The Aftermath
I’d known it was only a matter of time before Puzzle found out what I’d done. I might’ve outmaneuvered him for a while, but keeping secrets from an information broker was never going to be a viable long-term strategy. Still, I’d hoped it would’ve taken him a bit longer to figure out what I was up to. At least long enough for Zuberi to get away cleanly.
We marched back to his office in complete silence. I was a bit surprised he wasn’t headed back to the safehouse with Strumming, but I guess he wanted to have a private chat. My tower was closer to the dueling grounds than his office, but he probably wanted to make a point with the location by having me talk to him in his center of power rather than the other way around. I didn’t like those sorts of petty power games on a good day, and this wasn’t one of those.
Upon arriving at his headquarters I noticed that his secretary was absent. Probably not a good sign. Once we were inside his private office he settled in behind his desk, then pointedly nodded towards one of the unoccupied cushions. “Sit.”
I didn’t like his tone. It sounded far too much like an order. I remained standing and answered him with the same amount of displeased authority he’d addressed me with. “If you have something to say, get to it.”
Puzzle looked me over, then shrugged. “If you want to remain uncomfortable, that's your prerogative. But this one imagines that all the adrenaline and endorphins from your fight are probably wearing out right about now, and that armor doesn’t look light. Especially for a mare not used to wearing all that. No doubt that was part of why your tactics for the duel involved as little movement as possible.” He smirked and leaned back in his seat. “But then, you like being stubborn, don’t you? This one suspects you would rather spend all day standing than sit when someone tells you to.”
I snorted and rolled my eyes. “I’ve got all kinds of spells helping me manage this stuff now that the duel’s over.” I’d still planned on taking it off before now, but I hadn’t gotten a chance to do so just yet, and I certainly wasn’t going to make myself look weak in front of him.
Puzzle scoffed. “Stand away, then.” He trotted over to one of his cabinets and slowly started mixing himself a drink.
I could tell he was drawing out the entire process just to mess with me, and I really wasn’t in the mood to play this game. “Why don't you stop wasting time and get to the point?”
“Oh?” Puzzle regarded me with a single raised eyebrow. “Did we have something to talk about? You didn’t come to this one to talk about anything yesterday or today. Surely you would have informed this one if there was something we needed to discuss?”
I groaned and rolled my eyes. “Oh cut out the horseapples! I’m sure you think this some grand way to establish your authority and make me sweat, but it’s really just petty and annoying.”
Puzzle picked up his drink and calmly sipped it. “Do you know what the purpose of a duel is, Shimmer-mare?”
I scoffed. “To solve a dispute that can’t be handled any other way, and would otherwise escalate to more severe unregulated violence.”
Puzzle shook his head and tsked. “Not really. There is far more to it once you strip away the surface and dig deeper. A duel is a social construct intended to meet certain perceived needs in society. First, it is intended to be a ritual where a ruler can resolve issues amongst a substantial warrior caste without having all those warriors slaughter one another in an escalating series of violent acts. Second, it allows said warrior class to place itself above other competing groups within society—after all, the only people that can compete in duels are those that can take the time to dedicate themselves to a martial tradition and can afford all the arms and armor needed so survive such contests. Those without such training have no choice but to acquiesce when challenged.”
I snorted and shook my head. “I don’t need a sociology lesson, Puzzle. Stop beating around the bush and get to the point.”
Puzzle sighed patiently, swirling his drink. “Did you ever ask yourself why Zuberi wanted to do Zebrican rules for your duel?”
I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “Obviously because he thought he could win if I wasn’t allowed to use magic.”
“Precisely.” Puzzle pointed to my heavy armor. “You were played. Zebrican rules are skewed against anyone that doesn't belong to the warrior class. After all, how many weapons is a non-warrior going to be proficient in? And isn’t it funny how magic, with all its diverse applications, spells and schools, can be ruled out wholesale as a single weapon? That must be convenient whenever a zebra warrior has to compete against a spellcaster.”
“Yeah, he stacked the deck against me,” I conceded. “Which just makes the fact that I utterly crushed him in the duel all the better. Beating him a duel where I smack him around with magic wouldn’t have made an impression, because of course the magus can win with magic. But the magus beating a trained warrior without magic? That’s something worth paying attention to.”
Puzzle shot a withering look at me. “You got lucky. You were up against an inexperienced mercenary of at best mediocre skill who was mentally imbalanced, and you won by using a series of unconventional tactics he wasn’t ready for. You proved nothing, and what’s worse is that you didn’t even really beat him. You lost before the contest began.”
I took a seat so I could cross my forelegs over my chest. “How do you figure?”
Puzzle glowered at me. “Because, our dear Zuberi is now going to suffer the terrible fate of going back to the homeland of his people, where he will join his fellow Blood Stripes in hiring himself out to whichever faction pays the most in what will most likely be an inevitable civil war. No doubt that conflict will allow him the chance to earn quite a bit of money and prestige. No doubt his efforts will be aided by his new scars that prove he’s been in a scrapes before, and might even impress the ladies with his ruggedness. Surely you don’t think that an adequate punishment for all he has done?”
“Assuming you’re right about that civil war, he’s going into a likely warzone that could leave him dead in one of the opening skirmishes,” I countered. “Merc work is never safe. While Zebrica might be the homeland for his race, Freeport is his home, and he’ll never see it again. Who cares about what happens to him during his exile? He’s not here, and he’s not our problem anymore.”
Puzzle’s eyes narrowed. “This one thought you cared about the little fact that he attempted to murder the Heartstrings-mare.”
“Of course I do.” I planted my hooves on Puzzle’s desk. “And now he’s beaten, humiliated, and doomed to never see his home and family again.”
“All of which he will very quickly get over, as this one just pointed out.” His teeth clenched, and I saw a brief flash of his fangs. “Strange, this one thought they actually cared about things like attempted murder in Equestria.”
“I do.” I stubbornly set my hooves and met his eyes. “We also care about actual murder, like what Strumming did to Zuberi’s uncle. That’s one dead body too many. I just want to get this whole mess solved before we add any more to the tally.”
Puzzle sighed and shook his head. “If only it were that simple.”
I snorted softly. “I’m pretty happy with how I solved it.”
