Chapter 17: All That Pizzazz (Manehattan Mysteries Arc Part 1)
Calm down and realize that none of the group are after you. However, try to figure out what the police wanted, as well as where the captured Changelings are in order to free them. Oh, and don't get captured doing the latter.
After realizing that both the Element of Generosity and Honesty are here, you decide that really, you shouldn’t have anything to fear from them. Sure you were a jerk to their best friend, but you helped saved the town and all.
Erised the ink-moth comment
"Alright Ritz, calm down." you tell yourself as you finish your cigarette, "If they were really here for me, they'd wouldn't be all dressed up like that. Besides, I did help save the town from Trixie after all so they shouldn't have a reason to come after me in the first place." you rationalize as you toss away the cigarette butt.
Reentering the building through the alley door and heading backstage as you tell yourself,
"Today, you're just Trixie's trusty stage hoof. You'll be out of sight the whole time, working your magic behind the scenes. With any luck Twilight's friends won't even know you're here. No reason to panic." you tell yourself as Trixie and her assistants get ready for the performance. A few cooling breaths and a shuddering exhale later and you get into position. You look down on the stage from atop the scaffolding hidden behind the curtains, and position the spotlights as Trixie's grand introduction concludes.
"Showtime." you mutter to yourself as Trixie bursts onstage in a cloud of smoke not a moment later, much to the shock (and annoyance) of Twilight's friends in the audience.
ONE SHOW LATER
The show goes on better than you could have hoped; when she's not bragging about how great she is or trying to be better than somepony else, Trixie really is an amazing showmare. Although at one point in the show you had to secretly intervene with your Force Pull in order to stop her from falling into a pit of angry bears when her escape rope snapped and again when one of her blindfolded knife throws almost hit the assistant in the eye.
Now we see that she's moving onto the final act: The reappearing pony! You've seen her perform this trick in rehearsal countless times so it's sure to go off without a-
"Behold: The famous Ostlerheimer Diamond!" Trixie introduces.
"What!?" you nearly yell. That wasn't the final act she discussed with you! She was going bring a secret assistant onstage from the audience under the guise of a 'random pony', then make his disappear inside a barrel only to reappear out of her hat. You had the fireworks set up and everything! Instead her assistants are wheeling out some fancy, expensive gem. You'll just have to work the special effects impromptu and trust her to pull off the rest.
Just what the buck is she thinking? you think in concern.
"Trixie will now make the diamond disappear without even touching it..." she announces, "While blindfolded! And tied up suspended upside down by a burning rope..." she adds while her assistants restrain her, "Over a vat of pudding!"
"Oh-kay then. Going a teensy little bit far aren't you?" you mutter to yourself. You understand the need for distractions and slight of hoof, but still. "That's a lot of pudd- *slap* No! Bad reference!"
The audience holds their breath, the tension growing with every second as the candle burns through the rope and sweat drops bead on Trixie's forehead when suddenly,
*snap*
A collective gasp is heard throughout the audience (you're not bothering with the Force Pull since it's just pudding) as Trixie free-falls when she suddenly disappears in a puff of smoke before reappearing safely on stage! The audience cheers and hollers for her!
"Thank you... thank you." she says and takes a bow. "Ah but what of the diamond you ask? Behold! It has vanished!"
The audience gasps again. Honestly you were watching Trixie the whole time, so you're as in the dark as they all are.
"Indeed credulous audience members, for you see." trixie says and removes her hat, "The diamond was in my hat the whole time."
Everypony looks confused at the lack of anything on her head except her mane. From your perspective you can also see that it's not caught inside her hat either.
"I don't get it." calls one random pony from the audience, but Trixie just smirks for some reason...
Suddenly the doors the the performance hall fly open, and a whole bucking platoon of police ponies burst in and surround the place!
"Manehatten Police! Everypony stay where you are." the sergeant orders the shocked and terrified crowd, "We've got a criminal on the loose."
"Oh buck me." you curse under your breath as the police spread out into the audience towards the stage "So not horrorshow."
You're about to dive off the scaffolding and make a break for it when...
Oh crud it's the police. Okay keep calm Ritz and remember you're training. Don't panic repeat don't panic.
Now try to find out what the buck is going on. While making sure you're identity as changeling isn't blown.
BrownDog77 comment
"Calm down 815, just calm down..." you say to yourself as you take some calming breathes, "You've been on enough missions with 9001 to know that panic never helps. Just keep your cool and ask Trixie what the buck is going on."
