Strider

by Olakaan Peliik

Las Pegasus - IV

It had been a couple of days since the last fight. I wasn't supposed to be walking about the room, but I had to figure out what Halberd was doing here in Las Pegasus running underground fights. Snow and Vanity were both out getting food and supplies for the next few days, I was taking this opportunity to figure out what I could.

“Okay, why are you here Halberd?” I thought aloud to myself, pacing the room. “You just escaped prison, you need to hide. Hiding with a bunch of low-life lawbreakers. Not your style. Slaving, poaching, and murder is more your speed.”

I was staring at my typical method of thought. A wall or board with all the evidence we had tacked up on it. Talking to it like it was Halberd seemed to help with the process. I thought about what Bob Weave said back at the fight: “Think of this like a job interview.”

“A job interview? Must be trying to hire yourself some bodyguards, or trying to jumpstart your next mercenary enterprise.” I remembered the passphrase. “‘Grey Iron.’ Not a terrible name for a mercenary group. But you’ve been at this longer than we know, right? You’ve recruited enough to do your dirty work. Killing an RBI agent, not very subtle.”

I stared at Halberd’s military picture in the top center of the wall with a red question mark scribbled over his face. He seemed to glare back at me. “Who are you really?” I pondered.

I must have been lost in thought because the next thing I knew Snow was yelling at me. “What are you doing up?! You are in no condition to be walking around!” She wrapped me in her magic and started to pull me toward my futon mattress.

“I had to go to the bathroom and I got distracted on my way back,” I protested, fighting to stay on my hooves. Not really a lie, I did use the bathroom.

“Horsefeathers! This is the second time,” Vanity countered.

“One more time mister, and I will have to get some restraints,” Snow snapped, shoving me down onto the mattress.

“Oh come on, this thing is so lumpy it’s giving me bruises on top of my bruises,” I whined, giving Snow an over-the-top pout. “Can’t I take one of your beds?”

Snow was silent for a minute. “I suppose since you are the one taking a beating for this mission and need the most rest…” She sighed. “You can take mine.” She started guiding me toward her bed, a little more gently this time.

“Maybe if you join him he’ll heal faster?” I heard Vanity say. Snow shot her one of her trademark icy glares, but Vanity just laughed.

Snow laid me on the bed and gently tucked me in so she could begin examining me. It was so much better than the other one. I watched as Snow began checking every injury on my body over again, occasionally moving to give her a better view. Vanity had gone to take a shower leaving Snow and me alone.

As she was checking for swelling around my ears she noticed my staring at her. Her face was really close to mine; her big blue eyes were like sapphires. I could feel her breath. Sill smelled of wintergreen.

“What?” she asked, blushing.

“You know full well that I end up staring at you from time to time,” I managed to smile.

Her face reddened even more and she cracked a smile. “I wish I could say the same to you. It’s hard seeing you like this.”

“I honestly didn't know Nassor would pick you of all ponies for this part of the job,” I admitted, looking down. “It was never my intention to uproot you from whatever you were doing. I figured if you wanted to me to find you, you would have let me. I wasn’t even sure how I was gonna apologize to you if I found you. I just want to make things right with us. I know you hate me right now, but that will never change the way I feel about you.”

Snow opened her mouth and closed it, then sighed and looked down. “I don’t hate you,” she whispered, blinking like she was going to cry. I started to reach out to take her hoof on instinct, but she pulled away, shaking her head. “You need to stop talking and rest,” she said, rather throatily.

“Snow-” I started.

She shoved her hoof over my mouth to shut me up. “Quiet, I need to focus and you need rest.” I sighed and settled into the bed. I wanted to keep talking to her but If I tried I knew she would just quiet me down.

---

The next day Vanity somehow talked me into a game of chess. I was terrible at chess. She’d already won seven times and I had stopped trying to win and more or less was trying to make shapes with the pieces. I currently was working on making the head of a dragon with little success.

“Ha!” Vanity crowed as she took my rook with her pawn. “I win again. It’s like you're not even trying.”

If she only knew. “Alright, I’m bored,” I grumbled, standing up.

“How can somepony be such a good soldier and guard and still be terrible at a game that requires strategy?” Snow asked from the couch.

“Real life is very different than a board game,” I argued.

“You could have still at least took the game seriously. I know you were just making shapes at the end there,” Snow commented.

“What, you really weren't trying?” Vanity cried, looking offended.

“Chess isn’t really interesting to me. You were also taking really long with your turns.” I layed back in my bed.

“If you’re bored, take a look at what Nassor dug up from the prison,” Snow suggested, levitating over a file.

“Have you read it?” I asked and she nodded. “Can you give me your opinion of what you thought about it?”

Snow frowned. “Well, I felt his method of escape was overly complicated…”

I read that part of the file as she explained her thoughts. He escaped by somehow acquiring a pair of religious pendants enchanted to switch identities with anypony. He somehow managed to get one on another prisoner who was being released. Rather than the correct prisoner being released, Halberd was released.

“...meaning that he must have had outside help from somepony,” she finished saying.