Puzzle’s teeth clenched, and he glared at me. “He attempted to murder the Heartstring-mare, and you're going to let him walk away scott free because you feel guilty about something you did in the past. So guilty that you let yourself get played like a cheap fiddle.”
My temper flared. “I wasn’t played! I knew exactly what I was doing and how it would play out, and I was okay with it. He lives, Strumming lives, nobody else dies. I call that a win.”
Puzzle leaned back in his chair and crossed his forelegs over his chest. “So you're okay with how this undermines your authority as a magus?”
“I don’t see how.” I started pacing around the room. “Publicly winning a duel without magic just shows everyone I’ve got more skills than just magic.”
Puzzle sighed patiently. “The problem is that you never should’ve fought the battle to begin with. Allow this one to put it in the simplest possible terms: does your authority as the Magus of Freeport include the right to punish a warlock for using dark magic?”
“Of course it does,” I answered testily.
“Exactly this one’s point.” Puzzle let that hang in the air for a bit before continuing. “This one would further presume that those assisting you in such operations have the right to punish those who use dark magic. Furthermore, should any warlock resist your authority you and your agents have the right to use whatever means necessary and proper to end the threat, including both lethal force and using otherwise proscribed magic.”
“Yes,” I confirmed. “But what Strumming did was neither necessary nor proper.”
“Some would disagree on that point, the Heartstrings-mare first among them,” Puzzle answered coolly. “Moving on, does Equestria normally allow the family members of warlocks to attempt to murder magi and their agents in retaliation for their actions?”
“No,” I growled. “But that’s different.”
“Is it?” Puzzle demanded. “This one understands that you are displeased with the Heartstrings-mare’s actions. In all honesty, this one is not terribly happy with her either. However, that does not mean this one is willing to allow her to be murdered. If she deserves to be punished for her actions as your ally, you should levy the punishment yourself.”
I frowned and shook my head. “Under the circumstances, I think she’s suffered enough.”
Puzzle regarded me with a single raised eyebrow. “And how do you think people outside our little circle are going to perceive all of this? The Heartstrings-mare killed someone while working alongside you, and your public silence on the issue indicates acceptance of her actions. Then you allow someone else to gun her down in the street, and somehow you think it’s all tied up in a neat little bow? Strumming killed without your permission, but it’s okay because she nearly got shot to death? Zuberi nearly murdered one of your allies, but that’s okay because you bloodied his nose and let him scurry off?”
I grimaced and shook my head. “He had a ... I understand why he did it.”
“Yes, he wanted to avenge his uncle.” Puzzle scowled at me. “So he scouted out a location to ambush the Heartstring-mare, got an arquebus, and shot her in the back. Coldly and deliberately. What a hero. And what would we be saying now if the Heartstring-mare had been killed? Or if she had been crippled?”
I frowned. “I probably wouldn’t be quite so understanding.”
“No,” Puzzle agreed. “You probably wouldn’t be. But that was Zuberi's intention. Should we go easy on him just for being a poor shot? Not to mention that he probably would have come for you next? Killing one person in revenge is rarely enough. It’s entirely possible that he planned to use the duel as an excuse to kill you. It would hardly be the first time one of the participants in a duel died in a tragic accident.”
I scowled. “The hypotheticals and talk about what might have happened don’t matter. Nobody else died, and I plan to keep it that way. What do you want?”
Puzzle’s eyes narrowed. “This one would greatly prefer if no one it cared about died.”
“And look, nobody did.” I tossed my head and smirked. “So why aren’t you thanking me?”
“The Shimmer-mare is entirely too proud of herself,” Puzzle grumbled. He took a deep breath, then spoke up. “The problem, Shimmer-mare, is that you made this one look weak. Someone shot this one’s mate and he’s going to walk away from it with no real consequences, and all because you felt sorry for him.”
My teeth clenched. “Exile’s not a small punishment. He’ll never see his home or family again. He’s stuck going to a nation he’s never seen before, where he has nobody. Even the other Blood Stripes probably won’t think much of him when they learn why he’s there.”
“Mercenaries are an adaptable sort, and few will care about his past failures once he finds any measure of success.” Puzzle sighed and shook his head. “More importantly, people will wonder if this one’s gotten soft. If it’s going to let someone get away from shooting its fillyfriend, then what else will it let others get away with? Demanding protection money from its businesses? Attacking its other associates? And will those associates trust this one to protect them when it failed to respond to an attack on its own mate?”
“So what do you want?” I snapped. “Do you want to murder the kid just to show everyone how big and tough you are?”
Puzzle frowned at me. “Should this one feel nothing about its mate nearly being killed?”
“Feel whatever you want,” I conceded. “It’s not an issue of what you feel, it’s about what you do. I draw the line at murder.”
“Like with the Heartstring-mare?” Puzzle asked archly.
“Yes.” I scowled at the floor. “If she wants to stay as part of this ... whatever we have, she can’t do anything like that again. I probably would’ve gone after her right away if it all hadn’t happened in the middle of the whole Rising Fire thing.”
Puzzle leaned back in his chairs. “And what will you do if she does? In case you haven’t noticed, she doesn’t exactly feel bad for her actions. This one sees no reason to think she will not do the same thing again. In all likelihood, if she encounters any other warlocks she will use lethal force against them, regardless of your opinion on the matter.”
He had a point. Strumming certainly hadn’t shown any shame or regret. “If she does that, I’ll file a full report and formal protest to the embassy and the Council. She might have diplomatic immunity, but I’m pretty sure I can have her declared equus non grata. Not to mention how Celestia will react to the news.” Considering Strumming’s role, I didn’t think Celestia would keep her around if I didn’t like her. My eyes narrowed, and I focused my gaze squarely on Puzzle. “And if you go after Zuberi, I might take my business elsewhere.”
Puzzle’s face went carefully blank. “And where will you go next time you need information? If this one might be frank, this one’s competitors are going to charge you more for less and won’t have your best interests at heart.”
“I’m not sure I buy that you’ve got my best interests in mind,” I countered. “We’re friends and we have a good working relationship, but you’ve got your goals and I have mine. If my best interests go against what you want, I know which one you’ll pick.”
Puzzle’s reaction surprised me. Despite his best efforts to hide it, for a moment he looked genuinely hurt. “This one had thought we had far more than a mere pragmatic partnership driven by mutual interests. It had begun to think it was actually friends with the Shimmer-mare. If it was mistaken in that impression...”