Putting on your best poker face (which isn't that hard with your red scarf over half your face), you climb off the scaffolding and onto the stage to see the Elements approach a shaking Trixie. In concern you ask,
"Hey Trixie, what's going o-"
"Ah ha ha ha ha ha! Trixie's cunning plan has succeeded!"
"What?!"
“Mr. DeWitt!”
“Oh, uh, hey Applebloom,” you say to her nervously while Applejack and Rarity give you the stink eye.
Apple Bloom suddenly becomes solemn and asks you with sad eyes,
“Why didn’t you say goodbye?…”
HRK
The sad pouting face she is giving is too damn heartbreaking to take and your heart tries to lurch out of your chest from the cuteness and guilt.
“I-I’m…” you try to say.
“Me, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo tried to find you, but the others said you blew smoke in Twilight’s face and ran away.”
“I-I’m sorry Applebloom,” you say with your own eyes watering a bit because of the guilt she’s shooting into you.
“I had to get out of town because, SOMEPONIES,” you say with a glare at the two Elements who frown at you, “Didn’t recognize my helpfulness behind the scenes. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” you say as you try to comfort her.
She sniffles and looks at you.
“Do you mean that? Ya didn’t run away because ya didn’t like us anymore?”
“Of course not, you guys were my first friends in that town. I’m sorry about bailing, but the situation was… complicated.”
“Indeed little filly, Ritz was put into a delicate position thanks to my… past actions. He did not intend you harm,” Trixie explains, passing by as she scans the first row.
Apple Bloom smiles at that and lunges at you in a hug that knocks you over.
“Alright, I forgive ya,” she says as she hugs you. She then leans into your ear and quickly whispers, “Don’t worry, I kept yer secret about being a you-know-what.”
“Thanks,” you say aloud.
After parting from the hug, Rarity and Applejack still scrutinize you.
“What? She forgives me, and you all forgave Trixie, how come I still get mean looks?”
“Well because you were an unrepentant varmint who blew smoke in Twilight's face!” says Applejack.
“Not to mention gambling with the outcome of that second duel,” adds Rarity.
“Um, if it helps any, Ritz did help to throw me off my groove during that… so that’s something,” says an embarrassed Trixie while she tries not to think of the past.
"He did help Trixie and the whole town after all... even if he did slap Rainbow Dash and blow smoke in Twilight's face... which was rude, but yeah..." defends Fluttershy.
“True… but still,” starts Applejack.
“Hey hey hey, I think you got the story mixed up there." you say indignantly before continuing, "First; I did apologize to Rainbow Dash immediately after slapping her (and as I said before, that was my old training kicking in) and she kicked me in the nards afterwards so we're even. Second; As I explained to Twilight already, I was making sure that the town would be okay regardless of who wins. Classic Xanatos Gambit. Third; Yes, I know Twilight becoming a princess was a huge deal, but judging by the fact that she hasn’t issued a warrant for my head or anything, I think it's safe to assume that she's over the whole smoke thing. Yes it was uncalled for, but I wasn't in the best of moods after all those accusations you ingrates shot at me. Now can we please just move on and figure out this gorram jewelry thing?”
“Eh, I say we give him a chance, Applebloom’s cool with him” says the other filly in a thick Manehattan accent.
"Thank you... filly I don't know."
"Oh, this is my cousin Babs Seed. She lives here in Manehattan and is in charge of this city's branch of the Cutie Mark Crusaders," beams Applebloom.
"Oh really? How's that working out for you kid?"
"Eh, could be better, still gotta deal with bullies and the like, but still, anypony that's cool with Applebloom is cool with me," she smiles.
Applejack continues to give you an untrusting look,
"I still don't trust y-"
"The diamond seems to be close by." Trixie interrupts while shoving past you, "In fact the diamond is right... here!" Trixie proclaims, pointing her glowing horn directly at Applejack.
"Must be something wrong with yer spell Trixie." Applejack smugly replies as she takes off her hat, "There's no way that diamond's in my-"
Suddenly everypony gasps as you all see that the "diamond" is in Applejack's hat.
"What were you lying?" you smirk.
"This is indeed the fake diamond!" Rarity says, taking a closer look at the diamond with a loupe.
"I have no idea how that got there." Applejack defends.
"My sister didn't steal it chief! You gotta believe me!" Apple Bloom pleads to the police chief.
