Final Verdict

by Material Defender

Chapter 6: Gathering

“Wow, I didn’t realize we were meeting with you guys!” Twilight exclaimed, sitting down at the living room table as she poured tea into a trio of cups, placing them on platters and levitating them in front of the Judicators. “I take it that you’re all here to discuss Commonwealth business?”

“Indeed we are,” Luna said, daintily taking a sip of tea. “I had figured it best to perhaps reacquaint myself with quiet Ponyville before I visited you here, Twilight.”

“Oh! That’s very kind of you...” Twilight noticed tension in Luna’s stance, almost as if she were waiting for something. “So... I guess I’ll just leave you all to your business now?”

“No, please stay,” Luna said, waving her down as the unicorn attempted to stand. “Given that you are... invested in learning, perhaps you would be interested in the things we have to discuss this night?”

“Um, I think that would be... really nice, actually.” Twilight sat down and scooted closer to the table. “So, what do you guys talk about, anyway? How do you know her?”

“We work for her,” Redhorn said plainly. “As I’m sure you might have noticed with the commotion in town recently.”

“Oh, that sort of work, huh?” Twilight said, nervously clapping her hooves together. “Is there any intention of opening up a Lunar Office of Judicial Affairs in Ponyville? Or maybe just having some extra guards here? I know Ponyville isn’t really that well-known on the national map, but maybe you can speak with Mayor Mare about setting aside funds for our own police officers?”

“It has been noted, Twilight,” Luna assured her. “I will ask my sister about dispatching more patrols within the general region, or perhaps I should see fit to deploy my own guards here instead...?”

“Anything you see fit,” Jamie said. “Now, let’s just get down to business. What’d you call us here for?”

“Originally, I was to inform you all of your upcoming mission, but I have decided to save that for later, now that I’ve been speaking with Twilight. I will make this short by discussing only a single piece of news I have heard recently: did you know that the Southlands have been opening their borders recently?”

“Really?!” Twilight said, if only a tone too loud as she promptly covered her mouth with a hoof. “Sorry, Spike’s sleeping. If the Southlands are opening themselves to travel soon, then I’d like to visit it!”

“Well, we were supposed to visit it at some point in the future,” Anora said, nursing her teacup as the tea steamed from within its vessel. “Maybe Jamie could take us all on a tour? You know, since it is his homeland and all that.”

“Can you do that?” Twilight asked him.

“Uh, yeah, of course—er, I mean, normally the folks down south don’t take kindly to non-human folk just prancin’ on in, but usually if you’ve got a guy like me with you, they’re okay with it,” Jamie said. “Not really sure how things are workin’ out down there, though... last I heard, the Southlands Council have been fightin’ over how they were goin’ to work with the rest of the Commonwealth. I guess someone must have won out.”

“In all honesty, I haven’t been to the Southlands, either,” Luna said. “Perhaps we shall partake in this visit with you, as well. Now, back to your original question, Judicator Harper: bounty hunter business, of course, though I see fit now that since Twilight is my sister’s personal student and trusted confidant of the Commonwealth, perhaps she, too, should know.”

“Er... is Princess Celestia okay with this?” Anora asked.

“Oh, yes, perfectly fine,” Luna immediately replied, pulling out several folders she had concealed underneath the table and laying them neatly in front of Twilight. “Required reading, if you would, Twilight. You must understand that ruling a nation is a rather taxing business, and I’m sure the bureaucracy of the bounty hunters may be of interest to you.”

Twilight’s eyes lit up at the information before her. “Well... I don’t think I’ve ever read much into bounty hunters before,” she said. “Maybe I can skim through it and see how things work. Thank you for the notes, Princess Luna, I’ll put them to good use.”

“You are very welcome, Twilight,” Luna said. “Though if you do have any questions, I am here to answer them.”

“I have one!” she said, looking at Jamie, then Luna’s chestpiece, and then Luna herself. “Earlier today, when Jamie had me use his badge... I’ve never seen a magical enchantment like that before. How does it work?”

“Lunar magic enchantments,” Luna replied, tapping her chestpiece with her ornamented hoof. “It is a school of magic that only I have access to, but that makes it particularly useful for the functions that I wish for them to serve. However, a conduit is required in order to channel lunar magic, and that is where moonsteel comes in.”

Twilight’s gaze honed in on the resplendent steel that Luna wore. “Moonsteel... how is it forged?”

