Neo-Gen Evangelion
"The man who lies asleep will never waken fame, and his desire and all his life drift past him like a dream, and the traces of memory fade from time like smoke in air, or ripples in a stream."
-The Divine Comedy
Sunset sat in her office, doing her finances for the month. If her math was right, then she was safely in the black. Even with a hospital bill. That was at least one thing she didn't have to worry about.
In her other hand was a stress ball that she idly squeezed while she worked. Other than some occasional pain, her arm was healing nicely. In fact, all her injuries healed nicely. Was this a side effect of her using the feathers? Was her body changing even when she wasn't Fenix?
Sunset didn't have time to dwell on that train of thought, a knock at the door demanding her attention. Closing her ledger, she went to answer the door. “What can I do for you?” she asked, opening the door.
On the other side of the door was a young woman roughly Sunset's age with long black hair spilling down her shoulders and icy blue eyes hidden behind chic slim glasses that were the same light gray as her skin. Flanking her were what Sunset assumed were two bodyguards, one lean and the other built like a solid brick wall.
"Hello, are you the investigator of the Setting Sun agency?" The woman asked with a smooth voice, adjusting her glasses.
“I’m the proprietor, Sunset Shimmer.” Stepping aside, she ushered them in. “Please, take a seat.”
The woman took a seat in front of Sunset's desk while the guards stood behind her. "I've heard that you've made quite a name for yourself in this town," she commented, opening her leather satchel. “Enough to be our final choice.”
"I see," Sunset commented, taking her own seat. "I certainly appreciate knowing I have a good name, but I never got yours."
“Nebula Breeze,” the woman introduced. Opening her briefcase, she placed a few folders on the desk. “I work for Neo-Gen Technologies, Head of Operations in Canterlot. We’ve had a few robberies over the last few weeks.”
"I've heard of Neo-Gen," Sunset started, opening one of the folders. "Spearheading experimental tech in several fields. Like the pacemaker specially designed to be MRI safe. So, why are you asking me and not the police to investigate this?"
The papers before her detailed a robbery from last week. An aerospace lab had been ransacked the day of project completion. Besides some blueprints there were some small pieces of advanced gps tech that were missing.
"This is a sensitive manner," Nebula explained, waving to the folders. "Neo-Gen has managed to secure a very important contract with the government's space program. It'd reflect badly if word got out that this happened. So we'd prefer this to not make it to police records."
“I can’t imagine the stockholders would be too happy to find out about this either,” Sunset said, dropping the folder on the table. “Is this everything you have?”
"No, that's everything I'm willing to share with someone that's not officially on the case," Nebula replied, a small grin on her face. "The rest is at the scene should you agree to our terms. Either way you'll have to sign an NDA, but the CEO has authorized me to pay you quite handsomely."
Steepling her fingers, Sunset scrutinized the woman. There was a nagging at the back of her mind. She knew this Nebula someone, but nothing came to mind as to how. “I see no reason not to take the case. I assume there’s a deadline?”
"I like you already. Sharp," the other woman praised, crossing her leg. "Yes, we have to present our progress to the ASA representatives in two weeks. So you have one week and three days to complete the case. And before you ask, the remaining days are what we'll need to get the lab back in order."
Reaching across the desk, Sunset smiled. “Well then, I’ll have to get started right away. Thank you for coming in, Ms. Breeze.”
"Agreeing without even hearing the pay? You are intriguing, Ms. Shimmer," Nebula noted, giving the private eye a quick handshake. "The contract and NDA will be at the lab. Be sure to read both."
Sunset sat in silence as the trio left, staring after Nebula. That nagging feeling wouldn't leave her. Wracking her brain, she worked through her memories from freshest to oldest in some attempt to make it go away. Nothing came to her, causing a groan of frustration to escape her lips as she hung her head.
Was it the orphanage? That was a place she'd rather forget. Still nothing, she couldn't recall anyone that matched Nebula's appearance. Letting the matter drop, she placed a call to Sugar Coat. She let her know that she was on another case and would message her again if things seemed demonic.
It'd feel good to be back on a normal case for once. High profile to be sure, but just one case without supernatural implications wasn't too much to ask, was it?
