Detrot: Become Equine

by Andromidus

2.1 - HAUNTING/SPIKE

LT. SPIKE’S LOFT - DETROT, EQUESTRIA

DATE

MAY 12TH, 1438

TIME

AM 05:29:06

CHAPTER 2.1

HAUNTING

The alarm clocked squawked, pecking at Spike’s forehead. It continued to do so until he raised a hand to block it. “Alright, alright, Peewee, I’m up.” He scratched the fluff on the phoenix’s neck. “You can stop now, ya’ greedy bird.”

Peewee chirped defiantly and perched himself on top of Spike’s upper spine. The drake chuckled and rolled his shoulders. He pushed the covers away and sluggishly swung his legs over the bed. He spotted the picture sitting on his nightstand, glimmering in the early morning light. “Morning, Mom. The day’s looking great, yeah?”

He didn’t expect to get an answer from the static photo, that would be the height of insanity. But in the wisps of his mind, he could still fondly remember her dorky laugh, her objective, no-nonsense tone, and her voice—the calm, gentle, motherly voice that read him bedtime stories. Spike had gotten used to waking up without the unicorn for quite some time now. The first few years had been the hardest, sure, but he remained strong, just like how he had been raised. That didn’t mean he couldn’t hold onto the hope that she would come back and nudge him awake like she used to.

Those years had been rough on everypony associated with her.

Relationships had been torn or strained, blames had been thrown around, and many mourned the loss.

Although none had been hit harder than a certain dragon hatchling.

The phoenix squawked in anger and pecked the ridge of his nose. Spike chuckled and waved him off. “Come on, Peewee. Not everypony can wake up at the crack of dawn feeling refreshed as you do."

That response got him to puff out his chest in pride.

“It wasn’t a compliment, but let it feed your ego, I guess.”

Spike bent over and stretched, working out the kinks that appeared from his night of rest. The phoenix remained clamped to the spine as if his life depended on it. He sighed in relief as he popped the bones in his spine. “Okay. Now we can get started on breakfast.”

He jogged out of the bedroom and slid along the guardrail to the bottom floor. His paws made contact and he skidded along the rug. Spike continued to the kitchen, stopping at his cupboard. The bag of seeds he kept in stock was starting to run pretty low…

He grabbed them and poured some into a heat-resistant bowl. To which he proceeded to gently blow a flame on. After he started to smell the crispy aroma they gave off, the drake placed them on the dining table for his friend to eat. “Here you go. Morning Song birdseed, roasted for your pleasure.”

The bird cawed in approval, digging into his meal with multiple pecks.

“Now let's see what I can eat…” he mumbled, walking to the fridge. He swung it open. “Hard cider, hard cider… barbecue sauce… condiments… half a tomato… wow, alright. Looks like I need to go grocery shopping.” He turned to face the pantry. Maybe I have something in there?

Closing the fridge, he pushed the pantry door open. Inside was the nearly depleted bag of seeds, some chip bags… and cereal! He reached out to grab it but winced as he remembered and brought his hand back. No milk.

“Hey, Peewee, I'm going to go get ready! I'll have to buy some fast food for myself.”

He received a chirp in response.

“I'll take that as an okay.” He closed the fridge and stood back up. “Should I go to Hayburger or DJ?”

Peewee stopped eating and pondered the choices. He squawked twice and gave a low warble.

“Hayburger it is! Do you want me to pick up anything for you when I come back?”

There was only pecking, the phoenix seemingly having ignored his question.

“Mhm. Don't come cawing at me when I bring you nothing but your seeds,” Spike chided, climbing back up the staircase. The bird persisted in the consumption of his meal. “Suit yourself.”

He jogged back into the room and threw his sleeping clothes off. Spike eyed the digital alarm clock and stopped. He had time for it…

He crawled onto the bed and sat crisscrossed.

“So, Mom, hi again. I’ve got extra time to talk… again.” He clicked his tongue. “What to talk about… Oh! Aunt Cadence has been talking about coming to visit me. She says that it's been quite hectic ever since she was appointed the governor of the Crystal region. She keeps telling me the job is killing her, but we all know she loves it,” he chuckled. A brief moment and it was back to silence and wearing a frown. Spike bent over and reached for a pamphlet, idly leafing through the contents. “She’s been going on about taking me to Zebrica later this month since her vacation is coming up. She says it's quite beautiful this time of year.”

