Hard Rain Falling
Twilight yawned as the elevator started up and carried them into the lower levels of the mountain. She silently wished for a nice cup of spicy coffee and made a mental note to get one before they left for Manehattan.
“What's this place?” Trixie asked. “I don't think I've ever taken this elevator.”
“Storage.” Twilight said simply. “Space is at a premium in Canterlot, but this is still the capitol. There are critical things here that must be kept secure… Also, the princesses are thousands of years old, so they have a ton of sentimental junk to store. I've got my own slot here, too — I’ve actually had one since I was a student.”
The elevator thumped and opened its doors, revealing a huge crystalline cavern that had been chiseled out into something slightly unnatural, yet nonetheless sparkly. The quartz ground was well-worn, more like a warehouse than a piece of the palace.
Ahead of them were a series of heavy doors, each at least four stories high and wide enough that Celestia could probably pass through with her wings fully extended. Each was shaped like an arch with a pointed top, and layered with bronze-like metal and the subtle glow of powerful, complex warding.
The hall of doors extended the length of a hoofball field, and there were shorter doors opposite them. The walls and ceiling were either crystalline or, in other areas, dark grey stone. A few ponies were scattered around the facility, all of whom were wearing the armor of the Royal Guard.
“Lady Sparkle?” one of the guards said with a bow. “So good to see you again. Princess Luna dropped off your sword along with some of the items from San Palomino that needed decontamination. Would you like your locker opened?”
“Yes, I would.” Twilight eyed the other doors while the word “decontamination” echoed through her head. “Has my sword been cleansed of any possible contamination yet?”
“Didn't need it. It was locked away in a magic-tight case.” The guard scratched his head, looking sheepish. “The Princess took it out in a safe place and left the container behind when transporting the sword. She told us to be careful with it, but, when we, uh, tried to put it away, it sucked a few ponies’ wellsprings dry. They're alive, don't worry. But I wouldn't touch it without protection. Like, lots of protection.”
Twilight cringed a bit, making a mental note to send the hurt soldiers some apology bouquets. “Sorry about that. Don't worry; I'm pretty sure I can handle it safely. I'll take it off your hooves so it doesn't hurt anypony else.”
The guard blinked and shivered. “Okay, if you say so. This way, ma'am.” He snap-turned and led them about halfway down the hall before taking out his keys. There were locks beside each of the smaller doors, and one of them had Twilight's cutie mark on it.
The guard pulled out a key — also with her cutie mark — and clicked the lock open. These doors, despite being smaller, were actually thicker and heavier to move, owing to their greater age.
“You know...” Trixie smiled and folded her forelegs. “I'm actually rather curious to see what the Grand Mage of Equestria has stored away under lock and key.”
Twilight snorted in a laugh. “Honestly, most of it is really boring. Family photos, old assignments I'm proud of, the uniform I wore as a filly at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, boxes of important documents like my tax forms… Though there is one thing you might be interested in.”
Trixie poked her head inside the unit and lit up like a firework. “My cart!”
“Yup!” Twilight walked in, following Trixie as the unicorn ran to the dilapidated cart. “I was going to surprise you by restoring it, but I haven't had time yet. Still, it's here, for whenever you need it.”
Trixie gave it a giant hug. “Thank you. Thank you so much! You don't know what this means to me!”
“Well, I knew that it was important to you. That's more than enough reason to keep it safe. But, I'm here for a sword. Stand back.”
Twilight's unit was rather spartan compared to the Princesses’. Bare walls, a few metal shelves, cardboard boxes, and a few display cases of diplomas. In the middle, however, was a barrel-shaped artifact meant to store dangerous magical items. It was black and silver, etched all over with wards.
On the side, near the top, was a simple crank. Twilight grabbed hold of it and spun it around, opening the top of the barrel. A soft white light glowed from inside as the two panels on the top split apart and Twilight’s sword levitated up and outside of its container.
“There we go. Time to see if I can hold this without something blowing up.”
Trixie blinked. “You… don't know that yet?”
“Nope.” Twilight snagged it with her magic, pointed it up, and experienced a sensation like hooks digging into her skin and sucking out mana.
The gem in the sword glowed bright purple, and the blade spewed out a purple fire.
“Aha!” Twilight cut off the flow of mana to the sword and let the sword settle back in the barrel. “Also, ouch, but I know what's going on here. You know how they give unicorn foals magic wands to practice with?”
Trixie opened her mouth to say something, but paused before speaking. “Yeah, but what does that have to do with your sword?”
Twilight reached out a tentative hoof to the blade, with in turn reached for the magic in her leylines. “This sword is like that. Look close at the gem. Most of it is blank, just a huge pipe for mana, not even storing any in itself. But it's pulling from my wellspring without going through my horn — and using every aspect of my magic!
“Nearly every core out there has a set few functions etched into it. This one has only one function: suck in magic and spit it out. Horrifically inefficient, but it can use tons of magic, and I should be able to influence the magic as it exits the sword to cast spells with it. No horn limitation!
“I'll need to practice a ton with it to really get the hang of things, but for now?” Twilight grabbed hold of the sword with both forehooves, then clamped down hard on the magic it was trying to eat from her. The flames still came for a moment, but only as bright as a candle, not the fountain that just scorched the top of her storage unit.
Eventually, that fire faded as well, and Twilight put the sword in her saddlebag. “There. Good sword. No burning unless I tell you to.”
Trixie chuckled. “Well, let's hope it doesn't set your flank on fire the second you lose control.”
Twilight smirked. “It's dangerous, but I'm actually not holding it back anymore. Like I suspected, it seems to remember what I ‘told’ it. I’ll need to push magic into it to turn it back on.”
Trixie sighed. “Would be nice if you didn't ever need to do that. I mean, make really dangerous guesses like that.”
“Yeah, but I'm the Grand Mage. Risk and danger are part of the job.” Twilight turned around and headed out the door. “Come on, Luna is waiting for us in the chariot bay. Next stop, the biggest city in the world!
Twilight yawned, then recalled her mental note. “But first, some coffee.”
“Here we are. Manehatten.”
Twilight’s hooves touched down on the familiar feeling of a small but thick cloud, and she opened her eyes, revealing the majesty of Equestria’s largest terrestrial city below her. Trixie landed behind her, the cloudwalking spell in her armor keeping her upright. Luna had teleported them to the southern edge of the endless expanse of buildings.
Unlike Ponyville and many smaller towns, there were no cloud buildings. Manehatten forbade them within city limits. This didn't stop pegasi from flocking there en masse both before and after the destruction of Cloudsdale, and they could be seen flying to and from every possible point. Many of them were taxis carrying ground-bound ponies to their destinations under the afternoon sky.
Luna dropped her head down to Twilight’s level. “Are you sure you don't want extra help? I have guards stationed here all the time. They can help if you tell me what you're looking for.”
Twilight shook her head. “No. I'm sorry, but for the time being, I want to try this on my own, without telling anypony in the military my specific objectives.”
Luna seemed to shrink a few inches. “Or me, apparently.”
“It's not going to be a regular thing, Princess. It's something of an experiment. We know there are leaks in RGIS, so I want to try to do something unpredictable. One step in a chain of tracking down the leak.”
“I… suppose I can accept that. Still, if you find yourself needing a place to stay, here.” Luna pulled out an envelope and gave it to Twilight. “Follow the directions inside. It'll take you to a secret place of my own.”
Twilight ran a hoof over the glowing, embossed runes of the paper, quickly deciphering them as something that would trigger a self-destruct if a non-alicorn opened the envelope. She embraced it, then tucked it safe and sound in her saddlebag. “Thank you, Luna. It means a lot.”
