Noble Authority
The knights and the Baron looked warily at each other in the destroyed apartment.
"Alright," said Cheerilee. "Somepony's abducting former criminals." She tapped her chin. "But how? They'd have to get past a doorguard in this building, not to mention knock down a door without Arnaqueur hearing and bolting out the back..."
"And also, why?" Max knelt to examine a smashed table. "Nothing was missing from Fetlockson's apartment, and I'm pretty sure I see a Cavallian platinum watch lying on top of this broken table. If it's not robbery, what's the motive?"
Better question: who cares? Duty's not here. What else are we doing here? thought Raindrops. She was hovering in the air with crossed forehooves. Aloud, she just said, "Hey, if there's nothing else going on up here, can I get out of here? I want to make sure Snails is okay."
"Just a minute, Raindrops," said Cheerilee. She looked at Max. "Any idea why these three in particular? Canterlot's full of criminals to choose from."
Max shook his head. "Haven't been able to think of anything. I mean, they have nothing in common. Fetlockson lived in a two-room garret apartment on the second-lowest level of town. Arnaqueur... I mean, I didn't know him, but judging from his stuff he probably was acquainted with high society. And this Duty--"
"Middle-class," said Cheerilee. "They didn't live near each other, or occupy the same social strata. But there has to be some connection."
"Maybe it's that they all got away with it," drawled Raindrops, flying up to the ceiling. If Cheerilee doesn't wrap this up in five minutes, I'm going back to Snails. He needs me, and I'm not going to let him be sad so we can talk about some stupid forger who probably fled some clients after giving them badly-made passports. "Might want to tell your friends in the Court, Max, that they should do a better job with the whole 'enforcing law and order' thing. So far, it's been a pretty bad day for them."
"Duty got out of the business," said Cheerilee. "She's not an active criminal the Court needs to pursue."
"Yeah, but she didn't go to jail, did she? And judging by his apartment, it sure seems like this Arnaqueur guy wasn't punished either. Sure, he didn't forge for the nobles themselves, but--"
"That wouldn't have mattered," said Max. "After the Gala, when the Princess learned that we were all... uh..."
"Corrupt bastards?" said Raindrops.
Max shut his eyes for a moment. "...she ordered the Guards and Shadowbolts to scrutinize every servant and employee in the castle staff, from the janitors up to the Royal Advisors. She wanted to know how many of them had been bribed by nobles. If Arnaqueur wrote a single memo for any of the nobles in Canterlot, she'd have found out any crimes he committed." He paused. "We are trying to clean up the Court and the city, Dame."
Raindrops said nothing, but when she looked back at Max, she wasn't seeing him. She saw a memory several months old, but still fresh in her mind...
***
"Isn't this great?" chirped Raindrops. "We're going camping! You love camping!"
Snails looked at the meager tent set up in the backyard, then at the house. "You don't want to go camping," he said.
"Of course I do! That's why we're doing it! Mom and Dad and--"
"We're going camping because my bugs filled up the house," said Snails, pointing at the structure in question. He sighed, then looked down at the ground "I'm sorry."
Raindrops' voice caught. She flew up slightly and glanced out over Ponyville, which looked like a catastrophe had struck it. A few houses and buildings were still smoking, and every now and then Raindrops heard a curse or a complaint from elsewhere in the town. "It's not your fault, Snails. It's that zebra's for cursing the town. But once the exterminator gets the house cleaned up we'll be able to go back inside--"
"But he can't come for days cause he's at the farms making sure the bugs don't eat all the fruit," said Snails. "And the town can't pay for more to come from Canterlot."
Raindrops fell silent. "Well... we'll get through it." She hugged her brother. "I promise."
Snails nodded sadly and then bent down to begin eating his dinner of dry grass.
***
Raindrops focused again on Max but said nothing. Yeah, right. I'll believe you lot care about ponies like us when you actually show it.
"Anyways," said Max. "I guess it's possible they just covered their tracks well enough that nopony noticed, but then that wouldn't explain how anypony else could have tracked them down and captured them--"
"No."
The other two ponies turned to look at Cheerilee, who had paled slightly. The magenta mare took a slow breath, then forced herself to continue: "The Court might have found them all. But there's one good reason why some small-time criminals might not have been made to serve their sentences even if they were caught. They could have turned Princess' Council." She took the notification about the jailbreak out of her saddlebag. "Two mafia bosses escaped today. I know Duty had run-ins with other smugglers before, including the Lucas. What if she, and Arnaqueur, and maybe Fetlockson too, testified against the Lucas? What if they know things, like where the Lucas might go to hide out? The mafia would want to quiet them by any means necessary."
"And then they could go into hiding, and we wouldn't have any idea where to find them." Max frowned. "Plus, if we got them back and then they appealed, we wouldn't have access to the witness's testimony to rebut the mafia bosses. Wow. That's... something else."
Raindrops turned back to Cheerilee "You thought the mafia had Duty before--"
"No, I thought they were chasing her before. She's a tough mare; if they just sent a few thugs, she could evade. But apparently they're going all over the city and hunting down any opponents. That's a lot of ponies to escape from." Cheerilee shut her eyes. "We need to save them."
"We will." Max nodded. "Let's return to the castle at once. I will notify the Guards of what's really going on. Captain Armor can have teams sweeping the city in half an hour."
"Great," said Raindrops. "You do that. I need to get back to my brother--"
"Wait." Max held up a hoof. "It would help if you told what you'd seen as well, with Duty and also here. The more details we can provide, the better."
"Oh, I'm confident you can do a fine job on your own, Baron Max." Cheerilee beamed and walked over to Raindrops. "You wouldn't want us getting in the way."
"It wouldn't be a problem," said Max.
"It is for us." Raindrops settled back down to her hooves. "My little brother's been having a bad day, thanks to two of his sociopathic classmates, and that's kind of my priority right now." She paused. "Unless you want him to keep wondering why his big sister vanished during their fun day out in Canterlot."
"No, but..." Max paused, then turned to Cheerilee. "What about you?
"Snails is my student. I want to help him feel better too!" chirped Cheerilee.
Max was silent for a moment. When he spoke again, his eyes had narrowed slightly. "Why do I have the feeling that you're planning on investigating this on your own?"