"Verbal payback aside, I agree." you chime in, "I highly doubt that the Element of Honesty should be the primary suspec-"
"Chief! Somepony broke into the stage director's office!" another officer interrupts.
"But that's where the real diamond is!" Trixie declares causing you all to head to the director's office. On the way there, Rarity slows down so she's next to you and says.
“So… you and Trixie huh?”
“What?” you ask.
“You left with her over a month ago, and here we find you still with her. If I was one for gossip, I’d deduce that there was something between you two...” she says with an inquisitive voice.
“It’s all circumstantial,” you try to say, but she clearly doesn’t believe you.
“Mmhmm, I’m sure it is. A stallion sees an enchanting mare, and he throws his own reputation away to save her from herself, and then he doesn’t leave her side causing her to appreciate him and…” she insinuates with a faux swoon.
“Oh come on, my life is not a cheesy romance novel. If anything it’s more of a Tom Clancehay spy thriller,” you defend.
“Whatever you say Mr. Dewitt. But I am not a blind mare,” she says with an air of superiority.
“You’re not blind huh? Then what about that poor guy you’re stringing along in Ponyville? Cause either you're oblivious or just cruel.” you snark back, causing a look of confusion to come across her face.
“Now who in the world do you mean? I am not 'stringing along' anypony,” she defends.
“Yeah, not anyPONY,” you insinuate thinking about Spike. The recon reports on him detailed a large amount of love radiating off of the young dragon when the dressmaker was around.
“Will you two quit bellyaching back there?” says a frustrated Applejack as Chief Stablemaker speaks with the concerned director over the door lock being picked before ordering two officers inside.
“Applejack, there isn’t anyone I’ve been, as this ruffian puts it, 'stringing along', has there?”
“Oh, you mean Sp... I mean, nope, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Applejack answers unconvincingly while looking around shiftily.
"Huh? Fluttershy, surely you don't believe I'm doing this right?"
"Umm... no comment," she says as she hides behind her mane.
“What? You too? Oh my gosh? Who? Who have I been doing this too?” she asks to herself in panic.
You smirk at your little victory over her when...
When the smoke bomb activates, you put on and activate your Multi-Vision Goggles and set them to thermal only for that action to be too late as the smoke already cleared up and there were too many hoofprints around the room to tell apart.
*Pfooooom*
"It's a smoke bomb! *cough*"
Thinking quickly, you pull down your Multi-Vision Goggles and turn them on to see through the smoke, but the action turns out to be too late as the smoke is already cleared up by the time you set them to "Thermal".
"The diamond! It's gone!" one of the officers exclaims.
"You see anything with them fancy glasses mistah DeWitt?" Apple Bloom asks you.
"Too many fresh hoofprints around the room." you observe, "I can't tell who's is who's." with that you deactivate, retract, and put away the MVG.
"Woah, woah, I've been with Trixie long enough to know she's moved past all that." you defend.
"Yeah, Trixie's had some troubles in Ponyville sure, but this doesn't feel like one of her schemes." Applejack adds, but Rarity puts a hoof to her chin and muses,
"But... if she were the thief, then this would be the perfect opportun-"
"Rarity! How can you even think that!" Fluttershy exclaims.
"Yeah mare, what the buck?!" you add indignantly at Rarity.
"Language!" Applejack scolds, covering Apple Bloom and Babs' ears.
"Cousin Applejack, I'm from Manehattan." Babs says taking Applejack's hoof off, "I've heard alot worse."
"You're right, this would be the perfect opportunity, but Trixie would need accomplices wouldn't she?" he implies, the two officers taking up position behind him.
"I don't like where this is going..." you comment in concern.
"Ladies, I think you'd better all come with us." he orders.
"Hey- Now hold on! We got nothin' to do with this!"
"We'll be the judge of that-" he says advancing.
"Wait wait wait, let me get this straight. You seriously believe that half of the Elements of Harmony, you know the repeat saviors of Equestria did this?" you point out.
"The hero letting the fame go to her head and feeling entitled to anything." Chief Stablemaker sighs, "I've seen this story play out more times than I'd like to admit. Of course the fact that you're constantly covering your face doesn't exactly make you look like a model citizen." he says giving you an accusing glare.
"Hey don't drag me into this. I have a condition, see!" you say holding up your Doctor's Note.
"But you're also Trixie's main assistant." he adds.
Sensing that the cops are thinking the wrong thing about Trixie and the rest of you as her so called 'cohorts' you yell,
"Ah to hay with it, BAIL! BAIL!!!"