The Princess gave a hint of a sad smile, then vanished.
“Whew.” Trixie wiped her brow. “That was kinda tense. I thought she'd order you to tell her what's going on.”
Twilight pulled out a map of the city from her saddlebag. “I think she understands the value of having a little independence from time to time. I wasn't all that worried. For now, though, we should focus on getting our bearings and starting our investigation.”
Trixie rested her chin on her hoof. “An investigation for which we have no real starting point. Just a lot of random reports we can't ask the police about without revealing our mission.”
“Au contraire! We have the perfect starting point.” Twilight pinpointed their location, then looked out to her destination. Most of the buildings under her were shorter, low-income buildings in an old section of the town, and not too far was a huge industrial area near the bay. Several miles ahead, though, was the ever-beating heart of the city, and the tallest skyscrapers anywhere. “Come on, we need to flag down a taxi.”
“Oooh-kay…” Trixie kept an eyebrow raised, but went ahead and waved at a few taxis until one pulled beside them.
Twilight hopped over the yellow door and landed on some soft cloth seats that were in desperate need of cleaning. “Corner of 5th Avenue and 41st Street, please.”
“Oof.” Trixie tried to step over the door instead of opening it and landed face-first on the seat for her trouble. She pushed herself up and wiped her mouth with her foreleg. “Eeeyuck. What did I land on? Do I even want to know?”
“Probably not.” Twilight blew her mane out of her eyes as the taxi took off, racing across the city. She leaned in towards Trixie to whisper in her ear. “We're going to meet a friend of mine. I don't know if she knows that you're in my Guard yet, so be on your best behaviour and be prepared to re-apologize for your past transgressions.”
Trixie turned a few shades lighter and nodded. “Right. Sorry.”
“Not to me. Her. Don't worry, as long as you're honestly apologetic, she'll accept you.” Twilight gave her a pat on the shoulder and went back to watching the city.
They'd started in a low-density residential and industrial area, filled with cheap and poorly-kept single-story buildings. The speed of the chariot meant Twilight was already fighting her sense of balance over the growing structures under them. In seconds, they’d gone from a dingy working area to a bustling art-deco metropolitan center. They weren’t even in the densest part of the city, but the sheer quantity of ponies on the streets was already mind-boggling. No matter where one looked, they saw a multitude of ponies going about their day.
I always liked this city, Twilight thought to herself. Even if I never liked being in the crowds, it’s always been fascinating to watch.
“We're getting close,” the cabbie hollered over the wind. “Fare is six bits.”
Twilight nodded at him. “Ready, Trixie?”
“As I'll ever be. Who… Who are we going to see?”
She chuckled and said, “You'll know when we get there.”
The taxi flew down onto the street, coming to a landing in front of a seven-story mixed-use building, with apartments up above and a storefront at the ground level. Twilight let Trixie get out and soak in the advertising while she paid the cabbie, then walked up beside her.
The store was a fairly large size for the area, and every streetlight next to it had balloons tied to it. Pastel paint formed more balloons on the window, along with an assortment of colourful cannons and a smiling pink pony. Up above the windows, in large neon letters, was a sign reading “Pinkie Pie’s Custom Party Cannons!” The proclamations in the windows promised customized parties packed into powerful artillery.
“You're kidding…” Trixie’s eye twitched. “She has to be kidding.”
“Nope!” Twilight grinned.
“But… how?! How does she—?”
Twilight leaned over, put her foreleg over Trixie’s back, and sighed. “Trust me: don't ask those questions. Down that road lies only madness. Just roll with it, and you'll be much happier. Or at least, you know, saner.”
As Twilight led the way through the door, a little bell rang, catching the attention of a freckled mare behind the counter. Before the employee could even finish inhaling for the first word, though, a blur of pure pink energy catapulted up in front of her.
“Twilight! Wowie zowie, I knew I'd be getting an extra-special, super-duper visitor today because I had an itchy knee and rhythmic ear flap, and I said to—”
Twilight grabbed hold of the pink party pony with her forehooves and clamped her mouth shut. “I'm glad to see you too, Pinkie. It's been too long.”
The two shared a hug in relative silence, which really just meant Twilight stopped paying total attention to the deluge of words coming from her friend. There was a rhythm to those things, and she knew when Pinkie would calm down enough to start saying things that weren't wholly unfollowable.
Pinkie pulled out a tray of cupcakes from seemingly nowhere. “So, why are you… Wait a minute…” She leaned over to look behind Twilight.
Trixie put her ears back, then went into a bow. “Bearer, please forgive me for my past transgressions. I deeply regret what I did to you and Twilight those years ago, and wish to make amends.”
Pinkie blinked. “Twilight, where did you find a changeling Trixie?”
A laugh broke out of Twilight's mouth in spite of her best efforts. “No, Pinkie, this is the real Trixie. She's been in my care for the last year or so, and in my Guard for the last few days. We've become friends, and even trained and fought in battle together. And since we're here, she really is apologizing.”
Pinkie blinked, then smiled with a wave of her hoof. “Okie dokie lokie. Cupcake?” She shoved the confectionery plate in front of Trixie’s nose.
“Oh! Uh, sure.” Trixie took one, then looked to Twilight as if to say “That's it?”
Twilight nodded to respond “That's it.” and took a cupcake as well. “Much as I'd love for this to be a strictly social visit, Pinkie, I actually have Crown business to talk to you about. Is there someplace we can go to talk?”
Pinkie bounced with what was likely a mixture of pure sugar and pure happy. “Sure! Follow me!”
They walked through the showroom floor, passing innumerable demonstration cannons and walls lined with pre-loaded models “ready to take home,” towards a back room that was surprisingly normal. Some little bit in the back of Twilight's mind felt like she was about to sign up for a loan for a house. Pinkie even had a typewriter and a mechanical calculator on a sensible-looking desk.
A nod from Twilight as they sat down had Trixie sealing the room to prevent eavesdropping.
“Okay, Pinkie, first things first. This is sensitive stuff, okay? Don't tell anypony about what we're going to talk about.”
Pinkie nodded, zippered her lips, locked them, broke the key, then buried her head in cement.
She's been reading too many mobster comics. “Okay. I'm investigating a possible significant changeling presence in the city. I know you have an extensive social network. Have you noticed anypony acting out of the ordinary? Any relationships that have heated up suddenly, or anypony that's seemed far more tired than normal?”
“Hmmm.” Pinkie leaned back and folded her hind legs. “Now that you mentioned it, Vinyl has been quiet lately, and Octavia more tired than usual. I hear they've been having troubles, too.”
“That's go— er, well, that's terrible, but it's a possible lead.” Twilight pulled out her notebook and wrote their names in. “Do they still live in the same apartment?”
“Yeah, but they're probably not there now. Vinyl is probably setting up at her club, and Octavia is probably at practice.” Pinkie scribbled out a quick map showing the location of a spot in Central Park, and labelled all the ice cream vendors around it. The spot was a gazebo on the outer edge of the park, where trees met pavement and towers. “Octavia likes to practice in the park. If you hurry, I bet you can catch her.”
“Great! We'll be by again later, in case you remember anypony else. Thanks, Pinkie. I knew I could count on you.” Twilight dispelled the privacy wards and stepped through the door, but stopped as a pain ran through her stomach. “Actually, you may wish to go to Canterlot. Dash is… She's sick, and in the hospital. Spike is there, but she could use—”
Pinkie was gone, then back with three suitcases and two party cannons in tow. The time span in between was arguably nonexistent. “SorrygottagoseeDashiePepperminttakecareofthingsbye!” At that, Pinkie sped off, the remaining dust cloud the only reminder that a pony was even there.