“Only under specific conditions that I cannot specify, of course,” Luna said. “The only existing reserves of moonsteel in the entire world are either under lock and key within the Canterlot castle, or delivered to my chosen subjects—such as our present company—where I can stay in touch with them, their location, and their state of well-being.”

“You can actually monitor their health and track them—er, the steel, not the people—anywhere in the world?” Twilight said in wonder. “That’s amazing! Oh, but I’ve read every single book in my library, and I don’t think there’s anything on moonsteel...”

“The records were most likely purged of such subject matters,” Luna replied grimly. “Such is what I gleaned from conversations with my sister regarding my reputation after the Nightmare Moon incident. Its power is likely the only reason why my sister sought to avoid it from becoming knowledge in the public sphere.”

“Ah... I should really be taking notes on this...” Twilight said, laughing lightly at her lapse in her normally bookish demeanor. Here, Princess Luna was giving her a piece of history she’d never heard of before, but she couldn’t bother herself to actually record it. It was no matter, though, given her eidetic memory for all things lore, so she simply wrote it off. And if that was going to be a problem, she could simply contact Luna again for the details. Who knew, perhaps there was a chance that she could publish a book on it?

Luna chuckled in return. “Pay no mind, Twilight Sparkle. Perhaps it will make a return someday, once the stigma of my past reputation no longer clouds the judgment of people everywhere. Now, I believe we have overstayed our welcome here, and there is still much to be done back at Canterlot.”

“Oh, you’re leaving already?” Twilight said, looking at the clock. “But it’s only... wow, that’s actually pretty late. Well, it was nice to have you here in Ponyville again, Princess Luna. Will you be returning for the next Nightmare Night?”

“Of course,” Luna agreed, standing as the Judicators did the same. She met eyes with Jamie and gave a lopsided grin before continuing, “Now, good night, Twilight.”

“Good night, Princess Luna,” Twilight said, giving a heavy yawn as they turned to leave. “I should really sleep earlier...”

A small click was all they heard as Twilight closed the library for the night. The lights darkened as she made her way upstairs, and before long, her bedroom joined the ranks of the quiet rooms in the treehouse. As soon as all was done, Jamie crossed his arms and looked at Luna.

“You were going to tell her somethin’, weren’t you?” he asked.

“I... had intended to,” Luna said. “She has experienced much, but has far more ahead of her. Great things, things that will shake the politics of the Commonwealth to its very core... I had thought that since such grand intentions were already in store for her that I should at least notify her of the existence of my secret branch...”

“You were going to tell her everything about the Judicators?” Redhorn whispered. “That’s confidential, even to associates of the crown! The most we can let her know is who we are, but nothing more, am I not correct?"

“I know, I know, that was why I... reconsidered my decision, at the very last moment.” She hung her head low and sighed. “She has much in store for her. I wanted her to at least know just how deep-seated the influence of the Equestrian crown is.”

“Don’t you think that Princess Celestia would oppose your decision?” Anora asked.

“Yes. It was one of the many reasons factoring into my rescinding of the truth. Now, our duties here are finished. We return to the Judicator headquarters now, and I will take us all there. Brace yourselves,” Luna said, wrapping them all in a energy colored midnight blue, before producing a sudden flash. The treehouse creaked in the wind as all trace of their presence disappeared.

---

“Ugh, I’m glad we brought all our gear along. It’s a good thing we pack light, huh?” Jamie said. He coughed dryly for several moments, holding up as he readily accepted Anora’s remedy for teleportation sickness and guzzled it down enthusiastically. “Oh, damn, I hate teleportin’...”

“You’re such a foal,” Anora teased, accepting the empty flask from him as Luna looked on with a silly smile. “Sorry, Princess, I guess some of us just aren’t used to the whole magic thing yet. Even for one that should be accustomed to it, thanks to standardized bounty hunter training, hmm?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll just walk it off,” Jamie said, looking up to notice that the entirety of the headquarters was bustling with activity. Judicators that he’d only heard of in name and reputation were here, conversing with each other as the Night Guard began handing out information sheets, detailing assignments and intelligence as the recipients walked off to briefing rooms buried deeper within the headquarters. “What’s the buildup for?”

“Important things, clearly,” Luna replied quietly. “There has been a worrying development of events, many things that I fear that will give the Judicators their toughest trials yet. Please, come with me. We have much to discuss.”

