Mortal Coil

by Reeve

XXI - Arcana

“I’ll be honest,” Lyra began as we made our way into her sitting room, which was in a much better state than my own back in Port Mule. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here so soon. I’m not complaining, it’s just that it’s only been…”

“Ten days,” I answered quickly, five more since we had got off the Siren.

“Yeah, I figured you would have been getting settled into your own home still,” she replied.

“Oh, I’m well settled I can assure you,” I lied easily. “My business less so, I thought it would pay to visit some of my old contacts and see about getting commissions, and since I was here in Arclight, I thought it couldn’t hurt to see how you’re doing.”

“Well I’m doing great,” Lyra said cheerfully, taking a seat in the armchair opposite me. “As you can see, my house is still in one piece, and I’m glad you’re in the same boat.”

“Guess I’m just lucky like that,” I said, although my heart wasn’t really in the lie that time. “I didn’t come at a bad time, did I?”

“Oh not at all,” Lyra said, waving her hoof dismissively. “I was just getting some practice in, I’ve got this function on later, I’m helping with the music.”

My ears pricked up at that, hardly daring to believe that I really was as lucky as I had just said.

“That wouldn’t be the one at the Tower, would it?” I asked, forcing my tone to stay casual.

“Yeah actually, are you going too?” Lyra asked excitedly.

“Uh… no, I only heard about it earlier,” I explained in a falsely disinterested tone. “I assume it’s invite only? Shame, it would have been a great opportunity to suck up to some potential patrons.”

“Only you could make that sound classy Rarity,” Lyra replied, chuckling. “Well if it would help your business take off, you could always come as my plus one. I didn’t have anypony else to go with and I was going to be bored senseless whenever I wasn’t doing a set.”

“You don’t mind?” I asked evenly while my thoughts were cheering and praising Celestia.

“Of course not,” Lyra assured me. “Like I said, I don’t have anypony else to go with. Although you might want to throw together one of your dresses, not that your clothes aren’t cool, I just don’t think you’d get past the doors in them… or carrying a sword.”

“Oh yeah,” I said awkwardly, glancing down at my rapier.

“I see you still have the daggers,” Lyra commented. “But that’s new… any reason you need a sword now?”

“Oh come on,” I began trying to play it off, aware of the slight suspicion in her tone. “You know as well as I do how dangerous the roads between the towns are. You think we had an eventful time travelling to Pivot, you don’t want to know the stuff I had to deal with after we split up.”

“Now that sounds like a good story,” Lyra replied, brightening up instantly. “But it will have to wait until later; because in all seriousness we’re going to have to get you a dress now before the shops get too busy.”

“Sure, I still have some money anyway,” I said without thinking.

Lyra cast me a brief look of concern before making her way to the front door once more, scooping up the keys from a bowl as she did. I unstrapped my weapons and cast them down on the armchair I had just been sitting on before following her. Lyra’s estate wasn’t particularly busy, a couple ponies were just leaving on their way to work as we walked down the street, a couple even greeted her. I admit I felt rather jealous and a bit bitter at how well things had gone for Lyra since she got home, where all I got was a burnt out ruin and few photographs.

The streets got busier as we entered one of the business districts, and as we weaved our way over to a bright little shop wedged between a café and an estate agent, I picked up on the fact that once again there were no non-unicorns in the crowds.

“Something wrong?” Lyra asked as she held the door of the dress shop open for me, probably noticing my frown.

“I was just wondering,” I began in a low voice as we entered the cramped little room. “What are your thoughts on this whole…”

“Good morning dearies,” a mare announced as she walked in from the backroom. “Looking for something in particular or just browsing?”

“My friend needs a dress for tonight,” Lyra explained. “Short notice, I know.”

“I’m sure we can find something that will fit her,” the mare replied as she approached me, holding out a tape measurer.

I raised an eyebrow when I saw she was using her hooves rather than her magic to do so, but I shrugged it off when I remembered Applejack’s advice on handling my sword.