“No, it’s—” I cut myself off with a sigh, running a hoof down my face. “I’m just ... I’m tired. I feel like I’ve gotten too comfortable. Like I’ve settled into my nice safe little magus job, and all those big dreams I had for what I was going to do with my life are slowly fading away. I’ve gotten too used to tolerating things that shouldn’t be tolerated, because I couldn’t find any way to change them. I’m sick of it. Sick of compromising and looking the other way, and saying there’s nothing I can do about it right now. So I’m drawing the line.”
Puzzle regarded me with a raised eyebrow. “Is that so?”
I set my hooves in place. “Yes. It is.”
Puzzle regarded me flarly. “And what do you plan on doing with this new outlook on life? Freeport is a corrupt nation full of scum and villainy, where the guards are regularly bribed, black magic is done in every nook and cranny, and smuggling is a regular part of business. What's your plan?”
“The same as it always was: to clean this place up.” I took a deep breath. “The difference is, I’m going to start by putting my own house in order. We clear?”
Puzzle slowly leaned back in his chair. “More than a few would decry this one as either a major symptom or cause of the troubles in Freeport.”
“Maybe they would, but I’ve never cared what the crowd said.” I looked him over, frowning in thought. “I think you and me are on the same page. I don’t think you’re a symptom of Freeport’s problems so much as someone who’s ... adapted.”
“So what are you proposing?” Puzzle asked, cocking his head to the side. “Are you proposing something concrete, or just thinking out loud?”
I grimaced. “Still figuring that part out.”
Puzzle nodded. “This one suspected as much. To work together, we’re going to need to actually work together. A great deal of the trouble we’ve gotten into is because you’ve wandered off to do your own thing without even consulting this one.”
I frowned and crossed my forelegs over my chest, refusing to give an inch. “So I need to ask your permission for everything I do? I didn’t tell you about Zuberi because I couldn't count on you to follow my lead. If I’d given you Zuberi's name and kept you up to date about what was going on, he would’ve been found floating facedown in the harbor.”
Puzzle scowled at me. “This one isn’t some minion you can order about, Shimmer-mare. You have no reason to assume this one would have automatically killed Zuberi. Perhaps it could have faked his death to satisfy your need to have no more corpses on your conscience.”
I scoffed and shook my head. “That’s not the way you were talking.”
“This one can hardly be blamed for speaking hastily in the immediate aftermath of seeing its mate nearly killed,” Puzzle answered coolly. “Perhaps it simply wanted to vent its rage while it came up with a plan? Maybe it wanted to see how you would react to it being mad and seemingly out of control? Or perhaps this one wanted to give you a bit of motivation to figure out what was happening and quickly?”
“What a load of horseapples,” I snapped. “Even if I believed any of that, you’re saying it’s okay for you to lie to and manipulate me, but the instant it’s the other way around...” I went up to him again, jabbing his chest. “That’s what all this is really about, isn’t it? You're mad that I beat you at your own game.”
“You hardly beat this one,” Puzzle groused. “All you managed to do was conceal a few pieces of information for a few hours. If this one was determined to see Zuberi dead, it could still easily arrange it.”
I smirked and poked him again. “Sounds like wounded pride to me. What’s wrong? Are you not a big enough bug to admit it?”
Puzzle sighed testily. “Oh, very well then. That might be part of it. If this one liked being played for a fool, it would hardly be in its current profession.”
I growled and turned my back on him. “Dammit Puzzle, I busted my flank and put my life on the line to try and make this bucked-up situation a bit less bucked up! Now all you can do is whine about how I did it without you!”
“Perhaps that is why this one is upset!” Puzzle snapped back at me. “Yes, this one was furious when the Heartstrings-mare was wounded. Yes, it wanted to drown the streets in blood to avenge her. However, it also trusted the Shimmer-mare to help it find the culprits and bring them to justice. Perhaps if she had concerns that this one might go too far, she should have spoken to it. It would not have ignored her advice.”
He rose to his hooves, furiously pacing back and forth. “Everything you’ve done could have been accomplished without putting your life on the line. Do you have any idea how many promising people this one has watched get themselves killed for nothing?! Talented people that could have gone on to do great things, but died in some utterly preventable way?”
He kept on going before I could answer the question. “Too damned many! They destroy themselves by overstretching, or because they didn’t know better, weren’t prepared, or were inexperienced! Dead, wounded, burned out, or turned into something worse! This one has watched too many get swallowed up by this city, by its corruption, and its monsters! Even the Council lost its way, despite everything that was supposed to stop that from ever happening. It makes this one wonder if Freeport is cursed.”
Puzzle sighed and slumped back down into his seat. “Does the Shimmer-mare think she is the only one who wants something better for Freeport? This one ... it supposes it is something of a patriot. It used to dream of one day joining the Council, and working with them to make this world a better place. Now it’s clear that will never happen. The Council is content to rule over Freeport, growing fat and complacent as the lessons of its founding are lost. This one will never help them rediscover themselves. It had hoped that...” He sighed and shook his head. “It hoped many very foolish and naïve things, when it was young.”
I slowly stepped around the desk then hesitantly wrapped a foreleg around him. “Well, I’ve still got enough young and stupid for both of us.”
Puzzle chuckled. “This one can certainly vouch for that.”
“Jerk.” I gave him a half-serious punch in the shoulder. “The point is, we’re a team. And I’d like for us to stay a team.”
“If we’re going to be in a team, that means working much more closely together,” Puzzle murmured. “We cannot have a repeat of this particular incident. If we don’t trust one another, a team would never work.”
“That’s fair,” I conceded. “But that goes both ways. If you want a say in everything I do, then I get a say in everything you do. No more plotting or going behind one another’s backs. We put all our cards on the table.”
“That is a great deal to ask,” Puzzle answered evenly. “This one has never had much luck with partnerships in the past, and it suspects the Shimmer-mare will limit its ability to act freely far more than its previous allies. Not to mention that this one has a great many secrets it would prefer to keep ... secret.”
“I’m not the sort to go blabbing,” I pointed out. “As for your history, you’ve never been in a team with me before.”
Puzzle shot me a bitter smile. “So, your plan to recreate a new, moral version of Freeport relies upon teaming up with an infamous information broker and problem solver that no one really likes?”