Luna led them past through the foyer and past the statue of Mare-Do-Well, rearing into the air triumphantly. Her cape was permanently held in a waving state as her emotionless visage stared straight ahead towards the stained glass emblem of the Commonwealth mounted above the heavy doors, the only physical entrance to the headquarters from within Canterlot castle.

Mare-Do-Well was an embodiment of the duties that the Judicators upheld: to bring justice to the worst of criminals, through either force or persuasion. Her return in the budding years of the Commonwealth, long before bounty hunters had ever existed, had been riddled with excited rumors and wanton assumptions about her identity, and though the Judicators themselves had as much knowledge on the subject as the average citizen, many assumed it had been Princess Luna.

Though never directly expressed to the Princess of the Night, she was well aware of the rumors, and found it endearing that her subjects thought of her as such, but no direct refutation was ever released. “So many things to tend to, yet we have so little time,” Luna said casually. “Tell me, Harper, what do you know of the invention known as blackpowder?”

Reaching the steps that led up to the open second floor halls, Jamie pondered as they walked up the stairway. “Well, folks back home always use it for blastin’ rock so they can mine deep in the mountains. Stuff’s kind of hard to put together, so we usually just use it for minin’ and nothin’ else.”

“I see,” Luna replied. They reached the top of the stairs, where Luna then ushered them into her office, located just beyond the railings that overlooked the foyer. Direct access had been more than just a concern for Luna, given that her more veteran Judicators had sparse amounts of time for layovers between missions, and so were required to report directly to Luna before they were off on their way again. “Please, enter, and feel free to take a seat.”

Luna’s taste for aesthetics was fairly straightforward, with lovely portraits of moonlit landscapes and decorative dinnerware bearing the crescent moon situated around her office, accentuating the room’s adumbral atmosphere and midnight blue rug bearing an exact replication of Luna’s own cutie mark upon the floor. The door, operated by complex gearwork and magical commands, closed shut and locked itself behind them as they took their seats.

“Well, the Commonwealth has taken a particular interest in this blackpowder, Judicator Harper,” Luna said, sitting down at her desk and looking over the reports sitting upon the tabletop. Her magic lifted the pile up to her as she began to browse through it, and she removed only one and placed it before herself. “Samples have been limited, of course, but there is interest on my behalf that we may somehow weaponize this blackpowder, as it seems that roving band of griffon bandits have been utilizing this commodity to assault townships.”

“That’s some dangerous fire they’re playin’ with,” Jamie replied, reclining into his plush seat as he looked up towards the ceiling. “I don’t think the Council is goin’ to play nice with trade if they hear ‘bout that. How’d those griffons get their claws on it?”

“What do you think?” Luna responded, sliding forward the report towards them. “They raided mining facilities in the northern fringes of griffon territory and stole them. Nonetheless, the griffon army is none too pleased with what’s been occurring, but they cannot stop them without our aid. I’ve seen fit to send a few Judicators to help them resolve the matter. Development in the blackpowder field has been halted completely until then.”

“That’s nice of you,” Jamie said. He picked up the report and flipped through several pages as Redhorn and Anora watched him, waiting for his reaction. “This is... a snatch and grab? By who?”

“I do not know,” Luna said. “Certainly there are powerful hands, hooves, or claws at work here, if our purported suspects have managed to accomplish what they’ve done. The Dragon Empire is demanding action, and I have decided that you three shall be the ones to tackle this case.”

“Kidnappin’ a dragon hatchling...” Jamie muttered, handing off the report to Anora for her to peruse. “That’s a hot potato case if I’ve ever seen one. Is it wise to just send just us three in for this? I can imagine how’d the dragons would react if we don’t find the young’in...”

“A valid concern,” Luna said. “Most likely, they will leave their nests in number and attempt to reclaim the hatchling through any means necessary. I’d rather not let the Commonwealth’s first exposure to the Empire in years be through an act that may as well be considered a declaration of war. It is already with great restraint that they have offered this mission to us, otherwise we would already have a crisis on our hands.”

“I can understand why they all keep themselves now,” Redhorn said. “The buffalo tribes have spoken much of their migrations before, saying that their temperament truly makes interaction with them very difficult, and ultimately, not worth it. Why do they even choose to associate with us at all?”

