Ch. 4: Lucky Breaks
"Don't you dare feed me that line of manure," shouted Moonburn at the taller of the two fully armored guards. "You were on duty: They were your prisoners." The two guards stood impassively, showing neither shame nor anger. "You were responsible for their safety as much as their incarceration. By The Princesses, how in Equestria did you two get posted to The Stone?"
Trixie ignored the various armored and uniformed ponies and focused on the two motionless earth pony stallions on the floor of the cell. They each huddled into a corner and stared back up at her with a rictus of terror. No wounds; no obvious injuries; not one drop of blood, yet Trixie stood above two undeniably dead ponies. She had inspected the bodies as closely as the two medics had after she and Moonburn walked in on the horrific scene. She imagined that she must appear quite cold, standing over two corpses without a look of shock or sadness on her face. The truth was, death wasn't as jarring as it had been when she first arrived on the moon. Accidents, even the most innocent and seemingly understandable ones, were magnified a hundredfold by the harsh environment they lived in.
While Moonburn continued to unleash his rage on the two hapless guards who were posted at the lone entrance into the cellblock, Trixie began examining the walls of the cell. For some reason, the Authority had placed holding cells on the outer walls of the building. Trixie looked for some sign that the thick, magically reinforced walls had been breached, if only temporarily. Finding no such indication made her even more uneasy: It meant that the danger was within walls. She stood back from the bleached white stone at the sound of approaching hoofsteps. "Trixie doesn't suppose they knew anything useful," she asked.
Moonburn stopped at her side and shook his head ruefully. "I'm surprised they knew what day it was," he replied, "there's a reason they're guarding holding cells that are almost never used."
"Incompetence or corruption," said Trixie, "and only the latter would help Trixie get the answers she needs."
"They were good guards," said Moonburn, "once upon a time." He reached down and lifted the blanket back over the face of one of the deceased. "It happens too much these days," he began, "quality recruits show promise. Then within a few months of taking the oath, they're little better than a saloon bouncer, barely good enough for sentry duty." He stood up from covering the other stallion and sighed. "What did that medic say?" he asked.
"Severe neural shock is the best they could guess," said Trixie, "it wasn't exposure, that much they could assure Trixie." She spun around and trotted out of the cell, passing the open bar doors. "Do you believe Trixie now," she asked of the stallion she assumed was following her. "Mischief and vandalism is the least of what these True Loonies are capable of, and you have to help Trixie find them."
"I'll admit that this is suspicious," said Moonburn, "but I don't know how much I can really help you." He trotted to catch up with her as she strode down the hallway back towards his office. "I was being straight with you about the Loonie incidents: There's nothing in there beyond graffiti and disturbing the peace." He stood at his door while Trixie walked around his desk and took his seat.
"There are two possibilities then," said Trixie as she swept Moonburn's personal effects off the side of his desk, "One: You are telling the truth. In which case, the brilliant and inquisitive Trixie will waste your time tracking down a bunch of ponies with a streak of civil disobedience, but maybe you don't have all the information, and we find something more." She grabbed a large marker from the floor with her magic and began scribbling a crude map of the city on the polished mahogany table. "Two: You're lying to Trixie, and you'll make up for it by helping her track down a cabal of violent thugs."
Moonburn stepped around the desk, over the shattered remains of his favorite coffee mug. "So why would I help you in any case?" he asked while grabbing his slate out of a drawer in his desk.
"Because you're as angry as Trixie is," she said, "angry at the Authority; angry at the princess; angry at what we've all come to. Trixie thinks you're tired of doing nothing about it."
"I'm an officer of the Lunar Authority," said Moonburn, "I don't get to just do something. There is a chain of command. There are procedures to-"
"You were Night Guard before this Authority nonsense started," interrupted Trixie, "before Luna lost her senses. Two ponies are dead Moonburn, and whoever did it wanted you in the dark." She finished sketching the zoom tube lines that led to the smaller colonies and wrote "Sin Station: Assault and crop poisoning," above the westernmost line.
Moonburn exhaled deeply and shook his head. "I knew this assignment was bogus," he said while switching on his slate. He swiped his hoof along its surface and browsed a list of citizen complaints. "I had my own security command you know," he said while picking up a marker, "I had most of my old squad under me, guarding the Slingshots." He began drawing small X's on the map of Selene, jotting down small notes next to each. "Then, out of the blue, they recall me here and say I'm in charge of these Loonies. Here, you work on the port, they were particularly active there." He set the slate on the table between himself and Trixie.
Trixie passed her marker to Moonburn and stood. "Trixie will get on that when she gets back," she said, "Trixie needs to let her companions know that she will be delayed."
"I'll come with," said Moonburn as he stood and buttoned up his waistcoat. "I have a feeling it's going to be a long night, and we'll need coffee."
"So didja have fun?" asked Amber as the skimmer pulled away from Selene. She sat next to the blonde pegasus and held one of the many packages in her lap.
"Not as much as you apparently," said Derpy, "I was afraid we'd have to make two trips." Derpy had arrived back at the Zoom Tube station just in time to see Amber carrying the last package off of a sturdy looking wagon and into the skimmer.
Amber chuckled and tapped the box sitting before her. "Sorry again," she said, "Mother tends to do everything in the extreme. I don't exactly ask for it."