“Just think: thirty years ago, this whole place was as dangerous as San Palomino.”
Twilight shuddered a little at mention of the desert, but as much as she'd hate to think of such a beautiful place having such a nasty underbelly, Trixie was right. Central Park was a magnificent beacon of nature's beauty in this day and age. Years ago, however, enough unsavoury characters gravitated to the night’s shadows to turn Manehattan into a corrupt mockery of its sunlit self.
Today, though, it was a bright, pleasant, summer afternoon. Ponies were laughing and playing on the grass and studying under the trees. A mare napped with her colt under her wing. An ice cream vendor — whose treats Pinkie had declared to be a nine out of ten — was quickly hoofing over popsicles to impatient foals. Traffic rushed down the street to their left opposite a bank, and overhead, hundreds of chariots soared to and fro with clients.
“I think that's the gazebo.” Trixie stuffed the map in her bag. “Where's our mare?”
Twilight looked around, but only really saw a crowd. The area was pretty dense with ponies, and that only served to highlight how far she had to go with her Ascension. “I'm… I'm not tall enough to see into the crowd. Give me a second.”
She put some power in her horn, then stood on tip-hoof to see the gazebo roof. With a spark she appeared there, and soon found her bearings, and her pony. Another spark had her right in front of Octavia. “Hi, Octavia!”
Octavia lurched back as if something had kicked a heart attack into her chest. “Aaargh! T… Twilight?! What the actual Tartarus?! How did… Why? What…”
Heh, so that's what it's like being Pinkie Pie. “Sorry, I couldn't see you through the crowd, so I teleported up to the gazebo and then down to you.”
Octavia flopped down to sit, though the cello case stayed dutifully on her back. As always, she was dressed impeccably. Her black tux with purple bow tie perfectly complemented her coat, mane, and irises, and the same could be said of her grey trilby hat with its purple ribbon. “It's okay, I guess. But sweet Celestia, my doctor is going to wonder where my newfound high blood pressure came from. Speaking of, where the heck did you come from? Do Grand Mages always just poof themselves in front of unsuspecting ponies?”
“Only when it's funny!” Trixie yelled, making her way through the crowd.
Twilight chuckled and shrugged. “She's basically right. But I'm sorry for scaring you.”
“Let her play!” somepony shouted.
Trixie fumbled her way to the group through the crowd. “You're really popular, it seems.”
“Curse of having a predictable schedule.” Octavia straightened her bow tie. “And it's a nice promotional vehicle. Something tells me you aren't here for music, though.”
Twilight put her ears back. “I'm afraid not. Is there somewhere we could—”
Bbbbbbbbrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnngggggggggg!
An alarm bell from across the street pierced the air, jabbing icicles into ears and fear into the ponies gathered. Some stood stunned, but quickly broke into a run upon seeing those quicker on the uptake fleeing the premises.
Twilight groaned. “Not another bank robbery. Get going, Octavia. We got thi—”
BBBBBRRRRAAAAPPP!
Twilight dropped to the ground and fired magic ahead of her, forcing it into a half-circle barricade of a barrier. She twisted the magic to a proper shield as bolts blasted pockmarks in it. Her horn never let up, pushing enough magic into it to turn it opaque with power. Trixie and Octavia dove in to join her behind it.
The assault didn't let up, even though the bolts were bouncing off her shield like little rocks whenever they weren't sailing overhead. Screams and pings in the distance signalled the desperation of the robbers. They weren't aiming for her specifically, they were just shooting in the general area of anything that moved in an attempt to clear the way.
She lifted her head up an inch, then dropped it back into the grass. No good. That's a powerful gun, and the first thing a bolt will hit is my horn. But I need line of sight to teleport. Going to have to build up a heck of a personal shield first. After that, I can see six — no, seven combat solutions with a high likelihood of success.
“Trixie, do you think you could—” Twilight blinked. There was movement behind her.
Octavia stood up, hefting her cello case up with her. She popped the top open, and bolts pinged off it like thick armor. Twilight caught a quick glimpse of the musical instrument before Octavia slammed the lid shut so hard the whole case bounced. On the way back down, Octavia caught it on a single hoof, then tossed it up a meter or so in the air. A bolt intended for the earth pony’s head sent the case into a turn, the case landing upside down as its owner slammed her hoof down on it.
The back of the case flew open, and an automatic-fire cored cannon popped out and into Octavia's hooves. A bloodcurdling scream silenced the other guns while Octavia let loose at the robbers with a stream of bolts, chipping into the stairs they were standing on.
Twilight popped her head over the barricade, locking her sights on the robbers. One was behind a pillar near the entrance, and the other two were each hiding behind statues at either side of the staircase. “Or... that. That works too. Trixie, with me. Let's do this.”
“On it, boss!”
Twilight sparked herself up and into the air, far above where the guns were firing. Her legs reached for a ground that wasn't there while her eyes tracked their targets. As Trixie emerged from her own teleport behind her, Twilight sparked again, launching herself near the robber on the left.
All four of her hooves slammed into concrete at the same time, earth-pony strength rending deep cracks upon the stone. The force reverberated in a dark, low rumble that sent Twilight’s target a half meter in the air.
Borrowing a note from Octavia, Twilight lifted both of her forelegs up and slammed her hooves into the robber’s back, smashing his face into the concrete and breaking the cannon mechanism he was carrying. She grabbed hold of the cannon barrels and rolled, landing on her side and dragging the robber with her. With a strike augmented by earth-pony magic , she bent the cannon barrels into a curve.
As Twilight got up, she noticed Trixie had just finished on her end, and had already tossed the other robber's smoking cored cannon off to the side, out of reach. The robber himself was out cold, having puked his guts out and presumably having been hit with a powerful sleep spell.
That left one, who had been in the center and was now swinging his head left and right in the confusion. He finally started to turn towards Twilight, and Trixie lit her horn in response.
“Cast in Harmony!” Twilight bucked off the ground with her hind legs, lighting her own horn. Trixie was in the air, too, and they passed each other over the head of the robber. Their magic touched as they did, humming in a bright, shining resonance that only the exact same spell could have.
Twilight twisted her body in mid air, targeting the last robber on the ground, and Trixie matched her movements. The robber, however, was wavering between them and wincing in the light, which was exactly what they wanted.
An instant formed between the two mares, their magic cycling with their heartbeats in a sympathetic rhythm. In one cohesive, clear, and infinite moment, their casting merged as both finished the combined spell as one.
“Double diamond!”
An eruption of light spilled over the robber, submerging him in what looked like molten glass. The flow rushed out, covering the other two robbers in kind, and came to a halt shortly thereafter. The glass crystallized into glowing panes, the triangular pieces locking each of the three hostiles safely in place, and not at all burned despite what it looked like.
The last of the robbers was stuck still, and fired his gun where he was last able to aim, but found only a solid wall to chip away at.
Twilight stuck a telekinetic blade in the mechanism's works, silencing it permanently. “I'd give up at this point if I were you.”
The mustachioed robber stared at her with steel in his eyes, and spoke with a gravelly voice. “Fine. Jail won't hold me anyway.”
“Good to know.” Twilight added a mental note to tell the Royal Police to keep an eye on him.
At that point, several dozen police ponies were landing nearby, including several paddy wagons. At the same time, ambulances were landing farther out to treat any wounded. In all, from the time the alarm bell rang to the time the first officer arrived was about thirty seconds. The only reason it was even that long was likely due to the police having a cautious approach towards gunfire.
