Chapter 50
“Wow, this is so much bigger than I had first thought.” Murphy gushed as she walked besides Ethan. He had been telling her about his findings inside the bar, as their deal entailed, and with every word he told, his pegasus partner got more excited. He left out certain details of course, like the two drug addicted mares that had been tossed into the backroom like two sacks of flour.
“So you have told me, about a dozen times now.” Ethan mumbled, he had been happy for her at the start, this really seemed important to her. But now, she was just getting on his nerves. “Why are you still here?” He asked, a little louder this time to catch her attention.
“Huh?” She paused, hovering in midair. “What do you mean?”
“What I mean-” Ethan answered, “is that our deal is done. You helped me in, I gave you info, you even told me how to get to where I need to go.” He was anticipating his meeting with The Madame, whoever she was. “So why are you still following me? Don't you have enough for your story already?”
They were talking freely and openly about the subject thanks to Murphy. After she had seen the location on the note Ethan had gotten, she had led them through a number of lesser traveled backstreets. Saying that it was a shortcut. She constantly flew or hovered ahead, leading the way, it was less pleasant for Ethan who could not go a minute without stepping in something unsightly.
“Are you serious? I could make a small time story from what you got, yes. But a hidden brothel, drug dealing gryphons, and a changeling even!”
“The changeling did not really do anything though,” Ethan tried to tell her, but was ignored because of her excitement.
“Tricking the pony pimp to tell you its location because he thought you were with a big bad gang, wanting to trade with them… that’s… it’s so cool. It's just like one of my detective novels!” She gushed. He really had not intended to give her all those details, but the mare had proven to be more persuasive than he first had given her credit for. “I smell a story coming from this, and not just any story, a masterpiece. MY masterpiece. Oooh this not only land me a job, but it will show all those guys!”
“Wait, I thought you said you were a reporter.” Ethan had caught her little slip and little miss Mane froze in mid air.
“W-well I am… just… a freelance one.” And suddenly it all made sense, why she had been so desperate and everything.
“Well, that’s none of my business.” Ethan just shrugged. If she benefited from this whole mess, then hey, good on her.
“So does that mean that I can tag along?”
“It's not like I will be able to lose you, you know your way around in Canterlot, I don't.”
“Yeah, that’s right. Without me you would be as lost as an earth pony in Cloudsdale.” Ethan passed her while she was too busy laughing at her own bad joke. “By the way… you were lying when you were tricking that pimp pony right? You are not actually part of a big bad gang?” That made Ethan pause.
He looked back at her. “You are still following me; if you thought I told that pony the truth, then you are either brave, stupid, or both to have stuck around this long.” He just shook his head and continued walking, brushing past yet another trashcan.
“Heh yeah…Hey wait you, you didn't answer the question!”
“So… how are we going to do this?” Miss Mane asked. They had indeed found the place, it was not hidden away like the bar, but out in the open, disguised as a normal building with two buff earth ponies standing outside the front door. “Should I make a diversion while you sneak around the guards, or will we trick them entirely with….hey wait, what are you doing!” Ethan heard her shout after him as he simply walked up to the guards.
“Good evening,” one of the guards greeted him with a pleasant smile. “Anything we can help you with?” His tone and words were indeed friendly, but the way they had moved in front of the path to the door proved that they did mean business. These were professionals who knew what they were doing.
He met the guards with a fake smile of his own, ignoring all the noise his partner was making. “Yes, I believe there is.” It was almost like she wanted to make a racket. Oh how he wished that he had lost her earlier. “Jacquett has sent me to negotiate with the fair lady.” The shift in the guards expression was instant, they had been waiting for someone, but he was not what they had been expecting.
One of them moved to speak but his eyes moved to the side and Ethan cursed under his breath. She could not just have stayed hidden, no, that would have been too much to ask for, now she could ruin everything! The two guards leaned in close and whispered to each other as they eyes the rapidly approaching pegasus. It was in times like these he was glad he now had fur, so they could not see him nervously sweating. He could just go inside and leave her here for them to deal with…the guards started to move to intercept her, but perhaps she could be useful once they were inside.