“I’m afraid I’m working under a bit of a budget,” I told her, fishing out my coin purse which was now considerably lighter than when I had set sail from Equestria. “Just whatever this can get me will do.”

“All of it?” the mare questioned, taking the purse from me and counting through it. “Don’t you want to keep some for yourself?”

“It’s fine, I’ll make more,” I assured her, mentally deciding that the next time I saw Maverick I was going to be having a long talk with him about my wages.

The mare nodded and walked over to the rails where she began hoking through for something, as she did Lyra leant into me.

“I hope you’re not going to be skint over some dress,” she began warily. “And what was it you were saying a moment ago.”

“I was just wondering,” I began again, making sure to keep my voice low enough that the mare couldn’t overhear me. “What you thought of this whole Arcane Order. Like, do you think it’s right what they’re doing?”

“Rarity, you worry too much,” Lyra replied in a rather condescending tone. “And you’ve been listening to too many rumours by the sounds of it; their policies aren’t as bad as ponies say. Think of it this way, you remember Hammerhead, don’t you? He was pretty tough, tougher than any unicorn I’d ever met, and you don’t see many mail carriers who aren’t pegasi. Now just look at us, how many tailors and musicians do you know who aren’t unicorns? Different ponies are better suited to different things, you know that. The Order aren’t trying to oppress non-unicorns no matter what you’ve heard, they’re just trying to make sure everypony is in a place where their individual talents can be put to the best use.”

My mind was struggling to register what I was hearing, the way Lyra spoke she sounded like she was advertising the Order. That thought led to another much more worrying one.

“Lyra…” I began in a low voice. “How exactly did you get a ticket to this event?”

“I’m an associate of the Arcane Order,” she told me, smiling as she did. “That’s not a problem is it?”

“Nope,” I said, perhaps a little too quickly but she didn’t seem perturbed. “I don’t care what you’re a member of, you’re still my friend.”

I was very glad Lyra was nowhere near as observant as me, or else she might have seen that my smile didn’t quite reach my eyes. The mare returned with a silvery dress for me to try on, it turned out to be quite tight fitting, but I did like the way it looked like flowing water as I walked and the light reflected off it.

“Looks good,” Lyra commented enthusiastically.

“A little too good,” I muttered before turning to the mare. “Are you sure my money can cover this?”

“Well that one would be for hire,” she explained. “Did you want something to keep?”

“No, no, hire is perfect,” I assured her, turning to the mirror once more. “And yeah, I can make this work.”

As we made to leave and walk back past the café, my stomach began objecting loudly, Lyra took pity on me and bought us both breakfast. It had felt like ages since I had a proper meal, longer still since I’d had consistent meals in one day. After that we returned to Lyra’s home, we made small talk about what we had done since we parted ways at Pivot, very little of my story being true. Lyra took more time to practice her music for the evening while I ran myself a bath and thought about what I was expected to do once I arrived at the Tower, and if Lyra’s position changed anything.

It really had been too convenient that Lyra was attending the very event that I needed to get into, something had to go wrong. Still, I didn’t expect it to be something as wrong as Lyra being the enemy. That thought really horrified me, I’d only been working for the Rebellion for about a week and I was already thinking of ponies as enemies and allies. I relaxed in the knowledge that what I was sent to do had nothing to do with the Arcane Order; all I was doing was looking into events that occurred during the war, before the Order was even a thing.

Dealing with the Arcane Order permanently was no doubt on Maverick’s to-do list, but for the time being I could forget about Lyra’s allegiances and whether they were a bunch of racists or not. My train of thought was brought to a screeching halt as Lyra began knocking on the door, giving me a serious sense of déjà vu.

“Please don’t do this to me again?” Lyra begged. “In future I’ll just have my baths before you, whether you’re my guest or not.”

“Now, are you wanting to take a bath,” I began, smirking to myself. “Or take a shi…”

“Rotten,” Lyra interrupted in a disgusted voice.