"Whatever do you mean? We wouldn't dream of interferring with the government's investigation." Cheerilee turned towards the door. "Come along, Raindrops. We have a little pony to cheer up."
"Dame Cheerilee!" called Max. "These ponies are dangerous. If you just wait, I can get Armor to marshal a troupe of Guards. They have the best information on where the mafia ponies might be, and they're strong enough to fight them. Please, just wait until I can get the authorities involved. It's the safest option for everypony."
Cheerilee paused, turned back, and tilted her head, as if deep consideration. "...Max, one of my friends is among the abducted." She held up a hoof to forestall Max's objection. "But I understand. You have a duty to keep civilians safe, which does include us. And the Guards... they could help, if we have to go up against mob hitters. We'll wait an hour. Will that be enough time?"
"I'll make it enough time," said a clearly relieved Max. "Armor's monitoring the escaped prisoner situation in the castle. I'll report to him and get as many Guards as he can spare. We'll meet at... the train station, in an hour. We'll go forward from there, okay?"
Cheerliee looked at Raindrops. "Okay," she said.
***
As they exited the building, Raindrops turned to Cheerilee. "I'm guessing you're not actually waiting an hour."
"Of course not." Cheerilee shook her head. "In the first place, we might not have an hour. Every minute could be their last. In the second place, I don't think Max is going to be able to rustle up a lot of Guards. Same reason as before--they're hunting dangerous mobsters; who's going to prioritize finding a missing forger over that? And lastly, even if Max could bring a bunch of Guards..." She shrugged. "They've never helped before. I can't see them being terribly useful now either. They couldn't handle the salamanders, or Thrash, or... well, all the nobles who broke the law. I think we'll have better luck if we go it alone."
"Then why lie to Max?"
"Let's just say I find it suspicious that we found him in Arnraqueur's trashed apartment. He's not a Guard--he's a noble, and he's not even somepony like Fisher who patrols with the Guards sometimes just to show how rough and tough he is. He pushes papers like the rest of them. Why is he personally investigating an abduction?"
"You think he's involved?" asked Raindrops.
Cheerilee smiled. "I know, it might be hard to accept the idea that a member of our nobility is a criminal..."
Raindrops was still laughing five minutes later when they came back upon Carrot Top and Snails.
"Hey, little bro!" said Raindrops as she approached. "You okay?"
Snails glumly nodded as he got off of Carrot Top's back and climbed onto Raindrops. "I'm fine."
Cheerilee gave Snails a pat on the head. "Did you have fun with Carrot Top?"
"I guess."
Carrot Top shrugged. "I tried to show Snails some bugs in the area. But Snails knew them all already. I guess I wasn't very entertaining."
"It's alright." Raindrops sighed. "What now? There's an ice cream store three blocks down, and--"
Cheerilee shook her head. "No time, remember?"
"Time?" asked Carrot Top.
"We're pretty sure the mafia abducted Duty and at least two other ponies. We need to get them back. Now, I know a hangout the mafia is probably using on the lowest level of the city. All three of us knights will go there and--"
"Woah." Raindrops lifted her wings so they were folded around her little brother. "We are not leaving Snails alone, and we're not taking him to a mafia hideout either. End of story. Unless Carrot Top is going to watch him again--"
Cheerilee shook her head. "I'm the only one of us who can sneak in and poke around to see if they're hiding any prisoners. If only one of you comes with me, you might not be enough to distract them all while I look. Our odds are much better if you both come with." Carrot Top looked cheered at that. Cheerilee continued, saying, "Plus, we'll have the element of surprise--"
"That's not an Element," interjected Snails. "There's only six."
Cheerilee chuckled. "A different type of element, Snails. But that was a good connection!" She turned to Raindrops. "I'm sorry, Raindrops, but it won't be safe if only two of us go in there. If I'm caught it could get messy, and..." She paused. "They could threaten to hurt Duty. So instead, I was thinking instead we use a daycare for Snails. There's plenty in the city."
"No." Raindrops shook her head. "The mafia ponies are breaking into homes and dragging ponies out. I'm not letting Snails out of our sight."
"They aren't targeting foals--"
"Don't care." Raindrops shook her head. "Not happening."
"But then we can't pursue the mafia--"
"Then we don't pursue them."
Cheerilee seemed amost to wilt. "Rain--"
"Cheerilee." Raindrops moved close enough to her that their muzzles were almost touching. "I want to help you rescue your friend. Honest. But if I have to choose between saving three criminals from getting their just deserts, and saving my brother? My brother wins. Hooves down. I will not put him in danger over this."
For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then Carrot Top raised a hoof. "Um... I have an idea. Isn't there a secured room at the train station, for foals whose parents are on delayed trains or something? It's watched by the Transit Guards, and it's in a really public place so nopony is going to be able to abduct anypony. We're Knights; I'm sure they'd let us use it."
Raindrops shut her eyes. She couldn't think of any logical objections, but she didn't want to leave behind her brother. He was her little sibling, he needed her, he'd been failed by her twice already today and she wouldn't fail him a third time, she was getting really frustrated at all of this...
But there are lives at stake. Even if they are criminal scumbags... I'm a knight. I can't just let them get killed...
"Fine," she said at last. "We'll do this fast. Snails, are you okay with staying at the train station for a little bit?"
"Yes." Snails slumped down. "I'm sorry I'm getting in the way."
"You aren't. It's the mob ponies and criminals who are getting in our way."
"Mmm."
"Hey." Raindrops knelt to be at eye level with her brother. "Honestly, you're not. You're a wonderful brother and you haven't caused any problems today. Bad ponies have, and I have to deal with it because that's what knights do--but none of it is your fault, okay? You're too good a pony to ever do the kind of bad things that the mafia did that I have to fix."
Snails smiled faintly, but it vanished quickly. "Thanks," he managed.
Raindrops could tell Snails was still distressed, but she didn't know what to say and didn't have nearly enough time to make Snails feel better. She just sighed and began to trot towards the train station, led by a tense Cheerilee and trailed by Carrot Top. Okay, she thought. When this is done, I am tracking down the Lucas, and Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon and Duty and Arnaqueur and Fetlockson and all the rest, and I am personally going to knock some sense into them.