"What did she send?" asked Derpy.
"What didn't she send," replied Amber with a look of exasperation across her face. "Work clothes, horseshoes, spades, shovels, wine, wine making supplies, and a lot more. I was only able to open a few of the shipments." Amber noticed the look of confusion on the pegasus' face and waited for the obvious question. When it didn't come she rolled her eyes and asked for her. "You're wondering how they could send so much, aren't you?" she asked.
"I didn't want to pry," said Derpy, "but I remember how much they were charging for additional weight." She looked around the skimmer at the dozens of packages sitting in the seats. "By the princesses," she gasped after doing the math in her head, "this is probably more than I'm to be paid for my whole season here."
Amber sighed and shook her head side to side. "My family does quite well for itself," she said, "most of them at any rate. Emerald Waves has the largest Pear orchard east of Canterlot; Rolling runs the largest ground based delivery service in Equestria; Barley has his celebrated microbrews. I could go on, but I think you get it. They're all rich, but they're all small potatoes next to Mother and Father."
"What do they do?" asked Derpy. She had heard of Barley Brew's seasonal ales, of course: Just about every bar carried them. Rolling Waves Delivery was all too well known to Derpy: They were the Equestrian Post Office's chief competitor, after all. The brown shirted delivery ponies could be seen in every city in the realm. Dinky refused to go to school unless she had an Emerald pear in her lunch sack. She couldn't imagine who could be wealthier than Rolling Waves.
"Mother runs the Waves family vineyard," replied Amber. "She inherited it from her mother, who inherited it from her mother, all the way back to the consolidation. They've provided the wines to the Princesses and the high nobility without interruption for nearly a thousand years. Mother teases father about that: She says he married her to be closer to the wine."
"Well, it has to be a perk," said Derpy with a grin.
"I could almost believe it had I not seen how they act around each other," said Amber, "the vineyard is one of the few things Father could never buy. He was the president of the Royal Charter Equestrian Bank." She saw the pegasus' jaw drop and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah," she said in exasperation, "I'm the spoiled rotten daughter of the Ponopoly guy."
"Why in Tartarus are you here?!" shouted Derpy in an almost angry tone, "Princesses above... you must be worth millions of bits!"
"My parents are," corrected Amber, "and my brothers and sisters are to a lesser extent." She placed the box in the aisle and fixed Derpy with a challenging glare. "I'm the only one who wasn't a success by her twenty-first birthday," she said, pounding her chest with a hoof, "and it's not for any lack of trying. But it's not like I can keep mother from being worried, and I'm sure I can find ponies in Sin who have need of..." She looked into the box and shook her head in frustration. "A sun hat?" she said quizzically, "Really Mother, a sun hat?" She picked the box back up and set it in her lap. "Maybe I can make a planter out of it."
"I guess that's a lot of pressure to live up to," said Derpy. She went silent and left Amber alone with her thoughts. She really didn't really understand how having rich parents could have a downside.
"You never answered my question," said Amber, "did you enjoy your day in Selene? Was it anything like you were expecting?"
"Uh, yeah," said Derpy, "it was something else all right." She had left the Shoot the Moon Lounge fairly quickly. Diaphanous Veil didn't seem like the kind of pony you had an idle conversation with; she was all business, which suited Derpy just fine. She didn't exactly like the mare who, days earlier, was ready to cripple her or worse, but if it meant going home, Derpy could set that aside and do what the unicorn mare asked of her. She spent the rest of the day trying to put the meeting out of mind by distracting herself with the sights and sounds of Selene.
"Well, what did you like the best?" asked Amber, "I'm always curious as to what amazes newcomers."
"The Hanging Gardens were nice," said Derpy, "it was good to lose that black sky, if only for a few minutes." She had actually spent a few hours in under the canopy of ferns and palm trees. The ponies in the long triangular sectioned glass building all seemed to be enjoying the solitude and quiet the gardens provided. Through the rare breaks in the treetops, Derpy saw a pegasus pushing clouds across the length of the long room. So carefully crafted was the garden, that none of the rainfall found its way onto a lounging pony. The sound of rain falling from leaf to leaf lent the space an air of calmness; like sitting under an umbrella during a cooling summer shower.
"I thought for sure that the Skypark would have been more your speed," said Amber, "It has so much more space."
"It was okay," said Derpy, "I've never really felt the need to fly as much as other pegasi you might have known. I'm just as comfortable on the ground."
"Well, we're all glad you got the chance to relax," said Amber. "It's not fair to put all this pressure on you, especially after finding out about the length of the seasons. I just hope you know that you're more than a pair of wings for us to use."
"I..." began Derpy, before she looked away from the smiling mare and down at her hooves hanging over the seat. "You've all been kind to me," she said, "far kinder than I deserve."
"Nonsense," said Amber, "nopony deserves to be tricked like you were. I'm not of a mind with those Loonies, but the Lunar Authority is out of control. The fine print shenanigans; the draconian quota punishments; the overzealous guard corps: It's all gone to Tartarus, and it's like Luna let it happen. Thanks to you though, we can at least make things better in Sin." She reached over and patted Derpy on the withers.