“Because they see potential in unity, Redhorn.” Luna pulled out several drawers from her desk, lifting out more reports and sealed documents stamped with the seal of the crown and labeled ‘confidential’, dropping them in a stack on the table. “They wish to look beyond their normally reclusive and possessive ways and attempt to branch out from their heritage, to perhaps make more of themselves. But their innate fire calls them to defend their kin to the death, which is why I assume that blood will most certainly be spilled should this mission not be completed.”

“Well, there’s certainly no pressure now, is there?” Anora said. “So this hatchling... Ignistra, she is called... we have details on what she looks like, what she likes to eat, doesn’t like to eat, and all sorts of things, but there’s nothing in this report stating why she was here in the first place.”

“That’s because her presence here in the Commonwealth is supposed to be secret,” Luna said, frowning at the papers before her. “There is a traitor in our midst, somepony who knows where the dragon was. She was supposed to be taken care of at a small shire between Equestria and the Empire, sitting right upon the border and at the intersection where they meet with the Crystal Empire. This location is not easily accessible, not by any normal means, but only through flight as the ground is far too erratic to travel upon.”

“And that doesn’t really explain why she’s here...” Anora pressed.

Luna sighed, leaning over the table and whispering, “Ignistra is the daughter of the Dragon Empire’s emperor and empress, whose names, even now, will not be disclosed. She was learning the ways of the Equestrians from our scholars by being given a controlled exposure to a pony-centric environment, as she was to become the Empire’s diplomat in the coming years.”

As Luna sat back, Anora remained silent, blinking in hesitation after receiving an answer far more than she had expected. “I certainly hope we’re not working alone on this,” she said after several moments, flipping through the reports again. “This job needs more than just a trio of Judicators on it. More like a small army, if you ask me.”

“You are the primary officiators of this assignment to the Dragon Empire, yes, but you will not be working alone,” Luna confirmed. “Alongside you will be many Judicators, all working from the shadows to ensure your success. Information gathering, subterfuge, or perhaps even direct assistance, if need be, will be at my immediate disposal should you require it.”

“So, this emperor and empress...” Redhorn said, shifting around in his chair, clearly one size too small for him to fit in. “Are they sending anyone to help us with this? Why don’t they mention who they are, anyway?”

“Reclusive, Redhorn, reclusive,” Jamie interrupted. “They don’t want folks knowin’ who they are, for whatever reason. I guess they can’t really involve any of their own because, come on... how hard do you think it’ll be to spot a dragon, of all things? They ain’t regular down in these parts, and if Equestria gets a whole rash of ‘em just sniffin’ out places for Ignistra... well, things’ll go south real quick.”

“Judicator Harper is correct,” Luna affirmed. A faint ping echoed across the room as Luna placed a hoof upon the levitating crystal sitting at the corner of her desk. “Yes, Eclipse?”

“Greetings, Princess. I have arrived, as you have ordered. I noticed that the door is locked...”

“I have current business to attend to, Eclipse. Wait a moment as I conclude this affair.” Luna removed her hoof and pushed the rest of the documents their way. “Within these documents are clues, contacts, and other various facets of information that may be of use to you. Our analysts have not had enough time to comb through all of it, so you will have to make do for now, or wait until their reports are completed. For clearances in this mission, given that the stability of the Commonwealth is at stake here, you are hereby granted full privileges to any resources you may need, Lunar Office or otherwise.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Jamie thanked, rising from his seat and gathering the reports. “We’ll be taking our leave now.”

“Oh, and one more thing, all of you: for the purposes of this mission, I have seen fit to grant you all an upgraded arsenal. Whoever the perpetrators were, they were well-equipped and well-trained, so I should only make sure that you can at least function at their level. Visit the quartermasters as soon as possible... I’m sure they have some new inventions they’d like for you to utilize.”

He smiled at Redhorn and Anora, wiggling his eyebrows in jest. “I guess I can look forward to that.”

Luna nodded sagely, wheeling her chair around to open the curtains behind her desk. The dim moonlight shone in, contrasting with the candlelight from the inside the room as she gave an approving sigh at the sight of her sky. “Excellent. You are not expected to deploy until tomorrow afternoon, after we finish setting up our contacts and ensuring that the other Judicators are deployed before you make your first moves. Enjoy your time until then.”