With that, Trixie quickly throws down a smoke bomb that fills the room, obscuring everypony's vision.
"Mistah DeWitt! Where are ya?!" Apple Bloom calls.
"Go on! I'll buy you guys some time!" you yell.
"No! I won't leave you behind!" Trixie calls.
"Relax, this ain't my first time bucking the police." you smirk towards where you think Trixie is in the smoke cloud, "Just go!"
"Wait, What?!" Trixie starts before being interrupted by Babs.
"Just do as he says!"
"WHOOOAAAAHHH!!!"
With that, the smoke starts to clear and you realize that you're the only one left in the room with Stablemaker and the two officers.
Gotta buy them some time, please let this work...
With that, you point a hoof forward at Officer Trotter and focus...
Try to use the "Inspire Hate" spell to buy more time for Trixie and the others to flee the cops.
Attempt an Assassin's Vow 'leap of faith' while declaring, "REQUIEM AND PASTA!!!"
"Trotter, Fluffles, get him!" Stablemaker orders.
"You don't tell me what to do!" the green unicorn cop growls.
"What was th-" Stablemaker whirls around, but stops when he notices Trotter's glowing red eyes.
With an enraged yell, Trotter tackles Stablemaker into a props locker causing Fluffles to try to restrain the unicorn from behind,
"Trotter, stop it! What's wrong with you?!"
With the enraged officer pulled off him, Stablemaker notices you pointing a hoof at Trotter with intense focus in your eyes.
"It's that assistant! He has dark magic! All officer converge now!"
"And... that's my que to exit." you say ending the spell and taking a Leap of Faith out the window declaring,
"REQUIEM AND PASTA-!!!" *CRASH* "MY SPINE!!!"
...And promptly land back first onto a garbage can.
"Stupid trash cans." you mutter as you painfully roll off the trash can before invoking your healing factor to heal your back and then make a break for it.
"He's getting away! Call in a Pegasi unit to tail him!" Stablemaker orders.
"We have no air support available chief!" Officer Fluffles replies next to a calmer and profusely apologizing Trotter, "All Pegasi Officers and airships have been called in to pacify a street war between the Tackaglia Crime Family and the Wingstone Griffish Firm in Hooflyn!"
"All officers pursue!" Stablemaker orders running out of the room, "Suspect is an adult male unicorn with solid blue eyes wearing a black suit, black derby, and a red scarf! Suspect is a dark magic user and considered armed and dangerous!"
As you run out the alley and into the streets of Manehattan you see the girls running into a Subway.
Gotta draw the heat away from the girls so underground's not an option. you quickly think to yourself before you start running in the opposite direction with the police hot on your tail when you suddenly notice a random message floating in the air above you.
It's five star slots with 2 of them full and an objective;
LOSE THE COPS!
(1) Queen Chrysalis even hired Rough Diamond (through contacts) to assist in a changeling operation to hit 7 Las Pegasus casinos in one night... but she manipulated everything so that all changelings involved in the operation went down as she made a clean escape with all the loot much to Chrysalis's fury (especially since she was planning to backstab Rough Diamond first so she would go down for the robbery while the changelings escaped with the loot). In spite of Chrysalis's orders, even the most elite changeling operatives couldn't find any trace of her.
That's right commenters, next chapter will be a Chase Chapter!
Loadout is still the same from last chapter, but here's a list of your/Ritz's abilities;
ABILITIES
-Chain Punch (concentrated rapid flurry of hoof strikes to one spot)
-Force Pull (Rquires focus and can only affect objects that you can normally lift/push physically (meaning "Force Pull" will not work on objects that would normally be too heavy, stuck, or large for you to physically lift, carry, or pull yourself))
-"Inspire Hate" (Short-range technique that enrages target and sends him/her into a berserker frenzy against everypony else around her/him. Only works on one target at a time and requires you (Ritz) to stand still, keep eyes on the target, and maintain focus and the target will go back to normal when you move, look away, or lose concentration)
-Can heal instantly, but requires burning through alot of either your food or love supplies (requires less love than food). The more severe the fatigue or injury, the more food you need to consume first.
-Can't fly.
-Can walk on walls and some ceilings.
-Limited Parkour
-Disguise only lasts a few seconds at most.
-Knack for “Hide and Seek” and general stealth
-Being a big film and serial buff
However, there are guidelines so we don't go completely nucking buts PLEASE READ THEM;
1. No exposing Ritz as a Changeling (yes, I say this every chapter but I DON'T want anypony getting any ideas) so DON'T get caught.