Derpy inwardly cringed at the kind words. Veil's instructions flashed through her mind, along with the prospect of spending two years away from Dinky. "So can you help me with something?" she asked. After a nod and smile from Amber, Derpy steeled herself and began. "What exactly does Trixie do?" she asked, "I mean, I understand that she coordinates what you guys do, but that can't be it."
"Oh it's way more than that," said Amber. "If it were just that, she'd have her two ops meetings a day and then go to her room to do whatever it is she does to relax. No, her entire day is taken up with dealing with the other administrators."
"Others?" asked Derpy in confusion.
"From the other colonies," continued Amber. "Each of the seven outer colonies has an administrator, sort of like a mayor, but no colony is capable of completely supporting itself, at least they weren't originally."
"Why did they even make them then?" asked Derpy, "why isn't everypony in Selene?"
"They were, originally," said Amber, "but even though Selene had large supplies of ice and ore under the surface, it was pretty obvious that the number of ponies arriving would require even more. So each colony was placed near as many natural resources as possible."
"That doesn't seem fair to the ponies in the colonies," said Derpy, "it's as if they exist to keep Selene afloat."
"It isn't," replied Amber, "but the princess promised that they would have ultimate say in how much they sent and that they could trade amongst themselves. Trixie's predecessor once told me that being an administrator was like juggling seven balls at once. They have to balance the stuff they send to Selene versus the stuff they send to the Slingshot complex, while still making sure they have enough food, water, and power to keep everypony comfortable. Heck, every shipment back to Equestria is only launched by unanimous consent of the administrators. It's a big responsibility. The Authority's gone and mucked all that up though."
Derpy nodded, Veil had given her a much less detailed description, but then again, she had only been interested in the next part. Derpy licked her lips and fidgeted with a loose pinion feather. "So she manages all that from her slate?" she asked nonchalantly.
"Hah, no," said Amber, "They're useful little devices, but the administrators all have coded workstations in their quarters. Trixie doesn't really let anypony see it though, and you can hardly blame 'er."
"Yeah," said Derpy as she turned and looked out the side of the skimmer as it sped past the outskirts of Selene. "How long do you think she'll be gone?"
Amber reached over the pegasus' shoulder and gave her a light hug. "Aww, don't be worried about Trixie," said Amber, "I know she looked a bit worried, but trust me, if anypony can handle themselves up here, it's her. Plus, didja take a good gander at that bat winged fella with her?" The sturdy mare stamped a turquoise leg to the floor. "I wouldn't mind gettin' in danger with that piece of flank there to pull me out. Mmm, and those cat eyes..."
Derpy felt the mare shiver slightly through the foreleg still resting on her shoulder. "Aaaaamber!" she said, her voice full of embarrassment.
"What?" asked the earth pony mare, "I like a stallion in uniform."
Four days later...
Trixie had never been the most patient pony. Sure, she could focus on a task and see it to completion, even if it took a while, but that little voice in her head never shut up about it. The last few days had been like being back at the rock farm. True there were fewer blisters, but that didn't mean there was any less aggravation. She would have traded the uncomfortable sundress and wide-brimmed hat Moonburn had forced her to wear for a lifetime's worth of blisters.
"Anything?" asked Moonburn, his voice crackling over the short ranged magical communicators.
"Damn it Burnie, there wasn't anything the first thousand times, why would there be something on the thousand and first?" She instantly regretted snapping at stallion and sighed before setting the binoculars down next to the small mountain of disposable cups and rubbing the base of her horn. "Sorry Moonburn," she said, "Trixie needs to lay off the coffee."
"No worries," replied the stallion, "would you like to head back to my place?"
"Trixie supposes so," she said as she began gathering the remains of her day long stakeout. "It's too late to catch the Zoom Tube back to Sin anyway." After hanging the binoculars by their strap around her neck, she stood and stretched her stiff legs. The top floor of the building she had been in for the last day was not the most comfortable perch, but it did offer a nearly unobstructed view of one side of the Silversun Strip. Together with Moonburn's view from the opposite side of the district allowed them to see the comings and goings of everypony below. "Fat lot of good it did Trixie," the mare thought to herself, "two days wasted looking for a pony who's probably not even here." She was sure they had the Loonies dead to rights. The map on Moonburn's now ruined desktop clearly showed that this was the geographical center of Loonie vandalism reports in Selene, and with its nearby Zoom Tube terminus, The Silversun Strip provided easy access to the other colonies.
Trixie let loose one last heavy sigh and looked down dejectedly at the southern entrance to the district. "Is that..." mumbled Trixie while nearly strangling herself pulling the binoculars from around her neck. "Hey Burnie," she said into the communicator on her ankle, "Southern doors; outside of the road; in the tuxedo; is that who Trixie thinks it is?" She followed the bulky unicorn stallion as he stood on the steadily moving rolling-road.
"I'll be damned," replied Moonburn, "that's him alright. It might be a coincidence though."
"No way," said Trixie, "Trixie told you he was playing dumb. Trixie's going down there. Tell Trixie where he stops and come down to help." She knocked over the pile of cups and dropped the binoculars in her haste to reach the elevator. The kick of adrenaline had her heart beating faster than it had in months. She was sure it was Trouble Shooter, the same stallion who had denied any connection to the Loonies, despite Moonburn's reports to the contrary. He had claimed innocence and nearly came to blows with the bat pony when pressed. Moonburn had chalked it up to anti Authority sentiment, but Trixie thought that the stallion had protested a bit too vehemently. Still, even she doubted he would have led them to a gathering of Loonies: He was but one of a few dozen leads they had chased down. She jogged in place as the elevator made its descent to the ground floor.