Jamie tipped his hat at her, following Redhorn and Anora towards the door as it clunked, unlocking itself and presenting a hooded unicorn mare—Eclipse, certainly—waiting on the other side. She sauntered in as they exited, giving Jamie a saucy look and a teasing whistle as she trotted up to Luna’s desk. Their reactions went unnoticed as the door closed and Jamie shared looks with Anora and Redhorn, and shrugged.

“Isn’t that Eclipse one of the more feared Judicators around?” Anora noted.

“Is she?” Jamie said, chuckling as he stored the reports underneath his duster. The foyer was now back to its original routines now, with guards and staff on duty with only a meager number of Judicators still meandering about. “Wasn’t she one of those more scary ones? Like, she liked to screw with her targets or something like that...”

“That’s the thing with some of these Judicators, Jamie,” Redhorn said. “I can appreciate the fact that we’re all on the same side, but you can’t help but wonder if some of them have... problems.”

“Problems that Princess Luna is in the act of sorting out,” Anora added. “A lot of these people here are good folks who have had bad things happen to them. The Princess is their bright light in a time of darkness, and she’s helped out some of them more than anything the public services could ever do for them.”

“I guess,” Jamie said, scratching his chin. “Let’s not dwell on that subject any further... I think I can feel eyes watchin’ us or somethin’. Let’s head down to the quartermasters and see what they’ve got for us.”

---

The armories within the Judicator headquarters were among the best that money could buy: a fully-trained staff with a forge that worked around the clock ensured that equipment could always be produced on the spot, and sometimes before Judicators returned from their missions. Such a function was completed through a preliminary restock request before entering the headquarters, and Jamie had used it on more than one occasion to grab another stock of pistolbow bolts before he had to head out the door.

Pay was still required, of course. Top-notch services weren’t cheap, and no matter how organized they were, Judicators were still bounty hunters, working for pay and giving it in return. It only made sense to help subsidize a portion of their equipment costs.

The quartermasters in attendance took notice of their entrance; after all, it was habit by now that they always entered as a trio, and always requested the same fixes or refitting that they did before a mission. This time, however, was different.

A scruffy unicorn sitting at the front desk sniffed loudly as they stepped forward, peeking at them over his spectacles. “Ah, you’re the three we’ve been told to expect, yeah?”

“That we are,” Jamie replied. He looked behind the unicorn to find the staff already busy at work, pulling out a line of heavy steel boxes and opening them up. They retrieved something from within them, fusing and welding parts together before they were ready to be presented. “Princess Luna said you had somethin’ for us?”

“Right, laddie! Bring ‘em out, boys!” The unicorn stepped aside as the rest of the crew presented their new equipment, still hot from the welding and gleaming with golden steel. “A mergin’ o’ moonsteel with some o’ Celestia’s sunsteel. Ain’t nothin’ goin’ to be hurtin’ you without a fight, no, siree.”

“Is it better than dragonscale?” Jamie asked. The armor pieces sitting before him were made to provide protection that he already had in place, but their effectiveness had yet to be tested. “Besides that, it looks like they’re just made to replace my old armor.”

“You can bet your damn arse that they’re better th’n dragonscale, boyo!” The unicorn pulled out an ornate warhammer from underneath the desk and smashed the center of the golden chestpiece repeatedly, with each strike not even make a dent upon the glimmering finish. “See? Looks even better than that and is twice as tough!”

“That sound great,” Redhorn said, knocking his hoof against the plate himself as he pushed down on it to test its resilience. Even against the full brunt of his exertion, the plate still maintained its form, so he approvingly relented. “But we’re going to be doing some sneaking around with this mission, I think. Is there any way you can rub off the shine on it?”

“That’s where the moonsteel comes in. It reacts to anythin’ glimmerin’ in the sky, or even a regular ol’ torchlight, if you will, and even electrical ones, and it can turn as dark as the blackest night. This’s alicorn-blessed steel, kiddos, don’t take it for granted. It can do lots o’ things that your crappy armor can’t.”

“Excellent,” Redhorn said, smiling at his reflection in the golden steel. The quartermaster zapped it with a bolt of magic, causing him to jump back as the armor began to purple, darkening into a flawless emulation of the moonsteel that the Night Guard wore. “Hah! Look at that, Jamie! It can change colors!”

“I can see, Redhorn,” Jamie said. An apron-clad unicorn dropped a stack of heavy crossbow bolts for him on the counter, but he couldn’t recognize this particular version. “Hey, quartermaster? What’re these bolts?”