Twilight folded her arms in thought as the badges swarmed in. How in Equestria these idiots thought they'd get away with a bank robbery here is beyond me. In San Palomino, sure, I could easily see it. But Manehatten? This place has its problems, but its police and disaster-response capacity is the best in the entire world, bar none.
“Twilight!” Trixie walked over, carrying a piece of metal in her magic. “Check it out. It's a piece from one of the guns. Cloudsdale Armories crest. I think these weapons are from the uprising.”
Twilight took it and held it against the sunlight. “It's possible. Manehatten PD will be able to trace it for sure. This is their turf.”
“Which is why I'd appreciate it if you didn't contaminate evidence,” a burly stallion in a trench coat muttered at them. “Dis here is a crime scene, capisce? And we're going to have to ask you and the music mare down there to come with us for interviews.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “No. My objectives take priority. I'll submit a written report for you later, and agree to an interview if I have time. In the meantime,Trixie and Octavia are coming with me.”
The stallion huffed and spat out his toothpick. “Maybe you didn't hear me. You and—”
Another officer pulled him just a bit to the side. “Bullet, that's the Grand Mage. She'll bring the palace down on our ears if you don't back off.”
Bullet stared her down for a second, then sighed; wandering off muttering something about politics and being too old.
Twilight let herself have a self-satisfied smirk, and breathed in the city. Civilization. Well-built towers crafted by professionals. Officials that usually try to actually do their job, and that respect her position.
Her eyes moved over the scene as emergency responders poured in, and spotted Octavia sobbing her eyes out behind the shield Twilight had put up.
“Trixie, on me.” Twilight led the way through the throng and down the stairs, then dashed across the street. She laid down by her friend, who had her head buried in her forelegs while resting on her cello case.
“Octavia?” Twilight asked. “Are you okay? Do you need an ambulance?”
Octavia shook her head. “No. I'm not okay. I mean, I'm not hit. But this is not okay. I... I need a drink.”
Clearly, there's more to the story that I'm not aware of. Twilight turned to Trixie. “Help her up. We'll walk her to her apartment.”
The two lifted the crying mare and leaned against her, steadying her as they slowly left the scene, cello in tow within Trixie’s magic. Behind them was a swarm of ponies descending on the bank, including press ponies who, thankfully, were too late to notice the Grand Mage and her unusual entourage.
A few blocks away, Octavia was walking much more steadily as they sighted her apartment. The buildings were tan brick and had the feel of old Manehatten. The area was much more affluent than the neighbourhood’s age would let on. Trees lined the streets, and fancy new street lights screamed out that this place had bits to burn.
Twilight followed as Octavia unlocked the front glass door and led them up a few flights of stairs. The apartment was at the top floor, and even had a double-door entrance.
Immediately inside was a kitchen with a bar, and beyond that the open-plan luxury of a classy lady’s home. The living room was down a step, and featured floor-to-ceiling windows with a door leading to a small patio. A music stand, a stool, and another cello rested by the couch, and a dining room was off to the left. A hall to the right led to the bedrooms and bathroom. Some of the walls were the same colour brick as the outside, though there was a different colour for the fireplace.
As soon as the doors were closed behind them, Octavia went to her bar, poured a glass of wine, and chugged the whole thing.
“I'm sorry about that. Really, I am.” Octavia grabbed a tissue and blew her nose. “I just hoped that part of my life was over.”
Twilight and Trixie took seats opposite her, facing the exit.
“Octavia,” Twilight began. “What just happened would have been stressful for anypony. You needn't apologize or be embarrassed about it, and I genuinely want to help. But to do that, I need to understand what's going on, and, well…”
Trixie poured Octavia another glass. “Why do you have a tommy gun in a secret compartment in your cello case?”
Twilight rolled her eyes at Trixie. “Yeah, that.”
Octavia took another gulp of wine and sighed. “My mom is a yakuza leader. My father is Roan and runs one of the largest criminal enterprises in the world. I was an… attempt at peace between them. It didn't work out, so I went to the Bittish Isles to study when I was young, and fell in love with music.”
Just like that, everything clicked info place in Twilight's mind. “Ah, I see.”
Octavia scoffed. “Do you?”
“Probably. Based on what you just said, I'm guessing that since that bank isn't a national chain, it's probably owned by your father.”
Octavia scoffed again, but this time it wasn't aimed at Twilight. “He bought the damn thing after he learned I practiced in public across the street. I tried to move, but that just cost me fans when they got confused, so I moved back.”
Twilight nodded. “Makes sense. Moreover, I bet the robbery was actually done by a rival organization with the intent of making him look weak, and that you were a bonus target.
“Knowing you could be targeted at some point, your father gave you the gun and the dimensional pocket in the cello case, at great expense.”
Octavia buried her head in her forelegs. “Freaking smart ponies.”
“And,” Twilight continued, “you resent him for it. You kept them because you knew you'd need to for your own protection, but they're an anchor to a world you want no part of.”
Octavia chugged the rest of her glass. “I guess you do get it. I'm sorry for being rude. I've… I've had a hard day. Hard few weeks, actually.”
Twilight swallowed hard. “About that, I have…”
There was a knock at the door. It was a gentle knock, one that seemed as normal, polite, and unassuming as one ever heard.
It put the hairs on the back of Twilight's neck up on alert. She nearly sprang into action to stop Octavia from opening the door, but ultimately kept still. When Octavia did open it, Twilight was surprised to find a lanky stallion in an extremely expensive three-piece suit.
“Daddy?” Octavia choked out. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard you were attacked.” The stallion grabbed her gently on both shoulders as Octavia turned away from him. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”
“I… No, daddy. I'm fine.” She wiped away her lingering tears, smearing some of her makeup. “Twilight, she… She protected me.”
The stallion leaned to one side, eyeing both of the other mares.
Alarm bells rang out in Twilight's soul. He was sizing her up, and knew she was doing the same.
He was a somewhat tall earth pony stallion, and rather thin, the lack of fat betraying tough, wiry muscle atypical for his pony tribe. His coat was a dusty blue, with his mane occupying a much lighter shade of the same. His suit was a dark grey pinstripe, fitted to perfection without so much as a wrinkle popping up or stitch out of place. What was most prevalent, though, were his dark green eyes. His irises felt like cold, liquid cloth that had been stretched taut without mercy.
“This stallion is dangerous.” Aurora shivered. “I don't like him.”
He walked around his daughter, moving closer to them like a shark. “Well now. This is a most pleasant surprise. My name is Tailored Trade, and I am a local entrepreneur.”
Octavia snorted. “Is that what they call gangsters these days?”
“Indeed!” Tailored Trade said with a smile that made Twilight shiver. “Especially since there's never been proof I'm anything but!”
“Now then, Lady Sparkle. I must thank you for saving my daughter. Perhaps we could come to an arrangement of—”
Twilight held up a hoof for him to stop. “Thank you, but no. I'm already well compensated by the Crown, and my actions would have been the same for anypony in that situation.”
His smile only grew, digging into Twilight’s mind so she'd never forget. “A regular idealist, I see. Regardless, it seems I owe you a favour. Should you ever have need of my services, please don't hesitate to contact me.” He pulled out a business card and placed it on the granite countertop.
“I'll keep it in mind,” Twilight said as she put it in Trixie’s pocket. She resisted the urge to add “far in the back of” to the middle of the sentence.
“Now then!” He put his forehooves together. “Octavia, I want to see you for dinner tonight. You know where.”
Octavia turned up her nose. “No.”
Twilight put one of her ears down. “Octavia, I recommend taking him up on his offer.”