He looked to his feet. “Uncle Shiny wishes he could drop by and say hello… however… stuff with the equdroids has got him all tied up.” Spike but his lip and shut his eyes. “Do… do you hate them for what they did, Mom?” No reply. None was to be anticipated. He answered for himself. “Of course you wouldn't. You never could. I wish I was like you... Always so optimistic, always so good at seeing the good in others. How do you do it, Mom?”

The dragon fell back onto his bed. “My psychologist keeps telling me it's bad to keep talking to you like you're still there…” He breathed a small plume of fire, which harmlessly dissipated into the air. “I know you’re not. It's just… not the same simply talking to anypony else. I wish… I wish you were still here.” Spike laid there, content with listening to the low hum of the air conditioning block. He cracked his right eye open as the sound of wingbeats became apparent, and a fiery feathered tail blocked half of his vision. “Done eating, Peewee?”

The phoenix nudged the side of his face and cooed. He tilted his head as if to ask, “are you okay?”

“I want to say yes, but that's lying,” Spike responded. He rubbed his eyelids and groaned. “Thanks for listening, Mom. I gotta go to work now… I know you'd hate it if I was late because I spent too long talking to you.”

In less than fifteen minutes, the drake had freshened up, gotten his uniform on, and grabbed everything he would need for his daily activity. Back on the bottom floor of the loft as he adjusted the strap on his jacket, he could hear the sounds of a movie being played. Curiously, he craned his neck to see what was being watched.

The screen exploded into color as the Power Ponies rolled on the scene, attempting to stop a hijacked military cruiser. Waves of nostalgia hit the drake like a freight train. A particular memory surfaced, one of a birthday where an uncle bought him a box full of comic books, and their subsequent chewing out.

“There’s… there’s so many of them! Uncle Shining, th-thank you!” the drake exclaimed, claws trembling over the box.

She wore a look of disbelief. “BBBFF! You did not just get Spike a whole box of those things!”

The stallion chuckled as if he had been caught red-hoofed. “W-What? He likes to read them, and I always see how longingly he stares at the comics on display. Besides, it's reading, right?”

“They are not real books, Shiny! Majority of the content in there are pictures! There’s a reason I don't buy any for Spike!” she fumed. “And you know my policy on these…! I made sure everyone in the family knew my stance regarding comics.”

“Ah, yes. The infamous tri-fold poster board,” Celestia interjected. “Captain Shining here likes to regale that tale to new recruits. Did you know he threatens them with bringing you in for a lecture if they’re slacking off? I heard it improves their motivation.”

“You do what?”

“Hey, would you look at the time,” Shining whistled. “Cady’s probably expecting me back already.” He started to slowly back up, fake smile drawn on his face. He yelped as a purple barrier slammed around him.

“You are not going anywhere until we have a thorough talking! And you!” She pointed a hoof to the hatchling attempting to drag the birthday gift away. “Have you been reading comics behind my back?”

He gulped. “Uhm… noooo?” Spike sagged back as he was scooped up in a magic field.

“Uh-huh. I'm going to have a word with both of you.”

Celestia smiled. “If you shall be doing that, I’ll be taking the liberty of sampling the refreshments.”

Shining cried. “Noooo! She's going to eat all the sliders!”

“There are sliders!?” she squealed. The awkward look she received from the unicorns, however, caused her to cough. “Er, I mean, I… I shall just go.”

Spike chuckled as the recollection ended and found himself back to staring at Mistress Marevelous lassoing a lackey. He ruffled the top of bird's head, who let out an indignant squawk in response to the gesture. “I’ll be back at night, Peewee. Try not to watch too much TV now, alright?” he said as he walked to the entrance and grabbed the helmet off the table.

The phoenix shrugged and waved as Spike shut the door behind him.

“Sometimes I worry for him,” he whispered, taking out his phone. He brought up maps and began navigating the app. “The nearest Hayburger joint is right there…”

He jogged down the hallway and to the elevators. It seemed nopony else was on them, interestingly enough, and he got to his destination relatively fast. Pushing the kickstand off of his bike, it roared out of the garage.

Traffic in this part of town wouldn't pick up until an hour later, so there was no need to rush to get his food. He had been left with mostly office work anyways, so nothing too pressing for him to worry about. Although Woods had been talking about getting him on some case. He hummed to himself as the motorcycle rumbled down the street. He crossed an intersection into a busier part of town. Some pedestrians trotted along the sidewalks. It was mostly the early birds and the ones trying to get some morning exercise done.