Pulling out her phone, Sunset started to input the address to the lab. Before she could hit enter, the screen displayed that she was receiving a call. A pit of despair formed in her stomach once she saw the name on her Caller ID. Mom.
Accepting the call, she greeted with “Hey, Mom. How are... things?”
There was a huff on the other side of the line, irritation plain in her voice. "Oh, fine and dandy. Just been enjoyin' retirement while my little girl was apparently in the hospital with a stab wound."
Sunset cringed, sinking back into her seat. Of course her parents would find out. Why would she possibly think they wouldn’t? “Mom, I’m okay. It won’t even leave a scar, I promise.”
"Sunny, you're too smart to think that was my concern," her mother retorted, sighing. "You were hurt and I don't even find out from you? And not one call when you were out?"
“I’ve had a lot going on...” Sunset weakly countered, desperately trying to sink even deeper.
"Too much for even a text or call to your pa or me?" The disappointment in her voice was more than enough to make Sunset wish her chair would swallow her into the cushion. “Ah mean, really, Sunny.”
"Sorry mama," Sunset squeaked out, feeling like a child under the older woman's scrutiny. “I didn’t mean to make you worry.”
"Well ya did," her mother stated, her voice softening. "And your father's been worse. He stayed up all night woodcarving when we learned."
Rubbing her forehead, Sunset felt a headache coming on. “Why did you let him do that? That’s just going to ruin his sleep cycle.”
“You don’t think I tried to get him to bed?” her mother huffed. “The man didn’t even give me a word while he was working. Sometimes I swear you do share blood with him. Both of you shut out everything when something really upsets you.”
“You’re not wrong...” Sunset muttered. “Mom, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys. Things have been complicated over here... I’m sure you’ve seen the news.”
“I have,” the other woman admitted. “Was Fenix something you cooked up or did folks online come up with that one?”
“No, that was all online. I wasn’t even going to pick a name.”
"I kinda figured," her mother said, chuckling. "You're a little bit more creative than all that. Just a bit though, you were the one that named a horse Captain Clippity afterall."
Standing up, Sunset gathered up her materials. “Oh come on! That was a great name.” With a bit of dexterity, she pulled on one of her back up coats. “I actually just got a case, Mom. How about I stop by when I’m free? I’ll even bring a friend.”
"I'll hold you to that," her mother said, chuckling just a bit louder. "Good luck and don't be a stranger, Sunny."
“I promise I won’t. Love you. Tell Dad I love him.”
"Will do." With that, the other woman ended the call.
Sunset slipped her phone into her pocket, enjoying the silence. How her parents had been so accepting of all of this baffled her. Never once had they shown her anything but love, even after her misdeeds had been revealed.
Most days she felt that she didn't deserve them. Just one of many things that kept her so motivated. Shaking off the mental fog, she headed out the door to start the case.
NeoGen’s aerospace lab was a recent development. Built out of an old airport, the company had spared no expense in restoring and renovating the existing structures. A gate halted her progress for a brief moment, but once the guard was given her name she was on her way again.
Finding the main lab was simple enough, the sleek steel and glass structure striking a stark contrast over the renovated structures. “Excuse me,” she asked, walking to the main desk. “I’m Sunset Shimmer. I was hired by Ms. Breeze to look into the recent break in.”
The young woman at the desk couldn't be older than twenty, with bubblegum pink skin and cotton candy blue hair done up in a tight ponytail. Her eyes lit up when Sunset introduced herself. "Welcome, Ms. Shimmer! Ms. Breeze gave me some items for you when you came." Reaching onto her desk, she slid what looked like two contracts to Sunset. "These are your non-disclosure agreement and work contract. I have a visitor's badge for you once you've reviewed and signed those."
Perhaps she should’ve consulted legal advice? A sudden wave of paranoia washed over her. Scanning over the text, she tried to remind herself that she wasn’t dealing with any demons. Unless corporate lawyers counted.
Flipping to the end of the non-disclosure agreement, she found a summary of the terms in more layman's terms. It basically meant that she wasn't allowed to discuss the case in detail with friends or family as well as online. Even after the experiments became public.
“Seems reasonable enough.” Signing her name, she slid the papers back. “Ready when you are.”