I smirked and bumped his shoulder. “I like you. That’s a start.”
“It’s better than nothing,” Puzzle allowed. I probably would’ve slugged him again, if he hadn’t continued. “It’s a bit bad when this one can’t even say for certain if its mate really likes it at all. The Heartstrings-mare is ... complicated.”
“I think she does.” I frowned and scratched my chin. “I mean, she wouldn’t be dating you if she didn’t like you.”
Puzzle smiled languidly. “I suppose our sex life has been rather active for a couple who have no actual fondness for one another.”
I groaned and buried my face in my hooves. “I didn’t need to hear that.”
Puzzle smirked. “Clearly I have begun picking up the Heartstrings-mare’s bad habits. First comes the gadfly remarks, then the constant snacking.” He shook his head, and his smile faded away. “As for Strumming herself ... she doesn’t have a foundation to build upon. It’s like trying to build something in a sandy desert without a solid base. It all just all gets swallowed by the sand.”
“The sand in this case being her never-ending cycle of lies and deception?” I asked.
Puzzle frowned and nodded. “Quite. Being involved with her is certainly entertaining, but this one cannot help but worry about the long term viability of the relationship. It is quite hard to build a trusting relationship when your partner appears to be a pathological liar. This one can’t even be sure what she actually wants in a relationship.”
“Sounds about right.” I decided to take a shot in the dark. “Do you know what Strumming’s big secret is?”
His face became carefully, unreadably blank. “This one will save us both time and say yes.”
“Okay.” I frowned thoughtfully. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious, but I’m also pretty sure Strumming would get pissed if I found out about it behind her back. Not to mention what it would do to your relationship with her.”
Puzzle grimaced. “She nearly broke things off with this one just for learning. If she even suspected that it had told anyone else, the question is not whether our relationship would be over so much as how deeply she would hate this one. Even without that, this is personal for her, and that isn’t the type of information this one would normally sell for cheap.”
“I’d guessed as much.” Strumming was always an unpredictable loose cannon, and the one thing I could say for sure is that pushing her on this issue would make her even more erratic. That didn’t sound like a good idea. “She lied to me when I asked, but I came up with some good guesses about what happened.”
“This one was curious why she had suddenly become so grumpy.” Puzzle held up a hoof to cut off my response. “Grumpier than could be explained just by her injuries.”
“At least her suggestions for how to beat Zuberi worked.” I hesitated for a second, then took the plunge. “Do you think I did the right thing, helping her? I mean, leaving aside the fact that you and she are a couple.”
Puzzle was silent for several seconds before he answered. “When this one first began its career in Freeport, it heard some advice from one of the mercenaries it hired: You always back up the other members of your team. The mercenary listed absolutely no exceptions to this principle. In their line of work, the only ones you can rely on are your immediate companions. That ironclad support with no exception is what ensures that the team remains a team, regardless of the circumstances they find themselves in. Break from that and nobody will want to work with you, since they’ll know they can’t count on you when it matters.”
“So that’s it?” I asked. “I should support Strumming, even if I think she committed murder?”
“That is certainly how many in Freeport would view the matter,” Puzzle answered neutrally. “And that is where this one stands. Regardless of its thoughts on her actions, this one will defend her against any attacker.”
I guess I couldn’t fault him for that, even if I didn’t share that sort of unconditional loyalty. Not like I had any reason to believe Strumming would share the sentiment. “You said regardless of your thoughts on her actions. So what do you think?”
Puzzle frowned thoughtfully. “This one thinks the Heartstrings-mare truly believed what she was doing was right and proper. It also believes that her judgement is severely impaired by her own personal history regarding black magic and those who use it. Worse still, she dragged you into this situation because of that lapse.”
“What about the warlock himself?” I asked. “Strumming seemed pretty sure he was up to a lot of nasty stuff.” My eyes cut to the floor. “I’m not saying it would make what she did completely okay if she was right, but I’d sleep a little easier.”
Puzzle shrugged. “It is hard to say at this point. Ships were lost in that area after the bokor established himself, but that is circumstantial evidence at best. We did identify a few of the bodies in his possession as being crew from those vessels, but that also proves little. There are many hazards in the out-islands that could lead to a ship sinking, and a necromancer harvesting dead bodies is expected. As for any grander plans he might have had, the Equestrians purged the site before this one’s agents could investigate.”
I grunted. “So we don’t have any solid evidence. Just a few suspicions strung together by a mare with a huge grudge against warlocks.”
“Just because she’s paranoid doesn’t mean she’s wrong,” Puzzle countered. “Though the matter is largely academic. Strumming’s judgement was clearly compromised, and she didn’t tell you that she intended to execute the warlock even after you agreed to end hostilities. Not to mention that if not for her biases, we might have the information to determine the bokor’s guilt or innocence rather than being forced to rely upon conjecture and circumstantial evidence.”
“Makes sense.” I sighed and shook my head. “So what am I supposed to do with her?”
Puzzle set his hooves on his desk. “So far as this one can see, you have two choices: first, you could stop affiliating with her and attempt to have her removed from Freeport. This one is quite certain you could do that if you wished. The other options is to keep working with her, and perhaps moderate her undesirable behavior.”
I frowned and thought it over for a second. Celestia had to have known about Strumming’s past, and I was pretty sure she’d played a major part in picking Strumming as my EIS minder. Maybe there was some bigger picture to it? Not to mention that Celestia would replace her with some other EIS pony, and I had no idea who I might end up with. Plus Puzzle would probably be annoyed if I got his girlfriend kicked out of Freeport. “I guess we’ll have to give her one more chance, then.”
Puzzle nodded approvingly. “Then you need to outline to her what undesirable behaviors are, and the consequences of crossing the line. While you find her actions distasteful, they were not technically in violation of laws regarding warlocks. Perhaps she will moderate herself if you make your wishes clear.”
“And if she doesn’t, I’ve got that much more ammunition to use to get her booted out of Freeport for good.” I probably could’ve gotten rid of her as things stood, but it never hurt to make my case ironclad.
Puzzle smiled. “This does always like to stack the deck as much as possible in its own favor. So, we have answered several questions that troubled you, and found solutions. I hope this has been an adequate demonstration of why you should always come to this one for advice.”
My eyes narrowed. “Don’t push your luck, Puzzle.”