Tailored Trade didn't so much as flinch, but Octavia's look could have killed. “Excuse me?”
“I can't force you,” Twilight said, holding up her hooves. “But I do recommend it.”
“Thank you, Lady Sparkle.” Tailored Trade tipped his hat. “I'm glad to see somepony understands respecting one's elders. Octavia, I'll see you tonight.”
Tailored Trade left, closing the doors behind him. Ten seconds later, Octavia snapped her head to Twilight.
“Just what the buck are you doing?! You had no right to—”
Twilight leaned forward and looked her in the eyes. “Octavia, listen to me closely. Trixie? Seal the room.”
Trixie raised her horn and covered the walls in a soundproof barrier, turning every outside surface pink. “Ready.”
Octavia blinked, jaw agape. “What are you—”
Twilight held up a hoof. “Octavia, I talked to Pinkie. I asked her if she knew anypony with odd relationship trouble, and she mentioned you.”
Octavia slammed her hooves on her counter, causing Twilight to jump and a knot to form in her stomach. “What right do you have to—”
“Changelings.” Twilight said.
Octavia went pale. “What?”
Twilight sucked in a breath. “I’m very sorry to have to tell you this, Octavia. But, I’m here on a mission to investigate changelings in the city. I know this comes at the worst time, but I talked to Pinkie. Her… ability to spot coincidences is something I have faith in, and she led me here.
“I think there’s a good chance Vinyl has been taken by them, and one or more changelings have been feeding on you. If you’ve been feeling out of sorts lately, it’s entirely possible that the changeling is the cause.”
Octavia slumped down, and her hair frayed in real time. “I… I would know. Vinyl and I are just going through a rough—”
Twilight’s throat went dry. Memories of Chrysalis laughed in her head, and Twilight suppressed her own tears so Octavia could shed hers. “Changelings are able to confuse the minds of their victims. Obvious conflicts in your memories are smoothed over, your will to fight back against them is sapped, and you're left an absolute mess.
“I'm not saying I'm one hundred percent certain Vinyl has been captured. I can't say that until I meet with Vinyl. But Pinkie has good instincts — supernaturally good. So I must follow up on this.”
“Oh…” Octavia squeezed her eyes closed, and folded her hooves in prayer. “Oh Luna… Why…?”
Twilight forced down a bit of heartburn in the back of her throat. “I can't answer that. But I can say this: changelings don't normally kill those they capture and replace. Vinyl is almost certainly alive, likely being held somewhere in a cocoon and fed on.
“I want to try to capture the changeling alive. Even if they don't cooperate with an interrogation, I may find physical evidence that could help me save her. All I need is to get the changeling where I've set up a trap. Tell me, Octavia. Where is she?”
Octavia wasn't there. Or rather, she was there physically, but her eyes and mind were focused on something far away. The shock in her heart painted the room.
“Octavia?” Twilight tilted her head. “Octavia, I need to know, please. Where—”
“AAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!” Octavia fell to the floor screaming, her cries rattling the windows. Collapsed, she shook and twitched in a fit.
“Uh-oh.” Twilight jumped over the counter, landing next to the mare as she stopped screaming. “Celestia... she's seizing.”
“Seizing?”
“A grand mal seizure. Potentially serious.” Twilight grabbed Octavia with a hoof, pushing the mare onto her side. “I don't know the cause yet. Maybe just stress. Go into her bathroom and get me some towels stat!”
“On it!” Trixie ran, bumping into the wall as she turned.
“Hang on, Tavi. It'll be okay.” Twilight wanted to pull her into a hug, but that would just hurt them both. Instead, she looked up at the clock.
Trixie ran back in with what was presumably all the towels in her magical grip. “This okay?”
“Plenty.” Twilight rolled a few up and put them under Octavia's head to cushion it. “She's been seizing for about thirty seconds. If it hits two minutes, we need emergency medical help.”
Trixie raised an eyebrow. “How do you know so much about this?”
Twilight sighed. “My grandpa is epileptic. And… Well, I'm not a doctor, but I know first aid and generally a lot about the pony body. And I know about a decent number of medicines and such. Just not enough to practice medicine. Not near enough.”
Trixie bit her hoof. “I know some healing spells. Several, actually. Only reason I survived the last few years. Should I…?”
“No!” Twilight caught herself, gesturing an apology to Trixie. “Sorry, Trixie, not a good idea. Most healing spells are stimulants, and that's the opposite of what she needs. Right now, there's a lightning storm going on in her brain, and it's making all her muscle neurons fire randomly. All we need is time. Hopefully.”
Both mares stood over Octavia, relaxing as the symptoms faded. Before long, Octavia was snoozing gently on the kitchen floor.
“Do we wake her?” Trixie asked. “I mean, is it safe?”
“Should be.” Twilight pushed on Octavia's shoulder. “Octavia? Are you there?”
“Mmmm…” Octavia groaned. “What… What happened?”
Twilight let out a sigh of relief. “We… We sort of deluged you with bad news. You panicked and had a seizure. How are you feeling now? Do you want us to get an ambulance?”
Octavia pushed herself up with a hoof. “A seizure? I haven't had one of those since I was a filly. What did… Wait. Vinyl! I have to go!” She bolted to the bedroom, and made an awful lot of noise looking for something.
Twilight raised an eyebrow and went to the doorway. Octavia was flank-deep in a box, ruffling through it a while before cursing and going to the next box in a long line of storage objects. Each container was filled with cored and enchanted objects, many of which Twilight was reasonably sure weren't entirely legal for civilians to possess.
“Octavia, you are not going to head out to try and rescue Vinyl,” Twilight said.
Octavia glared at Twilight with enough force to metaphorically melt a hole in the wall behind her. “Try and stop me.”
Twilight lit her horn. “You may wish to rethink that phrase, seeing as how you're dealing with a Grand Mage.”
Octavia paused, looking at her, then Trixie, then the window, seemingly calculating her odds and routes.
“Ahem.” Trixie coughed. “Also, you seem to be forgetting that even if Vinyl has been replaced by a changeling, we don't know where she is. You have nowhere to go to mount a rescue mission.”
Octavia scoffed. “Vinyl needs me for once, and not the other way around. I'll search the whole city door to door if I have to.”
“Not advisable.” Trixie smirked. “After all, who says she's even in the city?”
“I'll search the whole world if I have to!” Octavia slammed the top on the box that she had finished rummaging through and slung a bag over her back. “Nothing will stop me.”
“Or,” Twilight said with a smile, “you could cooperate with us. All we need to know is where changeling Vinyl should be right now to keep up appearances, and where she's going next. Then, we can set up a trap, catch her, and interrogate her. A whole lot easier than searching the whole city, right?”
Octavia narrowed her eyes, then slumped over and sighed. “You're right, you're right. I'm not thinking clearly. Too much wine. Getting tired, too.”
Twilight relaxed and smiled. “You did just have a major medical episode. Being tired is a normal symptom.”
“Yeah…” Octavia’s eyes darted around as she paused. “Normally, Vinyl comes home for dinner, and we, uh…”
“Noted.” Twilight turned to Trixie and whispered, “Let's start setting up a capture ward. We’ll set the trap here. After Vinyl comes in, she won't be able to both fight us and break the ward. We should be able to capture her easily then. After that, with any luck we'll have a starting point.”
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I enjoy seeing badass Octy, even if she doesn't like it. A classic take on a classy mare, and it works well in my opinion. I can't wait to see more of her, and see what Vinyl is like. Though it felt a bit shorter than other chapters to me, the pacing felt a lot better in this one. Can't wait for next month's installment!