2. No killing. However, collateral damage and slapstick are acceptable and encouraged.
3. Ritz is NOT a tank. Changelings are generally weaker than ponies so he won't last very long in a straight-up fight so use evasion, stealth, and luck instead.
4. No raising the wanted level above 3 Stars. You're supposed to be LOSING the wanted level, NOT increasing it.
5. The Manehattan Police have no air support available so no airships or pegasi officer will be showing up.
6. Since the whole point is to draw attention away from the mares, they will NOT be showing up next chapter. You're on your own.
7. Have fun. You're being chased by cops through a NYC-esque city, USE IT!
These may seem like alot, but these are important for making sure we don't do anything too crazy like having Celes-zilla show up or something stupid like th- Get your fingers away from the keyboard this instant!
Now as for last episode's question;
What should be Ritz's new clothes?
That will be answered... next chapter! For now, answers are closed so no more clothes suggestions
See you next chapter!
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After a crazy chase scene you think you've lost the police. Only to turn around to see a ton of cops all ready to arrest you. Okay in times like this it might best to try something completely nuts.
So nuts it just might work. If there's one thing ponies love it's music. So how about using the power of music and dance to escape.
Ritz is runing away from the police, even if he was a infiltrator it was not the first time, most changelings are trained to run away if their cover is destroyed so Ritz know how to flee, or what is supossed to do, but he begin to find some problems.
The first problem is his stamina, he understimated how lazy was he for a time, and his athletic body was a little more fat, as he manage to evade the shoots of the unicorns he continue to run, when he find the second problem, his wings are still very bad and he can't disguise as a pony so that they ignore him, one of the most basic tricks of the changelings.
"Gaah, I really need to recover myself to one hundred percent" Groan Ritz
As Ritz continue runing, he use one of the secret techniques of the changelings to flee, one technique that every changeling knows and can use.
"Look! It's Nightmare Moon!" Shout Ritz pointing to one direction just before he run to a wall and enter in a window.
As Ritz thinks that he is safe, he look around, just to see a pony taking a bubble bath, as both of them look to each other, the pony is going to scream but Ritz knock him out with a spell.
Hurrying out of the bathroom, Ritz sees the pony's bit pouch.
Nope, I will not be a thief.
At that moment a mare walks out of the bedroom.
"Did my husband let you in? Actually I don't care, just get out." before pushing him out the door and onto the street.
The cops spot him and yell, "There he is." Instantly three stallions grab the nearest mare and point a gun at their head.
"Not you, him." says the chief pointing at Ritz who shot off with what seems like super speed.
Ritz uses his hookshot to transverse the streets of manehatten
Your chase takes you through the streets, and you're actually managing to keep far enough ahead of the cops that they actually have to pause at every street corner to reacquire a visual on you. You use this to your advantage when you spot a Manehattan newspaper stand.
As the group of at least a dozen cops rounds the corner and surrounds the place, looking for you, all they find is a stallion leaning on a trashcan out front with a newspaper spread open in front of his face.
"Hey buddy, did you see a pony in a dapper suit and bowler hat run by here?" one of the officers asks the stallion.
"Nope, can't say I did. Was too busy reading this article about a diamond thief." the stallion replies is a raspy voice, not moving the paper even to make eye contact. But a bowler hat is visible over the top of the paper.
The police pony squints his eyes, realizing something's odd about this pony with the newspaper. Quickly, he grabs the edge of the newsprint and rips it out of the pony's hooves. "Hah! I got- you?" he stutters, realizing that the pony isn't wearing a fancy suit, and is indeed, quite angry that his reading material was just ruined.
"Can't a guy read a newspaper in front of his OWN STAND?! All'a yall's! Eitha buy a copy or get outta here." he yells at the assembled squad of police ponies, who in turn quickly decide to take their search elsewhere. "Yeah, buck the po-lice."
"You said it man." you say as you pop out of the trashcan he was leaning on, "Hey thanks for letting me hide in here."
The stallion simply grunts in response and goes back to reading.
...
Later, the chase leads to you crashing through a coffee and donuts shot, and (not surprisingly) it's got about three platoons of police ponies hanging out inside. Each of them staring wide-eyed at you as you recover, some of them with expressions of shock frozen mid bite.
You're about to panic, thinking you just stuck your head in a hornets' nest. But then you notice something; they're not staring solely at you, but also at what's behind you, and a few of them are even backing up in fear. With an audible gulp, you turn around to see what they're so afraid of.
