SAPR

by Scipio Smith

The Ones Who Walk Away From Atlas (New)

The Ones Who Walk Away From Atlas

“How are you feeling, Dad?” Penny asked, bending down and placing a hand upon Pietro’s arm.

Pietro chuckled. “Well,” he said, “that’s the funny thing about getting your chair hacked while you’re sleeping — I’ve been on this big adventure, and I never even noticed it happening. So most of what I feel is just a little bit of a fool for taking a lodger in.” He coughed. “And a little bit cold, I suppose.”

“Here, drink this, Doctor,” Ciel said, stepping out of the pantry with a steaming hot cup of something cradled in both hands. “It will warm you up a little before bed.”

“Thank you,” Pietro said, accepting the cup from Ciel’s unprotesting hands. “It’s Ciel Soleil, isn’t it?”

Ciel curtsied. “Indeed, Doctor, we have met before, when I was … assigned to Team Rosepetal. And this,” she gestured to Neon, who was leaning against the wall of the clinic with her arms folded across her chest, “is my good friend, Neon Katt.”

The legs of Pietro’s chair whirred and whined and thumped upon the floor as Pietro turned around to face Neon. “I’m sorry about my Handy Hands throwing you around, I—”

“Weren’t in charge of them at the time, I know, Doc; it’s fine,” Neon said. She grinned momentarily. “Maybe upgrade your antivirus software though, huh?”

“As Rainbow Dash has explained, Feathers Markinson possesses a hacking semblance,” Midnight declared, her voice seeming to issue out of nowhere; Penny wasn’t sure exactly where she was right now. “No amount of antiviral protections would have sufficed in this instance.”

Neon blinked. “So … with a semblance like that, it’s impossible to keep him out?”

“I believe so, yes.”

Neon’s eyes widened. “So … what you’re saying is that we should be really, really glad that he only wanted to use it to steal things and not to take over Atlas or join the White Fang or something.”

Or join up with Salem, Penny thought.

“You make a very good, if very frightening, point,” Ciel murmured. “Thank the Lady for petty ambitions, it seems.”

“Will we be able to hold him?” Penny asked. “If he can hack anything with his semblance, what’s to stop him from opening his cell and walking out?”

“Guards with guns,” Neon suggested.

“He will probably spend the rest of his life with his aura suppressed,” Ciel said. “Unfortunate for him, but for the public good.”

Pietro drank some of his hot drink. “This is very nice, Miss Soleil, thank you.”

“I am glad you like it, Doctor,” Ciel replied.

“It’s making me feel better already,” Pietro added. “Although it doesn’t make me feel any less of a fool. Having a wanted criminal under my roof the whole time!”

“He wore a disguise,” Penny pointed out. “Everyone thought that he was a completely different kind of faunus to what he actually turned out to be in the end. How were you supposed to know any better?”

Pietro chuckled once again. “Just because I wasn’t the only one to get taken in doesn’t mean that the taking feels any better, darling. Just because I wasn’t the only one fooled, it doesn’t stop me feeling any less of a fool for being part of it.”

“If I may, Doctor,” Ciel said, “if you had not taken in this felon as your lodger, we might not have been in a position to apprehend him and secure the reward money. So, in a way, you have done me and my family a great service.”

“All things as the Lady wills,” Neon murmured.

“I certainly hope so,” Ciel said softly.

“I know you’re only trying to make an old man feel better,” Pietro said, “but I appreciate the effort.”

He looked at Penny. “I’m glad to see you; I’m even more glad that you came down here to see me, although I do wish that it was under different circumstances.”

Penny smiled down at him. “Well, that was the plan, but I’m here now, and I’m sure that Rainbow will bring me back down for another visit, for as many visits as we like, before I have to go back to Beacon.”

“That would be wonderful,” Pietro said. “I’d like to have a chance to actually talk to you without feeling so…” — he let out a great yawn — “without feeling so tired.”

“Are you finished with your drink, Doctor?” Ciel asked.

“Oh, oh, yes, thank you; it was delicious,” Pietro said, “even if it is making me drowsy.”