Thank you for keeping up the regular updates. I look forward to reading each one. I understand from your notes and from personal experience that depression makes everything harder. The challenges you deal with makes the fact that you keep up your quality and stay on schedule even more impressive.
Always, Always happy to this this amazing fic updated. Thanks for making my night.
Wow. Very nicely written and paced once they got to Manehatten. Parts of it seem to be influenced by scenes from Banishment Decree by Chuckfinley.
Love it. First day in Manehatten, and we're already seeing action and finding clues. I love that Twilight and Trixie have learned to use Harmony magic, being so in sync to be able to cast such spells.
Hope Vinyl is okay.
"the smaller doors we a series of locks"
"the smaller doors were a series of locks"?
Glad the new medication is working! Sorry about the cold, though.
Another excellent chapter.
The more I see of your AU world, the more I think it could easily be just what pre-war FoE looked like.
Do a find function for 'Octavian' because that's a typo I noticed at least once.
Other than that, noticed nothing major.
She's hugging the cart & not Twilight?
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+city+never+sleeps+at+night&&view=detail&mid=5AADAF4B4F92B8C7F93B5AADAF4B4F92B8C7F93B&&FORM=VRDGAR
Is it just me, or is this a Jinx reference?
Well, that was dramatic. Wasn't expecting Octavia to pull out a Tommy Gun from her cello case, but I'm glad she did. Twilight's got a solid lead, as well. Hopefully Tailored Trade doesn't end up getting in her way.
Hmm. The timing of the attack and how quickly Octavia's dad came to visit her is suspicious, especially since he knew she would have been in the park at that time and either answering police questions or in the hospital afterwards. Methinks it was a setup by him to influence Octavia into doing something and he was observing her the whole time.
Party cannon store...
awesome chapter grate righting.
I am more glade that you are feeling better i know it is a one day at a time thing.
Not meaning to insult you, just not a huge fan on how pinkie is portrayed. The problem is, I don’t know how you could make that better, because she is not a very easy character to write.
Aside from that, this was an awesome chapter. Keep up writing the greatest fic on this site.
I'm sorry, but the whole Manehatten part feels incredibly rushed. Twilight gets one clue that turns out to be the right one and finds the half of the couple which isn't a changeling. She's been there for barely a day and she's basically halfway done with the investigation.
What if Octavia was the changeling and Twilight just revealed her entire plan? Or what if Octavia and Vinyl are going through an ordinary hick-up in their relationship and Twilight complicated things with her changeling hunt?
For some reason I have a nasty suspicion that eventually Twilight will bite off a lot more than she can chew. It could be just me, but every time she flashes her Grand Mage title or forges ahead to face the problem head on, it feels like she's pushing it. Eventually, she will push too far and find herself in a situation where her title, skills and abilities won't mean a thing to the enemy. They will either be ready to counter whatever Twilight brings to the table or target Twilight in a way that prevents them from facing her directly.
I mean, it's safe to say the enemy is aware that Twilight is doing her best to go after them. They might not be aware of how exactly she's doing it, but they have a clear target. Twilight, on the other hand, is chasing shadows. Other than a vague guess, she has no name to go after. That gives the enemy one hell of an advantage. They can strike at her with little fear of retribution.
Okay, targeting Twilight is a risky proposition at best, since she can handle herself in most fights and is working towards improving her abilities. But what about her friends? Anyone with a working brain can tell how important her friends are to Twilight. Sure they are guarded, but not nearly to the degree Twilight is. A daring attack could have devastating results. Imagine what would happen if Twilight received a package containing Applejack's head? Or Pinkie goes missing on her way to Canterlot never to be seen again? Or Fluttershy and her child suffer in a terrible accident involving magical contamination?
If there's something Twilight has problems dealing with, it's an unexpected turn of events, when things do no go according to plan. Give Twilight time to think and she can solve anything. Derail her train of thoughts and you'll get a neurotic mess. A sudden and disproportionately brutal attack on Twilight's friends will be more effective than sending a hundred assassins after Twilight herself.
9019482
I mean, she's not perfect, but she's better than the portrayal of her in the beginning chapters.
Cv, I love you, but there were just certain decisions I really didn't agree with back then.
9019482
Pinkie is INCREDIBLY hard for me to write, so I expected people to feel :\ about my portrayal of her. It's why she isn't there long, I'm afraid.
9019791
That is exactly the feel I got, I just couldn’t put it into words. Hence why you’re the writer, and I am not. Other than that, the chapter lived up to this story’s reputation in my mind. I am not going to be able to access the internet for a long time, possibly starting before the end of this month. Don’t know when I will be back, so I just wanted to say that this is the only fic I have kept a separate tab open on my computer for the entire time O have been in this fandom. You inspire me as a person, and I do hope to see you again on this site, hopefully with your hands feeling better. Thank you, Cv.
We'll know whether Vinyl's a changeling based on how much she says. The show indicates she's not much of a talker, though her background appearances seem to suggest she's not actually mute. She's kinda like Big Mac that way.
Of course, I realize you don't follow the show much, so I could be full of crap regarding this.
She doesn't talk in the show because Hasbro offered the role to Nowacking but with the stipulation that she couldn't do any more fan-made stuff with Vinyl and also would have to take down her existing stuff. It was a neat nod to the fandom during the craze of its heyday, but she declined, and Hasbro decided to leave her un-voiced.
I'm always a fan of Octavia and Vinyl. Especially when they seem to be a couple, always cute
That said, I think it's a neat twist on Octavia's past, that she's not just the daughter of a noble or something, but her background is a bit... darker. Or shaded in grey, I imagine her dad would say. Also poor Vinyl. She always gets the short end of the stick.
9019791
For what it's worth, what I read was "Pinkie" to me. You captured her energy and seemingly random behaviour, without making her an over-the-top caricature. At the same time she felt a bit more mature than the Show Pinkie, which makes a certain degree of sense since she's supposed to be a fair bit older in this story than she is in show canon.
So I felt more
about how you wrote her, than anything else.
Ah, clever. Pinkie Pie is exactly the pony you want to talk to when it comes to odd behavior about the town. After all, which pony knows everyone?
I've got a feeling that Vinyl is not, in fact, a changeling, however. It seems too convenient, too fast. Actually, I'm somewhat suspicious that Octavia was a changeling.
You had both my attention and my interest. You continue to hold them.
Missed edits:
Tot means tyke,
Taught means teached,
Taut means tight. Sorry if that doesn't clear anything up.
Same character talking in both paragraphs, without interruption? Then don't use the close-quote after "anything but."
9019502
Twilight found the non-changeling part of the couple because she targeted her; in changeling replacements, the abnormally tired one is the one being fed off of. Unless CV forgot, Twilight has a changeling disguise removal spell, so she shouldn't be able to be fooled by one when she knows it's a possibility, so I doubt Octavia is the changeling. Also, there's no way that finding a single likely changeling is her investigation being "half done". She's there to uncover a possible conspiracy, not to expose a single changeling.
As for Twilight pushing ahead, I would argue that in this situation, with multiple unknown and very powerful organizations opposing her, she doesn't have a chance of uncovering anything situation-changing unless she does so to this degree. She could play it safe, but then she'd never make any contact with them other than at the tail ends of their plans, at which time it's often too late to do anything. Her friends are at risk, but they would have been anyway even if Twilight wasn't investigating aggressively (given that they're connected to the Elements of Harmony and the mere fact of Twilight being the Grand Mage), and they have the best protection Equestria can give short of Shining or one of the sisters following them around.
I bet Octavia is the changeling and Twilight is just leading her on... or it could be her dad. Idunno.