"Excellent," the receptionist chirped, pulling out a visitor's badge, "then I'll show you the main lab that was ransacked."
Despite advances in technology, Sunset had come to a certain realization. When taking notes, it was best to do so by hand. Lingering stigma made a good number of people assume typing on your phone meant a lack of attention.
Flipping open her notepad, Sunset began a short series of questions. “I didn’t catch your name, Ms?”
"It's Bazooka Pop," the receptionist answered, keeping her gaze locked forward. "But you can call me Poppy, everyone else does."
“Mhmm. Okay, Poppy, did you notice anything out of place leading up to the break in? Anything out of the norm?”
"Well, we're not sure break in is the right term. The alarms never went off and we checked the door and window locks and none of them were tampered with. I was interning in the flight lab up until that night and everything was pretty normal."
An inside job then. Someone who knew what to look out for and how to erase their footprints. “So, the building was locked up one night and in the morning you noticed what happened?”
"Our night security guard was the first to notice it," Poppy explained, leading her into an elevator. "He's been brought into the lab for you to talk to while you do your investigation of that room. Plus, he has the footage of the incident so you can see what has us worried."
That comment intrigued Sunset. There was something off about the footage, that much was obvious. Perhaps the thief had found a way to tamper with the cameras to hide his crime?
The lab itself was situated on the third floor. In fact, it took up a good portion of the floor. A vast open room spread out before her, broken up by rows of tables. Various machine parts littered the table tops, though she only recognized a small portion of it. The room was in disarray, electronics and circuit boards broken and littered along the floor. Standing off in an untouched corner of the room was a light blue man likely in his thirties with a laptop.
“Ah! Here he is now. This is Mr. Night Beam, our night guard.”
"Hey Poppy," Night greeted, giving the pink girl a quick smile. "This the P.I. we hired?"
Nodding, Sunset extended her hand. “That would be me, Sunset Shimmer. A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Beam.”
Night took the offered hand and gave it a brisk shake. "Same. If Ms. Breeze went out to hire you personally, then you must be good at what you do. I've already got the footage of the incident cued up if you wanna take a look." He moved the mouse, causing the screen to come to life with a media player on display.
“What am I looking for?” she asked, leaning closer to the screen.
"Just wait," Beam assured.
The footage continued and after a couple minutes the door to the lab opened. The only issue was, no one seemed to walk through. Then, various blueprints and other bits of electronics were lifted into the air by an unseen force. It was at that moment that Sunset's hopes for a normal case were completely dashed.
"Wow, an invisible perp," Sunset commented, feigning shock. "That's certainly a new one." Scrutinizing the screen, she offered a suggestion in the hopes of grounding herself in mundanity again. “Is it possible the footage has been tampered with?”
"Our cameras operate on a closed network," Beam explained, waving a hand. "Tampering with the footage would require a direct line in from the security room. Everyone who has access to said network, myself included, has already been cleared via an internal investigation."
Of course they were. Couldn’t she just get one case that wasn’t supernatural? “Is this all the footage?”
"This was the most eventful footage, but the entire night is saved up if you want to review all of it for anything. The day guard and I have been doing that already so if we find anything we'll get in touch." Beam tapped the flash drive and nodded to her. "You've been given permission to take the footage to your office as well."
Stepping away from the computer, Sunset began the great mental debate. Was it demonic or was it Equestrian? Wracking her brain, she tried to recall if there were any artifacts known for granting invisibility. Nothing came to her after a moment's thought. Regardless, with a supernatural element introduced she'd need to call her assistant.
“What specifically was taken?” Sunset asked, bringing out her pen again.
"Blueprints regarding an experiment that's been put on hiatus," Beam answered, reaching under the laptop and handing her a folder. "A botanical experiment trying to form a greenhouse on a space station for potential colonization projects. The blueprints were for a lens array. In the folder is a dossier on all the experiment team's members."
That was... new. She clutched the folder, almost to her chest. That was the sort of thing Twilight would kill to be a part of. Her voice failed her for a moment before she hid behind her professionalism. “Have they been questioned?”
"The ones that were moved to other projects have been," Beam admitted. "But some of the members were let go from the company. The project's leader took the hiatus especially hard. He had to be escorted out by security."