She nodded to herself. That'll be about right.
***
Later, as the Elements worked their way down to the lowest levels of Canterlot, Baron Max found himself working his way through a mountain of paperwork.
Max turned over a piece of parchment as a familiar headache beginning to build. He was struggling through reports from the various precincts in Canterlot detailing the types of cases they had to deal with, from petty vandalism to theft to missing ponies. Unfortunately for him, Viscount Silver Shackles--a good pony, but one who wholeheartedly believed in the adage 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'--had never bothered to standardize the forms or the codes throughout the precincts. The number that meant 'missing adult pony' in the museum district, for instance, meant 'cow tipping' in the warehouse district... and while the civil police knew the system thanks to years of inertia, Max was having trouble. It was enough to make any rustic, hardy pony like himself want to throw all the papers out a window, flee the Criminal Records department of Canterlot Castle, and go haul himself up the Canterhorn just to drive all the legalese out of his brain.
But he closed his eyes, took a breath, and reminded himself that this mattered. Pony lives were at stake, even moreso than with a regular government bill, and just because he was handling the paperwork instead of being out there and fighting evil with his own four hooves didn't make his contribution any less important. Somepony had to go through the records and figure out if any other ponies had been abducted, and it might as well be him. His secretary, Mrs. Grobnar, and his other assistant, Inky, were asleep, and none of the other nobles were going to help with this. It was up to him to do the work that might save the missing ponies.
The headache faded, and Max allowed himself a small smile. He'd have to thank Posey later. It was she who had taught him a few mental techniques for dealing with the common frustrations of being a noble of the Court. And it was getting easier. When he'd first arrived, he'd spent too much time staring uselessly at bills as if they were homework assignments he didn't want to do. Now, he was one of the more productive members of the Court. And--as Posey had shown him--the nation was the better for it.
So he returned to the paperwork and looked through the next precinct report. There were several possible crimes, and most of them were minor: littering, graffiti, public display of intoxication, a foal selling cups of lemonade in a park not zoned for commerce (Max made a mental note to look into that last one when he had a chance, since he felt that this scenario was perhaps not the intended application of the zoning laws.) But there was also one 10-65, which, according to the big guide to Max's left, meant 'Missing Pony' in that precinct. So Max looked at the name next to the code--Avarici Greedo--, marked it down, and then hailed the Records clerk and asked for all documents relating to that pony. And sure enough, after several minutes of waiting for the records and then searching through them, he found that a Mr. A. Greedo had been arrested and charged with twenty counts of stealing money from charity funds... only for the cases, public and private, to be dismissed before trial.
Reading through the paperwork, Max found that Greedo had apparently approached the charities with an offer. They could drop the charges, and he'd return half the funds... or continue, and he would spend the entirety of his ill-gotten gains on his legal defenses, so they wouldn't recoup a jangle if they won. They dropped their charges. The Throne's case had vanished too... and Max couldn't help but wonder if it was in exchange for testifying against the mob, maybe describing accounting he had done for them. Alternately, maybe the Throne couldn't prosecute without the support of the charities. In any event, Greedo got away with a 50% cut of his ill-gotten gains and a ban issued by Luna Herself preventing him from ever handling finances again. It wasn't a bad deal for that much crime.
Max sighed and added the name to his list of possible 'missing criminals.' If I keep doing this, I'm going to start sympathizing with whoever is taking these ponies, he thought sardonically. Okay, next precinct...
"Good morning, Mounty." Max turned, a smile unbidden coming to his face, as he heard the beautiful voice of Fragrant Posey. She floated into the room with a flutter of her wings, her motions so clear, sharp, and steady that they could be produced by none other than a confident ruler at work. When she landed, the little upward swoop after she touched down seemed to suggest that she hadn't dropped to the ground, but that it had risen at her command to meet her, like it too was subject to her power. Her clothes, a beautiful and exquisite Prench dress with bands of reds and oranges that seemed almost to melt into and accentuate her coat, flared slightly and then descended, as if bowing in supplication. She was the Duchess of Cloudsdale, she was an extraordinarily powerful mare, and she had been teaching Max the arts of politics for quite some time.
Max rose to his hooves and bowed. "Duchess."
Fragrant blushed. "You don't need to be quite so formal, Mounty."
"But didn't you say that, in public, a noble must always maintain decorum?" Max asked.
"So I did." Fragrant laughed a little at that, then approached Max. "Granted, this isn't exactly public. I wasn't expecting an audience. I was just coming down here to pick up a background check on an applicant for my household staff; I couldn't sleep, and I didn't want to wake Notebook, since he stayed up all last day helping me finish my provincial budget." Notebook was Posey's secretary and head of personnel; Max knew that he had a close working relationship with the Duchess. "What brings you to this wing of the castle, Max?"
The Baron looked down at his papers. "Hopefully nothing," he said. "But... I don't know. Some ponies might have gone missing in the city. According to these reports, it might be as many as twenty so far, and that's just of the precincts I already looked through. I'm trying to get as much information as I can so that, when Captain Armor gets here, I can give him a good report."
Fragrant raised an eyebrow. "That seems like more of a task for the Guards than a noble of the Court, does it not?"
Max smield again. He and Posey had discussed often his preference of doing the little, hooves-on things that needed to be done, rather than the high-level things that were his actual job. He was getting better at prioritizing the latter--he honestly was--but sometimes it seemed like other things called to him a little more loudly. "Yes. Normally it is. But most of them are busy with the escaped prisoners, so nopony is left to do this... and I'm worried that the abducted ponies might be running out of time."
Posey frowned. "This isn't going to be like that time when you were almost killed by the Sun Cult, is it?"
"I hope not," said Max. "But I did save a bunch of ponies--"
"And you almost died." Posey moved towards Max. "We have Guards for a reason." She was silent for a moment. "Please promise that, if at all possible, you'll make use of the Guards rather than going to fight criminals by yourself again."
"I promise," said Max. "Trust me, I didn't like getting kicked in the face. Not eager to repeat that experience. I'll use the Guards if I have to--and I'll make sure to get all my committee work done too."
