plane to create spells beyond conventional unicorn magic. Octavia as a shaman has contact with a spirit guide that grants her similar magical powers. New and strange creatures have appeared all over the world such as the Yetis of the northern mountains and the mysterious couatls of south Cavallia. And… these creatures as well. The Changelings.”
The images vanished, to show a map of Equestria, focusing on a southern part of the continent that consisted largely of dry, barren deserts, “The Badlands, an unpleasant place even before the Awakening, was where the first encounter with Changelings occurred. Before the Awakening.”
“Wait,” said Raindrops, “Are you saying these things were around before the Awakening?”
“Yes, albeit in a simpler, less dangerous form,” said Luna, “The Changelings were a mystery then, as they are now. Our limited contact with them left far more questions than answers. However they were not deemed a threat because they did not seem interested in expanding, and as long as they seemed content to remain in the Badlands there was little reason to pay them any mind.”
“And that changed with the Awakening, did it?” asked Cheerilee, rubbing her chin, “Just like everything else in the world, these Changelings, heh, changed.”
“Yes, though there is nothing humorous about that change,” said Luna, her magical illusions creating a new image. This one was of the almost normal looking Changeling, with its mostly pony shape and simple pair of eyes, with only a few holes in its leg and a little curved horn on its head. Next it… appeared a horrific creature, a giant twisted insect that looked like someone had taken a wasp and bloated it outward with cancer and mutated it to have too many legs.
“Of the many spirits that now touch our world from the Awakening... none are more dangerous than the Insect Spirits,” said Luna, “They, like other shamanistic spirits, have the ability to bond with a mortal to create a shaman. However unlike other spirits these Insect Spirits are aggressive and can infest those who wouldn’t normally have any tie to the Astral Plane, as long as the proper rituals are used. They can infect dreams, and twist minds. They have done this with the Changeling race.”
The two images merged and the Changeling altered into the kind of monstrosity the mares had fought during the recent chase.
“To what degree we do not know for certain, but we do know that the Insect Spirits are seeking to spread, to create new hives, and are using the Changelings as… hosts, partners, allies… I don’t know.”
Luna’s eyes narrowed and took on a dangerous, icy sheen, “All I know is that I do not intend to allow them to continue unchecked. There is so little yet known about these creatures, but they can be fought. And that is what we intend to do.”
The images now changed to a topographic map of a desert area, more fertile and plant strewn than the Badlands. It was the Mild West, an area Lyra recognized as not being too far from Appleloosa.
“Aurora Heavy Industries, which I have reason to suspect is infiltrated by Insect Spirit possessed Changelings, has recently constructed a large airfield on this mesas, fifty kilometers outside the limits of the Appleossa Metroplex. My spies have uncovered evidence that this airfield is actually a staging ground for a new hive. I intend to destroy this hive. I want your help in dong that.”
The gathered mares were quite for a time, then Raindrops said, “My brother… he was taken by a Changeling that called itself a Queen.”
“There are several, but its not impossible that one might have taken a personal hoof in acquiring more… shamans, for her hive. If your brother was Awakened and a suitable host to be an insect shaman, then he could be at this new hive. It takes multiple shaman to mystically prepare an area to be suitable for Insect Spirits to reside, so if forming a new hive there would be a concentration of shaman’s there.”
Raindrops bit her lower lip, her next words a quiet hiss, “Can he be… saved?”
At Luna’s nod it seemed Raindrops had all the air let out of her.
“It is not a simple process, but the few times we’ve recovered those shamans that have been taken by the Insect Spirits we were able to remove the possessing spirit and allow the shaman to recover their normal selves. It is not a easy path, but it can be done. Now… Lyra, I understand your fiance, Miss Bon Bon, was also taken many years ago.”
Lyra nodded, “Yes. Do you think she’s also…?”
Luna didn’t immediately answer, instead using her magic to create a new image, this one a close up set of pictures of the airfield stretching across a wide desert mesas. The images showed a number of ponies being unloaded from a cargo plane and being shuffled along towards a bunker. Among the ponies was a zoomed in image of a beige mare with a two toned mane of blue and pink.