“We all do it Lyra,” I called back in an exasperated voice. “It’s nothing to be grossed out by; I mean I was knee deep in the stuff back in Mule.”

“What?!” Lyra exclaimed in a horrified voice.

“So you want to use the bath then?” I said hurriedly as I leapt out and began towelling myself down. “She’s all yours.”

Lyra gave me a bewildered look as I darted out of the bathroom to go get dressed. After about half an hour we were both standing at the front door, dresses on, hair styled, and in Lyra’s case, Lyre levitating in front of her. I myself had the bottle of Mind Fog tucked away down the front of my dress. I hoped I wouldn’t need to use it since I didn’t know exactly what it would do, other than protect me from the police, but Stranglethorn wouldn’t have emphasised only using it as a last resort if it didn’t have some additional effects.

“Shall we be off?” Lyra asked, crooking her foreleg in the way a stallion would for walking alongside his date.

I simply rolled my eyes and headed out the door on my own while Lyra sorted out locking up. As we traversed the streets, Lyra regaled me with tales of her life in Arclight. She pointed out the street corner where she threw up after a wild night out, the music shop she worked part time in, even the street lamp she had her first kiss under. She said it was in the pouring rain and it definitely did not live up to the romance novels. After a while we arrived in the wide, circular street that surrounded the Tower, the heart of Arclight.

Anypony could see from a distance that something major was going on, the tall double doors were pushed wide open, allowing the throngs of guests in formal attire to funnel into the building. There was an obvious emphasis on security here; dozens of masked police ponies patrolled the grounds around the Tower while a few more stood guard at the door. At least seeing the patrolling ones put my mind at ease slightly, just knowing that they could move and weren’t some horrific statue like creatures that would only move when you weren’t looking at them.

We joined the back of the crowd and began shuffling our way towards the door; once we were there, Lyra produced our ticket while throwing a leg over my shoulder to indicate I was with her. We were allowed entrance with no issues, and once we stood on the inside my eyes swept across the huge entrance hall. I heard the Tower was at least fifty stories tall, but if all the floors were as high ceilinged as this one, it might explain why fifty seemed like an understatement when looking at the building from a distance.

“Alright Rarity,” Lyra said, talking close to my ear so I would hear her over the noise of the crowds around us. “I really need to get over to the band to take over. I’ll be on for an hour or so, you can mingle until then and I’ll come find you when I’m done.”

“Sure,” I replied, although my eyes were already sweeping the room for my target.

Lyra darted away, melting into the crowds while I began making my slow way around the outer perimeter of the hall. The room was lined with half pillar embedded into the wall at regular intervals, each with long, flowing drapes woven from a translucent, purple silk hanging on either side which didn’t seem to serve any kind of purpose other than to look fancy. There was the occasional table laden with various appetizers spread out around the outskirts of the hall, none of which looked to be more than a single mouthful, if even that much.

Besides the band Lyra was playing with, there was entertainment in a rather unique form. A single figure was on the left side of the hall, dressed in a red and blue striped harlequin costume; complete with knee high leather boots and grinning mask of porcelain white with a dark gold pattern. The harlequin was performing various acrobatic feats like cartwheels to mime charades, all rather tame, but the figure did them all very well. Quite a number of ponies were gathered around watching the performer, sniggering as they did so.

I knew it was common to laugh at clowns, but this one wasn’t doing anything funny, then I picked up on the mocking tone of their laughter. It didn’t take long for me to notice that this harlequin was the only pony I’d scene in Arclight who wasn’t a unicorn, it would be rather hard to hide a horn under that mask and weird jester hat. So was this what the Arcane Order had reduced earth ponies to, fools who danced for the amusement of upper-class unicorns? I turned away from the scene and continued walking, feeling utter contempt for the ponies who had been laughing, while feeling nothing but pity for the earth pony who was forced to put up with it.