I nodded. “High-security prisoners are limited contact with anypony. Even mail is limited and checked. Outside help would have been near impossible.”

“So in all likelihood, he received help from a Correctional Officer.” She concluded.

“Yes. Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do about that from here.” I finished reading the file and set it aside. “Aren't we expecting Nassor sometime today?”

“We are. He said it would be late afternoon,” Vanity said putting the chess board away. “I don't know about you two, but I'm climbing the walls here.” She donned her disguise. “I'm gonna go stretch my legs.”

She left before we could protest against it. An awkward silence descended between Snow and me.

“You wanna play Go Fish?” I asked after a minute.

She stared at me like she thought I was kidding. Then she smirked. “I'll get the cards.”

---

“Ha! You suck!” Snow gloated.

I threw my remaining cards onto the end of the bed and crossed my hooves. She won yet another round of Go Fish.

“How about thirty-six out of seventy-two?” Snow asked, reshuffling the cards.

“Go Fish,” I said, a little annoyed.

“Don't be a sore loser.” She booped my snout before going and putting the cards away. A familiar sequence of knocks came from the door. Snow moved to look through the eyehole. “It is Nassor.”

She unlocked the door and let him in. “We figure anything out from what we already know?” Nassor asked.

I shrugged. “I think Halberd is here to recruit for his next mercenary gang. With how they are structuring the fights, as job interviews, it seems the most plausible reason he’s here.”

Nassor frowned. “Do you think you can make the selection process? Get close enough to put a tracking crystal on him?”

“This next fight seems to be set up in tiers. Win your first fight, move to round two, so on and so forth. Which means I’ll have time between fights to rest up.” Assuming I won, of course.

“And time to heal.” Snow chimed in. She paused to think for a moment, then took a breath. “I think I should be the one to pose as Glossy Finish this time,” she said.

“Why?” Nassor and I both asked at the same time.

“If I can heal him, even partially between fights, it will increase his chances of winning exponentially,” Snow explained. “We need that tracker placed and this is the best way to get it planted.”

Nassor looked at me. “It does make sense.”

It did, and that’s why I hated it. “She’s not going,” I said firmly.

“Since when did you become my dad?” Snow snapped at me.

“I know you’ve called the shots up to this point but this is where I’ll have to pull rank,” Nassor cut me off. “Sending Snow in Vanity’s place to be your medic is your best chance to get through the fights and close to Halberd.” Nassor turned to Snow. “When Vanity shows up, get all the information you can from her about her cover. We best prepare as best we can.”

Snow nodded and left the room to go find Vanity. Nassor looked at me.

“I know you don't like this plan but it’s the best one we have. You should really start moving around getting ready for those fights.” He dug a medium-sized hardcover book out of his jumpsuit pocket. “Also to keep your mind sharp I brought you this.”

He passed the book to me. It was a regulation manual for the R.B.I. “Why do you want me to read this?” I asked.

“I was serious when I said you’d be a good fit in the R.B.I.,” Nassor said. “This is to help you with the placement test.”

“Placement test?” I asked.

“The Placement test determines just where you need to be in the R.B.I. training. Very rarely, an R.B.I. cadet will score high enough to skip training and go right into service. The physical I have no doubt you will pass with flying colors. The written test is tricky and the questions are different for every cadet. But this,” he pointed at the manual. “Is where you will find all the answers. I’m trying to give you the best chance at getting in.”

Wow, he really wanted me in the R.B.I., “I appreciate this. Thank you.” I looked up at the clock: twelve minutes had passed already. “You best get moving before the motel catches on that you keep stopping to talk to us.”

Nassor checked the wall clock and his watch. “Good looking out. See you tomorrow.” He exited the room with haste.

I proceeded to open the R.B.I. manual and read the first entry. “R.B.I. Agent regulations, dress code, and Sexual Harassment codes.” This was gonna be a long read.

---

Snow had deemed me well enough to start doing exercises. I was currently doing push-ups while transitioning to wind-ups and back every set of five. Below my face was the R.B.I. Manual open to Chapter two, focusing on Royal Actions.

The one that had intrigued me the most what the one that had told me that; “Guard Captains and their subordinates are to follow orders from any and all R.B.I. Agents. Furthermore, should an R.B.I. Agent deem that a member of the City Guard or even the Guard Captain’s actions or orders are impeding a Royal Investigation. The R.B.I. The agent has the authority to charge them with obstruction of justice and place them under arrest.”

“Arresting a Guard Captain? Oh, how Captain Swampfire would have hated if I did that to him.” I muttered.

“Do what to who now?” Snow asked from her reading spot.

“Nothing. This manual is just surprisingly interesting,” I said, continuing my exercises. “The R.B.I. and its Agents have a surprising amount of power. And turns out not all agents are Captains. Special Agents are actually Majors as far as titled rank is concerned.”

“That is actually kinda interesting.” Snow nodded before going back to her medical journal. “Remember don’t strain yourself,” she said after I finished another set of wing-ups.

I stood up straight and stretched my limbs a little. I turned my attention to the wall of evidence and started rearranging things. “What are you doing?” Vanity asked from her bed.