He smirked playfully. “This one has been pushing its luck for a long time. One would think that the honored and distinguished Magus of Freeport would not be quite so prickly when one of her friends lightly teases her.”
I rolled my eyes. “At the time, I thought I was making the right move by cutting you out. You were talking about going on a bloody rampage. The Council was scared of you doing it. So were the Blood Stripes. Hay, the threat of me helping you with that was how I brought the Stripes to the table.”
“The inevitable risk of developing a reputation,” Puzzle conceded. “It is good to be feared by one’s enemies, but this one made the error of frightening allies and neutral parties as well.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Still, perhaps this one could turn that to its advantage. Just as you used a bit of theater to force them into the open, this one could frighten Zuberi and the Blood Stripes in paying blood money for the attack on its mate. That would leave him destitute, in even more disfavor with his employer, and would avoid any loss of face for this one.”
That made sense. The whole point of paying out blood money was to give both sides a way out of starting long blood feuds. I was tempted to suggest having Strumming pay Zuberi for his uncle as well, but he’d probably forfeited any right to it by shooting at her. “Sounds like you’ve come up with a good solution to it all. That just leaves one question.”
“Which is?”
I scowled. “Whether Strumming goes along with the plan.”
When I went back to the safehouse to check on Strumming, I found her lying on her unwounded side, slowly stretching out her wing. She was moving very slowly and carefully, checking her range of motion with it.
That was probably a good sign for her health. “Looks like they’re letting you move around now.”
“I’m not exactly running around doing a tap dance yet. Don’t wanna risk ripping any stitches.” She moved her wings into gliding position. “Just making sure I can still move everything.”
“Looks good so far.” At least, as far as I could tell. I certainly wasn’t a doctor, and I only knew the theory on how wings worked. “You going to make a full recovery?”
“That’s the current cautious prognosis.” Strumming confirmed, wincing as she moved her wing a bit too far. “Still pretty sore, but it looks like the damage is gonna heal up decent enough. Gonna have a scar, but everything’s gonna work more-or-less how it should. Pretty sure the rib I lost will grow back eventually.”
I was pretty sure ribs didn’t grow back. “You’re lucky. It could’ve been a lot worse.”
“Yeah, the big hole in my side kinda gave that away.” She tucked her wing back in, evidently done testing it out for the moment. “So bug-boy busted us. It was only a matter of time before he found out what we did. Good news is that I'll probably be off the metaphorical couch by the time I’m healthy enough for any fun stuff anyway.”
Right ... I didn’t need to know that. I took a seat next to the bed and made myself comfortable. “So I guess he had a big talk with you too.”
Strumming shrugged. “Wasn’t hard for him to guess our private chat had something to do with you running around behind his back. Speaking of which...”
I tossed up a privacy spell, just to be safe. “It’s more than a little annoying how hard it is to keep secrets from him.”
“Tell me about it.” She scowled, and I remembered Puzzle’s story about how mad she’d been when he dug into her past. “I guess his line of work has him hard-wired to find things out. Guy just can’t accept that there are things he’s not supposed to know.”
“Yeah.” I frowned and nodded slowly. “I was tempted to ask him about whatever happened in your past, but ... I think if I ever learn about that, I’d much rather have it be from you.”
“Yeah, s’not his secret to share.” She shook her head. “Probably wasn’t something he set out to dig up specifically. I mean, just the usual background and history checks probably would’ve turned it up. You could probably figure it out pretty easy if you really tried.”
“Maybe, but as long as you keep your issues under control, I won’t dig up personal information you want kept private.” I frowned and rubbed my chin. “So why do you date him? A mare who loves her secrets hooking up with someone who wants to know everyone else’s?”
“I’m a fan of contradictions.” She shrugged, then smirked at me. “Plus he buys me nice things.”
I knew neither of those was anywhere close to the real answer. “Horseapples.”
“No really, he does.” She pointed out a gold necklace with a large emerald in the middle. “He just got that for me. It’s beautiful and expensive, plus it’s got some reactive spellwork and runes that’ll go off if anything small, fast, and metallic comes at me. So it’s fancy and useful if anyone tries to shoot me again. Only works once a day, but that’s a big step up from nothing.”
My eyes narrowed at the dodge. “You know what I mean. You’re not just dating him because he’s your sugar-daddy and you’re his trophy fillyfriend.”
Strumming scoffed. “Well of course not.”
I folded my forelegs over my chest. “So what, you’re just using him?”
Strumming met my eyes. “Remember that talk about how some things are none of Puzzle’s business? Well, all the messy personal details of what’s going on between me and Puzzle are really none of your business. We’ve got a thing. It’s a little weird and complicated, but we both enjoy it so it works.”
I sniffed haughtily, but refrained from probing any further. “Fine. In that case, let’s talk about something that is my business. Like everything surrounding this mess you dragged all of us into. There’s a lot to wrap up.”
“Sounds good. So how'd my plan work?” She gave me a quick once-over. “Must’ve been good, since I don’t see a scratch on you and you’d be way crankier if you’d lost.”
I hesitated for a second, then admitted. “Yeah, it went great. He didn’t land a hit on me.” The tactics had been a bit cheap and gimmicky, but they’d worked.
“Cool.” She grinned and poked me. “Told you I’m good at plans. So he’s gone?”
“He has twenty four hours to pack his bags and say his goodbyes,” I confirmed. “But that’s not what I want to talk about. We need to talk about the past and the future.”
“How intriguingly vague.” She sat up a little bit straighter. “What about them?”
I took a deep breath. “You can’t keep doing what you’re doing. You can’t go around killing warlocks whenever you want. It’s created way too much trouble, and it’s not your job.”
Strumming frowned and shook her head. “Someone needs to deal with them. I'm not letting crazy necromancers run around unchecked. That necromancer had been doing his thing for years. Who was going to stop him?”
I stood my ground. “You should have told me about him ahead of time. We should have made sure he was doing something wrong, and then came up with an actual plan to deal with him. We went in there without enough intelligence, and we clearly weren’t on the same page when it came to how we wanted to deal with him.”
Strumming stared at me incredulously. “Made sure he was—” She cut herself off with a scoff. “He was a necromancer. Just that’s pretty good evidence he did something wrong.”