"Good." Fragrant approached and gently pecked the top of his head with her muzzle. "I'd hate to have to stay up late helping you prepare a rider for the Transportation Committee again."
Max blushed. "That happened once. Several months ago."
"Even so." Fragrant's eyes shone with laughter. "When will Captain Armor be joining you?"
"He was supposed to be here five minutes ago." Max checked the clock. "And I don't have much time to spare; I need to be at the train station in thirty minutes. Hopefully it won't take too long to ask him for help when he gets here."
"Ask?" Fragrant raised an eyebrow. "You are a noble of the Court, and he serves the Court. Is 'ask' truly the right word?"
"Request, then?" Max frowned. "I mean, he has his own area of influence. I can't just order him to do what I want."
"No, but you can impress upon him the seriousness of the matter by phrasing what you want in a confident manner. After all--this is a very important matter, is it not?"
Max nodded. "Lives might be at stake."
"Then tell Captain Armor that. Phrase it as something you need, not something you fancy. If he truly cannot help you, he will say so, and will bear no ill will. But if he could help you, and was not convinced of the importance of your request..."
"I get it." Max took a breath to prepare himself. "Sorry. It's just... I mean, when I was a Lord Mayor, everypony respected me, but I'd never have felt comfortable just demanding something from others. And when I see ponies like the Elements or Captain Armor, who protect all our lives... I mean, it's hard to order them around."
Posey inclined her head. "They indeed are renowned ponies." She smiled slightly. "But remember--you are a noble of the government. Your job, in part, includes ordering ponies around. It will help nopony if you neglect that aspect of your job, and as a result some task is not completed."
"I know, it just feels..." He trailed off. "Arrogant."
"Well, I'm not suggesting you act like Archduke Fisher and demand they accede to your every whim, lest Equestria collapse tomorrow." Posey gave Max a gentle smile. "But you do have authority. And part of your job is exercising it when appropriate."
"Right." Max took a breath. "I understand, Fragrant. I--"
Before they could continue, Max heard hoofsteps outside. A few moments later, Captain Armor entered the room. "You wanted to see me, Baron? I have a few minutes before I need to meet with Viscount Shackles and Archduke Fisher about the hunt for the escapees."
Max opened his mouth, realized that Fragrant Posey was in the room with him, ready to notice if he did anything silly, and immediately began to sweat. No! Agh! Bad start! "Captain!" he said, his voice only a little too high. "I've become aware of a pattern of missing ponies in the city. I would--" He cut himself off from finishing the sentence with the word 'like', and instead said, "I mean, if you are able, I need your help to save these ponies." He gestured at the papers. "I determined that..."
He explained everything to Armor as concisely and calmly as he could. The Captain of the city's Guard looked at the papers for several moments. Then he said, "...I appreciate the effort you put into this, Max, but I have a few questions. Besides Arnaqueur, is there any evidence that any of these ponies were taken violently?"
Uh oh. "No," Max had to say.
"Was Arnaqueur's apartment definitely ransacked, or could it, for instance, have been in disarray due to a party?"
"I suppose..."
"Most of these missing pony reports come from a pony missing a single engagement, is that right?"
"Yes."
"And you don't actually know that the escaped mobsters are involved--that's just speculation?"
"No, I can't prove it--"
Armor nodded slightly. "I'd like to help you, Max, but we still haven't gotten all the escapees. There's still three out there--the Luca brothers, and the sun cultist. Those three are all considered extremely dangerous. Mareio injured five Guards when we last caught him, and Manetelli took a hospital crew hostage until the Shadowbolts dragged him out. Right now, every Guard I've got is helping the civil police to look for them. Until these ponies are caught, I can't in good conscience reassign Guards to what might be a few old ponies forgetting to check in with their children and a playboy not cleaning up after a party."
Max opened his mouth to beg for help, then closed it. He knew that was not the noble thing to do. So he said, "Over twenty ponies are missing. Two or three, even five, that might be coincidence. But twenty? Captain Armor, I need some Guards to begin trying to find them. Their lives could be at risk."
Armor shut his eyes for a long moment. Finally, he said aloud, "I can't spare any active Guards for the moment. Literally every pony I have on duty is patrolling the streets or raiding suspected hideouts. But... here's what I can do for you. The prison's under lockdown with a fresh set of jailers right now; all the staff there were taken away to be questioned after the breakout. Most of them have been cleared and sent home, but with the Guards so active today, it'll be another day or so before the paperwork allowing me to put them back on duty is filed. I'm not allowed to use them... but I can request Warden Hangem Higher to make them available to you. You'll probably get about a dozen."
A dozen was a lot better than Max had started with. "Thank you, Captain."
"Of course, Baron."
When he was gone, Max turned to Posey, smiling like a foal who had earned top marks on a test. Posey just laughed. "Very well done, Mounty. I couldnt have done better myself."
"Thank you." Max couldn't stop his grin; he had accomplished something, taken another step towards surmounting the task of becoming the optimal noble. "I need to go find the Elements at the train station, then bring them back to work out a plan with the warden and his guards. Then--"
"Go, go." Posey grinned as she gestured. "Just remember--I'll expect you to tell me all about it when it's over." She beamed. "I like hearing stories about your heroism."
Max laughed, gave her a hug, and ran out the door.
***
"This is a mafia hideout?" asked Raindrops.
Cheerilee nodded. "Three doors down. See those two ponies lounging by the entrance? They're guards."
"They're eggheads!" hissed Raindrops. "Cheerilee,that's a library!"
Indeed it was. The Cobblestone Book and Journal was a small, squat building tucked into the corner of one of the lower levels of Canterlot. Buildings were crammed up against each other, most of them covered in faded and peeling paint, but none of them so dilapidated as to give the appearance of a slum wasteland. It looked just like any other dreary urban residental district to Raindrops. Nothing about it screamed 'mob hangout.'
Cheerilee shook her head. "See how those two ponies have bulges in their saddlebags? Those are probably saps. Note how neither of them actually turned a page in their books in the last minute, and how often they glance up. They're guarding their bosses." She smiled slightly. "Do you know how hard it is for the government to subpoena records of who uses libraries and what they do there? As long as there's a few rooms available to keep the foals out of, they make great bases."