The light flicked to yellow, then to red. He pressed the brakes and slowed behind the vehicle in front of him.

He was probably one of the few, aside from the emergency response, to own and use a personal non-autonomous transport. A motorcycle, no less. Most of them had been phased out due to their inherent user danger years ago. Mom would’ve screamed at him for using one of these. He smiled at the thought as he adjusted the rear-view mirror. Despite all of that, he couldn’t deny the freedom of riding of his own will. Feeling the exhilaration and rush of the bike. Deep down, he loved it. It wasn't the same riding in a car.

His love for the mode of transport didn’t mean he was careless.

He did trust his skills—like any prideful pony would—although it never hurt to be prepared. Mom had gone over the problems motorcycles faced, helpful in the regards of listing each and every one of them out. So he sought to magically remedy those that he could. Impact wards and enchantments, shielding runes, bubble charms, all ready in the case of a possible accident.

Down the street was his destination.

He blinked and began slowing down for the turn into the lot. Spike was surprised at how quickly he arrived at the fast food joint. He anticipated a delay from perhaps roadwork or other cars… but that didn’t seem to be the case today. It seemed that morning was chalking up to be something memorable.

Wheeling his bike to a parking space, he walked inside. It was moderately packed. The lines didn’t look all that absurd today.

It was fast enough that he found himself already in the waiting area.

He spotted a familiar looking uniform beside him and a bored looking stallion. A wry grin graced his features. He cleared his throat and attempted his best impression of his uncle. “Are you vegetating, cadet!? Maybe you do want me to bring in my sister!”

The pony gave a bewildered look and straightened his posture. He threw his hoof up to his temple in a well-practiced salute. “Sir, no, sir!”

Spike snorted, holding back a round of laughter. He hadn’t expected that to go so well. “Relax. I’m just ribbing you.”

The dark green stallion slowly lowered his salute. “You do a pretty good impression of the Captain. Never heard of a dragon serving in the SRG before. Well, never seen you before in Canterlot, at least.”

“I’m his nephew, actually. That's how I know him.” He received a raised brow. “Well, not by blood of course.” He raised his arm for a hoofshake. “Spike.”

“Wind Shear,” he replied, returning the gesture. “Dragon nephew, huh? Call me skeptical.”

“Wouldn’t expect you to believe me right away,” Spike said. “I was adopted by his sister thirty years ago. The same sister he threatens everypony with.”

“Shit, really? Are the stories of the lectures true?”

Now it was the drake’s turn to look surprised. “Wait, he wasn't kidding? He actually threatens ponies with my mother?” He got a nod. “The shorter ones are okay. But when you get her really going… oho. You best buckle in, they can get pretty tedious. The mare could drone on and on about a single topic before moving to the next one. Mom loved to also put in spells that kept you awake, too.”

He saw the pony visibly shudder. “Damn. Here I thought my parents terrified me.”

Spike pulled out his phone to check a notification. “So what brings you here to Detrot? I don't think you guys are normally stationed here.”

Shear shrugged. “On leave. Came here to visit family. Didn't have much to wear besides this, so I just rolled with it.” Their conversation tapered off at that point, the usual fare of a fast food joint coming back from the background. As he shifted to pull his phone out, the pegasi’s eyes lit up in recognition. “Did you hear about the hostage situation in Canterlot last night?”

He blanched. “Hostage situation? W-Well, no. I haven’t.”

“Four equdroids took a bunch of nobleponies hostage at a party. It’s been resolved now, but a buddy of mine who was there said it was pretty tense.”

Spike just nodded. Tapping to the news app, he went to the tab for national news. He found what he was searching for at the top of the list. Reluctantly, he pressed it. The overhead view caught glimpses of the ponies being moved into the VIP booth. The reporter was talking about the events prior, and how ViTAS was sending somepony to negotiate.

Then he saw it, or to be specific, her.

He blinked and rubbed his eyes. The pony had vanished, like a ghost. I’m probably just seeing things. Another minute into the recorded broadcast, he saw it again. He repeated his earlier action, watching them disappear as he cut off his vision. I think I may want to talk to my psychologist sooner than we planned.

“185! Your order is ready!”

Spike jerked his head up and checked the receipt. He turned to Shear. “That’s me. It was nice talking with you.”

“Heh. Same. Always nice to learn things about your boss… although I never expected to learn it in a fast food joint,” he replied.