“Yes, necromancy is dark magic,” I conceded. “He was also in the middle of nowhere farming kelp. That’s not the sort of necromancy where we barge in with a full assault team on the first visit. There wasn’t an emergency where we needed to stop him right away like with Rising Fire.” I sighed and ran a hoof through my mane. “Look, I’m not saying there’s nothing wrong with what he did, and I know you think he might’ve done a lot worse than kelp farming with zombies, but if I’m going to kill someone I want to be damned sure they deserve it. Got it?”
She shrugged. “I was sure.”
“Good for you,” I snapped. “But that’s not enough if you're going to drag me into something like this. Even if everything you believe about that guy is true and we find all the evidence we need to prove he was a total monster tomorrow, what you did was still wrong. One of those lessons from Mom, just because you think you’re right doesn’t make it okay to do things the wrong way. Not to mention there’s always a chance you might not be as perfectly right as you think you are.”
Strumming answered me with a flat look. “Funny, I thought you were just a merc who only cared about getting paid.”
I got up, pacing back and forth as I thought over my answer. “I needed money to survive. I came to Freeport practically broke.”
Strumming shrugged. “That’s true. Now you live in a giant tower, and your bank account broke seven figures after that last job you did. I guess you’re one of those self-made mare success stories. Well, except that you made all that money because you’ve got the sort of skills that only come from being Celestia’s student for a decade. It’s a little hard to say you’re still mercing out by necessity. What’s your plan? Keep filling up the bank account and add a couple more floors to your tower?”
“No. I never went into this just for money. It's just something I need to survive, not the end goal.” I took a deep breath, then slowly nodded as much to myself as to her. “It’s why I’m going to change a few things. I'm going to stop being a magus-for-hire. I think it’s past time I started acting like a full-fledged magus instead of a mercenary with a fancy title.”
Strumming blinked, then looked me over and grinned. “That so?”
I nodded sharply. “I’m sick and tired of standing by and letting bad things happen. All of this waiting on the sidelines as people get hurt or do bad things and saying there was nothing I could do about it stops now. Freeport’s the way it is because nobody is standing up and doing something about it, and I’ve got no excuse not to. Freeport needs a real magus, and I’m going to do that job.”
“Interesting.” She fixed a probing gaze on me. “So you’re gonna start actually going on the offensive pro bono? No paychecks or waiting for clients, just hunting down the bad guys and dealing with them?”
“Pretty much,” I confirmed. “I’ve earned a lot of money, and Puzzle’s done a good job of investing it all. Even with all the expenses of my lifestyle, I don’t need to work for at least the next ten years. Now that I don’t need to worry about pissing off the people paying me, I’ve got a lot more freedom to go after the bad guys.” I grinned. “Exactly how I like it.”
“Interesting.” Strumming shifted around so her hind legs were hanging off the side of the bed. “You’ve got a point. You're quite literally independently wealthy. As long as nothing big comes up, you can do whatever you want with no worries about being out of money.”
“Yeah for normal day-to-day money’s not an issue anymore.” I frowned as I recalled the talk I’d had with Puzzle earlier. “There are a couple ideas I’ve had that would take a lot more money. I’d like to do them, but the sort of jobs I’d need to pay for something like that ... it’d be big.”
Strumming nodded along. “I’m gonna guess these plans are as huge and lacking in subtlety as your usual big grand plans?” My unamused glower probably answered that question. “Yeah, if you’re talking about adding one or two more zeros onto your bank balance, that’s not gonna be easy. Like, maybe you could make that much if you jumped in on the civil war everyone thinks is coming in up Zebrica.”
“More or less what Puzzle told me.” I sighed and picked up one of Strumming’s snack bags, opening it up and eating a few chips. I was a bit surprised she let me get away with that. “He pretty much told me the only ways to get that much money quick were either going to be extremely risky, or were going to be things I would hate myself for later. Probably both.”
“Sounds about right.” She stole a couple chips out of my bag, though considering they were technically her chips I couldn’t complain. “So what’s your plan? Do a couple things that’ll dirty your conscience just so you have enough money to afford everything you want? You might wanna be careful about that. You’ve kept your nose clean, and you’re never gonna be a real magus if you murder someone for money, or whatever bug boy would suggest. I don’t think you can clean up Freeport by diving into the muck to make money. That’s why you’re dropping the whole merc thing, right? I mean, even if you’re talking about ‘one last job’ for a big score, I think you’ve read enough books to know how that usually ends.”
“I know that.” I got up and started pacing again. “But what am I supposed to do? I’m not saying it’s impossible to change the world without money, but it’s a lot easier with it.” I was a bit tempted to dig out that journal and write to Celestia. So far I hadn’t used it for much more than just keeping in touch. The whole reason I’d come out here was to start making my own way in life, and writing her every time I needed a little advice would defeat the purpose. Still, this was one of those times when I might really need her help.
“You’re overthinking it.” Strumming answered for me. “It’s a simple question, really. Would you do the wrong thing just to get enough money to do the right thing?”
When she put it that way, it did sound simple. “No. I think if I start my grand plan to make Freeport better by doing the worst it has to offer, it’d mess everything up.”
“Well there you go.” Strumming nodded, then her eyes lingered on me for a few seconds. “Tell you what, if you become a real magus, I’ll ... well I was gonna say I’d tell my secrets, but I don’t wanna make a promise I might not keep.”
“I don’t think I can trust the habitual liar to tell the truth.” Though come to think of it, the fact that she’d admitted that she wouldn’t keep that promise might have been progress of some sort. At least she was honest about the fact that she’d lie.
She frowned, thinking it over for a bit longer before she spoke. “Still ... tell you what. If you’re really a magus, I’ll follow your lead when it comes to magus matters.”
“Good.” I took a seat and folded my forelegs over my chest. “Because that’s exactly what you’re going to do, or you’re going to answer to me from now on.”
Strumming raised an eyebrow. “That a threat?”
“It’s a fact,” I answered levelly. “You pull something like you pulled with the bokor again, and I’ll have you exiled from Freeport. Or worse, if the Embassy decides to waive your immunity.”
“That would a shame.” Strumming kept her tone casual, probably to try and make my threat seem toothless. “I’ve been living here for long enough that I keep a lot of my stuff here.”
I smirked. “Stuff Puzzle’s given you?”