That was certainly suspicious. There was some clear motivation for the theft. If it weren't for a potential demon fight, Sunset might think this case could solve itself. Just to be safe, she asked for the full project roster.
“Can I copy this?” Sunset asked, looking over the document.
"As long as you don't share the info with those not part of your firm, then you can scan any data you need for the case," Beam assured her. "Fair warning, breaking that NDA can cause the company to rescind payment and then take legal action. So be careful with what you copy and how you use it."
“Yeah, I got it.” Only Sugar needed to know any of this. And even then, she just needed to see the parts about the demon. "Appreciate the heads up though. I think I'll go over the footage a bit more and search the lab a bit before talking to the people on the list."
Sunset rewound the footage, playing it at half speed so she could take the events in more detail. Just because she couldn't see the perp, didn't mean she couldn't see everything they interacted with. She'd use that to guide her search of the lab.
Stepping away from the computer, she began to walk around the lab. She settled on where the blueprints had been taken. It looked like something had dropped after the robbery had occurred. Kneeling down on the ground, an errant piece of plastic caught her eye. Grabbing it with a gloved hand, she recognized it as part of an employee ID.
A grin wormed its way on her face, this was a beautiful breakthrough. All she needed was to pair this broken piece with the ID it came from and she could put someone at the scene. And if that employee couldn’t be found, then that would only leave one person.
"I think I've got something," she said, placing the piece into a bag. "I'll look a bit more here for anything else."
Sunset continued examining the room, using the footage as a means to focus her search. She tried dusting for prints, only for that venture to bear no fruit. 'Careful enough to not leave prints but left behind part of a badge?' she thought to herself, cleaning up her gear. Pulling out her notepad, she scrawled out her findings and initial thoughts.
With the room thoroughly examined, Sunset bid the staff a fond farewell and set to work on the next part of her investigation. Once she was clear of the Neo-Gen labs, she called her assistant.
“We couldn't go one case, Sugar.” Speeding away from the parking lot, Sunset drove back into the city proper. “I need you to look up demons that can turn someone invisible. I’ll share more with you in the office.”
"Invisible?" Sugar repeated, surprise managing to creep into her normally even tone. "That'll be tricky to go up against, but I should be able to find that quickly. I've got the Goetia transferred to PDF format now."
Sunset laughed, finding that rather amusing. “Sorry. It’s just sorta funny. This centuries old tome, now available on tablets. Must have taken a while to do that.”
"Yes but it's worth it since it saves us time with the intel you provide. In fact, I've got two hits in the same rank as you've been fighting: Foras and Glasya-Labolas."
“Gimme everything you got on 'em.”
"Foras is depicted as a strong man, teaches all forms of logic and ethics, can make men witty and live longer. Knows about herbs and precious stones, can locate treasures and recover lost items," Sugar listed off, her deadpan returning. "Labolas is much less charming. Depicted as a dog with griffon wings, he's the author of manslaughter and bloodshed. Knows the past and future. Can influence the minds and incite love in the summoner's friends and foes alike. And to top it all off, he incites murders."
That second one set off Sunset’s alarms. Murder was a rare crime in Equestria, and only slightly more common here. Did this disgruntled employee summon an evil dog to exact a more intimate revenge, or had the demon come to him with a seductive tongue?
"Foras sounds less like a demon and more like a Moral Philosophy professor with an outdoorsman lifestyle," the flame-haired gumshoe decided to vocalize, putting her dark thoughts behind her. “Dig up what you can on Labolas. See if Ray knows anything about how he fights.”
"If anyone has memoirs of magicians and alchemists that summoned demons, it'd be him," her assistant agreed, a rustling filling up the background. "It'll take some time to find them though."
Magicians. That word had taken on a new meaning in recent days. At least it did in the context of this world. Magic existed here, faded enough to be easily supplanted by invasive Equestrian magic. Where had it gone? How had it become so... decrepit?
She'd need to visit Ray herself when she'd finished this case. Old forces of this world were stirring. Four demon related cases in such a short span of time was a pattern she couldn't ignore. Waiting for these incidents to fall into her lap wasn't enough anymore. Sunset could only hope that the pages of long forgotten history might shed some light on the encroaching darkness.