“I would hardly want to keep you awake, Doctor,” Ciel said, recovering the cup smoothly before Dad could drop it. “Penny’s presence notwithstanding, it is the time of night for drowsiness.”

“And yet you haven’t had to stifle a yawn once,” Pietro pointed out. “Oh, to be young again.”

“Do you want to go to bed now, Dad?” Penny asked.

Pietro hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. “Yes,” he said. “Yes, I think that’s probably—”

“Doc?” The door opened, and a woman walked into the clinic; she was tall, with a long, sallow-skinned face and short hair of very pale blonde pinned up behind her head. She was dressed in a long coat of black and grey that swished around her as she walked, and it was open to reveal a blood red shirt beneath. “Doc, I heard you’d got into some trouble, are you—?” She stopped, one hand clenching into a fist and coming to rest upon her hip. “I see you’ve got company.”

“Robyn,” Pietro said, “this is my daughter Penny, and—”

“We’ve met before,” Neon said, almost growling. Her tail was rigid behind her as she peeled herself off the wall and moved to stand between this woman — Robyn, Dad had called her — and the others. “What are you doing here, and what do you want?”

She smiled. “No need to be so hostile, kid. There aren’t any murderers here. Are there?”

“Dad?” Penny said. “Who is this?”

“Robyn Hill,” Robyn announced. “Leader of the Happy Huntresses, Protector of Mantle. I’m a little surprised you haven’t heard of me.”

“Your poor ego,” Neon muttered.

Am I supposed to know who she is? Is she famous? Why don’t I know who she is?

“Penny has been staying in Atlas with her … other father,” Pietro said. “This is her first time in Mantle.”

Robyn’s eyes narrowed. “You got screwed on the custody, huh, Doc? Although I’ve got to say I’m surprised; I didn’t realise you’d been married.”

“I’ve been able to keep my private life pretty private,” Pietro said. “I guess I’m lucky to not be good-looking enough to be worth anyone’s time trying to turn me into a celebrity.”

Robyn let out a bitter laugh. “You’re not wrong, there. First they stick you up on a poster, and then…” She half-turned away from them. “And then the only way is disappointment.”

“You speak as though you were not responsible for your own actions,” Ciel observed.

Robyn glanced at her. “I made my choices,” she said, “I decided for myself what actions I would take. But the choice to judge me for those actions? That was made by others, not by me.”

What actions? What choices? Penny wondered, wishing that she had all the context she was clearly missing.

Robyn looked at her. “I know that these two are fine Atlas gallants, but what about you?”

“I’ve been at Atlas this year,” Penny replied. “Well, actually, I’ve been at Beacon all of last year, but I was at Beacon as an Atlas student, but we’ve been at Beacon because of the Vytal Festival, where all the students from the different schools—”

“Attend the host school for second semester, yes, I remember how that works,” Robyn cut her off. “I know that at your age, everyone older than twenty looks ancient, but I promise, I’m not that old.” She sighed. “Ten years ago, when I competed, the tournament was held in Atlas, so I was unfortunately denied the benefit of any time away. A pity. I would have liked to have seen Mistral or Vale when I was still your age. But you are an Atlas student, yes?”

“Sort of,” Penny said. “I’m planning to transfer to Beacon next year.”

Robyn’s eyebrows rose. “Are you now?” she asked. “And you admit it openly in front of these two?” she gestured to Ciel and Neon.

“Robyn,” Pietro murmured. “Maybe—”

Penny frowned. “'Admit it'? Why wouldn’t I?”

“To spare yourself the obloquy and the hostility that is about to descend upon you?” Robyn suggested. “To spare yourself the harassment, the ridicule?”

“What are you talking about?”

“She is generalising from her own experience,” Ciel said sharply, “and editorialising to a grotesque extent to boot.”

“No one is allowed to walk away from Atlas,” Robyn declared. “No one is allowed to walk away from paradise; no one is even allowed to want to. Everyone should want to be a part of Atlas, and if you don’t … that’s unacceptable.”

“Do not compare your situation with Penny’s,” Ciel snapped. “You did not just transfer schools in between years; if you had wanted to see Mistral so badly, you could have studied at Haven, and nobody would have batted an eye, but instead, you betrayed your oath, your uniform, your duty, and General Ironwood. And one day, you will suffer the consequences of that.” She paused for a moment. “Now, did you have any business here, or did you simply come to bandy crooked words?”