"Shouldn't we get the Guards?" asked Carrot Top.
"You're not scared, are you?" teased Cheerilee. "They're all busy looking for the escaped prisoners. We can handle this."
"But this is such an obvious hideout," said Raindrops, "Wouldn't the Guards have searched it already?"
"It's only obvious if you already know about it. Besdies, the Guard might have looked in--I think they're looking everywhere--but they were only looking for the Lucas. They wouldn't have known to look for signs of Duty and the others. We do." Cheerilee gave a sharp nod. "I've dealt with ponies like this a few times before. I know how to play this. Raindrops, you just need to be confident, but not arrogant--like you're willing to get into a fight, but not desperate for one. Carrot Top, stand by her, silent, strong, like you'll back her up. I'll sneak in through the back."
Carrot Top looked down for a moment. "Are you sure I can't do anything else?"
"Er..." Cheerilee hesitated. "You don't have my experience being sneaky," she said, "And Raindrops is probably better for the front since she's stronger in a fight. But if you want--"
"No, it's fine." Carrot Top flexed a hoof and chuckled. "Carrot Top: farmer, herbologist, muscle for hire. I'll make it work."
Raindrops smiled, then said. "What's the actual plan, Lee?"
"I'll search the place while you keep them busy. If they've been abducting ponies, there'll be signs even if they aren't being stored there--bags of gear with certain supplies, maps and keys to strange buildings, things like that. Just get me a few minutes, and I can confirm if the mob has Duty and the others or not. Okay?"
Raindrops took a deep breath. "Okay."
The library was a three story building. The first room was crammed full of dusty bookshelves, though nopony was there to read them except for the guards outside who followed Raindrops and Carrot Top in. Upstairs was more of the same. Downstairs, though, was a multipurpose room that was empty except for a few doors, a few cushions, and a dozen tough-looking stallions and mares that were lounging about. As Raindrops and Carrot Top entered, one rose to her hooves. "Who in Equestria are you?"
Raindrops glanced at Carrot Top, then took a breath. Starting to wish I sprang for those acting classes. "Knights of the Realm," she said. "Dames Raindrops and Carrot Top. We're here to ask you a few questions."
"Hmm." The pony grinned. "I guess I should be honored, then. Name's Stompina. Now, why am I answering your questions, exactly?"
"Because we're the Knights of the Realm," said Raindrops. "And if you don't, we could make things, uh, difficult for you."
"Oh. Difficult. Gee, I might cry." Stompina laughed. "Got anything else, before we throw you out?"
Raindrops turned to look at Carrot Top for advice, but the farmer just shrugged. Raindrops sighed to herself, then turned back to the boss. "We have the Right of Approach. We--"
"The what?"
"We could go right to Luna and say whatever we wanted about you. We could ask her to arrest you."
"Oh, no, a tattletale. I'm shaking in my horseshoes." Stompina grinned, flashing crooked teeth. "After all, we don't have anything like fancy Rights of Approaches or telegraphs to Luna or whatever. All we've got is a bunch of hooves and saps... and not much tolerance for smart-mouth 'heroes' who come into town thinking they can drive me out."
Uh, Cheerilee? thought Raindrops. Maybe hurry?
"See, when some ponies come in here and start trying to push us around, it... well, we don't get mad, we're nice folks, but our hooves, see, they get real mad. And when they get mad, things happen." Stompina chuckled. "Bad things. So why don't you just turn around now and get out before anything bad happens to you?"
Bad things? thought Raindrops. We've almost been killed loads of times! Ponyville was wrecked! We've had to fight basilisks and necromancers and the Tyrant Sun! I'll show you mad! She scowled. "Mad? Don't worry, I know the feeling. My hooves get mad sometimes too. Actually, they get mad a lot."
"I don't--"
"But let's be clear about something. When your hooves get mad, forty of them get together and team up on some poor stallion for his lunch money. When mine get mad?" Her eyes flashed. "Do you want to hear what happens when my hooves aren't happy, Stompina?"
It was easy for Raindrops to continue. All she had to do was think of Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, Greengrass and Fisher and Blueblood, the entirety of the government, and the useless criminals they were wasting time trying to help. She thought of all the pain they had put her, and her brother, and all the good ponies through. And as she continued to speak, she imagined that Stompina and her thugs were the embodiment of all those wicked ponies... and her voice began to grow.
"When timberwolves from the Everfree Forest attacked our village, these hooves ripped them into kindling. When a basilisk threatened the town of Oaten, these hooves turned that snake into a belt." Raindrops jumped so she was directly in front of Stompina. "When a fifty-foot dragon attacked us at an ancient castle, these hooves pulverized him! When the demon ram Grogar, who murdered ten thousand donkeys, returned to life, these hooves ripped apart his necromancy-driven monsters piece by piece, and then drove him back to Tartaros!"
"Ah--" began Stompina.
"And when the Tyrant Sun returned," and Raindrops shoved Stompina into the wall, simultaneously knocking back one more thug who tried to stop her, "She made these hooves very angry. And these hooves responded." She held up her front left hoof. "This hoof has bucked the sun in the face and lived to tell about it," she hissed. "So I would advise you to think very hard about what it would do to your face. Because my hooves do not forgive. They do not forget. And they get angry very easily."
The two were silent for a moment. Stompnia looked terrified. Raindrops felt vaguely sick. She had given into her temper, she knew, and that was dangerous. But it's the only thing to get through to thugs. I'm in control. We'll be okay. She screwed up her face into a stern expression. "Well?"
Stompina stared at Raindrops for a moment more, then managed an awkward laugh. "Of course, of course! I would not dream of trifling with such a great hero! Please, sit down!" She gestured, and cushions were set up by the thugs. "I'm sure that you and your, uh, friend there just want to ask a few pleasant questions."
"If you're lucky." Raindrops released Stompina and let her slide to the ground. "Start talking."
"Yeah!" said Carrot Top. "Start talking!"
Raindrops gave the farmer a look, and she blushed. "Nevermind," she murmured.
Stompina sat at a cushion, and the rest followed suit. "So tell me, what brings the Element strongmare and cook to my door?"
Raindrops frowned. "Cook?"
"I do more than just cook," snapped Carrot Top.