Ray’s shop had a certain atmosphere about it, almost as if it were a world unto itself. Shelves full of books bound in faded and cracked leather. Strange artifacts that caught the eye and refused to let go. It carried a mix of smells, exotic incense that lingered on your clothes for hours. It was Sugar’s favorite perfume.
Approaching the counter, she tapped the bell. “Ray, I need your help with something.”
Stepping out from the back room, Ray put down a rag and an odd little gem he had been polishing. “Ah Sugar. Sorry I wasn’t at the counter. A potential Maresopotamian Soulstone I purchased from an online auction came in today and I had to test it. Turns out it was just a common opal. How can I be of assistance?”
Tapping at her tablet, she held the screen out to him. “We have another demon, Glasya-Labolas,” she said, indicating the sigil emblazoned on the tablet.
"That is quite the one to run into," Ray said, stepping out from the counter to lead Sugar among the shelves. "For being among the lowest rank of the Goetia, Labolas has one of the highest body counts attributed to him. Hence his colorful nicknames."
Following behind him, Sugar’s eyes roved over his inventory. “Have you ever considered converting these tomes to pdfs? I did it for the Ars Goetia.”
Scratching his chin in thought, Ray nodded to himself as he stopped at a particular corner. "Hadn't considered that. Most of those attuned to the occult prefer thick tomes and candlelight reading to tablets and such. Might be a good way to draw in fledgling occult researchers." Waving a hand to a few shelves, he turned to Sugar. "These shelves contain the lion's share of Summoner's journals I've collected. This'd be your best bet in Canterlot to find further info on your demon."
Touching the spine of a random tome, she could sympathize with the sentiment. There was a certain feeling that came with old leather and non-electric lights. “I meant more in terms of preserving the knowledge. Books like this won’t last forever.”
"Also true," Ray conceded, tracing the shelves himself. "No matter how well I treat them, these books will start to show their age. I'd better bring my scanner to the shop and get to work on that. It'll cut into my relic studies though."
“I could do it,” Sugarcoat said, pulling her hand back. “I’m already studying these, no reason I can’t scan them as well.”
Pulling out a leatherbound journal, Ray began skimming through it. "I'd appreciate that Sugar. I'd compensate you of course.” He began to make an offer when something crossed his mind. “Sugar, how would you like to be my apprentice?”
"Apprentice regarding what?" Sugar questioned, quirking a brow. "Given your career and hobbies, that could mean a number of things."
Ray spread his arms out, finger brushing against various artifacts. “All of this. You spend so much time here, you almost know as much about the shop as I do. Perhaps not about the things in it.”
Humming in thought, Sugar turned toward the man. "That would certainly help my post grad research, but I don't know how much time I could dedicate to an apprenticeship with how often I'm helping Sunset."
“And how often does that work bring you here?” Ray countered with a quirked eyebrow. “I’ll pay you of course, which we can discuss later. Does thirty-five per book scanned sound good?”
"Point made," Sugar admitted, nodding. "Okay, I'll take you up on this deal." She extended a hand to seal the agreement. They shook on it, exchanging a pair of smiles. Pulling her hand away, Sugarcoat pulled a book off the shelf. “Are these alphabetized or in order of the Ars Goetia?”
"That'd be pedestrian," Ray scoffed, a look of offense on his face. "They're arranged by rank and then alphabetical order. Higher shelves are the lower ranks."
A phantom smile tugged at her lips. If she hadn’t known any better, she’d have said Ray was a distant relative to Twilight. Shaking off the nostalgia, Sugar narrowed her search to the higher shelves. She idly pulled out a journal, scanning the pages for Labolas's name. Repeating this a couple times, she finally hit pay dirt.
Reading from the beginning revealed the journal belonged to an apprentice alchemist who had regaled the pages with stories of abuse at the hands of his mentor. She followed along and eventually found where the apprentice had begun his plot to summon the demon to depose the master alchemist.
Under the influence of the demon, the apprentice's writings morphed from daily recollections to psychotic ramblings. It reached a point where Sugar’s stomach couldn’t take another line of sadism. Pushing her glasses up, she rubbed at her eyes as if to wash away the horror.