Robyn chuckled. “‘My oath, my uniform, my duty, and General Ironwood,’” she mused. “One of those things … but leave that. It’s late, I can see that I’m bothering you, and … I didn’t come here to pick a fight. But Doctor Polendina is an important figure in this community, many people with prosthetics and disabilities depend upon his help, and as a leader of this community, that means that I’m entitled to take an interest in his wellbeing. So how are you doing, Doc? I heard you got into some trouble?”

“I suppose I did,” Pietro said, scratching the side of his face with one finger. “Although to tell you the truth, I was asleep for most of it.”

Robyn laughed. “That’s the best way to spend a crisis, I’m sure. Provided that you wake up and it’s all been resolved satisfactorily.”

“It was,” Pietro assured her. “My daughter and her friends took care of me.”

“I see,” Robyn murmured. “Then it seems I owe you thanks, and I will thank you in the best way that I think I can, by leaving you alone.” She turned away and headed towards the door. “Take care of yourself, Doctor; remember that we need you down here. I’ll see you around.”

She pushed open the door, admitting a blast of cold air into the clinic, and waved with one hand behind her as she stepped out into the street.

The door shut behind her.

Neon folded her arms. “I do not like that woman.”

“Who is she?” asked Penny. “Do you all know her? Why didn’t I know her?”

“Because you’re not from around here, probably,” Neon suggested. “If you lived in Mantle, you’d know who Robyn Hill was. Everyone knows who Robyn Hill is down here.”

“She is a vigilante,” Ciel explained. “She and her companions—”

“I know that she’s not very popular in Atlas,” Pietro said, “but here in Mantle … sometimes, it seems like she’s the only one who gives a damn about what happens down here.”

Ciel pursed her lips together, but rather than saying anything, she checked the time on her watch. “This hardly seems the hour for a political discussion, certainly not one in which tempers may become heated and passions aroused. I promise not to poison Penny’s mind against Robyn Hill if you would wish it otherwise, but Doctor, I think it is probably past your bedtime.”

“You’re not wrong,” Pietro said. “You’re not wrong.”

There was a small elevator in the back of the clinic, and Dad’s chair began to carry him that way, legs plodding forwards, whirring as they moved, thumping on the floor. Penny followed him, her own steps lighter, leaving Ciel and Neon behind — the elevator wasn’t big enough for all of them — as Pietro moved out of the public facing areas and into the back of the building that was his workspace and his home.

The elevator was more like a cargo carrier than any of the lifts at Beacon, just a square platform to stand on and a hole cut in the ceiling for it to rise up through. Pietro’s chair carried him onto said platform, and there was room for Penny to squeeze in there as well before the elevator carried them both upwards, the floor beneath their feet rising, the hatch in the ceiling opening, until they stood in Pietro’s bedroom.

The lights were off, and the curtains were drawn, and the whole room was dark.

“I’ll get the lights,” Penny said, moving quickly to the door and pressing the switch upon the wall next to it.

The lights turned on, revealing a room that was filled with robots or robotic devices, from the android standing by the wardrobe to the hands and claws suspended from the ceiling over the bed, to the large, round, white, capsule-looking thing sitting in the corner.

“What’s that, Dad?” Penny asked, pointing to it.

“Hmm? Oh, that’s something I worked on a couple of years ago,” Pietro said. “When activated, it moves around the room picking up clothes, and then it washes and dries them afterwards, and you can collect them from a hatch in the top. A perfect solution to the problem of laundry. At least, I thought so.”

Pietro pressed a button on the wall near his bed, and at once, the array of robotic hands upon the ceiling stirred to life and got to work, pulling back the red blanket and the white sheet from this bed even as the bed itself descended lower towards the floor. The bed descended, but Pietro’s chair rose, or at least the rear legs did, pushing upwards while the forelegs dropped down, as if the chair was trying to bow in some way.

More robot hands gripped hold of Pietro, holding him steady, almost carrying him as, with trembling legs, with a whole body that seemed to be quivering with effort, he pushed himself up and out of his chair.