There was also a large centrepiece in the room that I could only occasionally catch glimpses of, but there was an identical one on the ceiling directly above it so it was easy to see what it was. It looked like a marble pyramid with a large brass globe balancing on the point, rotating steadily while occasionally firing sparks to and from the globe on the ceiling. At one point a stream of electricity flew down from the top one and connected with the ground globe, remaining connected for a few seconds before fizzling out.

These occurrences didn’t seem to take anypony by surprise, so I assumed they were all part of the curiosity that was the Tower’s power generator. At the end of the hall, opposite the main doors were two opulent staircases that curved along the wall, their apexes meeting in the very centre. There were no doors or other staircases leading to other floors, just the one set leading to the small platform in the centre, which wasn’t even that high up with regards to the rest of the room. I watched the stairs for a moment as ponies seemed to walk up and down it as they pleased, some even standing part way up, leaning on the brass railings.

My confusions were quickly dismissed when I saw one pony in particular reach the platform, fiddle about with some kind of tablet on the railings before vanishing in a flash of light. They used some kind of magical teleporter to reach the higher floors, and they didn’t look to be out of bounds as more ponies used it the longer I watched. I made my way towards the stairs, a glass of champagne held out before me as I did. If I couldn’t see Arcana from the stairs, I could try my luck with whatever floor the others were going to.

The band were situated on the floor directly in front of the staircase, and Lyra shot me a quick smile when she saw me before returning to her sheet music. I mounted the stairs and made my way up to almost the highest point before stopping to look out over the crowds. If Arcana was out there, I wasn’t going to find him that way, everypony was a unicorn, well dressed and many of them looked smug and punchable, exactly the kind of ponies I should have been talking to if I was doing what I had told Lyra I came to do.

“Splendid evening, is it not Miss?” a random stallion with a bushy moustache said, appearing at my side.

“It is indeed,” I replied, trying to sound sincere while thinking of something I could say that might send me in the right direction. “All thanks to our gracious host, no doubt.”

“Indeed Miss,” the stallion agreed in a pompous voice. “Why the ponies of Arclight owe him a tremendous deal for the way in which he has cleaned this city up.”

“Indeed we do,” I agreed. “You haven’t seen him anywhere, have you? I was hoping to thank him personally.”

“Of course Miss,” the stallion obliged only too eagerly. “You will find him next to the contraption in the centre of the hall; he seems to be entertaining some other guests at the moment.”

I followed his pointing hoof to see Arcana standing at the base of the marble pyramid, half a dozen ponies standing around him, practically scrambling over one another for his attention.

“Thank you dear sir,” I said gratefully, giving a little bow of the head. “Until we meet again.”

He returned the gesture before carrying on his way to the teleporter while I returned down the stairs and began making my way to Arcana. Once I was close enough that I could see him, and presumably he could see me, I veered away and made for a waiter carrying a tray of crackers. I had already had a good idea as to how I was going to get Arcana talking, although I hadn’t been keen on the idea, I was sure it was my best chance, and now was the time to see if I could pull it off.

As I approached the waiter I made sure to walk with my head held high, putting a slight sway into my hips as I took very measured, very deliberate steps. As I stood in front of the waiter, levitating a snack I didn’t actually want, I could see Arcana’s eyes looking in my direction. Whether he was watching me in particular was still unclear, so I tilted my head slightly in his direction just enough that my eyes could meet his. I feigned a look of pleasant surprise before giving a sultry smile a little wink, my efforts paying off almost instantly as the man himself separated himself from his entourage with a few quick words and began making his way over to me.

I am a little ashamed to say that wasn’t my first time using charm and flirtation to get something I wanted from a hapless stallion. Thankfully I had grown out of that kind of behaviour, but I still knew a few tricks for occasions like this.

“I hope you are having a pleasant evening my dear,” Arcana began in an admittedly very handsome voice, like butter melting your ears, much more authentic than Maverick’s at least.

“A truly wonderful night,” I replied. “Even better that I get to meet the stallion of the evening himself, a true honour.”

“Oh no, the honour is all mine Miss…” he began, inviting me to introduce myself.