"He stopped at a gambling parlor," said Moonburn as the elevator came to a torturously slow stop, "The Shoot the Moon Lounge; it's three buildings north of you. I'll meet you there."
Trixie sprinted out of the building, past the confused receptionist before responding. "Alright, Trixie has her sight on the doors," she said, "come on down." They had them now; thanks to the vacuum outside, buildings like this had no rear exits. The rolling roads exited directly into the entryways of each building which were surrounded on all sides by the vacuum. She ran down the conveyor belt walkway, dodging the occasional pony out for an evening of entertainment. Upon seeing the building, Trixie was slightly shocked that her quarry would meet in such a place. The strip's ubiquitous flashing neon signs festooned the outer silver walls of the Lounge, bathing the sides of the building and the immediate ground around it in sickening swirls of bright pink, yellow, and green light. She stepped into the narrow entry tube that led from the road to the front doors nervously stood in place. The sound of leathery wings flapping announced her partner's arrival. "Ready?" she asked.
He had traded his distinctive uniform for a white silk dress shirt and snug pinstripe grey vest. His dark flight goggles were traded for a pair of dark aviator shades. "Find a table; keep alert; I'll sit facing the door. Look like you're having a good time," said Moonburn before stepping forward and opening the door. He held it open with a hoof on the ground, and with a sweep of his other foreleg, invited Trixie to enter. "After you," he said with what Trixie considered a terribly unconvincing grin.
Trixie rolled her eyes and swept past the guard with the imperious stage walk she imagined she would have been famous for had she stayed in Equestria. The grand room of the establishment would have housed Sin's entire company of miners, she thought to herself. Instead of rusty bunks with dirt stained mattresses, there sat velvet upholstered booths and elegantly styled silver filigreed dining tables. A stage of actual wood stood at the opposite side of the room, complete with singing unicorn draped in sheer red silk. Her dulcet tones provided a comforting atmosphere, but didn't demand the patrons' attention.
Compared to the audaciously bright exterior, the inside of the lounge was a tapestry of soft yellow mood lighting and dark shadows that stretched between tables. Even the gambling tables were given just enough light to make their green felt surfaces legible. The sound of plastic chips clicking against each other provided an impromptu percussion section for the unicorn mare singing from the stage. Her horn glowed as she accompanied herself on the upright piano at stage right.
"Welcome to the Shoot the Moon Lounge," said a polite voice to Trixie's left. The petite mare in the black satin dress already had a pair of menus in her magical grip and a knowing smile on her muzzle. "Could I escort you two to one of our private booths?" she asked, "perhaps somewhere quiet and out of the way?"
Trixie sputtered for a moment before Moonburn stepped in. "Darling, would you prefer a secluded booth," he asked with a winning smile, "or perhaps an open table to watch the entertainment from?"
Trixie stopped grinding her molars long enough to reach out and point to one of the tables for two in the middle of the dining area. "That one would be... lovely," she said, "Tri... I mean, I would like to watch the show... uh... sweetness." She mentally scanned her repertoire of spells to find one that would place the stallion on the border of discomfort and pain. She followed the hostess to the central table and had just flared her horn to pull the plush chair out when Moonburn jumped to her side and slid it back for her. She returned his amused grin with a toothy smile that would have been more at home on a psychotic clown.
After their drink orders were taken and lines of sight established, Moonburn leaned across the small table and under the mare's wide brimmed hat. "I don't see him. There are two doors to the right and left of the stage," he said. "They likely lead to the kitchen. I'll keep an eye on the booths, but if he's in there we'll just have to wait him out."
Trixie nodded. "Trixie doesn't know how you can see with those on," she said while fixing her gaze on the stage. She reached over to grab his sunglasses. He batted her hoof away and sat back into his chair.
"I do well enough," he said while graciously accepting their drinks from a waiter. "Is there any way I can convince you to let me go get some backup?"
"After what happened in The Stone, you're lucky Trixie still trusts you," she growled. She picked up her chilled glass of sparkling mineral water and took a deep sip. "Let Trixie know if anypony approaches." She squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated on drawing her magic into her horn. Thanks to her hat, the light show her pink magical aura would have created was dulled to a small glow directly under the brim.
Moonburn was too busy turning his head to see if anypony was observing them to notice the light flicker out. When he looked back at Trixie, only his quick reflexes kept him from spitting a mouthful of water at the mare. Her right eye, seemingly filled with swirling white and grey vapors, stared lifelessly while her left eye stared back at him normally. "What the buck..." he muttered.
"Just cover for Trixie," said the unicorn, "this takes all of Trixie's concentration. Oh, and watch your hooves."
He was about to as what she meant when a tiny brown sphere materialized on the table between them. He raised an eyebrow in confusion and slowly brought his head closer to the magical anomaly when it began rolling around the table on its own volition. It stopped an inch away from the tip of the stallion's nose and gave the stallion quite a start when it winked at him. Inside the magical construct appeared to be an eye, complete with a pupil and iris. He looked back up at Trixie and shook his head in mock disgust. "That's really gross Trixie."