“Does Equestria have to deal with murderous spirit?”
"That's a question best left answered by your pony partner," Ray commented, putting away the journal he'd been looking at. "Looks like you found the answer you needed, but not the one you wanted. Such is the unfortunate side effect of occult research."
Sugarcoat placed the book back on the shelf, her eyes lingering on the old leather. Reaching for her phone, she dialed Sunset. If this really was Labolas, then the fiery detective needed fair warning.
Sunset stood out against the white picket fences of Bridle Way. It made her self-conscious. All perfectly organized and maintained. The local HOA had been a source of income before. People didn’t like it when people snuck around their homes to report things.
Green Thumb, the project head, lived just at the end of the development. A neat little blue house, all but identical to the ones around it. Parking at the end of his driveway, Sunset hung her helmet up. This would be tricky given how little information she could give out. She thought carefully, coming up with a script before dismounting from her bike. Taking a deep breath, she approached the door and knocked.
After some disturbance inside the home, the door opened to reveal a woman around Sunset’s age with pink skin and pale yellow hair. Tucked behind one of the woman’s ears was a white flower, a lily Sunset guessed. “Hello, is there something I can help you with?”
Smiling at the woman, Sunset gave her rehearsed spiel. “Hi, my name is Horizon Glare. I’m a part of Neo-Gen’s internal investigation team. Can I ask you a few questions about an incident that occurred there?”
The woman’s smile faltered, but there was a glint of understanding in her eyes directed at the fiery haired woman. “That’d be my husband you want to talk to then. He’s in the greenhouse out back. I’ll brew up some jasmine tea. Greeny’s gonna need it if he’s gonna talk about that again.”
Sunset nodded, stepping inside behind her. “It’s just a few standard questions. It won’t be anything intrusive.”
Nodding, the other woman led Sunset through her home and out the back door. Once outside, she was impressed by the garden. Every edge was framed by neatly trimmed hedges with several flower beds scattered around in every color of the rainbow. At the back of the yard was an impressively sized greenhouse, the insides partially obscured by the specialized glass. Green Thumb could be seen inside, watering a tall flower Sunset couldn’t identify. Opening the door to the green house, the pink woman poked her head in to get her husband’s attention.
“Honey, there’s someone here to see you. It’s a work thing.”
Green lifted his gaze up, frowning. “Work huh?” Standing, he dusted off his pants. “Who is it this time?”
“She says her name is Horizon from an Investigation team at Neo-Gen,” Lily explained. “She has some questions about an incident at the lab.”
Frowning, the older man moved to join his wife. “Must be something important then.”
Lily led him back to Sunset before disappearing to make the tea. The private eye extended a hand, offering an apologetic smile with it. "Sorry to bother you, Dr. Thumb. But Neo-Gen is chomping at the bit to get things squared away. I'm Horizon Glare and I'll try not to take too much of your time."
Shaking her hand, Green settled into a well loved recliner. “That’s quite alright. Now, could I ask what this is about? It’s not often I have someone from IA paying a home visit.”
"It's about a matter that took place a few nights ago in the lab you were heading," Sunset answered, letting the statement hang to gauge for a reaction.
Green sank back, a long sigh escaping his lips. “Right. The break in. The morning after, everyone was given time off until it gets resolved. I’ve been spending so much time with the plants it slipped from my mind.”
"Let's get the obvious question out of the way," Sunset said, forcing her relaxed demeanor as the opening tactic bore no fruit. "What were you up to the night of the break in?"
“It was date night,” he began, glancing towards the kitchen. “She got to pick. We went down to Snapshot’s Drive-In. Shows all sorts of old movies. Gone With the Breezies was playing.”
"Do you have the ticket stub or receipt? The time on it can do a lot to clear your name, Doctor."
“I should still have it...” Leaving his seat, Green retrieved a stack of papers from a nearby drawer. Returning to his seat, he shuffled through the stack. “Aha!” He produced a pair of tickets, offering them to Sunset.
Sunset thanked him for the tickets and examined them closely. Sure enough, the time on the tickets put him at the drive-in during the timestamps of the footage. Pulling out her phone, she snapped a photo of them. "Thanks for the cooperation, Doctor. Can I also see your employee badge?"