“Sapphire,” I lied, offering him my forehoof which he took and gently kissed.

“Well Miss Sapphire, it is a real pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he continued, I was definitely impressed so far, I could see why he was considered the politician of the trio. “Tell me, is this your first time in the Tower? I think I would recall seeing you around here.”

“Indeed, this is my first time,” I replied suggestively. “Nothing gets past you Sir.”

“Please, just call me Arcana, I insist,” he offered, gesturing in the direction of the centrepiece. “The Tower is a truly marvellous creation, were we only capable of meeting the fine minds that created it along with the rest of this beautiful city.”

“I don’t see why we would need to do that when we have plenty of fine minds right here,” I said, making sure to massage the ego. “I can think one in particular.”

Arcana made no attempts to hide his self-assured grin as we approached the centrepiece.

“True, but there is still so much we could have learnt,” he continued. “This device for example, do you know what function it serves?”

“I must admit that I am ignorant to its workings,” I admitted.

“It took some of the greatest unicorn minds years to figure it out,” he carried on. “You see, what few ponies realise is that there is just as much taking place beneath our hooves as there is over our heads. Countless devices and machines, both within the Tower and below Arclight itself, and this device before you is integral to keeping the two working in tandem with one another. Magic can be a very volatile thing as you no doubt know; any number of things could go wrong with these devices at any one moment, which is why they must be constantly monitored and maintained.

“This is not just done by us ponies,” he continued. “The Tower itself has many self-maintenance systems that have been in place longer than any of us. This is one such system; the sparks that fly between the two orbs are signals, reporting changes in the behaviour of devices. If the devices in the underground should fall out of synch with those in the Tower, this device will rectify that and keep everything running smoothly.”

“So that’s what it was doing when the electricity began passing down it,” I murmured, more to myself before raising my voice. “It’s incredible, it really is.”

“And one day this kind of technology will be available across the world,” Arcana declared proudly. “Thanks to the continuing efforts of the great unicorns working tirelessly here and in the university to make that dream a reality.”

“I heard that you used to teach in the university,” I commented. “What with the work you do here and how you helped win the war, is there anything you’re not brilliant at?”

“Well I admit I have little time for teaching anymore,” Arcana admitted, although I could tell he was soaking up the praise. “I still take a keen interest in the university, but my time lately has been spent mainly with the Order.”

“Then it seems you’re using your time very well,” I told him.

“It is an important, yet difficult burden that has fallen on my shoulders,” he said. “But somepony must rid this land of the chaos that was left in the wake of the war.”

“We are all very lucky to have somepony like you standing up for our interests,” I said, hoping there would be an opportunity soon for finding out what I needed to know. “I have been wondering, do you think the Equestrians are to blame for the current state of our country, or is it the other Rebel leaders, those who refuse to support the Order?”

“While I prefer not to speak ill of ponies I once considered to be my friends,” Arcana began, even though it was clear that’s exactly what he was going to do and he was probably going to enjoy doing it too. “I know the fault lies with them, they who now oppose our regime of rationality and justice.”

“Were they difficult to work alongside?” I asked, keeping my voice casual.

“Oh, immensely,” Arcana answered. “We once had a pegasus leading our troops by the name of Iron Sights, the most unruly of sorts. He was eventually demoted for his acts of insubordination, but my old friend Maverick simply replaced him by somepony just as bad, perhaps even worse.”

“What made Iron Sights unruly?” I asked curiously.

“Besides the fact that he was a pegasus?” Arcana asked before guffawing with laughter at his own crude joke which I forced myself to join in with. “Well he ordered a farm to be burnt to the ground when it looked like the Equestrians were going to capture it. He also had an unfortunate habit of moving troops without receiving orders to do so.”

I did my best to keep my face straight, but inside I was screaming. This was it; this was what I had come to find out about. A casual mention about troop movements might not have been very important, but I heard the way he said Iron Sights had been acting without higher orders, I knew he was telling a bold faced lie when he said it. It wasn’t enough to go on however; I still needed to know who had instructed him to move those troops and what else they had him do. How I was going to get him to spill those beans I had no idea, there was surely a limit as to how much information he would give in return for flattery.