“Setting up a timeline. Starting with things that we know happened. Then I’m gonna fill in the gaps with the most likely scenario.”

“Do you really think that will reveal anything new?” she asked skeptically.

I’m not sure why but her tone set me off. “It might!” I snapped.

“Woah! Strider, calm down,” Snow said firmly.

I breathed as I put another file in place on the timeline. “I’m sorry. I just hate the idea that I have to catch this guy again. He killed, captured, and sold too many last time before we caught him. You know, they are still reporting ponies missing up in Tall Tale.”

I stared at the board like it was deliberately hiding something. I had to have misread something. I know I did.

I heard Snow step up beside me. She knows full well how I get with cases. This is the first time one came back to haunt me, but still.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked.

I sighed. “A number of things. Why Las Pegasus and not go back to Tall Tale? Why set up and underground fighting ring to recruit mercenaries?”

“Well, the first question is easy: too easily recognized in Tall Tale,” Snow said. “Even if someone just noticed his criminal patterns they'd know it was him back in town. As for your second question, I just answered it: he had to change his methods of operation to avoid detection.”

That made sense. “I have one more question,” I turned to look at her. “When did you become a medic?”

Her eyes widened, and she slowly turned away. “I… um… well, you weren't the only one keeping a secret in Baltimare. I started my studies shortly after I transferred out of Special Investigations. My hope is to be a working on healing those injured in the line of duty.”

I stepped up beside her. “Why didn't you tell me?”

She shrugged. “Because I was afraid you'd talk me out of it. It seems silly now.”

“Is that how you noticed my addiction?” I asked her seriously.

She nodded. “I didn't know that much at first and then I started reading up on addict behavior. You were going to the gym less and less. Eating less than you normally did. Then you began losing weight and muscle mass. Irritability, exhaustion, a number of other symptoms.”

“And now?” I asked.

She turned to look at me. Very closely. I could see her cheeks starting to turn pink. “Like back at the guard academy,” she said quietly. She looked me in the eye and I stared right back. I got lost in her eyes, a mixture of fear, hope, and love flickering in the blue.

“Should I go?” Vanity blurted. Moment Killer.

I turned back to the wall. Snow went back to the couch for her book as fast as she could without running. “How long were you watching that?” Snow asked, hiding her reddening face behind the book.

“I saw the whole thing,” Vanity started, getting up. “Sweet Celestia, could you two be any more obvious? You might as well be carrying signs that say, ‘I want you’.”

All Snow and I could do was listen, both our faces reddening by the moment.

“Strider, you are obviously trying your hardest to win back her affection. Even going as far as going to Gamblers Anonymous meetings weekly. Then due to this mission, you are missing your one-month ceremony where you receive a ‘One-month clean’ coin or chip,” Vanity said.

“How did you—” I started to say but she kept going.

“Snow, you obviously never really wanted to leave him, but there are some trust issues that need to be straightened out. But it's almost as if you don't care. There was a moment back there where I thought you'd just tackle him onto the bed.”

“What?!” was all Vanity allowed Snow to say.

“Here’s the thing lovebirds,” she stood up. “Snow, stop putting the standard so high he'll never be able to get there. Strider, stop kicking yourself for something you couldn't control and allow yourself to feel some emotion sometimes, you might feel a little better. Maybe even clear up the mind of yours.”

She stepped past us and toward the door, putting on her glamour charms as she did so. “Now I'm gonna go get a drink; I find that’s the best solution for situations like this. And I really hope you two continue to talk. Okay? Okay.” And with that, she closed the door behind her.

I stared at the door open-mouthed. I looked over at Snow, who somehow looked simultaneously offended, relieved, and embarrassed.

“That was unexpected,” I said after a minute.

“Yeah,” she nodded and shifted. “So, are we gonna talk? And I mean really talk?”

“I suppose with everything laid out like that we kinda have to now, huh?” I asked, walking over and sitting next to her.

She cleared her throat. “So… maybe we should start with what happened after I left?”

Author's Note:

This took way too long for me to get out.
It still wouldn't if I hadn't stayed up last night to finish it.

Anyway thank you for reading.
Please comment on something you liked.
Please leave a thumbs up if you haven't already.

Comments

[Phoenix Flight]

Omggggg I’ve been waiting so long for this to happen! Strider and Snow work so well together, I have been waiting for them to hash out their issues for so long now! Can’t wait for the next chapter!

[harts fire]

a grate chapter and i love the puzzle going on in the background.

love the new art work looks grate.

[Edukas]

...yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes....

[Fistfire]

Finallly!

[Phoenix Flight]

Haha I just reread this whole fic up to here. Still love it!

[mustangdrew4]

Ya know what? Vanity might make for an excellent relationship counselor/therapist. Just saying.

[Amos Anon]

“Here’s the thing lovebirds,” she stood up. “Snow, stop putting the standard so high he'll never be able to get there. Strider, stop kicking yourself for something you couldn't control and allow yourself to feel some emotion sometimes, you might feel a little better. Maybe even clear up the mind of yours.”

Best advice I've heard all story between adults.