9023608
It's how quickly she found the couple that bothers me. Even if Pinkie happens to know everyone in Manehatten, "sudden deterioration in relationships, exhaustion, unusual behavior" are rather loose clues to go by. Especially in a city of this size. Pinkie should have been able to name several couples that fill the criteria, most of which have nothing to do with changelings. Instead she names only one couple and it turns out to be the exact one. This would be fine in a small community like Ponyville, but in a huge city like Manehatten, there should be dozens if not hundreds of ponies that fit the bill.
We never see Twilight use the changeling disguise removal spell in this chapter. There is no indication of any detection mechanisms being used. All we have is Twilight basically walking up to the first pony that fits the rather lose criteria and reveal her plan. This could either give her a bullet between the eyes or the entire changeling network going underground now that the Grand Mage is after them. We as readers know that Octavia is unlikely to be a changeling, Twilight doesn't have this "bird's eye view".
Yes, without putting out an actual bait by herself, Twilight is playing catch-up. She's been doing it for most of the story. Her attempt at information control by not giving Luna any details is a start, but her actions in Manehatten kind of ruin it. Anyone who has eye or ears in Manehatten knows that the Grand Mage is there on an investigation. They might not now exactly what sort of investigation, but it doesn't take a genius to put two and two together. The conspiracy could decide to go under and cover their tracks just in case. After all, why else would the Grand Mage be in Manehatten, considering she's been chasing them for a while now?
Considering the enemy has the resources to build a state of the art airship and launch a coup, it is safe to say they could pull off an assassination if they really tried. I am surprised they haven't done so already. One of the best ways to derail, if not stop an investigation is by going after the investigator's friends and family.
9024387
We don't actually know how many ponies in Manhattan Pinkie is close enough to, to detect changes in behavior like that. If she only knows a couple hundred (or thousands, given it's Pinkie) ponies that well, then the criteria of "one of the two is suddenly very tired, and the other is simultaneously suddenly very quiet" is actually very specific, and would actually be pretty indicative, if not conclusive.
But how do you know she doesn't have passive defenses up, or the like? Twilight has shown changeling revealing spells in the past, and has had decades since then to come up with better countermeasures, and her current situation is one where she knows she's likely going to encounter some. I doubt she went in that unprepared. Even if it turns out she doesn't, Twilight has several pieces of evidence pointing to Octavia not being a changeling, most notably her seizure.
Twilight could be in Manhattan for any number of reasons; perhaps she's doing a company bust like she did to that construction company, or maybe she's visiting Pinkie Pie, or maybe she had a tip off about that bank robbery. Just because Twilight is "somewhere" doesn't mean that she's currently doing an investigation on one of the big conspiracies at that very moment. In addition, as far as we know, what Twilight is investigating is unrelated to all of the known conspiracies, and might even be a fourth. Slow changeling infiltration does not seem to fit the MO of any of the known conspiracists, so why would they be immediately concerned about Twilight investigating something that isn't theirs?
No, it's not safe to say that. Equestria has significant protection lined up for all of Twilight's family and the mane six (IIRC, they even have lunar guards shadowing them), which was only beefed up since Twilight became Grand Mage. The only assassination they've pulled off was Towers, who was not being personally guarded at all. Having tons of resources =/= being extremely adept at things like assassinations. In addition, while attacking an investigator's friends/family has a chance of making them slow/stop the investigation, it also might cause them to redouble their determination to catch them. Right now, Twilight is focused on (at least) three different groups; the Majestics, the Illusionists, and the Council. If one of them attacked/killed her friends and they found out which group did it, Twilight might go solely after that group first.
9024557
There's dozens of reasons why someone feels tired or quiet. Most of them are ordinary. which means Pinkie could give Twilight lots of names. It's like saying "I am looking for a tall guy who wears a long-sleeved shirt", yeah, that counts as a description, but it applies to so many guys it's insane.
Because there was no mention of it. Nowhere in this chapter did Twilight make sure Octavia isn't a changeling. If her armor has some sort of detection spell that constantly "scans" her surroundings, there was no mention of it. And that is a thing that should be mentioned. Even a single line would be enough.
As far as I can tell, she has no evidence that Octavia isn't a changeling. Part of it is because we don't know much about them and part of it is that changelings wouldn't be that much of a threat if they were crappy infiltrators. Think about it, you have to be one hell of an actor in order to convince a pony that you are their loved one. That you're part of a couple that knows each other intimately. Otherwise your infiltration won't last long and you'll go hungry.
It doesn't matter why Twilight is in Manehatten. A clever pony would still make sure to be careful, especially if they don't know her reasons. Best to play it safe until they know why Twilight is there. Then they can either resume their activities or throw some false leads her way.
"IF" Twilight found out. And even then how can Twilight be sure the evidence is real? Furthermore, we have no idea how good they are at assassination, since I do not think we have seen their best effort.
9024937
Yes, but there's far fewer reasons for one person in the couple to suddenly become tired, and then the other person in the couple become quiet at the same time. Both conditions are very vague, but become specific when they happen at exactly the same time and in exactly the right combo.
There's several reasons for it to happen but have CV keep it a secret, any one which could be true,. I can't prove that Twilight is being careful, and it's very possible that she's not, but I personally am giving her the benefit of the doubt until we get more chapters of this mission.
We already have the example of Queen Chrysalis (the head honcho of changelings) not being a very good infiltrator back in the season 2 finale. They seem to succeed because they magically influence their victims into not noticing that they're being drained and that their friend/family/lover isn't acting normally (as what Chrysalis did to Shining, and as was stated to be happening in this chapter), not because they blend in perfectly, or even particularly well. The very fact that Twilight knows what outward symptoms to expect means that changeling infiltrations have known flaws in their replacements. In addition, Octavia literally had a severe seizure while they were with her; no matter how good of an impersonator changelings are, I somehow doubt they can both give themselves seizures as a condition AND self-trigger them at will.
As far as we know, none of the big conspiracies even have anything huge going on in Manehattan, so why would they have to "play it safe" just because she's there? She's working on an investigation unrelated the Illusionists and the Majestics, and it's only tangentially related to the Council. If there's a conspiracy behind the changeling replacements, there's also no guarantee even they know about Twilight's status at this point.
Twilight can be sure that the evidence is real because she's an incredibly smart investigator, and would make sure that any of the evidence is thoroughly examined. We've seen two of the groups' assassination attempts already, and the council do not seem the type to have incredibly adept super-assassins under their employ (and the one member that might have more to him that it seems actually likes Celestia and Equestria, and would not endanger it so recklessly). The Majestics' assassinations were a failed clumsy brute force attack on Twilight's tower, and a successful attack on Towers that only worked because he wasn't being guarded like Twilight's friends and family are. The Illusionist's one known assassination attempt, on Trixie, was relatively easily foiled by Twilight and her guards, despite not even expecting an attack or knowing what their foes were like. There's no reason to believe at this point that they can get past Equestria's guard on Twilight's friends/family (especially since the nigh-invisible Lunar Guard are also on the job), and Twilight can't afford to go easy on those organizations out of wariness about them retaliating.
9025239
The reasons might be few, but, like I said they are very ordinary. A hard time at work, which could lead to a rough patch in a relationship is not that unusual.
Of course, it could turn out that Octavia is, in fact a changeling, that would be one hell of a plot twist. Also, like I said, if changelings were crappy infiltrators, they wouldn't be much of a threat. Especially when you know what to look for.