“Me and my clutzy assistant,” he said, correcting his earlier statement, stopping the guards who now looked to him instead.. “It's hard to find good help these days you know, mares...” he turned away from the guards and faced Murphy Mane who had slowed down to a trot. “Where have you been!” Murphy's face could not have been more shocked as Ethan yelled with her with more fury than she had ever thought the Lopunny capable of. “We are meeting with a important pony, and you dare show up late, and looking like a mess!”
“I-” She barely had time to open her mouth before Ethan slapped the back of her head.
“No excuses, you will personally apologize to the client once we meet her.” He turned back to the guards while Murphy rubbed her head in confusion. “May we go in, my good sirs?” The fake sincerity and smile back as he faced the guards once more.
“O-of course sir, the Madame has been expecting you.” The little show he had put on, did have immediate effects. The guards recognized him as a person of power and not someone to be questioned. Even if they had just been expecting him, they allowed both of them to pass.
Contrary to the outside, which looked like a normal run of the mill house, the inside met them with glaring colors and intense smells of perfume and incense. A bright red carpet was laid out, leading from the front door to a wide staircase, that led to the second story. There were a numbers of doors all throughout the first floor, and a mixture of music, songs and sounds could be heard from all of them, mixing into a strange but not unpleasant composition in the main hall. It all was completed with a violet glow that radiated from what Ethan and Murphy could only guess was a magically powered chandelier.
“Woah,” Murphy looked around, her senses overpowered by the mixture of signals that bombarded her the instant they entered the house. Ethan on the other hand, was focused on the only other pony in the room, a sleek earth pony mare with a silver coat and a mane that was only a few tones darker. She slowly walked towards them, purposefully swinging her hips sensually with each step.
“Mmh, greetings,” the mare greeted them, also catching Murphy's attention now. “Welcome to The Silent Sisters. We don't see many couples here, so what can I… do for you?” She walked right up to them, a little too close for Ethan's taste, though Murphy certainly did not seem to mind.
“I… um… ah,” she was practically drooling, stammering and stuttering over this pretty Mare, which only made her giggle.
“We,” Ethan got Murphy out of her little stumble with a firm slap to the back of the head, “are not here for that. We are here to talk business with the Madame.”
“Oh, you are the ones who are here to see the Lady. She should be free right now, follow me if you please.” She had changed completely, from the sultry act to a polite, completely task-oriented mare.
The mare went ahead, leading them up the stairs and onto the second floor. There was a walkway going around the second floor, with no real floor in the middle allowing you to see down to the entrance without trouble. Just like the first floor, doors lines the walls, working rooms no doubt.
The mare kept her distance though, and Murphy took this chance to whisper to Ethan, hitting his leg to get his attention.
“Hey, what was the deal with the act back there?” She whispered. “I mean, that hurt, and it was really embarrassing.” Ethan only glanced down to her, making no other signs that they were talking.
“Just be glad I did not go in without you and leave those two guards to deal with you.” Ethan whispered back, and Murphy had to strain her ears to catch what he said. Ethan did not think that he would have left her there.... Then again, he had to improvise that whole act on the spot. If he had come up empty back then… well, he had to follow this lead, Jenny was depending on him.
“Heh… you wouldn't do that though… right?” She stopped but Ethan just kept on walking. “R-right?” She quickly caught up to the group as the mare in the front led them through a door that looked no different from any of the others, it led into a small corridor with doors on both sides, most of them closed, though some were open. “Don't leave me behind like that… this place creeps me out.”
“As it rightly should,” Ethan muttered. This place was a brothel. They could tidy and pretty it up as much as possible, but the truth would always remain. This was a place where mares with no other choice could turn, where ones that made wrong choices somewhere in their life had ended up. As a young mare, teenager, it was no wonder Murphy did not like the place.
The soft yet jarring sound of somepony crying startled both Murphy and Ethan. It was coming from one of the open doors, the mare leading them spared a single look into the room then continued like nothing was wrong.