You then see an earth pony mare with a black coat and a blonde no-nonsense crew cut mane sitting alone at a table with a glass of chocolate milk spilled across her otherwise pristine uniform.
"He spilled Dread Judge's drink." whimpers one of the cops behind you.
"Okay," you think "chocolate milk. Either she's a bundle of cute, or she's an absolute badass."
Her head rigidly turns her head, and gets up out of her seat with her eyes fixed on you. Each step she takes is punctuated with an electric guitar chord from nowhere. You find yourself unable to move your hooves, and once she's close enough that you can feel her breath on your face, she slips on a pair of shades... and the front of the shop explodes behind her!
She gives you a quick glancing over, and then says in a rock hard tone that gives you traumatic flashbacks of your drill instructor, "You spilled my coco moo." she takes a stiff inhale, "Do you know what I do to ponies that spill my coco moo?"
Despite the fact that she said 'coco moo' twice in a row, you find yourself quivering in terror before this mare. "U-uh, n-n-no... w-what do you do to them?"
She claps a hoof on your shoulder which forcibly stops your shaking. "I take them downtown." she says simply, and for a moment you feel slightly reassured. But then she throws you into a solid brick wall while shouting, "DREAD STYLE!"
The plaster on the wall breaks off around the crater formed on impact, and everything hurts. Bright red blood is dripping down into the corners of your vision... you can feel yourself dying and-
"My jelly donuts!" screams a nearby police mare.
You reach lick some of the red substance off your scarf. Mmm, strawberry.
"Breaking and entering - ten months." Dread's voice pulls you back to the action as she stomps towards you, now with an armored helmet bearing a red X and a golden shield on her head. The dense crowd of other cops parts in her wake. "Destruction of public property - six months. Assaulting an officer - four years! Spilling my coco moo - five minutes..."
Well at least that last one doesn't sound so-
"Locked in a room with me."
Looking around for anything to help you out of this mess you spot a steaming pot of coffee sitting on a nearby table. You grab it and hold it over your head. "Have a refill on me!" you yell before throwing it onto her like how Dorthy finished the Wicked Sorceress in the Magus of Iz.
However, to your shock, Dread is not only still standing, but hasn't even flinched!
"I don't drink decaf," she hisses and starts walking toward you, "my drink of choice is a tall glass of milk with a side of just- Whoa, AHH!"
Apparently she didn't think about her hooves being slippery from the coffee (or your Force Pull jerking her legs out from under her. And with that she crashes to the tile floor. While the other, lesser cops can only stare at you in shock, you take this chance to bolt for the door.
You limp as fast as you can into a side ally and out of sight to invoke your changeling healing. It's fortunate you ate so much on the trainride here, otherwise you'd be in pretty bad shape right about now. And now that you're not in danger, you realize who it was that you just dealt with!
=Flashback to your days in changeling school=
"Now rookies, this...!" your instructor points to a scary drawing of a pony in heavy black armor that covers most of the face, "is an Equestria guard-force elite shock trooper unit, codenamed 'PAIN': protector authority insurgent neutralizer. They're extremely fast, incredibly strong, and ruthless to a ludicrous degree. Most have been trained since birth to seek out and destroy sources of crime and civil disobedience. Our intel also suggests that they can see though our disguises. There is only one rule of engagement when dealing with these soldiers: run away. Attempt to fight one of these and you'll end up as a smear on the pavement.
Then a hoof shoots up in the back of the class. "So it's like a street judge from Dredd, crossed with the super-soldiers from Prototype? That's so cool, I want to be one of those when I grow up!"
"Sit down 9001, and stop playing those stupid video games."
=In the now=
"D'oh, buck me." you mutter as you finish mending your body. You're also remembering that the PAIN's pony race gave special benefits. "Let's see, unicorns have access to more restricted combat spells. Pegasi can wield weather as a weapon. And earth ponies-"
"Evading capture - fifteen months." Dread says, gritting her teeth.
Earth ponies PAINs have crazy good tracking skills.
"No-pony escapes JUSTICE!" Dread yells as she grabs your hind legs. She drags you out of the ally and spins you around before throwing you into a lamppost.
"Aquilla Talon!" you yell, transforming your bracelet. You look around for something to use it with to make it more effective. Fire hydrant? No. Park bench? No. Fancy pony with a poodle? Tempting... but no.
"Unlicensed possession of a weapon-"
"Oh will you shut the buck up?!" you yell in annoyance.