A good reason why the Majestics or whatever else Twilight is chasing, haven't made a truly serious assassination effort, is because Twilight is not much of a threat to them. Throughout the story Twilight has been chasing their tails, they are always one or two steps ahead, pursuing leads they no longer have a need for. Granted, one could predict their movements after gathering enough discarded leads, so I think it would be better if they started disposing of them in a more thorough manner.
I am not saying that Twilight isn't smart. I am saying it would be incredibly hard for her to focus and do her job when she has her friend's head in her lap. I don't think anyone would be able to function properly in such a situation, no matter how smart they are. We have seen it plenty of time that Twilight does crack under pressure. I am certain that she would jump at the first bit of evidence if it meant pursuing those who hurt her friends.
Obviously, in such a scenario, the best thing would be to pull Twilight off he investigation and assign someone who isn't so emotionally invested. Granted, that would result in a delay as the new investigator caught up with the details of the investigation, but if you're trying to buy time, that's exactly what you need.
9026383
No, but it manifesting in exactly this way at the same time (one side tired but not notably quiet, the other side quiet but not notably tired) IS unusual enough that it's got a decent chance of being a changeling, even if not conclusive.
There's several possible twist-related reasons for CV to hide Twilight doing a changeling detection spell. For example, it could turn out that Octavia was a changeling all along, and Twilight knew, but was keeping that info hidden to turn the tables on her, or maybe Trixie somehow got replaced by a changeling at some point, and Twilight is waiting for a good moment to reveal that. The problem here is that you're assuming that normal changeling activity is a threat, or that they're good infiltrators, when all things point to that being the opposite. A Canterlot Wedding (which is canon to this story) showed that at least Queen Chrysalis is pretty bad at infiltration, blatantly acting out of character the whole time. In addition, the characters in-story are treating standard changeling replacements as routine and relatively nonthreatening in general, similar to small time crime. Twilight is investigating these events because of the possibility of discrediting the council, not because they seem to be a big threat.
The Majestics DID do a serious assassination attempt, when they tried to kill Twilight. The side story chapter where they talk about it makes it clear that they considered Twilight to be a serious potential threat, and there's no evidence that they don't still want her dead or stopped. All indications is that they can't assassinate protected Equestrian figures on a whim, not that they merely don't care to. The Majestics have a lot of funds, manpower, and influence, but there's no indication that they're out of the league of Equestria's higher brass (other than in the field of geas spells, and whatever Ionos's deal is) to the point that they can pull off assassinations against protected targets with impunity.
Lots of people can operate under that kind of condition, and I believe this story's Twilight to be one of them. Even in real life, targeting someone's family members or family can either succeed by making them back off or get distracted, or it can backfire by making them redouble their determination and focus solely on you. Twilight has some problems with pressure, but only when it deals with perceived pleasing or displeasing Celestia; when it's anything else (Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, Zebrica about to be destroyed, Rainbow being kidnapped, etc.), she doesn't falter a bit.
Emotional investment on an investigation can easily be just as much of a boon as a detriment, and Twilight is still their smartest officer, is a very difficult target to take out, and has an extremely high level of security clearance. Unless she shows signs of problems, taking her off the job in that case would be the opposite of what Celestia should do.
Fortunately, they'd worked out the kinks in practice and no longer summoned very confused earth stallion skiers.
In any case, always neat to see a Mafiosa Octavia. A truce foal between crime organizations, no less. I do wonder what Twilight's planning with the dinner. And that seizure definitely seems suspicious...
Also, I thought you did a fine job with Pinkie. No worries about her being replaced bt a changeling, not unless there's a team of them working together to simulate her jump cuts.
Twist, Octavia is the Changeling
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As I've said it before, there are plenty of ordinary reasons for the couple to go quiet and tired. They are not nearly specific enough to suspect the involvement of changelings.
If Octavia is a changeling and Twilight knows it, then that is an example of bad writing. Granted, if this is the case and the author left some well-hidden clues that I missed, I will admit that I am wrong. However, as far as I know, Twilight did not bother to check whether or not Octavia is a changeling and there was no mention of any passive detection (assuming she has one) picking up the detail. Though, if it turns out that Octavia is a changeling and Twilight screwed up by not doing a check, then that will be one hell of a plot twist. The good kind of plot twist.
If Equestria's powers that be are more capable than the Majestics, then that does not speak highly of their competence. At the moment I'd say that while Equestria does have the raw power and resources on their side, their intelligence gathering operations are not as capable, since they're the ones playing catch-up.
Just because someone is determined and focused on achieving a specific goal does not meant they're rational. Tunnel vision can be just as bad as being unable to focus. If the conspiracy needs to buy time then targeting Twilight's friends is an excellent option. I do not doubt their ability to pull something like that off, if they're pushed far enough. It doesn't matter if they get a neurotic Twilight or an overzealous one as a result. Both outcomes will work in their favor. What is important is for them to actually kill or seriously hurt her friends, because a light injury or a scare will only motivate Twilight. Personally, if the conspiracy does decide to go after Twilight's friends, I believe this is exactly what is going to happen. Unless this is one of those stories where even a canon character can die.
Is Octavia a heavy unicorn without a horn?
I'm already wondering what the Changelings will be like in the Rites-verse!
Octavia be like
Well, that took an unexpected turn or two, even for this story.
Not that I’m complaining.
Yeah, there’s no way to be sure if the Scratchtavia situation is really due to Vinyl having been replaced, but Twilight’s got to start somewhere.
And Pinkie seemed all right to me.
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So by the end of this story Twilight will be practically a god? That would be interesting to end it off at.
Interesting take, I'm somewhat surprised that I'm liking it as I usually prefer the more canon stuff. That said, you've been doing some great world building and stellar writing to the point where I've read the entire story thus far in about a week.
That said, things I think you've fallen short on...
Cadance as a pegasus unicorn as opposed to an alicorn. Alicorn Cadance could offer some interesting story development and humor without effecting anything so far.
Shields, you limit yourself like pretty much all other authors to spheres and domes. The only exception I can think of is Iisaw where Twilight learned to think beyond that from Shining, and created a shield when facing Chrysalis that had something like 75 corners, then spun it at extremely high speed. Can you say giant grinding wheel?
Failure to bridge scenes. I know this was commented on at least once by someone where you had Twilight go to report to Celestia, but we never say it, though we did see Celestia knowing it. Likewise Spitfire returning to the Wonderbolts. Last we knew she was retired, but jumped in to help during the castle battle, but then now she's in charge again? How'd that happen? When'd it happen? Minor details, but it would be nice to see a sentence acknowledging the change as you occasionally jump from one thing to another.
Rainbow Dash's aneurysm, I'm curious where you're going as I can't really see a point to this
Trixie is too powerful during the bank robbery. Personal opinion, but I like seeing her as weaker than Twilight in real magic. I like her as a specialist, outstanding at illusions and sleight of hoof, so much so that in those areas she could teach Twilight a thing or two.
Will Sunset Shimmer turn up? I can see her showing up running the Illusionists (lost track of the official names here). Yes, they've been around for a while, but she ran away vowing to prove to Celestia that she should've been made a princess. How better to show that than to work her way up to the top job in an organization that's been influencing world wide events for centuries if not millennia?
I do wish that the real Luna was a bat pony Alicorn. My head canon has been that bat ponies are the historically unwanted cousins of the pegasi. Harmony in its infinite wisdom made Celestia a peagasus alicorn and ruler of the sun, and Luna her opposite, a bat alicorn and ruler of the moon.
Still, those are all minor problems, the story is great, and I can't wait for an update.
i.imgur.com/SEB7j.gif
I like this story and I eagerly await more!
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Wh... what? Just... just what?
So uh where’s applejack
It's true