Murphy sped up her pace slightly and started turning her head to look in for the cause of the crying, she was almost there, a soft red light shone throughout the entire room and-
“Don’t,” Ethan said in a hushed voice, grabbing hold of her head and turning it away from the room. “You'll watch, then you'll feel sorry for her, then you'll want to help.” He said, forcing Murphy to keep walking past the open door.
“What's wrong with that?” Murphy practically sneered, and the ears of the mare leading them twitched.
“We have other things to do, if you save this one pony… so what? We are following something bigger than just one mare. Besides, I thought you wanted your big story breakthrough?” Looking down, Ethan saw a pair of surprised, and hurt eyes staring back at him.
“You bastard,” Murphy whispered under her breath. She had not meant for Ethan to hear it, but he caught it nonetheless. He felt for the crying mare, but she was not their problem. He had to follow this lead, for Jenny… for Jenny.
In just a few minutes, the trio stood on pair of a quite ordinary door. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it, other than the fact that it was at the end of the hallway.
“Here it is, the Lady is waiting inside,” the mare stepped aside. This was it, they had to get something out of this Lady, or Madame as she was also called. She was the only lead they had left.
The atmosphere changed the moment the door was opened, where the rest of the house was meant to fool the senses, to set a certain mood, this room felt cold. It had some of the same decor as the rest of the house, but it was not meant to entice visitors, rather to please this room's occupant. A simple, but colorful rug led from the door up to a desk in the middle of the room, a few papers were stacked neatly on one side, with a inkwell sitting right next to it. A number of candles bathed the room in a gentle light, it also highlighted the features of the mare who was sitting behind the desk.
At first glance she seemed like a middle aged mare, light blue coat and a green mane that hung over half of her face. Ethan looked closer though, and saw a mare that had gone to great lengths to hide the signs of her age. The mane was quite thin, groomed in such a way that one would usually overlook it. Grey hairs were numerous throughout her coat, and as she looked up to meet his eyes, he saw that the skin on her face had started to sag in places. But behind those small glasses she balanced on her nose, he saw a pair of wise eyes, cunning, cruel, calculating. It felt like she saw right through him and his act right there and then. The sound of the door closing behind the two made Ethan focus again.
“Yes, I was told that some visitors would be arriving today, please, sit.” She barely moved, but a faint light could be spotted from behind her mane and a pair of chairs materialized in front of the desk. She was a Unicorn, and apparently quite a skilled one too, Ethan guessed from what he knew about magic.
“Thank you,” Ethan accepted her offer, so did Murphy. “It's a pleasure to meet this Madame I have been hearing so much about, your reputation precedes you..” The Madame however, cared little for his sweet talk.
“Get on with it, I was told that you had a business proposal?”
“Yes, right, of course,” Ethan had planned to smooth talk her a little in the beginning, but this mare was all work. He had met people like that before; he could work with it. “Me and my assistant,” he gestured to Murphy, “have been sent by our employer in hope of opening up a long-term partnership of sorts.” That got a small reaction.
“Really? You have something to offer me and my establishment?”
“Y-yes, we most certainly do.” The moment Murphy opened her mouth, she knew that she had erred. Both Ethan and the Madame stared down upon her with such intensity that made her feel like she would suffocate.
“I apologize for my assistant, she has a tendency of speaking out of line. She is, however, right. My employer wants to supply you with… workers of the exotic variety. Allowing you to cater to a much wider audience.” The offer that made her worker in the underground bar sputter, hardly made the Madame lift an eye.
Rather, she just sighed and brushed her mane our out of the way, revealing a small but slender horn, and stared at Ethan. “How do you procure these workers then?”
“We have several programs that they undergo to instill absolute obedience. I can guarantee you that our product are of the highest quality, and we can obtain almost any species of Pokémon given enough time.” He had to get her to start talking to get any kind of info out of her, and if she took this bait, then he was sure to get what he wanted eventually.