The dragon smiled and gave him a wave as he exited the establishment with his breakfast. That smile, however, quickly soured and turned into a frown as he drifted back to the news post. Why was he seeing her there? Was he hallucinating?

He nibbled on the hashbrown. Was it because of the equdroids?

He wished he knew.

DETROT POLICE CENTRAL STATION - DETROT, EQUESTRIA

DATE

MAY 12TH, 1438

TIME

PM 3:43:37

Spike straightened the stack of papers by tapping it on the desk, then quickly filed them away into a cabinet. That was probably the last set he would have to put away. He sighed and cracked his knuckles, silently reminding himself that he wouldn’t have to do this if that policy wasn’t in place. Which was there to make sure they couldn’t accidentally lose anything due to a technological mishap. It had been enacted by the current police chief.

The chief was an older pony, who firmly believed that while technology was a nice thing to have, it was an even nicer thing to have physical hard copies. That translated into a larger workload for all them.

Though nopony complained.

Chief Foresight was renowned for her… foresight. She could often be eccentric at times whenever she came up with her ideas, with some of them being downright strange and questionable. However, when they seemed to have a problem, her weird plans or contingencies came to the rescue.

So nopony complained since they seemed to save them so much stress later on. Spike would still silently bitch, however.

“Hey, Spike!” a stallion called from his left. “The captain wants to see you in his office!”

He stopped what he was doing. What does Woods want with me? “I’ll be there shortly! Thanks, Shell.”

“No prob.”

He gently pushed in his chair and weaved around the desks to the staircase. The captain’s room had been situated overlooking the entire office section of the station, with a hanging walkway in the front. He skipped steps as he practically bounded up the flight.

It wasn’t long before he found himself entering the personal office. “Sherwoods? You asked for me?”

“Ah, Spike. So you haven’t really been doing much lately, and that’s a waste of yer’ talents! A recent opportunity for ya’ came up,” he said, closing the browser on his desktop. “We’ve been shorthoofed with our other cases and this was perfect!”

Spike tilted his head and sat down. “What do you mean?”

“Well, we’ve had some problems with some equdroids cropping up lately—”

“Woods, with all due respect, I don’t believe I’m the best dragon for that. I may be emotionally compro—”

“Nonsense! You’re one of the best officers on the force, Spike, and I know you. Y'all do just fine. Besides, you won’t be doing this alone,” Woods said, smiling.

“You’re going to give me a partner?” Spike looked surprised.

The stallion’s face scrunched up. “Weeell… not me, specifically.” He grabbed a dossier and placed it in front of the drake. The sharp letters “P-UTS001” and a famous equdroid company logo was printed on it. “ViTAS recently came out with this prototype for a police detective and they needed to test it. So happens we were chosen to participate and so happens you were available.” He leaned in. “If you ask me, I think they’re sending this one out to clean up those ‘malfunctions’ we’re being swamped with. Save face, all that big company stuff.”

“Sir. I cannot in good conscience work with an equdroid. You know my stance on those things.”

“At least give the tin can a chance, Spike,” Woods urged. He pressed a buzzer. “P-UTS001, you can come in.”

“Woods. Seriously,” Spike insisted. “You can’t expect me to work with an equdroid without any problems. Here, I can name one right off the bat. It’s an equdroid. I thought I told you—”

The door opened and the sound of hooves against wood alerted them to the arrival of the prototype. “I apologize for not arriving right away. I was looking around to acclimate with my surroundings since I shall be working here for an undefined amount of time,” an all-too-familiar voice said, sending chills down the dragon’s spine. He slowly turned around to face something that haunted him for years. “Ah. You must be Lieutenant Spike. I am P-UTS001, nickname designation: Sparkle. I am to be your partner for the upcoming investigations, correct?”

Spike, however, couldn’t get a single word out. Thoughts rushed through his head but none could formulate words. He was in too much shock. Too confused to think properly. Despite the chaotic state his mind was in, each thought had something similar.

It all centered around an important pony from his hatchling days.

After an awkward three minutes of silence between the two parties (and a fidgeting police captain), the haze filling his thoughts lifted, and he could think. His training also kicked in. However, he only settled on thinking about one thing.

His deceased mother was standing right in front of him. “M-Mom?”

Comments

[Noc]

It’s torturous how these updates are all split up. I wanna see what happens next with these two so bad.

Poor Spike.

[tsaukpaetra]

Oh boy, Sparkle is in for it now!