Trixie grinned as the ball rolled off the table and onto the floor. "Trixie will check by the stage." The spell had always given her headaches, literally. Rolling the sensor across the floor meant going on a dizzying ride with it. Combined with the stationary image her left eye provided, the whole experience usually left her nauseous and disoriented. As "she" rolled along the floor, carefully avoiding the occasional waiter or customer, she reached the line of gaming tables and the crowd of ponies surrounding them. She sent her sensor on a meandering path beneath their hooves, periodically stopping to examine each pony before moving on.
"Trixie," said Moonburn nervously.
Trixie had learned to tune out the stationary side of her vision when using the spell, but the familiar voice still threatened to ruin her focus. "Hush," replied the mare, "Trixie told you she needs to concentrate." A few more seconds of searching found what she was looking for. Tucked away in the corner next to the kitchen was a small opening in the wall through which servers ducked in and out of. She followed a tuxedoed earth pony balancing a tray of empty drinks though the threshold. She was initially discouraged upon seeing what seemed to be the servers station. The pony she followed deposited the used stemware into a large bin and picked up two large menus in his teeth before walking back out into the main area. Towards the end of the narrow corridor, she thought she saw him.
"Trixie," said Moonburn once more, "theres..."
She ignored his shaking hoof on her shoulder and rolled the sensor along the false wall, towards where she spotted the unicorn stallion. The corridor ended abruptly; there was no sign of her quarry. "Where, did he gmmmmph," she began muttering before she was silenced.
Trixie focused her vision back to her good eye and nearly lost control of the spell completely upon seeing Moonburn's muzzle pressed against her own. She prepared to slap the sense the stallion had somehow lost back into his lust addled skull. He grabbed her hoof at the apex of her swing and pinned it to her side. Now Trixie wasn't some inexperienced filly. She had spent her fair share of late night hours in taverns both bawdy and raucous, and had canoodled with the denizens therein. Added to that were years spent with Princess Luna, who, contrary to public knowledge, but obvious to common sense, was quite familiar with the things ponies did in the dark and in their dreams. The stiff lips and complete lack of tongue were obvious signs that Moonburn was definitely not into it.
He pulled away slight and moved his muzzle to her ear. "By the door," he whispered breathlessly, "tell me you remember those two."
Trixie closed her eyes and released her spell. Opening them again, she felt a familiar migraine begin to take hold. She shook it off and opened both eyes. Between the slight double vision, she saw the two stallions at the door. "Not possible," she whispered, "they were dead. Trixie checked their pulses herself. They. Were. Dead." But it clearly was possible, she thought to herself. Both stallions that had been splayed out on the holding cell floor were now standing by the door, clearly waiting for somepony.
"They know me Trixie," said Moonburn nervously, "I conducted their interrogations myself."
Trixie knew they had to put distance between themselves and the two impossible stallions. She glanced towards the stage and dance floor where a few couples swayed in each other's hooves. "Follow Trixie," said the mare as she stood. She grabbed his hoof with hers and pulled him towards the small dance floor in front of the stage. The singing mare had retreated to the piano and hummed while concentrating on playing a slow but intricate waltz. "Trixie assumes you remember the steps?" she asked while placing a hoof around Moonburn's withers.
"It's been a while," he said before stepping forward in time with the lilting melody, "but thanks to the commander, I doubt I could forget them even if I wanted to." The pair of ponies glided along the small dance floor, making a lazy circuit, that both allowed them to survey the room and avoid suspicion. "As nice as this is, we need a plan," said Moonburn, "did you see where the big guy went?"
Trixie looked back at the false wall and pulled the stallion close before whispering into his hear. "Behind the wall there," she said while shifting her weight to her rear hooves, bending backwards and letting him dip her. When he pulled her back to her forehooves, she spoke into his ear. "We need a distraction. Something to draw all the waiters out of there."
Moonburn nodded and craned his head around hers to peer at the crowded gambling tables. The roulette table in particular had a crush of ponies desperately trying to get in on the action. Each time the wheel came to a stop, somepony jumped up and down in excitement, causing the drinks on the edge of the table to shake. He leaned in and whispered in Trixie's ear. A small grin grew into a devilish smile across the mare's muzzle.
Sure Thing was having an abnormal run of bad luck. He never doubted that he'd make his bits back by the end of the night, luck was his special talent, but any chance of tipping the cute singer was quickly disappearing into the pockets of the House. The night had started with Blackjack, his game of choice, not just for the payout, but for the leisurely pace and typically pleasant conversation with the other players. However, after that pair of split tens that both busted on him, he swore off the game for the night. Craps had an element of strategy to them, but after losing a hot streak on a pair of snake eyes, he decided that it was time to let his supernatural luck do the heavy lifting and walked to the roulette table.
"That bad Sure Thing?" asked a unicorn mare in a black skirt and white button down shirt. She grinned at the earth pony as he squeezed in between two other players.
"Just a bump in the road Miss Dawn Break," he said, "You'll see."