“Dad, do you need any help?” Penny asked.

“I do, sweetie, but not from you; don’t worry yourself,” Pietro told her. “That’s why I built all of these things, to help me out.” It took a mere three steps to cross from chair to bed, but nevertheless, Pietro seemed to struggle with every step, despite his robotic assistants. He closed his eyes and screwed up his face as though the very act of lifting up his leg was painful for him. But, supported by all his robot helpers, he covered the distance and sat down heavily in bed, the mattress crumpling beneath his weight.

The bed began to rise again as the robots helped Pietro get his legs into bed and covered his body with sheets and blankets.

Pietro’s breathing was heavier than it had been before. “Penny,” he said softly.

Penny crossed the room to stand by his bedside, even if she had to squeeze past his chair to do it. “Yes, Dad?”

“Thank you,” he murmured, “for being there when I woke up.”

Penny smiled down at him. “I’ll be here when you wake up in the morning too.”

“'In the morning'?” he repeated. “But—”

“I’ll be here,” Penny repeated, before she bent down and kissed him on the forehead. “Goodnight, Dad.”

Pietro smiled and closed his eyes. “Goodnight, Penny.”

Penny watched him. It only took him a few moments to start snoring, so she was pretty sure that he had fallen asleep.

Penny turned the lights off as she left the room, plunging it into darkness once again, and then took the stairs back down, stepping lightly — almost skipping — down the wooden steps, her hands held out on either side of her.

In the time that she’d been gone, Rainbow, Blake, and Twilight had arrived, all of them standing downstairs with Neon and Ciel.

“How is he?” Twilight asked as she caught sight of Penny; she spoke very quietly, her voice a whisper.

“He’s asleep now,” Penny replied, speaking equally quietly. “I think he’ll be fine.” She hesitated for a moment. “I … I want to stay with him tonight, though. I … I am going to stay with him tonight.”

Rainbow also hesitated for a moment, but nodded. “Okay. We’ll all stick around for tonight and go home tomorrow. There are some sleeping bags in The Bus; I’ll get them out.”

“Thank you,” Penny said.

“It’s not a problem,” Twilight said. “You want to make sure that he’s okay. So do we.”

Penny smiled. “Did you take care of everything? Did you turn in Feathers Markinson?”

Ciel held up a gold lien card, a smile of her own upon her lips. “Three million lien,” she said. “Gratefully received from Blake.”

Blake chuckled. “It’s from all of us.”

“But you got the last punch, so you got to hand the money over,” Rainbow said. “You also got to be the one photographed collecting the reward.”

Blake shook her head. “They should have given us time to get everyone together if they were going to do that, instead of springing a photographer—”

“I did not do this for the glory of the capture,” Ciel said. “This is … the only reward that I require. Alain is safe now, and I … I must go at once, and tell my family. It may be too late to start making the arrangements, but…” She wiped at her eyes with one hand. “I am glad to have the money in hand and content to leave all the glory to you, Blake.”

“That doesn’t mean I want it,” Blake replied.

“Take it anyway,” Rainbow said. “Making a name for yourself now will only help in future. Something like this … it absolutely cannot hurt for you to be associated with the capture of a thief who preyed on the elite of Atlas. It absolutely cannot.”

---

This time, Cadance didn’t have Shining Armor in her office with her when Rainbow Dash and Blake arrived; she was alone, standing, facing the window looking out across the city. As the door slid shut behind them, she turned to face them both, showing off her rose-coloured jacket and pencil skirt.

I’ve spent way too much time with Rarity that I know what that is.

Cadance clasped her hands together. “Hello again, you two,” she said, a smile upon her face. The ever-present sapphire heart she wore around her neck glistened in the bright light reflected off the walls. “It seems that you can’t keep yourselves out of the fight. I think you may need to remind yourselves what ‘vacation’ means.”

“It wasn’t really much of a fight, ma’am,” Rainbow pointed out, clasping her hands behind her back.

Cadance chuckled. “I might have to take umbrage at that aspersion cast on the quality of our androids … but we are phasing that model out in any case. So, how did you enjoy your adventure down in Mantle?”