The quartermaster looked over and his eyes lighted. “Hoho, lad, those’re the new explosive crossbow bolts, to be used with the heavy piece of work you’ve got on your back. Fused with fire magic and a heaping helpful of blackpowder, courtesy of the Southlands, all packed into one mean little poker ready to send any poor bloke straight to Tartarus!”

“How... unstable are these things?” He picked up a single bolt and lifted it to his eyes. Faints motes of fiery sparks floated off of the tip of the bolt, and tickled his nose with the dry stench of magic latching itself onto the blackpowder. “These don’t exactly look like they’ll hold up to the rough and tough that we’ll be goin’ through...”

“Don’t worry, they only activate specifically only when the magic detects that its flyin’ faster than you can run or in most cases, fly. If you do it like this, for instance—” They all jumped back as the quartermaster picked up another bolt and slammed the tip into the table. Nothing occurred, and the stallion just laughed boisterously as he set it back down. “See that, huh? Nothin’ happens! So you don’t have to worry about mussin’ up the bolts and gettin’ yourselves all blown to bits.”

“What about me, then?” Anora asked. “Surely you must have something for the wayward zebrican apothecary...?”

“Extra duffel bags!” the quartermaster joked, dropping several freshly-crafted ones made with special aether-woven fabric and durable moonsteel clasps. Anora’s lack of amusement caused his chuckle to fade, and he appeased her by dropping a bundle of flasks and bundles of crafting materials into a container before her before sliding the gargantuan storage box towards her. “Just joking, lass! ‘Ere you go, all the materials you need for your brewin’, and then some!”

“Hmm, yes...” Anora muttered. A rainbow of colors danced around her eyes as she hoof-checked the bushel of leafy plants. “Ooh, these are rare... where did you find these?”

The quartermaster clicked his tongue. “That’s for us to know, and for you to never find out! Moving on now, for the buffalo: here are some... urgh... heavy plates for you to deck yourself out in! Give those slimy folk somethin’ to fear, eh?” With great effort, the unicorn heaved a set of buffalo charger plate armor onto the counter, slamming it into the heavy marble tabletop with a thud. “Whew! This one took the longest to make, lad, so don’t take this for granted!”

“Amazing. What skill it must have taken to forge such a glorious set of armor!” Redhorn said, enthusiastically tossing off his own armor to adorn his new one gleefully. No sooner had he put on his new helmet did he look at Jamie wearing an expression of pure shock. “This armor... it’s so... light!”

“Sunsteel mixed with moonsteel combined with some real damn good forgers down here in the armory ought to make one of the best sets of armor in all of the Commonwealth,” the quartermaster said. “Now, that’s about all of it, so if you don’t mind, we have other orders to catch up on.”

Jamie stopped the unicorn with a wave before he could walk off. “Er, wait a moment... don’t we have to pay for all of this?”

The quartermaster snorted, shaking his head as he said, “This mission’s an important one, so Princess Luna is frontin’ all the costs for it, includin’ the equipment. Treat it well, you hear? And be sure to thank our glorious Highness, because the cost of all of this could easily break the First Bank of Equestria with how much peddlin’ had to be done to get them to headquarters.”

“We’ll be sure to pass on our thanks,” Jamie said, stashing away his bolts and assisting Anora with her own possessions, grunting loudly as he picked up the box. “Er, you guys can... go now... any moment, yeah?”

“Of course. Let’s go find our rooms so we can go over the details of the mission,” Anora said, tossing over a makeshift net bag over her back to carry all the new bomb materials she had received. She began to trot, Jamie in tow, until she stopped and looked over her shoulder. “Redhorn? Aren’t you coming?”

“Just a moment,” Redhorn said. “Hey, stallion! What should I do with my old armor?”

“Leave it on the floor!” came the faint response, fighting to be heard over the roars of the forges’ burning pyres and hammering of steel. “We’ll get to fixin’ it up later!”

“Thank you!” Redhorn called out, stomping away through the exit to rejoin Jamie and Anora, who were already on their way to their rooms.

The quartermaster chuckled as he returned back to his forging. “Damn kids these days...”

---

“It says here that our best lead should be to start in Manehattan,” Anora said, sighing as she took a sip of her herbal tea. “Honestly, we’ve been visiting that city far too many times for my liking.”