"Right, right, of course. You're also the, uh..."
"Mascot?" asked a mobster in a hopeful voice.
Raindrops told herself that flipping something wouldn't help matters. "Just tell us where the Lucas are."
"We don't know." Stompina frowned. "Wait, that's what this is about? Look, we've been searching too, but they've gone into deep cover. No idea where they are."
"And you expect me to believe you?" asked Raindrops.
Stompina held up her hooves. "Hey, that's all I know! We heard about the breakout the same way you did--when Guards put up notices all over the neighborhood. Trust us, if we knew where they were, we'd be there in an instant to get 'em home to Fillydelphia."
"That isn't happening," said Raindrops. "The Lucas are going to jail. You should be too."
"Yeah, well, nopony's pinned anything on me yet." Stompina recovered a bit of her smile. "Ain't that a shame, huh?"
Raindrops glanced around and noticed that, while there were a dozen ponies in the room besides them, it still seemed somewhat sparse. "Anypony not here today?"
Stompinia hesitated. "Uh--"
"Talk," growled Raindrops.
"A few missing, yeah," said Stompina. "Probably a rival crew tried to mess with me by scaring some ponies that should've been on duty past couple of days. Why would you care?"
Raindrops flashed an alarmed look at Carrot Top. If these guys don't have the Lucas, then they aren't behind the abductions. And if that's the case, those missing thugs were probably abducted too--which means this is even bigger than we thought, plus we don't have the lead we thought we did. Now what?
Stompina rose to her hooves. "If you want, I can show you through the base. You'll see that nopony's hiding back there, bosses or otherwise." She gestured at a big door that was heavily secured with a massive deadbolt. "If you'll just--"
The deadbolt turned, and then Cheerilee walked in from the other side. "It's clean," she said cheerily. "Nopony's here that we're looking for. Time to go!"
Stompina stared. "But... that room was secured--"
"I know," said Cheerilee. She trotted to the door, the mafia ponies somehow knowing to give her a wide berth. "Come on, Knights! We've got a job to do!" Raindrops rose and left after her, Carrot Top bringing up the rear.
***
A few minutes later, once they were gone, Stompina punched a hoof through the plasterboard. "Damn rural punks!"
"Do you want us to get them?" asked one of the thugs.
"Yes, I--wait. No." Stompina paused. "They're hunting for our bosses, right? Else they wouldn't have come in here."
"Sure," said another thug.
"Well, maybe they're smarter than they look. Maybe they'll find them. And when they do..." She grinned. "Clubby Hoof, tail them. We're getting the Lucas back if we have to use the Elements of Harmony themselves to do it."
***
"I'm sorry," said Raindrops once they were a few blocks away. "Carrot Top, I shouldn't have let them insult you like that."
"It's fine." Carrot Top sighed. "Doesn't matter what they think, right?"
"You're not actually taking them seriously, are you?"
The farmer didn't speak for a moment. Finally, she said, "Maybe we could talk about it later? We should help Snails and Cheerilee's friend first."
Raindrops smiled gratefully. "Okay. We'll help Snails first--but after that, you and I are gonna go through all the ways that you're awesome." And Carrot Top couldn't help but grin in response.
Cheerilee coughed. "Anyways, I didn't find any sign of the bosses or the prisoners. Did you learn anything, Raindrops?"
"Yeah. It's bigger than we thought." Raindrops recapitulated what they had found out. "...I think we can assume those mob ponies weren't in jail, or Stompina wouldn't have been expecting them. They're just gone. So the only thing we know now is there's a whole bunch of criminals missing, and the only link between them is they either got away with their crimes or they didn't get much of a sentence."
"Well..." Cheerilee let out a sigh. "At least the mob doesn't have Duty, then. Or the others."
"But somepony does," said Carrot Top. "What should we do?"
Cheerilee shook her head. "I don't know. I don't have any other suspects; I can't imagine any other groups who would be able to abduct so many ponies--especially mafia ponies, who probably know how to fight. And the Guards are still occupied chasing the Lucas." She looked down. "I'm out of ideas."
"Then we should at least pick Snails up," said Raindrops. "And think of something on the way there."
They had made it a few more blocks before Carrot Top ventured, "What if we try it the other way? If we know certain ponies might be abducted, can't we get to them first and wait?"
"Do we know any criminals who got off easy or weren't captured?" said Raindrops. "Besides the entire Night Court, I mean."
"They're behind castle walls. That'd be tough for anypony to break through," said Cheerilee.
"Greengrass isn't. And leaving the Court's not much punishment for everything he pulled. Whoever's doing this might not think that's enough." Raindrops nodded. "Then again, I don't actually care if he gets abducted, so..."
Cheerilee laughed at that. "I'd like to think so, but he made it sound like he'll be spending all day away from his home dealing with a mail mixup. Unless the postal service is in on this and mixed up the mail to get him to walk into a trap, he's probably not going to get abducted today."
Raindrops had a brief image of Ditzy sitting atop a muffin throne and putting stamps on 'abduction' paperwork. Chuckling at the image, she said, "Okay... do we know anypony else in this city who broke the law and got away with it, or only got a slap on the hoof?"
"What qualifies as a slap on the hoof?" asked Carrot Top.
"Like, a few months in jail, or house arrest, or..."
She trailed off and the three looked at each other.
"Oh, no," whispered Cheerilee. "Twilight."
Raindrops knew how she was getting into town as well. By train. Arriving at the same station where Snails was waiting. "Snails!"
They took off at a dead run for the train station.
***
Greengrass frowned as he picked his way through the freight tunnels. It had taken long enough to get in--the place was surrounded by Guards and police on the lookout for the prison escapees, and he'd had to explain who he was for almost ten minutes before they let him pass--only for the freight director to tell him that his package had accidentally been left down by the loading docks. Apparently it had just slipped off a cart, and nopony had actually taken it up to be sorted, processed, and sent on to his home. He had offered to send a team to find it, though it would take a few hours to get one together--union rules, he said. Greengrass had smiled, thanked the director, and then promptly snuck down into the freight area to go get it himself.