"That confidence is going to get you in trouble one of these days Sure," she said, "but it's my job to take your money, not help you save it." She held out a hoof, sole side up, and waited for the stallion to put his money where his mouth was. A small bag of coins quickly found their way into her hoof and after counting it, she dropped several stacks of multicolored chips in front of him and deposited the bits into the lockbox under the table. "Alright mares and gentlecolts," she said, "place your bets, if you so wish."
Sure Thing examined the state of the board. These ponies were obviously here for the thrill, he thought to himself. Most had placed outside bets, those with a slightly less than 50% chance of winning. Obviously, one had to play the field, if they truly wanted to trust in their luck. He began dividing his stack of chips and placing a couple of smaller piles on lines where two numbers met or corners where four fields intersected. He saved his one last larger pile, what he called his "Destiny Bet," and waited for Dawn Break to begin the round.
"Here we go folks," she said, "Follow the little ball, and ask Luna for all the luck in the moon." She lifted the small faux ivory ball with her magic and reached out with her hoof to give the wheel a spin. When it was at an acceptable speed she rolled the ball onto the wheel counter to its rotation. It had taken Sure a few months to acclimate to the rather slow speed at which the roulette ball was thrown, but with lunar gravity being what it was, a single throw would have lasted minutes if proper Equestrian practices were followed.
As the ball made its way around Sure Thing held his Destiny Bet in his hoof and closed his eyes. The sound of cheering ponies faded away. The lovely waltz the singing mare played, as well as her sweet humming faded and he was left with the sound of the ball rolling against the surface of the wheel. In his self imposed sensory deprivation, he waited for the universe to tell him what to do. Nopony ever believed him when he tried to explain his luck, but he didn't need them to. His eyes snapped open and he dropped his chips onto the twenty-three square just as Dawn Break called out, "Rien ne va plus!"
Sure Thing gave a contented smile and waited as the ball lost its angular momentum and began clacking against the wheel's insets. He kept his cocky grin in place as the ball bounced over two numbers and landed squarely in the twenty-three slot. Between the nearly equal number of cheers and groans of the other gamblers, came a few scattered, "Wows!" No doubt from ponies who had seen his last second winning bet. A small clear plastic rake scooped the losing bets off the board, and small stacks of chips floated from Dawn Break's dealer bank and floated to the various winners. The hefty stack that made its way in front of Sure Thing was accompanied by a shake of the mare's head that said, "I don't know how you do it."
The next ten minutes were the reason he spent his nights in the Silversun Strip. Some say luck is contagious, but Sure Thing figured that luck was a massive boat. A ship so massive that other, smaller, ships were constantly getting stuck in its wake. The ponies around the table proved his hypothesis again and again by following his bets across the board. Each spin they raced to see who could join him on his mystery bet, and more times than not, join him in his victory celebrations. As the evening went on, he began pushing larger and larger piles onto the board, doubling, and soon tripling the number of bits he came in with. His luck was running wild, and the whole of the lounge was taking notice. Waiters and Waitresses stopped on their way to bringing orders to customers to watch the outcome of a spin. The red dressed singing mare took a small break to watch the excitement. Even a few of the chefs made their way from the kitchen to see the incredible run of good luck.
Sure Thing felt as if the entirety of creation was using him as a conduit through which it could bring luck into the world. So true was his fortune this night, that he decided, for the first time since he was a young colt, not to hedge his bets. As Dawn Break spun the ball onto the wheel, Sure felt the universe's call and pushed his entire pile of chips onto the green zero square. The other ponies held their breaths as the ball began wobbling on its trajectory. For Sure Thing, time slowed down to the point where everything moved in extreme slow motion. The dials on the slot machines across the room slowly spun revealing each image clearly as they passed. Beads of condensation slowly traveled down the snifter of chilled apple brandy sitting on the side of the game table. From the corner of his eye, the slight up and down motion of the brim of a mare's sun hat caught his attention. The stallion dancing with her had led them close the edge of the stage. He returned his gaze to the Roulette wheel and time sped up again as the ball began bouncing from slot to slot. In a fitting bit of theatrical suspense, the ball seemed more active than ever on this roll of the highest stakes. It was almost unnatural the way it caromed off of part of the wheel time after time. Finally, it lost momentum and headed right where he knew it would. Breaths were held and hooves were pressed to muzzles as the little white faux ivory ball landed in the green zero slot... and somehow, against all laws both physical and metaphysical, bounced out and into the slot labeled three.
After giving it one last nearly imperceptible jolt, Trixie released her control of the micro fine filament of magic she had spun into the Roulette Wheel. Moonburn had quickly ferreted out the small hatch at the end of the corridor that ran the length of the false wall. He lifted the foot open and waved for Trixie to head down the stairs.
She gave the stallion a determined nod and quickly, but quietly descended into the darkened cellar. Moonburn followed and had just closed the hatch behind him when the blood curdling "Noooooo!" made its way from the lounge's main hall. Trixie was quite proud of herself. The kind of magical control needed to influence those odds were nearly impossible. Trixie was sure that even Twilight Sparkle would have been proud; proud and jealous. Self congratulation would have to wait, however, as she had a poorly lit cellar to explore. A series of irregular steps descended into a room filled with several shelves running its length. The entire space was hewn from the very rock of the moon, and obviously had been constructed after the building above. It extended far beyond the building's footprint, having been expanded as the business above grew. The floor was far from smooth, with marks from digging tools scarring the exposed stone.