“It wasn’t much of an adventure either,” Rainbow pointed out.

“Although,” Blake murmured, “I am a little surprised that you heard about it, Councillor.”

“What you did may seem small scale to a huntress,” Cadance replied, “but as a story, it has a number of enticing ingredients: a large sum of money, a notorious criminal, a huntress making a name for herself — or two, a situation in Mantle which, I must admit, doesn’t paint the authorities in the very best light … and a sick child. That is right, isn’t it, what I’m hearing?”

Rainbow nodded. “Ciel, our teammate, has a brother,” she said. “He’s sick, very sick … we took down the guy to get the reward money for Ciel to pay for his treatments.”

“I see,” Cadance murmured. “Your loyalty is to be commended.”

Rainbow shook her head. “Any team leader — any team — in our position would have done the same. That’s what being on a team means.”

“I’m not so sure you’re right,” Cadance said. “Although I certainly wouldn’t object if you were.” She paused for a moment. “How is the boy?”

“We just heard from Ciel,” Rainbow said. “He’s already in the hospital.”

“It’s amazing how quickly you can get things moving when you have three million lien to spend,” Blake observed dryly.

Cadance’s lips twitched upwards for a moment. She reached for the scroll on her desk, pressing a button on the screen to bring up a hologram of a woman with pale skin and blonde hair, with features that were possibly just a little bit too sharp.

“The infamous jewel thief Feathers Markinson was arrested in Mantle last night after being handed over to the authorities by Blake Belladonna and Rainbow Dash. Belladonna, a former Atlesian special agent whose deep cover within the White Fang was blown months previously by the Valish authorities, has returned to Atlas to recuperate until the start of the Vytal Festival later this year. Here she is, receiving the three million lien reward for the capture of this miscreant, who has been wanted in Atlas since breaking into the home of the Marigold family.”

The picture changed from the reporter herself to a picture of Blake taking the reward money.

Rainbow grinned and patted Blake on the shoulder.

Blake gave her a dirty look in return.

Look, do you want to get on or not? If so, learn to take all the credit you can get.

The picture returned to the reporter, joined by small profile images of Blake and Rainbow in the top right hand corner.

“There is no confirmed information from the police as to whether Markinson has given up the whereabouts of the items previously stolen from the Marigolds and others, but we imagine that officers are attempting to persuade him to give up that information by any means. What we do know is that the reward money of three million lien for the capture of Markinson has already been spent on medical treatments for the younger brother of a fellow huntress, a comrade of Belladonna and Dash, although we don’t yet have the names of anyone involved. Belladonna and Dash, of course, were both involved in the front lines of the Atlesian response to the Breach in Vale, they were both cited in despatches by General Ironwood as a result of that action, and we contacted General Ironwood to ask if their actions in Mantle last night were sanctioned by him and to what purpose. A spokesman for Atlas Academy responded.”

The next image to appear about Cadance’s desk was that of Major Schnee, looking straight ahead and a little uncomfortable as she spoke in a flat, monotone voice. “Atlas Academy does not condone vigilantism in any shape or form; however, we are pleased to note that whatever else these reports may indicate, they demonstrate that the values of comradeship, loyalty, and honour are alive and well in Atlas Academy.”

“However, not everyone had their heart warmed by these events.”

Rainbow groaned. “Don’t tell me that they—”

Yep. It was Robyn Hill’s face popping up next. Rarity had once described the Hero of Mantle’s style as ‘hobo chic,’ and Rainbow Dash … she could see the hobo, but it was the chic that she was having a little bit more trouble with. Anyway, there she was, and Rainbow couldn’t help but think there was an irony in someone who ought to be in jail talking about someone else who actually was.

“Who is that?” Blake asked quietly.

“Robyn Hill,” Rainbow growled. “She—”

“Shhhh,” Cadance murmured gently. “Later.”