“You know, it really is crowded in here,” Arcana said suddenly. “Why don’t we go to another room, get a quiet drink together?”

“That sounds lovely,” I agreed, batting my eyelashes at him even as my brain screamed objections.

We both mounted the staircase together, Lyra saw me again but this time instead of smiling she just looked blown out of the water. Once we were at the top, we stood side by side on the glowing blue circle etched into the floor, surrounded by runes that I couldn’t read. Arcana began fiddling with the tablet in front of us which showed a digital blue map of the whole tower, he indicated a floor some ways up and it asked for verification to which he leaned down and allowed it to scan his eye. The actual teleportation was rather anticlimactic, a flash of blue light that obscured everything around me, even my own muzzle, then a second or two passed and everything was clear, while we were standing in what appeared to be a lobby of some kind.

Like everything in this city, the room was opulently designed, thick carpeted floors, potted plants, gold plated skirting boards and door frames. There was only one set of double doors that was being guarded by a single police pony, Arcana strutted forward and threw the doors open with magic to reveal a large bedroom suite beyond. I followed him in, although my mind was still screaming to get out while I still could. The room reminded me quite a lot of Typhoon’s office back at Fort Mule, high ceilinged with marble crossbeams and even a balcony window far too high up for him to make use of. What really drew my attention though, was the massive four-poster bed, the kind of thing you could get lost in.

“What do you think?” Arcana asked as I looked around the overly decorated room, my eyes settling on the life sized oil painting of himself.

“It’s beautiful,” I commented, resisting the urge to throw up at how tacky it all looked. “Fit for a king.”

“And a queen,” he added seductively, passing me a glass of red wine.

The last thing I wanted was to find out the information I needed via pillow talk, I needed to get what I came for quickly and get out before things got too sticky… pun not intended. Perhaps if I got him drinking enough I could convince him to part with some knowledge and get out without him even getting suspicious.

“Perfect,” I said, accepting the glass. “I find it easier to… get in the right frame of mind after a few drinks. Although I hate drinking alone, so you’ll keep up with me, won’t you?”

“Naturally,” he said, sitting down a red velvet sofa and inviting me to join him. “So, tell me a little bit about yourself Miss Sapphire.”

“Oh, I’m hardly interesting enough to talk about,” I said, trying to brush it off. “I grew up in Port Mule and I moved here to Arclight recently to live with my musician friend.”

“I find it hard to believe that there is nothing more to say about yourself than that,” he argued, finishing his own glass and gesturing for me to quicken my pace.

“Well I’m hoping to become a dress maker,” I continued, hoping I could get things focusing on him again soon. “Nothing quite as interesting as being a university professor or a war hero. Nor as difficult, especially with what you told me about that pegasus.”

“Well he served his purpose,” Arcana replied, half muttering. “I mean, you’re a smart pony, if one's comrades were being very… inflexible in their attitudes, it would only be rationale to take decisive, if ever so slightly secretive steps to make your vision a reality, because you know that it is for the greater good, even if they don’t yet see it that way.”

“Exactly,” I agreed, as my heart began racing. “Only a brave leader, confident in his own convictions could do what was necessary in that situation.”

“Precisely,” Arcana said as he stood up and walked over to the counter to pour another glass. “You see, I knew the moment I saw you, you were the kind of mare who could understand me.”

“Oh, I do,” I agreed. “I know that it’s important to have allies who’ll support your efforts, even behind the scenes. I hope you had somepony like that, I’d hate to think of you taking on such a responsibility on your own.”

Arcana turned around, his now full glass raised, his mouth open… but I never got to find out what he was going to say. At that very moment, a figure dropped down from one of the crossbeams where they had been concealed in shadows, a figure dressed in a red and blue striped harlequin outfit, complete with grinning mask and a pair of rondel daggers, one in each hoof. It was if time had slowed down as they descended, Arcana completely unaware of his impending doom, while I sat on the sofa and looked on utterly helpless.