Lyra shuddered, leaning forward, and felt the tears in her eyes, “Bon Bon…” she reached out to touch the image. Her fiance, her Bon Bon, was wearing a simple grey jump suit, as if she were some kind of technician. Most the rest of the ponies in the group were similarly dressed. She had such a lifeless, glassy look in her eyes it filled Lyra with both anguish and anger in equal measure.
“What happened to her?”
“The Changelings may be allied or controlled by the Insect Spirits, but they remain Changelings. They seem to lack certain skills of their own and use ponies and other creatures as laborers. I suspect that the Changelings, when they took Octavia, took Bon Bon as well and have been using her in that capacity since then; brainwashed to do their bidding. It is reversible, if we can get her and those other ponies away from that hive.”
Lyra nodded firmly, then glanced at Octavia, “Why did the need Octy? Why take her in the first place?”
“Was wondering that myself,” said Carrot Top, “Doesn’t make any sense to snatch a musician.”
“Maybe they just like good music?” suggested Ditzy with a half serious smile, which quickly faded, “I guess not.”
“Actually,” said Luna, “That isn’t entirely inaccurate, Miss Doo. The Changelings, from what we’ve learned from a few autopsies and interrogations, seem to react to sound and smell in different ways than most sapient races. Music especially seems to play a key role in the way higher Changelings control lesser ones. Harmonics are very important to the way they interact with the world.”
“Okay, neat, but what’s that got to do with Gray over here?” asked Raindrops, gesturing at the still sleeping Octavia.
“Octavia is a prodigy,” said Luna, “Her talent with music is truly something rare, even in this day and age. Her ability to naturally understand sound and its effect on the world around her was earning her note in both art circles… and scientific circles, before her graduation. Aurora Heavy Industries is, as said, under the thumb of the Changelings. Among the company’s ventures has been the acquisition of a certain group of artifacts that, if they learned how to control them, could prove to be one of the only things that could counter a being powerful enough to cause the Changelings trouble.”
“What artifacts?” asked Lyra.
“The Elements of Harmony,” said Luna with a deathly seriousness.
“What…? Like… that fairy tale legend about how you banished your sister using a bunch of candy colored rocks?” asked Cheerilee, blinking.
Luna’s face was stone as she said, “No fairy tale. The Elements of Harmony are real. After I used them to banish my sister to the sun, the stones became inert and I… in my grief over the loss of the one who was most dear to me, lost track of the stones.”
“Wait, you lost track of them?” blurted Carrot Top, “The most powerful magic known to ponydom, and you just kind of left them laying around and forgot where?”
A huff escaped Luna as she looked at the floor, “I was distraught! For a hundred years. A serious drinking binge. You can’t expect me to just remember where I set a bunch of rocks after a century of hard drinking and grieving!”
“Okay, okay,” said Lyra, “So after you lost these Element thingies, fast forward to now and A.H.I has them?”
“Some of them, at least,” said Luna, composing herself, “I don’t know if they have the entire set or just a few. But even one would be a problem. And that is what they had Octavia working on. You see, the Elements of Harmony respond to many different types of… well, harmony. They can be activated by a number of methods, all representing different kinds of harmony. One of those methods is music. The right symphony, the right harmonious melody, could cause the Elements to activate. That is why they took Octavia Philharmonica and tampered with her mind to make her one of their researchers. I don’t doubt to do a proper job of it that a Changeling Queen did the job of brainwashing her. If A.H.I was able to succeed at unlocking the Elements then they’d have a weapon powerful enough to defeat even me… and then there’d be little to stand against the Changelings in their bid to spread all over the world.”