"You can't silence the truth, and you can't silence me." Dread Judge tells you.
"You're like a gritty action-hero from an old gritty action movie!" you yell back and run up to a frozen yogurt stand, "Here, have some culture!" you say before you chuck a big bowl of creamy fruit-flavored goodness at her.
Undaunted, she merely steps aside and lets it splatter on the ground. And then it explodes in a flash of thunder and lightning with a thick cloud of smoke covering the area, allowing you even more time to break line of sight.
-1 thundercloud orb
You're about to make your escape to a rooftop with your Aquilla Talon's grappling hook, when suddenly you're hit from behind by what feels like a train.
"Thundercloud orbs! A pretty nifty trick for breaching and clearing rooms! No idea how you got your filthy hooves on them, but I'm gonna get answers from you one way or the other! Dread yells, you're guessing because she's temporarily deaf and can't hear how loud she's yelling.
She pulls out a baton with one hoof as she clenches your throat with her other. "You've got a lot of crimes on your head, criminal scum, and that means a lot of JUSTICE for me to dish out! You have the right to remain silent while I beat you senseless! *Bonk!* Anything you say will be completely disregarded while I punch your teeth down your throat! *Bap!* You have the right to a flank-spanking, if you cannot find a pony to spank you, I'LL DO IT PERSONALLY!*Pow!*"
Even with your armored bowler hat taking most of the beating for you, you have to admit, this still really hurts! And you know for a fact that all standard issue police batons in Equestria are made of cork-wood, so that they don't cause any severe harm when used. The fact that she's actually causing your shell to crack with her blows meas she's either using a non-standard model, or she's just really strong! Maybe both.
"Police brutality! I have rights! Help help, I'm being oppressed by the law!" you shout. She doesn't seem to hear you though, and just keep hitting you.
However, through the beating you manage to catch a glance of something over her shoulder, and it's headed towards you both!
"Look out, runaway flower cart!" some random pony screams as it careens down a hill right at you.
Dread Judge either still can't hear or is too busy smacking you to realize it, and at the speed it's heading toward you, you're sure it'll squish you both. You shut your eyes and wait for the inevitable.
But as luck would have it, it hit s the curb and flips over before it hit's either of you, landing harmlessly to the side. Dread glances over, shrugs, and is about to continue pummeling you. But then a single yellow flower slowly floats down and daintily lands on top of her head.
"GAHH! No!" she screams and falls to the ground, writhing in agony and clutching her throat. "My one weakness... so girly! Get it off.. get it off!"
"Seriously, flowers?" You say as you slump down and invoke your healing to heal the bruises and welts that have formed on your head form the beating. "Well I'd love to help, but... you just tried to beat me to an inch of my life. So... bye."
And with that you race off to find Trixie, Applejack, Rarity, Applebloob and Babs, hoping to Chrysalis that you never see that particular PAIN unit ever again.
Spoiler alert: you totally will.
You wrack your brain trying to figure out what the stars mean, because seriously, this isn't a videogame, how the heck are they there? But you ignore that for now since the cops are on your tale. In order to get the stars decreased, you usually had to take the stolen wagon/buggy into a chopshop and get a new paintjob. You wonder briefly if painting yourself would work, but you doubt it. But maybe if you changed clothes...
As you run down the street, you see that stuck up Bitch Mare that was mean to the cute Blue Haired mare from a week ago. She seems to be in the middle of some speech, while said cute mare is hauling lots of fabrics.
You clothesline the bitch right in the throat, knocking her on her back.
"Move Bitch, Get Out The Way!" you yell, before taking the fabric rolls the other mare was holding and throwing it towards the pursuing police, which causes a lot of them to get tangled up and fall down.
"If you don't want to physically hurt your boss, a laxative in her coffee will do just fine," you tell the shocked mare before running off.
You eventually use your Talon to latch onto a passing Taxi Buggy, and are dragged at high speeds for 16 blocks before the cabby notices.
"Hey pal, this ain't no charity!" he cries out as he hits the breaks, sending you flying. You are flung at such speeds, that you end up in a pond in Central Park.
Scrambling and coughing, you pull yourself out of the water.
"Oh jeez, *pant* Oh gosh...I really really have to work on my cardio again," you say.
You then see more blue and red lights, and see the cabby pointing in your direction.
"Oh Come ON!" you mutter before you pull your soaked form into the darkness of the trees.