The figure landed squarely on Arcana’s back, pushing him down onto the ground while the figure stood over him on their hind legs. Arcana began to pick himself up, but only got onto his knees before the first knife came stabbing down. He didn’t even scream, perhaps it was the shock of the initial penetration, or perhaps it was how the figure pulled the blade back out almost instantly before stabbing down again with the other. The Harlequin repeated this process, stabbing in with one dagger, pulling it out and striking with the next.

Arcana must have been stabbed over a dozen times before the figure ceased their assault and threw one leg over to the same side as the other so they were no longer leaning over him. As they moved, they swiped one of their blades in a diagonal motion across Arcana’s throat in a move very reminiscent of how Stranglethorn killed Hatchet. As the dagger made a clean cut through Arcana’s neck, the attacker quickly sheathed both daggers into their belt before finally coming down to rest on all fours again.

It was as if time had slowed down, and I watched the entire assassination take place in slow motion, watching every individual move play out in long, drawn out detail. In reality however, I saw the entire thing happen in a matter of seconds, the Harlequin jumped down onto Arcana, he tried to get up at which point the attacker began stabbing him repeatedly over and over again in ridiculously quick succession. Before he could even register the number of fatal wounds that had been inflicted upon him, the attacker moved away from him, slicing his throat in one smooth, fluid motion as they did.

Arcana’s body dropped like a sack of bricks, blood literally spraying from his numerous stab wounds. I just stared at the scene with complete shock and horror, not only because of how close I had been to finding out what I needed to know, but because it made no sense. I looked up at the ceiling when I first entered, there was most definitely nopony up there then, and this harlequin was no pegasus. Most of all however, it was simply impossible for a pony to do all that in so little time, even Stranglethorn with all his expertise took more time than that to kill anypony I’d ever seen.

I was so busy trying to figure out how any of this made sense, that I briefly forgot I was sitting in a room with a killer. I looked straight at them, my eyes staring into their mask; presumably their eyes were staring back from beneath it. After a long moment of tense silence, the pony raised a foreleg and mimed a shushing motion, made all the more disturbing by the constant grin affixed to their face. After which they flipped with such incredible dexterity up to the crossbeams, swinging around until they were perched upon it, from where they dived out through the open balcony window, giving no care for how high this floor was off the ground and how that should have been certain death.

I was left alone in the room as Arcana’s blood slowly soaked into the maroon carpet after it had finally done spraying and moved onto oozing. I was still trying to get my head around what just happened, how it just happened, and why in the name of Celestia it had to happen right then. All my thoughts came to a crashing stop when I realised one important fact, the killer had fled the scene of the crime, and I doubted after what they pulled off in the bedroom that they were now splattered across the street outside. That left me, alone in the bedroom of Arcana, the leader of the Arcane Order, who was currently lying dead a mere five metres in front of me.

“Oh… Shit!”

Comments

[Elsaack]

Seduction and sex are a big part of source operations, whether state or corporate. Not that Rares wanted to go that way if she had any other option. I don't think she had a plan for assassination.
So options are: tell the truth, hope they believe her and don't dig (Which they will). Bluff past the guard (he knows why she was there, leaving now is not going to fly without Arcana). Or follow the assassin and rely on surprise and yelling about killing him before she got the data to confuse... her? Pinky? Make friends and hope the area experts know the answer.

I hope she doesn't go with the last option, running and screaming.

[ididntthinkidlikethis]

Pinkie Assassination Pie is very thorough.

So, we have Rarity as an Arcane Swordsman, Applejack fighter, Pinkie Pie the Assassin, and Twilight (predictably) as a Mage. I'm guessing we'll see Flutters as a druid/ranger, and Rainbow Dash... maybe Barbarian?

[Sir Budginton]

Well there's bad luck, and then there's that.