"... is an idiot," said the feminine voice, "the mistress cares not if he comes or goes, but the other; she is worrying. You're sure you weren't followed?"
Trixie immediately ducked low to the ground and slowly crept in between the nearest rows of floor to ceiling storage shelves. She looked behind at Moonburn and nodded her head towards the source of the conversation. He tapped his chest with his hoof and pointed towards the other side of the cellar before creeping out of site between rows of boxes, spare chairs, and tables. Trixie aimed herself down the shadow strewn corridor and took a first hesitant step.
"Gimme some credit Veil," said a second familiar voice, "I transferred at three Zoom Tube stations and took four rolling roads to get here. Plus, I'm pretty sure they were fishing for information. The LA goon got this sour look on his mug every time I told 'em to take a walk outside. But if ya don't trust me, I could always head home, but then I'd have to take the present I brought with me." Trixie carefully pushed a pair of empty carafes to the side and peered out at the pair of conversing ponies.
"You got it!" squealed the mare in excitement. She had her back to Trixie, but clearly took something from the stallion. What it was, Trixie couldn't discern. "Did you have any trouble?" asked the unknown mare.
"Not really," said the bulky unicorn, "everypony's so desperate for help meeting the new quotas that they put me on their maintenance team almost immediately. A few demonstrations of my abilities with locks and I was able to come and go as I pleased. Getting in and out of his room was a cinch."
"By the mistresses mane, I wish I had twenty more of you Trouble Shooter," said the mare.
"That's six right?" asked the stallion, "Sin will probably be cake compared to Apollo. I can be there tomorrow if I hurry." The mention of her station got Trixie's heart pumping.
"Not quite yet Trouble," said the mare, "I have somepony already working on that, and the mistress has forbidden any direct action against their administrator. Worry not though; if all goes to plan, we'll have our trump card in a matter of days."
"And the Lunar Authority and all of Equestria will bow before our princess once more," said the stallion, a hint of malice in his voice.
"That's all I need to hear," shouted a loud commanding voice. Trixie slapped a hoof to her face and stifled an annoyed groan. "By order of the Lunar Authority and on behalf of Her Royal Highness, Princess Luna, I place you both under arrest for treason against the realms of Equestria and the Moon."
The large stallion wheeled around and stared daggers at Moonburn as he emerged from behind a pile of empty metal storage boxes. "Arrest yourself stooge," he growled while adopting a defiant stance. His horn exuded a deep grey aura as he gathered magic to throw at the Inspector Lieutenant.
"No!" moaned the mare. "Not now!" She began turning around in circles. "I know you're here Deserter!" she shouted, "Oh yes, I know all about you Trixie. I know how you abandoned your princess. How you threw all of her generosity back into her face and chose yourself over everypony in Selene and beyond." She spat at the ground and gave an almost feral growl. "You've thrown in with them. But you won't catch me!"
Trixie saw the mare gather her magic and quickly reached into the pocket of her sundress. The mare began to shimmer and disappear from view. Trixie jumped out from behind the shelf and tossed a small bundle at the last place she had seen the mare's head. The tiny sack burst open on contact, spreading a cloud of glittering dust over everything in within a few meters. The mare coughed and wheezed loudly, and in tandem with the seemingly floating splotch of glitterdust, her attempt to disappear was effective ruined. Trixie dropped her wide brimmed hat to the ground and strode towards the mare, a cocky grin plastered on her muzzle.
Not waiting for an invitation, Moonburn lunged towards the stallion, using his wings to propel him at a frightening speed. Caught by surprise by the glittery explosion and appearance of Trixie, Trouble Shooter was quite unprepared for the seasoned night guard's onslaught. Two hooves caught the unicorn in his wide chest. He lowered his horn to zap the offending bat pony, but only managed to singe a threadbare tablecloth hanging on a shelf behind where Moonburn had previously been standing. The winged pony had already dropped to his knees and rolled to the side before latching onto the unicorn's right rear leg with a forehoof. A quick tug pulled Trouble Shooter off balance, and gave Moonburn all the opening he needed. With a flap of his leather wings, he pulled himself from the ground and quickly into the air, to the nearly 7 foot high ceiling. He twisted his body on the way up so that his hooves made contact with the rocky ceiling first. He pushed off and shot himself, like a pony seeking missile, at the unicorn's flailing form. He crashed into Trouble Shooter, sending both tumbling into a mostly empty shelving unit.
Diaphanous Veil tried to wipe the glitter from her eyes while backing away from the confident unicorn drawing closer to her. "You're not supposed to be here!" she moaned.
"Is that so?" asked Trixie as her pink magical aura gather around her horn. She scooped up the mare in her magical grasp, pulling the helpless mare to her until their noses nearly touched. "Where, pray tell, is Trixie supposed to be?"
"At my side, heeding my commands!" boomed an all too familiar voice. Trixie, not one to be easily surprised, left Diaphanous Veil hanging in the air and looked towards the source of the outburst. The antiquated Oscilloscope hanging on the wall roared to life, it's normally green waveform a bright red. "Release my servants and there may be a chance for you to escape this situation unharmed," said the disembodied voice.