The train station was built into the Canterhorn, and while the surface level was big as it was--running passenger trains to and from every major city in Equestria, it required lots of space--the underground section was larger yet. These were the freight lines, the massive trains that docked under the city every day to disgourge a neverending supply of goods for the populace. There were dozens of tracks, along with wheelhouses, roadhouses, garages, repair bays, and everything else neeeded to keep the trains running on time.
Still, the tunnels seemed oddly deserted, and even the lights were dimmed. Greengrass learned the reason for this fairly soon--he saw a posted notice announcing that, due to the escaped criminals having a history of hiding underground, the tunnels were considered unsafe until they were recaptured, and the Shadowbolts were requesting that ponies avoid them. But something about that seemed odd to Greengrass. Strange, he thought. Wouldn't they just shut down the train station? After all, if the escapees can hide in here, they could slip into the crowd up there as well. Maybe some newbie Shadowbolt issued that order.
He found the main track bed, ten tracks parallel to each other with large platforms on either end. The platforms were barely-controlled chaos, with huge pallets of goods stacked all over the place, as well as cranes and other equipment that was presumably used for loading and unloading sitting in their midst. Greengrass could not find his package. But, at one end--underneath an elevated booth with the control levels that turned the wheelhouses and guided the trains through the underground tunnels--he did hear something from a small office. Another worker, at last. They might know where my shipment is. And so he entered...
Only to find Twilight Sparkle.
"Agent Sneak Attack!" Twilight turned to face the door, smiling. "See? I waited just like you said I should! Do you have the ring..." She trailed off. "You're not Sneak Attack."
"No. No I'm not." Greengrass frowned. This was setting off all his alarm bells.
"So, who are you? Are you here to escort me to my parents?" asked Twilight. "I really want to see them!"
"No, I am not. My name is Greengrass, Miss Sparkle. I worked with your father in the Night Court for a time. You were already traveling the land to study magic, I believe. Anyways, I think we should leave--"
Twilight blinked. "Greengrass? I think my father told me about you." She tilted her head. "Didn't you go crazy six months ago?'
What? "No," said Greengrass, looking around. "I don't think--"
"Yeah, he said you broke down at the Fall Formal Ball for all the high-level nobles."
Oh. "I did not break down. I was just... trying to advocate for a very important bill." Greengrass didn't want to think about that time, but he found his thoughts drifting back regardless. "It was to help a dear friend of mine." He tried to get back on track. "Miss Twilight, I thought you were under house arrest in Ponyville."
Twilight's smile grew. "I was, but I've been on such good behavior that I was granted leave to visit my family for the weekend! Agent Sneak Attack brought me all the way here. It's just, there was a problem with my magic-blocking horn ring," She waved a hoof at the ring around her horn, which was indeed sparking, "And he said I'm not legally allowed to leave the train station without a working one, so he told me to just wait here and he'll come back with one!"
Greengrass stared. First of all, you can't get a pass to go home to visit your parents while you're under house arrest for at least a year, generally. I suppose Luna might make an exception for Night Light's daughter, but not so soon after denouncing us all for nepotism. It's not possible that you have a real pass to go home. Second, there's no law about leaving the train station without a ring. Why would the train station be special? Either you can't leave home without one, or you don't need one at all. Third... Greengrass gulped. Third, somepony went to a lot of effort to get you here without looking like they were doing it. And now I'm here too. This is not good.
"Do you believe in fortunes, Miss Sparkle?" he asked as he heard doors leading away from the track bed begin to close.
"No, of course not. Those are just superstitions. Why?"
A huge, bulky figure with a glowing horn stepped out of one last door before it too slammed shut and locked. He growled something inarticulate and aimed his horn at the office.
"Because," said Greengrass. "I think I'm starting to."
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4293609 : She means, he didn't help point out that Snails isn't terrible. He left Snails feeling awful. (And also, he did kind of hold their town hostage several months back, so she's disinclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.) But I'll edit to make that more clear.
4293637
One thing: I thought RainbowDoubleDash had stated the Gala was supposed to be the end of the "GreenGrass arc" . Why did you decide to give the character another (last?) chance?
Oh, poor Twilight. Her naivete will probably be the end of her in TWO timelines.......
All I could think of durring Raindrops' speech was "This hoof of mine glows with an awesome power - it tells me to defeat you!"
G-Gundam was weird.
4293865
Technically I said "Night Court" arc; that is, the arc wherein the Night Court and its shennaniganry drives most of the plot. Greengrass was emblematic of the Night Court arc, but he wasn't the entirety of it.
Wow. Another really awesome and character driven chapter! The thing with Twilight? Nice of you to establish that early on. Really clever. Raindrops being badass is pretty awesome, but I have to admit she is kind of a jerk.
At the same time...I'm really digging Max and Posey. He was a noble during the Shaming of the Court, right? What did he do wrong?
Also, liking Greengrass. Surprising, I know but...there it is.
Going without backup against organized crime just is not credible.
4294408 : Talon & Thorn will be addressing that in his story "Climbing the Mountain," which is about Max's time in the Court, so I won't spoil it here. The idea he came up with is really interesting, though, so I'm looking forward to that chapter of the story being published.
It was a lot of fun writing the saga of Raindrops' hoof. I like a good Speech of Awesome every now and then. :-)
Glad you like the characters, including Greengrass.
4294131 : Yeah, G-Gundam was very weird.
4294603 : What would they tell the Guards? Cheerilee had no proof that the place they wanted to raid was a mafia hideout--she just knew it, presumably from her wild youth. That's not enough for a warrantless search. She also had no proof that Duty or Arnaqueur or anypony else was there (or even that they were kidnapped in the first place; the most evidence they have is Arnaqueur's trashed room, and as Armor said, maybe he just threw a party--it's enough to start an investigation, but not enough for immediate raids), so they couldn't cite exigent circumstances. At best, they could have the Guards apply for a warrant, which would take some time and Cheerilee didn't want to wait that long.
4294408
The Climbing the Mountain chapters covering Max's 'corruption' should be up in a month or two. I've hopefully got three chapters to put up in the next week covering Max's first days at court then there the 'corruption' arc.