“Little Lopunny,” she was smaller than him, but with her connections, authority and money, in her eyes, he truly was small, “what sort of establishment are you and your employer under the impression that I operate here?”
“A fine house for the wealthier of-”
“A brothel, I run a brothel,” the Madame interrupted him. “There is no point in calling it something else. Our business is the desires of others, but all my working mares and stallions are here our of their own choice.”
“Ah, I see,” it was a slight curveball, but not totally unexpected. Her stallion at the underground bar has seemed almost disgusted at the notion of his offer, but perhaps he could work this in their advantage. “So, you are completely against slavery I take it then?” It was blunt but, he needed to get something out of her that he could work with.
“Oh no, absolutely not, I don't mind it at all.” Now that was a curveball and Ethan was getting very confused. “Let me give you a lesson, little Lopunny, quality is everything in a business as cutthroat as this one. If the customer is happy, then they will return, or bring more customers. And to make the customer happy, my girls need to do their job properly. Quality. If they are forced into this life, then they turn miserable quicker than an avocado turns bad.” It took a while, but Ethan was finally starting to understand this old mare in front of him. She was not complicated at all: she was much simpler than he had given her credit for.
“I have been in this business for a long time, bunny, and I quickly discovered that when all my workers come to me out of their own volition, that they bring in a lot more bits.” She explained, leaning forward. “They have a sense of responsibility then, they got into this line of work on their own. Even if they regret it later and grow as miserable as the slaves would, they know deep down that they got themselves to thank for the situation they are in so they still work hard. Bits make this world go around, little bunny. Bits and sex.” It was just a small thought, not even that, just a passing whisper, but in that moment, Ethan wondered if anyone would miss this corrupt unicorn, should she happen to disappear.
“I understand your position then, you gotta do what is best for the establishment,” Now that he understood her character, what drove her deep down, it would be much easier to play her. “If we hear or find any… specimens who want to get into this line of work voluntarily we will send them your way then.” The bait was laid.
“How charitable of you, and what would you expect in return for this kindness?” And she took it without hesitation.
“Oh, now much,” Ethan had to hold himself back from smiling. “A mare like you must have quite a lot of connection in Canterlot, something we lack currently. If you could send us in the right direction, well, we still need to find some buyers for our merchandise.”
“I see,” information in such a big city as Canterlot would normally be quite costly, “it's a start,” but she believed his bluff, and the potential for future Pokémon workers and maybe more after that, to the Madame, it seemed like a good deal. “You want Hubby and his little gang,” and another lead presented itself, “they rule the shadows in the eastern part of Canterlot. They are the scum of Canterlot, but they would be interested in what you have to offer.” Score, Ethan was silently cheering.
“Very kind of you, Madame,” Ethan nodded to her, keeping up the pretense. “How might we get in contact with them though?”
“Wear the right thing, and they will find you,” again, her horn lit up and a small bag materialized out of thin air. “Green, white and black,” the pulled out six armbands, three for Ethan and three for Murphy. “It has been a pleasure, little bunny.”
“Likewise, I am pleased that we could help each other.”
“Yes… do return sometime, I am sure there are other ways we can be of help to each other.” The door opened, not by the Madame's magic, but by the mare who met them at the entrance, it seemed she had waited outside the entire time. “Before you go, would you like to spend some time with one of my mares? Most of them have never had someone as exotic as you before.” Once again Ethan had to swallow hard to keep up appearances.
“I am afraid not. As tempting as that sounds, my employer is not a patient one, so I have to seek out this Hubby you mentioned.” A believable lie, and the Madame nodded with him.
“What about your little assistant,” the mare moved, with grace and elegance that betrayed her true age. She leaned in and inspected a very uncomfortable Murphy. “Slender, fine wings, and so young… have you ever considered another line of work, little feather?” A shiver went through Murphy Mane as the old mare scrutinized her.
“N-no miss,” she swallowed hard and her nervousness showed.
“Hmm a shame, if you ever change your mind, my doors are always open.” She snapped to the mare standing in the hallway. “Snow, show our guests out.”