“Obviously, I will never shed any tears for the removal of a criminal from the streets of Mantle,” Robyn began, which made Rainbow snort loudly, “but I just want to say two things. The first being, of course, that while we don’t know if this was an official sanctioned operation or not, we do know that two of the huntresses involved are known to enjoy the favour of General Ironwood, and I think that reasonable and intelligent people can draw their own conclusions from that. Just as I am sure that reasonable and intelligent people can see this and draw their own conclusions from the fact that an operation can be mounted to catch someone who has stolen jewellery worth more than the average citizen of Mantle will make in a year, will make in ten years of hard work, to protect even more staggeringly expensive jewellery on loan from a foreign kingdom … but you can’t get an officer to respond when you’ve been burgled, you can’t get the streetlights repaired so you have to walk home in the dark, you can’t get a doctors’ appointment, you can’t get seen in the ER without waiting for hours in pain. We’re told that there is no money, there is no resource, but apparently, there is resource to deal with a problem that affects Atlas. And I don’t need to tell you what that says about where our leaders’ priorities are; I think you can work that out for yourselves.

“And the second thing that I want to say is about the boy. We’ve all heard by now that the reward money for the capture of this thief has gone to pay the medical expenses for the sick relative of a friend of the huntresses involved. A little boy. And that’s very nice of them, I don’t deny that; we should all be so lucky to have friends like that. We should all be so lucky. But not everyone is, and I think that people need to ask themselves why this little boy had to rely on a group of family friends getting together to catch a wanted criminal in order to get the healthcare he needed. What if there hadn’t been a Feathers Markinson around? What about everyone else who doesn’t know a group of huntresses willing to do them a favour? This is why we need single payer—”

Cadance turned off the hologram.

“I mean … she’s got a point,” Blake said.

“I know,” Cadance murmured. “I’ve attempted to reform our … unfair healthcare system in the past, but not all of my fellow councillors have agreed with me. If Robyn Hill can create a sufficient degree of outrage off the back of this case, then she may have done me a favour. I certainly think the time is right for another attempt, because you’re both correct; the current state of affairs is … indefensible.”

“Have we caused any trouble, ma’am?” Rainbow asked. “For you or General Ironwood?”

“You did what you had to do,” Cadance said. “For a friend. I would never ask you to do anything else.”

“That isn’t the question I asked, ma’am,” Rainbow pointed out.

“No,” Cadance replied. “It isn’t.” She paused for a moment. “Jacques Schnee has been on the scroll complaining about the damage to his androids. He wants someone to pay for the destruction of property.”

“What did you say?” asked Blake.

“I reminded him that he was the richest man in the world and that he could eat the damages, and it would barely amount to a decimal point on his balance sheet,” Cadance said. “I then suggested that persecuting a hero who has … spent years undercover serving with a notorious terrorist organisation in order to defend Atlas might not be the best look, publicity-wise.” She glanced at Blake. “No offence.”

“None taken,” Blake murmured. “How did he respond?”

“By demanding to know what he paid his taxes for,” Cadance said. She smiled. “To which I could only reply that if he wanted to take that line, then I would, of course, support him … after a full and comprehensive audit of his accounts had been carried out to ensure that he had, in fact, paid all his taxes. And, you know, I think he realised at that point that we both had better things to do with our time and energy.”

Rainbow let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, ma’am,” she said. “I appreciate that.”

“We both do,” Blake added.

“Don’t mention it,” Cadance said lightly. “In politics, you don’t often get the chance to enjoy yourself, but having the opportunity to stick one to Jacques Schnee … call it my guilty pleasure. Except I don’t even feel very guilty. As for General Ironwood, by the time that you see him again, I doubt he’ll even remember this happened.” Once more, she paused. “Blake, how did you find Mantle?”

Blake didn’t reply for a second. “Who was that woman?” she asked. “Some kind of politician?”

“She’d like to be,” Rainbow muttered. “That was Robyn Hill. She’s a huntress, sort of; she’s an Atlas graduate, used to be an officer—”

“Not just any officer,” Cadance said. “She graduated from Atlas top of her class, won the Vytal Festival tournament ten years ago. Meteoric rise through the ranks—”

“You don’t need to praise her, ma’am; she doesn’t deserve it,” Rainbow said sharply. “Whatever she did, whatever she was … she left all that behind. She threw it away, turned her back on everything. Quit the military, settled in Mantle … now, she spends her time mouthing off to anyone who’ll point a camera her way about how terrible Atlas is. That’s when she isn’t carrying out vigilante justice or just straight up committing crimes.”