“Well… drek…” said Raindrops, shaking her head, “So this next job’s to strike a blow against monsters literally trying to take over the world? I just want my brother back. If I got to do this to get him, then fine, I’m in. I’ll do whatever it takes to save Snails.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” said Luna, “With you and Miss Heartstrings on board I believe you’ll provide a great deal of help to the operation. As for the rest of you mares, I can’t ask you to endanger yourselves further, as you have no personal stake in this, so-“
“Hold up there big blue,” said Cheerilee, raising a hoof, which caused Luna to blink in surprise and regard the magenta mare with something akin to shock. Lyra got the impression Luna wasn’t used to being interrupted. Cheerilee continued as if she didn’t notice the alicorn’s surprise, “I don’t know about everypony here, but there’s no chance I’m letting two of my team jet off on a job this crazy without me there to back them up. No way, no how am I missing this.”
“I’m with Cheerilee on this one,” said Carrot Top, folding her arms across her barrel and leaning back in her seat, “I don’t think I’d be sleeping well tonight if I knew Lyra and Rains were fighting crazy spirits and monsters without me there to make sure they got back in one piece. Actually I don’t think I’d sleep well knowing there were things like this out there and I wasn’t giving my all to stop them. On top of that half of Raindrops’ cybernetics have had custom work done on them by me, and I’m the only one who can perform decent maintenance on them. So, yeah, what Cheerilee said. You girls go, I go too.”
Ditzy raised a weary hoof, “Ditto.”
Lyra frowned, “Ditzy, isn’t your daughter waiting at home for you?”
Ditzy winced, glancing away for a second before meeting Lyra’s eyes, “I know. My little muffin is a good filly can knows her mommy works hard for her future. And that’s what I’m doing. I… don’t want to work with another team. I’m not really all that good at this shadow stuff, really, and you’re the one who pulled us all together Lyra. If I lost you, if I lost any of you, I don’t know what I’d do. Oh, and insect monsters sound pretty bad. A good mom can’t let such things just walk around free when they might hurt my muffin. I’ll help out however I can… uh… that is if Miss Luna is okay with that. Or more specifically, Miss Luna and her army of highly trained and well armed guard ponies.”
Cheerilee blanched, “Yeah, I guess this is all contingent on her not just throwing us out on our tails, isn’t it?”
Luna coughed, “Well, yes, it is. Good of you to realize that. As it happens, however, I’m not adverse to keeping Miss Heartstring’s team together, as you have certainly shown yourselves to be capable as a group. Including you, Miss Lulamoon.”
Trixie started, nearly jumping from her seat, her eyes wide, “What? Me?”
Luna smiled in a calming manner and Lyra noticed the alicorn looked at Trixie with an almost… overly interested and intense gleam in her eyes.
“Yes, you. I am glad to see that my suggestion to Lyra Heartstrings was one she decided to follow up on.”
Lyra smiled apologetically, rubbing the back of her head as Trixie looked over at her, “Yeah, well… sorry Trixie, Luna was the one who named dropped you. I, uh, actually lied about remembering you from college. I mean, I did after Luna mentioned you for the job, but I’d totally spaced out on who you were up until then.”
Trixie’s face scrunched up in indignant anger and she turned her nose up, “I see. Well, I suppose I’ll count myself lucky that Luna recalled my talents and decided to recommend me.”
She blinked, then looked at Luna, “Why? Why recommend me to Lyra?”
“Because I keep a close eye on the progress of my students who do so well in my classes,” said Luna with a small wink, “And I recalled you as being particularly bright, if a tad… frivolous and trying. I was aware of your less then successful career as a private investigator and thought perhaps you might be interested in a taste of a different career, so I suggested you to Lyra as a possible mage to hire for the job.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” said Trixie, who then flicked her tail, shaking her head, “Wait, your student? When was I ever your student? You only run the Academy, yes? You don’t teach classes!”
Luna chuckled, a comforting, musical chime, “Not in a form anypony would recognize, at any rate.”
That seemed to rock Trixie back a bit as the unicorn just sat back in her couch and seemed to deflate into it. Luna went on to say, “So, Trixie Lulamoon, what will you do now? The rest of this team has agreed to assist in destroy this hive. What of you?”