“That, and a few of my own things too.” She paused for a long moment, then shrugged. “Like that one throwing spike I had made just in case I needed to take down an alpha-level warlock. Tell you what, you can have that one. Call it thanks for saving my butt and putting up with me.”
Given the description, I was pretty sure who she’d had that made for. However, my perfectly reasonable suspicion of every word that left her lips robbed the gesture of some of its value “I’m sure you only have one.”
“Actually, I do.” She shrugged. “My official orders were pretty clear that even if I needed to bring you in, I had to play nice. My bosses were quite clear that bringing you back to Celestia in any condition other than alive and intact was a bad idea. Had to pay for that spike out of pocket, and plain old cold iron wasn’t going to cut it. It had some serious high-grade custom runework.”
“So you definitely have a backup,” I answered.
“Yes,” Strumming conceded with a smirk. “But I’d like to hang onto that one. Giving you one is a nice symbolic gesture and all, but it’s only prudent to keep another on-hoof. Palling around with you exponentially increases the odds that I’ll run into bad guys in your magical weight class.”
Well ... she wasn’t wrong about that. Maybe I should just take the gesture as it was meant. “Thanks.”
Strumming took a deep breath, then slowly nodded. “I won’t back off on dark magic users, but I’ll follow your lead, Magus. That’s what the EIS policy is when we’re coordinating with an Equestrian magus, and I can’t see any reason not to follow that precedent when it comes to you.”
“Works for me.” I nodded firmly. “So no going after warlocks without my permission. And no going after family members of theirs either. Got it?”
“Got it.”
I took a deep breath, then nodded. “So, I think we’re on the same page.”
“I’d say so. Anything else?”
I shrugged. “I can’t think of anything, and I’m pretty beat by this point.”
“Then go home, get some sleep. You had a long day.” She shifted around on the bed so she could reach over and give me a pat on the shoulder. “And ... thanks, Magus Shimmer.”
“You’re welcome.” I sighed and my head dropped down. “Just trying to do the right thing.”
Strumming chuckled. “Most ponies would say you’re probably better at it than I am.”
“Maybe you should try a bit harder?” I suggested. “I mean ... I think you’re trying to be a good pony, even if your moral compass is pretty screwed up by whatever it was that happened to you. I think if you really want to do the right thing, you can.”
“If doing the right thing was easy, we’d all do it.” Strumming shrugged. “Guess all we can do is just muddle through the best we can, and hope we’re not horribly screwing up and making a mess of things. “
I snorted softly. “I think that might be the first completely true thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“It was bound to happen eventually.” Strumming grinned, then shooed me away with one of her wings. “Alright, that’s enough girl-bonding and setting up rules and expectations for one day. I’m tired. Go away and let the wounded mare sleep.”
I nodded and rose to my hooves. “Just try and not to get shot again. You’re enough of a pain in the rump when you’re not stuck in bed all day.”
She smirked and shrugged. “Yeah, yeah. You know how it is, you’re out on the town late at night, looking for kicks, and someone asks if you wanna be shot, ‘cause that’s the latest thing all the kids in the clubs are into. I kinda have a policy of trying everything once just to see if I like it, but this one’s a big nope.” She waved her wings again. “Now go. If you’re gonna be a real magus, you’ve got more important things to do than worry about me. Shoo.”
“Yeah.” I ran a hoof down my face. “That’s me, busy saving the world one screwed up situation at a time.” I trotted out the door, already looking forward to whatever madness would be waiting for me tomorrow. At least now I felt better about taking it on.
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Ah, so this is where Sunset and Strummings relationship starts to improve. Now we just got to work on making peace between Kukri and Strumming ...
8616892
Problem is, you can never be sure if Strumming is being sincere about that...or anything else really.
Still, when she appeared in Ponyville (in the Winning Pony serie) It seemed Sunset had officially became her boss.
The forthcoming introduction of Sunset into New Life got me finally reading these stories, and I'm glad it did. I'd been put off by the tags for years now, but now I love this setting and its stories. I'm happy and anxious to see we are going to finally hear about how this whole plan comes together.
I side with Puzzle in the end.
"Puzzle regarded me flarly"
"Puzzle regarded me flatly"?
"I mean, she wouldn’t be dating you if she didn’t like you."
...Uh. Sure! I mean, he's one of Freeport's more powerful and influential citizens who now has a powerful incentive to work with her and protect her, and he's also a potential lever to use on Sunset, but Strumming would definitely have no reason to get close to him besides personally liking him.
"I suppose our sex life has been rather active for a couple who have no actual fondness for one another."
Says the spy-bug who apparently hasn't heard of honeytrapping...
...The only way I'm thinking of at the moment to explain this lapse on his part is that he's emotionally compromised, really. Which means that, if Strumming is putting on an act there (I'd thought she wasn't, but that was because I assumed he'd know; since apparently even his changeling abilities aren't enough to provide reliable evidence on it, though...), she's doing a good job.
"The other options is to keep working"
"The other option is to keep working"?
"This does always like to stack"
"This one does always like to stack"?
I still don't like Strumming. I agree with Sunset. She's a loose cannon. Potentially dangerous and the constant lies are getting to me!
That Bokor could have just been a simple farmer exploiting a cheap workforce.
Still loving Strumming, best EIS spy.
Glad that the story didn't end in some convoluted fashion that left one with more questions than answers, along with a lingering sense of dissatisfaction.
So, here is where they truly come together as a team. Most of the kinks worked out, ready to do what they set out to do.
Honestly, all this advice from Puzzle would have been more useful several chapters back, but he was too busy indulging in his bloodlust.
And really, Puzzle, if you are going to invest this much time and effort into a nascent archmage from Equestria who was literally Celestia's personal student, you're going to get to deal with a sense of ethics and morality that isn't what you expect in Freeport.
Hah!
Her real name is Skyra. Big secret, very embarrassing.
That does seem like a nice benefit.
I like this plan.
Another mention of the pending civil war, that's gotta be breadcrumbs for a future storyline.
Good. Hopefully no repeats of this problem from now on, just new and different problems.
Well, that certainly could've gone a lot worse. Lines have been drawn, bonds have been reforged, and one poor sod is getting shipped into a nascent war zone utterly penniless. Sunset's going to be alright... in the extremely short term, anyway.