“She has yet to be found guilty of anything,” Cadance said gently.

“I saw her kill someone with my own eyes,” Rainbow insisted. “And yes, the person killed was a murderer, and they had it coming, and I’m not losing any sleep about it, but … everyone knows that she ambushes supply trucks, everyone knows that she raids caches.”

“What ‘everyone’ knows doesn’t matter,” Cadance replied. “Innocent until proven guilty.”

“She’s a disgrace,” Rainbow said firmly.

“She was rising high?” Blake asked.

Cadance nodded. “People were talking seriously about her as the next commanding General, once General Ironwood retires.”

Blake’s brow furrowed. “Then to leave that behind … she must have very strong convictions. You don’t have to agree with them, but … believe me, it isn’t easy to turn your back on the group you belong to, especially when you know that all of your friends and comrades, everyone you know, will hate and revile you for it. You have to really believe that what you’re doing is right, and that what you’ve been doing … whatever she is or does, I have no doubt that she believes in it. And, quite frankly, I can see why. Mantle does feel neglected.”

“Because it…” Rainbow trailed off. “I hate to agree with Robyn Hill on anything, but she’s kind of right about the cop thing.”

“Yes, you’ve mentioned that before,” Cadance murmured. She put one hand on her desk and sighed. “When I first went into politics, I thought that I would be able to solve problems. Instead … the problems are more clear to me than ever, but the solutions remain tantalisingly out of reach. I have a friend, an ally, Ivy Brown; she’s going to run for the Council in the next elections; if she gets elected then, with General Ironwood’s support, we’ll have four votes on the council, a majority.”

“But how long until new elections?” Blake said. “And are you just going to wait until then and do nothing?”

“We have to have faith in the system, even if that system is preventing any progress at the moment,” Cadance replied. “The day that we stop believing that democracy can work is the day we lose it. That said … it takes a very brave soul, politically, to argue against increases to the law and order budget, so I plan to bring a motion to the next council session for emergency increases to funding for the police and the courts in Mantle, citing the rise in vigilantism. Because you’re both right, Mantle is neglected, and I fear … Robyn Hill has three followers right now; what if she were to have more? We need to learn the lessons of the White Fang and address the issues that lead to violence, because if we don’t … if we don’t, we’ll just be storing up so much more trouble for ourselves in future. Trouble I fear we won’t be prepared to deal with when it comes.”

Comments

[Lancerguy]

Or join up with Salem, Penny thought.

I'm sorry, but Penny is the one who came up with this thought? I have a hard time believing that Penny thought this far out, or even this pessimistic regarding the current situation. She is growing and maturing, which is wonderful to see, but I am not sure if she is at this level yet.

“The infamous jewel thief Feathers Markinson was arrested in Mantle last night after being handed over to the authorities by Blake Belladonna and Rainbow Dash. Belladonna, a former Atlesian special agent whose deep cover within the White Fang was blown months previously by the Valish authorities, has returned to Atlas to recuperate until the start of the Vytal Festival later this year. Here she is, receiving the three million lien reward for the capture of this miscreant, who has been wanted in Atlas since breaking into the home of the Marigold family.”

Oh, this I like. It is subtle, but the fact that Atlas didn't even need a siren to begin throwing this level of shade is quite telling about their relations with other kingdoms as a whole. A few more pushes, and yikes this is going to be an adventure

[Mastermind4892]

Feathers can hack anything? Well, if things get desperate with Dr. Watts later on, then we could probably cut a deal with a petty jewel thief. The look on Dr. Watts' face, getting outplayed by a penguin!

Welcome back, my friend!

[Snowdrifter]

“By demanding to know what he paid his taxes for,” Cadance said. She smiled. “To which I could only reply that if he wanted to take that line, then I would, of course, support him … after a full and comprehensive audit of his accounts had been carried out to ensure that he had, in fact, paid all his taxes. And, you know, I think he realised at that point that we both had better things to do with our time and energy.”

I would pay real lien to have seen Jaques face after this conversation.