Trixie just looked up, “I…” she looked around at the other mares, seemingly at a loss, but then she straightened and said, “I was only in this for the one job. One job, and out. I’m… sorry, but really, you don’t need me for more, right? If I want I can just walk, yes?”
Luna nodded slowly, betraying not emotion other than simple, confident calm, “You may. You have fulfilled your end of the job and have your payment. You can leave at your convenience.”
“You did better than I could have hoped,” Lyra told Trixie, smiling at the mare with genuine gratitude, “You got a real knack for this biz, chum, so anytime you feel like taking a stroll into the shadows again, I can give you a number to contact me with.”
Trixie looked away, “No offense, but this all is way too crazy for me. I get why the rest of you want to do this, but me? There’s nothing personal in this for me. It’d just be another pay day, assuming Luna’s even paying anypony for this.”
“I would be compensating all who go with twice the amount provided for the previous job,” Luna stated flatly, which did cause Trixie’s ears to twitch furiously.
“F-fifty thousand… bits…?” Trixie asked, and Luna nodded, but Trixie shook her head, “No. Not even for that amount. Those Insect Spirits, or Changelings, or whatever, were some of the most horrible things I’ve ever seen. Walking into a nest of them is suicide, even with the help of an alicorn and a major company’s security forces.”
“It’s okay Trixie,” said Lyra, trotting over to give the other unicorn a sudden hug, which Trixie seemed surprised at, but didn’t resist, “You already did more than I could’ve asked and nopony is asking you to do more. Go on home. When it’s all done, I’ll give you a buzz and maybe sometime we can grab drinks together.”
“I…” Trixie sighed, hugging Lyra back, “I wouldn’t mind that.”
----------
The elevator opened up then and Shining Armor returned, now with a small cadre of ponies wearing medical clothing and carrying with them bags of supplies and rolling alone a gurney for Octavia. Trixie took that as her cue to leave, standing and quickly bowing to Luna, “Thank you for the hospitality. I, uh, don’t have a ride home.”
“I will arrange one of my personal VTOLs to take you back to your home,” said Luna with a warm smile. Trixie tried to hide her face from the others, even as they all gave her farewells that lacked scorn or malice. None of them were accusing her of cowardice or calling her a wimp. Some part of her wished they would. She knew she was doing the right thing, backing out now while she was still ahead of the game, but it just… was leaving a sour feeling in her stomach.
“It was a blast, Trix, we ought to do it again sometime,” said Cheerilee with a grin, and tossing a black felt pen she’d suddenly drawn from seemingly nowhere, “You still got a little ink on your face, by the way.”
Trixie blushed, rubbing at her muzzle, recalling how the mare quite possibly had doodled on her face during the run on the A.H.I research facility when Trixie had left her body behind to send her spirit into the Astral Plane. Cheerilee just chuckled at the display and Carrot Top raised a wine glass she’d been sipping from in Trixie’s direction.
“Seriously, if you ever want to do another run, we’d be happy to have you,” Carrot Top said with a friendly smile.
“Next time I’ll cook some muffins for us all to eat before the run,” said Ditzy as some of the medical ponies started to check her over.
Raindrops just closed her eyes, not looking at Trixie, or saying anything. Trixie almost appreciated that, because the friendly goodbyes from the others were tearing at her as she just sort of smiled awkwardly, mumbled something that might have been a goodbye, and hurried towards the elevator.
----------
Trixie was still feeling out of sorts an hour later. She’d been in a rush to leave, but she’d still had a gunshot wound in her leg and a host of lesser injures. The doctors at the M.A.S.T office had insisted on treating her before she’d been loaded onto a very comfortable and well armed jet black VTOL that had taken her back to the commercial district where her office/apartment was located. It’d dropped her off a few blocks away and she’d walked the rest of the way, eyes barely scanning the various pop-up ads that ran across her AU contacts. She’d turned her comlink back to a semi-active mode and as she did so she realized she had a few personal messages. One was from her landlord, threatening that if she didn’t get her rent by tomorrow that she’d set Trixie’s stuff out on the street and light it on fire. Another was from Pokey Pierce, inquiring as to when/if she’d ever get a job, and maybe pay him.