Very good final chapter. By comparison many of the earlier chapters seem boring now since it was just Sunset dealing with a zebra merc and trying to avoid starting a war in the streets. This seems like a turning point in Sunset's time in Freeport. Especially since she's now got enough experience to really lay down some ground rules with her associates/friends. Its still hard to trust Puzzle completely (maybe he really is what passes for a patriot in Freeport), and its hard to tell how bad Strumming's issues are (like whether she'll snap at an inconvenient moment), but nice to have a honest (well, more than usual) conversation between them.
All the Freeport stories were entertaining but a lot of that was Sunset just trying to deal with threats here and there and not Freeport's underlying corruption. I doubt she's quite ready to take on the world (there are few ethical ways of quickly getting as much money as Sunset would need for her plans), but she's thinking about it, and I'm looking forward to seeing how she does.
This was a well written conclusion. Basically wrapping everything up in a neat little bow. Though I AM rather curious as to this new Future Sunset that we have been teased!
So Sunset is going to try to fix what is wrong with freeport rather than exploit it?
Me thinks some character development be stirring about.
8621206
It hasn't really been explained in any significant detail really, but from what has been said about them they were, as far as I can tell, a group of either necromancers or undead themselves who ruled Freeport hundreds of years ago until they were defeated and overthrown by a revolutionary movement led by Pegasus exiles from the Lunar Rebellion.
All's well that ends well? Not as black and white, but it was a good conclusion.
Sunset learned something, Puzzle has proven that he really cares, Strumming made a promise she can't break without serious repercussions.
This was a realistic kind of closure, and I can't help but appreciate it for what it is.
Also, the promise of something really grand... more fun times ahead!
I wonder what the future holds?
8663880
Well, unless something really wacky changes in the future, Archon Sunset Shimmer, according to New Life of a Winning Pony.
8865513
Archon eh? So Life of a Winning Pony is cannon to Freeport?
8865682
More like Freeport is cannon to Life of a Winning Pony. And frankly, we have ample evidence to support such. Sunset makes constant reference to Sunbeam, who you may remember from the Lunar Rebellion. Strumming shows up in New Life, when Twilight is receiving a visit from the Archon of Freeport, which I can only imagine being Sunset. Plus, the AU story with Rising names Sunset as the Archon as well, showing she is likely to gain such a rank. And finally, I think the only fics by Chengar that aren't in some way related to Life and Times of a Winning Pony are the Dresden Files crossovers.
So, I think it's safe to say that Sunset will lead a successful career. I'm holding out hope for a bit of a crossover with her dealing with "Mom" having a new student who got the wings.
8865705
We need only wait and see I suppose, I mean whose to say certainly not us also an Archon is a chief magistrate I dunno about Sunset agreeing to a seat on the Freeport council.
8865706
If Sunset lives up to my expectations, I don't think she'll be agreeing to anything. Rather the opposite. She'll probably end up dictating terms to the Council, and her running the city will be on the list.
8865745
Thats not how an Archon(Chief Magistrate) Works, they are elected officials and can be ousted from their position if a majority ruling is given by the other 8 leading council members(As an archon is listed as one of the 9 council leaders of Athens and chief magistrate.) So Sunset would either replace one of the council or be a 14th member, if so they she would be able to be ousted as that's how an Archon works.
8865751
If we are using it in a historically accurate context. Personally, first thing I think of when someone say Archon is the badass Protoss unit in Starcraft 2, so no guarantees there.
8865804
I'm gonna go with historically accurate.
8865811
Archon, like a lot of titles that have been around for thousands of years, has been used in many different contexts over the years. For that matter, the Athenians had several different takes on the title during the time they had their own city-state. And once you leave behind the Athenian government Archon could mean anything from “Leader to a social club” to “Imperial Roman Governor” or as a catch-all term for foreign rulers.
8866040
Wow your replying yourself? Thanks for clarifying.
Also I am still working on Scarlet Letter, I got busy working on my own stuff, I also have a bit of a hard time trying to write in your style however I am trying and hopefully when it is finished you will like it.
8663880
Probably explosions.
BRUH. AMIGO. HERMANO. БРАТ. شقيق. 哥哥. SHE'S INTO YOU!
Damn, that was a pretty good one. I've liked all of the Freeport stories I've read so far to varying degrees, but one thing that had been bothering me about the series in general was that Sunset didn't seem to be making any progress on her overall goals of improving the city, becoming an alicorn, or growing into the kind of moral paragon she'd have to be to accomplish either of the former two. So, even aside from all the good stuff with Strumming facing consequences for her actions, and us getting insight into both her character and Puzzle's, I was very happy to see significant portions of this story dedicated to Sunset moving forward with her plans, or at least beginning to. I hope Northern Venture has more to offer on that front.
Some of the worst actions in the history of humanity have been done by people trying to do the right thing, but their moral compass is screwed. An example is the Spanish Inquisition. Where Isabelle tried to do the right thing by killing and torturing the heretics, her moral compass was just screwed up.
9475383
Trying to do the right thing by torturing and killing the heretics really does give away how skewed that is doesn't it.
9475383
I read somewhere that while the Spanish Inquisition was certainly not a good thing especially by today's standards. It was, for its time and for a certain definition, better than some of the usual circumstances regarding the law and religion.
Strumming could possibly be seen as a deuterantagonist or perhaps an antiheroine. She's not a good mare by most measures, but somewhere in that messed up head of hers is a pony who wants to do the right thing or at least do something good with her life. Granted that "part" of her might be the size of a grain of sand, but it does exist otherwise she wouldn't have cared enough to help Sunset in several of her jobs. If she was nothing more than a 100% by the book agent, she wouldn't have done half the things she's done. And if her feelings regarding dark magic users was her central drive above anything else, I find it likely that she would have become no better than the monsters she's deadset on fighting against. Rogue agents are usually in the eyes of governmental organizations not to be tolerated.
Celestia hates unnecessary death or violence, but I feel she would also not tolerate Strumming becoming a blood-soaked maniac who would kill anyone on even the slightest suspicion of being even remotely connected to dark magic.
I'd point out:
Sunset grew up in Equestria. They don't usually HAVE a death penalty for anything.
Sombra and NMM got exile, Discord got extended petrification, Tirec & Cozy Glow got LWOP in Tartarus (petrification when that didn't work).
In short, Sunset imposed a typical Equestrian penalty for the offense.