“Of course.” Exiting the room, he left Sunset to her devices.
Sunset sat in thought about the doctor, he had a fairly tight alibi despite having strong motive. That and the fact he had no hesitation to show the badge made things complicated. Scribing into her notes, she glanced up to see Lily carrying a tray.
“Do you need any help?” Sunset asked.
"Oh no, I've got this taken care of," Lily assured, sitting the tray down on a nearby table. "How do you like your tea? I personally recommend a bit of honey with this jasmine brew."
“That sounds nice.” Sunset shifted, tapping at her notes. “Has your husband mentioned anything odd about his work recently? A disgruntled coworker? A strange event? Anything like that?”
"Disgruntled would describe the entire team." Lily chuckled at her statement, deftly preparing Sunset and Green's cups. "Green and the team knew that their project was in the running for getting axed. It was the Sword of Damaclops as he put it for a while. The project funding wound up going to an experiment involving multi-use spacecraft. A little more flashy than plants."
A whole team of suspects. “Would there be anyone you can think of who’d take the closure particularly hard? Enough to commit theft?”
"I can't personally say. Given the NDA Green signed, I only get bits and pieces. Neo-Gen doesn't play around with those things." Lily sighed and handed Sunset her cup. "I hate to say it, but that company gives me the heeby jeebies."
Accepting the cup with a smile, Sunset savored her first sip. “Heeby jeebies? Anything specific?”
"It's just all the hush hush nature of things," Lily answered, waving her hand a bit. "Plus, when's the last time you heard about them getting into any kind of hot water? Or even criticism?"
That was true. In brief research she had done, there was no bad press associated with Neo-Gen. Its CEO hadn’t embezzled funds, there were no harassment scandals, no data leaks. For a company of that size, being that utterly squeaky clean seemed off. Maybe not full on alarm bells, but it piqued her curiosity.
Sunset finally nodded, sipping at the tea. "You're right, can't say I recall hearing anything like that about the company."
When Green returned, a thorough examination proved his ID was intact, if well worn. “I’ve already asked your wife but, do you know anyone disgruntled enough to resort to theft?”
“We all took the news hard,” Green admitted, taking his own cup. “I’d like to think we’re all above such a thing but my assistant director almost needed to be escorted out like I was.”
“But if you had to make a determination,” Sunset pressed. “Who would it be?”
“My best guess would be Solar Spark,” Green relented, taking a long sip from his mug. “She was always a little quiet and distant, but actually had a long conversation with me when the axe officially came down.”
Sunset jotted down the name and the brief description. Thinking for a moment, she considered her next question. Ultimately, she decided not to push any more. "Thank you, Doctor. I know it was rude of me to ask that of you. I'll take my leave."
Shining Armor put a hand on Flurry’s head, running it through his fingers. She was finally asleep, giving him a moment’s rest. How did she contain so much energy? A mystery even a detective couldn’t solve.
"Hard to believe a chain smoking grump has such a gentle side," Cadance teased from the doorframe. “I’m glad you're softening on Sunset.”
"You did make a compelling argument for doing so." Shining sighed, trying and failing to resist the urge to scratch at the patch on his bicep. "I’m not inviting her to the house, but I won't sit out of family gatherings if she's invited."
Cadance walked over, exchanging Flurry for a phone. “You got a call from work.”
"Seriously? Those taskmasters; I know for a fact that Compass hasn't been getting this many extra calls." Grumbling, he accepted the phone and tapped away. Resigning himself to his fate, he dialed into the station.
His shoulders sagged with each word. A silent alarm had gone off at the Canterlot Natural History Museum. Ending the call, he turned to his wife. "How quick can you get me my head coach job back at Crystal Prep?" he joked, giving his wife a weak smile as she pushed him out the door.
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Great chapter! It’s always nice to see another chapter of this story come out, talk about a pleasant surprise!
Neat name!
Oh, that's a cool invention.
It was just one, at two I'd get worried.
That feels like a death flag here... Just a hunch.
11300564
Water powers are so easy to play around with. Plus, couldn't resist making the weapon a harpoon gun.
11301527
Harpoon gun, or trident, always a great choice.
Needs more Tolbins Spirit Guide.