There was also one message from her aunt back in Neigh Orleans. It was a rather long text asking how Trixie was doing and when she might get the time to come back for a visit. It made Trixie realize she hadn’t gone back to her hometown in… a long time.
Her office apartment was unlocked when she got to it, and for a second that made Trixie tense up with fear, until she heard a familiar voice humming inside.
“Pokey?” she called as she stepped inside, her eyes blinking rapdly in surprise at the place. Was this really her room!? It was… clean! All the old soynoodle cartons and empty beer cans had been cleaned away. She could actually see her own carpet!
Pokey Pierce, the blue stallion’s creme mane tied up by a simple kerchief as his horn glowed, working a vacuum, glanced up at her arrival. He gave her an utterly rueful smile and dry chuckle.
“Wondering where you’ve been. This place was a frackin’ sty. Can’t imagine how you put up with it.”
“Cleaning drones are busted…” she said as she stepped deeper into the place, looking about. It seemed Pokey had dusted everything down and cleaned the tables, her desk, and even given the walls a once over with a rag.
“I know. Figured you’d never clean up on your own so I took some initiative,” Pokey said, shaking his head, “Date was a bust today and needed to work off some nervous energy. So hard to find a good stallion these days. Anyway, this isn’t all altruism on my part. Wanted to buck you about my pay. You know, because I’ve been your assistant and all. Its not a volunteer position you know! I actually tracked down some job leads for you. I can download them to your comlink.”
“I…uh, thanks,” Trixie said, flopping down on her couch, which now that she’d felt the couches in Luna’s meeting room her own felt almost like sitting on hard concrete by comparison.
She must have still looked more than a little out of sorts because Pokey rather quickly shut off the vacuum and looked at her with a mix of curiosity and concern.
“You look like you’ve been through a rough night. Just what have you been up to?”
Trixie suddenly laughed, having a hard time controlling it as she said, “Oh, nothing, just got hired for a shadowrun against a major corporation that turns out to be infested by horrible insect spirits from the great beyond and Luna herself asked me to help her exterminate a hive of them down by Appleoosa. Oh, by the way, I have plenty of bits to pay off what I owe you now and then some, so feel free to stop bugging me about that. So how was your day? A bad date you say?”
Pokey blinked at her for a second, then sighed and started putting the vacuum away, “I’ll come back when you’re feeling less snarky and crazy.”
Trixie sighed and stood up, “Wait, Pokey. I said wait dammit!”
He paused, looking at her as she whipped out the credstick Luna had given her. She didn’t bother asking as she swiped the credstick over her comlink, downloading the funds to her own personal account, then with a few easy taps of icons in her AU she transferred a balance of not only the bits she owed Pokey for the work he’d done already, but gave him a month’s advance and a tidy bonus on top of it.
His own comlink would have buzzed him an alert of the funds transfer into his account and she could see Pokey’s eyes widen as his own contact lenses provided an AU icon showing the new balance.
“I…uh… Trixie?”
Trixie smiled, more than a little smugly, “Believe me now?”
“I believe you got bits from somewhere, at least,” he said, then shook his head, laughing under his breath, “Guess you get to keep me as an assistant for a little longer. So, seriously though, what were you doing all night?”
Trixie just stared at him levelly. He stared back, then frowned.
“You’re being serious?”
Trixie shrugged, “Would I make something like that up?”
“Yes,” he said without miss a beat.
“Okay, fine, but this time, for once, I’m telling the truth. Believe it or not I got roped into an actual shadowrun.”
Pokey gave a low whistle, “A good paying one, too, it seems. Well, that mean you’re quitting the legit business of a P.I or what?”
Trixie shook her head, “I… don’t think I really enjoyed my taste of life in the shadows. Not nearly a fun as the trid-programs make it out to be.”