Trixie looked over at Moonburn, who stood over the prone unicorn stallion. He shook his head from side to side. "Why?" she asked simply.
"Because you know that my power has no limits," boomed the voice. "I could end you and your comrade in so many ways. It would be nothing to me, really."
Trixie snorted in laughter. "Of course you could," said Trixie, "but Trixie was referring to your idiotic, and downright confusing association with these thugs and saboteurs. Why not use some of that unlimited power to simply crush the Lunar Authority if you hate it so much? And why, for that matter, do you suddenly despise the Authority, now, after all our arguments; after the solstice; after my 'reassignment'?" Trixie hadn't realized it, but she had subconsciously stepped forward with every question until she stood inches away from the antiquated, dusty device. Lights played across the screen as the voice remained silent. "So yeah," began Trixie, "Why?"
"I do not owe anypony an explanation," said the voice calmly, "least of all you. Other ways can be found. Goodbye Trixie Lulamoon." The waveform returned to a solid bar of green light.
"I'm sorry mistress!" moaned Diaphanous Veil, "Don't leave me your highness! I will do better!"
"Well that sure was a lot of bluster," said Moonburn. Before he could continue, a high pitched squeal from the oscilloscope forced both ponies to cover their ears. "I, uh, I don't like this Trixie!" he shouted as the high pitched noise intensified.
"Grab him!" shouted Trixie, "We need to get out of here!" She floated the unicorn mare in front of her as she ran back across the cellar to the small rock staircase that led up to the gambling lounge floor. She swung open the hatch, surprising a tuxedoed waiter and causing him to fling his tray at the wall. She tossed Veil through the threshold and had a hoof out of the cellar door when the roar and reverberations of an explosion deafened her. A shockwave of compressed air surged through the basement, slamming Trixie out of the hole and into into the wall. Black spots danced across her vision, and all the concentration needed to maintain her magic fled. She reached a hoof towards the retreating glitter covered unicorn mare, but found herself unable to rise to her hooves to give chase. Thoughts of pursuit faded when she felt a gale force wind rushing down the hatch, pulling her tail with it.
"Breach!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. She shakily rose to her hooves, ignoring a twinge of pain from one of her hips. Thoughts of homicidal princesses and shadowy secret societies fled her mind and years of instinct kicked in. She carefully tried to ease herself back down the stairs to assess the damage. The combination of the explosion and windy aftermath had turned the basement into a debris covered nightmare. An odd rising spire of detritus was reaching towards the ceiling and a meter wide hole in the rock. "Moonburn!" shouted Trixie, her voice nearly drowned out by the roar of rushing wind.
"Over...here," shouted the stallion in a pained voice. He and the apparently unconscious unicorn stallion were pinned beneath a pile of collapsed metal shelves.
"Trixie is on the way," she shouted, "Just hold on!" She pushed aside the lingering dizziness from the detonation and grabbed hold of her magic. The first spell she and Luna had created together came together easily, and a shimmering field of pink magic sealed the hole in the ceiling. The miniature mountain of junk stopped growing, individual pieces of junk began rolling from its steep slopes. She limped to the Moonburn's side and helped the stallion free himself.
He stood and looked over his shoulder at his wings. Several tears marred the thin membrane, seriously compromising his ability to fly. "That's going to sting in the morning," he said before bending over to pull Trouble Shooter out of the pile of debris. "Are you okay down here?" he asked, "somepony needs to go get some help, and I think it should be me."
Trixie sat on her haunches while keeping her attention on the sealed breach. "Trixie will wait here," she said, "just be careful. The mare got away from Trixie." Moonburn nodded and trotted up the stairs with the unconscious stallion across his back, leaving Trixie alone with her disturbed thoughts.
Sure Thing sat on his haunches outside the evacuated Shoot the Moon Lounge. He stared at the front door as armored guards exited and entered the damaged building. From behind him he could hear a member of the emergency maintenance squad chatting with a few of the waiters.
"The guards say it was a faulty magic diverter," he said, "must have been a big one to cause a hole that big. I don't want to alarm you folks, but if the explosion had been a couple of feet closer to the building, the entire rear wall might have been compromised. No amount of magic would have helped had that been the case. You folks were truly lucky." Sure Thing's uncontrolled outburst of laughter drew the paramedics to his side. Hooves patted his back and sympathetic voices tried to calm him down.
"Lucky!" exclaimed the gambler mirthfully, "I'm still lucky!"
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I was kinda worried when I first started reading this that it would be chapter after chapter of the crew at Sin working to fill quota after quota. I'm glad that's not the case as this conspiracy story is far more interesting.
Nice use of Trixie and her cute little tricks. Moonburn is also an interesting character and got to be the hero cop.
Now to see just what it is Derpy is suppose to get...
Did the singer spontaneously transform from an earth pony into a unicorn?
You might've had reservations about Sure Thing, but I for one loved that scene; it really added a wonderful depth that made the classic 'nightclub-noir' feel of the chapter complete.
That one bit where Sure is describing his perceprion of luck as a ship made me think of that classic Will Riker line: "When the train comes in, everybody rides!"
4794557 bah, thanks for pointing that out. I liked Sure Things scenes too, I just felt bad for the poor guy.
And you're on the nose with Riker inspiration. It was him and Mat Cauthon I was thinking of while writing it.