“Of course, Madame,” the beautiful mare bowed. “This way,” she started walking and both Ethan and Murphy was more than happy to leave that room. “I hope you had a pleasant time,” Snow commented, happily as she led them back outside.
However, on the way back, they passed the door where they had heard a mare crying again, and this time, Murphy got a good look at the inside.
Sittin on a large bed, possible queen sized. Was a mare, normally she would possibly be as beautiful as the one who was leading them, but at this moment, she was sporting a black eye, and several smaller bruises. However, that was not what caused Murphy to gasp, in her hoof, she was now holding a small syringe, and was injecting its content into her leg.
“Sometimes our workers require a little something extra to get through the day,” Snow commented, having heard the gasp and saw Murphy looking. “Especially if a customer has been a little rough. Not to worry though, we have already taken care of him.” Ethan had to drag Murphy by the ear to get her going again, Snows last line, and how joyfully she had said it, still lingering in each of theirs minds.
“Well, it's been a pleasure, I hope to see you again sometime.”
Snow closed the doors behind her, her eyes lingering a moment on where their guests had been before shaking her head. The Madame always liked to play such games. But it mattered little if the bunny failed or succeeded in his quest. They would benefit from it either way. The Madame would see to that, she always did.
“We have to go back!” Murphy insisted once they were far enough away and alone. “S-she was badly beaten, and she was taking drugs. We have to inform the guards.
“Do you think the guards are not already aware of such a place? I am sure the Madame has somepony or ponies on her payroll to keep things nice and quiet.” It was how things usually worked. “And we can't go back, even if we did, do you think it would help that mare? We don't know why she works there, if she had someplace else to go to, maybe she is in debt. You could make things worse for her without even realizing it.” The words were coming out, yet Ethan had a hard time believing what he was saying.
“B-but…” Murphy was almost at a loss for words, “what about the syringe though? She could ruin her body, her life!”
“That is her own choice.”
“...Do you honestly believe that?” Murphy's words dripped with contempt, and she stared at him with eyes so full of hate.
“Does it matter? Go on, run on back there, pull her out of her room, save her.” Ethan met her eyes with just as much intensity. “Ruin your life, your chance in the process. Do you think the Madame will just let you run away with one of her mares like that? Of course not, and you still have your story to finish, your big scoop.” He started walking towards her. “Do you think this is enough, that you got enough to impress the big papers? Hardly, you got a few small criminals and a brothel.” He turned and started walking away from her. The moonlight lighting up his path. “I will continue this tomorrow, follow this lead. If you truly want your breakthrough story, meet me then,” and just like that, he left her. He did not turn when he heard her curse his name, he did not turn when he heard her crying.
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He's right though... Save that one mare, and you doom the rest of them. Better to wait until they can actually save ALL of them.
Yes it updated! I don't think that was the first time he has pulled that novel to get info.
Some thing major needs to happen in the Wayverse to shock it back to life. A game changing event, like a supervillain or some major catastrophe of sorts. Coming from one of the main authors too.
I personally enjoy this story, and I'd love to see it be completed! It's very well written, and has some amazing characters!
Ooo things getting good and we get to see cutthroat ethan
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Something tells me Arceus didn't think Former humans could turn to the dark side given enough time did he?
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Of course he didn't , you think he thought his plan out at all, especially to that length?
8338223 considering his sanity was fucked up even before his sealing. I believe you.
8338223
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My opinion on Arceus on this is that he... simply thinks too highly of himself or believes himself to not be cabable of mistakes when he did this.
8338671
Wait until reality bites him in the ass.
If this whole universe continues I wonder how acreus would react knowing that he isn't the one and only arceus considering rainbow rocket had to come from somewhere which means that there is a different Pokémon world with a different arceus and also I wonder if arceus would react poorly knowing there were legendaries that he didn't create( solgaleo and lunala are from a different dimension same goes for necrozma] also mewtwo would probably be quite angry that he is no longer the strongest psychic type