4295197
Under the circumstances, they should do nothing because they can do nothing:
In order to help somepony, it must be possible to help somepony. Going up against the mafia is suicide. Cheerilee merely commits suide and kills CarrotTop and RainDrops with 0 chance of rescuing DutyNotPaid. It would be like Admiral Kirk trying to rescue Captain Spock in “Star Trek # 2: The Wrath Of Khan”:
Captain Spock is already a Ghost (somepony who already received a a radiationdose of over 30 Grays but not yet clinically dead with 0 chance of survival). The radiationflux in the warpcorechamber, due to the radiotionleak, is at over 1 Gray per minute, so entering the warpcorechamber, even for less than 1 minute incurs significant risk to life and would contaminate Engineering too. All Admiral Kirk could accomplish by trying to rescue Captain Spock is to kill himself too.
It is hard, but sometimes one just cannot help a pony and one would only kill oneself if one would try.
¡Kobayashi Maru!
3 ponies against the mafia is a no-win scenario.
I suppose I should have expected that Twilight getting to visit home was too good to be true, though it seems a little odd that the ponies responsible for her in Ponyville (still Trixie, right?) wouldn't stop her from being illegally lured into Canterlot.
4293637 Oh, I got that, that was just the line that pushed me over the edge into commenting about my general irritation with Raindrops and the rest of the L6.
4296854 : Trixie's still responsible, but I'm not sure what she would have done. There weren't any red flags that would indicate the pass was fraudulent, and while Twilight being able to go home after six months is unusual (as Greengrass thinks), Trixie would probably attribute that to something like, "Her parents are Viceroys and really want to see her so Luna gave her a weekend at home as a favor to them" or something. Or possibly, "Twilight must have shown amazing progress to merit thus... probably thanks to my mentoring."
4296529 : These are the Elements of Harmony. They won't let tough odds convince them to give up on their friends, and Duty is Cheerilee's friend. They'll find a way! :-)
4296854 : Are you referring to other fics? I'm sorry if I sound clueless, but I don't really know what you're referring to re: irritation.
4296965
Yes, but they they are only invincible if all 6 are present with their Elements, Alone (or with only 3 present) without there Elements, they are just ordinary mares. Belief that they are invincible just because they are Elements of Harmony, when not all are present and without their Elements gives them as much protection as homeopathy.
4297029 : They did pretty well against that basilisk at Oaten without their full number. In fact, they've done okay without all 6 in various instances. So I think they'd try to help here.
4297496
Depending on dumb luck is not a very dangerous way to live.
4296969 Yeah, sorry, it's not just this story, it's more of the 'verse as a whole. Certain enemies never seem to get forgiven (here's looking at you, Night Light), and they make broad sweeping assumptions about entire groups of ponies (the nobles in general and Max in particular in this chapter) and make tactical decisions based on those assumptions. It's just... a little irritating to watch.
hostage
Raindrops' attitude is still annoying me, but with her as the point of view character it's a lot more understandable, so I think you should try to make her the focus a bit more, get into her head?. I do take issue with them being so mean to Max without knowing what he possibly could have done. I know they had problem with nobles but such wide generalisation seems excessive.
Finding out what to do with Snails drags on a little bit, and can't they talk on the way to the train station? Seems like Raindrops should really say something positive. Maybe look to the latest episode as inspiration, as Spike's depression could be similar to what Snails is feeling right now.
It feels like we're missing a scene when we get back to Max in the record room, there should be something more to his part, it's a jarring jump in time if you ask me. Also is Canterlot REALLY that disfunctionnal that no one bothered to standardize the various precincts of the guards?! It's way too inneficient for someone like Fisher. If anything it's something he should be in the process of changing since he took up presidency of that commitee.
I don't know if the use of Shadowbolts here is warranted.
I like Max argueing with Shining Armor, but it feels like it could be a little more powerful, with a few words bolded for emphasis.
The scene at the library could use more description, I'm confused by the layout of the place and the general look of the ponies involved. I do like Raindrops' speech, even if it makes her feel bad. Maybe you should mention how she's fear and respected in the Griffon Kingdoms and maybe her fight with the giant Spike (by conviniently forgetting to mention she was giant herself).
Poor Carrot Top.
Though when did she become THIS self assured? Carrot Top is still something of a doormat, so she can't be THAT confident. I think it should be more framed in that she doesn't value the opinion of those mobsters, rather than some sort of 'I'm great' attitude. Carrot Top doesn't really see herself as 'awesome' or 'great', that's Trixie's schtick 
. Carrot Top talking with Snails to help him out over his own issue, yeah I can see that happening.
And here we come to Twilight's part in this...hmm... Let's see how it goes...
You know, I think at this point Carrot Top should REALLY suggest they make use of that shiny Right of Approach they have.
Raindrops, don't chew out Max! Save your hatred for the real reason Ponyville got screwed over like it did.
I speak of Night Light, natch. *Punches him in the face*
Anyway, Twilight... yah. She's been set up. I dunno. Most of me feels sorry for her, part of me doesn't, since I've been rewatching the series and losing a lot of sympathy/respect for her.
4623793
The M!Verse series, or L!Verse series?
M!Verse ... yeah I can see that. Especially with how she treats Spike throughout 95% of the series (Slightly less horrible than MegAbuse from Family Guy, but still big enough for it to be an actual trope), her rather violent freakouts prior to her becoming an Alicorn, and a few key episodes of hers could really make a person lose respect.
But L!Verse ... she is tons better than her M!Verse counterpart. Especially during the Crisis Triptych (Countdown, Crisis, & Conscious). Then we see her in Magic Tutor where she starts really getting better. So yeah, I have respect for Twilight Sparkle in L!Verse. M!Verse on the other hoof am stuck between facepalming and wanting to thwack her with a newspaper.
Oh shit! Twilight is supposed to be visiting her family today. Twilight, who more or less got away with the crime involving the Ursa Minor, and the faux Elements of Harmony. She's now visiting a city where criminals who got away with their crimes are going missing. And depending on how you look at it, Twilight got away with her crimes with little punishment. Once I saw Shining Armor's name and that he wasn't there yet, though at first I wondered if he had committed a crime and went missing, that's when Twilight came to mind. Now the question is, was she really granted a temporary vacation, or was she set up? Because the timing seems a little too convenient.
Wanna bet?
Called it. And the part about Greengrass.