The cops start combing the area, but luckily, you are saved when an altercation occurs between two sets of strangely garbed Gangster Ponies. One group dressed in Red Vests, and the other Dressed as Baseball Players (they even have bats)
"Hey, Hey! Break it up over there!" the cops yell as they chase after the two gangs, who promptly stop fighting and hightail it out of there.
Sighing at the break, you sneak your way back into the city, sticking to the alley ways.
"OK, I gotta find Trixie and the others. I can't let them get thrown in jail for this," you say in determination.
Suddenly, a thought pierces through your head.
Why do I care?
You stop in your tracks at this thought.
Why do I care what happens to these ponies?
You shake your head and say aloud
"Because they're innocent, and Trixie is my friend..." still, you can't help but think.
The heat is on them, and what can I really do at this point? I already led the cops on a chase, what more do I need to do? They can probably handle it. I should just take this chance and disappear...
And it's true. You didn't ask for this. Heck, if they knew who you really were, they probably wouldn't go out of their way to save you.
You nod your head at this point...but then you imagine Trixie in jail alone and hated, after everything she and you went through, and poor little Applebloom and her cousin in juvenile hall, losing their childhood. And even if the Elements are antsy around you, they don't deserve that.
"*Sigh* Damnit Conscience, why do you have to make everything so complicated?" you ask aloud and continue your search.
After a bit of sneaking, you realize that some new duds could really help, and there is a Party Costume Shop across the street from your location. The only problem is, it's closed, the streets are lined with police. You look for a solution, and you see something inspiring. It's a Y.U.M. Cart.
"Psst," you whisper to the Diamond Dog vendor who looks around.
"Psst, hey buddy, over here," you whisper. The dog turns his head and sees you in the alley.
"Are you talking to me?" he asks.
"Yeah, hey, I need some help."
"Sorry sir, but I'm on the clock. I have to get this delivery to some Business Griffins up the road and..." he starts before you flash him the badge causing his eyes to widen.
"Does this change your mind?"
He immediately stands straight and salutes, but you shush him and tell him to put his paws down.
"Quit drawing attention, now can you help me or not?"
"Of course sir, what would you like sir? I have Fried Chicken, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Shrimp Kebabs, Smoked Turkey..." he starts listing off.
"No not with food, though I will take some Bacon, but I need something else."
You have the dog put you in the cart and wheel you across the street towards the costume shop.
You hop out while he uses the cart to obscure the door while you pick the lock.
Once the lock is picked, you turn to him and say.
"Thanks, Good Dog," to which he wags his tail. "By the way, how's Diamondia doing?"
"Very well. The last Queen's parting gift turned out to be a massive city sized jackpot. Our kingdom is now richer than most of this pony Kingdom," he says happily.
You nod at this, "That's good. Well carry on then, live long and prosper and all that. Oh, and you never saw me," you say as you enter the costume shop.
"Alright then," he says as he picks up the wagon and moves on down, albeit a few strips of bacon less.
Inside, you find a wide assortment of clothes.
"Time to get rid of these stars."
As the stars in your vision started blinking for some reason you came realized something:
You left everypony in a subway.
A manehatten subway.
By the queen thier probably getting mugged by now, you had to find them fast.
But... that would mean cheacking every subway in the city.
buck.
Welp im to lazy to type anything else.
Do something with that.
Duck into a building only to find that it's a clothes charity. You immediately grab some of the first clothes you can get your hooves on, stuff them into your saddlebags, and are about to make a break for it, but then your conscience gets the better of you so you donate a Bottle of Painkillers, a Can of Apples Slices, a Box of Ritz Crackers, and a Jar of Chocolate Peanut Butter as "payment" for the clothes.
-1 Bottle of Painkillers
-3 Cans of Apple Slices
-3 Boxes of Ritz Crackers
-3 Jars of Chocolate Peanut Butter
remaining in Saddlebags
As you look more closely at your new clothes while putting them on, you also begin to muse about how this "conscience" thing is rather unusual for changelings as normally your kind can't feel or perceive empathy, sorrow, compassion, remorse, guilt, or romantic love (although they can fake it). Shaking off these concerns, you wander the city looking for the mares thinking that you lost the cops.
After losing the cops, you decide to grab a bite to eat... only to realize that you're in one of the most expensive cities in Equestria and you only have 2 Bits on your per pon bug. Taking a page out of The Aresian, you stop by a small restaurant and order a plain baked potato and eat it (levitating it with your magic) as you walk down the street.
0 Bits remaining