“Every time we get rid of someone, another one just pops up,” Redhorn agreed, no longer donning his armor, but instead wearing the traditional light robes of his tribe. “Ugh, sometimes this job just gets pure tiring. To be honest, I think I’m with Jamie: maybe we should consider retiring after this mission.”

“Think it over after we’re done with it,” Jamie interrupted. “For now, just focus on the mission. Okay, so here it says there are some folks in Manehattan who may know where she is, but it doesn’t specify. We have no contacts that have solid evidence on the sighting of Ignistra in the city, and—speaking of her, what does she look like?”

“Er, says here that she’s a dragon hatchling, obviously, with a most ruby-red scale coat with golden fins,” Redhorn said, flipping over the patch and rotating it to gain a better look at what was detailed upon the page. “Very regal in appearance, and her size... well, she’s clearly larger than Twilight’s assistant Spike back in Ponyville. They say that she’s early in her development as a dragon princess, so she should be... well, roughly around Anora’s size, if this drawn comparison chart is true.”

“Great, so we should have no trouble trying to find her,” Anora said cheerily. “Can’t be hard to find a dragon around here, unless... we’re dealing with people who clearly have magic at their disposal. Don’t dragons have an immunity to magic?”

“Correction: they have an immunity to elemental magic,” Jamie said, circling the note on his intelligence report. “Otherwise, anybody can just up and drop a disguise spell on ‘em... hoo, boy, if that’s what happened, this mission is going to be a real pain in the keister to finish...”

“They’re clearly not going to let her prance about,” Redhorn displeasingly said. “And even if they did, what’s to stop her from simply crying out that she’s a dragon princess and that she needs to be saved? I’m pretty sure that little outburst would have been heard by the Princess’s little birds and sent up the chain to headquarters.”

“Exactly... they’ll be keeping her somewhere where she’s secure and our suspects are keeping an eye on her.” Anora switched around her reading material and dipped a dry quill into an inkwell, hovering just above the parchment she now held in her hooves. “Okay, maybe there are possible locations that she could be held. I have a feel that it’s not somewhere openly vulnerable, so warehouses and abandoned districts are out of the picture for the moment. Where else could she be?”

“If we’re talkin’ guys with tons of money here—which I don’t doubt, given how many aristocrats we seem to bag on a regular basis—then they might have some elaborate set-up hidden underneath a hotel or fancy park or somethin’ along those lines,” Jamie said. “Seems like every major bad guy these days just has to have a home base to operate out of.”

“Well, they’re going to run out of places to hide eventually with how many Judicators end up in that place on a monthly basis,” Anora said. She tossed the reports onto the table stationed between them and closed her eyes. “Okay, so... we’re going to have to find information. I’ll start looking in the Zebrican district. What’ll you two take?”

“I’ll head down to the buffalo camps outside of the city,” Redhorn added. “Seeing how they’re situated at the city’s entrance, there may be a possibility that they might have seen something that could help us. What about you, Jamie?”

Jamie tightened his lips and shook his head. “Well, I... don’t really have an idea of where to look. Human folks are still a rarity ‘round these parts, so maybe I’ll try to work out a region from what we know.”

“Alright, then. I think we should all get some shuteye before we start up tomorrow. It’s going to be a long day...” Redhorn exited the conversation, disappearing into his bedroom as his door clacked shut. Anora was next to follow, downing her tea in the timeliest fashion she could manage before heeding the call to slumber.

Jamie was left alone in the room, having already decided on his next course of action. He pulled out a business card, crumpled at the corners from having been neglected for so long. Satin Sheet. If there was anything the criminal underground loved to indulge in, it was in the pursuit of carnal pleasures.

Satin—the mare’s stage name—would be more than willing to let him in on everything she knew... he just hoped that he wouldn’t have to end up playing her games to get what he wanted.

Comments

[LupoMikti]

Finally had some time to get around to reading this update. Things are getting pretty interesting and I'm loving the world building that this story presents. I look forward to the descriptions of the criminal underground the most as it's something I've always thought should exist in Equestria but couldn't quite picture in my head. This seems to help with that greatly.

All in all I'm deeply enjoying this and await it's continuation eagerly.

[Material Defender]

2299825 Thanks for the comment! I was actually wondering if anybody even read the newest chapter.

I should work on getting this story publicized, but I'm not really sure where to start, nor do I find it very becoming to advertise my fic.