“Hey, Shadows Over Canterlot is a great show!” Pokey said with a smirk.
“Yeah, it also doesn’t cover how much it hurts getting shot, or how terrifying it is,” Trixie said firmly, plopping back down on the couch, her hooves hanging out to the side as she let herself sink into it and she stared at the ceiling, “I really don’t want to make a lifestyle of it. Adrenaline rush or not.”
“Oh? So you did enjoy something about it?” asked Pokey, leaning against her desk and raising an eyebrow at her.
“I didn’t say that!” Trixie said, huffing, “I just said it was a bit of an adrenaline rush. Besides, if I liked anything about the whole terrifying experience it was just…”
Her mind turned towards thoughts of the team she’d worked with. Lyra’s steadfastness and calm leadership. Cheerilee’s sassy antics. Ditzy’s oddness but open friendliness. Carrot Top’s easy smile and deep concern for her team’s well being. Even Raindrops’ surly nature left a fond memory in Trixie’s mind.
“…I guess I kind of liked the ponies I ended up working with,” Trixie said.
“But not enough to do another shadowrun,” Pokey said.
Trixie didn’t immediately answer that time. She was thinking of them again. Thinking of Lyra and how much she clearly loved that Bon Bon mare. It was obvious that loyalty like that would drive Lyra to do anything to save her fiance, even if it got her killed. Raindrops was the same. Trixie remembered those intense eyes of the cyber enhanced pegasus and knew that if it meant saving her brother that Raindrops would tear herself apart. And the others would do the same to help their friends. Ditzy, even having a daughter waiting for her, would risk everything for her teammates. Carrot Top and Cheerilee would do the same, Trixie knew.
Because those mares were all friends. They might have tried to act professional at times, especially Raindrops, but the bottom line was that all of them worked so well together because they were friends with each other.
And was I also their friend…? Trixie wondered.
She nearly fell off her couch as she noticed Pokey was right in front of her, waving a hoof before her face.
“Hellooo? Equestria to Trixie?”
“Gah! Don’t do that!”
“Heh, well, don’t space out in the middle of a conversation,” Pokey said, leaning back and sitting on his haunches. He looked at her with a curiously intense expression that made Trixie feel a spike of self-consciousness and she drew back.
“W-what are you starring at?” she knew that Pokey preferred stallions, so she didn’t know what he thought he was looking at.
He got this knowing smile on his face and stood up, heading for the door, “Nothing. Thanks for the pay, boss. Guess you’re going to be pretty busy for a bit, but give me a call anytime you need help with the P.I end of things. I’ll talk to you later. Just take care of yourself.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked, but he was already out the door, leaving her alone with her thoughts. She settled back on the couch, starring at the flat trid-screen mounted on her wall. Without really thinking about it she clicked it on and watched a few random channels.
Infomercials. Sappy drama show. That damn Shadows Over Canterlot program. Cooking. News…
…news that looked like a suspiciously familiar airfield near Appleloosa.
A tall, white mare was addressing the camera, her sickly green mane nearly reaching to her knees.
“The new Aurora Heavy Industries Air Transit Station will not only serve our company, but the entire Appleoosian Metroplex. We’ll be able to service thousands of travelers and tens of thousands of tons of cargo transport daily, and with our state of the art drone security systems travel through our services will be safer than eight percent of other stations available in the region…”
Trixie watched the screen, listening to mare boast of the airfield’s tight security and the fact that it will provide steady transport for so many ponies. So many ponies… passing right over a hive of creatures like the ones that’d chased the van. That had foalnapped Raindrops’ brother. How many more would get foalnapped in the coming months if that airfield went active? A place that large, it’d be easy for a few disappearances to happen. They were common enough at normal airports. One a week, maybe two. Covered up the way incidents are so easy to cover up.
Unless somepony stopped it. Which those five mares would try to do, some to save loved ones, others just to protect their friends.
…friends…
Trixie was up and out the door before she could second guess herself.